In the Spotlight

Chapters

New arrival
The Dryad
The New Elements

New arrival

Spotlight Gleam woke up one beautiful Saturday morning to the sound of one of her mothers talking excitedly. The young, pale purple unicorn leaped out of her bed and started towards the door. However, the teen only got half way there before skidding to a stop and turning to retrieve the bright blue cape her other mom gave her. Fastening her cape, Spotlight trotted to the castle's main hall, where her mother, the princess of friendship, was talking into one of her magic mirrors.

“Yes, alright. I'm looking forward to it. Yep, I'll make sure to take good care of her. I think Spotlight will be thrilled. OK, see you soon,” Twilight concluded with someone on the other side.

“What will I be thrilled about, mom?” Spotlight asked as she approached.

“Oh, Spotlight, I didn't realize you were awake,” Twilight turned and smiled to her daughter. “I thought you'd be excited to hear that your Aunt Cadence and Uncle Shining are coming to visit later today.”

Spotlight's grin grew as she jumped in place, the bangs of her dark blue and silver mane bouncing over her eyes. “Wow, I can't wait! It's been like, forever since I've seen them.”

“And that's not all, they're bringing your cousin, Rosegold as well,” Twilight added, amused by her daughters energy.

Spotlight stopped jumping and stared at her mother in shock. “Rosegold? But she never leaves the Crystal Empire.”

“I know and she may feel uncomfortable. Can I trust that you'll make her feel welcomed and show her around town?” Twilight asked, already knowing the answer.

“Of course! I'd love to introduce her Ponyville!” Spotlight beamed, but began to look around the room. “By the way, where's mamma Trixie?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “She's still asleep. You know her. Not only did she have a late night show last night, but there was an after show party that she 'absolutely had to go to'. I just hope she won't be grumpy during your Uncle and Aunt's visit.”

Spotlight's ears flattened and her grin disappeared. “She had another show last night...”

Twilight's face softened as she smiled sweetly at her saddened foal. “Don't be sad, Sweetie. You know Trixie would love to have you as an assistant. Someday you'll be able to perform magic with her.”

“I can perform magic,” Spotlight muttered, “just not in front of other ponies.”

“I know. Hey, how about you go get cleaned up and and we'll prepare the castle for our visitors.”

Spotlight lit up again with a smile. “OK!”

The filly ran into the bathroom to get clean, put her mane into a ponytail and try to make herself look presentable for her family.

Later that day, horns sounded to signal the arrival of a chariot drawn by two pegasi. Twilight, Spotlight and a very groggy Trixie were outside waiting when the carriage landed. One of the guards opened the door and Princess Cadence stepped out. “Twilight! It's so good to see you again!”

“Cadence, I'm so glad you could stop by!” Twilight returned the greeting.
Trixie yawned before she gave a halfhearted wave. “Greeting, the Great and Powerful Trixie is pleased that you came to visit.”

Cadence giggled. “Hi Trixie. What's the matter? Twilight keep you up all night again?”

Trixie snickered as Twilight's face went red. “Girl's, not in front of Spotlight,” the newest princess whispered angrily.

Spotlight made a gagging sound before she waved. “Hi Auntie Cadence!”

“Spotlight! My, you get bigger every time I see you,” Cadence hugged her niece.

“Where are Uncle Shining and Rosegold?” Spotlight asked.

“Well...” Cadence trailed off as she looked back at the carriage.

The four turned to the still opened door to of the carriage. “Come on Rosegold, we're already here and it'll be fun,” Shining Armours voice came from within.

“But what if something happens to the Crystal Empire while we're goofing around?” A younger more feminine voice questioned.

“The other guards can handle it. Besides, think of it this way: Your mother and I are on a diplomatic visit to another castle and we chose you to be our personal guard,” Shining replied.

“I guess... that does make it a little better. But what about the training regiment I planned for today?”

“Spotlight always skips her magic practices to come visit you. Do you think you could return the favor?”

“I, uh, fine.”

With that, Shining stepped out followed by a pegasus with pure white fur to match her fathers and a dark pink mane in one large braid. Her bright blue eyes stared forward without emotion as she marched behind the crystal prince. “Hi Uncle Shining. Hey Rosegold,” Spotlight waved excitedly.

“Good afternoon, Spotlight,” Rosegold responded professionally.

“Spotlight! How's the greatest magic performer of Equestria doing?” Shining hugged his niece.

Trixie coughed to prevent herself from making a comment. Tied for greatest, she thought to herself. “Great, Uncle Shining. Wanna see my new trick?” Spotlight asked.

Shining chuckled. “Maybe later. Your parents, your Aunt and I have something we need to discuss first.”

Spotlight looked a little disappointed until Trixie spoke up. “Why don't you show Rosegold around town?”

Spotlight perked up again. “OK!”

“I thought I was suppose to be guarding you,” Rosegold accused her parents.

“Do a perimeter check. That's an order, soldier,” Shining said, trying to keep a straight face, but couldn't contain his smile.

“Guh, yes sir,” Rose gold sighed as she trudged behind a happily trotting Spotlight.

The four older ponies entered the castle as the two fillies entered the town. After a few minutes, Rosegold decided to give in and try to start a conversation. “So where's Spike? I thought he would've been here to at least say hello.”

“Oh, he's in Manehatten helping Sweetie Belle with one of her shows. They should be back in a couple days,” Spotlight replied.

“Hmm. It's a shame that we'll miss them,” Rosegold drawled.

“Why do you sound so gloomy?” Spotlight asked.

“Don't take it personally, but I had a lot of responsibilities to take care today before mom and dad dragged me here,” Rosegold answered.

“You always have responsibilities. Can't you take a break?”

“Not if I plan on becoming the captain of the Crystal Guard some day.”

“Well, there's no helping it now, so you might as well try to enjoy yourself. Ponyville can be a pretty fun place and I can introduce you to all of my friends like...” Spotlight scanned the surrounding area, “her! Bright! Hey Bright!”

A Lavender pink unicorn with a permed steel blue mane walking across a nearby street turned her head at the sound of her name. “Spotlight?”

The two picked up the pace to meet up with Spotlight's friend. “Hey Bright,” Spotlight greeted before she noticed the horrible looking neon green scarf that Bright was wearing.

“Oh hello Spotlight. How wonderful to see you. And who's this?” Bright asked politely, though the nervousness was clearly etched on her face.

Spotlight eyed her cousin, hoping that Rosegold's abrupt personality wouldn't come into play. Please don't say anything about the scarf, Spotlight prayed in her head. “My name is Rosegold Crest.”

“Ah, Spotlight's cousin, correct? I've heard so much about you,” Bright seemed to relax. “Pleasure to meet you, Rosegold. I am Bright Palette.”

“Likewise,” Rosegold responded as Spotlight let loose the breath that she had been holding, glad that Rosegold didn't say anything. “So what's with the scarf? Lose a bet?”

Spotlight cringed as she looked to Bright with concern. Said unicorn's face had dropped as tears began to form in her eyes. “It looks that bad?”

Spotlight intercepted before Rosegold could do anymore damage. “No, no. I think it looks cool. I think I'll get one-”

However, Spotlight was interrupted by Bright's sobbing. “Of course it's bad! Every time I try to be fashionable, it ends in disaster!”

“What's the big deal. So what if you're bad with clothes?” Rosegold asked casually.

“That's easy to say when both of your parents aren't renowned fashion designers while you can't even put together an outfit,” Bright continued to cry.

“Renowned fashion designer? So you're the daughter of the Element of Generosity I presume?”

Bright just nodded as the tears came. Spotlight, a little disappointed at her cousins lack of sympathy, frowned. Just then something fast flashed by and Bright's scarf was gone. Bright stopped her sobbing and turned with the others to find a pastel orange pegasus with a short, pink and blue swirled mane wrestling with the article of clothing. “Soothe, what are you doing?” Spotlight asked.

The pegasus grunted as she answered. “Grr, I know Bright isn't the best with clothes, gah, but even she wouldn't wear this thing. Oof, clearly it's some sort of brain controlling monster that took over Bright's mind.”

Rosegold just stared, confused, as the unicorns giggled. “Thanks Soothe. You always know how to cheer me up,” Bright wiped her eyes and smiled.

The pegasus fell to the ground and laughed herself. “No prob, Bright. So who's the pegasus? You're not replacing me, are you?”

“This is my cousin Rosegold. The one I'm always telling you about,” Spotlight explained.

“The famous golden rose? Wow, you've never visited before. I was starting to to think that Spotlight made you up,” the pegasus chuckled to herself, “after all, she does tend to take after her mom when it comes to fantastic tales.”

Spotlight stuck her tongue out as Rosegold rolled her eyes. “I assure you, I am real. And you are...”

“Soothe Feather. Hero to all of Equestria, funniest pony alive and leader of an ancient cult,” Soothe introduced herself.

“All self given titles,” Bright whispered to Rosegold.

“Hey, I am pretty funny and I am a hero... though that cult thing might have been a little stray from the truth,” Soothe giggle nervously.

“What makes you a hero?” Rosegold asked, a little interested.

“I've saved plenty of lives,” Soothe bragged, “it's even how I got my cutie mark, see.”

Soothe spun around to show off what looked like a red cross in a life preserver. It was then that Rosegold realized something. She's known about Spotlight's cutie mark, which was a magic diagram on a book cover, and she looked back at her own, which remained a golden rose, but she saw that Bright didn't have one. “Sorry, um, Bright, but I couldn't help but notice, you don't seem to have a cutie mark yourself.”

Spotlight face hooved as Soothe let out a sigh. Bright's face once again became saddened as she looked away. “Um, yes, well, you see, I haven't found out what my special talent is yet.”

“At this age? That's a little concerning,” Rosegold commented.

“I'm sure that it will come soon,” said a new voice, making the four fillies jump.

They all turned to a chocolate brown earth pony mare with a straight, magenta mane and bored green eyes. The newcomer continued in the same monotonous voice. “We still have a couple of years left in school, which is plenty of time for her to discover her special talent.”

“Cookie! How long have you been there?” Spotlight asked.

“A couple minutes. I didn't want to interrupt your conversation,” Cookie replied, her tone never changing.

“Cookie? As in Cookie Dough?” Rosegold asked.

“Do I know you?” Cookie turned to the pegasus, one eyebrow raised.

“Your parents were hired to organize my last few birthday parties,” Rosegold explained. “They talked a lot about you, although you're not what I imagined.”

Cookie gave a sigh before what she started what looked like a rehearsed speech. “When you're the daughter of two ponies that literally try to throw you a surprise party at least every other day, at some point it just stops being surprising.”

“I see...” Rosegold muttered.

“Hey, the gangs almost all here,” Spotlight exclaimed.

“We just need to find Appleslice,” Bright, no trace of her depression evident anymore, spoke up.

Soothe gave the unicorn a knowing smirk. “I knew you'd try to find a reason to go see Appleslice.”

Bright's face lit up as she sputtered. “W-well of course. Sh-she would be upset if w-we didn't let her see Spotlight's cousin.”

“I believe she is at Sugarcube Corner, assisting with the baking right now,” Cookie interrupted.

“Cool. Let's go see her. Come on Rosegold,” Spotlight chirped as she started off, followed by her friends.

Rosegold rolled her eyes once again before she went after them. The group arrived at Sugarcube Corner and entered to see a stallion pegasus, not much older than them, working the register. “Girls! How can I help you today,” he greeted.

“Hi Pound. Is Appleslice here?” Spotlight asked.

“Sure is,” Pound nodded, “in the back, baking with Pumpkin. I'll go fetch her if you want.”

“If you don't mind,” Bright asked timidly.

Pound went through the door behind him and returned with a dark green earth pony with a dirty blonde mane. Her gently teal eyes, highlighted by her freckles, lit up as she saw her friends. “Well, howdy there gang! What brings you around?”

“Hey Appleslice,” Spotlight greeted.

“Hey A-slice,” Soothe, now upside down, saluted.

Cookie just nodded as Bright nervously waved. “H-hi Appleslice.”

Appleslice smiled warmly to her friends when her eyes rested on Rosegold. “Well ah don't think ah've seen you round these parts before. Got a name, stranger?”

Spotlight was about to answer for her cousin, but was cut off. “My name is Rosegold.”

Appleslice whistled. “Like as in Spotlight's cuz? Well stick twigs in my mane and call me a timberwolf, it's a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Rosegold shook hooves with the Earth Pony. “Yes, it's been fun meeting you all, but I'm afraid my time here is short. I'll be returning to the Crystal Empire today. Spotlight, I believe we spent enough time wondering around. Let's get back to the castle.”

Rosegold started to trot out as Spotlight looked to her friends, who were giving her curious looks. “Heh heh... well that's Rosegold. I guess I'll see you guys later.”

Rosegold and Spotlight walked back to the castle, the unicorn a little annoyed about how her cousin treated her friends. When they entered into the main hall, they could see their parents still happily talking. Shining, the first to notice them approaching, waved them over. “Hey girls, how was the tour?”

“Fun!” Spotlight exclaimed.

“It was fine,” Rosegold replied, “but when are we getting back to the empire?”

The four adults looked between each other until Shining spoke up. “Well, you see about that... we have some news for you.”

“Oh? And what is it?” Rosegold asked.

Cadence stepped forward and knelt down to be at eye level with her daughter. “Rosegold, your father and I have decided it's time for the next step of your training.”

Rosegold's eyes lit up as she stood straighter. “Really!? What is it!?”

Cadence paused. “ahem, while you were out, we spoke with Twilight and Trixie and it's decided that you'll be spending some time here with them to learn about friendship.”

Rosegold completely deflated. “What? Friendship?”

“That's right soldier,” Shining stepped up beside his wife. “You're well on your way to becoming a great guard, but you still need to learn how to work with others. You don't even have any friends back in the crystal empire.”

“I don't need friends to protect our land!” Rosegold protested.

“Are you sure? Twilight saved the day plenty of times with the power of friendship. Even our wedding day,” Cadence asked.

“But, but, but-” Rosegold stammered.

“Don't worry Rosegold,” Twilight smiled sweetly to her niece, “we'll set up a gym in one of the spare rooms so you can continue your training and you can finish your studies at Spotlight's school.”

“It'll only be for a little while,” Shining offered.

Rosegold, although she hated to, relented. “Very well. I guess I can't fight this.”

“I'm sure you'll have fun.” Cadence, happy that Rosegold complied, relaxed. “Well go back home tonight so you can get want you want to bring and then we'll drop you off tomorrow.”

Spotlight, who was watching the scene with wonder, jumped forward. “Oh wow! This is going to be so much fun! Don't worry Rosegold, I will make it my personal duty to make sure you enjoy your stay in Ponyville. And you can hang out with all of my friends!”

“Swell,” Rosegold rolled her eyes yet again.

A little while later, the ponies said their goodbyes for the night and Rosegold departed with her parents. Spotlight said goodnight to her moms and hurried off to bed, excited for the next day. Trixie said she wasn't tired, which sparked a small argument with her spouse about her sleeping habits until Twilight decided she was too tired and headed off to bed by herself. However, when she opened her bedroom door, she froze at one of the most terrifying sights she had ever seen. Standing across the room from her was Discord... with a serious expression. “Twilight, we need to talk. It's important.”

Author's Note

Well that was my first crack at an OC story, so any thoughts you'd like to share would be appreciated. I don't know how many people read these future gen stories, but for those of you who do, tell me how mine holds up. Anyways, if it's liked, I'll continue it.

Also, I know I didn't reveal all the parents and I know some people wouldn't want to read this if their favorite ship wasn't supported, so should I post all the parents next chapter? Or reveal them gradually as the story progresses?

The Dryad

Twilight paced back and forth in front of her throne, where Trixie sat. The princess' nervous face worrying her spouse and the other Elements of Harmony, save Applejack, who were sitting in there respective seats. It was a little pass midnight and everypony in the room was exhausted, but not nearly as much as the farm pony who just now entered.

“Dang it Twi, I gotta be up in a few hours to start working on the fields. This better be important,” Applejack yawned as she took her seat.

“Yeah Twilight, what's such a big deal that you needed to round us all up in the middle of the night?” Rainbow asked with a hint of irritation.

Twilight looked to her friends with a mix of concern and determination. “Girls, Equestria is under threat once again and it's up to us to stop it.”

“Oh my, whatever could it be,” Rarity, sleeping mask still resting above her eyes, questioned.

Twilight took a deep breath before she recanted her conversation with the lord of chaos earlier in the night.

“Discord? OK, first of all, why is everything still in place? You haven't messed anything up in here,” Twilight looked around the room for any evidence of chaotic magic.

Discord, without changing his expression, replied. “This is too important to spend time goofing off.”

Twilight's eyes widened at Discords words as she sat on her bed. “Discord, how serious is this?”

“Equestria is in danger,” Discord started, “because of another elder spirit.”

“Another? There are others?” Twilight asked, trying to suppress her desire to hear all about a new subject.

“Yes, quite a few actually. But most of the others decided to leave to explore the universe or something equally as tedious. Only me and a few others stayed behind. Of course this was far before Celestia and Luna came along and... well, you know,” Discord answered with an embarrassed chuckle. “But the one that may be a problem right now is a Dryad, the spirit of nature who is calling herself 'Blight' right now.”

“Now? Did she have another name? And what's a Dryad” Twilight pressed.

“Yes, but to be honest, we weren't that close and I never bothered to learn her real name,” Discord shrugged “but as a Dryad, she can teleport through trees, control plants and influence animal behaviour.”

“I guess her name doesn't matter much at the moment, but she does sound dangerous” Twilight muttered to herself. “OK, then why is she threatening us? And why now?”

Discord laughed nervously while he pulled at his non existent collar, unable to meet the Alicorns eyes. “Heh, you see about that...”

“Oh no, this is your fault, isn't it?” Twilight sighed.

“Of course not!” Discord countered, taken aback. “I just didn't help things either.”

“That's hard to believe,” Twilight remarked sarcastically.

“Anyways,” Discord continued, “back in the old days, Blight and I sort of disagreed on a lot of things, especially which territory belonged to who. You see, while I had most of Equestria under my control, she created and maintained the Everfree Forest, which was much larger back then. And while we couldn't directly do anything to each other, due to a powerful magical pact between the elder spirits-”

“Wait,” Twilight interrupted, “you signed a pact?”

“Well I didn't want to, but I wasn't about to take on twenty other beings that matched me in power,” Discord scowled at the memory. “But yes, there is a magically enforced rule that states that no elder spirit may interfere with another ones territory. It was to prevent us from destroying the world over petty arguments. However, while she couldn't directly harm me, she could create tools to do so.”

Discord paused, even though it was a dire situation, he couldn't resist some dramatic flare. “And that's where the Tree of Harmony comes in.”

“The Tree of Harmony!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Yes, she created it and then Sunbutt and Moonbutt found it. I suppose you can fill in what came next,” Discord shuddered, remembering his stone cold prison.

“Then what happened to Blight?”

“I'm getting to that,” Discord snapped. “After my defeat, Blight went out of her way to help the ponies settle and recover, pleased that I was no longer around to mess with the 'natural balance'. Celestia and Luna were happy to have her around, that is until...”

“Until what,” Twilight asked, getting tired of the pausing.

“You see, Blight loves nature quite a bit and didn't take to kindly when ponies started cutting down trees for wood and clearing out entire forests for their cities. She started to retaliate, even creating the timberwolves to attack ponies on sight. You ever wonder why you ponies can't control anything in the Everfree Forest? Eventually, Celestia and Luna had to stop her, stripping her of her power and banishing her to a wasteland with no animals or vegetation. Now, it seems that she regained her strength and returned and she's already attacked some towns in the South. The other princesses are trying to fight her off and since I can't harm her, they told me to come inform you.”

“I see. But what if you just claimed Equestria as your territory again?” Twilight offered.

Discord scoffed. “I could, but I have to use my magic to make it official and the last couple times I did that, I got a blast of harmony to the face.”

“Hmm, alright, I'll go get the other elements so that we can deal with this,” Twilight thought out loud.

“That's another thing. Back then the elements weren't that effective on their creator, or so I heard. Celestia told me that she had to use her own magic to win. It might be different since you have the power inside of you instead, but still be careful,” Discord warned with true concern.

Twilight smiled. “Thanks Discord. You know, you might have not been the best spirit in the past, but you've really turned yourself around. I'm happy to have you as a friend.”

Discord sputtered, embarrassed, but coughed to recover. “Of course you are. Anypony would be lucky to have me as a friend. I'm amazing! Well, I should get going, have to help prepare cities for rampaging roses and such. Toodles!”

“Bye Discord,” Twilight laughed as the lord of chaos teleported away.

“So we need to get ready,” Twilight declared to her friends. “Discord said that she's strong, but she won't be at full power until she reaches the Everfree Forest.”

“How dangerous is this? Isn't your niece coming to stay with you tomorrow, er, today,” Fluttershy asked, looking at the clock.

“It's fine. Discord told Cadence as well and she's coming anyways to help us. She wouldn't want to leave Rosegold behind during a crisis like this,” Twilight responded. “I guess I don't need to tell you not to let Soothe play by the forest anymore.”

Fluttershy nodded as she looked to Rainbow Dash, who had the same concerns about their daughter. “So what do we do now?” Rainbow pressed, ready to spring into action.

“We wait. I wanted to tell you all as soon as possible in case the worst happened, but we all need our rest. Go home, get some sleep and be ready,” Twilight answered.

The others nodded, save for Rarity. “Just one more thing. dear. If she knows that we're the elements, could that put our families in danger?”

Twilight's eyes widened. “You're right. OK, bring your significant others and children here in the morning. The castle is protected by dozens of magical enchantments and barriers. They'll be safe here.”

That seemed to quell any concerns her friends had as they said their goodbyes a departed, making plans as to how they were going to overcome their next enemy.

The next morning came, and the elements reassembled at the castle, their families in tow. The adults were all in the main hall, discussing sleeping arrangements and how long they thought they would be there while the fillies gathered in Spotlight's room.

“Wow, this is great. It'll be just like a slumber party!” Spotlight exclaimed, excited “I can't wait for Rosegold to show up.”

“Except, you know, the lingering danger hanging over our heads,” Cookie rolled her eyes. “That might be a bit of a party pooper.”

“It'll be fine. Our moms have done this plenty of times. It'll be no sweat,” Soothe remarked, flying circles around the room.

“I hope so, but I can't help but think of all those poor ponies out there that might be getting hurt right now,” Bright's head hung sadly.

Appleslice, mane now tied in a red bandana, threw an arm over her unicorn friend. “Aw, that's just you, Bright. You've got a baddie potentially gunnin for ya and you're concerned for everypony else. You've always been a sweetheart like that.”

Bright's cheeks became a deep red as she tried to hide her face closer to the ground. “Th-th-thanks, Appleslice.”

Soothe snickered as she elbowed Spotlight, pointing to the embarrassed unicorn. “Yeah, Bright's always been like that.”

“Leave her alone, Soothe,” Spotlight whispered, “you don't want to hurt her feelings.”

Soothe sighed and whispered back. “Yeah, you're right. I don't want to make her sad, but when is she going to finally say something to Appleslice, because Celestia knows that that apple brain is never going to figure it out.”

“When she's ready,” Spotlight replied sternly.

“Ahem.”

The five fillies turned to the door where Rosegold stood.

“Hey Goldie Rose,” Soothe waved.

“It's Rosegold,” the other pegasus corrected.

“What, you don't like nicknames?” Soothe asked.

“No,” Rosegold said as she entered the room. “I was told to 'hang out' with you guys, so... here I am.”

“Don't worry Rosegold, we're going to have plenty of fun!” Spotlight smiled cheerily to her cousin.

“Fun, while our parents risk their lives?” Rosegold asked with sudden annoyance. “They won't even let me help!”

Spotlight demeanour shattered. “Sorry Rose, I was just trying to make you feel welcomed...”

“There was no need to lash out at her,” Cookie added.

Rosegold sighed. “Fine, sorry.”

Spotlight gave a small smile. “It's OK. Hey, how about you get to know my friends better. I mean, the quicker you learn about friendship, the quicker you can go back to the Crystal Empire, right?”

“I suppose you're right,” Rosegold agreed as she sat down.

There was a bit of an awkward silence until Rosegold looked towards Appleslice. “Um... Nice bandana. I didn't see you wearing it yesterday.”

“Well thanks. Ah was in kitchen all day yesterday and ah didn't want to get it dirty. It was gift from a friend after all,” Appleslice proudly showed off her head wear and gave a wink to Bright, who blushed again.

“I just thought you looked nice in it,” Bright smiled nervously.

“I see. Also Bright, I am still confused. How do you not have cutie mark yet? Wasn't there a club or something dedicated to getting cutie marks in Ponyville?” Rosegold asked.

The others groaned as Bright chuckled sadly. “Ah, yes, the Cutie Mark Crusaders. We were all apart of it when we were younger, but I sort of out grew it before getting my cutie mark.”

“And I've said there have been dozens of cases where ponies got their cutie marks much later than you. There is nothing wrong with you,” Cookie spoke up in her same monotonous voice. “I've even shown you the records.”

“That's true, I still have time,” Bright nodded, feeling a little better.

“You found dozens of records just to make Bright feel better?” Rosegold asked.

“I didn't mind. They were facts. I like facts. You can't dispute them because they're the absolute truth. I find that it helps a lot of ponies when they know the truth,” Cookie lazily responded.

“Alright,” Rosegold, clearly bored, slouched.

“Come on, don't be like that,” Soothe flew over to Rosegold. “How's about a joke?”

“No thank you,” Rosegold grumbled.

Soothe frowned and started circling the room again. “You could at least try to have fun.”

“I want to be a guard. I have no time to have fun,.”

“And I want to be a rescue pony,” Soothe countered, “but that doesn't mean I'm a stick in the mud. You know, your attitude can really change a life or death situation.”

“I find it hard to believe that a joke can save somepony's life,” Rosegold drawled.

“Of course it can,” Soothe crossed her arms, “I mean, look at Zigs.”

“Zigs?” Rosegold asked when something landed on her head.

Before she could reach up to move it, a furry little head leaned over her brow to look her in the eyes. Rosegold screamed as she started to run around the room. Soothe swooped in and grabbed the critter, laughing.

“There you are are buddy! I wondered where you scampered off to.”

“What was that!?” Rosegold panted angrily.

“Zig zag. Or Zigs for short,” Soothe explained, holding out a small, brown creature with a large, poofy tail. “He's my pet squirrel.”

“You have a pet squirrel?”

“Yep. Found him one winter buried under a fallen tree. Managed to get him out and took him home to mom. He was really injured and it didn't look like he was going to make it, but I spent all night with him, telling jokes and keeping him in a good mood. Mom said that that probably gave him the strength to survive. It's how I got my cutie mark.”

“That's pretty respectable, I guess,” Rosegold said as she returned to her spot.

“Well that was entertaining and all, but how about we all have a snack,” Appleslice suggested. “Ah tried a new recipe for apple strawberry cupcakes yesterday and Ah'd appreciate it if y'all would help me taste test it.”

The others nodded eagerly as Appleslice reached into her saddlebag. She handed a cupcake to each of her friends and kept one for herself.

Rosegold eyes hers curiously before taking a bite. “This is amazing! You made this?”

“Sure did,” Appleslice nodded.

“Appleslice is always making new kinds of baked goods and dishes,” Spotlight explained, “and they always come out delicious.”

Rosegold finished her cupcake and looked to the farm pony with a bit of embarrassment. “I don't suppose there's another one in there?”

“Sorry there Rosegold, but ah only brought one for everyone. Don't you fret though, I'll be selling them at my next bake sale,” Appleslice smiled warmly.

“You have bake sales,” Rosegold asked, showing a bit more intrigue.

“Sure do. And all of the proceeds go to various charities across Equestria each time.”

“That's pretty noble,” Rosegold commented, a bit impressed.

“Thanks, I just like to help ponies that aren't as fortunate as we are,” Appleslice explained happily.

With the tension in the air starting to dissipate, the girls began chatting happily while Rosegold sat in thought. While she still wasn't happy to be in here when she could be training, she had to admit there was a bit more to these ponies than she first thought. Maybe she could get this friendship thing down faster than she estimated and return home sooner. The alabaster pegasus' thoughts, however, were interrupted when Soothe addressed the group.

“So what she do now? Maybe we could play a game?”

Spotlight jumped up with an excited expression. “Ooh, ooh, I've been working on a trick that momma taught me! I can show it to you guys.”

The others looked to each other with concern. “Are you, Spotlight? There are more than three ponies in this room,” Cookie asked.

“Sure I can!” Spotlight responded, sticking out her chest. “It's an easy one. All I do is create a bright light to dazzle the audience. Momma uses it to stun ponies and misdirect them so that she can prepare another trick.”

“Alright then, let's it,” Soothe urged her friend on.

“OK,” Spotlight took a stance and concentrated. However, only after a few seconds did she seize up and start to stutter.

Her friends tried to give her encouraging smiles, even Rosegold, who fully understood her cousins crippling stage fright. But even with her friends support, she just couldn't bring herself to do the trick and flopped onto the ground, disappointed in herself. “Shoot, I'm never going to be a showmare.”

“It's alright sugar, you'll get it eventually,” Appleslice patted the unicorn on the back.

“Yes, we're sure you'll be a great performer someday, dear,” Bright offered her own consolation.

It was then that heard a large explosion followed by the castle shaking.

“Wow, do you think it's Blight?” Soothe asked.

“But I'm right here,” Bright spoke up, confused.

“Not you, that Dryad lady,” Soothe rolled her eyes.

“Oh, of course,” Bright laughed, embarrassed.

“Darn it all! I wish I was out there, helping them,” Rosegold stomped her hoof in anger.

“From the sound of where the explosion came from, it seems like we can at least watch what's going on from my window,” Spotlight suggested as she walked over to the far side of the room.

The young magician opened the the blinds and gasped at the scene before her. The others rushed to see what caused their friends reaction and were shocked and horrified at what was happening.

In front of the castle, the Elements of Harmony, as well as Princess Cadence, were all wrapped in vines sprouting from the hand of a bipedal creature cloaked in rotting leaves.

“Fools!” The monster shouted in a dry, rasping voice. “Did you really think that my own creation could be used to stop me? It doesn't matter what form they come in, the elements will always listen to me!”

“I know some ponies can get wrapped up in their gardens, but this is ridiculous,” Pinkie stated as she struggled against the vines.

“You'll never get away with this!” Twilight declared as she tried to blast Blight with some of her magic, but the Dryad simple deflected it with her free arm.

“Oh, but I will,” Blight mocked, “and you're going to help me! You still poses some of my trees magic and I intend to extract it out of you.”

Blight retreated towards the Everfree Forest at a supernatural speed, towing along her captive. Shining, who was laying to the side, injured, got up and tried to chase after her. “No!” He cried before collapsing to the ground in pain again.

The kids, back in their room, could only watch as their moms were dragged deeper into the forest.

Author's Note

And here's chapter two! Again, I'd appreciate any feedback you're willing to offer.

I decided to share who all the parents were, in case some of you might be disappointed that your favorite pair isn't in this. Don't worry, if you decide to stop reading because of it, I won't be offended. Anywho:

Twilight x Trixie (Spotlight Gleam) (Obviously)
Cadence x Shining (Rosegold Crest)
Fluttershy x Rainbow Dash (Soothe Feather)
Pinkie x Cheese Sandwich (Cookie Dough)
Rarity x Coco Pommel (Bright Palette) (This site is in desperate need of more Rarico in my opinion)
Applejack x unknown (Appleslice)

I was going to have the joke that since we've never seen Applejacks parents and no one points in out, Appleslices father was unknown and no one addressed that either.

Anyways, have a good day everyone and I hope you enjoyed.

The New Elements

It was mournfully quiet in Twilight's castle. After the capture of the Elements of Harmony and Princess Cadence, Shining Armour sent two of the Pegasi Guards to find Celestia and Luna hoping that they might be able to come and help. However, it had been two hours since then with no reply. The adults went out into town, trying to find any help they could to save their spouses while their children sat around in Spotlight's room, still trying to overcome the shock. Bright attempted her best to hold back her tears as Appleslice and Soothe tried to calm her down. Cookie, who normally showed very little emotion, had her face scrunched up with concern and intense thought. Spotlight hadn't moved from the window, holding onto the hope that her mom would come trotting back home. Meanwhile, Rosegold angrily walked in a tight circle, grumbling to herself.

“I can't believe this. I trained for years and I let my own mother get captured by a monster. I should have been out there with them,” the pegasus started to get louder.

“Well, you weren't, so there's no need to get all huffy about it,” Cookie snarled, annoyed that Rosegold's muttering was interrupting her thoughts.

“Oh!? Is that another one of your dumb little facts?” Rosegold's eyes narrowed as she snapped back.

“As a matter of 'fact', yes it is,” Cookie rose to her hooves.

“Come on girls, can't we calm down?” Bright sniffled as she asked.

“Shut it!” Both Rosegold and Cookie shouted, making Bright's eyes well up with tears again.

Appleslice growled and stood up to bark at those arguing “Hey! She was jus' trying to help. No need to act like a rabid badger!”

Rosegold walked over to Appleslice until she was only a few inches away from her face. “Well I don't see how that's helping.”

“Maybe if you wiped that sense of superiority out of your eyes, you'd see things better,” Soothe sneered from above.

“And what's that suppose to mean?” Rosegold yelled as she flew up to meet Soothe.

“It means that you've been acting like you're so important and that even talking to us is such a drag,” Soothe spat.

“Now listen here you little-”

“Stop!” Spotlight shouted, now finally away from the window.

The others stopped their bickering and turned to the amateur magician.

Spotlight took a deep breath. “We're in the Friendship Castle. Is this how you think our moms would want us behaving while they were captured. We're better than this and besides, fighting isn't going to bring them back.”

“Then what is?” Bright asked, wiping her eyes.

“We are.” Rosegold stated as she landed back on the ground, her anger replaced with determination.

“What are you talking about?” Cookie questioned, regaining her composure.

“We haven't heard from the Princesses and the guards won't do anything without their say. Discord can't do anything to help and the rest of our parents are too busy trying to get volunteers to go in themselves. We're the only ones who can save them right now,” Rosegold explained.

“But what can we do? We're just a bunch of kids,” Soothe landed as well as she asked.

“Wrong. I'm the daughter of Princess Cadence and Prince Shining, rulers of the Crystal Empire. And you... you are the children of the Elements of Harmony. Together, we can save our parents and Equestria. It's in our blood.”

“But why do ya want us to come along. We didn't think ya even liked us,” Appleslice pressed.

“I'll admit, you wouldn't be my first choices, but no one else will listen to me. And we all have the same thing to lose in this. I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait for help. Who knows how long we have before it's too late?” Rosegold looked around the room for a response.

The others looked between themselves before looking back to the ivory pegasus.

“I'm in,” Spotlight chirped.

“Let's do this,” Soothe pumped her hoof into the air.

“Count me in,” Appleslice nodded and smiled.

“Well, there's no point in refusing I guess,” Cookie shrugged, but gave a small grin.

The girls turned to Bright, who was watching her hoof trace circles in the ground. “I should stay here. I would just get in your way. All I do is mess things up.”

Before any of the others could say a thing, Rosegold marched up to the pink unicorn and lowered her head to meet her gaze. “Bright?”

“Y-yes,” Bright stammered.

“You're soon going to learn that I don't leave anypony behind. Especially when I need as much help as I can get. Now, do you want to save your mom?”

“I do...” Bright nodded.

“Then will you please come with us?” Rosegold asked earnestly.

“Um... Yes,” Bright stood up straight with a small smile.

The six fillies stood in a circle, each giving a confident nod, ready to go save the Elements of Harmony.

“So our first step is how are we going to get into the forest? They probably have guards stationed to keep ponies out,” Rosegold asked.

“I know a hidden path by house that we can use,” Soothe offered. “I use it all the time.”

“Great. Now let's pack our saddlebags and go,” Spotlight declared.

After about another hour, the young mares had packed what they thought they would need, ventured through Ponyville and towards the secret path that Soothe knew about. It was concerning that they still didn't see any signs of the other princesses. Also, they overheard that their parents were trying to come up with a plan now that they had some help as they trotted through town, but had no idea how to go about it. The fillies finally arrived at the edge of the Everfree Forest and looked within with anxiousness.

“So how do we find them?” Cookie asked.

“It sounded like Blight was taking them to the Tree of Harmony,” Spotlight replied. “Mom took me there a few times. I think I can lead the way.”

“Well we'll be right behind ya, sugar,” Appleslice urged her friend on.

Spotlight nodded confidently as she strode into the forest, her friends following close behind. It took only took twenty minutes for Spotlight to get her bearings as she lead the group towards the Tree of Harmony. The girls remained as quiet as they could, nervous about all the noises and shadowy movements of the forest as they got deeper and deeper.

It was after travelling for what felt like hours that the group stopped when the ground lightly shook beneath them. Before any of them could say a thing, the ground gave way to a pit underneath.. Soothe and Rosegold took to the air as Spotlight and Cookie dove to the sides. However, Appleslice and Bright weren't quick enough and tumbled into the opening.

“Oh no! Are you okay?” Spotlight shouted into the pit.

“Yeah, we're fine. It's not that deep,” Appleslice called back up.

“The hole's too small for either me or Soothe to fly in. Hold on, we'll find a vine or something,” Rosegold reassured them.

The ponies up top started to look for something to pull their friends up, but quickly ran back to the hole when they heard a screech.

“What is it?” Soothe asked frantically.

“Snakes! A lot of them!” Bright screamed.

“They're coming outta openings in the wall and getting closer. They look poisonous,” Appleslice called, fear in her voice.

“Stomp your hooves,” Cookie shouted to them.

“What!? But that will just attract them,” Bright protested.

“No, snakes track their prey through vibrations in the ground. If you make yourselves seem big, they'll get scared and go away,” Cookie explained.

“Are ya sure?” Appleslice asked.

“It's a fact. You know I wouldn't lie about it,” Cookie desperately tried to convince her friends.

“Well, here goes,” Appleslice gulped as sounds of hooves stomping were heard from the hole.

“It's working! Thank goodness,” Bright cried with relief.

“They left us. We're safe again,” Appleslice let go of her breath as she reassured her friends.

Soothe quickly found a vine and the girls used it to pull up the earth pony and the unicorn.

“Thanks Cook, that was some real fine advice there,” Appleslice patted Cookie on the back.

“Yes, thank you ever so much. I did not want to become some snakes meal,” Bright hugged the chocolate mare tightly.

“No problem. It was just something I knew,” Cookie shrugged.

“Huh, I guess it does help to know all those facts,” Rosegold praised.

“You can't argue against truths,” Cookie gave a tiny smile back.

“How much farther do we have to go?” Bright asked.

“If we are where I think we are, it's another few miles,” Spotlight answered.

“A few miles!? I thought we were getting close,” Rosegold sputtered and looked back to Appleslice and Bright, who were already scratched up. “Maybe we should fall back. I don't want to put you all in any more danger.”

“This was a bad idea,” Bright sorrowfully whimpered.

“We'll never get there,” Appleslice sighed.

“Hey now, lighten up. We can do it,” Soothe cheered. “I know, how about a joke?”

“I don't think now's the time, Soothe,” Cookie grumbled as she trudged forward, followed by the reluctant others.

“Come on, how do tight ropes know how to stay so tight? They're taut!” Soothe flew ahead of them with a big grin, but the rest of the group just groaned. “No? OK, Why is a mushroom great at parties? Because he's a fungi!”

Most of the other rolled their eyes, but Spotlight snickered.

“Don't encourage her,” Rosegold scolded her cousin, but had a small grin.

“Not laughing makes me want to try harder,” Soothe smirked.

“Try harder to give me a headache?” Cookie quipped, causing the others to giggle.

“Oh, it's on now,” Soothe's grin became mischievous as she flew next to Cookie and poked her in the rib, causing the earth pony to yelp.

“Hey, cut it out, Soothe, you know I'm ticklish,” Cookie growled.

“Sorry, I was hoping to get a laugh out of you,” Soothe half heartily apologized as she stuck out her tongue.

The group continued to laugh and joke as they travelled this with Soothe leading with her terrible puns, making the others forget about their previous distress. Soothe just finished another joke when Spotlight suddenly stopped.

“Hey, I recognize that tree. We're really close now!”

“Really, it didn't feel like much time had passed,” Appleslice commented.

“Did we just walk a couple miles?” Bright asked with amazement.

“What did I tell ya? A positive attitude and a good joke could really turn around a situation,” Soothe bragged.

“I admit, it really helped,” Rosegold conceded, starting to see Spotlight's friends in a different light.

It didn't seem like it at first, but it seemed like these small town ponies were more responsible and talented than she gave them credit for. The pegasus was thinking about how she would apologize when they got back when her cousin came to a stop with a gasp.

“This wasn't here last time!” Spotlight exclaimed as she looked up at a tall wall of vines preventing them from going any further.

“Blight must have put them up to keep out interlopers,” Cookie suggested.

“That's just great,” Soother pouted, “and the canopy is too thick here to fly over.”

The girls pondered how they were going to get through their newest obstacle when they heard a quiet rumble. They turned around to see Bright smiling nervously with a blush.

“S-sorry. I'm just starting to get a little hungry. Don't mind me, please,” the unicorn giggled with embarrassment.

“Ah think now would be a good time to take a snack break,” Appleslice suggested. “Build our energy back up. Here, ah even brought some apple nut bars.

“Well I'm glad one of us thought of food, because I sure didn't,” Soothe laughed as she accepted one of the bars.

“Of course Appleslice would, she always has something to share,” Cookie stated.

“Thanks Appleslice,” Spotlight said, followed by a chorus of thank yous from the others.

“Aw shucks, it ain't no trouble,” Appleslice smiled warmly before she opened her mouth to bite her own treat.

However, she was interrupted by the sounds of chittering close by. She looked to find a chipmunk watching longingly at her food.

“Aw, you hungry too little guy?” Appleslice asked before she stretched out her hoof. “Here, take mine.”

The chipmunk looked surprised before it happily ran over and took the gift and began munching on the snack.

“Isn't that all you brought? What are you going to eat?” Rosegold questioned as she swallowed her last bite, looking concerned for the farm pony.

“Meh,” Appleslice shrugged, “I'm a well fed pony as it is and ah like giving to those who could such things more than ah could.”

“Right, I forgot,” Rosegold replied, “but now we need to focus on getting around this wall.”

The chipmunk, now finished, jumped up and started pointing into the forest.

“What is he doing?” Bright asked.

“Ah think he knows a way through. Is that right,” Appleslice asked.

The chipmunk nodded before it took off, followed by the young mares. After a minute, they came across a small hole going underneath the vines, just big enough for each girl to crawl through.

“Well I'll be. Thanks little guy,” Appleslice patted the rodent on the head.

“I guess your generosity pays off some times,” Rosegold offered with a smile.

“Ah don't do it for the reward,” Appleslice defended, “but ya, it is nice sometimes.”

One by one, the fillies crawled through the hole and managed to get to the other side. They smiled to each other before continuing forward.

“Down there! That's where the Tree of Harmony is!” Spotlight shouted as she ran down the path.

The group made it to the opening, but is was blocked by magic seal.

“Darn it! What is it now?” Rosegold cried as she stomped her hoof in anger.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” A raspy voice called.

This fillies looked up and saw a small humanoid creature, impish and wrinkled creature, wearing nothing but a bright orange, pointed cap, sitting on a ledge. The creature stared back down at them with a wicked grin.

“A goblin!?” Spotlight asked in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

The goblin chuckled as it tossed a small red gem into the air and caught it again. “Some lady offered my this shiny stone if I used my magic to keep anybody from entering that cave until sundown."

“But we need to get in there! She has our moms,” Rosegold protested.

“Does that look like my problem?” The goblin snickered.

“Listen here you little varmint, we went through a lot to get here,” Appleslice growled.

“We went through a lot to get here,” the goblin mocked.

“We're not going to take that from some pipsqueak in a dumb hat,” Soothe declared as she flew up to the monster.

“My hat is not dumb!” The goblin shouted as he stood up, glaring at the orange pegasus.

“Please, that thing looks like a traffic cone on your head,” Rosegold sneered.

“Yeah, why would you even wear that,” Spotlight laughed, taking her frustrations out on the monster.

“It really is bad,” Cookie added.

“Stop it!” The goblin cried, tears forming in its eyes.

“HEY!”

Everypony and the goblin stopped to look at Bright, who looked positively angry

“I know he's not being nice to us,” Bright started, “but that's no reason to make fun of him or his choice in clothes. I can tell you from experience that it doesn't feel nice to have somepony make fun of your fashion. We're all tired and frustrated, but that gives us no excuse to be mean to anyone, no matter what!”

Bright's friends all looked ashamed as they backed away from the goblin. The unicorn approached the ledge with a soft smile.

“Um, Mr Goblin?”

“What?” The goblin spat.

“Do you like your hat?” Bright asked.

“Of course I do,” the goblin huffed as it crossed its arms.

“Then I think it looks great on you. Don't listen to anypony else because there's nothing wrong with your style,” Bright grinned.

“Re... really?” The goblin looked over the edge with hopeful eyes.

“Of course. And you can trust that I know what I'm talking about. Both of my moms are fashion designers,” Bright replied happily.

“Wow, no one's ever said anything nice like that to me before,” the goblin mumbled before it went into deep thought. “Alright, you can go through, but it wasn't me who let you in, OK?”

Bright gasped happily. “Thank you Mr Goblin! I hope you have a nice day.”

The barrier disappeared and the group trotted through.

“Great job Bright!” Soothe congratulated.

“Yeah, we'd still be stuck out there if it wasn't for you,” Appleslice added.

“I-I just did what I thought was right,” Bright replied in embarrassment.

“I'm glad I convinced to come along,” Rosegold smiled earnestly.

“Thanks,” Bright smiled back.

“There they are!” Spotlight shouted as she pointed to their mothers, who were still wrapped in vines and looked very tired.

“Girls? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked with immense fear.

“You need to run now!” Rainbow Dash called out.

“We're here to rescue you!” Rosegold declared.

“Dear, this is not something that you can handle. Please leave,” Cadence desperately cried out.

It was then that the Tree of Harmony flashed and Blight appeared with a scowl on her grey, wooden face.

“How did you get in here? Lousy good for nothing goblin!” Blight grumbled.

“Let our moms go!” Spotlight demanded.

“Not a chance. When the sun sets, I'll have drained all of my magic out of them and restore myself to full power! Then I can go and destroy that horrible civilization you wretched ponies built on my beautiful nature,” Blight answered as she walked forward, “but first, I'll have to deal with you.”

“Oh dear, what do we do?” Bright questioned as she began to shake.

“Spotlight, your trick!” Rosegold suggested.

“My what?” Spotlight gave her cousin a confused look.

“That one you were going to show us back at the castle,” Rosegold tried to convey what she wanted without tipping off the Dryad.

“Oh, OH!” Spotlight remembered but then became nervous. “But I can't do that here! Not in front of everypony!”

“Yes you can,” Rosegold countered. “You're the greatest magician in Equestria.”

“Yeah, you can do it Spotlight,” Soothe cheered.

“We believe in ya,” Appleslice encouraged.

Spotlight looked back at her friends and smiled before she turned to Blight with determination. Just as the Dryad was about to grab Spotlight, the unicorn took a deep breath and her horn lit up a let out a flash, directed at Blight's eyes, who recoiled.

“Gah!” The spirit of nature screamed as she rubbed her eyes.

“Now!” Rosegold shouted as she led the charge towards the Elements of Harmony. However, as they were about to reach their parents, more vines sprouted from the ground and entrapped the fillies, except for Rosegold who managed to dodge out of the way.

“You fools! Did you really think you could save them?” Blight grinned evilly, her sight now clear.

“Rosegold, get out!” Spotlight ordered, struggling against the vines.

“You need to go get help!” Cookie shouted before she was muffled by the animated plants.

“Yes little pony,” Blight laughed, “go and get help. You'll never get back here in time. Face it, you lost. Now go retreat and wait for my uprising.”

Rosegold looked to the exit and then to her friends and family before she straightened up a defiantly stated “No.”

“Oh? You won't even save yourself in this hopeless situation? And why is that?” Blight asked in a taunting voice.

“Because...” Rosegold trailed off as she looked to her fellow rescuers again, remembering all that they did to get here. And how they were so nice to her when she arrived, even with the way she treated them. “Because they're my friends and I won't abandon them.”

Suddenly, the Tree of Harmony glowed as the elements inside of it shook and broke free of the bark. One by one, each element flew to one of the younger mares and became necklaces.

Loyalty went to Rosegold.

Honesty flew to Cookie.

Laughter hooked itself around Soothe.

Generosity landed on Appleslice.

Kindness chose Bright.

And magic became a tiara as it crowned Spotlight.

All of the vines released their captives and shrunk away as the new Elements flew into a circle and faced Blight.

“Impossible! Why is my magic abandoning me?” Blight bellowed.

“Your magic didn't abandon you,” Spotlight explained, “You abandoned it.”

“Now it's time for you to get a reminder in what harmony is,” Rosegold stated as the six girls fired a blast of rainbows at the corrupted Dryad.

“Noo!” Blight cried out as she was consumed in magic.

When it was finished, Blight was still there, but no longer did she have a cloak of rotted leaves. Instead, vines grew out of her head to resemble hair. Also, her wooded skin was now a vibrant brown.

“My anger... My hatred. It's gone,” Blight whispered, amazed. “Oh my goodness! What have I done?”

Blight turned to the ponies with a look of regret. “I'm so sorry. I can't believe I let myself become corrupted like that.”

“Wait, so blight isn't evil?” Soothe asked.

“Also, my real name isn't Blight. Please, call me Meadow,” Meadow explained. “And no, I would never want to harm a living creature. I was corrupted... by something. But thanks to you, I have been re-infused with the magic of friendship and I am free of my curse.”

“We... we did it!” Spotlight cheered. “We saved our moms and Equestria! We actually did it!”

“Does this seem familiar to anyone else? Because I'm getting some serious deja vu,” Pinkie asked as she looked around. “Oh well.”

The girls ran to their respective mothers and hugged them tightly.

“I can't believe you're the new Element of Magic,” Twilight said with tears in her eyes. “I'm so proud, but don't do dangerous stuff like that again!”

“Sure mom,” Spotlight replied, crying as well.

“Well, let's head back if and let everpony know that we're all right,” Twilight told the others.

“Um, if it's OK, I'd like to come too. I want to make up for the mess I created,” Meadow offered.

Twilight nodded, familiar with reformed villains, before she began to trot out of the cavern, followed by everyone else. The group emerged from the forest to be swarmed by their spouses and parents, who were fanatically relieved about their safety before scolding the children about their adventure. Even Celestia and Luna had finally arrived, explaining that they couldn't abandon Fillydelphia when such a large Timberwolf attack was taking place. Soon, everyone was back at the castle and sharing the story, even Meadow, who explained that she wanted to redeem herself.

“It's good to see you back to normal again, Meadow,” Celestia smiled happily. “We'd be happy to take you back to our castle and discuss plans on how we can get nature and ponies to get along.”

“I would like that,” Meadow smiled back.

“You'll have to get used to Discord being around though,” Luna added, making Meadow drop her smile.

“He's still around!?” The Dryad asked Incredulously, causing the others to laugh.

When they calmed down, Shining looked to his daughter. “Well Rosegold, it looks like you got the hang of friendship a lot faster than we thought. I guess you can come home now if you want.”

Rosegold looked to her new friends before answering. “Actually, I feel like there are still more things that I could learn. If it's alright with you, I'd like to stay a bit longer.”

Shining and Cadence gave each other a knowing look before Cadence continued. “Of course dear. We're so glad that you're happy here. And we couldn't be prouder that you're and Element of Harmony now.”

“Cheers to the new Elements!” Trixie shouted as she took a swig of her cider.

The others cheered as well, laughing and enjoying each others company, but also wondering what challenges the new Elements would face in the future.