Equestrian Princess- Three Thirds

by Kind of Brony

Rating: everyone
Tags: Alternate Universe, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 15392

The Cutie Mark Crusaders, after succesfully helping Diamond Tiara understand herself and the value of friendship, suddenlly find themselves in a strange void... And is that Princess Celestia?

Having helped Diamond Tiara learn both the true meaning of her cutie mark and the value of friendship, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had just resolved that being together and helping others was what really mattered before they were engulfed by a bright light.

Finding themselves in a strange void, both their lives and those of all Equestrians are about to change. Hopefully Celestia and the former Elements of Harmony can figure out how make sure this change is for the better, because there's a new alicorn on the block, and they have a bit of a reputation for causing havoc.

Published 2016-03-10 19:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-06-08 19:08:57 UTC

Ascension... Sort of... The CMC Never Do Things the Conventional Way, It Seems

Diamond Tiara was flabbergasted. So much had happened in so little time from the election to this moment, all for it to end like this.

She had finally found the joy of helping others, had real friends instead of lackeys, had stood up to her mother’s elitist views, and was now following the true purpose of her cutie mark by leading the effort of repairing the playground. It was all so surreal, and it was all made possible by the most unlikely of ponies.

Three fillies she had tormented ceaselessly had offered her comfort and friendship despite all that she had done. As insane as the notion was to the pink filly, The Cutie Mark Crusaders were her friends, and she had just turned to flash them a smile, only to witness them float into the air, bathed in warm light, and then abruptly explode, leaving nothing behind but a scorched patch of earth.

As other ponies turned to see what the reformed Diamond Tiara was gawking at, all she could do was squeak, the largest scream of her short life lodged in her throat. “T-they blew up,” she managed when asked what was wrong before her eyes rolled up into her head and she fainted.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were gone, and the town began to panic.

“What happened?” Sweetie Belle asked as she rubbed her head.

Apple Bloom looked around in bewilderment at the vast, blueish-white expanse around them. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Oh, come on! We weren’t even doing anything crazy this time!” shouted Scootaloo. “No ancient spell books or nothing!” A glowing ball of light drifted past her face, and she glared at it. “I bet you’re filled with tree sap…”

“That’s enough, Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom chided. “This is serious! How in tarnation did we get here?”

“Where is here?” mumbled Sweetie as she scooted closer to her friends and away from a wisp. If they were filled with sticky sap, she wasn’t going to risk getting it in her mane. Rarity would ground her for a month if they had to go through that again.

“Hello,” a voice echoed in the distance. “Is anypony here…? I swear Luna, if this is some sort of prank, you are going to get it.”

Suddenly, a tall, billowing silhouette appeared in the ether, growing larger as it stepped in the direction of the crusaders.

When the figure finally emerged, it was to the sight of three little fillies hugging each other with wide eyes. “P-princess Celestia?” Apple Bloom stuttered.

The alicorn in question had a napkin tucked into her golden peytral, a spattering of crumbs around her lips, and a bewildered look on her face. “The Crusaders?”

“Hey, you remembered us!” Sweetie Belle chimed as she untangled herself from the others.

“Well, it would be hard not to; the stories I’ve heard from Twilight and her friends tend to be quite… astounding.” The princess looked around, “How you arrived here however, will surely take the cake.”

“We don’t know, Princess, honest!” Apple Bloom exclaimed. “There was this bright light, and then poof, we're here.”

The solar alicorn heard the yellow filly, but her mind was still attempting to catch up to all of it. She had just sat down a few minutes ago for some tea and pastries after calling a short recess of day court, only to have her snack time interrupted by the barely-familiar tug of this place and being whisked away.

She wondered briefly why it was her who had been summoned. Sure, when Cadence appeared here, Celestia had been the only available option, and in the case of Twilight, she’d have it be no other, but there were now four alicorns to perform the task, so why her? Really, Twilight had unofficially taken the Cutie Mark Crusaders under her wing, so she should have been the one to guide them.

“Uh, Princess, you okay?” Scootaloo asked, tapping the alicorn’s leg.

“Hmm? Oh yes,” she responded with a smile. “Being brought here was far more unexpected than last time.” She chuckled. “I suppose it’s a good thing I’m not used to it though; I’d be out of a job if there were too many… Princesses…”

Worry settled over the Crusaders as they watched Celestia’s gaze grow distant and wide, her lips parting slightly. “Um, what’cha talkin’ about, Princess?” questioned Apple Bloom.

Celestia’s eyes snapped to her. “It’s not possible,” she muttered. “There were no signs, surely there would have been signs. Twilight would have noticed or-or.” She looked up again, the sight of magic screens manifesting making her stomach lurch. “Come along girls, we must get to the bottom of this.”

Looking between each other, they shrugged and followed their princess, having to trot to keep up with her much longer gait.

Celestia vaguely heard the fillies bombarding her with more questions before gasping as they too noticed the screens, but she was too engrossed by the moving pictures to listen. Each one displayed the trials and tribulations of her companions, a tale of endless determination unfolding before her eyes. Failure after failure were allotted only moments of dejection before the three friends picked themselves back up and tried again.

For Celestia, it was a sight to see. She had heard stories of the fillies tenacity and wit, their capacity to learn and ability to connect with others, but those hardly did them justice. Through burned manes, ruined coats, ridicule and even the occasional punishment, the Cutie Mark Crusaders endured like none other.

Equally impressive were their ability to help others and make friends when others would turn tail and run. A bully from Manehattan, the giant, supposed-criminal with dreams of the rodeo, and their most recent friend were all ponies that they had no reason to help, but they did it anyway. “You girls are quite special, you know that?” Celestia finally spoke, glancing down to the fillies with a warm smile.

The fillies in question were blushing as they looked away from some of their more embarrassing crusades. “Don’t know what’s so special about messin’ up,” Apple Bloom whispered as she cringed away from the cutie-pox reminder.

Sweetie Belle was astonished. “We really do make a lot of messes don’t we? I can’t believe we almost threw Babs in mud... and ended up there ourselves.”

Scootaloo was attempting to push one of the screens down, ashamed of the image it showed of her idolizing Mare Do Well while Rainbow Dash looked betrayed in the window. The little pegasus mumbled something about being plot heads and gave up, letting the screen drift by.

Seeing their dejected faces, Celestia said, “Yes, you have made mistakes, everypony does, but you girls have never given up, stayed together, and learned from those mistakes.” She pointed at one of the many magical recordings. “Tell me, do you believe this stallion thinks of you as failures?”

Mustering the courage to look, the crusaders saw a smiling Trouble Hooves wowing the crowd as a clown as they themselves watched on with massive grins.

“Or this one?” Their attention was directed to Babs Seed waving goodbye from the train window with her new Cutie Mark Crusader cape draped over her shoulders.

“And what about her?” Lastly, the three saw the events that had transpired just a short while ago as Diamond Tiara finally discovered her mark's meaning due to their help. “I’d say your successes far outweigh your slipups.

“Yes, you girls have come a long way to arrive here,” She continued as she spotted the image of the fillies’ first meeting at Diamond’s cute-cenera. “You’ve accomplished much in a short amount of time; it’s really quite impressive.”

“Still got stuck here though,” Sweetie said with a pout. “And we foalnapped a princess!”

This got a chuckle from Celestia as she held a hoof over her mouth. “Yes, foalnapped, I imagine the guards are having quite the panic attack right now.” Shaking her head of the silly image, she knelt down to be level with the fillies. “Appearing here is not the result of any blunder, Sweetie Belle, it’s an honor; one I will always be happy to witness.”

“Well, what is this place then?” asked Apple Bloom.

Rising up, Celestia put a hoof to her chin. That was a difficult question to answer even for veteran scholars of magic, let alone for children. “That’s… complicated, little one, but I suppose it would be easier to explain the why of this realm rather than the what. You girls are actually only the third, fourth and fifth ponies besides myself to have been brought here.

The alicorn paused a moment before giggling. “A fact Luna will be quite annoyed with. She’s been wanting to see this place since I told her about Cadance’s ascension. Imagine her surprise when she realizes she’s been passed over a third time and for such a monumental occasion as three new alicorns entering the fold.”

“There’s gonna be three new alicorns?” Scootaloo inquired with a tilt of her head.

Celestia didn’t notice however as a slight look of concern passed over her features. “Actually, I imagine this will come as quite the shock to many ponies; introducing a single new princess to Equestria was one thing, but three at once might take some fairly large adjustments to the government. I doubt another province will arise that you three could govern anytime soon.”

Beginning to pace, the solar princess hummed. “You three are very young though, perhaps we could simply wait to give you your titles. It would probably be best to keep your ascensions a secret until you come of age then; allow you normal foalhoods before taking on any major responsibilities. I’m sure with Twilight’s help we can create suitable illusion spells to conceal the fact.”

“I think Princess Celestia’s gone nuts, girls,” Scootaloo whispered from the corner of her mouth, unable to take her eyes off the mumbling alicorn. “We should get out of here before she pulls out an ax.”

“You’ve been burrowing Pip’s Trottingham Horrors comics, haven’t you?”

Before Scootaloo could respond, Apple Bloom cleared her throat. “Uh, Princess, Ah hate ta interrupt your thinkin’ but you’re actin’ mighty strange. You mind runnin’ all that by us again? What was that ‘bout more alicorns and this stuff with princesses?”

Snapping back to reality, Celestia gave a light smile. “Sorry, I get a little scatter-brained when I’m hungry, and this did happen before I finished eating. That’s neither here nor there, however. What’s important is that you three girls are going to be-”

“Wha-? Wow!” screamed Scootaloo along with her friends as all three began to float into the air.

“Not again!” Sweetie yelled as, just like at the playground, a light engulfed the crusaders.

“What’s happenin’, Princess!?” Apple Bloom tried to reach for the non-existent ground, but only succeeded in toppling mid-air.

“D-don’t worry girls! I’ll be in Ponyville as soon as I am able! Until then, I’ll send Twilight a message of what’s happened! She’ll explain everything and take care of you for the time being!” Celestia covered her eyes as the light intensified before vanishing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders in tow. “… Woops… Oh well, they’ll know what’s going on soon enough. It’ll just be a surprise now is all, and foals love surprises."

Another, weaker light soon whisked the sun princess away, leaving the strange realm silent again.

Many of the town's ponies were frantically searching every nook and cranny of their little village for the missing foals, with three mares in particular wanting to join. Rarity and Applejack, along with a fidgeting Rainbow Dash were standing behind Twilight as she scanned the area around the burnt patch of dirt.

“Anything, Twi?” the orange mare asked, resisting the urge to step forward. As soon as Twilight heard of what happened, she ordered everypony to move away from the disappearance site so as not to disrupt any residual magic left behind by whatever stole the crusaders.

With her eyes closed and horn lit, she spoke, “Well, whatever it was that did this, it was definitely some powerful magic, but it’s strange. It feels like a large part of it is actually from the girls themselves as if they somehow combined their magic to cast some sort of a teleportation spell.”

Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief. “So they didn’t get blown up like that Diamond kid said? Thank Celestia.”

“Resonance casting?” Rarity said skeptically. “How could that be possible? It’s supposed to be a very advanced technique, correct? And that’s between multiple unicorns. I’m sure you’re an excellent teacher, Twilight, but I can assure you that Sweetie Belle is not yet capable of weaving anything close to the complexity of a teleportation spell, nor channeling the magic of two non-unicorns.”

“Believe me, I know the crusaders aren’t capable of this level of magic; I’m just stating what it appears to be,” responded the alicorn. “Besides, while the bulk of the magic seems to belong to the girls, there is a fourth signature, so it’s safe to assume it was what cast the spell.” Mumbling to herself, she added, “Why does that fourth one feel so familiar though?”

“Can ya track where the teleportation spell popped’em out at?”

Twilight winced upon hearing the hope in her earth pony friend’s voice. “No, I’m afraid not. I tried to of course, but it’s as if the teleportation spell didn’t have an exit point. They disappeared, but didn’t reappear.”

Frustrated, Rainbow Dash hovered forward. “Okay, can you at least tell who cast the magic or where whoever they are is at? There has to be something you can do!”

“Hey! You’re not the only one getting angry here, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight bit back. “My students, their sisters, our friends just up and vanished into thin air and I can’t do anything about it!”

“Wow nelly, take a breather you two,” Applejack interjected as she stepped in front of the glaring princess. “We’re all worried, but snappin’ at each other won’t solve nothin’.”

“I’m sorry, you’re right,” Twilight said, downcast. “Guess I’m letting the stress get to me.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too,” Rainbow Dash said before Spike came around a corner yelling for Twilight.

“Did somepony find them?” Rarity asked excitedly as the young dragon skid to a stop in front of them.

“N-no,” Spike panted, “Or maybe? I dunno, look.” Standing straight, the small drake held up a scroll. “Princess Celestia sent a letter!”

It took only a moment for the three sets of eyes to land on the bold, yet elegantly written "CMC" across the exposed surface of the scroll, and a moment more for it to be yanked up in Twilight’s magic and unfurled.

“What’s it say?” one of her friends asked, but the alicorn was too stunned to answer as her eyes scanned over the paper several more times. A second after her fifth reading of the letter, a bright light shined in the sky and quickly descended. As ponies began to congregate towards the light, Twilight’s keen mind put together the pieces of the unbelievable puzzle and realized what would be within the glow before it even faded.

Whipping around, the princess pushed through the growing crowd with a cry of, “Girls!” as her friends followed after. Twilight screeched to a halt however, and was jostled aside by Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash as she set eyes on the newly returned Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Oh, Apple Bloom, you done gone and almost gave me a heart attack!” Applejack exclaimed as she swooped her dazed little sister up in a bone-crushing hug. “What in tarnation happened to ya?”

“Explanations can wait,” Rarity mumbled into Sweetie’s mane as she held her close. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Jeez, squirt, can’t even stand around without getting into something, huh?” asked Rainbow Dash as she helped steady the little pegasus as she stood. “Hey… you look different…”

Twilight stepped forward, looked at the letter, and then back at the fillies, confusion clear on her face. “I don’t understand, the letter said that you three…” Mouth clamping shut, her eyes swept across the puzzled, but happy crowd surrounding them, and quickly lowered her head. “Girls, major friendship meeting at the castle, now. Bring the fillies. Spike, Gather the others and tell them to meet us at the castle.”

Not one to argue with her when she was in princess-mode, the young drake saluted and scampered off. Standing tall, Twilight Sparkle addressed the crowd. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders have been found. Thank you everypony for your quick response to this sudden emergency, but you can all return to your business and rest easy.”

Twilight had not waited for the crowd to react as she hurried her friends and now stood in the meeting room of her crystal castle as Fluttershy shuffled in. Luckily, the rest of her friends had been leading their own search groups and were easy to find for Spike so Twilight didn’t have to endure the questions of AJ, Rarity, and Dash for longer than a few minutes.

“Okay, Twilight, we're all here, so can you tell us what the hay is going on already? What’s got you so riled up?” demanded Rainbow Dash from her shared seat with a distracted Scootaloo. The filly was too busy staring in bewilderment at her side to notice how close she was to her idol.

With shared sentiments all around, Twilight ceased her pacing. “Honestly, I’m nearly as confused as all of you about what’s going on, so bear with me while I try to figure this out. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo,” she addressed, getting the fillies’ attention. “Do you mind climbing up on the table? Don’t worry, you won’t break anything, I just need to get a good look at you.”

It was no surprise that the fillies hadn’t spoken more than two words since they reappeared; things had been quite hectic since they did and, unbeknownst to their sisters and sister figures, they were dealing with the strange sensation of subtle off-ness and were trying to figure out why.

“Uh, sure thing, Princess Twilight,” Apple Bloom managed to say as she sat up next to her sister and reached towards the table’s edge. Her eyes were wide as she did so successfully and managed to step up with in ease. The slight oddity of this seemingly mundane action was also noted by the other ponies in the room.

“When’d you have a growth spurt without me noticin’, Bloom?” AJ asked.

“Did I miss your birthday or something?” Pinkie pondered to herself, pulling a calendar from her mane and flipping through the pages.

“Ow!”

“Sorry.”

All eyes turned to Rarity and Sweetie Belle as the former rubbed underneath her jaw. “It’s quite alright dear, just be more careful. You know unicorns have to keep track of their horns or else this sort of thing happens.”

“I really am sorry,” apologized the little unicorn as she reached up to tap her horn. “I think something's different with my horn though…”

“Look! I’m-I’m doing it!” Scootaloo cheered as she clumsily hovered up over the table. “I’m flying!”

“Holy… Scoots! What’s with your wings!?” Dash shouted with wide eyes. “They’re huge!”

“Yeah! I know!” the filly cheered before the tip of one of her wings beat against the table’s surface and sent her toppling. Even fallen, she couldn’t help but lift her head and grin. “Let’s see anyone call me a chicken now with these babies!”

As Sweetie Belle jumped up onto the table and joined Apple Bloom in helping their friend to her hooves, the Council of Friendship looked on them with new scrutiny.

“Ah, Twi, I really think you should start explainin’ things or else I’m liable ta take ma sister to the hospital,” the orange mare said without moving her gaze.

“Well,” Twilight began slowly, “according to this letter, when the girls disappeared, they ended up in the same place I did the day I finished Star Swirl's final spell.” That statement alone was enough to get a few small gasps and an exaggerated one from a certain pink pony.

“You mean the magic blue place where Princess Celestia sang to you and the wings happened!?”

“Um, but the crusaders aren’t alicorns,” whispered Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash actually burst into laughter. “Okay, either you’re pulling our leg or Celestia’s pulling yours. There’s no way the girls would end up there. Especially not before me.”

“Are you talking about the place with the magic screens?” Sweetie Belle chimed. “That place was creepier than the inside of Featherweight’s locker." She shivered. "So many pictures of me in there...”

Pinkie inhaled loudly again. “She knows about the magic stalker televisions! They really are alicorn princesses!”

“Wait, what!?” While the shout had come from all three, Sweetie Belle’s reaction was the most extreme as she fired a bolt of magic up into the ceiling, sending both small debris down unto the floor and herself on her plot.

“Calm down, everypony!” Twilight yelled as many ducked for cover. “Everything is all right.”

“Wow, Sweetie, that was awesome! You never did anything like that during Twilight Time, not even when she was teaching you magic dueling!” Scootaloo’s enthusiasm was not shared by her unicorn friend as she started to hyperventilate.

“What’s going on? Why’s my horn bigger? Why’re Scootaloo’s wings bigger? Why is Apple Bloom’s everything bigger? A-and what is my magic doing!?” As she said this, her horn brightened with magic and her eyes began to glow.

“Magic surge!” Twilight screamed before diving under the table just in time to dodge a green-white ray. She remembered what happened to her parents, and she had no intention of finding out what life as a houseplant was like. The other mares quickly followed suit as Bloom and Scoots ducked and covered their heads.

“S-sweetie Belle, what are ya doin’!”

“I c-can’t stop it!”

“Yes you can! Think of all that practice you had with Twilight!”

“This is different!” As she said this, Sweetie’s hooves slowly began to leave the ground, just their tips brushing the crystal surface of the table.

Seeing this, Apple Bloom’s eyes narrowed in determination before she lunged up and wrapped her forelegs around Sweetie’s withers. “Calm down, Sweetie, there ain’t nothin’ to be afraid of!”

Joining her, Scootaloo gave her own reassurance. “Yeah, whatever’s going on, we can handle it together, and Rainbow’s friends will help too.”

The surging unicorn looked from one crusader to the other, eyes losing their luminescence. The magic vanished from her horn and the filly fell to her hooves. “Th-thanks, girls,” Sweetie said, panting and with tears beading in her eyes. “I panicked. It’s just, we’re all different now, and Pinkie said we’re princesses. I mean, I used to think it would be cool, but I’ve seen how everpony treats Twilight different now, and all the hard stuff she has to do. I don’t think I can deal with being a princess.”

“Yes, I thought as much myself.”

Coming out from underneath the table, Twilight and her friends all shared the same response. “Princess Celestia!”

“Yes, I’m sorry it took so long to arrive,” the regal mare said as she stepped into the room. “Unlike with Twilight’s ascension, I was caught quite off guard by this one and could not fly here until after I woke Luna and had her take over day court.” She chuckled. “She was a bit grumpy about that.”

“You’re not late, Princess, we haven’t made much progress here yet anyway, and as you can see, things aren’t as you expected,” Twilight began with a small, puzzled frown. “Maybe you can help us understand what exactly is going on.”

“Yeah, like settling all this princess talk and stuff about alicorns,” Rainbow butt in. “Seriously, things are getting kinda crazy here, and that’s saying something with all the crazy stuff we deal with, like, every week.”

There were nods and mumbled agreements all around as Princess Celestia observed the huddled group of three clearly non-alicorn fillies. “It does seem things have gone a much stranger route than I had expected. How do you feel girls?”

Realizing it was them that were being addressed, Apple Bloom stepped forward. “Well, ‘bout as confused as everypony else I suppose… So that weird place was suppose ta turn us into alicorns, huh? I don’t think it worked right.”

Celestia chuckled in response to Apple Bloom's own, nervous one. “I suppose not, though it did seem to make you taller.” Looking over each one, she added, “And your wings seemed to have come in quite spectacularly, young Scootaloo.”

Locking eyes with the still shaken unicorn, she spoke more softly. “As for you, Sweetie Belle, your magic seems to have grown even more than your horn. You’ll have need of more specialized training to control it, but we’ll decide how to approach that later. For now, we’ll address the newest alicorn in the room.”

“But, there aren’t any new alicorns,” Rainbow commented.

“Isn’t there? Tell me, Twilight, have you come to the same conclusion as I have?”

“I didn’t want to make any claims without scientific evidence, and I still believe I should perform some experiments, but… yes, I think I know what you’re suggesting,” Twilight said. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders have become one alicorn… together.”

There was a pregnant pause as all but the two princesses were shocked into silence, the crusaders gaping the most. “You… wanna run that by me again, sugar cube? It sounds like you’re sayin’ ma sister is part alicorn now or somethin’,” Applejack finally said.

“How can that even be possible?” Rarity asked. “How can one be an alicorn without wings and a horn.”

“Well, just look at them,” Twilight said as she gestured to the fillies. “What else can it be? If our speculation is correct, then each one of them has gained alicorn-level magic in each of their specific tribes.”

“So, like, Scootaloo has the wings of an alicorn…” Rainbow said, a smile starting to spread across her muzzle. How many pegasi can say they’ve trained two alicorns to fly? And Scootaloo was no doubt going to be a much better student than Twilight since she wouldn’t have to keep tearing books on aerodynamics out of her hooves.

“This is totally awesome!” burst Scootaloo, flaring her wings in her excitement and pomfing her friends in their faces. “We’re like the ponies from the Wonder Triplet comics!” Grabbing Sweetie and Bloom around their necks and hugging them close, shouted, “Cutie Mark Crusader powers activate! Form of a badflank alicorn…!” Peeking around, the smile began to fall as the pegasus slumped.

“…Ahh, it didn’t work,” Pinkie Pie whined, looking as disappointed as Scootaloo. “Maybe you three have to say a magic word like Shazam or something. Quick, start saying funny sounding things! Oh, try kumquat!”

“Pinkie, I highly doubt that the powers at be would grant the crusaders the ability to fuse… though perhaps with the right magic. I recall reading about an ancient fusion spell that required a dancing component.”

“Twilight, while I’m sure that will be a very interesting avenue of research, perhaps we should focus on the situation at hoof first,” suggested Princess Celestia with laughter in her eyes.

Broken from her musings, the younger alicorn blushed. “O-of course, sorry.” Seeking a distraction, Twilight levitated the letter and said, “You wrote that you would like my stance on whether or not we should make the crusaders royalty, so we should probably discuss that, yes?”

“Well of course they should be princesses,” Rainbow said as if it were obvious. “All alicorns are princesses, and they are, like, technically an alicorn. Plus imagine how cool it would be if they were.”

“I agree with Rainbob Smash on this,” Discord gave his input while lying on the ceiling. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders are the most chaotic group of ponies I know. Just imagine what they could do with royal authority?” He sniffled. “The mere thought brings a tear to my eye.”

“D-discord? I thought you were helping the curators at the Manehattan Museum of History? Not that it’s not nice to see you so soon or anything,” Fluttershy questioned, her soft voice somehow meeting the chaos spirit’s ear over all the noise of her friends.

“Oh, I already finished there,” He answered, polishing his talons on the brown hair of his chest. “It took no time at all to create a properly accurate exhibit to represent my reign from all those years ago.”

Celestia sighed. “You just twisted the inside of the museum into a chaotic mess, didn’t you?”

“Nooo, while that would have been much funner, I am a friend now, so I instead made a very organized chaotic mess. Weren’t you listening? I had to make it accurate to the period,” Discord explained as if the ancient alicorn were a foal. “Luckily I have a very good memory so the challenge was only with my morals, not the construction.”

Rubbing her eyes, Celestia mumbled something about owing her sister five bits before saying louder, “Thank you, Discord, for your input, but I believe causing chaos will have to be a mark against making them princesses.” She addressed the rest of the room. “We have Rainbow Dash and Discord’s opinions, what say the rest of you?”

“Well, I for one think Sweetie and her friends would make fine princesses,” Rarity said. “They’ve matured greatly on their own since they first met and I believe with the proper guidance they could not only navigate the world of politics, but also bring a level of sincerity to the world of nobles… No offense.” The last bit was directed towards the two already-crowned ponies.

“None taken, Lady Rarity. I understood what you meant,” Celestia said with a tired shake of her head. “I am afraid that even with my sister and Twilight by my side, we are still outnumbered in court by those who wish to use their political power for selfish gain.”

“Really, if they’re such a problem, I don’t see why you don’t get rid of them,” commented a bored Discord.

“Because such a large change in the social and political order would cause untold bedlam,” was her answer as she ignored Discord’s comment about that sounding like a plus. “During the beginning of my thousand years as the sole princess of Equestria, the nobles were invaluable in helping maintain order, but I as I became more proficient in my rule, their necessity dwindled. Now that my sister has returned and I have you, Twilight, they do little more than cause trouble, and I’m afraid they have too much holdings to simply dismiss.”

Exhaling deeply, the white alicorn spoke, “That is neither here nor there, however. I take it you suggest that similar actions be taken as were done for Cadance, Rarity? To bring the crusaders to Canterlot so that they can begin being versed in the art of politics?”

While Rarity nodded her head, Applejack leaned forward. “Whoa, Nelly! Bloom’s way too young ta be movin’ away from home and ‘specially too young ta get mixed up in all that complicated stuff.”

“I agree with Applejack,” Twilight supported. “Though it was under my own volition, I still regret spending so much of my foalhood trying to meet the standards I set for myself as your student instead of spending more time with my family and making friends. I don’t want the girls to have similar regrets.

“While I do believe they’ll make fine princesses, I think it would be better if they remained here with the ponies who love them.” The purple alicorn suddenly became sheepish. “Plus, and I’m not complaining about being a princess, but I’d rather not have them thrown into the position out of the blue like with me. Surely they can be taught in secret from here until they’re a bit older and knowledgeable, right?”

All the adults looked around as if communicating silently. “Um, I think Twilight’s idea sounds nice,” mumbled Fluttershy.

“Hmm, I guess I could hold off on their coronation party for a little while and just have a small, 'Congratulations On Kinda Being an Alicorn Now,' celebration instead,” Pinkie mused.

“Yeah, fine, I guess waiting is for the best,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “I was gonna have her try out for the Wonderbolts as soon as I trained her up since being a princess would have let us brush the whole age thing outta the way, but we’ll just have to wait ‘til she’s eighteen instead.” Smirking, she added, “Just means she’ll really blow their minds when the time comes.”

The mares having come to a consensus, Celestia spoke, “I agree to that plan of action, so that means there is one more opinion to be had, or three to be exact. While this will be how we handle your princesshood, we still need to know if you even want to be royalty.”

“Um, I don’t know,” began Sweetie Belle, rubbing one foreleg across the other as she stared at the table. “I still think it sounds really scary, but if Rarity thinks it’s a good idea, than I’ll try.”

“Ah reckon I could try too as long as I have ma friends with me,” Apple Bloom said. “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders after all, and we stick together through thick and thin.”

“Wait, I could be a Wonderbolt?” Scootaloo perked up when her idols words fully sunk in. “Then of course! Forget about waiting and learning; let’s go get us some crowns- ow!” Glaring at Bloom and rubbing the side the bigger filly elbowed, she said, “Okay, fine, yeah, we’ll become princesses later.”

“It’s settled then,” the solar alicorn declared. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders will remain here in Ponyville to continue enjoying their friendships and learn until they come of age and become Equestrian princesses.”

Cheers broke out amongst the mares as the fillies hugged each other. Life would change drastically for all of them, and it would no doubt be amazing.

“Grrr, these things are so itchy,” Scootaloo whined, disgruntled as she ruffled her seemingly tiny wings.

“Told’ja you should have preened ‘em before school started,” commented Apple Bloom, swallowing a bite of her fruit. “Ya know you can’t take the charm off when other ponies can see.”

“Not helping, Bloom,” Scootaloo said with a glare. “I’m not used to these new wings yet. How was I supposed to know how much more of a pain a few crooked feathers would be?”

“Because Rainbow Dash and Twilight told you grown-up feathers were pricklier than down and that you’d have to take better care of them now,” Sweetie Belle stated matter-of-factly.

“Argh, you two are the worst,” the pegasus groused as she rolled onto her back and kicked her legs in the air. “You’re supposed to be on my side, why aren’t you helping fix this?”

“Because we have ta be more responsible now on account of you-know-what and you’ll never learn if we baby ya. And don’t even think about it.” Apple Bloom nudged Scootaloo’s hoof away from the necklace around her neck.

“I wasn’t going to take it off.”

“Sure you weren’t,” Sweetie said as she finished her lunch and dabbed at her lips with a napkin. Rarity had started drilling her sister on proper etiquette for a lady and Sweetie was being sure to listen well. She was going to be princess one day and Rarity assured her that these skills would be of the utmost importance. “We’ll help you preen after school at the club house. Lunch is going to be done soon and we have to get back to class.”

Scootaloo groaned and rolled to her belly. “This is so unfair. Why don’t you girls have to wear stupid necklaces to hide your princess stuff?”

Apple Bloom simply rolled her eyes and nudged the pegasus to her hooves. They all knew the answer already, but Scootaloo wouldn’t drop it. Apple Bloom’s size was explained away as a growth spurt and Sweetie’s horn just observer’s imagination. Scootaloo’s wings however, had been stunted, so the sudden transition from tiny to nearly adult-sized wasn’t so easily rationalized.

In the end, a necklace was enchanted to make her wings look as they were before the ascension and she was told no flying in public. To the energetic pegasus who had dreamed of flight her entire life, this was just plain cruel, and no matter how many times Rarity assured her the jewelry brought out the color of her eyes, Scootaloo was not going to be appeased. The fact that the tomboy was wearing something so frou frou had gotten more head-turns than alicorn wings would have, anyway.

A bell ringing signaled the end of lunch and a forced march back to the school house. Hearing her friend sigh in defeat, Sweetie Belle offered a sympathetic smile. “Hey, it’s only a few more hours, and if you really can’t make it, ask for a bathroom break. Maybe you can fix your feathers in a stall where nopony can see.”

“Ah don’t know, Diamond Tiara has been keepin’ an eye on us all week tryin’ ta figure out what’s up. I wouldn’t put it past her to follow ya right to the toilet,” Apple Bloom theorized. As much as they wanted to tell their newest friend, along with all their other ones, it was decided that children couldn’t be trusted to not tell their parents, and for those parents not to tell the papers, and so the need-to-know list was aggravatingly short. Really, the only additions from those who weren't in Twilight’s map room were the other princesses, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and the parents of Sweetie and Scoots.

It was a shame, all three fillies agreed, that Miss Cheerilee couldn’t be informed. There was a math test today and they very much would have liked to get out of it with a few royal promises for the future. Surely access to the royal treasury would be fair exchange for a few A’s, right?

“Phew, that’s one determined pony,” Bloom commented, wiping sweat from her brow as she watched Diamond Tiara leave Sugarcube Corner in a huff from Pinkie Pie’s window. The pink filly had caught up with them halfway to Sweet Apple Acres and started pestering them about hanging at the clubhouse with them.

When they explained that they were doing official CMC business, the filly immediately suggested she be allowed to join in, claiming that her already having a cutie mark meant she could give pointers on how to help them find theirs. While Sweetie and Apple Bloom were willing to accept this, Scootaloo had been more suspicious and pointed out that Diamond Tiara hadn’t even known the true meaning of her mark until recently and thus was no expert.

Cover blown, her true intentions of discovering their secret became clear and the rich filly once again began bombarding them with questions. What followed was a chase that spanned all three crusader’s homes, Twilight’s castle, and a dumpster before Pinkie popped out from beneath a discarded newspaper and helped them give their pursuer the slip.

Filthy Rich must have gotten his daughter a personal trainer or something, because a spoiled foal should not have had that level of endurance or speed. Diamond Tiara seemed untiring when she had a goal to strive for.

“She’s just lucky I can’t use my scooter in public anymore,” Scootaloo said. “We’d have left her in the dust even before my wing-game got powered up.”

“I don’t know, maybe we got her cutie mark wrong and she’s supposed to be a marathon runner,” Sweetie commented.

At that moment, all three fillies looked to their flanks with dull hope before sighing in simultaneous disappointment. “Well, it was a stretch, anyway,” Apple Bloom said.

Pinkie chose that moment to enter with a tray on her head. “Okay girls, Nosey Tiara is gone, and I got you all refreshments!” she declared in her usual, chipper tone, tossing the tray and letting it land on the carpet, contents impossibly unspilled. “I hope you like your lemonade sweet.”

“Thanks, I’m parched,” Sweetie said as she stepped forward first, lighting her horn to pour herself a cup. That was her intent anyway as she instead caused the lemonade to vaporize in less than a second.

While the fillies all leaped back, Pinkie was caught smiling as the cloud of sugary lemon juice engulfed her whole head. “…Ouchies,” she breathed before waving the cloud away to reveal a damp, sticky mane and bloodshot, watering eyes. “Okay, I’m gonna go use the emergency eye wash station in the kitchen, and then I’ll bring you girls something new to drink that’s less acidic. Gummy, will keep an eye on you while I’m gone.” Her calm speech over, the party mare screamed and ran out of the room, causing Sweetie Belle to wince and mutter an apology.

Scootaloo giggled. “Guess you’re going to have to ask Twilight for more lessons on control.”

“It’s not funny, Scoots,” Apple Bloom chastised.

“Yeah, I thought I was doing really good, too,” Sweetie grumbled, looking at the floor petulantly.

“And ya are,” the earth pony assured with a pat on her friend’s back. “You haven’t been surging hardly t’all lately, and that one wasn’t even that bad.”

Sobering at the sight of friend's sadness, Scootaloo agreed, “Hey, I was just joking, I’m sorry, Sweetie. Apple Bloom's right, you really are getting better. I bet next time you blow up a gallon of lemonade, it’ll be on purpose.”

The poor attempt of her orange friend succeeded in making Sweetie laugh. “Thanks, Scootaloo, I’ll make sure to practice lemonade vaporizing from now on.”

“And then I can make the clouds rain on ponies,” Scootaloo cheered. “Oh gosh, that’s gonna be, like, the ultimate prank. Rainbow Dash will be so proud.”

“Or angry along with the other pegasuses because ya went and started that myth up again,” Apple Bloom said dryly, causing all three fillies to burst into laughter. "Okay, okay, let’s get serious now,” the yellow filly said once the laughter died down. “We still got official crusadin’ ta do, and cutie marks wait for no mare.”

Nodding their heads in agreement, Sweetie and Scoots dawned serious expressions and entered a circle with Bloom, ready to find their marks…

“We could try hot air ballooning,” Sweetie suggested, perking up.

“Already did, and Cherry Berry keeps her balloon under lock and key, now,” Scootaloo immediately answered, poking Gummy in the eye in a bored fashion and watching his slow blink. Pinkie had brought them chocolate milk fifteen minutes ago and then went back to work downstairs, telling the fillies they could stay until sunset. In that time, the crusaders had preened Scootaloo's wings, and nothing else “Besides, Diamond Tiara is still out there looking for us probably. Any luck finding something in Pinkie’s closet, Bloom?”

“Um, a hundred an’ twenty-one kazoos,” she answered, pulling out the box labeled as such. “Wanna try getting’ our marks for kazoo playin’?”

“Lame,” groaned the pegasus. “Even if she’s nice and our friend now, I don’t think Diamond Tiara could resist making fun of us if we had that for cutie marks.”

“How can we be sort-of alicorn princesses and still be having this much trouble?” Sweetie Belle whined as she flopped onto her belly. "Princesses are suppose to be, like, wise and always know what to do, aren't they?"

“Hey now girls, don’t get all disheartened,” Apple Bloom said as she pushed the box aside. “Remember what we were talkin’ about right before all this alicorn business? Helpin’ others and being together is what’s really important. Why, figurin’ that out’s how we got to be princesses in the first place!”

Scootaloo smiled and jumped to her hooves. “Yeah, you’re right, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Princesses of Friendship!”

“As soon as Twilight agrees to only being the Princess of Magic, that is,” Sweetie added with her own smile. “She’s being really stingy with that. She should take lessons from my sister.”

“We’ll take her to court if she don’t change her tune by the time we’re grownups,” commented the earth pony as she moved close to her friends and raised her foreleg with the others. “Until then, like ya said, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we’ll always be together!”

Declaration made, the fillies high hooved and cheered, unaware of the small sparkles that ignited upon their blank flanks for just a moment, outlining the shared element their marks would one day have when each little princess discovered their own unique talent.

After all, just because they are bound by fate to always be better together, it doesn’t mean that’s all they are. They are individuals each with their own calling, and like all good friends, their difference brings them together just as much as their similarities. Such is the way of harmony, and such is the way of Equestria's newest princess.

Author's Note

Because we all thought about it and it needed to be written. I didn't have any outline for this story and just kind of ran with the idea. It was also written quickly, stream of consciousness channeled through fingers, while waiting on my editors to finish up on the next chapter of my dragon story, so it's perhaps not the most organized work I've done, but it was fun to write and I hope it's fun to read. I also really hope someone gets inspired and decides to do their own, awesome version of this idea, because I would love to read it.
Oh, and corrections/suggestions are always welcome.

P.S.
If ya'll like it enough, I might do a bonus chapter going into the future.

Future Looking Bright... I Mean, Well, There's a Little Hiccup, But, You Know... CMC

Apple Bloom wiped the sweat from her brow with a foreleg, smearing dirt on her face, but hardly caring as she looked at the work she and her ponies had accomplished so far. Stretched out before her was the skeleton of what would be Equestria’s first step into settling the badlands, completed buildings standing tall next to those still being constructed. The cutie mark on her flank was a testament to how useful she was on this front, what with being a grid-covered apple and hammer set over the tri-colored shield.

It was hard to believe how far she and her fellow crusaders had come or how much they’d grown, both in body and mind. The former was especially true for the earth pony as she now stood as tall as Princess Luna and was as well-muscled as her older sister, Applejack. Even with a cutesy bow in her mane, it was an undeniable fact who the hoof-wrestling champion of Equestria was.

“Hey, Bloom, how’s it going?” was called from above and the tall mare looked up to see one of her friends descending. “I’ve got the weather team gathering up all the moisture they can, and it’s going better than expected. At this rate, we’ll be needing that water silo sooner rather than later.”

Scootaloo landed with a grace long-practiced and unexpected for one who was once such an infamous tomcolt. Folding her wings neatly to her sides, they still appeared somewhat large on her lithe form, but were far better proportioned than they were in her foalhood when she would sometimes trip on them. A phase she was glad to be over as it had contrasted horribly with her wing and lighting bolt mark meant to represent reflexes and agility. Her height did not come close to her earth pony friend’s, but she stood at eye-level with the princesses of Magic and Love.

“It’s going good I reckon,” Bloom answered with a smile. She gestured at her current project. “Workin’ on the foundation for a proper hospital right now, but I’ll be checkin’ in on the silo soon enough. Maud said they’d be reachin’ the underground reservoir in a few days, so a place ta store water is ah priority too.”

“I sure hope she’s right about that water,” Scoots commented as she took a swig from the canteen slung across her barrel. She stared out at their ponies working happily to build a new life here in the harsh and jagged plains. Ponies full of equal parts grit and dreams. “You really think we can trust them?”

The taller mare gave her friend a sidelong look. “What’s bringin’ this on? I thought we talked it all out back at the summit. The other princesses gave us the go ahead and the changelings were eager ta agree.”

“Yeah, well talking about something this big and actually doing it are two different things. We have a lot of ponies counting on us to keep them safe in the middle of nowhere with changelings a stone’s throw away.”

Apple Bloom hummed and went silent, contemplating the initial question for nearly a minute before speaking. “I reckon we can trust them,” Apple Bloom answered. “Princess Amaryllis, anyway. That gal practically idolizes Sweetie Belle and really wants ta make this work.”

“It’s not her I’m worried about…” Scootaloo said darkly.

“Ah don’t think Chrysalis will do anything ta mess this up either. This is the first real chance her subjects have gotten in forever that’ll feed them proper. None o’ that capture ponies and gorge off what ya can while ya can hooey that never does ‘em any good.” She began to pack her tools, giving her friend an appreciative smile when she lent a hoof. “Ah think after the last scheme blew up in her face, Chrysalis finally figured out there was no winnin’ against Equestria.”

“Like that ever stopped her before,” the pegasus commented with a snort.

“Well, ya got me there,” responded Bloom as she slipped on her saddle bags and began walking. “Correction then, Amaryllis and the other changelings figured out they couldn’t beat us and Chrysalis had no choice but ta listen to them… And remember, even if the queen wants ta try somethin’, there’s ah whole lotta soldiers waitin’ at the border ta come whoop her butt if we send the signal. Chrysalis may be crazy, but even she knows she won’t stand ah chance if she betrays Equestria now.”

Scootaloo followed, smiling at their ponies as they went. “Amaryllis is too young for this kind of pressure. Younger than we were when we became official princesses. I trust her, but it’s going to be hard to convince the rest of Equestria to give her another chance if her mom does something stupid. She shouldn’t have so much responsibility pushed on her just because Chrysalis is a dingbat.”

“She’s only a couple years younger than we were, and she seems ta be handling it well enough.” The taller mare gave her friend a playful shove and smile. “And besides, she’s got us ta help her out, so stop worryin’.”

“Hey, there’s only so much raw awesomeness can do,” Scoots shot back with her own smirk. “But I guess I can try and relax a bit… Well, relax as much as you can when you’re establishing a new settlement while simultaneously building up relationships with a newly allied species who used to be enemies.”

“That’s the spirit,” Bloom said before her ear twitched. “Ya hear that?”

The pegasus swiveled her ears forward. “Yeah, it’s coming from up ahead… Is that…?”

“Yep,” the tall mare answered dryly. “It’s nice ta see she’s takin’ the job seriously.”

Traveling the last stretch of what was to be Main Street, the two princesses saw their third member upon the partially completed stage of town hall. She was singing into a hammer alongside a smaller pony doing the same with a screw driver as a crowd cheered them on. The two mares were a swirl of white and black as they danced around each other, Sweetie tossing her two-toned mane every few steps and the younger mare attempting the same with her teal locks.

“-And we're playing to win as we gallop to glory

We can conquer any challenge we're in

We've got hea-a-a-arts, hearts strong as horses

Hearts strong as horses!”

Bloom and Scootaloo had to admit, for what they hoped was an impromptu performance, the two were quite coordinated and harmonized well. Still, it didn’t stop them from giving the performers agitated looks as they bowed.

“Thank you, thank you, you’re too kind,” Sweetie Belle returned, eyes closed with her most charming smile. This of course got another round of applause, and one stallion even shouted out that Sweetie Belle was best princess.

When said princess finally opened her emerald eyes, it was to spot the frowning faces of her fellow royals, and she couldn’t help the twitch of her lip or the bead of sweat on her forehead. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, darlings, how are you? Amy and I were just giving a little performance to help raise everyponies’ spirits.”

Stepping down from the stage, Sweetie stood in front of her friends, a smidgen shorter than the pegasus, but her horn nearly reaching the earth pony’s full height. Sweetie was far softer looking than her friends, being curvaceous instead of burly or toned. On her luscious flanks was the most recognized cutie mark amongst Equestria’s stallions; a music note and star set over a shield. Of the three young princesses, Sweetie Belle quite obviously took the most care of her appearance as she had her silky mane styled and wore a small touch of makeup even while here in the badlands.

Really, it was a miracle getting the unicorn to agree to not wear her royal regalia all the time when they had set out to oversee this important job. The former crusaders were seen as the most approachable of the princesses due to their lack of alicorn features, and this mission would help further that sentiment. With the removal of the nobles from government a few years prior, those scorned had been attempting to smear the princesses’ image, calling them tyrants. Said princesses being willing to get down and dirty with their subjects would help counter the absurd claims.

Reaching over, Sweetie tapped the younger mare’s shoulder, halting her embarrassed bowing as she turned to see the other princesses. Blush barely visible on her cheeks, she stuttered, “Y-your majesties! I didn’t realize you were watching! D-did you enjoy the show?” She finished with a nervous, but hopeful smile.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “You don’t need to be so formal, kid, you’re a princess too.” She shot another quick glare at Sweetie, who at least had the decency to look sheepish, before continuing, “And yeah, you two were doing great from what little I heard. Your singing’s coming along nicely, Amy.”

You wouldn’t believe it looking at her, but the bubbly teenager was, in fact, the princess of the changelings and daughter of the none too kind Queen Chrysalis. Though she shared the elder changeling’s coat and mane colors even now, Amaryllis insisted on remaining in pony form even when her identity was known by all those around her, claiming it was to ease the anxiety of ponies still uncomfortable with the shape-shifters.

“Oh, thank you, Prin- I mean, Scootaloo! Princess Belle says I could hit it big like her if I keep improving.” The young mare was dancing a little in place as she said this, and it was hard to maintain any level of ire in the presence of such honest exuberance. That didn’t stop Apple Bloom from trying, however.

“Well, that’s mighty kind of her,” she began, turning a level gaze to her old friend, “but, she’s not on tour now. We’ve got a lot of work ta do still, and we can’t afford ta have all these ponies wastin’ precious daylight on concerts.”

As Scootaloo hovered off the ground and told everypony to get back to work, Sweetie Belle puffed out her cheeks. “It’s not wasting time if it makes ponies happy.”

“Havin’ proper housing will make ‘em happier,” the taller mare shot back, matching glares with the unicorn for a moment before releasing a tired breath. “Listen, Ah know this whole thing came up just when ya were about ta start yur world tour, but ya have ta admit this is a might more important than singing in the gryphon kingdom.”

“And the minotaur kingdom, and the diamond dog kingdom…” Sweetie mumbled with her head low before straightening. “I’m sorry, guys, I know how important this is, really, I do, but it just feels unfair, you know? I’ve worked so hard to be recognized for more than just being a princess, and then when I hit it big, bam! I’m marching across the bad lands to build a town instead.”

Scootaloo landed and shared a look with Apple Bloom. “Awe shucks, Sweetie Belle, I’m sorry if it feels like we’re ganging up on you or anything.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry for soundin’ so harsh, and I’m real sorry for how this all played out. I was so happy for ya when you told me about the tour; I was plannin’ on going to as many shows as I could before we got this job.” The pegasus and earth pony moved to either side of their horned friend and leaned into her.

“Hey, just look at it this way,” Scootaloo began. “It’s not like we’ll have to be here forever. Once everything’s built and the town's running smoothly, you can go on that tour and have adoring fans kissing your hooves or whatever all you want… Well, at least until we have to save the world or something. I expect you to get that white butt back here pronto when that happens.”

Sweetie Belle giggled and wrapped her hooves around her friends, pulling them closer in a loving embrace. “Thanks you two, I guess I’ve been more down than I realized, but I’m feeling better now. I’ll try to keep the shows down to a minimum from now on.” Looking over, the unicorn noticed Amaryllis standing off to the side, rubbing one foreleg across the other and looking at the ground. “And hey, delaying the tour means I’ll be able to train up my new protégé so she’ll be ready to go with me.”

Gaze shooting up, the disguised changeling pointed to herself. “D-do you mean me, Princess?”

“Of course, darling. Why with how talented you are after only a few lessons, there’s no doubt you’ll be more than good enough to join me on the big stage. Why, it’d be a crime not to let the world hear that beautiful voice of yours.” Sweetie hardly finished her sentence before she was glomped by a teary-eyed changeling rapidly muttering thank-you’s.

Stepping away before Sweetie’s faltering balance could bring them to the ground with her, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at the suffocating unicorn with a changeling wrapped around her neck with humor. “I-it’s only the tr-truth,” Sweetie squeaked as she patted Amy’s back. “So, c-could you let me breathe?”

Realizing her idol had begun to do a convincing impression of Twilight Sparkle, Amy let go and shot to her hooves. “Oh! I-I am so sorry, Princess Belle, I’m just really happy and thankful, is all.”

Coughing a few times and rubbing her throat, Sweetie croaked, “It’s fine, no harm done.”

“Remind me to give ya some pointers for controllin’ your own strength later, Amy.” Bloom commented half-jokingly as she supported her wobbling friend. “You royal changelings are a tough lot.”

“Don’t sweat it too much, squirt,” Scootaloo added as she patted the embarrassed adolescent on the back. “I know it looks like a strong breeze could knock her for a loop, but us three are pretty tough ourselves.”

Sending a glare at the pegasus, Sweetie cleared her throat, “Yes, well, the latter half of that is true, so don’t beat yourself up, Amy.” Seeking to change the subject, Sweetie’s look towards her orange companion became teasing. “Why, I’d wager I’d actually do better in a fight than our feathered friend here. As she mentioned, it’s only a matter time before we three end up having to perform some heroic deed or some such thing like the other princesses have. I’m sure when it happens, I’ll have to pull her flank out of the proverbial fire.”

“Oh yeah?” Scootaloo shot back. “You want to bet on that, Princess?”

Ignoring Apple Bloom’s moan of, “Not again,” Sweetie narrowed her eyes. “Sure, why pass up easy bits? What do you say, twenty?”

“You’re on!” Scootaloo spit in her hoof and held it out.

Grimacing, the unicorn nonetheless mimicked the action and bumped her own spit-marked hoof against Scoot’s. “Deal.”

“Ah don’t know what you two are expectin’,” Apple Bloom grumbled. “Ah’m sure if we did save the world, and that’s a big if, it’ll be so far off that y’all will have forgotten about the bet.”

The ground rumbled and a loud crash rung through the dry air. Apple Bloom’s expression was flat.

“W-what was that?” Amy asked.

“Dramatic convenience,” Bloom answered dryly.

The sound of screams reached the group and Scootaloo took to the air, bet forgotten. “Whatever it is, our ponies are in danger. Come on, girls!” she yelled as she rocketed towards the sound of pandemonium.

Sweetie Belle ran after her, face the picture of determination as she began teleporting in small leaps to keep pace with the quick pegasus. Apple Bloom shook her head of all but what was important. “Scoot’s is right,” she said, looking to the changeling princess. “As much as Ah don’t want you in danger, Amy, I reckon you should come too. There are changelings here that’ll need you ta guide ‘em.”

Amaryllis looked hesitant, but nodded. “If you think it’s for the best, then I’ll come, Princess Bloom.” Worry entered her eyes. “Y-you don’t think this is the work of my… my mother, do you?”

Bloom’s jaw clenched. “Ah hope not…” she said under her breath before taking off. “We won’t know until we get there! Come on, Amy!”

By the time the earth pony and young changeling had reached the cause of the commotion, they had passed a dozen ponies screaming some variant of “Monster!” So it was, they were both confused when all they could see were several large holes littering the landscape.

“What the blazes is goin’ on here?” Apple shouted as she surveyed the area; eyes quickly darting up when a shadow was cast upon her.

“Incoming!” Scootaloo shouted as she soared down and roughly deposited a grey pony a short ways away from Apple Bloom. “How do you weigh that much? It’s like I was trying to fly with an entire boulder in my hooves!” the pegasus huffed as she landed with a stumble.

Maud Pie stared a moment before reaching into the small pocket of her frock. “Boulder was in my pocket.”

Scootaloo wasn’t sure if this was a joke or a serious answer as she tilted her head. Luckily, she didn’t have to think on it long as Sweetie Belle appeared in a burst of magic, along with several other ponies. “I-I got most of them out of the hole, but there are still more down there,” she wheezed, swaying on her hooves before Amy and Apple Bloom rushed to her sides for support.

After the unicorn had taken a few deep breaths, Apple Bloom went to ask her what was happening, but another rumble stopped her as, suddenly, multiple black shapes came rushing out of another one of the holes.

Squinting, Apple Bloom realized they were changelings and that each one was carrying a pony, making a pang of dread run through the mare’s heart before another quake was followed by an unbelievable sight.

Launching itself after the insectoid ponies was what could only be described as a giant worm painted by hippies, with most of its impressive length being purple save for the pink face and red lion-mane. At first, Apple Bloom could only wonder how such a massive creature was flying without wings until it snapped its grotesque, flower-like mandibles unsuccessfully at its prey and then arched back towards the ground.

“Move!” Bloom shouted as she galloped and dived away just in time to avoid being crushed by the massive worm's collision with the ground. Dizzily, the yellow more looked over her shoulder to see half of the thing’s body exposed to the air, its tail thrashing about as it quickly burrowed below the hard terrain.

Once it was fully submerged once again, Apple Bloom spotted her companions across the hole. “What was that!?” she shouted, feeling distinctly untrusting of the earth beneath her hooves that had once only brought her comfort. “And why’s it attackin’ us?”

“It’s a tatzlwurm,” the bland voice of Maud Pie answered from behind her. “Often called a living fossil from the Devonian geological period, they are one of the oldest species alive to this day. We seem to have intruded on its nest while digging.”

“…Well, okay then,” Apple Bloom responded, unsure of what else to say before simply deciding to not question the grey mare. She was a Pie, and if Pinkie had taught her anything, it was that to question them was to dance with madness.

“Down here!” Amaryllis called to her changelings from the opposite side of the hole. As the Equestrian princesses gathered to her side, so too did the airborne changelings, each one depositing their equine cargo with care before landing with sharp salutes and a call of, “Your Highness!”

Showing none of the timidness of before, the young princess commanded, “Report! Is there anyone else left underground that needs rescuing?”

The lead changeling, larger than the others and wearing blue armor, stepped forward. “No, Princess, as soon as we had understanding of the situation, I ordered full retreat via the collective and, as per your orders to ensure the ponies' safety, led drones one-thirty-two, eight, and two-forty-one into the tunnels to retrieve any who were unable to escape on their own. The fear and panic they were radiating made them easy to pinpoint.”

As he explained this, the Equestrian princesses told their own subjects to escape the area and inform the others of what was happening. “Good job, soldier,” Scootaloo commanded, eyes wearily scanning the ground for any sign of the monster's return.

“Quite quick thinking indeed,” Sweetie added with small bow of her head. “… And thank you… When I was unable to reach them all before teleporting to the surface I was so sure that they would-”

“Ya don’t have ta say it, Sweetie,” Apple Bloom cut in. “It ain’t worth even mentioning. Everypony is safe and the tatzlwurm seems ta have run off.”

“No,” The armored changeling said, giving silent command to the others to take to the air and spread out. “It was merely disoriented from being woken up. Now it’s awake, ornery, and hungry.”

“And right there,” Maud added, pointing a hoof to a bare piece of ground, getting confused stares before another quake shook them. A moment later, the tatzlwurm burst forth, only to immediately be beset by beams of changeling fire. With a screech, the monster’s maw burst open and shot forth three green tentacles, catching one of its attackers off guard and quickly pulling them in.

With a gasp, Amy turned away, unable to witness one of her subjects be made lunch by the tatzlwurm. The young princess may have been able to put on a brave face for her people as her mother always told her to do, but she was still a child and unprepared to witness death.

Luckily, she didn’t have to as Scootaloo tackled the changeling when he was halfway to being worm food. The tatzlwurm’s tongues were strong, but they didn’t compare to the full strength an alicorn’s wings could produce, and so couldn’t hold their grip. One made a valiant attempt, though.

A pained screech filled the air as one of the beast’s taste tentacles stretched nearly half its length before tearing with a sickening squelch. Finally retreating from the the agitating fire, the ponies were once again granted momentary respite.

“You okay, guy?” Scootaloo asked the changeling as they set down. Coughing, the changeling’s cheeks still managed to tint green when their princess ran up and began to fret, working to unravel the remains of the tongue from his neck.

“Y-yeah, I’m okay,” he managed. Another rumble, and the tatzlwurm returned again, this time with a new strategy. Amy screamed in horror as the beast’s long body emerged like a whip, cutting through the air and smashing into several changelings, rocketing them towards the ground. Both Scootaloo and the commander shot up to intercept them on their deadly trajectory while Sweetie Belle braced herself and lit her horn, catching who she could in her light-green aura.

Apple Bloom noticed one had slipped past the others’ attention and dived, sacrificing the air in her lungs to cushion the bug pony’s fall. “That thing… is gonna get it,” she wheezed as she shifted the unconscious changeling off of her. A quick glance told her he was still breathing and that he didn’t have any broken limbs, but they’d have to get him and the others to a doctor as soon as possible.

Apple Bloom felt a hungry gaze upon her and looked up to meet six beady eyes. Launching forward with an open mouth, the tatzlwurm was once again denied its meal as a large boulder flew into its head, sending it reeling and allowing Bloom to get to her hooves. Eyes quickly tracking where the stone had come from, Bloom spotted Maud Pie standing motionless. “I threw a rock,” the grey mare said plainly.

A grin came to Apple Bloom's face. “Good idea!” she shouted as she found a boulder of her own and put it between herself and the overgrown worm. “You messed with the wrong town, ya ugly varmint!” Bucking as her siblings taught her and pushing as much magic into it as she could manage, the earth pony sent two tons of fun straight at the beast, a shimmering trail being left in its wake.

Besides her fellow crusaders who only smirked, everyone present save for Maud and the armored changeling gaped as the boulder exploded on impact, bouncing the tatzlwurm off the ground and upright again, leaving it dazed and swaying.

Not one to waste an the opening, Scootaloo spread her wings wide and focused, charging them with pegasus magic before blasting off with one powerful beat. That tatzlwurm was rocked as the orange and purple blur shot into its face, spinning it in its hole counter clockwise before being violently twisted back the other way by Scootaloo’s return flight.

Two more fly-by punchings and the winged princess hovered directly above the beast. “And now it’s time for the finale,” she declared as her wings began to shine. “I hope you’re ready for this, because I’m not holding anything back.”

With all of her magical might, Scootaloo thrust her wings, rocketing down like a lance from the heavens, a circular burst of fuchsia radiating across the skies behind her. While she had spoken and prepared herself however, the tatzlwurm had shaken off her first barrage and looked up. Just as she descended, the beast opened its mouth wide, and the royal pegasus bolted straight down its gullet.

Where once there were smiles from those thinking the whole frightening fiasco was about to be resolved, there were now looks of horror as the tatzlwurm looked discomforted for only a moment before releasing a belch.

“Scootaloo!” both the white and yellow mares shouted as the commander changeling and his remaining force flew up and resumed their green barrage.

“How tough is this thing?” Apple Bloom shouted as the beast performed another leap at the insects above before burrowing once more. “It swallows down a sonic rainboom and barely even flinches!”

Sweetie’s eyes were downcast as she mumbled something, but Bloom didn’t catch it as Maud strolled up and spoke. “We should get the princess out of there as soon as possible. A tatzlwurm’s stomach acid can melt dragon scales.”

“What!? Those things eat dragons! No wonder the varmint's so tough!” A rock was tossed when the tatzlwurm leapt after its attackers again and hurdled towards the Equestrian princesses. Apple Bloom stepped forward intending to deflect the stone with a buck, but was instead showered with rubble when it was struck by a green bolt.

The earth pony spun around to stare at her friend, who mumbled once again. “What was that, Sweetie Belle?” asked Bloom, a feeling of unease settling over her as the long-horned unicorn stood, eyes downcast and body trembling.”

“I said…” She lifted her glowing glare up at the tatzlwurm, “give me back my friend!” Apple Bloom was sent tumbling backwards as her friend unleashed a wave of magic. Engulfed in a green aura, the unicorn floated into the air and drifted towards the monster. Another bolt fired from her horn, leaving a scorch mark upon monster’s hide and gaining a pain shriek from it.

“Come on, spit her up, now!” Sweetie commanded, grasping the tatzlwurm to keep it from retreating. Seemingly returning the glare, the beast answered with its two remaining tongues wrapping themselves around the unicorn and trying to reunite her with her comrade.

She wouldn’t have that however, and rapidly expanded her aura, actually tearing the tentacles as she broke free. Ignoring the creature's bellow, Sweetie yelled once more. “I. Said. Spit. Her. Up!” Each word was punctuated with a violent shake, yielding six spinning eyes, but no Scootaloo.

Suddenly, Maud yelled up, “Tatzlwurms can’t vomit. We’ll have to get her out a different way.”

Sweetie looked from the grey mare below to the defiant worm in her grasp. The magical surge, even controlled, was draining her reserves quickly, and she doubted she could stomach tearing the thing open to retrieve her friend, so her decision had to come quick. With a deep breath, she growled, “That bird brain better appreciate this,” before disappearing in a flash.

Everyone, even the tatzlwurm, was left confused on where the unicorn had vanished, though it wasn’t long before the latter figured it out if its sudden lurch was any indication. The tatzlwurm began to wiggle and jig as small bulges appeared at its middle, causing the changelings to back away in worry. It wasn’t about to burst open to reveal a bunch of smaller, shrieking monsters, was it?

“What in the-?” Apple Bloom began before the worm’s belly nearly exploded before collapsing inwards. At the same time, a slime covered Sweetie Belle burst forth form a magic bubble, an orange pegasus slumped on her back. “Sweetie Belle!? Wha-? How-? Did ya just teleport into that thing’s stomach!?”

“…Yes… Yes I did,” she answered numbly, staring hauntingly straight ahead. “My coat… is ruined forever…”

“Oh, well, at least ya saved Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom offered, calming herself and hesitantly tapping her friend’s mucus-covered back. “She okay?”

“Yeah… Yeah I think so,” answered Sweetie as she blinked a few times and slid the pegasus to the ground. A quick diagnostic spell told her that her friend was fine other than being out like a light. “She’ll be fine once we clean her up and she rests, I think.”

“We don’t got time for that, we have ta finish this now,” Apple Bloom stated determinately, grabbing Scootaloo by the shoulders and shaking her. “Come on, wake up! This ain’t no time for beauty sleep!” When the slap came across her orange cheek, Scoots flailed awake.

“Who’za what now!?” She blurted before rubbing a new bruise. “… Ow, did you just hit me in the face? Those hooves aren’t soft you know!”

“I’ll make ya some fritters later, but now it’s time ta teach this worm what happens when ya mess with an alicorn.”

Jumping to her hooves, Scootaloo stared with wide eyes. “You mean we get to do the thing?” When the earth pony nodded, Scootaloo jumped up and pumped a hoof. “Awesome!”

Sweetie Belle didn’t share the enthusiasm however as she nervously said. “Are you sure, Bloom? I mean, we haven’t done the thing outside of practice, and even then only a few times. What if we mess up? We’ll be useless until the magic wears off.”

“Ah come on Sweetie Belle, that was only the one time, and it wasn’t even that bad,” Scootaloo dismissed with a roll of her eyes.

The unicorn glared. “Twilight said it was an abomination against ponydom and that she didn’t want us trying it again without her supervision.”

“Girls, enough,” Apple Bloom commanded, stepping towards the tatzlwurm as it regained its senses. “Twilight will understand that we needed to protect our ponies. And Sweetie… we won’t mess up.” The confident smile that she gave her friend had the unicorn’s hesitation practically vanish, and she gave her own smile in return.

“All right, we’ll do it,” Ignoring Scootaloo’s triumphant cheer, Sweetie moved to stand by her friend. With Scoots taking position to her other side, the unicorn was left in the middle as she slowly began to ignite her aura and intertwining it with her partners'. Soon they all started to glow; Scootaloo’s wings lighting up the most along with Bloom’s hooves.

The yellow mare glared up as the tatzlwurm fully erected itself. “Okay varmint, this here is the end of the line for ya, so I suggest ya say your prayers. Girls, are ya ready?”

“I almost have our magic synced up. Now we’ve got to sync our bodies.” Sweetie answered, eyes closed.

“Remind me to thank my mom for making me take ballet,” Scootaloo said with a smirk, rolling a shoulder. “Who would have guessed how useful it would be?”

As the three princesses shined brighter, all eyes turned to them. For Amaryllis, it was wonder she gazed with, having been told by her mentor of this powerful ritual. For her changelings, it was confusion with a touch of curiosity. What could these pony princesses who weren’t even the fabled alicorns do that they could not against the creature? Some of these changelings had been a part of the Canterlot invasion and remembered the cowardice the blonde prince had shown then. The fact that he wet himself when they had come to cocoon him still made the hive ring with laughter.

And the last look, which came from the four eyes not swollen shut, was simply Nope as the tatzlwurm felt the three bleeding stubs in its mouth throb and its insides ache from the unnatural intrusion and removal caused by the unicorn.

Not having the strength to dig new tunnels, the great beast settled on flopping out of its hole and wiggling away at a frantic pace. There was no way it was going to stick around for whatever these insane ponies had in store for it. It regretted not listening to its parent when they had told it the cautionary tale of the purple and pink ones that had invaded their nest and blasted them with magic.

Ponies were cruel creatures to be sure, always destroying poor tatzlwurmes’ nests and then attacking them when they demanded reasonable reimbursement in the form of a meal. Truly awful creatures.

“H-hey! Where are you going!? Oomph!” As the three mares had taken the first synchronized steps of the ritual, their enemy had decided to flee, causing Scootaloo to break formation and trip up the other two. Now in a heap on the ground, the pony princesses could only watch dumbfounded as the mighty tatzlwurm undulated away whimpering.

“Um, does this mean we win?” Sweetie asked.

“I… guess so,” Bloom answered.

“No! It’s-it’s probably planning something evil! Come on, we should do the thing and catch it before it’s too late!” Scootaloo tried, pulling herself to her hooves.

“That’s enough, Scoots, it’s over,” chided the earth pony, standing herself and helping Sweetie Belle do the same. “If Fluttershy ever found out we chased down a critter when it was tryin’ to run away, why, she’d stare us all into a coma.”

“But- It- We- What if…” Scootaloo visibly struggled to argue before heaving a sigh and drooping in defeat. “Darn it, we never get to do the thing outside of Twilight Time. It’s so unfair.”

Sweetie Belle gave her moping companion a shove. “Oh stop your complaining. You should just be happy you’re not worm food right now.”

Blinking a few times, Scootaloo gave her friend an inquisitive look. “Are you talking about that weird dream I had where I got eaten? Are you trying to say that actually happened?”

“Yep, ya flew right into its mouth like a spawning salmon to a bear’s. How’d ya think that was a dream?”

Looking to the yellow mare, Scootaloo defended, “Hey, I just figured I hit my head or something and got knocked out. It’s a lot more likely than being eaten and waking up not. How’d I get out then?”

“You’re welcome,” Sweetie began before being wrapped in a black-legged hug.

“That was so amazing, Princess! When you started floating all glowy–like, I literally got chills! And teleporting right into its stomach like that? Bravest thing I’ve ever seen! I can barely teleport when I can see where I’m going, but you went even further! How’d you keep the tatzlwurm’s natural magic from messing with the destination? Can you start teaching me magic too? I know I’m already taking up a lot of your free time with singing and dancing, but you have to be, like, the best mage ever!”

Stunned for a moment, Sweetie eventually offered a soft smile and returned the hug. “Well, I think Princess Twilight would have something to say about that, but thanks for the compliment.”

“Princess Twilight can suck an egg,” Amaryllis responded, letting perhaps a bit too much of her mother’s hammered in animosity towards the Elements seep into her words. Though she wanted to integrate changelings into Equestrian society, it was hard to shake a grudge more than half their race shared against the grand kindgom’s valiant protectors.

It was a definite downside to the hive mind that original opinions were hard to come by. This was even true for royal changelings, though to a far lesser extent.

Speaking of the hive mind, the young princess felt one of her injured subjects awaken, and with it, his aches and pains. With a small gasp she released her mentor and rushed over to the downed changeling, her translucent wings buzzing as she had lost hold of her transformation.

Right now, her people needed a changeling princess, not a would-be pony popstar.

“That girl’s almost as bad as Scoots here was with Rainbow Dash,” Apple Bloom commented. “She offer to give you a hoof massage yet?”

“Hey, that was only once!”

“Yeah, ‘cause she said you were creepin’ her out,” Bloom rebutted.

“She’s just excited, is all,” Sweetie cut in before the pegasus could rave. “I mean, that was a pretty impressive feat of magic I did to save your flank.” Her eyes lit up suddenly. “You… owe me twenty bits.”

Scootaloo looked behind her to see who the unicorn was talking to, but saw no one. Pointing at her herself, she said, “Me? Why would I owe you…” Her eyes grew wide. “Wait… No! That does not count!”

“I don’t see why it wouldn’t, I literally pulled your flank out of a stomach. Acid is close enough to fire, wouldn’t you agree?”

“W-well, it was supposed to be in a fight saving the world.”

Sweetie rubbed her chin in mock thought. “Hmm, actually, if I recall correctly, there was an ‘or something’ when you said that, and I simply said heroic deeds. I think a battle against a giant worm monster threatening to destroy our settlement counts as a heroic enough battle. We could ask the ponies I saved what they thought if you want some extra opinions.”

Sputtering, Scootaloo, struggled for several seconds before heaving a defeated sigh. “No, I’ll get you the bits… But next time, I’m definitely going to be the one that saves you, and you’ll owe me forty bits!”

Sweetie looked from the orange hoof pointed at her chest to the challenging eyes above before rolling her eyes. “Fine, if you insist, though you really should see somepony about this gambling habit of yours. You’ll be out on the streets if you keep throwing away your money like this.”

“Oh, we’ll see who's eating instant noodles for breakfast after I win the bet!”

“Okay, break it up you two,” Apple Bloom cut in, stepping between her glaring friends. “Y'all are acting like fillies when we got important business at hoof. It’s best we go check on the settlers, see if’n anypony got hurt and explain the that the danger’s passed.”

“Scootaloo tried to maintain eye contact with the unicorn, poking her head around her burly friend, before eventually grumping, “Yeah, fine, you're right.”

“Yes, sorry for that,” Sweetie added as well. “Very un-princess-y of us.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Apple Bloom called, “Hey Maud, you coming?”

Said earth pony was at the edge of one of the many new holes left after the battle. “No, I’m going to examine the tunnels for structural integrity and moisture. The ground water still has to be reached.”

“Well, okay then, just be careful. I don’t want ya diggin’ up another of them tatzlwurm critters.”

“That’s highly unlikely. Tatzlwurm are solitary creatures when not mating. An event that only occurs every thirty-seven years.”

“Riiight, well, come on girls,” Apple Bloom said, turning her head to the changelings who had all gotten to their shaky hooves at this point. “Y'all come along too! They may not know a whole lot about changelings, but I still want ta have the doctors check you over.”

Though hesitant at first, the approval given by their princess had the changelings following the ponies back to the would-be town without question. After a long visit to the medical tent, many of the insectoid ponies left looking like zebras, but no major injuries were found. If anything, the comedic appearance combined with their earlier heroics did wonders for melting away the last bit of fear the settling ponies had of their buggy partners.

Seeing their subject openly celebrate and thank the changelings’ fast thinking and bravery brought smiles to all royals present, and the pony princesses couldn’t wait to send word back to the others of the progress that had been made that day.

To our friends and family,

This is Sweetie Belle doing the actual writing right now since I have the best penmanship of the three of us, but Scootaloo and Apple Bloom are right here beside me, so it’s really from all of us.

To say that today was an exciting one would probably be a strong contester for understatement of the year. Before we get too far into that however, we want to make it clear that no pony or changeling has been seriously injured and that plans are still progressing well, so there’s no need for you worry yourselves.

Anyway, the settlement had its first major encounter with the wildlife of the Badlands this afternoon, a tatzlwurm according to Maud. Guess that mare knows more than just geology, though maybe she knew what it was because it was a subterranean creature? All the time spent with Pinkie makes me hesitant to ask.

I’m rambling. The important thing is that we managed to chase the creature off and that there have been some surprising benefits from the whole ordeal. Just like old times, ha? Seems like whenever things get crazy, something good happens for somepony and a valuable lesson is learned.

In regards to the most recent event, which occurred while digging for ground water, changelings acted quickly to rescue their pony comrades from the tatzlwurm and even stayed afterwards to help us fight. Because of these brave deeds, the last distrust our ponies held against them has been resolved and the changelings have become more than welcome in town.

Really, we all wish you could see all the new friendships that have been made today. Even Scootaloo is feeling much more optimistic about changeling/pony relations.

Other than this, the fight has also yielded some other rewards as well. Princess Amaryllis came up with the brilliant idea of using the tunnels created by the tatzlwurm as the beginnings of a new nest for her changelings, allowing for them to live much closer to the settlement. Now she and her changelings don’t have to fly between here and the hive in the mountains every morning. Isn’t that great? Though she never admitted it, I could see how much the trip took out of Amaryllis and how it took so much of my love to get her back on her hooves each day. I’m glad that won’t be an issue anymore.

Well, anyway, that just about covers everything. Water was eventually found by Maud and a well is already being made. Apple Bloom says that, despite all that happened, construction is actually ahead of schedule. She can’t wait for you all to come and see the town when it’s finished and she wants to remind her brother and sister to bring some apple trees when they come to visit. Scootaloo also says that taming the weather is coming along slowly, but surely, which I can’t wait for. These dust storms are simply awful for my mane.

Well, that about sums everything up. We hope to get a response from you soon.

Love Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle

Oh, Scootaloo wants to add something, so I’m giving over the quill.

Hey, this is Scootaloo. This is mostly for Twilight and it has to do with something that almost happened during the fight with the worm-thing. See, the big guy was actually giving us some trouble you see, and it was almost looking like it was going to win, so the three of us decided to do the thing to finish the fight quick. You know, that thing.

Yeah, well, the worm ended up running away at that point, so we didn’t end up needing it after all, but I was thinking, what if we did? We didn’t get a whole lot of practice before coming out here, and now that we actually are here and you’re not, we don’t get to practive at all. What if next time something bad happens and we really have to do the thing, we mess it up since we have so little experience doing it?

What I’m trying to say is that I think we should start practicing again even though you aren’t here to supervise. I mean, you never know when you’re going to need a super strong alicorn, around, am I right? Hope to get an answer when you write back.

Apple Bloom here, the other two don’t know I’m adding this; they just left the room, arguing about bets and what not. I swear those two are still little fillies at heart. Anyways, while I can’t disagree with what Scootaloo is getting at, she really just wants to fuse. If you say we can start practicing without you around to watch, do you mind adding something like only once a day or something? If you don’t, Scootaloo is liable to hound Sweetie and I to practice all day long. We’d never get anything done.

Well, that’s all I got to say. I hope everything is working out back home.

Author's Note

Did this constitute trolling? How badly were y'all looking forward to the thing?

Anyway, I hope it was a fun bonus chapter despite the thing not going down. If I write another, I think it will be their cutie-mark stories. Again, if you see any mistakes, of which I'm sure there are plenty, don't be afraid to point them out.