Hero Souls: Awakening

Chapters

2. Ticketmaster
3. Downswing
4. Nobility
5. Lunar Guidance
6. Family Matters
7. Heading Home
8. A Prank Too Far
9. Bonding and Griffons
10. Investigations and Instigations
11. Conclusion
12. New Show in Town
13: The Truth Behind The Power
14. First Member of the Gallery
15. Training and River Run
16. Friday Night Live!
17. X Race
18: Magic Apples
19. Magic Duel
20. Terror Time
21. Only The Beginning
22. The Star Spangled Pegasus
23. Shadow the Doer
24. Aspects, Avatars, and Thestrals
25. Rise of the Shield
26. Skyland Complications
27. Journey to the Center of the... oh, wait.
28. Meanwhile...
29. Dark Day
30. He Said, She Said, I Said, They Said
31. Nakama
32. Aftermath
33. Zebrican Thaumcraft
34. Dismiss Me Not
35. Nos Non Facimus Normalis
36. Toxic Gag
37. Regrets, Part One: Believe In The Me That Believes In You
38. Mitternacht... Do You Accept?
39. Second Session
40. Morality
41. The Thief Code of Conduct
42. The Master Thief
43. Risky Romp
44. The Hunt
45. Journey To... Wait a minute...I did this already
46. Death Comes to Town
47. Worth
48. The Doctor Is In... Unfortunately.
49. More Than Believed, Less Than Wanted
50. Moral Outrage
51. The Man Behind The Honor
52. Regrets, Part Two: Life March
53. School and Research
54: Nature and Natural
(Rewritten) 1. Soul of Hope
6.5. Omake 1: Luna-tic

2. Ticketmaster

“Thanks again fer helping me today, Twi.” Applejack said, pulling a wagon with a few baskets of apples in it. “I bet Big Mac ah could get all these apples in the barn by lunchtime.” She snorted. “Now he’s gonna have to wear Granny’s girdle in the middle of town.”

“Not a problem, Applejack.” Twilight Sparkle smiled at her friend… pulling a train of three heavily loaded carts behind her. She wasn’t even straining. “If anything, this is nostalgic. I grew up on a farm as Clark Kent.” She paused before sighing. “I do miss Ma and Pa though.” She worked her jaw for a moment after saying that. “That is never going to stop bugging me. I know I used to have a southern accent, but every time I let it slip through, my body keeps telling me that it’s wrong.”

Applejack shrugged. “I can’t rightly say I understand,” she said. “But ah hope you figure it out, for yer comfort if nothing else”. She smirked. “Though… hearin’ that Canterlot accent of yers almost mixing with a southern drawl sure is entertaining.”

“No… No… No… Blech, this one’s rotten!” Spike, sitting in the front wagon Twilight was pulling, tossed the offending apple away.

“Spike, what are you doing?” Twilight asked her assistant, looking at him over her shoulder.

“We missed snack-time, so I’m looking for a good apple for a snack,” he explained.

Twilight opened her mouth to scold him for not at least asking Applejack first, but the grumbling of her own stomach overcame that idea. She blushed faintly as Applejack smirked at her. “Eheh… heh… Guess I’m hungry too.” She smiled at Spike. “Once we get these loaded in the barn, Spike, we’ll go look for somewhere to eat. I promise.”

“Ya might try Sugar Cube Corner,” Applejack suggested. “Pinkie works there as a cook. Makes some of the best danged cupcakes you ever had.”

Spike suddenly let off a very loud belch and, with a flash of green fire, a scroll materialized in front of him. He grabbed it. “Letter from the Princess, Twilight!” he said, waving the rolled up scroll. He looked at the seal for a moment. “Oh, wait, I take that back. It’s a letter from Raven, her aide.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow as they approached the barn. “Really? I wonder what she wants. We don’t normally talk, not since the ink in the paperwork incident…” She paused and looked at Applejack’s smirk. “You didn’t hear that. Go ahead and open it, Spike.”

“You sure ah should hear this?” Applejack asked as she unhitched herself from the wagon so she could open the barn doors.

“It would have been tied with a grey ribbon if it was private,” Spike explained, breaking the seal. “Ahem… Hear ye, hear ye!”

“Oh, I’m not liking this Raven lady already.” Applejack mumbled, then yelped when Twilight poked her with a hoof to silence her.

“Her Grand Royal Highness, Princess Celestia of Equestria, cordially invites Twilight Sparkle, plus one, to this year’s Grand Galloping Gala, to be held in one month’s time from today in Canterlot.” Spike pulled two golden tickets from the scroll. “That’s… it? She’s normally more pompous with these things. Huh, she must still be mad.”

“The Grand Galloping Gala?!” Applejacks nearly yelled, grinning. “Why, if only ah could get to the Gala...”

Twilight frowned. “I didn’t take you as a pony who enjoyed those stuffy events,” she noted, floating off the ground to help unload the apple baskets. “I tried going with the Princess a few years ago, but I only ended up stuck at the entrance-way with her as she greeted guests. I have never been so bored in my life. In fact…” She looked at the tickets Spike still held. “Chances are she only invited me so she had somepony to talk to during exactly that, and gave me the extra ticket so I had a friend to talk to while she was busy.”

Applejack shrugged. “Sure, ah likely wouldn’t enjoy the Gala itself, but this is more of a business opportunity.” She motioned towards the rather beat up barn they were standing in, as well as the rusted and worn plow. The very rusted and worn plow. “Selling Apple Family merchandise to the nobles might net me a contract or two, and ah can use the money from that to start fixing things up around here, maybe even get Granny that hip replacement she needs.”

Twilight’s frown turned to concern. “Applejack-”

“Whoa!” Thwump!

Applejack and Twilight stared at the rainbow maned Pegasus sprawled on the ground. Applejack glanced up, and had to groan at the blue blanket and rainbow colored pillow in the rafters. “Dagnabbit, Dash! Ah thought you said you were too busy to help today! Nappin’ in mah rafters ain’t too busy!”

Rainbow Dash got to her hooves, waving a hoof at Applejack. “Nevermind that. Did you say you were invited to the Gala?” she asked Twilight.

Twilight blinked. “Well, yeah. Why? I thought you of all ponies would avoid something like that.”

“Are you kidding?!” Rainbow Dash as her incredulously, shooting into the air. “The Wonderbolts will be there! If I could go to the Gala, I could finally meet them in person, and maybe show off some of my tricks! Maybe I’ll even get them to fast-track my application for the team!” She did a flip in her excitement. “And didn’t I happen to hear you say you had an extra ticket?” She grinned at Twilight.

Twilight’s frown returned. “Well… yes, but-”

“Awesome! Now I have a chance! Hey!” She glared at Applejack, who had grabbed her tail in her mouth to get her attention.

Applejack spat the tail out. “Now wait just one moment! I was just about to ask Twi fer that ticket!”

“You snooze, you lose!” Rainbow Dash stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry.

“Ah’ll show you a loser!” Applejack yelled, charging at Rainbow Dash.

“You want to scrap for the ticket? Fine, let’s fight!” Rainbow flew towards Applejack, grinning confidently.

Just before they could collide, Twilight appeared between them in a burst of speed holding out her hooves. “Girls! Stop!” she yelled, causing the mares the stop before they hit Twilight. They knew they couldn’t really hurt her even if they tried, but it was the principle that mattered. Twilight looked between her friends, her expression firm. “First of all, it’s my ticket to give away, and I haven’t chosen anybody yet. Second of all-” Her stomach growled again, and she groaned. “Ugh… second of all, I’m still hungry.”

She levitated the tickets into her mane, using a spell that would keep them there, and then levitated Spike onto her back. “Spike and I are going to get an early lunch. Afterwards, we’re coming back here, and then we’re going to discuss this.”

With that, she trotted for the door, shutting it with a bit more force then she meant to.

After a moment, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other. “Hoof-wrastlin?” Applejack proposed.

“Hoof-wrestling.” Rainbow Dash nodded.

“So… who’re you going to give the ticket to?” Spike asked Twilight as they made their way towards the business district of Ponyville. A town map in Twilight’s saddlebags had shown Sugar Cube Corner to be there.

Twilight sighed. “I don’t know, Spike. But before I give the ticket to either of them, I need to explain a few things to them, and before that… I need to eat,” she grumbled alongside her stomach. “Truthfully, I’ll probably pick Applejack. She has the best reason, if only for her grandmother’s hip, but that just brings me back to-oof!”

Twilight blinked, then stared down at the pink pony that had slammed into her… and failed completely at knocking her over. She had felt it, yes, but... really, knocking over Clark Kent was an exercise in futility on most days, on purpose or not. “Are you okay, Pinkie?” she asked. Then she noticed the golden tickets laying on Pinkie Pie’s snout. ‘I must have lost my concentration on the sticking spell when she hit me.’

Pinkie opened her eyes, which then zeroed in on the tickets. “…Bats!” she shrieked, shooting to her hooves. “Keep ‘em away! Keep ‘em away!” she yelled, running around in a circle. Then she came to such a sudden stop that Twilight was amazed she didn’t snap her neck… or at least get a serious case of whiplash. She briefly checked her friend’s skeletal structure just in case though. “Wait, are those…?” Pinkie Pie grinned widely then, stars shining in her eyes. “They are! Tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala!”

“Should we run?” Spike asked Twilight quietly as Pinkie began singing about how the Gala was the best place to be for a party pony.

“I’m considering whether or not that would even work.” Twilight responded. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Pinkie fail to keep up with anyone when she’s like this… even me.” Twilight blinked after a moment. ‘Huh… I could’ve sworn I meant to say anypony, not anyone.’

“The GALA?!”

Twilight, and even Spike, groaned at Rarity’s voice. ‘This is getting out of hand.’ And then she shook her head. ‘Hoof! I mean hoof!’ She looked at Rarity… just in time to hear Pinkie declare Twilight was taking her to the Gala. “Hey! Wait a minute-”

“Oh! If only I could go to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Rarity bemoaned to herself. “The high society… the fashion… him!” She almost growled that out in a very… risqué voice, making Twilight back away slightly. “Surely, when Princess Celestia sees my fabulous designs, she’ll introduce me to him… her nephew.” Twilight and Spike both gaped. “…Prince Blueblood.” Rarity swooned just from saying his name.

“…I’m torn between tearing that ticket in half to save her the disappointment, and begging you to give her the ticket just to watch her tear Blueblood apart,” Spike muttered, his hatred of the stallion and love of Rarity warring with each other.

“I almost agree with you.” Twilight nodded her head, remembering the… words she had for Blueblood when he had called Spike her slave. She was positive the marble under the carpet in that corridor was still scorched.

“Hey!” Spike suddenly lunged away from Twilight in an attempt to catch… a rabbit? He failed spectacularly, but Twilight gave him an A for effort. She saw his claws scrape the rabbit’s fur.

Twilight’s sharp eyes caught the glimmer of gold that could only have been one of the Gala tickets in the rabbit’s mouth as it dashed towards a nearby Fluttershy. ‘Wait… isn’t that Angel?’ she asked herself. She had met Angel the Bunny only once during a visit with Fluttershy. Once was enough. She necer wanted to ever have the pleasure of meeting the hare again.

She would have chased after him, but then he climbed up Fluttershy’s leg, over her back, and onto her head, presenting the ticket to her. Twilight groaned. ‘Oh come on! Is everyone in town going to find out about this?!’

“Oh! Angel, while this is a lovely gift, I think you should give it back to whoever it belongs to,” Fluttershy’s quiet voice, which was perfectly clear to Twilight’s sensitive ears, admonished the rabbit.

“Yeah! That ticket belongs to me!” Pinkie Pie said, swiping the ticket from Angel… and getting her hoof bitten by him for her trouble.

Fluttershy immediately began trying to calm Angel down, who was having none of it and refused to release his hold on Pinkie Pie’s hoof. Said pink pony was screaming as she ran in circles around Fluttershy. Rarity, amidst the bedlam, used her magic to pick up the discarded ticket and examined it.

“Pinkie, darling, this ticket is meant for Twilight’s guest, whoever that is. Did she give this ticket to you?” she asked curiously.

Fluttershy finally coaxed Angel away from Pinkie Pie, leaving her able to answer as she rubbed her hoof. “Yeah! She dropped it on my nose after I ran into her on accident.”

Rarity quirked an eyebrow. “Did she specifically say it was for you, or did you just assume it was for you? You may have knocked it from her grip after all.” Hope was shining in her eyes now.

Twilight used her magic to take the ticket from Rarity with a huff. “No, I did not. I haven’t decided who to give the ticket to yet.” Her stomach growled. “And I won’t until I finally get something to eat!”

“Oh… um…” Twilight felt her ears droop. She tried. She tried hard not to look, but she couldn’t stop herself. Fluttershy was pawing the ground nervously, looking away, ears folded slightly.

‘…I think I need insulin,’ Twilight distantly noted. ‘Maybe Pinkie has some?’

“May I… um… That is… May I have the… well… the ticket?” Fluttershy blinked her suddenly wide eyes, and Twilight swore, she swore to Tartarus itself that there were unshed tears in those eyes.

‘Critical sweetness overload! Critical sweetness overload! Switching to auxiliary systems!’ “Uh… the… ticket?” Twilight asked in a daze, her magic beginning to grow lax around the ticket.

“Hey, you said ah’d get the ticket!”

Twilight blinked and shook her head, regaining her thoughts. She looked over and found a peeved Rainbow Dash and Applejack. She played that statement from the farm pony through her head a second time. “I never told you…” Her eyes flashed in understanding, and then narrowed dangerously. “Were you following me?!” she nearly yelled.

“Darling, please! You must let me go to the Gala with you! This may be my only chance to meet my destiny!” Rarity interrupted her, almost begging.

“You said I had the biggest claim to that there ticket!” Applejack pointed at said ticket.

“I’m begging you, Twilight! Let me go with you! I have to take this chance to impress the Wonderbolts!” Rainbow was on her knees and begging.

‘And here I thought she had more pride than that…’ Twilight backed away slightly.

“Party! Party! Party!” Pinkie chanted.

“Please, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked quietly, lips quivering.

“ENOUGH!!!” Twilight finally snapped, her magic flaring and causing a minor shockwave that pushed her friends away. “I. Am. Hungry.” she said slowly. “I am going to go eat lunch. Then I am going to go back to Applejack’s farm to give all of you my answer.” She turned around and started marching away.

The five mares left behind cringed as each hoof-fall made the ground shake slightly. “Do you think we might have pushed too hard?” Applejack asked after a moment of silence.

“Nope,” Rainbow answered easily, taking to the sky. “Later ponies, I’m gonna make sure that ticket’s mine.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Applejack asked. “Rainbow! Get back here and answer me!”

“Well… far be it from a lady to turn down a challenge,” Rarity murmured, trotting away.

“Oh… I guess that’s a no…” Fluttershy muttered to herself. Angel rubbed his head against her snout, getting her attention. “Hmm? Yes, Angel?” He chittered away at her momentarily. “Really? Do you think that will work?” She also started leaving.

Pinkie Pie, who was humming to herself as she imagined the Gala, suddenly realized she was alone. “Huh? Where’d everypony go?” She looked around, and then gasped. “Did I miss the scene change prompt? Uh oh, better hurry and get to work!”

“Twilight! You’re shaking the ground!” Spike nearly yelled, trying to get through Twilight’s annoyance to point out what she was doing.

“…I just want lunch… Is that so bad?...” she grumbled under her breath.

“TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!!” Spike yelled at the top of his lungs directly in Twilight’s ear.

“Eeh!” Twilight shrieked at the sudden onslaught to her hyper-sensitive ears, slamming her hoof over said wounded appendage. “Spike! That hurt!”

Spike cringed. “Sorry, Twilight, but you wouldn’t listen.”

“What made you want to scream in my ear?” Twilight asked as she looked at her assistant. Spike replied by motioning behind them. Turning, Twilight saw how the ground was cracked and holes the size of her hooves made a trail showing where she had been stomping. Twilight winced. “Oh…”

“I didn’t want you to get in trouble with Mayor Mare for causing an earthquake.”

“Thank you, Spike,” she said with a sigh. “It’s just… are these tickets cursed or something? I’m positive at least Fluttershy wouldn’t be so insistent about getting one.” She paused, considering something. “Did Fluttershy even explain why she wanted to go?”

“No, but I bet it has something to do with animals.” Spike said, getting comfortable on his friend’s back again.

“Oh! The Celestial Gardens!” Twilight explained in realization. “The Gala is the only time of the year when they’re open to the public. Fluttershy probably wants to see the animals there.” She nodded to herself, happy with her theory. Then she started trotting again. She pulled the town map from her saddlebags and looked it over. “We should probably avoid Sugar Cube Corner if Pinkie’s going to be there. Anywhere on here you want to go for lunch, Spike?”

Spike shrugged. “Just pick somewhere random.” he suggested.

Twilight nodded and rolled up the map, stowing it back in her saddlebags. “Fair enough. First restaurant we come across we’ll eat at.”

Twilight sat herself in the hay by the table, and then sighed as she stared at the flower in a vase. “We both know the Gala is just going to be one big disappointment to them, but how can I convince them of that?” she asked Spike, who sat across from her.

“Why not just let them go and figure it out themselves?” Spike asked as he looked over a menu. “That’s how you and Princess Celestia raised me after all. Learn through experience.”

“I suppose…” Twilight mused. “But I don’t feel comfortable with at least not trying first. But besides that, I only have one extra ticket. That still leaves me the problem of picking between them.” She started picking petals off the flower. “I could give up my ticket I guess. The Princess has done hundreds of Galas on her own, and Luna should be there anyways, so I doubt she would mind… but I would still have to leave three of my friends unhappy.”

“Couldn’t you just ask the Princess for extra tickets? You are her student after all, we both know that comes with perks” Spike pointed out.

“I could, yes, but I don’t like flaunting that power. Maybe...” She groaned as her stomach growled again. “What’s taking the waiter?”

“Have you decided on your order?” a tan colored stallion with a slicked back blue mane asked as he approached.

‘Speak of the devil…’ Twilight thought with a slight smile. “I have. I’ll have a daffodil and daisy sandwich please. No stems.”

The waiter nodded and wrote the order down. “And you, sir?” he asked Spike. Twilight frowned when she noticed that he seemed nervous around Spike.

‘… I suppose I can’t really blame him. Dragons aren’t exactly popular in Equestria. I wonder if there’s anything I can do to help the ponies here get used to him…’

“Do you have any rubies?” Spike asked.

“We…” The waiter gulped. “We don’t provide dragon cuisine. I apologize, sir.”

“Drats. Do you have meat?” The waiter nodded. “I’ll have a bologna and cheese sandwich then.” The waiter nodded and jotted the order down, leaving quickly. Spike sighed. “I hate going to new places. Everypony’s scared of me.”

Twilight smiled warmly at her charge. “Don’t worry, Spike. Everyone will get used to you like they did in Canterlot. Just give them some time.”

Spike sighed again. “Yeah, I guess…” He paused, then looked at Twilight. “Don’t you mean everypony?”

Twilight flinched. “I said everyone again, didn’t I?” Spike nodded. “Sorry, Spike. It’s these memories. I’m having trouble separating Clark’s subconscious thoughts from my own.” Her eyes went a little distant. “…Nevermind the fact that I’m suddenly a much older guy in a young girl’s body.”

Spike cringed at the very idea. “I would say I wish I understood… but I don’t. I really don’t.”

The waiter returned with their orders at that moment. “Please, enjoy. Just flag me down if you need anything else.” He said, though he spoke more to Twilight than Spike. He left quickly afterwards.

“Chow time!” Spike declared, grabbing his sandwich. Twilight eagerly agreed, grabbing her own sandwich in her magic.

Before she could take a bite though, she noticed some ponies run by in a hurry towards the entrance to the restaurant. She saw their waiter holding the door open for them ushering them inside. He then looked at her and yelled. “Ma’am! Are you just going to eat in the rain?”

“Rain?” Twilight blinked. “It’s not…” Looking around, she realized that it was indeed raining… everywhere but on her and Spike. Twilight sighed and looked up, spotting exactly who she suspected to be the culprit. “Rainbow Dash! Get down here right now!” she yelled.

Said polychromatic Pegasus was in front of her in a flash, grinning widely. “Yes, Twilight? Enjoying the weather? Is it making you feel… generous?” she asked.

Twilight quirked an eyebrow, then she smirked. “Why, yes, I am enjoying the weather. This… unscheduled rain storm is rather interesting. I might just go speak with Mayor Mare regarding Ponyville’s apparent choice to use wild weather. I’m very interested to know how Ponyville’s culture adapted.”

Rainbow Dash’s hopeful grin immediately dropped, replaced by a pale complexion. “No!” she shouted, before catching herself. “I mean… You don’t have to do that… She’s a busy mare after all,” she tried to play it off… and failed spectacularly if Spike’s chuckles were anything to go by.

“Very true.” Twilight nodded sagely. “Though… now that you mention my generosity…” She leaned forward with a grin, making Rainbow’s hopeful expression return. Once she was a few inches from Rainbow’s head, she began whispering. “I don’t take too kindly to my so called friends trying to bribe me,” she growled.

Rainbow jumped away, waving her hooves in front of her as she tried to back-peddle. “Bribe? I would never try and bribe my kindest and most bestest friend!”

Twilight sighed. “Just… get rid of the storm, Rainbow, before the weather patrol comes to investigate and you get in trouble.”

Rainbow pouted, realizing her plan had failed. Twilight was also right, the weather patrol would be by to investigate the unscheduled storm soon, and she was already in hot water with them thanks to a misuse of lightning clouds charge. She flew off at high speed, incidentally kicking up the water that was gathering under them. This in turn ruined Twilight’s untouched sandwich and Spike’s half-eaten sandwich.

“Oh come on!” Twilight exclaimed, slamming her head into the table in exasperation.

“Twilight! It’s raining!” Rarity’s voice piped up from nearby.

Twilight looked over and spotted Rarity with a garishly frilly umbrella held in her magic. She deadpanned at the white unicorn. “No, really? I never would have noticed without your peerless observational skills.”

“Well! I never!” Rarity huffed. “I was simply trying to point out that you should get out of it before you catch a cold.”

Twilight hung her head. “I’m sorry, Rarity. I’m just a bit stressed… and hungry.”

Rarity smiled. “Come, dear. Let’s get inside where it’s dry.” She motioned towards her home nearby. “I spotted you through my window. Were you arguing with Rainbow Dash?” she asked as they trotted away towards the boutique. Spike was close behind, staring lovingly at Rarity.

“Not really. Rainbow was just making an obvious attempt to get the ticket.” Twilight explained.

They entered the boutique, and Rarity levitated a fluffy white towel to Twilight. “How dreadful. Is that why you were the only one in town not getting rained on?” she asked, handing Spike a towel as well.

“Yeah. Rainbow was trying to make me feel like I owed her by starting a town-wide storm, and then leaving the spot I was in clear,” Twilight grumbled, her stomach giving a roar. “The rain ruined my sandwich as well.”

Rarity was silent for a time as she dried herself off. Finally, when she was done, she sighed. “I apologize, Twilight. I initially planned on trying to garner your favor as well, but after that scene earlier and then hearing about what Rainbow attempted, I think it might be better to just offer you some tea and some lunch.” She smiled.

Twilight quirked an eyebrow. “No strings attached?”

Rarity nodded. “No strings attached. You need not feel like you owe me for it.”

Twilight finally smiled gratefully. “Thank you for your honesty, Rarity, and I would love some tea and lunch.”

“Same here,” Spike grunted. He had only gotten maybe three bites of his sandwich before Rainbow’s exit had ruined it.

“… so I smiled and said I would be very interested in discussing Ponyville’s wild weather management with Mayor Mare. She was tripping over herself trying to talk me out of that.”

Rarity giggled. “Oh my! That explains why I saw her become pale when I was watching through the window. I thought some kind of invisible vampony may have found her.”

Twilight sighed after minute, putting her empty teacup down. “Rarity, were you being honest when you said that the reason you wanted to go to the Gala was to meet Blueblood?”

Rarity swooned. “Oh my, yes! I would enjoy the Gala itself, certainly, but my main reason for going is to try and get his attention.” She paused. “Why?” she asked curiously.

Twilight didn’t answer for a moment, staring into her empty teacup thoughtfully. Unknowingly she was mimicking her teacher, something Spike noticed and got a smirk from. “…I grew up in Canterlot, Rarity, and I lived inside the castle for over a decade before coming here. As you can likely guess, I’ve run into and spoken with Blueblood repeatedly in that timeframe… much to my regret.”

Rarity blinked. “Twilight?” she asked uncertainly.

“If you truly want to meet and get to know Blueblood, you don’t need the Gala to do so. I can arrange to have you spend a couple weeks in Canterlot, housed in my old room in the palace. I can even pull some strings to get you as one of the designers that arranges Blueblood’s wardrobe every week. This should give you plenty of opportunities to see and speak to him.”

Rarity’s eyes shined. “Oh, Twilight! Would you really do that?” she asked hopefully.

Twilight smiled at Rarity. “For a friend? I would.” She nodded. But then she sighed again. “But Rarity, you need to listen to me.” Once she was sure Rarity was paying attention, she continued. “I know you have your heart set on him, and going by what the magazines and such are always saying about him, I don’t blame you… Just promise me you’ll look into who controls those magazines. Look into who controls the media of Canterlot.”

Rarity slowly nodded in confusion. “I… of course, dear. May I ask why?”

Twilight shook her head. “If I told you then you wouldn’t believe me. I don’t want to get in the way of your happiness though, so I’m going to help you.” She got to her hooves. “Ready, Spike? We need to get to the library so I can write a letter to the Princess.”

“Aww! Can’t we stay just a little longer?” Spike begged.

Twilight smiled at him, then levitated him onto her back. “Another day, Spike. I promise. Right now I need your help with the letter.” She waved goodbye to Rarity

She trotted over to Rarity’s door and opened it, only to shriek and jump as she found Applejack’s grinning face in front of her.

“Howdy, Twi!” the farm pony said, before motioning towards the cart she had with her. It was piled high with apple styled food. “I know you said you were hungry, and I thought ah’d whip up some good old Apple Family recipes to help you there,” she explained. “Ah got everything ranging from apple fritters to the classic apple pie.”

Twilight took a moment to process that, and then she frowned. “And let me guess, in return you want the ticket?”

Applejack smiled. “Well ah certainly won’t say no to a trade like that.”

Twilight growled and marched past Applejack, completely ignoring the food. It helped that Rarity had made her a sandwich and she finally wasn’t hungry anymore. “Take your food to a restaurant or something, Applejack. I don’t accept bribes from my so called friends,” she grumbled on her way by. She made sure she wasn’t stomping this time.

“…Oh” Applejack ears wilted as she realized just what she was doing. She pulled her hat in front of her face. “Fer the love of… Granny’s gonna tan my hide when she hears about this.”

Twilight could only give a relieved groan as the Golden Oaks Library came into view. ‘This day is finally almost over.’ she thought to herself. “You would think getting showered with favors from your friends would be great…”

“Could be worse.” Spike piped up.

“How? I fail to see how it could possibly be worse,” she said as she opened the door.

“The whole town could be trying to get the ticket from you.”

Twilight paused, imagining that scenario. Oddly, a strange saxophone piece played in her mind as she imagined the entire population of Ponyville chasing her across town. She shivered. “Don’t even joke about that, Spike.”

Humming caught her attention as she closed the door behind her. Looking around, she realized her home looked… clean. Unbearably so. The scent of lemons permeated the place. She spotted Fluttershy cleaning the banister of the second floor staircase, and Angel Bunny off to the side working on a tossed salad.

Twilight’s eye began twitching.

“Oh! Twilight! How does your home look?” Fluttershy asked when she noticed Twilight standing in front of the door.

“…Clean,” Twilight said through clenched teeth. “And I’m guessing the salad’s for me?”

“Yes.” Fluttershy nodded with a smile.

“Would you happen to be doing this in the hopes of getting the ticket from me?”

“Oh no, I would never do that…” Fluttershy paused at Twilight’s disbelieving stare and Angel’s glare. “I mean, yes, yes I am.”

Twilight growled to herself for a minute, before she sighed. “…Just… Just leave, Fluttershy. In fact, if you really are feeling helpful, go and gather up our friends. I’ve made my decision.”

Fluttershy brightened up at that and nodded, leaving. Angel was left behind. He shrugged and started eating the salad he had been making.

Twilight grabbed the rabbit in her levitation, pulling him away from his food. “Nope. I’m well aware that this was likely your idea. Get out.” she said, tossing him out of the window. She smiled. “Now then. Fetch me some stationary, Spike. I’ve got some letters to write.”

Spike saluted and went to gather Twilight’s supplies.

The door to the library opened and five mares walked in just in time to see Spike breathe green fire on a few rolled up scrolls. “Was that…?” Rarity said hesitantly, watching the ash vanish out of the open window.

Twilight turned to her friends and nodded at Rarity. “I should have a response soon, depending on how court is going today.”

Rarity smiled. “Thank you, dear. I really do appreciate this.”

Rainbow Dash looked between them suspiciously. “What was that about?”

“I’ll explain later,” Twilight said, and then clapped her hooves together. “Now then! Let’s discuss today, shall we…” She paused. “Applejack, what happened to your eye?” she asked in concern. Yeah, she was upset with them, but they were still her friends.

Everypony turned to look at said farm mare, realizing she had a black eye over her right eye. She wasn’t even trying to hide it. Applejack sighed. “When I realized what a danged fool I was being, I asked Big Mac to sock me in the eye. After telling him why, he did so happily.” She smiled when Twilight lit her horn for a healing spell. “Don’t, Twi. This is something Mac and I do when one of us starts strayin’ from our codes. When we finally realize what we’re doing, we ask the other to belt us one. It hurts, but that just means ah’ll remember it easier next time.”

Twilight hesitated, before nodding and cutting the the flow of magic to her horn. “Okay. If you say so.” She cleared her throat, grabbing everypony’s attention. “Now then, I called you all here because I’ve finally made my decision regarding the ticket. But before that…” Her horn ignited, and everypony looked around in slight worry as the library itself began glowing. After a moment, the glow faded. “There. Now no one can leave the library until I’m done.”

She held up the tickets in her magic. “I promised all of you that I would tell you my decision just as soon as I ate lunch. That meant I was going to go have a peaceful lunch, and then return to the farm to give you my decision. That’s what should have happened. It didn’t. Instead, four of you made plans to try and make me feel indebted to you, of which only three of you actually went through with. Rarity…” She motioned towards the suddenly bashful Unicorn. “… had the common decency to realize those favors were causing me undue stress, and was upfront and honest about it. She even made me tea and lunch after promising me that she expected nothing in return. For that, thank you, Rarity.”

“No problem, dear. And just to be clear, everypony, I will not be accepting the ticket if that’s what Twilight decided. I was being honest when I said I expected nothing in return.” She looked at Applejack. “Unlike a certain Element of Honesty.”

Applejack hid her face behind her hat, not denying how badly she messed up.

“Pinkie Pie is the only one among you who made no plans whatsoever and actually waited. Why is that, Pinkie? You were certainly excited about the possibility of going,” Twilight asked curiously.

Pinkie grinned. “Oh, that’s easy. Someone else already did it! It wouldn’t be a good story if the author just completely reused the canon plot.”

Five mares and one drake blinked at her in confusion, before unanimously deciding to pretend the last fifteen seconds never happened.

Twilight quickly regained her thought process. “Rainbow Dash started a town-wide storm and left the area I was under as the only dry spot in all of it. Since it took you half an hour to clean that up, I imagine the weather patrol caught wind of it.”

Rainbow Dash cringed. “Yeah. I got kicked off the weather team for three weeks and no pay for that stunt.”

Twilight nodded. “I’m not surprised.” She turned to Fluttershy. “You… I never expected you of all ponies to try and curry favor like that, however I’m fairly confident a certain hare coerced you into it,” she said, making Fluttershy shrink in on herself. “Why do you even want to go to the Gala? Someone as shy as you would have a heart attack in a crowd like that.”

Fluttershy looked down. “The Celestial Gardens are supposed to be inhabited by all kinds of animals. Really rare animals. I really want to make friends with them.” She smiled slightly at the idea.

Twilight nodded. “I imagined as much.”

Finally, Twilight turned to Spike. “Spike, whenever you’re ready.” Spike held up a sheet of parchment and a quill.

“Dear Princess Celestia,

“Today, I was put in the unenviable position of wanting to share my blessings with my friends, but not having enough blessings to go around. It was made worse as my friends argued and clamored for my favor to try and get me to pick them to give it to. Finally, I was forced to put my hoof down. Besides, if I can’t share my blessings with all of my friends, then there’s no point in me having the blessings in the first place. As such, I am returning my Gala tickets with this letter. I’m sorry, Princess. I was looking forward to spending time with you, but I can’t this time.

“Your Faithful Student,

“Clark Kent”

Spike blinked, and looked at a furiously blushing Twilight. He quirked an eyebrow. “… I’m just going to scratch that out and put your name down,” he decided, getting a nod of thanks from the embarrassed Unicorn.

“P.S. Spike here. In case it’s not obvious, Twilight’s struggling with her new memories. Is there anything you can do to help, Princess?”

With that, he rolled up the paper, tied a seal to it, and set fire to it, watching the ash fly out the open window and towards Canterlot.

“Now then,” Twilight gathered attention to herself again. “Applejack, you said the reason you want to go to the Gala is for business, right?” Applejack nodded. “Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but the nobles of Canterlot won’t even look at you.” At Applejack’s hurt expression, she realized her slip. “What I mean is that the nobles are arrogant and, to be honest, stupider than a starved dodo. They’ll take one look at the fact that you’re a farm worker and snub you on that alone, deeming you below their notice. You could cook food fit for Gods and they would still do so.”

“Oh…” Applejack’s ears drooped as her expression fell.

“However!” Twilight yelled, getting the farm mare’s attention. “I can use my status as the Princess’ student to pull some strings. I don't like doing it... but you have a good reason for wanting that contract. Come time for the Gala I may be able to have you involved with the catering, which on its own should earn you enough money to at least get your grandmother’s hip replacement. If you’re lucky, the nobles will realize you’re working as their caterer with the Princess’ approval, and might approach you for some contracts regarding their own businesses.”

Applejack smiled warmly at Twilight. “Thank you, Twilight. Ah know I don’t rightly deserve it after today, but thank you.”

Twilight hugged her friend briefly, before turning to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie, I know you were looking forward to enjoying a big party bash at the Gala… but that isn’t the kind of party you’re used to. The Gala is nothing more than uptight jerks pandering to their own egos. They’ll sooner kick you out of the Gala then willingly shift the party to your style.” Pinkie frowned, and Twilight saw her hair start to uncurl. ‘Weird. Her hair reacts to her mood?’

“But the Hearth Warming Eve party in Canterlot Square is the kind of party for you, and I can easily get you in as a coordinator for the event. Snow Cloud, the normal coordinator, owes me for doing his taxes for him for the last eight years. If I ask, he’ll happily let you take over this year.” Twilight braced herself as the party pony grinned and tackled her in a hug.

“Thank you, Twilight! Oh, this is going to be great!” Pinkie cheered, bouncing away.

Finally, Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, who was looking hopeful. “Even if I gave you the ticket to the Gala, you wouldn’t have made it within ten feet of the Wonderbolts. Do you know why?” Twilight asked, confusing Rainbow Dash. “Do you really think you would be the only pony there trying to get their attention?” Rainbow’s eyes widened as she realized what that meant. “The Wonderbolts will be spending the entire evening fighting off both fans and paparazzi. A fan trying to worm her way into their good graces is not something they will want to see that night.” Twilight sighed. “I could easily use my pull as the Princess’ student to arrange for Spitfire to visit Ponyville though, telling her that I know a mare who would be a perfect candidate for the Wonderbolts roster…” She paused, seeing Rainbow Dash’s hope start rising again. “But I won’t.”

“What?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Unlike the others who tried to get my favor, you’re the only one who doesn’t even regret that she tried to manipulate me.” Twilight scowled. “This is me reminding you that there are some lines you simply don’t cross shamelessly when your friends are involved.”

“But… But… The Wonderbolts… The Gala…” Rainbow stammered, trying to come up with a response.

“Are beyond your grasp.” When Rainbow Dash’s head fell, she grabbed the Pegasus and made her look her in the eye. She smiled. “There’s always next year, Rainbow. Just… try and learn from this.”

Rainbow smiled a bit sadly. “…Yeah… I guess I deserve that, don’t I?” She chuckled. “Will you forgive me, Twilight?”

“Forgiven,” Twilight answered easily, hugging her friend.

Rainbow backed away after a moment, and then Twilight turned to Fluttershy. “It’s not the Gala you’re interested in, right? Just the animals in the Celestial Gardens?” At Fluttershy’s nod, she also nodded. “The gardens are, of course, only open to the public during the Gala, but I myself have twenty-four seven access since some of the lessons in magic I had happened in there. I can take you with me to Canterlot sometime to visit if you want.”

Fluttershy smiled happily.

“But,” Twilight began again. “You should know that the animals there are extremely sheltered and skittish. It will take more than one visit for them to even consider coming out of hiding to see you. But if you’re patient and listen to Vine Shear, the head gardener, you’ll eventually get to make friends with those animals,” she explained.

Fluttershy smiled brightly. “Thank you, Twilight.”

“No problem.” Twilight returned the smile.

Rainbow frowned suddenly in thought. “Hey, what about Rarity?”

Twilight blinked. “Oh, that’s right. When Rarity offered me food and tea, as well as a bit of an escape from you guys, with no strings attached, I returned the favor by promising to get her into Canterlot as one of Blueblood’s staff. That way she can have her attempt at his heart… if she still wants it by then.”

Rarity frowned at Twilight. “You’re making me think you have a very small opinion of the Prince, Twilight,” she noted.

Twilight chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it. However, I won’t let my experience mar what may very well be a happy ending for you, Rarity, so try and make good use of your opportunity.”

Rarity smiled and nodded. “Oh, believe me I will.”

Spike suddenly exhaled a gout of flame, which coalesced into a scroll with a red ribbon tied around it.

Spike grabbed it and opened it. “Ahem…”

“Dear Twilight,

“That’s quite the list of favors you’ve asked for. However, they are easily doable and I understand why you asked for most of them.

“It’s very wise of you to allow your friend to make her own conclusions instead of trying to force your own opinions on her. I happily agree to allow one Rarity Belle join me in the castle for two weeks. She will take up residence in your old chambers. When she arrives, we’ll discuss how best to go about getting her the opportunity she desires.

“Applejack and whatever family she wishes to bring are invited to the castle this weekend to undergo testing by my personal chefs. If they impress them, I’ll happily sign off on a contract to have her family cater at the Gala.

“I will see to it that the scroll you sent also makes it into Snow Cloud’s hooves. As you’ve requested, I did not read it. You said it would be a pleasant surprise, and I trust you.

“Also, I’m very proud of you for choosing to give up the tickets instead of trying to pick between your friends. I apologize for the fact that you only got two tickets in the first place. You were supposed to get seven. I have included them in the letter”

“Sincerely,

“Princess Celestia

“P.S. I want you to join Applejack on her visit, Twilight. Spike has made me aware of your struggle with the memories. I know of someone who can help you with that. At least this explains why your last letter was signed Clark Sparkle.”

Twilight gave Spike the stink eye, but sighed after a moment. “Thank you for looking out for me, Spike.” She smiled. He was only worried, after all. She would have done the same in his position. She picked up the seven tickets and held them out to her friends. “So! Who still wants to go to the Gala?”

Rainbow smiled, but then she frowned. Finally, she sighed. “No thanks, Twi. I think I need to learn that lesson, and going to the Gala feels like I’m getting rewarded instead of punished.”

Applejack tilted her hat over her face. “I feel the same. Besides, if ah’m going to cater the Gala, ain’t no point in me having a ticket.” She chuckled.

“I’ll go! I’ll go!” Pinkie declared, grabbing one of the tickets. Twilight shrugged in response.

“Certainly, darling. Even if I’m not going to for the Prince, I still think this would be a fabulous look into Canterlot society,” Rarity stated, grabbing her own ticket.

“Um… if I’m already going to be visiting the gardens, then there’s no point in me going,” Fluttershy turned her ticket down.

Twilight turned to Spike. “Spike?” she asked, holding up a ticket.

Spike thought about it for a moment. “…Are you going?” he asked.

Twilight nodded. “Now that I don’t have to feel bad about choosing between friends, sure,” she said.

“Alright, I’ll come along,” he said with a smile, grabbing the ticket.

After that, everyone began filing out of the library, leaving Twilight to go to her room upstairs for a nap after sending the unused tickets back. ‘Overall… today could’ve been better, but it could’ve been a lot worse too. Wonder what tomorrow has in store…?’

3. Downswing

My name is Clark Kent. I have lived a long and eventful life. I started my life as the son of farmers. As I grew though, I noticed oddities about myself. I was strong. I was fast. I was durable.

I could shoot lasers from my eyes.

That last one freaked me out badly. I think that was when I stopped trying to rationalize the strangeness and began asking questions. After an accident at school involving a glowing green rock, my parents finally told me the truth.

I was not their son, not biologically. They found me when a small ship from space crashed in front of them on their way home one day. They showed me the ship. The ship still worked though, as it had opened up on my approach. A message from my biological father explained why I was on Earth. Krypton, the planet I was born on, was dying, and the Council was being too stubborn to let him do anything about it. Not willing to let his son die, he built a ship and sent me to Earth.

He told me my name was Kal-El, but that the name given to me by whoever raised me was likely the best option to go by. He told me that he expected great things from me. A Kryptonian who lived under the light of a yellow sun could become either the greatest threat in the universe, or the greatest hero. He told me that humanity was a young race, but it was also brilliant in its absolute determination to survive. He said that humans struggled to find their place, but if I took up the mantle, I could be the Guiding Star of Humanity.

He said they would stumble. He said they would fall… but in time, they would get up, dust themselves off, and keep chasing that star. It was up to me to show them the path. They would follow it in their own time.

I had this strength, these powers. I was raised as a moral man by the Kents. The choice was obvious to me. Donning a red cape and a blue Kryptonian battle-suit, I became Superman. It was time to show the world that there is always a better way.

And Jor-El, my father, was right. I lived my life saving lives and stopping evil. I even helped found a team of superheroes dedicated to protecting the Earth. We called ourselves the Justice League.

Sometimes it was easy. Sometimes it was hard. But in the end it was always worth it, even if I only saved one life. It would always be worth it. I never once regretted my decision to become Superman.

Clark shot out of bed with a gasp, only to stumble as he found himself getting tangled up in his… hooves?

He tried to stand up, but was forced to fly in order to keep from landing on his face. He examined his body… his now purple furred body. His now equine purple furred body. He looked at the hooves that had replaced his hands, eyes wide. “What… happened to me?” he asked. Then his eyes widened and his hooves flew to his throat. “My voice…! I sound… I sound like a girl!” A terrible chill went through his body, and his hoof went southward. “Oh Ral…” He turned a pasty white.

Spike was startled from his sleep by a shrill scream of terror that he instantly recognized as Twilight’s. Instincts he never knew he had forced him from his bed and charging through the library towards his caretaker’s room. He threw the door open. “Twilight!” he yelled.

He found Twilight floating in the air, trying and failing to hold her blanket over her body. She looked beyond panicked. “Twilight, what’s wrong?” he asked urgently, approaching her.

Twilight’s eyes snapped to him, and he saw them widen in surprise. Then she did something Spike never would have expected her to do. Her eyes glowed red briefly, and instincts once again flared in Spike’s mind. He dived to the side, narrowly avoiding twin beams of red energy. However, just as he was doing so, something registered in his mind.

Twilight’s eyes were sky blue.

“Twilight! Calm down!” Spike said, jumping to his feet and turning to face his friend.

Clark floated away from the lizard thing that had charged into the room. In his panic, he had accidentally unleashed his heat vision on it. He was grateful he missed, but… wait, was it talking to him?

“Please, Twilight! What’s wrong?!” the lizard begged.

“Twilight?” Clark asked after a moment. That word rang in his heart. It resonated with something deep inside him.

“I did it! I did it! I got my Cutie Mark!”

Clark groaned as his head began pounding. “Who… what are you?” he asked the lizard.

The lizard blinked at the question directed at him, then he frowned. “Twilight, are you okay? It’s me, Spike? You’re number one assistant?”

“You… want me to raise him, Princess?”

“Spike, get back here and apologize to Fancy Pants!”

“Thank you for looking out for me, Spike.”

Clark… no, Twilight shook her head. She grabbed her head with her hooves. She… no, he needed… he needed to think… Twilight Kent moaned as more and more memories that were not his own began filtering into his mind, mingling and mixing with the memories already there. “What…? Who…?”

“Twilight…?”

Twilark looked up, and her heart melted at the concern in the green eyes of the dragon in front of her. “Spike…!” he gasped. Blood was beginning to leak from her ears, she could feel it. Something was wrong with her mind. “Princess… HELP!!!” And with that, Clight’s eyes rolled upwards and he passed out.

Spike just barely managed to catch Twilight’s head as she fell from the air, likely saving her from a concussion. He grabbed her pillow from her bed and placed it under her head. After making sure she was no longer thrashing and would be okay if he walked away, he went to get a scroll and quill.

“Princess! Twilight just woke up and was having a panic attack! She looked at me like she didn’t even know who I was at first, and passed out after I reminded her. Her ears were bleeding! Please! I think she needs help!

“Spike”

He flamed the letter away instantly. “Please hurry, Princess,” he muttered, going back to Twilight and petting her mane as she slept. He did it often to calm her down whenever the Princess was forced to put her under a sleep spell when she was having a panic attack. It usually helped.

Some hours later found Spike waiting in the main room of the library with his and Twilight’s friends, pacing impatiently as Luna examined Twilight in her bedroom. Celestia was with her, though he didn’t know why.

As soon as Celestia had arrived with Luna, she told him to go gather Twilight’s friends and bring them back. Considering how early in the morning it was, this took a bit of time, especially since he couldn’t get up to Rainbow Dash’s home on his own. He eventually had to enlist the help of Derpy, who had been just starting her mail route.

“What exactly happened, sugar?” Applejack asked Spike, bringing him to a stop from his pacing.

“I woke up to Twilight screaming. She sounded scared, so I went to see what was wrong. She nearly shot my head off with some kind of weird laser vision, and didn’t recognize me at all. When I tried to remind her of who I was, she started panicking again, started bleeding from the ears, managed to tell me to get a letter to the Princess, and passed out.” He paused for a beat. “Oh, and her eyes weren’t purple. They were light blue. I don’t know if that means anything.”

Applejack looked stumped, before her eyes flashed with an idea. “Hey, wasn’t she having issues with those memories? I know she accidentally tried to call herself Clark Kent last night after that whole ticket situation.”

Rainbow looked at her in confusion. “What’s that got anything-”

“Get BACK!!!”

Everyone’s eyes snapped towards the stairs. That had been Twilight’s voice.

“Clark Kent, please, calm yourself. You are perfectly safe,” Luna’s voice said calmly. Spike noted that her dialect sounded much more modern then it had at the party a week ago, though it still sounded overly formal.

“See?” Applejack said somewhat smugly. A crash and the library shaking wiped the smugness from her face. They would have charged upstairs, but Celestia had warned them that they could not enter the room until she said so. She had said something about distracting Luna as she worked.

“How do you know who I am? Where am I? Why am I in this body? Why am I a girl?!?” Twilight was panicking again. Spike instinctively made to run up the stairs, but Applejack stopped him, shaking her head at him.

“Mr. Kent! If you don’t calm down you’ll have another panic attack. Please, we’ll explain as best as we can, but first you must calm down,” Celestia’s voice spoke slowly and calmly.

The sound of someone struggling to control their breathing was all that was heard after that.

“Do you feel better?” Celestia asked, keeping her distance in case Twilight, or rather, Clark, panicked again.

Clark nodded slowly. “Yes… Yes, I think I’m okay.” He took a deep, steadying breath. “…Where am I?” he asked calmly.

“The planet Equus, in the country of Equestria, and the town of Ponyville,” Celestia answered.

“Equus? I’ve never heard… no… wait… I know that name. In fact, I know all of the names you mentioned. How do I know them?” He frowned. “I’m… a Unicorn? Twilight Sparkle?” He shook his head, then looked at Celestia. “Princess Celestia,” he nodded, getting a nod in return. He looked at Luna. “And Princess Luna.” He sighed. “What’s going on?”

“You and my student, Twilight Sparkle, share a soul, Mr. Kent. She recently managed to awaken your memories and obtain your abilities, but your own subconscious appears to have overwhelmed her and taken over, forming a consciousness based on those memories.”

Clark blinked owlishly at her, before groaning and bringing a hoof to his head. “I only understood…” He paused, before screwing up his face in confusion. “All of it?” He shook his head.

“This… unscheduled rain storm…”

“Gah!” Clark leapt up and flew to the ceiling, looking around. “Who said that?” He nearly shouted.

“Clark Kent, you must remain calm!” Luna said harshly.

Clark winced, floating down. “I’m sorry…” he mumbled. “…I heard a voice in my head. It said something about unscheduled weather.” He blinked. “Wait… Pegasi control the weather? That is so cool!” He was almost childish in his revelation. His head throbbed and he stumbled backwards, grunting.

“If you draw on young Twilight Sparkle’s memories, even unintentionally, you will begin drawing her subconscious towards the surface,” Luna explained calmly.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Clark asked, rubbing his head. “I would think you’d rather have her than me.”

“You would be correct, if not for the fact that your subconscious and hers are vying for dominance over your body,” Luna explained. “An inner struggle such as that can cause irreversible damage if we do not find a solution to it soon. Right now your subconscious has overtaken Twilight Sparkle. Her subconscious is now dormant, but drawing on her memories will awaken it, leading to a struggle for control again and a repeat of the incident that had squire Spike demanding our aid.” Luna shook her head. “Tis the downside of sharing your body with another entity. Trust Us, we would know. Though...” She paused, considering. "Mine own situation was similar, but it was matter of two souls fighting for control, not two personalities in one soul."

“But… wait, you want Twilight back... does that mean you intend to kill me?” Clark asked, carefully altering his stance for a quick exit, through force if need be.

“You and Twilight are one and the same, Mr. Kent,” Celestia, said, making Clark look at her in confusion. “My student is your reincarnation after death. This entire situation has occurred because, I believe, my student has refused to accept that she was you, subconsciously rejecting the memories.”

Clark furrowed his brow. “But…” He groaned, this time from a migraine that thinking about this was giving him. “Okay, let me see I’ve got this. I died.” Celestia and Luna nodded. “I don’t remember it though, but whatever, we’ll come back to that. I died, and then I was reincarnated as Twilight Sparkle. Recently she awakened the memories of my life, as well as gained my powers, but she is subconsciously rejecting the memories?” They nodded again. “Because… she’s isn’t accepting that she was once me?” He was obviously have trouble wrapping his head around this.

Celestia shook her head. “Imagine if you will, Mr. Kent, that the roles between you were reversed. You grew up as a… Kryptonian, I think Twilight called it?” Clark nodded. “Imagine you spent your entire life, short as that may be, knowing without doubt you were Kryptonian. Then, suddenly, you have memories of another life as a Unicorn. As a female. You would initially reject such a thing as well, would you not?”

Clark shuddered. “I… kinda don’t need to imagine it. I’m currently living it.” He just barely managed to stop his hoof from reaching towards his crotch.

Celestia nodded. “Twilight accepted your powers because they helped her save my sister and her friends from certain doom, but she rejected the memories after she had the time to look through them properly, though whether it was a conscious decision on her part or not, I do not know. We’re operating under the assumption that she did this subconsciously.”

Clark nodded. “But memories are stubborn things. They can’t just be shoved to the side because you don’t like them.” His eyes lit up as he began putting the pieces together. “Because she rejected them, my memories were kept separate from her own. Because of this, her subconscious mind could not govern over them, and my memories constructed one in its stead… me. And then my subconscious tried to assert itself, which began causing issues. It culminated in me taking her spot at the helm and her getting thrown into the deeper part of my… her… our mind.” He grumbled. “Something tells me terminology is going to be a pain until this gets settled.”

Luna nodded. “That is the basic situation at hand. And, as we have explained before, Twilight Sparkle’s subconscious is actively fighting to regain control, and drawing on her memories will bring it closer to the surface. Then it will only escalate into another struggle for control and may lead to brain damage.”

“Which is bad,” Clark added. “So how do I fix this?” he asked.

Celestia hesitated, unsure. But Luna stepped forward. “Think back, Clark Kent, to your previous life. Remember it. Remember that final day. Remember the day you finally exited the mortal coil. Then, try and recall your birth as Twilight Sparkle. Your mind will not be able to recall such early information… but your soul will. Do so, and your mind will bridge the gap between Clark Kent and Twilight Sparkle.”

Celestia glanced at Luna with a raised eyebrow, before nodding to Clark. “It’s the best we’ve currently got. At worst, we’ll just have to think of something new.”

Clark nodded and sat down, leaning his back against the door, closing his eyes. ‘Think back. Go back. Throw yourself back towards that day. What is the last thing I remember?’

As he continued to concentrate, something happened. A sudden feeling of rushing ran through him, and then vanished. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring into the violet eyes of Twilight Sparkle. Looking down, he found himself in his Kryptonian body. He looked back up and looked at the Unicorn more closely. She looked… regretful?

“Did you hear all of that?” he asked.

Twilight nodded. “I woke up in here just as you were beginning to panic again. I heard the whole thing.”

“So… Do we both do as the Princess said?” he asked.

Twilight nodded. “I think so. I think I should focus on my birth, while you focus on your death.”

Clark nodded. “Better than nothing I guess,” he said with a shrug, sitting down. He closed his eyes again and began searching.

Clark didn’t know how long he and Twilight sat there trying to pull up the memories. It felt like hours had ticked by, but he knew enough about meditation to know it may very well have been only seconds.

Twilight suddenly growled. “Oh, this is hopeless!” she yelled. “No matter how much I try to remember it, all I keep getting are flashes of your life!”

Clark opened his eyes and nodded. “I keep getting your own childhood memories.” He shook his head. “You would think something like dying would be easy to remember.”

Twilight grunted. “At least you’ve got the easy part. I have no idea how to search my soul for memories.”

Clark blinked, then his eyes widened as an idea came to him. “Your soul… Of course!” he exclaimed, startling Twilight. “We’re approaching this as two separate beings. The whole point of this is to get you to accept that you and I are the same person!”

Twilight’s eyes widened in understanding, then she groaned. “Oh for… WHY is the obvious conclusion always the hardest one to come to?” she grumbled. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly to calm herself. “Okay, so… do I try and remember your death, and you try and remember my birth?” she asked.

Clark shook his head with a smile, finally understanding the situation now. “No. You try and remember your birth and your death,” he explained, getting Twilight to look at him in confusion. “You’re me, Twilight. You are what I become.” He motioned around them. “This is your mind. We’re in your body. I’m only here because you created me and stuck the memories of Clark Kent in me. I’m not really him, just a copy that you made.”

“But… the Princess said…” Twilight tried to respond.

“She said that the memories of Clark Kent created me.” He shook his head. “But they were wrong, Twilight. The memories didn’t make me. You did. Subconsciously, yes, but you did. I’m nothing more than an interactive jar you used to keep the memories away from you when you realized what they meant.”

Twilight opened her mouth to try and deny it. She tried to deny that she didn’t hide from the truth like that. But… nothing came out. Clark was right, she realized. She didn’t like that she wasn’t always Twilight Sparkle. She was scared. She was terrified that accepting the much larger amount of memories from Clark Kent would somehow make her stop being Twilight. They shouldn't, she hadn't changed when she accepted them in the forest... but fear hardly ever ran with logic.

She had to laugh, though Clark realized it was also a sob. She smiled through unshed tears. “I have been an absolute foal, haven’t I?” she asked. “I’m just… what will happen to me? Will I stop being me if I accept that I’m you?”

Clark knelt down next to her and hugged her. “The memories were always in you, Twilight. They were always there. They were always a part of you. Accepting that you are Clark Kent and Twilight Sparkle won’t change anything. You’ll just have more knowledge to go by is all.”

Twilight shivered in his grip as she fought with herself. He held her, providing comfort for… himself, he supposed. ‘If we’re not a prime example of a nutcase, I don’t know what we are,’ he chuckled to himself.

“Clinically insane,” Twilight answered.

Clark blinked, before smiling. “See? You’re already accepting it.” They started to glow softly. “Go on, Twilight. Remember.”

Twilight nodded, closing her eyes.

The landscape shot by as she rushed as fast as she dared. She had to get there. She had to hurry.

The warnings of the fortune teller flashed through her mind briefly, and she wished she had heeded them, knowing what she did now.

Clark watched as his legs began breaking apart into motes of light, which Twilight began to absorb. He smiled. “That’s it. You’re doing it,” he encouraged her.

She hit the ground hard, cratering it. She slowly pushed herself to her knees, her body trembling in agony. A sudden coughing fit revealed blood.

Blood… mixed with a green glow.

“Finally… I have waited so long for this day...”

She painfully looked over her shoulder, finding an old Lex Luthor standing behind her in his latest technological kryptonite powered suit. “Lex… Why?” she asked.

“I only ever wanted one thing,” Lex answered, walking around her and kneeling in front of her. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “I just wanted to make humanity strong. I believed that by leading it I could.” He shook his head. “We both know I’m not a tyrant. I would be strict and harsh, yes, but I would also be fair. After all, we humans become great only when under duress.” He sighed, letting go of her head.

She felt her arms give out and fell on her face. She looked at him, and found him pointing a simple revolved at her head. She could see the green glow of the Kryptonite bullet down the barrel.

“But you had to stop me at every turn. Every single loss I experienced, I grew more desperate. I grew more… unhinged.” He shook his head and sighed again. “I am no longer the man that can lead humanity into greatness. That’s why there are two bullets in this gun. Once you’re gone, I will stop myself from becoming the monster you always feared I was. I only hope someone else steps up to help humanity grow.” He pulled the hammer back. “For what it’s worth, Clark… I cherish the friendship we used to have.”

Twilight gasped, the bang of the gun firing dislodging her from the memory. Her eyes flew open, and she only gasped again at the sight of Clark fading away into light… light that she was absorbing. “Clark…?” she asked hesitantly.

“It doesn’t hurt, Twilight.” He assured her with a smile. “It actually feels nice… like I’m laying down after a long day.” He hugged her tighter. “Come on. Almost done,” he said.

Twilight nodded after a moment, then closed her eyes. Slowly, she sank into her own soul… and found the light of creation that birthed her.

She looked around in confusion. Where was she? The last thing she remembered… Her expression fell. “…He did it. He actually did it” She murmured to herself. She looked at her hands. “So… I’m dead now. It’s not what I was expecting.”

“It rarely ever is.”

She spun around, and found herself face to face with… herself?

“Welcome to judgment, Clark Kent. And yes… this is indeed the day you die for good.” Her double nodded. “It is rare that a soul such as yours crosses into the beyond. Rarer still for it to do so repeatedly.”

She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “Er… that’s… not going to count against me… is it?”

Her double laughed. It had a musical tone to. “Goodness, no! You only were able to come back to life because I allowed it. Simply put, you still had work to do, which is why I did not stop you. But… that work is over, and now you stand before me for the last time… or is it?”

Her double grinned an innocent grin. “Your life in this world is over. There is no denying that… but it would be a waste to just let you go on to Paradise without first extending an offer to you.”

She felt unease at this. She had worked with Bruce far too often to not recognize when she was about to make a deal with the devil… figuratively speaking of course.

“Existence is vast and varied,” her double began. “No two universes are the same. This variation gives birth to wondrous and beautiful things… but it also births terrible and monstrous things. I do my best to guide heroes to combat whatever malevolence that threatens their universe, but sometimes… sometimes that threat is simply too big for even the best.” She watched her double shake her head with a sigh.

“So I decided to create a team, much like you yourself did. I began recruiting heroes, but not the strongest. Oh no, strength isn’t going to solve those biggest threats. No. I recruit heroes who show a certain… aspect upon their death. Then, when those threats show up, I reincarnate the heroes. With the help of Destiny, we prepare you for the coming danger. Then, when it’s over and done with, you live your reincarnated life however you wish, and return to my service upon your death.”

She felt her heart drop. More conflict. More war. No peace. “So I’m just going to be thrown back into the fire?”

Her double frowned at her, surprising her. “You misunderstand me. This is entirely your choice. Additionally, when the weight of you service begins to wear on your soul, I will release you and let you go into Paradise. Once you’ve recovered, you may at any time return to my service. As I said, the choice is entirely yours.”

She considered that, but a question arose in her. “If I turn it down now… if I wish to spend time in this Paradise first and get away from what I’ve already gone through, will I be able to join at a later time?” She asked. “I want to help, I do… but I was looking forward to some peace.”

Her double smiled and nodded. “My offer will stand for as long as you wish. You may accept it at any time, even if you initially turn it down. But be warned, I will not allow knowledge of Paradise to escape into the mortal coil. If you join me, I will take from you the memories of your time in Paradise whenever you are reincarnated, but I will return them upon your death.”

She nodded, seeing no real issue with that. “I’d like to go to Paradise… How do I contact you when I’m ready to come into your service?” she asked.

Her double waved a hand. “I will know when you are ready, do not worry.” She was given a kind smile. “Enjoy your Paradise.”

There was a flash of light, and she was gone.

---

With a flash of light, she was back. She looked upon her double and nodded. “I’m ready,” she said.

Her double nodded. “Clark Kent, from this day forward you are a Hero Soul. I recruit heroes based on aspects that they display throughout life. For you, it was your ability to instill hope into others that drew me towards you. There is no other with your capacity for hope. Just being in a place without hope, doing nothing but stand there, your very presence begins to lift spirits and encourage passion. Hero Soul, I name you the Soul of Hope.”

And suddenly she was falling. Shrinking. Becoming light. “Go now to your rebirth. You are needed.”

And then she was looking into the face of… A Unicorn? No… more than a Unicorn. Her mother. “Twilight,” her mother said with a teary smile. “Your name is Twilight Sparkle. Welcome to Equestria, my little girl.”

Twilight opened her eyes, finding her teacher hovering over her with a worried gaze. “…Princess?” she asked. She rolled over slowly and gently got her hooves under her.

Celestia helped her up. “Careful, Twilight. Slowly. How do you feel?”

Twilight did a mental check on herself, and had to smile at the warmth she felt coming from the center of her chest. “I feel… relieved, actually. Like I had a headache all my life, but didn’t know it, and suddenly it’s gone.”

Celestia smiled, walking her student towards her bed. “I’m glad. Luna said you might feel a bit off balance for a few days. Your body can now begin adapting to the awakened memories without the memories vying for control.”

Twilight caught the brief frown on Celestia’s face though. “Princess?” she asked in concern.

Celestia shook her head. “Don’t worry, my faithful student. It’s nothing important.” She helped Twilight into bed, using her magic to pull the blanket over the Unicorn. “Get some sleep, Twilight. I’ve instructed Spike to close the library for today. Consider it a day off.” The aura of magic around her horn intensified for a moment.

Twilight yawned, feeling her mind grow fuzzy. She was tired, despite the fact that she couldn’t have been awake for longer than an hour total since her breakdown. “What… What about my friends? I heard them earlier.”

“Luna is speaking with them now. There’s no more danger, so they can go about their day. They’ll be there when you’re ready to go back outside.”

Twilight frowned, a thought drilling through the haze of exhaustion. “But… I don’t hear them…” she mumbled, her eyelids getting heavy.

“I cast a privacy spell on the room to let you sleep peacefully. Only if you yell in pain will sound get through,” Celestia explained. “Shhh.” She put a hoof to Twilight lips, silencing any further questions. “Spike can send me a letter with whatever questions you have… after you get some sleep.”

Twilight pouted. “… fine,” she grumbled, then turned on her side and snuggled into the warm blankets. “G’night… Princess…” And she was out.

Celestia shook her head with a smile, releasing her hold on the sleep spell she had cast once Twilight was in bed. Twilight began to snore softly. “That spell is taking longer and longer to work every time I use it on her.” She sighed, walking through the bedroom door. “Her magic’s getting stronger. Still no sign of slowing, either.” She shut the door and went to join her sister.

“An ageless Hero Soul… Is it destiny, or chance? I can never decide…” she mused to herself.

4. Nobility

“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle Applebuck Season without us?” Applejack asked, looking at her older brother, Big Mac. “I can always try again next year if you need my help.” She was doing her best to not insinuate that her brother couldn’t manage the farm workers because of the bruised rib he got recently.

They, along with Granny Smith and Applebloom, were standing in Ponyville’s train station… which was currently little more than a platform on the side of the tracks.

“I’m injured, AJ, not brain dead,” Big Mac grunted. “I promise I won’t be doing any of the physical work, just management.” He pointed towards Canterlot in the distance. “You three go show those nobles how homemade cooking is done.” He smirked, before turning and slowly walking away.

Applejack sighed before sitting down next to her little sister. Granny Smith was on the other side of Applebloom. “I’m worried,” she muttered, glancing back at the exit of the platform. It was easy to see she was debating giving up on the contract and going to help her brother. Thwap! “Gah!” She looked over at Granny Smith while rubbing the back of her head. The old mare was holding a broom. Applebloom had ducked away as soon as she saw the broom make an appearance and was now giggling at her sister’s misfortune.

“Don’t go doubting your brother, missy!” Granny Smith said with narrowed eyes. “He managed the farm just fine during the Apple Family Reunion in Fillydelphia three years ago.”

“He wasn’t injured then,” Applejack grunted, only to get the broom handle upside her head again. Applebloom’s giggles became outright laughter. “Ow! A’right already! I give, I give!” Applejack hollered, holding her hooves above her head.

“Don’t back-talk to me young lady! I raised you to have a sensible head on your shoulders. You know as well as I do your brother never breaks his promises.” She glared at Applejack a little longer, likely contemplating a third hit. Just to be sure.

Applejack sighed. “Ah’m sorry, Granny. I guess I’m just nervous.”

Granny Smith smiled at her granddaughter and pulled her close. “Yer brother will be fine. He’s smart, unlike his old man,” she grumbled, getting a smirk out of Applejack and Applebloom.

Their father, may his soul rest in peace, had been a hard worker and great at any physical labor you put in front of him. Mental labor, on the other hand, was not his strong point. He wasn’t stupid by any means, but…Well, Applejack distinctly remembered walking into the house for dinner one night and found her mother holding her father down and trying to pry a box of matches from his hooves. He apparently was going to torch the ‘demon-spawn paperwork’ that he had been trying to work on all day. That was when her mother had taken over all the paperwork responsibilities. That was also the only time she ever saw her brother absolutely howling in laughter.

She wasn’t real great with numbers herself, but at least Applejack could do the basic paperwork for the farm. Big Mac though took after their mother, who had come from Canterlot and had an education behind her. She had taught him as much as she could before the… well… before they left.

Big Mac was now home schooling Applebloom. Applejack and him had already decided that, if they get the contract, the first thing they were doing with the money, after Granny’s hip replacement, was get Applebloom in the schoolhouse Cheerilee had recently opened in Ponyville. The replacement equipment could wait a little longer for that.

“Good. We’re not late.”

Applejack and her family looked towards the stairs for the platform and found Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie approaching, Twilight pulling a wagon loaded with their luggage. Applejack quirked an eyebrow when she noted Twilight was not actually walking, but rather just floating along about an inch from the ground.

“Hiya, AJ!” Pinkie greeted enthusiastically, rushing over and hugging her friend, incidentally hugging Applebloom and Granny Smith as well.

‘Probably considers it a bonus,’ Applejack chuckled to herself, returning the hug. “Howdy, Pinkie!” She returned. “I understand Rarity and Twi, but what’re you doing here?” she asked.

“The Princess sent me a letter this morning with Snow Cloud’s response,” Twilight answered in the party pony’s stead. She landed on her hooves and began undoing the knot keeping the wagon tied to her. “He wants to meet Pinkie himself before he lets her take over, so she’s going with us.”

Applejack nodded, and everyone’s ears jumped as the shrill sound of a train whistle reached their ears. Looking down the tracks, they spotted the pink train. “Up and at ‘em, Apples” She said, getting to her hooves. “Train’s here”

“So how will the chefs test you, Applejack?” Rarity asked after she finished helping Twilight store their luggage in the luggage car. The train had already left, evident by the rolling landscape outside the window of their car.

“The Princess sent us a message earlier today saying we’ll be tested on the three meals of the day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner and dessert. We’ll be tested on breakfast as soon as we get settled in at the castle today” Applejack explained.

“So soon?” Rarity questioned. “Don’t you need time to prepare and gather ingredients from the market?”

Applejack shook her head. “Nope. The chefs are deciding what we’ll cook, and providing the ingredients as well”

“Ooh! Maybe they’ll ask you to make a birthday cake!” Pinkie gushed as she bounced by, apparently just wandering the train.

“Pinkie! One does not eat dessert for breakfast?” Rarity said dramatically.

“You don’t?” Pinkie asked, stopping to look at Rarity in confusion. “I do!”

“That don’t surprise me one bit.” Applejack chuckled.

“Hey everypony,” Twilight said with a smile as she joined them. “Did I miss anything?”

Applejack shrugged. “Just Pinkie’s daily sugar intake,” she said, poking the pink pony and getting a ‘squeeee’ sound for her trouble. “One of these days you’ll make sense to me, Pinkie.” She shook her head.

“I hope not!” Pinkie said with a grin. “Then I wouldn’t be in character!”

Everypony blinked at that blankly, before Applejack sighed. “Less and less sense every time,” she grumbled.

“What about you, Twilight?” Rarity said, getting Twilight's attention. “Did the Princess say who it was you were going to see?”

Twilight shook her head. “No, and I’m not entirely sure why. Normally she’s pretty open about stuff that has to do with me… barring the whole Nightmare Moon thing.” She chuckled sheepishly. “But I trust her. Whoever it is will be trusted by her, so I’ll trust them as well unless they prove I shouldn’t.”

“How about you, Rare?” Applejack asked. “Any plans yet on how you’ll get yer Prince?”

Rarity nodded. “A few, but the Princess said she wished to discuss it with me personally before anything was put into effect, so we’ll see what may work or not.” She sighed after a moment of hesitation. “Truthfully though, I cannot get Twilight’s obvious dislike of the Prince out of my head.”

“You’re angry that I don’t like him?” Twilight asked curiously.

Rarity shook her head. “No. Just the opposite. Everypony has different tastes, their own likes and dislikes. A fashionista learns that lesson early on in their work. It’s well within the realm of possibility that not everyone likes the Prince. No, I just can’t help but find myself questioning what I know of the Prince. I did as you asked, Twilight, and it took me a while to figure out why you wanted me to look into who owns the Canterlot media. I was… not thrilled at the picture I was discovering.”

“Let me guess, it’s Prince Blueblood himself?” Applejack asked.

Rarity shook her head. “No. That would have been too easy. It’s a variety of ponies that own the individual media companies of Canterlot. Star Ledger owns the local news station, Black Tie owns the Canterlot newspaper distribution center, Upper Crust owns the ad company, and Jack Trade owns the country-wide newspaper distribution center. Tell me, Applejack, do you know what those four ponies share in common?”

Applejack frowned, realizing it was a rhetorical question. She knew there was a variety of ways these ponies could be similar. Wealth, stocks, social circles… and suddenly she felt like smashing her face into the wall at the hidden-in-plain-sight answer. “They’re all nobles?” she guessed.

Rarity nodded. “Correct. Or, to be more accurate, they’re all nobles that Blueblood has in his hooves the ability to coerce because of the large stocks he owns from their companies.” She shook her head. “Of course, I don’t know for a fact Blueblood actually does that… but the more I go over the media involving him, the more I realize he seems… perfect. There’s hardly a flaw in his image. As you know, it’s impossible to be perfect, so therefore the only conclusion I am left with is that either he is forcing them to pad his resume, so to speak, or they are doing it without his knowledge.”

Twilight noticeable would not meet Rarity’s eyes when she looked over at her. “Tell me the truth dear… What kind of pony is Prince Blueblood?” The fashionista asked pointedly.

Twilight stared out the window at the passing landscape, a frown on her face. Just as Rarity was about to ask again, she sighed. “… Are you sure you want to know my opinions, Rarity? They may influence how you deal with him when you meet.”

“It is commendable, as the Princess has told you already, that you wish for me to make my own conclusions. However, now that I know something is amiss I refuse to go into the situation unprepared. Besides, I am still making my own conclusions, yours will just be one of the many opinions I will get while I’m at the castle,” Rarity answered.

Twilight smiled at her friend, and then closed her eyes. “…I met Blueblood roughly ten years ago. I don’t remember the exact date, only that it was shortly after the Princess took me in as her student. He was… less than pleased to discover a commoner was walking next to the Princess within the castle. He called the guards on me, telling them to kick me out. He had believed Celestia didn’t know I was there.” She snorted. “She’s an Alicorn for Starswirl’s sake! Her senses are nothing compared to a grown dragon in their prime, but they’re still sharper than a normal pony’s. If she didn’t know a child that was yammering in her ear and tripping occasionally was there… well, I would have to question her ability to rule.” That got a chuckle from her friends.

“Anyways, Celestia stopped the guards and informed Blueblood that I was her new student, and that I had full access to nearly every section of the castle, including her own bedchambers. Blueblood looked so adorably confused that I almost tackled him. The media got one thing right, Rarity. Blueblood is handsome, very much so.” She giggled. “He knows it too. Oh, the times I’ve seen him ham it up in front of the nobility. If it wasn’t for the fact that it would get the Princess disappointed in me, I likely would have been laughing hysterically every single time.”

“So… he’s just narcissistic?” Applejack asked.

“I wish,” Twilight grumbled. “No, Blueblood is more than narcissistic. He’s arrogant, belligerent, a massive bigot, and self-centered!” She paused and brought her emotions under control. “Blueblood is the finest example I have ever seen of how not to be a noble. If I was in your shoes, Rarity, I would just give this up and go home.” She smiled almost sadly after a moment of staring at her friend. “But I also know you. I recognize that gleam in your eyes. You see a challenge.” She chuckled ruefully. “You’re a lot like Applejack and Rainbow in that regard. Once presented with a challenge, you will see it done.”

Rarity blushed demurely, but declined to respond. The rest of the train ride was spent in companionable silence, and then a few games of poker when the rest of the Apple Family joined in. Applejack, predictably, was cleaned out in three rounds.

Once in Canterlot Pinkie and Twilight broke off from their friends to leave with, of all ponies, Princess Luna. Twilight had been surprised it wasn’t Celestis picking them up. Some guards led Rarity and the Apple family to the castle.

“Do you have any questions?” Princess Celestia asked the Apple family, standing by a door within one of the corridors of the castle. The door led to where the family would be staying during the weekend.

“How long until the first test?” Granny Smith asked.

Celestia nodded to her. “You have an hour to make your way to the kitchens. If you’re late that will be marked against you. I advise leaving your luggage for unpacking later, or you can let some of my servants handle the unpacking”

“No disrespect intended, Your Majesty,” Applejack started. “But I’m uncomfortable leaving my stuff in the hooves of strangers.”

Celestia nodded again. “Very well. If you’d like, I will lead you to the kitchens once you drop off your luggage.” She sat down to wait.

“Thank you kindly, Princess.” Applejack smiled. “Ah’m not sure we’d be able to find the kitchens, even if you gave us the entire day.” She chuckled as she walked into their room.

“Take your time. I have no duties left for the day, so I am not needed elsewhere,” the Princess called.

Once everypony had dropped off their things, they left and Celestia began guiding them to the kitchens.

Once there, and after an interesting conversation regarding the maze-like structure of the castle, Celestia ushered them inside.

Applejack and her family found themselves standing before an old looking Unicorn mare with grey fur and a black mane, wearing the stereotypical chef’s uniform. “My name is Excess,” she stated to the three ponies. “I am the head chef of the Royal Kitchens, as well as the one who decided what meals you will be making.” She motioned towards a dry-erase board with a list on it. “Princess Celestia has stated you wish to cater for the Grand Galloping Gala. Normally, this would be impossible. The catering was decided months ago, but it seems her student has finally realized her position comes with political power, and has asked a favor. If you managed to impress a board of four nobles, with Princess Celestia herself as a tie-breaker, we will allow you to take over catering this year. In case it’s not clear, that means you are cooking for five.” She pointed at the first item on the list. “Starting as soon as we are done here, you will be cooking a breakfast meal. It will be pancakes and eggs. The eggs will be sunny side up and served on top of the pancakes.” She looked at each member of the Apple family. “Are there any questions?” she asked.

Granny grinned. “When will you stop yapping and let us get to cookin’?”

The mare gave a bark of laughter. “Ha! You’ve got fire, I’ll give you that!” She pointed towards a table laid out with ingredients. “All the ingredients you’ll need are already here. You may begin at any time. I will remain here if there are any further questions.”

The Apples nodded to each other and got to work. After cleaning themselves up, Applejack started sorting through what ingredients they would be using, Applebloom began the mixing process for the batter, and Granny Smith began going over the stovetops to make sure they would work properly, as well as to memorize the layout for their later tests.

“Okay, I’ll bite” A monocle wearing stallion with a white coat and light blue mane stated after nearly ten minutes of silence. He also had a blue mustache. “Why are we here, Princess?” he asked curiously.

Celestia looked at her long-time friend and smiled. “I have a surprise for the four of you, Fancy Pants. I have received a request from a special family to cater at the Gala. Once I discovered why they wished to, I was all too happy to allow them to do so, but I knew I couldn’t just replace my chefs like that, so I arranged a series of tests. Today, they are cooking a breakfast meal for the five of us. Tomorrow, they will cook a lunch for us, and on Sunday they will be cooking a dinner and dessert.” She nodded towards the doors. “My chefs will be bringing us the food shortly, and I’d like you all to say whether or not you like it. I will pitch in on the vote myself if there is a tie.”

“A test?” Upper Crust asked curiously. She was yellow coated Unicorn mare with a white striped lavender mane. Pink ball earings were in her ears, and she wore blue eye shadow. “I must say, this is… unusual. The Castle’s staff has always catered the Gala. Why change this now?”

Black Bag frowned in thought. He was a brown coated Unicorn stallion that wore a pair of simple glasses and had a slicked back yellow mane. “I imagine it has something to do with why these ponies requested they cater the Gala. Would you be willing to share, Your Highness?” he asked.

Celestia shook her head. “I’m afraid it is their business. If they wish to share, I see no problem with it, but I will not break their trust in me for idle curiosity, just as I know they would never betray my trust in them.”

Brow Beat smiled. He was a dark grey coated Unicorn stallion with a white mane. “Of course not, Princess. If you trust them, they must be important ponies indeed. No point in angering a family when there could be profit to be made instead.”

Upper Crust and Black Bag nodded at this, but Fancy Pants was staring at Celestia in slight suspicion. ‘…I find myself wondering if I’m about to be at Ground Zero for one of my friend’s pranks,’ he mused to himself.

“Ah, the food’s here” Celestia stated, startling Fancy from his thoughts. All of the nobles turned, realizing servants were rolling in trays of food. “I have been informed beforehand that this is a simple breakfast of pancakes and eggs.” Celesta nodded in thanks as her servants laid a tray in front of her. “Please, enjoy,” she said as the servants gave the rest their own trays.

Then the lids were lifted off, and everyone was instantly entranced by the heavenly smell of the pancakes.

“Well! They certainly smell delicious!” Black Bag commented. “Let us see how they taste, shall we?”

“Oh my!” Upper Crust declared after swallowing her bite. “That is… how did they get it so fluffy?”

“The texture is perfect, and there’s not a wasted bit of butter or syrup anywhere.” Fancy agreed, swallowing his own taste. “Whoever these ponies are, Princess, they certainly know how to make breakfast.”

“The eggs are cooked almost flawlessly as well. In fact, the only reason it’s not perfect is because of personal preference,” Brow Beat added.

Celestia smiled as she ate her own pancakes. Fancy noted that it was mischievous. ‘…She is definitely planning something… but what?’ he thought.

After everypony had eaten and the trays were taken away, Celestia stood and moved to the front of the table so all four nobles could see her. “Now then, how was the meal?” she asked.

“Excellent. I vote for a pass.” Fancy nodded.

“Agreed. Pass,” Upper Crust said, dabbing a napkin on her lips.

“I truly can’t say I’ve ever had pancakes that good before. Pass.” Black Bag nodded.

“Pass,” was all Brow Beat said.

Celestia nodded. “I’m pleased you all enjoyed the meal. Now, would you like to meet the ponies who cooked your meal?” At everyone’s nod, the Princess signaled one of her guards, making him leave to fetch their chefs for the next couple of days.

Fancy suddenly had a sinking suspicion he knew what Celestia was up to. ‘Well… I suppose it does not matter who cooked it,’ he mused to himself. He glanced at the other nobles. ‘Though I believe my friend may be overestimating my fellow nobles if she is, indeed, doing what I think she’s doing’ Fancy shook his head, deciding that if this went south then he would, as always, support his friend.

After a time, the doors to the dining room opened and admitted three… Earth Ponies. ‘Oh dear’ Fancy winced. He looked towards Black Bag, and could already see the beginnings of one of his infamous meltdowns as he frowned in confusion.

“Earth Ponies?” Upper Crust asked curiously. She looked to Granny Smith. “What family do you come from? I imagine you must come from a different city, since there are very few Earth Ponies in the nobility in Canterlot”

“We’re from the Apple family, in Ponyville,” Granny Smith said, narrowing her gaze at Upper Crust.

“Apple family?” Fancy asked, a little quicker than he had meant to. “As in the famous apple farmers the Princess helped get started? Oh, forgive my rudeness. My name is Fancy Pants. The one who just asked you about your family is Upper Crust, and those two are Black Bag and Brow Beat,” he introduced, stalling. He was desperate for a way to mitigate the upcoming blowup from Black Bag.

“That’s us alright.” Applejack nodded. “Ah’m Applejack. This here little filly next to me is mah sister Applebloom, and the wrinkled old bat on my other side is Granny Smith.” Thwap! “Ow!” Applejack rubbed her head. She looked at the broom her grandmother was holding. “Where the devil did you even get that from?” she asked in confusion as Applebloom giggled at her sister’s misfortune.

“Behave,” Granny Smith said, waving the broom.

“…Farmers?”

The voice was almost too quiet to hear, but it still brought a dead stop to everypony, drawing attention to Black Bag as he glared at Applejack. “Did I hear that correctly? You’re farmers?” he asked.

Celestia’s eyes narrowed. “You did, indeed, hear that correctly. I helped establish the Apple family as the top farmers in Equestria, providing not just top grade apples all over the country, but other apple products as well. Eventually, their farm drew settlers and the town of Ponyville was started next to Sweet Apple Acres, the home of the main family of Apples.”

Fancy could hear the subtle warnings in the Princess’ voice, but Black Bag seemed not to. “Farmers…” The stallion nodded his head. He looked at the Princess. “You not only let peasants into the castle, Princess, but you let a family of mud ponies cook our food with their disgusting hooves?!” he nearly yelled.

Fancy could only let his head hit the table with a groan. “You foal” He grunted. Upper Crust and Brow Beat had also scooted away from Black Bag, realizing they were standing probably far too close to him.

Applejack was on her hooves in an instant. “You come over here and say that to my face!” she roared, her sister right next to her. Strangely, Granny Smith simply smiled, relaxing. Fancy found this odd… before he noticed her gaze occasionally glancing at the growing storm that was Celestia’s eyes.

Black Bag responded to Applejack’s demand by getting up and spitting on the floor in front of her. “I will say what I please about peasants!” he yelled. “Guards! Remove them from the castle!” he ordered the white coated stallions around the room.

The guards didn't so much as move. The Nobles had some ability to give the Royal Guard orders, but that ability was completely and utterly pointless in the presence of their Princess. Applejack did not notice, or more likely didn’t care, as she also began moving towards Black Bag.

“Stop.”

Even Applejack froze at the absolute authority ringing from Princess Celestia’s quiet voice. She, along with every pony there, looked over to find the Princess staring straight at a suddenly very pale Black Bag.

“This is my fault,” the Princess whispered. “I had completely forgotten about your… attitude towards Earth Ponies.” She shook her head, closing her eyes. Black Bag began sweating when he realized smoke was beginning to waft from Celestia’s mane, which was also beginning to grow brighter. “I knew most of you would be surprised at this revelation. I had been meaning to play a harmless prank with it… Disbelief was expected. But at the same time I expect the nobility to conduct themselves with both grace and honor, even in the face of adversity… neither of which you have just displayed.” She opened her eyes, revealing red irises.

‘Black Bag, my boy, you truly do not know what kind of dragon you have just tried to stab,’ Fancy thought to himself. Celestia, like all ponies, had anger. Also like all ponies, she had buttons and triggers for her anger. For most of them she could hold in her reaction to them being tweaked, but there was one button she didn’t even bother trying to hide when it was pushed.

Celestia despised tribalists. No, it would be more accurate to say she hated them. From the very few clues his friend had given him over the years, Fancy managed to put together a picture of Celestia growing up as a pariah to all three pony tribes because of her horn and wings. It was the curse of being the first Alicorn. Oddly, she refused to even mention her sister in regards to this. He was still unsure how to take that.

“Leave the castle, Black Bag. Do not return,” Celestia said simply, her mane beginning to flicker and crackle like a flame.

“B-but… I… t-they…” He was trembling badly, and Fancy gave him points in bravery for not immediately doing as the Princess commanded. Though, he may just be too terrified to move.

“Now” It wasn’t a yell. It was as calm and quiet as all of the previous words Celestia had spoken… but it reverberated throughout the room like a thunderclap nonetheless. “Guards, escort him out.”

The guards, despite being visibly shaken at seeing their Princess’ rage so openly displayed, jumped to attention and began dragging Black Bag out of the room.

Silence reigned for all of a minute, and then Granny Smith began cackling loudly. “Haaaahehehooo!” She was nearly rolling on the floor. She likely would have been if not for her bad hip. “It’s been too long since I last saw you blow yer top!” she said between laughs.

Celestia took a few breaths and managed a smile at Granny. “Yes…” She stood. “Excuse me. I must go freshen up,” she said, her mane already beginning to return to normal. Everypony took note of how the floor where she had sat was singed.

Fancy wanted to go comfort his friend, but he knew she had left a responsibility in his hooves to handle first. He turned towards the Apple family, and had to smile at the sight of Applejack looking a little shell-shocked and Applebloom staring worriedly at their still laughing grandmother. He cleared his throat to get their attention.

Once all three of them were focused on him, he began. “I apologize on behalf of the nobility of Canterlot for Black Bag’s…” He grimaced. “Unpleasant display just now. You may be happy to know that before you were revealed to us, he, along with the rest of us, had voted to pass your cooking on this test.” He smiled when that did the trick, getting a smile out of the sisters and a confident smirk from the elder. He clapped his hooves together in applause. “Truly, I look forward to tomorrow’s lunch if today was anything to judge by.”

“Additionally, I would like to offer my assurance that we will find a much more neutral noble to replace Black Bag on this panel,” Upper Crust stated. She could be arrogant, she’ll freely admit it, but what Black Bag had done was suicidal to a noble’s career. She refused to feel sorry for him.

Besides, those were some damn good pancakes.

“Would you accept a tour of Canterlot by us as payment for whatever grievances Black Bag left you with?” Brow Beat asked. He believed Unicorns were superior to the other pony races, true, but he didn’t dismiss that they were important in their own way either. Earth Pony magic was an unmatched boon for crops, and without Pegasi the weather would be uncontrollable.

Applejack smiled at them, though it was obviously somewhat shaky. “Thank ya kindly for the offer… but ah hope you won’t take offense if we just want to call it a day.”

Fancy nodded as he stood. “Perfectly understandable. As it stands though, the nobility owes you a favor. Come find me whenever you wish to call it in and I will do my best to see it done,” he stated, then left the room.

The other two nobles left as well, nodding goodbye. The Apple family left shortly after, getting a guard to escort them to their room. During the walk back, Applejack found herself remembering a lesson her mother had taught her regarding nobility.

“Nobility, TRUE Nobility, is a title reserved only for the most chivalrous of ponies” She had said. “Chivalry is about caring for the kingdom you call home, caring for the ponies within that kingdom, and always conducting yourself with honor. There are very few true nobles left in the world… but don’t assume you’ll never meet one. After all… I did. He was a nice Unicorn by the name of Fancy Suit.”

‘Fancy eh? I wonder if that Fancy Pants feller and him are related,’ Applejack mused to herself.

5. Lunar Guidance

Twilight Sparkle stared into her teacup, contemplating the Alicorn across from her. She was seated at a table in one of the courtyards of the castle. If any of the servants looked in on them, it would look like nothing more than two friends, albeit one was one of the rulers, enjoying a lunch date.

Earlier that day Twilight had arrived in Canterlot with the Apple family and Pinkie Pie. To her surprise it was not Princess Celestia that had been there to greet her as she expected, but rather Princess Luna. Not that she was disappointed, she had been looking forward to spending some time with the recently reformed Alicorn, but still. She had assumed Celestia would be taking her to see whoever it was the Princess wanted her to see regarding the memories of Clark Kent.

Instead, Luna had been there and had taken her on a walk around Canterlot after giving Pinkie directions to Snow Cloud’s home. The Princess of the Night had been mostly quiet during this walk, occasionally asking a question about her time in Ponyville, or about Ponyville itself. It was… somewhat awkward. Twilight was beginning to wonder what was going on when Luna finally led her to the castle and to this courtyard, where a tea set had been set up and was awaiting them.

“When am I going to meet whoever it was Celestia wanted me to meet?” Twilight asked finally, breaking the silence that had descended when they had sat down.

Luna frowned slightly. “Sister did not tell you?” she asked. She sighed at Twilight’s confusion. “I am who you are to discuss the memories with. After all, the mind and all of its twisted and convoluted corridors are as familiar to me as Starswirl’s forbidden wing is supposedly familiar to you.”

Twilight had to blush at the gentle jab at her tendency to sneak into the Starswirl wing in the Royal Archives when she was young. She couldn’t help it! He was her idol! “I…” She cleared her throat and fought down the blush, ignoring Luna’s small smirk. ‘Great. She’s just as much of a prankster as Princess Celestia is,’ she thought to herself. “I see,” she mumbled.

“But since I do not know you all that well, regardless of the fact that you saved me from my own darkness, I decided to rectify that first, hence the walk we went on and my… admittedly poor attempt at socializing.” Luna grimaced. “I am unfortunately a stranger in a brand new world, one that works very differently than what I remember. I have spent the last few days sequestered within the Archives researching the history I missed.” Luna gained a small smile. “I am thankful for something familiar though. That table is like an old friend…”

Twilight smiled, memories of her own late night study sessions within the Archives flashing through her mind. “The oak table in the corner by the window?” she asked.

Luna blinked, surprised. “Well… Yes. How did you know?”

“I’ve spent nearly a decade at that table myself, Princess. It’s out of the way of most traffic the Archives see, well lit, and most of all close to the bathroom.”

Luna smiled after a moment. “It pleases me to know my old study table has seen use by others besides myself.” She shook her head with a smile. “Tia had that table crafted for me as a birthday gift roughly a century after we liberated Equestria from Discord. It is enchanted with preservation spells, which are also hidden by muffling sigils to prevent anyone from realizing there is an Alicorn enchantment on it.”

“So that’s what that magic I kept feeling at the table was!” Twilight exclaimed in realization, making Luna jump slightly at the sudden declaration.

She smiled though. “Yes.” She paused. “I suppose I should begin our session.”

“Session, Princess?” Twilight asked.

Luna stood. “Twilight Sparkle, I want you to answer my next question with every last ounce of honesty you can draw from within yourself.” She looked straight into Twilight’s eyes. Twilight was starting to get worried. “Have you accepted all of your memories as Clark Kent?”

Twilight blinked. “Er… Princess? Wouldn’t I still be fighting with the memories if I hadn’t?” she asked.

Luna shook her head. “No. The memories were fighting you because you shoved them away and refused to accept that you and Clark Kent were one and the same. You have now accepted that… but have you accepted the things you have done as Clark Kent?” Luna closed her eyes. “…There are and have been Hero Souls out in Equus that have awakened before you. Very few, granted, but they were there. Nearly all of them however have had an identity crisis of one kind or another, and I was forced to step in as they slept and aid them. As such, I am experienced in helping a Hero Soul come into itself… I have even begun seeing patterns.”

“Patterns?” Twilight asked, then blinked, the entirety of what Luna had said hitting her. “Wait! There are others like me in Equestria?! Who?!”

Luna looked away. “I cannot say. They have requested privacy in such matters. Even so, most are dead now… though I have met two in this day and age already, not counting you.” She shook her head. “As for the patterns…” She sighed. “Equestria is a peaceful land. What threats do appear are usually handled quickly and without too much trouble. The same cannot be said for most other worlds, as your time as Clark Kent may have told you.”

Twilight looked into her tea cup frowning. “…War,” she said after a moment. “Nearly everywhere I looked on Earth there was war and strife. I tried so hard to bring peace to so many countries, but in the end I had to learn the lesson that peace can only come to those who wanted it.” She shivered. “And then… there’s the things I was sometimes forced to do. It was rare… but I’ve killed, Princess. It was a last resort, and I had tried everything else, but sometimes… it’s the only way to stop someone who only wants to watch the world burn.” Luna could see that Twilight was lost in those memories now, and pretended to not notice the unshed tears in Twilight’s eyes.

Twilight looked up when Luna placed a hoof on hers. “It is good that you acknowledge these memories of death and destruction. It is better that you admit that it was you that did it, and not try to separate yourself from Clark Kent again. You are strong, Twilight, and brave.” She pulled her hoof back and shook her head. “But that only keeps you out of the largest pitfalls of being a Hero Soul, not the most dangerous.”

“…Am I doing something wrong?” Twilight asked after a moment of silence.

Luna shook her head again. “No… at least, you aren’t yet. Clark Kent lived in a world of strife, and he may have experienced things that forced him to suppress his own memories subconsciously. If ever a time comes when memories such as those surface in your mind, you will be blindsided by it. What may have been a brief but agonizingly painful remembrance for him will become an immensely traumatic and long lasting experience to you.” She grabbed Twilight’s head and forced the Unicorn to look her in the eyes. “Heed my warnings, Twilight Sparkle, and do not hide from who you are. Do not try and ignore your memories just because you don’t like them. Above all else however, do not hide it from your friends. If they are truly your friends, like we both know they are, they will be nothing but supportive of you in your time of need.”

She let go when Twilight nodded after a moment of hesitation. “And of course, you may speak to me at any time regarding this. As of this day I am legally your therapist and psychiatrist… but more importantly I am your friend, and I have experience in helping others recover from such traumatic events. I will not abandon you just because of how terrible those memories may be.”

Silence, slightly uncomfortable, descended. The two ponies slowly drank their tea, one in silent contemplation and the other in practiced patience. After a few minutes of this, Luna finally spoke.

“Tell me about the life of Clark Kent,” she said.

Twilight blinked, looking up from her thoughts. “Uh… well… what do you want to know?”

“Everything you are comfortable with sharing,” Luna answered. “If it helps, I’m told the best place to start is the beginning.”

Twilight chuckled. “Yeah… but the thing about my life on Earth is that there are so many places you could consider the beginning. The death of Krypton, the Kents adopting me, learning about my powers… becoming Superman.” She shrugged. “I really don’t know where to begin.”

“Let’s start with Krypton. What caused the death of a planet?”

Twilight frowned slightly. “I was never able to get a straight answer regarding that. All I know is that the core of the planet was destabilizing. I don’t know what caused it though, whether it was sabotage or just the planet’s time to die. My father, Jor-El, discovered Krypton was on the verge of destruction and tried to warn the Council. Brainiac, the machine in charge of maintaining life on Krypton, told the Council he was wrong, and that the seismic activity was natural and would pass.” She growled, glaring at a wall. “Brainiac lied. If he had told the truth, he would have been put in charge of evacuating the planet, but instead he saved his own hide, leaving an entire species to death.”

Luna pulled a notebook from her mane, as well as a mechanical pencil. She grinned at Twilight’s surprised look. “I told you I have dealt with other Hero Souls, Twilight, and most come from one version of Earth or another. One of the most amazing inventions I learned of during sessions with these heroes was the mechanical pencil. No need for ink, and easy to fix mistakes. I managed to have a stock of harmless lead and erasers made, and then I forged the parts needed after I learned enough about them to design my own.”

Twilight began to drool at the thought. “…You… wouldn’t happen to be willing to part with some, would you?” she nearly begged. It was an item of nostalgia for the most part thanks to magic, but still!

Luna laughed, and levitated over a bundle from under the table. “When I first discovered you were from a version of Earth, I figured you would like some,” she said.

‘Spike is going to worship me over this…’ Twilight mused, remembering all the times Spike complained about the difficulty in using quills. She tucked the cloth wrapped package under her seat and tagged it with a signal spell only she could detect, making sure she wouldn’t forget it when it was time to leave.

Luna made a few notes, then nodded to Twilight. “Please, continue.”

Twilight paused, remembering that she was in the middle of a story. “Right…” She cleared her throat. “Anyways, since Brainiac had betrayed Krypton, and the Council likely wouldn’t have gone against tradition anyways, my father started making plans. But Krypton was going to explode too soon, and any plans he made to save his family wouldn’t be done in time… except one. A small ship, and fast enough to escape Krypton’s detonation. It was… the size of a cradle.”

Luna’s eyes widened in comprehension. “He could not save his people or his family, so he instead chose to save his legacy… you.”

Twilight nodded. “Krypton rotated around an old star, which had long since turned red in its age. The radiation of a red star inhibits the natural powers of the Kryptonian biology, a state of being Kryptonians had long since grown accustomed to. To give me every chance he could to survive, he sent me to a planet under a young, yellow sun.” Twilight smiled, and floated out of her chair briefly. “There, my Kryptonian biology slowly began to shake off the shackles being born in the light of a red sun placed me under. By the time I was a teenager, I was lifting the massive farming equipment to help my adoptive father, running faster than the eyes could follow, and leaping great distances.” She snorted after a moment. “Would you believe me if I told you I was actually initially terrified of heights?”

Luna took a moment to register that before she snorted as well. “R-really? The mare who can fly faster than Rainbow Dash on a slow day was scared of heights?”

Twilight was chuckling at the memory. “My flight was the last of my powers to develop in my childhood, and I think that was because of my fear of heights. I was subconsciously suppressing the power. However, it developed eventually, and I was forced to learn how to control it or forever wake up in the morning staring at the ceiling… which was two feet from my head.”

“That must have played havoc with your nerves,” Luna noted with a smirk.

Twilight nodded. “It did. I would scream when I finally realized I was flying, then lose control and do a spectacular belly flop onto the hardwood floor of my room.”

“That poor floor…” Luna shook her head in mock sympathy. She looked up at the sky, which was beginning to darken. “I believe we should call an end to today’s session,” she said, standing up. “I want you to come back in two weeks. For the time being I only want you to tell me about your life as Clark Kent. The more I know regarding this, the better I can aid you in acclimating to your new situation.”

Twilight nodded. With that, they said their goodbyes, made plans for the next session, and Twilight left.

6. Family Matters

Twilight allowed memories of her time as a foal to wash through her mind as she slowly trotted through Canterlot’s busy midday streets. The sun was high in the sky and very few clouds could potentially cover it. A nice day, overall.

After last night’s meeting with Princess Luna, Twilight had left to turn in for the night in one of the many guest rooms in the castle. However, as she neared her bed for the night, a nagging in the back of her mind had bothered her, and ultimately prevented her from sleeping until she addressed it. Finally she gave up and went to the kitchens to boil some tea.

Personally, she preferred coffee. Strong, pitch black coffee… that could possibly double as jet fuel… But the late hour had convinced her it was a bad idea and instead went for some chamomile tea. As she prepared it, she was trying to figure out what was bothering her.

More than once in her tenure as the Princess’ student she had spent the night in a guest room instead of returning home or sleeping in the quarters the Princess had prepared for her, so she knew she was not uncomfortable with the fact that she wasn’t in her own bed.

She supposed it could be the fact that, for once in a long time, Spike was not there with her. He was managing the Golden Oak Library while she was gone, and had already sent her a status update this morning informing her of the books returned and checked out yesterday while she was gone. But her instincts… or rather, the finely honed instincts of a reporter from her previous life told her that wasn’t the case.

So she went on a walk around the castle, trying to clear her mind and think. It wasn’t until she bumped into her brother as he patrolled the castle that everything clicked. She had forgotten to tell her family about her awakening as a Hero Soul!

And while her and her brother caught up, another issue arose in her mind.

Superman. He was an ideal of hope, but he was also a mask and a costume. A hidden identity to protect his loved ones from the enemies his life choices would make. Understandable, considering the vast amounts of darkness permeating the Earth. But Equestria was not nearly as bad off as Earth was. Humans were truly a neutral species, being capable of both wondrous and terrible things with the same ease, but Ponies tended towards the Light more often than not. They had their share of idiots and bad guys, true, but it was rare.

Now she was once more faced with the question; does she hide her power as a Kryptonian? Or does she tell everypony? Or, perhaps, just not say anything and let them draw their own conclusions? She wouldn’t be advertising her powers, but she wouldn’t be actively hiding them either.

This morning, her head was no clearer than last night. In fact, it was further muddled. One thing was very clear though, she trusted her family and friends implicitly. No matter her choice with the mask, they would know.

That was why she was currently making her way towards the residential district of Canterlot, towards the home of the Sparkle Clan.

It was also why she sighed when a familiar sound interrupted her walk down memory lane.

“Help!”

“I said shut up, mare!"

That was immediately followed by the sound of hoof meeting flesh, a strangled gasp of pain, and, oddly, it all sounded muffled.

Glancing around quickly, she ducked into an alley and blurred into high speed, moving through the air too fast for her form to be recognizable. She scanned the city as quickly as she could with her X-ray vision and soon discovered the source of the scream. She appeared above the situation and took it in. Two stallions, one mare, all were Unicorns. There was a magic restricting ring on the mare’s horn, a knife magically held to her throat, and a shimmering barrier that Twilight’s encyclopedic brain instantly recognized as a sound muffling barrier. That would explain the slight muffling she heard. She smirked slightly. One more point for ridiculously enhanced senses.

She immediately pinpointed the stallion hanging back as the source of the barrier, as his horn was lit up with magic while the other stallion’s was not.

“Please…” the mare sobbed, doing her best to avoid moving or risk slicing her neck open. “Don’t… Please don’t hurt him.”

The stallion holding her grinned. “You're new to Canterlot, so it's understandable that you wouldn't know, but the Boss don't like it when ponies fail to pay their debts. And you owe a hefty debt.” He chuckled. "I'll admit, you surprised the hell out of me and my boys with that flare spell of yours, but in the end... we have your son."

Twilight blinked, and then scanned over the alley again. She found a third Unicorn stallion holding a small winged foal in his magical grip, holding a knife to his throat.

“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt him,” the stallion holding the foal said with a grin. “But that only remains true if you don't resist."

“Exactly," the one threatening the mare nodded. "So here's the deal. I'll forgive this little incident and grant you another month to get the money together. I will also release your son... but only after you let my boys and I have a bit of fun. So lift your tail. Or don't. You're choice."

Twilight snarled at this and her eyes began glowing. With a crack of displaced air she hit the barrier forelegs first, shattering it like so much glass, and drilling into the would-be rapist’s back. Somewhere in her mind, she distantly noted the fact that the magic of the barrier slowed her down significantly, likely saving the stallion’s life. She just might have snapped him in half messily if she hit him at the speed she had been moving.

The sickening crunch as Twilight cratered the pavement with his body said he would never walk again though. Twilight currently couldn’t care less. She grabbed the now loose knife falling to the ground in her magic and hurled it at the shocked stallion holding the foal, using it to knock the knife away from the foal. She was millimeters behind it, slugging the stallion in the nose hard. He went rolling away. Twilight caught the foal in her magic and floated it towards his mother as she herself fired a binding spell at the thrashing unicorn that had been maintaining the barrier. Her shattering of it had sent a magical feedback through him, leaving him in brief but agonizing pain.

Letting off two more binding spells, as well as a stasis spell for the stallion with the shattered spine, Twilight turned towards the mare and her child, and smiled as they held each other. The mare was currently fussing over the foal, looking for injuries despite the growing bruise on her cheek.

“Are you okay?” she asked, slowly approaching. She knew from the many times she had saved a woman from this exact situation on Earth that the mare in question would be jumpy and not appreciate quick movements.

The mare looked up and smiled at Twilight through watery eyes. Twilight took note of her appearance as a lithe ash colored Unicorn with red eyes and an orange mane. Her Cutie Mark was that of a dusty looking book. She nodded. “Yes. Thank you.” She looked down at her son, a light grey Pegasus with a white poofy mane similar to Pinkie Pie’s. “Stratus, say thank you to the nice mare.”

The foal looked up at her with storm colored eyes. “Thank you, flying lady," he said meekly.

Twilight blinked, and then realized she was flying a foot off the ground. She dropped to the ground and chuckled sheepishly. “You… ah… wouldn’t mind not saying anything about this, would you?” she asked hopefully, rubbing the back of her neck.

The mare blinked in confusion. “But… why not?” she asked.

“I don’t want everypony to know I can do these things.” Twilight grimaced. “The nobility alone would never leave me alone… never mind the media.”

The mare smiled after a moment. “I understand,” she said with a nod. “My name is Ash Winder. My husband, Crimson Fira and I own and manage the antique shop in the market. Consider yourself on a seventy-five percent discount for life for this.”

“I don’t need a reward for doing the right thing.” Twilight immediately tried to turn down the gift.

Ash smiled. “It may have been the right thing, but few ponies these days will leap into danger for a stranger. It deserves a reward.”

Twilight was silent for a moment. “…Twenty-five percent.” She wasn’t taking a seventy-five percent discount. She’d have the ability to ruin them in her hooves… and if they had antique books, she just might on accident.

“Fifty, plus a visit to introduce you to my husband.”

“…Done.” Twilight smiled… then blinked. “… Can it wait until another day? I was sort of in the middle of something when I heard the scream.”

Ash smiled and waved a hoof. “By all means, go ahead. I didn’t expect it today. May I know your name, though?” she asked.

Twilight smiled, floating upwards. “It’s Twilight Sparkle!” She shot off into the air, vanishing quickly.

The mother was visibly stunned after Twilight left. “Sparkle…” She shook her head and smiled., leading her son back on to the busy streets of Canterlot. "I really shouldn't be surprised."

Twilight had gone to ground near the home of her parents, walking the rest of the way. She didn’t want anypony seeing her just landing in front of the house after all. As she approached the house, she took it in.

It was a simple house, two stories tall with a triangular roof. A tower was built into the side that extended three further stories higher than the roof, a tower that Twilight knew well was the library. The entire structure was composed of brick and mortar, and painted a soft blue color. The occasional window offered a glance into one room or another.

She walked up to the door and knocked on it. ‘This will either be really fun… or really bad’. She thought, hearing her father’s heavier hoofsteps as he came to answer the door.

The door opened to reveal a blue furred Unicorn with a dark blue mane and tail that was combed neatly and piercing yellow eyes. Twilight smiled widely and embraced her surprised father. “Daddy!” She almost cried.

“Twilight!” Stalwart Shield exclaimed, returning the hug eagerly. “Twilight, it’s so good to see you!” He pulled back and grinned at her. “And look at you! My beautiful little star.” His grin morphed into a proud smile, before he backed into the house. “Come in! Come in! Your mother and I were just cooking dinner. We’re having chili.”

Twilight licked her lips. Say what you will about the hay substitute ponies use for most meat, but her mother made it work. One wall in the living room was dedicated to the dozens of chili cook-off trophies she had won over the years with it. “Yummy!” she exclaimed, just to hear her father laugh at how silly it sounded. Of course, the jovial stallion that he always was, he laughed.

As he laughed, a glimmering from his Cutie Mark caught her attention, making her smile. It was a silver colored tower shield with the words Sui Sacrificium raised in gold on the front. Translated from Latin, it meant Self Sacrifice. He always gave of himself for his friends and family. What some didn’t know was that his talent also included joy and the ability to spread it, hence why his Cutie Mark shimmered like it had as he laughed in joy.

“Honey! Our little star has come to visit!” he called after his chuckling subsided.

“Really!?”

Twilight braced herself and was nearly sent sprawling by the white and lavender missile that was her mother. “Twilight! Sweetie! I’m so happy to see you!” Twilight Velvet exclaimed happily, nuzzling her daughter.

Twilight Velvet and Twilight Sparkle were very similar in many ways, as the similar names may imply. Their mane style was almost the same, their body structure was similar, and they both had a love of the written word, though Twilight’s love was for reading it, whereas Velvet’s love was in writing it. Twilight Velvet was a white Unicorn with a white mane and tail that had lavender colored highlights in it. Her Cutie Mark was a quill with a purple star as the nub. Finally, she had light blue eyes.

“Hi, mom!” Twilight laughed as her mother hugged her. She wrestled her way free from the grip of her mother and smiled at both of her parents. That smile slowly vanished though as the reason for her visit surfaced in her mind. “I wish I could say this was a social visit… but I have some news to share with you. Shiny will be here soon to join us.” She tried to smile after saying that, but it came out as more of a sad smile.

Twilight Velvet and Stalwart Shield both glanced at each other in concern. They turned that worry towards their only daughter. “Is something wrong, Twilight?” Velvet asked.

Twilight shook her head. “It’s not that something’s wrong. It’s…” She gave a frustrated sigh. “I honestly have no idea to explain this without actually flat out telling you what happened.” She moved past her parents and entered the sitting room, taking a seat on one of the two couches facing each other.

Stalwart Shield and Twilight Velvet took a seat next to each other on the opposite couch. Stalwart frowned as he observed his daughter. Years of experience came to forefront, and he became to analyze the situation. Twilight was sitting oddly, like that green mare that many in Canterlot considered insane, with her face buried in her hooves. She was frustrated, clearly… but she didn’t appear distraught or otherwise concerned.

A suspicion began to worm its way into his mind, but he ignored it. His daughter needed him, and entertaining old fairy tales was not how to be there for her. But strangely… it would not fade.

Twilight Velvet found herself flipping through possible scenarios in her mind so fast that she was beginning to get dizzy. 'Did she get hurt? No, she’s not in pain and there aren’t any bandages or the like on her. Bad break up with a Stallion? No, she’d be crying and distraught. She seems more frustrated than anything’. She blinked as something her daughter said occurred to her. ‘She said Shining will be here soon… so this must be some kind of announcement. The question now is does it involve both of them, or just her?’

As if cued by her thoughts, there was a knock at the door, and then it was opened. “Mom? Dad?” Shining Armor’s voice rang through the home.

“In the sitting room, soldier,” Stalwart called out.

The door closed, and Shining walked into the room. He took one looked at his sister and immediately took a seat next to her. “What’s wrong, Twily?” he asked, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “You seemed distracted last night when you told me to come here, and now here you are looking like you’ve got the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

Twilight smiled thankfully at her brother. “It’s not that bad, Shiny. I just… I really have no idea where to begin.”

“The beginning is usually the best place.” Stalwart said.

Twilight chuckled. “It’s funny you say that. Princess Luna said the same thing when I was telling her about… well, I’ll get to that.” She frowned thoughtfully. “The beginning… I suppose that would be when Nightmare Moon returned.”

“Is this about you being the Element of Magic?” Velvet asked worriedly.

“No, mom-” Twilight started, but was cut off by her mother.

“I knew it! I told that old mare that giving you such a title was too much! My little girl was barely out of her studies!”

“Mom!” Twilight almost yelled, gathering her mother’s attention and ignoring the slight against Celestia with practiced ease. Her mother and Celestia really didn’t get along ever since Twilight dedicated most of her time to Celestia for her studies. “First of all, being the Element of Magic is more than just a title. It’s a state of being. I can no more stop being the Element of Magic than you can stop being my mother. It’s just not possible.” She sighed. “And second, the Elements of Harmony have little to do with any of this.”

“Tell us, my little star,” Stalwart encouraged. “As always, we’ll listen.”

Twilight nodded with a thankful smile to her father. She frowned though as she recalled the day. "You already know about what I did during the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. You know I ended up going through the Everfree Forest to find the Elements of Harmony. You also know that it was because of the five friends I made in Ponyville that we managed to use them and save Princess Luna." She hesitated, unsure. Then she steeled her resolve and marched forward. "What you don't know is how close I came to dying in the forest, and the consequences from it."

She told them. She told them everything. She told them about the memories. She told them, and showed them. the powers that came with them. She told them about fighting the maddened Alicorn and all but beating her. She told them of Nightmare Moon managing to sap her strength, and pinning her down. She told them of her friends standing between her and Nightmare Moon, despite the almost assured fact that they would die for doing so. She told them of the Elements being ignited by their young but strong friendship, freeing Luna and healing Twilight. And she told them of her conversation later with Celestia.

Stalwart had long since taken on a thoughtful expression as Twilight continued her story, this time telling them about her previous incarnation as Clark Kent, the Superman.

“His name… my name… was Clark Kent. I was something called a Kryptonian. Their bodies were unique in that the light of a yellow sun empowered them beyond belief. They were stronger, faster, and had amazing abilities beyond anything even the Princesses could do. And I’m his reincarnation." She paused to think, and to give them a moment to digest her words.

“Clark Kent was more than just a hero to the people of his world,” Twilight explained. “He was a guide. He selflessly protected the people of Earth at great risk to himself, asking for nothing in return. In time, the people began seeing him as more than a hero. They saw him as a star. He became the Guiding Star of Hope. His presence alone in any conflict turned the tables. Eventually, the people began to aspire to be like him, and it kicked off a Golden Age of peace.” Here, Twilight sighed. “But despite the peace there were those who wanted to remove Clark from the picture. So many tried. Sometimes, with his abilities, it was easy to fend off. Sometimes he barely survived by the skin of his teeth. And then… and then one of them finally succeeded. But that’s only part of the story.”

“There’s more?!” Twilight Velvet shrieked. Her head was already swimming with the knowledge that her daughter was the reincarnation of some kind of superhero. Now what?

“When Clark died he was stopped from going into the afterlife”. Twilight’s eyes became unfocused. “I… don’t really know what she was. A Goddess, I guess, but she seemed like… more. She told me about some kind of danger to reality itself, to all worlds, and that she was recruiting the greatest heroes in reality upon their deaths and reincarnating them in the hopes that they could stop whatever it is that’s threatening all of creation. When I eventually agreed to do so, she sent me into this life. My memories as Clark Kent were suppressed, and somehow she made it so I could use my powers despite not having a Kryptonian body, but before she did all of that, she… well…”. Twilight paused. "She named me the Soul of Hope."

“…The Great Guiding Star…”

Everypony turned to look at an awe-stricken Stalwart Shield. “Honey?” Twilight Velvet asked.

Shining frowned, what his father said registering in his mind. “Wait… you actually think Twilight…?” he trailed off as he considered it further.

Stalwart nodded, and looked into Twilight’s eyes. “My little star… haven’t you ever wondered why I always called you that? Even before you got your Cutie Mark?” he asked softly.

Twilight frowned and thought back. ‘Now that I think about it… he did call me that before I got my Cutie Mark.’ “Not really, no. Is it important?” she asked.

Stalwart smiled and stood up. He left the room and returned a few minutes later with a large, aged tome in his magical grip. Twilight’s eyes widened when she saw, on its cover, the purple star of her Cutie Mark. “I am the Head of the Sparkle Clan. As such, it is my duty to protect and pass on specific knowledge from head to head”. He placed the book on the coffee table between the couches. “This… this is the Book of Magic. Unoriginal, I’ll grant you… but it describes much more than just magic.” He flipped it open onto the first page, and began reading.

“Cherish the bonds you forge with kin and allies alike, and family will never again be a matter of blood.

“Sacrifice of yourself so others you care for do not have to, and show the world how to be noble.

“Never deceive yourself with shadowed truths and mirrored excuses, and shine so that others will never lose sight of themselves.

“Be happy and joyous, so that others will find cause to also be jovial.

“Be soft like velvet but firm as steel underneath, and walk the path of the gentle giant.

“Sparkle like the Great Guiding Star, and light the darkness of hopelessness and disharmony.” He looked up into Twilight’s eyes. “That is the creed of the Sparkle Clan, taught to every member of the family since Sparkling Wind wrote the words in this book. Ever since then, every member of the Sparkle Clan adheres to at least one verse of the creed, knowingly or not. It is a part our very being.” He motioned towards his Cutie Mark. “I myself have dedicated myself to the second verse.”

He closed the book and tapped the purple star on its cover. “This is the crest of our family, chosen for our deep connection to the only item back then that bore its likeness.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and she gasped. “The Element of Magic!” she exclaimed. Her mother looked just as surprised.

Stalwart nodded. “While there has never been a member of the Sparkle Clan that actually bore the Element of Magic… there was a prophecy. It stated that a Sparkle would flourish and grow under the light of the sun, and bloom into the Element of Magic. They would become the avatar of the Great Guiding Star, and an age of conflict and struggle would follow their awakening.” Stalwart closed his eyes. “The prophecy is… it was mostly considered the ramblings of a madpony. It spoke of the end of all things, those who are double blessed with life that would rise up and protect us.” He smiled at the wide eyed look on his daughter’s face. “I always believed the prophecy was true… and ever since you were born something about you always felt special to me… beyond the special that being my daughter made you. I always had this thought in the back of my mind… “Is it her? Is she the Great Guiding Star?” With every challenge you overcame in life, I became more and more sure of it. And then you got your Cutie Mark… and I knew.”

“But…” Twilight stuttered. Her brain was working overtime. Another prophecy with her at its center?! How many were there?! “But… I’m not…”

Shining grabbed his sister’s head and forced her to look at him He gave her a stern look. “If you say you’re not special, I will hit you” He said with every last bit of seriousness he could drudge up. “You are the student of Princess Celestia. You are the Element of Magic… and now you’re the reincarnation of what sounds like a hero I would have been proud to bend my knees to.” He shook his head. “You have never been normal, Twilight. This is just another level of abnormality is all.” He grinned at her. “You’ll roll with the punches, as you always do, and get back up. Nothing has stopped you from moving forward yet.”

Twilight stared into her brother’s eyes and finally smiled, seeing the absolute love and care he had for his younger sister. She hugged him. “Thank you, Shiny,” she whispered

“This doesn't change anything,” Twilight Velvet said, also hugging her daughter. “You’re my little girl, and I will never abandon you just because you have some kind of destiny hanging over your head. If you ever need me, I will be there.” Her eyes hardened. "And woe be to any who threaten my daughter."

“No harm, physical or mental, will get a glance at you so long as we breathe,” Stalwart added, completing the family hug by embracing his daughter as well. “Blood is only one of the reasons we love you. We are so very proud of the mare you have grown up to be… and we can see you becoming so much more. Keep moving, my little star, and only look back to smile gratefully at the loved ones walking in step behind and beside you.”

Twilight finally let go of her tenuous grasp of her emotions, and cast herself adrift on the unending love of her family. There were tears, there was crying, and she would later vaguely recall saying she didn’t deserve that kind of dedication, but in the end she left her home knowing that she had at the very least three ponies who would always stand at her side and back.

Now it was time to make a decision.

7. Heading Home

Twilight sighed as she sat down in the booth. Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie joined her. With a groan she dropped her head to the table between them. Just as her head made contact with the wood, the train rumbled and began moving, exiting Canterlot’s station.

After speaking with her family, and recovering from the emotions that had run rampant at the end of that discussion yesterday, Twilight had decided to spend the rest of the day walking around Canterlot and taking in the sites. She had visited Applejack to see how her tests were progressing, and immediately regretted it when the farm mare completed unloaded on her about bigoted nobles and scary as all Tartarus angry Alicorns.

When she finally got away from that, she decided to see her mentor about her apparent blowup. That was the plan, anyways. The only Alicorn she found was Luna, who was maintaining a domed shield around a raging inferno in the otherwise empty throne room. The shield was colored blue and, oddly, flickered with blue flames as well. Luna explained that it was an experiment in combining elemental magic with defensive magic.

Luna also informed her that Celestia was meeting with the Lion ambassador and would not be able to accept a visit today. Twilight grumbled but thanked her.

After that, she decided to make good on her word to visit Ash Winder and her family. In a moment of prophetic wisdom, she left behind her Bit bag. The whole situation had been a rather unremarkable affair. She was introduced to her husband, a Pegasus stallion with a dark red coat and light red mane and tail named Crimson Fira. He was gruff and slightly rude, but Twilight took it in stride and accepted his thanks for protecting his wife and son. She spent the rest of the evening enjoying a dinner with the family and playing with Stratus, and eventually went back to the castle and to sleep.

Pinkie Pie woke her up that morning by scaring the ever loving crap out of her with an air horn. How the Earth Pony manipulated one without the dexterity of wings or magic baffled her, and no matter how many times she asked Pinkie just kept talking about the plans her and Snow Cloud were making.

Though, to be honest… she was grateful to Pinkie Pie for waking her up.

“You okay, sugarcube?” Applejack asked in concern.

“It’s just been a long weekend, that’s all,” Twilight answered, lifting her head to look at her friend. Applejack frowned at the bags under her friend’s eyes.

“Wanna talk about it?” Applejack asked. “After the ear chewing I gave you yesterday, it’s the least I could do.”

Twilight perked up slightly. “Oh, that’s right! How did the tests go?” she asked.

Applejack cringed and looked at the table. “We didn’t pass.”

“What?!” both Twilight and Rarity exclaimed. Pinkie… seemed to have vanished.

“One of the cooks supervising us turned out to be accepting bribes from the noble that got booted by the Princess the other day, and we didn’t catch it until after he messed up the lunch and dinner tests.” She sighed. “Princess Luna tried to tell us we could retake the test… but it’s harvestin’ season back at the acres, and we’ve been gone for too long as it is. We plain don’t have the time to retake the test before the Gala.” She smirked after a moment. “I admit, I took some joy outta watching Princess Luna tear the cook apart with nothing but words. He’s no longer a part of the castle staff, and a warrant’s been put out for the arrest of Black Bag. Tribalism ain’t a crime, unfortunately, but bribery is.”

“Good!” Rarity nodded firmly. “I heard all about the sordid affair regarding your first test while working with the Head Seamstress. I was not impressed. I had also heard there was a bustle regarding corruption yesterday… but didn’t know it was about you.”

“Speaking of you, how’d your weekend with Blueblood go?” Twilight asked.

Rarity gave a dramatic groan. “Ugh… He is every bit as boarish as every single pony I asked described him.” She frowned. “At the same time, I feel something is off. I have been told countless times that he is a coward, braggart, and will have the Guard do his work for him. And yet...”

“Is it bad?” Applejack asked in concern.

Rarity pursed her lips, and slowly shook her head. “Not… necessarily, no. He attacked me when we first met… but that was understandable considering the circumstances.”

“He attacked you?!” Applejack and Twilight asked in disbelief, though for different reasons.

Applejack was enraged that one of her oldest friends was assaulted by a noble, further souring her opinion of Canterlot Nobility. Twilight, on the other hand, was not angry, just… shocked.

“He actually attacked you? Himself? He didn’t order a guard to do it?” Twilight asked for clarification.

Rarity smirked. “Yes. It was a valiant attempt as well… but a Lady is always prepared for untoward advances.” Her grin became… unsettling. “He was properly chastised.”

“Did he try to rape you?” Applejack asked in quiet horror. Twilight’s mind flashed back to yesterday, making her grimace and shove the memory away.

Rarity’s eyes widened. “Goodness no!” she exclaimed, realizing her slip. “No. You see, I resemble his departed mother, bar the fact that her mane is styled differently. And he has apparently had nobles try to use the image of said deceased parent to gain his favor. After all, he loved his mother, and instinctively would want to make her happy. That instinct can carry over to those who look similar. It ingrained in him the idea that any who look like his mother are trying to manipulate him. The Princess cleared it up though, confirming that this is indeed my natural body and not an illusion.”

Applejack went quiet, considering how she would react if somepony had tried to use her dead parents to try and get her to do things. Every time she considered it, she knew her response would always be instant… and violent.

Never mind what Granny would do. Old she may be, dispassionate she was not.

Twilight scrutinized Rarity for a moment, her eyes progressively getting wider. “Oh my Stars…” she whispered in surprise. “You really do look like Lady Cerulean! I can’t believe I never realized that.”

Rarity shook her head. “It’s understandable really. I am similar in appearance, but not strikingly so. She was shorter than me, her frame was a bit thinner, and her coat was apparently a rather light shade of grey, rather than the albino I am gifted with. I am told she also had a vastly different voice from my own.”

“Still…”

Rarity flipped her mane. “Anyways, afterwards he approached me and apologized for his uncouth behavior.” She frowned again. “He settled into bragging and trying to impress me, but, as I said, something seemed off.” She growled. “I swear, I cannot for the life of me figure out why I am unsettled by his mannerisms!” She huffed. “Needless to say, I will be returning at some point. I do not like a mystery left unsolved.”

Twilight and Applejack exchanged a glance, shrugged, and changed the subject.

Later...

The train pulled into Ponyville’s station. Twilight stepped out first, closely followed by Pinkie, Applejack, and then Rarity.

Pinkie looked up at the sky, and frowned. She shook her head, as if trying to dislodge something. Applejack noticed. “Y’alright, Pinkie?” she asked, placing a hood on her friend’s back.

Pinkie jumped, startled, but smiled at Applejack. “I’m fine, just thinking about the Hearth’s Warming Eve party. I have soooooo many ideas!” she squealed. “I gotta start working on them! Bye!” She started bouncing away.

Applejack chuckled. “Well, don’t forget to sleep tonight!” she called, before looking at Twilight and Rarity. “Ah should get going as well. Gotta make sure Bloom ain’t caused another tree to start attacking anything near it.” She shook her head. “Ah swear, the day we finally figure out that filly’s aspect will be a family holiday.” She trotted off, waving a hoof briefly as she did.

“What will you do today?” Rarity asked Twilight. “It’s still rather early.”

Twilight shrugged. “I’m going to check on Spike and see how he’s doing… and hope the library’s still standing.” She sighed. “He’s eager to please, but not exactly graceful.”

“He is just a child," Rarity reminded her. "Grace comes with experience, which he currently lacks."

“I know.” Twilight smiled. “I appreciate that he wants to help. That’s why I made him my assistant. It’s a safe job, he gets a paycheck out of it, and we get to stay together.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “I do not believe you told us how you two met. How did an Amethyst Drake such as him come under your care?”

Twilight led Rarity towards the library as she told the mare the story of her entrance exam into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Needless to say, both were giggling before long. After all, it wasn’t every day a filly turned an entire group of unicorns, including her parents, into a variety of flora on accident.

8. A Prank Too Far

Twilight had come home to find Spike reading a comic book in the main room of the library. A quick check of the home revealed nothing really wrong, and Spike managed to keep a detailed, if somewhat unprofessional, list of books that were currently checked out. She spent the rest of the day with Rarity, both of them swapping tales from their childhood.

The days crawled on afterwards, each one spent with at least one of her friends. They were great, but… she noticed something.

Rainbow Dash seemed to not be coping with Pinkie Pie all too well. The mare was very high energy, and Twilight understood why Rainbow Dash was getting exasperated, but Pinkie was still her friend. She knew it would come to a head soon when she found out Rainbow Dash was going out of her way to avoid the party pony. She considered intervening, but in the end she decided against it. Rainbow Dash needed to learn to accept that her friends weren't all like her.

Later, she discovered they had collaborated on a prank against Spike, having apparently fixed whatever rift may have been forming. They had scared him with a crack of thunder, leading to him having to deal with the hiccups. He took it well, and Twilight was proud of him for it, but she decided to draw the line. They had no idea just what could have happened.

“Why’d you want to talk to us, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, hovering near the ceiling of the library. Pinkie Pie was actually on the ceiling next to her, utilizing some suction cups on her hooves to mimic sitting next to her friend.

Twilight herself floated up to them and frowned at them. “Spike told me about the prank you two played on him earlier today,” she started, only for Rainbow to interrupt.

She let out an aggrieved sigh. “Did we hurt his feelings? He laughed it off, so I thought he didn’t mind.” She stopped at Twilight's quelling glare, suddenly aware that Twilight was faster, stronger, and more capable of twisting the ones who tormented her charge into literal knots.

After a moment, Twilight let up. “First of all, Spike was chuckling about it all the way home, and I’m very proud of him for taking it as well as he had. Second,” she paused, considering how to phrase this. “Second… I don’t think either of you really thought about the consequences of your prank.”

Rainbow quirked an eyebrow. “Consequences? It was a prank, harmless and everything.” She paused, then flinched. “Barring potentially important scrolls that is. Sorry about that, by the way. Didn’t know he could do that.”

Twilight nodded with a small smile. “Apology accepted, and that was part of what I meant. My worry, however, wasn’t about the scrolls.” Her expression firmed up. “Spike is a dragon,” she said slowly. “A baby dragon, at that. What would you have done if you had scared him so badly that he reacted by trying to breathe fire on you?”

Rainbow smiled confidently. “I would have dodged it, of course! No slow flame breath can hit me!” she boasted.

Twilight nodded. “Sure, true… And the houses behind you? The wooden houses?”

Rainbow paused, and you could see the mental calculation in her head as she slowly realized what that meant. Pinkie’s expression also drooped, realizing her prank could have been harmful if something went wrong.

Twilight nodded again. “Exactly. I have nothing against pranks, and in fact encourage them. They certainly can spice up an otherwise dull day… but if those pranks have the potential to cause a house fire, or multiple, then it stops being a prank, and starts being a criminal act.” She levitated a scroll bearing the Royal Insignia. “The Princess was confused about why exactly thirty-four scrolls worth of cataloguing and notes for the library suddenly appeared over her head. She also took it well once I explained the situation, sending them back through Spike, but she also wanted me to make sure you knew what you were doing.”

She levitated another scroll, this one open and blank, to them. “I want you two to think about pranks, the fun you can have with them… and where you should draw the line. I also want you to think long and hard about a set of rules to follow when pranking, to prevent things like the situation I described. Then I want you to write it down in this scroll and bring it back to me.”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie glanced at each other. “Uh… why? We know better now, so what’s the point?” Rainbow asked. She screwed up her face. “And yuck. No thanks. I’m not doing homework.”

Rainbow and Pinkie gulped when Twilight smiled at them. It was not kind. “You will do it. Because if you don’t, I will show you what happens when you anger the guardian of a baby dragon.” She leaned forward, making her eyes glow red, while still smiling. For good effect she used and illusion spell to make her eyes be shadowed over, leaving nothing but the red glow. “I will show you the mare that got into a prank war with Princess Celestia and lost by a technicality, and I will show you the younger sister of the Captain of the Royal Guard, who only loses wargames against him two out of five times.” And suddenly she was smiling cheerfully, as if she hadn’t just scared the ever loving crap out her friends. “So save the both of us the hassle, and do the homework.”

“Yes’m,” Rainbow and Pinkie both squeaked, grabbing the scroll and leaving the library as fast as they could.

Twilight gave a refreshing sigh, before falling to giggles. “Heheheh! I haven’t done that since Blueblood called Spike my slave. It’s fun to let go once in a while.”

Needless to say, the returned scroll was well written and detailed a set of rules one should follow when pranking. Twilight was impressed by the research the two friends must have done to come up with such a comprehensive list. She also felt a bit bad about scaring them like that, but really, the old adage is true.

Don’t meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and go well with ketchup. Twilight may not be a dragon, but it was her job to care for one.

9. Bonding and Griffons

Twilight shook her head with a small smile, hearing with her over-sensitive ears as what sounded like Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie rummaged around in her lab. She had stepped out for a moment to clean up after her most recent mishap with chemicals.

Ever since the two had discovered common ground in pranking, and Twilight scared… sorry... set them straight in regards to pranking common courtesy, they had seemingly declared war on the rest of their friends. Rarity had been tricked into sniffing a flower arrangement with sneezing powder in it, and Applejack had discovered the entirety of the Sweet Apple Acres now played host to apples of all colors and patterns. Thankfully they were just painted with flora-friendly paint.

She was honestly curious what the duo had planned for her. As such, she didn’t spy on them with her x-ray vision.

Once the sounds of one tip-toeing pony and one very lightly flapping pair of wings vanished, or at least got outside, she exited the bathroom and went to her lab. With a quick glance she noticed nothing seemed out of place.

Slowly, she walked to her chemical set. Her book was still open to the page she left it at. None of the beakers seemed to have been moved, and they didn’t appear to have anything extra in them. Good. She’d forgive a lot for a well done prank. Potentially endangering her life by tampering with her chemical set was not on that list.

Well, she knew they did something, and so far she couldn’t find it. She considered using her x-ray vision, then decided against it. ‘Well, I guess that means the only thing left to do is set it off,’ she decided.

As such, she grabbed her clipboard, quill, and returned to studying the chemicals. She once more got them reacting, and started taking notes.

Two minutes in, she noticed something in the chemicals and checked her notes to see if she already noted it. Nothing. She started writing again, and then froze. “Wait…” Once more she checked her notes. Blank. There were no notes whatsoever. Curiously, Twilight drew a line. It stayed. She looked at the quill. Nothing seemed odd about it. She looked back at the sheet of paper. The line was gone. She frowned and drew another line.

No matter how long she stared at it, it didn’t faded.

‘Well, that rules out disappearing ink.’ She scratched her head, looking back at the quill. Did they swap her quills? No, it was one of hers, and as far as she could tell it hadn’t been tampered with. She looked back at the paper. It was blank. Okay, so maybe it was disappearing ink.

She frowned. ‘Well, they got me, there’s no denying that. Now I just want to know how they did it,’ she admitted to herself. There was no doubt she had been pranked and had not predicted it, but scientist in her was trying figure out how they got the ink to act the way it did.

“Alright, you guys got me. Now tell me how you did this,” she called out her window, where she could hear Pinkie and Rainbow Dash giggling.

Pinkie poked her head in the window. “It’s invisible ink!” she said happily.

Twilight nodded. “Well, yeah, I gathered that much. Why is the timing different every time I write?” she asked.

Pinkie’s grin stretched wider. “There is no timing. It reacts the moment nothing with physical eyes is looking at it.” Pinkie’s smile turned a bit softer. “I had to get some help from one of my sisters to make that ink.”

Twilight curiously made another line. She looked away and then back. It was gone. Her eyes lit up as she grinned. “That is so cool!” she exclaimed, clapping her hooves in excitement. She looked at Pinkie. “Can I have some to study?” she nearly begged.

Pinkie nodded, motioning to Twilight’s inkwell. “Sure. We filled your inkwell, so there should be enough. I have more if you need it.”

Twilight smiled, levitating the inkwell somewhere else so she didn’t accidentally use it. “Thanks Pinkie. You guys got me. I knew you were likely setting up a prank, but this got me by surprise. Nice one.” She glanced at her still blank piece of paper. “This will wear off… right?” she asked.

Rainbow poked her head in, having finally stopped laughing. She was still grinning though. “Yeah. Just leave it in a dark space like a cupboard overnight. It’ll reappear,” she said.

“I have got to get a look at those spell forms…” Twilight mused to herself. She was already coming up with ideas on how she herself would do it, but magic was just as much art as it was science. To see the many ways ponies could accomplish the same thing was almost as exciting as the accomplishment itself.

“We’re gonna go do some more pranks now. You want to join us?” Rainbow asked. If Twilight wasn’t spouting horseapples the other day, she had gotten into a prank war with the Princess once, and almost won. She was bound to have a lot of ideas.

Twilight shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. The Princess has me studying evocation spells, so I’ll likely be busy for a few days.”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie glanced at each other, then shrugged. The two friends left Twilight to her studies to continue their two-pony war on the rest of the town.

The next day…

Twilight’s ear twitched just as the sound of a hoof knocking on her front door sounded out. She looked up from her book and, using X-ray vision, discovered a rather upset looking Pinkie Pie at her door. She frowned.

‘Is she and Rainbow having a fight?’ she asked herself curiously. She jogged to the door and opened it. “Pinkie? Are you okay?” she asked, not even pretending to be surprised by the mare’s expression.

“Twilight, do you know what a Griffon is?” Pinkie returned with a question of her own.

Twilight frowned. “Well, yeah. I sorta half-lived in Canterlot Castle for most of my life. I’ve met the Griffon embassador quite often. Why?”

“Are they all as mean as the one I just met?”

“Mean?” Twilight blinked, and then sighed. “Come in and have a seat, Pinkie. I’ll make some tea and you can tell me what happened.”

“...and then she told me that Dashie didn’t need me anymore, so I should get lost and never bother her again.” Pinkie took another pull from her tea. (Chamomile, and caffeine-free. Twilight had no desire to see what a wired Pinkie Pie would be like.) She sighed afterwards in relief.

Twilight was rubbing the bridge of her nose, wishing at the moment that she had fingers instead of hooves. Hooves just weren’t cut out for massaging. “Well, it certainly sounds like an interesting issue. Have you tried to talk to Gilda away from Rainbow Dash?”

Pinkie looked up. “Why?”

Twilight shrugged. “Well, it sounds to me like she’s scared you’ll take her friend, Rainbow Dash, from her. Try talking to her when Rainbow’s not around. Maybe she’ll calm down then?” she offered.

Pinkie nodded slowly, before grinning brightly. “I know just what to do! Thanks Twilight!” shouted, shooting out the door like a bullet.

Twilight watched the door swing shut slowly, a frown developing on her face. ‘Griffons,’ her encyclopedia-like mind brought up. ‘A chimeric species sharing the traits of both eagles and lions. Extremely territorial. Natural habitat: High altitude mountains. Culture: Cross between warrior and viking. Respects strength above all else. Reacts badly when feels they are being made fun of.’

Her eyes narrowed. ‘Ever since the signing of the Skyland Peace Treaty three hundred years ago, Griffons have kept to themselves. Ponies are allowed to visit the Griffon Empire, but only for short periods of time. The same is true in reverse. The Emperor won’t let Griffons visit Equestria for any longer than a month.’ Something wasn’t adding up in Twilight’s mind. She was missing something. ‘C’mon Twilight, think! Use those detective instincts Bruce pounded into your head!’

Wait.

‘Pinkie said Gilda went to flight school with Rainbow Dash…’

10. Investigations and Instigations