My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic -- Off The Record

by The King of Hearts

Chapters

Magic 101
The Ticket Master - Part 1
The Ticket Master - Part 2
Applebuck Season - Part 1
Applebuck Season - Part 2
The Doctor
Hillside
Boast Busters
Green Hair
The MAJOR Problem
The Morning After
Luna Shy
The Bad News
A Surprise Encounter
Confessions of a Baby Dragon
Flying Lessons
Look Before You Sleep
Twilight Comes Home
Bridle Gossip - Part 1
Bridle Gossip – Part 2
Swarm of the Century - Part 1
Swarm of the Century - Part 2
Heart's Desire
His New Chapter
Meanwhile...
The Short Road
Chasing the Rainbow: Epilogue
Call of the Cutie
Fall Weather Friends
The Case of the Missing Ponies
Suited for Success
A Sudden Journey
The Fall of the Night
Back to Manehattan
The Source of the Rainbow
A Colorful Background
Sonic Rainboom
Leaving Again
Adjusting to a New Life
A Prelude to a Ritual
The Ritual - The Royal Perspective
The Ritual - A Crusader Perspective
The Other Crusaders
The Show Stoppers - Part 1
The Show Stoppers - Part 2
A Dog and Pony Show - Part 1
Dog and Pony Show - Part 2
Haven Station
Going Home
What Time is it? Relaxation Time!
The Knight in Shining Armor
The End of the Vacation
Growing Up
Party of One
The Best Night Ever - Part 1
The Best Night Ever - Part 2
The Best Night Ever - Part 3
The Best Night Ever - Part 4
The Best Night Ever Part - 5
The Best Night Ever - Part 6
The Best Night Ever - Part 7
A Sudden Turn for the Worse
Reversed Condition
Earth World Problems
Back to School
Contrast
A Harmless Game
The Beginning of Chaos
The Element of Wrath
The Element of Deceit
The Element of... Sorrow?
The Element of Greed
The Element of Loyalty
The Final Romance
Endgame
Epilogue
Return
Return: Epilogue
Quiet Thoughts
The Return of the Crystal Empire
The Crystal Kingdom
Harsh Memories
////
Crystal-Kingdom-Cutie-Mark-Crusaders
Oops—
The Return of the Fallen King
Shadows to Ashes
So, What Next?
In the Long Run
That Quiet Time Between Adventures
Happy, Happy Mares
Alpha's New Home
Chaotic Regret
Keeping Busy
Simple Days, Complicated Tomorrows
Lament
Lament: Epilogue
The Horrible Unknown
Anxiety
New Power
Irritable
Unwanted Questioning
Ignorance was Bliss
Confrontation
Coming Clean
An Ill-Deserved Vacation
As if Nothing had Changed
Escape
Home in Each Other
One Last Secret...
Misunderstanding
Just Hangin' Out
The New Mare in Town
To Break Those who are Great
Leave it Alone
Hiding from the Darkness
Sparks of Chaos
Two Steps in a New Direction
Yet another Addition to the Crew
An Overdue Invitation
The 100% Canon Wedding
What a Crappy Brother!
Wedding Preparations
Ignorance is Sleepiness
Missing in Action
Nothing Suspected
The Truth Revealed
Queen Chrysalis
Omega
A Hard Sell
The Greater Cause
Aftermath
One More Confrontation
Announcement
The Appeal of Books
Shock and Awe
A Summary
Reintroduction
A Brand New (Re)Start - APRIL FOOLS, DON'T TAKE SERIOUSLY
Back in the Diner
Paying Respects
The Questions Couples Ask
The Hive
A Push in the Right Direction
Shopping Trip
The Show
Plus One to Equestria
'Paying' the Price
Unnecessary Worry
'Horse' Training
Pity
The Stage is Set
Prelude to Chaos
Riding Home - Stress
Riding Home - Misery
Riding Home - Ignorance
Stopover
Uncomfortable Relaxation
The Other Side of the Wall
Explosive Sibling
Discordant
See ya' Chet
Surrender
At the Mercy of the Strings
An Old Friend
Far Past Bickering
Realization
The Girl that Shouldn't Exist
An Odd Request
Invisible Friends
Not All She Seems
The Rising Darkness
Awake
What's the Plan?
Pursuing Chaos
Ascension
Confronting Chaos
The Horrible Plan
One Final Stopover
The Nightmare
The End of Two Chapters
A Chaotic Debriefing
A Lost Element
Affirmation and Desolation
The Odd Two Out
Off the Record
Prologue
Griffon the Brush Off
Credits
The Face of a Liar
A Heated Debate
Turning Point
Conflicting Stories
Magical Mystery Dream

Magic 101

Chapter 1
Magic 101

One week later

Alex slowly opened his eyes and looked around, wincing at the bright light shining on his face.

Lifting his hands to his face, he clumsily bumped his new hooves in to his forehead, and groaned in response.

“Yup... Still in cartoon world.” He muttered to himself.

Getting himself out of the bed with zero blanket trouble, he looked at the clock and sighed, it read 8:00 AM. Normally he'd be dying to sleep in more, but this world just had him on his toes too much to allow it.

Yawning, he shook his head, trying to adjust himself to the waking world, since the events of the previous week had taken such a toll on his body, that hadn’t adjusted to a proper sleeping schedule yet.

One thing that he hadn’t had a chance to deal with, was his little problem with that colorful mare, Rainbow Dash. He hadn’t gotten a chance to apologize to her since he had mistaken her name, and she had stormed out of Pinkies house.

But, he figured the opportunity would present itself eventually, so, he pushed it from his mind for the moment. He had many more important things to think about,

Grabbing a brush, he quickly fixed his bed head, and with a quick look in the mirror, he flared his white wing and shook it, making sure the feathers weren’t all that messy. Then, after doing the same with his grey wing, he decided he was decent. Today was his first day of magic training, and he didn’t want to show up a complete mess, even though he was sure Twilight would understand.

Walking out of his room, he grabbed an apple from a basket next to his door with his mouth. But, had to be careful. He wasn’t used to carrying things this way, and he didn’t want to puncture the skin on the apple by biting too hard. He hoped he could get used to magic quickly, so he didn’t have to hold everything this way... thank goodness he wasn't an earth pony.

Walking into the front section of the library, Alex noticed that Twilight had moved the large wooden horse head to the side, and put a wooden desk in its place. He could also see a chalk board that she had brought in and placed in front of a bookshelf. Getting the idea, Alex quickly sat himself in the desk, and twiddled his with what would have been his fingers.

After a few minutes, Twilight came in through the front door with a few bags of groceries and a couple of books, all held in the air using her magic. Seeing him waiting in the desk, she quickly focused and put all the food she had bought in its proper place, then she trotted over the chalk board and placed the books she had been holding on a small desk next to the chalk board.

“Sorry about that!” Twilight began. “I would have been back sooner, but Applejack stopped me and asked me if I could help her harvest some apples, I would have, but today is your first day of class, and my first day as your teacher!” She said, smiling excitedly to Alex. “So… Welcome to Magic 101!”

Levitating a piece of chalk off the table next to him, she bright it to the blackboard and began writing her name on it.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle! And, for the next few years, you are going to be my- why are you making that face?" Twilight asked, giving him a frustrated frown, "Is my teaching boring you?"

“I know who you are Twilight.” Alex said smirking. “Is all this introducing REALLY necessary?”

“Yes.” Twilight answered simply. “I read that the best way of teaching somepony, is to be professional, and maintain a consistent attitude!” She said matter-of-factly, as she levitated a ruler off the table, and pointed it at his nose, "Understood?"

“Understood!” Alex nodded rapidly, no longer wanting to question her teaching methods. “You’re the boss Miss Twilight! Forget I said anything!”

“Wonderful!” Twilight said, a small smile crossing her lips, “Now!” She began again, “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and I’ll be your teacher! Do you have any questions before we begin today’s class?”

Alex thought for a moment, and then shook his head.

“Alright then,” Twilight said, “today, we’re going to have a little history lesson on the origins of magic, before we officially start your training.” She said pulling out a rather large book and flipping it open to a page she had bookmarked.

“A LONG time ago,” Twilight said putting plenty of emphasis on the word ‘Long.’ “There weren’t any Unicorns. Just Pegasi and Earth Ponies.” She said, flipping a page with her magic. “And as far as those ponies were concerned, magic was something that only a few gifted species could conjure.” Twilight paused, taking a breath, then continued. “However, contrary to popular belief then, and even now, you don’t actually NEED a horn to perform magic.” She said looking up at a confused Alex.

“Really?” Alex asked, genuinely surprised. “Why wouldn’t all ponies use magic then?”

"Well, the horn acts as a focusing point for the magical energy running through our bodies," She explained, recalling everything Celestia had told her on this topic, "Without it, it's hard to get enough energy in the same place, so a spell simply can't be cast."

"So," Alex began, scratching his chin and looking at the ceiling, "It's possible, but it's much much more difficult?"

“Much more.” Twilight nodded. “You see it happen every now and then, especially when it comes to a pony that's lost their horn. But besides that, there haven't really been many recorded cases. There was one story I heard a few years ago..."

“Story? Alex asked, interrupting her thought process.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall off track there.” Twilight apologized, finding her place in her book again. “Well, at some point, a large community of ponies, who lived rather far away from the main population, somehow figured out how to use magic.” She said, unhappy she couldn’t explain the original discovery of magic in more detail. “Nopony really knows how they did it, but they did. And, as time passed, their foals eventually started being born with larger and larger bumps on their heads, until, much later, they were full horns.”

“But… if those ponies were so secluded, how have horns become such a normal thing in this world?” Alex asked.

Twilight smiled, happy he was interested. She had been worried he’d be bored. “Well, as the largest colonies of ponies started expanding their territories, they eventually came across the unicorns, and they integrated into the mass population. This is when the true documentation of the unicorns began. Everything before then, we know from stories that had been passed down from generation to generation.” She frowned, “So, we’ll never know one hundred percent how unicorns came about, but, we have a general idea from the stories they told us. Pretty much, one pony somehow came across it, and taught everyone else.”

“Okay,” Alex nodded, smiling, “So… what about that story you mentioned?” He asked.

“Well,” Twilight said, sorting her thoughts, deciding a slight deviation from the lesson couldn’t hurt, “It's more of a legend... most ponies that know about it, don't believe it, because they don't think magic can be used by a non-unicorn."

Alex sat silently and listened.

"Well, this story is about a nameless stallion. He came along long after the discovery of Unicorns. And, after what he did, he was thought of as a hero.” She explained to Alex, as he listened intently. “When the very first King of Manehattan started to get the idea that Unicorns were better than earth ponies and Pegasi because of their ability to use magic, a lot of unicorns started to agree with him..."

Alex swallowed at the mention of the story. Something similar happened on earth.

"Things started getting worse for the non-magic users, as they were segregated from the unicorns, and forced to live according to terrible rules, including the limitation of non-magic children, and different schooling.” Twilight explained, disgusted that anypony could think such a way as she shook her head.

So that kind of evil could exist in this world... Alex was ashamed to admit that it put him at ease somewhat. It was something familiar.

“So,” Twilight continued, “One day, a stallion appeared. No one had ever seen him before.” She explained, “But, when he confronted the King about this mistreatment, the king tricked him, and used a spell that is now forbidden, which removed his horn. Normally that spell had only been used as punishment for unicorns that were guilty of magic related crimes, but, the King used it to make an example out of the stallion, so that other unicorns wouldn’t try to stand up against him.” Twilight said pausing momentarily to take a breath.

Alex simply sat quietly, eagerly waiting the next part of the story.

“So, after that happened,” Twilight began again, “Many of ponies started to question the King, after seeing him treat a fellow Unicorn in such a way. The Stallion knew he could use this, so, he disappeared for a short while, hoping to convince everypony that he had run away.” Twilight smiled as she continued, coming to her favorite part of the story. “Then, during a rather bloody public assembly by the King, where he was humiliating a group of pegasi, the stallion came back, and gave the King one chance to apologize, and put a stop to the laws he had made. But…” Twilight said slowly, purposely driving Alex crazy. “He refused, and turned his back to him, telling him that he was nothing more than a magic-less insect.”

"Aren't all insects magic-less?" Alex spoke up, before 'eeping' at Twilight's sudden glance.

"Ahem."

“It's said that when the king refused to comply, the stallion did something none of them expected. He apologized.” Twilight said. “Then, he cast a spell, and a powerful one at that. Something nopony thought would be possible. But he did it, without a horn. The spell turned the king and his most loyal followers into stone, proving that power didn’t just belong to Unicorns, but the Earth Ponies, and Pegasi as well.” Twilight said smiling at the thought. “However, the spell he had cast was too powerful for him. Because he had been a unicorn once, he knew the focusing technique to get the magic ready to be cast. But, without a horn to separate the energy from his body, it focused on his brain instead, and presumably caused irreparable damage."

“And that’s why Earth Ponies don’t want to use magic?” Alex asked.

“Exactly,” She answered. “Without a horn to focus the energy, magic is nearly impossible. And the fact that using it can seriously injure a pony puts it out of the question.” Twilight explained. “So, basically, only Unicorns are safe performing magic.” She finished.

"Was there any more to that story?" Alex asked, tilting his head.

“Yes! there is a little more.” Twilight nodded, regaining her train of thought, “The magic did some real damage to him, so the ponies in town got him to the hospital as fast as they could, but it was too late."

“So… He died?” Alex asked.

“Yes.” Twilight said, feeling a little bad, despite it being nothing more than history, “He had one final request though, and they were that he be left alone in his last moments of life. So… everypony left the hospital, respecting his final wish. But, the something odd happened.” She said, considering it once again in her head.

“He was magically cured?” Alex asked, trying to fill in the blanks as best he could.

She didn't say a word. Something that was obviously wearing on him.

"Come on!" He called, trying not too sound too much like a whine.

Twilight “Well,” She finally began, laughing at his reaction, “After the ponies left him in the hospital, there was a bright gold light that seemed to explode out of all the windows… And when they ran back inside, he was gone.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean gone?” He asked confused. “Is that something ponies do? Return to the force?”

“No.” Twilight answered, not understanding the reference. “Something like that had never happened before. So, while the ponies were in there, they tried to figure out what had happened. But, there was only one other pony in the whole building, so they knew a sound answer wouldn't be likely."

"Aaaaaaand?" Alex asked, frowning at her pause once again.

"When they asked him if they had seen what happened, he told them he had no idea. He was just The Doctor, and that they were in a hospital. So, after that, they gave up.” She explained “If he had been alive, somepony would have recognized him” Twilight said. “So the only way he could have survived, is if he had changed his face.” Twilight said laughing. “But let’s be serious, like that could ever happen!”

"You know, for a legend, you know a lot of details about that story," Alex pointed out, as Twilight laughed to herself.

"I've read a lot about the story. There were a few written accounts from the supposed ponies that went looking for him, and they were fairly correlated." She answered, "A lot of ponies know the gist of it, and think it's a legend... But I've read a lot, and I really do believe that it happened."

"Well, I'll believe it too if i get some extra credit in the class." Alex laughed, "But, what does this have to do with my class anyway?"

Twilight paused, and looked up. “I… don’t really know… I think we got sidetracked a bit.” She giggled.

“Okay, well, it was an interesting story though!” Alex said, "Maybe we should stick with the stuff we know happened though, how about that?"

“Hey! You’re the one who asked!” Twilight said, pointing at him with a faux-intense look.

"You're the teacher, and you indulged a student?" Alex said, smirking to her, "Rookie mistake, Sparkle."

“Alright, I think it’s time to move on!” Twilight said, not wanting to get carried away laughing once again. “I wanted to get you practicing magic right away so you can get home as quickly as possible.”

“Alright!” Alex said excitedly. “What are we doing?”

“I’m going to start you off just doing exercises.” Twilight began. “Performing magic is incredibly difficult, it requires a certain state of mind. So, you need to have all of your focus on what it is that you’re trying to do.” Twilight turned her head to the chalk board, and started copying down everything that she was saying.

Alex leaned forward and started trying his best to follow her instructions.

“When performing magic, it’s essential that you know exactly what it is that you want to do,” Twilight began, “You need all of your focus on the spell you want to cast.” She continued, as she wrote down everything on the chalk board. “Some spells require little effort, and are really nothing more than imagining a hand reaching out of you, and lifting something up. Spells like this are simple compared to the teleport spell you want to cast, but they still require months of practice to do.” She continued. “So, you don’t need to worry about ACTUALLY casting any spells today. It’s going to be a LONG time before…”

“Hey! I’m doin’ it!” Alex cheered, amazed that he was actually using magic. It felt surreal to be doing something that he had been told wasn’t real since he was a child.

Twilight turned around, and almost fainted when she saw Alex levitating his apple off of his desk.

This was impossible. He hadn’t ever used magic before, and yet here he was, using the magic that had taken her so much time to learn back when she was a filly. “I… I…” She stuttered, completely at a loss for words.

After a few seconds of this, Alex fumbled the spell, and dropped the apple. “Aw!” He said turning to Twilight and smiling. “How was that?” His smiling face turned into one of confusion as she stood there, with the same twitching eye he had seen at the beginning of class. “Uh… Twilight?” He asked, now slightly concerned.

“How… how… I… But…” Twilight continued to stutter. “How… How did you do that?”

“Lift the apple?” Alex asked, confused. “I just did what you said.”

“But, it takes some ponies YEARS to get their magic to that level!” Twilight managed to say. “You just…” She said searching for the right words, “Do you know what this means?” She asked him, wide eyed.

“Uh… no?” Alex said, scratching his head again.

“Alex, this means that you’re not going to have to train for anywhere NEAR as long as I thought!” Twilight explained, still a little shaken by all of this.

And then, all at once, he understood. “Just… how much time do you think this is going to save me..?” Alex asked slowly.

“Well, you already know the basics… You know how to clear your mind, focus the energy, and manipulate it to do what you want.” Twilight answered, “It took me almost 2 years to learn everything to the point that you’re at. And on top of that, Princess Celestia and I honestly thought it would take you LONGER to learn this much, on account of you only being a pony for such a short period of time!” She finished, allowing herself to breath.

Alex beamed. He had gotten so used to the idea of being stuck in this world for a long time. But now it was sounding like he would be getting home much sooner than he thought. Unable to contain himself, Alex lunged over his desk, and wrapped his arms around Twilight. “This is great!” He said releasing her, then starting to jump up and down, and cheer.

Twilight smiled at his excitement. She may have been shocked by his amazing magical ability, but this was GOOD news. She wasn’t sure how long it would take before he was able to use the spell to go home, but it was now a fraction of what it had been. “Well!” Twilight said, interrupting Alex’s cheering, “You still have some ways to go! But, I think we can end our first class a little early, since you went and pretty much made my current curriculum useless” She laughing.

“You know what Alex deserves for being so great at magic?” A voice came from the window.

Alex and Twilight turned to the open window next to them.

“A Party!” Pinkie said poking her head inside, however, she pulled her head out again, and started trying to lift something in through the opening. “Hey Alex, can you help me get my party cannon in through the window?” She asked poking her head back inside.

“You know Pinkie…” Alex started slowly, “I don’t think I’ve recovered after the party last week… how about a rain check?” He said apologetically, and slightly worried about this ‘party cannon’ of hers.

“Sure thing!” Pinkie smiled. “Here! Have this though!” She said placing a cake on the windowsill. “I was working on it all day for this party, and I wouldn’t want it to go to waste!” She beamed.

“But… if this is a party for Alex because he’s good at magic… How could you have known this morning?” Twilight asked, not understanding how she had known.

“Oh, I had a combo!” Pinkie explained with a smile, “Anyway, you two enjoy the rest of the day!” She said pushing her cannon away.

“That pony is really…” Alex began

“Random.” Twilight finished.

The two nodded, agreeing with each other.

“Well, let’s not let this cake go to waste!” Alex said, carefully using two hooves to lift the base that the cake sat on, placing it on the table in the middle of the room.

The two sat down at the table and Twilight cut them each a piece with her magic.

For the next while, Twilight and Alex simply talked about different things. They talked about the class, Ponyville, their hometowns, their families, (with Alex still skipping his parent’s deaths.) Then before they knew it, hours had passed, and they had eaten most of the cake. The two were interrupted from their friendly conversation when Spike suddenly ran through the front door.

“Twilight!” Spike shouted running across the room toward the table, “I just got a letter from the Princess!”

“What does it say?” Twilight asked, curious at what the Princess would want to write to her about.

Spike opened the scroll and started reading it out loud. “Hear ye, hear ye, Her Grand Royal Highness Princess Celestia of Equestria, is pleased to announce The Grand Galloping Gala to be held in the magnificent capital city of Canterlot, on the 21st day of, uh, blah blah” He said skipping over the little details. “Cordially extends an invitation to Twilight Sparkle plus on guest!” Spike took the two tickets from the page, and put them on the table.

“The Grand Galloping Gala!” Twilight said excitedly.

“What’s that…?” Alex asked looking back and forth between Spike and Twilight.

“The Grand Galloping Gala is the most prestigious ball in Equestria!” Twilight explained. “It’s something that anypony would die for a chance to go to!” She said, giddy with excitement.

“It’s really girly.” Spike said. “Too much dancing and… other girly stuff” He said not able to think of anything else that was really ‘girly’ about it.

“But… I only got two tickets… Who should I invite?” Twilight said, suddenly realizing the choice she had to make.

“Well, don’t worry about me.” Alex said “I was never one for a dance. But, I’m sure one of your other friends would be happy to go”

“…That’s what I’m afraid of…” Twilight said slowly, know this would be a problem.

A BIG problem.

The Ticket Master - Part 1

Chapter 2

The Ticket Master – Part 1

Twilight looked at the two tickets in front of her, and sighed. How was she going to do this? She had an extra ticket to the Gran Galloping Gala, and five friends that she knew would want to go. This was going to lead to a decision that she didn’t want to make…

Alex looked at Twilight across the table, she had been sitting there worrying about the tickets for the past half hour, and had barely said a word to him or spike in that entire time. “Uh… Twilight, Is this really going to be a problem?” Alex asked finally.

Twilight nodded slowly. “I’m going to have to pick one of my friends to go… And I don’t like having to make that kind of choice…”

Alex thought for a moment, then said “Couldn’t you just take Spike?” He asked, “You could tell your friends that he… I don’t know, had dibs on it or something!”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t want to lie to anypony!” She said, resting her chin on the table. “I just… Wish there was some fair way for me to pick, that everypony could agree with!” Then the light in her head went off, and her eyes lit up. “I know what to do!”

Alex turned to Spike, then back to Twilight. “…What are you gonna do?”

“I’m going to go out, and ask everypony what they would do if they had a ticket to the Gala!” She announced, standing up. “I won’t TELL anypony that I have a spare ticket, I’ll just listen to all of them tell me what they’d do if they had the chance to go!” Twilight made her way over to the front door of the library, “Once I hear all their reasons, I’ll be able to choose the pony who deserves to go most!”

Alex and Spike watched Twilight trot out the door, and both sighed. “Why does that sound like a terrible idea?” Spike asked.

“Because it is Spike,” Alex said to him, watching Twilight walk further away from the library, through the open door, “Because it is.” He repeated.

“So… Are we going to go after her?” Spike asked him.

Alex looked back and forth between Spike and the now distant Twilight. “Uh… Yeah, we definitely should.” Alex said to him. “Good thinking.”

Spike hopped up on Alex’s back, and the two ran out the door after Twilight, who had now turned a corner and disappeared. “I hope we didn’t lose her…” Alex muttered.

After some walking through the crowded market, Twilight turned herself and started heading down to the outside of town. Following the dirt path to Sweet Apple Acres, Twilight took some time to think about her brilliant plan.

This was going to be easy! She would casually bring up the Grand Galloping Gala, and find out what Applejack would do if she had the chance to go. It would be no problem at….

“Well, shucks Twilight!” Applejack shouted, cutting off her train of thought “You came a bit late!”

A surprised, and confused Twilight turned Applejack, who had been applebucking a group of trees nearby. “A bit… late?” She asked as Applejack made her way over to the path.

“It turns out I didn’t need y’all to win the bet I had with Big Mac!” Applejack said smiling. “I just about worked my rump right off getting’ it done, but I did it!”

“Oh?” Twilight asked tilting her head, “What was the bet you had with Big Macintosh?”

“I bet Big Macintosh that I could get all the Golden Delicious apples in the barn by lunchtime!” Applejack said smiling proudly, “An’ I did it! So now, he’s gotta’ walk down Stirrup Street in one of Granny’s girdles!” She said looking past Twilight, then suddenly going wide eyed.

Twilight turned around and immediately understood.

“You’re lookin’ real pretty there Big Macintosh!” Applejack called to her brother,

Twilight watched Big Macintosh walk down the dirt path in a very old fashioned pink girdle that covered him from just before his flank, all the way up to his chest. His midsection had been compressed by the outfit, and as a result, he looked quite thin.

“That pink sure does bring out your eyes Big Mac!” Applejack shouted, holding back all-out laughter.

Twilight was surprised to see that Big Macintosh still had his usual demeanor. She would die of embarrassment if anypony saw her walking around in one of those. And she was a girl! But, somehow, he just kept down the dirt road, as if nothing was wrong at all.

“Mornin’ Twilight” Big Macintosh said walking past the two girls, as if nothing was wrong. The truth was, he was embarrassed. But he knew he could rob his sister of some of her victory if he didn’t show the embarrassment. So, he simply walked on, dying just a little bit inside.

Applejack frowned as Big Macintosh walked over a hill, and away from the two. “That boy sure knows how to ruin a good time.” She said, turning to Twilight. “So! What’d you come ‘round for Twi?” She asked.

“What did I come around for...?” Twilight said snapping her view away from the pony in drag. “Oh, I wanted to know what you’d do at the Grand Galloping Gala if you had a chance to go!” Twilight said, realizing that this was probably the least casual way to bring up her question. Well, it was too late now.

Applejack looked at her confused. “Uh, why?” she asked.

“Oh! Just curious! You know… no other reason whatsoever! Ha...ha…” She laughed nervously.

“Well, if that’s all!” Applejack said smiling, “Well… I’d really like to go so I could drum up business for Sweet Apple Acres!” She said, picturing it in her head. “I’d get myself an apple stand set up there! Why, with all those hoity toity ponies, I could make a heap of money!” She continued, smiling at the thought. “We could replace that saggy old roof on the barn, and Big Macintosh could replace that saggy old plow, and Granny Smith could replace that saggy old hip! Why, I’d give my left hind leg to go to that Gala!”

“Hmm, that’s a very good reason!” Twilight said, smiling at her. “Thanks for telling me!” She said as she started walking away.

“Did you need anythin’ else…?” Apple jack asked her, suspicious again.

“Nope!” Twilight said smiling “Thanks Applejack! Anyway, I need to go see Rarity!” She said trotting off, back the way she came. “See you later!” She called over her shoulder.

Applejack simply stood there confused at the ponies quick exit. Twilight was hiding something… that much was clear. But, she had to finish up her work, so, she let it go. She’d find out sooner or later, she was sure.

Alex and Spike walked into the town square, unfortunately, there had been enough ponies out and about for the two of them to lose track of Twilight pretty fast.

“You see her anywhere?” Alex asked Spike, who was standing on his back, looking through the crowd.

“Nope, Nothing!” Spike replied, still scanning the crowd.

“She could have gone anywhere…” Alex said, sitting down on his rump, causing Spike to slide off of him, and onto the ground. “I don’t even know who to ask…” Alex said, frowning. “Any ideas Spike?”

“Uh… Maybe we could ask Applejacks brother…” Spike said, obviously distracted by something.

“Oh! Good idea! Where is he?” Alex said standing up looking around.

Spike simply pointed across the square, not saying a word.

Alex followed his finger and went wide eyed when he saw Big Macintosh. “Is… is that… a…” He stammered.

“It sure is…” Spike said, just as shocked

“Is that a normal thing in this world?” Alex asked. “Because, as weird as this place is, I don’t think wearing a girdle in public is something that could ever be considered normal…”

“Don’t worry.” Spike said, “This isn’t normal… But… we should probably still ask him if he knows where Twilight is.” Spike said, trying to focus on their task at hand.

“Yeah, let’s go!” Alex said, allowing Spike to climb back onto his back, and then following Big Macintosh, who had just gone out of view.

“He went down that hill” Spike said pointing to a slope ahead of them.

Alex walked toward the hill, just as a rather large wagon filled with trash, being pulled by very small mare started coming up it. He couldn’t help but be amazed at the strength that some of the ponies had. Even at such a small size, this pony could still pull a wagon that was piled high with garbage. It must have weighed a ton.

However, as if he had jinxed the small mare, the old harness that the pony had wrapped around her suddenly snapped and the wagon started rolling back down the hill, with no one to stop it.

Alex rushed past the dazed mare, to the top of the hill, and looked at the runaway wagon. It was almost half way down the hill, but luckily, there weren’t any other ponies on the road besides Big Macintosh. Alex knew the wagon wouldn’t seriously hurt him at the speed it was going, but he also knew that he wouldn’t be able to dodge the wagon, even if Alex had warned him. So, he did the first thing that came to his mind, and bowed his head, and hoped that he could remember everything that Twilight had told him.

“Alex!” Spike shouted jumping off his back, “What are you doing?” He didn’t understand why Alex wasn’t doing anything. “Hey, Big Macintosh!” Spike shouted down the hill, “Look out!”

Turning his head, Big Macintosh saw the wagon heading for him, but, as Alex had also thought, it was too close for him do anything about it. So, he simply braced himself for the impact, knowing that at the very least, he could stop it from damaging someponies home, at the bottom of the hill. So, he closed his eyes, and waited for the impact…

Alex could feel huge amounts of energy pouring into his horn, just begging to be used. Looking up, he focused the energy on the wagon. Then, an inch away from running into Big Mac, the wagon stopped dead.

When the impact that he had been expecting never came, Big Macintosh slowly opened his eyes and was happy to see the wagon slowly being lifted off the ground in a white aura. He sighed, and sidestepped the wagon, and started walking toward the top of the hill, to thank Alex.

However, Alex wasn’t out of the woods yet. He was filled with so much energy; his vision was blurring, and his head was starting to hurt. On top of that, he still didn’t know how to use magic properly yet, so he wasn’t able to pull the wagon back to the top of the hill safely. Instead of a nice slow pace, the wagon flew at him, at a much more dangerous speed than it had been going before. So, in a panic, he expelled all of his energy at once into the wagon, sending it flying away in the opposite direction.

Spike, Alex, Big Macintosh and the owner of the cart, all watched in awe, as the wagon flipped through the air over the rest of the town, flinging apple cores, banana peels, opened cans, moldy hay, rotten tomatoes, an even some broken jars, all over the houses below it. Then, after passing over the town, the cart kept on flying, until it finally crashed deep in the Everfree Forest.

The four stood in silence as they all slowly looked over the damage caused to the town. Luckily, nothing had been destroyed, nopony had been hurt, and the mess would be… easy enough to clean up.

“What the hay happened here?” A voice said behind them, breaking the silence.

Everypony turned around to see a cyan pony, with a rainbow mane, standing slack jawed, looking at the town. However, upon noticing the house made of clouds covered in garbage, her mood went from shocked, to angry.

“Well?” She asked.

“Well Rainbow,” Spike said smiling. “That was Alex! There was a cart headed down the hill toward Big Mac, and he saved him by stopping the cart with his magic!” He beamed, not realizing that this was just making Rainbow Dash angrier. “But, he’s not so good at controlling it yet, so, after he saved Big Mac, he lost control of his magic, and ended up throwing the wagon across the whole town! Pretty funny huh?”

At this point, Dash was staring daggers at Alex. He could almost see the air puffing out of her nostrils. “Oh yeah,” She said sarcastically, “It really is funny how he covered half the town in garbage. But, do you want to know the best part?” She said, looking at Spike briefly, then at Alex.

“Which part?” Spike asked excitedly, clearly not getting her sarcasm.

“The best part is my house.” Rainbow said pointing a hoof toward a floating house in the sky, made of clouds.

Alex cringed at the sight. This house had been hit badly. It was absolutely littered with the trash. This was not going to help with the ‘her disliking him’ situation.

“Listen, I…” Alex tried to say, but was cut off before he could continue.

“I don’t wanna hear it!” Rainbow dash said annoyed, “If you don’t know how to control magic, then don’t use it! Especially when it could get someponies house covered in TRASH!” She shouted at him.

At this point, Big Macintosh still dressed in his girdle stepped forward. “Now wait one second Rainbow Dash.” He said sternly to her, “Alex was just tryin’ to help me out, if I had been payin’ more attention, none of this would have happened.” He said, trying to take some of the flak off of Alex.

“It’s my fault too!” The owner of the wagon piped up, “I was using an old harness that broke, causing all of this to happen!”

“Yeah!” Spike said, “And I… Uh...” Spike tried to think of a reason it was his fault, but couldn’t find one. “Oh, never mind.” He said kicking a rock on the ground.

Dash growled. She didn’t like losing anything. Even an argument. But, she knew she was just a bit too mad, and wouldn’t be this worked up about it later. “Fine…” She said, “If you’ll excuse me, I have a house to go clean.” She then flew straight up, and started flying toward her house.

Alex sighed. “I don’t think that pony’s ever going to like me…”

“Don’t worry ‘bout her” Big Mac said to Alex. “I’m sure you two will work your issues out.” He said comfortingly. “Anyways, I’d best be heading back to the farm. I was supposed to walk all the way down Stirrup Street in this girdle, but I figure halfway is good enough.” He said in his usual slow tone. “Oh, and thanks for helpin’ me out. If that cart had hit me, I’d have been out of commission for Apple Buck season, leavin’ all the work for my sister... And I KNOW that wouldn’t have ended well.” He chuckled.

Suddenly realizing why he had sought Big Mac in the first place, Alex quickly asked, “Have you seen Twilight around? We’ve been out looking for her.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded “She was talkin’ to Applejack in the orchard. You could go check there.” He suggested.

Alex let Spike hop up on his back, and was just about ready to take off, when he realized he didn’t know how to get there. “Uhh…” He said turning to Big Mac.

Big Macintosh simply pointed a hoof toward an open field. “That’ll get you there fastest. Just keep headin’ straight.” He said.

“Thanks!” Alex said running toward the field. “Oh! And I’m sorry about your cart!” He shouted over his shoulder to the mare.

“Don’t worry about it! I need a new one anyway!” She called back smiling, just in time for Alex to disappear into the orchard at the other side of the clearing.

Alex and Spike had been in the orchard for a few minutes now, and had slowed to a walk, to make sure they didn’t miss the two ponies they were looking for. However, this path Big Mac had given them wasn’t the main road, so Alex knew that Twilight could be long gone, and she wouldn’t have passed them on her way out.

“I can’t wait to tell Twilight about what you did!” Spike said, rolling around on Alex’s back in laughter.

“Yeah… Me neither.” Alex said, still embarrassed over everything.

“So, why was Big Macintosh wearing that outfit?” Spike asked, calming down.

“I don’t know. We’ll have to ask Applejack when we find her.” Alex said back.

“Ask Applejack what?” A voice came from behind them.

Alex and Spike jumped, surprised at her sudden appearance.

“I’m just sneakin’ up on everypony today!” Applejack said laughing, “What can I do ya for?” She asked the two.

“We’re looking for Twilight!” Spike said, “Big Macintosh told us she was here!”

“Y’all saw Big Mac?!” Applejack said, getting excited. “How’d he look?” She asked, waiting for them to start laughing.

“Oh, funny.” Alex said, not giving her the reaction she wanted. “We were kinda… preoccupied.” He said slowly, thinking back to the garbage wagon. “Ask him when he gets back to explain.” Alex suggested. “So… Where’s Twilight? We’ve been looking all over for her.”

“Twilight left a while ago to go see Rarity.” Applejack answered. “She was askin’ me ‘bout the Grand Galloping Gala, then just up and left.” Applejack said scratching her head. “It was the darndest thing.”

“She’s headed to see Rarity?!” Spike said excitedly, standing up on Alex’s back.

“Darn tootin’!” Applejack said smiling at the baby dragon’s excitement.

“Come on Alex! Let’s go!” Spike said pulling his hind leg back toward the town.

“Alright, thanks Applejack.” Alex said, laughing at Spikes reaction as well, as he was pulled away from her by the dragon.

“Y’all take care now!” Applejack said, as the two left, as quickly as they had come.

Watching them head off back to town, she couldn't help but sigh, “I can’t believe that they weren’t laughing at Big Mac…”

The Ticket Master - Part 2

Chapter 3

The Ticket Master – Part 2

Alex couldn't help but cringe at the mess that he had been walking through on his way to Rarity's house. He could have sworn that there hadn't been this much garbage in the wagon. But, it seemed that every few steps he took, he had to avoid one kind of slop or another. However, he was thankful that no one knew who was responsible… yet.

After a small trip through the garbage filled town, Spike and Alex finally arrived at the Carrousel Boutique, the home of Rarity.

"We're here!" Spike said, almost jumping off of Alex's back in excitement. "Do you think she'll be happy to see me?" He asked, smiling.

"I'm sure she will be." Alex replied thinking back to the last time he had seen this mare, at the party a week ago. She was the gorgeous white pony with the purple mane, and the very lady-like attitude. It was her that made him realize that he was attracted to the ponies in this world. Something he still couldn't help but be a tiny bit weirded out a by.

"Would you just LOOK at this mess!" An annoyed voice came from the back end of the house.

Following the voice, Alex and Spike walked around the house, to see a very frustrated Rarity cleaning up some of the garbage strewn across her back yard.

"Hey Rarity!" Spike called, jumping off of Alex's back.

Upon hearing Spike, Rarity quickly changed her demeanor, not wanting to come off as unpleasant in front of her guests. Turning around, she faced Alex and Spike, and smiled charmingly. "My apologies for that very unladylike outburst, I wasn't expecting anypony," She said to the two. "Are the two of you looking for something? Or did you just drop in for a visit?" She said winking at Spike.

Spike blushed, "We came to see you!" He said smiling at her, forgetting his original goal.

"That's sweet of you to say Spike, but something tells me you two are here because of Twilights little visit." Rarity said, starting to look confused. "Could you two tell me why she was so intent on figuring out why I'd like to go to the Gala?"

Alex shook his head, "It's… just a thing." He said, not wanting to get Twilight in trouble with her friends. "I don't mean to hold anything back from you, she'll just… tell you when she's ready" He said slowly.

"Well, far be it from me to pry… I do hope she's forthcoming with it soon though. Patience isn't my most becoming feature." Rarity said smiling.

"How long ago was she here?" Alex asked.

"Well… Twilight left about fifteen minutes before all this dreadful trash littered itself all over my lawn… So, that makes it about a half hour." Rarity said lifting a cloth off the ground with her magic, and wiping some garbage off the side of her house.

"Do you know where she was headed next by any chance?" Alex asked, watching Spike run over and start assisting her.

"I believe she said she was headed to Fluttershys cottage," Rarity told him, mouthing a quick 'thank you' to Spike for assisting her. "It's just outside of the town, on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest." She said, pointing a hoof toward the path leading into the middle of town. "Just follow that to the end, and you'll be there in no time, darling."

"Thanks!" Alex said to her, "Sorry about all the garbage though…"

"It's not as if it's your fault all this trash got spilt. So don't worry about a thing." Rarity assured him.

"Actually, Rarity…" Spike began.

"Whoa! Would you look at the time?" Alex said looking at an invisible wrist watch on his ankle. "Come on Spike, Time to go see Fluttershy!" He said laughing nervously then sticking his head under Spike and lifting him on to his back, not letting Spike finish his sentence.

"What? no! I want to stay here with Rarity!" Spike said desperately, reaching his arm out to Rarity.

"Sorry Spike," Alex said as he started heading away from Rarity. "We've gotta make sure that we catch up with Twilight. And, without you, I won't be able to find my way around! You don't want me getting lost, do you?"

Rarity giggled at the exchange between the two, "Off you go, Spike! You can visit after you find Twilight." She said smiling at him.

"Oh… Okay…" Spike said a little dejectedly. But he quickly perked up at the thought of being able to come back. "Well then… We'd better hurry up! Allons-y, Alex!" He said sitting up straight on Alex's back, and pointing his claw forward.

"Thanks for the help Rarity!" Alex said running toward the path she had given them.

"You're most welcome!" She said, only increasing her volume enough to be heard. "I hope I see you two again soon!" She said as they headed back into town, "I know I'll be seeing at least one of you soon." She said to herself, smiling.

After leaving Fluttershy's cottage, Twilight moved on to Pinkie Pie. Because of her particular path, she had yet to be aware of the garbage covering the town.

Walking down the road, Twilight couldn't help but be nervous. A couple of hours ago, this plan of hers seemed foolproof. But, after hearing her last 3 friends' reasons for going to the Gala, she knew that the decision was going to be a difficult one. But, she was hoping that Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash might give her an extraordinary reason to choose one of them over everypony else. But somehow, she just wasn't confidant in that happening.

Walking through the door to Sugarcube Corner, Twilight was quickly greeted by one of the owners of the shop, and Pinkies landlord, Mr. Cake.

"Hello Mr. Cake! Is Pinkie Pie home?" Twilight asked the thin yellow pony, with the orange mane, and freckled nose.

"I believe so…" Mr. Cake said looking at the stairs beside Twilight. "It's hard to tell with that filly sometimes. She can up and vanish without anypony seeing her leave."

"She's good at that." Twilight replied laughing, "Mind if I head up and take a look in her room?"

"Nope, Not at all." Mr. Cake said with a smile.

"Thanks!" Twilight said with a smile as she headed up.

Walking down the hall toward Pinkies door, Twilight noticed that it was open a crack. Nudging the door open with her head, she walked into the room and was a little surprised, and very confused at what Pinkie was doing.

Sitting on the other side of the room, Pinkie was rapidly running her tongue over her hoof, as if something was on it. Even after she noticed Twilight, she still continued.

"Pinkie… What are you doing?" Twilight asked, slightly worried at what the answer would be.

However, instead of answering her question, Pinkie simply stopped licking her hoof for a moment, then said something completely unrelated. "Did you know cotton candy is pink, Twilight?" She said with a bright smile.

"Um… Yes?" Twilight said, cocking an eyebrow. "So… You think you taste like cotton candy? Because… you're pink?" Twilight said trying to work it all out in her head.

"Of course not!" Pinkie said giggling. "Just because I'm Pink, doesn't mean I'm made of cotton candy silly!" She giggled, "How did you like the cake I made for Alex?"

"It was delicious!" Twilight said, happy to be moving on from the cotton candy subject. "Right… Well, I wanted to ask you a question!" She said to the pony that had now stopped tasting her hoof.

"Sure!" Pinkie said, "I love questions!"

"Well… What do you think of the Grand Galloping Gala?" Twilight asked, slowly working her way to asking her for her reason to go.

Pinkie gasped, inhaling enough air to cause her body to physically expand, and make her eyes cross. "It's the most amazing incredible tremendous super-fun wonderful terrifically humongous party in all of Equestria! I've ALWAYS wanted to go!"

"Well…" Twilight began, "What would you do if you had the chance to go?"

Pinkie then proceeded to talk Twilight's ear off, about every single thing she would do if she had the chance to go.

Alex and Spike were feeling defeated after finding out that they had missed Twilight, yet again.

"I'm sorry…" Fluttershy said quietly. "She left almost twenty minutes ago."

"That's alright Fluttershy," Alex said in a soft tone, being careful not to upset her. "Do you know where she's headed next by any chance?" He asked.

"She's going to see Pinkie…" Fluttershy said quietly again. "Do you know the way to Sugarcube Corner Spike?" she asked him, having an easier time talking to the baby dragon.

"Yup!" Spike said proudly. "I'll get us there in a jiff!"

Alex couldn't help but be a bit embarrassed. He didn't have the slightest clue how to get from one place to another in this town. The last week for him had pretty much been all sleeping and little else. He hadn't really been up and about besides the odd trip to the market, or to a restaurant with Twilight and Spike. The rest of his time had been spent reading up on portals and other dimensions.

But, at least after this search for Twilight was over, he would have a good grasp on the layout of the town. He wished that he knew how to fly, since it would have made this search so much easier.

"Um, Fluttershy… Can I ask you something?" Alex began slowly, getting an idea in his head. "By any chance… could you teach me how to fly?" He said looking at his wings, then back to her.

"Oh, my…" Fluttershy began, immediately getting quieter. "I don't think I'm the best pony for the job… I think you should ask Rainbow Dash… If that's okay…"

Alex sighed, he had expected this. Twilight had told him that learning to fly was something a Pegasi learned as they grew up, and that it was difficult to learn later in life. But, if he did want to learn, Rainbow Dash would be the best pony around to help him. Unfortunately, he and Rainbow Dash weren't exactly on good terms.

"Alright, thanks anyway," Alex said with a smile. "You ready to keep being my guide Spike?"

"Of course!" Spike said. "We've gotta hurry so I can get back and see Rarity!"

Alex and Fluttershy looked at each other and laughed at the young dragon's vigor.

"Well, we'd better get going then!" Alex said, still grinning.

"Thanks for helping us Fluttershy!" Spike said smiling.

Fluttershy simply smiled and nodded, as the two headed off back to town.

"I hope we didn't miss her this time…" Alex said to Spike as the two walked up to Sugarcube Corner.

"Oh, don't worry." Spike said reassuringly. "Even if we did miss her, there's only one other place she has to go."

Alex sighed. "That's what I'm worried about." Knowing Rainbow Dash was last in line.

Opening the door to Sugarcube Corner, The two walked in to the store, and were greeted with Pinkie Pie behind the counter, rapid licking her hoof.

Spike opened his mouth to ask her if they had missed Twilight, but closed it when he noticed what she was doing.

"Hey Pinkie…" Alex said, with a confused look on his face. "Whatcha doin' there?"

"Hey Guys!" Pinkie said excitedly, stopping her licking. "Did you know cotton candy is pink?"

Alex looked at her in confusion. Did she taste like cotton candy because she was pink? He still didn't know a lot about this world, but if that was the case, it would be awesome.

"Pinkie… Do you taste like cotton candy?" Alex asked, completely serious.

Spike and Pinkie both looked at him silently for a moment, then, they both burst into laughter.

"…Never mind." Alex said, feeling like an idiot, and still not understanding why she had been licking herself in the first place.

"Is Twilight still here?" Spike asked after finally composing himself.

"Nope!" Pinkie said wiping a tear from her eye. "She went to see Rainbow Dash!"

Alex and Spike both sighed.

"But she just left," Pinkie said, "You might be able to catch up with her if you hurry! She still has to go ALL the way to Stirrup Street!" She explained, "You can get there by…"

"Oh, we know how to get there…" Alex said recognizing the name of the road. He suddenly realized that if Twilight had taken the same path as him and Spike, she wouldn't have seen the mess he made yet. "We'd better get going." He said, wanting to catch up so he could explain before somepony else told her what he did.

"Okie dokie Lokie!" Pinkie said smiling, and waving goodbye.

Alex left the shop with Spike riding on his back. As soon as the two were out the door, Alex got himself into full gallop. Luckily, he knew the way to Stirrup Street from here, so he could get there quickly. But, in his haste, Alex failed to notice the three ponies coming from Fluttershy's cottage, who were intent on finding out why Twilight had been asking them about the Gala.

Twilight walked through the town with her head hung low. Her plan was a bust… Everypony had given her a pretty good reason to attend the Gala, and she expected no less from Rainbow Dash. How could she tell Rarity that Applejack making money was more important than her finding her true love? Or tell Pinkie that Fluttershy deserved to see the gardens more than she deserved to party? Even if she gave up her own ticket, that would still leave three unhappy ponies. "Oh well… Still one pony to go." She said as she started walking down a hill. Inhaling deeply, Twilight was quickly snapped out of her train of thought.

Something stunk.

Looking up, Twilight was shocked to see a very dirty Ponyville below her, at the bottom of the hill. More ponies than she could count were out cleaning the mess up. Looking up, she saw Rainbow Dash flying around the outside of her house, cleaning some filth off her house.

"Hey Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted to the Pegasus pony, who was now turned and facing her. "What happened here?"

"What happened here?" Rainbow Dash said in a sarcastic tone, approaching Twilight. "You don't know who did this?"

"No," Twilight said, confused. "Who was it?"

"It was…" Dash began.

"It was me." A voice came from behind Twilight.

Twilight turned around, and saw Alex with Spike on his back.

"I did all this..." Alex said looking at the ground avoiding eye contact. "I didn't mean to! It just… Kinda happened…"

Twilight looked at him, unsure of what to say. "How… How did you do this?"

"He was being a hero!" Spike cut in, standing up on Alex's back.

"Spike, I don't think that's the right word…" Alex said, before getting cut off by Spike.

"An out of control garbage wagon started rolling down this hill, threatening everypony at the bottom!" Spike began, trying to make the story as exciting as possible. "When Big Macintosh saw this, he threw himself in front of the wagon to stop it before it hurt anypony!" He said, continuing to embellish the story.

"Okay…" Twilight cut in, "How did it end up covering half the town in garbage then?"

"Well… When Alex saw the wagon headed for Big Mac, he used his magic, and stopped it before it hit him!"

This confused Twilight further, "What do you mean he used magic? He couldn't possibly…"

Spike continued, cutting Twilight off, "But, when Alex tried to bring the wagon back to the top of the hill, he lost control! And the wagon got sent flying over the town, and it spilt everything on the way!" He said, excitedly, as he replayed the whole event in his head.

"Okay Spike," Twilight said to him, "just slow down for a minute." She needed a second to understand this. Doing something like this would take a tremendous amount of power, how could Alex have done this?

"Is this true?" Twilight asked him.

"Yeah…" Alex said, worried that this might upset her. "I stopped the wagon from hitting Big Macintosh, but, I couldn't control the magic. The wagon ended up flying straight up the hill toward us, so, in a panic, I sent the wagon flying… Covering the entire town in trash… the wagon ended up somewhere in the Everfree Forest."

Twilight stood there, astonished. She couldn't believe that he had been able to do this. In a single day, he went from never using magic, to being able to lift things, to being able to launch them miles away. Alex was going to be able to get himself home in mere months. And, as much as she should have scolded him for using magic that could have gotten somepony hurt, she just couldn't do it. After all, he HAD saved Big Macintosh.

"Well?" Rainbow Dash said impatiently, "Aren't you gonna yell at him?"

"No Dash…" Twilight answered her softly, "If he saved somepony, I think we can skip the yelling."

Rainbow Dash groaned, "Fine, whatever." She said, secretly agreeing with her. "You're off the hook this time! Don't think this means I forgive you though!" She said to Alex, then turning back to Twilight and smiling. "So what did you come to see me for?" Dash asked her.

"Oh!" Twilight said "I wanted to ask you what you would do if…"

"Twilight," Alex said before she was able to finish. "This idea of yours… It isn't a good one."

Twilight turned to him and sighed, he was right, after all. "I know…" She began slowly, "But… I don't know what else to do! I can only pick one pony! And then, after that, everypony will think that I like that pony more than them! And I don't want to do that, because everypony is important to me! I don't know what to do! She said starting to sound frantic, as her eyes starting to tear up, and she lowered her head to the ground.

"Listen, Twilight," Alex said comfortingly "If you can't take everypony, then maybe you shouldn't take ANYpony." He said, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

He was right. That was her way out. Looking up to him, she smiled, and wiped a tear from her eye. "You're right…" She said starting to smile. "Spike, please take a note." She said, her voice cracking slightly.

Pulling a piece of paper and quill out of seemingly nowhere, Spike waited for her to tell him what to write.

"Dear Princess Celestia," Twilight started, "I've learned that having to choose between your friends can leave you, and your friends feeling pretty awful. A pony should never be in a position where she can leave her friends feeling unimportant. So, before I have to make a choice I have no wish to make, I'd like to return the two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala."

"You had two tickets to the Gala?" Dash said shocked, "And you're just gonna send them back?"

"I'm sorry Rainbow, but I don't want to have to choose between anypony. And if I can't take everypony, then I don't want to go either." Twilight explained.

Dash sighed, she was right. It wouldn't be fair. "Okay, but… are you sure you don't just want to give me one, and send the other back?" Dash asked hopefully. But, Twilight simply shook her head. "Alright… Just askin'…"

Taking the letter from Spike with her magic, Twilight wrote something extra on the bottom of the note, then rolled the scroll up, and placed the two tickets inside.

"Okay Spike," She said, happy to be rid of the burden, "Send it."

Taking the scroll from Twilight, Spike inhaled, and then blew green fire at the letter, turning it into a wisp of magic, that floated off toward Canterlot.

"Hey Twilight!" Pinkie called from the top of the hill, hopping down toward them. Behind her, were Applejack , Rarity, and Fluttershy.

"What are you guys doing here?" Alex asked them.

"We're here to ask Twilight about all this Gala Business." Rarity said.

"Yeah!" Pinkie chirped in.

"If you don't mind…" Fluttershy added quietly.

"It's not like you to be beatin' around the bush with us, Twi!" Applejack added.

"Oh… Well… You see…" Twilight started, knowing they wouldn't like her explanation.

But, Before Twilight could start explaining herself, Spike cut her off, making a loud 'urk' noise, which was followed by him burping out a scroll that landed on the ground in front of him.

Lifting the scroll of the ground, Twilight opened it and read what Princess Celestia had to say. She immediately lit up.

"Well Twilight?" Rarity asked again.

"I was asking because I had five extra tickets to the Gala." Twilight said beaming.

Alex and Spike both took a step back, as the group of girls started screaming, cheering, hugging, thanking, and even some squealing. Something neither of them particularly wanted to get stuck in the middle of.

"Yuck." Spike said loudly, enough for all the ponies to hear him. But, they simply ignored him.

After the long slew of thank you's, ohmygosh's, and Pinkie's excited singing, the group finally calmed down.

"Come on everypony!" Pinkie said throwing her arms in the air. "This calls for a party!"

The six girls all cheered and started following Pinkie back to Sugarcube corner, leaving Alex and Spike alone on the hill.

"You know…" Alex started slowly, "That Gala actually sounded like it would have been fun to go to…"

"Yeah…" Spike agreed. "I kinda wish that we… urk" He burped again, and another scroll landed on the ground. Picking it up, he read the text out loud. "And one for Spike and Alex" He said as he pulled two tickets out of the letter and looked at Alex. The two then proceeded to jump around and cheer, just as the girls had. But, they were cut off from their celebrating when they heard laughing coming from the top of the hill from the six girls.

"Oh…" Alex said blushing with embarrassment. "I mean… yuck!"

"Yeah!" Spike said, quickly acting grossed out. "But I guess we have to go, since we got invited!"

"Yup," Alex agreed. "Nothing we can do!"

The girls laughed at the lame attempt to cover up their excitement, then started telling them to hurry up, so they could go party. The boys quickly headed up to join them, at which point, they all headed off to Pinkies house to celebrate.

Applebuck Season - Part 1

Chapter 4
Applebuck Season – Part 1

Applejack stood on a hill, overlooking Sweet Apple Acres. Next to her, was her brother, Big Macintosh. The two had been getting ready for their biggest harvest for weeks, and the time was finally here.

Applebuck season

“Boy howdy!” Applejack said, looking over the massive orchard in front of her, “We’ve got our work cut out for us! That there’s the biggest bumper crop a apples I ever laid eyes on” Applejack said, eagerly awaiting the challenge.

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh began, “It’s a good thing I wasn’t hurt by that cart.” He said, thinking back to the week before, and the garbage wagon incident. “I can’t even begin to think how crazy things would have been if I had been hurt, and wasn’t able to help with the harvest.”

Applejack frowned, not happy with her brother’s lack of faith in her. “Well, I guess we’ll never know,” She said, confidant that it wouldn’t have been a problem, “But I’m sure it would have been fine.”

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh said, rolling his eyes at his sister’s arrogance.

“Come on, big brother,” Applejack said approaching the orchard, moving past their little disagreement. “Let’s get started.” She said with a smile.

Alex, Twilight, and Spike, walked through the marketplace in town, finishing one of her usual long to-do lists. The group had been at it for hours, and as a result, Alex and Spike were exhausted, while Twilight kept moving, showing no sign of slowing down.

“Alright…” Twilight said, muttering to herself. “Check. Check. Check,” She continued, looking down the list. “I guess that’s everything!” She said smiling.

“Great!” Alex said, looking in has saddlebag at the various items that had been purchased. “Does that mean we’re headed back now?” He asked, sounding like he was going to fall asleep at any moment.

Twilight smiled. “Sure, if you want to skip the trip to Sugarcube Corner, we can head back now.” She said, waiting for his usual response.

“Oh!” Alex said, suddenly feeling awake and craving a cupcake. “Um, we don’t need to skip that trip!” He said, trying to sound as casual about it as possible. “I’m in no hurry to get back! I just wanted to… Read a book!”

Spike and Twilight giggled his lame cover-up. Alex was absolutely in love with the sweets in this world, and the two loved to tease him about it. He didn’t mind though, as the teasing usually ended with a trip to Sugarcube Corner.

“Alright, let’s head over…” Twilight began, being cut off by a slight vibration in the ground.

Alex looked down at the ground, then over to a café table not far away, where he could see a glass of water vibrating. He couldn’t help but laugh at the cliché moment.

“Stampede!” Everypony heard Rainbow Dash call from the sky.

The vibration started to grow stronger and stronger, until a large group of cows were visible on the horizon, headed straight for the town. As they grew closer, the shaking of the entire town grew stronger.

“HhHeEeYyY!” Pinkie said, grabbing Alex’s attention with the strangeness in her voice. TtTtHhHhIiIiSsSs mMmMaAaAkKkeEesS MmMyY VvVoOoiIicCcCEeEe SsSoOouUunNndDd sSsiIilLlLlLyYy!” She said, as her voice reverberated from the quaking.

“Pinkie!” Alex called to her, “I don’t really think this is the time!” he shouted over the yelling of the other ponies.

“Everypony calm down!” The Mayor of Ponyville called to the panicking ponies.

“But Mayor,” Rarity said dramatically. “What ever shall we do?”

“Look there!” Rainbow Dash called, pointing a hoof toward the stampede.

Quickly moving toward the stampeding cows, everypony saw Applejack and Big Macintosh preparing to herd the cattle away from the town.

“You know what to do Big Mac!” Applejack shouted to her brother, who was on the opposite side of the stampede.

The two quickly went to work. Big Macintosh ran up to the front of the stampede and moved beside the cow in front. He quickly got himself into the position he needed to be in to help Applejack when she got herself into place.

Making sure that there were no stray cows, Applejack lined herself up, and then jumped onto the back of a cow. Pulling out her lasso, she threw the rope around the cow in the front of the pack.

Knowing this was his cue; Big Macintosh pushed himself into the side of the leading cow, as Applejack pulled in the same direction with her lasso. However, this didn’t go the way they had expected. The two ended up using a little too much force, which caused the cow at the front of the herd to lose her balance, and collapse.

The next fifteen seconds were udder chaos. Cow after cow tripped over one another, causing the ground to shake even more violently than it had before.

Unfortunately, in all of the craziness, Applejack didn’t have enough time to get herself clear of the collapsing herd, and ended up having her back left leg landed on. It was the single most painful thing she had ever experienced. It was even painful enough that she started losing consciousness. But, it was still worth it. Ponyville was safe, and that was all that mattered.

A couple hours later…

“Applejack…” A voice called to her from a distance. “Applejack…” It called again, getting closer to her. “Applejack!”

Opening her eyes, Applejack found herself in the hospital, with a doctor. She couldn’t remember for the life of her why she was here. “What happened?” She asked, still a little groggy.

“There was an accident with a stampede a few hours ago,” He explained, expecting her to have a foggy memory at first. “One of the cows landed on your leg during their collapse. You had several fractures because of it.”

Now she remembered.

“What happened?” Applejack asked quickly, “Is everypony okay?”

“You were the only pony who got hurt in the stampede.” He explained to her, much to her relief.

Sitting up, she looked at her leg; it wasn’t too bad. She assumed they had already used magic to fix most of the damage. It was however, still bruised, and giving off a dull ache. She knew what this meant, unfortunately.

“Now, I want you to stay off that leg for a while,” He said to her sternly. “Your friends told me that you’re in the middle of a very busy harvest. So, I checked with your brother, and he told me he’d be able to handle it on his own.”

“Why of all the…!” Applejack stopped herself, before she started shouting. She couldn’t believe that he didn’t think she’d be able to do it on her own, but he thought that HE could. “So…” She said, calming herself down, “How long am I stuck here?”

“You can go right now.” He said to her, “But you have to promise me that youll be easy on that leg. It wont be able to take much stress.”

Applejack smiled; at least she wouldn’t be stuck here. She knew she’d go crazy. Slowly getting herself out of the bed, she winced as her back leg touched the floor. Hopefully that would go away soon.

“Now Applejack,” the doctor said to her, “Be careful.”

“Yessir.” She said to him as she walked toward the door of the room. “Thanks again.”

He simply nodded as she left the room.

As Applejack made her way out of the hospital, she couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. She knew nopony would tell her she did a bad job or anything, but she still didn’t like that she wasn’t able to do a better job.

“I hope today doesn’t get any worse.” Applejack said out loud, to herself.

“Just as long as we don’t end up on the moon, right?” A brown pony with a black mane said to her in what she thought was a Trottingham accent.

“What about the moon?” Applejack asked completely confused, and a little startled at the pony that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

“Oh… You probably wouldn’t know…” He said slowly, “It was… just a thing… On the moon… With-a-Plasmavore” He finished quickly. “Applejack was it? Nice to meet you, I’m the Doctor.” He said extending a hoof.

“Doctor… Who?” Applejack asked extending hers to meet his, while waiting for his name. However, after the shake, he simply winked at her, and turned the corner and headed off in another direction.

Applejack frowned at the odd encounter, but moved on. She may have been out cold for the past few hours, but she felt completely exhausted.

Opening the front door, Applejack was surprised to see a crowd of ponies gathered in front of the hospital, cheering for her as she walked out. She couldn’t help but blush at the attention she was receiving, it was at this point that she stopped being embarrassed, and allowed herself to feel a little proud for what she had done.

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Alex were all at the front of the crowd, trying their best to show her their support.

As Applejack walked toward the crowd, everypony started to cheer louder. She felt like she was going to start tearing up. But, she quickly stopped herself. Not wanting to look like her leg was causing the tears.

After a couple minutes of everypony thanking her, and telling her to get well, the crowd started to disperse, leaving only the main group there with Applejack.

Twilight took a couple steps forward to meet Applejack halfway. “How’re you feeling AJ?” She asked the slightly limping pony.

“I’m fine,” Applejack replied with a smile. “Just a bit sore”

“You did a great job!” Spike said.

“It was the best rodeo show I’ve ever seen!” Pinkie told her.

“Things could have ended so badly…” Fluttershy added.

“You were marvelous darling!” Rarity said.

“I couldn’t have done it better myself!” Rainbow Dash admitted.

“That was… just… Awesome.” Alex finished simply.

After everypony had their chance to congratulate her, Twilight finally spoke up. “Well, you need to make sure you rest.” She said, “Big Mac said he could handle the Applebucking, so you could heal properly.”

Applejack frowned, she wasn’t sure if he WOULD be able to do it. But, worst case scenario, he wouldn’t finish in time, and she would have to go out there herself and get it finished. Which wouldn’t be the end of the world. So, she decided to let Big Mac try his best. After all…

What was the worst thing that could happen?

Yes. I said Udder Chaos.

Applebuck Season - Part 2

Chapter 5
Applebuck Season – Part 2

Alex and Spike walked down the street to Sweet Apples Acres. The two had been tasked with checking up on Big Macintosh for Applejack.

Since Applejack had hurt her leg a few days ago, she had been staying with Twilight and Alex in the Library. Twilight had promised to help nurse Applejack back to health with some spells she knew.

At first, Applejack had been wary of staying away from the orchard. But, since she had promised to help her friends with some jobs around town, and walking back and forth between the farm and the town would have been extremely difficult, she decided to stay in the library.

However, being away from the farm kept her from knowing how the applebucking was going; so, she sent Alex and Spike out to check up on Big Mac. He had been so busy the harvest, he hadn’t had the time to go see her in town either.

“Do you see him anywhere?” Alex asked Spike, who was standing up on his back, trying to see though the orchard.

“Nope,” Spike said, scratching his head. “All I see are a bunch of bucked trees!”

Alex had been looking himself, but had no luck either. They knew where Big Macintosh had been, by simply following the trees that were missing apples. Unfortunately, most trees had already been bucked, which left them with lots of paths, and lots of ground to cover.

After nearly a half hour of searching, the two finally spotted a red pony on the ground, a short distance away. Quickly heading over to check on him, the two were surprised to see Big Mac collapsed on the ground, fast asleep.

Alex and Spike looked at each other, then back at the sleeping Big Mac. “Uhh, Big Macintosh?” Alex said to the sleeping pony. “We just came to check up on you! To make sure everything was… Going… Well…” He finished slowly.

“I don’t think he’s gonna answer you…” Spike said to him. “It looks to me like he’s bucked himself out cold.”

“Yeah…” Alex said thinking about all the work Big Macintosh must have done. They had passed hundreds of trees that had all been bucked. And he was the only one who had been doing it. “If he’s done all this, then I really can’t blame him for being this tired.”

“Without Applejack, I guess it’s been too much work for him.” Spike agreed.

Looking around the orchard, Alex was surprised to see just how little was left to do. The small corner that Big Mac was passed out in was the last chunk of the orchard. There wasn’t much work left to be done, which gave Alex an idea. “Hey Spike, what do you say if you and me finish up this work for him?” He asked the dragon.

Spike liked the idea, “After all those two did for the town, it’s the least we could do!” He said smiling. “We can finish this up as a ‘thank you’ for saving the town!”

“Yeah!” Alex said, “After all, how hard could it possibly be?”

He’d live to regret those words.

Applejack walked down the street to where she was asked to meet Rainbow Dash. Apparently she was needed to help her pull off a new trick. Her leg was still bugging her a bit, so she hoped that Rainbow didn’t have anything too ‘extreme’ lined up for her.

“Hey Applejack!” Rainbow Dash called to her with the usual squeaking in her voice.

“Howdy,” Applejack said smiling, as she approached the cyan pony. “What can I do ya’ for?”

Rainbow smiled, “You see this contraption behind me?” She said gesturing to the large seesaw looking contraption behind her.

Applejack nodded.

“Well…” She began, “I'm gonna stand on one end, then you're gonna jump down from that platform, launching me into the air faster than I can take off on my own. Once I'm in the air, I'm gonna do some amazing flips and spins that are sure to impress the Wonderbolts!” She said beaming at the thought.

“Isn't that a might' dangerous?” Applejack asked her.

“Not for a pony who can fly!” Rainbow Dash said, flaring her wings.

“Well… If you say so!” Applejack said trusting she knew what she was doing.

Applejack climbed to the top of the makeshift catapult, and lined herself up with the board that was just below her.

Rainbow Dash Waited in anticipation on the end of the plank that was touching the ground. However, remembering Applejacks injury, she quickly called out, “Wait! Is your leg still sore? Won’t you hurt yourself?” She asked.

“Naw,” Applejack replied. “I’ll just make sure to land on my three good ones!” She said with a wink.

Accepting that this was a good enough reason, Rainbow readied herself for the launch. “Ready?” She asked, earning a nod from Applejack. Seeing this, she started her count. “One… Two… Three!” She shouted.

Hearing her cue, Applejack jumped off from her elevated position, on to the raised end of the seesaw. Her weight quickly lifted Rainbow Dash’s side off the ground, launching her into the air successfully.

Once Rainbow Dash was in the air, she started to perform the tricks she had planned. She did flips, loops, and even a barrel roll.

Applejack couldn’t help but be amazed at the Pegasus’s skill. She didn’t know a single pony who even had a fraction of her skill, save the Wonderbolts.

When Rainbow finally finished her routine, she started gunning straight down toward the ground as fast as she possibly could. Then, a split second before hitting the surface, she opened her wings, and gave a powerful flap, and stopped herself an inch from the ground.

To Rainbow Dash’s surprise, a small crowd had gathered to watch Rainbow do her stunts. And, upon her spectacular landing, everypony erupted in cheering.

Applejack was happy to see Rainbow getting cheered on by the ponies; however, one thing caught her eye. The pony from the hospital was standing in the crowd. He had a confused look on his face, like something was wrong with what Rainbow had been doing. But, after the moment of confusion, he headed off, leaving her to wonder what he had been so concerned about.

Rainbow couldn’t help but blush; she hadn’t expected this kind of reception. But, she was still happy to have the recognition. “Thanks everypony!” She said with a smile, having missed the confused pony.

Forgetting about the Doctor, Applejack smiled, she could tell that this was going to be a good day.

Alex sighed, after much focus and struggle, he had managed to lift Big Macintosh off the ground with his magic, and move him away from the last remaining trees in the orchard. Alex didn’t want his and Spike’s surprise to be spoiled by him waking up.

“Alright!” Spike said excitedly, as he dragged a couple baskets over to the tree that Alex was standing next too. “You ready to start applebucking?”

“Sure am!” Alex said with a smile, as he poised himself next to the tree, ready to fill the baskets that Spike was placing.

Spike carefully placed the baskets below the tree, then stood up and took a step back, so he could watch Alex.

Remembering how he had seen Applejack do this a few days before, he faced himself away from the tree, lifted his hind legs off the ground, then, he bucked his legs against the trunk of the apple tree. Upon doing this, Alex turned around to see how many apples he had knocked off the tree. However, he was disappointed to see that nothing had fallen. Turning to Spike, he gave the dragon a confused look, “Did I do something wrong?”

Spike simply shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think so… Everything looked good to me… Maybe you need to buck harder?”

Alex was surprised. He had hit the tree pretty hard. Maybe another kick would do it.

Alex lined himself up, and gave another powerful buck. But, to his dismay, nothing.

Spike walked over to the tree kicked the bottom of the trunk in frustration. Applejack made it look so easy! “I just… I don’t get it!” He said angrily.

“How about this?” Alex said raising his front legs up, and shaking the trunk, trying to get the apples out that way. But still, absolutely nothing. This was a lot harder than it looked.

Applejack walked through the front door of Sugarcube corner with a bright smile on her face. Pinkie Pie had asked her to help run the shop, while Mr. and Mrs. Cake were out. Something that Applejack was more than happy to do.

“Now Pinkie Pie, are you sure you’re up for baking the muffins and running the store this afternoon?” Mrs. Cake asked her, with a touch of worry in her voice.

“Yes siree bob, Mrs. Cake!” Pinkie replied with a smile “Plus, I have one of Ponyville’s prized ponies here to help me out!” She continued, “Why, you’re the best baker ever, right Applejack?” She said, as Applejack entered the room.

Applejack blushed lightly at the complement, “I can bake anything from fritters to pies in the blink of an eye!” She said confidently, easing the worry of the owners.

“Alright,” Mrs. Cake said, happy to have Applejack there to help. “See you girls later!” She called as her and her husband walked out the front door of the bakery.

“Alrighty!” Pinkie said excitedly, pulling out a few mixing bowls, “I’ll get the sugar and the eggs, can you get some chocolate chips?”

Applejack nodded, “Sure thing!”

The two proceeded to prepare enough muffins for the entire town. Applejack followed every one of Pinkies instructions, and even threw in a few ‘secret’ Apple family ingredients to make them even more irresistible. Then finally, after hours of work, the two got the muffins baked, and moved outside of the shop so they could give free samples to the ponies in town, who had started to gather around the sweet shop.

“Free muffin spectacular!” Pinkie called to the ponies gathered in front of the bakery.

“Eeyup,” Applejack agreed, liking the name she had given it. “Free muffin spectacular!”

Applejack and was happy to see everypony enjoying the muffins she had made, but then something caught her eye. The Doctor was here again. Seeing that he didn’t have a muffin, she decided to see if he wanted one.

“Hey, Doctor!” Applejack said, to the brown pony. “How’d you like one?”

“Oh!” He said, turning toward Applejack. “I’m not a big fan of worms actually.”

Applejack wasn’t sure how to respond to this. Luckily for her, he walked off in his own direction. “What a strange pony…” She muttered.

Besides the odd encounter, the rest of the sampling went well. Everypony loved the food, and complemented Applejack and Pinkie endlessly. And by the time they had all left the shop, the two girls were left feeling pretty good.

“That was great!” Pinkie said to Applejack, as the two started to clean up.

“Darn tootin’!” Applejack agreed. “We should do this again soon!”

“We should do this again soon!” Pinkie agreed happily. “How about tomorrow?”

Applejack laughed at her enthusiasm. “Maybe not THAT soon, Sugarcube.”

“Anything?” Alex asked Spike, who was watching him buck the tree as hard and as fast as he could.

Spike was absolutely bewildered at the lack of movement in the top of the tree. Seeing that Alex had stopped his assault on the tree for the moment, he moved toward the trunk and looked up at the apples above him.

“Hey!” Spike said excitedly, “You got something off of it!”

“Really?” Alex asked excitedly as he moved toward Spike. However, he quickly saw what it was that had fallen out. A single leaf was drifting down from the top. “Great…” He said sighing and turning away, feeling completely beaten.

Spike watched the leaf float down form the top of the tree, until it landed on his nose. Unfortunately, he hadn’t considered the possible hazards associated with doing this. “Aaaa choo!”

Spike sneezed.

“Gazuntite” Alex said immediately, still turned away from Spike.

“Uh… A… A… Alex…” Spike stammered, his eyes glued to the tree in front of him.

“Hm?” Alex said, still facing away.

“I… Uhh… Can… Please… Look!” Spike said, still unable to for coherent sentences.

Sighing, Alex turned around to see what had spooked Spike so much. Upon seeing the tree, he immediately understood. There was a fire. And it was spreading extremely fast.

“What happened?!” Alex asked frantically.

“I… I sneezed!” Spike said desperately, “I didn’t think about the fire!”

“Do you always sneeze fire?” Alex asked, increasing his volume as he went.

“Yes!” Spike shouted, increasing his volume as well.

“How often do you sneeze?” Alex shouted, getting even louder.

“Really often!” Spike answered, matching Alex’s loud volume.

“THEN WHY DIDN’T YOU THINK ABOUT IT?” Alex said, now passing the screaming level.

“I DON’T KNOW!” Spike screamed back.

Alex opened his mouth, but closed it before saying anything. He wasn’t really angry, just panicked. The orchard was on fire, or, was soon to be on fire. So, he needed to put the fire out before it could spread to another tree.

“What should we do?!” Spike said lowering his voice.

“Umm… I’m thinking!” Alex said, looking up at the tree that was now completely engulfed in flames on the top.

“Just… use magic or something!” Spike said desperately.

Alex had considered this, but wasn’t sure it was possible. He had been practicing with Twilight quite a bit, and he could already levitate things with little problem, and he had even learned to make a basic force field. But how could he use either of those to fix this? The tree was rooted, so levitation wasn’t an option, and the only force field he had been taught to use was the most basic kind. The most it could do was keep anything from getting into, or out of it.

Then, he suddenly had an idea. “I’m gonna try something Spike!”

Hearing this, Spike took a cautious step back, and watched as Alex pointed his horn toward the tree.

“Please work, please work, please work…” Alex repeated to himself as he focused his magic.

Finally, Alex managed to create the bubble around the tree. Then, instantly, the fire was gone, leaving only the black, charred, top chunk of the tree. So, Alex to let the force field disappear allowing all of the burned remains of the Apples and leaves fall to the ground.

“How did you do that?!” Spike asked, with a mixture of relief and excitement on his face.

“That force field cut off the oxygen,” Alex said, his voice still shaking from the excitement. “The fire couldn’t breathe, so it died.”

“Wow!” Spike said, “Good thinking!”

“Thanks.” Alex said simply, then sitting down on the ground. “I think I’ve had enough Applebucking for today…”

“You said it!” Spike said, moving next to Alex, and sitting beside him.

“We should probably clean up first though…” Alex replied, looking around at the remains of the tree that littered the ground in front of them. “Yeah… Yeah we should…”

“Thank you so much…” Fluttershy said to Applejack, who had just finished corralling her bunnies in a small pen that had been made for them.

Applejack smiled, “It was no problem! I’ll take herdin’ bunnies over cows any day!”

Fluttershy giggled lightly at the comment. “So, how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine.” Applejack told her, lifting the wounded leg and giving it a shake.

“Thank goodness…” Fluttershy said quietly. “How has it been staying with Twilight and Alex?” She asked.

“Good!” Applejack replied with a smile. “I couldn’t have asked for a better library to stay in.”

“How’s Big Macintosh been with the harvest?” Fluttershy asked.

“I sent Alex and Spike to check up on him for me.” Applejack answered. “In fact, they aren’t even back yet! I ought to go check up on him myself!” She said, getting excited at the thought.

“Oh… well, if you don’t mind, could I come with you?” Fluttershy asked timidly, “I’m going to give these bunnies some time to calm down after being herded.”

“Sure!” Applejack said, “Let’s head over there right now.”

Fluttershy simply nodded, then walked over to the baby bunnies in the pen, who were all huddled together, and shaking. “Don’t worry little ones.” She said in a comforting voice. “I’ll be back soon. So try to relax for me, okay?”

Applejack was amazed to see the bunnies visibly calm down at Fluttershy’s reassurance. She truly did have an amazing way with animals.

“Alright,” Fluttershy said turning around to face Applejack, “I’m ready to go.”

“Well alright then!” Applejack replied with a smile. “Let’s go!”

“How does that look?” Spike asked Alex, who was standing a distance away from the tree they had almost burned down. They had cleaned up most of the burned stuff off the ground, and now Spike had been trying his best to make the tree look like nothing had happened to it, by placing leaves and apples from other trees on the burned carcass.

“It looks… Better?” Alex said, not really believing himself. As far as he could tell, the tree looked like someone had lit it on fire, then covered it in a handful of leaves, and a couple of apples. “Okay, scratch that.” He said after a moment of silence, “It looks terrible.”

Spike sighed. He knew fixing the tree was a futile effort. And he knew that he was going to get in trouble for it. Twilight was always telling him to be careful when he sneezed, and now this had happened. Everypony was going to be so mad at him… He couldn’t help but let a few tears well in his eyes at the thought.

Seeing Spikes distress, Alex walked over to the baby dragon and nudged his back lightly of his head.

“You okay Spike?” Alex asked, figuring Spike was still overwhelmed by the fire, and was only just feeling the effects of it.

“N… No…” Spike stammered through the tears that had now started flowing. “E... Everypony’s gonna be so mad at me!”

It took Alex a moment to understand what he was talking about, but he eventually understood what he meant. He hadn’t even considered it, but, it made sense that Spike would be blamed for the fire. So, he got where his tears were coming from.

“A… And everypony will yell at me!” Spike said through the tears. “And then they’ll all ignore me!”

Alex could clearly see that Spike was actually worried that this might happen, so, he decided to try and ease the dragons worries.

“Spike, listen.” Alex began. “Nopony is going to ignore you. And I don’t think that they’ll really yell at you over a complete accident.”

“But you yelled at me!” Spike said to Alex.

That was true. He had yelled when the fire started. But it wasn’t really out of anger.

“Spike,” Alex said, “I WAS yelling, but it wasn’t at you,” He explained, “I was just taken off guard by the fire. That’s all.”

“But… What about everypony else?” Spike asked.

”Even if they get a little upset, I don’t think that they’ll yell at you that much. And they definitely won’t ignore you.” Alex said. “It was an accident. I’ll make sure they understand that.”

“Really?” Spike asked quietly.

“Really really.” Alex said to him with a soft smile.

“Thanks Alex.” Spike said after a moment’s pause. Then, wiping the tears from his face with his arm, he wrapping his arms around Alex’s chest, and hugged him.

“Don’t worry about it.” Alex said smiling and lowering his head to rest his chin on the back of Spikes shoulder.

Alex was happy he could lighten Spikes spirits. Even if the dragon got in trouble with Twilight or Applejack, He would be there to cheer him up, no matter what.

Breaking away from the hug, Spike quickly said, “But don’t tell anypony I was crying! I don’t want Rarity to think I’ve gone soft!”

Alex was happy to see Spike getting back to his normal self. But, before he had a chance to promise to stay quiet, he was cut off.

“What in tarnation?!” Applejacks voice called from behind them.

Alex and Spike both turned to see Applejack and Fluttershy standing behind them. Judgement day came sooner than they had thought.

“What’s goin’ on here?” Applejack asked, looking up at the charred remains of the apple tree.

Spike stepped forward to face Applejack, and decided to get it over with. “I… I… I…” He said, stammering once again.

Applejack waited for his explanation about the burned tree, expecting some extravagant story to be behind the fire starting. Maybe Spike kicked Alex, and made him shoot a laser beam out of his horn at the tree. Or maybe Spike got really angry at her, and breathed fire on the tree to get revenge.

“Me and Alex were going to get the last of the trees bucked as a ‘thank you’ for saving the town, but then… Then… Then… I sneezed!” Spike said finally, falling to the ground, apologizing as fast as he could.

As soon as Applejack heard this, she burst into laughter. “That it?” She managed to say between the snorts and the giggles. “Well shoot! I was worried you’d gone and set it on fire because I forgot your birthday or somethin’!”

“So… Wait…” Spike said slowly. “You’re not mad at me for setting one of your trees on fire?”

“Of course not, Sugarcube!” Applejack said to him. “We’ve got plenty to spare!” She said gesturing to the orchard behind her.

Spike was relieved beyond words. He knew that Twilight would want to have a few words with him when they got home. But, he was feeling a lot better about it now than he was a couple of minutes ago.

Finally, after having a chance to calm down, she managed to ask the question she had come here for. “How’s Big Mag been doing? I haven’t seen him.”

“Oh,” Spike said glancing toward the sleeping Big Mac. “He fell asleep!”

To everypony’s surprise, Applejack wasn’t angry. She was smug. “Did he now?” She said, almost laughing. This was too good. After everything he had said to her about her not being able to do it, he was the one that fell asleep on the job. She wasn’t going to let this on go anytime soon. “Where is he?” She asked.

Alex pointed a hoof in the direction of the sleeping pony, and watched as Applejack walked over to wake her brother.

Leaving over to Spike, Alex whispered in his ear, “I told you. Nothing to worry about.”

“Thanks Alex.” Spike said.

A few minutes passed, and finally Applejack returned, just in time for Fluttershy to disappear, off toward Big Macintosh herself.

“He’s up now!” Applejack said with a sly smile. “And he’s got more tree’s to buck. So you two can head on back to the Library. And don’t go sneezing on any trees on the way back” She said to Spike with a wink.

Alex was happy that Applejack wasn’t mad at Spike. Things could have been much worse. And he was confident that she knew that too. So, she was letting them off the hook. Neither Alex, nor Spike could be happier with that kind of result.

But now, all that Alex knew, what that he was tired, and wanted to go home and get some sleep. However, he quickly changed his mind and decided to ask one thing before he took Spike back to the Library. The answer to the greatest mystery he had encountered in all of Equestria.

“Applejack?” Alex said. “Why the hay is Applebucking so hard?”

Applejack thought about the question, but didn’t quite understand. “How many trees did you buck?” She asked him.

“None,” Alex said flatly. “I bucked that one with all my might, but didn’t get a single thing out of it… Besides a leaf.”

Applejack laughed. “That was the only tree you bucked? Well...” She started, “We call this tree the leg breaker… There’s only one in the whole orchard. She’s stiffer than anything I know. An’ the only way to get her apples, are to climb right up and pick 'em out.”

Alex frowned. “Are you saying that for almost two hours, I bucked the one tree in the ENTIRE orchard that can’t be bucked?”

“ ’Fraid so, Sugarcube.” Applejack said, trying not to laugh.

Alex sighed, then walked over to a tree next to the one he had been trying on. He raised his hind legs, then bucked the trunk. And, of course, the apples fell out.

“I think…” Alex began turning right around to face Applejack, “I think I want to go home, and get some sleep.”

“Sure thing.” Applejack said, trying not to burst out in laughter again.

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but one of the apples from the tree landed right on the top of his head, causing Spike and Applejack to start laughing, despite Applejacks efforts not to. Alex couldn’t help but start laughing with them. Today had been just crappy for him, but this was good. That was something he loved about this world. No matter how bad things seemed to get, it always ended with everypony happy.

He loved it here.

The Doctor

Interlude

The Doctor

Everything was wrong.

Something had changed.

The story had been rewritten.

The Doctor walked through the town square in Ponyville, reflecting on all that had happened in the past few weeks, It all started about a year and a half from now…

There had been a royal wedding in Canterlot. It had all been lovely, besides the attempted takeover of the kingdom by an army of changelings… But, they had been defeated by love. Kinda corny, but, it did the trick.

After the end of the wedding, and after enjoying some food at the reception, The Doctor decided to head back to the TARDIS. Derpy was still having a good time with her friends, so he decided to leave her be and get some shut-eye. She would find her way back to him in a few hours.

Walking into the TARDIS, the doors abrubtly closed behind him, and the entire ship started to shake in a way it never had before.

The Doctor was thrown around the cabin of the ship like a rag doll. Luckily, he seemed to hit all the soft spots, and managed to be more or less unhurt by the entire experience. Regaining his composure, he headed toward the doors to see what had caused all of this.

Taking a step outside of the TARDIS, he immediately saw a huge difference in the world. It was… Crazy.

The ground was in a checkerboard pattern, the sky was a dark red, and filled with brown clouds.

Just like when Equestria was almost taken over by… Discord.

The Doctor walked through the now deserted Canterlot, unable to stop himself from being a little frightened by the complete silence throughout the city.

What had happened? 5 minutes ago, everything had been fine. Had Discord somehow come back from his stone imprisonment and done all of this in the few minutes he had been in the TARDIS?

No, not even Discord had THAT kind of power. This had been done over time. It was almost as if he hadn’t been defeated at all... But how could that have changed? What had happened to the girls?

The Doctor’s train of thought was cut off as he entered the courtyard of the castle. In front of him stood the answer to his questions. Discord had taken his vengeance on the ponies who tried to stop him, by making them endure the same punishment as him. In front of him, were a large collection of statues. Each one sitting on a pedestal, and each one he recognized.

Only looking at a few of them, he was able to see Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Spike, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Big Macintosh… And Derpy.

The Doctor knew this wasn’t the time to get Emotional. He had to stay focused. As long as he had a time machine, he could change this. He HAD to change this. Turning around to head for the TARDIS, The Doctor was distracted by another pedestal, in the middle of the statues of the Ponies. An empty one. Walking forward, The Doctor read the plaque on the pedestal.

“Let this show the kindness and mercy of the all-powerful Discord,” The Doctor read slowly, “For he has spared the foreigner.”

Before the Doctor had a chance to figure out who this ‘foreigner’ was, he heard a voice boom from above him.

“Now who do we have here?” Said the voice from above, “Has somepony come to admire my collection of statues?”

Taking this as his queue to make a quick exit, The Doctor bolted away from the courtyard. He knew that was Discord talking. And he couldn’t afford to be caught.

“Come now! Do you really think you can run from a god?” Discord said arrogantly, flying high above the pony on the ground, “There’s nowhere you can go little pony.”

The Doctor smirked at that comment. He had somewhere he could go. A place where a god couldn’t possibly follow him.

Completely unaware the pony’s time traveling capability, Discord simply toyed with him instead. As far as he was concerned, this was just a game.

Making it back to the TARDIS, The Doctor ran inside and closed the door behind him, and quickly got to work on escaping.

“You’re going to hide in a box?” Discord said landing outside of the police box, “I was expecting more. Oh well.” He said as he shot a bolt of magic at the TARDIS.

Unfortunately for Discord, the magic bounced right off of the wood, and blasted his arm instead. “What is this?” He bellowed, suddenly very angry. But, before he had a chance to do anything else, the box started to fade, until it eventually disappeared.

The Doctor gave a sigh of relief as the TARDIS took him away from danger. He hadn’t gotten a chance to choose a destination. He told the TARDIS to lock on to the first noticeable changes in time, and to take him there, wherever, or whenever that was.

In the end, the TARDIS brought him to the day after Night Mare Moon had been defeated, in Ponyville. The town was still a mess after the party that had been thrown. That was where he started.

The first change he noticed in Ponyville was when a garbage cart covered the entire town in trash. That hadn’t happened before. But after asking around town, he couldn’t find the cause of it. So, he simply decided to wait for the next change.

The next red flag that went up were during the annual Applebuck season. Applejack being hurt in the stampede wasn’t something that had happened before. As he remembered, she stopped the stampede, and was honored by the town for it. But that had changed too. He just couldn’t figure out how.

He was careful not to ask too many questions. He didn’t want the force that had changed time to know he was looking for it. For all he knew it was an alien, or a monster or… something. Either way, he had to be quiet.

Another thing that he had noticed, was that he wasn’t here. Well, he WAS, but if he had gone back in time, shouldn’t there be a younger version of him here? There should have been. But there wasn’t. Something had made the past version of him disappear too, which only made things more confusing.

Even with the huge amount of questions that were being raised by all of this, he knew that he was closing in on the most important one. What really had caused all of this?

He would know soon. He could feel it in his gut.

Hillside

Hillside

Alex sat in a comfortable silence with Rainbow Dash. The two had just made up after weeks of unfriendliness, and both of them were happy to be rid of it.

Neither of them had made eye contact with the other, they were simply staring out to the almost set sun, and all of the colors it brought to the sky.

“It’s beautiful…” Alex said, breaking the silence between them. “I couldn’t imagine the sun looking like this back where I come from…”

Dash perked up at this. She wasn’t very good at making small talk, so hearing him mention his home world gave her an opportunity to start a conversation with him.

“What was it like?” She asked. “Your world I mean! Not the sun… in… your world…” she laughed nervously, not really sure why she was nervous in the first place.

Alex laughed softly then sighed. “My world is just so different from this one… Where can I start?”

Deciding to stay silent, Dash watched him intently, happy that he was opening up to her.

“First of all… Everything looks so different,” Alex started. “Everything here has so much color. So much vibrance… But, this world is somehow… Less defined.”

Not really sure what this meant, Dash spoke up “What does that mean?”

“It’s not an easy thing to explain…” Alex said trying to find the words. “You’ve seen a picture drawn by a filly, right?” He asked, knowing that cartoons didn’t exist in this world for him to compare this too. “You know how the picture looks like… well… a drawing?”

Vaguely understanding what he meant, Dash nodded.

“It’s like if you were pulled into a world that was entirely made up of drawings like that…” Alex said slowly, not sure if his explanation was making any sense to her. “I probably sound like an idiot, huh?”

“You don’t,” Dash said, starting to get what he was trying to say. “It just really makes me wonder what your world looks like, if this one looks like a drawing to you.”

“Well… That’s not something I think I could possibly explain.” Alex said with a chuckle.

Dash chuckled. “That’s alright. Why don’t you tell me something else about your world, Spot?”

Smiling at the use of her new nickname for him, he thought for a moment, trying to find something to talk about.

“Well,” Alex started again, happy to have someone listening to him about this stuff. “Everything is just so DIFFERENT.” He said, feeling like he had said ‘different’ one too many times.

Gathering his thoughts, Alex took a deep breath, and started listing off everything he could think of.

“There’s no magic in my world, or at least, I don’t think there is… Ponies are just unintelligent animals, people don’t break into song and dance for no reason, there is a LOT more violence in my world than yours, No one is just nice to each other for no reason… Except maybe in Canada…” Alex said, earning a strange look from Dash, he then continued, “Grass is NOT what they eat, people aren’t able to fly, or defy gravity, or make whatever they want happen…”

“That’s mostly just Pinkie Pie” Dash said, not realizing that just made it make LESS sense to him.

“And…” Alex finally said, “That’s why this world is WAY better than mine… Besides the ‘eating grass’ thing.”

Dash smiled. She was happy he liked it so much here. However, it brought a question to her mind. “Don’t you miss your family?”

Opening his mouth slightly, Alex thought back to the painful memories he had experienced right before he came to Equestria. “I’d rather not talk about that.” He said finally. Sounding a little angrier than he meant to, which he immediately regretted.

“Oh, Sorry…” Dash said, taken back a little. “Listen, maybe I should--”

“I didn’t mean to sound that way,” Alex said, cutting her off. “It’s just a sensitive subject for me… How about you tell me about yourself instead.”

Seeing the clearly apologetic look on Alex’s face, Dash immediately felt better. “ Okay… Well, as you know, I’m really into flying!”

Happy to be past the ‘family’ subject, Alex listened to Dash, just as she had for him.

“Ever since I was young, I was in all the classes, camps, clubs...” Dash said, hesitating slightly, “That’s how I met Gilda, by the way.”

Nodding, Alex allowed her to continue.

“Anyway, all that learning… All the practice, it’s all been for one thing!” Dash said, her voice starting to squeak as she explained her main drive. “The Wonderbolts!”

Alex had heard of these ponies. They performed stunts, supervised official Cloudsdale activities, and helped out with all kinds of disasters. It made sense that Dash would want to become a part of that team. He heard they were the best. And he had a feeling that she would fit in with a group like them amazingly.

“If I could join up with them… They could be so much better!” Dash explained excitedly. “They could use my cutie mark as the official logo! I could teach them all of my tricks, they might even change their name to ‘The Rainbowbolts!’”

Smirking slightly, Alex had to ask. “Really?”

“No.” Dash said laughing, “I mean, it would be GREAT if they did, but, not even I’m THAT full of myself. I know I’m not the best. But, maybe I could be one of the best someday… Right?” She said looking at the ground modestly.

“Of course,” Alex said with a smile. “I’ve only been here for a little while… But you’re still the best I’ve seen!”

Blushing slightly, Dash looked up to thank him for the complement, but as soon as she looked into his eyes, she immediately forgot what it was that she was going to say to him.

Alex hated how often he found himself losing his train of thought because he looked in to her eyes. He was getting lost in them somehow. Normally, he would have looked away, but she seemed to be pretty absorbed in him, so, he took the opportunity to absorb himself a little in her.

After a few moments of the two staring at each other, Dash finally started to come back to her senses. Realizing how close together their faces were, she abruptly pulled away and laughed nervously. “Whoa! Would you look at the time?” She said looking at a drawn on watch on her ankle, “I think we’d better be getting to bed!”

“We?” Alex asked jokingly, unaware of the downward spiral he was sending her in to.

“Wha— N…No!” Dash stammered, her eyes wide open, “It’s just late, and-and… I think we should be heading to our own beds! Because I DEFINATELY don’t want to sleep with you!” Widening her eyes at what she had just said, she stammered on, trying to correct herself. “But- You’re- I’m not saying that b- because I don’t like you or anything! Because- I’m- I’m sure you’d be very nice to sleep with... ugh...”

Dash just stopped.

Letting out a defeated sigh,’ she quickly turned away from him. At this point, she was blushing so deeply from embarrassment; the red mixing with her blue coat was starting to make her look purple.

Alex didn’t say a single word. She had dug herself a pretty deep hole, and he knew that he would probably just make it worse if he said anything.

Dash sighed, something about this stallion made her sound like an idiot. Normally, she could handle herself extremely well. And if the rare time came when she COULDN’T handle herself, she would just get mad and storm off… But not this time. She told herself it was because they had just made up, and she didn’t want to start another fight with him. But, deep down, she knew the real answer. He was a good looking pony. And she was REALLY starting to realize it.

“I’m just gonna go…” Dash said, still facing away from him.

Alex knew she was embarrassed, so, he decided to just let her head home. “Alright,” He said simply. “Goodnight, Colors.”

“Goodnight Ale- ahem, Spot.” Dash corrected quickly, turning around for a moment to face him. “And if you’d like to learn how to fly, let me know, alright? I think it'd be a great way to get to know each other better!”

Alex smiled and nodded.

Still blushing lightly, she turned and took off into the sky.

Dash couldn’t believe that her opinion of him could change so fast. She had only been on good terms with him for a few hours, and she was already acting like a filly with a crush on a boy at school... Was it supposed to happen this fast? It was like going from one extreme to another. Like jumping out of a tub of ice and into a hot spring... or, maybe she had just finally been brave enough to admit to herself that he was kinda cute.

He was handsome for a stallion, even if he was a little on the small side. Everypony thought he was funny as well.

The truth was, he was the kind of pony that she was usually attracted to. And she had known that since the beginning. The anger she felt toward him was nothing more than a reflex. And with that anger gone, she was finally experiencing the other symptoms of attraction. Stammering, blushing, butterflies. She hated it...

But, she was a little excited too.

Sighing, Dash flew toward her house, wondering how much sleep she was going to lose to overthinking about this guy.

Alex sat alone on the hill long after she had left, he had been thinking the exact same things about her.

But all sorts of things kept popping up in his head.

'You think a horse is sexy.'

'You're thinking about banging a horse.'

'Uncle Chet would make so much fun of you if he knew.'

"Geez... " Alex muttered, "Maybe Gilda isn't the perv after all."

Forcing those thoughts from his head, he thought back to her eyes, and let out a sigh.

He hoped that he would be seeing much more of her.

Boast Busters

Chapter 8

Boast Busters

Alex sat outside the library, enjoying the sun. Even though he was still on the fence on whether this world was real or simply in his imagination, everything was still going great. He had finally fixed things up with Rainbow Dash, and the two were getting along amazingly. He hadn’t spent much time hanging out with her yet, but she had offered to teach him to fly. Something he was both excited, and nervous about. Nervous about the flying part, and excited for the Rainbow Dash part.

Even though a few days had passed, the whole night remained fresh in his mind. He was happy that they had taken that time to get to know one another. They hadn’t exchanged much information, but he was still happy to have the opportunity to start again with her.

However, as memorable as all that time was, there was still one part of the night that stuck out in his head. The end of it.

When the two had been staring into each other’s eyes, Alex felt something he hadn’t felt before. A kind of… Spark. A feeling he could only compare to how he felt for his ex-girlfriend back on earth. Only, this feeling was much stronger.

Something about her seemed to click with him. The way she listened to him, the way she laughed, the way she lost her ability to speak properly when he embarrassed her. And, of course, the way Rainbow had started to ramble on about them sleeping together.

Alex knew that she hadn’t meant anything by it. But, the way she had stumbled over the words made him smile every time he thought about it. She could be so cute.

Cute

That was never a word he thought he would associate with a pony. But, to be fair, the ponies in this world were MUCH more attractive than they were in his world. Her brilliant eyes, her rainbow mane, her smile…

Before Alex could think about her anymore, he heard some kind of commotion coming from the center of town. It had been gradually getting louder, and he had only just noticed it.

Deciding to take a break from thinking about Rainbow Dash, Alex headed off to see what all the commotion was about.

Rainbow Dash lay in her bed in staring at the ceiling. She had replayed the night she and Alex had spent together over and over in her head.

From her apology, all the way to her telling him that she would like to SLEEP with him.

Sighing, Dash rolled over and buried her face in her pillow. How could she be so stupid? Alex probably thought she was an idiot. They had barely made up, and she was already propositioning him.

Still. He HAD accepted her invitation to flying lessons yesterday. Which was a good sign, right?

Yes. It was.

Clearly, Dash hadn’t totally ruined the way he thought of her.

The two had decided to start his flying lessons tomorrow. And she was excited for it. These lessons gave her a good excuse to see him. And, hopefully, he’d be really bad at flying. So she could spend as much time training him as possible.

“I wonder if he’d want to--” Dash said out loud, before being cut off by cheering coming from down below her.

Happy for a distraction, Dash quickly got up, and decided to go check out what all the commotion was.

Alex walked into the thick crowd that had gathered in front of a stage that could only have been built within the last few hours.

“Who did this?” Alex asked a pony who was standing beside him.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie!” The pony responded excitedly.

“The what-now?” Alex asked confused,

“Shhh!” The pony said to him, “She’s coming!”

“Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” The deep blue unicorn announced to the crowd from the stage, earning several cheers. “Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!”

Alex frowned at her attitude. This pony had an ego. Enough of one to speak of herself in the 3rd person. Looking around, Alex spotted Rainbow Dash fly down from the sky and land beside Twilight and the rest of her friends, so, he decided to head over towards them.

Twilight and her friends were annoyed by the way Trixie was acting. She obviously thought she was better than everypony else.

“Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic doesn’t make one better than the rest of us!” Rarity said to Twilight, who was looking concerned.

“Especially when you have me around being better than the rest of of… of” Rainbow stopped upon seeing Alex, “Um.. Uh, I mean… Boo!” She said, turning her head to hide her embarrassment at the stutter he had caused.

“Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience! Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie said to the crowd. “Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?”

“Just who does she think she is?” Rarity said, angry at her attitude.

“I’m pretty sure Twilight here is…” Alex began, before getting a purple hoof pressed against his mouth

“Please don’t Alex!” Twilight said desperately. “I don’t want anypony to think I’m a show off!”

“But… I don’t think anypony will--” Alex was again cut off, but by Trixie this time.

“You think this pony here is more magical than I? The Great and Powerful Trixie?!” Trixie said to Alex, as she turned to look at Twilight.

“Oh no!” Twilight said, laughing nervously. “No magic here! He doesn’t know what he’s saying!”

Alex rolled his eyes. He was a little disappointed that Twilight wouldn’t stand up and stop Trixie from boasting so much.

“As I thought,” Trixie said smugly. “I’m sure The Great and Powerful Trixie’s reputation precedes her enough for you little ponies to know of her victory over the great Ursa Major!”

Several ponies murmured to each other in confusion about what it was that she was talking about.

“Allow me to fill everypony in then,” Trixie said using her magic to illustrate the story she was about to tell. “When the ponies of Hoofington were being attacked by an Ursa Major, and had nopony to turn to… the Great and Powerful Trixie arrived, and with her awesome magic, vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest, and saving the town!“ Trixie finished, showing a small version of herself chase a bear into a cave with her magic.

The crowd was impressed by this. A couple of younger pony’s even got up and started shouting about how amazing Trixie was.

“Trixie truly is the most talented, the most magical, the most awesome unicorn in Ponyville!” A young orange pony said to the audience.

“No!” A smaller blue pony cut in, “In all of Equestria!”

“How do you know?” Spike shouted at them, “You didn’t see it! Besides! Twi…” Spike was cut off by a zipper going over his mouth, courtesy of a modest Twilight.

“Don't believe the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie said to the crowd. “Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians… anything you can do, I can do better,” She challenged. “Any takers? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?”

Applejack growled. She wanted to get up and show her just what she could do, but her leg was still hurt from the accident, so she wasn’t able to show Trixie up. Nudging Rainbow Dash, she gestured for her to take Trixie up on her challenge.

Getting the idea, Dash walked through the crowd in front of her toward the stage. She was going to shut Trixie up. Right here, right now.

“Alright!” Rainbow Dash announced, walking up on the stage. “Let’s see you do this!”

Launching herself into the air before Trixie even had a chance to say anything, Rainbow gunned straight toward the towns windmill a short distance away, and did a few loops around the rudders. Following that, she headed straight up, punching holes in several clouds on the way up. Then, she stopped dead in front of the sun, casting her shadow on the crowd. She wasn’t finished yet. Next, she went straight back down, back through the holes she had made in the clouds, causing the moisture from the clouds to follow her down. Finally, in her last move, she went back around the windmill several times, while still being followed by the water from the clouds. Then, she zoomed right back to the stage, and stopped dead. A moment later, she was hit by the moisture that had been following her, causing a rainbow to appear over her head.

“They don’t call me RAINBOW and DASH for nothin’!” Rainbow said triumphantly.

Alex couldn’t believe what he had just seen. Rainbow was amazing. She DEFINITELY belonged with the Wonderbolts. Standing up on his hind legs, he cheered as loud as he could, making sure that she could hear him over the rest of the cheering crowd.

Looking in Alex’s direction, Dash smiled, happy to see him being so supportive of her.

Trixie didn’t like the reception Dash was receiving, so, she decided to cut it short.

Focusing her magic, she cast a spell that made the rainbow that Dash had created with her trick start to spin around her.

Being taken off guard by this, Dash wasn’t able to get out of the way of the cyclone that Trixie had turned her rainbow into. The multi-colored cyclone quickly picked her up and started twirling her around the stage, and eventually into the air.

When the cyclone finally came to a stop, Rainbow landed face first on the ground in front of Alex. She was very dizzy, and VERY embarrassed.

“Are you okay, Colors?” Alex said, lowering his head to her level, which was still on the ground.

“Yeah…” Dash said righting herself, avoiding his gaze.

Deciding that Rainbow Dash hadn’t had enough, Trixie cast a spell causing a small black storm cloud to appear above Dash, zapping her rump with a small bolt of lightning.

“Yee-oww!” Dash squeaked as she was struck, causing Trixie and most of the audience to start laughing.

Alex growled at Trixie. This was unacceptable. He wished he was further along in his training so he could take her on...

“What we need is another unicorn to challenge her!” Spike said to Twilight, “Someone with some magic of their own!”

“Yeah!” Dash said angrily, “A unicorn to show this unicorn who's boss!”

“A real unicorn to unicorn tussle!” Applejack added.

Twilight didn’t like this one bit, she was going to have to go up there. She knew she could trounce this pony in her sleep, but she didn’t want her friends to think she was sinking to Trixie’s level. “Uh… Well…” Twilight began, before being cut off by Rarity.

“Enough!” Rarity said, stepping forward. “Enough, all of you. I take your hint, but Rarity is above such nonsense. Rainbow Dash may behave like a ruffian, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace.”

Trixie smiled cockily. “What’s the matter? Afraid you’ll get a hair out of place in that rat’s nest you call a mane?”

Rarity immediately narrowed her gaze. Trixie had crossed a line. “It. Is. On.” She said walking onto the stage. “You may think you're tough with all of your so called powers, but there's more to magic than your brutish ways! A unicorn needs to be more than just muscle! A unicorn needs to have style!”

Pulling one of the curtains off the stage with her magic, Rarity spun it around her, cutting it, decorating it, and tailoring it perfectly to her. When she finished, the curtain was replaced with a beautiful dress that was being worn by her, along with a done up mane.

“A unicorn is not a unicorn without grace and beauty.” Rarity said confidently.

Trixie simply smiled to herself, and started casting another spell.

“Rarity won’t let Trixie get the best of her!” Spike said to the ponies around him. “She’s strong, she’s beautiful, she’s…”

Before Spike was able to finish, Trixie used her spell, and changed Rarities hair from the usual Purple, to a sickly green.

The crowd gasped, staring at her in awe.

“I need a mirror! Get me a mirror!” Rarity said desperately. “What did she do to my hair? I know she did something terrible to my hair!”

“Nothing!” Twilight said, non-convincingly.

“It’s… Fine!” Rainbow Dash lied.

“It’s gorgeous!” Applejack agreed.

“It’s green…” Spike said, earning a glare from the three girls around him. “…What?”

“No!” Rarity cried, “Not green hair! Such an awful, awful color!” She said through her tears, as she ran from the stage heading toward her home.

Leaning down to Spike, Alex whispered in his ear. “Girls like it when you try to make them feel better.”

Immediately getting the idea, Spike quickly thanked Alex, and then ran through the crowd, following Rarity.

Looking toward Trixie, Alex decided that he would try his best to show her up, even if he was guaranteed to lose. Taking a step forward, he cleared his throat loudly, getting Trixie’s Attention.

“Does somepony else DARE challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie said, realizing that it had been Alex that had gotten her attention. “You again?”

Looking him over, Trixie quickly noticed Alex’s lack of a cutie mark. “No cutie mark?” She asked, confused. “Haven’t found your special talent yet? Or are you just completely useless?”

Looking him over again, she decided that he wasn’t ALL bad… Stepping down from the stage, she walked over to Alex, looking into his eyes with a sultry gaze.

“Then again,” Trixie began with a wicked smile. “You’re pretty cute… I’m sure the Great and Powerful Trixie could find SOME use for you” She said walking past him, running a hoof over his wing softly.

Alex was completely stunned, was she coming on to him? That was NOT something he had expected. He didn’t know there were THESE kinds of ponies in this world. Still. Trixie was the last pony in Equestria he would want to do that kind of stuff with. So, he responded with a simple, “I’ll pass.”

“Are you sure?” Trixie said, leaning in to whisper in Alex’s ear. “Maybe I could show you my SPECIAL talent.”

“He said he’ll pass!” Dash shouted, earning a lot of confused looks from the ponies around her. “Not… Not that I care!” She said quickly.

Seeing the adamant look on Alex’s face, Trixie sighed and started heading back to the stage. “Your loss.” She said with a wink. “The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t just go around offering free pony rides, you know.”

“Why?” Dash spoke up again with a smirk. “Do you normally charge for them?”

Glaring at Dash for a moment, she turned her attention back to Alex, with a much more serious demeanor. “You wish to challenge Trixie? Good. Show me what you’re made of, stallion.”

Alex was only able to take a few steps toward the stage before Twilight cut him off.

“I’ll face you.” Twilight said, deciding she didn’t care if her friends thought she was a show off, Alex wasn’t ready for this kind of fight. “He’s only a student to magic. I’m his teacher.”

“Is he now?” Trixie said, raising her eyebrow. “Fine. After The Great and Powerful Trixie beats you, maybe he’ll see who his teacher SHOULD be.”

Deciding to finish this quickly, Trixie went first, so she could quickly scare this pony off. However, hearing that this pony was a teacher, she decided to use one of the most powerful spells she knew.

Focusing all of her power into her horn, the ground started to shake.

At first, nopony knew what was going on. But it quickly became clear as the entire stage started to float into the air.

Levitating the entire stage, Trixie was confident that this spell would scare Twilight off. She had raised the stage a good 40 feet off the ground when she finally stopped raising it.

Then, Switching her focus, Trixie started to only levitate herself and Twilight, causing the stage to fall back to the ground, and smash to pieces. Luckily, she had dropped it far enough away from the crowd, to ensure that nopony was hurt.

Then, slowly bringing the two of them back to the ground, she shifted her focus again and started levitating all the pieces of the broken stage, and organized them on the ground in their appropriate sizes.

The crowd cheered as she finished. Nopony had ever seen THAT kind of magic, and they had a hard time imagining Twilight topping it.

Gasping for air, Trixie took a moment to breathe, and then smirked at Twilight. She may have almost knocked herself out, but she had won. She was sure of it.

“It’s okay to run away.” Trixie said panting. “Trixie understands.”

Trixie’s massive levitation spell HAD been impressive. But Twilight knew she could top it. After thinking for a moment, she came up with the perfect spell to win this.

Twilight closed her eyes and focused every ounce of energy she had into her spell. Levitating herself into the air, she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, her purple eyes had been replaced by a solid white light.

The crowd watched in awe as a purple aura exploded out of Twilight. Magical bolts of lightning shot out of her in random directions. Each bolt caused a magical change. Trees were turned into flowers, flowers were turned into apples, and apples were turned into cake, only to name a few.

Deciding to get to the main event, Twilight shot a powerful bolt of magic, at the organized pile of rubble Trixie had made, sending it soaring into the air. Then, as each piece of wood fell back to the earth, a bolt shot out of her and hit the piece of wood into place, which started happening at an incredibly fast speed, filling the area with non-stop claps of thunder.

At first, nopony knew what she was doing. It just looked like she was zapping each piece of wood individually, making them land next to each other. However, after a few seconds, it became obvious. She was rebuilding the stage. It only took her about a minute to finish her task, and when she did, she lowered herself back to the ground.

Then, just to top everything off, a bolt of energy shot out and turned Trixie into a potted plant.

Closing her eyes again, the purple aura that had surrounded her quickly started to fade. Then, with one last bolt of energy, she turned Trixie back into a pony.

Knowing that she had won, Twilight turned to the crowd, and got just what she had expected.

The crowd was silent. Twilight frowned; they thought she was just like Trixie…

However, she was surprised, when the audience erupted in cheering. Trixie had been nothing compared to Twilight. And the crowd wanted her to be sure of it.

Looking back and forth frantically, Trixie managed to stammer out a question. “W… Where… Where did you learn that?”

The crowd quickly quieted down to listen to Twilight’s explanation.

“Actually,” Twilight said, remembering her entrance exam for the gifted unicorns school back when she was a filly, “I always just kind of… knew it…”

“What?” Trixie shouted. “You’ve always been able to do THAT?!”

“Well, I haven’t always had that much focus,” Twilight explained, “Princess Celestia has taught me to focus enough to control that spell.”

Trixie stood slack-jawed. “You’ve been taught by… The Princess?”

“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” Twilight said with a bit of smugness in her voice.

Having been embarrassed enough; Trixie stood up, and simply walked away. Keeping her eyes glued to the ground, not wanting to look at anypony. She had never lost before. And it didn’t feel good. Since she was still in such a state of shock from being transformed into a plant, she couldn’t find any ‘last words’ to say before she left.

As soon as Trixie was out of sight, the crowd exploded in cheering once again. All of Twilights friends quickly ran up and joined her on the stage.

“I… I can’t believe you did that!” Rainbow Dash said, still in awe of what had happened..

“That’ll show her not to mess with Ponyville folk!” Applejack said, smiling.

“Have you always been so good with magic?” Dash asked.

“Well… Yeah…” Twilight said modestly.

“Then why didn’t you come forward sooner?” Rainbow asked.

“I didn’t want you guys to think that I was showing off…” Twilight explained. “I saw the way you reacted to her… I didn’t want to look like her…”

“Twilight,” Alex said speaking up, “You stood up for us. We would never think negatively of you for that.”

“I guess I don’t know what I was thinking…” Twilight said with a soft smile.

“Heck, we even put up with RD! And you’re WAY better than her!” Applejack said.

“Hey!” Dash said with a smirk, “It’s not my fault I’m the best!”

As the conversation about Dash’s superiority continued, Alex couldn’t help but wonder how Spike was doing. He hoped that the advice he had given him had been worth it. Rarity had been a complete mess when she ran off in tears. Hopefully he had managed to make her feel a little better.

Deciding to go check on Spike, Alex quickly excused himself from the group, and headed off toward the Carrousel Boutique.

After walking a short distance, Alex saw Spike heading in the opposite direction of the Boutique, walking towards him.

“Hey Spike!” Alex called, running forward to meet Spike. “How’d it go?”

Looking up at Alex, Spike said nothing. He simply had a dreamy expression on his face.

Upon seeing Spikes face, Alex immediately understood why Spike was so happy. There was lipstick on his forehead. She had kissed him!

“Woah! Spike!” Alex said with a smile, “What happened?”

Coming out of la-la land, Spike finally spoke up, “It was great! Just like you said! She was so happy!” He said with a dreamy smile. “But, let me start from the beginning…”

Green Hair

////

“Girls like it when you try to make them feel better.” Alex whispered to Spike.

Immediately understanding, Spike whispered a quick ‘thank you’ to Alex, then took off after Rarity.

Unfortunately for Spike, Rarity was much faster than him. She was running on 4 legs, he was running on 2, and had a head start to boot.

Luckily, Spike knew exactly where Rarity was going. She wouldn’t want anypony seeing her after what Trixie had done to her. So, all he had to do was head to the Carousel Boutique. He just hoped that Rarity wouldn’t be too upset when he got there.

////

After a couple minute trek through town, Spike reached the Boutique.

Stepping up to the front door of the store, Spike could hear crying coming from the inside.

To be honest, he didn’t understand what the big fuss was. Sure, having your hair turned green wasn’t the most pleasant thing in the world. But, it certainly didn’t seem like the kind of thing to cry so much over. Still, he figured it was just a girl thing that he would never understand.

Taking a deep breath, Spike knocked on the door.

“Go away!” Rarity shouted through the door. “I’m not seeing anypony right now!”

Frowning, Spike spoke up, “Rarity, it’s Spike! Can I please come in?”

Spike waited a few minutes for a response, but none came. He knew Rarity was still there, he could still hear her ragged breathing, and light sniffling.

“I’m coming in, okay?” Spike said, waiting for a response. When none came, he decided that she hadn’t said ‘no,’ which was good enough for him.

Opening the door, Spike walked into the main section of the Boutique. He was surrounded by mannequins, each one wearing a different design. And on the opposite side of the room, was the counter that Rarity used for purchases. And coming from behind that counter, was the unmistakable sound of whimpering.

Closing the door, Spike ran over to the counter.

“Rarity?” Spike said, jumping on top of the counter and looking down at her.

Looking down, Spike could see that Rarity was sitting on the floor, with her eyes clamped shut, as she tried to stop herself from crying in front of him.

Rarity was still dressed in the beautiful blue dress that she had made from the stage curtain. However, no matter how good the dress looked, her hair was still green. A color she hated enough to cry over.

“Rarity…” Spike said again softly, “Are you okay?”

Taking a breath, Rarity tried her best to compose herself. “No Spike.” She said simply, looking up at him, showing the makeup on her face that had started to run because of her tears.

“I know that Trixie changed the color of your hair… But you don’t need to be so sad about it!” Spike said, trying to reassure her.

“It’s not just my hair Spike…” Rarity said to him, barely keeping herself under control. “I consider myself to be a fashionista! An expert in all things fashion!”

Nodding slowly, Spike pretended to understand where she was going with this.

“But… I lost…” Rarity said, as tears started to fall from her eyes again. “Defeated by the most egotistical pony I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting!”

Now Spike understood. The hair was nothing. It was her pride that had been hurt. Trixie had beaten her at her passion.

Thinking about it more and more, Spike started to realize that Trixie hadn’t REALLY beaten Rarity… All she did was cast a spell that was completely different from what Rarity had told her to cast.

“Trixie didn’t beat you though!” Spike said to her as he jumped down from the counter so he could stand next to her.

Looking up at him, Rarity wasn’t sure what he meant. “I- I beg your pardon?” she asked, intrigued at what he had to say.

“Well… You went against her in a battle of beauty…” Spike began, before being corrected.

“It was nothing so crude, Spike! “ Rarity said, acting a little more like herself. “I simply challenged her to show the beauty and grace that she possessed as a unicorn.”

“And… Did she?” Spike asked.

Pausing for a moment, Rarity started to see where he was coming from. Trixie had only turned her hair green… Which had nothing to do with the original challenge. She hadn’t beaten her! Spike was right!

“You’re right!” Rarity said, perking up. “The only thing that ruffian could do was turn my hair green! There’s no elegance in that!”

“Exactly!” Spike said, happy to be cheering Rarity up. “She couldn’t beat you at being beautiful, which, let’s face it… nopony could ever do!”

Rarity simply smiled as she stood up, as she continued to listen to Spike.

“And if you think about it… your hair isn’t so bad!” Spike said with a smile.

“Now Spike, there’s no need to lie to me.” Rarity said to him seriously. “You may lie to a lady if she asks you if her rump looks big in a dress. But that’s it.”

“I’m not lying though!” Spike said honestly, “I really like your hair!”

Starting to get annoyed, Rarity started to think that he was making fun of her. “It’s rude to lie to me, Spike. This is a hideous shade of green. Why do you insist on telling me otherwise?”

Spike wanted to kick himself. He should have known better than to say that. Now she was angry at him. Him and his big mouth…

“I- I said I liked it because… Well… Because we match…” Spike said sadly, pointing to the green spines on his head.

Rarity didn’t know what to say. She immediately regretted how she had just treated him.

“Spike…” Rarity said quietly, “Do you really mean that? You wouldn’t mind if my hair was always this color?”

“Of course not!” Spike said earnestly, “You’re always beautiful! No matter what color your mane is!”

Finding herself being overwhelmed by what Spike had said, Rarity decided to reward him, by leaning in and kissing his forehead. After a few seconds, she pulled away and looked at the dragon that was now frozen in place, slack jawed.

“Thank you, Spike.” Rarity said simply, resisting the urge to kiss him again.

Spike didn’t reply. He stood there and smiled.

“Also, Spike,” Rarity said, “I’d just like to say that you’re the most handsome, sensitive, and muscular dragon I’ve ever met! And I wish that the colts in this town were half the man that you are!”

“I know,” Spike said, his voice suddenly much deeper. “But have no fear milady, I am all yours.”

“Marry me, Spike!” Rarity said, swooning over him.

“Of course, let’s—“

////

“Is that REALLY how it happened, Spike?” Alex asked, trying not to laugh at the farfetched story that he had just been told.

“Okay… Well, all the rest was true!” Spike said, “She kissed me, then told me that she had to fix her hair, no matter how much I loved it. So, I decided to come back, so nopony would worry about me!”

“Ah, that makes MUCH more sense.” Alex said with a smile. “Still though, good job buddy!”

“Thanks, I—“ Spike said, before being cut off by some yelling off in the distance, followed by some stomping on the ground that was getting louder and louder.

Turning around, Alex could see two young ponies running away from the entrance of the Everfree forest. Upon closer inspection, he could see that they were the two that had been talking about how amazing Trixie was a little while ago.

“What are you running away from?” Alex called to them as they ran by.

“The Ursa Major!” The short blue one called as he and his friend ran by.

Feeling his heart sink, Alex turned and saw the source of the shaking ground. A monster, larger than anything he could imagine, slowly started to emerge from the Everfree forest.

However, something was different about this Ursa Major. As far as Alex could remember, Trixie had shown everypony her fighting a giant blue bear when she saved Hoofington. So why was this one purple?

However, since things had gone from good to horrible in about 10 seconds, he decided not to ponder a slight color change.

“Spike,” Alex said, with a dead serious voice. “Go get Twilight.”

“But, what about you?” Spike asked, concerned.

“I’ll be fine.” Alex said, staring at the large beast slowly approaching the town. “Please. Hurry.”

Knowing that he had no time to waste, Spike ran toward the Library. It wasn’t very far, and he hoped that he could make it in time.

Alex hoped he could make it in time too. He really did.

/////

Thumbs Up if you like!

The MAJOR Problem

////

Alex stood on the edge of town. In front of him was an absolutely massive beast that had just emerged from the Everfree forest.

The best way he could explain the creature, was as a giant, semi-transparent bear, with fur that looked like a star covered sky.

The Ursa stood about a hundred yards away, staring straight at Alex. The creature had stopped dead in its tracks as soon as it spotted him. Almost as if something was wrong with the pony standing in front of it.

Alex looked around, and was glad to see everypony leaving their homes, and heading away from the Ursa. The further away they were, the safer they were.

“What is it waiting for?” Alex said out loud, looking back to the beast.

The lack of movement from the Ursa made Alex worry. He was hoping that the beast didn’t want a fight, but somehow he doubted that was the case. At least this was giving Spike time to get Twilight for him.

Unfortunately for Alex, after almost two full minutes of the Ursa staring him down, it started to approach him cautiously, as if it was afraid of him.

////

“Twilight!” Spike shouted as he ran through the door to the library.

“Spike?” Twilight asked, walking away from the book she had been reading. “What’s wrong?”

Spike opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the ground shaking weakly. “That.” He finally said.

“What’s making the ground shake like that?” Twilight asked, still feeling the weak quaking, that was slowly getting stronger.

“It’s… It’s an Ursa Major, and--” Spike said, before Twilight cut him off.

“You mean the giant blue bear that Trixie defeated in Hoofington?” Twilight said, hoping that this wouldn’t be the case.

“Well, not quite.” Spike said, hearing a sigh of relief from Twilight. “This one’s purple!”

Twilight’s heart sunk. She had just read in her book, that an Ursa Minor was a large blue baby bear, that could be soothed with the right kinds of magic. But, an Ursa Major was something much more terrifying. It was significantly larger, and significantly more powerful.

“Spike,” Twilight said seriously. “I need you to write a letter to Princess Celestia. We need to get her here! Ponyville is in serious danger!”

“But… Twilight!” Spike said, “She’ll never get them! She won’t even be awake!”

Twilight knew this was the case, but saw no alternative.

“Just start sending as many scrolls as you can!” Twilight said desperately, “She’s got to notice them eventually!”

“I’ll try my best…” Spike said, nervous that he had been tasked with something so important. “You need to hurry though! Alex is down there by himself! He sent me away so I could get you!”

“What?! I’ve got to get down there!” Twilight shouted as she ran for the door, however, she had to say one more thing. “Spike, if you don’t get a response from the Princess in ten minutes, get everypony out of town. They should all be at city hall… Please.”

Spike simply nodded as he watched her bolt out the door. As soon as she was gone, he got to work.

////

Alex had moved toward the Ursa, hoping that he could keep it away from Ponyville. He didn’t know what he was going to do when it finally reached him. He just hoped that Twilight would be here by then, and they could work together on stopping it.

Unfortunately for Alex, the Ursa started to speed up. It almost seemed like it had finally worked up the courage to charge him.

Readying a spell, Alex waited for the Ursa to get just the right distance. Then, just as the bear got within a hundred feet of him, Alex cast the most powerful barrier spell he knew, causing the beast to hit it hard, and stumble backward, then and fall over.

Alex suddenly felt a sharp stabbing pain in his head. His spell had held up, but it took a lot of energy to do so. He remembered Twilight mentioning how certain spells would continue to draw energy from their casters, until the caster stopped the spell themself, or the caster ran out of energy to support the spell. So, every time the Ursa hit his barrier, he would lose a significant amount of energy. He’d have to find another way of doing this.

Roaring loudly, the Ursa righted itself, and slowly walked up to the barrier Alex had cast. Making a couple of light hits to the shield, the Ursa decided to use brute force to break it down.

Alex watched as the bear lifted its monstrous paw into the air, and prepared to strike his shield. Seeing how much force the Ursa was going to put into its strike, he got an idea.

As soon as the Ursa threw its massive arm toward the shield, Alex released the spell, giving the monster nothing to catch itself on. It’s entire body followed it’s paw, and it fell forward on to its stomach, causing the ground to shake violently.

Standing his ground, Alex watched as the Ursa stood up, angrier than it had been before, which, really wasn’t a surprise.

Deciding to try another method, the bear uprooted a tree from the ground, and threw it at Alex with all of its might.

Focusing on the fast approaching tree, Alex cast a levitation spell, causing the tree to stop dead in its tracks.

With a sigh of relief, Alex lowered the tree to the ground. However, his relief was short lived, as another tree was already on its way. And unfortunately, he wasn’t prepared for this one. As the tree quickly approached him, he closed his eyes, and focused all of his energy in an act of desperation. Then, with a deafening ‘boom’ a lightning bolt fired out of his horn, destroying the tree that had been thrown at him, and blasting the Ursa straight in the chest.

Collapsing, Alex fought the urge to lose consciousness. Weakly looking up, he saw the Ursa clutching its chest in pain. However, it wasn’t down for the count yet.

Seeing that Alex was on the ground, the beast snorted, and started to move toward him. He was an easy target now.

The Ursa started to pick up steam as it got closer to the collapsed Alex. It was only a few steps away from the helpless pony when a sudden force kept it from continuing.

Alex meekly looked behind him, and saw Twilight with a very angry look on her face.

With every step forward that Twilight took, the Ursa was forced a step back, as if there was some kind of invisible mass that only she could move.

Then, casting another spell, Twilight teleported Alex and herself behind a bush that was nearby. Hopefully this would confuse the Ursa long enough for her to help Alex.

“Are you okay?” Twilight whispered to the still collapsed Alex, sounding extremely concerned.

“Y-Yeah…” Alex said quietly. “I just… Used up all I had with that one spell”

Twilight had seen him cast it. It had amazed her that he was able to do that without passing out altogether.

“Twilight… We can’t let the Ursa get in to town…” Alex said, slowly standing himself up. “We’ve got to stop it…”

“Not ‘we’” Twilight said. “You don’t have the energy to keep this up. You stay here. I’ll try to hold it off until the Princess gets here.”

“The Princess is on her way?” Alex asked.

“Well… I HOPE she is…” Twilight said, praying that Spike had gotten through to her.

////

Spike threw the scroll into the air, and sent it away in a wisp. But a few seconds of waiting, he still got nothing.

Spike had been sending as many scrolls as he possibly could to Celestia, but had received no response. Both he and Twilight knew that the Princess was a heavy sleeper. He was afraid that she would sleep through it, and find out in the morning, when it was too late.

It had been ten minutes. And Spike knew that he was supposed to leave. But, he couldn’t do it. Not yet. There had to be something he could do to help… He wished that Twilight had the elements of harmony with her here in Ponyville. Then they could use those to defeat the Ursa. The last time they had used the Elements, they had…

THAT gave Spike an idea.

Writing another letter as quickly as he could, Spike rolled it up and focused. He was about to try something he had never tried before. He was going to try to send the scroll to somepony else.

Taking a breath in, Spike said a silent prayer, then blew his fire on the scroll, sending it away.

That was all he could do.

Running out the door, Spike ran toward the town hall. He knew everypony would be gathered there. He had to follow Twilights instructions, and get them out.

////

Touching her horn to his, Twilight transferred a small portion of her energy to Alex, giving him the strength to move around properly.

“Now go,” Twilight instructed, “I’ll handle this.”

“But—“

Before Alex was able to say anything, Twilight teleported herself away from the bush, and back to the Ursa, that was still looking for them.

Seeing Twilight appear, the bear roared at her and started charging her.

Casting the same spell that she had before, she placed the force in between them. The Ursa was annoyed at this, and tried it’s hardest to move, but just couldn’t do it. Twilight was confident that this spell would hold the Ursa in place. Unfortunately, that was her fatal error.

Suddenly, The Ursa started pushing harder than it had before. Twilight didn’t know where it was getting this strength from, but it was closing the distance between them, crushing the mass that she had been using to protect her.

With every inch the Ursa got closer, Twilight felt herself grow weaker. She tried her best to keep the spell up, but the bear was too strong. She knew she had to stop the spell. So, closing her eyes, she removed the invisible mass, and tried to give herself a moment to breathe.

Unfortunately, as soon as the force disappeared, the Ursa charged Twilight, something she hadn’t expected it to do. Quickly erecting a barrier in front of her, she stopped the bear again, only a few feet away from her.

Knowing that this pony wouldn’t be able to simply make this barrier disappear the same way the other one had, the Ursa started to smash on Twilights barrier relentlessly.

With each pound, Twilight felt herself grow weaker and weaker. She knew she couldn’t keep this up. Her shield was going to fail soon. And then, well… hopefully Spike had gotten everypony away to safety.

Alex watched helplessly as the Ursa mercilessly attacked Twilights shield. He hated that he was so weak. He hated that she was doing instead of him. He would have given anything to swap places with her.

Then, finally, the barrier cracked, and shattered. Leaving Twilight exposed. The Ursa panted excitedly at the loss of her protection.

Alex was shocked to see Twilight collapse on the ground, unconscious. He had to do something. He decided to try and cast something, so he clamped his eyes shut, and focused. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t cast anything. He was dry.

Opening his eyes, he saw the Ursa prepare itself to strike her. Closing his eyes again, Alex futilely tried to cast another spell. But was still unsuccessful. He could feel the tears start to fall down his cheeks as he opened his eyes again. It was over.

The Ursa threw it’s paw down at the helpless pony, but, an inch before it hit her, it was stopped.

Alex didn’t know where the magic had come from, but the aura around the Ursa was the same purple that Twilight’s spells had when she cast them. But it wasn’t her. So who was it?

“Trixie does NOT appreciate you trying to hurt this pony.” The Blue pony said as it walked from the town.

Alex watched in amazement, as the last pony he expected to be here, showed up.

Trixie walked into the open field, and kept a brave face. The truth was, she was petrified. This beast was even larger than the Ursa Major she had claimed to have defeated. But if this bear hurt Twilight, she would never get the rematch she deserved.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie will give you one warning.” Trixie bluffed convincingly.

Shifting its focus away from Twilight, The Ursa Major started walking toward Trixie, who was now starting to show her fear by shaking lightly.

Alex knew this wasn’t good. Twilight was more powerful than Trixie, and the Ursa had zero trouble knocking her out. Knowing full well that it was most likely a death sentence, Alex decided to give them an opportunity to escape.

Running out from behind the bush Twilight had put him behind, Alex called, “Hey! Over here!”

Turning its head again, the Ursa saw the pony that it REALLY wanted. The one that had hurt it with that lightning bolt.

Immediately forgetting Trixie and Twilight, the Ursa started running straight for Alex.

“Get Twilight out of here!” Alex shouted as he ran in the opposite direction.

Quickly following his command, Trixie ran over to Twilight and teleported the two of them away.

Running as fast he could, Alex crossed the large field that ran between Ponyville and The Everfree Forest. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, all that he knew was that a giant bear was following him, and it wanted to kill him.

The Ursa was close behind him. The shaking caused by its stomping was almost enough to make him fall over. He wished he could fly right now more than anything.

Accepting his fate, Alex decided to go out thinking about his friends.

Well, he had had a good time in this world. It may have been short lived, but at least he had saved Twilight. That was all that mattered. She was much more important to this world than he was. He was new here, so he wouldn’t be missed much. He wasn’t sure if this place was even real, maybe he would just wake up in bed. Or maybe he would die, and go to cartoon heaven, or even cartoon hell…

Stopping his train of thought for a moment, Alex was a little confused. He thought he’d have been eaten by now. In fact, the stomping had stopped altogether.

Coming to a stop, Alex turned around, and was surprised to see that the Ursa was suspended in mid-air, fast asleep.

“Wha… What?” Alex stammered.

“Alex!” An excited voice called to him.

Looking to the sky, Alex saw a dark purple pony with both wings and a horn. And to top it all off, she had a flowing purple and blue mane. Princess Luna.

“Are you alright?” Luna asked, landing beside him.

“I’m a little exhausted… but yeah.” Alex panted, noticing how much Luna had grown since the last time he had seen her. She was only slightly smaller than him now. “How did you know this was happening…?”

“I received a letter from Spike requesting my assistance.” Luna explained. “I left as soon as I read it.”

“Well, you showed up right in the nick of time.” Alex said gratefully. “I’d be bear food if it weren’t for you.”

“Which would have been very unpleasant I imagine.” Luna said with a smile.

“Well, it’s certainly not my idea of a good time!” Alex said, laughing slightly.

“Why don’t you return to your friends?” Luna said, “I will deal with the Ursa Major. Then return at dawn with my sister to discuss the incident.”

Alex nodded as he watched Luna take off, levitating the massive bear with her, as if it weighed nothing.

Turning around, Alex walked back to town. He could imagine that everypony would want an explanation. So, as he walked back into town, he thought about just what he was going to say.

////

The Morning After

////
The Morning After
////

Twilight felt her world slowly coming back to her. She didn’t know where she was… she couldn’t remember what had happened… but the one thing she was aware of, was how much her head hurt. She never wanted to open her eyes again. She felt like she could just lie here in bed for the rest of her life.

Trying her best to remember what had happened to her, Twilight tried to work her way through what had happened the day before. She had been practicing magic with Spike, when that pony, Trixie showed up, and embarrassed her friends.

So… Twilight got up and decided to put a stop to her boasting by challenging her. And, of course, she won.

After a slew of ‘congratulations’ from her friends, Twilight went home, wanting to look something up.

What had that been? It had been something Trixie had mentioned. She claimed to have saved Hoofington from some kind of beast.

The Ursa Major!

Snapping her eyes open, Twilight looked around. She was in her bed, and looking out the window, she saw that it was only just dawn.

Twilight couldn’t remember what had gotten her here. She had saved Alex from the Ursa Major. She instructed him to stay hidden while she kept it at bay with a powerful spell while she waited for Princess Celestia. But her magic hadn’t worked, and her barriers had started to fail her.

That was the last thing she could remember.

Obviously somepony had stopped the Ursa, and saved her life.

So, Twilight decided to go figure out what had happened.

////

Walking downstairs to the main section of the Library, Twilight saw Spike sitting at the table, next to Alex, who was resting his chin on the table.

“Spike…” Alex groaned, “Are you sure that Aspirin doesn’t exist here?”

“I’m pretty sure!” Spike said, “You’re gonna have to wait for Twilight or one the Princess’ to help you with your headache.”

“The Princess’ are coming?” Twilight almost shouted, announcing her presence, as she moved over to the table.

“Twilight!” Alex and Spike both said, happy to see her awake.

Hopping off his chair, Spike ran over to Twilight and hugged her. “We were so worried!”

“What happened…? Why are the Luna and Celestia coming from Canterlot?” Twilight asked, not liking how uninformed she was.

“Well, how much do you remember from last night?” Alex asked, temporarily ignoring the throbbing in his skull.

“I can remember up to my magic failing…” Twilight recalled. “The Ursa Major ran at me… started trying to break my shield… Then my magic started weakening, and that’s it...”

Glad that she remembered so much, Alex started to explain.

“Well, after your shield failed, The Ursa had every intention of squishing you.” Alex said, noticing the look of horror on Twilight’s face. “But… But it didn’t! Obviously…”

“What stopped it?” Twilight asked, knowing that Alex had been in no position to help her last night. “Did Princess Celestia show up?”

“No quite,” Alex continued. “Before the Ursa was about to… *ahem* dispatch you… Trixie stopped it.”

This surprised Twilight. “Trixie?”

“Yeah,” Alex said, understanding her surprise. “She showed up, and managed to distract The Ursa Major enough for it to forget about you.”

“Did Trixie stop it?” Twilight asked.

“No. That was Luna.” Alex said.

“Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, only getting more confused.

“Okay, let me keep going,” Alex said, “As soon as the Ursa started approaching Trixie, I got its attention, and made it start chasing after me instead. I guess that a lightning bolt to the chest is enough to make me the one it wanted.” He continued. “So, I told Trixie to get you out of there, and she teleported the two of you away.”

“What about you?” Twilight asked.

“Well… Let’s just say I wasn’t expecting the cavalry to show up at that point. I was just giving everypony time to get out of town, by leading the Ursa away from the town.” Alex said, “If Luna hadn’t shown up and stopped the Ursa, I’d probably be bear food right now.”

“But… How did Luna know? Celestia would have come herself if she got Spikes letters!” Twilight said.

“She never got them,” Alex said, “Spike managed to get one to Luna instead. So, she showed up, dealt with the Ursa, and told me that her and Celestia would come by today to discuss what had happened, then she left.”

“You really did that Spike?” Twilight asked, baffled.

“Yeah… I was about to give up, but I decided to try sending to Luna instead of Celestia, since I knew she would actually see it.” Spike said.

Twilight was impressed. She remembered how much trouble Spike used to have just sending the scrolls to Celestia. But he had managed to focus on somepony else, and send it to them on his first try. Twilight was about to congratulate him, when she noticed something on his forehead. “Is that lipstick, Spike?”

“Oh yeah!” Spike said, “That was the best part of the whole night! After Rarity ran off with her green hair, I tried to make her feel better, and she kissed me!”

Twilight wasn’t sure where Spike’s priorities were, if that’s how he felt about yesterday. “So… You performed a miracle by sending a letter to Luna, you saved Alex’s life, and you even kept the whole town from being destroyed by a rampaging bear… But a kiss from Rarity was still the best part?”

“Definitely!” Spike said with a dreamy smile, thinking back to her.

Laughing, Twilight turned her attention back to Alex. “What happened after Luna saved you? What happened with Trixie?”

“Oh yes.” Alex said. “I wasn’t there for the whole time... But I’m sure Spike could fill you in.”

“Oh yeah! Sure!” Spike began, “Well… After I finished writing Luna the letter, I ran to the town hall…”

As Spike gave his recount of what happened, Alex was able to piece together what had happened to the both of them.

////

Spike ran through the town, toward the distant town hall. He could hear the commotion from quite a distance away. It was obvious that everypony was already there; he just had to make sure that they knew what was happening, and what they should be doing about it.

Finally arriving, Spike saw that the mayor was trying her best to calm the crowd, but was having little luck doing so.

“Spike!” Rainbow Dash shouted over the loud crowd, landing next to Spike, “What’s happening? Where’s Twilight and Alex?”

“If you can get everypony to shut up, I can tell you!” Spike shouted to her.

Nodding, Rainbow watched as Spike ran up to the podium, and waited for Dash to get the attention drawn to him. Flying up to the nearest dark cloud, She dragged it down until it was just over the crowd, and when Spike gave her a ‘thumbs up’ she bucked the black cloud with her hind legs, causing a loud bang of thunder to erupt from it.

Immediately, everypony was shocked into silence, and Spike had his chance to speak up.

“Everypony listen!” Spike shouted, as the crowed did what they were told. “The ground shaking is from a monster called an Ursa Major! And we need to get as far away from Ponyville as possible, until help arrives!”

The crowd started to murmur after hearing this.

“But, I saw Twilight going toward it!” A pony called from the crowd.

“She’ll be able to deal with it, right?” Another one shouted form the back.

Spike frowned. After Twilights display earlier with Trixie, they thought she could do anything. Even Spike would have believed that she would have been able to. But, upon seeing the look on her face earlier when he had told her about the Ursa Major, he knew she wasn’t strong enough to beat it.

“Well--” Spike said, trying to find the right words, but, almost on queue he was cut off by a bright flash of light appear in the middle of the crowd.

As quickly as it appeared, the light vanished, leaving an unconscious Twilight and an exhausted Trixie in its place.

“Twilight?!” Spike said, running over to her.

“She’s alright… Trixie saved her.” Trixie said, exhausted.

“What about Alex?” Spike said desperately.

Trixie remained silent.

“Well?!” Spike shouted.

“He-- He got its attention so we could escape…” Trixie said slowly, “But there’s no way he could have kept away from it… It was too fast…”

Everypony immediately understood what she was implying, and it swept across the group instantly.

The sad mood within the crowd was so strong, that nopony had noticed the distant stomping from the Ursa had stopped. Several minutes of silence passed before anything was said.

“What should we do then?” A pony shouted from the crowd.

“Should we get out of town?” Another pony asked, looking back and forth between Trixie and Spike.

As the crowd tried to figure out what to do, Rainbow Dash stood at the back, resisting the urge to cry. She had liked Alex. He was so different from everypony else. He was the kind of stallion that she had always secretly wanted to find. Even though she had just become friends with him, the way he made her stammer was all the evidence she needed.

And with that thought, she was crying.

Dash was so involved in her emotions, that she didn’t notice the pony that was now standing beside her, looking concerned.

“Hey, Colors… What’s wrong?” Alex said.

Turning to look at him, Dash stared wide eyed, and slack jawed.

“Uh…” Alex said, knowing that he had missed something, “The Ursa Major is gone! Princess Luna took it away! …Is that way you were sad?”

“You’re… Alive?” Dash squeaked, in a higher pitch than she normally spoke.

“I… I think so…” Alex said, noticing that just about the whole crowd was staring at him now.

“Alex!” Spike called, running though the group toward Alex. “You’re not dead!”

So they thought he was dead. It made sense. The last thing Trixie had seen was him running away from a very scary, and VERY fast monster.

Alex’s train of thought was interrupted by Spike jumping and wrapping his arms around his neck. Releasing him after a moment.

Alex was quickly approached by several more ponies from the crowd, who were thanking him, congratulating him, and asking him questions about what had happened. He was a little baffled at all the attention, but still enjoyed everypony thinking he was some kind of hero.

Deciding that an unconscious Twilight probably shouldn’t just be left on the ground, Trixie decided to teleport herself and Twilight to the Library, and leave Alex to his moment in the spotlight.

Finally, after ten or so minutes, the number of ponies in the crowd thinned, until, besides a few others, Rainbow Dash and Alex were the only ones left in front of the town hall.

While everypony had been talking to him, Rainbow had simply stood in the same place and stared at him.

“Are you feeling better, Colors?” Alex asked, taking a step toward her.

Dash hated this. Alex was capable of putting her into moods that she didn’t even know existed. She wanted to smack him, hug him, yell at him, and then kiss him. Of course, she opted for none of the above. Walking closer to him, she exhaled sharply. “Don’t EVER do that again.” She threatened.

“I won’t, I promise.” Alex said with a smile. “Life sure would be boring without me around, huh?

“Who would I have to get mad at?” Dash said starting to smile. “Besides! I plan on training you to be the second best flyer in Equestria! I can’t have you dying on me before that happens!”

”Second best?” Alex asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Next to ME of course.” Dash said with a smirk.

“Of course.” Alex replied with a smile.

“I was thinking… How would you like to start training tomorrow?” Dash asked.

“That’d be great!” Alex said, flaring his wings “I’ve been dying to learn how to use these babies!”

“Good!” Dash said, suddenly taking a serious tone. “So you’d better make sure you’re rested! Because this isn’t going to be easy!”

“I look forward to it,” Alex said, hoping that he would be as much of a natural with flying as he was with magic. “But, I’d better go get some sleep if I plan on having the energy whatsoever. So… Goodnight?”

“Goodnight,” Dash said back to him smiling, as she watched him start walking away. “Oh, Alex! Thanks for protecting the town. Not just anypony would do that…”

“Well, I’m not just ‘anypony,’ now am I?” Alex said, looking back to her and winking.

Dash laughed and smacked him on the shoulder, "You're sure not! You're the alicorn that can't fly!"

Alex frowned.

////

“And that’s how you got back here!” Spike said, snapping Alex out of his flash back.

“That’s a very interesting story, Spike.” A voice said from the front door.

All turning to face the door, Twilight, Spike, and Alex watched as Princess Celestia, followed by Princess Luna walked through the front door of the Library.

“But… I’m afraid we’ll have to save the discussion of last night for later.” Princess Celestia said, with a touch of concern in her voice.

“Why?” Twilight asked, “Has something happened?”

“I’m guessing none of you have been outside yet this morning?” Celestia asked the three.

Shaking their heads in unison, Princess Celestia gestured to the front door.

Alex walked with Twilight and Spike to the door, confused about what it was that they were going to see.

“Oh.” Alex said, seeing the huge plume of black smoke was on its way toward Ponyville.

“What’s causing that?” Spike asked Celestia.

“A dragon had decided to use Equestria for its nap.” Celestia explained.

Alex wasn’t sure why that was a BAD thing. A bit of smoke wouldn’t hurt anypony. Especially since the dragon was only taking a nap.

“And, as you know, a sleeping dragon can sleep for more than 100 years.” Celestia continued.

That made much more sense. 100 years would probably leave Equestria uninhabitable. So, deciding to try and look smart, Alex simply nodded, as if he knew that from the beginning.

“Normally, I would ask you to deal with this situation, having full confidence in the ability of you and your friends of course… But perhaps you’re not in the best position after last night…” Celestia said, trying to think of another way to take care of that dragon.

“Oh no, Princess!” Twilight said, not wanting to disappoint her mentor. “We can definitely do that for you!”

Celestia wasn’t sure. She knew Twilight wasn’t at full strength after the battle last night. If she could, Celestia would have tried to reason with the dragon herself. But, she would be needed in Canterlot to prevent everypony from panicking. If only there was some way to give her some extra protection.

“Sister,” Luna said finally speaking up, seeing the conflict Celestia was having. “Perhaps if I were to accompany them, I could make sure everything goes accordingly.”

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked, surprised, but happy with Luna’s offer.

“I do not wish to see Twilight Sparkle and her friends hurt.” Luna explained. “I am sure you want the same.”

“Of course,” Celestia said smiling and nodding. “Twilight, please gather your friends. You should head out immediately.”

Nodding, Twilight ran out the door. She had so many questions about the night before that Spike hadn’t answered with his explanation. But, they would have to wait.

////

Luna Shy

////
Chapter 9
Luna Shy
////

“Alright everypony!” Twilight said to her friends that were lined up in front of the library, walking back and forth in front of them. “Princess Celestia has given us the task of encouraging a dragon to leave Equestria!”

In front of her stood: Alex, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity.

“Now, I know that quite a bit went on last night but…” Twilight stopped, upon noticing the missing pony. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

Looking around, Alex was completely baffled. Fluttershy had just been standing beside him.

“Fluttershy?” Everypony called, looking around for her.

Looking up in the sky, Rainbow Dash noticed something odd about a cloud that was floating away from them. It had a pink tail.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Dash said, flying up to the cloud, and pushing it aside, revealing Fluttershy with a weak smile on her face.

“Come on Fluttershy!” Twilight said, “We need to be serious here! Equestria is in real danger, and you’re ability to communicate with animals is vital to our success!”

Fluttershy looked around nervously. Everypony was counting on her. But she couldn’t go face a DRAGON! She was horrified at even the thought of an encounter with one of those. There wasn’t a single thing in Equestria that scared her more than a dragon. Well, nothing except—

“Hello everypony!” Princess Luna called from the front door of the library, taking a step out. “Are we ready to begin our quest?”

Fluttershy’s eye’s immediately widened. Nothing scared her more than Night Mare Moon. Not even a dragon. She knew that Princess Luna had changed back, and was good now. But, it wasn’t as easy to stop being afraid as it was to start.

“Just about!” Twilight said happily, “I just need to fill everypony in!”

“Very well,” Luna said, walking over to join the line of ponies. “Please continue!”

“So!” Twilight began, pointing to a picture of a mountain that she had set up behind her. “We’re going to start on the eastern most side, and we’re going to work our way up the path on the far left.”

Twilight went on to explain their plan in great detail, showing the precise route they would take, when they would stop for breaks, and how they were going to deal with the dragon.

“And, if we aren’t able to convince the dragon to go peacefully, Princess Luna will deal with the dragon herself, the same way she did with the Ursa Major.” Twilight finished. “Any questions?”

Raising a hoof, Fluttershy tried to keep herself composed as everypony looked at her. “Well! It didn’t sound like I was very important in your plans… So I’d better just go home!”

“Of course we need you!” Twilight said, confused. “I said that, didn’t I? Maybe I should start my briefing over again if I missed a few things…”

“No!” Dash said, slightly annoyed,” You said it! Fluttershy is just being a scaredy-pony!”

“Come on sugar cube,” Applejack said. “There ain’t nothin’ to be frightened of!”

“Precisely,” Rarity said, putting a hoof on Fluttershy’s shoulder. “Princess Luna will make sure nopony gets hurt, she IS a princess you know.”

Fluttershy knew that there was no fighting this, so, she nodded meekly, and decided to try her best to tough it out.

“Wonderful!” Luna said lifting a hoof into the air. “Let us begin!”

////

The group traveled to the as fast as they could, wanting to get this issue over and done with. Unfortunately, Fluttershy had slowed down more and more until Dash was forced to push her along behind everypony. Until, finally, they reached the mountain.

Pulling out the map from her saddle bag, Twilight examined the route she had set, as everypony chatted loudly.

“Okay everypony!” Twilight said, getting the groups attention. “We need to head up this slope here. If we follow it up high enough, the ground will start to level off, and we can take a break there.”

Nodding in agreement, Everypony started walking up the slope. However, it wasn’t long before Alex noticed somepony missing.

“Uhh, Fluttershy?” Alex said trying to find her, as the group continued stopped with him. Luckily, he could see a shaking bush at the bottom of the mountain, with a pink tail. “You’re not very good at hiding, you know that?”

Poking her head up from behind the bush, Fluttershy looked at the cliff and shook her head. “It’s too steep…”

“Come on Fluttershy!” Twilight encouraged, “Why don’t you just fly up here then?”

Looking at her wings, Fluttershy decided to give it a try. Slowly spreading her wings, she flapped weakly, and started to ascend the cliff.

Making her way up slowly, Fluttershy decided to stop just above Alex so she could follow close behind him. Unfortunately, a loud snore from the napping dragon caused the entire mountain to shake, making her wings instinctively close.

Alex looked up and gulped as Fluttershy fell from the sky, and landed right on top of him. He was happy that she was a light pony, otherwise he might have snapped in half.

“Just… wait…!” Alex said, thinking of another way to get Fluttershy of the mountain without having to carry her. Finally, he got an idea.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Alex lifted Fluttershy off his back with his magic, happy that he had recovered enough from the night before. “Alright you guys, let’s go!”

Everypony laughed as Alex trotted up the steep hill with a levitated Fluttershy just in front of him.

Fluttershy hoped that she wouldn’t be held too close to the princess. Luna was half the reason that she had been hiding behind the bush.

Looking back at Alex, Luna couldn’t help but be surprised at seeing him use magic so easily. Celestia had told her of his remarkable progress in his magic studies. Twilight had included an update on his progress every time she wrote a letter to Celestia, and it seemed like Alex was reaching another magical milestone every time Twilight wrote.

“Alex is truly remarkable with his magic,” Luna said, catching up to Twilight.

“You’re telling me!” Twilight said, “He’s bypassed everything I had planned to teach him this year! I don’t think anypony has EVER learned this fast!”

Luna nodded in agreement. Even Celestia and herself had taken years of study to become the powerful goddesses they were now. If his speed was any indicator, Alex could become the strongest spell caster Equestria had ever seen. That is, if he stayed in Equestria.

“How long do you think it will be before he is capable of going home?” Luna asked curiously.

Twilight thought about the question. It would be soon. Sooner than anypony thought.

“A year. Maybe less.” Twilight said simply. “He’ll be gone very soon.”

////

After a half hour of scaling, the group finally reached the flat area Twilight had described.

Everypony sat down in a small circle as Rarity and Pinkie Pie started handing out snacks for them to eat.

Walking over to a gap in the circle, Alex lightly put the frightened Fluttershy down, and walked over to the other side to sit in another gap.

Sitting down between Rainbow and Luna, Alex couldn’t help but be curious at how different Luna had become. She was a very different pony than the one he had met when he first arrived in Equestria.

“Luna,” Alex said, getting her to turn and face him, “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions…?”

Luna wasn’t surprised. She had expected some questions about her rapid changes.

“Of course,” Luna said, “I presume you wish to know why I have grown so much, correct?”

“Well, that, and why you’re talking to differently…” Alex said, completely confused over her transformation. “That isn’t another thing about this world, is it? Do ponies just grow randomly?”

“Of course not!” Luna said, laughing. “My body has been rapidly adjusting to the size it used to be. I may be a rather small pony now, but in a few years, I will be the same size as my sister.”

“Okay…” Alex said, taking it all in. “But what about the way you talk? You seemed to talk normally when you first changed back… What’s changed that?”

“Well, my sister suggested that I take a… refresher course on royalty, if you will.” Luna explained. “An instructor is teaching me all the proper ways for a Princess to act. However, she seems to be set in the old ways.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow, “How so?”

“Well, she insists that I speak properly. Making sure to say words like ‘thou’ and ’thee.’” Luna said, sounding slightly frustrated. “But I do not seem to be able to get it. She says that I have made progress in my speech… But I still have lots of work to do.”

“And that’s why you sound so… Awkward?” Alex asked, trying to put it as delicately as possible, but still earning death-glares from the girls around him.

“Precisely,” Luna said. “I have even been told that I should speak in something she calls ‘The Royal Canterlot Voice.’”

“And… What is that?” Twilight asked, confused.

“IT IS WHEN I SPEAK LOUDLY ENOUGH FOR ALL OF MY SUBJECTS TO HEAR ME, SO THEY UNDERSTAND THAT I AM A RULER OF EQUESTRIA!” Luna bellowed, causing the ponies around her to recoil.

A few moments of silence passed until Rarity spoke up.

“Well… That was… Unpleasant…” Rarity said, laughing nervously.

“I agree.” Luna said sadly. “Why would anypony enjoy that? And yet, I am expected to speak this way…”

“Well, you don’t need to talk that way around US princess!” Pinkie said.

“Exactly! It’s just us girls!” Rarity said with a wink, then turning to Alex. “Well, MOST of us, anyway.”

“Oh, I can be a girl!” Alex said, “Like, I LOVE Twilight!”

The group stared at Alex. He had made himself a very awkward situation, and didn’t even know why.

It took Alex a moment to realize that Twilight was both the name of a girly book series AND the name of one of his friends.

“Oh!” Alex said, finally understanding. “It’s a book series back in my world. It’s called Twilight! A lot of girls love it, and guys generally don’t. So… Yeah…”

Everypony remained silent.

“Fine… I guess I’m no good at being a girl,” Alex sighed. “I’ll just… Go over there.”

And with that, Alex stood up, and walked away from the group, and then, plopped himself down a few meters away, and pretended to start sobbing.

The girls laughed at his dramatics. Even Fluttershy stopped being scared for a moment so she could chuckle along with them. Eventually the laughing died down, and Alex rejoined the group.

“Well… If you’re sure you don't mind!” Luna said, happy to have an opportunity to talk normally again. “I’ll talk normally around you guys from now on!”

The group ate their lunch while they Listened to Luna describe her day to day life in Canterlot, and how all of her royal duties left her little time for herself. She even confessed that her coming along with them was just an excuse to get away from everything for a little while.

After finishing their lunch, everypony decided to continue their ascent. Unfortunately for Fluttershy, when Alex levitated her off the ground, she was stuck floating right next to Princess Luna.

Fluttershy had to work to keep herself from shaking too hard. All of this was too much for her… getting stuck next to Night Mare Moon, AND being on her way to face a dragon was terrible for her. She wanted to fly away and never look back. But, she knew that her friends were counting on her, and would be disappointed if she left. So, she had to hope that nothing worse than this would happen, Because she knew that she would be gone as soon as it did.

////

The group continued further up the mountain. And luckily, because Alex was levitating Fluttershy, they made great time. They walked along narrow paths, jumped over pits, and even crossed avalanche danger zones. All things that Fluttershy knew she would have had trouble with. Unfortunately, after all that scaling, they finally reached the summit. And Fluttershy knew what that meant.

Dragon time.

Everypony lined up to face the cave, and Twilight stood in front of the line, facing them.

“Alright everypony!” Twilight announced, “We’re all going to try our best to get this dragon to leave peacefully! We’re going to going to do this exactly as I outlined.”

“Let me at ‘em!” Dash said, hovering herself a few inches above the ground, then gunning straight toward the opening of the cave.

“That’s not how we’re doing this Rainbow!” Twilight said, using a spell to keep Dash’s tail held in place, stopping her before she was able enter. “If we make it angry, things will just get worse!”

“But… I’m not good at… Talking!” Dash said desperately.

“Well… Maybe you should sit this one out then.” Twilight said, laughing.

Dash looked around, seeing everypony shake their heads in agreement, she sighed, then flew herself behind the group and landed in a huff. “Fine!”

“I’ll go first,” Twilight said chuckling. “Figure out who wants to go next, in case I’m not able to convince him.”

After a short discussion, everypony decided on an order: Twilight, then Rarity, then Pinkie, then Applejack, then Alex, then Fluttershy, then, finally, Luna.

Fluttershy’s heart pounded as she watched each of her friends go in, and come out without any luck. Twilight had asked nicely, Rarity had appealed to the dragon’s vanity, Pinkie had tried to share a laugh with it, and Applejack explained what damage his nap would do to Equestria. All of which failed.

Finally, it was Alex’s turn.

Gulping, he looked around at his friends, who gave him some encouraging cheers. Everypony else had come out fine, so there really wasn’t much to be afraid of. But still, there was one thing that he knew would keep him in high spirits.

“Wanna come in with me Colors?” Alex asked Dash as he walked toward the entrance.

“Aww yeah!” Dash said, trying not to sound too excited, as she ran to catch up with him.

“Remember Rainbow!” Twilight called, “Be NICE!”

“Yeah yeah.” Dash said dismissively. “I’ll let Alex take the lead.”

“Good luck you two!” Rarity called as the pair walked into the cave.

“Are you ready to go next Fluttershy?” Twilight asked the pony who had been hiding behind a rock with her tail sticking out.

“Um… Can I… not?” Fluttershy asked, praying that they could just skip her turn.

“Of course not!” Twilight said, “You’re the best one here with animals. It’ll be easy! Besides, when Luna takes the dragon away, it WON’T be happy about it! And nopony wants that!”

“I— I…” Fluttershy stammered looking back and forth. Everypony was looking at her, expecting her to go and fix this problem. But she couldn’t.

She just couldn’t.

So, she did the only thing she could think of. She ran in the opposite direction, and flew away.

////

Alex and Dash walked through the dark cavern toward a dim light a short distance away. From the descriptions the other ponies had given them, they were expecting a pile of treasure, with a large sleeping dragon next to it.

“So… what exactly are you going to say to it..?” Dash asked.

“I really don’t know,” Alex answered. “Maybe it’ll leave if I let it have you!”

“Oh, I get it! THAT’S why you wanted me to come along,” Dash said sarcastically.

“Yup! That’s the ONLY reason!” Alex said looking at her and smiling.

Dash smiled back. “Suuure.”

After a couple more minutes of walking, the two finally reached their destination. A large circular chamber with one entrance. On one side of the room was a massive pile of gold and gems, and the other side had a massive red dragon, with a very annoyed look on its face.

“Are you here to harass me too?” The Dragons deep voice sighed.

“ ’fraid so,” Alex said, laughing nervously. “Is there any chance you’ll just go, and save all of us a lot of time?”

The dragon simply shook his head.

“And I’m sure you’ve heard all of the same things from all of the ponies that have come in here, right?”

Again, the dragon only nodded.

Alex sighed. He wasn’t sure what else there was to say.

“If you don’t go, we have a pony outside who’ll MAKE you go! We have the strongest pony in Equestria with us!” Dash said, not realizing how bad she just made things.

The dragon didn’t like that.

“You think I can be MADE to leave?!” The dragon boomed.

“No!” Alex said, trying to repair the damage Dash had caused. “We only have that pony here in case things get out of hand! As a safety net!”

“Well, things HAVE gotten out of hand, little pony.” The dragon growled. “I’m going to count to five. And you and your friends had best be gone when I reach it.”

Alex and Dash looked at each other, then bolted toward the exit.

“I’m sorry I said that!” Dash said, as the two raced toward the exit. “I didn’t think he’d get so upset about it!”

“I was going to say it if you hadn’t,” Alex confessed, “So don’t beat yourself up about it.”

After five seconds had passed, the two could feel the thumping of the incoming dragon behind them.

Luckily, the dragon wasn’t very fast. So they were able to exit the cave well ahead of it.

“Alright Luna!” Alex said quickly. “You’re up!”

“What did you do Rainbow?!” Twilight shouted.

“It was me,” Alex lied. “I mentioned Luna without thinking about it, and now he’s REALLY angry!”

“Alright,” Luna said, stepping forward. “I’ll deal with the beast.”

////

Fluttershy couldn’t believe she was doing this. She was going back to apologize, and try her best to help, even if she was scared. She knew that abandoning her friends was wrong, but she couldn’t help herself. All she needed was a few minutes to calm down, which she had now had.

It was funny that her wings worked perfectly fine when she was running away from danger, but not when she was headed toward it. She just hoped that nothing frightening happened before she was ble to land.

Looking down, she saw that Alex and Rainbow had just come out of the cave. Which meant that it would be her turn next.

Sighing, Fluttershy headed down and landed in the group, with her back to the cave.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight said desperately, “You need to—”

“Wait Twilight!” Fluttershy interrupted, in a very un-Fluttershy like tone. “I need to apologize!”

Everypony stared at Fluttershy in shock. The dragon was standing right behind her at the entrance to the cave, and she had no idea.

“I’m sorry I ran away when you needed me…” Fluttershy said, returning to her normal voice. “The truth is… I was scared of the dragon…”

Luna looked at the massive beast standing behind Fluttershy, and decided that she needed to get herself into attack mode. Dragons have certain resistances to magic that the Ursa Major didn’t. She hadn’t mentioned this to everypony in the hopes that it wouldn’t come to a fight with the dragon. But, it looked like that was unavoidable at this point. The beast wasn’t moving right now, but it would be soon.

Fluttershy continued to apologize, and slowly made her way to admitting to Luna that she was afraid of her. So, Fluttershy decided to close her eyes, and just get it out of the way.

Clamping her eye’s closed, Fluttershy blurted it all out, “And, I’m also afraid of you Princess Luna! The last time we met… You were Night Mare Moon! And, I know that you’re not anymore… But I can’t—“

Fluttershy opened her eyes when she heard a strange noise coming from in front of her. Looking ahead, instead of seeing Princess Luna, she saw black smoke. Luna had been completely shrouded in it. Fluttershy wasn’t sure what was going on. “Princess…?”

Princess Luna had done something that she knew would be received with mixed reception. She was changing back to the form of Night Mare Moon. She had more power in that form. And looked more intimidating to boot. Even if her friends were scared at first, she would show them that she was on their side immediately.

However, when the smoke cleared, and everypony could see Night Mare Moon, one thing happened that surprised them all.

Fluttershy’s eye’s expanded to a size that none of them though possible. And, after a moment of her simply shaking in place with her mouth hanging open, she did the first thing that came to her mind.

Turn around, and run away.

And, due to her crippling fear of Night Mare Moon, when Fluttershy turned around and saw the Dragon, she didn’t care.

Fluttershy started flying toward the Dragon at an incredible speed, and when she hit the dragon in the stomach, she took the entire beast with her into the cave.

It truly was a sight to be seen. A small yellow pony pushing a fully grown dragon all the way back into a cave, moving at a speed that truly shocked them all.

After a few seconds, everypony lost sight of the small pony and the dragon to the darkness. However, they knew that Fluttershy and the Dragon had hit the wall at the back of the cave, as the entire mountain shook violently.

The next few seconds of silence were agonizing. Nopony knew what had happened. However, their questions were soon answered when the ground started thumping again. The dragon was coming back out. MUCH faster this time.

Luna stood her ground, ready for the fight that was sure to come next.

However, that fight never came, as the dragon came out of the cave, crying its eyes out, and immediately took off and flew away.

“I should have listened to them!” The dragon’s voice boomed as it flew away in tears, “She really IS the strongest pony in Equestria!”

Everypony in the group stood in the group stood in a state of shock.

The only one who was able to form words was Alex. “You guys… I think Fluttershy might be the DragonBorn...”

Dash looked at him confused. “The what…?”

Alex was really glad that he wasn’t in his world. He would look like a huge dork right now.

“Uh… Never mind.”

After the initial shock had passed, the group decided to go in and look for Fluttershy.

Going into the cave, everypony walked down to main chamber where the dragon had been napping.

Looking around, Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. But, after a few moments, Alex finally spotted her in the huge pile of treasure. He never would have spotted her if her pink tail hadn’t been sticking out.

“Fluttershy!” Alex said, levitating her out of the heap of gold. “That was amazing!”

“Night Mare Moon!” Fluttershy screamed immediately upon seeing Luna, who was still in her alternate form.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Luna said, quickly casting the spell to return her to normal. “I didn’t turn evil again! I just went into that form so I could deal with the dragon properly!”

“R—Really?” Fluttershy said, still quaking.

“I promise!” Luna said sincerely.

“Well… O—Okay..” Fluttershy said slowly, calming down. “What happened to… Th-- The dragon?”

“It ran away!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“Eeyup!” Applejack agreed, “Cryin’ like a baby!”

“I had no idea you were so strong, dear!” Rarity added.

“I told you it would be easy!” Twilight said, beaming. “You just… did it a little differently than I thought you would!”

While the group continued to congratulate Fluttershy, Alex leaned over to Dash.

“Maybe she should teach me how to fly.” Alex whispered in Dash’s ear, earning a smack on the back of the head.

“Come on everypony!” Dash said, speaking up, “Why don’t we head home? We can keep talking about how amazing Fluttershy is on the way back!”

Everypony laughed at that as they headed out of the cave.

Walking together at the back of the group, Dash quickly leaned over and kissed Alex on the cheek.

“What was that for?” Alex asked, confused.

“That was for taking the blame for upsetting the dragon…” Dash said, “But don’t think it means anything! I was just saying thanks! That’s all!”

“I believe you!” Alex said smirking. “Besides, what other reason could there even be?”

“Exactly.” Dash said with a wink.

////

The Bad News

////
The Bad News
////

Everypony was feeling great as they arrived back from their removal of the dragon. They had all been talking, laughing, all around having a good time.

After all, they deserved it. They saved Equestria today. The dragon had left; the smoke had all but completely disappeared. Mission accomplished. So, why did Princess Celestia look so grim when they arrived back at the library?

“Please come in,” Celestia said in a quiet, yet serious tone. “We have much to discuss.”

And just like that, the happy mood that everypony shared was gone, being replaced by one of worry. Celestia hadn’t sounded this worried when she told them about the dragon. Not even close.

Celestia remained silent as the group entered the library and gathered around the table she stood behind.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate you on dealing with the dragon.” Celestia said, in a very somber tone. “But… I’m afraid that’s nothing compared to what we’re dealing with right now.”

“Sister…” Luna said, returning to her pervious way of talking. “…Have you discovered the root of the unusual happenings around Equestria?”

Celestia nodded.

Twilight had heard of strange things happening around Equestria recently. It had been nothing extreme. The odd loss of gravity, or creatures popping up where they shouldn’t. She had just assumed it had been magical pranks, or some animals wandering a bit far from where they should be.

“When Luna made me aware of the Ursa Major attacking Ponyville, I decided to come down and investigate it myself.” Celestia said, “And what I found was… What I had hoped I wouldn’t.”

Everypony listened to her explanation, not daring ask what had been found.

“After you all left this morning, I asked some of the town’s residents what they knew about the Ursa Major’s attack. And, after questioning a few ponies, I eventually learned about two young colts, who had been seen fleeing the Everfree Forest with the Ursa Major behind them.” Celestia said. “So, when I asked them what had happened, I was surprised to hear that they hadn’t provoked the creature. It had appeared in front of them, being delivered by a blinding flash of light.”

Alex thought for a moment. Hadn’t he been brought to this world by a blinding flash of light? However, bright lights were pretty general when it came to magic. So, he decided not to say anything, because they didn’t seem likely to be connected, and he had already told Celestia about that light anyway. He was sure that she would have made the connection if there was one to make.

“Next, I went to the place they had described… A rather large clearing in the Everfree forest…” Celestia continued, slowing down, as if she didn’t want to get to the end. “And that’s where I found… A pink cloud.”

“Sister…” Luna said, quietly. “Was it… what I think it is?”

“Yes.” Celestia said. “It was cotton candy… And… filled with Chocolate Milk.”

Everypony looked back and forth between one another. What could that mean? How could something like that possibly translate to something so terrible?

“That sounds delicious!” Pinkie said, loving the thought of such a thing. “How could that NOT be a good thing?”

“That kind of cloud has only existed at one point in time,” Celestia explained. “Thousands of years ago, before Luna and I were the rulers of Equestria, there was a tyrannical beast that kept Equestria in a constant state of chaos... His name was Discord, and cotton candy clouds were his calling card.”

Everypony remained completely silent.

“Seeing how miserable everypony was, we knew what we had to do,” Celestia continued, “We wielded the Elements of Harmony, and used them to trap Discord in stone, freeing Equestria from eternal chaos.”

“Alright Princess!” Dash said excitedly.

“However, since Luna and I have lost our connection to the Elements, I believe that the spell we cast on Discord will soon break, freeing him from his stone prison.” Celestia explained.

“But, if he hasn’t broken out of stone, how has he made those clouds?” Twilight asked.

Celestia remained silent for a moment, before saying the three words nopony wanted to hear. “I don’t know.”

“Has the statue cracked at all? Perhaps that is how he has done these things.” Luna asked.

“I’m afraid that isn’t the case,” Celestia answered. “The statue is in the same condition it was in when we first imprisoned him. So, I don’t know how he’s done it.”

“So… We have a bit of a mystery on our hoofs.” Twilight said. “How much danger do you think we’re in?”

Celestia took a moment to think her response out.

“With the exception of the Ursa Major, nothing too dangerous has occurred.” Celestia started. “So, for now, we’re going to wait. We’ll use the next incidents to measure the danger that he is presenting us with.”

Everypony nodded.

“Pardon me, but what should we do if we encounter one of these ‘incidents’ ourselves?” Rarity asked.

“You should contact us immediately,” Celestia said. “Spike has proven that he can send a letter to both Luna and myself, so, have him write if anything happens. One of us will come down to assist you in dealing with the situation, day or night.”

“Discord is a very dangerous foe,” Luna said, “If any of you are to encounter him directly, you are not to engage him. He has power beyond anything you could fathom.”

“What does that mean?” Alex asked, confused.

“Discord doesn’t use conventional magic to his means,” Luna explained. “He utilizes a very powerful chaotic form of magic that gives him a power nopony should have. He can create or destroy whatever he likes, or he can simply remove gravity.... he can even make a pony lose their mind.”

“If he’s so powerful, how did you even beat him the first time?” Twilight asked, a little hurt that she had never been told this story by Celestia.

“Celestia and I were able to defeat him with a combination of two things,” Luna answered, “The Elements of Harmony, and his arrogance.”

“Discord didn’t expect anything to come of our uprising; we were just ‘insignificant ponies’ to him.” Celestia explained, continuing the story. “He didn’t think we would be able to harm him. However, when we used the Elements of Harmony, they rendered his magic useless when he tried to stop us. And, in the end, he wound up stuck in stone.”

“How did they stop his magic from working?” Alex asked.

“Harmony brings order to chaos.” Celestia said. “When we used the Elements, they completely removed all forms of his chaotic magic, and fixed everything he had done to Equestria.”

“So… Can’t we just use the Elements again?” Alex asked, “Use them to fix the chaos that’s happening now?”

“I’m afraid not,” Luna answered. “Without knowing the source of the magic, we can only use the Elements to correct the things as they go wrong. Not stop them from going wrong altogether.”

“So, that means you didn’t fix the cloud…? Could I just… See it for a second?” Pinkie asked, dying to have a look at it.

“Oh, of course!” Celestia said, not realizing Pinkies ulterior motive.

Concentrating for a moment, Celestia cast a spell, causing the cloud to appear above everypony.

“Here it is,” Celestia said. “The work of Discord himself.”

Pinkie’s mouth watered. She wanted to eat it.

Right now.

So, she did the first thing that she could think of. She Jumped straight at it, mouth wide open, shouting, “I love cotton—“

Alex stared at the cloud, completely unaware of what Pinkie was doing. Something about it seemed… Wrong. Just looking at it caused his head to start ringing.

Looking away from the cloud in an effort to break the effects it had on him, Alex noticed something very strange.

Pinkie hung in midair, unmoving. Looking around the room, Alex noticed that she wasn’t the only one that was frozen. Everypony else was completely still too. All of them had the same look of shock on their face at Pinkie’s lunge.

Confused, Alex looked back to the cloud to see if it could somehow be the cause. The buzzing returned, and it grew louder and louder until it started to become an audible noise. It was laughter. He could hear somepony, or something, maniacally laughing. He tried to look away again, but found himself unable.

As the laughing increased in volume, Alex started to feel a pressure building in his head. Getting stronger and stronger as the laughing grew louder and louder. Until, finally, the pressure exploded out the end of his horn, in the form of a small sparkling light.

The sparkle slowly made its way toward the cloud, and imbedded itself inside of it. And, after a few moments of still silence, the cloud was suddenly illuminated from the inside by the light.

Alex watched in surprise as the pink dissolved from the cloud, leaving a regular fluffy white one in its place. Silencing the evil laughter, leaving only a fading echo.

“—Candy!” Pinkie finished as the flow of time returned to the world.

However, poor Pinkie didn’t get the cotton candy that she had wanted. Instead, she flew straight through the white cloud and slammed into the wall on the other side.

Everypony stared at Alex in shock.

“I… I just…” And with that, one of Alex’s eyes twitched, and then, his head slammed down on the table.

He was unconscious.

Again.

////

A Surprise Encounter

////
A Surprise Encounter
////

”How is he?” A voice asked.

Alex stirred momentarily, returning to consciousness, listening to the conversation.

“He’ll be fine” a soothing voice said. “He was just exhausted from the fight with Luna.”

“Thank goodness!” The first voice, who he identified as Twilight, said, sounding extremely relieved.

“But… as for his missing mark, that is somewhat of a mystery to even me.” The second voice said, with a touch of confusion in her voice. “Only he can explain this to us.”

“And what about the wings and the horn?” Twilight said, with the confused tone returning to her voice.

“While those normally belong only to royalty, it isn’t impossible for somepony to be born with both” The second explained. “However,” She began after a pause, ”I’m going to head back to the party. Royal duty calls!” She said with a soft laugh.

“Well, I’ll stay here until he wakes up. I didn’t get a chance to thank him.” Twilight said.

Wait a minute. Alex had heard this before… On his first day here.

Suddenly, Alex was feeling very awake.

Sitting up in the bed, Alex looked around, confused.

There was no Twilight. There was no Celestia. He was in his room in the library, alone.

Or so he thought.

“Good. You’re awake.” A voice echoed through the empty library. “Did you enjoy your little flashback?”

“Who’s there?” Alex called, resisting the urge to hide underneath the sheets.

“Oh, where are my manners?” The voice said from the corner of the room.

Alex turned around, looking at where the voice had come from, and again, saw no one.

Turning back, Alex came face-to-face with the beast who he had been speaking with.

“My name is Discord.” The beast said to him leaning down to Alex’s face, lifting his lion-like paw into the small gap between them.

Alex immediately jumped out of the bed in an effort to put some distance between them. But something was wrong with the way he moved. His hooves weren’t doing what he expected them too. And as a result, he fell out of the bed, and landed flat on his face. He looked down at his front legs to see what was wrong with them.

“W—what?!” Alex shouted, looking to where he used to be his hoofs, that had now been replaced by hands. “I’m human again?!”

“Well, it is YOUR dream.” Discord said absent mindedly, as he wandered around the room.

“This… Is a dream?” Alex asked slowly, realizing that out of all the possibilities, this made the most sense.

“Of course it is.” Discord said, “After all, how could I possibly talk to you when I’m imprisoned in stone?”

After looking himself over, Alex looked back up to Discord. He wasn’t like anything he had seen in this world. He looked like a combination of half a dozen creatures. A pony, a deer, a griffon, a lion, a snake… Celestia had said that Discord was a beast, but he hadn’t expected this.

Alex growled. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to have a little chat, Alex!” Discord said innocently. “Why all the hostility?”

“Princess Celestia told me all about you!” Alex said, angrily. “I know all about what you did to Equestria!”

“You make me out to be such a bad guy!” Discord said, “But, the truth is, we’re not so different, you and I.”

Alex narrowed his eyes. “We’re nothing alike.”

“Now THAT is where you’re wrong.” Discord said with a chuckle. “You’ve caused quite a bit of chaos here since you arrived, isn’t that right?”

Alex remained silent.

“Even your Element, ‘selflessness’ is chaotic by its nature.” Discord said with a chuckle. “Just. Like. Me.”

“What do you mean…?” Alex asked slowly, not understanding where Discord was coming from.

“There is no such thing as true selflessness,” Discord said, suddenly sounding very serious. “You can only be selfish.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Alex told him, “Of course selflessness exists!”

“Then tell me, what is selflessness?” Discord said condescendingly. “Since you know SO much more than I do about it.”

“It’s… It’s throwing yourself in harm’s way to protect the people… or ponies you care about,” Alex explained, “Doing something you don’t want to do, so others don’t have to.”

“Because…?” Discord said, waiting for Alex to say the words he was expecting.

“Because I want everyone… everypony to be safe, even if it means I get hurt!” Alex said, stumbling over his automatic use of ‘everyone.’

“There it is!” Discord shouted happily, “Because you WANT them to be safe. That’s the key word here!”

“What…?” Alex said, still completely lost.

“How can you be selfless if you WANT your friends to be safe? If what you WANT motivates your actions, doesn’t that make you selfish?” Discord asked.

“N—No! It’s not the same thing!” Alex answered, starting to understand Discords reasoning.

“Oh, yes it is,” Discord said with a smile. “You WANT to help your friends when they need it, you WANT your friends to be happy… It’s all about what YOU want, isn’t it, Alex?”

Again, Alex remained silent. He simply fiddled with his fingers, enjoying having them back.

“Do you see now?” Discord asked, “The element of selflessness is ACTUALLY the element of selfishness! It can make you greedy, or make you a hero! It can make you anything! It’s so deceptive… So chaotic… Or perhaps, Discordic?”

“What do you want?” Alex asked angrily. “Somehow I don’t think you’re only here to tell me how similar we are!”

“You’re right.” Discord said. “I am here for something else… I’m here to extend an olive branch.”

Discord crossed the room, closing the gap between him and Alex.

“Due to the illusiveness of your element, you have a little string of chaos in you, Alex.” Discord said, “That’s why you reacted to my cotton candy cloud the way you did.”

Alex stayed silent. This was an explanation he wanted to hear.

“The harmonious magic that you ponies use, and a small amount of the chaotic magic that I use, exist together within you. And as a result, they understand each other.” Discord explained, “It’s like a flu shot. That little bit of chaos in you has helped the rest of your magic understand what its weaknesses are. It knows how to destroy it. So--”

“So, it knows how to destroy you.” Alex finished.

Discord narrowed his eyes, “I will be returning to Equestria soon, and I plan on taking back my place as the ruler. I’d prefer that we not be enemies when I do.”

“If you plan on taking Equestria back, we will be enemies.” Alex said. “And there is nothing you can do to make me your friend.”

“Have it your way, pony.” Discord growled. “But I am much more powerful than a pink cloud. Do not think it will be easy to stop me.”

“And don’t think the same about me.” Alex said. “I’ll keep Equestria safe.”

“My, my… Arrogant, aren’t we?” Discord said laughing lightly, returning to his previous mood. “Well, I’ve said all I want, and I’m starting to bore of this dream of yours. So, I’ll allow you to wake up.”

“Thank you SO much.” Alex said sarcastically, again.

“You’re very welcome.” Discord said with a wink.

Alex suddenly feet woozy… He watched pieces of the library started to disappear from around him. Bit by bit, until almost nothing remained. But, before the last parts faded away, Alex heard one more thing from Discord.

“But be ready though, because you never know when I might drop in again.”

////

“So… he just, fell asleep?” Twilight asked.

“That’s the best answer I can give you,” Luna said, having just finished her examination of Alex. “There’s no evidence to suggest that the magic spell he cast is what caused him to lose consciousness… The only feasible answer I can come up with is that something MADE him fall asleep.”

Everypony was gathered around Alex, who was still unconscious on the table. Even Spike had come downstairs to check on the commotion.

“Is there any way to wake him?” Dash asked.

“Well, if he doesn’t wake up on his own, I can cast a spell that will force him to wake up. However, that will be a last resort.” Celestia said.

Spike leaned close to Alex’s face and poked his cheek, causing zero change.

“So, we’re just going to sit here?” Dash asked, watching Spike poke Alex.

“ Eeyup.” Applejack answered, also staring at Spike.

“I can’t believe he took my cloud away…” Pinkie said from the corner of the room, still saddened by the loss of her cotton candy cloud, as Fluttershy sat next to her, patting her back comfortingly.

“Pinkie, darling!” Rarity said from the table, “I already told you I’d buy you some more cotton candy! Please, come join us!”

Pinkie however, remained silent.

Deciding that he knew the best way to wake Alex, Spike leaned in closer to his face, until he was only an inch away. “ALEX!”

Again, nothing.

“Spike!” Twilight scolded, levitating Spike away from Alex, and putting him on the floor behind her. “You’re not helping!”

Spike scoffed.

“So… What happened to Trixie after she teleported me back here?” Twilight asked trying to make a bit of small talk to pass the time.

“She left…” Fluttershy spoke up from the corner. “I saw her quietly pack up and leave after everypony went back to bed… I was surprised she didn’t stay around for everypony to thank her…”

Twilight was surprised, Trixie definitely seemed like the type to soak up all of the attention she could possibly get. “Maybe she was still ashamed by her loss.”

“If I were her, I would’ve run away with my tail between my legs!” Dash said angrily, thinking back to her own embarrassment from the night before.

By this time, Spike had made his way back to the sleeping Alex without being seen. Leaning in again he tried to think of a way to wake him. Unfortunately, he didn’t have to think for long.

“DISCORD!” Alex shouted sitting up.

Spike yelped in surprise, causing him to breathe a large amount of fire right into Alex’s face.

Everypony stood in silence. They had been surprised by Alex as well, but watching him get doused in fire was almost enough to make them all start laughing.

Alex simply sat still. He blinked a few times before remembering that he was a pony again, and that he could easily repair the damage Spike had done.

Shaking his head quickly, Alex shook all of the burn off in a black cloud, returning his face to the solid white it used to be.

“I think I just met Discord!” Alex said.

And, just like that, the humor was gone.

“What happened?” Celestia asked.

“Well, in my dream… it all started with me waking up in my room…”

////

“And then he told me he might visit me again.” Alex finished. “I woke up after that.”

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both looked at each other, and nodded.

“We apologize for this, but we must leave right away.” Luna said.

“From Alex’s description, it seems that Discord is more powerful than I first anticipated,” Celestia explained, “And if that’s the case, preparations must be made in Canterlot immediately.”

Everypony looked back and forth between each other nervously.

“Twilight, I’m going to have to ask you to accompany us as well.” Celestia added.

Twilight was surprised at this, what possible use could she have in Canterlot? However, she nodded without saying a word, trusting Celestia to know what she was doing.

“Everypony else, please try not to dwell on this information.” Celestia said, “Try your best to return to your usual routines while we work this out.”

“How can we return to our normal lives, when we know this is happening?” Dash asked.

“I realize that this isn’t an easy thing to do, considering the magnitude of what could happen…” Celestia said, “But we know he’s coming, and we’ll do our best to stop this before it even begins.”

“What about Twilight?” Alex asked, “How long will she be gone for? Hay, what is she even going for?”

“She’ll be gone no more than a few days,” Celestia said, “And… I have an extremely important task that I need to prepare her for.”

Twilight stepped forward, in an effort to stop Alex from asking Celestia more questions.

“You can take care of Spike for me, right?” Twilight asked.

“Of course!” Alex said, starting to accept what was happening. “You go do your thing I guess… I’ll keep things together on this end.”

Everypony watched as Luna and Celestia bowed their heads and started casting a spell. Twilight turned away from Alex to face them.

“Thanks,” Twilight said over her shoulder, as she walked forward the Princesses, who were both now looking up, and waiting for Twilight to finish her goodbyes. “Goodbye you guys! Be good Spike!”

“Bye Twilight!” Everypony said in unison, with a smile.

“Farewell, My Little Ponies.” Celestia said to the group, seeing that Twilight was finished. “Please, try not to worry about this too much!”

Then, instantly, a bright light enveloped Luna, Celestia, and Twilight.

And when the light faded, they were gone.

////

Confessions of a Baby Dragon

////
Confessions of a Baby Dragon
////

Alex walked into his room in the library.

The day had finally ended.

He couldn’t recall a single point his life where he had been this tired… He had woken up, gone to Trixie’s magic show, been hit on by her, fought an Ursa Major, kept it away from Ponyville long enough for Luna to arrive, calmed down the entire town, gone home with Spike to wait for Celestia, explained to Twilight what had happened to the Ursa… And that was only the first half of this day.

Alex had scaled a mountain, carried Fluttershy the entire way up, talked to a dragon, pissed it off, almost gotten eaten… Then, he watched Fluttershy pick the dragon up off the ground, and fly it into a wall, making it run off in tears…

Then, of course, he got back from that, destroyed the cotton candy cloud, and met the god of chaos. Then he said goodbye to Twilight, put Spike to bed, and spent a few hours finishing up some other miscellaneous tasks.

And now, finally, here he was, in front of his favorite thing in the world. His bed.

“I’ve missed you,” Alex said in the sexiest voice he could muster. “Did you miss me?”

Walking over to his bed, Alex climbed onto it and got under the covers, then rubbed his face on the pillow.

“Of course you did, I didn’t even come see you yesterday!” Alex said, as he bunched some of his blanket up, and pressed it to his chest. “I promise, tonight will be about the two of us… Nopony else…”

“Uh… Alex…?” Spikes voice said from the door to his room.

“I’m not talking to my bed, if that’s what you were wondering…” Alex said quickly, jumping out of the bed. “I was just… Uh… So, hey, why’re you awake?”

“Oh… After you put me in bed, I didn’t really go to sleep…” Spike said slowly, clearly having something on his mind.

After a few moments of silence, Alex finally asked, “Anything you want to talk about…?”

“Well… I guess there’s one thing,” Spike said.

Patting the side of his bed, Alex gestured for Spike to sit down, while Alex simply stood beside bed.

Silently, Spike jumped on to the mattress.

“So… What’s up?” Alex asked casually, trying to make spike a bit more comfortable.

“It’s about today…” Spike said, not really helping Alex.

“Do you mean about the whole Discord thing?” Alex asked, cocking his head. “Because, there’s nothing to really be worried about, I promise.”

“No,” Spike said, trying to gather his thoughts. “It’s about your trip to face the dragon.”

“What about it?” Alex asked.

“Well, it sounded like it was pretty fun…” Spike said, still beating around the bush.

“Well, that and scary!” Alex said, laughing lightly. “Anyway, what’s this really about?”

“I… I wish I was there!” Spike blurted out, looking away from Alex. “I feel like I’m missing out all the fun stuff everypony does!”

Alex wasn’t sure what to say.

“Everypony always goes off on these adventures!” Spike continued. “The fight with Night Mare moon, The Ursa Major, and going to see that dragon… And I’ll bet it’ll happen again!”

“But… You’re a baby dragon, Spike…” Alex said to him. “I don’t really think—“

“But… I’m not!” Spike said, starting to get upset, “Dragons live for hundreds of years! I’m going to be a baby for a long time!”

Alex stopped to consider this. What Spike was saying made sense, but, it still wasn’t reason enough to be allowed to go with them.

“It’s not just age though, Spike.” Alex explained. “It’s also about how mature you ACT.”

“If everypony has to be mature to go on these adventures, why does Pinkie go along?” Spike asked, completely invalidating Alex’s argument.

“Well… You see… That’s a really good point.” Alex confessed. “But, as mature as you may be, you’re still too small. It’s a lot easier for a baby dragon to get hurt than it is for an adult pony.”

Spike sighed; he knew he couldn’t argue that. This is why he hated being a dragon.

“I know it sucks… But I don’t know what else to say…” Alex said. “How long have you felt this way?”

“A while now…” Spike said. “You and Twilight are always so busy with everypony else, and I’m always stuck looking after the library…”

The more Alex thought about it, the more he realized that Spike was right. On more than one occasion, he and Twilight had gone out to spend time with their friends, leaving Spike alone.

“And it was like this before we moved here too,” Spike said. “Twilight always had some lesson to be at, or she’d be off studying at the castle… AT least we LIVE in the library now.”

Alex could definitely see where Spike was coming from. It must really suck for him sometimes, always being the guy who stays behind.

“I get so lonely here by myself…” Spike said sadly.

“Well… Why don’t you try talking to Twilight about this?” Alex asked. “I’m sure that she’d understand!”

“What’ll she do for me, huh?” Spike asked, “She’ll probably get me a foalsitter to look after me!”

Alex stopped for a moment. “Foalsitter? Why would anypony sit on foals?” he said quietly to himself.

“Alex?” Spike asked, seeing that he had zoned out.

“Oh, it’s probably like Babysitter… That makes sense. I feel kinda stupid.” Alex said out loud, making Spike scratch his head in confusion.

“Wha…?” Spike said, not knowing where that had come from.

“Never mind,” Alex said, quickly. “Listen, just TALK to her. She won’t hire you a foalsitter. But she may let you come out with us a little more!”

“Yeah but… Would she REALLY?” Spike said, still not completely satisfied.

“I don’t see why she wouldn’t,” Alex said, “Just give it a try!”

“Well, maybe when she gets back...” Spike said, with something else clearly on his mind.

“Great!” Alex said, “Is there anything else?”

Spike pondered for a moment. He did have something else, but he wasn’t sure if he should bring it up. He knew that nopony would take him seriously if he asked, not even Alex. Even if it was the entire reason behind his coming down to have this conversation, he just couldn’t say it.

“No.” Spike said, “There’s nothing…”

“You sure?” Alex said, seeing Spikes hesitation.

“I’m sure,” Spike answered dejectedly. “Thanks for listening… “

And with that, Spike hopped off the bed, and left. Leaving a concerned Alex alone in his room.

However, almost instantly, Alex started to feel his fatigue kick back in. Turning around, he extinguished the candles around the room with a quick spell, and then he climbed back into bed, sighing happily.

“It’s okay, we’re together now.” Alex whispered into his pillow, “No more interruptions. I’m all yours.”

And with that, Alex drifted off to sleep.

////

Spike lay in his bed staring at the ceiling. He had come close to confessing his secret to Alex, but wasn’t able to.

He wanted nothing more than to get someponies opinion on it. But he knew that they wouldn’t like the idea. It was way too extreme.

But, as crazy as the idea was… It was the one thing in the world that he wanted more than anything else. And he wished with all of his heart for it to come true.

But for now, since he didn’t have the courage to talk to anypony about it, he would just have to keep wishing, and hope something magical happened.

////

Sorry for the short chapter, the next one will be up in a day or two.

////

Flying Lessons

////
Flying Lessons
////

Alex slept soundly. He had planned to make up for all the time he had lost the past few days. And luckily for him, he hadn’t been dreaming about Discord this time. He dreamt about something MUCH better.

Pink eyes. Blue coat. Cute voice. Rainbow mane…

“Mmmm, Colors…” Alex mumbled, still dreaming.

“Yes?” Her voice said.

“You’re pretty…” Alex mumbled again.

“Oh, am I now?” She giggled.

Something was wrong… That voice hadn’t come from his dream. He had actually HEARD that. After a moment, Alex realized where the voice had come from. Right next to him.

Not daring to open his eyes, Alex formulated a plan to get out of this embarrassing situation.

“Boy-oh-boy… I sure do love rainbows!” Alex said, trying his best to mumble understandably. “Their COLORS are so PRETTY.”

“Yeah right,” Dash said bonking him on the head with her hoof. “Get up!”

Feigning surprise, Alex sat up.

“Colors! When did you get here?” Alex lied, unconvincingly.

“You were dreaming about me!” Dash accused.

“Uh, no!” Alex said. “I was dreaming about a rainbow!”

“You said I was pretty when I talked to you!” Dash argued, whilst resisting the urge to blush. “What about that?”

“I… Uh… I thought the rainbow… was-- was a talking rainbow!” Alex stammered

“Uh huh.” Dash said, deciding to turn the tables on him, “So, does that mean you DON’T think I’m pretty?”

Alex felt like a deer caught in headlights. She was clever, he had to give her that.

So, He could say ‘yes’ and be embarrassed, or… he could say ‘no’ and make her angry. Of course, there was one more option.

“I… Have nothing to say on the subject.” Alex said simply.

“Well, let’s see if I can’t change your mind by the end of the day” Dash said confidently.

“Why…?” Alex asked, “What’s happening today?”

“Your first flying lesson!” Dash exclaimed, jumping in the air, and soaring around the room.

“But… Can’t I sleep a little longer?” Alex asked, falling back on to his pillow. “What time is it anyway?”

“6:00!” Dash said, landing next to the clock on the wall. “You know what they say! The early bird gets the Sonic Rainboom!”

“That doesn’t even rhym—“

“No arguments! Come on!” Dash said, smacking Alex’s rump through the blanket, earning a quiet whinny from him.

“Okay!” Alex said quickly jumping out from under the covers.

“That’s better!” She said with a grin. “Let’s go!”

////

Alex stood at attention in front of Rainbow Dash, who was wearing now wearing a black and white striped cap, with a whistle around her neck.

Dash had insisted that today would be the best for learning, since the weather was going to be clear most of the day.
And, with her patented flying methods, Dash was sure that Alex could make some head-way before the storm started. She had taught a couple of fillies to fly, but she had never had experience teaching a grown stallion with zero flight experience. Still, he had told her about his first time in this world, and how easily walking came to him. So, hopefully, flying would come naturally as well.

“Alright, listen up!” Dash said to him, “You’re here to learn how to fly, right?”

“Um… Yes?” Alex said slowly.

“Come oooon Spot!” Dash whined, with her usual voice crack. “You have to get pumped, or else this is going to take way longer!”

Alex wasn’t sure how true that statement was, but it couldn’t hurt!

“Alright!” Alex shouted, “Let’s do this!”

Dash grinned, happy to have him playing along.

“Good!” She said, snapping back to ‘coach mode’ “Let’s get to work!”

Things were going to be easy. Alex could feel it.

////

“Okay… One more time…” Dash said dejectedly, as she watched Alex pick himself up off the ground, again. “And remember, jumping doesn’t help! It only gets your face in the dirt!”

“What else am I doing wrong?” Alex asked, wiping some dirt off his face. He had been following every instruction he had been given to the letter. Flare your wings, beat them downward, and the rest should just… happen!

“You can’t be so stiff!” Dash said, “Loosen up!”

Alex breathed out, and shook his head back and forth. “Okay, here I go!”

Taking the stance he had been shown, Alex relaxed and flared his wings.

“Now, remember! Straight up and down!” Dash shouted to him.

Nodding to her, Alex started flapping up and down as quickly as he could, but, nothing was happening.

“Not so fast, and not so shallow!” Dash instructed, “Make slower, FULLER beats, just like I showed you!”

“But, I’ve read so many books on flying!” Alex said, “And they all say that beginners should flap their wings like this!” He said, adjusting his wings, and flapping differently.

“Alex, what did I say the LAST time you told me about books on flying?” Dash asked.

“That I should stop being an egghead..? “ Alex asked.

“Exactly!” Dash said, “Now, just like I showed you!”

Nodding again, Alex sighed started beating his wings up and down just as she had told him. However, he was still having zero luck.

“Just like that!” Dash encouraged. “Try to go a little faster!”

“Okay!” Alex said back to her, doing as she said.

Flapping faster, in the full strokes she had told him, he was surprised to feel himself becoming less attached to the ground. He wasn’t sure how he would ever be able to change this into full flight, but this was very promising for him.

“I can feel it working!” Alex shouted, with a beaming smile on his face.

Seeing the pure child-like excitement on Alex’s face, Dash couldn’t help but smile right back to him.

Flapping his wings harder, Alex could feel them starting to tire. So, he decided to go for broke, and go as fast as he could. And, just before they completely gave out from exhaustion, he felt himself lift away from the grass. It hadn’t been more than a quarter of an inch got a quarter of a second, and his wings burned like crazy, but he had definitely done it!

“I did it! I got off the ground!” Alex shouted, jumping up and down.

“I saw!” Dash said, happy to see her training methods working so well.

“Me too!” Pinkie said, running toward the two with a cupcake balanced on her forehead. “I made this to celebrate!”

Alex watched as she dropped in on the ground, and then bounced off, in her usual way.

Walking forward, Alex and Dash both inspected the top of the cupcake.

It read: ‘Congratulations on your first quarter of an inch of flight Alex!’ --Pinkie

Alex SHOULD have been confused, but, Pinkie had run into so many different situations with so many different baked goods, that he had grown numb to it all. As far as he was concerned, this was completely normal.

“Thanks Pinkie Pie!” Dash called to the now distant pony. Before turning to Alex with a stern look on her face, “Oh, and by the way, I’m putting you on a strict diet, so you can build muscle faster, and get higher off the ground!”

And with that, Dash leaned down and ate the cupcake.

“A Diet... Really?” Alex asked, not liking the sound of it.

“No. Not really,” Dash said, her mouth still full of cupcake. “I just wanted to eat your cupcake.”

“All you had to do was ask, I would have shared it with you.” Alex laughed,

“Yeah… But, I wanted all of it.” She said, after swallowing the last of it.

“Anyway,” Alex said, “How long until I’m able to actually fly?”

Dash thought for a moment. “I’d say… No more than a few weeks.”

This surprised Alex. He thought it would have been longer. “Is that really all?”

“Well, normally, fillies train for years, and learn to fly early…” Dash explained, “Their wings gain muscle, and with it, they’re able to lift themselves off the ground.”

“Okay…” Alex said, listening for more.

“But, if a Pegasus grows up, and never learns how to fly, their wings turn out weak, and unable to support flight.” Dash continued, “But, even though you’ve never flown, your wings look like they belong to a FLYING pony. Not a flightless one. So, all the muscle is there. All you have to do is learn how to use it properly.

Alex was surprised that Dash knew so much about flight. But, then again, it was her passion in life.

“So, you ready to keep trying?” Dash asked.

“Um… My wings actually feel like they’re on fire…” Alex confessed, “Do you mind if I sit down for a few minutes?”

Dash thought about it, then, decided that he should have to work for his breaks.

“I don’t know…” Dash said, “Maybe if somepony called me pretty… I’d let you sit down.”

Alex smirked. She was making this too easy for him.

Dash watched in confusion as Alex stood up, then walked over to the nearest pony to him, and whispered something in his ear.

“I think you’re pretty!” The pony shouted to her, after listening to Alex’s instruction.

“Wow!” Alex called, “Somepony called you pretty! Guess that means I can go lie down!”

And with that, Alex trotted away from the pony, and back in to the library.

Dash sighed.

She had to admit, He was good.

After a moment, the pony who had called her pretty walked over to her.

“Sorry if I inconvenienced you at all.” The pony said to her.

“Naaa, it’s fine.” Dash said, laughing lightly as she looked up to him. “Hey… I don’t think I’ve seen you around… What’s your name?”

“Oh, I’m the Doctor.” The pony said to her, extending his hoof.

“Nice to meet you, Doctor!” Dash said shaking it, with a smile, “I’m Rainbow Dash!”

“Say…” The Doctor said slowly, “What can you tell me about your friend…?”

////

Look Before You Sleep

////
Chapter 10
Look Before You Sleep
////

“Spot?” Dash called, walking into the library.

Not hearing a response, Dash decided to go check his room at the back. And, when she got there, she was completely unsurprised to find him in bed, fast asleep.

“Geez, he’s lazier than I am…” Dash muttered to herself as she moved alongside the bed. She raised one of her hind legs to his back. Then kicked.

The first thing Alex felt as his consciousness returned, was his body thudding on the floor, landing face first.

“Ow…” Alex grumbled, as he put his hoofs on the floor to raise himself up. However, he encountered a problem. On that he thought he had seen the last of. His horn was stuck in the floor.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Alex whined. “It’s not even like its sharp!”

Noticing the predicament that Alex was currently in, Dash decided to do what any good friend would do. Fall over in a fit of laughter.

Alex sighed, he really couldn’t blame her. Here he was, with his rump raised up in the air, and his horn stuck in the floor, as he pushed up as hard as he could to get it out, having no luck.

“Care to lend a hoof?” Alex asked, as he listened to her laughing continue.

Dash tried her best to compose herself so she could help Alex, but, every time she looked at him in this helpless state, she just couldn’t control herself.

“What’s all the laughing about?” Spike asked, walking into the room, unable to see Alex thro.

“Spike!” Alex said, relieved to see the baby dragon. “Can you help me out here?”

“Help you with wha…”

As soon as Spike saw Alex in that position, he understood why Dash had been laughing. And unfortunately for Alex, Spike joined right in with her.

“Are you two serious?!” Alex asked, watching the two feed of each other’s reaction, and laugh stronger as a result. “I wish Twilight were here…”

Finally, after several more minutes of the two laughing, they finally calmed down enough to be able to help him.

Wrapping his hand around the exposed part of the horn, Spike started yanking as hard as he could, while Alex pushed out on the floor. Unfortunately, that didn’t work.

“Here!” Dash said, walking over Alex’s body, wrapping her arms around his forehead, hugging his head to her chest. “Let me help.”

“Okay…” Alex said, readying himself for another try, “On three!”

“One…”

“Two…”

“Three!”

All at once, Alex pushed against the floor, Spike pulled on his horn, and Dash started using her wings to lift herself and Alex away. And with their combined effort, the three managed to get Alex’s horn out of the floor.

The only thing they hadn’t thought about, was what to do after he was free. His head slipped out of the floor so fast, none of them had the chance to stop pulling, and in the end, they all wound up tumbling backwards, into a pile on the floor.

“Great job guys!” Alex said to the two underneath him.

“Yeah,” Dash said, trying her best to breath with Alex on top of her. “REAL great…”

“C—Could you guys M—Move?” Spike gasped from the bottom of the pile.

“Oh, yeah!” Alex said, quickly getting off, followed by Dash.

As soon as they were off of him, Spike rolled over onto his back. “You guys should lose some weight.”

“Sorry about that buddy…” Alex said, levitating Spike up off the floor, and placing him on the bed. “Why don’t you just lie down for a minute?”

“Okay…” Spike groaned.

Alex lifted the blanket off the floor and put it over Spike.

“Come on,” Dash said, “Let’s get back to your training.”

Alex nodded, then turned to Spike.

“We’ll be back in a little bit, okay?” Alex said the baby dragon, walking toward the door.

“Okay…” Spike said, “But, to help me get better, you should bring some ice cream.”

“We’ll see.” Alex said, walking out the door, followed by Dash.

“That always means no…” Spike grumbled.

////

Alex and Dash immediately resumed his training, and continued for the next few hours.

While Alex didn’t make much more progress, Dash was still happy that he was getting practice in the basics.

“Okay,” Dash instructed, “Just one more set!”

Taking a deep breath, Alex started flapping his wings. He wasn’t trying to achieve any flight; he was simply moving them up and down at a slow pace. The closest thing he could compare it too, was jumping jacks, but with his wings, and without jumping.

Standing and watching Alex, Dash thought back to the pony who she had briefly talked with about Alex. He had been really interested in him… Had he and Alex even met?

“Okay, that’s good!” Dash said, deciding to let Alex finish a bit early. “I’m kind of curious about something.”

“Shoot.” Alex said, catching his breath.

“That pony that you got to call me pretty…” Dash said, “Do you know who him?”

“I’ve only seen him around,” Alex answered. “That was the first time I’ve ever talked to him.”

“He seemed really interested in you.” Dash said.

“Really?” Alex asked, “What was his name?”

“He had a weird kind of name…” Dash mumbled, “He called himself ‘The Doctor.’”

“Huh,” Alex said, thinking back to a couple weeks ago. “I think I heard Applejack mention him back when she hurt her leg… What did he ask you?”

“Like, when you first arrived, where you came from, what you were doing here… Pretty basic stuff.” Dash recalled.

“Well, that’s pretty weird.” Alex said, “Maybe he was just curious.”

“Yeah… Mayb—“ Dash was cut off when a loud bolt of thunder sounded above them.

“Wow!” Alex said looking up at the sky, “When did it get so dark?”

“Haven’t you noticed the Pegasi putting the clouds in the sky?” Dash asked. “We’re having a big storm today because the rain we had planned for a few days ago never happened.”

“Scheduling weather is something I’ll NEVER get used to…” Alex said. “And I guess I just didn’t notice the ponies setting it—“

Another clap of thunder sounded in the sky, causing Alex to jump.

“Uh… Let’s go inside.” Alex said quickly feeling the wind start to pick up.

“Oh come on!” Dash said teasingly, “You aren’t afraid of a little—“

An especially massive boom went off, scaring both Dash and Alex.

“Can we please?” Alex asked, not wanting to be outside anymore.

“Um… Yeah…” Dash said, feeling a couple of rain drops land on her snout. “Let’s go inside.”

Alex and Dash both ran inside, not wanting to get wet, or struck by lightning.

////

“Where have you guys been?” Spike asked, watching the two run inside the library from his seat at the kitchen table. “Did you bring my ice cream?”

“Sorry Spike,” Alex said, looking out the window. “We didn`t really have time.”

“Yeah…” Spike said, “I kinda figured.”

“I’ll go pick you some up tomorrow, okay?” Alex said, turning to face him.

“Uh… Sure!” Spike said, surprised that he was going to get ice cream at all.

“So, what’s the plan?” Alex said to the two.

“Well…” Dash said, peering out the window. “I don’t think flying up to my house will be the SAFEST thing in the world right now…”

“Well, you’re welcome to stay here,” Alex said. “With Twilight gone, we have a spare bed.”

Dash looked at Spike, and saw that he had no objection. So, she smiled, and nodded.

“Great!” Alex said, “What are we going to do in the meantime though? There’s still a couple hours before we should be heading to bed.”

“What does Twilight do for fun around here?” Dash asked.

“Uh…” Alex said, “Well… She reads.”

Dash couldn’t believe that was the first thing on the list.

“Ugh, Bor-ING,” Dash said, sighing. “What else?”

Spike scratched his head, what else did they do… Oh! He knew!

“Sometimes we do math!” Spike said, expecting them to love his idea.

“Yeah… They… They really do…” Alex said, clearly not a fan of the idea.

“Is that all there is to do around here?” Dash whined, sitting down.

“Pretty much…” Alex said, “Normally we go outside to do--”

Another clap of thunder went off, almost as if it were reminding them that going out wasn’t an option.

Seeing something run by the window of the Library, Dash took a peek to see what it was.

“Hey, look!” Dash announced. “There goes Applejack and Rarity!”

“Huh?” Alex said, standing next to her at the window. “Oh yeah! There they go!”

After watching the two run past the Library, and head toward a deeper part of town, Alex realized something. “We probably should have invited them in… Huh?”

Dash and Spike both nodded in agreement.

“Maybe we would have had something to do with them here!” Dash complained.

Alex looked around. Twilight really didn’t have much stuff to do. He always passed the time by practicing magic… But that was hardly an option for Dash.

“I wish that this world had television…” Alex mumbled.

“What’s that?” Dash asked.

“Uh…” Alex paused. How do you explain a television to somepony who’s never heard of it?

“It’s like… A box, that shows pictures… Well, moving pictures!”

“Oh, like a movie!” Dash said.

“You’ve got movies here?” Alex asked, surprised.

“Well, we have projectors,” Dash said, “but they’re not very popular.”

“Well, a television is a box, with a screen, that plays movies without a projector.” Alex explained. “In my world, there are literally a million different things that you can watch.”

“Wow,” Spike said, “your world sounds really cool!”

“I guess so...” Alex said, thinking about all of the things he missed from his world.

“Tell us more about your world!” Spike said excitedly.

“Um, alright,” Alex agreed, sitting down at the table with the other two. “Where should I start…?”

////

Dash and Spike listened to Alex tell them all about his world for the next couple of hours. He had told them about cars, skyscrapers, convenient stores, and fast food restaurants.

They kept listening as he started to explain his personal life. His own car, his schooling, and he even got a little bit too deep into describing video games.

“—And that’s why you never use the AA-12” Alex finished.

“That sounds like tons of fun!” Dash said, still engrossed in the story. “Don’t cha’ think so Spike?”

Turning to the baby dragon, Dash and Alex both realized that he was fast asleep, and since the two had been so focused on each other while he told his stories, Spike had probably had been like that for a while.

“Oh, maybe I bored him to sleep.” Alex laughed.

Dash giggled. Something Alex hadn’t really heard her do before.

“Come on, let’s take him to bed.” Alex said, deciding not to make a big deal out of it. “I’ll get you set up while we’re up there.”

Dash simply nodded as Alex levitated Spike off the chair, and carried him up the stairs.

Following Alex, Dash walked up behind him into Twilights room.

Placing Spike in the bed, Alex turned around, and looked at the bed.

“This is where you’ll be sleeping,” Alex said, jumping on the bed, landing on his back.

Dash cocked an eyebrow, “How am I supposed to sleep if you’re on the bed?”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Alex said, “I changed my mind. You have to sleep on the floor.”

“Don’t make this harder than it has to be,” Dash challenged. “You’re getting out of that bed, one way or another.”

“You can try.” Alex said.

Dash readied herself for a charge toward Alex, however, just as she lunged toward him, yet another boom of thunder went off, causing the entire tree to shake.

Dash immediately flared her wings to slow herself down. And, instead of knocking Alex off the bed, she wrapped her arms around him, and clung to him, to which Alex immediately reciprocated, and hugged her back.

“M—Maybe you can stay for a little longer…” Dash said as she shook.

“Aren’t P—Pegasi supposed to be like… Used to thunder?” Alex stammered.

“Are you kidding?” Dash said. “Getting struck by lightning is really e—easy for a Pegasus.”

Alex didn’t answer. He simply sat in the dimly lit room, clinging to the pony next to him.

Finally, after a few minutes, the storm seemed to quiet down enough for the two to calm down.

“You know… Maybe you should stay for a little while…” Dash said, her voice still shaking a bit.

“Yeah… Just in case…” Alex said, shuffling closer to her on the bed.

The silence returned to the room.

Dash thought for a moment, before when he was talking about his world, she couldn’t help but notice that he hadn’t mentioned his family at all. So, she decided to just ask about them one more time. “So… What happened with your family?”

Alex’ expression hardened. He didn’t like to think about this.

“What happened?” Dash asked.

Alex sighed. Nopony knew about his family. But… If there was one pony he could confide in, he felt like Dash was the one.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to…” Dash said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“No…” Alex said, “I can talk about it.”

Dash remained silent.

“The day that I came to Equestria…” Alex began, “Was the worst day of my life.”

Dash didn’t understand. He always talked about how much he loved this place. Something must have happened before he came into Equestria.

Alex didn’t say anything for a few minutes. He wasn’t in the mood to beat around the bush. So, he decided to just come out with it.

“My parents died…” Alex said, staring forward.

Immediately, Dash lifted her head off his shoulder and turned to face him. “I— I’m so sorry! I didn’t know!”

Alex turned to meet her gaze, “It’s okay, Colors. I don’t think it would hurt too much for me to talk about it.”

“H—How did they… Or, what hap-- uh…” Dash stammered trying to find the right words.

“They were driving in one of the cars I was telling you about… And someone hit them with another car.” Alex explained solemnly

Dash thought back to Alex’ description of a car... If two of those things were to collide, the result would be bad…

“I… Found out when I got home from school.” Alex said, “It was all too much… So, I decided to start walking. I didn’t care where I ended up… After walking for what seemed like hours, I found that light, and it brought me here.”

A bright bolt of lightning illuminated the room, but, at this moment, neither of them cared.

“I’m sorry…” Dash repeated, turning her head to face away from him.

“You don’t need to apologize,” Alex said, using his hoof to turn her head back to face him. “After all, there was a silver lining… I found this world.”

Dash looked back in to his eyes. They were sad. But, there was a kind of happiness behind them. She was losing herself a little bit.

“And… I found some great ponies…” Alex continued slowly, gazing back in to her eyes, inching his face forward, closing the gap between them.

“What else did you find?” Dash asked quietly, leaning forward herself.

“I found… You…” Alex said, able to feel her breathing on his nose.

“I’m glad…” Dash whispered, pushing forward to close the rest of the gap.

“What are you guys doing?”

Immediately, upon hearing Spike’s voice, Alex and Dash pulled away from each other.

“Were you about to kiss?!” Spike asked, grinning like an idiot.

“No!” Alex answered quickly. “We were just… Uh, talking!”

“Yup!” Dash agreed quickly, “Just talkin’!”

“I may be a baby, but I’m not stupid.” Spike said flatly. “But don’t worry about it. I’m not going to tell anypony.”

Both Alex and Dash gave a sigh of relief.

“Anyway, I can’t sleep up here with all the thunder, so I’m gonna go downstairs and sleep in your room, Alex.” Spike said, dragging his bed along behind him as he headed out the door.

“I’d better go down with him…” Alex said, starting to realize just how tired he was.

A low rumbling outside the library caused Dash to suddenly grip his arm.

“Can you sleep in here?” Dash asked, clearly still upset from the storm. “I’d rather not be alone…”

“I guess I can sleep on the floor.” Alex said, about to stand up.

“Oh!” Dash said quickly, “You can sleep in the bed… If you want…”

Alex paused. He wanted to sleep in the bed more than anything. But, he couldn’t look too eager. “I guess, if you want me too.”

Lying down, Alex shifted into a more comfortable position on his side, facing her. “But no funny business!”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Dash said, lying down next to him, and resting her head against his chest. “You’re like a… a big ugly teddy bear!”

Alex chucked tiredly as he closed his eyes. “That’s me in a nutshell.”

“Mhmm…” Dash muttered.

The two lay in a comfortable silence, until Alex finally drifted off.

Pushing herself closer to his sleeping form, Dash couldn’t help but chuckle quietly.

She wasn’t afraid of thunder or lightning.

////

The Doctor sat in the TARDIS, thinking back to his conversation with Rainbow Dash.

He had finally learned some useful information on Alex. He was a pony from another dimension. Unfortunately, that was a dimension with humans.

The doctor had never actually seen a human. He had only heard legends of them.

The greedy, war loving, conquering species.

And now one of them was in Equestria? That explains why Discord was the ruler in the future. Alex must have assisted him.

The Doctor sighed. A human coming to Equestria, and changing the course of history so much… It sounded like a stupid idea for a story. But, it was happening, and he didn`t like it one bit.

Of course, normally, The Doctor would take more time to consider things, but after what happened to Derpy, and everypony else… He had a one track mind. And that was to make everything go back to the way it was. He saw how this ended. Everypony was turned to stone, and Discord was the ruler of Equestria.

He wasn’t going to let it get to that point.

He was going to stop Alex. Just like he had stopped every bad guy he had ever come across.

////

Twilight Comes Home

////
Twilight Comes Home
////

Twilight walked through the mess that currently was Ponyville. Branches, roof tiles, and even a few scorch marks where lightning had clearly struck the ground littered almost every inch of the street. She hadn’t been in the town, but she had no problem imagining how strong this storm had been.

Normally, Twilight would be helping clean up by casting some quick spells, but, Celestia had spent the last few days teaching her several advanced magic spells, that she was to pass on to Alex. And she was completely drained as a result.

With the return of Discord imminent, Equestria needed to be as ready as possible for it. Celestia seemed convinced that everything was centered on Alex... His arrival from Earth, the mysterious Element that he possessed, and his ability to summon incredible magic on a whim. He was important.

So, Twilight was to help him hone his chaos-cancelling magic. The stronger they could make him, the weaker they could make Discord.

However, Twilight wasn’t very happy with this. She didn’t like the idea of turning her friend into a weapon. But… she knew that the Princess would never ask this unless it was absolutely necessary. So, for now at least, she would just grin and bear it.

Arriving at her destination, Twilight walked through the front door, and was surprised to find nopony downstairs. So, she decided to take a quick look around.

Checking in all of the rooms on the bottom floor, Twilight quickly concluded that she’d have to go upstairs.

Walking up to the door of the master bedroom, Twilight decided to knock, just to be on the safe side. Not hearing an answer, she opened the door and took a peek inside. She was VERY surprised at what she saw.

Two ponies lay in the bed, fast asleep. And Twilight had to admit, she had never expected to see these two huddled together. They barely seemed to get along… And yet, here they were.

“They must have both taken shelter here after the storm…” Twilight muttered to herself. “Still… I never expected to see this…”

Deciding to leave the huddled ponies alone, Twilight quietly stepped out of the room, and closed the door. Walking down the stairs, she glanced around the main section of the boutique.

“I guess I can ask Rarity to fix my Gala dress later…” Twilight said, looking at some of the dresses on display, before snickering lightly. “I’ll let her and Applejack finish their nap. I guess I’ll go check on Alex and Spike.”

////

Alex inhaled deeply. Something smelled great. Some like… Shampoo.

Opening his eyes a bit, Alex quickly realized what it was. A sleeping Rainbow Dash, who had pushed herself into his chest, and rested her head in his neck, causing her hair to brush up around his nose.

Attempting to readjust himself, Alex found that one of his arms was pinned underneath her. In fact, it had been wrapped around her.

Alex was surprised. They had REALLY been cuddling. But, That was because he had been making her feel safe during the storm. And, if her pressing herself into him was a result of that, he wasn’t about to start complaining.

“Is it morning?” Dash said into his chest, having awoken from Alex’ shifting.

“Yeah,” Alex said, “Maybe we should get up…”

“Can we just stay here for a littl—“ Dash said, before being interrupted by the front door of the library opening, then closing.

“Alex? Spike?” Twilight voice called from the floor below.

Dash and Alex immediately sat up, and looked at each other.

“Uh oh…” They said in unison.

Jumping off the bed, Dash ran over to the window, and opened it up.

“I hate to run out on you like this… But, I’m sure you understand.” Dash said.

Alex nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

“Well, if you’re lucky.” Dash replied with a wink before spreading her wings, and taking off through the open window.

Looking back and forth, Alex decided that he should probably try to look as natural as possible when she came to check her room.

Alex scooted himself to the edge of the bed, and attempted to get off of it. Unfortunately, the arm that had been under Dash, was still completely asleep, and he didn’t see this until he had already put weight on it, causing him to fall flat on his face.

“Why do I always end up on the floor?” Alex asked himself, standing up on his three good legs.

Steadying himself, Alex had lifted himself up, just in time for Twilight to come in the room, with Spike just behind her.

“Did you see the knocked over tree outside?” Twilight asked, before stopping to ask more pressing questions. “Wait… Why are you in my room? And… What’s wrong with your leg?”

“What are you talking about?” Alex said quickly, “My leg is always like this, see?”

Casting a small spell, Alex levitated his leg off the floor, and made it wave to her.

Twilight cocked an eyebrow at him suspiciously, but decided to move on. “Okay… Why are you sleeping up here?”

Alex looked behind Twilight, and saw Spike giving all sorts of hand gestures and signals. He was obviously trying to tell him what to say.

“Oh…” Alex said, trying his best to decode what Spike was trying to tell him. “Well… the- The thunder was so loud that…. That Spike asked if he could sleep in my room with me! You know, to get away from the noise! …But, you know how he snores! So, I came up here when he… When he fell asleep!”

Alex held his breath.

“Yeah, Spike said something along those lines.” Twilight said absentmindedly as she moved to the open window and looked outside. “Can you help me move the broken part of that tree?”

“No problem!” Alex said, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Alright, I’ll see you out there.” Twilight said, trotting out of the room.

Alex and Spike sat silently together in the room for a few moments.

“Dude.” Alex said finally, convinced that Twilight was out of earshot. “That was awesome.”

“I can’t believe that you got all that!” Spike said happily, “I thought you were busted for sure!”

“Spike!” Twilight voice called from the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh, coming!” Spike said giving a ‘thumbs up’ to Alex, then turning around and running out the door.

Alex stood alone in the silence and sighed.

That had been close… Too close.

He definitely had to be more careful when it came to sleeping with Dash.

Wait… That didn’t come out right.

////

I was writing bridal gossip, when i decided to write this up and answer a few questions l left outstanding in that one.

Bridle Gossip - Part 1

////
Chapter 11
Bridle Gossip - Part 1
////

Sorry about down time, and relatively short chapter. But, I’ve been working like crazy the past few weeks, and been a little addicted to a game called DayZ. But, hopefully I can start updating faster, as my work is starting to get back to normal, and I’m getting a little sick of my game.

Enjoy

////

Alex walked toward town. He had been following the instructions that Dash had given him, and started practicing his wing exercises. However, after an hour of this, he started to find it hard to concentrate. His mind seemed to wander to Rainbow Dash no matter what he did.

Spread Wings.

Rainbow Dash.

Raise them up.

Rainbow Dash.

Lower them back down.

RAINBOW DASH.

It was a vicious cycle.

So, Alex decided to do the one thing he knew would help get his mind off of her. Get some cupcakes!

And, luckily for him, this plan worked perfectly. All of his cupcake thoughts kept his mind completely occupied. In fact, he was so occupied that he failed to notice that there wasn’t a soul in the town. It was completely deserted.

It was almost as if nopony came outside today.

So, Alex ignorantly trotted toward his goal, which lay only a few meters in front of him.

“Alex!” Pinkie whispered from the front door of Sugarcube Corner. “Get in here!”

Snapping out of his day dream, Alex looked at the front door, and was confused to see Pinkie gesturing for him to come inside. It looked urgent.

“Hurry!” Pinkie called hoarsely.

Picking up the pace, Alex ran in the door, as Pinkie closed it behind him.

“What’s wrong?!” Alex asked, looking back and forth in the dark store. “Wait… Are you going to draw another moustache on me?”

“No!” Pinkie whispered, “We’re all hiding in here from her!” she said, pointing out the window.

Looking out the window, Alex saw the pony that Pinkie was referring to. She stood in the middle of the square with a cloak over her head, and was digging at the ground.

“Wait… What do you mean, everypony is hiding here?” Alex asked, still peering out the window.

“We’re all here!” Dash said.

Turning around, Alex saw all of his friends lined up behind Pinkie.

Rarity, Dash, Twilight, Spike, Fluttershy, Applejack, and on the very end, was Applejack’s sister, Apple Bloom.

“What are you all doing here?” Alex asked the group of ponies.

“We already told you!” Dash said, “We’re all hiding from her!”

“We’re not ALL hiding from her,” Twilight said. “I just got pulled in here.”

“I don’t understand… Who is that?” Alex asked.

“That’s Zecora!” Apple Bloom said, earning a hard glare form Applejack.

“I told ya’ not to say her name!” Applejack said angrily, earning a huff from Apple Bloom.

Alex cocked an eyebrow, and turned back to the window.

Everypony lined up behind him as they all peered out the window.

“W-Why is she just… Digging?” Rarity asked, “Doesn’t she care about getting filthy?”

“Maybe she’s looking for gems!” Spike spoke up.

Twilight was about to correct him, but her attention was drawn back to Zecora as she pulled the hood of her cloak back.

Everypony except Twilight and Alex gasped.

“Oh, she’s a Zebra!” Alex said, “I didn’t know you had those here!”

“A… What?” Everypony said in unison.

“A Zebra!” Alex said again, realizing that he really didn’t know much about them. “They all have stripes, and… Well… Yeah!”

“They ALL have those stripes?” Rarity asked in disbelief, “Those poor creatures!”

“Why don’t we go say hello?” Alex asked the group, ignoring Rarity.

“No!” Pinkie shouted. “She’s evil!”

“Have you ever talked to her?” Alex asked.

“Well… No!” Pinkie said, “But, I know she’s evil! I even wrote a song about her!”

“A… Song?” Alex asked slowly.

Dash rolled her eyes, “Here we go…”

Pinkie inhaled deeply.

“She’s an evil enchantress! She does evil dances!” Pinkie danced around Sugarcube corner, as she sang.

“If you look deep in her eyes, she’ll put you in trances!” Pinkie continued.

Alex was genuinely shocked. Not just because Pinkie was singing, but because of the nature of the song.

“And what will she do? She’ll mix up an evil brew! And she’ll gobble you up, in a big tasty stew!” Pinkie sang, jumping up on a table.

“So, Watch—“ Pinkie tried to finish, before being cut off.

“Are you serious?!” Alex shouted. “Why are you treating her this way? What’s wrong with her?”

“She’s…. Well, she’s different!” Dash explained.

“So…?” Spike asked.

“And that’s enough for everypony to treat her like she’s a witch?” Alex said, “This is like… pony racism!”

“Um… What’s that?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

“It’s when you judge people… Or ponies, by the way they look.” Alex explained. “Where I came from, it was only something that mean people did.”

“We should go talk to her!” Apple Bloom said, “I’ll bet she’s nice!”

“Oh no!” Apple jack said. “You’re stayin’ right here!”

Apple Bloom huffed and pulled away from her sister. “I’m not a baby! I can take care of myself!”

“I’m your big sister, an’ you’ll listen to me!” Applejack said sternly, as she turned away from Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom grumbled. She was old enough to look after herself, no matter WHAT Applejack thought. So, she was going to go say hello to Zecora, and prove just how capable she was.

“I think we should just go out, and say hello.” Twilight said.

“Nope,” Dash said flatly. “I’m not getting cursed.”

“C-Cursed?” Fluttershy stammered.

“Yeah!” Pinkie exclaimed, “I think she does that too!”

“You ‘think’?” Alex asked.

“Yeah!” Pinkie said, “I’m almost sixty percent sure!”

“Good to know…” Spike said.

“Can we please go talk to her?” Twilight asked the group.

“Hey, where’s Apple Bloom?” Applejack asked suddenly. “Did anypony see where she went?

Everypony looked around the shop for the filly, but had no luck finding her.

“There she is!” Spike said, pointing out the window toward Zecora, who was now walking away from the town with Apple Bloom in tow.

“That silly filly!” Applejack said in a worried tone, “We’ve got to go after her!”

Twilight sighed. “Good! Maybe now we can actually TALK to Zecora.”

“Let’s go!” Applejack said, running out the door first.

Spike headed for the door next, but was stopped by Twilight.

“You should stay here, Spike…” Twilight said to him, earning an upset look. “Um… In case Apple Bloom comes back.”

“B-but I want to go with you guys!” Spike said, “This sounds like it’s gonna be fun!”

“Sorry Spike,” Twilight said sternly. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”

And with that, Twilight walked out the door, followed by all her friends, except Alex.

“I’ll try and talk to her, okay?” Alex said to Spike.

“It’s no use,” Spike said sadly, “I’m always just going to be a baby dragon to her…”

Alex stood in silence for a moment, before speaking up, “I have to go with them… But I’ll try my best, okay?”

Spike didn’t answer. He simply looked at the ground.

Alex sighed, and followed Twilight. He truly felt bad for Spike. And he would definitely try his best to help him. He wouldn’t let him be left in the cold.

////

The group of ponies followed the path that Zecora and Apple Bloom had taken. They had gotten quite a head start, but Applejack made sure they were getting caught up.

Alex had been beside Twilight, for a few minutes, trying to find the right words to say to her. He had to be careful… Twilight was the boss, and he couldn’t act like he knew what was best for Spike, only she knew that. So, he’d just start things casually.

“So…” Alex began casually, “Why wasn’t Spike allowed to come along?”

Okay, maybe not so casual.

“Huh?” Twilight began, turning to Alex, “He wasn’t allowed, because he’s a baby!”

“But… He’s not REALLY a baby…” Alex said, realizing that this whole conversation was going to hell, before it was even started. “H-he’s pretty mature!”

Twilight was surprised at this suddenly coming up. “Where is this coming from?”

“It kinda bothers him…” Alex said, causing Twilight to cock an eyebrow. “That he doesn’t get to come along!”

Twilight stopped for a moment. Spike wasn’t left alone THAT often… was he? The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. But, that still wasn’t reason enough.

“Spike is really young, Alex…” Twilight explained. “He may be mature, but that doesn’t make any difference.”

“But…”

“Alex,” Twilight said, cutting him off. “If ANYTHING were to happen to him… I- I just don’t know what I’d do…”

Alex sighed. He knew he couldn’t change her mind. “You’re right… I’m sorry.”

“Maybe when he grows up… But not now.” Twilight said quietly.

“We both know that he won’t be grown up for a long time…” Alex added.

Twilight sighed, Spike wouldn’t be completely mature until LONG after she was gone… If she waited until he was more grown up, she would be waiting for a very long time. But, right now, she didn’t care if he was mature, or old enough, or anything. She wanted him safe, and wasn’t going to start treating him differently any time soon. Maybe the time would come, but it wasn’t right now.

“I know… But, just… Not right now.” Twilight finished.

Alex was about to say something else, but was cut off by Applejack in the front of the group.

“Apple Bloom!” Applejack shouted.

Everypony looked forward. They had just reached the edge of the Everfree forest, and Apple Bloom was just ahead, following behind Zecora. And, upon hearing her name called, both of them turned around.

Applejack ran forward and scooped Apple Bloom up off the ground, running forward a few steps into a field of blue flowers.

Everypony ran forward to meet Applejack in to the flowers.

“Beware! Beware, you pony folk! Those leaves of blue are not a joke!” Zecora said to them, in a deeper voice than any of them had pegged her for.

“You keep your creepy mumbo-jumbo to yourself, ya’ hear?” Applejack threatened.

“Yeah!” Dash shouted.

“Go away!” Pinkie said.

Zecora slowly started backing toward the darkness of the Everfree forest. “Beware!”

Alex rolled his eyes. He assumed that all of her menacing “bewares” were simply a result in differences of speech. It was unfortunate that it made her sound so evil.

Everypony watched as Zecora disappeared, then let out a collective sigh of relief.

“You’d better run!” Dash shouted into the darkness.

“Why couldn’t ya’ just stay put?” Applejack said to Apple Bloom.

“I- I…” Apple Bloom stammered.

“You could’a been cursed!” Applejack said, cutting her off.

“There is no such thing as a curse!” Twilight shouted.

“Oh yeah,” Dash cut in, “This coming from Miss Magic Pants herself!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “My magic, real magic, comes from within. It's a skill you're born with! Curses are artificial, fake magic! It's conjured with potions and incantations; all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have don't real power, they're just an old pony tale!”

“One of these days Twilight, you’re gonna find out that some pony tales are true!” Applejack warned.

////
The Next Day
////

Alex rolled back and forth in his bed. After all the arguing yesterday over Zecora, he just wanted to avoid everypony for a while, and relax.

But, unfortunately, he couldn’t help but feel that he wasn’t alone.

Something was watching him.

Alex opened his eyes, and was met with a familiar face. One that he hoped he wouldn’t be seeing for a while.

“Happy to see me?”

“Discord.” Alex said, frowning.

“I wasn’t planning on visiting… but after your little encounter yesterday, I just had to come see you.” Discord chuckled.

Alex adjusted to get himself out of the bed. And, again found himself a human. Just as he had at the last time he met Discord.

“What?” Alex asked, standing up. “You mean Zecora?”

“That zebra?” Discord said, “Not at all!”

Alex cocked an eyebrow.

“I’m talking about my loyal subjects, of course!” Discord explained.

“Loyal subjects?” Alex asked, completely lost.

“Oh, you’ll understand soon enough.” Discord said vaguely.

Alex sighed, “Was there anything else you wanted?”

“I saw you and that little blue pony getting pretty cozy the other night.” Discord said, wiggling his eyebrows. “You seem to be quite fond of each other.”

“How exactly do you SEE us?” Alex asked, upset that he had been spied on.

“Well, my only real connection to you is through these dreams you have.” Discord explained. “But, thanks to that little bit o’ chaos in you, I can see through your eyes every now and then.”

“Fantastic.” Alex sighed. “And, for the record, she was just scared of the lightning and thunder.”

“Are you serious?” Discord said, starting to laugh loudly, and uncontrollably. “Y- You really think that- That a PEGASUS is- is afraid of a storm?” He said through the laughter.

Alex opened his mouth to argue, but realized just how stupid he would sound. What was more likely? A born flying creature, that probably spends quite a bit of time flying during storms, that is afraid of lightning… Or, a pony that wanted to cuddle with him.

Wait… Rainbow Dash wanting to cuddle? Nah.

“I’m pretty sure she was afraid of the lightning,” Alex said, knowing full well that it was a lie.

“Whatever you like.” Discord said with a sly grin, after calming himself down. “Anyway, I’m going to let you wake up now. I think you’ll be very surprised at what you find”

Alex looked around the room as everything started to fade, just like last time. So, right before he woke up, and left this dream, he looked down and fiddled with his hands a bit.

Man… He missed his fingers.

////

Alex opened his eyes again. He was back in bed, and alone in his room. He recalled what Discord had said about a surprise, but wasn’t totally sure what he had meant.

Lifting up a hoof to rub his eyes, Alex was immediately understood what Discord had meant.

Alex had hands. He had real, proper hands.

Inspecting himself further, Alex discovered that he also had only two legs, instead of four!

He was human again! And, wearing the same clothes he had been in the night he left his world.

At least he wasn’t naked.

Looking around, Alex looked for Discord. Was this another trick? Was he still dreaming? It must be. It had to be.

“Discord!” Alex shouted.

Not hearing a response, his heart started to race. Why was he a human in Equestria? He was supposed to be a pony!

“Dis—“ Alex began again, before being cut off by shouting from outside his room.

Adjusting to normal movement again, Alex carefully got himself out of bed, wobbled his was up, slowly walked to the door, and pressed his ear against it, listening to the conversation outside his room.

“Of course it’s not a curse, Spike!” Twilight said, “It must be… something else!”

“But, what could have done it, if it wasn’t Zecora?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know… But I don’t like this one bit!” Twilight said, still agitated.

Twilight must have been affected by something too. Was she a human as well? What could have happened to her?

“I’m going to check on Alex.” Twilight said, walking to his door.

And, unfortunately, before Alex was able to do anything, she had opened the door, and now stood in front of a completely human Alex, with her mouth hung open.

“It’s me! Alex! And I am just as confused as you are!” Alex said quickly.

“W- What are you?” Twilight asked, still in shock.

“I’m Human,” Alex explained, “And this is how I looked before I came to this world.”

////

Bridle Gossip – Part 2

////
Chapter 12
Bridle Gossip – Part 2
////

I was up late finishing this one, so if there's any huge grammar error, or missing details, just send me a PM letting me know. I'll fix it up.

////

Alex found himself in too many awkward situations in this world.

After his explanation of how he was currently a human, Twilight hadn’t said a word.

Alex would have spoken up himself, but he had been too transfixed on her floppy horn. He knew what he could compare it too, but he decided against it. For all he knew, someone was reading his thoughts.

But, either way, he was a human right now.

At least he still shared the cartoon look of this world. It would probably be more of a shock to her if he was his original high-definition self.

In his current form, he was taller than Twilight. He had seen ponies that were this size in his world. But they were generally the smaller variety.

Then, suddenly, he remembered the whole Discord thing.

“Oh!” Alex said suddenly, causing Twilight to jump slightly. “I saw Discord again!”

Twilight knew this was an odd situation, but, if Discord had something to do with it, then she had to hear him out. No matter how odd he looked right now.

“He came to me while I was asleep,” Alex explained, “He didn’t say much, but he told me that this was caused by his most loyal followers… Whatever that means.”

“Do you think he could have been referring to the zebras?” Twilight asked.

“I REALLY doubt that,” Alex said, “Discord was talking about an entire group. Not one zebra.”

“Hey Twi,” Spike said entering the room, “What’s taking you so—“

Spike froze. He was just a surprised as Twilight had been.

Alex REALLY hoped that he wasn’t going to have to do this with everypony he ran in to.

“It’s me, Spike.” Alex reassured, “Something happened to me too. Just like Twilight.”

“B-But, her horn just got floppy!” Spike stammered, “You’re a completely different creature!”

“Yeah…” Alex said slowly, “I have no explanation for that.”

Suddenly, out in the main section of the library, came something that sounded like a high pitched raspberry.

Everyone turned to look out the door, and saw Pinkie with her tongue hanging out of her mouth.

“Ith a pursthe!” Pinkie said, spraying spit toward Twilight and Spike.

“A purse?” Spike asked, scratching his head, “How could it be a purse?”

“A C-urth!” Pinkie annunciated.

“I’m afraid I’d have to agree,” Rarity said, walking through the open front door.

Spike could feel his heart break as he looked at Rarity. It was like she only had a handful of giant hairs on her body that hung down and covered her like a curtain, blocking her vision completely.

“I hate to say I told ya’ so Twilight, but I told ya’ so!” A high pitched voice came from Apple Bloom, who had walked in behind Rarity, and was followed by Fluttershy.

Everypony looked at Apple Bloom oddly, until she turned to the side. Revealing a miniature Applejack standing on her back.

“It’s a curse I tells ya’!” Applejack said in her new high pitched voice.

“But… Fluttershy seems fine!” Twilight said desperately.

“Yes, there doesn’t seem to be a thing wrong with her!” Rarity said, jealously.

“Fluttershy… Are you okay?” Twilight asked, walking out from Alex’s room.

Fluttershy shook her head.

“Is there something wrong with you?” Twilight asked again.

Fluttershy nodded.

“Would you care to tell us?” Twilight asked, confused at her silence.

Fluttershy shook her head again.

“So… You’re not gonna tell us?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded.

“Yes you’re not? Or… Yes you will?” Twilight asked, still completely lost.

“Good gravy girl!” Applejack squeaked, “What’s wrong with you?”

Fluttershy sighed, her silent strategy was beaten.

“I don’t wanna talk about it…” Fluttershy said in the deepest voice any of them had heard.

All of her friends gasped, as she lowered her head in embarrassment.

Twilight walked out from Alex’s room to confront her friends. And, as soon as she was out the door, a very human Alex walked out the door behind her, causing all the girls to gasp in shock.

“What in tarnation is that?!” Applejack asked, slightly panicked.

“Oh, that’s Alex.” Twilight said, “This is what happened to him. It’s just like what happened to us.”

After Twilight finished speaking, everypony remained silent.

Alex decided that he was sick of the silence. “I’m a human right now! This is how I used to look!”

“I think he looks nice!” Apple Bloom said.

“Thank you!” Alex said, happy that somepony was okay with this. “I promise. It’s still me. I just look a bit different!”

Finally, the mood eased, and everypony started talking about what could have caused their ailments. The general consensus was that they were cursed, no matter how hard Alex or Twilight tried to convince them otherwise.

“Hey… What’s that noise?” Spike asked.

Everyone quieted down to listen. And, sure enough, there was some kind of humming off in the distance.

The best Alex could compare it too, was a dive bombing airplane. But what could cause that kind of sound in this world?

Looking out the window, Alex immediately understood.

A crashing Rainbow Dash might be responsible. A crashing Rainbow Dash that was headed straight for the Library.

Everypony moved out of the way as she approached the door, well, everypony except Alex, as he was still watching her approach.

So, when Dash came careening through the door, she hit Alex, and took him with her straight into the back wall of the Library.

“Ow…” Dash said, rubbing her head, as her wings started flapping rapidly again, “Here we go again…”

Alex groaned. She may have been a small pony, but crashing into him still hurt, and having her basically sitting in his lap wasn’t helping either.

Seeing that Dash wasn’t in control of her wings, Alex decided to help her out, and wrap his arms around her midsection, keeping her wings clamped down.

Looking back to Alex, Dash raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, you guys?” Dash asked to her friends in front of her. “What is this, and why is it holding on to me?”

“That THING, is me Colors.” Alex said to her, acting offended.

“Alex?” Dash said in complete shock. “What the buck happened to you?”

“Hey!” Twilight scolded, putting her hoofs on Spikes ears, “Watch your language!”

Dash rolled her eyes. “So-rry.”

Twilight glared at her again before taking her hoofs off of Spikes ears. She then went back to the previous conversation she had been having about Zecora with the others.

Dash shifted. If wasn’t exactly comfortable sitting on Alex’s lap while he kept her wings in place. But, it was better than flying around uncontrollably.

“So, Zecora got you too?” Dash asked casually. “Let’s hope we find a cure for this… I liked you better as a pony.”

“Ouch,” Alex said, “You sure know how to hurt a guy’s feelings.”

“Yeah,” Dash laughed, “I can tell how broken up you are about it.”

Alex and Dash continued talking, oblivious to the conversation their friends were sharing.

“This wasn’t a curse!” Twilight said angrily, “Alex said that—“

“So Alex had a dream,” Rarity said from behind her hair, “That doesn’t prove the innocence of that striped fiend!”

“Rarity please…” Twilight began again, before being cut off by Pinkie attempting to talk, even though nopony understood what she had said.

“Let’s just GO talk to her, and sort everything out!” Twilight said, as her horn wobbled. Earning a snicker from Spike.

“We’re not goin’ anywhere NEAR Zecora!” Applejack squeaked, causing Spike to laugh a little louder.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Twilight asked.

“We could get cursed…” Fluttershy said in her deep voice, sending Spike into all out hysterics.

“Spike!” Twilight shouted, over his laughter.

“W- Well, I’m sorry!” Spike said through his snickers. “But, look at you guys!”

Alex and Dash both quieted down and looked at Spike.

“There’s Hairity! Rainbow Crash! Spitty Pie! Apple Teeny! Flutterguy!” Spike laughed harder as he listed each name. However, his laughter stopped short as he looked at Twilight, then to Alex, then back to Twilight.

“What can I even do with you two?” Spike sighed, “Talk about a buzz kill.” He said, gesturing to Twilight.

“Spike!” Hairity scolded.

“Beeth theriouth!” Spitty spat.

“How did you know that was my nickname?” Crash whined.

Flutterguy sighed deeply.

“Twilight,” Apple Teeny said, ignoring Spike, “You need to find a cure for this, and fast!”

“I’ve looked…” Twilight said dejectedly. “But, I don’t have anything in this entire library!”

“Well, there was that one book…” Spike said, pointing to a book with the label ‘super naturals.’

“I already told you, Spike!” Twilight said, slightly annoyed, “That book is a bunch of mumbo jumbo!”

“But—“

“No buts!” Twilight said quickly.

“I guess we’re stuck this way…” Flutterguy said.

“How dreadful!” Hairity complained.

“But… How am I supposed to become a Wonder Bolt, if I can’t stop flying?” Crash asked.

Pinkie tried to respond, but only spat a large amount of spit all over the room.

“We ARE going to fix this,” Twilight said, “I’ll have to write and ask Princess Celestia to help.”

“Hey…” Spike said, “Is it just me? Or is Apple Bloom gone again?”

“I thought that her and Apple Bloom were going somewhere,” Alex said from under Crash. “Although, she didn’t look too happy about it… In hindsight, I probably should have spoken up.”

“We’d better go after them then!” Twilight said, realizing that this was the perfect opportunity to go see Zecora. “We don’t want our friends getting hurt!”

“Well… I don’t know…” Flutterguy said timidly.

“Perhaps we could just… forget about them?” Hairity joked.

A moment of awkward silence passed.

“Fine!” Hairity said, realizing that this may not be the best time for jokes, “Let’s get this over with.”

And with that, the ponies started filling out the door one by one.

Hairity, then Spitty, then Crash, who was now giving Alex a ride, as he used his legs to keep her wings from going crazy again. Next out the door was Twilight, then Flutterguy.

Spike stood at the door and watched the ponies walk away from the Library, and was surprised when Flutterguy turned around to face him.

“Are you coming Spike?” Flutterguy asked in a surprisingly caring way, considering the voice she had.

“Uh… Sure!” Spike said excitedly, as he ran out the front door. Unfortunately, Spike was stopped in place by a magic aura before he was able to make it very far.

“I think you should stay here Spike.” Twilight said as she levitated him back through the door.

“B- But!” Spike stammered.

“No ‘buts!’” Twilight said adamantly, as she placed him on the floor. “The Everfree forest is no place for a baby!”

Spike sighed and sat down on the floor. “Okay…”

It hurt Twilight to make him feel this way. But she just couldn’t get past his size and age.

“I’m sorry Spike,” Twilight said earnestly, “I just… can’t let you.”

Spike didn’t say a word. He simply stood up, and walked up the stairs behind him toward his room.

“I’m sorry…” Twilight said again.

////

Apple Bloom walked toward the Everfree Forest with her older sister stuck on her back.

“Why are you goin’ back in here?” Apple Teeny angrily, “I thought you learned yer’ lesson last time!”

“I’m going to ask Zecora if she can help!” Apple Bloom said, “Alex said it himself! Discord is the cause of this!”

“Oh no! Apple Teeny said. “Take us back to the library now!”

“I don’t think so!” Apple Bloom said to her miniature older sister.

“I‘m your big sister, an’ you’ll listen to me!” Apple Teeny argued.

“You’re forgettin’ one thing,” Apple Bloom said smugly, as she dropped her sister on a nearby branch, “I’m the big sister now!”

“Apple Bloom!” Apple Teeny squeaked, “Get back here!”

////

“I simply cannot believe that we are back in this dreadful forest!” Hairity complained.

“It’s better than being stared at by all the ponies in town…” Alex said, still feeling all the eyes that had been on him.

“I think I preferred all the stares…” Hairity said.

“Quit complaining!” Crash said as she carried Alex, “At least you don’t have a million pounds on your back!”

“Hey! I’m only like, half that!” Alex complained, “Besides! I like riding around with you like this! We should do it more often.”

“Speak for yourself,” Dash said. “Next time you’re carrying me.”

“Fair enough.” Alex laughed.

“Um… Does anypony hear that?” Flutterguy said from the back of the group, stopping all the conversation.

Everypony listened for what she had been talking about. And, after a second, they all heard it.

“Help me!” A squeaky voice called from a nearby bush, almost too quiet to hear.

“I know that voice…” Crash said as she approached the talking bush.

Suddenly, Apple Teeny jumped out from the bush and landed next to Alex on Crash’s back.

“Get outta my way!” Apple Teeny said, as she got in position to Applebuck Alex’s hip. “I gotta get to Apple Bloom!”

“Just what do you plan on doing?” Alex asked, stifling his laughter, “Kick me off?”

Applejack’s eyes narrowed as she smiled, “That’s exactly what I plan to do!”

And with that, Apple Teeny kicked Alex right off Crash’s back.

As soon as Alex was off, Crash immediately lost control of her wings, and flew off.

“Yee-haw!” Apple Teeny shouted as she headed toward the sky.

“I’ll stop them!” Alex said as he tried to focus and bring them back. However, as soon as the spell started to cast, he felt a scorching hot heat in his head.

“Alex, stop!” Twilight shouted, “You don’t have a horn, remember?”

Alex immediately stopped. He remembered what she had told him about that mysterious stallion. He died because he used magic without a horn, so, he would have to lay off until he could be transformed back into a pony.

“Let’s follow them!” Twilight said, “I’m sure Applejack will have no problem steering Crash—Err, Dash toward Zecora’s hut.”

////

Spike huffed. This wasn’t fair. Why should he not be allowed to go?

He was perfectly grown up.

But here he was, completely alienated from the group because he was a baby dragon.

Was that another kind of that ‘racism’ that Alex had mentioned?

Na, Twilight just didn’t want him getting hurt, which, he really couldn’t blame her for. It was almost like the situation that Apple Bloom was in with her sister... So… All he had to do was prove that he was able to handle himself!

That was it! He would go out and help them! Then maybe Twilight would let him come out more often!

Of course, proving himself wasn’t the only way that he would be allowed to come along… If his wish were to come true, if the one thing his heart desired were to be his, he would be able to go with them in a heartbeat. But, it was never going to happen. So, he decided to forget about that, and focus on proving himself to Twilight.

And with that thought, he got up, and hurried out the door. They had quite the head start, so he would have to hurry!

////

The group followed Crash’s from the group, until they finally saw her start circling something that was just in front of them.

“It must be just ahead!” Twilight said as she picked up the pace.

“Carthful!” Spitty said, “Youpth couthd gethed curthed!”

Twilight ignored the comment as she hurried forward.

Alex walked behind the group, taking this time to appreciate his human form. He was able to snap his fingers, scratch an itch, run his hands through his hair. You really don’t realize how much you miss hands until you lose them. Reaching into his pocket, Alex was surprised to find his IPod.

Pulling it out of his pocket, Alex was even more surprised to see it still had power. There was so much he could do with this thing! Where could he start? After a moment of consideration, he got an idea.

“There it is!” Twilight said as they passed through a thick bunch of trees.

Everyone walked up behind Twilight.

“…Maybe we should just go home…” Flutterguy said timidly.

“Absolutely not!” Hairity said, “I haven’t come all this way to NOT get my hair fixed!”

Twilight slowly approached the window and looked in.

Inside, stood Zecora chanting loudly, in a language none of them could understand.

Twilight couldn’t help but be frightened by it.

Spitty started attempting to form words as she had before, however, she was still unable.

“Pinkie!” Hairity called, “Calm down!”

“Dang!” Alex said loudly, causing all the girls to turn and face him. “I can never get that one pig! And now he’s laughing at me!”

Alex stood, playing on his IPod, oblivious to the odd looks he was getting.

“Uh… Alex?” Hairity asked, “Is this really the time?”

Alex clicked the button on the top of his IPod and slipped it into his pocket, “Oh! Sorry!”

Spitty approached the window, then started breathing quickly, as if she wanted to say something. So, she did the next best thing. She looked at Flutterguy with the saddest eyes she could muster.

Flutterguy sighed, then took a deep breath, and started singing Spitty’s song.

“She’s an evil enchant—“

“Seriously?” Alex cut in, “This again? This is racist! Stop singing this right now!”

Flutterguy looked at Spitty and shrugged.

Spitty sighed, and then let out a very depressed raspberry.

“You know… If you ask me, we should go in and demand a cure for this!” Hairity said boldly.

“We could just ask.” Alex said, “Demanding will just cause a fight.”

“What do you think Twilight?” Hairity asked, “You’ve been silent this whole time!”

“That place does look kinda… evil.” Twilight said after a moment of silence, finally starting to believe what everypony had been telling her,

“Are you joking?” Alex almost shouted, “Please tell me this is a joke!”

“Well… Those masks… The chanting…” Twilight said slowly, “What else could it be?”

“Listen to yourself!” A voice called from behind them. “How could you think she’s evil?”

Everyone turned around. It was Spike.

“What are you doing out here Spike?!” Twilight said angrily.

“That’s not the issue right now!” Spike said in a serious enough tone to silence Twilight, “You think she’s evil? Come on Twilight!”

Everyone remained silent.

“We’re going to go in there, and we’re going to ask her if she knows anything about this!” Spike instructed. “She’s a little different! That’s all!”

Twilight remained silent. He was right. How could she be so stupid? She would have barged right in and probably made herself look like a complete foal… She was happy that Spike showed up when he did… But she wasn’t happy that he left the way he did. Either way, now wasn’t the time to scold him.

Alex sighed happily, backup had arrived just in time.

“Thanks,” Alex said to Spike, “I thought I was the only sane one left.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Spike said, “Sometimes Twilight can lose sight of reason.”

“At least you restored some order,” Alex said, “Anyway, let’s get in there.”

Alex, Spike, and Twilight started heading for the door, but they stopped when they realized that they weren’t being followed.

“You guys are coming too.” Spike said flatly,

The three girls sighed, then started to follow behind them.

“Oh wait,” Twilight finally spoke up, “One more thing.”

Twilight’s floppy horn glowed. For a minute no one knew what she was doing. But, it soon became clear as Crash and Apple Teeny were lowered to the ground.

“Good job Twi!” Apple Teeny said happily, “Now point us at the door, and send us in! We’ll deal with her!”

“We’re going to talk to her,” Twilight said, “Be nice!”

Apple Teeny scoffed, as Twilight levitated her on to her back.

“Alex, care to help Dash out?” Twilight said, still holding Crash in place.

“Oh yeah!” Alex said happily as he jumped on her back, and wrapped his arms around her midsection.

“You’re going to lie on my back?” Crash whined.

“Eeyup.” Alex said simply.

“Let’s get this over with then!” Crash said as she walked forward, and straight in through the front door.

“Can you cure us please?” Crash asked simply.

“Why have you come into my room?” Zecora asked, “Are you friends of Apple Bloom?”

“We sure are!” Spike said as he looked around the hut.

“I’ve sent her out to collect quite a lot,” Zecora rhymed, “So that I may make your cure in this pot!”

“Our cure?” Everypony said in unison.

“It sure is!” Apple Bloom said from the door.

“Is this everythin’ you needed Zecora?” Apple Bloom asked.

Zecora looked in the basket, and then nodded.

“So, what caused all of this to happen to us?” Twilight asked.

“Do you remember those leaves of blue that I mentioned to you?” Zecora asked.

“The flowers that we were standing in yesterday? Twilight asked.

Zecora nodded.

“It’s the plant that does that!” Apple Bloom said. “They’re called Poison Joke!”

“I know that name!” Spike said, “I read about them in that book Twilight refused to read!”

“What do they do?” Alex asked.

“They play jokes on ponies!” Spike explained.

That all made sense to Alex. Discord had said that they were affected by his most loyal subjects. And something like a bunch of practical joke playing flowers seemed to be right up his ally.

“So, we got pranked?” Crash asked.

Spitty spat all over the place, while making angry noises.

Crash had had enough of all this explanation. She just wanted to be cured.

“So… Do we drink that stuff?” Crash asked, slightly disgusted by the bubbling liquid in the pot.

“Nope!” Apple Bloom said, “You just gotta wash yerself in it!”

Crash wasn’t sure if she liked that more, or less…

“No matter what it is, I simply must be rid of this horrible hair style!” Hairity said dramatically.

“It will be a moment, if you will just wait,” Zecora said to Hairy, “Then you’ll be rid of the hair that you hate.”

So, everyone stood around patiently while Zecora mixed in the final ingredients, and got the potion to the temperature she wanted it.

“All you have to do, is soak your head,” Zecora explained, “Then you’ll be cured, just as I said.”

Everyone looked back and forth nervously. None of them wanted to go first.

Finally, after a few moments of silence, Hairity stepped forward.

“Alright, let’s do this!” She said confidently.

Taking a step forward, she decided to go for all or nothing, and outright dunk her head in the cauldron.

Everyone watched in anticipation as a white ring made its way down her body, and fixed her mane and coat, returning it to the way it used to be.

Pulling her head out, she was soaked, but happy to be normal again.

Spike stared at her with wide eyes. When rarity’s hair was wet, and actually hanging down past her chin, she was even prettier than when her hair was done up, which was really saying a lot!

Rarity noticed Spike’s staring, and winked. Causing him to blush lightly.

Following Rarity’s being cured; everyone lined up, and took their turns, having their ailments removed.

Then, finally, after everypony else had been fixed, Alex was the last remaining one.

“I guess it’s my turn… huh?” Alex asked nervously.

“We don’t have all day!” Dash said as she stretched out her wings, happy to have them back to normal.

Alex sighed, it was fun while it lasted… But, he needed to be able to perform magic so he could get home. So, he walked over to the pot, and readied himself to dunk his head. However, he had one last thought before he did it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his IPod, then placed it on the table. He wanted that to stick around. He was sure he could find some magic spell to charge the battery.

Walking back to the pot, Alex took a deep breath, and then dunked his head in. He could feel the ring work its way down his body and return him to his pony form. As much as he was going to miss his hands, he knew that magic could more than make up for it.

Alex pulled his head out, then looked at Dash. “Better now?”

She winked, “Much.”

Once Alex walked away from the pot, everypony walked toward Zecora and started continuously thanking her for helping them, and apologizing for assuming she was evil. They were happy to be back to normal.

During all the commotion, Spike took the opportunity to look at one plant in particular that Zecora had. He recognized it from the same book that had mentioned the Poison Joke. What had the name been? After a moment of thought, Spike remembered what it was called.

It was called Hearts Desire.

////

Swarm of the Century - Part 1

////
Chapter 13
Swarm of the Century – Part 1
////

Spike lay comfortably in his bed. Twilight had given him a day off after he came to the rescue yesterday. It had been awesome for him. He had proven himself to Twilight, and he had even pulled her out of what would have become a sticky situation.

And, to top everything off, Spike had gotten his claws on a rather powerful flower, Heart’s desire. With it, he would be able to make all of his problems go away.

He could attempt to brew the potion right now, but apparently an inexperienced brewer can easily cause the potion to give nasty side effects. So, he wasn’t going to take any chances.

Either way, for now, he was just going to relax in bed.

////

Twilight sighed. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were supposed to come and visit tomorrow. However, it seemed like nopony was even concerned! She was trying her best to make sure everything was organized for their arrival. But it was turning out to be a lot harder than she thought!

Banners were wrong, music was off, even the town itself was a mess.

Her next stop was Sugarcube Corner to check on the catering that had been prepared. At the very least, Twilight was confident that the catering would be perfect. It had been before, and it would be again.

However, before Twilight could go inside to do her inspection, she saw Pinkie bouncing away from the store, with a very excited look on her face. So, confident that the Cakes had the catering under control, especially with Pinkie gone, Twilight decided to follow her.

After a few minutes, it quickly became apparent that she was bouncing toward The Carrousel Boutique. So, since this was another stop on her list, Twilight figured this justified going inside and finding out what Pinkie had been called there for.

////

“But Mr. Cake told me that you had an outfit for me!” Pinkie complained.

“Pinkie, I’m busy working on Rainbow Dash’s outfit,” Rarity said, “When would I have time to make an entirely new outfit for you?”

“I—I don’t know!” Pinkie whined, “It’s almost like they wanted me out of the store or something!”

“Maybe it’s because you wouldn’t stop eating the food!” Dash said, as Rarity worked away on her outfit.

“Na,” Pinkie quickly dismissed, “It couldn’t possibly be that!”

“Well, that makes sense.” Twilight said, walking through the front door, happy to have her mystery solved.

“Mhmm.” Dash agreed.

“What?” Pinkie asked innocently. “You guys think I eat too much?”

“I don't think that question really needs answering.” Twilight said, rolling her eyes at Pinkie, “You’re doing a great job with the dresses, Rarity!”

“Do you think so?” Rarity asked modestly.

“Of course!” Twilight said looking at Dash, “She looks great!”

Dash cocked an eyebrow, earning a chuckle from Twilight.

“It definitely suits you!” Twilight said, laughing a little harder.

“Haw-haw.” Dash said sarcastically. “I’m only wearing this because I owe Rarity a favor.”

“Must be one heck of a favor…” Twilight said calming down, “What did she do for you?”

“She just kept a secret for me…” Dash said, suddenly in a very serious tone, “Let’s keep it at that.”

“Okay…” Twilight slowly, “Anyway, the dress really is nice on you.”

“Do you really think so?” Dash asked hopefully.

“Oh yeah!” Twilight said as convincingly as possible.

“Well… If you say—“ Dash said before being cut off by a fit of laughter from the front door.

Alex stood in the front door, laughing harder than he could ever remember.

Dash’s embarrassment was immediately apparent. She was bright red, obviously unhappy with being seen by Alex this way.

“W-what are you wearing?” Alex asked, his eyes tearing up from his laughter. “You L-look like… Like a girl!”

Dash frowned. What did he mean? Looked like a girl? What did that make her the rest of the time?

“What then?” Dash asked angrily, “I’m a stallion the rest of the time?”

Alex thought for a moment, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Dash rolled her eyes, “Thanks.”

“No problem! Now, I was wondering if you wanted to go—“

“Everypony!” Fluttershy said, running in the room excitedly, before stopping and immediately returning to ‘shy’ mode, “Oh… I’m sorry… Did I interrupt you Alex?”

“Oh, no!” Alex said with a smile, “What did you want to want to say?”

“Oh, well! You won't believe what I found at the edge of the Everfree Forest!” Fluttershy said, shaking her hair lightly, causing five large fly-looking creatures to fall out. “Oh my! There’s five?”

The bugs flew out from her hair, and circled around her.

“These are adorable!” Twilight said as a bug flew around her. “What are they?”

“I don’t really know…” Fluttershy said, “I’m not even sure where those other four came from! I started with just one!”

Alex started at them, not making a sound.

“Do you guys all want one?” Fluttershy asked.

“Sure!” Twilight said.

“Definitely!” Dash said, flying over to Fluttershy.

“If you don’t mind parting with it.” Rarity said.

“You go over to Alex, little one,” Fluttershy said, turning to Pinkie, “Would you like one?”

“Ugh, No!” Pinkie said, moving away from Fluttershy, causing the girls to get confused. Before they were able to ask her though, Alex started freaking out.

“You keep that thing away from me!” Alex said, backing away from the bug.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked.

“That—That thing! I just… hate it!” Alex said, now hiding behind Pinkie.

“How could you hate these?” Fluttershy asked, confused.

“It’s a bug! A big bug!” Alex said, still in defense mode.

“But… you squished a pretty big spider just the other day… I watched!” Twilight said.

“Yeah! One spider!” Alex explained, “There’s like… five of those things! And they’re huge!”

“They’re harmless!” Dash said, gesturing for hers to fly toward Alex.

Alex tensed up as the bug flew over to him, and started rubbing itself against his face.

“See?” Fluttershy said, “It’s nice!”

“No no no no no no no!” Alex said, swatting it away, "I hate flies more than anything. You keep them away from me!"

“Alright Alex, follow me!” Pinkie said to Alex. “We have to go find a trombone!”

Alex had no idea what she was talking about, but he was more than happy to be getting away from those bugs. So, the two headed out the door, leaving the rest of the girls completely confused.

“What’s wrong with them?” Dash asked, “How could anypony possibly not one of these?”

“I really don’t know.” Rarity said.

“Oh well.” Twilight said, “Just forget about them. They’ll have to get used to them eventually.”

////

“So… Why are we getting a trombone?” Alex asked Pinkie.

“Because the Parasprites are gonna take over Ponyville!” Pinkie said urgently.

“They are?!” Alex asked, more alarmed than before.

“They sure are!” Pinkie said, “I have most of the instruments we need at Sugarcube Corner, but we’ll need to look for a few more!”

“But… why do we need instruments?” Alex asked again.

“Because we need to get rid of the Parasprites, silly! I just said that!” Pinkie giggled.

Alex gave up. He knew that Pinkie had an insane kind of genus to her. So he trusted her.

Pinkie looked up at the sky, and realized that it was already getting dark.

“Okay, we might have to call it a day…” Pinkie said, pulling a piece of paper and quill out of her hair with her mouth. She then wrote down a quick list of instruments.

“Okay!” Pinkie said, looking up from the paper, “Take this! I want you to look around for these instruments! We can meet up tomorrow at… Um, noon!”

Alex levitated the paper up off the ground and looked over the list.

“Okay…” Alex said after a moment, “I’ll look for these. I can’t promise much though.”

“Perfect!” Pinkie said seriously, “Get plenty of rest tonight!”

Just as Pinkie finished speaking, her demeanor immediately changed back to her usual happy self as she bounced away.

Alex turned around and saw all of the girls walking away from Rarity’s store, with their Parasprites following behind them. He shivered. At least there were only five. Anymore and he’d probably lose his mind.

////

A few hours had passed, and Alex had looked around for the few instruments that Pinkie had asked him to locate, but had no luck finding any. Accordions and tubas weren’t the easiest things to come by in libraries. So, since he had given up for the night, he decided to stand in his room, and ponder the many questions that he had arisen today.

How were these instruments supposed to help anyway? What could they possibly do?

Again, Alex reminded himself of Pinkie, and the way she worked.

The one incident that he always thought back to, was when Pinkie masterfully manipulated Dash’s friend Gilda into having a mental breakdown, causing her to leave Ponyville.

A small part of him even feared her…

But, as long as he kept on her good side, he wouldn’t need to worry about it.

Alex looked at the clock on his IPod, and realized that it was pretty late already. Twilight and Spike were long asleep at this point. So, knowing that he would have a busy day tomorrow getting rid of those infernal bugs, he climbed into bed, and pulled the covers up, and tucked himself in as tightly as possible. Then, just to be sure, he cast a protective barrier around his bed to keep them, and any creepy buzzing noises, from getting to him. None of those parasprites would be getting him tonight, No sir!

////

Alex tossed and turned in his bed, plagued by dreams of evil flying bugs.

He was being chased though Ponyville by a swarm of parasprites that intended to land on him, and crawl all over him.

It didn’t seem to matter how much he ran, they were always right behind him.

Alex ran himself into an ally, and found himself stuck at a dead end.

Turning around, he watched in fear as the bugs caught up to him, and then stopped.

He held his breath.

Slowly, one bug broke from the swarm, and flew toward him.

Then, to his horror, it landed on his nose.

Alex shouted as he woke, sitting up in his bed in a panic. Looking around, he couldn’t see anything. It must still be night time.

Levitating his IPod in front of him, he bumped the screen with his hoof, causing it to light up.

“2:30 PM?!” Alex said in shock. “Why is it so dark?”

Getting out of bed, Alex bumped into the barrier he had cast the night before, having forgotten it was there.

As the shield vibrated from his impact, Alex finally understood why it was so dark. A patch of parasprites flew away from the impacted area, allowing a beam of light to shine in, and illuminate the inside of the shield.

All he could see were bugs.

“Holy buck!” Alex shouted, backing toward his bed. “How many of those things are there?!”

Alex did not like this. His heart pounded in his chest, and he could feel himself start to pant. The crazy thing was, that he hadn’t even been this scared when he had faced the Ursa Major. Sure, he knew that it was a giant, pony squishing bear, but, in the end, it had been relatively easy to deal with.

But these parasprites… they were just like a swarm of fruit flies; completely harmless, but completely terrifying. He had never had any kind of explanation for his fear of insignificant and unthreatening bugs, but it was there. And parasprites were like taking his fear, and multiplying it by a million.

Adjusting the spell to shrink greatly, the thick coat of parasprites was displaced, causing several to fall on the floor, as the rest desperately tried to reattach themselves.

Realizing that they must have been attracted to this shield somehow, Alex poured some more power into it, giving it the ability to shock anything that touched it. He wanted them as far away from him as possible.

All of the parasprites tried to land back on his barrier, but were stopped by the shock that they received upon touching it.

After a few minutes of repeated attempts, the bugs finally stopped trying, and hung back.

So, seeing that all of these bugs were finally confused, Alex took that opportunity to escape, so he could find Twilight, and figure out what exactly was going on, before he broke down in very un-manly tears.

////

Again, sorry for the short writing, hopefully I can get back into the usual swing of things soon. But, for now, things will just be a bit slower.

I actually wrote an entire other chapter, but decided that it was too soon to post it, as I didn’t feel like I had progressed certain aspects of the story enough to make it plausible.

All that means is that I’ll have a chapter pre-written for the future, and I’ll be able to release two at once when the time comes.

Anyways, Thumbs Up if you like it!

Swarm of the Century - Part 2

////
Chapter 14
Swarm of the Century – Part 2
////
Sorry i took so long for this one, but the next few chapters are going to be big ones story wise, and I've been working on them along with his one. So, hopefully the next chapter will be out soon. But, the one following that one will probably take a little bit.

Anyway, enjoy!
////

Pinkie frowned. It wasn’t like Alex to just ignore her, especially when she had put so much effort into telling him about the dangers of Parasprites.

As Pinkie had thought, the Parasprites had quickly multiplied. Generally, when they’re in the Everfree forest, they can’t find enough food to reproduce at this rate. But, when they find their way into towns, they have a tendency to eat all the food in town, giving them the ability to spawn almost infinitely.

She knew that the only way they could truly get rid of them all was to play all of those instruments and lead them away. So she couldn’t slack off!

So, she pressed on. So far, she had found a harmonica, and a tuba. She wasn’t finding much, but if she could scrounge together a few more instruments, she just might be able to do it.

“Pinkie!” A voice shouted from behind her.

Turning around, Pinkie could see Alex running toward her from an absolutely massive group of Paraspries.

“You might have to find them on your own!” Alex said quickly as he passed her, causing her to giggle. “But I’ll play them with you once you get them all!”

“Good luck!” Pinkie called to him, as he disappeared into town.

Turning away from him, Pinkie was pleasantly surprised to see an abandoned garbage wagon, with afew cymbals in it.

Pulling the metal disks out of the back of the wagon, Pinkie was even happier to see that they were only a bit rigid around the edges. So, they would work just fine.

Just one or two more, and she’d be set!

Turning around, Pinkie saw her friends walking away from the town. So, she decided to follow them, so she could once again ask them for their help in locating the instruments.

////

Alex ran as fast as he could away from the swarm.

He wasn’t sure where exactly he was going, but he was sure that he’d lose the bugs eventually.

He wished that he could be more help to Pinkie, but he just couldn’t do it with this swarm constantly on him.

How exactly were they going to play a bunch of instruments anyway? It’s not like he knew how to play a tuba, or bag pipes.

On the other hoof, how would he play an instrument without hands? However, after a second, he realized that the instruments were made so ponies could play them. Not humans…

This got Alex onto a completely other train of thought. How does a pony go about holding an instrument? Do they hold it up with their hoofs? Or is it held to their bodies by a strap? Or perhaps a tuba would wrap around their body to keep itself in place.

Now he wanted to see what Pinkie had in store more than ever! Was she going to give one instrument to each friend, and they would all play some kind of harmonizing notes, that’ll drive off the Parasprites? They could call themselves the Elements of Harmony! What a great band name.

Suddenly Alex stopped. He had been so lost in his random thoughts, that he hadn’t noticed the Parasprites had left him alone. He stood alone in the middle of a field on the outskirts of town, just outside the Everfree forest.

After a moment, Alex realized that the wind was particularly strong. It hadn’t been like this a few moments ago. Looking around, he noticed that grass and leaves were being pushed by the wind. No… Not pushed… they were being pulled. Everything around him was being pulled toward a central point.

So, not having any idea what it was, Alex decided to go investigate.

////

“You can do it, Rainbow!” Twilight cheered as she watched Dash fly around in circles fast enough to create a small tornado.

Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy and Applejack, all watched in anticipation as Dash sucked up all of the Parasprites from around the town, and contained them within her vortex.

“Come on, girl!” Applejack encouraged, “give ‘em what for!”

“Oh look…” Fluttershy said as loudly as she could over the winds, “There’s Pinkie Pie…”

The girls all turned their attention to the pink pony with the large cymbals that hung from her neck.

Seeing that she had been noticed, Pinkie spoke up. “Hey Girls! Wanna help me—“

Unfortunately, before Pinkie could finish, the cymbals that hung from her neck started to pull away from her body, until the string keeping them around her neck broke, sending the two metal disks right into the tornado.

“Hey! Give those back!” Pinkie called angrily.

Dash watched as the cymbals flew toward her, and tried her best to dodge them, while keeping the tornado stable. However, it was impossible.

“It’s breaking up!” Dash called, causing everypony run away in opposite directions.

“Get back to town everypony!” Twilight called, running away, “We have to keep them from eating everything!”

Everypony followed her instruction, and followed behind her. Except for Pinkie, who stood, still angry at the loss of her instrument.

“You too Pinkie!” Twilight shouted angrily. “You have to help fix this!”

Pinkie scoffed, and walked off on her own.

Alex, however, was just coming over a hill behind them, and didn’t hear Twilight.

Seeing him below, Dash looked toward him and tried to tell him to stay back. But, as she was facing away from them, she was struck in the side of the head with a cymbal.

Following that, the entire tornado lost its integrity, as Dash and the Parasprites were sent flying away in all directions.

Alex gulped as he watched the Parasprites head toward him. Under normal circumstances, Alex would have pulled back up his shield. But, he could clearly see that Dash wasn’t in any condition to land safely. So, he had to choose. Protection from gross bugs, or protecting Dash.

Had he had more time to mull over the decision, he may have chosen differently, but, in the heat of the moment, he caught Dash with a quick levitation spell, and landed her on the ground safely, just in time for him to be hit by the Parasprites.

Now, Alex would go on to deny this, but he let out a very un-manly scream when those bugs hit him. So unmanly, that anypony would have assumed that it was Dash crying out in pain.

After shaking the bugs off of him, Alex saw that Dash hadn’t gotten up yet. So, he created a powerful shockwave, that he used to push the Parasprites far enough away, so that he could generate a barrier big enough to encompass himself and Dash.

“Colors!” Alex shouted, running over to her unmoving form on the ground. “Are you okay?”

Not hearing a response, Alex started to panic. Inspecting her body, he saw that the cymbal had hit her at an angle, causing it to cut deeply into the side of her head, and into her ear. And as a result, she was bleeding terribly. Forgetting about the barrier spell, Alex focused on what he could possibly do to help her.

Alex knew a small amount of healing magic, but as far as his studies had taught him, magic wasn’t very proficient at healing large injuries. It required too much energy, and it didn’t produce strong enough results. The best he could do was healing a bruise… But nothing like this.

Unfortunately, since his magic lessons had been put on hold because of Discord, he hadn’t learned to make any kind of refined teleport... So he couldn’t get her to a hospital

Looking around for Twilight, Alex realized that she had headed back into town. His heart started to race, what was he going to do?

“Alex…” Dash muttered, “My head hurts…”

“Just take it easy,” Alex instructed, happy to see her talking. “You hit your head.”

“Am I hurt bad?” Dash asked.

“You’re bleeding a little bit…” Alex lied, watching as the copious amount of red mixed with her blue coat, causing it to turn a dark purple.

“Can you fix it…?” Dash asked hopefully, trying to keep herself from dozing off to sleep.

“I…” Alex began, feeling his heart pound in his chest, “I don’t think there’s much I can do…”

“That sucks…” Dash said slowly, clearly starting to pass out.

“Colors!” Alex said loudly, “I need you to stay with me here!”

Dash didn’t answer.

Alex didn’t know what to do. This had all happened so fast. He was in shock.

Desperately, Alex lowered his horn to Dash, and started pouring as much magic as he could into his healing spell.

Unfortunately, almost nothing was happening.

“Colors!” Alex shouted; giving up on the spell as tears started to fill his eyes.

Suddenly, Alex felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Use this.” A voice that Alex recognized as Discords said, “I promise, nothing bad will happen.”

Suddenly Alex felt a rush of power within himself. But, it was different from anything that he had ever felt. His usual magic had never given him this kind of rush... This new power flowed through his veins, was just begging to be released. Turning around to confront Discord, Alex saw that he was gone.

Alex sighed. Whatever this power was, he was going to have to use it. He had no time to think it over. So, knowing full well that this would probably end badly, he pointed his horn toward her, and cast the same spell he had cast before.

But, this time, he allowed this new power to come out with it. His usual white magic aura was replaced with a black one, and, almost instantly, the wound on the back of her head healed.

As the spell finished, the remainder of the power drain out of his horn, and sunk into the ground, changing the grass into a solid stone with a checkerboard pattern.

“What the—“Alex said, watching in confusion as the ground morphed.

“Mmm…” Dash mumbled, “Alex?”

“Colors?” Alex said, forgetting all about the ground. “Are you okay?”

“Uh… Did you heal me?” Dash asked, seeing Alex nod. “I thought you said—“

Alex threw his arms around her, and hugged her tightly. “Don’t worry about it.”

That was good enough for Dash. So, she simply closed her eyes and sighed happily. However, their hug was cut short by a parasprite landing on her nose.

“Oh no!” Dash shouted, sitting up. “I forgot about the bugs!”

Alex sighed loudly. “Let’s just forget about them, let them do their thing.”

“Wha…?” Dash said, surprised by his serious tone, “You’re joking, right?”

“Uh…” Alex said, shaking his head quickly. “Of course! Let’s go help everypony out.”

“That’s what I want to hear!” Dash said smiling and standing up. “Let’s go!”

Dash turned and was about to fly toward town when she noticed the ground below them.

“Alex, what happened to the ground?” Dash asked, baffled.

“Magic stuff,” Alex lied, “Just forget about it.”

“Sure…” Dash said giving the checkerboard ground one more look, before taking off.

Alex couldn’t believe he had just tried to ignore the problem. The thing was he had really wanted to!

Deep down, he was afraid that his attitude was caused by that power Discord had given him. He obviously taken advantage of the situation Alex was in, and used it to make him use that strange magic.

Normally he would have stopped Discord from doing anything to him… But he had been so focused on Dash that he didn’t have any kind of defense up.

Either way, it was done. And he was going to have to live with the consequences. But, no matter how bad they turned out to be, he had saved Dash. So it would be worth it.

////

The Parasprites flew though the town, eating everything that they came across. All the hard work that everypony put into getting ready for Princess Celestia and Princes Luna had been ruined. So now, the main objective was saving the town.

Twilight was sure that she had the solution to everypony’s problems now though. She had discovered a spell that had the ability to remove appetite from any creature, causing them to have no interest in food.

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Spike asked Twilight.

“It’s the only thing I can think of.” Twilight answered, remaining focused on the swarm in front of her.

“Okay,” Spike said, crossing his claws “Let’s do this!”

So, she was going to cast the spell, and the Parasprites would lose all of their appetite for any kind of food. It was simple. What could go wrong?

Twilight cast the spell, and a bright light erupted from her horn, and instantly engulfed the entire town, and the surrounding area.

When the bright light faded, Twilight looked at a parasprite that was hovering just above an apple just a short distance away from her, and held her breath.

The parasprite looked back and forth for a moment then turned back to the apple and opened its mouth. But after a moment, the parasprite decided that it didn’t want it, and simply flew away.

“Yes!” Twilight shouted, happy to see that her spell had succeeded.

Unfortunately, when that parasprite flew away from the apples, it moved toward a sign hanging over a door, and took a massive bite out of that instead.

“Wha--?” Twilight said slack jawed, “But… But… That’s just not fair!”

“They’re eating… everything else?” Spike said slowly.

Suddenly, something popped into Spike’s head.

“Oh no!” Spike shouted, “I have to go check on something!”

Twilight watched as Spike ran away, and as Alex and Dash walked toward her.

“What’s going on?!” Dash asked, alarmed at the amount of damage being done to the town.

“A spell backfired…” Twilight sighed. “They won’t eat food… They’ll just eat everything else…”

“What are we gonna do instead then?” Alex asked.

“I… I don’t know.” Twilight said hanging her head and admitting defeat.

“Twilight!” Rarity called, heading toward them from the edge of town. “What’s happened to all of the bugs?”

“A spell backfired,” Alex answered for her, “The parasprites are eating everything in town that ISN’T food.

“Well, there must be something you can do!” Rarity said as she watched the Parasprites tear apart the town.

Unfortunately, Twilight was completely out of ideas.

“Wait a moment…” Rarity said suddenly. “If they’re eating everything in town… That means… Oh no!”

Without another word, Rarity ran from the group, toward her house. If those pesky bugs got into her shop, they’d eat all of her dresses!

Quickly getting to the Carousel Boutique, Rarity ran through the front door, and was shocked to see Spike standing in front of her storage room.

“Get out of here!” Spike shouted, not having noticed Rarity. “She’s worked way too hard on these for you to eat them!”

Rarity felt her heart skip a beat.

Spike watched as the massive swarm of bugs all got together in front of him, and readied to charge him all at once. Starting to worry, Spike realized that they were going to get past him anyway… Even after all the effort he had put into protecting her stuff.

If only there was some way to get rid of them.

Then a light went off in his head.

It wasn’t the best option. But Rarity was the top of his priority list.

“I hope I don’t get in too much trouble for this…” Spike said aloud, as he inhaled deeply.

Rarity, still standing at the front door, watched in surprise as Spike blew a massive green flame, causing the large group of parasprites to fizzle out of sight.

Realizing that Spike had just gotten rid of the bugs, Rarity quickly closed the doors and windows, then nailed them closed with a few pieces of wood and a hammer. Nothing else was going to get in her store today.

“Ugh,” Spike said noticing Rarity, as he collapsed on the ground, coughing profusely. “Remind me not to do that again!”

Rarity finished reinforcing her house, then quickly went to his side. However, she wasn’t sure what to say. Spike had just rescued her. When all of Ponyville was in trouble, he had thought of her first.

“Spike… I…” Rarity started, still unsure of how to thank him. “Thank you so much…”

“It was nothing,” Spike laughed tiredly.

“But it wasn’t!” Rarity insisted. “It was everything!”

Spike blushed lightly.

“Why did you come here, instead of the library or someplace else?” Rarity asked.

“Well… I wanted to make sure you were okay…” Spike admitted starting to blush a little harder.

Now, this was normally the part where the damsel in distress would kiss the hero. But, unfortunately, Spike didn’t quite fit the profile.

Rarity sighed. It really wasn’t fair. Here was the most polite, chivalrous, and sweet gentlecolt that she had ever met. But he was a dragon.

A baby dragon.

Rarity knew that there was a lineup of colts that would literally fight for her affections. But, none of them came even close to Spike.

Deciding that he deserved SOMETHING, Rarity lifted him up with a spell and gave him a kiss on each cheek.

“Thank you Spike.” Rarity said smiling sweetly.

Spike felt his heart flutter. “You’re welcome.”

Suddenly, the moment was interrupted by a loud ‘thud’ of somepony running into the door.

“Hey!” They heard Pinkie call from outside the door. “Did you lock this door?”

“Just wait for her to leave…” Spike whispered to her.

Rarity nodded quickly, glancing toward the door.

“Hellooooo?” Pinkie said loudly.

The two remained silent, frozen in place, until they finally heard Pinkie start walking away, murmuring something to herself.

Turning back to Spike, Rarity realized that she was sill levitating him.

“Oh, forgive me!” Rarity said, placing him on the ground.

“So… How are we going to get out?” Spike said, realizing that they were now sealed inside.

“I’m not letting another one of those bugs in here.” Rarity said firmly. “You’ll just have to stay here with me until they’re gone.”

Spike smiled. He could manage that.

////

Pinkie walked happily through the town.

She had finally found the last instrument, and now was the time to get rid of the Parasprites.

Pinkie trotted through the town with a collection of instruments arranged on her back. Walking past Twilight, Alex, and Dash, She decided to ask see what was up.

“What’s everypony doing?” Pinkie asked. “Why are you all just sitting around?”

“There’s nothing we can do…” Twilight said. “I’d be in the library trying to find a way to stop them… But they ate all the words of out the books.”

Alex nodded. “I saw it happen. It was just as weird as you’re imagining it to be.”

“So?” Pinkie asked. “I have the solution to our problems right here!”

“Oh, you got all the instruments?” Alex asked excitedly.

“Yeah!” Pinkie said smiling, “Wanna help me get rid of the parasprites?”

“You know it!” Alex said standing up, and standing beside her.

“You guys in?” Pinkie asked hopefully.

The deadpan look that she received from the two was the only response she needed.

“Okay Alex, looks like it’s just us!” Pinkie said as she started walking toward the center of town. “Come on!”

Alex followed behind her happily, still trusting her.

“Alright, Alex,” Pinkie started, “See all these instruments here?”

Alex nodded.

“I’m going to play them.” Pinkie continued. “And they’ll follow the music! So we can lead them away from the town with it!”

“Ooooh.” Alex said finally understanding. His trust hadn’t been misplaced. Looking at the arrangement on her back, he had to admit that he was impressed. Pinkie was holding an amazing amount of instruments. There was an accordion, a tuba, a banjo, a harmonica, and even a small pair of cymbals on either of her front legs. How she had fit these all on was a mystery to him, that he wasn’t about to ask about.

“I wasn’t able to fit this last one on…” Pinkie said, “So do you wanna play it?

Pinkie reached behind her, and picked up the instruments with her mouth, and showed it to Alex.

“Oh yes.” Alex said confidently. “I can play that for you.”

////

Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash all stood at the arranged arrival place for the Princesses. Everything had fallen apart in such a short amount of time. And, as much as Twilight felt like she failed, she knew that Celestia or Luna would be able to fix this problem without any trouble at all. So, she was going to ask them to help as soon as they arrived, and hoped that something could be salvaged in terms of a visit to Ponyville.

“This has been a cruddy day…” Dash sighed.

“I wish I had never found that bug…” Fluttershy said sadly.

“Y’all can say that again.” Applejack agreed. “A big swarm of ‘em came up to the farm and ate the whole barn… Poor Granny Smith fainted at the sight of it!”

A Parasprite flew over and landed itself on Twilight’s head. She never thought that something so small could be so destructive.

“Do you guys hear that?” Dash said, looking toward the town.

“Music?” Fluttershy said.

“But… The Precession for their arrival should come from Canterlot… Not Ponyville.” Twilight said, completely confused.

“Uh…” Applejack said, spotting the source of the music. “Y’all are gonna want to see this.”

The girls all turned and looked, and were simply shocked.

Pinkie and Alex marched away from Ponyville, playing instruments.

But that wasn’t all. Behind them, were all of the Parasprites from town, bouncing in time to the music.

As the two marched closer, they saw that Pinkie was playing sever different instruments that were all on her back. While Alex, was simply hitting a triangle every few seconds in time with the music.

The four girls stood in awe as the two led every single parasprite from the town.

“Twilight Sparkle has thrown a parade in our honor, sister!” Luna’s voice bellowed from behind everypony.

Snapping around, Twilight had completely missed the arrival of the two princesses, each in their own carriage.

How did they show up so fast?

“What are these creatures?” Celestia asked, as the long line of parasprites bounced past her. “They’re simply adorable!”

“They’re not that adorable.” Dash grumbled, as she started walking over to Alex who now stood on the edge of the Everfree forest, as the parasprites bounced past him and Pinkie.

“I’m afraid I have some bad news…” Celestia began, “It appears that some kind of pest has appeared in Canterlot recently.”

“Um… Pest?” Twilight asked, her voice cracking a bit.

“Yes, reports say that a large swarm of bugs appeared in the throne room a only a few minutes ago, and have started terrorizing Canterlot.” Celestia said, “So, I’m afraid that we’ll have to reschedule our visit to Ponyville.”

Twilight though for a moment. How could a group of parasprites possible shown up in the throne room? That room was sealed. The only possible way for something to appear in there was for Spike to send it with his fire.

Oh.

“We must take our leave Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said loudly, “However, I do look forward to spending time with your friends again.”

Twilight smiled. “I look forward to it too.”

“Oh,” Celestia said, turning around. “Would you like to give me your latest lesson on friendship while I’m here?”

“Of course!” Twilight said, momentarily collecting her thoughts. “I've learned… that sometimes the solution to your problems can come from where you least expect it… It's a good idea to stop and listen to your friends’ different opinions, and perspectives… even when they’re absolutely crazy ones.”

“That is a very valuable lesson, Twilight.” Princess Celestia said, “However, we must be heading back now.”

“Of course, Princess.” Twilight said bowing.

“Oh,” Celestia said, just as her carriage stared to pull away. “Tell Spike that I’m sure he had his reasons.”

“I will!” Twilight laughed as he princesses headed away.

She then turned back to Alex and Pinkie, and watched as the last of the parasprites bounced away into the forest.

“I think I may have hit my head harder than I thought.” Dash said, as Pinkie and Alex stopped playing. “None of this makes sense.”

“We did it!” Alex said, holding up a hoof, as Pinkie gave him a high five.

“Listen… Pinkie…” Twilight said slowly, approaching the two.

“No need to apologize.” Pinkie said with a smile. “If I were you, I would have thought I was crazy too!”

“You guys should start a band!” Dash laughed.

“I don’t know…” Applejack chimed in, “It seems like Pinkie was doin’ most of the work there.”

“No!” Alex said, mock-defensively. “Without the soul I added with that triangle, the Parasprites never would have followed us!”

The girls laughed at his response.

“Hey, Pinkie.” Twilight said, “Why don’t you tell us about the whole ‘instrument thing’ over dinner? If there’s anything left to eat.”

“Sure!” Pinkie said, walking with Twilight in the front of the group, as everypony followed behind, listening to her story. Well, everypony except Alex.

Alex wasn’t sure if now was the best time to bring up that weird magic moment he had. So, he decided to remain silent for now. All of the magic had been expelled when he healed Dash. So, hopefully, it was all over with.

It wouldn’t come back, and that would be that.

But somehow he wasn’t so sure of that.

Heart's Desire

////
Heart’s Desire
////

Spike walked into his and Twilights room, happy to have some time to be alone.

Spike reached under Twilights bed and pulled out a box that contained the flower he had earlier taken from Zecora.

Twilight had left the house so she could go assist in the cleanup of Ponyville, so he would have plenty of time to himself.

Pulling a book out from under his pillow, Spike turned to the page he had bookmarked, and continued reading up on this flower.

So far, he had learned that Hearts Desire was a very powerful flower on its own, even when it wasn’t used in potions.

Apparently, if someone were to wish for something hard enough, the flower would activate itself, and grant the wish. However, this actually happening was extremely rare, as the wish would have to be so powerful, that the flower was able to see it.

So, when a few ponies decided that they wanted to control the flower, so they could have power over others, they started to experiment with Hearts Desire in potions. Unfortunately for them, the flower played tricks on them instead of actually granting their wishes. Which, well, ended badly for them.

So, years later, Princess Celestia put the best potion brewers in Canterlot on unlocking the secrets of the flower. And, eventually, they did. However, it seemed that potion would only grant the wish of somepony who truly deserved it.

It wouldn’t grant a selfish wish that somepony tried to get through the flower. It would only grant a truly pure heart’s desire.

Which made Spike start to worry.

Could his desire really be considered to be that way pure? Somehow, he didn’t think so.

He had continued reading in hopes of finding another way of using the flower. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be another one. He was starting to feel a bit put out over it.

Still, for now, he was going to finish up this book, and hope for something to come up.

////

Rarity stood in her front lawn, collecting all the bits of debris that had been left by the parasprites. She silently mulled over the events of yesterday in her head… However, as crazy as the whole Parasprite situation had been, that wasn’t what she was thinking about…

She couldn’t seem to get Spike off her mind.

After he had saved her store yesterday, she had been looking at him in an entirely different light.

Sure, she knew that Spike had a crush on her. And she had always thought it rather cute. But, now she was starting to return those feelings.

Was that wrong?

She knew that Spike was years more mature than his size would lead one to think… And he wasn’t really a baby anymore. He was just a baby by dragon standards.

Rarity bit her lip. What would the repercussions be, if she were to just ignore the norm, and pursue a relationship with him?

Obviously that was out of the question, which is exactly why she was going to have to keep her distance from him for a while. These feelings were dangerous, and she knew nothing good would come of them.

So, she was going to stay away from him for the next few weeks, until she could get these feelings under control.

“Hey, Rarity!” A voice said, causing her to look up.

“Spike?” Rarity said, surprised. “W-what are you doing here?”

“Well, I was alone in the library, so I decided to head over here and see if you needed any help cleaning up!” Spike said with a smile.

Rarity remained silent. How could she turn him away now? He had come all the way over here just to help her out.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t rather be somewhere else?” Rarity asked, hoping he’d say yes, but secretly wanting him to say no. “I’d rather you be off enjoying yourself, than being stuck here cleaning up with me.”

“But I will enjoy myself!” Spike explained, “There isn’t anything I’d rather be doing today!”

Rarity blushed lightly, “Well, that means a lot to me Spike… Thank you.”

“No problem!” Spike said.

“Well, I suppose we should get to work, since this yard is in such a state of disarray.” Rarity said.

“Sure!” Spike said as he started gathering up bits and around the lawn.

Rarity stood and watched the baby dragon start to work. She could feel herself starting to tear up. Why did he have to be so perfect? Why did he have to be this way toward her? Why… Why couldn’t he have been born a pony?

“Um… Rarity?” Spike asked, noticing her stare.

“Oh… F-Forgive me” Rarity stammered. “Why don’t I go grab us some refreshments?”

“Sure!” Spike said smiling.

“Alright,” Rarity said, trying her best to smile normally, “What would you like?”

“Whatever you get me will be great!” Spike said, resuming his cleaning.

Hearing this, Rarity quickly turned and headed into her house.

Closing the door behind her, Rarity sat down and rested her back against it, as her tears started to flow freely.

Rarity sat in silence for a few minutes, letting all of her emotion out. She had forgotten all about the drinks she had gone to get. At this point, all she wanted was for him to come inside and hold her.

But, at the same time, she knew he couldn’t.

So, standing herself up, Rarity tried her best to wipe the tears away from her face.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have enough time to fix herself before Spike entered the house.

“Rarity?” Spike asked, looking at the mare who was facing away from him. “Is something wrong?”

Rarity remained silent, not daring look at him.

“Rarity?” Spike asked, approaching her. “Have you been crying?”

“You—you’ll have to forgive me.” Rarity stammered, turning to face Spike, “I was just thinking about… somepony.”

“Oh… Is there anything I can do to help you feel better?” Spike asked, concerned.

Of course he would ask that.

“Oh… No thank you, Spike.” Rarity said, starting to compose herself.

“Well, would you like me to finish the work outside?” Spike asked, “You probably want to go fix yourself up, huh?”

Rarity quickly looked at her hoof that she had just been rubbing her tears with. Seeing the stain on her coat, she figured that her makeup must have been running.

“Maybe we should cut this a bit short…” Rarity said, knowing that she had to take this opportunity, whether she wanted to or not. “I fear I’ll need a bit of time to make myself presentable again…”

“Oh…” Spike said dejectedly, “I-If you want.”

“I’m very sorry Spike…” Rarity said, knowing full well this was hurting his feelings.

“Don’t worry about it,” Spike said, only wanting what was best for her, “I hope you’re feeling better soon!”

Rarity smiled, “Thank you Spike… I appreciate that.”

Spike headed back toward the front door. “Let me know when you’re feeling better! We can get right back to this!”

“Of course,” Rarity said. “I’ll see you soon.”

Rarity closed the door and immediately felt the tears start to flow again. She decided to go lie down for a bit. She could finish cleaning up when she calmed down. But… what was she supposed to do about seeing Spike soon? Well… She’d just have to put it off. She had too.

////
A few days later
////

Spike opened his eyes slowly. He didn’t want to get out of bed. His body was completely sore after all the cleaning he had been doing for the town.

But, yesterday they had officially finished fixing up the town. So, Spike had earned a little time to rest. Unfortunately, as he closed his eyes, his mind immediately started to wander to thoughts of Rarity. These thoughts persisted, and ruined his attempt to get back to sleep.

Spike sighed, giving up on sleep, and climbed out of bed.

He hadn’t heard a word from Rarity for days. In fact, almost nopony had even seen her. Her store had just been completely closed.

He was going to ask Alex to go over there with him today, but Twilight took him out on some kind of training session in the Everfree forest, that she had planned last night. So, he was on his own.

Turning his thoughts back to Rarity, he sure hoped that she was starting to feel better.

It was obvious that she had been upset by something. Spike had no idea what it was, but… he just wanted to cheer her up.

Spike walked over to Twilight’s bed and grabbed the Heart’s Desire out of its usual hiding spot.

“I don’t suppose you’d be able to grant that wish for me, huh?” Spike said to the flower.

And, as he expected, he didn’t receive a response.

Inspecting the flower, Spike couldn’t help but notice how nice it was. The way the pink petals curved up from the stem and met each other in the shape of a heart was beautiful. And it would always look this way too.

At first, he had been surprised that the flower hadn’t withered. However, after his extensive reading on the plant, he learned that it would only shrivel when it had granted a wish.

Looking the flower over, Spike knew that it was no longer the solution he originally thought it to be.

The plant would never grant his wish to become a pony, nor would it grant the wish for Rarity to be happy gain. He knew that now… So, the flower was now… Just a flower.

Then it hit him. Maybe it could help him!

What could he do with a beautiful flower? Maybe he could give it Rarity to cheer her up!

Very happy with his idea, Spike ran out the door, and headed for The Carousel Boutique. This may not cheer her up completely, but hopefully it would make her a bit happier.

////

Rarity sat in front of her mirror, finishing her usual morning routine. She wasn’t exactly sure how this whole ‘get over Spike’ thing was supposed to go, but by her account, it wasn’t going well.

She had committed herself to moving past him the last few days, but she was afraid that she had made little to no progress.

She just couldn’t let him go. He worked far too hard for her affections for her to just push him aside…

Ever since that night that Trixie was in town, Rarity had seen Spike in a different light. The feelings had slowly been growing inside her, until they exploded a few days before, during the Parasprite swarm.

Now, she found herself constantly wishing that Spike would come over, so she could just talk to him. It may have made her a bit selfish, but she loved it when he would endlessly try to please her. Not because she liked having a servant or anything… She just loved being so unconditionally cared for. Her happiness was always his main objective.

And that was what put him at the front of the pack.

Rarity was no foal. She knew what the other boys really wanted from her when they volunteered to help her out… which is why she flat out refused all of their attempts at courting her. She needed a pony who would take care of her, the way Spike constantly tried too.

…Why couldn’t Spike just be a pony?

Rarity’s thoughts were interrupted by a soft knocking on the door.

She knew that somepony would have to come checking on her eventually. So, she looked herself in the mirror to ensure that she was presentable, and then went downstairs to greet her guest.

Opening the front door, Rarity was overwhelmingly happy to see that it was Spike at the door. Not one of her other friends.

“Hey Rarity… I know that you’re feeling bad…” Spike said slowly, before spitting the rest out, “So-I-brought-you-this.”

Rarity felt her heart flutter as Spike revealed a flower that he had been hiding behind his back.

Rarity levitated the flower up to her face, and couldn’t help but feel her heart melt at the heart shape of the petals.

Spike smiled. He always loved seeing her smile... But, for some reason, this was different from her usual smile…

Spike had always known her to have a small, ladylike smile on her face, making sure to never over express it. But right now, she was smiling in a way he had never seen before.

Rarity knew she should have closed the door after he gave her this, and try her best to not to let it affect her… But she couldn’t. Something was stopping her.

“Well,” Spike said awkwardly, noticing that she hadn’t said anything. “I guess I’d better go… I hope you’re feeling better Rarity.”

Rarity watched as Spike turned, and took a few steps away.

‘You know what?’ Rarity said to herself, throwing caution to the wind, ‘buck it.’

“Spike!” Rarity said running over to him, with the flower still floating behind her. “Wait!”

Turning around, Spike expected her to say something else. But, he was instead shocked when she pressed her lips against his.

Rarity closed her eyes, and enjoyed every moment of it. She was doing this with him, and nothing was going to stop her.

Spike didn’t take long to get the memo. He closed his eyes, did what felt natural, and pushed himself a little closer into her, and lifted is hand to her cheek.

Since the two were so lost in one another, neither of them noticed when the flower levitating behind Rarity withered, and then fell apart, having granted her wish.

Rarity, still with her eyes closed, was somewhat confused when she felt Spike rise up… So, she simply followed wherever his lips went. This kiss wasn’t stopping now.

After a moment, she decided that she must have been subconsciously levitating him. Because he was just above her head, as she was now looking having to look up slightly.

Then another thing struck her… Did his lips get softer?

As much as Rarity was enjoying the moment, she slowly opened her eyes to see what was going on.

And there, right in front of her face, was a purple pony, with a green mane.

Rarity gasped, and pulled away from him.

Opening his eyes, Spike was confused. “Rarity, what’s wrong?”

“W-w-what happened to you? Rarity stammered, immediately recognizing Spikes voice.

“What do you mean?” Spike said, lifting a hoof to his face. “Is there something on my- my- my...”

Spike went wide eyed. He no longer had a hand… He had a hoof!

“Spike… You’re… A-a pony!” Rarity said, still in shock.

Upon hearing those words, Spike up and fainted.

Rarity looked around, and then to the unconscious pony, and couldn’t help but feel a bit cheated. “Isn’t fainting MY job?”

////

His New Chapter

////
His New Chapter
////

Twilight walked toward the Carousel Boutique, and knocked on the door.

She had received an urgent message from Rainbow Dash, saying that Rarity needed her back in town immediately. So, she teleported from the Everfree Forest, back to Ponyville, so no time would be wasted.

After a few moments, Rarity slowly opened the door, with a very conflicted look on her face.

“Why did I need to come back into town so badly?” Twilight asked, taking note of Rarity’s expression.

“Um…” Rarity began, obviously lost. “It’s a rather long story… But perhaps I should cut to the chase.”

Rarity opened the front door to her house all the way, and exposed the unconscious pony on the floor of her shop.

“Oh my goodness!” Twilight said, rushing in. “Who is this? What happened to them?”

“Oh, don’t worry, darling.” Rarity said, still avoiding the inevitable. “He’s just fainted. But… That isn’t the real problem at hoof.”

“Then, what is it?” Twilight asked, not sure what was worse than an unconscious pony on your floor.

“Well…” Rarity said slowly, “It’s Spike…”

“Huh?” Twilight asked, not understanding, “What about Spike?”

Rarity remained silent, as she glanced back and forth between the unconscious Spike, and Twilight.

At first, Twilight was completely lost. But, as the moments passed, she slowly started to understand.

The serious look on Rarity’s face, combined with the purple coated pony, and the green mane, started to make the wheels in her head turn.

“No…” Twilight said quietly. “Please tell me this is some kind of practical joke!”

“I wish I could,” Rarity said, “But… That’s Spike.”

“B-But… he’s bigger than me!” Twilight shouted, “Spike was only a baby!”

“I noticed that myself, yes…” Rarity said. "He's certainly not the same age that he was as a dragon... Perhaps he's aged."

“He's older?! H-How did this happen?!” Twilight stammered. “Dragons don’t just turn into ponies!”

Rarity remained silent. It was clear that Twilight was losing her cool over this.

“What even went on?” Twilight questioned, “You were there, right?”

“Um… Well, you see…” Rarity said, trying her best to fabricate a story that didn’t involve her kissing him into a pony.

Twilight’s eye twitched as she waited for Rarity to explain the circumstances of Spike’s transformation.

Spike started to stir. Twilight’s voice had always been the thing he woke up too. So, it was working like a charm right now.

Opening his eyes, Spike noticed that he wasn’t in his bed. He was in… Rarity’s house?

“So, you’re telling me that he just transformed into a pony, for no reason whatsoever?” Twilight asked, “One moment a dragon, and a pony the next?”

“Well, you see…” Rarity tried to say.

“What were you doing when it happened?” Twilight continued.

Spike’s eyes widened, as he shot up, into a sitting position.

“I-I-I’m… A pony!” Spike shouted, putting his hoofs to his face, and eventually bumping into a horn. “I’m a unicorn!”

“Spike!” Twilight said, relieved to hear him talking. “Are you okay?”

“I... I think so…” Spike said, completely baffled at the change.

“What happened?” Twilight asked, having quieted down a bit. “Do you remember?”

Spike thought for a moment. Everything was a blur right now. His mind raced a million miles a minute trying to figure out what had happened.

Noticing how dry his lips were, Spike licked them lightly, and noticed something odd.

Now, having a pony mouth was obviously new to him. But there was something on his lips. Something… Waxy. Something like… Lipstick?

Then it all came rushing back to him. Giving Rarity the flower, her kissing him, his realization that he was a pony… Then him fainting. It must have been the Heart’s Desire…

Looking toward Rarity, Spike could see that she was nervous. She obviously didn’t want him explaining exactly what had happened.

“I… I went to check on Rarity, since nopony had seen her in a few days.” Spike said, “When I got there, I told her that I hoped she’d be feeling better soon. Then, while I was walking away, it just happened!”

Rarity sighed happily. Spike had her back.

Twilight was miffed. Stuff like this just didn’t happen… There must have been some kind of explanation. But, it didn’t look like she would be getting one at the moment.

“Alright, I’m sure we’ll figure this out eventually…” Twilight said, “But for now, we have to work on reversing this!”

“Reversing this?” Spike asked. “I don’t think that--”

“Don’t worry Spike,” Twilight said, “We’ll get this figured out. Are you able to walk?”

Spike slowly leaned forward, and placed his hoofs on the floor in front of him. Then, he lifted his backside up with his hind legs.

Standing upright on his new four legs, Spike could feel himself wobbling. Taking a step forward, Spike found himself unsure of which leg to move next.

“Okay, Spike.” Twilight said, seeing the trouble he was having. “You stay here! I’m going to go find every book I can on this, and come right back!”

“Well… Okay,” Spike said, still focusing on his steps. “I’ll work on this.”

“I’ll be right back!” Twilight said.

With that, Twilight vanished in a bright light, leaving Rarity and Spike alone in the shop.

Spike looked over to Rarity, and noticed that she was just… Staring at him.

“Hey Rarity…” Spike said smiling. “Um… About earlier…”

Rarity took a few steps backward, happy to have him in a talking state.

“Would you like to see what you look like?” Rarity asked, rolling a mirror over to him with her magic.

Watching as the mirror rolled in front of him, Spike inspected himself in the reflection. “I have all the same colors… But I’d have to say that I’m at least twice as handsome!”

Rarity giggled. She was happy to see him in a good mood.

“Spike, do you have any idea what actually happened?” Rarity asked, realizing that they had better figure it out.

“I- I think I have an idea.” Spike admitted.

“How?” Rarity asked.

“Well, that flower I gave you was a bit… Magical…” Spike explained.

“How so?” Rarity asked, intrigued.

“It’s called ‘Heart’s Desire,” Spike continued, “And, as I’m sure you can guess, it grants wishes.”

“How did you get such a thing?” Rarity asked.

“Well, back when we first met Zecora, I was looking around her hut, and I came across it…” Spike remembered. “I had heard of it before, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to take it…”

“Spike.” Rarity said with a serious expression. “You don’t take things that don’t belong to you.”

“I know…” Spike said, feeling a bit put out. “I just… wanted one so badly…”

“For what?” Rarity asked, “What wish did you want to come true?”

“Well… This!” Spike said. “I wanted to become a pony!”

“Why…?” Rarity said, completely baffled.

“There are so many reasons,” Spike explained, “But, mostly so I would stop being treated like a baby… And so I could spend more time with everypony.”

“If you wanted your wish to come true so badly, why would you give the flower to me?” Rarity questioned.

“Well, I found out that a wish had to be extremely powerful for it to come true…” Spike continued, “I just didn’t think that I wanted it enough…”

“So… You’re telling me, that you were transformed because of a wish for you to become a pony?” Rarity asked, suddenly realizing what had happened.

“But… The thing is, that I don’t remember it being that way!” Spike said honestly, “I still wanted it, but no more than I had before… something else MUST have happened to trigger it… Do you have any idea what that could have been?”

Rarity remained silent, clearly knowing something that Spike didn’t.

Twilight teleported back to just outside Rarity’s house. Shoe couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it right away. She knew a spell that was capable of transforming things back to their previous form. She actually used it quite often, to fix toast that she had a tendency to burn.

Walking up to the slightly ajar door, she was about to enter, but stopped when she heard the conversation going on inside.

“What is it?” Spike asked.

“Well…” Rarity said, losing her usual lady-like inflections, “I don’t think you were the only one wishing for it…”

Twilight was lost. Wishing?

Spike cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I wished for It, okay?” Rarity confessed loudly. “I wished for you to be transformed into a pony…”

Twilight was shocked.

Spike was confused at first, but after a few moments, he quickly started to understand. “It must have been our combined wish that activated the Heart’s Desire…”

Rarity nodded, avoiding eye contact with Spike.

It made sense that she would have wished that. If she truly did have feelings for him, it would have been difficult for her back when he was a dragon. “It’s easier to have feelings for me this way, right?”

“Of course not!” Rarity said, scolded. “I kissed you, didn’t I?”

Rarity kissed Spike?

“It’s okay, Rarity.” Spike said smiling, taking a few slow steps toward her, “You made this dream come true for me.”

“Are you certain that this is what you want?” Rarity asked, sadly. “Because I don’t want to have been the one who pushed this on-”

Rarity was cut off as Spike kissed her.

Immediately, Rarity felt all of her worries melt away.

Twilight couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She always knew of Spike’s crush on Rarity, but never in a million years did she think that Rarity would return those feelings. But, here she was, kissing Spike happily.

Nothing was right here. Spike was a baby. But at the same time, he wasn’t anymore. Somehow, she had transformed him into a pony with a wish. A completely mature pony. But, not only that, they had also lied to her, and feigned ignorance over his transformation. This only succeeded in making Twilight angry.

After a moment, Spike pulled away, leaving a very happy Rarity.

“I’m happy his way.” Spike said, smiling brightly at Rarity.

“I-I’m glad!” Rarity said, still a little flustered. “But… What are you going to do about Twilight?”

“I don’t know…” Spike said with a very worried tone in his voice. “By now, I’m sure she’s figured out that the burned toast spell will fix this whole problem.”

Rarity was confused by that line, but then decided not to ask.

“So… I’ll just have to ask her if I can stay this way…” Spike said, “I can’t see any advantages to being a dragon.”

Deciding to make her entrance, Twilight opened the door, and looked at Spike.

“So, you do know how this happened?” Twilight asked, angrily.

Spike felt his heart jump in surprise, before turning to face Twilight, and admit the truth. “Yes... “

“And why do you think that you should be able to stay this way?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight, Darling--” Rarity tried to begin.

Twilight shot Rarity a look that instantly silenced her. “You’re half the reason Spike got into this mess!”

“Hey!” Spike shouted, surprised at his sudden courage, as he put himself between Rarity and Twilight, being careful not to trip on his own legs. “Don’t blame anything on her!”

Twilight looked at Spike, still clearly displeased.

“Do you know how long I’ve hated the idea of being a dragon?” Spike asked, seeing Twilight’s face soften slightly. “A really long time!”

“B-but… What’s so wrong with being a dragon?” Twilight asked, knowing full well what he was going to say.

“Well, maybe it’s because of the way you treat me!” Spike said.

Twilight remained silent.

“You know just as well as I do, that I’m going to be a baby for a long time.” Spike said. “Far too long, if you ask me. I want to be treated like an adult!”

“But… When you grow up, you’ll be old for a really long time!” Twilight countered, “Way longer than any of us! It’s just how you naturally mature!”

“Do you really think that’s a perk?” Spike asked, baffled. “In what world, do I want to be an adult, just in time for all of my friends to die of old age?”

Twilight was shocked that he would bring up something so grim.

“I want to live alongside everypony… Not live to be 500 years old.” Spike said softly.

Twilight hated to admit it, but that made sense. She always knew he would outlive her… And from his standpoint, she saw how it seemed more like a curse than a blessing.

“And on top of that, I’m basically a pony already!” Spike explained, “I live with them, I act like them… The only difference is that I’m a dragon! And when I grow up, I know that ponies are going to be a lot more afraid of a mature dragon, than they are of a baby one.”

Twilight could feel herself starting to tear up. It was all true. Spike was right.

“This… This is my dream Twilight…” Spike said, finishing up. “Please… Let me have this…”

“B-But…” Twilight said, staring to feel the tears run down her cheek, as she sat down on the ground. “I don’t want you to change…”

Spike instantly felt bad. He had been so involved in what he wanted, that he hadn’t considered Twilight’s feelings.

“You’re like a little brother to me…” Twilight admitted, now fully crying, “I-I don’t want to see like this!”

“Twilight…” Spike said slowly.

“It’s like I’m losing your childhood to this! It’s not fair!” Twilight cried.

Spike carefully walked over to Twilight, then sat down, and wrapped his arms around her.

“You’re not losing anything…” Spike reassured. “Maybe I’m bigger, but I’m still the same dragon I was before!”

Twilight didn’t answer.

“Nothing’s going to change…” Spike said, “I just look different… That’s all!”

“How do you know?” Twilight asked, looking up at him.

As if on cue, Spike suddenly lurched backward, holding his stomach. This was followed by a loud burp, and a burst of green flame, which produced a scroll.

“Hey!” Spike said excitedly, “I can still do that!”

Twilight couldn’t help but let out a small giggle. He sure acted the same way… Maybe he really was the same dragon.

“Look, Twilight…” Spike said, gesturing to the scroll, “Not that much is going to change… Okay?”

“Well… Okay.” Twilight said finally, even though she was still conflicted. “But, this is all so crazy…”

“I know.” Spike agreed.

“I’m sorry Rarity…” Twilight said turning to her, “I didn’t mean to yell at you like that.”

“You had good reason to be upset, Twilight.” Rarity said. “I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark as we did.”

“Yeah,” Spike agreed, “We were just a bit confused about the whole ordeal…”

“Now… Um, about me and Spike,” Rarity said, bring back the awkward topic.

“Well, I’m happy for you two…” Twilight said, “But… I never expected it, to be honest…”

“Neither did I…” Rarity agreed. “But, he’s proven himself to be quite the gentlecolt over the past few weeks…”

“I didn’t think you were capable of that Spike!” Twilight laughed.

“Well… I guess I am!” Spike said, happy to be hearing praise from Rarity.

“But, please Twilight… If you’d keep our affection for one another a secret for the moment, it would be greatly appreciated.” Rarity asked.

“Of course!” Twilight agreed, before realizing that she had forgotten the scroll he had produced. “Oh, by the way, Spike, what was on that scroll?”

Looking at the floor, Spike realized that he didn’t know how to open it, as he no longer had hands. So, he leaned forward, and used his hoofs to fiddle with the paper.

However, after a few minutes, and some laughter from the girls, he gave up, as he was unable to get it to open.

“Here, Spike.” Twilight said. “Let me help you with that.”

Twilight cast a quick spell, giving Spike a pair of glowing purple hands that levitated just above his hoofs.

“Awesome!” Spike said, moving the fingers around, happy to have them back. “I’m surprised Alex hasn’t used these!”

Lifting up the scroll, Spike stood up on his hind legs, and read the scroll aloud.

“Oh my goodness…” Spike said, intriguing the girls in front of him. “It says: Dear my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. You should go buy Spike some ice-cream! Sincerely, Princess Celestia!”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow, before bursting into a fit of laughter. Spike, on the other hoof, lost his balance, from standing up on two legs for too long.

Twilight knew that she wasn’t 100% with this, but she decided to play along for now. She was sure that she would get used to it. So, there was no harm in acting this way right now. Now… all she had to do was explain to everypony what had happened. It was going to be a long day.

Still, Twilight couldn’t help but smile. At the very least, she was confident that it was still Spike in there. No matter what he looked like.

////

I know it seems like Twilight is getting over this a bit quick, but she'll have several problems with it coming up.

Anyway! Remember to thumbs up if you're enjoying it!

Meanwhile...

////
Meanwhile…
////

“I’ll be back soon!” Twilight said to Alex and Dash, as she teleported away, leaving them in the Everfree forest, alone.

“What did Rarity say, exactly?” Alex asked Dash.

“She just told me to come get Twilight… That it was an emergency.” Dash said.

“Huh.” Alex said simply.

“So… What were you doing out here?” Dash asked, looking around the large field.

“Practicing some rather… Strange spells.” Alex laughed.

“Ooh!” Dash said with a smile, “Can I see?”

Alex thought for a moment, and then decided it couldn’t hurt to showcase his powers a bit.

“Alright, Well… You know how everypony is busy preparing for this whole Discord business?” Alex asked.

“Yeah…” Dash said.

“Well, Twilight’s been teaching me some spells that help counter his chaotic magic.” Alex continued, “So, she brought a bunch of things that were left over after his previous rule over Equestria.”

“Like that?” Dash asked, pointing at the floating yellow orb a few feet away. “What is that, by the way?”

“It’s some kind of bouncy ball that Discord created.” Alex explained, “Once it starts bounding, it never stops! And there used to be thousands of them!”

Dash cautiously approached the ball, and reached out a hoof to touch it.

“Wait!” Alex said, stopping her dead. “Don’t touch it! I don’t want to risk it going crazy.”

Dash slowly backed away, until she was just behind Alex. “Um… Can you just get rid of it? It’s kind making me nervous now.”

Alex laughed, “Sure! Just, stay behind me.”

Dash nodded, and stood in place.

Pointing his horn toward the floating ball, Alex concentrated, and then shot out the same white energy that he used on the cotton candy cloud.

The white magic enveloped the orb, and eventually seeped in. When it was all inside, the ball simply fell to the ground with a quiet ‘thud.’

“Wow!” Dash said with a smile, “Discord doesn’t stand a chance!”

Alex panted. That spell took more out of him than she realized.

“Oh, are you okay?” Dash asked.

“Yeah,” Alex said, sitting down. “It just weakens me a bit… But, that’s why we’re practicing!”

Dash sat down next to him and smiled. “What else have you been working on out here?”

“Well, I’ve been working on my teleportation spells.” Alex said.

“Really?” Dash asked, “Feel like showing me that too?”

“Sure,” Alex said, taking a few deep breaths, getting ready to use another spell. “Point to where you want to go!”

“Oh!” Dash said, surprised by his arm around her shoulders. “You can actually do that?”

“It’s easier than you think…” Alex explained. “The challenge is going somewhere you can’t see, because you have to imagine it. But, if you can see where you want to go, it’s easy.”

“Oh…” Dash said, “Well then… How about there?”

Alex followed to where her hoof was pointed. And saw that she was looking toward the tip of a mountain, fairly far away.

“You sure?” Alex asked. “It might be cold.”

“Naw,” Dash said casually, “They’ve scraped all the snow from the mountains in preparation for winter.”

“Of course they have,” Alex laughed, still amazed at some of this things that happened in this world. “Alright… Are you ready?”

Dash closed her eyes and nodded. She then felt an instant warmth envelope her body. But, as quickly as it came, it had vanished. Leaving her exposed to the cool air once again.

“Is this good?” Alex asked, watching Dash open her eyes.

“It’s… Beautiful!” Dash said, honestly surprised at the view they had gotten.

“I figured that you’d have this kind of view all the time while you were flying,” Alex said. “Unless of course, you were talking about my face… Because I have to agree, it really is quite beautiful.”

Dash rolled her eyes as sat down.

Sitting down next to her, Alex was surprised at the view of Ponyville they had I was quite nice. After a moment, Dash laid her head on his shoulder and sighed.

“When you’re flying, everything looks great…” Dash said. “But, being able to sit down, and relax with… somepony you care about… Makes it so much better…”

Alex smiled. Before looking at her hair, noticing something a little odd.

"Your hair is a little longer right now, huh?" He asked, as she gave him an embarrassed look.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to get it cut, just been busy, you know?" She asked, mindlessly feeling the length of her mane.

"You should grow it out-" He said quickly, before stopping himself. However, she was already giving him a quizzical look, so he decided to finish the thought, "I just, think you'd look good with it..."

The two quickly looked away from one another, leaving some silence to linger in the air.

“You know…” Dash began, breaking the somewhat awkward silence, “This reminds me a lot of the night that we made up.”

Noticing the now setting sun, Alex couldn’t help but agree. A few hundred feet closer to the ground, and it would have pretty much been an exact replica of that night.

“You know,” Alex said, “That night… Was the night I really started to see you differently.”

“Differently?” Dash asked, hoping that he was taking the subject in a more romantic direction.

“Yeah,” Alex continued. “That was the night that I really saw you as a friend…”

Dash sighed. Never mind.

“I mean, you hated me!” Alex laughed, “You wanted me gone!”

“Well… I didn’t exactly hate you.” Dash said, “I just, strongly disliked you!”

“Yeah?” Alex asked laughing, “And how do you feel now?”

Dash took a moment, and thought about how she could answer it. She could play it slow, or she could throw herself at him.

“I’m glad we’re friends.” Dash sighed, a bit upset that she hadn’t taken the risk.

“What?” Alex asked, noticing her sigh.

“Well… I’m not exactly the most romantic pony in the world,” Dash said, “But come on!”

Alex cocked an eyebrow.

“How blind are you?” Dash said, lifting her head from his shoulder to look at him. “We’re on the top of a mountain, watching the sunset together… I was even leaning on your shoulder! Don't tell me that I have to hold your hoof!”

Alex had been well aware of the situation that they were in; however, he hadn’t wanted to make her uncomfortable by bringing it up. Obviously, that had been a dumb idea.

“Don’t you know what’s supposed to happen next?” Dash asked him.

“Well… Yeah…” Alex said slowly.

“Good!” Dash said, closing her eyes and leaning forward. Getting ready for ‘what happens next.’

“Any time would be great!” She said, puckering her lips.

“Do you want to go out for dinner with me?” Alex asked.

Dash opened one eye. “Uh… What?”

“It doesn’t really count if you tell me when to kiss you,” Alex said, smiling, “I think it would be better if I surprised you with that.”

“So… This doesn’t work for you?” Dash asked, her lips still pursed, and her wings fighting to pop open.

“I mean, it could," He said, scratching his chin, "But if the two of us went for dinner, saw a movie, then maybe came back here, or some play equally romantic, then we could kiss to finish things off."

Dash was actually happy to hear that. She always saw herself as a pony who took charge, but she needed him to be the boss sometimes.

“Alright,” Dash said happily, “When are we going to have dinner together then?”

Alex thought for a moment.

“Since we’re setting up winter for the next few days, how about we go out when both of us are finished?” Alex asked. “It’ll give you something to work harder for!”

Dash grinned. She did love a good race.

“Where are you going to take me?” Dash asked, thinking back to their date.

“I’ll surprise you.” Alex said, “I’ll have a whole night planned out.”

“It had better be good!” Dash warned, “I’ll expect nothing but the best!”

"You'd settle for hay fries and you know it." He laughed.

"Well, the best hay fries then!" She giggled.

“Alright... It’s settled then.” Alex said, giving her a smile, “It’ll be a night you’ll never forget... whether it's because we fall in love, or because i fall flat on my face.”

Dash smiled and laid her head back on his shoulder. Things were finally moving forward.

////

Alex walked back to the library. He had just finished dropping Dash off at her house.

They had enjoyed the last of the sunset, talked a bit about winter, then decided to call it a night.

Unfortunately, just after Alex dropped her off, he started to feel himself be filled with that energy. The energy that he had used to save Dash a few days ago.

At first, he had thought it was nothing. So, he had ignored it. But, he it was getting harder and harder to do so.

So, now he was faced with a dilemma. Should he expel the energy in a spell, or should he keep trying to ignore it?

Alex weighed the options. He knew that there would be negative side effects to Ponyville if he cast a powerful spell. The ground would get that checkerboard pattern, or perhaps something similar.

On the other hoof, he could ignore it, and hope that it would eventually leave him alone.

Alex already knew what would happen if he DID cast the spell, so he decided to play the odds, and see what happened when he ignored the power.

Hopefully, it would dissipate somehow, and he would start to feel like normal again soon.

Hopefully.

////

The Doctor stood in the TARDIS, and watched Alex walk by on a screen, as he headed toward the library.

The time had come.

After months of research and brainstorming, he had finally come up with a solution, to rid Equestria of Alex.

The Doctor couldn’t help but sigh at that thought.

He had never considered himself to be the scheming, or killing kind… He fixed problems, and helped ponies out… But, now he had come up with a plan to remove somepony from existence. Something he was not proud of.

It had been quite a brilliant plan, actually. Back in the normal universe, he had dealt with a crack in space and time. Anything that it touched was instantly erased from existence, and the universe would go on as if they had never existed. And since he was back in time, the crack still existed. So he could still use it.

He still hated the idea. What would Derpy say if she heard this plan? There’s no way she’d have ever let him go through with it…

The Doctor was even aware that Alex wasn’t as bad a guy as he had originally thought. He had even saved Ponyville before.

Still. He was doing this for a better future. He saw how this ended. Discord would have everypony turned to statues, and he would once again rule Equestria…

The Doctor was surprised when he saw Alex suddenly collapse.

Unfortunately, it was too dark to see much. Fiddling with the controls, he was able to brighten the image enough to see Alex unmoving on the ground. However, after a few seconds, The Doctor watched Alex levitate off the ground, and right himself. But, something was different about him. He was walking… differently.

The Doctor had been observing Alex for long enough to know his mannerisms. And this was unique… He was carrying himself in more confidently. He wasn’t sure what to make of it.

After a moment, he started to realize that Alex had a dark aura surrounding him, which was giving off a dim light. After a few moments, it disappeared, but Alex continued walking the way he had.

Eventually, Alex turned a corner and disappeared off the camera. After a moment, The Doctor decided to forget about what he had just seen. Soon, Alex would be dealt with, and everything would be back to normal.

////
The front door to the Library opened, and Alex stepped in.

All of the lights were out; everypony must have been in bed already.

Smiling, Alex looked back and forth around the main room. Twilight had spent so much time organizing these books before they had left today to practice.

Casting a levitation spell, Alex individually lifted every book off of the shelves, and placed them on the floor in complete disarray.

Holding back his laughter, he walked into his room and closed the door.

He couldn’t wait until morning.

////

Remember to thumbs up if you haven't!

I realize that Spike wasn't mentioned as well. The morning is going to be very surprising.

////

The Short Road

////
The Short Road
////

Alex pressed his face into his pillow. For some reason, his head was killing him…

What had caused this ungodly headache?

Was it something he had done last night?

Thinking for a moment, Alex realized something odd. He couldn’t remember what had happened last night… The last thing he could remember was dropping Dash off at home, and then starting to feel that energy within him… It must have been related to that.

He hadn’t used it in a spell last night… So it was obviously a bad thing when he did that.

“Alex!” Twilight bellowed from just outside his room. “You need to come out here!”

“It’s time to face the music!” A voice said.

Alex sat up. Who was that?

“Who’s there?” Alex asked the empty room.

After a moment of silence, Alex started to hear laughter.

He was rather used to this, as Discord loved to talk to him whenever he felt like it. But, this laugh was different. It sounded like it was coming from somepony younger. Somepony that kinda sounded like…

“Alex, hurry!” Twilight shouted.

“Uh, yeah!” Alex said, getting out of bed, and approaching the door.

Opening his door, Alex walked out into the main section of the library, and was shocked to see the library in complete disarray.

“What happened?!” Alex asked in shock. “You just finished organizing this!”

“Huh?” Twilight said from the level above, scanning the floor below her. “Oh yeah, I saw that earlier.”

“Wait, you’re not upset?” Alex asked, surprised.

“Well, I think you should see this first.” Twilight said, gesturing to the door behind her.

Walking to the top of the stairs, Alex was confused when her bedroom door opened, and a purple and green pony stepped out.

“Woah, look at Twilight!” The voice said to Alex, “Bringing home guys! Nice!”

Alex ignored the voice. He was sure that it was some trick of Discords.

“Who is that…?” Alex asked.

“It’s Spike.” Twilight said.

“Pardon?” Alex asked, somewhat lost.

“It’s me.” Spike said. “I was transformed into a pony.”

Alex was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. “Is… This a normal thing around here…?”

“Not this.” Twilight said.

“Oh snap!” The voice said again. “The purple bastard is a pony!”

“Shut up!” Alex shouted again, earning odd looks from both Twilight and Spike.

“Me?” Twilight asked.

“N-Not you… Just- Nevermind.” Alex said, stumbling over an explanation before giving up. “What even happened?”

“Uh… Well, somepony actually did this to me…” Spike said.

“Spike,” Twilight whispered to him. “Are you sure…?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind telling him.” Spike said to her before turning back to Alex. “It was actually Rarity that made it happen.”

“Rarity?” Alex asked, “How… Or, why did she do it?”

Spike puffed out his chest and smiled. “With a wish, because she likes me!”

“…Really?” Alex and the voce in his head said simultaneously.

////

After several minutes, Twilight and Spike got Alex up to speed on the situation Spike was now in. The voice in his head had even shut up long enough for it all to make sense to him.

“How many times did you kiss her?” Alex asked, feeling proud of his little buddy.

“Two times!” Spike smiled.

“Nice!” Alex said, giving Spike a high-five… Or high-one. “So, do you have a cutie mark?”

“Nope,” Spike said, showing Alex his blank flank. “We’re in the same boat.”

“We’ll work on that together then!” Alex said, smiling.

“Sure!” Spike said, happy that Alex was being so cool about this.

“Does everypony in town know about Spike?” Alex asked Twilight.

“Well, after I found out he was like this, I didn’t really have much time to explain it to everypony,” Twilight said, “So, for now, I think that we’re going to just say that he’s a friend that’s visiting.”

“Makes sense,” Alex said, “With winter set-up starting today, you probably don’t want to waste all of your time explaining his transformation to everypony you come across.”

“Exactly,” Twilight agreed. “Once winter is ready, we’ll tell everypony.”

////

A Few Days Later

////

Alex could feel his heart trying to beat its way out of his chest.

Tonight was the night. He and Dash were finally going to have their first night out together.

The sun had just started to set, and he knew that Dash would be waiting for him at the library. So, he hurried along, not wanting to keep her waiting.

Alex had been working his tail off trying to get his mundane job of spreading snow completed. And, he had finally done it all. He had finished his assigned area, and was free to go, and have the night of his life.

Alex had the entire night planned out. The plan was for a romantic dinner, then a walk to Sugercube Corner for dessert. After they picked something up, he’d take her back to the hill where they first made up. The sun would be long set at that point, but the moon was full tonight, and he knew that the view would be breathtaking.

Even the smart-ass voice in the back of his head hadn’t said a word since they started setting up winter.

Unfortunately, there was just one problem. Alex could feel that energy coming back to him. Just after he finished his job in the set-up, he started to feel it build up again.

There was no way Alex could think of, to properly dispose of the magic. He was afraid that whatever he did would be super-powerful, and would damage Ponyville, just as it had before, with the checkerboard ground.

After much consideration, Alex decided to go ask Twilight for help. He really should have brought this up earlier… But, either way, they would find a solution, and he and Dash would be on their way.

Alex was just outside of the library, when he started to feel some kind of warmth enveloping him.

Looking at his body, Alex could see a bright light working its way up toward him. It almost felt like a teleportation spell.

Alex didn’t really have time to panic, as the light quickly enveloped him.

When the light faded, Alex found that he was in a completely new place.

He was in some kind of spherical room, filled with pillars, a series of control panels in the center, along with what looked like some kind of engine.

Examining the contraption in front of him, Alex was baffled. There was a large series of tubes that were moving up and down within each other, while making some kind of groaning noise. It almost sounded like a car’s engine revving, but backwards.

“Hello, Alex.” Somepony said from behind the engine.

Alex quickly focused on the figure that emerged from behind the control panels.

“My name is The Doctor.” He said, taking a few steps toward Alex. “And I’m very sorry.”

“It’s no problem…” Alex said slowly, “You can just let me out here… I kinda have plans for tonight.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that…” The Doctor said, pressing a few controls on the panel next to him.

Hearing a door creak open, Alex turned around, and was absolutely astounded.

He was in Space! The area outside of the ship was completely filled with stars. He had never seen anything so gorgeous. One thing looked rather peculiar however. There seemed to be some kind of bright line running through the empty space just in front of them. It almost looked like a crack.

“It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?” The Doctor asked, taking a few steps forward. “Don’t worry about breathing, there’s a force field keeping all the air in.”

“Why did you bring me here?” Alex asked.

The Doctor sighed. Alex deserved to know what had happened, and how he planned to fix it.

“You weren’t supposed to come to Equestria, Alex.” The Doctor said, walking past Alex, and looking out the door into the open space. “Something brought you here, and it made everything go wrong.”

“What does that mean?” Alex asked, starting to get angry. “How could you possibly know something like that?”

“I came from the future, in this ship.” The Doctor explained, “Just about a year and a half from now…”

“The future?” Alex asked disbelievingly, “That sounds like a load of crap.”

“Yeah?” The Doctor asked, “I’d say that it’s just about as much crap as a human in Equestria.”

Alex had to give him that one. If he could visit magical-pony-land, then time travel could definitely be possible.

“So…” Alex said, deciding to listen to what he had to say. “What happened to your future, then?”

“Where I came from, everything was perfect...” The Doctor explained, “The world existed as if you had never been there.”

Alex held his breath. He didn’t like the sound of that.

“Discord had come back about a year before, but was stopped by the Elements of Harmony.” The Doctor explained. “But, something changed history, and made Discord the ruler of Equestria… I’m only here because I was in this time machine when it happened. If I had been outside, I would have been affected too.”

“What then?” Alex asked, “Do you want my help to defeat Discord?”

He Doctor wanted nothing more than to say yes, but it wasn’t an option. He could fix everything right here and now.

Walking past Alex, The Doctor returned to the control panel, and then turned back to Alex.

“This will go much easier for you if you relax…” The Doctor said.

“What do you mean?!” Alex asked, starting to panic.

“That crack outside will… Erase you from history.” The Doctor explained, “Everything will return to normal, and Equestria will be safe.”

“That’s not fair!” Alex said angrily, “How do you know that I’m the only thing that changed history? Couldn’t something else have happened, besides me coming here?”

The Doctor ignored him, and turned around to his control panel. He would need a minute to disable to the safety. It wasn’t every day you wanted something sucked out from the inside.

“S-Stop!” Alex shouted, running forward in an attempt to stop The Doctor. Unfortunately a barrier had been place between the two of them.

Suddenly, Alex realized something. He was still overflowing with that strange power. He could try to use it to get past the shield. Closing his eyes, Alex tried to shoot a bolt of energy into the barrier. But, he found himself unable to cast it.

“You can’t cast any kind of your magic in here,” The Doctor explained, “So don’t try.”

“Look…” Alex said starting to feel light headed, “There must be another way!”

The Doctor kept his back to Alex, knowing that he would probably crumble if he saw the pleading pony.

Alex couldn’t believe how fast everything was happening. One moment, everything was perfect. The next, he was in mortal danger.

Again, Alex focused on casting a spell, but he just couldn’t do it. Closing his eyes, he fought to open them again. He was so tired all of the sudden.

“I… I…” Alex said, as he lost consciousness. “I… Don’t…”

The Doctor was confused when Alex didn’t continue speaking. It wasn’t as if he had cut off the air, or removed the barrier between him and open space. Still, this was a blessing. It would be easier to do this if he was silent.

Lifting his hoof to press the final button, The Doctor was stopped when he heard Alex suddenly speak.

“I… Don’t want to hurt you.”

Alex looked up from the floor, with a wicked grin on his face.

“I’m only thinking of your safety, Doctor.” Alex said darkly.

Turning around, The Doctor was shocked to see Alex enveloped in a black aura of magic. But… It wasn’t Alex. It was something controlling his body.

“I can’t have you hurting my lesser half,” Alex said, lifting The Doctor off the ground by his neck, in a very Darth Vader kind of way. “I need that goody-two shoes alive.”

“Who are you?” The Doctor choked, “Where did you come from?”

“You can call me… Dax.” Dax said, liking the sound of his new name. “And I came from Alex.”

“D-Did Discord do this?” The Doctor asked, wheezing for breath.

“Well, he helped by supplying the chaotic magic,” Dax said, “But I don’t think he knows I exist.”

That’s why he could cast spells in here. The Doctor wasn’t able to prevent Discords form of magic from being used in here.

“So, I’m going to have to ask you nicely, that you take me, and my bumbling split-personality, home now.” Dax said, releasing The Doctor from his magic, dropping him on the ground.

“And what if I don’t?” The Doctor asked.

“Then I’ll be forced to start using my magic on this machines engine, to try and get us home.” Dax smiled. “Your choice.”

The Doctor knew that any kind of tampering with the TARDIS could potentially have catastrophic results. So it appeared that he had no choice.

Standing up, The Doctor started the necessary procedure to send them back to Equestria… Turning some nobs, pressing a few buttons, and then pulling a lever, The Doctor finally had them on their way back home.

“Good pony,” Dax said, lifting the Doctor off the ground and throwing him against a wall. “Sleep tight.”

The Doctor landed on the floor, quickly losing consciousness… Even though his plan had completely failed, he couldn’t help but be happy that he hadn’t killed Alex. He was a good pony, that deserved the same chance as everypony else. But… This Dax character… That might be a problem. He would have to deal with it when he woke up.

After a few seconds, Dax heard the engines of the ship start to slow down, and eventually stop.

Walking forward and opening the door, Dax put a hoof over his eyes to block out the sunlight. The time machine must have taken him a bit further ahead than he would have liked.

Taking a step out, he immediately started to feel weak. It looked like he was losing control.

“You’d better thank me…” Dax said to himself as he collapsed into the snow outside of the TARDIS. He was only able to take control when Alex was full of chaotic energy, but he had used it all up. So, for now, Alex would be taking the wheel again.

Dax was happy that the two of them were safe. He couldn’t have Alex dying. He needed him here.

For now at least.

////

Alex slowly opened his eyes. Why was he so cold? Is this was erasure from the universe felt like?

Sitting up, Alex quickly understood that the coldness had come from. His face had been buried in a pile of snow.

Looking around, Alex saw that the sun had come out. This meant that, he must have been dropped off by The Doctor, and left there for the night.

“I hope Dash isn’t too disappointed that I missed our date…” Alex said out loud.

Alex righted himself, then started heading for the Library. He needed to talk to Twilight about what happened.

As he approached the front door, he heard the unmistakable sound of singing, coming from behind him.

Deciding to take a look, Alex walked away from the library, and headed toward the center of town. He wondered what they could possibly be singing about… The beginning of winter maybe?

As he closed the distance to the singing ponies, Alex found it easier to make out the words that were being sung.

“Winter…” Alex said, perking his ears up as much as possible. “Winter… Wrap up?”

“Wrap up?” Alex said to himself, “I thought we just finished setting winter up last night!”

Walking between two buildings, Alex came to an ally where he had a view of all the ponies singing. And in the middle of the group, stood Twilight Sparkle.

“’Cause tomorrow Spring is here, ‘Cause tomorrow Spring is here!”

Twilight finished off the song by holding the last ‘here’ for a few moments.

Alex was surprised that Twilight was such a good singer. He had never really heard her before.

Naturally, as soon as she finished singing, and everypony got in their final pose, Alex walked out from the ally cheering, resisting the urge to clap and fall flat on his face.

“What that a rehearsal for when winter ends, or something?” Alex asked.

Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, And Pinkie Pie all stared at Alex in complete disbelief.

“What?” Alex asked, “Is there something on my face? Because I was asleep in the snow!”

“You’re back!” Twilight shouted, running over to Alex, quickly followed by all of her friends.

“I… Guess?” Alex said, before being bombarded by the group of girls, hugging him, telling them how much he was missed. And asking him where had had been.

“Okay… Everypony needs to slow down!” Alex said, completely baffled, “Just what do you think happened to me?”

“We thought you were dead!” Spike said, rather dramatically.

“Wha--?” Alex said, “Dead?”

“Of course, Darling!” Rarity said, “You have been gone for over three months! What were we supposed to think?”

“What!?” Alex shouted, “B-but… I’ve only been gone for one night!”

“What?” Twilight asked. “It’s obviously been more than one night!”

“But… I was only on that ship with that Doctor guy for…” Alex said, stopping when he realized what kind of ship he had been on.

A time machine.

“I was in a time machine…” Alex said quietly, “I… I can’t believe it.”

“Are you serious?” Twilight asked, “Because if you are, then we have to—“

“Where’s Colors?” Alex asked suddenly, not caring about priorities. “Is she not with you guys? I… I need to talk to her!”

The girls looked nervously at each other, before Twilight spoke up.

“Um, About that…”

////

Don't worry, there will be many chapters of flashbacks through the skipped time. The Progression of Spike and Rarity, and what happened with Dash.

So, there might be a few chapters before i get on to the next actual episode chapter.

And yes, i realize that this might seem strange. But stick with me here. I have a plan

Author's Note

Go to my page, and read my other story Chasing the Rainbow now! It's Next in line!

Chasing the Rainbow: Epilogue

PLEASE READ

CHASING THE RAINBOW IF YOU HAVEN'T YET! It's the next chapter! If you keep reading here, you'll have no clue what's going on!

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/62934/off-the-record-chasing-the-rainbow

HAVE A NICE DAY... Nice day.

////
Chasing the Rainbow – Epilogue
////

A few days ago, nopony had had any idea what was ahead of them. Winter was ending, Rainbow Dash was becoming a Wonderbolt, and a good friend of all of them had disappeared without a trace.

But now, Twilight and her friends stood in Wonder Stadium, and waited giddily for Rainbow Dash and Alex to return from the field, where they had been reunited, and had shamelessly made out in front of hundreds of cheering ponies.

Twilight knew that there would be plenty to sort out once this was over and done with. After all, they had just interrupted an official Wonderbolts performance, beaten up a few ponies, and crashed a giant pink balloon into the train station down the street from the stadium. Still, things had turned out amazingly, and for right now, she was going to enjoy what her and her friends had accomplished.

“They sure have been in that dressing room a long time…” Twilight said, glancing at the clock on the wall above them.

“What do y’all think they’re doin’?” Applejack asked.

The girls looked to one another, not sure if they should voice their thoughts.

“Perhaps she’s cleaning up with a shower and Alex is…” Rarity suggested before immediately regretting it. “Never mind…”

Spike sighed. This was taking too long.

“I’ll go look!” Spike said running to the door.

“Spike, no!” The girls yelled collectively.

Spike was immediately grabbed by one of Twilight’s spells, and dragged backward.

“I think they deserve their time alone, don’t you?” Twilight asked him as she dropped him on his rump beside her.

“Yeah… I guess so.” Spike sighed.

////

Ramsley had been pacing for about a half hour outside of the Wonderbolts manager office.

Comet’s office…

The pony he had loved so long ago. It was truly a shock when he discovered that she was the ‘evil’ manager of the Wonderbolts that had orchestrated this whole series of events.

He wasn’t totally sure what he should say. Comet still had no idea that he had had a hoof in what had gone on today. What she had done was downright terrible. Would he even be able to face her?

Chaser would have never done something like this. But, apparently, ‘Comet’ would.

Sighing, Ram lifted a hoof to the door, and knocked slowly. It was now or never.

“Come in…” A dejected voice said from behind the door.

Opening the door, Ramsley saw a large red chair turned away from him, that seated Comet.

“How did everything go so wrong?” Comet asked her visitor, not caring who was actually there. “I thought I was doing the right thing for that pony, whether she knew it or not.”

Ramsley opened his mouth to respond, but was quickly cut off.

“She was so happy with that pony...” Comet sighed. “Would I have been that happy?”

At this point, Ramsley knew that she just wanted to get this off her chest. She didn’t care who listened. So he let her continue, and waited for the right moment.

“Seeing one pony do so much for the mare he loves… It really opens your eyes.” Comet continued, “I used to be the captain of this team, and yet, I still feel like…”

“Like you missed something?” Ram asked.

Turning quickly, Comet’s heart sunk.

“…Ram?”

“Chaser.”

Comet couldn’t believe it. She hadn’t seen him in years, and certainly never expected to see him again.

“Why are you here…?” Comet asked.

“I’m a friend of Alex.” Ramsley said simply.

“Fantastic…” Comet said. “Come to laugh at the evil mare then?”

“No.” Ramsley answered. “I came for answers, Chaser…”

Comet sighed. “I don’t know what you want me to say… I… Did all of this for the good of the team.”

“The team?” Ramsley asked, “Is her happiness worth less to you than the team?”

“I saw so much of myself in her…” Comet admitted, “I thought she would be happy! Just like I was...”

“Were you really happy leaving everything behind for the team?” Ramsley asked bluntly. “You sure sounded like you regretted it a few seconds ago.”

“Well...!” Comet said, thinking deeply. “I was… I was one of the most famous ponies in Equestria! Who wouldn’t want that?”

“You’re dodging the question.” Ramsley countered.

“I… I think I was!” Comet said. “I mean, it was either the Wonderbolts, or you… And I… I think I chose the right one.”

“Yeah?” Ramsley asked. “Why don’t you take a look in the mirror.”

Comet was silent.

“What would Chaser say to you?” Ramsley asked, “If she knew that she would become you, what do you think she would have chosen?”

Comet was afraid to answer… She really had changed, and she knew it.

“If there’s even a shred of Chaser left in you, you need to go to those ponies, and apologize.” Ramsley said. “You almost took them away from each other.”

Comet stayed silent.

“Come to the Orange estate if you have anything to say.” Ram said. “Their friend Pinkie plans on throwing a party in celebration of Rainbow Dash returning to them.”

Ramsley then turned around and headed out the door, leaving her alone.

Feeling a tear run down her cheek, Comet sighed, and laid her head down on her desk. She had some thinking to do.

Ramsley felt a little bad for what he had just said. He had laid it on pretty thick. But, it was something she needed to hear.

////

“Ugh…” Dash sighed. “Not so hard.”

“It’s really tight…” Alex grunted.

“Try sliding it slower,” Dash said, “Just… Do it gently!”

“I thought this would be done in like, five seconds!” Alex said, “We’ve been at this for almost fifteen minutes!”

“Well, maybe if this stupid uniform is glued to me.” Dash sighed.

Alex stopped pulling on the uniform that was rolled half way down her body, and walked in front of her.

“Maybe we should just go out.” Alex suggested, “Everypony is dying to see you, and I’m sure Rarity can help you out of this thing.”

“I’m already half out!” Dash complained, “I’ll look stupid! Don’t you have a spell you can use?”

“Magic barrier.” Alex said.

Sitting down on her rump, Dash groaned.

Alex sat down next to her, and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

The two had spent the past hour catching up, and once Alex had given her a very confusing explanation as to where he had been, she asked him to help her out of her uniform so that she could go out and greet her friends. But, removing the suit proved to be a bit more difficult than she had intended.

“It’s not all bad I guess…” Dash yawned.

“Oh?” Alex asked. “Why’s that?”

“Well, duh!” Dash said, “You’re back! I’m still expecting to wake up… and this all would have just been a dream.”

“Well… Is there anything I can do to prove to you that this isn’t a dream?” Alex asked.

“Let’s just sit here for a minute…” Dash said closing her eyes. “This will do just fine.”

“No problem for me.” Alex said.

“So… Where did you say you went again?” Dash asked, still a little lost on the whole topic.

“Well, I was in a ship with that Doctor,” Alex explained, “And I was only with him for something like… fifteen minutes?”

“And where did the time go then?” Dash asked.

“Well, he did say that it was a time machine…” Alex explained, “I kinda blacked out, and when I woke up, it was three months later.”

“How did you stop him from killing you anyway?” Dash asked, “Didn’t you say that there was a magic barrier or something?”

Alex wasn’t sure how to explain the existence of Dax to her yet. Of course, everypony else knew about him, so he couldn’t really keep it to himself.

“Well, something happened when I….”

“What’s taking you guys so long?!” Spike asked, running into the room.

The group of girls followed in behind him, praying that they weren’t walking in on anything.

“You guys!” Dash said, standing up quickly, smiling brightly. “After the past couple of days… I thought that you weren’t coming at all.”

“Of course we came!” Twilight said, “We’re your friends, aren’t we?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed, “And I DEFINATELY wouldn’t have missed a blimp ride for anything!”

“More like a blimp crash…” Fluttershy said quietly, shaking at the thought of the experience.

“It’s not like y’all KNEW that was gonna happen.” Applejack laughed.

“I would have been surprised if something like that didn’t happen!” Spike laughed.

“So, what’s been taking you guys so long, anyway?” Twilight asked.

“We can’t get my uniform off…” Dash said, blushing lightly.

“Oh, dear! Did you not use any talcum powder when dressing yourself?” Rarity asked.

“Talcum… What now?” Dash asked, completely unaware of this powders existence.

“It’s baby powder, darling.” Rarity explained, “It helps the suit slide off when you’re done with it.”

“Well, let’s just say that I forgot…” Dash said slowly, hoping there was still an easy way to get out of her uniform. “This is why I hate dressing up.”

Suddenly, a light went off in Rarity’s head.

“Alex, would you mind if I borrowed Rainbow Dash for a few hours?” Rarity asked, causing everypony to look at him.

“Uh… Well, I mean… I don’t…” Alex stammered, not really wanting to say goodbye to Dash yet.

Rainbow Dash was about to protest herself, when Rarity whispered something in her ear.

“Are you sure?” Dash asked her quietly.

Rarity whispered something else in her ear.

“Well, I guess so.” Dash said, “But… It’s not really my thing…”

“Come now,” Rarity spoke up. “He’ll love it.”

Everypony looked at Alex.

“What will I love exactly?” Alex asked.

Ignoring him, Rarity simply gave Dash a ‘make a choice’ look.

Making up her mind, Dash nodded. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Alex was a little lost, but decided not to complain. He knew how much Dash had missed him, and figured that Rarity had a good reason to drag her away.

“Are you sure you want to head off so fast?” Twilight asked.

“Well… It’ll only be for a little bit... Besides! I want to catch up with you guys!” Dash answered, “We’ll meet Alex, Pinkie, and Spike back at Applejack’s relative’s house.”

“Huh?” Pinkie asked, “Why don’t I get to come along?”

“Aren’t you setting up the party?” Rarity asked.

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie remembered excitedly.

“Oh, and Pinkie, one more thing…” Rarity said as she leaned over and whispered into Pinkie’s ear.

“Okie Dokie Loki!” Pinkie said happily.

“Come on Alex!” Pinkie said pushing herself underneath him and lifting him off the ground.

Alex was then carried away by Pinkie, giving the girls behind him the biggest frown he could muster, which was met with some laughter.

Happy to have made them laugh, Alex perked up and called Spike to follow them.

“I’m sure that tonight is going to be interesting.” Alex said to him.

“You bet your rump it’s gonna be interesting!” Pinkie said to the pony on her back, “I AM planning the whole thing after all.”

“I sure hope so, Pinkie.” Alex laughed.

////

The next few hours passed as Pinkie set up the classiest party she had ever done before, which was proving to be quite a task for her. Normally, she was setting up a station to bob for apples, or a ’pin the tail on the pony’ sheet for her friends to play. But Rarity had said that tonight was to be about Dash and Alex. So, she was going to follow the instructions she had been given.

Ramsley had been more than happy to pitch in with the set up. He got some tables set up in the back yard of the mansion for everypony to sit at; he got some stereo equipment out so Pinkie could play music that she had personally selected from Alex’s IPod. He was rather interested to hear some of the music that came from his world.

So, Ramsley kept helping with whatever he could, trying his best to keep Chaser out of his mind.

Spike had been in charge of making sweets for the party. Since he had transformed into a pony, he found himself with an increased appetite. So, he had started taking baking lessons from Pinkie so he could keep himself satisfied. Another pleasant upside to the whole thing was that Rarity thought it was ‘Simply Adorable’ when he baked her treats.

Alex had been told to relax, as his day had been so crazy. However, he failed to see how his day had been any worse than anypony else’s.

“I’m sure that I can do something!” Alex said, bored out of his mind.

“Alex, you fell out of a blimp.” Ramsley said sternly, “That alone must have raised your blood pressure a fair amount.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed, “If you have a stroke tonight, I think you’ll kinda bum out the party.”

“I-I’m not gonna have a stroke!” Alex argued.

“Alex!” Spike interrupted, “How do these taste?”

Spike had a silver platter balanced on his head that was filled with an assortment of cupcakes.

Levitating a cupcake off the tray, Alex took a bite, and was pleasantly surprised.

“This is great!” Alex complemented, “I’m surprised that you don’t have a cutie mark in baking!”

Spike sighed, “Rarity said the same thing…”

“That’s a bad thing?” Alex asked.

“Well, I don’t want to get stuck with a cutie mark like THAT.” Spike said, “What if you were really good at something mundane like… Math!”

“Hmm… A math cutie mark…” Alex pondered, “That wouldn’t be so bad…”

Spike sighed. Alex was making this difficult on purpose.

“Well, what about a cutie mark in something like, blowing spit bubbles!” Spike said, really not thinking things through at this point.

Alex’s face contorted. “Ew.”

“I thought that’s what my Cutie mark was gonna be for like… Ever!” Pinkie spoke up, “But, then it turned out to be parties! It was a real game changer!”

“That’s… Nice…” Ramsley said slowly.

“You get what I mean though, right?” Spike asked, really hoping that his point had been made.

“I get it.” Alex said, relieving Spike, “There are definitely some lame Cutie Marks you could get.”

“Thank you!” Spike sighed as he headed back to the kitchen.

“Wow,” Alex said looking at the clock, “Is it already this late?”

Pinkie gasped, “Alex, you have to go get ready! The girls will be back soon!”

“Huh…?” Alex asked.

“I forgot to tell you!” Pinkie said, “You’re supposed to go dress in that tuxedo you bought yesterday!”

“I am…?” Alex asked again, still lost.

“Oh! You too Spike!” Pinkie called into the kitchen.

“Me too, what?” Spike asked.

“Just go upstairs!” Ramsley said, not wanting to waste any more time. “Get dressed for your marefriends!”

////

Alex sat in his room, and waited. He had heard the girls come in a few minutes ago, and had been told by Pinkie to stay put until he was called. His heart pounded uncontrollably as he waited. He wasn’t even sure why he was so nervous. It was just Dash… But, at the same time, he felt like he had to work extra hard for her, since she hadn’t seen him in so long.

What had they even done in the past few hours anyway? Alex wasn’t stupid, he was sure that she had gotten cleaned up and prettied up. She may not have been the most girly pony around, but she certainly had that side about her. And Alex figured that tonight he was going to see a glimpse of that part of her.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Alex gulped. He hoped that she didn’t think this was silly. Of course, by his own description, He was looking damn fine in his outfit.

He had sort of adopted a ‘suits always make you look legendary’ attitude from this one show he used to watch on TV.

Noticing a small patch of dark in his face, Alex leaned into the mirror. It was a patch of dried blood from his earlier collision with Dash. Licking his hoof, he rubbed it against his cheek, but found that the red only spread around on his face.

“Alex!” Spike called from the hall, “Its go time!”

Removing his hoof from his face, Alex took a deep breath.

This was it. It was time to go and see exactly what had been done to Dash.

Opening his door at the end of the hall, Alex turned and walked down toward Spike, who was dressed in his matching outfit.

“Are you ready for this?” Spike asked him quietly as Alex stopped beside him.

“I guess…” Alex said slowly, “How’s she look?”

Spike simply gestured to the stairs, where he was sure that the girls stood at the bottom.

“You know… Isn’t the girl supposed to come down the stairs?” Alex asked suddenly. “While the guy stands at the bottom?”

“Oh, Dash is up here too!” Spike said, smiling. “It’s a ‘meet in the middle, and go down together’ sort of thing.”

“Oh… So… Is she waiting for me at the other end at the hall?” Alex asked.

“Once you turn the corner right here, Rarity will give her the signal to come out.” Spike explained.

“This seems so… Unnecessary…” Alex said.

“Maybe… But Dash seemed pretty excited to do this. So, give her this one, okay?” Spike asked.

“How can I say ‘no’ to that face?” Alex laughed, rubbing the top of Spike’s head.

“Are you ready?” Spike asked.

“I guess.” Alex said, gulping hard.

Spike simply gestured behind him, and watched as Alex passed by, and turned around the corner.

“Good luck.” Spike whispered.

Alex turned the corner, and saw Rarity standing at the opposite side of the room, waiting in the same kind of hallway he had just walked out of.

Lighting up, Rarity gave a gesture, and stepped aside.

Alex held his breath.

Then, Dash walked around the corner in an outfit that made his jaw drop so hard it made a thud noise on the floor.

Dash wore a transparent purple dress that matched the purple in her mane. There was a curved design on the back, and several very small and very cleverly placed sequins near the bottom of the dress that made the fabric look like it was covered in shining stars.

The collar of the dress reached around on either side of her neck and met in the center, where a crystal cyan lightning bolt held the two pieces together. Her shoes were a matching purple, accompanied with a white cloth that wrapped around each leg up to her knees, making an alternating white and cyan pattern on her legs. Her mane was brushed straight down her face, and partially covered her left eye, while the back of her mane hung down her side in a very low ponytail.

Then, to top it all off, she wore a simple tiara that was comprised of two pieces of gold that were both curved on both ends. One piece rested on each of her ears, while they were held together in the middle by a matching crystal lightning bolt.

Alex had spent such a large amount of time staring at her, that Dash was starting to get anxious.

“Do… Do you like it?” Dash asked weakly as she hid behind her hair, hoping to Celestia that all the pampering she had just gone through had been worth it.

“Colors… I mean, Rainbow...” Alex stumbled, “You look so, so beautiful…”

Dash blushed deeply.

“I mean… You’re just… Wow.” Alex said, completely at a loss for words.

Rarity was giddy. She had taken Dash to one of her favorite dressmakers, and picked out the best, and most expensive dress and shoes she had. Then, she had her taken to a spa, where her coat and mane was completely cleaned, to remove any evidence of her earlier collision with Alex, and soon after, her collision with the ground.

When they had arrived at the mansion, Rarity dragged Dash upstairs, got her dressed, and did her hair. And now, here she was, looking more beautiful than any of them could have ever imagined. One thing that everypony would remember from this day on, was that if Dash tried, she could give some of the most gorgeous mares a run for their money.

“You look good too, Spot.” Dash said stepping forward to the top of the staircase so she could see him a little better. “You have something on your face though.”

“That’s from the crash earlier…” Alex said meeting her in the middle, “I only just noticed it myself.”

Closing the distance between them, Dash leaned in close to his wound, “Are you okay?”

“It doesn’t hurt.” Alex said leaning in closer to her face, “But… Maybe a kiss would make me feel better.”

Dash grinned slyly. “Well… If it’ll help.”

Alex leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

Dash exhaled, closed her eyes, and pushed into him.

One thing that Alex had always expected, was that it would have felt weird to kiss while he was in this pony form. But, it seemed to come as naturally as a normal kiss would.

“I SEE THAT IT DIDN’T TAKE THEM LONG!” Princess Luna bellowed from the bottom of the stairs.

Immediately separating, Alex and Dash looked down the stairs, and were genuinely surprised at the number of ponies that stood at the bottom.

Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Princess Celestia and Luna, Tulip, and for some reason, Cuddly Bear, all stood at the bottom of the staircase, smiling. (Except Cuddly, who was scowling a little bit.) The only pony missing was Ramsley.

“Why are you here?” Alex asked Princess Celestia, still a bit surprised to see her here.

“Well, when Twilight told us about your return, we couldn’t resist coming down and greeting you properly.” Celestia explained, “Also, Twilight has spoken quite fondly of Pinkie’s parties.”

“Well, I guess this is as good a reason as any to throw one.” Alex laughed.

“Well, it’s very good to see that you’re back, Alex.” Princess Celestia said happily. “However… I would like to talk to you about—“

“Where I was.” Alex finished for her. “I think I owe just about everypony an explanation on that one.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll have time for that later,” Celestia smiled, “Just enjoy yourself for now, okay?”

Alex nodded.

Celestia then made eye contact with Dash, and winked.

“SHE HAS GOTTEN HERSELF A CAPABALE MATE, HAS SHE NOT, SISTER?” Luna asked.

Dash blushed, and hid behind her hair. She finally understood why Fluttershy was doing it so much. She wasn’t used to all this. Not one bit.

“Y’all look real good together!” Applejack said.

“Thanks.” Dash said looking back up.

Alex and Dash descended the staircase together, followed by Rarity and Spike.

Rarity also wore a dress. But, she wore a simple white dress with a purple trim, and matching purple shoes. She had no intention of being the star tonight. She simply wanted to look good with Spike.

“Are you guys ready to party?!” Pinkie asked, smiling brightly.

“YES!” Princess Luna shouted, genuinely excited for this event.

“But wait…” Alex said, “Where’s Ram?”

“He went out to grab some pizza.” Twilight explained, “He told us to start without him.”

“Does he know about Celestia and Luna?” Dash asked.

“Nope,” Twilight giggled. “I want to see the look on his face when he gets here and sees them.”

“Come on, you guys!” Pinkie shouted, “Let’s get this party started!”

////

Comet stood down the street from the Orange estate.

She had come over here with the intention of giving Dash a full apology.

However, just as she was walking up the street, she watched as the two rulers of Equestria were dropped off by a large carriage.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were here? How was that even possible? What kind of ponies had she gotten herself involved with?

Was she going to avoid them simply because she might be zapped into oblivion by her ruler?

No… She had to do this. She had done wrong, and she needed to apologize. Besides, she knew that Celestia was kind. She wasn’t too sure about Luna, however. Still, she was going to have to take her chances.

“Chaser?” A voice said from behind her, causing her to spin around quickly.

And of course, it was Ram. And he was levitating a stack of Pizza’s.

“Are you going to make a habit of sneaking up on me?” Comet asked.

“Are you going to make a habit of staring at my place of employment?” Ramsley countered.

“I suppose not.” Comet answered, “I was just on my way to apologize to Rainbow… But I was sidetracked.”

“Having second thoughts about stealing her back for the team?” Ramsley asked rather coldly.

Comet frowned. “No. I saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna enter your house.”

Ramsley’s eyes shot open. “A-are you sure about that?”

“Do I look like a foal to you?” Comet asked.

“I knew that they were connected with the Canterlot royalty,” Ramsley said, “I just didn’t know they were close enough to invite her over for a party…”

“Why hadn’t they just called her?” Comet asked, “She could have had Dash released in no time.”

“It would have been a slight abuse of power, I believe.” Ramsley explained, “However, I’m sure that she would have done it anyway, if asked.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.” Comet frowned.

“Maybe it was because they didn’t know whether or not she would have helped…” Ramsley pondered, looking toward the mansion. “Or perhaps it was because Alex had something to prove… Or even a bit of both.”

Comet sighed. All of this could have been avoided, had she not been so greedy. A few days ago, she would have never thought what she was doing was wrong. But, when Ram had gotten angry with her earlier, she had started to realize just what she had become. Her transformation into this… Evil pony had been so gradual, that she hadn’t noticed it. Not even when she was about to ruin the future of two ponies.

“Hey, Ram…” Comet said after a moment.

Ramsley simply raised an eyebrow.

“I’m sorry for what I put you through.” Comet said sadly.

“We got Dash back,” Ramsley answered, “So, no damage done.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Comet began again, “I mean… I’m sorry for how I ended things with you.”

“Chaser… That was years ago.” Ramsley said, a bit surprised to hear her saying this, “Longer than either of us cares to count.”

Comet smiled softly.

“You made the choice you thought was best at the time.” Ramsley continued, “And… It may have led you down a bad path, but I’m actually happy that you chose the team over me.”

“You are?” Comet asked, a little shocked.

“Of course.” Ramsley said, “If I had taken you away from the Wonderbolts, I would have always felt like I had stolen your dream away from you.”

“Some dream…” Comet said, looking at the ground and sighing.

“Yeah, it turned out badly.” Ramsley comforted, “But… Now is your chance to make up for what you did.”

Comet was happy to hear that. However, Ram had always been a forgiving pony.

But, for all she knew, the others wouldn’t ever forgive her for what she did. Still, that was a chance she was going to have to take.

////

Everypony had moved into the back yard to start enjoying the party Pinkie had worked so hard setting up. She had been playing some of her own music, but had been making a big deal about playing some of the tracks off of Alex’s IPod. Something that he himself was quite interested to hear.

Both Alex and Dash had tried their best to avoid having to dance, as Dash had never danced with a stallion before, and Alex simply had no idea how two ponies went about dancing.

The two had stuck to the sidelines for the entire party so far. They had both watched various ponies go out in front of the stereo system and start dancing.

Alex had observed several different kinds of dances from the group. Applejack would shake her rump, and sway her tail in time with the music, Twilight flailed her forelegs and hind legs with her tongue sticking out, Tulip would head bang to just about anything they put on the stereo, at a speed that would certainly cause some kind of brain damage… But by looking at him, Alex wasn’t too worried about his brain.

Even Princess Luna had gone out and swayed back and forth to the music. However, one pony sat in the corner of the room, and watched Dash and Alex with a pair of very creepy unblinking eyes. Cuddly Bear. Alex had first noticed him out the corner of his eye doing this about five minutes after the music started. And, he hadn’t been looking anywhere else. He was simply watching… Alex was a bit scared.

“Dash,” Alex whispered, “Why is that pony looking at us?”

Alex gestured with his eyes toward Cuddly, quickly.

Deciding to act as natural as possible, Dash started to have a very loud, very obvious, and very fake sneeze.

“A---A----A---A----A---A----A----A----A---A CHOO!” Dash spat out, throwing her head to the side so she could look at cuddly.

Alex held back his laughter. That was the worst pretend sneeze he had ever seen.

Turning back to Alex, Dash sighed. “That pony is in love with me.”

“He is…?” Alex asked a bit creeped out.

“We had a thing while you were gone.” Dash lied, “You can’t blame me. I was alone. He was there for me.”

“Please… Please be lying to me right now.” Alex begged quietly.

“Of course I’m lying!” Dash whispered, “Geez, talk about gullible!”

“I didn’t really believe you!” Alex said quickly, “I was just playing along is all…!”

“Psh!” Dash laughed, “Sure you were!”

“Uh, I was!” Alex countered, knowing this was getting repetitive very fast.

“Sure.” Dash repeated, hitting him on the shoulder.

She had missed this. Just the simple conversations with him… Something that she was going to relish from now on.

“Why aren’t either of you dancing?” Celestia asked, approaching the pair.

“Oh…” Dash said, trying to come up with a believable excuse.

“We’re really worn out,” Alex said quickly.

“Oh?” Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, we DID crash into each other…” Alex explained, “And after that, we were having a lot of trouble breathing! Because of… all our kissing!”

Dash shot him a ‘what the BUCK are you saying?’ look.

Alex returned with a ‘I don’t know!’ look.

“I see…” Celestia said, giggling at the exchange between the two. “I’ll just leave you two then.”

“Thank you.” Dash said, totally embarrassed.

“Uh… Man… It’s great that I came up with that so fast, huh?” Alex asked, mustering the best smile he could.

“You’re lucky you’re pretty.” Dash said to him, trying not to break her feigned anger.

“Well, at least nopony is asking us to dance, right?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Alex! Dashie!” Pinkie called, “Princess Celestia just told me that neither of you have danced tonight!”

Alex looked past Pinkie to Celestia, and could have sworn. that she had turned into a troll for just a second.

“Come on up you two!” Pinkie called.

“Ugh.” Alex sighed.

“Greeeeat.” Dash sighed.

The two walked forward, being watched by everypony there.

“I don’t know how to do this…” Alex said quickly to Dash.

“Well, I guess I’m leading.” Dash said, now even more nervous.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Alex said, winking.

“Alright you two!” Pinkie announced, “I’m going to play one of my personal favorites off of Alex’s IPod!”

“This should be interesting.” Alex said.

Fiddling with the contraption in front of her, Pinkie tapped the screen a couple of times, and after a moment of silence, a song finally started to play.

Alex listened for a moment, and quickly identified the song.

“Stairway to Heaven, Pinkie?” Alex asked, a bit surprised at her using this song. “This song is really over played!”

“It is?!” Pinkie asked, quickly turning it off. “I’ll play another!”

After another moment, Pinkie found the next song.

“How about this one?” Pinkie asked, tapping the screen.

The song opened up with the very recognizable opening guitar riff for Sweet Child O’ Mine.

“Are you doing this on purpose, Pinkie?” Alex asked.

“Is this one overplayed too?” Pinkie asked, “I’m so sorry!”

“Well, you don’t need to apolo—“

“How about this?” Pinkie asked, tapping the screen again.

The song started with a soft piano and trumpet playing.

There’s a calm surrender, to the rush of day,

“This too?” Alex asked, as he watched Pinkie motion to change the song once again, “Actually, leave it.”

“Are you sure?” Pinkie asked, “There are a few more here!”

When the heat of the rolling world, can be turned away

“I’m sure,” Alex said, “This one is pretty overdone… But I love it.”

Dash turned and looked at Alex, “Shall we?”

An enchanted moment, And it sees me through

Alex smiled and nodded.

Dash stepped forward, and pressed her cheek against his.

“Do we just sway now?” Alex asked.

“Mhmm…” Dash said quietly, as she started the moving with the music.

It's enough for this restless warrior, Just to be with you.

It didn’t take Alex long to pick up on the simple motions required by the dance. And before long, the two were swaying along with the music.

“This is nice.” Dash said quietly into his ear.

Alex smiled, and started looking around the room as he spun with Dash. Rarity had dragged Spike onto the dance floor, and started dancing with him in the same manner as Alex was dancing with Dash.

And can you feel the love tonight?

Alex felt like he could stay like this forever. Just stay close to her, and never leave her side. But still… With this song playing… It really was making for a cheesy moment.

Dash felt a little out of character in this situation. Here she was, wearing a dress, slow dancing with a stallion, and loving every second of it. Geez… Sometimes it felt really weird being a girl.

Absent mindedly, Alex was listening to Pinkie mutter to herself. However, one thing caught his ear.

“What’s… Skrillix?” Pinkie asked herself. “I wonder how it sounds…”

Alex immediately broke his dance with Dash and turned to Pinkie.

“No Pinkie! You can’t—“

The speakers were suddenly filled with a painfully loud and repetitive ‘wub wub wub wub’ noise.

Alex looked to the speakers, and then back to Pinkie. This was a recipe for disaster.

“What is this?!”Dash shouted over the sound.

“It’s… Dubstep!!” Alex said rather dramatically.

“Turn it off Pinkie!” Rarity shouted.

But it was as Alex had feared. Pinkie was unresponsive. Lost to the ‘music.’

“Make it stop!” Twilight shouted.

“IT’S HORRIBLE.” Tulip shouted.

“Mah ears are bleedin’!” Applejack added.

Fluttershy could be heard whimpering, even over the loud ‘music.’

Walking next to Pinkie, Alex tapped the screen, and the ‘music’ stopped.

Immediately, Pinkie snapped out of her trance.

“Alex… What was that?” Pinkie asked.

“It’s ‘music’ you shouldn’t be listening to.” Alex said simply.

“But… That was the bestest ‘music’ I’ve ever heard!” Pinkie said, shocking everypony “I want to listen to it more!”

“Hey, I like it too.” Alex said, levitating the IPod off the table, and into one of the pockets in his blazer. “But it needs to be taken in stages.”

“Aww.” Pinkie said, “Okay.”

“I quite enjoyed it myself.” Luna said, her volume having been leveled out by the loud music.

“I’ll receive complaints from the neighbors if that kind of noise continues.” Ramsley spoke up, having finally arrived to the party.

“My apologies everyone, but I’m afraid that the pizza has gotten a but cold…” Ramsley said, dropping a large stack of boxes on a table next to the entrance to the house. He decided to leave his introduction to the Princesses for after what was about to happen.

“What took you so long?” Spike asked.

“I was speaking with somepony…” Ramsley said slowly, “Somepony who wanted to apologize for what she did.”

Everypony was shocked to see Comet step out of the house to beside Ramsley. Instead of wearing her usual suit, she wore nothing. She wanted to make herself as unintimidating as possible.

“Comet.” Alex said simply, stepping away from Pinkie, and next to Dash.

“Alex… Dash…” Comet replied quietly. “I’m really sorry for what I did to you and your friends…”

Normally, Alex wasn’t the type to hold a grudge. But something was springing up in him. Something was making him hold on to this. Something he was starting to get a little too familiar with.

“You’re sorry?” Alex asked angrily, “You’re SORRY?”

Everypony looked at Alex in disbelief.

“You broke into this mansion, you kidnapped me and my friends, you locked us in a cell underground, and then your lacky pushed me out of a blimp, in an area where magic can’t be cast.” Alex said angrily. “I could have DIED.”

Comet didn’t have a response for him.

“You’re selfish.” Alex said, “You’re Evil.”

“Alex…” Twilight said in shock, “I think you can stop now…”

Unfortunately, she wasn’t really talking to Alex anymore. Something was speaking through Alex. Dax.

“And do you know what I do to evil ponies who try to hurt me?” Dax said, starting to cast a spell. “I try to hurt them.”

Dax shot a black beam of energy straight toward Comet, who simply stood in place.

A shield was suddenly erected around Comet, that absorbed the dark energy.

“Alex!” Celestia shouted, “What are you doing?”

“Don’t get in my way, Princess.” Dax threatened. “This pony deserves what’s coming to her.”

Looking around, Dax locked eyes with Cuddly Bear. “You sure have been looking at me for a long time tonight. Got anything to say?”

Cuddly Bear stood up, and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, away from Dash’s super-badass coltfriend. He would be back though. He would have her.

“That isn’t Alex, Princess!” Twilight said, “That’s… What I mentioned when I asked you to come here.”

“Alex…?” Dash asked quietly, immediately grabbing Dax’s attention. “What’s wrong with you?”

Celestia used his divided attention to try and cast a sleep spell on him. But, it simply didn’t affect him.

“Rainbow Dash!” Dax laughed, “You’re the finest piece of tail here tonight. Alex is one lucky bucker.”

“What did you do to him?” Dash asked, “B-Bring him back.”

“I didn’t do anything to him.” Dax said. “You should ask what he did to ME.”

Dash took a step back.

Applejack charged Dax in an attempt to get him away from Dash, but she was thrown away from him before she made contact.

“He’s shunned me.” Dax growled, not even fazed by Applejack, “He’s pretended that I don’t exist.”

“So, you’re his… Dark side?” Dash asked.

“You might say that,” Dax said evilly as he leaned in to within an inch of her face, “And when I’m done, your little friend will be one with me.”

Oh that’s it!

Dash growled, pulled her head back, and then threw it forward, head butting Dax as hard as she could.

Staggering back, Dax rubbed his hoof on his forehead. “Why you littl—“

Before he had a chance to finish, Dash punched him in the face, and knocked him out cold.

“Just because I’m wearing a dress, does NOT mean that I can’t floor somepony.” Dash said breathlessly., feeling like herself for the first time tonight.

////

Alex looked around. Everything was black. It wasn’t that he was in the dark, there was just… nothing. It must have been another one of his interactive dreams.

“Hello, Alex.” A voice said.

Turning around, Alex was faced with a human version of himself.

“Our lady sure can throw a punch!” The human Alex said, to his pony counterpart.

“You… You’re Dax.” Alex said.

“Correct.” Dax said.

“What do you want?” Alex asked.

Dax thought for a moment.

“I want… To exist.” Dax said after a moment.

“What do you mean?” Alex asked, “You’re here, aren’t you?”

“Only because of this world and all of its magic,” Dax said angrily, “If you had your way, I wouldn’t exist.”

“That’s not—“

“Don’t lie to me, Alex.” Dax barked, “I know you better than YOU do.”

Alex didn’t respond.

“It’s not natural being you, you know that?” Dax asked, “Being this… Perfect little pony, with no flaws whatsoever.”

“What does that even mean?” Alex asked.

“It means that you’re lying to yourself!” Dax shouted, “I was manifested because of that dark side of yourself that you push away.”

“I don’t have—“

“Don’t lie to me!” Dax repeated loudly. “You wanted to hurt Comet; you just didn’t have the stones to go through with it.”

Alex knew that he was a little right, deep, deep down.

“If you just let me in, think of everything you can accomplish!” Dax said, “If you let me in, you’ll finally have some character!”

Alex narrowed his eyes.

“Look, I’m not asking you to let me take over your life,” Dax explained, “I just want to be present when I NEED to be.”

“I’ll never let you do that.” Alex growled.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.” Dax said calmly, “I’m going to give you some time to mull things over.”

“Time?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” Dax replied, “I’m going to take a break from my frequent visits, and let you decide whether or not I should be here.”

“And what if I decide not to ‘accept’ you?” Alex asked.

“Then I’ll take you over by force.” Dax said darkly, “And I’ll force you to watch as I destroy everything you love.”

Alex couldn’t believe he had just heard that.

“Shocked?” Dax asked cockily, “Good. And remember... If I see you or anypony else trying to get rid of me somehow, bad things will happen. I promise.”

“How do you know I was even going to do that?” Alex asked.

“Because I AM YOU!” Dax said loudly, “How many times do I have to say it?”

Alex rolled his eyes.

“Either way, I think it’s about time that I send you home.” Dax said, “Everypony will be dying for some kind of explanation. I’ll be back in a little while for a progress update.”

Before Alex had a change to retort, Dax was gone, and the black room he stood in started to light up.

////

Alex shot up, out of his bed in the orange mansion.

“Alex!” Dash said, approaching the bed. But she suddenly stopped. “Or… Are you Dax?”

“It’s me…” Alex said, still getting his bearings. “I’m so sorry about earlier…”

Dash immediately rushed Alex and wrapped her forelegs around him. “Twilight told me all about Dax, and how he showed up this morning, during the race.”

“I thought it would be longer before he showed back up…” Alex sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell me about him?” Dash asked.

“It’s a hard subject for even me to explain…” Alex sighed, “I hardly understand it myself.”

“Tell me every—“

“Go downstairs and gather everypony together…” Alex said, “I plan on filling everypony in on what’s happened to me over the last while.”

“Okay.” Dash said simply, knowing that it would save a lot of time for him to do this with everypony present.

Alex watched her exit the room, and noticed that she was still wearing her dress. It was a shame that she didn’t get to spend more time in it with him…

////

Alex went downstairs a few minutes later, and found everypony sitting in the living room, anxiously waiting for the full report on what exactly had been happening to him.

So, he started by explaining his random black outs, and sudden surges of power, but left out the moment he had saved Dash’s life, as to not disturb anypony.

Alex then moved on to his abduction by the Doctor, and his black out there as well. He was confident that he was going to have been sucked into space. But, he passed out, and when he came to, he was safe.

The next time anything like that happened to him, it was while they were escaping the underground of the stadium. Dax had come out and stopped Jango from teleporting them away, before disappearing again, leaving Alex, and everypony else very confused.

The next time Dax came out, had been at this party, where he was knocked unconscious by Rainbow Dash. He finished off by outlining the conversation he had just had in his dream.

“And that’s all I know.” Alex sighed.

“Alex, this is very troubling news.” Celestia said.

“An’ Discord is to blame for him?” Applejack asked.

“He was a factor.” Alex answered.

“Do you know any kind of spell that can remove him?” Twilight asked the Princesses.

“Well, perhaps we could—“

“No.” Alex cut in, “If anypony tries anything like that, he said there would be consequences.”

“And you believe his power surpasses our own?” Luna asked.

“He uses discordic magic, Luna. Just like Discord did, so many years ago.” Celestia sighed. “It can’t be stopped by conventional magic. However, it can be canceled out, by the Elements of Harmony.”

“So, should we try to use the Elements of Harmony on Alex?” Dash asked.

“No.” Celestia said, “There’s no telling what it’ll do to him, or what he’ll do to us.”

“It turned me into a filly,” Luna said, “Although my aging process has been significantly increased... It wouldn’t be so simple with Alex.”

“So, how long do you think he’s going to give you to ‘decide’?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know…” Alex said, “A few weeks? A few months?”

“Do you think that he’s capable of doing what he threatened?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know.” Alex admitted.

The room went silent.

“I um… Can I say something?” Fluttershy said, breaking the silence, surprising everypony.

“Of course, Fluttershy.” Celestia said softly.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said, smiling, “If Dax really IS you, then why would he threaten to destroy everything you love? Wouldn’t he love those things too?”

“That’s a good point,” Twilight said, “But at the same time, he’s a manifestation of Alex’s dark side. Which could mean almost anything really.”

“I’m not sure.” Alex said again.

The room was silent again.

“I know this is like, super DUPER serious…” Pinkie said, “But, why don’t we take a break?”

“I agree with Pinkie,” Rarity said, “We should all take some time to let this sink in.”

“I’m with them on that one,” Alex said, “Besides… I need to apologize to Comet.”

“Are you sure?” Rarity asked, “She has a lot to apologize for herself!”

“I tried to kill her,” Alex shrugged, laughing softly, “I think mine is worse.”

“Well, she’s still outside with Ramsley.” Spike said, pointing toward the back door. “Now’s probably your best chance.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, smiling, “Colors, want to come with me?”

Dash looked around nervously. Comet had betrayed her… And she wasn’t sure she could face her. But, looking at Alex, she realized that he would be there no matter what. She could deal with this. So, she nodded, and walked with him toward the back door.

////

“That’s… really sweet.” Comet said, having just been told the whole story of what Alex had been through, just to get back to Dash.

“He’s quite dedicated to her,” Ramsley said, “She’s really, really important to him.”

Comet nodded. “Ram, can I ask you something?”

Ramsley simply nodded.

“Why are you being so forgiving?” Comet asked, “You’re acting like… Nothing happened.”

“I know who you are,” Ram said, “You’re a good pony, you just made a LOT of bad decisions.”

Comet laughed, “And you’re willing to just… forget it? Even after your friends were locked underground?”

“That was Jango.” Ramsley said, “You didn’t have a hoof in that.”

“I should have kept Jango under control. But, he’s been removed from his position, so, hopefully he won’t hurt anypony like that ever again.” Comet sighed, “I still can’t believe that he pushed your friend out of a blimp.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Alex said from behind them, “I’m fine.”

“Alex! Dash!” Comet said, standing up and turning around. “I-I’m, uh… You’re…”

“I came out here to apologize.” Alex said, “I kinda went a little crazy on you there.”

“You have nothing to apologize for!” Comet said quickly, “I… I did so much to you two.”

“Look,” Alex said, “I know you had your reasons for what you did… But you don’t have to convince me that you’re sorry. I tried to kill you. We’re even… It’s her you have to convince.” He said looking at Dash.

“Dash…” Comet sighed, “You look beautiful in that dress…”

Dash didn’t respond. She simply stared at her.

“I… I don’t expect you to forgive me.” Comet said, “I got you to trust me, and then I used you.”

“You did.” Dash said simply.

“I lied to you, I kept you from Alex…” Comet listed, “I tried to force you into joining the Wonderbolts, and take away any free choice you would have had.”

Dash nodded along with her, as she listed all she did.

“So… I’m sorry.” Comet said, her eyes starting to fill with tears. “I didn’t know what I was taking you away from… I didn’t realize just how strongly you felt for Alex.”

“Obviously.” Dash said quietly.

“And, as s-soon as I saw you two on the race track, I-I realized just how wrong I h-had been.” Comet said, losing the ability to talk properly. “I-I’m so sorry.”

“I can’t just… forgive you.” Dash said. “Nopony has ever done something like this to me…”

Comet nodded, tears now running freely down her cheeks, darkening her coat.

“Maybe in time, I can come to terms, and I can let it go…” Dash continued, “But not right now. You didn’t know how much I missed him… You almost stole me from him, and all of my friends.”

Ramsley couldn’t blame Dash for feeling this way. But, he would be here for Comet. Maybe… Just maybe, he could start helping her become Chaser again.

“That’s all I want to say to you right now.” Dash said, looking away from Comet.

“Come on, Dash.” Alex said softly, “Let’s go inside.”

The two walked back into the house, leaving Ramsley and Comet alone.

As soon as Alex and Dash were out of her sight, Comet started to sob softly, as she leaned into Ramsley’s shoulder.

“Just let it out…” Ramsley said softly.

As sad as the situation was for her, Ramsley was actually happy to see her crying. That just further proved to him that Chaser was in there. She was there, which meant that he might have some luck getting her back.

////

As Alex and Dash returned to their friends, Twilight walked past the pair, and out the door to go see Ramsley.

“Where is she going?” Dash asked.

“We’ve decided to leave tonight.” Spike said.

“Oh…” Alex said, “Should I go pack?”

“What about my stuff at the stadium?” Dash asked.

“Everything has been teleported back to Ponyville already,” Celestia said.

“That was fast!” Dash said.

“I’ve missed sleeping in my bed.” Alex said, “It’s been three months!”

“For us, maybe!” Dash laughed, acting as if she hadn’t just had that exchange with Comet.

“It’s hard to believe that it’s only been a few day for you!” Spike said.

“Speaking of that, are we going to go after The Doctor?” Alex asked the room.

“I know better than to chase after that pony,” Celestia said, “He’s an elusive one.”

“You know him?!” Alex asked in surprise.

“He has been told in legends that are older than either of us.” Luna explained, “He has a way of showing up unannounced, at any given point in time.”

“And he’s… a bad guy?” Alex asked.

“Not from what we’ve seen.” Celestia said, a little confused. “He’s always been the good guy. He’s done some amazing things in the past.”

“I’ll have to try to find him again then,” Alex said, “Maybe then I can get the full story, because… well, he was just talking nonsense when he pulled me into his ship.”

“I wish you luck then.” Celestia said looking past Alex, toward Twilight and Ramsley, “Ah, Ramsley. I don’t believe we’ve been formally introduced.”

Ramsley immediately knelt down, “Your majesty.”

“Please stand,” Celestia said softly, “I wanted to thank you, and let you know that I owe you a debt of gratitude for assisting my friends.”

“It was nothing.” Ramsley said modestly, “I would have done it for anypony.”

“And I thank you for having that attitude.” Celestia said again, “If there is ever anything that I, Or Princess Luna can do for you, please let us know.”

“Well, should I ever been in a situation that requires the assistance of a Princess, I’ll make sure to let you know.” Ramsley smiled.

“I’m happy to hear it.” Celestia said.

“So, everypony is leaving early?” Ramsley asked, a bit sad to have his new friends leaving early.

“We think we’ve overstayed our welcome…” Twilight said, “With everything that’s happened, I think we should all just work on getting back to our normal lives.”

“I agree.” Ramsley said, “But, what should I do with all of Pinkie’s party supplies? They’re still set up.”

Everypony looked around for Pinkie, but found that she was missing from the room.

“Where did Pinkie go?” Alex asked, “Maybe—Oh, there she is.”

Everypony watched Pinkie walk back into the room with a single, rather small duffel bag in her mouth.

Putting the bag on the floor, Pinkie quickly spoke up, “I got everything packed up, don’t worry about cleaning anything up!”

Ramsley looked at the bag with a bit of surprise, “You fit it all in there?”

“Mhmm!” Pinkie nodded, picking the bag back up.

“Well, I suppose that’s all then.” Ramsley said, “Oh, should I pack everypony’s things?”

“Already taken care of,” Spike said.

“Oh. Well then…” Ramsley said, “I guess you’re all set.”

Everypony nodded.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality.” Rarity said.

“I hope we get to come back soon.” Fluttershy said, having wanted to explore the city a little more.

“Yeah!” Pinkie added, “It was a lot of fun!”

“Be sure that you’re keepin’ in touch!” Applejack smiled.

“And if you ever need anything from us, don’t hesitate to ask!” Twilight said.

“I won’t.” Ram said, before turning to face Alex and Dash.

“If it weren’t for you, I’d be a Wonderbolt right now.” Dash said, “Thank you for helping me see Alex before I became one.”

“Thank you,” Alex said extending a hoof, “And who knows? Maybe when I’m rich and famous, I’ll be able to hire you for my mansion.”

“You could never afford me.” Ramsley joked, shaking his hoof. “…I know we’ve only known one another for a short time, but please feel free to write, if you ever have the time.”

“Hey! What about me?” Spike said, jumping next to them.

“You too, Spike.” Ramsley laughed. “I’d like updates on you and your lady friend. I don’t want to miss the wedding!”

Spike blushed. “Of course not! I’ll need somepony to organize the whole affair!”

“I look forward to it.” Ram smiled.

“Is everypony ready to go?” Celestia asked.

Backing away from Ramsley, Alex, Spike, and Dash approached Princess Celestia, and Luna.

“Goodbye everypony.” Ramsley said, waving to the group.

Celestia cast a spell that enveloped the group in a bubble.

Everypony waved back to Ramsley, as the bubble suddenly became blindingly bright, and vanished, leaving him alone in the living room.

Ramsley smiled, turned, and started heading back to Comet.

“I guess things are going to be back to normal now.”

////

Sorry it took so long to get this posted. But, I’m now officially done with Chasing the Rainbow! So, I can go back to writing ‘Episode’ chapters for Off the Record!

Just to clear up a little confusion, this is NOT the end of the story. I still have so many plans for upcoming things! There are going to be Dax chapters… Cutie Mark Crusader chapters (coming up next)… A changeling side story that will be written in the same manner as this one… Discord still needs to be battled! And, of course, Ramsley and Cuddly Bear need to make a reappearance!

So, keep your eyes open! I’m going to start posting at my old pace in a few weeks, with shorter, more frequent chapters.

So… expect to see “Call of the Cutie” in a little bit!

Call of the Cutie

////
Call of the Cutie
////

Alex had never been so happy to see his bed when he finally arrived home from his trip to Manehattan. He dropped all of his belongings on the floor; belly flopped on to the bed, and was immediately greeted with a large cloud of dust puffing into his face.

Well, it HAD been three months since this bed was used…

Alex sighed and rolled over on to his back. He was pretty excited to have some time to relax. He was going to sleep in nice and late tomorrow, and then, go and finish his date with Dash. After they teleported home, Dash seemed to disappear with little more than a quick goodbye. She had been pretty far out of her comfort zone in that dress, so he quickly dismissed it. She wanted to be back to normal just as much as he did.

Celestia and Luna had also left right away. They had left some important business behind to go visit Alex for his return.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Alex cast a spell to levitate off the bed a few feet, and then dropped himself back on to the bed, sending the remaining dust into the air around him.

Pulling the covers over himself, he got comfortable, and started to doze off. Now, all he could do was hope that he wouldn’t have any of his stupid dreams where he talked to Discord, or an evil version of himself…

That happened far too often.

////

Dash walked into her room and sighed.

It was good to be home.

Her time at the training academy had been exciting, and one of the greatest highlights of her life. But, one thing that she’d never miss about that place, were the beds.

They were stiff, scratchy, and downright uncomfortable.

Not at all like her bed. She had never realized it before, but sleeping on a cloud was her favorite thing to do. You truly don’t know what you have until it’s gone.

Jumping into her bed, Dash sunk into the cloud, and closed her eyes.

Today had been truly amazing. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she was shocked.

Last year, if she had been told that she would have given up on being a Wonderbolt for a stallion, she wouldn’t have believed it in a second. Of course, she also wouldn’t have believed that anypony would fall hundreds of feet just so they could be with her… Especially when they weren’t able to fly.

And of course, she had worn a dress, danced, and even passionately kissed him… It was all… Not her.

She had never considered herself to really be a pony worth so much effort. But, Alex was certainly starting to change her feelings about that.

She wanted nothing more than to just spend some peace and quiet with him. However, with Discord, and the ‘dark side’ Alex possessed, she knew that they wouldn’t be having much time like that.

Still… It gave her something to look forward to.

But for now, all problems aside, she was going to take a nice long, overdue nap.

////

Alex had awoken to a large amount of shuffling going on outside of his room. Glancing around, he looked at the clock on the wall, and was surprised to see it was already past 3:00.

Sitting up, he rolled out of bed, and headed for the door. He wanted to see what all the fuss was about. He was a bit of a mess, but it was nothing that he couldn’t fix in a hurry if he needed to.

Opening the door, Alex looked toward Twilight, who smiled upon seeing him.

“Hey!” Twilight said happily, “Finally awake?”

“I guess so,” Alex laughed, “You two sounded like you were getting ready to go out.”

“We are!” Spike said, “We were invited to a cute-ceañera!”

Alex was a bit confused.

“A… what?”

“It’s a celebration for a pony who recently earned their cutie mark.” Twilight explained.

“Does that mean I’ll have a… Cute… citrus when I get my mark?” Alex asked a bit more excited than he should have been.

“Well, if you really want one!” Twilight laughed.

“So, who is this for?” Alex asked, calming down a little.

“It’s for a couple of girls in primary school.” Twilight said, “Their fathers are pretty wealthy, and are throwing a big party for them.”

“And everypony in town is invited to stop by!” Spike added, “It’s at Sugar Cube Corner, so you know the food will be good!”

“So, it’ll be alright if I come along?” Alex asked hopefully, wanting to pig out a bit.

“Of course.” Twilight smiled.

“Great!” Alex said, “Give me a minute to get ready!”

Alex ran into his room, leaving Twilight and Spike waiting by the door.

“I hope he doesn’t take too long.” Twilight said, “I don’t wanna miss any of the girls.”

Just as she finished saying that, a bright light flashed from behind the door, and Alex walked out of the room looking like he had just come out of a spa.

“H-how did you do that so fast?” Twilight asked, shocked.

“Magic!” Alex said, pointing to his horn. “I remember seeing something about it in one of your books.”

“Well, let’s go!” Spike said, heading out the door with Alex.

“That’s pretty advanced,” Twilight said to herself quietly, “Something doesn’t seem right...”

////

Dash had been flying above Ponyville for about a half an hour, enjoying the open skies and long-reaching view.

She had missed it.

She had been out all morning, as her sleeping schedule had been forced into a much less lazy one by her training. First, she went to see Alex, but Twilight said he was still asleep. So, she spent some time talking to Fluttershy instead, and was now on her way to visit with Rarity.

There had been so much that had fallen behind on, and was intent on catching up. Of course, that was nothing compared to what Alex had missed out on, but from what she had heard, Spike was filling him in.

And of course, Spike becoming a pony was another foreign thing to her. Alex disappeared so soon after his transformation, that she had paid very little attention to him in his new pony form. But she was going to fix that right now.

However, instead of going and talking to Spike about it, she was going to get all the goods from Rarity.

Flying down to the Carousel Boutique, Dash walked up to the wide open door, and peeked inside.

“Uh… Hello?” Dash called.

Immediately, Rarity’s little sister Sweetie Belle ran out the door, and headed into town.

“Come on Rarity!” Her voice squeaked.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity called from the front door, not receiving an answer from her sister.

Dash watched Rarity sigh and shake her head.

“What can I do for you Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked, returning to her usual poised demeanor.

“Oh, you know…” Dash said, not really wanting to interrupt anything. “Just wanted to catch up.”

“Oh! Well, if you wouldn’t mind taking a walk, I’d be happy to chat.” Rarity smiled.

“Really?” Dash asked, “Great!”

The two headed off to wherever it was that they were going.

“Where are you headed?” Dash asked.

“We’re going to the cute-ceañera one of Sweetie’s classmates.” Rarity said, “She was fretting about not having a cutie mark when most of her friends already do, but she headed off in a hurry just the same.”

“That’s how girls can be.” Dash laughed.

“So dear, is there anything in particular that you wanted to catch up on?” Rarity asked.

“Well…” Dash said, trying not to sound too obvious, “I wanted to know about Spike, and… Well, your perspective on the whole situation.”

“Ah.” Rarity giggled, “I suppose you were a bit of an introvert when we really started things out, weren’t you?”

“I guess you could say that.” Dash laughed nervously.

“Well, Spike is certainly a different dragon from the one he used to be.” Rarity said.

“No kidding.” Dash said.

“It’s surprising really,” Rarity began, “Spike has changed substantially since his transformation three months ago.”

“Really?” Dash asked.

Rarity nodded.

“He’s matured a great deal,” Rarity explained, “And I don’t mean he’s lost his ability to be silly, or something like that… He’s just… Different.”

“That’s a positive thing?” Dash asked.

“Oh, goodness yes,” Rarity said, “Spike was chivalrous, and kind hearted to begin with, but now that he isn’t a dragon… It all seems so… emphasized.”

Dash nodded.

“It all seems like it has more meaning, like he’s trying so hard to hold on to my affection.” Rarity continued.

Dash was a bit confused, but allowed Rarity to continue before speaking up.

“He’ll do just about anything for me now,” Rarity said, a bit lost in her thoughts, “I feel guilty saying how much I enjoy it… And the strangest part is, Twilight says that he seems the same around me!”

“Are you sure that he’s matured?” Dash finally cut in.

“Hmm?” Rarity asked, a little lost at her comment.

“It sounds to me like Spike is the exact same!” Dash laughed.

“But—“

“He’s worshiped the ground you’ve walked on since he moved here! He’s always been your slave, and he’s always treated you better than Princess Celesta herself!” Dash listed, giggling the whole way through.

“Well…” Rarity said, trying to find the right words.

“I’m sure that he has changed a lot,” Dash said, “But you’re just noticing the things that were already there! Like you said, it’s emphasized!”

Rarity smiled, “Perhaps you’re right.”

The two walked in silence for a few moments while Rarity thought to herself.

Dash suddenly got a wicked idea in her head.

“So… How is he?” Dash asked suggestively, knowing the confusion she was going to elicit.

“How is he at what?” Rarity asked innocently.

She didn’t get it.

“You know… How IS he?” Dash repeated.

After a moment, the cogs started turning in Rarity’s head, and she suddenly turned away, blushing furiously.

“Shame on you Rainbow Dash!” Rarity said, “I’m insulted you’d even consider that such a thing had taken place!”

Dash exploded in a fit of giggles, falling on her back.

“I’m not that kind of mare!” Rarity continued, “And Spike is certainly NOT that kind of stallion.”

“I was just joking!” Dash laughed, “Calm down!”

“Well… It was in poor taste.” Rarity said, still a little miffed.

The two walked in somewhat awkward silence for a minute while Rarity calmed down. Then, Dash decided to take a risk.

“I’m sorry,” Dash said, “I’ll make sure Spike is REALLY happy next time I ask, that’s how I’ll know for sure.”

Rarity surprised herself by laughing softly, and after a few seconds she even responded, “I can assure you that he’ll be much more than happy.”

The two continued to make somewhat crude jokes as they headed toward Sugar Cube corner. Something that neither of them had expected to be doing when this trip started, but enjoyed nonetheless.

////

Alex, Twilight and Spike arrived at the party, and were immediately greeted with loud music, chatter, and Pinkie bouncing around eating lots of food. However, seeing their entrance, she landed next to the three of them.

“Hey Alex!” Pinkie said, “Where’s your party hat?”

“Uh… hat?” Alex asked, turning to Twilight and Spike, both of which were now wearing party hats. He then looked up, and saw that he was wearing one too.

“You’re welcome!” Pinkie said, as she made her way back into he party.

“She’s good…” Alex said.

“You can say that again.” Spike said, poking the hat on his head.

Alex looked around, and realized just how few of the kids he knew. The only ones he really recognized were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. But, for some reason, Apple Bloom was walking around with what looked like a table cloth tied around her.

Sweetie Belle on the other hand had arrived just after him, and was hiding in the corner with an orange Pegasus that he didn’t know.

Turning around, Alex saw that Twilight and Spike had headed off in their own directions, leaving Alex alone to mingle with the ponies at the party.

Deciding to get better acquainted with some of the fillies, Alex walked over to Sweetie Belle and her friend.

“Hey guys!” Alex said approaching the two, “Why are you hiding in the corner over here?”

“Shhh!” Sweetie said, standing up on her hind legs, and clamping her hoofs over his mouth. “Don’t draw any attention to us!”

“Uh… Why?” Alex asked quietly as Sweetie removed her hoofs.

“Because we don’t want everypony laughing at us…” Sweetie’s friend said.

“Why would they laugh at you?” Alex asked.

“Because we’re blank flanks…” Sweetie said, ashamed.

“Blank… flanks?” Alex said, piecing together what it was. “You mean you don’t have Cutie marks?”

“Yeah!” Sweetie’s friend said sadly.

“Psh, Big deal!” Alex laughed.

“Huh?” The two said in unison.

“I don’t have a cutie mark, so what?” Alex asked, “There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“You don—“

The three were pulled out of the conversation by a record player hitting the floor, by Apple Bloom, who everypony was now looking at.

“Oh no…” Apple Bloom said.

“Wow, that IS an amazing Cutie Mark!” A filly with glasses said.

“Nice try, loser!” Another one with a tiara said.

“Blank flank!” The two said in unison, pushing Apple Bloom to the verge of tears.

Alex looked around, and decided to step forward. They must have had some respect for him.

“I don’t have a Cutie Mark, what does that make me?” Alex asked, confident that the girls would back down from their insults.

“That makes you a GIANT loser!” The girl with the tiara said.

“Yeah!” The other said, “I’d be so humiliated if I was YOUR age and had no Cutie Mark!”

“Ouch…” Alex said to himself… “Right in my masculinity…”

“You got a problem with blank flanks?” Sweetie’s friend called.

“Huh?” The girls both said.

“I SAID, you got a problem with blank flanks?” She repeated.

“The problem is that they’re not special!” The girl with glasses said.

“No, it means that they’re full of potential!” Sweetie spoke up.

“Yeah!” Alex agreed, “We could be good at anything!”

“They could be scientists, or artists, or writers or—“

“Or rappers!” Alex finished, happy with how well his suggestion fit the others.

“And they’re not stuck up, like you two!” The orange Pegasus added.

“Why are you on their side?” The one with the tiara asked.

The two girls turned, and exposed their blank flanks to the entire room.

“Y’all don’t have Cutie Marks either?” Apple Bloom asked excitedly.

“I think these girls are very lucky!” Twilight said.

As Twilight explained the advantages of not having a Cutie Mark, Alex noticed Dash and Rarity standing in the corner, watching the whole scene.

Dash gestured to the door, and walked outside.

Alex quickly ducked out of the crowd, and headed out the door to meet Dash.

////

“You know…” Dash said as Alex walked up beside her. “It sure was impressive how you got man handled by that school filly.”

Alex laughed, “What can I say? I’m prone to being bullied.”

Dash giggled, “It WAS sweet that you tried to stand up for Applejacks sister.”

“It’s just a good thing that Sweetie Belle and…” Alex said, before getting stuck on the Pegasus that had been with Sweetie Belle.

“Scootaloo.” Dash finished.

“It’s a good thing Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo came to my rescue,” Alex said, “Because I would be in tears right now if they hadn’t.”

“Surrrreeee.” Dash said, “Because everypony knows that I like a stallion that knows when to cry.”

“I cry all the time, baby.” Alex said in a deep manly voice.

“Pff, shut up!” Dash giggled, smacking him.

The two stood in a comfortable silence together for a few moments.

“It’s nice to be back to normal.” Alex said, breaking the silence.

“I know…” Dash agreed, “I’m never letting this go again.”

Alex took a step closer to Dash, and allowed her to rest her head on his neck.

“Alex… What’s gonna happen when you master that teleportation spell?” Dash asked, having been bothered by this for a while. “Are… you gonna go home?”

“Of course not,” Alex said. “There’s so much here… I’d never leave it all behind.”

“Good,” Dash said closing her eyes and sighing. “So, you want to head somewhere?”

“Sure,” Alex said, “What did you have in mind?”

“Well—”

“Hey Alex!” Sweetie Belle called from the front door.

Alex and Dash turned to face the three girls standing at the entrance.

“Hey girls, what’s up?” Alex asked.

“Thanks for tryin’ to stand up for me back there…” Apple Bloom said.

“No problem,” Alex smiled.

“So, we wanted to ask you…” Sweetie Belle said.

“Do you want to join our club?” Scootaloo asked.

“Club…?” Alex asked.

“We’re formin’ The Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom said, “And we’re gonna be seachin’ for our Cutie Marks together!”

Alex laughed nervously, “Are you girls sure that you want someone my age in your club?”

“Of course!” Scootaloo said, “We asked Spike too! And he said he would join!”

“Of course he did…” Alex laughed under his breath.

“But my sister seemed kinda upset about it…” Sweetie said. “Started saying something about his ‘maturity.’”

Dash let out a single, loud ‘ha!’ Before catching herself and stopping.

“Well… If Spike is in, how could I say no?” Alex said, expecting nothing to come of this ‘club’ anyway.

“Great!” The three said in unison.

“Our first meetin’ is next week!” Apple Bloom said, “Don’t be late! We’re be at Sweet Apple Acres!”

The three headed off together back into the party.

Dash simply looked at Alex with a smirk.

“W-What?” Alex said, “I’m proud of being a Cutie Mark Crusader!”

“But… It’s for little girls!” Dash said.

“So?” Alex asked, “Little girls stuff can be cool!”

“Isn’t that kinda lame though?” Dash asked. “Liking little girls stuff?”

“Psh, no!” Alex laughed, “I wouldn’t even be here if little girl stuff was lame!”

“Hey!” Pinkie shouted, “Did you just break the fourth wall?”

////

Fall Weather Friends

////
Fall Weather Friends
////

Alex and Spike walked into the library together after their first Cutie Mark Crusader meeting, and both collapsed on the floor in front of a confused Twilight.

“How was your first meeting in your new club…?” Twilight asked.

“Well…” Alex began, “We know we’re not doctors…”

“And we’re not acrobats!” Spike added.

“We’re also not dancers, librarians, police ponies, body builders, inventors, glass blowers, actors, poker players, marathon runners, magicians, lumberjacks, OR ice skaters.” Alex sighed.

“I was pretty good at blowing glass.” Spike said quickly.

“Actually, he was,” Alex agreed, “I thought the Cutie Mark would appear on him… But it didn’t.”

Twilight giggled, “It sounds like it was a rough day.”

“Hey!” Alex said suddenly, “Why is it so much like autumn out there?”

“The falling leaves?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah!” Alex said, “Didn’t winter JUST end?”

“It happens a few times a year,” Twilight said, “It must just be another different between our worlds.”

That was good enough for Alex. He didn’t want to get into any complicated season-related conversations. What he REALLY wanted was some food.

“Man… it sure would be GREAT if somepony made me a sandwich.” Alex said hopefully, looking at Spike with the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

Spike looked at Twilight with the same eyes..

Twilight looked at Alex, eyebrow raised.

“Uh… Maybe I’ll ask Dash!” Alex said, but after a moment of thought, he changed his mind, “Mmmmmaybe not.”

“I don’t think she’d like that very much,” Twilight laughed, “Besides, I think she’s busy today.”

“What’s she doing?” Alex asked, having been fairly busy in his studies the last few days.

“She and Applejack are having some kind of competition.” Twilight explained, “I don’t really know the details, but they’re doing it today.”

“Wow,” Alex said, “I figured I’d have heard something about it.”

“It actually started over a game of horseshoes,” Spike spoke up. “Rainbow was pretty sore about losing a game of them to Applejack.”

“Sounds like her,” Alex said, “Where are they?””

“They’re at Sweet Apple Acres,” Twilight said, “I’m actually on my way there now.”

“Mind if I tag along?” Alex asked, “I’d love to be a cheerleader.”

“Maybe THAT will be your Cutie Mark,” Spike laughed.

“I doubt it,” Alex said, getting up and heading toward the door, “I look terrible in a skirt.”

Twilight giggled, “And how would you know that?”

“What happens in Manehattan STAYS in Manehattan.” Alex laughed.

“I can picture it.” Twilight said, “Come on, let’s get going.”

Alex nodded, and headed out the door, followed by Twilight and Spike.

////

Heading up the road toward Sweet Apple Acres, the three saw Applejack and Rainbow setting up some obstacles, for some kind of race.

“Hey guys!” Dash said, seeing that her friends had arrived.

“Hey Twi!” Applejack said, smiling.

“Hey girls,” Twilight said, looking around the set up farm. “What exactly are you doing?”

“We’re havin’ a—“ Applejack began.

“An ironpony competition!” Rainbow Dash cut off, as she started flexing her wings.

“See, we’ve set up a bunch of events to decide which of us is—“ Applejack began again.

“Is the most athletic pony!” Dash finished.

“So… Why do you need me?” Twilight asked, a bit confused.

“Yeah!” Dash agreed, “Why do we need her?”

“Because we need somepony to judge and keep score!” Applejack said.

“Oh yeah!” Dash said, “Somepony has to record my awesomeness for the record books!”

“Riiiiiight.” Alex said.

“Hey!” Dash said, “You’ll be famous too!”

“Why…?” Alex asked.

“You’ll be remembered as my stallion, of course!” Dash said.

“Oooooh, lucky me.” Alex said sarcastically.

“Well, Rainbow, are you ready to get this show on the road?” Applejack asked.

“You bet your rump I am!” Dash said excitedly. “Let’s do this!”

////

Alex sat and watched the girls compete for the next few hours, and was surprised at the sheer number of different things they were doing. However, something quickly became apparent to him, and he was surprised that Twilight hadn’t spoken up about it.

Dash was using her wings in several of the competitions, and Applejack had to simply do without… It wasn’t exactly fair. But… was he in the position to be telling Dash that she was being unfair? He felt like she would punch him or something. And that would put him in an abusive relationship!

…Okay, maybe not. But, he had clearly seen Applejack being frustrated by the disadvantage she was at. So, Alex was going to go talk to Dash at the end of this round, and hopefully get her to change her mind about using them.

Waiting patiently, Alex watched as Applejack tried her best to buck Spike off her back. However, being a pony and all, he was clearly weighing her down. He had simply lay down across her back, and put all of his weight on her. This event would have really worked out better if Spike were still a dragon.

After Applejack realized she wouldn’t be bucking him off, she simply shook herself side to side until Spike slid off. Unfortunately, it took her a few too many seconds to figure out how to get him off, which gave Dash yet another advantage over her. She wouldn’t make the same mistake.

Replacing Applejack, Rainbow Dash walked up to the collapsed Spike and gave a loud ‘Ahem!’

“Yeah yeah…” Spike sighed, lifting himself up. “Let’s try to do this fast.”

As Spike draped himself over her back, Dash waited for her signal to start.

Just as Twilight blew the whistle, Dash extended her wings as best she could, and started to flap. She then lifted her front half up, and Spike slid right off.

Of course, Dash beat Applejacks score by those few seconds, giving her yet another point in her favor.

Seeing the increasing frustration being exhibited by Applejack, Alex decided to talk to Twilight about it.

"Isn't this a little unfair?" Alex asked.

"I was thinking the same thing," Twilight nodded, looking at him, "Maybe you should go say something?"

"Why me?" Alex asked, "I solve too many problems, and that probably gets pretty lame. You should go talk to her."

"Yeah, okay." Twilight nodded, "I'll go over there."

“Hey Dash!” Twilight shouted, hopping off the tipped over barrel she had been sitting on.

“Hey!” She answered happily, “Coming over to congratulate me?”

“Well, Not exactly...” Twilight said, being careful to choose the right words, “I think that you’re kinda… Being unfair.”

“Why? Because I’m so much more athletic than her?” Dash joked, “I can’t disagree with you there!”

“Well… No,” Twilight said, scratching his head, “It’s your wings.”

Dash cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little unfair that you’re using wings?” Twilight asked.

“That’s her problem!” Dash retorted, “She agreed to this competition with me!”

“Look,” Twilight said, trying his best to formulate an argument, “What if Applejack was a unicorn, and used magic to complete the challenges?”

Dash didn’t respond.

“Like, if she had levitated Spike off her back, and dropped him. Or, she had protected the chicks on her back with a magic field.” Twilight explained, “She’s at a disadvantage here.”

Dash thought about it. She WAS right; Applejack simply didn’t have the ability to compete with her on certain levels.

“I guess.” Dash finally agreed.

“Finally!” Applejack cut in, “I can’t believe it took y’all so long to see how unfair this whole shin ‘dig was!”

“Well, I guess we weren’t too clear on what the rules were.” Dash said.

“Was it that hard to notice how unfair it was?” Applejack sighed, “Anyway, where do we head from here?”

“Look, I'm sorry.” Dash asked, giving her an apologetic look, "I guess we could restart, if you wanted to do this from the beginning."

“Hmm.” Applejack thought, “Ah think that’d take too long.”

“And all these events were maybe… A tiny bit of overkill.” Twilight said.

“Maybe we could keep it simple…” Dash formulating an idea, “There is one thing we could do.”

Walking toward a nearby tree, Dash demonstrated her idea by kicking the trunk with her hind leg, making a large amount of leaves fall to the ground.

“Um…” Applejack said, “What’s that all about?”

“You know!” Dash said patting her hoof in the pile she made.

“You want to play in a pile of leaves?” Alex asked.

“No!” Dash said.

“Do you want to have a leaf raking competition?” Spike asked.

“That’s a great idea!” Alex agreed, knowing that he was just bugging Dash at this point. “That’ll prove the most athletic pony for sure!”

“I think she means ‘The Running of the Leaves.’” Twilight cut in, smiling, “And I think it’s a great idea!”

“Yeah!” Applejack agreed, “Just so long as no WINGS get used!”

“I don’t need my wings!” Dash shot back, “I could beat you in the Running of the Leaves with my wings tied behind my back!”

“Oh, Sugar Cube,” Applejack said, smirking, “Ah’ve jus’ been WAITIN’ for you to say that.”

////

Applejack and Dash stood on the starting line for the Running of the Leaves, along with a dozen other ponies, each preparing themselves for the run ahead of them.

“Is the rope REALLY necessary?” Dash asked as Applejack secured the rope behind her.

“You said you could do it with em’ tied behind yer back!” Applejack laughed, tightening the rope that was wrapped around Dash’s wings.

Dash sighed and blew her hair out of her face. Since she hadn’t had it cut in such a long time, it was constantly getting in her eyes. But, Alex liked it, so she wasn’t too upset with it. And, as much as she hated to admit it, it was a plus on the feminine scale… that was for sure.

Alex approached the start line with Twilight, and was received with laughter from Dash and Applejack, upon seeing that they too had entered the race.

“You two are joking, right?” Dash asked.

“No offence Twi’,” Applejack said, “But you don’t seem like the runnin’ type.”

“And Alex!” Dash added, “Just last week, I saw you levitating yourself around town, because your leg was sore!”

“I fell out of the sky, and landed on you during a Wonderbolts race!” Alex said, “I think that counts for a few days of lazy!”

“I didn’t see you limping after the race.” Dash said.

“I barely noticed it,” Alex said, “Once I had a chance to lie down a bit after we got back, it started to stiffen up a bit.”

“Well, try not to hurt yourself again, then,” Dash giggled, “I don’t need you floating around anymore!”

“Are you sure that y’all want to do this?” Applejack asked seriously, still surprised they showed up.

“I’ve read a whole bunch on running,” Twilight said, “So I think I’ve got a good chance!”

“Uh… This is a RACE, Twilight,” Dash said, cracking up, “Not some test that you can study for!”

“I beg to differ!” Twilight said, “I think that reading will do me plenty of good!”

Applejack let out an audible snort, trying to hold back laughter.

Twilight sighed in frustration.

“Well, good luck, egg head.” Dash said, laughing some more.

“IS EVERYPONY READY?” Pinkie bellowed from her hot air balloon, high above the action. “GET S—“

“Get set!” Spike said from that megaphone attached to the balloon that Pinkie seemed to have forgotten about.

“Oh… I forgot about that!” Pinkie was heard saying to Spike through the megaphone, “What was I supposed to say next…? Oh yeah! Go!”

Everypony was surprised to hear the sudden signal to start the race, but they still headed off in a hurry. And of course, leading the pack, were Rainbow and Applejack. It only took a few minutes for the two of them to pull away from everypony else.

Alex and Twilight kept pace with one another, and idly chatted about whatever came to their minds, while they watched Applejack and Rainbow Dash duel it out. However, a few minutes in, they watched Applejack come close to Dash in an attempt to pass her. However, she tripped over a large stone, and tumbled to a dead halt.

“Did y’all see that?” Applejack asked furiously.

“See… what?” Alex asked, stopping.

“She tripped me!” Applejack said angrily.

“No she didn’t…” Twilight said, “You tripped over that rock.”

“Huh…?” Applejack said, looking back, and seeing the rock that she had indeed run in to, “Aw, hayseed!”

“Sorry about that,” Alex said, “But you probably want to get moving.”

“Yeah, I have a LOT of ground to cover ah’m gonna catch—“ Applejack said before being cut off.

“Hey Applejack!” Dash shouted from just ahead of them, “Are you coming or what? I can’t have my competition tripping and falling way behind!”

Everypony was in awe, Dash had stopped! She must have taken that unfair advantage speech to heart.

“We’ll start running together, from here, so hurry up!” Dash instructed.

Applejack simply walked forward, and nodded, still determined to win this race.

Alex and Twilight watched Applejack and Dash resume their race at full speed, then looked at each other, unable to find any words for each other.

“Did Dash just stop and be… fair?” Alex asked.

“Wow.” Twilight said simply, “Will she still be that graceful if she comes in second place?”

“That’s a good point…” Alex said, thinking for moment, “But, I think I have an idea on how to fix that.”

“What’s that?” Twilight asked.

“I could beat them both, so neither of them could come in first!” Alex said seriously, confusing Twilight.

“But… Are you even capable of winning this race?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I’m rarely out of breath unless it comes to magic,” Alex said. “Running isn’t so bad... I think that the air here has a higher oxygen content or something.”

“Well, I’m all for it!” Twilight smiled, “I’d like to see the looks on their faces!”

“Alright!” Alex said picking up the pace, “I’ll see you at the finish line!”

Twilight nodded and watched Alex run after the two ponies.

“Is he really going to be able to beat them?” Twilight said to herself.

“PROBABLY NOT!” Pinkie shouted from her balloon, “Oh right, megaphone! Thanks Spike!”

////

Applejack and Rainbow Dash had moved through the pack of ponies that had passed them, and were once again fighting with her for first place.

Alex had been trailing behind them for a few minutes now, but hadn’t been noticed. He was trying to find the best moment to pull forward, and take a lead over them. Everypony else was so far behind, that they weren’t even visible anymore. So, Alex knew that this was going to be down to the three of them.

Unfortunately, Alex was completely blindsided when Dash tripped over a small tree stump, and tumbled backward into him.

The two of them rolled into a pile of bushes just off the race track, and came to a stop with her on top of him.

“Ugh…” Dash said, lifting herself off of whoever she had landed on, “Sorry about that A—“

Dash did a double take, “Alex? What were you doing up this far?”

“I was racing,” Alex laughed, “But I guess you kinda put an end to that.”

Dash looked at him, confused.

Alex gestured to his left hind leg that Dash was currently on top of. Jumping off his leg, she realized just how hard she had landed on it. A spot on her back was aching from hitting something too hard, and that ‘something’ must have been his leg. And on top of that, that was the same leg that he had hurt before.

“Oh!” Dash said, “I’m sorry! It’s because Applejack… Well… I guess I tripped over that stump. I wasn’t really paying attention…”

Dash surprised herself somewhat with her admittance of the truth. Normally she would have convinced herself that Applejack had caused this, by knocking her into the stump or something. But… that would have led in a circle of blame, and cause nothing but fighting. She couldn’t believe that she recognized that before she started the fight! After everything that had happened to her recently, the last thing she wanted to do was start a fight with her friends.

“It’s okay.” Alex said, grimacing as he stood up. “But you owe me!”

Dash rolled her eyes, “Fine, after the race I’ll make you some soup and a sandwich.”

Alex’s eyes lit up, “You read my mind!”

“Once the race is over, though.” Dash said, smiling at his enthusiasm.

Alex nodded.

Dash looked toward the race track seeing that Applejack was long gone, and then back to Alex. And for some reason that she couldn’t fathom, she didn’t care if she won this race. Sure, she knew Applejack would rub this in her face for the rest of their lives. But, for now, she was going to look after Alex. She could beat Applejack some other day.

“Come on,” Dash said, “Let’s walk to the finish line together.”

“But… what about the race?” Alex asked, “I can handle myself, if you want to try to catch up to Applejack.”

“No!” Dash said immediately, “I’ll- I’ll look after you.”

It made her happy to say that.

Alex smiled and nodded, “Thank you.”

////

Applejack stood at the finish line, completely perplexed, and feeling somewhat guilty. She had finished first place, no problem. But… Rainbow had wiped out, and she hadn’t even stopped to see if she was okay. For all she knew, Dash broke her leg and was helplessly waiting for somepony to help her… Even after she had stopped for her.

The bulk of the crowd finally arrived at the finish line, Twilight included. So, Applejack decided to ask if she had seen Dash.

“Hey Twi!” Applejack said, running over to her. “Did you see Dash at all?”

Twilight smiled softly, “I did. She’s just behind me.”

“Is she hurt?” Applejack asked, “She fell an’ I didn’t stop to check on her…”

“Don’t you ponies ever watch where you’re going?” Twilight laughed, “But no, she’s fine. She’s with Alex, she hurt him when she tripped, so she’s walking him over the finish line.”

“Huh…?” Applejack said, a little shocked that she would stop racing on account of hurting somepony. “You sure that we’re talkin’ ‘bout the same Rainbow Dash?”

“I am,” Twilight smiled, “I’m pretty surprised myself, she’s surprised us all today.”

The two watched the race track as Dash and Alex finally appeared down the path. Alex walked with a slight hobble, and was being supported by Dash, who was right next to him keeping him held up. Of course, that was more of a ploy than anything. The two were simply happy to have an excuse to walk so close together. Alex really would have been fine on his own.

The two walked up to Applejack and Twilight, both expecting to hear some kind of gloat. However, there was silence instead.

Applejack wanted to gloat. She wanted to proclaim herself as the ‘iron pony,’ and the undisputed winner… but was she really? Dash had stopped to help her when she tripped, and then stopped to help Alex when he fell. She even walked him to the finish. Whether that was because he was her colt friend or not, was unimportant… She had still taken the time to make sure that both of her friends were okay, an attitude that she herself had lacked, when she didn’t turn around to check on Dash after she tripped.

In retrospect, Dash was miles ahead of her, no matter where she finished.

“Gongrats, Dash.” Applejack smiled, “I think you just won the title.”

“Huh?” Dash asked, a little stunned, “But… You finished WAY before me…”

Twilight smiled and spoke up, “I think Applejack learned something about sportsmanship.”

“Sportsmanship?” Alex asked.

“You stopped to help somepony that needed help,” Twilight explained, “You put Alex before the race.”

“Well, I… I guess that I would have helped anypony that really needed it.” Dash admitted, “But Applejack would have to!”

“But I didn’t….” Applejack said quietly, “Even after you stopped for me when ah tripped… Some dependable pony ah am…”

“What, that?” Dash said, “I didn’t expect you to, I mean, I would have caught up anyway!”

“Still, it was wrong for me to do that, and I’m sorry.” Applejack said.

Dash looked around, a bit surprised that this conversation was even happening. But, decided to accept it gracefully.

“It’s alright Applejack.” Dash said, “Next time we have a race, let’s just keep it friendly, and not make it a competition... I feel like it brings out the worse in us”

“Darn tootin’!” Applejack agreed.

“Sounds good.” Alex added.

“Yeah,” Twilight said, “Sometimes competition can lead to everypony losing. Just as long as we play fair, and have fun, we can always have a good time!”

The four were satisfied with the way the race had turned out, and continued chatting about it, until they were cut off once again by the balloon in the sky.

“WHEN I SPEAK IN MY ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE, I DO NOT NEED A MEGAPHONE!” Princess Luna was clearly heard from the sky.

Looking up, Alex saw that she had sandwiched her way into the middle of the rather small basket that barely held Pinkie and Spike.

“SISTER, I WISH TO PURSUE A LIFE OF COMMENTATION.” Luna shouted toward Celestia, who had appeared in front of Twilight and her friends, just as suddenly as Luna had appeared in the balloon.

Celestia giggled, “She can be quite playful sometimes.”

“Princess!” The four said in unison, as they all bowed to her.

“Please, there is no need to be so formal,” Celestia said, gesturing for them to stand up, “I simply came down to enjoy the running of the leaves. It’s one of my favorite traditions, and you all seemed to do a wonderful job making the leaves fall.”

“That’s what we were doing?” Alex said to himself quietly.

“I saw what you did for your friend, Rainbow Dash, and I’m quite proud of you.” Celestia said softly, “And you, Applejack as well.”

“Yer proud of me?” Applejack asked, “But… I didn’ do anythin’!”

“But you did,” Celestia explained, “You realized what you had done wrong, and apologized for it.”

Applejack nodded slowly, still not convinced.

“If we never make mistakes, we’ll never learn from them.” Celestia finished, “So don’t be afraid to mess up some times.”

“Thank ya kindly, Princess…” Applejack said, “That makes me feel a whole lot better.”

“It’s no problem, Applejack.” Celestia smiled.

“I’M HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME WITH MY FRIENDS!” Luna bellowed from the sky, even though Pinkie and Spike were somewhat squished in the basket.

“If you four will pardon me,” Celestia said politely, “I need to remove my sister from the hot air balloon.”

“Good luck,” Alex said, “She seems to really like it up there.”

“Indeed…” Celestia said, concentrating on the sky.

“Oh, Princess,” Twilight said quickly, “Would you like for me to write to you about this lesson I just learned?”

“Of course not Twilight,” Celestia said, not looking away from the sky, “I’m sure that you understand it.”

Twilight nodded, before seeing the clear frustration in Celestia’s face “Do you want some help getting her down?”

“…Please.” Celestia said calmly, “I’m worried it might cause a scene if I levitate her out.”

“I’ll help too!” Applejack said, stepping forward.

Alex and Dash looked at each other and exchanged glances, formulating a plan.

“Alex, could you—“ Twilight began, before turning around, and seeing the two teleport away.

“Oh, to be young and in love,” Celestia said happily, “We can deal with Luna, let’s leave them be.”

Applejack giggled, “I may not be allowed to laugh over winnin’, but I sure as heck can laugh at ‘em fer runnin’ off to make out every twenty minutes!”

“That’s another valuable lesson.” Celestia giggled.

“SISTER!” Luna bellowed again, “I WISH TO HAVE A CUPCAKE.”

“A cupcake…?” Twilight said slowly.

“NEVERMIND,” Luna said immediately, “PINKIE HAS SUPPLIED ME WITH SIX—SEVEN! SHE HAD ONE IN HER TAIL!”

“Eww…” Twilight said.

“This is gonna be tougher than ah thought…” Applejack sighed.

Celestia sighed, “Why did I even let her up there…?”

////

Author's Note

I intended to post a bit sooner, but i found myself stuck on what exactly to write, so i hope this was alright. I'm much more excited to do the coming up chapters.

The Case of the Missing Ponies

////
The Case of the Missing Ponies & Suited for Success: Part 1
////

Alex and Rainbow Dash had spent the remainder of their day together, after leaving their friends to deal with the Princess in the sky. They had gone back to the library, and she had prepared them sandwiches for dinner. Needless to say, Alex was happy with the outcome of the day. The sun was going to set, and nopony was back yet, giving the two plenty of alone time.

“I could get used to you cooking me dinner…” Alex said happily, polishing off the last of his lettuce and cheese sandwich, “Could have used some ham though…”

“Ham?” Dash asked.

“Oh, nothing.” Alex said quickly, “It’s a ‘my world’ thing.”

Dash simply nodded.

Alex did miss meat a bit, but, ponies were vegetarian! So, there wasn’t really much he could say without sounding… a little bucked up. So, simply, he was going to live a vegetarian life, as much as that made him a tiny bit sad.

“So,” Dash started, “What next?”

“Well,” Alex said, thinking to himself, “Spike and Twilight are out…”

Dash liked the sound of where he was going, “Well… If you really want to!”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed, “We should go find them.”

“Wait—What?” Dash asked, a little lost, “but… I thought…! Uh… Never mind.”

“What were you thinking?” Alex said, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

Dash was silent.

“Daaaash.” Alex coaxed.

“I- I thought you wanted to make out or something!” Dash blurted out, blushing heavily, and hiding her eyes behind her long hair.

“You. Are. Precious.” Alex smiled, trying not to laugh, “Besides, we’d go to your place to do that. No surprise visitors… You’d just have to carry me up.”

Dash giggled, looking up, “Sounds good to me!”

“Come on, let’s go find our friends.” Alex said, still grinning like an idiot.

“Keep acting like that, and we’ll never make out!” Dash said, trying to conceal the embarrassment she still felt.

“Yeah right!” Alex laughed, “I couldn’t keep you off of me if I tried!”

Dash knew that was mostly true, so, she decided to end the conversation there, as he would only make things worse from this point on. So, she walked to the door, opened it, and walked out.

“Are you coming?” Dash asked.

“Yeah,” Alex said quickly, “Let’s go!”

////

The two looked all over town for places that they might be: Sugercube Corner, The Carousel Boutique, and even Fluttershy’s cottage. However, nopony had seen them since the race. So, now Rarity and Fluttershy had joined the party, and were helping them look around.

Alex had thought Pinkie would have helped them look, but she, and the Princesses were all missing, even though they were supposed to be at the library catching up with Twilight.

Had they all gone and done something together?

Where could they have even gone?

“I didn’t think that they’d ACTUALLY be missing!” Dash said, “How in Equestria could we lose three ponies, and two Princesses?

“I hope my little Spike is alright…” Rarity said, genuinely concerned.

“You know he’s bigger than you, right?” Dash asked.

“Oh yes, believe me, I know.” Rarity swooned.

“I wonder where they could have gone…” Fluttershy said, “Does everypony want to go check the finish line of the race? Maybe there’ll be a clue.”

“That’s a good idea,” Alex said, “Since it’s on the way to Sweet Apple Acres, we can check the farm after.”

“Great!” Dash said, “Let’s go!”

The four walked through town, checking various places on the way, but had no luck. So, they were holding their breath for the finish line, or most likely Sweet Apple Acres, since it made the most sense that they got held up there. The four speculated as to why they had been lost: Perhaps Granny Smith insisted that they eat a comically large dinner, and are all too full to walk. Or maybe they decided to help with late night chores. But in the end, nothing was really making much sense.

So, they kept on. As they neared the finish line, they started hearing some noises, and saw some lights flashing. Deciding that there may be some kind of danger, they all rushed ahead, with Fluttershy safely tucked in the back, of course.

Finally, the four arrived, and were in complete awe of what they saw when they got there.

“Luna!” Celestia shouted, “You’ve won! Just come down!”

“Yeah!” Spike agreed from beside Celestia, “I’m tired!”

“BUT SUBJECTS, I AM SO AMUSED!” Luna bellowed.

“Me too!” Pinkie said into the megaphone.

Alex couldn’t believe this. Luna was still floating around in the hot air balloon with Spike and Pinkie. Twilight and Applejack were both clearly out of breath, and were lying on the ground.

Spike stood next to Princess Celestia, and had been trying to coax Luna down with her.

“W-what’s going on?” Alex asked, wide eyed, “Is she really still up there?”

“I’m afraid so.” Celestia said, “After the race, we decided to make a game out of getting the balloon down with magic, but Luna has countered my spells, and kept herself airborne…”

“Why is she calling you guys ‘Subjects?’” Alex asked.

“Because she’s proclaimed herself as the ‘Queen of the Sky.’” Spike answered.

“I AM THE QUEEN OF THE SKY!” Luna immediately shouted triumphantly.

“Me too!” Pinkie said again.

“See?” Spike asked.

“Wow…” Dash said, “This… is not what I was expecting to find.”

“Oh my goodness…” Rarity giggled.

“Can I be a Queen of the Sky…?” Flutershy asked timidly.

“OF COURSE!” Luna said.

“Don’t encourage her Fluttershy…” Dash sighed, shaking her head.

“Oops, sorry.” Fluttershy said, smiling.

Alex decided to play along, since they had clearly been here for hours, he would just end this here.

“Hey Luna! Can I play?” Alex asked.

“OF COURSE, SUBJECT!” Luna giggled, confident in her ability.

“Alex, that’s a powerful shield,” Celestia explained, “I can cast it myself, however, it’s rather impervious to magic.”

“All magic?” Alex asked, earning a strange look from Celestia, “Because, I know some… Different stuff.”

Celestia simply nodded, and watched what he would do.

Luna and Celestia had always had friendly competitions between each other, however, they were both prideful ponies, and the ‘friendly’ part of the competitions often disappeared. Something Celestia found amusing, considering the lesson in friendship, her student had learned today regarding the exact same thing.

“Alright, go ahead,” Celestia said, somewhat curious as to what he would try.

Alex cast a levitation spell and brought himself up to the balloon. However, he hit an invisible bubble a few feet away from the basket.

Now that he knew where the barrier was, he could cast the necessary spell.

Closing his eyes, Alex concentrated on that chaotic energy he had within himself, and focused a tiny bit of it into the tip of his horn. Luckily, since Dax had gone into remission, this power was much more manageable, and was even useable in certain circumstances.

Leaning forward, Alex lightly touched the tip of his horn to the shell around the balloon. And instantly, the entire thing cracked as if it were made of glass, and fell apart, dissipating just before it reached the ground.

“NO!” Luna and Pinkie both shouted.

Levitating the two of them out of the basket, and on to the ground, Alex then lifted himself up, and got in the balloon.

“Now I’m the Queen of the sky!” Alex laughed maniacally.

Everypony laughed, except Celestia and Luna. They were both a bit baffled.

“Sister…” Luna said, a bit of surprise in her voice, “He just harnessed both chaotic magic, and harmonious magic, as if they were no different to him.”

Celestia nodded, “He is something different, indeed.”

“He’s learning much faster than we had all anticipated,” Luna added.

“His powers are growing exponentially,” Celestia said, “And he’s going to be more powerful than any of us in a few months… He’ll be the first being in history, to be able to challenge Discord on a magical level, without the assistance of the elements of harmony.”

“Is this good?” Luna asked, “Or… bad?”

“I wish I knew,” Celestia said, “We all saw the manifestation of those powers in his alter ego, Dax. So, whether that’s a bad thing, or a good thing, I don’t know.”

“It seems difficult to believe that it could be good, sister.” Luna sighed.

Celestia remained silent.

“That was impressive Alex,” Twilight admitted, “What spell was that? The princess didn’t even know it!”

“Oh, just one I… Read a couple days ago…” Alex lied, realizing that his using chaotic magic might be seen as ‘irresponsible.’

“Well, I think it’s time to go home.” Spike said, “I’m tired, and I’m hungry!”

“We don’t we all go back to the library to eat?” Twilight asked, “Spike’s always happy to make us dinner!”

“I am?” Spike asked, frowning, “Crud.”

“Don’t worry, Darling,” Rarity said, “I’ll help you out.”

“Well, we just ate.” Dash said, “But I guess we could tag along.”

“I’m in!” Pinkie shouted.

“Count me in, too!” Applejack said happily.

“I guess I could come too.” Fluttershy said.

“How about you two?” Twilight asked the Princesses.

Celesta nodded, still somewhat lost in thought.

“Great!” Twilight said, not noticing it, “Let’s go!”

////

After a few minutes of Twilight frantically setting up the room, there was enough room for everypony to gather around, and have a place to eat.

The crowd talked about various things amongst each other as Spike and Rarity worked away in the kitchen, having promising to make something delicious.

“So, Twilight,” Celestia began, turning away from her conversation with Luna, “Are you and your friends excited about the Gala?”

“Oh yes!” Pinkie cut in, “I’m SO excited!”

“I’m excited to see the garden,” Fluttershy said, “I always love meeting new friends.”

“An’ ah jus’ know I’ll make a bunch ‘a money sellin’ some of my world famous sweets!” Applejack chimed in.

“What about you, Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked.

“Well…” Dash pondered, “At first I wanted to meet the Wonderbolts, but, I’ve kinda already done that stuff.”

“Did you meet the whole team at your training?” Twilight asked.

“Most of them,” Dash answered, “But I guess it’d be nice to meet Soarin’.”

“Who’s that?” Alex asked, “Is she a good flier?”

“HE’S a GREAT flier,” Dash corrected, “Only lost captain to Spitfire by a nose!”

“HE’S QUITE HANDSOME AS WELL!” Luna said, realizing that she was being a bit loud, “Ahem—I mean… He’s quite the… Specimen.”

The girls around the table all agreed. Even Dash nodded.

Alex didn’t like the sound of that one bit!

“He’s not the smartest though.” Twilight said.

“He barely sleeps!” Dash cut in, “He’s constantly training! That’s why he seems a bit off.”

“Well, hopefully he won’t be too tired at the Gala.” Celestia said to her.

“Even if he is, he’ll be excited to see me!” Dash said triumphantly.

“How do you know…?” Alex asked.

“Well, I’m the mare that made out in the middle of a race with somepony!” Dash laughed, “I’m sure that I’m a legend within the Wonderbolts already.”

“Well, I have heard talk of it.” Celestia admitted, “Several ponies from the castle were at the race.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait for the Gala to find out if he remembers you.” Alex said, still just a teeny tiny bit jealous, “Which, you know, I’d be surprised if he did!”

Okay, maybe more than a ‘teeny tiny bit.’

Just then Rarity walked to the table.

“Dinner will be ready soon,” Rarity said, “I apologize for the amount of food there is. Spike made… A bit too much.”

“Sounds good to me!” Alex said, getting a look from Dash.

“You just ate!” Dash said.

“That was like, an hour ago!” Alex said, “I’m a growing pony!”

“If you keep this up, you’ll be a fatso in time for the Gala!” Dash scolded.

“You’ve been talking about the Gala?” Rarity asked, “Without me?”

“Not really,” Twilight said, “We were just talking about what we’d do at it.”

“Speaking of which, what are you going to do there, Rarity?” Celestia asked.

“Well, I plan on making myself a fabulous dress, and being the talk of the night!” Rarity said, ambitiously.

“That’s quite the plan,” Celestia laughed softly.

“Speaking of dresses, could you fix mine?” Twilight asked, “I’m glad I remembered this, while you’re here!”

Everypony watched Twilight leave the table, and run upstairs, returning a moment later, levitating a rather plain looking red dress, that had a few poorly placed frills, and a loose button.

Twilight trotted over to Rarity, and grabbed the dress out of the air with her mouth, smiling brightly.

“Oh my…” Rarity said, inspecting the rather sad excuse for a gala dress, “You… Plan to wear this?”

Twilight dropped the dress on the table, next to Celestia, “Yup! It just needs a button sewn back on.”

Rarity bit her lip, “I’m afraid that this dress is beyond my ability to fix…”

Twilight was shocked, how could that possibly be?

Celestia laughed.

“So, I’ll just have to make you an entirely new one!” Rarity finished, winking.

“I get it,” Twilight laughed, “But you don’t have to do that. This dress will be fine.”

“No, dear.” Rarity said, “I insist! I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer!”

Twilight looked around the room, and saw all of the ponies anxiously waiting for her to agree.

“I… Guess?” Twilight finally said.

“Wonderful!” Rarity said, happy to be rid of that awful dress.

“Thank you, Rarity.” Twilight said, “Thanks incredibly generous.”

Looking around the room at all of her friends, she suddenly had an idea.

“Ideaaa!” Rarity sang, “I should make everypony a dress!”

“All of us?” Fluttershy asked, “But… Do you have the time to do all of that?”

“Of course!” Rarity said, loving this idea more and more.

“Sister…” Luna whispered, “I wish to have a dress.”

“Well, I suppose I could have something made for you.” Celestia answered.

“Wonderful!” Luna said, giddy at the thought.

“Remember, I won’t need one!” Dash said to Rarity, “I still have mine from Manehattan.”

“Of course you’ll need a new one!” Rarity exclaimed, “You can’t wear the same dress to two different events, if they’re in different seasons!”

“Is that really a rule?” Alex asked.

“Just go with it,” Dash whispered, “And, thanks a bunch!”

“Exactly!” Rarity said happily, “Now, everypony needs to come over tomorrow, and tell me what kind of design you’d like!”

“Okay!” Everypony, including Alex, said at once.

“Not you, dear,” Rarity said, looking to Alex, “You’d look dreadful in a dress.”

“I was only saying ‘Okay’ because everypony else did…”Alex pouted.

Dinner was served quickly after that… It was some kind of fancy salad that was all the rage in Canterlot, according to Rarity. But, to Alex, it still tasted like green. As generic as the term sounded, it fit. Green was the taste of every salad he had ever eaten. But, there was an odd taste he couldn’t quite put his hoof on. Something… Chewy and bland.

“How are you liking it, Alex?” Spike asked, “I worked hard!”

Seeing the pleading look in Spike’s eyes, Alex could almost feel the food start to taste better.

“It’s great!” Alex exaggerated, “You’ll have to make it for me again sometime!”

“I will!” Spike said happily.

“You eat far too many cupcakes,” Rarity said, “Some salad would do you some good.”

“I can eat anything as long as there’s no hay or anything like that,” Alex replied, “I don’t think I could ever bring myself to eat it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind…” Spike said, wide eyed, “For… next time…”

“There’s hay in here?!” Alex asked, shocked, before composing himself, “Dang… I knew I tasted something funny.”

The girls all started laughing.

“Well that’s enough for me!” Alex said, standing up.

“Yeah, I gonna head back myself.” Rainbow Dash said, “I’m pretty tired after the race.”

“Ah’m not tired!” Applejack boasted, “Unless, yer tired because you were doin’ somethin’ else AFTER the race!”

Dash rolled her eyes, “Very funny!”

Alex’s expression was blank, before suddenly lighting up, “Oh! I get it!”

“Sheesh…” Dash sighed, as everypony erupted in laughter, “Come on, Alex! See me out.”

Alex nodded, walking away from the laughing group, he followed behind Dash until they were outside the Library.

“You’re too stupid,” Dash giggled, hitting Alex lightly on the shoulder.

“I just took a second,” Alex confessed, “I’m still a bit shocked all you ponies are capable of being… inappropriate!”

“Well, of course we can be!” Dash laughed, “Is that so different in your world?”

“Well, no,” Alex said, “My world is filled with it! In fact, it’s way worse!”

“So… What’s the problem?” Dash asked.

“Well, you’re just… so cute!” Alex explained, causing Dash to blush.

“Oh, well… If you say so!” Dash said nervously.

Alex didn’t exactly mean it that way, but if that’s how she took it, he was going to just roll with it.

“You don’t sound convinced.” Alex said.

“Well, nopony’s really ever said that to me...” Dash admitted, “I mean, I know I’m not ugly… But am I really cute?”

“Colors, let me tell you right now,” Alex said confidently, “You’re cute. Dang cute, if I may say so.”

Dash stayed silent and absorbed the complement.

“Your colorful mane, your cracking voice, your eyes, when you’re a little unsure of yourself… Even your ‘I’m better than you’ attitude,” Alex listed, “It’s all just… Adorable.”

“Thank you.” Dash whispered, looking bashfully to the side.

Alex remained silent until she finally made eye contact with him, still looking a tiny bit unsure of herself.

“Like now!” Alex laughed, using a hoof to raise her chin up, “Even if you don’t fully buy it now, I’ll just keep saying it till’ it sinks in!”

And with that, Alex leaned in and kissed her.

Feeling a bit better about now, Dash simply let herself go, and melted into him.

The two could have continued for some time, however, they were quickly interrupted by a collective “Aww!” From the front door of the library.

Immediately breaking apart, they both blushed.

Everypony, save Rarity and Spike, were at the door, watching the scene before them unravel.

“Don’t mind us!” Pinkie said happily.

“Please don’t.” Luna agreed, smiling.

“How long have you guys been there?” Dash asked quickly, realizing all that Alex had said to her.

“For… A while.” Fluttershy said.

The girls started to snicker.

“This is so embarrassing…” Dash muttered, rubbing her hoof on her forehead.

“Why?” Alex asked her, “The first time we kissed, we LITERALLY had an audience.”

“It’s not that… It was all the ‘cute’ stuff.” Dash said to him quietly.

“Right…” Alex said, “Because they all have stallions calling them cute ALL the time, right?”

The snickering stopped.

“Well… Not exactly…” Twilight said, seeing his point.

“He’s right about that,” Celestia laughed, “Dash is doing better than all of you in that department!”

“Not better than I!” Luna said happily, “I overhear guards speaking of me quite often!”

“You… do?” Celestia asked, surprised.

“Indeed!” Luna beamed, “They always speak of my attractive dark coat, and my temperature being high!”

“High… temperature?” Dash asked.

“Do ya mean that they said that yer ‘hot’?” Applejack asked.

“Yes!” Luna agreed, “That was it!”

“Do they mention me…?” Celestia asked somewhat hopefully.

“Yes!” Luna said, “They mention your temperature too!”

“Well,” Celestia said, hiding a blush, “They really shouldn’t—“

“They say that you are ‘cold!’” Luna said happily, not knowing the meaning of the word in that context.

“Oh…” Celestia said, saddened slightly, “That’s… Not much of a surprise when I think about it…”

The silence in the group was heavy.

“Well… I’d better get going…” Dash said.

“As should we,” Celestia said, “I have something I need to take care of at the castle.”

“Alright, Princess,” Twilight said, “I’ll walk with you back to your carriage.”

“Thank you,” Celestia said, as she moved out of the group, “It was lovely seeing you all.”

“Yes! I greatly enjoyed myself!” Luna said happily, “I hope that we may rule the sky once more, Pinky!”

“Me too!” Pinkie beamed.

“Bye Princess’s” Applejack said.

“I hope to see you again soon!” Fluttershy said happily.

“Have a nice night.” Alex said politely.

Dash simply smiled and nodded to them.

And with that, Twilight headed off with them.

“I’d better be going too.” Dash said, turning to Alex.

“Sure,” Alex said, leaning in, and giving her another kiss, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Well, I might be busy with Rarity,” Dash explained, “But we’ll hang tomorrow night, okay?”

“Oh, I actually have plans with another girl.” Alex joked.

“You’d better not!” Dash laughed, softly hitting the side of his head.

“Okay, okay!” Alex said, feigning surrender, “You win, master.”

“That’s better!” Dash smiled, as she started heading away, “I’ll see you girls tomorrow!”

They all waved goodbye as she headed away from sight, into the darkness.

“And with that, I’m off to bed!” Alex said, realizing just how beat he was from all that had gone on today, “I’ll see you guys later, okay?”

“Sure will!” Pinkie said.

The rest of the girls each said something else, but Alex was already passing out. So, he headed into his room, and dropped himself on the bed, falling asleep only seconds after hitting the pillow.

////

Author's Note

I was feeling a bit silly when i wrote this chapter, and that kinda bled through into the next chapter, which i'll probably post tomorrow morning.

If there are any errors and such, just toss me a PM.

Suited for Success

////
Suited for Success – Part 2
////

The next few days flew by as Rarity worked hard on the dresses for her friends. Alex was rather ignorant to it, however. He had simply gone along with his studies, hearing little bits from Twilight or Dash as they had their usual conversations.

At some point, they had decided to have a large fashion show to show off the dresses. And as they day quickly arrived, Alex was actually pretty excited to see how they had all come out. Just as long as he didn’t screw anything up, he would be taking one of those girls to the Gala. And it would be great to see her all made up, as she had been after they had reunited in Manehattan.

But, as time passed, Alex noticed Rarity become increasingly upset with the work she had been doing. Something that Alex found hard to believe, considering how much pleasure she took in dress making. However, Spike confirmed it himself. She had been upset with something regarding the upcoming show, but she hadn’t told him why.

So, they decided to meet up a few hours before the show, and go over a few things regarding Rarity.

“I just wish I could make her feel better…” Spike sighed.

“What could possibly be bugging her?” Alex asked.

“I don’t know!” Spike said desperately, “She’s so tight lipped about the whole thing…”

“Maybe she’s wants some attention on the show!” Alex suggested, “It seems like it’ll be a pretty quiet event.”

“Really?” Spike asked, “I think that gives me an idea!”

“What?” Alex asked.

“I remember Rarity mentioning some pony coming to town…” Spike said, scratching his head, “I think his name was… Hoity Toity?”

“Oh, I think I remember hearing that name, back in Manehattan!” Alex said, “He’s a big name in the fashion world!”

“Yeah!” Spike agreed, “Rarity said that she would have loved to show off some of her designs to him, but she didn’t dare approach him, and waste his time.”

“Do you think we could convince him?” Alex asked.

“We’re pretty persuasive ponies,” Spike said confidently, “I think that this’ll be a walk in the park!”

“For sure!” Alex said, genuinely believing that he was persuasive, “Remember the time we convinced that one pony to… Uh…”

Spike was silent for a minute, “I can’t think of any particular time myself that we persuaded anypony, but that’s probably because we do it so often.”

“That makes perfect sense,” Alex said, being a bit of a meat head, “I’m surprised we don’t have cutie marks in persuasion!”

“Me too!” Spike agreed.

“Well, we should get going!” Alex said, before realizing how little they actually knew about the pony, “Where are we going anyway…?”

“Oh! I know where he’s staying too!” Spike said excitedly.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Alex asked, “Let’s grab him before the show starts!”

“Right!” Spike said, running to the front door, “I hope we don’t miss the show!”

“Don’t worry, Spike,” Alex said, walking out and closing the door behind him. “We’ll make it, and we’ll make Rarity feel better. I’m sure.”

////

He two headed to the edge of town, to some kind of fancy hotel that Alex had only seen a few times. It made sense that a big name in fashion would be staying in a place like this. It wasn’t huge, but it had a few levels, and was able to hold a few hundred ponies.

They stood outside the building, and decided to work things over.

“So, what’s our plan of attack?” Alex asked.

“Well, we could bust in to his room, and DEMAND that he come with us!” Spike suggested.

“Nonono,” Alex said quickly, “We need to persuade him!”

“Oh yeah!” Spike remembered, “We should bust down his door, then ask nicely, right?”

Alex looked at Spike with narrowed eyes, his voice of reason being drowned out by his being male-brain.

“Exactly.”

////

Alex and Spike walked into the lobby of the hotel, and approached the receptionist.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Alex said to the older looking mare behind the desk.

“Yes?” She asked politely, “How may I help you?”

“Could you tell us which room Hoity Toity was staying in?” Alex asked.

“I’m very sorry,” She declined, “I’m not allowed to give out room information...”

Spike leaned in close to Alex and whispered confidently in his ear, “I’ve got this.”

Alex stepped back and watched Spike go to work.

“Now, I know that it may be bending a few rules,” Spike said wiggling his eyebrows, “But couldn’t a beautiful young mare like yourself, make an exception? It’s very important!”

Alex was shocked.

“Well… I guess if it’s important,” She giggled, blushing visibly “He’s up in 401, our royalty suite.”

“Thanks.” Spike said, winking. “Come on, Alex, let’s go.”

Once the two were out of earshot of the clerk, Alex just had to ask, “Dude! That was… Amazing!”

“Thanks,” Spike smiled, “Rarity has kinda taught me how to speak to her in public.”

“That sounds… Uh… Good?” Alex said, unsure of what to say.

“I know how it sounds,” Spike laughed, “But it’s mostly just so she can show me off, we talk normally most of the time.”

Alex laughed, “That sounds like Rarity.”

They reached the stairwell, and headed upward until they reached the fourth floor. Then, after a short walk down the hall, they reached room 401, the Royalty Suite.

“Are you ready?” Alex asked, using a door unlocking spell, “On three, we’ll run in, and convince the crap out of him!”

“Yeah!” Spike said.

“Alright… One… Two… THREE!” And with that Alex opened the door, and rushed into the room with Spike.

Needless to say, what happened next, was not as graceful as either of them had intended. As soon as they saw the well-dressed silver maned pony, they both immediately started shouting and meshing non-coherent sentences over one another, sending unpleasant amounts of spit toward him, and giving him the craziest pair of ‘crazy eyes’ that anypony had EVER seen.

Finally, they both shouted, “COME WITH US!” In unison.

Their main goal had been to make him see that he needed to go with them. Unfortunately, all that they accomplished was making Hoity Toity think that he was being kidnapped.

“W-what do you want?” Hoity Toity asked, clearly shaking, “All my money is on the shelf behind you!”

Alex and Spike looked at each other, seeing that they had done this wrong.

Leaning over to Alex, Spike whispered in his ear again, “Let me handle this.”

Alex nodded, ready to see Spike work his magic again.

“Sorry if we startled you,” Spike started, speaking as smoothly as he could, “But, we just wanted to know if a handsome, young stallion such as yourself would like to accompany us to a show.”

Alex face-hooved.

“Are you two… Propositioning me…?” Hoity Toity asked, completely lost in the situation.

“Is that another word for convince?” Spike asked, scratching his head.

Alex sighed “I’ll take it from here, Spike.”

“Our friend, Rarity is having a fashion show, and it would mean the world to her if you came.” Alex said, knowing that their chances were probably blown.

“The dress show?” Hoity Toity asked, “I was just on my way to that now!”

“…You were already planning on going?” Alex asked.

“Yes!” He answered, “I’ve heard good things about this mare! I’ve decided to see her work for myself.”

“Oh…” Alex said, “Well that’s embarrassing.”

“Mhmm.” Hoity answered simply.

“Well, I guess we’d better get out of here then!” Alex laughed nervously, “Let’s go, Spike!”

“Hey, would it be okay if we bummed a ride?” Spike asked.

“He already thinks we were trying to bum something else,” Alex said, levitating Spike off the floor, “Let’s go. We can walk.”

“Aww...” Spike said, before turning to Hoity Toity and smiling, “We’ll see you there!”

“Great.” Hoity Toity answered.

////

“What do you mean, it only works on mares?” Spike asked, as they headed back toward the Carousel Boutique.

“You don’t call stallions handsome!” Alex scolded, “He thought you were hitting on him!”

“Hitting on him?” Spike asked, “But… Oh… I guess I can see how he MIGHT have thought that.”

Alex sighed.

“Well, so much for persuasion Cutie Marks,” Alex said, inspecting his rump, “We’ll have to report back to the girls on this one.”

“How far are we?” Spike asked, knowing that they had come a long way to get here.

“Pretty far… And Hoity Toity’s carriage went by a while ago.” Alex said.

“Look at the time!” Spike nearly shouted, pointing up to the clock tower.

“Oh crap!” Alex said, “Well… Do you want to try a teleportation spell?”

“What do you mean… ‘try?’” Spike asked.

“Well, I haven’t exactly mastered it yet, we might end up in a very different place.” Alex explained. “All I’ve mastered is teleporting to what I can SEE.”

“Can’t you fly us?” Spike asked.

“I can’t fly us… I can only glide…” Alex said, thinking to himself, “But that gives me an idea! Hop on my back!”

Nervously, Spike climbed onto Alex’s back, and rode him Human style.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Spike asked, seeing Alex start to concentrate.

“Yeah!” Alex answered, “Of course!”

Instantly, they were no longer on the ground, Alex had teleported them high into the sky.

“W-what are you doing?” Spike shouted over the air ripping past them as they plummeted.

Spreading his wings, Alex pulled them even, so that he could glide them. Unfortunately, it was too tough for him to do this with the extra weight, which gave him another idea.

Levitating Spike off his back, Alex held him in front of him, as he glided himself quickly over the town below them.

Spike did not like this.

“You’dBetterNotDropMeAlex!” Spike screamed for his life.

“Just enjoy the night air!” Alex laughed, dipping slightly to increase his speed, making Spike start to flail.

“DON’T DROP LIKE THAT!” Spike shouted, waving his arms wildly.

“Stop fidgeting!” Alex shouted to him, “I can’t keep you steady!”

Spike either didn’t hear him, or didn’t listen, as he continued to freak out, which made Alex lose his hold on him.

Spike, much to his fears, started falling toward the ground.

Alex could see the stage for the show from here, so he knew he could teleport them there, if he could just get a hold of Spike.

Pointing himself toward Spike, Alex teleported himself to the free falling pony, and wrapped his hooves around him.

That didn’t stop Spike from flailing, however. He continued, as much as Alex told him to just calm down.

This also stopped Alex from making a proper teleportation. Still, he was going to try his best.

Had you been watching this happen from a distance, you would have seen Alex and Spike start frantically teleporting in every direction as he tried to steer them toward the show.

Finally, Alex got them on track, and was going to put them right on the ground with his teleport. Unfortunately, a stray hoof from Spike hit Alex in the face, which had them teleport a few feet short, from the stage.

So, instead of hitting the ground nicely, they went flying into the side of the stage, taking out the support beam on the left side, causing the other support beam to collapse sideways, and land on the runway, breaking the floor where it landed, sending splinters of wood flying everywhere.

Alex and Spike landed backstage in a heap in front of the six girls, who were all looking at them in shock.

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but the tent that housed the backstage collapsed on all of them.

“I think we’re in trouble…” Spike whispered to Alex.

“You’d better be able to sweet talk us out of this…” Alex said.

The tent was levitated off of them by Twilight, as rolled it into a large ball, and placed it on the ground a short distance away.

“You two.” Twilight said, “Inside. Now.”

Alex and Spike complied, walking silently past the harsh looks from their friends as they entered Carousel Boutique. The only pony who didn’t show them a hard look was Rarity, who was just stunned standing next to the entrance.

“Sorry,” Spike whispered, passing her.

The two sat down in the front of the shop, and waited for their punishment.

////

Of course, the girls had taken their sweet time outside. Making Alex and Spike feel every agonizing second of time pass. Finally, Twilight, followed by Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, And Rarity entered the Boutique.

“I’ve told everypony that the show has been postponed until tomorrow night…” Rarity said sadly, “This is still going to happen…”

The other five girls were all relieved that everypony was so understanding.

However, it didn’t take long before they all turned their rage back toward the boys.

“Just WHAT do you two think you were doing?” Twilight said angrily.

“Y’all almost RUINED Rarity’s work!” Applejack scolded.

“Not to mention my shining moment!” Dash added.

“You meanies!” Pinkie huffed.

“You could have hurt somepony!” Fluttershy shouted, scaring Alex and Spike worse than any of the other girls had.

Alex, Spike, and all the other girls looked to Rarity, expecting the worst to come from her. However, she was silent.

“Well, Rarity?” Twilight asked, “Don’t you have anything to say?”

Rarity remained silent.

“She’s Speechless!” Applejack shouted.

“I’m sorry I ruined your show Rarity,” Spike said earnestly, “I… was really trying my best to help!”

“Thank you…” She said quietly.

“Come again?” Dash said.

Running over to Spike, Rarity levitated him off the ground, and kissed him happily.

“Uh…” Alex said looking to the girls, noticing how funny they were dressed, “What?”

The girls had no answer for him.

Pulling away from him, Rarity smiled wholeheartedly, “My Stallion in Shining Armor.”

“You’re… Welcome?” Spike said, still expecting something bad to happen.

“Rarity… what are you doing?” Twilight asked, “They ruined everything!”

“I don’t think we did…” Alex spoke up, “What in Equestria are you girls wearing?”

“Our dresses!” Pinkie said, still angry.

“Yeah… Yeah I get it.” Alex said, piecing it together rather easily.

“Get what?” Dash asked.

“You guys…” Alex said, hoping that he didn’t insult Rarity, “Those dresses are BUTT ugly.”

“What?!” Fluttershy shouted, making Alex recoil, “Rarity worked hard on these!”

It was harsh, but totally true. Each girl wore an overelaborate dress that simply looked hideous. Rainbow Dash looked like a gladiator, Fluttershy was wearing a birds nest on her head, Applejack was wearing big yellow boots, and a big red hat to match, Pinkie was covered in candy and balloons, and Twilight was covered in accurate star constellations... It was a train wreck.

“I don’t get that part…” Alex said, “Why did you make them like this? I KNOW you do better work than this.”

Rarity looked nervously from one friend to the next, “I’m sorry everypony… But I’m deeply ashamed of those dresses.”

“You are?!” They all asked.

“Yes…” Rarity said, “You all kept asking me to change them again and again… until, well, they turned into… those.”

The girls looked between each other at what they were wearing, and were finally starting to get it themselves.

“I think the big red hat is overkill…” Alex said to Applejack, who blushed, and quickly removed it.

“I…Guess we can see how you may have been afraid to show these off.” Twilight said nervously.

“I’m terribly sorry girls… those ARE the dresses you wanted, and I’m so upset about them.” Rarity said sadly.

“No, Rarity,” Twilight spoke up, “You were doing us a favor, and we took advantage of you by demanding so many changes…”

“Sorry, Sugarcube…” Applejack said sadly.

“I didn’t know I was making you frown!” Pinkie said desperately, “I’m supposed to make you smile!”

“I should have trusted your stitching…” Fluttershy said, confusing everypony.

“There is such a thing as TOO much awesome.” Dash admitted.

“Thank you for understanding,” Rarity said happily, smiling for what felt like the first time in weeks.

“Do you still have the first dresses you made us?” Twilight asked hopefully.

Rarity smiled, “Of course I do.”

“What about your dress?” Fluttershy asked.

“Oh yeah!” Dash almost shouted, “You don’t have one, do you?”

“Well, I…” Rarity began.

“Do you want some help?” Twilight asked.

“Help with what, dear?” Rarity asked.

“Makin’ the dress!” Applejack said,

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Rarity said, “Besides, it’s only half done, and the show is tomorrow.”

“We’d better get to work then!” Pinkie said, badly wanting to make things up to her.

Seeing that her friends weren’t going to back down, she smiled, and caved in.

“Alright… If you all insist!” Rarity said happily.

Alex and Spike looked at each other, convinced that they were in the clear.

‘We’re good!’ Alex mouthed to Spike, happy to be out of trouble.

Spike nodded, then spoke up, “I think the heroes deserve a meal in celebration!”

Alex face-hooved again.

“Don’t think this means that you’re out of trouble!” Twilight said, suddenly angry again, “You could have hurt somepony!”

“Whoops,” Spike said. “Sorry, Alex.”

Alex leaned the back of his head against a counter and closed his eyes. Everypony was saying something to him about safety… And he loved it. Having so many ponies care about him enough to get mad at him for doing dumb stuff was amazing. He had lost one family and gotten another in return. If his parents were up somewhere looking down on him, he was sure that they were happy with his situation, as completely messed up as it was.

Opening his eyes, Alex started apologizing for everything he had done wrong. He promised not to do it again as much as he knew that it would probably happen anyway. Finally, when everypony was done apologizing, scolding, and whatever else, they finally headed home, wanting to get plenty of sleep for the fashion show tomorrow.

And of course, the next day, the fashion show was a huge success. Rarity had shown off the original dresses she had designed, along with a dazzling magic performance from her, illustrating a magical background for each dress, until finally, Rarity walked out on stage in her dress. The one that everypony had pitched in to help her make as an apology for being so rude to her. This earned her a massive amount of cheering from the audience. And, to put a cheery on top of the whole situation, Hoity Toity came up to her after the show, and told her to expect work from him in the future.

As he walked away from her, Alex and Spike smiled, seeing how happy Rarity had become. Even though it was completely unintentional, they had made Rarity feel better.

Giving each other a bro-hoof, Alex and Spike smiled to one another. However, their victory was interrupted by Hoity Toity approaching them, and smiling.

“If either—or both of you wanted to go to a show, next time I’m in town, feel free to stop by the hotel.” Hoity Toity said winking.

Alex and Spike both frowned.

Spike leaned to Alex’s ear.

“Teleport us…” Spike said desperately, “Do it now.”

And with that, the two disappeared in a flash of light, escaping from the awkward situation. It was after they teleported to safety, that they vowed to never speak of it again.

They would take it to their graves.

////

Author's Note

I would have posted this with the one yesterday, but i got caught on a few things.

Which is alright with me, as i briefly made the front page yesterday when i got 40 favorites in about 3 hours

A Sudden Journey

////
A Sudden Journey
////

This chapter may feel a tiny bit rushed in terms of what happens, but i really want to write the next chapter. So... sorry if you're upset by this!

////

Everything was so… Empty. All the work he had put in to stopping the future from happening… From stopping Discord… It was gone. What was left to do?

The Doctor sighed, looking up to the ceiling of his ship, from his spot where he lay on the floor.

He had put months of time into trying to stop Alex, but in the end, he simply let him go. Of course… If that alter ego of his hadn’t manifested to save him, who knows what would have happened.

“Who am I kidding…” The Doctor said to himself, “I never could have killed him.”

He had heard her voice the whole time. He’d never be able to face her again if he had done something like that to an innocent bystander. Derpy was the angel on his shoulder.

But… what was there to do now?

Maybe he should go apologize to Alex…

No, he couldn’t. Alex would probably kill him on sight.

All of his work over the past two years had been undone. The ponies he had saved, across time and space were now un-saved. Being pulled into a new universe had a nasty way of doing that. So, it looked like he had work to do.

Standing up, The Doctor looked at the control panel for his ship, and thought about where he should go first. He could destroy some Cyberponies, maybe rescue a stranded waste disposal ship, or even go stop a malevolent beast that claimed to be the devil himself.

However, as he considered these things, something quickly came to mind. He didn’t have his companion.

The first time, they had run into each other during one of his many adventures saving Equestria… An adventure that simply hadn’t happened in this time line.

Now, Derpy lived a quiet life delivering packages, and occasionally leading birds in the wrong direction, during the winter wrap up. She was adorable. He had always wanted to approach her again, and try to explain things to her, but he couldn’t imagine it going well.

“Hey, Derpy!” The Doctor practiced, “Would you like to travel with me in my box?”

Creepy.

He had awaited some kind of emergency to come up, so he could ‘accidentally’ rope her into it… After all, she always talked about how much better life was, after doing all they did.

‘Hero’ definitely sound better than ‘delivery-pony’.

That was all in the past now… Or future… He didn’t even know anymore.

Maybe it was time for him to find a somepony new. Go off, find a crisis, find the prettiest mare, and ‘reluctantly’ accepts her help with the situation, when they get separated and she gets put in danger, he comes to the rescue and saves her. Then, she insists she comes along, and he finally caves and lets her.

But… He didn’t want anypony else.

Nopony had been as good as she had been.

Looking to the door, The Doctor decided to take a walk. Maybe he could clear his mind some.

Walking to the door, he looked back at the center of the TARDIS. He had never liked the quiet that came along with being alone… he was going to have to change that, one way or another.

////

The Doctor simply walked down the road just outside of town. His mind had wandered to many places, but it had stopped on Alex for a few minutes.

Alex had apparently gone to Manehattan after Rainbow Dash, and fought tooth and nail to get her back, as he had accidentally moved them a few months into the future… something he had a habit of doing.

He remembered hearing the story second-hoof, when a few ponies were discussing it loudly.

It made him happy to know that something positive had come out of Alex’s presence.

Rainbow Dash seemed much happier with him around, than she was in the old timeline. He wondered where they’d end up in a few years. Well, that WAS if they could stop the return of Discord.

Normally, The Doctor would have been confidant in the girls ability to stop Discord, but with Alex here, the future had completely changed.

And it was something that the Doctor worried about.

Celestia had just assumed that Alex’s element ‘selflessness’ had been created for him, by the Elements of Harmony. However, she was wrong.

The Elements of Harmony were still a bit of a mystery to her. Only the Doctor knew the whole truth of them.

Alex represented something else. A different kind of element. One of chaos.

How had he gotten the element of selflessness in the first place? The Doctor couldn’t figure that out. Alex was new to Equestria. He hadn’t had any kind of interaction with this world before a few months ago. So, how had an Element of Chaos chosen him?

Selflessness had never been considered an Element of Harmony in his version of Equestria. So, the most he could gather, was that something had happened in the past, to convince Celestia that Selflessness was an Element of Harmony.

He just had zero idea what that could have possibly been.

“I wonder if maybe—“ The Doctor said, before somepony fell out of the sky, and landed on his back.

“Whoops!” The voice said, in a nasally tone, “I’m sorry! I didn’t see you!”

The Doctor immediately knew that voice.

Turning his head, The Doctor saw the grey pony that was currently lying across his back hanging off of him on either side.

“Derpy!” The Doctor said happily, before realizing that she had no idea who he was.

“Oh… Uh…” Derpy said, trying to remember just who this pony was, “You fixed my wagon… Right?”

“No no!” The Doctor said quickly, “I just… You’re just so famous!”

“I am?!” Derpy asked happily, unaware of her fame until this moment.

“Well… To some ponies…” The Doctor added.

Derpy simply lay on his back, and hummed to herself absent mindedly.

“So… What are you up to, right now?” The Doctor asked, trying to make this conversation last as long as possible.

“Oh right!” Derpy said, “I’m delivering this!”

Reaching into her bag, while still balanced on his back, Derpy pulled out a letter.

“Who is it for?” The Doctor asked.

“Aaaalex.” Derpy read, “That’s all it says!”

“Like, the Alex in this town?” The Doctor asked, shocked at the coincidence.

“Yup!” Derpy chirped, “I’m on my way to him right now!”

“But… The Library is on the other side of town.” The Doctor said, “Why are you all the way out here?”

“The other side of town?” Derpy asked, “Wow!”

The Doctor laughed to himself. She was clueless sometimes, but he loved that. And it always seemed to work to their advantage in one way or another.

“Would you like me to take you over there?” The Doctor asked.

“Yeah!” Derpy smiled, “Thanks a whole lot! Do you mind if I just lie here? My wings are sore.”

Derpy had just fallen on him… While delivering a letter to Alex…

This was a sign… It looked like he was going to have his conversation with Alex, even if he was going to get killed over it.

“Sure.” The Doctor laughed, “I need to have a few words with Alex myself.”

Not wanted an awkward silence to fill the air, the Doctor immediately spoke up.

“Why did you fall, anyway?” The Doctor asked realizing that he didn’t even know what led to her landing on him.

“Something hit me, and I fell!” Derpy explained somewhat, poorly.

“Well,” The Doctor laughed deciding that silence might be better, “Just relax! I’ll take us to the library.”

“Thanks!” Derpy smiled, not even questioning her trust in him. Something just seemed right about his presence. So, she was going to enjoy it while she could. And maybe get a nap in on the way to the Library.

////

Two weeks had passed since Alex and Spike had saved Rarity from the horrible dress incident, and they were still riding the wave of appreciation from their marefriends.

Rarity had been extra affectionate with Spike, often complementing him, and cuddling him in front of their friends.

Rainbow Dash had taken a slightly less obvious path, and simply tried her best to take care of Alex, since he seemed shaken up over something. It was almost like he had been hit on by a stallion or something. Of course, that’s just silly.

And since Twilight had gone out for a few hours today, Dash had taken the opportunity to head over to the library, and hang out with Alex.

They were currently sitting on the floor, resting their backs on a bookshelf.

“You know, we should head to my place one of these days,” Dash said, “I really want to show you around.”

“I know I said that I wanted to be carried up, last time we discussed this,” Alex began, scratching his chin, “But I was mostly joking.”

“Does it make you feel like less of a stallion, to have a mare lift you?” Dash teased.

“You’re WAY manlier than me to begin with,” Alex shot back, “I don’t really have masculinity left to lose.”

“Hey!” Dash said, angrily, her voice creaking, “Just what are you saying?”

Alex put his hoofs over his mouth; he sometimes lacked that filter that most people/ponies had.

“I meant it in a super POSITIVE way,” Alex said, trying to think of a way to make it positive.

“Oh yeah?” Dash asked, still frowning, “Explain that to me.”

“Well… You’re just so—“

*Knock knock*

The two looked at the door.

‘Saved by the bell!’ Alex thought, jumping to his feet and running to the door.

Dash simply watched from where she sat, wanting to resume this conversation as quickly as possible.

Opening the door, Alex did not like what he saw.

“You…” Alex said, recognizing the brown pony on the opposite side of the door.

“Ah!” The Doctor said quickly, “I see you remember me!”

Alex growled, “What do you want?”

At this point, Dash had gotten up, and gone to the door to check on things.

“Who’s there, Alex?” Dash asked, seeing the brown pony, with the grey pony on his back.

“Pardon me—“ The Doctor began, before being cut off by Dash.

“Derpy!” Dash shouted, “What are you doing on this stallions back?”

“He told me he’d carry me, thoooough!” Derpy whined, knowing that Dash was going to yell at her for being lazy again.

“Colors, get back.” Alex said seriously, taking a defensive stance in front of her, “This guy is bad news.”

“Look--“ The Doctor tried to begin again.

“What are you talking about?” Dash asked, “I’m completely lost.”

“He’s the one who took me away from Ponyville four months ago.” Alex explained, watching Dash’s expression harden.

“I’m sorr—“

“You did that?!” Dash shouted, pushing forward, past Alex, in an attempt to smack The Doctor upside the head.

“I’m sorry!” The Doctor shouted, stopping the commotion he had created, “I wanted to talk to you! And… Mmmmaybe set things straight.”

Alex remained silent.

“There’s a lot that you NEED to know.” The Doctor said. “Please.”

Alex was fighting with himself. A part of him wanted to talk to this pony, but another part of him, wanted to let out all of his pent up chaotic magic, and disintegrate him.

Realizing that this was probably Dax making him want to do that, Alex forced himself to calm down. He was nothing like this other pony inside him, and he needed to prove it.

“…Fine.” Alex finally said, breaking the massive tension, “Let’s talk.”

“Thank you.” The Doctor said, “I want to make things right.”

“Achoo!”

Suddenly, all attention was on Derpy.

Noticing this, she shifted uncomfortably, “I’d better go now!”

“Wait,” The Doctor said, “I think you need to hear some of this too.”

This was confusing to the group of them.

“She’s involved.” The Doctor said simply.

“Alright,” Alex sighed, hoping this was the right move, “Come in.”

////

The four sat down around a circular table, each waiting for the other to speak first. Except for Derpy. She was completely confused, and was trying to find her place in all of this.

“Alex,” The Doctor finally said, “I Might… owe you an explanation.”

“You bet your rump you do.” Alex said.

“You need to understand, that when I tried to erase you from existence, it was for a good cause!” The Doctor said without really thinking.

Alex cocked an eyebrow.

“Not the best wording,” The Doctor said, “I was trying to save lives. And a lot of them at that”

“That’s a bit better,” Alex said, “Now, please explain this to me.”

“Where do I start?” The Doctor said to himself out loud, “I guess, about a year and a half from now…”

Dash gave Alex a ‘this guy is crazy’ look. One that Alex didn’t return.

“I’m from a point in time, where Discord was defeated by you and your friends.” The Doctor explained, “And everything was… great!”

Alex was silent.

“What are you talking about?” Dash asked, “Are you insane?”

“I know how it sounds,” The Doctor explained, “But I’m from a time and place, that you and your friends are happy, and living peacefully!”

“Okay,” Dash answered, “Then why are you here trying to ruin that by killing Alex?”

“Because Alex wasn’t there!” The Doctor blurted out, “Alex shouldn’t be here!”

“That makes no sense!” Dash shot back, “He’s here, isn’t he?”

“And his being here, destroyed the future!” The Doctor began, “I was there at a wedding, when suddenly everything around me disappeared, and it was replaced by a world ruled by Discord.”

Alex simply listened.

“Discord is going to win, and he is most likely going to conquer Equestria.” The Doctor said frankly.

“Let’s say that you’re NOT crazy,” Dash said, “Where were us?”

The Doctor sighed sadly, “You were there.”

“I… I don’t like your tone…” Dash said, seeing his mood change.

“Everypony was… Turned to stone.” The Doctor said reluctantly.

“Yeah right!” Dash laughed, “I knew you were full of it! Right, Alex?”

“I believe him.” Alex said.

“Wha—“

“He almost threw me into space,” Alex said, “Then he put me three months into the future… Anything could be possible.”

“Thank you!” The Doctor said.

“So… What are you here for then, besides telling us that we’re all doomed?” Alex asked.

“I’d like for us to try to stop him… Together.” The Doctor proposed.

“What good would that do?” Alex asked, “You saw the future. Doesn’t it mean that is HAS to be that way?”

“Well, I wasn’t affected by the change you caused,” The Doctor explained, “I should have been erased like everypony else. But, because I was in my ship, I was protected.”

“What does that mean?” Dash asked.

“It means that he’s a wild card,” Alex said, surprising The Doctor, “He could help change the future.”

“You understand!” The Doctor smiled, “Not many ponies do.”

“My Dad got me into Star Trek.” Alex laughed, showing happiness for the first time in their conversation.

“There are some other things I’d like to talk to you about.” The Doctor said, “Something I was hoping you could help me with.”

“What’s that?” Alex asked.

“Well, I wanted to know about your... Element of Harmony.” The Doctor asked.

“My Element?” Alex asked, “Selflessness?”

Suddenly, Derpy stood up.

“I remember why I’m here!” Derpy announced, silencing the table, “I have a letter for you!”

“A… Letter?” Alex asked, levitating the paper out of Derpy’s mouth, “…Thanks?”

“Can I go now?” Derpy asked, “That’s why I needed to be here, right?”

The Doctor laughed, “Not quite… I’ll try to get to you fast.”

“Okay.” Derpy said sleepily, leaning her head against the table, “I’ll wait like this.”

“Uh… Your Element!” The Doctor said, moving the conversation back on track, “Right! Now… How did you come to have it?”

“It just… appeared.” Alex said, scratching his head, “Twilight said that it was just one of the Elements of Harmony, and I fit the profile... Apparently.”

The Doctor thought to himself for a moment before speaking up again, “And Twilight learned about the Elements of Harmony from a book that Celestia herself had been the main source of information on.”

“Yes…” Alex said, not understanding his point.

“My world never had a Selfless element,” The Doctor explained, “Which means, that something happened years, and years ago… Back when that book was written, that made Celestia think that Selflessness was an Element of Harmony.”

“And that something has to do with me?” Alex asked.

“Correctamundo!” The Doctor said, immediately regretting his use of that word, “Because way back then, there were only six Elements that Celestia represented. And yours wasn’t one of them.”

“Then… What exactly IS my Element?” Alex asked, “If it’s not Harmony, then what is it?”

“Chaos.” The Doctor said simply.

“Of course it is…” Alex sighed, “I seem to be just swimming in chaos.”

“It’s a long story, Alex,” The Doctor said, “I wish there was an easier way to show…”

“What?” Dash asked, seeing his sudden silence.

“Maybe I COULD show you…” The Doctor said quietly, “I want answers too… and the only place to get them, is in the past.”

“So…?” Dash asked again.

“How would you all like to take a trip with me?” The Doctor asked, “There would be lots to see!”

“What would we be seeing, exactly?” Alex asked.

“Well, the last time the Elements of Harmony were used, besides a few months ago, were when Night Mare Moon was defeated by Princess Celestia,” The Doctor explained, “So… That’s where we’d go.”

“We’d go to the fall of Princess Luna?” Alex asked.

“I don’t know…” Dash said, “I’m all for an adventure, but would the princesses like us watching that?”

The Doctor understood where she was coming from, “I understand that it was a difficult time for them, but it’s the only way for us to know for sure.”

Dash looked at Alex, “What do you think?”

“I think… That we need to know.” Alex said, “Besides, maybe it’ll give us some insight into the Princesses a thousand years ago.”

“I still think this guy is crazy!” Dash said, clearly nervous, “We can’t really travel in time… Can we?”

“It’s already happened once…” Alex said.

“It’s a pretty easy trip to make too!” The Doctor said, “Well… Except for the thrashing, and those odd explosions… But it’s fine! I do these kind of trips all the time!”

“That makes me feel soooo much better.” Dash sighed, “This is all happening so fast!”

“Well… We could wait, if you wanted to,” The Doctor suggested.

“No,” Alex said flatly, “If this is going to help us fight Discord, then we need to do it as fast as possible.”

“But…” Dash said, shifting nervously.

Taking a step toward Dash, Alex whispered in her ear, “Do you want to stay here?”

“No way!” Dash shouted, cracking her voice, “If this is happening, then I’m in!”

“Good,” Alex smiled, “I’d like you to be there.”

“Somepony needs to keep an eye on you!” Dash said, sincerely wanting to keep him out of harm’s way.

“What about you, Derpy?” Alex asked, “Are you coming along?”

“Huuuh?” Derpy yawned, lifting her head from the table, “They gave me two letters to deliver today, and I’m already five hours into my shift!”

“I can have us back in 2 minutes flat.” The Doctor said to her confidently. “Besides, I think it’ll be easier for me to show you what I wanted to tell you.”

“Well… Okay.” Derpy said, after some thought, “But you have to help me deliver this letter!”

The Doctor nodded, just happy that Derpy was going to be traveling with him again.

“Well, it’s all so sudden, but I’m pumped for this!” Dash said standing up, “I’ve never traveled in TIME before, but I’ll bet that I’m already better than all of you at it!”

“I don’t think you can be GOOD at time travel.” Alex pointed out.

“Psh, Watch me!” Dash winked.

“Great!” The Doctor smiled, “Let’s go!”

////

Author's Note

Go here!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/96524/otr-the-fall-of-the-night

The Fall of the Night

THIS IS THE NEXT CHAPTER IN THE STORRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYY.

Please follow the link to the next chapter.

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/96524/otr-the-fall-of-the-night

Back to Manehattan

////
Back to Manehattan
////

Alex sat in the library with Spike and Dash as Alex finished reading the letter to the two of them.

“Best young flier competition?” Alex asked, “Sponsored by the Wonderbolts?”

“And Comet insisted on holding the event in Manehattan, instead of Cloudsdale?” Dash said, scratching her head, “I wonder why…”

“Probably so everypony can attend,” Alex suggested, “Only pegasi can go to Cloudsdale events.”

“So… Are you going to go?” Spike asked, “The grand prize is a whole day with the Wonderbolts!”

“I’ve already met the Wonderbolts, Spike,” Dash laughed, “Why do I need to see them again?”

“Oh yeah,” Spike sighed.

“So you don’t want to go?” Alex asked.

“I don’t think so,” She answered, “I mean, It’s nice that Comet did this so everypony can go… But I don’t know if I’m past what she did to me.”

Alex nodded. That was fair. She had done a lot to Dash…

“It sounds like a goodwill gesture,” Twilight said from behind them, “Are you sure that you want to turn her down?”

Dash sighed and looked back and forth, everypony expected her to just say ‘no,’ but, she didn’t.

“Well… I guess I can give it a try,” Dash said, “Besides, I’d love to go back to and have a look around the city a bit better.”

“Yeah!” Spike said, jumping up, “I wanna go see Ramsley!”

“Are you sure Dash…?” Alex asked.

“Sure I am!” She grinned, puffing out her chest, “I’m always up for winning a contest!”

“Great!” Twilight smiled, “I’ll tell everypony that the trip is on!”

“Huh?” Dash asked, “Everypony knew about this?”

“The Princess told me about it a few days ago,” Twilight admitted, “We didn’t know you were involved in the contest. Still, with your experiences with Comet, I figured that we would need to check with you before we went.”

“Well I’m going!” Dash announced, standing up, surprising them with her determination.

“When did he say it was?” Alex said, levitating the scroll back in front of him, “In three days?!”

“What kind of notice is that?” Spike asked, “I thought it’d in a month or something!”

“No problem,” Dash laughed, “I’d be ready to do this if it were happening in an hour!”

“I guess we’d better get packing,” Alex said, walking off toward his room, “When are we gonna be leaving?”

“Probably tomorrow afternoon,” Twilight explained, “It’s late, and you two just finished traveling through time, so why don’t you go home Dash, and rest up? Pack tomorrow.”

“Um…” Dash said nervously, looking between Twilight and Spike, earning a curious look from them, “I was kinda hoping I could sleep over.”

“Oh!” Twilight beamed, “A slumber party? I’m going to call the rest of the girls! Great idea Dash!”

“Eh… Yeah,” Dash said slowly, “Slumber Party…”

“I’ll go get Applejack and Fluttershy,” Twilight announced, “Spike, you go get Pinkie and Rarity.”

“What?” Spike whined, “I don’t wanna—“

Before he could finish, Twilight teleported him out of the library with her, leaving Alex and Dash alone in his room.

“I really didn’t want there to be a slumber party,” Dash sighed, lying back on Alex’ bed, “I’m way too tired.”

Alex nodded, and rubbed his sore cheek, “I just wanted to go to bed…”

“Let’s do that then!” Dash said, quickly crawling under the covers, “Let them have their party, I just want to go to sleep.”

“I like the way you think,” Alex winked, lifting up the covers on the right side of the bed, and climbing under with her.

Reaching forward, Alex pulled her close to him, pressing her body against his, and pulled her head just under his chin, brushing her mane into his face.

His immediate affection took Dash by surprise, but she didn’t protest. She nuzzled into the crook of his neck and sighed softly. She was going to sleep here for as long as she could.

Casting a spell, Alex extinguished the flames lighting the room, leaving them together in darkness.

“Goodnight, Alex.” Dash said, kissing his neck.

“Mhmm…” Alex replied, already dozing off.

The two were out cold pretty quickly. Giving them the peace they had desired.

////

“This was a great idea, Twilight!” Pinkie said, closing the door behind her, “We’ll all have a big party to celebrate us going to Manehattan again!”

“Where’d you say Rainbow was?” Applejack asked, looking around the main room.

“She’s in Alex’s room,” Twilight pointed, “Spike, do you want to go grab them?”

“Sure Twilight!” Spike said, trotting over to the closed door, and pushing it open with his horn.

“Hey Rainb—“

Spike quickly silenced himself, after seeing them in this position.

Spike stepped out of the room, and decided to leave them alone. Unfortunately, when the girls noticed his strange reaction, they all walked over to investigate what had made him act in such a way.

“Spike, what’s going—“ Twilight began, before seeing the two in bed together.

“Aww…” Fluttershy whispered, “Look at how cute they are…”

Seeing the two pressed together made all of the girls smile.

“They’re adorable!” Rarity squeaked.

“Look at Dashie’s wing!” Pinkie pointed at Dash’s twitching wing, “What’s she doing?”

“Uh… Winona does that with her leg when she’s dreamin’ of runnin’ around,” Applejack offered.

“Dashie’s dreaming of flying!” Pinkie giggled, “How cute!”

“Come on, everypony,” Twilight said, “Let’s leave them alone, they’ve been through a lot today.”

Everypony nodded, and back away from the door, letting Spike close it.

“Back to the slumber party?” Pinkie asked.

“You bet!” Applejack smiled.

“Alright girls,” Twilight said, “I have a book on slumber parties! I’ve never used it before… So let’s give it a try!”

////

Stirring, Alex opened his eyes and inhaled slowly.

It smelled like… Shampoo.

Looking down, Alex examined the mess of colored hair pressed against his nose.

Oh right.

It was still dark. But then again, he curtains were pulled. It could be midday and he wouldn’t notice. Carefully looking up, Alex checked the clock and smiled. It was still early. He could stay here for a bit. Slowly looking around he immediately noticed Dash’s twitching wing.

Lifting a hoof off her hip, he slowly reached out and poked her wing.

“Mhmmph…” Dash murmured into his chest.

He poked it again.

“Nononono…” Dash murmured again.

Alex narrowed his eyes as he looked at the vibrating wing.

“If she goes any faster… She’ll take off,” Alex whispered to himself.

Reaching forward once again, he placed his hoof right against her wing, and pushed it back to her side, preventing it from shaking any further.

“I’m gonna fall!” Dash shouted, suddenly sitting up.

“Wh… What’s happening?” Dash asked, looking around.

“You’re falling, apparently,” Alex laughed.

“Alex?” Dash asked, rubbing her eyes and pushing her long hair out of her face, “I… slept over?”

Alex nodded, “We’re going back to Manehattan today, remember?”

“Oh yeah!” Dash said, getting up, “I need to pack!”

“Not yet!” Alex said quickly, “It’s still early, let’s… Well, you know…”

Alex hadn’t wanted to say ‘cuddle,’ however, Dash took a different meaning from it.

“Right now?” Dash asked, giving him a suggestive look, “Right here?”

“Huh?” Alex asked, scratching his head, “What about right now?”

“Wait… What are you talking about?” Dash said, leaning back slightly.

“What are YOU talking about…?” Alex asked, cocking an eyebrow, seeing just what she had been getting at.

“Um… I wanted to… Cuddle?” Dash offered.

“That is also what I wanted,” Alex laughed.

“Spike!” Twilight called from outside the room, “Have you seen my saddlebag?”

“I think you left it in Alex’s room yesterday,” Spike answered.

“Oh crap,” Dash said quickly, “Pretend we’re still asleep!”

Alex nodded, and quickly got back in to his former position with her, pulling the covers back over them.

“Are you sure Spike?” Twilight asked, opening the door quietly, not wanting to wake the couple, even though the blinding beams of light from the other room would have done that anyway.

“It’s in the corner,” Spike whispered, as the two of them gently walked past Alex and Dash.

“I don’t see—“

“We’re trying to sleep!” Dash shouted, sitting up.

Twilight and Spike both jumped at Dash’s sudden outburst, and clung to each other, as they landed on their rumps on the floor.

Dash laughed uncontrollably as she fell back on the bed, “Y-You two s-should see- see the looks on your faces!”

Alex couldn’t have done it better himself.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight scolded, “Why would you scare us like that?”

“I think the question is ‘Why WOULDN’T I?’”

Twilight shook her head, and stood up, “You’re too immature, Rainbow.”

“Well duh!” Dash agreed, “But… Why are you up so early?”

“Early?” Twilight asked, “It’s almost noon! We leave in a couple hours!”

“What?!” Alex and Dash said in unison, sitting up.

“B-but the clock says…” Alex said gesturing to the early time he had seen.

“Oh, I broke that yesterday.” Twilight admitted, “Besides, I thought you had your IPod-thing.”

Alex frowned.

“I guess that means we have to get up…” Dash sighed, flapping her wings, and taking off from the bed.

“If you pack quick, maybe we can sleep a bit more!” Alex called to her as she headed out.

“We’ll have plenty of time to sleep together on the train!” Dash called back.

“Spike, cover your ears,” Twilight instructed, not wanting him to be exposed to such casual talk about adult subjects.

“It’s not like that,” Alex said to her quickly, “I honestly meant SLEEP.”

Spike had ignored Twilight’s directive, and gave Alex a satisfied nod, and mouthed the word ‘Nice’ to him.

“Alright alright,” Twilight said, “Pack whatever you need, our train leaves in six or so hours.”

“Thanks,” Alex smiled, “I’ll make sure to be ready by then.”

“Let’s go, Spike,” Twilight asked, “We have a few more things I need to buy.”

As Twilight walked out, Spike lingered and gave Alex another proud look, “Good job.”

“Nothing happened,” Alex laughed, “Really.”

“Right. Nothing ‘happened.’” Spike said, making air quotations with his hooves. It looked rather odd.

“I’m serious!” Alex laughed.

“I ‘Believe’ you,” Spike said, air quoting again.

“Spike!” Twilight called again.

“Oh, uh, Coming!” Spike said, bolting out of the room.

Alex fell back on his pillow. He could put off packing. It’s not even like he needed to take a change of clothes. Just some grooming supplies, and a few other things. He could have that ready to go in fifteen minutes, tops.

////

“Alex!” Dash called, “The train is leaving soon! Why did you put off packing till so late?”

“It was Future Alex’s problem a few hours ago…” Alex sighed, levitating his last few things into his back, “But now I AM Future Alex, and I think Past Alex is a Douche.”

“He is,” Dash agreed, “But no matter who you are, we need to be gone five minutes ago!”

“Look at the clock,” Alex pointed, “We have a few minutes.”

“That clock is broken!” Dash shouted, “What time does your silver thing say?”

“Uh…” Alex said, levitating his IPod up to his face, and clicking the button, “Half past…”

Before Dash had the opportunity to yell at him again, they heard the train whistle, signaling its departure from the station.

Alex laughed nervously as Dash gave him an extremely angry look.

“Look sweet cheeks,” Alex said, upsetting her further, “I can deal.”

Walking next to her, he wrapped his arm around her neck and pulled her cheek to his.

“What are you doing?” She asked, in a relatively quiet voice, scaring Alex more than the angry tone.

“This!” Alex said, feigning confidence.

*Pop*

Suddenly Dash was surrounded in a bright light. And, as soon as it had come, it had vanished. And when the blinding light vanished, she was standing on the moving train car, with Twilight, and Alex right next to her.

“Boo-yah!” Alex cheered, hoof pumping, “Am I good, or what?”

“How did you do that?!” Twilight asked, complete flabbergasted at their sudden appearance, “Transporting on to a moving train is like: Throwing a rock… at a smaller rock while you’re blindfolded… and riding another pony.”

“The trick, is to think of everything else as moving, and the train car as staying still,” Alex explained.

“I never thought of it that way…” Twilight said to herself, “How did you think of that?”

“A movie you probably haven’t seen,” Alex winked.

*Ahem*

Alex turned, and saw an impatient looking pony standing behind him.

“Were you trying to get a free ride on my train?” He asked.

“It’s okay, sir,” Twilight apologized, “He has his ticket, right Alex?”

“Uh…” Alex said, “I may have forgotten it back at the library…”

Dash face hoofed.

Twilight sighed.

“I’ll be RIGHT back,” Alex said, looking between them all.

Zapping away, Alex left them in silence.

“Twilight…” Dash said slowly, “Is he going to be able to just… transport back?”

“Probably not,” Twilight laughed, “We’ll see.”

After another minute of silence, a loud ‘thud’ was heard on the roof just above them.

“Oh sweet Celestia!” A voice was heard screaming from above them, “I’m on the roof! This is horrible!”

Dash giggled, “ I'll get him.”

Twilight and the Conductor watched Dash walk out the back door of the cart, and take off, so she could grab him, leaving the purple unicorn in an exceedingly awkward silence.

“He’s not always like this…” Twilight tried to explain, “He’s actually a pretty smart, and brave pony!”

“Rainbow Dash!” The voice screamed from above them, “You’ve come to save me! Take me away! Don’t forget, you need to carry me!”

Twilight cringed.

“Why didn’t he teleport again to get inside?” The conductor finally asked, breaking the tension.

“Well… He’s not THAT smart…”

////

The Source of the Rainbow

////
The Source of the Rainbow
////

I decided to put this short bit in really quickly, as it really helps keep things straight for me.

I did it on a whim, so sorry about not posting it with the last chapter.

////

Besides the beginning, the train trip to Manehattan had been rather uneventful. The group had chatted, eaten dinner, and then went to sleep. Alex had been disappointed when he saw the ‘bunk’ style of the beds, and the lack of privacy they offered. So, he simply had to accept that he wouldn’t be having any more private time with Dash for the night. He couldn’t really complain, since he had had her for the past two nights all to himself.

Surprisingly, when the time came for them all to turn in for the night, he found himself having a bit of trouble sleeping. His mind kept going back to everything that happened back in the Crystal Kingdom. It made perfect sense that it would… He had seen some terrible things there. He had even watched somepony die in front of him.

He wondered if Dash was having the same problem as him. They had been so preoccupied after they got back with Luna, and whatever else, that he hadn’t had time to think about it. But now that he was lying here in silence, it was starting to haunt him a bit.

Finally, Alex managed to start dozing off. But all of these sudden feelings left him worrying about how often he would be kept up by these thoughts.

Hopefully it would end soon…

Once he fell asleep, the night passed quickly. Dreaming of nothing in particular had a way of doing that.

He was woken up by the train whistling, and signaling the arrival in Manehattan.

“Come on, Alex!” Spike said, bonking him on the head, “They’re gonna let us off soon!”

“Uh, yeah,” Alex said, rubbing his eyes, standing up and looking around.

“Ramsley said he’d meet us at the platform,” Twilight said, “And that he had some kind of surprise for us.”

“A surprise?” Rarity asked, “I wonder what it could be.”

“Me too!” Pinkie said, jumping up and down, “I hope it’s for me!”

“Do you think he missed us?” Spike asked Alex.

Alex thought for a moment, back to all that happened last time he was in this city.

“No.”

“They’re lettin’ everypony off!” Applejack called from the front of the car.

Everypony grabbed their appropriate luggage, and headed for the exit at the end of the car.

Alex and Dash stayed at the back of the group, and walked off together. She had been oddly quiet, and Alex had noticed.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked quietly, getting her to look up from the floor.

“Oh…” Dash said, blinking, “I just had a bit of trouble sleeping last night.”

Alex simply nodded. He had a feeling why, but didn’t want to bring it up here.

“Ramsley!” Spike shouted from the front of the group.

“Master Spike!” Ramsley said genuinely happy to see him, “It’s good to see you again!”

“Where’s my surprise?!” Spike asked suddenly, “You said there was one, right?”

“Well, it IS a surprise, but it isn’t for you,” Ramsley admitted, earning a sad look from Spike, “But I do have gifts back at the mansion for you.”

Spike’s face lit up.

“Who is the surprise for then?” Rarity asked.

“It’s for your friend Rainbow Dash,” Ramsley explained, “By the way… where is she? And Alex?”

“Here!” Alex called from the back, as he finally exited the train.

“Bring your friend over here,” Ramsley instructed.

Alex complied, and walked with Dash over to him.

“Would you like to see your surprise?” Ramsley asked.

“You don’t need to give me anything…” Dash said modestly, “You’ve done so much for—“

“There you are, Squirt!” A voice said from behind Ramsley.

Dash knew that voice.

“Oh sweetie, look at how big you’ve gotten!” Another voice said.

Two Pegasi walked past Ramsley.

It was her parents.

Her father was a darker, and slightly more purple color than Dash, with the same rainbow mane as her. The only difference being that his hair was short. He was slightly larger than Alex, and had a cutie mark of a streaking rainbow into a cloud.

Alex looked to her mother, and almost felt his jaw hit the floor.

She was absolutely stunning. She was the same size as Dash, however her coat was orange, and her hair was a combination of red and orange. It was grown out, and hung out the back down to her knees, while it swooped past her right eye in the front. Her Cutie mark was a pair of wings wrapped around a flame. It was obvious where Dash got her good looks from.

Alex wasn’t sure if he should speak up, and introduce himself to them. On one hoof, he didn’t want to look quiet… But on the other hoof, he didn’t want to look to eager. So, he opted for the former, and waited for them to address him.

“…Mom? Dad?” Dash asked, stepping away from Alex, “W-what are you doing here?”

“Oh look, dearie,” Her mother said, ignoring the question “She finally grew her hair out, like I always told her to!”

“We came to see you compete!” Her father answered, “And you should keep your hair short for racing! Don’t forget that!”

Dash rolled her eyes.

Her parents both looked up from her, and properly addressed the ponies behind her.

“Allow us to introduce ourselves,” Her father said to the group, “My name is Flash, and this is my wife Firefly.”

“Um… Hello again,” Fluttershy spoke up.

“Fluttershy!” Firefly beamed, “It’s so nice to see you again!”

“You too!” She replied, obviously comfortable around Dash’s mother, “I’d love a chance to catch up with you.”

“We’ll figure something out, dear.” She smiled.

“Why don’t we go out for a bit, then get some lunch?” Flash asked Rainbow, “You can meet up with your friends in a few hours.”

“Uh…” Dash said, looking back to her friends, uncomfortable for a reason none of them knew.

“Come on sweet heart, let’s go!” Her mother begged.

“I guess…” Dash said.

“Great!” Firefly said, getting next to her daughter, “I know just where to go!”

Dash reluctantly headed off with them, leaving all of her friends a bit confused. However, their questions were answered when her father spoke up.

“So, tell me Rainbow, have you got a coltfriend yet?” He asked, before breaking out into laughter.

“Dear,” Firefly giggled, trying to sound like she was scolding him, “Don’t tease her for her lifestyle!”

Alex went wide eyed.

They didn’t know she was dating him.

“She can be however she wants,” Her mother continued, “And we’ll love her if she dates boys OR girls.”

And they thought she was a lesbian.

That’s why she was uncomfortable.

////

A Colorful Background

////
A Colorful Background
////

After Dash departed from the group, they moved on, and went back to the Orange’s mansion, where they had stayed last time. Incidentally, Mosley Orange, and his wife had been away on business once again, allowing the friends to have the house to themselves once again without anypony in charge. Well, besides Ramsley.

Rainbow Dash had been gone the entire day with her parents, leaving everypony hoping that everything was working out with them.

“Dash sure has been gone a long time.” Twilight said, walking into the living room of the mansion. The sun had already started to set, and nopony had heard from her at all.

“It does seem like they had a lot to talk about,” Rarity giggled, “They had a couple of preconceived notions about her…”

“That’s an understatement,” Alex agreed, “She probably doesn’t talk to them much… I wonder why.”

“Oh, that’s because…” Fluttershy began, before covering her mouth, “Um… Never mind.”

“Huh?” Spike asked, “What was that?”

“Oh, it was nothing,” Fluttershy lied, “I don’t even remember what I was going to say…”

“Come on Fluttershy!” Pinkie spoke up, “I why does she avoid her parents?”

“I’d also like to know,” Twilight agreed.

“I don’t want to pry,” Alex began, “But I’d really like to hear this.”

“Oh… I don’t know—“

“Ah’ come on, sugar cube!” Applejack burst, “Tell us!”

“I’m quite interested in this myself,” Ramsley admitted.

“Um, Okay,” She said quickly, as she had really wanted to say this anyway.

Everypony huddled closer to her, in some kind of attempt to keep others from hearing her explanation, even though they were the only ones in the mansion.

“Well… Rainbow Dash’s parents have always… had a plan for her.” Fluttershy began, organizing her thoughts, “She was a fast filly from the start, and her father knew that she had potential of becoming a very skilled flier, and potentially, a Wonderbolt.”

Everypony silently followed along.

“So, he started putting her into camps, like the ‘Junior Speedsters,’ which is where she met Gilda,” Fluttershy continued, “Her Dad always pushed her so hard... He would tell her that she was the best, that everypony was below her, and that if she worked hard enough, the whole world would be hers.”

“That sounds like a bit more than building confidence,” Alex said.

“It makes sense,” Twilight explained, “I mean; Dash had to get her attitude from somewhere.”

“She’s actually way better now,” Fluttershy smiled, surprising everypony, “Dash was winning races against ponies twice her age, and getting a lot of attention around Cloudsdale… They were even planning on sending her to an early Wonderbolts training program a few years ago.”

“I’ve never heard her mention such a thing,” Rarity said, cocking her head, “Why didn’t she attend?”

“While she never said it to me, I think it was because she just wanted to be a normal girl for a while,” Fluttershy answered, “That and… well…”

“What?” Everypony asked in unison, wanting to know why Rainbow Dash would have passed up such an opportunity.

“It was over me…” Fluttershy admitted, looking down, a bit shamefully.

“You…?” Alex asked.

“What could you have done?” Applejack asked.

“Her Dad wanted her to be the best... which meant that she couldn’t have anypony holding her back,” Fluttershy explained, “And it might surprise you all to know, that I wasn’t a very good flier when I was a filly.”

Everypony immediately felt badly for her. They all knew where this was going next.

“He told her that she shouldn’t have friends that were going to slow her down…” Fluttershy continued, “And since Dash had spent so much time over the years looking out for me… She wasn’t about to stop.”

“Wow…” Twilight said quietly.

“Dash never had many friends growing up… Mostly because she thought she was better than everypony else, and they thought she was rude because of that,” Fluttershy said, “But she always made sure that I was left alone by all the bullies that tried to pick on me. She always took care of me.”

“That’s so sweet of her!” Pinkie smiled.

“I don’t think her father ever directly told her to stop being my friend, but he sure did insinuate it to her,” Fluttershy said, “He said that she needed fast friends, not helpless ones; otherwise she would always be slowed down.”

“What about her mom?” Spike asked, “You seemed alright with her.”

“I don’t think her mother had anything to do with it,” Fluttershy said, “She was always so nice to me.”

“What happened after that?” Twilight asked, wanting to get back on track.

“She got in a big fight with her Dad, and eventually decided to move away from home,” Fluttershy said, “She said that she would become a Wonderbolt by herself, and that being the best wasn’t worth losing her best friend.”

“Good fer’ her!” Applejack beamed, proud that her friend would stand up to her father that way.

“There were some other things too that led to her leaving… But I never asked her about them,” Fluttershy finished, “It made her uncomfortable to talk about it.”

“I’ll have to ask her about this,” Alex said, “I’d be really interested to hear it all from her.”

“Then tell us after!” Pinkie shouted, “I wanna know too!”

“Do y’all think she’ll just… open up like that?” Applejack asked.

“Maybe not right away,” Alex said, “But I can get her to, I’m sure of it.”

“Good luck, dear,” Rarity laughed, “Try not to upset her too much.”

Suddenly, the front door was opened, and Rainbow Dash immediately walked inside.

“Hey Dashie!” Pinkie greeted, “How was your—“

Dash ignored her, and walked up the stairs, toward whatever room was hers.

“What’s up with her?” Alex asked, as Dash’s parents walked through the door a moment later.

“Welcome back,” Ramsley said slowly, “How was your time out…?”

“Well, it was going fine,” Flash explained, “But when we started asking her about becoming a Wonderbolt, she seemed to get a bit stiff.”

“And then when we asked her about her sexual orientation, she got even worse!” Firefly said, “I had so much hope when I saw her long hair, that she had started looking for a nice Pegasus to settle down with. But, she left the dinner table as soon as I brought it up!”

Everypony was silent.

“Perhaps she was just a bit overwhelmed,” Firefly suggested, “Let’s give her some time to herself, besides, the competition is tomorrow night.”

Flash nodded, “But we’re getting right back to it tomorrow morning!”

“Of course, dear,” Firefly rolled her eyes, “Now, why don’t we go to bed?”

“Which room was ours again?” Flash asked Ramsley.

“Oh, allow me to show you,” Ramsley said, walking up the stairs, “It’s just this way…”

“Do they know that Dash doesn’t want to become a Wonderbolt anymore?” Alex asked everypony quietly.

“If Dash didn’t mention her Wonderbolt training a few months ago, does that mean Ramsley hasn’t mentioned it to her parents either?” Twilight whispered, “Are they totally in the dark?”

“They just think they’re here for the competition, in hopes that it’ll bring Dash closer to becoming a Wonderbolt,” Alex theorized, “I don’t think Ramsley would explain all this stuff, I think he would just assume that they already knew, because Dash had told them. They are her parents after all.”

“So she’s probably going to be upset until she comes clean to her Mom and Dad.” Spike said.

“Maybe somepony should go talk to,” Fluttershy suggested, looking right to Alex.

“I’ll go, I’ll go,” Alex said, “Do you guys know which room she’s in?”

“The one at the far end of the left hall,” Twilight said, “That’s the opposite side from her parents. Mine is right next to theirs, I think.”

“Okay…” Alex said, thinking for a moment, “If they start heading for her room, let me know, okay?”

Twilight nodded, “I’ll keep my ears open.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, standing up, “Wish me luck, you guys!”

////

Alex quietly snuck down to Dash’s room, and knocked on the door that had her luggage sitting outside of it. She must have walked past it in her hurry.

“Who is it…?” Dash asked from the other side of the door, sounding a bit down.

“It’s Alex…” He whispered, looking cautiously over his shoulder.

Immediately she opened the door, and pulled him inside.

“Did my parents see you?!” Dash whispered harshly.

“No…” Alex said, tiling his head in confusion, “What’s up with all of this, anyway?”

Dash sighed, and walked over to her bed, “It’s a long story…”

“Fluttershy already filled us in a bit,” Alex said, hoping this wouldn’t upset her.

“That’s good,” Dash said, “I wouldn’t do well with telling that story myself.”

“You really don’t want to see them, huh?” Alex asked.

“It’s not that,” Dash sighed, “It’s just… I’ve become a new pony since I saw them last. And I don’t know how to tell them that I don’t want to become a Wonderbolt anymore.”

Alex nodded.

“They have no idea that I was in the training camp already, or that I gave up my place on the team, so that I could make out with you instead.” Dash explained, “It’s always been my Dads dream to see me on the Wonderbolts…”

“Wouldn’t he just want you to be happy, no matter what you do?” Alex asked.

“Honestly… I don’t know,” Dash sighed, “He’s always wanted me to be a Wonderbolt… And to be honest, so have I. It’s all just so complicated…”

“What about me…?” Alex asked a bit nervously, “Why didn’t you tell them that we were dating?”

“I prefer the term boy-toy,” Dash smiled, “Coltfriend is pushing it.”

“It would be pretty weird explaining that to them,” Alex admitted sarcastically, “Hey Mom and Dad! This is my lay!”

“Exactly.” Dash giggled, “But seriously… You’re not exactly the type that my father would choose for me.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow.

“I just need to take my time explaining it to him, that’s all.” Dash said, “I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings too much.”

Alex nodded, “I understand, besides, I’m pretty bad with ‘girls fathers’ in general.”

“I never would have guessed,” Dash laughed.

“Whatever you decide to do, just let me know,” Alex said, “I’ll back you up all the way.”

“Thanks,” Dash smiled.

“I’m going to head back to my room,” Alex said, seeing dash suddenly look ill, “Uh… What’s wrong?”

“I… I was kinda hoping you could spend the night again…” Dash admitted, “I didn’t sleep so well on the train.”

Alex understood, “I had the same problem… Was it because of Bolt?”

Dash nodded, “It woke me up a few times on the train ride over here.”

Alex completely understood.

“Are you sure it’s safe for us to do this? What if we get caught?” Alex asked, knowing that it might cause a sticky situation for her if either of her parents show up.

“I don’t think they’ll bother me,” Dash said, “They always used to give me space when I needed it… So I hope they’d do it again.”

“Alright,” Alex agreed, “I’ll stay the night; but no funny business!”

“Puh-lease,” Dash laughed, “You’re my boy-toy! You don’t get to say ‘no’!”

////

A few hours had passed, and Twilight sat in her room reading before she turned in. She had been listening for Dash’s parents, so that she could warn Alex in time to escape.

But, it didn’t seem like her parents were going to be coming out. They had talked for a few minutes, and then had broken out in some kind of argument. But, it ended rather quickly, with both of them apologizing to one another. From that point on, it had been quiet.

Looking at the clock, Twilight decided that it was too late for them to be going to check on Dash. So, she closed her book, and put it back in her bag.

However, just before she extinguished the light, she heard Firefly say something on the other side of the wall.

“I’m going to check on Dash,” She said, “I’ll be two minutes.”

“Alright,” Flash said groggily, clearly being woken up by her, “Take your time…”

Twilight immediately stood up, and ran to the door, before realizing that she couldn’t walk there, otherwise she’d be seen. So, she decided to teleport herself there.

Quickly casting the spell, she left her room, and appeared in Dash’s room.

“Alex!” Twilight whispered loudly as her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room. After a second, she was able to make out the two in bed.

“Oh, Twilight!” Dash said sitting up, “What’s up?”

“Your Mom is coming to check on you!” Twilight said, “Get him out of here!”

“I can teleport us out of here,” Twilight said, walking toward him.

“Don’t worry, I can do it,” Alex said, starting to cast the spell, but taking a moment longer than Twilight would have liked.

Suddenly, Firefly knocked on the door.

“Rainbow, are you still up?” She asked.

“Uh… Yeah!” Dash said, “One sec!”

“Alex, just let me teleport us!” Twilight said, seeing that he was taking too long.

“Is something going on in there?” Firefly asked, faintly hearing Twilight’s voice.

“N-no!” Dash lied.

“Well, I’m coming in!” Firefly announced.

Deciding that she had waited long enough, Twilight reached to grab Alex, but missed him, as his teleportation spell finally kicked in, teleporting him under the bed, and out of sight. Twilight then went on, to lose her balance, and fall face first on to Dash’s stomach, as Alex hadn’t been there to grab on to as she first intended.

“What’s going on in here—“ Firefly asked, seeing the two girls in the bed together, “Oh dear…”

“Nononono!” Dash said, as Twilight quickly righted herself, “It’s not like that!”

“Now, sweet heart, you know that I won’t judge you for liking girls!” Her mother said supportively.

“She’s just my friend!” Dash tried to explain, while Twilight blushed silently.

“Just a friend…?” Firefly asked, smiling coyly, “Well… To tell you the truth… I had a ‘friend’ like that when I was your age.”

“Mooooom…” Dash whined, really, really not wanting to hear this.

“But I still ended up with your father,” She continued, obviously nudging Dash in her direction, “So have fun, but keep your mind open!”

Alex lay silently under the bed, listening to Dash’s mother talk about her previous exploits with other mares. And all he could think was ‘Nice’

“Anywho! You girls have fun,” Firefly winked, walking out of the room and turning around, “I’ll see you in the morning, missy.”

She closed the door behind her, and left them alone in silence.

“I’m going to kill Alex,” Twilight whispered, her face still flushed as she stood up, “I’m. Going. To. Kill. Him.”

“Why?” Alex said, poking his head from under the bed.

Kick. Kick. Kick.

“I’m sorry…” Alex whimpered, “Whatever I did, I’ll never do it again.”

“Good.” Twilight huffed, “Next time YOU can get caught in that position!”

“No thanks,” Alex said, “It’d be super awkward.”

“Well, I’m going to bed,” Twilight said, “I’m not coming to help next time.”

Teleporting herself again, she left them alone.

Alex also teleported himself back to the top of the bed.

“I think it would have been better getting caught with you…” Dash sighed, lying back, “I just wanted to go to sleep…”

Alex nodded, “let’s just make sure that we aren’t caught next though… Your mom might think you’re a bit… easy.”

Dash simply closed her eyes, and pulled the covers over herself.

Alex got the message, and lay down next to her. Dash had her competition tomorrow, and a lot of confessing to do to her parents. Basically, she needed as much rest as she could get. So, he was going to be here for her, and make sure that she slept through the night peacefully. Tomorrow would be tough on her… But he was going to be here for her, no matter what.

Alex leaned forward and kissed the back of her head, “Goodnight, Colors.”

“ ‘Nite Spot.” Dash smiled, knowing that she was going to have a good rest tonight.

////

Sonic Rainboom

////
Sonic Rainboom
////

The next day, things had been awkward for pretty much everypony.

Twilight wasn’t speaking to Alex or Dash, for reasons that nopony knew. She wasn’t really angry, but was still frazzled.

Dash wasn’t talking to Alex, for fear of being discovered.

Alex had been sulking a bit, but quickly made a plan to fix his problems.

Spike and Ramsley went off to catch up.

And the rest of the girls went off and did their own things.

Over the next few hours, a lot of different things happened to the different groups of them, which eventually ended with all them in the stadium, during the middle of the competition, with Alex holding an unconscious Rainbow Dash, flying properly for the first time in his life.

Of course, that was the end. And everypony had a long way to go to get there.

////
Alex – Flash
////

Alex sat on the couch human style, with his hind legs up on the coffee table. Last night had been pretty great, besides being kicked by Twilight. However, it had also been eye opening. He hadn’t had the slightest idea that Dash’s parents had such a strange perception of her. And he felt bad for her.

So now, he was waiting for Flash to come downstairs, so he could try to bond with the guy, and perhaps smooth things out enough to come out as her boyfriend.

Everypony had gone out, leaving just the two of them in the mansion.

Spike had gone out with Ramsley to catch up, Rainbow Dash had already left for the competition, Fluttershy had gone out with Firefly, and the other girls had gone shopping. So, this would probably be Alex’s only opportunity to make friends with the man.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Flash made his way downstairs toward the living room where Alex currently sat.

Noticing the eerie silence, he turned to Alex.

“Is everypony out?”

Alex nodded, “It’s just the two of us here.”

Flash nodded, and sat down in a nearby chair.

“So, what’s your relationship with my daughter?” Flash asked seriously, catching Alex off guard.

Alex thought for a moment, perhaps he could just come out and say it right now. Pull off the Band-Aid right here. But, at the same time, he didn’t want to upset Dash.

“We’re friends,” Alex shrugged, “Nothing special.”

Flash nodded, whilst looking Alex over.

“You a good flier?” Flash asked, noting his wings and horn.

“Not so much,” Alex answered nervously, knowing that wasn’t the kind of answer he wanted.

“Well… You have the horn too,” Flash said, “You do magic?”

“Some,” Alex said, scratching the back of his head, “Still learning…”

“Why don’t you have a cutie mark?” Flash pressed, “No talent?”

Alex was about to tell him it was because he was a human, and only became a pony recently. However, that might have had a negative impact.

“Nope,” Alex answered simply, “No idea yet.”

“That’s a bit sad,” Flash said, leaning back and relaxing.

Alex shrugged, “I’ll find it soon, I’m sure.”

Silence filled the air, and Alex could feel the clock start ticking. He needed to keep moving with this. The competition was in a few hours, and he was sure that they’d be leaving sooner rather than later.

“So, what was Dash like when she was a filly?” Alex asked, hoping this wasn’t an intrusion.

“More than I could handle,” Flash laughed softly, closing his eyes, “She was always zipping around.”

“Sounds like her today,” Alex joked.

“I wouldn’t really know,” Flash sighed, “I haven’t seen her in years.”

Alex didn’t respond.

“The girl is such a good flier… why did she leave, when she had a ticket to join the Wonderbolts?” Flash continued, “Her mother told me that it was a maturity thing… It still makes me sad.”

Flash’s sudden openness made Alex a bit uncomfortable, especially since he knew that Dash wouldn’t be becoming a Wonderbolt any time soon.

It made him feel kinda guilty.

“Who knows though,” Flash sighed happily, “Maybe today is the day.”

“Yeah…” Alex said quietly.

“And on top of that, I know a stallion that’s also competing in today’s competition,” Flash explained, “And I’m hoping that I can get the two set up together.”

“Come again?”

////
Spike – Ramsley
////

“What ever happened to Tulip?” Spike asked, “You know, the big guy that helped us escape?”

“Oh, he moved,” Ramsley said, “After you gave him that speech about love, he ran off in search of it.”

“That’s sweet!” Spike smiled, “I’m glad I could do that for him.”

“I am as well,” Ramsley agreed.

“Oh!” Spike said quickly, “And what about that creepy dude? Cuddly Bear?”

“Nopony has seen him since you all went home,” Ramsley shrugged, “I assume he got another job.”

Spike shrugged, then tried to think up a new line of conversation.

“How’s Comet been?” Spike asked, taking a bite out of the pizza Ramsley had just bought him.

“Well, she’s been doing better,” Ramsley answered, taking a quick sip of water, “Over the past couple months; she’s been much more popular with the Wonderbolts.”

“That’s good to hear,” Spike smiled, “But… How have the TWO of you been.”

Ramsley rolled his eyes, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

“I would!” Spike said, hoping to find out how they had been doing as a couple, or if it hadn’t worked out.

“Simply, I have been helping her with locating the old aspects of herself,” Ramsley explained, hoping his words weren’t too big for Spike, “But… nothing has happened besides that.”

“Ohhh,” Spike said, nodding slowly.

“What?” Ramsley asked, “Is that not okay?”

“I just thought you two would have been a couple, that’s all!” Spike explained, “I thought for sure that you two were gonna work things out.”

“Well, for your information,” Ramsley began, not stopping to think, “I’ve tried plenty of times to reinitiate our courtship, but she had so far been… unresponsive.”

“Oh!” Spike nodded, “She’s playing hard to get!”

“Hard to get?” Ramsley asked, not having considered this option, “Why do you say that?”

“Well, that’s how all girls are!” Spike explained, “But listen! I know exactly how every girl can be… And I can help you.”

“You, can help me?” Ramsley asked, trying not to laugh.

“Of course!” Spike said confidently, “Listen, if you follow my instructions, I can get you two together!”

Ramsley squinted at Spike. He wanted to say ‘no.’ Every fiber of his being was screaming ‘don’t do it!’ But… Spike had landed himself one of the most attractive mares he had ever seen. So, maybe he did know a thing or two.

“Alright…” Ramsley said, unsure of this decision, “Teach me your ways, Spike.”

“Perfect!” Spike said jumping up, “Follow me! We need to go get you a big top hat!”

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

////
The Girls
////

“Wow!” Rarity said, looking at another rack of clothing, “Look at how good this dress looks!”

“You should make one that looks like it!” Pinkie said.

“I’m an ORIGINAL mare, Pinkie,” Rarity explained, “I couldn’t just rip off somepony’s work.”

“Oh!” Applejack said, “Look at this one!”

“It’s really nice,” Twilight agreed.

And so the girls kept… Shopping…

////
Rainbow Dash
////

Dash looked at the stadium in front of her.

She had come early so she could get reacquainted with the area. Of course, she hadn’t been here all that long ago.

Spreading her wings, she started flapping them, preparing to take off. However, before she had the chance, she was interrupted.

“Would you look at who it is!” The voice said from behind her, “Rainbow Dash.”

Turning around, Dash felt her stomach drop

“T-Tempest?” Dash managed, seeing the large blue Pegasus standing behind her.

“You’ve grown up quite a bit, haven’t you?” He said casually, as he eyed her up, “You look good.”

Dash looked away, hiding the faint blush he had elicited from her.

Tempest was the first boy she ever had a crush on. They had grown up in Cloudsdale together. He had been a few years older than her, and had always been a better flier than her. So, naturally, she had looked up to him. There hadn’t been much in the way of communication between them, besides the odd conversations every now and then. Of course, Dash had loved their few conversations, no matter how short they had been.

He had aged well for himself as well, Dash had to admit. He was muscular, good-looking, and probably, an amazing flier.

“You’re here for the competition, right?” Tempest asked, as Dash finally remade eye contact.

“Yeah,” Dash answered, “I was invited by the team manager.”

“You know Comet?” Tempest asked, “She’s my aunt.”

“Really?” Dash asked casually, “Small world, huh?”

“How do you know her?” Tempest asked.

“Uh…” Dash said, thinking for a moment.

If Tempest was here, that meant that her own parents HAD to know too. So she couldn’t exactly come out and tell him that she had almost become a Wonderbolt already. It was sort of surprising that nopony had heard about her and Alex on the field during the race.

Oh well.

“Acquaintance,” Dash lied, “Met her downtown!”

“Right, well,” Tempest said, pushing the conversation in a new direction, “How would you like to do something after the competition with me?”

Dash immediately flushed. She was flattered, for sure, but she had no intention of doing anything with him.

“No…” Dash said, trying not to sound too obvious, “I’ll probably be pretty tired…”

“Come on,” Tempest pushed, “You’d look pretty good, being out with the winner.”

“Look, I already told—“ Dash said, before catching herself, “What was that last part?”

“Being out with the winner?” Tempest asked.

“You think that… you’re going to win?” Dash asked, cocking her head, “Do you know who I am?”

“Listen, doll,” Tempest said cockily, “Just because you’re cute, doesn’t mean I’m going to let you win.”

Dash was in a foreign situation to her. Normally, it was her that was mouthing off, and being way too overconfident. But hearing this guy talk made her realize that she must have sounded like a major jerk whenever she had this attitude.

“How about this,” Dash feigned a smile, “If you win, I’ll go out with you.”

“That was easy,” Tempest grinned, “I’m glad you got the idea… Some girls can be so slow, you know?”

Dash frowned.

“Well, I’m going to get ready,” Tempest said walking past her, “I’ll see you in a few hours, sweet heart.”

Maybe she was getting too involved in this lie. Maybe it would just be easier to just come out and be honest about Alex… Na. Not yet.

Sighing, Dash briefly looked to him, and then continued her inspection of the field. Her flight plan would be simple. Some loops, some weaves, and a Sonic Rainboom or two to finish it off.

This would be a piece of cake.

////
?
////

“The targets will soon converge,” He said.

“Good,” The Boss said, “You know what to do then.”

“Rain hell down, and see their responsive capabilities,” He smiled.

“Report back afterward, and don’t get spotted.”

“Don’t worry about me,” He laughed, “I’m not about to be spotted by a bunch of Equestrians.”

////
Spike – Ramsley
////

Ramsley and Spike stood outside of the manager office, quietly discussing how Ramsley was going to go about picking up the mare they had fought so hard against, just a few months ago.

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Ramsley asked, brushing his dark purple suit, “This outfit seems ridiculous.”

“What do you mean?” Spike asked, “That’s the same color as my coat! I’ve been told it’s an adorable color.”

“…I think you’ve been lied to.” Ramsley said absentmindedly, before finally looking determinedly up from the suit, “Alright, let’s do this.”

“Now remember!” Spike said quickly, “You need to be cool, and you need to talk to her in SMALL words.”

Ramsley nodded, and started heading toward the door.

“And stop acting so high and mighty!” Spike added, “You do that a lot!”

Ramsley shot him a look, as he quickly knocked on the door.

“Come in!” Comet called.

Ramsley walked into the room, and Saw Comet with her back turned, looking out the window, at Rainbow Dash as she took a few high speed laps around the track.

“Hey, Chaser,” Ramsley said nonchalantly, trying out Spike’s advice about apathy toward women.

“Hey Ram,” She answered happily, still watching Dash.

“How’s it going… Good lookin’?” Ramsley said, following another piece of Spikes advice, by using the most endearing terms he could think of.

“Good looking?” Comet asked, turning around and immediately cracking up, “W-what are you wearing?”

“A… Fancy suit…” Ramsley said, quickly losing his confidence.

“Why are you wearing it…?” She asked, holding back all out laughter.

“For the competition!” Ramsley lied, “Why else?”

Comet bit her lip as she looked him over, “It’s a cute color at least.”

Outside the room, Spike was nodding confidently. It was the CUTEST color.

“So… What did you need again?” Comet asked, grinning.

“I wanted to ask you… if…” Ramsley said, tripping himself up.

“If…?” She asked, looking at him oddly, holding her breath.

“If… I could borrow some tissue…” Ramsley said quietly.

“Oh, sure,” Comet said, biting a piece of tissue out of the box in front of her, and lightly tossing it to him.

“Thanks…!” Ramsley said, quickly backing out of the room.

“Oh, Ram!” Comet called, seeing his fast retreat, “Don’t forget that you and all of your guests are gonna be in the VIP box with me.”

“I already told them!” Ram called, not looking back to her, as he closed the door behind him.

“What was that?!” Spike asked, completely lost at Ramsley’s inability to ask her out, “I thought you were more confident than this!”

“Not when it comes to her, okay?” Ramsley said quickly, “I just need some time to build up my courage… I’ll do it at the game tonight.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that didn’t happen,” Spike said, earning a sigh from Ramsley, “I thought you said that she had been ‘unresponsive!’”

“Okay, well that MAY have been a lie.”

Spike sighed, “Come on; let’s go work on your technique.”

////
Fluttershy – Firefly
////

“So dear,” Firefly said, sipping her drink, “How have things been in Ponyville for you?”

“They’ve been wonderful!” Fluttershy answered, “I’ve made so many wonderful friends!”

“Great,” Firefly smiled, “You did have a bit of trouble making those in Cloudsdale.”

“Everypony was so focused on flying!” Fluttershy giggled, “I was more interested in sitting around.”

“You were a very different pony from them…” Firefly said absentmindedly, “But you seem much more open now.”

“Thanks!” Fluttershy smiled, “I’ve been trying my best to be a more involved mare.”

“That’s good to hear,” Firefly smiled, “And how has Rainbow Dash been? She speaks to us so little these days…”

“Well, since she started dating Alex it’s been…” Fluttershy stopped.

“Pardon?” Firefly asked immediately

Fluttershy didn’t know what to say… She had just revealed the ONE thing Dash had wanted her to keep quiet… And she let it go so easily!

“Is Rainbow Dash dating that white stallion we met yesterday?” Firefly asked in surprise.

Fluttershy nodded slowly.

“Why did she try to keep that from us?” Firefly asked simply, not dwelling on the fact that Fluttershy had withheld that piece of information from her.

“Um… I think it’s the details behind him that she lied over…” Fluttershy said quietly.

“How much is Rainbow Dash keeping from us?” Firefly asked seriously.

Fluttershy looked at the ground, “I can’t say… Sorry…”

That was fair. Rainbow Dash trusted Fluttershy to keep that secret for her. And even though Firefly knew that she could force it out of her by begging, she decided not to. It would just give Dash another reason to just ignore her and her husband.

“Would it be too much to ask if maybe… You’d pretend I hadn’t told you that?” Fluttershy asked quietly, “I think she’s going to tell you tonight…”

“Sure thing,” Firefly said, “However… There might be one problem.”

“What’s that?” Fluttershy asked.

“Do you remember Tempest from when you were a filly?” Firefly asked, “The colt that Dash would always fawn over?”

“I do!” Fluttershy said, “I had such a big crush on him…”

“Well, he’s competing this year,” Firefly explained, “And my husband and I, may have told him to try and… pick her up.”

“Oh.” Fluttershy said simply.

“He’s convinced that after she sees his amazing flying skills, she’ll instantly fall for him.” Firefly laughed, “He’s sure he’s going to win.”

“I don’t mean him any offense…” Fluttershy said timidly, “But Rainbow Dash is going to leave him in the dust.”

Firefly smiled, “I guess we have nothing to worry about then.”

////
Alex – Flash
////

Flash had gotten up, and decided to go check out the shopping. And of course, Alex followed him out.

Walking through the shopping district of Manehattan, Alex and Flash had simply chatted about whatever came to Flash’s mind. Alex had tried to steer the conversation back to the pony that was competing in the competition that was going to try and pick up Dash. However, he didn’t want to look to obvious.

Something else that had been happening a lot was that random ponies would approach them, and tell them that they looked cute together. It had happened several times, and Flash was getting annoyed with it.

“What is with these ponies?” Flash asked, fairly irritated, “Why do they all think that either we’re gay, or I’m a mare?”

Of course, Alex had a good idea why they had been getting this attention from everypony. They had probably all been at the entry race for the Wonderbolts… And they remembered Alex making out with a pony that had a RAINBOW mane. So, most of them had just figured that they had gotten the details wrong, concerning the gender of the rainbow pony.

“I guess we just have that aura about us,” Alex said simply, as they were approached by yet another mare.

“I saw that race with you two in it!” She said quickly, “The way you two kissed each other was so sweet!”

Flash recoiled.

Alex sighed, “I think you have us confused with two other ponies.”

“I remember that spot on your wing!” She said, “And you have no Cutie Mark, AND you’re an alicorn.”

Flash eyed Alex.

“I don’t know what to say!” Alex lied, surprisingly well, “It’s just a coincidence.”

Finally accepting that answer, the girl gave a small ‘aww,’ and then headed back to the girl she had been traveling with.

“That mare sure had you pegged.” Flash laughed, “But if that wasn’t you, let’s hope that he’s not the evil twin.”

Alex laughed nervously, the evil twin comment hit a bit close to home.

“Geez, would you look at the time?” Flash asked, looking up at a clock tower, “We should probably start heading toward the stadium.”

Alex glanced up and smiled. He was pretty excited to see her perform again.

“Let’s just grab some food first,” Alex said, walking into a fast food restaurant they had just passed, with Flash in tow.

Entering, Alex walked up to the register, and rung the bell.

Then, the last pony Alex expected to see walked out from the back, dressed in a striped white outfit, with a yellow cap.

“Welcome to McBucks…” He said, looking up from the ground, “What can I get— Oh, great.”

“…Jango?” Alex asked, in shock, “Y-you work here?”

Jango simply growled.

“What’s with you two?” Flash asked, looking between them.

“Get out of here before I kick you out myself,” Jango threatened.

“Don’t get angry at me!” Alex retorted, “You’re the one that pushed ME out of a blimp!”

“What?” Flash asked, “Blimp?”

Walking from behind the counter, Jango moved himself right into Alex’s face.

“I was just doing my job! To protect the Wonderbolts!” Jango growled, “Besides, that reunited you and your friend in the end.”

“It did,” Alex nodded simply.

“You’re just lucky that your evil twin came to rescue when he did,” Jango said, turning around walking behind the counter again.

“I guess I am.” Alex agreed, seeing that Jango really didn’t want to fight at this point.

“Don’t just stand around,” Jango said, “I’m not serving you, so just go.”

“Fine,” Alex said, still watching Jango, “We’ll be late for the competition anyway.”

Flash simply nodded, not wanting these two to get in any kind of fight.

As they walked away from the McBucks, Flash couldn’t help but notice a complete shift in Alex’s persona. He was deadly serious right now. Something had gone on between them… Something involving the Wonderbolts, an evil twin, and his ‘friend.’

Flash really REALLY wanted to ask… But he was kinda afraid of what he would hear.

////
Rainbow Dash
////

Dash stood in the dressing room alone. The competition was going to start soon, but her head been flooded with all of the memories she had experienced here.

How many times had she gotten in this dressing room?

How many times had she flown around the track outside?

How many times had she cried herself to sleep in this place?

So much had happened here.

“Rainbow Dash?” A voice said from behind her.

Dash didn’t want to turn around. It was Comet.

“I-I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable…” Comet said softly.

Dash was silent.

Comet nodded silently and then turned around. She hadn’t expected Dash to have forgiven her… but it was worth a try.

“I’m fine…” Dash said, “I’ll see you when the competition starts.”

Comet smiled to herself.

“Alright,” She answered, walking out. She would have stayed behind to talk to her more… But she also didn’t want to smother her.

As soon as Dash heard the door close, she thought back to the first time she had met Comet… It had been just after she came to the Wonderbolt training center for the first time.

Comet had been addressing the trainees, when one of the recruiters whispered in her ear.

Comet had then turned to Dash, and silently looked her over. It had been one of the most nerve racking moments of her entire life. She thought she had done something wrong, and was about to be kicked out.

Instead, Comet had simply gone back to addressing everypony.

Pretty quickly, Dash had figured out that Comet was being informed of her amazing racing stats. That had been why she held on to her so tightly when Alex shown up.

Still, it didn’t matter how much she thought her intentions were worth. Dash couldn’t look past what she had done just yet.

////
?
////

He walked through the streets toward his attack point, the time was coming, and maybe he would get lucky, and everypony would just die here. Every variable had been planned. The Princesses wouldn’t hear word of this until extensive damage had been done to the town. So, it would be up to the bearers of the Elements of Harmony to stop this themselves. However, there really wasn’t much any of them could do, besides the unicorns of the group.

Much damage would be done.

He was sure there would be good news for the boss.

////
Fluttershy – Firefly
////

“So…” Firefly said, “What exactly have Rainbow and Alex done?”

“I’ve seen them kiss a lot,” Fluttershy said, figuring that since the cat was out the bag, she could fill Firefly in on the juicy details, just as long as she didn’t say anything too important, “He’s been sleeping with her for the past few days as well.”

“My, Fluttershy!” Firefly giggled, “That was forward of you!”

“Oh!” Fluttershy immediately blushed, “I really mean that they’ve have been SLEEPING together for a couple days now… I don’t know about all that other stuff.”

“They just started recently, hmm?” Firefly asked, grinning, and taking another sip of her drink, “When exactly was that?”

“Since they discovered Princess Luna’s long lost Great-Great-Great Granddaughter I guess.” Fluttershy answered simply.

Firefly almost spat her drink all over Fluttershy, but swallowed so she could speak, “They did… What?!”

“Oh, you didn’t hear?” Fluttershy asked, “Princess Luna, and a young filly in Ponyville are related!”

“How did Rainbow Dash find that out?” Firefly asked in awe.

“Time travel,” Fluttershy smiled innocently.

This time, Firefly DID spit out her drink all over poor Fluttershy.

////
Spike – Ramsley
////

“Alright,” Spike said, “She’s sitting RIGHT there… Go get her!”

“I- I don’t know…” Ramsley said quickly.

Spike and Ramsley were in the hallway that led to the VIP box, looking through the clear glass window attacked to the door, at Comet, who was simply watching the various ponies warm up.

“Be a man!” Spike whined, “A few hours ago, you were begging for my help!”

“That’s not how I recall it,” Ramsley answered.

“Well I do!” Spike said, “And I’m the boss!”

Ramsley sighed, “Fine. What do I do next?”

“Go in there, and ask her out!” Spike said, “Chicks dig confidence! And also, don’t burp in front of them.”

Rolling his eyes, Ramsley walked over to the door, “I’ll try not to ‘burp’ then.”

Opening it, he walked in.

As soon as the door closed again, Spike pressed his face against the glass. This was the most fun he had had in weeks.

////
The Girls
////

“Ah’ can’t believe how many bags you have, Rarity!” Applejack said, seeing more than a dozen bags floating around Rarity as they walked toward the stadium, “Ah’ don’t think Ah’ve bought that much in mah’ entire life!”

“Then we need to go out more often!” Rarity laughed.

“Where are you going to put everything?” Twilight asked, “I don’t think the stadium has enough room.”

“We’re in the VIP lounge, Dear!” Rarity said, “It’ll have plenty of room.”

“Oh yeah,” Twilight said, “At least we’re not crashing into the place on a blimp this time!”

“Why?” Pinkie asked, “It was so much fun!”

“We have very different definitions of ‘fun.’” Twilight laughed.

“You’ve gotta admit,” Applejack said, “It was pretty excitin’!”

“Even I enjoyed myself,” Rarity agreed.

“Well…” Twilight said, “After we safely got back to the ground, it was pretty fun.”

“Especially when we got to see Alex and Dashie suckin’ face!” Pinkie giggled.

After a few more minutes of idle conversation, they finally arrived at the stadium, and made their way to the VIP lounge. But strangely, when they arrived, Spike had his face pressed against the glass, watching whatever was happening inside.

“Spike?” Twilight asked, “What are you doing?”

“Shhh!” Spike said, “Come look!”

Walking over, they all peered through the large glass at Ramsley and Comet.

“What are they doing?” Pinkie asked quietly.

“I think he’s about to ask her out!” Spike said giddily.

Suddenly they all had their faces pressed to the glass. Everypony wanted to see this.

////
Alex – Flash
////

Alex and Flash were about to enter the stadium, when the rainbow pony suddenly stopped, confusing Alex.

“What’s up?” Alex asked, seeing the hard look on Flash’s face.

“What was all that?” He asked, finally having gotten his courage up, “Back at McBucks.”

“Oh,” Alex said, surprised that Flash hadn’t asked earlier, “It was something that happened a while ago.”

“What exactly happened?” Flash asked, determined to know what was going on.

Alex wasn’t sure whether he was allowed to say… Maybe he could, if he just omitted the parts about Rainbow Dash.

“Well,” Alex began, satisfied with his organized thoughts, “My friend was competing in a Wonderbolts entry race… And I was pushed out of a blimp, and landed on her.”

“Why does that sound like a load of crap to me?” Flash asked.

“Probably the blimp part,” Alex laughed.

“So?” He asked again.

“Everything will be explained later… I think.” Alex said, “Just wait, and if you don’t know by the time we leave tomorrow night, I’ll tell you myself.”

This confused Flash.

It sounded like he was involved in all of this somehow.

“Look,” Flash said, “I just wanted to know, because you’re obviously not the pony I thought you were.”

“I’m barely a pony, sir,” Alex said, being more truthful then Flash knew.

“I can see that,” He laughed, “Come on, let’s go see Dash do her thing.”

Walking inside, they followed the instructions they had received toward the VIP lounge, where they saw a group of their friends standing in the hall, looking through a window.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked them.

“Shhhh!” They all said in unison.

“Ram is gonna’ ask out Comet!” Applejack said quickly, not looking away.

“I’m in!” Alex said, lamely flapping his wings, and making his way over to the window.

Flash wasn’t sure what the huge deal was about, regarding those two… But he wasn’t going to be the only pony NOT looking in the window.

////
Fluttershy – Firefly
////

“I have a great time with you today,” Fluttershy smiled, as she and Firefly walked through the stadium toward the VIP box they were going to sit in, “We should get together more often.”

“I agree,” Firefly smiled, “Cloudsdale isn’t too far from Ponyville.”

“Maybe I can even bring Dash along with me,” Fluttershy suggested, “Well… If she wants too.”

“I’m sure we could convince her.” Firefly said, “But then again, if she becomes a Wonderbolt… She might be too busy.”

Fluttershy frowned. She felt bad for withholding this from Firefly… But she was sure that Dash would come clean tonight… She hoped.

“Hey look,” Firefly said, “There’s everypony.”

Fluttershy cocked her head, “What are they all looking at?”

“They’re gonna do it!” Pinkie squeaked.

Fluttershy and Firefly looked at each other, then back to the group.

“Flashie!” Firefly said to her husband, “What’s going on?”

“These two are going to kiss or something…” He said, his eyes glued to the window.

“Good enough for me!” Firefly said, walking next to Flash.

“Um… Okay.” Fluttershy said, squeezing herself in.

////
Rainbow Dash
////

Rainbow stood in the group of ponies that she was competing with.

The lineup had been pretty simple. Tempest was going to go first, and Rainbow Dash was slated to go second. The other twenty-or-so competitors would go after them.

“You ready to see everypony quit?” Tempest asked Dash confidently.

“And why would everypony quit?” Dash asked.

“Nopony is going to want to go after me, sweet cheeks,” Tempest grinned, “They don’t stand a chance.”

“For sure,” Dash said, “I’m excited to see you blow me away.”

“And when I win that date with you, you’ll be the one doing the blowing!” He laughed.

Dash frowned. This guy was an ass.

////
Ramsley - Comet
////

“Why did you come in here alone again?” Comet asked, since Ramsley had come into the room, and started discussing the nice color of the grass on the field.

“The grass isn’t a good enough conversation for you?” Ramsley laughed nervously, sweating more than he ever had.

“Look…” Comet said, “I think I get it.”

“Get it?” Ramsley asked, suddenly short of breath.

“I know why you’ve been acting so weird around me.” She said flatly.

“Y-you do…?” Ramsley said, gulping.

“Yes,” Comet said, “You want your old job back as head of security, right?”

“…Come again?” Ramsley asked.

“I don’t have that kind of control over the security,” Comet said, “The security is owned by the stadium, not by the Wonderbolts, since we just rent the space.”

Ramsley was quiet. He didn’t want to correct her, and make her sound stupid.

“So… I’m sorry Ram.” She said earnestly, “But… I think I can make it up to you.”

“Make it up…?” He asked, liking where this might be going.

“Why don’t I treat you to dinner?” She asked, smiling.

Ramsley looked toward the window, to give Spike a nod of confidence. However, he was shocked to see eight pairs of eyes peering at him.

Turning back to her, he smiled awkwardly.

“I would love to go out with you!” He said, seeing her perk up at his acceptance, “But… To be honest, I never wanted my job back.”

“I know,” Comet sighed happily, “I just needed an excuse to ask you out, since you were never gonna do it for me.”

“That is true…” Ramsley admitted, “I’m not the confidant pony that I used to be, that is for sure…”

“And now everypony is watching through the window, expecting something to happen between us,” Comet said, gesturing behind her.

Ramsley shook his head. “They are quite the group.”

“I can see why you like them,” She smiled, “Block the window.”

////
Everypony Else
////

The anticipation had reached its climax, as Comet slowly inched her way toward Ramsley. They all held their breath as he small gap closed between the two. However, just before anypony was able to see anything, Ramsley cast a spell, and covered the window they were peeking through with a large poster that had been on the wall, preventing them all from seeing the one thing they had all been dying to see.

After a few seconds passed, the poster fell, and revealed a very satisfied looking Ramsley.

The collective groan from the group was loud enough to hear clearly in the room.

“Well THAT was a waste of my time,” Flash grumbled.

“At least he did it!” Spike said proudly, “…I think.”

“Good for them,” Twilight said, “She may have locked us all in a dungeon, but it’s nice to see her turn over a new leaf.”

“Ah’ agree!” Applejack smiled.

“Well, if nothing’s going to happen, let’s just go into the booth.” Alex said, “I don’t want to miss Dash just because we all got wrapped up in this.”

“Me neither!” Pinkie agreed.

So, the group filed into the room, each of them giving Ramsley and Comet a knowing glance. Something the two relished in.

“What does the order look like?” Firefly asked Comet.

“First up is…” Comet began, looking at a clip board in front of her, “Tempest… Then Rainbow Dash.”

“Nice and early,” Alex smiled, “I hate having to sit around and wait on this kind of stuff.”

////
Rainbow Dash
////

Dash thought to herself.

She had realized something a few minutes ago. Something that was more than likely going to blow her cover with her parents.

Before each competitor went, the announcer would read a small segment about them, introducing them to the audience. Of course, if the guy was going to read anything about her, it was more than likely going to be about her exploits the last time she was in Manehattan.

Sighing, Dash decided to let whatever happen, happen. It was too late now. She sure had gone through a lot just to be figured out so fast...

“Well, it looks like it’s just about my turn to go,” Tempest said walking up to her.

“Don’t break a wing or anything.” Dash said simply.

“Competitor one!” A mare called from the entrance to the arena.

“That’s me!” Tempest smiled, walking away.

“Good luck, Tempest!” Dash called, watching the pony confidently trot out of the room. She was pretty curious to see how far he had come since they were kids. Of course, she wasn’t worried about losing to him in any sense. After all, she had almost become a Wonderbolt herself.

Walking toward the entryway, she watched the crowd cheer as he came out, followed shortly by the announcer telling the audience his name, and a bit of his background. Shortly after, she watched him bolt into the sky, at a rather impressive speed. Well… Impressive for an average pony.

The obstacles that had been set up for him were simplistic. He waved between some clouds, did a few barrel rolls, and even managed to get a streak of color behind him. And then, to finish his act, he started flying laps around the arena, keeping himself rather close to the audience as he went.

His speed increased so much, that he was starting to make some seriously powerful gusts of wind as he lapped. Slowly, he started to tighten his loops, forcing the wind to follow him into a tighter area. Until it was spinning quickly in the middle of the arena, making a small tornado, that once he was satisfied with it, he flew high into the air, and then plummeted right into the center of it, dispersing the wind away, and destroying the tornado.

The crowd erupted into cheering as soon as he landed.

Dash simply nodded. He was good. And he would have definitely been the kind of guy she would have been interested in, had she not already been with somepony that stomped all over this guy.

After the applause finally calmed down, Tempest walked back into the room, with his chest puffed out further than anypony would think possible.

“How did you like that, ladies?” He asked the room, full of now VERY nervous ponies, well, save Dash, “So sweet heart, you ready to accept that date?”

“You’ve gotta give me a chance to try and beat you first!” Dash said, pretending that she was also stunned by his display.

“Give it your best shot,” He laughed, “I don’t expect too much, though.”

“Geez, fine!” Dash said, walking out the door.

Walking through the tunnel, Dash heard a faint rumbling in the distance.

“Is that thunder?” She asked herself, as she reached the field, and looked up. The sky looked clear, so she decided that it must have been the audience.

“Well, would you look who it is!” The announcer called over the speaker system, “We all remember THIS pony!”

Dash cringed. Here it came. The big reveal.

“So, since we all remember her, I won’t waste time by talking about everything she did a few months ago!” He continued, “Whenever you’re ready, Rainbow Dash!”

Everything went better than expected.

Leaning forward, Dash smiled to herself, and then took off.

////
Everypony Else
////

“Did anypony hear that?” Alex asked, hearing a deep rumbling.

“Is that thunder?” Comet asked, leaning forward, and looking up at the clear blue sky, “It’s supposed to be sunny today.”

“Maybe it’s something else,” Ramsley suggested, “Who knows what’s going on outside.”

Everypony quietly agreed with him, but they all had a rather foreboding feeling.

Tempest had just gone back in the stadium to a roaring cheer. He had done well, but everypony knew Dash would trump him. Well, everypony except her parents. It was a bit sad that they were the only two that didn’t fully understand her skill.

“Does anypony know what Dash was planning on doing?” Flash asked, waiting for her to come out of the stadium.

“I think she said she was going to rotate some clouds…” Fluttershy recalled, “Evade some obstacles… And finish with a Sonic Rainboom?”

Flash and Firefly both started laughing at the mention of ‘Sonic Rainboom.’

“What?” Applejack asked, looking between them.

“Is she still going on about that ‘Sonic Rainboom,’” Flash laughed, giving air-quotations on the term.

“She was so convinced she had done it, even her friends believed her.” Firefly giggled.

Everypony else looked back and forth. Each of them had heard Dash mention doing a Sonic Rainboom at one point or another, and they all just assumed that she was capable of pulling it off... Could that have been made up? But… at the same time, Dash was a VERY capable pony, and her parents seemed to have a bit of a skewed picture of her in their minds.

“Oh look, there’s Dashie!” Pinkie said, pointing to the cyan pony exiting the interior of the stadium.

“Well, would you look who it is!” The announcer said, as Alex suddenly gulped, hoping he wasn’t about to be exposed to her parents, “We all remember THIS pony!”

Alex cringed, here it came.

“So, since we all remember her, I won’t waste time by talking about everything she did a few months ago!” He laughed, “Whenever you’re ready, Rainbow Dash!”

Everything went better than expected.

“Well, there she goes!” Rarity said, looking following her as she flew around the track, dodging various obstacles around the track in a very stylish manner.

“She looks like she’s doing well,” Comet said.

“Did you expect any less?” Alex asked, not taking his eyes off Dash.

“No,” Comet said softly, smiling.

Flash and Firefly simply watched in awe. Dash was better than they thought she would have been.

////
?
////

“Such a talented pony,” He said, standing on the roof of a nearby building, “It’s a shame…”

Pointing his horn to the sky, he cast the spell as he had been instructed.

Then suddenly, a small rip appeared in the sky miles in the sky, invisible to anypony who wasn’t looking right at it, and thousands of black clouds started pouring downward, toward the arena.

The clouds had almost given him away when their collective rumbling could be heard beyond the spell. But, they quieted down.

“Let’s see what gets done,” He smiled.

The clashes and bolts started instantly, as the storm announced itself.

And now, he was going to sit back, and enjoy the show.

////
Rainbow Dash
////

Dash had reached an impressive altitude, as all the clouds surrounding her were spinning in circles. A very difficult maneuver to pull off, but she had done it.

“This is it…” Dash smiled, looking at the ground below her, “Hit the Rainboom… Do a lap… And then stop on the finish line.”

Dash had been so focused on the ground below her, that she failed to notice the mass of clouds above her that had now blocked out the sun.

Perhaps if Dash had taken off right away, or had heard the deep rumbling of the clouds, she could have moved in time. Unfortunately, she simply didn’t.

The last thing she remembered from her place in the sky, was a horrible pain to her back and left wing, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

It didn’t knock her out… But it stunned her enough to have no idea that she was plummeting to the ground.

////
Everypony else
////

“Dash!” Flash shouted, seeing the blast hit her.

“She’s falling!” Firefly gasped.

“Does this damn window open?” Flash shouted at Comet, as he banged on the glass.

“It… It doesn’t,” Comet said in awe, still looking at Dash.

“Nopony could get to her through that storm,” Ramsley said, looking at the now constant blasts of lightning passing by the falling pony, “What’s going on…?”

Instantly, the glass shattered, as Alex ran out the opening, and took off into the sky, flying properly for the first time.

He felt the bolts blast past him and make contact with the stadium ground, and stands. But he didn’t care what was happening below, he needed to help Dash.

Closing the distance, quickly Alex reached out his arms, and started falling himself, so he could compensate for her falling speed. And finally, he had her land on her back in his arms.

Propping her limp head up to his shoulder, he could feel her breath on his neck.

“Thank Celestia,” Alex sighed, as a blast of energy tried to make contact with him, but simply bounced back in the direction it had come. He wasn’t about to let some lightning hurt the two of them anymore.

Alex looked up the thick coat of black that now covered all of Manehattan. The bolts were relentlessly blasting the city around him, doing some real damage to the buildings.

Looking down to the stadium, Alex could easily see black marks covering the ground, even at his high altitude, where he was managing to keep himself airborne fairly well.

Something quickly caught his eye. Something he had initially thought to be a black spot was moving… It was flying toward him.

After some squinting, he quickly realized it was Princess Luna. He didn’t even know that she was here.

“Alex!” She shouted through the claps, quickly reaching him, “Take her to safety!”

“What’s going on?” Alex shouted back, “Who did this?”

“We can speculate on such matters later!” She returned, “Whoever did this, obviously did not know that I can easily manipulate weather!”

“Okay!” Alex shouted back to her.

“Whatever spell you were using to deflect the energy, you need to expand it as far as possible!” Luna shouted again, “Protect everypony until I finish my spell!”

Closing his eyes, Alex transported himself to the ground, where he gently placed Dash on the ground.

At first, he had considered making a bubble to protect the ground from the storm, but it would have been impractical. So, instead, he cast a white sheet of magic as far as he could. Unfortunately, that still wasn’t very far. He barely protected the stadium itself. The surrounding city was still taking damage.

“Alex!” Twilight shouted, running up to him, “Let me help you!”

Casting her spell, the white sheet started to turn purple, and Alex felt like Twilight had lifted a massive weight off his back. Together, they managed to expand the sheet over several blocks of the surrounding city, easily blocking the storm. When it came to this kind of magic, Twilight still had miles on Alex. No matter how fast he had learned.

“Keep it up!” Alex said, “Luna is going to stop this!”

“Luna is here?” Twilight asked, with a clear strain in her voice.

“I-I guess,” Alex grunted.

“How’s Dash?” Twilight asked.

“She’s breathing,” Alex said, “I’ve seen her be zapped by lightning before… But this was a BIG blast.”

Twilight looked down to friend, and saw the strained look on Dash’s face.

“Please hurry, Princess…” Twilight said to herself.

Then, as if on cue, the sky was a deafening blast sounded, as a shockwave emitted from Princess Luna, spreading outward, purifying the black clouds as it went.

Sighing, Alex collapsed on his back, next to Dash.

“A-are you okay, Alex?” Dash squeaked, surprising Alex.

“Dash!” He panted, “You’re… You’re okay?”

“Like you said… I’ve been zapped before…” Dash said, closing the small distance between them.

“Are you sure?” Alex asked, genuinely concerned, “That looked bad.”

“Thanks for saving me…” She said, leaning in, and kissing him.

“Dash!” Flash shouted, running into them, “How are you—“

“Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Pinkie scolded, “They’re kissing!”

Dash knew she was being watched now, but apparently, she loved kissing in the middle of the stadium like this.

Pulling back, Dash smiled, and then closed her eyes. She was sleepy… And she was safe now.

////

Dash opened her eyes… Where was she?

“Rainbow Dash!” A Doctor said, “It’s nice to see you’re awake!”

“Aww,” Dash groaned, “I’m in the hospital?”

“Don’t worry, you’re fine,” He reassured, “Pegasi are naturally resistant to lightning.”

“I know,” Dash sighed, “This isn’t my first pony-show.”

“Well, I’ll let your friends know you’re awake.” He said, walking out of the room, “Take it easy!”

“Dash!” Flash said immediately, pushing into the room, “Are you okay?”

“Geez…” Firefly said, somewhat embarrassed, “The Doctor said she was fine, hon.”

“I’m alright,” Dash said, sitting up, still feeling a little tender, “How is everypony else? Did anypony get hurt?”

Flash shook his head, “Your friends kept the storm at bay for the entire town. There were no serious injuries.”

Everypony else quickly filed into the room, cramping it fairly quickly.

“Before everypony starts talking, I’m okay!” Dash shouted, stopping what probably would have been fifteen minutes of useless conversation, “I just want to know what the buck happened!”

Luna, with a comparably small Scootaloo behind her, then walked into the room, and addressed everypony.

“I believe it was some form of terrorism against Equestria.” Luna said, completely silencing the room, “There have been signs of this recently in Canterlot.”

“Terrorism?” Alex asked, “I haven’t heard THAT word in a while... Can we please use some other... Less American word?”

“Are you sure, Princess?” Twilight asked, ignoring him, still stunned.

She nodded, “The clouds were clearly not indigenous to Equestria, somepony brought them here from a place that has storms of that like very often.”

“But… We dealt with the problem so easily,” Twilight said, “What did they hope to achieve by letting loose that storm?”

“Perhaps they were testing us…” Luna suggested, “Or they underestimated us… Either way, this will be investigated, and we’ll see if any of it connects to the threats in Canterlot.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.” Twilight sighed.

“Celestia and the Royal guard are on their way,” Luna continued, “We’ll see what we find out.”

Everypony nodded in agreement.

“What were you doing here?” Twilight asked.

“I decided to bring Scoot-ah-loo for the show,” Luna explained, “It was at her request that I did this.”

“It’s a good thing you showed up at all,” Twilight sighed, “Who knows what would have happened without you.”

Nodding, Luna turned to Scootaloo.

“Scoot-ah-loo…” Luna pronounced sadly, “I’m sorry that our first trip together has ended such a way.”

“It was so cool though!” Scootaloo beamed, “You were so awesome when you stopped the storm ALL by yourself!”

“Well…” Luna blushed, “I just what I was obligated too!”

“Well, duh!” Scootaloo laughed, “You’re a Princess!”

The two stepped out, as everypony else continued talking.

“Terrorism?” Twilight sighed, “We’ve got enough bad guys for right now, if you ask me.”

“It’s just more rump to kick!” Dash said excitedly, punching the air, before quickly recoiling in pain.

“Are you sure yer okay, sugar cube?” Applejack asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“I just need some sleep!” Dash insisted.

“If you insist, dear,” Rarity said, turning to Twilight, and discussing some other topic.

With that, everypony moved on to their own conversations. Twilight talked with the girls and Spike, Firefly spoke to the nurse, Comet and Ramsley left the room… Which left Rainbow Flash, Alex, and Dash.

“So.” He said, now that he was confident in his daughter’s health, and wanting to lighten the mood after everything that just happened. “It seems you two have been keeping something from me, what else happened, besides the dating part?”

“It’s a long story, Dad…” Dash sighed, “I’ll tell you all about it when I get out of here… There are a few things you need to hear about the past few months…”

“Alright,” He answered, “I’ll wait for you to be discharged, but in the meantime… Just how close are the two of you?”

“We’re not THAT close,” Dash said quickly, earning a hard look from Alex.

“We’re pretty close,” Alex corrected.

“And just how close is that?” Flash asked, with a bit of death in his glare, “Not TOO close I hope.”

“Well, it’s not like I’m nailing your daughter, sir!” Alex laughed.

The room went silent, as every pair of eyes went to Alex.

Join us next week, when Alex learns how to NOT speak to your girlfriend’s father, ESPECIALLY when she’s in the hospital.

Leaving Again

////
Leaving Again
////

////
Alex, Dash, and the ‘rents
////

The silence in the room was deafening.

Dash had just finished explaining to her parents what had gone on, the last time she came to Manehattan, and how she no longer had any desire to become a Wonderbolt… At least, she didn’t want to be one any time soon.

She went on to explain some things about Alex, her exploits in the months since, and various other things.

“So…” Flash said quietly, “You’re sure about this?”

“I am.” Dash said frankly.

Flash was quiet.

“Honey…” Firefly said softly to her husband, “Look…”

“Okay.” He said, surprising everypony.

“Huh?” Dash asked.

“If you want to try things out with a man, and live a normal life,” Flash explained, “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Dash never expected this kind of reaction from him.

“Dad…”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I did wrong, when you ran away,” Flash continued, “And I realized that I was wrong to tell you who to be friends with.”

“But… You acted just like you used to--” Dash began, before he cut her off.

“It was easy for me to fall back into that old habit…” Flash sighed, “Your mother and I both just… want you to be happy.”

Dash smiled earnestly, “Thank you, Dad.”

Firefly and Alex sat in the corner of the room, simply letting the exchange between them continue.

“You’re pretty cute…” Firefly whispered in Alex’s ear, “Dash has done pretty well for herself.”

Alex blushed, “Uh… Thanks…”

“Don’t be so coy,” She nudged, “I’m not gonna steal you away from her.”

“I don’t think you could,” Alex laughed.

“I’ve seen the looks you’ve given me,” She winked, “You have a thing for older mares?”

Alex couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with Dash’s mother.

“You’re good-looking;” Alex laughed nervously, “That’s all.”

“Believe me, I know that,” Firefly laughed, “But here’s a secret…”

Alex looked at her, his interest piqued.

“Dash is a spitting image of me, twenty years ago,” Firefly whispered, “Keep her happy, and you’ll have a rainbow-maned version of me when the time comes.”

Alex liked that. Of course, thinking twenty years ahead was pretty scary stuff.

“Just saying,” She winked again.

Their conversation stopped briefly, as Dash and her father both stood up, and hugged.

“Thanks, Dad.” She said again, “It means a lot to me.”

“Of course, sweet heart,” He smiled, “Just promise me you’ll come home more often, okay?”

Dash bit her lip, and held back form tearing up. “Sure Dad…”

“That’s sweet,” Firefly said, “She was always a bit of a daddy’s girl.”

“I never would have pegged her as one,” Alex said.

“You’d be surprised at some of the things I know about her,” Firefly laughed.

“Don’t spoil anything,” Alex laughed, “…Unless she’s secretly crazy. Then tell me now.”

“She’s not,” Firefly reassured.

“That’s good,” Alex nodded.

“Alex!” Flash called, interrupting his conversation again, “Over here.”

Alex quickly made his way over to Flash.

“You’ve certainly done a lot for my daughter,” Flash started, as Alex shrunk, “You caught her last night, you saved her from some Crystal King… And you also dropped from a blimp, to keep her from becoming a Wonderbolt.”

“Something she wanted though!” Alex added quickly.

“Honestly,” Flash sighed, “At this point, I’m not allowed to disapprove of you.”

Alex smiled.

“You’ve done a lot for my daughter, and she’s obviously smitten with you…” He continued, “So, from everything I’ve heard, you can’t be all bad.”

Flash extended his hoof.

Alex reached forward, and shook it.

Without releasing his hoof, Flash leaned forward to his ear.

“But if you do anything to hurt my baby,” He whispered, “I don’t care if you’re an alicorn, you’ll be an earth pony when I’m finished with you… Understood?”

Alex gulped, and nodded frantically.

“Good,” Flash smiled, pulling away.

“What did you say to him?” Dash asked, walking to the two.

“Nothing, dear,” Flash smiled.

“Yeah, dear…” Alex said quietly, “Nothing at all…”

Rolling her eyes, Dash walked over to the door, and hugged her mother.

“Come on, Alex,” She giggled, “Let’s get to the train station.”

Alex nodded, and followed behind her, followed himself by Firefly and Flash.

////
Everypony
////

“Well, Comet decided not to come out this time,” Ramsley explained, “She knows that she hasn’t been completely forgiven yet, and respects that.”

Spike nodded, “Well, thanks for coming to see us off yourself.”

“I had to thank you for everything you did,” Ramsley said to Spike, “Chaser may have asked me out anyway, but I still had a good time with you.”

“We should do it more often,” Spike suggested.

“Not too often, hopefully,” Ramsley smiled.

“Oh!” Spike said quickly, “I have one more piece of advice.”

“What’s that?” Ramsley asked.

“Always make sure she knows that YOU’RE the boss,” Spike said instructed, “That’s why I’m doing so well.”

“Spike!” Rarity called, “I need you to carry my bags into the train!”

“Yes ma’am!” Spike called, looking back to Ramsley and smiling, “Sorry, I meant make sure that SHE knows that she’s the boss.”

Ramsley nodded

“Have a pleasant trip,” Ramsley smiled, “I’ve got to get going, so please tell Alex I said goodbye.”

Spike nodded, as Ramsley headed off.

“Is everypony ready to go?” Twilight called, as Spike rejoined the group.

Everypony agreed in one way or another.

“Where are Alex and Dash?” Spike asked.

“Right here!” Alex called, walking up to them, followed by Dash and her parents.

“What were you guys talking about?” Twilight asked.

“Nothing much, right Alex?” Flash smiled.

“Nothing at all...” Alex laughed nervously.

“All aboard!” The conductor called, stepping out of the train.

“Well,” Flash said, turning to his daughter, “Promise me you’ll write a bit more often… And maybe visit?”

Dash smiled brightly, and nodded.

“And make sure to bring him with you,” Firefly winked.

“Ugh,” Dash groaned, “Lay off him, mom!”

“I don’t mind,” Alex shrugged.

“You will when I smack you!” Dash threatened.

“Maybe she’s a little crazy,” Firefly laughed.

Everypony started filing into the train.

“Goodbye you guys,” Dash smiled, hugging them once more each.

“Have fun back at home,” Firefly said sweetly, kissing Dash on the forehead.

“I will Mom,” Dash smiled.

“And Dash,” Flash began, “Don’t go—“

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” A voice called.

The four looked back to the platform, where they saw the large blue Pegasus running up.

“Tempest.” Flash and Dash said together.

“Hey!” He called running up, “You owe me a date!”

“Pardon me?” Dash asked, as he finally reached them, “You didn’t win! And my flying was better than yours!”

“It was dang good,” Tempest admitted, “But my tornado move was better than ANYTHING you did.”

Dash growled. She didn’t have the time to do the Sonic Rainboom before she was struck by lightning.

“So come on!” He insisted.

Alex stepped forward.

“She’s busy tonight.” Alex said.

“Who are you?” Tempest growled, towering over Alex.

“Her boyfriend,” Alex said, “So why don’t you leave her alone?”

Tempest growled again.

“Off you run, Princess,” Alex smirked, feeling a bit of Dax start to seep out.

Before he had a chance to react, Tempest punched Alex in the face, forcing his head to the side.

“How about now?” He asked cockily, “Why don’t you get on your train, and leave her here.”

Alex looked back to him and laughed quietly.

“What’s so funny?” He growled.

Casting a spell, an aura surrounded Alex’s hoof.

The following impact Tempest felt on his cheek, was stronger than any he had ever felt. His entire body was thrown into the wall to the left, and impacted painfully.

Everypony looked to Alex in shock. However, only Dash knew what it meant when the magic distortion poured out of his eyes the way it currently was.

“Stay away from her,” Dax whispered smugly, to the dazed pony, “You aren’t stronger than me.”

Tempest slowly stood up, and flew off with his tail between his legs.

The aura faded from his eyes, as Alex calmed down.

Dash was afraid this had just ruined his impression with her parents.

“That was pretty good,” Flash said, surprisingly, “I’m glad to see you actually taking care of her, instead of just hearing stories about it.”

Alex looked from Flash to Firefly. She simply smiled, and exhaled excitedly.

“Uh… We’d better get on the train.” Alex said, avoiding eye contact.

Dash nodded.

“Alright you two!” Flash said, “See you soon.”

“Of course,” Dash said quickly, as she pushed Alex into the train, “I’ll write you next week!”

“I love you sweety!” Firefly waved to them.

And with that, they entered the train, quickly followed by the doors closing, and the train started moving.

Quickly moving to a window, Dash waved happily to her parents as they pulled away. So much had happened.

It had been yet another interesting trip to Manehattan.

////
?
////

“I know it didn’t go according to plan!” He shouted into his spell, “But-“

“I told you, you’re done!” The boss shouted back, “You have nothing on them! We’ll just continue with our original plan.”

“Listen to me!” He said, “I think I have an angle. One of them has this… Instability in his magic.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just watched him start discharging magic stronger than anything I’ve ever seen, and he had no control over it.” He said, “If we can manipulate him, he’d be a great asset.”

“…Fine. But this is your last chance!”

“Understood.” He smiled, “I’ll begin the planning stage. I’ll keep you informed.”

“You’d better.”

////

Adjusting to a New Life

////
Adjusting to a New Life
////

Scootaloo squinted as she opened her eyes. The morning sun was shining on her eyes through her window.

Where was she today?

Canterlot!

Looking around her room in the castle, she smiled. It was pretty cool having a place to herself. She was always in such a cramped room back at the orphanage, since she shared it with a few other ponies. However, one thing she hadn’t expected to happen was the loneliness that came with it. Back at the orphanage, if she ever got scared, or had a nightmare, she was always surrounded by her friends when she woke up, and she would be comforted by that. But now when she awoke… It was just silence. That was something that she was going to need to get used to.

She had only been here a few days, and it was obviously an adjustment for Luna. But Celestia seemed to be used to having a child around. Twilight had been her student, so Scootaloo assumed that’s why she knew what she was doing.

Looking over to her calendar, she suddenly perked up. Tonight was the Cutie Mark Crusader sleep over!

“Aww yeah!” Scootaloo cheered as she jumped up, and started shaking her hair until it looked presentable.

Opening up her door, she trotted down the hallway happily, toward the dining room where she was going to partake in royal breakfast. Of course, it was no different from regular breakfast, but she added the ‘royal’ to it, because of the diverse selection of food they had to eat. Back at the orphanage, all she ever got was cream of wheat. And she HATED cream of wheat.

“Good morning,” One of the guard said respectfully, as Scootaloo walked past.

“How’s guard duty today?” She asked, “Is it exciting?!”

“Not quite,” He laughed, “But who knows, maybe something exciting will happen.”

“I hope so!” She said, as she continued on her way, entering the dining room.

As usual, the table was stocked, but nopony had arrived to eat yet.

So, taking advantage of that, she grabbed a plate, and jumped between chairs so she could reach whatever it was that she wanted on her plate. Finally, after satisfying herself, she sat down in the chair, and began eating her pancakes, hash browns, and French toast.

A few minutes of silence passed, before Celestia walked into the room.

“Good morning, Scootaloo,” She smiled, “Up nice and early I see.”

“With this kind of grub waiting for me, how can I resist?” Scootaloo laughed, her mouth full of food.

Celestia decided to act ‘business-as-usual,’ in the presence of the filly, instead of being in ‘serious’ mode. The attack on Manehattan had been bad news, and much needed to be done. But, for now, she could act like everything was just fine.

“Well eat up, you need to get to school,” Celestia said, sitting down at her usual spot, and making herself a plate.

“It’s Saturday!” Scootaloo laughed, “I’m off today!”

Celestia cocked her head, “Is it Saturday? I lose track of time so easily.”

“Yup!” Scootaloo beamed, “But I’m having a sleep over with my friends tonight, so I’ll be leaving anyway.”

“That sounds exciting,” Celestia smiled, “What are you going to do during your sleep over?”

“We’re gonna get our Cutie Marks!” Scootaloo said, excited as usual on the subject, “We’re gonna stay up all night, and find them!”

“Up all night?” Celestia smiled, “You must take after Luna.”

“Celestia,” Luna said seriously, walking into the room, “I wish to discuss our plan-“

Luna noticed Scootaloo, ignorantly sitting at the table, chewing on a pancake.

“Good morning, Scoot-Ah-Loo,” Luna asked, moving the topic away from battles, “It was the two of you discussing me just now, yes?”

“We were just joking around,” Celestia said, “Did anything eventful happen last night?”

“It was, as every night has been since I got back from the moon,” Luna sighed, “Uneventful.”

“You’re more than welcome to work some day shifts,” Celestia offered, “I would welcome the piece that comes with the night.”

“Actually,” Luna smiled, as she sat down and served herself a plate, “Alex lent me his eye-pod, and showed me how to hurl the upset birds at the pigs!”

Celestia cocked her head again.

“It passes the time quite well! I must have lost five hours to it.” She smiled, before turning to her young descendant, and realizing something, “Oh! You must hurry! We don’t want you to be late for school!”

“I’m off today!” Scootaloo giggled at the déjà vu, “But I do need to get back, because I’m sleeping over with the girls tonight!”

“Oh!” Luna said, “I always lose track of weekdays.”

“Everypony around here does,” Scootaloo laughed, before polishing off the remainder of her food.

The other two quickly finished their own food, before standing up, and preparing to head out on their own ways.

“Guards!” Luna called out the door, “Proceed!”

And with that, a line of staff from within the castle filed into the room, and each started filling their own plates so they could have some of the still plentiful amounts of food.

Scootaloo sat in her chair, and watched everypony do this. It was something she had done over the past few days she had been here. But, one thing that she thought was a shame, was that the remainder of the food was always thrown out. The princesses would have given it to the townsponies, but it would just create a demand for free breakfast for everypony in Canterlot. Which would greatly increase how much would be made in the first place. So, whatever wasn’t eaten would be thrown it. It made her feel a bit bad.

If only there was something they could do it with it. The poor kids at the orphanage would have loved to eat something like this…

Then the idea hit her.

“Luna! Luna!” Scootaloo called running out the dining room door.

“Yes, Scoot-Ah-Loo?” Luna pronounced, “What is it?”

////

Scootaloo smiled as she walked out the front door of the Orphanage.

Luna had just teleported both herself, and the remainder of the ‘royal’ breakfast to the orphanage for the kids. Something that Luna agreed she would do with the remainder of the food from now on, since it was going to a good cause.

Well… And because cream of wheat was horrible.

After that, Luna had gone back to Canterlot, leaving Scootaloo to her own devices for the day, expecting to see her again in the next couple of days.

Luna was really interesting to Scootaloo. She was a genuinely good mare, that cared about her. But… She was a bit clueless at times. Scootaloo didn’t think she was stupid by any means, but a lot of modern conventions were completely mysterious to her. Back in Manehattan, they had passed by a dance club that was pretty busy, and Luna had no idea what she was looking at. Even the music that had been blasting through the doors made her uncomfortable. It was some kind of techno song, not that Scootaloo knew much about it herself. But compared to Luna, she was a walking encyclopedia on present times. As strange as it sounded, Luna would learn just as much from Scootaloo, as Scootaloo would learn from her.

It was like having sister… That had been on the moon for a thousand years.

Trotting up the path, Scootaloo reached The Carousel Boutique, and knocked on the door.

Opening the door, Rarity immediately smiled, “Good morning, Scootaloo,”

“Hey Rarity!” She smiled, “Is Sweetie Belle here today?”

“She sure is,” Rarity said, “She’s been going on about the sleepover tonight non-stop.”

“I’m so excited for it!” Scootaloo smiled.

“It sounds like it,” Rarity laughed, “I’ll go fetch her for you.”

“Thanks,” Scootaloo said.

After a few seconds, Sweetie Belle zipped to the door, “Hey Scoots!”

“Hey Sweetie!” She greeted back, “Are you ready to go get Alex and Spike?”

“Sure am!” She squeaked, “I’m going out Rarity!”

“Alright dear!” Rarity answered, “Check in at lunch!”

“Okay!” She called, running out the door, closing it behind her.

“Let’s run over there, so we can have as much time to find our Cutie Mark as possible!” Scootaloo said.

“I wish your scooter could fit all five of us,” Sweetie said, “That would make things so much faster!”

////

*Knock knock*

“One sec!” Applejack called, carefully lifting her pie up, to place it in her oven.

*Knock knock*

“Of all the—“ Applejack groaned, as she lowered the pie, “Gimmie a minute!”

*Knock knock*

“Oh!” Apple Bloom said running into the kitchen, “That’s for me!”

During her mad sprint for the front door, Apple Bloom momentarily lost control of herself, and slightly bumped into Applejack, knocking the pie into the air.

The pie spun in what seemed like slow-motion to Applejack, as Apple Bloom opened the door, shouted that she would be back, and then closed the door.

Of course, the pie had hit the floor long since then… But it sure seemed like it took hours for that soon-to-be delicious pie to splat.

Sighing, Applejack sat down. She had been looking forward to pie all morning…

////

“Where’s Alex an’ Spike?” Apple Bloom asked, seeing just the two of her friends.

“They’re still exhausted from their trip to Manehattan,” Scootaloo explained.

“But, you were there, an’ yer not tired!” Apple Bloom said to Scootaloo.

“I know, right?” Scootaloo groaned.

“If they keep this up, they’ll get their Cutie Marks in laziness!” Sweetie sighed.

“Well, we can’t slow down on their account,” Scootaloo said, “What are we gonna to do first?”

“Ah’ve got a whole list of ideas!” Apple Bloom said, “But Ah left ‘em in my room! Ah’ll go grab ‘em!”

The two watched Apple Bloom run inside, and then exit a minute later, with an odd look on her face.

“What’s up?” Scootaloo asked her.

“Mah’ sis’ was lookin’ upset over sumthin’” Apple Bloom shrugged.

“What do you mean?” Sweetie asked.

“Ah’ don’t rightly know!” Apple Bloom shrugged, “So, I told her to make a pie, since I know those always cheer her up!”

“Good idea!” Scootaloo said, “Everypony loves pie!”

“But it just seemed to make her sadder,” Apple Bloom sighed.

“We could always try to make her one!” Sweetie suggested.

“Remember what happened last time?” Scootaloo asked, “We should try something else today, since we know we’re not bakers.”

“Check your list!” Sweetie said quickly, remembering why Apple Bloom had gone in to the house in the first place.

“Oh yeah!” Apple Bloom said, taking the scroll from her saddlebag and extending it across the ground.

The day continued, as they frantically tried every single thing on Apple Bloom’s list. However, nothing seemed to work. But that didn’t matter at all to them. They were having a sleepover tonight, and they thought it was going to be legendary.

And as it turned out, it totally was.

////

A Prelude to a Ritual

////
A Prelude to a Ritual
////

“Sweetie Belle! What have you done?!” Rarity shouted, “Oh, now I’ll have to make more!”

Sweetie Belle frowned. All she had done was make her and her friends some capes, so they could show off their membership to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Oh, and now I’ll have to make more!” Rarity complained, “Oh, I hope I can MAKE more… I’m gonna have to work all night! Which means… Sorry, girls… I’m afraid the Crusaders sleepover is cancelled.”

“What!?” Sweetie shouted.

“I just won’t have any time to watch you, if I want to get these robes delivered on time.” Rarity apologized.

“B-But—”

“No ‘buts’ this time,” Rarity sighed, “I’m sorry Sweetie Belle; this is just how it has to be.”

“Awww…” The girls said collectively, all put out by the sudden loss of their plans.

Rarity sighed, but then looked to Fluttershy getting an idea... Maybe one of her friends could look after them.

Fluttershy knew the look she was receiving, but had made plans with Rainbow Dash and Twilight tonight.

“I’m so sorry…” Fluttershy said, having been listening to the entire thing, “I’d offer to take them, but I have some plans with Twilight and Rainbow Dash tonight.”

Rarity sighed, and tried thinking of anypony else that might be able to look after the girls.

No Twilight.

No Rainbow Dash.

Applejack already discussed this night with Rarity, and told her that she couldn’t.

Alex or Spike? Ehhh…

And Pinkie… No… No Pinkie.

There was no pony…

“I’m sorry girls,” Rarity said again, “But I don’t think this is going to work out.”

The three sighed dejectedly.

“Why don’t you all spend a couple more hours up in Sweetie’s room?” Rarity offered, “Then you can all head home when the sun starts setting.”

The sadness felt by the three girls was stronger than anything they had ever felt. The Cutie Mark Crusader sleepover was cancelled. It was like their favorite TV show was being taken off the air… Except there was no TV in Equestria. Bad example.

The next few hours passed, as the three did very little. They had sulked, eaten a snack, sulked again, and then tried to be Cutie Mark cheer-er uppers. That also failed.

“I can’ believe we hav’ to go home…” Apple Bloom sighed.

“I know…” Scootaloo groaned, “I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.”

“I’m sorry I made us these capes…” Sweetie squeaked, “I should have left them alone.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Scootaloo smiled, “They’re really cool.!”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed, “At least we’ll look good when we’re out tomorrow!”

Unfortunately, as much as they tried to find the silver lining, it still stung that they weren’t going to be doing this.

“Well,” Scootaloo sighed, “I guess I’d better head back to the orphanage… They’ll be upset if I’m back past a certain time.”

“Why don’t you ask if we could stay over there?” Sweetie asked suddenly.

“It’s lights out at nine,” Scootaloo said, “We’d have no time to do anything there.”

“Aww…” Apple Bloom said.

“Wait a minute…” Scootaloo said, “I just got an idea!”

The two other girls looked at her, eyes wide.

“Oh my goodness!” They heard Rarity call from the main floor below them.

“Right on time!” Scootaloo grinned.

////

“P-Princess Luna!” Rarity stammered, “Please accept my deepest apologies for shouting in front of you!”

“Please don’t worry yourself on such matters,” Luna smiled, “I’m simply here to bring Scoot-Ah-Loo her overnight bag.”

“Oh,” Rarity said quickly, “I’m terribly sorry, but the sleepover had to be cancelled.”

Luna cocked her head, “Why? What has happened?”

“I’m afraid that I overlooked something, and I need to spend all night tonight fixing the problem,” Rarity explained, “I simply won’t have the time to watch them.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Luna said. “Scoot-Ah-Loo sounded so excited this morning.”

“Princess Luna!” Scootaloo called, running into the main section of the store.

“I’ve heard the grim news,” Luna said to her, “You have my deepest sympathies.”

“Uh… what’s she talkin’ about?” Apple Bloom asked.

“I heard that you weren’t having your overnight ritual,” Luna explained, “I truly wish there was something I could do.”

“That’s why I came to talk to you!” Scootaloo said, “Could we have the sleepover at Canterlot Castle?”

Rarity immediately flew into action.

“Now Scootaloo,” She began, “I don’t think the Princess would have the kind of time that’s—“

“Of course!” Luna beamed, surprising everypony, “I have long awaited to see one of these overnight rituals myself!”

Rarity was shocked.

“Is it alright if I take your sister tonight?” Luna asked Rarity.

“O-of course!” Rarity laughed nervously, “Have her for as long as you like!”

“Wonderful!” Luna smiled, “Girls! Let us proceed to Sweet Apple Acres, to secure permission from Applejack!”

And, as quickly as she appeared, Luna walked out with the three fillies.

“Bye Rarity!” Sweetie Belle called.

Rarity was slack-jawed, and completely silent.

“See you tomorrow!” Sweetie said, as she headed off into the night.

////

“Uh, I suppose y’all could spend the night in Canterlot,” Applejack said, “Are you sure it’s no trouble? You’ve got enough time tuh watch ‘em?”

“Of course,” Luna said happily, “I do very little during the night, so I can keep an eye on them.”

“Well, go ahead then!” Applejack smiled, “Have a good time tonight girls!”

“We will!” Apple Bloom beamed.

“Thanks!” The other two called to her as Applejack closed the door.

“Well,” Luna said to them, “I suppose that means the overnight ritual is back on!”

The truth was, Luna had been looking for every moment she could to spend time with Scootaloo, and this was just perfect. She would let them do whatever they wanted, and by that logic, be the coolest princess ever. It was the perfect plan… Except that it really wasn’t.

“Yay!” They shouted together, “Cutie Mark Crusader Sleep Over at Canterlot Castle!”

Luna beamed, having no idea what she had just gotten herself into.

Author's Note

Sorry the chapters have been short, i just don't want to start a longer one, then not end up posting it for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, i have a long run of work days coming up, so i'll try to finish the next chapter for tomorrow, but i can't promise anything.

The Ritual - The Royal Perspective

////
The Ritual - The Royal Perspective
////
The sun was just setting, and Luna had shown the girls to Scootaloo’s room. She promised them that she would be right back, as she needed to let Celestia know what was happening before she went to bed for the night.
Luna walked into the Castle dining room, and was greeted with a smile from her sister.

“Is Scootaloo set up?” Celestia asked.

“You could… say that,” Luna giggled, confusing Celestia.

“What’s so funny, sister?” Celestia asked.

“Well, due to a small mix up with Scoot-Ah-Loo’s arrangements, I’ve offered for her friends to spend the night here,” Luna said, “I’ve decided to be a proactive princess!”

Celestia wasn’t sure what to say.

“Don’t worry yourself, sister,” Luna explained, “I’ll keep my eyes on them at all times! I swear!”

“Luna… you’re just as much a princess as I am,” Celestia explained, “You don’t need my permission to do something.”

“Perfect!” Luna beamed, acting like she had just gotten permission from her mother, “I promise that everything will go well!”

“I’m sure it will,” Celestia smiled softly, “Just don’t let them run too wild, alright? I need to be up early tomorrow to deal with
some delegates from overseas, and can’t be woken up during the night.”

“Quell your fears, Celestia,” Luna assured, “I can handle this.”

////
5 hours later
////

“Sister!”

Celestia grumbled.

“Celestia!”

“I’ll… Just bring me the cake tomorrow,” Celestia murmured into her pillow.

“Wake up!” Luna bellowed, using the Royal Canterlot voice.

Celestia shot up.

“W-what’s going on Luna?” She asked, her heart racing, expecting something horrible to be happening.

“I’ve lost them…”

“Lost who?” Celestia asked, forgetting the conversation they shared a few hours earlier.

“Scoot-Ah-Loo and her friends…” Luna said quietly.

Celestia groaned, “Just get the guards to find them…”

“I couldn’t ask them to abandon their posts just to fix my mess!” Luna whined, “That would be selfish!”

“But waking me up… In the middle of the night… what’s that? Charity?” Celestia asked, pretty grumpy at this point.

“Well, from you!” Luna smiled, “Come please help me sister!”

Celestia frowned.

“Fine, but let’s hurry… I have those ponies to meet with tomorrow.”

“Thank you so much!” Luna beamed, “We’ll have the entire castle searched in no time!”

Celestia dragged herself out of bed. Normally, she had a very cheery demeanor. But when somepony robbed her of her
sleep… Well, let’s just say that they don’t deserve a happy princess.

“Where should we start looking?” Celestia asked.

“Well, I figured that we could just ask the guards where they went, and we’d end up at them in no time!” Luna explained.

“So… Why was I needed again?” Celestia asked, rubbing her eyes.

“To help me look!” Luna smiled, “And because you need to listen to your big sister!”

Hearing Luna refer to herself as the ‘big sister’ forced a smiled out of Celestia. It was their favorite joke a thousand years ago… And it was nice to hear it again. It reminded her of just how happy she was to have Luna back.

“Alright, big sister,” Celestia smiled, “Let’s go find those girls.”

Luna nodded as they headed out of her chambers, and down the hallway.

“So… How did you end up losing them anyway?” Celestia asked.

“Well… It was a few hours ago…”

////
A Few Hours Ago
////

“Alright girls!” Luna announced, entering Scootaloo’s room, “Celestia is okay with it!”

“Yay!” They all cheered together.

“So, what should we do first?” Sweetie asked.

“Can we have a tour Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Sure!” Scootaloo beamed, “I know this place like the back of my hoof!”

Luna looked at the back of her hoof. She didn’t get the reference.

“Let’s go then!” Sweetie shouted, “I want to go to the throne room!”

“Well, I could take you three there!” Luna offered, “I need to stop in there anyway!”

“Sure!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie said together.

“Well, let us go then!” Luna announced, walking out the door with the three girls behind her.

////

The three girls were given free rein to do whatever they felt like in the throne room, as Luna spoke with some guards regarding the way tonight was going to go.

“If you see these three,” Luna said to the captain of the guard, Shining Armor, “Please allow them free access to any part of the castle.”

“Of course Princess,” He nodded, “Should I still keep them out of places restricted to the public?”

“No.” Luna said frankly, “These girls may go wherever they please.”

Shining Armor nodded. It wasn’t the best idea for that... But it was her call not his.

“Thank you.” Luna smiled.

“I’ll spread the word,” He said, “The guards won’t interfere with their explorations.”

////
Now
////

“You told him what?” Celestia asked, a bit upset, “There are parts of the castle they shouldn’t be in!”

“I now know that,” Luna said.

Celestia sighed, “I thought you intended to keep your eyes on them… Not let them roam free.”

“I planned on staying with them,” Luna explained, “The command to the captain was supposed to be a standing order, for when they explored during the day.”

Celestia face hooved.

“I now see where I went wrong.” Luna laughed nervously.

“So… What happened next?” Celestia asked, not allowing herself to become annoyed.

////
Then
////

“Now girls,” Luna said, “What would you like to do first?”

“I know!” Apple Bloom shouted, “We need to see if we could be Cutie Mark Royal Guards!”

“Maybe in the morning,” Luna laughed, “Perhaps something more tame?”

“Oh!” Sweetie chirped, “How about Cutie Mark Princesses?”

“That sounds awesome!” Scootaloo smiled, “Can we try Luna?”

Hmm… Giving these girls the power of a Princess, and ability to rule Equestria… Was this a good idea?

“Sure!” Luna beamed, “You can give it a try!”

First, Apple Bloom jumped on the throne.

“You!” She shouted, pointing at Shining Armor, “Get yer’ princess some cake!”

Shining Armor laughed, “Sure thing, I’ll be back in a moment, your majesty.”

“Wow!” Sweetie Belle Squeaked, “Let me try!”

Jumping into the seat, she bumped Apple Bloom off.

“Guard!” She called, as another guard stepped forward, “Deliver one hundred spools of gold silk to The Carousel Boutique in Ponyville!”

“Uh… Yes, your majesty!” He said, running out of the room to complete the order.

“I wanna try!” Scootaloo said, bumping Sweetie out of the chair herself, “Guard!”

A third pony stepped forward.

“Go throw a pie at Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon in Ponyville!” She commanded, “They’re always mean to us at school!”

The guard looked to Luna questioningly.

Luna gave a solid nod to him.

Sighing, the guard walked out of the room, toward the kitchen to fetch two pies.

////
Now
////

“You let them do that?” Celestia asked in disbelief.

“I told them they could be Princesses, sister,” Luna defended, “I had no intention of going back on that!”

“Y-You can’t just…!” Celestia tried, deciding that too much was wrong with this for her to just say one thing.

“So!” Luna said quickly, “As I was saying, once they finished their commands…”

////
Then
////

“That was awesome!” Scootaloo cheered, “Did we get our Cutie Marks?”

The three girls each inspected their flanks, but saw nothing.

“Aww…” They said together.

“Well girls,” Luna giggled, “Why don’t we go somewhere else?”

“Oh!” Sweetie said, “Is there a torture chamber?!”

“Um… I’m afraid not,” Luna said, worrying a bit.

“Aww,” She said truly disappointed, further disturbing Luna.

“Where should we go then?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Let’s just explore!” Scootaloo offered.

“We’ll find something that way for sure!” Luna agreed.

So, the four set out to find something to do in the massive Castle.

////

Walking down one of the many corridors, Luna educated them on aspects of her past, and some things about the castle. However, as they passed one particular door, Luna stopped, and grimaced at it.

“What’s wrong?” Sweetie asked Luna.

“This room belongs to Prince Blue-blood,” Luna said, “He’s just not somepony I enjoy spending time with.”

“Really?” Apple Bloom asked, “Why?”

“He goes through mares like they’re candy.” Luna explained, not considering her audience.

“What does that mean?” Scootaloo asked.

Luna stopped quickly.

“It means that… He only talks to them once, then ignores them!” She pulled together.

“How rude!” Sweetie growled.

“We should teach him a lesson!” Apple Bloom agreed.

“I know!” Scootaloo said, before Luna stepped in.

“Perhaps we shouldn’t,” Luna said, “That would make us rude like him.”

The three girls were forced to agree with her, but didn’t sound convinced.

“So, where else is there to go then?” Luna said, as the girls whispered to each other.

////
Now
////

“Ahhhhhh!” A voice shouted from down the hall.

“Uh-oh…” Luna said, as she ran down the hall, with a still drowsy Celestia staggering behind her.

“What is the meaning of this?” The stallion whined, “Who would dare treat me this way?”

Opening his door, Luna was face to face with a half blue Blue-blood.

“W-What happened?” Luna asked, snarling.

“Somepony put a bucket of blue paint on the top of my door!” He whined, “It spilled all down my face when I opened it!”

Luna held her hoof over her mouth.

Celestia finally got to the door, and started laughing, “Blue-blood, you’re blue!”

This set Luna off too.

“It scared off the mare I brought back from the club!” He shouted, “What do you intend to do?”

The Princesses ignored him, and laughed as they left his room. They had more important things to deal with.

////
Then
////

“Alright girls,” Luna said, leading them back to Scootaloo’s room, “I think it’s time we settle in.”

“But we want to see more!” Sweetie complained.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom added.

“We can spend all day tomorrow exploring,” Luna said, “For now, you three stay here, I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Alright,” Scootaloo sighed. She couldn’t really argue with the Princess.

Walking out of the room, Luna headed back to the throne room, and was surprised to see a citizen in the throne room waiting for her.

“Princess!” The stallion said, “I was worried I’d missed you.”

“My apologies,” Luna said, taking her seat, “What can I help you with?”

“I’m here to discuss the demolition of the Canterlot recreation center, in place of a shopping mall!” He explained.

Luna groaned quietly. This would take a while…

////
Now
////

“So, I debated with him for a few hours, before he insisted on going to the Library to research some municipal law topics,” Luna explained, “So, I finally got a chance to go check on them… but they were gone when I arrived.”

Celestia nodded.

Suddenly, a loud crashing was heard down the hallway.

“That must be them,” Celestia said, running faster than she had in a while, just so she could get back to her beautiful bed.

They rounded a corner just in time to see the three take off around another corner.

“What are they running for?” Luna asked.

Picking up the pace, the Princesses rounded the next corner, and were met with a stone wall, and no rooms where they could have possibly gone.

“Where did they go?” Celestia asked.

Walking forward together, they looked at the wall closely.

Luna raised a hoof, and started knocking on it, to hear if it was hollow.

However, instead, the wall flipped around, and the two suddenly found themselves in an entirely new room, with the three girls piled on top of the pony Luna had been speaking with a few minutes ago, and had sent to the library.

“Girls!” Luna said, ignoring the obvious fact that they had gone into some secret chamber, “What are you doing with him?”

“He was stealing magic from the library Princess!” Sweetie Belle explained, “But we stopped him!”

“He tried tuh take this!” Apple Bloom said, pulling a scroll out of the stallions saddle bag, and tossing it to Celestia.

Levitating it up, she opened the scroll, and was shocked to see that it was a powerful mind wiping spell.

“He tied us up, and tried to use it on us, when we found out what he was doing!” Scootaloo explained.

“He… what?!” Celestia asked, horrified.

“But we escaped and took care of his thugs!” Sweetie explained happily.

“Pardon…?” Luna asked.

“An’ then we chased him down and captured him!” Apple Bloom finished.

“How did you—“

“And I would have gotten away with it too…” He growled, “If it hadn’t been for you meddling fillies!”

The Princesses were awe struck.

Celestia leaned over to Luna and whispered.

“What the buck did we miss?”

////

Author's Note

Don't worry, the other side of the story will be posted next.

The Ritual - A Crusader Perspective

///
The Ritual – The Crusader Perspective
////

Scootaloo sighed, as she lay upside down on her bed, with her head hanging off the edge.

“I’m bored,” Sweetie groaned.

“Where’s Luna?” Apple Bloom asked, “Ahm’ bored!”

The three had been escorted to Scootaloo’s room, and had run out of things to do.

“I can’t believe that Prince Blueblood!” Sweetie complained, “My sister used to have a big crush on him too!”

“Really?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah!” She answered, “I’m glad she never got involved with him.”

“We ought tuh show him who’s boss!” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah!” Sweetie immediately agreed.

“I don’t know guys…” Scootaloo said, surprising her friends.

“What are you talking about?” Sweetie asked, “You’re the first one to play pranks on ponies!”

“I don’t want to get in trouble with Luna…” Scootaloo explained.

“Stop yer worrying!” Apple Bloom laughed, “This guy deserves a bit of good spirited fun!”

Scootaloo thought for a moment, before agreeing.

“Sure,” She said, standing up, “At least it’ll give us something to do!”

////

“Where did ya get this paint Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom asked, pushing a bucket of blue paint ahead of her with her head.

“Don’t worry about the pacifics,” Sweetie Belle mispronounced, sneaking down the hall with her friends.

“Here it is!” Scootaloo said, walking up to the door.

“Is he in there?” Sweetie asked.

“Ah don’t think so,” Apple Bloom said, peeking in the crack under the door.

“Perfect!” Sweetie smiled, “Open the door a little bit!”

Scootaloo complied, and pushed it open a crack big enough for them to enter.

“Now what?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Scootaloo, fly this up!” Sweetie commanded.

“Uh… I can’t fly,” Scootaloo said, “And I DEFINITELY can’t fly with this bucket of paint!”

“Hmm…” She said, looking around the room.

“Hey, Ah know!” Apple Bloom spoke up, “Levitate it up!”

Sweetie frowned, “I don’t think I can…”

“Come on!” Scootaloo pushed, not wanting to get caught red-hoofed.

“Why do I always have to do all the work?” Sweetie grumbled to herself.

Pointing her horn at the bucket, she pushed as hard as she could.

“It’s workin’!” Apple Bloom whispered to Scootaloo.

The bucket shook, as a weak aura surrounded the bucket.

“Be careful…” Scootaloo said, as the bucket lifted off the ground.

It slowly ascended evenly until it reached the top of the door. Then, luckily, it landed on the crack above

without incident.

Sweetie finished the spell, and sighed deeply, “I did it!”

“Great job!” They both said to her.

“Now, we just need to leave, and let him walk into it!” Sweetie giggled.

The three then poked their heads through the crack in the door, looking both ways for guards.

“We’re clear!” Scootaloo said as the three quickly exited his room.

“This is gonna be awesome!” Scootaloo smiled, happy that she had come out after all.

“Do y’all think we’ll get ‘n trouble?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Na,” Sweetie said, “I’m sure Luna will understand.

“Me too,” Scootaloo agreed, “Luna’s so cool!”

“Where are we goin’ next?” Apple Bloom asked, not wanting to go back to the room yet.

“Let’s go… to the Library!” Sweetie said, “I’ll bet it’ll be fun there!”

“Library?” Scootaloo asked, “I didn’t know you were an egg head!”

“It’s the Canterlot library It’s huge!” She countered, “I’ll bet there’s a bunch of books on getting Cutie Marks!”

The two perked up at the sound of that.

“Come on! Let’s go look!”

It didn’t take any more convincing than that.

So, the three headed off toward the Library. However, somepony else was headed there as well.

////

“So… Where are we headin’ boss?” The large red earth pony asked lamely the small brown one next to him.

“Yeah boss!” The other large red earth pony asked, “Where we headin’?

“We’re going to steal a spell in the library!” The small brown unicorn growled, not happy with their volume, “So shut it, you two!”

“Shut what?” One asked loudly.

“Yeah boss!” The other bellowed, “Shut what?”

“Tootsie, Bootsie, be quiet!” The Boss whispered loudly, “I snuck you two in, and here you are giving yourselves
away!”

“Whoops!” Tootsie said, loudly again, before catching himself, and clamping a hoof over his mouth.

“Whoops!” Bootsie whispered.

“Just keep it down, ya’ hear?” The Boss grumbled, “They might still be able to hear us in here!”

The two nodded as they headed to the library, moving through several secret passages that nopony patrolled

“And remember, if somepony shows up, you two hide!” The Boss explained, “I have a reason to be here!”

“Yeah boss!” They said in unison quietly.

“Good!”
////

“Wow!” Scootaloo said, looking up from her scroll, “Look at this one!”

She was in the adventure-fiction section of the Library, and had just found a book about a mare that became a royal knight, but disguised herself as a stallion.

“She sounds so cool!” Sweetie said, “Do you think we could do that?”

“Ah’ reckon ah could!” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah,” Scootaloo laughed, “You’d make a real good BOY.”

The two giggled at Apple Bloom.

“Hey!” She growled, “Take that back!”

“Nope!” Scootaloo giggled, “Mr. Apple Bloom!”

“Well, at least I’m not a chicken!” Apple Bloom countered.

“She’s right about that!” Sweetie agreed.

“Hey!” Scootaloo said to Sweetie, “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Yeah, well—“

“Is this the place, boss?” A voice said from across the room.

The three girls looked to each other, and quickly dove behind a nearby book shelf.

A door across the room slid open, and three ponies entered the Library.

“Who are they?” Scootaloo whispered.

“They don’t look like guards…” Sweetie added.

“Maybe they’re jus’ visitin’!” Apple Bloom offered.

“I don’t know where the spell is…” The small one said, “So look fast! We don’t want to get caught stealing!”

“Stealing?!” The three said together.

“Sure thing boss!” Tootsie nodded.

“Yeah boss!” Bootsie said.

“Good!” He said, “Look in the sectioned off area’s!”

The three went to work as they were silently watched from the corner of the room.

“What do we do?!” Apple Bloom asked desperately, “Should we go get somepony?”

“If we move, they’ll see us!” Scootaloo said, “We have to stay here for now!”

“Can you get us outta here, Sweetie?” Apple Bloom asked, pointing to her horn.

“No…” She sighed, “Alex showed me how to move stuff… But that’s all!”

“Horse apples…” Apple Bloom sighed.

“What if we make a break for it?” Sweetie suggested.

“That guy is a unicorn,” Scootaloo explained, “And those big guys could probably outrun us.”

The other two nodded.

“So what?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We wait for a chance to go get Luna…” Scootaloo said, “We just can’t get caught…”

////

The three girls had been watching the thieves for about a fifteen minutes, but nothing had really changed.

The thieves searched the room, but had had no luck so far. And besides a bit of scolding from the little pony, there hadn’t been any conversation.

“This is soooooo boring,” Sweetie groaned, “Can we just run now?”

“No!” Scootaloo instructed, “We’ll wait as long as we have to.”

"Ah need to sit down!" Apple Bloom sighed, and turned around, then, devastatingly, she sat backward, bumping into the small shelf they hid behind, knocking it right over, sending it crashing to the floor.

“What was that?!” The small unicorn whispered loudly, as him and his body guards approached the source of the noise.

“What is this I see?” He asked, seeing the three fillies.

“Uh… Nothin’?” Apple Bloom offered.

“Yup!” Sweetie laughed nervously, “Nothing at all!”

“Grab ‘em, boys!” The unicorn laughed, “Tie ‘em up!”

“Awww…” The girls groaned in annoyance.

“Shh,” The unicorn said to them, “I wouldn’t want to hurt you for being loud-mouths.”

////

“What should we do with ‘em boss?” Tootsie asked, as he finished tying his first a knot on Scootaloo.

“Yeah boss!” Bootsie agreed, as he finished tying his first knot on Sweetie Belle, “Do you want me to knock ‘em out or sumthin’?”

“Of course not, you wing nut!” The boss growled, “We’re here to find a MEMORY wiping spell, do you get it?”

Neither of them got it.

“It means that we can erase their memories of seeing us!” He explained.

“Oooooh,” Tootsie nodded.

“That sure is a good plan boss!” Bootsie agreed, “You’re sure smart!”

“But before we begin, find out they’re here!” He commanded, “Bootsie! Lean on them!”

Bootsie hadn’t an inkling of an idea as to the meaning of ‘lean on them.’

So, he did the only thing he could think of.

Walking over to Sweetie Belle, he shifted himself, and leaned his weight against her.

“Hey!” She shouted, as he leaned on her, “You’re gonna mess up my coat!”

“That’s not how you lean on them, Bootsie!” Tootsie said, “You do it like this!”

Tootsie pushed Bootsie out of the way, and leaned his head over, so it rested on Sweetie Belle’s shoulder comfortably.

Sweetie blushed madly, as he sighed happily.

“G-get off of me!” She shouted, flailing about, in her restraints.

“Stop it you idiot!” The boss growled, keeping his voice down, “And quit your yelling if you know what’s good for you!”

Sweetie piped down as the big pony stopped snuggling her shoulder.

“I’m the Princesses great Granddaughter, I’ll have you know,” Scootaloo piped up, not being too loud, “She’ll be very angry when she finds out what you’re doing with us!”

“Please,” He rolled his eyes, “You won’t remember anything in a few minutes, when we find the scroll!”

“Yeah!” Bootsie said, “You won’t remember nothin’!”

“Nothin’ at all!” Tootsie added.

“Now let’s get back to work!” The boss said, turning back to the books behind him, “There’s only a few shelves left to check!”

As the three went back to work, Scootaloo looked to Sweetie Belle.

“What should we do?” She asked.

Sweetie Belle was too embarrassed at this point to say anything.

Seeing this, Scootaloo rolled her eyes, “What do you think Apple Bloom?”

Apple Bloom looked back and forth silently. Nopony had seemed to notice that the guards forgot to tie her up.

“Shh…” She said, inching to her friends, “I’m gonna untie y’all.”

The two didn’t answer her; they simply let her do her thing until they were both free. However, they had to get back into position quickly.

“Bootsie!” The boss whispered loudly, “Go keep an eye on the prisoners! I don’t want any surprises.”

“Sure thing boss!” He said, trotting back over to the girls, “I’m watchin’ you… No funny business!”

The three simply smiled, and nodded.

“So…” He said awkwardly, “Nice weather…”

“Sure is!” Scootaloo faked a smiled, nodding rapidly.

“And that local sports team!” Sweetie added.

“For sure!” Bootsie agreed.

Awkward silence…

“I found it!” A voice called from behind them.

Bootsie immediately turned with a big smile on him face, and headed over to his friends, “Nice goin’ Tootsie!”

“What should we do?” Sweetie whispered.

“We need to fight our way out!” Apple Bloom said, “It’s our only hope!”

“I don’t know…” Sweetie said, “I’m not a karate master like you, Apple Bloom!”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed, “But… what else is there?”

Silence filled the area between them.

“Jus’ listen,” Apple Bloom instructed, “Wait for mah’ signal, an’ we take ‘em out!”

The other girls reluctantly nodded, and got back into ‘tied-up’ position.

“Alright, girls,” The boss said, walking over to them, “Who’s ready to have their memory erased?”

“Ah remember y’all so much, Ah could never forget everythin’!” Apple Bloom said.

“Well… it looks like we have a volunteer,” The boss laughed ominously, as he stepped past Sweetie and Scootaloo.

“Are you ready?”

“Uh… No?” She said.

“Too bad!” He laughed evilly, standing up on his hind legs, and pointing his horn at the ceiling, as he recited the passage on the scroll.

Apple Bloom gave a subtle nod to her friends, to which they both gulped.

“Forget what has happened here,” He recited, as Apple Bloom stood up¸ completely missing her behind the scroll levitating in front of him, “And return your memory to a place when—“

“Cutie Mark Crusader Karate Kick!” Apple Bloom shouted, fully expecting her thundering hit to send him flying away. However, instead, she kicked him between the legs in a VERY sensitive spot, if you catch my
drift.

He doubled over in pain, as the other two girls sprang into action.

“Take this!” Sweetie shouted, as a vase she had been levitating fell on Tootie’s head, knocking him out.

Scootaloo jumped up and faced Bootie, “You think she’s good at karate? You should see me!”

The fear in his eyes was immeasurable. His being terrified led immediately to him turning around and running in the other direction. However, when he looked over his shoulder to see if he was being pursued, he
missed the giant pillar in the center of the room. He looked forward just in time to blast his head into the pillar, knocking himself out.

“Yeah!” The three shouted together, “We did it!”

“Nice job girls!” Apple Bloom congratulated, “They’ll think twice before messin’ with us again!”

The three were so involved in their celebrations, that they missed the unicorn putting the scroll in his saddle bag, and booking it for the door of the library.

“Hey!” Sweetie shouted, “Get back here!”

The three ran off after him, slamming the door open as they entered the hallway in pursuit.

“He’s rounding the corner!” Scootaloo shouted, as he turned at the end of the hall.

Quickly catching up, they saw him dive head first into the wall. They expected him to head butt the fall and fall down. But, instead, the wall spun as he ran into a secret passage.
The three didn’t think, and dove into the wall after him.

When he passed the wall, he hadn’t expected the three to follow him. But, instead, he got the three of them flying toward him with forelegs outstretched.

And before he could respond, he was met with the only attack that they knew worked on him.

A Cutie Mark Crusader Karate Kick between the legs… Multiple times.

And, after the three were satisfied, they stopped.

But, he made one last attempt to escape.

“Get him!” Scootaloo shouted, as they all dove on top of him, knocking him back to the ground.

“Girls!” A voice called from behind them… It was Luna and Celestia! “What are you doing with him?”

“He was stealing magic from the library Princess!” Sweetie Belle explained, “But we stopped him!”

“He tried tuh take this!” Apple Bloom said, pulling a scroll out of the stallions saddle bag, and tossing it to Celestia.

Levitating it up, she opened the scroll, and was shocked to see that it was a powerful mind wiping spell.

“He tied us up, and tried to use it on us, when we found out what he was doing!” Scootaloo explained.

“He… what?!” Celestia asked, horrified.

“But we escaped and took care of his thugs!” Sweetie explained happily.

“Pardon…?” Luna asked.

“An’ then we chased him down and captured him!” Apple Bloom finished.

“How did you—“

“And I would have gotten away with it too…” He growled, “If it hadn’t been for you meddling fillies!”

The Princesses were awe struck.

Celestia leaned over and whispered something to Luna.

“I have no idea, sister…” Luna said, “But… we should deal with this for now…”

Celestia nodded, “Girls, please retire to Scootaloo’s room.”

“But we need to make sure he doesn’t escape!” Sweetie squeaked.

“He won’t,” Luna assured, “Just go to bed, we’ll talk in the morning.”

They all reluctantly nodded as they walked past the princesses, out of the secret chamber.

“Wow…” Apple Bloom said as they headed back to their room.

“Guys…” Sweetie said slowly.

“That… Was… Legendary!” Scootaloo shouted, as a group of guards rushed passed them toward the end of the hall.

“We’re like… Heroes!” Apple Bloom beamed.

“Yeah!” Sweetie agreed, “Do you think we got our Cutie Marks in Heroics?”

They all looked at their flanks expectantly, but were disappointed to see nothing.

“Aww…” They said collectively.

“But who knows?” Scootaloo said, “Maybe we’ll find our talents tomorrow!”

“So we should go to bed right now, so we don’t sleep in!” Sweetie Belle agreed.

“What’re we watin’ for?!” Apple Bloom asked quickly, “Let’s get to bed!”

And with that, their night ended. It would be one of the more memorable ones, from the many sleepovers they would have at the castle. Of course… There were many more.

////
?
////

“He failed, he was caught by some… fillies…” He said from safely outside the castle.

“What do you mean ‘fillies?’”

“I mean, three little girls beat the crap out of him and his muscle!” He shouted at his invisible spell, earning some odd looks from the few ponies around him.

“What kind of ponies are we getting ourselves involved with?”

“I don’t know…” He said seriously, “But that doesn’t matter… We don’t NEED the spell, we’ll just do it the old fashioned way.”

“It had BETTER work. You know what’s at stake.”

“Believe me, I know.” He sighed, ending his spell and considering what needed to be changed in his plans.

He just hoped he never encountered those fillies.

The Other Crusaders

////
The Other Crusaders
////

Alex thought to himself. Should he have gone to that Cutie Mark sleepover at the castle? It seems like it would have been a bunch of fun.

Of course, he was a fully grown dude, and that would have made things… weird.

Why would it have been weird?

“Alex?” Dash asked into his neck, being cuddled deeply into it, as they both lay in her bed, “What’cha thinkin’ about?”

Well… He was already having sleepovers with somepony else…

“Just the girls, and how they went to Canterlot Castle for their sleepover,” Alex explained, “I’ll bet they’re raising hell.”

“For sure!” Dash laughed, looking up at him, “I’ll bet the place is on fire as we speak.”

“It sounds like it would have been fun,” Alex laughed.

“More fun than being here with me?” Dash asked, giving a pouty face.

“Well… I think it would have been a bit of—Eep!” Alex silenced.

She gave him a wicked smile.

“You’re much more fun!” Alex laughed nervously, “You’re much more fun.”

“Then let’s have some!” She smiled.

////

“I feel like I should have gone with them,” Spike said, as he helped Rarity with the massive shipment of gold silk she had received suddenly, “It sounded like it would have been fun!”

“Now Spike, you know that I have no quarrels with spending time with my sister, and her friends,” Rarity explained, “But as a gentlecolt, you need to pick which mares you need to spend your time with.”

“Huh?” Spike asked, levitating the final roll into its place, “What do you mean?”

“Spike, I’m your marefriend,” Rarity said decisively, “Don’t you think that you need to be… Spending more time with me?”

Spike cocked his head.

“I mean… you always seem so eager to get away from me…” She said, rather insecurely.

Spike’s head went into overdrive. This wasn’t a good thing to hear!

“Come on Rarity!” Spike said, knowing full well that he had been somewhat preoccupied to spend time with her, “You’re worrying about nothing!”

Rarity knew this was the truth. She knew that Spike cared for her, and wouldn’t have done a thing to hurt her. But… as confidant as she often was… She was new to the whole relationship game, and was scared of it at times.

“Look, why don’t we go out and do something?” Spike asked.

“Spike, it’s almost midnight,” Rarity said, “I believe you… You don’t need to prove anything.”

“Nonsense!” Spike said, “We’re going out, or are you turning me down?”

Rarity smiled, she liked that he would try so hard, “Well… where are you going to take me?”

“That’s a surprise,” Spike winked.

“Alright…” Rarity smiled, “Let’s go, Spikey.”

////

Alex panted, as he fell back on the bed below him.

“Nice use of your wings…” Dash panted from beside him, “I’m impressed.”

“Well… Since I can use them now…” Alex laughed through his deep breaths.

“I have so much energy!” Dash said suddenly sitting up, “Let’s go do something!”

“Like what?” Alex asked, almost passing out himself, “It’s almost midnight.”

“I don’t know!” Dash argued, “You’re the man! Think of something.”

“That’s sexist!” Alex argued, “You just want to be lazy!”

“After all the work I just did, I deserve to be lazy,” Dash laughed at him.

Alex rolled his eyes, “Uh… I know a place we could fly over to.”

“How far is it, and will anypony see me?” Dash asked, “I’m a total mess right now.”

“Don’t worry,” Alex reassured, “It’s midnight, and the place is pretty secluded.”

“Alright,” Dash agreed, “If anypony sees me like this though, you’re dead.”

Alex rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah.”

////

“How much further, Spike?” Rarity asked, “I was hoping to be home before sunrise.”

“You’ll be fine… We’re just about there,” Spike reassured, as the two followed the narrow path up the side of a mountain just outside of town, “And if you get tired, I’ll carry you back.”

Rarity liked the sound of that.

“Here it is!” Spike announced, as they finally reached the end of the path.

“Oh, Spike…” Rarity said, awestruck at the view they had before them.

They could clearly see Ponyville in front of them, and all the dim lights that still illuminated it. Beyond the town, was the sprawling Everfree Forest, completely illuminated by the full moon. Then, as a cherry on the top of the sundae, there was the sky. It was completely stunning. From this angle, it looked like Ponyville had an entire galaxy hanging above it. Needless to say, Spike had just scored some points with her.

“You like it?” Spike asked, knowing full well that she loved it.

“H-how did you ever find this place?” Rarity asked.

“Alex and I just… found it!” Spike laughed nervously.

Rarity knew that there was more to the story, but didn’t particularly care. All she cared about was this moment, as she softly laid her head on his shoulder.

Spike smiled happily, the truth was that Alex had actually MADE this place. He had been out testing his new wings yesterday, when he came across this view. But, since the mountain had no path to this point, only pegasi could see it. So, he did the only sensible thing. He carved out a path with some kind of magic laser.

Then, when he finished, he grabbed Spike, and said: “Spike! If you bring Rarity here, you’ll get mad tail!”

Of course, Spike had no idea what ‘mad tail’ meant, but it much have been a positive thing. After all, Rarity was obviously pretty happy right now.

“Spike,” Rarity whispered, as she took her head off his shoulder.

Spike looked to her.

She kissed him.

////

“I promise,” Alex said, “This is gonna be so nice, you’ll love me for it.”

As the two walked rounded the last corner to the viewpoint, they were surprised to see Spike and Rarity engaged in a very sweet kiss.

“Aww!” Dash smiled, loving the cuteness of the two.

There was no tongue… There was no pony-petting… Just a sweet, simple kiss.

The two watched silently, before looking to each other, and realizing something. Both Dash and Alex were a complete sight. Their manes were a mess. Their coats were matted down in a few places. They were really…

“Trashy…” Dash said.

“We are SO trashy,” Alex agreed, “Look at them!”

“They’re clean… totally not feeling each other up…” Dash listed.

“They’re so innocent!” Alex sighed.

“Geez…” Dash said, “We could really learn some things from them… Maybe tart acting a bit more like them.”

“But… that would mean… no more…” Alex said, looking directly at her.

“I’m pretty happy with trashy, actually,” Dash said.

“I’m totally fine with it,” Alex agreed.

“Let go back to my place,” Dash said, “Show me this tomorrow.”

“Hell yeah,” Alex nodded, “Where’s the fun in innocent?”

////

Rarity pulled back from the kiss and beamed, “Thank you, Spike.”

“Huh…?” Spike asked, coming back to Equestria, after his trip to heaven, “For what?”

“For taking care of me like this…” She smiled earnestly, “I know I can be… difficult sometimes.”

“That’s what’s great about you,” Spike smiled sweetly, “This difficulty will only make me strive to be a better coltfriend.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier with somepony else?” She asked, wanting just a bit more reassurance.

“Maybe,” Spike said, seeing her frown sadly at the answer, “But that pony wouldn’t be you… The pony I truly love.”

Did he just say what she thought he said?

“Spike…” Rarity said, her demeanor now one that confused and worried him.

“I-I’m sorry!” Spike said quickly, “It’s too early to be saying—“

“Shh…” She said, pressing her hoof to his lips, “I love you too Spike.”

They shared another kiss. And this one was just a tiny bit… Trashy-ier than their previous one had been.

////

The Show Stoppers - Part 1

////
The Show Stoppers – Part 1
////

There'll probably be a few errors in the writing, just toss me a PM or put a comment, I'll fix them up right away.

////

The girls had finished their sleepover at the castle without any more incidents. They went to bed, woke up and had a filling breakfast, and then went back to Ponyville with Luna as she transported the leftover food to Scootaloo’s orphanage.

After that, they had all gone home, expecting to spend the rest of the day to themselves. But they got an important message from Applejack, telling them that they needed to stop by the farm as soon as they could. So, since Luna had been spending the day with her, she decided to come along for the trip, and see what was so important for them to see.

“Are Alex and Spike coming to this… meet up?” Luna asked.

“I think so,” Scootaloo said, “Applejack probably stopped by the library, the same as she came by the orphanage.”

“Wonderful!” Luna smiled, “I need to return his Eye-Pod to him.”

“Hey Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle called as she rounded a building, “You on your way to the farm?”

“Sure am!” Scootaloo smiled.

“I am as well!” Luna said.

“I saw Alex and Spike on their way there a few minutes ago, so they’ll probably get there first,” Sweetie explained, “I hope Apple Bloom waits to tell us the surprise.”

“Me too!” Scootaloo agreed.

“Then we’d best hurry!” Luna said, picking up the pace with her two friends.

The three ran down the road together, hoping not to miss any important news. But, luckily for them, they encountered Alex and Spike before any of them reached the farm. But, instead of slowing down and walking with them, they simply continued, wanting to be there first at this point.

“What’s with them?” Alex asked.

Spike shrugged.

“…Wait a minute…” Alex began, placing his hoof under his chin, “I think they want to learn the secret before us!”

“Those scoundrels!” Spike said, his eyes widened.

“Hop on my back, I can get us there in no time!” Alex instructed.

Spike complied, and hopped on his back.

Lamely flapping his wings, Alex hovered a couple inches off the ground, and started moving forward barely faster than running pace.

They motored down the path as the buildings from town became more and more scarce, until they were surrounded by apple trees.

“We’re almost past them!” Spike called as they inched forward past the girls.

Luna looked to their competition, and frowned.

“This will not be our day of defeat!” Luna called, as she levitated the two girls on to her back, and took to the air herself.

Alex and Spike watched in defeat as Luna greatly overtook them.

“Should we teleport or something?” Spike asked.

Alex sighed and shook his head, “I’ll probably get us half stuck in an apple tree.”

“They win this round,” Spike said, “But as soon as you stop sucking at flying, we’ll win for sure!”

Alex couldn’t even disagree with him.

////

Princess Luna and her companions had arrived a few minutes ago at the farm, and were now just waiting on Alex and Spike to catch up. At first, winning that race seemed like the best thing for them to do. But, when they realized they now had to wait for the losers to catch up, they got pretty bored pretty fast.

“We’re here!” Alex called, now flying at a snail’s pace, with Spike collapsed on his back panting himself.

“Why are you tired?” Scootaloo asked Spike, “You were just lying there!”

“I’m always tired,” Spike said generically.

Alex exhaled quickly and set himself on the ground. He them followed it up with lifting Spike up, and dropping him on the ground.

“Why are we here?” Alex asked.

“Ah don’t know!” Apple Bloom said to them, as she turned around and shouted behind her, “Why are we here again, sis?”

“Ah have sumthin’ to show y’all.” Applejack said as she exited the barn.

“Oh boy!” Everypony said in unison.

“Oh!” Applejack said, seeing the Princess standing with them, “Princess Luna! What brings you here?”

“I’m merely spending the day with Scoot-ah-loo,” Luna explained, “Just pretend I’m not here.”

“Uh… Alright,” Applejack shrugged.

“So…Where’s the surprise?” Alex asked, really hoping that it was far away or anything.

“It’s pretty far away,” Applejack confessed, as Alex groaned, “Hey! If yer gonna whine, you can stay here!”

“No!” Alex said righting himself, “I’m sorry!”

“That’s what ah thought!” Applejack laughed, “Come on, y’all!”

////

They followed Applejack for a good ten minutes, as she led them through a maze of trees and bushes. Every now and then, she would stop, and plant a small wooden post out of her saddlebag, and place it in the ground, so they wouldn’t have trouble retracing their path on the way back.

“How much further?” Apple Bloom asked, feeling her legs start to ache a bit.

“Jus’ a bit!” Applejack said.

“I feel like all this walking doesn’t make it worth it…” Alex sighed.

“What was that?” Applejack called.

“Nothing!” Alex laughed nervously.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they finally arrived at the location that Applejack had been leading them to. And what she showed them was… Underwhelming to say the least.

“It’s yer very own clubhouse!” She announced, smiling to the frowning ponies behind her, “Don’t thank me all at once…”

“Oh, thanks!” Alex feigned, looking at the very destroyed treehouse.

“It’s… great…” Spike managed, through his disappointment.

“It used to be mine when I was a filly,” Applejack explained, “It sure hasn’t been used in a while.”

As if it was on cue, a board fell from the roof, and landed on the ground with a loud ‘bang.’

“It uh… Just needs some TLC!” Applejack laughed nervously.

“Does that stand for tender loving care?” Scootaloo asked, “Or total lost cause?”

“Applejack!” Apple Bloom whined, “We’re supposed to make THIS our clubhouse?”

“Well, maybe y’all find yer cutie marks in… House keepin’!”

////

“So, what’s the plan exactly?” Scootaloo asked the group, “Work together… or what?”

“Ah think ah can clean this place up right quick!” Apple Bloom announced, “But y’all need to help me!”

A quiet groan passed through everypony, even Princess Luna.

“Would it be more prudent for me to order some guards to fix it for us?” Luna asked, hoping everypony would agree with her.

“We can’t!” Sweetie cut in, “What if we’re supposed to be Cutie Mark carpenters?”

Luna sighed, there wouldn’t be any cheating then.

Alex looked back and forth, and realized that he REALLY didn’t want to have anything to do with this fix up effort. He had been feeling exceptionally lazy today, and wanted nothing more than to lie down, and do nothing. In his defense, he had had a pretty busy couple of days.

“Hey guys…” Alex said, as everypony looked at him, “I was supposed to do something with Colors today; I just didn’t expect this to take so long.”

Spike gave him a wry look, he remembered Alex saying he had nothing to do today.

“That’s fine!” Scootaloo smiled, “Go have fun with her, we’ve got this.”

“Yeah…” Spike said, looking at Alex with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be, but I’ll try to be quick!” Alex said, casting a spell and teleporting himself away.

“Alright girls!” Apple Bloom called, “Let’s get to work!”

Spike shook his head, he wasn’t really upset with Alex… He just wished Alex had given Spike an excuse to leave as well.

Luna sighed. She knew Alex was lying as well. And had ALSO wished that he had given her a ‘get out of repairing free’ card.

////
A Few Hours Later
////

Alex felt guilty.

The girls had all started working on the house right away, but he had made up an excuse, and ran for the hills, leaving both Spike and Luna at the mercy of the fillies.

He personally had no hope for the conversion of that tree house into anything useable. It was basically falling apart.

But now, here he was, walking around town, doing nothing at all productive. Maybe he should have stayed behind to help…

“Hey, Alex!” Pinkie called from the front steps of Sugarcube Corner, “What’s goin’ on?”

“Nothing much,” Alex shrugged, walking over to her, “What about you?”

“I just finished making a batch of cupcakes!” Pinkie smiled, “Do you want to try one out?”

“Na…” Alex sighed, “I don’t deserve a cupcake.”

“Why?” Pinkie asked.

“I kinda ditched some friends, so I wouldn’t have to work hard…” Alex admitted, as Pinkie shook her head disapprovingly.

“Alex, that’s not very polite you know!” Pinkie scolded, “Listen here, why not take my cupcakes over there, and offer to help out?”

Scratching his head, Alex quickly decided that this would be the best course of action.

“Sure, why not?” Alex asked, as Pinkie ran back into the bakery quickly.

Looking around, he noticed a piece of paper pinned to the side of the building.

‘Ponyville School Talent Show: Showcase your talents for all to see!’

Alex read it over, and thought about the girls giving this a try; they were in the school that was hosting this competition.

“Here, Alex!” Pinkie called from inside the house, as a box flew through the door.

Alex narrowly caught it with a spell before it hit the ground.

“Nice catch!” She said, trotting out of the house.

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Alex smiled, “I’ll take these over and apologize!”

“Good boy!” She giggled, “If you guys run out, just let me know, and I’ll make some more!”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Alex said as he headed away.

Now, all Alex had to worry about, was not eating the cupcakes before he could show everypony this poster.

////

Alex flew himself up over the trees in the orchard as he looked for the tree house.

He would have teleported, but things had a tendency to be left behind when that happened, and he didn’t want to lose these cupcakes for anything.

Finally, after ten or so minutes, Alex managed to spot the group of ponies working away below him.

Flapping down, he approached them all, and dropped the box of treats on the ground.

“What’s that?” Spike asked, looking the box over.

“These are from Sugarcube corner,” Alex said, “My plans with Dash fell through, so I grabbed these, and came back.”

“That’s awful kind a’ you!” Apple Bloom said, “But we’re jus’ about done now.”

Alex looked at the tree house and felt his jaw drop; they had totally fixed it up!

“H-how did you do it so fast?” Alex asked in awe, “Did you do it, Princess?”

“Actually, it was Apple Bloom that coordinated the job!” Luna explained.

“Wow…” Alex said, not expecting that answer, “Oh! I got something here you three should see!”

The three girls walked toward him as he levitated the poster he had been holding up to them.

“What’s this…?” Sweetie asked, reading the poster over.

“A talent contest?” Scootaloo asked.

“Bein’ hosted by the school!?” Apple Bloom finished.

They all looked to each other, this was it!

“This is how we’re going to get our Cutie Marks!” Scootaloo Cheered.

“Finally!” Sweetie chimed in.

“But… what’re we gonna do?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Let’s brain storm!” Scootaloo said, “If everypony chips in, we should have something amazing in five minutes flat!”

////
45 Minutes Later
////

“Okay,” Alex said, reading over the massive list that they had accumulated of what was going to happen in the show, “It’s a rock opera, with Scoots on lead vocals, Sweetie on set design, and Apple Bloom on choreography.”

Everypony nodded.

“We need fabric from Rarity for costumes, that’s you, Spike.” Alex said to him.

“Sure thing!” Spike nodded.

“Princess, could you get a fan from Mr. Breezy?” Alex asked.

“Of course,” She answered.

“Great!” Alex said, “Now, I hope none of you think this is presumptuous of me, but I think that since only you three can be IN the show, Spike, Luna, and myself should all play supporting roles.”

“Duh!” Sweetie said, rolling her eyes, and making Alex feel a bit stupid, “Of course that was going to happen!”

“So,” Alex asked, “What would you guys like to do?”

“Well, since Karate is JUST like dancing, I could help Apple Bloom with some of her stuff,” Spike suggested.

“Perfect!” Alex said, “What about you, Luna?”

“Um…” She said, thinking to herself, “I could use magic, to enhance the visuals of the show!”

“Special effects!” Alex said nodding, “Great idea!”

“What about you?” Scootaloo asked.

“Come on,” Alex said, grinning, “I’m going to be the director!”

////

The Show Stoppers - Part 2

////
The Show Stoppers – Part 2
////

Again, there might be some editing issues, i'm trying to get a bunch of stuff out, before i'm busy with work again, and that means i might miss a few things i would otherwise write, and a few grammar issues. Just leave a comment, i'll fix it up.

I just want to continue the story quickly, so that if i don't post for two weeks, at least i posted a bunch before that time came. I'll come back when i get free time, and redo a bunch of this.

////

Alex leaned back in his chair and frowned. He had fashioned a director’s chair, and sat human style, with one leg draped over the other, despite the fact that it was completely uncomfortable, but totally worth having the professional look. But, when he started to do this rock-opera with the CMC, he had such a strong image in his mind of what it needed to be. But now, everypony seemed to be doing their own thing, despite his best efforts to get them to do what he wanted.

So far, Sweetie had shown them a song she had been working on, that they all pitched in to help finish.

Scootaloo helped stylize the song, so it sounded much more like a rock song.

And Apple Bloom was working with Spike on the dances that would be going into the song.

“Alright, let’s break for a few,” Alex said standing up, as all the girls climbed off the stage.

The three girls were pretty happy with themselves. They had been trying their best to follow Alex’s instruction, but they also had a way they wanted to do things.

“Alright everypony,” Alex said, “Let’s go over some notes.”

Luna and Spike also walked out from what would be backstage when the contest came.

“What did you wanna talk about?” Scootaloo asked, taking a deep breath.

“What’s the progress on the costumes so far?” Alex asked.

“I’m working on them!” Sweetie said happily, “Spike convinced Rarity to spare some fabric for me to work with!”

“Great,” Alex said, “I can’t wait to have a look at them.”

“I’ll have ‘em ready soon!” She smiled.

“Alright,” Alex said, “Now I wanted to get on to the main points I wanted to talk about.”

Everypony listened intently.

“Scootaloo, you’re singing is great,” Alex began, having no true idea that she was actually horribly off key, “But you need to annunciate!”

“A-nun… What?” She asked, tilting her head.

“It means you need to say some parts of the word louder, so you can be understood.” Alex said, “Like saying: HunT. Or, T-Talk.” He annunciated.

“Ooooh.” Scootaloo nodded, understanding, “I’ll give it a try.”

“Okay,” Alex nodded, “And Apple Bloom, how’s the dance coming along?”

“Pretty good!” She smiled.

“Just keep working with Spike.” Alex said, “We’ll put it in later.”

She nodded.

“And the special effects, Luna?” Alex asked.

“I will have the lasers and lightning ready whenever you need them!” She said happily.

“Perfect!” Alex smiled, he worried the least about this part of the show, Luna was dependable.

“Now, remember you guys!” Alex said, “When we get back to it, just follow my instructions.”

Everypony nodded.

“Great!” Alex said, “Let’s go.”

////

Scootaloo took a deep breath. She had sung through once while Apple Bloom did the parts of her dace, or… Karate along with it. Alex nodded, then told her to start again, so he could fix things on the fly.

Look here, are three little ponies, ready to sing for this cr—

“Do a twirl there!” Alex cut in.

She nodded, then did a twirl.

Listen up, ‘cause here’s our story,

“Annunciate!” Alex called.

Ahem, Listen up, Cause here’s our sTory,

Alex nodded.

Scootaloo looked to her friends, as they stepped forward to sing the next line with her.

I’m gonna sing it, VERY LOUD!

The three all shouted the line at the top of their lungs, not particularly caring whether or not it sounded good.

“Okay guys,” Alex said, before they could continue, “How about if you all raise your front legs over your head when you sing that line?”

The three looked to each other confused, this wasn’t a stage production.

“I’ll sing you in,” Alex said, “I’m gonna sing it—“

VERY LOUD!

They all sang and raised their arms up. It didn’t feel right to them, but only Alex seemed to like it.

“Luna, could you do a bolt when they sing that line?” Alex asked her.

“Of course!” She said, walking over to the window of the tree house, and poking her head out.

Alex cocked his head, “What are you doing?”

“Well, I can’t make the sound without the lightning!” She explained, “I need to shoot it somewhere safe.”

“Uh… Okay,” Alex shrugged, “One more time!”

The three girls got ready once again.

We’re gonna sing it REALLY LOUD!

The girls raised up their arms, as Luna blasted a massive lightning bolt into the sky, deafening the ponies in the tree house.

“Geez!” Alex shouted, having no idea how loud he was being, “Not so loud!”

“My apologies!” Luna frowned, afraid that she had upset him.

“Just a bit quieter, okay?” Alex asked.

“Of course…” She said a bit put out.

“Okay…” Alex said, turning back to the girls, “Let’s go again!”

The three girls sighed.

We’re gonna sing it VERY LOUD!

The girls raised their arms, and Luna made a quieter bolt of thunder.

“Perfect!” Alex said, “Now let’s work on proper blocking!”

“Uh… Alex-” Scootaloo tried.

“Sweetie Belle, you need to come in from that side, after she sings her second line.” Alex explained.

“Sure, but…”

“And Apple Bloom!” Alex said, turning to her, “I want to see some more karate before your turn comes to sing at the beginning.”

“I can help her with that,” Spike said encouragingly.

“Hey Alex!” Apple Bloom shouted, finally getting his attention.

“Yes?” He asked, turning to her.

“Is all this REALLY necessary?” Scootaloo asked, feeling like this was WAY more work than it would have been without him here.

“Of course,” Alex said, “I took drama in junior high, and I know what I’m doing.”

“Well… Okay,” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

And with that, they set to work.

////
The morning before the talent show
////

The show was almost perfect! Alex had painstakingly run through the song with the girls, and he was happy with what they were going to present to Ponyville tonight. Alex had made sure that the costumes were better than the ones Sweetie Belle had originally wanted to make. He made Scootaloo give up some of her singing lines, and share them with the other girls. And he asked Luna to use a massive amount of sound and visual effects. He was surprised a Princess had so much time to dedicate to this kind of thing.

The only thing he had been a bit curious about, was the meeting everypony had partaken in last night after they finished rehearsals. The girls had been tired all week, and usually went right back home after rehearsal. But Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Spike, and Luna all went out. But when Alex tried to go with them, they told him it was a secret, and that he would hear about it today.

“You all ready for tonight?” Alex asked his team as they all grouped up outside of the tree house, where they had to move their rehearsals, on account of the sets and props.

“Well…” Sweetie began awkwardly.
“About that…” Apple Bloom added.

“How do we say this?” Scootaloo asked nervously.

“You’re fired!” Luna bellowed.

“W-what?” Alex asked, absolutely shocked.

“We’ve been talkin’” Apple Bloom began.

“And we think that you’re just making things worse!” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“And you took away a bunch of my dynamite singing!” Scootaloo finished.

Alex felt his heart sink. That kinda hurt…

“Sorry dude,” Spike said, “But they’re totally right!”

“How?” Alex asked, looking back and forth between them.

“Well… Your direction has been kinda… Dumb.” Spike sighed.

“I-It has?” Alex asked.

“Look,” Spike said, grabbing a wig that Alex had insisted on them using, “Look at this wig.”

It was a big, puffy, British lawyer-style wig, that he insisted would be great for the first act of the song.

“Uh…” Alex said, scratching the back of his head.

“And that’s another thing,” Spike said, “Why is this in multiple acts?”

“So we can have an intermission,” Alex said, “It’s important that the audience takes a break.”

“Riiiight.” Spike said.

“And what about the use of thine pyrotechnics?” Luna asked, “It could burn down the stage.”

“But… It looks really, really, really… REALLY cool…”Alex said.

They all gave him a serious look.

“But… That how we did it in junior high..” Alex sighed.

“Didn’t you say you were in high school?” Spike asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Alex answered, “Why?”

“Why didn’t you take drama in high school?” The Dragon-Pony asked.

“Because everyone in the class was a pretentious butthole.” Alex explained simply, “Bossy, holier than thou… thought they knew what was best for everyone…”

“Sound like anyone?” Spike asked.

Alex sighed, “I guess I’ve been a bit like that.”

“So, we have a few hours,” Spike said, “Why don’t we all work together, and make something we all can agree on?”

Alex looked to the girls as they all nodded.

“Well, I guess we can give it a try.” Alex said, thinking over all the ridiculous changed he had made to the, “I’m sorry, I was wack.”

Alex expected Spike to respond with a: No man, I was wack.

It didn’t come

////

The audience stood in silence as they waited for the next act to come out on stage.

Alex and Spike stood at the front of the crowd with their respective mare friends, and Luna stood backstage, ready to do some effects that they had all agreed on. However, their teacher had told them all that it was a talent show for children, and that her help had to be minimal. The princess wasn’t used to being told such things, or yielding to somepony else’s authority. But, those were the rules.

Sweetie had quickly thrown together some new costumes, much more in the vein of what they had originally wanted. They looked more like rockers from an 80s hair metal band. It was pretty awesome, Alex had to admit.

“Up next,” The school teacher, Cheerilee, said to the audience, “Is a song, being sung by the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

The crowd cheered as a song started playing in the background, and a single light shined in the foreground, illuminating Scootaloo’s face.

Look, here, are three little ponies,
Ready to sing for this crowd,
Listen up, 'cause here's our story
I'm gonna sing it VERY LOUD!

By now, all three girls were in the light, and were in the light, and the audience ad zero idea what the buck was going to happen next.

When you’re, a younger pony,
And your flank is very bare,
Feels like the sun will never come,
When your Cutie Marks’s not there

A poorly made wooden sun was raised into the air by Sweetie Belle who was off stage.

So the three of us fight the fight!

Apple Bloom jumped in the air, and proceeded to do two karate chops, and one kick.

There is nothing that we fear!

Luna poked her horn from off stage at the cheap bats and ghosts they had made as props, and shot them, turning them into the real thing. It would definitely sell how brave they were!

We’ll have to figure out what we’ll do next,
When our Cutie Marks are here!

The bats and ghosts she had made never landed on the stage. So, Luna shrugged, and decided to forget about them, and get ready for the lasers.

We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders,
On a quest to find out who we are,
And we will never stop the journey,
Not until we have our Cutie Marks!

Scootaloo proceeded to fall off a platform, and face plant on the floor, as Apple Bloom kept repeating her punches and kicks.

Sweetie Belle turned the crank on the fog machine, pouring it on to the stage, setting up for the next part of the song.

As the guitar solo went on in the background, Luna started firing random beams of differently colored light that lit of the fog nicely. It was a positive in a sea of negatives.

They all say that you’ll get your mark,
When the time is really right,
And you’ll know just what you’re supposed to do,
When your talent comes to light,

Sweetie Belle ran through in an attempt to move a prop, and tripped over Scootaloo inadvertently, sending her right off the other side of the stage, knocking a light over, so it illuminated Apple Bloom. In a fit of panic, she started doing mad karate moved, but accidentally put her leg through a background prop, and dragged it across the stage.

But it’s not as easy as it sounds,
And that waiting’s hard to do,
So we test our talents everywhere,
Until our face is blue!

Sweetie Belle quickly but a blue gel on top of a spotlight, and made Scootaloo’s face turn that color.

We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders,
On a quest to find out who we are,
And we will never stop the journey,
Not until we have our Cutie Marks,

Sweetie Belle ran back on stage, but accidentally turned on a fan, sending various debris flying across the stage.

Luna looked at the damage that had been caused, and was being caused, so she tried her best to keep important things from flying apart. But she couldn’t do much from where she stood, and didn’t want to get them in trouble by jumping into action

Once Apple Bloom freed her leg from the set piece she had put it through, it knocked into another piece, making both of them wobble, so, Sweetie ran to them, and placed a front leg on one to keep it upright, and a back leg on the other.

We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders,
On a quest to find out who we are,
And we will never stop the journey,
Not until we have our Cutie Marks!

Just as the song concluded, the set finally collapsed, falling entirely on top of them.

The three girls dragged themselves out of the debris, and looked at the audience expectantly for their applause, and cheering.

Seeing his cue, Alex started to clap slowly, wanting to finally be the guy that stated the legendary ‘slow-clap.’ However, once he started, he didn’t listen for anypony else to join in. He simply started clapping louder, and louder, until he was cheering alone.

“Hey!” Dash scolded, smacking him.

“Wha—“

He quickly noticed the eerie silence.

“Oh…” Alex said.

“Eeek!” A pony shouted, “A giant bat!”

“And a huge spider!” Another called, as the crowd started to get rowdy.

“That’s where they went!” Luna laughed, before realizing everypony was freaking out, “Oh! Let me get those!”

She then went on to start aimlessly blast at the creatures of her making, in hopes of catching them. Instead, she accidentally hit the side of the stage curtain, and lit it on fire.

“Oh glob!” Alex said, “Somepony call the police!”

Before it was a rowdy crowd. Now it was anarchy.

Everypony running in opposite directions, the bats and ghosts still flying around, the fire spreading… Until Twilight put it out with a simple ice spell, and gathered the animals Luna had unleashed.

Then everything was pretty much fine.

////

Finally, after everything calmed down, the rest of the show had been cancelled. They decided to reschedule it for a few weeks ahead, and let everypony give it another try. However, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had had enough of the rock-opera life style.

“You guys sure you don’t wanna try again?” Alex asked, “I’m sure Luna would be able to do some more, after all, Cheerilee kinda stole her entire part away from the show.

“We’re sure,” Sweetie said, “We tried, and we didn’t get out Cutie Marks,”

The three of them all turned their flanks and sighed, seeing nothing there.

“Well, I for sure didn’t get one in directing,” Alex shrugged, “But who knows? Maybe we’ll find them tomorrow!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo agreed, “It’s just a matter of time before we find out what our secret talents are!”

“There’s only so much we can do!” Apple Bloom agreed.

“It’s a simple process of elimination,” Alex nodded.

“And there can’t be much left for us to try,” Spike said, “So let’s keep going right now!”

“Wait,” Scootaloo said, “Where’s the princess?”

“I think Twilight is yelling at her for not being more responsible.” Alex said.

“I hope she won’t be banned from the group by Twilight!” Sweetie squeaked.

“She’s a princess,” Alex explained, “Twilight can’t boss her around.”

“Well that’s good news,” Scootaloo said, “I really like her hanging out with us!”

“Luna will be around a lot more,” Alex reassured, “And just like today, I’m sure she’ll get herself into trouble along the way.”

They all smiled and nodded. Sure, today had been a bit of a bust, but they had all learned from the experience… What they learned however, nopony could really say.

A Dog and Pony Show - Part 1

////
A Dog and Pony Show – Part 1
////

Again, might be missing a few things editing wise.

////

“Hey, Twilight!” Alex called, walking out of his room at the library, “Have you seen Spike?”

Walking in from the kitchen, Twilight gave him a frustrated look, “I haven’t seen him all day!”

“Really?” Alex asked, “Wasn’t just going out with Rarity to help her gather gems or something?”

“Yeah,” Twilight nodded, “But he promised he’s be back by noon.”

“Noon?” Alex asked in surprise, “It’s already eight!”

Twilight nodded, “I figured he was just spending some extra time with Rarity… But that is a pretty long time.”

“You don’t think he’s… Sleeping over, do you?” Alex asked awkwardly.

“No!” Twilight immediately cut in, “I mean, I hope not…!”

The awkward silence was a bit unpleasant, as nether of them wanted to imagine such a thing happening with the little guy.

“Uh…” Alex began, “Why don’t we go check The Carousel Boutique?”

Twilight nodded quickly, “I’m sure they just got caught up on something.”

“Exactly,” Alex nodded, “It’ll be just fine.”

////

*Knock Knock*

“Geez, still no answer?” Alex asked Twilight, as she continued pounding.

“I wonder what’s up…” Twilight sighed, “It’s not like Spike to keep me out of the loop.”

“Maybe they’re out or something?” Alex asked, “But… nothing would be open on a Sunday this late.”

Twilight scratched her head, before somepony finally turned the light on in the main section of Rarity’s store.

“Finally,” Alex laughed as the door creaked open.

However, they were both somewhat disappointed when it was Sweetie Belle that answered the door, and not Rarity or Spike. And what was worse, she looked quite sad.

“Sweetie?” Twilight asked, kneeling down, “What’s wrong?”

“I… I think something happened to Rarity,” She squeaked.

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, “Haven’t you seen her?”

Sweetie shook her head, “Rarity went out at nine, and told me to wait for her before I could go out with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom… But she didn’t come back!”

“What about Spike?” Alex asked.

Sweetie shrugged, “He was with her, but I haven’t seen him either…”

Alex and Twilight exchanged a look.

“Do you know where they were going?” Twilight asked.

Sweetie nodded.

“Can you take us there?”

////

“Rarity sure goes out of her way to look for gems,” Alex said to the girls as they walked down the forest path toward wherever it was that they had been searching for jewels.

“You’re sure this is where they were going?” Twilight asked Sweetie, as they finally came to a clearing with a few holes dug in it.

“I helped Rarity find this place,” Sweetie Belle explained, “She showed me how to do her gem finding spell!”

Nopony responded as Alex and Twilight scanned the now moonlit field. However, they couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. It was clear where Rarity and Spike HAD been. There were a half a dozen holes dug up, and one half dug hole.

“I guess this is where they stopped,” Alex said, looking at the surrounding trees, and into the sky for any kind of sign of them, or what could have led them away, “Do you see anything, Twilight?”

She shook her head, “Nothing…”

“Is there any kind of magic that could help us?” Alex asked her, “Like, for scanning… or something like that?”

Twilight thought for a moment, before suddenly remembering a spell she had used a few months ago.

“There is one thing I could try!” Twilight said to them, “It’s a spell I used back when you disappeared for three months!”

“What spell was that?” Alex asked, cocking his head.

“A spell that’ll let us SEE what happened in the past,” Twilight explained, “We can’t interact, or change anything… But it’ll tell us what happened to them!”

“Alright,” Alex shrugged, “Use it up!”

“Okay,” She nodded, “Get close to me, so the spell will work on you too.”

Sweetie and Alex stepped next to her, as she closed her eyes, and started focusing.

Just as it had the last time, a small purple bubble appeared on her horn, and started expanding, until it had enveloped the three of them.

“Are you guys ready?” Twilight asked as soon as the three were inside of the spell.

Alex nodded.

“Sure am!” Sweetie said, excited that she was being included in this grown-up adventure.

Twilight opened her eyes, and completed the spell, as the world around them started to rewind, showing all that had happened to this place in the past few hours.

The day was completely static as they went backward a few hours, and continued to be so, until they reached about ten hours earlier in the day, where they saw Rarity and Spike digging up the sixth hole together, something that surprised them to see her doing.

Once they found their treasure, Rarity levitated the gems into her saddlebag, gave Spike a kiss on the cheek, and moved on to the next hole. The last one they had been working on before whatever happened to them happened.

They all watched silently as Rarity showed the spot to Spike, and then joined him in the digging process.

However, Rarity noticed something shuffling in the bushes.

Spike looked up from his job as three upright dogs exited the bushes, and walked toward them silently.

“Who are you?” Spike asked, taking a defensive stance in front of Rarity, “What do you want?”

They didn’t answer; they just kept walking toward them.

Spike took a step back, as a bunch more of these dogs come out of the other bushes around them.

“Rarity, let’s get out of here,” Spike said, seeing the imminent danger coming toward them.

“Please,” She said as they backed out, keeping her eyes on the approaching animals.

“On three, we run,” Spike said under his breath, “Okay?”

She nodded, gulping.

“One…”

The dogs stopped.

“Two…”

They crouched down, taking an aggressive stance.

“Three!” Spike shouted, as the two turned tail, and ran toward the forest behind them.

“Get them!” One dog shouted.

Rarity and Spike were fast, but these dogs were faster, and it didn’t take them long to close the distance.

Seeing that being caught up to was inevitable, Spike gulped, and waited for them to be nipping at his hoofs. And, as soon as they were, he put all of his weight into his backside, and stopped abruptly. Without any time to react, the dog slammed into Spike, and the two tumbled on to the ground. And the rest of the extremely close dogs started crashing into them as well.

“Spike!” Rarity called, seeing the whole thing happen.

“Go!” He grunted, “Get out of here!”

Rarity shook her head, she wasn’t leaving him behind. She ran back to him, and levitated him out of the pile of stunned dogs.

“Are you okay?” She asked, genuinely concerned.

Spike nodded, and then sighed, “You should have just gone… Gotten help…”

“Don’t worry,” She whispered, “Sweetie knows we’re here.”

Spike nodded. At least help would be coming.

Quickly, the dogs regained their composure, and surrounded the two.

“Who are you?” Spike asked, his eyes narrowed.

“We the Diamond Dogs,” Their leader said, stepping forward, “And you have special gift.”

“Special gift?” Rarity asked, “Whatever are you talking about?”

“Finding gems!” He shouted, “If we use you, we won’t have to go digging for days just to find ONE measly sapphire!”

“If we help you,” Spike began, “Will you let us go?”

“Of course we will,” He answered, clearly lying to them, “Now come with us!”

Spike wanted to fight, but he knew he would be hurt, and Celestia forbid that Rarity also get hurt somehow.

“Okay,” Spike said, remembering what Rarity had told him about Sweetie Belle. And if Twilight had half a brain, she would use that same spell she had used when Alex went missing, which would mean that she was going to be watching them right now!

Which meant he could communicate with her!

“Where are you taking us?” Spike asked.

“To our underground lair!” The dog laughed, “Very hidden!”

“Underground?” Spike asked, “Right below us? Seems like a dumb place.”

“No!” A henchman explained, “It’s under a biiiig lake on other side of the forest!”

“Thanks for telling me that,” Spike smiled, “I’m just happier knowing where it is.”

“Shut up!” The leader said, to his guard.

“Sorry…” He grumbled.

“Alright, get these two home,” He barked, “There's plenty of work to do!”

Rarity and Spike were escorted over to one of the bushes that the dogs had risen from, and were shown a large hole that had been freshly dug in the ground.

“In!” The leader shouted.

They complied, and entered the hole, as the group of guards went to various holes around the area.

Suddenly, the bubble around the three reformed, and started to rapidly fast forward time, until they were back in present time.

Twilight, Sweetie, and Alex were shocked at what they had just seen.

“They’ve been kidnapped?!” Sweetie shouted, as the bubble vanished.

“I hope they’re okay…” Alex said.

“Well, we know where they are,” Twilight said, “Spike was polite enough to get that information for us.”

“So, what’s the plan then?” Alex asked.

Seeing the two of them get involved in a conversation, Sweetie decided to go check on one of the holes she had seen in the flashback.

Trotting into the forest, she quickly went out of sight from Alex and Twilight, something she really shouldn’t have done.

“We can go get help, and leave them for a few hours while we get ready…” Twilight suggested, “Or we blast in there, and rescue them ourselves.”

Alex was surprised Twilight would suggest such a wild idea. “I choose the latter, but… are you sure that YOU choose the latter?”

Twilight gave a solid nod, “I know you’re strong enough to keep us safe from them, they have no magic.”

“Alright,” Alex said, “What about Sweetie Belle, though?”

“Oh right,” Twilight said, turning around, not seeing the filly, “Where is she?”

Alex turned around as well, and saw that she had vanished.

“Heeeeeeeeelp!” Sweetie called from the distance.

They both started running at full speed toward the voice, unfortunately, they never caught up. Sweetie only made the one call for help, and they had no idea where they had gotten to with her. All they could see was endless trees, and the sound of water.

“Crap,” Alex said angrily, “This is NOT good.”

“Why did we take our eyes off of her?” Twilight said, scolding herself for the stupidity.

“We know where they took her,” Alex said, pointing a hoof toward a patch of water he could see through the trees in front of him, “Let’s go get her back.”

Twilight nodded, “Let’s find our way in.”

////

Dog and Pony Show - Part 2

////
A Dog and Pony Show – Part 2
////

Same as before, grammar errors, just post a comment.

////

“It was over here,” Twilight said, sticking her head into a bush, finding one of the holes that had been used by these dogs.

“It’s a far drop,” Alex said levitating Twilight off the ground, much to her surprise, “I’ll levitate you down.”

After the initial shock wore off, Twilight finally got what it felt like to be suddenly lifted into the air. Something she had done to her friends on many occasions. Maybe she needed to be more considerate…

Leading her down first, Alex carefully flew down behind her, not wanting to drop himself, or her due to lack of concentration.

Landing, the two took a good look around the area, and were surprised at the sheer number of tunnels there were around them. They were pretty happy that they knew the direction they were going.

“We’ve gotta be careful not to get lost in here,” Alex said.

Twilight nodded, and pointed to her left, “The Lake is that way.”

“Alright, let’s go then!” Alex said, “We need to hurry and save them!”

////

“W-who are you?” Sweetie asked, as a large dog loomed over her, “And what do you want with me and my sister?!”

“Fido!” The dog growled, “And you know that annoying pony?!”

“That’s my sister!” She said, “And I agree with you on her being annoying sometimes.”

“Doesn’t matter!” He said, “A guard told me, that you knew the spell to find gems!”

Sweetie nodded happily, proud that she knew that. However, she realized that this is why they captured her. So, she quickly changed her eager nods, to nervous shakes of the head.

“You don’t help, you never go free!” Fido threatened, “So find the gems, and dig them up!”

“But… I’m not a worker!” Sweetie insisted, REALLY not liking the idea of digging up anything, “I can show you where the jewels are though!”

“You’re like the other pony,” He growled, “Fine. Guards!”

A group of dogs showed up, and stood at attention.

“Where are the gems?” He asked again.

Closing her eyes and concentrating, Sweetie cast the spell as accurately as possible. And, after a minute, she started to get something from right under her.

Drawing an ‘x’ in the ground, the group of dogs got to work digging the hole. One that they quickly finished.

“What’s in there?” The Fido asked impatiently.

“Uh…” A guard said nervously, “It’s a bone I buried a few weeks ago.”

“What!?” Fido growled, “Is this a joke, pony?”

“No!” Sweetie said quickly, “I don’t know the spell that well yet!”

Fido narrowed his eyes, this small girl would be easy to control, he just needed to turn up the heat a bit, “Until you learn, you will dig!”

Sweetie didn’t like the sound of that.

“One more try!” She begged, “Please! I can find you gems!”

“One more try!” He repeated.

Concentrating hard, she scanned the ground for anything else. Quickly sensing a pile of something to her left, she trotted over to it, and drew an ‘x’ with her hoof.

“Go!” Fido ordered.

The dogs leapt on the marked spot, and dug up as quickly as possible.

Sweetie was confident that she had found a pile of gems this time. It was a cluster of small things in a pile. What else could it possibly be? It had to be gems! She was sure of it… Unless…

“What is it?” Fido shouted.

“Uh…” A guard said, unsure of himself, “Its poo.”

////

“Are you sure we’re still going the right way?” Alex asked, rubbing his eyes, “It feels like we’ve been going in circles…”

“Well,” Twilight said, inspecting the ground, and seeing their hoof tracks, “I guess we have been.”

“Which way is the lake again?” Alex asked, pointing behind them, “That way? Or maybe… this way?”

“Over there,” Twilight said, pointing to a connected group of tunnels, “There’s a hole in the roof there, fly up and get our bearings.”

Alex nodded as they walked to the intersection, then took off up the hole.

Reaching the surface, he flew above the trees, but couldn’t see the lake in any direction around him. So, he flew higher, until he finally was able to see it. And, unfortunately, it was VERY far away… In the wrong direction.

Sighing, Alex flew himself back down the hole and delivered the bad news.

“Does this mean we have to navigate all the way back?” Alex whined.

“No,” Twilight shrugged, quickly grabbing him in a levitation spell, “We’ll walk back on the surface.”

“Deal.” Alex said happily, not having considered that option, as Twilight raised them both up the hole.

“Let’s find a hole a bit closer to the lake,” Alex suggested, “It’ll make them easier to find.”

Twilight nodded, “We should have done that in the first place.”

Moving quickly, they both started running in the direction of the lake, not wanting to waste any time in saving their friends.

////

“Ugh,” Sweetie groaned as she dug up the next pile underground, “Can I take a break?”

“No!” Fido said, “You just started!”

Scraping her hoof lightly against the dirt, Sweetie made no real progress at getting to the treasure.

“Faster!” Fido ordered.

“I already know that I’m not a Cutie Mark Crusader Construction Worker!” Sweetie explained, “So I’m not going to worry about doing well!”

Fido growled. This pony was getting to be more trouble than she was worth. But still, she was just a little girl… So all her had to do was scare her.

“Do you know what happens to useless ponies?” The dog said, feigning a smile.

“…What?” Sweetie asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

“Well…” He said, leaning in close, “Sometimes we get—“

“What IS that smell?” Sweetie asked, pulling away from the dog.

“Smell?” The Dog asked, blowing his breath right in her face.

“Oh!” She giggled, “Mystery solved, it’s your breath!”

“Arg!” Fido Growled, turning away from Sweetie and smelling his breath for the second time today, “That’s what the other pony said!”

Giggling, Sweetie Belle noticed something in the ground below them… It gave her an idea!

Really digging her hoof into the ground, she started digging up as fast as she could. It was pretty deep… But she would make it fast enough.

“Uh…” Fido said, confused at her sudden inspiration to work, “Good…! Keep going!”

Digging to the source of the pile, she was upset to see that it was a pile of rocks.

“Dang,” She huffed, knocking her hoof into the ground again, feeling the dirt cave beneath her hit, “Hey! It’s hollow here!”

“No, stop! Don’t do that!” Fido said, as Sweetie went to work digging up.

His warning fell on deaf ears, as she dug through to the tunnel below them, and made that tunnel cave in, sending everyone above it, tumbling below.

“I told you to stop!” Fido growled, as he picked himself up from the fall.

“Oops…” Sweetie said sadly, looking up to the dog with big eyes, “I’m sorry…”

“It’s… It’s fine!” He said, now feeling bad for her, “Let’s try again.”

“Thanks…” She said, still looking sad.

“What is wrong with you, pony?” He demanded.

“Oh, nothing…” She sighed, “I’m just thirsty.”

“Oh,” He said, looking to one of the guards, “Fetch her some watcher!”

The guard nodded and ran off into the other room, before quickly returning with a rather dirty cup of water.

“Oh,” Sweetie said, “It’s fine I guess…”

“What’s wrong now?!” He asked.

“I was just kinda feeling like some sparkling water,” She shrugged.

“Ugh, fine,” The dog sighed, “Get her the bubbly water!”

Sweetie grinned inwardly.

Yes.

It was all coming together.

////
Two Hours Later
////

“Look,” Alex said, looking around the new tunnel they had come into, “We’re RIGHT under the lake, and I don’t see anything.”

“Maybe it’s further in?” Twilight suggested, “Or maybe on another level?”

Suddenly, a loud crash from directly in front of them was heard.

Not saying a word, the two ran for the source of the noise. Luckily, the noise continued as they closed the distance. They might have gotten lost on the way if it hadn’t.

“There’s a door,” Alex pointed, throwing it open with a spell, the two ran in, and were somewhat surprised at what they came across.

“Uh… Rarity?” Twilight asked, “What’s going on?”

The dogs around her were all running off as fast as they could.

“What did you guys do?” Alex asked them, as Spike walked up next to Rarity.

“She got them all to leave!” Spike laughed, “Just by whining, and pretending to cry!”

“That’s good to hear…” Twilight said, happy to see her friends, but still visibly troubled.

“What’s wrong dear?” Rarity asked, “We’re safe now! Once the bosses of the operation left, it was a cake walk making out escape.”

“I think I know where they went,” Alex sighed.

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked, not happy at the face Twilight and him shared.

“They got Sweetie Belle…” Twilight finally said.

Rarity gasped, “They have my sister?!”

They both nodded.

“I’ll yell at you two later!” Rarity said angrily, “But for now, I have a sister to save. Those DOGS have no idea what’s coming for them!”

////

Throwing open the door to the main section of the cavern, Rarity was ready to raise hell, save her sister, and teach the Diamond Dogs something they wouldn’t soon forget.

However, what she saw instead… Was confusing.

At least fifty dogs all surrounded the podium at the center of the room, and were all jumping up, and all over going insane. They had no idea what was going on. There was so much yelling, that nopony could understand a thing.

“Let’s get closer,” Alex said, “See what all this commotion is.”

Carefully moving forward, they tried to get a view through the dogs. But, when that didn’t happen, Alex decided to fly up a few feet, and see what was happening at the center of the crowd.

Flapping up, he locked on to the center of attention, and it was… Exactly what he expected it to be.

“Settle down, settle down!” Sweetie Belle called, silencing the room, “You will all have your turn to see me.”

“I love you Sweetie Belle!” A miscellaneous dog shouted from the crowd.

“W…What?” Rarity asked, slack jawed.

“Now… I’d be really happy if someone brought me some candy…” She said, with a pinch of sadness.

Hearing that tone in her voice, the Diamond Dogs all started throwing her any candy they could fine. Whether it was in their pockets, or in a place they had hidden it.

“What did she do?” Twilight asked in awe.

“What’s going on here!?” Alex shouted, silencing the crowd, “Sweetie, what’ve you done?”

The three leaders of the pack walked out from the center of the crowd.

“We’re making her happy!” Fido said, “She was SO sad…”

“But… But when we helped her out, she was happy!” The large dog, Rover, explained.

“And making her happy, makes us happy!” A much smaller one, Spot, finished.

Twilight and Alex were both at a loss for words. But, Rarity seemed completely composed over the whole issue.

“May I speak with my sister, please?” Rarity asked calmly.

“Hey, Sweetie Belle!” A dog called, “Do you want to talk to these ponies?”

“Oh, sure!” She beamed.

The crowd went wild at her genuine happiness at this moment.

Walking through the dogs, she reached her friends.

“I think it’s time for us to leave,” Rarity said, “Isn’t that right, Sweetie Belle?”

“Yeah,” She said, “I guess.”

“Awww!” The crowd said together.

“But we love her!” Another dog called.

“She’s so cute!” A massive, manly dog in the middle shouted, blushing as he said it.

“Uh…” Alex said, getting a bit creeped out, “Yeah, we need to get home.”

“Sorry you guys!” Sweetie shouted to them, “But going home makes me really happy!”

“Yeah!” The crowd shouted.

“I’m okay with that!” The manly dog called.

“Me too!” Fido agreed.

“Come back and visit!” Another called.

“We should… go now,” Twilight whispered.

Smiling nervously, the five backed out of the room, and away from the crowd. They neared the door, as Alex opened it for them, and gestured to them to go through.

The crowd just watched them silently.

“Oh, hey!” Sweetie called, as a few happy gasps were heard, “Could we have some of those gems, since you have so many?”

“Of course!” Rover said, “Take as many as you want!”

“Thanks!” She giggled, making many of the dogs’ hearts melt.

“We’ll take them up for you!” Fido said eagerly, as all the dogs started grabbing what they could for her.

The other four kept silent, and followed the crowd up to the surface, where the dogs placed five of their largest carts filled with gems.

“Here you go,” Fido said, “I hope you enjoy them!”

“I will!” Sweetie smiled, “Would it be okay to come get more if I ever need them?”

“Yes!” Several dogs shouted.

“Just if you promise to visit…” The manly dog blushed, giggling.

“Sure!” Sweetie said, “But my friends will come too, okay?”

“Fine…” Spot said, not wanting to lose an opportunity to see her again.

“See you guys later!” Sweetie called, as Alex and Twilight levitated the gems out of the carts, and floated them high above their heads.

“Bye Sweetie Belle!” Several dogs called.

“Queen Sweetie Belle!” One called randomly.

They then continued to chant ‘Queen Sweetie Belle,’ until the five of them were out of earshot.

The walked in silence, nopony really sure what to say, but, Alex finally got the nerve to speak up.

“What just happened?” He asked, “Like… What the fudge?”

“Allow me to explain,” Rarity said, “Sweetie Belle may not look it… But she is a rather manipulative pony.”

They all gasped at that.

“How could you say that?” Twilight asked, looking down to the innocently smiling Sweetie.

“She’s doing it, be careful, Twilight.” Rarity laughed, “When she shows her sadness to somepony, they want nothing more than for her to be happy. More than once I have caved underneath the look she’ll give when she wants something.”

“But it doesn’t always work on you…” Sweetie Belle mumbled.

“I’ve had your whole life to adjust, dear,” Rarity explained, “And I’m much smarter than your average dog.”

“So... Because Sweetie is so good at acting sad,” Alex summarized, “She’s able to become the Queen of the Diamond Dogs.”

“Yes.” Rarity answered simply.

“Well…” Alex said, as a light bulb went off, “Maybe that’s your Cutie Mark!”

“A manipulation cutie mark?!” Sweetie said, shocked, “Of course!”

“Eh…” Twilight said nervously, “I don’t think that—“

“You could try to get us like… free ice cream if you act sad!” Alex suggested.

“Or cry if we’re about to get in trouble!” Spike suggested.

“Don’t give her any ideas, Spike!”

////

Haven Station

This is the next chapter! Follow the link! You must, for the sake of everypony!

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/116358/otr-haven-station

Going Home

////
On the Way Home
////

“And then we floated down from the sky,” Alex explained, having just finished telling everypony what had gone down between him, Alpha, and Dax, “The magic I used was incredible.”

Everypony sat with him on the train, listening to his explanation, from the brainwashing, to his accidental murdering of the changelings, by liquefying the machinery around him, and collapsing the entire sub-structure.

“That magic…” Celestia said in disbelief, “You’ve managed to unify chaotic and harmonious magic.”

“Wouldn’t that just make all of it harmonious magic?” Twilight asked, “Since he harmonized chaos?”

“Not quite, Twilight,” Celestia explained, “The harmony amplified the chaos. It’s like multiplying a negative with a positive.”

“And that makes powerful magic?” Pinkie asked.

“That’s an understatement, dear,” Celestia said, “If Alex so chose, he could dispatch both my sister, and I in an instant.”

Everypony gasped, and then looked at him.

“I’m a frickin’ human!” Alex complained, “Why is it the HUMAN that becomes a magic powerhouse? Why not a pony? This just sounds stupid.”

“Regardless, Alex,” Luna said, “You must promise us that you won’t try to take over Equestria.”

“Okay?” Alex said.

“Wonderful,” Luna smiled, content with that.

“Is he even stronger than the elements of harmony?” Twilight asked.

“No,” Celestia answered definitively, “They are still much stronger than he is.”

“Good!” Alex sighed, leaning back in his seat, “At least you guys can stop me if I go ape-shit crazy.”

“Alex!” Rarity said angrily, “Watch your language in front of royalty!”

“Sorry,” Alex quickly said, “It’s just this whole ‘Dax,’ merger- thing.”

“I understand.” Celestia said. “This must be a confusing time.”

“How do ya’ feel?” Applejack asked.

“Well,” Alex said, scratching his head, “I felt pretty crappy until I stuck it to Dash in the hotel room while everypony was packing.”

Dash gave him a shocked look.

“I said that out loud, huh?” Alex said, wincing a bit at his lack of control, “It’s him.”

“Well, we’ll give you a break for now,” Celestia smiled, winking at Dash.

“I’m going to another car...” Dash squeaked, her face burning red as she flapped off, and went to the next car back.

“Nice job, Alex,” Spike laughed, “I don’t know how you get away with that. Rarity doesn’t even want me talking about how we make out sometimes.”

“What?!” Everypony said at once.

“Spike!” Rarity said quickly, “It’s not polite to… To lie to everypony!”

Catching on, Spike winked at her very noticeably, and then looked back to his friends, “I’m sorry for lying everypony!”

////

Since they were in no rush to get back to Canterlot, everypony decided to make a stop-over at Appleloosa so Applejack could visit some family.

Once everypony got off the train, Alex stepped into the previous car, to see if Dash was still here, and if she was mad at him. It was understandable. He had pretty much lost his filter, on top of becoming MUCH more vulgar.

“Dash?” Alex asked, looking around the train car, “You in here?”

“Yeah,” She said in monotone, showing her mood off.

“Sorry about all that,” Alex said, “I’m not myself right now.”

Dash kept silent.

“Dash?” He asked, “You listening?”

“Are you ever gonna be yourself again?” She asked suddenly.

“Huh?”

“Alex,” Dash began, a little quiet, “He’s changed you.”

“You mean the lack of filter?” Alex asked, “That’s just something that I need to work on!”

“It’s not just that,” She continued, looking for the right words, “You told me you fused with Dax. Became the same pony.”

“Yeah, so what?” Alex asked.

“Dax was a whole different person than you,” She explained, “He may have been you at the core, but he didn’t have your attitude, and feelings.”

“I know,” Alex said, trying to comfort her somewhat, by placing a hoof on her shoulder, “He’s changed me. But--”

“If you two are fifty-fifty in there, then how do you know that you aren’t going to end up a totally new person?” Dash asked, holding her breath for some kind of promise that he would remain himself.

“Dash, let me tell you something,” Alex said, sitting down next to her, “Dax and I weren’t all that different.”

“Huh?” She asked, confused.

“He was right, when he told everypony that he was a manifestation of my suppressed feelings,” Alex explained, “He may have acted differently from me, but he thought the same as me.”

“Really?” Dash asked, surprised.

“Yes. Dax truly was me.” He said again, “Sometimes I would think something, and he would say it. It’s how we were able to execute our plan so well against Alpha. We knew what each other would do.”

“So, what you’re saying is—“

“Is that I’m not all that different,” He smiled, wrapping his arms around her, “Just a bit more of an ass now.”

“I can deal with that,” Dash said, clearly cheered up, hugging him back.

“This is nice…” Alex inhaled and closing his eyes.

“Just don’t go feeling me up,” She said, expecting it a tiny bit, “I just want this to be innoc—“

“Am I doing it?” Alex asked.

She nodded.

“Sorry!”

////

“Well, it sure was nice for them to give us all these pies!” Spike said, starting his second one as they walked back on to the train.

“Well, they seemed happy that I was able to solve that small problem with the buffalo,” Luna smiled.

“Well, considerin’ you moved the WHOLE town thirty feet over!” Applejack said, still amazed at her powers.

“It was quite smart,” Celestia agreed, “I should get the recipe for this pie, as well.”

“Apple family secret,” Applejack said, quickly, “Sorry ‘bout that.”

Celestia pouted uncharacteristically, “Okay…”

“Ah’ can make ‘em whenever you want though!” Applejack offered.

“I just might take you up on that,” Celestia laughed lightly, seeing that her plan had worked.

“Is everypony on board?” The conductor asked.

Taking a quick head count, and calling to Alex and Dash, who were still in the back, they told the conductor to start heading home again.

“I’m tired,” Luna yawned, “I’m going to take a nap. Wake me when it is time for me to perform my duties.”

Nodding, Celestia watched her walk off into the next car, and realized just how tired she was herself.

“Perhaps I’ll get some sleep as well,” Celestia said, walking past everypony, following her sister, “We’ll both be in the back car if you need anything, feel free to ask any of the guard.”

“Did my brother come?” Twilight asked suddenly, “I mean, if you called in the entire guard, he’d be here, right?”

“He stayed behind,” Celestia said, “He’s protecting Princess Cadance while she runs Canterlot.”

“Wow!” Twilight said, “I remember Princess Cadance! I wish Shining Armor would find a nice mare like her.”

“Oh,” Celestia said, realizing Twilight had no idea that her brother was already romantically linked with Cadance, “Well, maybe someday!”

Yawning herself, Twilight realized that all of them were probably exhausted from the entire day. They had all been up over the night, and she was sure that they all could use some sleep.

“Maybe, Princess,” Twilight said, yawning yet again, “But I’m going to get some shut eye, so I guess I’ll see you in a few hours?”

“Of course,” Celestia smiled, stepping off the car, “Please, relax until we get back. You’ve all earned it. For real this time.”

////

What Time is it? Relaxation Time!

////
What Time is it?? Relaxation Time!
////

On a spur of the moment, Celestia decided to redirect their train toward the coast, so they could all spend a bit of time in Las Pegasus, enjoying the city in the sky, the one on the ground, and the beach attached to it.

Needless to say, it was something they were all jumping to do.

“Where does everypony wanna go first?” Pinkie asked, rapidly looking around, obviously making a long list of stops for herself.

“Well, that depends,” Twilight said, turning to Celestia, “How long are we here for?”

“As long as you all like,” Celestia said, eliciting a cheer from them, “You’ve earned a break, after the disaster I accidentally sent you too a few days ago.”

“Don’t worry about it, Princess!” Spike said, seeing that she was a bit troubled by that happening, “We’re all here, and we’re all fine.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie chimed in, “Don’t feel bad or anything!”

“Of course,” Celestia nodded, looking around herself, “Luna, do you think any bakeries around here would want to give a princess some free samples?”

“Sister, sometimes your abuse of power surprises me,” Luna laughed, “But I do think we could receive something, if we ask nicely.”

“Well,” Celestia smiled eagerly, looking back to everypony else, “I know what I’m going to be doing for the next few hours, everypony else, go and enjoy yourselves!”

“Can do, Princess!” Applejack said.

“Oh, and before I forget, here, take these with you.” She said, levitating several cards to each of them.

“What are these?” Alex asked, inspecting the piece of plastic, as it had only a symbol and nothing else on it.

“Show these to any manager of a store you’re in, and they’ll accept it as full payment,” Celestia explained, “They simply request funds from Canterlot, rather than all of you.”

“So… What’s our limit?” Dash asked.

“As much as you can hold, I suppose!” Celestia laughed, “We have enough money to buy this entire city fifty times over, don’t worry yourself with overspending.”

“I. Must. Shop!” Rarity said suddenly, biting the card out of the air, and running away from the group, as Spike followed behind her.

“She has the right idea,” Twilight said, “I guess I could go get some supplies I need.”

“Ah’d like to take some relatives out for a bite!” Applejack spoke up.

“I wanna go to the amusement park!” Pinkie said excitedly, picturing all the candy she could buy, and the games she could play, “What about you, Alex? Dashie?”

Looking at each other, they nodded, “Sure, I’d like to see what pony world rides look like.”

“Aww yeah!” Dash said, punching the air, “What about you, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, I guess I’d like to go on some rides,” She said quietly.

“Come on!” Dash said, scooping her up on to her back, and flying off toward the amusement park.

“Hey wait!” Twilight called, looking up at a massive clock, “Lets all meet up at the beach at… six!”

Seeing that it was only nine, Alex nodded, and tried to give her a ‘thumbs up.’

He had no thumbs.

“What about Spike and Rarity?” Alex asked.

“I’m sure I’ll run into them,” Twilight shrugged.

“Alright already!” Dash groaned, still holding Fluttershy on her back as she hovered, “Let’s get going!”

“Have fun!” Luna called, somewhat wishing she was going with them.

“Don’t worry, Luna,” Celestia smirked, “You can head over there once we’ve had our fill of pastries.”

////

The four were amazed at the huge number of attractions there were at this place.

From a shopping mall, to a food court, to the biggest roller coaster any of them had ever seen.

“What do you guys wanna do first?” Pinkie asked.

“Mall…”

“Food Court!”

“Rides!”

Alex, Dash, And Fluttershy all looked to each other.

“Ooh! Ooh!” Pinkie beamed, “I’m tie breaker!”

They all listened expectedly, hoping she would pick their choice.

“I say…” She said, intentionally prolonging her answer, as they all leaned closer, holding their breaths.

“Behemoth! The huuuuuuuuge roller coaster!” She shouted, jumping in the air with her left arm pointing up.

“That’s not what I meant by rides,” Dash said nervously.

“Scared?” Alex laughed, “I thought you’d love that one.”

“Spitfire from the Wonderbolts threw up all over the place after she did it!” Dash explained, “And if she threw up, I’d probably DIE!”

Alex laughed, having no idea why a Wonderbolt would have trouble going on a ride like that.

“And then after…” She said, slowing down again, “Griffon style food!”

“No!” They all shouted.

Alex had learned this the hard way last time Pinkie insisted on a Griffon style dinner. It had all sorts of weird stuff, like jellies, and savory cookies. It was something everypony seemed to hate, expect for Pinkie. And for some reason, she would always try to convince everypony that they should give it another try, and to eat it the way she does. Nopony ever would though.

“If you get to pick rides, we get to pick food!” Dash insisted.

“Humph…” Pinkie groaned, “That’s no fun!”

“Yeah well, neither is the Behemoth!” Dash argued, “We’re going to have PONY style food!”

“Ugh,” Alex said, really not loving that any more than his other option, “I hope they just have bread or something.”

“I’m sure they will, honey,” Dash said, patting him on the head.

“So, does that mean I get to pick the shopping?” Fluttershy spoke up.

“Dang…” Alex and Dash said, realizing that she would probably want to go to some animal adoption place or something.

“I want to try on some new dresses,” She finally said, surprising them all.

“Crap,” Alex said, “Well, I guess I might be totally sexy in a dress, so I’m down.”

“Alright, to the ride then!” Pinkie announced, as she bounced off toward the Behemoth with everypony in tow.

////

Celestia sighed, as she and Luna walked down the road in search of any kind of place that would get her some food to eat. As it turns out, being a princess in a city that you didn’t frequent, results in EVERY pony you encounter, bowing, and telling you how radiant you look, or how amazing you are at your job.

“Luna, I think we should change how we look,” Celestia said, looking for the nearest clothing store, “This is getting rather annoying.”

“I agree,” Luna said, narrowly avoiding a pony that had collapsed on the ground in praise, “Let us find a more inconspicuous way of traveling the city.”

So, the two of them entered the nearest dress store, and walked in, again, making everypony bow down, and ask if they could help them in any way.

“Don’t mind us,” Celestia said, walking into a changing room, with Luna occupying the one next to her.

“Now remember sister, just change, and teleport outside in our old forms,” Luna instructed.

Instead of answering, Luna heard Celestia cast her spell, as a soft light came into her changing room.

Taking that as a ‘go,’ Luna used her Past Projection spell on herself, and felt her body shrink rapidly, until it was the same size as any other pony she might encounter. Then, for good measure, she cast an invisibility spell to hide her wings.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Luna smiled. She looked like she did back before she became a Princess. Her coat was the same, but her mane no longer ripped with stars. It was now a simple pale blue.

Casting the teleportation spell, she appeared outside of the store next to a very familiar pony. Her sister, but without the flowing mane.

She was the same size as everypony else now, had solid pink hair, and only wings.

“Do you think anypony could identify us by our Cutie Marks?” Luna asked.

“Perhaps,” Celestia said, “Here, allow me.”

Casting a spell, Celestia made her sisters Cutie Mark vanish, and be replaced it was a stack of pancakes.

“What is this?!” Luna almost bellowed, “You want me to sport a stack of flapjacks on my posterior?!”

“Why, yes!” Celestia giggled.

Deciding to take her revenge, Luna cast the small spell, but replace Celestia’s Cutie Mark, with a curled mustache.

“Oh dear,” Celestia said, losing her enthusiasm quickly, “What kind of special talent, would be related to a mustache?”

“I don’t know, sister,” Luna laughed triumphantly, “It’s your Mark!”

“Fine,” Celestia frowned, looking forward, “Let’s just go get some cake already.”

////

“Oh, Spike!” Rarity said, laughing semi-manically, “I can get- Well, I can get EVERYTHING!”

“Uh, Rarity,” Spike said quietly, “Maybe you should slow down…”

“What do you mean?” Rarity asked, “How could I stop? There are so many things I need to get!”

“Well yeah, but—“ Spike began, before being cut off again.

“Look at this!” She shouted, running to another rack of clothing.

“Yeah…” Spike said dejectedly, “It looks great.”

“Doesn’t it?” Rarity said, not looking back to him, as she carefully inspected the fabric of the vest.

“I’ll just be over here,” Spike said, sighing and walking over to a few chairs, where a brown stallion sat, looking quite bored.

“Your marefriend a big shopper?” He asked Spike.

“You could say that,” Spike sighed, “Sometimes she loses herself.”

“I know that feeling,” He nodded, pointing to the rack of clothing next to Rarity, where a small pink mare was looking at similar items, “She’s been at this for an hour now.”

“What do you do to keep busy?” Spike asked, wanting a bit of wisdom from somepony who knew this pain.

“I read the magazines that these places offer,” He said, tapping on the table, “But every now and then something exciting happens to pass the—“

“I saw it first!” A voice shouted.

“I had my hooves on it before you!” Rarity shouted back.

Spike and the stallion both looked up.

“Uh-oh.” Spike said, gulping.

“This can’t end well,” The stallion agreed.

“Give it here!” The pink mare shouted, tugging the shirt toward her.

“I need to have it!” Rarity spat back.

“Should we stop them?” Spike asked, cocking his head, as the two yanked back and forth.

“Yeah…” The Stallion sighed, standing up and turning to Spike, “I’m Boxer, by the way.”

“Spike,” Spike said back to him, as he stood up himself, and walked over with the stallion to their respective marefriends.

“Hey Rarity!” Spike said nervously, getting behind her, “This isn’t very ladylike—“

She yanked back, and knocked him in the nose, making him stagger. She didn’t notice, however.

“Now, sweetie…” Boxer began, narrowly dodging a hit from his own marefriend, “I’m sure we can find another one in here.”

“No!” She said, “It wouldn’t look good on this trashy pony anyway!”

“Oh no…” Spike said.

“TRASHY?!” Rarity shouted, “This coming from miss, ‘I dye my coat pink!’”

“Oh no…” Boxer said.

////

“On vacation?!” Applejack said in disbelief, “Mah’ whole family is gone?!”

Applejack had just spent the last two hours tracking down the address of some Apples that lived here. But, she found out, that they were visiting her family right now, in Ponyville!

“Well of all the—“ Applejack said, kicking the ground, “Jus’ what in tarnation am ah supposed to do now?”

Walking away from the house, she looked around the neighborhood, seeing if there was anywhere she could go to spend some money, and pass some time, until she was supposed to head to the beach.

But, there was nothing. It was all either residential, or business buildings around her. So, she decided to skip that step, and head straight for the beach. She was sure that she could pass a few hours there, and then maybe do something else, before heading back there to meet everypony.

“Well, that’s it then!” She announced to nopony, as she walked away from the house.

Heading down the road, she relaxed and enjoyed the sunshine. It wasn’t like she didn’t see it often enough. She spent plenty of time working in it. But it was nice to be in the pleasant warmth, without having to buck a bunch of stuff.

Eventually, she exited the residential area, and came into the shopping district. Surprisingly, everything in this town was pretty close to the beach. The city was long along the coast, but didn’t go very far inland.

Inhaling deeply, she was greeted with the pleasant smell of apple pie. Under normal circumstances, she would have gone and bought some, and had a nice snack. But, during her stay at Haven Station, she had gone a bit crazy in the food court at a cream puff stand. It had started out as one… But turned into three dozen. And without any exercise, that was a recipe for love handles.

So, turning her head away from the source of the smell, she kept heading toward the beach. However, she heard some shouting, and quickly looked back toward it.

“Stop them!” A pony called, as two mares ran away from the bakery, with cakes being levitated in front of them, “They’ve stolen some cake from us!”

Snapping into action, Applejack chased them down the road, avoiding the pedestrians with amazing grace, as she quickly closed the gap between herself and the cake thieves.

On the way, she couldn’t help but feel good about herself. She was the kind of pony that would make sure nopony would be able to get away with stealing. She was the kind of citizen that stood up!

Just catching them turning into an ally way, she chased them into it, and to her luck, there was a big wall cutting off escape.

Seeing them standing in place, she ran at them, and tackled the white one, as she rested with her guard down.

Seeing her friend be tackled, the other pony quickly used her magic to throw the large number of cakes into the sky, sending them far, far away.

“Be free!” She called, watching the pastries soar away, to land who knows

“You two are in a heap’a trouble!” Applejack said, panting, wishing she hadn’t eaten all those cream puffs.

////

Dash nervously bounced around as they entered the line for the Behemoth. They stood outside some kind of tent, where Alex assumed the rest of the line was, since there were only about three ponies ahead of them, not inside the tent.

“Dash, calm down!” Alex said in disbelief, “Fluttershy is doing better than you!”

“Oh, I’m not scared of rides,” Fluttershy said calmly, “I fell out of the sky in Cloudsdale when I was a filly, there’s nothing compared to that.”

“Oh…” Alex said, a bit disturbed that she was so calm about it.

“It’s gonna be fun, Dashie!” Pinkie beamed, bouncing.

“Ugghhhhh,” She said, sitting down on her rump.

“You guys are next!” The ride operator called to them, poking his head outside of the tent, “You getting on?”

“What?!” Dash shouted, “How are we already at the front?”

“Since it’s so scary, nopony goes on it, silly!” Pinkie giggled, “Come on!”

They all walked toward the tent, as Dash stayed firm in place, not daring move.

“Come on,” Alex said, levitating her up, “Don’t be a Scootaloo!”

“Nonononononooo!” She said suddenly, fighting against his spell, trying to break free.

“Dash!” Alex shouted, shaking her with his spell, making her come to her senses.

Blinking rapidly, and exhaling, she looked at him with giant eyes.

“I’ll teleport us away, if it gets too bad,” Alex whispered in her ear, even though he really had no intention of doing that.

Considering it for a moment, she finally gulped and nodded, “Okay.”

“Good girl!” Alex said, placing her on the ground in front of him.

Entering the tent, they were confronted with a large cart that had four seats with two seats per row.

“Please sit down,” The stallion said, as Pinkie, Fluttershy, Alex, and Dash, sat down, and her secured them with a seatbelt, pinning their backs into an enclosed seat, blocking off access to their wings.

Noticing that his wings were no longer able to be used, Alex understood why a pegasi might not like this ride at all. They used their wings daily. Being able to fly was a simple fact of life. But, when they pinned their wings in this cart, and then sent them all sailing through the sky, it must have been extremely unnatural to them. More so than a pony with no wings going on the ride.

“Please keep your legs inside the cart at all times.” The stallion said, as he pulled the lever, starting the ride.

Seeing Dash start to rapidly breath, Alex reached over and placed his hoof on hers.

She looked at him, obviously uncomfortable. But, seeing his calm smile, comforted her somewhat.

Immediately, the cart started to ascend an absolutely massive track, that was easily five or six hundred feet in the air.

“Are you ready, Dash?” Pinkie asked, tapping her shoulder from behind her.

Dash didn’t answer, as she felt her stomach churn. They hadn’t even started any scary parts yet, and yet she was already feeling sick.

Finally, after the longest minute-and-a-half of her life, they reached the top, as the cart slowed to a stop.

“Now! Is everypony ready to drop?” A voice said over a speaker.

“Yay!” Pinkie shouted.

“Yay…” Fluttershy whispered.

Dash didn’t say anything, as she pushed herself into her seat, and held her breath.

“Do it!” Alex shouted.

“Alright! If you all say so!” He announced. “Five!”

Pinkie grabbed her harness, and beamed. This was gonna be awesome!

“Four!”

Fluttershy smiled calmly, and relaxed.

“Three!”

Alex squeezed her hoof, and gave her a smile.

“Two!”

Suddenly, the cart dropped, and headed straight down.

Dash fought back her body screaming at her to just throw up, as they plummeted toward the ground.

Alex, meanwhile, felt like he was gonna cry. She was clutching his hoof so hard, that he thought it was going to break off.

Finally hitting the bottom of the track, they straightened out, and quickly hit a loop-de-loop, that sent them up in the air, before dropping back to the ground.

“Ugh…” Dash groaned.

“Hold it in!” Alex shouted through the pain she was giving him.

Shooting back into the air, they quickly dropped again, as they rode a rapid up and down track, making their stomachs drop, and then quickly get lifted back up, just to be dropped again.

“Wheee! Wheee! Wheee!” Pinkie shouted, as bounced alone with the coaster.

Finally, the ride slowed down, as they started to ascend again, however, this drop was easily twice the size of the last. This would be the ultimate challenge for Dash.

“Dash, are you okay?” Alex asked.

She shook her head.

“Just breathe deeply!” He encouraged.

She shook her head again.

“Come on, sweetie…” Alex said encouragingly, “You can do this!”

Reaching the top, there was no announcer this time. The ride just stopped.

‘Come on Dash…’ Rainbow Dash said to herself, and she tried to man up, ‘You can do this! You aren’t a chicken!’

The cart rolled for a second, before freezing again.

‘You do these moves every day, so what if you have no wings?’

It rolled again, going down the slope a bit, before freezing again, forcing them all to get stuck leaning forward.

“I can do this!” She shouted, surprising everypony.

“Good for you, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie encouraged.

“You can do it,” Fluttershy said, smiling.

Alex rubbed her hoof softly.

“Let’s do it!” She said, grabbing the harness, “There is no way I’m going to ralph on this ride! I promise! I won’t—“

Just as the ride started to drop, a piece of cake flew from out of nowhere, and splattered across the side of Dash’s face, some landing in her mouth, hitting the back of her throat, and activating her gag reflex.

Needless to say, even though there wasn’t any water that splashed them on this ride, they were soaking wet when it was over.

////

Spike and Boxer watched as the two mares continued to fight over the vest, both completely powerless to stop them, without damaging the clothing they were fighting over. Because they both knew that if they destroyed that vest, they’d live to regret it.

“Just stop already!” Spike shouted, seeing that almost five minutes had passed, as they threw insults at each other, and passingly called for their boyfriends to help them.

“Maybe we should just leave,” Spike said.

“Sometimes I think I’d be easier to be gay,” Boxer laughed, nodding.

“What can we do?” Spike asked.

“We could try to get the staff,” Boxer suggested, seeing that they hadn’t intervened yet.

Looking over his shoulder and seeing the two small mares that were running the store hiding in the corner, Spike figured they didn’t want to have anything to do with it either.

“How can they just keep doing this?” Spike asked, “It’s just a stupid vest!”

“Total over reaction,” Boxer agreed.

“What did you say?!” Rarity and the pink mare shouted, suddenly turned to them.

“Uh…” Spike tried.

“This is much more than a stupid vest!” Rarity growled.

“Look at the stitching on this!” Pink said, “It’s amazing!”

“And the gem placement is simply stunning!” Rarity added.

“And this color is just so elegant!” Pinkie nodded.

“I wish I was this skilled!” They both said.

They looked at each other.

“You… Make apparel?” Pink asked.

“I run a shop in Ponyville,” Rarity said, suddenly in a very different mood, “What about you?”

“I make clothing for fun!” Pink laughed.

“What a coincidence!” Rarity said, “What was your name, dear?”

“I’m Fuchsia,” She smiled, feeling no animosity whatsoever now.

“I’m Rarity,” She said, extending a hoof, “I had no idea we would have anything in common.”

“Me neither!” She laughed, “I feel so bad now… Why don’t you take the vest? I can get another one some other day.”

“Oh, no dear.” Rarity shook her head, “Please, you take it, I insist!”

“I couldn’t,” Fuchsia said politely, with a bit of fire, “You take it.”

“No…” Rarity said quietly, “You take it!”

And they were off again. Instead of fighting over who got the vest now, they fought over who deserved it more.

“Craaaaap,” Spike groaned.

“Here we go again,” Boxer said, formulating a plan, “Here, let me try something.”

Walking over to the clerks, he pointed to the vest, and promptly paid for it. Then he walked over to Spike, and whispered in his ear.

“Try to get them outside.”

Boxer ran over and opened the door, as Spike formulated a plan.

“That vest sure is ugly!” Spike shouted.

They both stared daggers at him, as he turned, and ran out the door, with the two chasing after him in anger.

“They’re crazy!” Spike shouted to Boxer, as he ran through the door with the girls behind him.

As soon as Spike was out of sight, the girls forgot about him, and continued their argument.

“You take it!” Fuchsia insisted, “It would go so well with your coat!”

“I insist, darling,” Rarity fought back, “I’m the element of generosity! You take it!”

Sneaking back to Boxer, Spike had to ask, “What’s the plan, exactly?”

“Well,” Boxer said, “First, I—“

He was interrupted as a piece of cake fell out of the sky, and landed on Rarity’s face.

Fuchsia snarked, as she tried to hold back all out laughter.

However, just before she lost control, and laughed her head off, she was also hit with a piece of cake.

“What the--?” Spike said, “How did you do that?”

“I… Don’t know,” Boxer said quietly, afraid of what might come next.

Silence.

Rarity and Fuchsia both burst into laughter.

“Well, I guess it’s ruined now!” Rarity laughed.

“Neither of us can have it!” Fuchsia giggled.

And with that, Rarity threw the vest in the garbage, the two girls hugged, and Rarity walked over to Spike.

“Let’s go back inside,” She said, still laughing a bit, “I need to clean up.”

Fuchsia walked over to Boxer, and started dragging him away as well, “Come on honey, I can clean up across the street at that other dress place.”

And just like that, over the course of ten seconds, they went from fighting, to happy as clams. They were now dragging the guys away from each other, as much as they would have liked to talk a little bit more.

Spike and Boxer managed to give each other one look before Spike was pulled into the store.

And with that, their fleeting friendship ended. Their shared experiences would be remembered forever in their hearts, and in their dreams.

////

Twilight sat on a patio at the city library, and read a spell book she had been wanting to get through.

In front of her, was an empty plate, from the rather lame salad she had ordered for lunch. Now, she wanted nothing more than something sweet to eat.

Suddenly, a piece of something splatted on her plate, into a heap of icing, and cake.

Leaning forward, she sniffed it.

Sticking her tongue out, she tasted it.

“Wow! Free cake!”

////

“Sister, look!” Luna said, pointing to a bakery, “Let’s get some food in that one!”

Celestia inhaled, and couldn’t agree more. The smell of apple pie was simply amazing.

Walking in, they weren’t surprised to see a huge lineup of ponies, all waiting to buy themselves something delicious.

Luna, being the smarty-pants that she is, simply decided to start sampling the food off of the counters.

A cookie here.

A cupcake there.

Nothing too terrible, or noticeable. Not that she was trying to be inconspicuous.

“Luna, come look at these...” Celestia said, in complete awe over the collection of pre-cut cakes on display.

“Oh, sister…” Luna said, smiling, “We must have them!”

Levitating a dozen pieces of various flavors and looks, Luna took one into her mouth, and took a bite, as Celestia leaned forward, and took a bite from one her sister had floating near her.

“Delicious!” Luna bellowed in the Royal voice, as everypony looked at them.

“Hey!” A pale brown mare called from behind the counter, “You’re gonna pay for that, right?”

“Of course citizen!” Luna smiled, “Sister, please show her the card!”

Celestia went wide eyed.

“What is it?” Luna asked, turning to her.

“I gave them all away…” She whispered, “We have no money.”

“No matter,” Luna whispered, before turning back to the mare, “I am Luna! Princess, and keeper of the moon!”

“Yeah, and I’m that fancy pants fashion designer, Photo Finish!” She said facetiously.

“Really?” Luna asked dumbly, “You’ve put on weight!”

The mare growled, as Celestia face hooved.

“I can prove that I am the Princess!” Luna said, seeing her lack of enthusiasm, “Here, just let me—“

“Luna!” Celestia whispered, “If they see that we’re royalty, it’ll be humiliating!”

“I suppose stealing cake would tarnish our collective image,” Luna agreed, “So what do we do?”

Celestia leaned close to her sister, and then shouted in her ear, “Run!”

Not thinking twice, the two Princesses ran from the building, and down the road, not stopping for a thing.

“Stop them!” The mare called, hoping somepony would jump into action, “They’ve stolen some cake from us!”

The two didn’t look back, as they rounded several corners, and eventually stopped in an ally, when they were confident that nopony could have followed them.

“Well,” Celestia sighed, “I guess—“

She was tackled to the ground by an orange pony, as Luna decided to get rid of the evidence, by shooting it all into the air.

“Be free!” She called, as they flew away.

“You two are in a heap’a trouble!” Applejack said to the two familiar ponies.

"Luna, why would you throw them away?” Celestia asked, then looking at the pony on top of her, "And could you please get off of me Applejack?"

“Who are y’all?” She asked, not moving, “How’d you know mah’ name?”

Casting the reversal spell on herself and Luna, they both transformed back into their Princess-like figures.

“Wha--?” Applejack said, jumping off of Celestia.

“P-Princess?” She asked in horror, “What’re you doin’ here?”

“Stealing cake, apparently,” She sighed.

“Ah’ can’t believe this!” Applejack said, “Is this a thrill for y’all or somethin’?”

“Somewhat,” Luna shrugged.

“No, it’s not,” Celestia said quickly, “We just had no money, and it would have been an embarrassment to be seen in that situation as royalty, that’s all.”

“Uh-huh,” Applejack said, “So, what happens next? You expect me to say nuthin’?”

“We pretend this never happened,” Celestia explained, “And we quietly give the bakery a few million bits, without explanation.”

As much as Applejack had a thing against stealing, lying, and not telling anypony about it, even she understood that the bakery actually won the lottery by having food stolen from them.

“Well… Alright…” She said, after a few minutes of thought.

“Let us make our departure for the amusement park!” Luna said, “I no longer hunger for cake!”

“You read mah’ mind,” Applejack sighed.

“Indeed,” Celestia nodded, casting a teleportation spell, “Let’s go meet up with your friends.”

////

The Knight in Shining Armor

////
The Knight in Shining Armor
////

“I’m so sorry you guys…” Dash said apologetically, as Alex, Pinkie, and Fluttershy all stepped out of the showers they had been provided. Somehow, she had pointed her mouth to the side, and soaked them all while totally missing herself.

“That’s fine,” Alex said, toweling off his face, “I watched that ‘Two Girls, One Cup,’ video a whole bunch. That was much worse, and I didn’t even take part in that one.”

“What’s that?” Pinkie asked, “It sounds fun.”

“It’s not.” Alex said seriously, “Don’t go searching for it on the internet.”

“That what?” Pinkie asked.

“Never mind,” Alex said, turning to Fluttershy, “You get it all out of your mane?”

Sadly, Fluttershy had gotten the worst of it, something that would haunt Dash for the rest of her days.

“Yeah, I think so,” She said, quietly, obviously a bit frustrated with her now frizzing mane.

“Hey there, everypony!” Applejack called, trotting over to the four of them with two mares behind her, “Why’re y’all all wet?”

“Long story…” Dash laughed nervously.

“She puked on us!” Pinkie giggled, not put off whatsoever.

“An’ that’s why yer’ hair is so flat?” She asked, looking to Pinkie, and her straight mane.

“Oh! Whoops!” She said, sticking her hoof in her mouth, and puffing a bunch of air into her mouth, making her mane explode into its usual mess.

Looking down to her hoof, Fluttershy decided to give that a try.

Sticking her hoof in her mouth, she copied Pinkie perfectly, but when her cheeks filled with air, nothing happened.

“Hello everypony!” Luna said, in her previous form once again, sporting the pancake Cutie Mark, “I’m sorry Rainbow Dash coated you with her breakfast!”

“Uh… Who is that?” Dash asked.

“Oh, they’re the Princesses,” Applejack explained, “They’re just layin’ low.”

“Wow,” Fluttershy said, mesmerized by the two, “You two are beautiful!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie agreed, “I wish I was into mares!”

“Pinkie!” Fluttershy, Dash and Applejack said together.

“Oops! Sorry!”

////

“Well, THAT was an interesting afternoon,” Spike said as they headed for the beach. They had run into Applejack, and been asked if they wanted to go with them to the amusement park, but they declined as an amusement park was no place for a lady.

“I agree,” Rarity said, completely unfazed by the earlier fight she had gotten in to, “I don’t normally lose my cool like that.”

“I can tell,” Spike said, beating around the bush, wanting to have a serious talk with her about it, “So… Listen.”

“Yes, darling?” She asked, batting her eyes at him.

“Um… Let’s get a drink,” Spike said, pointing to one of the various Buckstars they had passed since it had a patio, and would be relaxing to sit for a bit.

Going inside, they each bought a drink and took them outside.

“So, what was it you wanted to talk about, Spike?” Rarity asked.

“Well, it’s about that fight,” Spike said slowly, wanting to find the right words, “You were a bit aggressive.”

“Well, I think aggressive is a bit strong,” Rarity answered, “It was an argument between ladies.”

“Rarity, you pulled back so hard that when you hit me in the nose, it started to bleed,” Spike explained, “And you didn’t even turn around!”

“…Did I really?” She asked, a bit awe-struck.

“I’m not crying or anything over it,” Spike said, “I just thought you could have handled that situation a bit better.”

Rarity bit her lip, “Well, I assure you that those out-of-character moments are rare, Spike.”

“I wouldn’t call it out-of-character,” Spike sighed, knowing this would get to her.

“What ever do you mean? She asked, recoiling, “Would you suggest that I lose my cool so often?”

“Rarity, when you got that unlimited funds card from the Princess, I thought you were going to have a stroke,” Spike shrugged.

Rarity frowned, “I’m not THAT bad… Am i?”

“You can be?” Spike said, wincing lightly.

Standing up, she turned away from the table, “Um, would you excuse me?”

“Sure, I guess,” Spike said, seeing that she was a bit troubled by this sudden news from him.

Watching her walk off the patio, Spike sighed and leaned back, looking at the sky. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her. She would worry about this, and probably apologize endlessly, and then go out of her way to act differently, only leading to numerous awkward moments.

Looking around, Spike realized that he lost her.

Maybe he should go talk to her, apologize for dropping this ton of bricks on her, and tell her it’s not as bad as he’s making it out to be.

Sure, that’s what he’d do.

////

“Once again!” Luna shouted as they all got off the drop of doom, “That was enjoyable!”

“Says you…” Alex grumbled, his stomach lurching, “I don’t wanna throw up myself today.”

“I could do it!” Dash said, “I’m all out of puke!”

“Wonderful!” Luna beamed.

“Princess, you just need to land a ring on a bottle!” Pinkie explained.

“That should be simple!” She said, picking up a ring in her mouth, and giving it a toss toward the empty soda bottles. The ring hit between a few, and just bounced around, not landing.

“Dang,” She said, “One more!”

Throwing another, there was the same result, with a miss.

“Again!” She said frustrated, biting another and tossing it.

This time, it landed on the center bottle perfectly, but it bounced off.

“WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?” Celestia shouted uncharacteristically in the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Calm down, Princess!” Pinkie giggled, “Let me do it!”

Picking one up, Pinkie tossed it to the middle bottle perfectly. Then tossed another, and another.

Celestia gave her a dark look.

“Pinkie, do you like bananas?”

////

“Hey, where you going, pony?” The large pony said, cutting off her escape from the ally she had walked into.

“Excuse me,” Rarity said, not flinching at his size, “I have somepony to get back to.”

“Oh, I think you can stay for a few minutes,” He grinned, bearing his disgustingly yellow teeth, and breathing his putrid breath in her face.

“My goodness!” Rarity said, turning away from him, “What is it with bad-guys and horrid breath? Alpha’s breath was fine! You could take a lesson from him!”

“Hey!” He shouted as she turned back to him, and gasped, “That’s right, I’ve got a knife, and I want all your money!”

“Oh, dear,” Rarity said slowly, “Bleeding would simply ruin my coat!”

“What?!” He shouted, shocked that ruining her coat was her only concern, “Give me that!”

Reaching forward, he snatched her purse from her, and dug through it, looking for anything of value.

“Hey! Don’t you know it’s rude to go through a ladies things?” She scolded, before increasing her volume, “Give that back!”

Jolting forward, and pressing the flat end of the knife into her chest, he growled quietly, “Shut it, and nopony gets hurt.”

Gulping, Rarity decided to simply do as he said. She had proven that just because she was a lady, didn’t mean that she couldn’t handle herself, but this was a different situation entirely, and she didn’t want to turn around and get stabbed, after narrowly surviving her encounter at Haven Station.

“What’s this card?” He asked, levitating her unlimited funds card out of her purse.

“Oh!” She said quickly, not wanting him to get his hooves on that, “That’s a… Feminine hygiene product.”

“No, wait… I know what this is!” He said, his eyes going wide as he pressed the knife a bit harder into her, “You’re trying to keep me from all this money?”

Rarity didn’t answer as her pulse quickened.

“Maybe I’ll just take this, and—“

“Hey Susan!” Spike shouted from behind them, “Why don’t you pick on somepony your own size?”

Looking over to Spike, he growled, “Take a walk, or the mare gets it!”

“You must feel tough, pointing that knife at a defenseless pony,” Spike said, puffing his chest out, “Why not point it at somepony your own size? Or are you not enough of a man?”

Bearing his gross teeth, he took the knife off of Rarity, and brandished it at Spike, “You wanna fight, right here?”

“Sure,” Spike smirked, shocking Rarity with his self-confidence in this situation.

Running at him, the pony tried to hit Spike in the shoulder.

Instead, Spike ducked under the knife, and gave the Pony an uppercut, that knocked him out cold as he fell on to the ground in a heap.

Rarity gave him a shocked expression.

“Twilight dragged me along to ALL of these dumb self-defense classes,” Spike shrugged, returning to his normal self, “Good thing I pulled it off, right?”

Grabbing her things, Rarity ran over to Spike and gave him an odd look.

“I mean, he was also pointing a knife at you,” Spike said seriously, “And worst case, I got stabbed, and you didn’t, which is really all that mattered.”

Not waiting a second, Rarity threw herself into him, giving him an adrenaline-filled kiss, that surprised him.

Spike returned the passion instantly, but was a bit confused to be honest.

Pulling back, she gave him the most risqué look he had ever seen from her. She wasn’t smiling; she didn’t look really scared either. It was just an animalistic connection she felt to him.

While Rarity considered herself a progressive pony, and believed firmly in the equality of the sexes, there was no greater fantasy to her, then to be saved by a handsome stallion, that protected her from somepony that meant her harm. And that pony, was Spike. The pony that worshiped the ground she walked on, and would go to the ends of the earth to protect her. He was the stallion she had dreamed about as a filly.

How things had changed… Less than a year ago he was a baby dragon. Of course, since his transformation, he had matured tremendously. He didn’t have the personality of a young teenager anymore. He was having serious conversations with her, instead of just tolerating her somewhat fanatic attitude. He wasn’t making stupid jokes or doing anything too juvenile anymore. And the big one… He was willing to take a knife for her, just so she would be kept from harm.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, and standing up to kiss him sweetly on the lips once again, she pulled back and smiled warmly, “My knight in shining armor.”

Smiling, Spike stroked the side of her face as she pressed into his hoof affectionately, and looked up into his eyes.

“I love you, Spike.” She said, smiling earnestly, fighting back tears, “I love you so much.”

Spike blushed heavily while keeping his confident stance.

“I love you too, Rarity,” He said, giving her a soft kiss once again, “You have no idea how happy you make me.”

Sighing dreamily, she leaned forward and rested the side of her head on his.

“I’m so sorry about today,” She whispered, “I promise, I won’t do it ever again.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Spike said back to her, “You wouldn’t be the mare I love if you didn’t get into a fight over clothing every once in a while.”

Giggling, she finally pulled back from their embrace and looked over to the unconscious robber, “What should we do with him?”

“I have an idea,” Spike smiled.

////

“Lovely,” Rarity said, looking up at the streetlight, where Spike had hogtied the pony, and wrapped him up in a conveniently placed rope, attaching a note to his chest that read:

To whom it may concern:

I’m a real lousy pony, and I tried to rob a poor mare. However, I was stopped by a handsome pony, and tied up here, like I deserve!

Yours Truly: Jerk-Face

“Let’s go to the beach now,” Spike smiled, as Rarity took position right next to him “I wanna see everypony.”

Nodding, Rarity simply walked with him and enjoyed his company. It was pure bliss for her.

////

The End of the Vacation

////
The End of the Vacation
////

Alex smiled as he sprawled out in the sand, and soaked in the sunlight.

After a few hours in the amusement park, they finally decided to call it quits when Dash started complaining of stomach pains again. Last thing any of them wanted was to be vomited on a second time…. Or a first time, in the case of Applejack and the Princesses.

So now, besides Rarity and Spike, they were all present at the beach, and loving every second of it.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie called, for the millionth time, “Wanna build a sandcastle?”

“For the last time, Pinkie!” Dash groaned, “No!”

“But it’ll be so much fun!” She begged, “We can make a little moat, and fill it with water!”

“What are you, five?” Dash asked.

“I wish!” Pinkie said, changing topic, “Five year olds get away with so much! They get to spend all day playing, and go to parties with all their friends, and not have a care in the world!”

“That describes you perfectly, Pinkie,” Dash said.

“Oh yeah!” She smiled, “I guess it does!”

“So can you please leave us alone here?” Dash asked sincerely, “I just wanna spend some time with Alex alone.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie!” Pinkie said, backing off, “I understand that you and him need your time together! And that means that I can’t be interrupting!”

She gasped.

“I’m so sorry!” She said quickly, “I don’t want to keep interrupting! Have fun!”

And with that, she bounced away, leaving the two alone on their corner of the beach.

“Gotta love that attitude,” Alex said, still looking at the sky, “Pinkie’s awesome.”

“When she’s not trying to drag you around Ponyville,” Dash laughed, walking over, and lying down next to Alex.

“Mhmm,” Alex murmured, closing his eyes.

“So, have you had any Dax thoughts today?” Dash asked, a bit worried that she might make him uncomfortable.

“A few,” Alex said, clearly stiffening up at the query, “I’m surprised I’ve kept it all under wraps so far, Especially after your little incident on the roller coaster.”

“Well, if you need to vent, then feel free,” She offered, “I can put up with it.”

“Thanks,” Alex sighed, closing his eyes, still on his back.

Alex quietly muttered a few of the worse swear words as Dash listened in curiously listened to him. She watched his face as he obviously went through a few different emotions, from happiness, to frustration, to anger, to laughter.

“How did Dax put up with himself?” Alex asked suddenly, surprising her, “All these thoughts are just coursing through my brain. Things I… never think about?”

Really, since Alex had been honest with himself, and accepted Dax, he had to admit that most of the parks of Dax, were just the very worst parts of him. Those dark, angry thoughts he usually suppressed, were so close to the front now, that he had a hard time telling the difference between them, and his normal-happy thoughts.

“You know what else is funny?” Alex said, looking to her, and she listened intently, “I can remember everything he did.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I remember that conversation you had with him before he died,” He recalled, “He told you he had a huge poll.”

Dash cracked a smile.

“Which is odd,” Alex said, losing himself a bit to his new attitude, “Because in this world, I’m hung!”

“You’re… fine,” She shrugged, making him sit up, with an offended look on his face.

“What does that mean?” He asked quickly, “You’ve seen bigger?!”

“Only like, eight or nine other guys,” She said nonchalantly, “And you’re like, six on the size chart.”

“You have a chart?!” Alex shouted, standing up.

“Of course not!” She shouted back, standing up, “You didn’t believe me, did you?”

Alex was quiet.

“I guess Dax was a bit jealous, too!” Dash laughed.

“So, were you joking about the nine guys too?” He asked quietly.

“You’re an idiot, Alex.”

////

“Sister!” Luna called from the water, sitting in her ducky-shaped inner tube, “Join me in the ocean! We’ll swim as we once did before our royal burdens took over our lives!”

“You mean, when you went to the moon?” Celestia asked.

“Do you insist on holding that one SMALL incident over us?” Luna bellowed, “We had a bad few years!”

“Alright,” Celestia said, standing up, “I’ll come in.”

“Wonderful!” She beamed, “Twilight! You must come in as well!”

“Maybe later, Princess!” Twilight called.

Luna was a bit awkward to be around. Everypony automatically assumed that Twilight was just ‘okay,’ with Luna coming back, and being a princess. But the truth was, she was foreign to Twilight. And because of that, she didn’t truly consider her to be a princess.

For her entire life, there was one ruler of Equestria. Celestia. Now, this new pony was back, and automatically had a fifty percent stake in the kingdom. Of course, she loved Luna as one of her dearest friends. But this Princess was silly. She didn’t carry herself with the same regality that Celestia did. And somehow, she was able to draw her own silly attitude out of her sister, Celestia.

It was like seeing your mom get really hopped up on sugar, and start acting like a NORMAL pony, instead of the authority figure you’ve known your whole life.

But that was just it. Deep down, Celestia was just as much a pony as Twilight was. And her sister brought that happy and playful side out of her. The Princess needed to relax too, and this is how she did it. By goofing off with the sister she hadn’t seen in a thousand years.

“By the sun Luna, I’ll soak you if you splash me one more time!” Celestia threatened.

A silence followed.

Luna splashed her and was then thrown up in the air by a geyser of water.

“Tia! I apologize!” Luna shouted from the top of the pillar of water as she desperately tried to get her rump out of the inner tube, “We have learned from our mistakes!”

“Good,” Celestia said politely as Luna was carefully lowered back to the water, as the geyser vanished, “From now on, please try not too—“

Luna splashed her again.

////

“Where do you think they are?” Rarity asked, looking at the populated beach in front of them, “I feel like we’ll be looking for hours!”

“Hmm…” Spike said, scanning the shore, suddenly seeing a giant ball of water form, and drop on a flailing pony, “I’d say that’s a safe bet.”

Looking over, Rarity nodded, “That part of the beach is near-deserted! Wonderful!”

Trotting through the crowds, they passed a concession stand where a familiar apple-bucking pony stood, trying to balance a large number of plastic containers filled with lemonade.

“You need some help?” Spike asked, seeing her struggling with the five cups on her back.

“Thank heavens!” She said as Spike and Rarity each levitated a few off, “Ah’ thought ah’ was gonna make a huge mess!”

“What have you been up to today?” Spike asked.

“Well, ah’ though my family would’ve liked tuh see me, but they’re outta town for the week!” She said, walking alongside them, “What’re the chances?”

“Sorry to hear that, dear,” Rarity said, levitating one of the drinks to her mouth, and taking a sip, before realizing that she probably just took one from somepony else.

“It’s fine,” Applejack shrugged, steering the conversation away from how disappointed she actually was, “What’d y’all do today?”

“Some pretty awesome stuff!” Spike said triumphantly.

“Like what?” Applejack inquired, curious since she hadn’t seen them at all today.

“Well, for the first time, I got to—“

“My goodness, how far away are we from everypony else?” Rarity asked quickly, “Spike, would you run and check?”

Applejack eyed her.

“Sure!” He said, running off ahead of them.

“What was that all about?” Applejack asked, “What’d you two do?”

“N-nothing dear!” Rarity said quickly, “Nothing at all!”

“Wait…” Applejack said, her eyes widening, “You two didn’t…!”

“Even If we had done anything, it would be unladylike to discuss it!” Rarity said quickly.

“So you DID do somethin’!” Applejack announced, jumping next to Rarity and lowering her voice, “What’d y’all do?”

“I already told you—“

“Ah’ know, but if you HADN’T done somethin’, you’d’ve said: ‘Ah’m not that kind of pony!’” Applejack announced as Rarity felt herself blush, “YOU. DID. Sumthin’.”

Rarity sighed in defeat, “Fine, we may have—“

////

“Hey, Alex!” Spike said, “Guess what I did today!”

“What?” Alex asked, looking to him from his spot on the ground.

“I beat up this HUGE pony and saved Rarity!” Spike announced proudly, “I was gonna tell Applejack, but Rarity cut me off for some reason.”

////

Finally, the day passed, and they all loaded back on to the train, ready to go back to Ponyville.

The day had been pretty positive for them all and had somewhat made up for the huge catastrophe at Haven Station.

“We should be back in Canterlot by dawn,” Celestia announced to the ponies on the train, “So please, get a good night’s rest, and we’ll have you on the way home to Ponyville tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks Princess!” Applejack said first, with everypony falling in behind her with their own thanks.

“I’ll see you all in the morning,” She smiled, walking out of the train car, leaving them all to their own devices.

“Today was nice!” Twilight said, to everypony, “I got to catch up on some reading, bought some supplies, relaxed on the beach, heck, I even got free cake!”

“Dash did too,” Alex laughed, “Then she shared it with all of us.”

“I was hit by a piece of cake myself!” Rarity said, shocked at the coincidence, “So was a mare I was arguing with! What are the chances?”

Applejack stood in the corner of the car, silent.

She knew where that cake had come from.

She knew who had sent it into the air.

She knew everything.

And she would take it to the grave.

////

Growing Up

////
Growing Up
////

After arriving back in Ponyville, Twilight asked her friends to come over to the library to see something she had been rather vague about.

“His name is Owlowiscious! He’s an owl!” Twilight announced proudly, showing all of her friends, save Spike and Rarity, an owl that had been helping her around the library before she left for Haven Station, “And he’s a natural in a library! He’s got unbelievable organizational skills!”

“That is pretty hard to pronounce,” Alex said, repeating the name a few times, having no luck saying it.

“Why did you name him that?” Dash asked, having trouble herself.

“I thought it sounded cool!” She defended, “It's not like I could name him, Owl!”

“Yeah, but that’s just plain borin’,” Applejack cut in.

“You could name him... Princess!” Alex offered.

Owlowiscious gave him a death glare.

“It’s most certainly not going to be Princess.” Twilight laughed.

Everypony seemed fine with this, but there seemed to be a general uneasiness about the group.

“Hey, Twilight,” Fluttershy said quietly, “What about Spike?”

“What about him?” She asked.

“Well, do you think he’ll feel replaced?” Dash asked.

“What? No!” Twilight laughed.

“He’ll think you’re stealing his job!” Pinkie shouted, pointing at the confused owl.

“You guys, Spike is a—“

“And he’ll get really jealous, even though he’ll pretend he’s not!” Alex gasped.

“And then he’d probably run away or something,” Dash added.

“Oh! But then Owlowiscious would save his life! And then they'd be best friends!” Pinkie finished.

“Do you really think so?” Twilight asked, ignoring Pinkie's ramble, while showing a bit of nervousness.

“Duh!” Dash nodded.

“She’s right!” Alex agreed, “How can we explain to Spike that Princess won’t take his place?”

“Hoo!” Owlowiscious said unhappily.

“Who?” Alex asked, before nodding to himself, “Oh, I meant Spike! Try to keep up, Princess.”

“Hoo!” He said again.

“Who?” Alex asked, shaking his head “Spike! ...Jesus.”

“Alex would you stop?" Twilight asked nicely, "He doesn't like the name."

“We need to focus on Spike everypony!” Pinkie shouted, “Otherwise he’ll run away and almost be eaten!”

“Yeah, sorry." Alex nodded.

“Thank you,” Twilight nodded, “Now... how do we tell him?”

“First, we need to make sure that he knows that we still love him!” Dash said.

“But make sure to be firm that things are going to be different,” Fluttershy added.

“And then?” Twilight asked.

“That’s when ya’ introduce Owlowiscious!” Applejack said.

“And tell him how much better things are going to be!” Pinkie said, “With someone new to play with, he’ll have a ton of fun!”

“Okay, anything else?” Twilight asked.

“Make sure you tell him that you love him the same!” Fluttershy spoke up.

“He’s not being replaced!” Alex said.

“He’s still yer’ little buddy!” Applejack finished.

“Got it!” Twilight said, “By the way, does anypony know where he went with Rarity?”

Applejack knew.

Rarity would NOT want her to tell anypony.

To her grave!

“Any idea, Applejack?” Twilight asked her, snapping her out of her daze.

“Nope! Nope! No idea! Is it hot ‘n here?” She asked quickly.

“Uh, no?” Dash asked, looking at her curiously.

“Must jus’ be me!” She laughed nervously.

“What are you hiding?” Alex asked.

“N-nuthin’!” She said, backing toward the door.

“You’re the Element of Honesty!” Twilight ordered, “Tell us!”

“That don’t mean I owe y’all mah’ secrets!” She barked as they backed off, “Ah’ still look out fer my friends, an’ their secrets!”

An awkward silence filled the room as the front door opened, breaking that.

“Hey everypony!” Spike announced, walking into the silent room with Rarity behind him, “What’s… up?”

“Um, Spike!” Twilight said, smiling strangely, as she walked over to Spike, and placed a hoof on his side.

“Yes?” He asked, a bit afraid.

“We love you still!” Alex said quickly.

“Huh?”

“Spike... listen. Things are, well, they're going to be different around here,” Twilight began, “But I still love you.”

Spike gave a massive frown as he looked back to Rarity, who was just as confused as him.

“Spike… I got a new pet,” Twilight said, gesturing to Owlowiscious on his perch near the window, “I know you must be jealous, but don’t run away from home!”

“Think of how much fun you two will have!” Pinkie said excitedly, “You can play hide and seek, or race to put books away!”

“Doesn’t that sound fun, Spikey?” Dash asked, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

“You got a new pet…?” Spike asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yes! But you’re just as important to me as you used to be,” Twilight said, “Owlowiscious won’t change that!”

Spike looked back and forth awkwardly.

“I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say,” Spike said.

“Just say that you’ll give it a try!” Twilight begged.

“Twilight, I don’t care about you getting a new pet!” Spike said, surprising everypony, “I thought all this was about you getting him because I was spending so much time with Rarity, and you were lonely.”

Twilight was taken aback by this statement, as she blinked rapidly.

“I’m not jealous, and I know you love me.” Spike said, “I also think you deserve the help, just look at this place!”

“Oh…” Twilight said, a bit disappointed he hadn’t had a bit more of a childish reaction to Owlowiscious.

“I’ve grown up, Twilight,” Spike laughed, “You don’t need to worry about me throwing tantrums anymore.”

“O-of course…!” Twilight said, blinking rapidly, “How silly of me.”

Again, silence filled the room.

Twilight wasn’t sure why this had let her down so much. She hadn’t even expected Spike to throw a tantrum until five minutes ago… But now she was so disappointed that he wasn’t going to. When he became a stallion, he turned into a man remarkably fast for Rarity. Maybe all it took was her to stop babying him, for that to happen.

“Hey, it’s not a question for me, but my friend, so… do ponies get itchy inner thighs frequently?” Alex asked.

Applejack shrugged, "Yeah, sometimes."

"Thank goodness." He sighed with relief.

“Well,” Spike said, cutting Alex off, “Rarity wants me to model some suit for her, and it might take most of the night. So I’m gonna get some stuff… And head over there for the day.”

“Yeah, sure.” Twilight said, looking up and smiling, “Have fun.”

“Thanks,” Spike said, walking past her, and up to his room.

“Hey Rarity, can I talk to you for a second?” Twilight asked, still smiling.

“Of course, darling,” Rarity said, not sure what it was she wanted to discuss.

Walking outside, Twilight gave her a serious look.

"Please... please be good with him." Twilight said, "I don't know if I could handle him being hurt."

“E-excuse me?” She asked, taking a step back.

“Spike is my little brother,” Twilight said seriously, “And he loves you a lot... more than me maybe...”

“Don't say that, Twilight!” Rarity said seriously back to her.

“Spike is moving on with his life,” Twilight said, her eyes glazing over, “And pretty soon… I’m not going to be the mare looking after him.”

Rarity nodded slowly, frowning slightly.

“You two haven’t been together a year, but… When it’s right, it’s right, right?” She asked, somewhat confusingly, “I just- I want him to be in safe hooves.”

“Twilight,” Rarity said, “Spike wouldn’t be able to get away from me if he tried.”

Twilight smiled.

“If he were to break up with me, I’d probably become that creepy stalking ex-marefriend.” Rarity laughed, before getting a much more serious look on her face, “Twilight, he’s what I’ve always wanted, even if he's a little... young? I'm still not sure about all that.”

“He was always mature as a dragon, I think he just got a body that matched his mental age,” Twilight smiled, ”I just thought I'd have more time with him is all... I loved looking after him."

“You should have a foal,” Rarity said suddenly as Twilight gave her a strange look, “Taking care of everyone seems to be second nature to you, since you practically reared Spike yourself. You would do amazingly with a baby.”

Twilight blushed at the compliment, “Thanks, but my only options so far are to have a half-changeling baby, and the dad might be dead.”

“I’m sure the Princess would lend you a royal guard or two,” Rarity winked.

“I’m ready!” Spike announced, cutting off the conversation as he walked out the door, “What’re you guys talking about?”

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight said, “Have fun, Spike.”

“I will!” He beamed, walking over to Rarity, “See you tomorrow!”

“Mhmm,” She smiled as she waved to Rarity.

“Have a good evening, darling,” Rarity said as she and Spike turned and headed off.

It made her happy to know that Spike was happy. And as sad as it may have been that he was moving on, it had to happen sooner or later.

...Maybe she SHOULD have a foal.

Na.

////

Author's Note

Sorry, had to do the grave thing one more time, haha.

Party of One

////
Party of One
////

The next few days had passed by uneventfully. As it turned out, the Grand Galloping Gala was coming up, something that Alex had totally forgotten. There had also been something else coming up, but he had forgotten that too. Under different circumstances, he may have been a bit more concerned, but he was currently enjoying cuddling with his marefriend.

“What’s the weather looking like today?” Alex whispered in her ear, not sure if she was awake.

“Mmmm, clear and sunny!” She said softly, “No work to be done.”

“Perfect,” Alex said, wrapping his arms around her torso, and pulling her closer to him, “Let’s just stay like this for a few hours.”

Dash didn’t respond, she just sighed happily.

Alex enjoyed every minute of this, and hoped that nothing would happen to ruin their perfect moment.

Of course, somepony started knocking on the door.

“Balls,” Alex said, rolling over, “Can we ignore them?”

“Nope,” Dash said, rolling out of bed, and landing on the soft cloud-floor below her, “Might be important.”

“It’s probably not though,” Alex groaned, “Just stay in- Dash?”

She was gone.

Trotting after her, he walked beside her as she opened the door.

Pinkie stood in the hot air balloon, with her pet alligator, Gummi. She then broke into song.

No need to bring a gift
Being there will be enough
Birthdays mean having fun with friends
Not getting lots of stuff!

With that, she threw them a letter, pulled a string above her, and floated downward, away from the cloud-house.

“What?”

////

“This is a pretty big party for an alligator,” Alex said to Twilight as he watched Pinkie bounce around the room, tending to her guests.

“Hey!” She smiled to the two, “How do you like the party?

“It’s good,” Alex said, “The punch is great!”

“How old is Gummy again?” Twilight asked.

“One! Today!” She beamed, “He’s so excited!”

Looking around, Alex noticed that he couldn’t see Gummy anywhere, “Where is the birthday boy?”

“Over there!” She pointed, as he and Twilight looked at the bobbing for apples station, where Applejack and Dash stood, competing for best… bobber?

“Nice!” Dash said, as Applejack pulled one out of the bucket, “Now let me show you how it’s really done!”

Going in, she instantly pulled an apple out of the bucket and beamed triumphantly.

“Keep going!” Pinkie shouted across the room, as Dash ate the apple in one bite, “There are a bunch of surprises in there!”

“What kind of surprises?!” Dash asked, her wings flaring in excitement.

“I can’t tell you that, silly!” She giggled, “Then it wouldn’t be a surprise!”

Taking the hint, Dash went back in, looking around for anything else that would be in the water. But, when she pulled out, all she had was Gummy, suctioned to her face.

“Nice find!” Alex laughed, as Dash pulled Gummy off, and rubbed the sore spot on her nose, where he had just been.

Applejack laughed as she walked away from Dash, so Alex took the opportunity to slip in.

“Does that hurt?” He asked, seeing that she wasn’t exactly laughing about the situation.

“He was on there pretty tight,” Dash said, “It might turn into a hickey.”

“Here,” Alex said, touching his horn to her nose, and pressing some energy into it, “That should fix it up.”

“You can heal now?” She asked, feeling the pain disappear, “I guess since Dax was able to.”

Alex nodded, “I can’t do a lot of it, actually… There’s something I’m missing, that unlocks the power.”

“Well, if you want, we can go try to find out what unlocks it,” Dash suggested, “But, you know, after the party.”

“Well, duh!” Alex said, “I haven’t had any cake yet.”

////

The party, unsurprisingly, went late into the night, and finally, a few hours after midnight, they decided to call it a night, and head home.

“Great party!” Alex called, walking out with Dash.

“I’m excited for the next one!” Dash said, waving to her.

“Me too!” Pinkie called from her window above the bakery.

“Ah don’t think ah’ve danced this much since… well, since yer last party!” Applejack said, “Thanks again for the invite!”

“Bravo on yet another fabulous soiree!” Rarity said, as her and Spike walked out together.

“It’s been lovely,” Fluttershy said quietly, smiling happily.

“You sure you don’t wanna stay?” Pinkie asked quickly, “There’s still some cake!”

“I’ll pass,” Twilight responded, “But we should do this again soon!”

Pinkie gasped, as she ducked into her window, “We SHOULD do this again soon!”

She quickly began to formulate a new plan, for a new party, and would spend all day tomorrow having a great time!

////

Pinkie ran up to the Library and quickly knocked on the door.

On her head, she wore a basket that she had tied a string around, and was using as a hat, to hold her invitations. At first, she was just going to carry them all in her mouth, but when she started heading for the library, she would start thinking about all the cake she was going to eat that night, and she’d start drooling! And, that ruined the whole batch of invitations. So, after six failed attempts of not drooling, she tossed them in her new hat. Now, she was able to think about cake as much as she wanted.

Twilight opened the door, and smiled at seeing her, “Hey Pink—“

“It’s soon!” Pinkie beamed.

“Huh?” Twilight asked.

“You said we should do it again soon!” Pinkie explained, as Twilight levitated an envelope out of the basket, “And, it’s soon!”

“You’re invited to Gummy’s ‘after-birthday’ party, at three o’clock,” Twilight read off the letter, “As in… This afternoon this afternoon?”

“Yes, indeedy!” Pinkie smiled.

“Oh, gosh. I wish I could make it, but I’ve gotten a bit behind in my studies.” Twilight said, trying not to give away anything, “I’ve really gotta hit the books!”

“I understand,” Pinkie nodded, “Your studies come first! But don’t worry! We’ll be sure to save you some cake!”

“Please do,” Twilight said, her head tilted a bit as Pinkie bounced off.

“Oh!” Pinkie called, stopping and turning for a second, “You shouldn’t hit the books, you should really just read them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Twilight smirked, as Pinkie turned away once again, and bounced away.

Twilight was shocked that Pinkie would want to throw a party for Gummy, when today was her own birthday! Is she just being selfless and giving the spotlight to Gummy? No… Pinkie was a sweet pony, but she’d never pass up the opportunity to be the birthday girl for a day.

Either way, the girls would remind her later, when Pinkie showed up to their surprise party.

////

Alex trotted down the road on his way to the library, going to ask Twilight what it was that she was planning today. Dash had been explaining it to him this morning while he still slept, and he hadn’t really been paying attention. So, he decided to ask Twilight, since he distinctly remembered Dash saying Twilight had something to do with it.

“Hey, Alex!” Pinkie called, heading away from the library, “You wanna come to Gummy’s ‘after-birthday’ party today at three?”

“Uh, let me think,” Alex said, as Pinkie looked a disappointed already, “Only, OF COURSE!”

“Yay!” She said, smiling, “I’m on my way to ask everypony else to come!”

“Cool!” Alex said, “I’ll see you there!”

“Great!” Pinkie said, heading off once again, “See you in a bit!”

Alex smiled to himself as he continued to journey to the library. He loved Pinkie’s parties WAY more than the parties back on earth. There was too much beer and pot at those parties, and he had never been partial to either. Although, he isn’t exactly partial for pin the tail on the pony either, but it was the thing here, and the food was good too.

“Hey Twilight!” Alex called, walking inside, “What’s the big plan for today?”

“Didn’t Rainbow Dash tell you?” Twilight asked, “It’s Pinkie’s birthday today, and we’re throwing her a surprise party!”

“Are you sure?” Alex asked, narrowing his eyes, “Because I just got invited to another party… By Pinkie.”

“Me too!” Twilight said in disbelief, “She doesn’t know it’s her birthday! How could she forget?”

“I don’t know,” Alex shrugged.

“Well, just as long as you turned her down, everything should still work,” Twilight said, as Alex gave her a guilty look.

“…What?” She asked, somewhat worriedly.

“I may have told her I would go to that party,” Alex said, biting his lip.

“Well, go tell her that you can’t make it!” Twilight said quickly, “We need your help for today to work!”

“But—“

“No but’s!” Twilight said sternly, “Go!”

“Okay…” Alex said, dropping his head and walking out the door.

Now he had to find out where she went!

////

Alex grumbled as he finished his stop at Rarity’s house. He had shown up, only to find out that she had just left. So, at least, that meant the last place she would be, is Fluttershy’s cottage.

Heading down the road, he was overjoyed to see Pinkie walking, instead of bouncing, over to him.

However, she didn’t look very good. She looked very… sad.

“What’s wrong, Pinks?” Alex asked, seeing that she was on the verge of tears.

“I think everypony is avoiding me!” She burst out, surprising him, “They all told me they were busy!”

“Oh… did they?” Alex asked, seeing how sad she was, “I’m sure it was just a—“

“We need to investigate!” Pinkie said, grabbing Alex, “Let’s go!”

“Uh, but… You see--!”

“Wait…” She said, turning to him with huge eyes, “Are you busy tonight too?”

Alex frowned, she was too sad. He couldn’t do it.

“Nope!” Alex said, “Just… Wondering where we should go first!”

“Oh, we need to disguise ourselves!” Pinkie said, “Leave that to me!”

////

Alex shifted uncomfortably, as he sat outside the library in a block of hay. His horn, and one leg stuck out. Looking over at Pinkie, he had no clue how she fit so perfectly into a block half the size of the one he was in.

“Are you sure this is gonna work?” Alex asked, as she watched on quietly.

“For sure I am!” Pinkie said, “Oh! Don’t forget your disguise!”

“Disguise?” Alex asked, “I already have my hay on, what else do I nee—“

A joke pair of glasses and mustache were forced on his face, through the hay, “There you go!”

He was a block of hay, with a horn, one leg, and glasses. VERY inconspicuous.

“There she is!” Pinkie said, as Twilight opened the door to the library, and snuck out, as stealthily as she could, “That doesn’t look like studying!”

“Sure doesn’t,” Alex sighed, not sure if running the surprise was worth it at this point.

“Let’s follow her!” Pinkie said, bouncing behind Twilight at a safe distance.

Alex tried to bounce, but found it largely impossible, so, instead, he lamely pushed himself along with his exposed leg.

They followed her to the bakery, where she went in, and them came out with a box of something. Pinkie had wanted to go in, but Alex kept her back, saying it wouldn’t look good to be caught snooping. Really though, he didn’t want her to hear the plans by accident.

“What is that?” Pinkie said, watching Twilight trot away, “Let’s follow her!”

“Uh, Pinkie,” Alex said quickly, starting to feel his entire body go numb in the enclosed space he was in, “I have some errands I need to run before I come to your party, do you mind scouting alone for now?”

“Oh, for sure!” She said, “Just make sure to be there by two forty five! That’s when the pre-party tea-party starts!”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, “Got it!”

Breaking out of his block, he trotted off until he was out of her sight, and then ran for his life toward Rarity’s house. She was the only one he knew for sure would be there.

////

“Rarity!” Alex called, seeing her walking away from her house, “Pinkie is on to you guys! You need to stay hidden from her!”

“How could she possibly be suspecting anything?” Rarity asked, “We’ve been so careful!”

“Just make sure you don’t mention the party when you’re in public,” Alex said, “And she’s in the block of hay with the mustache, if you see one.”

“Okay…?” She said, still completely confused.

“Great!” Alex said, “Where’s Spike?”

“He’s back at the library, darling, we didn’t want him knowing anything, in case he decided to tell Pinkie about it,” Rarity explained.

“Good plan,” Alex said, trying to think of what else he could even do at this point, “Anyway, good luck! I need to go and warn whoever else I can.”

“Of course,” Rarity nodded, “Good luck!”

“Thanks!” Alex said, as he headed away, into the town.

////

It had largely been a bust. Alex had looked for everypony, but had no idea where they had gone. It probably would have been a good idea if he had asked Rarity where they were all meeting, so he could at least head there.

So, running out of options, he went back to the library.

Opening the door, Alex saw Spike at a table, gnawing on a ruby.

“Spike, what’s going on?” Alex asked, “Where did you get all those gems?”

“Pinkie gave them to me!” Spike smiled.

“Really?” Alex asked, “What for?”

“It was so weird!” Spike laughed, “She was losing her mind, and made me tell her that nopony wanted to be her friends anymore!”

“You said that?!” Alex asked in shock.

“Hey man,” Spike said, putting his ruby down, “She told me to say it, I’m sure she doesn’t believe me.”

“Do you know where she in now?” Alex asked.

“She went home,” Spike shrugged, “Said her party guests would be arriving soon.”

“Guests?” Alex asked, “As in… more than one?”

.////

Swallowing, Alex knocked on the door to the bakery, and heard Pinkie say, “One second everyone! That must be Alex!”

She opened the door, smiling just as brightly as she had before, but something was wrong… Her hair was totally straight, and her pupils were hardly dilated.

“You’re just in time Alex!” Pinkie beamed, opening the door all the way, “Take a seat wherever!”

Walking inside, he didn’t see anypony else in the room, just a few objects sitting on stools around her main table, all of them wearing party hats.

Alex frowned as he walked past a bucket of turnips, and a pile of rocks, to sit at the end of the table.

“Now we can get this party started!” Pinkie shouted, running to her place in between a piece of fluff, and a bag of flour.

“Thank you all so much for coming!” Pinkie smiled, “It means so much to Gummy!”

Running over to the bucket of turnips, Pinkie knocked her hoof against it, so it moved, as she changed her voice to a deeper one, “Could I have some more punch?”

Quickly taking a few steps back, she smiled and nodded, “Of course you can, Mr. Turnip!”

Out of nowhere, she dropped a cup of juice in front of the bucket.

Suddenly, her eye’s shot out in opposite directions, as she bared her teeth. Instantly though, she returned to normal.

Alex watched on with wide eyes.

She walked over to the pile of rocks, and moved the middle and top pieces with her hoofs, “This is one great party! You really outdone yourself!”

“Why thank you, Rocky!” She said politely.

Then, leaning backward over the table toward the pile of fluff, she took on a voice very similar to Rarity’s, but a bit more masculine.

“I’m having a delightful time as well!” She said, with wide, unblinking eyes.

Snapping back to herself, she smiled at the fluff, “Why thank you, Sir Lintsalot!”

She twitched again, as she looked right at Alex, before snapping back to normal, and running behind the bag of flour.

“Could I trouble you for another piece of cake?” Pinkie said in a high-pitched French accent.

“Of course Madame le Flour!” Pinkie said, pushing a plate with cake over to the bag.

Running over to Alex, she waved his arms around, and imitated his voice as best she could, “This sure is a hoppin’ time, Pinkie Pie!”

Alex wasn’t sure what to say at this point. He was petrified.

“I’m glad none of those ponies showed up!” Pinkie said as the rock.

“Oh, they’re not so bad…” Pinkie said, as her eyes drifted apart, as she held a smile on her face.

Alex watched on in horror, she continued the conversation, using him as a character every now and them. He wanted to run. He wanted to hide. Pinkie was insane.

“Despicable!” She said as the flour, clopping her hooves.

“Such losers!” She said, changing to the fluff.

“Well done!” Mr. Turnip said.

“Yeah!” Lintsalot agreed.

Suddenly a knock came at the door.

Alex looked over desperately.

“Who could that be?” Pinkie asked, snapping out of her insanity.

“Hey there, Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said, looking around the room, “Sorry I was in such a rush earlier. Had some place to be, and couldn’t slow down to say, ‘hello.’ You know how it goes.”

“I know how it goes alright,” Pinkie growled.

Looking over to Alex, Dash gave him an odd look, seeing the panic on his face.

‘Help. Me.’ Alex mouthed desperately.

“Hey, why don’t you come with us to Sweet Apple Acres?” Dash asked, not looking away from Alex.

“No thanks,” Pinkie said, walking over to Alex, and raising his arms, “I’m spending time with my real friends!”

“Yeah!” Pinkie imitated Alex, “Get out of here, butt face!”

Alex sniffled.

“Uh, what do you say we get on out of Creepy town, and head on over to Applejack’s…” Dash tried again.

“She’s not going anywhere!” The bucket of turnips said.

“I most certainly am not!” Pinkie agreed, “I’m having a wonderful time right here!”

“You two should really just come with me,” Dash said, a bit nervous herself.

“You heard the lady!” Pinkie imitated, pushing the rocks into Dash’s face, “She ain’t goin’ nowhere chump!”

“Who are you calling a chump, chump!?” Dash shouted at Rocky, knocking the pile of rocks over with her nose, realizing how stupid she must look, “Ugh… That’s it! Party’s over! Come on, Pinkie!”

“No!” She said, looking away from Dash.

“Pinkie Pie, Let’s go!” Dash asked nicely, trying to maintain herself.

“I said NO!” Pinkie said again.

Pushing her head up against her rump, she started trying to push her along, “You… Have to… Come with… me!” Dash said, as she struggled to try to get the pink pony to move with her.

“No… I…” Pinkie said, lifting up her hind legs, as Dash’s head went under them, “Don’t!”

Slamming down on her head, Pinkie sat on Dash, keeping her held in place.

As bad as it made Alex feel, he liked the look of Dash under another mares rump like that. That was Dax… And it made him upset that she was able to get away with so much, when he had to deal with so much more, while keeping himself sane.

“No!” He shouted out loud, as Dash pulled her head out from under Pinkie, looking over to him, “You don’t get to be insane!”

Pinkie stepped back.

“I’ve got two personalities in my head!” Alex shouted, “I kinda want a three-way right now, and I’m pissed at myself for saying it out loud!”

The two girls were pretty nervous now.

“I’m the bat-shit insane one here, and even I’m not talking to inanimate objects!” Alex continued, as his eyes started to glow a bright green, and various objects started floating around the room, “You are going with us to Sweet Apple Acres! Now! And I’ll kick Rocky’s ass if he has anything to say about it! Does he?!”

Pinkie shook her head.

“Are you coming then?!”

Pinkie nodded quickly.

“Good!” He shouted, “One more thing!”

Firing a laser at the bucket of turnips, he turned it to a pile of ash.

“I hated that guy!” He said, walking out the door, not looking at either of them, “Let’s go!”

////

Sitting outside the barn, Alex rubbed his temples. What the hell was that? He just flew off the handles, with almost no warning. He truly was half way between Dax and Alex for a few moments, and it unlocked that power he had used on the Changelings.

But now, here he was, outside the barn, while everypony celebrated. And, of course, he was crying, that made sense.

This was stupid and needlessly complex.

“Hey Alex!” Pinkie said, surprising him, making him jump, as she came out of the barn where her party was currently held, with poofy hair one again.

“Oh, Pinkie!” Alex said, wiping his eyes, “Uh, how’s the party?”

“Good!” She smiled, Sitting down next to him she put an arm around his shoulder, “You know, Alex, you taught me something today!”

“I did?” Alex asked, intrigued.

“When I was a filly, I lived on a rock farm, and to be honest, disappointment was a pretty big part of my life!” She said happily, recalling the hard parts of her life with a surprising amount of cheer, “And whenever things got bad, I’d play with my dolls! They all lived in a perfect house, with lots of fun, and cake too!”

Alex nodded, understanding.

“When I moved away, I forgot to pack them!” Pinkie continued, “So whenever I get down here, I overreact, find the nearest objects, and I play dolls again! But, maybe that’s not the most grown up way to be, you know?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, “It’s probably not too adult for me to lose my mind either, right?”

“Right!” Pinkie smiled, “But, you’re new to it, so you get a free pass!”

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Alex said, as she handed him a slip of paper that read ‘free pass.’

“And as for the whole three-way thing,” She began, as Alex lit up, blushing, “Just make sure it’s okay with Dashie, okay?”

Alex actually laughed at that, “Could you imagine?”

“She’d probably slap you silly!” Pinkie giggled, “Wanna come inside for some cake?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, smiling, “Sure.”

“Great!” She said, jumping up, “I’m starving!”

“Oh, Pinkie,” Alex said, as she looked at him, “Thanks for this.”

“No problem!” She smiled, “Let’s go!”

So, they went in and enjoyed the rest of the party. Dash didn’t seem to hold the explosion against him, and spent the rest of the evening closely with him.

This party didn’t go as long as the last one did, because they all needed to rest up for the Grand Galloping Gala in a few days. Not only that, however. There was something big on the horizon.

The end was coming.

////

The Best Night Ever - Part 1

////
The Best Night Ever – Part 1
////

Looking at himself in the mirror, Alex smiled, he was dressed in his white Tuxedo, had his hair gelled to the side, and wore a pair of shiny black shoes. All in all, he was dapper as all hell.

Tomorrow was the Grand Galloping Gala, and Rarity had forced him and Spike to dress themselves in advance, so she could decide whether or not they would need to have a different set of clothes or not, so they would match their dates.

“How’s this?” Alex asked, stepping out of the changing room within the Carousel Boutique.

“Rainbow Dash, go stand beside him, dear,” Rarity said, tapping her hoof to her chin, dressed in her dress as well.

Dash, clad in her own Gala dress, walked over to Alex, and stood next to him.

“Hmm…” Rarity said, looking them over.

The main problem she saw was that Alex had no color in his outfit whatsoever, while Dash had all the colors of the rainbow on hers. It simply didn’t look right.

“Alright, Alex,” Rarity said, “I think we’re going to need to get you something new.”

“Dang.” Alex said, “What did you have in mind? Where should I get it from?”

“Well, I’ll whip something up tonight for you,” She said, “It won’t take long at all.”

“What about me?” Spike asked, walking out of the changing room, in his black tuxedo, with white tie.

“Come here, sweetie,” Rarity said, stepping herself in front of the mirror as Spike joined her in the reflection.

“The red and black look really good together!” Alex said, thinking they matched perfectly.

Rarity gave him a look, before sighing, and agreeing with him.

“I think so too.” She nodded, “Spike, you’re fine with what you have.”

“Great!” Spike said, “Can I get out of this now?”

“Sure, dear,” She said, turning back to Alex, “Do you have a preference on style? Tight, or loose fitting coat? Single or double breasted? Pockets?”

“Can it be tear-away?” Alex asked, holding his breath.

“Why would you ever need that?” She asked.

“Well, what kind of party is this?” Alex asked, “Have you ever seen party boy?”

“I’m afraid I haven’t,” Rarity said, “And this is an extremely formal event!”

“Well, in that case, just do whatever you think would be best,” Alex laughed, “I trust your judgment.”

Smiling, Rarity nodded, “As you should!”

“So, I’ll be back tomorrow morning then?” Alex asked.

“Of course,” Rarity said, turning away, levitating a few colors of fabric out of her workbench, “Have a nice night, you two!”

After a few minutes of changing, Alex and Dash left the boutique, on their way out to dinner.

“You know,” Dash said, “I’m not that excited about this gala.”

“I thought you were dying to go,” Alex said, “You want to meet the Wonder—Oh, right.”

“Right,” She smiled, “I mean, it’ll be nice to see the Princesses again, but we JUST saw them.”

“Well, maybe the two of us can just enjoy the night together,” Alex said, “We can dance, eat some food, maybe stand on the balcony and gaze at the night sky… Make something romantic out of it.”

“Well, I guess that sounds alright,” Dash said, “We don’t have enough romance.”

“This’ll make up for it,” Alex smiled.

“It had better!” She faux-threatened, “If it’s not REALLY special, I might just go out with some other guy… Maybe that Prince Blueblood.”

“Well, you COULD,” Alex said, “But I might have a chaotic accident, and blow him up.”

“Like that bucket of turnips?” Dash giggled.

“Worse,” Alex said, shaking his head, “I’d probably destroy half the castle in the process.”

“Fine,” Dash smiled, “I guess I’m stuck with you.”

“Sounds good to me,” Alex said.

“Me too.” She smiled, moving closer to him, and pressing her side to his, so they were touching as they walked.

Alex loved walking this way. The closest thing he could compare it to was holding hands. But the way she slightly leaned into him, using him as support, gave him a feeling of dependence from her. It was such a small action, but it made him feel needed.

Arriving at the small café, Alex frowned.

“Dash, what do you say we go someplace different?” Alex asked.

“Really?” Dash asked, “Where did you have in mind?”

Alex thought carefully. Ponyville wasn’t really the best place to go for fancy dining, and they would need to dress up again. So, what else was there?

“How about…” Alex said slowly, “I make you dinner?”

Dash smirked, “You? Cooking?”

“Believe it or not, I had a knack for it back in my world,” Alex said.

“I’m always happy to have food cooked for me,” Dash smiled, “What would you make me?”

“Are you a fan of Alfredo?” Alex asked.

“Pasta?” She asked, “Sure, what’ll we need to pick up?”

“I have a special recipe,” Alex said, “I just hope I can do it with hooves!”

“Let’s hurry up then!” Dash said, changing direction toward the grocery store, “They’re closing soon!”

////

“Are you sure you needed all that stuff?” Dash asked, as Alex emptied the bags on to the counter, “I get the heavy cream, milk, and butter… But nutmeg? Garlic? And cream cheese?”

“Trust me,” Alex said, levitating two pots and a large skillet from the cupboard, “This’ll be delicious… If I can get it right.”

Dash watched silently as Alex placed the cream in the pot, and turning on the element.

Not seeing a microwave, he placed the cream cheese in the skillet, and turned the heat on low.

Then, with the third pot, he filled it with water, and placed it behind the heating cream.

Quickly, the cream started to boil.

“Now, when you do this, you need to make sure that you babysit the cream,” Alex said, taking a rubber spatula, and rapidly rubbed it along the bottom of the pot, keeping the cream from sticking, “If it burns, you’re gonna have a bad time.”

Dash continued to watch, as he looked over to the cream cheese that had started to melt under the low heat in the skillet.

“Alright… next,” Alex said, levitating the garlic out of the bag, and pulling two cloves out of the bunch, placing them on the cutting board, he squished them with the flat side of his knife, making them crack, and skin come loose.

Lifting them up, he magically pulled the loose skin from the clove, exposing the inside.

Cutting the ends off both pieces, he minced the garlic into tiny pieces that he quickly threw into the melted cream cheese.

“The water is boiling,” Dash said, pointing to the back pot.

“Thanks,” Alex said, levitating the box of fettuccini off the counter, opening the box, cracking the noodles in half, and tossing them into the boiling water.

Dash watched in awe, as he stirred the cream with one spell, covered the pasta with another, and lightly pressed a spoon into the remaining cream cheese, helping it melt.

Looking to the boiling cream, he was satisfied with the amount it had reduced, and added a few cups of regular milk, to help reduce the overall richness that the product would have.

Levitating the hard piece of parmesan cheese up, he placed it on top of the melted cream cheese and garlic, allowing it be heated, and melt itself.

A few minutes passed as nothing but boiling happened.

Finally, placing a spoon in the boiling milk and cream mixture, he was satisfied with the reduction, and thickness of the fluid.

Next, he stirred the extremely thick cream cheese combination, to make sure all of the parmesan had melted. Seeing that it had, he lifted the cream pot, and poured it into the skillet, combining the two white liquids, into the skillet, allowing them to mix together, and boil together.

Levitating the pasta pot off the element, he brought a noodle from the pot to his mouth, and chewed it.

“Al Dente,” Alex smiled, pulling the colander from beneath him, and strained the noodles, shaking all the excess moisture from them, into the sink.

Finally, he poured the finished noodles into the skillet with the sauce, and cranked the heat.

“Almost there,” Alex said, taking the butter from the counter, and cutting a generous chunk from the brick, placing it in the skillet, and covering it with a large lid.

“Now, we let that boil for a bit!” Alex said, smiling as he looked to her, “Dash?”

“You’re… amazing at this!” She said, he jaw on the floor, “Why haven’t you done this before?”

“We haven’t tasted it yet,” Alex said, lifting the lid, and mixing the mixture for a moment, before re-covering it, “It might not be any good.”

“We’ll see, I guess,” Dash smiled, being fully confident in him.

Waiting patiently for a few minutes, Alex finally took the heat off the Alfredo, and took a pinch of nutmeg, and tossed it in, mixing everything up.

“Finished!” Alex announced.

“Oh,” Dash said quickly, walking out of the room, “I’ll go set the table.”

“No need,” He called to her, hearing her gasp from the next room.

Somehow, during his multitasking in the kitchen, he had managed to place a table cloth, set two places, get a bottle of grape juice open and breathing, and place two candles in the middle of the table, in the otherwise dark room.

“How did you do that…?” She asked, walking back into the kitchen, as he approached her with two plates.

“Magic,” He smiled, placing one place on each end, and pulling out her chair, “Have a seat.”

Dash just silently sat down in the chair, albeit uncomfortably. Alex had insisted on getting chairs in various rooms of the house, so he could sit upright. She hadn’t gotten used to it yet, but was growing accustomed.

Sitting down at the opposite side of the table, Alex watched in anticipation as she wrapped her hoof around a fork.

“I hate these things…” Dash grumbled at her silverware, wishing she could just eat face first.

“Sorry,” Alex laughed, “I’m kinda human-ing up the place.”

Twirling some pasta on her fork, she brought it to her mouth, and bit it off.

Immediately, her face lit up, as she tasted the food, and swallowed it.

“This is amazing! It’s milky… And creamy!” She beamed, taking another bite, “Why haven’t you done this before?!”

“I’m… Lazy?” Alex laughed, “And the whole hooves thing was a problem. I needed to know magic to REALLY be able to cook.”

“Well, you sure as heck can do it!” She smiled, before looking at him seriously, “You didn’t just get your cutie mark, did you?”

Going wide eyed, Alex looked at his flank, and was somewhat relieved to see nothing.

“Whoo!” He laughed, “Dodged a bullet!”

“How?” She asked, “A cooking Cutie Mark would be pretty cool!”

“I’m hoping for something a bit… flashier?” Alex laughed, “Not a boring chef’s hat.”

“You really do sound like a member of that Cutie Mark Club,” Dash said, shaking her head, “You don’t get to pick your destiny.”

“Psh, just watch me!” Alex said, taking a bit of the food and smiling, “I’ll get an epic Cutie Mark! You just watch!”

“Good luck,” She said absentmindedly, focusing on her food now.

Following suit, Alex dove into his as well. He had nailed it, and was proud he still had some talent from earth.

“Hey, Alex,” Dash said, suddenly, as he looked up from his delicious food, “I wanted to ask you some stuff.”

“Shoot,” Alex said, looking at her, seeing an uneasy look.

“Are we… living together now?” She asked, looking at him with a cocked head.

“Well,” Alex said, thinking back to his room at the library, “We started bunking together after we saw Bolt die in the Crystal Kingdom, so we wouldn’t wake up from a nightmare, and be alone.”

She nodded.

“I mean, if you don’t want me spending all my time here, that’s totally fine!” Alex said quickly, realizing he might have been upsetting her personal space by just… Staying here.

“Oh, no!” She said quickly, “I don’t want you to leave!”

“That’s a relief,” Alex sighed, “What else was bugging you?”

“I don’t really know…” Dash said, “I guess I’m just not used to living with a stallion.”

“Well, I’m not used to BEING a stallion,” Alex smiled, “That puts us on even ground, right?”

“Yeah,” She smiled back, “I guess it’s just because I’ve never been in a serious relationship before.”

“It can be confusing, for sure,” Alex agreed, “I mean, I’ve hardly kissed a girl, but here I am, living with one, only a year after that.”

“How many girls have you kissed?” Dash asked suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious.

“Jealous?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow, before realizing that she genuinely was, “Uh, just one.”

“Me too,” Dash said, looking at him, “Just once with Appleja— Uh… Oh crap.“

Alex was frozen, his eyes huge.

She bit her lip.

“Applejack?” Alex asked.

“Look, there’s no need to be jealous!” Dash said, “It was just a friendly—“

“Why would I be jealous?” Alex laughed out loud, “That’s awesome!”

Dash frowned; he WOULD think that, wouldn’t he?

“Did you use tongue??” He asked quickly, “Tell me!”

Rolling her eyes, she looked at the ceiling, “There was… a bit.”

“Holy buck,” Alex said, rolling his head around, “This is the best news ever.”

“Why…?” She asked.

“My marefriend, kisses girls!” The endless possibilities ran through his head, as he started turning a bit Dax-ish.

“We were young!” Dash said quickly, “I had just moved here, and met her…”

“When did you move here?” Alex asked.

“Two, maybe three years ago?” She said.

“That’s not young at all!” Alex said happily, “This is awesome! You’re the best!”

“Come on, Alex,” She said, “That’s not gonna be happening again, it was just an experiment.”

“Oh…” He said, looking like a kid that had just lost his favorite toy, “Okay.”

Dash shook her head, trying not to lose her self control, and start laughing at his patheticness.

“How about this,” She reasoned, smiling inwardly, “If you kiss a couple of dudes while I watch, then I’ll kiss some girls while you watch.”

Alex frowned.

“This is dumb! Never mind!” Alex huffed, crossing his arms in front of him.

“I figured,” She winked.

////

“I can’t believe you made me do the dishes!” Dash said, walking out on the balcony of her house toward Alex, where he sat in a long chair, out looking toward Canterlot.

“I made dinner,” Alex shrugged, “That’s the rule!”

“Okay, okay,” She said, sitting next to him, on the same seat, “What’re looking at?”

“Those fireworks,” Alex said, pointing toward Canterlot Castle, “What are they for?”

“It happens every night before the Gala,” Dash explained, “There’s some kind of street celebration that everypony in Canterlot is invited to.”

“Huh,” Alex said, as she cuddled next to him, “Maybe we should go up there.”

“Nonono,” Dash said quickly, “I’m tired, and it’s not that exciting. The crowds are enormous… And I’m sleepy.”

“Oh,” Alex said, scooching closer to her, as she pressed her head into his chest, and closed his eyes, “Next time maybe.”

“Yeah…” She said, listening to the rhythm of his heart beat, “Or, we could just… Cuddle some more, you know, next year this time.”

Wrapping his arms around her back, he pulled her even closer, removing any gap between them.

“I guess that would work,” Alex said, running his hoof through her hair.

“Alex…” She said into his chest, not moving.

“Hmm?” He asked, closing his eyes.

“Please don’t get sick of me.” She said quietly.

“Don’t worry about that,” Alex said, “I don’t think I could do better than you in a million years.”

“Thanks…” She squeaked.

With that, they both drifted off into a peaceful sleep, having just had the romantic night they both had wanted.

It had been their best night ever… So far.

////

The Best Night Ever - Part 2

////
The Best Night Ever – Part 2
////

“Now, what’s the plan?” Dash asked as she and Alex flew over to The Carousel Boutique so he could pick up his new tuxedo.

“We’re going to have a normal night,” Alex said, for the fifth time in the last ten minutes.

“Why?” She asked again.

“Because we get into too much trouble,” Alex said, “We have no normal time together.”

“Right!” She said, nodding, “So, we’re going to dance, we’re going to look at the star-lit sky, and you’re going to kiss me romantically, got it?”

“Yes ma’am!” Alex said, saluting.

“Good!” She said, “Now, repeat that to me one more time!”

“Have a normal night, no craziness, we dance, star-gaze, kiss, and then bang.” Alex repeated.

“Sounds about right,” She said, “Wait… what was the last part?”

“Nothing,” Alex shrugged, “Nothing at all.”

Landing, they walked through the already open door of the Boutique, where Rarity was showing her dress off to some of the mares from around town. They all loved the look, and wished that it was them going instead of her.

“Oh, Alex!” Rarity said, stepping past them, “Your suit is ready!”

“Perfect,” Alex said, “What does it look like?”

“In the change room,” She pointed, “Tell me how it fits, I believe I had your measurements right however.”

Everypony watched Alex walk into the room, and heard him laugh a bit.

“That had better be an approving laugh!” Rarity called.

“It is, it is!” Alex said.

A few minutes passed before the door finally swing open, and Alex stepped out in a pretty colorful arrangement.

His blazer was red, his vest was yellow, the undershirt was white, and the bowtie was blue. Then, to top it off, his shoes were purple.

“Dang,” Dash smiled, “I didn’t think it was possible to match rainbow.”

“I had my doubts as well,” Rarity agreed, “But I realized that all I needed to do was make him the same colors, even if it made him look like a clown! Matching is the only valuable thing.”

“Thanks,” Alex laughed, “I’m glad nopony cares if I look like a clown.”

“It’s not that nopony cares,” Dash said, “It’s just that nopony cares that much.”

“Well, I think I look pretty good,” Alex said, brushing a piece of lint off the shoulder of the blazer.

“You do,” Rarity agreed, “All doubts I had are now gone.”

“When are we leaving, again?” Dash asked, “I have a couple of things to do at home.”

“In a few hours,” Rarity said, “But we all have an appointment at the spa, first.”

“Oh, no,” Alex shook his head, “I’ve had enough of spas.”

“Well, this isn’t that kind of spa,” Rarity said, “And I’m afraid it’s only for us girls.”

“Oh…” Alex said, not really wanting to have gone, but a bit sad he wasn’t invited at all.

“Next time you see Rainbow Dash, she’ll be simply radiant!” Rarity said giddily, “So stop moping around!”

“Right right,” Alex said, “I guess I’ll see you girls later!”

“Hey Alex!” Spike said, poking his head in the door, “Come check this out!”

“Sure,” He said, walking away, leaving the girls, “What’s up, Spike?”

“I actually don’t have anything to show you,” Spike said, gesturing for Alex to keep walking.

“Then why did you call me?” Alex asked.

“We should get a carriage for the trip up to Canterlot!” Spike said, eagerly, “Don’t you think the girls would love that?”

“Isn’t Twilight doing something with a pumpkin?” Alex asked, “What’s the point?”

“An Apple,” Spike corrected, “But the girls would love it if we got the transportation ready ourselves!”

“I don’t know, Spike,” Alex said, scratching his head, “I feel like the only pony that would really love it is… Rarity.”

“Well… Yeah,” Spike admitted, shrugging, “But Dash might be a bit impressed!”

“I guess so,” Alex said, giving Spike an odd look, “You know, I’ve noticed something a bit different with you and Rarity, recently.”

“Different?” Spike asked quickly, gulping, “W-what do you mean?”

“Just, I don’t know… Closer,” Alex said, oblivious to Spike’s discomfort.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Spike said, turning away from Alex to hide his face, “So, are you coming to help me?”

“Sure,” Alex said, “Maybe I could impress Dash a bit.”

“Great!” Spike said walking off, “Come on!”

“Yes sir!” Alex said, catching up quickly, “Let’s get the fanciest one we can!”

////

The six girls had all gathered at the spa so they could be pampered, and readied for the Gala. They all busily chatted about what they would be doing there, whom they were excited to see, and what Dash and Rarity would be doing with their boyfriends.

“We’re going to have a normal night,” Dash said simply, “We always get into shenanigans. ALWAYS.”

“That’s true,” Rarity agreed, “I’d like for Spike and I to have a simple romantic evening, with no craziness whatsoever… I’m looking at you, Pinkie.”

“What could I possibly do?” Pinkie asked innocently.

Rarity just gave her a look, before Twilight jumped in.

“You know…” Twilight said, pointing to Dash and Rarity, “Neither of you have your original reasons for going to the gala.”

“Huh?” Dash asked.

“Well, you wanted to go show off to the Wonderbolts, right?” Twilight asked as she looked to Rarity, “And you wanted to impress Prince Blueblood. Neither of you need to do those things.”

“Well, I still want to see them,” Dash said shrugging, “Just not try to join.”

“And I wanted to impress the Canterlot elite, Twilight,” Rarity pointed out, “And as long as Spike is on his best behavior, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Right,” Twilight nodded, “I guess Blueblood will be alone tonight though.”

“Ah’ don’t think he’ll be havin’ any trouble gettin’ himself a date,” Applejack said, “That pony’s got himself a lot goin’ on.”

“Then why don’t you pursue him, Applejack?” Rarity inquired.

“Not mah’ type of colt,” She shrugged, “I like ‘em a bit more… Hard workin’.”

“Come now,” Rarity said, “If he asked you to dance, you’d turn him down?”

“Well, fer just a dance?” Applejack asked, “Ah’ guess I’d go fer that.”

“I’d let him dance with me,” Twilight agreed “What about you, Fluttershy?”

“Oh… I don’t know,” Fluttershy said, “I’m not really in the market—“

“Come now, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, levitating two cucumbers onto her eyes, “We all know that the right kind of colt could sweep you off your feet with no trouble at all. Couldn’t he?”

Fluttershy couldn’t really disagree. The truth was, she thought he was cute. But his actual attitude traits were unknown to her.

“Well, I guess—“

“I’d give him a try!” Pinkie announced, “He’d be lucky to bag me, though.”

“Oh my goodness!” Rarity said, sitting up as her cucumbers flew off her face, “That gives me an idea!”

“What kinda idea?” Applejack asked.

“You four should all try to court him yourselves!” Rarity said, a giant smile on her face, “Think of it as a friendly game!”

“Ah’ feel like it wouldn’t be too friendly in the end,” Applejack said, squinting.

“Nonsense!” Rarity said, “I’m sure all of you will act in the most polite manner.”

“I’d actually like to try!” Twilight said, surprising them all.

“Really?” Pinkie asked, “I didn’t think you’d be the first one to volunteer!”

“Well, I KNOW Blueblood,” She shrugged, “And I mean, to be honest… I’m not that good with colts. This could be good practice!”

“I don’t think any of you are,” Dash spoke up, looking to the rest of her friends.

“What are you talking about?!” Pinkie asked, a bit offended, “I’m great with boys!”

“Ah’ am too!” Applejack added.

Fluttershy had no argument.

“Come on!” Dash laughed, “Pinkie, last time you hit on a boy, you HIT on him!”

“I misunderstood the meaning!” Pinkie whined.

“An’ what about me?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, Applejack…” Rarity giggled, “Don’t you remember your date with that Manehattan gentlemen a few years ago?”

“T-that doesn’ count!” She stammered, blushing, “Ah’ was too young!”

“What happened?” Twilight asked.

“Why don’t you ask Fluttershy?” Pinkie giggled.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight said, cocking her head and looking to her.

“Well, it was so embarrassing…” Fluttershy said, trying to keep herself from laughing.

Applejack, just awkwardly looked away from them.

“Applejack thought that a good time would be to take a walk in the Everfree Forest,” Fluttershy giggled, “He didn’t agree with her on that.”

“We wound up gettin’ a bit lost,” Applejack said, deciding to explain this her own way, “And he ALMOST got eaten by a pack ‘a Timberwolves.”

“You were trying to buck one of their trees,” Fluttershy added, “They’re pretty protective of them.”

“Ah’ was just tryin’ to show him how good ah’ am at it!” Applejack defended.

“When I found them, one of the Timberwolves was trying to drag him away while Applejack shouted at him to pony up and stop crying!” Fluttershy laughed.

“Oh Applejack…” Twilight giggled.

“Ah’ saved him!” Applejack said, “He should’a been thankin’ me!”

“But what did he actually do, Applejack?” Fluttershy asked.

“He ran over to you, an’ cried till you took him home,” She grumbled.

“And what did you call him when I did?” Fluttershy asked.

“Uh… A baby?” She said, laughing nervously.

“Wow,” Twilight giggled, “Nice job, Applejack!”

She grumbled something in response, but nopony could make it out.

“So, are you all going to try to pick him up?” Dash asked, kinda excited to see how that would turn out.

“Yeah!” Twilight said, “I’m definitely gonna try!”

“Me too!” Pinkie smiled, “I won’t hit anypony this time, either!”

“Applejack?” Rarity asked, looking at her.

“Fine!” She said, rowing her arms up in the air, “Ah’ll show y’all how it’s done!”

“What you Fluttershy?” Dash asked.

“Oh, no… I don’t think—“

“She’s playing too,” Twilight said quickly, “She needs the most help in that department.”

“I can talk to boys as well as anypony else,” Fluttershy said, trying to defend herself.

“Well, you can barely talk to anypony at all,” Dash said, “So, that’s both boys AND girls. Just think of it as a social exercise!”

“But it’s such a big step up!” She said worriedly, “Can’t it be something easier?”

“Just jump in head first!” Pinkie encouraged, “When this is over with, normal conversations will be SUPER easy!”~`

“Oh… Well, okay… I guess.” Fluttershy said.

“Wonderful!” Rarity giggled, “I simply must watch this!”

“Me too,” Dash said, “Alex’ll love it too!”

“Is this all for your amusement?” Twilight asked them.

“Well…” Dash said slowly.

“If I had to be honest,” Rarity began.

“Yes,” They both said together.

////

Alex and Spike stood in a show room for the only store in town that rented carriages out. On the plus side, most of them were simply beautiful. On the down side, they were also insanely expensive.

“So, how much will this cost?” Alex asked, looking at the extravagant carriage in front of him.

“This one is five hundred bits for the night,” The stallion said, “I’d be willing to move a bit on that number.”

“Five hundred?” Alex asked in awe, “Don’t you have anything cheaper?”

“Nope,” He said, “Cheapest one we have.”

“That’s what we get for coming to the ‘Amazing House of Expensive Carriages,’” Alex sighed.

“Why does Ponyville have a place like this anyway?” Spike asked, “How can you possibly make money in a place like this? I’ll bet nopony ever rents them!”

“That’s why I charge so much,” He said, “One sale feeds the family for a week.”

“Ah.” Alex said, feeling a little bad, “Well, I don’t really have the money, so I guess we’re haggling!”

“Alright, what’s your start offer?” He asked.

“Uh…” Alex said, reaching into his saddlebag, and pulling a sack of coins out and opening it, “I can give you fourteen bits, and a half a cookie from yesterday.”

“I have six bits!” Spike added.

“So there it is,” Alex said seriously, “Twenty bits, and a half-eaten cookie.”

He squinted.

They squinted back.

“I need that money,” He said, “I’ve got mouths to feed.”

“You have a picture of them?” Alex asked suddenly as the stallion gave him an odd look.

“Right there,” He said, gesturing to a picture on his desk a short distance from them.

Looking at it, Alex could clearly see this stallion and his wife, along with three young girls. They were all gathered around a cake and smiling brightly. It was a happy picture.

“Cute kids,” Spike said passingly, still acting tough over their low offer.

“Alright,” Alex said, looking back in his bag, “You’ve convinced me.”

“Huh?” The stallion asked, having been prepared to take their offer.

Whipping a card out of his bag, the dealer looked at it and went wide eyed.

“I’ll take it for a week,” Alex said, dropping it on the table.

“That’s a card for unlimited funds!” He said in awe, “How did you get it?”

“We know some people,” Alex smiled, “So, I guess we should probably be buying the top-of-the-line one, shouldn’t we?”

“If you insist!” The dealer said quickly, “Let me show it to you!”
As they walked toward the upscale cart, Spike leaned over to Alex.

“Should you really still be using that card?” Spike asked, “We all gave them back…!”

“The way I see it, Spike,” Alex explained, “I use it like crazy until I get talked to ONCE. Then, I stop. Pretend I misinterpreted the rules.”

“That’s pretty evil,” Spike said.

“Blame Dax.” Alex shrugged, “I can’t be helped to be the nice guy ALL the time. Besides, this doesn’t hurt anypony, and it’ll score you points with Rarity.”

“Sounds good to me!” Spike laughed.

“And here we are!” The stallion said, “Our nicest carriage.”

“Oh my glob,” They both said at once.

////

The girls all stood outside the Carousel Boutique completely clothed, and waiting for Alex and Spike so Twilight could cast the spell, and make their carriage to the Gala.

“They didn’t stand us up, did they?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking down both sides of the road.

“Spike wouldn’t do that,” Rarity said simply.

“I don’t know…” Twilight said, recalling the few times Spike had been a bit flakey over the course of his life.

“He wouldn’t be that way with me, Twilight,” Rarity said, “I know it sounds somewhat vein, but it’s also the truth.”

Twilight really couldn’t disagree.

“Hey look!” Pinkie said, pointing to a huge carriage coming down the road, “It looks like somepony else is going to the gala tonight!”

“Ah’ll bet it’s that Filthy Rich,” Applejack said, “He’s loaded!”

“Being rich doesn’t necessarily get you into a prestigious event like the Grand Galloping Gala,” Rarity said, “But I can’t think of anypony else going off the top of my head.”

The group was surprised when the carriage got close enough, and saw that nopony was pulling it. It was a spell coming from the inside.

The carriage itself was massive. It was solid black, and stretched out for several feet behind itself, allowing room for at least twenty five ponies inside it.

When it stopped in front of the house, they all watched curiously as the large black door opened, and blaringly loud music exploded from the interior.

“Alex?” Dash asked, seeing him in a full suit and tie, “Where did you get this?”

“Magic,” He smiled, winking, “Are you ladies ready to head off?”

“Wow,” Twilight said, looking up and down the beautiful transportation they had gotten, “I guess that saves me a spell.”

“What about my mice, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked.

“Do you want them to pull it?” Twilight asked Alex, “Or can you keep the spell up?”

“I can do the spell no problem!” Alex said, “It’ll probably get us there faster anyway.”

“Why did you do this in the first place?” Rarity asked.

“Spike said he wanted us to be attending in style,” Alex said, wanting to build him up as much as possible to her.

“Really?” Rarity said, smiling, “He’s so thoughtful!”

“Yeah! Super thoughtful!” Pinkie said quickly, “I wanna see what’s in it!”

“Me too!” Applejack agreed as the two walked up the ramp attached to the side, and went inside.

“Can we drop the mice off on the way?” Fluttershy asked, “I don’t want them getting hurt on the way…”

“Of course!” Alex said, “Just bring them in, we’ll get them home.”

“Wonderful, thank you!” She smiled, walking past him.

“Oh!” Applejack called out the door, “Could we stop by mah place, so I could grab my bakin’ supplies?”

“Sure,” Alex said to her as she gave him a thankful smile, and went back inside.

“How did you afford this?” Twilight asked, “It must have been a fortune!”

“Saved up a few per diems,” Alex shrugged, lying, “And it’s only rented.”

“Oh!” She said, “That makes much more sense.”

“Exactly,” Alex nodded as she walked by him, “Nice suit, by the way.”

“Thanks,” He said, looking to Dash as she walked up the ramp, “You impressed? It’s black, and REALLY long. I feel like there’s a stereotype there.”

“I’m glad you said it before I did,” She laughed, “You’ve ruined me, Alex… Or Dax.”

“Whatever works,” He smiled, as the two walked inside together.

“Rarity!” Spike said, walking out the door, and down the ramp, “You coming?”

She smiled coyly at him, “You got this for me?”

“Yeah,” Spike smiled at her, “I figured you’d love—“

He was cut off as she kissed him softly, and pulled back.

“You’re a wonderful coltfriend, Spike.” Rarity smiled, “And I’ll be sure to repay the kindness, one way or another.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about it,” Spike said innocently, before picking up on the actual meaning, “Oh, you mean…?”

“Something along those lines.” She said quietly.

“Got it!” Spike said, his voice cracking.

“Good,” She said, walking past him, “Come now, let’s hurry to the gala.”

Walking inside, the door closed, and Alex began his spell that drove them toward Fluttershy’s house.

The night had just begun, and they were all excited to spend it their own ways.

Since Twilight had been seeing so much of Celestia, she wasn’t too worried about spending a ton of time with her. So, instead, she was going to get a little studying in on Blueblood, and see if she could beat out her friends for his attention.

Applejack still intended to sell her baked goods to the ponies there, but wasn’t in dire need of money at this point. She had asked the Princess if she could use the unlimited-funds card to fix up some stuff around the farm. And, of course, Celestia was just fine with it. So, she was going to spend more time focusing on that colt, instead of making money.

Pinkie was also determined to get her hooves on Blueblood. Of course, when she put her hooves on him, it would be in the gentlest, and non-hitting kind of way. She had a secret plan that she would use to get his attention as well. She had been formulating it for almost a half a day! So, it was fair to say that it was one of her better thought out ones.

Fluttershy on the other hoof could feel her heart beating out of her chest. She was horrible with men. She could barely speak around her friends! How was she supposed to win a competition with her friends, when she was so bad at being social? Maybe she would practice on some of the animals in the royal gardens first, and take him there with her! Maybe that would give her the confidence she needed.

Rarity had no real plans for the night. She would mingle with some ponies around her, perhaps make a few sales for her store… But it would be a night for her and Spike. She would take her old fantasy of herself and Blueblood, and simply insert Spike instead. It was going to be magical!

Dash only wanted one thing. A NORMAL night, with NOTHING crazy that would happen. It was going to happen no matter what. Even if the changelings showed up, or a dragon attacked the castle, she would KEEP dancing, and she would have that romantic night she could remember forever. She didn’t have many dreams of boys when she was a filly, but this was one. To spend a romantic evening with her emotionally unstable boyfriend. Oh yes. It was happening.

As for the boys, they had one thing on their minds.

If they did good, and followed the rules their marefriends set, they would be rewarded.

There was no significant explanation, or, paragraph required.

Be good, get tail.

The Best Night Ever - Part 3

////
The Best Night Ever – Part 3
////

Alex poked his head out the window of the Carriage and scratched his head, at the huge number of ponies singing and dancing on their way into the Gala.

“How do ponies do this?” Alex asked Spike as she took one last look in the mirror before stepping off.

“What do you mean?” Spike asked, walking over him and watching along.

“I mean… There are like four different songs being sung right now, all by different ponies, to different tunes and tempos…” Alex said incredulously, “Do they practice? Or do the words just COME to them?”

“Sometimes we sing,” Spike shrugged, “The words just come to you. Maybe you should try sometime.”

“Maybe not,” Alex said, shaking his head as he stepped off the carriage, “Not much of a singer.”

“I hear you singing along to your I-thingy all the time,” Spike said.

“Yeah, but that’s Elton John, or Peter Cetera,” Alex said, watching Dash fly around while she sang a verse of her own, “I’m no improviser.”

“You’ll see when the time comes,” Spike said, bumping Alex on the shoulder, “I was the same.”

Deciding to be silent and listen to the song, Alex had to admit that it was good. Suddenly, he realized something else. Where was the instrumental coming from?

////

“So what’s the game plan?” Alex asked as they all assembled in the lobby.

“We’re going to dance!” Dash said, speaking up before he could talk again, “No shenanigans!”

“Right!” Alex said obediently, “Okay! Let’s go!”

The two promptly walked off, leaving everypony to discuss the rest of the night themselves.

“Oh look!” Twilight smiled, “There’s Princess Celestia and Luna!”

“Princess!” Applejack called, getting Luna’s attention.

“Applejack! Fellow ponies from Ponyville!” Luna said happily, trotting over to them, “How goes the gala for you?”

“We just arrived,” Twilight said, “Have you seen Prince Blueblood anywhere?”

Luna frowned, “Why do you wish his company?”

“We have a little bet going on,” Twilight explained, winking, “See who can pick him up first.”

“I would advise against that,” Luna said seriously, “He has… a reputation.”

“Don’t worry about us,” Twilight smiled, “We’re big girls.”

“If you insist,” Luna said, frowning a bit.

“Hey Luna!” Scootaloo called, running into the room in a purple dress, and matching flower, “Oh, hey guys!”

“Hello Scootaloo,” Fluttershy smiled, “What’re you doing here?”

“Luna invited me and the rest of the Crusaders to the gala!” She smiled, “Hey, where’s Rainbow—“

“S-Sweetie Belle is here?!” Rarity asked quickly.

“Yeah!” Scootaloo smiled, “She’s over there having an eating contest with Apple Bloom!”

Rarity looked over to a table covered in food and gasped in horror at the two girls with their faces buried in a plate of chocolate cake.

“Tis’ fine, Rarity!” Luna laughed, “I’d be right there with them, if I were allowed.”

Rarity smiled strangely at Luna, not wanting to look stuck up in front of the Princess who would rather be participating in an eating contest, rather than be at a formal event.

“Hey, Rarity!” Sweetie Belle shouted, as every pony between them looked from her to her sister, “I got to come too!”

Rarity pretended she didn’t hear her.

“Your sister calls, Rarity!” Luna said, “Don’t you hear her?”

“I do…” Rarity sighed, turning around to the cake-covered little girl, as Apple Bloom passed her, to see her own sister.

“Isn’t this great?!” Sweetie beamed, “We should hang out all night!”

“Oh… I don’t know…” Rarity said, looking at her friends, as they all held back laughter at her uncomfortable situation, “Alright, Sweetie, but we simply must clean your face off first! Princess, where is the nearest ladies room?”

“Allow me,” Luna smiled, “I’ll take you up to my personal chambers.”

“Oh! That’s not necessary!” Rarity said quickly, “We can use—“

“I insist,” She said, gesturing to the staircase behind her, “Please follow me.”

Deciding not to argue whatsoever, Rarity followed behind the Princess, holding her breath in anticipation of seeing the royal bathroom, “I’ll be one minute, Spike.”

“Sure thing,” He said, trying not to laugh at her.

“Would you like to join us, Applejack?” Luna asked, remembering Apple Bloom was also messy.

“We’re fine here!” She smiled, “Ah’ got enough spit to fix’er up!”

“Aww… Sis!” Apple Bloom whined, as Applejack spat on her hoof, and scrubbed Apple Blooms face with it.

“Wow!” Pinkie said, poking Apple Blooms face to collect some icing and licking it off her hoof, “It tastes just like what the Cakes use!”

“I bought their recipe for use in the castle,” Celestia said, having somehow snuck up on all of them, “It simply took too long to have them shipped to the castle.”

“Oh, princess!” Twilight said, “Have you seen Prince Blueblood?”

Celestia frowned, just as Luna had, “Why ever are you looking for him?”

“I’m gonna pick him up,” Twilight said proudly.

“Twilight, I would advise against that,” Celestia said, seriously.

“It’s a contest!” Applejack cut in, “We jus’ wanna see who’s best at pickin’ up colts!”

“And… Who is participating in this game?” Celestia asked.

“Me!” Pinkie jumped up.

“I am too,” Twilight said.

“Ah’m in on it,” Applejack said.

“And me…” Fluttershy whispered.

“I’m not,” Spike said.

Now, Celestia strongly considered herself to be a level-headed pony that gave excellent advice. But, there was the conflict here. One between her adult, serious exterior, and her somewhat silly, troll-like attitude.

On one hoof, she didn’t want Blueblood being rude to any of them, or heaven forbid actually take advantage of any of them.

On the other hoof… She wanted to see this play out.

“Well, just be careful,” Celestia winked, “He can be a devil.”

“Got it!” The three of them said, while Fluttershy muttered an ‘okay’ quietly.

“Now, if you’ll all excuse me, I need to greet the guests as they arrive,” Celesta said politely.

“Of course Princess!” Twilight smiled, “See you in a bit.”

“Alright everypony!” Twilight said to her friends, “Good luck!”

“Ah’ don’t need luck!” Applejack said confidently, “Ah’ll have him wrapped around mah hoof in minutes!”

“Not if I do first!” Twilight grinned confidently.

“There he is!” Pinkie called, pointing to the stallion as he exited the lobby, and went outside.

The three looked to each other, before all taking off at once to try and catch him first.

Spike just watched them climb over one another to try and reach him first.

“Geez, those ponies…” Spike said, looking Fluttershy said, she hung her head a bit, “You going, Shy?”

“Yeah…” She sighed, “I guess.”

“Sounds like you’re excited, huh?” Spike smiled softly.

“Oh no, not one bit!” She said as upset-sounding as she could, “But I promised I would…”

“Just give it a try, Fluttershy,” Spike said, not even noticing his rhyme, “Worst case, he thinks you’re too introverted, and decides not to spend more time with you.”

“I guess…” She said, perking up a bit, “Then I can move on to the animals in the garden!”

“Right!” Spike said, “You’d better hurry, so you can get it over with, right?”

“Right!” She nodded determinedly, “Thanks for helping me out, Spike.”

“No problem,” Spike smiled, “Just have a good night.”

“You know,” She said, walking past him, “Rarity was right. You have grown up!”

“Thanks,” Spike said, hiding his blush, “I means a lot to hear it.”

“You’re welcome!” She said, as she walked away from him, “Have a good night, Spike!”

“I will!” He called back as she disappeared into a crowd, leaving him alone, waiting for Rarity to return.

“Would you look at who it is,” A familiar voice said from behind him, “I should have known you and your friends would have been here.”

“Ramsley!”

////

“Is this good enough for you?” Alex asked, as they swayed along to the slow music, “Am I being normal enough?”

Alex had always been a bit worried he might slow dance the wrong way, when it came down to it. However, it was always so simple. Just rest your chin on your partners neck, or their upper back, depending on their size. But, that was a side effect of coming into this world so late. He was always afraid he was doing things wrong.

“You’re getting there,” She said, adjusting his head a bit to be a bit more comfortable.

“So…” Alex said, not wanting to have an awkward silence pop up, or anything, “What do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know…” Dash said, thinking for a moment, “Why don’t you tell me about your home?”

“Earth?” Alex asked, “You’re really interested in hearing more?”

“Yeah!” She said, honestly “Wouldn’t you want to hear about Equestria, if I showed up on earth one day with no explanation?”

“I guess,” Alex admitted, focusing on his feet, so he didn’t trip, “What do you want to know?”

“Tell me about your house,” Dash said, picking it out of her head randomly, “What did your room look like?”

“Well…” Alex said, thinking to himself, “It wasn’t much. A bed, a few dressers, a television and a few game consoles.”

“I want to see those things!” Dash said, “They sound like so much fun!”

“Video games?” Alex asked, not wanting to sound like a nerd, but realizing that she probably wouldn’t pick up on it anyway, “I used to spend a lot of my free time on them.”

“If you ever find a way back there, I want to come with you and try one,” She smiled, picturing herself having the time of her life.

“Well, that’s if you don’t turn into a horse when you come over,” Alex said.

“I’m a pony!” She said quickly, “Not a horse!”

“Well… Either way, I’d have to keep you in the stable,” Alex teased.

“Do you want to get kicked right here?” Dash asked.

“Do it,” Alex whispered in her ear, “Ruin the whole night!”

Sighing, she closed her eyes, and continued to dance.

“What else can I tell you,” Alex said to himself, “Um… School!”

“Right!” She said, “How is that?”

“Terrible.” Alex said, “Nothing like the schools here.”

“Explain it to me!” She asked quickly.

“Well, okay,” He said, making a small list of points in his head to cover, “It all starts in gym class…”

////

The Best Night Ever - Part 4

////
The Best Night Ever – Part 4
////

Twilight smiled manically as she slowly approached Blueblood, she had found him first, and she was going to win this here!

“Hey, Prince Blueblood!” Twilight called from immediately behind him, “How’s it going?”

Turning, he quickly recognized Twilight. She had spent enough time at the castle for him to be familiar with her. They had never had any meaningful conversations, however.

“I was wondering if you’d like to hang out a bit,” She said confidently.

“Hmm…” He said, eyeing her over as he thought back to something Celestia had told him many years ago…

“Now Blueblood, I don’t want you anywhere near Twilight Sparkle, she has recently blossomed into a beautiful young mare, and she’ll have nothing to do with you,” Celestia said seriously as he tried his best to ignore her.

“Mhmm,” He said absentmindedly as he continued looking out his window for a girl he had recently conquered, who promised to be in the courtyard at noon.

“Listen to me!” Celestia barked, pulling his attention away, “You will stay away from her, otherwise the punishment will be severe, and painful.”

“Yes, fine!” He groaned, “I won’t lay a hoof on your student this time.”

“You had better not.” She growled, recalling the whole situation between him and Sunset Shimmer.

“Would you quit the pestering?” He sighed, “She is far too bookish for my taste anyway.”

Without another word, Celestia left him alone in his room.

“Hmm…” He said to himself, considering Twilight as a possible partner, “I’ll see where she’s at in a few years.”

Looking her over, he couldn’t help but smile cockily to her.

A Cute face,

A Decent plot,

Most likely inexperienced… But that just makes it feel so much better.

“Of course, Twilight,” He said, flashing a smile, “Let’s spend some time together.”

She smiled to him, having no idea what was running through his head, “Great! Why don't we grab something to eat?”

////

“Dang it!” Applejack said, as her, Pinkie, and Fluttershy watched Twilight walk off with their target, “She got ‘em first!”

“We’ll get out turn!” Pinkie said happily.

“What’re you so happy about?” Applejack asked, frowning.

“Duh!” Pinkie said, “I have a super-secret plan to get them apart!”

“You do…?” Fluttershy asked, curious about it.

“Yeah!” She smiled, “Just follow my lead!”

////

“What else?” Dash asked, “Tell me some more about your world.”

“Well, the world is obsessed with some pretty stupid things,” Alex said, as they walked over to the hors d’oeuvre table, “Like boy bands, reality television… Women.”

“Women?” Dash asked.

“Well, a lot of image based stuff,” Alex shrugged, “I mean, to be honest, I was pretty into it myself.”

“Ponies are that way too,” Dash shrugged, “Attractiveness is a pretty universal thing.”

“Yeah,” Alex agreed, carefully picking through the table to avoid the hay-based items.

“What were other things you were into, besides video games and girls?” Dash asked, not seeing much in his other life.

“Porn,” Alex said, letting a bit of Dax out.

“Good to know,” She said, trying not to laugh, “Lots?”

“It was an addiction, really,” Alex smiled at her.

“Isn’t that how it is for all colts?” She smiled back.

“Absolutely,” Alex said, liking the release he was getting by talking freely, “I couldn’t go to bed to bed at night without a good video and the comforting embrace of my right hand… Or left, depending on my mood.”

“Video!?” Dash said in awe, “All we have here are magazines!”

Alex laughed out loud as everypony looked at them in confusion, “You’re livin’ in the wrong world, sweet heart.”

“Shhh!” She said, grabbing him and dragging him back to the dance floor.

“What else do you want to ask?” Alex asked, deciding that this conversation had run dry.

“I’m thinking,” She said as they got back into dancing position, “Hey… Isn’t that Twilight and Blueblood?”

Alex tried to turn to look.

“No!” She whispered quickly, “Be stealthy! We’ll slowly turn while we dance, and take turns watching them.”

////

“So, Twilight,” Blueblood said as they entered the main dance-hall, “What makes a mare like you, seek out a stallion like me?”

“Oh… I don’t know,” She said, not wanting to give anything away, “I just thought we could get to know each other better.”

He took that the wrong way.

“Well… That could be arranged,” He smiled, thinking he had this in the bag.

“Great!” She beamed, “What’s your favorite color?”

“Huh…?” He asked, taken a bit by surprise, “Blue, in case you didn’t know.”

“Oh, right!” She giggled nervously, thinking of another question, “What do you do to pass the time?”

“Mares?” He said, cocking his head.

“What do you mean?” She asked, not picking up on it.

“Look, do you want to get—“

“Who’s your favorite pre-Equestrian era writer?” She questioned, “Or post! I don’t mind!”

“Well... I don’t… think I could pick just one…?” He lied.

“Me nether!” She said instantly, smiling creepily at him, “I love books SO much!”

Blueblood gulped hard.

“What about your favorite contemporary composer?” She continued, “I think I like—“

Suddenly, a cupcake landed on the top of her head, smearing icing into her mane, silencing all conversation around them as everypony looked at the two.

“Oh dear,” Blueblood frowned, not wanting to be seen with such an unpleasant mare, “Why don’t you clean up, and we’ll catch up later?”

“Uh, yeah!” She said, looking around frantically for Pinkie, knowing that she had done this, “See you in a while!”

He walked off, leaving her with the messy mane, and splat marks on the rest of her head.

“I’ll get her for this…” Twilight said under her voice.

////

“Woah!” Pinkie said, from behind a table with her two friends, as they watched Twilight, “Somepony hit her with a cupcake!”

“Weren’t you about to do that?” Fluttershy asked, seeing the cupcake in Pinkie’s hoof.

“What?” She asked, shocked, “No! I was just gonna go over and flaunt my stuff with you two! He would have forgotten all about her!”

“That was yer’ plan?” Applejack sighed.

“But who could have possibly wanted to throw that at Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, surprised this had happened from anypony else.

“Look!” Pinkie said, pointing to three young girls that they all knew quite well, who were running from the scene of the crime.

“Apple Bloom…” Applejack grumbled, starting toward her sister.

“Wait, Applejack!” Pinkie said, “She just helped us! Do you really think you should yell at them?”

“Hmm… Maybe not,” Applejack agreed, thinking she might actually thank her little sister for doing that, “But if ah’ get cupcaked, there’ll be heck tuh pay!”

“Understood!” Pinkie said, now knowing not to attack AJ with anything on her date with Blueblood.

“Alright!” Pinkie beamed, bouncing away from them, “My turn now!”

“Hey, wait!” Applejack called, wanting to have gone next.

“Oh well,” Fluttershy shrugged, “You can go before me if you like.”

“Thank ya’ kindly, Fluttershy,” Applejack smiled, turning to her, “He’d better not be tryin’ anything unladylike with us either!”

“You sound like Rarity,” Fluttershy giggled.

“Well…” She blushed, “Ah’ just don’t wanna get swindled into some royals bed!”

“Oh my goodness, would he try to do that?” Fluttershy asked, wide-eyed.

“Probably not,” She admitted, thinking that all Royalty had lots of class, “But ya’ never know! So keep yer’ guard up around him!”

////

“Can’t we just let them do their own thing?” Spike asked, as Rarity dragged him out of the ballroom, toward her sister so she could scorn them from attacking Twilight with a cupcake, "I wanna go talk to Ramsley some more!"

“Of course not!” Rarity said angrily, “Sweetie needs to learn that this is NOT acceptable behavior! So do the rest of those girls.”

“I’ve heard Blueblood had a reputation with mares, though,” Spike said, remembering a few girls gossiping about how rude he had been to them, “Maybe they’re just trying to protect Twilight from him.”

“Blueblood is royalty, Spike! He would never have such an attitude!” Rarity scolded, “And even if it were true, this isn’t the way to go about protecting her!”

“I guess so,” Spike admitted, “But we should get the whole story first, before we start shouting, okay?”

“I’ll decide what’s necessary when I see them,” She said, showing just how upset she was at this moment.

Seeing the fire in each step she took, Spike gulped. She was going to make a jerk out of herself in front of all these ponies if he didn’t say anything. So, sucked in a bunch of air, and prayed she didn’t scream at him for it.

“Rarity!” Spike half-shouted, stopping her in place, “You aren’t going to impress anypony here by shouting at your little sister in front of them, be calm, and collected. Okay?”

She exhaled quickly, giving him a look he hadn’t expected.

He was being the boss… And she absolutely loved it.

“Yes, of course, Spike,” She smiled at him, “Thank you for that.”

////

Twilight brooded as she washed her mane in Celestia’s personal bath chamber. Pinkie had thrown a cupcake at her, and ruined her chances with Blueblood! And they were getting along so well with each other!

“I can’t believe she would do that!” Twilight growled, “This is supposed to be a game, and she’s taking it way too far!”

Looking at herself, and being content with the clean-up job she had done, Twilight grabbed a towel from next to her, and dried herself off, and got her hair in its usual order.

“If that’s how she plays games, then I’ll show her how I play games!” Twilight said somewhat darkly.

So, she started formulating a plan to ruin the party pony’s chances with Blueblood.

“Twilight, dear!” Celestia said, entering the room, “What are you doing in here?”

Snapping out her anger-induced trance, she turned and smiled sheepishly at her mentor.

“I had a little accident,” She laughed nervously.

“Was it a peeing accident?” Celestia asked sympathetically.

“What?!” Twilight gasped, “No! Somepony threw a cupcake on me! I had to clean up!”

“Oh!” Celestia said quickly, “Of course not! I just seem to remember a filly that was always running to the bathroom during her magical studies.”

“P-Princess!” Twilight blushed, “That was years ago!”

“Right,” Celestia smiled, stepping back to the door “Well, I just wanted to make sure you were alright when I saw you heading down here.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, her embarrassment fading, “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Of course, Twilight.” Celestia said, exiting the room.

Twilight sighed as she checked herself in the mirror once more. She looked fine.

Now… It was time to get back at the pony that had scorned her!

Author's Note

Sorry they're so short, but i find that when i post one chapter per day, they're short, but i don't put off writing for a few days. So, we'll just get a bunch of parts that I'll merge when I'm done with The Best Night Ever.

The Best Night Ever Part - 5

////
The Best Night Ever – Part 5
////

Blueblood looked behind himself nervously, as he walked down the hallway toward the bathroom. He didn’t see her…

Some time back, he had spotted a pony following him. She tried talking to him, but he had managed to slip past her, and keep moving. After that, she continued to just jump around behind him, doing nothing else, but bouncing, and staring at him with her piercing blue eyes.

Sitting down, against his bedroom door, he sighed and wiped his brow off.

“Heya!” A voice said from behind him.

Turning his head to the side, he was shocked to see the pink, poofy-haired pony sitting next to him.

Recoiling, and sliding away from her, he tried to think of some kind of escape plan.

“Hey!” She frowned, “Where’ya going?”

“I just have something to do!” He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

“But I wanna spend the night with you!” Pinkie smiled, referencing the gala as the ‘night.’

“You want to spend the night with me?” He asked, suddenly liking this pony a lot more.

“Yeah! We can have so much fun!” She said, giving him the wrong impression.

“I’m sure we could…” Blueblood said, inspecting her as she stood up.

A cute face, much like Twilight’s.

A slightly larger plot… Perhaps she ate a little more food than other ponies. Nothing to complain about.

And lastly, if she was so forward, that would have to mean that she was experienced. Something he always appreciated.

“Well, I suppose we could have some fun tonight,” Blueblood said, suddenly remembering Twilight and her desire to spend time with him, “But somepony might be joining us.”

“Wow!” She said, jumping once again, “The more the merrier!”

Oh yes. This was shaping up to be an incredible gala.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name,” He said, extending a hoof.

“Oh, right!” She said, shaking it rapidly, “I’m Pinkie Pie!”

“Pinkie, I think we’re going to have some fun tonight.”

////

“What’s Twilight doing?” Alex asked, seeing her hiding behind a pillar, watching Pinkie and Prince Blueblood enter the ballroom, “And why is she smiling like that? It scares me.”

“I don’t know…” Dash said, interested herself, “But, that’s shenanigans!”

“Can’t we just ask?” Alex asked, “We don’t need to involve ourselves!”

“We always get involved!” She said, pulling away from him, and giving her best pouty face, “Can’t it just be us?”

Alex gave a long and drawn out sigh, not wanting to be a whiny baby.

“You’re right. I promised.” He nodded, kissing her on the forehead, “Why don’t we go somewhere where they won’t be distracting us?”

“I like the sound of that,” She smiled, as he led her over to the balcony, so they could overlook the sprawling landscape.

Opening the door for her, she thanked him politely as they both walked out into the brisk night air.

Looking up, Alex still had his breath taken away by the amount of stars that could be seen in the sky. He lived in a more rural area back in his world, so light pollution wasn’t a problem for him. Still, compared to this world, his sky was nothing. They were almost bright enough to illuminate the ground themselves.

“It’s so nice out…” Dash said quietly, seeing that Alex was a bit taken by the stars above them.

“Yeah,” He answered, seeing his breath in the cold air, “Chilly though.”

“We’re pretty high up,” Dash explained, “You should feel how cold Cloudsdale is at night.”

“I’d like to go there sometime,” Alex said, thinking about what it would look like there, besides a lot of clouds.

“Well, next time I visit my mom and dad, you could come with me,” She offered, hoping he would be excited by that idea.

“Well, I’d love to,” Alex smiled, “But your mom made me pretty uncomfortable with all her compliments.”

“She’s always like that,” Dash laughed, thinking back to how flirty her mother had been in the past, “I’ll just let her know who you belong to.”

“Who I belong to?” Alex asked, smiling, “I belong to you now?”

“Well, duh!” She laughed, “Don’t let any mare hit on you while I’m around, okay?”

“What’ll happen?” He asked, his interest piqued, “Will you fly into fight mode, and kick her ass?”

“More or less…” She said, thinking, “I’m pretty overprotective.”

“I didn’t know,” He said sarcastically, “But I guess I’m the same, right?”

“Last time somepony tried to steal me away, you fired laser beams out of your frickin’ eyes!” She laughed, thinking back to Haven Station.

“Yeah yeah,” He nodded, “I’m crazy, I get it.”

“In a few years, we’ll see who’s worse, okay?” She said, smiling to him.

“Deal,” He responded, leaning in and kissing her softly on the lips.

Biting her lip, she gave him a look he was all too familiar with.

“Fine,” He laughed, leaning in and kissing her again, much more passionately, as she melted, pressing into him harder.

////

“They sure have moved along, haven’t they?” Ramsley said from inside the ballroom.

“That’s young love,” Comet smiled, “Just think, six months ago; I was having him thrown out of my office.”

“At least they made it back to each other,” Ramsley said, as she nodded in agreement.

“I can’t believe I had been so selfish,” Comet said, shaking her head.

“I’d console you, but you were monstrous to those two,” Ramsley agreed, hoping this wasn’t leading to an argument.

But nothing came; Comet just watched the two of them.

“Isn’t this getting a bit weird?” Ramsley asked, realizing they were just standing around watching two ponies kiss.

“Uh, yeah. It’s getting there,” Comet laughed, stepping back from the door, “Come on, let’s dance a bit.”

“Of course,” Ramsley nodded, glancing back to the door, “I’ll catch up with them later.”

////

“So!” Pinkie began, as they walked through the ballroom toward the lobby, “Do you wanna dance?”

“I’m not much for dancing,” Blueblood said, clearly looking at another mare’s rump, which went unnoticed by Pinkie, “Perhaps we should head right back to my—“

“Oh look!” She said quickly, cutting him off, “Cake!”

“Well, I don’t think—“

Before he could finish, Pinkie lifted a whole cake off the table with her hoof, unhinged her jaw, and swallowed the entire thing in one bite.

Blueblood was shocked.

“Wow!” Pinkie said, looking to him, “That was great!”

“I- How did you eat that entire thing?” Blueblood asked quietly, not sure if he was disgusted or impressed.

“I put it in my mouth, silly!” She laughed.

“Hey!” Pinkie said quickly, “What should we—“

Pinkie then let out the most unladylike burp that she had ever done.

Blueblood gasped in horror as everypony around them look toward them, completely disgusted.

“I’m sorry everypony!” Pinkie apologized, “I don’t normally—“

She belched loudly once again.

“I say!” Blueblood shouted, stepping back from her, as she tried to follow him, “How rude!”

“B-but I don’t know why I’m—“

Once again, she let out a noise comparable to the roar of a dragon.

“Stay away from me, you vile thing!” Blueblood said, turning his head and walking directly away from her.

“Oh… Okay,” Pinkie said, sitting down, as she tried to fight back any kind of tears from this embarrassment, but, because she was trying so hard, she forgot to focus on stopping the burps.

And out another one came, as she covered her face, and ran out of the room.

Twilight smiled madly as she watched her enemy run away from her target, “I did it!”

“Twilight!” Fluttershy said from behind her, “You did that to Pinkie?”

“Of course!” Twilight defended, “She threw a cupcake on me!”

“No, she did not!” Fluttershy said angrily, “Rarity’s sister threw it! We all watched it happen!”

“Pinkie didn’t spoil my chances with him?” Twilight asked, instantly feeling regret for her friend, “Oh Celestia…”

“Go apologize right now, and try to make it up to her!” Fluttershy demanded.

“Of course,” Twilight said, lowering her head in shame, and approaching the pony she had just hurt, “I’m sorry I lost my cool, Fluttershy.”

“We all make mistakes, Twilight,” Fluttershy said comfortingly, “But we need to apologize to the ponies we hurt when we do it.”

Nodding, Twilight didn’t say another word as she walked over to Pinkie to apologize.

Looking around quickly, Fluttershy saw Blueblood just leaving the room, and decided to take her chance with him right now. Twilight and Pinkie were already out of the running, so her chances of winning this game were pretty good! She would only need to beat out Applejack, a pony Fluttershy considered to be her toughest challenge out of the group.

But she would do it! If she could talk to a cute stallion, she could talk to anypony!

////

The Best Night Ever - Part 6

////
The Best Night Ever – Part 6
////

Fluttershy walked straight for Blueblood, determined to get his attention, and win this game. She was going to be assertive, just like her friends always told her to be! This would be a story they would tell for generations, about the time Fluttershy picked up a Prince!

“Well heya!” A voice said from beside Blueblood, as he looked over at the dressed mare next to him, “Ah’m Applejack! Nice tuh meet ‘cha!”

“Of darn…” Fluttershy grumbled.

“Hello there…” He said, worried what mare was after him this time, “Do you need something?”

“Ah’d like tuh spend some time with ya’!” She smiled, “That alright?”

Blueblood looked her over, as he had with the other two girls.

Very attractive.

Somewhat muscular, more so than him even.

And a voice he would love to hear begging him for more.

“Alright,” He said, hoping this wasn’t a mistake, “What did you have in mind?”

“We could do some dancin’,” She offered, “Maybe try some food.”

“I don’t dance, and the last pony I saw eating, burst out into a simply vile display,” He said indignantly, “What else would you like to do then?”

Applejack scratched her head, there really wasn’t much else to do at this place besides those two things.

“We could… Uh… Get to know each other?” She offered.

He smiled, “That would be something I would be happy to do.”

She cocked her head, curious to the meaning.

“How’re we gonna do that?” She asked, genuinely curious.

“Well, follow me,” He smiled, gesturing up the staircase next to them, “I have something you may like.”

It was probably her somewhat ignorant state of mind that kept her from realizing just what he meant. So, she trotted off with him, hoping that he was going to take her a quiet place to talk.

////

After searching high and low for Sweetie Belle and her friends, Rarity and Spike returned to the dance floor, to enjoy some of the music, and each other’s company.

“I can’t believe those three,” Rarity said, glancing around once again for the girls, “Where could they possibly be hiding?”

“Well, with all the time they spend in the castle these days, they probably know every little hiding place around this place,” Spike said, “Scootaloo really lucked out.”

“I simply don’t know what I would do if I found out that I was the great-granddaughter of Princess Luna herself,” Rarity said, somewhat jealously, “However, I would never wish to take the place of young Scootaloo. It’s fantastic that she’s got herself a family now.”

“Totally,” Spike nodded, “I heard she gets a bunch of extra food sent to the orphanage too, so they can all eat a better.”

“How sweet of her,” Rarity smiled, looking back to Spike.

“Well, she still lives there,” Spike said, “So it’s probably made her pretty popular with the kids there.”

“I’m surprised she hasn’t moved into the castle,” Rarity said, quite confused, “I know I’d jump at the chance.”

“Scootaloo is just about the furthest thing from royalty I can think of… Besides maybe Rainbow Dash,” Spike laughed, “And she wanted to stay in Ponyville with her friends.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Rarity nodded, “I suppose I wouldn’t leave Ponyville for a chance to live with royalty either.”

“That’s because of me,” Spike grinned, “Not all those lame friends of yours.”

“Spike!” She scolded, “My friends are the most important things in my life!”

“Second most important thing,” Spike said confidently.

She gave him a look, giving a small smile, “You certainly are confident, aren’t you?”

“Am I wrong?” He asked.

“No,” She shook her head, kissing his cheek, “You’re wonderful, Spikey.”

“You are too, Rarity-y.” He said, rubbing her cheek with his hoof, “Is it okay for me to kiss you in front of all these royal ponies?”

Normally, she would have cared. But things weren’t normal anymore. They were so far from normal that she barely cared about her image anymore. She just cared about him.

“It is,” She smiled, allowing him to lean in, and kiss her lips.

It wasn’t a crazy, make-out session. It was gentle, yet somehow passionate enough to make her wish for it to last longer than it did. But, they were interrupted when a dancing couple next to them bumped into them.

“Oh, we’re sorry!” Rainbow Dash said before realizing who they had hit.

“Alex?” Spike asked.

“That was you two?” Alex laughed, “What were you doing to make you stop moving?”

“Got caught up in a conversation,” Rarity said calmly, showing no sign of the feelings she was experiencing right now, “How has the night been for you two?”

“Great,” Alex smiled, “Lots of dancing, talking, stargazing.”

“Sounds like you’ve been busy,” Rarity nodded, suddenly remembering something she had wanted to tell Alex, “Would you like to trade partners for a while?”

That was a bit surprising to them all.

“Uh, sure,” Dash said, thinking it would be amusing to dance with Spike for a while.

“Don’t take advantage of me though,” Alex joked, “I’m a delicate flower.”

“Mmm, yes,” Rarity said, playing along, “Those are two words that describe you perfectly, Alex.”

“Thanks!” He said, flashing a smile.

Walking over to her, he bowed politely, as walked forward, and gestured for him to take the usual dance position.

“Uh,” Alex said nervously, feeling like he was going to get in trouble for having a slow dance with her, “I don’t know…”

“My goodness,” Rarity sighed, “You’re not some schoolcolt, that’s too afraid to dance with a girl, are you?”

Looking over his shoulder, he saw Spike dancing with Dash no problem.

“Come here, Alex.” She said, pressing the side of her head to his, waiting for him to lean forward so they could dance.

Deciding to give up being a chicken, finally got in position, and they started to sway back and forth to the music.

“Aren’t there any fast songs at this thing?” Alex asked, feeling like he had been slow dancing the whole night.

“The dancing is more of a formality,” She explained, “It’s here, simply for ponies to come and have a dance or two, before moving on to the other events being held within the gala.”

“You sure know a lot about this thing,” He said, nodding.

“Well I should hope so,” She laughed softly in his ear, “I’ve been dying to come since I was a filly.”

“Perks of being friends with the Princesses personal student,” Alex said, thinking about how much influence Twilight had had on all of them.

“Indeed,” She nodded, before moving the conversation on, “So, Alex, how are things with Dash?”

“Awesome,” Alex answered, loving how the night had been with her so far, “Just getting better and better.”

“That’s good to hear,” She said happily, wishing nothing but luck for the two.

“How about you and Spike?” Alex asked, “Moved on to anything fun yet?”

“Fun, you ask?” She said, trying to pretend she had no idea what he was talking about, “What ever do you mean?”

“Come on,” He said, pulling back, and looking her in the eyes, “Spike’s been acting different around me since we got back from our vacation.”

“He has…?” She asked, surprised that Alex could see any kind of change from him, “How would you say he’s been different?”

“Well,” Alex said, thinking for a moment, as he started to dance with her again, “It’s nothing huge. He’s just been so… confident.”

She could understand why.

“A bit happier, more excited to be going to see you,” Alex listed, “And then there’s you.”

“Me?” She asked, not thinking she had been different whatsoever, “How would you mean?”

“You aren’t treating him as a younger pony anymore,” Alex said, smiling to himself, “Something changed, and now you’re treating him like a man.”

Thinking to herself, Rarity had more than once let Spike take the lead, and be the boss. Of course… She loved it. She absolutely loved it.

“Does that automatically mean that we’ve engaged in something?” Rarity asked.

“I know the changes,” Alex explained, having an ace up his sleeve, “Because both Dash and I went through them.”

Rarity audibly gulped.

“It’s okay,” He said softly to her, “I’m not going to make you say anything you don’t want to.”

She kept quiet still.

“But you two are perfect for each other, Rarity,” Alex said, “You’re lucky.”

“Thank you, Alex.” She said, “For more than you know.”

“What does that mean?” Alex asked.

“Spike told me something a few week ago,” She explained, thinking back to their conversation, “There was a defining moment between Spike and myself.”

“What was that?” Alex asked, still lost.

“When that horrible unicorn came to town, Trixie,” She continued, smiling to herself at the recollection, “She turned my hair a horrible shade of green.”

“Yeah,” Alex smiled, “I remember that.”

“And do you remember what you said to Spike when I ran off?” She asked.

“I told him to chase after you,” Alex nodded, now remembering the event perfectly, “Girls love to be comforted.”

“Very true,” Rarity agreed, “When he came to me, and told me that my hair matched his spines, and how great that was… That was the moment it really became clear to me.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Alex smiled.

“I don’t know how things would have been without you here, Alex,” She said, pulling away from him as the song ended, “Thank you for everything.”

He smiled and nodded to her, “I’m sure you two would have gotten together at some point.”

“Me too,” She smiled, as Spike walked back over to them.

“Alright, Alex,” He said happily, “Hooves off my women!”

“Woah,” Alex said, backing up, “I don’t want any trouble.”

“I’ll see you later,” She said, as the two walked off the dance floor.

“How was it?” Dash asked, walking beside him.

“It was nice,” Alex said, turning to her, “How was Spike?”

“He was awkward,” Dash said honestly, “Asking me about the weather, and sports teams.”

“That sounds like Spike to me,” Alex laughed, “Come on, let’s get back to the dancing.”

“Yeah!” She said, happy to be continuing their normal night.

“Maybe we’ll take another trip out to the balcony in a bit,” He said, hoping she would agree.

“Sure, I could do a bit more making out,” She shrugged, as a few miscellaneous ponies around them scoffed.

“Snobs,” Alex said under his breath to her.

////

Blueblood sighed as he sat on his bed, watching Applejack stare out the window in awe.

“What is it you’re so absorbed in?” Blueblood asked, wanting to move their time along, “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable on the bed?”

“What’s in that tree out there?” Applejack asked, not looking away from whatever kind of tree it was.

“It’s a Zap Apple tree,” Blueblood sighed, knowing the exact one she was referring to, “It’s always ripe for some reason.”

“Really?!” She asked in surprise, “Ah’ gotta get out there and buck!”

“You wish to buck outside?” Blueblood asked, considering the possibility of nailing her on the grass without being seen by anypony.

“Where else is there?” She laughed.

“I suppose we could—“

Before he could finish, she was gone out the door.

“Wait for me!” He called, his voice cracking a bit.

Applejack ignored him as she made her way down a side staircase and out into the courtyard. Big Mac was gonna get a real kick outta her seeing a ripe Zap Apple tree at this time of year!

Walking up to it, she looked at the purple colored tree and smiled. She would have to ask Celestia to cast whatever spell she had used on that tree at her farm, so they could harvest those apples all year long.

“What are you doing?” Blueblood panted, finally catching up to her, “Is this quick bucking going to happen, or what?”

“Quick?” She asked, looking somewhat offended, “This is gonna’ be a long n’ hard buck.”

“…It is?” He asked, gulping.

“Ah’m gonna pound ‘em mercilessly!” Applejack said proudly.

Blueblood took a step backward, trying to think of an escape plan.

“And when Ah’m done,” She announced, puffing out her chest, “Those fruits’ll fall right off!”

Not needing to hear another word, Blueblood turned tail and ran for his life. No pony was going to be bucking him so hard that his fruits fell off!

“What’s up with him?” Applejack said to herself, before shrugging, not really caring at this point. She was going to get herself some Zap Apples!

Facing backward to the tree, she lifted herself off the ground, and hit the tree trunk, as an electric shock ran through her system, making her leap away from the tree.

“What’s goin’ on?!” She shouted, inspecting the apple closely, noticing that the coloring was off, “Dagnabbit! It’s jus’ been painted! This ain’t ripe at all!”

////

The Best Night Ever - Part 7

////
The Best Night Ever – Part 7
////

Fluttershy sat in Canterlot Garden, figuring that Applejack had already long since won Blueblood for herself since she had seen the two go to his room together. She sure was surprised that Applejack would trot off with some stallion she barely knew, and do… THAT.

She never would have gone so far with a stallion before they had formed a strong bond with one another. So, perhaps she was never destined to win this game after all.

“Why must Celestia keep all these animals here?” An annoyed voice said on the other side of a large hedge.

Peeking her head over the wall, Fluttershy saw the man himself, Prince Blueblood.

Had he not done anything with Applejack? Maybe she backed out of it… Or he was just a quick finisher.

Fluttershy giggled just loud enough for him to hear.

“Who’s there?” Blueblood said quickly, looking toward her head, as it poked over the wall.

“Oh! Um… Sorry…” She said, dropping to the ground, hoping he wasn’t going to investigate her any further.

Coming around the corner, she saw the yellow pony shrunken on the ground, clearly embarrassed that she had been seen.

“Stand up,” He ordered, “Do you know who I am?”

Complying, she stood up, while keeping eye contact to a minimum, “I know you… You’re Prince Blueblood.”

“And did you know it’s very frowned upon to spy on royalty?” He asked, getting a close look at her, thinking this night might not be a total bust after all.

“I-I didn’t!” She said quickly, “Bowing her head.”

“That’s quite alright,” He smiled, making her calm down, “What is your business here tonight?”

“I was invited by the Princess!” Fluttershy explained, hoping that was a good enough reason for him.

“Were you?” He asked, not breaking eye contact with her for a moment, “Is your coltfriend here tonight?”

“Oh, no,” She shook her head, smiling shyly, “I don’t have a coltfriend.”

Perfect, now was the time to measure her up properly.

A gorgeous face.

Curves in all the right places.

The best specimen so far tonight.

“I’m just here with my friends,” She explained, “I think you’ve met some of them already.”

“I did?” He asked, wondering which of the many women he had met were her friends.

“Yeah!” She smiled, “There’s Twilight Sparkle, the Princesses student…”

“I beg your pardon?” He asked, hoping that this wasn’t going where he thought it was.

“Pinkie Pie, a girl in a candy dress,” She listed, “And Applejack! A farm pony!”

His eyes went wide, “You’re friends with all of them?!”

“Did you like them?” Fluttershy asked.

“Absolutely not!” He said, recoiling from her, “Those girls have almost ruined my night!”

This was her chance! She could still win!

“Are you anything like them?” He asked quickly, scared that she might be in the same ballpark as her friends.

“Oh, I think that we’re pretty similar,” She smiled, not realizing this was a bad thing for him, “In fact, I think I have a little bit of all my friends in me!”

“You’re smart?” He asked, recalling his conversation with Twilight.

“Well, I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I like to think so!” She said, expecting a better response.

“Do you party often?” He asked, thinking about the disaster Pinkie had been.

“Normally I’m very quiet, but a few songs can make me go crazy!” She giggled.

“And what about your third friend… Applejack!” He recalled, squinting, “Do you buck a lot, like her?”

“Applejack bucks the most out of all my friends,” Fluttershy said, not understanding the fear she was instilling in him, “I’ve watched her buck more apples off then any pony ever!”

“You’ve WATCHED her do that?!” He practically shouted.

“Of course!” She smiled, “All our friends watch! And sometimes we even join in!”

He gasped.

Poor Fluttershy thought she was doing so well, until he turned tail, and ran away from a mare for the second time that night.

“Hey!” She called, watching him head toward the doors to the castle, “Wait up!”

She wasn’t going to lose this game yet!

////

“Well, it looks like the night has been as normal as you could hope,” Alex said to Dash, as they finished their fifth trip to the hors d'oeuvres table.

“Yup!” She said, smiling, happy to have had this one thing happen, “We can have plenty of excitement from now on.”

“Starting now?” He asked.

“Not yet,” She shook her head, giving him a serious look, “Normal till midnight, is all I ask.”

Looking at the large clock hanging above the entryway, Alex nodded. It was eleven forty-five. Just fifteen minutes and he would be in the clear.

“Why don’t we dance till then?” She suggested nudging him toward the dance floor once again.

“Can’t we do something else?” Alex groaned, “We’ve been dancing for like, ten times longer than anypony else.”

“Suck it up, princess!” She laughed, walking ahead, while swaying her backside at him, “You’ll be happy you were dancing in a few hours.”

“Got it!” He said, joining her instantly.

////

“Don’t you want to spend just a few minutes with me?” Fluttershy called to Blueblood, as he kept a brisk pace ahead of her.

“I most certainly do not!” He said, not looking back, “Your friends have ruined my night!”

“Spend some time with me!” She offered desperately, “I can make your night better!”

“No, you can’t!” He whined.

“But I can!” She argued.

“You absolutely can’t!” He tried to reiterate, losing it on her.

“Yes I can!” She shouted, her volume increasing exponentially.

“Just leave me alone!” He said, finally reaching the door to the ball room, and opening it as quickly as he could.

He turned around and attempted to close the door, before she could make it inside, by pressing his entire body weight against it.

But he was no match for her upper body strength, as she put all of herself into a single shove that rather comically sent Blueblood into the air slightly, knocking him into a huge statue of Princess Celestia, making it start to wobble.

As the door flew open, Fluttershy looked at him with the scariest eyes he had ever seen in his life.

“YOU’RE GOING TO LOVE ME!” She shouted, as the massive statue tipped over, and landed on the side of an equally huge pillar.

Everypony screamed and ran, as the pillar, and all the ones next to it knocked over one by one, smashing on the dance floor.

Eventually, the stone roof that the pillars supported collapsed, and smashed a massive hole in the ground where it landed, falling straight through to the floor below them, where it smashed deafeningly into a million pieces, as pieces of the floor fell into the rubble below.

Fluttershy, however, was unfazed, as she walked over to Blueblood, and showed him the undying fire in her eyes.

“D-do you want to spend that time together now…?” He asked through his tears, figuring that if she REALLY wanted to spend the night with him, he could put up with it.

“No!” She shouted, seeing just how pathetic he really was, “I’ve changed my mind!”

“O-okay!” He said, shielding his face from any attack she might send his way, “I didn’t want to do anything with you anyway!”

She gave him a look.

A hard, cold, stare.

It gave him goose bumps.

He wanted to run to his mother, and have her tell him that everything will be alright and that she loved him.

But his mother wasn’t here.

So, instead, he broke into the loudest, and most pathetic fit of tears that anypony had ever seen.

Now, all that could be heard in the room, were the sobs of the petrified Blueblood, and the clicking of hoofs, as one couple remained dancing on the small fraction dance floor that hadn’t been destroyed by Fluttershy and Blueblood.

Eventually, when everypony got sick of looking at the prince cry, they all looked to the only couple on the dance floor.

////

“Dash…” Alex whispered, “Everypony’s looking at us.”

Despite the horrendous damage to the castle, Dash had insisted that they remain in this position, and dance until the clock hit midnight.

“Please…” She whispered in his ear, “Just keep like this until the bell tolls.”

Nodding, Alex pressed to her and silently kept their dancing up.

Hearing the commotion, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Celestia, Luna, Ramsley, Comet, and the three Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived in the room, all completely shocked at what had happened.

Then, the bell rung loudly, chiming twelve times, echoing through the entire Gala.

“What is it that happened in here?” Luna asked, breaking the silence.

It was very strange that the collective response to that question was for everypony to look at Fluttershy.

“Congratulations, Fluttershy,” Celestia smiled, “I think you learned a very valuable lesson.”

“Yeah!” She barked, still enraged, “I deserve somepony worth my attention!”

Celestia smiled and nodded, “Very good dear. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks!” She smiled quickly.

Ramsley leaned over to Comet, “This is a story I need to catch myself up on.”

“Well, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time over the summer in Ponyville,” Comet whispered back.

“I just hope they have a decent pizza joint there,” Ramsley laughed, “I don’t think I could go three months without a decent slice.”

“You’ll live, fatso,” Comet nudged, “Now, let’s see if they need any help cleaning up…”

////

A Sudden Turn for the Worse

////
A Sudden Turn for the Worse
////

Twilight and her friends, along with Princess Celestia, Luna, Ramsley, Comet, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders, stood together in the remains of the ballroom, all laughing about how the night had gone since just about everypony had been in some kind of wacky situation during the gala.

“You two danced the whole night?” Ramsley asked, trying not to laugh, “Was there nothing else to do?”

“There was plenty to do,” Alex shrugged, gesturing to Dash, “It was the boss’s choice.”

“Ahh,” He nodded, “I know that feeling.”

“What does that mean?” Comet asked, looking a tad offended.

“And what were you four doing with Prince Blueblood?” Celestia asked.

“We were seeing who the most attractive of us is!” Twilight said, sighing, “But I got that cupcake dropped on me.”

“And Twilight ruined my chances!” Pinkie said, frowning, “I can almost always control my burps!”

“He ran away from me,” Applejack said, “Ah’ don’t even know what ah’ did!”

Fluttershy said nothing.

“You girls are all wonderful, and would be a catch for any colt,” Celestia smiled, “Don’t forget that.”

“Thanks Princess,” They all said.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom chimed in, “Yer’ all great!”

“But, who won?” Fluttershy asked, surprising them, “Which one of us would he have chosen?”

“I can get that information for you all!” Luna said, smiling as she cast a spell, making Blueblood suddenly appear in front of them all.

“Eep!” He squeaked, not wanting to see any of these ponies, “W-what have you done to bring me here?!”

“YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOUR MARES!” Luna bellowed as he desperately looked at them.

“None?” He squeaked.

“NOT ACCEPTABLE!” Luna said royally.

He bit his lip and looked at the lineup of Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.

“Not her!” He said, pointing at Pinkie, “Nothing deflates me more than a lady burping!”

“Awww,” She said, “I’ll keep them under wraps! …Wait, what do you mean by deflate?”

“And most certainly not her!” Blueblood said, pointing to Applejack, “I have no desire to get my ‘fruit’ bucked off.”

“Beg yer’ pardon?” She asked, cocking her head to the side.

With two choices left, he looked from Twilight to Fluttershy.

“Well, I guess I’d have to choose Twili—“

He suddenly made eye contact with Celestia, as she stared daggers at him. So, his choice was the wrath of the Princess, or the wrath of that small, yellow Pegasus.

“So?” Luna asked, having quieted down.

“The yellow mare?” He asked, hoping this wasn’t the wrong answer.

“Yes!” Fluttershy said, jumping in the air triumphantly, “I did it!”

Looking at her nervously, he spoke up, “So, are we going to my room?”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Well, wasn’t that the point of all this?” He asked, “Picking one of you to bed?”

“Oh my goodness, no!” She said, covering her mouth, “I’m not that kind of pony!”

“Is that why you asked me up there?!” Applejack shouted, “You were tryin’ to stick me?!”

Everypony laughed at her foul language, well, everypony but the three young girls.

“Stick?” Scootaloo said, having no idea what they were talking about.

“You think we would have done anything like that with you?” Twilight laughed, as Blueblood blushed furiously, “Yeah right!”

Pinkie would have had something to say, but was still giggling over what Applejack had said to him.

“You may leave now,” Luna said, casting a spell and sending him away.

“Did you all hear that?” Fluttershy asked giddily, “I was his first choice!”

“Great job!” Alex said, wondering if she had heard the same conversation he just had.

“Any guys would be lucky to have you, Fluttershy,” Dash said as she beamed to them all.

“Wait a minute!” Rarity said suddenly, “Which of you three girls threw that cupcake at poor Twilight?”

They all gave each other looks.

“I’m afraid that I have to take credit for that one,” Celestia spoke up, surprising them.

“Princess?” Twilight asked.

“I knew about Bluebloods agenda since the night started,” She explained, “And I knew that a few pushes here and there would have kept him away from you all.”

“What do you mean?” Spike asked.

“The cupcake, the burps, the apple tree, and… well, Fluttershy,” The Princess continued, “All it took was a little magic in a few different places.”

“So, we never had anythin’ to worry about?” Applejack asked.

“Of course not,” Celestia laughed, “I wouldn’t have had him ruining any of your nights.”

“So, we’re not getting in trouble?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Well, if it was only done by royal instruction, then I suppose not,” Rarity shrugged, “But please don’t do it to anypony else.”

“Of course not!” Scootaloo cut in, “We’d never do that, it goes against our moral code.”

“You have a moral code?” Dash asked, “Is it written down somewhere?”

“It is,” Alex nodded, “One day we decided to see if our talents were being scribes.”

“Did it work out?” She giggled.

“I wrote a page full of scribbles,” Alex admitted.

“Better mouth writin’ than Scoots!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle laughed together.

“Hey!” Scootaloo shouted, “I don’t need to write! I’m practically a princess!”

“Princesses can write, you know,” Luna said to her.

“Well… yeah! But, I can just have the royal tutor teach me in a few years!” She suggested.

“We have no tutor,” Celestia said, “Perhaps you should just pay attention in class.”

“Na,” She said, “I’ll just have Twilight teach me when I need it.”

Strangely… Nopony argued with her.

“So, what was your big news?” Alex asked Ramsley.

“Well, a big change is coming for the Wonderbolts management, and I’ve been asked to stay in Canterlot while everything is smoothed out,” Comet spoke up, knowing that they probably weren’t going to be too excited about her, “However, I asked them if I could stay in Ponyville.”

“Wait…” Spike said, “Does that mean--?”

“Yes,” Ramsley nodded, “The two of us are going to be staying in Ponyville for the remainder of the summer.”

“Yeah!” Alex shouted, jumping up, “Another guy to hang out with!”

“It’s normally just us!” Spike added, “It gets so boring with just this guy!”

“Don’t listen to him,” Alex argued, “I’m best pony!”

“You’re not even a pony!” Spike barked back.

“No more pony than you!” Alex shot back.

“Would you two quiet down?” Ramsley asked politely, and yet with a huge amount of power, “You’re making the women uncomfortable.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Comet asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’d also like to know,” Dash added.

“Me as well.” Luna said.

“Whoops,” He smiled nervously, “I mean, I’m sure you can take care of yourselves!”

“Mhmm.” They all said together.

“I can’t believe you’d say that…!” Spike said, running over to Rarity.

“Not cool, man.” Alex agreed, stepping next to Dash.

“I’ll be quiet now…” Ramsley sighed.

////
Later that night
////

Alex and Dash had been given a royal suite at the castle, and had really wasted no time getting down to business. All the energy they DIDN’T spend dancing got used up pretty quick behind closed doors.

Alex rolled over, panting as he smiled confidently at Dash, “Was I good?”

“Oh yes,” Dash said, out of breath herself, “I’m pretty sure I enjoy the sex more than you do.”

“I really, REALLY doubt that.” Alex said.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” She nodded, “All those faces you made said enough.”

“Do I look weird when we’re doing it?” He asked.

“Well, one eye twitches, while you bite the right side of your bottom lip, and inflate your left cheek with air,” She explained, “It looks a bit off.”

His heart sunk. Because to be honest, he really wasn’t worrying about his face while he was… busy.

“I’m joking, don’t cry or anything,” She laughed, pulling the covers over herself, “We can start up again in the morning though, for now, let’s get some sleep.”

“Woo! Good!” Alex laughed, happy that he didn’t have to watch himself in the mirror next time.

Luckily, post-coital bliss has a way of knocking you out cold in only a few seconds.

////

Alex hadn’t been to his dreamscape in a while and had enjoyed that fact. But, today, someone had decided to pay him a visit.

Alex opened his eyes and rubbed his eyes with his hands.

Hands.

He was in his human form.

His heart dropped as he looked up, and felt nothing but anger, for what he saw in front of him.

“Long time no see, Alex!” The massive beast said to him, “Did I interrupt something?”

“Discord,” Alex said, frowning, “What do you want?”

“Oh nothing,” He said, looking like he was about to burst out laughing, “Okay, who am I kidding? I’m coming back to Equestria!”

That escalated quickly.

“What?!” Alex shouted, “How? Why?”

“To take back control, silly!” Discord laughed, “And as for ‘the how,’ tonight was chalked full of chaos, wasn’t it?”

It truly had been, Alex couldn’t disagree.

“All I needed was for some good ol’ discord to give me the power I need to break free!” He chuckled.

“Then why are you telling me?” Alex asked, “I’m going to go get the Princesses, and they’re going to lock you back up.”

“Now, that’s where you’re wrong,” Discord explained, “Because I’m breaking out right now.”

////

Alex shot up in his bed and looked at Dash’s sleeping form.

“Wake up!” Alex said loudly, and flicking on the light.

“W-what?” Dash grumbled, sitting up groggily, “I just got to sleep…”

“Discord is out!” Alex said, running out the door, leaving her to process his statement, which it did pretty fast, considering she had just woken up.

Shaking her head, she got out of bed and ran after him. She would have woken her friends, but had no idea where their rooms were. Luckily, Princess Celestia’s room was right on the way. Alex had run past it, but Dash figured this was an appropriate time to say something.

Throwing the door open, Dash charged in to the room and shouted loudly, “Princess! Discord is escaping!”

“Rainbow Dash?” She asked, squinting at the light that had suddenly flooded her room, “What is it?”

“Discord told Alex he was escaping!” She explained manically, “Alex is going to check it out now!”

Instantly getting out of bed, Celestia nodded, and surrounded both herself, and Dash in a spell that teleported them outside, to the sculpture garden.

Appearing a few feet away from the statue, they both saw Alex standing in front of the draconequus statue, trembling.

“Alex!” Dash shouted, flying over to him, “Is he still here?”

The statue still stood, so this put both the mares’ hearts at ease.

“It looks like this may have been a joke,” Celestia said to Alex, “Discord has a twisted sense of humor.”

Alex stood up, not looking at either of them as he approached the statue, “It’s made of chocolate,”

Lifting a hoof to the statue, he gave it a solid hit as the entire thing crumbled, and collapsed on the ground in several pieces.

“And it’s hollow.”

////

The next hour was spent waking everypony from their slumbers, as news was spread around the Castle. Discord was back, and he needed to be stopped. It was incredibly sudden, considering the amazing night they had all just experienced. But, that was how things tended to go. Princess Celestia had called a meeting with Twilight and her friends, asking them to come to a room decorated with stain glass windows, so they could discuss what exactly was going to happen to combat the new threat of Discord.

Most of them kept silent as Twilight spoke for them, gathering any information she could.

“How did this happen so suddenly?” Twilight asked, still not entirely woken up from her half hour of sleep, “I thought we had a watch on Discord’s statue!”

“We studied it extensively,” Celestia said, “There was no sign of power changes within the statue, and I even reinforced it myself, with the very same spell Luna and I used to lock him away.”

“It couldn’t have been as powerful, sister,” Luna said, “We used the elements to force him into imprisonment.”

“I was sure that it was sufficient,” Celestia sighed, feeling like she could have averted this if she had tried a little harder, “There is little we could do now.”

“Indeed,” Luna agreed, “What is our plan of attack then, sister?”

“We need to attack Discord with the Elements of Harmony as soon as possible,” Celestia said, “We strike before he has a chance to plan anything, and we return him to stone.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Alex said, still upset that Discord had been able to rub his escape in his face.

“I assure you that it won’t be,” Celestia said seriously, “Discord won’t be defeated so easily this time, especially in the same manner as before.”

“Do we know where he is?” Twilight spoke up, “Has there been any irregular activity anywhere?”

“None has been reported,” Luna said, having just magically spoken with several ponies scattered across Equestria, “Discord will not remain silent for long, however.”

“How do you know that?” Spike asked.

“It’s not in his nature,” Luna said, “Equestria was a nightmare before he we took control from him. He’ll wish to see it back.”

“I can’t believe he once ruled Equestria,” Rarity said.

“I feel the same way sometimes,” Celestia agreed.

“How do we stop him though?” Alex asked, “If he goes half way around the world and starts terrorizing everyone there, how would we get there to stop him?”

“We can send you anywhere instantly,” Luna said, “It might not be pleasant, but it will get the job done.”

“So what then?” He asked, his anger rising once again, “We just wait until then? I won’t get any sleep!”

“Alex—“ Luna began.

“No!” He shouted, hitting his hoof on the table, “We go out, we find him. Who knows how much damage he could do before we find him!”

“Please listen—“ She tried again.

“He’s going to hurt somepony!” He yelled before Luna decided she had had enough.

“SILENCE!” She shouted, immediately silencing him, “WE ARE AWARE OF THE RISK POSED TO OUR PEOPLE!”

Alex didn’t say a word.

“YOU ARE NOT WELL, ALEX,” Luna continued, referencing his recent combination with Dax, “BUT YOU WILL SPEAK TO US WITH RESPECT.”

The war being waged in his head was terrible. One side of him wanted to tell her to buck off, and never to speak to him that way. But the rational side knew that he was the one being disrespectful, not her.

“Of course, Princess,” Alex said quietly, “My apologies.”

“I’m sorry I had to raise my voice, Alex,” She apologized, “But you need to learn control of yourself.”

He nodded, “I just don’t want to see anything happen to anypony innocent.”

“We don’t want that either,” Celestia sighed, “But we don’t have the resources to search any more than the immediate area around Canterlot.”

“And chances are best that he’s fled far beyond the city.” Luna added.

“And we have no magic that could help us locate him?” Twilight asked.

“Concealing magic is rather basic,” Luna explained, “He would have no trouble hiding.”

Alex suddenly felt something a little strange in the air.

“An’ there’s nuthin’ else?” Applejack asked, hoping for some kind of super spell they might know.

“I’m afraid not,” Luna said.

“So, are we supposed to just keep living our lives, as if nothing is wrong?” Dash asked, “I mean, it’s not like we want everypony panicking.”

“I’m afraid that will have to be the case,” Celestia sighed, “Your families and close friends will be kept here in safety, to ensure Discord won’t be able to hurt them.”

“What about their school or jobs?” Pinkie asked, thinking about what would happen to the cakes.

“They’ll simply miss out, I’m afraid,” Luna said, “Any compensation lost will be paid back by the castle.”

Alex looked around the room at the various stain glass windows, feeling a strange humming coming from one of them that nopony else seemed to be able to hear.

“What about our elements?” Twilight asked, “Where are they?”

Celestia gestured to a special door on the other side of the room as they all walked across the floor toward it.

“I have sealed your Elements of Harmony inside here,” Celestia explained as she lowered her head, and inserted her horn into a small hole in the center of the door, as she cast a spell, making it light up.

The door opened, revealing a jewel encrusted case, sitting on a pedestal.

“Never mind the Elements!” Rarity squawked, “Let me have that case!”

Everypony looked at her.

“Oh, never mind!” She giggled.

Levitating the case toward the eight ponies, Celestia began to open the case before Alex spoke up.

“He’s there!” Alex shouted, firing a blast of energy at a stain glass window, blowing up a huge section of the wall, and destroying the stain glass on either side of the one he had shot at.

A small glowing orb floated up from the rubble as manifested into a shape they were all familiar with.

“Hello everypony!” Discord announced as the bright color of his orb faded, leaving the draconequus there in all his glory, “It’s so nice to see you all in person!”

“Discord!” Celestia growled.

Guards could be heard pounding on the main door to the room, trying to get in.

“Why, if it isn’t the filly that defeated me so long ago!” He laughed, ignoring them, and looking to Celestia, “You’ve gotten bigger, my dear.”

She was not pleased.

“Discord, we’re going to offer you once chance to come quietly,” Luna said, “Return to your stone prison, and no harm will come to you.”

“Are you serious?” Discord laughed, slapping his knee, “So, my choices are… Turn to stone right now or be turned to stone by the Elements of Harmony later?”

“Yes.” She said, not wavering.

“I’ll take door number two!” He said, wiping a tear from his eyes, “Besides, how do you plan on using those elements against me anyway?”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, opening the container and gasping.

They all looked at the container, and were shocked to see that it was empty.

“I’ve got those,” He chuckled, “What’s your plan B then?”

The princesses looked to one another, speechless.

“Well that’s no fun!” Discord said, “You have no plan B!”

“They have me!” Alex said, trying to fire another shot at him.

“Oh calm down there, Lassie,” Discord laughed, absorbing the attack into his paw, “Your chaotic magic is nothing compared to mine.”

“What do you want?” Dash shouted, looking pretty pissed off herself.

“Why, I want Equestria back!” Discord said, “Would that be alright, Celestia? Luna?”

“Discord, what makes you so confident that you can beat us?” Alex asked suddenly.

“Because I’ve been listening,” He smiled cockily, “I know all about that Doctor, and his alternate world.”

“You do…?” Alex asked, knowing that was not good news.

“I get beaten by the Elements of Harmony, and am sealed away for another thousand years,” He said, “I will not have that.”

Everypony was shocked, and had no idea what to say to him.

“So, I formed a foolproof plan,” Discord smiled, “I remove the Elements of Harmony from the equation.”

“You did what?!” Twilight asked in shock.

“I’ve hid them all over the place,” He explained, “You’ll never find them.”

“The Elements are drawn to their owners,” Celestia countered, “They’ll come back.”

“Maybe,” Discord agreed, “But what if I send somepony to a place where they can’t be found?”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked.

Snapping his fingers, a blue portal appeared underneath Dash, instantly sucking her into it, making her disappear.

“What the--?” Twilight gasped.

“Dash!” Alex shouted, looking to his friends, before running to the portal himself.

Discord momentarily thought about stopping him, but two less ponies meant much less work for him.

“Have fun,” Discord chuckled, waving to him as Alex dove into the floor after Dash.

Immediately, the portal closed.

“Now,” Discord said seriously, “Shall we begin?”

////

Reversed Condition

////
Reversed Condition
////

The buzzing was deafening. It was like a gun had just been fired in his ear…

What had just happened?

Discord had opened that portal, sucked Dash in, and he had jumped in after her, disregarding his own safety.

The panic he had felt was immense as they plummeted through that bright white void, heading for some kind of blackness far below. Alex had managed to catch up to Dash, and get a hold of her. But, to his surprise, she was unconscious. So, he held her close to him, and closed his eyes, praying for something to protect them as his wings and magic failed him.

And then something did. As if the gravitational pull had been changed, they started being pulled sideways, away from the blackness, toward a different light. One that was bright, and somehow comforting to him. As they reached it, Alex squinted, unable to see anything.

The next thing he knew, they were thrown out of the portal, and went tumbling straight onto a patch of grass, where they came to a stop.

Opening his eyes, he was met with the offensive sight of the sun blinding him.

Closing them again, he sighed happily, just happy that he still had Dash in his arms.

But… she felt smooth.

“Smooth?” Alex said to himself, opening his eyes again, and looking to the form next to him, he gasped and pulled away.

On the ground, unconscious, was a human women, with multicolored hair that hung down to her shoulders. A look very similar to Rainbow Dash’s.

Alex went wide eyed before he realized that he was standing on two hands, and his knees.

Everything was high-definition once again. Looking around, he was shocked, yet again, to see his house, only a short distance away.

“Oh my god…” He murmured, “I’m back.”

Looking over to who he could only assume was Rainbow Dash, he slowly realized that she was completely naked, lying in the grass next to his house, near a particularly busy street. He needed to get her inside, now.

Shakily standing up, he quickly remembered the tricks to being a biped, and knelt down, to scoop her up into his arms, giving him a good look at her face.

“Damn,” He said to himself, stunned at her looks in the human world, “Lucky me.”

Further inspecting her, he quickly focused on her bare chest.

“Bigger than I thought they’d be.” He momentarily thought, banishing it quickly, as he started moving toward the house. There were plenty of things to worry about at this time, and the size of her chest was the least of them.

As he approached the building, he prayed that the house still belonged to him, and hadn’t been sold by his uncle for any reason.

This fear was quickly sent away as he recognized the masses of garden gnomes his mother had placed around the house, and garden. It was a shame that she would never get to add any more.

Approaching the back door, he peered inside, and was satisfied to see all the lights out. No one was home.

Carefully balancing Dash in one arm, and on his shoulder, he reached to the ledge next to the door, where a spare key was placed between two boards of wood.

Grabbing it, he slid the key into the slot, and twisted, unlocking the door.

To be honest, Alex was rather numb at this moment. He was going to freak out about being back, as soon as Dash was in a safe, comfortable place, so he could work on processing this information.

Walking into the living room, he flicked on the light, placed her on the couch, and draped a blanket over her.

“Sleep well, Dash,” He said, “Because when you wake up… You’re in for a bit of a surprise.”

////

About an hour had passed since Alex had put her to rest, and he was finally coming to grips with what had happened.

Discord had sent them into the human world, to keep him and Dash from fighting against him in Equestria.

But that made no sense. Discord would have made some kind of comment, had he had intended to send them back to earth. So, what had happened? He recalled how they were heading for one destination, but were sent off course, and pushed into the other portal. Perhaps Alex had changed the intended destination somehow, by wishing for a safe place for himself and Dash.

So, Discord put them in a portal, which changes its destination depending on the thoughts of the people in the portal.

If only he had thought of Equestria, he could have reappeared there, and helped with the fight.

Was there any kind of way for him to get back?

Could he even use magic here?

Extending an arm, Alex focused, and felt the familiar energy start swirling around inside of him, heading for the exit point of his finger, where a bright spark exited his index finger, and floated in the air momentarily, before vanishing.

He smiled, he still had his powers here. But, his head was also ringing with the use of that spell, when he remembered what Twilight had told him about ponies, and magic.

Anypony can use magic, but only unicorns can do so safely because it focuses the magical energy away from their bodies. If an earth pony or pegasi were to use magic, it would burn them up.

Shaking his head, Alex decided to stay away from magic if he could help it. He just hoped that the portal spell Discord had used didn’t require much energy because too much would probably kill him.
Alex was shaken out of his inner thoughts when someone knocked on his door.

Cautiously, he looked toward the window, and saw his uncle, Chet, standing at his front door, giving him a very anxious look.

Figuring he had been missed for a year, Alex stood up, and stumbled lightly, before regaining his balance, and reaching the door.

“Where have you been, kid?” Chet asked, just as the door opened, “We’ve all been worried sick!”

“Look, I know it’s been a long time, but—“

He was cut off by his uncle embracing him, and then pulling back, smiling earnestly.

“Long time?” Chet asked, laughing, “Three months is a bit more than that!”

“W-what was that?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow, “Three months?”

“Yeah!” Chet said stepping into the house, “You missed the funeral and everything, Alex.”

Alex felt a pang of guilt, he had missed his own parents funeral. Of course, he couldn’t have helped that.

“I’m sorry,” He said, hanging his head, “I couldn’t handle it.”

“That’s okay, son,” His uncle said, patting him on the head as he looked to the couch, where a very obviously naked girl slept under the covers, “Who the heck is that?”

“Oh!” Alex said quickly, “That’s… My girlfriend.”

“You’ve got yourself a girlfriend?” He asked incredulously, incredibly impressed that someone related to him could score a girl with those kind of looks, “How much did you pay her?”

“Shut it!” Alex smiled, hitting him on the shoulder, “I actually need to have a few word with her, could you come back later?”

“Look, why don’t you come over for dinner with her?” Chet asked, “I’ll grill up some steaks, and we can—“

“Oh no!” Alex said quickly, “She’s—Violently allergic to… meat!”

“Huh?” Chet asked, confused.

“There’s some protein it that gets in the air, and makes her vomit like crazy,” Alex lied, hoping that would sell.

“Well, no meat it is then,” He shrugged, having never heard of such a thing, “She like pasta?”

“You know I do,” Alex smiled, “Make the alfredo I taught you to make.”

“Got it,” He smiled, giving him a thumbs up, “Come by around seven.”

Alex nodded and looked at the clock. It was just past noon.

“See you then,” Alex said back as his uncle exited the house, closing the door a bit harder than he meant to.

“Hmmph…” Dash mumbled into the pillow her face was pressed into.

Alex looked to her as she fluttered her eyes open, and immediately went wide.

Her first instinct was to get into the air and survey her surroundings. But, unfortunately, she had none.

Looking at herself, as she sat up, she just about lost it.

“W-what’s going on?!” She shouted, “H- W- Where am I?”

“Calm down…” Alex said, approaching her, not wanting to get hit by her in her panicked state.

“Why does everything look—And why am I so…? She continued, looking around manically as she scrambled off the couch, on to her hands and knees, trying to get herself into a proper standing position, “What’s wrong with me? Who are you?!”

“Dash!” He shouted, “It’s me! Alex!”

She collapsed, and rolled over on to her butt, and then looked at him desperately, obviously close to tears, “A-Alex?”

Running over to her, he wrapped his arms around her, “Dash, you just need to calm down. Take a deep breath.”

Her panting slowed as she recognized the familiar scent coming from his body. It was more comforting than she ever could have thought.

“W-where are we?” She asked, composing herself as much as possible, “What happened to my wings?!”

“No one has wings here,” Alex explained, seeing her heart sink, “You’re stuck on the ground, Dash.”

She sighed, and looked herself over, stopping on her chest, “What are these?”

“Those are on all the girls,” Alex said, trying not to stare at them too much, “Don’t worry too much about it.”

“Oookay,” She said, looking around the place they were in now, “Where are we?”

“This is my world,” Alex explained, not letting her go, “This is my house.”

“Why does everything look so… Detailed?” She asked, not able to grasp the way everything looked to her.

“I told you before, this is how it is,” Alex explained, “Maybe pony eyes perceive light differently, and makes things look different that way.”

“Okay, Twilight,” Dash panted, still acting like herself, “What about Equestria?”

“I don’t know,” Alex sighed, “Discord sent us here, and now we’re stuck, unless I can replicate his spell.”

“Do you know the first thing about it?” Dash asked.

“Nope.” He said, finally pulling away from her, “But I can try to work it out from other spells I know.”

“But you have no horn,” She observed, “Can you still do magic?”

He nodded, “But not much. I might hurt myself.”

“So… what do we do then?” Dash asked, “Kill time while you try to figure it all out?”

“We can’t take our time,” Alex said, “I think there’s some kind of time difference here.”

“Huh?” Dash asked.

“I’ve only been gone for three months, according to my uncle,” Alex explained, “I was in Equestria for nearly a year.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Dash asked.

“It means that for every day that passes here, Equestria passes four days,” Alex said grimly, “Discord has already been free in Equestria for… six hours.”

“What?!” She said, flailing her arms around, distracting Alex with other parts of her that also shook, “We need to get back!”

Alex honestly couldn’t disagree with her, but he knew that he had no way of getting them back to Equestria.

“What’s the plan?” She asked, looking at him.

“I don’t know…” Alex sighed, “But look, for all we know, it only took six hours to beat Discord, right?”

“Maybe,” She agreed, knowing that her friends were extremely capable, “But didn’t Celestia say that we needed the Elements of Harmony?”

“There might have been something else,” Alex suggested, “Maybe they’re trying to find a way to get us back right now, and everything is just fine.”

Dash nodded, “What do we do in the meantime?”

“We need to get you walking,” Alex said, stepping up himself, “Can you do this?”

Taking a moment, she analyzed the kind of creature he was. She remembered back when the Poison Joke messed everypony up, he was turned into this animal. Like a monkey! Except now, he looked much different from then. The amount of detail on his face was something that Equestria simply didn’t have. But as uncomfortable as everything here looked, the blue in his eyes let her know that he was the same pony she cared deeply for.

“Can you do it?” Alex asked once again.

Wobbling, she pressed her hands to the floor and stepped up off her knees, to her feet.

“It’s just like standing on my back legs,” She said as she placed both feet on the floor, and raised herself up.

Alex stepped forward, ready to catch her in case she fell. But, to his surprise, she managed to stay balanced in place.

“See?” She smiled confidently, “I told you I could do it!”

“I don’t think you told me ,” Alex smiled, “Now, walk over to me.”

Stepping forward, she put one leg much further ahead of herself, giving Alex a perfect view of something else.

“Uh… I should go get you something to wear,” Alex said quickly.

“Right,” She nodded, “You said that clothing was a thing in this world, right?”

“Right,” Alex said, running upstairs, surprisingly not tripping once.

Rummaging around his room, he grabbed a large t-shirt, and a pair of gym shorts. Before running back downstairs to see Dash frozen in the position he had left her in.

“…Not gonna practice?” He asked.

“I think I’ll fall if I move anything…” She said quietly.

Alex smiled, “Come on, sweet heart, balance on one leg while you catch the other foot up.”

“Don’t patronize me!” She said, “I’m trying here!”

“Just pretend they’re hooves,” Alex said, “What trouble could it possibly be?”

Nodding, she simply lifted her back leg, and brought it forward, balancing herself properly.

“Good!” Alex said happily, “Now, a few more, and I’ll give you these dusty clothes to wear!”

“Thanks,” She rolled her eyes as she took another step, then another, and another, impressing him quite a bit.

“Great job, now, do a loop around the table, and sit down on the couch,” He instructed as he walked over to the place she would finish.

Making her way around the coffee table, she sped up significantly until she was moving at almost a normal speed.

Sitting down human style, she sighed happily, “I’m glad I took all those lessons from you in Equestria in human stuff!”

“Lift up your legs,” Alex said, tossing the shirt over his shoulder, as he knelt down, and placed the shorts on her feet, and pulled them up to the edge of the couch, “Now, lift up your butt.”

Complying, she placed her hands on the couch, and lifted up, so he could get her shorts all the way on.

“I can put on pants, Alex,” She said, giving him a look.

“I don’t think you balancing on one leg to start getting them on would end well,” He explained, “You can do it next time.”

“What about the shirt?” She asked.

“Right,” He said, biting the shirt off his shoulder, before realizing that he didn’t need to use his mouth to grab things, “Arms up.”

Looking at him, she mimicked him and reached her hands in the air.

Sliding the shirt right on, she smiled as her head popped out.

“So, now that I’m dressed, what are we doing next?” She asked.

“I need to keep training you,” Alex said sternly, “And we need to get our stories straight because no one here is going to believe I spent the last year—Three months in a magical pony world.”

“Alright, let’s start working on our lies then!”

////

Hours passed as Alex trained Dash to do everything as a human, from using her hands, to talking without using her pony words. Dash had a nasty habit of saying ‘everypony,’ and ‘somepony,’ so he had to make sure he whipped that out of her.

They also covered their get-together story.

Alex had taken a bus to New York City, where he met her auditioning for an Off Broadway production that neither of them could remember the name of, because of her catchy hair, and after some talking, she ditched out, and they spent the rest of the night together.

“Got it?” Alex asked.

“Uh…” She said, recalling the entire line of BS in her head, “I think so!”

“And what’s your name?” Alex asked.

“Sarah Conner!” She smiled.

“No, that’s the name of a movie character,” Alex sighed, hoping that she had moved past this choice.

“That’s my name,” She said seriously, “You said she was a badass!”

“Yeah, when it came to fighting shape-shifting robots from the future!” Alex said, “You’re not THAT cool.”

“Say that one more time,” She said, squinting at him.

“You’re…” He began, seeing the seriousness in her eyes, “Well, I guess I don’t know how you are at fight robots.”

“Thank you,” She smiled, “I’m sure I’d be just fine. Can we watch that movie, by the way?”

“When we get back,” Alex said.

“Back from where?” She asked, no having heard about this trip.

“We’re going to have dinner with my uncle,” Alex explained, “He lives right across the street.”

“Oh,” She said quietly, suddenly very nervous, “I didn’t think I’d ever meet your family.”

“Well, I’ve grown up with my uncle Chet my whole life,” Alex sighed, “He’s the closest thing I have to a dad now.”

“Is he married?” Dash asked.

“He has friends over now and then,” Alex laughed nervously, “But if that makes you uncomfortable, you can stay here.”

“No way!” She said, “I’m not passing up the opportunity to see your roots!”

“Of course you’re not,” Alex nodded, “Then why don’t we get ready, and go?”

“Sure!” She smiled, standing up like a pro, “I’ll race you upstairs!”

“I don’t know…” He said slowly, “I’m not really feeling very—“

“Readysetgo!” She shouted, booking it ahead of him, blowing his mind at the control she had while she ran.

But, he wasn’t going to lose this race by any means!

Chasing after her, he quickly made up for lost time when he reached the staircase, where she was having the most trouble. But, upon seeing him catching up, she threw fair play out the window and ascended the staircase on her hands and knees.

“Oh no, you don’t!” Alex laughed, bounding upward, going up two steps at a time.

Reaching the top step first, Dash turned to see him coming at her at full speed, so, in interest of being a fair competitor, she stayed put, knowing Alex wouldn’t stop in time.

And, as she anticipated, he TRIED to stop, but instead tumbled over his foot, and wound up falling on to Dash, knocking them both to the floor at the top of the stairs, with him on top of her.

“You knocked me over,” Dash grinned, an inch away from his face, “You’re disqualified from the race.”

“I’ll try to be more careful next time, Colors,” He said, panting a bit as their conversation was replaced by an intense silence.

All Dash could hear was his breathing. It made her start to breathe a little harder herself.

Looking him over, she realized that she didn’t give a crap what he looked like. He was Alex. And that was all the was important.

The burning question on her mind was: If she kissed him, would it feel the same?

Testing her theory, she leaned in, and kissed him quickly, and pulled back.

“Feels the same,” She said quietly, but audibly, looking into his eyes again, “At least there’s one thing.”

“Everything is different here,” Alex said, placing a hand on her cheek, and rubbing his thumb from her temple to her jaw line, “But no matter where you go, I’ll always be here to help you through it.”

“Thank you,” She squeeked as she gave him one more peck on the lips.

“Come on,” He said, standing, helping her up, “Let’s get ready. Chet is dying to meet you.”

////

Earth World Problems

////
Earth World Problems
////

Dash stepped out of Alex’s parent’s room, wearing a colorful tank top, and a pair of rather short shorts.

“Where did you find those?” Alex asked, never having seen those on his mother.

“They were in the closet,” She shrugged, doing a twirl for him, “How do I look?”

“Great,” Alex said, deciding to leave it alone, “Anything else you need to do?”

“I don’t think so,” She said, looking in the bathroom mirror quickly, “Do I look okay?”

“Honestly, I haven’t seen a girl in makeup for a year,” Alex laughed, “But you seem to do fine without it.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, “I don’t want to make a bad impression if I look bad!”

“You won’t, Dash,” Alex reassured, “Knowing my uncle, he’ll love you.”

“I hope so…” She said, surprisingly worried, “I’ve never had to impress anypony—AnyONE’s family before.”

“It’ll be easy,” Alex laughed, knowing his uncle was the most easygoing guy he knew, “Just be yourself, he loves confidence in people.”

“But I’m not people,” She sighed, “I’m a pony.”

“I know,” He nodded, “But don’t go telling him that. Ponies aren’t that smart in this world.”

“Ooh!” She said quickly, “Can I see one?!”

“Uh,” He said, wondering if he even had any horses anymore, “We might need to see them at my uncles.”

“Sounds good to me,” She said, “I wanna be around my people.”

“I wouldn’t say that they’re your people…” Alex said under his breath, as they approached the door.

“Is it different outside?” She asked, poking her head out the window, “It looks pretty normal to me, but what are those metal things on the road?”

“Oh!” Alex said, looking out at what must have looked like moving metal boxes to her, “Those are cars!”

“Huh,” She said, studying a few as they drove by the house, “I pictured them differently.”

“I’m not a good describer,” Alex admitted, knowing he could get lost in explanation from time to time, “But yeah, don’t get hit by one, you’ll probably get squished.”

“Got it!” She nodded, as Alex opened the door in front of them, gesturing for her leave first.

Stepping outside, she squinted at the sunlight. She had been inside for so long that her eyes were adjusted to the nice, tranquil brightness of inside his house.

Walking around his house, Alex was surprised to see one of the horses still in the stable. He guessed this would be the time to introduce Dash to her buddy.

“Over here,” Alex said, gesturing to the stable, as jogged over to him, “These are horses here.”

Walking inside and approaching the beast, Dash looked it over, expecting some kind of reaction from it.

“What’s wrong with it?” Dash asked, seeing just how apathetic it was about life.

“They’re just like that,” Alex explained, hoping it didn’t make her feel weird, “Pretty bored with life.”

“But they’re normally in the wild, right?” She asked.

“Yeah,” He nodded, “When they get caught, they get broken, and then trained to be riding horses.”

She frowned, and couldn’t help but notice the smell in the room, “Does it just crap in here?”

“It does,” Alex said, seeing the agitation on her face, “But it really doesn’t mind.”

“How do you know?” She asked, not looking at him.

“Just think of any animal in Equestria that is held in a cage,” Alex tried to reason, “Like dogs, or cats, or even a bird. It’s like that.”

She nodded.

“They don’t have the intelligence to really care,” He sighed, “This is just a world where they evolved differently.”

“I guess,” She finally said, “Let’s get going, before this depresses me.”

“Sure,” He said, as they exited the stable, walking back toward the road, that had calmed down quite a bit since the rush hour a while ago.

Their walk from his property to his uncles was rather quiet, as she thought to herself silently.

Alex couldn’t disagree with her reaction to what she had seen. If he had seen a human with no intelligence, locked in a cage and used for the benefit of another species, he would have been uncomfortable with it, no matter how the human felt.

Walking up to the door, Alex knocked a few times, before they were greeted with the sound of multiple dogs barking on the other side of the door.

“Hey!” Chet called from the other side, “Get to your beds! Go!”

The sound of several dogs walking away from the door was heard next, followed by a door closing.

Then, finally, the front door opened, and they were greeted by Alex’s uncle.

“Hey!” He smiled, looked back and forth between them, “Come on in!”

Dash looked at the man. He was obviously older than Alex, since he was his uncle. So she guessed that he was in his early forties. He had a larger body. Not fat at all, but muscular, probably from working on a farm. On his face, he had a pair of glasses, and a lot of scruff, right off of being a beard.

“Thanks,” Alex said, as they entered the house, as the smell of heavy cream, and pasta filled the air.

“I hope you kids are hungry!” He smiled, pointing to the kitchen, “The bag ripped and all the noodles fell in, so there’s plenty extra.”

“I could eat a horse,” Alex laughed, before looking quickly to Dash, “Uh, figuratively, of course.”

"Nice to meet'cha darlin'," Chet said, extending his hand, to which she gave an odd look, “Name’s Chet.”

Alex held his breath, hoping that she could recognize the similarity between this and a hoof shake.

Reaching forward, she took his hand in hers, and shook it like a pro, “Sarah Connor.”

“No way!” He laughed, not believing her name, “I love that movie!”

“I’ve never seen it, actually,” She said, as he went wide eyed, “Alex is going to show it to me tonight though.”

“Don’t waste your time on the first,” He said, shaking his head, “It’s good and all, but you want the second.”

“Got it,” She smiled, taking a step back.

“Are the guests here?” A woman’s voice called from the kitchen.

“Sure are, honey!” He called over his shoulder, as Alex gave him a look.

“This a girlfriend?” He asked.

“Nope,” Chet smiled, “I’ve been busy while you were gone.”

“It’s serious, huh?” Alex smiled at him, “What’s her name?”

Walking around the corner, Alex immediately felt his jaw drop. It was his old principle from school.

“Hey, Alex,” She smiled, “It’s great to see you back.”

Now, this wasn’t any ordinary principle. She was known at school for her dynamite body, long brunette hair, and her damn good looks. She had always been tough, but completely fair. When she started in his second year, she had cracked down on smoking and drinking on the campus, almost entirely eliminating it. All the students that had gotten in trouble were still let off with only warnings.

Alex and his own friends had more than once talked about how they wished she would call them into the office, and give them the: ‘You’ve been a naughty boy,’ routine, before proceeding to rip off her clothing, revealing her bustier and grabbing a riding crop. And with a name like Miss Victoria, they could only make lingerie jokes.

Of course, that had just been guy talk, nothing more.

“Uh, hey Miss Victoria,” Alex said, shocked that she had gotten together with his uncle.

“I’m so sorry about your parents,” She said sympathetically, “I know that three months isn’t enough time for these wounds to heal, so please, if you need anything, just ask.”

“Of course,” Alex nodded.

Looking over to Dash, she reached out to shake her hand as well, “Hi, I know Alex was calling me ‘Miss Victoria,’ but please, call me Tammy.”

Shaking her hand as well, Dash smiled, “It’s great to meet you, I’m Rain— Ahem -- Sarah Connor.”

“Your hair looks so good!” She said, before looking Dash in the eyes, “My goodness… Your eyes are beautiful too.”

“They are?” Dash asked, not knowing that her eye color was unnatural here, “I mean, thanks!”

“I’ve never seen magenta eyes before,” She said incredulously, leaning close to her face, “Did either of your parents have them?”

“No…” She said, shaking her head, “My dad had yellow eyes, and my mothers were purple.”

“My goodness!” She laughed, backing up, “I’d love to see pictures of them someday.”

“I could probably draw some pretty accurate ones,” Alex said, winking to Dash.

“Well, why don’t you all go to the dining room, while I serve the food?” Chet suggested, as he walked back to the kitchen.

“Sure thing,” Alex said, as Tammy led the way to the dining room, “He sure has cleaned the place up.”

“It was such a mess, when I first started coming around,” The principle laughed, looking back and forth, “He’s cleaned up nicely for me.”

“That’s great to hear,” Alex said.

“How did you two meet?” Dash asked, not wanting to be excluded from the conversation.

“Well, we met over this guy,” Tammy said, pointing to Alex, “When he disappeared, I needed to talk to a member of his family regarding the rest of his schooling.”

“And that’s how you met Chet?” Alex asked.

“Actually, I already knew him,” She smiled, “I just didn’t know it then.”

“Where did you first meet him?” Dash asked.

“We went to school together,” She explained, thinking back to her high school days, “He was a bit of a loser back then, though.”

“I knew that,” Alex chuckled, thinking of all the stories his father had told him about Chet learning Klingon to impress a girl he met online, “But to be honest, I’d probably learn it if I had the chance.”

“So, when we met face-to-face in my office, I couldn’t help but notice that he looked… better.” She smiled, thinking back to that day, “One thing led to another, and we started dating.”

“Never would have dated him when he was younger, huh?” Alex asked.

“Not in a million years,” She laughed, “My reputation would have been ruined.”

Finally sitting down, Alex sat next to Dash on the side of the table facing the wall, and Tammy sat on the opposite side, facing the kitchen.

“Dinner is served!” Chet called, walking into the room with two large serving bowls, one in each hand.

Placing them down the table clothed table, he quickly ran back, and grabbed a few utensils to serve the food with, dropping the spoon in the sauce, and a fork in the pasta.

“Eat up!”

Not wasting a second, Dash reached forward, and grabbed herself a healthy portion of fettuccini, and gave herself an equally large amount of sauce with it.

“You sure you’re gonna eat all that? Chet asked.

“Sure!” She smiled, “I haven’t eaten since we got here, and I have a pretty big appetite.”

“Good to hear,” Chet smiled, “We don’t need Alex dating a sack of bones.”

They all laughed, and then proceeded to fill their own plates.

“So,” Tammy spoke up, “Where have you been, Alex?”

“Oh… I’ve been all over,” Alex shrugged, “Las Vegas, Manhattan, Washington.”

“Really?” Chet asked, “How’d ya’ get around?”

“Busses, some hitchhiking,” Alex lied, “Three months gave me plenty of time to get there.”

“I'll bet,” Chet nodded, “And where did you two meet?”

“New York,” They both said at once.

“Really?” Tammy smiled, “Where in the city?”

“Off Broadway,” Dash answered, “I was going to audition for some lame role, in something I can’t even remember, when I ran into Alex as he wandered around!”

“You were just cruising?” Chet asked, raising an eyebrow, “Where you looking for… companions, perhaps?”

“What, like hookers?” Alex asked.

“Yeah!” Chet nodded, as Tammy shot him a look, silencing him.

“Please continue, you two.” She said, looking back to the couple.

“Well, there isn’t much else,” Alex shrugged, “We ate some food, she game me her number, and I convinced her to come with me before I left for Washington.”

“And you just went with him?” Tammy asked.

“He was more fun than any experience I had had there,” She said, “So, I went with him.”

“What about your family?” Chet asked.

“They live in Canada,” Dash said expertly, “Vancouver.”

“Oh, you’re Canadian!” Tammy said, “That explains your impeccable manners, and love for pasta!”

Alex had no idea what that meant.

Quickly, Chet leaned over to Tammy, and whispered something in her ear, that she nodded to.

“What is it?” Alex asked, as they separated, and gave him a serious look.

“We wanted to talk to you about school.” Chet said, knowing Alex wouldn’t like this.

“What about school…?” Alex asked, giving them worried look.

“Well, because of the extreme circumstances, I’ve decided to green light you for taking your finals,” Tammy said, “You only need your Chemistry and Calculus tests to officially graduate.”

“There are two tests, and they’re both on the same day,” Tammy explained, taking back her teacher tone, “You pass, you graduate.”

“Listen,” Alex said, hoping they would understand his reasoning for not wanting to do them, “I haven’t touched a book in three months. How would I be able to write two exams?”

“I’m going to allow you to take them open-book,” She said, hoping this would sway him, “And give you double the time for each.”

Alex exhaled as he looked back and forth between them.

“And if you agree, you’ll be invited to attend our graduation celebration at the school tomorrow night,” Tammy said, wrapping everything up, “Bring Sarah there, and show her off.”

Alex swallowed hard, as he looked to Dash.

She had nothing for him.

“Is ‘no,’ an option?” Alex asked, holding his breath.

“Why wouldn’t you just want to get this over with?” Chet asked, “Then, you could go off, and do whatever you want, with all the money your parents left you, and have the time of your young life! All we’re askin’ you to do, is spend ONE day, takin’ a test.”

Alex had hoped that he would be back in Equestria by then, whether it be by his own hand, or by their friends coming to retrieve them.

“I had some huge plans,” Alex lied, giving them the most honest look he could, “And really, I would rather just take them fair and square, in case I ever REALLY need the math skills for post-secondary.”

Chet and his principle looked to one another, before looking back to him.

“Okay,” Chet said, “But you’ve got to promise me you’ll do it in the first semester after the summer.”

Alex nodded, giving them the most honest look he had.

“Alright,” Tammy said, “But if you don’t, I’ll be on you!”

“Got it,” Alex smiled.

“And about that dance tomorrow night, feel free to come,” Tammy said, “I think it’d be great for your friends to see you.”

“Thanks,” Alex smiled, happy he was still allowed to attend that function.

“You know, it’s too bad you vanished when you did,” Tammy said, “I heard you were going to be asked to get on the track team.”

Alex laughed nervously, leaning back in his chair and scratching the back of his head, “I did good in ONE hundred meter dash.”

“Amazing, more like,” She said, “Don’t be modest.”

“A couple of the guys wanted to beat me up after I trounced their time,” Alex laughed, “I decided to skip it.”

“You’re a runner?” Dash asked, “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, I kinda got side tracked,” Alex smiled at her, “I had to learn to walk again when I met you.”

“Is it because you fell for me?” Dash asked, giving him the sappiest look she could.

“Sure,” Alex laughed, “Let’s say that.”

Finally finishing dinner, the two were shown to the door by Chet and Tammy.

“It’s great to see you again, kiddo,” Chet smiled, just happy to see Alex again, “Tell me before you go next time, okay?”

“Sure,” Alex smiled, “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Miss Victoria?”

“Sure,” She nodded.

“I’ll be there too!” Chet spoke up, “I’m bein’ a chaperone!”

“Oh good…” Alex said, knowing that he would be picking on him a bit.

“Oh, also,” Tammy said quickly, “Stop by the school during the day if you like as well.”

“Thanks,” Alex said, as he opened the door behind him and Dash.

“It was great to meet you,” Chet said to Dash, “Take care of him.”

“I will, don’t worry,” She smirked, “He’d be lost without me at this point.”

“Every man needs a woman to take care of him,” Chet smiled.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Alex said, looking to his uncle’s girlfriend, and then back to him, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Thanks for the food!” Dash added, as her and Alex walked outside.

“Any time,” Chet said, “Remember! T2!”

“I know,” Alex laughed, as his uncle closed the door.

“They’re great,” Dash said, looking to Alex, and wrapping her arm around his as they walked.

“I know,” Alex said, “I just hope they’re not too crazy tomorrow night.”

“It’ll be fine,” Dash said, “Just relax!”

“Of course,” He said, as they crossed the road.

“Hey,” Dash said quickly, “I wanna see you run!”

“Huh?” Alex asked.

“That woman said that you were a great runner!” Dash explained, “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“I never considered myself to be a runner,” Alex shrugged, being totally honest, “I ran one time, and I was fast, but didn’t pursue anything.”

“Well show me!” She said, pulling him to the open field next to his house.

Rolling his eyes, Alex looked around for a landmark, and was satisfied when he saw a large tree some distance away, “You’ve never even seen a human run, what do you have to compare it to?”

“Uh, ponies, stupid!”

Shaking his head, he just smiled.

“There, you see that big tree?” Alex asked.

“Yeah,” She nodded.

“I’ll run there and back,” He said, getting his arm free from her.

“Go Alex!” She called, trying to mimic the Wonderbolt cheerleaders, “Woo!”

Focusing, Alex leaned forward, and suddenly took off.

Now, Dash wasn’t really too amazed by the speed. She could clear that distance in a tenth of the time it took him. But, she needed wings to do that.

Alex was surprised with the amount of stamina he had. There must have been something about Equestria that gave him an edge in this world. Because he was moving faster than he ever had before, and it wasn’t even fazing him.

Hitting the tree, he did a loop around it, and decided to see how fast he could push himself.

So, throwing caution to the wind, he booked toward her fast enough to actually surprise Dash.

“Wow,” She said, “I guess he IS fast.”

Reaching her in half the time it had taken to reach the tree on the way there, he couldn’t help but smile at the lack of effort he had put into such a quick run.

“That was good Alex,” Dash smiled, “Almost as good as me!”

“I’d ask you to prove it, but you’d fall and hurt yourself,” Alex laughed.

“Give me a few days, I’ll be on it.” She said, confident that she could beat him if she tried.

“Sure thing, slowpoke.” He said, looking over to the house, “What do you want to do next?”

“Let’s go inside and watch that movie!” Dash said quickly, “I’m dying to see these robots and stuff!”

“Sure thing, Sarah,” Alex laughed, hoping they could just have a peaceful night together, “And after that movie, maybe I’ll show you some video games…”

////

Back to School

////
Back to High School
////

The night had passed, after they watched Terminator 2, and played a few video games, which Dash quickly became hooked on. It was now somewhere around nine o’clock, and Alex had been woken up to find Dash gone from bed, so he decided to find her.

“I shot him!” Dash shouted, mashing the square button, having no interest in how she was killed.

Alex just laughed as he entered the room.

Dash had spent most of the night playing Call of Duty, and had had very mixed reactions as time passed. She would scream when she got killed, and she would dance when she GOT a kill, which led to her being shot, because she was too busy dancing. But who knows, maybe she had improved from last night.

“Don’t you think we should get ready to head back to my school?” Alex asked.

“Ehh…” She said, not looking away from the screen, “Maybe you should go without me.”

“Are you serious?” He asked, looking between her and the screen, “You’re not even doing that goo—Oh, you’re doing pretty good.”

“I know!” She smiled, “I have a system!”

“Is that support?” Alex asked, looking at her load out in the game, “And is this hardcore?”

“Sure is!” She grinned, mowing down enemy after enemy, before throwing protective vests down for her team, and taking one herself, “It’s way easier than the normal stuff.”

Watching her for a few minutes, he was utterly stunned as she took the entire team down again and again, narrowly escaping death multiple times. He couldn’t help but notice that the volume was off also.

“Why is the volume off?” He asked, noting the silence.

“This is why,” She said, grabbing the remote and quickly unmuting the TV.

Alex watched her character run up, and shoot an enemy in the back.

“Shit! He killed me aga—“

“I keep hearing them talk when I kill them!” She sighed, “It gets pretty annoying.”

Waiting for the next enemy to run by the wall she was hiding behind, she fired and killed him.

“That camping little Fuc—“

Alex laughed, as she continued to rack of the kills without dying.

“Oh look at this!” She said, killing one more enemy, as something popped up on the screen that read: M.O.A.B.

“How did you…?” Alex said, as she pressed the button to activate it, making a counter appear on the screen, that counted backward from ten, before he got an idea “Oh, turn up the volume!”

Complying, she ticked the volume up, as the number reached zero, killing every enemy on the map, allowing her to hear all of them screaming at once.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe—“

“How did nobody kill this kid—“

“I’m gonna rape this guy next gam—“

“What a little bitch! I’m done p—“

“Okay guys, I’m going tryhar—“

Alex and Dash both burst into laughter at the angry people on the other end of the game, just as the round she was playing came to an end.

“Dash, you really wanna piss them off?” He asked, smiling, and grabbing the microphone, and plugging it in, “Just talk into here. They’ll hear you.”

“Um…” She said, looking at the list of players ready for the next game, “Hey guys!”

“Is he a little kid?” One of the enemies said.

“No, I’m a grown-up!” She announced proudly.

The lobby was in silence, as they all realized that the player that just destroyed them was a girl.

“Get back in the kitchen!” One called eventually, as his team laughed with him, trying to preserve their masculinity.

“Psh,” Dash shot back, “I just beat your whole team, and you’re telling ME to get in the kitchen? Go get me some hay!”

Alex frowned, knowing this was going nowhere good.

“Guess what, you’re just a worthless girl!” The one with the highest voice argued, “I’d slap you if I could—“

“Sorry, I can’t hear you over your momma breast feeding you, beeeyyyitch,” She said in as deep a voice as she could, before quitting the game, not giving them a chance to reply, “Okay, let’s go to school!”

“Dash… We need to talk about that,” Alex said quickly, as Dash stood up, “You kinda sounded... OOC right there.”

“Sorry, it brings out my competitive side,” She shrugged, scratching her head and playing back the conversation she had just had, “I probably shouldn’t play this anymore.”

“I don’t think ANYONE should play it anymore,” Alex laughed, stepping around to her left side and leaning down.

“What are you doing?” She asked, as Alex tugged her pajama pants down to reveal her thigh.

“I’m just making sure you didn’t get a Cutie Mark in video games…” He said, pulling them back up, “Whew. Nothing.”

“Dang,” She said, “That would have looked so cool!”

“Calm down, pony,” He laughed, pointing to the stairs, “Go fix yourself up before we go.”

“How?” She asked, looking at herself.

“Go shower and get changed,” Alex explained quickly.

“Is it different than being a pony?” She asked, tilting her head.

“Not really,” Alex said, thinking about the differences, “Just strip the clothes off, step in the tub, turn the knob, and get wet. Sounds about—“

“Like this?” She asked, having removed her clothing, as Alex turned to her.

“N-not yet!” Alex blushed, looking away, “When you’re in the bathroom!”

“Why are you so shy about me being naked?” She asked, slapping her chest, “I’m almost always naked.”

“It’s different here!” He said quickly, fighting off the urge to stare at her for hours and hours and hours and hours, “Run along now, honey!”

Rolling her eyes, she picked up the clothing, and headed for the stairs, running up them, and closing the bathroom door.

“Geez,” Alex said, realizing that he wasn’t exactly clean himself, “Well, I guess I have to go use the scary shower downstairs…”

////

After a quick discussion, the two decided to walk to the school instead of driving. Alex hadn’t done it for a year, and still wasn’t totally used being a human anyway.

“It’s so nice out,” Dash smiled, looking up at the sun, as they passed down Main Street, “And look at all these stores!”

“Yup,” Alex nodded, as he looked in the windows of all the stores, “We might need to stop in this one later.”

Looking in the window, Dash saw all sorts of fancy clothing, obviously for special occasions, “For that thing tonight?”

“Mhmm,” He nodded, “Although I don’t know what we’ll do without Rarity to tell us what to put on.”

Dash suddenly had a sullen look.

“What is it?” Alex asked.

“How do you think everypony is doing?” Dash asked, biting her lip, “Do you think Discord hurt them?”

“No way!” Alex said instantly, “Our friends are the strongest ponies I know, they’re doing fine.”

“Just because, you know… We’ve been here for a day,” Dash said sighed, “That means it’s been three days for them.”

“Yeah,” Alex said quietly, “We’ll just have to wait and hope that they come for us.”

“But if they never do…” Dash whimpered, “We’re stuck here, and they were probably beaten.”

“Look, if they don’t show up by a few days from now, then I’ll figure out the spell, even if it kills me!” Alex said, hoping to make her feel better, however it seemed to have the opposite effect.

“Don’t you dare!” She shouted, getting looks from the people around them, “Don’t leave me here alone, please…”

“Of course,” He said, kissing her forehead, “Look, let’s keep moving, and try to clear our minds.”

“Yeah,” She nodded.

Walking in silence, they both worried about their friends back home.

Alex was having a hard time being so positive about everything, because he feared the worst himself. He figured that his friends would have dealt with Discord swiftly. But if it had taken them four days so far, then chances were that Discord was going to be a tough fight for them. He just wished he was there to help them.

“So,” Dash said quietly, “Are you excited to see any of your friends?”

“I guess,” Alex said, “There’s a few guys that’ll have missed me, I think.”

“Any girls…?” She asked slowly.

“I don’t think so,” Alex laughed, “Well… Maybe one.”

Dash shot him a look.

“Don’t worry about it,” Alex laughed, “She couldn’t beat you if she tried.”

Finally reaching the school grounds, Alex was a bit confused when he saw so many people hanging out in the main field.

“Is it lunch break or something?” Dash asked, thinking that it was too early for that.

“No,” Alex said, “I think it’s because the year is basically over, no one goes to the last classes.”

“That makes sense,” She nodded, as Alex started walking the perimeter of the field, instead of going right through it, “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to go in through the front doors,” Alex explained, “I’d rather not be bombarded by a million people that all apologize for my parent’s death.”

She nodded. Alex had surprised her by his sudden recovery over the demise of his mother and father. Of course, Equestria played a massive role in it. But every now and then, whenever his parents had been brought up, he would get a look. It was only for a second, but it was easy to spot. So, something told her that he wouldn’t want to put up with that reminder from hundreds of students.

“Yeah,” She nodded, “Let’s try to avoid that.”

Walking through the front doors, Alex looked to his left at the main office, and could see his Uncle’s girlfriend sitting at her desk, reading something over.

“Let’s pop in,” Alex said, taking her hand, and walking through the doors to her office.

“Hey Tammy!” Dash called, making her look up.

“Oh, Alex! Sarah!” She smiled, “Decided to stop by?”

“Sure did,” Alex nodded, “I decided to see what had changed around here.”

“Not much,” She said, looking back to her paper, and concentrating on it, “Still a mess of smokers outside the school.”

“There aren’t that many,” Alex laughed, knowing that she always strove for perfection.

“Well, maybe you’re right,” She smiled, “But enough of that, what are you gonna do here?”

“Probably just see some friends,” Alex shrugged, “I’m pretty worried about everyone treating me differently though.”

“Actually,” Tammy said, biting her pen, “Most students don’t know about the accident with your parents.”

“Really?” Alex asked, shocked that it hadn’t been huge news for them.

“Your uncle asked the newspaper to keep it under wraps,” She explained, “He didn’t want any attention drawn to the personal family matter.”

The town Alex lived in was small, but not so small that everyone knew each other. So, it was possible that the students here hadn’t heard anything of the news, had it been treated right.

“What about my friends?” Alex asked, “What did they hear?”

“They were told,” Tammy said, “But promised to keep it to themselves.”

Alex smiled. This was actually some good news.

“That’s a relief,” Alex said, smiling, “I guess that’ll make things a bit easier today. I’d hate to be the center of a pity party.”

“Well, now that you know, why don’t you go off and explore around?” She suggested, “I have some more work to do before my day ends.”

“Sure,” Alex smiled, as Dash waved to her, and left the office with him.

Heading into the hallway, Alex was immediately faced with one of his best friends, Nick.

“Alex!” Nick practically shouted, “Jesus Christ buddy, where’ve you been?”

“Transformed into a horse,” Alex shrugged, as his buddy laughed.

“Fine, don’t tell me!” He laughed, bumping his shoulder, “But what you need to tell me, is the name of this beautiful girl.”

“This is Sarah,” Alex said, as she smiled at him, staying silent.

“Hot damn!” Nick said, clearly checking her out, “How the hell did you score a girl like this?”

“She scored me,” Alex laughed, “Isn’t that right, honey?”

She didn’t answer; she just hit him in the back of the head.

“Looks like she’s the boss, big guy,” Nick laughed, “So, are you guys coming tonight?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, “I figure that we’ll have a bit of fun before I head out again.”

“You’re leaving again?” He asked, frowning.

“My parents left me a bunch of money,” Alex said, “I wanna spend some time away.”

“Yeah… I wasn’t really sure if I was supposed to bring that up,” Nick said, scratching the back of his head.

“It’s fine,” Alex said quickly, “I’m fine too.”

“Alright… Well, we need to get our drink on before you go!” Nick said quickly.

“You know I don’t do that,” Alex said, smelling the familiar scent of marijuana coming from his friend’s breath, “No pot either.”

“You’re no fun, Alex,” He laughed.

“Well, I’m just gonna head around and see some other people,” Alex said, “I’m sure we’ll run into each other later.”

“Sure man,” He nodded, “Nice meeting you too, Sarah.”

She nodded quietly, as he walked away.

“What was that?” Alex asked, turning to face her, “Since when are you Fluttershy?”

“It’s just a weird smell on him,” She said, frowning, “It was like a skunk.”

“That’s the drugs,” Alex laughed, “Don’t worry about him, he’s a nice guy, I promise.”

“Right,” She nodded, “I hope all your friends don’t smell that way.”

“I’m like seventy percent sure they don’t.”

////
One -or- Three days earlier
////

“Shall we begin?” Discord asked, looking at the ponies.

Immediately going into attack mode, Celestia fired a blast at him, that passed right though him.

“Princess, do you think I haven’t been readying for this moment?” He asked smirking, as Luna tried a similar attack, which had a similar effect.

The six ponies behind Discord all watched the Princesses fail at their attempts to hurt the beast, as he stood there, laughing to himself.

“Your magic has no use on me now,” Discord chuckled, “And I’ve gotten rid of your Elements of Harmony. I think that warrants your immediate surrender.”

“Never,” Celestia growled.

“We will die before that happens!” Luna shouted.

Looking to each other and nodding, the two Princesses cast a spell at the same time, as they both vanished.

“ My my… Did you abandon your followers?” Discord asked, sniffing the air, “No. You’re still here.”

“Discord!” Twilight called, “Please don’t make them hurt you!”

“Hurt me?” Discord laughed, “They couldn’t do it if they tried!”

Suddenly throwing his arms out in opposite directions, he grabbed the two invisible Princesses out of thin air by the neck, as they reappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Ugh…” Luna said, struggling to breathe.

“D-Discord,” Celestia managed, “J-just stop this.”

“You sealed me in stone for more than a thousand years,” Discord said darkly, “And I know that you intend to send me back.”

She didn’t answer, as she tried in vain to free herself.

“So, I’ve decided to show you all what it’s like to be stuck in stone for so long,” He smiled, as the two mares started petrifying, starting from their necks where he held them, up their face, and down their bodies.

“Princess!” Applejack called, running at Discord.

“No!” Luna shouted, throwing Applejack away from him, “You all n-need to get your Elements back!”

“We need you!” Twilight yelled, “How are we supposed to stop him?”

“F-friendship,” Celestia said simply, as she cast a spell using the last of her strength to send Twilight and all of her friends to safety.

A blast flew out of her horn, spreading in all directions, as Twilight, Spike, Pinkie, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy all vanished from the room.

“Send them wherever you like,” Discord said cockily, “They will never find those Elements.”

Celestia laughed weakly, as her face started being covered in stone.

“What is so funny?” He demanded, frowning, “I’ve won!”

“Those ponies… Have something s-stronger than the Elements of Harmony,” Luna said quietly.

“What? Friendship?” He laughed, looking to her, “It will serve no purpose, when they’re all encased in stone, and decorating my courtyard!”

“That only gives them power,” Celestia said, having full confidence in her young friends, “Don’t take them from each other, if you care for yourself.”

Lifting them up to his mouth, Discord whispered something in both of their ears, making both their eyes go wide, just as the stone overtook them, locking them in a shocked expression.

“Well ladies,” Discord said, setting them down, with a quiet thud on the floor, “Let’s see how your ponies manage.”

////

Twilight groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. What had just happened?

Looking around, she was in some kind of planning room, filled with various maps, a few screens, and a large table in the center.

On the ground around her, were all of her friends: Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Applejack, Ramsley, Comet, Shining Armor, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom.

Celestia must have sent them all away to keep them safe, to this place so they could combat Discord from somewhere unknown to him.

“Thank you, Princess,” Twilight said quietly, as she passed back out from the disorientation.

The ponies that lay on the floor in this room were the last line of protection against Discord in Equestria.

If Luna and Celestia were defeated, then the rest of the castle would soon fall. Discord would then move on to taking the rest of the world.

The battle for Equestria had begun, and they were already three steps behind.

Contrast

////
Contrast
////

Twilight and her friends had all awoken but were all still confused. Some of them didn’t even know Discord had been released. They had just been thrown to some room, having no idea where they had been placed, or for what reason.

“What happened, Twily?” Shining Armor asked, having gotten back into his right mind, “All I remember is being locked out the room where you were meeting with Princess Celestia and Luna.”

“Discord got in,” Twilight said solemnly, “And he plans to take control of Equestria back.”

“How?” He asked instantly, panic covering his face, “And what about the Princesses?”

“They’ve been turned to stone,” She sighed, feeling herself start to cry, “They didn’t stand a chance.”

Shining Armor was in shock. His job was to make sure that the royalty of Canterlot was kept safe. And yet, somehow, they had gone from enjoying themselves at the annual Grand Galloping Gala, to being encased in stone.

“We need to storm the castle!” Shining said, standing up straight, “We’ll take it back from him, plain and simple.”

“It ain’t simple at all!” Applejack spoke up, joining them, “Celestia and Luna were both powerless! How do you expect to stop him?”

“I’d find a way,” He nodded, “It’s my job to save them!”

“Celestia wouldn’t have sent you out here if she didn’t think it was for the best,” Spike said, walking beside Twilight, “If she could have told you, she would have ordered you to help us.”

Shining Armor was surprised that Spike had such sound logic. Whatever made him a pony, really did the trick catching him up in maturity.

“Then what IS the mission?” He asked, “We have to strike back one way or another.”

“Well, I think we need to get out Elements of Harmony!” Pinkie said, standing on the large table in the middle of the room, “Then we kick him in the rump with them!”

“But we’re missing Rainbow Dash and Alex,” Rarity added, “How do we use them if we’re missing a piece of our team?”

“Well, you know… We could always live here,” Fluttershy whimpered, obviously shook up more than everypony else.

“I wouldn’t be against that one,” Comet slipped in.

“Shhh,” Ramsley said to her, not wanting to interrupt an obvious important conversation.

“No, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “We can’t sit back and let Discord take over Equestria.”

“But what do we do, darling?” Rarity asked, “Do we obtain the Elements of Harmony, and hope that they simply work?”

Nopony had an answer for her. Well, almost nopony.

“Listen up!” Scootaloo said, jumping beside Pinkie on the table, “I’m the closest thing we have to a Princess, so I think I should be calling the shots!”

“Scootaloo, this is no time fer’ games!” Applejack scolded.

“Hear me out!” She begged, “I have a plan!”

Since nopony seemed to have come up with anything themselves, they simply let her speak.

“You all need to go get your Elements!” She said sternly, “Princess Celestia said that they were drawn to you, right?”

“How did you hear that?” Twilight asked, remembering Celestia only said that when they were face-to-face with Discord.

“I was listening in!” She admitted, with no hint of shame, “But am I right?”

“Yes you are,” Twilight nodded.

“So, you find them, and then you try to find a way to make them work!” She continued.

Twilight wasn’t sure that she had said anything that hadn’t already been said. Except for the ‘Elements finding them’ part.

“Even without Rainbow Dash, there must be a loyal pony somewhere here!” She explained, “The Elements will go to the pony they find most suitable!”

“And how do we know what counts as loyal?” Shining asked.

“We don’t know!” She said, rolling her eyes, “We just need to hope it works! It’s better than doing nothing, right?”

“You tell ‘em Scoots!” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah! You sound so grown up!” Sweetie giggled.

“She’s right,” Shining admitted, “We need to do something, and that ‘something’ starts with us getting the Elements!”

“But how do we find them?” Pinkie said, “They could be anywhere!”

Looking around their shelter idly, Twilight noticed a winding staircase on the far side of the room.

Leaving the group, she approached it, and looked to see how high it went. And, to her surprise, it went up extraordinarily high.

“One sec, I’m going to see if I can an idea where we are.” She said to them before teleporting herself to the to top.

When she appeared, she was greeted with a circular room that had an entirely glass ceiling, that revealed just how high in the air they were. She could see Canterlot, Ponyville, and all surrounding areas. This bunker had been built on a mountain and was virtually perfectly blended in with it. Somepony would need to walk right up to the windows to be able to tell that they were windows at all.

Looking to Canterlot, she saw that it was pretty lit up for so early in the morning. She guessed Discord had something to do with it.

Getting a strange feeling, Twilight looked toward Ponyville, feeling some kind of energy coming from the town. It was something she recognized… But wasn’t exactly familiar with. Like she was being called to it.

Then, like switching on a light bulb, she realized what it was.

“My Element! I can feel it!” She said to herself, “It must be in Ponyville!”

Teleporting herself back to the bottom, Twilight looked to the group of ponies, “We’re inside of a mountain east of Canterlot, and we have a view of everything around us.”

“What…?” Spike said, a bit overwhelmed with that news.

“Celestia must have had this bunker built to house somepony important,” Twilight explained, “It had a massive view of the entire area around us.”

“We can use that,” Shining said, “A large view will allow us to see the progression of Discords control.”

“There’s something else,” She said, hoping her friends would have a similar experience as her when it came to her Element, “I think my Element of Harmony is in Ponyville.”

“How do you know?” Spike asked.

“I could just… feel it,” She said vaguely, “You guys need to go up and see for yourselves.”

The four girls looked to each other, before simply nodding, and heading up the staircase, with Spike in tow.

“Could you catch us up, by any chance?” Ramsley asked, knowing that he and Comet were both very behind on this, story-wise, “I’m afraid I’m missing some information.”

“More than a little,” Shining Armor sighed, “I’ll catch you up. Twilight, why don’t you go with your friends?”

She nodded, and headed back to the stairs, where trotted up behind her friends, all of them reaching the top a few moments before her.

“You were right, Twilight,” Rarity said, focusing on the town so far away from them, “I can feel something… calling to me.”

“Me too!” Applejack nodded, “It’s comin’ from right there!”

Applejack pointed toward the barely visible Sweet Apple Acres.

“What about you, Pinkie?” Twilight asked, “Where do you feel it coming from?”

“Right in the middle!” She said, “I can tell!”

“Fluttershy?” She asked.

“Um… Near the Everfree forest,” She said quietly.

“Mine is coming from the center of town as well,” Rarity said, figuring it was her turn, “Most likely the Carousel Boutique.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Twilight said, “They must all be at our homes.”

“Why would he do that?” Spike asked, “He must know that we could find them there.”

“Something tells me that he isn’t going to make it easy for us,” Twilight sighed, looking between her friends, “But we need them back, regardless.”

“What about Rainbow Dash’s Element of Loyalty?” Spike asked, hoping that Twilight had come up with some kind of answer since that question was last asked.

“It must be in her house,” Twilight answered, “We’ll figure out what to do with it when we get our hooves on it.”

“Got it,” Spike nodded, exhaling, and looking around the room, “I think I need a bit more sleep.”

“Spike, how could you sleep at a time like this?” Rarity asked, shaking her head.

“I would have slept after the gala, but somepony was keeping me up,” Spike said, eyeing her.

She just turned away, not wanting to have a fight at a time like this.

“Spike is right,” Twilight said, surprising her friends, “We need to rest a bit. It’ll clear our minds a bit.”

“Is there even anywhere tuh’ sleep here?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said, looking down the hole, and recalling the size of the bunker, “This place was meant to be some kind of protected command center, I’m sure there are quarters of some kind.”

“Ooh!” Pinkie said, “I wanna go find them! Can I? Can I? Can I? It’ll be so much fun!”

“Sure, Pinkie,” Twilight nodded, smiling, happy that somepony was still in a good mood after all that had happened.

“Woo!” She shouted, bouncing down the staircase she had just ascended, “Is anypony coming?”

“Heck, ah need sumthin’ to keep me goin’ here,” Applejack said, catching up to Pinkie, “Let’s go!”

“Wait for me!” Fluttershy called, running to them, “I’m actually pretty hungry.”

“If there’s bedrooms, there’ll be a kitchen,” Spike added, “I’d love to grab something to eat.”

“Well, I won’t be the only one left out!” Rarity laughed, smiling for the first time since she had woken up, “I’ll join you all.”

And, for a moment, they all had fun exploring the surprisingly complex base together. It would be some of the only fun they had in a while.

////

Alex and Dash walked down the near-empty hallway, pulling glances from the few people around them.

They were either surprised to see him, or shocked that he had a rainbow colored bombshell with him. The more Alex thought about it, it was probably the latter.

“Do you mind if I use the bathroom?” Dash asked, “Humans have no room in their bladders!”

“I noticed that too,” Alex nodded, missing the days of being able to go hours and hours without having to worry about peeing, “Those are the bathrooms right there.”

Nodding, she jogged over to one labeled ‘Girls,’ and went inside.

Alex stood outside the bathroom, waiting patiently, but knew she would probably be a while. Pants and belts were still pretty tricky to her, and he knew that it would look odd if he went in there to dress her.

“Alex?” A familiar voice said from down the hallway, “Is that you?!”

Alex looked toward the voice and felt his heart sink.

“It’s me! Courtney!” She smiled, “Oh my god, how have you been?”

The girl that had dumped him on the same night his parents died was now approaching him. She had blonde hair, a few freckles, and a very cute face. He had considered himself lucky to have had anything to do with her. But, since she had broken up with him, and started dating a football player instantly, he didn’t have many positive feels toward her anymore.

“Fine,” He said simply.

“I’m so sorry about your parents too,” She whispered, “Do you want to go get something to drink? That thing between Chris and I didn’t last long.”

“I’ll pass,” He said, looking toward the bathroom, waiting for Dash to come and save him.

“Come on, Alex,” She said, grinning slyly at him, “Don’t be a baby over that whole breakup thing.”

“I’m REALLY not interested,” Alex said seriously, “I’ve got—“

“You’re not interested?” She laughed, “Did my breakup with you hurt that bad?”

“Not in comparison to the rest of that day,” He said smiling inwardly, immediately making her feel bad.

“Look, I’m sorry, but can’t we look past this?” Courtney asked, frowning in frustration, “I feel really bad.”

Alex wondered why she was trying to be so nice to him. She wasn’t the apologizing type. But then, it came to him.

“You need a date for tonight, don’t you?” Alex smiled, as she gave him a dirty look.

“Maybe that’s part of it, but I really want to spend some more time with you!” She huffed, “I feel bad for—“

“Hey Alex! I have more trouble getting these clothes off than putting them back on!” Dash laughed, walking out of the bathroom, “You’re going to have to take them off of me slowly next time, so I can see the right way to do it.”

Courtney’s jaw dropped.

“Hey!” Dash smiled, having no idea what she had just implied to this girl, “I’m Sarah!”

“Are you with him?” Courtney asked, looking the girl up and down and being utterly jealous.

“Yep! He’s my baby boo,” She joked, extending a hand, “What’s your name?”

“Courtney.” She frowned, not shaking her hand.

“Oh!” Dash said, thinking to herself, “You’re the one that broke up with him, right?”

“You told her about me?” She asked, feeling like she had been betrayed somehow.

“She asked about my previous girlfriends, that’s all.” Alex said, loving the reaction she was giving him.

Seeing that Alex was enjoying the way this girl was reacting to her, Dash decided to make it even worse for his ex.

“I get jealous easily,” Dash lied, “But don’t worry, he’s promised me that he’s not interested in you anymore.”

Courtney gasped loudly, before turning around, and storming off.

“You’re so, so awesome,” Alex said, just feeling fantastic at the job Dash had done.

“Something tells me we haven’t seen the last of her,” Dash said as she watched her turn the corner in a fit of teenage rage, “I hope I wasn’t like that when I was her age.”

“She’s eighteen,” Alex said, laughing, as they continued their walk, “You’re like, twenty.”

“And I hope I wasn’t like her!” Dash said again, “I’ve matured a lot in the past two years.”

“Oh yeah?” Alex asked, thinking back to when he first met her a year ago, “I guess you don’t cry about people forgetting your name as much.”

“Hey!” She argued, “I thought you were cute, and all you did was forget my name!”

“But look at us now,” He grinned, “You get to sleep next to me every night.”

“Wonderful,” She said, rolling her eyes, “Because it’s not like you hog the covers or anything.”

“Well, that’s because I’m so cool,” He said, wiggling his eyebrows, loving puns.

“And now you’re a huge loser.” He said, walking off in front of him.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Alex called.

“I’m going to find somepony- Er, someone that isn’t a colossal lame-o!” She said, turning the corner at the end of the hall, and waiting for him to come running.

Smiling to himself, Alex decided to play a little joke on her, and turned around to walk away in the other direction. After reaching about half way down the hall, he heard the shout he had been expecting.

“Alex!” She called, “You jerk!”

Looking back, he gave her a wave, and started running away.

“Don’t make me chase you down, Spot!” She shouted, puffing her cheeks out.

Seeing that he wasn’t going to slow down, she started jogging after him since she had never gone faster than that in this form. However, she quickly decided to throw caution to the wind, and speed herself up. Worst case she fell over and got back up, right?

Wrong.

She had little idea how to pace herself properly, and her legs were too far apart between each step. It was only a matter of time… Finally, her back leg slipped under the pressure of her legs, and she fell flat on her face, making the empty hallway echo with a sound similar to a raw steak being slapped against linoleum.

Stopping, Alex turned around, and forced himself to not laugh at her.

“Oh, Dashie,” He said as a small giggled escaped his throat.

Running back to her, he knelt down next to her and rubbed her back.

“You okay, sweetheart?” He asked, a smile still plastered on his face.

“Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me,” She grumbled into the floor.

Rolling over, she looked up at him as his expression changed from a faint smile, to a worried look.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, touching a hand to her face, and feeling some kind of wetness, “Is this blood?”

She had obviously hit her nose, and started bleeding. Something Alex felt infinitely guilty for.

“Crap, I’m sorry Dash,” He said, putting an arm under her back, and lifting her up, “Here, let me help you with that.”

Brushing her hair out of her face, he placed a hand on her cheek, and closed his eyes, focusing the weakest healing spell he could into it.

The magic poured out of his hand, and passed into her, hopefully fixing the damage he had accidentally caused. It gave him a splitting headache, but it was worth it.

“Does that feel better?” He asked.

“Yeah,” She nodded, wiping the trail of blood from her nose on to her arm, making it smear from her elbow to her hand, “Ew…”

Alex suddenly felt his own nose start running, as he touched a knuckle to it, seeing that he too had started bleeding, obviously from the spell.

“Well, better you than me,” Dash smirked, having a hard time staying mad at him, before feeling a bit bad herself, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” He nodded, inhaling through his nose in an effort to slow the flow, “I just need to get to the bathroom.”

“Me too,” She nodded, showing him her blood covered arm.

“I hope everypony in Equestria is doing better than us,” Alex laughed as he helped Dash to her feet, and walked with her to the bathroom she had just come from.

Alex wouldn’t have said that, had he known just how bad things were there. But, that was the contrast between his world, and Equestria.

A Harmless Game

////
A Harmless Game
////

Alex and Dash had explored the school, visited a few of his friends, and a few teachers he was fond of also. All of them were happy to see him, and all were excited to meet the girl with him. She had given them all a good impression as well, making them all agree she would be suitable for him.

Now, they were on their way to his last stop, the gym teacher. It was funny, being in Ponyville for a year gave him a hugely different perspective on everyone he was seeing again. They were all living their lives, going to school, or working their jobs, going home, going to bed, waking up, and going back to work, whilst he had been in a freaking pony world, and time traveling all over the place.

His gym teacher was always more of a buddy to everyone. Every student loved him because he was more of a joker than anything else. He would always make borderline inappropriate jokes, and never got too mad at anyone for goofing off. So, like so many graduates tended to, Alex came back to see him. Mr. Miller always remembered their names, and would always laugh with them, recalling all the good times they had.

He wouldn’t even believe it himself if he didn’t have Rainbow Dash with him.

Walking into the gym, Alex looked around for the teacher but didn’t see him anywhere. Maybe he wasn’t even here today.

“Man, I miss gym class,” Dash smiled, looking at the familiar line drawn across the floor, “I was always the best!”

“I figured,” Alex said, believing her completely, “I wasn’t quite like that.”

“Picked last?” She asked, smiling.

“No, but certainly not first,” He explained, “I’m kinda glad I wasn’t the first be picked.”

“Why’s that?” She asked, shocked that anyone wouldn’t want to be first.

“Those guys are the biggest douches,” He laughed, recalling the attitude that type always had, “Actually, they’re a bit like you.”

“Hey!” She said, not really having an argument, “We’re the best, and we know it!”

“Right,” He nodded, hearing the door open behind them.

“Is that you Lindsay?” The voice called, recognizing the rainbow hair of one of the students, before realizing he was mistaken, when the two turned toward him, “Oh! Sorry about that! Alex, is that you?”

“Hey! Mr. Miller!” Alex said, jogging over to the teacher, “How’s it going?”

“You cost me a track championship, mister,” Mr. Miller laughed lightly, before sighing, and getting a bit more serious, “But I’m sorry about you parents.”

“It’s fine,” Alex said, shaking his head, “How’ve things been here since I left?”

“Good,” He shrugged, thinking back the last few months, “Chris and those guys never let your hundred meter dash time go.”

“Great,” Alex said, rolling his eyes, “Bunch of babies.”

“It probably doesn’t help that I kept reminding them,” Mr. Miller grinned, before looking behind Alex, to Dash, “So, who’s this with you?”

“This is my girlfriend, R- Sarah Connor.” He said, almost slipping up.

“Is that seriously her name?” He laughed as Dash joined them, “I can guess why your parents gave you that one.”

“I just saw the second one last night! It was the best!” She laughed, never getting sick of talking about it, “But the end was so sad!”

“I never watch the end,” Mr. Miller admitted, “I watch them beat the bad guy, and then I run away. I just can’t deal with it.”

“Me neither,” Alex nodded, “I just closed my eyes.”

“You should have warned me to do it too!” Dash whined.

“So,” Mr. Miller laughed, having more questions for Alex, “Where have you been?”

“Traveling,” Alex said simply, “Went all around the states, had an amazing time.”

“And that’s where you two met?” He asked.

“Yup!” Dash chirped, happy to retell the story once again, “I was auditioning for a play, and when I saw him, I decided to skip it, and spend some time with him instead.”

“He is pretty good looking,” Mr. Miller nodded, laughing.

“Super good-looking.” Alex agreed, “I’d date that guy.”

“Why’re you back?” He asked, continuing his line of questioning, “You’re not graduating or anything, unless you’re writing your exams.”

“It was just a strange set of circumstances,” Alex admitted, “So, I figured I’d stay in town for a while, and let everypony know I was still alive. But I ain’t doing any tests.”

“Did you say ‘everypony?’” Mr. Miller asked, giving him a strange look.

“Uh, inside joke,” Alex laughed nervously.

“What’s up for the rest of the day then?” His teacher asked, looking between them, “You wanna grab something to eat after school? I think that’s allowed since you’re not technically a student anymore. I’ll cook us up some steak I just bought.”

“Oh no,” Dash shook her head quickly, “I get really sick around meat, I have this rare throwing up condition over it.”

“Uh… Okay?” He said, scratching the top of his head, “Are you two coming to the dance tonight?”

“I think so, yeah,” Alex nodded, still a bit on the fence between the dance, and spending time showing Dash the things there were to do in his world.

“Well, I’ll see you then, okay?” He said, walking over to the storage room, “My free period is almost over, and I have a class of ten whole students coming.”

“Sounds like it’ll be a ton of fun,” Alex laughed, knowing the rest of this day was pretty much a waste for his teacher, “What’re you gonna be doing?”

“Probably just some dodge ball,” He shrugged, “It’s what I’ve been doing so far today.”

“Ooh!” Dash said quickly, “Can I play?!”

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea, Dash,” Alex said, hoping his teacher would pass the name off as a nickname, “You can barely walk.”

“Shut up!” She almost shouted back to him, “I’m doing a lot better than I did last night!”

“Ugh,” Alex said, rolling his neck head, “Alright, sure, let’s do it.”

////

Two days had passed, and between Twilight’s planning, and Shining Armor’s and Ramsley’s reconnaissance, they had a decent idea of Discords spread of power, and where he based himself. Beyond that, they also had a few magic links to Canterlot, allowing them to see within the city. Shining Armor had discovered them whilst fiddling with one of the screens. It shocked him how advanced some of the technology was that Celestia had kept under wraps.

“Alright everypony!” Twilight said to her friends as they had gathered around the conference table, “We need to get back into Ponyville, and we need to get our Elements back!”

“But how do we get back inside?” Applejack asked, “Discord’ll see us for sure!”

“Not if we use the right kind of magic,” Twilight said to them, “When Celestia was informed of Discords return, she taught me some special spells to help against him.”

“What kind of spells?” Spike asked.

“Why didn’t you use them to help the Princesses?” Rarity asked quickly.

“They’re transformation, and aura spells,” Twilight explained, “Nothing that could have stopped him.”

“So what do they do?” Shining asked, never having heard of these spells.

“We can use them to mask ourselves from chaotic magic spells,” Twilight continued, “They were specifically made in case Discord ever made a return.”

“So you’re going to make us invisible?!” Pinkie asked, beaming, “That would be so much fun! I could play so many awesome pranks!”

“No, Pinkie,” Twilight said, shaking her head, “We need to be serious here, Equestria is in real danger!”

“Um…” Fluttershy whimpered, “Didn’t you say that Discord would be waiting for us?”

“Most likely,” She nodded, “But this is the only way for us to get into Ponyville.”

“Who’s going to be going?” Ramsley asked.

“Two ponies will be staying behind here, and keeping in contact with us, telling us about anything happening in Canterlot,” Twilight said, looking to Shining Armor as he nodded, “They’ll also be looking after Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom.”

“I’ll stay,” Comet spoke up, knowing that she would have little use in the field.

“I’ll stay too…” Fluttershy spoke up.

“No,” Twilight said quickly, “You need to come with us, to get your Element.”

“Oh, okay.” She said quietly.

“What about you, Spike?” Rarity asked, “Would you stay?”

“Never!” He said, “I’m looking after you!”

She smiled. That was all she wanted to hear.

“I’ll stay,” Ramsley spoke up.

“Your fighting skills are important, though,” Shining Armor said, “We could use you.”

“If something were to happen here, we’d need to protect the fillies,” He said seriously, “Besides, I’d rather stay here with Comet anyway.”

“Okay,” Twilight said, nodding, “Thank you for volunteering. Because it would have been either you or Shining Armor.”

“What?” Shining said, looking totally offended, “You would have stuck me here?”

“Sure would’ve,” She smiled as he grinned back.

“You sure are a great sister, Twily,” He said, ruffling her hair as she backed up blushing.

“A-alright,” She said, looking back to everypony, “Tomorrow morning, we’re going to sneak into Ponyville under my spells, and we’re going to work together, getting each of our Elements back, one at a time.”

They all nodded, and agreed with her in one way or another, before dispersing, and going about their own business.

“That goes for you too, Twily,” Shining said to her softly, “Get some sleep. Don’t keep yourself up all night planning.”

“Y-yeah,” She nodded, knowing that her nights had been filled with information gathering, rather than sleeping, “I think I can do that.”

“Good,” He smiled, happy that she wasn’t going to fight him on this, “I still can’t believe all this is happening. I hope Cadance is okay.”

“Cadance?” Twilight asked, taking a second for the name to click in her head, “Like, my foalsitter?”

“Oh, yeah…” He said, scratching the back of his head nervously, “Well, I’ve been seeing a bit of her recently.”

“A bit?” Twilight asked, “Have you two been dating?!”

“I guess you could say that,” He said, giving her a smile she immediately recognized.

“You’re lying to me!” Twilight said in disbelief, “How much of her have you seen?! How serious are you two?”

Shining Armor had two options. Tell her that it was nothing huge, and that they had been dating a few months, OR, show her the ring that he had in his pocket that he had planned on giving to the Princess after the Gala had things not gone sideways.

“She’s just a booty call,” He winked.

“She’s better not be!” Twilight laughed, knocking him in the shoulder, “She’s the sweetest mare I’ve ever met!”

“I’m only joking,” He smiled, “And hope things work out with her.”

“Me too!” Twilight said, happy to not be consumed by the fate of Equestria for a moment, “She’d be a great sister-in-law!”

“I’ll try my best,” He winked, knowing that her wish was closer than she thought.

Twilight yawned, stretched her neck out, and rolled her head around, “Well, I think I should get to bed.”

“Sure,” He smiled, “And Twily, it’s nice to be spending some time with you.”

She smiled back to him, “I just wish the circumstances were different.”

“We’ll fix them soon enough.” He said confidently, “Trust me.”

“Thanks,” She said, hugging him, “I’ll see you tomorrow, BBBFF”

“You still call me that?” He laughed, making her blush, “Well, have a good night, LSBFF…?”

“Mhmm,” She smiled, trotting off, “You too.”

////

Alex and Dash both sat on the floor with their heads resting on the wall, as the class of students entered the room. And upon seeing them, he felt his stomach sink yet again.

“Would you look at who it is!” One of the larger boys said, “Mr. Runner himself!”

Alex rolled his eyes. The assholes. A handful of football players for some unknown reason to him, had come to the final class, on the final day of the school year. Among them, was Chris. The guy his girlfriend had broken up with him for. Of course, at this point, he really couldn’t care less. But regardless, the guy was a bitch.

“Who’s that with him?” One asked another.

“No clue… She’s a friggin’ babe though!” Another said.

Dash rolled her eyes. While she may have been the athletic type when she was in school, she always hated the way all the guys would treat the girls, talking to them like they were pieces of meat, thinking they were Celestia’s gift to mares.

“Alright ladies,” Mr. Miller called, walking out of the storage room, “Today we’re playing dodge ball. Nice and simple.”

“Are we gonna be here the whole period?” One of them whined, “I need to go get ready for the dance.”

“Are you worried about getting your dress perfect, Chad?” Mr. Miller asked as all of Chad’s friends laughed at him.

“I have to get my tux, jerk,” He grumbled, obviously butt hurt.

“Alright, split up,” Mr. Miller said, gesturing for four of the boys to go one way, and the rest to the other side.

Alex and Dash joined the team of four, which, of course, was the four boys NOT involved in the jock clique.

“Oh, this’ll be fun,” Chris said out loud as he and his friends walked over to their side.

Alex grumbled, knowing that his teacher was trolling him by separating them that way.

Lining the balls up on the middle line, Mr. Miller walked over to Alex’s team and stood against the wall.

“What’re you doing, coach?” Chris called, knowing Mr. Miller was an phenomenal dodge ball player, “That’s no fair!”

“I think I’m evening things out,” He laughed, “Alex is crap at this game.”

“Thanks,” Alex laughed, leaning over to Dash, “You know how to play, right?”

“Don’t worry about me,” She smiled confidently.

“Alright!” Mr. Miller called, “Ready? Go!”

The two teams rushed to the middle of the room, as Alex, Dash, and the teacher grabbed balls for their side, and Chad, Chris, and another of the stock jerks grabbed the remaining three.

Backing up, no one threw the balls that they held. With such small teams, they couldn’t afford to take a hit early on, or lose their ball.

“Hey there, Scott!” Chad called, pointing to the smallest guy on Alex’s team, “You want a taste of balls?”

Scott shook his head, “Dude, I LOVE balls. And all I see is you offering yours to me.”

His friends burst out in laughter, “Shut up!”

Tossing the ball, he nailed him square in the face, knocking him out of the game.

Shaking his head, he looked at Chad, “Those were truly satisfying. Kudos on the soft balls.”

Chad growled as he watched Scott walk over to the side wall, and promptly pull out his IPod, and start playing on it.

“That guy is impossible to insult,” Chris laughed, “Good job on getting called gay, though.”

“Really though,” Mr. Miller laughed, slamming a ball right at Chad, bouncing it off his shoulder.

“Shit!” He shouted, swinging at the air as he walked over to the wall, and sat next to Scott.

Over the next few minutes, a few balls had been thrown. The jock team had taken out the other nameless players on Alex’s team, leaving just Alex, Dash, and Miller, all of whom held a ball.

“You guys need to work on your skills here,” Mr. Miller spoke up, getting the other teams attention, “You always need to take advantage the opponent’s lack of focus.”

Getting the hint, Alex threw the ball at the jock closest to him, hitting him on the arm.

“Like that!” The teacher smiled as he watched the student grumble on his way to the hall.

“Nice job,” Chris said, “That was smart.”

Suddenly, he chucked his ball at Alex, taking him totally off guard, bouncing the ball off his chest.

“Crap,” Alex said, picking up the ball and dropping it again.

“Just you and me, Sarah,” Miller winked, looking back to the three jocks, “You wanna give it a try?”

“Na,” She said, shaking her head, “I don’t think they’ll go for me anyway.”

“That’s true,” He nodded, lifting up his ball, and looking at Chris, “You’re next, buddy.”

Chris swallowed as he saw Miller ready the ball.

“When am I going to throw?” The teacher asked, grinning cockily, “Now? Or maybe… Now?”

Nothing.

Reading his body language, the football player analyzed the movements of the coach.

Suddenly, he saw his teacher pivot his leg slightly while staying completely still in his upper body.

He was about to throw!

The ball came flying at him as he narrowly slipped past it, and grabbed it out of midair.

“No way…” Miller said, shocked that the jock had caught the ball, “I guess I’m out.”

Alex watched as his teacher walked off the floor, and joined the other students, sitting on the floor.

“Well, this is awkward,” Chris said to Dash, as she stood there, motionless, “I’d rather not hit a girl like this.”

“Really?” Dash asked, cocking her head and giving a pouty face, “That sure would suck, on account of my being a helpless girl.”

Dropping the ball, she kicked it over to their side of the gym, along with the other balls on the floor, leaving herself with none.

“How about this,” She said, smiling, “If you can hit me, you win. If you don’t throw on account of me being a girl, I win.”

“Are you serious?” One of the guys asked her.

“Of course,” She said, still playing innocent, “Just hit me.”

They looked between each other, before looking back to her as she did something strange, none of them had expected.

She lowered herself onto the floor and placed each hand ground, balled in a fist.

To them, Dash looked like she was doing some kind of yoga move, with her feet and hands on the floor, with her butt raised up.

Of course, to Alex, he knew that she was assuming pony position. But, he also knew that being a human changed that stance. So, he gulped and hoped for the best.

“Come on boys,” She said, flashing a cocky grin, “Treat me like Scott over there, and hit me with your balls.”

Deciding he had heard enough, the one on the left of Chris hurled the ball right for her.

Smiling, Dash lifted her right hand off the floor, and pushed herself forward with her left foot, sending her back half forward as she smashed the ball with her right foot, sending it flying back into his face, knocking him onto his butt, and giving him a quick nose bleed.

“Coach!” The boy called, looking to him for some kind of foul to be called.

“Grow a pair,” Miller laughed, looking back to Dash.

Finishing her rotation, Dash stood back up, keeping her fists balled so he could treat them as much like hooves as possible.

“Who’s next?” She asked.

The guy on the right started bouncing his ball, making it look like he was trying to make a decision before he suddenly kicked the ball right toward her.

Giving a loud “Hah!” Dash pulled her right arm back, and threw it forward, bouncing the ball back into his stomach, where he caught it.

“Got her!” He said proudly before the coach cut in.

“You just caught the ball YOU threw,” Miller said, “That means you’re out.”

“What?!” He shouted, throwing the ball at Dash again and storming off, “Screw this!”

Alex and the teacher laughed as he stormed off.

“I guess that counts as an absence.” Miller said.

“Why are they here, by the way?” Alex asked, “They’re the last students I expected to see here on the last day.”

“Their attendance is so piss poor; they were told that one more absence would result in their being held back.” Mr. Miller explained, “I probably won’t mark him absent, that would be a douche move.”

Looking back to Dash, she was just smiling at Chris.

“Aren’t you going to hit me?” She asked.

“You’re insane,” He said frowning to her, “Where did you get this girl?”

“Broadway,” Alex said simply.

“Maybe I’ll steal her next,” He said, turning to Alex and smirking, “Courtney was fun, till I moved on to the next girl.”

“Hey, Chris,” Miller said, with no hint of anger in his voice, “Remember that thing I was saying a second ago?”

“What?” He asked, “That thing about paying attent—“

Suddenly, he was smashed in the side of the head with the ball hard enough to make his head ring, and his legs suddenly turn to noodles, making him fall over.

“It looks like you loved those balls,” Dash said, walking over to Chris, and leaning down to his ear, “And I wouldn’t ever leave him for you. You know why?”

He didn’t answer. His head hurt too much.

“He’s. Bucking. Huge.” She whispered.

Standing up straight and stretching, Dash flashed Alex a smile, “Wanna get out of here, stud?”

“Yes ma’am,” Alex smiled, standing up, “Thanks for the game, Mr. Miller.”

“No problem,” He said, extending his hand upward, “See you in a few hours, yeah?”

Alex nodded, shaking his hand, and then grabbing Dash’s, “I’m sure it’ll be an eventful night.”

“It always is,” He said as Alex started heading out of the gym.

“Oh, good job, Scott!” Alex called over his shoulder, at the guy lost in his IPod.

“Shhh!” He said loudly, focusing on his screen before speaking up again, “I was hoping Sunset Shimmer would be hotter as a demon.”

“What does that mean?” Dash asked Alex.

“No clue,” He said as they walked out of the gym together.

Leaning over to Scott, Miller sighed, “Are you watching that little girl’s show again?”

“Nope,” Scott said matter-of-factly “I’m watching a little girl’s MOVIE.”

////

Author's Note

That was just a joke.

Ponies aren't REALLY a thing in that world.

The Beginning of Chaos

////
The Beginning of Chaos
////

“Is everypony ready?” Twilight whispered, looking between her friends, and brother, as she readied to cast her spell.

They all nodded.

The seven of them stood inside the Everfree Forest, as close to Ponyville as they could possibly be without encountering any chaos. They were all dressed in skin tight black latex to hide themselves under the cover of the night. Pinkie also had a cardboard box, and an eye patch.

Closing her eyes, she silently cast her spell, as a small sprinkle of sparkles fell on each of them, making them glow faintly, before returning to normal.

“Okay,” Twilight whispered, “The chaos within the town shouldn’t affect us.”

“Where are we headin’ first?” Applejack asked.

“To Fluttershy’s cottage,” She said, gesturing over her shoulder, “We’re only a few minutes away from it.”

“How do we find the Element in her house?” Rarity asked, “For all we know, Discord has hidden it in a place we’d never look!”

“It’s up to Fluttershy to locate it,” Twilight explained, “We can all feel out Elements, remember?”

“Oh yeah,” Applejack nodded.

“She’ll locate it, and then we’ll move on to the Library,” Twilight finished, “Any more questions?”

Silence.

“Good,” She nodded, smiling, “Let’s get to work!”

The walk to Fluttershy’s cottage was a strange one for them all. Only a few days ago, everything was perfectly normal. They had woken up as they would any other day, they got ready for a dance, and they left home. And now, coming back for the first time since then, they were all apprehensive to see what had become of their friends and family.

“Oh my goodness,” Rarity gasped as they stepped out of the forest, on to a checkerboard patterned ground.

The entire town had been changed by Discord.

Pink clouds hung in the air, ponies were running around, clearly out of their minds, massive chunks from the ground had even been levitated into the sky, and simply floated there. It was a horrible sight for them all to see.

“I hope the Cakes are alright…” Pinkie said quietly, knowing that she had recently gotten pregnant, but had asked Pinkie to keep it quiet.

“Ah’m jus’ glad that Apple Bloom is safe an’ sound,” Applejack said, now fully understanding the gravity of their situation.

“It would be so easy for those girls to get hurt out here,” Rarity said, nodding, “They just need to stay put until we can fix all of this.”

Finally reaching the cottage, Fluttershy bit her lip. She was pretty nervous about all of this. What if all her animal friends were big, evil monsters now? They might eat her!

“I don’t know about all this, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, looking around nervously, “This isn’t so bad! Maybe we should just live here in the chaos!”

“Oh no you don’t, Fluttershy!” Rarity jumped in, “Do you think any of your animals will be happy again if Discord isn’t stopped?”

“Well… no, I guess not.” She said quietly.

“Great,” Shining said, walking up to the door first, and slowly opening it, seeing nothing out of place in this house.

“It looks pretty normal,” Twilight said, recognizing the interior, “What do you feel, Fluttershy?”

“It feels like It’s really far down,” She said, scratching her head and stepping inside.

Everypony followed her inside before the door suddenly closed behind them.

“What’s going on?” Spike said running back, and trying to get the door open, “We’re locked in!”

“Hello everypony,” A very recognizable voice said from behind them.

“Discord?” Twilight asked in disbelief that her magic had been beaten so quickly, “How did you find us?”

“Don’t worry about trying to TALK to me,” Discord said, looking at them, “I’m just a projection. I’m much too busy to chase after all of you.”

“You’re not really here?” Pinkie said to him, bouncing over to the floating body, and trying to hit him as her hoof passed through him.

“I imagine Pinkie is hitting me right now,” Discord said, rolling his eyes, “But I’m not here.”

“Ooh!” Pinkie said, bouncing back and giggling, “He’s good!”

“Now, since your dear Princesses have gone and turned to stone, I’ve decided to take their place as your mentor,” Discord smiled, confusing all of them, “I’m going to teach you all wonderful things about the fickleness of friendship!”

Twilight growled.

“Oh calm down, Twilight,” Discord laughed, having anticipated this from her, “When this is all over, you’ll be thanking me!”

“Somehow I doubt ,” Shining Armor said.

“So!” Discord smiled, “Why don’t we get things started here?”

Suddenly, the floor vanished from below them, and they all plummeted into bottomless darkness.

////

“I had a lot of fun there, Alex,” Dash said as they walked away from the school, hand in hand, “I would have probably dominated that place if I had gone there.”

“You probably would have,” He agreed, “But we probably wouldn’t have ended up together, if that were the case.”

“It’s a different dimension, I’m sure plenty would be different,” She nodded, “So, where next?”

“You wanna get something to eat?” Alex asked, passing the diner him and his father used to frequent.

“Sure,” She nodded, “Do they have hay by any chance?”

“You can ask,” Alex laughed, “I wouldn’t hold my breath, however.”

Arriving at the diner, Alex smiled immediately upon seeing his favorite waitress in the world, Rosie.

“Alex!” The middle aged waitress said ecstatically, “I haven’t seen you in what seems like forever!”

“Hey, Rosie,” Alex smiled, accepting the hug she quickly gave him, “How’s it going?”

“Same old same old,” She smiled, looking to Dash, “And who is this?”

“Sarah,” Dash said, extending a hand, “His marefriend.”

Alex played it off pretty well, “Come on, Sarah, no one says marefriend here.”

“Is that a thing these days?” Rosie asked, “Well, either way, you two here to eat?”

“Sure are,” Alex smiled.

“Grab a seat anywhere,” She winked, “I’ll take care of you.”

Walking over to the table in the corner, they sat down.

“Do you think they have anything without meat?” Dash asked, grabbing a menu from the side of the table and opening it up.

“They should,” Alex said, grabbing his own, “There’s a salad you can get.”

“What do you usually get here?” Dash asked.

“The hot dog?” Alex said, “Or maybe the chicken…”

Dash didn’t particularly care about the fact that people were so hugely carnivores, but it was a tiny bit strange. Equestria had its share of meat-eaters, from griffons to dragons, but it wasn’t like they had a lot of them around in Ponyville.

“What’s a hot dog made of?” Dash asked, having not heard that name before, “Is it made of dogs?”

“No,” Alex shook his head, smiling, “It’s either made of pork, or beef.”

Dash gulped. Cows in Equestria were sentient, and obviously off the list for most creatures because of that. But, again, it was a new world. Apparently horses were even eaten in some places here. That was something that DID make her uncomfortable.

“You okay, Dash?” Alex asked, seeing her suddenly look sick.

“Sorry,” She said, taking a deep breath and composing herself, “It’s just a bit weird to think of ponies getting eaten... Thank goodness humans aren’t in Equestria!”

“Well, if it makes you feel better, some humans eat other humans,” Alex shrugged, “It’s a messed up world.”

“I can tell,” She nodded, “But, as long as I can eat what I normally eat, I’ll survive.”

“Good to hear,” Alex nodded, as Rosie brought them a couple of Cokes, “You kids know what you’re getting?”

“I’m gonna have… this.” Dash said, pointing to the Caesar salad.

“Alright,” Rosie nodded, “You want any cheese or bacon bits on it?”

“No, she doesn’t,” Alex said quickly, “Just the salad and the dressing.”

“Got it,” She jotted down, “What about you?”

“I’ll have the same,” Alex said, making things easy for her.

“Well alright,” She smiled, “I’ll grab this for you quick.”

“Thanks,” Alex nodded, as she walked off.

“What’s bacon bits?” Dash asked, wondering why Alex had cut in like that.

“Pork,” Alex said, “Meat is everywhere here.”

“I can tell,” She nodded, “Thanks for the save.”

“No problem,” Alex said, lifting the glass bottle of Coke up, and taking a long swig.

“What is this?” Dash asked, listing the bottle and inspecting it.

“It’s called soda,” Alex said, placing it on the table, “It’s bubbly drinks.”

“Oh, we have that in Equestria,” Dash nodded, lifting the bottle up, and taking a drink herself, “This is pretty good! What flavor is it?”

“Cola,” Alex said, wondering if that would help her at all, “It’s one of the most popular flavors here.”

Tasting her next sip carefully, she nodded, “I like it! All we have in Equestria is apple, orange, or grape fizzies. Maybe cherry too.”

“I never had them,” Alex said a bit surprise, considering her had been there for a year, “Where are they sold?”

“Pinkie always managed to get her hoofs on some,” Dash shrugged, before her expression darkened, “I hope she’s okay.”

“I wish there was some way for us to get back there,” Alex said quietly to her, “But we just need to wait right now.”

“I hate waiting,” Dash sighed, her eyes narrowing at the thought.

“I know,” Alex said as comfortingly as possible, “But we need to stop worrying about it.”

“How can I stop?” She said, clearly being torn up by this, “It’s already been three days for them, Alex.”

“I know, but—“

“A week from now, it’ll have been a month!” She said, “If they’re not here before then… I- I just don’t want to live here for the rest of my life.”

“I know, Dash,” Alex said, grabbing her hand, “We’ll find a way back, I promise.”

She didn’t respond, she just looked at the table, and squeezed his hand lightly.

“Here’s your food,” Rosie smiled, carrying two plates over to them, and placing them down, “Hey, is something up?”

“Sorry,” Dash said, looking up and wiping a tear from her eye, “I’m just thinking about some friends I’m missing.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rosie said comfortingly, “But I’ll leave you two alone for now.”

“Thanks,” Alex smiled to her as she left them alone.

The two didn’t say anything to each other after that. They simply worked on their food, neither wanting to move on with the sad conversation, and neither of them wanted to look like they were trying to change the subject.

Finally, after a few minutes, they each finished their food, and Rosie made finally made her way back to them, “How was everything?”

“It was good,” Alex said softly, still not feeling great, “Sorry, we’re not really in a good place right now.”

“Of course,” She nodded, “Take your time, we’re not in any rush to get you out of here.”

Alex nodded as she once again left, taking the plates with her.

“Why don’t we go get you something to wear for tonight?” Alex asked, hoping she wasn’t going to be upset with him.

“How can we go to a dance, when something awful could be happening?” She asked, looking at him, honestly wanting an answer.

That was the question Alex had been worrying so much over. How could they? For all he knew, everypony he knew was dead. And here he was, playing video games and watching movies.

“Well?” She asked, giving him a determined look.

“Because it’s all we can do,” He said back, seriously, “We can sit here, and mope and hope that somepony comes to save us… Or we can enjoy the time we have here, and if we go back, we do. If we don’t…. We don’t.”

She looked like she was about to cry.

“There’s no point in us sitting around, okay?” Alex asked, “We’re going to be happy, and give our friends the benefit of the doubt. We owe them that.”

She nodded, “Maybe you’re right… Celestia did say how hard it was to cast the spell to get you home.”

“And they probably don’t even know we’re here,” Alex said, “It might take them a LONG time to find us. Which’ll be good, because time fly’s by in Equestria for us.”

“Yeah,” She said, feeling a little better, “You’re right.”

“Exactly,” He smiled back to her, “Our friends will come for us, I’m sure of it.”

////

“Wake up dear,” Discord said, looming over Fluttershy as she slowly regained consciousness, “We have plenty to do!”

Opening her eyes, Fluttershy found herself in a massive white room, with nothing notable around her, except the beast standing in front of her, with a panicked look on his face.

“Ugh…” Fluttershy coughed weakly, “D-Discord?!”

“Yes, of course!” He said as she stood up, “Your friends are in trouble!”

She stepped away from him, “What do you mean?”

“Somepony’s trapped them in a dragon’s lair!” He said, smiling knowingly.

“You did that!” She accused.

“I’m hurt you would consider ME!” He grinned, “I’ll forgive you for now, but you’d better get going!”

“B-But—“

“And you’d better take this,” He said, placing her Element of Harmony around her neck with a quick motion, “You’ll need it!”

“What--?”

And like that, Discord was gone.

Suddenly, Fluttershy was standing just outside of a terribly familiar cave. She knew it from when her friends had gone to move a dragon that had been sleeping, and filling Equestria with smoke. But now, there was no smoke. Just a dark, cloudy sky, and a dim light coming from somewhere inside the cave.

The only noise anypony would be able to hear from miles around, was a high pitched whine, as Fluttershy realized just what was ahead of her.

“Oh boy…”

(Quantum Leap Theme)

The Element of Wrath

////
The Element of Wrath
////

Fluttershy carefully walked through the massive cave, looking for the dragon that apparently held her friends captive.

She had immediately seen that the cave was larger on the inside, something she was sure Discord had done. There was a single, huge pathway that she had been following forward for what seemed like hours. Perhaps she could have gotten through faster, had she moved a bit quicker, but she was content to slink, pressed against a wall, in the hopes of not being noticed by anything that might come by her.

“Hey!” A voice echoed down the hall, “Let her go!”

Gasping, Fluttershy ran toward the source of the voice. She may have been afraid of what might eat her, but she was more afraid of being along for much longer.

Reaching a sudden drop, she stopped herself just short of falling to the ground.

At the bottom were all of her friends, as they were pushed along by the largest dragon Fluttershy had ever seen. She now understood why the paths inside the cavern were so big.

“Let me go, you ruffian!” Rarity shouted, having been wrapped up in the tail of the beast, “You won’t be happy when I get out of here!”

“Just stay quiet, Rarity,” Twilight sighed, “We don’t want to make it angry… Somepony could get hurt.”

The Dragon simply ignored Rarity, as it continued down the pathway, keeping all of the ponies in check.

As soon as they had been forced out of the room, Fluttershy gathered all of her courage, and flew down to the floor, and poked her head around the corner of the way they had exited, and to her surprise, were nowhere in sight.

“Oh no…” She said quietly, “Please don’t leave me alone…”

Suddenly, she was hit in the rump with something.

Nearly jumping into the ceiling, she turned quickly, and saw her pet bunny, Angel, sitting on the floor, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Angel?” She asked, quickly rushing to the floor, “How did you get in here?”

He simply shrugged to her, as he hopped up on her back and sat down.

“Well, at least you’re here,” She said, looking back to the cavern they had entered, “That should help…”

A loud, deep growl came down the cavern.

“A bit!”

////

Another few minutes had passed before Fluttershy once again caught up to the dragon, and her friends.

“Where is he takin’ us?” Applejack asked, not sure if he could even understand their conversations.

“Maybe he’s taking us out to a fancy dinner!” Pinkie suggested, sincerely hoping that her idea was right.

“I doubt it,” Shining Armor sighed, watching the dragon’s movements carefully.

“Maybe we ARE dinner!” Spike said quietly, shaking a bit.

“Calm down, Spike,” Twilight whispered, “We’ll get out of this, we always do.”

Fluttershy was still well behind them all, but the caves helped the sound travel from them to her, so she was able to listen to each word exchanged between all of them.

As they reached the next open room, Fluttershy quickly caught up, and was shocked at the beauty she was looking at.

“Look at all these gems!” Spike said, feeling his mouth start salivating, “I wish I could still eat them raw…”

“Spike!” Rarity whispered from way above as the Dragon stopped for a snack, “Get some of those gems for me! I could use them!”

“Yes ma’am!” He said back as he ran over, and started filling his saddlebag with the best stones he could see. And luckily, he got back to the group before the dragon looked back to them.

Giving another deafening roar, everypony shuddered as he continued pushing them forward.

“How can I possibly help them?” Fluttershy whispered to her pet, as he started bouncing up and down on her back, pretending to punch an invisible dragon.

“Oh no,” She said, shaking her head, “That’s never the answer to any problem.”

Angel rolled his eyes, as he sat back down, and got comfortable.

Sneaking into the room, Fluttershy gave the massive amount of gems a quick look, and then grabbed a few fancy ones for Rarity that Spike hadn’t been able to reach.

Trotting to the opposite of where she came in, she looked into the cavern once again, and gulped, freezing in place.

Shaking his head in frustration, Angel started kicking both of her sides with his legs, hoping to speed her along.

“Please don’t rush me,” She asked quietly, hoping he would stop.

But, he knew her pretty well, and continued his kicking, knowing she would break eventually.

She whined quietly, as he continued his assault on her, not wanting to have any part in this. But, she realized that there was no point in stalling. So, she ran. She ran as fast as she could, knowing that she would be on them in only a few seconds.

Reaching what looked like the last room; Fluttershy stopped once again, and saw all of her friends start being loaded into a cage by the dragon.

“Why isn’t Twilight doing something?” Fluttershy asked angel, “And shouldn’t her brother be better at this sort of stuff?”

Finally, all the ponies, save Rarity, were loaded into a cage, that was then hoisted up, when the dragon pulled a long rope, that ascended the cage, and moved it a few feet to the side, so it hung over a lava pit.

“What’s he going to do with her?” Fluttershy whispered, peeking out from behind a rock.

The dragon lifted Rarity in front of his face, and gave her a long sniff.

“How rude!” Rarity growled, “I’m not a pony that is ever to be smelt!”

Giving her a determined look, the dragon then extended his tongue, and licked her head to toe.

Rarity could only gasp in disgust.

“Hey!” Spike shouted at the dragon, making it turn to him, “I’m the only dragon that’s allowed to lick her!”

“Spike, would you kindly rephrase that sentence?” Rarity asked quickly, “I don’t wish for those to be the final words I hear.”

“Final words?!” Spike shouted, having not thoroughly considered the possibility of Rarity being eaten.

“Just use your magic, Twilight…” Fluttershy said hopefully.

“If only we had our Elements…” Twilight sighed, watching Rarity be tasted by this monster repeatedly, “They’re the only kind of magic that could work against this chaos…”

Fluttershy gasped, Twilight HAD no powers! That meant that because she had her Element of Harmony on her, she might be able to beat the dragon, if she brought out its true power, with kindness! But, she had to act quickly, because Rarity could be eaten at any moment.

Throwing caution to the wind, Fluttershy ran into the room, and shouted as loud as she could muster, “Um, excuse me.”

“Fluttershy!” They all called from the cage.

“You’re okay!” Pinkie smiled, “We thought we lost you!”

“And you have your Element of Harmony!” Twilight said excitedly, “Quickly! You need to use it!”

By now, the dragon was turned and facing her, giving her an expectant look, expecting her to do something.

Gulping, Fluttershy knew to rely on her ability to talk with animals, and she hoped that would be enough to free her friends.

“I don’t think you should be doing this, um, Mister Dragon,” She said politely, “I’m sure you’re very hungry, but if you let my friends go, I’d be happy to give you something to eat back at my cottage!”

It frowned to her.

“There are plenty of critters, and animals for you to make friends with, and maybe you could even meet some ponies, and make friends with them too!” She explained, confident that he was going with it, “So, what do you say?”

He looked at Fluttershy was an eyebrow raised, then looked to Rarity, and then back to Fluttershy.

Then, with a strong gust of air, he blew Fluttershy out of the room, sending her and angel tumbling backward.

“He doesn’t want to make new friends?!” She asked in shock, not understanding why he would decline her offer like that.

“My goodness!” She heard Rarity shout, “Would you at LEAST clean those teeth before devouring me? I don’t want to be mixed up with your lunch!”

Gasping, Fluttershy ran back into the room, and (actually) shouted, “Mister Dragon!”

Sighing, the dragon rolled his eyes, and turned back to the tiny yellow Pegasus.

“Rarity has family, and friends that would miss her very much if you ate her!” Fluttershy pleaded, “You need to let her go, and start eating things that won’t make anypony sad!”

He growled, and bared his teeth to her, as she felt like her heart was about to give out.

“P-please!” She said, tears welling in her eyes.

However, he ignored her.

Lifting Rarity up over his head, the dragon opened his mouth, and hung the pony by her leg, upside down, her arms dangling just above his teeth.

“P-please!” Rarity stammered, finally registering the danger, “I have gems! I can give you some right now! Spike!”

The dragon ignored her, as it lowered her painfully slowly.

Fluttershy had no choice. She had to grab Rarity, and then she had to put this dragon in his place.

Taking off from the ground at a speed that would make Rainbow Dash proud, Fluttershy flew into Rarity, and grabbed her out of the dragon’s hand, and flew her across the room, to safety.

“Yeah, Fluttershy!” Spike cheered.

Roaring once again, the dragon held the high volume growl for a huge amount of time, using it to stun the pony that had just stolen his dinner.

“ENOUGH!” Fluttershy shouted over the roar, silencing the dragon instantly.

Flying over to him, she bared her own teeth to it, as she felt the searing anger course though her.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?” She shouted, as the dragon leaned back, “YOU CANNOT GO AROUND EATING WHATEVER YOU PLEASE!”

The dragon took a step back, clearly intimidated by her.

She hovered in place, breathing in an extremely scary manner.

“I- I thought you were supposed to be nice…” The dragon whispered, biting his finger.

“SOMETIMES BEING NICE DOESN’T GET THE JOB DONE!” She yelled, “GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT! I DON’T WANT TO EVER SEE YOU HERE AGAIN!”

Sniffling, the dragon burst into tears, as it charged out of the room, crying loudly as it went.

“That was a little harsh for you, Fluttershy…” Rarity said.

“EXCUSE ME!?” Fluttershy shouted, turning her rage toward her friend, “I JUST SAVED YOU!”

“Fluttershy!” Twilight called from the cage, “Calm down!”

“I- I!” She stammered, looking around the room, “I just… I had to get him away…! And I lost control of myself.”

Suddenly, a loud cracking was heard from Fluttershy’s Element of Harmony, as it cracked diagonally from one wing to the other.

“Oh no!” Fluttershy gasped, as the pink color was diluted with darkness, until it was entirely black, “What’s happening?!”

“Bravo, dear,” Discord laughed, having no form in the room with them, “I think you’ve learned a very valuable lesson, haven’t you?”

“I- I shouldn’t have gotten angry…” She said, looking like her heart had just been ripped out.

“No!” Discord shouted angrily, as the entire room shook in response, “Getting angry is good! After all, it broke your Element, didn’t it?”

Seizing up, Fluttershy dropped to the floor, and broke into a fit of tears.

“Well… This is just about the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen…” Discord mumbled, “But we need to move on!”

Suddenly, everypony disappeared from the room, and the cavern faded, back into the whiteness Fluttershy had been in earlier.

“Now, you just stay here,” Discord said, patting her awkwardly on the back, “I have some more ponies to teach!”

With that, he danced away from her, and lifted his hand in the air, triggering his disappearing spell.

Beyond that, there was nothing but silence, and the tears of a heartbroken pony.

“I’m so sorry…”

////

Alex and Dash shopped through the only two dress stores in town, as they tried to find something that would go well with her ‘look,’ as all the flamboyant men had said.

“How about this one?” Dash asked, walking out of the dressing room, wearing a VERY frilly pink dress.

“That looks horrible,” Alex and the clerk said together.

“Ugh,” She groaned, walking right back into the room.

Alex’s head rolled back in the chair, as he groaned loudly.

How many TV shows had he seen, where the girl would try a bunch of different clothing on in a montage? She would come out in one thing, he would shake his head, she would instantly be out in something else, he would give it a thumbs down, until the song reached the end, and he would nod, they would laugh, and move on. It was supposed to take two minutes! Tops! But, here he was an hour and a half later.

“What else do you have?” Alex asked, looking to the fashionable man.

“We have plenty here,” He said, scratching his head, “What do you think it should look like?”

“Does it look like I have a bunch of diamonds for a Cutie Mark?” Alex groaned, confusing the man, “Okay, how about this… Something that’s soft, and shimmers!”

“I’ll take a look,” He said, walking away from him, and entering the back room.

“What about this one?” Dash asked, walking out of the room in a very clean and shiny dress.

“Ugh, no,” Alex said, shaking his head rapidly, “I’d pick somepony over you in that dress.”

“SomeONE,” Dash corrected.

“Hey, how about this one?” The clerk asked, walking back to them, holding a long, silver dress.

“I’ll give it a try,” She said, grabbing it and walking back into the changing room.

“This dress is very nice, but quite expensive,” The man said, “I’m afraid it might not be within your budget.”

“Money’s no issue,” Alex said, shaking his head, “I got some inheritance recently.”

“Well then,” He said, “Here’s hoping it looks good.”

“I like this one!” Dash said from the room.

“It amazes me how quickly she changes,” The clerk said in disbelief.

Stepping out, Dash showed them the dress that she would be wearing tonight.

“Damn,” Alex said, completely dazzled by the way it worked for her.

Whatever the fabric was, was REALLY reflective, and with her long, multi-colored hair, it made the dress itself look like it was rainbow, but then faded into silver.

The dress itself was strapless, and hugged her tightly; showing off her adequate bosom, and slender thighs, but still had plenty of room to move in the legs.

“You look amazing,” Alex said breathlessly, as she lit up at the complement, “Seriously… You’re going to be the best looking girl there.”

“Thanks,” She said, blushing and looking away.

“Well, I figure you’ll take it?” The clerk asked from behind them.

“Oh yes,” Alex said, “How much is it, again?”

He leaned over and whispered in Alex’s ear.

“Ugh…” Alex frowned, all the color draining from his face, “That’s one expensive dress.”

“Will you still be taking it?” He asked.

“Yeah, of course.” Alex nodded.

Dash watched the two walk over to the register, as they worked out the payment, before turning to the mirror, and admiring herself.

She honestly had no idea of what was supposed to be attractive in this world. Everyone looked like… Weird aliens. She hadn’t really spoken up about it, but had undoubtedly been feeling it.

However, right now, she knew she looked fantastic. She knew that she was sexy. And she was going to go to that dance, and make every guy wish they were Alex.

She was so nice sometimes!

////

The Element of Deceit

////
The Element of Deceit
////

Applejack groaned as she continued walking through the white abyss.

The last thing she could remember, Discord had shown up in Fluttershy’s cottage, and made them all fall deep into the ground.

Now, here she was, walking aimlessly, with no goal in mind. Discord wouldn’t leave her in here alone to die, would he? Applejack had no idea what their enemy was like, but had a feeling that he wasn’t the type to do such a thing. It was far too dark.

“Ah, there you are Applejack!” Discord said from behind her as she spun around to face him, “You must have been wandering in here for hours!”

“Discord!” She shouted, “Jus’ where the buck are we?”

“Language, young lady,” He smiled, “And I came here with an important message for you from your friends!”

Applejack eyed him, before moving on, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“They’re all inside the Everfree forest, and they’re being chased by ferocious monster!” He said, making the entire situation sound VERY urgent, “They sure could use their dependable friend there to help them!”

“Why should ah’ listen to you?” She asked, frowning, “This could all be a trick!”

“It could be,” He grinned, “But are you willing to take that chance, when I’m offering you a free ride?”

She growled, “Fine! Let’s git’ goin’!”

“You’ll need this,” Discord said, snapping his fingers, making her Element of Harmony appear.

“Wha—“ She began as he slapped it on her chest.

“Off you go!” He giggled, as Applejack was suddenly faced with nothing but blackness.

After a second of squinting, she realized that she wasn’t in complete darkness, she had just been dropped from a VERY bright place, to a very dark one, and her eyes were taking their sweet time adjusting.

Finally, they caught up with her, and she was able to see properly.

“Discord’d better not be lyin’ to me…” She grumbled, looking at the necklace he had placed on her, “An’ why’d he give this to me?”

“Everypony run!” A voice shouted from somewhere around her, “I’ll take it off of you!”

Applejack was able to discern two distinct things from what she heard. One pony was being chased by something, and a group of ponies were running away from the one.

So, Applejack ran after the one, hoping she could help whoever it was.

The chase was surprisingly long. Applejack had expected to catch up within a few minutes, but she had been following the two for almost six or seven minutes. Wherever the other ponies had gone, they were at least safe.

“Don’t make me do this!” The voice shouted, as a snarl was heard over it, “Please!”

With one more roar, the beast was suddenly silenced by a blast that graphically splattered the color red across several trees in front of her.

Gasping, Applejack ran toward the source of the commotion, and felt her heart wrench as she came upon Alex, on the ground, with four savage cuts across his chest.

“Oh no…” Applejack said, kneeling down next to him, and wanting to ask a thousand questions.

How did you get back?

What’s going on with Discord?

Where’s Rainbow Dash?

Of course, she couldn’t ask one of those. He was in a bad way.

“Applejack…?” Alex asked, opening squinting at the sudden bright light of the sun, “We were looking everywhere for you…”

“D-don’t talk!” She said, watching blood gush from the wounds on his chest, “Geez…”

“It’s that bad, huh?” Alex asked, not daring look at the wound, “W-what do you think my chances are?”

“It- It looks… It’s… It’s fine, Alex,” She lied, as he laughed weakly.

“That’s good to hear,” Alex sighed.

“Can’t you heal yerself or sumthin’?” Applejack asked quickly, realizing he had that kind of magic.

“I kinda used it up on that thing…” Alex said, pointing to a particularly bloody tree.

“Is anypony around?!” Applejack shouted, hoping that any of their friends would show up.

Alex didn’t say anything, she just breathed softly, as he felt himself get sleepy.

“I- I’m gonna take a nap, AJ,” Alex said, closing his eyes lightly.

“No!” She said, lightly patting him on the cheek, “You need to stay right here with me!”

“But…” He said, looking as his eyes shifted around weakly, “Well, I guess I don’t want to get a weird sleep-boner in front of you.”

“This ain’t the time…” Applejack said, feeling her eyes start to fill with tears.

“Heh… Sorry,” He smiled, “Hey… Can I have some of that cider when we get back to Ponyville?”

“Of course!” She nodded, “You can drink as much as you want!”

“How am I going to get back there, anyway?” He asked, strangely composed, and scarily calm, “I can’t feel my legs.”

“W-well, there’s help comin’!” She lied, “Our friends are almost here!”

“Are they…?” He asked quietly, “I want to see Dash…”

“She’s comin’ too!” Applejack croaked, suddenly feeling the tears on her cheeks, “Jus’… Stay awake, or you’ll miss ’em!”

“Are… you s-sure that they’re coming?” He asked again, as his eyes closed.

“Of course they are…” She said, shaking his head, keeping him awake, “Ah’m the Element of Honesty, after all…”

Suddenly, the gemstone in her necklace cracked, something she didn’t even notice.

“Applejack,” Alex said, looking at the Element, “Why is it black?”

Looking down, she gasped, and took a step back. The gem in her Element had become entirely black.

“W-what in Tarnation?” She said, looking back to Alex, and seeing that he had closed his eyes once again, “No!”

Alex was totally unresponsive as Applejack shook him, trying to get some kind of response from him.

“That poor, poor pony,” Discord said, as Applejack turned to him.

“Please!” She said, “You’ve gotta help him!”

Discord frowned, “Well, I suppose you’ve earned that.”

Snapping his fingers, the wounds on Alex were entirely healed.

Applejack ran over to him, and shook him again, “Rise an’ shine mister!”

“Ugh… Not now, Dash,” Alex groaned, “I’m still sore from last night.”

Stepping back, she turned to Discord, “T-thank ya’.”

“Don’t go thanking me yet,” He said, snapping his fingers, making Alex vanish.

“Where’d you send him?” She asked, looking around them.

“Technically, he’s nowhere,” Discord said impishly, “He REALLY never existed.”

“What?!” Applejack shouted in anger.

“But it taught you a very important lesson!” Discord defended, “Sometimes the truth is a BAD thing!”

“How dare you put me through sumthin’ like that!” She shouted, completely stunned, “You… You monster!”

“Now, Applejack, maybe you should be thanking—”

“Ah’m sick of hearin’ you!” She shouted, feeling utterly betrayed by him, having actually thanked him for a moment, “Let me see my friends!”

“In time, Applejack,” Discord said, as the forest around them melted away, leaving them in the bright white room once again, “You’ll be back together soon.”

And with that, he was gone, and Applejack was left alone, with her black Element.

////

Discord floated invisibly through the dreamscape, heading for the next pony he intended to taint.

“Perhaps I overdid myself on that one…” He said to himself, thinking that fooling a pony into thinking somepony was dying was a bit… evil, “I’ll be nice to the next one.”

////

“Is there anything else you want to do, Alex?” Dash asked, as they walked up the driveway, back to his house, “Or are we going straight to the dance?”

“I think we’re good to go,” Alex shrugged, “We’ll get ready at my here, and I’ll drive us back to school.”

“You’re going to DRIVE?!” She asked, smiling, “I’ve been dying to go in one of those!”

“It’s not that special,” Alex said, thinking about some kind of speed comparison he could use, “When you do a Sonic Rainboom, you’re probably moving a thousand times faster.”

“I’ve got no wings, Alex,” Dash said, shaking her back, “I just miss going fast!”

“Well, I’ll drive as fast as I’m allowed,” He said, knowing it wouldn’t be very fast.

Opening the back door, they walked inside, and Alex plopped himself on the couch and exhaled.

“You’re tired too?” Dash asked, sitting on his lap, “I miss walking on all fours.”

“My back legs definitely wish they had some help right now,” Alex nodded, wrapping his arms around her stomach, and leaning his forehead into her back, “But we still need to do some things before we head off to the dance.”

“Like what?” She asked, looking over her shoulder to him.

“You need to know how to dance,” He said, “I can’t have my date completely clueless.”

“Strange…” She smiled, “That’s exactly how I’d describe my date.”

“Well, no nookie for you,” Alex said, standing up suddenly, as she dropped on the floor, “I was going to rock your world before the dance, but I guess that’s not happening anymo—“

Before he could even finish his sentence, she scootched over to the TV, and flicked on the console, starting up her new favorite videogame.

“H-hey!” Alex said, offended that she had just ignored him like that, “Stop that right now!”

Dash ignored him, and started a game.

“You know Dash, if this wasn’t filler to make the chapter longer, I’d be really upset with you right now!” Alex said, trying to sound angry.

Suddenly, a controller was thrown at his face, as she turned around, “Stop that!”

“Yes ma’am,” He said, as he readied to throw the next controller at him.

“Good,” She nodded, walking away from the game, “Now! Teach me those dance moves!”

“No Call of Duty?” Alex asked, seeing that she had switched it off when she stood up.

“Nope,” The rainbow haired girl said, grabbing his hands, “I just realized that I don’t want to look like a fool tonight.”

“No one will care how you dance,” Alex said, laughing, “They all want to bone you. Dancing is irrelevant.”

“That’s the curse of being Rainbow Dash,” She faux-sighed, “I bring all the stallions to the yard.”

“Well, with those milkshakes, I can’t blame them.” Alex said, looking at her chest for the millionth time that day.

“Wait,” She said quickly, “Do girls like it when you stare at their chests here?”

“Not really,” Alex explained, not taking his eyes off them, “It’s considered rude.”

Suddenly, he was slapped across the face, as he gave her a genuinely betrayed look.

“Sorry,” She laughed, patting the slapped cheek lightly, “I’m just practicing at being a human girl. Besides, it was a ton of fun!”

“You just wanted to slap me,” He grumbled.

Dash weighed the reasons in her head, why she had slapped him, and ‘because she wanted to,’ was on the top of the list.

“Okay, you got me,” She said, raising her hands up, as if surrendering, “But now it’s out of my system, so I won’t do it again!”

“Good to hear,” Alex smiled, “Now, let’s get to work. Maybe I can have you break dancing by the time it starts.”

In case anyone was was on the edge of their seat for that part, she didn’t break dance.

////

The Element of... Sorrow?

////
The Element of… Sorrow?
////

Pinkie tapped the ground of her white prison lightly, causing a bunch of colors to bounce out around her. It was a fantastic way to pass the time.

Tap.

Rainbow!

Tap.

Rainbow!

Tap Tap.

Rainbow! Rainbow!

“This is fun!” Pinkie giggled, slapping the ground more and more, making the colors rain down around her.

“I’m surprised you can do that,” Discord said, hovering into her line of view.

“Discord!” Pinkie said suddenly, bouncing up to her feet, as the rainbows bounced up around them, “Ooooh, you’re gonna get it mister!”

The area around Pinkie warped, as colors leaked out from around all parts of her body.

“You’re quite chaotic, aren’t you?” Discord smiled, not fazing her determined look, “Not just anypony can make those distortions, you know.”

“So what?” She asked, stomping the ground and making everything shake, “Let me go home!”

“Hmm,” Discord said, scratching his chin, maybe he should do exactly that. If he was going to break her, all he would need to do is show her what has happened to her home, and her friends there. “Alright, I’ll send you home. You’re far too dangerous to stay here anyway.”

“Good!” She huffed, as she was lifted into the air, her Element materializing on her chest.

“I hope you have fun,” Discord said.

The area around her distorted further, splitting the colors around her, as she was pushed out of the dreamscape.

Discord smiled, “See you soon.”

////

Pinkie popped out of the air and fell on the hard, checkerboard ground.

“Ow!” She said, rubbing her rump, “That big meanie!”

Standing up, Pinkie got her bearings. She was in Ponyville. And she was just outside of Sugarcube Corner. She needed to check on the Cakes!

Walking up the front stairs, she inhaled and smelt something… foul. It was coming from inside.

“What are they doing?” Pinkie asked herself, opening the door and looking around the dark storefront, “Hello?”

Creeping inside, she poked her head over the counter, looking for her friends.

Pinkie could almost hear the creepy music playing, as she walked down the hallway. She could hear her heart pounding through her chest.

“I’m a party pony…” She whimpered, “I shouldn’t be sneaking around this scary place!”

“This cake is delicious!” Mrs. Cake’s voice could be heard around the corner in the kitchen.

“The best you’ve ever make, honey bun!” Mr. Cake agreed, loudly chewing.

“What are you guys doing?” Pinkie asked, stepping into the room, seeing the two ponies eating cake, with their backs to her, “Should you be making cake at a time like this?”

“Pinkie!” Mr. Cake said, standing up and turning to her, revealing his crooked face, “You HAVE to try this new recipe!”

“I don’t think—“

“Now, Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake said, “Don’t be rude.”

“I don’t think I’m being—“

Being pushed into the table, Pinkie was quickly served a piece of green spongelike cake.

“Here you go, sweetheart,” Mrs. Cake smiled, giving her an expectant look.

Pinkie bit her lip, as she gave a quick sniff, almost gagging.

The two ponies gave her a twisted look, smiling, yet looking like they were deeply saddened.

“You guys should come with me!” Pinkie said, leaning back from the cake, “I have a place I can take you!”

“But why would we ever leave?” Mr. Cake asked, tilting his head slightly.

“Because—“

“Just eat, dear!” Mrs. Cake said, lifting a hefty amount of cake with her hoof, and placing it in front of her face.

Pinkie tried to lean back, but Mr. Cake held her in place, as the cake was smeared all over her face.

Inevitably, some of it got in her mouth, and the horrible, disgusting—Wait a minute.

“This is great!” Pinkie shouted, shocked at the contrast between taste and smell, “You should sell this!”

“We plan on it!” Mr. Cake said, “We just need to wait for everypony to be in a better mood!”

“Better mood?” Pinkie asked, “I can do that in no time!”

////

Rainbow Dash looked herself over on the large mirror, wondering just how good she looked compared to how the others would look.

Looking to her chest, she puffed it out.

Would Alex like it better if she carried herself like this?

“He has a strange obsession with these…” She frowned, lightly lifting one up, “I wonder why.”

“If you were a guy, you’d understand,” Alex laughed, leaning on the door, dressed in his tux, “And when we get back to Equestria, I’ll miss the hell out of them.”

“Hmm…” She said, continuing her examination of herself, “Maybe take pictures on your I-thingy?”

“I’m glad you gave me your blessing on that,” Alex smirked, “Because I took a whole bunch last night.”

“I know you did,” She laughed, “I just pretended to be asleep. That’s not all you took pictures of.”

Alex blushed, now he was REALLY caught.

“I would have a tough time looking at human parts,” Dash said, seeing his guilt, “So I’ll give you a free pass.”

“Aaaand you’re the best marefriend ever.” Alex smiled, stepping closer, and placing his hands on her hips.

“You keep saying that,” She laughed, “And I never get sick of hearing it.”

“Come on,” He said, gesturing to the door, “We have a dance to get to.”

“I just hope I remember how to do all that fancy foot-stuff.” Dash said, looking to her feet, “If I lose my balance, you fall, and make it look like YOU lost balance, okay honey?”

“Yeah yeah,” Alex nodded, “I know my job.”

“Good boy,” She said, turning around to face him, and pecking him on the lips, “Now, why don’t you start showing me off to your friends?”

////

Dash held on to Alex for dear life, as he drove the two of them toward the school in his car.

“H-how can you not be scared right now?!” Dash asked, terrified at being stuck in a moving metal cage.

“You get used to it,” Alex shrugged, never actually having known fear in a car, “I got over it when I was just a baby.”

“You remember that far back?” She asked.

“Well, no,” He said, shaking his head, “I just assume—I guess.”

The trip to school was only a few minutes. Dash was at least happy to have some speed back in her life.

Pulling into the parking lot, Alex decided to give himself a break on a regular parking job, and go to a less populated space. It’s what he was worst at, and wasn’t going to risk an accident, after being a pony for a year.

Picking a spot and parking, Alex jumped out of the car, and ran to the other side, so he could open the door for her.

“Wow,” She laughed, “You’re being quite the gentlemen, aren’t you?”

“Well, I might as well,” He shrugged, taking her hand and helping her out of the car, “We’ve been to two dances in two days. That’s my quota for the year.”

“Mine too,” She agreed, “I just want to get back to the antics.”

“A couldn’t agree with you more,” He laughed, missing the way Ponyville had always given them an adventure.

Holding her hand, the two walked through the front door of the school, where they were immediately greeted with a pretty girl sitting at a desk that held a clipboard.

“Hey!” She said, standing up and smiling, “I haven’t seen you in forever, Alex!”

“Hey, Layla,” Alex smiled back to her, “It’s good to see you again.”

“Well, you’re on the list, obviously,” She said, flipping a page on the clipboard, “So go in!”

“Thanks,” He nodded, as they walked past her, and toward the gymnasium.

Turning at the first stairwell, they passed the theater and walked down the hallway, and into the gym, where they had been playing dodge ball just a few hours before.

“Wow,” Dash said, looking around her, “They really did a number on this place.”

“You’d be surprised,” Alex said, as they both looked across the sea of students, most of them dancing, while others stood on the wall, “The girls that handle this stuff are super serious.”

“Like, Pinkie serious?” Dash asked.

“Well, maybe not that much.” He grinned, wishing that Pinkie was here right now, so she could... Well, be Pinkie.

“Hey everyone!” A voice bellowed from the speakers, “Alex just came in with his smoking hot date!”

Chet.

Alex looked at the small stage where the DJ stood, and saw his uncle giving him a very obvious thumbs up and nodding.

The music was stopped.

Everyone was looking at them.

Alex sighed.

“I’m back, here’s my date, we met in New York,” Alex listed, “Is that good enough?”

Slowly, the music came back to life, as everyone resumed their dancing.

“I hope that’s the end of the attention,” Alex groaned, knowing that it wouldn’t be.

“I hope it’s just a start!” Dash laughed, “Everypony—EveryONE will be checking us out tonight, Alex.”

“I guess,” Alex agreed, knowing that having a hot date always made you look better to other women, “I’ve never been the guy that makes everyone jealous… Maybe I’ll enjoy it while I can.”

“Good thinking,” She said, grabbing his hand and leading him to the dance floor, “Let’s have some fun now.”

////

Discord looked at the watch on his wrist, decorated with tiny version of himself, each arm pointing at the hour, and minute.

“She’s been home for long enough,” Discord mumbled, opening an exit from the dreamscape.

Stepping out into Ponyville, Discord frowned. Something smelt… Wrong.

He was used to the putrid stink of the Cakes’ concoction. It was a smell that went to perfectly with his chaos capital of the world! But now, the area was filled with a sweet, delicious smell. Something he would expect in a normal place. And that would do no good!

Looking around, he frowned when his eyes went upon the Sugarcube Corner. It was bright. It was lit up. And worst of all, there was grass around the building! Somepony had ruined his entire checkerboard pattern!

Stepping into the building, Discord was shocked to see several of the ponies from around town, inside, eating sweets, no longer under the influence of his chaos.

“What is going on in here?!” Discord shouted, abhorred at the happy, harmonious scene in front of him, “How did you manage this?”

“Discord!” Pinkie shouted, “Get out of here!”

The ponies around her were still somewhat under his chaotic influence, but it was fading fast. He needed to fix that.

“Pinkie, you’re not following the plan,” Discord said seriously, “You need to—“

“No!” She shouted, as a burst of energy emitted from her, pushing Discord away, “You’re not taking Ponyville away anymore!”

Discord grunted at the power Pinkie was exhibiting. He should have thought about this a bit more.

Pinkie was a chaotic pony. More so than any he had ever met.

But, she was pure-hearted, and she wore an Element of Harmony.

When those two things come together, one of two things can happen.

One, in the case of Alex, you become exceedingly powerful in the chaotic department, with harmony taking the backseat, so it can be used to amplify the chaos.

Two, the chaos is harmonized, and its unique powers are given a different form. It’s exceedingly less powerful than what happened to Alex, but it was dangerous to beings of chaos such as him, as it could purify them, and render them harmless. You just need to trigger the transformation of that power. And he had done just that.

Taking a step back, Discord couldn’t help but be proud of the pony.

“You’re stronger than I had anticipated,” Discord nodded to her, “And you’ve put me in a difficult position.”

“I hope so!” Pinkie said, puffing her cheeks out, “Because I’m not going to stop being me, until I save Equestria!”

“Before you do that, there is something I need to tell you, Pinkie,” Discord said, stepping back toward her, feeling his strength drain, “May I?”

Pinkie frowned, as Discord took another step, clearly weakening, “What? Tell me right from where you are!”

“It’s a secret, dear,” Discord said, stepping yet closer.

Stepping toward him, Pinkie leaned into him, as he spoke something near-silently into her ear.

Pinkie listened silently, as he said all he needed.

Discord continued whispering, and whispering, until it finally clicked in Pinkie's brain, and she caught up with him.

“What…?” Pinkie asked, as he continued.

Slowly, the color in her usually pink coat faded, turning darker, and greyer.

Pinkie felt her heart sink, as Discord finished what he had to say, pulling away from her.

The silence in the room was deafening. The loud Party Discord had interrupted was now nothing as it had just been.

Pinkie felt the sorrow pour through her body, as a tear came to her eye. Everything Discord had just told her sounded sickening. It was horrible. She wanted nothing more than to tell him to buck right off. But…

“Okay, Discord.” She frowned, her heart breaking, “Take me back.”

The cracking sound of her Element was fast, and surprised nopony, as it blackened the gem balloon.

“I’m glad you see the way of chaos, Pinkie,” Discord smirked, as the floor vanished as it had before, dropping her into the blackness, sending her back to the dreamscape, “You’ve learned your lesson.”

The Element of Greed

////
The Element of Greed
////

Rarity was having a hard time looking around her. The pure white of her prison cell almost perfectly matched her coat, so sometimes she had a hard time telling the difference between herself and the floor. With no light source to be found, there were no shadows being cast. So, it was just her, completely illuminated, and invisible. If anypony were to look at her, they’d see hair, eyes, and eyelashes.

She had lost all concept of time. Of course, it hadn’t been more than two hours. But, it felt like an eternity to her. Being stuck in a room with nothing whatsoever tended to do that.

“I really should change the color is here,” Discord chuckled as Rarity looked up to him, “All I see is hair!”

“I noticed,” She growled, “You let me out of here right now, Discord!”

“Now dear, why would I go and do something like that?” Discord asked, mocking her voice, “I’m here to help you!”

“Is that so?” She frowned, “Please, tell me why that’s the case.”

“Because I have some supplies for you to take to your friends,” Discord explained, “They’re getting pretty hungry in here, you know.”

“What?” She asked, surprised that they would be needed sustenance so quickly, “We’ve only been in here a short time!”

“Well, when you WANT ponies to be hungry, that’s where magic comes in handy,” He said fairly darkly.

“How could you?!” Rarity spat, “You’d starve us?”

“It’s for a good cause!” Discord said, nodding, “So take these!”

Suddenly, a saddlebag with five muffins appeared on her back, and her Element formed on her chest.

“What’s this for?” She asked, looking down at the gem, “Why would you give it back?”

“It’s for the trip, you see,” He explained, knowing that Rarity would be easy to break.

She frowned, and then looked at the food on her back, “These muffins will fix my starving friends?”

“Well, only if they eat the WHOLE thing,” He said, “So make sure they do.”

“If they’re hungry, it shouldn’t be a problem,” She frowned, “Now tell me how to get to them!”

“Walk through this door,” Discord pointed, snapping his fingers as a bright blue rectangle appeared next to him, “You’ll come across them eventually.”

Rarity glared at him, but decided not to waste any time. She needed to get this food to her friends, right away. Walking toward the portal, she held her breath, and hoped that this wasn’t some kind of trap… But really, he could have done anything to her earlier.

Stepping in, she was immediately back in Ponyville, albeit a very chaotic looking one.

“My goodness…” She swallowed, looking around at the damage Discord had done to them, but her mind quickly focused on her goal, get to her friends.

////

Rarity arrived at the only place she could guess, and that was Sugarcube Corner. But it confused Rarity. Why were her friends unable to eat here? It wasn’t like there was no food here. Ponyville had plenty! But, if Discord was able to make ponies starve… He probably had the ability to get rid of all the food too.

Stepping inside, Rarity looked around the dark room and saw no sign of life. Just the entrance in darkness.

Suddenly, a bumping from above her, made her jump.

“That must be Pinkie…” Rarity whispered, sneaking up the stairs, trying to be quiet, in case it was come kind of… Chaos monster or something.

Opening Pinkie’s door, Rarity gasped at the sight. Poor Pinkie was collapsed on the floor. She had obviously shed a few pounds, and looked like she hadn’t slept in days.

“Pinkie, dear, are you alright?” Rarity asked, rushing to her side.

“Rarity?” She asked weakly, looking up from the floor, “I’m so happy to see you!”

“Don’t speak, Pinkie,” She said levitating one of the muffins out of her bag, “You need to eat this.”

Pinkie’s face lit up at the sight of the food in front of her face as she quickly reached out, and ate the entire thing in one bite, wrapper and all.

Suddenly, she jumped up and shook her head.

“That was the most filling muffin I’ve ever had!” Pinkie beamed as she literally gained ten pounds, “Thanks so much Rarity!”

“Of course, Pinkie,” Rarity nodded, feeling indescribably good at her friends recovery, “Now, I need to get these to our other friends, would you like to come with me?”

“Oh, no,” Discord said from the doorway behind them, “I need Pinkie for something.”

“What?” Rarity asked, her heart sinking, “I- I don’t want to be here alone!”

“Would you grow up?” He asked, really not caring how rude he sounded, “Now, off you go!”

Turning back to where Pinkie had just been, there was nothing instead.

Turning back once again to Discord, he was also gone.

Sighing, Rarity fought back the urge to cry at all. This was all too much for her… She didn’t like being alone like this, even if it was her home town. It was creepy… And she didn’t know what this place held for her.

She wished Spike was here with her…

////

Alex was right when he said he’d like the attention, and jealously from everyone.

Almost every guy in the gymnasium had been checking her out. It probably didn’t help that Dash stuck her butt out, or heaved her chest up at every opportunity.

“This is fun,” Dash said as they swayed along together to a slow song that had come out while Alex was away, “I love the music here too.”

“It has its ups and downs,” Alex said, shrugging, having heard one too many songs sung by little boys at the dance that night, “I’d like a bit more… Pony music.”

“I’m still surprised no one has jumped out and started singing or dancing yet,” Dash said, still expecting it to happen at any time.

“It’s not going to happen,” He said, confident that a flash mob wasn’t going to jump out at them.

“Hey, Alex,” An old friend of his said, approaching him, interrupting their dance, “Sorry buddy, but could we talk?”

Alex turned to see his friend Dave standing there, giving him an odd look.

“Uh, sure,” Alex said, as he and Dash stopped dancing, as started walking away from the dance floor.

“Oh, but could it just be the two of us?” He asked.

“I guess,” Alex said, looking to Dash and shrugging, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Sure,” She nodded as the two guys walked off.

Alex was a bit confused as to why Dave was bugging him. The two had gone separate ways when they started high school. There was no animosity or anything between them, so Alex figured this had something to do with his parents.

“So, what did you want?” Alex asked as they walked into the hallway.

“Nothing, really,” He shrugged, “A friend of mine just wanted a dance with your date, so I told him I’d get your attention so he could.”

“Seriously?” Alex sighed, looking over his shoulder, trying to get eyes on Dash, “I don’t think she’ll like that very much.”

“Why do you say that?” He asked.

“She’s… Not very good at being normal,” Alex said vaguely, “I should probably get back to her.”

Walking back into the gym, Alex was surprised to see her dancing, somewhat normally with another guy, he was proud of her for not making a deal out of it.

Luckily, the song ended pretty quick, and they stopped. Alex knew the guy she was dancing with, and he wasn’t an ass or anything. A bit of a playboy, but nothing more than that. He might have hit on her a bit, but she wouldn’t have had any of that.

Seeing her shake her head no, the guy laughed, nodded, and then passed Alex giving him a nod.

“What was that?” Alex asked.

“He asked me if I was free tonight,” She laughed, “Even though he knew I was with you.”

“I know that guy, he’s nothing to worry about.” Alex said, “Be careful though.”

“Huh?” She asked, tilting her head.

“When everyone saw you dancing with him… I think they got the idea that they could to.” Alex said, seeing all the looks she was now getting.

“I don’t like that at all…” She whispered, glancing around her.

“And not everyone here is as polite as the last guy,” Alex explained, “So be careful if I’m in the bathroom or something.”

“Don’t worry,” She said, “I could beat the crap out of any of these guys here.”

“Well, don’t, please,” Alex laughed, “We don’t want you ending up at the police station or something.”

Dash nodded as she was tapped on the shoulder by someone.

“Hey, wanna dance?” He asked, his voice incredibly deep.

“Um… No, thanks,” She said, looking up at the massive size of the guy.

He simply walked away, giving her a scary look.

“Ponies aren’t like that…” Dash whispered.

“What? Creepy?” Alex asked, “What about that Cuddly Bear guy?”

Dash cringed, remembering the middle aged pony that had wanted to… Spend time with her, during her time at the Wonderbolt training center.

“Let’s just get back to dancing,” Alex suggested, “Everyone will probably leave us alone if we look busy.”

But, they didn’t.

////

Rarity sighed. She had gone to Fluttershy’s cottage, and then to Sweet Apple Acres, feeding both of her horribly starved friends, just to have Discord take them away from her once again.

But, now she had a problem.

She had noticed that her friends weren’t the only ponies in the town that were hungry. All of the ponies who lived in Ponyville were starving… There was nothing to feed them.

Rarity had considered giving them some of the food she had, but that wasn’t an option. Discord had said that her friends needed to eat ALL of it to be saved. And if she started sharing it around, then nopony would be helped.

Now, Rarity had to go in to town. Where all of these ponies were. So far, she had hugged the outskirts of town and avoided any contact with anypony. But she needed to go to the library, and that would require walking past a lot of ponies.

However, if she kept her bag closed, nopony would be the wiser, and she could go help Twilight, and hopefully Spike.

Gulping, she reached the edge of town, looking straight down the main road. This would be the fastest way for her to reach Twilight and Spike, but knew that it was also be the most populated.

Shaking her head, Rarity decided to just start running, and get this over with.

Powering down the road, Rarity passed so many of her other friends from around town, all of them looking like ghosts. Each making her feel like her heart was breaking.

As she continued, she saw two ponies, shivering, and embracing one another.

Her parents.

And, because she was looking at them, she WASN’T looking at the pony that had started to cross in front of her. And, as a result, she collided with them, and went tumbling to the ground over her, sending the remaining two muffins out of her bag out on to the road without her noticing.

“Oh, my goodness,” Rarity said, standing up and helping Lyra to her feet, “I’m so sorry!”

“It… Alright,” She coughed, “I wasn’t—Is that food?”

Rarity followed her gaze and saw the two muffins on the ground.

“Where?!” A pony called from behind them.

“I need some!” Another shouted, making a break for the food.

Suddenly, it was like somepony had… Well, thrown food into a crowd of starving ponies.

They all ran for it, throwing each other away, climbing over one another… It was a horrible sight for Rarity experience, especially because her parents were in that group, fighting for that food.

Swallowing hard, Rarity focused on the muffins and levitated them out from everypony’s reach.

“What are you doing?!” Her father asked, “Rarity, you give those to me and your mother now!”

“N-no!” She shouted, placing them in her bag, “I need these.”

“What do you mean, you need them?” Lyra shouted, “Look at us! We’re starving! You’re just fine!”

“T-they’re not mine to—“

“Please, honey…” Her mother asked, giving her a painful look.

Rarity swallowed hard. It wasn’t fair… She needed to feed these to her friends. That’s why she got them. And as much as she loved her parents, and the ponies around town, her closest friends had all been in much worse shape than everypony here.

“I can’t.” She said sadly, feeling horrible.

“You greedy piece of trash!” A pony called from inside the crowd.

She wasn’t being greedy. But she hardly felt that way.

She was depriving the ponies in this town something they needed so she could give it to HER friends… It made her feel like the worst kind of greedy. Depriving others, for the sake of her own interests.

Her Element cracked under the pressure Rarity was feeling, and filled with the same black color as the others had.

“I-I’m sorry everypony!” Rarity shouted, using the teleportation spell Twilight had taught her, and vanished from the crowd.

She didn’t go where she was headed, however. She did what Discord needed done.

////

Alex and Dash were now under a constant assault of people asking either of them to dance, or to come talk with them to catch up… Alex was starting to get annoyed by it all.

“I need to pee…” Dash whispered in his ear.

“Alight,” He nodded, happy to have a reason to get out of there, “I’ll take you one a bit out of the way.”

Nodding, the two of them walked out the gym as people behind them started murmuring loudly.

Shaking his head, Alex and her took a few quick turns in the halls so they wouldn’t be as easy to follow, in case anyone had decided to do that.

“What is with everyone?” Alex grumbled, “This isn’t as fun as I thought it’d be.”

“Well, why don’t we take a break from the dancing?” Dash suggested, “I’ll be quick, then we can go outside for a while.”

“Sure,” Alex nodded, as they crossed into the science hallway, the furthest they could be from the gym.

“I’ll be one sec!” Dash said, running into the bathroom.

“Sure thing,” Alex said as he leaned on the wall across from the bathroom door.

“Hey, Alex,” Courtney said, suddenly coming around the corner.

“What is it with you, and talking to you while my marefriend is in the can?” Alex asked quickly.

“Marefriend?” She asked, frowning before shrugging it off, “I think that we need to have a talk.”

“What do you mean…?” Alex asked, worried just where this was going.”

“I think that we should give ‘us’ another chance,” She said seriously.

“Are you joking?” Alex asked, offended that she would offer such a thing, “Do you see who I’m with?”

“It’s only been three months, Alex,” She said, “I’ll bet you two weren’t dating that entire time either. It can’t be serious.”

“It’s serious,” Alex glared at her, “Just leave it.”

Stepping closer to him, she smiled, “I don’t think I will.”

“What is with you?” Alex asked, “Are you obsessed with me now or something?”

“No.” She said simply, stepping yet closer, “But you’re a lot more desirable when you have another woman on your arm.”

Alex would have backed away from her, had he not been in the corner of the hall, “What are you doing?”

She didn’t say anything as she stepped to within an inch of him.

“Just one more time…” She whispered as she leaned into his face.

Alex was already pressed into the wall as her lips brushed his.

Every alarm was going off in his head as he considered what to do.

Shove her away? Let her finish then get rid of her? Use magic to teleport her away?

“Alex?!” Dash said, stepping out of the bathroom, “W-what are you doing?”

Deciding to take the shove route, Alex pushed the girl away.

“Dash, she came on to me,” Alex said quickly.

“It sure didn’t look like that to me!” She shouted, turning and walking away.

“Sorry sweetheart,” Courtney smirked, “But that’s how it goes.”

“Would you shut it?” Alex asked, touching a finger to her forehead, and knocking her out with a weak spell, catching her limp body, and placing her on the floor.

All of that took about fifteen seconds, and Dash was well ahead of Alex at this point.

“Dash!” Alex called, seeing her open the door to go outside, going into all-out sprint mode just to catch up.

Dash looked around desperately for somewhere to just… go. Normally, she would have flown off, but that wasn’t possible.

Hitting a guard rail next to her in frustration, she felt a tear run down her cheek.

“Dash!” Alex shouted, running out the door, and catching up to her, “Come on…”

“Why are you kissing her? Huh?” She demanded, hitting him on the chest, “Who were you doing that with in Ponyville, huh!?”

“Dash,” Alex said, as she kept hitting him on the chest, “S-stop for a second!”

Grabbing her arm, he pulled her into a hug.

“She kissed me, Dash,” Alex said into her ear, “You know just as well as I do that I have zero feelings for her.”

She grumbled something into his chest, where her face was now buried.

The music outside the school was quiet, but still audible, so, Alex took his arms from around her neck, and placed them on her hips, and slowly start to sway to the music.

“Dash, look at me,” Alex said softly.

Looking up at him, Alex felt terrible at the sight of her makeup running from her eyes.

The music stopped for a moment as something was said by the DJ that neither of them could understand, then, the volume went up, and the song started to play.

Alex smiled, recognizing it instantly.

There's a calm surrender to the rush of day.

“Do you remember dancing to this?” Alex asked her.

She nodded, “We danced to this after you came back, and stopped me from becoming a Wonderbolt.”

When the heat of a rolling world can be turned away.

“I’m glad you remember,” Alex said softly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and they stepped over to the grass next to them.

An enchanted moment and it sees me through.

“Alex, you’re not going to stay here, are you?”

“Of course not. You guys are my family now.”

It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you.

“We… are?”

“Well, not you, Dash,”

And can you feel the love tonight, It is where we are.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re much more important than family.”

It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer That we got this far.

“Why do you say that, Alex?”

And can you feel the love tonight, How it's laid to rest.

“Because… Because I love you, Rainbow Dash.”

It's enough to make kings and vagabonds, Believe the very best.

Dash squeaked, and looked at him, her eyes watering, “I love you too, Alex.”

The rest of the song was lost in the kiss they shared.

They stopped dancing as Alex pulled her closer by her waist, and placed his other hand on the back of her head. Then, not breaking the kiss, he lowered her on to her back on the grass, allowing them to continue in a much more comfortable position.

Alex could feel her heart pounding in her chest, just to realize that his was doing the same. It was an intense moment for both of them.

Finally pulling back, Dash looked up to him, looking as happy as she had been when he crashed into her at the Wonderbolt race.

“I love you…” She whispered, her face turning red, “And I don’t care if we get stuck here. I’m just happy being with you.”

“Me too, Colors,” Alex smiled, pecking her on the lips.

“Just promise me, that you won’t go away again,” She said, not wanting to experience it again, “You’re staying with me until I get sick of you, or we die.”

“That’s a nice thing to hear,” Alex smiled, putting his arm under her neck, “Thanks for that.”

They spent the rest of the dance there. But their night had only just begun.

////

The Element of Loyalty

////
The Element of Loyalty
////

Spike had spent the last few hours trying to figure out where he was. Discord has placed him in some kind of storage room… He didn’t know what that was about.

The thing about this place that confused him was just how vast this place was. It was like some kind of massive prop room that was so high he couldn’t see the ceiling in the darkness, and so long, that he couldn’t see any walls around him.

So, he simply chose a direction, and started walking, figuring that he would make it to a wall eventually. And, he could just follow it to an exit… Assuming there was one.

But, as it turned out, his assumption that he would hit a wall eventually was the wrong one. It had been hours, and he hadn’t seen a thing. Just endless props.

“This place is so messed up…” Spike whispered to himself, stopping to inspect a draconequus mannequin, that was dressed in a clown outfit, “This just creeps me out…”

Walking past it, Spike couldn’t help but notice something a bit odd about the place. Nothing was particularly… evil. It was all toys, or silly stuff. He really wasn’t too sure about—

“What’s that?” Spike said to himself, seeing a dim light in the distance, “Maybe somepony else!”

Running toward the source of the light, Spike was disappointed when he reached his destination, and saw nothing but a pedestal.

“Dang…” he said, stepping forward and inspecting what was on it, “Oh glob…”

On the pedestal, sat five Elements of Harmony. Three of them were black, instead of their regular color while the Element of Loyalty, and the Element of Magic were still their normal color.

“Where’s Rarity’s Element?” Spike said, seeing that he’s was gone.

Looking up to the Element of Magic, Spike saw that it wasn’t in fact its normal color. It was a bit darker too. The three dark Elements must have been having some kind of effect on it while the Element of Loyalty stood alone, trying to keep the crown from losing the battle against the others.

“I’ll get you out of here…” Spike said, levitating the crown on his head, and placing the Element of Loyalty on his neck.

“That was too easy!” A voice said far to the right of Spike, “I still wish it didn’t have to be so taxing.”

“Discord!” Spike whispered, running for cover in a rack of clothing, where he was able to poke his head out, and watch his enemy.

“I’ll just place you here with the rest of—“ Discord began, before instantly silencing, “What is this?!”

Spike held his breath as Discord glanced around the room.

“It must have been one of those ponies…” Discord growled, “I should have locked the two of them somewhere else!”

“There’s somepony else here?” Spike said to himself, realizing that it was probably Shining Armor.

“Whoever took my Elements of Harmony, have thirty seconds to bring them back to me!” Discord announced, “If you don’t listen to me, who knows what I’ll do? I’m a loose cannon!”

Spike didn’t do a thing.

Discord grumbled to himself, a bit grumpy his bluff had been called, “Fine! Take them! You’re lucky I don’t want to mess up my nice clean backstage!”

“Backstage?” Spike said, wondering where the sage could possibly be.

Discord grabbed the remaining Elements, and took off in the same direction he had come from.

“That must be the way out,” Spike said to himself as he used the rack of clothing as a scooter, and kicked along the ground, making it roll after Discord.

His speed was impressive as he traveled down a narrow pathway silently, keeping a large distance from Discord.

Finally, Spike was relieved to see Discord, land on the ground, and sink below the horizon of props.

Getting out of his hiding spot, Spike snuck over to the place Discord had vanished, and grinned at seeing a trap door.

“Awesome.” He said, approaching it, and opening the door a bit, and being blinded by the light that came through, “What’s down here?”

Just below him, was some kind of metal framework that he would be able to use to walk around in this strange place.

Lowering himself down, Spike landed on the scaffolding and looked around for Discord quickly. However, when he didn’t spot him, he looked around, and saw that he had four ways to go.

So, shrugging, he walked off to his left.

After only a few minutes of walking, Spike noticed something orange down on the ground.

Walking down the path, he got close enough to make it out, and he was relieved when he realized just what it was.

“Applejack!” Spike shouted downward, hoping she would look up to him, “Hey, Applejack!”

She didn’t look up. She just stared at the ground, clearly upset.

Spike considered jumping off, and down to her, but the last thing he needed was to break his legs landing down there.

“Hey!” He shouted again “AJ!”

Still nothing.

“Dang,” He said, looking back to where he had come from, “Maybe I should—“

“No, you shouldn’t,” Discord said, snagging the crown from his head, “You almost ruined everything, Spike.”

“Discord…” Spike growled, “What are you doing to my friends?”

Discord gave him a serious look, “Helping them.”

“I doubt that,” Spike said, leaning forward, “Let them all go!”

“I’m going to give you a choice, Spike.” Discord sighed, “I’ll let you go, you give me the Elements… And I’ll release the Princesses to you.”

“W-what?” Spike asked, shocked that he had been offered such a thing.

“Or, you can stay here, fight me, and only make this worse for everypony,” Discord glared.

Spike wasn’t sure what to say. He knew that he stood no chance against Discord, and if he were to leave, he could get the princesses, and they would help save everypony. But was that even the truth?

“What do you say?” He asked.

“I…” Spike said, scratching his chin, “…No.”

“No?”

“I think to my friends, and I know they’re strong ponies,” Spike explained, “If you were serious, and would give me the Princesses, I would trust my friends to hold out long enough to be saved.”

“So, what’s the problem?” Discord asked.

“Rarity, is my problem,” Spike said, feeling a rush in his chest, “I would never leave her in your hands, who knows how I’d get her back.”

“I don’t have any plans to—“

“And then I think back to my other friends, and realize that I would be just as devastated if they got hurt too,” Spike continued, “So no. I’ll stay here, and be beaten to a pulp, or whatever it is you plan to do. I’m not leaving my friends.”

Suddenly, the Element around his neck lit up as it started to pulse with some kind of power, Spike didn’t recognize.

“That isn’t your Element!” Discord said, seeing the brightness get stronger, and stronger, until the red lightning bolt was impossible to spot.

“Just call me Rainbow Dash,” Spike said, puffing out his chest, proud of himself.

Something must have happened to Rainbow Dash, for that Element to be acting this way… Had she stopped being loyal? Either way, Discord didn’t have time to think about it right now. He didn’t want anything to do with an active Element, and a pony that had a grudge against him.

“I’ll give you this one,” Discord said, snapping his fingers, making Spike vanish, “I wasn’t going to break that Element anyway.”

////

Spike fell on his rump, and shook his head, trying to get his bearings. He was in some kind of… Fancy room, filled with couches, a big table, a bunch of books, and a kitchen.

Suddenly, all of his friends were dropped in other parts of the room.

“Rarity!” Spike shouted, seeing her collapse on the floor next to him, “Are you okay?”

“Spike…?” She said, shaking her head lightly, “I- Is it really you?”

“Of course it is!” Spike said, wrapping his arms around her, “Thank Celestia you’re okay.”

“What’s goin’ on here?” Applejack asked, standing up.

“I wanna know too!” Twilight grumbled, rubbing her rump from the fall, “Discord had me in this white room!”

“Me too…” Fluttershy said sadly, “But… Something happened to my Element of Harmony.”

“Mine too,” Rarity spoke up.

“An’ mine,” Applejack nodded.

“Oh!” Pinkie said, jumping up, “Discord told me everything!”

“He did?!” Everyone said at once.

“Yeah!” She said, “I was beating him, but he made me stop!”

“You were… what now?” Applejack asked incredulously, “You were beatin’ him, but ya’… Stopped?”

“Let me start from the beginning!”

////

The Final Romance

////
The Final Romance
////

Alex and Dash walked together, as they left the school behind them. They were basking a new kind of glow, that they hadn’t experienced before.

Before, Dash had been happy just to spend time with him, but the admittance of love was a game changer.

It made the two of them see each other in a different light. A light that made them both smile uncontrollably, and never want to leave each other’s side.

Something Alex had noticed, that Dash hadn’t, was just how cuddly she got. He wanted to point it out to her, but was afraid she would get embarrassed and stop.

“What do you want to do next?” Alex asked the girl on his arm, as she sighed happily.

“I’ll do anything,” She said from his arm, still looking ahead, “I’m kind hungry.”

“Got it,” Alex nodded, as he looked over her to the places around them, “Anything in particular?”

“Well… There is one thing,” She said, looking up to him and smiling innocently.

////

“This feels so… Weird,” Alex said, sitting on a bench in the stable, watching Dash go to town on a big heap of hay, “Are you sure you don’t want a salad?”

“Since I got here, I’ve been dying to eat as much hay as I can,” She said, putting another crumpled pile, in her mouth, “Ish sho good!”

“I’ve never even tried it,” Alex admitted, never having built up the courage to try it in Equestria.

“Are you serious?” She asked, after a big gulp, “It’s like, the best thing EVER!”

“I thought that was you,” Alex smiled, remembering one of the many conversations where she had ingratiated herself.

“You’re right,” Dash nodded, “It’s second best.”

“Well, I’ll just stick with eating first place, thanks,” Alex winked.

“You’re so… Dishgushting,” She said, putting another mouthful in, and quickly swallowing, “Good thing I am too.”

“How much more are you going to eat?” Alex asked, rolling his head around and sighing, feeling his butt start to go numb on the bench he sat on.

“I’m pretty good, actually,” She said, brushing the small pile off her stomach, to the ground, “What’s next?”

“I’d like to go see something,” Alex said, furrowing his brow.

“What’s that?” Dash asked.

“The place I left this world, and went to Equestria from,” Alex said, remembering that fateful walk a year ago… Or three months ago.

“Why didn’t you think of that earlier?” Dash asked, jumping up, “We need to check that place out!”

“You think so?” Alex asked, “I don’t think there’ll be anything there. It was only there the one day.”

“But maybe it’s still there!” She said, waving her arms in the air.

“Don’t you think somepony, or someone else would have come into Equestria?” Alex asked.

“I don’t know,” She shrugged, “Was it secluded?”

“I guess you could call it that,” Alex admitted, “But it was so bright, that I don’t think anyone would miss it.”

“Don’t matter!” She huffed, “Point me in the direction!”

“Sure,” Alex nodded, walking out of the stable, “Just follow me.”

The two walked silently to the place Alex had gone to reach Equestria, both holding their breaths as the distance was closed.

Alex kinda recognized the path he had taken, and tired his best to replicate it as best as he could. However, he hadn’t exactly been paying attention that night on account of his parents.

“I think this is it,” Alex said, pointing to a clearing just ahead of them, “I think this is where I was.”

“Then let’s go!” Dash smirked, running ahead of him, toward the clearing.

Shaking his head, Alex jogged after her, running up to a place he surprisingly recognized, despite the small amount of time he had been there.

Looking around, Alex sighed. There was nothing around them. No door. No magic portal… It was just a field.

“Dang…” Dash sighed.

“Sorry, honey,” Alex said, walking up to her, and placing a hand on her shoulder, noticing a black patch on the ground, “I think that was the spot.”

Walking forward together, they inspected the clearly scorched ground, where the door had presumably had been.

“Yeah, look at this,” Alex said, letting her go, and kneeling down in front of the burn, pointing to a bunch of messed up grass that had been pulled up by something, “This is where my foot was sliding around as I tried to get away from it.”

Dash knelt down and prodded the scorch.

“Well… This was a bummer,” She said, giving a frustrated look.

“Why don’t we go back to the house?” Alex asked, “We can watch some TV, have some popcorn, maybe—“

“Oh come on,” Dash grinned, giving him a look, “You’re gonna beat around the bush?”

“Not everything has to end with us in bed, Dash,” Alex said, acting as stuck-up as he could, “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Well, you’re right about one thing…” Dash whispered, stepping toward him.

“And what’s that?” Alex asked.

“My mind IS in the gutter,” She said, leaning up to his ear, “And this is what’s in the gutter, Alex.”

Whispering a long, obviously exciting *something* in his ear, Alex perked up, and found his mind joining hers down in the gutter.

Leaning back, she raised an eyebrow, “But, you know, if you think that’s too dirty—“

“I changed my mind!” Alex blurted, “You’re perfect right where you are.”

“Good boy,” She grinned, grabbing his tie, and leading him back to the house, “Let’s get back, so I can try this new body…”

////

Discord sat impatiently in his backstage, watching the Elements of Harmony, as they resonated with one another in darkness.

He had expected the Element of Magic to succumb to the dark influence of its counterparts, but it simply hadn’t happened. It was holding on to dear life, thanks to that dragon, and his powering up of the Element of Loyalty.

Had circumstances been different, he would have simply broken the Element the same way he had the others, by introducing them into situations forcing them to act contrary of what they represent. However, what was the opposite of Magic? Non-magic? That made no sense.

Maybe he could expose it to… Science? Magic is the opposite of Science?

Na, that was a pointless debate, it would take far too much of his time to break it.

“So, what do I do?” Discord said out loud, rubbing his chin with his paw, “I could always make the dragon betray his friends…”

But could he really? Something told Discord that he wouldn’t be able to put Spike in the position to betray everypony, and break the Element.

So, since the Elements would only respond to the ponies allowed to bear them, that meant one thing.

“I need to go get Rainbow Dash back that prison I sent them to,” Discord said, standing up, “I hope they haven’t gone stir crazy…”

He’s also need to visit Spike as well.

////

Alex yawned and stretched his arms out, looking to the naked from of his marefriend under the covers.

Last night had been remarkable for the two of them. Alex hoped that everything would be so intense from now on, since their admission of love for one another.

Alex sighed and thought to his parents for a moment.

If his dad were around, there would be high-fives to be had. But, he wasn’t. So, Alex would have to simply give a thumbs-up to the ceiling.

“If you’re watching up there,” Alex said quietly, “You should stop… It’s kinda creepy.”

“And if you’re watching, mom,” Alex continued, “Sorry about the mess…”

Alex’s train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Looking to the clock, Alex was surprised to see it only be six forty-five.

“Who could that be?” Alex said to himself, standing up and pulling his jeans on, along with his button up from last night, not bothering with doing it up.

Heading to the door, Alex looked out the peep-hole, not recognizing the man on the other side.

“Huh,” Alex said, unlocking and opening the door, “Hi, can I do something for you?”

“Are you Alex?” The man asked.

“I am,” Alex said, studying the man, recognizing him a bit.

He was a somewhat shrewd man, with thin lips, and very defined cheek-bones. His hair line was receded and showed a bit of grey in his sideburns. His eyes were a piercing cross between green and silver. Alex recognized him as an omnipotent character from a certain sci-fi show, but couldn’t quite put his finger on which one.

“It took me a long time to find you, you know,” The man smiled.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Alex asked.

“I’m your parent’s lawyer,” He said, walking into the house, holding a bag, “I simply have a few things that we need to work out.”

“Oh,” Alex said, gesturing to the couch, “Please, sit down.”

“Thank you,” He nodded, sitting down, “Are you here alone?”

“Oh, no,” Alex shook his head, “This might take a while, so I’ll just go get my girlfriend up.”

“Of course,” He nodded.

“Oh,” Alex said, looking back to the man, “I didn’t get your name.”

“It’s John,” He smiled.

“One second, John,” Alex said apologetically, heading back up.

After a few minutes, Alex walked back down the stairs with Dash in tow. She was dressed in an over-the-shoulder tee, and shorts.

“Hey,” Dash said, bowing to the man slightly, “Sorry about the hold-up.”

“Not a problem, dear,” He said, as Alex and Dash said across from him, “Now, I just need to drop some things off, and go over some paperwork.”

“Sure,” Alex nodded.

“First of all,” He said, reaching into the bag, and pulling out some kind of jewelry box, “This was your mother’s. It now belongs to you, Alex.”

Taking the box, Alex opened it, and was surprised to see something he recognized. But he didn’t know it from earth.

“Wow,” Alex said, lifting the necklace from the box, “A red lightning bolt? I didn’t know she had anything like that.”

John nodded, looking at it, “I’ll bet it would look lovely on your friend there, Alex.”

Looking to Dash, he agreed. It seemed fitting to give Dash this piece of jewelry, since it resembled her Element of Harmony so much.

“Face away from me,” Alex said, as she complied, allowing him to wrap the thin chain around her neck, so the stone sat on her chest.

Turning back, Alex smiled and nodded at her, “That looks great on you.”

“Thanks,” she smiled to him, as they both turned back to the lawyer.

“It looks lovely,” He said, reaching into the bag, and pulling out a few papers, “Now, we need to discuss the possession of your house.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked.

“Well, we need to know who’s name it should be in,” John explained, “Or even if you intend to sell it.”

“I don’t plan on selling it,” Alex said, “I’d like to keep it in my name.”

“Okay,” John said, scribbling something on the page, “So, you’ll be living here from now on?”

“Do I have to?” Alex asked.

“Well, because of your absence, we’ve been wondering if you’ll be leaving again,” John explained, “If you plan on leaving for another period of time, you should consider giving ownership to somep- ahem, Someone else, like a family member. If you go, but keep it in your name, it would make things difficult for taxes and such.”

“I don’t know…” Alex said, scratching his head, knowing he DID want to go back to Equestria, “Are we going to be leaving soon Sarah?”

Dash gulped. She didn’t want to have this conversation.

“Well, wherever it is you want to go, do you have any way of getting there?” John asked, smiling slightly.

“Well, no…” Alex said, sighing.

“We don’t,” Dash added, frowning.

“Okay,” He said, “I’ll take it that you’re staying then? Not going anywhere?”

They were silent. Alex wanted to give ownership to his uncle, just in case he went back to Equestria at some point here… But what if him and Dash never left? They would need a house to live in properly.

“So?” John asked.

Dash gave him a sad look, bit her lip, and nodded.

“We’ll keep it, I guess,” Alex sighed.

“Good to hear!” He smiled, “But, just so you know, that means you won’t be able to visit your friends or something for a long time.”

“What?” Alex asked, a bit confused at the sudden statement.

“Well, there’s a probationary period, in which the house needs to be occupied for at least a year, before you could, say, take a vacation for two weeks,” John detailed.

“I’ve never heard of that kind of rule,” Alex frowned, “So much of this just sounds… Crazy to me.”

“Legal matter like this are tricky sometimes,” John shrugged, “But don’t worry about missing your friends, it’ll only be a year. It’s not like it would be three years or anything.”

Dash felt her heart sink.

She knew that they weren’t getting out of here… If Celestia had the magic to send Alex home, she would have done it on day one. So, obviously, as hard as it was to admit, there was no help coming, and she knew Alex was unable to make the portal to get them home.

It was over.

She knew she should have kept fighting, she knew that she shouldn’t have given up… But if she left her friends behind, and lived with Alex forever, that wouldn’t be so bad, right?

“We’ll stay,” Dash nodded, hiding her sadness, “For however long we’re supposed to.”

“Are you sure?” John asked.

“Yes.” She said.

The sound of her necklace cracking was almost too quiet to notice.

Almost.

“W-what happened?” Dash asked, looking at the small gem resting on her chest, seeing it start to be polluted with solid black.

“You’ve just done me a huge favor, honey,” John chuckled, standing up, “I thought it would be harder, Rainbow Dash.”

“Wait…” Alex said, recognizing the sudden change in the man’s tone, “You’re… Discord!”

“You got me!” Discord laughed, standing up and giving her a round of applause.

Dash stood to her feet, “What did you do to my Element?”

“I fixed it!” Discord laughed, levitating the necklace away from her, “Look at how nice and black it is now!”

“Answer her!” Alex demanded.

“I just added a little chaos,” Discord chuckled.

“Did you know we were here the whole time?” Alex asked.

“To be honest, the two of you went off course,” He explained, “You were supposed to go to a holding cell, but you come here, somehow. I thought you had disappeared into thin air.”

“What’s going on in Equestria?” Dash demanded, “What happened to our friends?”

“Would you like to come see?” He asked, listing his hand, levitating Dash from where she stood, “I’d be happy to show you the new and improved Ponyville!”

“L-let me go!” Dash demanded, struggling in the grip of his spell.

“I’m taking you home, though!” Discord said, turning to Alex, “You’d better hurry if you want to save her.”

Alex didn’t waste a moment, charging at the man, in an attempt to knock him down. It didn’t work, however, as Discord flew above him, still holding Dash in a tight grip.

“I’m sure we’ll see each other again!” Discord laughed, opening a portal on the other side of the room from Alex, and vanishing inside, “Have fun here in this… strange place.”

“No!” Alex shouted, rushing him, in an attempt to save Dash. But, all he did was hit he wall behind the white door, as if he were unable to pass into the entrance.

“Sorry buddy,” Discord said, poking his head out the door, “Real Equestrians only!”

“Wait!” Alex shouted, as the portal closed, leaving him alone in the room.

Everything had just gone to hell.

“Son of a bitch!” Alex shouted, grabbing a bowl from the table, and smashing it on the wall across from him.

Alex went into overdrive mode. He needed to get Dash back, and he needed to turn Discord into a quivering pile of mess.

“How the hell do I get back?!” Alex shouted, trying to cast any kind of teleportation spell, but only made his head catch fire, “God damn!”

Sitting down, Alex placed his hands on his head, and started to think.

What can I do? How do I get back to her?

His mind raced, and considered every possibility of what he could do to get home. But, there was nothing… The long and the short of it, was that there was no way he could get to her. It was the same situation as before, except that Dash was gone. He was alone, back on earth, and now… If nopony came back for him, he could be stuck here alone for the rest of his life… Being a human. Nothing else.

Standing up, he kicked the table in a fit of anger, knocking it upside down.

“How did I not see that it was him?! I’m gonna kill him!“

“You know, It’s really not polite to swear,” A male voice said from the front door, “And it looks like we just missed Discord.”

“Dang! Oh, hey Alex!” A girl's voice called, walking in the room with him, “Do you have any muffins here?”

////

Author's Note

There will be one more chapter.

It'll probably be a bit longer, and take a while as a result.

Endgame

////
Endgame
////

Alex turned and faced the two people that had entered his home.

The man, wore a long brown trench coat, had spikey brown hair, and spoke with an accent he could only identify as one from somewhere around Trottingham.

Oh buck yes.

“Doctor?” Alex asked, immediately recognizing him, despite his human form, “Y-you’re here?!”

“Yes well, you can thank Discord for that!” He smiled, “I’ll bet you’re happy to see us.”

“You have no bucking idea,” Alex said, smiling uncontrollably, “I- I need you to take me to Equestria.”

“Look, I know things are bad for Rainbow Dash, but we need to work on a plan,” The Doctor said seriously, “We can’t go charging in head first.”

“It’s not that,” Alex said, “Time here is different for Equestria. One second here, is three there. Discord can do a lot of damage in a short time here.”

“Then… We probably should get going,” The Doctor nodded quickly, “We can’t let Discord’s power progress any further.”

“Is it that bad?” Alex asked, walking over to the TV, and unplugging it from the wall.

“It’s pretty bad,” The Doctor sighed, as Alex grabbed a few cases from a shelf below the television.

“He’s gonna pay for what he did to us,” He said, grabbing a few more things.

“What are you doing?” Derpy asked, as he fussed with a bunch of cables.

“I’m taking this TV and video game with me to Equestria for Dash,” Alex said, lifting the flat screen up, “When I kill Discord, I’m going to sit down with her, and we’re going to do shit all for a month.”

“Kill him?” The Doctor asked, a bit put off, “I hope you’re not serious.”

Alex sighed, “I’ll tell you if I’m serious when I see Equestria, and whether or not all my friends safe.”

Derpy looked to The Doctor sadly, as he gave her the same concerned look back. They had seen Equestria. It was in shambles. And his friends were all… Well, he’d see soon enough.

“How did you guys get here anyway?” Alex asked, placing his games in a box, along with the console, “I thought you couldn’t jump dimensions.”

“I can’t,” The Doctor said, “But Discord can, and the TARDIS can replicate any spell that’s used close to it. So… I guess I can.”

“So, you know how to transport back and forth from the earth?” Alex said, realizing just what this could mean for him in the future.

“I do,” The Doctor smiled, “You aren’t stuck in Equestria now. You can come home whenever you want.”

“That’s frickin’ awesome!” Alex laughed, “Can you take other people besides me?”

“You know, I’d prefer not to,” The Doctor said, shaking his head, “One human in Equestria is enough.”

“One had been pretty bad so far, right?” Alex laughed, grabbing a backpack, and filling it with miscellaneous items.

“I just feel like humans in Equestria would get old pretty fast,” The Doctor shrugged, “It would stop being original.”

“Especially if all of them are omnipotent like me,” Alex agreed, “I’m just glad I’m white, and not all black and red, or neon green.”

“What are we talking about?” Derpy asked, totally lost.

“Don’t worry about it,” Alex said, lifting up the box of his belongings, “Take these.”

The Doctor wasn’t ready for the weight, and fell forward under it, face planting.

“Geez!” Alex said, bending down, “Are you okay?”

“I haven’t actually learned how to walk properly yet…” He grumbled, “I’m not even used to wearing these clothes.”

“I’m fine!” Derpy smiled, picking up the box, “I’ll teach you, okay?”

“That’ll be the day,” The Doctor grumbled, somewhat embarrassed that she could do this so much better than him.

“I have all I need,” Alex nodded, “Let’s get out of here.”

“Perfect!” The Doctor said, jumping up, “Is there anypony you need to say goodbye to?”\

Alex thought about his uncle, and decided to leave a note. He didn’t want to waste an Equestrian hour, explaining his sudden disappearance.

Grabbing a notepad, Alex scribbled something on the paper, and ran to the front door.

“Lets skedaddle,” He said, licking the paper, and sticking it to the door, “Did skedaddle sound alright?”

“No…” The Doctor said, “Let’s stick with, ‘Adventure Ahoy,’ okay?”

“Oooh,” Alex said, nodding, grabbing his backpack and TV, “I like that one.”

Walking out the door, The Doctor frowned at seeing them working so hard, while he could barely walk. So, he walked forward and guided Alex, getting his sense of purpose from that.

“Hey, were you guys naked?” Alex asked, taking them both off guard, “You know, when you came here.”

“Sure were!” Derpy smiled, “But he had a bunch of clothes in the bottom of the ship!”

“Human clothes?” Alex asked, surprised that they would be there.

“Not quite,” The Doctor shook his head, “All the pony clothing became human clothing.”

“That’s weird,” Alex said, shrugging, “You might lose it when we go back.”

“Don’t worry about it,” The Doctor said, “I’ve got a bowtie for next time.”

Alex felt his heart leap into his throat as he saw the TARDIS come into view. It was his ride home.

“Let’s go save my mare,” Alex said, breathlessly.

“Allanzee!” Derpy mispronounced, pushing the door open and running inside.

“We have a few stops to make before we head to Discord, however,” The Doctor said, “There’s a story you need to be told.”

Alex nodded.

“Where are we going first?” Alex asked.

“The Canterlot Gardens.”

////

Canterlot was a shell of its former self.

The streets were deserted; the buildings were closed and boarded up, And the sky was a horrible shade of pink, as if the city was in a constant state of Twilight, and was unable to transition from day to night.

Everypony had either packed and left, or been influenced by Discord’s magic, forcing them to work on remodeling the castle in his image. They had even used the statues of the Princesses as decoration in his new throne room.

Then, there were the gardens. The most beautiful place in Canterlot.

Only a week ago, it had been luscious and thriving with animal life.

But now, it held several statues, and little else.

“Discord calls them his ‘Amazing Stone Figurines.’” The Doctor said quietly, “Kind of… Messed up.”

Alex growled as he looked down the line of statues: Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and Shining Armor were all standing in proud positions. Alex wondered how horrible it must have been for them, before they were turned to stone like that.

Reaching the end of the line, Alex gulped, as he looked at two slabs of stone with no statues on them. Each of them had a plaque that read the pony it was for.

“Rainbow Dash,” Alex read, “The Element of Betrayal?”

“But that’s not her Element!” Derpy chimed in.

“No, it isn’t,” Alex shook his head, “Do they all read like that?”

“The Element of Deceit.” The Doctor started.

“The Element of Wrath,” Alex read.

“The Element of Greed,” Derpy continued.

“The Element of Sorrow,” Alex said, moving on to Twilight’s, “And, the Element of Magic.”

“What is this?” Alex asked, recognizing each Element having been reversed, “Why is everypony so different?”

“We have no idea,” The Doctor shook his head, “We only just got here ourselves.”

“It’s a good thing I needed to stop by!” Derpy nodded, “I needed to check my mail!”

“Derpy, you never—“

“No mail though!” She said, seemingly unfazed by the world around her.

“Right,” Alex said slowly, “Does the TARDIS know any kind of soft spells, that could cure everypony here?”

“It doesn’t, I’m afraid,” The Doctor said, “You’re going to have to ask Discord to free them.”

“And what are the chances of that?” Alex asked.

“Well, probably pretty close to zero,” He responded, hanging his head.

“I’ll change that.” Alex nodded determinedly, “Where’s Discord now?”

“Oh!” Derpy said, jumping up, “I know! He’s here in the castle!”

“Good, let’s take care of—“

“Not yet,” the Doctor spoke up, “We need to find somepony that can tell us what’s been happening. There might be something we need to get done.”

“Who?” Alex asked, “Everypony we know is incased in stone!”

“Well, I picked up some kind of building inside a mountain when I first got here,” The Doctor recalled, “I’ll bet the ponies inside are hiding from Discord.”

“Do we really need to do this?” Alex asked, obviously impatient with The Doctor and his approach to things, “Just let me explode him already!”

“It isn’t that easy!” Derpy scolded, “If you go running in head first, you could get really hurt!”

“I don’t think—“

“She’s right, Alex,” The Doctor agreed, nodding, “You’ve never had a rival when it comes to magical power. But now you do. Don’t let your past success with magic go to your head.”

Alex sighed angrily, “Fine. Let’s hurry then.”

Neither Derpy, nor the Doctor wanted to say anything. Alex had reason to be angry. Discord had Dash, and he just wanted her back.

////

“Who’s here?” A voice called to them, as Alex knocked on the door.

“I’m not Discord! I promise!” Alex called through the door, hoping this pony would be trusting enough to talk to him.

“Wait… Is that you, Alex?” He asked.

“Yes?” Alex answered, “Who are you?”

The door opened, and Alex immediately recognized Ramsley.

“Hey!” Alex smiled, happy to see another friendly face, “Are you guys okay? Who’s here?”

“Comet, and the sisters of your friends,” Ramsley said, “One is a princess, I think.”

“If Scootaloo turns out to be a princess, that’ll be the end for me,” Alex laughed, stepping inside, followed by Derpy, and The Doctor.

“Where have you been?” Ramsley asked, “Everypony said that you and Rainbow Dash were sent away in a portal.”

“We were,” Alex nodded, “We went back to my world. But Discord showed up, and brought Dash back?”

“Which is when we showed up, and brought HIM back,” The Doctor said extending a hoof, “I’m the Doctor, by the way, and this is Derpy.”

“Ramsley,” He answered, taking his hoof, “I don’t believe I’ve seen the two you around before.”

“We’re all over the place,” The Doctor laughed, placing his leg back down to the floor, “So, what do you know about what’s happened?”

Ramsley sighed, “Why don’t you three come with me?”

“Thank you,” Alex said, as they followed him.

Ramsley wasn’t sure what they already knew, but he was going to start from the beginning, and get everypony up to speed. If that was his way of helping beat Discord, he was happy to do it.

Alex sighed, hoping that Discord hadn’t already turned Dash to stone. For all he knew, he would never be able to free his friends… and if that happened, he would need Dash there with him. There was no two-ways about it. If he lost her now, he wouldn’t have anything left.

////

“What are you going to do with me?” Dash spat, hitting a hoof against the cage she was trapped inside, as it hung from the ceiling in Discord’s throne room.

“I’m going to be honest,” Discord shrugged, looking out his window, overlooking Canterlot, “I didn’t plan this far ahead!”

“What do you mean?!” Dash shouted, “You’re the ruler now, and that’s it?”

“I guess it is. But now that you mention it, what should I do with you?” Discord said, turning to her and smiling, “How would you like to be my pet?”

“What?” Dash gasped, “I’m nopony’s pet!”

“Well, you’re a little bit Alex’s pet,” Discord said, placing his open hands close to each other.

“Yeah? Well you’re a little bit butt-ugly!” She insulted back, “Now let me go, and turn back to stone!”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Discord asked, “I still have so much chaos to spread.”

“If you spread any more, I’ll kick your rump myself!” Dash growled.

“Well, you’d better get ready to do it,” He laughed, suddenly pointing to the horizon, “I’m going to be dropping a present on some ponies who have just arrived.”

“Arrived?” Dash asked, trying to get a look out the window, “Hey! At least let me see!”

Rolling his eyes, Discord magically moved her cage toward him, giving her a view of the depressing outside world.

“You see that valley over there?” Discord asked, pointing out into the distance.

“Yeah…” Dash said, squinting, “What about it?”

“Well… They’re about to have a MAJOR problem!” He chuckled, snapping his fingers, with no apparent change to anything.

“What did you do?” Dash asked, looking around the room for some kind of change.

“I just sent the ponies on the train tracks a present!” He chuckled.

////

Ramsley and Comet sat the three of them down, as the rest of the CMC joined them at the table. They all explained exactly what had happened over the past few days, from the spread of Discord’s power, to the disappearance of their friends.

“So, you’ve all been here hiding?” Alex asked, obviously unhappy with their choice to do so.

“Hey!” Apple Bloom said quickly, “We’re not hidin’! We’re plannin’!”

“Yeah!” Scootaloo agreed, “We’re almost ready to take on Discord ourselves!”

“No, you’re not.” Comet said sternly.

Alex sighed. Why was he here again? He needed to go save Rainbow Dash.

“I know it sounds somewhat pathetic,” Ramsley nodded, “But we’re here to look after these girls. And I couldn’t just leave all these girls behind when our friends went missing.”

“That’s sexy-ist!” Sweetie Belle mispronounced, “We can take care of ourselves!”

Alex cracked a smile at her attitude. Leave it to Sweetie to say the wrong word and make him laugh.

“How far has Discord spread, besides Canterlot, and Ponyville?” The Doctor asked.

“It’s strange,” Ramsley said, giving a puzzled look, “He hasn’t expanded his control whatsoever.”

“Are you sure?” Alex asked, “Wasn’t he supposed to take over Equestria?”

“We have no idea,” Comet said, “But the rest of Equestria has started to mobilize whatever kind of military they have, to march on us.”

“Are you serious?” Alex asked, having not expected such a thing, “We can’t have Ponyville or Canterlot becoming a battlefield!”

“How long do we have until they arrive?” The Doctor asked, wanting all of this resolved before they had a chance to attack.

“Only a few hours,” Ramsley sighed, “They’re riding a train toward Ponyville as we speak.”

“How do you know that?” Alex asked.

“Follow me,” Ramsley said getting up and showing Alex the winding staircase to the top of the base.

All of them walked up the massive stairs to the top of the mountain, and were once again put out by the damage Discord had done, when they looked out at the view they had.

“Do you see that?” Ramsley asked, pointing to a small vehicle speeding along the tracks toward Ponyville, “That’s the train they’re all on. If I had to guess, they’re going to stop soon.”

“Why are they going to stop so far away?” Derpy asked,

“To give themselves a safe zone to coordinate things,” Ramsley explained, “Who knows what’ll happen when they enter the chaos.”

“How do you even know that they’re military?” Alex asked.

“We have some kind of magic here that makes newspapers appear,” Comet shrugged, “It was kinda cool at first, but we get like, ten a day. It’s starting to get overwhelming.”

“I told you!” Ramsley said quickly, “That’s toilet paper if we run out.”

Comet groaned, praying she wouldn’t have to resort to THAT.

“They’re stopping,” The Doctor said suddenly, pointing out as the train visibly stopped, and the littlest ponies he had ever seen filed outside, “We need to move fast, and deal with Discord.”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, “If we go now, we could probably—“

“What is that…?” Comet asked slowly, as a giant bear suddenly appeared a short distance away from the train, “It’s huge!”

Everypony looked to the window, wondering just what it was that would considered ‘huge’ at such a long distance. And upon seeing it, a few of them actually recognized just what it was.

Alex gulped. He had seen it before. It was something that had almost killed him his first few months in Ponyville.

“It’s an Ursa Major.” Both Alex and The Doctor said at once.

“How did it get there?” Alex asked, before realizing the painfully obvious, “It must have been Discord.”

“It’ll tear them apart,” The Doctor said, knowing just how much danger those ponies were in, “We need to save them!”

“They’re the military!” Alex said, “Can’t they handle it?”

“It’s mostly volunteers, who left to fight for Equestria! They’re all family ponies,” Ramsley sighed, remembering the several articles he had read about it, “The Equestrian reserve has been entirely depleted for this operation.”

“They’re not soldiers then!” The Doctor shouted, “They’re just… ponies! They can’t handle something like that!”

“We need to get down there,” Alex agreed, looking to The Doctor, “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

Casting a spell, Alex vanished from the room, as the Doctor took off down the stairs, intent on getting back to the TARDIS.

“Wait for me!” Derpy called, knocking her head on the wall, before continuing the chase after him.

“Good luck,” Ramsley shouted, looking to the beast from his haven, wishing he could do more himself.

////

The first thing Alex heard when he appeared was screaming.

The first thing he saw was the crowd running away from the Ursa Major, as it smashed one of the train cars.

Alex swallowed hard, as he kept himself from running away. He never wanted to run in with one of these again…

“You need to get out of here!” A clearly superior military pony said to Alex, “You’re just not tried for this! Nopony is!”

“Help!” A pony screamed, as the two of them looked at the pony that was wrapped in the paw of the giant beast, “I- I can’t get out!”

A young girl was trapped in the beasts grasp, and as far as everypony else was concerned, she was doomed.

“We need to go!” He shouted to Alex once again, “I’m the commanding officer, and that’s an order!”

“Sorry sir,” Alex said, really not wanting to waste the time explaining that he wasn’t in the reserve, “I’ll deal with the monster.”

Alex stepped away from the general, and cast a teleportation spell, yanking the trapped pony from the grasp of the bear, and placing her next to him.

“Run, quick.” Alex said, to which she had no problem complying.

The Ursa Major quickly looked to Alex, and upon seeing that there was nopony else around him, save the general, and the escaping pony he had just saved, the bear ran at him, and tried to hit him with an open paw.

“I don’t have time for this!” Alex shouted, as a beam of energy fired out of his horn, carving up the Ursa’s midsection, “I’m not as weak as I was the last time we saw each other!”

Gasping in pain, the bear staggered back, covering the damaged area on its chest.

Alex had no idea just where he had hurt it however, as the color of its skin didn’t seem affected by his attack.

Stepping toward it, Alex assessed whether or not the beast was done for. He didn’t want to kill it. It was probably just as scared as these ponies were.

They were all victims of being manipulated by Discord.

“Alex!” The Doctor called, running up beside him, “Is it done fighting?”

The Ursa answered that question for him, when it changed from the hurt-stance, to a very angry, and very fast attack.

The beast threw its entire body at them, intent on squishing them like bugs.

Alex was on the ball however, as he cast a powerful wind spell, countering the velocity of the Ursa and sending it flying backward, away from them.

“We need to do something, fast.” Alex said, seeing the Ursa start to right itself.

“I have an idea,” The Doctor said lighting up, “I can send it away from here.”

“Alright,” Alex nodded, “I’ll hold it off.”

Casting a spell, Alex engulfed the beast in a bubble, trapping it from any kind of movement.

The Ursa mercilessly pounded on the barrier he had made, but it didn’t even faze him, as he waited patiently for The Doctor to arrive, and do whatever his plan was.

Eventually, the Ursa calmed down, and simply watched Alex, as if it were committing him to its memory.

“How did Discord get you back?” Alex asked the bear, not expecting a response, “Luna took you away. You shouldn’t be here.”

It growled quietly in response. It didn’t want to incur Alex’s wrath, but it didn’t want to seem like it had totally given up.

“Alex!” A voice called from above him, as he looked up, “Do you see this?”

Alex looked up to the Doctor, and saw a large portal forming below the TARDIS.

“Uh… I guess?”

“Close the shield around the bear, and toss it in here somehow!” The Doctor shouted, “Does that make sense?”

“Can’t you just bring it down?” Alex shouted back up.

“We can’t have the portal too close to the ground, it’ll cause timey wimey problems!” He shouted, “Trust me on that!”

“Okay?” Alex called up, looking back to the bear.

Exhaling, Alex swallowed, and decided to play a game of basketball, by releasing the Ursa from his spell.

When the shield vanished, the bear took no time charging at Alex, just as it had before.

“Good girl…” Alex murmured, charging another wind spell.

Lowering his head to the ground, Alex got himself in the best possible position for the Ursa to get airtime from the blast.

////

Ramsley, Comet, and the three young girls watch in anticipation as the monstrous beast ran toward the white speck on the ground.

“What’s he doing?” Scootaloo shouted, “It’s gonna—“

Suddenly, the bear was sent flying back again, straight into the air, and into the white bubble, making it vanish from sight.

“Holy crap!” Sweetie said, jumping up, “He did it!”

“He’s way cooler than Rainbow Dash!” Apple Bloom said, grinning inwardly, waiting for Scootaloo.

“He is not!” Scootaloo grumbled, knowing that she was just teasing her.

“Maybe he’ll get his cutie mark in rump-kicking!” Sweetie Belle cheered.

Ramsley and Comet stepped back from the cheering girls.

“Do you think they’re coming back?” Comet whispered to Ramsley, “Or just going right for Discord?”

“I’d say the latter,” Ramsley sighed, “You remember what Alex did to save Rainbow Dash once.”

“Almost got himself killed,” She nodded.

“This is just like that, but about a million times worse, because ALL of his friends are in danger,” Ramsley said, “If you ask me, I think he’d kill Discord if he’s given the chance.”

“I never thought he was the kind of pony,” Comet said quietly.

“That’s Dax!” Scootaloo said, jumping into the conversation.

“I love Dax!” Sweetie giggled.

“Wasn’t he a huge jerk?” Comet asked, remembering what she had been told about Alex’s alter-ego.

“He was never mean tuh us though!” Apple Bloom said, “He cared about us just like Alex does!”

Comet nodded, still a bit confused, but playing along with it.

“Right,” Ramsley said, remembering hearing how Alex had merged with that alter-ego of his, “I just hope he doesn’t jump the gun, and do something he regrets.”

“Well, at this point, I wouldn’t blame him for anything,” Comet said sternly, “Discord has done too much to us all.”

////

Discord watched where the Ursa had just been, frowning.

“What just happened to the giant bear?” Dash asked, squinting at the area the gigantic bear just disappeared from, “Did those ponies beat it that fast? …Hey! Answer me!”

“I know that magic,” Discord said, confusing Rainbow Dash, “You should too.”

“What magic?” She asked, “I can barely see anything! It just vanished!”

“He got here faster than I thought he would,” Discord said, “Well, no point in wasting time!”

“What are you talking about?!” Dash shouted as Discord exited the room, “Hey! Don’t make me break out of here myself! I’ll do it!!”

Discord closed the door and left Dash in silence.

“Hmmph!” She said, sitting down with her ears plastered to the back of her head, “He’s lucky I’m too tired right now…”

////

Alex stood alongside The Doctor as he flipped a few levers, and pulled a rope. He looked like he was panicking over something.

“What happened to the Ursa Major?” Alex asked, not getting a response, “What’s wrong with you?”

“I think… I may have sent it to the wrong place,” The Doctor said quietly.

“What does that mean?” Alex asked worriedly, “Is it anywhere it can hurt anypony?”

“Welllll… Maybe.” He said, turning to Alex, and laughing nervously, “Have you seen an Ursa Major before this by any chance?”

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, remembering that day, “Like, nine months ago, an Ursa Major appeared in Ponyville, it almost flattened Ponyville!.”

“Did you find out where it came from?” He asked, as it all started to make sense.

“No,” Alex said, as it all came together for him as well, “It appeared in the Everfree Forest along with a cotton candy cloud… Wait, are you telling me that THAT Ursa Major was the one I fought off so long ago? It was in the future first?”

“I think I am telling you that,” The Doctor said, scratching his head.

“That’s why it was kinda scared of me!” Alex said, as it all came together in his head, “And that’s why it had the cotton candy cloud with it! Because it came from right here, and right now! My mind just got blown!”

“Well, I guess that means I don’t need to start paradox cleanup,” The Doctor sighed happily, “That’s the worst part of this job. There are too many pterodactyls for my taste.”

“I’ll take your word for that one,” Alex said, silently wondering where Derpy had headed off to.

“Where are we going next?” The Doctor asked.

“Canterlot,” Alex said, feeling his heart start to pound out of his chest, “We can’t give him the time to hurt ANY more ponies.”

The Doctor nodded, as he pulled the final lever, bringing the ship back to life.

“I don’t want you to follow me though,” Alex said, as The Doctor give him a look.

“Of course I’m going with you!” He said, insulted, “What, you think you can- can just take him on alone? Hasn’t living here taught you about friendship, and using it?”

“It has,” Alex said, “But I’ve also learned that I’m an angry, somewhat-chauvinistic, selfless asshole.”

“I wasn’t there for that part,” He laughed, “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“It means that I’m not willing to risk anypony else in my fight,” Alex said, turning away from him, “And you especially can’t risk this ship. God forbid it gets into Discord’s hands.”

“And what about—“

“AND!” Alex cut off, turning back, and looking into The Doctors eyes, “You have to take care of Derpy.”

He didn’t answer that one.

“Plus, your ship can’t handle chaotic magic very well, we both know that,” Alex said, recalling the first time he had met The Doctor, “So take her, and get away from Discord for a while, until I beat him, and fix everything, okay?”

“And what if you don’t?” He asked.

“Then you avenge me!” Alex laughed, “Geez, what did you think?”

“Not that, I guess,” The Doctor smiled, as the TARDIS came to rest, and he sighed, “Are you sure about this?”

“Oh yes,” Alex nodded, placing a hoof on his shoulder, “So… if I die here, it’s been fun, alright?”

“Those are great words to leave me with,” The Doctor said smiling back to Alex, as he pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back.

“Where’s Derpy?” Alex asked, looking around for her, “I might as well say goodbye to her, just in case.”

“No,” The Doctor said, “You’ll say hello to her, when you get back.”

Alex nodded, closing his eyes and smiling.

“Alright.”

Alex walked to the door, as pushed it open with his head, “See you in a few hours, Doctor.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” The Doctor said, as Alex opened the door, and stepped out.

“Got it.” Alex said, closing the door, suddenly feeling extremely alone.

“I wish Dash was here...”

////

Dash sat in her cage fuming. She was stuck in here, while all this excitement was going on outside! And why was she being singled out this way anyway? She saw how all her friends were stone… So why leave her in a cage? It probably had something to do with Alex.

“He’s coming, Rainbow Dash,” Discord chuckled, suddenly in the room with her.

“Who’s coming?!” Dash spat, so enraged it actually scared Discord a bit.

“Your little boyfriend,” Discord chuckled, stepping closer to her.

“Alex is back?” She asked, standing up, “I- I need to see him!”

“And you think I’d just… let that happen?” Discord asked, “I’m not a nice guy, you know.”

“Maybe he’ll go easy on you, if you do!” Dash growled.

“Where would the fun in that be?” Discord laughed, “I want Alex at his best!”

“Is all of this just a game to you?” She asked, “Ponies have been hurt!”

“Is it NOT a game to you?” He returned, grinning, “You’re too serious, my dear! Cheer up!”

“Just save it,” Dash sighed, sitting down in her cage, “Alex’ll have me out of here in no time.”

“Well, since that’s the case, I’d better be outside for him to beat me up!” Discord said, prancing over to the door, “I’ll even give you a front row seat, Dashie.”

“What’s that supposed to mea—“ Dash suddenly felt herself be teleported out of her cage, into some kind of viewing area above a blank white room, “Hey! What’s the big idea?”

“He’s almost here!” Discord called from the white room, “Shhhhh!”

Instantly, Dash had a ball gag in her mouth, preventing her from speaking.

“That’s a gift from me, to you and Alex!” Discord called, wearing a goofy smile.

Dash, unable to speak, or remove the ball gag, simply groaned in disgust.

////

Alex walked determinedly through the gates of Canterlot Castle, feeling his heart sink with every step he took. All around him were brainwashed ponies, destroyed landmarks, and… Well, chaos. It was a horrible thing to see.

Suddenly, he saw somepony he recognized.

“Blueblood?” Alex said to himself, seeing the prince standing next to a small potted tree, “Are you okay?”

“So, you don’t trim at all?” He asked the bush, wiggling his eyebrows, completely oblivious to Alex’ presence, “Don’t tell anypony, but that’s how I like it.”

“Ugh…” Alex said, immediately picking up on the innuendo, “Nopony likes bush these days, come on dude!”

Walking on, Alex ascended the staircase toward the throne room, wondering what it was he was going to see inside.

Pushing the door open, Alex wasn’t greeted with the room he expected to see. He was instead faced with… Ponyville.

“What’s going on here…” Alex said, walking through the door, into his chaos-ridden town.

Turning back to the door he had entered from, he saw that it had vanished, showing only Ponyville behind him as well. Looking around, he also saw several statues placed around him in a circle.

The statues of his friends.

Twilight.

Pinkie.

Rarity.

Applejack.

Fluttershy.

Spike.

Shining Armor.

Princess Celestia.

Princess Luna.

…Rainbow Dash.

“Do you like what’ve done with the place?” A deep, familiar voice said from behind him.

Turning back to face Discord, Alex showed no expression at the confrontation of his enemy.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?” Discord asked, sitting on a throne, with one leg crossed over another, holding a glass of milk in hand.

“Why are you doing this?” Alex asked quietly.

“What do you mean?” Discord asked, “I’m currently doing a lot of ‘things.’”

“Why did you come to Ponyville, and hurt so many innocent ponies?”

“I didn’t hurt them,” He frowned, “I made them immortal in stone! They should be thanking me!”

“Then, what do you expect to happen to a pony,” Alex asked statically, not breaking eye contact, “When you take their friends and family away from them? What does a pony become?”

Discord scoffed loudly, as the air around him warped.

“What is a pony?!” Discord asked, raising his arms in the air, “A miser—“

“A miserable pile of secrets?” Alex asked, recalling the speech, “It wasn’t by your hand that you were given life. Blah, blah blah.”

Discord threw his drink away, clearly agitated, as the sky reddened to the color of blood, “That’s my speech! How do you know it so well?”

“I was there, you know,” Alex laughed cockily, “I saw the Princesses defeat you, so long ago.”

“Your time traveling friend, I’m sure,” Discord said, gesturing to a blue box flying over them both.

“What is this place?” Alex asked, seeing that it was actively changing with Discord’s moods, and actions, “Where are we?”

“I like to call this my dreamscape,” Discord smiled, making a building disappear, and be replaced by another version of himself.

“I can make whatever I want here,” The copy said, as a large tree was replaced by another Discord.

“I’m the ruler here, Alex,” They all said together.

“Well, you still haven’t answered by question, Discord,” Alex said, “Why are you doing this?”

The extra copies of Discord vanished, leaving the original on his throne.

“I’m here to teach all of you ponies a lesson.” Discord said darkly, as he stood up, “And I’m here to find out if you know the meaning of sacrifice.”

“Meaning of sacrifice, huh?” Alex asked, taking a step forward, “If you think I wouldn’t die for my friends, you have another thing coming.”

“Everypony can talk, Alex,” Discord said, “But is your bite as bad as your bark?”

“There’s only one way to find out, Discord,” Alex said, as the two began circling one another.

“You expect me to move first?” Discord laughed, “This has been too long in the making to just throw away. We need some decent foreplay before we get to the real fight.”

“So what?” Alex asked, “You want to kiss a little?”

“I’ll let you save that for Rainbow Dash,” Discord laughed, as he started amassing energy in his hands, “We should have some kind of back-and-forth, regarding who’s right, and who’s the real evil one here.”

“It’s you, Discord,” Alex said, “There’s no debate. I haven’t hurt anypony, and I haven’t tried to take over Equestria.”

“You’ve hurt plenty of ponies, perhaps even killed some, Alex,” Discord laughed, “And you might not have TRIED to take over Equestria, but if you ask me, you’ve taken it over in a different way… with your heart.”

“Shut it,” Alex said, as the power started growing in his horn, “Are you sure you don’t want to concede and apologize to everypony?”

“I’m more than sure,” Discord shook his head, “You need to prove yourself to me.”

“Fine,” Alex said, “Let’s do it.”

Discord stepped back, and held his hands out on either side of him, “Come get me, then.”

Alex fired his charged blast of energy at Discord, to which he easily countered, knocking away from him. However, he didn’t have time to dodge the sudden second blast, as it came in contact with his face, knocking him into his throne, smashing it under his weight.

“You’re good, Alex,” Discord laughed, standing up entirely unfazed, “Not good enough, however.”

Alex looked at him in shock. That hit should have done some kind of damage! But he was absolutely unscathed.

“It’s a good thing that healing magic is so chaotic,” Discord taunted, “I can do this all day.”

Alex was suddenly thrown into a building, destroying the front wall as he tumbled over himself, through the living room, into the kitchen.

Righting himself, and casting his own healing spell, Alex felt his strength restore, but at immense cost to his magical reserve.

“Don’t tell me you’re done already!” Discord shouted into the house, “Here, let me help you out!”

The house Alex had crashed into suddenly vanished, leaving him standing in a patch of grass, wearing a hideous pink dress.

“Are you serious?!” Alex shouted, looking at the frilly monstrosity on him.

Discord burst into a fit of laughter, and finished the outfit off with a matching bonnet.

“I… I don’t even.” Alex said, running a hoof through the material, “What’s the point of this?”

“Have you ever tried running in a dress?” Discord asked a bit confusingly.

“No?”

“Good!” He said, sending a blast at Alex.

His first instinct was to fly away, but… You know, he was wearing a dress.

The energy hit him, scorching the side of his body.

“Son of a—“ Alex shouted, as the dress burned from his body.

Casting another spell, the damage was repaired, leaving Alex in normal condition.

“Are you sure you don’t want to just give up?” Discord asked, as the dress vanished from Alex.

“Let me think about that…” Alex said, quickly casting his own spell, trapping Discord in an incredibly tight polka dot dress.

“You fiend!” Discord said, as Alex changed his spell style, and cast a long whip of energy, lashing across Discord’s back, drawing blood.

But, all too quickly, the damage was gone.

“You ripped it!” Discord accused, “I actually start to fall in love with the pattern, and you go and rip it! I thought it looked lovely on me!”

“I did too,” Alex smiled, actually laughing, “Maybe you could be turned to stone in that.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be the end of the world to look fabulous,” He responded, smiling back, “What’s a thousand years, if I’m looking good, right?”

There was a silence for a second.

“Why… Why are we fighting?” Alex asked suddenly, having thought for a second, “You- You’re not that evil.”

Discord frowned. Alex was right. He WASN’T being evil enough.

“Sorry about that,” Discord said, as the dress vanished, “Let’s continue.”

Alex narrowly pulled up a shield to block at the spell Discord threw at him.

“What the hell, dude?” Alex shouted.

Discord didn’t answer, as he started throwing his hands forward one at a time, blasting Alex’s shield repeatedly.

Alex may have been taken off guard by this, but he quickly decided to give Discord a taste of his own medicine, and shoot him with a blast of chaotic energy this time. So, as soon as a break appeared in Discord’s attack, he sent his own chaos magic toward the Draconequus, instead of the usual Harmonious magic.

Discord simply let the energy hit him, as it was absorbed into his body.

“Don’t you remember?” Discord asked, “You can’t use that on me!”

“Shit…” Alex said, wincing. He could already feel his head hurting. The use of so much magic so fast was almost too fast for him.

“I hope you don’t need a breather,” Discord said, “We’re just getting to the good part!”

Conjuring some more harmonious magic, Alex started shooting spears out of his horn, all of which were aimed at Discord’s chest. But, each one shattered on impact, not piercing through.

“Damn it--!” Alex shouted, stepping back, now almost completely out of energy.

“You need to be more creative!” Discord said, “Unless, that’s it for you?”

“I… I need…” Alex stammered, falling down onto his rump, and closing his eyes, “Just a sec…”

Discord frowned.

“What’s the matter with you, pony? Get up!” Discord said, frowning at his lack of movement.

Walking over him, Discord kicked Alex lightly on the side, receiving no response.

Levitating him off the ground by his neck, Alex’s head hung to the ground, Discord as he inspected him, and felt genuinely upset with the lame way this had all concluded.

“You’re not as powerful as I thought you were Alex,” Discord said, looking down at his unconscious foe, “I’m dissapointe—“

Discord was silenced as Alex cast his previous spell once again, sending a massive spear through Discord’s chest.

Alex was dropped to the ground suddenly as Discord staggered back, placing his hands on the spear that had ripped a hole through his chest.

“Wha- How did you…?” Discord asked, panting heavily.

Alex looked up to him. But It wasn’t Alex. His eyes were burning with a familiar emerald fire.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Discord laughed weakly, remembering that color vividly. “Dax.”

Dax looked up to Discord as smiled cockily, “It’s good to see you too, dick face.”

“You’re… Supposed to be- be dead.”

“We’re sharing the driver’s seat,” Dax corrected, standing upright; “I didn’t think I’d get any more air time myself, but, here I am! I guess I’d better enjoy it, huh?”

“Well, you really did surprise me there,” Discord nodded, as his hands dropped to the ground, “I guess I underestimated you.”

“I think you just learned a very important lesson.” Dax said, as Discord cocked his head to the side.

“And what lesson is that?” He asked.

“You don’t take away a pony’s lay. Not unless you want to pay the price.” Dax said, approaching his injured enemy, “You know… I don’t know how Alex kept himself restrained during all your chatting back there. I wanted to slaughter you right there.”

“Love that attitude,” Discord winked, “We probably would have been good friends, you and I.”

“Maybe,” Dax said, “You ARE a bit of an ass like I am.”

Suddenly, Dax’s eyes started to flicker between blue and their original green.

“Well, it looks like I need to stop hogging,” Dax said, “It was nice meeting you, Discord.”

Discord simply laughed, as Alex returned.

“Sorry about that,” Alex said calmly, “Looks like half the brain got knocked out there.”

“So, Alex,” Discord said, coughing weakly, “What’s next?”

“You need to turn back to stone.” Alex said, realizing just how dire the wound on him was, “It’ll save you.”

Discord scratched his chin, as the look of pain faded from his face.

“Hmm…” Discord said, “Actually, I have another plan.”

Alex didn’t even have a second to react, as the injured Discord vanished, and another one appeared from where a tree had been, as he grabbed the pony by the throat.

“W-what?!” Alex said, as his brain tried to catch up with what had just happened.

“You fought well, Alex,” Discord sighed, “But you aren’t able to stop me. Not yet.”

Alex wanted to argue with him, but Discord was holding him a bit too tight.

“Well, I suppose it’s time you join your friends,” Discord said, as he tightened his grip even more.

Alex struggled in his grip, as he felt some kind of wave of energy come out of Discord, and into him. Then, suddenly, it spread like wild fire across his body.

“W-w-what are you d-doing…?” Alex managed, as he started to feel… heavier.

“I’m turning you to stone, Alex,” Discord said, uncharacteristically unemotional, “I’ve taken your magic, and turned it against you, just as I did with the Princesses.”

Alex could only feel his pulse quicken, as he realized just what was happening. He was being petrified.

“N-no…!” Alex coughed, through the tight grip on his throat, “Stop!”

Discord shook his head, “Just stop struggling. It’ll be over quickly. Let your magic do its work.”

Alex shook his head rapidly, as he saw a patch of stone appear on his stomach. His mind raced a mile a minute, as the stone slowly spread through his body. He felt his adrenaline spike, as his previous tiredness was erased entirely.

Wait… Why had he been tired again?

Because he had used all of his harmonious magic in the fight with Discord, right?

Right.

But wasn’t Discord poisoning his magic right now, and using it to turn him to stone?

Yes…

So, that meant, the magic being affected, and used against him, was chaotic magic.

The kind Discord would absorb. And it just so happened to also be the kind of magic that was turning him to stone.

Not wasting a second, Alex casted the strongest chaotic spell he could, he suddenly blasted Discord’s arm with a beam of light that was all absorbed into him.

“Alex, it’s no use,” Discord said, shaking his head, “Your magic is only—Oh no.”

“If- If I’m going down… I’m taking you with me…” Alex said weakly, through the now weakened grip.

“You… You don’t have enough energy, Alex,” Discord said, confident that Alex wouldn’t be able to output the kind of magic to petrify him too, “You might freeze my arm, however.”

Alex growled, as he continued casting spells, trying to freeze Discord before he did himself.

Hey, asshole!

Dax?

Yeah, it’s Dax! Who else?

What do you want?

Remember what happened when Alpha tried to take Rainbow Dash from us?

I… I destroyed the teleporter with my magic. With that insane chaos…

Exactly! You need to replicate those feelings! You need THAT magic! Remember what Princess Celestia told you?

It’s like multiplying a positive with a negative… The Harmonious magic amplifies the Chaos, making it a thousand times stronger.

You need to do that again! It was your feelings that triggered it last time! Think about our friends!

I’ve already tried… It’s not as powerful as it was that night.

I don’t care! Take our feelings for Rainbow Dash, and use them! Don't be a bitch!

Alex closed his eyes, as the stone made its way around to his back, and started spreading downward.

He would never see his friends again. They were all doomed.

He wouldn’t be able to hang out with Spike, and the other Cutie Mark Crusaders…

No more studying with Twilight.

No more treats from Applejack and Pinkie.

No more suits, or dresses from Rarity.

No more pet sitting for Fluttershy.

But…

Worst of all… He would never get to see her again.

Alex would never take Rainbow Dash out on another date… He would never marry her… And he would never see what their children looked like… And he wouldn’t get to grow old next to her.

He was about to die.

But worst of all, Dash was going to die too.

Her life was being trapped in stone, along with their friends for all eternity.

“No…” Alex said out loud, as Discord spoke up again.

“Just let it happ—“ Discord began, as Alex cut him off.

“No!” Alex shouted, as that feeling washed over him once again, “I’m not letting you do this to us!”

Discord felt Alex’s magical power increase tenfold. It wasn’t something he had been expecting.

“What’s happening to you?” Discord asked in shock, as Alex’s horn started to glow brightly, and leak power into Discords arms, “How do you have the power left to do this?!”

Alex’s mind was racing. So many things ran though his head about his friends, each one being a fond memory that he used to multiply his power. It was over for Discord.

“What is a Pony, Discord? A pile of secrets?” Alex said, repeating the speech Discord had used so many times, as the ground around them started to shake, “No, I don’t think so. A pony, or a person, or whatever you use to describe yourself… Is a culmination of events! My power comes from my experiences. From my friends! And as long as I have those things, I have something to fight for!”

Discord scowled, as the massive amount of energy reached its peak.

“You have nothing to fight for, Discord,” Alex said quietly, “And that is why…”

“You’ll always lose.”

Alex released the spell, and engulfed the two of them in a bubble of pure chaotic energy that cracked the walls of the dreamscape making it start to crumble around them.

Discord absorbed all of this magic almost instantly, as it sent him tumbling back, and dropping Alex on his front legs, the only ones that were still working, as the stone had already enveloped his hind legs, and was now spreading forward.

“Well, it looks like I underestimated you twice, Alex,” Discord said, nodding to him, as the stone rapidly covered his body, “You really have beaten me.”

Alex looked around the dreamscape, as it melted around them, and then to the statues of his friends.

“Is there any chance you’ll free my friends?” Alex asked, as the stone started working up his front legs.

“I can’t anymore…” Discord said, gesturing to his now stone hands, losing more and more of his neck to the spell, “I’m afraid you’re stuck that way.”

“Damn it…” Alex said, as he lost his right leg to the spell.

“Don’t worry, Alex,” Discord said, smiling to him, as the petrification worked its way over his face, locking it in a gentle smile. “I’ll explain everything soon…”

As soon as Discord was completely turned to stone, the bright color of the room vanished, and Alex was suddenly in the throne room, as Rainbow Dash fell from the ceiling, now free of her ball gag.

“Alex!” She shouted, rushing over to him, “What did Discord do to you?!”

“The same thing he did to the princesses…” Alex said, looking to her and smiling softly, “But I’m happy to see you one more time.”

“Don’t talk like that!” She said, her eyes filling with tears, “Just… Use a spell to fix this! You must know one!”

Alex shook his head, suddenly showing his sadness, “I’ve studied magic with Twilight… There’s almost no magic strong enough to break petrification.”

“B-but, Twilight, or the Princesses will know it, right?” Dash offered hopefully, not wanting to hear anything else but something positive, “Right?!”

“No,” Alex shook his head, “Chaotic magic did this… We barely know how it works, let alone how to counter its spells.”

Dash closed her eyes, as the tears from each eye slowed down her cheeks.

“Alex… You promised me you weren’t ever going to leave me!” Dash said, opening them once again, revealing the pure sadness she felt, “Don’t you remember that?”

“I know,” Alex said, trying to lean forward to her, but found himself restricted, as the stone made its way up his neck, “And I’m so sorry…”

“I’m going to smash Discord to bits!” Dash shouted, looking to Discord, and then back to Alex, “Why did he have do this to you?!”

“I don’t know…” Alex said, still lost on that front, “But don’t destroy him. Something isn’t right about all of this.”

Shaking her head, Dash suddenly ended their conversation by throwing herself forward, pressing her lips against his.

Alex simply kissed her back. He closed his eyes, and felt his own tears start to run.

Dash pulled back quickly when she felt coldness on her chin. It was the stone. It was already moving up his face.

Alex saw her broken heart in her expression, and decided that whatever he had to say, he needed to say it fast… Before he was gone, perhaps forever.

“Dash, listen! I love you, and please don’t forget that! But if I never get out of here, don’t run off again like last time!” Alex said quickly, “Stay here, find yourself a nice stallion and—“

“Stop that.” She said quietly, but determinedly, “I’m going to find the spell to fix you, and Twilight is going to use it, do you understand?”

“Dash…” Alex said quietly.

“Do you understand?!”

Alex didn’t say anything back. He just smiled and nodded as much as he could through the petrification.

“And when you’re free, I’m going to give you the best night of your life, got it?” She said, trying to give him a stern look, but failing.

“Okay…” Alex said, his tears running down his cheeks.

“I love you, Alex.” She said.

“I love you too, Dash.” Alex said quietly, as he felt the last of his face be enveloped.

Leaning forward, she kissed him again. But this time, she kissed stone.

“No…”

The door was thrown open as Twilight and her friends ran inside.

“Where’s Discord?” Twilight said, before getting a real look at the room, “Oh Celestia…”

“Twilight!” Dash shouted, turning around to her, “You need to help him!”

“W-what happened?” Applejack asked.

“Alex was about to be turned to stone, but he froze Discord along with him…” Dash explained, “Is there something we can do?! He- he said there was nothing, but…!”

Walking to the statue of their friend, Twilight placed a hoof on his petrified cheek, and felt her heart wrench.

Twilight hated herself for it, but she shook her head.

“No, Rainbow Dash…” She whispered, as she felt her heart sink, “There’s nothing anypony can do.”

"What about the Elements of Harmony?" Spike asked, "Can't we use those?"

"The Elements of Harmony didn't turn Alex to stone, Spike," Twilight said, her voice cracking slightly, "Equestria has no spells that can free him..."

"Then we had better get to work, Twilight," Celestia said, entering the room along with her sister, Luna, "Because from what I have been told by Discord, something is coming."

////

Off the Record: Season One - End

Epilogue

////
Epilogue
////

Silence.

It was so quiet.

It was so quiet, that it burned his ears.

The blaring, deafening silence.

“It’s about time you woke up, Alex,” Discord said, blinking into existence in front of the disoriented pony.

Alex was afraid to say anything.

Where was he?

Was this inside the stone?

Or purgatory. Maybe… hell?

All he could see was unending blackness, and Discord.

“Stop freaking out,” Discord said, patting him on the shoulder, “You won! You saved the day!”

“W-what the fuck, Discord?” Alex finally said, still so in the dark, “What have you done? What was all of this for?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you that if was all for the greater good, would you?” Discord asked.

“Not for a second.” Alex replied, looking around the darkness.

“Well, I guess I have a lot to tell you then.” Discord said.

“It’s not like we don’t have the time…” Alex sighed.

“It’s already been a week, you know,” Discord said, pointing to a clock that appeared next to him, “Time doesn’t mean much in here.”

“Really?” Alex asked, “So, everypony’s—“

“Working very hard to save you, yes.” Discord said, “And I hope they find a way soon.”

“What about everypony else trapped in stone?” Alex demanded, “What happened to them?”

“Nopony was EVER in stone, Alex,” Discord said, loving the confused look Alex was giving him, “Well, the princesses were. But I freed them before we had our fight.”

“But- but…” Alex stammered, trying to wrap his head around this, “I don’t get it!”

“It was all part of the master plan, Alex,” Discord said calmly, “The greater good.”

“So, tell me what the ‘master plan’ was then,” Alex asked, completely lost as to why Discord was being so nice now, “Why did everything have to happen?”

“This, is why I did what I did.” Discord said, as the Elements of Harmony appeared above his hand. All of them now devoid of color, showing only blackness, “This is the next step for your friends.”

“What did you do to them?” Alex asked, “How did you change the Elements like that?”

“I turned each Element into two Elements,” Discord said, as a large ball lit up, showing how each of his friends had acted when their Elements cracked, and blackened, “They all now represent both Harmony, and Chaos.”

Fluttershy had been angrier than Alex had ever seen.

Applejack was lying to… a dying version of him?

Pinkie had something whispered in her ear by Discord.

Rarity was stealing… muffins?

And finally, Rainbow Dash, as a human, told Discord she would stay on earth with Alex.

“What’s the ends to all this?” Alex asked, “This makes no sense!”

“I did it to teach you ponies a lesson,” Discord said, as the ball vanished, “And give you something to overcome.”

“What lessons did they learn exactly?” Alex asked, doubting there would be anything real.

Discord smiled as he began his list.

“Wrath: Sometimes, you need to get angry to get results. Fluttershy did just that, and saved her friends life.”

“Deceit: The last thing a dying pony wants to hear is that they’re dying. If you lie to their face, they can go much more peacefully, or perhaps stay calm enough to be saved. Applejack let you die in a much more calm state.”

“Sorrow: Letting someone you don’t trust have control of a situation can be heartbreaking, especially when you think they’re evil, but it can also save lives. Pinkie might have saved Equestria by trusting me.”

“Greed: As sad as it is, friends come before strangers, and in certain situations, you need to starve them, to save the ponies you love. Rarity knows that now.”

“Betrayal: Sometimes you need to leave your friends behind to start a new chapter in your life. Rainbow Dash was ready to do that just for you, Alex. You’re a lucky colt.”

Alex took it all in. Discord had done this… elaborate plan, just so his friends could see the other sides of themselves that existed, as much as they would all have denied it.

“Now, let me start from the beginning—“

“Just… Give me the abridged version, please” Alex asked, not wanting to sit here for days listening to Discord.

Discord rolled his eyes.

“Fine.” Discord said. “Basically… Something is coming, Alex.”

“What?” Alex asked, realizing this was perhaps a bit TOO abridged, “What’s coming?”

“I don’t know.” Discord said, now very seriously, “I felt it just before you came to Equestria. It’s powerful… And you followed behind it into this world.”

“I did?” Alex asked, “That’s what opened the door I found a year ago?”

“Yes,” Discord said, “And it’s something unimaginably powerful. It’s like me, times a thousand.”

Alex gulped loudly.

“Your friends now all hold the power of chaos within them,” Discord said, “If they are able to overcome their dark sides as you did, they’ll unlock the same abilities as you… And you all might be able to defeat whatever it is.”

“You’re making them… soldiers?” Alex asked, “What do you think gives you the right?”

“I was the ruler of Equestria first!” Discord said, “And I’m not going to sit back, and let some evil butt-face ruin my old home.”

“You’re not the ruler anymore,“ Alex said, “My friends aren’t your subjects.”

“Alex, everypony is in real danger, you need to trust my judgment,” Discord said seriously, “Pinkie believed me when I told her all of this.”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked.

“Remember when I whispered in her ear in the little slideshow?” Discord asked, “And she turned all pale, and sad?”

“Yeah…” Alex said.

“I told her what I’m telling you now,” He said, “I told her that this needed to happen, to save her friends.”

“And she just… trusted you?” Alex asked.

“I apologized, and told her that she needed to give me a chance to prove myself.” Discord said, “She could have destroyed me right there, if she wanted. But, instead, she let me do what I needed, despite it breaking her heart.”

“So, how did you break the Elements then?” Alex inquired.

“All of your friends needed to be exposed to high levels of chaotic magic, so when they acted in contrast to their Elements of Harmony, they would be tainted by their opposites, the Elements of Chaos.” Discord explained.

“And how many Chaotic Elements are there again?” Alex asked.

“Six, the same as with Harmony.” Discord said, “Wrath, Sorrow, Deceit, Greed, Betrayal, and Selfishness. That one is you, buddy.”

“Twilight won’t represent one then?” Alex asked.

“She will,” Discord said, “The Element of Magic stays the same, it just represents the powers interacting with it. Which in this case, will be both Harmony and Chaos.”

“Alright,” Alex said, satisfied with the explanation he had gotten, “But why did you and I need to turn to stone? You accomplished your mission, and made the Elements chaotic, didn’t you?”

“I still had one thing left to do, Alex,” Discord said, “And that was to test you as a pony.”

“Why did I need to be tested? I thought I already represented both Chaos and Harmony.” Alex asked.

“You’re a human in Equestria,” Discord said, pointing a finger at him, “I needed to make sure you were ready to be Equestria’s martyr.”

“Are you sure you’re using that word right?” Alex asked.

“Probably?" Discord shrugged

“Well, I’m… happy to hear that then... I guess?” Alex said, scratching the back of his head.

“You’d better be! I don’t just praise anypony, you know!” Discord laughed.

“What about you?” Alex asked, “If they free me from this spell… What do you expect for yourself?”

“That’s on the Princesses. Before I turned them to stone, I promised them I wouldn’t hurt anypony.” Discord said, “So, we’ll just have to wait, and hope they see some forgiveness in them.”

Alex sighed, feeling like he had been standing there for hours.

“And how long has passed in Equestria again?” Alex asked.

Discord looked at his watch and frowned, “About… a month?”

“What?!” Alex shouted, “I just got here!”

“How do you think I lasted a THOUSAND years in here?” Discord asked, “I would have gone bonkers if it had actually been that long!”

Alex sighed, and sat down in a chair that had appeared behind him.

“I think I just need to rest a bit” Alex said, feeling his eyes grow heavy.

“Don’t sleep for too long!” Discord called, as he faded from in front of Alex, “You might miss a few years!”

“Years…” Alex said quietly, as he closed his eyes, “For the love of Celesta, please don’t move on, Dash…”

////

Author's Note

Beyond this, there will be no more chapters, until I post the continuation, which will be a standalone chapter, as Chasing the Rainbow, and Fall of the Night had been. (One long ass chapter.)

I'm going to add a CREDITS chapter to thank a few people who have had a large impact on the story, and i may also add one more AN at the very end, with any other information about the future of the story.

I won't take years to continue either. But i am going to take a nice break.

Return

Hello everyone, today is the day I have decided to place my newest chapter (Return) in for approval.

I would have made a blog post about it, but i couldn't tag this story in it, so i wanted to make sure as many readers saw it as possible.

It should be up pretty quick, so feel free to give it a read when you get the chance!

Also, if you're following me, you'll see it as soon as it's up there! Otherwise, just check the newest stories.

Thank you everyone!

Return: Epilogue

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Return: Epilogue
////

The confusion felt by everypony was almost limitless.

Even Dash, who discovered his identity herself, was still baffled by the series of events that had taken place.

“Well…” The real Alpha said quietly, his voice echoing throughout the room, “I think we all know what needs to come next.”

“I need to eat something!” Alex laughed, snapping back to his usual, happy attitude, as he trotted back toward his friends, still dressed in his armor, “And… Check on Pinkie and Applejack, I guess.”

Just then, Princess Celestia, Spike, Fluttershy, Rarity, and two guards walked in from the side entrance.

“I think you have some explaining to do.” Celestia said seriously, as she looked across the room, giving disapproving glances to everypony, including Luna.

“And I’ll be happy to!” Alex nodded rapidly, coughing nervously, “But I haven’t eaten anything besides hay, water, and err—the queen. So, let’s go someplace I can get some chow for the love of Luna.”

“Goodness! He used my name as a—“

Celestia gave Luna a particularly dark glare, eliciting a tiny ‘eep’ from the princess of the night, silencing her completely.

“We’ll go to the dining hall, all together.” Celestia said sternly, “And guards, please escort this changeling to—“

“Oh, no.” Alex said quickly, “Hear me out first.”

“Please?” Twilight asked quickly, “I, uh, have some questions for him right now.”

“Fine.” Celestia said, as a guard stepped next to Alpha on her command, and she looked to Alex, “But I don’t want to see either of you try anything.”

“Yes ma’am!” Alex smiled, gluing himself to Rainbow Dash, as the other guard joined them.

The walk was pretty awkward for everypony. Alex and Dash walked as if they were joined at the hip, while Alpha stayed behind them all, his head hung to the floor.

Twilight kept with the Luna and Celestia, casually glancing back to the changeling, now fully aware that he was the one that had kissed her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

Along the way, Applejack and Pinkie were picked up, completing the group. However, they were just as left out as the rest of their friends.

“So,” Celestia began, as they all took a place at the large dining table, while Alpha stood at the door, “How do we know you’re the pony you say you are?”

“I understand that you would all have your doubts,” Alex said, agreeing with their suspicion, considering the harm he had caused them over the past year, “But it’s me. Ask me any question, I’ll know the answer.”

The group murmured amongst itself, as they tried to decide on a question he would be able to satisfy them with.

“What’s your favorite food?” Pinkie asked quickly, deciding to ignoring the group in her endeavor.

“Here?” Alex asked, referring to Equestria, “Probably cakes?”

“Ohmygosh!” She said, looking to everypony else, “It is him!”

“I’d like to be more careful, if you don’t mind Pinkie,” Celestia said, looking back to him, having come up with something herself, “How was King Sombra defeated?”

Alex sighed at the thought of that trip he had taken into the past with Rainbow Dash and the Doctor.

Even Luna and Rainbow Dash were put off by the question, since they were both also present during this particular battle, and both of them knew how it played out.

“Are you sure it’s okay?” Alex asked, not having told a soul about that day, “I mean, the Princess—“

“It is fine, Alex,” Luna nodded, giving Alex all the permission he needed.

“Well… In a fit of rage over the loss of her child, Princess Luna attacked King Sombra,” Alex explained, as his friends around the table gave each other slightly worried expressions, “She poured pure chaotic magic into him, and melted him.”

Everypony gasped.

“He didn’t die though,” Alex corrected quickly, shaking his head as his suit clanked, “She just turned him into a shadow.”

“That is correct.” Celestia nodded, knowing that only Alex, Rainbow Dash, she and Luna could have answered that question.

“That trip was also the first time that Captain Dash ever went down—“ Alex stopped himself as if he had been frozen in time.

“Where did she go?” Luna asked, clearly intrigued.

“ALEX WHERE DID SHE GO?!” Pinkie screamed, on the edge of her seat… for some reason.

Most of them knew Alex had been about to say something quite inappropriate, but he had stopped himself.

“That was Dax,” Alex said quickly, tapping his head with his metal hoof, “He was trying to make me say something dirty.”

Dash simply face-hooved, as everypony groaned at their sudden understanding, while Alex laughed weakly.

“Can we move on?” Celestia asked, sighing, “We still need to deal with this changeling here.”

“No, wait!” Alex said, as soon as Alpha was mentioned, “He helped us! You need to look past what he’s done!”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, not understanding how he had ‘helped’ them at all, “What has he done for us besides absolutely nothing?”

“That’s exactly it!” Alex said, trying his best to explain everything, “He was supposed to kill Rainbow Dash!”

“What!?”

Everypony was stunned, as they all looked at the changeling in the corner.

“But he didn’t!” Alex assured, looking to his mare, “As we can all see.”

Nopony was quite buying it yet.

“He was also instructed to use a spell to shut me down, in case I went rogue like I did,” Alex continued, easing everypony’s minds a bit, “We only won today, because he did the right thing, by doing nothing!”

“Come over here, Alpha.” Twilight said to him, as he reluctantly joined them all at the table.

“Would you mind explaining yourself?” Celestia asked.

“How did you survive?” Dash instantly asked, “I remember hearing that the teleport was going to kill you guys!”

“It killed most of us…” Alpha admitted quietly, uncomfortable with the topic, and the company, “Not even I got away unscathed.

“What happened to you?” Dash asked, not seeing anything wrong with the changeling, “You look just fine to me.”

Alpha sighed and stepped back, flaring his wings.

A collective gasp was shared amongst the group, as they all saw his missing right wing, and pink, singed flesh in its place.

“Oh my gosh…” Twilight said quietly, “A-are you okay?”

“It’s fine,” Alpha dismissed quickly, shaking his head, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“I don’t mean to sound insensitive,” Luna apologized, “But I wish to hear the story behind today’s events.”

“Right,” Alex nodded, “I’ll explain from the start. Alpha will fill you in on everything else I don’t know.”

Everypony listened intently.

“It all started about eighteen months ago, when I was freed by a team of changelings that infiltrated the city,” Alex began, remembering the bright light from their machine as he opened his eyes for the first time, and just how scared he was when it happened, “Then, they used my post petrification sickness to their advantage, and moved me back to their kingdom.”

“And then what?” Dash asked.

“I was immediately placed into some kind cocoon, that kept me from moving, and using magic,” Alex continued, still able to feel the heat from the liquid he was placed in, “From there, they used the same magic from Haven Station, to condition me into… well, Iron Pony.”

“Why you though?” Spike asked, still trying to get his head around the entire situation, “Couldn’t they have stolen somepony else?”

“It was probably because of his chaotic powers,” Twilight guessed, looking to Alex for agreement.

“Well, you’re half right,” Alex nodded, as Twilight frowned a bit at being wrong in the first place, “It was because of my mastery of the element of chaos. They needed me to help master the others.”

“What do you mean, ‘the others?’” Celestia asked, intrigued by his mentioning of their currently useless Elements of Harmony.

“I guess that’s the next thing, right?” Alex asked, thinking back to his conversation with Discord, while they were both still frozen, “The Elements…”

“What’s changed about them?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah!” Applejack asked, “Ah’ like fightin’ an’ all, but we’re gonna need to use’em at some point here, right?”

“We are,” Celestia nodded, looking to Alpha, deciding to move on to him last, “So, what did Discord tell you?”

“We had a few conversations,” Alex recalled, “But it seems to me, that each Element is going to need to be harmonized.”

“So, we need to turn them back to normal?” Rarity asked, “Make them Elements of Harmony once again?”

“I should rephrase,” Alex said quickly, waving off her answer, “We need to unite the chaos, and the harmony inside them, to make something new.”

“Is that possible?” Twilight asked, practically leaning her entire body over the table, “How would we do that?”

“Well…” Alex said hesitantly.

“You’ll all need to go through the same process as him,” Alpha spoke up, piquing their interests.

“What process is that, exactly?” Spike asked.

“Each of you will need to face your chaotic sides, just as Alex did, with his counterpart Dax,” Alpha explained, as mixed emotions spread over each of their faces, “Kindness will need to be faced with her cruel side, Generosity will need to accept her greed, Laughter will need to be very serious, Loyalty will need to show betrayal, and Honesty will have to learn of deceit.”

“Wait!” Pinkie cut in, “Didn’t we already face those things?”

“Yeah!” Applejack agreed, “Ah’ve already seen mah’ lyin’ side!”

“You did, yes,” Alpha agreed, remembering the reports from their informant two years back, “But this will be many times worse than those experiences. You each have a dark side associated with these attributes, and you will each need to accept them as a part of yourself.”

“That’ll be easy!” Pinkie said, “I’m serious sometimes! Does that mean I’m done?”

“Just give us a second, Pinkie,” Alex said, knowing the details just as well as Alpha, “We’re getting to that.”

“Okie dokie!”

“Hey!” Twilight jumped up, not hearing her element in that list, “Don’t I have to face something?”

“What would be the opposite of magic, anyway?” Spike asked, thinking to himself.

“Atheism?” Alex tried, laughing a bit to himself before feeling a bit awkward, “Mmmmaybe science?”

“There is no opposite to that one,” Alpha explained, knowing all of this information like the back of his hoof, “Your Element, magic, responds to the elements it’s around. Your harmonious friends make it harmonious, but, when they start showing their chaotic sides, you’ll be influenced, and possibly act different as a result.”

“That sounds a little scary…” Twilight admitted, not realizing that she might have to change according to her friends.

“Does that answer everything?” Alex asked, looking to Dash and smiling, “Because I seriously need to get to bed.”

Celestia sighed, she was convinced this was Alex, and her questions were now answered… But so much had happened tonight that she needed to know about.

“Oh yeah!” Alex said, as if reading her mind, “Princess Luna saved ALL of us.”

“I did!” Luna smiled, winking at Alex for him fulfilling her request.

“Well,” Celestia sighed, quite tired herself, “Before any of us can go to bed, we need to deal with Alpha.”

Alpha nodded, and stepped away from the table.

“I understand that you can’t take any chances, Princess,” Alpha said politely, “I’m happy to be placed in the dungeon.”

Celestia considered this for a moment, as she mulled over other possibilities.

“I think a guard detail, and a guest room will be fine,” Twilight cut in, surprising everypony with her forwardness, “Come with me, I’ll show you the way.”

“Twilight,” Celestia cut in, giving her student an odd look, “I haven’t made up my mind on what we should…”

Celestia trailed off, as Twilight gave her a ‘I’ve made up my mind’ look. There was no fighting her student today.

“Alright,” Celestia nodded finally, “Two guards outside, and place make sure there are no windows he could escape through.”

“Princess, I hardly—“

“Twilight, please,” Celestia said, quite surprised by her zealous behavior over Alpha, “If Alex says he doesn’t pose a threat, then I’ll entertain it. But he’s still no guest.”

Twilight nodded solemnly.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Alpha said, smiling to her as he was led out of the room by the guards.

“Do you need any assistance getting out of that armor?” Celestia asked, as she headed for the exit herself.

“That would actually be—“

“Nope!” Dash cut in, “He’ll be fine, thanks!”

“Alright, my little ponies, rest easy,” She said as the door closed behind her, going to raise the sun.

Alex looked to Dash with a bit of confusion, wondering why she had insisted he stay in the suit. It wasn’t exactly something he could sleep in. But, when he made eye contact with her, he quickly realized that she wasn’t ready to sleep just yet.

Everypony else noticed the exchange going on between the two of them, and decided to leave them be. Everypony could welcome Alex back a second time tomorrow.

“Why don’t we go to my room?” Dash asked quietly, her eyes glazed over, “This is my second chance to come clean to you. And it had better not be a repeat performance.”

Alex knew what she was talking about, and nodded.

Speed.

////

Dash and Alex entered the room, giving Dash the same pause she felt the last time she came clean about her night with Speed. But, this time, Alex wasn’t a changeling in disguise, and he already knew what she had done… But, this still needed to happen. There was no stopping it.

“Alex,” Dash said, turning to him as soon as the door closed, “I cheated on you. I slept with somepony else, and I’m so, so sorry. But- But I can’t handle you leaving me over it. I think I might die! So, please, just--”

“Colors,” Alex said softly, clearly showing some trouble in his own gaze, “You don’t need to apologize to me.”

“Y-you’re not mad?” She asked, her heart leaping, hoping this would be over and done with.

“Dash, I was around when it happened,” Alex said, still unsure in his tone, as he looked to the floor, “I helped burn that town down.”

“Y-yeah…” Dash said quietly, knowing this wasn’t going to be as simple as she had hoped, “H-how did you feel?”

“Well, I was under mind control at the time, but it still hurt more than any punch, or cut, or gem through my cheek ever did,” Alex sighed, swallowing hard, “I think I even cried a little… Not that my face showed the expression at the time.”

Dash felt her heart sink as he explained himself to her, knowing full well how horrible this had been for him, considering she could place herself in his position easily enough.

“The whole time I was the armored stallion, I worried every day that I would hear about some new guy you were dating, or some one night stand you might have…” Alex said, feeling his heart sink at the memory of that time, “I mean, you were leading a team to save me, so I always had that security…”

“Alex, I had no interest in anypony else. Never.” Dash squeaked, obviously moved by his admittance of his trust in her, “Speed was… A stupid, stupid mistake.”

“I know.” Alex nodded, looking back up to her from the floor, “I heard the reports of what you did the next morning.”

Dash was half-way between blushing and crying. It was truly a new experience for her.

“But, after everything, you were still faithful,” Alex continued, as he smiled weakly to her, “You made one mistake, but you never made a second one.”

“I couldn’t.” She shook her head, feeling one of her tears escape and roll down her cheek, “I’ve felt like a monster ever since I did it, and I never want to feel that way again.”

Dash leaned forward, pressing her head in to his metal covered chest, as her tears began to flow freely. Her emotions were getting the best of her, and she was bare to him. All she could hope, was that he would comfort her, despite her own wrong-doings.

Alex could feel his heart wrench at her emotions. She didn’t deserve any ill will. He had been hurt when she slept with Speed, but it was a single mistake. One that he could never hold against her… Now all he had to do was come clean about his own exploits.

“Dash, I have something to admit myself,” Alex said uneasily, as she kept her place on his chest, “I… May have been doing something with somepony else, while I was under their control…”

Dash pulled her head back, and gave him a truly confused look.

“I… I may have been forced to… please the Queen.” Alex said quietly.

“Come again?” Dash asked, cocking her head, the tears now fully stopped.

“Well, it started out as an embarrassing walk-in on the changeling queen… But it ended with some pretty regular-rutting.” Alex said, his own heart racing as he tried to read her blank expression.

“…How many times?” She asked, not showing anything emotionally.

“Uh…” Alex began, counting the number of times as best he could, “Forty- Forty Two.”

Despite her attempt at being stoic, her slowly lowering eyebrows told a different story.

“Don’t be mad!” Alex said quickly, before she could go into explode-mode, “I had ZERO say in the matter! I was basically rape!”

“Was she better than me?” She asked, now fully frowning, confusing Alex with that odd question.

“Like a hotdog down a hallway,” Alex said, hoping that expression would translate over to her.

There was clearly a battle going on inside her head as she considered the information she had just heard. The Queen of the changelings forced herself on a helpless Alex.

He had no say in the matter.

“That bitch!” Dash shouted, as Alex pulled his head away from her, hoping not to get punched in the face, “How could she take advantage of you like that?!”

Alex exhaled, his eyes wide, bullet dodged.

“Look, Dash,” Alex said quickly, placing a hoof on her shoulder, as she jolted a bit at the contact, “We’re back together. We have each other again.”

Alex leaned forward, and gave her the kiss he had been dying to give her for the past year and a half. It was simple, and yet it had more passion than any of their previous ones. Their unmoving lips conveyed their happiness with simplicity, as they enjoyed nothing more than each other’s company.

Pulling back, Alex smiled to her, almost crying himself. “I love you so much Rainbow Dash.”

“I love you too...” She squeaked, keeping herself from turning into a blubbering pile of tears.

“You look good in that coat,” Alex grinned, looking her over, “May I take it off?”

“Y-yeah…” She said, just staring at him, finding herself smiling at nothing more than his presence.

“And, while we’re on the topic,” Alex began, lifting her up with a spell, and unbuttoning her captain’s coat, “Can I please, please break you in half?”

Dash exhaled quickly, as the final button came undone, opening the coat and exposing her chest. Next, she kept completely still, as he lifted her up and placed her on the bed, knocking over a huge pile of notes in the process, spreading them all over the room.

“I’ll be insulted if I can still walk tomorrow… Before you do anything,” She said quietly, looking him over and getting a naughty idea, “Do you remember the second time you took the healing spell from me?”

Alex thought back for a moment. He had shown up, got his henchponies to leave, and then…

“Was it when I pinned you to the floor and… Oh!” Alex nodded, getting the idea quickly.

“Put your helmet on, and do it again,” She grinned seductively, her breathing ragged, and her heart pounding.

Grinning confidently, Alex tapped his neck, bringing his helmet back to his head, hiding his face completely, just as it had for the past two years.

Pinning her legs to the bed, he stepped on to it, and placed himself over her, just as he had a year ago.

“I’ll bet you taste nice…”

////

Twilight made sure to make a mental note of the room Alpha had been placed in, so she could send herself there after everypony had gone to sleep. She had some questions she needed answered from the changeling, and wasn’t willing to wait till tomorrow to find them out.

Alpha was shocked to say the least when the purple mare appeared in his room, but, he decided not to make any noise. The last thing he needed to do was alert the guards and get her in trouble.

“Alpha,” Twilight said quietly, gesturing for him to get closer to her, “I’ll give us some privacy.”

As soon as he was within range, she used a spell to incase them in a bubble that she often used when she needed complete silence, and didn’t want to alert anypony to loud noises she might be making. In this case, it was just so they could talk without getting the guards involved.

“Why are you here?” He asked, examining the shield around them.

“You know why,” She said, thinking back to their night in her room, “You kissed me!”

“Yeah…” Alpha said, nervously scratching the back of his head, “I’m sorry about that.”

“Why did you do it?” She asked instantly, not giving him any free time to get a word in, besides his answers.

“I- I don’t know,” He stammered.

“Answer me.”

Alpha sighed and rolled his eyes. This was the trouble with mares… Always so insistent.

“For the same reason I kissed you at Haven Station, okay?” He admitted with a frustrated sigh, “You’re just… exceedingly my type.”

“And what type is that?”

Alpha wasn’t sure if Twilight was out for some kind of self-gratification, or if she was genuinely curious, but he decided to play along with her regardless.

“Smart, and hot as all hell,” He said, finally breaking her statue-like expression, with a deep blush and look away, “Is that all you wanted to know?”

Twilight fought back the blush and returned to a normal stance, “I- I did have one more question…”

“What’s that?” He asked, curious if she was here for more than just a conversation.

“When my friends have to face their dark sides, how much will they be different?” Twilight asked, surprising him with the topic change.

“They won’t be your friends,” Alpha said, shaking his head, “They’ll be the darkest, and worst parts of themselves. They have no idea what’s coming for them.”

“Okay,” Twilight nodded quickly, satisfied with his answer, “I guess that’s it then!”

The spell around them broke down, as Alpha gave her a bit of a sad look.

“So… no kiss goodbye?” He whispered, with the shield now broken.

“Please.” She smirked, as she vanished in a mass of sparks, leaving him feeling lonely.

“Stupid!” He scolded himself, banging his hoof on his head, “That’s not how you talk to girls!”

Twilight giggled silently, watching him from where she had just been, but invisible instead.

He seemed nice enough… But he still has to atone for a few things before she would consider him to be a suitor. She was a very picky pony!

////

Life had finally returned to normal for everypony, more or less. And they were finally ready to move on to bigger, and much more pressing things.

Master their dark sides.

Fight their unknown enemy.

Be wed.

Have children.

That was the plan of course. But, things loved to deviate from the plan for these ponies. So, they would just have to take it one step at a time.

For now, however, all they had to worry about was that ‘It’ had returned.

The Crystal Empire.

Author's Note

Alrighty! All set to keep going.

The breakdown of the series will be very different from here on in, as I'm going to be mixing season 2 and season 3 episodes together, since two years have passed. Certain episodes will never happen because they were dictated by time itself, (Hearts and Hooves, Hearts Warming Eve, Nightmare Night,) But others will happen, so long as they can happen on any day.

Also, as for all the comments i've been horrible at responding to, i'm very sorry! I'll try to keep up from now on.

Quiet Thoughts

////
Quiet Thoughts
////

Rainbow Dash felt a little pathetic.

Here she was, with her face buried in Alex’s chest, and not giving a damn about anything anymore. His company was worth more to her than anything else in the world, and she finally had it! So, she couldn’t just go to sleep! She would just waste away his presence if she did that. Instead, she was going to enjoy every single second she could… Well, until she passed out from exhaustion.

As she kept silent, and watched him sleep, she couldn’t help but think back to her life before this. It was such a contrast.

She was such a loud mouth before all of this happened.

She fought with everypony, always tried to get her way, and honestly considered herself to be the single coolest thing alive. Boy was she arrogant.

Maybe the loss of that attitude followed in line with her giving up on the Wonderbolts. Of course, that was over two years ago, and she had been seriously turned off of the idea of them, considering Comet tried to keep her from Alex.

But still, if Alex hadn’t been there, would she be a Wonderbolt right now? Would Comet have ad her way?

No… She wouldn’t have.

Because if Alex hadn’t vanished in the first place for those two months, she would never have gotten so sad, and worked so hard to become a Wonderbolt in the first place! So, she would have simply kept living her life.

One thing is for sure though; she would NOT have been a royal captain.

She would have just been a mare.

“So boring…” She muttered, careful not to wake him with her voice.

Grunting, Alex adjusted himself, and reached over her, pulling her entire body into him.

He was holding her.

Dash looked up to his face carefully, and felt an uncontrollable smile spread across her lips at the fact that he was still asleep. It was the feeling she had been seeking this entire time.

When her throat choked up, she smiled uncontrollably, and felt her heart pound out of her chest.

It may have been cheesy, but it was love. It wasn’t something she was really aware of before it hit her. You always hear the stories about ponies being smitten, and about how far they’re willing to go for somepony.

She always assumed they were exaggerated stories, and it wouldn’t be a thing like that when it happened for her. But, like so many times before, she was wrong.

Dash then went on to become the shining example of how far somepony will go for their love. Something that would have perhaps embarrassed her before, but now, it was something she was fine with. Her image was different now. She was mature.

Ugh… Mature.

That was another thing that got to her. She was mature now! That was probably the biggest shock for her.

Dash often played referee for her friends during one of the few fights they had when she was around, keeping her head cool, and giving them sound advice to working things out. It was something she was NOT known for preciously.

But, in the end, here she was. A grown mare, in bed with the man she had every intention of spending the rest of her life with. And she wouldn’t change it for a thing in Equestria.

“Alex…” Dash whispered, bumping her forehead against his chin.

“Hmm.” Alex grumbled, obviously a little lost in sleep.

“Wake up!” She whispered, pulling away from him a bit, making enough movement to really wake him up.

“What do you need, Colors?” Alex asked, immeasurably happy that everything that happened the day before wasn’t a dream.

“I love you,” She said, scooching up to meet his face and placing a quick kiss on his lips, “I love you so much.”

Alex tried to answer, but the frequency of her pecks picked up, as well as each one took a little longer then the last.

“Dash—I—love—you—too!” Alex said, holding back his laughter, until her assault finally finished, “What’s all this for?”

“It’s for the last two years.” She said, feeling her throat tighten, and her heart start pounding, as she smiled sweetly to him, “When all this chaos and mystery enemy stuff finishes up, you’d better be ready to settle down.”

“What, like get married?” Alex teased, as she looked away from him quickly, “Are you proposing to me, Captain Rainbow Dash?”

“No!” She spat out quickly, “I may be a tough, forward-thinking pony, but YOU will be proposing to ME!”

“It sounds like your mind is already made up,” Alex said, laughing under his breath, “But, if that’s how you’d like it.”

“Good,” She nodded, forcing herself back into her positing against him, “Now, let’s get some sleep!”

“Sure thing Dashie,” Alex agreed, closing his eyes, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She nodded into his chest, “Good night.”

Alex mumbled something inaudible as he faded out of consciousness.

There was that feeling again.

She was going to- at some point- be getting married.

////

The Return of the Crystal Empire

////
The Return of the Crystal Empire
////

The afternoon had come, and Celestia was still in a very difficult position over what had happened with the changelings, and how they were now harboring a high ranking officer from their army. On top of all of that, she needed to oversee the cleanup from the battle the night before, and make sure everything returned to normal.

There was no room on her plate for anything else.

“Your Highness!” A guard called, running into the room.

“What is it?” Celestia asked, with a bit more venom than she had intended.

“Uh… News from northern Equestria!” He said, NOT wanting to be the bearer of bad news right now, “I am simply to tell you that… ‘It’ has returned.”

“No…” Celestia said, shaking her head at the completely horrible timing, “Are your sources accurate?”

“They’re right from the outpost, Princess,” He said, avoiding eye contact with her.

“Very well,” She sighed, defeated, formulating a plan as fast as she could, “Thank you.”

“Of course,” He nodded, ducking out of the room back to his detail.

“Shining Armor,” Celestia said to her guard standing on her right, “Please deal with any business for now, I must speak with my sister.”

“Of course,” He nodded, taking her place at the throne as she stood up, “Will you need anything else?”

“Prepare yourself, and Princess Cadance,” She said simply, walking out of the room, leaving him utterly confused, “You’ll be leaving right away.”

“…Am I supposed to do that now? Or when you get back?”

////

Luna was stirred from her slumber by her door opening, something that didn’t happen often, considering nopony ever dared bother her slumber. It was so dark in the room however, she could barely see anything… being the princess of the night, you would think her eyesight in darkness would be amazing, but right now, all she could see was a dark silhouette entering her room.

“Who is there?” She said, darting up and readying a spell.

“It is I, sister,” Celestia said, lifting the covers on a window, allowing sunlight to pour into the room, “I have some bad news.”

Luna had half-expected Celestia to be chewing her out for the night before, and her rather horrible conduct toward the changeling invasion, but she could see that her sister was far too serious for that to be the case.

“What is it?” Luna asked, getting herself out bed, “You look like somepony died.”

“Luna, The Crystal Empire, and King Sombra are back,” Celestia said solemnly, not entirely sure how Luna would react to this news.

Luna’s expression was unreadable. She was obviously taken back by this news, but Celestia wasn’t sure if she was angry, or anything else for that matter. Her expression was blank.

“What else do we know?” Luna asked quietly.

“Nothing,” Celestia answered, “I’ll be contacting the outpost for specific information.”

“But it has just reappeared from shadow?” Luna asked, piecing things together in her head, “If that is the case, Sombra will not be at full power yet.”

“Indeed,” Celestia nodded, “I have asked Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance to ready themselves to go. They can keep Sombra in his place for now, until he is dealt with.”

“No.” Luna shook her head, “I will go, and I will be removing him from Equestria myself.”

“Luna, I don’t think—“

“Celestia,” Luna said seriously, showing that rare side of herself, “This night will be his last.”

“What do you intend to do?” Celestia asked, stepping closer to her sister, and giving her a very serious look, “Destroy him? Melt him into a pool of pony soup?”

“This isn’t a joke to me, sister,” Luna growled, a scowl plastered on her face, “He took my foal, and my love from me. I will take his life from him.”

“Luna, you may have lost her a thousand years ago, but right now, you have somepony else that depends on you,” Celestia rationally explained to her, “Scootaloo would have nopony to look after her if you were killed.”

Luna huffed. Celestia always had some kind of argument… But that didn’t mean she was wrong.

“So, please keep her in mind,” Celestia pleaded, hoping that would be enough to calm Luna down, “She is here with her friends now, is she not?”

“Yes,” Luna nodded, “They insisted on spending the night at the castle, despite the recent attack.”

“They’re too young to care for such matters,” Celestia smiled softly.

“I trust that the news of Sombra’s return will not reach them,” Luna said confidently, “We need to focus on defeating him… If we will be able to.”

“But remember, others have fought Sombra, besides the two of us,” Celestia said, “Both Rainbow Dash and Alex encountered him a thousand years ago… So I believe they should be the ones to go back.”

“This isn’t their fight, sister,” Luna tried to argue, “Why should they endanger their lives?”

“Because they now wield the Elements of Harmony,” Celestia explained, cutting off further arguments from Luna, “We don’t. They are much more capable than we are.”

Luna had no response. She wanted to fight her sister, but had no ground to do so. Her only course of action was to agree, and move on.

“Fine.” Luna said, her pride hurt a bit, “But I have an insistence.”

“What is that?” Celestia asked.

“I go with them to the Crystal Empire,” Luna said, “I will provide them with assistance.”

“Luna, I don’t think—“

“There is no room to move on this,” Luna shook her head, silencing her sister, “If anypony were to be hurt in this fight, I would never forgive myself.”

“Luna, I intend on making this situation a test for Twilight Sparkle, to prove that she is one step closer to—“

“To what? Becoming the next Princess?” Luna asked, rather indignantly, “Twilight Sparkle hasn’t sent you a letter on friendship in over a year. What makes you think she’s ready to take such a step?”

“With the return of her friend, I believe we can get back on track to her—“

“No,” Luna said quickly, “I would agree with you, had she been on track this entire time. But she would be ill prepared to complete Star-Swirl’s spell.”

Celestia sighed. She knew it would be near-impossible to deter Luna from going on this trip, and things had been too complicated recently for her to pass it on to Twilight. She was stuck.

“Alright,” Celestia finally said, standing up and nodding to her sister, “I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to stop you anyway.”

“Thank you,” Luna nodded, showing her sister a small appreciative smile.

“I’ll send Shining Armor and Princess Cadance right away,” Celestia said, stepping back to the door, “I’ll brief everypony else tomorrow morning, when everypony is properly rested.”

Luna didn’t answer. She simply nodded.

“I will watch over the night, Luna,” Celestia added as she exited into the hallway, “Rest yourself.”

She nodded again, as the door closed, leaving her in complete darkness.

Luna allowed for a moment of silence, before she spoke softly.

“He will not be so lucky this time, Bolt,” Luna said to the empty room, hoping silently that her old lover could hear her wherever he was, “I will make him pay for taking our family from us.”

////

Alex was happy.

Right now, in this moment, all he intended to do was lie in bed and relax. He wasn’t going to do anything for the next month! Just sleep and—wait, something was missing.

Alex rolled over in bed, and was upset to find nopony next to him.

Had Dash gotten up?

Lifting his head, he saw her speaking to a guard with a troubled look on his face.

“I already told her, I quit,” Dash whispered, trying not to wake up Alex, “I plan on staying right here in bed.”

“She was insistent,” The guard explained, glancing behind her at the pony in her bed, and idly wondering about what his captain was like in her off hours, “It has something to do with an old adventure of yours.”

Dash frowned, she had no idea what he was talking about, but decided that it must have been important if Celestia would ask for her so soon.

“Alright,” She nodded, buttoning her coat back up, “We’ll be with her in a few minutes.”

Closing the door, Dash looked back to Alex and gave him an apologetic look, upon seeing him awake.

“Sorry about this…” She said quietly, walking over to the bed, “We’ll get this over with quick, and then get back to, well, bed stuff.”

Alex loved bed stuff. So, he decided that the faster this was over with, the faster he got to go back to doing those things he loved.

“Okay,” He grunted as he rolled out of the bed, straightening his hair with a quick spell, “I wonder what she could be so worked up about…”

Both of them headed out the door and down the hall, simply reveling in the others presence.

“So, Alex,” Dash said, trying to think of any topic she had wanted to discuss with him over the past two years, “How was… Um, the stone?”

“It was fine,” Alex shook his head, “I mean, with Discord keeping you company, how can you get bored?”

“What about him, anyway?” Dash asked, “Should he be freed too?”

“I think so,” Alex nodded, actually liking Discord’s presence a bit, “I’m sure he’ll be interested in helping us.”

“I’ll talk to the princess,” Dash nodded, “I have her ear you know.”

“I’m sure you’ll never let me forget it,” Alex smiled, as they walked into the main lobby, and then toward the throne room, “How has being a captain been for you, by the way?”

“Pretty good,” Dash said, recalling the generally positive experiences she had had so far, “I’ve got more money than I know what to do with.”

“Really?” Alex asked, thinking briefly about the salary a captain of the guard would make, “What have you got? Like, a million bits?”

“Something like that,” She laughed, not letting on how low his guess actually was.

Walking through the open archway, Alex and Dash were faced with Luna and Celestia, both on the throne pedestal.

“We need to have a discussion with you two,” Celestia said, as the door was closed behind them, leaving the four in the room alone.

Alex looked back and forth, he knew what this was about!

“Is this about the loud noises?” Alex asked quickly, “Because I told her to be quiet Princess! You gotta believe me!”

“It’s not about that, Alex,” Celestia shook her head, not in the mood for humor at the moment, “I have a special mission for you and your friends, Rainbow Dash.”

“What is it?” She asked, surprised that they would be asked to do something like this so fast, “I thought we had earned some time to rest…”

“I’m afraid it will have to wait,” Luna shook her head, not wanting to waste any time, “The Crystal Kingdom, and King Sombra have both returned.”

“Are you serious?!” Alex said instantly, “Like, the guy that killed Bol… uh, I mean—“

“Bolt.” Luna said seriously, “Yes.”

“You and your friends have been tasked with protecting the kingdom from his powers.” Celestia explained, looking to her sister.

“That task will be considered completed when Sombra is dead,” Luna said darkly, giving pause to Alex and Dash.

“You make it sound like this is a mission to kill him…” Alex said quietly.

“It is.”

“No, it most certainly is not,” Celestia cut in, upset that Luna was acting this way, “You will defend the kingdom from him, and deal with King Sombra accordingly.”

Luna gave them both a look that told them her intention.

“Why are you tasking us with this?” Dash asked, “Isn’t this more up Twilight’s alley? To command something like this?”

“Not anymore,” Celestia sighed, showing a moment of sadness, “You are the capable ponies for this situation, and will be taking point.”

“What about Princess Luna…?” Alex asked, looking to the still-serious sister, “Will she be the big boss?”

“No,” Celestia shook her head, “She’s only going to assist.”

“Understood,” Dash said, straightening her posture and saluting Celestia, “When will we be leaving, ma’am?”

“You’ll be leaving right away.” Celestia said, gesturing to the door exiting toward the train, “Your friends will be waiting for you to fill them in.”

“Don’t we need to pack?” Alex asked, as a suitcase appeared beside him in a puff of smoke, “Oh, okay, got it!”

“Is there anything else?” Dash asked, looking between her two bosses.

“Alpha will be accompanying you,” Celestia said, remembering that final detail, “Twilight insisted he would be helpful, so I’m giving him this chance to prove himself.”

“Oh!” Alex said suddenly, “Speaking of proving yourself, I think we should let Discord out of his stone!”

Celestia nodded, she had been thinking about doing just that, but was wanting a bit more information from Alex before it happened.

“Do you think we can trust him?” Celestia asked, getting this conversation out of the way quickly, “I wouldn’t want to deal with his havoc all over again.”

“He’ll be fine,” Alex nodded, “I’ll just beat him again if I need to.”

“And be turned to stone for another two years?” Luna asked.

Alex sighed and hung his head, “You guys are never gonna let me forget that, are you?”

“I’ll consider freeing him once you’re all back, but please, it’s time to go now.” Celestia gestured to the door as it opened once again, “I hope to hear good news.”

Alex, Dash, and Luna all left the throne room in an awkward silence. The two of them would have had no issue talking to each other, but the princess was kinda souring the mood. So, they went on their way in near-silence, ready to head off to a place none of them had been in a thousand years, since the hat had been dropped so suddenly.

"So much for bed stuff..." Alex grumbled, wanting to just go back to bed, and let Sombra do his thing.

"On the train dear," Dash whispered.

////

The Crystal Kingdom

////
The Crystal Kingdom
////

The train roared into the station, announcing its arrival with the squealing of the breaks, and the expulsion of exhaust.

Everypony was slightly put off by the groaning of the train as they exited out in to the cold wasteland. It sounded like it was breaking.

“What’s all that noise?” Spike asked, hearing a particularly loud snap come from their transportation.

“It’s the metal contracting,” Alpha explained, gesturing to the outside of the train, “Because it runs so hot, the metal expands. But, when the engine turns off, and the train happens to be in the frozen north, the metal shrinks in reaction to the drop in temperature.”

“Well,” Spike said, scratching his chin, a bit caught off guard by Alpha’s explanation, “Now I know!”

“And knowing is half the battle,” Alex laughed to himself, fully aware that nopony would get the joke.

“Twily!” Shining Armor beamed, seeing his sister and their friends approaching the end of the platform.

He was dressed completely in protective clothing, to keep him warm during the long wait he had just endured for his sister.

“Shiny!” She called back, running up to him and giving him a quick hug, “How are you doing?”

“I’m fine,” He said quickly, eyeing Alpha for a moment, “But we need to hurry toward the Crystal Kingdom, right now.”

“Why?” Rarity asked, frowning at the suggestion, “The wind will already ruin my hair, hurrying will do me no favors.”

“You don’t understand… there’s something out here…” Shining Armor said darkly, as everypony gave a collective gulp, “But if we hurry, it won’t keep up with us.”

“I vote that we run,” Alex said quickly, knowing exactly what was out there for them, “There might be some resentment toward me out here.”

“Me too,” Dash nodded, on the same page.

“Are y’all sure this King Sombra is so tough?” Applejack asked.

Luna was having none of this. She simply walked past them all in the direction of the Crystal Kingdom.

Nopony said a word. They all now knew the connection Luna held to this place, and all completely understood her feelings toward the situation.

Luna played the situation out in her head. She knew exactly what had to happen to protect the Crystal Kingdom.

Collect the Crystal Heart, and place it at the base of the castle. She just hoped that it hadn’t been misplaced somehow.

Luna was pulled from her thoughts, when a loud rumbling was heard behind her and her companions.

Something dark was coming.

“Everypony! Run!” Shining Armor shouted, as a mass of black smoke started approaching them from behind.

“Oh yes…” A deep voice rumbled, originating from the smog behind them, “Princess Luna.”

“Sombra!” Luna shouted, stopping dead, as everypony passed her, “I will finish you this time!”

There was no response, the cloud simply picked up its pace and headed straight for her.

“Princess!” Shining Armor shouted, running to her aid, “You can’t hurt him like this!”

Luna growled. He was right, and she couldn’t throw herself away just because she was angry.

“Please!” Shining Armor shouted, levitating her off the ground, and throwing her well ahead, just in time for the smoke to come down on top of him.

Everypony else was already through the barrier protecting the Empire, leaving just Luna, and Shining Armor, surrounded by the black cloud that was King Sombra.

“Where is he…?” Luna asked herself, considering returning to help him, “Damn it!”

Suddenly, the black cloud exploded, and Shining Armor was thrown backward into Luna, knocking them both through the barrier, and in to safety.

Luna groaned as her Captain rolled off of her, “Are you alright?”

“I think so,” Shining Armor said, rubbing his horn, feeling the jagged pieces of rock now imbedded in it.

Luna recognized the magic, and knew that Sombra had just sealed Shining Armors ability to use magic. There were a few cases of this back when he first usurped power.

“Let’s get to the castle,” Luna said quickly, moving the group along toward the center of the town, “We must speak with Princess Cadance.”

“Can I just stand here, and marvel for a moment?” Rarity asked, mesmerized by the perfection that was the Crystal Empire.

“Considering the circumstances, I suppose I only require the presence of Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Shining Armor,” Luna said, as they walked to her side, along with Alex and Alpha.

“Actually,” Luna said, glancing to Alpha, “I’d prefer if you stay out of the castle as well.”

“Oh,” He said, nodding quickly, “Of course… My apologies.”

“I’ll stay out here with him,” Alex offered, smiling to Dash, “Just catch me up afterward.”

“Sure,” Dash nodded, as everypony else started heading away from them, “See you in a while.”

Alex and Alpha watched them leave the area, while everypony else started wandering off in their own directions.

“You’d think they’d be more focused on the mission,” Alex said to Alpha, looking as his friends dispersed.

Alpha didn’t say anything. He just sighed and looked to the side.

“Geez, you gotta stop being a sad sack man,” Alex rolled his eyes, a bit tired of the behavior, “You’re here now. This will be your chance to prove yourself to everypony.”

“Don’t you think I have a bit of reason to be so upset?” He asked, squinting at Alex, “I’ve had a pretty shit time recently.”

“That’s debatable,” Alex argued, pointing at him and grinning slyly, “You kissed Twilight.”

“She thought I was you!” He said desperately, thinking back to the night before, “And then I made an ass of myself asking for a kiss from her as myself!”

“For a changeling commander, you sure are… a baby.” Alex laughed, not doing himself any favors in the eyes of his friend, “What happened to the bad ass at Haven Station?”

“When I showed up alive, without having completed that mission, it was less than a hero’s welcome... More like a few months of reticule,” Alpha explained, “And, you know, I lost a wing.”

“Well, I guess you have some reason to be so upset then,” Alex nodded, deciding to be a bit sympathetic, “But don’t worry about Twilight, she’ll put out in no time.”

“Put out?” Alpha asked, as his brain caught up to what he had just been told, “You mean—“

“No, I DON’T mean that,” Alex laughed, being a bit of a dick once again.

“Wonderful,” Alpha rolled his eyes, looking around the kingdom in front of him, “Where are we going then?”

“Let’s go check out the library!” Alex suggested, seeing the massive structure in front of them, “It looks like it could be fun!”

“A fun library?” Alpha asked skeptically.

“Ehh, you’re right.” Alex agreed, having another look around them, “Wanna hit up a strip club?”

////

Shining Armor was the first in the throne room, immediately rushing to Princess Cadance’s side.

Everypony else was shocked when they saw her. She looked like she was about to pass out. The bags under her eyes told them all they needed to know.

“Shining!” She smiled, her exhaustion almost melting upon seeing her fiancé, “I was worried something had happened!”

“We were attacked by Sombra, but we got away.” He said, trying in vain to hide his horn from her, knowing she would make a big deal out of it.

“What’s that on your horn?” She asked quietly, seeing the black jagged rocked protruding from it, “Did- did he hurt you?”

“Of course not,” Shining reassured, giving her a peck on the lips, “Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, and my sister are here to help us get rid of him once and for all.”

Cadance looked past Shining, and smiled at her guests in the entrance of the building, “It’s so good to see you all!”

Twilight wasn’t sure if running up and doing her regular greeting with Cadance would be best at this point. After all, she looked like crap… Well, good-looking crap. She didn’t think it was possible for the princess to ever look REALLY bad.

“What’s the story here?” Dash spoke up, wanting to get to work as quickly as possible, “How do we kill this guy?”

“That’s a little forward…” Shining said, grimacing at her attitude.

“I have to agree with her,” Luna said, further depressing the mood in the room, “Sombra got a pass a thousand years ago. He will not get another.”

“Well, I’m afraid we can’t help you there.” Cadance admitted, “We don’t know how to beat him. That’s why you’re here.”

“Another thing!” Dash said, deciding to use her new extensive vocabulary, “Why is everypony so… apathetic?”

“Where is the Crystal Heart?” Luna asked, getting an odd look from everypony in the room.

“I’m sorry, the what?” Shining Armor asked.

“It’s a heart carved out of crystal,” Luna explained, “It’s powers should restore the kingdom to its former glory.”

Neither Cadance nor Shining Armor had a thing to say to her. Neither of them knew what she was talking about. Something that told Luna everything she needed to know about their mission here.

“Alright, I suppose that will be our primary objective,” Luna said to the room, “Find the heart, and use its powers to defeat Sombra. Any questions?”

Nopony dared say a word.

“Good. Please begin your search.” She instructed, as she turned around, and left the room.

“Did I really need to be here for that?” Dash asked, feeling a bit useless after Luna worked everything out, “I could have been sleeping right now.”

“No kidding,” Twilight agreed, “But, we should get to work nonetheless. Just get this trip over with.”

“Totally,” Dash nodded, “Let’s see if we can’t be out of here in like, two hours.”

Needless to say, it took a little longer than two hours.

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long, just busy with life.

Harsh Memories

Sorry I've been so slow, just REALLY busy these couple months. It'll pick up soon. Also, not super-edited. I'm sure I'll get around to fixing it.

////
Harsh Memories
////

Dash groaned as she sat down on the floor of the throne room, inside the castle.

She, Luna, and Twilight had spent that last five or six hours scouring the entire kingdom from top to bottom. The two girls had no idea where to look next, but the Princess herself was pretty sure what this meant for them. She was going to need to have to ask Alex to use his chaotic magic. It was the same magic Sombra was versed in. Still, she wasn’t sure exactly what spell he would need to use… She really should have had Celestia talk to them about this a little more.

“Captain,” Luna said solidly, looking to Dash where she rested.

“Yeah?” She murmured, her eyes closed.

“Would you please retrieve Alex for me?” Luna asked, “I believe we’ll need him to complete this search.”

Dash sighed. She WANTED to take her time, but she knew that Cadance was running on low batteries. So, she had to get up, look all over the kingdom, just to find her boyfriend, and drag him back to the castle. And since she hadn’t seen him during her search, she knew he would be impossible to find.

“It could take a while… Don’t you have some spell to get his attention?” Dash asked hopefully, “Or maybe you could just help me look. I mean, you know this place better than me.”

Luna nodded, Dash was right on both accounts. She COULD have used some loud spell to summon him, but with the state the ponies were in right now, they needed peace and quiet.

On the second count, Luna did know the layout of the kingdom perfectly. She had lived here for a year with Bolt. But that didn’t mean she would know where he was.

“Alright,” Luna nodded, “I’ll help you. Besides… There’s a place I would like to visit.”

“Perfect,” Dash smiled, standing up, “We’ll head there first, then look for Alex. But let’s be quick.”

“Of course,” Luna agreed, suddenly more melancholy than she had been so far here.

The two walked out of the castle, and Luna immediately led them right, toward a part of town neither had bothered to go explore. It was mostly abandoned buildings, and a massive pile of rubble, something Dash had simply overlooked, not giving it another thought.

“What’s over here?” Dash asked, wondering what it could be that Luna was going to see.

“Beyond the abandoned slums, are the ruins of the hospital where I gave birth to my foal.” Luna explained simply, making Dash feel like a complete ass.

Of course, how could she have forgotten? She had been there when it collapsed! She watched Luna’s lover die right in front of her… And she saw Dax save the foals life.

The rest of the walk was in complete silence, as Luna and Dash were both lost in their own thoughts.

Luna thought back to the amazing times she had had with Bolt, and how she had even considered leaving royalty behind for him and their child… It hurt to think of that.

Their child.

Luna was supposed to be a mom. She was supposed to raise her child, alongside her husband… But, neither of those things ever came to fruition. Sombra had taken all of that from her.

And while she really wanted to be angry right now, she simply couldn’t muster it. All of her focus was keeping herself from crying in front of Rainbow Dash.

Sure, time had passed. She had moved on with her life… But this kingdom had brought back so many memories, it was hard keeping her composure all the time.

The only saving grace… The only light in all that darkness, was Scootaloo. A filly that was so much more to her than an orphan. Sure, she hadn’t raised this girl from her birth, but that didn’t change a thing. She was family now. Between Luna and Celestia, that girl never had to worry about lack of guidance, or protection.

Luna smiled faintly.

Dash, on the other hoof, thought back to the massive impact this place had on her character.

It was like baptism by fire. She and Alex had only been back together for a few weeks, when the Doctor suggested this trip. So, expecting it to be a fun, relationship building adventure, Dash agreed to go.

They watched the Princesses defeat Discord, they watched their transformation from mares to royalty, and they even saw Luna and her lover running around in secret. It was fun…

But, when they saw the fall of the Crystal Empire, the game changed.

Bolt was stabbed along with his child. Luckily, Alex had been there, ready to save the child… But not both. That was what hurt her the most.

“Dash?” A voice suddenly asked, as she looked up from the ground, seeing Alex standing in front of the rubble.

“Alex, what are you doing here?” Dash asked, looking up, and being surprised that they were now at the rubble of the hospital.

“I… I came to reminisce.” Alex said, not knowing if that was even the right word to use for this situation.

“Perhaps you mean mourn,” Luna suggested, giving him an answer he could use, “That is my reason as well.”

Dash looked around, expecting to see Alpha with him. But, perhaps Alex asked for privacy here.

“Are you okay, Princess?” Alex asked, knowing he had much less to be sad about next to her.

“I am,” She nodded.

The silence that followed was horrible for everypony present. But at the same time, it felt like it needed to be that way. For Luna, it had been such a massive amount of time, that she had almost forgotten what it was like to be with him. And yet, at the same time, there were so many timeless memoires she could never forget.

For Alex and Dash, they experienced heart-wrench for Luna, and genuine pain themselves recalling his demise. It was the worst thing either of them had ever experienced, and while Luna had much more cause to be upset, they were close behind her.

“Let’s leave her…” Dash suggested, gesturing away from Luna, “This is hurting me a bit.”

Alex nodded quickly. He wasn’t feeling like this any more than she was, and a bit of positivity between them might perk him up a bit.

Being left alone, Luna spoke softly to the air, almost inaudibly.

“My love… I hope you’re at peace,” She spoke, her voice straining as so many memories flooded back to her, “I should have been there with you…”

Luna closed her eyes, hoping that by some miracle, she would get a sign that told her he was listening… But of course, there was nothing.

“But our daughter made it,” She whispered, a tear coming to her eye, “And it may have taken me some time, but I found her.”

Again, nothing but silence, and the quiet conversation between Alex and Dash could be heard.

“I may have missed her life by a few generations, but-but I’m making up the time,” Luna continued, chocking up, “She is my- our daughter, and she will be raised, albeit a thousand years later.”

Nothing.

“I miss you,” She squeaked, feeling rage build up more and more within her, “But I will avenge you. Sombra will suffer.”

She didn’t need to hear some kind of answer on the wind to know what he would tell her.

Don’t risk your life.

Don’t throw away everything you have.

I love you too.

No matter how much time had passed, he was still there in her heart. That would never change, no matter how long she lived.

////

“Alex, we need to find this… Crystal Heart, and fast,” Dash explained to him, remembering her previous interaction with Princess Cadance, “The Princess is weak, and Sombra could get back in here at any moment.”

“Where do we find it?” Alex asked, hoping it would indeed be that easy.

“No clue,” She shook her head, “We’ll need to find it ourselves.”

Alex looked around idly.

“How about… up there?” Alex asked, pointing to the top of the castle, where there was obviously some kind of room, or space.

“Well, I didn’t check,” Dash frowned, mulling it over in her head, “I guess it’s as good a guess as any.”

“Let’s take a look then,” Alex said, instantly taking off.

“Hey!” Dash called at him, following behind quickly, “Don’t find it without me!”

Quickly reaching their destination, the two found a large circular room with several openings. It was obviously a place that was supposed to be accessible, but had been sealed off at some point.

But, regardless, it was empty.

“Dang!” Dash huffed, giving the room another look around, “This would have been such a perfect place!”

“Oh well,” Alex shrugged, “It wouldn’t have been any fun if it were that easy.”

“Come on,” Dash said, spreading her wings, getting ready to take off, “Let’s go check out some more of the castle!”

////

////
////
////

“Mnmm…” Alex mumbled quietly, squeezing his eyes further shut than they had already been, “No…”

His voice echoed through the room, leading back to his own ears, disturbing the slumber he was currently in.

Sitting up with a start, Alex looked around the room he was in…

“What the buck?”

“Alex!” A hauntingly-familiar voice said, as she entered the room, “Are you awake yet?”

“What the hell?” Alex murmured, turning his head toward the now-open door to his room, “Mom?”

“Rise and shine!” She laughed, walking into the room and throwing the blinds open.

Alex shielded his eyes, definitely not appreciating the blinding light.

“Wha- What’s going on?” Alex asked, his mind buzzing in that usual after-dream fuzz, “What are you doing?”

“I’m waking you up!” She laughed, patting him on the shoulder, “Or are you gonna skip out today?”

“What, school?” Alex asked, his head now ringing, “I… I haven’t been to school in years!”

“Very funny, mister,” His mother said, stepping forward to remove the blanket, before stopping herself, “Maybe I won’t pull it off this time… I’ve seen enough wood in the morning.”

“Would you just get out of here?” He shooed, as she giggled her way out of his room, leaving him in silence.

What the hell is going on?

Alex couldn’t think straight. He distinctly remembered school yesterday, but it felt like he hadn’t been there in a massive amount of time. Like he had been in a five year long dream.

“Hey Alex!” His father’s voice called from the lower level of the house, “Mind if I take the truck in to town for groceries? You can drive the car to school.”

No!

Something in his head was screaming at him to stop them. Don’t let them go. Bad things will happen.

“Uh…” Alex called back, scratching the back of his head, “Mind if you do it after school? I promised a few friends I’d help them move some… uh… stuff!”

“We’ll just head out tomorrow then,” He called back.

“Huh, that was easy,” Alex smiled, not really sure what he had just done.

Looking at the clothing on the floor, he idly wondered what he should wear to school, or if Dash… Courtney would mind how he was dressed.

“What’s a Dash?” Alex asked himself as he pulled on some semi-clean jeans and a shirt to match, as he smelled his armpits, “Maybe I should have a shower.”

////

Shaking the wetness out of his hair, Alex headed downstairs, dressed in some cleaner clothing.

“You heading out for the day, champ?” His dad asked, sipping his coffee and reading the comics in the newspaper.

“I guess,” Alex smiled, just happy to see his father here, in his usual place, in his usual routine, “Any big plans for the day?”

“The horses,” He shrugged, “Groceries tonight, probably some porn somewhere in the middle.”

“Excuse me, Alan?” Alex’s mother said from the kitchen.

“Careful there, Dax,” Alex laughed, before freezing and considering just what he said… Dax?

Luckily, the name went right over his father’s head.

“I’m gonna head out for the day,” Alex said, wanting nothing more than a bit of fresh air, “Don’t go anywhere, okay you guys?”

“Sure?” His dad laughed, placing the newspaper on the table and smiling at him, “Don’t go dying. Got it!”

Shaking his head, Alex walked out of the house. God damn he was happy. He had no idea why, but he didn’t really care.

Stepping into the car, Alex grabbed the phone out of his pocket and looked over his messages.

Courtney.

“Was she always this clingy?” Alex asked himself, flipping the phone closed and starting the car, “I’m really not feeling like seeing her right now.”

Driving off the property, he felt his heart sink.

“I just need to get this day over with,” Alex decided, stepping on the gas a little harder, “I’ve got a few spares in the afternoon… I think.”

Heading down the road, the haze didn’t lessen. It only intensified, as he started to feel as if he had forgotten something REALLY important.

“Na,” He laughed.

////

The day passed pretty quickly, nothing in particular was taught to him, and nothing exciting stood out. His interactions were minimal, almost nonexistent. It made him feel so… useless. Shouldn’t he have been doing something more worth-while with his time? This seemed like an extremely mundane day to him.

Even though he had been receiving nonstop text messages from his girlfriend, something had been bugging him about seeing her though. It just… seemed like he shouldn’t.

So, he wouldn’t.

Walking down the hallway, toward the exit of the school, Alex walked past a group of guys you might consider to be jocks, when one of them peeled out from the group and called out to him.

“Hey Alex!” He called, tossing a crumpled up piece of paper at him, “What happened to that piece you were with a few years ago?”

“Huh?” Alex asked, turning to look at the guy, “Years ago?”

“That rainbow chick!” He said, scratching his chin, “The one that was rubbing up on you at the dance?”

Alex shook his head. The ringing in his ears intensified, as he tried to recall just what the guy was talking about. Alex had almost no recollection of that kind of girl, but the more he thought about it, the more he remembered her.

“Do you remember her name?” Alex asked, tilting his head, still trying to remember himself.

His classmate didn’t say anything, he just started at him blankly.

“What?” Alex asked, a bit annoyed at his weird attitude, “Do you, or do you not?”

“What are you talking about?” He asked suddenly, apparently lost in the conversation now.

“You brought it up with me!” Alex said, throwing his hands up, “The rainbow girl! Rainbow… Something…”

“Look dude, you haven’t been here for way too long, go home.” The guy said, confusing Alex further.

Alex had been so involved in this conversation that he didn’t notice that everyone had disappeared from around him. It was just him, and the other student, standing in the empty school.

“What the—“ Alex said, turning around, looking for any sign of life besides the two of them, “What happened to every—“

Turning back, Alex saw the other student was gone, leaving him alone in the lobby.

“Alex!” A distant voice called from down the hallway.

“That voice…” He said quietly, “R-Rainbow?”

Before he got the chance to pursue her voice, a classroom door slammed closed, drawing his attention away from her voice. Then another door slammed, followed by another, and another, faster and faster, until the sound became almost deafening. It was as if a thousand doors were being closed at once, each one louder than the last.

Dropping to his knees, he covered his ears in vain, trying to block out that horrible, horrible noise.

Whoever’s voice had been calling to him, was drowned out, and all he could do now, was get the hell out of the school, and back to his car. He wanted to see his parents. The feeling was overwhelming… He just wanted to be safe.

So, standing up, he ran out the door as fast as he could, leaving the horror, and that mysterious voice behind.

Shoving the keys in the ignition, Alex took off from the parking lot, glancing backward only long enough to see every pane of glass explode outward, littering the ground with razor sharp glass. Regardless of what was happening, he was out of there.

////

The trip home seemed like it had taken forever. Just highway, and nothing more. No houses, no other cars, it was just him, alone in the world.

Pulling up to a red light, he pulled his iPod out of its usual place in his pocket, and tried to find some kind of music that would calm him down a bit, and maybe soothe his splitting headache.

Scrolling through the list, he frowned, nothing was right on this thing. None of his songs were here.

Winter Wrap Up?

At the Gala?

Can you Feel the Love Tonight?

Each of these songs rang something in his head, he almost felt like he could sing along to the first two, and of course to the third one… He was pretty sure Elton John was his real father.

Alex was pulled out of thought process as he noticed a large cloud of black smoke rising from the horizon… And he knew where it was coming from too.

“No!” Alex shouted, flooring the gas pedal and closing every inch of distance between him and what he was sure was his house.

But, like the rest of his trip, it felt like the distance was multiplied by a hundred. He kept driving and driving, but only got inches closer at a time. However, the inches turned to feet, and the feet turned to yards.

By the time the house was visible, the smoke had stopped rising from the house. All that remained was a black, shell of his house, somehow still standing.

Getting out of the car, he ran toward it, the lingering smoke stinging his lungs and eyes.

However, before he reached the house itself, he was stopped by two large stones jutting from the ground.

Grave Stones.

Upon closer inspection, Alex felt himself almost lose his composure over what was written on them.

Mom.

Dad.

It was like someone was playing some kind of twisted game with him… Making all of these horrible things happen to him, perhaps hoping he would buckle under the pressure, and break down, or go insane… he sure as hell felt like it.

He used his arm to brush the tears from his cheeks, as he tried to focus. Something was missing, and he needed to figure it out. This was all too surreal. There was an answer here somewhere, and he needed to keep composed to find it.

And as horrible as it made him feel, something was telling him that he didn’t need to be sad about his parents’ death. He was past it already.

“Alex!” The familiar voice called once again.

Looking over his shoulder, he felt his breath catch in his throat, seeing his high school just across the street from his house.

“What the hell?” He asked, righting himself, and turning to face the building, “I guess I shouldn’t be shocked anymore.”

“Over here!” The voice shouted.

Looking to the entrance of the school, he saw a blur of colors enter the front door.

Something about those colors put his mind at ease a little. And that meant one thing. He needed to follow them.

Running toward the school, he stepped over torrents of broken glass on his way back to the doors.

Throwing them open, he was greeted with a pitch black room. Not the lobby, not a class room, just pitch black.

“Hello?” Alex called into the darkness.

“Hello, Alex…” A deep voice said.

It was one that he recognized. And it made his heart race with panic.

“Have you enjoyed my little trip for you here?” He asked.

“Whoever you are, I’m not just gonna let this go!” Alex shouted, looking around in circles, trying to find the source of the voice.

“You have no power here, Alex, Dax, whoever you are. This realm belongs to the King.”

“Don’t listen to him!” The female voice said, “You have ALL the power here Alex!”

“What do you mean?” He asked, looking for that voice as well.

“This is a dream!” She explained, obviously in a rush, “You’re in control of it! You just need to take the reins! So hurry up and do it! Everypony is counting on you!”

Then it all came back to him. It was the one word that clicked it all back in to place.

Everypony.

Equestria.

Rainbow Dash.

The Crystal Kingdom.

King Sombra.

Suddenly losing his balance, Alex fell forward, landing on his two from legs. He was a pony again.

“Damn it…” The voice growled.

“What’s wrong?” Alex shouted, now very confident, “You sound a little scared!”

“You haven’t won anything yet. I will have my revenge for a thousand years ago,” Sombra said, as the room lit up, showing the King standing just a few steps in front of Alex.

“We’re going to find that crystal heart, and you’re going to pay for what you did to Bolt!” Alex shouted.

Pointing his horn at the King, Alex fired a chaotic beam at Sombra, carving across him, making his entire body explode in a red mess.

And just like that, Alex was standing in front of some kind of door, in a stone area… That was right! He was in the secret area under the throne room he and Dash had discovered! He went to investigate the door, and… well, all that happened.

“Christ,” Alex said, shaking his head, and rubbing his eyes with a hoof, “Son of a bitch.”

“Alex!” Dash shouted, running to him, and giving him a strong hug.

“How long was I out?” Alex asked, looking around for some kind of indicator of the time.

“Just a few minutes,” Dash said, shocking him completely.

“A few minutes?” Alex asked incredulously, “It felt like hours!”

“Dreams can do that to you,” Dash pointed out, remembering the many many times she felt like she was asleep for two minutes, only to wake up eight hours later. She hated it.

“How did you know I had control in there anyway?” Alex asked, not understanding how she could have known that he was in a dream, “You saved me with that one.”

“To be honest, I was just shooting in the dark,” She laughed nervously, “I figured you were strong enough to overpower him, you just needed to believe you could in the first place to be able to do it.”

“Well, regardless, thanks,” Alex smiled, giving her a quick peck on the lips, “Be sure to keep close, in case anything else happens to me, okay?”

“Sure thing, Alex,” She back to him, making his heart flutter.

As much as it appeared he was just fine, Alex wasn’t. He was still put off by the killing of his parents in that dream, and he really wished he had time to sit down and think about it. But, now wasn’t the time. So, instead, he was going to find Sombra, and make him experience some nightmares of his own.

////

Crystal-Kingdom-Cutie-Mark-Crusaders

////
Crystal-Kingdom-Cutie-Mark-Crusaders -- Whew
////
Might have some errors.
////

It had taken them a few hours, but the three girls were finally able to find their way from the train, to reach the limits of the Crystal Kingdom. They had all seen their friends be chased by that mass of black smoke, and decided to take it easy on their way there. And, after some watching, they found that the monster circled the city with more-or-less of a pattern. So, once they knew it, it was easy to slip by, and reach the boundary without detection.

Entering the bubble, they were all blown away by the contrast between where they had just been, and where they were now.

From the dark blizzard, to the shimmering utopia, they wondered just how it had been possible for a place like this to even exist here.

“So this is where my great-great-great grandmother was born,” Scootaloo said to herself, lessening the number of ‘greats’ for everypony’s interests, “I can’t believe this place can even exist in the snow like this!”

“Well, it’s a thousand years old, right?” Sweetie squeaked, managing to bring her jaw up from the ground, “Maybe there was some of that climate change, or whatever it’s called!”

“Don’t be silly!” Apple Bloom laughed, looking back to her friends, “That’s jus’ a myth!”

Scootaloo sighed; she wasn’t in the mood to have this argument AGAIN. Sometimes it surprised her how topical her friends could be sometimes.

“Let’s go find somepony!” Scootaloo eventually suggested, jumping forward and fluttering her wings, “I’m sure we can help!”

“Won’t we get in trouble for being here?” Sweetie asked, frowning, not really having considered the repercussions of sneaking along until this point, “We should stay hidden, and then sneak back!”

“Don’t be a Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom joked, trotting along the edge of the protective spell, “Let’s take a walk!”

This suggestion satisfied both girls as they followed along behind her, deciding to start their exploring of this place slowly, and away from the possibility of trouble.

Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.

////

Cadance could feel the last bit of energy she had left dwindling. Seeing Twilight had been truly exciting for her, but it only delayed the inevitable for her. She was going to pass out very soon. This situation had placed a massive strain on her, something she simply wasn’t used to.

And as much as it made her feel like a monster, Cadance was in love with the idea of just throwing this kingdom away, and getting some rest. The thought of closing her eyes and drifting away was so tempting… so, so temping…

No!

She had to stay vigilant!

She wouldn’t go to sleep!

But… Maybe closing her eyes for a moment wouldn’t be so bad! Just a quick bit of shut eye, and she could get some of that energy back! Maybe if she found the right mix of shut-eye, and being awake, she could stay awake forever!

That was…

The best plan…

She had ever…

Whoops. Her plan backfired.

////

The girls had almost finished a lap of the kingdom, idly exploring the nooks and crevices the area offered. They had seen some water, and a whole bunch of grass… All in all, it was less than exciting, but a good fit for the three of them.

“Look at this rock!” Sweetie giggled, tapping a large white crystal-shaped rock, as a musical tone came from it, “This is so cool!”

“One sec!” Apple Bloom said, running over to a similar rock, and tapping it, releasing a harmonizing note to the air.

“There’s no rock for me!” Scootaloo pouted, rolling her head around, “That’s lame…”

“You can ring the next one,” Sweetie said, pointing to another of these rocks off in the distance.

However, before they were able to start heading in that direction, the walls surrounding the kingdom started to flicker.

“What’s going on?” Scootaloo yelled, as the wind started to rip into the once safe area.

“Ah’ don’t know!” Apple Bloom called back, “But, uh… We should get away from this wall!”

They all quickly took her advice, as the barrier completely faded, revealing a massive black cloud at the edge, as a dark, maniacal laugh sounded from it.

Slowly, it reached its head forward, just passing the area the barrier had been, when suddenly the spell snapped back to life, and it sliced the only piece of him that had crossed the barrier off. The tip of his horn.

The three girls watched from a bush as the tip of black and red flew into the safe area, and landed on the ground.

“Ew!” They all said together, as the horn continued to glow dimly.

“He just got cir- circ-dum-sized!” Sweetie gasped, losing the other two in her terminology.

They all watched in awe as the tip of his horn melted in to the ground, and started warping the soil around it with darkness.

“What’s it doin’?”Apple Bloom asked, as the darkness started to spread along the ground.

“I think it’s infecting the kingdom!” Scootaloo said, as the darkness spread throughout the ground in erratic patters, spreading to small rocks and grass, turning it all black.

“Hey! Look at that streak!” Sweetie pointed out, as they followed a line of darkness that didn’t seem to head for the kingdom, but a large field short distance away.

Deciding that it was the most important thing for them to be following, they chased after it, keeping right on it’s tail, until it reached a large circular rock, that it promptly vanished underneath.

“Where’d it go?” Scootaloo asked, circling the rock, looking for any sign of an exit, “It must still be under here!”

“Quick, Sweetie! Move it outta the way!” Apple Bloom commanded, as the small unicorn cast the strongest spell she could moving the rock to the side no more than a quarter of an inch.

Underneath the rock, was something none of them expected. A large hole.

“Let’s move it the rest of the way!” Scootaloo said, pushing the rock further to the side with her head.

Her friends quickly joined her, and succeeded in sliding the slab far enough away to reveal a staircase leading downward.

“We should go get somepony now,” Sweetie said confidently, knowing they were crossing the threshold from ‘fun and games’ to ‘dangerous.’

“No way!” Apple Bloom and Scootaloo said at the same time.

“Ah’ never get to help AJ with any of the hard work at home!” Apple Bloom complained, “This’ll be mah’ big chance tuh show her how useful ah am!”

“And I know all those fighting moves Luna taught me!” Scootaloo reassured, “We’ll be just fine Sweetie!”

She wasn’t sure if she should trust her friends or not. Rarity had been very adamant in teaching her about knowing when to ask for help… But she didn’t want to be the chicken here.

“Okay!” She said finally, as her friends beamed in response, “Let’s go!”

So, they all slowly headed down into the darkness, hoping they could have something to do with saving the day in this place.

Oops—

////
Oops—
////

Everypony had spent the entire day searching for the Crystal Heart, but had zero luck. It was disheartening to say the least. Princess Cadance was fading fast, and they knew time was running out for all of them.

The only hope they had remaining, was Alex, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash, as they made their way to some kind of massive staircase. Both Dash and Alex knew this had to lead to the tower they had already explored, but maybe there was something else on the way up. They didn’t want to ruin Twilights excitement anyway.

“When we get to wherever this is going… We’d better find something!” Twilight said, worrying endlessly for her friend, “Unless Luna has some kind of backup plan.”

“Worst case, she could just melt him again,” Alex murmured, remembering the blood-curdling scream Sombra had let out as he was turned to goop by Princess Luna herself.

Dash had nothing to add. She recalled it just as clearly as Alex had.

“She doesn’t have the Element anymore,” Twilight pointed out, being just as educated as the other two on the past, “She couldn’t melt him if she wanted, despite what she might say.”

“I hope we have a plan B then,” Dash said worriedly, shaking her head, “You feel like exploding him, Alex?”

“Well I COULD…” Alex said, thinking for a moment, “But there’s no fun in that!”

“I don’t think we need to worry about ‘fun,’” Twilight rolled her eyes, “We need to save everypony here, and from what I was told, you have plenty of reason to crush him.”

Alex couldn’t argue that. He killed Bolt. Luna’s lover. The father of her child.

As each second passed, he grew angrier and angrier. His cheery mood was gone. Sombra had wronged him and Dash… Especially with the nightmare trick he just pulled on him. Maybe exploding him would be the easiest option.

“Are we gonna have to walk all the way up here?” Dash asked, realizing that this stairwell wasn’t going to end any time soon.

“I think I can whip up a spell!” Twilight suggested, thinking over what she could possibly use to speed up their journey.

“Oh!” Alex called, looking at the ground, realizing they were standing on nothing more than a huge solidified magic spell, “I’ll do something from my world!”

Pointing at the ground with his horn, he zapped the floor, turning the staircase into a massive scale escalator, slowing moving them up to the top- no effort required.

“I think flying would be faster,” Dash said, tapping her hoof on the floor to emphasize the slow speed they were traveling at.

“I can fix that!” Alex nodded quickly, firing another bolt into the floor, as the speed picked up slightly.

“More!” Twilight instructed, curious to see how quick this could get going.

Nodding, he started firing bolt after bolt into the ground, picking up the pace exponentially, until they could feel the wind ripping past their faces.
“We’ll be there in no time!” Alex called over the noise of the air rushing past them, “Magic is so much fun!”

“Loser.” Dash laughed.

////

Cadance looked out over the balcony, her eyes now half closed, her mind blank. She had become so used to using the spell, it required no mental effort to cast it. So, here she sat, no thought, no observation, just staying awake.

The only problem left was her energy. She was running on empty.

“Please Twilight…” She squeaked, blinking slowly, relishing in the moment of darkness, before returning to the horrifying light… Something she used to love so much.

After all this was over, she was sure she would have a permanent grudge against being awake.

But isn’t that how it is for everypony already?

////

The three fillies walked through a dark, dank corridor, lit only by Sweetie’s horn, in search of that piece of shadow that had escaped into here. This place had nothing but a single spiraling path, that seemed to get tighter and tighter as it went on. By any of their calculations, they had to reach the center soon.

“Are you sure we should be down here, Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked, her heart pounding out of her chest, “I- I mean, it’s not too late to turn back!”

“Ah’ already told’ya tuh stop bein’ a Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom said to her, leading the pack as they hugged the left wall, “How far does this go?”-

“It can’t be much more,” Scootaloo said, noticing the tightening curl of the corridor, “As long as there’s no second level to this place, we have to be getting there.”

“Why don’ we speed up then?” Apple Bloom suggested, bounding forward, “Come on!”

“But I might not be able to keep this light up!” Sweetie called, as her friends ran into the darkness ahead of her.

She squeaked and frowned, as she pointed her horn forward, and ran forward as fast she could. The faster she ran, the faster she would be done with this creepy place.

////

“We’re almost there!” Dash called, looking up over the edge of the staircase, “Just a few more flights!”

Alex loved moving at this kind of speed. It was something he never fully realized back on earth. Driving a car was something for sure, but you’re only able to go so fast. Here in Equestria, he could go as fast as he wanted! That was nothing compared to Dash of course. She could go triple the speed he could, but that didn’t matter.

Unfortunately, Alex hadn’t really considered slowing him and his friends down when they reached their destination, so, when they finally reached the massive arch, they rocked thorough, and reached the room, without any kind of slow-down. This led to the three of them being launched right out the window of the tower, into the sky.

Looking back and forth, Alex quickly teleported himself to Dash, and then both of them Twilight.

The screaming coming from the purple pony was only slightly deafening, so luckily, Alex was able to cast the spell to send them back to the top level of the castle.

The three were teleported back, and all of them landed on their faces.

“Are you serious?” Twilight shouted, waving her arms in the air, “You suck at thinking ahead!”

“I never said anything to the contrary.” Alex laughed nervously, hoping Twilight wasn’t genuinely angry, he would have worried about Dash, but he could make it up to her later.

Rolling to her stomach and standing up, Twilight looked around the room, hoping with all of her heart that they would find what they were looking for… But, they didn’t. There wasn’t a think. Just an empty tower, and a howling wind.

“No…” Twilight said quietly, “It’s not here.”

////

The three girls finally reached the end of the hallway, where a massive stone door stood in between them, and whatever it was that the shadow had been heading toward.

“Uuuugh!” Scootaloo groaned, as she pushed her head against the door, “It won’t budge!”

“Here! Let me help!” Apple Bloom said, as she stood next to her friend, and pushed against the door as hard as she could. But, it was to no avail.

“Sweetie! Help us out here!” Scootaloo barked, briefly looking from the door to her frightened friend.

“Uh… Okay,” She said finally, after some careful thought about how she could help, “Let me try a spell!”

Biting her lip, she pushed as much magic into her horn as she possibly could, trying to replicate a blow dry spell she had seen Rarity use, but in a greater volume.

Finally reaching a point of magic she was happy with, she let it all out, creating a rather powerful wind that threatened to even pick her friends up off the floor.

“Push now!” She shouted over the current, as her friends complied.

The three all worked together, and finally, they were able to dislodge the door from its place, and make it fall backward.

But, there was just one small problem.

When it hit the floor, a loud shattering noise could be heard, as if they had dropped a glass bowl.

“What was that?” Scootaloo asked instantly, as Apple Bloom ran inside to investigate.

“It was sum kinda’ heart!” Apple Bloom said to them from the inside, pushing an intact piece of the crystal heart out from the side of the flattened door, “Ah’ hope that wasn’ important!”

////

The Return of the Fallen King

////
The Return of the Fallen King
////

Time was up, and everypony knew it.

They had searched high and low, but none had come up with a thing.

Twilight was sure that they would have come across the heart after finding that hidden staircase… But it was nothing. She wasn’t even sure why that place existed. But that didn’t matter now. Everything was looking terrible at this point.

They were all gathered in the balcony, next to the fading Cadance.

“What are we supposed to do?” Twilight asked Luna, hoping the princess had come up with something to save the day.

“We’ll simply have to fight him,” Luna sighed, genuinely sad that it had come to this, “But it’s not going to be easy.”

“Why not?” Alex asked, fairly confident in his own ability’s, “Last time we met, I had no problem fighting him.”

“He isn’t going to be the same pony you encountered so long ago,” Luna explained, “He had been toiling in darkness, and shadow for almost a thousand years… His power will be immeasurable.”

Nopony had a response for her. They all watched helplessly as the shield surrounding the kingdom flickered, ready to completely vanish at any moment.

“Honey…” Shining Armor said quietly, stroking Cadance’s cheek and frowning, “You need to keep awake…”

Cadance was past being able to respond. Her head simply hung, focusing solely on staying awake, and keeping the spell up.

“So… is there anythin’ we outta be doin’ to get ready?” Applejack asked quietly, breaking the tension somewhat.

“We have no army to mobilize, it is only us…” Luna said, looking across her troops, from Pinkie to Alpha, and everypony in between. But, she knew that spreading everypony out would only put them in danger. There was strength in numbers.

“We will go there.” Luna pointed toward the mass of black smoke, waiting at the edge of the barrier, “He will not take more than one step into the kingdom.”

“Are you sure?” Dash asked, putting all her tactical thinking into action from her many days as a Captain, “He could rush past us, and lock us out with a spell of his own… or enter from another point. We need to hold this position.”

Luna nodded, she was right about that.

“I say, we get everypony from town, and we hide them in the castle, and we wait at the entrance.” Dash explained, “As wrong as it might be to say, their homes are expendable.”

“She’s right,” Alpha nodded, being trained in the very same tactics, as her, “The castle is a stronghold, and easily defendable. We can rebuild the kingdom after Sombra’s been dealt with.”

“Get the word out,” Twilight said to all of her friends, “Everypony needs to be here, right now.”

“Got it,” Spike nodded, running along with Rarity, and the rest of their friends out the door, ready to spread the news to everypony they could.

////

Apple Bloom frowned as she kicked the fractured heart around on the floor. The three of them weren’t too worried about breaking it at first, but after some examination of the walls, they saw the heart drawn all over the wall, along with a bunch of happy ponies. It didn’t take much thought to figure it all out.

“That heart is making me feel all warm and fuzzy!” Sweetie giggled, sweeping the additional shards up off the ground with a spell, “I wanna take some home with me!”

“Won’t we get in trouble?” Scootaloo asked, studying the wall a bit further, “This isn’t ours!”

“Ah’ don’t think anypony’ll miss it!” Apple Bloom said, pushing it over to Sweetie, so she could levitate it as well, “But let’s try to get it back in one piece!”

So, looking away from the wall, Scootaloo and Apple bloom started to pick up the few pieces scattered on the floor. Luckily, the heart was incredibly dense, so it only broke into about a hundred pieces. Unfortunately, that was still a lot of pieces for fillies that couldn’t even solve a fifty piece puzzle.

The time slowly passed, as they tried several different combinations, making sure to fill in the smallest places with the smallest pieces, but any time they seemed to make it look semi-right, there were still some pieces left on the floor.

“Ugh!” Scootaloo groaned, sitting down on the floor, smacking her hoof on the floor in frustration, “I can’t figure this out!”

“Are y’all sure we need tuh fix this?” Apple Bloom asked, as her friends both gave her a large ‘no duh,’ look, “Okay, okay… Why don’ we take this up tuh our sisters?”

“I’ll bet Rarity could fix this in no time!” Sweetie said, knowing just how good her sister could be with this sort of project.

“Luna might be able to help us too,” Scootaloo agreed, pushing the remainder of the shards into a pile, “Let’s head back outside!”

Nodding, Sweetie levitated the shards up, and headed out the door, with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo in tow.

They just hoped that the barrier hadn’t fallen since that last time they saw it. Who knows what the scary smoke would do to them.

////

“Is that everypony?” Dash asked, as Alex and Alpha herded the last few stragglers in through the front gate of the castle.

“Yeah,” Alex nodded, his horn illuminating for a moment, “I didn’t pick anypony else up on my spells. So, unless they’re way underground, I can’t see them.”

“Good,” Dash nodded smiling at Alex, “Let’s get in position.”

Everypony made their way to the balcony, as Shining Armor walked next to Cadance and leaned down to her ear.

“Sweet heart…” He whispered, nuzzling her cheek affectionately, “Go to sleep. Everything is okay now, you did a great job.”

“Okay…” She said under her breath, as her eyes closed, and the dim light from her horn faded, and the entire spell surrounding the kingdom, vanished.

“Get ready.”

////

The black mass of smoke rushed into the area fast, and from all angles. From a distance, it looked like a morning fog rolling in... It had a destination, and it was closing the distance to the castle fast.

Every square inch it passed over, was blackened and cracked, sucking all the life from everything it touched.

“I am the king.” A deep voice came from the entire smoke cloud, “This is my domain, and will not have you vermin infesting my kingdom!”

A deep rumbling shook the ground, as several places in the ground started to cave in, making long, snake-like collapses through what appeared to be a cave network. This was followed by a deep laughter. His shadow had confirmed that the Crystal Heart was still in its chamber, where he had hidden in after his brutal beating by that white alicorn a thousand years ago. He knew chaotic magic, which meant they might easily discover the hiding place in the tower. So he moved it away.

Now it was done. Nopony would find the heart now, and he would be free to defeat those meddlesome ponies, and have his slaves retrieve it for him.

Changing into his original pony-form, he smiled darkly at the castle just a short distance away from him. He was home. And he was ready to reclaim what was rightfully his.

While his smoke sucked the life out of everything in the surrounding town, he would suck the life out of the ponies trying to stop him, and build a throne on their bones. Starting with that damn Princess. The one that did this to him.

////

“I can’t believe that big stupid cave collapsed on us!” Sweetie coughed, her mane and coat covered in dust from the cobblestone passageway they had narrowly escaped, “But I still have the heart!”

“Thank goodness,” Scootaloo said, shaking her mane out, and brushing off her wings, “Are you okay Apple Bloom?”

“Ah’ think so!” She said, walking in a circle, looking at herself, “Ah’m all here!”

“Whew,” Sweetie said, sitting down idly spinning the Crystal Heart in her spell.

“Uh… You guys,” Scootaloo said, looking out on the horizon, seeing that the barrier had completely vanished.

“What’s that?” Apple Bloom asked, watching the black smoke rapidly approaching them.

“That monster from outside!” Scootaloo shouted.

“We need to get out of here!” Sweetie shouted, getting up, and running as fast as she could toward the town.

“H-hey!” The other two yelled, seeing their friend abandoning them, “Get back here!”

The three moved as fast as they could. They didn’t know it, but they held the key to saving the day. But, at this particular moment, they wished they had invested a little more time in being Cutie-Mark long distance runners.

Shadows to Ashes

////
Shadows to Ashes
////

Sombra inhaled and smiled.

This cold, dark smell. One that he had become so enamored with, such a long time ago. It made him nostalgic for a simpler time… When he could usurp a kingdom without any interference.

But now, he was just a few short steps away from his castle, where he would cast out his enemies, showing them the power that had been stirring for the past thousand years. None of them would be able to match him. He was confident. And, without the crystal heart, they had absolutely no chance to stop him.

Taking his first step on to the castle staircase, he turned the crystal panels black with each step he took, slowly poisoning the color of his new home, to a deep black.

Powering up a spell, he blasted a hole in the large closed gate, making himself a large hole to enter through.

“It’s good to be home.”

////

“Over here Scootaloo!” Sweetie shouted, as her and Apple Bloom hugged a bright crystal in an intersection in the town, “It’s safe over here!”

Getting to her friends, Scootaloo panted loudly as the black smoke stopped dead, as if it couldn’t get close to their piece of cover.

“How is it doing this?” Scootaloo asked, no looking directly at the bright crystal they were hugging.

“Ah’ think it’s the brightness!” Apple Bloom suggested, also avoiding the now blinding light being shone from the crystal.

“Why did it get so bright?” Sweetie asked, wincing as she looked at the increasingly bright stone.

“It must be some kind of defense mechanism,” Scootaloo suggested, losing the two of her friends in the obvious complexity of the words she had just used, as they gave each other puzzled looks, “Ugh, It’s to keep it safe from danger!”

“Ooooh.” Apple Bloom nodded, now understanding.

“Well, that’s good and all, but where are we supposed to go now?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking around them at the black smoke completely surrounding them, only being held back by the light.

“Can you cast a spell to make a REALLY bright light shine out of your horn?” Scootaloo asked, not really sure about the extent of her magic abilities.

“I could… But I can’t carry this broken heart around if I do!” She explained, giving them all pause, since there was no way for any of them to carry it themselves.

“What should we do?” Apple Bloom asked, looking to Scootaloo, hoping she would have some kind of answer to this problem as well.

Survival, or protect the heart?

“We need to leave the Crystal Heart here,” She sighed, feeling terrible about saying it.

“But it MUST be important!” Sweetie Belle said, knowing it wouldn’t have been hidden the way it was if it were nothing.

“We need to keep it safe!” Apple Bloom agreed, looking back to the third member of the group, seeing the troubled look on her face.

“I know,” Scootaloo agreed, biting her lip, “But we need to look out for ourselves! I’d hate for any of us to get hurt…”

As if it had responded to her worry, the shards of the heart started to glow.

“What’s going on?” Sweetie yelped, almost dropping the heart from the spell in surprise, “It’s glowing now!”

“It was what Scoot’s said!” Apple Bloom shouted, looking to their flightless friend, “You need to care about us more!”

“I… I don’t think I could care about you guys more!” Scootaloo frowned, as Apple Bloom and Sweetie gave her an offended look.

“How could you say that?” Sweetie frowned, her eyes now twice the size they had been previously.

“Ah’ll bet that Princess Luna is all the friends she needs!” Apple Bloom scoffed, hoping her plan would work.

“Don’t say that!” Scootaloo shouted, catching them both off guard, “I love you guys like my sisters! How could I care about you more?!”

Suddenly, the heart exploded in light, forcing the shadow surrounding them to back away at least a block of the city.

“Aww! Thanks Scoot!” Sweetie giggled, winking to Apple Bloom.

Scootaloo quickly understood why they had been that way to her… She was a little insulted.

“Was that the plan the whole time?!” Scootaloo asked, offended that they would trick her like that.

“Sure was!” Apple Bloom laughed, turning toward the castle, “Come on! Let’s go!”

Rolling her eyes, Scootaloo followed behind her friends.

“…Jerks.”

////

Sombra blasted his way through the castle entrance, making his way toward the throne room, where his adversaries waited.

On his way, he could sense fear coming from high above him. He knew it was coming from the ponies of this kingdom. They must have been hidden somewhere in the castle, but, they were off the hook for now. He had something else to tend to.

////

Twilight was blasted away from the door to the throne room, as Sombra broke through her protective spell instantly.

Luna instantly caught her in a levitation spell, placing her down softly along with the rest of them on the other side of the room.

“Princess Luna…” A deep voice came through the smoke, “’It’s so nice to see you again.”

Luna had no words for him. Every bad memory and feeling suddenly washed over her, feeling as terrible as they had the day he killed Bolt.

“You should run away,” Alex warned, shaking his head, “Don’t you remember how things ended between us last time?”

The smoke finally cleared, giving everypony a view of their new enemy, and vice versa.

Sombra growled. He did remember. That white pony had beaten the living hell out of him. His knowledge of chaotic magic was truly impressive at that time. But, over these past thousand years, Sombra was much stronger. He was confident.

But how they were still alive was a mystery to him. But, if Luna was immortal, then anything was possible to him.

“So, who wishes to face me first?” Sombra asked, pacing in front of the ponies facing him, “Luna? Hmm… No. You no longer harness the Element. You’d stand no chance.”

“I will if I must.” Luna spoke up, stepping forward, as her friends gathered around to stop her.

“Are you still hurt about that little thing, with your husband and daughter?” He laughed, proud of his horrible deeds, “Come now, hasn’t enough time passed that we can laugh about it?”

“Never!” Luna shouted, firing some dark magic from her horn, that passed right through Sombra, blowing yet another hole in the wall of the throne room.

“We’re going to have some fun coming up, once you’re my slave,” He laughed, looking away from Luna, back towards the other ponies, “Now, who wants to—“

“How about me?” Dash cut in, getting herself into the attack position Luna had taught her.

“You don’t even know magic!” He laughed, “I’m not about to fight in hoof-to-hoof combat with a woman anyway.”

“Hey!” She yelled, jumping at him suddenly, only to be frozen in place by his spell, an inch from his face.

Dang… Why didn’t she have her gauntlet?

Levitating Dash toward him, Sombra inhaled, just as he did the last time they met. Dash was nothing but creeped-the-buck out.

“Hey Alex! A little help here?” Dash asked, wondering why he hadn’t sprung into action yet.

“What, am I on now?” Alex asked, looking back and forth between his friends, and shrugging, “Alpha? You want a go?”

“Sure don’t!” He said, shaking his head, wondering if he could change into anypony to help somehow…

Thrusting his hoof forward, a grey blast shot out of his arm and encompassed the King inside a bubble, lifting him off the ground.

“This magic,” Sombra said, feeling both chaos and harmony surround him, “It’s something new.”

“Something more powerful than you could imagine,” Alex said confidently, easily floating Sombra around in the air, “Have any last requests?”

“Just one,” Sombra laughed, as everypony gave him a weird look for being so positive at a moment like this, “Take a deep breath.”

Before anypony could react, a mass of black smoke rushed into the throne room from the balcony and enveloped them, forcing Alex to break the spell on Sombra.

“I hope none of you needed magic!” He shouted over the howling winds from the cold northern air, “Because none of you are going to be using it ever again!”

The smoke had the same effect on everypony’s horns, that it had on Shining Armor’s.

They were all now unable to cast any kind of spell.

////

“We’re almost there!” Scootaloo shouted, the wind having recently picked up as it blew toward the castle.

“Ah’ hope nuthin’ happened tuh our sisters!” Apple Bloom said, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Luna and Alex can take care of them,” Sweetie Belle said, not having lost an ounce of optimism, “Let’s just get this heart up there!”

Reaching the staircase, they quickly scaled it, keeping the smoke from entering the castle this way.

“Which way do we go now?” Scootaloo asked, seeing a large hole blasted in the wall, and a staircase on the opposite side of the room.

“I’m going to tell you all a story…” Sombra’s deep voice said from the left.

“I don’t think anypony cares about a stupid story,” Spike said, out of breath for some reason none of them could fathom.

“He’s in there! We need tuh hurr—“

Apple Bloom was cut off by a feint cry coming from somewhere in the castle.

“Shh! Listen!” She ordered.

The harder they all listened, the more it started to sound like a BUNCH of voices.

“Who is that?” Scootaloo said, looking toward the staircase worriedly.

“It must be the townsponies!” Sweetie suggested, remembering the lack of life they encountered on the way toward the castle.

“They sound like they’re in trouble!” Apple Bloom squeaked, now faced with a dilemma, “Who should we go help?”

Scootaloo thought to herself for a second, weighing the possibilities, before coming up with a plan.

“We’ll go help the ponies upstairs, and then come back and help our friends!” Scootaloo explained, hoping they wouldn’t think she was a jerk for this, “That King guy is telling some kind of story to them right now, so we have a few minutes we can spare!”

Sweetie and Apple Bloom looked at each other, both obviously unsure.

“Look, who knows what’ll happen to those ponies if we just skip over them?” Scootaloo continued, slowly reaching her friends, “Nopony gets left behind ever!”

“She’s right!” Sweetie agreed, as Apple Bloom finally nodded.

“We need to hurry though!”

The three girls ran up the stairs, following the cries for help, and clearing the smoke away from the castle with the crystal heart. But, just as they thought they were reaching the place these ponies were, they found nothing but a brick wall, as if they were hidden in some kind of secret chamber.

The girls looked to one another, as the ponies inside the room continued crying in fear.

“How do we get in there?” Sweetie asked, tilting her head.

“I’ll break it down!” Scootaloo offered, as her friends gave her questioning looks.

“What?!” Scootaloo said, offended that they didn’t trust her to run it down.

“Are you sure about that?” Apple Bloom asked, trying not to laugh.

Scootaloo huffed and looked toward the door, backing up. She had already been made fun of once by them today… But that wasn’t happening again!

Once she felt she was at a good distance, she looked at the floor, closer her eyes, and ran forward at top speed.

“Cutie Mark Wrecking Ball!”

The end result was one none of them had anticipated.

Instead of hitting the wall, or smashing it, or anything any of them expected, she instead ran right through it.

It had only been an illusion.

“Woah!” Scootaloo yelled, trying to stop herself before she crashed into a mare that was being influenced by the black smoke.

“Sweetie! Get that heart in here!” Scootaloo called, not at all concerned with her own aching head as she stood up, “We need to get rid of all this nasty smoke!”

Not wasting a second, the other two girls ran through the wall and used the effects of the heart to clear the room for the crystal ponies.

After a minute passed, they managed to remove all traces of the smoke, allowing the confused ponies to regain some of their composure.

The first one to regain her composure walked toward the three girls, a confused look on her face.

“Did you three save us?” She asked, shaking those dark eyes from her mind, “H-how did you get rid of that horrid smoke?”

“Uh… With this!” Apple Bloom smiled, pointing to the smashed pieces of the heart.

“What is it?” She asked, not recognizing it by the smashed shape it was in.

“Uh… a light that protects us from the smoke!” Sweetie thought up quickly, not wanting to get yelled at for breaking something obviously so important.

“Here!” Scootaloo said, hopping up and snatching a shard in her mouth, and dropping it on the floor in the middle of the hidden room, “That should keep you all safe from that black guy!”

“Don’t you think you should rephrase that…?” Apple Bloom suggested.

“Oh that sounded super racist,” She understood quickly, “Sorry everypony! I didn’t mean it THAT way!”

The nopony responded, they all just looked at the crystal, as if they were being drawn to it.

“Anyway…” Apple Bloom said, glancing back to the entrance, “We need tuh get outta’ here.”

The other two girls nodded to each other and looked back to the one mare, “We’ll come get you when it’s safe!”

Again, the mare gazed at the crystal, not even trying acknowledge them.

“Okay, good to hear!” Scootaloo said, giving up on speaking to them and turning around, “Let’s go guys!”

////

“So, your mother, or, Miss Sombra, forced you to be in a dance class for girls… and it fostered such horrible feelings that you decided to enslave an entire kingdom?” Alex asked, suspended in the air by his arms, his legs not quite reaching the ground, along with everypony else, “That’s the gist of it?”

“That’s nothing like what I just said!” Sombra shouted.

“Okay, to be fair, I WAS dozing off… It was kinda a boring story.” Alex frowned, looking away from Sombra, a sly smile on his face.

“Alex, I don’t think this is the time…” Shining Armor sighed, knowing he as only pissing off the guy that was about to kill them all.

“I found the story quite charming,” Rarity chimed in, surprisingly happy, considering she was being held in the air, “Well, Alex’s version at least. I always had a thing for the one boy in the dance class.”

“Hey!” Spike pouted, “If you want me to take dance, just tell me!”

“Don’t let him try,” Twilight whispered pretty loudly, “He’s terrible at moving like that in pony-form!”

“Heh, darn tootin’!” Applejack laughed, “He throws his rump ‘round like he’s tryin’ tuh applebuck!”

Fluttershy giggled along with Pinkie remembering the many times Spike had tried his hoof at dancing.

Alpha was sad, because he didn’t get the joke.

“That is enough!” Sombra shouted, shocked that they were able to laugh in a situation like this, “You all have nothing to be happy about! You’re about to die!”

“Okay, Debbie downer.” Dash scoffed.

“Why you little—“ Sombra began, raising a hoof to strike Dash, before a voice came in from the entrance.

“Hey you guys! We got the Crystal Heart!” Sweetie Belle shouted, surprisingly expertly moving several shards around the room, melting a significant amount of smoke.

But, it didn’t break the seal on their horns, or the spell that held them tightly in place.

“Sweetie!” Rarity shouted, as everypony started yelling at the girls to run away, suddenly feeling much less positive about the situation.

“Silence!” Sombra shouted, covering their mouths with a dark spell.

“W-what have you don’t to the heart?” He demanded, looking at the pieces as they reassembled in Sweetie’s spell, “Did you smash it?”

“Uh… We found it like this!” Apple Bloom lied quickly.

Sombra wasn’t sure whether to be angry, or very happy.

“Well, if you girls were coming to save the day with that, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”

The three girls looked to each other and gulped.

“With it broken like that, it has no hope of stopping me!” He laughed, “Besides, you would need the crystal ponies to activate it.”

Giving each other a quick look, they all nodded, as Sweetie took the two largest pieces of heart, and put them in her friend’s mouths, keeping the smaller pieces in her own spell.

They all took off in different directions, hoping one or two of them could escape.

“Get back here!” Sombra shouted, instantly reaching out and slapping Sweetie with a spell in her back, sending her up in the air, and then down on to her face, knocking her out, and sending the small pieces of the heart all over the room.

“Now, you--!” Sombra said, turning to Apple Bloom and smiling, this was almost too easy!

Magically lifting her up by her back leg, he whipped her around, sending her top half flailing around, trying to shake the crystal out of her clenched jaws.

Finally, she lost it her grip, as the shard flew over toward Sombra, and she was released, tumbling on the floor next to the unconscious Sweetie.

Scootaloo, in the heat of the moment, had found a place to hide, cleverly behind a plant on a windowsill. He had no way of catching her before she could jump down to a balcony below her.

“Hiding are we?” He asked the room, turning in circles, looking for where she could possibly be, “Hmm, how can I scare you out?”

////

The crystal ponies still hid in the room, none of them able to muster the courage to leave, finding their only solace in the small piece of crystal those filly’s had left them.

“Why does this feel so… safe?” One of the stallions asked.

“I never want to leave its side,” A mare sighed, smiling contently.

“It almost makes me feel as good at the—“ One of them said, as the entire room clicked at once on what she way saying, and why she had frozen.

“That’s the crystal heart!” One said, suddenly very panicked, “Why is it broken?”

“It must have been… S-Sombra!” He replied, losing all hope for their safety, since their only salvation was sitting in front of them, broken into so many pieces.

“No… It should still work!” The librarian said stepping through the crowd, “It may not be as strong, but it might give our friends the upper hoof!”

Everypony looked to one another nervously.

“Just do it!” She demanded, “Be happy! Let love run through your veins! Don’t let Sombra get us down again! We can do it!”

They each gave their heart and soul to try and brighten the shard, hoping to spark the other fragments. But, before they were able to have it reach its full power, the shard suddenly skipped out of the room, through the magic wall, and into the hallway.

“What the—We need to go after it!” The librarian called, charging out the door, unsure of how many ponies had the courage to follower her. Luckily, they all did.

////

“How about this,” Sombra suggested, walking over to the unconscious girls on the floor and drawing the sword from his scabbard with a spell, “Either you bring me the heart, or I hurt your friends. Badly.”

Scootaloo bit her lip, looking over the plant carefully.

“You have three seconds… One!”

She sucked in air, knowing that she had no choice.

“Two!”

She needed to pony up, and do this!

“One!”

“Okay okay!” She said, popping up into view, lugging the crystal out from her hiding spot.

“I’m glad to see you finally came to your senses,” Sombra said, lifting the sword into the air, away from the other two girls, “But, I’m still going to hurt them.”

“What? But you said—“

“Never trust what anypony tells you,” He laughed darkly, ready to drop the sword, “It’s a hard lesson to learn.”

However, before he dropped the sword on Apple Bloom, the large chunk of heart in front of Scootaloo started to glow.

“What are you doing…?” He asked, slowing coming to the realization of what was happening, “Stop that right now!”

“I-I’m not doing anything!” She said, as the heart began to glow brighter.

Everypony else hated being strung up like this, unable to help her, or figure out what was happening. They simply got to spectate, and hope.

Sombra suddenly dashed at her, determined to get that heart back before it could power up, and destroy him.

“Give that to me!” Sombra snarled, throwing Scootaloo into a wall, stunning her as she slid to the ground, dropping the final large piece of the Crystal Heart, as the glowing faded a bit, reassuring the king, as he gave the young girl a quick look-over, feeling something wrong with her.

“You…” He said, squinting at the girl on the ground, and visibly sniffing toward her, “You stink like… That foal I slaughtered.”

Luna gasped loudly, despite the spell keeping her mouth closed, how could he possibly know that?

Grinning, he looked back to Luna. She had just told him everything he needed to know.

“That child… How did she survive?” He asked, knowing the wound he inflicted on the foal was lethal.

Alex moved his head around, signaling to Sombra that it had been him that saved he child.

“Of course,” He scowled, “The all-powerful alicorn, how predictable.”

Thinking to himself, he looked to Scootaloo, then to Luna, and back again.

“I have a plan,” Sombra said, giving the unconscious foal on the ground a dark look, “How about I finish the job I started a thousand years ago?”

Nopony knew exactly what he meant, until he pulled the sword back from his scabbard, and levitated it to point at Scootaloo.

“No!” Luna screamed suddenly, somehow breaking the spell Sombra had placed on her lips, but unfortunately, not the one on her body, “Leave her be!”

“I’m going to enjoy breaking you, Luna,” He laughed.

Closing his eyes, Sombra gave the sword a single, powerful thrust, pointed right at Scootaloo. There was no way anypony could save her this time. All he had to do was wait for the crying to stop, and the job would be done.

Silence.

Sombra scowled. Where was the satisfying scream? The sound of blood spilling on to the ground? This was all wrong!

“Not even I’m THAT dark.”

Sombra opened his eyes, to confront whoever it was that stopped him.

What he saw stopped his heart for a moment.

“Discord?” Sombra managed, his voice lacking any kind of power.

“You remember me?” He chucked, dropping the sword and thrusting his arm forward, grabbing Sombra’s horn, and lifting him off the ground, “Good. That means you know you’re helpless.”

“N-No!” Sombra screamed, as the color was sapped away from his eyes, and pulled into Discord’s arm, as he absorbed the magic inside the King.

“Trying to kill a foal?” Discord asked, lifting Sombra so their gazes met, “No even I can make a joke about that.”

Looking over to the largest chunk of the Crystal Heart, Discord levitated it off the ground, and started to spin it rapidly, as all the other pieces started flying toward it, as if they were magnetized.

One by one, they all flew to their proper spot, slowly reassembling the lost treasure, and binding to it once again.

Finally, most of the heart was complete, save a single chunk that was missing on the outside.

It was almost done.

“Wait for it…” Discord said, hearing a high pitched noise come from outside the room, as the final piece, that had been protecting the Crystal Ponies flew in, and completed the Heart.

“Bad news,” Discord chuckled, as the crystal ponies stormed into the room, each of them overjoyed at the now completed heart, “Looks like your time is up… So short too.”

“N-no!” Sombra shouted, as everypony instinctively closed their eyes, and felt their energy flow into the heart, “Not again!”

Nopony gave him any mind, as the Crystal Heart became almost too bright to look at, and exploded into an expanding ball of energy that, as soon as it touched Sombra, cracked his very skin, exploding his entire body into shards of dissolving darkness.

The ball grew outward until it covered the entire Crystal Kingdom, removing any trace Sombra had left, changing the entire Kingdom, and the surrounding area, back to its original, beautiful state, free of corruption.

“I’m pretty sure we won’t be seeing him any time soon.” Discord said, smiling at his done job, now holding only the grey, lifeless horn of Sombra.

Releasing the final piece of the king, the horn hit the ground and dissolved into a pile of dust.

“I’m feeling hungry,” Discord said, suddenly smiling and rubbing his stomach, “What’re you all thinking? Italian? Chinese?”

Everypony suddenly found themselves dropped on the floor, as each of the sisters to the CMC ran to their respective member. Applejack to Apple Bloom, Rarity to Sweetie Belle, and Luna to Scootaloo.

“Uh… What’s Italian?” Dash asked finally, glancing back to the girls rousing their sisters’ consciousness.

“Alex gets it!” Discord said, winking at him very obviously and suppressing his laughter, something that none of them were in the mood to do right now.

“Good to see you too, Discord,” Alex sighed, flashing a light smile, closing his eyes and shaking his head, “Holy buck… I just… I need a minute.”

////

So, What Next?

////
So, What Next?
////

The final cleanup around the Crystal Kingdom was swift. Sombra’s damage had been easily repaired, and the townsponies were moved the Crystal Heart back into its place underneath the castle.

As for everypony else, they were just happy that it was all over with. Sombra had come with a lot of thunder, but, like a bright flash in a storm, he faded quickly, and without anypony getting hurt.

“I guess it’s a good thing I decided to pay a little visit down here, isn’t it?” Discord chucked, playing with Fluttershy’s hair, something she was tolerating at the moment, “I mean, I would have hated to see that little princess over there get hurt!”

“Little princess?” Dash asked, looking between Scootaloo and Luna, “Which one are you talking about?”

“Both,” He shrugged, moving on from Fluttershy to Rainbow Dash’s hair, “It’s funny, the things you miss when you’re trapped in stone…”

“You missed hair?” Dash asked, leaning away from the omnipotent being currently messing up her mane.

“I’ve missed everything!” Discord exclaimed, finally focusing and sighing, “But, I guess there are some things I should fill you in on.”

“Fill us in?” Alex asked.

“About the Elements of Harmony!” Discord said, as the necklaces appeared floating above his claw, “See how they’re all black?”

“I’m pretty sure Alpha and Alex filled us in on those,” Twilight winced, pretending to be sorry about that fact.

“Well, that’s no fun…” Discord frowned, “Oh well! Everypony put these on anyway!”

All the girls were surprised when their respective Element of Harmony was suddenly slapped on their chest and head respectively, the black color of the crystal showing terribly against their colorful coats.

“Why do we need to wear them?” Pinkie asked, tapping the cracked gem, expecting something to happen.

“To draw out your dark side, my dear!” Discord laughed, as each of the girls showed a small sign of reluctance, “Once you whip those into shape, you’ll be really strong!”

The girls weren’t exactly relieved to hear that.

“Will it be as bad as with Dax?” Dash asked, remembering how hard that had been for Alex.

“As long as you’re willing to accept your dark sides, you’ll be just fine,” Discord explained, pointing to Alex, “You were very stubborn, and dragged it out!”

“I know I know!” Alex sighed, not needing to be reminded, “Everypony is way smarter than me, so we don’t have to worry.”

“Shouldn’t they wear their Elements one at a time?” Twilight suggested, knowing she wasn’t going to be changed the same way as them, “It might be good to deal with everypony one at a time.”

“Don’t worry,” Discord shook his head, “I’ve made sure it will all work out. Trust me.”

If that was the case, Twilight hoped that he knew what he was doing.

“My goodness, is there any way to chance the color of these things?” Rarity suddenly asked, scowling at the black against her white coat, “I won’t be able to match anything with it expect black!”

“Bad news,” Discord said, raising his hands up, “You don’t have a choice I’m afraid.”

“I just pray I’ll be the first one to turn,” Rarity sighed, leaning her head against Spike.

“Ah’ think it looks nice!” Applejack spoke up, puffing her chest out, “It makes me look like ah’ve a mean streak in me!”

“Do you have a mean streak though?” Twilight asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Uh… not really.” She laughed nervously, feeling a little dumb at this point.

“Where’s mine?” Alex asked, realizing he didn’t have his Element on, “I don’t wanna be the only pony without one!”

“Hey!” Spike called, being ignored by everypony else.

“Yours is done with!” Discord faux-scolded Alex, “Just let it go!”

“Okay, geez…” Alex said, not sure if Discord was serious or not.

Luna walked away from the CMC, as she rejoined the group, giving Discord a careful look as she passed him.

“Your- Our sisters are doing well!” Luna announced, smiling that she was able to include herself in that statement.

“That’s a relief to hear,” Rarity sighed whipping her brow, “I’m terribly sorry they showed up here.”

“Me too!” Applejack nodded, “Apple Bloom is always getting’ in’tuh—“

“No apologies are necessary!” Luna announced in her usual tone, “Without them, we would not have found the Crystal Heart. They did a great service to this kingdom on this night.”

“Things always seem to work out for them,” Dash giggled, looking behind Discord to see the three girls reenacting the adventures they had just been though, “I don’t think they should get in trouble over this.”

“There will definitely be punishment,” Luna laughed at Dash, as she blushed in embarrassment.

“Jus’ because they did sumthin’ good, doesn’ mean they’re off the hook!” Applejack explained, as Rarity chimed in after her.

“We can’t reward them just because it worked out this time,” She explained.

Dash looked back and forth, knowing she was in no place to argue with them.

“I guess I don’t know the etiquette,” Dash shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

“Once you two have a foal you’ll understand,” Twilight said nonchalantly, making Alex and Dash give each other a surprised look, before quickly looking away embarrassedly.

“You two act like you’re a new couple,” Discord laughed, “I’m surprised Dashie hasn’t popped out any babies yet!”

“I always pull out,” Alex explained, nodding with his eyes closed, before getting a smack from his mare.

Everypony but Dash burst into laughter at her shyness toward the matter. Even Alex was laughing through the sting of a hoof smack.

“Well, I think it’s about time we head home,” Discord said, turning to the little girls, “Are you all ready to go?”

“Sure are!” Sweetie smiled, running in with her friends to the circle of ponies.

“Thanks again for saving me, Mister Discord,” Scootaloo said as politely as possible.

“Mister Discord is my father! I’m way cooler then that!” Discord said, patting her on the top of the head, “Call me... Call me Diskie! Or maybe D Swizzle! Perhaps… Q? Or Big D! …Actually, don’t call me Big D.”

The awkward tension in the air hung for a moment, before Discord decided to move on with everything.

“So, is everypony ready to go home?” Discord asked, looking back and forth the group.

“Where are Shining Armor and Cadance?” Fluttershy asked, not wanting to leave without them, “I’d hate to have them be stuck on the train…”

“They’re staying behind to look over the Kingdom for now,” Dash explained, “So… I think that means we’re ready to go!”

“Wait!” Alex said, looking around for a second, “Where’s Alpha?”

“Oh, I saw him head off to talk to the crystal ponies,” Twilight remembered, feeling bad for forgetting him herself, “I’ll go get him!”

Running off toward the entrance, Twilight knew it wouldn’t be too hard to spot the black pony filled with holes.

However, before she had a chance to start looking for him, spotted a brown stallion, that obviously didn’t belong in the Crystal Kingdom. He didn’t have the crystalline look, and he wasn’t one of her friends… so who was this normal pony?

“Hey, you!” Twilight called, as the stallion looked over to her and smiled, waving, a book being levitated beside him, even though he had no horn.

“Hey Twilight,” He smiled, trotting over to her, “Sorry, I was just talking to some townsponies.”

“Who are you?” She asked, suddenly taken off guard by his overly friendly attitude.

“Oh, whoops, sorry,” He said, as a green flame engulfed his body, returning him to him changeling form.

“Oh, Alpha!” Twilight laughed, feeling a little stupid for not figuring that out at first, “Why were you changed?”

“I was talking to some of the locals, and noticed I was making them a bit uneasy, so I morphed.” He explained, “It’s easier to talk to an earth pony then a changeling, that’s for sure.”

“What were you talking to them about?” Twilight asked, wondering just what he would have to say to them.

“I wanted to make sure they were all alright,” He admitted, blushing a tiny bit on his black skin, “The effects Sombra had on their memory is… fascinating. I wanted to learn about it.”

“I know, right?” Twilight agreed, obviously sharing his appreciation in complex magic spells, “How was he able to wipe the memory of every pony like that? That kind of magic is unheard of!”

“Well, a lot of things were lost when the Crystal Empire fell,” Alpha said, showing Twilight a book he had been levitating beside him, “So I grabbed this.”

Twilight looked the book over, and was surprised at his selection.

Instead of grabbing a book on magic, or history, he instead took an index of books held within the library. It simply held the names, and brief descriptions of each book, categorized so like books were together.

“Why grab this one, and not a spell book?” Twilight asked, giving him a lost look.

“Well, if we have this, we kinda have ALL of them,” He explained, “You can comb through it, find something you want to read, and have it sent over in the mail!”

Twilight gave him a dumbfounded look.

“That’s really smart!” She smiled, perking up, a bit taken back by the thought that went into picking that book. Celestia knows she would have just taken as many as she could carry.

“We can take a look over it on the way back to Ponyville…” Alpha suggested carefully, hoping he didn’t sound too obvious.

“Actually… I think Discord is going to teleport us all back,” Twilight said, seeing Alpha’s instant, and terribly hidden disappointment at that statement, “But we can take a look over it at my library, how about that?”

His sad look instantly melted as he nodded, “Sure!”

“Great,” She smiled, gesturing to him, “Come on, let’s head inside. I’m kinda sick of the cold air, you know?”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Alpha agreed, feeling frozen due to his lack of coat, like everypony else had.

Twilight walked back with him in silence and silently pondered what had happened to Alpha.

When they first met at Haven Station, he had been so much more… commanding. He even carried himself differently! But, over the past two years, a lot of thing could have changed.

If he had indeed been stripped of his command, and forced to impersonate Alex, it was possible he eased up, considering he was no longer an Alpha… Wait a minute!

“Why are we calling you Alpha, if that’s a rank?” Twilight asked, realizing she had no clue what his real name was.

“Uh, well, see—“

“And you’re not in the army anymore!” She said, stepping in front of him, “It’s been like we’ve been calling you ‘Commander’ this whole time!”

“Technically, every changeling has a rank… We only tell our names to, well, IMPORTANT ponies, if you understand…”

“Oh,” Twilight nodded, still not sure how changelings could distinguish themselves if all their names were similar, on top of them being dead ringers for each other, “Well, I guess we’ll stick with Alpha then!”

He smiled and nodded, “I’m sure you’ll hear it one day, Twilight.”

She wasn’t sure if that was some kind of promise to get close enough with her to share intimate knowledge… For all she knew ‘IMPORTANT’ in his dictionary meant to be a good friend… But, for vanity’s sake, she decided he was talking about getting very close with her.

She giggled.

“What is it?” He asked, turning his head to her, as they continued down the hall.

“Oh, nothing,” She shook her head.

////

In the Long Run

////
In the Long Run
////

Dash stood in her room at the castle, home from their trip to the Crystal Kingdom, and finished with their debrief.

Celestia was happy with the report, and everypony headed off to their respective rooms to take a well-deserved break.

Dash, on the other hoof, decided to go to her room and pack, but was having a lot of trouble letting go…

Looking over at her small number of commendations for the few things she had done exceptionally well. They were proud moments in her short lived career… But, that was the choice mares had to make these days. Still, it was all toward an end. It was her drive to work hard, and earn these recognitions.

She hadn’t really mentioned it, but she was a bit sad to see it all go.

As bad as it sounded, she loved wearing the coat, and demanding the respect. Of course, she never abused the power, and she was always a captain of the ponies. On more that, she had even gotten a somewhat embarrassing number of requests for transfer to her unit. But, for Shining Armors sake, she had to deny several of them. Something that made her feel a little crappy.

But now that was over… She completed her mission, and it was time to move on.

She knew it wasn’t going to be easy letting go.

A few years ago, lounging around was her favorite thing to do! But, after so many hours of working and researching, and more working, she kinda got a rhythm… And now, whenever she tries to take a nap on a cloud, she feels like she’s wasting her time. It was something she hated, but loved. It was quite the conundrum.

Sighing, she walked over to her bed and flopped on to it.

It was so comfortable! She couldn’t believe that military personnel got something so high quality. But, that may have been just for the high ranking members. She wasn’t exactly sure. But, maybe she would be able to take this with her… It got her through many lonely nights.

So many memories…

“Hey, what’s up?” Alex asked from the door, seeing her unusual expression, flopped on her bed.

“Oh nothing…” She said, making very little effort to hide the fact that she was feeling to the contrary.

“Honestly, I haven’t been around enough to know what’s being going through your mind recently,” Alex admitted, feeling a little useless, “Are you just tired? Or… Is it something else?”

Dash wasn’t exactly sure if she should be honest with him. She had been so ready, and excited to leave all this behind for him, but after so much time to think, on the train ride, and the hours of lone searching for the Crystal Heart, she came to the realization that she’d have a lot of trouble just going back.

“I… I wanna keep working, Alex,” She said, sitting up and giving him an unsure look.

“Then do it!” He smiled, surprised that she would be so unsure about saying this to him, “If you want to be a Captain, then please don’t let me stop you.”

“But… There are some other things.” She sighed, hoping this wouldn’t change his mind, “I’d have to stay here in Canterlot.”

Alex was silent for a second, thinking about the repercussions of this, but quickly shook it out of his head.

“I can teleport us back and forth, you could have a job anywhere, and we could live in Ponyville,” Alex said, not fazed by this either, “Scootaloo does it too, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” She said, her demeanor changing to a much happier one, “I just feel like I won’t have much free time once everything gets back into swing.”

“What was your job, as a captain again?” Alex asked, not really sure what she had left to do.

“Well, I oversaw the rescue efforts of… Uh, you.” She frowned, realizing that she may not even have a job left to do, with him out of stone like that.

“Well, I’m sure Celestia would have something you could work on now,” Alex offered, stepping next to the bed.

“I don’t know what kind of job I could even do,” She said, still looking up at the ceiling, suddenly feeling a little dumb for wanting to stay in the first place. It’s not like she could have kept doing what she used to.

“Maybe you could just… Be like Shining Armor?” Alex suggested, really not having anything better to suggest to her, “Yell at a bunch of ponies all the time? I mean… He is going to be staying in the Crystal Empire for a while, right?”

“He arranged for a replacement,” Dash shook her head, “So… I don’t know.”

“What if I make a suggestion?”

“Princess?!” Dash said quickly, flailing out of bed and standing at attention, “Uh, Sorry about the state of my room, and… Um, I—“

“Please, don’t worry yourself,” Celestia said with a warm smile, “However, I couldn’t help but overhear your problem.”

Alex stood to the side, and let the two mares have their conversation.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to sound like I’m complaining or something like that,” Dash said, avoiding eye contact and shaking her head rapidly, trying her best not to start stammering again.

“Think nothing of it,” Celestia said, waiting a moment to make sure Dash was done apologizing before continuing, “Now, I have a small proposal for you.”

Dash held her breath.

“Because of this business, involving the Elements, and Discord, we’re going to need to change some things around.” Celestia explained, hoping Dash would like this idea as much as she thought she might, “We have several Very-Important-Ponies living in Ponyville right now, but no official team to keep them safe in the place of an emergency.”

Dash lit up, still trying to maintain her respectful composure.

“So, I need to assign a high ranking pony, and a small team to Ponyville.” She said, smiling warmly to Dash, “Do you have any suggestions for who would lead that team?”

////
A Few Days Later
////

Dash looked at her room, now completely empty, and packed up, ready to go.

Her team had been chosen, Clash, Dancer, and Martinez. Her usual go-to guys would be with her in Ponyville… Pretty much doing nothing at all, all day, every day. Something they were all pumped up for.

Ponyville was a quaint town that had a small reputation for being a nice place to kick your hooves up and relax. So, it was a dream assignment for just about anypony.

“Can you guys help me get this stuff out of here?” Dash called, looking to the several packed bags around her.

“Sure thing!” Discord beamed, floating into the room, followed by Alpha and Alex, “I can’t even imagine how much fun it’s going to be living with you in Ponyville!”

“You’re not going to be living with me- Us,” Dash said cautiously, “You can make yourself a place out of cotton candy or something!”

“I can’t crash on the couch?” Discord whined.

“You’ll be up all night,” Alex warned, making a rather crass gesture toward Dash and wiggling his eyebrows.

“Maybe I’ll find another place,” Discord laughed nervously, showing a wrinkled frown.

“Where are you going to be staying, Alpha?” Dash asked, remembering him saying he was moving to Ponyville too.

“I was offered your old room, actually,” Alpha said to Alex.

Everypony gave each other a funny look.

“You two sure are moving fast…” Alex laughed, as Alpha quickly caught on to him joke.

“L-let’s just go!” He stammered, “I need to get moved in myself.”

“I’ll bet you do.” Discord chuckled.

“I guess its good Spike is moved out, isn’t it” Dash added.

“Maybe Alpha could move into Spike’s old cot at the end of Twilight’s bed.” Alex suggested.

Everyone burst into laughter, as Alpha blushed as much as a Changeling really could.

“I’m leaving!” Alpha said, levitating a few bags up and running out of the room.

“Let’s hurry up and go,” Dash laughed, “I’m excited to get home.”

“Me too!” Discord said, levitating the rest of the bags up into the air, and vanishing with all of them.

Alex and Dash were left in the empty room.

“Are they going to let you take the bed?” Alex asked, looking over to the mattress next to them.

“I got a fresh one waiting for me there,” She smiled, glad she would never have to be without it again, “It’s too bad though… This bed will never get used again…”

Alex gave it a quick look and raised an eyebrow.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Dash asked.

“You bet your rump I am.” Alex said, looking to the bed himself and smiling to her.

The two proceeded to jump on the bed and have an awesome pillow fight.

Nothing else.

That’s it.

Stop asking.

////

That Quiet Time Between Adventures

////
That Quiet Time Between Adventures
////

Dash walked into her house, breathing a sigh of relief. Her hard day’s work was finally finished, and she was back in her house, for the first time in months.

She had been overseeing the transfer of her unit into Ponyville, and had to admit, that it was hard work! She volunteered to move a lot of documents to her new office, but that involved a lot of flying. Alex had tried to lend a hoof, but Dash was afraid he'd burn the paper in the transport, as much as he promised not to.

But, she had just finished moving the last of the documents, and giving out assignments. So, she was in place to kick back and relax. Her men were to patrol Ponyville, and report any suspicious activity to her. Which, she knew there would be none of. It was basically vacation for all of them now.

Sniffing, Dash smelt something pleasant floating in the air as she walked into the living room… somepony was making cookies!

“Hey Dash!” Alex called, trotting out of the kitchen, wearing a frilly pink apron, “Pinkie gave me a recipe to help me make these!”

Dash looked at him and bit her lip, holding back her laughter, a skew smile across her face at his attire.

“What?” Alex asked, looking down to his apron and sighing, “It says ‘kiss the human’… I thought it would be clever! I even had it custom made...”

"I think it looks nice," Dash said calming down, as she made her way over to him and made a biting motion with her mouth.

“Oh!” Alex said, quickly levitating a cookie for her to taste.

“That’s pretty good,” Dash said, swallowing her first bite, exhaling to get a better taste, “What else did you get from Pinkie while i was out?”

“A few hoof jobs,” Alex shrugged, expecting an outburst from her, but got nothing, “Not gonna hit me for that one?”

“What’s a hoof job?” She asked, not recognizing the term whatsoever.

“Uh… Never mind,” Alex said, flinging his apron off, and flopping on the couch to relax, hoping to move the conversation in another direction, “Man… It’s nice to be back in this house.”

“It has been a while, hasn’t it?” Dash smiled and nodded, looking around, noting the cleanliness of the room, “I’m surprised there isn't a thick coat of dust in this place, actually.”

“That was me,” Alex said, not opening his eyes.

"You dusted?" Dash asked, impressed that he had done that for her.

“Actually... I uh…moved the house.”

Dash tilted her head. What did that mean?

“How was that?” Dash asked, her curiosity piqued.

“Well, since you were too busy to come home right away, I decided to try dusting the place,” Alex explained, still unmoving on the couch, “But, it took a pretty damn long time, even with my magic.”

“So… what does moving the house have to do with that?” She asked, making her way to his seat, and sitting down next to him.

“Once I gave up on cleaning it the right way, i took a nap, and then I decided to take a… different approach.” Alex said, cracking a smile, and opening one eye to look at her, “I moved the whole house thirty or so feet to the right, by teleporting everything EXCEPT the dust!”

Dash had to admit, that was an interesting approach. She was just surprised that he had the ability to move everything in this place, but skip the dust. It was REALLY advanced magic. In fact… it was a little too advanced.

“What did you mess up?” Dash asked cautiously, looking around the room for something out of place.

“Oh, everything,” Alex said, smiling, hiding his fear perfectly, “Half the house is in complete disarray.”

Just half?

“What about the other half?” Dash asked, squinting at him, her day starting to get a little worse.

“It… is…” Alex said, weighing his options. Tell the truth, or… run.

“It’s in a pile on the ground, about thirty feet away!” Alex finished, sitting up and smiling warmly at her, “But, since I DID just get back from a long enslavement at the hooves of the changelings, I think we can just look past this one, right?”

Dash sighed, and grabbed herself a cookie, quickly chewing and swallowing it.

“Well, I DID need to go furniture shopping,” She said, standing up and walking into the kitchen, seeing everything but the stove and counters missing.

“Or, you- we could move down to the ground,” Alex suggested, hoping that would be an appealing option for her.

“Why do you say that?” Dash asked, never having considered that course of action.

“Well, only ponies with wings can get here,” Alex said, tapping his hoof on the floor, “What happens if we want to have some friends over for dinner? Or have a party for one of our kids?”

Dash gave him a weird look.

Alex just made a whole-lotta-awkward in the room by mentioning the K word.

“K-kids?” Dash choked, a piece of cookie flying across the room.

“It was just a suggestion!” Alex said quickly, waving his front hooves in front of him, “I mean, I don’t want to have kids!”

“Oh, you- you don’t?” Dash said quickly, with the smallest hint of disappointment in her voice, "Uh, that's fine! If you--"

“Oh, I mean I do!” Alex nodded quickly, quickly finishing his explanation, “But, you know, not now!”

“You do? Okay, yeah! I mean, well, I always… Kind- Kinda liked the thought…” Dash trailed off, the embarrassment turning into timidity, “Well, I just… love babies.”

“Really?” Alex asked, a genuine smile on his face, loving this honesty she was showing, “I didn’t figure you for the baby type.”

“I wasn’t, actually,” She admitted, thinking back to a few years ago, “I mean, I was indifferent. Still… It changes your perspective when the guy you love might never come back from a stone prison... You start to notice babies everywhere!"

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense… No guys I’m in love with are in stone right now, so I guess I’ll never truly understand,” Alex joked, not phasing Dash, or the line of thought she was currently in.

“Nopony believed me when I mentioned it, to be honest,” Dash told him, remembering all the times her friends had said:

“As if Rainbow Dash would want kids!” Twilight had said to Fluttershy, just a few months ago.

“You’ve got tuh be kiddin’ me!” Applejack had laughed when she mentioned it a year ago.

“I don’t think you’d be very good with kids, Dashie!” Pinkie had laughed, after Dash failed miserably at babysitting the Cake twins during a visit to Ponyville.

Dash sighed. Nopony had had any faith in her. And now here she was… About to cry about it again.

“They really all said that?” Alex asked, figuring none of them meant it in a hurtful way. Reaching forward, he stroked her cheek, as she looked up to him with sad eyes.

“Dash, you shouldn’t listen to them,” He said, comforting her as best as he could, “All motherhood is, is something else for you to be awesome at. Don’t let anypony say anything otherwise.”

She wasn’t entirely convinced.

“What do I even know about being a mom anyway?” She asked gloomily, her eyes downcast as she moved to the side of the room, "I'm a selfish racing pony!"

Alex shook his head, giving her a serious look, “Nopony knows anything about being a mom before the fact, Colors. Not until they have a foal themselves, can they truly understand the challenges.”

“Yeah… I guess.” She nodded, her attitude brightening a bit.

“Look, this isn’t something we have to worry about right now, so don’t get yourself down about it,” Alex reassured, gesturing for her to sit next to him on the couch, “Just let everything come naturally. I’m pretty sure being a mother is somewhere in your DNA anyway.”

“That sounds a little sexist,” Dash noted, raising an eyebrow at him.

“That may be true, but I have crappy stuff in my DNA…” Alex said, recalling just this afternoon, “Earlier today I ate a bunch of cupcakes, farted, then fell asleep for three hours.”

“Was this before, or after you ruined all the furniture?” Dash asked, smirking at his silly explanation.

“Before,” Alex stated, “I woke up to sneezing from the dust, and then, I got the great idea to move the whole house!”

“And that was because of your DNA?” Dash asked, making sure his argument came full circle.

“Exactly!” Alex grinned, happy she was helping him out, “So, really, my sexism is just a complement to you!”

“I’m so happy to hear that,” Dash laughed, her mood much better now that Alex had lightened it, “…Thanks though.”

“Of course,” He said, kissing her, “Now, what else did you have planned for the night?”

“Nothing really…” Dash said, wondering what else there was she could finish up, “Just get some dinner and off to bed?”

“Awesome,” Alex beamed, pushing the plate of cookies in front of her, “I’ve been dying to eat, myself.”

“Perfect,” Dash chirped, her wings fluttering as she munched on yet another cookie, “What are you gonna make us?”

“Huh? You mean make dinner?” Alex asked, his head tilted, “Nononono. I was talking ABOUT you.”

…

Dash rolled her eyes. But flashed a smile.

“Well, if you’re gonna force me.”

////

Author's Note

I didn't know Timidity was a word! Crazy! The more you know, huh?

You know what else weirds me out?

Using several abbreviations in one word like "You'll've" You-Will-Have.

Calm down you guys. Too much screaming will wake up my mom. She's napping.

Happy, Happy Mares

////
Happy, Happy Mares
////

Morning had almost broke, and the only pony who seemed to be up, was the one nopony would have guessed.

Rainbow Dash had adjusted to a very different sleep schedule since she started her job at the castle, and probably wasn’t going to break out of it easily. That wasn’t such a bad thing though, since it gave her so much more time in the morning.

It meant she could always be up before Alex, and that she could sometimes surprise him with breakfast in bed, or make herself presentable for him before he woke up… Geez, she was sounding a little TOO girly right now. But, being honest with herself, she didn’t give a crap. She was going to be a mare for him. And that sounded so amazing.

It surprised her when she learned Rarity had the same attitude toward men in that way. They both wanted to be wives, and they both wanted to make their partners as happy as possible, because it made them happy... It made her sound like some kind of old-fashioned mare from sixty or seventy years ago. But, who cared?

Clearing her head, Dash simply stared up at the ceiling, slightly unable to move.

Last night for her and Alex had been a… passionate one.

And she knew better than anyone, that she wouldn’t be walking straight for a day or two. It was a small price to pay, however, and she would pay it many times in a row.

Of course, it had crossed her mind to ask Alex to maybe fix her up a bit with a spell, but discarded the thought as it was too embarrassing. Maybe she could just find an excuse to stay in bed all day.

Rolling over, she looked over the sleeping form Alex, her coltfriend.

Coltfriend?

No. That didn’t sound like enough. What would be a batter name for him to her?

Her lover?

Her soul mate?

Her other-half?

Those names were getting a little lamer as it went…

Her partner?

Her world?

Her… Everything?

Sitting up on to her side, she examined him closely and couldn’t help but cringe.

His body was covered in scars from their numerous adventures. She could see where the hole had been ripped through his cheek a thousand years ago, when Nightmare Moon was first defeated. He had a feint circle in his chest, where Dax had been run through with the pole, along with many more nicks and cuts from what she assumed was his time with the changelings.

Tracing a hoof across his chest scar, she felt a rush as his heart beated into har arm. It was his life, right here… It was right here with her right now, and it made her feel so safe.

Crawling up to him, she put her head on his chest, and just listened.

Ba-Bump.

Kneading the side of her head into his chest, she reached up and put her right hoof on to his shoulder, and closed her eyes. She could sleep like this no problem.

////

Rarity opened her eyes and looked for the arm that she usually held over her shoulder. Where was Spike?

Sniffing for a moment, she immediately knew he had gone to make her breakfast in bed. She always loved it when he jumped up and down to do these things for her.

“Rarity!” Spike called, walking into the room, levitating a silver platter with some pancakes, a nicely arranged pile of hay, and a glass of orange juice, “I made you breakfast!”

“Hush, Spike,” Rarity said, sitting up and smiling sweetly to him, “There’s no need to be so loud, so early in the morning.”

“Oh, yeah,” Spike said, scratching the back of his head and smiling sheepishly, “I just wanted you to be awake is all…”

“I’m always awake, Spike,” She grinned, levitating the platter away from him, and placing it in front of her, “But I’m happy you did this for me.”

“No problem,” Spike smiled, quietly watching her enjoy her breakfast, still standing in the doorway.

Over the years, their relationship had changed quite a bit in some places, but had somewhat stayed the same in others.

Spike was still just as infatuated with Rarity as he always had been. Her beauty, her grace… She was still a goddess to him in every way, and the single most important pony… well, ever.

Differently however, Spike was no longer paralyzed by her presence, and was completely confident to speak with her. It sometimes made getting chores done a bit more difficult, but Rarity loved the challenge… And loved it even more to lose. Nothing was more of a thrill for her, then when Spike would stand up, and make sure she knew he was the boss.

Of course, that was something she kept to herself. She couldn’t have Spike knowing the power he held over her. It would tip the scales too much in his favor.

“How is it?” Spike asked excitedly, looking for some kind of gratification from her.

“It’s lovely dear,” She smiled, almost laughing at his child-like need for approval.

Rarity paused in her meal for a moment to recall the conversation she had had with Rainbow Dash regarding their somewhat mutual need to be, what was that word they had decided on?

To be Dominated?

No, that word was much too strong for what they agreed upon.

Regardless. As simply as possible, they wanted to be mares. And they wanted to have stallions take care of them. Of course, that had nothing to do with female independence, or either of their relationships having a ‘boss.’ There was simply a need to be with a man in that way. Whether it was a need to be protected, an instinctive sexual pleasure, or some other kind of primal instinct, Rarity wasn’t sure. But what she did know, was that her attraction, and love for Spike was as powerful as any kind of magic, and she simply wanted to be a little less in control sometimes, when it suited her needs... Really though, thinking of it like it, it sounded like she was still the one in charge.

“Are you okay?” Spike asked, seeing her lost in thought, and not eating her food.

“Oh, yes, of course.” Rarity said to him, looking up from the plate, and getting a wicked idea.

“I was thinking that I would expand the front of the store,” Rarity said as seriously as she could, knowing exactly how Spike felt about this topic of conversation.

“This again?” Spike groaned, remembering how many times he had this argument with her, “Rarity, you don’t use all the space now! Why would we need to expand the front? It would be crazy expensive!”

“Well you never know, perhaps I may start selling other things in the new area,” She said, secretly hoping he wouldn’t accept that plan.

“I don’t think so.” Spike said flatly, “Trust me, okay? I’m looking out for you on this one.”

Her pulse quickened.

“Are you sure you don’t want to do this?” Rarity questioned, her breathing shallow, and her eyes hungry for more than breakfast, as the food levitated off the bed.

“It’s not happening.” Spike laid out, his expression tough, and unmoving, but still a little afraid she’d give him the puppy eyes until he gave in, “Let's just end the discussion here, we can look at it some other time.”

“Okay.” She exhaled quietly, grabbing him in a levitation spell and moving him closer to her, “You win, Spike.”

Spike had no idea what had gotten in to her, but she was VERY right when she said that he had won.

////

Alex opened his eyes, his slumber being interrupted by a weight on his chest that impeded his breathing.

Looking down, all he could see was a rainbow mane, and two blue ears sticking through it.

Alex decided that her cute position was worth the slight problem he was having, and laid his head back down.

Listening to the silence, Alex slowly picked up on a squeaking coming from Dash. It was like she would breathe in slowly, then let out all the air at once with a quick, and high pitch ‘hum.’

It was adorable.

Taking a deep breath, Alex breathed out, causing her mane to blow around a bit, and her ear to flick instinctively.

Alex focused on that ear.

“Does her ear always do that?” Alex murmured to himself, breathing in, and blowing a bit of air at her ear once again.

And, sure enough, she flicked it, just as a cat would.

Giggling to himself, Alex decided to have a bit more fun, and then blew a constant stream of air from him mouth, resulting in her repeatedly flicking her ear back, in a vain attempt avoiding the breeze.

Finally, her ear stuck itself to the back of her head, and stayed there, safe from his attacks.

Alex wondered how else she might react like a cat.

Levitating a small piece of chipped wood from a broken piece of furniture, he tossed it on to the ground. And, thanks to the silence in their home, the sound of it clicking along a small section of wood just in the hallway, was quite loud.

Instantly, her ear was back up, as if it was getting ready to tell Dash that she needed wake up.

And of course, Alex got the bright idea to give her ear one more, massive gust of air. However, as he inhaled, something got caught in the back of his nose, and he promptly sneezed all over the back of Dash’s head.

ACHOO!

“Holy buck!” Dash shouted, sitting up instantly, scared awake, in a daze, trying to figure out what had just happened.

Dash hadn’t looked at him just yet, so Alex closed his eyes and feigned sleep.

After a moment, Dash looked to him and sighed, realizing he had just sneezed in his sleep.

“Gross dude. I’m going to have a shower,” She grumbled, sincerely hoping there wasn’t a ton of snot in her hair or something, as she got on her legs and started moving toward the bathroom, “Ouch, Frickin' legs.”

Cracking an eye open as Dash got out of the bed, he watched her move carefully on her back legs, and quickly realized why she was in pain, you know, BACK THERE.

Alex blushed, he felt a little guilty, since he WAS the one that inflicted that on her… Maybe he’d just stick his horn up there and heal it for her.

In fact, that sounded like the best plan ever! What a surprise for her!

In the end, it DID turn out to be a surprise, just... not one Dash was happy with.

////

Alpha's New Home

////
Alpha’s New Home
////

Twilight sat in her Library, reading over the manifest of books from the Crystal Empire, seeing if anything exceedingly caught her interest. However, that turned into a problem, as more books than she could count were grabbing her attention… Sometimes it was hard being an egghead!

Giggling, Twilight closed the bookmark filled manifest and yawned, looking backward toward the closed door that housed Ponyville’s newest resident. Alpha.

Her opinion of him had been mixed from the very first time she met him. At Haven Station, he was much more suave, and considerable evil guy. Well, maybe evil wasn’t the right word. He had been loyal to his cause, which was something Twilight couldn’t against him, especially when he saved Rainbow Dash at the last minute, instead of himself.

But, despite even her current, cheery attitude to him, she was still hurt by him. She flew off the handles when they first met, and she had kissed him!

Why had she moved so fast with him? She NEVER did that with any guy she had ever gone on a date with.

But, the answer was so obvious.

Alpha was her type. He was smart, had a few jokes in him, and was so polite to her. She could sense that he REALLY wanted more from her, but had enough restraint to earn it from her, which was better than nothing… Still, he was in for a shock if he expected her to just jump on him in a week.

Lots of other guys these days were either looking for booty calls, or were just too shy to ever make moves on her.

So it was a refreshing to have some kind of change to say the least.

Beyond that, his living in Ponyville was going to cause some problems, that was for sure. Last night, Alpha had snuck his way into town, and gotten into his new room quickly, and unseen by any other resident of Ponyville.

Still, he couldn’t stay there forever. So, she knew it would be a though few weeks acclimating the townsponies to his presence.

Sighing, Twilight kinda wished he would come out of his room, so she would have a little company. She wasn’t looking for a date in the Library, she just got a little sad in the silence without Spike around.

////

Alpha pressed his face to the floor once again, checking to see if Twilight was still out there. And, of course, she was. Her tail was just sticking out behind a shelf. What was she doing just standing there like that?

He was in a little trouble, and had to pee quite badly. But what would she think of him, if the first thing he did in her house was go trotting off to the bathroom? She would think he’s weird! He’d never get to kiss her again, among other things… So, he would just hold it till she left the room!

What was wrong with him? He used to carry himself with so much more confidence! Three years ago, he would have been able to pee RIGHT in front of her, and maintain his composure! Ew. That sounded weird. Shaking his head, he simply decided to wait.

Five minutes passed.

Ten minutes passed.

Fifteen passed.

Biting his lip, he checked under the door for the hundredth time, and saw that she hadn’t moved. Oh well! So much for a good impression…

Opening the door meekly, Alpha looked to where he had seen Twilight’s tail, and went slack jawed when he realized that the tail he had been looking at from under the door was actually a purple broom, and Twilight herself was nowhere to be found.

“Well then.” Alpha said, smiling at his good fortune, “I guess I should—“

“Oh, hey Alpha!” Twilight said from the top of her staircase, “Finally awake?”

Defeated.

“Uh, actually, I was wondering where the bathroom was…” He said, knowing deep down that she wouldn’t base any kind of opinion on his using the bathroom. But, that didn’t stop him from being a bit of a chicken about it.

“You have one in your room,” Twilight informed, smiling politely, gesturing to the left side of the room, “It’s on that wall.”

“I thought that was a closet!” Alpha laughed, feeling like a complete idiot at this point, “I guess that I’ll be right back…”

“Sure!” She said, trotting down to the ground floor, “Do you want anything for breakfast? Or maybe an early lunch?”

“Oh, no, I don’t wanna impose,” He said politely, turning around and walking back into his room, “One sec!”

Twilight hoped she wasn’t pushing him into anything uncomfortable. But, at the same time, knew he still liked her. They had kissed only a few days ago, when he was pretending to be Alex.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Alpha was looking quite refreshed, as if he had some kind of huge weight lifted off his chest.

“Why don’t we go out?” Alpha immediately offered, as if he had been practicing that line over and over, “just to- well, eat! Nothing else! I’m not, uhh…”

“I don’t think so,” Twilight said somewhat regretfully, immediately sending Alpha off on another stammering-fest.

“That’s fine! I don’t want to pester, so—“

“You’re a changeling,” Twilight cut him off, giving him a soft look, and somewhat uplifting smile, “Everypony in town would freak out.”

“Oh,” Alpha suddenly smiled, “I can fix that!”

Losing his eyes, a fire spread across his body, engulfing him completely for a moment, before emerging in his previous form from Haven Station, a yellow, and rather beefy Pegasus. However, his form was also missing a wing.

“Let’s go now!”

Twilight gave him a sly smile before nodding.

“Fine, you win,” She said, trotting over to the door and levitating a scarf over herself, “I heard it was gonna be a bit chilly today.”

////

Applejack stood in Sugercube Corner with Pinkie, browsing some baked goods for her grocery run.

“Gettin’ the usual?” Pinkie asked, rolling out a large stack of bread and bagels, “Or do you want to maybe hang out for a while? We can have a party with just the two of us!”

“Uh, no Pinkie, ah’ don’t think so,” Applejack laughed, expecting that question, considering Pinkie asked it every time Applejack came by, “Jus’ the usual.”

“Aww,” Pinkie said, as she did every time, hoping Applejack might accept next time, “Oh! Do you wanna see a new cupcake I invented, when I got back from our trip to the crystal empire?”

“Ah’ guess so!” Applejack nodded, trying to see behind the counter, and Pinkie dug into the cooler behind her.

Pulling it out, Pinkie held a gorgeous crystal cupcake above her head.

Applejack’s mouth watered instantly, “How’d ya’ get it tuh shine like that?” Applejack asked, her eyes glued to the pastry.

“That’s a secret!” Pinkie giggled, dropping it on the counter for Applejack to inspect.

Leaning forward, Applejack sniffed it lightly, not getting any smell off of it. Tilting her head, she decided to see if it had any taste either.

“Oh, Applejack, no!” Pinkie called quickly, trying to stop her friend from eating the pastry.

Applejack was too far ahead of her, and bit in to the solid crystal.

Pinkie was too afraid to say anything, fearing Applejack had just broken every tooth in her mouth.

Applejack herself felt like her teeth were about to crumble to dust, but, miraculously, they were still intact.

“W-why would’ya make a cupcake shaped crystal?” Applejack asked, her eyes big, and on the verge of tears, “An’ then ask me if ah’ wanted tuh see it?”

“It was a work in progress?” Pinkie said, biting her lip and giving her an apologetic look.

“Ah’ need to go see the dentist…” Applejack whined, turning around, just in time for the door to open, as Alpha and Twilight entered the store.

“Hey’ya!” Pinkie smiled at the couple, not recognizing the Pegasus with her, “Who’s this guy?”

“It’s…” Twilight began, looking back and forth for anypony that might hear them, despite the store only containing the four of them, before mouthing the word ‘Alpha.’

“Oh!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Our good changeling friend!”

“Pinkie!” Twilight said, again looking around in worry, “Hush!”

“Hey, uh, Twi,” Applejack said, afraid to clank her teeth together, “Do ya’ know any spells to fix teeth?”

Of course, this was a VERY long shot, and Applejack figured the rest of her day would be with a drill in her mouth… ugh.

“Sure I do,” Twilight said quickly, casting a spell on her friends mouth, instantly repairing all the damage Pinkie had done, before moving back to that pink pony to scold her some more, “You can’t go around telling everypony that he’s a changeling!”

“Why not?” Pinkie asked, not understanding her friends fears, “Everypony in Ponyville will understand!”

“You don’t know that!” Twilight fired back, obviously worked up over the situation.

Applejack, on the other hoof with still marveling over that fact that she never needed to go to that blasted dentist again!

“Just give them a chance, Twilight!” Pinkie said, frowning at her friends fear of the townsponies.

“What if they freak out? We’re pooched!” Twilight asked, looking to Alpha and seeing his discomfort at the situation, “Uhm, sorry…”

“No, it’s fine,” Alpha said, being ignorant to the behaviors of the townsponies himself, “Let’s just get something to eat.”

Applejack was still in her own world. No more dentist trips! This was huge!

“I’ll grab you guys something sweet, since you’re on a date!” Pinkie giggled, not put off by her argument with Twilight whatsoever.

Trotting out of the room, Alpha took a look around the room, and spotted a delicious looking, crystalline cupcake on the counter.

“Do you think Pinkie would mind if I tried that?” Alpha asked, leaning into it, trying to sniff it, but being unsuccessful.

“It’s sitting out, so I’ll pay her whatever she wants for it,” Twilight nodded, smiling.

Opening his mouth, Alpha went in to take a bite.

“You don’t wanna do that!” Applejack shouted, snapping out of dream world and knocking the cupcake away from him, shattering it against the wall, “Thank goodness!”

Pinkie rushed out to see what had smashed, and felt her heart break at the sight of her broken cupcake crystal.

Her ears went back, and her hair deflated.

Sticking out her bottom lip, she looked up to the other ponies in the room, and spread her sadness to them.

“Why would you break my new cupcake?” Pinkie whimpered, her eyes so huge, they were almost bigger than her head itself, “I guess it was kinda my fault…”

“Oh, no! Alpha there was about’tuh hurt himself!” Applejack said, waving her hooves in front of her, “I was helpin’ him!”

“Well, I guess I’ll be up all night making another one of them…” Pinkie sighed loudly, turning around and looking to the floor.

“I’ll help’ya make a new one lickity split!” Applejack offered, hoping this would mend her friends attitude.

“Can the two of us have a party too?” Pinkie asked, looking over her shoulder both adorably and pathetically.

“Uh, sure!” Applejack nodded, giving a forced smile, and worried look.

“Awesome!” Pinkie said, jumping around to face them, her hair poofing back up, and her smile bigger than it had been in days.

“Hey…” Applejack said quietly, eyeing the pink pony, “Was that your plan this whole time?!”

“Um… Hey Applejack, you know that silly face you make when you lie?” Pinkie asked, scratching her chin, “Could you show it to me?”

Narrowing her gaze, Applejack complied, and made her usual ‘liar face,’ with the usual puffed cheeks, and avoiding her friends eyes.

“Okay, thanks for showing me!” Pinkie smiled, immediately mimicking the face, “It was NOT my plan for you to break that, and get stuck hanging out with me!”

Applejack sighed. Pinkie’s devious mind had bested her once again.

“So… Can I have a cupcake?” Alpha asked, looking between them.

“Sure thing!” Pinkie smiled, tossing a dozen of them at Twilight, which she quickly caught in a spell.

“Well, we’ll leave you two to your thing,” Twilight waved, leaving the bakery, just behind Alpha.

Applejack sighed, “So, how’s this party gonna be goin’?”

“Balloons!” Pinkie giggled, placing one in her mouth, and inflating it instantly then letting it bounce off, “Wee!”

Applejack knew the next three hours were gonna be just… awesome.

////

Reentering the library, Twilight sat the box of cupcakes on the table and sat down, levitating the manifest back over to her, and flipping it open once again.

Sitting down across the table, Alpha looked at the book, “Got any idea on the kind of books you want?”

“I think I’ll have all of their major spell books sent over,” Twilight said, working her way down the list slowly, not looking up at the changeling that was currently stuffing his face, “Well, and evolutionary theory! And the history books recounting the rule of Discord! Maybe even a few fictions from the era!”

“Sounds like you’ll have plenty to read!” Alpha laughed, finishing his fourth cupcake and relaxing, “Can you check to see if there are any interesting romance novels?”

Twilight looked up from the book and gave him a surprised look.

“What?” He asked, knowing full well what her problem was, “I like a good love story! Sue me!”

Twilight looked down the list and suddenly giggled, “Are you looking for a story with… two stallions?”

“No thank you,” Alpha said recoiling, “Two mares, please.”

“I’ll bet!” Twilight laughed, seeing a few books listed there with questionable titles, “Okay, okay… How would you like to get ‘T-the moist flowers!’”

Both of them exploded in laughter at the lame attempt at an artistic title.

Twilight snarked upon seeing the next one, “How about ‘Udder Attraction – The Story of Forbidden Love Between Cows!’”

Alpha was in shock, and almost in tears over the hilarity of these titles, “I need to see this!”

Moving to her side of the table, Alpha pulled the manifest over to him, and read the next title, “Flapjacks – A Stallion and his n-n-n…’”

Alpha couldn’t continue, his was giggling so much at the last title on the page, tears streaming down his fake yellow coat.

Twilight looked over to the book, and finished the title, “A Stallion and his nipples!”

At this point, they were both screeching like banshees, to the point that their faces were soaked with tears, and their stomachs hurt.

After two minutes, and several laugh reigniting glances at the title, they finally calmed themselves down, as they looked at each other. Even after their laughter had long since died, they continued looking at one another, with Alpha holding a very attractive smile on his face.

This smile turned mares to putty, he knew it. He could probably sweep her off her hooves right now, and get that kiss he had been after… But maybe he was nervous that his confidence could ruin something here…

So, instead, he looked at the clock.

“Would you look at the time?” Alpha said, looking back to her, “I think I should probably get back to fixing up my new room.”

“Wha- Uh, yeah!” Twilight said, shaking her head for a moment, finding her place, “When you’re done, maybe we can look at more funny book names?”

“Sure,” He smiled at her, standing up and heading into his room, his fake skin burning off as he walked, “Thanks again for lunch, Twilight.”

She blushed at his using her name… Something she heard a hundred times a day from everypony else, but it held so much power from him… without really realizing it, she quickly stole a glance at his nice, toned flanks as his normal, black color returned, before snapping away, and looking to him and smiling.

“S-sure!” She called, as his door closed, “Any time!”

Twilight shook her head and gave his door a frustrated look, changing forms like that right in front of her! Smiling like that!

No! He wasn’t going to swoon her! She wasn’t going to run to his arms like last time. He had some work to do!

The game was on.

Chaotic Regret

////
Chaotic Regret
////

Discord sat in a field just outside of Ponyville, sipping a glass of chocolate milk, and watching the bustling day of the town, from the mail pony delivering letters, to a few carts of garbage being moved to… wherever it was that ponies went with their garbage.

But, at the same time, he could feel the chaotic energy starting to radiate from the town, as a result of his breaking the Elements.

What was coming next… wasn’t going to be easy for those girls.

Alex had a particularly easy time with his dark side, Dax, considering they were so different fundamentally. Still, nopony really knew him, or what personality he really possessed, considering he had only arrived in Ponyville a few months before. Nopony had much to be shocked when this dark side of his wanted to have a three-way with himself and Rainbow Dash.

But, now these girls had to experience this for themselves, and most of them had cemented reputations in Ponyville.

What would Applejack be, when her self-control was lost?

Fluttershy?

Or Rarity?

Discord exhaled. He knew Rarity was going to be a dangerous side to see. She showed her darkness quite often, in bouts of greed and rudeness. It made him worry about what she hiding. But, they were strong ponies, and he knew they would get through it.

Geez, when did he start worrying so much about ponies?

Discord huffed. It was tough to admit, but he had actually grown fond of the ponies here. All of their daily lives and struggles were just so… inspiring! When he had been the ruler of Equestria, he didn’t look into the daily life of a pony. But, seeing them grow, fall in love, and get closer to their friends, it was inspiring!

It almost broke his heart, thinking about how many lives he kept from this kind experience, by leading ponies the way he had.

But, he found some consolation, knowing that these particular ponies wouldn’t have ever reached this point in their lives without him.

And, the sooner they mastered their dark sides, the sooner they could beat the final boss, and move on with their lives!

“I wonder if Spike and Rarity will have little dragon babies?” Discord pondered, “Or maybe little humans from Alex and Dash?”

Discord scratched his chin, “I wonder if there’ll be a wedding first?”

He was getting so caught up in these ponies! And he loved it!

Still, he felt like he had to apologize to them for what he put them through, testing Alex…

Hearing some murmuring in the distance, Discord looked over his shoulder to see Fluttershy tending to a shed at the edge of the Everfree forest.

“Oh, Fluttershy, dear!” Discord called, as the pony turned to look at him, and waved meekly, “Could I have a word, please?”

After a moment of thought, Fluttershy slowly made her way over to the draconequus, being careful not to get to close.

“Um, wha- how can I help you, Discord?” Fluttershy asked meekly, afraid he was going to turn her to stone or something of the like.

“Fluttershy, what are you so afraid of?” Discord chucked, knowing full well the answer to his question, “I’m here to be your friend!”

“Oh, I know…” She mumbled, looking at the ground.

“Well, I suppose the answer to this is already clear, but do you hate me?” Discord asked, feeling like she had every reason to.

“What? Oh, no! Of course not!” Fluttershy said, her eyes now very large, and meeting his gaze, “You’ve done a lot of good for us! I just… I’m just a nervous pony is all…”

“Really?” Discord asked, feeling his heart leap at her acceptance, “I- I don’t know what to say!”

“I just, feel like I need to apologize for everything I did to you all,” Discord explained, as Fluttershy sat patiently waiting for him to get all of this off his chest, “I lied, destroyed a lot of stuff, scared everypony half to death, and then finished with breaking the Elements and telling you about a world-ending foe, that’s coming to Equestria…”

“You had your reasons,” Fluttershy said sweetly, understanding that he was really looking out for this world through his actions, “Even if somepony else might blame you, I know I don’t.”

“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Discord said, feeling a little weight come off his chest because of this pony, “You really are the Element of Kindness.”

Fluttershy felt herself warming up to the demi god rather quickly, he was a lot more approachable than she thought!

“After all that happened, it wasn’t so bad anyway! I mean, besides losing Alex…” She stumbled for a moment, before jumping back on the feel-good train, “But everything is great now!”

“Well, I’m happy to hear that!” Discord laughed, a large smile on his face, not expecting to feel this way about a single pony not hating him, “You’ve made my day, dear! Thank you very much!”

“Oh, no problem!” She smiled, looking around him, a bit confused as to why Discord was out in this field in the first place, “What are you doing all the way out here… if you don’t mind my asking!”

“Oh, why am I out here?” Discord asked, glancing around and shrugging, “I was just enjoying the scenery!”

“Well, you chose a nice spot,” Fluttershy nodded, sitting down next to him, “You can see so much of the town from here.”

“What do you think of marriage, Fluttershy?” Discord asked suddenly, as the small Pegasus lit up in blush.

“Oh, I’m afraid you’re not really my type, Discord,” Fluttershy apologized, wondering if this was the whole reason he asked her over here.

“No dear!” He laughed, finding a lot of humor in her misconception, “I mean weddings in general! Aren’t they just, magical?”

“Well, if we’re just TALKING about them, then yeah!” She nodded, “I think they’re wonderful! Seeing two ponies commit themselves to each other is really special! Why do you ask, though?”

“I was just thinking about your friends, and it crossed my mind that there might be a few of those coming up!” Discord explained, as Fluttershy lit up in realization of what he had just told her.

“You’re right!” She said, smiling brightly not really having considered that before, “Ooh! And then… babies!”

“Exactly what I was thinking!” Discord laughed, happy that he wasn’t alone in these sappy feelings, “There’ll be a bunch of little Dragons, and Rainbow colored babies!”

Fluttershy giggled, stopping for a moment, thinking about the kind of kids Alex and Dash would have, “Do you think they’ll have little humans?”

“Perhaps they will,” Discord said, sighing, and laying his head back in the grass, “Oh, and for what it’s worth, you’re not my type either.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound mean or anything…”

“I’m much more into Princess Celestia!” He said seriously, leaving Fluttershy to ponder if he was being serious, or just joking with her.

////

Keeping Busy

////
Keeping Busy
////

A few days had passed, and things were going well enough in Ponyville, well, except the impending doom they all felt. Rarity was finishing with her last customer of the day, so she could eat, and get to bed. She hadn’t been sleeping too well lately.

Spike had left about a half an hour ago to start making her dinner, and she could smell cooking vegetables wafting into the main area of the store, and it was making her mouth water to the point that she was having trouble dealing with the final shopper.

“So, I was thinking I would wear the two of these,” The plump, yellow earth pony said, showing Rarity two things that didn’t match whatsoever.

“Oh yes, mhmm,” Rarity replied instantly, looking over her shoulder toward the kitchen and sighing, “Would you like me to ring these up for you?”

“You really think these look nice?” The mare asked, proud that Rarity agreed with her, “Ponies always tell me that I have a rotten fashion sense!”

Rarity gave her a quick look over and coughed embarrassingly, seeing that this mare was trying to mix something very shiny and sleek, with something very poofy.

“Oh, no dear,” Rarity said, levitating the matching bottom to the sleek top, “I believe this is the one you’ll be interested in.”

“Oh? You think so?” She asked, trotting off toward the changing room, and closing the door behind her.

Rarity sighed and sat herself on the floor, wishing that she could have whatever it was that Spike was cooking her right now. But, it seemed that a customer would always show up one minute before closing, and stick around for forty five minutes.

“Hey, Rarity!” Spike said, trotting out into the room, smiling at her, “Did you finish with that last customer? It sure sucks when they barge in this late, huh?”

“Spike, hush!” Rarity said quickly, pointing to the changing room ad frowning at him.

Spike went wide-eyed and quickly thought up a way to fix his big mouth, “I was just joking when I said that thing a second ago… about ponies coming in late…”

“Oh, it’s wonderful!” She said, opening the door, obviously having missed Spikes comment, “But a bit out of my price range, I’m afraid, do you mind if I keep looking?”

Rarity bit her lip, and looked at Spike with huge eyes. She didn’t want to deal with this anymore.

“It’s on the house,” Spike sighed, gesturing the mare toward the door, “But that’s only on the table for the next… Ten seconds!”

The mare opened her mouth to speak, looked between the two of them, but immediately turned and trotted out the door.

Locking the door with a spell as soon as it closed.

“Spike… I appreciate the help, but that dress cost several hundred bits…” Rarity said, wondering if that was truly the solution to their problem.

“Charge it to the castle,” Spike laughed, levitating the card Celestia had given them three years ago out from behind the counter, “Celestia told us to abuse it last time you mentioned the card, didn’t she?”

“I feel so horrible doing that, though,” Rarity muttered, knowing that there was literally zero downside to using the card once every six months.

“Just dock my pay then,” Spike winked, as Rarity looked up to him smirking.

“You don’t make any money,” She giggled, “You passed on that, remember?”

Levitating her up from her sitting position on the floor, he stood her right in front of him.

Leaning forward, he pressed his snout to hers and laughed, “Maybe we can call it even then?”

Pulling away from him, she sighed and smiled, “Well, I suppose that’s fair. Let’s eat, shall we? What’s on the menu?”

“Well, I made some soup,” Spike said, scratching the back of his head, hoping that would make her happy, “Some onions, carrots, celery, and a ton of noodles, if that’s okay…”

Rarity’s stomach growled in response to his description.

“Good to hear,” Spike smiled, “Let’s eat up, then get to bed. Tomorrow’s going to be busy, we both know it.”

////

The night for Twilight was just as busy as Spike and Rarity.

She sorted through the returned books in the library slowly. Since she had been in the Crystal Empire, about five million books had been dropped off!

Well, maybe that was exaggerating it by a few million, but it was loads of work.

Returning books was always the bane of her existence here in Ponyville. It was slow, tedious, and made her feel like crying. If only she had Spike, so she could just unload the job on him…

“Hey, Twilight!” Alpha said, stepping out of his new room without any form on, “I was thinking I’d go walk around a little bit in town, maybe go scope out a few job opportunities!”

“I already told you!” Twilight huffed, her mood lousy from this horrid book returning, “You don’t need a job!”

“Well, I’d hate to, you know… Freeload…” Alpha said, trailing off at the huge stack of books she had to put away, feeling genuinely bad for her, “Do you need some help?”

Twilight looked up from a book with narrowed eyes, as she slowly opened them in realization of what he could do for her. Slow growing an evil smile, Twilight started rubbing her hooves together, while giving Alpha the craziest set of ‘crazy-eyes’ he had ever seen.

“What are you scheming?” He asked taking a step back from her.

“Hey… You said you wanted a job, right?” Twilight asked, her smile growing ever larger.

“Yeah…” Alpha nodded slowly, wondering if she had thought up some kind of horrible cleaning job for him to do, and make her life a million times easier.

Levitating the massive pile of books from beside her, she dropped them next to him and instantly snapped from ‘crazy-Twilight,’ to ‘Puppy dog-Twilight.’

“Could you put these away?” She asked, pretty sure that he would do anything for her anyway.

“Sure!” He nodded quickly, very happy to have an opportunity to please her, “Just these ones?”

One of Twilight’s eyes twitched as she shook her head and pointed to a massive bookcase by the door, which easily held three times the pile next to him.

“Those to!” She said happily.

“Oh…” Alpha murmured, not regretting his offer a little but, “Well, as long as that’s all—“

“Well, and those, and those, those, those, and those,” Twilight instructed, pointing to several other shelves around the room, “Have fun! I need a nap!”

Alpha bit his lip as Twilight trotted up to her room, and closed the door behind her.

She was using him! That minx!

////

Alex and Dash sat in the new Canterlot- or Ponyville Guard headquarters, filing out the paperwork for the alicorn to join her platoon.

“Isn’t this a conflict of interest?” Alex asked, as Dash finished her paperwork, drafting him into the Ponyville Guard, “I mean, you want me to be a soldier, under you!”

“Well, if you’re lucky,” Dash winked, giggling at the obvious joke, “But you need to be doing something while I’m at work! And I can’t trust you alone, since you wrecked the house!”

Alex grimaced. She was never going to let him live down destroying all of her stuff like that.

“Is everypony okay with this?” Alex asked, giving up on arguing with her, “Like, the other guards?”

“I’m the boss! They have to listen to me!” Dash laughed, sliding a paper over to Alex to sign, “Just sign this, and we’ll be ready to go!”

“Do I need any special training?” Alex asked, looking over his employment contract quickly, “Like, specialized hoof to hoof combat stuff?”

“Nope,” Dash shook her head, “Magic’ll do you just fine!”

“What about a uniform?” Alex asked, signing on the line she needed and looking up, “Do I have to wear normal soldier garb?”

“Again, nope,” Dash answered, digging into her desk and pulling out an all too familiar piece of armor, “You’ll wear your old armor set, from the changelings.”

Alex would have complained, but actually loved the way it looked. He was happy at that development.

Levitating the hefty metal pads on to his shoulders and lower back, Alex cast the usual spell on them, causing them to open up and spread across his body, clinking into place over his chest and each of his legs, until his entire body was covered, save his head, which was still missing the helmet he bashed off back at the castle.

“Welcome to the Ponyville Guard, Alex,” Dash said, extending a hoof to him.

“Uh… Thanks?” Alex laughed nervously, “Am I gonna have to work hard here?”

“Na,” Dash laughed, “You have a lot of pull with the boss, don’t worry.”

////

Author's Note

As for all of you that are waiting on the next big thing to start up in the story, don't worry it's being worked on.

Simple Days, Complicated Tomorrows

////
Simple Days, Complicated Tomorrows
////

Probably a few error here and here

////

Alex clicked the top of his iPod, checking the battery life from his seat in at Dash’s new desk.

He had just charged it this morning, but it was already dying. He hated batteries!

“I might have to go get a new one,” Alex mumbled, turning the device over and idly and reading the back, “It has been three years. I’ll bet there are like, a million new ones to choose from.”

“I thought time moved differently between worlds,” Dash said, walking out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a towel, “Wouldn’t it only have been like, one year to your world?”

“Oh yeah!” Alex said, having completely forgotten that fact, “Well, I still think my uncle is gonna kill me.”

“What did you say to him before you left?” Dash asked, since Alex hadn’t had any real chance to mention it till now.

“Well, nothing really,” Alex shrugged, wincing at the thought of his confused, and probably sad uncle, “I told him you and I were going on a quick trip, and that we’d be back in a few days.”

“But… then you got turned to stone.” Dash pointed out.

“Exactly,” Alex nodded, itching his nose, “Maybe I should just never go back…”

“And let him think you died or something?” Dash laughed, before realizing that he was serious, “You’re joking, right?”

“Well, I don’t know!” Alex sighed, resting his face on his hoof, “Do you really think he’ll be sad if I never go home again?”

“Of course he will be, you idiot!” Dash chastised, shaking her head firmly at him, “You promised him that you’d finish school, but instead, you never come home again!”

Alex sighed, nodding.

“Look, next time we see the Doctor, we’ll ask him to take the two of us back, okay?” Dash said, giving him a serious look.

“Yeah, I guess… Worst thing he can do is hit me in the face or something,” Alex shrugged, deciding against hiding away in Equestria for the rest of his life, “I wonder when I’ll see the Doctor again.”

“He pops in every now and then,” Dash said, thinking back to his last visit, and all the confusion with those metal ponies, “We’ll see him soon.”

“I hope so!” Alex said suddenly realizing something very important, “I left my Xbox in his TARDIS!”

“That game I played when I was in your world?” Dash asked, scratching her head.

“Well, I brought it back so we could have some fun with it,” Alex said, recalling how fast he had packed it before returning to Equestria, “Give us a little more to do together, you know?”

“We have plenty to do now,” Dash said, trying to think of all that had changed in the past three years, “Ponyville is getting some new stuff put in, like mall, and new movie theater.”

“I have no idea how modernization works in Equestria,” Alex admitted, lost at how some things were extremely advanced, like the changelings, while some ponies here lived without any electronics in their houses.

“Ponyville is just quiet, I guess,” Dash shrugged, “Places like Manehattan have a lot more than us here.”

“You should see some of the things in my world,” Alex reminisced, missing so much, “Planes, computers beyond anything here, internet… Porn.”

“Internet? What’s that? And how does it… porn?” Dash laughed, lost to the internet, “Are the Playcolt magazines here not enough for you?”

“Nope.” Alex shook his head, “They will never be enough.”

Dash had no clue what he was on about, but was intrigued none the less.

“Well, show me next time we’re there.” She said, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his neck, “Let’s go out for dinner! Take me somewhere fancy.”

“I’ll take you on the bed if you like,” Alex suggested, promptly getting hit in the back of the head, “Okay okay… What is there around here now?”

“Nothing new,” Dash laughed, “So, why not make me something to eat?”

“Pasta?” Alex suggested.

“You know me too well, honey boo.” Dash said, being overly affectionate for a moment, as she kissed his cheek a few times, “Well, wake me when it’s ready!”

Dash didn’t give him a chance to respond, before she dove on to the couch, and pretended to be asleep.

“You’re lucky I like you so much,” Alex said, ever so begrudgingly, “Otherwise I’d find somepony else!”

“Yeah? Good luck with that!” Dash snorted, her eyes still closed, “Nopony else would put up with you!”

Alex was about to argue with her, tell her how wonderful he was, and just how wrong she was… But then he realized that she was completely right.

“Well, I’d argue, but I’m too lazy,” Alex gave up, “I’ll start on dinner.”

“Good boy.” Dash mumbled.

It was nice having somepony so whipped.

////

The day had passed, and the night had long since set in.

Rarity was in bed with Spike, but had a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. The last few days hadn’t been good days for her to sleep. She would always wake up in a cold sweat, her heart pounding, and sometimes even in tears.

That dream kept coming back to her, over and over again… What did it mean?

Her daily life had been greatly affected by the lack of sleep she was getting, and she had been relying on Spike to keep up with things for her. Which, he diligently did, just for her.

Rarity placed a hoof on his sleeping chest and wondered how she ever got such a great coltfriend.

He was always so considerate and always so kind to her… Treating her like a princess, by waiting on her hoof and hoof.

If she told him to jump off a bridge, because it would stop her from crying, he would jump off five times.

He was the stallion she was going to marry.

Feeling her heart flutter at the thought, she imagined what was next for the two of them.

A big fancy wedding?

Foals?

Getting wrinkly together?

She wanted nothing more than those things.

To see him wearing a tuxedo, standing at the end of the isle, with Alex on one side, and all of her friends on the other… Sweetie Belle and her friends decorating the floor with flower petals, while giggling at some inside joke between them, she was sure.

She would stare into his eyes, while he said his vows, and pledged his eternal devotion to her.

And he would do the same, and she promised to stay beside him in sickness and health.

Her heart could barely stand it. She wanted these things to happen right now, even if it meant getting out of bed at one in the morning!

Quietly, Spike let out a small moan, something from his dream, she was sure. It must have been a good dream too, considering the size of the smile on his face.

Thinking for a second, Rarity decided that maybe she didn’t need to be married right now. Maybe all the joy in her life could be experienced right here, next to this sleeping colt.

Leaning toward his face, she gave him a soft kiss on his sleeping, unreciprocating lips, before pulling back just an inch, and resting her head next to his, their horns crossing with one another.

“I love you so much, Spike,” She whispered, closing her eyes and relaxing.

“I’ve never been- so… Happy…” Spike mumbled in his sleep.

Rarity wasn’t sure if he was referring to this moment between them, or the dream he was having… But she liked to think that he was answering her in his sleep. It was so much more romantic that way.

But, had she known the dream he was having, she would have been even happier.

“Oh Spike, of course I’ll marry you!” Rarity answered, jumping up and throwing her arms around him, “Mmm, I love you!”

“I love you too, Rarity,” He said, as she jumped down from their hug, “I hope we spend the rest of our lives together.”

“You needn’t worry about that, Spike,” Rarity winked, “I’d never spend a moment away from the most handsome, strong, musically inclined, muscular, sexy, handsome, funny, sweet, caring, handsome, and musically inclined pony I’ve ever met!”

“Well,” Spike said, now wearing sunglasses and a leather coat, “I do what I can, baby.”

Rarity broke out in to a fit of giggles, as Spike levitated the lollipop out of his mouth, stood Rarity up on her hind legs, and dipped her backward into the most romantic kiss she had ever experienced.

The crowds of mares around them were clearly jealous as well.

“Aww! How cute!”

“I wish he was my boyfriend!”

“I wish Alex was that cool, and musically inclined as you!”

What a dream it was.

Lament

The new chapter was just posted, for those you you who don't follow me, here's a link:

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/176784/otr-lament

This is the next chapter! Follow that link!

Lament: Epilogue

////
Lament: Epilogue
////

The buzzing coming from the surrounding area was almost too much for the mare to handle. She slowly opened her eyes to see the nothing but burning brightness, in anticipation of her eyes adjusting to the flames illuminating the room she was in.

“Rarity!” Spike called a little too loudly, as he was instantly ‘shushed’ by Twilight.

“Spike, she’s only just waking up!” Twilight chastised, treating him just as she always had, “Please speak in a calmer tone.”

Rarity couldn’t find any words in her mind yet. She was still a little put off by the series of events that had just passed.

Inspecting the room around her Rarity quickly recognized it as the Library, and home of Twilight. She idly wondered why she had been taken here, instead of the boutique, but brushed it off as an easier place to be looked after by those more intelligent than her.

“Are you alright, Rarity?” Twilight asked her quietly, trying not to overwhelm her, “We have a few things we’re trying to sort out here.”

Despite her shocked state, Rarity still recalled every minute of the past few days. She had all the answers her friends sought. But had no desire to speak them aloud.

“Rarity?” Spike asked softly, kneeling down next to the bed, “Are you okay?”

Turning her head to face him, she momentarily forgot about all of her past troubles, and smiled genuinely to him.

“I’m happy you’re alright, Spikey,” Rarity sighed, before remembering that her sister, Sweetie Belle, had been in just as much danger as him, “H-how is Sweetie?”

“She’s fine,” Twilight smiled, watching Rarity relax once again, “You sucked Nightmare right out of her.”

“What of her friends?” Rarity asked, remembering the other fillies being in just as much danger, “And Princess Luna?”

“Well, Princess Luna was in a bit of pain, but Discord fixed her up, good as new.” Spike chirped, always happy to deliver good news, “And the other girls are just fine, besides a few bruises on Scoots.”

Rarity felt like it was her place to apologize for what happened. Despite the truth being exactly the opposite.

“What happened to Nightmare?” Twilight finally asked, her burning curiosity taking hold of her, “How did you stop her?”

Rarity knew she was in for a long story.

“She wasn’t the monster everypony made her out to be.” Rarity led with, perhaps poorly, making it sound as if her mind was poisoned by Nightmare, “Well, once she was influenced by myself and Avarice.”

“Avarice?” Spike asked, tilting his head at the unfamiliar name, “Who’s that?”

“Well, that was the chaotic side Discord told me- well, all of us, we would meet.” Rarity continued, hoping her conversation made sense so far, “She told me… horrible things about myself. I have never been so exposed in my entire life.”

Twilight frowned at the obviously hard time Rarity had with this.

“However, back on to the topic at hoof.” Rarity continued, lying herself back in the bed as she spoke, “Nightmare wasn’t able to keep her usual state of mind, in the presence of Avarice and myself. Our dominating personalities influenced her greatly, leading her to regret many choices she had made in the past.”

Both Twilight and Spike found this information to be incredible, and almost unbelievable. It must have been pure luck that things turned out the way that they did.

“So, once she had absorbed a sufficient amount of my mental traits, she told us that she would leave us alone, and go someplace far away, to find a way to pay for her wrongdoings in the past,” Rarity explained slowly, and carefully, “But when she left our- my body, all of my influence left her, allowing her to once again hurt the ponies that are most dear to us.”

“Okay, so,” Spike began, piecing back together the last bits of the story, from what he had been around for, and what she had just told him “You absorbed Nightmare from your sister, just as Luna was able to.”

“Yes.” Rarity nodded.

“She was pulled back in to your mind, and then she was changed once again, right?” Spike asked, still missing the last piece of the puzzle, “What happened to her after that?”

Rarity frowned, and turned from the gaze of the two inquisitive ponies, as she quickly exhaled and closed her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Spike asked quickly, leaning in closer to her, and softly turning her head on the pillow to face him, “What happened?”

“She’s gone now,” Rarity finally answered, her face wreaked with pain at the admittance, “My mind simply… took over hers. She begged me to do it.”

Twilight finally understood.

Nightmare, with the help of Rarity’s conscience, realized the monster she really was. And, without the ability to leave, she had no choice but to stay, and allow her mind to become more and more clouded with Rarity, until there was nothing but.

It was truly a horrible fate.

“She apologized,” Rarity squeaked, looking back and forth between her lover and her friend, “She wished she could have taken it all back.”

Twilight nodded, as she mentally took down every note she needed to.

“I have to report these findings to Princess Celestia,” Twilight said, stepping backward from the two, “Spike, please make sure Rarity is comfortable. And make sure she gets everything she needs for the stay.”

Spike nodded, as Rarity gave the two a confused look.

“I truly appreciate the hospitality, Twilight.” Rarity said, mustering as much of a polite tone as she could, “But I think I’d be much more comfortable back at home.”

Twilight gave Spike a brief, panicked look, as both he and her realized that Rarity had no idea about the Carousel Boutiques explosion.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Twilight said, running out the door at full speed.

“What is it?” Rarity tried to ask the fleeing mare, “Spike, what’s wrong with the boutique?”

Spike frowned for a moment, trying to consider the best way to break the news to her.

“It exploded.” Spike said frankly, hoping she would be happy with his honesty. But that was not so.

“I beg your pardon?” Rarity asked slowly, turning her head to the window, and climbing out of the bed.

Scanning the town, she knew that the Boutique towered over most buildings in the town, and that it would be completely visible from her view out this window. But, just as she had feared, there was no sign of it.

“Spike, what are we to do now?” Rarity asked eerily, her tone calm, “Please answer me that.”

“Well,” Spike said, knowing exactly what Twilight had offered the two of them, “Twilight said we could stay here, while the store is rebuilt!”

Rarity frowned. She was simply feeling too much right now. So, she decided to start resolving her unknown actions while she was under the influence of Nightmare, hoping that would give her some clarity in the fog.

“Spike, how did I act while Nightmare was controlling me?” Rarity asked, surprising Spike with her instant progression from her destroyed home, to what she had been forced to do as Nightmare.

“Well, she tried to tell us a bunch of lies actually,” Spike laughed, trying to recall just what Nightmare had told them when she first appeared in the library, “Like, that Pinkie was annoying, and that Rainbow Dash should have been a lesbian… you know, total lies.”

Rarity felt her heart sink. Those weren’t lies.

Reading the expression on her face, Spike realized that what they were told was the truth.

“You like it when I take charge?” Spike asked suddenly, remembering what Nightmare had whispered in his ear, “You want me to be the boss more often?”

“W-well, that’s just a little, um… fantasy!”

Spike just shook his head and laughed.

“Maybe if you’re a good girl.” He winked, smirking at the blush that was now quite present on her face.

Rarity felt comfort in herself, as Spike started to act as if none of these horrible things had happened. She was unsure when she first woke up, but now, she was confident that things would return to normal soon. She wasn’t going to be in this slump forever.

Now all she had to do, was wonder when she would be able to move back in to her house… probably when it got rebuilt. In, what was likely going to be the better part of a couple years.

Crap.

“Spike, do you know what our long-term arrangements are going to be?” Rarity asked, wondering if perhaps Spike had given this some amount of thought.

“Oh,” Spike said, having just assumed that they would stay here, “We’re gonna live here until the house is rebuilt!”

“Hmm,” Rarity said instantly, not happy with the prospect, “And who will be sleeping where?”

Well, you and Twilight will be sharing a room, and I have to bunk with Alpha,” Spike explained, having no issue, considering the circumstance.

Rarity didn’t want to sound rude by turning down Twilights offer to stay at the library, but she had no interest in sharing a room with Twilight for however long. So, she needed to get Spike on her side.

“You know, Spike,” Rarity began, devilishly working together a plan, “Sharing a room with Alpha might not be the best plan.”

“Why not?” Spike asked, tilting his head to the side and frowning.

“What if he were to… change into a form of me?” Rarity pushed, knowing she could really convince Spike of anything, “Imagine what he would do to you.”

All the color drained from his face, as he considered what she was saying.

“Do you really think he’d do that?” Spike asked incredulously, darting his gaze around the room, as if somepony might hear him say that.

“Well, it’s better to be safe than sorry, my dear.” Rarity grinned inwardly, knowing she would have to apologize for this manipulation once they got settled into a place where they could sleep together.

It wasn’t that she would die without having a stallion to share a bed with… The truth in the back of her mind, was that she didn’t want to sleep alone. After all of this, sleeping in a room with Twilight simply wouldn’t do. She needed him so hold her, through the horrible dreams that were sure to be plaguing her nights.

However, one unintended effect she had, by having this lie ridden conversation, was the sad changeling out in the hall, standing next to Twilight, who was about to come back into the room, when she was interrupted by Rarity’s swaying of Spike.

“Well, there goes my bunk buddy,” Alpha said, feigning sadness to the purple mare next to him, “And there goes my plan to change into his girlfriend and have my way with him.”

Twilight giggled at the insane assumption made by Rarity, knowing she was just convincing Spike to find another place to live.

“I’m actually kinda glad,” Twilight whispered, speaking softly enough to only be heard by Alpha, “Doubling up in this place would be a pain in the rump.”

“And with Spike always downstairs, I’d have no time to practice my impersonation of your mother.” Alpha added with cough.

Twilight gave him a dark look.

“Never again.”

////

The Horrible Unknown

////
The Horrible Unknown
////

While everypony was happy with the defeat of Nightmare Moon, and the return to normality from the few nights of terror, Rarity was still in a very different place from her friends.

While she put on a strong face, fooling everypony, including Spike, on the inside, she was in a constant state of turmoil.

The state Nightmare had left her in was less than stellar, and while she knew it wasn’t the entities intention to put her in this place, she couldn’t help but hate her for it.

Nightmare had invaded her body, intent on taking over Equestria, and destroying the sun. But, after only a single night, Nightmares mind had been tainted by Rarity, and her counterpart, Avarice, changing her from an evil mare, into a staggeringly good one, that chose to be absorbed into Rarity’s soul, rather than return to outside world and hurt others.

It was a truly selfless act that Rarity wished she could ever replicate herself, should she need to save somepony dear to her. However, at the same time, she had been the executioner. The one who killed the hero, Nightmare.

Rarity sighed, wishing she could stop thinking about this. But, she simply wasn’t able to. Every thought led back to square one, no matter how hard she tried to change the subject in her mind.

“Rarity!” Spike called from the entrance of their new, temporary housing, up to the master bedroom, where his marefriend currently was, “Twilight is waiting for you!”

Exhaling, Rarity pushed herself up from the bed and looked at the pillow she had just been pushed in to, and sighed at the massive amount of makeup that had come off of her face while she was crying… She couldn’t go see Twilight right now. Not in this state. She had simply lost track of time, and needed to clean herself up, and get into a cheerier mood.

They had decided to test her new magic, now that Avarice was absorbed, and her chaotic abilities were unlocked.

Mastering chaotic magic would be the first step to preparing for war against whatever it was that Discord had been talking about.

“Rarity?” Spike called, his voice getting closer to the room.

Panicking, Rarity levitated a cloth over to her face in an effort to clean the smeared makeup off before Spike could see her, but it was a futile effort. He entered the room only a moment later, and almost gasped at the broken-hearted expression written across her face.

“Rarity, are you okay?” Spike asked, rushing to the side of the bed as quick as he could, “You look terrible!”

While Rarity would normally chastise him for such an observation, he was completely right. She looked as if she hadn’t slept in days, and both of her cheeks had streaks of black running down them.

“I simply- fell asleep on it is all,” Rarity shook her head, trying to deflect the real situation from coming to light.

“I’ve seen you fall asleep on a pillow before, Rarity,” Spike sighed, walking over and sitting next to her on their bed, “You were crying.”

She was found out. But, to be perfectly honest, she was happy to be.

“Is this about Nightmare, and Avarice?” Spike asked, running a hoof along her cheek, “Because we need to talk about it if it is.”

There it was. The offer she wanted. The offer she needed. But, she wasn’t very good at articulating this need to him.

“It’s nothing.” Rarity shook her head, hoping he would see through her cowardly stupidity, and force her to talk.

“Rarity, you just went through a horrible experience,” Spike said softly, soothing her burning chest with his caring tone, “And if you’ve been hiding something from me, please tell me.”

Rarity closed her eyes, and started to cry once again.

Spike could see that she wasn’t ready to talk to him just yet, so, instead, he wrapped his arms around her, and laid back on the bed, holding her close to his chest.

Rarity was overwhelmingly happy to have him taking such good care of her, but still wasn’t sure if she was going to really be able to have this conversation with him.

“Just let it out, Rarity,” Spike whispered in her ear, as she cried her makeup on to his coat, “We can go see Twilight tomorrow.”

Nodding into him, she kept going.

“I love you.” He muttered, kissing her messy mane.

She didn’t respond, but, at the same time, she didn’t need to.

Every ounce of her feeling toward him was told right now, as she pushed in to him even tighter.

And while he was happy that she was opening up so much about this in front of him, he knew that it was going to take some time before she got over this atrocity.

But no matter how long it took for her to get back to normal, he was going to be right there next to her, the whole way.

////

Alex sat with Dash in the library, waiting for Rarity’s arrival, so they could go over the new chaotic powers she held.

However, it was starting to get late, and they were beginning to realize that she wasn’t going to be coming.

“How has Rarity seemed to you, since the incident?” Alex asked Twilight, Dash, and Alpha, who all sat with him at the large table.

“She’s been okay,” Twilight said, scratching her chin, “A little quiet maybe.”

“Kinda like her mind is off in another world,” Dash added, having seen the very same attitude.

“Well, who could blame her, right?” Alpha added, happy that he would never have to go through such a transformation.

Silence filled the room once again, as they all listened for the familiar sound of crunching grass outside, to signal approaching ponies.

“Who do you think will be next?” Dash asked, biting her lip, hoping she wasn’t going to have as hard a time as her friend, “Because… I’m a little nervous about it.”

“All that was supposed to happen, was Rarity had to fall asleep, and then accept herself,” Alpha paraphrased from what Discord had told them all, “Nightmare complicated issues. But that won’t be happening again.”

“it should be much easier for you, Dash,” Alex said comfortingly, seeing that she was a little nervous about the possibility.

“How long do you think it’ll be until the next one of us goes?” Dash asked next, feeling equally terrified at this question.

“A day, or a month.” Twilight answered her, “Nopony knows. Not even Discord.”

Dash audibly gulped, as she stood up from the table, “I’m going to head home I think. You coming, Alex?”

“I don’t think Rarity is coming, right?” Alex asked, turning to Twilight and Alpha.

Twilight shook her head, “No, she isn’t.”

“Well, in that case, I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Alex sighed, standing up and stretching, “I’m pooped.”

“Goodnight!” Twilight called, as the two headed out the door, and closed it behind them.

Silence filled the room for a few moments, before Alpha spoke up.

“Are you scared?” He asked, looking to the shocked purple mare.

“What do you mean?” She asked, feigning ignorance at his question.

“All of your friends are going to chance, and you’re going to change with them,” Alpha said in a concerned tone, “Have you been feeling different since Rarity came back to us?”

Twilight was afraid to answer the question.

////

Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in her house, thinking over and over about who was going to be taken next by this mysterious force. While she tried to put on a strong face, nothing horrified her more, than facing all of the dark feelings she held within herself.

She had tried to sit herself down and anticipate everything she was going to face against herself, but she couldn’t do it. There was far too much she held inside. And she knew it.

When she finally had to face this thing, she was going to do it herself, and keep it a complete secret. Nopony would hear a breath of her innermost thoughts.

She was so much worse than Rarity or Alex had been.

////

Anxiety

////
Anxiety
////

Dash exhaled slowly into the chest of Alex, seeing the sun start to rise behind the mountains out their window. Her night had passed slowly, as she found herself unable to sleep, trapped in her mind, terrified about her inevitable self-confrontation.

She found comfort in her lovers embrace, knowing that no matter the hardship, he would be there for her… But at the same time, that undying support made her immeasurably guilty. She almost felt like being in this position with him was betraying him.

She wished for nothing but escape from this terrible place. She had finally rescued him from his imprisonment at the hooves of the changelings, only to be thrown into another ridiculous adventure.

She wished it would all just stop.

They fought Discord, they saved the world. Their dues were paid. Life should have been easy, and they should have been given everything on a golden platter for the rest of their lives.

But no. Now they all had to fight off these demons inside of them, so they could unlock some stupid powers, that would allow them to fight an entity that scared Discord.

Now, more than any other time in her life, she was anxious. Cripplingly so.

She found her stomach would twist into horrible shapes, until she was able to find Alex, or she threw up.

She wasn’t supposed to be this scared. She was supposed to be the tough one!

…

Letting out a ragged breath, she pushed her tear stained cheek in to Alex’s upper chest. She wished he would take her away from all of this. Take her back to his world, where they could live a painfully normal life, where he would get a job, and she would stay home and take care of the kids.

She wanted that more than anything right now.

////

Alex shifted in his sleep, and found his arms wrapped around Dash, as they usually were after a night’s sleep. Opening his eyes, he looked down to her closed eyes, and assumed that she was still unconscious, having no idea the troubles she had been having.

Shifting his gaze toward the mirror behind her, he was able to see out the window behind him, and realized that it must have been very late in the day for the sun to be so high.

Uncomfortably twisting his head all the way around to look at the clock on the wall, he sighed when he read that it was half past nine. That meant he had slept in, and he needed to get to work with his commanding officer.

“Colors,” Alex whispered, pushing her back softly and looking down to her face, just to see that she was already awake, “Oh, when did you wake up?”

“Just a minute ago,” She lied, not making eye contact with him, “I guess we should get up.”

He nodded, before kissing her on the forehead once.

“We have a town to patrol.” Alex smiled, sliding his arm out from under her and standing himself up, “At least we can look forward to a nice and boring day, right?”

“Yeah,” She mumbled, sitting up and sighing yet again, “Let’s get the day over with, so we can get on to the weekend.”

Alex wasn’t sure what the cause of her attitude was, but left it to morning grumpiness. He knew he had days where he wanted to cry for a short amount of time after being awoken.

“Hopefully we don’t have any crazy situations on our hooves, right?” Alex asked, looking to her, and frowning at her lack of energy.

“Sure,” She nodded, getting herself up and walking past him, “I’m gonna take a shower.”

Watching her exit the room, Alex was almost insulted that she didn’t ask him to join her. But, if she was in a mood, maybe it would be best just to leave her be. He could shower and groom himself at the barracks.

“I’ll head out now!” Alex called down the hall, as he opened the bedroom window, “See you there!”

She didn’t respond.

Shaking his head, he took off into the sky. Hopefully she would be doing better when she got to work.

////

Alex sighed happily as he stepped out of the shower room, still running a towel through his mane. Luckily, he had missed the other guys in there, giving him complete privacy in the rather spacy room. He was able to turn all ten shower heads on at once in the small circular room, and take a quick jog to get his blood pumping. It was a genius plan he had come up with himself, but knew he couldn’t let anypony find out about it, lest they laugh at him till he cried.

Walking up the stairs from the change room, Alex headed to the office, hoping to see a happier Dash at her desk, waiting for him to go out on a patrol together.

Poking his head in to the room, he frowned at her absence. She must have been taking her time this morning.

“Ready to go out?” A voice said from directly behind him.

Almost jumping out of his skin, Alex turned around to see Dash, with the same black expression across her face.

“Geez, you scared the crap out of me!” Alex exhaled, wishing she would crack a smile or something, “You need to gain some weight so you could announce your presence a little easier.”

Dash didn’t respond to him. She almost looked like she hadn’t even heard him.

“You’re not even going to tell me to shut up?” Alex asked, mystified at her simply horrible attitude, “I just told you to get fatter.”

“I guess not.” She shrugged, walking past him and checking a clipboard on her desk, “Why don’t we split up today?”

Alex gave her an incredulous look, shocked that she was suggesting they spend the day apart, after only a few days ago, she told him he wasn’t allowed to leave her sight.

“What the hell is your problem?” Alex asked suddenly, finally eliciting a look on her face, in the form of surprise, “You’ve been nothing but horrible all morning!”

Dash shook her head. She had been way too obvious with him right now.

“It’s nothing.” She shook her head, trying to put herself into normal mode for him, “I’m just tired.”

“Bull.” He shook his head, “I know when something’s up with you. And this is worse than anything I’ve ever seen!”

Dash knew he was backing her in to a corner. She could only dodge his inquiries for so long, before he pried the truth out of her. So, what was there to do? She had been letting on far too much to him about how horrified she was right now, so, she needed get him to stop asking, so she could try harder at acting normal.

And, after only a second of thought, she decided that she didn’t need to lie to him. She could simply omit the worst parts of what she was feeling, and get him off her back.

“I… I’m scared about this dark-side thing that I’m going to have to deal with,” She finally said, allowing some of her bottled emotions to boil over the top, in the form of tears, “I don’t know what I’m going to have to face.”

Alex felt bad pushing for the kind of things that would make her start to cry, but also felt a lot better knowing that she was comfortable showing this side of herself to him.

“Dash, you don’t need to be scared about something like this,” Alex smiled to her, walking around her desk to meet her face-to-face, “You’re going to learn some lame things about yourself, and then you’re going to become one powerful pony.”

She didn’t answer him, as she felt her gaze attracted to his, showing him just how beaten up she was right now.

“And what are the worst things you could see anyway?” Alex asked innocently, having no idea that this was her real problem, “I’ll be here, even if you secretly hate me.”

Losing control of her legs, she collapsed into a trembling, sobbing mess.

Alex had no idea.

She wished she could have just hated him. It would have been so much easier. But in the deepest, darkest depths… She still loved him.

Which made betraying him so much worse.

New Power

////
New Power
////

Finally, after some amount of coaxing, Spike was able to get Rarity to meet Twilight at the library with Alex, so they could all go over what had happened to her, and how her powers as a unicorn were changed.

Along for the discussion where Alpha, Rainbow Dash, and Spike. But oddly, not Discord. Each had their own reasons for observing the conversation, however.

Alpha wished to study the change in her attitude, and witness her altered magic, should she be able to cast it at this point.

Spike was there to comfort Rarity. She was still far off from ‘okay’ and he wanted nothing more than to keep her in as good a mood as possible. She had just been though something he could never imagine.

Dash was there for a much more selfish reason, however. She wanted to know everything she could about the transformation, and learn just what Rarity was faced with. The more she knew, the more she could prepare herself to deal with it.

The only problem at this moment, was the strange energy in the room, caused by the conflicting emotions they were all feeling, with Twilight and Alpha being curious, while Spike was concerned for Rarity’s ragged breathing. Dash was so anxious she felt like she was going to start shaking, and Alex, strangely, was chipper.

“So!” Alex smiled, looking between his friends, trying to spread the cheer though his energy, “Let’s break down what happened the other day, shall we?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Spike whispered in her ear, placing a hoof on her back, “We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.”

Rarity shook her head instantly, she needed to talk about this. Get it all in to the open. Her friends would support her no matter what.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so scarce of late,” Rarity apologized, looking from Twilight to Alex, “I’ve been having a very difficult time with this.”

“Well, are you sure you want to do this now?” Twilight asked, having no desire to push her friend to an uncomfortable place, “Because we can—“

“No.” She answered, pushing all of her fears aside, “Where would you like me to start?”

“Well, we already know most of what went on in your head, from what you told us about Nightmare, and Avarice,” Twilight filled in, “But we need to cover your own attitude changes, and your magic.”

Rarity thought to herself. Her mind really hadn’t changed all that much. She had been incredibly sad recently, but that was a result of the horrible things she had witnessed. Not because of her acceptance of Avarice and Nightmare.

“I can’t say I feel any different,” Rarity muttered, “However, I haven’t had much time to explore my new attitude, as I’ve been so preoccupied.”

They were all satisfied with that answer. Time would tell how she changed in a mental aspect, but most of them were convinced they wouldn’t see too much change. Not on the outside at least.

“Moving on to magic,” Alex spoke up, knowing this was his department, even though it somewhat robbed Twilight of her specialty, “We need to test some chaotic magic!”

Rarity nodded, ready to receive any instruction.

“This magic is wildly different from your usual stuff,” Alex explained, wishing he had taken the time to think this speech through a little more, “It’s all about focusing on the right energies.”

Rarity frowned. This sounded complicated.

“But don’t worry,” Alex laughed, seeing her frustrated look, “It’s a million times easier to use than harmonious magic.”

This time, it was Twilight’s turn to frown. He made it sound so easy.

“So, close your eyes, and concentrate,” Alex said, doing the same himself, “And begin gathering your magic, as if you were about to cast a spell.”

Rarity did as he said, and prepared herself to shine a light from her horn. But, she suddenly gasped.

Alex smiled, “You just felt it.”

Rarity nodded, even though he couldn’t see her, “I could feel it mixing with the other magic.”

“Be careful with doing that,” Alex warned, “I call it harmonicmagic when both are used.”

“Doesn’t the word ‘harmonic’ simply refer to something that’s harmonious?” Twilight spoke up.

Alex both opened, and rolled his eyes.

“Could you please, Twilight? Just, okay? Twilight? Okay?” Alex whined, hoping repeating the words ‘okay,’ and ‘Twilight’ would make her stop bugging him on that point, “It’s a mixture of Harmonious, and Chaotic. Harmon-ic.”

Twilight sighed. This was easily the tenth time they had had this conversation. At this point she was just bugging him about it.

“Now!” Alex announced, turning back to the white mare, “Back to business! Close them eyes!”

Rarity nodded and complied.

“Do just what I told you before.” Alex said, “Get that spell ready.”

Following his instruction, she felt the foreign magic begin to pool at the base of her horn, with the rest of her usual power.

“Now, if you stop preparing to cast that spell, your normal magic will drain, but the chaotic energy will stay a little longer,” Alex continued, as Rarity nodded to him, “Once it’s the only energy left, you can just push it right out.”

Rarity did as he told her, and eventually felt only the presence of the chaos in her horn. So, she took the final step, and slowly let the energy free through her horn.

“Just remember,” Alex said instantly, “Don’t actually push it all out, you can do a lot of dam—“

Of course, at this point, Rarity was committed. The energy suddenly exploded out of her horn straight into the wall in between Alex and Dash, destroying three full bookshelves, and scorching over a hundred books, sending the burning paper and wood out into the field behind the library.

Twilight’s mouth hung open.

“Strong stuff, right?” Alex nodded, actually pleased with the result, “But next time, try to focus on levitating or something like that.”

“Well, I don’t know the spell to do that,” Rarity shook her head, “You’ll have to teach me.”

“Chaotic magic listens to you.” Alex explained, “It does what you want it to.”

“You make it sound too easy,” Rarity said cautiously.

“Well, sometimes it’s wonky, and you blow stuff up,” Alex shrugged, “Just experiment. You get the hang of it real quick.”

“Well, I’ll do that then.” She nodded, looking behind Alex to the damage she had just done. While she was embarrassed that she had lost so much control, she was still happy to have done it in the first place.

“Who’s going to fix that wall?” Twilight asked finally, looking from Alpha to Alex, to Dash, “And replace those books?!”

“That was the biography section,” Alpha whispered in her ear, “Who needs those anyway?”

“I- I need those…” She whimpered.

“I think I have some books about General Hurricane,” Dash offered, thinking about the stock she had in her office at the moment, “And one about Princess Celestia.”

“You have three books in your office?” Spike asked, “That’s three more than I would have thought.”

“Hey!” Dash said, recoiling at the insult he had just given her, “I’m no egghead, I haven’t read them or anything.”

Spike could only laugh at her response. Never show any weakness.

Dash, on the other hoof, was pushing her anxiety to the side for now. She was happy to have a normal conversation with her friends right now.

“Didn’t you comb through literally thousands of reports to find a lead in saving Alex?” Twilight asked, recalling just how massive some of them had been, “You’ve read more than I have in the past three years I’ll bet.”

Dash blushed, feeling exposed for some reason she couldn’t quite put her hoof on.

“You read for me?” Alex asked, feigning shock, “Now I know you love me.”

She just smiled and shook her head.

“It’s something called skimming,” She tried to explain, “I only read like, one out of every five or six words.”

“That’s why it took you so long to find him, isn’t?” Rarity joined in, feeling genuinely happy in the overwhelmingly normal situation of giving Dash shit.

“I could have found Alex— well, Alpha, in a week if I had really tried,” Dash lied, not even trying to cover up her untruth at this point, “I was just enjoying the peace and quiet.”

“You sure seemed sad when I broke up with you,” Alpha said, as she rolled her eyes in response.

“I was clearly pretending,” Dash giggled, before looking to Alex and shrugging, “I mean, you’re no Cuddly Bear.”

Everypony shuddered at the mention of that name.

“Don’t be so loud,” Alex scolded, “He might hear you through the window Rarity just made.”

“He’s in Manehattan,” Dash answered, not confident with her own explanation, “…Right?”

They all turned and looked out the massive hole in the wall, waiting for his head to pop so, so he could dry wash his hooves and lick his lips at them.

“Um…” Rarity said quietly, “May I try casting the spell again?”

Turning back to her, Alex realized just how off-topic they had been.

“Right!” Alex nodded quickly, “Do you wanna try casing a real, non-explosive spell?”

Nodding, Rarity closed her eyes just as she had before.

Then, just as before, she readied to cast her light spell, only to stop herself, draining away the harmonious energy, leaving only chaos.

Then, she pointed her horn at Alex, and thought ‘creepy middle-aged Pegasus.’

What happened next, could only be explained as a ‘poof’ as Alex was engulfed in a rapidly fading smoke.

When the smoke cleared, a short, fat, brown Pegasus sat in his place, with a large bald spot on the top of his head. It was still Alex, but he was in a new form now.

Alex immediately knew what she had done by the breeze he could feel on his scalp.

“Why?” Alex asked simply, “Why would you do such a thing?”

Alex never got his reply. Everypony was laughing at him too hard.

“Just because you use chaotic magic now, doesn’t mean you get to regress to being a child!” Alex complained, looking for sympathy from the ponies who were now avoiding him like the plague, “I’m supposed to be the child here!”

////

Irritable

////
Irritable
////

Alpha sat in the library with his hooves kicked up on the table, as he idly read through one of the biographies Rarity hadn’t destroyed with her magical outburst. It wasn’t that he was interested in the history of Commander Easyglider really, he was just curious how the book had made out, after the explosion it had endured.

All in all, it was readable. But, if he was dying to heard about the founding members of the Wonderbolts, he’d just ask Pinkie to rap about it for him. She was much more engaging with her hip way of conveying information.

Tossing the book over his shoulder in to a pile of others he had been checking, he looked around the rubble next to him for anything else he could check for Twilight. But, after a few moments of scanning, he decided that the rest of books were simply too destroyed.

Levitating the pile off of the ground, he cast a teleportation spell, sending them all to the bottom of the nearest ocean.

He knew it was littering, but what was a hundred burned books anyway? Practically nothing!

Yawning, he got out of the chair, and decided to look around for something to eat. His day was coming to a close, and he knew that Twilight would be home at any point. So, having dinner ready for the mare would be great for him, in terms of getting closer to her.

Opening a cupboard in the kitchen, he frowned at the severe lack of variety Twilight kept in this place. He would need to go out to the store at some point here.

“Hey Alpha!” Twilight’s voice called from the massive hole in the middle of the building, “How many books did you save?”

Alpha approached her, a little dejected that he wasn’t able to cook her dinner.

“Fifteen, and that was being generous,” Alpha shook his head, gesturing to the pile of books on the floor, as she stepped inside of the library.

“I can’t believe Alex let her do that,” Twilight grumbled, walking past Alpha and opening the same cupboards he had just checked, “Aaaand there’s nothing to eat.”

Alpha frowned, not sure how to handle Twilight in such a sour mood.

Not saying another word, Twilight walked back across the room, and sat down in the chair Alpha had just stood up from.

“Are you okay?” Alpha asked carefully, approaching her slowly from the hole in the wall, “You seem a bit… crappy. Is it about the hole in the wall?”

“It’s about the books!” Twilight shouted, before crossing her arms and huffing loudly.

“They’re just books Twilight, I mean—“

“Just books? Just books?” She bellowed, as she suddenly stood up and faced him, “Those are my life! I love books more than anything in this world!”

Alpha shrunk back, wishing he hadn’t said that to her.

“Some of those were first editions, in mint condition!” Twilight shouted, stepping hoof over hoof toward him, “Some were irreplaceable!”

Alpha was about to apologize, when he noticed a tiny flicker on her horn. It may have just been a strange reflection in the light, so he let her continue for the moment.

“And, I’ll have you know, that a rare biography on Princess Celestia herself was one of the destroyed books!” She screamed, as a tear escaped from her left eye, and ran down her cheek, “I- I just can’t believe Alex was so irresponsible!”

There it was again.

Alpha watched as a darkness enveloped her horn, before vanishing again. It was almost like it was trying to flicker to life.

“Twilight, you need to calm—“

“I do not need to calm down!” She growled.

“I’m serious!” Alpha said, trying not to get into a screaming match with her, “Stop and think for a second!”

“Don’t tell me what to—“

Without letting her finish, Alpha raised his hoof in the air and shook his head apologetically.

“Sorry, sweet cheeks.”

Throwing his hoof across her face, all that could be heard was a painful smack, as she recoiled in shock, and the blackness on her horn faded.

“What was that for?!” She coughed, shaking her head quickly, “Was I just yelling?”

“I guess we know what’s going to happen to you,” Alpha sighed, his face riddled with regret, “I’m sorry I had to do that, Twilight.”

“What just happened?” She asked again, as the past few minutes came back to her mind, “I… I was really angry!”

“No kidding there,” Alpha nodded, pointing to her horn, “There was dark magic all over your horn.”

Twilight sat down on her rump in silence, as she ran though how much rage she had just felt.

“That was only twenty percent…” She mumbled, confusing Alpha with the number she had just pulled out of thin air.

“Twenty percent?” He asked, cocking his head with a confused frown.

“Discord told us that I would change along with my friends… and since only one of my friends changed, that’s one in five.” She explained quietly, exhaling audibly, “When Applejack, Pinkie, Dash, and Fluttershy change… I’ll get even worse.”

Twilight was clearly distressed by this happening, and Alpha had to try his best to cheer her up.

“You don’t need to worry about going too crazy,” Alpha smiled, approaching her and bending down to her level, “If you start to get mad, I’ll just smack you again!”

Twilight wanted to smile, but it simply wasn’t enough.

“Is there anypony you’d like to hug right now?” Alpha asked, as he started to cycle though several forms of her friends, and family members, before stopping on a chubby, balding Pegasus, “I can even do Cuddly Bear, if you were feeling like hugging that weirdo.”

Twilight looked up to him and gave him a small smile.

“Actually… if you don’t mind,” She said softly, wiping a tear from her eye, “Can I just hug Alpha?”

Smiling himself, Alpha returned to his original changeling form, and sat down next to her.

“Thank you.” Twilight said simply, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself close to his cheat, “With Spike gone… I’m happy to have somepony here who cares about me.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Alpha replied softly, nuzzling into the side of her head, “I’ll be right here for this transformation, and no matter what you do, or say, I won’t leave your side.”

She didn’t answer him. She just kissed his cheek, and rested back on his shoulder.

There was nothing more she could have asked for.

Unwanted Questioning

////
Unwanted Questioning
////

Pinkie bounced down the street, taking care not to mess up the cupcakes she was storing in her saddlebag. Her destination was the barracks, where she was going to surprise Rainbow Dash with a party to celebrate her promotion to the rank of Captain of the Royal Guard.

Of course, Pinkie was about two and a half years late to this party, so she needed to get on with it, before any more time passed them by, and they couldn’t truly appreciate the promotion.

Arriving at the entrance, she took a moment to explore the outside of the new building.

The barracks was surprisingly contemporary in its architecture, being nothing more than a sleek red box, that was slightly taller on one side than the other, as if the entire left side of the building had sunk in to the ground, causing it to slant.

The front was filled with several windows, and a single double door, built to accommodate several ponies coming in or out at the same time. But, since Ponyville had a grand total of five guards, there was little use of those doors for right now.

Venturing to the back, Pinkie found several training areas, with a large race track, several nets for volleyball, and a fenced off pitch that was equipped for both Hoof Ball, and the similarly named sport, Hoof Ball. One being the game where you kick a ball around, and the other being a game where you catch a ball and get tackled by other ponies.

Pinkie may not look it, but she was good at tackling ponies.

Making a mental note of this area, she headed back to the front of the building, and let herself inside.

Passing a desk that was obviously intended for some kind of receptionist, she walked past the large training gym, and headed up the staircase toward Dash’s office. However, once she reached the top, she was surprised to see her own reflection standing next to her. She hadn’t expected the walls to be so shiny! She would have to remember this place for parties! Lights can reflect all sorts of fun ways off walls like these!

Taking a few more steps toward her destination, she was once again stooped, as she heard the muffled voices of two ponies in Dash’s office.

Deciding that eavesdropping was the most prudent thing to do, she snuck up to the door, and pressed her ear against it, listening intently to the conversation going on inside.

“How much more does Rarity really need to know?” Dash asked, huffing, as the sound of her chair squeaking told Pinkie that she had just sat down, “I mean, she turned you into that horribly pony from the Wonderbolts Academy.”

“There’s almost nothing you need to know,” Alex answered, only pausing for a brief moment, “Chaos is surprisingly easy to control.”

“Well, from what I read about it, it’s easy because you don’t have to harmonize the spell before casting it,” Dash filled in.

“That makes a lot of sense,” Alex agreed, “I bet you can’t wait until you can use it, huh?”

Dash mumbled something to herself, before speaking up, “I don’t have a horn though.”

“Don’t need it,” Alex shook his head, “You can focus it anywhere.”

Pinkie stuck her head up to the window on the door to see Alex extend his arm, and start to cast the first spell that came to his mind.

For some unknown reason to both Pinkie and Dash, spaghetti noodles started spraying out his hoof, covering her desk in delicious al dente pasta.

“Was that necessary?” Dash exhaled, not impressed with his trick.

“Well, I think pasta is always necessary,” Alex laughed, casting another spell that removed the pasta from existence, “But yeah! Just imagine the fight tricks you can do with magic on your side!”

Dash thought to herself about the perks of this magic, but at the same time, knew what she had to endure to get it. And that led to her expression changing to ‘incredibly downcast.’

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, tilting his head, before she instantly snapped back to her original look.

“Oh! Nothing,” She laughed nervously, “Hey, why don’t you go out and get us something to eat? I have some paperwork to finish here.”

“Oh, well, sure!” Alex smiled, standing up from his chair, “What do you feel like?”

“Hay fries,” She said instantly, as Alex frowned.

“Anything else…?” Alex asked hopefully.

“You’ll eat them for me… right?” She asked, giving him her best ‘puppy dog’ expression.

Alex hated hay. He hated it more than he hated having to wake up before noon. And as long as he was the man in this relationship, there would be no hay!

“And!” Dash cut in instantly, “Before you go telling me how you’re the man, remember who’s in control of all this”

Dash kicked her back left leg on to her desk, and leaned back in her chair, giving a pretty good view of her figure to him, as she gestured from her chest down to her knees.

Alex bit his lip.

Of course. He had forgotten again. He was for sure the lady in this relationship.

“Hay it is,” Alex sighed, turning around and opening the door, as Dash put her legs back on the floor, and looked to the paperwork on her desk in front of her.

Luckily, Pinkie had the good sense to duck behind a fern to conceal herself, as Alex headed in the opposite direction down the hall, past the awesome reflective wall, and down the stairs.

Once he was for sure out of sight, she decided to go in and grill Dashie on some things she had just dodged in her conversation with Alex.

“Heya Dash!” Pinkie said suddenly, shocking the cyan mare up from her work.

“Oh, hey Pinkie Pie,” She smiled, her eyes telling a different story, “What’s up?”

“I, well, I came to see what was wrong!” Pinkie announced, sitting down in the still-warm chair Alex had just been in, “You seemed sad while you were talking to Alex!”

Dash instantly frowned. She didn’t need anypony prying into this.

“It’s nothing, Pinkie,” Dash said, shaking her head and returning to her paper, “Just leave it alone.”

Pinkie bit her lip in frustration. When it came to stubborn ponies, Dash took the cake. She would have to really work at her!

“Come on Dashie!” Pinkie asked again, “Talking about it will make you feel better!”

“Pinkie,” Dash said again, not looking up from her work, “Drop it.”

She wasn’t getting away with this one! No sir! Pinkie would have to pull out the… guilt trip!

“Don’t you trust me?” She asked quietly, as her ears slowly fell back, “Nopony ever trusts me…”

Dash sighed, looking up and giving the pink mare an apologetic look.

“I wish I could talk about it Pinkie, I really do,” Dash sighed, showing more of this sad emotion, caused by whatever the mysterious source was, “But… Nopony can know.”

“Why not?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side, “I’d never think of judging you!”

“It’s not just my fear of being judged,” Dash shook her head, “It’s my fear of hating myself. It’s my fear of… losing myself.”

Pinkie was truly shocked to hear this kind of explanation from Dash. In fact, it made her worry for just what she might hear. What could be so bad, that it put Dash in such a horrible state? What had she done?

Scanning though her recent memory, one thing popped up in her mind.

“Is this about… That night you spent with that other guy?” Pinkie asked slowly, trying to gauge Dash’s reaction. But, nothing could have prepared her for the outburst.

“No!” Dash shouted, smashing a hoof down on her desk, “Y- You need to go!”

“I’m sorry!” Pinkie said immediately, trying to back away from her question, “I won’t—“

“Pinkie Pie, get out!” Dash screamed, as Pinkie scrambled to get out of her chair, as she backed out the door, “This conversation is done! Do not bring it back up!”

Pinkie whimpered and bit her lip as the door was slammed in her face.

Pinkie felt like her stomach was doing backflips. What was this horrible secret? How could it be so bad, that she would fly in to this mood?

Well, the answer to that question was obvious. It had something to do with that stallion Dash had spent that night with a while back. What could it be?

It wasn’t that she secretly loved him or anything. Pinkie was completely confident in that. But there was something else there. Something else must have happened, and she needed to find out what.

Pinkie was gravely worried for both Dash and Alex now. Something that would prompt a reaction like this, could obviously end what the two of them had.

The only problem was, was that Pinkie really had no place butting in on this… but, if Alex was ignorant to this, wasn’t it her job to tell him? Dash couldn’t just scream at him to leave, like she did with her.

Yes—wait, no?

She didn’t know!

“I know!” Pinkie announced, “I’ll ask somepony who knows all about this stuff!”

Bad idea, Pinkie.

////

Alex arrived back in the barracks with his large container of hay fries he intended to share with Dash, but instantly noticed something strange in the air. Since his ability to use chaotic magic had become so strong, he could feel certain emotions, should they be powerful enough. And whatever dread he was sensing right now, was the worst he had ever felt.

Heading upstairs as quickly as possible, he ran down the hall and swung open the door to Dash’s office, expecting to see her in some kind of state that would fit with what this barracks was filled with. But, instead, she was smiling and working.

“Oh! Lunch!” She smiled, closing her book and leaning back in her chair, “Gimmie gimmie gimmie!”

Alex narrowed his eyes as he levitated the food out of his saddlebag toward her.

“Are… you okay?” Alex asked carefully, as she gave him a confused look.

“I’m fine,” She answered calmly, eating a few fries, “Do I look weird or something?”

“Huh.” Alex shrugged, figuring it simply must have been his imagination, “Never mind.”

Dash just smiled, as she gave a massive mental sigh of relief. She had to keep herself together from now on.

And she was also going to have to lie to Pinkie…

////

Ignorance was Bliss

////
Ignorance was Bliss
////

Pinkie had bounced herself all over Ponyville looking for the god of chaos himself- Discord. But, the problem with finding a powerful being such as him, was that he could literally be anywhere in the world. He could be in Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehattan, on the moon, or hiding inside of one of her many party balloons. It was almost frustrating.

“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie called, as she decided to seek help in tracking down the god of chaos, “Have you seen Discord anywhere?”

“Discord?” Twilight called from upstairs, her tone incredibly confused, “Why would you need to talk to him?”

“I need to ask him some private questions!” She answered simply, furthering Twilights confusion.

“Well… Can’t you tell anypony else?” Twilight asked, poking her head out of her upstairs room, “I’m always happy to help you if you need an ear!”

“No… I think I’d like to talk to him about this.” She replied simply.

“Well… as far as I can remember, Discord has been staying in Canterlot,” Twilight explained, “Princess Celestia has been bugging me to take him off her hooves… but I don’t want him annoying us down here!”

“Twilight! I’m hurt!” Discords voice echoed, before he appeared in front of them, “I thought you and I had something Special going on!”

“In your dreams, Discord.” Twilight rolled her eyes, “Well, Pinkie, here he is.”

“Great!” She smiled, hopping up and down, “Can I talk to you about a secret?”

“Of course you can, my dear.” Discord nodded, hovering over to her and gesturing for her to place her hoof in his claw, “I’ll take us somewhere safe from prying ears.”

“Thank you!” Pinkie exclaimed, “Twilight has been prying like crazy!”

“I didn’t—“

They were gone before she could defend herself.

Growling, Twilight went back to work, just in time for the door to the library to open once again.

“Where’s my favorite purple mare?” Alpha called in to the house, trotting his way upstairs, “Hey beautif— Uh… You’re mad.”

Twilight only grunted.

“Well, you do still look beautiful,” He winked, walking in to the room.

Twilight may have pretended to dislike the constant compliments, but some small part of her appreciated somepony trying so hard to compliment her.

“Are you going to just stand there and hit on me all day? Or are you going to help me sort these notes?” Twilight asked, giving him an opening to spend a little time with her.

Alpha only smiled. While he was past trying to straight up romance her, there was something to be said for chipping away at somepony until they crumble underneath you. It would surely make it much more rewarding.

////

“So,” Discord asked, sitting back on a stump in the forest he had taken them to, “What was it you wanted to tell me?”

“Well, I have some suspicions about Rainbow Dash, and Alex!” Pinkie covered quickly, “And since I know you and Alex spent so long trapped in stone together, you would know him pretty well!”

“Well, it wasn’t really that long,” Discord said, trying to estimate how long it had felt like to be trapped in there, “But I did learn a thing or two about him. What is it you’re confused about?”

“Well, Rainbow Dash exploded at me earlier today for asking about the pony she had spent that night with a year ago, while she was still looking for Alex!” Pinkie explained, “There’s something going on there, that Alex doesn’t know about!”

“While I can see how it’s relevant to Alex, why did you ask me this question?” Discord asked, scratching the back of his head, “I feel like any of your other friends would be able to help you! I mean, I know Alex! Not Rainbow Dash!”

Pinkie stopped. That was right. Why had she asked him? “Oh! You can take me to see what she did with your magic!”

“Hmm… I’m no expert on friendship, but isn’t that spying?” Discord asked.

“Well, it’s not spying if it’s to help a friend! …I think!” Pinkie said, before her attitude resolved, and she nodded one last time, “Well? Can you do it?”

“Of course I can do it,” Discord nodded, a little curious about this adventure himself, “Do you want to go now?”

“There’s no time like the present!” Pinkie smiled, “Except for yesterday!”

Discord considered himself to be a very chaotic, and unpredictable creature. But, he wanted nothing to do with trying to decipher what Pinkie had to say.

“Well! Here we go!” Discord said, snapping his fingers, as the two were surrounded by a black bubble, blocking out all but a small amount of light, “When was the transgression between Rainbow Dash and her lover?”

“Eleven months, two weeks, and four days ago!” Pinkie smiled, again, mystifying Discord.

Snapping his claw again, they appeared in a brand new place.

They were now in what looked like a destroyed town in the middle of a swamp. Most of the buildings were wrecked, and the wet streets of the town were filled with water.

“This is quite the level of damage,” Discord observed, looking toward a massive destroyed dam, “It was Alex that did this?”

“Yeah!” She nodded, “Back when he was under control of the changelings!”

The two watched in silence beyond that point, as Discord manipulated the flow of time accordingly, allowing them to skip past any boring conversation. And, because they were invisible to the ponies around them, they weren’t about to cause some kind of time paradox.

“There he is!” Pinkie pointed to the white Pegasus helping move a large pile of wood toward a construction site with his head, “That’s the guy she did it with!”

Discord tilted his head and studied the pony. He was similar to Alex in many ways, but had a harder face than him, with more defined cheek bones, and a slightly longer face. Also, his eyes were brown, instead of blue. And, to top it all off, he had a cutie mark. A picture of a blurred pony, that was, well, obviously going fast, as his name denoted.

“Let’s follow him!” Pinkie announced, as Discord sped up time once again, with their sphere of magic following him automatically.

After a few hours passed, and the day turned to night, the two of them watched the fated encounter between Dash and this stallion, as she tried in vain to stop his advances, while obviously very drunk. It was only a matter of time until she caved under him, and he took her to one of the temporary houses Canterlot had provided for them.

Of course, Discord and Pinkie kept out of the room the two of them were using, but were still treated to a very loud exchange, filled with moaning, cursing, and even a little screaming.

Pinkie herself had a heavy blush the entire time, feeling only a little jealous that Rainbow Dash had experienced something that felt so obviously good.

After a sufficient amount of time passed, and the room fell in to silence, Discord and Pinkie finally poked their heads inside, and were happy to see that Dash was passed out on the bed.

“Looks like he did the job,” Discord chuckled as the while stallion slowly got out of the bed, and walked in to the bathroom, “Now where are you going, you mare stealer?”

Pinkie herself walked over to Dash, and was happy to see that she was asleep with such a big smile on her face. But, it also hurt her chest a bit, seeing another stallion do these things with her… but! This had been the great folly of Rainbow Dash. Her massive lapse in judgment, and loyalty. She had since begged for forgiveness, and had received it from the man she loved. But, if that were the simple case, why had she been so upset?

The two were then pulled from their attention on Rainbow Dash, when they heard him start talking to himself in the bathroom.

“Is he a bad guy?” Pinkie asked softly, knowing that Rainbow Dash had filled him in on the fact that she had a boyfriend, “I mean… it doesn’t even seem like he had anything to drink. He took advantage of Dashie while she was drunk!”

Discord could only agree with her, as they both stood in silence.

Hearing the toilet flush, Speed stepped out of the bathroom, his face riddled with remorse, as he obviously had trouble getting back in to the bed with her.

“Feeling bad now?” Pinkie spat, her attitude souring, “I guess Rainbow Dash only did this with him. Take me to him now.”

“Pardon me?” Discord asked, tilting his head.

“Take us back to the present, and take us to this town!” Pinkie demanded, “I’m gonna give this guy a piece of my mind!”

Again, Discord knew that she shouldn’t be doing that… but he wanted a show!

“You wish is my command, Pinkie,”

Discord bowed, before snapping his fingers from his lowered position, instantly snapping them back to the present, but still in the same town.

Quickly taking in her surroundings, Pinkie was happy to see the town back in beautiful shape, with the dam repaired, and ponies going about their usual business happily. She was genuinely happy to see the town be restored to a state that ponies could be so happy in it. Magic was an amazing thing sometimes.

Discord winked, disappearing from sight, “I don’t want to be scaring anypony, now do I?”

Pinkie nodded. She felt a little bad for Discord for having to hide. But that wasn’t important! She wasn’t about to forget about her anger! She was on the warpath!

Stomping down the road, Pinkie looked for the house of this guy, but had no such luck pointing it out, as she had no idea where he lived.

“Excuse me!” Pinkie called to a couple of mares carding groceries in their saddle bags, “Do either of you know a stallion named Speed? I’m looking for his house!”

The two gave each other a puzzled look, before returning to Pinkie.

“No.” One shook her head.

“Never heard of him!” The other answered, “But it is a big town! Just keep asking around.”

“Thanks!” Pinkie beamed, before snapping back to anger, and she stormed down the street.

The two girls only laughed at what they assumed was a scorned girlfriend.

Pinkie spent the next half hour interviewing ponies from any side of town Discord teleported her to. But, they all responded the same way. They had no clue who speed was. Her search had hit a dead end so hard, she considered throwing in the towel and heading home for the night.

“Excuse me…” Pinkie sighed, out of breath from all her running around, “Do you know somepony named speed?”

The older stallion scratched his chin, “Is he that white Pegasus that helped out rebuild the town?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie lit up, nodding rapidly, “You know him?”

“Well, I’ve only seen him a couple of times since the flood,” The stallion explained, “He always stopped by my restaurant with that girlfriend of his.”

“He has a girlfriend?” Pinkie asked, happy to hear that he was moved on.

“Yeah!” He nodded happily, “That rainbow mare from Canterlot!”

Pinkie froze.

“I only ever really see them together…” He mumbled, “Maybe you ought to try the post office. They’ll have his address.”

“How many times did you see them…?” Pinkie asked, her heart stopped.

“Five or six times I believe… or was it ten? I don’t know anymore.” He laughed, not catching on to Pinkie’s fear, “But they stopped coming around a couple of months ago.”

“When Alex came back…” Pinkie whispered.

“I’ll be seein’ ya again,” He said politely, as he walked away from Pinkie.

Pinkie stood in silence for long enough to give Discord something to worry about.

“Are you alright, Pinkie?” He asked solemnly.

“L-lets go to the post office…” She said quietly, not losing a moment as she headed in the opposite direction.

Discord had nothing to say, as he followed behind her invisibly.

The time passed agonizingly slowly for the two of them, upon the realization that Rainbow Dash had been in a relationship with this stallion longer than she had told her friends. In fact, it sounded like she had been with this guy almost as long as she had been with Alex.

Was all of this a booty call for her? That would have been the best case scenario.

Worst case, she got involved with him romantically, and dumped him when Alex arrived home.

Either way, Pinkie wished she hadn’t done this. She wanted nothing more than to go back, and stop herself from investigating.

The bell jingled to the post office as Pinkie walked inside.

“Evenin’” A tall yellow stallion said, “Lookin’ to send something? Or pick up?”

“Um… Do you have an address for a pony named… Speed?” Pinkie asked quietly.

“You know Speed?!” The stallion asked excitedly, “I’ve been waiting for you forever!”

Pinkie frowned and tilted her head, “I’m sorry?”

“A letter arrived for him a month or so ago!” He said, levitating a sealed envelope on to the counter, “Take this to him!”

“So… you don’t have an address?” She asked, no longer concerned with it anyway.

“’fraid not.” He shook his head, “But give him this when you find him, okay?”

Pinkie didn’t get a chance to answer, before the letter was slipped in to her bag.

“Have a good night darlin’!” He said, walking out of the main room.

“Let’s go…” Pinkie exhaled, as the room instantly melted from around them, and was replaced with the same forest they had been in originally.

Grabbing the letter with her mouth, Pinkie dropped it on the ground.

“Why did you let him give you the mail?” Discord asked, lifting the litter off the ground and inspecting it.

“That’s Rainbow Dash’s mouth-writing,” Pinkie said sadly, “She sent him a letter. When Alex got back… Open it.”

“Are we allowed?” Discord asked, still lost to the concept of friendship, when she was ready to invade her friend’s privacy like this.

“Do it.” Pinkie repeated, her voice devoid of all joy.

Gulping, Discord ripped the top of the letter, and read through the text on the parchment.

Dear Speed,

The time we discussed has arrived, and I’m afraid I have to end the relationship we have shared. We have spoken at length on this topic, and we both agreed that when this time arrived, we would go our separate ways.

I also need to articulate my feelings to you, in regards to the time we spent together.

While you were an amazing pony, being so supportive of me in this time, and dropping everything in your life, just so could entertain me for a night out of each month, I’m afraid my feelings for you never progressed further than friendship, despite the physical contact we shared.

I’m not ignorant of your feelings toward me either. On more than one occasion I heard you tell me you loved me while I slept, and I’m truly sorry that those feelings will never be returned.

So many parts of me wish that I had been strong enough to stay away from you, but I had almost lost hope. Had I never been able to save him, maybe things would have worked out differently.

You will find a mare who loves you soon, Speed. Just as long as you keep being yourself.

Regards, Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie was slightly relieved to hear this. Rainbow Dash never truly cared for this guy. But, at the same time, the two had secret rendezvous for more than half a year. Was she so uncontrollably horny, that she would throw herself on him?

And then she turned around told all her friends that it only happened once.

“Are we in the Everfree Forest?” Pinkie asked, looking at Discord.

“Just outside of town,” Discord said softly.

“Okay. I think I’ll get myself home,” Pinkie said quietly.

“Do you want to talk about this a little more?” Discord asked, feeling terrible for Pinkie and the weight this revelation held for her, “We can get your other friends and—“

“No!” Pinkie shouted, her eyes filling with tears, “W-we need to keep this to ourselves!”

Discord frowned slowly.

“I’ll talk to Dashie about this,” Pinkie sighed, grabbing the envelope and placing it in her bag, “But I need some time to figure it out.”

Walking past Discord, Pinkie headed in to the Everfree in the direction of Ponyville.

“Thank you for helping me, Discord,” She said politely, “And… If I ever need someone to talk to about anything again… I’ll come to you.”

Discord didn’t respond. He was overjoyed to hear her say that… but it was no time to be happy. Because he had no idea how things were going to end between Alex and Rainbow Dash at this point.

Confrontation

////
Confrontation
////

Hours had passed, and Pinkie still had no idea where she was going to go with the information she had just been supplied with. So many things were thrown in the air when she learned of Rainbow Dash and her time spent with Speed, that she was having trouble keep track of exactly what it all meant.

She had been over it again and again, and still wasn’t sure who the pony at fault here was.

In his defense, despite her running from their first night together, she came back and asked for more, telling him that it was nothing more than an… exchange. She got to release tension, and he got, well, to bang Rainbow Dash. In many circumstances, that would be a dream come true for any guy. But, from what the letter said, he obviously fell in love with her over the months they secretly spent together.

Had she really kept using him, despite hearing that? Any sensible pony would have ended things right there. But, if she did indeed continue their relationship… that would make her terrible.

However, on the other hoof, Speed may have had more control than Pinkie was giving him credit for. After all, he did practically beg Rainbow Dash in to sleeping with him, while she was drunk and he wasn’t. That’s like playing tennis with the net down. And further, despite his confession of love to her, he may have begged her to stay when she tried to leave, or he may have even only confessed his love to her on their last encounter before she ended things… But that letter did sound like it was the end-all. Had Alex not returned, would she have gone back?

The problem was, there were too many questions.

There were two ponies in the world who could answer these questions for her, and she had no idea where one of them was. So, truly, her only option to keep her from going mad with these endless questions, was to confront Rainbow Dash.

But what if she exploded again? What if she lost her mind? Dash was obviously guilty that she had done what she did…

Then it dawned on Pinkie. A sad, sad revelation.

How bad did Rainbow Dash feel right now? Horrible. Worse than Pinkie had ever seen her friend. She was sad, she was exploding at her friends, and worst of all, she had lied to them all to cover it up.

Those feelings couldn’t have just started now. If Pinkie were in the same situation, where somepony she loved went missing for an undetermined amount of time, and she were to sleep with some stranger, it would have destroyed her. It would have made her feel worse than that time she ate an entire wedding cake in one bite. And that was bad.

So, if something were to make you feel so horrible, why would you go back ten more times?

Pinkie was afraid of what the true answer might be.

But, she needed to learn it for herself. No matter what it cost her, or Rainbow Dash. Her faith in one of her best friends was shaken, and she wanted nothing more than for this to be a grave misunderstanding. So. She was going to go to the source.

The barracks in Ponyville.

////

Rainbow Dash sat at her desk in silence. Across the table from her, was somepony she would usually be happy to see. The fun-loving Pinkie Pie. The mare she had spent countless hours with, partying, pulling pranks, and all around having a good time. But, not right now. Neither had exchanged a word yet, but they both knew the topic of conversation the moment Pinkie walked in to the room and threw a letter on the table.

The letter Rainbow Dash had sent to her lover, Speed, a little over a month ago, when Alex had been freed from his stone imprisonment. It was a secret that had literally been ripping her apart from the inside since the changelings had been cast out of Canterlot. A part of her was incredibly happy to have the secret known by somepony else… but she knew that happiness wasn’t what she was going to be experiencing during this exchange between them.

“Where did you get this?” Dash asked flatly, her eyes locked with Pinkie’s.

“I think you know the answer to that question.” Pinkie said back, a sharp edge in her tone.

Dash narrowed her eyes, and looked away from her friend, “Listen, Pinkie—“

“Don’t try to feed me some line, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie barked, “You’ll answer every question I have!”

“Fine.” She said, knowing this to be the best way of surviving this.

“How many times did you see him?” Pinkie asked, her voice shaking in both fear, and anger.

Rainbow Dash was silent for a moment, before looking up from her desk, “Twelve times.”

A small squeak escaped from Pinkie’s throat, breaking both her own heart, and Rainbow Dash’s. However, she held her composure, and continued her line of questioning.

“Why did you tell us all it happened once?” Pinkie asked, “If you had come out with it, everything would be so much better for you.”

“Because!” Dash said, standing up, “I was supposed to be the one fighting for him! And I- I was out there fucking some other guy! How could I ever explain that to him? I almost convinced myself it only happened once, with the amount I lied about it…”

Pinkie shook her head, and she thought back to Speed.

“Did you go back to him, after he told you that he loved you?” Pinkie exhaled, knowing the answer already.

“Yes…” Dash said sadly.

“How could you do that?” Pinkie asked, not expecting an answer for this one, as she continued talking, “How could you play with the feelings of this guy? Nopony deserves to be used, Rainbow Dash.”

She had no answer.

“How could I ever look at you the same way again?” Pinkie asked, her voice tearing, showing her incredible sadness, “You might as well have gone out and murdered somepony, because… you’re not the pony I thought you were.”

“You don’t know how lonely I was!” Dash retorted, her eyes now filled with tears, “A-and he… He reminded me so much of Alex!”

“So that’s the only prerequisite?” Pinkie snapped, tears running down her own cheeks, “They have to remind you of the pony you love? Because it doesn’t sound to me like you love him!”

Dash was silenced by this.

“I understand a lapse in judgment, and I can even see it happening twice,” Pinkie said quietly, “But tonight, Rainbow Dash, I think you ended our friendship.”

“Pinkie…” Dash muttered, having no luck finding the words for her

“Lying, cheating, leading him on… you aren’t loyalty anymore.” She continued, smashing Dash’s heart to pieces, “I wish I’d just wake up from this horrible dream…”

Dash wished that she could articulate her feelings about all those times she had cheated on Alex. But she was helpless to do so. What good would it do to say that she simply couldn’t control herself, because of how good it felt? None.

“What are you going to tell everypony?” Dash asked quietly, fearing that this would be the end of her life as she knew it.

“Nothing.” Pinkie said, turning and walking away from her.

Dash perked up at hearing this.

“On the condition that you come clean yourself,” Pinkie said over her shoulder, exhaling sadly still, “Prove to me that you still have somepony good inside of you.”

Dash closed her eyes and felt that familiar, horrible pang of guilt.

“Alex is my friend too, Rainbow Dash,” Pinkie said, “I won’t let him be kept in the dark for long.”

And with that, Pinkie stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Dash was able to hold herself up for only a moment, before she collapsed in to a quivering pile of worthlessness. She hated herself. She hated how much she loved what she did with Speed. And she hated the fact that his face would come to mind, while she was spending time with Alex.

Pinkie was right.

She was a monster.

She had tainted what it meant to be loyal. And when she finally came clean to everypony… she was going to leave. There was no happiness in her life with Alex being lied to like this, and there would be no happiness even if he were to forgive her.

“I’m sorry, Alex…” She muttered through her tears, “Soon, I won’t be your problem anymore…”

////

I was truly a shame that Alex had decided to surprise Dash with dinner, as he was the third participant in the conversation between the two girls.

////

Coming Clean

////
Coming Clean
////

What was to be done?

That was the question Alex had been stuck on for the past fifteen minutes, after hearing every word exchanged between Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. What should I say? What should I do? What was to be done?

Upon hearing this information, he had tried to rationalize it… He had, after all, spent countless nights with the queen of the changelings. But, everything that happened was more or less against his will, in the sense that she WAS having her way with a mind controlled version of him, but at the same time, it was the only fun he had during his imprisonment… Well, that and seeing Dash, even if she didn’t know it was him, and for every moment, he had imaged it was the mare he loved. Not the queen.

But… all of those times he had come across her while he was brainwashed, she was in an active relationship with this guy. She was having sex with somepony else, while she was literally the only thing that kept him going during his time of conscription.

And that fact hurt.

He had been punched, slapped, stabbed through the cheek with a gemstone, run through with a metal pole, and even fell hundreds of feet, just to collide with Dash midair and almost break his neck.

He had been though all of those horrible, painful experiences. And, as cliché as it sounded, this was by far the one that hurt the most. It wasn’t like physical pain that can be cured with a quick spell. This was like somepony had grabbed his heart, and violently ripped it out of his chest, and then stomped it in to the ground.

“How could she have cared so little?” Alex muttered, not daring be heard by Rainbow Dash, who he assumed was still below him in her office, “Was she so lonely, that she would lead on a nice guy like that, just to get herself off?”

It was a terrible action, and it almost made him be ashamed of her. That a mare like herself, would ever treat somepony so horribly.

He wanted to confront her, just as Pinkie had… but even he knew that she had had enough. Her friend had literally destroyed her, leaving her a quivering pile of sadness. Alex could have gone in, and thrown some salt in the wound… but the last thing he needed to do was stress her out so much that she had a stroke or something.

So, what was he supposed to do now? Go talk to a friend about all of this?

No. His pride wouldn’t allow that.

How weak and stupid would he look to everypony when they found out that he was some kind of cuckold?

Alex flinched at the word.

He couldn’t do this right now. No way.

He was lucky to be in Equestria, because all he needed to do was find a quiet spot, and he could put himself to sleep for a few hours. He was heartbroken, and it had literally drained all energy he had. But, that didn’t matter. He would be up all night regardless with this running through his head.

So, looking toward the library, Alex knew that he would be able to stash himself in the branches and be safe from being found. Nopony ever went in there. He even knew the best spot to position himself, where no windows or rooms were nearby to hear his rustling of the leaves.

Tossing the now cold food off the side of the building in to a bush, he took off from the roof, and bulleted in to his hiding place, where he was able to relax on a massive branch, and throw away his problems for a few hours.

Then, instantly, he cast a powerful sleep spell, that knocked him out instantly.

Unfortunately for him, all he did was dream of her breaking his heart. It was no escape at all.

////
The Next Day
////

The wind blew through the trees softly, causing a leaf to fall from a branch that hung only an inch from Alex’s face, landing perfectly on his nose.

Grunting in his sleep, he exhaled sharply, shooting the leaf back in to the air, only to have it fall back down, and land back on his nose.

“What the…” Alex muttered, opening his eyes, and looking at the leaf on his nose, “Why am I in this tree…?”

It took his about fifteen seconds to work out what had led to falling asleep in the tree, and immediately felt terrible the moment it all came back to him… Maybe he should just go back to sleep, until he couldn’t remember why he was running away.

Looking at the shadows around him that were being cast by the sun, he cocked his head for a moment. The light was beaming directly down on him. The sun must have been pretty high in the sky for that to happen.

Poking his head out of the tree, he was able to confirm that it must have been a few hours after noon. How long had he been out for?

“That spell must have been a little strong for me to sleep in so much.” Alex muttered.

His rambling to himself was cut short, when he spotted a familiar shadow in the sky, streaking toward the library.

“Oh crap…” Alex said, getting back in to his hiding spot.

A part of him just wanted to jump out and demand answers from her, but, he also knew that facing her like that could… well… end everything between them.

He didn’t even know if he was going to… end things with her over this lie.

He hadn’t had nearly enough time to think about it. And really… this purgatory he was in right now was the best he was going to be feeling for a long time. Because, even if he were to forgive her and continue their relationship, he wouldn’t— he couldn’t ever trust her again.

And on the other hoof, he could break up with her, and put himself through hell for losing the single greatest thing he had in his life. The woman of his dreams…

So, those were his two choices. But, if he were to put their confrontation off, he could always hold on to the dream that this was a massive misunderstanding. He knew that it wasn’t. But right now, there was still that sliver of a chance.

Once he spoke to her, it would be set in stone, and it would be over.

Right now though, anything could be the outcome.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the front door of the library.

Poking his head down a bit, he was able to see that it was indeed Rainbow Dash, and she had a grave look on her face.

Was she coming here to talk to everypony? Without him?

That seemed really cold.

“Why did you call us all together for, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, as Dash let herself into the library.

“Please sit down,” She sighed, looking back and forth across the room, “Is Pinkie not here?”

“She told me she was going to be busy today,” Spike answered, “She seemed really abrupt about it though…”

“Has anypony had any luck findin’ Alex?” Applejack asked.

Twilight shook her head, “I haven’t seen him in three days.”

“Three days?!” Alex whisper/shouted, as his stomach suddenly growled loud enough to scare the birds from the tree around him, “I should probably get something to eat and drink here... Well, after I watch this.”

Sneaking around the perimeter of the house, Alex found a high up, hidden window that he was able to both observe, and hear the conversation from.

“So… why’d’ja call us here?” Applejack asked, her tone clearly worried, “Are ya’ all right, Dash?”

Dash closed her eyes, exhaled, and began.

She started from the beginning, and revealed the truth behind the lie she had been telling everypony for so long. She had been secretly been sleeping with Speed every month for almost a year, and had only been drunk for the first time. Every time beyond that point, she had no control to deny him, and always found herself back in his arms.

At this point, her friends were all speechless.

She then went on to explain how she had continued sleeping with him, despite knowing that his feelings for her were powerful.

They were now all horrified.

And, finally, she tried to justify her actions to them all.

She was lonely.

He was incredibly similar to Alex.

Alex may not have come back.

And that was it. None of the girls in the room knew what to say to her. She had just admitted to some of the most horrible things they had ever heard. It sounded like something out of a terrible love story.

The silence in the room hung for minutes on end, as they each felt their opinions of Rainbow Dash change completely.

“Why are you telling us now?” Fluttershy finally asked, only worsening the tension in the room.

“Because…” Rainbow inhaled, knowing this answer would be the final nail in the coffin, “Pinkie found out, and told me that she would tell you, if I didn’t. That’s why she didn’t come today. She told me we’re no longer friends.”

They were all shocked to find out that she was only explaining her sins like this because Pinkie had forced her to.

“Rainbow Dash… would you have told anypony if Pinkie hadn’t found this out?” Rarity asked, completely horrified at this confession.

Dash only shook her head.

“Ah’ need to go.” Applejack said abruptly, walking past Rainbow Dash and out the door.

“Me… me too.” Fluttershy whimpered, lowering her head and getting herself out the door behind Applejack.

Twilight, Rarity and Spike were now left, unsure of what was to come next.

“I’ll go.” Dash said, turning around, “If you see Alex… Tell him I really do still love him.”

“Dash, wait!” Twilight said, stopping the mare in her tracks, “What do you plan on doing?”

“I’m getting away from everypony,” Dash said, “I think it’s about time I took Comet up on her persistent offer to join the Wonderbolts.”

“What?!” Spike said, “After all Alex went through to stop you the first time?”

“I’m a monster, Spike,” Dash said, her voice audibly cracking, “And Alex probably found out, and went home.”

“You can’t leave without talking to him, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity scolded, “It will kill him if he doesn’t know, and he finds out from us.”

Dash only turned around, and flew out the door.

Alex could have chased her, and told her that he loved her too. But he was a coward.

Besides. It was his turn to cry.

He had been lied to.

Cheated on.

It was over. He would never move past this, and Rainbow Dash seemed to know that herself.

////

An Ill-Deserved Vacation

////
An Ill-Deserved Vacation
////

“Are you sure about this?” Spike asked Alex, as he finished packing his bag, “I mean… I know what she did was horrible. But we still need you here!”

“What for?” Alex asked rather abruptly, sending Spike back an inch, “You don’t need me to be around for anything until everypony faces their dark sides, right?”

“Well…” Twilight sighed, averting her gaze from the furious stallion, “He hadn’t seen his family in a few years, right Spike?”

“I guess so…” Spike exhaled, as Alex walked toward the door with his bag.

“Thank you guys for putting me up for the last week,” Alex said, looking at the clock on the wall, “Rainbow Dash is leaving for Manehattan in a few hours, right?”

“You should go see her!” Spike announced, before instantly regretting it, “I mean…”

“No,” Alex said, with a sharp edge to his words, “She won’t be seeing any of me for the next few months.”

It was painful for Twilight and Spike to hear his utter these words, considering how happy he had been just a few weeks ago, when the two of them were finally reunited after so long in solitude. His heart had been smashed, but he refused to show it to anypony.

“How do you even plan on getting back?” Spike asked, remembering that it took The Doctor and the TARDIS to take him between dimensions, “Do you know the magic?”

Alex only nodded.

Neither of them knew what to say.

“I’ll probably stay for a week or two… Which will translate to a month or so back here.” Alex said over his shoulder, “I’ll see you guys then.”

And with nothing more, Alex left the room, and shortly after, the library.

The three ponies in the house all let out a sad sigh. These past few days had been truly horrible for everypony, and despite how terrible it seemed, they were all happy to rid of the bundle of tension they were sharing the house with.

“I hope he’s okay.” Spike said simply.

Twilight wanted to add something, but didn’t want to spend any time bashing her friend Rainbow Dash within the earshot of the ponies in this house. She would keep it to herself.

“When is Rainbow Dash due to be inducted in to the Wonderbolts?” Alpha asked, cautiously entering the room.

“I have no idea,” Spike shook his head.

“I didn’t bother looking in to it,” Twilight added.

“Are you going to go to the ceremony?” Alpha asked next, feeling fairly confident in what the answers would be.

“I don’t know.” They both answered together, confirming his suspicion.

“I… need to get back to the boutique,” Spike sighed, walking past his friends, “I’ll see you guys later.”

They both only nodded.

The tension was too much for him… and as bad as he sounded for it, he just wanted to go home and be loved by Rarity. It would perk up this mood the entire town seemed to be putting him in.

////

“The train destined for Manehattan will be leaving shortly, please load your baggage and find your assigned seats,” The announcer repeated, as the final passenger stood outside the train, waiting on the platform.

Rainbow Dash stood, watching the entrance to the platform intently, desperately hoping that at least one of her friends would arrive to see her off. None of them had said a word to her since she had confessed her dark secret to them… and she didn’t blame any of them for it. But, a small part of her wanted nothing more than for her friends to walk through the door, and wish her good luck on the journey she didn’t even want to make.

What she wouldn’t give to see Alex, just one final time, and apologize for what she had done.

But she wouldn’t get the chance. He had obviously found out one way or another, and had followed it up with avoiding her like the plague. He would confront her when the time was right… Whether she was a Wonderbolt when that time came around was still to be seen.

“This is the final call for the train destined for Manehattan, please load your baggage and find your assigned seats.” The announcer said for the final time.

Dash felt her eyes fill with tears, as the realization of what she had done sunk in further than it already had.

Nopony wanted to see her. She had ruined every friendship she had in Ponyville. She was a monster.

And it was because of that, she had sent her letter of resignation to Princess Celestia, and decided to make this move. She couldn’t ever face her friends again.

Looking to the train, she lowered her head, lifted her bag off the ground, and tossed it in the side compartment.

Sighing, she stepped inside of the open door immediately to her left, and proceeded to her seat, finding it instantly. Seating herself, she idly fiddled with her hooves, as the engine roared to life, and everypony was asked to remain seated.

Slowly, they started to depart from the station, rolling past the sprawling platform.

Glancing out the window one final time, Dash felt her heart leap as she made eye contact with a white stallion, standing next to the entrance on the opposite side of the building. He was far, and there were ponies passing between them. But she would know that massive gray spot across the small section of his chest anywhere.

His face told her everything she needed to hear.

He was broken. And she had done that to him.

It was there that she realized, that seeing him on her way out only made things a million times worse for her.

That is what she had given up.

That which she had fought so hard for.

“I love you, Alex…” She muttered as the train passed out from the platform, and out in to rural country.

It was the last she would be seeing of him for a long, long time.

////

Alex sighed, walking out the door, and away from the trains.

He had decided, against his better judgment, to see her one final time before he left.

When he had told his friends that he was going for a week or two, he had been lying. He wasn’t planning on coming back until they came looking for him, to help fight their ‘ultimate’ enemy.

That would be it. Then he would be back on earth. He was done with Equestria.

A spark escaped from his horn, as the energy he had been amassing for the past few hours started to pour from his head, and surround his body.

The world around him started to warp, as the chaotic power engulfed the entire area around him, shifting the colors of the darkening, and splitting every ray of light in to a spectrum of colors.

Colors.

Growling, Alex let out all of the anger he had been keeping inside of him, as the remaining power blasted out around him, sending massive gusts out in all directions.

“God Dammit Colors!” Alex shouted, as a spike of lightning shot up in to the sky, and filled the town with a blinding light that was even seen by the rainbow Pegasus on a train outside of town.

When the light faded, all that remained was a black patch on the ground.

He was gone home.

As if Nothing had Changed

////
As if Nothing had Changed
////

Again, as it had been the last time, the sky was dark when Alex appeared in the field behind his family house. However, instead of being filled with stars, the sky had a thick cloud cover, as the rain pounded down from the heavens, on to the top of his now human head.

The sky matched his attitude perfectly, and it almost made him angrier than he already was, seeing this be his welcome home after three years in Equestria. Of course, that was more like one year here, which, worked quite well for him. He could explain to his Uncle that he had been gone with Dash, or rather, Sarah, for that long, and had come home after a messy break up.

But, being the prideful asshole that he was, Alex simply couldn’t reveal that he had been cheated on.

It was a humiliation.

It wasn’t just because someone he loved had gone behind his back and done this terrible thing with another person, it was that Speed had been chosen over him.

To him, it was just salt being poured in the wound. Not only was that girl he loved a terrible person in his eyes, but she had also gone and had this amazing time with some other guy. And it was such a good time, that she kept going back for it, until the day Alex came back, at which point she tossed aside her lover, and went back to Alex.

But, the worst part of it all… was that Pinkie had to be the one to find out.

Rainbow Dash hadn’t even had the courage to come clean about it. She had simply lied, and hoped that their relationship would simply continue. Alex knew it had happened the first time. He was in the town while it was happening.

Shaking his head, Alex decided to get out of the rain. He was starting to get soaked, and knew he could be outside all night dwelling on these feelings.

Walking toward his back door, Alex lifted his mother’s garden gnome from next to the door, and grabbed the egg shaped key to unlock the back door.

Walking inside, he casually glanced around at the décor of the house, and was happy to see it untouched once again. But, it didn’t look like Chet had been around recently, as the entire house was covered in a thin layer of dust. This surprised Alex, as Chet was usually the type to keep a house clean.

Dropping his duffle bag on to the couch, Alex sat down next to it, and unzipped the top, revealing all sorts of pony-items that had carried over in his teleportation spell.

A blanket he had grown fond of in Equestria. In real world graphics, several threads were sticking out, and the colorful butterflies were faded against the cyan background of the sky.

His iPod was in the front pouch, and had been an item of particular interest to him, as it had never occurred to him to take a picture with the camera on the back, and see how it came out in his world.

Clicking the button on the top, he swiped the screen and inputted the password Rainbow Dash had set for him—

6969

Shaking his head the joke he would have usually found funny, he moved on to the gallery of images, and for the first time in a few weeks, found a smile cross his lips as he looked at the images of the same-old colorful Equestria he had been living in for so long.

“I guess the data on the iPod isn’t changed,” Alex mumbled, as he casually swept through the gallery he had been amassing for the past couple of months, since his release from the hold of the Changelings.

However, as he continued, he started coming across more and more images of Dash, each one feeling like an individual stab to the heart.

There were just too many… But he couldn’t stop himself.

Here she was flying, one of her reading, then her stuffing her face, killing herself laughing, sleeping peacefully, giving him a blowj—

“Whoops,” Alex laughed nervously, happy that no one was around, “Forgot I took that one.”

“Did you sneak in to this house just to look at cartoon porn?” A voice came from behind him, making Alex jump out of his seat as he turned to face his uncle, who had snuck in through the front door while he was lost in his own world.

“Jesus titty fucking Christ!” Alex exhaled, his heart racing from the scare, “Don’t you have better things to do than scaring me?”

“That’s no way to say hello!” Chet laughed, almost falling over at Alex’s reaction, “I came over because the security system I got in here went off!”

Alex looked next to the back door, and sure enough there was a code lock.

“Why would you install that?” Alex asked, shaking his head, “It’s not like—“

“It’s not like anyone would want to break in to a house filled with stuff that no one lived in?” Chet finished, raising an eyebrow.

“Ah…” Alex nodded quickly, “Well, sorry about the porn then.”

“That’s fine,” Chet laughed as Alex stood up from the couch and faced him, “As long as it isn’t actual horses!”

Chat gave Alex a strong hug, which Alex returned. It was comforting to be spending time with some actual family for once.

“It’s good to see you back, kid,” Chet said, “And sorry I missed your birthday… you were gone, after all.”

“No worries,” Alex smiled back, realizing again that time was very different in this world.

By all accounts, Alex had been in Equestria for four years, which worked out to one year and four months in this world.

Chet assumed Alex was nineteen, when he was actually twenty two.

“So, what brings you back?” Chet asked, breaking their embrace, “And where’s that pretty little number you had with you last time?”

Alex sighed and averted his gaze.

“Ah, got it.” Chet nodded, “How did’ja get home then?”

“Caught a bus,” Alex lied, knowing he could never tell the truth.

It was strange to think about, teleporting back to this world like he just had.

Four years ago when he first came to Equestria, that was his goal. He wanted to cast the spell that would get him home, and that was it. It had seemed almost impossible back then, as he was supposed to take magic lessons with Twilight until he made it there.

But, here he was, able to get back and forth between Equestria and Earth without even breaking a sweat.

“What have we got in the kitchen?” Alex asked, walking past his uncle and in to the attached kitchen, “Any chance you keep the fridge stocked?”

“Nope,” Chet said, taking Alex’s place at the couch and grabbing his iPod, “You’ve got some dry goods though.”

Opening the cereal cupboard, Alex grabbed the box of Lucky Charms and reached for a bowl, before deciding to go handful at a time-style.

“You’ve sure got a lot of cartoon horses having sex on here,” Chet muttered just loud enough to make sure Alex heard.

Frowning at the fact that those were actual images of himself and Rainbow Dash, Alex sprinted back to the couch and ripped the device from Chet’s hands. If he knew what Alex did, he wouldn’t be looking.

Again, Chet burst out in to laughter at the rise he had gotten out of Alex.

“That’s my private stash, buddy.” Alex said, slipping the iPod in to his pocket, “You’ve got your own, I’m sure.”

Chet shook his head as Alex headed back to the kitchen to grab his food.

“I’m afraid the old lady wouldn’t allow that,” Chet said, further sticking his nose where it didn’t belong by checking out the duffle bag.

Alex only shrugged as he grabbed his box of cereal once again.

“Displacing the Focusing of Magic?” Chet read from the book he had grabbed, “What kind of mumbo-jumbo is this?”

Alex rolled his eyes as he once again placed his box of food down, and approached his uncle.

“Dash gave me those,” He said, “They were a joke gift that she didn’t want reminding her of me.”

“Oh,” Chet said, dropping the book back in the bag while giving it no more thought.

“Listen… I’m exhausted, would you mind giving me some peace and quiet for the night?” Alex asked politely, “I’ll catch up with you tomorrow.”

Chet could see that Alex wasn’t doing so well, and his intrusions were probably going to be nothing more than annoying at this point.

“Ah… Sorry,” Chet sighed, standing up, and grabbing his massive rifle, “I’ll come bug you in the morning.”

“Not too early!” Alex said, as Chet walked past him toward the back door.

“Six thirty!” He announced, opening the door, “And the code for the panel on the wall is six-nine-six-nine!”

The door closed, and then locked.

“Why is everyone in my life so immature?” Alex sighed, finally collapsing on the couch with his box of cereal as he grabbed his massive book on magic, “Chet has no idea…”

The book Chet had taken from the duffle bag was a unique instruction on using magic from places other than your horn. Alex had come across it, and realized just how important it could be, should he ever be back on earth without a horn, since casting without one can literally kill you.

So, after studying the book through and through, he was finding himself more and more confident with his ability to cast from other places.

Reaching his right arm out, and extending his index finger, he sent a small burst of magic it’s tip, and started shooting sparks out of it, lighting the dark room up.

“I wonder what else I could do here,” Alex mumbled, warping the magic to a more chaotic property, and releasing it on the top of the table in front of him.

And, just as he had wanted, a bowl candy appeared in front of him.

Even though his life was in such shambles, he was happy to know that he wouldn’t have any trouble making money when all was said and done with Equestria.

He could just cheat his way in to winning the lottery.

“Hmm… That sounds like too much effort,” Alex pondered, picking the marshmallows out of the box and eating them exclusively, “How about…”

Releasing even more energy on top of the table, it shimmered in the air for a moment, before solidifying in to a brick of gold, which promptly fell a quarter of an inch, and smashed the center portion of the table as it fell through to the floor.

“I will be retiring young.”

////

Up next, OTR: Escape

Escape

The next chapter is Escape!

Go to my stories and click it! You'll be confused if you skip it and keep reading!

https://www.fimfiction.net/story/210376/otr-escape

Go there next!

Home in Each Other

////
Home in Each Other
////

The day had passed instantly.

It had truly begun with Alex wanting to ask her a question. One very, very important question. But, before he had the chance to ask, she moved toward the manager of the Wonderbolts, Comet, to immediately remove herself from the consideration to become a Wonderbolt, for the second time.

Of course, Comet wasn’t as pleased as she thought she was going to be that day. When she was told that Dash was returning to join the team, she thought it too good to be true, expecting Alex to arrive any day and take her home. But, as the time dragged on, and he made no appearance, Comet allowed herself to get excited. Something she regretted doing, after today.

After all, Dash had made a name for herself while she was a Captain of the guard. She had used her amazing flying abilities in several situations throughout Equestria, and had shockingly, almost progressed past the best of the best fliers in the world. It was truly baffling that such a pony existed, but wanted nothing to do with the Wonderbolts to her.

And although she had come close again, she had been rescued. Just as before, by her lover falling out of the sky, and passionately kissing her in front of an audience.

So, after Dash had one again broken the heart of Comet, she paid a visit to her friends, who were all waiting patiently for her to resign from the Wonderbolts.

Of course, none of them knew what had changed between her and Alex. The most they could tell, was that he had confronted her, been enveloped in a massive black ball, and then started kissing her.

None of them knew the specifics, but were all able to get the gist of it.

So, between Dash and Alex, they explained what had happened with her dark side, and how false memories had been written in to her mind, in an effort to convince her that she had slept with Speed. But, in fact, when the time actually came for her to cheat on Alex the first time, she was able to keep Speed away from her, by almost ridiculously, associating an itch with cheating on him.

Twilight was truly impressed that Dash had used Daring Do’s tactic to save herself and Alex from a terrible future.

Strangely, however, Pinkie wasn’t anywhere to be seen. But, Dash knew that they would have their moment. Pinkie wasn’t the kind of friend you could just replace, and she would hunt down the party pony if she needed to, so that they could make amends.

But, beyond that, the day ended for the two of them.

Alex wasted no time returning himself, and his companion to Ponyville, to the house they once shared. Both of their chests free of any weight, so they could spend time with one another, and Alex could find his moment to ask her.

Neither one of them were sure what the rest of the day would be filled with, but when the time came, it was all so natural for them.

////

Time had slipped past the two of them.

Their hearts, and bodies had once again been joined, after such an agonizing time apart, as they lay together closer than they had either ever been.

It was like sitting down by the fire, after being caught in a blizzard. Neither dared to move, or even speak. They were so lost in the others essence, that nothing needed to be said.

His coat was slightly coarse, but completely bearable.

Hers was soft, and smelt of roses and vanilla. Just as it had on the hillside so many years ago.

Pressing her cheek in to his chest, she sighed at the heat radiating from his chest. It could be a hundred and twenty degrees and she’d still cuddle up against his warm body, to feel each pound in his chest, and savor each second like it was the last they would ever spend together.

Slowly, she opened her wing that wasn’t pressed against the bed, and draped it over his midsection, making sure that she was as close to him as she possibly could be. Her relatively small frame compared to his however, kept her from reaching very far across him.

Alex had never considered using his wings as something to embrace somepony with, but took no time replicating her motions, as he extended his gray wing, and placed it around her entire body. It was amazing how good the small action felt to the two of them.

Slowly raising a hoof out from under his wing, he brushed across her cheek, causing her to open her eyes, and give him the kind of warm smile that not only made him forget to breathe, but also caused his heart to skip several beats. It was a dream come true to be here with her like this again.

Dash felt her own heart melt at the look of pure bliss that he was showing her. His happiness set her own chest on fire. The two were equal in this embrace, in both emotional, and physical state.

Staring at her like this… it made him wonder what would happen if the world were to end this moment. If the world caught fire, and needed to be saved. Would he leave her to extinguish the flame, if it meant leaving this moment with her?

No. The world would wait for them.

Still, the thought progressed in his mind, and he began to think of this ultimate enemy coming for them. The being that scared Discord himself. Should he worry about losing her to that opponent? What if one of them were to be hurt, or killed in their final confrontation?

Pausing, and staring in to her rose colored eyes one again, Alex felt a surge of confidence.

He was strong enough to destroy Equestria, if he so felt like it. So, what chance would a deity have, if it had that goal in mind?

One word.

None.

“Alex?” Dash asked quietly, having felt his body tense up, “Are you alright?”

“Oh, sorry,” Alex said softly, giving a single nod, “Just thinking about everything that happened. I stiffened up a bit I guess…”

“Just relax,” She whispered, softly stroking his chest as she leaned her head forward and planted a soft kiss on his lips, before leaning back and looking in to his eyes, “We have all the time in the world to worry about what’s coming.”

“You’re right, Colors.” Alex smiled, leaning down, and taking her in to a slightly deeper kiss, that allowed them to express their feelings with a little more than just their eyes and words.

After a few moments, they separated, and they once again returned to gazing back and forth at one another.

Inhaling slowly, Alex caught the scent of her usual perfume, and almost felt himself go back in time to the night they finally became friends, on the hillside. He remembered comparing her scent to her eyes… and falling in love with her a little bit. And even though it was four years later, and the two had progressed so far beyond friends… he still felt her burry herself deeper into his heart.

“I love you, Dash,” Alex said suddenly, feeling as if he needed to say it again, despite the fifty times he had already said it today, “I don’t think I can ever say it enough.”

“Alex, I know you do.” Dash shook her head, her expression still one of slight sadness, “You could never tell me, and I’d know.”

Alex only nodded, as he elicited another smile out of her, with one of his own.

They stayed in blissful silence for a few more minutes, before Dash suddenly perked up, and remembered something from earlier today, when she had just been freed from her dark side.

“Alex,” She asked, squinting for a moment, “What did you wanna ask me, before I ran off to talk to Comet?”

“Oh,” Alex said quickly, leaning back for a moment, as he gathered his thoughts, and considered his options on how he could go about this.

If he were going to marry her, it would need to be after something really romantic. They could eat a fancy dinner, he could take her back to the hill just down the road from Sugarcube Corner… and then he could get down on a knee… or two? Regardless, he’d finish the night with showing her the ring, and solidifying their future together.

“Alex?” She asked, unsure of what to make of his stunned expression.

Or maybe he could take her dancing! Then they could fly to their special spot a few kilometers away from Ponyville, and he could give her the ring there, just as the sun set, and the stars were coming out.

Dash cleared her throat, as she gave him an expectant look.

Finally catching up with her, he realized that the problem he was faced with now, was how he could get away from this conversation without her being suspicious. He needed something believable, but not too farfetched. Something that would line up with the events of the past few months…

“I want you to marry me.”

Dash’s expression changed to one of pure shock. It was not what she had been expecting.

“I- I stayed in Ponyville, alone, after you told me about the whole Speed thing… And then after that, I went back to earth.” Alex said, not sure if he was shocked at his letting the truth slip, “But I felt the same in both places. Like shit.”

Dash still stared at him, completely bewildered.

“But here I am, with you… And I couldn’t give a crap where I go now.” Alex finished, sniffing, making sure that he didn’t start to cry on her again, “I’m home with you, Rainbow Dash. And I want you to be my wife.”

Her heart jumped at the word ‘wife.’

“So… What do you say?” Alex asked, giving her a hopeful smile.

“What else would I say, you dolt! Of course I will!” She smiled, pulling his face to hers, as they shared an incredibly passionate kiss, which eventually led to her rolling him on to his back, leaving her on top of him.

Sitting up, she gave him a seductive smile, as she spread her wings out, and beat them once powerfully.

Alex suddenly gave her right wing an odd look.

“Dash, what’s that—“

Instantly, a beam of chaotic energy shot from the tip of one of her center feathers, and burned a small hole in the headboard of her bed, only a few inches above Alex’s head.

“I can use magic now?” She asked, looking at her wings, expecting something else to happen. But, when nothing did, she gave an impatient huff.

“Maybe it only works when you’re about to… you know…” Alex alluded, as she quickly caught on.

“Let’s try again then!” She said excitedly, greedily taking him in to another kiss, as he silently groaned to himself.

He should not have said anything. No sir.

At least she was going to marry him! So he could at least say that he came out on top today.

Well… figuratively, anyway.

////

One Last Secret...

////
One Last Secret…
////

The morning had finally reached the two who were relaxing in the cloud house hanging above Ponyville, and they were more than ready to face a brand new day, once again together, and once again happy.

“Do you think everypony will be back yet?” Dash asked, looking out her window to the train station on the edge of town, “Maybe you should have brought them back with your spell, instead of leaving them to take the train.”

Alex laughed at the rather rude action he had taken against his friends by taking Dash and vanishing, but he knew that they wouldn’t hold it against him.

“Their train should arrive in the next half hour, if the train is running the same way it did… four years ago.” Alex said, lifting and scratching the back of his head at the slim possibility of his suggestion from his place on the bed.

“I think it is,” Dash nodded, remembering hearing the train conductor announcing arrival and departure times on her way to Manehattan last, “Would you mind if we headed down there to catch them? I’d really like to see Pinkie right now…”

“And I’m sure Alpha and Spike will be there waiting for them as well,” Alex added, excited to Spike again, “And as for Pinkie… I think you two have a lot to talk about.”

“I don’t know if she’ll forgive me,” Dash exhaled, remembering the pure heart-break Pinkie had shown to her, just before she left in tears, “I couldn’t blame her if she didn’t.”

“Why would she still be mad at you?” Alex asked, every problem being solved, as far as he was concerned, “You didn’t do anything!”

“I lied to her,” Dash answered instantly, her gaze falling downward as she walked away from the window and joined Alex on the bed once again, “I promised her that I hadn’t done anything worse than the one night with Speed. But at that point, I thought I was lying to her.”

“Dash, she’d never hold it against you,” Alex shook his head, scooting himself closer to her on the mattress, “When she came to earth to find me—“

“Pinkie went to your world?!” Dash asked in shock, as Alex realized that he forgot to mention that piece of information to her, “When did that happen?”

“Well—“ Alex began, trying to find a quick summary for her, “I went home for a few weeks… Which as we all know, is like, eight weeks here. So, the girls came to find me.”

“They were all with you at one point?!” Dash asked in awe, truly upset that she had missed the trip, “Did you guys have fun…?”

“We ate some junk food, watched some movies… and spent a lot of time practicing walking.” Alex laughed, remembering just how many times he had run up the stairs to carry the girls down, “It was only for a day though.”

“Well… do you think we could go back there?” Dash asked suddenly, “I mean, I don’t know if the girls would want to join us. But I’d love to go see your uncle again!”

“He… think’s you cheated on me and broke my heart.” Alex said, as Dash gave him a truly upset face, “It’ll take some damage control there, for sure.”

“Man! Now they’ll never like me!” Dash said, throwing her arms in the air and rolling over to face away from Alex, “This whole ‘dark-side’ business stinks.”

“I’d just have to come up with the BS,” Alex said, softly patting her wing comfortingly, “I mean, I’m sure Chet has lots of questions about me right now anyway.”

“What kind of questions?” Dash asked, perking up slightly as she looked over her shoulder, at him.

“Well, right before I came back to Equestria, I gave him a diamond,” Alex explained, as Dash cocked her head at the missing explanation, “Diamonds are rare in my world, to the point that they’re worth millions of bits. And I made one with magic, and gave it to him.”

“Why?” Dash asked honestly, still missing the point behind his doing that, “What good would a stone do him? Wouldn’t that just confuse him?”

“Well… I wanted to show off a bit!” Alex defended, as he thought over his plan, and over what Chet’s reaction would have probably been, “But, it probably just raised questions instead of answering them… oops.”

“When do you plan on going back to see him?” Dash asked, hoping she could be included in that trip, “I’d like a chance to explain things to your Uncle and his girlfriend.”

“Fiancé, actually,” Alex corrected, remembering Chet’s happy news when Alex arrived back home, “And I think I’ll be heading back more often. He worries a lot about me.”

Dash smiled and nodded, as she rolled back over to face him.

“What was it you were saying about Pinkie in your world?” She asked suddenly, remembering how the topic had been moved on from.

“Oh! She and I had a little talk while she was over there,” Alex said, his heart sinking at the pure sadness she had shown him when they were talking in his bedroom, “…Pinkie really cares about you, Dash.”

“Are you sure about that?” Dash asked, finding it hard to believe that Pinkie held any regard for her at this point, “Last time we talked… she seemed like she was done with me.”

“Dash,” Alex shook his head softly, “She considers you her best friend.”

“Me?!” Dash asked, recoiling slightly at the statement, “I-I’m just… really? Why does she think that?”

“Well, she told me everything about the two of you,” Alex said, as a worried look crossed her face, “I can see why she looks at you—“

“She told you everything?!” Dash asked, having took the statement a little too seriously, “She didn’t tell you about that one night though… right?”

In a shocking fashion, even to himself, Alex kept his expression the same. He had zero idea what Dash was referring to, but dang it! He was curious now.

“Maybe?” Alex asked, pursing his lips, “She did tell me a lot. You’ll have to be more specific.”

Dash rolled her eyes. Pinkie hadn’t said a word to this guy… but she had foolishly let it on.

“Okay, you caught me,” Alex laughed, seeing her chance in demeanor to slightly annoyed, “But you’ve gotta tell me now!”

Dash sighed. She was gonna marry this guy, and she didn’t want any part in hiding anything more from him.

Taking a single, deep breath, Dash told her story, “It was a couple of years before you came to Equestria. Like six years ago.” She said, slightly amused at his child-like curiosity, and wide eyes, “I was helping her clean up after a birthday party for… I can’t even remember. And we sort of got to talking about guys, and how far we’d gone… like girls do!”

Alex felt his pulse quicken, as his curiosity was replaced with a sheer rush of adrenaline filled excitement. Was this the kind of story he thought it was?

“And then…! We kinda… you know, just messed around a little bit!” Dash laughed awkwardly, trying to play off the story as cool as she possibly could, “I mean, I was just a kid six years ago!”

Alex bit his lip, and still said nothing, as she looked to his face, and mistook his plain look for one of distaste.

“I’m sorry, okay!” Dash said, happy that she had told his story now, instead of years down the road when he’d probably get much angrier, “Yeah! I went to third base with Pinkie a couple of times! But it was before I even knew you! So… please don’t be mad, okay?”

Alex scrunched his face up in a way that gave Dash pause, as he considered his response to her sudden outburst over her lesbian experimentation with another girl he knew very well.

“Wow…” Alex said simply, as she still gave him a desperate look, “That’s a lot to take in at once.”

Dash looked about as regretful as she possibly could, and Alex was loving every second of it.

“So… Just so I’m completely thorough…” Alex began, raising his eyebrows to her and waiting for a response.

“Yeah?” She asked carefully, and hopefully.

“Did you take any pictures?”

Smack.

Despite the burning pain in the side of his head from her backhand to his cheek, Alex couldn’t stop laughing at her explosion at his great question.

“I was really worried for a second!” She scolded, her heart pounding in relief that he actually hadn’t been upset, “Geez! You flippin’ perv! I’m your fiancé now, remember?”

As much as Alex found the situation hilarious, he couldn’t help but feel his heart jump at her use of the word, fiancé.

“I’m sorry,” Alex said quickly, shaking his head and smiling back to her, “I shouldn’t have led you on like that.”

Dash felt a red haze fill her cheeks as she looked away from him embarrassedly. How was he still able to put her off this much?

“I honestly think it’s awesome that you did that,” Alex shrugged, his reaction now one she was much happier with, “Don’t hate me if that pops in to my head next time we’re… you know.”

Dash only shook her head and stifled a laugh. How could she have ever thought he would be upset over that? Of course he’d put it in his spank bank.

“But seriously though,” Alex said, returning to the much more important subject that they had abandoned, “About Pinkie, and what she told me while she was on earth.”

“Oh, yeah.” Dash said instantly, returning her focus to him, as if their previous exchange had never happened.

“She talked about all the time you two had spent together… and she told me about your first day in Ponyville, when she threw you an impromptu birthday party.” Alex smiled at her recollection of it at the time, and just how happy it made Pinkie to think back to those days, “And after all that, and all of your time in Ponyville with the pranks, and parties… she told me that even though you didn’t look at her as your best friend… she would always look at you as hers.”

“S-She said that?” Dash asked, her eyes wide, and a look of despair covering the rest of her features, any trace of happiness from before gone in an instant, “I… had no idea.”

“She cried in my arms that night, Dash.” Alex said, shaking his head slowly, “You can’t let her go. No matter what.”

Looking at the clock, Dash saw that they still had a good amount of time to get themselves decent so they could head to the train station and catch their friends. And she could pull Pinkie aside… and beg for her forgiveness.

“You wanna go see them in?” Alex asked, seeing the look of determination come to her otherwise sad face, “Because I’d like to see her myself.”

Dash nodded as she looked to him with a soft smile.

"I'll make sure she know's how much I care about her too..." Dash said, keeping herself composed for now, knowing she'd likely break down when she saw her, "She's like a sister to me."

Alex smiled, remembering how Pinkie had described Dash as her own sister.

"Make sure you tell her that." Alex said, praying that they would work things out.

She only smiled and nodded.

"Oh! Are we gonna tell everypony about the engagement?” Alex asked, unsure of where Dash stood on being public about it.

“Um, not yet,” Dash shook her head, climbing out of the bed along with Alex, “We’ll announce it in a few days. Let everything settle down first.”

“Got it.” Alex nodded, heading in to the bathroom with her, as he decided to poke the bear one last time, “But, if things work out with Pinkie, what do you say about...maybe bringing her in on some of our alone tim—“

He never finished that sentence.

Misunderstanding

////
Misunderstanding
////

From the perspective of her friends, Pinkie had been almost been completely unaffected by the revelation of Rainbow Dash having been under the control of her dark side for over two years. She had remained uncharacteristically apathetic, leading her friends accompanying her back to Ponyville to worry that she wouldn’t forgive the mare yet.

As the overnight trip came to its end, all the girls, save Pinkie, were involved in a conversation of which the party pony was the main topic.

“What do you think she’s going to say when we get back home?” Fluttershy asked worriedly, being visibly stressed over the possibility of Pinkie never forgiving Rainbow Dash, “Will she just ignore her?”

“Ah’ ain’t got the slightest clue,” Applejack sighed, hiding her own anxiety over the issue a little better than her friend, “Maybe she’s just lost’n thought?”

“I don’t know…” Twilight said, looking around the train car once again to make sure Pinkie wasn’t somehow listening in on their conversation, “Pinkie’s the type to explode in happiness when something like this happens. Why in Equestria would she be so silent at a time like this?”

None of them had a reply further than a nervous glance to each other.

“Does she have some kind of reason to hold this against her?” Rarity asked, trying to recall anything beyond the fake affair Dash had with Speed, “I can’t imagine staying mad at Rainbow Dash myself! How could Pinkie?”

“She’s one of the most forgiving ponies I’ve ever met!” Twilight added, as Applejack and Fluttershy nodded along with her, “You could push her off a cliff, and an apology would put you back in her good books!”

“I think Applejack is right!” Fluttershy said, obviously not sure whatsoever, “Everything will be just fine tomorrow!”

“I’d love that to be the case myself…” Rarity added quietly.

“Oh! Here she comes!” Twilight said almost silently, as the door at the end of the car opened up, and the pink pony made her way toward them, “Uh, hey Pinkie! How was your night?”

“It was fine.” She said simply, her expression neither happy, nor sad.

“Have any good dreams?” Fluttershy asked, trying her best not to sound awkward.

“Nope.” She said, confusing them once again.

“Should ah’ jus’ ask’er?” Applejack said, as her friends gave her no helpful response.

“Ask me what, girls?” Pinkie asked, her tone slightly happier, as she looked to the four of them, each one fiddling with their front hooves.

“W-well, ya’ know…” Applejack stammered, truly worried that this could explode in her face one way or another, “The whole thing with RD…”

“Oh…” Pinkie replied, her expression now saddening, “Well, I—“

Pinkie was cut off mid-sentence as the train started to slow down, as they reached their final destination of Ponyville.

“Oh, I guess we’re back,” Pinkie said simply, walking away from her friends and heading toward the entrance to the train car.

“Alex said they were coming back here, right?” Twilight asked, looking out her window and looking around the platform, “Do you think they’re—Oh, I see them right there.”

The girls huddled around the window to see the two lovers standing next to one another, their own happiness almost radiating from their bodies, as they waited for the train to finally stop.

////

Alex and Dash stood in silence as they watched the train finally stop, and the doors open up.

At first, a few random ponies made their way off the train, followed immediately by Pinkie Pie, as she took a few steps, making sure to clear the door, and made instant eye-contact with Dash.

The strange energy was enough to put anypony in the area off quite a bit, as Dash’s apologetic face was met with Pinkie’s indifferent one. It threw so many questions in the air that Alex felt his stomach start doing backflips.

“Pinkie,” Dash began, frowning at the mare in front of her as she broke away from Alex, “I… How—How are you doing?”

“I guess I’m okay,” She said, her face now beginning to show her own inner conflict, “It’s good that you’re finally home…”

“Look, Pinkie,” Dash said instantly, approaching her just in time for the rest of her friends to file out of the train and take a position to look on from, “I’m so sorry for everything! I can’t image how much you’ve been hurt over the last few weeks…”

“What?!” Pinkie asked, her face showing true shock as Dash begged for her forgiveness, “Why are you apologizing?”

Dash opened her mouth, but paused and crinkled her nose in confusion, “Uh… Because of my dark side? You know?”

“You don’t need to apologize!” Pinkie said, shaking her head rapidly as she closed the last of the distance between her and Dash, “I stopped trusting you! You never cheated on him! I should have kept my faith in you…”

Dash shook her head as she smiled to Pinkie, “You went back in time with Discord and saw everything! Treachery had all of us fooled!”

“But that’s not the point!” Pinkie argued, her eyes welling with tears, “You’re the most loyal pony I ever met! How could I believe that you were anything less than that?”

“Pinkie!” Dash said loudly, a smile still plastered across her face, “You trusted me, and when you found out that I cheated on Alex… It’s fair to react the way you did.”

“But—“

“Pinkie, your heart broke.” Dash said softly, stroking the side of the mares face, “And I could never be mad at you for something like that. Never in a million, billion years.”

Pinkie finally allowed herself to smile, as the tears started to pour down her cheeks.

“I was so worried that you wouldn’t forgive me!” Pinkie squeaked, locked in place as she looked at the ground, “I stressed out over it all the way home!”

Dash didn’t answer her. She just wrapped her arms around Pinkie’s neck, as she carefully placed her hind legs directly under her, as to not fall over.

Neither of them said anything for the next few minutes, as Dash comforted the hysterical mare.

Alex genuinely surprised himself by the lack of naughty thoughts he was having about the two of them at this moment. All he could feel was a massive weight being lifted off his chest as they made up. But, at least this way, in the future, he could imagine them in any way he wanted without feeling awkward about it.

“This is so sweet,” Rarity smiled, happy that her fears had all been for nothing, “Our group would simply be ruined if they had stayed upset with one another.”

“No kidding,” Twilight nodded, happy that they wouldn’t have to pick and choose sides, “maybe we can have a few weeks of peace and quiet before the next big event.”

Applejack and Fluttershy both seized up at the mention of ‘the next big event.’

After the big hoax Rainbow Dash’s dark side had created, it made Applejack worry about what could possibly happen to her. What if she came in to contact with her own dark side months ago, and there was some massive secret that she couldn’t even remember?

Fluttershy was on the same page as her friend, worrying that her hidden desires were going to come out with her own dark side.

But, those were all problems for the future. Right now, all that mattered was the two ponies who had just made up in front of them all.

Pressing the side of her head in to Pinkie’s, Dash whispered quietly in her ear, “I finally told Alex about those few times we… you know…”

Pinkie let out a small giggled, as she looked back on that time in her life and sighed, before whispering back, “I’ll bet he loved hearing that!”

“Aren’t men pigs?” Dash laughed, retracting from her position, to standing normally once again.

“Come on, Dashie!” Pinkie beamed, happy that she could smile again, “You were asking me ten times a day! What does that make you?”

They both exploded in to laughter and giggles and the rest of the ponies around them idly wondered what they had found so funny.

“But just so you know…” Pinkie whispered, wiping a tear from her eye as she leaned forward once again, “I’d be happy to help you give Alex a special birthday present when the time rolls around!”

Dash only gave a single ‘Ha!’ as she pulled away from the pink mare, and started heading back toward Alex, “I guess we’re both dirty mares.”

Alex perked up, praying that they were somehow planning on double teaming him, “What were you guys talking about?!”

“How awesome monogamy is,” Dash said, a smirk plastered across her face as Alex frowned harder than he had in a while, “And that’s all you need to know.”

Pinkie returned to her group of friends with the genuine smile that they had all truly missed.

“So, Pinkie?” Rarity asked, smiling warmly to the pink mare, “Are you feeling better now?”

“Way better!” She exclaimed, jumping up from the floor of the platform and somehow sending streamers all around the ground of girls, “But you know what I think this calls for?”

“Let me guess.” Twilight said frankly, “Is it a party?”

“Nope! It’s a Pinkie Party! They’re way more fun!” Pinkie exploded, as she picked up her bag with her mouth and ran toward the main entrance, “Everypony! Be at Sugarcube Corner at five! We have lot’s to celebrate!”

“Should we tell them now?” Alex whispered in his fiancés ear.

“No. Tonight we’ll do it.” Dash replied, “At this party.”

“Might as well have even more attention on us, right?” Alex smiled to her.

“You know me too well,” Dash laughed, as she pressed herself against Alex, and started leading him toward their house, “Now take me home, hubby.”

“Uhhh… Don’t call me that.” Alex flinched, as he briefly looked over his shoulder to the girls waiting on the platform and smiled toward them, “I’d prefer ‘sexy’ or… ‘Incredibly handsome.’”

Dash just rolled her eyes and shook her head as they left the platform.

“Geez,” Twilight huffed, “They could have at least said ‘hello.’”

“Alex smiled at us,” Fluttershy said simply.

“An’ if yer’ lookin’ for attention, jus’ go see Alpha,” Applejack added.

“I’m sure he’d be happy to appreciate you, darling.” Rarity giggled, as Twilight’s face lit up with a light blush.

Twilight was beyond denying to any of her friends at this point. She had had gotten pretty cozy with Alpha since he moved to Ponyville. But, things still hadn’t… progressed between the two of them just yet. It didn’t help that Twilight would giggle and blush like a school filly every time he made a move.

“Well, I guess if you all say so,” Twilight said simply, levitating her bag to hang in the air next to her, “I guess I’d better go be appreciated by Alpha a little bit, since I know I’m not going to be getting it here!”

Following her cue, Rarity also levitated her luggage off the ground as she made her way toward the exit.

“I have a man of my own to see me when I get home,” She said over her shoulder to her two remaining friends, “I’ll see you both at the party tonight, however!”

With that Rarity left Applejack and Fluttershy standing along on the platform, surrounded by their own bags they had brought back from Manehattan.

“Ah’ wish ah’ could lift these bags with magic…” Applejack muttered, picking up her bag with her teeth, and looking to her friend.

“I still don’t know why we bought all these souvenirs,” Fluttershy muttered, lifting her saddle bag and placing it across her back, “We didn’t even have luggage when we arrived.”

Applejack tried to respond, but with her bag in her mouth, she wasn’t exactly able to form proper words.

“I’ll see you later too,” Fluttershy smiled, walking past Applejack, and turning to head toward her cottage.

Still, despite their cheery outward moods, both were incredibly nervous over what lay ahead for them. And after all they had seen, they truly wished that they had been taken over first, so they didn’t have to put up with this agonizing wait.

////

Just Hangin' Out

////
Just Hanging Out
////

Pinkie had indeed thrown a party none of them would forget.

It was the kind of party that you’d go home, and feel so sore afterward that you need to call in sick to work the next day.

At first, the dark side situation was completely explained by Rainbow Dash in detail to them all. But when she finished, the insanity began.

There was some extreme bobbing for apples. EXTREME. APPLE. BOBBING.

An insane punch drinking competition that was subsequently followed by a burping competition.

Not one, but two games of ‘pin the tail on the pony.’

And they even did a conga line for almost forty five minutes.

However, by the time the conga line stopped, Pinkie, along with all of her friends were collapsed on the floor panting, as if they had all just run a mile at top speed.

“I think it’s about time we take a break,” Rarity said, panting as she lazily rolled on to Spike’s lap from her place on the floor, “I haven’t danced that much in ages!”

“It’s nice to forget about the world for a little while, isn’t it?” Twilight asked, slumped in a chair whilst sipping a levitating cup in front of her face.

“Thanks for throwing this party, Pinkie,” Alex said from the corner of the room, his voice muffled by the lamp shade that was stuck on his head, “I didn’t know how much I needed it until it started!”

“You can say that again,” Dash hummed, lying on top of a shelf next to Alex.

“I’m glad everypony enjoyed it so much!” Pinkie beamed, tiding up a small bit of mess Applejack had made when she bumped in to the table next to the dance floor, “I figured you’d all have a great time!”

“Sorry ‘bout the mess Sugar Cube…” Applejack laughed nervously, too sore to stand up and help with the mess, “Ah’ll help ya’ when yer’ cleanin’ up.”

“Don’t worry about it!” Pinkie said happily, her mood better than anyone had ever seen it, “I could clean this place a million times I feel so good right now!”

“You’d probably get upset pretty quick,” Alpha laughed, walking in to the room, disguised in a brown body to keep ponies from freaking out when they saw him. Despite his now months in Ponyville, he still hadn’t revealed to the general population that he was a changeling. Public opinion of the changelings was rather low at this point in time, “Nopony likes cleaning that much.”

“Hey, buddy!” Alex called, not actually able to see Alpha from under the cover, “Everything worked out! Again!”

“I heard, it’s good to see you too, Rainbow Dash.” He said, joining Pinkie at the table as he levitated the entire mess off the ground, and placed it in a garbage pail next to Pinkie, “You guys really seem to have luck on your side in Equestria. The hive always loses in one way or another…”

“You sound a little upset about that,” Spike observed, not meaning to sound as accusatory as he did.

“Oh, well, don’t get me wrong,” Alpha shook his head, putting on an apologetic look for the green and purple pony, “I think they do terrible things to good ponies… But they’re also my brothers and sisters. And they’re suffering… I just wish we didn’t need to live off of love and happiness.”

“I didn’t mean to come across like a jerk,” Spike spoke up quickly, shaking his head a couple of times.

“Wait,” Alex said, not understanding Alpha’s final statement, as he removed his new helmet, “You live off of love? And happiness?”

“Sorry, I should clarify,” Alpha said, clearing his throat, “Love and adoration enhance our magical power. Years and years ago, we were able to thrive on what we felt for one another. To reach our peak in strength, we’d simply fall in love.”

Everypony, now out of party mode, listened intently to his story.

“But, the great grandmother of our current Queen, Chrysalis, came up with a way of sapping those feelings of love from others, and concentrating it to the point of tripling our magical abilities.” Alpha continued, surprised that this wasn’t widely known knowledge to these guys, “But, after years upon years of using this concentrated magic, we became… desensitized.”

“So now, you can no longer live properly on the love from one another, right?” Twilight finished for him, having heard of these kinds of things happening in different circumstances.

“Exactly,” Alpha nodded, “That was my mission at Haven Station. I was to take a group of ponies, who know love, and take them back to the hive, where they would be manipulated in to producing vast amounts of that energy.”

“You were gonna do that to us?!” Dash asked in shock, “W-what is life like for those ponies, once you start using them that way?”

“We, well… keep them in a state of bliss,” Alpha explained somewhat awkwardly, unsure if they’d be happy with this news, “As far as I’ve ever seen, they’re happy until the day they die…”

A silence lingered as that explanation finished, nopony sure if what he had said was horrible, or just really terrible.

“This party just nose-dived,” Spike said, looking to his somewhat melancholy friends.

“You seem fine though,” Fluttershy spoke up quietly, looking at the changeling, “I’ve never seen you have trouble using magic…”

“Well, since birth, I was more or less ‘bred’ to be a fighter,” Alpha answered her question in a much softer tone, “And to make sure I wouldn’t stop being a good soldier in the middle of a war, I’ve never been exposed to that concentrated love.”

“Well then…” Dash said awkwardly, flapping off of her place on the dresser and removing the lamp shade from Alex’s head and sitting down next to him, “I think that’s enough talk about… draining love from ponies.”

“Well then…” Twilight coughed, looking for a change in conversation. Luckily, Rainbow Dash was quick to take up the mantle.

“Hey! How did you guys like earth?” Dash asked suddenly, “Alex was telling me about how you all went there to find him!”

“It was awesome!” Pinkie beamed, “We watched movies, and ate pizza!”

“An’ we all shared in some meat,” Applejack added, shuddering at the memory.

“It was soooooooo good!” Pinkie whined, her mouth watering at the memory of all that bacon, “Until… those hash browns came along…”

“What’s wrong with hash browns?” Alex laughed, looking between the disgusted looks on their faces, before he remembered the special dish that particular diner served for lunch, “Oh! O-oh… you guys ate the horse meat, didn’t you?”

They all looked to Pinkie.

“I had a little…”

“You ate horse?!” Dash asked, her eyes wider than they had ever been, “Wow! How was it?”

“It was… really good…” Pinkie squeaked, her stomach lurching at the thought once again.

“Well, next time we go back there, I’ll make sure you eat right,” Alex smiled.

“How did you all do walking on your back legs?” Dash asked next, having several more questions lined up for them.

All the girls glanced back and forth to one another. Silently communicating.

“J-just fine,” Rarity answered quickly, as Dash smirked and raised an eyebrow, “I had a very pleasant time!”

“Did’ja now?” She asked, looking between her friends at the nervous looks on their faces at Rarity’s fib, “Because I had no trouble, that’s for sure.”

“We were tripping over ourselves!” Pinkie shouted out, “Alex had to carry us everywhere!”

“Pinkie!” They all shouted at once to her.

“What? I’m not gonna lie to Dash on her first day home!” She said, standing up and joining Dash and Alex.

“I knew it!” Dash exploded, laughing at she shot her arms in the air, and instinctively extended her wings, “It’s okay though, I’ll help you guys next time we go bac—“

Suddenly, another bolt of chaotic energy fired out of her left wing and impacted the wall, instantly scorching a large patch of the wallpaper.

“Frickin’ magic!” Dash whined, snapping her wings closed, “Why does it need to come from my wings?”

“You can cast magic from your wings?!” Twilight asked, standing up and making her way over to Dash, pulling her left wing away from her body, “That’s so… so fascinating!”

Dash frowned as she was poked and prodded by the purple unicorn, who was blissfully unaware of the sensitivity the Pegasus had in her wings.

Even Alex had a small smirk on his face, knowing how uncomfortable this was probably making her. He wasn’t allowed to mess with the wings outside of the bedroom. And even then he had to promise to preen them when they were finished.

“So… the magic channels through your wings?” Twilight asked, magically lifting one of her feathers off her wing, and pulling it to the point Dash started to blush due to the sensations that came with it, “That’s so cool! You have to let me study this!”

“C-can you stop?” Dash asked, looking to the ceiling uncomfortably.

Looking at Fluttershy, Alex couldn’t help but smirk at the deep red that was covering her face as well. How could Twilight be so smart, but have no idea that wings were erogenous zones in pegasi?

“But this is for science, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said, only an inch away from her friends wing, “Let me do some preliminary tests here, before I take you back to the library.”

Dash bit her top lip as she looked pleadingly to Alex.

“Okay, okay Twilight,” Alex laughed, shaking his head in disbelief at the situation his fiancé was in, at the hoofs of her friend, “I’m pretty sure Alpha stopped by so you two could go get dinner. Maybe you shouldn’t keep him waiting?”

“Oh!” Twilight said, pulling back from Dash, “Sorry! Was that the plan?”

Giving Alex a puzzled look, Alpha slowly nodded, as he looked back to Twilight and forced his best smile.

“Well, I figured I’d cook for you back at the library… I guess,” Alpha said, having intended to make this a surprise for Twilight.

“Well, if that’s the case, I guess I could get out of here!” Twilight said, standing up and joining Alpha at the door, “You’d better stop by tomorrow, Rainbow Dash!”

“We’ll see about that one…” She huffed, her eyes closed, and her gaze pointed upward.

“I hope your date goes well!” Rarity added, snickering inwardly at the uncomfortable look that appeared on Twilight’s face.

“I-it’s not…!” Twilight stammered, before looking to Alpha and sighing, and giving up.

“Come back tomorrow at noon!” Pinkie said to her friend, “I’ve got another big bash planned!”

“Again, Pinkie?” Applejack asked, “Ah’m gunna be restin’ up all day tomorrow jus’ from this!”

“Who knows when the next shadow pony will jump out at us?” Pinkie asked, looking back and forth between Applejack and Fluttershy, “We need to live it up!”

The two girls looked to the floor nervously, both equally terrified at the vast unknown in front of them.

“You don’t seem very scared, Pinkie,” Twilight observed, tilting her head, “Aren’t you worried about your dark side?”

“Of course not!” Pinkie laughed, “I’m one hundred percent nice!”

Alex scratched the back of his head, as he remembered back about three years, just before their big fight with Discord the first time.

“What about that time you were talking to a bunch of turnips?” Alex asked, as he tried to recall the rest of the party guests, “And wasn’t there a pile of rocks?”

“A what now?” Applejack asked, not remembering ever meeting those friends of hers.

“Alex, those days are behind me now!” She giggled, shaking her head, “I was just upset about you all throwing a party without me!”

“Regardless,” Twilight cut in, firm to make her point, “You should be ready for when the time comes, Pinkie. Who knows what might happen when your dark side comes out.”

Once again, the mood had skydived, and they were once again left in silence. Nopony wanted to continue the ‘dark side’ conversation, but neither did they have anything else to really talk about.

Alex slumped back down next to Dash and placed his hoof over hers.

She responded by leaning her head on to his shoulder.

At least he had her right now. They were together… and they would be forever, now that he had asked her to…

Oh, right!

“Oh!” Alex said quickly, “I forgot to mention something!”

Spike, Alpha and the girls all looked at him, waiting expectantly for what it was that he had to tell them.

Dash squeezed his hoof slightly, and give him an ‘abort mission’ look. For some reason, she didn’t want him announcing their engagement yet.

“Uhhhh…” Alex said, with nothing to say any longer.

“What is it?” Spike asked.

“Uhhh…” He continued, obviously trying to find anything he could tell them, “Um, Oh! Right! Dax showed up again!”

“I haven’t seen him in a while,” Alpha smiled, remembering the fight between Alex and his dark side so many years ago.

“Yeah! He helped me save Dash!” Alex explained, “But, well… he’s gone now.”

Silence followed.

“Is… that it?” Rarity asked.

“Sure is!” Alex nodded, “Just wanted to share. Maybe he’ll be back again! You guys always talk about how cool he was!”

“He was a pig…” Fluttershy said, remembering the crass conversations they had shared in the past.

“Dash loves him,” Alex laughed, looking to his closed eyed companion, “What does that say about her?”

“I… am neutral.” Dash said simply, “He is a little more badass than you, though.”

“Excuse me?” Alex asked, a frustrated look covering his face, “How is that even possible? I’m way more badass than him!”

“He was pretty cool at Haven Station,” Twilight shrugged, remembering everything both versions of Alex had done, “But I guess that comes from you though, right?”

“Exactly!” Alex said proudly, puffing out his chest, “It all came from inside of me!”

“Oh! Remember when Dax saved Luna’s baby?” Dash asked, suddenly over her stimulation at the hooves of Twilight, “That was pretty cool!”

“Yeah, but—“

“And when Dax saved us at the Wonderbolt training facility?” Spike added.

“And when he saved Alex at Haven Station?” Pinkie said, throwing her arms in the air, “That was so brave of him!”

“Not to mention when Dax fought off my dark side yesterday!” Dash finished, as she looked to him with a smirk, “He was so much more useful than Alex!”

Alex only shook his head, as he telepathically plucked a feather from the backside of her wing, causing Dash to give loud, embarrassing gasp, which drew all the attention in the room toward her.

“Uh, you okay, darlin’?” Applejack asked, as the cyan mare looked away from her friends.

“Dax isn’t all that great.” Dash said quickly, “Alex is much better. Much much much better!”

“Wow! Somepony who agrees with me!” Alex smirked back to her, “I’m so surprised!”

Alpha laughed for a moment, before something cross his mind.

“Oh!” He said, getting the attention of the room once again, “A bumped in to a friend of yours on the way over, Twilight.”

“Oh, that’s nice! Who was it?” She asked, figuring that she had missed a magnitude of business while she had been on earth for as long as she was.

“I don’t remember...” Alpha answered, scratching his chin, “She’s a blue unicorn… and she was wearing a cape.”

“Uh, Trixie?” Alex asked, remembering a pony matching that description from his first couple of weeks in Ponyville.”

“That was it!” Alpha nodded, looking back to Twilight, “She told me about some kind of amulet she wanted to show you.”

Twilight grimaced at the thought of her return. She had been such a stuck up pony the last time they met… This would be fun. She was sure of it.

The New Mare in Town

////
The New Mare in Town
////

Twilight and her friends decided to leave Sugarcube Corner so they could all face Trixie together. The last time they had met, their experience had been less than stellar, as they were all forced to fight an Ursa Major, that was narrowly stopped from destroying the town, when Spike managed to pull a miracle out of his butt, and save the day.

The sizable group approached Trixie, where she stood in front of the town hall, wearing no cape or hat, holding a bundle under her arms, with a rather odd look on her face that looked half way between angry, and scared.

“Trixie,” Alex said, as they reached a comfortable distance to carry a conversation between them, “It’s been a long time.”

“You look… beat up.” Trixie noted, looking over the several scars across his body, “I don’t suppose the Ursa Major did all that to you?”

“I?” Dash asked, tilting her head, “What happened to talking about yourself in third person?”

Trixie’s face saddened at the question, as she looked away from the group, “I’ve given up all that. I just came by to give you something, Twilight.”

Everypony looked between one another, before Twilight spoke up.

“What is it?” She asked, watching Trixie levitate the bundle out from under her arm, and in to the air in between them.

Opening the package, Trixie lifted a black amulet, with a large ruby held in the middle. The piece of metal that held the stone was shaped as an alicorn, having a head with a horn above, and wings that came out on either side of the gem.

“This is called the Alicorn Amulet,” Trixie explained, rotating the piece of jewelry in front of the group, “It’s a piece of immense magical power, capable of destroying not only the pony who wears it, but all the ponies around it. I came here to give it to you.”

Twilight was stunned. She figured that Trixie was here to challenge her to a rematch. But, this mission of hers seemed to be out of genuine concern for others.

“Why?” Applejack asked suddenly, “The last time ya’ showed up, Rarity’s hair turned green!”

Rarity grumbled to herself silently.

“And you zapped Dashie!” Pinkie giggled.

Dash grumbled exactly the same thing.

“And I was promptly defeated by your friend,” Trixie said softly, “And then… those two boys ran out and found an Ursa Major.”

“That almost destroyed the town,” Spike said angrily, looking to Rarity, and then back to Trixie, “It’s lucky I got that letter to Princess Luna!”

“Don’t mock Trix—Me,” She corrected, still having trouble at certain points when it came to regular speaking, “A dragon was the savior that day. Not you.”

“That’s me!” Spike said instantly, “I just… used some Heart’s Desire, and turned in to a pony.”

Trixie tilted her head as she inspected him. Magic that powerful would have taken a pretty strong desire. But, it seemed that was the case. He shared his colors with that dragon.

“My apologies,” She said, retracting the amulet from in front of her, and returning it to the cloths in front of her, wrapping it carefully, “Please.”

Nodding, Twilight levitated the wrapped trinket away from Trixie and placed it in the saddlebag on the disguised Alpha’s back, drawing the blue unicorn’s attention to him.

“You.” She said, approaching him carefully, drawing her gaze from his head to his legs, “You feel strange.”

Gulping, Alpha leaned back slightly as she approached him, her gaze narrowed as she looked in to his eyes.

Everypony knew what was wrong with him, but they were all shocked at her ability to sense it. So, nopony said anything, and simply let Trixie diagnose exactly what was off about him.

“Let Trix—Me tell you a story,” She shook her head quickly, focusing back on the stallion in front of her, “About four months ago, I was in Canterlot following up on a small project I had taken part in.”

“Four months ago?” Dash asked, looking to Alex, and then Twilight, “I was still working as a captain in the castle then, wasn’t I?”

“Just coming off of it, actually,” Trixie answered.

“What project were you involved in?” Twilight asked, wondering if she had done some work for the Princess’.

“Well, that goes a little further back,” She explained, blinking a few times as she got the details in her head right, “To about… two or so years ago. Around the defeat of Discord.”

They all listened intently, as a few nodded to her.

“News reached me about the alicorn who was turned to stone,” Trixie continued, looking to Alex with an oddly soft smile, “And, after he saved me from the Ursa Major, I thought I might be able to help him.”

They all exchanged looks of confusion, before they all looked back to her.

“So, over the next two years, I used some of my connections in the magic community to look for a spell that would help in breaking you out, Alex.” She said, as his own demeanor softened toward her, “Don’t get me wrong. This was a hobby. Certainly not the obsession your rainbow friend had.”

“Got it.” Alex smiled.

“So, after reading about the failed attempts, and the kind of spell you were seeking out, I reached out a little further… and found out about the spell used by the ancestors of today’s buffalo tribes in the area around Dodge Junction,” She explained, shifting her look to Rainbow Dash, “Once I decided the information was accurate, I sent you a letter. Telling you where to look.”

“That was you?!” Dash asked, remembering the letter she had received, and how she never found out who sent it, “You really did all that for him?”

“Well, let’s just say that his selflessness showed Trixie… Me, that there’s a better way to treat others.” She said meekly, once again looking away from the group, “All of that aside, once I heard that you had been freed, I headed for Canterlot to see for myself.”

“When did you see him?” Dash asked, one hundred percent sure that she hadn’t seen Trixie around that time.

“When he was in the hospital.” She said, looking between them, “You were asleep.”

“Right.” Dash nodded.

“However, back to my original point,” Trixie said, finally looking back to Alpha, “When I inspected Alex, he felt wrong. Just like this pony does.”

“I- I don’t know what you mean!” Alpha laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

“What, did it turn out was wrong with Alex?” Trixie asked the group, not waiting for a response, “He was a changeling!”

Zapping Alpha with her True Form spell, Alpha’s fake skin melted away, and was replaced with a very shocked changeling, who felt pretty violated.

“No, Trixie!” Twilight said quickly, zapping Alpha back to the Library with a teleportation spell, “We know he’s a changeling! But nopony else in town knows!”

“Oh!” She said backing off and wearing an embarrassed expression, “Tr-Tri-I’m sorry!”

Alex could only laugh out loud at the worried look on Trixie’s face. He felt like a humble Trixie was something you would only see once in a lifetime.

“What’s with all of this?” Twilight asked, looking back to Trixie with an odd smile, “The last time we met, it didn’t exactly seem like you’d be the type to help us out.”

“Like I said,” Trixie gestured back to Alex, “I owed him a favor.”

“It’s not just that,” Spike said, almost feeling the hidden layers in her speech, “What changed in you?”

“It must have been pretty profound.” Alex nodded.

“Well… That’s a whole other, and very long story.” Trixie said, shrugging her shoulders, “Would you mind if I rested in your library for a little bit while I tell you? I spent every bit I had on that amulet, and haven’t been able to afford accommodations for the past few days.”

“Of course!” Twilight said, gesturing the mare toward the library, “You can stay as long as you like!”

“That’s a relief to hear.” She nodded, exhaling, with an appreciative smile on her face, “Thank you, Twilight.”

Twilight was almost at a loss for words at her humble attitude. But, if she had indeed turned over a new leaf, then she deserved some kind treatment.

“It all began the day after the Ursa Major attacked…”

////

To Break Those who are Great

////
To Break those who are Great
////

Trixie rested quietly at the table in the library, just having finished the soup Rarity had made for her. Everypony gathered around the same table was truly mystified at her massive change in attitude, and were now incredibly anxious to find out just what had happened to her between the night she first came to Ponyville, and today, so many years later.

“Thank you all,” Trixie said softly, her gaze still upon the table, and her expression somewhere between happiness and sadness, “I appreciate your generosity.”

“It’s no problem,” Twilight smiled, always happy to make somepony smile, “Do you need a place to spend the night? You can stay here as long as you need to.”

“I’m not sure if that’d be the best choice,” Trixie answered, looking up to Twilight with a slightly pained look on her face, “The world can use a unicorn like me in a lot of places.”

“That sounds like the Trixie we used to know!” Dash laughed, before seeing from the mare’s expression that she had misinterpreted what she had said.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy snapped, upset that her friend was being so insensitive with the clearly distressed mare.

“It’s alright,” Trixie said, shaking her head softly with a small smile, “I simply meant, that my magical abilities are adept. And with them, I’ve been able to help hundreds of ponies out of some real trouble.”

“Are you serious?” Spike asked, tilting his head at the rather similar story to one she had told them so long ago, “The same way you helped the ponies of Hoovington, when they ran in to their Ursa Major problem?”

Trixie shook her head instantly, and determinedly.

“Those tales were nothing more than lies I crafted, in an effort to make myself look bigger to you all,” Trixie said, her expression hardening, “I was a fool.”

Silence fell across the room, as none of them wanted to verbally agree with her, when they all thought her story was completely accurate.

“I suppose I’ve raised enough questions to leave you all in a bit of suspense, haven’t I?” She asked, looking back and forth between the nine of them, “Well… then maybe it’s time I shed some light on what you all did for me, the night I almost destroyed this town.”

Trixie looked up to the group in front of her uneasily, still struggling with the memoires of what she had been through, unsure if she were truly ready to share them with this group of ponies that had occupied her mind so much for the past few years.

“It started, well… just after I left Ponyville.”

////
Three Years Ago
///

Trixie walked away from Ponyville, slowly dragging her cart away from the town that had narrowly escaped complete destruction at the paws of an actual Ursa Major. Apparently the two young boys that had been so enamored with her when she first arrived had somehow found the monstrosity in the Everfree Forest, and brought it back to town with them, expecting her to be able to defeat it.

But, she simply wasn’t able to.

If it hadn’t been for the brilliantly gifted ponies of Ponyville, in both magic, and courage, hundreds of ponies could have been seriously hurt—or even killed.

And somehow, miraculously, the rampaging beast was stopped in s tracks by the new Princess of Equestria, Luna. She had flown in at the last possible moment, and lifted the monster away from the town. Saving everypony from her mistake.

She grumbled to herself quietly as she looked over her shoulder once again in the direction of the town that was now far out of her view.

“Those ponies are lucky,” She said somewhat bitterly, feeling far too many emotions to articulate them to herself, “I-If Trixie hadn’t stopped that Ursa Major, that show-off Twilight would have been killed!”

Grimacing, she shook lightly as any fragment of anger melted away from her mind. The truth was, she had stared death in the face, and it was affecting her more than she would ever admit to anypony.

The last few nights, she had been having trouble sleeping. Either shaking uncontrollably in bed, or having terrible nightmares that would rouse her from any form of unconsciousness multiple times in the night. It was one of the most taxing moments in her entire life, and she truly lost at how she would ever work past such a near brush with death.

Arriving at a small, rather run-down building, just on the outskirts of a nearby town, Trixie spotted a bench on the outside of the building, and instantly decided that she needed a break from all her walking. Her legs were on fire all the time now, after all the running she had done to get away from Ponyville in the last two days.

Stepping away from her small wagon, Trixie, somewhat crassly, climbed on to the bench, and laid down on her back, bathing herself in Celestia’s soft sunlight.

She hummed and closed her eyes, allowing a small smile to grow across her face, “Trixie could get used to this.”

But, without realizing just how tired she was, Trixie instantly dozed off, leaving her turmoil behind her for a couple of hours.

////

“Excuse me miss!”

Trixie was roused by the small voice, but not enough to be completely brought back to the waking world.

“Trixie is sleeping,” She grumbled, waving the young pony off with her hoof, “You may wake her in a few hours…”

“But you’ll get all wet!” The girls voice giggled, “You could at least come inside if you’d like to take a nap!”

Trixie opened her right eye and glanced at the pony next to her. What was she talking about, with her ‘come inside’s and her ‘you’ll get wet’s.

Then it all ran back to her mind, she was relaxing on that bench… and she was much too tired to remember the rest of her experience.

“You have a nice cart there,” She said, as Trixie looked her over, “Way nicer than the one I use when I go in to town.”

Trixie sat up quickly, deciding that she had most likely outstayed her welcome in this young girls’ home.

“Trixie apologizes,” She said getting herself off of her seat, and planting herself on the ground next to the smaller, pale yellow unicorn next to her, “I hope your parents weren’t too upset when they saw… me.”

The girl shook her head quickly, sending her blonde mane from side to side on her head, “No parents, miss. Just me.”

“A bit young to be on your own, aren’t you?” Trixie asked, knowing the feeling of leaving parents behind herself, “Although, Trixie does understand the need to do such things. How old are you?”

“Just sixteen,” She said happily, walking over to the cart she had parked in front of Trixie’s, and levitating a few pieces of produce out of the inside, as a few droplets of rain started landing on her back.

“Well, Trixie must commend you on living on your own like this,” Trixie said, feeling a small amount of respect for the girl, “And your name?”

“Aurora,” She answered politely, walking inside her house, and sheltering her food from the rain, “And you’re Trixie, right?”

“How did—oh, right.” Trixie laughed at her own stupidity. She spoke of herself in the third-person so often, that she often forgot how many times she would say her name in a simply conversation, “Trixie assumes you’ve heard of her.”

“I… can’t say that I have,” Aurora said passingly, as she returned to her wagon, and lifted her small sack of bits from the interior, “Are you famous or something?”

“Well, Trixie doesn’t like to boast, but she’s one of the greatest magicians in Equestria!” Trixie announced proudly, starting to feel the moisture from the rain sink through her cloak, “Some have even called me Great and Powerful.”

“That’s amazing!” Aurora said, her eyes wide in disbelief, “But, if you’re so amazing, why are you sleeping outside on my bench?”

“W-well!” Trixie stammered, her face lighting up, “Trixie was going to relax! But… she was tired, and lost track of time!”

The girl giggled, “Well, why don’t you come inside then? It’s going to really start raining soon!”

“Oh, no.” Trixie shook her head, wanting to continue on her journey away from Ponyville as quickly as possible, “Trixie is very busy, being so magically gifted, you see—“

“Oh hush!” She said, walking over to Trixie and tapping her hooves against hers, “Your coat is a mess, and your hooves are all cracked from your trip! Just spend a couple of hours here, and I’ll fix you right up!”

“Well, Trixie really doesn’t—“

“I’m not taking no for an answer!” She laughed, walking around the blue mare and pressing her head to her rump, as she started pushing Trixie toward her front door, “Come on in, and make yourself at home!”

Trixie looked back and forth nervously, before finally giving in and letting this mare take care of her for a little bit. It only made sense that after hearing just how gifted Trixie was, that Aurora would feel obligated to pamper her a little bit.

“If you insist…” Trixie finally exhaled, standing herself up, and walking in through the front door herself, “But Trixie must be gone before nightfall.”

“Of course!” Aurora chirped, letting out a small cough as she followed behind the mare, “You’ll be out of here before you know it!”

////

A few hours had passed, and Trixie had to say. She felt amazing.

Aurora had immediately drawn Trixie a wonderfully warm bubble bath, made her a delicious salad, and then filed, and cleaned up her hooves, to the point that they shined. All while silently listening to the many stories The Great and Powerful Trixie had to tell her.

“And then, Trixie turned her hair green!” Trixie laughed from her back, fondly remembering her victory over those ponies in Ponyville. Well, most of them anyway.

“Was she laughing?” The mare asked, with the file still in her mouth, “I’ll bet that hair was hilarious!”

“It was hilarious!” Trixie agreed, deciding to leave out the part where Rarity ran away in tears, and the part about Twilight beating her… and when the Ursa Major attacked them, “Most ponies simply relish in the chance to compete with Trixie.”

Dropping the file on the ground, Aurora blew across the final hoof, and smiled at her completed work, “Well, that’s all! You’re ready to go! I hope I did a good job!”

“Trixie is pleased.” She smiled, as she looked out the window, and realized how unaware she had been at the time that had passed since she arrived in Aurora’s home, “Hmm, Trixie didn’t even see the sun set…”

“Time flies when you’re having fun!” Aurora said, having lost track of time herself, “But, you’re welcome to spend the night if you’d like! I’d love to hear more about you!”

Trixie looked out the window once again, and then back to the mare, studying her face for a moment.

“You don’t normally entertain guests, do you?” Trixie asked, noting the lack of upkeep in the house, and the almost pleading look on the mare’s face, “This place isn’t quite—“

“In shape?” Aurora asked, knowing this fact all too well herself, “I know… My dad used to take care of the place before… well, he got sick and… died.”

Trixie felt her chest tighten at the mention of the girls’ father.

“I- I must apologize!” Trixie said instantly, throwing away her usual tone for one of genuine remorse, “I didn’t mean to bring up anything you were uncomfortable with.”

“Don’t worry,” Aurora said, brushing her mane away from her eyes, “You didn’t know. Besides, he taught me how to treat ponies! So it’s like he’s here with us right now.”

Trixie was in awe at the smile this pony held while speaking about her passed away father, she must have held an inner strength far beyond most other ponies.

“Well… Trixie knows a thing or two about repairing a house,” Trixie said, confident in her repertoire of skills, “She could help you with a few chores, in exchange for what you’ve done so far.”

“Oh, I could never ask you to—“

“Trixie won’t take ‘no’ for an answer,” She said proudly, standing up from where she had been lying, “You have earned her favor.”

The girl blushed at the insistent attitude Trixie was giving her, but she was more than happy to have some company for the night, and tomorrow. The truth was, she had been miserably lonely since her father passed away, and nopony in town paid her much more attention than they would to any other shopkeeper. So, this was her first real interaction with anypony in months.

“Well… if you insist—“

“Trixie insists.” She said determinedly, a confident smile growing on her lips, “By the time Trixie leaves this house tomorrow, you won’t even recognize it!”

////
Three Years later
////

Twilight gave Trixie an odd look. The mare had only just begun telling them her story, but she was already trembling, and getting to the point where she was unable to form a coherent sentence. Her breathing had become ragged, she was starting to shake uncontrollably, and her eyes were glued to the ground.

“Trixie, are you alright?” Alex asked, as she looked up to him, no longer able to hide the wreck she was from them, as she showed them her eyes, which were welled with tears.

“I- I’m not ready to… to tell you all this story,” She managed, between short and audible breaths through her nose, “I’m real-ly sorry.”

“Don’t worry at all,” Fluttershy said softly, approaching the troubled mare, and placing a comforting hoof on her shoulder, “You don’t need to say anything you don’t want to.”

“Why don’t I take you to my guest room?” Twilight asked, standing up and joining Fluttershy next to Trixie, “You can spend the night, and however much longer you need.”

Trixie nodded rapidly, using her front hooves to clumsily wipe the tears from her cheeks, “Thank you all. I’ll… I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Spike said softly, giving her a sympathetic look.

“If you need anything at all, please let me know,” Rarity added, “Spike and I would be happy to oblige you.”

“Same from us.” Rainbow Dash joined, looking to Alex, and then back to Trixie.

Trixie had no words for the kindness of these ponies. They were generous with somepony who had caused so much trouble in their lives. It was just like Aurora…

The tears were flowing without pause now, as Trixie lost herself in the painful memories of her past.

“Come on.” Twilight said quietly, gently turning her in the direction of the bedroom, and walking across the library with her.

They all waited in silence until Twilight closed the door to the guest bedroom.

“It sounds like she’s been through quite a lot,” Rarity said worriedly, glancing to the bedroom door with a look of pity.

“Ah’ reckon.” Applejack nodded, as she stood up herself, “Ah’d wager somethin’ happened to her friend.”

Even though it almost seemed abundantly clear what could have happened, none of them wanted to guess and what it could have possibly been.

Leave it Alone

////
Leave it Alone
////

By the time a few more hours had passed, the sun was well down. And just about everypony had gone home. All who remained at this point, was Alex and Rainbow Dash, as they sat with Twilight and Alpha in the main section of the library, looking back, and catching up on the last couple of months that the two former ponies had been absent.

“So, you’re telling me that Princess Celestia might reinstate me as a captain?” Dash asked hopefully, having thought that her career was ended the moment she resigned.

“Of course!” Twilight laughed, forgetting that not everypony knew Celestia as well as she did, “We talked briefly about it, and she told me that if there were ever a reason for you to want to come back, she’d happily do so.”

“You sure you don’t just wanna… retire young?” Alex asked hopefully, giving her his best puppy dog face, “I mean, we might all be dead this time next year. Might as well enjoy ourselves, right?”

“Alex, if I can do anything that could get this town… or world ready for what might be coming for us, then I have a responsibility to do that.” Dash said seriously, her gaze showing a hint of sadness behind her words.

“I know.” Alex nodded, as he looked her over quickly, with a smirk “You’re not the Rainbow Dash you used to be.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” She asked, surprisingly insulted by his observation.

“You’re way harder working now!” Alex defended, throwing up his hooves, half expecting a smack, “S-since I was turned to stone! Or… when I vanished for three months?”

“Okay…” She said, her eyes narrowed, as if to be suddenly insulted again.

“He’s right, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight pointed out, “When I first met you, you would just… sleep on clouds all day!”

“But now, you just do the work, so you can have more time to relax at the end!” Alex finished, giving her a nervous smile.

“I guess so…” She said, no longer taking offence to their explanations, “I mean, none of us are really the same as we were when you two first came to Ponyville.”

“Well, there’s Rarity and Spike,” Alex said, “That green bastard used to be a dragon! Remember those days?”

“It seems so long ago,” Twilight grimaced, wondering what life would look like if he had never turned in to a pony. Probably much less fun for him.

“Rarity’s much less focused on herself,” Dash added, pausing for a moment, before continuing, “Well, aside from that whole ‘Nightmare’ thing.”

“Pinkie’s gone through a lot in the last few months,” Alpha shook his head, not recalling a time she had been happy since Dash’s secret came out, “Today was the first party I’ve seen her throw since you two left Ponyville.”

Alex and Dash both felt a pang of guilt as he said that.

“Applejack’s been a lot quieter herself,” Twilight pointed out, scrunching her face in thought, “I think she’s been really scared of her dark side.”

“After what happened with me, I can’t blame her for that.” Dash nodded, “I mean… any of them could already be taken over, and they’d have no idea.”

“What about Fluttershy?” Alex asked, having not seen too much of her since he was freed from stone, “I mean, she’s been pretty normal every time I’ve seen her.”

“She’s very… Fluttershy about it,” Twilight scratched the back of her head, “Afraid.”

“Dark sides, huh?” A voice asked from the entrance to the guest bedroom, “What have you ponies been going through?”

“Oh, Trixie!” Twilight said, standing up and approaching the blue mare, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” She said softly, looking away from her, “I’m sorry about breaking down. I thought I was ready to tell that story.”

“Don’t even worry about it.” Dash said, standing up and joining Trixie and Twilight, “Why don’t you sit down with us for a few minutes?”

“Oh, I don’t want to—“

“Please.” Alpha said with a kind smile.

Relenting, Trixie sat at the head of the table, as Dash and Twilight sat down next to their respective stallions, “I have so many questions about what you’ve all been through over the last few years.”

“There’s been plenty.” Alex exhaled, trying to sum up the events in his mind, “I mean…Crashing the Wonderbolt tryouts, going back in time and saving Luna’s child, fighting Alpha at Haven Station with my dark side, defeating Discord, being enslaved for a few years by the changelings, being freed and saving Canterlot, Nightmare Rarity, and shadow Rainbow Dash… that about brings us here.”

Trixie was truly shocked at the long list of things they had done together since she had last visited Ponyville. She wasn’t sure if she should be jealous, or happy that she hadn’t been involved in those situations.

“Anything you’d like us to elaborate on?” Alex asked with a smile, knowing that she would indeed have questions.

“Dark sides?” She asked instantly, this being the main focus of her curiosity, “How does that even work?”

“That’s a tough one,” Twilight spoke up, chucking at the absurdity of their situation, “Well, Rarity and Rainbow Dash have both faced… alternate versions of themselves. Ones that have exposed their deepest secrets, and fears to them, in a bid to be recognized as a part of their soul.”

“Are you serious?” Trixie asked in pure shock, having no idea that such a magic existed, “How did this even happen to them?”

“Discord did something… I’m not sure,” Alex explained as best he could, “Somehow he unlocked these parts of their souls. And in doing so, he’s allowed anypony who has accepted their dark sides to wield chaotic magic.”

“I’ve heard a lot about that kind of magic,” Trixie said, looking to Twilight and Alpha, “That amulet I gave you enhances chaotic magic in the user. It can make even small amounts of chaos multiply into overflowing reserves.”

Twilight glanced over to the cupboard she had placed the amulet in, and swallowed hard. It would suck if that thing got in to the wrong hooves.

“Aside from the amulet,” Trixie began again, looking to Alex and Dash, “Does that mean you can cast magic?”

Dash paused for a moment, as she figured that Trixie had been referring to Alex. But, her gaze was planted firmly on the cyan mare.

“Oh! Me?” Dash asked, looking over her shoulder to her wings, “Well, I’ve made some magic come out. But it only seems to happen when…”

She looked at Alex, and then back to Trixie with a small blush.

“Well, when I’m excited.” Dash said, chuckling softly, “Ask Alex to use his chaotic magic.”

“You can use it as well?” She asked, moving on to the alicorn next to Dash, “I insist you show—well, that is, if you’d like to… I’d be interested to see some chaotic magic.”

“Well, for me… it’s blurred together at this point,” Alex admitted, as she returned with a confused look, “Ever since Haven Station, when I accepted my dark side, I’ve more or less used a combination of harmonious, and chaotic magic. It has the properties of both magics, and can produce much stronger spells.”

“Why don’t you show her that spell you used to save Rainbow Dash back when my men were trying to take her away?” Alpha suggested, with a smirk on his face.

“You mean the spell that destroyed the entire complex? By liquefying every piece of wood, stone, and metal?” Alex asked, almost blushing himself at the small praise Alpha was giving him, “I think somepony would get hurt if I did that.”

“It’s not like you can’t heal them right up.” Twilight added, remembering all the times he had used curative magic to help the ponies around town.

“You guys are embarrassing me!” Alex said, feigning his embarrassment for the sake of the mood in the room, “I don’t think I’d do too well without you guys keeping me going!”

“Is there any chance I could… perhaps learn this magic myself?” Trixie asked, with a tinge of hope in her tone, “Healing magic is something Trixie—I would be very interested in having at my disposal.”

“You’d have to talk to Discord,” Alex said immediately, “He’s in charge of all of that.”

“Okay.” She said simply, falling silent as the conversation came to an abrupt halt.

Everypony simply looked between one another as Trixie looked at the floor. All of them were trying to communicate through facial expressions, and the gist of the conversation was ‘let’s make her feel better.’

“Well… do you have any scars on your body?” Alex asked, as she looked back up at him.

“I do have one…” She said, lifting her right hoof off the floor, and showed him a thick, deformed patch on her ankle, “I gave that to myself with an out of control fire spell about ten years ago.”

Not responding, Alex approached her, and surrounded the hoof in a levitation field.

Trixie exhaled quickly. The spell was placing just a bit too much pressure on her sensitive arm.

“Oh, sorry.” Alex said, recognizing the look of pain on her face, before casting a healing spell, bathing her hoof in a blue energy that quickly faded, removing all impurities from her leg.

Trixie had no response. She was simply in awe.

“I can heal pretty much anything.” Alex said, recalling the several times he had used the magic to save a life, “Got any friends that need a fix up?”

Suddenly, Trixie’s expression turned to one of deep sadness, as she pulled her hoof away from his grip.

“Are you okay?” Dash asked quickly.

“I- I need to go.” Trixie said, immediately leaving the table and heading for the room Twilight had given her, “I’m sorry.”

“Trixie!” Twilight called, as the door was heard softly closing behind her.

“What the buck happened to her?” Alex asked.

“Well, I think that’s pretty obvious right now…” Alpha said, having no trouble putting two and two together.

“I think it’d be best if we just kept off the topic of… curing sick ponies.” Twilight frowned, standing up and heading for the guest room door, “I’ll try to cheer her up a bit.”

“Okay.” Dash said standing up and heading for the front door, with Alex in tow, “From now on, we’ll keep any questions to ourselves”

Alex nodded along with her.

“We’ll keep off the topic until she’s ready. We’ll leave it alone.” Alex said.

It was a very good thing they all agreed to not push the story out of Trixie. It would have made them pity the mare far more than they ever could have imagined.

////

Hiding from the Darkness

////
Hiding the Darkness
////

Twilight fell back on her bed. The last few days had literally been the busiest of her entire life. It had started with her and her friends worrying sick about Alex. So, they decided to follow him to his world. That strange world with all that… definition. How could he ever be used to that?

Following that, they spent the night at his home, where they met Chet, Alex’s incredibly concerned uncle. He had made them all a little uncomfortable, but in the end, he was just looking out for Alex.

After leaving again, they were in the Wonderbolt Stadium. Alex went through time—somehow, and then came back to the present, where he finally confronted Rainbow Dash, and unleashed her dark side, Treachery, who he promptly defeated, and saved Rainbow Dash from becoming a Wonderbolt, for the second time.

Finally, there was the train ride home, the after-party, and Trixie’s arrival.

“Whew!” She said loudly, relishing in the silence, and relaxation she was currently experiencing, “I’m ready to sleep for a few days…”

Climbing under her blankets, Twilight exhaled happily as she closed her eyes, and snuggled up against her pillow.

She could tell. This was going to be a good night.

Of course, she had been wrong before.

////

Trixie sat in the room Twilight had provided for her, torn on whether or not she should simply pack up and leave Ponyville. She had come here, offering the Alicorn Amulet to the ponies here, confident that it would be kept safe from the kinds of ponies that would look to abuse its power. But, her original plan, had been to move on, and keep trying her best to improve the lives of the ponies she came across.

But… something was drawing her in to this town. Some kind of unknown energy was pulling her toward Twilight and her friends.

Was it that chaotic magic? Was it the changeling they were living with? She couldn’t say.

As she lay there in contemplation, a pang of energy surged through the house. One of immense power that truly left her breathless.

“Where did that come from?” She said out loud, as she sat up from her bed, before feeling another pulse blast through the house, giving her a better baring on its source, “Upstairs…”

At this point, Trixie wasn’t sure if she should even be investigating. Obviously, the ponies in this town where going through some kind of metamorphosis, and for all she knew, this was perfectly normal.

However, instantly arguing that idea, another blast pulsed through the house, almost knocking her off her balance. It was certainly enough to convince her that she needed to go and see Twilight. Even if this was nothing, her host couldn’t get upset with her for investigating.

Slowly opening her door, Trixie looked across the hall, and saw that Alpha’s door was also open. He must have gone to investigate himself. This put her at ease somewhat, happy that she wouldn’t be the only one to barge in to the mare’s room.

Wasting no time, Trixie crossed the main section of the library, and then the kitchen, before reaching the stairs, and feeling another blast of energy blow past her.

“Why must these things always happen to Trixie?” The mare mumbled to herself, ignoring the usual care she took to avoid such third-pony references.

Without wasting another second, she dashed up the stairs, and came face-to-face with the wide open door, which revealed Alpha in his changeling form sitting up off the side of Twilights bed, with the mare lying across his legs, emitting some kind of energy while her eyes were clamped closed.

“Twilight?” Trixie said urgently, rushing in to the room, and addressing Alpha, “What’s wrong with her?”

Alpha only sighed as he looked at the mare in his arms.

“Tonight’s the worst I’ve ever seen her…” He said softly, as Twilight squirmed in his arms, before he sighed, “You weren’t supposed to see this.”

Twilight let out a pained shout, as she opened her eyes, and looked to Trixie.

“Oh Celestia…” Trixie gasped, as she made eye contact with the blood red glowing eyes, “W-what’s going on?”

Twilight’s face scrunched up as if she was going to cry, before she clamped her eyes closed again, and started to thrash in Alpha’s lap, while panting as if she had just run a marathon.

Casting a snare spell, Alpha held on to her shaking limbs, and managed to keep her from throwing herself off of her bed and on to the floor.

After a minute or so, Twilight finally calmed down, as her body seemed to relax a small amount.

“This has happened to her twice before this,” Alpha explained, looking up to Trixie with a sad expression, “She’ll go in to these… fits at night, as her entire body radiates chaotic energy. I don’t know if she’s facing her own dark side, or if it’s something different. But every time this happens… I come and sit with her until she can work through it.”

“That’s sweet of you,” Trixie said with a soft smile, calmed down now that Twilight was no longer having fits, “What does she think of these… episodes?”

“She doesn’t remember them… after all,” Alpha shook his head, as Trixie gave him a truly confused look, “She’ll become herself again in a few minutes, and will probably say a few words to us… But tomorrow, she’ll have no idea.”

“And you don’t tell her?” Trixie asked, almost creeped out that he would keep something like this to himself, “She should know it’s happening!”

“Look at her face.” Alpha said simply, as Trixie looked down to the mare’s terrible expression, “She looks like she’s experiencing something so painful, that she can’t even bring herself to cry.”

“Well, yes… but—“

“And by what Discord told us, this is going to get worse with the transformation of each of her friends.” Alpha continued, as Trixie listened carefully, not taking her eyes off of Twilight, “She’s going to hear about this soon… but I’d rather she not be a ball of stress about it every day until it finally forces it’s way in to her life. Honestly… I care about Twilight a lot. And it would be the beginning of something very painful for her.”

Trixie grimaced. He clearly cared for the mare, but hiding it wasn’t the answer. He was misguided.

“Do you mind if I take a look at her?” Trixie asked, her curiosity burning at this point, “I’ve never seen anything like this in my life… and maybe I could help her out.”

“Well… If you think you could,” Alpha nodded, as Trixie slowly made her way over to the two of them.

Not saying a word, she started by simply inspecting Twilight. The mare was still obviously in some kind of pain… but Trixie moved past that quickly. It was a symptom. She needed the sickness.

Recalling a powerful mind reading spell that had helped her a few times in the past, Trixie pooled her magic in her horn, and slowly crossed it with Twilight’s own.

Everything went black.

////

Trixie snapped open her eyes, as she found herself on an empty road, in a town she couldn’t identify. The sun was just setting, and everything around her was being plunged in to darkness. It was terrifying.

The wind howled past her face, and blew her mane in all sorts of directions, including in front of her eyes.

Quickly brushing her hoof through her hair, Trixie freed up her field of view, and was instantly greeted with the mare she had just tried to help, Twilight.

She stood in front of her, with a twisted and toothy smile. Both of her eyes were open wider than Trixie had ever seen on anypony before. She was almost shocked that they didn’t fall out of her head.

Dark ribbons of energy were flowing out of her body, and slowly making their way to the intruder, as she took a couple of cautionary steps backward.

“Why… Did you come here?!” She said twisting her head as she spoke, while blinking each eye individually, “I’m not R̮̪̱̉̅ͦ̈̚͟e͍̱͎ͧa̝̝̳͙̦̼͐̎̓̒ͅd̂ͤy ̡̙̯̫͎Ỵ̲̟ͨͮ͋̈́̂́ET.”

Trixie recoiled as the twisted Twilight's head ripped to the side so hard it snapped, before looking back to her, with her head hanging much lower to the ground, and her speech riddled with whispers she couldn't begin to comprehend.

“I-I came to help you!” Trixie said, her heart pounding loud enough for both of them to hear, “What are you doing to her?”

The twisted Twilight laughed loudly, before abruptly stopping, and switching to a tone of arrogance.

“I’m filling her with my majesty!” She said, her tone instantly moving to anger, “Perhaps I should S̶̺̲̟͎ͨ͌ḧ̜͈̠́͂̄̾͊ͮow you my majesty as well!”

Once again, Twilight's head ripped to the side with her distorted speech, as a large piece of skin on her neck split, and started to gush down her chest.

Suddenly, the dark ribbons of energy ripped toward Trixie, and started being absorbed in to her body.

Trixie felt herself catch fire as the energy began to course through her body. Was this the pain Twilight was feeling right now? She hoped to Celestia that it was only her who had to feel this much pain…

“You will not meddle in my plans again, you arrogant b̪͛̂ͮ̅̆i̼̻̜̠̱̣͕͌̏tch ̤ͫ͝B̲͈̙̻̖͉̱̽͆i̴̦ͨͩ̿̍̽̇̐t̨͎̜͔̫͔ͨ̿̚c̷͈̳͉̍͊h̟̠̰̭̩̔ͯ͗ͨͥ ̺̝̘͉̙͈͒ͣͭ̅͊͐͘Ḃ͕͈͈̘̠͟ITC̡͔͉ͪH͚̟͇ͭ͝,” The twisted Twilight spat, instantly snapping her head forward and smiling in a way that could only make your heart freeze, “I’ll just take away your magic for a few… years! Then you’ll see how i̤͙͍̰̠̘ͥ̓t̶ͭͫ̆̓ͬ is to live like a normal pony!”

Trixie was quivering as the fire engulfed her body, spreading across every inch of her skin… every nerve in her stomach, and chest. She wasn’t capable of a coherent thought. It was as if her own power was being set ablaze, and charring everything within her.

”Rest…” A voice whisped in Trixie’s ear, as the pain vanished, and she collapsed on the street.

The twisted Twilight scowled, “What have y̶̟͍̞̙̖̬̣͗̏̒o̱̠̤̖̦͈ͣȕ͈̪͖̫͉̠̓̑͂ͬ͛̚ done?! Who said t͓̬̎ͭ͞ȟͮͣ̂at̝͔̞̦͎̯͓̋͋̊̚̕?!”

A dim light appeared where Trixie had just been standing, as the faint outline of a pale yellow unicorn appeared in front of the dark mare.

”Me.”

The dark mare grunted at the blindingly bright ghost protecting the mare on the ground.

”My name is humility… And you have no place hurting this mare,” She said in the softest, yet firmest voice either of them had ever heard, ”Leave us be.”

Pointing her horn at the shadow, a bright light exploded out the end of her horn, and lit whatever dark corner of Twilight’s mind they were in so much, that the dark side of the mare shattered under the force of the power.

"I͇̼̜̒ͨ̈ͦ͗ ̦̘̾͑ͥ͊ͪͭͬẄ̳̺́I̱̗̩͕͉͚̾̀̀̇͆L̼̯̘̠̥͖̇ͪͦL͛̚ ̡̰͚̼̑̐̉ͯͭ́B̻͚̜̰ͯ̓̐͊É̵͇͍̲̉͊ ͫ B̛̻̤̭͙̦̞Ą̳͓͖̙C͚͉͓̱̭̈͝K̟̻̹͕̮̋͑̉̒̾̿ ͚͝F̡̳̖̻̳̫̫ͣ̍Ǒ̜̩͍͔͙̞ͮͭ̔̚Ŗ͕̺̘͒̀ ͇̗͈͍ͥ̓͋͜---!"

The shattered remains of the twisted mare were burned to pieces before she could finish her threat.

And suddenly, there was silence. Beautiful, comfortable, silence.

Looking up, Trixie felt her eyes well with tears at the mare standing before her.

”I’ll always be here for you, Trixie.”

”Always, Trixie.”

”Trixie.”

////

“…Trixie.”

“Trixie!” Alpha shouted, as the mare slowly opened her eyes, and looked up at the stallion above her.

“W-wait—Aurora!’ Trixie shouted, sitting up and colliding her head with Alpha’s, sending him backward.

“Ow!” Alpha said, falling back on to the floor, landing on his butt, “What did you do to Twilight?”

Instantly coming to her senses, Trixie looked to the bed, where Twilight now rested, her dark episode clearly passed.

“I… I don’t know,” Trixie said, looking to the panicked changeling and sighing, “I was trying to read her thoughts, but I got sucked in.”

“And that light?” Alpha asked, standing up and returning to Twilights side, “It got rid of all the darkness in her eyes. Would you be able to do that again?”

“I have no clue.” Trixie said quickly, joining Alpha to look over Twilight’s unconscious body, “But I saw inside her head. And she needs to know what’s happening. Now.”

////

Sparks of Chaos

////
Sparks of Chaos
////

Twilight felt like she was going to be sick. She had been woken up in the middle of the night by two ponies, who had apparently been there for over an hour. Why exactly? Well, because she had been screaming in pain, and firing out dark magic at the other ponies in her home.

“This isn’t a prank, is it?” Twilight asked, her face clearly communicating her discomfort to the situation she had been faced with.

“I’m sorry, Twilight.” Trixie shook her head, still shook up by the horrors she had experienced in the mare’s mind, “But there’s even more…”

“More?!” Twilight asked, feeling further distress by this, ‘W-what could it possibly be?”

“Well, I used a spell to try and see what was going through your mind during that… episode.” Trixie explained, as Twilight nodded along, knowing she would have done something similar herself, “But when I touched your head, I got sucked inside. And… what I saw was just- just horrible.”

Twilight only looked on, unblinking.

“There was this… other version of yourself.” Trixie explained, shaking her head slowly at the memory, “And it was just—“

“Like me?” Twilight asked, figuring that somehow, Trixie had run in to her own dark side, “But more of a jerk?”

Alpha shook his head slowly, as Twilight looked to him, and then back to Trixie.

“It was h-horrible.” Trixie stammered for a moment, before regaining her vocal footing, “She tried to burn Trix- ability to use magic out of me.”

“What?!” Twilight asked, as she stood up and approached Trixie the now shaking mare, “Are you sure?”

Trixie nodded rapidly, as Alpha also approached the blue mare.

“Do you want to sit down?” Alpha asked her, not having been told too much about what she had experienced himself.

“No,” She shook her head, determined to not lose her composure in front of these two, when Twilight was the one who was really in trouble, “That… thing inside of you… It didn’t sound like the dark sides you told me your friends faced.”

“Well, if she tried to remove your ability to use magic from you…” Twilight said quietly, “That’s an old, and heinous kind of torture. Something I’d never be capable of.”

“And she kept speaking in this… voice. It was like Trix- I was hearing other words whispered in my head as she spoke.” Trixie recalled, before remembering just what she did every time she spoke in that voice, “And her entire body would twist, and violently snap… it was like she wearing the body of a pony, but she didn’t know how to move properly. It was just wrong the way she acted.”

“That was inside of me?” Twilight asked, looking at her friends with a truly horrified expression, “Maybe I should talk to Discord about this.”

“That would be a good idea,” Alpha agreed, as Twilight sat down on her bed, “But you might want to get some more sleep, so we can handle it tomorrow morning.”

“I can’t just go to sleep!” Twilight said instantly, as he joined her on the mattress, “It might happen again!”

“It’s already passed,” Alpha shook his head, as she gave him a confused look.

“You talk about it like it comes in waves!” Twilight said, somewhat hysterically, “If this is the first time it’s happened, then we have no idea what to expect!”
Alpha shot his glace to Trixie, just as she did the same to him.

“Actually…” Alpha said slowly, scratching the back of his head, “This isn’t the first time you’ve been like this.”

Twilight froze. Her gaze locked on the stallion in front of her.

“Excuse me?” She asked, inching away from Alpha, “What do you mean?!”

“This has happened… twice before. Once last week, and also the week before.” Alpha said quietly, as her expression quickly grew to one of pure rage, “I didn’t tell you because—“

“How dare you!” Twilight shouted, standing up and backing toward Trixie, “How could you keep something like that from me? I-I’ve been thrashing, and shooting out dark magic in my sleep, and you think you’ll just keep it to yourself?!”

“Well, I—“

“I don’t care!” Twilight said, calmed down only enough to restrain herself from shouting, “Get out! Just go!”

“What?” Alpha asked, looking between her and Trixie, “I know I was wrong to do it! But I only wanted to protect you…”

“Go.” She reiterated firmly.

Alpha opened his mouth, but quickly closed it once again, as he stood up, and stepped toward the door, passing Trixie on his way.

“I’m sorry.” Was all he said, as he closed the door, and headed down the stairs, before opening, and closing the door to the outside of the house.

Twilight was trembling. It was obvious to Trixie that her outburst may have been nothing more than a bad mix of circumstance, with a spark of anger. But, regardless, she needed to talk her down, and then help her find the god of chaos, so they could survive this terrible night.

“I- I’m sorry you had to see that.” Twilight said, looking away from Trixie, biting her lip as she tried to quell her burning anger, “I can’t believe his nerve…”

“Twilight,” Trixie said carefully, “I don’t think he kept you in the dark to hurt you…”

“Are you serious?” She asked, insulted that Trixie was butting in to her problem, “He lied to me, and hid something pretty damn important from me! How could you defend him?”

“He was looking out for you!” Trixie returned, much angrier than she had expected herself to be, “That stallion cares about you!”

“What do you know?!” Twilight shouted back, as the window behind her silently cracked down the middle, “He just hid the single most important piece of information in my life from me!”

“When Trixie came up here, he was holding you in his arms, Twilight!” Trixie shouted, as a flower pot behind her started to shake, “He told me that he kept it from you, because it would make you sick with worrying! That you would be nervous, and scared for however long it would take to resolve this problem! If he isn’t in love with you, I’d be shocked!”

The window was now completely cracked. One tap of a hoof would completely shatter it. But, the pressure abruptly stopped.

“Did he really—“

“Ladies!” A voice said from above them, as they both looked up to see the god of chaos floating above them, “While I’d hate to break up this lovely argument, you should all know, that you’re simply glowing with chaos!”

“Wha—“ Trixie said, snapping out of her rage, as the flower vase behind her dropped to the floor and smashed, “How did that happen?”

“You and I need to have a discussion.” Discord said, pointing to Twilight, before casting his gaze to Trixie, “And you… I never marked you.”

Trixie wasn’t sure what that meant.

“What was that?” She asked slowly.

“You know, hidden sides of your soul, accepting yourself, gaining the power of chaos!” He said rather dramatically, “Have you perchance had a massive personality change recently?”

Trixie opened her mouth, but didn’t reply.

“Either way, your princess is waiting for you.” Discord said to Twilight, “Why don’t you come along with me as well, small blue pony?”

“My name is Trixie.” She said, her mind obviously drifted to other places, “And while I wasn’t expecting this outcome… I suppose you and I should have a conversation.”

“Wonderful.” He said with a smirk, “Are you girls ready? Because I simply won’t be kept waiting.”

“Well, I need to pee—“

"I need to see Alpha--"

“Nothing? Okay!” Discord said, throwing up his hands, and lifting them off the ground, “I hope nopony gets airsick!”

“Why?” They both asked at once, with an equal amount of urgency.

Discord winked, as a hole appeared in the wall next to him, and he flew outside at massive speed, heading toward Canterlot.

“You can just teleport us!” Twilight shouted over the rushing wind around her, “I can just do it!”

“I can’t hear you back there!” Discord chuckled, as he made a pair of aviator goggles appear over his eyes, “We’ll be no more than ten minutes!”

Trixie simply spun in the air behind Discord, silently wishing that he had let her pee before they left.

Author's Note

Longer chapters will be coming soon. Just have been pressed for time recently.

Two Steps in a New Direction

////
Two Steps in a New Direction
////

After a few horrible minutes of the two mares spinning through the air, they finally arrived at their destination of Canterlot, where they were promptly placed on the ground, and allowed to deal with their own issues. Twilight instantly cast a spell, to calm her stomach, and had the good grace to use it on Trixie too.

“My thanks, Twilight.” She said happily, as Discord gave her an expectant look.

“Didn’t you need to go to the bathroom?” Discord asked, tilting his head.

“Oh…” Trixie said, laughing with a mixture of embarrassment and relief, “I don’t have to go anymore.”

Discord covered his mouth in a faux-effort to stop himself from laughing, “I-I’m sorry!”

Trixie only shook her head with a small smile as he exploded in to a laughing riot, slapping his knee and coiling over himself backward.

Trixie looked over her shoulder to see Twilight was already heading off in her own direction. She probably didn’t want to waste a second on her way to see the Princesses. And, considering the circumstances, she completely understood.

Discord, on the other hoof, was still laughing harder than he had in weeks. Whenever it came to crude situations like this, he always seemed to laugh a little harder.

“So,” Trixie said, loudly, in an attempt to silence him, which somewhat worked, as he looked to her, with his chest still rapidly shaking with his silent laughter, “Would you please tell Trix- me what it is you wanted with me?”

“Oh, of course dear!” He said as quickly as possible, taking a deep breath in hopes of calming himself down, “J-just give me two minutes!”

He was laughing again.

////

Twilight moved swiftly toward the throne room, wasting no time in her journey with silence, as she almost pounded her way through the halls in the middle of the night. It was plain and simple. She was freaking out, and there was no place she would feel safer than in the presence of the two most powerful beings in Equestria… Well, top three. Alex was really getting up there.

Hurrying down the hallway containing the royal rooms, Twilight passed Celestia’s chambers, Luna’s room, and finally Scootaloo’s, before she turned the corner, and was met with the massive, and already open entrance to the throne room.

And inside, the two Princesses sat silently, both obviously lost in thought. It was something that put Twilight off quite a bit, as she hurried in to the room, and caught the attention of the two mares, who were happy to see her, but also clearly concerned.

“Twilight.” Luna said, standing up alone with her sister.

“Thank you for coming to see us on such short notice.” Celestia said in her usual comforting tone, “Discord has… made us aware of your situation.”

“My situation?” Twilight asked, looking between the two, her heart still pounding from the news she had been given a short while ago, “I have no idea what’s going on! C-could you please tell me? Because it doesn’t sound anything like what Rarity, or Rainbow Dash went through…”

“Rainbow Dash?” Luna asked, tilting her head and looking to her sister, “She has faced her dark side as well? I was under the impression she was back in Manehattan.”

“S-she never cheated on Alex,” Twilight shook her head quickly, “Her dark side convinced her she did. All this only happened the other day. Alex came back and revealed the truth. I was in his world… I was a human for a little bit. I-I’ll explain it all in a little bit, okay?”

Luna and Celestia were both infinitely intrigued by this story she had just summarized for them, but they both knew that Twilight was in a very bad place right now, and that she needed to be comforted, and made aware of her situation.

“So?” She asked somewhat impatiently, swallowing audibly, “What’s happening inside of me?”

Celestia and Luna both exhaled and looked to each other with sad expressions.

“I’m sorry, Twilight.”

////

Discord, having finally calmed down, sat back in his throne, which had just appeared on the front lawn of the castle, as he looked over Trixie, studying as much as he could, considering his magical ability.

“What do you see?” Trixie finally asked, having silently waited for him to speak to her first, “Is there something dark inside of me…?”

“Oh, sorry!” Discord said quickly, snapping back to her gaze, “I was just admiring your figure.”

“A-are you serious!?” Trixie shouted, a feint blush showing up on her cheeks, “I insist you tell Trixie what happened right now!”

“Referring to yourself in the third person?” Discord chuckled, “I can see that I’m getting to you.”

“Please just… Tell me why you decided to fly me up here,” She said in a defeated tone, “I’m worried that you would do such a thing.”

“Well, worst case scenario, there is no news,” Discord said, interlocking his claw and paw, “Best case… I can help you with some magic.”

“How so?” Trixie asked, taking a step toward him with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, let me explain something about your seven friends in Ponyville.” Discord said, his expression becoming much more serious as she took her place in front of him, “I gave them the ability to master chaotic energy, by forcing their deepest, darkest sides to come out.”

Trixie nodded. She had heard about this from Discord. But as far as she was aware, it was the act of defeating their dark sides the unlocked the ability. He was making it sound like something else was the cause.

“Simply, for anyone to use both chaotic, and harmonious magic, they have to have a complete understanding of their soul, along with zero doubt in their essence.” Discord explained, as Trixie listened intently, “It started when Alex first came to Equestria from his world. When he came here, it created a massive ripple in time and space, which got something’s attention.”

“Something?” Trixie asked slowly.

“I wish I knew what it was,” Discord said, shaking his head, “But regardless. It took me a few weeks, but I managed to force my way in to his head enough, that I could unlock his dark side. Which, in turn, led to his unlocked chaotic magic, because he accepted his dark side, and channeled his magical ability through it.”

“You make it sound like using chaotic magic is nothing more than… normal magic, but it passes through a different filter!” Trixie said, shaking her head, “But, what does this have to do with me? I never faced a dark side!”

“Ah, but you did!” Discord said triumphantly, “From what I previously heard about you, from various sources, you were simply a terrible pony!”

Trixie opened her mouth to argue with him, but she stopped. He was actually pretty right on that one.

“So, from what I gather, after living so closely under the control of your dark side, you finally reformed yourself, and have come back to the side of harmony.” Discord finished, as she gave him a confused look.

“You make it sound like I’m already able to use chaotic magic, when clearly, I have no ability to do so.” Trixie explained, as Discord shook his head quickly, “That’s because I haven’t implanted the seed yet.”

Before she could reply, his claw wrapped itself around the top of her head, and began to glow.

////

“Okay…” Twilight said to Celestia, having listened to everything she had said so far, “That explains why Alex and Rarity can use chaotic magic, but why do I have such a dark side? It attacked somepony! I’d never do that!”

“Well, as the Element of Magic is a culmination of every element, so is your dark side,” Luna said sadly, unable to image how this would affect the mare, “You face an alter ego that possesses: Avarice, Treachery, Animosity, Despair, Deceit, and Selfishness.”

Twilight swallowed hard.

“And on top of that, your darker side will not be able to be conquered until every other element faces theirs.” Celestia continued sadly, as Twilight moved her anguished gaze to Celestia, “You’re going to have to live with what’s happened… until the last of your friends have faced their own dark sides.”

“Can we hurry them up then?” Twilight asked suddenly, her panic now showing much more, “I-I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep again! Not until this… thing is out of my head!”

“There is nothing I can do, Twilight.” Celestia shook her head, “I’m truly sorry.”

“So what!?” Twilight asked, looking between the two princesses, “I just have to live with this m-monster in my head, until it’s ready to be beaten?!”

“I’m afraid so.” They said in unison.

////

Only a moment ago, Discord opened up Trixie’s mind, allowing the use of the most powerful form of magic to her. But, as hard as she tired, nothing seemed to work.

“Just let it flow out of you,” Discord said, as Trixie tried in vain to cast a chaotic spell, “The magic requires little effort to mold, but great effort to generate.”

“This is infuriating!” Trixie shouted, pushing as hard as she could, as if it would just explode out of her horn, “How does Alex do this so easily?”

“Well, years of practice might have something to do with it,” Discord laughed, “On top of that, he absorbed a darker side of him, that was already a master of the school.”

“Then give Trixie a dark side!” She insisted, looking at him impatiently, “I would do much better with the same amount of assistance as the alicorn.”

“You’ve already accepted your dark side,” Discord said, scratching the back of his head, “If I were to drop the information in your head… it would be like giving a text book to a bush. Bushes can’t read, my dear.”

“So why was I brought here?” Trixie demanded, her frustration now getting the better of her attitude, “So you could touch my head and admire my figure?”

“Well…” Discord said, inhaling and looking away from her.

“Are you serious?!” Trixie shouted, unsure if he was telling her the truth or not.

“Calm down my dear, I’m only toying with you.” He chuckled, “However, it looks like you aren’t going to miraculously learn these spells…”

“So what would you suggest?” She asked impatiently, tapping her hoof on the floor, “Hmm?”

Discord begun to laugh under his breath once again, knowing that her reaction was going to truly be a priceless one.

“You’re going to have to take magic lessons…”

“What?!”

////

“When Alpha and Trixie told me what was going on, they said I was screaming in pain! That it sounded like I was being murdered!” Twilight argued to the two solemn mares, “And you’re telling me that I have to live with it, for what will probably be months?”

“That is what Discord has told us.” Celestia said softly, “He preferred we be the ones to tell you. It’s the first bit of sense he’s made since he returned to Equestria.”

“S-s-so… that’s it, huh?” Twilight stammered, looking away from her mentors with a defeated expression, “This is my curse? You brought me all the way here to tell me that?”

Celestia exhaled, as she looked at her equally worn sister.

“Twilight, I would like to suggest that you stay here in Canterlot for the duration of this… ailment. That is why I asked you here.” Celestia proposed, looking to her sick student, “Should you be faced with another episode of chaos, I will be with you in a heartbeat, doing all I can to calm you, and help you weather the storm.”

Twilight thought to herself for a second, as she ran her mind over what had happened tonight. And what both Trixie and Alpha had done for her.

“Did Discord say anything about Trixie stopping my chaotic side?” Twilight asked the two princesses, as they returned her a look of confusion.

“One more time?” Luna asked.

////

“What do you mean, you stopped her dark side?” Discord asked, after hearing Trixie’s angry mumblings to herself over her need of magic lessons, “How did I miss that happening?”

“Trixie doesn’t know!” She shouted in frustration over her lack of magical ability, for the first time in her life, “An old friend appeared in Twilight’s mind, and cleansed the dark magic! That’s all I know.”

Discord didn’t respond to her, as he considered the possibilities, and ramifications of her story.

“Well, I’m sure it means nothing.” Discord lied, as Trixie moved past the fact without a second thought, “But you should be going! Your little purple friend is likely to be done any minute now.”

“What about this chaotic magic?” Trixie asked, “How do you expect me to learn without you here! Didn’t you just offer to teach me?”

“Oh, no.” Discord shook his head, “I was thinking you could ask Alex! He’s splendid with that kind of stuff!”

“That pony?” She asked, her tone one of her previous self, “In what world does he teach me magic!?”

“This one, my dear,” Discord chuckled, as he looked over his shoulder at the purple mare exiting the castle, with the two princesses in tow, “There they are!”

“Twilight, are you sure I can’t convince you to stay?” Celestia asked again, as Twilight instantly shook her head.

“I have friends, and a life in Ponyville…” Twilight sighed, as she once again grew a small smile, “And, well, I already have somepony that will help me weather the storm on those nights. Maybe even two.”

Twilight smiled to Trixie as the blue mare suddenly blushed at the kindness she had been shown, by a mare she had only wronged.

“You sound quite sure of yourself, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, put slightly at ease by the confidence Twilight had in her friends.

“She is.” Celestia nodded, put on ease herself, “If you trust your friends, then so do I, my faithful student.”

“Thank you, Princess.” She said, as she looked to Luna, who gave Trixie a careful look-over.

“I do hope you deserve the faith Twilight has placed in you… what was it, Twixie?” Luna asked innocently, as everyone, save Trixie herself, started to giggle at the mispronunciation.

“It’s- it’s Trixie, your highness…” Trixie mumbled, her face burning red now, as she was unable to explode in anger at a princess.

“I like Twixie!” Discord laughed, “I think that’s your new name!”

“Don’t you dare!” She shouted, pointing a hoof in his face, “The last thing I need to be known as… is the “Gweat and Poweufo Twixie!”

“I think you’ve just sealed your fate,” Celestia chuckled, forgetting the grim premise tonight had initially held.

And indeed she had. Not a single pony in Canterlot would ever pronounce her name properly ever again.

Author's Note

Feel free to point out errors. I was quick on this one.

I hope I didn't mispell Trixie's name or anything...

Yet another Addition to the Crew

////
Yet another Addition to the Crew
////

Despite Discords insistence, Twilight made sure that she would be the one taking both herself, and Trixie, back to Ponyville. Neither of them were in the mood to throw up at six o’clock in the morning. Since her conversation with Luna and Celestia ended, Twilight had come up with a brilliant plan—just find a spell, so she’d never have to sleep!

“Are you sure you won’t reconsider?” Celestia asked for the final time, as Twilight shook her head silently at her, “Alright. Thank you two for coming here on such short notice.”

Twilight smiled and nodded, as Trixie approached her.

“Would you like me to take us back?” She offered, since teleportation magic was right up her alley, “I thought you might be exhausted.”

“Thanks, but I can take care of us,” Twilight said quietly, before turning to the other three behind them, “Thanks for having us. Celestia, Discord, Luna. Oh, and tell Scootaloo I said ‘hi.’”

“Of course, Twilight Sparkle.” She nodded.

“You have a good day as well, Twixie.” Discord chuckled, as the mare growled, attempting to hide her embarrassed blush.

“Indeed, Twixie.” Luna added, laughing herself.

“I’m sorry.” Twilight said, holding back her own laughter as she began to cast the spell to take them home, “I promise I’ll try not to let this name slip.”

“Wonderful…” She grumbled as they were encompassed in Twilights swirling magic, “The last thing I need is a new name.”

And with the completion of the spell, they both exploded in to a bright burst of colors, taking them from Canterlot, to the library in Ponyville.

“Those two share something.” Discord said, his tone reflecting the seriousness of the situation, “Trixie was able to cleanse Twilight of the chaos taking over her body.”

“Twilight mentioned something along those lines,” Celestia nodded, looking over her sister to Discord, “…Does this mean Twilight can be saved?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Discord shook his head, as he returned her gaze, “I decided against getting her hopes up. After all. She doesn’t even know the beginning of what is going to happen to her. And if Trixie can keep her on the side of harmony, well, then we’ll never have to tell her.”

“And if she can’t?” Celestia asked, concerned.

“You know, sister.” Luna said solemnly, looking up at Celestia, who shared her exact feelings, “Her Element may need to be removed.”

“Are you sure about all of this, Discord?” Celestia asked, despite her having asked the question many times before, “Her Element is tied with her soul. Removing it could—“

“Princess, there is a chance Twilight and Trixie can work this out themselves,” Discord said, bypassing the query he had answered so many times in the past, “We should keep quiet until Twilight experiences another chaotic episode… Because I have a feeling Twixie will come to her rescue once again.”

“Please try to keep the jokes to a minimum while we’re speaking in such serious terms,” Luna asked, shaking her head at the god of chaos, “But, as far as Trixie and Twilight go… I pray for the best.”

“Who do you pray to?” Discord asked, tilting his eyes, “Most ponies would say Celestia. But I’m pretty sure she’s useless right here.”

Celestia felt a pang in her chest, as he spoke of her.

But, what hurt most, was that he was completely right.

////

Twilight crumpled in to a ball as soon as she and Trixie appeared in the library. She was far more exhausted than she realized, and truly wanted to be nowhere other than her bed.

“Twilight!” Trixie said, rushing to her side and kneeling down, “Are you alright?”

Twilight grunted, as she looked up at the dark ceiling, “Yeah… I’m just tired, I guess.”

“Let me take you back to bed—“

“No!” Twilight said instantly, as the adrenaline in her body began to fire, instantly waking her up, and restoring her strength, as she stood up and shook her head, and forced a fake smile, “I-I’m actually fine!”

“Twilight,” Trixie said seriously, shaking her head, “You need to go to bed. You’ll be just fine.”

“How do you know?” Twilight asked quickly, “How do you know I won’t go right back to writhing in pain? Being taken over by that… dark monster inside of me?”

“Honestly, Twilight… I don’t know.” Trixie shook her head, a small frown on her face, “But you can’t live the rest of your life without going to sleep.”

“Not the rest of my life!” Twilight replied, shaking her head rapidly, “Just a few months!”

Trixie’s face read nothing but frank.

“I can find a spell!” Twilight continued, having no luck convincing her companion, “There are lots of spells to deal with tiredness!”

“For a day or two, maybe!” Trixie argued, familiar with the spells she was proposing, “But your magic stops regenerating properly after that! And then you can’t keep the spells up!”

“Well, what if you cast them?” Twilight suggested, giving her look of pleading, “Then I’ll never—“

“No!” Trixie said, stomping her hoof on the floor, keeping strong, “Trixie will not assist you in this foolish plan! You will sleep!”

By now, the adrenaline had run its course, and Twilight was feeling much weaker than she had when she collapsed on the ground.

“Well… What do I do then?” She asked, her face contorting to show her grave concern, “I- I’m scared to go back to sleep!”

“Twilight, the next time you go in to that state, I promise you that Alpha will be there right next to you.” Trixie said softly, happy that Twilight’s hysteric begging was at its end, “And if- Celestia forbid, something happened to you, all of your friends would fight to their limits to save you.”

Twilight didn’t answer. She just wanted to be comforted. And Trixie was doing a truly amazing job of that.

“And if any of them have the same level of magic as I, which I know they do… Then you’ll be saved in minutes. I promise.” Trixie said, smiling at the mare, jealous of her massive level of companionship.

“Well…” Twilight said, looking past her at the room she had been staying in, “I think I’d feel a lot safer if you stuck around too, Trixie.”

Trixie wasn’t expecting that.

“W-why would you say something like that?” She asked, shaking her head with her nose crinkled at Twilight, “I mean, as much as I hate to say it, I’m not even close to the best at magic in this town.”

Twilight chuckled, as she shook her head, “That’s not what I’m saying, Trixie. The magic doesn’t make the pony.”

Trixie couldn’t help but smile at Twilight’s pep talk. Aurora used to say something very similar to her.

“You’ve become a much better pony than the last time I met you, Trixie,” Twilight continued, returning the positivity she had just gifted her, “And if you’re looking for a home… I think Ponyville would be happy to have you. I know I would.”

Trixie didn’t know she was crying until she felt the wetness on her cheek.

“You brought us that Alicorn Amulet, so nopony would get hurt by it.” Twilight said, levitating the bundle off the tabled in between them, "Not just anypony would spend all their money on something like that, to protect ponies.”

“Well I just—“

“Don’t sell yourself short.” Twilight shook her head, placing her hoof on Trixie’s shoulder, “You’re an amazing pony, okay?”

Trixie felt so warm on the inside. She didn’t know when the last time was she had ever been praised so much by somepony she had wronged.

“Thank you…” She squeaked out, tears now running freely down her cheeks, “I- I think I’ll stick around for a while.”

Twilight beamed, as she pulled Trixie in to a hug.

“You’re an amazing pony, Twilight Sparkle.” Trixie said through her tiny sobs, “I don’t know a-anypony else that would do something like this for me.”

“I know so many ponies who would, Trixie.” Twilight replied, leaning back and smiling happily to the blue mare, “And they all live in this town.”

“I look forward to meeting them myself.” Trixie said, wiping the dampness from her cheeks, “And I think I’ll start today! Well… maybe after a short nap.”

Twilight looked nervous once again.

“But! If you’d like, I could nap in your room with you.” Trixie offered, “If you’d feel better.”

“I- I think I would.” Twilight nodded, finding her offer put her at ease.

“Alpha won’t be sneaking in at any point?” Trixie asked carefully.

“Not unless I—Oh, Alpha…” She said suddenly remembering the fight she had had with him, “I have to go find him, Trixie.”

Trixie smiled, as she pressed the tip of her hoof to her lips, indicating that Twilight needed to be silent.

Once they were done talking, the sound of snoring was very evident.

“I guess he came back after we left,” Twilight said, her tone conveying her relief, “I guess I’ll talk to him after our little… slumber party?”

“Well, if you would be more comfortable, I could always move in to that room with you. If you’d feel better at night.” Trixie suggested, before pausing as a thought ran through her head, making a smirk grow on her face, “Unless… You’re a fan of privacy. For, well, you know. Clopping and such.”

Twilight laughed and shook her head. That topic had been so frequent with Rarity and Rainbow Dash, she felt no embarrassment in it at all.

“I have a shower head.” She said simply cracking the same sly-smile as Trixie, as she leaned in to her ear, “Just twist the handle.”

Trixie couldn’t stop herself from laughing at the juvenile conversation the two had fallen in to so fast. Two years ago, she wouldn’t have dreamed of laughing at such a thing. But, she had changed in that time. And she was confident, that as her time in Ponyville began, so would a new chapter of her life.

And she knew… two years from now, she was going to be stronger, happier, and much wealthier when it came to her friends. She was happy that her eyes were opened two years ago to this kind of lifestyle. Because if she hadn’t been changed in that time… if she hadn’t rested on that bench… The old her would have taken full advantage of that amulet she had given Twilight.

But the new her- the one that was standing here with Twilight… She was good. And that single thought, made her just as happy as Twilight’s offer to move in.

She was good… And now, she was home.

////

An Overdue Invitation

////
An Overdue Invitation
////

Twilight looked at the ceiling in her room, completely unable to sleep, despite Trixie’s presence in the bedroom. She was still shaken, and there was no two ways about it. Sleep would come to her at some point. It had to. But until then… she would be a very tired, and likely irritable pony. All she could hope was that she wouldn’t be too hard on her friends.

Trixie yawned as she looked over her shoulder to the still-awake Twilight and frowned.

“No luck, hmm?” She asked as she stretched out in the bed next to Twilight, “I figured you’d have some trouble sleeping… Are you sure I shouldn’t just use a spell to knock you out?”

Twilight shook her head instantly, “I’d rather not rely on magic to fall asleep. I just need to get myself there.”

Trixie nodded, as she got herself up from the bed.

“Thank you for spending the morning in here though,” Twilight said earnestly, “I think I would have gone crazy by myself.”

“Well, if you ever need somepony to spend the night with you, just let me know.” Trixie offered happily, “Unless of course, you’ll be asking Alpha first.”

“Wha- N-no! I won’t be asking him in here!’ Twilight stammered embarrassedly, “He’s- I’m… Ugh…”

Twilight quickly gave up on her arguing when she looked at Trixie and realized the mare was giggling to herself.

“You’re totally in to him!” She chuckled, “He’s the first Changeling I’ve ever seen, and you’re in love with him!”

“I am- uh, Love? You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Twilight tried to fight again, as her face lit up in bright red, “He’s my friend!”

“Well… Then you won’t mind if Trixie- ahem, if I as him out for dinner tonight?” Trixie asked, her eyebrow raised at the shaking purple mare.

“Do whatever you want!” She said stubbornly, turning her face away and looking at the ceiling, “I have to finish some studying tonight anyway!”

“I’m only joking, Twilight.” Trixie exhaled, seeing that there was no more fun to be had here, “You needn’t upset yourself so much.”

Twilight exhaled and opened her mouth to respond, before a loud thud was heard next to her window, drawing the attention of the two mares.

“What was that?” Trixie asked, running to the window they had almost destroyed this morning, and peering out at the gray Pegasus lying on her back on the lawn, “If that your mail pony?”

Twilight joined her and checked.

“Yup.” Twilight nodded, knowing the mare instantly, “That’s Derpy. I thought she was traveling with that Doctor though… Hmm.”

Teleporting herself outside, next to the groaning mare, Twilight leaned down and inspected her. She seemed undamaged aside from a bump on her head.

“Hey Derpy, you okay?” She asked tilting her head, “Sounded like you really hit the tree right there!”

“Oh! Hey Twilight!” Derpy said happily, instantly forgetting her pain, “I have mail for you!”

“Well, I gathered that,” She laughed, lifting Derpy up by a spell, and placing her safely on her feet, “When did you start delivering mail again?”

“Today!” She said proudly, “In fact, I’m quitting again after you give you this!”

“Uh, okay?” She said, as the mare reached in to her saddlebag and grabbed a single letter, holding it out to the purple mare, “Thanks!”

Levitating the letter out of her mouth, Twilight opened it, and unfolded the enclosed parchment, reading it swiftly.

“Oh.” She said, her face showing her bewilderment at the sudden news.

“What is it?” Derpy asked, “Good news?”

“My brother is getting married in a few days… and he’s inviting me and all my friends.” She replied, reading over the letter again, before flipping it over to look for any more text, “Huh.”

“Wow! Isn’t that good news?” Derpy asked, confused that Twilight wasn’t happier.

“Well, of course! It’s just that… I was in Canterlot a few hours ago, and nopony told me a wedding was planned.” Twilight said, muttering the last bit to herself, “I guess they were just worried about me.”

“Wow! A wedding in Canterlot?” Derpy said, her mind wandering to the possibilities of her own future, “I wish I could see that!”

“Oh, well you can come if you like.” Twilight said, smiling to the mare, “It does say that all my friends are invited.”

“Really?!” She asked, her eyes wide open, and looking in different directions, “Can The Doctor come too?”

“Of course!” Twilight nodded, “You guys can catch up with Alex and Rainbow Dash.”

“I thought Alex was stuck in stone.” Derpy said, showing a large amount of confusion in her voice, “Are you saying that he’s free?!”

“You didn’t know?” Twilight asked, shocked that a stallion like The Doctor could miss a detail like that, “He’s been out for months!”

“I uh… have to go!” Derpy said quickly, back away, before asking one final question, “When is the wedding exactly?”

“Saturday night.” Twilight replied, before giving some additional numbers for Derpy to remember, “About fifty hours from now.”

“Got it!” She said, bowing quickly, before turning around, and taking off toward the Everfree Forest, “See you there!”

Losing her smile instantly, Twilight grumbled to herself as she reread the letter.

“How could Shining Armor neglect to tell me he was getting married?!” Twilight said out loud, “I knew he was dating Cadence, but I didn’t know they are about to get the knot tied!”

“Is everything alright?” Trixie asked, having finally made her way out of the house, “You don’t look… happy.”

“It’s just… I need to call all my friends over.” Twilight said, shaking her head, “Sorry, I just need to process this for a minute. After all, I haven’t slept yet today… just be in the library in an hour, I’m going too… ugh.”

“Just relax!” Trixie said worriedly, hoping that Twilight wasn’t getting too stressed over whatever this news was, “I’ll gather up everypony for you! Just take it easy. Talk to Alpha for a few minutes.”

Twilight would have argued with her again, but the offer was too good to pass up. She had no energy for any of this, and the help Trixie was offering might as well have been saving her life.

“Well, okay. Thanks.” Twilight said, making her gratefulness in an effort a little stronger than she truly was, “I’ll see you back here in a little bit.”

Trixie didn’t need to hear another word. She was gone, running off to the houses of the ponies she had once humiliated. This was going to be fun…

Twilight sighed as the mare ran away, turning around to the face front door, instantly seeing Alpha standing in his fake form, as to not scare anypony away. He looked concerned.

“Hey…” Twilight said softly, remorse flooding her brain after all she had said to him the night before, “Listen, about last night—“

“I’m sorry.” Alpha said quickly, knowing how wrong he had truly been, “I was just trying to protect you. But it was stupid of me to assume—“

“Shh.” She said, closing the distance to him, and placing a hoof on his lips, “You were protecting me from this… horrible pit I have in my stomach now. Now that I’ve had time to think about it… I kinda wish I didn’t know about it. Ignorance is bliss, right?”

He looked down at her hoof that was still against his mouth, and cocked an eyebrow with a smile.

“Oh,” She said, her eyes glazed over enough to tell him that she was truly exhausted, “Sorry.”

Shaking her head in an effort to wake herself up, Twilight pulled her arm back, and laughed awkwardly.

The silence that followed could only be described as charged, as the two simply looked in to one another’s eyes.

Alpha was the first to break the trance, as he took a small step back and cleared his throat. Something that Twilight immediately replicated.

“What’s in the letter you got?” Alpha asked, seeing the paper still floating next to her, “You looked pretty shocked when you opened it.”

“Oh… yeah!” Twilight said, levitating the letter in front of his face and opening it for him to read.

Scanning it quickly, Alpha got the gist, but didn’t understand what her issue with it was in the first place.

“Isn’t this good news?” Alpha asked, figuring that she would be ecstatic for this kind of news, “You told me that you and your brother were inseparable when you were younger.”

“That’s just it!” She said, walking past him in to the library, as he entered and closed the door, before returning to his normal form, “I thought we were close! But here I am, getting the news of his wedding two days before it happens?”

“Ah.” Alpha said, seeing how this might insult her, “But, I mean, I’m sure he has a good reason for leaving the news until now.”

“He’d better…” Twilight grumbled, as she sat down on the couch next to the kitchen, “I just… Maybe it’s this news, mixed with what I found out last night that’s making me feel so crazy.”

Sitting down next to her, Alpha gave her a sympathetic look.

“You do too much good to have to deal with all this crap.” Alpha said, as she laughed softly, scooting closer to him on the couch, “Why not let Discord be the one with all this weight on his shoulders?”

“Or Alex!” Twilight added, not-so-subtly moving closer to him again, “That guy seems to have all the luck.”

Clearly seeing her moving toward him, but knowing it would take her an hour to actually reach him, Alpha slid over to the mare, and wrapped his arm behind her shoulders. While she would normally be infinitely embarrassed by this, her small amount of movement since she woke up had trigged a massive amount of exhaustion in her. So, she did something she would never have done in any other circumstance.

Laying her head down on his chest, she exhaled and smiled.

She hadn’t felt truly felt safe with Trixie in her room.

She hadn’t felt as safe as she expected when she was visiting with the Princesses.

And, unsurprisingly, Discord didn’t leave her feeling too good either.

But, right here, with her head resting against the chest of Alpha… the ex-commander of the entire Changeling army... She felt like she could do anything.

And that included sleeping.

She was out in ten seconds flat.

////

“What was it we’re here for?” Alex asked for the millionth time as Trixie led the large group back to the library.

“Twilight has plenty to tell you, alright?” She huffed, truly disappointed at herself for hitting on him four years ago, “It’s not Trixie’s place to say anything.”

“Why are’ya using yer’ name like that every now an’ then?” Applejack asked, hearing Trixie refer to herself by her own name for the second time today.

“It’s just a force of habit, Applejack.” She exhaled, hating that she couldn’t just stop referring to herself like she did.

“Is Twilight okay?” Fluttershy spoke up, having been so far behind them, that she felt she could have missed some important information.

“We don’t know!” Spike said worriedly, as he walked close to his marefriend, “And I’d like some answers right now, Trixie!”

“Would you place just wait—“

“Spike, everypony, she’s trying her best to be respectful toward Twilight.” Rarity said sternly, looking at Trixie and winking quickly, “Please stop giving her such a hard time.”

“Hey Rarity!” Dash spoke up, “Were you feeling something weird in your horn last night?”

“I’m- um, not sure what you mean, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity said, suddenly coughing loudly, as Spike gave her a panicked look, “What ever do you mean?”

“I felt some tingling in my feathers from some magic!” Dash answered, shrugging at the blushing mare, “Maybe I’m just not used to all this magic business yet.”

“My Pinkie senses were going crazy!” Pinkie said, jumping up to the front of the group, “I’ve never vibrated that much in my whole life!”

“Look!” Trixie said, as they reached the entrance of the library, “I’m sure that all of your questions will be answered right away here, but before we go in, please don’t swarm Twilight, alright?”

“Is she sick?!” Fluttershy asked, suddenly very worried for the outcome of this trip.

“Did she die!?” Pinkie asked, gasping as she stood up and placed her hooves on her cheeks.

“No.” Trixie exhaled, wishing that they could take something seriously for more than two minutes at a time.

Using a simple spell, she unlocked and opened the door to the library, revealing the contents of the living room to all of the ponies, which included Twilight and Alpha cuddled on the couch asleep, her face buried in his chest.

“Is this what you asked us to come see?” Dash asked carefully, “Because, this is seriously—“

“Cute!” Pinkie and Rarity said at once, when they saw the two ponies cuddled up on the couch, “Thank you so much for bringing me to see this!”

“Me too!” Pinkie agreed, lost in the adorableness of the whole event, “I haven’t seen something this sweet in years!”

Trixie was about to correct them on what the situation was… But Twilight was asleep, and she needed to stay that way. So, she decided to fill them in on the details herself.

“Alright, well, you all need to clear your calendars for tomorrow night.” Trixie said, looking back to the group of ‘squee’ing’ friends, “Because you’re all going to a wedding.”

////

The 100% Canon Wedding

////
The 100% Canon Wedding
////

“Alright, well, you all need to clear your calendars for tomorrow night.” Trixie said, looking back to the group of ‘squee’ing’ friends, “Because you’re all going to a wedding.”

“Wedding?!” Pinkie asked, “Do you mean—“

“Oh!” Trixie said suddenly, looking at the watch that just so happened to be on her arm, “I have something to do! I’ll be back in a little bit!”

With that, Trixie vanished in a quick spell.

“So,” Alex whispered, scratching the back of his head, “They’re really getting married?”

“That’s what she said.” Applejack tilted her head, “Have they talked to ya’, Pinkie?”

“No!” Pinkie said in a hushed tone, suddenly offended that she hadn’t been asked to plan this magical occasion between the two ponies sleeping on the couch in front of them, “How could they leave me out of it?!”

“You’re offended?” Spike asked, as he pointed to his chest, “She’s my sister! And she didn’t say a word to me!”

“Nor I.” Rarity frowned, looking back to Fluttershy, who was shocked in her own silent way, “Still! I think we should all take it upon ourselves to show her that we still care about her!”

“Yeah!” Dash agreed, looking between Pinkie and Rarity, “Maybe we could throw her a saucy bachelorette party! I know some good… ahem, male entertainment.”

Alex frowned at her, “You had better be talking about me.”

“I have an idea!” Pinkie exclaimed in her quietest voice, ignoring them completely as she gathered everypony in to huddle, whispering commands to each of them slowly, and concisely, as she giggled with excitement over her plan, “Okay! Has everypony got it?!”

They all gave her their own acknowledgement.

“Wonderful.” She whispered, rubbing her hooves together manically, “This’ll teach them to leave me out of their wedding plans!”

“Why is Pinkie looking so evil?” Fluttershy asked as the screen quickly faded to back.

////

Twilight smiled as she inhaled slowly. Something smelt good. Like… a cake was being baked somewhere around her… But she was in the library, wasn’t she?

Alpha was along with Twilight, being woken by a sudden change in smell.

“Mmm…” Alpha mumbled, having not opened his eyes yet, “Something smells good!”

“Yeah…” Twilight agreed softly, as the two of them quickly remembered the position they were in.

Both snapped open their eyes, and looked to each other embarrassedly. It was a sweet moment that they both enjoyed immensely. However, Alpha noticed something very strange about Twilight.

“What are you wearing…?” Alpha asked, frowning at the long, elegant purple dress she was wearing, “it looks like you’re about to get married.”

“I was gonna say the same thing to you!” Twilight said, pulling back from his chest, “You’re wearing Alex’s white suit!”

“Yeah, sorry.” Alex spoke up, scaring the two of them, “Rarity had a black tuxedo, but you’re black already…”

“A-Alex?” Twilight asked, looking up from Alpha as she realized Alex wasn’t the only pony in the room with her, “What are you all doing here?!”

“Trixie told us everything.” Pinkie said sternly, standing behind an alter that was positioned in front of the entrance, “So we’re here to marry you guys, so you don’t have to stress about the real ceremony in a couple of days!”

Twilight scanned the room, and saw all of her close friends sitting in the room with her and Alpha.

Rarity and Fluttershy were crying like babies on each other, both moved by the incredible amount of love being shown by Twilight and Alpha at this moment. Spike

Alex and Dash were also savagely crying in to each other, deeply moved by the emotion Rarity and Fluttershy were showing them.

And at the very back, was a sobbing Spike, and additionally, a bawling Applejack.

“I think we all need to calm down for a second,” Alpha said, fidgeting with the his tight tuxedo, “Twilight and I aren’t—“

“Aren’t getting married today?!” Pinkie finished for him, “Wrong! Because if you try to leave us out again, we’ll all be really hurt!”

“I understand that, Pinkie.” Twilight said slowly, hoping to convey her seriousness, “But Alpha and I aren’t getting married in two days!”

“What?!” Pinkie gasped, as she narrowed her eyes at them, “Did you two already have another early ceremony, so you wouldn’t have to worry about the big one in Canterlot?!”

Rarity only sobbed louder, and Fluttershy joined in right behind her.

“What is so sad?!” Alpha asked them, shaking his head at them, “And there was no early ceremony!”

The ponies in the room acted like he hadn’t even said a word.

“I can’t believe Twilight beat us all to the alter!” Rainbow Dash cried, “Why would you get married so fast anyway? Just to beat us?”

“Maybe she got pregnant,” Alex sighed sadly, before his eyes filled with realization, “You’re pregnant!”

“Ohmygosh!” Pinkie gasped, as Spike stood up in the back of the room, “Is it twins?!”

“How could you not tell us about the twins, Twilight?” Spike demanded, standing up from his seat, “I object! Can I do that yet, Pinkie? Because I’m objecting!”

“No Spike!” Pinkie shouted over him, getting too involved with the volume in the room, “You object at the end!”

“Why don’t we just end this already?” Alpha shouted over them, as the room suddenly fell silent, leaving him feeling awkward for shouting.

“If you’re in such a rush to get to cake… fine!” Pinkie said, opening her books, “Do you, Twilight, take Alpha to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“Pinkie, I—“

“Ugh!” She groaned, “Alpha? Do you take Twilight to be your wife?!”

“Would you just listen to us?” Alpha shouted, “We are not—“

“Hey!” Pinkie said, her tone changing complet”Nely, “You two like cake, right?”

“Well, I know I do.” Alpha said with a big smile as he nodded.

“I definitely do!” Twilight also answered.

“Great!” Pinkie shouted, throwing a pile of cooked rice at Alpha’s face, “You’re married!”

“I missed my objection!” Spike shouted, as Twilight and Alpha looked to each other in panic.

“No!” Alpha said instantly, shocked that Pinkie’s ruse had worked on them both, “This is going to fast! Why would this happen to us?!”

“This is all Trixie’s fault!” Twilight shouted, shaking her hooves at the sky, cursing her new tenant, “How could she do this to us?!”

“Next time I see her, I’m going to change in to a mare so I can slap her!” Alpha added.

“Trixieeeeeeeeeeee!” They both shouted at once.

////

“Oh, and just to be clear!” Trixie said to Pinkie, shaking her head clear of those thoughts, “Twilight’s brother is getting married. Not her.”

“Uh… I figured.” Pinkie said in a ‘no duh’ tone, “Why? Did you think I’d do something like… throw an early wedding ceremony because she left us out of her main one?”

Trixie laughed both loudly, and terribly.

“What?” She said, still forcing her laughter, “Of course not! Why would I think that?”

“I’d kill for some bacon.” Alex added.

What a Crappy Brother!

Might be a few errors, I was exausted when writing this.

////
What a Crappy Brother!
////

Twilight impatiently tapped her hoof against the bottom of the train car as they headed toward Canterlot. A day had passed since she received the letter inviting her to the wedding of her older brother. The official plan was for her and her friends to help set up the wedding, and then make sure nothing at the wedding went awry.

Oh. Something was going to go awry alright.

Twilight was going to yell at her brother until he collapsed in a fit of tears begging for her for forgiveness.

Well… maybe nothing that bad. But she was going to give him a piece of her mind alright!

Along for the trip was quite a lot of ponies. All of whom had been invited because of their service to Canterlot in the past.

On the train with Twilight, were: Alex, Alpha, Apple Bloom, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Spike, Sweetie Belle, and Trixie. They were quite the bunch, considering two were children, one was a changeling, and one was a human.

“So…” Alex whispered to Trixie, carefully looked over his seat to Twilight, as she stared blankly out the window, “What exactly did you see in Twilight’s mind again?”

Trixie shuddered at the horrible memory. She had somewhat suppressed it over the last day, as she silently rejoiced that she was invited to her first ever wedding. But, now here Alex was, forcing it back in to her head.

“It was… horrible.” Trixie said, shaking her head to him, “It wasn’t natural.”

Alex squinted to her and tilted his head, “How is that? Twilight was so vague on the topic, that I couldn’t even compare it to my own experiences.”

“She filled me in on those experiences extensively.” Trixie said flatly, shaking her head seriously at him, “This is nothing like those.”

“You’ll need to be a little more specific.” Alex rolled his eyes, sick of running in circles with the mare, “What did she say? What did she do?!”

“You really want to know?” Trixie asked, her gaze unwavering as she blinked once.

Her look made Alex feel a bit of her fear over the topic. But, he nodded regardless.

“She tried to burn out my ability to use magic.” Trixie said, her calm tone causing his pulse to quicken, “And she twitched. She twitched so much, and so hard, that her skin tore apart.”

Alex recoiled. What kind of dark side did Twilight have?

“She was right about to seriously hurt me, before… well… I used a spell that purified Twilight.” Trixie lied, not ready to share what she had seen with these ponies just yet, “I hope she’ll be okay for a little while.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Alex shook his head, “Our dark sides might act bad, but they’re still essentially us. So far everypony has had that same general experience.”

“Well, I don’t know about that, but Trix—I saw otherwise. That monster was nothing like Twilight.” Trixie said, looking over her chair to the purple mare who was still occupied with the outside world, “And I hope she can overcome it, just like the rest of you did.”

“She will.” Alex said confidently, “Not only does she have the strongest magic users in Equestria at her side, she has the best friends in Equestria with her too.”

“You consider yourself a strong magic user?” Trixie asked, unsure how modest he was on the subject, “I remember you using some spells the other night. But, the best?”

Alex laughed, he knew what she was getting at.

“To be honest, Trixie, I could be humble, and say that I’m just good, but it would be a lie.” Alex shrugged, as she raised an eyebrow.

“You’re better at magic than me?” She asked, feeling as if this were a matter of her own pride, “You do know who I am, right?”

Alex laughed, as his horn began to glow.

“You might know harmonious magic, and in a straight battle between us, I’m confident you’d beat me using that kind of magic.” Alex admitted, before his expression hardened and he smirked, “But when I combine chaos with harmony, I mean… my options are limitless. I could blow up Canterlot with a sneeze, if I cast it right.”

“That magic is indeed powerful. However, I’d prefer that we be on even ground if we were to duel one another.” She said, as he gave her a defeated look.

“Well, if we were just using normal magic, I’d lose ten times over.” Alex said, shrugging, “My power is in chaos.”

“I didn’t say that we should only use harmonious magic.” Trixie shook her head, “I’d like you to teach me how to use chaotic magic, so that we could truly duel.”

Alex scratched his chin as he considered her request. He had never really taught anypony anything, aside from telling Rarity how to channel the magic.

“I don’t know if I’m cut out to be a teacher,” Alex said, looking back to Twilight, “She’s a much better teacher.”

“She can’t use the same magic as you, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.” Trixie said, biting her lip in frustration, “I need to learn from the best!”

Alex smiled at the complement she had paid him. Nopony had ever told him he was the best at this kind of thing. And the fact that it was coming from Trixie- well, made things feel about a billion times better.

“I’ll have to think about it.” Alex nodded suddenly, as she smiled in return, “At the very least, I can teach you how to channel the energy properly, so you can begin to cast the spells.”

“Thanks.” She said simply, as she relaxed back in her seat, “Trixie appreciates it.”

“Trixie?” Alex asked, trying not to chuckle at her slip-up, “You seriously need to work on that. You sound do rude when you reference yourself that way.”

“Well, you sound rude when you tell me I sound rude!” Trixie countered, huffing at the observation she had heard so many times, “It’s a miracle I don’t use it more, to be honest.”

”Next stop: Canterlot. Disembarkment will commence in five minutes.”

“Well, that’s my cue.” Alex said, standing up from his seat next to her, “Thanks for telling me about Twilight’s dark side. Whenever you’re ready to start training with chaotic magic, I’d be happy to help you out.”

“Thanks,” She nodded, as Alex turned around, and rejoined Rainbow Dash across the aisle.

“What were you two talking about?” Dash asked, her eyebrow raised, as she gave Trixie a quick glare, “Was she trying to seduce you?!”

“Don’t be that way, Dash.”

Alex shook his head to her, as he explained his and Trixie’s conversation back to her in great detail, scaring the cyan mare a great deal at the description of Twilight’s dark side.

“Ripped skin?” Dash asked, her face scrunched at the thought of her friend in such a state, “How is Trixie so calm about that?!”

“She was able to purify the dark side away for now,” Alex replied, filling in the blanks with his own head, “She probably feels safe with the ability to do that.”

The brakes on the train suddenly came to life, as the party arrived at their destination. The train rapidly decelerated, and within seconds had parked in front of the Canterlot terminal.

“I’ll grab our stuff,” Alex said, casting a spell and pulling their bags out of the overhead compartment, “Did we have anything else—“

Alex was cut off as Twilight briskly walked past him, bumping in to him slightly.

“Twilight?” Dash called, as the mare exited the train, “Geez, what’s up with her?”

Alex leaned past Dash and peered out the window at Twilight, as she stomped over to her older Brother Shining Armor. He laughed as it all made sense.

“He’s about to get yelled at.” Alex laughed, sitting down in Dash’s seat next to the window, “This’ll be fun to watch!”

////

“Well I—“ Shining Armor began, before Twilight cut him off immediately.

“And you thought you could just tell me the day before, huh?” Twilight continued, unaware that none of her friends had exited the train yet, and had instead opted to watch the scene from their windows, “You promised me that you’d keep in touch!”

“I know that! But—“

“Especially because you’re engaged to Cadance!” Twilight ranted, now pacing back and forth in front of the captain of the royal guard, “I was promised that I’d get to help with every aspect of the wedding!”

“You are! You and your friends are going to—“

“But here you are! Telling your little sister two days before the big day!” Twilight said, her volume almost loud enough to be considered yelling, “Thank you SO much!”

Of course Shining Armor had had legitimate reasons why he hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her. It was mostly because Canterlot was currently under some of kind of threat that they had yet to substantiate, and he had been working around the clock to ensure that the city was as safe as possible with his protection spell.

“I’m sorry, Twilight.” Shining Armor said frankly, “But Canterlot has been threatened by an unknown party, and I’ve been working around the clock for weeks keeping the city protected.”

“Unknown party?” Twilight asked, her sour mood completely removed by the grim news, “So… why are you getting married then? Shouldn’t you wait?”

“Everypony in Canterlot has been so worried about what might be happening over the next few weeks, that we decided the wedding was the very thing they needed to keep their spirits high.” Shining explained articulately, as his sister’s expression softened further, “I only knew about this wedding three days ago. I told you as soon as all the details were finalized.”

“Oh…” Twilight said, bowing her head in embarrassment, “I didn’t know you were doing it for everypony in Canterlot.”

He flashed a warm smile, and suddenly embraced her, taking her off guard a tad.

“It’s okay.” He said, before pulling back from their hug, “I promise that you can spend the next day with Cadence, getting everything ready with your friends. Sorry again for being so slow to let you know.”

Twilight looked at the ground, embarrassed that she had blown up over almost nothing.

“Hey, kiddo.” He said, reaching his hoof forward and messing up her mane, “Don’t look so sad! Your brother is getting married tomorrow! I need you here to keep me grounded!”

“Yeah, well—“

“No excuses!” Shining Armor said, as he started gesturing to the ponies in the windows of the train to come outside, “Give me a smile! That’s your first official job as the best mare!”

“Best mare?!” Twilight asked, her eyes suddenly lit up, “You want me to be your best mare?!”

“Of course I do, Twily!” He said as he turned and faced the line of guards behind him, “Come on! I’ll show you and your friends to your room, then you can get to work with Cadence!”

After their short exchange, Twilight’s mood had done a one-eighty. Not only was she happy to be in Canterlot with her family, but she was excited to get to work with her friends, so they could build the best wedding Canterlot had ever seen.

Was this how Pinkie felt before she planned a big party?

Author's Note

So! Just in case any of you weren't aware, I'll be releasing a short oneshot clopfic between Alex and Dash tomorrow.

It'll be it's own story, and won't matter two shits to the main story, or canon whatsoever.

Make sure to follow me if you're interested in seeing it pop up when it gets approved.

Thanks!

Wedding Preparations

Sorry about errors, I've just been so busy these last few weeks with the holidays, that I've had no time to write, and I just got this one out of the way quickly.

////
Wedding Preparations
////

Trixie sat quietly in the room she had been provided by Princess Luna when she arrived in Canterlot for the wedding of Twilight’s brother. Everypony seemed to be busy working their best to prepare for the wedding. Each of them had been given a task suited to their unique abilities, with Fluttershy planning a bird singing chorus, Rarity designing the gowns for the wedding party, Pinkie planning the reception, and Applejack making the food that would be served.

Twilight, on the other hoof, had been asked to oversee everypony, and make sure everything went smoothly as possible. However, because of her minor lack of sleep issue, Alpha, in his earth pony form, volunteered to help her with some of the work. Everypony knew why he was really there, but the shy attitude they had toward each other was cute.

Beyond that, Alex and Rainbow Dash were asked to speak with Shining Armor regarding some of Canterlot’s safety concerns… She wasn’t too sure about that.

But now, here Trixie was, with nothing to do.

“I wish they would let me help…” She muttered to herself, standing up and approaching the window that overlooked the main hall of the castle, “Maybe Pinkie would let me help with some of the decorating. It has to be better than sitting in this boring room all day.”

////

“What do you think he wants to talk to us about?” Dash asked, looking over her shoulder to Alex, as he followed just behind her, “I mean, I haven’t even asked for my job back as a captain of the guard!”

“Maybe that’s what it’s about.” Alex said, doing his best to keep up with her surprisingly brisk pace, “He wants to put you back on the roster, and fill you in on this ‘unknown threat.’”

“I hope so.” Dash smiled, as they reached Shining’s office, just across the hall from her old placement.

Alex walked up to knock on the door, before he hears some laughing coming from the room.

“Oh, I think there’s somepony in there with him,” Alex said, as he turned around and faced the door with the plaque that read, ‘Captain Dash.’ “Wanna check out your old office?”

“Well,” Dash exhaled, her face clearly displaying a large amount of tension, “I think… I’d rather not. I spent most of my time in that room miserable. Like, seriously, I cried in that room more than any other place in my life.”

Alex looked at her sympathetically, “And it wouldn’t make it all better if we went in there, and just went nuts on the desk?”

Dash scrunched her face, and slowly shook her head, “I’m happy to mess around in most places. But that isn’t one of them.”

”Okay, got it.” Alex nodded, knowing that pursuing this would probably turn in to an argument, “But, it does look like Shining Armor is busy, I guess we can just—“

Alex was cut off as the door opened, and Princess Cadence stepped out of the office.

“Oh!” She said, suddenly finding herself face-to-face with Alex, “I… I didn’t see you there… Alex.”

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, laughing awkwardly at her strange expression.

“Just fine.” She said suddenly, looking him up and down slowly, “You look better since the last time I saw you.”

“Do I?” He asked, looking over his body quickly, “I look the same to me! White, and a little grey.”

“The crystal empire was a pretty long time ago,” Dash cut in, feeling a little left out of the conversation, “You could have changed a little since then.”

“Yes,” She nodded slowly, as she began to walk beyond the two ponies, “Things really have changed since then. But we’ll have to catch up later. I have to check on your friends.”

“Alright.” Dash nodded, as Cadence began to walk away, “Congratulations, by the way!”

She only hummed a ‘Mhmm’ as she headed down the hall, leaving the two of them.

“Is something up with her?” Dash asked quietly, as Alex gazed on…

“Are you looking at her ass?” Dash shouted almost silently, “In front of your fiancé?”

“Huh?” Alex asked, shaking his head, “Sorry, what?”

“You’re unbelievable,” Dash sighed, not taking any real offense to his ogling, “If I weren’t as cool as I am, I’d be insulted!”

“Sorry,” Alex said, rubbing his eyes, “I guess I did look a little bit too much. Maybe it’s that whole ‘Princess of Love’ thing.”

“Maybe.” Dash said simply, trying to convey a hint of anger, whilst secretly wishing she could have gotten a better look at the butt, “Anyway…”

Reaching up, Dash knocked on the door, and was instantly responded to with a ‘come in!’

Opening the door, Shining smiled as he made eye contact with Dash.

“It’s good to see you again, Captain.” He said, walking around his desk and saluting to the mare in front of him.

“Captain?” Dash asked, looking briefly to Alex before returning to Shining Armor, “Is that why you called me down here?”

Shining Armor nodded.

“When news spread that you quit, I was a little curious myself,” He explained, looking over her shoulder to the office across the hall from his, “You sounded pretty happy to be keeping the job in Ponville.”

“Well, yeah… but there was the whole ‘dark side’ thing I had to deal with,” Dash explained, as he nodded along in understanding, “But, as of a few days ago, I’m no longer influenced by that side of myself. So, I’d like to—If it were okay, that is, I’d like to formally request my reinstatement.”

“Well, usually I’d have to go through countless hours of evaluation to decide if you’re ready to take back that kind of responsibility.” He smirked, “But, seeing as I’m going on my honeymoon tomorrow night, I simply won’t have time to jump through those hoops. So, at this point in time, you can consider yourself reinstated.”

“Thank you!” She said, frowning deeply in an effort to keep any tears of hers from leaking out, as she stood at attention, and saluted him, “I will not let anypony down!”

“At ease, soldier,” He said, as he extended his hoof, which Dash quickly took and shook, “It’s good to have you back.”

“You bet it is!” She said, pulling away from his hoof, “Because now I don’t have to treat you like a superior!”

“And you can boss around the guard too.” Shining pointed out, “If I ever forget a date with Cadence, I can just order them to act like something massive happened.”

“My favorite kind of corruption!” Dash laughed, “I’ll have to remember that the next time I don’t want to get busy with Alex! I’ll order a guard to do it for me!”

Alex pursed his lips.

////

“Hang these up!” Pinkie said next as she dropped a pile of streamers on Trixie’s back, “Where the walls meet the ceiling!”

“Sure thing,” She said, levitating a small wad of sticky tack up next to her, as she headed to the far end of the main hall, and began sticking the ribbons in the same pattern Pinkie had done on the other side.

Trixie was barely aware when Cadence made her way inside the room.

“So!” Pinkie asked, stopping her decorating for a moment, “What do you think of the setup so far?”

Cadence scoffed as she looked around in the incredibly child-like atmosphere Pinkie had made for her.

“Yes! This party seems like it’d be great!” She said, her voice seething with sarcasm, “I’m sure five year-olds just love your parties.”

Hearing the tone, Trixie looked behind her at the two on the other side of the room.

“They sure do!” Pinkie nodded, “I’m modeling this party after one I did a few weeks ago at the elementary school in Ponyville!”

“Of course you are.” She growled quietly, as she briefly looked to Trixie, “Do you have permission to be in here?”

“M-me?” Trixie asked, looking to either side of her for somepony else that Cadence may have been talking to, “I think so!”

Walking directly toward the blue mare, Cadence looked like she had fire in her eyes. It was the kind of fire that made Trixie think she was about to be yelled at.

But, before Cadence could make the rest of the distance, Trixie froze her with a curious look that suddenly appeared on her face.

“What kind of magic are you using?” Trixie asked, as the pink mares eyes widened, “You feel… strange.”

Deciding that she needed to feel the magic at a closer range, Trixie started approaching Cadence herself, as the Princess of love did just the opposite, as she started to back up, step for step with Trixie.

“Would you stand still?” Trixie demanded, not happy with the mare running away from her, “There might be something wrong!”

“Stop!” Cadence shouted suddenly, as she looked back to Pinkie briefly, who was also staring at her, “I-I will not be approached by a commoner in such an aggressive fashion!”

“Aggressive?” Trixie asked, having come to a complete stop at this point, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it!”

“I’m afraid that I have to ask you to return to your room!” Cadence said quickly, “You’re not on the approved list of workers, so you won’t be allowed in here until after the wedding.”

Trixie opened her mouth to protest, but was instantly shut down.

“I won’t hear another word of it! Guards! Please show this mare to her room, and make sure she stays there.”

With that, Cadence was gone as fast as anypony could blink, and she was replaced with two guards, both of whom were giving Trixie an apologetic look.

“Sorry ma’am.” One said, as he stood next to her, “We’ll escort you from here.”

Trixie was dumbfounded. One minute, she was helping set up the reception for the wedding, and next, she was being taken to her room, where she was supposed to stay.

Walking with the two past Pinkie, Trixie called some words to the pink mare.

“Could you send Twilight my way next time you see her?” Trixie called, as she stepped in to the entrance.

“Okie Dokie!” Pinkie said, her tone stuck between happy, and worried, “I’ll send her to you as soon as she comes by!”

Trixie didn’t get a chance to say anything else, as the doors were closed, and she was ushered back toward her wing of the castle.

She only got one more glance at the princess, who was happily watching the mare be taken away from her friends.

“I’m going to need to look in to this…” Trixie said under her breath, as she continued on her trip to her room, “She felt so strange…”

Ignorance is Sleepiness

////
Ignorance is Sleepiness
////

Trixie paced in her room angrily as she patiently waited for Twilight to come see her. She had been positively fuming since Cadence had sent her to her room, and there was nothing she wanted to do more, than to voice every complaint she had to her new friend. And by Celestia, she would listen! Nopony treated the Great and Powerful Trixie like this! Not even a Princess!

Her exasperation was put on pause as the knock she had been waiting for finally came.

“Come in!” Trixie said, hiding her anger expertly as Twilight entered the room with a relieved expression.

“Thank goodness,” Twilight exhaled, dramatically collapsing on the couch next to the door, “I’ve been working my rump off, and haven’t had a chance to sit down in hours.”

“Twilight, are you okay? You look like you’re about to die!” Trixie said, leaving her anger temporarily behind as she joined her friend.

“I feel like it!” She chuckled lightly, “As she dropped her clipboard on the table next to her. So, why did you want to talk to me?”

Trixie’s eyes opened up as her fury slowly crept back in to her head.

“That’s right!” Trixie said, her cheeks burning red at what she considered to be the embarrassing moment, “Princess Cadence has confined me to this room!”

Twilight looked over to her from the couch with a surprised gaze, as the strange news shot some adrenaline in to her, bringing her back to the waking world completely, “She did what?”

“Well, I was helping Pinkie set up the reception downstairs, when the Princess came in to the main hall,” Trixie explained, keeping herself from ranting, “And she started barking all sorts of orders, and being so- so rude! And then out of nowhere, she tells me to stay in here! I had to be escorted by the guard!”

“Are you sure that was Cadence?” Twilight asked, recoiling slightly at the news, “That doesn’t sound like her, like, at all.”

“I know!” Trixie said, recalling very good things she had heard about the princess in the past, “Maybe it had something to do with that spell she was using.”

“Spell?” Twilight asked, looking back at the ceiling and blinking slowly, “What kind of spell was it?”

“I don’t know.” Trixie shook her head, “I tried to get a better read on it, but she forced me away too quickly.”

Twilight wanted to be more interested in what Trixie was saying, but she was still several hours behind in her sleeping, and it was leading her to a much more apathetic state. It simply took too much energy for her to be truly concerned with the problems that were arising.

“So, can you help me get out of here?” Trixie asked, as Twilight was snapped back to her friend, “I’ll go stir crazy long before we go back to Ponyville.”

Twilight exhaled, as she looked sympathetically to Trixie, “I’ll talk to her for you. I guess she has seemed a little bit off since I got here. I’ve just been too tired to care.”

Twilight laughed at her own comment, as she closed her eyes, and felt herself begin to drift, “Wake me up in fifteen minutes, alright?”

“Sure.” Trixie said, knowing that Twilight’s rest was more important than her own imprisonment, “I’ll get you up in a little bit.”

Twilight didn’t reply, as she rolled over and officially zonked out.

Trixie looked outside once again at the bustling town below her. Hopefully this was just a big misunderstanding, because she really didn’t want to deal with some other catastrophe. All she wanted was a break. Is that too much to ask?

////

Alpha walked down one of the many hallways in Canterlot Castle, as he looked for Princess Luna, so he could ask her about some of the ponies on the guest list. However, she was absolutely nowhere to be found. So, spotting one of the night guardsmen, Alpha decided to ask for directions, despite every male instinct telling him to do otherwise.

“Excuse me!” Alpha said, walking up to the guard, “Have you seen your princess?”

The guard looked at him, and gave him a funny gaze.

“Who are you?” He asked suddenly, continuing his visual sweep of the transformed changeling, “What is your business with her?”

“I’m Alpha.” He said, figuring that the guard would have been briefed on his presence, “I’m with Twilight Sparkle, for the wedding?”

“Alpha!” The guard said in a rather excited, but hushed tone, “I thought it had to be you! I could feel your spell covering your real body.”

Alpha pulled back as his heart stopped for a moment.

That guard… he wasn’t who he appeared to be. Come to think of it, Alpha felt an odd disturbance with the stallion as well.

“You’re… a changeling?” Alpha asked, exhaling as he spoke, trying his best to keep himself silent, “What are you doing here?!”

“You didn’t know?” He asked, looking over his shoulder for any sign of somepony that would make them, “The second wave of the Canterlot invasion has finally begun!”

“Begun? I thought the first phase was a failure!” Alpha recalled, remembering how the last time the changelings tried to take Canterlot, Alex stopped them single-hoofedly.

“Not at all!” He shook his head, “The queen assured us that you were in place here to ensure a smooth takeover.”

Alpha didn’t respond, as he too looked over his shoulder for any sign of anypony else.

“I wasn’t sure if you were briefed on that fact, and had to make sure.” Alpha finally said, his voice dropping slightly as he approached the faux-soldier, “How many units do we have in the castle?”

“An entire battalion, sir.” The changeling said instantly, “When Celestia requested reinforcements from Manehattan, we overtook the train they were using, and took their place.”

Alpha gave him a sideways look, “Wasn’t that one of my old—“

“Yes sir.” The guard nodded quickly, “The queen asked that several of your personal tactics be used in this operation, to ensure success.”

“What other tactics are being employed?” He asked, recalling his usual business when it came to a changeling attack, “…is there a magic blocker?”

“Of course,” The changeling nodded excitedly, “It’s like taking candy from a baby with one of those babies!”

“What about the queen herself?” Alpha asked, unsure if this matter was worthy of her attention, “Is she on site?”

“She is, but Nopony knows where.” The guard responded, as Alpha gave a puzzled look, “She told us that she would reveal herself when the time came. If one of us were to be captured, and forced to speak under a truth spell, they won’t have to worry about giving her up.”

“Smart thinking,” Alpha nodded, walking past the guard, and continuing on his path, “And… what would the plan be, if we were to be compromised?”

“We outnumber the guards here two to one. We’ll take the castle by force.” He explained.

“Why not just do that now?” Alpha continued, figuring that he already knew the answer, but knew there could be other possibilities, “Why not just… take over the entire thing?”

“Well, Chrysalis plans on neutralizing several threats herself before we make our move.” The guard happily answered, his excitement not being hidden whatsoever, “then there’ll be less resistance when we finally take over.”

“I thought so.” Alpha nodded, as he looked back to the soldier, “Were there any other orders related to me?”

“No sir.” He shook his head, “We were simply told to brief you, if we came in to contact.”

“Thank you… Gamma?” Alpha asked, unsure of this soldiers rank.

“Delta.” He replied, “But after tomorrow… who knows what any of us will be.”

Alpha nodded silently as he continued his walk down the hallway.

“Some of the guys are saying that you might even be named the new Omega.” The guard said simply, as Alpha stopped for a moment.

“Omega…” He muttered.

It was the highest rank that could be achieved by pony within the changeling army. It was only given to those that were so exceptional in their work, that they directly bettered the hive through their actions.

The rank itself was taken from Chrysalis’s great great grandfather, and the founder of the modern changeling army. His name was Omega, and to be put on the same level as him, was the greatest honor a changeling could receive.

“Omega?” Alpha asked, his tone rising once again, revealing a speck of hopefulness.

“It’s just ponies talking.” The guard responded, “But… who knows, right?”

Alpha didn’t say another word, as he headed away, and continued his search for Princess Luna.

He would need to act as natural as he could in the coming day, as letting anything slip, could lead to the failure of the main invasion plan.

And that was the last thing he wanted.

Missing in Action

////
Missing in Action
////

Twilight walked back in to the dormitory that Trixie had been housed in, happy that she had convinced Cadence to let her out. She really couldn’t blame the princess, she had been under so much stress, between the Crystal Kingdom, and the sudden wedding that had been forced on her by Luna and Celestia, Cadence was tried, and grumpy.

But, she apologized profusely when Twilight spoke to her, and instantly gave her permission to let Trixie out of her room.

“Trixie!” Twilight called, pounding on the door once again, “I talked to the princess! She that she wanted you to come out!”

There was no reply.

“Trixie?” Twilight called again, before opening the door, figuring she must have been in the shower, “I’m coming in!”

Walking inside, Twilight looked around for any sign of life, but after a twenty-second sweep of the room, she realized that her friend was nowhere to be found.

“Did she sneak out?” Twilight muttered, looking for any sign that she had left through the window, or perhaps some kind of spell. But, she found nothing.

Looking at the bed, Twilight noticed a small piece of paper sitting on the pillow.

Levitating it off, and unfolding it, she read the note aloud to herself.

“Dear Twilight, because I’ve upset the princess, I’ve decided to head back to Ponyville and spend the next few days brushing up on some new magic…” Twilight read, truly surprised that Trixie had taken this path, “Please apologize for me to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Trixie.”

Twilight frowned as she read it over once again.

“Hmm… well, if that’s what she wants to do.” Twilight said to herself as she folded the note and placed it on the table next to the bed, “I was going to talk to her about Alpha…”

Shrugging, she looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. The wedding was in just a little over an hour, and she still had to check with Rainbow Dash on the readiness of the Sonic Rainboom she had promised to the bride and groom.

With that thought, she was off again.

Work took her mind off the fool she had made of herself in front of Alpha earlier. So, that’s exactly what she was going to do!

////

Alex and Dash stood just outside the protective barrier surrounding Canterlot, as she flexed her wings in anticipation of her spectacular test run, while he watched on from a short, and safe distance away. When asked if they would be safe outside of the shield, Alex demonstrated his magical ability by covering his arms in flame, and shooting some sharp blades of fire at the big purple bubble.

They were promptly let outside.

“Are you sure you didn’t need to practice this at all?” Alex asked, as she rolled her eyes at him, “I mean, it’s a pretty tough thing to pull off.”

“Alex, I can do a sonic rainboom flying backwards, with my eyes closed!” She said triumphantly, as she cracked her neck for the fifteenth time.

“Okay, well, first, I don’t think closing your eyes would make a sonic rainboom any more difficult,” Alex replied, a flat frown across his face, “And second, you’ve been stretching, and cracking your neck for the last half hour. Are you scared?”

“Excuse me?!” She retorted instantly, her face almost betraying her hidden anxiety, “I-I’m just trying to conserve my energy for the big moment!”

Alex only gave her a small smile, which did nothing for her courage.

“Look, I know you. And whether or not you’re afraid… You can do it.” Alex said, rather sappily, as he tilted his head, “You are literally the greatest flier Equestria has ever seen. Not figuratively. And just because you haven’t done it in a while, doesn’t mean you should be scared.”

Dash’s first instinct was to argue, and deny her fears. But… she was a little past that point in her life. So, she only closed her mouth, and looked at him with big eyes.

“Come on, babe.” Alex winked, as she exhaled and looked at the sky.

“Okay…” She said, lowering herself closer to the ground, “I’m going to do this. I’m going to do this…”

Running forward, Dash took off in to the sky, and started to do a large loop, looking to position herself to just above the castle.

“Alex?” Twilight said, walking toward him from the front entrance, “Have you seen Rainbow Dash?”

Alex didn’t answer, he just pointed to the rainbow streak flying through the sky.

“Oh! Perfect.” She said, watching happily, as Dash accelerated toward the top of the barrier.

Dash fought the strong, changing winds that were always felt at these elevations, as she moved faster and faster toward her goal. It had been a pretty long time since she had reached rainboom speed… But as she moved faster, and faster, her confidence grew. This wasn’t going to be hard at all.

Both Alex and Twilight beamed at the blue mare exceeded her needed speed, just above the top of the purple bubble, and sent out a multicolored beam of light in every direction around her.

“Nice!” Twilight shouted up to her friend, as the mare saluted back to her.

“She’s been stressing the last thirty seconds for the past day.” Alex laughed, as he looked from his fiancé to Twilight, “And she does it in under a minute, with no hiccups.”

“She’s good at what she does.” Twilight nodded, as she noted the train tracks next to the blacked off entrance, “Um… Has a train gone by in the last hour or two?”

“I… Don’t think so.” Alex shook his head, as he gave her a confused look at the sudden question, “I’m sure I would have heard it.”

“Hmm.” Twilight said simply, looking toward the station in the town, “Maybe I should go check there…”

“What’s up?” Alex asked, as another rainboom went off in the sky, something he figured Dash would be doing multiple times until the wedding itself, “Who’s at the train station?”

“Well, Trixie got confined to her room by Cadence, so she decided to head back to Ponyville,” Twilight explained, “But, I talked to the Princess, and she said Trixie could come out. I guess she’s just a little grumpy from all the tension over the last couple of days.”

“Cadence did that?” Alex asked, frowning, “She didn’t seem all that grumpy when I ran in to her.”

“No? She must have just been caught off guard,” Twilight dismissed, “Anyway, I’ll see you guys at the ceremony.”

“Sure thing.” Alex nodded, as Twilight headed back toward the castle, “Tell Dash she looks great up there for me!”

Alex nodded before turning back to watching his marefriend.

Twilight hurried inside. Trixie wouldn’t have been able to teleport home with that barrier around the castle… And if Alex hadn’t seen a train, that meant she would have to be at the platform.

“I can still catch her.”

////

“Ugh…” Trixie muttered, her body screaming at her from the drop she had suffered from the ceiling of this… cave network, “Where am I? What happened?”

Looking around, Trixie found herself in some kind of cavern filled with reflective crystals. It was the kind of place Rarity and Spike would have drooled over… for different reasons.

“You’re in the catacombs underneath Canterlot Castle,” A voice answered, as Trixie jumped up fear, instantly backing in to a wall, “W-who’s there?!”

A pink alicorn stepped out from the shadows, and revealed herself to the scared mare, “I’m Princess Cadence. The real Princess Cadence.”

“Why are you down here?” Trixie asked, her nose crinkling at the state she was currently in, “And what do you mean by… real?”

“A changeling put me down here, and took my form,” Cadence explained, feeling a myriad of emotions at the sudden company she had been given, “S-she’s going to marry Shining Armor, and take over Canterlot!”

“Changelings?!” Trixie said, as everything came back to her, “Alpha… He-he…!”

Shaking her head, she decided to skip this thought for a moment. The princess was obviously in distress, and she didn’t need to exacerbate that condition.

Trixie sighed as she looked at the ground, “Well, don’t worry yourself. I’ll have us out of here in just a moment, I’m quite gifted in magic, I’ll have you know.”

“Actually, you can’t cast anythin—“

“Why can’t I cast anything?!” Trixie shouted, upon realizing that her magic wasn’t channeling to her horn properly, “Trixie does not like being an earth pony!”

Cadence flinched at the sudden outburst from what could have been a completely insane mare. She truly had no idea.

“The Changelings have some kind of magic barrier down here keeping us from using magic,” Cadence explained, “I’ve tried several spells. Nothing works.”

Trixie frowned deeply. She couldn’t just ‘magic’ her way out of this situation…

She truly was an earth pony.

“Well,” Trixie began, seeing a small crack in the wall, “Let’s try to smash some of this crystal, and find a way out of here… Trixie is feeling really naked right now.”

Cadence wasn’t sure if she could trust the semi-crazy mare, but she simply didn’t have a choice at this point, if she wanted to try and save Shining Armor.

And if they had magic cancelling all the way down here in these caves, it made her really worry about what they had up top.

////

Nothing Suspected

////
Nothing Suspected
////

“Well, I’m glad to hear that, Discord.” Alpha said, having just gone over what the god of chaos would be doing during the ceremony, which was due to start in a few minutes, “The last thing Cadence wants is a big show.”

“She’s already made her expectations very clear. No magic!” Discord frowned, clearly not too happy with the rules he had been forced to follow, “You needn’t remind me. I’ll be on my best behavior!”

“I’m glad to hear it, and… sorry about the nagging,” Alpha said, before pausing for a moment, “What’s all this business with the castle being threatened? Should I be worried about anything?”

“I have no idea what’s been going on with all of that,” Discord shrugged, clearly disinterested in the topic, “All I know is that everypony’s been so stressed about it, that I’ve had zero fun over the past few weeks!”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Alpha chuckled, secretly rejoicing that he wasn’t on high alert, “Well, I need to get to the main hall for the ceremony. I’ll see you down there.”

Walking past him, Alpha gave him a friendly pat where his feathers met his scales, separating his middle from his bottom third.

“Hopefully it’ll be over and done with, so I can finally get back to enjoying myself!” Discord said, completely unaware that he had just been tagged with one of Alpha’s magic cancelling devices, “Have fun running more errands for the demanding princess.”

“I’m used to it,” Alpha responded passingly, before stopping and looking over his shoulder, “I do live with Twilight after all.”

Discord laughed at the rude humor, as he gave the changeling a nod of approval, “We should spend more time together, Alpha. We have so much in common!”

Alpha only laughed as he walked away.

“I’ll come visit when all this is over! Maybe spend some time with Twixie too!” He called, again laughing at his intentional mispronunciation of the name, “Oh Discord, why can’t everypony have your sense of humor?”

////

Twilight stood next to Princess Celestia in the main hall, lost in her own world, as she stared at the floor. It was clear to anypony that looked her way that she was extremely troubled.

Her teacher had been involved in a conversation with a dignitary from the zebra nation when she first noticed it, and decided that she should excuse herself, for her student’s sake.

“My, how the time has passed by me today… The wedding will be starting soon, Ms. Prime Minister,” Celestia said politely, as she gestured for one of her ushers to join her, “Let my staff show you to your seat. We can continue our discussion after the reception.”

The zebra only nodded politely, as she turned and followed the stallion as he showed her to her chair on the floor.

Turning away from the dignitary, Celestia gave Twilight a soft bump with the side of her head, “Are you alright, my student?”

“Oh, Princess! …I’m- I’m sorry.” Twilight apologized, as Celestia gave her a confused, but amused look.

“Whatever do you have to apologize for?” She asked, her concern growing as Twilight continued to avoid eye contact, “Has something happened?”

“Oh, well, it’s nothing you need to concern yourself with.” Twilight shook her head, trying to quell any fear she might be creating in her teacher.

“Twilight, if something worries you, then it worries me too.” She said softly, placing her hoof on Twilight’s chin, and lifting her face so their gazes would meet, “You shouldn’t be so upset on your brother’s wedding day. Are you sure you want to keep this to yourself? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, however.”

Twilight opened her mouth for a moment, as she considered how Celestia would take what she had to say.

“I... told Alpha that I’d like to get closer to him,” Twilight finally blurted out, as Celestia’s soft expression remained unwavering, “And he shot me down.”

Celestia’s soft smile grew a fraction of an inch, as she silently pitied her student for her first failure in the school of love.

“You know Twilight,” Celestia began, thinking back to her own experiences in this department, “Over a thousand years ago, before I was ever a princess… I cared for a colt named Red.”

Twilight listened silently, extremely interested in this particular topic.

“He was chased after by every girl in town,” Celestia smiled, remembering how hard it was to even get a minute alone with him, “But, somehow, he chose me over all of the other girls. Even Luna.”

“You and Luna fought over guys?!” Twilight asked, a smile finally growing on her face at the strange thought.

“We did.” Celestia nodded, before continuing in her reminiscence, “But, Luna was much more mature than me in those days. He liked that I was so carefree, and loose.”

“Loose?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow and stifling a smirk.

“Oh, hush. You know what I meant.” Celestia giggled, having not considered her use of the word, “So over the course of a few months, I began to see him in secret… at his insistence. Because, well, He was confident those other girls in town would beat me up if they knew about us.”

Twilight moved past that odd comment, more concerned with where this story was going to take it’s sharp turn, “So, what happened to him?”

“Well, shortly after we started seeing one another, our town was hit with a terrible swarm of parasprites, courtesy of Discord.” Celestia explained, her expression darkening for a moment at the thought, “It was after they destroyed half of our town, that Luna and I decided that we needed to remove him from power.”

Twilight listened silently.

“But, that’s not what we’re talking about,” Celestia shook her head, thinking back to Red, “So, after the storm, and Luna and I decided to go after Discord, I asked Red to come with us. I was completely confident that he’d head out with us. I mean, I had given him everything a mare could give a stallion.”

“But he didn’t.” Twilight guessed, as Celestia nodded once.

“Well, it turned out, that I wasn’t the only mare he had been seeing in secret,” Celestia explained as Twilight gasped quietly, “He told me that I was crazy to go after Discord, and that our ‘connection’ was nothing more than me being a needy mare.”

Twilight winced at the story, as Celestia gave her a reassuring smile.

“Don’t feel bad, I’ve gotten over it.” Celestia chuckled, “But, let me tell you, I was feeling pretty terrible at that moment. And I’m sure it’s along the lines of how you’re feeling right now.”

Twilight was silent for a moment, before she looked gave Celestia a confused look, “So, why did you tell me all this?”

“Because, Twilight.” Celestia began, as she looked to her left to all of the ponies seated, waiting for the ceremony to begin, “I’m the goddess of Equestria. The being everypony looks up to, as some kind of beacon of virtue. But, the truth is, I’m a mare, that’s had her heart broken, just like any other pony in the world.”

Twilight nodded, now understanding the point of the story.

“Everypony has some measure of heartbreak in their repertoire,” Celestia said, smiling to her student once again, “We’re defined by every experience in life, negative or positive. This is just a stepping stone to you becoming great.”

Twilight shook her head, and looked away from Celestia, “How do you always manage to be so… wise?”

“A thousand years will give you plenty of experience.” Celestia laughed, as the music on the piano began to play, signaling the beginning of the ceremony, “But, if you’d like to talk about something a little more specific to Alpha, than… well, what I just said, feel free to find me after the reception, and we can work through the individual feelings you’re experiencing.”

The two walked over to the altar, and joined the rest of Twilight’s friends, as they waited for the seating to finish.

“Thank you Princess,” She said, planning on taking her up on that offer, before another thought popped in to her head, “What happened to Red after the truth came out about him and all those other mares?”

“Well, let’s just say that he had to stop calling himself ‘Red,’ and start calling himself ‘Hot Pink.’” Celestia whispered, still finding Luna’s reaction to his cheating on her hilarious, “Besides. I came out on top anyway.”

“How’s that?” Twilight asked quietly.

“I’m not dead right now.” She answered simply, with a sharp edge on her on her tone.

Twilight frowned instantly, as Celestia cracked up.

“Oh, don’t be so serious!” Celestia laughed, as Twilight’s expression softened a bit, “It’s just a joke!”

“What’s Celestia laughing at?” Dash asked Applejack across the aisle, as the farm mare gave her a shrug.

They instantly silenced as Shining Armor approached the altar, and stood between the two groups, obviously anxious at what was going to happening in a few minutes.

The group of friends has been split up somewhat, as Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie stood on the side of the bride, while Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Alex stood across from them.

It was a bit of a surprise when they all found out how close Shining Armor and Rainbow Dash had been during her time as a Captain in the guard. Apparently, he had been a shoulder for her to cry on. But was strictly nothing more. They both emphasized that to their respective lovers.

“Good luck!” Dash whispered to the groom, as he looked back to her and laced his hoof to his lips.

“Shh!” Shining Armor returned, before looking back and forth quickly and smiling, “Thanks though!”

She only laughed as he got back in to position, and waited for the doors to open.

“Didn’t Shining have other picks for his grooms-stallions?” Alex asked Dash, as she leaned back over to his ear.

“They were all transferred to the Crystal Kingdom when he began spending most of his time there,” Dash explained, “But this wedding was announced too late for them to make it, and be a part of this ceremony.”

“That sucks.” Alex muttered, as Dash shook her head to him with a positive look.

“They’re having a second ceremony in the Crystal Kingdom for the ponies there,” She explained, “Since Cadence is more or less the Queen of the empire, having her be unified with a king will be good for the stability of the region.”

“Geez,” Alex laughed, “You’re pretty serious about this stuff, huh?”

Their attention was pulled away from one another, as Alpha ran his way up the aisle and joined Alex at the grooms side of the wedding party.

“Sorry I’m late,” He muttered, raising his hoof, and patting Alex on the back, leaving behind his anti-magic device, “I wouldn’t want to miss all the fun.”

“You and I have very different definitions of fun,” Alex laughed, completely unaware of his lack of ability to use magic.

Alpha said nothing else, as he took his place at the bottom of the stairs, and looked around the room, at the various ponies he had already taken care of.

Alex, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Discord, Princess Luna, and Trixie had all been dealt with.

The only remaining pony with any measure of power was Celestia. Chrysalis changed her mind, and asked that her magic not be cut off. It would be a terrible blow to the overall morale of Equestria, if their beloved Princess were to be beaten by the leader of another nation.

The only pony who remained to be cut off was Twilight. He would take care of her when the moment came.

Suddenly, everypony’s gaze was pulled back, as the main doors opened, and revealed princess Cadence in her dress, a soft smile across her face.

The music began, and she walked down the aisle, humming an aria to herself.

The Truth Revealed

////
The Truth Revealed
////

Trixie furrowed her brow at the exceedingly long time it had taken for them to make any progress within the cave she and Princess Cadence were trapped in.

They had managed to escape the main room they were sealed in by throwing some large rocks at the crystal wall, and completely shattering it. They counted themselves lucky that they were able to get out so easily. From there, they noticed a shining light on the far side of the caverns. At first, they thought it would be ten minute walk to the end, tops. But, as it turned out, there were so many twists and turns, that it had taken hours to cross the rather small distance.

“How long have the two of you been seeing each other?” Trixie asked desperately, not wanting to princess to break down in tears once again.

“We started dating five years ago,” Cadence said, still in awe that so much time had passed, “But we didn’t get too serious until Princess Luna returned from the moon.”

“Why was that the cause?” Trixie asked, happy to keep the conversation rolling.

“Well, he spent a lot of time looking after her, and I guess she and I frequented many of the same places.” She explained, sniffing quickly to avoid her nose running from all the tears, “And, well, just look at him. I had to lock that down!”

“Chrysalis ignored that big time, didn’t she?” Trixie chuckled, before she heard the ‘squeak’ from Cadence, “Oh, Trix—uh, I apologize!”

“I’m just… I’m afraid that I’m going to lose him to her, when she just wants to use him!” Cadence said, her eyes closed as more tears made their way down her cheeks, “She won’t care for him, love him, or cherish him! I just, I love him so much…”

“I know.” Trixie said reassuringly, before seeing a minecart in front of them, “Oh! That might be our way out!”

Instantly looking in the direction, Cadence ran with Trixie to the stone filled cart sitting on the top of the massive chasm.

“Um. Maybe we should find another way aroun—“ Trixie began, before Cadence starting trying to push the cart, in an effort to get it moving.

“We can’t give up!” Cadence managed, through her labored huffs as she put all of her weight in to moving the obstacle, “He’ll end up marrying that- that fake!”

Exhaling, Trixie knew that for one of the first times in her life, she was going to need to be doing the bulk of the work here. She was helping a Princess, after all.

“Okay, well, if we’re going to ride the minecart, we need to get rid of these rocks!” Trixie said, gently pulling Cadence away from her fruitless endeavor, “Help me empty the cart, and clear the tracks!”

Instantly, the two set off in their task to speed up their escape. From what Trixie could see, as she cleared the way, the track spun downward several times, before heading off in the direction of the entrance. From there, she lost the track in the blackness of the cavern. So, best care scenario, they would pull right up next to the exit, and they could get to somepony that could help them, or, worst case, the track ends, and they fall a very very very long way.

During their trip, Trixie’s mind had been racing with thoughts of Alpha, and why on earth he had betrayed Twilight and her friends. There was no doubt in her mind that Alpha was crazy about Twilight. And it was clear that those feelings were returned. He would stay up at night and hold her while she thrashed in agony… He was just… hold her.

Trixie had a hard time admitting it, but she wished that somepony cared for her enough to do something like that.

Still, the fact that he had turned on them was truly a surprise, if not an understandable one.

“So, Twilight’s friend threw you down here, right?” Cadence asked, as she began clearing the boulders out of the cart itself, since the tracks were no longer obstructed, “The changeling?”

“Yeah…” Trixie said, before giving her an odd look, “I was just thinking about that. It’s weird that you mention it now.”

“You were thinking about the affection they share,” Cadence said, surprising Trixie with the accuracy of her guess, “Before you say anything- I could feel those thoughts. No magic blocking field could stop me from seeing all of that.”

“Wow.” Trixie said softly, having been unaware of that power Cadence held, “Um, but, yes. Alpha threw me down here. He told me that it was for his queen.”

“Such a shame,” Cadence shook her head, already feeling pity for Twilight, “She’ll be devastated when he reveals himself to be sided with the changelings once again. It must not have been an easy choice for him.”

“What do you mean, easy choice?” Trixie asked, figuring that he had simply sided with his kingdom, because it was his duty.

“When I saw him a few weeks ago on a trip Twilight took here, I could feel every ounce of affection pouring out of his body for her,” Cadence sighed, looking back to Trixie as they removed the last of the stones from the cart, “To betray somepony he cared so much for… It must have ripped him apart to do that to her.”

“If they succeed in taking over Canterlot, maybe Chrysalis will let him keep her.” Trixie said, shuddering at the strange thought.

“We won’t let that happen.” Cadence said, her voice suddenly dead serious, “Chrysalis isn’t expecting us, and we’re going to raise hell for her.”

“Then let’s get this cart going.” Trixie smiled, raising her roof to the Princess, and she was pulled in, and sat down behind her.

They sat there.

And they kept sitting.

“Um, maybe I should push,” She said, as she began to stand up.

“Oh no, let me!” Trixie said, figuring that she should probably be the one doing the bulk of the work.

However, the tight space left little room for the both of them to move at the same time, as they wound up collapsing on each other, and shaking the cart free from its rusted confines.

They looked at each other with wide eyes as they started rolling inch by inch, until, all at once, they hit the slant, and took off on the most vomit inducing trip either of them had ever been on. Screaming, they immediately righted themselves, and held on to each other for dear life, as they tried not to be affected by the constant spinning of the world around them.

“This is terrible!” Trixie screamed, tears forming in her eyes as they were rapidly dried out by the whipping wind past her face.

“Maybe I should have let Chrysalis have him!” Cadence shouted, trying to see where the track was going after they finished this downward spiral.

Trixie was doing the same, and was clearly the first one to see what came next for them.

“Oh no.” She said, as Cadence turned back to her and gave her a puzzled look, “The track isn’t finished!”

Whipping her head back to the track, she gasped at the rotted wood that was sitting above the end of their roller coaster, “Uh, you might want to hold on to me!”

Seeing as she was already doing that, Trixie didn’t have a problem following the instruction.

As soon as they came in to contact with the stop, they were both launched out of the minecart, and sent flying through the air.

Trixie, unfortunately, just didn’t have the grip on Cadence as the princess flaired her wings, and held their altitude as she glided them toward the ledge leading to the exit.

“P-princess!” Trixie called, as she slipped off of Cadence’s back, and felt gravity wrap it’s hand around her back legs, pulling her straight down in to the abyss.

“Trixie!” She shouted, as she crashed in to the hard stone ground, and tumbled over herself, away from the black pit below her. It only took her a moment to get back up and rush to the edge again, and look down for any sign of her companion, “Trixie!”

////

Trixie could barely make out her name being called as she fell to what she could only assume would be her death. It was interesting just how serine she felt at this time. She could have panicked… but what was the use in that?

“You’re not done here yet, Trixie.”

She inhaled sharply as she felt a pair of warm arms wrap around her neck.

”Fly.”

Trixie gasped as two magical wings grew out from her back, and instantly began flapping, spinning her around, and halting her drop completely.

“Aurora?” Trixie muttered, as she waited silently for a reply. But, none came.

“Trixie!” Cadence’s voice called once again, “P-please answer me!”

Looking at her wings, Trixie gave a small smile and started to beat them powerfully, and bring herself back up from the abyss.

After only a few seconds, she was back on the same level as Cadence, who was collapsed, sobbing on the ground.

“What are you doing?” Trixie shouted, trying to sound upset, as Cadence looked to the landed pony and instantly lost any sign of being upset, “Aren’t we saving Shining Armor?!”

“How did you get those?” Cadence asked, pointing to the fading wings on Trixie’s back, “I thought we couldn’t cast magic down here!”

“I’ll answer that later,” Trixie said, not wanting to sound completely insane, “Right now, we need to—“

“Need to… what?” A mare’s voice said from the entrance.

Cadence turned to face the mare, and was shocked to see her bridesmaids, all with burning green eyes, grinning wickedly at her, “What happened to you all?”

“They were brainwashed by the queen.” Trixie answered, having read extensively on the subject of Changeling mind control tactics they had used in the past, “They’re not your friends until we can break that spell on them.”

“Well... what can we do then?” She asked desperately, knowing that she could never get around them, nor could she hurt them.

“I remember reading that their minds are mostly present,” She explained, “So, if you can somehow convince, or fool them to get out of the way… They should get out of the way.”

Cadence thought back to the time she had spent with her bridesmaids, back before the wedding was even announced. She had just made a point of getting ready for it.

“You guys were right,” Cadence said suddenly, as each mare looked to her with tilted heads, “Those dresses do make your butts look big. I think we should change to the other dresses.”

Each one gasped, as they turned tail, and ran away from the Princess and Trixie, leaving them free to leave.

“I did it!” Cadence cheered, turning around and raising a hoof to Trixie with a bright smile.

“That was fast.” Trixie giggled back to her, before looking at the wings on her back as they began to fade, “But, we really should hurry to that ceremony.”

“Oh, right!” She said, her face lighting up, “I need to kick that Queen’s massive butt right out of Equestria!”

“And I need to kick Alpha in the side of his head for hurting Twilight!” Trixie agreed, as they both ran toward the exit, “They won’t stand a chance against us!”

////

Celestia beamed with delight, as she looked between Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, and finally reached the climax of the wedding.

“Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor,” She began, smiling brightly. “It is my pleasure, to announce the two of you, husband and wif—“

“Stop!” A voice cried, as the main doors were kicked open by none other than Trixie, and she stormed down the aisle, “That’s not Princess Cadence!” She said, pointing to the bride and growling, “She’s the changeling queen, Chrysalis!”

“H-how could you say something like that?” The fake Princess asked, her eyes widening, as she managed to force some tears to well, “And on my special day?!”

“It’s not your special day!” Princess Cadence said, stepping in behind Trixie, panting heavily, “You’ve taken my form, so that you could feed of Shining Armor’s love for me!”

The fake Cadence, growled at the turn of events, “How did you escape my prison? And get past my bridesmaids?! It doesn’t matter. I’ve already won!”

A circle of green fire instantly shot up around her, before it became a bright beam of energy that shot in to the ceiling, completely engulfing her.

Everypony watched in horror as the fake pieces of Cadence’s body were ripped and burned away, only to be replaced with a black coat, a thin pair of wings, and long green mane.

The magic around her exploded outward, as she stepped back on the ground, and laughed deeply to herself.

“Soldiers! Show yourselves!” She shouted, as every guard in the room went through a similar transformation, revealing themselves to be changelings as well.

“Oh my god.” Alex said under his breath, as he began to charge a spell, before speaking up to the room, “I think it’s time for everypony to pitch in here!”

And they did. Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Alex all stood in a line, ready to flatten the queen if she even made one wrong move.

Chrysalis whipped around to face him, as she shouted once again.

“Alpha! Disable their magic!” She called, as he stepped out of his place in line, and cast the activation spell.

Each of them instantly felt the energy completely drain of their bodies, as they were knocked on the ground by a strong gust of wind, also courtesy of Alpha.

“W-what are you doing?” Twilight asked, as she looked back to him with a face that could truly break a heart, “Alpha?”

“Yes, Alpha!” Chrysalis cackled, “What ever are you doing?”

He gave Twilight one long look, before shaking his head and closing his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

////

Queen Chrysalis

////
Queen Chrysalis
////

“I’m sorry,” Alpha said, as he passed the collapsed ponies, and joined his queen at the top of the stairs, as she looked over the room of panicking ponies, and chuckled to herself.

“I can’t begin to tell you all how good I feel right now.” She said, swaying her view back and forth across her terrified subjects, “To smell all of that affection coming off of them, and they look to their loved ones. Tell me, Alpha. How did you not feast on the emotions of these weak fools while you were here?”

“I was being fed plenty,” He said, gesturing toward Twilight with his head, as the queen laughed in response.

“You monster…” Cadence muttered, feeling truly terrible for her soon-to-be younger sister.

“The prized student of Princess Celestia herself, fell for nothing more than a fallacy!” She cackled, “I love it!”

“You think we won’t stop you?” Trixie asked, aggressively approaching the queen, as several of the changeling guards stepped in front of her, “And do you think I won’t flatten all of these guys!?”

True to her words, Trixie blasted the five guards with magic that would give Twilight a run for her money, sending them out the attached balcony, and knocking them over the rail.

Now she had the attention of the Queen.

“Why was she not disabled?” Chrysalis asked, as Trixie continued her rampage toward her and Alpha, “She needs to be stopped!”

Stepping forward, Alpha began stepping toward the enraged mare, as he begun to cast a spell.

“That is enough.” Princess Celestia said, approaching the changeling queen with a burning rage in her eyes, “You will take nothing from my subjects! And if you insist on trying, I will stop you.”

“Why don’t we watch the kids play, hmm?” Chrysalis asked cockily, as she turned and ignored Celestia to watch the fight that was about to take place.

“I trusted you!” Trixie shouted, as the power from her horn started swell out in preparation for what Alpha could only assume was a devastating blast of energy, “We all did!”

“I have a duty to my people!” Alpha shouted back, “You wouldn’t understand!”

“You have a duty to your friends!” She growled, closing the last bit of distance, “Trixie is going to make you very sorry!”

Suddenly jumping to the left, Alpha rushed to her from the side. Seeing his course change, Trixie pointed her attack toward him, and unleashed a truly terrifying blue blast of energy right at Alpha, with full intent to knock him out of this fight.

However, in a surprise move made by him, Alpha cast the spell he had been charging, and warped past Trixie, following the move up by grabbing a magic canceller out of his pocket, and slapping it on her rump. It was a movement that everypony assumed was just a perverted smack on the ass.

“What did you just—“ Trixie began, as she tried to cast another spell.

But, before she could finish the sentence, Alpha hit her with one more blast of magic, knocking her out cold on the floor, and masking his placement of the anti-magic device on her.

“Trixie!” Cadence shouted, running to the collapsed mare’s side, making sure she didn’t have any wounds that required attention.

“It looks like your subjects aren’t the best fighters.” Chrysalis chuckled, turning back to Celestia, “Such a shame.”

Beating her wings powerfully, Celestia took off from the floor, and pointed her horn down at the queen, “You have done enough damage to my kingdom, you have brought this upon yourself!”

Exhaling, Chrysalis felt every ounce of power drain from Shining Armor, as she sapped the affection he felt for Princess Cadence. There was truly a staggering amount. It had been so long since she had so much all to herself.

Celestia fired a beam of energy at Chrysalis, that was quickly countered by the queens own magic, as their attacks met perfectly in between them, sending sparks and bolts of energy out in random directions around them.

“I’ve seen this happen before…” Alex muttered, watching the attack from his place on the floor, “Those two are probably going to be shooting those beams at each other for three episodes!”

“Three episodes?” Twilight asked, giving him a simply lost look.

“It’d be called ‘Ponyball Z!’” He said, blinking rapidly.

Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash, as her friend shook her head rapidly at her.

Rainbow knew more than anypony that when Alex started mumbling about stupid stuff from his world, you just avoid eye contact, and he’ll peter out soon enough.

Celestia grunted to maintain the power she was outputting. Chrysalis not only had her tremendous power behind her, but she also had the magic of her guard’s Captain. It was something she knew she wouldn’t beat.

Chrysalis chuckled as her magic slowly started beating back Celestia’s, until it was only an inch away from the god of Equestria.

“So sorry you had to go out like this,” Chrysalis said, as she pushed out a tiny bit more power, sealing Celestia’s fate, “But I think this’ll be good for Equestria!”

As soon as the beam of magic met her horn, Celestia felt a massive pain shoot through her entire body, and lock up her wings, sending her right in to the ground with a truly horrifying crack, that echoed through the throne room.

“My power is even stronger than that of Celestia!” She announced, turning to face the entire room, “I am your god now!”

The morale of every pony in then room dropped at the sight of the single strongest pony in Equestria being utterly beaten by the leader of another nation.

Joining her at her side, Alpha looked to the guards who had finally made their way back to the throne room after their swift defeat at the hooves of Trixie.

“Take them all away.” Chrysalis said, sweeping her hoof over the room, before stopping on Alex and Rainbow Dash, “But leave me those two.”

“Of course.” Alpha nodded, as he and the guards began rounding up the powerless ponies in the center of the room, as Applejack, Rarity, Spike, Fluttershy, Cadence, and Pinkie tried to calm down the panicking wedding attendees, “We’ll be taking them all down to the crystal—“

Twilight, on the other hoof, was silent. And Alpha was all too aware of it.

Suddenly, the door burst open for the seventeenth time the day, and both Derpy, and The Doctor rushed inside the room.

“Alex!” The Doctor shouted quickly, “The Princess is a Change—“

He stopped.

He looked around the room.

“Oh! I think we’re at the wrong wedding!” He laughed nervously, stepping backward, “Um, so embarrassing! Sorry about that! We’ll just be going—”

“This is the right wedding, dumbo!” Derpy said, giving her toughest look to two changeling guards, who were remarkably far apart, “We’ve come to save the day!”

The queen looked them over. Neither of them were unicorns.

“Take them as well.” She announced, seeing no possible harm they could inflict.

“Well.” The Doctor exhaled, “That was a great resuce…”

“You were a little late.” Alex said, over the shoulders of the ponies being filed out.

“I got sidetracked with Derpy!” He called, as he was pushed down the hall with everypony else.

“Time and a place, Doctor!” He had to shout to ensure he was heard.

The doors slammed closed once again, as Alpha returned to the queen’s side.

Righting themselves, both Alex and Rainbow Dash turned to face Chrysalis, and the pony they once called their friend.

Seeing Alex’s gaze on her, Chrysalis smiled slowly and licked her lips. “I don’t think I could properly express how much I’ve missed you,” She said, walking toward him, and biting her lip slightly, “You and I had many good nights together.”

Dash exhaled so loudly, that the queen was drawn to her rage.

“What’s wrong? Are you upset that your boyfriend spent some time with a real mare?” She asked, looking back and forth between the two, “Because let me tell you, it was just as good for him, as it was for me.”

Alex was about to open his mouth, but was cut off by his fiancé.

“As if it was anything compared to what I give him!” She shot back, surprising all parties with the statement, “I don’t need to mind control anypony to get laid!”

Chrysalis quickly realized that this was a whole new battle. It wasn’t one of strength, and she wouldn’t call it one of mind either… It was a fight for dominance over the same man. And while she had every intention of removing this mare from the equation once her takeover was complete, she would enjoy winning this battle too.

Alex looked back and forth, and gulped audibly. This couldn’t end well.

“A mare who had been with one stallion in her whole life, is telling me how much better she is?” Chrysalis scoffed, “I’ve spent many years refining, and honing my technique! Just ask him!”

There it was.

“Alex!” Dash said instantly, turning to her panicking lover, “You tell me which of us is better! Right now!”

“Of course you, pookie!” Alex nodded rapidly, truly meaning that statement, but still afraid of the blowback.

“Of course you would say that!” Chrysalis retorted, walking closer to him, “He has to!”

“Oh give it up!” Dash laughed, shrugging her shoulders, “You were second pick! I mean, you basically raped him for months! I’m surprised he’s not depressed or something!”

“I did no such thing!” Chrysalis defended herself, “He enjoyed it!”

“No way!” Dash shot back, “Tell her Alex!”

Alex gulped, before looking to Alpha, who, despite the whole ‘take-over’ thing, still looked like he pitied him for being in the situation.

“W-well…” Alex stammered, looking to the floor and not daring look up, “I mean, like, let’s say that a super hot guy comes up to you, and says ‘if you don’t let me have sex with you, I’ll throw you in prison for the rest of your life. I mean, is that really rape?”

“Of course it is!” Dash shouted, irritated that he didn’t instantly agree with her, “Are you saying you enjoyed yourself?!”

“Just wait a second!” Alex said quickly, shaking his head as he backed away from his example for a moment, “Okay, let’s say this! That same hot guy comes up to you, and says ‘I’ll never let you see your loved ones again, unless you eat this delicious chocolate!’”

Dash’s mouth hung open in awe.

“But it’s wasn’t better than the chocolate that you normally eat!” Alex added quickly, “Like, its good chocolate he’s telling you to eat, and you haven’t had chocolate in a really long time! Not only that, but you’re having a really shitty time with life, and even though you’re being controlled by this evil guy, you’re secretly happy that he’s forcing you to eat this stuff, because it’s the only thing that keeps you going in your shitty, terrible life!”

Dash’s anger had evaporated at this point, as it became clear just what he had been though.

“A-and I swear, every time I ate that chocolate, I-I was thinking of the other brand that I couldn’t have!” Alex continued, his eyes now red, and his breathing ragged. It was clear that he was on the edge of tears.

At this point, both Chrysalis and Dash were on the same page. This debate didn’t need to have a winner.

“Take them to the auditorium, Alpha” Chrysalis said quietly, her fun over and done with, looking away from the obviously scarred pony and felt a slight stab in her chest, “There’s… no need to be rough.”

Alpha nodded quickly, as he cast a bubble around the two of them, “Follow me.”

Walking ahead of them, the bubble moved on its own, and they were forced to follow behind him.

Leaving the throne room, the silence was thick. Not only was his betrayal heave on their minds, but so was the previous conversation.

“What Chrysalis did,” Alpha said, not turning back to face them, “It’s just changeling tradition. She wasn’t just having sex with him, for the sake of having sex. If that makes any difference.”

“What do you mean?” Dash asked instantly, incredibly curious about the topic.

“It’s tradition for the lover of a soldier to… service them.” He explained poorly, as he rethought his choice of words, “It’s not strictly sex, they literally wait on them hoof and hoof, making sure that when a soldier isn’t out at war, they’re taking care of them. That is what Chrysalis was doing for you, Alex.”

“I guess that makes sense…” Alex said softly, as he considered everything he remembered her doing, “Even though she had a kitchen staff in the palace, she would be the one to cook, clean after me, and she would even groom me… it was so weird.”

Dash wasn’t sure where her mind was anymore.

“She just acted like… a wife?” Dash asked, truly shocked that he had been treated so… well.

“Well, not exactly,” Alex corrected her, rubbing his eyes again, “I mean, she sent me on all those missions to stop you from freeing me, she yelled whenever I screwed up, and she constantly threatened me with never seeing my friends again. Even though I was under her control, she still did all that. I hated it.”

“It’s considered a great insult to talk poorly of your caretaker,” Alpha said, still not looking over his shoulder, “That’s why she asked me to take you out. Chrysalis is a complicated mare, despite her tough exterior.”

“Oh cry me a river,” Dash rolled her eyes, “Don’t tell me you expect me to pity the tyrant that just took over Canterlot.”

“She was forced in to the position of Queen,” Alpha explained, as their journey continued, “About eight years ago, her father died suddenly, and she was expected to take his place, and continue running the never ending war the changelings have been fighting with the rest of the world. That’s the beauty of living in a monarchy.”

“Here we go…” Alex muttered.

“However, at the same time, she was seeing a commoner. It was some young guy that worked in a factory I believe. It was the kind of relationship that would never ever have been allowed to prosper. After all, as a queen, her options were to marry royalty, or a veteran of the army.” He continued, “So, because of that, her commoner lover decided to enlist, and risk his life for their future.”

Neither Alex nor Dash made a move to interrupt him.

“He would be allowed to marry her after a minimum of one tour, so, she had him sent to the safest deployment, and waited for the year he would be away.” Alpha said, his pace slowing to ensure he would finish the story before they arrived at their destination, “However, after a year of commanding an army, and ruling an entire nation alongside her father’s most trusted advisors, Chrysalis had been changed. Her dreams of being a mother, and wife, were a distant second to her life as a queen. When her lover returned home to marry her, he was shocked to see what she had become… and they fought.”

“Can’t blame him on that one.” Alex muttered.

“They fought so terribly over her commitment to an extremely unpopular war that the two of them used to talk about her abolishing, that he was forced to give her an ultimatum… She had a year to get it out of her system, and to return to the mare he loved. If she didn’t, he would leave for life in Equestria.” Alpha sighed, glancing back to them, “So… Chrysalis took his offer to heart. She truly loved him, and she knew that the war had to end one day or another, despite its tremendous impact on the economy in the hive. So, she did exactly as he asked. She took the year to let go of the anger, and resentment her father’s advisors had instilled in her, she studied what it meant to care for a husband, and how to rear a child. Her passion in life changed, just as quickly as it had the year before.”

Again, they allowed him to continue.

“In the letters they exchanged, they decided that they would be wed the night he came back, and she would announce the end of the war shortly after,” Alpha said, feeling a shiver run though his body, “But the night he was due back, his outfit was ambushed by a group of zebras, and they were all killed. When the news reached the queen, she was so utterly destroyed, that one of her advisors had to take her place on the throne while she recovered. Of course, the death of the queen’s fiancé was met with a universal call to arms by the people, and the war machine wound up running stronger than it ever had.”

“Jesus…” Alex muttered.

“So, since that day, this ‘war’ on almost every nation you can name, has been her personal agenda.” Alpha stopped at the entrance to the auditorium, “However, if you ask me… I don’t think she ever gave up her dream of being a caretaker, and lover of a hard working soldier. She even seemed eager to volunteer herself to you, Alex. Most ponies thought it was some kind of stunt to increase popularity with the people toward the royalty. I mean, if the queen herself was performing her duties to pamper a returning soldier, then she would be just like everypony else! It was an easy way to score points with the people. However… well, to me anyway, it was clear that she was finally able to be that caring soul she wanted to be with her old lover… even though she was simply terrible at it.”

“How do you know all of this anyway?” Alex asked, shocked that he knew so many details.

“I was brand new in the palace when she came to power,” Alpha answered, “I patrolled right around her quarters for a long time... I overheard a lot of conversations, and I read a lot of letters.”

“You read their letters?” Dash asked, “You were just a grunt!”

“Her advisors insisted on it,” Alpha explained quickly, to avoid sounding like a creep, “I had to make sure she wasn’t sending compromising information out in the world. Those guys loved the war more than their own mothers I’ll bet.”

“Okay, well then, why are you telling us all of this?” Dash asked finally, out of breath from the story she had just heard.

Alpha was silent for a moment, as he organized his thoughts.

“Because by the time this night is over, I’m going to need somepony to remember that she isn’t a monster, and my word might not be worth very much anymore.”

////

Omega

Author's Note

It's my burfday.

So everyone has to kiss me 22 times.

Omega

////
Omega
////

The night progressed slowly for the ponies of Canterlot, as they were filed down in to the crystal mines, where they would be held until Chrysalis could completely take the city. Every one of them was scared, and every one of them felt betrayed by the pony they had all trusted so much. But, more than anypony else, Twilight was utterly devastated.

Her heart had been smashed to pieces, by the pony she had wanted to experience love with. After seeing Spike and Rarity, and Alex and Dash, it created a unique longing in her that she had never experienced before. To see them in that bliss with one another made her wish she could have it too.

But it was clear that he had more important priorities, like being with the flipping Queen of the changelings. Not only did it make her angry, but it made her feel stupid. And more than anything else, it made her wish she had never taken the chance on getting close to him.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Cadence asked, hoping the mare would open up to her, “I can feel… a lot of terrible things inside of you right now.”

Twilight sniffed loudly, as her entire body quivered. She hid her face in a vain attempt just how extensive her broken heartedness was.

Sitting down next to her, Cadence leaned her head on Twilight’s lightly, and ran her hoof though her mane.

“Twilight,” She said softly, “I know you’re hurting right now. I can feel how betrayed you are by what Alpha’s done to you… But there’s something you should know.”

Twilight didn’t move, and she managed to silence her ragged breathing. It was more than enough to tell Cadence that she was indeed listening to her.

“When I saw Alpha, and felt all of his emotions running through him… I felt conflict on a level I’ve never experienced.” She said, as Twilight lifted her head and looked at Cadence with just a glimmer of hope, “I don’t think he was with you as a part of some inside job… And even if he was, what he felt for you wasn’t made up. His heart was breaking just like yours is right now.”

“T-then…” Twilight began, before exhaling and gathering herself, “Why would he do this to me?”

“I don’t know.” Cadence answered, shaking her head softly, “I guess he still cares for his people, and in the long run, the needs of his people, outweigh his need for a love life with you.”

“But it’s not just that!” Twilight argued, speaking up enough to get the attention of several ponies around the two of them, before she quieted down a bit, “Alpha has always been the most honorable pony I’ve known. Why would he just turn around and hoof over everypony in Equestria to the Changelings?”

“They’re a starving people, Twilight.” Cadence answered, knowing the mare wouldn’t be happy with the logic she was about to bring to the table, “They’re all so used to sapping copious amounts of love from wherever they can get it, that they’ve become desensitized to the average amount a love two of them might share. If it means feeding his people forever, then I think that gives him reason enough to help them with this plan. It's just his duty.”

Twilight looked back at her legs and growled. While what Cadence said was true, she still couldn’t imagine doing something like that to another nation of people, no matter what the reward would be for her own.

“Twilight. I can feel that anger within you.” Cadence said, her tone suddenly very serious, “And it doesn’t feel natural.”

And it was true. The anger she was feeling was being fueled by the dark energy within her, and it was radiating so much, that Cadence was growing fearful. Twilight was becoming less and less present in her mind, as she gazed at the ground with a horrifyingly dark expression.

“Twilight.” She said again, “You’re going to hurt a lot of ponies if you lose yourself to this right now. I heard about your dark side, and you can’t let it out here. Are you listening to me? Twilight!”

Suddenly hearing the voice, Twilight snapped back to reality, and felt the dark energy fade from her mind.

“I-I’m sorry,” She said instantly, standing herself up, “I need to find Trixie…”

“I’ll come with you.” Cadence said, afraid that Twilight might lose herself once again, “You might defeat the changelings if you lose yourself, but a lot of innocent ponies might get hurt too.”

Twilight nodded quickly, “Thank you.”

////

“An inauguration?” Chrysalis asked, shaking her head at the insane demand Alpha had just asked for, “Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?! An Omega would never act in such—“

“Are you questioning my request, Chrysalis?” Alpha asked, confident that she had zero power to stop him in this matter, “I have taken care of every problem you faced during this invasion. From the possibility of Princess Luna waking up and stopping you, to the hoof-full of gods that could have squashed this in a single swipe. I’m asking that I can address my new subjects, and that I can show them what kind of leader I’m going to be for them.”

“I am the queen!” She belted back, “And—“

“And I am an Omega.” He returned, cutting her off, “You have said openly to the entire invading force that I would be promoted following our success here. If you are seen disrespecting me so soon, they would question your ability to do something as simple as following up on your own decision.”

Chrysalis narrowed her eyes, “How dare you speak to me in such a tone. You will have your crowning. But make no mistake, you will pay for this action.”

“I’ll make the announcement to the city.” He said, smirking to her, “I’ve missed our little conversations.”

She only growled as she stormed out of the throne room.

////

“I’m sorry, Twilight.” Trixie said, “I already told you… I don’t know how I fixed your mind last time. It just… happened.”

“Are you saying that I might… lose control of myself right now?” Twilight asked, feeling that dark power begin to crawl back in to her mind, “Because- I don’t know what I’ll do if I hurt somepony!”

“You just need to keep all of these negative feelings inside of yourself, Twilight.” Trixie said calmly, “We need to get out of this prison, and we need to stop them the right way.”

“Right.” Twilight nodded rapidly, trying to think the happiest thoughts she could, even though so many of her old happy thoughts involved Alpha, “I’ll just—“

“Attention.”

Everypony in the mine, including the guards, looked to the ceiling at the booming voice that echoed from above them.

”This is your new Omega speaking. After some discussion with the Queen, the two of us have decided to cement my promotion to the rank of Omega, with an inauguration that will take place in one hour.

Plenty of happy murmuring was heard amongst the guards.

”I ask that we halt our sweep of the city for only a half an hour, so that you can all be witness to this historic event. As for the guards currently looking after the prisoners in the crystal catacombs, you needn’t worry about leaving the prisoners unattended. I’ve made special arrangements for them.

Twilight sighed. She was truly afraid that she wasn’t going to be able to control this dark power within her.

”You’ve all done great jobs today, and fulfilled your duty to the hive. So I’m going to make sure you’re all rewarded for your hard work. I’ll see you soon.

////

Alpha cleared his throat as the spell he had cast ended, as he headed from the throne room toward the auditorium. However, on the way, he was interrupted by a clearly giddy guard cutting him off.

“Omega! Sir! It’s such an honor to meet you like this!” He said quickly, obviously nervous to be in the presence of somepony so powerful, “I wanted to ask you something!”

“What’s that?” Alpha asked, tilting his head.

“What do you plan on doing with the ponies in the mines?” He asked, curious as to what the man had in mind for all the ponies in the pit.

“You’ll see.” Alpha laughed, “But I can promise you this. It’s all anypony will be able to talk about.”

////

A Hard Sell

////
A Hard Sell
////

Chrysalis growled at the sight in front of her, as her entire army made its way toward the castle. Alpha, in his first move as an Omega, decided that he would completely put a stop to their conquering of Canterlot, so that he could flex his new muscles in front of his subjects. And even though it would have made much more sense to just keep going, and get it over with, he insisted that he have this moment in the sun.

When they got back to the hive, she was going to make sure he knew his place. Perhaps the threat of some conditioning would sway him back on to the straight and narrow.

Looking over her shoulder, she scoffed as Alpha once again entered the room, and bowed to her.

“I take it you won’t be attending my coronation?” He asked, his gaze locked on the back of her head so powerfully that she could feel it.

“As if I would abandon this mission like everypony else!” She shouted, turning around and finding herself grow even angrier, “Why can’t this wait until Canterlot is taken over?”

“This is the moment I pained for, Chrysalis,” Alpha said, narrowing his gaze as he approached her, “I failed at Haven Station, I lost my wing, I lost any shred of respect I had from the hive, and then you froze me in stone with that damned machine you had made.”

“You should be happy all those things led you to here!” She retorted, “You’re much better off now, then you were five years ago!”

“That depends on your definition.” He shook his head, as he patted her on the side in what she could only assume was his attempt at a friendly gesture, “If you stood where I did, you would be doing this too.”

“Do not try and convince me.” She spat, turning away from him once again, “Go and have your praise.”

“Fine.” He said, turning and heading back for the door, “I suggest you keep your eyes open, there will be no guards stationed outside the room for the next twenty minutes.”

“I can take care of myself.” She said simply, avoiding eye contact still.

She could only hear him exhale as he turned around and left the room, leaving her to wonder what kind of mistake she had made by promoting him like this.

////

“They’re all leaving,” Trixie said, having just watched several guards teleport away, “I don’t know what Alpha has in store for us, but I promise that I’ll keep you out of harm’s way, Twilight.”

“Mhmm…” She said half-mindedly as she focused herself completely on containing her rage.

“Do you mind if I take a look at you?” The Doctor asked, having popped up from nowhere in particular, “Looks like you might need some help.”

Twilight shook her head back and forth a couple of times, leaving him guess as to what she had meant.

“Is that a: ‘No, I don’t mind.’? Or, was that a ‘No, please don’t.’?”

“Go ahead.” Twilight got out, as she instantly felt his hoof on her chin, lifting her up to face him.

The Doctor quickly pressed a hoof to just above her eye, and lifted it, forcing her eye open.

“Screwdriver.” He said, as Derpy grabbed it from her bag, and happily threw it over his head.

“Well, that was closer than last time.” He turned and smiled to her.

The Doctor returned to his examination of Twilight as Cadence approached the concerned Trixie.

“So, you’re a friend of Twilight’s?” Cadence asked, extending her hoof, “I’m Cadence.”

“I’m Trixie... It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess.” She said, only taking her eyes off of Twilight for a moment to smile to the princess, “And… I’m not sure that I’m a ‘friend’ of hers yet.”

“Oh come on,” Cadence said, smiling at the timidity of the mare, “You’re obviously worried about her.”

“Well, Twilight is fast to trust ponies… so, maybe I am.” She nodded, leaning her head to the side, “I feel so bad for her.”

“This was a surprise for everypony.” Cadence nodded, watching Twilight as she was looked over by the physician, “But I’m sure she’ll pull though this. She’s strong.”

“She might be slow to love somepony again,” Trixie frowned, her own heart breaking over what Twilight had to face, “It’s not easy to lose somepony you love…”

Cadence frowned at the statement. She could feel what Trixie was describing within Twilight. She may not have said much to the mare, but the affection she felt for Alpha was no joke.

“The last one is gone!” Pinkie called, as everypony turned their attention to her, “All the guards left!”

“So… what’s coming to replace them?” Spike asked, looking to Rarity with concern, “Think we could fight our way past it?”

“No.” Rarity said instantly, giving him a grave look, “We’re powerless right now, and the last thing any of us need to do, is act rashly.”

“But what is he sending down here?” Fluttershy asked, hidden behind a large stone behind the rest of the ground, “I-Is it going to be some kind of… monster?!”

While everypony wanted to comfort the panicking mare, along with the several other upset citizens of the town, none of them wanted to be liars, should something terrible be coming to replace the guards.

////

Alex and Rainbow Dash sat backstage, just a few feet away from Alpha as he prepared to give his big speech to his people. The Changeling had gone to great lengths to tie the two of them tightly back to back, and both knew that no matter how much they struggled, there was no breaking out of the binding.

“What are we supposed to do?” Alex asked, having given up on escaping the rope, “I feel so naked without my magic!”

“Not all of us were born with wings and a horn you know,” Dash said, still trying to get any kind of give that might get them free, “Why don’t you work a little harder here? I’m doing all the work!”

“Dash, I’ve rubbed off a lot of the hair on my coat, and it’s starting to burn on the patches,” Alex said, enduring her movement of the rope for now, “At this rate, I’ll be dead before we get out of here.”

Dash growled as she tried to wiggle her arms, “When I get my hoofs on that guy… I’m gonna cream him!”
“I wasn’t sure at first, but I think I’m right there with you.” Alex sighed, having held out as much hope as possible for Alpha as he could, “When we get free, I think I’m gonna rip off his other wing.”

“What I don’t get though, is why did he tell us all that stuff about Chrysalis?” Dash asked, looking over her shoulder, “Like… Does he want me to pity her, while she’s torturing me?”

“I was thinking about that too,” Alex said, looking over his own shoulder and meeting her gaze as best he could, “At first, I thought that it was because he wanted to show us that bad ponies sometimes have a reason for their ‘badness.’”

“Then why wouldn’t he tell us his sob story?” Dash asked, her eyebrow raised.

“Well that’s where I got stuck on it too.” Alex replied, shrugging as much as he could, “I’d be defending myself if I were about to betray all my friends.”

“We were never his friends,” Dash spat, looking away from Alex and growling under her breath, “It was all just a big scheme for him.”

”Hello everypony, my name… is Omega.”

“Here we go.” Dash huffed, “Let’s hear his big plan for conquering Equestria.”

////

Alpha stood on the stage where the hearth's warming eve show was normally put on, and sighed at the sight in front of him. The entire force that had invaded Canterlot was standing before him, all of them looking to him as if he were their new king. And, to be honest, that was something he needed from this right now.

Casting the same spell he used to address the entire kingdom before, Alpha cleared his throat, and felt his heart begin beating out of his chest.

“Hello everypony, my name… is Omega.”

////

Chrysalis looked stood on the balcony overlooking the city and found herself rather appreciative of the calm that had come with Alpha’s ceremony. She could just stand here and take in the breathtaking view that was Canterlot. The ponies that lived here clearly kept it pristine. Royalty did live here, after all.

”Hello everypony, my name… is Omega”

“Great. So much for peace and quiet.” Chrysalis said under her breath as she walked toward the throne, just behind the wedding altar, and sat herself down in it, “Why don’t we listen to the cocky bastards show, hmm?”

Chrysalis looked up to Celestia and winked.

The princess made no motion toward her. This was either because she was ignoring her on purpose, or because she was a little out of it, hanging upside down in that cocoon. The more Chrysalis thought about it, the more likely she though the latter answer was the case.

”First, I’d like to thank everypony for their support, and belief that I could complete this task, even after being trapped in Equestria for such a long time.”

“Do you hear that?” Chrysalis said to the Princess in the cocoon, “Support? Belief?! Ha!”

Chrysalis, leaned her back against the chair, and kicked her back legs up on the wedding altar.

“He was a laughing stock! Alpha was a joke after he failed at Haven Station!” Chrysalis continued speaking toward Celestia, not caring if she was being heard or not, “It was only a few weeks ago that he started to gain some popularity, when I gave an update on the war, saying that we had on operative next to the Equestrian royalty.”

No reply…

“Then, when I was pestered by so many about his status here, I told them that he wasn’t even in disguise! That he was just a changeling living amongst all of you.” She said, crossing her front arms and blowing some hair out from in front of her eyes, “Let me tell you, they went crazy when they heard that. He became a legend overnight.”

”Now, to get this moving right along, I’d like to discuss some changes coming to the hive.”

“Oh, he has changes?” Chrysalis scoffed, “This’ll be interesting to hear.”

”Recently, while living here in Equestria, I learned of an unknown force that has threatened not just Equestria… But the entire world.”

Chrysalis didn’t make a snide remark at this. That was not something she had heard before.

”I’d like all of you to remember that I’ve been through several tough situations in my life. I’ve fought in battles against the zebra nation, equestria… I even lost my wing in one of those. So I hope that it makes more of an impact when I say that I am truly scared by what I’ve been told.”

Chrysalis continued to listen, as he continued to scare her with his speech.

”This is a power so great, that the old god of chaos, Discord, has expressed concern that we could all be destroyed by whatever it is that is coming for us. The threat is incredibly real, and I am taking it upon myself to make sure every living creature in Equestria is aware of its impending arrival.”

Chrysalis looked to Celestia. The Princess was looking right at her with a small smirk.

”However, the ponies in this country have been working very hard to prepare for this unknown force. Some of them have literally been through hell to make sure they’re ready to protect you and me when this force finally arrives. And, if you were to ask my opinion on the matter, I would tell you that I was confident in their ability to stop it.”

Chrysalis didn’t like where this was going, and immediately stood up from her new throne, heading for the exit.

”I spoke to the Queen at length on this topic, and the two of us have come to an agreement.

Chrysalis grabbed the handle and tried to open the door. It wouldn’t budge.

Looking to her left, every single door and window snapped shut, all of them being help closed magically.

”We are going to pull out of Equestira, and abandon this mission.”

////

“Did you hear that, Twilight?” Cadence said, looking from the ceiling to the collapsed, and shaking purple mare, her heart pounding out of her chest, “Alpha is taking the changelings out of Canterlot!”

Twilight didn’t answer at first, as the princess knelt down to bring herself closer to the mare. “Can you hear me, Twilight?”

“Everypony needs to go…” Twilight muttered, as her shivering grew more intense, “Something is… coming…”

”By now, I’m sure that prisoners being kept in the caves below have realized that there is no new guard coming to keep them in place. Everypony is free to leave, and come back to the surface.”

Cadence looked toward the exit, before turning to Trixie and Twilight’s other friends, “We need to get her out of here right now.”

“Where’s that ship of yours?” Applejack asked the Doctor, as he scratched the back of his head, “Ain’t ya’ able to bring it tuh’ us?”

“Now… That would be very cool!” He answered, smiling brightly while nodded, “Well, that is to say that… it would be cool if I could…”

“I might be able to help her,” Trixie said, kneeling down next to Twilight once again, “But I need that anti-magic field turned off!”

“We need somepony that can get to Alpha fast, and tell him to give us our power back!” Spike said, looking around at the rather lackluster group of ponies around him at this moment, “Anypony fast!”

After a few moments of nervous glances, and the hiding of some of the more cowardly ponies, all eyes rested on the most cowardly of all.

“Fluttershy.” Rarity said, approaching her quickly, seeing the unease in her eyes, “All of our lives depend on you making it up there in time to get our magic back, can you do that for us?”

Fluttershy squeaked as she looked around the room in fear, “C-Can’t anypony else go?!”

Even the crickets wouldn’t make a sound in this dead silence.

Suddenly, in the silence, a deep laughter was heard emanating from the purple mare on the floor, as everypony looked slowly to Twilight.

“I can smell all of you…” She said under her breath, but still loud enough to be heard, “All of that energy running through your veins. All of that mmm-magic.”

Opening her eyes and looking up from the floor, a deep red aura rippled out from them, as she looked to Rarity and bit her lip.

“You’re just full of chaos… aren’t you?” She asked, twitching as she slowly rose from the ground, “I can’t wait to drink it out from your neck!”

Twilight lunged at Rarity, but was stopped as Spike got between them, grabbed her by the neck and rather forcefully pushed her in to the ground.

“H-help me out here!” Spike called, as Applejack, The Doctor, and Pinkie piled on top of the thrashing mare, “Fluttershy! It’s time to go now!”

Fluttershy didn’t need to be told twice. An entire army of changelings was nothing compared to whatever it was that Twilight held inside of her right now.

////

“What do you mean we’re pulling out?!” One of the commanders shouted at Alpha, as he stepped forward from the crowd, “This has been in the works for years! We can handle this new enemy when it arrives!”

“Yeah!” The soldiers behind him cheered, as Alpha shook his head solemnly.

“Even if every one of us were to put our entire being in to a single combined spell that was fired right at this… entity, we would lose.” Alpha shouted over the soldiers in the room, “Its power is beyond comprehension.”

“Then what makes the Equestrians so special?” Another solider called from the crowd, as they continued to shout over him.

“They have the Elements of Harmony, and the Elements of Chaos!” Alpha shouted over the noise, being heard by all but the loudest, “It’s a well-known fact that only a few other things in this world possess such power!”

“This is bullshit!” The commander said again, stepping up on the stage, “You know what I think? I think you’re just trying to save your friends from the invasion!”

Alpha growled. He was half right. But… he was half wrong too.

“Where is the queen anyway?” He shouted, “I have a feeling that if we find her, we’ll hear a very different story!”

The crowd started to grow louder, as they all started to demand that they see the queen, and hear her side of things. Alpha was afraid something like this might happen. He was hoping that this story, along with an order from an Omega, would force the invaders out. This wasn’t the case, however. They were all here screaming for Chrysalis to show up, and tell them all what was going to happen next.

The chanting grew so loud that Alpha wouldn’t have heard a fog horn right next to his head if it went off.

So, casting his volume spell once again, he took in a deep breath, and shouted, ”The queen has abandoned you all!”

Silence filled the room, as Alpha finally regained his composure, and looked back to the crowd.

“The queen left, saying that her place in this world, and this war, wasn’t of any consequence, as long as a threat like the one I’ve been talking about exists.” Alpha said, looking over them with a grim expression, his lie perfectly hidden under his act, “She said that the changelings need to move past all of the hatred, and loathing, so they don’t have to grow up and run off to war and die.”

The crowd remained mostly silent as he continued.

“From now on, she told me that the hive will work with Canterlot, and find a way to save this planet from complete annihilation.” He continued, as some murmuring picked up amongst the crowd, “Either we work together, or we all die.”

Alpha would have felt good about his speech, if the commander with him on stage hadn’t stepped forward once again.

“Don’t listen to this pony!” He shouted, as the crowd instantly responded to his energy, “If we don’t take over Canterlot, we’ll have no food! All of your loved ones at home will starve if we don’t harvest the love and affection from everypony in Canterlot!”

The crowd cheered once again, as Alpha gulped loudly.

“We will take control of Equestria, and when the time comes, we will destroy this monster, and prove to the world that we are the strongest being on the—“

“Alpha!” A soft voice called from the back entrance to the auditorium, as a small yellow Pegasus ran in to the room, her face fraught with panic, “Y-you need to give us our magic back!”

“Don’t you dare!” The commander shouted, “if you have a shed of pride left, you will throw this mare back in the hole she crawled out of!”

“What’s wrong, Fluttershy?” He asked, ignoring the Beta, knowing this mare wouldn’t be here, in this room, if it weren’t important.

“Twilight is turning in to some kind of monster!” She shouted, her breathing producing horrified squeaks between each word, “I-it’s her—“

“Dark side…” Alpha muttered, as the ground began to shake below them.

“What’s going on?!” The commander shouted, “Did you disable the magic limiters?!”

Alpha shook his head slowly, a huge frown across his face.

“We can’t stop this… We need the Equestrians up here right now.”

“Don’t be a fool!” Beta shouted, “We can deal with this ourselves!”

Alpha was about to stop him, but then he had an idea.

“If I’m right… and a monster is on its way to us right now… You will all have the chance to sway me!” Alpha shouted to the group, “Defeat this monster, and I’ll allow us to continue the invasion.”

“You heard him!” Beta called to his troops as they all cheered, “Let’s show this Omega how it’s done.”

Alpha watched the crowds of soldiers leave the auditorium over the next minute, and silently hoped to himself that none of them got seriously hurt… because there was no way in Equestria that they were going to even scratch Twilight.

If it was strong enough to overcome the anti-magic barrier, it was stronger than his entire army already.

////

The Greater Cause

////
The Greater Cause
////

Alpha stood at the top of the stairs to Canterlot Castle silently, and watched as an entire battalion of changeling soldiers stood ready in front of a massive piece of ground that was glowing a bright dark purple. At the front of the group, stood Beta. The commander Alpha had been arguing with just a few minutes before Twilight broke through the ground, ruining his entire plan.

“Is everypony ready?!” Beta shouted to the group, as they all cheered in response, “Good! Now, let’s show this Omega what it really means to be a soldier for the hive!”

Alpha made eye contact with Beta as he spoke to the group, and shook his head slowly.

Growling, Beta turned to face the purple circle as it began to glow brighter, and brighter. Both he, and his soldiers were ready to finish what they had started.

Suddenly, the ground within the circle began to rise.

A perfect circle of stone began rising from the ground, as everything between the army on the surface, and the trapped equestrians below, rose up in to the sky.

This was the first moment that Beta began to second guess his confidence. He had never seen a spell that was capable of lifting what must have been over a thousand tons of weight, straight up in to the air.

They were able to track how close they were to the end of their wait, as the crystals in the pillar grew more and more frequent, until there was almost nothing but the shining blue coming up from the ground.

Suddenly. It stopped.

“Mmmm…” A deep voice said, echoing out from underneath the stone, “Look at all these lovely boys, waiting to give me all their attention…”

The nervous glances exchanged between the soldiers was countless, as they all felt a chill run up their spines.

“I’m going to make you all a deal,” Her voice was heard, as the pillar lifted an inch off the ground, revealing a pair of glowing red eyes, in the otherwise black pit, “Run away now, and I’ll let you live. I’m here for Alpha.”

“That’s Omega to you!” A zealous solider called, as she replied with a slow, deep laughter.

“You can call him whatever you want,” She replied, as the pillar raised another inch, revealing a large portion of her otherwise normal looking head, “I don’t care what his tombstone reads.”

The pillar finally began to rise consistently once again, as it flew just high enough for the mare to step out, revealing the strangely normal looking pony.

Beta scoffed, and tried to hold back his laughter, as the mare smiled to him, and tilted her head.

“What’s so funny?” She asked, her voice now returned to normal, despite her darker eyes, “You think that because I’m a mare, this won’t be a challenge for you?”

“Well—“ He began, before a magic aura surrounded his muzzle.

“Allow me to make an example out of you then.” She said, a wicked smile spread across her lips, as he was lifted off the ground by his mouth, and shook terribly.

“Get her!” The next in command called, as the soldiers rushed Twilight, her smile only growing.

The first few soldiers to reach her were batted out of the way by Beta, as she swing him like a rag doll, smashing him in to anything that tried to do her any harm.

Hearing the loud cried of pain escaping from Beta, the standing soldiers took a step back, not wanting to be responsible for the serious injury, or even death of their commander.

“Oh, am I being too rough?” She asked pulling Beta’s face right against hers, as the stone pillar moved several meters directly behind her, knocking a red cart in to the opening in the process, “Sorry about that.”

Lifting him up, she dangled his body precariously over the pit, and shook him slightly.

“I hope I don’t slip and drop you in!” She called, as he flailed his body in an attempt to escape her hold on him, “Well, if you keep fighting like that, might make me lose my grip!”

Levitating him back to in front of her, he clearly breathed a sigh of relief. But, she wasn’t done with him yet. Instead of letting him go, she decided to scare the army a little more. Casting another spell, a thread pulled from the tip of her horn, and wrapped tightly around his midsection, pressing his wings against his body.

Pulling him close to her, she whispered in his ear, “You should have run.”

Then, with a single, swift movement, she tossed him over her shoulder, throwing the pony down the pit she had just come out of, bound, and unable to free himself.

“I sure hope somepony is down there to catch him.” She laughed, as she took a step forward, causing the battalion to take a step back.

She continued this, trying to approach them, but every time she made any headway, they would just run to the nearest group of soldiers.

“This is no fun!” She said, “I can’t have you all running away from me!”

With an instant cast of her magic, the massive stone pillar shot out hundreds of crystal spikes, each one homing in on one of the many changelings, and lightly pressing itself against their temples.

Chuckling, she took another step forward. This time, none of them moved. They all stood frozen in place, terrified to even move an inch, “Much better!”

Alpha grimaced. If she slaughtered them all right here… it would be his fault.

“I thought I was just a girl!” Twilight called, looking through the group of men, “Are you all really that scared of me?”

“What kind of monster are you?” One of them said from the group, as her eyes snapped to the source.

“Ahh! So much better!” She cheered, as she lifted him up from the group, “You all finally understand! I am a god!”

None said a word, as she scanned the group once again, a confused look riddling her face.

“Why are you not bowing?!” She asked, twitching her head to the side, as the crystals pressed against them moved to the top of their heads, and pressed down painfully, forcing them to lower their heads to get away from it.

“Good boys!” She cackled, as the crystals were all shattered, and the entire army was engulfed in a purple magic field, “As a reward, I’ll let you live another day!”

The entire army was suddenly lifted from the ground, and lined up above the hole in a large pile, each of them unable to move.

“Tell your boss I said ‘hi.’” She laughed, sending the group of soldiers in to the ground so fast, that their wings were all but useless to stop them from moving, and spinning at their speed.

Then, to make sure none of them caught themselves, she lifted the stone pillar from its place behind the hole, and dropped it, sending it right down after them.

Twilight turned away from the hole, and faced the changeling that stood at the top of the stairs, his face reading no emotion that she could ascertain.

“Are you frightened?” Twilight asked, as the red hue surrounding her eyes slowly began to be threaded by tendrils of black, “Your life is only seconds from its end!”

Alpha said nothing, as he looked directly to his executioner.

“I think I’ll take one of these crystals… and jam it in your eye!” She said, a twisted smile spreading across her face, before her head snapped to the left, then back to the front, her expression now much darker than it had been, “Or maybe I’ll just run you through the back of your head…”

Alpha sighed.

“Why aren’t you saying anything!?” She shouted, teleporting herself to within an inch of his face, “Don’t you at least owe me an apology for—for breaking my heart!?”

Twilight’s eyes shimmered for a moment, as the dark power’s hold on her mind began to loosen.

“An apology…” Alpha said softly, finally opening his mouth upon realizing that he might stand a chance after all, “…You deserve so much more than that, Twilight.”

She twitched, as the dark energy in her eyes lessened.

“I betrayed you, Twilight.” Alpha said softly, closing the gap between them, “I lied, I helped the changelings gain access to the wedding. I almost got you, and everypony you care about killed.”

“Damn it…” She growled, as the dark side within her tried to look away from his piercing gaze.

“It was selfish, and reckless, and there is nothing I will regret more in my lifetime, than having betrayed the trust you put in me,” He continued, as tears began forming in her eyes, “And when all of this is made right, whether it be with this side of you killing me, or me being cast out of Equestria… I could never blame you for that outcome.”

“I… I don’t—“ She struggled, as she fought back against the power with all of her might, “I could never--!”

Placing a hoof on her cheek, the power completely vanished for a moment, as her tears were finally able to fall down her face, “Alpha… I—“

However, in a powerful, and opposite reaction, dark power filled her gaze once again, as she pulled away from his touch.

“You will not save yourself from this with this manipulation!” She shouted, as one final crystal shard that she had saved, flew from the ground, and pressed tightly against his neck, “This is the end for you.”

////

“What kind of magic was that?” Trixie said, looking at the massive ring in the ceiling that Twilight’s dark side had made, “I didn’t thing something like that was even possible!”

“She has the chaotic power of three ponies put together,” Spike said, wondering just how far she had gone up, “And that on top of her usual magic, well, it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before… short of the Elements of Harmony.”

“Does anypony want to follow her up?” Cadence called, looking over the cowering crowd of ponies, before shaking her head and looking back to her friends, “I’ll take that as a no.”

“We need to focus on getting up to Twilight, and fixing her,” The Doctor said, also examining the hole, “Why don’t you fly up there, Cadence?”

“I hurt my wing the last time I got out of these caves,” She explained, spreading her beautiful, yet bent right wing, “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I knew I should have packed my helium!” Pinkie huffed, sitting down on her haunches, “I could have floated us right out of here!”

“Would you have needed some balloons to do that?” Derpy asked, frowning at the strange action Pinkie would have taken.

“Derpy, you’re not around very often,” Pinkie said, smiling and patting her on the shoulder, “So I’ll forgive you for not thinking that I had a secret stash of balloons!”

Pinkie then proceeded to shake her hair quickly, as dozens of balloons began falling to the ground.

“Great.” Rarity sighed, rolling her eyes, “Pinkie’s got balloons. We’re all saved.”

“I told you, that if I had my helium, I could lift all of us—“

Suddenly, a massive cart, filled with red compressed air tanks smashed in to the ground.

“Oh, there they are!” Pinkie said happily, unfazed by the crazy happening, “I’ll get these inflated right away!”

“H-how does she do that?” Applejack stuttered.

“It’s better not to ask.” Spike shook his head, “I’m surprised she doesn’t have a blimp down here somewhere.”

“I suppose we should always have Pinkie with us in a crisis,” Rarity said, shrugging to Spike, as she looked to Applejack, “She’d probably make a better Element of Magic than Twilight.”

“Don’t go jokin’ around like that,” Applejack laughed, “She doesn’t have that much—“

“Done!” Pinkie said, as they all turned around, and looked at the hundreds of inflated balloons, all tied to the empty tanks, almost filling the entire entrance of the hole above them.

“Now how in tarnation did ya’ do that?” Applejack asked, her mouth falling open.

“Like she said,” Cadence chuckled, “Element of Magic.”

“How are we supposed to take those up?” Trixie asked, walking up to Pinkie and inspecting the tanks, “I mean, they don’t even lift these off the—“

Suddenly, something came crashing down from the pit, and landed in the mass of balloons in between the hole and the cave.

Luckily, they managed to completely break his fall, as they lowered slowly, and he rolled off of them, falling a few feet on to the ground.

“Who is that?” The Doctor asked, running over to the tied up changeling.

“That’s one of the commanders from the invasion,” Spike said, recognizing the scar over his cheek, “He must have really pissed off Twilight.”

Looking up at the ceiling, Beta sighed with relief as he felt his heart rate slowly begin to fall back to normal.

“Thank you for saving me…” He muttered, avoiding any eye contact with the ponies in the room with him, “That mare… What is she?”

“Oh! Oh!” Pinkie called, raising her hoof in the air, as he, and the rest of the ponies around them looked to her, “That’s Twilight! Right now, she’s being taken over by a dark power that’s made up of all of the dark sides of the Elements of Harmony! Deceit, Treachery, Greed, Anger, Sadness, and Selfishness! She’s like an onion! Oh, but an evil onion! Even though I hate onions, and I consider them to be pretty bad, this is like, the worst onion!”

“She’s such a good explainer.” Spike sighed.

“So, ah’ take it Twilight handed yer’ butt to ya’ on a platter.” Applejack laughed, happy that this insane Twilight had a use.

“My entire army.” He mumbled, before his ear perked up, “Did you all hear that?”

The room silenced, as they all focused on what sounded like… screaming.

“Where’s that coming from?” Trixie asked, before realizing that it’s source had to be from the hole above them.

In an instant, a hundred changelings collided with Pinkie’s balloons, and came crashing down to the ground, the balloons slowing them just enough to prevent any injury.

“Are ya’ tellin’ me that she beat all of ya’?” Applejack laughed, “Well bless mah—“

“Above us!” One of them shouted, as they all fought over one another to get away from the dropping stone pillar that Twilight had dropped just after them.

Looking up, Trixie’s eyes went wide as she made out the pillar dropping from just above them, threating to crash in to the ground, and splat every changeling that was still trying to get away from the danger zone.

“You need to give me my magic back!” Trixie shouted to Beta, as he looked to her with panic in his eyes.

“O-only Omega knows the deactivation spell!” He said, as he watched the plummeting stone head right for him, his entire army, and all the ponies they had imprisoned down here, “And even if I knew where he put the magic blocker on your body, this entire cavern is neutralized!”

Most of the able bodied ponies removed themselves from danger, but so many were still stunned from the fall, or trying to help the disabled soldiers escape harm’s way. Trixie gulped, and ran to the center of the hole, and pointed her horn straight up.

“C-come on Aurora.” Trixie whispered to herself, only ten seconds from the end of her life, “It’s time to come back out…!”

Trixie tried to pool her magic in her horn, in an attempt to cast the most powerful levitation spell she had, but all of the magic blockers in the cave were making that impossible.

“I’m sorry I have to ask you like this,” Trixie said, her volume increasing, as the pillar passed the end of the hole, plummeted down toward the ground, “But I need you to--!”

A beam of light exploded from Trixie’s horn, shooting right in to the pillar, stopping it dead in its place, as the entire section that was made of crystal began to glow, and reshape itself in a smooth dome, that slowly lowered around the threatened ponies, and placed it safely on the ground, no longer any threat of collapsing and hurting them.

“Thank goodness…” Cadence sighed happily, looking at Trixie, as she turned and made eye contact, revealing a soft glow over her eyes.

However, before she was able to understand what she was looking at, the beam from Trixie’s horn vanished, revealing that her magic had also burned a hole right through the middle of the stone, to where she could only assume was the surface.

Then, with a bright bust of light form her body, two wings burning with light shot out from her sides, and she instantly took to the air, ascending from the darkness, leaving the shocked, and awed ponies on the ground below.

////

A crystal twirled around on Alpha’s forehead, as Twilight relished in the moment she was about to experience. She was about to destroy the man who dared betray her… And she was going to enjoy every second of it.

“Any last words?” Twilight asked, tilting her head, while watching the blood drop down his forehead, and run past his nose.

Alpha tried his best not to give in and allow her the fuel she would need to finish the job. Remaining himself for as long as possible would be his best chance at giving the real Twilight a chance to take her body back.

“No?” She asked, watching his forehead even closer, “Well… I can wait.”

Suddenly, a deafening boom of sound came from behind them, as a beam of white light shot up from the ground, carving a new hole in the ground, in the center of her last hole.

“What…” Twilight muttered, turning to face the magic, as it abruptly ended, just as quickly as it had begun, leaving nothing but silence between Alpha and her.

Then, an instant later, a pair of brilliantly gold wings flapped out of the hole, and revealed the mare Twilight least wanted to see.

“You.” She said, her voice clearly nervous as she took a step backward toward Alpha, “Where did you even come from!?”

Trixie wasted no time in flying toward the two ponies, and landing herself directly in front of them.

“I’m here to help you, Twilight.” Trixie said, with another voice speaking just under hers, “I’m here to cleanse this dark power within you.”

Twilight continued to back up, as her horn began to spark with black bolts of energy, “Stay away from me!” She shouted, pointing her horn at Alpha and growling, “I’ll destroy him right here, unless you back off!”

Trixie did just the opposite, however. Seeing that Twilight indeed meant her threat, she wasted no time, and fired another beam of light from her horn, and completely encompassed the purple mare in its energy.

“N-No!” She screamed, over the humming of the energy, as she felt her magic begin to burn away from the outside in.

Trixie held firm, but felt something still working very hard to sap away at her magic. It was whatever Alpha had put on her body to stop her from casting spells. Aurora was strong, but she wasn’t going to be able to hold out against this magic blocker for long.

“A-Alpha…” She managed, as the strain of keeping the spell up started to become greater, “I need you to- help me stop her!”

Looking from Trixie to Twilight, Alpha went wide eyed at the white energy covering her began to darken, as Twilight fought back with all of her might. She was beginning to beat back the harmonious magic. And if she managed to do that… It would all be over.

So, he decided to play his last card.

“Twilight!” Alpha shouted, as he carefully made his way next to her. He was confident that she wouldn’t make a move to attack him, since she was so busy with casting this spell. So, he stepped right next to her, and leaned in to her ear, “There’s something I need to tell you…”

Whispering something that Trixie couldn’t hope to make out, Twilight suddenly relented, and was at the complete mercy of Trixie’s purifying magic.

“N-No!” She shouted, as the black magic began to ripple out the back of her body, “I’m not done here yet! Not until your friends face their dark sides!”

Twilight suddenly lifted off the ground, and looked in to the sky.

“You’ve won today.” She shouted, as her head snapped back to Trixie, “But when I come back… when the rest of the girls face their demons… I will be more powerful than you could ever imagine!”

Then, with one final blast of dark energy, Alpha and Trixie were knocked back, and Twilight fell to the ground, unconscious.

“Twilight!” Alpha shouted, running to her limp body and pressing his hear to her muzzle, “O-okay… She’s breathing.”

Trixie felt the overwhelming magic within her dissipate as well, as she looked to her rump, and saw a small black speck stuck to her, smoking slightly, as it had overloaded, and been shorted out.

Panting, she stood up, and walked over to Alpha and Twilight, kneeling down with them.

“What did you whisper to her?” Trixie asked, panting heavily as she wiped the sweat from her brow with a spell.

Alpha laughed for a moment, before his expression softened, and he brushed some of the hair out of Twilight’s face.

“...You know what I told her.”

////

Aftermath

////
Aftermath
////

“Where are you going?” Trixie asked, watching with a measure of confusion as Alpha split off from her, on their trip to the infirmary with Twilight, “Don’t you want to be with her when she wakes up?”

“I do,” Alpha nodded quickly, “But there’s something I need to take care of first. I’ll meet you there in five minutes.”

Trixie, still completely stunned, watched as he ran down the hall toward the throne room. The only answer she could imagine, was that he was going to save Princess Celestia from wherever she had been stored by the changelings.

Alpha ran down the hall, and opened the door to the throne room, smiling at the sight before him.

Princess Celestia sat on her throne, with her horn illuminated, as she held Queen Chrysalis in a levitation spell that she couldn’t break. To save her life.

“You filthy traitor…” She growled, upon seeing him enter the room, “How could you betray the hive like this!?”

“Betray?” He asked, shaking his head, “I just saved it. I’m sure the princess made sure that you had a front row seat to the show down below.”

Chrysalis didn’t respond. She had been truly terrified by the power displayed to her today, but that didn’t mean she had to show that fear to them,

“Your entire invading army was defeated in only a couple of minutes.” He continued, knowing she would break sooner or later, “If I hadn’t locked you in here, and took command, they would have all fought to the death under your orders to keep fighting!”

“Took command.” She spat, shaking her head, “Well, let me tell you something. That is the last command you will give in this army!”

“You’re going to discharge me?” Alpha asked, approaching her, as Celestia lowered her to the ground for his convenience, “After saving over a hundred lives, and stopping something that would have killed you by now? You should be thanking me.”

“Silence!” She bellowed, once again trying to break free of Celestia’s iron grip around her, “You will not speak to me again—Marick!”

Alpha frowned. To have your name spoken instead of your rank is considered to be a severe insult, and when that insult comes from the queen, well, it tends to sting a little more.

“I’m afraid that you should still be addressing me as Omega.” Alpha said, his eyes narrowed at the growling queen, “Because as long as you plan on trying to take over Equestria, I will make sure you are held in this castle, with no contact to the outside world.”

Chrysalis gasped, as she tried to pull back from his face.

“What do you mean?!” She demanded, looking over her shoulder to Celestia, “You’d keep the queen of the changeling hive prisoner?”

Both sets of eyes were on Celestia as she nodded slowly.

“The world is in immediate danger, Chrysalis.” Celestia said, her eyes closed as she fought to remain composed, instead of screaming, “And as long as you plan on impeding our quest to gather the strength we need to protect ourselves, I will keep you captive in my kingdom.”

“How dare you!” She continued to thrash against the spell, as Celestia increased the intensity to lock her in place once again, “This is an act of war!”

“This is an act of peace.” Alpha corrected, turning his back to the queen once again, “And if you’re too stubborn to see that this isn’t a time to be fighting amongst ourselves, then you have no place on the throne.”

“My advisors will push the war forward,” Chrysalis said suddenly, as if trying to get the last word in to the conversation, and silence the other two, “In the event of my desertion, the council is granted full power to all aspects of the government. And they don’t share my level of restraint for killing.”

“Heh.” Alpha said, still not looking back to her, “You missed a step there, my liege. There is one rank, that in the case of the desertion, or the untimely death of the queen, that would immediately succeed her, before the council got any power at all.”

The sound of her sudden intake of breath was audible to both Celestia and Alpha.

“An Omega would take the throne before any real power was given to your advisors,” He continued, as he opened the doors once again, “But, I can’t blame you for forgetting that rule. I mean, when was the last time there was an Omega in the kingdom?”

And with that, Alpha closed the door, leaving the two members of royalty alone, in a piercing silence that Celestia was quite enjoying.

“I suppose he planned all of this with you from the beginning.” Chrysalis grumbled, just loud enough for Celestia to hear.

“On the contrary.” Celestia shook her head, “He only told me after I was trapped in the cocoon. He spoke with me telepathically. I didn’t even know he possessed the ability.”

“And you trusted him instantly?” She asked, disgusted that equestrians were so foolish to instantly trust a traitor.

“I had no choice.” Celestia said, “But, it helped that he explained his true feelings for my student, along with giving me my ability to cast magic back.”

“So what is your plan for him then?” Chrysalis asked, “He hid an invasion from you, and your people, which could have led to many, many deaths. You ought to lock him in the cell next to mine.”

“It’s not my place to decide his punishment.” Celestia said, her voice showing no lack of confidence in that plan, “Twilight will have the final say over what happens to him. Whether she wants to banish him, jail him, or even marry him, I will trust her judgment.”

“Marry him? The psycho that almost killed my entire invading force?” She scoffed, an ugly scowl still riddled across her face, “I hope that darkness within her comes back and rips him to pieces.”

“You know, we don’t have much space for prisoners in this castle,” Celestia began, smiling wickedly to her enemy, “Next time that dark presence shows up, I might toss her in your cell. Then we can see if you want to help us defeat her.”

Chrysalis only scoffed as she closed her eyes, exiting the conversation.

While it may have been a little out of character for the princess to be acting so wicked, she was enjoying her gloating. Chrysalis was lucky to be alive right now, and yet still refused to acknowledge the threat to every living thing on the planet. So, as long as she kept the horrible attitude up, she would return it in kind.

////

Trixie sat next to Twilight in the infirmary, firmly holding her hoof. She prayed that whatever was going on in her head wasn’t anything too crazy. She wasn’t trashing, or exuding any kind of dark magic, so she took that as a good sign.

“Hey,” Alpha said, running in to the room, panting slightly, “Is she up yet?”

“Not yet,” Trixie shook her head, looking toward the changeling with a apprehensive look, “What did you need to do?”

“I had to speak with the queen,” Alpha said, taking the seat on the opposite side of the bed from Trixie, “She doesn’t support my plan to bring Equestria and the Hive together.”

“Well, that’s no surprise,” Trixie nodded, looking back to her unconscious friend, “I mean, no offense, but she’s insane.”

“None taken.” Alpha shook his head, “Her head is so stuck in the war, that I don’t think we’ll be able to convince her right now.”

“What’s going to happen to her then?” She asked, “I mean, she can’t go back to the hive, otherwise she’d just rile them up again.”

“I know.” Alpha said, his gaze falling from Twilight to the floor, “That’s why I need to go back with them.”

“What?!” Trixie asked, standing up, “Y-you can’t leave! Twilight cares about you!”

Alpha didn’t respond. But he didn’t truly need to. His expression told her everything she needed to know. He didn’t want to go either.

“Why don’t you just send somepony else back that shares what you think?” Trixie asked, trying to come up with a conceivable reason why he would be able to stay, despite every reason falling short in her mind, “I mean… What would happen if nopony were to go back and lead them?”

“Well,” Alpha started, hating the fact that this was the true answer, “There’s a group of powerful ponies working in what we call ‘the council.’ They’re all incredibly pro-war, and if neither Chrysalis nor I were to return, they would take control over the entire hive, and ensure a future filled with blood and conquest for as long as they lived.”

Trixie didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

“And if you’d believe it, they’re magnitudes worse than Chrysalis.” He continued, as Trixie winced at the thought of somepony being worse than that terrible queen, “They’re mostly the owners of the production factories the Hive uses to build its weapons for its... tougher engagements. So, as long as we’re fighting, they’re producing in those factories. And then, the real kicker, guess who decides how much the government needs to buy from these factories?”

“The council?” Trixie asked, having a feeling that she was spot on.

“Exactly.” He nodded, “They’re literally own their own mint. But, with this new political power I hold, I can chip away at their hold, and finally bring an end to this idiotic war.”

“How can all of that be happening in the hive?” Trixie asked, “I mean, doesn’t anypony else stand up against that kind of corrupt governing?”

“Well, some have tired,” He answered, thinking back to the few times he remembered hearing anything about it in the past, “But it’s considered extremely disrespectful to question any decision of royalty, and everypony who ever stood up, was either cast out by the queen, or shunned by the citizens to the point that they left.”

“Will they listen to you when you announce the end of the war?” Trixie asked, no longer trying to fight his leaving, “Won’t they cast you out?”

“No… When Chrysalis named me an Omega to the hive, I was more or less called a member of the royal family,” He continued, softly brushing some hair out of Twilight’s face, “They’ll listen to me. I just need to make sure that I word it in a way that makes it look like it’s going to help the hive.”

“But, you’re trying to save the world! Isn’t that all you need to say?” Trixie asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Alpha shook his head as he looked away from Twilight and stood up, “When I say that the war is ending, the council will no doubt try to fight me on it, and depending on just how grave I make our situation out to be, will change how many ponies will side with continuing the war. However, I’m confident that if I can get the majority of the citizens behind me, then I’ll be able to shut down the council completely.”

Trixie had nothing left to ask on the topic, as she watched with curiosity him begin to head back toward the door.

“Where are you going?” She asked, standing up herself.

“I think… I think I should leave with the soldiers.” He answered, having thought about both himself and Twilight quite a bit during their conversation, “After everything I did to Twilight, I don’t think I could face her.”

“Oh come on!” Trixie said, rolling her eyes at his attitude, “You just told her that you loved her! And now you’re going to run away?”

“Did you see what I unleashed on Canterlot?” Alpha asked, gesturing to the window that showed the destroyed courtyard, and the slightly elevated circle of stone sitting in the center, “If it had been somepony else that did that to my hometown when I trusted them… I don’t know if I could let that go.”

“You did it to save all of us!” Trixie fought, approaching him, “Don’t go acting like you’re some kind of monster! Trixie does not give the satisfaction of pity.”

“I’m not looking for your pity,” He said, opening the door, “I’m looking to protect Twilight from whatever that is inside of her. It cannot be let out again.”

“Wasn’t it your plan to let her out in the first place?” She asked, just falling further and further behind him in the conversation, “Because that’s what it looked like to me!”

“I was gonna release Alex and Dash, and let them flatten the army,” Alpha said, looking back to her, “But when I realized just what was happening, I decided to let Twilight do the work for me.”

Trixie didn’t reply. She thought he had more control over the situation than that. Then again, it was her that turned the tide on Twilight. Alpha only put the final nail in the coffin.

“I’m going to talk to the soldiers.” Alpha said, stepping in to the hallway, looking forward once again, “I’m sure that they are, but I need to make sure they’re on my side for when we return.”

At this point, Alpha had to leave the room. He was afraid he would change his mind if he looked at Twilight any longer.

////

Twilight felt a painful throbbing in her head as she slowly opened her eyes, seeing that she was in some kind of dark room. Was she still in the cave underground…? No. She could smell something fruity. Caves didn’t smell like fruit.

Feeling some pressure on her hoof, she looked to her left, and saw Trixie fast asleep on her side, holding her with a soft grip.

“Trixie?” She said softly, as the blue mare’s eyes shot open, “What’s going on?”

“Thank goodness you’re awake,” She said, smiling genuinely at her confused friend, “I was so worried…”

Twilight strained to remember anything from after their imprisonment. But it was all fuzzy.

“Did I lose control of myself?” She asked, her eyebrow raised, “Did I hurt somepony?”

“No.” Trixie said instantly, happy to see Twilight smiling at the news, “You just wound up helping Alpha with his plan.”

“I helped him!?” She asked sitting up instantly, “Has he hurt anypony? Has anypony seen the Princesses or Discord since Chrysalis took over?”

“Twilight, just wait for a second—“

“What about everypony down in the pit?” She asked, before looking around the room confused, “Why are we up here anyway?”

“Twilight,” Trixie began once again, but was stopped before she could continue.

“I just… I can’t believe he did this to me.” She said, a small frown growing on her face, as Trixie silenced herself, “Did I really not matter to him? Because… I think he mattered to me more than any guy has before.”

“You don’t remember anything that happened a few hours ago?” Trixie asked one final time, as Twilight shook her head sadly, “Not even how you were defeated?”

“Well, I was guessing that you just… purified me like last time.” Twilight shrugged, “Was that not what happened?”

Trixie exhaled, as she gathered her thoughts. She wanted to make Alpha sound like the good guy, but Twilight needed to hear the truth, and decide if his actions were justified.

“When Alpha took over, and became an Omega, he gathered all of his troops in the royal auditorium, and addressed them all,” Trixie began, looking directly into Twilight’s eyes, “He told them that his first action as an Omega, was to end the war between the Hive, and Equestria, so we could work together to stop the approaching threat Discord keeps talking about.”

“Really…?” Twilight asked, her heart skipping a beat at the news.

“But, the soldiers weren’t buying it. They demanded to see Chrysalis. But, he knew something like that would happen. So, he freed Celestia prior to his addressing of the army, and had her keep the queen from interfering with his announcement.” Trixie continued, inhaling deeply to make sure she could keep up with her explanation, “If things continued to get worse for him, he was going to release Alex and Dash, and use them to show the soldiers what kind of power we had access to. But, before he could do that, you lost control of yourself, and went to the surface to… kill him.”

Twilight didn’t reply. Clearly she hadn’t killed him, or Trixie would have made some kind of comment.

“So, instead of using Alex and Rainbow Dash, he used your dark side to demonstrate the kind of power we would be facing.” Trixie said, clearing her throat and gathering her thoughts further, “And in just a couple of minutes, you managed to subdue every soldier that invaded the city, and throw them down in to the cavers below the city.”

“He used me like that…?” She asked, a small frown growing on her face, “Oh...”

“So, things got pretty heated, and I wound up getting that power back-- the purifying one you were just talking about.” Trixie explained, “And so I went to face you off, just in time to stop you from hurting him.”

Twilight exhaled happily. She’d never get sick of hearing that news.

“And then, between Alpha and Trix—Myself, we were able to almost completely remove the monster from your body.” Trixie finished, as Twilight gave her an expectant look.

“You… almost removed it?” She asked, having hoped that her dark side had been completely destroyed.

“It buried itself deep within you,” She explained, “It went further than I was able to chase it.”

“So… it’ll be back?” Twilight asked, looking at the bed, feeling completely defeated.

“It said it would be back after everypony else faces their dark sides.” Trixie sighed, knowing this wasn’t particularly good news, “That’s when it would be at full power.”

Twilight closed her eyes and laid back on her pillow. That was probably the worst news she had heard all day. But, that wasn’t even her main concern.

“So, where is Alpha then?” Twilight asked, her tone showing no sign of emotion, “If he really was sorry for what he did, don’t you think he would be here right now?”

Trixie didn’t respond. She just inhaled sharply for a moment.

Twilight opened her right eye and looked to Trixie.

“What was that for?” She asked, not feeling she was exuding at all, “What haven’t you told me?”

“…Well, since Chrysalis is being held at the castle, the hive needs a new leader to steer them all toward peace.” Trixie answered, unsure of how Twilight would react to the news, “And Alpha’s decided that he would take up the mantle. He’s already gone back to the hive…”

Twilight closed her eyes once again, and sighed.

“Fine.”

“Fine?” Trixie asked, “Don’t you have a little more to say about him?”

“No.” Twilight shook her stubbornly, “I don’t know if it’s because he’s a coward, or because he just doesn’t care… But he left without saying a bucking word to me. I think he’s revealed himself plenty.”

“Twilight—“

“I hope I never see him again.”

////

One More Confrontation

////
One More Confrontation
////

Alex stretched in his bed as the rising sun glared through the window in his bedroom, finally crept it’s was over his eyes, as if telling him it was finally time to wake up.

“Stupid sun…” He mumbled, looking over his shoulder to his sleeping fiancé, who was clearly still dead to the world, as made obvious by her almost silent snoring. So, he decided to leave her in bed. She was still a little stressed out from yesterday, and nopony could blame her.

Silently opening the door to their room, he slipped out in to the hall, which was also being illuminated by a clever system of magic mirrors that shone the light from the sky down in to hallway. It was the kind of orange lighting that Alex found himself quite fond of. He would have been happy to wake up more often to see it, but he was so lazy, that he usually slept till noon.

Walking down the stairs to the lobby of the dormitory, Alex passed a small group of soldiers that had been posted to protect the wedding guests, in the case of any surprise changeling retribution.

Alex gave them all a small wave as he walked out the door, and stepped in to the chilly morning air. It was getting closer to winter, and the days were getting colder and colder.

However, once he was outside, and free to go wherever he wanted, Alex realized that he had no idea what he wanted to do. While he was in bed, going for a walk seemed like a really good idea. But, now that he was out here, he was kinda missing his warm bed, and his snoring marefriend.

Off in the distance, however, he heard the approaching sound of the bullet train, as it rolled its way in to Canterlot.

Alex hadn’t figured that it would be in the city yet, as it had been scheduled to take the changelings to the edge of the badlands, shortening their trip massively. It shouldn’t have been back for hours.

So, deciding that this warranted investigation, Alex made his way down to the platform, confident that he would be safe from any kind of surprise attack that could have been planned, as his magic blocker had been removed.

Trotting down the road, he was surprised to see changelings crowded around the train, slowly filing in to the train. It must have been held up somehow the night before, and was only just arriving to take them home. Scanning the group, Alex noticed Alpha standing at the back of the group.

Exhaling loudly, Alex wasn’t sure if he wanted to approach the changeling. His feelings had been what you could call ‘mixed’ after Alpha’s faux-betrayal.

But, all the information he had learned came to him second hand from Trixie and Princess Celestia. So, he decided that he needed to talk with him himself.

Walking in to the station, Alex cautiously approached Alpha, and cleared his throat, causing him to look back at the white stallion, instantly reading with a guilty expression.

“Omega, huh?” Alex asked, as a few soldiers looked back to him, “Congratulations on the promotion.”

“Alex…” Alpha began, scratching the back of his head, “Why don’t we talk in private for a second?”

“I think that would be best.” Alex said, trying to hold back the anger that was quickly bubbling over within him.

“Beta!” Alpha called to the soldier standing next to the train, “Keep up the headcount. We don’t leave until every soldier is accounted for.”

“Yes sir!” He said obediently, turning back to the line of soldiers and his checklist.

Walking in to a small seating room safely out of hearing range, Alex wasted no time getting to his point.

“Was this really your plan from the beginning?” Alex asked, holding back his volume, “To elaborately manipulate your friends, the queen, and that whole army? So that you could save Equestria?”

“Of course it was!” Alpha answered, in a hushed, yet powerful tone, “What else could I have been doing?”

“Maybe you came here undercover from the beginning, and we all softened you… Maybe it was just Twilight that did it. Or maybe you only held off the invasion until we beat whatever it is that we’re going to have to face.” Alex listed, trying to think of more scenarios that he could throw toward Alpha, “You could have told any of us about this invasion, and saved yourself from looking like the bad guy, but you didn’t.”

“Alex, you need to understand this.” Alpha said, looking toward the door to make sure nopony was heading in their direction, “I made it up as I went along. I didn’t know how, or even if I was going to be able to stop the invasion before it was complete. But when I was named Omega, and convinced Chrysalis to allow me to hold that assembly, only then did I have something concrete.”

“Bullshit.” Alex said through his teeth, “You walked me and Dash through the hallway giving us this sob story about the queen, but couldn’t stop to mention that you were with us?”

“There were guards everywhere!” Alpha countered, “I needed the two of you looking like prisoners! If it looked like I was being nice to you, or if you two seemed too happy? Everything would have been ruined! There needed to be complete disconnect between myself, and the ponies of Equestria.”

Alex shook his head, his answers were making a small bit of sense, but so much still made no sense.

“Okay, so maybe you couldn’t tell us,” Alex began, gathering himself for another argument, “But why the hell did you bank on Twilight going ape-shit on you, and knocking out the entire army? That was just plain irresponsible!”

“I didn’t plan on her freaking out,” Alpha shook his head, “It was in the back of my mind, sure. But, my initial plan had been to have you two ‘break out’ of your ropes backstage, so that you could defeat the army, and prove your strength to them.”

“And you couldn’t tell us that either?” Alex asked.

“I was going to!” He defended, “I was going to go back stage for two minutes, and explain everything, where you would then break out, and show them why Equestria needed to be protected, not conquered.”

Alex sighed, wishing that all of his explanations were good enough. But he couldn’t just let it go. So much had been put to chance, and he could have lost somepony he loved as a result.

“I’m sorry it had to happen.” Alpha said once again, making direct eye contact with Alex, “But I played the hand I was dealt, and I managed to save Equestria as a result. Isn’t that worth anything?”

“I don’t know.” Alex answered honestly, sighing as he felt himself come down a little bit, “I just don’t know if I can trust you anymore.”

“God damn it, Alex.” Alpha said, his voice reaching a volume they had both been trying to avoid, “If you can’t trust the guy who risked everything to save Equestria, trust the guy that saved Rainbow Dash from the changelings at Haven Station. Trust the guy who fell in love with the student of Princess Celestia herself. Trust the guy who was banished from the changeling army by the queen, because I’m trying to save the world.”

Alex stood silent. It was true that he had made some reckless choices. But, it sounded like they were largely the result of random chance. If he had been telling the truth about releasing him and Dash on the entire army, then… maybe he had more control than Alex assumed. He did, after all, release Celestia, and capture Chrysalis.

“Okay. I won’t give up on you yet.” Alex said, nodding slowly, thinking about the queen, “Chrysalis was probably really pissed when you went to see her, huh?”

Alpha exhaled happily, secretly overjoyed that Trixie wasn’t the only one who wasn’t pissed at him.

“You wouldn’t believe,” Alpha chuckled softly, “She called me by my name.”

Alex gave a puzzled look, not understanding the weight that such a thing carried.

“Is that a bad thing?” He asked, scratching his head.

“Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know, huh?” Alpha said, feeling rather stupid for thinking Alex would understand such an odd reference, “It’s just considered to be disrespectful to call a soldier by his name, when he currently holds a rank.”

“But, aren’t there like, a million soldiers at the lowest rank?” Alex asked, “How would you be able to tell them apart?”

“Well, the rank gets longer, the lower you go.” He explained, rolling his hoof in a circle as he spoke, “So, a Psi, the lowest of the low, would generally be called something like, Psi Beta Gamma. That would make him… the forty-seventh? I don’t know. That’s just to give you an idea.”

“Sounds like a frat house.” Alex laughed, before another question popped in to his head, “You know… I guess I’ve never heard your real name be used before this.”

Alpha knew this one was coming.

“It’s always been Alpha.” Alex said, looking to the changeling with a raised eyebrow “Would you mind telling me your real name?”

“Well, I guess I’m not technically part of the army anymore,” Alpha said, scratching the back of his head, before sighing, and looking right to Alex, “My—ahem, my name is… Marick.”

“Marick?” Alex asked, frowning slightly while nodding, “That’s a pretty cool name. it’s like being named ‘Phoenix Dirk… Dark.’”

“Well, don’t tell anypony else, alright?” Alpha asked, as Alex gave him yet another confused expression, “It’d rather tell them myself is all. It’s kinda personal.”

“Alright.” Alex nodded, “You could probably make it in to a big romantic thing for Twilight. Oh, did you two work things out yet? Trixie told me you left without seeing her last night.”

“Oh, I haven’t, no.” Alpha said, his expression hardening slightly at the mention of her name, “I can’t face her. Not right now.”

“Oh, come on!” Alex said, “How can you not see her before you go? You and I both know you’re crazy about each other.”

“She’s upset with me,” Alpha explained, “I mean, I used her to my ends. I wouldn’t blame her if she never spoke to me again.”

“Oh come on!” Alex sighed, having heard the angsty teenager stuff enough in his life, “Just tell her, exactly what you told me. She’d be happy to take you back.”

Alpha knew this was true, but, as Alex was about to learn, he was a much smarter guy than he often let on.

“Look, I’m not blind. I know she likes me. I’ve been hitting on her for months, and she’s been happy to receive it.” Alpha explained, turning and looking back to the train, “But I need to leave Equestria right now, and take care of my kingdom. I’m the only one who can do this job. So, if she’s extremely upset with me, then maybe she’ll miss me a little less. The absence from her will be terrible… But, hopefully, she’ll be protected from my absence by her anger.”

Alex’s mouth hung open. That was the most beautiful manipulation he had ever heard of. It was the kind of thing that made him wish he was a little smarter. Who knows what he could get from Dash with a little bit of what Alpha’s got going on.

“Okay.” Alex said, laughing in disbelief at the amazing planning he had done, just as the train conductor called loudly for the last ponies to begin boarding the train, “I… I guess you need to go then.”

“I know.” Alpha nodded, stepping toward the door, “One more thing though.”

“What’s that?” Alex asked, walking behind him as they entered the now empty platform.

“Take care of the Queen.” Alpha said quietly, “I need her to somehow be on my team in the coming future. So please try your best to keep her comfortable.”

Alex nodded, knowing that he was too close to say anything about the Queen they had captured.

“Thank you, Alex.” Alpha said, as he stepped through the door, on to the train, and took a clipboard from Beta, and smiled at the full count, before looking up to Alex, “I’m sorry again.”

“It’s alright,” Alex smiled, “Good luck back at the Hive, Omega. Get them ready.”

“They will be.” Alpha nodded, “And don’t worry, you’ll see me again. I plan on being very present in Equestria as we work together as two united nations."

Alex stepped back as the door suddenly closed to the train, separating the two.

Alpha looked to his side, and watched as Beta walked away, leaving him one final chance to say something to Alex.

Pressing his hoof against the glass, Alpha looked to Alex one final time, and mouthed the words, ‘Look after Twilight.’

Alex nodded to him, and gave him a small smile, returning with his own mouthed words, ‘Good luck, Marick.’

With that, Alex watched as the train began to roll out of the station, and headed down the tracks toward the badlands. It was a little sad. It was the end of a chapter for him and his friends…

But, unbeknownst to Alex, the next chapter was going to be so much better.

Author's Note

Anyone see that foreshadowing at the end? I don't wanna say that I'm subtle, but people HAVE called me 'sububbletea man'. in the past. Just so you all know.

Announcement

////
Announcement
////

A few hours had passed since Alex confronted Alpha for the last time, and everypony had gathered in the castle hall for a large breakfast to discuss the events of the past day. It was the kind of thing that most were feeling rather awkward about, considering Twilight’s current state, after Alpha’s desertion.

“So…” Rarity spoke up, wanting nothing more than to break the thick silence that had been lingering around the table for the last ten minutes, “Are there any plans to reschedule the wedding?”

“Oh,” Cadence said quickly, scratching her chin at the thought, “Well, we were going to do just do it tonight, but I think there is some kind of meeting going on between Canterlot and Alpha…”

Everypony looked to Twilight, who was staring at her plate, spinning a fork in circles, a million miles away from the conversation.

“So, we’re going to push it out for another month,” Cadence finished, giving Rarity a thoughtful smile, “I mean, it’s just a piece of paper anyway.”

“That’s wonderful to hear,” Rarity returned, looking to Spike next to her, and sighing, “I can’t imagine how it’ll feel when I’m finally a bride. What do you think, Spike?”

“How would I know how it feels to be a bride?” Spike chuckled, missing her point completely as he took a big bite of his pancakes.

Rarity frowned.

“Was anypony really hurt during the invasion?” Alex spoke up, having had that thought in his head.

“No.” Celestia shook her head, “A few ponies were thrown around when they refused to comply with the changelings, but none were seriously injured.”

“There would have been a lot more bloodshed if Trixie hadn’t stopped that big pillar.” Rainbow Dash began, before catching herself, and looking to the purple mare, along with everypony else.

Again, the conversation managed to resume, despite the odd hiccup.

“I’d like to thank you for your help,” Celestia said to Trixie, giving the mare an uncharacteristic blush, “You may have saved everypony in Canterlot yesterday.”

“Well—“ Trixie began, remembering all she had been taught by Aurora during their time together, “I think everypony deserves credit. I just did what I could.”

“A very good answer.” Celestia smiled, happy to see how much different this mare was from the one Twilight described to her so many years ago.

“I know that everypony was working together,” Alex spoke up once again, “But what happened to Discord and Princess Luna?”

Celestia chuckled, trying to hide the growing smile on her lips.

“Well, in an attempt to look as legitimate as possible, Alpha chipped both of them, disabling their ability to use magic,” She began, her chest quivering as she tried to hold back an explosion of laughter, “And then, just before the wedding, he had a soldier tie the two of them up in her bed!”

Celestia started to laugh in a way none of them had really heard before. She was absolutely lost to the humor in the situation, that nopony else seemed to pick up on. Sure, it was odd that they were tied up on the same bed, but was it really that funny?

“Okay, well—“ Dash began, before Celestia cut her off, between fits of giggles.

“There’s more!” She gasped, finally getting a hold of herself, as she leaned over the table, getting closer to all of them, “When I found them tied up in there, I said to them ‘Oh, I’ll give you two some privacy!’”

Again, she exploded in to a fit of laughter as everypony else giggled at the juvenile humor Celestia had used, at such an inappropriate time.

“Has Discord been rubbing off on you, Princess?” Alex asked, personally loving that she was being so open with herself to all of them.

“I think you should be asking if Discord has been rubbing off on Luna…” Dash said, as Celestia only responded to that statement with more giggles.

Finally, after a few more minutes of silence, Celestia managed to calm herself down to resume the very serious conversation they were all having.

“So, what’d ya’ end up doin’ with the Queen?” Applejack spoke up, figuring that it must have been her turn to speak at this point, “Is she ‘n the dungeon right now?”

“Oh, no.” Celestia shook her head, “She may be a prisoner, but she’s still royalty. She’ll be treated as such while she’s in Canterlot.”

“So, she’s going to be treated just as you or Luna?” Dash asked.

“Of course.” Celestia nodded, “Alpha made it clear that we’ll need her on our side to unite the hive.”

Once again, everypony turned to Twilight as she began to shake in her seat.

“Quit staring at me!” She shouted, standing up suddenly and slamming a hoof down on the table, “I get it, okay?! Alpha betrayed me, and abandoned me! I guess we’ve addressed the elephant in the room, haven’t we?”

Sitting back down, she huffed and crossed her arms and blew a strand of hair out of her face.

Again, the table room was filled with a terribly awkward silence, as they all regretted making Twilight so uncomfortable.

“So…” Celestia began, clearing her throat, knowing that she was going to have to spend a lot of time with her student to return her back to her usual self, “Does anypony else have news?”

Alex opened his mouth, before closing it, and looking to Dash.

“Are we allow to say anything?” Alex whispered to her, “I know it’s tacky to announce an engagement at a wedding…”

Dash thought for a second, before looking at him and nodding with a degree of confidence, really not sure what other chance they would get.

Nodding, Alex thought for another moment, before leaning in to Dash’s ear, and whispering for a few moments. At first, she was nodding along patiently, before her eyes widened, and he pulled back, giving her a hopeful look.

“Could we do that?” Alex asked, as Dash instantly nodded.

“I’d really like that, actually…” She said, a smile crossing her lips, before her volume rose, “So… do you wanna tell them? Or should I?”

“Tell us what?!” Pinkie shouted, standing up and looking toward them with wide eyes.

“Looking toward them with wide eyes.

“You can.” Alex said, as Dash stood up from her seat.

“Well, after Alex helped me face my dark side…” Dash began, looking around the table, trying to hide her excitement, “Me and him had a little talk…”

The looks around the table were varied.

Fluttershy and Spike both looked mildly interested at whatever she had to say.

Applejack was busy fiddling with her hat, and obviously wasn’t paying all that much attention.

Pinkie had her usual grin on, telling Dash absolutely nothing.

Celestia had a small, knowing smile. She was smart, there was no denying that.

Twilight was looking at her with a sad, but interested expression.

But, the best expression by far, was the wide eyes, and massive smile coming from Rarity. That girl knew when weddings were afoot.

“He asked me to marry him.” She finished.

The table exploded in a high pitch of girly sounds, as all the girls, minus Twilight, jumped out of their seats and surrounded Rainbow Dash, all speaking over one another as they congratulated her, hugged her, and told her how lucky she was.

Alex, on the other hoof, made his way over to Spike, and sat down next to him.

“Nice going!” Spike beamed, patting Alex on the back, “it seems like yesterday that you and I were trying to rescue her from the Wonderbolt Training Facility.”

“We’ve had some good times,” Alex laughed, looking over to the girls with a smile he couldn’t hide, “But this is going to be something new… I’m actually kinda scared.”

“I know how you feel.” Spike agreed, looking to Rarity as she hopped up and down trying to contain herself from bursting, “Rarity’s been on me to finally pop the question.”

“Why haven’t you?” Alex asked, having thought they would be long married by this point, “You don’t want her running off with some other guy that asks first.”

“Funny.” Spike said, before looking at the table with a smidge of timidity, “I just don’t know how to actually do it, you know?”

“I’ll work something out with you man,” Alex said encouragingly, patting him on the head, “I mean, as my best stallion, we’ll have hours together to put something together between the planning.”

“Are you serious?!” Spike asked, his heart skipping a beat, “I mean—Wouldn’t you want…”

Spike tried to think of anypony else, but nopony really came to mind, “Uh, nevermind…”

“Who’s Dash gonna ask to be her Mare of Honor?” Spike asked, looking around the room, “There might be some competition…”

“She’s gonna ask all of them.” He laughed, “She said there was no way she could pick between all of them.”

“That makes sense,” Spike nodded, before he scratched his chin, another question popping in to his head, “What about your family back in your world? Are you going to tell them?”

“Actually, I just talked to Dash about that a minute ago,” Alex answered, feeling his heart race at the thought of it, “We’re going to go back to my world, and I’m going to tell my uncle about the engagement… and then about Equestria.”

“Good luck,” Spike laughed, “Are you just going to teleport the two of you there?”

“Well, the Doctor is still around I think,” Alex said, glancing to the windows that allowed him to see out in to the courtyard, where a tall blue box was still sitting, “I’ll see if he wants to take us. I need to catch up with that guy anyway.”

“I need to come along one of these times,” Spike said, trying to hide his desire to see Alex’s world, “Rarity and Twilight said your world was so weird.”

“Well, I think I need to break my news to my uncle softly… And I don’t think a dragon turned pony turned human would bode too well.” Alex said, trying not to sound like he was shrugging his friend off, “But the time after this next trip, you’re absolutely welcome.”

“When are you leaving?” Spike asked.

“We’re packing up our luggage that we brought to Canterlot, and going straight there,” Alex answered, looking to his future wife as she was helplessly barraged by her friends, with a bright smile on her face, “And when I get there… I’m going to tell Chet everything.”

The Appeal of Books

////
The Appeal of Books
////

“Come on, Twilight!” Dash encouraged, walking through the courtyard on her way to the TARDIS so she and Alex could be taken back to his world, “Come with us! It’ll be an adventure!”

“Look, I don’t need you and Alex throwing me a pity party,” Twilight shook her head, instantly regretting her decision to see the two of them off, as Dash had been bugging her since they left their rooms in the castle, “Besides, you and Alex will just be spending all your time together!”

“No we won’t!” Dash retorted instantly, “I think he wants to really catch his uncle up on everything, just the two of them. I need some company!”

“Then take some of the other girls with you.” Twilight answered dryly, “You don’t need me specifically.”

“All the girls are gone back to Ponyville!” Dash insisted, “Come on!”

Twilight refused to meet her gaze, as they kept walking. She was trying to think of excuses to blow Dash off, but the only ones that came to mind were obviously lies.

“Think about this,” Dash said, jumping in front of Twilight, stopping her in the road, and forcing her to look up in surprise, “How many books must there be to read?”

Twilight paused. That… was actually appealing.

“Even I know that Equestria has an incredible history!” Dash continued, her smile growing as she clearly began to convince Twilight more and more, “I’ll bet that his world has one just as interesting! And I’ll bet Alex will let you bring back as many books as you can carry!”

“And I don’t suppose you’d just bring me back as many as you could carry?” Twilight asked, her eyebrow raised, confident that Dash wouldn’t.

“You know,” Dash said, looking away faux-bashfully, “I’ve already got my own luggage… I just wouldn’t be able to carry any.”

“What about luggage for me?” Twilight said quickly, thinking that this was her out, “I can’t go with nothing packed, Rainbow Dash!”

Dash flashed a smirk.

Flaring her wings, a dark blue aura surrounded her wings, as a purple suitcase flashed in to existence in front of the both of them.

Dash panted and laughed, “I guess that’s all your problems solved!”

“How are you able to use skilled magic like that?” Twilight asked in awe, shocked that Dash was able to even use her magic at all.

“It’s so easy!” Dash answered, “Even a meathead like me can do it!”

“Dash, you’re not a meathead,” Twilight said, grabbing her bag in a levitation spell and pulling it behind them as they walked, obviously having accepting the invitation, “I think out of all my friends, you’ve read the most!”

“Well, I mean, that was all studying to save Alex,” Dash answered, “I could tell you the seventeen different forms of petrification, and describe how you would go about curing eight of them. But I couldn’t tell you the plot of any story… aside from Daring Do.”

“Reading is reading,” Twilight said sternly, never being one to short change her favorite pass time.

Dash sighed. She had spent so long fighting her reputation as an egghead, and here Twilight was, talking about that flaw as if it were fact.

“Hey guys!” Alex said, running to them from the TARDIS, just a few houses down the road, “You ready to go?”

Twilight furrowed her brow, “How did you know I was coming?”

“Dash seemed confident that she could convince you,” Alex laughed, as Dash give him a nod, suppressing her laughter, “She used books against you, right?”

Twilight smiled for the first time in what seemed like weeks. Even though she had done it so much just two days before.

“Come on,” Alex said softly, levitating both bags from the girls, and holding them above his head, “The engine’s running, and we’re ready to take off.”

////

“Rainbow Dash! It’s great to see you again!” Derpy said, smiling as Dash walked in to the ship, “Alex! You too!”

“It’s great to see you too. You two have been gone for years!” Dash smiled, walking over and tapping her hoof on the top of the greeting mares, “What have been up to, hmm?”

Derpy blushed as the Doctor stepped out of the door opposite to the entrance, “Alex! Rainbow Dash! I’ve missed trotting you lot around through time and space! Welcome back to the TARDIS!”

“I’ve got nothing but fond memories of this place,” Alex laughed, leading up to his joke, “Except the time you tried to push me out in to space. That was extra fond.”

“I apologized for that!” He laughed, looking over their shoulders to the purple mare, “You’re coming along also, I take it?”

“Dash told you she could convince me to come too, I take it?” Twilight asked, exhaling at her friends abundance of confidence.

“No… There’s just a purple bag that matches your coat,” He laughed, having clearly missed something here, “But, I’m happy to have you along!”

“Oh, sorry,” Twilight blushed, embarrassed at her attitude toward the relative stranger.

“That’s alright,” He replied, pressing few buttons, flipping a switch, and pulling a string, sounding a train horn-like sound, “I never pick fights with scorned women!”

Dash growled audibly at his in-your-face attitude about Twilight’s pain.

“Well! I think it’s time we got this show on the road, don’t all of you?” He said quickly, not wanting to incur any wrath from the women, “Are we all ready to go?”

Everypony said ‘yes’ in one way or another, as he smiled and hit his hoof against a large red button, sending the machine in to a terrible series of tremors, as they were all knocked to the floor.

“You could have warned us about the--!” Dash shouted as the engine came to life, and began pumping within the chamber in the center of the ship, shaking them with even more ferocity.

“I forgot how bad this was!” he shouted over the banging and grinding that was currently filling their ears, “I’m sorry!”

The entire room suddenly began to glow, as the top of the ship began to change from it’s usual, animated style, to a much more realistic looking roof.

“We’re going through to your dimension right now!” The Doctor shouted, as the realism slowly worked its way down the walls, until it reached the ponies, and began changing their bodies to their human counter-parts.

Alex lifted his hoof up, and watched as the line of reality made it’s down his arm, changing it to a human hand.

Then after a few more seconds, the rest of his body followed, completing his transformation in to a human, along with all of his companions.

The, after another few seconds of intense quaking, the ship came to a stop, having landed just outside of Alex’s house.

Dash inhaled and exhaled quickly, her chest rising and lowering as she tried to get her head on straight.

“Celestia…” Twilight muttered, looking at the ceiling, unsure if she was going to be sick, “Why didn’t I just use the spell to get us back here?”

“I don’t remember it being that bad,” The Doctor laughed, as Derpy giggled, hopping on to her feet, and stretching.

“That was fun!” She said, walking expertly over to Twilight, and holding out her hand, “We should do it a few more times!”

Twilight happily took the assistance, and stood herself up, trying to remember everything she had taught herself the last time she was here, when it came to standing up and not falling down.

Alex managed to right himself and get Dash up in about the same time, as they all situated themselves.

Dash clearly had some trouble balancing herself, as she shifted her weight several times to keep herself from falling.

“It’s been too long since I’ve done this!” Dash said, as she fell, only to be caught by Alex, as he wrapped his arm around her waist, and allowed her body to put its weight on him, “How is it so easy for you Derpy?!”

“This world has so much more balance!” She said, as if that was some kind of explanation they would understand.

“Any help?” The Doctor said, still lying on his back.

////

The moon was high in the sky as they all stood outside of the TARDIS. It was obviously the middle of the night, and Alex was a little upset that he wasn’t going to get to talk to Chet right away.

“So, how long should we wait before we come and pick you up?” The Doctor asked, braced against Derpy in a similar way Dash was to Alex, “I know there’s a time difference, so how much are you willing to lose in Equestria?”

“Well, one day works out to three, right?” Twilight asked.

“About, yeah.” Alex nodded, “So… would you be able to do a week?”

“Twenty days?” Twilight asked, obviously unsure of such a great number, “I mean, are you sure you guys can give that much up?”

“I can,” Dash said shrugged, “I go back to work as a Royal Guard beginning of next month.”

“I’ve got literally no life.” Alex added.

“A week it is!” The Doctor said, as he shifted his weight backward, signaling to Derpy that it was time to go back inside, “I’ll be back at this time in twenty days!”

“But what if we need to go back sooner?” Twilight asked quickly, “What if there’s an emergency in Equestria?!”

“How would we know if there’s an emergency?” Dash asked, genuinely thinking that she was just missing the point, “I mean, unless the Doctor came and told us about it…”

Twilight pursed her lips.

“Look,” Alex said, placing his hand on her shoulder, “If anything happens, I can take us back in an instant. Even if you’re truly feeling homesick.”

Twilight nodded slowly, clearly still nervous.

“Besides! This’ll give you plenty of time to pick up an entire new library,” Alex said reassuringly, “And you and Dash can catch up on stuff. I think I’ll be spending a lot of time with Chet this week.”

“Are you going to tell him right away?” Dash asked, secretly dying to see how Chet reacted to the truth behind Alex and his vanishing act.

Alex nodded, “I’ll just pull the Band-Aid off quickly.”

“See you in twenty days then!” The Doctor saluted, as she motioned to close the door.

“Wait!” Alex said, as the walking-challenged man look to him, “I thought we’d catch up a bit! Why not stick around a while?”

“Oh, we have a prior engagement,” The Doctor said, as Derpy nodded along excitedly with him, “There’s this star about to go supernova back in our universe, and it destroys a planet made of diamond! Its shimmer is said to be one of the most beautiful things to ever happen through the course of history, and we’ve got front row seats!”

“Sounds romantic.” Dash teased, as the Doctor frowned, and promptly closed the door.

The three outside laughed as the ship instantly began to fade from existence, leaving nothing but a flat patch of grass in its place.

“So…” Alex said, reaching in to his pocket and pulling out a key, happy that it hadn’t somehow vanished from his clothes while he was in Equestria, “Either of you hungry?”

“I could eat.” Dash nodded.

“No meat though!” Twilight said instantly, “…I still can’t believe Fluttershy ate that stuff.”

“In her defense, she didn’t know it was meat, or that it was horse.” Alex chuckled, walking over to the door with Twilight in tow behind Alex and his fiancé, “I’ll make you guys some tomato soup or something. Then we can rest up.”

“Where’s the nearest library?” Twilight asked, no longer trying to hide her enthusiasm toward reading all about this world, as they walked inside of Alex’s home, “I’d like to be there tomorrow.”

“Well, it’s in town,” Alex answered, glancing at the clock and seeing that it was just shy of one o’clock, “I’ll get you down there tomorrow after I talk to Chet in the morning. Just sleep in, I’ll take care of you when the time comes.”

“Are you gonna come with me?” Twilight asked Rainbow Dash, as the mare gave a conflicted look to her.

In one hand, she could go and read up on all sorts of cool things this world would have to offer… But, at the same time, she would be revealing herself to be a full-blown egg head.

“Um…” She said, showing just how much she wanted to go, without outwardly saying it, “I guess I could see what kind of cures they have for petrification in this world!”

Alex only laughed as he helped her on to the couch in the living room, and made his way to the kitchen.

“Work on your walking while I cook for you guys!” Alex called out to them, “I’m gonna tell Chet that I’m a pony last! So you guys have to try and pass for humans until then!”

“Got it!” Dash shouted back to him.

Alex silently grabbed a pot out of the cupboard, only to hear the sound of someone fall on the floor with a painfully loud ‘thud.’

“How are you so bad at this?” Twilight asked, standing up and expertly helping the girl back on to her feet, “I mastered walking faster than Rainbow Dash!”

“H-hey!” Dash said, instantly jumping in to defense mode, “I mastered it years ago! I’m just rusty!”

“Suuuuure!” Twilight giggled, giving Dash a small push, knocking her off balance, and causing her to drop on to the couch.

Grabbing her arm, Dash yanked Twilight down on to the couch, both of them laughing as they went.

Alex exhaled happily. If they could help Twilight forget about Alpha for a while, this trip would be a complete success. The poor girl just needed some distraction.

And now, with it just being the three of them in the house, he’d finally be able to try and go for that three-way he always—

“Can it, Dax.” Alex muttered, knowing exactly where that last thought came from.

Because no sensible guy would ever want two girls at once. Nope.

Never.

That thought definitely came from Dax.

Shock and Awe

////
Shock and Awe
////

Alex held his breath, standing outside of his uncle’s door, at only a few minutes after six in the morning. He knew that he’d be up, but wasn’t sure if he was busy, as he could be in the morning, or, if he was even around. Although, only a couple of days had passed since he had last been here, with Twilight and the rest of the girls thanks to the time difference, and Chet hadn’t mentioned anything...

Turning around, Alex looked back to his house, wondering if it might be a better to come back later. He didn’t exactly want Chet half-paying attention to their conversation, while Alex tried to drop the ‘pony’ bomb. He’d probably misunderstand, and then Alex would have to explain things twice.

He could just see it. He would articulate his point expertly, cover every base, and leave himself feeling incredibly satisfied. But, then Chet would turn around, and say ‘What was that?’ Then, he’d explain it a second time, stumbling over his point terribly, until his uncle thought that he had lost his mind completely!

It just wasn’t worth the risk! He’s come back later. Yes. That would be the plan.

“You gonna stand there all day?” Chet’s voice came from behind Alex, making him jump in place, as he turned around with a terrified look on his face, “Good to see you back here so soon.”

“Oh, sorry!” Alex said, “You’re busy! I’ll come back later!”

“I’m not busy.” He said, leaning back at the weird attitude, “I’ve got to pick up groceries for a date with Tammy, but that’s at like, seven.”

“In an hour?” Alex asked, surprised that they would plan a date so early in the morning.

“At night, kid.” Chet shook his head, clearly seeing that something was up with Alex, “I was just about to watch Star Wars. Come in! We can jam it out together. I need to talk to you about that diamond you gave me!”

“Oh, can that wait?” Alex asked, “I’d rather just relax for a few hours, you know?”

Chet tried not to laugh. ‘Wait’ he asks? He was sitting on a billion dollar gem, and Alex wanted to talk about it later.

“Fine. After the movie.” Chet said, knowing that Alex had been though a lot recently, and discussing his possession of a likely stolen gem would only be negativity at this point, “You’re coming in, right?”

Alex thought for a moment. He knew that a movie would be the kind of distraction that he didn’t want, but at the same time, he hadn’t seen those movies in a long ass time.

“Tell me we’re watching Episode One though,” Alex said, his eyebrow raised at he pointed at Chet.

“What the hell is with you and that movie? It was god-awful!” Chet laughed, as Alex walked past him in to the house.

“A kid blows up an entire space station!” Alex defended, “Twelve year-old me was blown away! I wanted to be a badass like him!”

“And now look at you! You’re just a loser with no girlfriend.” Chet laughed, before regretting his rather poor attempt at a joke, “Uh… Sorry about that one, maybe too soon, huh?”

“Na,” Alex laughed nervously, knowing that telling Chet about his engagement would have to wait until he was done explaining all the pony stuff, “I’m fine.”

“I’m glad to see you’ve manned up over the past few days,” Chet smiled, patting him on the back as he sat down in the living room next to his nephew, “If you want a snack or something, you can just grab it out of the kitchen.”

“I’m fine for now,” Alex shook his head, relaxing on the couch he had spent so many nights on when he was a kid, watching movies with his mom, dad, and uncle.

A pang of sadness hit him, as he thought about how normal things used to be for him. He’d get up, eat breakfast with his parents, go to school, come home, dick around for a few hours, eat dinner, then go to bed. While it was nothing compared to his life now, he sometimes wished he could go back and just spend a day with them.

“You okay?” Chet asked, pulling Alex’s attention, “You look bummed. That joke was in poor taste.”

“It’s not the joke,” Alex shook his head, “I was just thinking about mom and dad.”

“Oh.” Chet said, his own expression dulling at the memory of his lost brother and sister-in-law, “Yeah, I think about them all the time too.”

“I loved how we used to watch movies in here on Fridays.” Alex asked, feeling himself get a little choked up at the old tradition he used to be so fond of, “Even when I was in high school, I was dying to come home at the end of the week to watch something here.”

“You should have been out banging chicks, Alex.” Chet chuckled, “But, I guess I can’t complain that you wanted to spend time with your family. You were always a weird kid.”

Alex laughed, he had no idea.

////

Twilight had insisted that Alex take her to the library as soon as they were all up in the morning. Of course, when she said ‘all of them,’ Twilight truly meant when ‘she’ was awake.

So, at the tender time of five fifteen in the morning, she had him wide awake, and driving her and Rainbow Dash down to the library, so they could ‘beat the lines.’ But, as she learned, a library in this world was about the same as one in Equestria.

Still, that didn’t stop her from getting her hands on every history book she could find. But, as she had anticipated, there were a lot of them, spanning thousands of years. Needless to say, she was giddy.

After spending a good half hour gathering books, Twilight returned to the table where Rainbow Dash sat, her attention on a short, rectangular book.

“Oh, Garfield. You can’t eat all that lasagna!” Dash laughed, flipping to the next page as she noticed Twilight walking toward her with her massive stack of books, “Hey! Find everything you need?”

“I think this just about does it,” Twilight nodded, dropping each book on the table and reading the title out to Dash, “I’ve got the history of this world in my hands! There are books about evolution, cavemen, um… ancient E…Egypt, Greece and Rome, the dark ages, the renaissance, discovering the new world, civil wars, industrial revolution, two wars that the whole world participated in… and, well, from there it gets to be less sparse, because record keeping obviously got a lot better, and a lot more got written—“

Dash bust out in laughter, her attention completely back on her book, “This cat is such a dick!”

Twilight frowned. Dash may have gone through some life changing moments over the past few years, but she was exactly the same as ever.

After she finally got a hold of herself, and stopped cackling, Dash looked at Twilight and raised her eyebrows in interest, “Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Never mind.” Twilight exhaled, plopping down in her seat and opening the first book, on the first section of human history.

And that was how the two sat for the next few hours, as Twilight devoured book after book, wanting nothing more than to catch all the way up to current affairs, so she could proclaim herself an expert on human history.

Dahs, on the other hand, had worked her way through half of the comics in the ‘kids’ section of the library. Something she had picked up, was her ability to read incredibly fast. Back when she was searching for Alex, she forced herself to read at such a pace, that massive reports, or books that she needed to study, were nothing more than a few hours of her time, versus several days.

But, now, here she was, putting that skill to use, so she could speed read books intended for immature audiences, and boy did she love it!

Still, time passed them by, and they both began to notice themselves get pretty hungry.

Looking up at the clock, Twilight was shocked to see that it was already eleven in the morning.

“How have we spent five hours doing this already?” Twilight asked, looking at the still engaged Rainbow Dash, “I guess it’s true what they say, time does fly when you’re having fun!”

Dash looked up from her book, and gave a slightly pained expression as her stomach growled audibly, “What are we doing for lunch? I’m practically wasting away here!”

“Well, there’s that one diner across the street,” Twilight muttered, remembering the terrible experience she already had there, “But I don’t think that place is such a good idea.”

“Why not?” Dash asked, having missed out on that trip, “That’s where you guys ate the meat, right?”

“Uh, yeah…” Twilight mumbled, “But they serve… horse meat…”

“Oh! Right!” Dash laughed, having completely forgot about that story, “You sure you don’t wanna go over there and give it a try?”

“Are you serious?” Twilight asked, shocked that Dash would even consider such a thing.

“Well, it’s not like I’d be eating it. Just you would be!” She replied, holding her composure completely.

She frowned, “Very funny, Dash. But let’s be serious here for a few minutes.”

She cracked a smile as she reached in to her breast pocket and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill, “Alex gave me this to pay for food… I think it’s a lot, so why don’t we browse around a bit? There’s a bunch of places around here from what I remember.”

“How much meat is there though?” She asked, knowing the answer, but hoping that Dash knew something she didn’t.

“Oh, it’s everywhere,” Dash said, shaking her hands in front of her, “But most places will give you a salad if you ask.”

“Thank goodness,” Twilight exhaled, “The last thing I need is to get weird looks because I’m asking for hay or something.”

“Speaking of hay, how’ve you been feeling about Alpha?” Dash asked out of the blue, as Twilight gave her a confused look.

“What does Alpha have to do with hay?” She asked, tilting her head.

“Honestly, I just wanted to ask about him, but couldn’t be bothered to come up with a good transition,” She laughed, before seeing that Twilight wasn’t really amused to be having this conversation.

“I… I don’t think I wanna talk about it,” Twilight said, as she looked away from Dash.

“I just wanted to be clear with you here,” Dash said, “You know that he did everything he did to keep us protected, right?”

Twilight gave a single nod, not investing herself in the topic.

“And you know that he left to take hold of the changeling empire, and steer it toward the better, right?” Dash asked next.

Twilight gave the same response.

“But you’re still mad at him?” Dash then questioned, pursing her lips as she waited for Twilight to respond.

“Of course I am!” She shouted, standing up and slamming her hands on the table.

“Shh!” A voice came from across the room.

Blushing furiously, Twilight sat down and put her hands on her cheeks, rubbing them down her face, idly enjoying the foreign sensation.

“Of course I’m mad at him.” Twilight said at a much more appropriate volume for a library, “He didn’t even say goodbye to me… He just took off.”

“I’m sure he had a good reason for doing that.” Dash frowned, maybe she shouldn’t have brought this up. The trip was supposed to take her mind off of Alpha, and she was just bringing him back up, but, she was already in at this point, “You know that, right?”

Twilight was silent.

“He did bring out this monster inside of you, just so he could—“

“Save Canterlot?” Twilight asked, shutting Dash up, “Save Equestria? How could I be mad for that? He stopped me when he needed to, didn’t he?”

Dash nodded quickly.

“You know, the trust is,” Twilight said, surprised that she was opening up like this, when she had refused to do so before, “I was so happy to find out that he wasn’t some double agent… When he told me that the two of us needed space a few days ago, I felt like my heart was going to explode.”

Dash knew that feeling.

“I-I cried myself to sleep because I thought he didn’t like me!” Twilight continued, leaning back in her chain and crossing her arms, “Then, I found out that he was just protecting me from becoming some kind of slave to the changelings… I felt so much relief, that there was no room for anger.”

Dash nodded, a smile growing on her face, happy that Twilight felt that way toward him. It was so… cute.

“He’s spent so much of his time in Ponyville with me,” Twilight sighed, thinking back to all of their time together since he came back from stone in Alex’s form, “He stuck to me in the crystal kingdom, being my bodyguard... He held me at night while I was filling with that dark magic, making sure I couldn’t hurt myself... I mean, he kissed me when he was disguised as Alex!”

Dash laughed out loud. For some reason that just cracked her up.

“But, after all that, he takes off, and leaves me wondering… Maybe I really don’t mean as much to him.” Twilight muttered, looking down at her lap, and wiping her eyes with her thumb and index finger, “I just need to talk to him one more time.”

“When will you get that kind of chance?” Dash asked, figuring that Alpha was more or less the king of the changelings now, “He’s probably pretty hard to get to now.”

“You watch me.” Twilight said, giving Dash a small, sly smile, “If I went to the hive, he’d see me. I’d shout outside of the castle until he had to come outside.”

“So, you’re not given up on him then?” Dash asked.

“Well, if he’s really not interested, I’ll have to give up,” Twilight answered, “But, you can bet your rump that I’ll be hearing it from him. He didn’t make me… fall in love with him, just to run off and never speak to me again.”

Dash’s eyes went wide, “You’re in love with him?!”

Twilight felt so happy, to have finally said the words out loud, and in the proximity of a friend.

“I really do,” She said almost silently, “I was inviting him to sleep with me before the wedding.”

“Like- sleep-sleep?” Dash asked, her mouth wide, shocked that Twilight was so forward with her advances on men, “Even I wasn’t that forward my first time with Alex!”

“It’s not as if I asked him to rut me, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight scolded, trying to sound as lady-like as possible about the situation, “I just… figured that one thing would lead to another.”

Dash smirked.

“You haven’t even gone on a date with him!” Dash teased, “What happened to the third date rule?”

“He and I have spent days together in that library,” Twilight responded, “We’ve had dinner together so many times… we’ve gone to see movies- as friends, and some days we would just sit in the library, and talk. For hours! I know so much about him, I might as well be married to him.”

“Married huh?” Dash laughed, completely blown away by just how infatuated by Twilight was with Alpha, “Are you sure you’re mad at him?”

“Oh, believe me.” Twilight gave a single nod, “He’ll be on his knees begging for my forgiveness if this is one of those stunts he loves to pull.”

“Probably not the only thing he’ll be doing on his knees…” Dash muttered, laughing to herself as Twilight shook her head at the immaturity.

“Grow up, Dash.” Twilight said, trying not to smile herself, “Come on, let’s find something for lunch.”

////

The credits for Star Wars Episode Six were scrolling up the screen as Alex stood up and stretched his arms above his head.

“Man, I never get sick of that!” Chet laughed, “The way he saves him at the end like that!”

“Any father would do that,” Alex had concluded, “I mean, I would for my kid. Even if he kissed his sister.”

“That was always so weird,” Chet responded, standing up next to Alex and walking in to the kitchen, “I just felt like they could have changed the story a bit, and not had that weird kiss at all.”

Alex followed behind him, and sat down at the kitchen table, looking out the window next to the table, looking at Chet’s property, and feeling nostalgic once again.

About fifty meters away from the house was an old tree with a completely trashed tree-house in it. Alex had played in it for years when he was a kid. But, like most things in the world, it was old, and eventually he put his foot through a floor board and got about fifty splinters on his right leg. That was the last day he had played in it. From there, it had just been allowed to rot.

“So, why did you come back so fast?” Chet asked, joining Alex at the table, holding the diamond Alex had given him in his palm, facing the ground to keep it hidden, “I’d like to see you around a lot more.”

“Well, the truth is… I came back to come clean,” Alex exhaled finally, “I’ve been putting it off, but I need to sit down with you, and give you the whole truth.”

Chet couldn’t even begin to describe the relief he was feeling at this moment.

“Thank god, kid!” Chet laughed, lifting the diamond up, and placing it on the table, “You need to tell me where the hell you got this from, right now!”

Alex laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his neck, “That’s a complicated one to answer…”

“I got it appraised, Alex.” Chet said, looking over his shoulder as if someone might hear what he had to say, “It could be worth a billion bucks! Where the hell did you get it?!”

Alex opened his mouth. He was here to tell the truth, but knew that the truth would only lead to disbelief. But, on the flip side, lying about it would only stall things.

“Okay,” Alex said, placing his hands flat on the table, “I need to start from the beginning.”

“The beginning?” Chet asked, half-knowing when that was, “The night your mom and dad died.”

“Well… Yes. And no…” Alex growled. There was no way he could open with, ‘I went to a cartoon world and more or less became a magic wielding god!’

There was only one way for that to end.

Institutionalized.

He had to prove he was telling the truth, before he came out with it.

“So?” Chet asked, holding back his impatient tone to keep Alex comfortable, “Come on man!”

“I… I can use magic.” Alex said, his heart pounding harder than it ever had in his life, every second taking a minute to pass, as he looked Chet in the eyes, reading every emotion as it passed through his face.

“Okay… So that’s how you slipped the gem in to my hands?” Chet asked, really confused at the strange admittance, “Sleight of hand?”

“What? No no no,” Alex shook his head, just wanting to get to the ‘proving’ part. “Like, a wizard! I can cast magic spells!”

Chet pursed his lips. Alex really hadn’t changed all that much. Always full of bullshit, just like his dad. In a way, it made him happy to see. His brother’s legacy was being carried on, and his nephew hadn’t lost his sense of humor.

“Magic, huh?” Chet laughed, wiggling his fingers, “You’ve gotta show me some of that! What can you do? Pull a rabbit out of a hat? You can guess my card?”

“I’m serious!” Alex restated, his mind completely crapping itself, as he tried to think of the best way to illuminate his skill to Chet, “Whatever you want! I’ll do it!”

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me, Alex.” Chet said, shaking his head, before deciding that he wouldn’t be the one to back down from all this BS, “You can’t even think of one magic spell to show me?”

Alex huffed, not responding.

“You know what?” Chet said, snapping his fingers at Alex, “Can you use the force? I’m sure a wizard like you would have no problem with that!”

“You want me to levitate something?” Alex asked, nodding quickly, “I mean, I should have just done that in the beginning—“

“No way!” Chet shook his head, playing completely in to what he thought was just a big joke, “You said you could do anything! I wanna see some of that force lightning! That shit the emperor uses on Luke!”

“Well, I don’t know if that’s the best thing for me—“

“What?” Chet challenged, ready for Alex to finally back down, “You said you could do anything!”

Alex opened his mouth, before closing it. He knew what Chet was doing. He didn’t believe him, and he was playing along, as if this was some kind of big fallacy. So, Alex decided that he would play right along with him.

“Well, we’d better go outside then,” Alex gestured to the sliding door, “I wouldn’t want to lightning the house, right?”

Chet nodded in large, slow motions, “That’s a smart idea, Alex. Can never be too safe.”

Chet stood up, and opened the door, gesturing for Alex to leave first.

“Thank you.” Alex said politely, walking out on to the grassy field, heading a safe distance away from the house, “Don’t fall behind old man!”

“Old man he says,” Chet muttered to himself, laughing as he closed the door and caught up with Alex, both standing out in the noon sun, “Oh, hey! Do you think you could deal with the rotten tree there? I mean, you magic should have no problem with that, right?”

How Chet hadn’t cracked up yet was a mystery to Alex. But, that wouldn’t matter for much longer.

“Lightning might not be the best at removing it.” Alex said, shrugging, but still acting as if he were playing along.

“Don’t even worry about it,” Chet shook his head, “Just try your best.”

Alex laughed out loud, stepping forward from Chet, as he squinted at the tree.

He had cast a lot of spells in his time. He fired lasers out of his horn, set things in fire, brought the dead back to life… But, as ashamed as it made him to think it, this would be the single most satisfying moment out of all of those.

Alex felt his magic course through his veins as he began to channel it slowly, not wanting to start bleeding from his eyes too quickly here.

“Hey, I don’t think I can shoot it out of all my fingers,” Alex called, turning back to Chet, “I can do it with two fingers together though.”

“You know what I’ve always said, Alex!” Chet said back, “Lightning is lightning, out of one finger or ten!”

“It’s true,” Alex laughed back to him, “You always say that.”

Turning back to the tree, Alex looked to his fingers as he tested the channel of his chaotic magic.

A few sparks shot out of his pressed index and middle finger on his right hand.

Perfect. He was ready to go.

Stretching out his right arm to its full length, Alex curled his ring, and pinky finger, while pointing his thumb straight up, shaping his hand like a gun.

“Having performance issues?” Chet asked, “No need to be ashamed, lots of guys have that problem.”

Alex looked over his shoulder and smirked, his arm still pointed at the tree.

“I’ll let you be the judge of that.”

Chet barely had enough time to register the electricity sparking around Alex’s arm, before a massive, blinding, and deafening blast of lightning fired from his fingers, directly impacting the tree in the field, and completely obliterated it, sending pieces of shrapnel exploding in all directions, completely covering the field in chips of wood.

Chet stood in silence, his mouth hung open, as he scratched his cheek quickly.

Alex couldn’t help but smile at the reaction he had gotten. The smart ass deserved it.

“Y-Y-You—How… What did you…” Chet stammered, her mouth quivering, “What kind of trick it that?! You had that set up in advance!”

“You’re the one that told me to use lightning!” Alex rebutted, shaking his head, “How could I have known?”

Chet pointed to him and shook his head, “This had better be a joke! There is no way you’re a wizard!”

Alex winced at seeing Chet’s arm. A piece of wood must have hit him, as blood was running down to his elbow, and dropping to the ground quite steadily.

“Oh shit, your arm!” Alex said, running over to his Uncle, as Chet looked at it himself.

“Oh... I-I didn’t even notice it,” He said, as the stinging sharply began, “God damn, why does it always start to hurt when you see it’s there?”

Alex wasted no time, and poured some more magic in to his hand, concentrating it on his palm this time. Then, in an instant, he placed it over the gouge, and poured more chaotic magic in to Chet’s arm.

He winced at the stabbing pain in his head. Healing magic always cost the most… It only made sense it would feel like a knife in his brain when he was a human.

Chet only watched in awe as the wound on his arm closed itself, and stopped both bleeding, and hurting. It was as if nothing had even happened.

Chet looked up to Alex, his face completely unreadable.

“Heh,” Alex said, panting as a blood began running down his cheek from his eye, and down his jaw line from his right ear, “Who’s… the idiot now?”

Everything went black.

////

A Summary

////
A Summary
////

Alex groaned as he opened his eyes, only to be met with a throbbing headache that felt like a ton of bricks being dumped on his brain. He hadn’t felt this crappy in months.

Sitting up, he looked around the room to try and get his thoughts straight. Where was he?

Instantly, he recognized that he was in his world.

And then, in a flash, it all came flooding back to him.

He had come here just after the Canterlot wedding with Dash and Twilight, deadest on telling Chet the truth about where he had been. Then, after dropping the girls off at the library, he went across the street and watched Star Wars for a few hours. Then, to finish everything off—

“You’re awake!” Chet said, having just opened the door to check on Alex, “Thank Jesus! I thought you were in a coma or something!”

“What happened?” Alex asked, still trying to recover the last fraction of his memory, “Everything is fuzzy…”

“You shot friggin’ lightning out of your god-damn arm!” Chet answered, flicking on the light and momentarily blinding Alex, “You scorched half of my backyard!”

“Right…” He muttered, not processing the fact that he had shown his magic to Chet just yet, “What knocked me out then? I should have been fine…”

“Well, you healed up this cut on my arm,” Chet said, unbuttoning his sleeve, and showing Alex his unscathed skin, “Then you passed out.”

“That makes sense,” Alex nodded, slowly opening his eyes and getting himself used to the bright light, “My horn usually keeps me from hurting myself.”

“Horn?” Chet asked, as Alex finally realized just what he was saying.

“I guess I have a lot of explaining to do,” Alex laughed softly, grunting once again as his head throbbed painfully.

“Do you need some asprin?” Chet asked, just wanting Alex to get on with his story, “I got buckets of it downstairs.”

“No,” Alex shook his head, holding out his empty hand, “I can get it myself.”

His hand began to emit a soft light, as three red pills appeared in his palm.

“Jesus Christ,” Chet said again, sitting back in a chair next to the bed and running his hands through his hair, “What are the chances I’m just going insane?”

Alex laughed, as he downed the pills, “Maybe I’m showing off too much.”

“Showing off he says…” Chet huffed, leaning forward, finally able to interrogate Alex properly, “So, I think it’s time for you to tell me just what the hell has been going on with you!”

Alex thought for a moment, before he started to laugh to himself.

“What’s so funny?” Chet asked, miffed that Alex wasn’t just getting on with the story.

“I’m sorry,” Alex laughed, thinking about the absurdity of the story he was about to tell Chet, and whether or not he would even believe him, “But you need to promise me that you won’t call bullshit on me.”

“Alex,” Chet said seriously, “You just shot lightning out of your arm, and healed the chunk it took out me. I think I can buy whatever you have to say.”

“Well,” Alex exhaled, counting the numbers in his head, “I guess it all started about four years ago.”

“Four?” Chet asked incredulously, “You’ve been doing this since before your parents died?”

“Oh… Right,” Alex said instantly, having forgotten about the time difference between the two worlds, “Okay, scratch what I just aid, it all started the night my parents… died.”

Chet nodded. That was the night Alex vanished, leaving him to pick up all the pieces of his brother’s death. It had been a hard time, and he had wished Alex had been there to help him through it.

“After I got the news, I lost my mind a little bit,” Alex said, holding steady eye contact with his uncle, “Cried my eyes out for a few hours in the back yard, wishing I would just wake up.”

Chet nodded.

“So, after I got myself together a little bit, I decided to go for a walk in the woods just off the property… You know the ones I mean.” Alex waved his hand, moving on with his story, “So, I was walking up to the clearing my mom used to take me to all the time… And there was a light. It was so bright, I had to check it out. I mean, I just needed to get my mind off of things, right?”

“Right.” Chet agreed.

“So, I walked up to it, thinking it had been a vehicle of some kind- even though there’s really no road,” Alex continued, “Anyway, I got to it, and… well, it was just this-this bright door.”

“A bright… door?” Chet asked in a disbelieving tone, rising an eyebrow.

“Can you just… okay?” Alex asked, “You said you’d listen, didn’t you?”

“Sorry,” Chet said quickly, raising his hands, “No more from me tell you’re done.”

Alex mouthed a small ‘thank you,’ as he got back on track.

“So, being the curious lad that I am, I decided to check it out by, well, touching it.” Alex laughed, “But, once I hand my hand in it, I couldn’t pull it out. So, after freaking out, and being pulled in more and more, I just wound up falling in.”

Chet nodded, still finding the story easy enough to believe at this point.

“So… heh, well, what happened next was when it got crazy.” Alex closing his eyes and chuckling once again, “I became a horse.”

Chet frowned, “Alex, I told you I’d respect this story of yours, but that’s a two way street, kid.”

“I’m not lying!” Alex said, laughing at the instant disbelief of his story, “I turned in to a cartoon horse!”

“Oh fuck off!” Chet said, cracking a smile of his own, “How much are you going to pile on top of this story?”

“I became a cartoon horse, with wings and a horn!” Alex said, as Chet chuckled and shook his head,

“Are you done yet?” He asked.

Suddenly, Alex remembered something that gave him pause.

“Uh… Remember when I came back a few days ago?” Alex asked suddenly, “Remember when you got a hold of my iPod?”

Chet furrowed his brow, had he been on it?

“Oh yeah!” He nodded, “It was full of porn.”

“The big question, however, is… what kind of porn was it?” Alex asked.

“Uh…” Chet muttered, as the pieces slowly fell in to place in his head, “It was… horses, but they were cartoons— Oh god.”

“What you actually looked at, was a picture of myself, and Rainbow Dash.” Alex replied, as Chet stared blankly past Alex to the wall, “Or… Sarah, as you know her.”

Chet scratched his head, not quite able to buy this yet.

“There’s no way.” Chet shook his head, “Nope. No way. That’s not possible.”

“Nothing about me is ‘possible,’ Chet.” Alex said seriously, “But you need to believe me when I say that I went through a door, and turned in to a cartoon horse. It’s a pretty important part of the story.”

Chet covered his eyes and exhaled loudly, “You promise me you’re not bullshitting?”

“I mean every word, swear to god.” Alex responded, as he held out his hand, and materialized his iPod in his palm, “I’ve taken pictures.”

Chet didn’t answer as he watched Alex slide his finger over the screen a few times.

“To be exact, I’ve taken… fifteen thousand four hundred and six!” Alex said, reading the number on his screen, “And I’ve got it all in chronological order! From applebuck season to Manehattan… a thousand years in the past, Haven Station, the Gala, back on earth, some pictures of Dashie in her sexy uniform… Alpha, the Crystal Kingdom, Nightmare, my breakup with Dash, getting back together, Trixie, and the wedding! There’s a lot of sex mixed in there though.”

Chet rubbed his eyes again, “You’re gonna need to slow down. I don’t think my head can take all of this.”

“Okay,” Alex said, his eyes still glued to the screen, “I’ll get back to the beginning here.”

Something Alex hadn’t considered, however, was the time displayed on his iPod.

////

Dash sighed as she closed the last comic book from the shelf, and placed it next to her, along with all the rest she had read. It was a pile of books that would literally but anyone to shame.

“I’m out of books!” Dash growled, as Twilight looked up from her own, “I thought Alex was gonna be here hours ago!”

“How many of those have you read?” Twilight asked, eyeing the massive pile next to her friend.

“I don’t know,” Dash said, pointing over her shoulder, “That whole bookshelf.”

Twilight was about to dig deeper in to the conversation, when something dawned on her. In the time that it had taken her to read through half of a semi-abridged history of earth, Dash had burned through what looked like forty or fifty comic books.

Twilight had inspected one herself, and they were fairly thick, despite the simplicity of their content. It would have taken her at least half an hour to read one of those by her own estimation… so how did Dash read fifty?

“Did you read those all the way through?” Twilight asked, as Dash smiled and nodded, “Like… Every comic?”

“Yeah! They were great.” She nodded again, not following Twilight very well, “Why does it matter?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Twilight shook her head, as the horrible reality set in.

Rainbow Dash was capable of speed reading more than twice as fast as her. What was this world coming to?

“Maaaaan…” Dash whined, leaning back in her chair, “We’ve been here for like, nine hours!”

“Grab something else to read,” Twilight suggested, “I’ll bet you could find a series just like Daring Do here.”

“No way,” Dash shook her head, “I’d never cheat on my favorite series like that!”

“You know that’s not how it works, right? …right?” Twilight asked, as Dash seemingly didn’t answer, her mind elsewhere, “Dash?”

“Oh! I know what I can read!” She said, grabbing her backpack and dropping it loudly on the table, “Reports!”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. She hadn’t heard anything about Dash bringing… reports along for the trip, “What kind of reports are they?”

Twilight’s eyes widened further as Dash pulled out the largest stack of papers she had seen in her life. They were all contained inside of a huge binder, and were separated with small protruding stickers.

“Well, with the impending treaty with the Changeling empire, Shining Armor asked me to go over all of our intelligence and cross reference it was some that Alpha sent us, so we can fill in some blanks on their invasion tactics, see just what our spies got right and wrong, and fact check the legitimacy of what they’ve said. Along with all that, I have to make a master log that has all the information from both sides, in one report, instead of two.”

Twilight’s jaw had hit the table two seconds in to her explanation.

“You’re going to do all that?!” Twilight asked, unsure if even she was up to that kind of record keeping task, “How do you plan on getting all that worked out?”

“Easy!” Dash chirped, happy that Twilight was so interested in her work, “I’ll read all the reports, then match up the ones that are in regards to the same events. Then I’ll read them again, and cross reference for factual errors. Then, finally, I’ll write new a new report for the event, and file it away!”

“Well, I’ve got to hoof it to you, Dash,” Twilight laughed, truly shocked, “You’ve got a real egg head inside of you.”

“That’s not true!” Dash defended, instantly snapped back to the mare Twilight always knew, “I ran away from my duties as a Captain! I’m only doing this to make up for it! ”

“Whatever you say,” Twilight said, looking away from Dash and whistling.

“Quit bugging me!” Dash said, holding her volume back, “Why are you bugging me so much for reading?”

Twilight paused. Why was she giving her a hard time? It was a miracle that Dash read at all, let alone planned on spending days, or even weeks breaking something massive like that binder down in to something easier to understand.

“You’re right,” Twilight said, “Sorry about that… I guess it’s just hard for me to see. You’re so different from the mare you were four years ago.”

“No kidding,” Dash laughed, “I like to think I’ve changed for the better though! I read, I’m getting married, I can still fly faster than anypony in Equestria. I’m winning at life right now!”

Twilight just laughed and moved back to her book, leaving Dash to her own work.

Glancing up the clock quickly, Twilight started to wonder about his absence as well. Hopefully everything had gone well with Chet, and he had just lost track of time.

////

“And here I am after I destroyed that entire place,” Alex said, pointing to him standing in front of the completely destroyed Haven Station, “I literally melted the concrete supports in the underground level, and brought everything down to me.”

“And… this was after you agreed to let Dax inside of you?” Chet asked, not even sure if he was using the right names, “He allowed you to use that magic?”

“Right!” Alex said, holding out his hand for a high-five, “It was a mix of the two magic types I mentioned earlier. Harmonious and Chaotic. I called it Harmonic magic.”

“You named a special kind of magic yourself?” Chet asked, unsure if Alex was just being arrogant when he talked about it, “How many people can use it in that world?”

“Oh, just me, Rarity and Rainbow Dash.” Alex answered, hoping that Chet knew them all by now, “I’m still the best at it, though.”

“Of course you are,” He shook his head, “How would it be any fun if someone challenged you?”

“Oh, believe me,” Alex said, sliding past all the NSFW pictures and hit the next phase of his time in Equestria, “Someone challenged me real soon. He even turned me to stone!”

“Just to be clear, how close are you to finishing this story?” Chet asked, a hopeful look bleeding on to his face, “I mean, no rush, i cancelled my date.”

“Cancel it? Don't worry, you’ve got hours!” Alex said nonchalantly, “You can grab her food in twenty minutes.”

“Alex, you were out cold for hours! My date would have started in an hour!” Chet laughed, “I guess your magic didn’t help you there, did it?”

Alex look at the clock on his iPod and gulped loudly.

“I guess I forgot about the girls I brought along with me... Crap."

“Where did you forget them?” Chet asked, not having thought Alex brought anyone along.

“The library,” Alex answered hoping they would still be there if he left right away, “I dropped them off before we watched the movies.”

“Right,” Chet nodded, “Well, let’s get in my car, you can keep filling me in as we go… feel free to repeat yourself as well… I may have faded in and out a couple of times at the beginning there.”

“Are you serious?!" Alex asked, unsure if Chet was being sarcastic. "To be fair, I was only trying to stop a Wonderbolt’s final race. That’s pretty much nothing, right?”

“Alright, alright, you win,” Chet lied, crackling a smile, “Those words are gibberish to me. I wasn’t really listening at all.”

"You know, I can tell your joking... But I'm a little worried that you're not taking this as seriously as you should..." Alex said.

"You just spent the last half hour explaining your adventures in cartoon land." Chet replied, clearing his throat, "You're just lucky I'm not having you institutionalized."

"...fair enough."

////

Reintroduction

////
Reintroduction
////

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Chet said, as he turned in to the mall and drove toward the library, “You fell out of a blimp?”

“Yes.” Alex nodded, “Could barely use my wings yet either”

“You know, every time you mention having wings, or a horn, or being a damn horse… I have to fight calling you a bullshitter, you know that?” Chet asked.

“I know, I know.” Alex exhaled, rolling his eyes, “But these girls we’re picking up will be able to back me up on it. They’re both originally from that world.”

“And you’re one hundred percent sure that you haven’t just been drugged out of your mind?” Chet asked.

“Yeah, you got me.” Alex said sarcastically, “I smoked some crystal meth, and now I can shoot lightning out of my hands. I’d recommend it to my kids.”

Chet just grumbled, his entire being still fighting the reality of their situation, despite Alex using that magic right in front of him. Maybe he was the one going insane. It was sad when that was the most likely answer to your scenario.

“Are you sure they’re still in here?” Chet asked, “I mean, you dropped them off hours ago. Would they have wandered off?”

“I don’t think they would have left for too long,” Alex answered, looking through the windows of the building as they drove up to the front doors, “Twilight is too responsible to let them get lost. She’d insist that they stay here until they get kicked out.”

“Who are the girls that came with you again?” Chet asked.

“Twilight, and Rainbow Dash,” Alex answered, as Chet fought the urge to laugh at the odd name, “Again, you know her as Sarah.”

“I thought she cheated on you!” Chet said, frowning at his nephew, “How did you end up with her again?”

“She offered me lots and lots of sex, to be perfectly honest.” Alex said, completely straight faced.

“Well, I can’t get on your case for that one,” Chet chuckled, seeing that Alex was lying, “What’s the real reason though?”

Alex laughed, “I’ll let her tell you.”

Pulling in to the nearest spot to the entrance, Alex and Chet exited the van, and walked together in through the door silently, neither wanting to sound like a lunatic by continuing their discussion.

“Morning Chet.” The librarian said, as she pressed her large arm against the desk and leaned toward the two men, “Aren’t you lookin’ mighty fine tonight.”

“Thanks a lot Heidi,” Chet laughed, knowing the women was just joking around, “If you were just seventy years younger, the two of us could have really gotten along, if you know what I mean.”

“Seventy! Ha!” She laughed, reeling back in her seat, “I wasn’t even alive seventy years ago, you rat bastard!”

Chet laughed as he put his arm around Alex, “I’d be happy to offer my nephew to you though.”

Looking to him, her eyes went wide as she seemed to lose all laughter in her, “Well I’ll be, Alex! How long has it been?”

“Four… uh, well, I guess a little over a year?” Alex asked.

“Well it’s great to see you getting along!” She smiled, reaching under his desk and pulling out a card, writing his name on it, “Here, take this. Take some books out! And don’t worry about any late fees. I know your father had a lousy way of forgetting his books.”

“Thanks,” Alex said politely, reaching forward and taking the card from her hand, surprised that it wasn’t more effort to get a library card, “I’ll try not to be a delinquent… or I’ll just wait till amnesty day.”

“Good plan.” She said, leaning back in her chair, causing the back to creak loudly, “What brings you two here anyway?”

“We’re looking for a couple of girls,” Chet answered, looking over his shoulder and seeing nothing immediately, “Real funny hair colors.”

“I know the two,” She said, pointing to the back corner of the building, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone read comic books that fast in my life.”

Alex was pretty sure he knew who she was referring to.

“Have they caused you any trouble?” Alex asked, curious if the two had remained inconspicuous as he had asked.

“They got in a loud conversation for a few minutes, but things died down and they went back to reading,” She answered.

“Well, we’d better go check on them,” Chet said, lightly pulling Alex in the direction of the two girls, “We’ll say goodbye before we go.”

“You’d better,” She said, pointing at Chet, “I wouldn’t want to have to chase you down for that goodbye kiss.”

Chet just shook his head as he and Alex turned and walked away from the large women.

“Where do you know her from again?” Alex asked, having forgotten that piece of information over the past four years.

“How’d you forget that?” Chet asked, releasing his arm from Alex’s shoulder as they rounded the corner, and spotted the two girls in the corner, “She’s been working here since your dad and I were in high school.”

“Has she always flirted with you like that?” Alex asked, hoping that this women hadn’t been hitting it up on guys that weren’t even out of school yet.

“No way, it was me flirting with her back then,” Chet laughed, remembering all the times he and his brother had faux-flirted with the women to get a signature from her on some paperwork for school, “We both took a work experience program at school, and she got us both tons of credits by saying we had worked here at the library.”

“Sounds like you and my dad were a couple of shits.” Alex said, cracking a smile as Chet laughed himself.

“You can say that again!” He said, trying not to let himself get too upset by the thought of his deceased brother, “After a few years, she just turned the tables on us, and started acting like that toward us.”

“Well, that’s pretty cool.” Alex said, as they finally reached the table, and silently waited for either of the girls to notice them.

Alex looked between them, and wasn’t surprised to see Twilight nose deep in what looked like the biggest book the library held. Across the table, Dash was engrossed in a binder of yellow sheets, scanning one quickly, before moving on to another, and then another.

Alex cleared his throat, and Twilight looked up to them, and Dash continued reading.

“Oh, Alex!” Dash said still staring down at her pages, not even registering Chet’s presence, “You could read about some of the battle tactics the Changelings have used before! It’s really interesting!”

“Battle tactics?” Chet asked, raising an eyebrow, as Dash shot up and looked at the man.

“Oh… uh…” She mumbled, looking to Alex, “It’s nice to see you again… Mr. Mackenzie…”

“How’s it been going since we last saw you?” Twilight spoke up.

“It’s been going well. And, Chet’ll do.” Chet answered, giving Dash a serious look, “So I guess the two of you didn’t break up then?”

Dash gulped. Why did he have to get right to the elephant in the room?

“Alex told me to ask you why you got back together with each other.” Chet said, his eyes drilling in to hers.

Dash looked to Alex, only to see him give her a quick wink, and wiggle his eyebrows, a sign he hoped she would understand.

“Well,” She said, rubbing her chin with her fist, as if it were a hoof, “I… I just… I just offered him so much sex, you know?”

Chet tried to keep a straight face, but he couldn’t seriously stay mad at a person who could supply him with an answer like that.

“Okay, you win,” Chet smiled, pulling out the chair next him and sitting down, “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to know the real reason.”

Dash looked expectantly to Alex, “Um, what should I say?”

“Tell him.” Alex said, leaning against the end of the shelf, “All of it. I’m sick of sounding like I’m crazy.”

Dash looked to Twilight, who shrugged at her eye contact.

“Okay, well, here goes…” Dash said, clearing her throat, and looking right to Chet, “I was possessed by a manifestation of the darkest side of myself. It was powered by chaotic magic, and it managed to manipulate me, and my friends, in to thinking that I had cheated on Alex. However, after he left earth the last time he visited, he forced that side out of me, and he managed to defeat it, with his own chaotic alter ego.”

Chet dropped his head on the table with a ‘thud’.

“Jesus.” He muttered, “It’s real. Oh man. It’s all real… Christ…”

“And then I asked her to marry me.” Alex said, as Chet slowly lifted his head and looked back to his nephew.

“You... you’re engaged?” Chet asked, as his face contorted in to one of pure confusion.

“Yes I am.” Alex nodded.

Chet sighed, and laid his head back on the table. The world was spinning right now.

“And just to be clear,” Chet said from the table, “You girls are horses?”

“Ponies, actually.” Alex corrected.

“Oh good.” Chet said, starting to laugh, as his volume began to increase more and more, until it sounded like he had just been told the funniest joke on earth.

“Chet, are you okay?” Alex asked, placing his hand on his uncle’s shoulder.

After a minute, Chet finally managed to quiet himself down, and place his chin on the back of his hands, as they rested on the tabletop.

“I just don’t know what to say to you guys right now…” Chet said, exhaling and looking past them all to the wall, “Alex has been gone for a year, he bangs a horse, and wants to get married to her.”

“Pony.” Alex corrected.

“Right right…” Chet muttered, “I really do wonder what your dad would think of all this.”

“He’d be reacting the exact same as you, Chet. You know that.” Alex said, grabbing a chair for himself from the table next to theirs, and sitting down next to his uncle, “But there’s something that I need to clear up with you, on the time I’ve been gone.”

“Oh?” Chet asked, “What’s that?”

“For every second that passes in this world,” Alex began, looking to the girls quickly, before switching back to Chet, “Four pass in that world.”

Chet didn’t process that information right away. At first, it didn’t even seem like that much of a difference. But, as Alex continued, the cogs in his head began turning a little faster.

“I haven’t been gone for a year, Chet.” Alex said slowly, hoping that his uncle wouldn’t freak out, “It’s almost been four for me.”

Chet’s eyes widened. That wasn’t something he expected to hear, despite the huge amount of insane information he had heard today.

“I’m almost twenty two.”

For once, Chet was speechless.

“If I were to stay in that world… in ten years for you, I’ll be over sixty years old.” Alex said, placing his hand on Chet’s back.

“So… If you keep living there… You’d die before me?” Chet asked, blinking quickly, not having wanted to hear this either.

“Um…” Alex hummed, scratching his chin, “I think I could probably keep my body going for a few hundred years on this kind of magic. So maybe not.”

“Alex might even be able to cast an immortality spell on himself, if he were willing to learn it.” Twilight said, thinking that it would help the conversation along.

“Shh!” Dash pressed her fist against her lips.

Twilight silenced herself.

“I just… I can’t believe this.” Chet said, sitting up and leaning back in the chair, “I really, really can’t believe this.”

“I know it sounds crazy, but it’s the—“

“I can’t believe this.” He said again.

“Look, what exactly can’t you believe?” Alex asked, figuring that any question could easily be answered, “I’ll fill you in, no problem.”

“Well, I’m just having a hard time believing that… well…” Chet sighed, before looking to Alex sadly, “You’re banging a horse.”

Alex made a fist and felt himself shake a tiny bit.

“I’m only going to say this one more time, Chet…” Alex said, looking at him with a deadly serious tone, “I’m banging a pony!”

A Brand New (Re)Start - APRIL FOOLS, DON'T TAKE SERIOUSLY

////
A Brand New (Re)Start
////

Alex looked up at the ceiling in his bedroom, unable to sleep after the long day of explaining his new life to Chet. There was simply too many things going through his head to get to sleep. For instance, his Uncle was now begging to be brought along with them on their return to Equestria. Not for long, of course. Just long enough to see where Alex had been living all these years.

Both Twilight and Dash had been excited by the prospect, but Alex wasn’t so sure.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to show this secret side of his life to his uncle, he just had a feeling that it would be a little bit more of a traumatic experience than he expected… Although, to be fair, all of the girls that came from Equestria settled in just fine on earth, so maybe Chet would be just fine.

Perhaps it was just the circumstances that were causing him to have so much pause.

Alex looked over his shoulder to his sleeping fiancé and smiled. It was strange to him that she was acting so completely normal here. Her hands were pressed up against her chest and chin just as her hooves would have been in Equestria.

“I need a drink…” Alex muttered to himself, turning away from Dash and getting out of his relatively small bed.

Sneaking down the stairs, he went in to the kitchen and pulled out a coke, and cracked the tab.

Idly walking toward the back door, Alex peered out over the field behind his house, and felt a strange surge of nostalgia, taking him right back to the night his parents passed away. The night he had walked himself in to the woods, and started a new chapter in his life.

Suddenly, he felt compelled to make his way back out there, and relive some of the feelings he had experienced so many years ago.

////

It took Alex about fifteen minutes to get his shoes and coat, and make his way back to the clearing in the woods, genuinely enjoying the trip, as he breathed in the crisp night air, and fondly remembered his parents.

“And here we are.” Alex announced to no one, as he reached the large field, and looked around for a moment, surprised that the edges of the field were so far away, “Its way bigger than I remember…”

But, then something caught his eye.

Another light.

It was on opposite side of the field to him, and it looked painfully familiar.

Wasting no time, Alex used a magic spell to teleport himself to the door, and was truly shocked to see that it was indeed the exact same as the one he had stepped through so many years ago, when he first arrived in Equestria. The only difference was, that it was in a different place.

Reaching out his hand to touch the edge, he stopped himself, and wondered if it was a good idea to go through without telling anyone.

But, his brilliant mind deduced that he was in no danger, because when he went back to Equestria, he could just teleport himself back to earth, with a simple spell.

So, wasting no time, he held his breath, and stepped through, being blinded by that same light again, until darkness washed over his eyes.

////

Before Alex even had a chance to open his eyes, he was aware of his situation. He remembered vividly walking through the door, and returning to cartoon world. His head was much clearer this time than it had been the last time.

Stretching, he opened his eyes, and yawned, only to realize that he wasn’t in the field in Equestria. He was in some kind of room. It was made up in a black and white, modern look, with all sorts of sketches of dresses pinned up on the walls.

He was certainly in a cartoon… but everything looked a bit different.

Reaching up to scratch his face, Alex was shocked to see that he had a real hand. And not only that, but his hand reached his face abnormally fast, as if there was less distance between the two of them.

Sitting up, he instantly saw his reflection in the mirror on the other side of the room, and he gasped.

His head was huge!

“Oh, you’re awake!” A familiar voice came from the door way, as Alex snapped to the source, and went wide eyed, “Are you okay, Calvin? I just found you snoring on the front steps of the store downstairs, so I brought you up here with my dad.”

Alex’s eyes were narrowed at the large headed girl, briefly wondering why she called him Calvin, as he tried to work out what had happened. He must have been in a completely different dimension from Equestria. He must have been brought to this new world instead.

“So… Do you need anything?” The girl asked, once again making Alex give her a puzzled look.

“What’s your name?” He asked slowly, as she gave him an embarrassed look.

“Oh, sorry, I totally forgot!” She laughed, “My name is Blythe.”

“Your voice,” Alex began, trying to work out a mystery in his head, “You sound a lot like my girlfriend.”

Blythe gave him a raised eye brow as she grinned, “Is that a line? Are you seriously hitting on me?”

“Oh no!” Alex shook his head quickly, “You have an incredibly similar voice to my future wife. Like, it’s creeping me out a little bit.”

Suddenly, a small purple dog ran in to the room, and jumped its paws up on the girl’s leg, trying to get her attention.

“That dog looks like Twilight with those colors…” Alex muttered.

“Yes, Zoe?” She asked, turning to the dog and smiling.

“You told me that we’d try on dresses for the International Pet Fashion Expo!” The Dog said clearly, as Alex grunted loudly, getting the attention of the girls back.

“And the animals talk?” He asked, “Well, that’s one similarity...”

“You can understand me?!” Zoe asked, running, and jumping on the bed, her tail wagging rapidly, “That’s amazing!”

“I didn’t know there was anyone else that could talk to animals like I can!” Blythe said, shocked that he was acting so nonchalant about hearing Zoe, “That’s amazing!”

“Okay, that’s cool and all, but why does she sound like Princess Celestia?” Alex asked.

“Oh, Princess you say?” Zoe giggled, tossing her hair to the other side of her head, “Well, I can’t argue with you on that!”

“Okay, so let me get this straight.” Alex said, holding his hands out in front of him, “You’re a dog that sounds like Celestia, looks like Twilight, and acts like Rarity.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” Zoe asked, looking back to Blythe with a worried expression, “I’m Zoe!”

Twisting on the bed, Alex removed the blanket, only to realize that his pants had been removed, leaving him in his boxer-briefs.

“W-where are my pants?!” He asked, covering himself instantly.

“Oh, over there… on my hope chest,” Blythe said, giving him a sly grin, “I didn’t peg you for a purple underwear guy, Calvin.”

“C-Calvin?” Alex asked, giving her a truly puzzled look, as he located his pants “Why do you keep calling me Calvin?”

“Well that is your name, isn’t it?” Blythe asked, tilting her head, “Calvin Klein?”

Reaching forward, she attempted to move the blanket.

“It’s written all over your underwear—“

“You’re doing Back to the Future!” Alex shouted, backing up and covering himself further, “And you’re not my mom!”

“Yeah well,” Blythe shrugged, “It’s April 1st, and this chapter isn’t canon.”

Alex pointed his finger at her for a second, before nodding.

“Thank goodness!” Alex said, dropping his finger and laughing, “Now I won’t get in trouble for thinking that your big head is kinda sexy.”

////

Author's Note

I gotta do at least one April fools. Come on.

Back in the Diner

////
Back in the Diner
////

Two hours had passed since the four of them had sat down in the restaurant for dinner, and collectively talked through Equestria in all of its finest details, specifically covering the events of the past few years. Twilight had truly been meticulous as she explained every event that she and her friends had participated in, and had done an amazing job answering all of Chet’s questions. She was essentially an ambassador from Equestria, and needed to make sure that her home was properly represented in this world, even if one person was her entire audience.

“And, following their expedition, Alex and Dash here reunited Princess Luna- the Princess of the night, with her long lost granddaughter.” Twilight said, having not made a terrible amount of progress due to her attention to detail, “Equestrian royalty is forever indebted to these two because of those actions.”

At this point, Chet had more or less come to terms with everything they were saying.

Sure, he had believed Alex after he shot a bolt of lightning out of his arm, but a brain isn’t always capable of simply accepting something it thought was previously impossible. Every ounce of his being was calling ‘bullshit,’ but his nephew had been serious, and sincere enough to truly give him pause on those assumptions.

“So, you found the granddaughter of Luna, who is the sister of Celestia, and originally… That nightmare horse?” Chet asked, squinting one eye and looking upward, trying his very best not to roll his eyes, “And because she’s immortal, she’s been around for more than a thousand years, therefor… is able to meet her own granddaughter.”

“Right,” Alex nodded, shocked that Chet wasn’t being more of a… Dax about it, “Oh, and this might interest you! That was the first time Colors and I really went at each other—“

“Are you serious?!” She cut in, silencing him and eliciting a fearful expression from her fiancé, “You’re going to tell him about the first time we had sex?”

Alex looked awkwardly around the table as Chet gave him two thumbs up, along with a nod of approval.

“Well… I was gonna say, that it was the first time we went at each other…” Alex coughed, as she gave him the same disapproving stare, “But when I said that we, ‘went at it,’ all I meant was that we had a fight. Remember the sexy mare room? You called me a liar about not wanting to sleep in it?”

“Oh… Well, we had just watched Bolt die! I was a wreck!” Dash defended, vividly remembering the sickness she felt for the weeks following, and the slight dependency that had developed when it came to not sleeping alone, “But, I guess now that it’s out there, yeah. That was our first time.”

“Well, I’m very glad we all got to hear that,” Twilight rolled her eyes,

“Moving on…” Chet shook his head, taking a sip of the further melted ice in his cup, “I have a question!”

“Sure. Ask away.” Twilight said professionally, folding her hands and curling her fingers.

“What was Dax all about?” Chet asked, giving then a curious look, “I mean, I got the gist. But what was he all about?”

“I already explained that to you!” Alex complained, “Were you not listening?”

“You said he was ‘bad you!’” Chet complained, “I need someone smart to tell me.”

Alex really couldn’t argue with him.

“Well, when we first met him, we assumed he was a bad pony,” Twilight spoke up, “He ruined my house a couple of times, disabled magic in the Wonderbolts stadium…”

“The first flash of ‘good’ was when he saved Luna’s baby,” Alex said quietly, looking to Dash as she returned the same expression she had just a moment ago, “Really, after all was said and done, he was just me, with no filter on his actions.”

“What kind of filter are you talking about?” Chet asked.

“Like, if he were here right now, he would probably be talking about his giant horse penis, the time he saved the world by being stabbed, and that he would love to have a three-way with these two girls here.” Alex said, pointing to Dash and Twilight, “And would probably add my ex to the mix as well.”

Both Twilight and Dash gave Alex a sour look.

“But… You’re Dax!” Dash said.

“If that’s what Dax would say, then that’s what you secretly want!” Twilight accusead.

“I-It was just an example!” Alex stammered, trying his best to keep his liar face from appearing, “It wasn’t true!”

“But the other stuff you said was true.” Dash pointed out, shaking her head at his flawed logic.

Alex pursed his lips and hung his head down.

“Dammit.”

“Every guy thinks that way,” Chet laughed, having had this conversation many times in his life, “It’s not his fault. He’s just wired that way.”

Both girls gave Alex a narrow gaze, before returning to their happy demeanor rather suddenly.

“Well, moving on!” Dash said, pushing the anger to the back of her head, saving it for later, “Where were we?”

“Fall of the night?” Chet asked.

“Right!” Twilight nodded, “Let me see.”

“That’s when you met my parents!” Dash spoke up, remembering the trip fondly, “My mom is still always asking to see you!”

Alex chewed his nail, fighting the urge to make the joke. However, he lost the battle to Dax.

“Maybe get your mom in on the three-way.”

And then the smack happened.

////

Courtney stood behind the kitchen door, peering through the glass so she could spy on the group at the opposite side of the restaurant. With her in the kitchen was the cook, Justin. A fairly good looking guy that was about six feet tall, shaggy brown hair, and a beard that always seemed to be just a few days old.

Courtney had found herself thinking about him in a few too many times for her to simply consider him friend material, but nothing had ever happened between the two of them, aside for some sarcastic insults, and largely nonexistent animosity they would often show toward one another.

“Who is that guy again?” The cook asked, sitting in a chair with his legs kicked up, “Maybe you should take their order or something.”

“I haven’t taken it for an hour!” She hissed, looking over her shoulder momentarily to glare at him, “No way I’m going out there now… Or maybe I should.”

“He’s your ex-boyfriend, right?” He prodded, standing up and looking over her head at the table, “Is that his new girlfriend?”

“Yes…” Courtney mumbled, “I broke up with him the night his parents died, and then he vanished for three flippin’ months. But, when he finally came back, he had that chick with him. I would have been back with him within two weeks.”

“Rainbow hair… weird.” He said, ignoring her and tilting his head, “I’ll bet she’s kinky.”

“Oh, shut it, Justin.” She said, backing up quickly, pushing him away from the window, “Just let me wallow in peace. I deserve it for ditching him.”

“That’s a very mature way to look at it.” Justin laughed, walking back to his chair, and dropping himself in to it.

“I wouldn’t say mature,” She answered, watching with contempt as Dash laid her head on Alex’s shoulder, “I’m still wishing she’d get hit by a bus.”

“So you could hook up with him again?” He asked, opening his newspaper, “Jesus. Remind me to never date you.”

A moment of silence followed, before Courtney spoke up.

“I should go out there and talk to her.” Courtney said, nodding to herself slowly, “Maybe see if I have a chance to get back together with him.”

“That is the last thing you should do.” Justin warned, “I can’t believe you’re so hung up on him! You just want what you can’t have.”

“I felt like an idiot two weeks after breaking up with him. I thought I had gotten over it, but every time I see him, I just lose my mind! It drives me nuts…” She responded, not taking her eyes off of them, “I just need to go out there, and chat him up!”

“Don’t do it!” Justin said, looking over his newspaper.

She tapped her foot on the floor rapidly as she considered her possible plans of confrontation. And, without another word, she opened the door, and headed toward the table.

Justin winced as she headed out of the kitchen. He knew this was going to be ugly. And he knew that she should probably have someone stop her before she makes an ass of herself… But, there was no one around to stop her. So, he’d just have to watch from the window.

////

“And then he just beat the crap out the guy!” Dash laughed, “That was another time Dax showed us that he wasn’t such a bad guy.”

Courtney confidently walked to the table, her chest pointed forward, and her smile confident.

“So what can I get you guys?” She interrupted, as the four people sitting at the table looked to her awkwardly.

“Uh…” They all said in an extremely well done synchronization.

“Well, while you’re all thinking, I figured I’d catch up with you, Alex!” She said with a sickly smile, as she pulled a chair from the table behind her, and sat down with them, “What’s new?”

Alex looked nervously around the table as his friends gave him an equally puzzled look back to him.

Alex coughed, not wanting to be rude, whilst also wanting to be incredibly rude. It only took him a moment to find the perfect middle ground.

“Oh!” She said, his awkward expression fading, as it was replaced with genuine excitement, “We got engaged!”

Everyone at the table saw the noticeable eye-twitch come from the girl.

“Well…” She said slowly, an uncomfortably large smile growing on her face, “I’m… so… happy for you!”

Not one person in the restaurant believed her.

“Well, thanks for stopping by!” She said, suddenly standing up, her large smile still plastered on her face, “We’re closed!”

“But… It’s only nine—“

“Yup!” She said quickly, nodding, “Holiday hours and all!”

“Well, thanks a lot sweetheart.” Chet said, coughing awkwardly, while eyeing his companions with a small smirk, as a small surge of pride welled up within him for Alex, “We’ll take off.”

They all stood up, and started heading for the entrance, with the exception of Dash, who leaned against the pillar next to the table with a small smile on her face.

Alex looked over his shoulder and gulped loudly. Whatever Dash was doing, it could end terribly.

“You might think I’m a bitch for it,” Dash began, as the girl stared directly in to her eyes, “But I really do owe you for breaking up with him… Without him I’d be living a completely different life.”

Courtney said nothing, unsure if she should be seething, or smiling at Dash’s comment.

Looking past her shoulder, Dash spied a fit man staring through the window leading to the kitchen.

“Why not go for him?” Dash whispered, “I could be wrong, but he’s staring at your rump.”

Courtney shot a glare back to the kitchen, as Justin quickly ducked behind cover.

“I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us,” Dash said softly, “Because I’m going to be around here a lot, and I really think it would spiral out of control really fast.”

When Courtney looked back to Dash, she revealed a much sadder expression than the one she had just a moment ago, “Please go.”

Dash didn’t say anything. She simply walked over, and joined her friends, and left the restaurant.

Courtney stood in silence for a few moments, before she heard the kitchen door swing open, and had Justin join her.

“I thought things would be worse.” He laughed, before seeing the tear running down her cheek, “You okay?”

“Maybe it was a stupid thing to do, but I always imagined that I’d end up with him,” She said quietly, as Justin raised his eyebrows at the sudden confiding she was doing in him, “I romanticized some kind of improbable future in my head. It just hurts to look at the truth is all.”

“Well… why don’t we close this place down and go get wasted at Bob’s?” Justin asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders in a friendly gesture, “Maybe we can find you some other guy to fall in love with. Make you forget all about him in the arms of some drunk guy at the bar.”

“You mean you’re not asking me out right now?” She asked, wiping her tear from her cheek and clearing her throat.

Justin opened his mouth to give a sarcastic remark, before he stopped himself, and thought for a second.

“Jesus,” She muttered, walking over to the door and flipping the ‘open sign’ around, to show ‘closed.’ “Go clean your shit while I make sure we’re even on the cash. We can be out of here in ten minutes.”

“Good thing your dad owns this place,” Justin said, walking back in to the kitchen, “Its great being able to close down whenever you want.”

“Just don’t tell him it was to go to a bar together,” She called, making sure she was heard across the restaurant, “He’ll kick your ass for that one.”

“And what if he finds out the cook is dating his daughter?” He called back, figuring he already knew the response he would be given.

“Who said we’re going to end up dating?” She asked, stifling enough laughter to make him feel bad about himself, “I’m just using you to get over Alex!”

“Oh, well that’s—“

“But, you know, if something deeper were to happen between us… well, maybe you should have another job lined up. Just in case.” She said suddenly, yet softly.

Justin only smiled and nodded, despite the fact that she couldn’t see him.

She’d been hung up on Alex so long that he figured she was a lost cause. But, whatever she said to his new girlfriend must have been pretty huge if she was insisting on going out with him tonight.

He’d have to give her a high-five next time he saw her.

////

Paying Respects

////
Paying Respects
////

“I’ll walk back from here,” Alex said to Chet, as he climbed out of the van, leaving Dash and Twilight in the car, “You sure two will be okay in the house for a bit?”

“I’m just going to take a nap,” Dash shrugged, “Maybe do some work on my war reports.”

“I’ve got plenty to read,” Twilight said, pointing to the massive backpack filled with books on the seat next to her, “Plus, I plan on filling Chet in on the rest of your time in Equestria.”

“Are you sure you wanna walk?” Chet asked, knowing the distance from here to his house was a good hour trip on foot, “I can just wait here for a bit.”

Alex shook his head, “I don’t know how long I’ll be here… it’ll probably be for a while. I think it’s time I really said goodbye.”

“Alright,” Chet said, putting the van in drive, as he began rolling away, “If you get in to trouble, make sure to use your magic!”

“Thanks,” Alex laughed, turning to face the large metal gate, leading in to the town graveyard, “I’ll see you guys in a few hours.”

Chet didn’t say another word as he pulled away, leaving Alex alone to do something he had neglected for so many years.

It didn’t take him long to make his way through the small graveyard. Luckily- if you could say the word ‘lucky’ at all- the graveyard was incredibly small. Most people who died in the town were buried in the city. However, Alex’s family held a plot of land that was big enough to keep his family being buried for two hundred years. So, unless he was buried in Equestria, this would be the place his body would spend most of its time.

Shaking off the rather… unpleasant thoughts, Alex continued on his path down the small brick walkway, and thought back to the last time he had seen his mother and father alive.

They had been their normal selves, off to get groceries and spend the day together.

They told him they loved him, and they headed off, never to come home again.

By some miracle, Alex hadn’t gotten in a fight with his father and left the morning on a sour note. At the very least, they had parted ways happily.

It was one of the things he had been glad of over the many passed years. They had all been happy on their last day together. He had a sneaking suspicion that had there been a fight that morning, he would still feel guilt over it, even today.

A few more minutes passed as he kept his slow pace, silently enjoying the calm, warm evening air. He had grown quite an appreciation for peace these days. He finally understood why his father would come home and just sit quietly for a few minutes. He was happy to share that with him.

Alex reached the end of the path, and was somewhat surprised to see that he had arrived at his destination. The two tombstones that sat at the back of the Mackenzie plot. They belonged to Steven, and Brittany Mackenzie.

Alex immediately felt a pain in his chest. Even though he was aware of, and had completely come to terms with their death some time ago, this was his first time seeing such a powerful- immovable fact, concerning his parents. They were dead, and these stones were here to make sure the world would always have that reminder.

“Well…” Alex said under his breath, figuring that if they were ghosts or something, he didn’t exactly need to raise his voice too loud for them, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you guys.”

The wind quietly blew past his face, as he remained silent, as if to give them time to respond to what he had said.

”We’ve missed you so much, baby.”

“Hear that kid? She thinks you’re a baby!”

Alex chuckled at the voices he conjured within his head.

“Things have changed- in case you didn’t know,” Alex continued, unmoving from his place, “And I don’t know if either of you could even begin to believe me about it.”

Alex was only slightly surprised when he felt a lump form in his throat. He had expected this to be a little difficult, but had budgeted for more.

Taking a few steps back, Alex pressed his back against a tree, and slid himself down in to a sitting position.

“That day you guys went off, and got in your accident… was the day my life really began.” He said, clearing his throat, feeling a little bad for them, whether he could be heard or not, “I moved out of the house, made a whole bunch of new friends… I even met a girl. And I think you guys would have really liked her.”

Again, his mind filled in the blanks.

“Thank goodness! I never liked Courtney. She was always so rude!”

“Well, we’ll have to take your word for it on the new girl. It’s not like we’ll be seeing her any time soon, right?”

Alex paused as the pain in his chest multiplied.

Again, he had always known that his parents would never meet Dash, or any of the other girls. But… sitting here, and saying these things made him feel like he was being hit in the chest with a hammer.

He sat in silence and imagined the million scenarios that could have played out between his mother, father, and Dash. They would have loved her. She would have gotten along great with both of them, between his dad’s faux-asshole attitude, and his mother’s competitiveness.

“I wish you could have seen her, dad.” Alex finally spoke up, laughing through the sadness as he continued, “I think you would have broken my hand with the high-five… And I’m sure you would have thought she was very nice too, mom.”

Again, he left an opening long enough for the two of them to respond, imagining what they might say. However, his mind started working a little too hard at it.

”So, how big are the tats then?”

”Oh, would you grow up!”

Or…

”Does she take care of you? Because I’m not around to do it anymore! So you make sure she does!”

“Oh, I’m sure she takes care of him plenty. Women love Mackenzie men, and Alex is the first one in the long line to be genuinely… not ugly as crap.”

Or maybe…

”How am I supposed to brag to my friends about my sons new girlfriend, when she’s just a horse? The guys will tear me apart!”

“Well, good thing we’re dead then, isn’t it?”

He wasn’t sure if it was sad, or desperate, or perfectly normal for someone to imagine things like this when sitting in a graveyard.

“I actually asked her to marry me.” Alex said, blinking a few times as he looked to the ground, “I mean- there’s no date set or anything… But that’s gonna happen. Just something else I figured you’d want to know.”

Then, the truest pain set in. It was being hit by a bus.

Because his imaginary parents were dead silent. They had no response. He knew them so well, that he couldn’t even conjure a fake congratulations in his mind from them.

If he were to really be sitting here, talking to their ghosts, they may have had a moment of happiness, but it would have been followed by many more moments of sadness. They would have been heartbroken to miss something so important to him.

And so, they were silent.

Alex was alone in the world to get married, have kids, and live his life.

Maybe it was a crazy thought, but their completely imagined sadness was what pushed him over the edge.

“I miss you guys so much…” Alex said roughly, placing his thumb and index finger over his eyes, squeezing them shut, and sending a tear down his right eye, “I really hope there’s a heaven you went to.”

Alex hadn’t been too much for church before he went to Equestria. He wasn’t too sure that he bought in to the whole thing. But, when you lose people you love like he had, it can have a strange effect on your perception of the world. It left him wanting nothing more than to be wrong.

By this point, his cheeks were wet, and the night breeze was chilling his face slightly.

Even though he had jumped from a blimp, watched a stallion die, defeated a god of chaos, and served as a personal love-toy for a changeling queen… sitting here, looking at these gravestones… it made him feel so lost. There were so many feelings that he had bypassed upon going to Equestria a few years ago, and they were all pouring out of him right now.

Who would take care of him when he wakes up with a cold, and has to stay home sick?

How would he fix something if it broke? His dad always knew what to do when an electric outlet broke, or the water stopped working.

If he was buying a house, or a car… who would make sure he wasn’t making a stupid decision?

”You know the answer to that already.”

Alex heard the fake voice in his mind clearly.

Yet again, he knew his parents too well. Their impressions were so strong.

”You’ve got such a big family now, Alex.” His father’s voice said confidently, “All of your friends from Equestria, Chet, Dash… there is no problem you couldn’t overcome in this world.”

“And even if you find yourself lost, with no one next to you, we’re still in here.” His mother said, tapping her imaginary finger against his head, “You’ve grown up so much… Guess I can’t call you baby anymore, huh?”

Alex could feel their embrace around him as he truly began to cry.

These comforting voices were coming from his own head… He was consoling himself with the voices of his parents.

But, at the same time, he wasn’t.

He had spent his entire life with them, they had put their hearts and soul in to him, burning their memory in to his mind.

It was like they had spent his entire life recording videos of solutions to every problem he would have to face in his life, except they were saved right to his brain.

All he needed to do was find the right tape, and play it back.

And on top of that, they made sure to heap in plenty of extra footage telling him that they loved him, and that he would do great things, along with being an amazing husband and father.

The wind continued to blow by Alex as he sat in silence.

He thought he had budgeted for his emotional response. But, it looked like he had undershot by a mile. He was nothing more than a sobbing pile at this moment.

But it wasn’t all sadness.

It was fear, it was hope, and it was relief.

Coming here today made him realize something he had wished he knew three years ago.

His parents had been with him this entire time… And not just as silent voices in the back of his head. They made him the man he was. They told him to persevere in getting Dash back from the Wonderbolts. They made sure Dax would protect Luna’s child. They helped him see that sacrificing himself for Equestria was the right thing to do, even though he was turned to stone.

Every single aspect of his life had been shaped by them.

It had only just dawned on him, how much they would continue to change the world.

And it made him smile.

The Questions Couples Ask

////
The Questions Couples Ask
////

Alex wasn’t sure where his mind was, as he walked out of the graveyard, out on to the dark and silent road back to town. He felt almost inexplicably happy, but wasn’t sure if that was the appropriate thing to experience.

He had just had his first heart-to-heart with his mother and father, since he last saw them alive, and their voices made him feel confident, energized, and as he had already recognized, happy.

His pace slowly increased, increasing from a slow jog, to a fast sprint.

He wanted nothing more than to get home, and wrap his arms around Dash, and tell her that he loved her for the rest of the night. He was just so ecstatic, and he needed to share this new found happiness with someone.

He ran at a speed he had never dreamed of moving back before he went to Equestria. His entire body was used to running for huge periods of time, with little to no exhaustion. And that carried over back to earth.

Casting a spell around his feet, he decided to kick this trip home in to overdrive.

Each time he lifted his foot off the ground, a powerful jet of air blasted him forward, turning his large steps in to massive bounds, tripling his speed as he ran down the deserted road.

Looking to his right, he saw the main highway that would lead to his house, about two miles away from his current place. If he wanted to keep up this pace, he couldn’t really go through town. He might be seen.
So, turning sharply, he began ripping through the dark field.

So much of his fear over his uncertain future has dissolved. In this moment, he was truly unstoppable.

////

Dash sat in Alex’s room, silently going over the war reports she had been asked to work on, and exhaled at the sheer amount of writing she had ahead of her. She had finally finished sorting the reports to correspond with the place or battle they took place in, and now had to cross reference them for discrepancies.

Luckily, all reports used the same dating system, so it was easy for her to find the dates that belonged together, and would likely save her days of work.

Still, even at this point, she knew that Alpha would want to hear some of the things she had uncovered.

After reading all the reports, she was surprised to see some of the Equestrian ones contained disturbing infighting amongst the changelings. On several occasions, a team of changelings she had begun referring to as the ‘death squad’ would randomly appear and slaughter entire platoons of their own comrades.

None of the Changeling reports reflected these events, and left her wondering what that meant for Alpha.

“I’ll have to bring this up with him when I get back to Equestria.” Dash muttered, closing her folder and leaning back in her chair, “I wonder how Alex is doing…”

A knock came from the door to the room as Dash looked up and told her visitor to come in.

“Hey,” Twilight said, peeking in through the door as she opened it, “How’s the work going?”

“Boring!” Dash laughed, standing up and walking toward the door, “Why don’t you come in for a bit? We don’t talk girl to girl enough these days!”

“Actually, I’m heading to bed right away,” Twilight said apologetically, rubbing her eyes and giving a soft laugh, “All that reading I did today has got me ready to pass out!”

“How does reading tire you out?” Dash asked, crossing her arms and giving a skeptical look.

“Are you kidding me?!” Twilight asked, shocked that Dash didn’t agree, “I read about the history of an entire new world! It took all my energy to just imagine these events happening! I tired myself out mentally!”

Dash couldn’t really debate, as she had never used her imagination to the point of exhaustion. So, she decided to take her word for it.

“Well then, make sure you get some rest! Chet and Alex are taking us in to the city tomorrow, you know.” Dash said, as Twilight nodded rapidly.

“I’m dying to take in as much of this world’s culture as possible!” Twilight nodded excitedly, “He promised that he’d take us to a center of science. I’m really curious about what parallels exist between our worlds in those fields! I just wish I had enough time to cover that section of the library.”

“Uh, yeah! Me too!” Dash nodded slowly, trying her best to be convincing in her fake enthusiasm.

Twilight looked over her shoulder at the sound of the front door opening, and closing a moment later.

“There’s Alex,” Twilight said, looking to her room down the hall while stepping out of the room, “I’ll leave you two alone.”

“Alright,” Dash smiled, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Twilight waved as she entered the guest bedroom and closed the door.

Alex jogged up the stairs and turned to see Dash standing in the door with a small smile on her face. She didn’t want to appear overly happy, as he just came from a graveyard, and might need a more comforting attitude.

But, that simply wasn’t the case.

Alex immediately wrapped his arms around her small body and pulled her in to a passionate kiss, taking her somewhat by surprise, until she got the memo, and pulled her arms around his neck.

After a good twenty seconds, Alex pulled away from her face and gave her a smile that made her heart skip a beat. Something must have happened to him while he was at the graveyard, and she really hoped that it wasn’t him going insane or something.

“W-what’s up with you?” Dash asked, laughing nervously and tilting her head, “Is all of… this a good thing?”

“It’s an amazing thing,” Alex said, lessening some of the worry Dash had initially felt, “I just… I feel like a new person!”

“What happened at that graveyard?” Dash asked, returning his simply infectious smile with one of her own, “You don’t usually see ponies coming back from there with a smile on their faces.”

“Honestly, it’s hard to explain,” Alex said, scratching the back of his head and laughing, “I guess I worked through a few problems that I didn’t even know I had.”

“Well, I’m glad to see you so happy,” Dash beamed back to him, “I was worried you’d be bummed out for the next few days.”

“Bummed out? Me?!” Alex laughed, while shaking his head, “Maybe if things had gone differently.”

Dash walked back and sat down on his bed, and patted the mattress next to her.

After he walked over and plopped down, Dash placed her hand on top of his, and leaned on his shoulder.

“Are you scared about what’s coming?” She asked, knowing they had had the discussion before, but felt a small part of her still needed reassurance, “After the girls face their dark sides?”

Alex exhaled. He wanted to lie, and tell her he wasn’t afraid. But that just wasn’t the case.

“Yeah.” He said, “I’m worried. But… maybe a little less after today.”

“I’m so worried that after everything we’ve gone through, all the pain and suffering we’ve seen, and experienced, it’s going to all end with the end of the world… Or worse… maybe just one of us will end up dea—“

“Do you want to have kids?” Alex asked, as Dash gave him a visibly confused look, “If we’re gonna talk about the future… I think we shouldn’t exclusively talk about the short term. We should talk about what we’ll do after things work out.”

Dash looked down and smiled.

“Would you rather have a son, or a daughter?” Alex asked, looking at her as she looked up from the floor to meet his gaze.

“I-I haven’t really thought about it!” She stammered, “I’d like a kid! You know that!”

“I know.” Alex nodded softly, “But what would you like to have?”

Dash pursed her lips as she considered the question.

Chances were that she’d have a daughter. Birth rates in Ponyville were really messed up. But, still, that didn’t answer anything.

“Hmm…” Dash said, “I mean, I’d be happy no matter what. But I think it would be cool to have a boy.”

“Really?” Alex asked, having put his money on a girl.

“Well, I mean, I’m competitive! And I think boys are more competitive than girls, right?” Dash asked, scratching her chin, “I’m just worried I’d be alienated by a girl that loves clothing, jewelry, boys…”

“You don’t love boys?” Alex asked, snickering, “I guess your mom was right. Mare lover!”

“What? No! Not like that!” Dash laughed, playfully hitting his arm, “I was never fawning over boys like most girls did when I was a filly. I always saw boys as the competition I needed to beat.”

“So what am I?” Alex asked, his eyebrow raised with a smirk, “Someone you need to beat?”

“Beat? Ha!” Dash laughed, “I broke you years ago. You’re my slave!”

Alex would have argued, but there was really no point. He was a sucker for chicks with rainbow hair.

“So, what about you?” Dash asked, “Do you want a boy or a girl?”

“Well, I think it’d be nice to have a daughter.” Alex said honestly, fearing for whatever reason that she’d make fun of him for saying it, “Because while I’m sure I’d love a son to hang out with, and teach to play catch… I’d like to have a little girl to play with, and protect from the rest of the world.”

“I don’t know…” Dash laughed, as she pointed at her face, “Look at me. If she looks anything like me, or my mom, she’ll be beautiful! And all the boys will be chasing after her! How would you be able to handle that?”

Alex frowned.

“I’ll just bring a shotgun back to Equestria.” Alex nodded to himself, “Easy peasy. Problem solved.”

Dash laughed and she put her head back on his shoulder.

“Would you want to stay in Ponyville? Or maybe move to Canterlot? Or Cloudsdale?” Dash asked, having given those places a bit of thought herself.

“Well, I love Ponyville,” Alex said, “I’ve never really pictured myself anywhere but there.”

“I just know that my parents will be harping on us to go live with them once I get pregnant.” Dash said, “So, if it was something you might want to do... we could talk about it.”

“Why not just have them move to Ponyville?” Alex asked, “I’m sure you could convince them you need to stay there.”

“My dad’s work has him in Cloudsdale one hundred percent,” Dash shook her head, “He’d never have something that pays him as much in Ponyville.”

“Pay?” Alex laughed, looking to her as he shook his head, “I’m pretty sure our connections with the castle would leave your parents millionaires.”

“My dad would never accept something like that, as much as my mom would beg him to,” Dash explained, “He plans on working until his body shuts down.”

“What does he do?” Alex asked.

“Construction… Something like that.” Dash answered, shrugging, knowing the full answer, but figuring it was just an exceedingly boring one.

“Sounds… interesting…” Alex laughed, as he laid back on his bed, and stretched, “But, one other thing I wanted to ask, when do you want to get married?”

Dash felt her heart skip a beat, she had been dying to have this conversation, she just didn’t want to look like she was some marriage-crazed mare… even though she really was.

“Um… whenever! I don’t want to push you in to anything!” She said, fighting herself from insisting it happen next week or something.

“Really?” Alex asked, “I was actually really wanting to get it done… well, soon. Especially after today.”

Dash swallowed audibly, as she allowed herself to show some of her eager attitude, “Well, when were you thinking? Next year? Maybe in the spring?”

“Spring?!” Alex asked, giving her a disapproving look, “It’s spring now! I don’t want to wait a whole year! I was thinking that we could get married this summer.”

Dash went wide-eyed, “Are you sure? That’s gonna need a lot of work!”

“Well, between Pinkie and Rarity, I think we’d have the planning down,” Alex said, “And the venue won’t be a problem.”

“What do you mean?” Dash asked, “Did you already talk to the ponies at the church?”

“Oh no,” Alex shook his head, as she exhaled a bit, happy that the location wasn’t set in stone, “I talked to Celestia just before we left for earth. She said that she would marry us at Canterlot Castle! So that’s one problem taken care of!”

Had she been a cartoon, her jaw would have hit the floor.

“Y-you wanna get married by a princess? In Canterlot?!” Dash asked, having never considered this kind of ceremony, “Wouldn’t it be weird for two noponies to get married in the castle? At least Cadence was a Princess herself!”

“We’re both Elements of Harmony,” Alex pointed out, “And we’re both known by a lot of ponies in Equestria. A lot of them never knew Cadence or Shining Armor. We’re like, more famous than those two.”

“b-but-“

“Are you okay with that?” Alex asked instantly, realizing that he might be making her uncomfortable, “Because we could do it anywhere! I just thought-well, maybe it wasn’t my best idea, but I thought you’d like something… extravagant…”

Dash actually laughed out loud at his remark, and he really couldn’t blame her.

“Alex, if we went to Las Pegasus and got married at one of those lame chapels, I’d be just as happy as I would be with a wedding in Canterlot,” Dash said, lying down beside him and placing her hand on his cheek, “So, think about what you want to do, and let me know. Because as long as I’m getting married to you, I don’t care how it happens.”

Alex gave a small laugh as he nodded to her, “I’m the exact same. So, why don’t we talk to our friends, and see what they have to say, okay?”

Dash nodded with a smile, “It could even be here on earth, if you’d like.”

“Well, that would be helpful,” Alex said, his expression suddenly changing, “Because I can’t in a million years see myself bringing Chet to my cartoon horsie wedding…”

Alex suddenly paused for a moment, obviously lost in thought.

“What is it?” Dash asked, looking to him quizzically.

“I- I think… when we go back to Equestria… we should take Chet with us.”

The Hive

////
The Hive
////

Alpha walked down toward the conference room, where he would be meeting with the council, the most trusted advisors to the Queen.

Since he returned home to the Hive, and announced the end of the war on the rest of the world, there had been a split in public opinion on the subject. Half of the hive welcomed it, and praised him as a hero for finally ending a both pointless, and endless battle they were forced to fight, while the wealthy sat back and pulled the strings.

The other half of the hive had been almost deadest against following the orders of somepony who wasn’t royalty. They refused to listen to Alpha, despite his being an Omega.

Unfortunately, the council took that very same position, and refused to move on the calling back of troops. They held enormous power themselves within the government, and Alpha was finding it harder and harder to argue his point, when they continued insisting on hearing the end be called by the queen, and nopony else.

Which, of course, put him in a bad position, as he had secretly locked Chrysalis up in the Equestrian dungeon, where she would be staying until she either came around... or, well, died of old age.

So, he simply had to make do with what he had, and hope for the best.

“Omega!” A voice called, as he looked across the room he had just entered, “You seem to enjoy wasting our time.”

Alpha held back an audible growl as he walked in to the meeting room and joined them at the table.

Around him, sat the five most powerful changelings in the hive- save Chrysalis and himself.

They had started as twelve different ponies, and each had controlled a different industry within the hive. They had been asked by the royalty to pool their resources together in order to help win the war. And when they accepted, they were each assigned one of the symbols of the zodiac. Just as a soldier would take on their name as their rank, so did the council members.

However, as the many years passed, members grew old and passed their titles on, leaving them to their first born children. Along with that, many of the businesses changed hooves, some went out of business, and others were simply made obsolete by the passage of time, and the creation of technology. So, of the original twelve, only five remained.

Aries. The head of all arms manufacturing, from swords to tanks, he created all means of destruction, and had been voted as the head of the council by the other members.

Taurus. His grandfather had successfully sold his fighting ability to the king of the Hive at the time, and had earned his place as the head of all military training facilities. He currently also held the rank of Alpha.

Cancer. The head of both internal, and external security within the Hive. It was his job to make sure that their defenses were fortified in the case of an attack from the outside world. There hadn’t been an attack on the hive in over twenty years, but both Cancer, and his father before him, were skilled in the art of paranoia, which securing their place in the council.

Virgo. He’s the head of agriculture, and the main supplier of food to the army. The amount of food they produced every day would have been known worldwide, had they not been trying to keep it hidden from the rest of the world.

Scorpios. The head of education. It was her job to educate the children of the hive, and make sure they were completely informed about the state of the world, and the importance of the war. It was, in Alpha’s opinion, the most vital component to their war efforts, as it churned out soldiers who were eager to get out and fight the world. The more soldiers coming out of the schools, the more funding the schools received.

And as it was, each of these members stood to lose a massive amount of money, and power, if the war were to ever end. So, they had been fighting him tooth and nail to make sure that their meat grinder kept on running.

“So,” Scorpios said, rolling her neck and filling the room with the cracks that came along with it, “What are the chances that you’ve come here to tell us you were wrong about the war?”

“Zero.” Alpha said, his gaze narrowed at the woman as she scoffed, “I was hoping you all would have come around to the better way of thinking.”

“Come around?” Cancer scoffed, looking between his fellow members, “You’re talking about leaving our nation completely defenseless, and waiting to be conquered!”

“Oh cut the crap!” Alpha shouted across the table, “Pretending that this is any more than you all being greedy, is a complete waste of time.”

“How dare you!” Aries said, slamming his hoof on the table, “We care for our subjects, and want nothing more than to keep them safe!”

Alpha rolled his eyes as visibly as he could.

Virgo spoke up before the table erupted in to shouting, as it had on so many occasions before.

“We represent the best interests of the hive,” Virgo said, almost convincing Alpha of his lies with his smooth, and powerful tone, “And without the Queen here, we are the ones that make the decisions! Not you!”

“I was made an Omega by the queen in front of our entire invasion army,” Alpha said, gesturing to the paintings on the wall of all previous Omega’s that had been within the hive, “The queen gave me the same power as her, and you all know that!”

Each of the members knew something was fishy behind Chrysalis’s sudden desertion, and figured that Alpha was the one behind it. So, in an effort to look like they were all still loyal followers of the royal family, they had insisted on hearing the words leave the queen’s mouth themselves.

“Once the Queen returns from her vacation, as you have said she’s currently on,” Taurus said with a serious expression, “She can give us the command, and we will comply.”

“It’s that easy.” Cancer agreed, as everypony else nodded, and grunted in reply.

It was obvious that they didn’t trust Alpha. In fact, they were so confident in that distrust, that they had put all of their eggs in the ‘We won’t stop until Chrysalis tells us too,’ basket.

It was something that endlessly infuriated Alpha, as he knew that Chrysalis would only support the war more after what he had done to her.

“Half of the hive still stands with me,” Alpha said, scanning across the table, “And you all know your businesses will grind to a dead stop if I make the call for them to stop working.”

“And you know that forcing half the hive in to unemployment would have disastrous consequences for all of them,” Aries retorted, “You and I both know that they would start the blame you for the lack of food on their table.”

Alpha sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was the same argument with these ponies every time he came here. They were simply unwilling to leave their positions, no matter what the circumstances.

“Well, if that’s everything,” Cancer said, stepping away from the table, “I have to get back to work.”

“Me as well,” Scorpios agreed, joining him in exiting the room.

“Same time same place next week?” Virgo asked, as he stretched and stepped back, “Maybe Omega will come around by then.”

They all walked past the fuming changeling, and were about to open the door, when Alpha finally spoke up.

“How do you all sleep at night?” Alpha asked quietly.

“Excuse me?” Aeries asked, turning to look at him along with all the others.

“By fighting me on this… you keep sending soldiers to die for a war that truly means nothing more to all of us than our pride.” Alpha said, not turning around to face them, “Mothers lose their sons every day. Wives lose husbands. Families are torn apart forever, because all of you insist on having… what, power?”

None of them replied. There was only a cold stare from each of them, directed at Alpha’s back.

“I feel like I should be so angry about it, that I’m screaming at the top of my lungs…” Alpha sighed, “But, all I can feel is disgust.”

Again, daggers were stared in to his flank.

“This war will end, even if it means that I break each of you down myself.” Alpha said, a growl escaping his throat at the end of the sentence.

“I hope that isn’t a threat.” Aries warned.

“Oh, believe me.” Alpha said, looking over his shoulder and looking him right in the eye, “It was a threat.”

“We don’t want to fight this war any more than you do.” Scorpios said, her tone clearly demonstrating how little she meant what she was saying, “We’re just looking out for the queen.”

Alpha turned away from them once again and remained silent.

“That’s what I thought.” She spat, turning around and storming out of the room, as she was followed by the rest of the council.

Alpha sighed and dropped his head to the table.

He was going to need to get Chrysalis’s support somehow… And he doubted he would get it if he just asked politely.

So, figuring that it was his only chance, Alpha decided that he would try to convince her to think back to her old lover. The two of them had spent a lot of their time discussing the end of the war… and maybe he could reignite that passion within her.

He just needed to figure out the right way to do it.

A Push in the Right Direction

////
A Push in the Right Direction
////

“Come again?” Chet asked, giving the two standing in front of him in his kitchen a rather panicked look, as Alex exhaled and repeated himself.

“I think you should come see this world I’ve been living in- Equestria.” Alex said, just as clearly as he had the first time, “It’s a huge part of my life right now, and realistically, I’ll be getting married there. So, I think it makes sense that I share it with the only real family I have left, so you could be there on that day.”

“You’ve got plenty of family, Alex.” Chet said, trying to change the topic, “I mean, when was the last time you saw your Aunt Gwen?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Alex said, shaking his head at his uncles dodges, “Mom’s sister moved away a long time ago. I haven’t seen her in ten years.”

“She left seven years ago,” Chet corrected, still trying to keep the topic avoided.

“Different flow of time,” Alex shot back, a smile on his face, “The last year and a bit, has been four years for me. Don’t forget, I’m twenty-two now.”

“Jesus, I almost forgot that…” Chet said, wondering if it was strange for Alex to be so long without seeing him, “Twenty-two? You’d better not be expecting four years of gifts.”

“Come to Equestria with us when we head back, and I’ll call it even,” Alex said, laughing at Chet’s rolled eyes, “Seriously, I think you’d have a great time.”

“And what’s so amazing about the cartoon world? From what you tell me, it sounds like you get cut, and stabbed a whole lot over there.” Chet said, pointing to the small scar on Alex’s cheek, “How fast will I get one of those?”

Alex brushed the deformed skin on his cheek with his hand, fondly remembering the spectating that led to its creation, “I’ve only come close to death like… seven times? That’s not so bad for a four year period.”

“My ass!” Chet said, looking to the silent Rainbow Dash for some kind of support, “I know which way is up here! I don’t need to go to some ass backward cartoon world, where I could get exploded by some magic spell at any moment!”

“…Are you scared?” Alex asked, raising an eyebrow, “Because… that would be hilarious.”

Chet only frowned. He had no response, aside from ‘yes.’

“Look, I plan on taking you to the safest place in Equestria.” Alex said, raising his hands, “From there, from there, I’ll introduce you to the Canterlot royalty, Celestia and Luna.”

“R-Royalty?” He stammered, “I’m just a half-assed farmer that lives off of inheritance! I’m not the kind of guy that meets the Queen of England!”

“The Princesses are really laid back,” Dash spoke up, “I was a lousy weather worker when I first met them, and they treated me like an equal. They’re not snooty at all.”

Chet scratched his ear nervously, “W-well…”

“And after that, I can show you my- well, our home,” Alex said, stepping back and wrapping his arm around Dash’s shoulder.

Dash cleared her throat, and gestured for Alex to lean down, as she whispered in his ear.

“Oh… right.” Alex said, looking up and laughing, “I can show you if you have wings.”

“If I have wings?” He asked, exhaling at all the massive changes that would probably come along with this trip, “Are you sure you want this? I mean, I’ll go. I will! I just want to make sure you’re okay with the pants shitting that I’ll be doing.”

“I shit my pants for days after I went there,” Alex said, “But you get used to—“

“Wait… speaking of shit, do you just go in the grass?!” Chet asked, looking between the two quickly, “Because I’m all for a good leak outside, but I’m not your dad, Alex. Number two is reserved for indoors!”

“We use toilets,” Dash said frankly, “They’re a little different from the ones you use here, but the system is more or less the same.”

“Well… how do you wipe without hands?” He asked next, shocked at how many questions there were to answer about this world still, “Do you just wrap the paper around your hoof and jam it in there?”

Alex closed his eyes and exhaled, as Dash laughed out loud.

“Of course not!” She cackled, “What? You think we just hoof ourselves?!”

“Well-“

Dash’s obnoxious laughter cut him off, as he grumbled to himself.

“I’ll make sure to explain all of the aspects of bathroom use, when we get there, okay?” Alex asked, understanding where he was coming from, as far as confusion went, but he also knew Dash would do this. Crude things like this could really be a weak point of hers.

“Well, okay.” Chet said, clearing his throat awkwardly, “So… when are you guys going to be headed back?”

“Well, we were originally planning on staying for a couple weeks, but that was just so I could spend time with you. But, if you came with us, we could go back in a few days. I mean, once I take Dash and Twilight shopping, and to a movie… maybe the theme park in the city, there won’t be much left to do around here.”

“You could get that all done in a day if you want,” Chet said, “Why not tomorrow?”

“Well, I’d like to spend some more time here,” Alex said, shrugging, “I miss the way the sun feels here.”

“It feels different?” Chet asked, as Dash and Alex both nodded to him.

“I can’t really explain it,” Alex said, “It just seems like I can feel it way more here.”

“Well,” Dash nodded along with him, “That’s because we don’t have our coats. If you had bare skin in Equestria, I think it’d feel the same.”

“Oh yeah,” Alex laughed, having never thought that to be the reason, “I guess that makes a lot more sense!”

“So… two? Three days?” Chet asked.

“I think that would be good,” Alex nodded, looking to his fiancé, “Would you be okay with that?”

“Me? Oh yeah.” Dash nodded quickly, “I actually really wanna talk to Shining Armor about those war reports.”

“Perfect then!” Alex laughed, “That’ll give you plenty of time to get your affairs in order.”

Chet sighed, “I’m leaving everything to Tammy if I die there, Alex.”

“Nothing will happen.” Alex said reassuringly.

“I’ll need to leave a note about watering the Christmas cactus…” Chet muttered.

“Everything will be fine!” Alex said again.

“And I’ll leave her instructions about selling that billion dollar diamond you gave me.” He continued, “She might as well be rich for the rest of her life, right?”

“Chet.” Alex said, placing a hand on his Uncles shoulder, “Absolutely nothing bad is going to happen. It’s going to be nothing but calming relaxation. I promise.”

Dash laughed again, and looked to Alex, “Imagine how bad it'll be if shit goes down right when we get back.”

Shopping Trip

////
Shopping Trip
////

“I don’t like this place one bit…” Dash said, practically clinging to Alex as the four of them waded through the crowds inside the massive shopping mall, “This place is way too much like Haven Station...”

Dash was clearly paranoid as they headed through the mall. It didn’t help that every person would steal a glance at her unique rainbow hair.

“Really?” Alex asked, having not made that connection himself, “Are there no malls in Equestria?”

“Not like this,” Twilight said, looking down the halls and nodding, “Stores enclosed in a massive structure like this is so… foreign. It’s almost like Haven Station was built with this kind of place in mind.”

“That was the place where you were brainwashed, right?” Chet asked.

“Yeah.” Dash nodded, frowning once again at the much discussed event, “This place just brings it back.”

“What are you so worried for?” Alex asked, looking down at her clinging form, “You know crazy karate and shit!”

“Well yeah… but I don’t in this world,” She admitted, clearing her throat to cover her embarrassed tone, “If some guy tried to kidnap me, I’d trip over myself trying to run away! I can’t fly or anything!”

“Well—“

“And so many people here are rude!” Twilight added, “What if someone picks a fight with us?”

“What’s with you two?” Chet asked, laughing, “If some guy ever tries to beat you up, Alex, being the man he is, will pull down his pants, and chase the guy off. No one wants to fight a dude and risk touching his balls or something.”

None of them responded. They just looked at Chet, all with a mystified expression.

“I’m just kidding!” Chet said, throwing his hands up in the air, “I saw it in a video, okay?”

“Moving on…” Dash said, looking to the nearest store and exclaiming, “Why don’t we go in here? What’s the big secret Victoria has?”

Alex and Chet both snapped to the store she was referencing, and had similar thoughts.

“Oh…” Alex said, “That’s a store where they sell underwear for women. Lacy, sexy stuff.”

“So, like what Rarity wears?” Twilight asked, “The transparent ones?”

“Yeah,” Dash agreed, “That’s what she usually sleeps in.”

“Rarity, huh?” Chet asked, smiling at the memory of the gorgeous girl he had met a week ago, “How does she look in that stuff?”

“She’s a frickin’ horse, Chet.” Alex said, disappointed with the perversion his uncle was showing, “You think horses are sexy?”

“You’re the one who’s having sex with a pony!” Chet countered just a little louder than he had wanted to be.

The bustling crowd around grew, as they all looked at Alex with a myriad of equally horrified expressions.

Alex sighed, his face turning pink from the embarrassment of the situation.

“Come on sweetie,” Dash giggled, gripping his hand and pulling him through a gap that appeared in the shocked spectators, “Why don’t we go buy some lunch.”

“Okay…” Alex said meekly, looking to the floor as Dash pulled him away.

As soon as he was gone, everyone was staring at the remaining two.

“It was just an inside joke!” Chet called to them, “Have you seen how big a horse penis is? How could he have possibly sex with that?”

Twilight quickly left the same way Alex and Dash had, wanting nothing more than to get away from this situation.

Catching up with the two of them, she looked to Alex sympathetically and apologized, “Is he always like that?”

“Always.” Alex said, nodding.

“I guess we know where Dax gets it from, huh?” Dash laughed, “It’s kinda eerie how similar you are to him.”

“Well, I’m like my dad.” Alex explained, “And my mom always told me that my dad and Chet were the same person when they were younger.”

“So your dad grew up, and Chet didn’t?” Dash asked.

“Well, I think having a baby is what kicked him in to ‘responsible mode.’” Alex continued, “I hope that’s not how it’ll go with me.”

“Oh, is Dash pregnant?” Twilight asked, looking between the two of them, as they both broke out in a blush once again.

“No!” Dash retorted instantly, “W-we’re gonna get married before any of that stuff happens!”

“I never took you for old fashioned,” Twilight giggled, as Chet finally caught up with the three of them.

“Okay, I think I just made things worse,” He said, looking over his shoulder with a measure of paranoia, “I’ll try not to mention any… equine mating at the mall anymore, okay?”

“Thanks,” Alex laughed, not really upset over the event, “So, you said food court?”

“Yes!” Twilight chirped, licking her lips, “I wanted to see all the kinds of food I can get there.”

“There’s a pretty big variety there,” Chet nodded, pausing as he realized that she may have a few limitations, “Well… that is if you don’t mind eating a little meat.”

“Gross…” Dash grumbled, feeling her stomach lurch at the thought, “I don’t know how the girls didn’t throw up all over the place when they ate that stuff.”

“It wasn’t so bad…” Twilight said, fondly remembering the unique, and rather delicious taste to the food they had all partaken in, “Well, except the horse steak.”

Chet’s face suddenly went white as a ghost.

“Oh geez! I forgot you all had some of that!” Chet said, his eyes wide, “I made you guys eat your own kind!”

Twilight laughed, having already got over the horrific experience, “Don’t worry. It may be terrible to say, but it wasn’t the worst tasting thing I’ve ever eaten.”

“How could you say that?!” Dash asked in awe, “I love animals! How could you ever eat them?”

“Well, it’s like Fluttershy said,” Twilight recalled, “She feeds fish to her animals all the time, and the animals in this world are just like those fish in Equestria. It’s just the normal way of things here. I might actually try some more!”

“Really?” Alex asked, a little surprised to hear that from her, “That’s pretty open-minded of you.”

“I talked to all the girls about it,” Twilight said factually, “They all said they’d give it another go if they came here again. Rainbow Dash, you should give it a try with me—”

“Nope!” Dash said shaking her head as much as she could, “I don’t know what’s wrong with all of you, but there is no way- I repeat no way, that I would ever have any kind of meat!”

“Geez, when did you turn in to the prude of the group?” Alex laughed, as she gave him a frustrated glare.

“You of all ponies know that I’m no prude!” Dash defended, “I’m just not willing to eat things that were once living, breathing animals! How many had to die just to feed the people in this mall?!”

The other three in the group frowned at her attitude.

“Let alone the people in this entire world!” She continued, her volume increasing, “How many did that book say? Six billion?!”

“Seven now,” Chet coughed, proud that he knew that small fact.

Dash mouthed the words ‘seven billion’ as she simply blinked.

“That’s a huge number,” Twilight said, moving off the topic of murdering animals, “I don’t think our world has a fraction of that.”

“Too many girls, not enough men.” Alex quipped, knowing that wasn’t truly the case, “The girls can only have so many kids, right?”

“You know, we never did find out why there are so many girls in Ponyville,” Twilight said, recalling the first day she had met Alex.

“I remember that,” Alex said, surprised that she did too, “I honestly thought the entire world was girls, save like six dudes.”

“You’d be a much hotter commodity if that were the case,” Twilight chuckled, “Instead you belong to Miss Stick in the Mud.”

Dash sighed. At this point she was just feeling embarrassed by her outburst regarding the meat. But, she sure as heck stood by it.

“Look, eat whatever you want.” She finally said, “Just- don’t push it on me, okay?”

“Okay,” Alex said, knowing that meant he wasn’t allowed to have meat either. But, he had spent plenty of time having nothing but hay and flowers, thanks to Chrysalis. He’d be fine with whatever he had. “I’ll skip the meat then too.”

While her ego wouldn’t allow her to simply jump up and hug him in response to that, she instead gave a single glace up to his eyes, before looking back to Twilight.

“So, why don’t we get going here? I’m pretty hungry.” Chet said.

“Yeah.” Alex agreed, picking up the pace as they all matched him, “We’ve still got a long day ahead of us.”

////

The four sat comfortably at their table in the food court, next to a window that overlooked the parking lot in front of the mall.

“See?” Chet said to Twilight, “Meat’s pretty great, right?”

Twilight gulped her last bite of chicken from the stir-fry she had bought for lunch, and nodded whole-heartedly, “It’s different, but I really do like it.”

“Next time, get a burrito from the place I went to!” Chet said, pointing to the fraction that hadn’t been eaten, “I got, chicken, beef, and two kinds of pork in this thing!”

“I… think I’ll need to work up to it,” She laughed, looking to Dash, happy to see that she wasn’t glaring, or giving any other disapproving looks, “How were your subs?”

“Good,” Dash said, having genuinely enjoyed the foods she was so familiar with, “I feel a million times better to have it in me.”

Almost comically on cue, both Twilight and Chet felt their stomachs lurch.

“I… Think I need to run to the bathroom.” Chet said, standing up suddenly.

“M-Me too!” Twilight said, looking over her shoulder to the bathroom she noted when they took their seat.

Instantly, they both took off in opposite directions, running to their respective bathrooms.

Dash laughed out loud as they ran, “See! That’s what they get for eating all that nasty meat!”

“I think that was the ice cream they had earlier, actually.” Alex said, chuckling, “They both had a little more than they should have.”

Dash frowned, “Can we just pretend that it was the meat?”

Chuckling again, Alex nodded, “Sure thing, dear.”

A short silence followed, as Dash awkwardly shifted in her seat.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked, tilting his head.

“Oh, yeah.” She nodded quickly, “I just… wanted to thank you for having the veggies with me.”

“What, that?” Alex asked, a unsure of why that was a big deal to her, “It’s my job to do shit like that for you.”

“Well, yeah…” Dahs said, “I just wanted to say thanks.”

“If you want anything from me- literally anything,” Alex said, “Just say! I’d give up porn if you really wanted me to!”

“What do you mean?” Dash asked, her expression suddenly much less friendly, “Since when do you look at porn?”

Shit.

“W-well- you know!” Alex stammered, “There are just some times that you’re busy with work, or out training with the guys… I need to take care of myself!”

Dash remained silent.

“Don’t get mad!” Alex said instantly, “I just said that I would stop if you wanted me to!”

Dash cracked a smile, “Do you really think I give a crap if you look at that stuff? Celestia knows that I did while you were brainwashed by the Changelings!”

Alex blinked a couple of times.

“Just make sure that next time you do it, you invite me!” She laughed, leaning her head on his shoulder and sighing, “So, what’s next on the day plan?”

“Uh,” Alex said, looking at his watch, “The pool! There’s a huge one attached to the mall. So, I thought we could spend a few hours going down the slides, and going off the diving boards.”

“Um, is it easy to swim as a human?” She asked.

Alex thought back to his first time swimming in Equestria, and remembering how difficult it was to keep afloat.

“Just wear an inner-tube, you’ll be fine!” Alex said, figuring it would be a non-issue.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

The Show

////
The Show
////

“Jesus kid,” Chet said, as Alex pulled his shirt over his head in the changing room at the malls swimming pool, “When the hell did you lose all the fat?”

Alex looked down at his stomach and felt a jolt of pride run through his brain, “I do look pretty good, don’t I?”

And really, it wasn’t too debatable. He was somewhere between absolutely ripped, and skinny. His stomach had a defined six-pack, and his chest wasn’t too far behind. Something told him that if he had taken his royal guard training a little more seriously, he would have been a little too muscled.

“Well, be careful,” Chet said, chuckling to himself, “The last time I looked that good, I couldn’t keep the girls off of me.”

“Somehow I don’t think it’ll be a problem for me,” Alex said, as the two turned away from one another, slipped off their pants, and slipped on their swim trunks, “Girls weren’t exactly tossing themselves at me before.”

“You were an awkward little shit back then,” Chet said, turning back and gesturing to Alex, “You’ve changed.”

“I haven’t changed that much,” Alex said dismissively, tossing his clothing in the locker, “I’m still the same guy I was… however many years ago.”

“Alex, from what you’ve told me, you’ve been through more growing experiences than a kid looking at his first Playboy,” Chet said, not even laughing at his quip, “Sure, you’re still silly, and immature. But… you have this look in your eyes. Behind all the humor, and whatever else… There’s a man that would bring the entire world to a stop, just to get his way. I remember your dad having the exact same look from time to time.”

Alex didn’t answer. It was weird for Chet to be this meaningful in what he said. But, he also knew that he wouldn’t be talking that way if he didn’t truly mean what he was saying.

“Look, I’m not trying to make anything uncomfortable for you,” Chet said, “I just really think you’ve grown up. Your dad would be proud of you.”

“Thanks.” Alex said, giving a small smile to his uncle, “It’s really nice hearing that.”

“Well, why don’t we head out to the pool?” Chet asked, looking toward the door and wondering to himself for a moment, “Do you think the girls are alright on their own?”

“Of course they are,” Alex said, wrapping his locker key around his wrist and jingling it for a second, “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how to put on a bathing suit. And aside from that, what other trouble could they get in?”

“Hey, Alex!” Dash said, walking in to the changing room, clad in her colorful bikini, with Twilight just behind her, “What’s taking you guys so long?”

The scattering of nude men was truly staggering, as they all reached for the nearest towel, or hid in the changing stalls.

“W-what are you guys doing in here?” Alex said, taken by surprise, “This locker room is for men… men…”

Alex slowly stopped his complaint, as he looked to a man well in to his sixties, who hadn’t moved an inch when the girls arrived , just standing buck naked, doing nothing but looking at the girls and smiling.

Twilight and Dash were completely oblivious.

“Okay…”Chet said, looking away from the old man’s wrinkly ass to face the girls, “The change rooms are separated by sex. You can’t come in ours, and vice versa… It’s kinda a serious thing.”

“Oh!” Twilight said immediately, “We’re so sorry everyone!”

“Oh, don’t be.” The old man said, his smile growing as his eyes narrowed to them.

“Okay, let’s just get out of here,” Alex said, walking toward them, grabbing their hands and leading them out, “That guy’s gonna be thinking about you two tonight.”

////

Exiting the hallway that connected to the change rooms, Twilight and Dash both went wide eyed when their eyes made contact with the majesty that was the water park. There were so many tubes swirling around above their heads, each of them leading from a high point in the building, down to the pool. The water itself was rolling, as if some kind of tide had come in to the pool.

“This is amazing…” Dash said, her mouth hanging open slightly at the sight.

“Do you go through those pipes?” Twilight asked, following each one from beginning to end, “They seem like they go on for miles!”

“Well, I’d be happy to show you guys, just so long as you’re willing to put on life-jackets.” Alex said, patting Dash on the head, “I can’t go having my favorite ladies drown.”

“Favorite ladies?” Dash asked, rolling her eyes, “You sound like my dad.”

“The life jackets are right over there.” Chet said, pointing to a wall across from them, “I’ll run and grab you some.”

“Don’t slip and die!” Alex called, as he walked past the girls and stepped in to the water, relishing in the feeling of it running through his toes, “Man, I almost forgot how nice this feels.”

The girls looked to each other, before following his course down in to the water.

“it’s so weird having your feet separate like they do,” Twilight noted, bending down and tapping the floor in between her big toe and her long toe, “But once you get the hang of it, they really do a great job of keeping you upright.”

“Oh yeah, way better than being a pony.” Alex laughed, “With hands, you don’t need to use your mouth for picking everything up… huh.”

“What?” Dash asked looking at Alex after he trailed off.

“What are those girls looking at?” Alex asked, tilting his head as he looked at three girls, each of whom was staring directly at him, “Why are they giggling? Is there something on me? Do I have a boner?!”

“I think they’re checking you out, Alex.” Twilight said, smiling inwardly as she glanced at an obviously jealous Dash.

“What? Me?” Alex laughed, “Jeez, that’s something I don’t remember happening.”

“I told you, kid.” Chet said, approaching them with two jackets in his hands, “You look good. Every single girl in this place is looking at you right now.”

Looking around quickly, Alex realized that he was indeed being checked out from several directions… It was so foreign. What was he supposed to do?

Dash, during the entire conversation was uncharacteristically silent.

“Don’t feel bad, Sarah. Or you Twilight.” Chet said, picking whatever names came to his head first, “You guys are drawing some looks too.”

This threw Alex in to a completely different panic, as he looked at all the hunky dudes checking out his girlfriend.

“Well, maybe this place isn’t so bad,” Dash snickered, feeling her happiness come right back to her, “Come on! Let’s go down that slide!”

////

The wait for the slide wasn’t the worst Alex had experienced in his life. He remembered coming here years ago, and having to wait almost ten minutes just to get a chance at the biggest slide in the place. Now, however, they were only being put off by about two minutes.

The slide itself was the longest in the pool, and criss crossed from one end of the area to the other, with several dips, twists, and turns. Alex figured that he might as well start big.

“So, what am I supposed to do?” Dash asked, looking down in to the dark hole as she reached the top, “Just… sit down?”

“Yes ma’am.” Alex said, stepping in front of her, “I’ll go first, then you just follow my lead.”

Alex stepped up to the entrance and looked to the lifeguard next to him.

“Please keep your hands at your sides, don’t try to stand up on the way down, and don’t go down with anyone else.” The zitty teenager said apathetically, not even looking up from his cell phone, “Go whenever you’re ready.”

Sitting down, Alex looked over his shoulder to the girls behind him and smiled, before lifting his arms over his head, and pushing himself down the slide. He vanished instantly.

The girls both gulped as the pubescent lifeguard looked to them and involuntarily had his voice squeak.

“Hey- um, can we go?” Twilight asked, tilting her head at the flustered teenager.

“Sure!” He said, nodding quickly, “You can go together if you want!”

“Oh,” they both said, looking to one another, “Thanks!”

Looking at the entrance, Dash slowly inched forward, and sat down in the flowing water, taking care not to slip down before Twilight sat down behind her, slipping her legs past Dash’s hips.

“Have fun!” The guy said, “And if you two ever need something, come find me! I get half price on the corn dogs at concession!”

“Sure thing!” Dash said excitedly, not really listening to him.

Placing their hands on the plastic slide by their legs, both of them heaved forward, and followed behind Alex in to the depths of the pipe network.

////

Chet sat in the hot tub overlooking the pool alone, as he watched Dash and Twilight go down the slide.

“Man, those guys are missing the real party,” He said, looking to the exit of the slide as Alex came shooting out, and landed just to the left of a group of girls. In fact, it was the same group of girls that had been admiring him a few minutes ago.

Smiling, Chet relaxed for the show that was sure to take place. He was happy he was far away from it.

Of course, it didn’t take long for the girls to notice Alex and make their way over to him, where they instantly started talking to him.

“I wonder what they’re saying,” Chet said to himself, as he started to imagine the conversation that would go along with the silent scene in front of him.

“Wow, you sure look good!” A small blonde said, as Alex looked to her before looking back to the slide, “And you have a really nice butt!”

Chet frowned. Was she really saying that? Well, wouldn’t it be funny if she was?

Alex said something back to her, and Chet just had to fill in the blanks.

“Thanks, that’s why I bought these trunks. They make my butt look amazing,” Alex clearly didn’t say, “You have a nice butt too.”

“What is with me and all the butts? I sound like a creep.” Chet muttered.

Chet then saw one of the girls start pulling on Alex’s arm, as she gestured to another slide across the pool.

Alex clearly politely declined, but these girls weren’t taking no for an answer, as they all started saying something to him. Chet assumed it was some kind of chimed begging.

“Please, we all wanna stare at your muscles for a while!” Chet said for the girl, “Then we can all fight over who gets to be your girlfriend, some of us breaking lifelong friendships as we do it!”

Chet’s ears perked up as he heard someone shout from that same direction that he had been staring.

Turning his gaze, he looked to three young guys, no older than eighteen, that were gesturing to the girls, and then to Alex, and then back to the girls.

“Boyfriends,” Chet said, realizing that Alex might be in a bit of trouble now, “This’ll make this show way more fun to watch!”

Finally, however, Dash and Twilight rocketed out of the slide, and past Alex, who obviously just wanted to vacate the area.

Again, Chet was there to fill in the blanks.

“Where do you think you’re goin’ see?” The largest of the young guys said to Alex, “You were just hittin’ on my dame, see?!”

Chet had no idea why the voice he gave this teenager was one of a 50’s gangster, but he rolled with it.

“I’m not looking for any trouble,” Alex replied in Chet’s head, “I don’t want to have to use my magical unicorn powers on you!”

Alex, seeing that this guy was clearly not going to back off, started swimming to more shallow water, so he could try to intimidate this kid off of his back.

“Yer’ in big trouble now, ain’t he Scooter?” The tall kid said with the hillbilly accent Chet gave him, “Let’s git’em!”

Both groups of girls, meanwhile, decided to simply float in place and watch the exchange between the guys. The teens that had been pestering Alex were probably waiting for their boyfriends to show everyone their manliness, while Dash and Twilight sat silently, waiting to see how Alex would deal with the little shits.

Chet was equally excited to see Alex toss them aside.

“How do you like me now?” Alex said, raising out of the water and revealing his rather muscular body to the three guys, “You sure you wanna take all this on?”

The largest of the three guys stepped up on to the shallowest portion of the pool, and revealed a body that was a little more defined that Alex.

“Like what you see, see?” The gangster kid asked, “I’ll kick your ass, see?!”

“Yeah! You tell’em Scooter!” The hillbilly agreed.

By now, most people in the pool were looking the direction of the testosterone fueled youths, each one waiting for someone else to break it up.

Chet was surprised to see Alex look across the large area right to him, as he scratched his chin, as if to say that he didn’t know what to do with them.

Chet broke in to a big smile and gave Alex a very easy to understand gesture with his hands.

Instantly, Alex pointed his finger at the three guys, and said something Chet couldn’t understand. He assumed it was some kind of warning. But, when they didn’t listen, and kept approaching him, he shrugged, and snapped his finger.

Immediately the swim trunks on the three of them fell down in to the water.

The three were so shocked that they weren’t able to compensate for the sudden rush of water that Alex conjured, sweeping them underwater just long enough for Alex to teleport their swim trunks on to the roof without anyone seeing.

The yelling in the pool was louder than Chet, Alex, or the girls expected, as people started freaking out that there were people naked in the pool. Mothers were shielding their children’s eyes, and teenagers were shrieking like banshees. It got the apathetic lifeguards at attention real quick.

“Where are my pants, see?” The boy said, “Everyone can see my wiener, see?”

The chaos continued for a few more minutes as the boys tried to find their missing bathing suits. But, the yelling continued, and the real management had to step in and bring everything to a stop.

“Excuse me sir,” A polite girl said to Chet from behind him, dressed in lifeguard attire, “We’re closing the pool for a little while to calm things down.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” Chet said, standing up and starching, “I think it’s worth the show I got.”

“We’ll give you a coupon on the way out to come back another day.” She said, still apologizing in her tone.

“Thanks,” Chet said, walking away as he went to join his nephew, “So much for a day of swimming. Maybe I’ll come back next week. Or… maybe I’ll try it when I’m a horse.”

////

Plus One to Equestria

////
Plus One to Equestria
////

The last two days had been filled with everything Alex had insisted on doing, despite the waning interest of his uncle, and friends. They had gone shopping a few more times, watched every movie that he had missed, and even went swimming again, at the repeated request of Rainbow Dash and Twilight so they could try all of the slides again, which turned out being the only thing they did for over three hours.

But, now their time on earth had just about run out, and they were all getting ready for the return trip to Equestria.

“I still can’t believe that kid actually talked like a gangster right out of the fifties!” Chet laughed as he walked out of Alex’s house, locking the door behind him.

“Are you never going to stop talking about that?” Alex asked, having heard nothing but talk of this kid since Alex embarrassed him at the pool, “It was weird that he talked that way, but I’m used to that kinda stuff in Equestria.”

“And you’re sure that the other one didn’t talk like a hillbilly?” Chet continued, “I’d have loved to be two for two.”

“He talked like any other kid.” Alex shrugged, “The one was just a freak coincidence.”

“Oh well…” Chet sighed, “Hey, where are the girls again?”

“I sent them off to the place I first went to Equestria from,” Alex answered, looking over his shoulder toward the mass of trees behind his house, “Twilight is going to gather some samples to test when we get back.”

“What are you trying to find out again?” Chet asked, still miles behind in the backstory he had been explained so many times.

“We’re trying to see if there are any clues that point toward what got me there in the first place.” Alex explained, “Something that helps identify... whatever it is that’s coming for us.”

“I don’t get it,” Chet said, now remembering the story, “If you followed that thing in to Equestria, how come it hasn’t shown up yet?”

“I’ve got no idea.” Alex answered, shaking his head, “I’m sure we’ll find out soon though.”

Chet didn’t respond, he only looked toward the small forest to see the two girls walking out from the parameter toward them.

“Perfect timing,” Alex said smiling, “I was worried they might have been lost. Let’s go meet them half way.”

Alex jogged himself over to the girls, meeting them in the large clearing between the forest and his house. He expected Chet to be right behind him, but as he looked over his shoulder, he laughed out loud at the out of shape man stopped a distance away, panting like he had just run a mile.

“Did you guys get what you needed?” Alex asked, looking back to them and rising his eyebrows.

“I think so,” Twilight nodded, lifting up the plastic bag Alex had given her, showing him a few pieces of cartoon-looking blue grass, “We found a line of this hidden under some new grass that had grown. If anything in that area was infused with magic, this’ll be it.”

“Huh,” Alex said, peering at the bag and tilting his head, “It’s almost like Equestria bled through the portal and covered some of the ground here.”

“I didn’t know that was possible,” Dash said, nodding along with them, “I wonder if it would be possible to carry over more of the world like that.”

“Or vice versa…” Alex said, before Chet spoke up, having somehow caught up to them without making a noise.

“Are you saying I could go to Equestria, but not be a horse?” Chet asked, looking between them with a bit of hope, truly not wanting to be a pony in the first place, “Because that would be… preferable for me.”

“Well, if the rules applied, you’d probably just end up being a realistic looking horse if we could replicate what happened to this grass,” Twilight said, chuckling to herself, “And something tells me that would go over terribly in Equestria.”

“I don’t like the horses here,” Dash said, feeling a little guilty over saying that, “And something tells me a talking one would just terrify me.”

“So… there’s no chance I could go over there as a human?” Chet asked, having not wanted to sound cowardly, or whiney up to this point.

“Well, there was one time I turned in to a human while I was there,” Alex recalled, as both the girls perked up in remembrance, “There was a plant in the Everfree Forest that transformed me in to a human years and years ago. We could try using it on you, if you wanted.”

“I… would really like to try that,” Chet nodded slowly, deciding not to dwell on the plant reference, “I mean, no offence… I just don’t think being a horse would be a good match for me.”

“But you might cause a ruckus in town, if there’s suddenly a human floating around,” Dash said, remembering the strange looks Alex got, “But I’m sure they’ll move past it.”

“Well, I guess that’ll be the plan then,” Alex said, looking around the group, “Are you guys ready for the trip?”

They all nodded, as Alex looked around him, as if someone might be passing by and see them, despite his knowing that people didn’t generally wander around this far off the highway.

“Are you sure?” Alex asked Chet one last time, “Tammy knows you’re going to be gone a while?”

“She does.” Chet answered, nodding.

“She knows you might die?” Alex asked, holding back his laughter.

“Very funny, kid.” Chet said, unamused by the joke, “Just get this going already!”

“Alright, alright.” Alex said, clearing his throat and closing his eyes, “I just need to focus for a second.”

Alex felt that familiar chaotic energy start to flow through his veins, as it started to run from his head, down in to his right arm.

The girls joined hands with each other, as Twilight grabbed Chet’s hand, and Dash took one from Alex.

Chet looked down to Alex’s right index finger as it began to glow blue, and start arcing electricity off of the ground.

“Does that hurt?” Chet asked, figuring that he must have been getting shocked.

Alex shook his head, “It tickles.”

“Huh,” Dash said, having never thought about how it felt.

“Okay… grab hold of everything,” Alex said, as a blue ball formed at the tip of his finger, and a small trail of blood began running from his nose, “Here we go.”

Suddenly, the ball dropped from his finger, and hit the grass below them, expanding instantly in to a massive white circle.

“Woah…” Chet said, looked around him.

“Hold on to your pants, Chet.” Alex said, rubbing his arm over his bloodied face, “And for Celestia’s sake, don’t shit them.”

“Why would I shit them—“

With a snap of his fingers, the four of them were sucked in to the ground, and sent shooting through the multicolored space that existed between Earth, and Equestria.

The rushing of air past their faces was nearly deafening as they ripped through at what seemed like two hundred miles an hour. They were all holding on in a chain, with Alex leading the charge, followed by Dash, then Twilight, then Chet. Most of them were more than used to the trip at this point. But, there was the one obvious exception.

The frown glued on Chet’s face was exceedingly telling of his current state of mind. How he managed to keep bladder control was beyond him. The only thing keeping him from losing his mind was the calm state the other three seemed to be in. Alex wore a huge smile, Dash had closed her eyes and relaxed, and Twilight was looking to him encouragingly. Seeing all of them in no state of panic whatsoever put, made him breathe a sigh of relief. This wasn’t so bad after all.

However, this feeling of calm was quickly ended when he watched a huge spark appear on Alex’s hand, and make its way down his arm, replacing all of his skin, with what looked like solid white. Finally, the spark reached his midsection, where it grew massively, and covered his entire body, replacing the human one, with a horse one.

Chet gulped as it made it’s down Dash’s body next, and then Twilight’s. Each one changed from the humans he was so familiar with, to a horse that he was completely unfamiliar with.

“Get ready!” Alex shouted, looking back to Chet, as the spark passed from Twilight’s arm, in to his.

It was no surprise to any of them that his coat was also white. But it was a little more surprising when he only sprouted a pair of wings, with no horn.

Alex had to admit, Chet looked a lot like him.

His body as a pony was larger than his, but not by a huge amount. Alex figured that he was somewhere between Big Mac and himself. Also, Alex noticed that he had no spot on his side. No gray at all. He was completely white.

“Hey Alex!” Dash shouted over the rushing air, “Where are we coming out of this portal?”

“Uhh,” Alex yelled back, “Canterlot! You wanted to see Shining Armor, right?”

“Perfect! Thanks!” She called, looking to her shoulder where her saddle bag was still firmly attached.

“We should be there any minute!”

////

“They refuse to move,” Alpha said to Princess Celestia and Luna, as they sat in the conference room attached to the throne room, “The council intends to fight this war as long as they can. And without Chrysalis on my side, I’m afraid they might just get their way.”

“This is very troubling,” Celestia sighed, having feared this kind of response from the Hive.

“Is there any chance you’ve had luck changing Chrysalis’s mind?” Alpha asked, “I know it’s only been a couple days, but I was hoping you guys would have—“

“I’m afraid we’ve had no luck as of yet,” Luna interrupted, “We were hoping you would have found a way to sway her.”

Alpha shook his head.

“I’ll speak to her later,” he sighed, “I’m still trying to decide what I’ll say to her.”

“You could always use the same conditioning on her that she tried to use on the Elements of Harmony,” Luna said, before earning a glare from her sister.

“We will do no such thing,” Celestia said firmly, unknowingly shutting down Alpha’s plan B, “To take somepony’s mind, is to take their life. We will play no such part in doing so.”

Luna didn’t respond. She completely agreed.

“I’ll try to think of something later,” Alpha said again, “I just need a little bit of time—“

Suddenly, a white circle appeared on the massive wall separating them from the throne room, as four ponies rocked out of it, and landed on the conference table, sliding down the massive piece of wood, tumbling over one another, until the fastest moving one came crashing in to Alpha, knocking him on the floor, pinning him on his back, as she rested square on top of him.

Celestia and Luna were panicked for only as long as it took to see who it was that came crashing in.

Alpha scratched his head, and opened his eyes, only to be instantly frozen by the gaze he met.

“Hello Alpha.” She said, expertly hiding any form of emotion from her voice.

“Uh, Twilight!” Alpha said, looking up to her piercing gaze, “I- I didn’t think you were going to be back for a few weeks!”

“We cut the trip short.” She said plainly.

Alex nudged his hyperventilating uncle in the side as they lay still collapsed on the conference table, “Oooooh! He’s gonna be in trouble!”

Chet blinked rapidly as his brain tried to make sense of the world he was currently viewing. Nothing made sense to his brain, and it was making him feel very powerless. In fact, he couldn’t ever figure out what he needed to do to get off this table, and stand upright.

“Hey, Alex. I think I need some help here.” Chet said, looking over to his nephew with a pleading expression.

“Not as much help as Alpha is going to need!” Alex laughed, completely ignoring the distress his uncle was feeling.

Chet just gulped, and took a couple deep breaths.

He had a feeling he was going to be doing that a lot.

////

'Paying' the Price

////
“Paying” the Price
////

“You and I have a lot to talk about.” Twilight said sternly, having not moved an inch from where she had landed.

“Well- I’m a little busy,” he said waving his hoof over her shoulder, gesturing to the princesses, “Can we discuss this later?”

Twilight, still perched on Alpha’s chest, looked over her shoulder toward the royalty across the table, giving the two princesses a glare that made their hearts freeze.

“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Celestia said quickly, looking to Alex and the new pony next to him on the table, “Luna and I were looking forward to meeting your new friend!”

“Indeed,” Luna agreed quickly, “We’ll give him a tour of the castle!”

“You don’t need to leave,” Twilight said, slowing looking back to face Alpha, “I’ll take the two of us somewhere nice and secluded.”

Alpha’s ‘gulp’ was loud enough to be heard by everypony in the room.

“Have fun kids!” Alex called, waving his arm at them as a massive bubble wrapped around their bodies, and teleported them to some unknown location.

“I’ll bet he’s in trouble!” Dash laughed, jumping off the table and stretching her wings happily, “I sure have missed these babies!”

“You should give Chet lessons on using them!” Alex said, pointing to the white wings on his uncle.

“Oh! I totally should!” She said, a huge smile crossing her face as her wings flapped involuntarily, “But, I can’t right now! I need to go find Shining Armor!”

“Oh, he should be doing his rounds right about now,” Celestia said, looking at the clock, “In the—“

“Right wing of the castle!” She said, remembering the schedules perfectly from her time here, “Got it!”

In an instant, she had zipped out of the conference room.

After she left, the only sound left in the room was Chet, as he panted loudly from his place on the table.

“So…” Luna coughed, looking to Alex with a touch of curiosity, “Who might this be?”

“Of course!” Alex said, sliding himself off the table, “This is Chester! Pretty much the only family member I have left.”

“Just- just call me Chet.” He panted, not daring to look at the source of the voices, “Why is everything so cartoony?”

“I beg your pardon?” Celestia asked, having no idea what he was referring to.

“Don’t worry about him,” Alex laughed, knowing he would get over it eventually, “But, would you guys be interested in teaching him some things about Equestria with me? I mean, at least until Twilight is done murdering Alpha.”

“Well, I suppose. I’ve got my entire afternoon cleared for this meeting.” Celestia said, looking to her sister, “What do you think?”

“Hmm…” Luna hummed, placing her hoof on her chin as she looked at the terrified stallion in front of her, “Does he know how to walk?”

At first, Celestia was going to laugh at the ridiculous question, before she realized that it was incredibly valid.

“He does not.” Alex shook his head, his smile widening, “He should get it pretty quick. It only took me a few minutes all those years ago.”

“Legends say that foals used to start running only a few hours after their birth,” Luna said, speaking up on the topic, “Although I can’t imagine a baby running under any circumstance.”

“Well, whatever it is,” Alex said, reaching forward and patting Chet on the shoulder, “I’m sure he’ll find some way to do terribly at it.”

“Shut up, kid!” Chet grumbled, truly unaware of the company he was in, “I’ll get this horsie shit down so fast your head’ll spin.”

Finally gaining the courage to look around the room, Chet managed to lift himself up in to a sitting position on his butt, despite the discomfort. Following that, he inspected everything around him. He looked at the walls, the ceiling, the table he was on, the artwork scattered in all of those places, and then finally, at the two regal sisters who stood at the end.

“Uh, nice to meet you guys…” Chet said, reaching up to scratch his forehead, only to wince as his hoof made contact, “Christ. You weren’t kidding when you said horse.”

“Why would I have been kidding?” Alex laughed, casting a spell that would lift Chet off the table, “Do you want me to put you down here?”

“Uh, sure.” Chet nodded, a little bit of timidity showing in his decision, “Just don’t drop me!”

Alex rolled his eyes as he levitated his clearly panicked uncle off the table, and brought him down to the ground, allowing Chet to extend his new legs, and land soundly on the ground, standing upright on his own.

“Hey!” Chet said happily, “This is easier than I thought!”

“It’s really not so bad,” Alex said, remembering the exact same thought pass through his head, “Now, when you walk forward, just imagine you’re crawling on all fours back on earth. Your body knows what to do, but if you start to overthink it, you can still easily trip out.”

“Okay…” Chet said, looking at the floor and squinting, before suddenly looking up at the two princesses, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your names.”

“Oh, my apologies,” Luna said politely, “My name is Luna. The Princess of the Night.”

“And I’m—“

“Celestia.” Chet said, frowning at the realization in his head, “I’m so sorry! I was so- so crass a few minutes ago! I didn’t mean any disrespect to you two! I was just so—“

Celestia blinked several times, saying nothing.

“Crass?” Alex laughed, “Have you been reading the dictionary?”

Luna gave Chet an expectant look, making him panic even further.

Chet growled, “Jeez Alex, would you can it?! Uh, with respects, of course.”

Neither of them could take any more, as they both exploded out in to laughter. His attitude reminded them both of Alex a great deal, and they found it hilarious.

“Uh…” Chet said, tilting his head, while paying very close attention to his balance, “Did I do something wrong? Why are you two laughing?”

“You don’t need to be so serious around us, Chet.” Celestia said, a broad, comforting smile now spread across her face, “We were nothing more than commoners once.”

“Exactly!” Luna agreed, breathing deeply as she calmed down from her laughter, “My sister gorges on cake just as she did when we were children. She even still belches from time to time!”

“Luna!” Celestia said instantly, a small embarrassed blush creeping up on her cheeks, “You don’t need to tell them that!”

“We have something in common then,” Chet laughed, really surprised at the attitudes of the Equestrian royalty.

While laughing at the exchange, Alex looked over to the knocked over chair where Alpha and Twilight had sat, and wondered just how things were going between the two. She had been pretty devastated when Alpha walked out on her… he was probably getting his ass kicked at this very moment.

////

“Twilight, I’m sorry…” Alpha said for the fifth time to the mare, as she stood with her back to him, “How could I ever face you after all that I did?”

The two stood in the library in Ponyville, where she had teleported them to ensure privacy in their conversation. She had yet to find the courage to say anything to him, however. And it was clear that he was mistaking that uneasiness, for seething anger.

“Chrysalis had an entire army behind her, and for some reason that I truly can’t understand, she trusted me to carry out the invasion,” Alpha continued, hoping that she wasn’t so angry that his words were being ignored, “So I bet everything on Celestia capturing Chrysalis, so I could then try and convince the army to pull out, and go home.”

“And what about my dark side coming out?” She asked, “Was that part of your plan?”

“No.” He said instantly, shaking his head despite her looking away from him, “But… If it hadn’t come out, I don’t know that my plan would have worked.”

“What would you have done if they hadn’t pulled out?” Twilight asked, remaining still as she looked at the wall, “What if Canterlot had been captured?”

Alpha exhaled. He was afraid his answer would only upset her more.

“Well, if they hadn’t pulled out… the anti-magic machines would have left me with only one option,” Alpha said slowly, his heart leaping as Twilight looked over her shoulder to make eye contact with him, showing her tear filled eyes to him, rather than the rage he expected, “I would have found you, and taken you as far from Canterlot as I possibly could.”

Twilight turned her body around, as she sniffled and rubbed a tear from her eye, preparing herself to ask the toughest question she had, “Did you… did you consider her offer to become an Omega?”

“Twilight…” Alpha began, before she shook her head.

“Please. I need to know.”

Alpha closed his eyes, and he spoke the truth.

“I did. It was my opportunity to be accepted by my people once again, to be a hero to what remains of my family…” He admitted, looking at the floor, “But, then I thought about all of you. All the ponies who took me in, even though I had tried to hurt you back at Haven Station. You accepted me, and welcomed me in to your circle.”

Twilight stood in silence, giving him no indicator of her feelings toward his confession.

“The main argument in my head for becoming Omega, had been that I needed to stay loyal to the hive,” he said softly, looking up to her eyes, “But every time I tried to rationalize betraying Equestria,my thoughts were always on you. I thought about how you let me stay in your house, and how kind you always were to me… I remembered the first time I ever saw you, and I remembered holding you through your chaotic episodes, because I didn’t want you to be alone.”

She smiled, despite the tears leaving tracks down her cheeks.

“Twilight, I could never, ever betray a mare a care so much about.” He said, shaking his head and smiling at her, “That’s why I couldn’t see you after the wedding… I was convinced that you hated me for—“

“Shh.” She said, closing the gap between them, “Sometimes, I think you’re the smartest pony I’ve ever met. But then you go and start thinking that I’d ever hate you?”

He only nodded, as she stepped closer to him.

“You’ve taken care of me since you came back in Alex’s place.” Twilight beamed, lifting her hoof to his face and rubbing his cheek, “You protected me in the Crystal Kingdom, and from Nightmare Moon… Your idea of helping me though a hard night was to hold me in your arms… And when you put your butt on the line to save Canterlot from ponies just like you? I realized just how much I cared about you.”

Seeing her tears mixed with her elated expression, Alpha closed the last of the distance between them, “Twilight… I’ve wanted to tell you something for the last month… but I was worried that you might not feel the same way- or that I’d scare you away by being too direct, or maybe just by saying it too soon. But after all of this, I’ve really found myself confident—“

“Shh.” She said, pressing her hoof against his lips, “I love you too.”

And then she pulled his head down toward hers, and gave him the kiss that she had been dreaming about every night for the past three months.

And for the first time in weeks, she felt like she could accomplish anything.

////

CaptainTuckerHereYouGoIHopeYouLikeTheTwoThousandAndOneWordsYou'reWelcome

Unnecessary Worry

////
Unnecessary Worry
////

Alpha stirred, opening his eyes to the blankness that had engulfed his room in Canterlot Castle. Had he overslept? He was supposed to be having a meeting with Princess Celestia today!

Jolting up, he looked to the place he had expected to see the clock, but was surprised to see a bookshelf in its place. In fact, the entire room was filled with them… It was almost like he was back in the library in Ponyville.

“Hmmm…” A voice hummed from next to him in the bed, as immediately turned to face the source.

Then everything came back to him from the night before.

Twilight had come hurling back in to Equestria during his meeting in Canterlot. Then, she had teleported him back to Ponyville, where they had talked about his desertion, and their mutual love for one another… Following that, things got rather hot and heavy.

Closing his eyes, Alpha cursed himself for falling prey to his base instincts. He had a plan. One where he didn’t end up breaking her heart. How was he going to achieve that now?

“Hey…” Twilight’s tired voice said, as Alpha looked over his shoulder to her, “Rested?”

“Yeah,” Alpha nodded, looking away from her for a second, as she sat herself up next to him, “I- Um, thanks.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow and stifled her laughter.

“Are you thanking me for last night?” She asked, a giggle escaping her throat, “Because I should really be the one thanking you. Your mouth is good for a lot more than kissing.”

Alpha didn’t respond, as he simply stared in to the darkness of the room.

Twilight blinked a couple of times as she tried to see if he was looking at something. However, as she got a chance to study his expression, she realized that he wasn’t in what you would call a ‘post-coital mood.’

“Are you okay?” She asked, sliding over on the mattress so she could wrap her left arm around his right, “Is something on your mind?”

Alpha exhaled slowly as he collected his thoughts, and formulated exactly what he was going to say to her.

“Well?” Twilight asked again after ten seconds of silence between them.

“I don’t think we should have done this.” Alpha said finally, feeling Twilight instantly pull away from his arm.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked, scoffing as she looked to his unfixed gaze, “And would you look at me already?!”

Sighing, Alpha looked at her, revealing an expression that was vastly sadder than she had expected. What was going on here?

“I meant every word I said,” Alpha said, his expression softening as a small smile grew on his face, “I- I really do love you, and I would love nothing more than to spend every minute of the rest of my life with you.”

Twilight blushed at the admittance, but didn’t interrupt him.

“But… the Hive needs a leader right now,” Alpha explained, staring right in to her eyes, “Without me, the Council would take command of the army, and pick up on the war right where it left off.”

“What does that have to do with us- well, being together?” She asked, clearing her throat awkwardly at her evasion of the word ‘sex.’

“Because it makes me feel even more for you, don’t you understand? I don’t know if I’ll be able to settle down for years.” Alpha said, “I need to take apart the Hive myself, and rebuild it from the ground up. I can’t be distracted.”

Twilight felt the wind be taken out of her chest by his explanation, but by no means was she letting the discussion end here.

“If you’re going to be busy for a few years, I think I could get by on visits,” Twilight said, not loving that particular plan of action, but figuring that it would work, just so long as it wasn’t permanent, “I’d come see you one weekend, and you would come see me the other.”

“I can’t be seen running off to Equestria twice a month, Twilight, “Alpha explained, shaking his head, “The fact that I’m here now has already started rumors that I’m an Equestrian sympathizer… and to be courting the personal student of Princess Celestia inside the hive? I’d be ripped apart by my critics.”

Twilight blinked a few times.

“This has to be the last trip I make here for… months.” He continued, feeling his heart break as Twilight’s expression weakened further and further, “It’s why I promised myself not to see you. What we just did makes all of this so much harder for me.”

“What would it take for you to be able to come back?” Twilight spoke up, curious if there was something she could make happen.

“Twilight, look-“ Alpha began, before seeing the gleam of hope in her eyes… maybe just answering her would help, “As far as I can tell, there is only one pony that would fix everything. And that’s Chrysalis.”

“What power does she have that you don’t?” Twilight asked, half knowing the answer already.

“There’s no contest,” Alpha said, shaking his head slightly, “Chrysalis is an icon. She’s loved by almost everypony in the Hive, regardless of affiliation. My support comes from the vocal war dissenters, which has grown over the past few years, but still pales in comparison to the supporters. Chrysalis would unify them all in to a single group, and on top of that, she would be able to shut down the council with a single word. They’ve only clung to power because they insist on hearing the end of the war be declared by her.”

“But…” Twilight sighed.

“She’ll never side with me,” Alpha shook his head, “I mean, she lost the stallion she loved to the Zebra nation. I’d probably do the same if something happened to you or one of your- well, our friends.”

Twilight felt a dirty thought creep in to her mind, as she tilted her head and asked, “Couldn’t you just condition her? Like you tried with us at Haven Station?”

Alpha smiled at the suggestion. “She invented the magic that’s used in the process. I’d never be able to brainwash her.”

“Damn.” Twilight said, before yet another idea popped in to her mind. And it wasn’t one that would bend any morals, “How would it look to the Hive if you were to start dating a Changeling?”

Alpha raised an eyebrow at the odd question, “Well, there wouldn’t be a problem if I were to court a citizen. But what does that have to do with anything?”

“One sec!” Twilight said, hopping out of the bed and levitating a book off of a shelf across the room, “Hmm… where is it?”

Alpha only sat in silence as she leafed through the massive tome, scanning for whatever it was that she wanted.

“Ah ha!” She said as she read the passage over a couple of times, “Okay, watch this!”

Dropping the book, Twilight took a single deep breath, and closed her eyes.

A small ring appeared on the floor at her feet, as she started muttering something silently to herself.

Alpha slowly got out of the bed as he watched her work. When it came to this mare, he really had no idea what ever ran through her head… It was one of his favorite things about her. He was so used to being able to manipulate every situation he was presented with, that a little bit of chaos felt invigorating.

The ring on the ground slowly darkened from the white it had been, until it changed to a dark green. A color that Alpha was completely familiar with.

Then, as if she was covered in gasoline, a green fire ripped its way up her coat, and engulfed her completely.

“Twilight!” Alpha shouted, reaching forward. However, before he could even reach her, the fire vanished, leaving nothing more than a completely burnt coat.

…Or was it?

“How do I look?” Twilight asked timidly, “Did the spell work properly?”

It only took him another second to realize that her coat hadn’t been burnt. She had transformed herself in to a Changeling.

“Oooh,” She said, looking over her shoulder to her back, “Wings!”

“I- I don’t want you to take this the wrong way,” Alpha stammered, as he gave her a complete look-over, “But you just got a lot sexier.”

Twilight giggled, as she turned to look herself over in the mirror.

She had indeed pulled off the spell, and transformed into a changeling. Her coat was more or less black, with a slight hue of her purple coat mixed in. Her eyes were a solid blue, and her mane hadn’t changed much either, neither had her tail. Her midsection, however, had a hard plating over it. It was extremely similar to the exoskeleton that some insects had, only a much larger version. Her tongue was now forked at the end, and easily three times its original length, while only a fraction of its original girth. Finally, both her new wings and horn were filled with holes.

The only thing missing from her perfect disguise, was the holes in her legs. However, she knew for a matter of fact that there were Changelings without them.

“I- I guess you just solved our problem,” Alpha said breathlessly, inspecting her body over once more, “You could come live with me if you wanted to with that disguise.”

Twilight giggled as she flared her new wings and gave them a few powerful flaps.

“I just might take you up on that offer,” She winked, levitating her book back in to place, before turning around and staring to Alpha with a narrowed gaze, and smirk. “But for now… why don’t you get back on the bed?”

“Listen, Twilight.” Alpha laughed, loving the attitude she was bringing with the change of look, “I really do need to get back to the Castle. Celestia probably—“

“Alpha. Celestia knows. You and I vanished for an entire night.” Twilight said, her tone unchanging as she stepped even closer, “So, we’re not going to leave any doubt in her mind. So can you please get back on the bed?”

“Twilight…” He began, quickly losing any will to fight with her on.

Reaching up, Twilight whispered in his ear one final time.

“I’m not going to ask again.”

And there it was yet again. That chaos he loved. She truly made him feel like he had no choice of his own in the matter. It was a foreign feeling to surrender his control like this… but it was exhilarating too.

“Yes ma’am.” He said, backing up and placing himself back on the bed.

Twilight had no idea where this attitude had come from, but she loved every bit of it.

////

“Has there been any word from Alpha yet?” Celestia asked her sister as she entered the throne room for the first time that day.

“None.” Luna shook her head, “Twilight seems to be keeping him quite busy.”

Celestia only smiled to herself. Her little student was growing up so fast.

////

'Horse' Training

////
‘Horse’ Training
////

Alex sat outside the castle infirmary, patiently tapping away at his iPod as he waited for Chet to finally get up after his fainting spell back when they arrived. He had been cleared by a doctor, so he didn’t have too much to worry about.

“I can’t believe how many of these things there are now,” Alex said out loud as he looked his device over, “This thing was so cool at the time…”

“Hey, Alex!” Dash called, as she popped her head around the corner of the hallway.

“Hey, sweet cheeks.” Alex mocked, as she rolled her eyes, “Did you find Shining Armor?”

“Nopony seems to know where he is!” She said, walking over to the bench he sat on and plopping herself down and dropping her reports next to him, “This has been driving me nuts!”

“Why are you so excited to hand in your homework?” Alex asked, having trouble grasping the importance of the situation for her, “I mean, since when do you care about this stuff?”

“…Are you serious?” She asked, looking truly surprised at his ignorance, “The two years you were gone were like, the most eye opening time of my life! I’m an egghead, and I love it!”

“Well, I knew that,” Alex said, shrugging as he leaned back in his seat, “I just keep expecting you to snap back to the way you… used to be.”

Upon hearing his pause, Dash wasn’t able to respond to his statement. She wasn’t sure if it was something she should be worried about, or even pissed off about. Did he not like her like this? He hadn’t said anything yet… She was scared to even ask.

“Um… Do you not like me when I’m—“

“Alex!” Chet called, as he carefully trotted out the door next to the two, “I can’t believe I passed out! How much of a pansy does that make me?”

“It’s okay,” Alex laughed, standing up and leaving Dash’s side, “I did it too.”

“Well, let’s get back on our tour!” Chet said, hitting his hoof against his chest, as flapping his new wings “And you need to teach me how to fly with these!”

“I’m not much help there,” Alex laughed, looking to Dash, “That’s more her territory.”

“That’s so crazy!” He said, looking to the cyan mare, “Are you coming with us, Sarah?”

“Oh… no.” She shook her head, having not been paying too much attention to the conversation between the two, “I still need to find the Captain.”

“Oh, right.” Alex said, looking to her quickly, “Maybe check the Crystal Empire. I could have sworn I heard him talk about sneaking off there with Cadence the day before the wedding.”

She only nodded, still preoccupied with his pervious conversation with her.

“Well… I’ll see you later then?” Alex asked.

“Sure thing.” She said quickly, grabbing her report and quickly trotting off toward her old office, leaving the two puzzled at her haste.

“Is she okay?” Chet asked, clearly seeing the odd attitude she was displaying.

“I don’t know,” Alex shook his head, “I’ll figure it out later. Let’s get you pony trained here!”

“I thought we were doing a tour of this castle!” Chet whined.

“If you can’t walk without falling over, you’re not ready to climb up and down stairs.” Alex said flatly, “I’ll show you the horse-ropes, then we’ll talk about exploring.”

Chet didn’t like this role reversal one bit. Usually he was the one that got to lay shitty conditions like that, “You’re loving being the boss, aren’t you?”

“More than you could ever know.” Alex laughed, “Now let’s get out to the courtyard. It’ll be the perfect place to get you moving with some confidence, maybe even get you up to running speed.”

“Can’t we just jump right to the fun stuff?” Chet whined.

“If ya’ don’t eat yer meat, yeh’ can’t have any pooding!” Alex said in his best accent.

Chet sighed. The reference was too good to argue, “You got it, Floyd.”

Alex had to restrain his own cheering. Finally someone who got all the obscure shit he said.

////

Dash sat at her desk, just as she had left it when she moved back to Ponyville with Alex, tapping her hoof slowly on its face. Did Alex really not like her this way? …Did he want her to go back to how she used to be?

She had become such a nerd over the past couple years that it was strange to her how she never even read any real books before Twilight came around. Hell, it wasn’t until Alex was turned to stone that she found the drive to even pick up a book. But, thanks to all that, she was able to free him- well, Alpha, from stone, and get her life back on track.

But even after all that, she found herself hungry to learn more about the things that truly fascinated her. She was considered a head in the specialized field of petrification magic, thanks to her years of intense study. But, beyond that, she craved to know more about magic itself. She found it to be so fascinating… From its malleability, its raw power, even its variety in its existence. There were so many unanswered questions in this world, and she could be the one to work them out!

At that thought, she paused.

Turning over her shoulder, she looked to the mirror that was placed in between two filing cabinets across the room, and simply stared at her reflection.

“What the hell happened to you?” She muttered, blinking to herself a couple of times.

If somepony told her she was going to end up like this five years ago, she would have laughed them out of town… But now, well, she found herself being a bigger nerd than Twilight in a lot of situations. How the heck did that ever come about?

Alex obviously didn’t hate her like this. He never voiced a serious word of complaint to her over it.

But, it seemed like the kind of thing he would just sit on, and not say anything about until it exploded out of him during an argument.

What would she do if he did hate it? Quit?

Huffing, she looked at the bed in the corner and decided that a quick nap would clear her head. After that, she could go find Shining Armor, talk to Alex, and hopefully head home back to her job as Captain of the Royal Guard.

////

“As soon are you can ‘horse’ properly, I’ll show you around the city,” Alex said, marching back and forth in front of his annoyed uncle, “I have a reputation around here, and I can’t have you embarrassing me by falling all over yourself! And, well, I don’t want you to hurt yourself either.”

“Are you kidding me?” Chet asked, his eyebrow raised, “I can ‘horse’ just fine!”

“Well, just do a lap around the courtyard.” Alex said, gesturing around him to the walls surrounding them, “Full speed, no stopping!”

Chet cleared his throat quickly, looking down at his feet and frowning, “Maybe I need a little more practice.”

The truth was, he was having trouble standing in place. How was he supposed to run a lap around anything, if he was going to biff in the first three seconds?

“I figured out the trick to it pretty quick,” Alex said, tapping his right leg with his left, “Don’t think about it! It’s all programmed in your head already. As soon as it clicks, it clicks.”

Chet took an uneasy step forward. It was true what Alex was saying. The nurse in the infirmary had pushed him out the door so quickly that he didn’t really have time to think about falling on his ass.

“Chet! You’re being uncharacteristically quiet!” Alex laughed, stopping his back and forth dead center in front of his uncle, “You’re making me feel like a dick for pushing this on you! Would you just figure it out already?”

“Just stop thinking about it?” Chet asked.

“Yes!” Alex nodded, “I ran and jumped across a broken bridge in my first couple hours here!”

“You were alone!” Chet countered, “Necessity is the mother of invention, Alex.”

“Someone’s been reading big boy books,” Alex mocked, knowing that kind of stuff was usually out of Chet’s range of intelligence.

“I’m getting married to a teacher.” Chet shook his head, “But, anyway, you’re just going to have to wait for me to get this whole ‘walking’ thing down. I don’t have the same urgency you had.”

Then Alex got a great idea.

“Just wait here!” Alex said suddenly, running through the door next to Chet, before suddenly stopping, turning around, and locking it.

“Hey! Chet said, taking an unsteady step toward the door, “What are you doing?”

“You said it yourself, Chet!” Alex laughed, casting a teleportation spell, “Necessity is the mother of invention!”

Chet was startled as a loud ‘thump’ sounded opposite to where he was looking.

Turning his gaze, he made eye contact with the single largest brown bear he had ever seen in his life.

“A-Alex!” Chet shouted over his shoulder, not daring to take his gaze off of the beast, “This isn’t funny!”

“As soon as you run that lap, the bear’ll be gone!” Alex laughed through the glass, “Better get running!”

The beast, narrowed its gaze as it looked at Chet, and waited only a second before it began closing the small distance Alex had put between it and his uncle.

“This isn’t funny!” Chet shouted, backing away skillfully from the beast, “Just because it’s a cartoon doesn’t mean it won’t rip me to pieces!”

“Ponies can outrun bears all day!” Alex said through the glass, “So you should be fine!”

With no further warning, the bear ran at Chet.

And, just as Alex had anticipated, his uncle took off like a bat out of hell, running at top speed around the parameter of the enclosed area.

“See?” Alex shouted, opening the door slightly to make sure he was heard, “It’s easy!”

“Hey, Alex!” A soft voice said from beside him.

“Oh, hey Luna,” He said, only looking at her for a moment before turning back to the show going on outside, “What’s up?”

“I came to ask you the same question!” She said, her eyes widening as she realized just what was happening outside, “W-what is going on here?”

“I’m teaching my uncle to walk like a pony,” Alex explained calmly, “See how good he’s doing? The bear is barely keeping up with him.”

“Are you quite serious?” She asked, “He could die! You need to help him!”

Alex only laughed as he shook his head his head, “That’s Fluttershy’s bear. The sweetest creature in Equestria! She told me to teleport him to me if I ever needed a big hug.”

Luna had planned on cutting him off half way through that sentence, but his explanation had indeed been adequate enough to quell her fears. Now, her mouth only hung open.

“Trial by fire, right?” Alex asked with a smirk.

No more words were exchanged as they simply opted to watch the white pony run in circles repeatedly, as he shouted nonsense in their direction.

“Well, I suppose you can call this an accomplished mission,” Luna noted, “He seems to be running with no issue.”

“I’d better let him practice a little more,” Alex said, plopping down on his butt, “He’ll thank me for letting him master it like this.”

“If his heart gives out, I’ll blame you for it.” Luna said simply, continuing on her trip down the hall.

“Oh, it’s okay,” Alex shook his head, “I know a great spell for raising the dead.”

Luna looked over her shoulder to him one last time, and was unable to tell if he was joking or not. Still, she didn’t worry too much. This just seemed to be the way Alex gave his uncle a hard time. She was a pain in the butt to Celestia all the time, and this wasn’t too different. It was just a little more… extreme.

Pity

////
Pity
////

“Come to laugh at your queen?” Chrysalis asked the changeling in front of her, upon seeing him enter the room, “Enjoy your victory while you can! I’ll find my way back to the hive! It’s only a matter of time.”

Alpha said nothing.

“And don’t get too comfortable with having everypony calling you Omega, Marick!” She continued, only slightly put off by his lack of communication, “You’ll be stripped of that title publicly.”

Again, he was completely silent.

“Why aren’t you speaking?!” She suddenly shouted, slamming her hoof against the glass that separated the two of them, “Is this your new way of bragging? To come and view me like some kind of zoo animal?”

He exhaled, and his expression softened to one of nothing but sadness.

At this point, Chrysalis wasn’t sure what she should be saying to him. But his lack of decisiveness was starting to chip away at her nerves.

Silence.

“Would you say something?!” She suddenly shouted, with no more malice in her tone. Only a twinge of panic, “What has you acting this way?”

“I’m sorry, Chrysalis.” Alpha said, lowering his head, as the war reports were levitated out of the bag he brought in with him.

She was going to make some kind of joke about this apology leading to her being set free, but his truly apologetic look was keeping her from being her usual sarcastic self.

“Why are you sorry?” She asked, “What are those papers?”

Alpha looked over the most important page one last time, before closing his eyes and exhaling.

“Apparently, Equestrian reconnaissance has been exceptional over the past twenty or so years,” Alpha began, hoping to completely illuminate her before dropping the bomb, “They have had scouts trailing every single one of our platoons, writing incredibly detailed reports on every aspect of our troops.”

“So?” She asked, having figured that to be the case for a long time, “We accounted for that a long time ago. We’ve had our own share of spies in the Equestrian ranks for years.”

“I know.” Alpha said, “It’s not the fact that we were being watched that surprised me… It’s what they wrote in some of their reports.”

This was something that piqued her interest.

“Chrysalis… Did you ever hear about infighting within the army?” Alpha asked, knowing full well that she hadn’t, “About soldiers being killed by their comrades?”

Her expression was one of shock, as she shook her head ‘no.’

“…Because these reports describe several instances of a special group of soldiers appearing, and killing entire platoons.” Alpha said, keeping eye contact with her, waiting for the information to click.

“Show me them.” She said, still confused to hear this news, “How do I know this isn’t some kind of trickery?”

“You know I wouldn’t be here try to trick you,” He said, knowing that she believed him, “I came here to show you this one consolidated report, which shows our report on this incident, and Equestria’s report on it.”

“Give it.” She said impatiently, as the paper was slid under the glass door keeping her in, “What’s so special about this…?”

Beta – Incident Report
Fourteen members of the Delta-six were brutally ambushed by a group of Zebra yesterday, despite a ceasefire that had been called. This resulted in a one hundred percent mortality rate among the soldiers. Upon closer inspection, tracks were found leading toward a nearby village. It is my recommendation that this town be invaded, and burnt down.

Doing so will deliver a message to every resident in this province, deterring such actions from being taken again.

Chrysalis stood silent after finishing the page. She knew this report. She had read it hundreds of times.

The platoon that was mentioned in this report, was the one containing her lover. The only man she ever truly loved. Stag.

The two of them had planned to end the war, and start a new era of prosperity for the Hive, as king and queen. However, he had been killed on the day he was due to return from duty, and it had robbed her of the future she so desperately desired with him. So, this had a polarizing effect on their old plans to end the war, as she decided to spend the rest of her life making sure the world would pay for stealing her happiness away from her.

Ever since then, she had been pushing to take more territory, and steal more powerful items of magic. At least she could say the council was happy with the turn out.

“Read the Equestrian Report.” Alpha said sadly, “Please.”

Glancing lower on the page, she read the report that had been written on the same day, but from an outsiders perspective.

Pvt. Dancer – Log 12883 – Follow Up

My apologies for the haste I’ve put in to this report, but I believe I just witnessed both a rare, and bloody occurrence within the platoon I’ve been assigned to follow.

Today was their last day of deployment, and were due to return to the hive via railway at sundown.

However, just as they finished packing their supplies, they were approached by an unknown group of soldiers, bearing a unique uniform with a strange symbol on their backs. At first, the soldiers seemed to have no issues with one another, this new group explained that they were to escort them to the train station. Something about having a VIP within the platoon, I believe.

However, when they began their march toward the railway, this new group of soldiers suddenly drew their blades, and cut down the entire party of soldiers. It was a terrible sight.

Once they finished their attack, the assassins spoke of littering the bodies amongst the camp site they had just left, to make it look as if they had been ambushed by Zebras.

They promptly teleported all the bodies away.

Upon hearing that they plan on scattering the bodies, I’ve decided retreat is my best course of action.

EDIT –Just before I escaped, I heard one of them using the word ‘Aeris.’ I don’t know what it signifies, but made note of it, just in case.

Log end

Chrysalis shook in place as she finished reading the second report.

Alpha didn’t say a word, as he watched several tear drops land on the page she was looking down to read. Everything had come together in her mind, just as it had in his. And as much as he knew Chrysalis was his enemy, he felt nothing but pain for the mare.

“How could I have been so blind?” She asked quietly, her eyes still glued to the page, “Stag wasn’t killed by the Zebra...”

Alpha shook his head, “He was killed by the council, to keep you fighting their war.”

She sniffled as quietly as possible, before looking over her shoulder to him.

“Please leave me alone.” She said, her eyes puffy and red, “I need some time to myself…”

“Of course, your majesty.” He said, bowing to her for the first time in years.

“Oh, you’re suddenly loyal to me, now?” She asked, offended that he was taking advantage of this revelation to get back in her good books.

“I’m not loyal to you as a pony,” He shook his head, as he walked toward the door, “I’m loyal to peace in the Hive. And I hope that you’re going to help that become a reality now.”

She didn’t respond as he gathered his things and left the room.

And then she broke down.

////

Alpha felt terrible.

It wasn’t because of this revelation, and the pain Chrysalis must be feeling. He felt terrible, because this made him happy.

With this revelation, chances were good that Chrysalis would rip the Council to pieces, and being the war machine to a complete halt, completing the goal he had anticipated to take years, in what would likely only be a couple of days.

…Now he could spend more time with Twilight too.

He was ecstatic.

////

Author's Note

Sorry it was so short. Just needed to get it out so I can begin work on the next side story!

The Stage is Set

////
The Stage is Set
////

Chrysalis stood at the end of the throne room, her mind racing just as it had been since Alpha dropped the bomb on her. Now, he was speaking with the Equestrian royalty on her behalf to have her released back to the Hive. Something that she dearly wanted.

“Are you sure we can trust her?” Luna asked slowly, as she looked to the Changeling queen with a small measure of contempt, “It was just a week ago that she was trying to take over Equestria. How she have changed so much?”

“You don’t understand how important he was to her,” Alpha said to the Princess, almost convincing her with just his saddened expression, “It hurt me to watch her die on the inside that day. And it killed me to see the all that sadness be replaced by rage. You… were still on the moon when it happened. But the war effort was kicked in to overdrive the very next day, and it has only sped up since then.”

“You need to trust her, Luna.” Celestia said, making brief eye contact with the Queen, before Chrysalis looked away, “Just look at Discord. He’s come along splendidly.”

“Oh, has he?” She asked, turning to her sister with a raised eyebrow, “How far has he gone, sister?”

Celestia narrowed her gaze toward her sister, “Don’t make those jokes.”

Luna broke her serious attitude for a moment as she giggled to herself, “Fine. I suppose I can trust the Queen to do the right thing, if Alpha is so confident.”

“I am.” He said confidently, “She’ll have this war ended by tomorrow night.”

Chrysalis looked over her shoulder to the three conversing across the room and sighed. She wasn’t ever the one to be timid, or worried about the opinion of others. But in this situation, she couldn’t help but feel butterflies in her stomach.

Suddenly, the main door to the throne room opened, and Alex walked inside, only to stop suddenly next to the queen, and stand in complete silence.

“Do you need something?” Celestia asked, taking a break from her conversation as she looked to him.

“Oh… I uh—“ Alex looked over to Chrysalis and gulped, “Never mind.”

“Oh, Alex.” Alpha spoke up, “Would you mind taking Chrysalis to the mess hall? She hasn’t eaten in hours.”

“Uhh… Well I’m kind doing something with Chet—“

“Please?” Celestia said, giving him an odd look at his timidity toward the situation, “I’m sure you can handle her if things get out of control.”

“I can assure you they won’t.” Chrysalis spoke up for the first time, “I mean to speak with him anyway.”

“Thank you.” Alpha said to her, as she nodded back to him.

With that, the three returned to their conversation.

“Shall we?” She asked, winking at him.

Alex exhaled. How could they throw him under the bus like this?

Luna gave the other two a strange look as the door closed behind Chrysalis and Alex, “Why would you insist that those two spend time together?”

Alpha blinked a couple of times before bug-eyeing.

Celestia instantly followed suit.

“Oh… It didn’t even click.” Alpha said, looking back to the door.

“Well, it’s a good thing we had Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor set on copying that report for us,” Celestia said, now feeling terrible for the stallion, “We wouldn’t want her catching those two together.”

“Knowing Chrysalis, she’s likely reminiscing about their… ‘time’ together as we speak.”

////

Alex and Chrysalis walked out of the throne room, in to the empty halls of Canterlot Castle.

“Good,” She said, looking up and down the massive hall, “We can have some alone time.”

“Stop,” Alex said, refusing to look her in the eye, “I’m just getting you something to eat, that doesn’t mean we’re going to talk.”

“Aww,” She said, giving him a pouty lip, and tilting her head to the side, “Don’t you want to talk about all the time we spent… together?”

Alex didn’t respond, he only took a few steps ahead of her to avoid conversation.

“Oh!” Chrysalis said, as an idea popped in to her head, “Will you talk to me like this?”

Alex looked over his shoulder just in time to see her body be engulfed in green flame. When it extinguished, it was replaced with a perfect replica of his fiancé, Dash. The only difference was the green coloring of her eyes.

“How about now?” She asked, walking toward the frozen stallion, “You used to love it when I dressed up like her.”

“It was the closest I could get to home,” Alex said, his tense body relaxing as he turned away from the queen and felt yet another pang of guilt, “Please stop this.”

Hearing the mixture of seriousness and sadness in his tone, Chrysalis decided to stop playing around with him, as she quickly turned herself back to her original form.

So, they resumed their trip in silence. Both completely occupied with their thoughts.

For Alex, it was nothing but confusing memories of what he had done with this mare. Every time he admitted to himself that it felt great, he felt a stab through his heart. He should have hated what they did.

For Chrysalis, on the other hoof, her interior was much more serious than her exterior. This entire flirtation she had just put on with Alex was nothing more than a distraction from the burning pain in her chest, regarding the execution of Stag. She could have admitted that, but it would have made her look too weak.

This awkward silence filled the air as they finished their trip to the cafeteria, grabbed something eat, and sat down.

Both of them had a salad, and both of them were forced to listen to the other chew it in silence.

Silence…

More silence…

Alex sighed, this was killing him. He was literally sitting with the only other girl he had had sex with, and he was too scared to bring it up.

“Alpha told me everything…” Alex said, as she suddenly looked up from her bowl, “About Stag, and why you did what you did with me.”

Chrysalis opened her mouth to respond, but didn’t any words ready to say, so her mouth simply hung open.

“And I don’t blame you.” He continued, looking away and sighing, “Not anymore.”

“Well, I don’t know what Marick told you, but I wasn’t trying to—“

“You don’t need to defend yourself,” Alex shook his head softly, “You wanted a taste of a life you never had… Because as much as I’d hate to admit it, you did take good care of me, well, despite the orders to hurt my friends.”

Chrysalis felt her breath catch in her throat, “You- you really think that?”

“I do,” Alex nodded slowly, remembering all the times she had fed and groomed him, “It was all really weird for me, but after I got hurt during my training, or when I came back to the hive absolutely covered in filth, I knew I’d at least be looked after.”

Chrysalis was truly surprised at this act of kindness he was showing her. She had assumed that his feelings toward her were nothing more than pure hatred. But then again, there was one other option.

“Is all of this you… pitying me?” She asked carefully, “You Equestrians always seem protective to a fault.”

Alex sniffed and shook his head, “I’ve had a lot of time to think about it since Alpha told me why you kept this war going, after Stag died. I don’t even know what I’d do if I love Rainbow Dash to somepony… I’d probably kill them myself… though I can’t really imagine kidnapping and brainwashing some helpless mare and having my way with her.”

“You were anything but a helpless mare.” Chrysalis corrected, “I saw a champion of the hive without companionship. While it may have seemed perverted or evil of me to do what I did, I was simply following tradition, and taking care of you.”

“I know.” Alex said, giving her a single nod.

Chrysalis was happy that he understood.

“So, I’ll say this.” He said, clearing his throat, “If you go home, back to the hive, and truly end this war… there’s no way I could dwell on our past.”

“You think your forgiveness is so important to me?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Alex shrugged, drinking the last of his apple juice from his cup, “I’d like to think it is. It would tell me a whole lot about you.”

“You know me better than anypony, really.” Chrysalis sighed, sad at how true that fact was, “What do you think I’ll do?”

Alex thought about her question for a moment. He had spent the better part of two years at her side, seeing both her nurturing side, and her ruthless side. It was a strange combination to be sure, especially when the both of them were directed toward him. But one thing stuck with him. When she was caring, and sweet, she truly was just that.

All of her rage had come from her loss of Stag. It was why this bombshell being dropped on her had such a drastic effect on her attitude. Alex could tell. She was feeling sadness, guilt, anger, and confusion all at the same time. Those emotions wouldn’t be there if she didn’t have some good in her.

Alex gave her a small smile, “I trust that you’re going to make Stag proud.”

////
Half an Hour Later
////

Chrysalis stood at the front of the throne room once again, having just finished her small, and somewhat encouraging meal with Alex. She had been summoned back to hear the decision the Princesses had reached.

“Well, I think it’s of everypony’s opinion that you should be allowed to return to the hive.” Luna said, glancing to her sister and Alpha, “Alpha has convinced us that you can be trusted to end this conflict once and for all.”

“You can trust me,” Chrysalis said, her conversation with Alex still weighing heavily on her mind, “I’ve spent too much time hating this world… And I think it’s time I made Stag proud.”

“I’m very happy to her that… but that being said,” Celestia spoke up, stepping past her sister, “I’d like to send you with an escort from Canterlot, should you decide to betray us.”

Both Alpha and Chrysalis spoke up at the same time.

“What?!”

“Now, I realize that—“

“You can’t send her with a party!” Alpha said, shaking his head, “It’ll look like we’re coercing her!”

“You need to trust me,” Chrysalis said, “If you push your guard on me, I’ll never be trusted within the hive again.”

“I’ll go with her,” Alpha said, approaching the Princess, “That’ll be all the protection she needs.”

“That simply won’t due.” Luna shook her head, “You could easily be held captive if Chrysalis were to betray us.”

“I have no intention of doing that!” Chrysalis shouted, insulted that she was being spoken about as if she weren’t in the room, “The only stallion I’ve ever loved was killed by my own advisors! Just to fill their own pockets!”

Celestia stood silent.

“I will return to the hive, and I will personally see to their execution,” She spat, her anger toward the council finally boiling over, “And then I will end every conflict we’re taking part in because of my own hate. I am blind no longer.”

“You can trust her.” Alpha said once again, “There’s no need to send her with anypony from Canterlot.”

Celestia cleared her throat.

“And what if this council bites back, hmm?” Celestia asked, “By both of your admissions, they hold almost as much power as you, Chrysalis.”

“And more power than you, as an Omega.” Luna added.

“What I’ve planned, is for you two to take the Elements of Harmony with you,” Celestia began, holding up a hoof to prematurely silence them both, “I will see that they’re all transformed to look like Changelings. As far as anypony will know, they’re soldiers returning from duty.”

“The Elements of Harmony no longer work,” Chrysalis said, having read the intelligence reports many times, “They were rendered useless by Discord shortly after his return from his stone imprisonment.”

“That may be true, but three of them hold an abundance of power within them.” She continued, “First, is Alex. He’s had access to chaotic energy for years now, and is capable of destroying Canterlot with a single spell, should he have reason to do so.”

Chrysalis knew this as well.

“The second, is the Element of Generosity, Rarity.” Luna said, as the Queen looked to her with an intrigued expression, “Both Alex and Discord has shown her how to control chaotic magic, and she’s only a very short distance behind Alex himself in skill.”

“And finally, Rainbow Dash, the captain of my royal guard,” Celestia said, “She’s only just awoken to her chaotic power, but has little problem controlling it, despite her lack of horn.”

“She can cast spells?” Chrysalis asked, very surprised at this news.

“With her wings, yes.” Celestia nodded, “She has far less control than the other two I’ve just mentioned, making her arguably deadlier.”

“How is that?” Chrysalis asked, titling her head.

“She tried to use her magic in a training exercise this morning, and ended up destroying an entire gymnasium because she sneezed while trying to cast a spell.” Luna continued for her sister, “Those three alone could bring the hive to its knees.”

“And should I be attacked by those loyal to the council, they would intervene.” Chrysalis said, as Luna and Celestia nodded to her.

“Not only would they protect you, but by accepting their help, you are further proving to us which side you now belong to.” Luna said, looked between Alpha and Chrysalis one last time, “So, tell us. What do you think?”

“If… you can guarantee that the girls won’t be ousted as Equestrians, then I would be more than happy to have the backup on hoof,” Chrysalis nodded, as she looked to Alpha, “How much of the hive is loyal to you?”

“About half,” Alpha said, sighing as he shook his head, “But that’s largely non-military support. The ponies that think the war should be over are my biggest fans.”

Chrysalis nodded. That was what she expected. National pride was heavily linked to ones worth within the hive. If somepony said the war was a waste of time, it was easy for them to be shunned by others as ‘unpatriotic.’

“But there’s still one thing worth more to them than the war, and that’s you.” Alpha said, nodding to her, “Half of the hive is loyal to me, half is loyal to the Council. But all of them are loyal to you.”

“How many do you think will favor the council when I end the war?” Chrysalis asked.

“Stag was popular, Chrysalis.” Alpha said, recalling how many ponies envied the commoner that held the Queen in his arms, “You tell the hive how he died, and any support the council might have had will be gone instantly.”

She knew that would be the case, but it felt good to hear it from him as well.

“Well then.” Chrysalis said, “I’d like to get going sooner rather than later.”

“Of course,” Luna nodded, “Please go and gather your belongings from your cell, while we summon your guard.”

She gave a single nod, turned around, and left the room, followed by two guards.

“I’ll write Spike,” Celestia said, as a paper and quill appeared in front of her, “He can gather his friends within Ponyville, and I can teleport them.”

“Then I shall find those that are here.” Luna nodded, as she stepped off of the podium, “I believe Rainbow Dash and Alex are together.”

“Twilight’s in her room,” Alpha coughed, as both the princesses laughed under their breath, “I’ll- uh, go get her.”

“Please do.” Luna said, gesturing for the changeling to walk out of the room as she held the door.

“You two have about half an hour to get ready,” Celestia called after him as he headed for the door, “Stress that, before my student jumps you again.”

Alpha still said nothing as he ran out the door.

Most guys will talk about their girlfriend’s dad, and how terrifying he can be. But those stallions don’t know fear. They never dated the personal student of Princess Celestia, or the sister of a Captain of the Royal Guard.

////
Half an hour later
////
The friends had all gathered, save Alex and Dash, at the train platform that would lead them to the badlands, where they would transfer to the end of a Changeling line, that would take them right in to the hive.

“Come on!” Spike pleaded, as Rarity shook her head firmly, “I have to come with you guys!”

“Now dear, I appreciate your concern for me, I truly do. But I need you to trust my friends to keep me safe,” Rarity said soothingly to her stressed out boyfriend, “And besides, Princess Celestia that only the Elements of Harmony would be going on this trip.”

“But what about her?” Spike asked, pointing to Trixie, “She’s not an Element!”

“No, but she is very gifted magically,” Rarity said, looking to Trixie and smiling, “It was worth an exception, it seems.”

“Maybe I should have studied my magic a little more…” Spike grumbled, falling back on his butt.

“Maybe you should have,” Rarity agreed, laughing at his self-awareness.

As if on cue, Alex and Dash walked through the doors leading to the rest of their friends, with Chet just in tow.

“You can’t just leave me here!” Chet said somewhat desperately, as he looked to the group in front of him, “Can’t you just run me home first?”

“We’re going to be gone for a night,” Alex said, shaking his head, “Just spend time with Princess Luna. She’s always been curious about human culture.”

“I can barely walk…” Chet mumbled, sighing as Alex walked away from him toward the crowd.

Chet looked at the girls in front of him, and found that some of them were very familiar. There must have been the rest of the girls that came to earth a couple weeks ago. He would have to introduce himself properly when they all got back from their weird mission.

“You getting left behind too?” Spike asked, joining the older stallion by the wall.

“Sure am,” Chet nodded, “Do I know you?”

“I don’t think so,” Spike shook his head, “I’m Rarity’s boyfriend, Spike.”

“That’s the one with the purple hair, right?” Chet asked, looking toward her and nodding to himself, “Nice catch man.”

“Heh, thanks.” Spike laughed.

“I’m Chet, by the way. Alex’s uncle.” Chet said, reaching out his hoof unsteadily.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Spike smiled, taking the hoof and shaking it firmly.

Finally, Alpha and Chrysalis came through the doors, followed by Celestia.

“Alright everypony,” Celestia said, looking over the fairly large party, “As I told you all, I’ll be casting a form spell on you all, effectively changing you all in to Changelings.”

“Then, from there, you’ll simply follow Chrysalis and myself in to the castle.” Alpha said, looking across them all, “It’s standard practice for returning soldiers to spend time within the walls, so nopony will pay you any mind, especially with all of us in your company, Chrysalis.”

“I’ll ask you all to wait outside of the council chambers, while I confront them.” Chrysalis continued, “And if you hear things start to… go downhill, you will intervene.”

The group nodded, before looking back to Celestia as she cleared her throat.

“Now, please close your eyes, and relax.” Celestia said to them all, as her horn began to glow brilliantly, “Hopefully by this time tomorrow, I’ll be reversing this form spell…”

“Um, Princess, are you sure it’s necessary for all of us to be going?” Fluttershy asked meekly, “Because If you need somepony to stay behind and look after the—“

“Please, Fluttershy.” Celestia asked sweetly, “You’re an important part of this team, and far too valuable to simply leave here.”

“Oh… Okay.”

“Don’t worry, sugar cube!” Applejack said happily, approaching her friend, “Ah’ll take good care of ya’.”

“Oh, thank you, Applejack.” Fluttershy said, exhaling in defeat,

“I’ll look out for you too!” Pinkie beamed, “In fact, we all will! Nopony’s gonna be laying a hoof on you, Flutters!”

“I’ll use some of my new magic on them if they try, dear.” Rarity reassured.

“Thanks,” Fluttershy said, flashing them all a tiny smile, as she looked back to Princess Celestia.

“Are there any questions?” Celestia asked them, as she continued to prepare her spell.

“Yes,” Trixie said from the back, “Will we need to worry about any anti-magic barriers?”

“No.” Alpha shook his head, “Magic is used extensively within the castle, and blocking it would only prove to be a hindrance to everypony.”

“Thank goodness,” Trixie said, wiping her brow.

“What if things go bad?” Twilight asked, having been dwelling on that question since she got the news.

“Good question,” Alpha said, stepping forward, “If we’re attacked for any reason, Twilight, you will assess the threat, and if it’s deemed too dangerous to contain and continue the mission, teleport the party back to the train platform, where we’ll hijack ourselves a ride to the Equestrian line.”

“And if it’s not too dangerous?” Dash asked.

“You’ll knock them out, and continue the mission.” Alpha said simply, “But I don’t see any kind of retaliation coming from this.”

Finally, silence filled the room, before Celestia spoke up again.

“Alright, the spell is ready.” She said, gesturing for the ponies to come a little closer to her, “Please close your eyes and send your mind far away.”

Then, instantly, a white light filled the room…

////

Prelude to Chaos

////
Prelude to Chaos
////

“Princess!” Shining Armor shouted, bursting through the doors to the throne room, startling Celestia as she stood up from her throne, “I just got news from our scout outside the Hive, and something’s gone terribly wrong!”

“What did he say?” Celestia asked, having expected something like this to happen, “Have the troops mobilized within the city?”

“No,” he shook his head, “Some kind of bubble of magic has completely encompassed the hive.”

“Is that some kind of new technology they’ve been working on?” Celestia asked, as she began walking toward the door, intent on waking Luna up, “Could we have missed that?”

“I don’t think so, that kind of stuff is way beyond anything they have access to.” Shining Armor said, matching her pace as they exited the room, “Whatever caused it came from the same area of the castle as the Council chambers.”

“Does our scout have any more information? Perhaps on its formation?” She asked, looking over her shoulder as she asked, before looking back in front of her.

“Yes!” He nodded quickly, “He described it as a pair of black beams shooting out from the castle, and twisting together high in the sky. Afterward, they arced back down, and exploded in to a massive bubble.”

“Hmm…” Celestia said, having no recollection of such an event in the past, “I think we should go ask Dis—“

“Discord?” A voice finished for her, as the serpent-like creature fell through the solid roof above them, “I suppose you two are talking about the disturbance I just felt!”

“Yes we are,” Shining nodded, as the chaotic creature smiled, “Do you know anything about it?”

“I do, but you won’t like what I have to say,” Discord said, as the two ponies in front of him exchanged worried looks.

“What is it?” Celestia asked.

“Well, as I’m sure you’re aware, when your friend Rarity went through her chaotic transformation, she spent a great deal of time within her own head.” Discord said, as they both nodded along with him, “This world of chaos within her mind, that literally contained millions of… let’s say biomes.”

“Biomes?” Shining asked, tilting his head as the draconequus continued.

“Places constructed within ones’ mind, that represent a certain side of themselves.” He said, only confusing his students more as he spoke, “Happiness may be represented by a house, with a warm fireplace, while anger would be shown as a burning forest. You pick an emotion, or a memory, and that place can exist.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Celestia shook her head, “what does Rarity’s transformation have anything to do with this?”

“Well, you see…” Discord said, folding his claw and paw together, “Instead of just one Element of Harmony’s dark side being unleashed, it appears that two have happened at the same time.”

Both Shining and Celestia went wide eyed at the terrible timing for such an event to take place.

“And with two of them combining their power, they’ve managed to turn that mindscape Rarity was trapped in, in to a real, physical place.” He said, shaking his head and exhaling, “I’d wager that every pony within the castle is currently wandering within the minds of the two Elements of Harmony.”

“Do you know who they are?” Celestia asked, worried that Twilight may have finally fallen victim to her dark side.

“I’m afraid I don’t know,” Discord shook his head, “However, if we go to the Hive, I might be able to figure something else out to help them.”

“I’m surprised to see you so eager to help,” Shining laughed, as Discord shrugged and smiled.

“It’s rare for me to experience new things these days,” He said, chuckling as he floated down the hall, “Just call me when you’re ready to depart, your majesty!”

And with that, Discord was gone.

Celestia sighed heavily as she looked to Shining Armor.

“Don’t worry, Princess.” He said comfortingly, “They’ve beaten three of those chaotic sides before, they’ll be just fine handling two.”

“You’re right,” Celestia nodded, “We should still make our way to the hive immediately. Any support we can provide will increase our chances of success.”

“I’ll pack my things immediately,” Shining said, laughing to himself as he walked away from the princess, “It looks like the honeymoon will have to wait a little longer.”

////

Author's Note

Coming up next:

OTR: Darkness Zone!

I'm very excited about this one.

If anyone would like a little hint at the content, go ahead and look at my newest blog if you haven't already.

Anyway! I'll try to have this done soon! But it's going to be another long chapter, so it'll take a little bit!

Riding Home - Stress

////
Riding Home - Stress
////

“Well, it seems that you and your friends have done something that neither I, nor my sister have been able to achieve.” Celestia said to Twilight, as they sat next to one another on their way back to Canterlot, “Bringing peace between two nations is quite the achievement.”

“Well- luckily, some of the changelings wanted peace as well,” Twilight said, shifting in her seat uncomfortably, “If Taurus hadn’t helped me, I don’t think we would have made it out of there.”

“Indeed.” Celestia nodded, “When we setup proper channels of communication, I’d like to properly thank him for what he did. Perhaps give him an award for… something.”

“I don’t think he’s really the type that looks for recognition… I don’t think many changelings are.” Twilight frowned for a moment, “Especially when it comes to being honoured by their old enemies.”

“You’re right, it might look bad,” a voice said, as the two looked to the door of the empty car they were seated in, “Everypony might think he’s a traitor!”

“I thought you were staying home to catch up on your sleep,” Celestia said to the hovering voice.

“Well, Celestia, my dear,” he chuckled, “I was trying to get some shut-eye, but I found myself far too worried about our dear friends!”

Slowly, Discord’s body faded in to existence, revealing the smirking beast to the two of them.

“Oh, Discord,” Twilight spoke up, earning the attention of the floating beast, “I had a question about a spell we all saw inside that world.”

“Mhmm?” Discord said patiently.

“Right before we escaped, Aries used this spell… it was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.” Twilight began, before Discord interrupted her.

“A kind of magic you’re unfamiliar with?” He asked, looking to Celestia with a fake shocked expression, “Your teachers must not have been very good at their job, if you don’t even know the different kinds of spells!”

Celestia narrowed her eyes slightly to him. “You should listen to her. I’ve never heard of the spell either.”

Rolling his eyes, Discord closed the distance between him and Twilight, sitting down in the free seat next to her.

Taking her cue, Twilight explained everything she knew about the Syphon. The casting conditions, what it did to the world, and the magic within it.

And for the first time that any of them could recall, Discord’s expression hardened.

“That pony can’t be allowed to live.” Discord said, shocking the two with his blunt statement.

“Why in Equestria would you say that?!” Celestia asked, “It’s only a—“

“You don’t understand,” Discord said, looking back and forth between them, “I’ve had dealings with that kind of magic before. More than a thousand years ago.”

“When you still ruled Equestria?” Twilight asked.

Discord nodded, “There were many attempts to dethrone me by my subjects in those days, and a spell similar to the one you just described to me was used against me once.”

“What happened?” Celestia asked, having no recollection of such an event taking place.

“A small town in the Bountiful Flatlands worked together to come up with a spell that apsorbed chaotic magic. They had hoped that using it on me would render me helpless,” Discord recalled, his eyes glazed over.

“Bountiful Flatlands?” Twilight asked, looking to Celestia, who was equally as dumbfounded.

“Record keeping during Discord’s reign were… well, horrible.” Celestia shrugged.

“To spare you all the boring details… the spell backfired, when it started absorbing harmonious magic, along with chaotic.” Discord continued, ignoring their confusion, “The spell kept growing, and growing, until it had sucked every drop of magic out of the flatland, leaving them a rotten.”

“What stopped it?” Twilight asked, “Fluttershy had to physically knock Aries out of the epicentre to kill the spell, but by the sounds of it, the one you’re talking about was a lot bigger.”

“After the spell went wild, all of the magic absorbed was directed back in to the caster,” Discord frowned, “It was too much for a normal pony to handle. He… exploded.”

“Would that have happened to Aries?” Celestia asked.

“No,” Twilight shook her head, “The spell was being routed through his PDA. Taurus told me that the device could hold a thousand times more magic than a normal pony.”

“Such a spell could mean the end of Equestria as we know it,” Discord explained to them, “Everypony involved in its creation should be taken somewhere far away, where nopony can find them. And I have just the place in mind…”

Twilight and Celestia both gave him a look.

“Heaven.” Discord finished.

“I’m afraid that’s out of our power, and out of the question.” Celestia shook her head, maintaining her authority to him.

“Chrysalis already meant to execute them!” Discord argued, “Just tell her that she can!”

“And end this war with more bloodshed?” Celestia asked, her anger mounting within her, “Absolutely not! Chrysalis has promised me that Aries will be imprisoned for the rest of his life. Nopony will get the chance to find out what he knows about the spell.”

“Is he the only one that knows how to create it?” Discord asked, looking to Twilight.

Twilight held a still expression. The fact was, Taurus knew as well. It sounded like he had a large part to do with making it. But, he was a free pony, and that might not sit well with Discord.

“No.” Twilight shook her head, “Aries came up with it himself. He certainly bragged enough about it.”

Discord huffed, sitting back in his seat and crossing his arms, “And you’re sure I can’t just… teleport him in to the sun?”

“My sun?!” Celestia asked, glaring at him with the kind of fury that caused him to sink back in to his seat.

“Well, if everything goes to heck, you can’t go blaming me!” Discord relented, levitating himself up, “I’m going to go talk to Fluttershy! She’s much nicer to me than the two of you!”

With that, Discord snapped his fingers, and disappeared in an explosion of confetti and streamers.

Celestia wouldn’t admit it in front of him, but everything he had just told her scared her. Her body was rigid, and a close observer would notice that her hair wasn’t waving quit as much.

“He’s crazy,” Twilight laughed, looking to the Princess with a smile, before it faded at the sight of Celestia’s expression, “Are you okay?”

“Have you ever seen him act like that?” Celestia asked her student, “I’ve never seen Discord take a matter so seriously. And that includes when he talks about the end of the world.”

“I don’t think so, but that might just be because he’s scared.” Twilight shrugged, earning a confused look from her teacher, “I mean- whatever’s coming for us, to end the world, if it shows up, Discord can just jump to another dimension. If a spell like that went off though? He’d be powerless.”

“Something he’s never been before,” Celestia muttered, nodding slowly, “That makes sense, thank you Twilight.”

Twilight gave her a happy smile, but found that Celestia was no happier than she had been a few minutes before.

“Is there something else you want to talk about?” Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Celestia was silent for a moment, as she mulled over the hurricane of thoughts in her head. The truth was, the world was a very scary place for her right now, and Discord was simply adding more to the heap.

“I’m fine,” She lied, giving her student an expertly fake smile, “It’s just been a long, and stressful day with you and your friends locked away.”

“Things always turn out alright for us, it seems” Twilight said, laughing a bit, “I could have sat on my rump the whole time and we still would have escaped one way or another.”

“Well, that’s certainly a positive way to look at it,” Celestia laughed, “Next time I’m in trouble, I’ll have to remember that piece of advice.”

The two were interrupted by the door to the car opening behind them, as they both turned to see Luna standing in the entrance.

“Sister, what did you say to Discord?” Luna asked, “He’s sobbing in to Fluttershy while she’s trying to sleep!”

“Sobbing? Of course,” Celestia rolled her eyes, “He’s just looking for attention. I told him he couldn’t execute one of the changelings, and now he’s looking for sympathy.”

“Why did he wish to execute a changeling?” Luna asked, tilting her head.

“The spell that was used against Twilight and her friends was something that worries him greatly, and he wanted to guarantee that it wouldn’t be used again.” Celestia repeated, just wanting to get off the topic.

“What spell was that?” Luna asked.

“Luna, would you please leave this alone for now?!” Celestia snapped, surprising both Twilight and Luna.

Luna blinked a couple of times, before taking a step backward in to the train car she had come from.

“I- Of course, sister…” Luna said, clearing her throat, “We can discuss it later.”

With that, Luna closed the door, leaving an incredibly uncomfortable silence hanging in the room between Celestia and Twilight.

“I… think I’m going to go talk to Alpha for a little bit,” Twilight said, standing up quickly, “We can talk about this later, after we’ve all had a chance to get some sleep.”

Celestia didn’t answer.

“I’ll see you later, Princess.”

Celestia felt a tear run down her cheek. It seemed like the world was bearing down on her from every direction. The coming end times, Twilight’s dark side, Discord’s worries… Each one amplified the stress she felt in her body exponentially.

“Perhaps some sleep will help…” She muttered, as she used her magic to flip the light switch, and darken the car. Any escape would do her good.

But in the back of her mind, she knew that this world would be waiting for her when she woke up.

Riding Home - Misery

////
Riding Home – Misery
////

Twilight stepped out of the royal train car in pursuit of Princess Luna, despite what she had just said to Celestia, the young mare was more concerned with checking on the princess of the night. It was obvious that she had taken it a little harder than she should have, which perhaps meant that something else was wrong.

Looking around the car with all of her friends, she couldn’t spot Luna.

“Hey, Marick…” Twilight said in a hushed voice to the changeling, as he spoke with Pinkie and Applejack, “Did you see Luna come through here?”

“She went to the next car,” Alpha answered, “It looked like she was in a hurry.”

Alpha gestured to the door at the end of the car, as he turned back to Pinkie and asked her again about the party cannon she blasted Aries with in the DZ.

Moving past them, Twilight paid no mind to the rest of the ponies as she moved through their section, and in to the next one.

As she walked over the threshold, she spotted Luna standing at the door to the back of the train with her head hung low.

“Princess?” Twilight asked carefully, walking toward the silent mare, “Are you okay?”

“Ah… Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said softly, “Come to check on me, I see.”

“Well, after… what Celestia said, and how you reacted… I figured that something had to be up.”

“It’s nothing,” Luna shook her head, still facing away from her friend, “I was… just taken by surprise, that’s all.”

Twilight didn’t believe her.

“Turn around, Princess.” Twilight said softly.

Luna couldn’t help but laugh softly at Twilight’s ability to see the obvious.

Turning around, she revealed the tear stained cheeks she had tried to hide so horribly.

“You don’t look surprised, Princess.” Twilight said quietly, “Why are you so shaken?”

Luna avoided the gaze of the purple mare, as her mind ran at a mile a minute.

“I… Well, Celestia has had a significant amount on her plate recently.” Luna admitted, “And it’s had a noticeable effect on her. Outbursts like the one you just witnessed are becoming more and more normal.”

“I see.” Twilight nodded, “I guess I’ve been so wrapped up in this dark side business, that I’ve failed to help you and her—”

“No,” Luna shook her head instantly, looking back to her with a serious expression, “You need to focus on the situation at hoof. I can look after my sister. You need to look after your friends.”

“There’s no way I can just ignore her now, Luna.” Twilight said, her formal attitude fading as she spoke, “Princess Celestia is like a second mother to me. I’ll do whatever I can to help her out right now.”

“The best thing for can do for her, is to focus on your life right now,” Luna reiterated, “She’s worried for you more than anything else in Equestria. If you start splitting your attention between her, and these end times, she’s only going to become more stressed. You must remain focused on what’s important.”

“She is important!” Twilight argued, “How could you say that you and her shouldn’t be priorities?”

“Because in the grand scheme of things, we truly aren’t,” Luna said, turning to look out the window at the endless desert rushing past them, “Every single person living in Equestria, and every other place on this planet are at risk right now. The two of us are nothing compared to the safety everypony else.”

Twilight didn’t respond, as she joined the princess in looking out the window.

“If you truly want to cure my sister of what ails her, then help your friends face their dark sides, and destroy that which Discord speaks of.” Luna said, her voice gaining authority as she made it sound more like an order, than a request.

“Only Pinkie and I remain,” Twilight said quietly, “Soon I’ll have to face… all of that darkness.”

“Your friends will keep you safe,” Luna said, an almost unnoticeable hesitation coming from her, “Everypony else has conquered the sins which crawled on their backs. You will be no different.”

Twilight felt a surge of determination at Luna’s encouragement, all of her friends has beaten the dark sides within them, why wouldn’t she?

Luna didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth… the plan that Discord had put in place to extract the Element of Magic, in order to save Twilight from the conglomeration of dark energy that had left her friends as they beat their dark sides, and gone in to her.

“Remember how Discord was talking about the ‘bountiful flatlands’ a few minutes ago?” Luna asked, moving the topic as far away from dark sides as possible.

Twilight nodded, looking to the princess silently.

“Well, when Nightmare Moon became one with me so many years ago, she gifted me some memories of her old hosts.” Luna said, looking outside once again, “And some of those memories remembered the flatlands before they rotted away.”

“Where were they?” Twilight asked, scratching her head, “I mean, I can’t think of a single place in Equestria that could have ever held them!”

“Believe it or not, you’re looking at them right now,” Luna said, gesturing out the window to the barren landscape before them, “The spell Discord spoke of was so effective at removing magic, that it never came back.”

Twilight blinked a couple of times. She couldn’t even begin to imagine this place as one that held life at any point in time.

“It was a good thing you were able to stop the Syphon before it did any more damage to this world.” Luna said, “Just a few more acts of heroism like that, and you and your friends will be able to rest easy.”

Twilight laughed, “If only it were that easy.”

“I suppose it might not be,” Luna smiled, “But that doesn’t mean you should think of it as impossible. Nothing is impossible. If you, and your friends put your minds to it, you could move a mountain. So don’t sell yourself short, ever.”

“I understand, Princess.” Twilight said, “Thank you.”

“Wonderful. Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’d like to have a few minutes to myself before I return to everypony else.” Luna said.

“Oh, of course!” Twilight said apologetically, stepping backward to the door, “Thanks for the talk, Luna.”

“Any time, Twilight.” She said politely, as the purple mare exited out the door swiftly.

As soon as Twilight was gone, Luna exhaled, and felt her smile vanish. She truly felt as if she had just lied to the mare.

“Do you have so little confidence in her?” Discord’s voice hummed through the air, “I’m disappointed in you, Luna.”

“Then tell me that she’ll be able to overcome her dark side,” Luna said, her tone almost defeated, “Tell me that after all is said and done, that we can go back to the way things were.”

“Well, you hate it when I lie,” Discord said, appearing in a chair next to her, “So I suppose I’ll give you a pass for your lack of faith.”

“And you’re sure that her element can’t be saved?” Luna asked.

Discord shook his head, “Every time one of her friends accepts their dark side, the chaos within her grows ever stronger. When I first heard that Trixie could counter that chaos, I had hope… but after seeing Twilight at the wedding, I know for a fact that she will be an unstoppable force.”

“And when that force arrives, you’ll absorb the chaotic element yourself?” Luna asked.

“I will,” Discord nodded, his expression one of mixed emotions, “I’ll be able to dispel the entity that inhabits Twilight, at the cost of becoming the Element of Magic myself.”

Luna grimaced as he spoke those words.

“It’s disgusting.” Luna said angrily, “You have no right to bare an Element of Harmony.”

“You don’t need to tell me,” Discord shook his head, “I’m still not sure if it’ll turn me to stone or not.”

“We can only hope.” Luna grumbled.

“Well, you certainly can, but remember.” Discord said, wagging his finger at her, “If it does, we’re all as good as dead.”

“Go.” Luna said to the furry serpent, “Leave me.”

“As you wish, your majesty.” Discord said, bowing his head to her, as he vanished.

Luna sighed and took the seat nearest to her right next to the window.

It was no wonder Celestia was so stressed. Her student was not only going to lose her element, but a tremendous amount of her magical ability as well.

“It’ll break her heart…” Luna muttered, feeling the tears return to her eyes.

While all of these facts caused stress and anger to manifest within Celestia, Luna felt nothing but deep sadness. The fact that the world could end tomorrow, Celestia was becoming less and less like the sister she remembered… Twilight was going to lose so much of herself.

It broke her heart. And there was nothing she could do about it.

////

Riding Home - Ignorance

////
Riding home – Ignorance
////

Twilight sat down next to Rainbow Dash and Alex, as they spoke pleasantly to one another.

“Did you find the princess?” Dash asked, looking away from Alex to Twilight with a smile, “She looked like she was in a hurry.”

Twilight nodded, returning the smile with one of her own, “She’s just a little stressed. Celestia is the same with everything going on. But after a few minutes, I had her cheered up.”

“That’s good,” Alex spoke up, leaning forward to look at his old roommate, “I can imagine that everything going on in the world has got them both of them on edge.”

“Just leave it to Discord to cheer them up,” Dash said dismissively, leaning back in her chair and kicking her legs up in to the back of Pinkie’s chair.

“Hey!” The pink pony called, feeling the bump on her back.

She was largely ignored, however.

“I’m still a little nervous about what’s coming for me, but everypony else has gotten through just fine.” Twilight said, relaxing in her chair as she tried to put all the negativity out of her head.

“Hey, Twilight,” Alex said, earning her attention as she looked over to him, “So, I’m curious. What do you plan on doing once we save the world?”

“Me?” She asked, scratching her chin, humming lightly as she mulled it over.

“Well, I want to ask everypony else, but figured I’d start with you, since Dash and I were just on the subject.” He said, as she gave him and curious look in return.

“What do you two plan on doing?” She asked, giving herself another moment to consider her possibilities.

“Us?” Dash asked, rolling her head to the side of her leaned back seat, “Well, we were debating whether or not we should get married before we’re done with all this business. So, if we’re not already, we’ll get hitched when all is said and done. Then, maybe travel a bit… nothing too exciting though!”

“You said it,” Alex laughed, shivering slightly at the thought of getting into even more life or death situations after they survive the one they were currently in, “I’ll be happy to see every museum in Equestria if it means that I’m not going to get killed by a giant bear, or corrupt politician.”

“And, after that… we’d like to have a baby,” Dash said a little quieter, hoping to keep her cool.

“Really?!” Pinkie boomed, jumping up and turning around in her seat, “Oh my gosh! Can you imagine a little Dashie, or a tiny Alex?”

“I would like to see that.” Twilight giggled at the mares reaction, “What would a kid coming from you two even look like?”

“Well, best case they would take my hair, and Alex’s coat,” Dash said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

“Can you image how bad they’d look with a cyan coat and black hair?” Alex laughed, “I’d probably just put it up for adoption.”

“And how would you pull that off without me knowing?” Dash asked, not really upset by the remark, but rather playing into the fantasy.

“Easy,” Alex waved his hoof dismissively, “Take it while you’re asleep.”

By now, Alpha, Applejack and Trixie had made their way over to the group of ponies, and were laughing along with the crap Alex was spewing. But, before long, they all realized that the future was something they were curious about, in regards to one another.

“So, Twilight.” Alex said again, “Where do you see yourself in a few years?”

“Well…” She said softly, glancing to Alpha for a second before looking away and blushing slightly, “I’m going to go back to my old job! Running the library, and studying friendship!”

“Why on earth do you need to do that anyway?” Alex asked, a suspicious look on his face, “Study friendship? Let’s be serious here. You had no friends, so Celestia sent you off to make some with the pretence of it being some kind of school assignment.”

“One of our scouts talked about there being a princess of friendship mentioned by Celestia,” Alpha said, drawing everypony’s attention, “But, I mean, obviously that hasn’t happened.”

“Princess of friendship?” Alex laughed, being the cynic Dax made him to be, “Ha! The day that happens I’ll eat my horse shoes.”

“Well, ah don’ know about y’all,” Applejack said, moving past the strange place they were at in the conversation, “But ah’m plannin’ on goin’ right back to apple buckin’!”

“As do I,” Rarity agreed, before catching herself, “Well, obviously I don’t plan on bucking apples. I plan on going back to making dresses! All I need to do it get my boutique rebuilt!”

“You wouldn’t believe how much paperwork they want you to file just to get construction underway,” Spike said, poking his head into the conversation, “I’ve been working toward it for weeks!”

“And I appreciate you for doing it,” Rarity said, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, “Perhaps you’ll get your cutie mark in filing for zone permits.”

Pinkie leaned further over her seat as she decided that now was the best time to take her turn, “After we save the world, you’ll never guess what I’m going to do!”

“Throw a party?” Twilight asked.

“Wow!” Pinkie called, absolutely dumbfounded with Twilight’s guess, “How the heck did you know?!”

“Just a guess,” Twilight shook her head, laughing.

“I’m gonna throw the most amazing, super-fantastic-party! It’ll be the biggest one in the history of Equestria!” She beamed, her energy almost too much to contain within the train car, “I’ve already got a quote on five-hundred piñatas for the event!”

“Piñatas?” Trixie asked, “Why on earth do you need five-hundred of those?”

“Because they’re fun to hit with sticks, silly!” Pinkie laughed, “Don’t worry, I’ll have five-hundred of plenty of other things too!”

“Thank goodness,” Trixie closed her eyes and laughed lightly.

“Hey- where’s Fluttershy? And Chet!” Pinkie asked, looking around the car, realizing that everypony was around them, but their shy friend was still missing.

“I think she went to take a nap in the front car. Chet was there already.” Dash said, recalling her heading in that direction, “But you can bet she’ll go back to looking after the animals.”

“What about you, Trixie?” Twilight asked, the blue mare, “I mean- I guess I don’t even know if you’re going to be staying in Ponyville for much longer.”

“Oh, I’ll be here to the end, I promise,” Trixie said with a confident smile, “I have a feeling that you’ll all be needing the Great and Powerful Trixie in your corner… what about you, Alpha?”

The changeling was taken off guard by her question, but recovered in a spectacular way.

“Lots of kids.” He said, as everypony broke in to laughter aside from Twilight.

“That is a conversation for another time,” Twilight said, stone-faced enough to make the situation even funnier.

“Not the motherly type, Twilight?” Rarity asked.

“I’m not saying that!” She said defensively, “I’m just—“

“She’s just afraid,” Dash finished for her.

“No!” Twilight argued, her cheeks lighting up as her friend teased her further, “I’m just- not at the point in my life where I want to have a child!”

“Tick tock, Twilight,” Pinkie said, “You’re not getting any younger!”

“You sound like my mother…” She huffed, crossing her arms and frowning.

“We’re just teasing you, Twilight.” Dash laughed, “You can take as long as you like to have a foal.”

Eventually the laughter died down, and everypony seemed to move back on to their own conversations, which included Twilight and Alpha sitting down together.

“I hope you aren’t offended that I’m not wanting any kinds or something… I don’t really know the social dynamic of changelings, so-“

“Look, you can take as long as you need before we need to start discussing that,” Alpha said, “For now, let’s just enjoy each other’s company. Talking about kids is a huge step.”

“Thank Celestia…” Twilight closed her eyes and sighed, smiling, “I won’t be having a foal any time soon, just so you know.”

“That’s just fine with me.” He said, thanking his own gods that she hadn’t been in love with the idea. He had no idea what being a father even meant.

The two both laid back and relaxed. Life was complicated enough right now. The last thing they needed was more complexity.

…

Unfortunately for the both of them, they perhaps weren’t as careful as they should have been after Aries was defeated.

….

An hour was spent ‘celebrating’ in Alpha’s quarters.

….

And something new had begun as a result.

Stopover

////
Stopover
////

The bullet train finally pulled in to the Canterlot station, marking the end of the remarkably arduous journey that had all been faced with. Princess Celestia and Luna were quick to dismiss themselves toward the castle, citing work that needed to be caught up on from the previous couple of days.

Everypony else took their time unloading, and spent a lot more time conversing between each other.

“Twily!” Shining called, rushing over to his sister, embracing her just a little too hard.

“C-can’t… breathe!” She choked through his massive hug.

“Heh, sorry,” Shining laughed, letting go of her, smiling as she took a deep breath in, “I’m just glad you weren’t hurt.”

“We would have been all hurt quite a bit if she hadn’t been there,” Alpha said, stepping next to her as Shining Armor gave him a light glare.

“Well, she is very powerful,” Shining said back with a little more force than he had intended, “Anypony who crosses her will be in a world of pain.”

“Okay okay, Shining,” Twilight said, seeing her over-protective brother coming out of the captain even more, “Thank you for being concerned for me. It means a lot.”

Shining Armor only grumbled as Cadence made her way over to the stallion and laid her head on his shoulder.

“Why don’t we give them a few minutes to get their baggage?” Cadence asked, “We can catch up with her after they’re all settled.”

“Settled?” Applejack asked, walking forward with her saddle bags on her back, “Ah’ thought we’d be headin’ back to Ponyville.”

“Arrangements have been made for all of you to stay here for the night,” Shining said, cocking an eyebrow as he looked at the confused group, “Didn’t Celestia tell you?”

“Nnnnnno?” Alex said over the ponies in the front.

“The two of them were pretty stressed out,” Spike said, joining them at the entrance to the terminal, “Probably forgot to say.”

“Well, that’s just fine with me,” Rarity said from the train, levitating her fifteen bags out from the side compartment, and on to Spike’s back, causing his legs to almost buckle underneath him, “I’d love to have myself yet another royal bath. The one at the changeling castle is nice, but they don’t have the massage jets.”

“Ah’ wouldn’t mind that mah’self.” Applejack added.

“You can count me in too!” Pinkie called, jumping over Alpha to the font of the group.

“Why don’t we all go to the royal spa together?” Trixie suggested, liking the sound of the idea herself, “I heard Celestia has some hot springs hidden away somewhere near the castle.”

“Oh, she does,” Shining Armor nodded, “They’re kept a pretty tight secret around here though, I’ll need to ask Celestia before I let you guys in there.”

“She can’t trust the Elements of Harmony?” Alex asked, scoffing softly as he stepped closer to Dash.

“Well, she would, but after somepony leaked Celestia’s slight cake obsession, she’s decided to have everything even semi-secret be run by her before it’s divulged.” Shining said, eyeing Pinkie as everypony looked to her with confusion.

“I said I was sorry!” She giggled, “And it’s not my fault Roseluck overhead me talking about it!”

“Don’t worry about it, Pinkie.” Cadence said with a smile, calming the tension in the group instantly with her warm voice and soft gestures, “Let’s get you all settled, so you can catch up on your sleep. I’m sure all of you are quite tired after the last couple days.”

“You can say that again,” Dash laughed, jabbing Alex to follow her as she walked forward, “Mind if I head to my old quarters?”

“They’re just as you left them,” Shining said, smiling again to her and Alex, “Mess of reports and all.”

“It wouldn’t feel like home without ‘em,” Dash laughed, walking past the newlyweds with Alex in tow, “Don’t bother us. We’re going to be… busy!”

“We didn’t need to know that!” Applejack called, as everypony laughed along.

Walking away from the group, Alex gave his marefriend an odd look.

“…Kinda weird to show off the fact that we’re… well, you know… don’t you think?” Alex asked, grimacing slightly.

“Are you kidding me?” She laughed, clearly three steps ahead of him, “If everypony thinks we’re banging, then they won’t bother us while we catch up on our sleep.”

“Everypony is going to sleep though,” Alex said, looking over his shoulder to the group that was starting to follow behind them.

“Nope.” She said, pointing with her wing to Rarity, “That mare is going to be pestering to go to the hot springs the second we all finish unpacking.”

“Well, you’re smarter than me,” Alex laughed, not even thinking about arguing with her, “I’m more than happy to sleep for the next two days.”

////

“Celestia gave the okay for all of you to go to the hot springs.” Shining said, poking his head in to the common room where most of the ponies had gathered after settling down in their rooms, “This spell will teleport you there.”

Shining levitated a scroll over to his sister and landed it on the table she was sitting behind.

“Is it far away?” Twilight asked, unraveling the scroll and looking it over.

“Well, in a sense, we’re right on top of it,” Shining said, pointing at the floor, “It’s about a couple hundred feet under the crystal mines. “

“Really?” Alpha asked, “I should have marched all the prisoners down there when I pretended to take over Canterlot!”

The room was so silent after his joke, that the crickets didn’t dare make a noise.

“Right.” Shining said, “Anyway, enjoy yourselves. I’ve got a honeymoon to get on with!”

“Oh, I totally forgot about that!” Twilight said, jumping up and running over to her brother, “I’m so sorry you were held up by us!”

“It’s fine,” He replied, mussing with her mane, “Besides, it’s not like you could’ve helped being trapped in a giant black bubble.”

“I know, it’s just that—“

“Twilight, it was out of our hooves!” Rarity said, standing up and levitating a basket of various soaps and creams up on to the table, “Now, why don’t we head down to the hot springs?”

“How’d ah’ know you were gonna bring that up?” Applejack rolled her eyes, kicking back on a couch not far from the main table, “We should rest a little first.”

“We’re only here for a night!” Rarity argued, “I’d much rather relax in the bath, and then rest for the night.”

“I wouldn’t mind it either…” Fluttershy said almost inaudibly.

“See?” Rarity asked, to AJ, “Even Fluttershy wants to go.”

“I’d like to relax for a few hours in some hot water myself,” Alpha added, joining Twilight near her brother.

Shining was glaring at the changeling once again.

“Okay!” Twilight said happily, “Does everypony have what they need?”

“Oh! I should really get my pool noodle from my bag! Does anypony else want one?” Pinkie asked to nopony in particular.

“Ah’m fine,” Applejack said to both Pinkie and Twilight.

“Umm… I’d like to grab a few things…” Fluttershy said, standing up and darting toward her room, “I’ll be right back!”

“Uh, do horses need anything special?” Chet asked.

“Na,” Spike shook his head, “You’ll be fine with nothing.”

“You know, last time I followed you advice, I got stuck in that crazy world,” Chet said, pointing at Spike as best he could, considering he lacked fingers.

“But you ended up saving Chrysalis’s boyfriend,” Spike argued, “You should really be thanking me!”

Chet only grumbled in response.

“I’ve got everything I need right here,” Alpha said cheesily, wrapping an arm around Twilight’s shoulders, and pulling her close to him.

Shining Armor’s glare quickly turned to a scowl.

Alpha then leaned in and whispered in Twilight’s ear, eliciting a giggle from the mare.

“I’m coming too!” Shining blurted out, as the two looked at him oddly, in regards to his awkward outburst, “I- I could use a good bath! I’ve never been down there myself anyway!”

“Okay…” Twilight said slowly, “I’ll grab a few things myself from my room, then I’ll take us all down there.”

“Alright.” Both Alpha and Shining said at the same time to her, both wearing big smiles.

However, as soon as she turned the corner, both faced one another, staring daggers at each other.

“I’ve got my eye on you,” Shining said to the changeling.

“Your sister can do whatever she likes.” Alpha said back.

“Sure she can,” the white stallion retorted, “But you can bet she won’t be all warm and cozy with you if I’m only a few feet away.”

No more words were exchanged between the two, but it was clear that the next few hours were going to be interesting for everypony involved.

Uncomfortable Relaxation

////
Uncomfortable Relaxation
////

“Why are there even gender separated hot springs?” Alex groaned, closing his eyes and leaning against Spike’s shoulder, “And why was I woken up to come down here?”

The group had teleported deep underground to the amazingly kept hot springs beneath Canterlot. The entire area was encased within some kind of red granite, that made up all the walls that surrounded them. There were several paths carved out of stone that led to rooms filled with various spa equipment. However, since Celestia and Luna rarely used the area, it was completely deserted, which felt a little eerie.

Upon inspecting the hot springs after the tour, they found that there were actually two different pools with a massive wall that separated them. These walls didn’t reach the roof, however. One could peer over if they flew themselves up high enough.

So, being the older brother he was, Shining decided to make sure that they broke up by their gender, and that one royal Captain was stationed in each pool, to prevent peeking between pools, despite the fact that there was really nothing to see by spying between the pools.

“You’re a soldier,” Shining Armor said sternly, “and as a captain, I have the ability to call you to arms at any time of the day.”

“Then why did Dash have to come?” Alex grumbled, “Why wasn’t she allowed to veto that?”

“Because I’ve been around longer,” Shining continued, “I have final say if the two of us have differing opinions.”

Alex didn’t respond again, he just snuggled more in to Spike’s shoulder.

“You know, if you get any closer, Rarity might get jealous,” Spike laughed, shifting only slightly as to not disturb Alex.

“She can cuddle Dash in return,” Alex chuckled softly.

“Why the heck are you so tired?” Chet asked, looking around the open pool surrounding them.

“He didn’t get any sleep on the way back,” Alpha pointed out, “He and Dash were all over their wedding plans.”

“What have they got so far?” Chet asked, assuming that Alex was too tired to respond.

“Well, I heard that they wanted the ceremony to be in Canterlot, like Shining Armor’s.” Alpha said, looking over to the disapproving brother, before clearing his throat and looking back to Alex’s uncle, “I wouldn’t have pegged Dash to be the type that would be excited for a wedding though.”

“Oh, sure she is,” Spike responded, “I mean, if you ask me, deep down, she’s never really been that much of a tomboy.”

Alpha scratched his chin, “You think so?”

“She seems like a pretty big tomboy to me,” Shining tried to add in, feeling that he had a good understanding of the mare he served two years with.

“No way!” Spike shook his head, “She spent a ton of time with Rarity when Alex went missing the first time, right around the time that I turned in to a pony.”

“What did she say to her?” Chet asked, fairly interested in the gossip.

“Well, I mean, at the time, they thought Alex was long gone,” Spike continued, trying to recall as many details as he could, “And at the time, Dash was pretty inconsolable. She talk all sorts about being able to come out of her shell.”

“Shell?” Shining asked, “No way…”

“It’s true!” Spike laughed at Shining Armor’s disbelief, “She tries to act all cool, but when her and Rarity really got going, they would talk about what they considered a perfect date to be, or how they wanted to get married… Dash has even had her wedding dress picked out since she was a filly!”

“That’s adorable!” Chet laughed, looking to Alex to see his reaction, however there was none.

“Really?” Shining asked, “What kind of dress does she want?”

“Does it need to be aerodynamic?” Alpha asked, earning a laugh from everypony in the group, including Shining.

“No,” Spike shook his head still smirking at the comment, “Apparently one night when she was a filly, she stumbled on her mom’s old wedding dress in the attic of her house, and totally fell in love with it.”

“How old is the style though?” Shining asked, “Is it all poofy or something?”

“Not at all,” Spike shook his head, “It was very sleek. She brought it to Rarity, and she fixed it up, and added some of her own touches.”

“What kind of touches?” Alex murmured, obviously listening to the conversation.

“You don’t want me to spoil the surprise, do you?” Spike said, shifting to the side, forcing Alex to catch himself, or fall face first in to the hot spring.

Yawning, he laughed and nodded, “Dash has definitely kept a few things secret from me in our wedding planning, and the dress is a big one.”

“Why is that?” Alpha asked, “It’s not really customary for a bride to dress up in the hive.”

“Just old superstitions,” Alex said dismissively, assuming that this world shared that with his own, “Could cause bad luck ponies would say.”

“So wait, is that the only reason that you think Dash is girly?” Chet asked.

“No way!” Spike shook his head, “She even has a different dress for the reception!”

“Well, have you got something that’s not… dress related?” Shining asked.

“Uh…” Spike scratched his chin.

“She’s dying to learn to dance,” Alex spoke up, “Said she wants to really impress everypony with our moves.”

“That seems like more of a challenge to me,” Alpha shook his head.

“Oh no no no,” Alex returned, shaking his head, “When she talks about it, it’s not something for her to conquer, it’s all about showing the world how in sync we are with each other.”

“In sync?” Chet said, tilting his head, “Isn’t that a band?”

“It’s NSync,” Alex waved his hoof, as if a finger were attached, “And I’d still bang Justin Timberlake if I got the opportunity… that may or may not be Dax talking, by the way.”

Nopony really knew what to make of his rambling, but Alex didn’t give them enough of a chance to dwell on it.

“Dash has been bugging me to take dance lessons with her, so we can learn some kind of super-intricate dance,” He explained further, “I, on the other hoof, only desire sleep.”

“Well, what kind of dances can you do?” Alpha asked, “If you practice some more basic movements, the advanced ones will be a lot easier to master.”

“I don’t know anything!” Alex huffed, sitting back in the water and crossing his arms. “I can barely stand on my back legs!”

“Actually, I had a terrible time with that too,” Spike said, “Rarity had me learning all sorts of stuff so she could show me off in Canterlot at her fashion events. Water helped me get used to moving around on my back legs, because it sorta helps keep you up.”

Moving to a deeper part of the pool, Alex stood up, and had to admit, it did make a world of difference.

“Is there any chance Dash would have our dance be done in a pool?” Alex asked, shrugging and shaking his own head, “I’m pretty sure the answer to that one is obvious.”

“So you just need to practice some basic dance moves right now,” Alpha said, “Something tells me that the girls are going to be here a while, so you’ll probably have some time to get them down.”

“Well, I could try and grab Dash to come over here, but something tells me that she doesn’t want to be watched by all you guys while we practice.” Alex frowned slightly.

“We could move pools,” Chet suggested, “Just leave the two of you here.”

“Nope.” Shining said.

The tension in the pool started to build up to where it had been before this conversation.

“Well, I’ll just have to take my chances,” Alex shrugged, heading back to the edge of the pool.

“Oh, wait!” Alpha said quickly, “I have an idea!”

Everypony looked to him expectedly.

“I know a couple of things, I can just teach you,” He said with a smile, wading toward the middle of the water, as Alex awkwardly made his way back, “I was trained in all sorts of infiltration strategies, and sometimes you need to dance to get in somewhere.”

“But I’m supposed to lead,” Alex said, cocking an eyebrow, “Do you know both parts?”

With a wink, A green flame enveloped Alpha’s body, as the black skin that covered him, was replaced by a cyan coat, and a rainbow mane.

“Holy.” Spike began.

“Buck.” Chet finished.

Standing in front of them, was Alpha, disguised as Rainbow Dash.

“Come on, big guy, show me your moves,” Alpha said, his voice a perfect copy of Dash’s.

“I’m… not sure if I like this…” Alex said slowly, getting a strong urge to back away from the confusingly beautiful man.

“Don’t be so shy, come on!” Dash- er… Alpha said.

Reaching forward, Alpha placed Alex’s arms around his waist, and in turn wrapped his own around the white stallion’s neck.

“Now, we’re going to practice the box step, before we move on to more complicated stuff,“ Alpha said, kicking Alex’s left leg, “Take a step forward with that leg, then move your right leg up and to the right.”

“Uhh, okay…” Alex said, looking down at the blurry water, trying to track his movements as he fumbled his movements.

“Then move your left leg to your right- just like that,” Alpha said, “Now move your right leg back a step, and cross your left back to where it started.”

“Uh… okay?” Alex said, somehow making his way through one rotation of the box step.

“This is so weird…” Spike whispered to Shining Armor.

“I… Yeah, it really is.” The stallion agreed.

“Don’t focus on your feet,” Alpha said, “You need to look at your partner.”

Alex gulped loudly, and slowly brought his gaze up to meet that of his beautiful bride to be.

The two then began moving together, eyes locked between them.

And after some time passed, it actually seemed as if they had begun to make some progress. It had taken a few minutes of determination and movement, but Alex found himself getting more and more confident in his movements with Alpha, and actually began taking lead in their basic movements, by lightly guiding her- uh… him, in their synchronized movements. Even Spike and Shining Armor had to agree that it was looking better and better as time went on.

“Hey, Alex!” Dash’s voice suddenly called, as she poked her head over the divider between the two springs, “What do you think about— uh…”

Alex, Alpha, Spike, Shining and Chet all looked up to the mare with horror in their eyes.

“I… um… I don’t… really know where to go with this…” Dash said slowly, tilting her head at her soon to be husband, and the exactly copy of herself dancing with him in the pool.

“He was just helping me with some dance moves! So we can look good at the wedding!” Alex said instantly, trying to play off the incredibly awkward scene.

“Riiiiiiiight,” Dash scratched her chin, “Listen, I’m just gonna go over here, and pretend I didn’t see anything.”

“Wait!” Alex said, stopping the mare from leaving, “You’re not mad… are you?”

Dash pursed her lips and crinkled her nose.

“Just confused,” She said slowly, lowing herself from the wall, out of their sight, “Just really, really… confused.”

////

The Other Side of the Wall

////
The Other Side of the Wall
////

“What’s the look for?” Twilight asked, tilting her head as she watched Rainbow Dash descend slowly from the wall she had just been peering over, “Is everything alright over there?”

“Oh, yeah!” Dash nodded quickly, shaking the image of Alex and Alpha dancing from her mind, “I uh, was just thinking about- er, all the planning I need to do for the uh… wedding! Yeah, wedding!”

“Now darling, you can rest assured that Pinkie and I will handle all of the difficult work for you,” Rarity said from her corner of the tub, with a towel wrapped around her head, “We already have a venue, a caterer, most of a guest-list, a band, a bunch of—“

“Band?” Dash interrupted, “I don’t remember talking about anypony singing at the reception.”

“Well, I handled that one… myself.” Rarity coughed, looking away from the group that was now staring at her.

“It’s your acapella group, isn’t it?” Fluttershy said flatly.

“So what if it is?” Rarity said somewhat defensively, “In my opinion, we’re spectacular! And I think Applejack would appreciate having her big brother get the opportunity.”

“Don’t go draggin’ me in tuh’ this.” Applejack said from below her hat, which she had been using to keep the outside world out.

“I don’t really mind,” Dash shrugged, “As long as I can hear you guys do a few songs, and you let Alex DJ your wedding, everything is fine with me.”

“Well, of course we’d audition for—wait. What was that?” Rarity stopped herself, eyeing the colourful mare.

“Well, so long as Alex can scratch being a DJ off his bucket list at your wedding, I’d be happy to let you guys do your thing at mine.” Dash said with a perfectly straight face.

“N-Now darling,” Rarity stammered, “I was planning on having several classical pieces played by a live group…”

“Oh, if that’s what you want.” Dash said quickly, “I wonder if Celestia could get us a really big name, like—“

“Mmmmm…. Wait!” Rarity said, biting her hoof nervously, “I’ll let Alex do a set after Spike and I have our first dance!”

Dash burst in to laughter at just how much Rarity wanted to perform at the reception. She hadn’t expected her to go for the ridiculous offer she had made for her.

“Rarity, you really think I want to let Alex loose on the stage with some playlist of cheesy rock songs?” Dash said through her laughter, “I’m happy to let you sing at the wedding! I’m just that awesome.”

“Well… Thank you,” Rarity coughed.

“Oh, Dashie! I almost forgot to ask you! What kind of games do you want at the reception?” Pinkie asked, pausing as she waited for an answer.

“Uh…” Dash said awkwardly, scratching the back of her head, “You know, I wasn’t really feeling like having any games…”

“What?!” Pinkie almost shouted, splashing her arms in the water, “No games? Wh- I- Just-“

“I mean, of course they’ll need to be games for the fillies and colts, right?” Trixie spoke up, trying to help Pinkie come down from her hyperventilation.

“Well- of course,” Dash faux-scoffed, as if that had been her plan the whole time, “I just meant no games- you know, around the dance floor or the tables.”

“Oh!” Pinkie said, her smile returning and her flailing slowing down, “That makes waaayyy more sense. I almost had a stroke when you said no games!”

“So what does that leave to prepare?” Twilight asked.

“Well, I wanted the two of us to learn to… dance…” Dash frowned deeply, glancing at the gap over the wall, genuinely curious if the two were still over there dancing with each other.

“Oh, I think Marick knows how to dance!” Twilight said, with a bright smile.

And yet the scowl on Dash’s face grew deeper.

“He’d be able to teach both parts by changing to look like the two of you!” Pinkie giggled.

“Moving on,” Dash coughed, “I was having a tough time thinking about who I should choose to be my mare of honor.”

A silence fell across the pool as everypony looked between one another nervously, none of them wanting to start a fight over who might be the one she would choose.

“Like… would it be tacky to have six? Or seven?” Dash asked, looked between them all with a slight frown.

“I… think it might be,” Rarity nodded, “Even having that many maresmaids would be a little strange.”

“Then who should I pick?” Dash asked, looking between them all, having no idea of the uncomfortable position she was putting her friends in, “I don’t wanna hurt anypony’s feelings.”

“Well, whoever you choose, just know that I won’t hold anything against you, should it not be me.” Rarity said, trying to remain composed as she frowned slightly.

“Now see?” Dash said, huffing, “That’s the problem! How am I supposed to hurt all of your feelings by picking just one of you?”

“Well, I won’t mind…” Fluttershy said softly.

“Neither will I!” Pinkie smiled, “You can pick whoever you like!”

“Don’ worry ‘bout me.” Applejack said from under her hat.

“Don’t pick me! I haven’t known you as long as everypony else!” Twilight said, shaking her head.

“Not as short as me!” Trixie added.

“See? Now nopony is going to let me choose them!” Dash said, throwing her hooves up in the air, “What do you guys want from me? To pick nopony?”

None of them spoke once again.

“Well, who’s your best friend out of all of them? Just pick them!” Trixie asked.

“I don’t like any of you more than any of you,” Dash said, “What if I just chose nopony?”

“Well, that might also be odd…” Rarity said.

Dash growled, “This is stupid! I-I’m going to sit with the guys! I don’t care if Alpha already looks like me!”

With that, Dash flew over the wall, leaving everypony scratching their heads.

“So… who should be the mare of honor then?” Rarity spoke up a few moments after Dash was over the wall.

“Me!” Everypony except Trixie said.

“This… is going to be a pain.” Trixie said under her breath, as all the girls starred daggers at one another.

“It should be me!” Pinkie said, “I was Dashie’s first friend in Ponyville!”

“No, after all the work I’m doing for this wedding, I should be the one to stand by her!” Rarity argued.

“You’re getting married soon yourself…” Fluttershy pointed out.

“I’ve read every book on being a good maresmaid!” Twilight fought, “I’d be the best choice!”

Trixie only closed her eyes and sighed.

////

“So, who should I pick?” Dash asked, having just explained the situation to the men on the other side of the wall, “They all acted like they were fine with whoever I choose, but I’ll bet you ten bits that they’re over there fighting about it right now!”

“Oh!” Spike said, laughing as if he had the best solution in the world, “Just pick me!”

////

Explosive Sibling

////
Explosive Sibling
////

“So… How is it working as a royal guard?” Alpha asked Shining Armor awkwardly, as he tried to make eye contact with the obviously upset stallion.

“It’s fine.” Shining answered flatly, not wanting to give the guy an inch.

“It’s more than fine!” Dash said, jumping in to the conversation in an attempt to help Alpha and Shining start some kind of dialogue, “It’s a blast! Bossing ponies around, getting saluted, we also get lots of cool trinkets like the bracer that I used to reflect magic! In fact, Shining has an artefact that’s just as cool as mine!”

“Really?” Alpha asked, tilting his head, “I don’t remember hearing any reports on—“

“Your spies didn’t catch that, huh?” Shining finally spoke to him, glaring angrily, “And it’s going to stay that way. No changeling is going to know about it—“

“Hey!” Dash shot a horrifying glare to him, “Would you grow up already? This guy built peace between Equestria and the Hive! Show him a little respect!”

“Sorry, but I have trouble respecting ponies that ruined my wedding!” He shouted, his voice echoing on their side of the wall, “Especially when they’ve got eyes for my sister!”

Hiding in the corner, Alex Chet and Spike shook in silence, daring not get involved in the fight.

“You’re not being rational!” Dash argued, “This guy saved Equestria!”

“Why on earth are you defending him so much?” Shining asked, having no response for the previous statement, “The guy brainwashed you back at Haven Station, and almost got all of you killed!”

“He saved my life!” Dash shouted loud enough to cause Shining Armor to shrink back a noticeable amount, “He disobeyed orders and pushed me out of the teleporter! If I had been dealing with any other changeling in that instance, I’d probably be dead right now!”

Shining’s grimace faded somewhat.

“And then, as punishment, he was petrified by changeling technology and put in Alex’s place!” Dash continued her rant, now pacing in the shallow-most section of the pool, “And again, at that point, he didn’t follow through with his plans!”

“Yeah, but—“

“And when Chrysalis finally tried to invade Canterlot, he used his power as an Omega to pull the army out of Canterlot, allowing us to capture Chrysalis!” Dash huffed, finally finished with her speech, “So why the hell are you being so difficult?!”

“Is everything okay over here?” Twilight’s voice came from over the wall where she had levitated herself up to the ledge on her side, “We’re hearing a lot of fighting… is this about the best mare?”

“No,” Dash shook her head, suddenly feeling awkward at the subject matter.

“Then what’s wrong?” She asked, looking to Alpha.

The changeling had nothing to say. The last thing he wanted was to look like he was tattling on Shining Armor.

“Shiny, what’s going on?” Twilight asked, her voice a little harder at the lack of responses that she was receiving.

“It’s about him, okay?” Shining Armor said, pointing to Alpha and sighing loudly.

“Okay… one second.” Twilight said, closing her eyes as she teleported herself down in to their pool, “Now, tell me exactly what’s wrong.”

“Look- I just don’t like the idea of you dating a changeling!” Shining said, his tone nowhere near as angry, “The guy tried to hurt all of us more than once!”

Again, Alpha had nothing to say, knowing that what he was saying had been more or less true in the past.

“So that’s what Rainbow Dash was saying,” Twilight nodded as everything she had heard Dash say made sense.

“He’s not giving him a chance.” Dash said, flashing one more glare to her comrade.

“I’ll never give him a chance!” Shining said louder than any of them expected, “I’ve been fooled by the Hive before, and I sure won’t let myself be fooled again!”

The silence that followed his statement was thick. It was painful for everypony in that pool.

Everypony except Twilight, who somehow held a calm, collected look on her face.

“Shining, may I speak with you in the hallway?” She asked, her tone lending more toward: ‘do it or die,’ rather than a question.

Instantly, Twilight walked over to the hole in the stone wall, and disappeared around the corner.

“…You’d better follow her…” Alex said from his hiding spot in the corner.

Shining looked around at the several displeased faces around him, before he gulped loudly, and stood himself up.

Not even Dash had room for a smug victory speech, or a smirk. What Shining had coming for him in that hallway was worse than what her and her friends had just gone through at the hive.

Walking out of the pool, Shining’s head hung low as he entered the hallway, and turned the same corner that Twilight just had.

A few seconds of silence followed… but then the eruption came.

“How dare you treat him like some kind of villain!”

“Yeah, but—“

”That man has done more good for me in the last year than you have in the last three!”

“Twilight…”

“And I am telling you right now, that you and your shitty attitude won’t stop me from seeing him!”

“Well—“

“So you’re going to go back in to that room and apologize to him for making things so difficult between you! You’re going to tell him that you give him your blessing to date your little sister!”

“But I don’t—“

”And if it’s not done in the next two minutes, you’re going to be making up to me for it for a long time!”

“…Okay.”

“Good! Now run back in there and make friends!”

…

To say that the room was awkward when Shining came back in would be an understatement. Although he had started as the villain when they first entered the hot springs, he was now the biggest victim.

Slinking down in to his old seat, Shining closed his eyes and sighed, while Dash and everypony save Alpha moved well away from earshot.

“Listen…” Alpha began quickly, while Shining was still shaken up, “I know you don’t like me, and I know that your sister shouting at you isn’t going to change that.”

Shining looked to him with a plain expression.

“So, instead of trying to look like some kind of hero to you, I’m just going to say this,” Alpha said calmly as to not , “I will prove myself to you. I’m not looking to be made friends with just because your sister… er- likes me.”

The plain expression hardened somewhat.

“I’ll tell everyone that we made up, and we act civil around each other.” Alpha continued, “If in six months- or however long, you still hate me, then whatever. We can simply live with hating one another.”

“Fine.” He replied a little faster than Alpha had expected, “Now go sit with my sister on the other side of the wall. I’m not in the mood to keep talking to you.”

“Got it.” Alpha said simply, standing up and briskly walking in to the hallway that would lead him to the other pool.”

Shining sighed and leaned back in the water.

He knew he was being stubborn. But it wasn’t just that Twilight was dating a changeling. His problem was that his little sister was actually dating somepony. It was a big brothers job to look after their little sister… The whole changeling thing just added insult to injury.

“You okay there… champ?” Dash asked, feeling a little guilty for his current situation.

“Yeah… just reeling is all.” He nodded, “But I think I’m gonna take off here, and let you guys enjoy the rest of your time down here.”

“Are you sure?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m just getting in the way of you guys having a good time.” He sighed, nodding.

“Well, alright.” Dash said, “I’ll see you when you get back from your honeymoon then?”

“My honeymoon…. Oh shit.” He said, his eyes wide as he instantly teleported himself out of the water, presumably to find Cadence before he was reamed out by her as well for being late.

“I’m gonna be honest,” Spike coughed awkwardly, “This hot spring hasn’t really been all that relaxing.”

“You can say that again.” Chet agreed.

“To be honest, I’d have been more than happy to stay in bed,” Dash said.

“I can teleport us out of here if you want,” Alex offered, looking figuring that without Shining Armor around they could get away with it.

“Na,” Dash shook her head, sitting down in the spot Shining had just vacated, “Now that he’s gone, I can nap here.”

“I heard it’s bad to fall asleep in hot springs,” Spike said, “Your legs can go pretty numb.”

“It’s fine, I’ll just fly out of here if only half my legs are working.” Dash laughed.

With that, everyone in the pool found a comfortable place to sit and finally began to relax.

The problem was, none of them knew just how soon trouble would find them again.

Discordant

////
Discordant
////

“I still think that Aries should have been dealt with,” Discord said unhappily, tapping his claw against his arm, as he stood in front of Celestia on her throne, “That spell he used is far too dangerous to be used again.”

“How many times do we need to go over this?” Celestia sighed, wishing Discord would go bug her sister, “We need to keep things in this world as positive as we can right now. Lopping off somepony’s head would send the wrong message.”

“My goodness,” Discord chuckled at her rather colourful word choice, “You’ve thought about it then? The benevolent Celestia has considering something as horrendous as decapitation?”

Celestia grunted in response, leaning her head back against the rest at the top of her throne.

“Well, I can hardly blame you,” Discord grinned, floating himself next to the throne and lowering his volume, “If somepony tried to hurt a student of mine, I would have much less control than you do.”

“Would it make you happy to see me lose my composure?” Celestia asked, in an incredibly composed manner, “To see me so filled with anger, that I take somepony’s life, or declare a war?”

“Well, of course—“

“To see me essentially become… not me.” Celestia said, “Then again, if I were to ever reach that point, I wouldn’t really be Celestia anymore, if you ask me.”

“So you’re telling me that if you were to lose your mind, it wouldn’t count?” Discord asked, his eyebrow raised.

Celestia smirked back to him, “Maybe the day will come. But when it does, the pony you know me as now won’t be around anymore.”

“Why do you insist on taking the fun out of everything?” Discord huffed, sitting down and crossing his arms, “To be honest, as much as we both might think it, I’m not waiting for you to lose your mind. If you go postal, your first order would be to have my head chopped off.”

“Exactly,” Celestia nodded, returning to her original position in her chair, “So don’t upset me.”

Discord’s smile only grew more at the faux-threat.

“You’re much more fun than most ponies give you credit for,” Discord chuckled, “However, that doesn’t change my opinion on what should happen to him.”

“I’m aware,” Celestia nodded, “But the fact is, he’s locked up, and everypony exposed to the syphon has been given a clean bill of health.”

“One of the mares were subjected to it directly, right?” Discord asked.

“Yes,” Celestia nodded, “Applejack was exposed to the spell directly, but her Element of Harmony was able to overcome the effects.”

“Is that so?” Discord asked, scratching his chin, “That’s something we should keep in mind.”

“Why’s that?” Celestia asked, tilting her head.

“Well, if that spell were to ever be detonated on a massive scale, the Elements of Harmony would be able to use their magic, even if the rest of Equestria couldn’t.” Discord explained, “Of course, the syphon could be improved, strengthened… so I suppose we won’t know the full scale of it until the day comes.”

“You talk about it like it’s a certainty,” Celestia shook her head.

“I have a nagging feeling is all…” Discord said, his tone lowering more than Celestia found comfortable, “But never mind that, why don’t we get back to talking about—“

“Princess!” Twilight called, entering the throne room before stopping dead in her tracks, “Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt—“

“You aren’t interrupting, my student,” Celestia said gracefully, somewhat annoying Discord, “What can I help you with?”

“Well, everypony’s done with the hot spring, and we were wondering if we could head back to Ponyville tonight, instead of tomorrow.” Twilight said, looking to her teacher with her usual soft smile.

“Are you sure, Twilight?” Celestia asked, “I was going to have the group of you pampered for a day or two. Help you take a break from all of this chaotic nonsense.”

“Nonsense?!” Discord scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air, “I take offence to that statement!”

Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the god of chaos, and his sincere reaction to what Celestia had said.

Walking forward, Twilight closed the rather large gap between the three of them as she spoke, “Honestly, I think we all just want to get home and lie down in our beds for a few day—“

“Oh, my!” Discord said suddenly, lighting up as Twilight came before the two of them, “Let me be the first to congratulate you!”

Twilight tilted her head, “I’m sorry?”

Discord opened his mouth to explain his reaction, and how it had been in regards to the magic pooling in her belly, but realized that she might not be aware of it at this early point in its cycle.

“Well?” Twilight asked.

“Oh… I- I just wanted to congratulate you on besting that spell!” Discord chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck, “Now would you look at the time! I need to get going!”

Before either of them could say otherwise, Discord had teleported himself off to some unknown location.

“What was that about?” Twilight asked.

“It probably has something to do with the conversation we just had,” Celestia shrugged, “However, if you truly are wanting to go home early, I can have that arranged for you within the hour. You can ride the bullet train back to Ponyville. You’ll be home before sundown.”

“Thank you, princess.” Twilight smiled.

////

“This is perfect!” Discord clapped loudly in the dark room he had brought himself to, “If she has a baby, then we might be able to save her element!”

“Discord… why must you always disturb my sleep when you wish to celebrate something?” Luna asked from her bed.

“You’ll want to hear this, your highness,” Discord said, snapping his paw as every candle in the room lit up.

Sighing, Luna sat up in her bed and gave him a sceptical look, “By all means, please tell me what it is that I wish to hear.”

“Twilight Sparkle has a little Alpha in her,” Discord said, losing the princess instantly with his cryptic wording.

“Is this some form of rude joke?” Luna asked, shaking her head as she tried to wrap her tired mind around what he had said, “Because I think I’ve heard this one…”

“No,” Discord shook his head, and rolling his eyes, “Twilight Sparkle is carrying a child.”

That woke Luna up.

“Pardon?” She asked, her eyes almost bugging out of her skull, “I- I don’t think I heard you correctly.”

“You did,” Discord shook his head with a growing smile on his lips, “She conceived the child last night.”

“How could you know so fast?” Luna asked, “A mare doesn’t usually find out until several weeks have passed.”

“I’m the god of chaos,” Discord said, waving his claw dismissively, “A lot of magic goes in to making the spark that leads to a life. I can sense it in abundance from within her. There is no doubt.”

“So… what does that mean for her element?” Luna asked, having never heard of an element of harmony giving birth.

“That…” Discord said slowly, tapping his chin, “Is a good question.”

“But you said we might be able to save her,” Luna recalled, tilting her head and suppressing a yawn.

“Well yeah,” Discord nodded, “Anything could happen when a baby’s involved! I had an idea of what was coming for Twilight before… but now with this baby, I have no clue!”

Luna was starting to understand.

“Before I was fairly certain that I’d have to take the Element from her,” Discord explained, “But now? All bets are off! Magic suppression and maternal instincts go hoof in hoof! I’m very excited to see what happens when Twilight’s chaotic side comes to pay us a visit again!”

“…as am I.” Luna said softly, hating that she agreed with Discord on something that seemed so sensationalist.

“Well, nothing we can do about it right now.” Discord said, stretching his arms and flopping down in the bed next to Luna, “We’ll just have to wait for the day to come.”

“Should we tell my sister, and Twilight?” Luna asked.

“Not yet,” Discord shook his head, “Let’s not complicate their lives with that news until it becomes crucial. Twilight has enough on her plate as it is, and if she finds out she’s pregnant, her blood pressure is going to go through the roof.”

See ya' Chet

////
See ya’ Chet
////

The following weeks after the DZ incident, the group of friends spent most of their time relaxing, with some other small activates thrown in the mix.

Alex and Dash had spent most of their time planning what aspects of their wedding couldn’t be handled by either Rarity or Pinkie. This included the guest list, the days for the rehearsal and wedding itself, and what events the group of friends would be doing together in regards to shopping and partying.

Alpha and Twilight had been the young lovers of the group, spending most of their free time in the library, doing things that adults were known to do. Twilight herself still had no idea that she was pregnant. She had recently started feeling a little nauseous, and was getting closer and closer to the realization that she was late. Alpha on the other hoof, had spent a lot of his free time applying the chitin the queen had, using extreme heat to bond small amounts of it to what remained of his wing, in order restore his ability to fly. However, it was a slow going process, as he could only apply small amounts at a time.

Fluttershy and Applejack had spent the last couple of weeks working on their chaotic magic abilities with Rainbow, Rarity, and Alex. Even though Discord said just unlocking their chaotic sides would be enough, they figured that practising with their new magic could be beneficial to their everyday lives.

While everypony was doing these things, this left Pinkie somewhat out in the cold. She wasn’t upset by any means, but everypony seemed to be off in their own romantic world, or working with this new magic they had unlocked. Neither of those things she could really be part of, and it had driven her up the wall with boredom.

Finally, Spike had spent most of his free time showing Chet the various wonders of Equestria that he had yet to see.

At first, Chet had no desire to spend more time in the world than he had to, after everything that happened in the darkness zone. But, Alex calmly explained to him that he wasn’t able to open a portal back to his world until the full moon. It was complete BS, but nopony really corrected it.

But, no matter how much Alex would have liked Chet to stay, the day of the full moon finally came, and he had to send him home.

////

“Well, I am willing to admit that I’ve had fun,” Chet laughed, looking around at the brightly sunlit Everfree forest surrounding him, “It’s still scary to think that you found yourself in this field by yourself when you first came here…”

“I only cried for like forty-five minutes,” Alex joked, earning a raised eyebrow from Dash, “Okay okay, two and a half hours.”

“It was nice have you here with us,” Dash said with a smile, “I’m glad you got to know our world a little better.”

“I would have liked to meet your parents,” Chet said, looking to Alex for his reaction.

“Well, I think her mom would have liked you…” Alex coughed.

“Can it!” Dash said, giving him a light elbow in the wing, “I’m sure that you’ll see them at the wedding.”

“You know; I’ve only ever met them once myself,” Alex said to Dash, “We should spend some time with them before the wedding hits us in a couple of months.”

“You’re right,” Dash nodded, “Maybe this weekend? We can go visit them, or maybe have them come down here.”

“We can work it out,” Alex said with a smile, before looking back to Chet, “So… I guess I need to send you back now, huh?”

“I’d appreciate it,” He said, “I mean, the full moon is tonight.”

“You know that was crap, right?” Alex asked, unable to stop the smile from creeping on to his face as he admitted to lying to his uncle.

“I know,” Chet shook his head as he smiled, “I’m stupid, but I’m not an idiot.”

“Fair enough,” Alex returned, as he closed his eyes and a dim light started glowing from his horn, “Here’s your portal home.”

With that, a portal in the shape of a door, opened in front of the three of them, emitting a soft yellow light.

“Is this the same portal that you went through when you first arrived?” Dash asked, recognizing it from his descriptions.

“No, I just made it to look that way,” Alex shrugged, “The first portal that brought me to Equestria had nothing to do with me- I mean, how could it? I just decided to make it look the same. I mean, why not, right?”

“I guess,” Dash said, neither here nor there in his response.

“Well, kid, it’s been nice seeing you again, even if I was a stupid horse,” Chet said with a confident smile.

“It’s not so bad, admit it.” Alex said.

“Well, going to the bathroom took some getting used to,” Chet laughed, “But you’re right. All this magic, and flight… they make things pretty interesting here.”

“Oh, hey Chet!” A voice called from the woods, as they all turned to look at the pink mare bounding through the woods toward them, “I wanted to give this to you before you left!”

They all looked toward her, and saw a white box strapped to her back.

“Baked me something?” Chet asked her, earning a bright smile and a nod.

“I made you one of my super-duper delicious cakes!” She exclaimed, bouncing up to them, yet somehow keeping the cake completely stable on her back, “I wanted to make sure you had a reason to come back and visit more often than one trip every five years!”

Stopping dead in place, she took the package off of her back, and let Alex levitate it over to Chet.

“Thanks, Pie.” Chet said, now facing the portal, but looking over his shoulder, “I’ll be sure to come back as often as I can.”

“Awesome!” Pinkie beamed, as Chet looked back toward the door in front of him.

“Well… I guess I’ll see you guys in a couple of months, yeah?” Chet asked, facing the portal.

“Of course, well, it’ll be much less for you.” Alex pointed out, “Remember, time goes at different rates between the worlds.”

“Oh yeah… how long will it be for me then?” Chet asked.

“Weeks?” Alex said, scratching the back of his head, “Don’t worry, we’ll come get you.”

Chet nodded, still facing away from them.

“Alright… I’d better be off then,” Chet coughed, his voice straining a bit, “Tammy’ll be looking to kick my ass for being gone so long.”

“Well, not that long,” Pinkie spoke up, “The time between—“

“Right.” Chet nodded.

Walking forward to meet Chet, Alex wrapped a wing around his uncle and gave him a smile.

“Go on,” Alex said, “I’ll see you soon.”

Making sure not to make eye contact with Alex, Chet looked down and stepped through the portal.

“What was with him?” Dash asked, as the portal closed behind him.

“I think he was a little choked up,” Alex said, turning around to face them again, “He’ll be okay, though.”

“Well, lets get back to Ponyville,” Dash said, as Alex walked next to her, “The girls are expecting us for their magic lessons.”

“Oh… do you guys have to go now?” Pinkie asked, her tone a little deflated.

“Yeah… sorry,” Alex said over his shoulder as the two began walking back toward town, “We need to work on our—“

“I just wanted to go and visit this really cool pond I heard about!” Pinkie said, running forward to them, “I heard it reflects your true self!”

“I’m really sorry, Pinkie.” Dash said looking to her with a small frown, “But everypony is really itching to get the hang of this stuff, and it’s especially hard without horns. Maybe tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay…” Pinkie said, as she slowed her pace and stopped behind them.

“Are you coming back with us?” Alex asked.

“No, I think I’ll head over there and check the pond out myself, then head back.” Pinkie said, still curious despite her mood, “I’ll see you guys later.”

“Well, okay.” Dash said, her tone clearly conveying worry as she gave the mare one last look over her shoulder, “Don’t take too long, the woods can be dangerous at night.”

“I know,” Pinkie said back to her, “I’ll be quick, don’t worry.”

Dash nodded to her, before resuming her trip with Alex back to town.

Pinkie looked at the ground and sighed. This was all it had been for the last two weeks. All of her friends had either been busy with magic, or with their respective boyfriends. At first she had been fine with it, but now it seemed like she was never spending time with her friends, and it was wearing her down more and more.

But, as she thought more and more on her loneliness, the urge for her to get to that pool became stronger and stronger.

“I’d better get going if I wanna be back before sundown,” Pinkie said out loud, taking a different path than the one her friends had just headed down.

////

Surrender

////
Surrender
////

Pinkie walked down the darkening path in the Everfree Forest alone, her mind wander to all sorts of places that she knew it shouldn’t. Most of her friends had gone through this scary transformation, and every time one of their dark sides would pop up, she would breathe a sigh of relief that it hadn’t been her, and then put on the happiest smile she could.

But her time was coming. And she knew it.

“Maybe I’m making it happen…” Pinkie said aloud to herself, and whatever woodland critter may have been within earshot, “If I just get jealous, and lonely enough, she’ll probably pop right out at me.”

But, as much as she tried to force it, it simply didn’t happen. It made her wonder what the trigger would finally be.

Spotting the hole in the ground that she could have easily fallen through, Pinkie took a sharp right, and headed down a small slope, and then in to a small cave.

The darkness inside the cavern was something she had expected, and after a short walk through it, she started to see a soft light brightening the walls around her.

“Finally. Lets just get this over with…”

////

“This just ain’t workin’!” Applejack huffed, trying to cast any kind of magic spell, “How was it so easy for ya’ Fluttershy?”

“Well, I don’t know…” She shrugged, looking at her wings as they glowed a dark pink at her whim, “The magic just goes here!”

“I think it has something to do with your strengths,” Alex said, trying to make sense of the magic himself.

“No,” Dash shook her head instantly, “It’s not strength, it’s features! Unicorns use their horns, pegasi use their wings, and earth ponies use… well, I’m not sure.”

“You guys are strong, right? Just… focus on that?” Alex said, scratching the back of his head, having no more to offer.

“Wonderful.” AJ said flatly.

“Just think magic thoughts, and applebuck something!” Rarity offered.

“Magic thoughts?” She asked with a frown and an eyebrow raised.

“Happy thoughts?” Fluttershy added.

“Aw, buck this.” She said, frustrated that she couldn’t get the magic working properly, “Ah’m goin’ home to get some work done.”

“Applejack, just wait!” Dash said, swiftly flying in front of the mare, “I think it’s just tough for you, because you’re literally the first earth pony in like- a thousand years to be doing this kind of stuff.”

Applejack sighed and averted her gaze.

“I don’t know what’s going to trigger it, but try to just… explore yourself,” Dash said cryptically, not knowing what she was really saying, “Concentrate on different parts of your body, relax yourself… You’ll know it’s working when it happens. Just let your energy run freely within you.”

“Ya’ sound like a hippie,” Applejack said, before giving a small smile, “But ah’ll take yer’ advice.”

“Thanks,” Dash smiled, “I’ll come around later and help you figure it out. I know you’re not big on everypony seeing Fluttershy beat you at something.”

“…is it that obvious?” She asked, looking past Dash to the ponies behind her, a little embarrassed.

“Na,” Dash shook her head with a smile, “I just know you well enough to recognize it.”

“Well, thank’ya kindly fer’ the offer.” Applejack said, turning back toward her farm as she began walking away, “Just come around whenever works.”

“Alright,” Dash said, turning back to everypony else and headed back to them.

“Is she okay?” Alex asked, looking past Dash to the leaving mare.

“Oh yeah,” Dash nodded, “just has a lot of work to get done.”

////

On her way back to the farm, Applejack noted something odd along the treeline of the Everfree Forest. Something… pink.

“Hey, Pinkie, is that you?” She called, seeing the pink figure look her direction.

As soon as their eyes met, the pink figure bolted back in to the trees, as if it had been seen by a predator.

“What the hay?” She muttered to herself, looking back and forth for somepony she could ask about the pony in the forest, but found herself alone, “Geez… talk about creepy.”

Deciding not to give it any more thought, Applejack headed back on her path. Pinkie was always doing crazy stuff like this. It really wasn’t anything she needed to get up in arms about.

////

“I think I’ll have some fun with her first…”

Invisible to any eyes but her own, she watched as a dozen magical strings fell from the sky and effortlessly wrapped themselves around Applejack’s body, something Applejack herself didn’t even notice as she kept walking back to her home.

“Enjoy your night… I’ll be calling on you soon.”

////

Discord’s eyes snapped open, as he felt a massive dark vibration pass through his body.

“Something’s not right.” He said, looking around Celestia’s chamber from the hammock he had set up against her will.

“What’s not right?” Celestia asked, looking up from the book she had been reading over from her bed.

“Something’s twisting my magic…” He muttered, enough worry in his tone to give Celestia pause, “Nopony’s ever been able to do that before.”

“Is it… what we’ve been getting ready for?” Celestia asked, dropping her book and getting out of bed to approach him, “The entity you’ve been warning us about?”

“No.” Discord said instantly, “I think it’s that pink pony and her… evil side.”

“Chaotic side.” Celestia corrected, relaxing somewhat as she let out a sigh of relief, “Remember, these are real parts of the girls.”

“Not this.” Discord shook his head, “This is darker than any of them. This is… twisted.”

“How can that be possible?” Celestia asked, wincing at the incredibly strange news, “Especially coming from Pinkie!”

Discord didn’t answer, nor did he even turn his gaze to meet Celestia’s.

“Should we go check up on them?” She asked, “I can take us—“

“Nope,” Discord said, jumping up in the air, as his hammock appeared below for him to fall in to, as if all of his problems had simply vanished, “The girls can take care of themselves. Besides, don’t you think it would be humiliating for Pinkie to be the only one to need help from you?”

“I… suppose.” Celestia said slowly, bewildered by his sudden change in mood, “But Rarity did get our—“

“Just relax and get some shut eye,” Discord said, closing his own eyes and resting his arms behind his head, “I’m sure they’ll have their problems resolved by morning.”

“Alright…” Celestia said, still unconvinced by his sudden mood swing, “But I’d like to head down there in the morning. Just to make sure everything is alright.”

“Deal.” He said, listening as she climbed back in to her bed, silently hoping that his pounding heart wasn’t loud enough for her to hear.

“I hope you don’t intend to stay here in that hammock.” Celestia said, blowing out her reading candle and settling down in her bed.

“I won’t stay in the hammock.” Discord said, teleporting himself next to the princess and instantly wrapping his arms around her, “We can share the bed!”

////

The next thing Discord knew, he was teleported out of the bedroom, and dropped in to one of the many fountains scattered throughout Canterlot.

Despite the humor of the situation, he couldn’t bring himself to smile over it.

“I’ll just have to go see what’s going on for myself.” Discord said aloud, standing up from the fountain, as water poured from his fur back to the pool he now stood in, “The last thing I need is that pink mare killing her friends.”

////

At the Mercy of the Strings

////
At the Mercy of the Strings
////

“Hey, Twilight, are you alright?” Alpha asked, poking his head in to the bathroom as the mare hugged the bowl and groaned.

“I must have eaten something that didn’t agree with my stomach…” Twilight said, her face tightening as she prepared for another expulsion.

“Don’t you have any spells that could fix you?” Alpha asked, tilting his head.

“I tried, but none of them did anything for me…” She said, taking a deep breath to compose herself, “How long has it been since we went to the Hive?”

“A month? Five weeks?” Alpha estimated, before pausing a moment, “Five weeks on Friday.”

“Is there any chance that you guys have some kind of virus that takes five weeks to incubate?” Twilight asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Alpha laughed, “You don’t need to worry about having some bug virus inside of you.”

Twilight’s face contorted upon hearing the words ‘bug virus.’

Alpha winced as he watched Twilight start vomiting once again.

“Here,” He said, walking over to her, “Let me hold your hair back.”

“Thanks…” She grumbled between heaves.

////

The dark figure levitated outside of the library, watching Twilight and Alpha with a measure of curiosity, tilting her head as he comforted her through her throwing up.

“I shouldn’t interfere with an expecting mare.”

With that, she turned her head to the Ponyville spa.

“I’ll have to manipulate Rarity and Fluttershy instead.”

////

Rarity and Fluttershy sat in large hot tub in the spa, relaxing for the last hour before the establishment closed.

“Go on, Fluttershy.” Rarity encouraged, gesturing to a bottle of soap sitting on the rim of the tub, “Levitate that over here.”

Concentrating on the bottle, Fluttershy flared her wings, causing the item to unsteadily rise from the edge.

“Yes! Now just push it over here.” Rarity continued, “It’s really quite easy once you get the hang of it.”

“Rainbow Dash is much… better than I am at this…” Fluttershy said, her concentration solely on the bottle.

Spreading her wings further, Fluttershy managed to get the bottle half way to her friend, but was thrown off when Rarity began to chuckle.

Instantly, the bottle fell from the air, and splashed in the water squarely between them.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Rarity said, holding her hoof over her mouth, “I was just thinking, you shouldn’t use these spells in public.”

“Why’s that?” Fluttershy asked innocently, her wide eyes blinking slowly.

“Well, we don’t want the boys getting the wrong idea with your wings all over the place like that,” Rarity said, smiling broadly at her now deadpan friend.

“I’ll try not to use my wings so much.” She said flatly.

Rarity only tilted her head and smiled.

“You know, you’re one to talk,” Fluttershy said back, “With the way you talk to every stallion you come across, I’m surprised you’d be giving me advice on the subject.”

“Excuse me?” Rarity asked, all humor drained from her expression.

“You heard me.” She said, “It must kill Spike to see the way you hit on every available guy.”

Rarity’s face reddened. She didn’t even care that it was sweet, innocent Fluttershy saying these things.

////

Far off in the Everfree Forest, Pinkie sat under a tree, looking up at the ceiling of the cave that held the reflecting pool.

“We can’t just sit here forever…” Pinkie said, looking over to her doppelganger, who sat next to her in the shade, “We need to go and find our third part!”

“No we don’t…” The off-pink mare said softly, blowing her straight hair out of her face as she looked at the ground, “We can’t stop her.”

“But she’s a part of me, isn’t she? Just like you!” Pinkie said, trying to infect the dejected version of herself with some happiness, “I just need to tell her that I accept her!”

“But… you don’t.”

“I’m Pinkie Pie. And if I can accept that you, Sorrow, are a part of me, I’m pretty sure that I can accept just about anything else!” She said happily, “So come on! Don’t you want to be back in my head?”

“I don’t think you’d be as happy if you saw what she was like…” Sorrow sighed, “She wasn’t even supposed to come out.”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, “Maybe I’m just so Pinkie-tastic that I have two sides!”

“Discord said that I was the only one that would be allowed out. But she didn’t like that.” Sorrow said, looking around nervously, as if she was about to be attacked, “And when you walked into that pool… she took all that magic for herself, and split away from you.”

“What?” Pinkie asked, “She just seemed like… another me! Why would you be so scared of another me?”

“She was just acting that way so she could go free!” Sorrow said, biting her lip and lowering her volume.

“Well, then what is she going to do?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

“She didn’t like that everypony was ignoring you… so she’s going to make them hate each other.” Sorrow sighed dejectedly, “We should just sit around and wait for her to finish the job. At least we’ll have more attention from our friends.”

“What?!” Pinkie shouted, jumping up from her seated position, “We need to go help everypony! I can’t have her making my friends hate each other!”

“But that’s what you want.” She sighed, unmoving.

“No it isn’t! How could you possibly think that!?” Pinkie bellowed, “Now let’s get going!”

With no resistance, from Sorrow, Pinkie skillfully lifted the mare with her head, and slid her down her neck on to her back.

“Come on! I need to go accept my dark side!” Pinkie announced, trotting toward the exit of the cave.

“Here we go…” Sorrow sighed.

////

“I don’t wanna talk right now!” Dash shouted, having finally stopped most of the way to Canterlot, on the top of a very large hill, “Not to somepony who think’s I’m just making all this up!”

“Dash, come on,” Alex coaxed, panting heavily as he landed next to her, “You’ve gotta know how this sounds.”

“I know it sounds crazy- but… but it happened!” She said, sighing loudly as she sat down on the tip of the hill, “She was ruthless! She said just terrible things to me. And I can’t even get my own husband to agree with me.”

“Husband?” Alex asked, “I didn’t know we had the ceremony.”

“Sometimes I just like to say it out loud.” Dash huffed, as Alex sat down next to her.

“Well… okay. Let’s say that she really did say that stuff to you.” Alex said, trying to work out the reason all of this had happened, “I know I dismissed it earlier, but do you really think it could have something to do with her dark side?”

“I don’t think so, to be honest.” Dash shook her head, “I mean, we didn’t really see it at all, but she can use magic just the same as anypony else.”

“And it’s not really deceitful to tell somepony to kill themselves.” Alex pointed out.

“If only we could go back and— wait, do you know any spells like that?” Dash asked, looking at him hopefully.

“Like, time traveling?” Alex asked.

“Not quite,” Dash shook her head, “Back when you went missing, right before I went to the Wonderbolt’s training camp, Twilight used a spell that allowed us to see the past! We couldn’t interact with anything, but we could see what happened!”

“I don’t know that spell,” Alex shook his head, “But I might know one that’d do the trick…”

////

An Old Friend

////
An Old Friend
////

“What the heck are you doing?” Dash asked, tilting her head at Alex as he cast a completely unrecognizable spell, “Are you capturing some air in a bubble or something?”

And that’s what it looked like. He had created some kind of golden bubble between them that seemed to ripple slightly, as if it were under water.

“I was told to do this if I ever needed to get a hold of him…” Alex said quietly, focusing solely on the spell in front of him, “Come on…”

“Alright, alright. I’ll shut up for a minute,” Dash said, walking away and sitting down on a rock.

Biting his lip, Alex managed to increase the size of his bubble, causing it to start rippling in all directions.

“Okay, I think I got it!” Alex called, stepping away from the bubble as it’s size continued to grow.

“Uh, is it supposed to be getting that big?” Dash asked, scooting away from the expanding magic.

Before Alex had a chance to tell her that it wasn’t supposed to be getting that big, a blue box rocketed down from the sky and crushed the spell, leaving no trace of it.

“Ah.” Dash said with a widening smile, “So that’s who you were calling.”

The doors to the blue box opened, and a large amount of smoke poured out from within, which was followed by loud coughing, as two ponies stepped out from the inside.

“You weren’t supposed to make the spell that big!” A stallion said through his coughing fit, “You almost blew out the core of the TARDIS!”

“It’s fine!” The mare said, walking out from behind him, “I emptied the magic buffer in time!”

“Indeed you did!” He laughed, stepping out of the smoke, revealing his brown coat and hour-glass cutie mark, “Now, which of our friends have called upon us?”

“You know who it is,” Alex said, walking toward the Doctor with a broad smile, “It’s been too long, doc!”

“Has it?” He asked, scratching his head, before shrugging and looking forward, “You tend to lose track of that kinda stuff in there.”

“Right.” Alex nodded, having recollections of time lost in there himself, “Anyway, I was hoping you could help me out. Something’s going on with one of our friends, and I was hoping you could zip us back in time a little bit so we could see something.”

“Did they all go out, and not invite you two?” Derpy asked, “That happened to me a lot when I was a filly…”

“Aw…” Dash hummed from the corner.

“It’s nothing like that,” Alex shook his head, “It sounds like a dark entity is controlling our friend Applejack, and if we could go back, we might get some answers.”

“Alright,” The doctor smiled, “You don’t need to ask me twice to go on an adventure! Come on, I’ll have us there in no time!”

////

The Doctor, true to his word, had them back in under two minutes.

“Is everypony ready?” The Doctor asked, looking around at the ponies and smiling.

“Yeah,” Alex and Dash said together, as Derpy simply nodded along.

“Perfect! Then Let’s go find your friends—“

As the Doctor finished, he walked in to the front door to his ship, and seemed to collide off of it, sending him on to the floor.

“Are you okay?” Derpy asked, rushing to his side and looking down at him.

“Yeah, I’m alright.” He said, rubbing his forehead where he impacted the door.

Suddenly, one of the many screens attached to the main control panel lit up, and made a horrifying alarm sound.

“What the heck is that?” Alex shouted over the screech, looking at the computer screen as it flashed red.

Dashing over, Derpy pulled a few levers, and twisted a dial, switching the screen to show some information.

“What’s it say?” The Doctor asked as he got up from the floor, joining her at the screen.

After a few moments of silence, Dash finally spoke up.

“So… what’s going on?” She asked, “Are we good to go out? Or…?”

“There’s some kind of magical aura surrounding the area,” The Doctor said to them suddenly, “The TARDIS won’t open her doors…”

“What? Why not?” Dash asked, “I mean, what is opening the door going to do to us?”

“The magic field around us will seep in.” He answered, walking around the center control, as he adjusted some more settings, “Could lead to a catastrophic failure of her systems.”

“Oh, well, I guess going back in time is out of the question,” Alex said, frowning, “Can you just take us back to the present?”

“Well… not exactly,” The Doctor replied, turning to face them, “If we dematerialize here, it’ll likely allow the field to seep in to the ship.”

“I don’t understand!” Dash suddenly let out, getting all of their attention, “Why didn’t the ship suck up the magic when we first landed?”

“There was nothing here when we landed,” Derpy explained, looking at a graph on the screen, “It… um, only just showed up!”

“Okay, then fly this thing away from the magic field,” Alex offered, squinting at the uncomfortable expression the Doctor now wore.

“Actually, I fried the anti-gravity circuit a couple days ago…” The Doctor laughed nervously.

“So wait, if we can’t go through time, fly away, or leave the ship, what can we do?” Alex asked, looking back and forth between Derpy and the Doctor.

“That… is a good question!” The Doctor laughed nervously.

“How long will it take you to fix your anti-gravity circuit?” Alex asked, hoping the answer wouldn’t be something that broke his heart.

“Well, I was waiting on a part, so…” The Doctor coughed awkwardly.

Alex whined and fell back on to his butt, “But I don’t wanna wait for a paaaarrrttt.”

“Look, why don’t the two of you explore the inside of the TARDIS a little bit while Derpy and I work on a solution,” The Doctor offered, “You can head back to the race car room if you feel like it.”

“Race car?” Alex asked, scratching his head.

Dash looked at him with a deadpan expression.

“Race car.” She said.

“Oh.” He nodded quickly, pursing his lips and raising his eyebrows, “I could uh… go for some of that.”

“As if.” Dash said, levitating him off the ground with one of her chaotic spells, “Come on, we can—“

“How the heck did you just do that?!” The Doctor asked, racing over to Dash as he grabbed his sonic screwdriver off the console, “Did I just see you using class two anomalous—er—chaotic magic?”

“Yeah,” Dash nodded, “I’ve been able to do this for a while now!”

“This must have to do with the Elements of Harmony, right?” The Doctor asked, biting the activator on his screwdriver, as he ran it over her body.

“Yeah,” She said slowly, unsure if she was happy with being scanned, “I accepted the dark side within me, and Discord made it so I could… geez, I’m not even sure at this point.”

“Well, these scans just might allow me to use magic myself!” The Doctor said, walking away from her and plugging his device in to the TARDIS, “I can’t tell you what a pain it is to regenerate as an earth pony. Magic is very useful in my line of work.”

“Would you quit it with all that?” Derpy said, “You can try and use magic later. Right now, we need to escape this spell!”

“B-but!”

“You two go and explore!” Derpy said with both a broad smile, and broad field of view, “We’ll take care of everything here.”

“Thanks.” Dash said, looking to her sitting fiancé, “Wanna go for a walk?”

“I guess,” Alex sighed dramatically, “We’re going to the race car room though.”

////

Far Past Bickering

////
Far Past Bickering
////

“She’s going to make your friends hate each other…” Sorrow mumbled from Pinkie’s back, as she was carried in to town by her brighter half, “We should have stayed in the forest.”

“How could my friends ever hate each other?” Pinkie asked, laughing at the impossibility of her friends ever having more than a small quarrel.

Walking up the Road, Pinkie figured she’d head for the spa. She knew that Rarity and Fluttershy were due to be there for their weekly get-together, so she could grab them to help her deal with this whole ‘dark-side’ issue that she was having.

“Do you see the strings?” Sorrow whispered in Pinkie’s ear, causing the mare to look to the sky and tilt her head in confusion.

Coming from as high as she could possibly see, several silver strings had fallen to the ground, and connected with something in the town.

“Hmm, I’d better find all of my friends, and fast!” Pinkie said, speeding up to a brisk pace, as she reached the entrance of the spa.

“Oh, Pinkie!” Aloe called, running out the door, “You need to help… me…”

She fell silent as she looked to Pinkie’s copy.

“Don’t mind her, it’s a magic thing,” Pinkie said with a smile, “What can I help you with?”

“Well, um, Miss Rarity and Miss Fluttershy are having quite the argument in the hot tub!” She said, looking over her shoulder in a panic, “I think they’re going to cause some damage to our spa!”

“Those two?” Pinkie asked disbelievingly, temporarily forgetting what her doppelganger had been saying to her only a minute before, “Just let me have a word with them!”

“Please.” Aloe said pleadingly, watching as Pinkie happily trotted into the building.

Heading in and turning right, Pinkie headed through the locker and shower rooms, arriving in the pristine relaxation area on the other side, where she and her friends had often had their hooves done.

“No, you take it back!” A voice shouted, as a bucket was flung through the door in front of them, barely missing Pinkie’s head.

“H-hey!” Pinkie called in to the room, “You almost hit me with that!”

Running into the room with the massive tub, Pinkie was shocked to see her friends both levitating out of the water, Rarity with her chaotic magic, and Fluttershy with her wings.

“How dare you insinuate that I would ever treat Spike like that!” Rarity shouted, “I haven’t so much as batted my eyes at another stallion since Spike and I began our courtship! Maybe you’d understand if you’d made a move on Big Mac before Cheerilee got to him!”

Pinkie gasped at the low blow Rarity had made on Fluttershy, and fully expected the yellow mare to break down, but, she was surprised with the actual response she gave.

“You were always so busy looking at his ass that I was worried you were going to make a move on him!” Fluttershy spat back, as a black aura of magic enveloped the water below her, splashing the white mare.

“You wanna know something?!” Rarity shouted, “I’ll bet all of that shyness would melt away if you would just get something stuck in you!”

“That’s enough!” Pinkie shouted, silencing the argument as she picked up the wooden bucket that had nearly hit her, and smashed it on the ground. “Are we done?!”

The two were silent for a moment, as they both looked to her with equally apprehensive gazes.

“Pinkie, perfect timing!” Rarity said, clearly reassured to see her, “You simply must tell Fluttershy that she needs to mind her own business when it comes to Spike and I.”

“No, you need to tell Rarity that she teats everypony in her life like lesser ponies!” The yellow mare retorted, “A true friend would never act the way she does!”

“What the heck happened to you guys?” Pinkie asked meekly, taking a step back as both of her friends approached her, expecting her to agree with their respective opinions.

“The strings,” The second Pinkie muttered into her originals ear.

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie said, beginning to look upward, before realizing something a little odd, “Um, are you not weirded out by the second version of me on my back?”

Rarity and Fluttershy both gave her an odd look before responding simultaneously, “Yeah, so?”

Huffing, Pinkie looked up and noticed the silver strings coming through the ceiling, and attaching to her friends.

“It’s making them this way.” Sorrow said, and as long as it’s connected, they’re going to stay that way.

“Is it on everypony in town?” Pinkie asked.

“I don’t think so,” She responded, “The third one of us told me that it was complicated.”

“So?” Fluttershy asked, leaning in and looking between the two, “Why haven’t you agreed with me yet?”

“You?” Rarity scoffed, “They were clearly about to agree with me!”

Pinkie gulped audibly as they started gearing up to fight each other again.

“Okay… so, I think I need to go find everypony else,” Pinkie said, backing away slowly from the still approaching mares., “But I promise I’ll take one of your sides in just a little bit!”

And before either of them could respond, Pinkie bolted from the room, leaving her two friends to continue their conversation in the pool.

However, on the way out, she did apologize to the proprietors of the spa.

////

“This is crazy!” Pinkie shouted over the wind that was rushing past her, “Why would this version of me be making all my friends hate each other?”

“If I knew, I’d tell you.” Sorrow said, still flopped comfortably on her doppelgangers back, “But something tells me that we’re going to get similar stories from everypony else we come across.”

“Yeah, me too…” Pinkie sighed, heading toward the library, fearing that Twilight and Alpha would have a squabble between the two of them as well.

////

Twilight and Alpha sat together in the bathroom as Twilight repeatedly emptied the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl. She had been at it for the last couple of days, and was hoping that whatever ailment she had come down with, would be passing soon.

Hearing a knock at the door, Twilight weakly looked to her companion and sighed.

“Marick… would you get that?” Twilight asked, “I don’t think I’ll make it there and back.”

“Sure thing,” He said with a soft smile, “I’ll be right back.”

Heading down the stairs, Alpha decided to play his door answering safe, and transformed himself into a brown stallion, as to not scare any potential ponies at the door.

Opening it slowly, he was relived to see that it was just Pinkie. And… another Pinkie?

“Hey! Is Twilight home? Are you Alpha? Of course you are! Are you two having an argument? Because I don’t think you should! My dark side is—“

“Pinkie, slow down!” Alpha said, looking over his shoulder in his marefriend’s direction, “Look, why don’t you… two… come in and sit down. Twilight’s still not feeling too well.”

“Oh, okay.” Pinkie said, nodding as she entered the library past the incredibly confused Alpha.

“I’ll, uh, see if I can get Twilight down here to help you out.” He said, trotting off toward the bathroom, as Pinkie awkwardly sat down as to not drop Sorrow on the floor.

“I’m surprised,” The dark side of the mare said, “Why wouldn’t she twist these ponies?”

“I still don’t know what’s going on.” Pinkie sighed, “When Twilight get’s down here… we’re going to work all of this out, start to finish.”

“I just hope those strings don’t show up.”

“Me too.”

Pinkie quivered

////

Realization

////
Realization
////

“Can you believe that this place has a library and a pool?” Alex asked, floating on his back happily, his wings spread out in two feet on both sides of him, “I swear, we should get one of these ships.”

“How much’ll that cost us?” Dash asked, resting in an inflatable duck ring, with large black sunglasses over her eyes, “Us royal captains don’t make as much as you’d think.”

“Well, you could always use your… assets to bribe the dealer.” Alex giggled childishly.

“Ha.” Dash said, “And I’d bet that you’d eagerly sit in the corner with the camera and a cleanup rag, watching us.”

Alex burst in to laughter at the accusation, “You know me so well, sweetie.”

The two floated silently in the pool for a few more minutes, before a loud voice echoed through the room, through a set of speakers placed in the ceiling.

“Could the two of you head back to bridge?” Derpy’s voice said to them, “I think we found a way to break free of the spell!”

“Awwwww.” Both of them said at the same time.

“Could you break the spell in like- half an hour?” Alex called back to the intercom.

“We sure can’t!” Derpy said happily, surprising Alex at the response.

“Huh. I didn’t think she could actually hear us.” He said.

“Nope! I can hear you!” She giggled.

“Derpy, throw that switch!” A voice called in the background.

“Yes sir!” She said enthusiastically, cutting off the intercom.

Both Alex and Dash sighed loudly.

“Why does everypony have to face their dark sides as soon as I start relaxing?” He said to his fiancée.

“You’re always relaxing,” she returned, kicking her way over to the edge of the pool “The dark sides would never come out if they had to wait for you to be up and about.”

“You’ve got a point there,” He chuckled, turning himself over in the water, and flipping his wings to lift out of the water.

“Hey, watch it!” Dash said, as his flapping wings coated her with all of the water that had just covered them.

“Sorry,” He said, giving one last controlled flap to reach the edge, “Besides, I know the perfect spell to dry you off.”

Dash went wide eyed, “Don’t. You. Dare.”

With a wicked smile his horn began to glow, and a massive gust of warm air began blasting over her body.

Dash tried to shout something over the sound of the air ripping past her body and through her hair, but simply wasn’t louder than his spell.

After a good fifteen seconds of ‘drying’ Alex stopped the spell, and watched with glee as Dash’s coat… poofed.

“You son of a bitch.” Dash whispered, her coat just about as fluffy as it could possibly be, “Do you have any idea how long this is going to stay this way? Even if I have a shower?”

“I think it’s cute,” Alex said, walking forward and stroking her puffed out cheek, “…Are you putting air in your cheeks to make them look bigger?”

She visibly blushed as her cheeks flattened a bit.

Smiling, he lowered his head to her level, and kissed her softly.

Closing her eyes, Dash exhaled out her nose as she pushed in to him, forcing him to take a step back to accommodate for her sudden showing of affection.

However, because of the kiss, Alex wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings.

Then, with a sudden burst of magic to his chest, he was shoved backward, and toppled into the pool once again, landing at the very bottom.

Wasting no time, Alex broke the surface of the water, and shook his head disapprovingly at the mare.

“Don’t expect me to sit in the corner with a camera after that kind of behaviour!” Alex laughed.

“Makes no difference to me,” She shrugged, her wings glowing black, as her coat and hair flattened out back to their normal style, “After all, you’d be the one missing out on your favorite snack.”

Alex burst out in to laughter once again.

////

Twilight, having cast a number of spells on herself to keep her heaving under control, headed downstairs to meet with Pinkie and her dark side, who had been waiting for over ten minutes now.

“Sorry!” Twilight apologized again, as she came down the staircase built into the wall, to the lower level of the building, “I must have eaten some bad hay, because I’ve been hugging the toilet for the last couple days.”

“Oh.” Sorrow said simply, feeling the energy of new life coming off of Twilight’s body.

“So you really are facing your dark side…” Twilight said, tilting her head at the mare flopped on Pinkie’s back, “But why is she out here with you?”

“Well, it’s not that simple...” Pinkie shook her head, “See, I accidentally made two dark versions of my self.”

Twilight tilted her head and narrowed one eye, “How did you accidentally do that?”

“Well, I went in to this magic pool in the Everfree forest… and I kinda multiplied myself.” Pinkie laughed nervously, scratching the side of her head, “It’s a long story- Anyway! Now there’s two different copies of me, and one is trying to turn everypony in town against each other!”

“What?! How is she doing it?” Twilight asked, looking to Sorrow for an explanation.

“She’s using a spell that allows her to control one or two ponies at a time,” she began, sighing dramatically, “All it takes is some exchanged words for two ponies to not want to speak to each other. And that’s her endgame.”

“That’s terrible!” Twilight said, looking up the stairs as Alpha began descending the stairs to join her, “Who has she controlled so far?”

“Everypony!” Pinkie shouted out, “Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and I think even Rainbow Dash for a minute!”

“Everypony?” Alpha asked, catching on to the conversation instantly, “I mean, neither Twilight or I have had anypony controlling us. Why is that?”

“She is our dark side, sure,” Sorrow said quietly, “But she’s not a monster. Neither are we.”

“Why do you say that?” Twilight asked, before huffing loudly and closing her eyes, obviously feeling her stomach lurch once again.

“You… don’t know?” Sorrow asked, a little surprised.

“Don’t know what?” Twilight returned, having gotten control over her body once again.

“Pinkie… do you remember how you found out that our little sister, Marble was going to be born?” Sorrow asked.

Pinkie instantly lit up at the happy memory, as it came flooding back to her.

“Oh yeah!” She said happily, her smile widening as she recounted the tale to her friends, “I was in my room playing with these really cool blocks that had the alphabet on them! When I heard some glass break in the bathroom! So I ran down the hall to see what had happened when…”

After Pinkie said this, she went uncharacteristically silent for several seconds, leaving her two friends to wonder if she had had a stroke.

“Uh… Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

“Oh… uh, sorry Twilight.” Pinkie said, scratching her chin as the truth sunk in to her brain.

“You were saying?” Sorrow asked.

“Um…” She hummed, bobbing her head back and forth, “Well, it turned out that mom had smashed her favorite mirror on the floor when she ran in to the bathroom.”

Again, silence filled the room.

“How in Equestria did that tell you that your mother was pregnant?” Twilight laughed, looking to Alpha as he blinked several times in bewilderment.

“Uh… she was… running to the bathroom to… throw up?” Pinkie finished, wincing as she looked at the blank expression on Twilight’s face.

“What?” Twilight said, looking to Alpha as a shiver ran down her entire body, “That’s- no! I just… ate something bad for me! There’s no way I would be that careless! Right Alpha?”

“I don’t know.” He said quietly, looking to Twilight, bewildered, “There… hasn’t been anypony else, has there?”

“Don’t be stupid.” Twilight shook her head, looking nervously back to the dark Pinkie, “This is all just a big joke… right?!”

“I can feel the baby.” Sorrow said quietly, ignoring Twilight’s question, “She’s going to have a lot of magic inside of her.”

“S-she?!”

////

The Girl that Shouldn't Exist

////
The Girl that Shouldn’t Exist
////

Alex and Dash finally reached the bridge of the TARDIS, and were greeted with an odd sight, as both the Doctor and Derpy held what looked like a leaf blower with a balloon over the blowing end, that was connected with a mess of cables to the control panel.

“I told you this would work!” Derpy laughed, as the Doctor nodded in defeat.

“I swear, in the last few years, you’ve gotten better at running this ship than I have,” He laughed, grabbing the pull string to start the motor with his mouth, and pulling as hard as he could.

The engine roared to life as a huge suction began sucking air from the outside of the ship, into the leaf blower, which began inflating the balloon on the end.

“What the heck are you doing?” Dash shouted over the horrifyingly loud contraption Derpy had apparently thrown together.

“We’re sucking the magic spell out!” The Doctor yelled back.

Accepting the answer, the two of them silenced and just watched as they worked.

A stream of colorful particles began flowing in from the outside, which were pulled into the machine, and then sent into the balloon. It took over two minutes of constant sucking to before the intensity of the particles began to slow, and then end altogether.

Satisfied, the Doctor shut the machine off, and brought in a much appreciated silence.

“So… is it done?” Alex asked, looking back and forth for some kind of change in the atmosphere.

“Sure is!” Derpy said happily, “After running some scans, I realized that this spell was made up of chaos! Which as we all know, is attracted to Orion atoms because of their atomic structure! So I got out the Orion blower, well- or sucker, depending on how you look at it, and—“

“I think you lost them,” The Doctor whispered in her ear, as they both looked to the intellectually challenged ponies.

“The leaf blower ate the magic?” Alex asked.

“Yes. The leaf blower ate the magic.” Derpy laughed.

“How the heck do you know all this stuff?” Dash asked, “I mean- no offence, but the last time we saw you…”

“I know,” She laughed back, “But spending a few years with this guy will really start to rub off on you.”

“Do you mind if I borrow that sucker?” Alex asked, pointing to the blower, “You never know, right?”

“Sure thing,” He replied, unplugging it from the ship, “It’s got a full charge, should work one or two more times before it runs out of juice.”

Levitating it away from the machine, Alex came incredibly close to laying it on his back, but at the last moment placed it on Dash’s back instead.

“Jerk.” Was all she said as she headed for the door, “So, can we go out there now?”

“Yup,” Derpy nodded, running ahead of them, and gesturing with her hoof to the now alive and moving world around them.

“Thank goodness,” Dash said, stepping out and walking toward Applejack’s farm, “Now lets hurry! I need everypony to see just how she treated me!”

“I believed you, you know.” Alex said genuinely.

“I know… but I really want to see what the heck caused her to act that way.” She said back, dashing forward, “It’s exciting, ya’ know?”

“I guess…” He said, eyeing her slightly.

////

Twilight sat down in silence, both her and Alpha had just been punched in the figurative stomach with the news from Pinkie’s dark side.

“Twilight… how is this possible?” Alpha asked slowly, not taking his gaze off of her as she stared at the floor, “I mean, we were safe! And… I thought that a pony and changeling couldn’t even—“

“I said I didn’t know if we could conceive, Marick.” She spoke up, looking at him with a small frown, “And as for being safe… I can think of a time we were maybe a little reckless.”

“Well, do you know how far along you are?” Alpha asked, “That might help us determine, uh, well, when we screwed up.”

Twilight looked to the dark Pinkie with an eyebrow raised.

“After we beat the council.” She said, “I think just about everypony could hear the two of you going at it.”

Both of them frowned and looked back toward each other.

“Are… are you unhappy?” Alpha asked, wincing at her flat expression, “Because I certainly wasn’t expecting you to be- well, expecting.”

“That’s so funny, Alpha!” Pinkie burst out in to a fit of laughter that could only be described as over-the-top.

Her giggling fit was so loud, and so sudden, that it instantly infected Twilight, as the purple mare started laughing.

Alpha opened his mouth to question Twilight’s change in mood, but decided against it, figuring that some laughter might help her out some.

“I-I’m sorry!” She laughed, rolling her head back, “I-it wasn’t even that f-funny! It was just her reaction!”

Pinkie frowned, “Are you kidding me? I was funny!”

“No it wasn’t, it was mediocre at bes—“

“Twilight!” A man’s voice shouted, rushing into the library, “Oh, Pinkie! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

At the door stood Mr. Cake, his expression fraught with worry.

“What’s wrong?” Pinkie and Twilight asked at the same time, standing up to greet him.

“Well- Rarity and Fluttershy are simply ruining Sugarcube Corner!” He said, gesturing out the door, “They got in to some kind of fight and have—wait. Why are there two of you?”

“Don’t mind me,” Sorrow said, “Just a magic spell.”

“Uh, okay.” He nodded, before returning to his explanation, “Those two have thrown hundreds of bits worth of food at each other, and thanks to that dark magic they can use, nopony can get near them!”

Pinkie gasped.

Sorrow sighed.

“We’ll… come right along,” Alpha said, assuming the other two mares were on board with his decision.

“Yeah, lets get going,” Twilight said, shaking her head clear as she stepped over to the door to join Mr. Cake.

“Woah- don’t you think you should stay here?” Alpha asked somewhat uneasily.

“What? Because I’m pregnant?” She asked, earning a look from the older stallion that had just asked for their help.

“You’re having a kid, Twilight?” He asked, his eyes wide.

“Yup.” She said simply, walking past him and out the door, “It’s a girl!”

////

Twilight marched down the street with a new found purpose- whatever that was, as she headed straight for Sugarcube corner. The simple fact was, she wanted every ounce of stress related to these dark sides to stop. And what better way to confront Pinkie’s dark side, than to run head first into every problem as it arose?

Walking up to the pastry shop, Twilight wasted no time in kicking the door open, and shouting at the top of her lungs at the two mares inside.

“That is enough!” She shouted.

Ahead of her, Rarity levitated mid air with a pie in her hooves, and Fluttershy was holding a cake upside down, about to drop it on Rarity’s head. Both of them were covered in various foods from the shop, and yet neither had continued moving once Twilight walked in.

They were both frozen.

“I have had a very stressful day, and I think it would be best if both of you calmed down!” Twilight shouted, as the other two continued staring at her.

The look they gave wasn’t one of regret, or embarrassment, however. It was as if somepony had pressed the ‘off’ button on them, freezing them in place.

“Uhhh, good!” Twilight said, hearing her friends catching up behind her, “I’m glad you both… understand?”

“Can you see the strings?” Sorrow asked, pointing to the ceiling as she entered the room.

“Huh? Strings?” Twilight asked, following her gaze to ceiling, and yet seeing nothing.

“They look like they’ve been let go,” she observed from Pinkie’s back, “Those two are like marionettes, without anypony holding the strings…”

Narrowing her gaze, Twilight walked toward Fluttershy, and reached out with her hoof, lightly tapping the mare on the side, intrigued when she didn’t respond.

“What on earth did this to them?” she muttered, moving over to Rarity and doing the same thing, “They’re just… statues.”

“It’s her spell,” Sorrow spoke up again, “she’s not going to have them continue interacting until Twilight leaves.”

“Huh? Why would she wait for that?” Alpha asked.

“Because she’s pregnant,” Pinkie assumed, looking to her doppelganger on her back, earning a nod in response, “I’d never dream of causing an expecting mare any trouble. I don’t even think my deepest darkest side could do something like that!”

“She’s right.” Sorrow nodded.

“So, as long as I stand here, these two can’t continue fighting?” Twilight asked, “Well, if that’s the case... I can wait here all day!”

“No!” A horrifyingly familiar voice boomed, as they all turned to look at the source of the voice, “You need to go now!”

They all looked upward at the source of the voice, and were shocked to see a dark figure standing in the entrance to the kitchen, that emitted some kind of darkness, that ate up the light surrounding her, making it exceedingly hard to make her out.

“I was nice enough to leave you out of my game, so I expect the same kindness from you!” She said, her voice somehow happy as can be, and yet horrifyingly sinister, “Now! Please leave, so I can make my friends love me even more!”

The four were all confused as she said this.

“Uh... what?” Alpha asked.

“Nopony ever has time for me anymore!” The figure said, her voice mirroring Pinkie’s perfectly, “Between the boyfriends, and the chaotic magic… nopony has had any time to spend with me!”

“Well- it’s been a busy couple of weeks—“ Twilight offered.

“It’s not just that!” She giggled, “It’s been an increasing pattern! Soon Dashie and Alex will be moved on, Twilight will be a mommy, Rarity and Spike will be up in Canterlot, Applejack is always busy with work, and Fluttershy seems to be more worried about some dumb animals, than her real friends!”

“It’s not like we’ll stop having time for you,” Twilight shook her head, trying to say more before she was cut off again.

“Twilight, how the heck am I going to be able to convince a mother of a foal to come to my house to play pin the tail on the pony?” She asked, shaking her head as she continued giggling, “After all of you girls start popping out kids, there’s going to be nopony left to come and party all night with me!”

“That’s not true!” Pinkie chimed in, hopping up and down, “You just said that AJ and Fluttershy weren’t having kids!”

“Don’t try to debate yourself!” She shot back, her happy tone gone, “I’m sure those two will be dying to have a party with just the three of us!”

Pinkie didn’t respond to that.

“Okay, then why are you having these two fight each other?” Alpha asked, “What could that possibly have to do with all you just said?”

“Well,” She returned, her tone much happier again, “If nopony likes each other, they’ll only have one person to fight over! And that’ll be me!”

“So, your answer to spending more time with your friends, is to make them hate each other?” Twilight asked, appalled at the notion.

“Of course!” She exploded in a fit of giggles, “They’ll all be fighting to spend their free time with me!”

“Wait-“ Pinkie began, before she was silenced again.

“Now, if you’ll all excuse me! I need to ruin this friendship!”

With that, a wave of magic blasted out of her, that teleported them back to library, where they had been just moments before, standing in the very same positions.

“Wow!” Pinkie said, astonished with the way that situation had gone, “That mare was nothing like me! How could she say that we were similar?”

“Pinkie…” Twilight sighed, “I don’t think that’s the attitude that you need to have about this situation.”

“I think you need to start getting ready to accept her,” Alpha added.

“Oh, no she doesn’t.” Sorrow said from Pinkie’s back, sighing loudly before continuing, “She’s not looking for acceptance. She just wants to fulfill her wishes.”

“Are you serious?” Twilight blinked, “Then… what do we need to do?”

“I’m not sure.” Sorrow shook her head, “She came out of the mirror pool, maybe we could use that to help us somehow.”

“Oh! I think I know just the—“

And then, in a very dignified manner, Twilight threw up on the floor.

////

An Odd Request

////
An Odd Request
////

Alex and Dash, after several minutes of walking, finally reached Sweet Apple Acres, and found a lovely spot to hide, where they could watch the action without running the risk of being seen by the past versions of Applejack or Dash.

“We’re a little far back, don’t you think?” Alex asked, squinting toward the barn, “I think we could get a little closer and still be safe.”

“I didn’t see her right at the barn,” Dash said, as she looked to the sky and squinted, “We were a lot closer to where we are now.”

Alex followed her gaze and frowned.

“What are you looking at?” He asked, moving his head around to try and get an angle on the part of the sky she was looking at.

“I’m just making sure we’re on time,” She responded, shrugging the magic sucker from her back, “We’re a bit early.”

“How does the sky tell you that? Did you track the position of the moon and the sun or something?” He asked, laughing a bit to himself as she gave him a quick glare.

“No, a bunch of pegasi flew by and sorta hung around for a few minutes,” She responded, “And I know it was darker than this when they flew by.”

“Oh…” Alex coughed, feeling a bit silly.

“Anyway,” She offered, deciding to move the conversation on, “Why don’t we take this quiet time to work on the wedding plans?”

“You don’t need to ask me,” he said, looking to her with a grin, “Whatever makes you happy is just fine with me. All I ask for, is something good to eat while I’m there… Maybe some steak, hotdogs… or even some hot wings!”

“How wings?” She asked, flaring her wings and raising an eyebrow, “These not hot enough for you?”

“Well, they’re not that kind of wing,” he laughed, “Well… they kinda are. They’re chicken wings. Not horse wings.”

“You eat chicken wings too?!” Dash asked, her eyes expanding to at least four or five times their original size, “How did I end up as the only mare in Equestria dating a monster…”

“That’s not true!” Alex laughed, “Just look at Spike! He’s a- well, was a dragon! I’ll bet if you threw around some butchered pony meat, he’d go crazy for it.”

“I think you’d find that he eats plenty alr—“

“Whatcha two talkin’ about?” A happy voice chirped from behind them, causing the two of them to jump almost out of their seats.

“Pinkie?” Dash asked, turning around to face the mare. However, she wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

“Uh… that was defs Pinkie,” Alex muttered, as she frowned at him.

“Did you just say defs?” She asked.

“N-never mind,” He blushed, looking away from her back to the trees.

“It’s okay Alex. I think it’s cool to say defs!” The voice rang out once again from somewhere in front of the two.

“I don’t like this.” The cyan mare muttered, scanning the trees around them for any sign of their friend.

“Hey Dash… what’s casting that shadow over there?” He asked, pointing to the dark blur in a seemingly clear patch, where there shouldn’t have been any darkness whatsoever.

“Well, nopony can say you have poor eyesight at least.” The peppy voice chuckled, as two blue eyes opened in the darkness.

Neither of the two had anything to say to the mare.

“It’s funny… when I look at you two, you seem so old!” She giggled, as one leg stepped out of her shadow.

The two looked to one another, before looking back to the shadow.

“Old?” Alex asked.

“Well, not that old,” She chuckled, “But I can smell it on you. You’re almost two hours ahead of the rest of us.”

The two gulped simultaneously.

“Would you mind filling me in on something, Dashie?” Pinkie(?) asked, as her head came out from the dark bubble encompassing her, “Why didn’t you and I ever take it further?”

The mare that came out of the bubble wasn’t exactly the one they were expecting. Not only was she oddly confident, but her mane wasn’t the usual puffy mess that everypony was used to. Her hair had been curled along the top perfectly, and pink ringlets ran down her neck, and past her shoulders.

Her coat had been combed along every inch of her body, and her face seemed to have been trimmed in such a skillful way, that her features were sharpened. And, along with all of this, she wore a confident smile, and a truly enticing look in her eyes.

“Wow.” Both Dash and Alex said at the same time to the shockingly beautiful mare.

“Well?” She asked, walking toward them with her chest lightly pushed out, in a way they would have expected to see Rarity compose herself.

“Uh, sorry, what was the question?” The pegasi asked, her gaze still affixed by the perfect face presented to her.

“Why didn’t you and I ever go beyond what we had?” She asked, closing the distance between them, as she approached Dash.

“Beyond?” she asked, “Beyond what?”

Walking up to her friend, Pinkie slowly leaned forward, as if to whisper something in her ear. But, instead of whispering, she suddenly reached upward, and lightly bit Dash’s ear.

The sound she made as Pinkie’s teeth contacted her ear was one that all of them had heard before.

“W-what are you doing?!” Dash asked frantically, jumping back, expecting to hit Alex, however, she fell flat on the ground, “Alex? Where did you go?!”

Looking over his shoulder, Alex blinked rapidly.

“I, uh, was gonna watch you two from the bushes over here…” He coughed, “Really! Don’t mind me at all! You two have fun!”

Before he could take another step, he had been lifted off the ground, levitated backward, and dropped next to his fiancé, by a black aura emanating from the wings of his blue mare.

“Sorry Alex,” Pinkie shrugged, taking a step away from the mare she had just licked, “I was game.”

“What the heck is going on with you?!” Dash shouted, before realizing that she needed to be silent, to avoid her past self hearing her, “Why are you coming on to me like this? We stopped fooling around a long time ago!”

“I think the question is- why haven’t you been coming on to me?” She returned.

“I’m with Pinkie on this one.” Alex agreed, “I think you two- or heck- all three of us! We should—“

Glancing confidently toward Dash, and looking in to her eyes, no words needed to be exchanged between them. He knew just what she was thinking.

’Alex, I swear to Celestia if you don’t shut your damn pie-hole I’ll shove my hoof so far up your as-‘

“I… will shut up.” He said, taking a single step away from them.

Pinkie giggled, before continuing again.

“Dashie, come on! After everything you and I did together? You loved it just as much as I did!” She said, tilting her head, causing her hair to fall to the other side of her face.

“Pinkie…” She responded quietly, “You and I agreed that it was time for us to move on from that… we were hanging out with Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity! It felt weird to be fooling around behind their backs…”

“Well... maybe you’re right,” She conceded, “But, would I never felt as close to you as I did then. I guess I miss it.”

Dash wasn’t sure how to respond to her. The sudden expulsion of affliction had somewhat clouded mind from asking some questions that were perhaps more important.

“Well, what about you, Alex?” The pink mare asked, “I always thought you were really cute.”

“What’s with you?” Alex laughed, “If you’re looking to get laid, go ask like- any guy in town!”

“It’s gotta be you two. Or maybe Spike and Rarity…” She muttered in response.

“Why?” Both of them asked at the same time, flabbergasted by her odd desire.

She didn’t answer.

Turning around to face away from them, she looked in the sky.

"There’s your flying friends.” She said, “That means it’s time for me to interrupt you and AJ.”

“Pinkie- wait!” Dash called, as the mare was enveloped into darkness once again.

She was gone long before either of them could have reached her.

“Well, I guess that’s Pinkie’s dark side.” Alex blinked.

Dash didn't answer right away as she looked up at the sky. She had been right.

“But… shouldn’t she be a little sadder?” She finally asked, looking at him with a small frown, “Wasn't her dark side supposed to be sad, er- Sorrow?”

“I think so.” He nodded, “That’s what Discord said, anyway.”

Standing up, Dash returned to their original position with Alex in tow, overlooking the barn at Sweet Apple Acres.

“So, I guess that means that she’s the one that messed with Applejack.” Alex said.

“But why?” Dash asked, “What would her dark side get from driving a wedge between us?”

“The vibe I was getting, sorta felt like she wanted more attention,” He responded, scratching the back of his head, "But could only understand it in the context of sex."

“I mean, if I wasn’t friends with AJ anymore, I guess I’d spend more time with Pinkie by default,” Dash reasoned, “But, is that really her endgame? Break up my friends, so she can bang me?”

“Honestly, I’d rather just see it all play out, rather than debate on it for an hour.” He shrugged, “Not trying to be a dick, but everything we say is little more than a guess. We should see how things play out, and save our time.”

“Fair enough,” Dash nodded, “We should just- oh, shh! I see me!”

Following her gaze, Alex watched as the past version of Rainbow Dash entered the area, and headed for the barn.

"Here we go!" She muttered.

“You know, while we’re on the topic of- well- a third party…” Alex said, coughing obviously, “We could just go grab that version of you over there, and have a good time with her.”

Dash smiled at the joke.

“I don’t think we’d be very successful at explaining that one to The Doctor.” She giggled.

“He’s a stallion.” Alex nodded confidently, “I’m pretty sure he’d just be jealous that he hadn’t thought of it first.”

////

Invisible Friends

////
Invisible Friends
////

“Even though you can't blame her, you’re right. AJ was being a real bitch.” Alex said softly.

“No kidding, right?” Dash said, looking to him, and then back to the future version of herself, “but now at least we know the cause.”

“Okay, so we should probably head back to the Doctor then, yeah?” He asked, “We shouldn’t stick around too much in this time.”

“You’re right,” Dash nodded, looking to the past version of herself once more, before grabbing the Doctor’s magic sucker, and turning back toward the way they came, “The last thing we need right now is to get mixed up with that… other side of Pinkie.”

“I, personally, don’t think a little lezzing out would be the end of the world.” He reiterated… for the millionth time.

“I’m aware of your position on me missing around with another mare. But I already told you! I’d only do it if it was somepony famous, like a princess, or Countess Coloratura.”

“Does that mean I’m allowed to bang a super hot guy if I get the chance?” Alex asked, laughing as he matched pace with her, following just behind.

“Well, so long as they’re somepony that I’m okay with.” She answered, narrowing her gaze as she considered potential mates for her boyfriend.

“And… who would you be okay with?” He asked, his interest truly piqued.

Dash scratched her chin. This wasn’t something she had ever considered. What dudes could Alex bang?

“Soarin’.” She said quickly.

“Uhh…No duh. Have you seen that guy’s wings? Hubba hubba!” Alex laughed.

“Hmm… who else…” She pondered as they continued walking, “Shining Armor?”

“Mmmm, I don’t know if Twilight would be too happy with that one.” He said, letting out a loud ‘ha’.

“Okay okay… how about—“

“Daisy!” An excited voice called from just behind them

Both turned around to face Pinkie, who was suddenly walking along with them.

“Great.” Dash sighed.

“What? You don’t sound excited to see me!” Pinkie said, hopping in front of Dash, stopping the two of them, “I mean, at first I was gonna follow that old version of you, but then I realized, why not follow around the more experienced version of you?”

“Wait—“ Alex said, before either of them could continue talking, “Daisy? As in that scary muscle pony from the Wonderbolt stadium?”

“Oh yeah! I heard he’s a bottom!” She giggled.

Dash rolled her eyes.

“I’m going to be honest, I’ve had enough of chaotic sides for a lifetime I think,” Dash said to her, walking around her and continuing on her way, “It’s nice to have you acting normal, and not hitting on me, by the way.”

“But I’m not a dark side!” She said, keeping up with Dash, “That sad sack is named Sorrow! And my name is… well, it’s technically Pinkie. Nopony ever gave me a name!”

“Where did you come from then, if Discord didn’t make you?” Alex asked.

“The reflecting pool in the Everfree Forest!” She said, bubbly as ever, confounding the couple she was walking with.

“You don’t seem so evil to me right now,” Alex offered, shrugging to Dash, “What’s with the mood swing?”

“I have a little less filtration that your average Pinkie. Definitely not evil though! I mean, I think!” She said, “But you don’t wanna make me mad!”

“Right… So if you’re not evil, or- chaotic, whatever- then why were you making Applejack say such horrible things to me?” Dash asked.

“Because! If everypony hates each other, then I’ll be their only friend!” She said, acting so much like her original self, that it was almost scary to Alex, “And then, everypony must have time for me!”

“Honestly, I’m not going to waste my time trying to explain why that’ll never happen, we’re your friends. We’re not going to abandon you or something.” Dash sighed, as she kept on her path back to the Doctor.

“I know that’s not true!” She said, shaking her head, running in front of Dash to stop her from continuing, “You and Alex are getting married in a couple of months, Spike and Rarity hardly come out anymore, and Twilight is already pregnant!”

Both stopped in place and looked to one another.

“What?!” They both shouted, looking back to the pink mare with their mouths practically touching the ground.

“Oh yeah, baby.” Pinkie nodded, “Not only is she swimming in chaotic energy, but she’s got a bun in the oven! I’m so excited! Do you think she’ll ask me to babysit? Psh- what am I saying? Of course she will! I’ll be her only friend!”

While Alex and Dash both wanted to ask her just about a million questions, they knew that she probably couldn’t provide any of them.

“Listen, we need to get back to our time so we can talk to Twilight…” Dash said, “We’ll see you in the—“

“Oh no you don’t!” She shook her head, twitching her head as both Alex and Dash were trapped in a bubble of black magic, “I’m gonna be honest! I love the two of you together! You’re just so cute!”

Alex sighed as his suspended body floated through the gravity-less bubble, “Thanks.”

“So I won’t make you two hate each other, so long as you promise to hang out with me till… well, till you die, okay?”

Both of the trapped ponies tired to use their magic, but were simply unable.

“Pinkie, we aren’t even from this time!” Dash tried to reason, “There could be a major screw up in time and space if you don’t let us go!”

“I’m not dumb, you know.” She said, taking in an absolutely massive breath, “IfthetwoofyouwentbackintimejustafterIhadmylittleintrustionbetweenapplejackanddashiethenallIhavetodoiskeepyoufrominterferingwithyourpastselvesuntilthemomentyougobackintimewhichwillpreventanykindofdisasterfromtakingplace!”

“Oh… okay.” They both said dejectedly.

“Now come on! I’m going to go mess with Fluttershy and Rarity!” She said excitedly, as the two trapped in her bubble vanished from sight.

////

Trixie sat in the mayor’s office, waiting patiently for an appointment.

She had decided to ask if she could put on another magic show, this time with some much friendlier themes.

However, she had been sitting here for almost half an hour now, and nopony had even acknowledged that she was here.

“Hmm… the door said it was open…” Trixie muttered to herself, “But, being impatient is something that the old Trixie would have done! The new and improved Trixie will be more than happy to wait! Trixie is a good pony now!”

She paused for a moment and scratched her chin.

”I think Trixie was referring to herself in the third person again.” Aurora’s voice hummed in her head.

“I was about to say that!” Trixie burst in to laughter, “Either way, I don’t mind waiting for a little bit. It’s not like anything else exciting is going on in town.”

////

Not All She Seems

////
Not All She Seems
////

Twilight, Alpha, and the two Pinkie sat in the library, doing little more than twiddling their non-existent thumbs, having been able to do nothing since the insane Pinkie erected a massive barrier to surround the library, trapping them all inside without the ability to use magic.

“What does she expect me to do, huh?” Twilight shouted, pacing back and forth in the lobby, “Just live in here for a year until I give birth? Well, assuming I haven’t starved to death before then!”

“Listen, Twi- we need to calm you down!” Alpha insisted, following behind her in a circle as she kept changing directions, “If you’re really pregnant, then we need to sit you down and take a breath.”

“Am I going to lay an egg?!” She asked suddenly, snapping her head back to Alpha with wide eyes, “Because if you think I’m throwing up now, then you’d better get ready!”

“You’re not going to lay an egg.” He said calmly, “Only Chrysalis lays eggs.”

“Does she?” Twilight asked, her insatiable curiosity kicking in for a moment, allowing her a break from the stress of her situation.

“Well, I mean, she uses an ovipositor to... well, I think you know where I’m going with this.” He scratched the back of his head.

And she threw up. What a surprise.

////

Pinkie and Sorrow sat silently in Twilight’s room. They had been discussing all that was going on, and it was rapidly helping Pinkie realize the kind of pony that she truly was.

“Everypony is so upset with me...” Pinkie sighed, leaning her head back on Twilight’s bed, avoiding the gaze of her dark self.

“Everypony has been upset with everypony when their dark sides came out,” Sorrow reminded, “This is just another day in Ponyville.”

“Nopony else had a third version of themselves!” She argued back, shifting her body slightly before settling once again, “She’s running around trying to make everypony hate each other…”

“That’s never going to work though!” Sorrow shouted, standing up so she could face Pinkie directly, “How in Equestria could we every hate each other?”

“I- I dunno…” Pinkie huffed, “But she seems so sure of herself!”

“I know… and I guess that’s something that makes me a little nervous too.” She admitted, as Pinkie once again looked away from her, “We could try to figure it out, but you’re acting like a huge baby right now!”

Pinkie only huffed into the pillow, as she mashed her face into it to avoid more eye contact.

“Fine.” She huffed, walking away from herself, and slumping down on the floor. “We can just sit here and wait for you to start acting like an adult.”

For the next few minutes, the silence in the room was thick. Pinkie wanted to say something… apologize more. But she couldn’t bring herself to it. This feeling that she had refused to accept was now rapidly becoming her exact mood.

It was hard to admit, but Pinkie wasn’t having such a hard time seeing her and Sorrow as the same pony.

Finally, after another ten or so minutes, Pinkie shifted her position to face herself.

“So…” She said quietly, “I guess you got lucky, huh?”

Sorrow knew what she meant, and she nodded softly.

“If it weren’t for that crazy version of us running around, you might have a much harder time accepting me.” She said to her normal self, “She’s brought us together.”

Pinkie bit her lip and looked out the window, seeing the strings hanging from the sky.

“What can we do to stop her?” Pinkie asked, “I mean, once we fuse back together, am I going to have any more control over her?”

Sorrow shook her head.

“She’s a separate entity.” She explained, “When somepony comes out of that reflecting pool, there’s only one way to go back inside.”

“What’s that?!” Pinkie asked, looking back to herself.

“There’s a spell that can be used to… well, explode her.” Sorrow said, gesturing to a book she had brought up with her.

“Holy smokes! How did you know about that spell anyway?” Pinkie asked, “I mean, If I didn’t know about that spell, how did you know about it?”

“Discord gave me a little bit of extra stuff in here.” She said, bonking her hoof against her head, “In that sense we’re not the same pony. I’m a lot smarter.”

“Aww.” Pinkie said, shrugging to herself, “Oh well! I’m okay with that!

////

“So what’s the big plan?” Alex asked, floating in open space, along with his fiancé, “Are you really doing this just so you can have us all to yourself?”

Pinkie’s insane side only giggled as she watched the fight going on between the two friends below her, as they threw food at one another.

“Pinkie, would you please answer us?” Dash asked.

“I already told you! Everypony needs to give me one hundred percent of their attention!” She said, her voice still as happy as it could be, “I’ll never be alone again!”

“But that’s crazy…” Alex whined, rolling his eyes, “It’d take a lot more than some arguments to have everypony start hating each other.”

“Yeah!” Dash agreed, “And I’ll bet you a million bits that Pinkie knows that! So shouldn’t you?”

Turning around to face them, the confidence seemed to seep from the mare.

“No duh!” She laughed, “This is just the first step! I need to weaken the bonds of harmony!”

“Uh… what?” They both asked.

“Whoops!” She said instantly, turning back to the show in front of them.

“What would you achieve by messing with our harmony?” Dash asked.

She didn’t answer.

“Pinkie!” Alex shouted. “Pinkie! Hey! Answer us! Pinkie! PinkiePinkiePinkiePinkiePinkiePinkiePinkiePink-“

Before Alex could say another word, she turned around with a look in her eye that neither of them had seen before.

“Shut. Up.” She growled, her eyes glowing red along with her wicked smile.

The next thing Alex knew, his mouth was gone.

Patting frantically around on his face, Alex looked at Dash wide eyes.

“Hey, Pinkie!” Dash shouted, as the insane mare turned her gaze toward her.

Dash gulped.

“Uh… I was just- um, gonna ask if you could teach me that spell… haha…” Dash said slowly.

“Oh, sure!” She beamed, her horrifying attitude gone, “Once we’re done with these two, okay?”

As Pinkie continued manipulating the mares below her, Alex and Dash were able to exchange looks, both understanding that she was hiding something big.

But, at this point, nothing more could really be said.

////

“Are you sure you want to put on another magic show?” The mayor asked, scratching her chin, “I seem to remember the last one being a complete disaster.”

“I promise, this one is going to be much smoother!” Trixie insisted, “Trixie has- er, that is, I have even promised to have Twilight and her friends join me in the show!”

“Really?” She asked, “I didn’t know you were getting along with them.”

“I’ve actually been living here in Ponyville for a couple of weeks now,” Trixie said, “And after everything everypony’s done for me, I’d love to give something back.”

“Hmm…” The mayor said, still not completely convinced.

“And by ‘give something back’ I mean, I’ll donate all the money I raise back to the town.” Trixie added.

“Oh, why didn’t you say so?” She jumped, always loving the sound of donations, “Are you going to need any bits to get this show off the ground? A small cash infusion might help you make even more money!”

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Trixie shook her head, “I’ve already got most of the materials that I’ll be needing.”

“When were you planning on putting the show on?” She asked.

“In the next day or so,” Trixie offered, shrugging slightly, “Nothing exciting has been happening recently, so I figured I could spice things up!”

Author's Note

Things might be accelerating here in terms of story pace.

I'd like to have the main story done soon. And I mean SOON.

I just need to write this finale. I'm dying to do it.

The Rising Darkness

////
The Rising Darkness
////

Pinkie and her doppelganger sat together in her bed, no longer needing to speak about their similarities, they were now simply enjoying their own company. Every avenue had been explored, and both were comfortable with their acceptance of one another.

“She’s not going to go quietly, you know.” Sorrow said, lying on her back in Twilight’s bed next to Pinkie, “I don’t even know how we’re going to get out of this house without any magic.”

“When I accept you, is that going to give me the ability to use magic, just like everypony else?” She asked.

“Of course it is!” Her dark side said, “But, you won’t have any luck with it until you’re free.”

“Oh well,” She shrugged, “I mean, outside, we’ve got Trixie, Alex, Dashie, and Applejack to help fight me! They’re all really tough!”

“You could probably just go to sleep, and in the morning everything will have worked out,” Sorrow giggled, her demeanor now closer to that of her original self.

“I’m glad you’re finally smiling,” Pinkie beamed, sitting up in the bed as her counterpart followed suit, “To be honest, I thought that I was going to have a much harder time dealing with you.”

“Compared to Dashie, Rarity, AJ and Flutters? This was nothing!” She said back to her, “I was worried you’d fight me to the death insisting that we weren’t anything alike!”

“After everything that’s happened tonight, I understand feeling sad. I mean, I’ve even been this way for a couple of weeks now…” Pinkie sighed, looking to a picture across from Twilight’s bed, showing her, and all of their friends posing outside the library, “I can’t keep living this way forever… And I guess I need to grow up a little.”

“You don’t need to grow up, Pinkie.” Sorrow shook her head, placing a hoof on her shoulder, “I didn’t come here to teach you some lesson in being an adult. I came here to show you that it’s okay to feel sad, and depressed sometimes! Change is scary, especially with everything going on with this ‘final boss’ that everypony keeps mentioning, but we have yet to see.”

“So wait, if I’m not supposed to grow up… what am I going to learn from you being here?” Pinkie asked, genuinely confused.

“You’re going to embrace yourself!” She said, “No more, and no less! I’m not here to change you.”

Pinkie hummed to herself, and nodded slowly.

“Come on,” Sorrow said, smiling to herself, “It’s time.”

////

The consumed Pinkie sighed loudly as she watched the food fight below her, that had now entered it’s third hour.

“It’s not working…” She said quietly, closing her eyes, and levitating backward toward her captives.

“It looks like she’s starting to give up…” Alex whispered, as Dash nodded slowly.

“But that makes no sense!” Dash growled, sick of floating in this bubble, “Why would she ever try this plan in the first place! It’s insane!”

Pinkie looked off in to the distance at the library where she had sealed her friends and frowned.

“Hey, you two…” She called out to the couple behind her, “If you were really scared… like, really scared, what would you do?”

“Scared?” Alex asked, “I mean- uh- I think I’m missing something here. You’re saying that you’re scared of something?”

She didn’t answer, as she stared on.

“Hellooooooo?” Dash called.

“Can you feel it?” She almost whispered.

“All I can feel is my massive headache.” Alex sighed loudly.

Dash opened her mouth to shout something else, but then she realized something very disturbing.

“I- I can feel it too…” She said, looking to Alex, “What the hell is that?!”

////

“Twilight, are you okay?” Alpha asked, kneeling down to his pregnant girlfriend, who was kneeling on the floor, shaking lightly.

“I- I don’t know…” She gasped, her mind racing at a mile a minute.

“We need to get a doctor! Or… we need to talk to a princess!” Alpha said, blinking rapidly as he started to imagine the worst.

“It’s happening again…” Twilight managed, turning her head to face Alpha, “I can feel her coming.”

////

“No! This is what I wanted to avoid!” Pinkie should at Alex and Dash, “S-she’s transforming again!”

“Twilight?!” Alex asked, his eyes wide, “She’s losing it again?”

Pinkie nodded rapidly, “I was trying to stop this from happening!”

“Okay, Pinkie, you need to stop for a second, and tell us the truth!” Dash demanded, “What’s going on! Start from the beginning!”

Shifting uncomfortably, Pinkie sighed, and began talking.

“Well, it all started… years ago…” She began vaguely, as Alex and Dash looked at each other, “I was nothing more than a shadow in Pinkie’s personality back then. I came out when she was in a… particularly dark mood.”

“Her surprise party?” Alex asked.

“Party of one.” She agreed.

“Okay, we get who you are,” Dash cut in, “But what about the rest?”

“Well, when Discord turned our elements black, he also implanted a little spark of chaotic magic, that acted almost like a virus.” She explained, “After enough time passed, that magic copied each of our personalities, but emphasized whatever part of our souls that was least like our element.”

“Okay, I think we already knew that… more or less.” Alex nodded.

“Yeah well, that’s not all!” She shook her head, “While he was putting that magic in my head, I heard him say something to himself!”

“Wait, he was like, actually in your head?” Alex asked.

“Shh.” Dash silenced him, “what did he say, Pinkie?”

“He was all serious! And he said that he didn’t think he would ever be able to make it up to Twilight!” She huffed, looking over her shoulder back toward the library.

“Make what up to her?” Alex cocked his head.

“…taking away her element…” Pinkie squeaked.

“What?!” They both shouted.

“Why did you hide this from us?” Dash asked, trying to float herself closer to Pinkie by grabbing on to Alex and pulling herself forward.

“Because I needed you to hate me!” Pinkie explained, sighing and biting her lip, “I figured that if I could ruin the harmony between all of you… Twilight’s dark side wouldn’t be able to come out!”

“Okay, enough of this!” Alex said, grabbing the magic leaf blower off his back, and flipping the switch.

Instantly, Pinkie’s suppression spell was sucked inside, and the two were dropped a short distance to the ground.

“Are you kidding?” Dash asked, “You could have done that all along?”

“Did Discord say anything about how to help her?” Alex asked, “Or how we could stop her?”

Pinkie shook her head.

“I didn’t think it would happen this fast!” She said, her eyes welling with tears “I’m not going to be able to save Twilight!”

/////

Pinkie smiled to herself as she walked down the stairs in Twilight’s home. She and Sorrow had merged back into one pony, and Pinkie could feel a plethora of new power run through her body.

“Twilight!” Pinkie beamed, “I accepted myself!”

She was only greeted with silence.

"Twilight?" she called, confused at the darkness in the room, "Did ya' hear me? I did it!"

A low rumbling of laughter could suddenly be heard, echoing through the room.

"T͏̩͇̤ḫ͖̱̠̙̳͚̳́͠ḁ̢̨͝n̯̥̘̭͔̣̭̩͕͘̕͠ḱ̴̘̙̜̣͓̗̻̹͇ ̡̟̼̻̱̦̗́ý̼̞̤̻̤̼͙o̡̰̦͍̙ú͉̜,̡̙̺̩͔̩͖̦̣̙ ̟̫̜̭̭͕̟P̶̛͙̪͖̤̫͢i̡̻͎n̳̖͞k̠͜͞i҉̲ę͇̲̤͓̻."

Awake

////
Awake
////

Discord sat outside of Ponyville, sitting in a lawn chair suspended high able the town, with a pair of theater binoculars and a bag of popcorn.

“My my, I didn’t expect things to turn out this way,” he said to himself, scratching his chin, “I was expecting something a little more exciting from our chaotic little Pinkie.”

Still, there was nothing that the draconequus could do at this point. He could do little more than watch the world burn.

////

“We won’t be able to match her… but we can hold her for a little longer!” The chaotic Pinkie explained, as the three ran away from the library, headed for the town hall, where they hoped to find Trixie.

“How can we hold her?” Dash asked, “I thought that her power was like… crazy!”

“It is!” Pinkie nodded, “But I put a magic field around her a couple of hours ago, and it should- well, I hope, it’ll hold her in place!”

“Don’t you think keeping both Pinkies together was a bad idea?” Alex asked, leading the charge past the confused residents of Ponyville, “Why not keep one with you?”

“I already told you!” She said, her voice creaking slightly, “I didn’t think this was going to happen so fast! I considered just killing myself, but that seemed a little too dark. Even for me!”

“To be honest, you don’t seem all that dark in the first place,” Dash said.

“I am so dark!” She said, her mouth hung open in disbelief, “I told you that I wanted to bang you!”

“Yeah, but Alex does that too,” She laughed out loud, “And he’s not dark either.”

“You’re like… the Pinkie version of Dax!” Alex laughed with her.

“Well, I guess that’s not all bad,” She shrugged, looking at the odd number of ponies out In the middle of the night, “What the heck is everypony doing out here right now?”

“It’s not all that late,” Alex said, looking up at a clock on the side of a flower shop, which read midnight, “Uh, okay, maybe a little late.”

“And we think that Trixie is going to be at the mayor’s office now?” Dash asked.

“She hasn’t been home,” Pinkie shook her head, “I would have felt a disturbance at the barrier.”

“Well, here’s hoping she didn’t go home with some stallion or something.” Alex murmured to himself.

////

“So, what kind of spells do you think you’ll be performing in this show?” The mayor asked, dipping a quill in some ink, and looking up to Trixie, ready to write down whatever she said.

“Um, well! I’ve recently found myself with quite a bit of extra magic!” Trixie said, referring to the other consciousness in her head, “I was planning on making my own wings, maybe doing a light show, have some of Twilight’s friends come out in dresses made by Rarity… I guess it wouldn’t strictly be a magic show after all!”

“I’m sure Applejack and Pinkie could take advantage of the event to sell some of their own goods…” The mayor scratched her chin, “You know, I’m thinking that this might need to be bigger!”

“Uh, bigger?” Trixie asked, tilting her head.

“Yes! Maybe we could find some other ponies to be in the show, and we could make an entire festival out of it!” She said, standing up turning to face the window, “If we did the right amount of advertising, we could get ponies from all over Equestria to attend!”

“Uh-“ The blue mare tried to cut in.

“It’s settled!” The mayor said, turning around and flashing a smile, “I’ll leave it in your capable hooves! I’ll get the word out, and you can do everything else!”

“Wait- I’m not sure I want all this responsibilit—“

Before she could finish protesting the position she had been put in, the door was blasted open by Alex, Dash, and Pinkie.

“Trixie, you need to come with us!” Dash said seriously, flying over and nudging her.

“What’s going on?” Trixie asked, looking to the mayor for a moment before looking back to the trio in front of her.

“Pinkie just faced her dark side.” Alex began, before he was cut off.

“Oh, wow!” The magical mare said, rushing over to hug Pinkie, “Congratulations Pinkie! I’m so proud of you!”

After their hug, Trixie instantly felt the tension that still remained in the room.

“…What’s wrong?” She asked.

“Twilight’s dark side came back out.” Dash said.

Trixie could feel her heart sink in her chest.

////

Inside the Ponyville library, stood the corrupted version of Twilight Sparkle. The conglomeration of everything bad within the Elements of Harmony. She was easily twice the size of her original form, her coat was stained with several black patches, and her eyes were completely red, with the exception of the black slits in the middle.

All in all, she was gosh darn terrifying.

Pinkie had all but faked her death to avoid the gaze of the dark entity that had taken over Twilight’s body. After she announced her unity with her dark side, the chaotic form didn’t seem to concern itself with her anymore.

“That bitch.” She growled, her voice no longer filled with the dark whisperings it had a moment ago, “When I escape this magic prison, she’ll wish she had never crossed me.”

Pinkie hid under the kitchen table, and watched as the enlarged version of her pregnant friend stomped around the lobby of the library impatiently. Alpha was knocked out in the corner, and seemed to be out for the count.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of needless fighting, Twilight slumped on to the floor, and sat in silence for the better part of five minutes, causing Pinkie’s blood pressure to steadily rise.

“I know you’re there.” She said, as the table was lifted off the pink mare.

“Eep!” Pinkie squeaked, getting ready to run for the stairs.

“Stop.” The deep, commanding version of her friend’s voice boomed.

And, Pinkie complied with the request. Not by her choice, however. Her entire body seemed to lock up with fear.

“I’ve been asleep since our last encounter in Canterlot. And I need some answers.” She said, levitating Pinkie over to her, and sitting her down on her butt.

“W-w-w-what d-d-d-d-d-do you w-w-w-wanna k-k-know?” Pinkie asked, quivering so hard she could barely speak.

“My magic is weakened.” She growled, “I can feel something inside of this body… Something preventing me from reaching my true potential!”

“P-p-p-potential?” she shook, not quite understanding the beast.

“What is causing this drain on my power?!” She screeched, a powerful gust of breath blowing Pinkie’s mane backward.

Instantly, Pinkie know what she was referring to. The baby Twilight was carrying, must have been effecting the beast somehow.

“Well…” She said, looking back and forth for a moment, “Y-you really wanna know?”

“Yes!” She demanded, her glowing red eyes almost staring into Pinkie’s soul.

“Well, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much—“

////

What's the Plan?

////
What's the Plan?
////

The four ponies had made their way back to the library as fast as they could. Any amount of magic that may have been expended to teleport them there, was saved instead. Should Twilight have been out of control, they would all need to be ready.

Dash and Alex had both flown away from Pinkie and Trixie, so they could fetch their friends that would need to be present for the altercation that was about to take place.

Alex, had flown to Sugarcube Corner to collect the two ponies that had just been throwing food at each other, and for all he knew, may have still been doing it.

Dash, being the faster (fastest ever) flyer, headed for Sweet Apple Acres. She planned on picking up Applejack, and flying her back in to Ponyville herself. She was already running on pure adrenaline, so picking up a full mare wasn’t really going to be an issue.

Pinkie and Trixie were left running toward the library, where they would meet up with everypony else.

“I don’t like that mare…” Aurora’s voice echoed in Trixie’s head, ”She reeks of chaos…”

“Hey!” The chaotic Pinkie called over her shoulder, “I don’t reek of anything! Except Pie! Ohmygosh! I smell like my name!”

“I guess there’s no privacy for us…” Trixie whispered.

Aurora sighed loudly, something that was a bit odd, considering she didn’t need to breathe, before she spoke asgain.

”I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fight Twilight back this time…”

“I’ll be right here with you, Aurora.” she said softly, “Together, you and I can do anything. I promise you.”

Trixie could feel the smile her friend was giving her.

”Okay.”

////

The real Pinkie sat next to the unconscious Alpha in the corner of the library. He had taken a hard hit from the mother of his child, and was obviously going to be out cold for a while.

Twilight, stood at the window next to the door, her eyes locked on the main road. Her arrival had made a disturbance in the magical energy within the town. Her friends would be on their way.

“Twilight… I think he needs to see a doctor.” Pinkie said meekly, dabbing a paper towel on his forehead to absorb some of the green blood that was still running down the side of his head.

“Changelings can lose over two thirds of the blood in their body before they’re in life threatening danger.” She said, her amazing intellect still present within the beast, “Their blood contains a form of stem cell that latches on to the wound it’s escaping from and promotes incredible healing.”

Pinkie wanted to praise her friend for being such a genius, but didn’t really want to engage with her friend any more than she had to.

“Leave him be.” She suddenly announced, as the pink mare was levitated from the ground, and brought closer to Twilight, her gaze unmoving from the window, “Tell me. Was this the plan? To weaken me by adding a child to this battle?”

“No…” Pinkie shook her head, as she was brought ever closer to the massive black mare, “I think it happened because Twilight was being irresponsible!”

She grunted in response.

“So… what are your plans anyway?” Pinkie asked, sighing loudly as she was seated next to her friend.

“I don’t have any plans!” She laughed, finally breaking her eye contact with the window to look to Pinkie, “I’m made up of the chaos from each one of you! I’m like Discord, but a whole lot nastier!”

“Well… I’m glad you’re so… candid…” Pinkie said, coughing weakly.

“Maybe I’ll visit Celestia… Or Discord.” She muttered, her eyes darting to the left and right, “I want to see them squirm before I destroy them.”

“Destroy!?” She yelled, her eyes bugging forward, “Why would you do something like that?”

“I can’t have anypony trying to stop me,” She answered, her smile now showing off her razor-sharp teeth, “Having their heads mounted over my throne will serve as a reminder to others that might try to be heroes.”

“Taking out the competition? That’s a little boring if you ask me. That’s what Everypony always tries to do!” A voice laughed.

Whipping her head to the source of the voice, Twilight found a pair of yellow and red eyes staring at her from a dark corner of the library.

“I mean, I get it. I was you once!” Discord chuckled, levitating out from the shadows to reveal himself, “But I’ve learned to work toward the greater good. Something that we all need to start taking a long hard look at.”

“You think I’m afraid of some mysterious entity that you can’t even describe to me?” She laughed, looking to Pinkie, expecting affirmation form her, but getting none.

“You know, for such a smart pony, you really are dumb.” Discord said, his tone hardening as he stared daggers into the mare, “Defeating… whatever it is that’s coming, is going to require the unlocked potential of every Element of Harmony.”

“I am the potential of every Element!” Twilight growled, lunging forward at an incredible speed to grab Discord.

However, he simply side stepped her, as she crashed into a wall, knocking hundreds of books to the floor on top of her.

“You are the chaotic potential of the elements.” Discord shook his head, watching as she slowly got herself up from under her pile of books, “You only represent half of the potential power of the Elements. Don’t be a child and give this up.”

“You’re lucky my magic has been cut off by that chaotic pink pony,” Twilight growled, standing up as her hair fell in front of her eyes, “Once I’m free of this, you’ll be my first target.”

Discord rolled his eyes, “You’re far too dramatic. And that’s coming from me!”

Pinkie giggled quietly in the corner.

“Well, I suppose it’s no use.” He sighed, turning his back to Twilight, “I wasn’t even going to come here, you know. I was going to let this whole affair unfold on its own.”

“And what changed your mind?” She asked, tilting her head to the side, as her neck cracked loudly.

“Well, I got to thinking about that baby inside you, and started to wonder if I shouldn’t try to help out- for her sake.” Discord answered, “I suppose I have a soft spot for such weak creatures.”

“You needn’t worry about her,” The demon laughed, “She’s going to be raised to be just like her mommy.”

Discord frowned.

“We’ll talk later.”

Then, with a snap of his fingers, his body turned transparent.

“He wasn’t even really here…” Pinkie muttered, as his form faded more and more until it vanished.

“I guess that’s how he was able to float around in this magicless hell.” Twilight said, her gaze returning to the window that it had been in for the previous hours, and her eyes narrowing.

“They’re here.”

////

“So… what’s the plan?” Dash asked, standing with all of her friends a good distance away from the library, “We can’t exactly use the Elements without Twilight.”

“We’ve got Trixie,” Alex offered, looking to the blue coated pony next to him, “I was kinda hoping that she could do all the work…”

“I don’t know if things could go the same way they went last time.” Trixie shook her head to Alex, and then Dash.

“Well, even if she’s stronger, with all of us backing you up, you’ll be fine!” Rarity encouraged.

“You bet’cha!” Applejack nodded.

“Easy peasy.” Alex cheered.

“We’re all here for you, Trix.” Dash smiled happily.

Everypony then looked to Fluttershy, waiting for her encouraging statement.

“Meep.” She said.

“Good enough!” Dash nodded, trying to suppress her smile, “Now, Pinkie, what do we do next? What’s the plan?”

“Well, there’s this big anti-magic bubble around her,” She explained, gesturing to the visible pink orb that encased the entire library, “In there she’s only able to use a fraction of her magic, but she’s also safe from any of our magic reaching her!”

“Dang.” Alex frowned, “I was gonna ask if we could just leave her in there and do our thing from here.”

Pinkie shook her head.

“So, what exactly happens when you drop this shield?” Dash asked again, “We can’t try to attack her, we might hurt Twilight’s baby.”

“What?!” The four uninformed girls shouted at once.

“What did you just say?” Rarity asked, blinking rapidly.

“Did ah’ hear y’all correctly?” Applejack said.

“Twilight’s having a baby?!” Fluttershy asked, her eyes expanding to sixteen times their normal size.

Trixie’s eyes fluttered, as she tried to process the information.

Aurora even chimed in, “That’s so awesome!”

“Oh yeah, I guess they don’t know,” Alex laughed, “The two of them weren’t very safe apparently!”

“We can discuss this after we save Twilight, okay?” Dash said, once again having to be the voice of reason, “For now, we need to focus on stopping her!”

“Uh… sugar cube…” Applejack said, leaning to the left so she could see past Dash and Alex, “Y’all might wanna turn around.”

Everypony focused on what she was referring to, and instantly saw the hulking mass that was the chaotic Twilight. Her smile was large… almost too large. And the glowing red piercing through the darkness was enough to give them all pause.

“Maybe… we should just leave her in there forever.” Fluttershy said.

“But Pinkie’s trapped in there with her, remember that!” Rarity said, still shaken by the news of her pregnant friend.

“Well… we can just keep this one...” Fluttershy whispered.

The chaotic Pinkie that stood with them, had her eyes locked with dark, chaotic Twilight. The two of them were somewhat kindred spirits. Both were manifestations of an abundance of chaos, but only one had been created sane.

She couldn’t help herself, as she began walking toward the demon standing on the edge of the bubble.

The entire world as gone, as far as she was concerned. The pull to examine this creature was simply too strong. The power emanating from her was incredible, despite the dampening field, and baby weakening her.

Before she knew it, she was only a few inches away from her.

“You’ve locked me in here.” Twilight said, leaning forward until her nose touched the bubble, “Why did you do that?”

“I didn’t put it there for you… I put it there to keep Pinkie inside.” She said breathlessly, “I guess it worked out in the end though, didn’t it?”

Her smile faded, and her red eyes widened. Then, with an incredible amount of force, she slammed her hoof into the bubble, “Let. Me. Out.”

Pinkie involuntarily took a step backward.

“What are you going to do if I do?” Pinkie asked uneasily.

“How about this…” Twilight said, her smile returning ever so slightly, as Alpha was levitated out the door, “I won’t snap this changeling in two, if you open it for me.”

Pinkie gasped. Alpha was clearly in bad condition. His head was bleeding a lot, and he was unconscious. It would take little more to finish the job, and end his life.

“Y-you wouldn’t hurt him! He’s the father of your baby!” Pinkie stammered, looking to Twilight for some sign that she indeed wouldn’t.

“I would have liked to have her father around, but it’s optional, by all means.” She laughed, her spell pressing him right against the magic bubble, squishing his face against it like a piece of glass, “Now. What’s your answer?”

Frowning, Pinkie decided not to let the mare play with his life.

Before Twilight could react, Pinkie created a hole in the magic bubble where Alpha’s unconscious form was, then, with a spell of her own, she teleported him back toward the rest of her friends. And to finish the job, she sealed the hole once again.

“No!” Twilight shouted, bearing her teeth as she growled loudly at the mare, “You little whore!”

“Yeah yeah, sure thing.” She growled, not happy at all with the name calling, “I think I’m going to let you stir in there for a little longer.”

With that, Pinkie turned away from the beast, and began walking back toward her friends. Her heart was pounding harder than it had at any point in her life. But being strong was very important right now.

“Jesus,” Alex muttered, pouring some of his healing magic onto the wound in Alpha’s head, “It’s a good thing he got out of there. I don’t think he would have been doing well for much longer.”

“I think Twilight was planning on using him to escape the whole time,” Pinkie said, rejoining the group while hiding her terrified expression.

“Did she say what she wanted?” Dash asked.

“No.” Pinkie shook her head, kneeling to inspect the damage to the changeling, “As far as I can tell, she just wants out so she can raise hell.”

“Shouldn’t we get Pinkie out of there?” Fluttershy spoke up suddenly, “I mean- not you obviously… but your counterpart.”

“She can’t hurt her- um, or me.” She answered, “If something bad were to happen to one of the Element users, she would lose all of her power.”

“That’s a relief.” She sighed in response.

“Okay, I know it’s been asked like- a million times now,” Dash asked, sighing loudly as she eyed Pinkie, and then looked at all her friends, “What’s the plan?! If you’re just going to leave her there, we should really work something out!”

“Okay, ah’ was thinkin’…” Applejack began, stepping forward to voice her opinion, “What would y’all say if we—“

A singe, horrifyingly loud smash was heard coming from the library. The ground shook under the tremendous pressure of the noise alone.

And then it pounded again.

And again, and again and again, until it started to sound like a jackhammer.

The entire town shook as the pounding continued.

Twilight, having accessed some insane inner strength, had begun hitting the walls with her bare hooves faster than any of them thought possible from a single pony.

The only noise that could be heard over the already deafening pounding, was the screaming coming from the source of the pounding. Twilight crying out in something that could only be described as intense pain, and rage.

Alex tried to shout something to Dash, but he wasn’t loud enough to reach his own ears, let alone hers.

And then, without any kind of warning, a huge crack was heard.

What followed, was perfect silence.

And what followed that, was a deep laughter.

////

Pursuing Chaos

////
Pursuing Chaos
////

Before any of them could react, the shield was broken, and the chaotic form of Twilight was out of her cage.

And almost instantly, she blinked forward toward the group of ponies, and grabbed the copy of Pinkie by the neck with her magic, lifting her off the ground, as the pink mare squirmed in her grasp.

“Jesus!” Alex shouted at the instant appearance of the massive mare.

“Let her go!” Applejack shouted, running toward Twilight, only to be bounced away by a spell she instantly conjured.

“I’m not allowed to kill the Pinkie in the library. I need her.” Twilight growled, tightening her grip on Pinkie, as the mare’s body began to tremble uncontrollably, “But nopony said anything about sparing a copy of her…”

Everypony else was trying their best to save her, but every attempt, whether it was a spell, or a punch, was unable to connect with her. She was simply too well protected.

“No!” The real Pinkie shouted, jumping out the window of the library, “Let her go!”

Pinkie watched in horror as her doppelganger fought to look in her direction, so their eyes could meet. And when they did, the chaotic Pinkie mouthed one word, the watering in her eyes finally spilling over and running down her cheeks.

‘Sorry’

“Little ponies have such brittle bones…” Twilight said, breathlessly, as if she was profoundly happy to have Pinkie in her grasp like this.

“Come on the fuck on!” Alex shouted, blasting every ounce of magic he had into the mare, only to have her bounce it away into the sky.

“Trixie, can’t you do anything?” Fluttershy asked meekly, shaking more than any of them had seen previously.

“Whatever she has protecting her, there’s nothing any of us can do to break it…” Trixie whispered, watching in horror as the pink pony began to fight less and less.

The real Pinkie blinked a couple of times, before she remembered what her dark side had shown her, right before they merged.

Looking up to Twilight’s window, she decided that now would be a good time to use her new magic, as a huge pink aura surrounded the outer wall of the second floor of the building.

The loud smashing that followed her spell pulled everypony’s attention, including Twilight’s, to the library.

The entire wall in Twilight’s room had been ripped out, and had fallen to the ground, causing dozens of books to come cascading out. And, after only a moment of searching, Pinkie found the book she was looking for.

“Pinkie, w-what are you doing?!” Dash shouted, “We need your help!”

Ignoring them, Pinkie began leafing through the pages.

“Any last words?” Twilight hissed, her spell weakening only for a moment, to allow the mare to speak.

“You... should have…” The copy panted, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she greedily sucked in as much air as she could, “Finished… the job sooner.”

She was only confused for a moment, before Pinkie shouted from the library.

“Time to go home!” She shouted, standing up on her back legs, with one arm holding the book up, and her other pointed at Twilight.

A pink beam of magic fired from her hoof, and shot straight toward the black and purple mare.

But, the beam veered off to the left, and instead struck Pinkie’s double.

“Ha!” Twilight laughed, “You missed!”

“No, she didn’t.” Trixie muttered.

The captured copy of Pinkie suddenly gasped, as her body rapidly expanded as if it had been filled with air. This allowed her to break free of Twilight’s spell, and float well above the group of ponies.

“No!” Twilight shouted, reaching out with her own arm, just in time for the chaotic copy’s body to burst, sending a dark purple wisp shooting toward the library, where it flew into the real Pinkie.

Pinkie blinked a couple of times, as everypony stared at her from a distance.

Then, she let out a small burp.

“I knew that Twilight had a spell to pop my magical copies!” Pinkie laughed, rubbing her tummy.

Twilight looked as if she was genuinely going to have an aneurism, as she looked back and forth between Pinkie, and everypony else. It was clear to all of them that she wasn’t the kind of bad guy that knew how to have a good time.

“Forget this…” She growled, turning her gaze to Canterlot, far in the distance, “I have more pressing matters to deal with.”

And instantly, without any kind of magical indicator, she vanished. One moment she was there, the next she was gone.

“Jesus,” Alex said, shaking his head quickly at the now vacant space that Twilight had just occupied, “How the heck did he do that?”

“Did you just call Twilight a ‘he?’” Rarity asked.

“I…” Alex began, holding his hoof up, along with an open mouth, “May have.”

“What the heck is with you guys?” Dash shouted, gesturing to Canterlot with a hoof and wing at the same time, “Twilight’s going after Celestia and Luna!”

“What?” Pinkie shouted from the library.

“We need to go to Canterlot!” Dash shouted over to her.

A moment of silence followed.

“…What?” Pinkie called again.

The rainbow mare huffed loudly, flaring her nostrils at everypony.

“W-when the hell did I become the most mature pony in the room?” Dash shouted again, “We need to get going!”

“I heard that protein injections can lead to more maturity…” Fluttershy said.

Everypony paused as they looked to the mare, none of them immediately aware of what she was meaning to say.

“Huh?” Dash asked, her face scrunching in confusion, “Protein injections? …Oh Celestia…”

Alex screeched out some kind of high pitched laughter, as he pointed to Fluttershy with a huge smile, “Fluttershy said what I was thinking! Fluttershy!”

“That’s enough!” Dash shouted, her wings glowing black, “As a captain of the royal guard, it’s MY job, to protect the Canterlot Royalty! So! We’re leaving, right now!”

And with a couple of powerful beats of her wings, the group, including Pinkie, was surrounded in a black bubble, that whisked them all toward the capital of Equestria.

////

Celestia grunted as she was greeted by a completely black world around her.

Something that just pulled her from her bedroom, and dropped her somewhere very dark. The only illumination came from her own hair.

“Princess?” A familiar voice called out to her in the darkness.

“Twilight?” Celestia called back, a jolt of adrenaline running through her body as she tried to locate her student in the darkness, “Are you alright?”

“N-no…” She responded.

Casting a small spell, Celestia sent a ball of light toward the ceiling, illuminating the entire room.

“I’m in… Star Swirl’s tower?” Celestia muttered, looking around the huge room circular room, that was usually filled with books, but was now empty, “Twilight, where are you?”

“Behind you…” She said weakly.

Realizing that the source of the voice was directly behind her, Celestia turned around, and shrieked at the monstrous pony that now stood in front of her, as she frantically tried to get herself away from it.

“You know, I always loved this tower,” Twilight spoke, giving the Princess a moment to compose herself, “A massive sphere, sitting on top of a big fat base, filled with nothing but books… I’ve spent more time here than I’d care to admit to my friends.”

Celestia just looked at her, still wide eyed, as she tried to take just what her student had become.

“But, just recently, I found out something else about this tower,” She continued, walking across the massive checkered floor, her hooves clicking the whole way, “You’d never see it while the bookshelves were all in place… but it’s obvious right now.”

By now, Celestia had cleared her head enough to comprehend what Twilight was saying, and she decided to let her finish whatever it was that she was talking about.

“Did you ever notice these red tiles all over the place?” She asked, looking over her shoulder to the Princess, “Just randomly placed?”

She uneasily nodded in agreement.

A smile grew on Twilight’s face, as her horn began to glow, and a black aura surrounded the red tile at her feet.

“Did you know, that this tower was made to be malleable?” She asked.

“Malleable?” Celestia asked.

Concentrating, the black aura lifted the red tile out of it’s place.

Celestia went wide-eyed as she felt herself be thrown into the floor.

It took her several seconds to realize just what was happening. At first, she thought that Twilight had forced her into the floor, by increasing gravity, or with some other kind of spell. But, it quickly became apparent that the tower they were currently in, was being risen upward.

////

Rainbow Dash, and the rest of her friends, who had only arrived a few minutes before, all stood in awe, as they watched the largest tower in Canterlot Castle, begin to rise even higher from the ground.

“W-what’s going on?” Trixie asked, as a huge crash of thunder bellowed from the sky.

As far as any of them could tell, the base of the tower was actually three or four times longer than they all originally thought, it had simply been collapsed into itself, ready to be extended, whenever the need arose.

“Since when did the tower do that?” Dash muttered, blinking as she watched it grow higher and higher yet.

“It’s likely got something to do with our dear Twilight,” Rarity sighed, using her hoof to brush some hair away from her eyes, “We need to get up there!”

“Alright everypony,” Dash said, turning around, “We need to storm this place! And if we all work together, along with Trixie, we should be able to stop Twilight before she does something that she won’t be able to forgive herself for…”

Again, a blink of lightning lit up the sky, and deafened the ponies on the ground.

They all nodded in agreement silently.

“Good luck, everypony.” Dash said solemnly.

Ascension

////
Ascension
////

“How long are these effing stairs?” Alex called upward, looking at the rear ends of all of his friends as they continued up the seemingly endless spiral staircase, toward the rooftop, where they would once again confront Twilight.

“Longer than I remember… We’ve been walking for almost a half hour now…” Dash huffed, wishing that the hallway was large enough to accommodate flight.

“Y’all are a buncha’ babies!” Applejack laughed, looking over her shoulder at the couple lagging behind the rest of the group, “Been spoiled by those wings’a yours.”

“I would have flown right up to the top, but Twilight put that dumb wall around her.” Alex sighed, rolling his head on his shoulders, “But no. She decided to go right for my weak point. Stairs.”

“I’m getting very sick of all this anti-magic as well,” Rarity said, referring to yet another magic barrier that had been placed on the building, preventing any spells from being cast while inside, “It’s just so bland… Can’t there be a more interesting way of weakening the unicorns?”

“Those barriers always make my head feel fuzzy,” Trixie said, having a hard time making out what Aurora was saying to her.

“Amen.” Alex muttered.

“You know, for all the walking we’ve done, we sure haven’t made much progress,” Pinkie said from the front of the group, looking out a window next to her, “We haven’t even passed the top of the houses!”

“What!?” Everypony shouted at once, rushing to the window, and pressing their faces to the glass.

“Are you kidding me?!” Dash shouted, frowning more now than she had when she saw that Pinkie had been possessed, “What did that evil purple bastard do to us?!”

“I… uh… Think she used a spell to make the stairs go on forever.” Fluttershy spoke up.

“This is Mario 64 all over again!” Alex cried, leaning against a wall and sighing slightly, “Just leave me… I can’t go on.”

“Okay, you all stay there!” Pinkie called, turning away from the window as she raced up the stairway ahead of them.

After about 30 seconds of silence, the pink mare appeared, running up the stairway behind them.

“Well ain’t that sumthin’.” Applejack sighed.

“You know, I had to deal with this kind of crap like this while we were in the Dark Zone,” Dash said, not happy to be thinking back to those days, “Chrysalis and I had to walk in a never-ending hallway.”

“How did you get out?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

Dash tapped her chin for a moment.

“Oh yeah.” She said, chuckling to herself, “I made a Sonic Rainboom inside the house and blew it up!”

“I don’t suppose that’s an option, now is it?” Rarity asked.

“It defs isn’t.” Dash shook her head, once again gauging whether she could even sustain any kind of flight in the tight stairwell, “No matter how I look at it, I just can’t see myself gaining any speed in here.”

“We should just go home then!” Fluttershy resolved, nodding to herself as she pushed past her friends to walk back down toward the exit.

Everypony seemed to be on the same wavelength, as none of them tried to stop her.

And, after about a minute of her slow pace, Fluttershy appeared at the top of the stairs, in front of the group.

“Oh shucks.” She sighed, “I had a feeling that would happen.”

“So, what do we do?” Trixie asked, looking to Dash.

“I mean, I guess we should smash out the window, and fly up to a higher window.” She suggested, recalling the outer shape of the building, “I know for a fact that this tower has two lines of windows running straight up it.”

“I’ll give it a try,” Alex said, “Anything to get out of this stuffy hell.”

Walking up to the window, he struck the glass with his hoof, and shattered it to pieces. Then, in an instant, he took off into the open air, and headed upward.

“What are the chances that he’s going to end up at this same window?” Trixie asked.

“Ah’d bet a bit or two on it.” Applejack responded.

And, just as they had predicted, Alex’s head poked above the glass, and his expression was one of pure frustration.

“Can you go down again?” Dash asked him.

Looking down for a moment, Alex shrugged, and simply stopped beating his wings, electing to let himself fall back to the ground.

But, to nopony’s surprise, he fell down, past their window again. And again. And again. Until he reached terminal velocity, and was passing the window every second.

“This-“ Alex called quickly as he passed by.

“Is-“

“Actually-“

“Kinda-“

“Fun!” Alex finished, flapping his wings instantly, stopping in mid air.

“But it’s also not the solution.” He added.

“Well, ah’m open to suggestions.” Applejack said, looking to Trixie and raising an eyebrow, “You got any magic left in ya?”

“Um… I don’t think so.” Trixie shook her head, before pausing as she tried to make out what Aurora was saying to her, “Actually… maybe?”

Everypony gave her a confused look as she closed her eyes, and clearly began concentrating on the fuzz in her mind.

“She says… that the stairs have a pattern?” Trixie said, opening her eyes, and looking down.

“Oh!” Pinkie shouted, tapping the very corner of the stair she stood on, She’s right! This one has a black mark!”

“And the previous step has a white mark,” Fluttershy observed.

“The next step up from her is white as well.” Rarity said, looking down at the corner of the stair, “The following one is black, however.”

“So, are they just alternating black and white marks?” Dash asked, following the colors up the stairs, “That isn’t really a pattern.”

“There’s two whites in a row down here.” Alex spoke up, as he managed to squeeze himself in the window, and make his past the group of ponies.

“Alternating black and white, until there’s two whites in a row, at which point it resumes alternating.” Rarity said, nodding to herself, “That sounds to me like piano keys.”

“I’m not singing anything.” Alex said quickly, “I haven’t had to sing so far, and I don’t plan on starting.”

“You’ll sing if it gets us out of this damn stairwell.” Dash growled.

“You know, maybe if I had started dating Applejack instead, I wouldn’t be getting bossed around so much right now.” Alex said, hiding his shit-eating grin from the rest of the girls by looking away.

“Ah’ don’t want’cha.” Applejack said simply.

“Okay, well, Pinkie then!” Alex said, looking to her, silently hoping that she would at least pretend that she’d date him.

“You’re right about that,” Pinkie nodded, with a wide smile, “I wouldn’t ask you to sing.”

“See?” Alex asked triumphantly, “Maybe I should—“

“I heard you singing one day in the shower, back when you lived with Twilight.” Pinkie continued, cutting him off, “you’re terrible!”

“Oh…” He frowned.

“Okay, enough messing around,” Rarity announced, “We need to figure out just how we’re going to progress from here.”

“Well, it seems to me that we need to step on the steps in a certain order.” Trixie said, inspecting the walls in their endless staircase for a hint they might use, “Can anypony see anything in here that might offer a solution?”

Dash walked her way upward, staring at the roof, in the hopes of seeing something herself.

However, after another ten minutes of nonstop searching, nothing was found. The stairway offered no answer to them.

“So what the heck are we supposed to do?” Dash asked, looking between all of her friends, as they all gave her an equally stumped look, “Can anypony think of a song that might work?”

“Well, do we know how to play the keys in the first place?” Alex asked, looking at the floor, and banging his foot in to it, “I’m not hearing any music right now.”

Dash just groaned, as she sat down on the stairs.

////

“How many times do I have to say this!” Twilight bellowed, sitting in front of the bound Princess Celestia, and Luna, who were suspended from the ceiling by their front legs, “I’m not looking to take over Equestria! I just want to remove anypony that might stand a chance at killing me!”

“I couldn’t kill you, Twilight!” Celestia said, leaning forward as much as she could, “Neither could Luna!”

“I know you think that now, but after I’ve burned down a town or two, you might change your tune.” She sighed.

“Then why haven’t you done anything yet, Twilight?” Luna asked, obviously putting extra emphasis on using her name, “Why not just kill us then?”

Twilight smiled wickedly, and tilted her head slightly, “Oh, I’m sure you’re thinking that somewhere, deep down, I couldn’t hurt you either…”

“You’re right,” Celestia said flatly, “I don’t think you could. Between the mare you came from, and that baby I can sense within you… I don’t believe you could do any of the things you’re threatening.”

“Indeed.” Luna nodded.

Twilight frowned, as she walked toward the pristine white mare. “I’m not like the chaotic mares that you’ve been used to. There is nothing in me that you’d ever recognize.”

Then, with a single motion, she reached forward and grasped Celestia’s right wing with her hoof.

And, with a combination of magic, and force, she promptly ripped it from it’s place.

////

Confronting Chaos

////
Confronting Chaos
////

“This is driving me crazy!” Pinkie shouted, her body almost vibrating within the small stairwell, “W-what are we even supposed to do? There’s no sheet music! There’s no nothing!”

“It’s a shame Twilight isn’t here,” Rarity said, placing a hoof under her chin, “She used to have a body pillow of Starswirl in the library. She would probably know his favorite song as well...”

“Really?” Dash asked, “I never saw it.”

“Oh, it was usually hidden away,” Rarity mumbled, regretting giving that secret away so carelessly.

“Well I can’t blame her,” Alex shrugged, “I met the guy. He wasn’t too bad, for his age.”

“Why is everypony being so casual about this!?” Pinkie shouted, “I’m not meant to stay in the same place this long!”

“Well what would you have us do, Pinkie?” Rarity asked, “It’s not as if any of us have a way of getting out of this hallway!”

“Pinkie, you should try relaxing, and smiling, like me!” Fluttershy said softly, placing a hoof on her friends’ shoulder, “Just think… the longer we’re trapped here, the safer we are!”

It was at that moment, that Pinkie literally began to vibrate.

“I can’t take it!” She shouted.

////

“Sister, can you hear me?” Luna asked hopefully, looking to the hanging form of the white princess next to her.

However, she was long past the point of being able to speak. The hole in her side had only somewhat been healed by Twilight, and was still oozing blood, which had began to harden down the side of her still form.

Luna, wanted to beg Twilight for assistance, or to tell her to fight back against the demon inside of her… but she feared what might become of her if she did.

“So… what should I do first?” Twilight said aloud, her gaze lingering over all of Canterlot, and the distant Ponyville, “Perhaps I should deal with that blue mare first… she’s been able to contain me before.”

Luna knew she was referring to Trixie, but again, held her tongue, and hoped silently that help was on the way.

“She’ll be here soon enough, I suppose.” She finished, turning around to face her two captives.

Luna grimaced as Twilight smiled to her.

“I know you’re scared… worried that I might rip your wings off… but you don’t have to worry about that just yet.” She said, “Any moment, the Elements of Harmony are going to solve the piano puzzle in the stairwell, and make their way up here. And when they get here… you’re going to watch as I bring all of my chaotic friends out from within them.”

“So you did have a plan…” Luna said deeply, “Or did you just come up with it on the spot?”

“Well, to be honest, I was working through the trove of information in my head that Twilight has tried to keep from me.” Twilight said, leaning in toward Luna and smiling, “But after some work, I think I’ve found a way to rip the ponies away from the dark sides that they all accepted.”

“That’s impossible.” Luna shook her head, “Those ponies fused with their darker sides! They don’t just come back out! It’s impossible!”

“Up until a few months ago, Twilight would have agreed with you,” She said, taking a step back from the princess, “But, do you remember how Dax, Alex’s dark side, magically showed up again to deal with Dash and her dark side?”

Luna was silent. That particular detail had slipped her mind.

“That shouldn’t have been possible either.” Twilight continued, running a hoof over her chin as she spoke, “I deduced that the broad acceptance of his dark side led to the idea of his dark side overtaking his original personality.”

“That makes no sense.” Luna growled.

“Sure it does!” Twilight laughed, cracking her neck to the side, “Whether or not he realized it, he’s spent the last few years turning into his dark side. The Alex we know today, is far from the one that originally came to Ponyville. He’s crass, rude, and much more enjoyable, if you want Twilight’s true feelings on the matter.”

“So what?” Luna demanded, “Just because he embraced his dark side to such an extreme extent, doesn’t mean that the others will do the same thing!”

“I don’t need them to do the same thing!” She chuckled, “All I need, is to push their minds in the right direction! I’ll knock them all out, and foster thousands of horrible images into their dreams- well, to them, it’ll be as real as the conversation we’re having right now.”

“And from there?” Luna asked.

“After they’re exposed to enough stimuli, their personalities will fundamentally change to conform with their chaotic sides.” She continued, “Do you understand? I could give them nothing but pleasant dreams, and they’d start to show less of their chaotic sides. So if I show them horrific dreams instead, the opposite would happen.”

Luna didn’t answer. Everything she was saying made perfect sense.

“And once they’re transformed, they’ll follow me in to battle.” Twilight said, looking up to the sky, “And, when the… entity…. arrives that’s been threatening our world, I’ll raze it from the planet in an instant.”

////

Pinkie was literally vibrating in place, causing all her friends to worry a significant amount. They had seen her nervous before, but being trapped in the tight hall was starting to make her seem a little bit scary to some of them.

“Pinkie…?” Dash asked, leaning in front of her, and staring her in the face, “Are you okay?”

“I… I dunno…” She said looking quickly between Dash and Fluttershy.

“Are you any closer to solving the puzzle, Rarity?” Fluttershy asked her, gazing over Pinkie’s hair to the white mare behind her.

“I’m afraid I’m all out of possible solutions,” Rarity sighed, sitting down a few steps above the rest of her friends. “There is nothing in this tower that even resembles a clue.”

Pinkie began shaking more.

“You need to calm down, Pinkie.” Trixie said, “If we stress out, it’s not going to get us anywhere.”

“You have to be a little curious how this is going to end,” Alex muttered in Applejack’s ear, “Pinkie’s never acted this way before.”

She frowned slightly, but nodded.

“Uh, Pinkie?” Rarity spoke up, taking a couple of steps toward the mare, “What ever is that on the back of your neck?”

Pinkie didn’t respond.

Trixie, being the closest to her back, walked down and moved her hair to the side, revealing a small glowing aura on the back of her neck, that seemed to be growing.

“It looks like magic.” Trixie said, looking up to Rarity, and then back to the girls below.

“How is that possible?” Dash asked, trying to cast a spell herself, but having no luck.

“Ponies have been known to do some amazing things, in regards to magic, if they’re in the right kind of situation.” Alex said, remembering his magic lessons from so many years ago, “It’s a kind of… hysterical strength.”

“So, Pinkie is so nervous, that she’s overcoming the anti-magic field?” Dash asked, looking over her shoulder toward Alex and Applejack, “Could we… use that?”

They all turned to face Pinkie.

“It could also be that she still has extra chaotic magic in her,” Trixie observed.

“Well, no matter what it is, I don’t think we’re going to have to solve this dumb piano puzzle.” Alex laughed.

////

“It sounds to me like ruling Equestria is going to happen whether you like it or not.” Luna said, her eyes locked with the monstrosity in front of her, “After all, you’re already talking about keeping it safe from those who wish to do it harm.”

“I only care about it enough to ensure I can still live here.” She scoffed.

“Well, you and your baby.” Luna said slowly, narrowing her gaze.

“You have no idea how lucky you’ve been so far,” Twilight growled, looking down at her stomach, which was in no way showing, “This parasite has caused me nothing but trouble. It will leech off my power for far too long.”

Luna smirked.

Twilight scowled.

“You think it’s funny? Satisfying? What I deserve?” Twilight asked, approaching the princess, as her horn began to glow, “Well, then I suppose I should think about what you deserve. One wing? Or none?”

As the same spell that had just been used on Celestia gripped around Luna’s left wing, she closed her eyes in anticipation of the agonizing pain that was sure to follow. However, before anything happened, the spell weakened, and then disappeared completely.

“What is that?” Twilight said out loud, as Luna opened her eyes to look around the room.

“…what?” Luna asked.

The possessed mare didn’t answer. She only looked to the hidden entrance to the never-ending stairwell, as a beam of light began shining through the bricks in the floor.

“Cheaters.” Twilight muttered.

The blocked floor was blown open by a pink laser, and only moments later, seven ponies ran up through the new hole in the floor.

“Well, it certainly took you long enough,” Twilight rolled her eyes, “Couldn’t solve the puzzle I assume?”

“How did you expect us to?!” Pinkie shouted, her eye twitching as the massive buildup of magic around her began to fade, “We looked everywhere! There weren’t any clues, there wasn’t any music coming from the steps!”

“The solution was simple!” Twilight barked, “The bells on Star Swirl’s hat each played a different note when rung, and harmonized with one another! The seven of you needed to step on those keys at the same time, and it would have chimed, and opened the path!”

Each of their jaws hit the floor at the same time.

“How could we have possibly figured that out!?” Applejack shouted.

“That’s an insane puzzle!” Trixie added.

“Bullshit!” Twilight shot back, “I could have solved it!”

Everypony rolled their eyes.

“What a surprise, Twilight can solve puzzles better than the rest of us.” Dash said.

“Princess!” Fluttershy shouted, bolting past everypony, so she could reach Celestia.

“Oh no you don’t!” Twilight said, as a spell surrounded Fluttershy, and dragged her back to the rest of them, “Don’t you worry about her!”

“What did you do to her?!” Fluttershy demanded, tears welling in her eyes at the sight, “Her wing is gone!”

“She’s alright…” Luna’s soothing voice said from beside her sister, “Don’t worry about us right now.”

The yellow mare bit her lip and nodded.

“So, is this going to be your throne room when you take over Equestria?” Alex asked, “Looks like you’ve redecorated.”

“I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again,” She rolled her eyes in a very Twilight-like way, “I’m not going to rule anything!”

“That’s crap.” Applejack spoke up, “If everypony’s afraid of ya, there’s no difference.”

“Well, I must say, that ruler or not, you certainly don’t look the part.” Rarity chimed in.

“And you’d need a cool name,” Alex said, “Twilight Sparkle is kinda boring, don’t you think? Maybe change it to something like… Midnight Sparkle! Oooh! That sounds good!”

“Don’t give her any ideas…” Dash sighed.

“I think it sounds good too!” Pinkie nodded rapidly, a smile on her lips.

“It’s almost like we’re all friends here.” Twilight muttered, her patience surprising most of the ponies in the room.

“So why did you drag us up here then, if it’s not to show off your new pad?” Dash asked, looking around the tower slowly, “To have some kind of epic showdown with us, right?”

“Of sorts.” She responded, clearly happy that they had moved past the inane conversations, as her horn began to glow, “But I’d like to think that it’s more of an immediate surrender, on all of your parts. After all, what magic can any of you use anyway?”

Nopony could react before they were all blasted with her chaotic spell, which left all of them bound in black energy. The only one who was spared, was Trixie, as the spell didn’t make any attempt to grab her.

“H-hey! No fair!” Pinkie said, reaching down to bite the black ribbon that had wrapped around her, “We didn’t even get to try to fight you!”

“I think that was the point,” Rarity grumbled.

Alex struggled against the magic, but had just as much success as the other girls fighting for their freedom. None.

”Trixie.”

“Aurora?” Trixie said aloud.

“No!” Twilight shouted, her gaze instantly on the blue mare, “You and your friend won’t be interfering with my conquest again!”

Twilight rushed toward the blue mare with a single teleportation, and, using a spell that gave her a rudimentary hand, gripped Trixie by her neck, lifting her off the floor.

“I’m done worrying about you, and the unknown factor you present to me.” She said, walking the oxygen deprived mare over to the largest stain glass window, “At least you can experience what it’s like to be a Pegasus for a few moments.”

Trixie fought against the grip, but her hooves found no purchase on the hand around her neck. And before she could try anything else, Twilight wound up, and threw her into the glass, shattering it as her body exited the tower and plummeted toward the ground.

“Trixie!” Everypony shouted at once.

Twilight turned back to face the horrified ponies in the center of the room.

“Are you all still awake?” The chaotic beast asked, “I think it’s time you all took a nap.”

Then, with a snap of her magical fingers, the Elements of Harmony all fell unconscious.

“Watch closely, Princess.” Twilight said, “You’re one of only two ponies in existence that’ll witness the corruption of true harmony.”

////

Author's Note

Sorry it took so long, I wound up changing things twice before I settled where it is. Needed to work something complicated out that I'm going to be using later.

The Horrible Plan

////
The Horrible Plan
////

”Trixie”

“Is… Trixie dead?” The blue mare asked aloud in the third person, afraid to open her eyes and see the damage that had been done to her body by the fall.

“No. You’re safe right now.” Aurora’s voice rung through her mind, “And you know I hate it when you refer to yourself like that.”

Trusting her, she opened her eyes and was, instantly greeted with a lot of white space around her.

“Where are we?” Trixie asked, squinting as her eyes adjusted to the whiteness around her.

“We’re inside your mind,” Aurora said, “Safe and sound from the world outside.”

“Wait- where’s Twilight? And the rest of my friends?” She asked suddenly, standing up and taking a step backward, only to bump in to the mare standing behind her.

“It’s okay!” The small mare responded, placing a hoof comfortingly on Trixie’s shoulder, “Nothing is happening to them… right now.”

Turning around to face Aurora, Trixie felt a rush of happiness run through her veins at being able to see her dear friend once again. It almost mode her forget about the catastrophe going on in the outside world.

“It’s so nice being able to see you,” She said, her eyes beginning to water, “What the heck did you do?”

“As soon as Twilight threw us clear, I used a spell to slow time down by a huge amount.” She said, wrapping her arms around Trixie’s neck, “I can keep us here for a while like this.”

“I don’t suppose we could stay in here for a few weeks while I catch my breath, huh?” She asked the resident in her brain.

“I’m afraid not. I could give us an hour, but that would be it.” She said apologetically, pulling back from their embrace, “We should make the best of it, planning what we’re going to do next.”

Trixie tilted her head slightly, “Did you have something in mind?”

Aurora nodded slowly, frowning just enough to give her friend pause.

“What’s wrong?” Trixie asked, “Are we going to be able to beat her?”

“Yes… I think.” She said, looking away from her friend as she bit her lip, “But it’s not a plan you’re going to like.”

“Why do you say that?” She asked, walking around Aurora to find her gaze once again.

“I’ll die.”

////

Twilight laughed to herself as she watched the Elements of Harmony writhe in their unconscious state. As soon as Trixie was clear of the tower, she used a spell to put them all in to a deep sleep, giving her the ability to feed nightmares into their heads.

“Dreaming is such a wonderful thing,” Twilight said aloud, making sure Luna could hear her, “You can experience the greatest adventure of your life in just a couple of hours. Or, in this case, you can experience a lifetime of horror. Enough to make you a completely different pony.”

“They are stronger than you think, Twilight,” Luna said confidently, “You won’t sway them.”

“You should know better than anypony what it means to give yourself up to chaos.” She returned, looking over her shoulder with a wide smile, “And if you are right, I’ll just force them to experience another hundred years of nightmares.”

Luna scowled as she spoke under her breath, “Please be stronger than I…”

////

“No!” Trixie shouted, shaking her head as she turned away from Aurora, “I refuse to do that! Trixie would never forgive herself!”

“I’m sorry!” Aurora pleaded, tears welling in her eyes, “But you need to look at this from an objective place! If we don’t stop her now, she’ll hurt all our friends! Maybe even kill them all!”

Trixie exhaled, and shook slightly as she mulled over what needed to be done.

“But… you’d die…” Trixie said quietly, her voice breaking as she spoke, “I don’t know that I could live with myself if you left me again…”

The yellow mare sighed softly.

“Trixie, you need to listen to me,” Aurora said, her body blowing like tiny grains of sand in the wind, over toward her friend, where she reassembled, “I can’t tell you how happy I was to wake up in your head. But… I can’t stay in here forever. It’s not living, being in here all alone.”

“You’re not alone!” Trixie argued, shaking her head as her tears of happiness were replaced by a torrent of sad ones, “I’m here! The- the other ponies in town are here for you too! W-we could… we could see you all the t-time!”

Aurora shook her head simply, wrapped an arm around Trixie's neck, and placed her head in her chest as the blue meare she broke down

This was the way things needed to be, and both knew it. Neither needed to be convinced, but that didn’t stop them from both from hating the harshness of reality.

“We don’t have any time to spare. We need to get to your friends right now.” Aurora said softly, wishing that she could let her friend embrace her for a longer period.

Trixie didn’t answer for a couple of moments, as she tired her best to find composure. Her sobs lessened over time, and eventually stopped, being replaced by a silent quiver.

“W-where exactly do we start?” She asked, looking up to her friends’ face, putting more effort into remaining calm than anything else.

“Twilight’s power isn’t complete,” Aurora said, looking down to her friend with a soft smile, “The chaos from the elements has been suppressed by her baby.”

Sighing, Trixie pulled away, and cleared her throat.

“Okay. So she’s going to be weak until she gives birth?” She asked.

“No.” She shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment, “She’s worked out that she can enhance the chaos inside the Elements. And as the chaos grows, so does her power.”

“How is she ‘enhancing the chaos’?” Trixie asked, blinking and rubbing the tears from her eyes.

“Well… By inducing a dream state in your friends, she’s going to bombard them with negative imagery, until their personalities are fundamentally changed.” Aurora explained, waving her hoof, “In the same way that I’ve slowed down time, she’s used a similar spell, in conjunction with the usual time stretching effects of dreams, to give your friends year’s worth of horror, in a very short amount of time.”

Trixie blinked as she processed everything complicated that Aurora had just explained to her.

“If we can break the anti magic barrier, and stop her from growing stronger, I should be on even ground with her, for one more battle.” She continued, tapping her chin as she worked out the finer details of what needed to happen next.

“Wait- how do you know all of this?” Trixie asked, “No offense… but you weren’t this kind of genius before you moved in to my head.”

Aurora smiled and chuckled.

“You’ve spent a lot of time around Twilight,” She explained, “I’ve absorbed some of her intellect just by being around her. In fact, I’ve taken in all sorts of traits from the ponies that are in danger up in that tower… I sometimes find myself craving a huge party, or a night alone with Spike. It’s all very strange.”

Trixie was surprised, but knew that trying to work out the reasoning behind her attitude change would be nothing more than a waste of time.

“I sometimes find myself… well, losing myself.” Aurora admitted quietly, “As time has passed, I’ve felt less like myself, and more like some crazy culmination of the Elements of Harmony.”

Both fell silent as she said this for a few moments, before Trixie finally spoke up.

“So, how long would you even have left, before you stopped being you?” Trixie asked, focusing on a completely irrelevant subject.

“Don’t worry about it, Trixie.” Aurora said, smiling weakly, “That time isn’t going to come either way.”

“But- what then?” Trixie stuttered, “Your days with me were always numbered? Was is it my destiny to lose you so many times?”

Aurora felt a spike of anger run through her, probably coming from Dash, or perhaps Rarity.

“You got me twice!” She fired back, losing her own emotional control for a moment, “That’s more than anypony else gets! I didn’t get my dad back after he died! I never got to meet my mom! Don’t look this gift pony in the mouth!”

“I-I know!” Trixie said back, her tears once again running down her cheeks, “But if you had gotten your family back… you’d be saying the exact same thing that I am right now…”

Aurora felt a bit of stubbornness surge through her, likely coming from one of the Elements, “But I’m not in your position! And right now, nothing is more important than rescuing your friends, and saving Equestria!”

Trixie sighed.

“What needs to happen then?” She asked.

“Two things.” Aurora said, forcing herself to keep on topic, “We destroy the anti-magic barrier, and we infiltrate the dreams of your friends.”

“We can- wait, how do we do either of those things?” Trixie asked, wiping her nose on her arm.

“The anti magic barrier is nothing more than a spell maintained by Twilight,” She explained, relying on that very mare’s intelligence to defeat her, “If we cast anything stronger than the amount of power she’s putting into it, it’ll shatter. Anti-magic fields are vulnerable from the outside.”

“But… she’s way stronger than we are!” The blue mare pointed out, “How could we overpower her?”

“A large amount of her power has been dedicated to corrupting your friends,” She answered, scratching her chin, “If we surprise her with a burst of energy, we can smash through it, then, before she knows what’s happening, we jump into your friends’ dreams with a different spell I learned from Twilight.”

“And from there?” Trixie asked.

“We save your friends from their time stretched nightmares, and cut off Twilight from her new power source.” Aurora continued, looking Trixie in the eyes as she finished, “If everything goes according to plan, thanks to the time slowing spell she used, all of this will happen over the course of only a few seconds.”

The blue mare nodded.

“Then we take advantage of that initial shock.” She said slowly, sighing as she continued, “And I jump from your mind to hers, where I can use my copious amount of harmonious magic, to cancel out her copious amount of chaotic magic.”

“And then… both you, and the evil energy controlling Twilight, will die.” Trixie said, closing her eyes.

“…yes.” She nodded.

Trixie breathed in and out for a moment, opening her eyes and looking away from her friend.

“I wish I had more time to process this.” She said softly.

“We don’t have a moment to lose, Trixie. I’m sorry. But… are you ready?” Aurora asked.

Looking back to Aurora, Trixie gave her most determined face, and nodded.

////

One Final Stopover

////
One Final Stopover
////

Trixie, Aurora, and Fluttershy had truly burned through their friends’ various dreams, saving each of them as they went. The process largely sped up when Trixie realized that it was faster to take them to the next dream before Aurora removed the spell brainwashing them.

They took Rainbow Dash to see Rarity, who was having a horrible time trying to control the weather. Dash realized what she loved to do, when she cleared the sky for her unicorn friend. The spell was broken instantly.

Applejack was convinced that she was a seamstress, and was hellbent on making a beautiful dress. As soon as Rarity sat down in front of the sewing machine, she remembered her true calling, and Aurora was able to remove the necklace from her.

Pinkie Pie was convinced that she needed to run the Apple farm, and spent the last few months of her time working herself harder than even Applejack would. When the orange earth pony appeared back on her farm, it only took a single buck on a tree for everything to come back to her. The chaos was removed from her as well.

Finally, Pinkie was taken back to Fluttershy’s dream, where her natural born entertainment ability was able to break through to the impossible crowd, and cause the biggest party in Ponyville’s history to instantly break out. The curse was removed from her as well.

They all now stood in the Ponyville Library, with only one pony left to save.

“I guess it makes sense that Alex wouldn’t have had his cutie mark switched,” Trixie said to Dash, as the pegasus paced back and forth, clearly worried, “He didn’t have one in the first place, so he was probably subjected to something else… besides. I couldn’t see him being miserable doing any of the things you were all forced to do.”

Rarity agreed, looking to Aurora as she cast the spell that would take them all to his dream, before turning her gaze toward Dash, “Do you have any idea what he might dream about?”

“I… don’t know.” Dash shook her head, looking at the ground somewhat guiltily, “Alex doesn’t take anything seriously… but that doesn’t mean that nothing bad has happened to him. I mean, he fell from that blimp, there was Bolt’s death, when Dax ‘died,’ when he thought I had cheated on him… Those things bug him, he’s just too proud to show it.”

“Okay.” Trixie nodded, looking to Aurora, “Is the spell almost finished?”

“Almost. I’ll send them all back to their own dreams, then I’ll—“

“Wait!” Pinkie spoke up, jumping as high as she could, “We’re not coming with you to save Alex?”

“I wish you could,” Trixie said, looking at the clock and frowning, “But you all need to be in your own bodies when we break the final spell on Alex. Because when you all awake up, you’ll need to hit Twilight with your strongest spells before she can react.”

“Then you two can save her?” Fluttershy asked, as everypony looked to Trixie for an answer.

She didn’t answer. She instead looked at the floor.

“We’ll try our best,” Aurora spoke up, stepping in front of the blue unicorn.

“Well… okay.” Fluttershy said, before giving the other yellow mare a bright smile, “It was lovely to meet you, by the way.”

“Oh, yes!” Rarity agreed, stepping forward toward Aurora, “I was so glad we could finally meet you! Trixie has always spoken so highly of you!”

“Thanks…” She blushed, as Pinkie, Applejack, and Dash also approached her.

“You really did change her,” Applejack said, “Before Trixie met’cha, she was talkin’ ‘bout herself in the third person!”

“I know, I always bugged her about that,” She said, her voice wavering a bit as she spoke.

“When all this is over, I’m sure Twilight could find a way for you to come out of Trixie’s head! So then we can all have a big party!” Pinkie said excitedly, “Oh! When is your birthday? We could have like, twenty belated-birthday parties for you in one night!”

“That’s sweet of you to say…” She began, before Dash cut in herself, “But I don’t think—“

“That’s be a blast!” Dash agreed, a big smile growing on her face, “We could throw it in the barracks if you like. Way more space, and I have the keys to the place! …Oh! We’re also doing a spa day next week, if you’d wanna come with us there too.”

“Oh, you simply have to have the VIP treatment there, it’s simply divine!” Rarity added.

“And if you’re really afraid of little critters, you could always spend some time with me at the cottage, they’re really nice once you get to know them.” Fluttershy offered.

“And if ya’ prefer somethin’ a bit more serious, you could come spend some time on the farm!” Applejack said, baffling everypony with what her idea of a good time was, “Applebuckin’ is good fer the soul!”

“Oh! And my wedding!” Dash said, lighting up as the thought crossed her mind, “You’d have to be in the wedding party! After all you’ve done for us, it’s the least we could do for you!”

Everypony had been so engrossed in telling Aurora what they’d be doing, none had noticed that she had started crying.

“Thank you all so much, I wish I had known you before I died... I really do.” She said, tears pouring down her cheeks, “Goodbye.”

Before any of them could ask what she meant by her tears and farewell, her spell was cast, and a portal appeared beneath them, sucking each pony back to their own dream, except for Rainbow Dash, who was quick enough to catch herself, and hover above the spell.

“W-what are you doing?” She creaked, her heart obviously pounding, “Why are you crying?”

Aurora didn’t answer her. She just broke down, and began sobbing.

“Uh, did you not want to be in the wedding party?” Dash asked, scratching her chin.

Trixie walked over to her friend, knelt down next to her, and placed her head on her shoulder.

It didn’t take Dash long to understand.

Five minutes slowly passed as Aurora sobbed in a heap on the floor. She was quietly comforted by both Dash and Trixie, until she finally felt strong enough to say something.

“You know…” She said quietly, her sobs finally stopped, “I almost made it this whole trip without breaking down. But then you and your friends had to go and… show me what I never had in my life…”

“I’m sorry… I had no idea…” Dash said, her heart panging with guilt, “I didn’t know that this was… the end for you.”

“Don’t apologize!” She said quickly, looking up and shaking her head, “At least I got a glimpse of what it’s like to have so friends who care about you…”

“I wish you could have met them in real life,” Trixie said, her own cheeks stained with tears, “I wish… you hadn’t been sick.”

The two embraced again, and sniffled into each other for a few more minutes.

“I know this is hard to say…” Dash spoke up again, looking at the clock mounted on the library wall once again, “But we don’t have a lot of time, if we still need to rescue Alex.”

Both Aurora and Trixie sighed, and separated. As they righted themselves.

“Did you say ’we?’” Aurora asked, sniffing and wiping her eye, “You have to—“

“Look.” Dash said, spreading her wings, as they began to glow black, “I can do your spell. I can leave after we save him.”

True to her word, a cyan portal opened in front of her. Through the portal was clearly the cottage that she had been in last.

"R-really? Aurora asked, clearing her throat.

“Wait-“ Trixie said, truly taken aback by this spell, “How can you do that? Not even Trix- Not even I know how to do a spell like that!”

“Well... Honestly… Twilight taught me.” Dash laughed, scratching the back of her head nervously, “I sometimes jump into Alex’s head while we’re sleeping. So… we can… dream together...”

She turned beet red.

Neither Trixie nor Aurora wanted to laugh, but sometimes a pony just can’t help them self.

The two, in contrast to their emotions just minutes ago, burst in to a fit of laughter that would have put Pinkie to shame.

“I-I’m sorry Dash,” Aurora said, her wet cheeks being dampened once again, “That’s so cute… it’d just never expect it to come from you!”

“Yeah yeah…” She said, itching her cheek with the tip of her hoof.

Trixie, on the other hoof, was surprised to see things swing in the opposite direction so fast. But was thankful to Dash nonetheless. She had definitely turned things around, and keeping a positive attitude was going to be a necessity for the final step of their plan.

Now, all that stood between them, and their defeat of Twilight, was a nightmare worse than any they had experienced so far.

////

The Nightmare

Author's Note

Slight NSFW language, just a warning.

The Nightmare

////
The Nightmare
////

A portal opened into the final dream, and within a second, the first foot came through, and stepped on to the grass.

Dash almost lost her balance as she walked through the doorway, as her body had been transformed into it’s human version.

“Geez!” Dash said, wobbling forward on her shaky legs, as she rapidly gained her balance once again, “I guess it makes sense that we’d be like this in here.”

“Woah!” Two voices came from behind her, as both Trixie and Aurora tumbled to the grassy ground, both butt naked, just as Dash had been her first time in the human world.

“What the heck is going on?!” The once-blue mare asked, looking at her hands, as she wiggled her fingers, “I-I don’t—“

Aurora only blinked rapidly, as she tried to work out the same information.

“We’re in Alex’s dream!” Dash said, kneeling and patting Trixie on the head, “He dreams this way sometimes.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Trixie asked, “Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean I’m going to be able to walk around on two legs any time soon!”

“I hate to say it… but I don’t think I can either.” Aurora said, patting her face with her new fingers.

“Just change back,” Dash shrugged, “Here, I’ll do it for you.”

A quick zap through her hand, changed the two back in to their pony versions, “Okay, now lets get to work. We need to find Alex.”

Trixie and Aurora took no time in righting themselves, as they both looked around the human world.

“Why does everything look this way?” Trixie asked, looking around the forested area with a squint, “It’s so… detailed. Like one of those weird art pieces you’d see in Canterlot.”

Aurora nodded, as she leaned down to examine the grass at her feet, “It smells the same though.”

Dash looked around the area, and saw that they were in a small clearing completely surrounded by trees. Something she had seen more than once upon entering this world.

“I’m going to do a lap, and see just where the heck we are.” Dash said, picking a picking a direction and taking off, showing off her expertise with both of her legs.

“It’s a good thing she came along,” Aurora said, looking up as she walked over toward the direction Dash had just run off in, “I don’t think we would have had much luck wobbling around on two legs.

“No kidding,” Trixie said, joining her at the edge of the clearing they stood in, “Although, I wonder why everypony had their nightmare in Ponyville, but Alex is having his in the human world.”

“It’s all made by Twilight.” Aurora said, “Everything was made to manipulate everypony… she just chose what setting would work best to have them reach her end.”

“I hope he’s okay,” She muttered.

////

Alex sat on the side of the road, his body frozen in place as he watched the four way stop in front of him.

Because Alex wasn’t associated with any one job in Ponyville, Twilight had little luck in her manipulation of him. He always found a way to not be completely miserable wherever he was stuck. So, after several failures, she used the nuclear option, and placed him back in the human world.

Now, he was forced to sit on the side of the road, and watch as a drunk driver in semi-truck blindsided his parents as they drove his truck through the intersection, which led to their instant deaths.

However, a lingering voice existed each time he watched the accident happen.

“You can end all of this.”

It was right of course. He could end this.

In front of him, on a tree stump, sat a Smith and Wesson Model 500. His fathers ridiculously sized magnum.

He had purchased it years ago, despite owning nothing more than a double barrel shotgun, just so he could show it off to Chet, and shoot cans in their backyard.

But now, Alex was offered the weapon. And every time he reached for it, the semi-truck would slow down, and stop right in front of him, giving him a perfect shot to kill the driver.

His mind was clouded, just as his friends had been in their own dreams, but the mental stress he was experiencing was one hundred fold.

He wanted to leave, but was convinced that he had to stay where he was. He couldn’t recall why, however. All he knew, was that he could escape this hell by doing one thing.

The gun that had sat in front of him had gradually gotten more and more tempting to lift as time passed, and he found himself holding it for longer and longer periods.

“One shot…” He muttered, spinning the chamber before snapping it back into position, and pulling the hammer back, “And I’m free…”

He lined up the sight, at the driver who sat just feet away from him.

“It’d be so easy…” he muttered, “But…

“I can’t…”

Opening the chamber once again, he pulled the trigger, resetting the hammer.

“I just can’t.”

He then watched as the truck regained its speed, drove for another thirty seconds, ran through a stop sign, and then crashed into the truck occupied by his parents.

Luckily for him, no matter how foggy his head was, he was still able to close his eyes.

Unluckily for him, however, all of this took place weeks before Dash, Trixie and Aurora came looking for him.

////

“There isn’t very much area to this dream,” Dash said to the girls as she ran back to them, panting slightly “I couldn’t even reach Alex’s house before the world just… stopped. It looks like the only way we can go, is down the main road just over there.”

The two nodded, and instantly began walking along with her.

“He’s got to be somewhere close,” Trixie said, “It seemed like you covered a lot of area already running over toward his house.”

“I don’t think any dream we’ve entered has been any bigger than Ponyville,” Aurora agreed, curiously observing Dash as she walked on her two legs.

“Still,” Dash shook her head, “From where you said you picked up Fluttershy, all the way back to her cottage is a pretty big area. She lives a small distance outside of Ponyville, after all.”

“Maybe we would split up?” Aurora offered, looking between them, “Then make a bunch of noise when one of us finds him?”

“I’d rather we stuck together,” Trixie admitted, “There’s something off about this place. I’d really rather not be alone.”

“Yeah,” the other two agreed at once.

“Oh, duh!” The blue unicorn laughed, looking to Rainbow Dash, “It might be easier if you turned back in to a pegasus, don’t you think?”

“Oh!” Dash’s face lit up, “Yeah!”

The other two laughed at the obvious suggestion that had been missed.

“I could find him in ten seconds fla—“

Before she could finish the sentence, a loud bang sounded out through the trees, snapping their attention to the right.

“What was that?” Aurora asked, having never heard a sound quite like that before.

“I’m not sure,” Trixie shook her head, looking to Dash for an answer, “It kinda sounded like a cannon being fired.”

“I think that was a gun,” She muttered, her expression showing that she had some knowledge of whatever they were, “Alex talked about them a bit, and I remember seeing them in movies.”

“What’s a gun do?” Aurora asked, as they began running in the direction of the shot.

“It like, shoots out little pieces of metal really fast, that will pierce right through your body. They work at pretty long distances.” She explained, grimacing at the horrible premise of such an instrument, “It was made for humans to kill animals… or each other.”

“Equestria has magic, Earth has guns…” Trixie muttered.

“Oh!” Dash said, rushing toward the edge of the trees in front of them, “I can see a truck! It’s that big metal car up there!”

The three wasted no time breaking out of the forest, and were all greeted with a sight they hadn’t expected.

Alex was standing, holding the magnum in his hand, while laughing out loud to himself.

“What?!” He shouted at the sky, tears streaming down his face, having not seen his friends yet, “You weren’t expecting me to try and put a bullet in my own head?! Ha! Well you can bet that I’m surprised to still be alive! I guess I’m just no good to you dead!”

His laughter continued, as his body shook violently from the experience, “I don’t know what world you live in, to think that I’m going to shoot some guy, just because he accidentally kills my parents, drunk or fucking not!”

The girls were all too shocked to say anything. Not only had Alex just tried to commit suicide, but he did so to protect the man who killed his parents.

“What the hell is wrong with you!?” He continued, firing off another deafening shot from his hand cannon into the sky, “Forcing me to watch my parents die hundreds of times? Thousands? Just so you could see me do something selfish? Well I have great news for you, you fucking chaotic cunt! When I get out of this hell, I’m going to rip you out of Twilight, and I’m going to burn you alive! Now that’s something selfish!”

As he shouted, the black outline of a necklace appeared around his neck, and when he looked down and realized it was there, he reached up with his left hand, gripped it, and ripped it off himself.

“Guess your plan didn’t work out, did it?” He yelled, throwing the gun down the road as hard as he could, “Well, bring on whatever you’ve got for me next!”

Nothing followed. No voice on the wind. Just silence.

“That’s what I thought. Fuck you.” He growled, spitting on the ground, as the gun on the road, along with the truck, and his parents vehicle vanished, leaving him, and the three mares standing on opposite sides of the road.

Alex instantly noticed the them as he looked down from the sky, and felt his heart drop into his chest.

“D-Dash!” He asked, his eyes wide with excitement, and his voice shaking from the rush of adrenaline still pumping through his body. “I- What- How did you get here?”

“Trixie and Aurora… we just got here…” She said slowly, looking around the area, “Did she make you—“

Immediately, Alex was filled with regret.

“Listen,” Alex said instantly, his tone lowered infinitely from where it had just been, as he staggered toward them, “I know that looked… bad…” He stumbled, trying to piece together what he had just exposed them to, “I know I don’t usually get mad! But- this needed to be said! And-and I… oh god… you don’t know what she made me sit through…”

“Alex.” Dash said, “Did she make you watch your mom and dad die over and over?”

“Yes!” He shouted, his knees giving away as he broke down on the grass, “Jesus fucking Christ… she- she’s spent the last month forcing me to watch it! Over and over and over and over and fucking over!”

Dash wasted no time rushing over to him, as she wrapped her arms around him.

“She wanted me to shoot the guy that killed my parents... if I had known it was a dream, I would have just done it!” He said, his right hand covering his face in a vein attempt to hide the emotion he was displaying, “But she messed with my head… I thought… time wasn’t going to stop giving me chances, until I took one.”

“It’s okay,” Dash said, shaking her head as she placed her hands on his cheeks, “You beat her! You didn’t break! You’re strong—”

Alex exhaled and shook his head loud enough to silence her, “I wanted to though. I really wanted to. I was dying to just shoot the bastard in the head five times so I could go home! So I could get back to you!”

“But you didn’t!“

“I wanted to!” He shouted again. “And after being forced to watch for so long… I realized that shooting him wasn’t the only escape from this hell…” He continued, removing his hand from his face, and looking up to Dash with his red eyes and runny nose, “I could kill myself! And escape the world without any guilt!”

Dash suddenly breathed in, and held her breath.

“It took me weeks to get up the guts… and up until five minutes ago, I was convinced that I was about to die!” He said, biting his finger for a moment, laughing to himself in a horrified way, “And now, here I am, being held in your arms, free from that fucking whore… how could so much happen so quickly?”

"This is all in your head, Alex." She said softly, "Everything that's happened to you has only taken place over the past five minutes in the real world."

Alex didn't answer, it clearly wasn't information that mattered to him at this point.

Still, any doubt she had in his use of language was gone at this point. After all, he wasn’t being booed in Ponyville, or forced to work on the Apple farm. This was something else entirely. And while she didn’t know why he was treated so horribly compared to the others, it clearly had a profound effect. One that none of them could have anticipated.

“Listen, Alex…” Dash said softly, leaning in and kissing his cheek softly, “Trixie and Aurora have a plan to stop Twilight. And now that you’re free from her spell, they can finally take the final step.”

“Final… step?” He asked, still overloaded by the situation.

“I know this is short notice, but we don’t have time to waste right now,” Dash said as comfortingly as she could, “You’re going to wake up in a couple of minutes. And when you do, you need to attack Twilight with everything you have to weaken her.”

“Shouldn’t we… or he… be careful?” Trixie spoke up, her heart still pounding in her chest, “Twilight is pregnant, after all.”

“Her weakened state is caused by that baby,” Aurora said, coughing quietly before she continued, “Her body is dedicating tons of magic to keep it safe without Twilight’s say. We could stab her through the heart, and the baby would be just fine.”

“That’s… a little dark.” Dash said to her.

“It’s dark, but it’s true.” She said, “It doesn’t matter what we do to Twilight right now, because once her dark side is… neutralized, that body will vanish, damage and all, and be replaced by her normal form, in perfect health. Again, that’s because of the magic dedicated to her baby.”

“So…” Alex said, blinking a couple of times, “I’ll just wake up, and attack her? What… what about the anti magic field?”

“It’s gone,” Aurora answered, “I did that before I came into your dreams.”

“Okay.” He muttered.

“So?” Dash asked, reluctantly releasing Alex from her embrace, “What should we do?”

“Go back to your body and wait,” Aurora answered, “We’ll—“

“No!” Alex said suddenly, reaching out to grab Dash’s arm, “Please don’t…”

“Alex,” The yellow unicorn said, leaving Trixie’s side to approach him, “We’ll be here with you until you wake up.”

“But… I don’t know what I’m going to do, after I wake up.” He said, blinking rapidly, “When I finally see Twilight, I might lose control of myself.”

“That won’t happen.” Aurora said comfortingly, her horn beginning to glow faintly.

“I don’t agree.” He said, almost laughing at how sure she was, “I might just kill her… long before she changes back to her normal—“

Then, a spark of magic arced from Aurora’s head, into Alex’s, causing him to pass out.

Trixie and Dash both gasped.

“What did you do?!” Dash shouted, rushing over to him once again.

She sighed softly.

“He can’t remember this, Dash. He can’t.” Aurora said, shaking her head firmly, “I’ve wiped every memory his brain has accumulated over the last couple months… or minutes, depending on how you look at it. If he could remember what he just went through, he wouldn’t be the same ever again.”

Dash sighed and fought back tears of her own. She knew the mare was right… but that didn’t make it right.

“O-Okay…” Dash said, wasting no time in creating a portal back to her own mind, “Let’s just get this over with, okay? I want to spend some time holding Alex when this is all over with.”

Aurora only nodded to her as Dash stepped through the portal, and vanished from the area.

Trixie stepped forward and looked down at Alex, sighing softly as she knelt down to dry his exposed human cheek.

“I’d hate to see what would happen to you if you lost Dash.”

////

The End of Two Chapters

////
The End of Two Chapters
////

Aurora and Trixie stood together, back in their proper body, surrounded by endless white space, about to move on to their surprise attack, to hopefully save Twilight from the entity inside of her.

“So, using the same spell that I’ve used to jump in to everypony’s head, I’ll go into Twilight,” Aurora explained to her friend, who was avoiding eye contact, “Then… I purge her of the chaos.”

Trixie sighed. She had cried over her friend’s death so many times at this point. She wouldn’t have been surprised if that number had exceeded a hundred. Could even be two. Now… she was out of tears. The last couple of hours they had spent saving their friends had given her a chance to accept what was happening. Her friend had clearly accepted it, so it only made sense that she do the same.

“Trixie?” Aurora asked, not sure if she was truly listening.

“Yeah?” She asked, looking over to her friend, for what was probably the last time, “Is it time?”

She nodded in response, “When we get up there, you’ll need to use every ounce of your power to help your friends.”

“I’m not even an Element of Harmony,” Trixie said, shaking her head, “They’re all a lot stronger than I am. Plus… how can I even get in there in time? I couldn’t have a proper teleportation spell cast quick enough.”

“I’ll... take care of that,” Aurora said.

“Okay, but are you sure I shouldn’t just focus on supporting you, instead of wasting magic?” She asked.

“No,” She responded, shaking her head quickly, “You could be the straw that breaks the camels back. Everything you have has to be directed at her. I only need to break through.”

“Okay.” Trixie said, nodding to her friend, “I’ll just use my—“

Trixie was cut off as Aurora lunched forward, and wrapped her arms around her neck.

“I’m sorry I have to do this,” Aurora said into her chest, “Earlier… when I said that living inside of you wasn’t like living at all, I… I was just lying.”

Trixie inhaled softly, and brought a hoof up to the back of her head, softly stroking her mane.

“I would have been happy to stay with you until you died of old age.” She said, her voice still muffled by Trixie’s chest fluff, “I don’t want to leave you again…”

Trixie smiled. Relieved that she wasn’t the only one that was petrified of being left alone.

“I know…” She whispered.

“But… this needs to happen,” She said, “As much as I want to be here with you, I want to save Twilight, her baby, and… all of our friends even more.”

Trixie leaned down and kissed Aurora’s forehead, while tightening the grip she had on her, “I’ll never forget you, Aurora. You… you made me a better mare.”

She sniffled back to him.

“You were the sister I always wished I had… and you made my life worth something, even if it was only for a little while.” She returned, looking up to her best friend, her eyes shimmering, “I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.”

“Neither would I have.” She returned, sniffling lightly, “Not for anything.”

Suddenly, their white void began to shake.

“This is it.” Aurora whispered, “I love you, Trixie.”

“I love you too, Aurora.” She said, her voice shaking.

////
Thirty seconds earlier
////

Twilight laughed as she watched the Elements of Harmony writhe in their dreams. “It’s only a matter of time before I break each and every one of them.”

The Elements were arranged in a large circle around Twilight, and the princesses, who were now in the center of the floor.

Twilight walked over to Alex and tilted her head, “Hmm. This dream doesn’t seem to have been working. Maybe I’ll… ramp things up a bit for him. A dead parent or two ought to fix his rebellious attitude.”

“You monster…” Luna growled, out of breath from trying to break free of her shackles, “I’ll stop you myself if I have to!”

“Oh please,” Twilight rolled her eyes, turning around to face the Princess, “You’re going to stop me? Ha! You and what ar—“

Suddenly, a deafening explosion went off, as a wave of magic tore through the entire tower, sending Twilight tumbling toward Luna.

“What the—“ she began, before seeing the events unfold in front of her.

Each of the Elements of Harmony began to glow, before they opened their eyes in unison.

”Now!”

Instantly, white beams of harmonious magic were blasted from each pony, and directed right to the center of the room.

Twilight gasped in surprise, before instantly she letting out a blood curdling shriek.

Then, Trixie came soaring through the window with a pair of glowing white wings, just as she used the last time she fought Twilight.

“You should have killed me when you had the chance!” Aurora shouted through Trixie’s mouth, as the unicorn added her own beam of magic to the mix.

Then, finally, a single gold beam, no thicker than a blade of grass fired from Trixie’s horn, and impacted Twilight, causing her to collapse.

“Go in now!” Trixie shouted, seeing that Twilight was vulnerable.

”I-I’m trying!” Aurora struggled, her voice horribly strained, “She’s still keeping me out!”

“We need you guys attacking more!” Trixie shouted, looking around the room at the already weakened Elements of Harmony.

“I-I can’t!” Fluttershy gasped, just loud enough to be heard over the magic beams, “It burns!”

“She’s right!” Dash added raggedly, “Any more magic is going to burn us non-unicorns out!”

“Alex? Rarity?” Trixie shouted, as she watched Twilight begin to open her eyes, glaring at the blue mare.

“I’m giving it everything she’s got, captain!” Alex shouted, his horn visibly turning red from the amount of magic pouring from it.

“As am I!” Rarity called, in the same situation, “Any more and I may ignite!”

Twilight’s blood red eyes, narrowed as she began to stand up.

“Aurora!” Trixie shouted, “You have to push in!”

”I can’t!” She shouted back, “She’s putting every ounce of her power into blocking my entrance!”

“You’re right.” Twilight growled, making her way back on to her four legs, “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”

Twilight began walking toward Trixie, closing the small gap between them with small steps, as she managed to survive the onslaught of magic burning into her body.

”I-I don’t know what to do!” Aurora shouted, “I can’t get in! She’s pushing back against me just as hard as I’m pushing into her! It’s a tug-of-war I can’t win!”

Trixie swallowed, as Twilight came to within an inch of her face, her horn glowing dark red.

But, instead of attacking right away, Twilight began to speak.

“You’re stronger than I thought,” Twilight laughed, a smile spreading across her lips, “But it’s time to let go, and let the strong inherit the world.”

“No!” Pinkie shouted, as Twilight raised her hoof.

“Trixie, run!” Applejack screamed, “Git’ outta’ here!”

Everypony started yelling at once for her to do something, as Twilight wound up her attack, ready to kill her in front of her friends.

But, one voice pierced through the rest.

“I’m sorry, Trixie.”

At first, the unicorn thought that her best friend was apologizing for having failed. But she was soon proven wrong.

The gold beam that had been firmly connected to Twilight, suddenly turned red.

“W-what?!” Twilight shouted, staggering back instantly, “No! You- you can’t do that! Let go of me!”

Then, red energy began pouring out of Twilight’s chest, being pulled along the red beam of magic, and into Trixie’s body.

”If I can’t beat you at tug-of war, I’ll just let go of the rope that you’re pulling so hard on!”

The process was faster than anypony had anticipated, as Aurora instantly reversed the direction of her spell, catching Twilight off guard, pulling the chaotic mare into Trixie.

The energy blasting out of her was so strong, it was blowing Trixie’s mane far behind her, as she was filled with the red magic that had once inhabited Twilight. It all absorbed into her body, as both mares collapsed on to their knees.

Trixie couldn’t say anything. She only felt an intense burning throughout her body, as the corruption spread like wildfire through her.

Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped, as the original Twilight fell over, out cold.

“I’m sorry if they hate you for this…” Aurora’s voice rung out.

”Noooooooooo! A demonic voice shouted through her mouth, as a beam of white light shot out of her mouth, and both of her eyes.

Everypony could only watch in shock.

Then it all went black.

////

Trixie groaned as she opened her eyes weakly.

She was back in her mindscape. Surrounded by endless white.

“A-Aurora?” Trixie asked softly, her body drained of all desire to move, “A-are you still here?”

“Shh…” Her voice came softly, as she leaned over Trixie’s body, “It’s all over. Just relax.”

She felt her heart leap at the voice, as she looked to the mare. But, she instantly saw that her body wasn’t right. It was… transparent.

“I don’t have long before I disappear,” Aurora said softly, “But I need you to understand what I did.”

“You beat her!” Trixie said, mustering enough energy to smile, “You saved us!”

“Not… exactly.” She said, shaking her head.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“To beat Twilight, I had to draw the corrupted amalgamation of the Elements of Harmony within you,” She said, looking away guiltily for a moment, “But once the Element was purified, it latched on to your soul. It can’t go back.”

Trixie blinked a couple of times, as she tried to process what Aurora had just said.

“What are you saying?” She asked.

“You’re the Element of Magic now, Trixie.” She said, “I took it away from Twilight to save Equestria.”

////

“What?!” Trixie shouted, sitting up in her bed, shocked to find that she was inside of an infirmary, alone in the dark.

“I left you with a final gift, as well,” Aurora’s voice said, so quiet that it was almost unintelligible, “I hope you think of me while you’re using them.”

Suddenly, Trixie became instantly aware of two uncomfortable pressures about half way down her back. Looking over her shoulder, she saw two wings, folded against her body.

”I love you, Trixie.” A final whisper echoed through her head.

“I love you too!” Trixie shouted, forgetting about the wings instantly, afraid that Aurora might be too far to hear her, as her chest tightened, “I… I love you too…”

Before she could even process another thought, she passed out once again.

////

A Chaotic Debriefing

////
A Chaotic Debriefing
////

Trixie slowly opened her eyes, her head ringing louder than it ever had in her life. The sun was once again shining in the sky, and it was beaming through the window next to her bed, right on to her face.

“Mmmm…” She groaned, raising her hoof up to protect her eyes from the glare.

“You’re awake!” An excited voice said, as Trixie looked to her left, and saw Pinkie sitting next to her bed, “Thank goodness!”

“How… how long as Trixie been out?” She asked, looking around for an indicator that might tell her how long she’d been asleep.

“Just a few hours,” Pinkie answered, standing up and stretching out her legs, “How are ya’ feeling?”

“My head hurts…” She responded, casting a spell to soothe the migraine pounding in her head, “And so does my back…”

“Oh yeah!” Pinkie said suddenly, reaching behind Trixie and rubbing one of her new wings, “Princess Luna said that she had a lot of trouble sleeping when she first got hers too!”

She suddenly went wide eyed, “I- I have wings!”

All at once, every little detail came back to her. Aurora, Twilight and her Element, and the Princess who had lost her wing.

“How is Celestia?” Trixie asked, blinking rapidly, “She lost her wing, didn’t she?”

Pinkie nodded, a small frown on her face, “It’s gone. It was too late to get it reattached. And nopony has the magic to make her a new one… not even Discord! The only hope Luna has, is that Twilight might be able to do something for her.”

“You think she could?” Trixie asked hopefully.

“Maybe!” She nodded rapidly, “She’s the Element of Magic! She’s built to do this kind of stuff!”

Trixie opened her mouth, before considering what she had just heard, “Twilight… isn’t awake yet, is she?”

“Nope,” Pinkie shook her head, her smile fading somewhat, “A lot of ponies are recovering after that big fight, and we still don’t really know how you ended it!”

“Yeah,” Trixie sighed, looking around the room once again for nothing in particular, “How is Twilight? Doing alright? What about her baby? And Alpha?”

“They’re all okay,” She said, “Twilight’s baby was checked out by the best doctor Canterlot has to offer. Nothing out of the ordinary, even after her transformation. Alpha is still resting too. He woke up for a bit to visit, but went back to bed.”

“What about you?” Trixie asked, seeing bags under Pinkie’s eyes, “You seem like you could use some sleep as well.”

“I will soon,” She said, gesturing to the door, “Dashie’s going to take my place any minute, and I’m going to catch a few hours of rest.”

“Well, why don’t you go look after Twilight till Rainbow arrives?” Trixie suggested, shifting uncomfortably on her new wings, “I’d like a few minutes to myself to think some things over.”

“Okay,” Pinkie nodded, “Dashie told us that you might need some piece and quiet.”

Trixie only nodded, as Pinkie turned around, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Sighing, she laid back on her pillow, and closed her eyes.

“Aurora…” She muttered, feeling her chest tighten at the name.

“Quite the little hero she was.” A familiar voice suddenly came from above the bed, “Tragic that things had to end the way they did with her.”

Trixie knew the voice.

“I lost my little sister for the second time last night, Discord.” She said, opening an eye to see the beast floating above her bed, “I’m really not in the mood for a conversation with you, no offence.”

“Well too bad,” he said, snapping his fingers, as the bed folded into upright position, “You and I need to talk about the little thing you stole from Twilight.”

Opening her eyes, she gave up on the thought of having a moment of silence.

“I didn’t steal anything,” Trixie shook her head sternly, “It was the only solution to the problem we were faced with.”

Stroking his beard, Discord couldn’t help but chuckle, “It wasn’t the only solution, my dear. Sure, your friend was doomed from the start, but you could have beaten Twilight with half the effort.”

Trixie gave him a grim look, “And how would we have accomplished that?”

“You erased Alex’s memory of course!” He said, slapping his knee, “I wouldn’t have minded seeing those two interact after what she put him through!”

“You saw his dream?” Trixie asked.

“Just the parts you were in,” He answered, “I’m of the belief that he would have blown her up with a single spell!”

“I think you’re overestimating his power,” Trixie disagreed, shaking her head, “He’s strong, but no better than Twilight or myself. And certainly no stronger than Aurora.”

“Well, I’d say that you’re half right.” Discord wagged his finger, slithering up to sit next to her, “He isn’t any stronger than you, your friend, or the Elements of Harmony. But! Hysteria is a powerful thing. Insanity can multiply power exponentially.”

Trixie frowned as he continued.

“A thousand years ago, when I still ruled Equestria, I was almost beaten by a crazed unicorn that had never studied magic before in his life!” He recalled, his eyes glistening at the thought, “You see, he had a simply huge family. There were dozens of them on this little turnip farm.”

“Why am I still listening to him…” Trixie muttered under her breath.

“And so, one day, I thought it’d be funny to start swapping his kids out for his precious plants!” Discord laughed out loud, slapping his leg once again, “And after a couple of weeks, he was alone in a house with a bunch of turnips that I had drawn faces on! He even began talking to them as if they were still ponies!”

Discord screamed out in laughter, rolling on to his back, his abdomen vibrating as tears poured down his face.

Trixie raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. At least he was about to tell her about how he almost died to the guy.

Gathering himself, Discord sat up and continued, after taking several deep breaths. “So! I went to him the next day, and told him that if he could boil and eat all of the turnips, I’d give him his family back! And, well, that’s where things went a bit sour.”

“Kicked your butt?” Trixie asked.

“In a sense,” He laughed, “The guy was so crazy, that he started shooting out magical beams at me! And they hurt! He chased me all over Equestria with a whole myriad of spells. Eventually, the only way to get him off my back was to give him his family back. It was a perfect example of my unending generosity.”

Trixie sighed, and rubbed her forehead, her migraine coming back, “And the point of this story was?”

“Hysterical strength is a very real thing!” Discord said, throwing his arms in the air and huffing loudly, “Alex would have turned Twilight into soup! Just like you, or anypony else would have, had you been forced to watch something so horrible.”

“You’re telling me that your thousand-year-old farmer would have been able to beat Twilight just now?” She asked skeptically.

“Well, maybe not him,” Discord shook his head, “But the Elements of Harmony make you much stronger than the average pony. So any of you would be able to.”

“I see…” Trixie sighed, her mind now brought back to the Elements of Harmony.

“Speaking of which, I almost forgot why I came here,” Discord said, shaking his head rapidly, “This belongs to you now.”

Suddenly, a large golden necklace appeared, floating in Discord’s hand. “The Element of Magic.”

Trixie wasn’t sure what to do at first, reach out and grab it? Push it away? Beg him to give it back to Twilight?

“You don’t seem very excited,” Discord said, levitating the necklace around her neck, and dropping it in to place.

“H-hey!” Trixie said, instantly trying to take it off, “I didn’t ask for this!”

Discord rolled his eyes as his magic kept the necklace held firmly in place against her fighting, “Asked or not, this is happening, little pony. Let Twilight have her baby, while you take her place on the front line.”

“B-but… I’m not an Element of Harmony! I’m just a- a mare that’s way too full of herself!” Trixie argued, giving up on the necklace for the moment, “When I first met Twilight and her friends, I almost got them killed by a giant bear!”

“Which you saved them from, if I remember correctly,” Discord pointed out.

“A dead pony would have been bad for business!” Trixie said, biting her lip as Discord smirked at her, “I- I don’t care—“

“Would you just stop?” Discord said, sighing and rolling his eyes, “This is getting painful to listen to! You’ve done plenty to prove that you’re a good mare. You just saved every Element of Harmony, for example.”

Trixie exhaled and slumped a bit.

“If you can’t see a plus side to having the Element, think about this,” Discord said, snapping his fingers, as a small version of Twilight appeared above his hand, “Now that every Element has been purified, all we have to do now, is wait for that mass of dark energy to reach Equestria. The final boss is on its way.”

The mini version of Twilight’s stomach began expanding as he spoke.

“From what I can tell, this is going to happen somewhere in the next several months. At least that’s what my antennae are telling me.” Discord said, pointing to his antlers with his free paw, as the small Twilight’s pregnancy progressed, “Now, I’m sure you know the average pregnancy period for an average mare. But, did you know that a half changeling baby will take several extra months?”

“It will…?” Trixie asked slowly.

“Yes.” He nodded definitely, “So, just think of things this way. You’re going to save a very pregnant mare from having to fight in what may be the biggest battle Equestria has ever seen. You know what’s worse than losing an Element of Harmony?”

Trixie gulped audibly.

“Losing a baby.” He said, his expression lacking all of its usual playfulness.

Trixie just nodded.

“Good, I’m glad you’ve been convinced!” He said, reaching forward and patting the top of her head, “Now, you should be celebrating! After all, you just saved Twilight, and got yourself a pair of wings.”

“Could you… just go?” Trixie asked, looking up to him, no enthusiasm in her expression, “I’d like some time to think about Aurora.”

Sighing, Discord nodded.

“I’m going to be gathering all of you in a couple of days,” Discord said, as a large portal opened behind him, “We’re going to be discussing the final plan of attack. And now that you’ll be leading the pack, I expect you to be smiling!”

Giving him her worst-fake smile, Discord gave her a thumbs-up in return as he passed through the portal backward.

“That’s the hero we all need!” He laughed, as the rest of him passed through, and the gateway closed.

And then she was alone again. Left in the depressing silence that was her new existence.

And once again, she cried.

A Lost Element

////
A Lost Element
////

Trixie stood in Twilight’s door, resting her head on the frame of the door. The mare was still out cold, and alone in the dark room. Alpha clearly hadn’t regained his consciousness, as he would have been here as well.

“Oh, Princess! You’re awake!” Pinkie’s voice came from the hall.

Turning away from Twilight, Trixie made her way over to the large room Celestia had been placed in.

“W-what happened?” She asked, as Trixie and Pinkie both came in to the room, before wincing as she turned her body slightly, “Ouch…”

“Are you in pain?” Trixie asked instantly, rushing to her bedside, “Pinkie, go find a doctor!”

“On it!” She called, rushing out of the room instantly.

Celestia sat up, and looked to her side, then Trixie, and sighed.

“So it wasn’t a dream.” She said softly, her eyes half closed as she spread out her only wing, “You stopped her?”

Trixie wasn’t expecting the sudden shift in conversation, but nodded slowly none the less, “Aurora defeated her…”

Celestia looked past Trixie for a moment, “That’s not all she did, it seems.”

“Wings, I know.” She responded.

The princess tilted her head, and narrowed her gaze at Trixie, as she ran tried to process something in her head, “What’s changed in you? You feel different.”

“Please, Princess,” Trixie shook her head, afraid of what she might say to her, “Don’t worry about me. You need to just focus on yourself!”

“You’re much stronger than the last time I saw you. Which is surprising, considering your friend Aurora seems to be gone from you now.” She said, shifting slightly to relieve pain on her side, “You’re radiating with magic. You’re almost on par with Twilight, and she’s an Element of Harmony.“

Trixie sighed quietly.

////

Twilight grunted as she was roused from her slumber by a small pressure in her head.

“Ouch…” She muttered, looking around to see where it was that she had ended up, “The hospital why the heck am I here?”

Tapping different sections of her body, she checked to see if she had broken something, leading to her being placed in here.

Then it hit her, her baby. Casting a quick spell, which troubled her a lot more than she had been used to, she ran several lines of energy through her body, checking for any part of her, including the baby, that might be damaged.

After a moment, she sighed in relief.

“Thank goodness…” She said, her heart pounding a little harder, and the adrenaline in her body working to clear up the fog in her head.

”What?!” Two voices came at once from down the hall of her room.

The distance kept her from recognizing the who the voices belonged to, but they both sounded quite startled.

Carefully getting out of the bed, she made sure she was capable of walking, and then quickly exited.

////

“How did this happen?!” Celestia asked, leaning forward more than she should have been, revealing a small red patch on the pillow her back had been propped up on, “You shouldn’t have the power to remove an Element of Harmony!”

“It wasn’t me that did it… And I didn’t want anything to do with it, either.” Trixie sighed, looking to the floor dejectedly, “Because the Element was separated from Twilight, Aurora was able to pull it into my mind, and purify it there.”

“What does that mean for Twilight?” Pinkie asked, looking between the two mares with a concerned look, “Can we put the Element back inside her?”

Both Celestia and Trixie shook their heads.

“The chaotic energy caused the Element to part from Twilight’s soul,” Celestia explained, now understanding the situation perfectly, “While it was in that form, it could have moved to anypony. But, it stayed in Twilight, due to her incredible magical potential.”

“But, when the chaos was purified- or, I should say ‘balanced,’ it bonded back to the closest soul it had access to. Which was mine.” Trixie finished.

“So… Twilight’s just—“

“An ordinary mare.” Celestia muttered.

////

“An ordinary mare.” Celestia’s voice said softly.

Twilight was frozen. She had planned on entering the room, but all the talk of her Element being taken away gave her instant pause.

“No…” She muttered, closing her eyes and charging a teleport spell.

It wasn’t easy.

“That- that can’t be true.” She said breathlessly, before furrowing her brow, “No!”

With the spike in emotion, she was instantly able to access the power she needed, and she vanished from the hallway.

“Twilight!” Trixie said, rushing out of the room, having heard her voice. But, she was gone.

////

Appearing inside Star Swirl’s tower, where she had been in her chaotic form just hours before, Twilight fought back tears as she forced herself to use her magic just as powerfully as she had these last few years.

The floor and walls had been utterly destroyed, but she pushed herself as the reason for that to the back of her head, as she tried a spell that would have tested her limits at her peak.

Concentrating, she lifted her right hoof to the side of her head, and focused every ounce of energy in her body to her horn.

Slowly, the pieces of debris scattered throughout the room were engulfed in her purple aura, and slowly lifted from the floor. Then, in her next motion, they all began spinning around her as she levitated off the floor.

“Concentrate…” She muttered, as the heat on her horn became very apparent very fast.

She tried to move on to the next step of her spell, but found herself weighed down. It was like she had been living on the moon, and was now trying to walk on the earth. The amplification effect of the Element of Magic truly was gone.

“Fuck!” She shouted, as she lowered herself back to the floor, and dropped the spinning debris on the floor, “I should have been able to fix this entire room!”

Collapsing, she let out the torrent of emotion that she had been trying to hold back.

She didn’t need to shout anything else into the room. She was content to be silent for now.

////

Alex lay in his hospital bed, still firmly unconscious. Next to him, curled up along his back, was Dash, as she silently felt his heart beating against her cheek.

He was still unconscious from the battle against Twilight, and she had worried nonstop for him since she had woken up. The memory of him in that state was still fresh in her mind as she lay with him.

How far did a person need to be pushed before they lost it? As far as Dash knew, everypony had a breaking point, and Alex reaching his was a completely normal thing. But, was he on the weak side of ponies? Or strong? What were the criteria for being either one?

An emotional pony would buckle under that kind of pressure sooner, but just being in touch with your feelings doesn’t count as being weak.

The opposite could be said of strength.

She sighed softly. Too much was running through her head right now.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked slowly, over his shoulder.

“You’re awake?” She asked, lifting her head up quickly and looking to him.

“Just.” He said, repositioning himself, as he rolled over to face her, “Between all the heavy sighing and your pounding heart, I’m surprised I was asleep for as long as I was.”

“Oh, sorry.” She said, blinking a couple of times, “I was just—“

“Worried about me, I know.” Alex nodded, smiling to her, “You know, I thought that my horn was gonna explode during that fight with Twilight. But I did start bleeding out my eye, which is pretty cool, right?”

“Shut up…” Dash said, hiding her smile at his juvenile attitude, “I’m just glad you’re okay. I was worried sick.”

“Why would you worry?” He asked, tilting his head into the pillow slightly, “I mean, it’s not like I went through anything different from you, right?”

Dash opened her mouth to answer his question, but forced herself to stop, “Right. All I remember is waking up, and attacking Twilight.”

“Me too.” He nodded, “What about everypony else? Are they okay?”

“Yeah,” Dash said, leaning forward to rest her forehead on his, “Some of the girls say they had weird dreams while Twilight had us all out cold. But I don’t remember any of them myself, either.”

“I never remember what I dream about,” Alex said, shaking his head nonchalantly, “Unless it’s a terrible nightmare, or a dream that you join me in. That makes me remember them for some reason.”

“Having your girlfriend invading your dreams? Are you sure you wouldn’t call those nightmares as well?” Dash asked.

“Wow, I was worried that I’d get a smack if I said it, so I’m glad you did it instead.” Alex smiled, leaning forward and giving her a soft kiss, “You’re so sexy when you put yourself down for me.”

Dash smiled.

He was fine.

And as long as she lived, she would keep him from reaching that state of hysteria again. She promised herself.

Affirmation and Desolation

////
Friendship Lost
////

The entire hospital ward was thrown in to chaos when Twilight vanished, especially Celestia. Her remarks just before her student disappeared were entirely off-base, and she knew that comforting the pregnant mare was the most important thing could do, despite the now reopened wound on her side, darkening her bandages.

“I can’t believe I was so careless,” Celestia sighed, walking slowly down the hallway toward the main entrance, ignoring the pain coming from the wound in her side.

“Do you think she teleported back to Ponyville?” Trixie asked, humming to herself in annoyance at the itchiness of her new wings, “Because I can ask some ponies to look around for her—“

“No, she couldn’t have gone that far.” Celestia shook her head, closing her eyes briefly as she considered her old hiding spots in Canterlot, “Without the Element of Magic, she can’t have gone any further than the city limits.”

“…Oh.” Trixie said, looking down dejectedly.

“I’ve dispatched guards to search her usual study spots, as well as her childhood home, and her old room.” She said, stepping through the open front door, and looking up at the sky, “Trixie, I think you should go back inside, and get some more rest.”

“Rest?” She asked, shaking her head instantly, “I need to help find Twilight! I stole the Element from her!”

“This is nopony’s fault.” Celestia said sternly, looking downward at the blue mare, “The truth is, the Element of Magic would have been removed from her either way. Discord had specific instructions to carry out the purge if you all failed in stopping her chaotic side.”

“I just… feel like I need to apologize to her.” She said quietly.

“You’ll get your chance, I promise.” The princess said, a little ashamed that she hadn’t seen Trixie’s turmoil sooner, “For now, please rest. Your body isn’t used to the influx of new magic, or those two new wings.”

Trixie sighed, and then nodded.

“Thank you.” She said, turning away from the mare, “I’ll see you soon.”

With that, Celestia briskly headed out in search of her student.

Trixie watched for a couple of moments, just to be sure that Celestia had left the area, before she looked toward the large tower that they had all just escaped from.

“I can feel you, Twilight…” She said, biting her lip as she felt the tremendous energy running through her body, “I’ll find Celestia after I apologize.”

////

Rarity sat with Spike in her hospital bed, both were resting their heads on the wall behind them as they each read a book, enjoying the silence between them.

Looking over to the mare next to him, Spike closed his book and sighed happily.

“Just one more thing to do,” he said, softly breaking the quiet between them, “You use the Elements one more time, save the world, and everything will go back to normal.”

“Not too normal I hope,” Rarity said, smiling at him as she closed her book and removed her glasses with a quick spell, “Without the craziness, a certain pony would still be a dragon.”

“Oh, I think you would have still fallen for me.” Spike said, almost laughing at the skeptical expression Rarity gave to him, “Really, you would have!”

“Spike, as mature as you may have been as a dragon, you were still relatively- well, young. And I wasn’t exactly in the market for a man the size of a plush toy.” She said, with absolutely zero shame in her tone, “My shallowness would have hindered any relationship from growing between us. Thank Celestia you changed forms!”

“Brutally honest with me, as always,” he laughed, looking back to his book as he quickly leafed through pages, “I only bring it up, because dragons hit a growth spurt around… well, maybe four or five years past where I am now.”

“Oh?” She asked, “You get thirty feet taller?”

“No, maybe four or five feet, though.” Spike said, turning his book to face her, showing a picture of a drake standing upright, clearly showing off its incredibly sleek form, and muscles for the camerapony.

“Oh. Oh my.” Rarity said, blinking rapidly, “That’s certainly not a bad looking creature.”

“I’m a bit disappointed that I’ll never get to see myself reach that point.” Spike said, showing little regret in his voice, “Hmm…”

“You know, while we’re on the subject, I’ve always wondered something about you,” Rarity said, looking away from him for a moment, “How long does a dragon typically live for?”

“Uh, It depends,” he answered, scratching his ear lightly, “Anywhere between several hundred, and a couple thousand years.”

“Well, what about the kind of dragon that you are?” She asked again, moving toward her intended target.

“About a thousand years,” he answered instantly, closing his book once again as he moved a little closer to his marefriend.

“Will you live that long as a pony?” Rarity asked, inhaling softly, and holding her breath.

“Of course not,” Spike said with a confused smile, trying to work out why she was acting the way she was, “I’ll be lucky to get ten percent of my old lifespan.”

“And you’re okay with that?” She asked, perplexed by his unwavering positivity, “I mean, a thousand years is a long time to live!”

“Are you kidding me?” He laughed, shaking his head for a moment, “There’s no part of me that wants to see you, or anypony else I love, get old and die, while I just keep existing.”

Rarity was stopped in her tracks.

“I… never thought of it that way, I suppose.” She said, a smile crawling on to her lips.

“Immortality is a curse,” Spike said confidently, gesturing with his head toward the castle outside of his window, “After my transformation, both Luna and Celestia told me that I should be happy with living a shorter lifespan. At first I wasn’t too sure about it, but the more I thought about it, the better I felt.”

“I suppose outliving your friends would be a tough ordeal.” Rarity said softly.

“But it wasn’t just that,” He shook his head, “I’d live long enough to see the children of my loved ones grow old and die. And their children, and their children… watching that happen so many times would make me want to spend my whole life asleep in a cave.”

Clearly, this train of thought had put Spike in a bit of a down mood. So, Rarity leaned over to him and softly kissed him on the cheek, leaving a small lipstick print.

“When you put it that way… I almost feel bad for all the dragons out there.” She said, “Although I guess most dragons live with other dragons.”

“Exactly,” Spike said, with a confident smile and a nod, “I was always a pony at heart. Even if you wouldn’t go out with me before the transformation.”

“After you said all this… I feel a little guilty for admitting that.” She said a little sheepishly, “Although, if you truly had grown into a dragon like the one in your book, I certainly would have shown a little more interest.”

“By then you probably would have been married to some guy from Manehattan.” Spike said, his smile once again shining toward her, “Which would have been fine. I’ve always wanted to be a homewrecker.”

Rarity burst in to laughter at the odd comment, as she leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I think you’ve been spending too much time with Alex, Spike.” She said, as she closed her eyes and exhaled.

Leaning over and placing his head on the top of hers, he closed his eyes as well, and thought about the ordeals that were still to come. He always found that he could dwell on upcoming crisis a bit too much, which would lead to losing hours of his day worrying. But, after five minutes, he took a deep breath and decided to take a moment to be happy with the mare beside him.

“Well, we might as well enjoy our company together now, in case the world ends.” He said quietly, opening his eyes and looking down to her.

Rarity didn’t answer. She instead let out a tiny squeak as she pressed her head lightly into his neck, seeking a more comfortable position in her sleep.

“I love you, Rarity.” He muttered, as he relaxed back in to her, “We can worry about the end of the world tomorrow.”

////

Trixie’s teleportation spell placed her at the top of the staircase in Star Swirl’s tower, only a short distance away from the mare she had just taken the Element of Magic from. Her form was collapsed in the center of the room, her hooves covering her eyes as she cried with just enough volume to be heard.

However, Trixie was unable to move. Her legs were shaking under her.

“How was that spell so… easy to cast?” She said aloud, looking up slightly toward her horn. “Is that how it’s always been for Twilight?”

Trixie was horrified as the reality of what she had done sunk deeper into her mind. The Element of Magic was a lot more than a title, and an incremental bump in magical power. It was the power of a god, stuffed into a little form.

“It’s amazing… isn’t it?” A voice said from in front of the blue mare, as she looked up to see Twilight, standing and facing her, with beet red eyes and damp cheeks, “Just how much stronger the Element makes you.”

“Twilight- listen,” Trixie said, taking a step forward, “I had no choice! You were going to hurt—“

She sighed quietly and closed her eyes. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Please, just let me—“

“No!” Twilight shouted, as a gust of air blasted away from her body, forcing Trixie to take a step back, “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me? Do you?!”

“I—“

The purple mare shook visibly as she stared down in to Trixie’s eyes, streaks of magic escaping her body as the obvious rage within her reached it’s boiling point.

“I was special!” Twilight shouted, throwing her hoof in the air as she took an aggressive step toward her, “My entire life has been about tapping the magic within me, so I could help further the study of magic! So I could protect my friends!”

Trixie looked at the floor and sighed.

“But now I’ve got nothing! I’m no better off than- than you were!” Twilight shouted, staking an even more aggressive step forward and throwing her hoof up to point at her friend, no longer worried about filtering the anger she was exuding, “I might as well pack up and start doing magic shows! Maybe I should wear a stupid cape too!”

Taking a step back, Trixie found no words to respond with. She could only feel a dry lump in her throat that seemed to push itself outward. Her heart was pounding harder than it had during any of their battles, and because Aurora was gone, she felt even more isolated. Even more alone.

“Why did you come to Ponyville anyway?” Twilight continued, turning around sharply as she shouted over her shoulder, “Was this all part of some plan to become the next Element of Magic and grow a pair of wings? So you could show me up in another competition?!”

“No!” Trixie shouted, feeling her strength return after the ridiculous accusation, despite knowing that she didn’t truly mean what she was saying, “Don’t you dare say that! You’re just angry, and you don’t know what you’re saying!”

Twilight growled audibly, as her body began to glow with magic, “I wish you had never come back to Ponyville! And once you a-and the rest of my f-friends save the world, I don’t want to ever see you again! Do you hear me?!”

As she said the last word, a blast of magic fired in all directions around Twilight, destroying the last bits of the room that were still standing.

“You don’t mean that, Twilight. We both know it.” Trixie said, perhaps too quietly to be heard.

“You made me… ordinary.” She said, her tone noticeably softer, as she walked toward the large broken window overlooking the Everfree Forest and Ponyville. “And I’ll never forgive you for it.”

She opened her mouth to reply one more time, but was cut off abruptly as a series of sparks began flying just behind Trixie.

“Twilight!” Celestia called, as a portal opened in the center of the room, “I urgently need to speak with—“

Celestia made eye contact with Trixie, and immediately sighed, “Go rest, Trixie. That’s an order.”

Before she could say another word, a portal opened at her feet, and she fell in, landing in her hospital bed that she had just woken up in ten minutes prior.

At this point in time, she was well out of tears. Her eyes were puffy, her throat was as dry as sandpaper, and she had the worst headache she had ever experienced. But, in no way did she feel any malice toward Twilight, or the things she had said.

“I know I’d be scared if I lost something that important to me…” She said aloud to herself, “I’d probably hate the pony that took it from me too.”

Sighing for what felt like the millionth time that day, she closed her eyes and muttered.

“Thank Celestia I know a sleeping spell…”

And with that, she was out like a light.

////

Author's Note

Only 2 or 3 more chapters folks. :fluttershysad:

The Odd Two Out

////

The Odd Two Out

////

Applejack stood in her hospital room, gazing out the window at the city of Canterlot in front of her. The streets were filled with hustling ponies, all going on with their days, unaware of the end they all almost faced the night before.

It made her sick to her stomach.

“How often has the world almost ended, and we’ve been unaware of it?” She muttered to herself, with no sign of her accent, her eyes being drawn to a mare with her child walking together down the road, both laughing about something. “Then again, how much would they worry if they knew how easy it was?”

Sighing, she pulled the drapes across the window, darkening the room significantly.

“Oh, you’re awake?” A familiar soft voice asked from the doorway.

“Oh, hey Fluttershy.” Applejack said, turning to her friend and smiling weakly, “How are you feeling?”

She blinked a couple of times, as she brushed her pink hair to the side.

“Uh… what happened to your accent?” She asked, tilting her head and suppressing a smile.

“Ask Twilight and her dream....” She nodded, letting out a small laugh, “It felt like ah’ was trapped in Rarity’s dress shop for months. Talkin’ like her so much seemed to make it harder for me to keep up the accent.”

“So, you don’t really have one?” Fluttershy asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Ah’… Well, I do and don’t.” She said, scratching the back of her head as she tired to piece some her thoughts together, “I didn’t always talk that way.”

“You sound good without it.” Her friend said earnestly, entering the dim room and gesturing to AJ to part the curtains a little bit, to illuminate the room once again.

“I was surprised nopony asked me about it after we escaped from the changeling council, and their messed-up world.” Applejack said expertly, with no sign of her accent in sight, “I spoke this way quite a bit.”

“But… why would you fake it?” She asked, as she sat back on her hind legs and blew her pink hair out of her face, “You had everypony convinced for- well- as long as I’ve known you!”

“Long story. It’s just quite trying for me right now.” She said, mildly worried that she would be compared to Rarity for her choice of vocabulary, “Everything is all over the place right now.”

“I know the feeling.” Her friend agreed.

“My dad, Bright Mac, Granny Smith’s son, had the accent, and he hated it.” Applejack explained, sighing softly at the thought, “He was always trying to match my mom, who spoke a lot more like I am right now. But if he got fired up, he’d slip right back into it! Which always made him more upset, of course.”

The two smiled as AJ continued.

“Big Mac and I grew up without it, and learned to speak just fine.” She said, her eyes suddenly darkening as she looked toward the floor, “But, after they passed away, I just… picked it up. It made me feel like my dad had given me something.”

“What about Big Mac?” Fluttershy asked, “And Apple Bloom?”

“I’m sure he did it for my sake...” She nodded, looking up again, “But I guess he could have been doing the same thing as me. As for Apple Bloom, she couldn’t talk when they passed. She grew up with nothing but the accent from the two of us and granny.”

“I think that’s really sweet,” She said, “The accent fits you both so well. I’m just surprised you never slip it up.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t usually give it much thought, and it just keeps going.” Applejack said, sighing once again as she ran a hoof through her mane, feeling her lack of ponytail, “But the last day has really thrown me. Usually I can fake it through the worst.”

“We all have those days,” Fluttershy said comfortingly, “The only way I can make myself smile anymore is by thinking about what I’m going to do when this is all over.”

“I like to think about Apple Bloom,” AJ admitted, smiling once again as she thought to her little sister, “She has so much left to go through. Her Cutie Mark, her first boyfriend, puberty… she’s going to be so awkward!”

Fluttershy smiled as she watched her friend go on about her little sister.

“You know, since we lost our parents… I always tried to take care of her the same way that my mom took care of me,” Applejack said, blinking a couple of times as her bright smile softened, “In a lot of ways, I’ve had to be her mother, and Mac her dad.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow and put her hoof over her lips once again, “I always thought you were a lovely couple.”

“T-that’s not supposed to sound weird!” She said, bursting out in to laughter, “Ah’m not that much of a country girl!”

The two giggled for a few moments, before continuing their discussion.

“To be honest, when I see you looking after Applebloom the way you do, I get a little jealous.” The pegasus admitted, shifting lightly as she looked at her somewhat confused friend.

“You want a little sister?” Applejack asked, “You can borrow mine if you every want a partner for the Sister Hooves— “

“No no, not like that,” Fluttershy shook her head, as she finally stood up and walked over to the window that had just been occupied by her friend, “These last few years have had me… thinking about what’s next in my life.”

“Are you talking about—?” She asked slowly.

“Do you think I’d make a good mom?” The yellow mare asked suddenly, cutting her friend off, “The way I see Twilight and Alpha getting along, and the baby that they’re having… I want that.”

“Ah’ guess that makes sense…” Applejack said, her accent slipping into her speech somewhat, “And with the way you are with animals, I could see you raising one heck of a kid.”

“I’d just love to have something like that in my life.” She said, sighing happily as she turned to look out the window, seeing a new mother that was walking away from the hospital with a bundled baby hugged to her chest, “I don’t know… it’s just the big goal I have for myself… well, once we save Equestria. It’s where I wanna be in a couple years.”

“I find it hard to look so far into the future,” AJ admitted, drawing her friends’ attention away from the window, “Ah’ guess life’ll jus’ keep truckin’ on in the orchard.”

“And that’s it?” Fluttershy asked, approaching her friend as she placed a hoof on her back, “You’ve got to have more in mind than just working until you’re old… right?”

She didn’t respond right away, as she obviously mulled over the question.

“Well, not really…” AJ said, scratching behind her ear and sighing, “Life is good right now, you know? Why mess with that?”

“But you work harder than anypony I know!” Her friend responded, concern spread across her face, “We have to schedule you two weeks in advance just so you can work out a free day!”

“Ah’ know ah’ know.” She sighed, slipping back and forth between her accent, “I guess I’ve always been afraid of growing the orchard, or hiring too many ponies… Figured we might end up with poorer quality product… or… something worse.”

“What could be worse?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well, my parents passed away on a business trip. They were going to speak to some big company that wanted to buy our product wholesale.” Applejack said, her eyes glazing over once again as she recalled the details of the fated deal her parents went to discuss, “They were going to give us enough bits to expand the orchard almost ten times. Then, pay the workers to do the harvestin’ in exchange for a discount on the price of the apples we sold ‘em.”

“Was it a good deal for them?” Fluttershy asked.

“They were bound to retire from it,” She continued, nodding as she looked back up to Fluttershy, “It was all set up by my mom’s parents, the Pear family. Ah’ guess they were lookin’ to give my parents a break, despite the rivalry between Granny Smith and Grand Pear.”

“Rivalry?” Fluttershy asked.

“That’s a story for another day,” AJ chuckled, “Either way, when they… died, the deal sorta’ went up in the air, before Granny Smith finally put it to rest. Ah’ guess she figured that workin’ on the farm would help us move on. Which it did.”

“Maybe it’s time to reconsider making that kind of move.” She said, looking toward the door as the sound of footsteps began to close in on the room they both stood in.

“Maybe it is,” She nodded, as Celestia came around the corner, and entered the room.

“Princess, are you okay?!” Applejack asked, shocked to see the regal mare moving around so soon after her injury, “Shouldn’t you be restin’?”

“I’m quite alright,” Celestia lied, expertly hiding the immense pain she was experiencing, “I’ve come to speak to you about Twilight.”

“Is she okay?” Fluttershy asked, before gasping and stepping forward, “Is something wrong with… the baby?”

“No.” She shook her head confidently, as the two mares in front of her sighed with relief, “It’s concerning the Element of Magic.”

“Ah’ almost forgot! She mastered it, right?” Applejack asked, her accent once again front and center, as if it had never gone, “What kinda super spells can that mare mix up now?”

Celestia sighed, “The Element of Magic was pulled from Twilight, and now rests within Trixie. It was the only move she could make to stop Twilight’s dark side.”

“Oh my gosh…” Fluttershy said softly, “So… Trixie is the new Element of Magic? Does she understand what she needs to do?”

“Trixie is completely willing to do whatever she needs. And because of that, I’ll be keeping her in Canterlot, so I can train her personally.” Celestia said, closing her eyes and sighing, “But that’s not why I came to find you two. Twilight hasn’t taken the news well. She’s been distraught since she discovered the truth.”

“Ah’ can understand that, alright.” Applejack said, grabbing her hat from the table next to her bed, “You want the two of us to go cheer her up?”

“Where is she?!” Fluttershy asked, “And might I be allowed to bring some of my animal friends into the hospital to visit her?”

“She’s not here,” Celestia shook her head, “She’s gone home to spend time with her mother and father. She’s going to tell them about the baby, and spend some time resting with them. Alpha will be meeting them as well when he’s back on his feet.”

“We’ll head over there right now,” Applejack said confidently, “If ah’ can’t get her feelin’ like herself again, ah’ll eat my hat.”

“Don’t be overconfident,” Celestia warned, her tone not swaying by Applejack’s silly remark, “She’s broken right now… between the baby she’s having, and the loss of her element, she’s not doing well at all. She thinks that without the Element, she won’t share a bond with all of you any more. You need to show her that she’s wrong about that.”

The two nodded, both realizing just how hurt their friend must have been.

“I’d like just the two of you to visit with her for now.” The princess continued, “I don’t want to overwhelm her at all.”

Celestia nodded slowly to them, as they took the gesture as their cue to head out.

“We’ll take care of her,” Fluttershy said as she walked past the princess out into the hallway.

“I’ll do whatever I need to.” Applejack agreed, following behind her friend.

“Also, be careful about mentioning Trixie.” Celestia said, as the two looked back “She’s blaming her for it right now. Deep down I think she knows that it was necessary, but just hasn’t reached that point yet.”

“Okay.” They said together.

“Good luck, little ponies.” Celestia said, as the two of them quickly headed away to help their friend.

Waiting until she was confident that the two were out of earshot, the Princess called out, “I… I need a doctor.”

Not a moment was wasted as the hospital staff rushed into the room to help her.

“Princess,” A white coated doctor said to her as he entered the room, “Did you speak to your student about repairing your missing wing?”

“No…” Celestia said, shaking her head as she walked carefully over to the bed, “I’m afraid that option is no longer available.”

“We’ve run out of time, princess.” He said, shaking his head with a serious expression, “I can’t in good consciousness let that wound on your side remain open any longer. The risk of infection is far too great.”

“I’m aware.” Celestia nodded.

“And you’re aware that you’ll never be able to fly again?” He asked.

She nodded slowly.

“I’m sorry,” He said, looking up to her from the chart, before looking to the stallion beside him, “Nurse, inform surgical that we’ll be closing a large open wound. Tell them that reattachment is impossible, and that priority one needs to be taken in potion use.”

“Yes doctor.” The nurse said, running out of the room.

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed.

“Maybe it’s time to fund that metal wing replacement I’ve been hearing about.”

Off the Record

////

Off the Record

////

“So, I was thinking… and hear me out!” Alex said, siting up with his back pressed to the backboard of his hospital bed, that he shared with his fiancé, Rainbow Dash.

“Nope.” She said immediately, eliciting a quick sigh from him.

“I haven’t even started talking about it!” He laughed, stretching his front leg around her shoulder, in an uncomfortably vein attempt to woo her.

“Anything that starts with ‘hear me out’ is something I’m not going to agree to.” She said, gazing right at him, with an eyebrow raised, “But ya’ know, maybe I’ll love the idea. So, go ahead.”

“Okay, so, don’t you think dying my white coat blood red would make me look super badass?” He asked, fighting valiantly to not get a shit eating grin, “When the final boss pops up, it’ll run away scared!”

“You? Badass?” She asked, shaking her head slightly as she broke a smile, “Riiiiiight. And like, two days ago when those wasps were chasing you down the street, was that badass?”

“What’s more badass than stealing honey from the world’s most dangerous insect?” He asked, feigning insult as poorly as possible.

“Wasps don’t make honey.” She said, her own smile growing as he lost his composure in his act.

“Well, there could have been something delicious in there that wasps do make…” Alex said, leaning his head on hers and sighing, “I think I’ll just surprise you with the dye job one day.”

“There’s only one pony that could pull a full coat dye off, and we both know that Rarity’d kill you before helping change your ‘clean’ look.” Dash shook her head, indulging his joke more than she had meant to.

“Clean?” He asked, scratching his chin with his free hoof, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Minus the gray spot, you’re fairly similar to her in color scheme. Plus, you’re kinda small and innocent looking, for a stallion.”

“I- I’m not small!” He retorted, his cheeks burning slightly.

“It’s true!” What with the smaller than average wings… and that horn is a few inches shy of average too.” Dash said, smiling at her own inadvertent dirty joke, before deciding to double down, “Oh, and by the way, Rarity says that Spike’s horn is much thicker.”

“What?!” Alex said, sitting upright and pulling away from her, “I don’t remember his horn being that much bigger than mine… But you know, he wasn’t even a pony to start with. It wouldn’t be fair if his was bigger than mine, you know?”

“As opposed to the human turned pony?” She asked, now fully committed to the phallic joke.

“Yeah yeah yeah,” he rolled his eyes as exaggerated as he could, “I’m just saying, last time we compared, they weren’t all that different.”

“Compared, huh?” Dash asked with a wide smile.

“Well, maybe compared is the wrong w-word,” He began, a short huff escaping his lips as he tried to remain composed, “W-we just kinda… touched the tips—“

The two exploded in to laughter immediately, and spent a good minute giggling and holding their sides, before they finally calmed down to continue with any kind of discussion.

“You know, I’m glad you’ll laugh at a good penis joke,” Alex said, his head back on hers, as they rested on the bed, “I don’t think this relationship would work if you didn’t.”

“This relationship would be pretty stale without me being so awesome,” She nodded in agreement, settling back into their comfortable position as a silence filled the room.

Idly biting her lip, Dash looked out the corner of her eye toward him, once again thinking about finding him inside Twilight’s nightmare. It had crossed her mind so many times that she was starting to think it would be impossible to not think about it.

She smiled as she felt him nuzzled into her hair.

A few moments of comfortable silence followed, before Dash began to feel something wet on her head.

“Are you drooling on me?!” She half yelled half whispered.

“Mhmm.” Alex muttered sleepily, making no move to right the situation.

“Jerk.” She said softly, closing her eyes once again, “I’ll only put up with that for another half hour… tops…”

////

Twilight sat in her dark childhood bedroom, the curtains drawn across the window, allowing her privacy from even a fragment of Celestia’s power, so she could silently contemplate the last few hours of her life.

Her parents hadn’t been home when she arrived, so she decided to wait for them in the peace of her old bedroom. However, any comfort it would bring her in a normal situation was non-existent. Even the nostalgia of much better times wasn’t enough for her attitude to change.

“No more Element… and a baby…” Twilight muttered to herself, brining a hoof to her eye, wiping another tear from her now raw cheek, “What did I do to deserve this…”

Thinking to Alpha, the changeling father of her baby, she wondered what exactly the two would do now.

“Am I going to sit on the sidelines with him? Let Trixie take my place?” She muttered, as a pang of anger shot through her, “Trixie…”

However, her reflection was cut short as a knock sounded at the door.

Deciding not to answer, she simply climbed into bed, and closed her eyes.

////

“Twilight?” Fluttershy asked softly, knocking on the door to her bedroom, once again to no avail.

“Are ya’ sure she’s in there?” Applejack asked, leaning down to see under the crack of the door, “The lights’re all off.”

“She’s in there.” She said quietly over her shoulder, biting her lip as she pressed down on the door handle slowly, “We’re coming in!”

The door relented, and slowly creaked open.

The two stuck their heads into the room at the same time, and looked at the bed, to the silent quivering form under the blankets.

“Twi?” Applejack spoke up, “You doin’ alright?”

“No…” She choked out almost silently, “P-please, just leave me alone.”

“But-“ Fluttershy began, before she felt a hoof on her shoulder.

The two pulled out of the room and found Alpha, standing behind them, his concern just as visible as their own.

“How is she?” He asked, his expression telling them that he already knew the answer.

“Pretty upset.” Applejack said softly, “Between gettin’ pregnant, and losin’ the Element of Magic, ah’ don’t know how long she’s gonna be upset.”

“Maybe you should try cheering her up.” Fluttershy said, “She doesn’t seem too interested seeing the two of us right now.”

“Just head in there and cuddle with ‘er” Applejack said, “Ah’ know that always helps me when ah’m in a rut.”

“Who do you cuddle with?” Her pink-haired friend asked, momentarily distracted by the odd admission.

“N-never you mind!” She said defensively, her accent slipping away momentarily, “Look- jus’ go spend some time with‘er. We’ll be out here if ya’ need us.”

Alpha nodded, and stepped past them entering the room silently, closing the door behind him.

“Why don’t we sit down for a bit?” Fluttershy asked, walking over to the kitchen table, “We’ll need to fill Twilight’s mom and dad in on a couple of things when they show up.”

“Yes, we will.” Applejack sighed, joining her friend as they both sat down, “Man… today has just been too much.”

“Do you think things will ever go back to the way they were?” The pegasus asked.

“Ah’… Ah’ don’t know.”

////

Rainbow Dash stood at the top of Canterlot Castle, looking out into an endless pink horizon. It was as if the world had been in swallowed in a pink fog, and the last bastion of clarity was the royal city.

“It’s beautiful.” A voice said from behind her, “To hold the world in my hoof. I am truly a god.”

Then, for no reason that she could place, she was enraged. Angrier than she had ever been.

Turning around, she found herself face-to-face with several familiar faces, and forgot all about her rage.

Princess Celestia, Alex, Twilight, Pinkie, and Trixie stood in front of her.

“When the time comes, you can’t have any doubt.” Twilight’s voice echoed.

She tried to ask what they were talking about, but found the silence around her to be much louder than her voice.

Suddenly, levitating in front of her, was a tiny knife with a black blade. It was unlike any she had seen before. The handle of the utensil was thick, and the sharpened edge tiny.

“Hardened world-ender.” Trixie said.

Tilting her head to the side, she watched as the blade slowly pointed toward the crowd in front of her.

“He should have gone to ‘heaven.’” Celestia recalled.

Then, without any warning, it fired forward, and grazed Alex’s side, doing nothing noticeable to him.

“The bane of the magical.” Pinkie echoed.

Alex fell to his knee, in obvious pain as the nick on his side began to spread a blackness across his coat.

“It’s too late…” He said weakly, as a bright flash behind Dash caught her attention.

Outside, in the endless pink fog surrounding the tower she stood in, a spark seemed to ignite the cloud, lighting the world around the castle in the brightest, most destructive light she had ever seen.

“The end of the world.” All her friends said at once, as the explosion surrounding them flashed through Canterlot, leveling every building, save the tower they all stood in, which still stood in complete silence.

Dash tried to ask how to stop it, but was still unable to speak, as a massive cloud of ash blew across the tower, and surrounded her completely.

“Alex!” Dash shouted, her voice suddenly back to her, “W-where did you go?!”

The world was gone, all that remained was a rushing cloud of ash and sparks surrounding her.

“Take this.” Twilight’s voice echoed once again, as the bracer Dash had worn through her campaign to save Alex from his stone imprisonment appeared in front of her, repelling the ash around her “It just may save your life.”

Dash reached out cautiously, and slipped her arm through the fabric until it rested on her ankle properly.

“Save my life? How—” Before she could finish her question, a massive chunk of stone fired through the cloud, and ran through her chest, slamming her backward in to a wall.

“Save. Your. Life.” Was the last thing she heard as the world faded black.

////

“Twilight!” Dash shouted, sitting up in the bed she was sharing with Alex, a cold sweat running down her face.

“Holy Christ!” Alex shouted, obviously startled from her outburst, sitting up in the bed, looking around the dark room for whatever Dash was yelling about, “W-what’s wrong?”

Looking over her body, the mare was shocked to find herself in perfect condition, with no stone in her chest.

“I- I don’t understand…” She muttered, patting herself all over, “It felt so real.”

“What felt so real?” Alex asked, now content that he wasn’t about to be attacked in bed.

“I just- a dream I just… I watched the world end… I died! We all died…” Dash recalled shakily, quickly placing her left hoof on her right, looking for her bracer, “I need it…”

“You just had a nightmare,” Alex said softly, wrapping his arm around her stomach, as he moved closer to her, “And don’t worry, if anypony tries to kill us, I’ve got my bedpan full of pee to throw at them under the covers with us.”

“What?!” Dash shouted, forgetting all about her nightmare, as she pulled away from him, clambering toward the corner of the bed, “Seriously?!”

“Of course I don’t!” Alex almost shouted through his laughter, “See? All you needed was somepony hilarious to take your mind off your bad dream.”

“How modest…” Dash sighed, climbing back in to the bed next to him.

“I am pretty darn modest,” He said, silently teleporting his bedpan from under the covers to somewhere in the Everfree Forest, “You know, how many times have we been in this hospital since I arrived?”

Dash thought for a moment, “You know, I’ve lost count. But I can tell you how many times I was in it before you got here.”

Alex paused and waited for her to answer.

“Once, actually,” She laughed, stretching her arms, “Pulled a muscle on a trip here from Cloudsdale.”

“I don’t think I’ve been to Canterlot without ending up in the hospital somehow…” He said, scratching his chin as he thought to himself for a moment, “I guess I didn’t end up here when we went to Haven Station.”

“Ugh, that’s a name I’d rather not hear ever again.” Dash said, frowning at the thought of her brainwashed friends, “We almost lost everything to Alpha that weekend.”

“Good thing we had Dax,” Alex said, “The smug, sexy bastard.”

“Is that him talking?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, he’s an exact copy of me, so it wouldn’t be unfair to call him sexy, or smug, would it?” He laughed.

“He did a couple of things for us,” Dash recalled, blinking a couple of times, “Like when he popped up to save Luna’s daughter. Too bad we couldn’t save Bolt too…”

“Speaking of sexy dudes,” Alex said, wagging his hoof, as if a finger was on it, “His hair really got me going.”

“Smooth,” She rolled her eyes, “You must really like my dad then.”

The two laughed at the slightly off-putting joke, as they each ran through the memoires they had made together.

“I miss when things were simpler.” Dash spoke up after a moment, sighing lightly, “Remember how easy things were when you were covering the whole town in trash?”

“Geez, you’re really thinking back for that one, huh?” He asked, furrowing his brow at the memory, “I was still brand new in town when that happened.”

“Yup, you were the new guy trashing the entire town with his magic,” She laughed, recalling how angry she had been at the time, “And how exactly were you using magic after being here for like a day? That sounds like BS to me.”

“I was crap with magic for a long ass time, so it wasn’t all my fault that I caused a few accidents,” He scratched the top of his head, “You sure were pissed at me that day, though.”

“I was just thinking about that,” she smiled, looking up at him.

“I wonder what you would have said if I told you we’d be married in a few years.” Alex said, wincing at the screaming fit he’s sure he would have received.

“I would have probably been a little put off, but happy.” She replied, shaking her head at his reaction, “Since the first time I saw you I thought you were good looking, if not an ass. I, also, have a… sharp character. They didn’t mix too well right off the bat.”

“That is one heck of a way to put it.”

////

Alpha sat in Twilight’s room, a hole covered hoof resting on the pregnant mare’s back, as she cried silently in her bed. He hadn’t tried to talk to her, deciding to let her engage at her own pace.

It had been several minutes of this, before the mare finally spoke up.

“What am I going to do…?” Twilight asked softly, still hidden under the covers of her bed, “I… I’m not special anymore.”

“Don’t say that,” The changeling said softly, running his hoof comfortingly down her back, “Because you know it’s not true.”

“P-Princess Celestia said it herself…” Twilight said shakily, “She told Trixie that I was ordinary! She’s probably done with me now as her student…”

Alpha was confident that she was taking the conversation out of context, but he wasn’t sure how successful he would be in convincing her of that in this moment.

“The Princess had a strong hoof in raising you,” Alpha shook his head, despite her not being able to see him, “She’d move the sun and the stars to make you happy. And you can bet your rump that she’s going to help you through every step of this.”

Twilight sniffled, and slowly lifted her head from under the covers to make eye contact with the black stallion on the end of her bed.

“But… what are we going to do with our baby?” Twilight asked, her cheeks damp, her eyes red, and her nose running, “Everything’s just piling on top of us right now… I don’t know if I can handle it.”

Alpha sighed, and moved himself further up the bed, “We still have month to brush up on parenting. You’ve probably read everything there is to know on child rearing anyway. It’ll be more of a review than anything.”

“I… guess.” Twilight said softly, blinking a couple of times, “But, even if all that works out, I just don’t know what I’m going to do without my magic.”

“You didn’t lose your magic, Twilight.” He shook his head, with a small smile, as he brushed a new tear from her eye, “You’ve just been knocked back two steps.”

“You have no idea how oversimplified that statement is.” She sighed, pulling away from his hoof.

“You know, I don’t think it is.” Alpha shook his head, “Who’s the most powerful unicorn in the history of Equestria?”

“Star Swirl the Bearded… maybe Princess Celestia?” Twilight guessed, unsure of the direction he was taking the conversation.

“Right… and were either of them Elements of Harmony?” He asked.

“Well, no. But it’s—”

“It’s what?” He asked, an eyebrow raised.

Twilight stayed silent for a moment, as her eyes glazed over, falling deep in to thought.

“Yeah, maybe you fell behind a little bit… maybe a whole lot.” Alpha continued, giving her the most confident smile he had ever produced, as she looked back to him, “But in a hundred years, or even a thousand, everypony’s going to have forgotten about Star Swirl, because you’ll have taken his place as the most magically gifted pony in history.”

For the first time since she realized the loss of her element, she smiled. Her eyes welling once again.

“I love you.” She said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around him, “I may not believe you… but I love you.”

Returning the embrace, he wrapped one of his hooves around her head, and pulled her into his chest, exhaling and inhaling slowly, “I love you too.”

The two sat in silence, just enjoying the shared warmth between them.

“Everypony is listening outside the door.” Twilight muttered into him.

“They’ll be happy to know how good I am at comforting you.” Alpha chuckled, still holding on to her.

“And to think, you started out as a bad guy,” she said, pulling back from him to make eye contact once again, “I’m glad you made your way over to the good side.”

“Me too…” he muttered in response, thinking back to his days commanding the Hive army, “When I saw how much you all cared about each other, it made me wonder why it wasn’t like that for the Changelings.”

Twilight nodded as he continued.

“That’s what made it so easy to push Dash off the teleporter pad.” He said, thinking back to how close he came to death that day, “When Alex damaged the machine, I didn’t think I was going to make it home. It was a miracle that I came out on the other side at all. Losing a wing was a small price to pay.”

“And that wing is mostly grown back, thanks to Chrysalis’s chitin,” Twilight said, softly rubbing his repaired wing as a confused look crossed her face.

“You okay?” Alpha asked her, tilting his head to the side.

“Is our baby going to be covered in holes?” The purple mare asked suddenly, looking up to him with a genuinely curious expression on her face.

“Probably a couple,” he chuckled, “You know better than anypony that it’s a roll of the dice. Could be none, could be lots.”

“If she comes out white like my brother, I’m worried that she’ll be called ‘swiss cheese’ by her classmates…” Twilight said, still deep in the thought.

////

“Oh! And remember that time, that you and I were going to that really romantic spot overlooking town to make out?” Dash asked, her grin expanding as she told the story, “We were both so excited to get all hot and heavy—”

“Oh! And Spike was up there with Rarity!” Alex chimed it, the day clearly returning to his mind, “They were having this super romantic moment, and the two of us were like, all messed up from a day of… well, you know.”

“We felt pretty trashy, didn’t we?” Dash giggled, her grin expanding into a large smile, “And to think, we almost considered cleaning up our act that day!”

“Uh, no we didn’t.” Alex cocked an eyebrow, “We had just hooked up for the first time a few days before. I couldn’t keep you off me!”

“Yeah yeah,” she rolled her eyes, secretly knowing it to be the truth.

“Oh!” Alex said suddenly, “What about the time your mom almost walked in on the two of us?”

“The first time you met them! Before they knew we were dating!” Dash said, wide eyed and moved on to the new topic, “Poor Twilight… when you teleported under the bed, and she fell on top of me… my mom for sure thought I was a lesbian!”

“Nice”

“What was that?” She asked, having not heard him properly.

“Oh, nothing.” Alex shook his head, “Although, speaking of your mom, it was a little odd when she started hitting on me too.”

“If my dad wasn’t around to keep her in check, she’d have a different college student every night that she could find one.” Dash sighed, frowning slightly.

“That’s harsh.” Alex said, shaking his head a bit, “But I’ll keep that in mind if things don’t work out between us.”

“Ew. Don’t say that.” Dash said, a little grossed out at the thought.

“I could make you a new brother or sister!” He said excitedly, placing a hoof on her shoulder as he avoided the death glare she gave him, “You’d have to call me dad!”

“That’s enough.” She said, pressing her hoof against his lips, “Like. Really. Seriously. Enough… Seriously.”

////

Pinkie sat in the crowded lobby of the hospital, idly watching ponies be taken in and out of the front doors. The last few hours had been bustling, after Twilight and Trixie disappeared, and the Princess went in to surgery.

Both Luna and Discord had been through, but were staying close to Celestia, as their magic may have been needed in the case of an emergency.

“I hope Celestia is okay…” She muttered, zoned out to the world as a large white stallion, idly flickering his wings, stepped in to her vision, pulling her out of her deep thought, “Oh, Alex! What are you—”

She stopped suddenly upon seeing that it wasn’t actually Alex standing in front of her, but Soarin. His coat was just a pale enough blue to fool her eyes.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie, right?” He asked, looking at her with a polite smile, as he nursed a swollen joint in his right shoulder, “You mind if I sit with you? There aren’t any other open seats…”

Pinkie looked around the room and was a little surprised that the waiting room had filled up so much. It was now filled with lots of mares who were giving her some pretty harsh death glares in response to the Wonderbolt that was asking to spend time with her.

“Oh… uh, sure thing!” She said happily, patting the bench next to her, before noticing a pretty significant amount of swelling on his shoulder, “What the heck happened to your arm?”

“Had some debris drop off the tower you were all just in,” He said, pushing his chest out before he committed to sitting down in order to show her the extent of the damage across to his neck, “I was hoping that I’d be in and out in five minutes, so I could get back to helping the ponies in town. But this is starting to look like an overnight stay…”

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie said, giving him a sympathetic look, “Are all the Wonderbolts out helping right now?”

“Yeah. Half of them are in Ponyville with Spitfire, cleaning up after what happened down there, and the other half are here in Canterlot with me.” He said, sitting down next to the pink mare, “I’m glad nopony got seriously injured though.”

“Well, aside from the Princess.” Pinkie corrected, as Soarin went wide-eyed.

“Wait, what happened!?” He asked, looking over his shoulder down one of the many hallways, “Which Princess? Is she okay?”

“It was Celestia.” Pinkie began, wincing as she spoke, “Twilight’s dark side ripped one of her wings out.”

“What about Luna?” He asked, “I heard that they were both held captive.”

“Nothing happened to her,” Pinkie sighed, glazing over as she once again thought to the injured royalty, “They took Celestia into surgery, and they’re fixing her up.”

“Are they able to reattach a removed wing?” He asked, as he instinctively flexed his own, “I mean, If it’s in good condition, it’d be like reattaching a—”

“It’s not going to happen,” Pinkie shook her head, “The wing was… mangled. All broken up. She’s not going to be able to fly anymore.”

He was stunned into silence for a moment, and as he shook his head slowly.

“That’s terrible.” Soarin finally muttered, rubbing his shoulder once again, “I feel like I shouldn’t be so worked up over a little swelling.”

The pink mare suddenly perked up and gave him a huge grin.

“Oh, I can fix that if you want! I may not be a unicorn, but I officially accepted my dark side! I can do all sorts of magic now!” Pinkie said, happy that she had something to smile about, “I only accepted my chaotic side a day ago, but I’ve been around for all the magic lessons the rest of the girls took! I’m basically a master!”

Soarin was taken off guard as she suddenly placed a hoof on his right shoulder, and closed her eyes.

“Uh, Magic? Are you sure you know what you’re doin— oh, geez!"

To his amazement, a warm pink glow surrounded the entire upper right portion of his chest. It pulsed for ten or so seconds, before fading. She then pulled her hooves away, revealing a perfectly mended shoulder.

“T-that’s amazing!” Soarin said, patting all of his chest for any sign of pain, “How the heck did you do that?”

“Magic!” She winked, before wincing and closing her right eye, “Buuuut, it also hurts a whole lot to use!”

“Oh, damn! Really? You didn’t have to put yourself through that for me!” He said, instinctively reaching out and resting his hoof on the cheek below her closed eye, so he could turn her to face him, “Are you okay?”

Opening her eyes, she found herself a little short of breath, as she gazed at the Wonderbolt Commander. “I- I’m fine. Just a little headache! Nothing a few cupcakes won’t fix!” She said quickly, slowly pulling away from his hoof.

“Thank goodness!” He laughed nervously, pulling back himself and snapping his hoof back to his side, “I just- wasn’t looking to trade an injury for your perfect health.”

“Oh, don’t even worry about it! Planning a big party makes my head hurt a whole lot more than this.” She said, smiling through the intense pain, “Anyways, why don’t you head back out to the ponies that need you? I saved you the overnight stay, after all!”

“Oh- I couldn’t do that after what you just did for me—”

“Just go on!” She giggled, biting her lip lightly, “There are ponies out there that need your help a lot more than I do! I’m already in a hospital for Luna’s sake!”

“Well- okay.” Soarin finally relented, and gave her a confident look, along with a nod and smile, “But take my place in the queue, okay? I’d hate that headache to end up worse than you think it is.”

“I will.” Pinkie said, watching him stand up, then turning around to leave, “Oh!” She blurted out suddenly, an urge to see his smile one more time, “If you, um… are ever in Ponyville, feel free to stop by Sugarcube Corner! We- uh, have a great discount for Wonderbolts!”

Soarin turned to face her again as he walked backward toward the door, “Oh! Really? I might stop by there soon then! Just- just because I’m so… broke! A discount would really help me from… starving!”

He was about to say something else, but wound up bumping into a trolley holding several oxygen tanks, causing them to bang loudly together, effectively drawing every pair of eyes to him.

Then, with an awkward wave, he bolted out the door.

Pinkie blinked a couple of times.

“What the heck was I saying!” she muttered under breath, “We don’t have a Wonderbolt Discount! He’s going to show up and be too broke to afford anything!”

Soarin, as he ran out the door, grumbled to himself, “What the heck was that?! I make tons of money!”

////

“I’d like to see Gilda again someday,” Dash sighed, lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, a small frown spread across her lips, “The two of us got along so well when we were kids, but I guess her entitlement got the best of her.”

“I still can’t believe Pinkie threw that whole evil scheme together to get rid of her,” Alex said mindlessly, his head still propped up against the wall with his eyes closed.

“Evil scheme?” Dash asked, glancing up to his face, “Uh...What did she do?”

Suddenly his eyes were open, and a wave of worry was running through his body.

“I- uh… did I say evil scheme? What I meant to say, is that the party was so nice! And—”

“Alex.” She said seriously, her purple eyes glaring into him.

“Okay okay, that entire party, with all of the little annoyances that eventually led to Gilda losing her mind, Pinkie came up with the whole thing! Down to the smallest detail.” Alex admitted, bracing for a pretty big fight, “She messed with the wrong pony when she picked on Pinkie Pie.”

Dash blinked a couple of times as she processed the information she had been given.

“Huh…” She muttered, tilting her head slightly, “To be honest, I would have done the same thing, if I ever saw somepony pick on Fluttershy the way I found out she did.”

“Oh, really?” Alex asked, surprised at the lukewarm response his girlfriend gave him, “I was expecting a little more rage, to be honest.”

“After everything we’ve all been through the last few months, I’m not really looking to fight with my best friends, you know?” She asked, returning to her previous position on her back.

“I get it,” he nodded, “Save all the arguments for the happily ever after.”

“Exactly,” She sighed happily.

“Happily ever after…” He said, blinking a couple of times and shifting uncomfortably in his spot, “Seems like it’s never going to get here.”

“I know what you mean,” Dash agreed, nodding slowly, “I feel like I’m going to be sixty before we’re allowed to move on with our lives.”

“I’m scared though,” Alex said suddenly, pulling attention from his girlfriend once again, “I’m so worried that something is going to happen… somepony will get hurt.”

“Look, as long as we stay close together, nothing can come between the two of us, right?” Dash said encouragingly, patting his leg with her hoof, “And just as long as we have each other, nothing bad’ll happen.”

“But it’s not just you and me, you know?” Alex said, meeting her gaze with a surprisingly worried expression, “If even one of us gets hurt, or worse… thing’s won’t ever be the same again.”

Dash hadn’t really considered that.

“There’ll never be another normal day again. Every day would be the day without Applejack, or Pinkie.” He said, his eyes glazing over as he spoke, “I don’t know if I’d ever be happy like I was five years ago.”

Dash didn’t respond, as she mulled over the thought herself.

“I feel sick to my stomach whenever I consider what could happen to any us.” He sighed, before suddenly realizing how he must have sounded to her, “Geez, I’m probably really bumming you out, huh?”

“A bit,” she admitted, shrugging lightly, “But I get it. It’s scary. And stressing is… easy. Sometimes you need to just let the future happen. Because if you sit around and pull your mane out worrying, there’s no way you’ll be at a hundred percent for the ponies that need you when the time comes.”

“I wish it was that easy.” He sighed, “I guess I could always use a spell to mellow myself out.”

“Just make sure you’re not smoking anything,” Dash said, wagging a hoof in his general direction, “Captains of the Royal guard can’t get away with that kinda stuff.”

“Just quit that lame job,” Alex responded, “Easy peasy. So, then we can smoke… what the heck do you even smoke here? Poison Joke?”

“Only if you’re looking for a bad trip,” Dash answered, laughing to herself as she stretched her arms behind her head, “That’s a joke, by the way.”

“I figured,” he said, yawning as he followed suit, and stretched his entire body out.

Rolling out of the hospital bed, Dash looked out the window to the setting sun, and muttered to herself, before turning around to face Alex with a small smile.

“Let’s go for a walk.” She said, gesturing to a small hill across Canterlot that could be seen from their window, “I heard they named Lovers’ Outlook after a couple of ponies that were displaying their ‘love’ to one and other in celebration of Discord’s defeat a thousand years ago.”

“That’s bull crap!” Alex laughed, getting out of the bed and stretching, “If I remember correctly, we were just killing time before Celestia and Luna ascended to their god-like positions.”

“Killing time?” Dash asked, smiling with her eyebrow raised suggestively, “We were rounding second base, and making a break for third!”

“And we would have made it too, if it weren’t for all those creepy old men watching us.” He said, walking over to the mirror and shaking his mane in to a more presentable shape.

“I was happy to give them a show, you were the one that was all shy,” she laughed, a magical brush materializing in her mane, brushing her mess of colors into their straight lines, “Who knows? Maybe there’ll be some more when we get over there.”

“I really hope so.” Alex said.

////

Discord and Luna sat outside the operating room with an unfamiliar silence between them. Usually Discord would be trying to make some kind of annoying conversation, while Luna would try to tune him out, until she eventually failed. But, right now, both were preoccupied with the early casualty in the war to save the world.

After about an hour of this waiting, a nurse exited the operating room with an odd expression that neither Discord, nor Luna could place.

“How is everything?” Luna asked immediately, approaching the mare slowly, “Are there any problems with the surgery? Perhaps in regard to her large size?”

Discord accidentally laughed at her wording, but covered his mouth quickly.

“There are no problems, and she’ll be out soon. I’m just being rotated out because of my… lack of focus,” the nurse shook her head, before looking over her shoulder back to the room, “It’s just… odd to be performing surgery on a pony I’ve always assumed to be invincible.”

“Ah.” Luna said softly, looking at the floor silently.

“Well, you can hardly blame Celestia for this injury.” Discord spoke up, in an attempt to reassure the two mares, “In a room with no magic? Against a monster that came from her own star pupil? Losing just a wing was amazing if you think about it!”

“I- I suppose,” The nurse nodded, “Was it truly so dangerous?”

“It was.” Luna nodded, looking back to her with a sullen stare, “I’m ashamed to admit just how scared I was.”

“Braver than me!” Discord added, slithering over to them, “I was too afraid to even get close! In a room without magic, I’m weaker than a foal! I’d have shrivelled up!”

The two didn’t say anything back to him.

“And I know it’s been said before, but what the heck is with all the magic blocking fields?” He asked them next, trying to spark a conversation, “It seems like a cheap means to an end! I mean, hello! Where’s the creativity in our villains!”

“You’re right about that,” Luna said, giving the nurse a smile, and a comforting pat on her shoulder, before turning to face Discord, “However, I have a question for you. One that you’ve been refusing to answer up until this point.”

“Will I marry you?” Discord asked, closing his eyes and shaking his head ‘no,’ “You already know that my heart belongs to Celestia.”

Luna rolled her eyes, “I wish to know what the plan is, now that everypony has accepted the chaos within them.”

“Oh! That’s easy.” He replied, as the two walked back over to their chairs, “Those little ponies need to do the same thing that they do every time a baddie shows up.”

“Which is?” Luna asked, raising an eyebrow and tilting her head.

“Put their horns together, Twilight- er, well, Trixie makes a sappy speech, then a giant rainbow, or pony silhouette, or generic ol’ beam of magic will shoot at the bad guy, and defeat them!” He said giving her a thumb up, along with a less than convincing smile.

“Discord.” She said seriously, frowning.

He sighed, “That’s the truth. Whether it’ll be enough or not, is going to be seen.”

“What?!” Luna bellowed, her royal voice booming as loud as ever, “Why did you have the Elements of Harmony suffer so much, and cause my sister to lose her wing?! You’re telling me that this wasn’t necessary?”

“It wasn’t necessarily necessary.” Discord corrected her, “But it simply never hurts to be prepared!”

“My sister was gravely injured, Discord!” She growled, “Is it really worth making everypony a little stronger?”

“A lost wing is hardly a loss in the long run,” He responded, rolling his eyes, “It’s well worth it to increase your army’s magic one hundred-fold.”

“You’re exaggerating that power.” Luna said defensively, pulling away from him with a frown, “And downplaying the seriousness of my sister—"

“Hold out your hoof in front of you.” Discord cut her off, confusing the princess, who didn’t follow his command right away. “I’m not going to sit here all day, come along now.”

Doing as instructed, Discord held out his own claw parallel to her, “Now, make the smallest spark of magic you can, and hold it in your hoof.”

Silently doing as she was told, a tiny flicker of light appeared, hovering over her hoof, as he did the same.

“You are holding a spark of harmonious magic, it is all you can make.” He said, then gesturing his own hand, which held a rapidly jumping spark, “I have one of chaotic magic, which is all I can make.”

Luna was silent, as she mentally prepared herself to be taken to school by the draconequus.

“Now, look what happens when we try to bring them together,” Discord said, moving his hand over to her hoof, causing the sparks to drift away from one another, “They repel each other. They aren’t supposed to interact naturally.”

Luna nodded.

“But, force them together…” Discord began, as he suddenly grasped her hoof with his claw, slamming the two sparks together, “And you get something remarkable.”

Pulling apart, the two almost insignificant sparks instantly grew into a glowing ball that had to be bigger than an apple or orange.

“Harmonious magic lacks raw power in exchange for stability, and Chaotic magic is the opposite. Those shortcomings put a ceiling on how powerful their respective spells can be.” He continued, slightly impressed with himself at keeping things so serious for so long, “What we just made, Harmonic magic, combines the strengths, while removing the weaknesses of harmony and chaos.”

Luna gazed in awe at the shining orb of magic in front of her, “And that was just from a spark… But a thousand years ago, did I not combine the Element of Chaos with my sister while she held Harmony? There was no such power.”

Discord shook his head, “You never truly learned how to control it like these ponies have. But despite that, you two were still strong enough to defeat me.”

“So, how much stronger could they get?” Luna asked.

“When the Elements of Harmony combine, you end up with an exponential increase in power,” He continued, scratching his chin for a moment as he crunched some numbers in his head, “One normal Element of Harmony is equal to fifty ponies worth of magic. Plus an accepted chaotic side multiplies that by another one hundred.”

“They’re as stong as an army of five thousand when combined?” Luna asked incredulously, her mouth open slightly.

“No,” Discord responded, smirking slightly, “That’s per pony.”

“So… the seven of them have the magical power of th-thirty-five thousand?” She stammered out next.

“To be honest, I’m not sure where it caps. Observing how the Elements have interacted in the past when they combine, one could reasonably say that their magic would be raised by the power of two from there.” He said, his brain not quite fast enough to keep up with the multiplication, “At that point… maybe saying ‘one hundred-fold’ was a bit of an understatement.”

“That would put their strength well over that of a billion unicorns,” Luna said, shaking her head quickly, not able to wrap her head around the astronomical number she had come to, “That can’t be possible. It’s… I mean, such power would be…”

“Enough to stop any would-be attacker in their tracks.” He finished for her, “and more than enough to justify the loss of a wing.”

////

Trixie slowly opened her eyes to the sound of Alex and Dash walking past her room, both talking loud enough to pierce her slumber.

She couldn’t make out what they were saying, as they were long gone before she was conscious enough to start truly listening. The only word that made it to her properly was Twilight’s name.

“Shit…” She muttered, covering her eyes with her arm, “It’s still not a nightmare…”

After a few more moments of self loathing, she finally sat up from the bed, and looked toward the light switch. Then, with almost zero effort on her part, she clicked the light on.

“Even turning the lights on is way easier.” Trixie sighed, as she looked toward the drawn curtains, “So is opening these, I’ll bet.”

Lighting her horn, she tried to zip them to the side quickly, but accidentally created an enormous amount of friction between the wooden rod, and wooden rings holding the curtain up. Causing them to burst in to flames along the top.

Going wide eyed, she cast another spell, shooting a massive gust of air from her horn to extinguish the flame.

Instead, the window was completely shattered, and the curtains went flying out, luckily burning out long before they came close to the ground.

“Dear sweet Celestia…” Trixie muttered, the increased strength of her magic truly baffling her, “What has Twilight been packing all this time?”

“What happened in here?” A nurse asked, drawing Trixie’s attention away from her inner monologue, “Are you alright?”

“I- I don’t know!” She lied reflexively, “It just woke me up to the crashing! But, don’t worry, I can fix it right up!”

Casting yet another spell, a clean sheet of glass appeared in between the two. It promptly pushed itself into the remaining jagged edges of the old window, and seemed to melt in to place, leaving the window in its old condition, minus the curtains.

“Oh, um, thanks.” The nurse said, looking to Trixie was a surprised expression, “You’re pretty good with magic, huh?”

“Better than I remember being…” She said softly, taking a step toward the door, “Um, I’m just going to head out and get some fresh air, if that’s alright.”

“Of course, dear,” the white pony said, heading out of the room in front of Trixie, “Try not to be too long, it’s going to be dark soon, and along with the shift change, you may have some trouble making it back to this room for the night.”

“Thanks for letting me know,” Trixie said politely, turning the opposite direction down the hall.

Heading down the hallway, she decided that the best way for her to test her new strength, was to go somewhere that was a little less… destructible.

////

“That’s better,” Dash sighed, sitting down next to Alex on the bench that had somehow been erected in their honor.

“Hard to believe it’s only been a thousand years since we’ve sat here together,” Alex joked, looking out over the Everfree Forest, which stretched for miles, until it ended just outside of Ponyville.

The sun was just setting, and the sky, along with the rest of the world, was momentarily painted in a heavy coat of orange. Just as it had been the last time they sat in this spot together.

“You know, I think I’ve finally gotten used to sitting on my butt like this,” Dash said, flicking her tail between her legs, “It’s pretty comfortable once you get used to your rump falling asleep on you.”

“I just can’t bring myself to like… lie down on a bench with all four legs up on it,” He scratched the back of his head, “Lyra has the right idea.”

“You’re lucky that I like you enough to learn to do it myself,” Dash said.

“I am lucky,” he nodded along, tearing his gaze away from the beautiful sky to look at her, “Because there’s no way I like you enough to learn to do it your way.”

She laughed, before lightly hitting his shoulder with her hoof, “I can kick your butt you know. You should be working harder to keep me happy.”

“Just because you can beat me in a fist fight, doesn’t mean that I couldn’t play dirty to win.” He smiled, wrapping his hoof around her hips to slide her closer to him, “All I have to do, is start talking about clothing, and hunky guys, and that one co-worker you have that’s a total bitch, and you’ll forget we were even in a fight.”

“I’m a captain of the royal guard!” Dash placing a hoof on his chest, as she pushed her upper half away from him, “So the only CO-worker that I could consider a bitch would be… Shining Armor? And I mean, he really can be a hard-ass sometimes. I had ponies lining up to work under me while I was in Canterlot.”

“Jokes on them, because I was working under you wayyyyy before any of them got the chance.” He said, unable to suppress the shit-eating grin that was leaking on to his face.

“Huh? You never worked for me befor—” Dash suddenly stopped, and sighed, shaking her head, as Alex exploded in laughter, “Under is the keyword, ya’ flippin creep.”

“You love it!” Alex said, still looking at her, as she gazed on at the view in front of them. He waited for her to respond, but she was so absorbed in the world around them, that he was left with only her content expression, “You know, I don’t know if I say this often enough, but you look beautiful right now.”

This got her attention, as she looked toward him with a beaming smile, her eyes seeming to glisten in the light of the sun, “You’re not so bad yourself.”

Giving her a smile of his own, he brushed some of her long rainbow mane from her eye and tilted his head, “I’m glad you decided to keep it long like this.”

“Well… you told me that you liked it!” She said nervously, her cheeks flushing slightly, “But I mostly did it to get a better rainbow effect when I flew!”

His smile grew in to one of surety, and a fraction of cockiness, setting loose a group of butterflies in Dash’s stomach, causing her to sigh, and quiver uneasily.

“You wanna make out a little?” He asked, his blue eyes drilling in to her soul.

“You always know how to get a girl going,” Dash laughed, as he pushed his lips in to hers.

Closing her eyes, and sighing softly, Dash threw her arms around his neck, and gave herself into the moment.

Neither cared for the view in front of them, as their passionate kiss started to evolve into more of a make-out session, just as it had when they went back in time five years ago. Alex seemed to have more control over his libido this time around, however, as he kept his hoof planted firmly on her hip, instead of letting it roam, as he once had.

Dash withheld her own laughter as she thought back to the same encounter in the past, and the audience they had drawn while they made out at that time. Moving past it, however, she decided to focus on the moment.

////

Trixie stood a fair distance away from Alex and Dash on a hill, as she watched the two kiss on their bench.

“Am I being creepy right now?” She muttered to herself, silently wishing that Aurora would answer her- she didn’t.

Idly, Trixie cast a few spells, as she waded the waters of her new abilities. Her skills had increased by a significant amount, and she wasn’t sure where the ceiling was on what she could do. Looking at a rock lying in the grass next to her, Trixie levitated off the ground, and began to put pressure on the center of the stone. And, after only a few seconds of increased effort, it cracked in half.

“Okay, I guess that was easy enough.” She mumbled, moving her focus over to a large tree, and wrapping the entire trunk in a magic spell, “Let’s see if I can pull this off.”

Her horn began to glow brighter and brighter, as the spell around the trunk grew stronger. Slowly but surely, the rough bark on the coniferous tree pressed into the trunk, as the force around it multiplied.

After a few moments of tree crushing, Trixie came to a somewhat unsurprising revelation, “I couldn’t do this before… but it’s too easy right now.”

Then, as she tilted her head to crack her neck, the rest of the tree, including that parts that hadn’t been encased in her magic, broke down in to splinters from the wood, and needles from the branches. Turning her head to the sky, she silently pondered what kind of spell would truly test her new, unknown limits. What could she do to tire herself?

////

Pinkie was once again walking down the hallway in the Hospital, looking for a stairwell that would lead her to the roof.

After seeing a doctor for her headache, she decided that some fresh air would help her clear her mind, and perhaps help relieve the stress she had been plagued with since she had joined with her chaotic side.

After a few more minutes of searching, she found the stairway, and made her way up to the top level. Then, with a minor spell, she unlocked the door, and stepped out in to the crisp evening air.

The sun was just setting, and the sky was illuminated in every color. From a burning red on the horizon, to a cool dark blue opposite to it. It was truly a picturesque evening. One that Pinkie wished she could have enjoyed with all her friends. But, things were clearly changing.

“I guess moving forward isn’t such a bad thing,” She said, sitting down on the edge of the roof, and crossing her front legs over one another, “We can’t just sit around having parities, and playing games forever…”

Smiling, she looked towards the debris of Star Swirl’s tower, and watched the Wonderbolts work to clear the roads, to allow traffic through.

“It might even be fun to grow up.”

////

“I’m thinking I might start skipping the accent,” Applejack said flawlessly, sitting across from Fluttershy at the kitchen table in Twilight’s childhood home, causing her friend to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

“Really?” She asked, tilting her head, as she brought her small cup of tea up to her mouth to take a sip, “What made you change your mind?”

“Well, the farm I guess, working on it has built character for me and my kin, but I don’t think I want to spend the rest of my life kicking trees, and making pie, you know?” She asked, looking to her friend, clearly wanting some kind of reassurance.

“Well, I mean, your Cutie Mark is an Apple…” Fluttershy said slowly, “Does apple management fall under that?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest.” She shook her head, chuckling a little but, “I’d have to talk to Big Mac about all of it, of course, but moving up to the next level just seems to make sense. Life is about moving forward! And I think that after all of this world-ending business is over with, I’m going to try and finish my parent’s vision for the farm.”

“That all makes sense, I suppose,” Fluttershy nodded with a smile, before tilting her head and expressing some confusion, “But what does that have to do with your accent?”

“Oh yeah!” Applejack laughed, lightly bonking herself on the head, “Well, I don’t know if you’ve seen it before, but my accent has been somewhat… detrimental. Ponies look down on me, assume I’m not very smart… Pisses me off something fierce.”

“I’ve seen you use that to your advantage before though,” The shy mare spoke up, “You can really get the jump on a pony who’s underestimating you.”

“I suppose,” She said, scratching her chin as she looked at the ceiling, “But, isn’t that dishonest? To play ponies? To intentionally give myself that advantage?”

Suddenly, Fluttershy exploded in to a fit of giggles, causing Applejack to frown slightly as she tried to process what the mare had just found so funny.

“Uhhh, you alright, darling?” AJ asked, only momentarily put off by how her words sounded without the accent.

“These Elements of Harmony are a pain in the butt, huh?” She asked, still not fully expressing her point to her friend, “I mean- it’s like a second Cutie Mark! Not only do you have to spend your life being an apple-pony, but you also need to be an honest-apple-pony! You don’t have a lot of wiggle room in there.”

“I get what you’re saying,” She nodded quickly, her smile growing as she continued, “I mean, what would ponies think of me if I told a lie to an orange?”

“Or if I was rude to fish?” Fluttershy managed to say.

It was at that point that the two burst in to uncontrollable laughter at their own jokes, neither one feeling an ounce of shame for it.

“What are you two laughing about?” Twilight’s voice came from the doorway in to the kitchen, surprising the two mares.

“Oh- uh… just talkin’ about our Elemen… uh…” Applejack began , snapping back in to her accent as she stumbled over her words.

“Applejack was telling me about a boy she liked in Elementary school.” Fluttershy injected smoothly, “She tried to show off for him by apple-bucking a soccer ball. It wound up bouncing off a tree, and in to his head! He was scared of her afterward!”

Fluttershy then resumed her fit of laughter, as Applejack looked on, blushing lightly.

“Ah’ told’ya that in confidence…” She whispered to herself.

“That’s our Applejack,” Twilight said, lightly smiling at her friends, “I just came out to get a drink. All that crying really dries a pony out.”

“Are ya’ feelin’ better?” Applejack asked, watching her friend cross the kitchen, levitate a cup from the cupboard, and run some water in to it from the tap.

“Oh, I’m not done bawling my eyes out yet. Not by a long shot.” Twilight shook her head before downing her glass of water, “But Marick is keeping me positive.”

“Ah’ never get used to hearin’ that name,” She said, scratching the back of her head, “He’ll always be Alpha to me.”

“It feels like just yesterday he was trying to brainwash us at Haven Station.” Fluttershy added, once again falling in to a giggling fit.

“Geez, I don’t like laughing Fluttershy,” Twilight said, placing her cup in a small rack next to the sink, and walking over to the table.

“I’m sorry,” she said, calming herself down quickly, “I guess despite everything… I’m just really happy that everypony is okay. Um… sorry for being happy though.”

“Don’t apologize,” Twilight said, looking out the kitchen window at the setting sun, “It makes me happy to see you happy. I’m just… going to have to learn to live this way, as much as I absolutely hate it.”

////

Alex and Dash, both thoroughly done with making out, now rested on each other, as they had been for most of the night at this point, once again reminiscing over past events they had experienced together.

“It’s a good thing that this is a cartoon world,” Alex said, scratching the back of his head idly as Dash’s cheek rested on his shoulder, “Because I’m pretty sure you would have killed me during that Wonderbolt race you were in.”

“When you fell on me from the blimp?” Dash asked, furrowing her brow as she thought about the situation, “I wasn’t moving all that fast I don’t think…”

“You were like, a hair away from sonic boom-ing.” He said, shaking his head, rubbing his own cheek through her hair, “If you got hit like that on earth? Psh, you’d be dead. D-E-D. Dead.”

“You’re a tough guy,” Dash said idly, still mostly absorbed in the view from their vantage point, “You’d be fine if you got hit in your world.”

“I appreciate the confidence, but like, it wouldn’t even be a question,” Alex continued, clearly unaware that his girlfriend wasn’t in on this particular reminiscence with him, “Like, I’d just be red mist. A splat on the wall.”

“Well, just make sure you avoid fast pegasi then…” She mumbled.

“Are you even paying attention?” He asked, following her gaze to look at the multicolored sky in front of them. “Huh, I guess the sun hasn’t moved, what with Celestia being in surgery and all. But, I mean, wouldn’t it just move itself after a while?”

This pulled Dash out of her dream-like state, as she looked up to him incredulously, “You don’t know how the sun works?”

“Well, I mean, I’m not one hundred percent or anything!” He said quickly, feeling dumber by the second, “If Celestia and Luna are busy… it can still set by itself… right?”

“No. It can’t.” Dash said, clearly unimpressed with the man she intended to spend the rest of her life with, “What, you think the sun is alive or something?”

“Have we not had this conversation?” Alex asked, pulling away from her, giving her room to make eye contact with him, “The earth orbits the sun, while rotating. Orbit determines seasons, and rotation determines time of day.”

“You’ve seen us set up for winter before,” Dash said, shaking her head slowly at him, “Nothing controls the season except us.”

“Are you sure?” He asked, “Like, what would happen if Celestia and Luna just vanished?”

“Well, Princess Cadence is can—”

“Okay, what is there was nopony capable of moving the sun left in Equestria suddenly?” He asked.

“Half the planet would have all sun, half would be dark forever.” She answered, “Nopony, short of a princess can move that ball of fire in the sky.”

“Why just them?” He asked next, considering how he might even be able to move a celestial body, “Like, I think my head would explode if I even began to try moving it. What makes them special?”

“It’s some kind of secret spell,” Dash shrugged, turning to face the setting sun once again, “Moving the sun is impossible, any unicorn could tell you that.”

“Do they move the planet then?” He asked idly, looking at the ground, before shaking his head, “No, that’s not it… that would be just as hard, and it’d probably kill everypony.”

“There’s actually a lot of documentation on the impossibility of moving celestial bodies,” Dash said, her inner egg-head starting to show itself, “In the right circles, it’s hotly debated how a such a spell would even be possible.”

“I mean, the way Celestia and Luna can toss those things around,” Alex shook his head, turning back to face his girlfriend, “It’s like they’re nothing.”

“It’s something smarter ponies than us have tried to figure out,” Dash shrugged, looking back to him as well, “There’s no solving this one, I’m afraid.”

Alex huffed, clearly not satisfied with the answers that she was providing him with. “Maybe the sun is just the size of a beach ball, and we were all too dumb to realize it.”

“Or it’s really just a big mirror in the sky that reflects the real sun!” Dash added, laughing a bit at the absurdity of her suggestion.

Just then, a blue aura surrounded the sun, once again drawing their attention toward the beautiful vista. However, something wasn’t right with the way it was moving downward. It was traveling at a snail’s pace, and would often stop for several seconds, before beginning to crawl below the horizon again.

“What the heck is Luna doing?” Dash asked, frowning slightly as she stood up from their bench, tilting her head and squinting at the dimmed sun behind the magical aura, “Is her magic weaker right now?”

“Maybe Luna isn’t used to setting the sun,” Alex offered, stretching his legs out before placing his arms behind him to keep propped up, “She usually just does the moon, right?”

Dash didn’t answer, she simply watched as the last of the sun slid behind the mountains far beyond even Ponyville, removing the rainbow effect from the sky, replacing it with a calming blue expanse littered with distant stars, while also blanketing the world in complete darkness.

“Hmm.”

////

Trixie shook uncontrollably, every nerve in her body was on fire.

“I- I did it…” She said, uneasily lowing herself so she could sit down on her rump, “I moved… the sun.”

If anypony had come along at that moment, they would have insisted that Trixie get to a hospital immediately. She had a constant stream of blood running from both her right eye, and left ear, that was starting to pool in the grass below her head. This was something that she had failed to notice so far.

“I guess I should have taken it a little easier,” she said weakly, mindlessly rubbing her nose, smearing the red ooze on to her cheek and down to her lips, where it still went unnoticed by her. “I can’t believe Twilight had this much power all along… I never stood a chance my first time in Ponyville.”

Sitting in silence for several minutes afterward, Trixie found herself coming back around to the waking world, as the pain radiating through her body began to dim, while other injuries started to become more apparent. Rubbing her eyes, she finally discovered the now drying stream of blood down her face.

“Great.” She mumbled, not really surprised to see the damage she had done to herself.

Luckily, just behind her was a running stream that she was able to spend a few minutes scrubbing herself clean with. Then, after a quick spell to illuminate the area around her, she checked in the resulting reflection in the water to make sure that there weren’t any stray blood streaks on her face.

“I should have seen that coming,” She said to herself, as she turned around to face the dark sky, noticing the lack of lunar light, “I hope nopony is expecting me to move the moon as well.”

And, as if on cue, the moon levitated from under the horizon to high in the sky, illuminating Canterlot, Ponyville, and the Everfree forest in the soft reflected light of the sun.

“Oh good, Luna must have noticed what I did.” She said, her head pounding harder than any headache she had experienced before, “I guess this is what being a god is. The Great, and truly powerful Trixie…”

However, despite the immense power she now had in her possession, there was nothing that she wanted less. Robbing Twilight of the Element of Magic felt like slapping her friend in the face, and she was horrified that this might ruin some of the friendships that she had worked so hard to build with all the ponies in Ponyville.

What if she couldn’t fill the gap that now existed, with Twilight gone?

But, the confidence of her best friend still echoed through her mind.

“Aurora…” Her voice cracking as she spoke the name, “Trixie wishes- ugh, I wish things could have turned out differently,” She said, her voice soft enough that nopony would come looking for the crazy mare who was talking to herself, “I hate that I was only strong enough to save you after you died…”

Looking down to the ground, she closed her eyes and continued.

“You showed me what it was like to be cared for. You taught me how to be compassionate. And made me how rewarding life is when you help others.”

Opening her eyes, she looked up at the sky once again.

“You showed me the kind of pony that I can be proud of. And I’m going to spend every day, for the rest of my life, improving, and becoming a better pony… I don’t think I’ll ever truly get over losing you.”

She didn’t want to start crying. For all she knew, she’d start firing blood out her eye again.

“If you’re watching me from somewhere up there… I’ll make you proud.” Trixie said, her horn glowing a soft blue, as she conjured one of her friend’s favorite spells, “I’ll make the world a better place.”

Then, with a small surge of energy, a ball of white magic shot high in to the air, and exploded in to thousands of sparks of rainbow light, giving the illusion of a blanket of new stars in the sky.

“Goodbye, Aurora.”

////

“What is that?” Alex asked, looking into the night sky at the brilliant display of magic from his seat on the bench, sitting next to his fiancée, “That’s so cool.”

Dash smiled at the shimmering lights covering everything above them, “I think it was Trixie.”

“Huh?” Alex asked, still fixated above, only tilting his head slightly in confusion, “How’d you figure that out?”

“You need to keep up,” Dash laughed, with no shame in her boasting, “First, the sun didn’t turn the right shade of blue when it went down, and whoever was casting the spell was clearly having trouble.”

“I guess it did take a couple of seconds for her to get it down,” he nodded, as the last of the particles in the sky began to dissipate, eliciting a disappointed sigh from him, “But didn’t you say that it was impossible for a normal unicorn to move the celestial bodies?”

“I did,” She nodded, “But, Trixie has an Element, and the chaotic power behind it. She’s going to be stronger than even Twilight was at her peak.”

“Wow.” He said softly, still staring upward, “And those sparkles are also from her?”

“Obviously,” she said, pointing a hoof back at the center of the now-fading spell in the sky, “See that?”

Squinting at the point she was showing him, “Oh yeah, look at those cool ripples of color up there.”

“Aurora Borealis,” Dash finished for him, looking over to him and smiling smugly, “Aurora Borealis.”

Looking at her with a smidge of embarrassment, Alex scratched the back of his head, “And that means…?”

Dash blinked several times, her expression completely still, as she stared directly in to his eyes.

“Oh!” He said quickly, laughing nervously as he put his hoof around her shoulder, “Right. Her friend.”

“How smart are our kids gonna be?” The blue mare said quietly, slowly looking at the hoof now resting on her opposite shoulder.

“Don’t go all high and mighty on me,” Alex laughed, clearing his throat and looking back to the streaks of color in the sky, “You’re the one that jumped head first in to the ‘egg head’ life. I’d have been happy to have dumb kids.”

“I literally spent years researching magic to save your butt.” She laughed out loud.

“You didn’t save me! You saved Alpha!” Alex laughed, earning a grunt of displeasure from her, “Queen Chrysalis saved me.”

“And if we both recall, you two had a great time,” she retorted, shrugging, “You always say her name when we—”

“Okay okay, you win.” He said, patting her shoulder and giving her a smile, “And I guess it helps to have one smart person around to keep me from getting myself in to trouble.”

“If being smart kept us from getting in trouble, I think I’d have stayed dumb.” Dash grinned back.

A comfortable silence followed as the two continued staring out at the horizon. Dash slipped an arm around his side, and pulled herself close enough to him to press her cheek in to his shoulder, slightly squishing her face.

Alex looked down at the top of her head and smiled, wondering just for a moment if it would still be weird at this point if he were to smell her hair.

“Are you staring at me?” She asked, her voice slightly skewed by her squished face.

“I was wondering if it would be weird to sniff the top of your head, to be honest.” Alex responded, a little uneasily.

Dash frowned and tilted her head as much as she could into his shoulder, “A little weird, yeah. But I’ll give you a pass. We are getting married, after all.”

“Yeah, I’d better enjoy you now, because I know what’ll happen once we get married.” Alex said, as he kissed the top of her head, and taking a moment to smell the shampoo in her hair.

“What will happen?” She asked, secretly enjoying the attention he was paying to the top of her head.

“Well, obviously you’ll get really fat- let yourself go.” He answered nonchalantly, silently bracing for the beating that was about to come, “You will stop worrying about your hygiene, your coat around your butt will get all matted and we’ll have to cut the hair out with scissors.”

Dash, again, frowned, and furrowed her brow as he continued.

“I’ll- of course, stay incredibly fit, and handsome.” Alex continued, his stomach starting to do backflips in anticipation of her retribution, “My body will be like a marble statue from all of my muscle. You might even start to resent me for being so hot, compared to your flabby-ness.”

“Where the heck are you going with this?” Dash asked slowly, still facing forward.

Alex laughed for a second before continuing.

“You know, I wanted to get a rise out of you, but now I’m feeling a little dumb that I didn’t get one.” He replied, “I’ll just have to work on my teasing a little bit.”

“Well, you’ve got a long time to master it,” she sighed, pushing back in to him, despite being as close as she could already be, "I'm mentally preparing myself for the next seventy years of teasing."

“It doesn’t bug you when I do it, huh?” He asked, glancing down at the top of her head once again, waiting for her to answer.

“Well, I mean, I give you a tough time too.” She replied, shrugging slightly as she continued, “If you didn’t tease me, then I’d never feel comfortable doing it back. And let’s be honest. When it comes to you, there’s a lot to tease.”

Alex gave a small chuckle, as he leaned his own head down to rest on hers, “I wish I could say the same back. But you’re kinda perfect. I always just have to make stuff up. Like saying that you’re letting yourself go, or something else like that.”

“Oh shut up,” She rolled her eyes, refusing to let herself be flattered by the compliment, “You’re just complementing me so you can get laid tonight.”

“Uh, no duh.” Alex laughed.

“Well, I guess I can’t fault you for seeing how perfect I am,” She said, stretching her arms and legs out, while holding her head in position, “Despite your many, many failings, at least you’re a good judge of character.”

“Hey! I’m more than just a good judge of character! I’m also, uh…” He began, scratching his chin for a moment, taking his time in answering her, “Good at making alfredo?”

“I’ll give you that one,” she laughed out loud, kissing his shoulder, “And you know I’m just joking. You’ve got a lot going for you, but the alfredo is the important one.”

“Oh, so you finally admit it, huh? I’m an awesome guy?” Alex asked.

“Off the record?” Dash asked, her smile growing as she nuzzled his neck, relaxing further in to his body, “The best years of my life have been spent with you. You’re a fucking awesome guy.”

Alex sighed happily, "I really hope that things will stay with way forever."

"Me too..." Dash added.

Suddenly, he pulled away from her, catching the mare off guard, as she suddenly had to support her own weight.

Looking up to him with a bit of confusion, she was surprised as he came in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips, before pulling back a moment later, and giving her the most earnest smile she had ever seen.

“I love you, Colors.”

Feeling the air catch in her throat, she sniffed lightly, then beamed back at him, her stomach fluttering just as it had 5 years ago, when the two watched the sun set on Ponyville together on the hillside.

“I love you too, Spot.”

////

End

Author's Note

Unfortunately, after covid hit and life kinda picked up, I just never really got the time to finish this story properly. However, I did write a detailed summary of the finale here:

On the Record

The password to the story is: hello

Hopefully anyone who might still read this story will get some closure from this.

Prologue

First, this story is going to be a retelling of the key parts of the series, however, some things may be slightly changed to accommodate the story. Please don't blast me for getting things wrong, or out of place. You can safely assume they're wrong for a reason.

Second, this IS an Alicorn OC story with with a romance between Rainbow Dash and the OC. I know this kind of thing is generic, and overdone, but i like to parody its use quite a bit within the story. So, please don't complain when it comes along.

But if you do complain... be warned! I. Will. Cry.

Savage tears, drool, boogers, oh man. You have no idea. You know that face babies get when they cry? All scrunched up and beet red? That is my face. But i'm a grown man. And it's starting to happen just thinking about what you might say. Okay... we need to move on before I lose my cool.

Anyway!

Enjoy!

S-M

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic:
Off The Record

It was a quiet night in late March, the sky was clearer than it had been in days. The only noise besides the distant sounds of city life was the wind blowing through the grass, and a wind chime that could be heard some distance away. The sun had only set a few minutes ago, but to Alex, it had felt like a lifetime ago.

Normally, Alex would enjoy every second of the fresh night air, and use the opportunity to relax away from whatever loud sports his father had on the television. However, being able to hear his father doing anything would make all of his pain go away. He sat with his back against the front door of his house, fighting back tears. He hadn’t cried in years, but at this point, he really didn’t care how hard it came out.

Alex was your typical only-child, with brown hair, blue eyes, he was smart, athletic, and getting ready to graduate in a few short months, he had never been the most popular guy in school, but hadn't ever been the least popular one either, which, to be honest, was the way he had always preferred it. All over, he was pretty generic. Generic, generic, generic.

Being a rather attractive guy, he never particularly had any issue getting girlfriends, his most recent; Courtney, had only broken up with him a few hours before... leaving him for a more “exciting” guy, whatever that meant.

The two hadn't been overly physical with one another over the course of their relationship, although that wasn't exactly any fault of his. He had pushed for intimacy plenty of times. However, much to his disappointment, she kept insisting that they save themselves for graduation, when it would 'mean' something. So, it was always up to the animated Japanese girls on the internet to help him deal with the tension.

Still, none of that mattered. She could be banging that new guy right now and he wouldn't have given a shit.

Alex kept replaying the events of the past day in his head, none of it seemed real. One thing led to the next, which led to next, which led too… the knock on his door.

Alex walked through his school parking lot absolutely livid; he had just been told by his girlfriend of 6 months that he was boring, and not worth her time. He had honestly thought that everything between him and her was going well. And out of nowhere she had hit him with this!

The argument that followed was nothing more than him asking what her real problem was, and her dismissing every effort he made to make things better.

So, after ten minutes of endless evasions, and other various bullshit, he simply walked away, deciding that whatever had changed, there was no fixing it. So, reaching his car and tossing his backpack in the passenger seat, he started it up, and pulled out of the parking lot and started driving straight away from the school, not caring where he ended up.

Eventually he ended up driving past a diner he and his father had visited every now and then over the past couple years. Deciding that he could use something to drink, he to stopped, resolved to forget about the last hour of his life for a few minutes.

“Hey kiddo, your dad with you?” His usual waitress, Rosie, said with a grin.

“Just me today, Rosie” Alex replied with a meek smile.

“Alright” she smiled, “the usual spot?”

“Yeah, thanks.” He kept his eyes glued to the floor as he walked over to his usual chair at the counter, mulling over what had just happened.

Rosie saw that something was wrong with him as soon as he walked in, but decided not press for any kind of answers from him, “What can I getcha’ Alex?”

“Oh,” he said being shaken out of his thoughts, "Uh, just a coke please."

“Sure thing.” she said with a smile, turning and walking back in to the kitchen.

After another moment, Rosie dropped off the drink and headed off toward another set of people that had just entered the restaurant.

The anger caused by Courtney's lack of explanation had subsided by this point from within him, and now he was just confused. He couldn’t see what she was trying so hard to keep from him. It must have been something pretty big...

“I’ll have a soda water with a couple of lime wedges please”

Alex was immediately pulled from his thoughts as he heard the unusual drink order. He looked over his shoulder and absolutely everything became clear. Across the diner sat Courtney, and Chris; the running back of his high school football team, the one guy any girl would kill for the chance for, the one guy who had just broken up with his girlfriend.

Alex could feel every ounce of anger return to him. He couldn’t believe that he got dumped just so she could have this guy. How could she have been so stupid that she didn't see the car in the parking lot? He quickly realized that she probably hadn’t seen his father’s car enough times to associate it with him, as he drove a truck ninety-nine percent of the time. Either way, he needed to leave now, before he did something stupid, and got his ass kicked by a football jock.

Leaving a five dollar bill on the table, he walked out without being seen by anyone, except a concerned looking Rosie.

Getting back in his car, he decided to go home. He knew his his parents would start to wonder where he was.

After driving well above the speed limit for 15 minutes, he finally arrived at him home, a small ranch on the outside of the town.

Pulling through the main gate, he was surprised to see his parents weren’t home from the grocery store in the city yet. His father had asked to borrow his truck so they could bring home a larger load of groceries than they normally could with the car he was in at the moment. Alex quickly shrugged it off and went inside to lie down.

Throwing his bag next to the front door, Alex walked through the kitchen and threw himself onto the couch in the den. After all that had happened, he just wanted to close his eyes for a few moments, and forget everything.

And within a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

*Ding Dong*

Alex was awoken by the doorbell ringing, he gazed over at the clock, it read 7:30, he figured his parents would have woken him up when they got home. ‘Are they not home yet?’ He muttered to himself still a little groggy.

*Ding Dong*

His attention went back to the door, and quickly composed himself as he walked over to it, and opened it. He was surprised to be greeted by a police officer, “Can I help you?” Alex asked, unsure of what else he could say.

“Are you Alex Mackenzie?” The officer asked in a slightly uneasy tone.

“Yeah…” Alex replied, still unsure of his purpose at the house

“I’m afraid there’s been an accident… “He started slowly “your parents were involved…”

Alex grimaced at the thought of it all. He couldn’t even keep his eyes open, everything reminded him of something. It made his stomach churned. He needed to get away. All of this familiarity was driving him nuts.

Standing up, he started walking toward a rather think patch of trees that sat on the outside of his property.

He walked in silence, while screaming in his head.

His uncle had been by shortly after the police left, and asked him to spend the night at his house just across the road. But, Alex refused. He was, however, happy that he offered to look after the animals on the ranch. Alex knew they would be neglected in one way or another if the responsibility was all his.

Looking up, he was surprised to see that he was already a good ways into the woods. However, his plan to escape from familiar things had somewhat failed.

His mother had used to take him through a small part of these woods. They would always follow the same path looping them around to where they started, so, realizing that, he purposely strayed away from the usual path, and went deeper into the woods. He needed a blank slate.

As he walked through the maze of trees and rocks, he kept his gaze glued to the ground. Everything stuck on permanent repeat in his head. And, after wandering like that for so long, he started to wonder just how long gad passed. But, it wasn't any real kind of concern for him. So, he just kept walking. Eventually, the ground started to clear up, and after a few moments, there was nothing on the ground but neat, cut grass.

His gaze was pulled up when he noticed some kind of light illuminating the ground around him.

He was puzzled to see some kind of shimmering light, about the size of a door in his home, directly in front of him. He tried to look into it directly, but found it almost impossible to look for more than a second. It had that same intensity of the sun, while not projecting it's light very far toward the outside world.

His mind wasn’t able to process what was making the light appear. There was nothing in the immediate area, and nothing could possibly be casting it from a distance. It's a strange feeling when you find yourself unable to explain something. Everything in your brain tells you that it shouldn't be there. And yet, it stood in front of him.

So, in order to satisfy his now massive curiosity, he inched closer and closer toward the light, intent on finding its source. He used one hand to shield the light from his eyes, and with the other he slowly moved to the light, expecting a kind of heat to be radiated from it; he was very surprised when he felt nothing but the cool night air.

He did a quick circle around the light to make sure there was no source immediately behind it, which there wasn't. When he finished his lap, he walked back to where he started, and considered his options.

He could leave it alone, and just move on.

Or... investigate.

As if there was any debate.

Since he wasn't able to look directly in to it, he decided to just reach his hand out, and see what it felt like, while simultaneously keeping himself from going blind. He reached forward, and felt nothing. So, figuring that he had miscalculated it's distance, he reached further. But, again. Nothing.

Looking quickly, Alex felt his pulse quicken as he realized that his arm was inside of it.

"Nope nope nope nope!" Alex said immediately.

He tried to withdraw his hand from the light, but found it wouldn't come out. His arm was completely stuck inside the mysterious light despite the lack of any grip he could feel. and Then, the light started expanding, slowly consuming more of body as it did.

Alex went wide eyed and started yanking and jerking his arm as much as he could, however, to was to no avail. He was stuck, unless he planned on ripping his arm off. Then again, his girlfriend had just broken up with him. Without his arm, he'd be out two girlfriends.

The light continued to grow, and slowly engulfed more and more of his body until it had just about reached his head, which he had tried to keep as far away as possible. But, as it obviously had no intention of slowing down, Alex finally lost the battle with the light, as it completely consumed him.

The only thing he could see was white, even when he closed his eyes he was still plagued by the solid color. He instinctively tried to cover his eyes with his hands, but was still unable to pull them toward him. He pulled against the invisible force holding him in place, and was surprised when the force suddenly disappeared.

However, once it vanished, his attempts to cover his eyes were finally fruitful, as his hands flew with more force than he intended, and he ended up striking himself in the face with two very solid feeling hands. He tried to inspect himself, but found the light to be too intense to see anything.

The bright world slowly started fading, however, Alex couldn’t tell if it was the world dimming, or it was simply him passing out from the strike to his head. Whether or not the color was fading, Alex passed out, embracing the darkness that came with it.

Alex felt his world slowly coming back to him. He was lying on something soft… Grass. It smelled great, and felt great. He smiled and pressed his face into it after a few moments of this, he stopped. Why was he sleeping on grass? He slowly opened his eyes to investigate what was going on around him. What he saw almost made him pass out again.

Nothing looked right. Even though it was still night, everything that surrounded him was brightly colored, and… what word could he use to describe this place?

Animated... animated?

What exactly was going on right now...? Did he hit his head or something?

Everything in his mind was buzzing, every detail he tried to flesh out in his head made little to no headway on explaining why he was seeing the world the way he was... was he high? He hadn't ever done shit like that, but something was pressing on his brain, and making him view the world in a completely different way.

Looking around, everything was the same... style, if that were an appropriate word. The world offered a severe lack of variety in the colors, it was like ninety-percent of shades had been blocked from his vision, making most objects have a single, uniform color to it. A tree trunk was solid brown, while the sky was a solid purple.

His brain simply couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

Alex had always had rather vivid dreams, but this was something entirely different, everything felt so… real. And on top of that, he was pretty aware, if this were indeed a dream.

Quickly looking around the area, he immediately came to the conclusion that he was in the same area that he had stumbled upon with the bright light…

Then, like a tidal wave, Alex remembered everything. His parents, the walk through the woods, the shimmering light, everything that had just happened…

“Well, either I’m dreaming, or I’ve completely lost it” Alex muttered to himself. “I'm probably just dreaming”

Alex looked around for another moment, and really appreciated the strange, but simplistic world around him. It was beautiful.

However, looking around can only get you so much out of life. So, he decided to investigate this dream in a little more detail by looking around the field. Reaching forward, he attempted to push off the ground with his hands. But, he wasn't supported the way he had expected to be, and he immediately tumbled to the ground.

“What the…?” Alex said, looking to his hands and gasping loudly in horror.

“Hooves?” Alex said out loud. His mind started racing, this wasn’t right. He did NOT have hooves. "This... this is just a dream! Come on hands! Change back! Any time now!" He was starting to get frantic, if this was a dream, why wasn’t he waking up? He put one hoof to the other and tried to pinch himself, but quickly remembered that he had no fingers to pinch with.

His first instinct was to stand up without the use of his hands. However, this didn’t end well, as he found himself unable to balance properly, and he immediately fell back to the ground face-first.

He stopped for a moment, and forced himself to calm down. He wouldn't get anywhere freaking out. So, slowly, he attempted to lift himself up from the ground, but found something was keeping him stuck in the ground. Putting his hooves on the ground, he managed a few yanks, and pulled his head free. He put a hoof to his head, feeling for what could have caused it, and quickly discovered the source. A Horn.

At this point, Alex just wanted to wake up. Everything felt too real.

It was like no dream he had ever had. The feelings, the smells, the ache in his head from falling over; every little bit was pushing him further and further away from 'dreaming' and closer to 'insanity.'

The next thought that came to him wasn’t the smartest thought he had ever had, but that hardly mattered, as he leaned over and bit himself anyway. He squeezed his eyes closed, and knew once he opened them, he’d be back at home, in his room, in his big comfy bed.

Slowly opening his right eye, he was sad to see that he was still here, in the forest that looked like it was right out of a cartoon.

Alex sighed, glancing around he took a moment to examine the hell he was in with a little more detail. The full moon was illuminating the entire area he was in, allowing him to see all the different shades of the grass he was standing in. The sky was a beautiful shade of purple, with a few wispy clouds covering some of the brightly shimmering stars. He sighed as his head sunk, but he was quickly reminded of his new appendage as it stopped him from touching the grass with his forehead. Alex looked back and forth and spotted a small pond a couple yards away.

Quickly making up his mind, Alex decided to get a good look at what exactly he was. Knowing that he needed to keep himself busy, so he wouldn’t go completely insane by over thinking what was happening to him.

Remembering that he had hooves, he slowly tried to stand himself up on four legs. And miraculously, when he managed to get himself to that point, he started walking forward one step at a time. He was surprised to find that as long as he remained focused, he had almost almost no trouble walking this way. He was making his way over to the pond much faster than he had anticipated.

Finally reaching his destination, Alex looked into the water and was greeted by the something that surprised him much less than it should have. He was a horse. No… he was a unicorn. The obvious horn on his head confirmed that. He tapped his hoof against the horn, he was DEFINITELY a unicorn. Besides the fact that he was a unicorn, in a cartoon world, and starting to accept it, nothing was out of the ordinary. White coat, black mane... why couldn't he have had a black coat with a red mane? Imagine how badass he would be if THAT was his color scheme! Oh well!

Looking back, he did notice one other odd thing. There was a large grey spot on his coat. It extended from just below the right hand side of his neck to lower on his body. He repositioned himself to he could see the rest of his body in the reflection, upon doing this, he found that the spot expanded until it reached his right wing, which was completely grey itself…. Wait.

‘Wing?’

Alex did a double take.

He had wings too.

"Did I really need both?" Alex muttered, turning and inspecting his other wing, which was completely white, "At least that makes up for not being red and black!"

He figured he would have been used to these surprises by now. But, this was just as much a surprise as the horn. So, inspecting them further, he saw that his wings were covered in feathers, which kinda made sense.

So, what did this make him? A pega-corn? A uni-sus? Jesus, those names were stupid.

Instead, he decided not to overthink anything, and pushed the thought from his mind. Keeping his eyes glued to his grey wing. He was suddenly determined to figure out how to move them. It shouldn't have been too hard.

Alex thought for a moment about how this might be done, before he decided to trust his body to know how to move them. It had somewhat worked for his legs, so maybe the solution was really simple! He closed his eyes, and did the first thing that came to his mind.

Alex felt his back relax in some places, and tighten in others, he opened his eyes slowly, and was happy to see his wings slowly extending. He wasn't great at it at first, but he quickly got used to the motion of opening and closing them. Upon more experimentation he found he could flap them, flare them, and even manipulate them in ways he knew birds couldn’t. This was pretty easy!

Alex started working on the flapping motion. But, no matter how hard he flapped, or how fast he flapped, he wasn’t going anywhere, which really was no surprise. Where would the fun be if he were perfect at it right away?

"How can this be real?" Alex said out loud.

However, as impossible as it seemed, he had a nagging feeling that this had happened before to other humans, many, many times. TOO many times. Like, it was inappropriate how much it had been done. But, well, that was just a hunch.

Shaking the thought from his mind, Alex looked down, and then lifted a hoof to his mouth, and bit himself again for good measure. But, as he figured, this left him right where he started, plus a dull ache. He figured he had two choices; he could sit around in the field until he woke up, or… The more adventurous choice, indulge himself in his obvious insanity.

Then, Alex remembered something his father had said to him once.

“If you’re losing your mind and end up in crazy land, you might as well have fun while you're there!”

Alex smiled at the memory. His Father had said this to him a few months ago when his grandmother was moved to a care facility because of her dementia.

“I guess that settles it” Alex said to himself “Since I've obviously lost my mind, I might as well try to have a little fun!”

He chuckled to himself and started scanning the horizon; he was surprised to see a city protruding off the side of a mountain some distance away. Normally he would have questioned the possibility of such a thing, but decided it was a waste of time. After all,

Alex quickly spotted a path that pointed him straight to the mountain. As he started walking, he wondered if walking into the dark forest filled with how-knows-what, was really a smart idea, but really, what was the worst that could happen?

Alex had been walking through the woods for what seemed like days, but in reality had probably only been a few hours. The path he had been following had taken too many twists and turns for him to be completely sure he was going toward that city, but even if he was in here for days, he knew he wouldn’t be in too much trouble. His father had used to take him out into the thicket and the two would live off of different kinds of plants and animals. He had always hated going on those trips as a kid, leaving behind all the comforts of home to go eat gross food, and sleep on a hard, cold ground. But now, Alex couldn’t be happier his father had forced him out on those trips. Although things were different in this world, a lot of things were still the same. He had managed to scavenge a few things to eat, and drink plenty of water

One thing that had surprised him was the complete lack of animal life. Not that he was looking for something to hunt; his father had always been the one to do that. And Alex could never bring himself to eat it anyway. The thing that had him confused was that not only had he seen nothing alive, but he hadn’t heard a single noise. Besides him, the forest was absolutely dead silent. There was something unnatural about it. He knew this world was completely foreign to him, but couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong.

Alex was also surprised to find that the sun hadn’t risen yet. He knew he had been out walking for hours, and that on top of that, it was pitch black out when he woke up in this place. He looked up, examining the sky, not being able to see any kind of change in the shade of purple he had seen hours ago. Was that another thing about this insanity world? Was night longer than day here? Was there a day at all? Maybe-

Alex was cut off from his thoughts when he heard screaming and a roar pierce the absolute silence of the forest. The screaming had been far off, but not so far that he couldn't get the direction is had come from.

Taking a deep breath, he started walking in that direction, slowly picking up his pace, while still making sure to avoid tripping and hurting himself. Once he found a rather clear path, he started to move faster and faster, trusting his new instincts, until he reached a speed he was happy with. He was amazed to see how little effect on his body his running was having. He was moving faster than he ever had before, and it was barely fazing him.

However, after fifteen minutes of straight running, he was finally feeling that he needed a break. He hadn’t heard another noise since the initial screaming, and wondered whether or not he had gotten to the place it had come from. For all he knew, he could be way past, or not even close. He closed his eyes and concentrated, listening for any sign of life around him... but, there was nothing. As he opened his eyes in defeat, he noticed that the forest was suddenly much darker than it had been before. He could barely even see his hoof in front of his face.

Where had this darkness come from? Or… rather, where had all the light gone? After a few seconds of squinting, and tripping over almost everything he possibly could, he sat down on him rump, giving up on navigating the pitch black. However, he wasn’t feeling defeated for long. Another shriek sounded out, this time; he could clearly hear that there were a group of people. Girls.

Snapping his head toward the direction of the scream, Alex saw a dim pink light illuminating a section of the forest just ahead of him. He was lucky he was so close, he never would have seen it if he had been any further away.

Normally he would have made it there in no time, but the darkness surrounding him made it extremely difficult. He had to squint at the ground, and calculate every step. Any screw up, and he would be horn deep in the ground once again.

As he closed the distance to the illuminated area, he started to hear something that sounded quite melodic. If he hadn't known better, he would have almost said that it was singing! His pace started to pick up as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he headed closer and closer to the source of the noise.

After 5 or so minutes he finally arrived at the clearing that had just housed the group of people. Seeing no one around, he figured that they must have headed up the path.

Looking around, he noted that all the light had been restored to the area. It had been such a gradual thing, he didn’t even notice it. Realizing that he didn’t exactly know where those girls had headed off to, he started examining the ground, looking for clues as to where they had gone.

Quickly picking up on the directions of the hoof marks, he knew what direction they were headed.

“Hooves…” Alex said out loud. “That means that they’re horses too. Like me. Or... more likely, they're riding horses.”

Knowing that this wasn’t the time to stop and think, he pressed on.

Galloping along the path, he squinted trying to see if anyone was in front of him, but found nothing to suggest any sign of life ahead. After failing at that, he looked at the ground and saw that the hoof prints were farther apart than they had been before. They must have been running to.

So, after another 10 minutes of galloping, he had to slow down and take a break. These other horses must have been much more used to running compared to him. But, this didn’t REALLY surprise him, as, well… this WAS his first time being a horse.

So, after only a two minute breather, he started moving again, picking up from his previous pace.

Next, Alex came upon a large, rushing river.

On close examination he noted that he couldn’t cross it by any normal means. He glanced back and forth at his wings, wishing he knew how to use them. Sighing, he sat back on his rump, and grumbled at the fact that he didn’t know how he’d be able to follow them from here. He closed his eyes, and sighed, looking at the ground.

“Why hello there!” A slightly flamboyant voice said from in front of him.

Alex just about jumped out of his skin. Opening his eyes he was greeted with the sight of a giant serpent towering over him.

“I… I…” Alex stammered, almost paralyzed with fear, not able to form any coherent words as he simply stood frozen in place.

“What’s wrong with you?” The serpent said, sounding concerned enough to put Alex a tiny bit at ease.

"Remember Alex! This is a different world. This guy… might be a normal thing! At least you’re talking to someone!" Alex muttered to himself.

Composing himself as much as physically possible, he managed to squeak out a few words, "Did you… see a group of girls head across this river?”

The Serpents face lit up “Why yes!” He said beaming. “The lovely fillies that just came through here and helped me with my crisis!” The dragon said adding as much emphasis on the word ‘crisis’ as he possibly could. “And now!” he began, “My amazing moostache, is even more fabulous than before! All thanks to those wonderful ponies!”

Being slightly confused, Alex looked up to see that the serpent’s moustache, or… Moostache was made up of two different colors on either half of his face. On the right, it was orange, and matched his other hair. On the left, it was purple.

“So, if I’m like them, that makes me a pony?” Alex asked quietly, before laughing at the absurdity of it all, “How manly!"

But, really, considering his size, pony actually made a measure of sense.

Quickly snapping back to the creature in front of him, Alex cleared his throat, “By any chance, could you help me across the river to follow those… Ponies?” Alex asked, hoping that he wasn't screwing up the use of the word.

“Can’t you just fly across with those wings of yours?” The serpent asked, cocking an eyebrow.

“Oh! Well, you see…” Alex considered his options carefully here. Did he want to tell him that he was from another world, and that he didn’t know how to fly yet? No. No point in sounding like a complete lunatic. “I… Uhh… hurt my wing! And… can’t seem to get myself airborne!” He said laughed nervously.

“Well that is just terrible! I’d be more than happy to give you a lift after what your friends did for me!” He said smiling. “Here! Hop on!” The snake said lifting the back half of his body onto the shore, next to Alex.

Alex gulped. He REALLY hoped he wasn’t about to get eaten. Slowly stepping over the serpents tail, he walked a few more careful steps, finding some more solid ground to stand on.

“Here we go!” The friendly snake said, quickly moving his body over to the other side of the river.

After an agonizing 15 seconds of Alex trying to keep his balance on the creatures back, he reached the shore on the other side of the river. Hopping off, Alex turned back to his new friend smiling, “thanks for the lift!”

“It was no problem at all!” He said beaming. “I’m always happy to help out new friends!"

"So... You just live in the river?" Alex asked, suddenly curious about the lifestyle of the creature, "Or do you have a house or something?"

"I live in a cave just downstream!" He said happily, pointing behind him, "But, as much as I’d love to continue this conversation, aren't you trying to catch that group of fillies?”

“Oh!” Alex remembered suddenly, “Right!” He smiled, looking at the ground and finding the tracks once again and picking up speed, “Thanks again!”

“Come back any time!” The serpent shouted, watching Alex gallop into the night.

Alex had been running for only a couple of minutes where he came to a small bridge crossing over a large expanse. On the other side, was some kind of temple. Completely made out of stone, and had been completely overgrown.

Deciding not to waste any time, he took his first step on to the rickety bridge. However, he felt a certain place on his backside pucker as the entire thing squeaked, however, he forced himself to keep moving, pushing fear to the back of his mind.

Once he was half way across, the fear began to force it's way back in to his head. The boards on the bridge were both old, and giving way under his weight. Considering how old the temple looked, he wasn’t really surprised this was happening.

Realizing that he needed to cross this bridge before it collapsed, he began quickly moving from one board to the next, closing the distance between him and the other side. He was only a few planks away from the end, when he stepped on a board and it suddenly gave away under his weight. He barely managed to take a step back without falling, but found that the gap created by the lost board was simply too big for him to safely step over.

How would he get across now?

Alex always considered himself somewhat smart, and this was one of those reaffirming moments, because he knew he’d have to jump the rest of the way across the bridge now. Even if he had been able to jump to the next plank, past the one that had fallen, he knew it would just collapse under the weight of his landing on it.

Gauging his distances, he took a few steps back... He hadn’t tried jumping as a pony yet, but, as far as he could remember, knew they were very capable of covering distance in his world with a single jump.

Besides, really, what was the worst thing that could happen? he would run, jump, then fall, and wake up from this dream!

...

He gulped, not being completely satisfied with that previous reasoning, but started running anyway.

As Alex quickly got to the gap, he bent his hind legs, and pushed them off the board, launching himself toward the other side of the cliff. He sailed through the air, but quickly realized he was going to be just short of his destination. He was only a few feet away from crashing into the bridge, and likely falling into the chasm, when his new instincts kicked in, and his wings extended and gave a few powerful flaps.

In no way had he achieved any kind of flight, but his wings HAD given him just enough lift to get him past the end of the bridge.

Being so surprised with this, Alex hadn’t prepared for the landing, and promptly tumbled onto the ground head first, which got his horn stuck in the ground. Again.

He yanked his horn out of the dirt with little trouble, and looked up at the stone temple in front of him. He could clearly see a small group of ponies standing in front of the main structure. He had found them! Getting a good look at the group, he noticed that two of the ponies had only wings, another had only a horn, and the other two had neither.

He was different from them... But, deciding this might be another completely normal thing in this world, he started approaching them.

As he started walking toward them, he carefully considered what to say. What do you tell a group of horses, when you're a human that came through some kind of convenient portal in to Equestria? Well--

But, before he could formulate any kind of plan to talk to them, a dark purple light quickly shot through the structure, disappearing as fast as it had come.

“Twilight?” shouted all of the girls in unison, before all of them ran into the building.

“She’s gone!” he heard another one of them say.

Alex started walking toward to the temple when his focus was pulled to a building to the left of the main structure. He saw the same purple light pierce through the darkness, shining out all of the windows of the temple. If that light had made someone disappear, he figured it was a safe bet to go check this out. If anyone was in danger, he had to make sure this ‘Twilight’ was safe before he worried about himself. He was a nice guy, after all.

Running up the main stairs into the temple, he came to the main chamber of the building, where he saw a much larger horse, with some kind of flowing black mane, and a set of armor, standing on a pedestal on the opposite end of the room. Closer to him, was a purple pony, with only a horn, who was confronting the other mare.

Alex ducked behind a pillar so he wouldn’t be seen right away. He watched as the small purple pony, who Alex assumed was ‘Twilight’ took a rather aggressive stance, looking like she was going to charge the much larger horse in front of her.

“You’re kidding.” The larger mare laughed. “You’re kidding, right?” She said seriously, upon realizing it wasn’t a joke.

Alex quickly moved himself behind another pillar, heading inward toward the middle of the room, before looking back to the confrontation. Twilight started charging the black mare full speed, with some kind of spark shooting out the end of her horn.

The Black mare laughed, and returned the gesture in kind, rushing toward the small girl.

‘What is she thinking!?’ Alex said to himself. ‘There’s no way she’ll ever win this!’ But, to Alex’s and the black mare’s surprise, Twilight vanished in a bright light, and reappeared on the pedestal the black mare had just been on.

“Just one spark, come on, come on!” Twilight said concentrating.

Skidding to a halt, the larger horse turned and saw Twilight pointing her horn at the six stones on the ground. “No!” She shouted as she started running at the pony.

Alex could clearly see that Twilight was in no position to avoid any kind of oncoming attack, and that the horn on the charging horse could probably do some real damage if it hit her. So, he decided that there was only one thing to do.

He gulped, jumped out of his hiding spot, and ran on an intercept course, to protect the girl.

He had to laugh at himself; here he was, running at the scariest horse he had ever seen, all to protect somepony he didn’t even know. For all he knew he was attacking the GOOD guy. However, he seriously doubted this, and braced himself for the impact, making sure to tilt his head far enough down that he didn’t impale her.

‘Wait? Did I just say somepony?’ Was the last thing he thought, before colliding with dark horse.

The hit HURT. It felt like he had run head first into a brick wall, even getting his horn stuck in it.

Staggering back, Alex was happy to see his pain was worth it, as he had knocked the mare off balance, causing her to wipe out on the stone ground, and skid across the floor.

“You foal! You dare attack Nightmare Moon!? She shouted, at Alex.

Righting herself, she seemed to have forgotten Twilight, and started approaching him, growling. Alex, stood his ground, hoping to give Twilight as much time as he possibly could, so she could do... whatever it was she was doing. However, Nightmares focus was pulled back to her when the six stones in front of the purple mare started sparking back and forth, sending Twilight flying away from them with some kind of magical burst.

“No!” Nightmare shouted rushing onto the platform.

Alex ran over to the collapsed Twilight, “Are you okay?”

Twilight looked at him with a confused face, before a light bulb turned on in her head, and she lit up. “You’re the one! The one we were missing this whole time! But… Who are you?” She asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

Alex wasn’t sure how to respond to this, “Um... my name is Alex, but, I don’t really understand… how am I ‘the one?’ You don't mean in a boyfriend kind of way, do you? Because I just got here-”

Twilight shook her head, cutting him off, “The elements! Look!”

She looked over at the sparking stones excitedly, obviously expecting something spectacular to happen. However, the stones suddenly stopped their exchange, and seemed to die.

Then it dawned on her, that had only been six elements. “But… Where’s the seventh element?” She said confused.

The mare laughed manically, raising her front hooves, and stomped them down, shattering all of the stones on the pedestal. “You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun! The night will last forever!”

Twilight watched, horrified, as the shards of the stones landed on the ground around Nightmare Moon. What was she going do now? There was no hope left.

Alex saw that Twilight was feeling defeated. He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but he understood that it probably wasn't good, so, taking a defensive stance over the collapsed pony, all he could do was try his best to keep her out of danger.

“Don’t worry Twilight!” a voice called from the entrance way.

“We’re here!” another voice called

Twilight looked back, she could hear all of them calling out to her, worrying about her... all that made her really... happy! Then, all at once, it made sense.

Standing up, she puffed out her chest and smirked to Nightmare.

“You think you can destroy the elements of harmony just like that?” Twilight asked, suddenly very confident in herself. “Well you’re wrong!” She said standing next to Alex, “Because the spirits of The Elements of Harmony are right here!”

The other five ponies lined up next to Twilight and Alex, all of them giving one look or another toward Alex in confusion.

The shards of the Elements of Harmony started two float off the ground, “What?” Nightmare Moon shouted, suddenly in a panic.

Twilight smiled, more than happy to explain their victory to her enemy.

“Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the spirit of... honesty!” Twilight said as several shards of the stone flew over to her, and started circling her.

“Fluttershy, who tamed the manticore with her compassion, represents the spirit of... kindness!” A startled Fluttershy got her own collection of shards circling around her, like Applejack.

“Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of... laughter!” Jumping up and down, the pink pony was thrilled to see shards start looping around her as well.

“Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift represents the spirit of... generosity!” The white and purple pony looked down modestly as the shards started moving around her.

“Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire represents the spirit of... loyalty!” The cyan pony stuck her chest out proudly, as the shards started circling her, the same as all her friends.

“And Alex, who threw himself in harm’s way to protect me when I needed it most, represents the spirit of… selflessness!” Alex was surprised to hear himself included in this list of names, realizing that this is what she meant when she said he was ‘the one.’ A part of him was sad that it wasn't more of a 'soul mate' deal. It sure would have been nice to instantly fall in love with one of these horses, wouldn't it have been?

“The spirits of these six ponies got us through everything you threw at as!” Twilight finished triumphantly.

“You still don’t have the seventh element! The spark didn’t work!” Nightmare countered, her voice having lost all of its power.

“But it did!” Twilight began again. "It was a different kind of spark!" Looking back to her new friends, she beamed toward all of them, "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, and to see you! It was how much I cared about you!” She said as her eyes welled with tears. “The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all… are my friends!” she said to the group of five ponies behind her. Turning to Alex she smiled “And even though I’ve just met all of you, you’re all still important to me.” She said holding back more tears.

Alex smiled back at her earnestly as she turned her head to face Night Mare Moon.

“You see, Nightmare Moon,” Twilight started, as a seventh stone, much like the other six before they were shattered, appeared and started floating down toward her. “When those Elements are ignited by the… uh… spark! That resides in the heart of us all, it creates the seventh element: the element of… magic!”

All at once, the shards circling all of the girls started coming together on each of them to form a necklace, with a different shaped gem in the center of each one. Alex watched as the other ponies necklaces appeared around their necks.

The Yellow pony with the pink mane had a necklace with a pink butterfly jewel in it.

The Pink pony got a blue balloon shaped jewel in her necklace.

The Rainbow pony got a red lightning bolt in the center of hers.

The Orange pony with the blonde mane got an orange apple jewel in the center of hers.

And the white pony with the purple colored hair got a purple gem cut much like any precious stone.

Alex looked down, and saw that the gem in his was simply a large round diamond, sparkling brilliantly.

And finally, the stone floating above Twilight transformed itself into a crown, with a purple star on the top of it. Closing her eyes, Twilight, and the six other ponies were lifted off the ground, and engulfed in a bright white light.

As the necklaces built up their power, Alex could feel it sapping his energy, draining the last bit he had. He watched as a brilliant rainbow shoot out from him and the other six ponies, and surrounded Nightmare Moon.

Then, opening her eyes, Twilight focused all of the magic surrounding the seven ponies into one powerful blast, engulfing the entire room in a bright light.

The next thing Alex knew, he was on the cold stone floor, losing consciousness. But, even as that was happening, he couldn’t help but laugh at how insane everything was that had happened. As the world started fading, he wondered if he was going to wake up in his room by his mother...

The world buzzed. Alex felt like he had just been hit by a flash-bang grenade.

”How is he?” A voice asked.

Alex stirred momentarily, focusing enough to listen to the conversation.

“He’ll be fine” a soothing voice said. “He was just exhausted from the fight with Luna.”

“Thank goodness!” The first voice, who he identified as that purple mare, said sounding extremely relieved.

“But… as for his missing mark, that is somewhat of a mystery to even me.” The second voice said, with a touch of confusion in her voice. “Only he can explain this to us.”

“And what about the wings and the horn?” Twilight asked, with the confused tone returning to her voice.

“While those normally belong only to royalty, it isn’t impossible for somepony to be born with both. That simply must be the case.” The second explained. “However, I’m should get back to the party. You know how tied up royal duties can make me.” She said with a soft laugh.

“Well, I’ll stay here until he wakes up. I didn’t get a chance to thank him.” Twilight said.

“Very well, my student. Please bring him to me when he wakes, I’d like to have a word with him myself.” She said, as the sound of a door opening was heard.

As Alex listened to the footsteps move further away, he slowly dozed back into oblivion.

Hours passed.

Alex, finally started to wake.

Slowly opening his eyes, he noticed he was still in the other world… The colorful, vibrant, beautiful world, which he was happy to still be in, surprisingly. After all that happened, he didn’t want to go home without figuring out what had happened after that the battle with that big horse.

Slowly lifting his upper body off the bed he was on, Alex was surprised to see that he could sit straight up, as if he were a human, something he was sure regular horses couldn’t do. Looking around, he saw that he was in some kind of room made entirely out of wood. Almost as if he was inside a giant tree, which really wouldn’t have surprised him. Scanning the bookshelves and walls, he saw a clock hanging off the wall next to the window. It read ‘3:45,’ and, judging by the bright light shining through the window, he figured it was 3:45 PM.

he was happy to see sunlight, finally. It had felt like eons since he had last seen it... he had almost forgotten how beautiful it could be, but, then again, for all he knew it was way more beautiful in cartoon world. Smiling, he slowly started examining the room with some finer detail. There were books. Lots of books. A few plants, a lamp... it looked a lot like a normal room to him.

Alex’s examination was cut short as he started hearing muttering coming from just below him. He gazed over the edge of the bed, and saw Twilight on the floor, fast asleep. Briefly remembering the conversation from before, he remembered her saying something about staying in the room until he awoke.

He took this opportunity to properly examine her instead... That thought sounded dirty, and he didn't care.

She was a purple pony, with a dark purple mane. However, also in her mane, were two different streaks of purple, one that he saw was an indigo shade, and one that was almost pink, but a touch darker. All and all, she was a very purple pony.

Her tail had the same colors as her mane, which he had expected, however, next to her tail; he saw some kind of mark on her side. She had a purple star, similar to the color of the second streak in her hair. And around the star were several smaller white stars.

Thinking back to the fight with Night Mare Moon, he had noticed that she had a moon in the same place Twilight had her star. Was this something all of the ponies had in common? A mark on their sides? Alex twisted his body and checked his flank, and saw that there was none. He looked back at Twilight and studied her mark closer.

After a few minutes of this, his mind started to wander to the night before. He thought back to the fight, back to crossing that bridge, back to the snake, back to waking up in this place, and eventually, back to his parents. He felt his chest tighten up at the thought. Shaking it from his mind, he decided the time to mourn was later. As horrible as he felt to say that, he knew his parents wouldn’t want him to sit around and wallow in sadness rather than figuring out what was going on.

“Uh… Alex?”

Alex nearly jumped out of his skin, Twilight was awake, looking at him, and… blushing?

“Were you just… staring at my rump?” Twilight said a little flustered.

“What? No! Nononononono!” Alex stammered, “No! … okay, well, I mean, I was, but! I was looking at… That.” Alex said pointing a hoof at her back side, as she examined her flank, giving him a chance to shamelessly stare at the toned muscles of her hind legs. He knew that she was a horse- or pony, but men look at women. It was that simple- and sexist.

“Oh! You mean my cutie mark?” Twilight said laughing at the misunderstanding, “Do you not know what that is?” She asked cocking an eyebrow.

“I have absolutely no idea.” Alex said flatly.

Twilight was surprised to hear this, everypony knew what a cutie mark was, but he didn’t. “You’re not from around here, are you?” Twilight said.

Alex laughed, “You could say that. There are probably a LOT of things I need you to help me figure out.”

“Well, I’ll try to make sure all of your questions get answered” Twilight said smiling. “But first, I just wanted to say that we wouldn’t have won the battle, and… I could have been really hurt if you hadn’t shown up when you did.” Twilight said earnestly. “So, thank you, Alex”

“Oh, I was just doing what anypony would have done,” Alex said furrowing his brow at his use of the word ‘anypony.’

“You don’t understand, not just anypony would do that.” Twilight explained, “The pony would have to be either extremely stupid, or extremely brave to throw themselves in front of somepony as powerful as her.”

Alex opened his mouth to explain that he was indeed stupid, but decided to simply move on. “So, what happened after that necklace knocked me out? All I remember was floating up into the air, and attacking her with some kind of… beam.”

“Well, those necklaces- The elements of harmony, unleashed the power that we all have inside of ourselves.” Twilight began. “It took power from all of us, and using that, I was able to channel it all into one blast, which I focused right at Night Mare Moon.”

“What did it do to her?” Alex asked, intrigued.

“It changed her back.” Twilight said, unsure of how to word her explanation. “Her evil side was purged, and all that was left was a filly. And, as it turns out, that filly was the sister of Princess Celestia. ” Twilight paused expecting a shocked reaction, but was given none. “Do you know who that is?” Twilight asked.

Alex simply shook his head and laughed. “No, although, I remember overhearing her ask to speak with me when I woke up. That was her, right?”

“Oh! Yes! I almost forgot!” Twilight said suddenly remembering. “I’ll take you to her right now! She’s just outside enjoying the party."

Alex started trying to get out of the bed, but had to stop and think about it. Getting out of bed as a pony was very different from getting out of bed as a human. Slowly rocking himself back and forth, he was able to roll himself on top of his legs. Then, he pushed off his hooves into standing position. However, he was still covered in the blanket, which posed as an entirely new obstacle. He shook his body and tried to get the blanket off of him, but failed. Thinking carefully, he came up with an idea he considered genius.

Leaning his head forward, he flared his wings straight up, sending the blanket straight up into the air. ”Ha!” Alex said triumphantly, proud of his ingenious thinking. He looked over, and saw Twilight giggling at the door, he opened his mouth to say something, but the blanket floated down and covered his face before he could. He sighed dejectedly and sat down on the bed, defeated.

“Here” Twilight said lifting the blanket off his head using her magic. “Normally, we use our mouths to get something off of our backs. Where exactly did you say you were from?” Twilight said becoming more curious at how he couldn’t even perform the most basic of tasks.

“Well, that’s a long story…” Alex said unsure of even where to begin. ”Can I get it all together in my head while we find the princess?” Alex asked slowly.

“Oh! Sure!” Twilight said, not wanting to press anything on him. He was obviously troubled over it. “Come on, let’s go find her.” Twilight said dropping the blanket in a ball on the bed next to Alex, who was still standing on top of it.

Jumping off the bed Alex walked out the door behind Twilight, unsure of what waited for him outside.

As soon as Alex stepped out the door, he was hit with a refreshing burst of cool air. Breathing in, he smiled, happy to be out in the sun.

Looking around, Alex saw ponies everywhere. Dancing, eating, all together having a good time. It was a pleasant sight to say the least.

He hadn’t gotten five steps from the house, before a pink pony zipped in front of him, blocking his path.

“Hiya!” The pony said with a bright smile on her face. “You want some cake?” She said shoving a piece of cake into his mouth, “I made it myself!”

Alex was taken by surprise by the sudden intrusion of her hoof into his mouth, however, upon tasting the cake, he had forgotten all about the impossibility of pushing cake into a ponies mouth that way.

“Gooooood huh?” She said giggling.

“Hmmph!” Alex said with his mouth full. “It’s the best I’ve ever had!” He said after swallowing.

The pony beamed, “Thanks! I’m Pinkie Pie!” She said extending a hoof.

Alex reached his hoof out to shake hers “My name is AaaaaaaAaaaa!” Upon shaking her hoof, he was greeted with a
shock coming from a buzzer on her hoof.

The pink pony snorted, and fell over in uncontrollable fits of laughter.

Alex looked into a mirror attached to a building a few feet away, his hair was sticking straight up, the feathers on his wings were skewed in all directions, and to top it all off, a small amount of smoke was rising from the tip of his horn.

‘Just like a cartoon…’ Alex said to himself.

This made him think of something. Shaking his whole body back and forth as if he were a dog drying off, the soot caused by her buzzer flew off in all directions around him.

“Hey Alex!” He heard Twilight call. “Come on! We’ll have plenty of time to spend with Pinkie after we talk to the princess.” She said trotting toward what looked like the center of town.

“Oh! Right!” Alex said hurrying off toward Twilight. “Thanks for the cake uh... Pinkie!” He said before he moved into a crowd.

As Alex walked through the town, he couldn’t help but notice the difference in girls to boys. For every one colt he saw, there were five mares. And while a ratio like this may not have been the strangest thing he had seen in this world, he still decided to ask about it.

“Hey Twilight, I was wondering…” Alex started.

“Hmm?” Twilight said, turning around to face him, walking backwards.

“Well… Why are there so many girls here?” Alex said plainly.

Twilight looked around, she had noticed this yesterday, when she first arrived in the town. “Well… not all places are like this.” Twilight said slowly. “In my hometown of Canterlot, we have plenty of stallions… This town is just… different. I don’t really know more than that.”

“Huh. Okay. Thanks, I guess...” Alex laughed.

“Sorry I can’t be more help, it’s just how it is.” Twilight said, slightly embarrassed that she couldn’t provide a better explanation. “We’ll figure it out some day, I’m sure” She finished, with a smile.

Twilight had been so involved with her conversation with Alex that she didn’t notice the pony in front of her, and the two promptly collided with one another.

“Oh my gosh! I’m sorry!” Twilight said picking herself up off the ground.

Alex quickly moved around Twilight to check on the collapsed pony behind her. “Hey, are you okay?” He said to the deep purple pony.

The filly looked up and looked at Alex silently, with a pinch of worry, confusing him greatly, as he tried to figure out if he knew her already, or alternatively, if there was something on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Alex said concerned at her reaction to him, "It is the lack of tattoo on my butt? Because I don't know about that either."

Twilight shook her head, regaining her composure. She then moved to beside Alex, so she could see what was wrong with the pony she had bumped into. Upon seeing the speechless filly, she immediately understood.

Twilight approached them, and gave a relieved look to see that the filly- or princess, was just fine. “Alex, this is Princess Luna, I believe you two have met.” She said, smiling inwardly, knowing this would confuse Alex.

Alex gave Twilight a puzzled look, he knew a handful of ponies, and didn’t even know the names of half of them. This filly wasn’t one of those few. “Sorry. I haven't met any children.”

Cutting him off, Twilight smiled. “Alex, I’d like to reintroduce you to Nightmare Moon.”

Alex cocked an eyebrow, he remembered Twilight mentioning her being transformed into a child, but this filly looked so… harmless. He could see that she was worried about how he’d receive her, so, he lowered his head to her level and smiled,

“Nice to see you again, um, Princess... Nightmare Moon."

The filly looked up at him with massive eyes, tears welling and ready to start running down her cheeks, "I'm sorry that I threatened to hurt you... I wasn't able to control myself..."

Alex hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from her. Here was the proud, dark mare that had wanted to hurt them all so badly, changed into this crying child who could barely even make eye contact with him. Upon seeing her like this, any worries he might have had about her trying to hurt anypony again were pulled away from his mind.

Alex smiled and used his hoof to lift up her chin, until she was looking at him.

“Listen, I don't blame you for a thing. I don't even understand how one person- or pony, could be changed so much by magic, or evil... or whatever!" Alex said, his happy attitude almost infecting the princess, "So you don't have to worry about apologizing to me. I'd never hold something against someone, when I don't even understand the situation."

"That's a relief to hear," She said, a small smile forming on her lips as she wiped a running tear from her cheek, "Thank you for helping Twilight the way you did."

“You don’t need to thank me;” He returned, "I just did what anypony would have done.” He said for the second time, rolling with his use of the term ‘anypony.’

Twilight smiled as she saw this side of Alex, he was a genuinely nice colt. She had been a little worried that he might have reacted poorly to finding out this was Night Mare Moon. But, she was happy to see that he was treating Luna like a real pony, unlike so many of the villagers who still obviously feared her, despite their attempts to act normal.

Luna beamed, she had expected a much worse reaction, but was overjoyed to see that he wasn’t judging her “Well, if i can't thank you for helping Twilight, then I'd like to thank you for just being nice to me right now.” She said quietly.

"I'm an incredibly nice person," Alex nodded, "It's my biggest flaw... Well, except for my modesty."

Luna giggled at the small joke, putting a bigger smile on Alex's face.

“Oh!” Luna said suddenly. “My sister was looking for the two of you!”

Twilight stepped forward as Luna said this. “We were just looking for her; do you know where she is?” She asked.

“She’s over at the table with all the cake” Luna said pointing a hoof toward the most densely packed part of town.

Twilight laughed at hearing this. Her mentor had always had a weakness for pastries... especially the spongy variety. So, her being at that particular table was no surprise to her. “Thanks Luna. We'll come see you afterward, okay?”

"I'd be happy to see you!" She replied, her mood lifted significantly from where it was only a minute ago.

"Come on, Alex. We have some things to sort out." Twilight said trotting off toward the crowd.

“Thanks a lot Princess Luna!” Alex said following after Twilight.

As Alex followed Twilight closely through the crowd, he couldn’t believe that he had just had such a casual encounter with a princess. The royalty in this world was so much more down-to-earth than in his world. Well, except for maybe the one with red hair.

Alex had been looking at the ponies in the crowd he was been walking through, and besides the fact that most of them were girls, he also noticed that they all had marks on their sides, like Twilight. But one difference was that there were so many variations, like: flowers, clouds, bubbles, hourglasses, and many more. The only ponies he had seen without these marks were all children... Why did that make him worry a little bit?

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight said, coming to a sudden stop, causing Alex to bump in to her rump, "We've been looking for you."

Alex looked up from the ground to see a large white mare, who was about the same size as Nightmare Moon, at the table about to eat a piece of cake.

The Princess looked at Twilight, then to Alex, then back to her cake and sighed dejectedly, she then put the cake down and looked back to Twilight.

“I see our guest has awakened” Princess Celestia said to Twilight. Turning to Alex she smiled “Thank you for what you did for Twilight. It sounds like you showed up right in the nick of time.”

“I just did what anypony would have done,” Alex said again, "However, if you insist on giving me a medal, I'd like to request the kind that unwraps and has chocolate inside it."

"I'm sure something like that can be arranged," Celestia laughed, "Are you sure you wouldn't you want one made of silver or gold intead though?"

"I think I speak for everypony- uh, here when I say that gold would taste terrible..." Alex laughed nervously, showing a small amount of frustration over his automatic use of 'everypony' once again.

“Is something wrong?” Princess Celestia said noticing his obvious shift in attitude.

“Well, A lot of things are wrong…” Alex said, exhaling and rubbing his eyes. “And I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you what all of them were. But hay, I barely believe the story myself.” He said sighing at his use of ‘hay’ instead of ‘hell.’

Princess Celestia could see how troubling this was to him, and decided that it was time she learned some things from him, "I think it would be best for everypony if you were to tell us what series of events led you to my student."

"Well, I feel like I have more questions than answers right now," Alex said, looking around dejectedly.

"I’ll try to answer yours, if you can answer ours.” She said in a soothing voice, "Don't be afraid."

Alex looked around him, at crowd of ponies that now surrounded him, all waiting to hear his story.

“Alright” He said simply. “Where do I start?”

Alex thought for a moment then decided where he would start things off, “Well, I’m not from here. I’m from somewhere very… different. Somewhere where I wasn’t a horse- or pony, or whatever.”

One long explanation later.

“And, that’s how I ended up here.” Alex said finally.

By the time he was done talking, just about every pony in town was there. They had been standing around him listening as he explained where he had come from, how he was a human, about when he found the bright light, and how he woke up in Equestria. He explained that he had caught on to the girls trail and being able to follow them, then he mentioned the serpent, then the bridge, and eventually, the fight with Nightmare Moon.

Alex had explained how different ponies were from humans, and how he had been saying the wrong words, in place of the ones he would have used in his world. He even explained that he couldn’t get a blanket off his own back, which had elicited a few laughs out of the crowd.

One thing he had not mentioned, was what had happened to his parents.

He wasn't looking for pity, and didn’t feel it was overly important to his arrival.

Sitting down, Alex sighed and looked up at the Princess, who had a fairly mystified expression herself.

“I see…” Celestia said, breaking the silence.

“You think I’m completely insane, don’t you?” Alex said, staring at the ground.

“No. I don’t.” Celestia began, clearly meaning every word she said, “I knew something was different about you the first time I saw you. This simply confirms my suspicions.”

"Well, that makes me a little more comfortable, I guess," Alex sighed happily.

"But Princess," Twilight spoke up, "How was he one of the Elements of Harmony? He wasn't even in Equestria until last night!"

"That is something that I have yet to understand myself, Twilight." Celestia said thoughtfully, truly having no answer for her student, "Perhaps it's an answer we'll discover as time progresses."

"And what is up with that 'Selflessness?'" Alex asked, as they all gave him an odd look at the open-endedness of his statement. "I mean, I remember hearing a generosity already! Isn't that the exact same as mine?"

"Oh," Celestia nodded, understanding his confusion, "Really, a lot of the elements are synonymous with one another. Kindness and Generosity go hoof in hoof. Laughter and Kindness as well. The element represents the pony. Not the other way around."

"Oh." Alex nodded, satisfied with that answer, "Well, I guess I really shouldn't be questioning something I don't understand anyway."

"Feel free to ask any question you want!" Celestia laughed, "I'd be asking plenty if I were in your situation."

Alex smiled, but decided to move on with the conversation, to the more important topic at hoof.

“So, I saw all the magic you guys have here... do you think you can you help me get back home?” Alex asked, looking around the crowd, sincerely hoping for a rousing 'yes' from them all.

“Now that, I’m afraid I cannot help you with.” She said, frowning slightly at the poor news.

“So... I'm stuck here.” Alex said, feeling his hope begin to leak away from him.

“Now, I didn’t say that.” Celestia said, unsure if what she was about to tell him would be great news for him.

Alex perked up at hearing this, “What then?” he said excitedly.

“When it comes to using magic to move yourself- teleportation and whatnot, only the pony casting the spell can choose the destination” Celestia explained, as Twilight nodded along, “And, since only you have been where it is that you’re trying to go, only you know those feelings that come with it.” She continued, “If you think of your home, and the feelings that it brings you, you can use those to take yourself back.”

“Oh, so I can’t just click my heels together and say ‘there’s no place like home,’ huh?” Alex said laughing, before clearing his throat when Celestia obviously didn’t get the reference. “So, basically, I just have to think of home and use a spell? Sounds easy enough, let’s get started!” He said standing up.

“I’m afraid it won’t be that easy Alex,” Celestia said, cutting his excitement short. “Performing a spell like that takes a lot of practice.”

“I’ve been training for years, and I can only just perform a spell THAT powerful.” Twilight piped in.

“Oh. So… I’m going to need to be trained for… years?” Alex said, as their words sunk in.

“I’m afraid that may be the case…” Celestia said, unhappy at having to deliver this news.

Alex felt like the entire world had fallen silent, as a high pitched ringing began sounding in his ears. It was one of those moments where everything stops, and nothing seems to matter in the entire world. He had just felt this way yesterday, when he was told about his parents.

But, something else came to his mind, as he stood frozen in place. This could have been a blessing in disguise.

He had been destroyed by the news of his parents death. His life was more or less going to take a very shitty turn, and he didn't want anything to do with it.

So... maybe this was a good thing. He could spend some time in this world, and completely forget about the magnitude of issues back on earth. He could have a blank slate, and start a new life... this could have been a silver lining.

Alex looked up, and surprised everypony with what he said next, “Well, then let’s get started! If this is gonna take me years, I’d better get started now, right?” Alex said, his voice filled with vigor, as he but on a faux-smile.

Everyone was shocked by this, including Celestia. However, her shocked expression eventually changed to a small smile, she admired his enthusiasm. “Well then, if you’d really like to learn this, I can think of nopony better to teach you than… Twilight.”

Twilight was shocked by this to say the least, “What? Me? Princess, I don’t know if I’m able to-”

“Twilight” Celestia interrupted. “I can’t think of a single pony that would do a better job teaching him than you.”

“But… what about you? You- You could do a much, MUCH better job than me!” Twilight stammered, blushing at everypony staring at her.

“With Luna coming back to the castle, I’ll have my hooves full helping her integrate back into normal life.” Celestia explained. “This way, Alex can live here in Ponyville, and you and your friends can help him adjust to his new life. Would you mind that Alex?” She asked him.

“No! Not at all! Besides, you’re kinda the only pony I know…” Alex said turning to Twilight.

Twilight looked back to the crowd of ponies, each one waiting for her to finally agree.

“Well, okay! I'll do it!” Twilight said, as the crowd erupted in a loud cheer.

“Wonderful!” Celestia said, smiling to her student, before looking to Alex, “Now, you’ll need somewhere to stay while you’re in Ponyville.”

“Would you mind staying in the library with Twilight until I can make you the necessary arrangements?” Celestia asked politely, hoping this would make neither of them uncomfortable.

“Uh, sure!” Alex nodded, not wanting to be a pain in the butt whatsoever, “Whatever works, i can live with it!”

"Great!" Twilight said, smiling to her teacher, "I'll try my very best, not to let either of you down."

"Oh please," Alex laughed, "You could accidentally light me on fire and I wouldn't hold it against you."

Twilight exhaled slightly in relief. She was happy to have a student that wouldn't be judgmental, as this was her first real chance to teach a pony about advanced magic.

“Alright, now that we have everything worked out, let’s say we get back to the party, hmm?” Celestia said to cheers of the crowd, as they all went back to enjoying themselves.

Not wanting to be stuck in a town full of ponies he didn’t know, Alex looked around for Twilight, and was surprised at where she was. He approached Twilight, who had sunk into an ally way between some cottages as everypony had spread out.

“Hey Twilight, you okay?” Alex asked as he got closer to her.

“Um, yeah…” She said, her voice sounding shaky.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, concerned.

“Look, I know I sounded sure of myself back there... but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do everything the princess asked me to…” Twilight said looking at the ground. “I guess I'm just a little scared.”

“Are you kidding?” Alex said walking right next to her. “I saw you charge head first at that Nightmare horse! Something nopony would EVER do- well, I assume anyway. Then! You gathered all the energy of the... uh... Helements of Armory... and defeated her with it!” Alex continued. “Twi… You’re the most capable person I know! Pony OR human! And I seriously do have all the confidence in the world that you will be able to help me” Alex finished, hoping this had improved her confidence.

“You really think that?” Twilight asked quietly.

“Absolutely” Alex said back.

“Thank you Alex” Twilight said looking up from the ground. “I needed that.”

Alex smiled at her, and she returned it.

“Come on,” Alex said walking beside her “let’s get back to the party, I wanna try some more of that cake!” He finished as the two walked back to the party.

Hours had passes since Celestia had asked Twilight to teach Alex how to perform magic, and since then, the two had been eating lots of cake, dancing with their tongues sticking out, meeting ponies around town, altogether enjoying the party, and getting used to their new home in Ponyville.

The sky had just started getting darker, when, Princess Celestia stood up and used her magic to lightly bang a spoon on the side of her teacup.

Alex and Twilight turned along a few others, giving their attention to the princess.

“Mares and gentlecolts, if I could please have your attention” Princess Celestia said with just enough volume to make sure everypony heard her. Once the last of the talking died inside the crowd, she continued. “In honor of the one thousandth annual summer sun celebration, and the return of my sister, Princess Luna, I would like to invite her to come and raise the moon, and usher in the night, for the first time since the banishment of Nightmare Moon!”

All attention was drawn to Luna, who had clearly not been expecting this. She blushed deeply as she approached Celestia. “Are you sure about this, Sister?” Luna asked timidly.

Celestia smiled, “Of course, Luna. Nothing would make me happier.”

Luna nodded, and smiled back at her sister, holding back tears. “Thank you so much...”

As Luna moved away from Celestia, the crowd backed away, giving her plenty of room to perform her duty, that she had earned back to quickly.

Alex watched on, wondering exactly what it meant to ‘raise the moon.’

“Hey Twilight, what's going on here?” He asked quietly.

“Just watch” Twilight whispered back, not taking her eyes off of Luna.

Luna bowed her head in front of the crowd, and her horn started to glow. Then, giving her wings a few powerful flaps, she lifted herself into the air. Raising her head up, she looked up into the sky as the glow around her horn brightened. Everypony watched on in awe as the moon rose from the horizon, moving directly behind Luna. Encompassing her in its light, all anypony could see of her was a silhouette, in front of the large moon behind her.

The crowd cheered as Luna landed on the ground. She looked at the cheering ponies in front of her and blushed again. She hadn’t expected everypony to warm up to her this quickly… Looking through the crowd, she saw an awe-stricken Alex standing next to a giggling Twilight. She winked at him, and then moved away from the crowd rejoining her sister.

Celestia beamed. This had done exactly what she had wanted it to. She wanted Luna to be accepted by the masses as quickly as possible, and she could think of no better way to do this than to have her raising the moon, and watching over the night again as quickly as possible.

“With that, I’m afraid I must announce our leave” Celestia began, earning several moans of displeasure from the crowd. “The party has been lovely, but much needs to be done in Canterlot to accommodate the return of Princess Luna.” She continued.

Twilight had been observing Princess Celestia since the party had started, and she was considerably shocked, to say the least.

She had been mentored by the princess for years, but... she had never seen her like this. Celestia was absolutely beaming with positive energy. Twilight didn’t think she had ever seen her smile this much.

She was truly happy to have her sister back.

“So, thank you for having us everypony, I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.” The Princess said standing up, and walking toward Twilight, who quickly moved out of the crowd and met her half way. “I hope you enjoy your stay here, my faithful student. And remember, I have faith in you.” She said looking at Alex, then back to her. “And don’t hesitate to ask me for anything if you need It.” Celestia said, trying her best not to tear up at her parting of ways.

Twilight and Alex walked behind the royal sisters as they made their way to the royal carriage, and both took a seat within it.

"I'll see you in Canterlot soon, Twilight." Celestia said softly from her seat, "Thank you again for taking on this task."

“Of course, Princess!” Twilight said, her voice cracking as her tears began flowing freely, "I'll be stopping by soon!"

“Bye everypony!” Luna said over Twilight, waving hoof to the crowd, then turned around and followed her sister.

The royal guards took their positions in front of the carriage, and prepared for their departure.

“Oh!” Celestia said suddenly. “Mrs. Cake!”

“Yes dearie?” a blue pony with a pink mane said taking a step from the crowd, toward the carriage. “Oh! I mean… P… Princess!” She stammered, correcting herself with a nervous smile.

“About what we talked about…" Celestia said to the earth pony.

“Don’t worry about a thing!” Mrs. Cake said with a smile, “I’ll make sure they get to you.”

“Wonderful,” Celestia said with a smile, nodding to her lead guard, signaling them to start taking off, "Thank you."

As the carriage started to take flight, Luna popped her head over the edge, “Thank you everypony!” She shouted loudly, happy to finally be going home, after the passing of the thousand years.

Alex couldn’t help but smile at her. She acted so young, and yet, only one night before, she had been a fully grown women... or mare, with no trace of what she was now. This world truly offered some things he would have to get used to.

Either way, he was just happy that things turned out the way they did, because really, they could have turned out much worse.

“So!” Alex said turning to Twilight, “Do you mind if we head back? I'm kinda-”

“Hey Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted, falling out of the sky and landing in between them. “I’m throwing an after-party at Sugarcube Corner!”

“Pinkie? Where did you…” Alex began looking around for some place that Pinkie could have jumped from to land between them the way she had.

‘Remember Alex, cartoon world’ He said to himself.

“Uhh, never mind.” Alex finished quickly.

“So! I was thinking you could bring Alex around and introduce him to the rest of the gang!” Pinkie said excitedly.

“Oh!” Twilight said turning to Alex, with a concerned look, “You wanted to head back, right?”

“Oh, no! I’ll come,” Alex said with a yawn. “I can keep going for a bit.”

“Alright!” Pinkie cheered, “Come on! Everypony’s waiting for us!“ she said as she started hopping off into the crowd, toward Sugarcube Corner, with Twilight and Alex closely behind.

Luna and Celestia sat in their carriage on their way back to Canterlot.

"Sister," Luna said softly, "That pony with the Rainbow mane..."

"I know," Celestia said, the wind blowing through her mane, as she looked on in to the night, "I see him in her too."

"A day doesn't go by that I don't think about him..." Luna muttered, far beyond tears, but not beyond sadness.

"Luna, he died a hero, trying to protect both of you, and the Crystal Empire," Celestia consoled, turning to her sister and placing a hoof on her cheek, "Please don't fret at a time like this."

"Of course, I'm sorry," Luna said softly, pursing her lips slightly, "I should be focusing on the positive right now."

Alex was in awe of the building Pinkie had brought them to. The bottom of the house looked normal, but the roof looked like it had been made of gingerbread, decorated with icing and candies. Above that was decorated like a giant cupcake. It looked like someone had pulled it straight out of Hansel and Gretel.

Upon entering the building, Alex was met with the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. The room was absolutely full of sweets. There were cakes, cupcakes, candy canes, pies, cookies, and much more. This store would definitely be having his business in the future.

“Come on guys!” Pinkie said leading them up the stairs to the left of the entrance, “Everypony is up in my room!”

Following her up the stairs, they entered a large circular room directly above the shop, filled with balloons, cake, punch, and four ponies.

“We’re here!” Pinkie shouted, getting everyone’s attention.

Alex recognized all of the ponies from the battle with Night Mare. He had seen them around town during the party, but hadn’t talked to any of them except for Twilight and Pinkie.

“Girls, I’d like to introduce you to Alex.” Twilight began. ”Alex, these are my friends, Pinkie Pie, Rar….”

“Wait!” Alex said interrupting her. “Can I try? I think I can remember their names from the battle last night.” He was always good at remembering people’s names, so he thought this would be a fun challenge.

“Sure!” Twilight laughed. She had only said their names once in front him, so, she was happy to let him give this a try.

“Okay…” He said looking at the lineup of girls in front of him, then, pointing a hoof at Pinkie he started working his way across. “You’re Pinkie Pie.” Alex began “I would shake your hoof, but I don’t want another shock.”

Pinkie lifted her hoof off the ground and flipped it, revealing a buzzer. She then exploded into a fit of snorts, and giggles.

Everypony else started giggling along with her, she had a very contagious laughter, which was fitting for her Element.

Moving on to the next pony in line, Alex pointed his hoof at a peach pony with a blonde mane, who was wearing a brown hat. “You,” he started confidently “Are... Applejack?”

She smiled “Darn tootin’” She extended a hoof “It’s a pleasure to meetcha’!”

Shaking her hoof, he took a mental note of her southern American accent. This should have confused him, but, at this point, it was the most normal thing in this world.

The next pony in like was the white unicorn with the purple mane. She was very ladylike, and extremely good looking… In fact, he found himself a little mesmerized by her beauty.

This thought made him pause. He thought she was beautiful? Looking back and forth between all six ponies in front of him, he had to admit, they were all attractive. But why did he think that? These ponies were, well… ponies. Generally, he limited his attractions to his own species... although, he had spent a few seconds looking at Twilight's butt.

Then it hit him, they WERE his species. He WAS a pony. He knew his mind hadn’t been quite right since he was brought here, he had been saying the wrong things, having odd cravings for odd food, and now this. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. Deciding that finding ponies attractive wasn’t the end of the world, he moved on.

“You’re Rarity” Alex finally said, as she nodded in response.

“Quite right,” Rarity said with a smile, “It’s a pleasure to meet you Alex.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Alex said lifting her leg up, and lightly kissing the end of her hoof.

Rarity cocked an eyebrow, as she laughed lightly, "You've only just come to this world, and you're already attempting to court me?"

"I'm gonna be honest," Alex laughed, releasing her hoof, "Now I can tell all the guys in town that I got to kiss you. "

The girls all laughed as Rarity only shook her head with a small smile, "Well, you'll certainly be the envy of every stallion in Ponyville."

The next pony in line Alex knew he would have some trouble with. She was a yellow pony with a bright pink mane, and a pair of wings. He tried to make eye contact with her, but she hid behind her hair. He thought hard, but couldn’t come up with her name… He needed to get a better look at her.

"Hey... um, would you mind letting me get a better look at you?" Alex asked, trying to walk the line between 'polite' and 'creepy.'

She only squeaked in response.

"Come on now, Flutterhy," Rarity said, without realizing that she had just given the name away, "Let him try and guess your- Oh."

Again, the girls all laughed at Rarity, as her cheeks burned red with embarrassment, "My goodness, I'm so sorry!"

"That's okay, Rarity." Fluttershy said politely, "I'm actually happy that he wouldn't have to stare so much at me, just to try and remember my name..."

"I would have gotten it!" Alex lied, having been very surprised by the name... he had been expecting something like 'lollipop,' or 'dragonfly.'

Alex extended his hoof to her, deciding to capitalize on her upright posture. “It’s nice to meet you, Fluttershy,” He laughed, taking the unsteady hoof she offered him and shaking it, “What is it you do in town?”

"Oh," She said, surprised that he was asking her something he hadn't asked the others, "Well, I take care of all the animals out by my cottage. And if anypony is ever looking to adopt one of them, I'm always happy to send them to a new home!"

"So, you run like, the pet store?" Alex asked, nodding to himself, "That's really cool!"

“Thanks..." She smiled happily, as he finally moved on from her.

Alex a mental note about her timidness, knowing that he would have to be careful about how he treated her in the future. He didn't exactly want to sneak up on her and give her a stroke.

Moving on to the last pony in line, Alex knew that he was in trouble. She was cyan blue, with a rainbow mane, and wings. She was perhaps the most memorable of the entire group, but he had no idea what her name was. “Well…” he began “Um... I can remember your element! It was... uh, loyalty!” Alex said, nodding rapidly, "As for your name... Uh... It's..."

"Come on, spit it out!" She said crassly, narrowing her eyes slowly to him.

Alex truly tired his hardest to think of something, but, he simply drew a blank. “Uh… is your name… Colors?”

“Excuse me?” The cyan pony said with an unhappy look on her face. “Does it LOOK like my name is Colors?” she asked, with a few cracks in her voice, as she stepped toward him.

If Alex were a smarter pony, he wouldn’t have answered that question the way he did.

“…Yes?”

A moment of dead silence followed, as all the other girls in the room collectively gulped.

“My name is RAINBOW DASH” She said angrily, trying her best to hide the embarrassment she felt over being the only one Alex couldn’t name. “And, I’m sorry if I wasn’t memorable enough for you to remember that.”

"Well, I didn't mean to-"

"I don't care!" She said, storming past him and heading for the door, "Maybe next time you'll- Just... nevermind!"

Rainbow walked past Alex, and out the door behind him, before calling over her shoulder, "Thanks for the party Pinkie. I'll see you guys later."

With that, they all heard her walk downstairs, open the front door, and close it a littler more harshly than was required.

The silence in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife; everypony just stared awkwardly at one another.

Alex's frown was large, as he tried to wrap his head around the sudden outburst of anger he had just been subjected to.

“Don’t worry about her,” Twilight said finally breaking the agonizing silence, “She’s probably just tired. With everything that’s happened, nopony’s slept in almost two days!” she explained, “She’ll come around after good night’s sleep, I’m sure of it.” Twilight finished.

“Yeah…” Alex said slowly. “Sorry about that everypony. I didn’t mean to hurt her feelings…”

“Don’t worry about it darling!” Rarity said to him.

“Yeah!” Applejack chimed in, “Don’t you worry nothin’ ‘bout her.”

“Rainbow Dash is made of tough stuff!” Pinkie said “She’ll definitely come around!”

“All she needs is a little sleep” Fluttershy added quietly.

“Well… speaking of sleep” Alex said, still a little flustered, “If you all don't mind, I think I'd like to get some of that myself…”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked him, "I'm sure there's a lot more fun to be had here!"

“Thanks for the offer, but I think I’ve enough of myself a jerk today” Alex said laughing lightly, “I don’t wanna risk insulting anypony else.”

“Alright…” Twilight said slowly, walking next to him, ”Do you want me to show you the way back?”

“No, you stay here and enjoy yourself; I can find my way back.” Alex answered quickly, the truth was, this little exchange with Rainbow Dash had simply given him an excuse to head back to the library and get some sleep.

“Well, if you’re sure…” Twilight replied, not pushing anything on him.

“Yeah, sorry again everypony...” Alex said turning around, and quickly exited the room.

The girls all had a concerned look on their faces as they watched him leave.

“Well, that was certainly interesting…” Rarity said after hearing the front door closed behind Alex. “So, what do you think of him Twilight?” She asked.

“Well, he certainly is different…” Twilight began, “But from what I’ve seen of him, he’s a really… genuine pony- or human.” She said, unsure in her choice of words, “The way he treated Luna, how he didn’t complain about having to study magic, even the way he introduced himself to all of you... he seems like a nice guy to me. Or a manipulative monster."

“I agree! He was quite charming when he introduced himself to us” Rarity said blushing at the thought. “He isn’t too hard on the eyes either.” She finished with an impish grin.

“I noticed…” Twilight said, now blushing as well.

Fluttershy obviously agreed, as turned red slightly.

“Eeyup” Applejack agreed simply.

Alex walked out of the bakery nodding to himself. That's definitely what they were all saying about him.

Alex walked through the now almost empty town. He inhaled, enjoying the fresh night air. Now that he had some time to himself, he found his thoughts wandering back to his parents. This world had been doing a pretty good job of keeping his mind off of them.

But right now... he needed to just remember them. Even if it were only for a few minutes.

As he walked through the town, his mind mulled over countless memories of them he had, until, his mind stopped on one in particular. The last time he had seen them. Only two days before.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

Alex stirred, opening his eyes looking at his alarm clock.

BEEP BEEP BEEP

“7:00 AM… Too early” Alex groaned, rolling over in his bed, clamping a pillow over his ears.

BEEP BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP
BEEP BEEP BEEP

“Fine!” Alex shouted, hitting his hand down on the top of the alarm, silencing the hellish noise.

“Good to see you’re up” Alex’s mother said from his bedroom door. ”Breakfast is almost ready downstairs, so don’t go back to sleep!” And with that, she pulled the cord on his blinds, allowing the burning light of the sun to pour over his face, blinding him, despite his closed eyes.

His mother had always loved doing that. Blinding him first thing in the morning. Alex hated it. He told her every single day. But, she kept right on doing it. His mother was fairly average as far as 'moms' went. she cooked, she cleaned... It was that simple. She would often joke about how oppressed she was, but really, she knew better than anyone, that she was the REAL boss. around the house

She was a small women, standing at a measly 4’6, which worked well, due to how short his father was. She had black hair that had started greying recently. But, whatever grey would grow in, was quickly dyed out.

Having seen both of his parents graduation pictures, Alex couldn't understand how his father ended up with his mom. Back in her day, she was gorgeous- not to say that she was ugly now. But, when his father was younger, he was a dweeb. Even now his mother still got looks from men wherever they went. It was something, that his father hated, obviously.

Alex shielded his eyes from the obnoxious light with his blanket. “I love you too mom!” he shouted from under the safety of his comforter, where it was nice and dark.

"Don't take too long." She said to him, walking out the door, "You'll have time for a quick shower before the food is ready."

Sighing, he pulled the blanket from over his head and let his eyes adjust to horrible- no, hellish brightness. Then, he stood up from his bed and headed for the shower.

Once he finished, he pulled on a clean shirt, and a pair of jeans he had worn the day before. Once he was satisfied with himself, he headed down for breakfast.

“Mornin’ sleeping beauty” Alex’s father said lowering his newspaper and smiling “Did prince charming wake you up with a kiss?”

Alex rolled his eyes and laughed. The line itself was terrible, but his dad used it more than twice a week. Apparently there's comedy in repetition- apparently.

His father was a short man, standing at only 5’6. His hair had started to grey recently, slowly taking over his natural black. You could also see the wrinkles forming on his face. But, because of his work on the ranch, he had kept himself in rather good physical condition. Alex and his father had always been close. With the constant insults, the fist fights over the TV remote, and the “camping” he hated so much, Alex really couldn’t be happier. His father had always given him a hard time, but it was always in good fun.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, me and your mother were gonna head into the city to pick up a load of groceries. You mind if we take your truck?” His father asked.

“Yeah, sure” Alex said, getting some scrambled eggs out of the frying pan, then sitting down to join his father.

“Great” He started slowly, “You know, I was thinking… what say you and I go on another camping trip next weekend?” His father said, poking his eyes over his newspaper.

“Ha!” Alex said. “How about this, you go, and you can tell me all about it when you get back. Sound good?” He said, taking his first bite of his breakfast.

“Come on! Name one thing that’s wrong with going camping.” His father said confidently.

“Oh, I won’t just name one,” Alex began with a smile, “There’s the lack of electricity, the lack of heating, the lack of toilets, the lack of showers. So, pretty much the lack of EVERYTHING. Then, there’s The bears, the wolfs, the bees, the mosquitos, and, did if forget to mention the BEARS.” Alex repeated. “And, to top it all off, I just don’t like you.” He finished, scooping more eggs in to his mouth.

“Come on chief!” His father mocked. ”You might need those skills for the future!”

“I can promise you right now, I will NEVER need those skills. I don’t see myself getting stuck in any forests any time soon.” Alex said, shaking his head, “So, I think I’ll pass.”

As he finished his last bit of breakfast, Alex’s mother entered the room.

“I got all of your laundry done, and put in your room.” She said sitting down at the table. “So, make sure it gets folded and put away.”

“I think a pile on my floor works better for me." Alex said, truly knowing that's where it would end up.

“Oh! Dear,” His mother began, “Your father and I were wondering if we could borrow the truck to run some errands.”

“I know, dad already asked” Alex said. “And I said he could take it, if I didn’t have to go camping with him.” He said smirking.

“Fine” His father laughed, “You’re lucky I have to feed your mother, because I’d just skip the groceries, and have you starve.´

“I have money you know.” Alex said pulling an extremely wrinkled 5 dollar bill out of his pocket.

“Oh, I see that. You’re rolling in the dough, aren’t you?” He said sarcastically.

“Yeah well… I’ll go out and work the corner if I REALLY need money.” Alex said, causing his mother and father burst out in laughter, "Stop laughing! There are plenty of old men that would love to have all 'this.'"

"You know what, Alex?" His father laughed, "I think i agree with you on this one."

“Well. All career choices aside,” Alex said snickering, “When are you two heading out?”

“Probably the same time as you” Alex’s mother said, shaking her head at the immaturity they both showed. “We were thinking we would go into town, have some lunch, see a movie- you know, make a day of it!” She said wrapping her arm around her husband's neck.

“You want anything while we’re there?” His father asked, "They have way more selection at some of the stores over there than what we have here."

”No, Don’t worry about me” Alex said, shaking his head. “You two just do your thing.”

Standing up, Alex’s walked over to the stove and tossed his plate and the frying pan into the sink. “Well, I'm gonna take off, can I grab the keys from you?” He asked, looking at his mother.

“Sure thing” She answered, said opening her purse and tossing her key-chain toward him, "Why don't we get going as well?" She said, walking to the front door with Alex, before noticing that her husband was still firmly planted in his seat at the table. “You coming? Because If you'd rather, I can just go down to Alex’s corner and hire one of his co-workers to be my date for the day.”

“Well, we can’t have that!” His father standing up from the table quickly, “They might fall in love with you and convince you to run away with them! Well, then again… that doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Oh shut it, you!” She said hitting her husband with her purse lightly.

“You’re way out of their league anyway” His dad said giving her a kiss on the lips. “Let’s get going.” He finished with a smile.

The three of them exited the house together and headed for their respective cars. “Hey Alex! I need those keys!"

Reaching in to his pocket, Alex grabbed the single key from his pocket, and threw it toward them.

Using them, he got inside the truck with his wife, and roared the engine to his life. “Oh, kiddo, come here.” His dad said suddenly.

Walking over, his father reached into his pocket and handed him his credit card.

“What’s this for?” Alex said raising an eyebrow.

“Almost no gas in that thing, you’d better fill it up on your way.” He said pointing at the car.

“Oh, thanks.” Alex said smiling. “You guys have fun, okay?”

“Aww, thanks sweetie!” His mother said happily. “Come here!” She said leaning over her husband toward the open window with her arms outstretched.

Alex sighed and leaned forward, letting her embrace him over his dad through the open window.

“Have a good day at school!” She said, then kissing him on the cheek.

Alex could hear his dad laugh quietly at his embarrassment. “I will” he said pulling back. “Love you.”

“I love you!” His father mimicked in a squeaky voice.

“Shut up.” Alex said rolling his eyes. “You’ll be back by the time I’m done my date with Courtney?”

“Yup” His father said putting the car into gear. “Try not to miss us too much; we’ll be here when you get home.” He finished as he drove the car straight out the gate.

”I’ll try not to!” Alex shouted as they pulled away on to the main road.

Smiling, he got into his dads car and started it. Looking at the gas gauge, It was full. He knew this was his father’s way of saying ‘Please come camping.’

“Well, if I’m going camping,” Alex said, inspecting the massive lump of cash he had been given, “I might as well make him pay for it.”

Knowing this would score him some points with his girlfriend, Alex Slipped the card into his pocket, and started thinking where he was going to take her for dinner.

Everything had happened so suddenly that day. It had all started out wonderfully. Like any other day. But after that, the day went from good, to bad, to horrible. However, the one thing that he was happy he had, was the final exchange he had with his parents. He thanked Celestia that the last thing that happened between them wasn’t an argument or something like that. His final memories of his parents had been great ones. And, as heart wrenching as it was to think of his ‘final memories’ with them, at least those memories had been something worth it.

Smiling lightly, Alex opened the door to the library. He was surprised that all the lights were on. Something he hadn’t noticed on his arrival because of his little flash back.

“Who are you?” A voice said.

Alex almost had a heart attack. He hadn’t expected somepony else to be here.

“Are you a burglar pony? Because I’ll have you know that I’m a dragon! And you shouldn’t mess with a dragon!” The voice said, attempting toughness.

Alex looked up the stairs to where the voice had come from. And, sure enough, there was a dragon. A very small dragon, or, what Alex assumed was a small dragon. He was a small purple creature with a light green stomach, and dark green scales across his head, almost like a mohawk.

“Don’t worry buddy. I’m no burglar.” Alex said to the dragon. “I’m staying here until I can get a place to stay in Ponyville... Sorry if that's a little sudden. I only just found out myself.”

"Oh yeah," Spike nodded, "You're the guy that was passed out in the extra room a few hours ago!"

"That's me," Alex laughed, happy that he wasn't completely foreign to this guy.

"It's lucky that you showed up when you did," Spike said, remembering all Twilight had told him when she arrived home this morning, "It sounded like you saved the day!"

"Honestly... I was just in the right place at the right time." He explained for the millionth time, looking at the wide eyes staring at him, “By the way, what’s your name?”

“I’m Spike!” The small dragon said puffing his chest out and smiling. “I’m Twilights assistant!”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Spike.” Alex said, walking up the stairs toward the dragon. “What kind of dragon did you say you were again?”

“Well…” Spike began, “I’m still TECHICALLY a baby dragon… But because of all the studying with Twilight I’ve done, I’m a lot smarter than I look!” He said proudly.

Alex laughed inwardly. A 'baby' dragon wasn't exactly the answer he had been looking for, but decided to roll with it.

However, the fact that he was talking to a dragon in the first place didn’t seem all that strange at this point. This world was filled with surprises, and he was starting to get used to it. “Well, I’m Alex” He said extending a hoof.

Spike reached out and wrapped his hand around Alex’s hoof, shaking it. “Nice to meet you! I’m Spike” he repeated with a smile.

Alex couldn’t help but be jealous that Spike had actual hands... He was going to miss his right hand a whole lot. It was essentially his girlfriend most nights.

“Have you seen Twilight?” Spike asked, pulling Alex back to their conversation, "It's really late!"

“Oh, she’s over at Pinkie Pie’s house. They’re having an after party.” Alex explained.

“That pony sure likes parties.” Spike said to himself, remembering the night before. “So… Why are you staying here?” He asked.

“Well… THAT, is a long story…” Alex began, heading down the wooden stairs toward the main reading area. “I guess I’ll start from the very beginning. You should probably sit down.” He said taking a second to gather his thoughts. “Oh!” He said suddenly, “I’m not crazy, no matter how crazy this story sounds.”

Spike nodded and sat down on a chair sandwiched between two bookshelves.

“This is all true” Alex said before beginning.

Spike nodded.

“I’m not making it up” Alex continued.

Spike nodded again.

“I’m not crazy” Alex said, still not moving on.

“Okay! I get it!” Spike said frantically, just wanting to hear the story.

“Right, sorry!” Alex began. “Well… It all started a few days ago…”

“And then, after making a total jerk out of myself, I headed back here.” Alex said, finishing his story.

Spike was silent. The story had been beyond farfetched. But, if Princess Celestia believed Alex, then he must have been telling the truth. “Well, if all that’s true, that means you’ll be around for a while learning magic, right?” Spike asked.

“I guess so,” Alex answered. “Twilight said it could take years…”

Spike saw the troubled look cross Alex’s face. “Well, I’m sure it won’t take you that long.” He said comfortingly. “Besides, now that you’re here, I’m not the only guy!” Spike said, realizing how excited this made him. “I won’t be stuck doing lots of girly stuff with Twilight and her friends all the time!”

Alex couldn’t help but smile. Spike may have appeared to be young, but he had the mindset of a young teenager. And on top of that, Alex really couldn’t help but agree with him. It would be nice to have another guy around. He was sure he’d get along with Spike just fine.

However, looking at the clock, he realized just how late it was, and decided that it was time to get to bed. “I couldn't agree more, Spike. But, right now, I should hit the hay.”

“Yeah, I should too. Twilight would kill me if she knew I was up this late.” Spike said laughing. “But, one more thing before we go… You know that white unicorn with the purple hair?” Spike asked.

“Rarity?” Alex asked, confused.

“Yeah!” Spike said smiling. “She’s mine. Don’t go near her.” He said, suddenly dead serious.

“Oh... dude," Alex said, wide eyed and biting his lip, "I already kissed her."

"W-what?!" Spike asked, his eyes bugging out of his head, before Alex exploded in laughter.

"I'm just joking! Calm down buddy!" Alex laughed, fighting the urge to fall on his back and continue his laughing fit.

“W-well, good!” Spike said, flustered as he walked down the stairs ahead of Alex, and pointed to a door, “That’s gonna be the room you stay in. It’s the only other one with a bed.”

Alex recognized the room as the one he had come out of when he first woke up after the battle with scary-horse.

“Thanks!” Alex said walking toward the room. “Get a good night’s sleep, alright?” Alex asked. “The last thing I need is Twilight angry at me for keeping you up!”

Spike laughed, “Sure thing! And If you need anything, just ask.” He said before blowing out all the candles, then heading back up the stairs to his and Twilights room.

“Goodnight!” Alex called to Spike, hearing him close his door.

Alex walked into the room that he had been in previously. Smiling, he walked his way over to the bed, and collapsed on top of it. If today and yesterday were any indicator, life here was going to be insane. Which, really, he couldn't complain about, because along with the insanity, was a measure of fun.

However, if he was going to be able to keep up, he would need his beauty sleep... and a lot of it at that.

He had a feeling this story was only just beginning.

Prologue: End

Griffon the Brush Off

Chapter 6
Griffon the Brush off – Part 1

Alex walked down the street toward Sugarcube corner. He had been asked by Pinkie to come in and sample a new kind of cupcake she was making. And, being the pig that he was, he happily agreed. Opening the door to the shop, he noticed that all the lights were out, something that he wouldn’t expect from this kind of place. Slowly walking up to the main counter, he rang the bell.

“Hello Alex!” Pinkie said, popping up from behind the counter with a strange smile on her face. “Would you like to try my new CUPCAKES?” She said loudly, her eyes momentarily pointing in opposite directions.

Alex looked at her nervously. “Uh… That’s what I’m here for…” he said, no longer sure that he even wanted them.

Without another word, Pinkie pushed a cupcake from under the counter in front of Alex.

The cupcake before him was the single most beautiful looking thing he had ever seen. The bottom was made of chocolate cake, and the top was frosted with a large mound of rainbow frosting. And, to finish it all off, there was a cherry on the top of it all. All of his pervious worries about Pinkies attitude melted away as he lifted the cupcake off the counter with his magic, and brought it to his mouth. As he took the first bite, he couldn’t believe how amazing it tasted. It was the single most delicious thing that he had ever tasted.

“What’s in this?” Alex asked, eating the rest of the cupcake quickly. “It’s the most delicious thing I’ve ever…” And with that, he collapsed unconscious.

Alex had been out cold for only a few minutes when he started to hear Pinkie laughing, causing him to stir.

What was she laughing about? What was in that cupcake?

Slowly opening his eyes, Alex found himself in a pitch black room. The only thing he could hear was Pinkie’s laugh echoing through whatever the place was that she had him. It sounded really creepy.

“Pinkie?” Alex called to the darkness. “What’s going on?”

“You want to know what’s going on?” She said quietly. “Well… This is what’s going on!”

All at once, the lights came back on. He was still in the main section of the shop. And behind the counter stood Pinkie, holding a mirror.

Looking in the mirror, Alex saw that Pinkie had drawn a mustache on his face in marker.

As soon as Pinkie saw him look at the moustache, she lost it, and fell over in a fit of giggles.

Alex couldn’t help but laugh at this himself. Here she had gone through so much trouble, to draw this on his face. It seemed like a rather pointless prank, but, if she got this much enjoyment out of it, he wasn’t about to point that out.

“I didn’t think that you were the pranking type,” Alex said to her, still giggling a bit.

“I Sure am!” Pinkie replied, “In fact, I had a great idea for a prank I was going to pull!”

“Oh?” Alex asked, hoping that he could get in on it, “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I was going to get Rainbow Dash to help me move a cloud…”Pinkie began.

As soon as Alex heard the mention of Rainbow Dash, he immediately lost interest in helping Pinkie pull this prank. Ever since he had forgotten Rainbow’s name when he had first arrived in Ponyville, she and him hadn’t been on great terms. Then, of course, he had covered her house in garbage, which hadn’t helped matters. Alex wished that he could patch things up between them; he just hadn’t had the opportunity to have any kind of conversation with her.

“…and I hope that’s going to scare him!” Pinkie finished, not realizing that Alex had barely heard a word she said.

“Sounds… Great!” Alex said slowly. “Anyway, you two have fun! I’d better head back to the library.”

“Okie-Dokie-Loki!” Pinkie said with a smile.

Walking out of the bakery, Alex hoped that the short distance back to the library wouldn’t have too many ponies on the way, as he was a bit embarrassed of his new, drawn on facial hair. Unfortunately for him, that wasn’t the case. He got laughed at all the way back.

“I’m back!” Alex shouted as he walked through the door. “Twilight?” He called again, after receiving no response.

“She’s out reading.” Spike said, walking down the stairs with a couple of scrolls. “Whoa! Nice stache!” He said with a smile, trying not to laugh.

“Yeah,” Alex said flatly, “You mind helping me get it off?”

“Sure.” Spike said running to the kitchen and trading the scrolls for a damp cloth.

“Thanks.” Alex said as Spike roughly pushed the cloth against Alex’s face, wiping the drawn on moustache away.

After a few moments of scrubbing, the ink finally came off. Spike then put the cloth back in the kitchen, picked up the scrolls, and started gathering them from around the Library.

“What’re you doing?” Alex asked him.

“I’m gathering up some scrolls that Twilight asked me to have mailed out.” Spike explained. “I have a few I need to pick up and bring back as well.”

“I thought you could send the scrolls away when you breathed fire on them.” Alex said, slightly confused.

“I can send them to Princess Celestia, but that’s it.” Spike explained. “It’s a magic link between us. But, for the rest of the time, we just use regular mail.”

“Huh.” Alex said simply. “You want some help?”

“Sure!” Spike said looking around the room for a moment. “Go grab that one and… that one” he said pointing to a couple different scrolls.

Alex nodded and grabbed the scrolls Spike had pointed out. After a few minutes of gathering, Alex was holding a large number of scrolls in the air with his magic, Proud that he was able to do it with no issue.

“You ready to go?” Spike asked him.

“I’m ready whenever you are.” Alex said, looking at the scrolls above his head.

“Alright, let’s go!”

“I hadn’t expected there to be this many scrolls.” Alex said, holding the new batch above his head.

“Twilight always reads this many.” Spike said. “But now that we’re not living in Canterlot, we have to have them shipped out to us.”

“Huh,” Alex said, as the two left the post office. The two walked a short distance away from the front door of the building, continuing their conversation, when suddenly, a loud crash of thunder from above them.

Alex immediately lost all control of his magic, and all of the scrolls he was levitating flew off in random directions.

Spike dropped the few he was carrying, and landed on the ground, starting to hiccup.

Alex was still confused as to what had happened. It was a bright sunny day! How could there be thunder like that? However, it all made sense when he heard Pinkie Pie’s trademark laugh. It was a prank.

“Oh Rainbow Dash, we startled Spike into getting the hiccups!”

Looking up, Pinkie noticed that Rainbow Dash wasn’t laughing. Upon seeing Alex, it seemed that her mood had been ruined.

The situation immediately became awkward, as nothing was said besides a few hiccups from Spike.

Looking over, Alex noticed that every time Spike hiccupped, a small flame came out of his mouth. So, he decided that he should stop him from picking up any scrolls to save them from being burned, as he was about to start gathering them.

“Here Spike, let me.” Alex said, breaking the silence, and started to lift the scrolls up, one at a time.

Spike immediately stopped his attempt to pick up the scrolls and allowed Alex to do the gathering. Turning to Pinkie, Spike smiled and said, “Good one, Pinkie *hiccup* Pie. *hiccup* You're always pulling a fast one *hiccup* on me!”

“That fire doesn’t hurt, does it?” Pinkie asked him.

“Na,” Spike said, “dragons are fire proof.”

“That’s a relief!” Pinkie said, and then turning to Alex, “Sorry about the mess…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Alex said with a smile. “You guys got us pretty good.” He said looking up at Dash and smiling.

Rainbow scoffed at this comment. Alex didn’t need to be friendly to her, she certainly didn’t expect it.

“Anyway…” Alex said, “We’d better get back. I need to find a spell to cure the hiccups.”

Pinkie simply nodded, then headed back toward Rainbow Dash, who had now landed, and started to head away from the post office.

Finally gathering the last few scrolls, Alex took a few steps, and stood beside Spike. “You ready to…”

Before Alex was able to finish, he was cut off by Spike hiccupping and lighting all the scrolls he had been levitating on fire, and sending them away in a wisp.

Blinking twice, Alex simply looked at the space where the scrolls used to be. “Uh, Spike…” He started slowly, “Did those all get sent to the Princess?”

Spike looked at the ground and sighed. “Yeah…”

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off again, by another hiccup.

“Come on Spike.” Alex said comfortingly, levitating the baby dragon onto his back. “Let’s get you home before you send me to the Princess somehow.”

The Next Day

Alex walked through the town market by himself. He had gone out to pick up some flowers and bread for Twilight. She had wanted to make a sandwich for herself. So, he told her that he would pick them up for her on his way back from a few things he had to get done himself. He had left hours ago, and this was his final stop before he headed back.

One thing Alex still couldn’t wrap his mind around, was the food here. Everypony ate the same food as well… Horses. So far, he had managed to survive on apples and cupcakes. He wasn’t able to bring himself to eat hay or flowers. It just seemed… gross.

But, he was still willing to go out and pick up those gross things for other to eat. Far be it from him to tell anypony what to eat.

Looking forward, Alex saw Fluttershy on the other side of the market, leading some ducklings through the area. Looking at her, he couldn’t help but smile, she was the sweetest pony he knew. And since he hadn’t seen her in a while, he decided to go over and say hello.

Fluttershy slowly walked backwards, making sure that all of her ducklings stayed in line. However, she had been paying so much attention to the creatures in front of her, she had failed to notice the griffon standing behind her. And, she abruptly backed into it.

“Hey!” The Griffon said in a hostile tone.

“Oh!” Fluttershy said turning around to face the Griffon. “Please excuse me.”

“I’m walkin’ here!” She said, glaring at the now frightened pony.

“Oh, um… I'm sorry… I..I… was just trying to...” Fluttershy stammered quietly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” The Griffon mocked. “Why don’t you just watch where you’re going, doofus!”

At this point, Fluttershy was shaking, “B…b…but… I…” She stammered, unable to form coherent words.

Unfortunately, the Griffon didn’t want to hear it, and started to inhale.

Fluttershy knew what was coming next. She was going to scream at her. Instinctively, her ears plastered to the back of her head, and her eyes widened. She was frozen in place, waiting for the inevitable.

“Hey!” Alex shouted from beside them, causing the Griffon to look toward him, and away from Fluttershy.

“What do you want?” The Griffon said in a nasty voice to Alex.

Walking between Fluttershy and the Griffon, he made sure that he took a defensive stance in front of Fluttershy.

“What the hell is your problem?” Alex asked, "Jesus, what? Do you get off on bullying or something?"

“Excuse me?” The griffon said in a shocked tone from the question, “I'll act however I like! You're not the boss of me!”

“Yeah, I am.” Alex said, tilting his head and narrowing his gaze further,

Laughing at Alex, The Griffon started inhaling again, Readying herself to roar loud enough to scare them both off.

Seeing her do this, Alex quickly used a spell to clamp her mouth shut, and slowly lift her off the ground. “I’m gonna ask this one more time.” Alex said “Do you get turned on by being mean to people?”

Finally, she got the idea, and backed off. As soon as he removed the spell keeping her mouth closed, she growled and spoke up. “You’ll pay for that!”

“I'm not the pervert.” Alex said, still prepared for whatever else she might do.

However, Alex was relieved to see the Griffon take a few steps back, then take off, and fly away. Once he was sure that she was gone, he turned to Fluttershy who was still shaking uncontrollably. “Hey, are you okay?”

She nodded meekly, still staring at the ground, as a few tears streamed down her cheeks.

Alex raised a hoof and brushed her hair out of her face, “She’s gone. You don’t have anything else to worry about, Fluttershy.”

She slowly looked up at him, “Thanks... but, why did you say that weird stuff to her?”

“Oh, it's something I learned in high school," Alex laughed, "Make enough inappropriate jokes about your enemy, and they'll always lay off."

“That was amazing!” A voice called from beside them, “It’s a good thing you were here, Alex!”

“Pinkie?” Alex said. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw the whole thing from over at the cafe!” She explained. “I knew that Gilda was a mean-meanie pants after all!”

“Gilda, huh?” Alex asked, “I haven’t seen her around before… Did she just move here?”

“No no no no.” Pinkie said, “She’s a good friend of Rainbow Dash!”

Alex didn’t like the sound of this. “Are you telling me that I just… got a good friend of Rainbow… Really, REALLY mad at me?”

“Yeah, why?” Pinkie said, oblivious to his worries.

Alex furrowed his brow. Great. “How do you know her?” He asked.

“Well, after all the pranks me and Dashie pulled yesterday, I figured she’d be up for more!” Pinkie explained. “So, I went over to her house this morning to see if she wanted to hang out some more!”

“Okay…” Alex said.

“But Gilda was there!” She continued, “And when I tried to hang out with both of them, she told me to buzz off!”

“So, she’s just, all around rude, huh?” Alex asked, "Have you tried accusing her of being a pervert?"

Pinkie shook her head, but perked up quickly. “But I have a great plan!”

Alex cocked an eyebrow.

“I’m gonna throw her… a PARTY!” Pinkie exclaimed.

Alex opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t find the words. After a minute, he finally said, “A… Party? That’s your plan?” Somehow he wasn’t that surprised.

“Well… That’s not all.” Pinkie then went on to explain the most devious plan that Alex and Fluttershy had ever heard.

Alex stood in Sugarcube corner with a smile on his face. After he heard what Pinkie had planned, he couldn’t help it. Everyone was just showing up now, and all he had to do was wait.

“Hey Alex!” Twilight called. “Thanks for picking that stuff up for me.”

“Oh, it’s no problem.” Alex said walking over to her. “Sorry I was in such a rush to drop it off. Me and Pinkie were just so excited to throw this party for Gilda.”

“That’s really nice of you two!” Twilight said with a smile, “You met her, right? What’s she like?”

“Oh, she’s great.” Alex said with a coy smile. “Never met a nicer Griffon in my life.”

“That’s good to hear!” Twilight said. “So, where’s Pinkie?”

“Oh, she’s off with Rainbow, setting up some party gags or something.” Alex said, happy that everything was going to plan.

“Hey Twi!” Applejack called across the room.

“Oh, do you mind?” Twilight asked, looking at Applejack, then back to Alex.

“Not at all. Have fun.” Alex said gesturing to her friends.

Alex watched Twilight head off, then turned around, where he came face to face with Rainbow Dash.

“Why are you doing this?” Rainbow asked.

“Doing what..?” Alex asked, confused.

“Throwing this party,” She said in a serious tone. “Gilda told me what happened at the market.”

“She did?” Alex asked, surprised that Gilda would talk about bullying Fluttershy to Rainbow so openly.

“She told me about how you shouted at her, and used magic to lift her off the ground, and keep her from talking, for no reason!” Rainbow said, getting more agitated as she spoke.

“Excuse me?” Alex said, almost shouting. “I think she left out a few details!”

“I don’t wanna hear it!” She said. “I don’t know what it was that you were planning with this party, but I don’t want you here!”

“Are you even going to listen to my side of the story?” Alex asked, angrily.

“I know all that I need to know!” Rainbow said, then suddenly lowering her voice. “Get out.”

“Listen…” Alex started.

“Get out!” Rainbow screamed, silencing the entire room.

“Fine.” Alex said simply, turning and walking through the door, past a smirking Gilda.

As Alex walked away from the bakery, he found himself fighting the urge to get really angry. Rainbow Dash may have ripped into him, but had also kinda been lied to. He wasn't sure what he should be feeling.

Walking a short distance away, he came to a hill overlooking the Everfree forest. He decided that this was as good a place as any to wait for Pinkie to come through for him, and reveal Gilda for who she really was.

“This is your idea of a good time?” Gilda screamed, sick of all the pranks that had been pulled on her, throughout the party. “I've never met a lamer bunch of dweebs in all my life! And Pinkie Pie,” She said, pointing at the pink pony across the room.

Everypony looked back and forth between Pinkie and Gilda, horrified that she was acting this way

“You are queen lame-o with your weak little party pranks. Did you really think you could make me lose my cool?” She continued, not realizing that she had done just that. “Well, Dash and I have ten times as much cool as the rest of you put together! Come on Dash, we're bailing on this pathetic scene.” She said waiting for Rainbow to start leaving with her.

Across the room, Pinkie grinned. It had all worked out perfectly. Gilda had fallen for every prank that she had encouraged Rainbow Dash to set up, pushing her closer and closer to the meltdown that she was now having. She especially liked how she ended up with the ‘pin the tail on the pony’ tail on her nose. She may be screaming right now, but, at least now Rainbow could see just what kind of Griffon Gilda was.

“Come on Rainbow Dash. I said, we're leaving!”

“You know Gilda, I was the one who set up all those ‘weak’ pranks at this party.” Rainbow said, shocked at what had been just said to her friends.

Gilda couldn’t believe that. “W… What?”

“So,” Dash said, “I guess I’M queen lame-o.”

“Come on Dash!” Gilda said, expecting her to take it back. “You’re joshing me!”

“They weren't all meant for you specifically!” Dash explained trying to calm her down, “…It was just dumb luck that you set them all off.”

Pinkie couldn’t help but laugh to herself as she added a line that made her seem all the more innocent in this outcome. “I should’a known, that dribble cup had Rainbow Dash written all over it!”

“No. Way.” Gilda said in disbelief. “It was Pinkie Pie! She set up this party to trip me up! To make a fool of me!”

“Me?” Pinkie said innocently, “I threw this party to improve YOUR attitude! I thought a good party might turn that frown upside down!”

“And you sure didn’t need any help making a fool of yourself!” Rainbow shouted, “You know, this is NOT how I thought my old friends would treat my new friends!”

Walking over to Fluttershy, Pinkie winked at her, earning one back from her. Had anypony looked at her, they would have noticed that Fluttershy was smiling through the entire argument. She was happy that Rainbow Dash could see the true side of Gilda.

“If being cool is all you care about, maybe you should go find some new COOL friends someplace else.” Dash said, angry that her friend had been this way all along.

Gilda growled at this, “Yeah? Well you… you… “ She stammered “You are such a flip flop! Cool one minute, and lame the next! When you decide not to be lame anymore, give me a call!” She said, turning around and storming out the door.

“Not cool.” Rainbow said, watching Gilda leave.

“Wow…” Spike said, “Talk about a party pooper…”

“I'm sorry everypony, for bringing Gilda here!” Rainbow said apologetically. “I didn't know how rude she was… And Pinkie Pie, I'm really sorry she ruined this awesome party you put on for her.”

“That’s fine…” Pinkie said, thinking about Alex for a moment. “I already knew she was like that though…”

“What?” Rainbow asked surprised. “How did you know?”

“Well… I saw what happened between her and Alex at the Market,” Pinkie explained, “She was being really mean to Fluttershy! And Alex told her to stop!”

“She was going to start screaming at me…” Fluttershy piped up, “He made her leave me alone…”

“And he only used his magic to protect Fluttershy!” Pinkie added, “Not because he wanted to push Gilda around!”

Taking all of this in, Rainbow Dash realized what she needed to do. “I... should probably go.” She said as she quickly headed out the door.

Rainbow was about to head to the Library to find Alex, but her attention was pulled to a hill a short distance away when she saw the silhouette of somepony in front of the setting sun. And, luckily for her, she could see that this pony had wings and a horn. It was him.

Alex sat on the hill, staring into the setting sun. He had just seen Gilda fly over him and into the distance. It looked like everything went according to plan. This whole situation hadn’t really helped with his relationship with Rainbow Dash though… Still, he knew the day would come one day that they could patch things up. But, it was probably really far off now.

“Hey Alex…” Rainbow said walking up the hill behind him.

Or maybe the day was closer than he thought.

“Hey, listen. About today...” Dash began, fidgeting with her hooves idly.

Alex simply listened, knowing that she wanted to get all of this out.

“I’ve been pretty mean to you...” She said, tripping over her words. “I thought you were being an ass on purpose today. But, Pinkie told me what really happened.” She said as she sat down next to Alex.

“I wasn’t going to let her treat Fluttershy that way.” Alex said quietly, turning his head to face Rainbow Dash, "Especially when she was being such a perv about it."

“I’m glad you didn’t let her act that way.” Dash said looking at him and smiling. “I’m... well, look. I'm just sorry about everything, okay?”

“You don't need to apologize,” Alex said, "It's not like you had any idea. You were just being loyal to the person you trusted."

“It’s not just that though!” She said quickly, deciding that this was the moment to change the overall air around their relationship, “I’ve been mean to you since I first met you! Over something as little as you not knowing my name… and the garbage! And everything else.”

At this point, Alex knew that she was trying hard to patch things up, but was just digging herself a grave by pointing out everything that he had done to wrong her. So, he decided to stop her.

“How about this,” Alex started, “Let’s start fresh.”

Rainbow Dash was surprised at him saying this, “…Really?”

“Absolutely,” Alex said smiling. “I’d love for us to just start again. All this fighting has been stressing me out.”

Narrowing her eyes, she looked him over, almost as if she was checking to see if he was lying somehow. Leaning into within an inch of his face, she looked right in his eyes.

Being this close to her, Alex couldn’t help but notice how good she smelt. She smelt like... roses and vanilla. He always figured she'd smell like, well, a horse? Regardless of that, he couldn't help but notice that this smell seemed to perfectly match her eyes.

Her beautiful pink eyes…

Wait a minute… Had he just thought that?

Deciding that now wasn’t the time to be falling for Rainbow Dash, he quickly pulled himself away from her intrusive staring, and stood up, extending a hoof toward her and said. “Hello, I’m Alex.”

Standing up, Rainbow smiled and extended her hoof to meet his. “I’m Rainbow Dash.”

“It’s nice to meet you Colors.” Alex said, remembering the name he had given her that first night in Equestria.

“Really?” Rainbow squeaked. “We make up, and you call me that right off the bat?”

“Yeah,” Alex said, smirking. “Because I have so much trouble remembering your name. Colors is just… so much easier.”

“Fine. Call me whatever you want.” Rainbow said smirking, “Just don’t get mad when I call you Spot!” She said, pointing to the grey spot on his side that ran from his neck, down to his wing.

Alex laughed, happy to be made up with her. Maybe now he could learn how to fly... But, now wasn’t the time to ask her. Instead, he simply sat with her on the hill with her.

Credits

This is just here because i have a few people I really want to thank for helping with my story in some big ways.

First, and foremost, I want to thank Jarmari , for all his help with the plot ideas, and editing when I've asked.

Secondly, Blue Spark , for MANY ideas that i incorporated into my story.

Also, i want to shout out to GMZ_Casper , for the C&C's he would toss out for me, even though there were like a million of them.

And there was also a guy who used to review that helped me a lot at the beginning of the story, Pononymous, but he's been inactive for quite some time.

Also, those two lame turds. (Not really lame, (but still kinda turds,) i'm just so ANGRY that i've been forced to add you to these credits.)

Finally, I need to thank all of my usual commenters, (There's too many to list here, haha,) anyone who's commented more than once, with anything to say that wasn't TOO douche-y. I wouldn't have kept going without knowing you guys were reading along.

So... yeah! Thanks so much everyone! I've already got the cover art ready to go for the next chunk of the story, which means i probably won't be able to stay away for too long.

Goodbye for now everyone! If you're following me, then you'll see whenever I add a new blog post regarding what's coming next, or what i'm doing with life right now. I'm sure you're all SUPER interested in my life, so i'll be keeping a daily log of what i eat, and how many calories are in it, and how little i care that those things are going to make me fat.

I love you all! I'll miss you! And I'll be back soon!

The Face of a Liar

////
The Face of a Liar
////

Twilight stood at Trixie’s door and gave her a sympathetic smile, “I’ll talk to Cadence for you, she must just be grumpy from all the work this wedding has been.”

“I’d appreciate that,” She smiled back to her friend, as she sat herself back down on her bed, “Am I not even going to be allowed to come to wedding tonight?”

“I’ll clear everything up, don’t worry.” Twilight said reassuringly as she opened the door, “I’m meeting Alpha for lunch, but as soon as I’m done with him, I’ll find Cadence. Just sit tight.”

Trixie would have preferred that she do it instantly, but she was far beyond her old-self, who would have demanded Twilight do it now, “I’ll see you soon then.”

Twilight flashed her a smile as she opened the door, and closed it behind her.

Yawning loudly, the purple pony headed back down the way she came, hoping that that she could knock this problem out of the park before it started to interfere with her other jobs as the wedding planner. She did not have any energy for all of this… Why did Shining Armor have to get married tonight? Couldn’t he have waited for her to get over these sleeping problems? What a jerk!

Reaching the main entrance of the dormitory, Twilight stepped out the door and started making her way to the castles restaurant.

“Twilight!” Alpha’s voice said from behind her, as she reached the top of the stairs, “I was just on my way to meet you.”

“Oh, hey!” She chirped, turning to him as a jolt of energy shot through her body, before noticing a strange look on his face, “Is something the matter?”

“Huh?” Alpha asked, his face snapping back to something she would call a little more ‘normal,’ “Oh, It’s nothing. I’m just starving.”

“Well, let’s go then!” Twilight said, quickly gluing herself to his side, “I’m dying for some hay fries.”

Alpha looked away from her as his conflicted look returned, “S-so, how was your sleep last night? I hope you got a little bit more rest.”

“It wasn’t great.” Twilight shook her head, her voice quieting a bit, “I wound up taking Fluttershy’s offer to sleep with her.”

“Did that do much?” He asked, looking back to her with a sympathetic look, his conflicted feelings quelled for a moment

“No.” Twilight shook her head slowly, looking up to him, “I… I slept much better when you were with me.”

Alpha, in a performance that would have given any professional actor a run for their money, didn’t even flinch as he felt a cinderblock of guilt slam down on his chest.

“A-and… if you were okay with it... maybe we could do that a little more when we get back to Ponyville?” Twilight asked, with a blush so bright it could be seen from outer space, “I don’t wanna be weird! I mean, I just— I feel really safe.”

“I… Don’t know about that…” Alpha said, his voice only showing strain for a moment, “Maybe we should just take a step back for a second, Twilight.”

Feeling her heart sink in to her stomach, Twilight immediately broke her connection with him, “I’m so sorry!” She apologized instantly, as she created an even larger gap between them, “I didn’t mean to—I… Um, Oh! I forgot, that… that I promised Trixie I would find Cadence! I should really go and do that!”

Alpha didn’t say anything as Twilight instantly took off in the opposite directions of where they had been going. She wasn’t even going to where Princess Cadence would probably be. All that mattered was that she get away from this terribly embarrassing situation as quick as possible.

Running inside her old room in the castle, Twilight instantly closed the door behind her.

From there, she finally gave her head a moment to catch up. How could she have misread things between the two of them so badly? Hadn’t he been after her since Haven Station? How many times had he flirted with her? Or tried to ask her out on a date? And All those times she knew he was staring at her butt?

“Am I really that… stupid?” She muttered to herself, sniffling lightly as she felt a tear run down her cheek, “The student of Princess Celestia can’t even tell when a colt likes her?!”

Exhaling shortly, she closed her eyes and let a few tears run down her cheeks.

Why did boys have to be so stupid…

////

Alpha watched the mare he cared for run away, and fought every instinct to run after her, and take her up on her offer. Because if there was one thing in this world that he wanted… it was just that.

However, duty must be placed above all else.

“What’s gotten in to her?” A voice asked from behind him, as he turned, and instantly froze, “Can’t girls be so… dramatic?”

In front of him, stood Princess Cadence. The princess of ‘love.’ That is, to the untrained eye.

“Alpha,” She said, as a smile crossed her pink lips, “I’m impressed that you managed to get that mare under your spell.”

“My queen.” He said instantly, lowering his head just enough for it to be considered a ‘bow,’ “I didn’t think I’d see you again.”

“How could you think that?” She said, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes, “You’ve become the single greatest sleeper agent in the history of the hive. And they even knew you were a changeling!”

Alpha looked around cautiously, she was using a measure of volume at the moment, and he didn’t want anypony overhearing them.

“Which, is why I’ve come to give you your next task.” She said, levitating a saddlebag off of her back, and on to his, “Inside of that bag, are several miniature sized versions of our magic blockers that you used at Haven Station. They must be placed on every pony here that presents a significant threat. Alex, Twilight Sparkle, the Princesses… And anypony else you deem necessary. Their use at Haven Station may have been a failure... But I must admit, you proved their usefulness to me.”

Levitating one of the devices out of his bag, he inspected it.

It was miniscule, clear, and covered in some kind of adhesive that would keep it stuck to its host.

“Make sure it’s done close to the ceremony.” ‘Cadence’ said, closing the distance between them, “I don’t need anypony washing it off before the right moment comes.”

Alpha nodded once, as she gave him a small, sick smile.

“I have only one more command for you, Alpha.” She said, as she looked at the building Twilight had just exited from, “I need you to deal with her friend.”

“Which friend?” Alpha asked, needing a little more clarification.

“That blue unicorn. Her name escapes me.” ‘Cadence’ said, her tone poisonous as she thought back to the perceptive mare, “She was able to tell that I was holding a spell over myself. I do not need her ruining the big surprise.”

“What should I do with her?” Alpha asked, regretting the question instantly.

“You’re an Alpha.” She replied instantly, anger lacing her tone, “Your job is to impress me. So, why don’t you do that by solving your own problems?”

Alpha nodded quickly.

“I apologize.”

“Good boy.” She said, brushing her hoof down his cheek, “You’re viewed as a hero at the colony right now… Do these things for me, and you’ll join me at my side as my Omega.”

Alpha nodded once again, as she walked past him.

“I’ll see you at the ceremony, Alpha. Or… is it Omega?” She chuckled, walking away, as Alpha turned and smiled confidently to her, his face quelling any doubt she had in him.

“I’ll go pay her friend a visit. You won’t be hearing from her again.”

Chrysalis didn’t answer. She only continued on her path.

This day is going to be perfect.

Author's Note

Sorry again for the short chapter, and the errors.

They'll be getting longer as this arc finishes.

A Heated Debate

////
A Heated Debate
////

After picking up the girls from the library, the group decided to go out for dinner. It would be a place for Chet to get all of his questions out of the way, so as much could be cleared up as possible.

“Are you sure Tammy is going to be okay with this?” Alex asked, as they entered the restaurant and waited for a hostess, “I thought you two had plans for later.”

“I cancelled them after you passed out, Alex.” Chet replied, tilting his head, “I thought I told you that…”

Alex shrugged, “Maybe you did... I’ve been a bit off my rocker.”

“Hi!” A perky voice came from behind them, “Sorry, I was just cleaning—“

Alex and Chet looked over their shoulders to face a young women, that both of them knew. Well, one more than the other.

“Courtney…!” Alex began, biting his lip for a moment, “How long has it been?”

“Better part of a year.” She said, her tone coming to a sharp point, “Not since the graduation dance.”

Twilight was missing something. Leaning over to Dash, she whispered in her ear, “Who is that?”

Dash pursed her lips and thought for a moment, “I think that’s his ex. She kissed him three years ago when we were last here.”

“Oh.” Twilight whispered, looking back to the exchange between the two with wide eyes.

“So it’s for four of you?” She asked dryly, looking over her shoulder at the empty restaurant, “You can sit wherever.”

With that, she gave Dash a dark look, turned around, and walked in to the kitchen just to her left.

“That was super awkward.” Alex huffed, looking to his uncle, “Maybe we should go somewhere else?”

“Are you kidding me?” Chet asked, “I’m not missing out on a grilled cheese sandwich just because you’re afraid of your ex.”

“Dude, I can just make you a sandwich.” Alex said, pointing to the door, “Why don’t we just go home? We’ll have more privacy to talk about… well, you know.”

“I still only half believe you, just so you know,” Chet said, walking toward the table furthest from the kitchen, “This should give us some distance from prying ears.”

Sighing, Alex gave up and followed his uncle with the other two girls in tow, taking his seat across from Chet, leaving Twilight to semi-awkwardly sit next to him.

“So,” Alex said folding his hands on the table and looking to his right at Chet, “What else have you got for me? I’m sure there’s plenty you want to know.”

“Oh! What’s with that diamond you gave me?” He asked, reaching in to his pocket and dropping it on the table with a thud, “I got it appraised in town, and the guy said it was worth like, a billion freaking dollars!”

“Uhh, yeah I guess that’s possible…” Alex muttered, having had no idea how much it would have been worth when he made it, “I’m glad you didn’t sell it!”

“What’s it for?” He asked again, spinning it and watching the colors change, “Why did you give it to me?”

“Well, I didn’t really know when I was coming back, to be honest,” Alex said, reaching out and taking the gem in to his hands, “I was considering just staying until I had to stop... whatever that thing is that’s coming to kill all of us.”

“Kill you all?!” Chet asked, his attention completely pulled from the jewel, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Have I not got there yet?” Alex asked, tilting his head, “I guess we didn’t get too far in the story, did we?”

“Where did you get to?” Dash injected, not wanting to be too left out of the conversation, “I can help fill in some blanks!”

“I’d love to as well!” Twilight agreed, nodding rapidly.

“I got up to our first time meeting Alpha,” Alex said, remembering his explanation of Harmonic magic, “Told him all about Dax, the destruction of Haven Station.”

“What did they ever do with that pile of rubble?” Alex asked, having not inquired about it at all.

“Oh, they rebuilt it,” Twilight spoke up, “I heard the princess talking about it, and apparently it cost something like three hundred million bits.”

“What’s a bit to a dollar?” Chet asked, trying his best to understand the conversation, “Like, one to one?”

Alex scratched his head, “I think that would be about right. I’ve never really had to worry about it though.”

“Well, it’s about ten bits for a meal at any restaurant,” Dash said, looking over the menu that was propped up against the window, “This is a couple more… So maybe it’s like, ten or twenty percent.”

“Good call, ya nerd.” Alex laughed.

“Hey!” Both Twilight and Dash said.

“Math is cool!” Twilight defended.

“See? Twilight’s the nerd!” Dash shouted after, “Not me!”

“Look, why don’t we just get on with the story?” Alex asked, “There is so much we need to get through.”

“Well, how did the story start, again?” Chet asked, tilting his head, “You said there was a door?”

“You’re joking, right?” Alex asked, placing his chin in his open hand, “I spent so much time explaining things to you!”

“Well, yeah… but there was no commentary before!” Chet said, gesturing to the two girls, “You’ve been with him for his whole time in that place, right?”

“More or less,” Twilight shrugged, unsure if she should mention the two years he was brainwashed.

“We’ll give you the real story,” Dash nodded, “So we’d better start from the very beginning.”

Alex sighed. Not because he had to retell everything, but because he had embellished a few parts here or there, and he was sure Chet was going to cross reference with the two of them.

“Okay, so!” Chet said, rubbing his hands together, “Let’s start when you first met the girls!”

“Well, the first time I ever saw any of them, I ran head first in to an evil spirit,” Alex answered, looking between the girls for their acceptance of his explanation, as they nodded, “I had been in the woods for hours, and I decided that they needed some help against their enemy.”

“Is that what happened?” Chet asked, looking from Alex to the girls.

“Well, yeah he did.” Dash nodded, “He threw himself in front of a dark god, to protect Twilight here… But it was still a stupid thing to do.”

“Stupid?!” Alex asked, throwing his arms in the air, “I thought Twilight was going to get impaled by Nightmare’s horn!”

“I mean, realistically, I would have just moved…” Twilight muttered, as Alex exhaled loudly.

“Maybe I should have just let her do her thing then!” Said, throwing his arms in the air.

“Quit bitching,” Chet said, “Back to the story.”

“You quit bitching…” Alex mumbled, before getting back on track with his recollection.

“Well, after I knocked her over, the group of us—the Elements of Harmony, if you remember, Chet.” Alex said, as his uncle nodded, remembering the explanation on those, “We cast a spell that rid her of her evil side.”

“But you passed out!” Dash laughed, pointing at him.

“Was it too tough for you?” Chet teased.

Alex shook his head, and continued.

“So, after that, I woke up, and was introduced to the group of girls,” Alex said, remembering that first time they lined up for him, “Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Fluttershy... and… Oh geez, what was that last girls name?”

“Very funny.” Dash said, suppressing her own laughter, “You could remember every name except mine! The mare you were going to marry!”

“Hey, I had my eye on Twilight back then,” Alex joked, as Twilight lit up a small amount, “I mean, getting with a teacher is always a sexy thought, right?”

“I can’t disagree with you on that.” Dash nodded, winking as Twilight burnt up further, “Oh come on! It’s just a joke!”

Chet opened his mouth to get in on the joke, but decided against it. He always swore he’d never be the creepy uncle, and calling your nephew’s friend sexy was a one-way ticket to creepy-uncle-ville.

“So, after that, I started to adjust to life in cartoon horse world.” Alex said, thinking back to his earliest adventures with the girls, before he chuckled at one thing in particular, “But, for those first few weeks, you wouldn’t even talk to me!”

“Because you forgot my name!” Dash defended, “And! You covered my house in flippin’ garbage! It stunk for weeks!”

“You can’t throw that back in my face! I’ve made up for it since then!” Alex argued, as she gave him a skeptical look.

“I still get whiffs of it, you know.” She said simply.

“Oh, cry me a river.” Alex said, rolling his eyes, “You were dying for me to make up with you, and you know it!”

Dash frowned. He was right, but she didn’t want to make it too easy for him.

“I think you wanted it more,” Dash said, smirking, as he narrowed his eyes, clearly accepting her challenge, “I mean, you fell in love with me the second we made up. You’re lucky I’m even here with you right now.”

“And you didn’t feel that way yourself?” Alex asked, tilting his head, “I mean, when I was taken in to the future, you ran off to become a Wonderbolt, and I had to move heaven and earth to get you back. I think you’re the lucky one.”

“You could have just asked Celestia!” Dash countered, seeing how far she could push him, “It would have been much easier for everypony!”

“Of course I couldn’t.” Alex said, his tone suddenly calm, as he gave her a small smirk, “Because you and I both know, that my falling out of a blimp, just for you, is the most romantic thing Equestria’s ever seen. I mean, how many ponies did you tell that story to? About the man who risked his life just to make out with you, in the middle of a cheering crowd of thousands? ”

Dash bit her lower lip.

“Face it, Dashie,” Alex said, his voice low and somewhat commanding, “You’re the lucky one.”

Chet and Twilight exchanged bewildered glances, before looking back to the feuding couple.

“Well, maybe I’m lucky to have Dax,” She said, her eyebrow raised, “He came through for me when I needed somepony to save Luna’s baby.”

“Dax is just another part of me!” Alex said, his voice increasing in pitch slightly, “It was just a different version me!”

“Well,” Dash shrugged, suppressing a smirk as she decided to poke the bear a little more, “Maybe a version with more balls.”

“Oh yeah?” Alex asked, “What about when him and I were ripped apart, and I was forced to accept him, so I could save you because you were grabbed by the changelings? Or was that all him too?”

“This is where I got to in the story!” Chet tried to get in on the conversation, before the two continued without him.

“Well, okay, so that’s two things you have going for you.” Dash said, shrugging at the seemingly unimpressive streak he had going, “I, on the other hoof, spent two years studying every magic book in Equestria, so I could get you out of your stone prison!”

“A prison I was in, because I literally sacrificed myself to save Equestria!” Alex countered, not backing down, “I gave up my life to save everypony from Discord!”

At this point, Alex and Dash had turned their entire bodies toward each other, and were getting deep in to their argument. It was at this time that Twilight was relieved to be on the sane side of the table.

“Discord wasn’t planning on taking Equestria over, if you remember,” Dash said, playing as hard to the technicalities as she could, “We were in no real danger.”

“So I guess all that time you spent looking for me was a waste too then, wasn’t it?” Alex asked.

Dash glared at him.

Alex returned the gaze.

An uncomfortable silence filled the table, as none of them dared say a word.

Then, out of the blue, Alex shook his head slightly and spoke up.

“God dammit, you’re sexy when you’re angry.” Alex said, reaching out and placing his hand on her cheek.

“Just kiss me, you dolt…” She said, throwing herself forward, and initiating a passionate kiss with him, as she pushed his back against the window, and pressed herself in to him, intensifying the already inappropriate kiss.

“What the hell am I looking at…?” Chet asked, his mouth slightly ajar as he watched his nephew continue his argument, albeit in a slightly different way.

“They do this sometimes,” Twilight tried to explain, as she finally shook her head, “But I couldn’t even begin to tell you the reasoning behind it.”

“Lucky kid, I guess.” Chet said, waiting patiently for them to break apart, “So, do you mind filling me in on some of the stuff he got up to in your… world? Alex has always been a terrible story teller. He skips important parts, and jumps all over the place. I just don’t want to hurt his feelings by saying that to him.”

“Sure! It’s not like we have anything better to do,” Twilight said, looking on to the passionate couple, “So, let me get started from the beginning. I’ll try to cover every base.”

“Thanks,” Chet said politely, “Hopefully those two will be able to join the conversation soon enough.”

“And hopefully we can order our food here,” Twilight said, looking over her shoulder toward the kitchen, where Alex’s ex was obviously poking her head over the counter, watching them, “But… maybe I shouldn’t bank on that.”

Chet looked from the making out couple, to the angry face trying to hide in the kitchen.

“I’d be careful,” Chet said to Twilight, “Might find some spit in our food from that girl.”

Twilight grimaced. That as a nasty thought.

“Maybe I’ll just eat some hay when I get back to Alex’s house,” She laughed, before turning back to Chet and organizing her thoughts, “Okay… so… where should I start?”

“Alex’s first day,” Chet said, truly wanting to hear everything again, “I’m missing so many points to this story…”

“No problem,” Twilight smiled, “I’m sure you’ll find my account much more believable… Well, as believable as Alex turning in to a horse with wings and a horn.”

“I’m doing my best here, Twilight.” Chet laughed, “Just go, I’ll let it sink in over the next few days.”

“Okay, well… here I go.” Twilight began, smiling inwardly at her chance to educate somepony on the history of her world… even though there were two people making out just two feet away from her, “A thousand years ago, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for the entire world...”

////

Turning Point

////
Turning Point
////

“I can’t believe you dragged me away from my new wife for this…” Shining Armor grumbled as he walked with Rainbow Dash in to his office in Canterlot Castle.

“I finished the reports, and I wanted to brief you on the findings I made!” She said, practically jumping up and down as gestured to a spot for her to sit down, “They’re really fascinating!”

Shining scratched his head as he gave the colorful mare a somewhat mystified look.

“What?” She asked, looking down at her nose, “Do I have something on my face?”

“No, it’s not that,” He shook his head, as he levitated the thick stack of papers out of her saddlebag, “You just remind me way too much of my sister.”

“You know, I was just thinking that a couple hours ago,” She said, scratching her cheek, “Nowadays she’s the one running around with the stallions, and slacking off!”

“Stallions?” Shining Armor asked, looking away from the report and raising his eyebrow, “Does she have a lot of boyfriends?”

“Oh, no!” Dash corrected, laughing a bit, “Just the one Changeling.”

“Oh yes. Alpha… or Omega. Whatever you guys call him.” He grumbled, not liking the fact that his sister was infatuated with somepony who once tried to brainwash the Elements of Harmony.

“We can talk about all that after,” She said, tapping her hoof on the document, “Let’s get through this first.”

Sighing, Shining Armor began opening the book, before pausing and looking to her once again, “You know this was busy work, right? I asked you to do this because I seriously didn’t want to, and figured you’d be apologetic enough to agree.”

“Well, duh!” She said, rolling her eyes at the obvious statement, “But I wanted your input on these secret death squads I’ve found in these reports!”

“Death squads?” He asked, frowning at the name she had given them, “You’re talking about the groups of changelings that were killing soldiers?”

“You knew about them!?” She asked, feeling somewhat robbed in getting to tell the secret.

“Well, yeah. Those guys were discussed in our reports. I read all of them.” Shining said, a little surprised that she was upset about this, “We always figured that were a rebel group, or maybe from another political faction.”

“That couldn’t be true though!” Dash said, happy that he was still missing a piece of the puzzle in his head, “Because in all of the changeling reports, not once was this group mentioned.”

This surprised Shining Armor.

“These reports were top priority,” She said, flipping to her marked page and tapping her hoof on a crown emblem, “This was read by the Queen! Why would it say that her people were killed by zebra assassins, when our reports say that it was Changelings doing the killing?”

“I… don’t know.” He said, flipping to the next page, which contained some other report that she hadn’t highlighted, “What’s this symbol here?”

Dash looked at the place he was pointing to and shook her head. The symbol almost looked like an uppercase ‘Y.’ However, the where the two points ended, they instead curled downward.

♈

“I’ve never seen it,” She shook her head, “They don’t have the crown, so I’m guessing they aren’t meant for the queen.”

“Maybe we should grab Alpha,” Shining suggested, seeing no other alternative aside from Chrysalis, “He’ll probably know what all this means. Do you know if he’s still in Canterlot?”

Dash knew exactly where he was! He was with Twilight! She figured that the two of them were… oh.

“I have no idea,” Dash lied, shaking her head a little too hard, “Maybe ask Celestia?”

“If he is gone, we might have to ask Chrysalis,” Shining Armor said, glancing out the window toward the tower where she was being held, “She might be forthcoming if she finds out that she was lied to by her own people.”

“I think it would take a little more than that,” Dash shook her head, knowing how upset she was with Equestrians in general, “But if that’s our only option we might as well give it a try.”

////

Alpha looked at the ceiling of the Ponyville library from Twilight’s bed, where she slept soundly just inches away. Right now, in this moment, he wished more than anything that he didn’t have to go back to the Hive. This was all he wanted. To simply live a normal life, with normal ponies, and start a normal family. Of course that wasn’t possible.

There was no world where he would be able to leave the Hive in the hooves of the council. Their determination to lead his people into an unending war was simply unacceptable, and without him, that would be the future for the hive… There would be nothing but bloodshed.

In this sense, he was his own worst enemy. The only thing keeping him from this perfect life was his own sense of duty. And he hated it.

“Hey…” Twilight said, causing Alpha to jump slightly in surprise, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, you’re awake,” He said, looking to her as she placed her hoof on his chest, “How did you sleep?”

She gave him a dirty giggle as she looked up to meet his gaze, “How do you think I slept?”

Alpha didn’t give her the laugh she expected. He only sighed.

“Okay, so what the heck is up with you?” She asked, sitting herself up and giving him a serious look, “Is this about the hive again? Because I told you! I can come visit!”

“Well, yes and no.” Alpha said, “I’m still just stuck on the fact that I won’t be… this happy.”

“I know that you won’t be able to live here with us any time soon,” Twilight said, frowning as she looked to the foot of the bed, “And that really sucks… But just think about how many lives you’ll save by doing this.”

Alpha nodded slightly.

“Your sacrifice, will allow millions of changelings to live the life you want so badly,” she said sadly, “No conscription, parents won’t lose their children every day… it’s just something that you need to do, until you can guarantee that they won’t be forced back in to war by somepony else.”

“But how could I ever make sure of that?” Alpha asked, “What would stop somepony from just walking in, and starting another fight?”

Twilight finally looked back to his face, and placed her hoof on his cheek.

“By making them realize just how good this is.” She said, giving him a smile and stroking his face slightly, “All they’ve known for the last hundred years is war. Make them fall in love with peace, and once they do, they’ll never be pushed back to where they are now.”

“It might take years.” Alpha said, a twinge of hope in his voice.

“It might take more.” Twilight added, “But I’ll be right next to you for the entire way. You’ll never be alone in this.”

Finally, he gave her the smile she had been dying to see, “Thank you, Twilight.”

Leaning forward, she gave him a brief kiss, before leaning back and giggling at his somewhat bashful response, as he coughed and somewhat tried to avoid her gaze.

It only made her think he was… adorable? That was a weird thing to associate with Alpha.

“Why are you so shy about this stuff?” She laughed, “You’re name is literally Alpha! What happened to the man who kissed me on our first date, way back at Haven Station?”

“I’m not shy!” Alpha said back to her, puffing his chest out, “It’s just- I don’t know. I’ve never felt this way about somepony before. It makes me feel odd… Especially with you being so forward about it!”

“Well, I’ve got news for you,” she said faux-sternly, instantly lifting herself up, and straddling his waist, “I’m a very forward pony.”

“Again?” Alpha laughed, as she leaned down and kissed his chest a couple of times, “You’re incorrigible!”

“I’m filling up our quota for the next week, until I can come visit you,” She giggled, “Then, when I get there, you can introduce me to all your friends! You must be pretty popular, being an Omega and everything.”

“If only they knew that Chrysalis stripped me of my rank,” Alpha said slowly, “I mean- I’m not even an Alpha anymore.”

Twilight paused her assault on his body, as she looked up and made a confused eye contact with him.

“So… If you’re not an Alpha anymore, what does that make you?” She asked, blinking a few times.

Alpha smiled, he had almost forgotten about sharing this with her.

“Well, if I had no rank in the army, I guess you’d just call me… Marick.” He said, blinking rapidly as she tilted her head in response.

“Is that the name ponies get that don’t join the army?” Twilight asked, not understanding what he was saying.

“No,” he shook his head with a smile, “That’s my name. Marick.”

Twilight paused for another moment, before speaking up again.

“So, you’re telling me… That your rank is Alpha, your name is Marick, and you still prefer to have the mare take charge in the bedroom?” Twilight laughed, earning a chuckle back from him, “You’re a strange case.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” He smiled, “Now, why don’t we knock a few more rounds out of the ballpark before I head back to the hive in a few hours for the debate?”

“Debate?” Twilight asked, having heard nothing about this previously.

“Well, some public officials are having a debate between myself and the Council, in an effort to make our goals clearer to the public,” He explained, “It isn’t until tonight, but I can’t just ignore it. It would be terrible for my cause if I weren’t there. It’d make me look… flakey.”

“Well, I guess we’d better get to work then.” Twilight said, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

“But, for a little change, why don’t I take charge this time?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her back, as he rolled her over on to her back, and took position over her.

“You read my mind, Marick.”

////
A few hours later
////

“There they are,” Dash said, pointing to the two ponies that were traveling side to side, both wearing euphoric smiles as they traveled through the front doors to the castle.

Shining Armor fought back his anger at seeing his sister so close with the Changeling, knowing that this was an important question he needed an answer to.

“Alpha!” He called, as the changeling looked to him, “We need your help with some of these war reports you sent us.”

Frowning, Alpha didn’t want to sound rude by saying no, but he really had no choice at this point.

“I need to catch a train,” Alpha said, pointing over his shoulder in the direction of the train station, “I’m just here to grab my stuff.”

“It would mean a lot if you could just run over them with us for a couple minutes,” Dash spoke up, hoping to calm Shining down slightly, “There are some discrepancies—“

“I’m sure there are a few,” He said, still on the move toward the wing of the castle he had been set up in, “But I really, really don’t have time. I need to be back for a meeting I have scheduled for tonight, and I need to leave in the next ten minutes.”

“But-“

“I’m sorry!” He said, opening the door, and rushing down the hall, leaving Twilight in the lobby with Rainbow Dash and her brother.

Shining only growled in response to everything that just happened.

“It’s really important that he be back there tonight,” Twilight said, seeing the frustration the two were showing, “If he’s not, he’d lose a lot of support toward ending the war.”

“It would answer a bunch of questions though…” Dash said, grabbing her massive book out from her saddlebag, “There are symbols we don’t understand, some events aren’t being told by both sides... It might be significant!”

“Really though?” Twilight asked, tilting her head, “I mean, it doesn’t exactly sound like vital information…”

“Twilight, three years ago, when I was trying to save Alex, you told me to not let anything small get by me!” Dash said back, as the mare blinked rapidly, “It was the rumor about healing spells in buffalo culture that led to me finding the esuna spell! There are reports of soldiers being slaughtered by other changelings. If there is some force out there we don’t know about, we need Alpha to fill us in!”

Twilight was once again shocked by her realization that she was essentially the new Rainbow Dash. How could she try to play that information off as nothing?

“I-I’m sorry!” She said, looking to her and Shining, “How could I say that? J-just let me go talk to Alpha.”

“Thank you.” Dash said with a smile.

Twilight ran down the hall after Alpha, and, after about five minutes, the two came back in to the lobby, with a couple of suitcases in tow behind them.

“Okay, I’m sorry,” Alpha said immediately to them, as he dropped the bags, “Twilight told me that this information is potentially vital… So, I should take a few minutes to look it over. The debate can wait a few minutes.”

“Thank Celestia!” Dash laughed, “This has been eating at me for months!”

“You haven’t even had the reports for a week,” Alpha laughed, as he walked over to the two captains and leaned over to see her work, “So, what have you found?”

“Well, we were wondering about these symbols,” Shining Armor spoke up again, pointing to the crown on one page, and then to the foreign symbol on another, “What’s the significance to these?”

“Those represent the destination of the reports…” Alpha said slowly, comparing the contents of the two different pages, “This one with the crown is meant for the queen. It’s a summary of events for a set amount of time. The ♈ means that the report was destined for the Council, they’re more specialized in contents for topics important to them.”

“Okay,” Dash nodded, “That’s the kind of thing we figured.”

“Was that all…?” He asked, having slightly hoped that they found something more interesting.

“Of course not!” Dash said, flipping to one of the few pages she had stuck with a tab, “I wanted to know about the sect of Changelings that have been popping up in the Equestrian reports, and killing entire platoons of your people.”

The look on his face could only be described as a mixture of confusion and shock.

“W-what do you mean?” Alpha asked, utterly lost at what she had just said.

“Well, according to a few Equestrian reports, every now and then, a group of Changelings bearing a slightly different uniform show up, and slaughter an entire platoon.” Dash explained again, “But according to the Changeling reports, these platoons are being ambushed by the residents of wherever they’re stationed, whether it be from zebra, or ponies.”

“Could you please show me all of the entries?” Alpha asked quietly, this information still not completely computing in his mind, “I… need to see this for myself.”

Dash wasted no time fishing out every report she found to have this kind of content within it, and swiftly handed it over to Alpha.

A few moments passed as he read over the pages that he held in front of him with a spell, before he reached the final one in the pile, and promptly dropped them all on the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked, rushing to his side, as Dash and Shining followed suit.

Alpha breathed for a few minutes without responding, before he looked over his shoulder to the others.

“Tell the train I won’t be going back to the hive tonight,” He said, looking to Twilight’s brother, “I need to talk to Chrysalis.”

“I don’t know if we could arrange that—“ Shining began, before being cut off.

“Please.” He said, the mystifying expression in his eyes telling Shining just how important this was.

“Okay.” He nodded, “I’ll take you there myself. It sounds pretty important.”

“Nothing is more important to me, than talking with her right now.”

Conflicting Stories

////
Conflicting Stories
////

Dash walked down the road to Sweet Apple Acres just as she had a couple hours before, determined to help her friend understand the chaotic power she had been given after the defeat of the changeling council.

The sun had set a while ago, but the full moon lit the dirt road beautifully. It was a shame Alex was more interested in sleep, than he was in walking with her down here. It was beautiful out, and she would have enjoyed a romantic walk with him.

Deciding to close the distance to Applejack, Dash took to the sky and flew over the almost never-ending expanse of trees, watching her shadow as it moved from the tree tops, to the ground in between and back up again.

“Hey Applejack!” Dash called, seeing the orange mare standing outside the barn, doing nothing that she could put her hoof on.

Figuring that she simply hadn’t been heard, Dash headed down the mare, and landed squarely behind her, shaking her loose hair from in front of her eyes.

“Heya! You ready to master that magic of yours?” Dash asked, walking up to AJ and placing her hoof on her shoulder, “Applejack?”

She didn’t respond right away. She simply stared at the ground in front of her.

“Geez, you’re creeping me out here.” Dash said, walking around to the front of her friend, and lowering her head to meet her gaze, “Hello?”

“Rainbow Dash.” She said in monotone, her head lifting up slowly, “How… nice tuh see ya’.”

“Uh, are you okay?” Dash asked, instantly nervous at her friends’ attitude.

“Ah’m just fine.” She said, her voice still uniform, “How’d you like to help me buck some apples?”

“This late?” Dash asked, “You never buck past 3 o’clock unless it’s a special occasion…”

“Don’t ah’?” She asked, her head slowly tilting to the side, “Well, how ‘bout we bake sumthin’?”

“Applejack, we’re here to work on your magic!” Dash said, taking a step toward her friend, “Is this you being upset over having a hard time casting spells?”

Again, she was silent.

Dash gave her an expectant look.

Again, nothing.

“Well, fine!” Dash huffed, a little more scared than she cared to admit, “Come find me when you’re not all… messed up!”

“Sure thing, featherbrain.” She said, instantly earning an angry look from Dash.

“What did you just call me?” She asked, her annoyance over the situation getting the better of her.

“Featherbrain.” She said, her voice having a new touch of malice within it, “Ah’ swear, all ya’ ever think about is flyin’. Never give your friends a second thought.”

“Excuse me?” Dash asked, her frustration leading to a little more anger at this point.

“You heard me.” She said, her voice deepening as she leaned forward and started daggers at her friend.

“Yer’ useless. You’d be nothing if it weren’t for that stallion of yours.” She continued, walking toward Dash slowly, “Ya’ know what ah’ think? You should just kill yourself.”

“W-what the hell is wrong with you?!” Dash shouted, her rush of emotions making it hard to show any one on her face.

Applejack just smirked, and walked into the barn, leaving Dash alone outside.

“Hey! Come back here!” Dash shouted at AJ as she disappeared into the darkness of the wooden building.

Huffing unsteadily, Dash looked to her house. She needed to talk to Alex about this. Now.

////

“Alex!” Dash bellowed, flicking on the light to their room, causing the stallion to jump out of the bed.

“Jesus!” Alex shouted, jumping to a sitting position in the bed, “What the hell!”

“I just came from Applejack’s place and you wouldn’t believe—“

“I was having an amazing dream!” Alex cut her off, “You know, I was having this dream where I was sandwiched between you and your mom, with this— “

“What was that?” Dash asked, her anger pausing for a moment.

“Uh, you know what? Yeah! Applejack, what a jerk… right? Right!” Alex said, clearing his throat and giving her a serious look.

Deciding that he was probably joking, Dash decided to continue with her story.

“Well, I went down there, and Applejack was acting weird,” Dash recounted, “Like, weird weird.”

“Okay?” Alex asked, squinting at her.

“You don’t get it, she was frozen in place, and she was talking all creepy like!” She continued, having an incredibly hard time articulating how her friend was acting, “Then she started insulting me!”

Alex’s face read nothing more than confusion.

“So… is that it?” He asked.

“No!” Dash shook her head, “She told me to kill myself!”

“Are you sure?“ Alex asked, his skepticism obvious.

“We need to go down there and see her,” Dash said instantly, “I know you were looking forward to some sleep, but this could have something to do with her dark side!”

“She already accepted her dark side,” Alex argued, “Why would we be seeing it now?”

“I… I don’t know! But maybe it’s something even worse!” Dash said, trying to think of another reason for the behavior, “Maybe a changeling took her place in order to get revenge for what happened at the Hive!”

“Or maybe she’s just grumpy that she can’t cast any spells like the rest of us.” Alex countered.

“Okay- since when are you the voice of reason?” Dash asked, frowning at the resistance he was putting up, “You’re normally the first one to jump into an adventure.”

“I’m not all that interested in an argument the two of you had,” Alex shrugged, hoping this wouldn’t incur her wrath, “She’s probably just on her period or something.”

“Period?” Dash asked.

“Yeah yeah, I know. You have no idea what that is,” Alex sighed, getting out of the bed, “And I’m glad you don’t. You’d smack me for sure for saying it.”

“Come on,” She said, “Just come with me, and we’ll be back before you know it.”

“Somehow I don’t believe you,” Alex laughed, giving her a smile that put her at ease.

////

The two quickly flew over to Sweet Apple Acres, and headed to the last place Dash and her had spoken.

“Applejack?” Alex called, as he and Dash entered the barn on her property, “You still in here?”

“Oh, hey Alex!” Applejack called, poking her head out from the upper section of the barn, “An’ Rainbow Dash! Glad ya’ finally made it! Ya’ ready to teach me some magic?”

Dash gave her a look of disbelief, as AJ made her way down to the ground floor to meet her friends.

“Ya’ look like you were just stung by a bee, Dash!” Applejack laughed, “What’s wrong?”

“You know what’s wrong!” Dash shouted, surprising both AJ and Alex, “Don’t act all nice now! Ten minutes ago you told me to kill myself!”

“Uh… what?” Applejack asked, looking to Alex with a small frown, to which he shrugged at her, “Ah’ can promise you ah’ never say somethin’ like that!”

“It does sound a little—“

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding, you don’t believe me either?” Dash cut him off, looking at Alex, as he shrunk to the side somewhat.

“I- I never said that!” Alex cleared his throat, “It just… seems a little out of character for her… what you’re accusing her of…”

“Where is all this comin’ from?” Applejack demanded, looking between them, obviously insulted by the accusations.

“You called me ‘featherbrain’ and you told me I didn’t care about my friends!” Dash shouted, as Applejack took a step backward.

“Ah’ didn’t say anythin’ like that, or anythin’ about you killin’ yerself!” Applejack said defensively, “Just what in tarnation’ do ya’ think is wrong with me?!”

“It- it happened!” Dash said, looking to Alex for help, only to receive none from him.

It felt like a punch in her gut to have him not believe her.

“I- Just forget it!” Dash shouted, taking to the sky instantly, and flying off fast enough to ensure that nopony would follow her.

Both Alex and Applejack watched her fly off into the distance, “Do ya’ reckon she’s alright?”

“I don’t know.” Alex shook his head.

“Ah’ just can’t believe she’d make sumthin’ like that up!” AJ said, shaking her head, “Ya’ think it’s for attention?”

Alex glared at her.

“Something’s up.” He said, “I’m going to go work things out with her.”

With that, he took off into the sky, leaving Applejack on the ground.

////

Off in the distance, the dark figure unwound her magic strands from Applejack, and gave them a new destination.

////

Magical Mystery Dream

////
Magical Mystery Dream
////

Trixie inhaled sharply, as she felt her body be propelled from its place in her mindscape, into a dream of one of her friends. Aurora had used her magic to destroy the anti-magic barrier, and then instantly moved them on to the next step of their plan.

“Where are we?” Trixie asked, looking around, finding herself back in Ponyville, “Geez… this all reminds me of that chaotic world we all went in to.”

“This is Fluttershy’s dream,” Aurora said, stepping past her friend as she looked around the town herself, “Wow… I forgot what it’s like to be in a real place.”

“Well, it’s not really a real place,” Trixie pointed out, “It’s not like my body is in here… wait! Where is my body right now?”

Aurora was clearly lost in the wonder of seeing the world again, but slowly turned to answer the question, “Still falling. We need to be in and out of these six dreams before you hit the ground.”

She went wide eyed.

“I’m only kidding,” The yellow mare stifled a giggle, “Twilight would be on to us way before then. We have a lot of time before either of those things happen though. Remember, these ponies were meant to experience years of torture in minutes, and we’re on their timelines.”

“Well, that’s good, I guess.” Trixie sighed happily, as she walked forward to join her friend, “So, what are we looking for?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Aurora shrugged, “I guess we need to look for your friend having a really bad time.”

“It probably won’t be too hard,” She said quietly, “I don’t see anypony in town.”

“Boo!” A voice shouted from their left, drawing their attention in the direction.

“Sounds promising,” Aurora said, as Trixie nodded along with her, “Why don’t we check it out?”

////

“You think that’s funny?” Caramel, one of the many gathered townsponies asked, “Tell us a joke or something!”

“Yeah!” Octavia agreed, throwing a hoof in the air, “Why are you just standing there looking dumb?”

“I- um… eep…”

“Can’t you make something with that balloon you’re holding?” The mayor asked, sighing loudly.

Trixie and Aurora finally reached the crowd they had been looking for, but still had no idea what was happening in the middle of it.

“Who is that?” Trixie asked, trying to peek over the towering stallions in front of her, “Would you move out of Trixie’s way?”

She was ignored.

“We can use magic in here,” Aurora said, reaching over to her friend and giving her horn a tap.

“That’s good to hear at least…” She said, instantly casting a spell that divided the crowd in front of her, much to the dismay of the ponies she was moving.

As soon as the path was clear, Trixie and Aurora saw the pony that was currently being ridiculed in the center.

“Fluttershy?” Trixie asked, her jaw dropping at the miserable expression that the usually happy mare wore.

“Oh, Trixie!” She responded, lighting up and rushing through the crowd to her friends, “Thank goodness you’re here! I need your help!”

“No kidding!” Trixie responded, placing a hoof on her shoulder, “We need to get you out of this nightmare—“

“I need you to help me make everypony laugh!” She said.

Trixie looked over her shoulder to Aurora for support. Her friend only shrugged.

“I… uhh… Don’t quite understand,” The unicorn said, “Don’t you want to wake up?”

“I wish that I was dreaming…” Fluttershy sighed, completely shrugging off the notion, “Well? Can you help me or not?”

“Trixie…” Aurora whispered.

“Listen, Fluttershy, I don’t think you understand what’s going on!” She continued, missing her friends’ whispering, “You’re in—“

“Are you going to make us laugh or not?!” Caramel shouted again, his tone far beyond anything that would be considered polite.

“Um… of course…” Fluttershy said, her expression clearly darkening as she turned away from her friend.

“W-wait!” Trixie called fruitlessly, as the pegasus walked back to the center of the crowd.

As soon as she went back to her job, the booing and anger picked up right where it left off.

“I don’t understand,” Trixie said, blinking rapidly.

“Look at her cutie mark.” Aurora whispered in her ear.

Tilting her head, she saw just what was wrong. Her cutie mark, which was usually three butterflies, was instead Pinkie Pie’s, which was three balloons.

“Was this Twilight’s plan?” She asked, looking over to Aurora, absolutely dumbfounded, “To… change their cutie marks?”

“Well, if they’re all this miserable, I guess you could say that it’s working.” Aurora said, inhaling sharply as somepony from the crowd threw a carrot at Fluttershy’s head, “I’m surprised that she hasn’t broken down yet though.”

“If what you said about the passage of time is right, there’s a chance that Fluttershy’s been in here for a while.” Trixie guessed, joining Aurora in watching the miserable mare, “She might me far beyond breaking down. One break down wouldn’t fundamentally change somepony’s personality.”

“You’re right,” Aurora agreed, “That’s the face of a mare who’s already been broken. She’s only being worn down at this point.”

“So, what do we do then?” Trixie asked, “Do we help her be more like Pinkie Pie?”

Aurora stepped back from the crowd and looked back toward the hills of Ponyville, then the Everfree Forest. “I don’t think so.”

“Neither do I.” Trixie shook her head, “If we want to make Fluttershy truly happy, we need to get her to remember who she is on the inside. Not indulge her in this fantasy Twilight has mode for them.”

“You think you know them well enough?” Aurora asked.

“I think so.” Trixie nodded, “Even though I’ve been slow to admit it… I’ve really gotten to know the ponies here. Just spending time with them has made Trixie feel like she has a home.”

“You don’t know how happy that makes me to hear,” Aurora said, “It’ll make it easier for me to… leave.”

Trixie’s expression darkened almost enough to match Fluttershy’s.

“Let’s move on from here.” The blue unicorn said softly, looking away from Aurora. “We need to round up some cute animals.”

Aurora swallowed and nodded, “Do you think that’s all we need?”

“Maybe?”

////

Fluttershy sighed, looking away from the crowd. She had been standing in this place for longer than she would be able to recall, but felt compelled to stay here until everypony was laughing, even if it took her a year.

“Can you do something fun already?” Octavia asked, sighing loudly, “You’re just a waste of skin, standing around like this!”

Fluttershy gulped and fought against any tears that might come running out, she was wasting their time, after all.

“Hey, Fluttershy!” A voice called from beyond the crowd.

“Yes?” She asked, lifting herself off the ground with her wings, allowing her to see the yellow unicorn on the other side of the crowd, “Oh, you’re Trixie’s friend!”

“Yes! She’s in trouble! She needs your help!” Aurora said, pointing in the direction of the Everfree Forest.

“Oh my!” She said, looking to the ponies in front of her, “Um… I don’t think my friends would—“

“We’ll only be gone for a couple of minutes,” She reiterated, looking up at the mare, “They’ll still be here when we get back!”

“Well…” Fluttershy scratched her chin, “I guess I could take a little break.”

“Oh no she isn’t!” The Mayor said, turning to face Aurora with a huge scowl, “She’s going to stay here until she makes us laugh.”

As she spoke the last word, her eyes darkened, and a black aura surrounded everypony in the crowd.

Fluttershy ‘eeped’ and flew a few inches back.

“Ah.” The unicorn said, seeing that these ponies were the source of the spell, “Well, if you don’t all mind, I really don’t have time for this.”

With a simple wave of her horn, the entire crowd was shrunk down to ant-size. Not that this stopped them from shouting at the two mares.

“Come on Fluttershy,” Aurora said comfortingly, “I’ll fix them as soon as we’re done, and you can finish your show with them.”

“O-okay…” She said, flying over the angry, albeit quieter mob of ponies, “Where is Trixie?”

“She’s at your cottage!” Aurora said.

“My cottage? But I live at Sugarcube corner…” She muttered.

“T-that doesn’t matter! Just follow me!” Aurora huffed.

////

Trixie wasn’t sure what inspired her to go through with this particular plan, but she was sure that it was going to work.

“Okay, you all need to be angry!” Trixie said to the group of animals in front of her, “Pretend that you’re really hungry, and you want to eat me!”

They all frowned and gave her confused looks.

“Fluttershy isn’t herself right now,” She explained, gesturing to a picture of Pinkie Pie that was hung on the wall, “She’s out in the town square, convinced that she needs to make everypony in town laugh! But that’s Pinkie job! So, if you all act really stubborn, we might be able to bring the real her back out!”

Angel, Fluttershy’s bunny, jumped up on to the mare’s counter, and spilled cutlery all over the floor, giving easy access to the animals around her.

”Trixie! We’re coming!”

“Oh, get ready!” She said, levitating herself into the large black cauldron, and tying a tight rope around her body, “Everyone Just walk in circles around me with the cutlery… and the rest of you should just be all over the place! Like you’re starving!”

They all nodded, and started acting as crazy as they all could.

“Help!” Trixie called out, watching the door carefully, as she tightened the wrapped rope around her body.

The door burst open, as the two yellow mares came inside, one much more shocked than the other at the scene in front of them.

“What are these critters doing? Fluttershy asked, looking around the room quickly, “Rainbow Dash must have forgotten to feed them!”

Trixie was truly confused at the fantasy that had been crafted in Fluttershy’s mind. She seemed perfectly like herself right now, but was also completely unaware of key events in her life. Still, she had to admit that some of her own dreams didn’t always make sense.

“Don’t you know some kind of spell that can save her?” Fluttershy asked.

“No!” Aurora shook her head, “You need to be the one to do this. It can’t be me.”

“W-why not?” Fluttershy asked, wide eyed, “I’m supposed to be making ponies laugh right now! But instead I’m here!”

“I’m- uh… afraid of… critters!” Aurora said, shaking her head suddenly as she backed out the door, “They might… crawl on me! Ew!”

“Please Fluttershy! Help me!” Trixie called, hoping that she’d be done pestering Aurora at this point.

“Um… w-what should I do?” She called.

“Anything!” She replied.

Seeing that the plan wasn’t working perfectly, the animals upped their game, and began chanting in their various squeaks, as their pace increase in their march around the cauldron.

Fluttershy gulped, and took a step forward.

“E-excuse me…” She called out meekly, “Um, I think we should all take a second to think about what we’re doing!”

She was ignored largely, but a few glanced her way.

“Oh!” She said, spying a salad sitting on the counter of the kitchen, “Wouldn’t you all much rather be eating a delicious salad? Or maybe some carrots?”

Now she had their attention. Every animal instantly rushed her way, leaving Trixie alone in the pot.

“And you can have some- some yummy nuts if you like,” She said, grabbing a bunch of acorns and peanuts off the same counter she got her salad from.

The animals then rapidly gobbled them up, and acted as if she had saved all their lives.

“Wow!” Aurora said, poking her head through the door, “You really know how to handle those critters!”

“Yeah…” Fluttershy said, turning to look at Angel, as she tilted her head and approached the bunny, reaching out and softly caressing his ear, “It really does…”

Suddenly, all of the animals around her, rushed toward her, and jumped up to give her some form of affection, whether it was a hug, a kiss, or a pat on the top of her head. Even the massive bear that had somehow remained unnoticed, ran in to the room, lifted her off the ground, and gave her a big smooch on the top of her head.

The smile on her face widened to a point that it hadn’t in the distorted months she had been trapped in.

“This…” Fluttershy paused, softly pushing herself out of the bears embrace, while keeping herself airborne, “This is the happiest I’ve been in… as long as I can remember. Why is that?”

Suddenly, an outline of a necklace appeared around her neck, drawing Trixie’s attention.

“That’s… an Element!” She said, instantly jumping out of the pot, and rushing over to give the translucent spell a closer look, “And it’s a blue balloon!”

“Let me take a look,” Aurora said, running into the room, as she leaned in close next to Trixie, “Okay... this necklace is just a chaotic spell. I’ll try to cancel it out with my kind of magic.”

Pointing her horn at Fluttershy’s neck, a soft white beam of light fired from the tip of her horn, right into the center of the crystal balloon.

Instantly, the white magic flowed through the black, until it was engulfed. Then, Aurora leaned forward, and simply blew some air on her neck, causing the white energy to simply blow away.

Fluttershy blinked several times, as she looked around her home. Turning to both Aurora and Trixie, who were both anxiously waiting to see what she had to say to them.

“What’s going on?” She asked, shaking her head, as the animals around her cheered, “Have… I really been here for months? In this nightmare?”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Trixie sighed happily, reaching forward and embracing the mare tightly, “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re okay.”

Trixie’s genuine happiness seemed infectious, as Fluttershy couldn’t stop herself from beaming at the relieved mare.

Even though they weren’t out of the woods, all of them were happy to have a moment breathe, and enjoy one another’s company.

“So… what’s going on?” She asked, once again pulling away from a hug, “I’m in my own dream, right?”

“Yes. But it hasn’t been months. It’s only been a couple of minutes that you’ve been in here. Max.” Aurora answered, stepping forward and giving the mare a small smile, “Twilight has all the rest of your friends trapped in their own nightmares, just like you were.”

“Oh no…” She said, tilting her head once again as she turned to face the yellow unicorn next to her, “I’m sorry, but do I know you?”

“I’m Trixie’s friend, Aurora.” She answered, holding out a hoof, which Fluttershy promptly took and shook, “It’s amazing to finally meet you.”

“You too.” She said, with a bright smile.

“I’m so glad the plan worked,” Trixie sighed, “Now that we know this works, we can do it to all of our friends.”

“I’m here for whatever you need,” Fluttershy said, her expression switching to one of more confidence, as she turned back to Trixie, “We need to save Twilight from herself.”

“We have a plan for that,” Aurora said, looking up slightly as she began casting the spell they would need to teleport to the next dream over, “After we free everypony from their nightmares, Twilight will be weakened for long enough that I’ll… be able to neutralize her.”

“That’s great!” Fluttershy said, her face lighting up at the self-assurance Aurora was exuding, “But… wait. How did you manage to get a bunch of animals to help you fix me? Isn’t this my dream? How did you get them here?”

“Well,” Trixie began, rubbing the back of her neck as she furrowed her brow, “The truth is, they’re your passion. You don’t love anything like you do these little guys. And because I knew that, I knew that they’d be in here.”

Fluttershy closed her eyes and smiled once again, “You know… I wasn’t sure how well you really knew me. It’s not as if you and I really ever spend time together. But, it makes me happy to know that you know me so well.”

“Well… I mean…” Trixie blushed, as she bashfully looked away, only to make eye contact with Aurora instead, who had a smile of her own. But it wasn’t the same kind that she was getting from Fluttershy. It was one of relief.

This instantly caused Trixie to look away from her friend, as her heart sank once again.

“We need to hurry,” Aurora said, as the magic on the tip of her horn began sparking, “We don’t have long before Twilight realizes what’s going on.”

Both mares looked to her, and nodded.

“Good luck everypony.”

////