Author's Note

For this chapter, I've decided to play memory presenter and match maker. I was given the idea of giving Starlight a pet now that she's part of the Mane 6's group of friends. So I would like to thank OmniFox for bringing this idea to me in giving Starlight a pet.

Chapter 7

After a goodnight's rest from a very eventful Gala, Spike, the guys, and Trixie were seeing the Mane 6, Starlight, and Ember off at the train station the next day's afternoon.

With the negotiations over, the girls thought it would be best to go ahead and head back to Ponyville. Trixie decided to stay and help the guys who were staying to help rebuild the castle's ballroom before heading to visit Ponyville themselves. Spike smiled to Ember. "You guys just head back to Ponyville and we'll be there tomorrow after we help clean up the mess Sombra made during the Gala. After that much excitement from last night, I'd say you can do with some time to relax."

Ember smiled and pecked her drakefriend's cheek. "Just don't be late getting back. I'd like to spend as much time together before having to go back to the Dragon Lands."

Flash and Twilight had just shared a kiss before Twilight asked, "Are you sure it's okay for you to come by Ponyville? You won't get in trouble will you?"

Flash only smiled at his marefriend's worried nature. "It'll be fine. I was supposed to take this coming week off anyway. So the princesses decided to let me head off a day early. First thing tomorrow, we'll be heading to Ponyville. Right guys."

The rest of the stallions nodded to him after saying goodbye to their own marefriends.

Starlight looked at Trixie and asked, "Are you sure you want to wait to come back until tomorrow?"

Trixie smiled at her friend and said, "Yes, I'm sure. I've wanted to see more of Canterlot since this is my first time here. And plus I want to see if I could spend some time with... You know."

She bobbed her head in the direction where Match was talking with Spike and Ember. "Oh. I see. Well all I can tell you is good luck and to be yourself."

The two unicorns shared a hug before Starlight followed Applejack and Twilight on to the train.

After they were all on board, the train took off as the girls waved off to their men.

About an hour later after arriving in Ponyville, the girls decided to have a picnic/pet play date so Fang could get to know the rest of the girls pets including Starlight's pet skunk, Fiona.

Fang got along well with Fiona, Winona, and Owlowicious. While Gummy and Tank were a little weird, the pup felt comfortable around. Given how some of the types of encounters rabbits have with wolves, it took a little bit for Angel to completely accept Fang as a friend, but since the pup showed no threat to the furry little guy, the bunny soon became the wolf's good friend.

Opal, however, was a bit of a problem. The minute the wolf pup approached her, the cat loudly hissed at him, causing him to yelp and run behind Ember in fear.

Rarity scolded her pet, "Opalescence! You apologize to that little pup right now!"

Opal only hissed again before flinching due to a rare growl given by Winona. The cat then slowly walked over and meowed an apology to the pup. Ember smiled as she rubbed Winona's head. "Thanks girl. You're a good friend."

Rarity said, "Fang seems to be getting along nicely after that incident you told us about."

Fluttershy scratched the wolf pup behind his ears as she said, "All he needed was the right care giver to get him through the drama."

Ember smiled at the pegasus's comment before something came to mind. "Hey girls? I've been wondering about something."

Twilight asked, "What is it Ember?"

"Spike mentioned in his old letter how you and Flash got together. But I was wondering how the rest of you got together with your guys."

Rainbow Dash smiled as she spoke first, "I'd be happy to share with how Soarin and I got together."

Flashback

Rainbow was just finishing her shower and dressing herself after her training for the day and was heading out the door when she crossed paths with the second in command of the team, Soarin'.

"Hey Rainbow. What are you up to?"

"Just finished training for the day. What about you? Same?"

"Yep. Hey umm... I was going to get some pizza after changing from my uniform. You want to come with? You look like you could eat."

Rainbow Dash thought for a moment before saying, "I don't have anything planned so sure. What place do you have in mind?"

"I was going to head to Tony's. Just let me shower and change real quick."

After the stallion finished doing what he had to, the two flew off to Tony's Pizza Parlor to enjoy a good garlic and hay pizza. As they enjoyed their food Soarin decided to strike a conversation, "So how are you enjoying being in the Wonderbolts so far?"

"It's everything I expected it to be and a little more excitement."

"I know what you mean. I was the same way when I was a rookie myself. So tell me what do you do when you aren't training? Have you managed to get a guy for yourself?"

Rainbow just finished her third slice. "Naw. Nopony who can handle this strong mare has made himself known yet. What about you? I heard some rumors about you and Spitfire."

"Those are just rumors. We did try once when we were younger, but we decided it would best to just stay friends. Plus... She realized she liked what's on the other side of the fence."

The two soon finished the pizza and left for home after Soarin' paid. Since it was kind of late, Soarin' decided to fly her home. They landed on her front porch and Rainbow smiled to her fellow Wonderbolt. "Thanks for dinner Soarin'. I'll see you tomorrow."

But right before the mare went inside, Soarin' spoke up, "Hey Rainbow? I was going to go down to the lake for a swim tomorrow at the lake and I was wondering if you would like to go with me."

The rainbow maned pegasus smiled at him as she gave him a kiss on the lips. Soarin' eyes widened before Rainbow pulled back shortly after. "Does that feel like a yes to you?"

The stallion grinned as he said, "I don't know. Maybe another will tell me for sure."

The two locked lips again and enjoyed the first moment of a new relationship.

End flashback

"And after a few more dates, our relationship became the strongest I've ever had in my life."

Fluttershy the took her turn to tell a story, "And if wasn't for them getting together, well let's just say Thunderlane and I wouldn't be an item right now."

As Fluttershy told her story, the guys in Canterlot were just finishing up with putting the ballroom back together.

Flash, Soarin', and Thunderlane were lifting one of the replacement ceiling tiles up with Trixie coordinating. "Easy! Easy! Right there! Perfect!"

Spike, Macintosh, Caramel, Match, and Sunburst had just finished repairing the hole in the wall. "That should be everything guys. Let's get cleaned up and get some dinner."

Trixie spoke up, "Actually guys. I think I'm going to go in to town to get something to eat. I was going to head to that place Pinkie and Rarity recommended. You know the 'Tasty Treat' place."

Spike walked up to Match and whispered, "This is a good opportunity for you Match. Go eat with her and spend some time with her."

Match thought it over before going with what Spike advised. "Mind if I tag along Trixie? I'm in the mood for something other than castle food."

"Sure. It would be nice to have somepony... drake to talk to. Follow me and I'll show you the way."

The two made their way out of the ballroom and out of the castle while the rest of the guys made their way to the dining hall. Flash looked to Spike after he watched the drake and unicorn walk off. "I'm starting to see what you and Twilight are seeing. Judging by the look of them enjoying each others' company, I can definitely see something spark between those two."

"Yep. But like Twilight and Ember said, it's best to let it happen with nothing but supportive and confidential advice."

Caramel chuckled at Spike's words. "Look who finally started thinking and listening to his sister."

Spike smirked as he looked to the earth pony. "Are you saying I was stupid all the years I've been in Ponyville?"

"No. But I- hey!" Caramel soon found himself laughing as Spike put him in a headlock.

"Let me go dude!"

"Say I'm sorry Spike!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

Spike let him go as he turned the guys. "Come on. Let's get some food so we'll have some strength to head to Ponyville tomorrow."

With Match and Trixie, they had just walked in the Tasty Treat restaurant to find many ponies enjoying themselves. The host mare walked up to greet them, "Hello and welcome to Tasty Treat. I am the owner, Saffron Masala. And judging by the looks, you two are new to Canterlot."

"That we are. I'm Trixie and this is my friend Match. I've been in Canterlot for a couple a days and before she left to go back home, my friend Rarity recommended this place for trying."

"You know Ms. Rarity? She is a friend of mine and my father's, Coriander Cumin. If it wasn't for her and Pinkie Pie, this restaurant wouldn't be as good as it is to this day. They helped us make this place one of the greatest in Canterlot. But I believe you deserve to experience that for yourself. Follow me if you would be so kind."

Saffron lead the two to a small table beside a new bar that she and Coriander installed. The two took their seats and as Saffron asked, "What would you two like?"

Trixie took a quick look at the menu before saying, "I think I'll have the special for the day with a glass of cider. What about you Match?"

"I'll have the same thing."

Saffron walked off as Match looked to Trixie. "So before you became friends with Twilight and the others, what did you do on your own?"

"I was an 'on the road' magician. I went from place to place doing magic shows. There was a point where I took things too far with something called the Alicorn Amulet in Ponyville because I was jealous of Twilight. After Starlight showed me what it was really like to have a real friend. I've always looked to everyday and wake up to remember how far I've come since I stopped being a mare who was so full of herself that she would put others in danger just to get in the spotlight everywhere."

"I can only imagine the guilt you must feel from that. But I do understand one thing, now that you've been forgiven by others, you must now learn to forgive yourself. I've done some pretty terrible things myself. I remember all the times I attacked innocent dragons and ponies. It wasn't until Ember started showing me right way to live among others along giving a real friend for the first time. She soon told me about how your friend Spike was the one who showed her how living with friends and helping others is the life that holds the most rewards."

"Wow. Who thought we would have gone through the similar lives."

Saffron approached the two as she held to trays of specials and two bottles of cider. "Here you are you two. Enjoy and let us know if you would like anything else."

As the two enjoyed their meals, they soon became deep in thought.

'I'm feeling a little more confident on asking her out now that I know we have had similar pasts and challenges. Knowing that we have that in common makes me think we're more suited for each other than I thought.'

'He's been through the same types of things I've had to experience. Understanding the output and feelings that follow from difficult situations can make it easier in providing emotional support for each other. I'm just wondering how I should ask him out.'

However, as the two were finishing their meals, they heard the door slam open and saw two masked ponies run in one being a unicorn carrying a spear and the other being an earth pony carrying a crossbow. The crossbow one shot in the air as everypony got low. The spear one then aimed his spear at Saffron and Coriander who were huddled up together. "Give us all your bits! Otherwise we trash this place and cause whatever pain is necessary."

Before anyone could react, Trixie used her magic to snatch the spear from the unicorn's hands. "Let's calm down and try to be a little more reasonable."

"Mind your own business!" The unicorn blasted Trixie to the ground before pulling his spear back to him.

Match instantly stood from his seat as he glared at the two. "That's no way to treat a lady. So I'll give you two options. A.) You can put your weapons down and wait for the Royal Guard to come and take you. Or b.) I can give you a proper beat down before they get here."

The stallion with the crossbow pointed his weapon at the drake's face. "I choose c.) I pull this trigger in your face. And you go down dead as a corpse." The stallion pulled the trigger.

To his and everypony else's surprise, the bolt broke when it hit Match in the nose without even scratching him. The stallion fired more until he ran out. "What's going on?"

Match smirked at him and said, "Guess I should explain. We dragons who are trained as royal guards of the Dragon Lands are put through rough enough training that the only weapons that can actually hurt us are weapons made from dragon metals."

Then before the stallion could react, Match knocked him out with one punch.

The unicorn then ran at Match with his spear. He swung his weapon only for Match to dodge every strike until at one point, Match caught the end of the spear. Then to the stallion's shock, the drake bent the end of the spear before tripping the stallion with his tail and knocked him out with a back-fist to the ground.

Right after that, a few Royal Guards ran in with the leader of the group saying, "We heard there was a robbery going on. Is everypony okay? What's the situation?"

Match pointed at the two unconscious robbers and said, "These two are the ones who attempted a robbery. While this isn't the Dragon Lands, I decided to take action as a Dragon Royal Guard after they arrived. I hope I caused you no trouble."

"Thank you Match. Flash Sentry told us about you and we knew you were a Royal Guard of the Dragon Lands. We owe you one. Privates! Get those two in handcuffs!"

The two guards did as told as Saffron and Coriander walked up to Match with Coriander saying, "Thank you for helping us. Please allow us to give you or your friend no charge on your meal as thanks. It's the least we could do."

Trixie walked to Match's side as she said, "I suppose we could allow that. Thank you for the great meal. I can see why Rarity recommended this place."

Saffron smiled at the two. "Thank you both for coming. And say hi to Rarity and Pinkie Pie for us."

Trixie smiled and said, "Will do."

Meanwhile back in Ponyville, Applejack had just finished telling Ember how she and Caramel got together on a day where Macintosh and Applebloom were sick so Granny Smith asked him to fill in and help Applejack. From the others she found out that Rarity and Macintosh got together when Rarity asked him to help move some stuff around her store and offered to buy him dinner in thanks, Fluttershy got with Thunderlane when Rainbow and Soarin' set them up on an unknonwn double date with them, and Pinkie Pie got together with Cheese Sandwich when they met up at one of Vinyl Scratch's parties. "Wow. You girls found your loves in ways that suite you best. And in better ways than how Spike and I found out about our feelings."

Fluttershy said, "While it is true you two could have discovered your feelings that didn't involve Garble assaulting you two, at least you both found out and are happier than ever."

Ember rubbed Fang's head as she said, "You're right Fluttershy. No matter the cause, I wouldn't trade being with Spike for anything in the world."

"And we'd do the same for our guys. Now let's get to the castle and get some sleep. We need to meet the guys at the station first thing in the morning."

With that, they gathered what they brought, their pets, and made their way to the Friendship Castle for a good sleepover and some sleep.

Back in Canterlot, Match had just walked Trixie to her room as after they had arrived at the castle. "Thanks for having dinner with me Match. I never enjoyed eating by myself."

"It was my pleasure Trixie. Like I said, I believe there is meaning in the methods of peace between dragons and ponies that Ember is trying to show everydrake."

Before Match was about to walk off, Trixie gave him a soft peck on his cheek, causing them both to blush. "That was for stopping those two stallions after he hit me with his magic. Goodnight Match."

"Goodnight Trixie."

With that, Trixie went into her room while Match made his way to his.

In the Dragon Lands, Garble stood in a cell with chains connected to the wall. They allowed him to walk around the cell, but didn't extend enough to where he could reach the bars.

"Supper!"

He looked up to see the guard roll in a tray that had a few gemstones on it with a small cup of water. "Couldn't I get a few more gems?"

The guard looked at him with a scowl. "Your lucky Torch is even feeding you after what you tried to do to the Dragon Lord, who I may remind you is his daughter!"

Garble shot up and tried to reach for the bars. "She shouldn't have tried to change our traditions! She and that pony lover, Spike, did nothing but change our ways for no reason!"

"If you ask me, this place could do with a few changes. The old ways are making things difficult for us dragons. And after what you pulled, you should consider yourself lucky that Torch didn't stomp you into dust."

With that, the guard left the chamber as Garble began to chow down. "This is ridiculous. They should be helping me. Dragons need to focus on what our original way was. If only I had the power to show them."

"I believe we can help each other."

Garble looked to see a stream of dark magic had entered his cell undetected. "Who-what are you?"

"I am King Sombra. What you see is the magic that remains after my unicorn body was destroyed. And I've come for you help."

"And why would I help you? I'm a type of dragon who wants nothing to do with ponies."

"Three reasons: One: I can give you the power to break out of here. Two: I can give you new abilities that no dragon has ever had. And three: I can give you the power necessary to achieve whatever you want.

"Tempting. But what do you want in return?"

"I need you to be a temporary host body for me, break into Canterlot Castle to get the one thing that can reconstruct my body, and to become my new general as I prepare to conquer the lands that did me wrong."

Garble thought it over for a moment before saying, "I'm in. What do I have to do?"

"Just relax for a moment."

The stream of magic the entered Garble's body.

After a few moments of pain, a flash of light revealed Garble, not only free from his shackles, but also in solid dark armor similar to that of what Ember wore during the Gauntlet of Fire while his eyes began to glow in the same mist as Sombra's.

The dragon let out a burst of flame that was powerful enough to not only destroy his prison, but also give him a hole through the building he was in to escape through.

Before any nearby guards could react, Garble took to the skies at a speed that made it impossible for him to be caught. He landed in an area he was sure he wouldn't be found. "Alright Sombra. So now what?"

"It will take a few hours for the dark magic to fully accept your body as its new host. Take a few hours to rest and regain your full strength. After that... we will begin our actions!"