Majesty: Queen of the Castle

Chapters

The Queen You Know, The Mare You Don't
A charming Fillyhood
Scolding
Among Friends
Three's a company
Goblins!
Wounded pride
Utterly Fluttered
A Rosedust by any other name...
Understanding
Sunlight Ballet
Battle Corral
Farewell to the Flutters!
Beware Wizard Wantall!
Amidst the Ruins
Seeing Double
Confession
Double Trouble
One Lucky Colt
The Wizard's Tower
Little Colt Lost
The Road Ahead
Through the Valley of Shadows
Parting Ways
Rainbow Falls
Changing of the Seasons
The Tale of the first Cutie Mark
Through her eyes
A New Friend, unlike any other...
Meet the Pony Friends
A queen's mother
A Hired Hoof
The Meeting at Rainbow Falls
Pony Pals in Peril!
Meet the Kids!
Confrontation
Shattered!
A Real Pain in the Neck
A Question of Conscience
Return to Equestria
It's all Greek to me
Ponies partake in Pita Pockets
Conspiracy Theories
Forward to Equestria!
Pony Rescue!
Duel in the skies!
Final Showdown
Conclusion
Mountian of Mists
Interruption of Youth

The Queen You Know, The Mare You Don't

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

How very simple that innocent little phrase is, yet how much truth it contains within its words. Being a leader is never easy, and the more power and responsibility that leader bears, the harder it is for that leader. Well, I live under the rule of the one pony such a position may be the hardest for, and it is always sad to see the pressure that rule always seems to put upon her. it is amazing that such a noble pony has such incredible patience.

It also saddens me, that a great deal of this grief comes from her own subjects; ponies whom she rules over and protects, to the best of her ability. But instead of being grateful and reverent for all of the sacrifices our beloved monarch makes for them, my fellow ponies seem to do their best to make her live even more miserable. Even now, as I trot past the entrance to the throne room, I can hear two obstinate mares are inside, whining to the Queen about a problem they could have easily solved between themselves.

"Blast it, Surprise! I wanted this to be a formal party! Why did you hang all those silly banners and bows and balloons in the grand ballroom!" Glory the unicorn complains, stamping her hoof angrily as she stands before the throne. "My queen, could you please tell her that we want the duke of Maretonia's visit to be a special event, and not the farce she wishes to reduce it to?"

"Awww, you're just a big boring old grump!" The white Pegasus flapping on the other side of the throne whines, looking to our ruler like a wronged child seeking approval from a parent. "Tell em' the duke and duchess wanna have a good time, queenie!"

"Both of you, please! This is a matter that is easily solvable!" The white unicorn with a blue and white streaked mane declares, raising a hoof to silence them both. "Glory, allow Surprise to have some fun and revelry making after your banquet! Surprise, please save your silliness and practical jokes until after Glory's elegant feast is complete!"

"As you wish, my queen." Glory bowed reverently to the mare with the golden crown upon her head. "Though I still don't see why a court jester like Surprise has any business arranging a party."

"You got it, Queenie!" Surprise bowed to the white unicorn with the blue flower print cutie mark on her flank. "As long as grouchy old Glory doesn't spoil all my fun again!"

The two turn to leave the throne room, and I see our queen rubbing her temples with her hooves. It saddens me greatly to see two fully grown ponies, both of whom are friends and would have come to the same conclusion on their own if they had only tried to sort it out themselves, have to waste the time of a sovereign who already has enough to worry about with constant goblin attacks, diplomatic disputes with other confederacy city states, and hearing more important grievances her own other subjects have.

My name is Tornado, and I am a unicorn stallion that lives in the kingdom of Dream Valley. We are a city-state of about five million ponies, located in the heart of Ponyland. Our small kingdom is ruled from Dream Castle, a mighty citadel built deep in the heart of the mastificent forest. We were the first modern kingdom to be founded on the continent , and therefore proudly boast of being the oldest state in the Ponyland confederacy, the federation of allied states carved out when the empire of the ancients fell under waves of barbarian invaders... barbarians who just happen to be our ancestors.

As to the ruler I am now watching sit on her throne, she is her royal highness, Queen Majesty XIV- known to us, her subjects, simply as Majesty. She is descended from a long bloodline of monarchs, going all the way back to the unicorn royal family from before the kingdom of the ancients. She is from a royal house founded by Queen Sunsparkle herself, the fist monarch to ever rule over other ponies. Our queen wasn't chosen to lead us by ascending to alicornhood, she was born into it.

Not wanting to bother our already troubled sovereign, I try to quietly trot away so as not to disturb her. But my soft steps do not escape the ears of our ever-vigilant ruler.

"Tornado, come into my throne room please." I hear our monarch command, in her usual gentle-but-firm tone. "I know you are there, historian."

"Nothing escapes your notice, my queen." I reply respectfully, trotting into the throne room, and bowing low before her. "How may I be of service?"

Even standing before such a magnificent pony is intimidating, and not because the queen is intimidating, bu the powerful artifact she wears. For upon her head Majesty bears the golden crown, the powerful artifact that can simply make the queen's will a reality, simply by her thinking of it. In my time in Dream Castle, I've seen her do everything from turn whole armies of trolls to stone, to defeating two alicorns at once simply by blasting them with the crown's power. Forget rainbows and friendship beams, this queen has the most powerful weapon ever seen by ponykind- one of her ancestors even killed the tree of harmony with it!

And that's the kind of reputation my queen has earned herself, a reputation as a ruthless warrior-queen who uses force instead of friendship to solve her problems, and bullies other ponies into doing what she wants. Majesty is frowned upon by the ponies of Equestria (a kingdom of ponies that exists to the south of Ponyland), as a queen who destroys and kills her enemies instead of reforming them. That is our queen; loved by the ponies of Dream Valley, and feared and hated by everyone else.

"Tornado, I have been meaning to summon you for some time." Majesty sighed, beckoning me to have a seat on the dais before her throne. "Levitate that quill and parchment before you, for I wish for you to record another historical narrative I have for you."

"What is it this time, my queen?" I ask her, having as seat and using my unicorn levitation to dip my quill into the vial of ink. "A tale of your mother, the previous queen, from the Dragon Wars?"

"No, Baron Tornado, I have an even more important story for you to relate." She tells me with a sigh, sitting back and reclining upon her velvet cushioned throne. "For the tale I am about to relate to you... it is my very own."

A charming Fillyhood

"My princess, would you please sit up straight, and stop goofing around!" Satin 'N Lace snapped angrily. "The sooner we get through this diplomatic visit, the sooner you can go and spend time with your friends!"

As was usual for the little filly, Princess Majesty simply ignored her nanny's pleas, slouching in her chair, and using her magic to levitate the can of soda she was slurping loudly. It wasn't like the old mare had anything interesting to say, just another dull lecture on how 'she needed to pay more attention', or 'it was her duty to study politics, and see how her mother handled situations'. Majesty had heard it all before, and she hated that she had to waste her precious time with this aging windbag again. again.

"Aw, quit being such an old nag!" Majesty whined at the pink earth pony. "It's not like the ambassador from Fort Rainbow Dash will have a major freakout if I'm not on my best behavior!"

"But you know better, my princess!" The exasperated nanny snapped at the teen filly. "I didn't raise you to be some ill-mannered ruffian, and I'm not going to have you embarrassing myself or the royal court, at this auspicious banquet!"

The two were seated at a long table, covered with napkins and silverware that had been carefully placed. For such a young and energetic filly, being trapped in one place like this for so long was really turning out to be a royal pain. But this had been her entire life; be bossed around by this old nag, being told where to go, what to eat, and how to dress. Majesty couldn't remember a day in her whole life when grumpy old Satin wasn't there to yell at her for doing something wrong. She would even barge into the Dream Castle schoolroom during lessons, and drag the princess out to lecture her on some stupid little thing Majesty had done the day before.

All of this nagging and complaining she had to put up with! And worst of all, she didn't even get to enjoy the perks of being a royal princess! According to custom, she had been raised as a commoner so she could understand how average ponies lived. Which meant no servants, no ordering ponies around until she came of age... nothing. The little bit of time she got to spend with her friends was like a divine gift from the B'zekre the horsemaster himself!

"Aww, looks like the little princess got yelled at again." A purple colt with a golden crown teased her from across the table. "Better behave yourself, or nanny might give you a spanking!"

"Buzz off, Fireflight!" She told the annoying prince, sticking out her tongue at him. "I don't need your stupid remarks right now!"

"Now, princess Majesty! That is no way to talk to your brother!" Satin 'n Lace snapped. "If you cannot say anything nice, please refrain from saying anything at all!"

Ugh... her brother, the spoiled prince with no cares or responsibilities in the world. Being a male, nothing was expected of him, and he had no cares or responsibilities in the world. Fireflight spent most of their time together teasing his sister, a fact that did nothing to endear him to her.

"Whoah, Maj! Check out the geek squad!" Her bother commented, pointing a hoof to the banquet hall's entrance arch. "Looks like the Fort Dash delegation decided to show up in full colors!"

Sure enough, the ponies from Fort Dash arrived in togas, chitons, and full centurion and hoplite armor trotted into the room gracefully, making their may to the banquet table. Majesty and Fireflight's mother, the queen, trotted up to greet the new arrivals, and bowed.

"Honored Guests, I am happy to welcome you to Dream Valley." The queen bowed her head politely, as the delegates respectfully did the same" I hope you all enjoy your stay here, and are happy to be your humble hosts..."

But as her mother droned on and on, Majesty noticed a young stallion trotting among the members of the delegation. The princess was stunned; blue mane and tail, bow tie cutie mark on a perfectly curved flank.... and those eyes. Those deep, brownish-pink eyes that almost seemed to be staring into her soul... Majesty couldn't take her eyes off of him, and stared, as if in a trance.

"Hey sis, you all right?" Fireflight asked, poking her with a fork from across the table. "You're acting like you've become a zombie or something."

"Huh? Oh, it's that colt over there, the blue one in the entourage." Majesty sighed, snapping back to reality. "I can't believe he's so darn cute."

"Oh, him? That's Tux and Tails, the Margrave of Fort Dash's son." The prince explained. "I met him before at the royal youth of Ponyland summit last year. Really cool dude, has an awesome weapons collection." Fireflight grinned wickedly. "And apparently, my kid sister has a crush on him."

"I do not!" Majesty protested, trying to hide her blush. Still she couldn't stop looking at him, and as the delegation approached, the young colt suddenly turned, trotted over towards her, and bowed.

"Hello my lady." Prince Tux greeted her, taking Majesty's hoof and kissing it. "I am surprised to see such beauty on display here in Dream Valley."

"I...um...eek!" Majesty's brain broke, and a surge of magic suddenly exploded from the teen princess's horn. Every torch and candle in the room suddenly flared up, and every light bulb and glass fixture in the banquet hall exploded into shards. The sprinkler system came on, and panicked ponies were running in every direction, as total chaos broke out in the diplomatic dinner.

"A practical joke! Dream Valley dishonors our visit with a practical joke!"

"They'll pay for this outrage! I'll make sure the Fort Rainbow Dash senate never approves that barter treaty now!"

"Wow, nice job, sis!" Fireflight declared, nearly falling out of his chair as he laughed his flank off. "You managed to set back diplomatic relations with Fort Dash for years!"

And as Satin 'n Lace shot her a murderous glare, Majesty slowly sunk down into her chair, holding back tears, and wishing she could just disappear.

Scolding

"I am so sorry, my queen!" Satin n' Lace pleaded, kneeling before the throne. "I had no idea she was going to do something like that! I certainly didn't teach her such rude and ill-mannered behavior!"

Majesty and her nanny had both been called before the queen of Dream Valley. The two had been summoned before their sovereign after the fiasco with the Fort Dash dignitaries, and Majesty could tell her mother was not very happy about what had happened, at all. Seeing two sets of disapproving eyes on her at once, the princess felt like she wanted to just crawl away somewhere and hide.

"Diplomatic relations with Fort Rainbow Dash have been severely damaged, the royal house of Dream Valley's reputation has been sullied, and my daughter has given the gossips at the various royal courts plenty to chew over with her overly obvious childish crush." Her mother's voice stated, in a flat but obviously angry tone. "I thought I hired you to train my daughter properly for the position and responsibility she must one day hold."

"Well, I do try, your highness... but it can be difficult at times." Satin declared, stumbling over her words as she tried to figure out an excuse. "She can be very stubborn and headstrong, just as you were at that age."

"But I assumed you would be able to handle that, Satin n' Lace. That is why I gave you the honor of being my little girl's governess in the first place." The queen's voice rang with a slight tone of disapproval. "I am greatly disappointed that this is not the case."

Satin winced, Majesty saw the pressure her lifelong caretaker was under. Suddenly, a great surge of anger rose up in the young princess, and this time she turned it on the mare who had seemed so intimidating to the princess her entire life.

"Hey! Instead of blaming her for me turning out rotten, why don't you try taking a look in a mirror sometime!?" Majesty snapped, jumping in front of Satin n' Lace. "At least she went through the effort and hard work of actually raising me- you know, the thing my mother was supposed to do?!"

"Your highness, I am so sorry about this!" Satin n' Lace pleaded, jumping in front of the filly. "Young lady, that is quite enough of that tone! You do not speak to your mother the queen in such a-"

"You stay out of this, you glorified babysitter!" Majesty levitated Bright Bouquet into the air, easily tossing her aside. "All my life you've shushed me up when I tried to speak to my mother, but now she's going to hear me."

"I can hear you quite well, my daughter." The queen replied coolly, in the only indifferent voice Majesty had ever heard her mother speak in. "And I believe the servants throughout the castle can hear you, as well."

"I don't freakin' care! This is the first time in my entire damned life you've ever even spoken to me outside of formal events!" Majesty started to cry, staring up at her mother in anger. "You were too damn busy ruling your stupid kingdom, doing your stupid business to ever stop by your own daughter's room at night for a talk, or even to give her a hug! Oh, but you had time to be all affectionate with Fireflight, didn't you? All he had to do was shed a tear, and you were there!"

"Your brother is a weak male, he needs more emotional support and attention than we do." The queen replied coldly. "I thought you would be emotionally mature enough to handle things on your own growing up. Obviously, I was mistaken."

"Obviously! You never thought to try to talk to me about this, not even once?!" Majesty snapped, glaring at her mother. "Oh no, that would've ruined your whole 'dispassionate and detached' queen thing you got going, wouldn't it, mom?"

"Majesty, please, don't do this!" Satin n' Lace pleaded, trotting up behind her again. "Let's go back to your room, and-"

"Satin, I am eighteen years old now; I am your princess, not your charge any longer." Majesty turned towards the governess. "If you do not stand back there and be quiet, I swear I will use my magic to toss you out the window, and into the moat!"

A look of horror spread across the former governess's face, as if she were seeing her young charge for the first time. Taking a step back, Satin 'n Lace fell silent, and said nothing more.

"Hm, it seems you are already learning how to be a proper queen of Dream Valley, my dear." Her mother noted, a hint of pride showing in her monotone voice. "Perhaps Satin 'N Lace did raise you properly, after all."

"I don't want to be a 'proper' queen, I don't want to be anything you want me to be!" Majesty, snarled, turning away from her mother angrily. "The only thing I want is to be away from Dream Valley, and away from the two of you!"

"So be it then, my daughter, you shall have your wish." The queen stated again, in here usual solemn tone. "You shall be far away from this place, and on your own. I believe it's time you see the world for how it truly is, my daughter. And I warn you... you may not like what you find."

...

Not many ponies saw the white and blue teen princess leave the castle, nor did many of those ponies even notice she was gone. So little attention was paid to the heir to the throne that few other equines would have noticed she was even missing. Not that Majesty would have cared if they had noticed anyway; she preferred the solitude that anonymity among her mother's own subjects gave her.

Good riddance to this stupid place. Majesty though to herself, looking back at the castle that had been the only home she had ever known. I hope I never see it again.

She knew why her mother had let her go; the queen thought her daughter was soft, and would easily crack, and come galloping home crying. But she'd show her mother, she'd show them all. Princess Majesty would stand on her own two hooves and trot, no matter how weak other ponies thought she was! Princess Majesty didn't need anybody, she would survive all by herself!

No matter how much it hurt....

Among Friends

"Stupid mom, stupid nanny!" Majesty grumbled, trotting along the path that led from Dream Castle, and heading out into the wider open world. "Who needs them? I'll show them I'm better off on my own!"

As she walked out past the castle's apple orchard, an orange pony with a blonde mane working at one of the trees saw the white unicorn going by, and began to grow concerned as she saw the young filly trotting out of Dream Castle's outer courtyard wall. Dropping the last apple she had picked with her mouth into the nearby basket, the orchard worker galloped after the filly, jumping in front of her path before she could depart through the large bronze gates that stood at the entrance to Dream Valley itself.

"Hey now, where do you think you're going, kid?" The mare with the seven-apple cutie mark demanded. "Don't you know how dangerous it is out there? Ponyland isn't exactly the safest place to go for a pleasant stroll, little filly!"

"I know very well how dangerous it is out there, Apple picker!" Majesty snorted, easily figuring out this was one of the seasonal migrant laborers who worked Dream Valley's fields during harvest time. "And what right do you have calling me 'filly' and 'kid'? You don't look much older than I do!"

The orange mare seemed to roll her eyes at that statement, as if she had heard it a million times before. "Fine, I won't call ya kid. But I still think it's really dangerous for a young mare to be wandering out in the world by herself, anyway. Ya could be eaten by a troll, or-"

But Majesty was already trotting past her, heading out onto the path into the wide open world. Rushing back to throw a few things into her saddle bag, she quickly galloped to catch up with the little filly again.

"Well, if you're going to go out into the wide open world, you might as well have some company. I'm tired a' pickin' apples, anyway." She reached into her saddlebag with her mouth, grabbing an apple out to munch on. "So anyway, what's yer name, kid? And where are we headed?"

"My name's Majesty, and I'm leaving Dream Valley because I've had enough of my mother's stupidity." The unicorn mare snorted angrily. "And I don't exactly know where I'm heading, Applejack, but if you want to tag along, I won't stop you."

"Majesty?! Ya mean like, the queen's daughter? Wow, your mom must've done something REALLY bad ta get ya to run away from home!" Applejack reached in to grab another apple, before a realization finally hit her. "Hey, wait a sec... how did you know my name?"

"Oh come on... with that mane, cutie mark, and colors, it's kind of obvious who you are." The unicorn filly replied, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I've heard a few of the servants talk about a silly and greedy pony who keeps raiding the royal pantry for apples!"

"Hey, I'm not a silly and greedy pony!" A.J. protested, grabbing another apple out of her bag, and downing it in the blink of an eye. "I'm the most honest and dependable of ponies in all of Ponyland! I'll be the best companion you could ever- whoaa--ooaaa-aooa!"

The orange earth mare suddenly stumbled over her own hooves, tumbling off of the path, and bumping her head into a nearby tree. Stumbling her way back onto the path, she nearly fell over as Majesty used her magic to help the dizzy pony stand.

"Whoah, did somebody get the license plate number of that dragon that ran me over?" The klutzy Applejack asked, her eyes almost rolling around in her head from the dizziness. "I think I'm gonna be sick!"

"Are you going to knock into every gate and bump into every fence along the way?" Majesty sighed. "Are you coming or are you going, why don't use your horse sense?"

"Sorry..." Applejack replied sadly, as she desperately tried to keep up with the other mare. "By the way, friend call me A.J., for short."

The road was a pleasant one at first, well kept rows of trees and a clean and smooth path. But the deeper they went into the Mastifisecnt forest, the more wild and untamed it became. Darkness seemed to creep in all around them, as the canopy above prevented sunlight from reaching the forest floor. The whole forest seemed to grow quiet at their presence, with only the sounds of their own hoof steps breaking the silence.

"Good grief, why is this place so creepy?" Majesty asked nervously, looking around. "I really, really don't like these woods."

"Some ponies say this place is enchanted." Applejack replied nervously, equally unhappy to be here. "In ancient times, the ancients called this the everfree, and believed to forest had a will of it's own."

A small laugh echoed from the trees all around them, stopping the two girls dead in their tracks.

"W-what was that?" Majesty asked nervously, her eyes darting around wildly. "It sounded almost like... laughter."

"Probably just the wind." Applejack replied, reaching in to Majesty's saddlebag to eat an apple. "Or maybe a bird or critter or something."

"Would you get out of my saddlebag?!" The unicorn snapped angrily, pulling away from A.J.. "You don't need to be eating every five seconds!"

"Sorry, but I already ate all of mine!" The orange mare whined. "I can't help it if I'm always hungry!"

"Hee hee hee hah ha ha...."

The laughter came again, and the two mares huddled together clinging to each other. The darkness the the gloom of the shadows of the trees came in closer, as the sun continued to set. The entire forest seemed to be watching them, waiting for the right moment to pounce. The soft laughter seemed to come from everywhere at once, until the two ponies heard it coming from directly above them.

"Oh no! The forest is after us!" A.J. yelled in a panic, clinging so tightly to Majesty that she couldn't breathe. "This is it, we're done for!"

Just then, a blue comet with a pink mane dive bombed the two mares from above, knocking all three of them to the ground.

"Aieeee!"

"Ooof! Ahhh!"

"Ah hahahahaha! I can't believe you two! What a pair of fraidy cats! Ha Ha!"

Majesty and Applejack pulled themselves back up to their hooves, and found their 'attacker'' was a teenage Pegasus filly about their age, with a blue coat and pink mane. She had several whistles on her cutie mark, and an eternally wide grin that spread all the way across her face.

"Wow, I can't believe you fell for that scary monster routine! -Tweet!- I mean who falls for that kind of junk anymore! -Tweet!-" The motormouth went on, punctuating her sentences with whistles. "You two are, like, a totally fun pair of friends to be around. -Tweet!- Could I so, like, -Tweet!- join your group? You two could, like, so totally help me find the amazing and wonderful thing I'm -Tweet!- looking for!"

"Would you please be quiet for a moment, you whistling airhead! How dare you scare two other mares who are lost in the woods and scared!" Majesty snapped, bringing the Pegasus mare to silence. "Now, one thing at a time... who are you, and what are you out here looking for?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry... my name's -Tweet!- Wind Whistler!" The air headed Pegasus exclaimed, flapping in the air around them like a foal who'd had too much sugar. "And I'm out here looking for that legendary mythical cryptid creature of pony legend, the Cuteasarus!"

With a sigh, Majesty realized that she had only been away from home for a few hours, and was aslready pulled into a crazy pony adventure with two crazy pony friends....

"Lucky me."

Three's a company

And so, the three companions continued along the path, as the sun continued to set. But while the first two were quietly trying to watch and observe their surroundings, their newest companion just couldn't seem to be able to keep her mouth shut.

"So wow, you're like, a princess?" Wind Whistler asked, zipping around over the other two's heads. "That's so cool! -Tweet!- So, are you out here on some kind of quest? Like maybe to rescuer a handsome prince from an evil witch or something? Oh, this is going to be sooo cool!"

"Yes, thank you." Was all Majesty managed to get out, as the crazy motormouth kept going and going. "But I'm not on any sort of quest or adventure. I've actually left home to find myself, and to get away from my overbearing mother, the queen."

"Find yourself? Well, that silly! -tweet!-Why would need to find yourself? You're right here!" Windy giggled. "But if you're not really doing anything, -tweet!- why don't the two of you come and help me try to find the cuteasaurus?"

"Do enjoy hearing yourself talk? Is that why you never shut yer trap, kid?" Applejack growled at the Pegasus flapping around in circles over their heads. "And would you please stop that annoying whistling? I'm I have to listen to it for another minute, I swear I'm gonna jump up there, and break your tweeter!"

"Geez, isn't little miss apple picker a grumpy pony today?" Wind Whistler asked, sticking her tongue out at Applejack. "Are you always so grouchy, or did you just get grouchy in your old age?"

"Better a grumpy old mare, than a young bubble-headed filly with her head stuck in the clouds. " A.J. Snorted. "I wonder, are you even capable of taking anything seriously? "

"Hey, I can, like be totally serious when I need to, Applebutt." Wind Whistler stuck her tongue out at the earth pony. "But I also love laughing and joking and having a good time! I'd rather be dead than be a super-serious stick in the mud like you all the time!"

"Would the two of you please stop arguing for a moment? I can't even here myself think!" Majesty yelled in exasperation, turning her attention towards the rapidly setting sun. "It'll be getting dark soon, and we're going to need to set up for the night."

The three ponies continued trotting along the path, until they spotted a wilder, less-traveled pathway which seemed to go off the main one. Wind Whistler stopped at poorly maintained dirt road, calling out to the others.

"Hey, what about, like, going this way?" The blue Pegasus urged them, stopping Majesty and A.J. in their tracks. "It looks like this might be a bit more exciting!"

With an audible sigh, the other two ponies turned and followed their winged companion down the gown over path, getting their hooves stuck in thickets and brambles. The two fillies nearly stumbled over one another, trying to navigate a nearly invisible path.

"Applejack, watch where you're going!" The princess snapped. "You've already stepped my tail twice!"

"Sorry, your highness, but I can't see anything." The earth pony replied, squinting her eyes in the dark. "Hey, I think I see a clearing up ahead!"

Sure enough, the trio of mares came into a clearing in the forest, where they found a most unexpected sight. All around them were features in the landscape that clearly weren't natural.

"Wait, is that... a wall?" Majesty asked, not believing her eyes. "What is a brick wall doing out in the middle of the forest?"

"Oh wow, it so totally is!" Wind Whistler agreed. "And I think I see a house over there all covered in vines... and without a roof!"

The three of them started looking around, and found ruined shops, broken down buildings, and the foundation stones of houses long gone. It was obvious some kind of community had been here long ago, but it was clearly long abandoned by now.

"Oh boy, I think I know where we are." Applejack said nervously, looking around as the last rays of sunlight vanished. "The lost village of the ancients, it's supposed to stand somewhere in the woods about a day's journey away from Dream Castle."

"Well, wherever we are, it's too dark to keep going." Majesty told the other two, lighting her horn up so they could see in the darkness. "Let's get a fire going, and get out bedrolls out before it gets too late."

The three ponies quickly gathered some dry kindling together, and it wasn't long before they had a small fire blazing. The trio had built their camp in the remains of a large circular building, where only half of the large outer wall still stood. Gathering around the fire, the three of them helped them selves to the rations of oats and fruit in their saddlebags, while Applejack snuck whatever extra bits of food she could out of the other two's bags.

"So the lost village of the ancients, huh?" Wind Whistler asked, cocking her head curiously. "I heard my mom mention this place before in stories, but who the heck were the ancients?"

"They were supposed to be a mighty nation of ponies who lived in Ponyland, long before the coming of the humans or the elves and gnomes." Majesty explained, her eyes softly glowing in the firelight. "They had a powerful and mighty civilization, but lost their greatness in a series of wars with the monster races. Our ancestors came to settle these lands, conquered the ancients and drove them out of Ponyland. But all of their great wisdom and magic was lost, and all that remains are these strange ruins they left all over Ponyland." She looked around at the crumbling walls around them. "We know so little about them or their way of life... heck, we don't even know what they were actually called."

"Ohhh, how mysterious!" Wind Whistler exclaimed. She then looked over at Applejack. "Hey A.J., you seem kinda quiet. Something, like, on your mind?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about how creepy this place is... how it almost seems familiar." A shiver went down the young filly's spine. "I don't know why, but this place reminds me of a dress shop for some reason."

"Really? I thought it was a temple or something." Majesty stated, surprised. "You been here before or something, Applejack?"

"Not that I can recall. Just like you two, I've been living in Dream Valley as long as I can remember." A.J. Shrugged. "But still, I can't shake the feeling this whole town is familiar somehow."

"Anyway, we need to figure out what we're going to do tomorrow." Wind Whistler stated, trying to pull the conversation back on track. "So where in Ponyland are we headed first, Princess?"

"Yeah, I agree, we need to figure out where we are going." Applejack agreed, stuffing another hoof full of oats into her face. "Maretonia? Bright Valley? Or Y'all thinking about heading ta the royal Paradise, the capital of the whole Ponyland confederacy?"

"Actually, I was thinking about Flutter Valley." Majesty replied, a smile spreading across her face. "I've always wanted to see the Flutter ponies!"

"Ohh, I like it, the Flutter ponies are all so pretty!" Wind Whistler agreed eagerly. "It would be an awesome place to start are search for the cuteasaurs!"

"I don't know about this girls, I've heard the Flutter ponies don't exactly take kindly to visitors." Applejack sighed. "Still, if you both want to go there, I'd recommend stopping off at Misty Mountain for some supplies, first."

"Sounds like a plan to me, at least we know where we're going now." Majesty trotted away from the fire, climbing into her sleeping bag. "So we'd better get some sleep now, we have an awfully big day ahead of us tomorrow!"

The three girls turned in, as the fire slowly died away. But as the darkness engulfed the encampment, the three slumbering mares shivered in their sleep, as if a thousand phantom eyes were watching them from the darkness...

Goblins!

Majesty and her two friends were safely asleep, awash in the warmth of dreams without a care in the world, as the small and devilish imps slowly crept in all around them though the darkness. The three fillies did not see all the glowing eyes peering at them through the darkness, nor did they see the horrible little green imps stride forwards towards their unsuspecting prey.

"Ohhh, lookie! It pretty ponies!" The first goblin gleefully gloated, rubbing his greasy and dirty palms together. "We make a good kill tonight!

"Yeah! This enough hunting to feed whole tribe!" Another agreed, holding up a spear. "Yum Yum!"

These were the goblins, hated enemies of ponykind who lived in the great wild forests between the cities. Small green monsters with animalistic faces and crude spears and clubs for weapons, they hunted any equines foolish enough to wander out into the wilds alone. And right now, this small band was looking to make a meal out of Majesty and her friends.

The seven goblins quietly crept into the circle of sleeping ponies, and tossed a large net over them. The three fillies immediately jumped up, and began to jump around in a crazy panic.

"Aieeee! What's going on?!"

"Goblins! They snuck up on us! Damn!"

"Come on girls! We gotta get out of this! -TWEEEEET!-"

The trio yanked and pulled against the nets, struggling helplessly, until Majesty decided to step up. The unicorn teleported out of the net, appearing behind one of the goblins, and kicking him in the back of the head.

"AGH! Stupid Pony!" The little green creep shrieked, falling to the ground.

"Ha ha!! Got him!" Majesty yelled in triumph. "Take that, you little scuzball!"

As the first of the goblins went down, two more jumped forward, and stabbed Majesty in the side.

"Ahhh, they got me!" The filly cried out. "Applejack, help!"

"Hang on princess, I'm a 'comin!" The apple picker snapped the net with her earth pony strength, and charged at the two attackers. Headbutting one and knocking her back with a running charge, she spun around and kicked the other one down before her could spear her, as well.

"Well, looks like that's my cue to fly! -tweet!-" With a few goblins no longer holding down the net, Wind Whistler began to flap her wings. Taking off up into the sky, she left the rest of them hanging onto the net for dear life.

"Ahhh, flying pony... flying!" One of the monsters screamed. "Me no like heights! Pretty pony, put me down!"

"As you wish!" Windy giggled moving out from under the net, and letting the screaming goblins tumble into the treetops below. "Happy landings!"

Having discovered these mares were tougher than they looked, the two or three surviving goblins decided they had had enough, and fled into the forest, disappearing as quickly as they had first come.

"Yeah, we did it, we won!" Wind Whistler squealed, doing a celebratory dance in midair. "We showed those big green meanies!"

"We only scared them off, Windy." Applejack shook her head. "Once they've regained their courage, they'll bring reinforcements from the goblin tunnels a hundred strong. We've got to get ourselves out of here, as quickly as possible!"

"That... that brute!" Majesty whimpered, looking down at the blood oozing out of the open wounds on her side. "Applejack, Wind Whistler... he cut me!"

"Uh, yeah! That's generally what happens when a goblin spear stabs you." The Pegasus rolled her eyes. "Like, duh! I'm a dumb bimbo, and even I know that!"

"But you didn't, did you, Majesty?" Applejack asked, looking the princess over seriously, for the first time. "In fact, you never gave much thought to what it was like out here in the real world at all, did you?"

"But I... but I..." Majesty stumbled, at a loss for words. "I just wanted to get away from my mother. I didn't think about how dangerous it would be outside the walls of Dream Castle."

"What the flank were you thinking, girl!? That you'd just go on a fun little vacation across the countryside, visiting the pony kingdoms as you go?" Applejack snorted. "This isn't the paradise the ancients built where friendship kept everyone safe. This is Ponyland, and it's a dark and dangerous world out there, kid!" She got up in Majesty's face, pointing a hoof straight at her. "You just survived your first battle, princess. Be happy it wasn't your last."

The mare stormed off, while Wind Whistler flapped up to Majesty. "A.J. was a bit mean there, but she wasn't wrong. The world is, like, a really dangerous place." The Pegasus looked at her wound. "Hm, those could've been poison-tipped spears, we'd better get you to a doctor in Misty Mountain, fast." She flew back up into the sky, motioning with her hoof after A.J. "By the way, that was some very fancy teleporting you did back there, you might survive out here, after all."

"Thanks, and it's called winking, not teleporting." Majesty replied, limping along after the two other ponies. "And I'm really and truly sorry I was so naive about the world outside of Dream Castle. I guess I really do have a lot to learn about the outside world, if I'm going to make it out here in the wilds."

"Don't worry to much about it, kid. I had a lot of trouble learnin' ta stand on my own four hooves when I got out here, too." A.J. replied, thinking for a minute. "At least, I think I did... shoot, I really can't remember."

"Whoa, you don't remember your own filly hood?" Wind Whistler asked in surprise, flying along beside the other two. "That's incredible!"

"Kid, I'm lucky if I can remember yesterday sometimes. there are days where I have to struggle to remember my own name." A.J. laughed bitterly. "Now come on, let's get on to Misty Mountain, before our sheltered little princess bleeds to death from goblin spear wounds."

Wounded pride

"Look, I said I am really sorry, okay?" Tornado protested, as the overly angry Applejack stared him down. "I swear, my friends and I didn't know your friend was injured!"

"Save your breath, Mountain Boy!" Applejack snarled, getting up in the Stallion's face. "Your stupidity has endangered the life of our friend, and if I weren't such a lady, I'd ram your ugly male face into the wall!"

"Hah, ramming my head into the wall wouldn't do you any good, lady!" The blue earth pony retorted. "My skulls too thick to do any damage!"

The six ponies were at a Misty Mountain clinic, where the stallions had taken the three girls after they had discovered just how serious the situation was. They were all awaiting word of Majesty's recovery, as the mares proceeded to give the three mountain boy ponies an earful.

"Look. we're sorry we tried to come on to your wounded friend. But how were we supposed to know she'd been hit by a poisoned goblin arrow?" Thunder Cloud Protested. "I admit we were jerks, but would you at least let us make it up to you and your friend, by guiding you around the city after she has recovered?"

"I'm not sure if I can trust ya at all." A.J. snorted, stamping her hoof on the clinic floor. "I'd bet my right hoof that the only place ya want to lead any of us is back to yer place for a roll in the hay!"

Meanwhile, Ice Crystal and Wind Whistler were having a very different sort of conversation on the other side of the waiting room.

"So do you come around here often?" Ice Crystal asked, smiling at the Pegasus pony. "Because I think I'd remember a pretty face like yours wandering around the streets of Misty Mountain."

"No, this is my first time here." The blue mare smiled, gazing into his eyes. "But I've heard how amazing the ponies are here, and looking at you, I can see that they were right."

"Sweet." The stallion replied, swishing his tail around playfully. "So, you wanna go somewhere, and get a bite to eat after this?"

"Sure, I'd love to!" Wind Whistler replied, grinning from ear to ear. "You know of a good place around here that has buckvarian creme-filled doughnuts?"

"Windy! Stop flirting with that stupid stallion!" Applejack snapped, glaring at her companion. " Don't you realize him and his flirty friend are the reason Majesty's stuck in here in the first place?!"

"Aww lighten up, Applejack!" Wind Whistler protested. "It's not like they are the ones who stuck Majesty with that arrow!"

"Look, miss A.J., I know you have no reason to trust me. Especially after what happened to your friend there." Thundercloud explained calmly. "But we acted very, very stupid with Miss Majesty, and we want to make it up to all of you, by helping you in any way we can."

Before the mare could even form a response, a pink mare with a blue mane and a nurse's cap came trotting out.

"Excuse me, ladies?" The mare with the clipboard addressed them. "I'm Nurse Loveheart, and I've been tending to Miss Majesty's wounds."

"How is she, Nurse?" Applejack asked, bluntly interrupting Loveheart. "Is she going to be all right?"

"We were able to get the poison out of her system, and bandaged the wound up. But she's going to need about a day to rest." The pony with the teddy bear and heart cutie mark answered. "I do wish you ladies would be a little more careful when taking the princess of Dream Valley on an adventure though goblin- infested territory."

"Wait a minute, PRINCESS of Dream Valley?" Tornado went pale. "You mean I was hitting on the Queen of Dream Castle's DAUGHTER?"

"Ohhhh boy, Tornado!" Thundercloud said with a laugh. "You really went and put your hoof in the dookie this time!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt your little conversation," Nurse Loveheart interjected. "but you can go in and see Princess Majesty now."

Applejack nodded, before looking back at the three stallions. "You wieners stay here." She and Wind Whistler trotted into the clinic's recovery room, where a dazed Majesty lay on a cot.

"Ohhh, hey girls." Majesty smiled, sitting up weakly. "Guess we made it to the clinic on time, huh?"

"This is all my fault, princess. I should have had us come to the clinic right away." A.J. said sadly, her ears drooping. "Then you never would've run into those knuckleheads who delayed us, and you wouldn't be here right now!"

"Speaking of those knuckleheads, they want to come with us!" Wind Whistler blurted out, flapping around the room excitedly. "It'd be awesome to have their strength and muscle along for our quest!"

"Damn it, Windy! Now's not the time to start blabbering about those stupid boys!" A.J. snapped at the air headed Pegasus. "Majesty still hasn't recovered, we don't need to be talking about-"

"The stallions wanted to take us to dinner as an apology, Tornado's very sorry for what he did." Windy interrupted, pleading with the recovering princess. "Why don't we take them up on their offer?"

"Hmmm, sounds like a good idea, Wind Whistler." Majesty finally commented, pulling the covers off, and climbing out of bed. "We could use their help in getting to flutter valley."

"Oh, for the love of...." Applejack slapped her hoof against her face. "I can't believe I let myself get involved with these silly fillies!"

....

The Flutterflank was a very fine establishment, as far as Misty Mountain beer gardens go. Beautifully painted renditions of the snow covered mountains covered the walls, and glittering gems of many colors adorned the darkly-painted ceiling, resembling the twinkling stars of the night sky. Waitresses trotted around in drindl dresses, delivering glasses of piping hot cider, and pretzels to every table in the tavern. Majesty looked around, admiring the place's decor.

"Wow, do all of your restaurants look this nice inside?" The princess asked. "This place makes the Satin Slipper back home look like a cheap greasy roadside diner."

"Nah, they don't all look like this." Tornado told her, pointing a hoof around the room. "This is mostly done for tourists, I brought you ladies here because I thought you might like how it looked."

"I'm really glad you did, these hot pretzels are delicious." The princess munched on a salted giant pretzel. "I just love how the cheese is baked into the dough."

"Here Windy, have some of these." Ice Crystal pushed a bowl of salted peanuts towards the a Pegasus. "You'll just love em', once the shells are cracked open."

"Oh, I love these things!" Wind Whistler squealed, cracking the shells open and scarfing down the contents. "These are really good, but I plan to sample some of Misty Mountain's best nuts tonight." The Pegasus grinned, staring over at Ice Crystal.

"Of course you will, you little tramp" Applejack thought to herself, eye twitching. "I swear, that goofy mare is gonna be a bad influence on the princess!"

"Wow Applejack, you sure have quite an appetite!" Thundercloud noted, watching the earth mare pack away three bowls of apple sherbet in a row. "How much food can you actually hold?"

"None of your business, you ornery stallion!" A.J. Snapped, beginning to devour her fourth bowl. "I'm a lady, I don't eat more than I should!"

"Would all of you stop acting like goofballs?" Tornado asked, rolling his eyes, before turning back to the princess. "So Majesty, will you let us make up for our stupidity? Will you let us show you the way to flutter valley?"

Majesty looked back and forth between the stallions, and between her friends, struggling in her mind over what to say. While she knew what A.J. wanted her to do, the unicorn knew they would need some help on the road ahead.

"All right, Tornado." Majesty replied. "You and your Mountain Boys can join us."

Utterly Fluttered

"Good Gravy, this path is really overgrown with vines." Applejack grumbled, glaring at the stallion in front of her. "Are you sure we're heading the right way?"

"Miss Applejack, the Flutter Ponies don't use the paths much, they simply fly." Ice Crystal replied, trying to hold his temper. "They have no reason to keep the paths up, except for their earth pony slaves."

"The flutters keep earth ponies as SLAVES?!" Wind Whistler blurted out in shock. "How horrible!"

"They used to, Miss Windy." Thundercloud reassured her. "But don't worry, Tornado's son Firehooves told me they stop keeping slaves about two hundred years ago, when the rest of the confederacy threatened war."

"You have a son, and you were hitting on me?" Majesty glared at him. "You are one weird stallion, Tornado."

"Yep, my boy the unicorn genius; always studying his history, even though he's only nine." Tornado said with pride. "And hey, I just just hitting on you for my friends here, I wasn't personally interested in you, myself."

"Right, and the sky isn't blue, it's purple." A.J. muttered. "I don't believe a single word the comes out of your mouth, you damn stallion horndog."

It had been two days since the incident at the clinic- giving enough time for Majesty to recover- and the six ponies had left Misty mountain for the tropical forest of the Flutter Valley hills. The party was now tracking through the thick undergrowth, the stallions leading the way along a path only they seemed to know.

"The flutter ponies show up in Misty Mountain once in a while, to buy our root beer and pastry goods." Ice Crystal explained, lowering his head and plowing his way through the thick branches. "We followed one of them back to this path here, and he disappeared into the tropical forest."

"We mountain boys assume this path leads to Flutter Valley, Though we've never tried this road ourselves." Tornado continued. "The flutter ponies are extremely hostile to other pony types who intrude into their lands."

"Nobody actually knows where flutter valley actually is inside this forest." Thundercloud finished. "And I don't think the Flutters would take too kindly to their home being discovered, so we'd better be careful."

Majesty rubbed a few trickles of sweat from her brow as they trotted through the thick and foreboding jungle. Having grown up in the temperate weather of Dream Valley, the filly was unaccustomed to such warm environments.

"Ugh, why is it so blasted hot here?" The princess complained, her tail swatting away at the mosquitoes trying to suck the blood from her flank. "How could any pony stand to live in this scorching inferno?"

"Well, my my my! Are you telling me the little princess can't take a little heat?" Applejack chuckled snarkily. "It seems the spoiled and sheltered filly can't deal with the real world."

"Hey, I've dealt with a lot worse than this back home." Majesty retorted. "If I can take the fires of my nanny's anger, I can deal with the heat of Flutter Valley!"

"Hey, would you please stop being so mean to her, A.J.?" Wind Whistler pleaded, flapping up into the orange mare's face. "Good grief, is it really so hard for you to say something nice for a change?"

"I dunno, is it really so hard for you to think something through logically?" Applejack snapped back. "Or do you always have to let yer passions override yer brain?"

"Hey, I live by my emotions, girl! My feelings guide my life!" Wind Whistler snapped back. "I'd rather be dead than be some cold-hearted mare who is ruled by logic alone!"

"Sheesh, you girls argue a lot!" Tornado said with a laugh. "Are you sure you're not sisters?"

"Hah! As if!" Windy snorted angrily, crossing her hooves over her chest and turning her head away as she flapped along.

"Shut up, ya stupid muscle head!" A.J barked at him. "You don't know anything!"

"So Majesty, this is your first time out of the castle?" Thundercloud asked, trying to change the conversation to something more pleasant as they trotted along. "I'm kind pf surprised to see you out here, without any guards or anything."

"Yeah, I've had it with the stupidity of palace life." Majesty snorted, turning her head away in disgust at the memory."I'm out to see the world my mother and Satin N' Lace sheltered me from, and I am not going back."

"Yeowch, that sounds a bit harsh." Ice Crystal replied, leading the way through the foliage. "Don't you think your mom and nanny might have acted that way because they care about you, and were doing the best they could to raise you?"

"Ponyfeathers! The only thing those two care about, is their stupid rules!" The princess snapped back. "And making sure mom's precious heir is just as much of a cold-hearted witch when she becomes queen as she is!"

Tornado was about to interject, when a whizzing sound suddenly zipped by them in the trees. The four ponies all stopped dead in their tracks, and began to look around.

"Whoah." Thundercloud exclaimed. "What was that?"

"Something just went by us!" Majesty replied, her eyes darting about. "Something really, really fast!"

They four felt another rush of air on the other side, a barely visible pink and white blur zoomed by.

"Oh, there it goes again!" Ice Crystal muttered nervously, as the three stallions instinctively formed a protective circle around the mares. "What is making that noise?"

"Ohhh, maybe it's the cutiesaurus! -tweet!-" Wind Whistler exclaimed. "Ohhh, I can't believe I'm finally going to get to meet it!"

Suddenly, the six ponies heard several voices coming from the bushes.

"Behold! regular ponies from outside Flutter Valley!"

"It's three mares, one of each pony kind!"

"And look! They have stallions! Let us grab them for ourselves!"

"Take them down! Shift to utter flutter!"

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind came from the trees all around them. A blast so powerful, it knocked all six ponies off their hooves, blowing them backward so strongly, they had to cling to the trees to not get blown away.

"Aiiieeeeeeeee! This wind is too strong!" Wind Whistler wailed. "What's going on?!"

"It's the utter flutter! We're under attack!" Applejack declared, barely audible over the howling wind. "It must be the Windy Wing pony brigade, the royal flutter pony guards!"

Suddenly, three multicolored blurs zipped by, grabbing each stallion as they passed. being too busy clinging to the trees for dear life, the stallions couldn't do much to fight back.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Tornado screamed, as he was pulled away.

"Nooooo!" Ice Crystal wailed, as a flutter pony took him.

"Girls, help me!" Thundercloud pleaded, as he too disappeared from sight.

"Oh no you don't!" Majesty yelled over the howling wind. "You aren't taking taking the boys on my watch!"

Still clinging to the tree trunk, majesty let out a powerful blast of energy from her horn. She blasted one of the flutter ponies out of the sky, sending her spiraling out of control into a nearby bush.

"Whoaaa-oaaaa-oaaaah!" *Thud!*

"They have a unicorn spell caster!" One of the flutter ponies yelled excitedly. "Let's get out of here, fast!"

Suddenly, the winds died down, and the three remaining mares let go of the trees. Before anyone had time to react, Applejack rushed quickly over to the bush, and kicked the downed flutter pony out into the open.

"Get out here, bug wings!" A.J. snorted angrily. "You got a lot to answer for!"

"Ow!" The flutter mare squealed, lying on the ground. "That really hurt!"

"You think that hurt?! You took my cutie Ice Crystal!" Wind Whistler yelled, hopping onto the flutter's back, and jumping up and down on her. "I'll show you what real hurting is!"

*STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP STOMP!*

"Ahhhhhhhh!" The flutter wailed in pain. "Please, stop it, you're hurting me!"

"Windy, let her up." Majesty told her friend. "She can't answer any of our questions if she's dead."

The Pegasus took a step back, and the wounded flutter pony mare wobbled as she tried to stand up on her hooves. She was everything Majesty had expected from a Flutter pony; taller and slimmer body, elegant and gracefully curving figure that put non-flutter mares to shame. She had a pink body and white mane, and on her back were a pair of glittering insect-like wings. The stories did not do the flutter pony race justice, in describing their radiant beauty.

"Jeez, look at her figure!" Windy whispered to A.J. jealously. "I could diet for two years straight, and I still wouldn't have a body like that!"

"Flutter ponies put the rest of us mares to shame, I've heard stallions say they have 'the flanks of a goddess'." Applejack snarled in bitter contempt. "There's a no way the rest of us can compete with bodies that tall and slender."

The two girls were so jealous, they had no problem taking it out on the unsuspecting mare in front of them. Normally, the two were no where near this cruel, but the stallion's lives being in danger pushed them onward.

"Okay, you worthless insect pony! You'd better tell us where your buddies took the stallions, or you'll be really sorry!" Wind Whistler snapped at the flutter getting up in her face. "Either you talk, or we're gonna make the little bug go splat!"

"I know how fragile flutter pony's wings are, how easily they come off!" A.J. growled, pounding one hoof against the other. "Either you tell us where the Windy Wings to the boys, or we tear those pretty little wings right out of your back,and dig out the roots so they'll never grow back!"

The flutter mare looked back and forth between the two angry mares, and suddenly burst into a shower of tears.

"Noooo! Please don't tear my wings out! I wasn't even a part of the raiding party that took your boyfriends!" The bawling mare wailed, the waterworks pouring out of her eyes. "My name's Hollywood, and I'm a Flutter pony actress. I was only out watching the Windy Wing guards on patrol when your unicorn friend zapped me!" Hollywood buried her head in the grass beneath her. "Please don't hurt me, I want to go home!"

"Leave her alone, you two. She's not responsible for abducting the boys." Majesty commanded the other two, taking charge. "You're scaring an innocent mare to the point of traumatizing her, with threats you're both too kind-hearted to ever actually carry out."

The other two grudgingly took a step back from Hollywood, while majesty went up, and patted her on the head with a hoof.

"There there, it's going to be all right." The frighted flutter looked up, and Majesty smiled at the young mare. "Did those two hurt you when they attacked?"

"N-no." Hollywood whimpered, standing up slowly. "I-I'll be all right... I think."

"Good, because we're going to need you to lead us to the Flutter Valley capital." Majesty narrowed. "I intend to have a few choice words with Queen Rosedust."

A Rosedust by any other name...

"Oh my goodness, this place is so beautiful!" Majesty whispered in awe. "You flutter ponies really do live in a paradise!"

All around the four mares, the tropical trees and colorful flowers stretched out in every direction. Flutter ponies danced around in the skies overhead, creating a cacophony of color as the sunlight shimmered down through their glittery wings. All of the flutters scattered back to their tree houses as the other ponies approached, sticking their heads out to watch them go by.

"Huh, these flutter ponies seem pretty shy." Applejack noted, looking around at their frightened audience. "They don't really seem very friendly or talkative."

"Yeah, why aren't they talking to us?" Wind Whistler asked, flying up and sticking her head into the window of one of the small tree houses, causing the flutter pony to flee further inside. "Hey miss flutter pony, why doncha come out and talk to us?!"

"I... really don't think that's going to work, Windy." Majesty replied, shaking her head. "If we're going to get anywhere, we need to find Queen Rosedust, and have a word with her directly."

"The royal throne is in the sun stone courtyard, that's where you'll find Majesty holding court." Hollywood explained, motioning the others to follow her down a small stone path across the bridge. "I don't think the Queen is going to be overjoyed to see you, though."

"Don't worry kid, I think we can handle her." A.J. reassured the flutter. "From what I've seen from you, your kind isn't very hard to mess up."

The five mares drew close to the royal courtyard, and saw a large circular stone monolith surrounded by a swarm of flutters flitting about. A large, glowing stone sat at the very top of the monument, and a small circular throne sat at the base. Upon the throne before them sat a tall and beautiful queen, with a shimmering yellow coat and pink mane. A pink Pom Pom adorned her head, and her entire body was covered by flower-like tattoos that resembled cutie marks. The queen was addressing several of her servants, and failed to notice the approaching group of normal ponies.

"You're outsiders, so this could get... complicated." Their flutter guide told them. "Wait here, girls, and I'll introduce you."

As the four came up towards the throne, Hollywood bowed to the monarch.

"Oh great queen Rosedust.... I am the actress, Hollywood Hills." The mare declared herself, as was the flutter custom. "I bring strangers from thew outside, who can come to address the subject of the stallions your Windy Wing ponies stole from them."

"What, those stallions actually belonged to other mares?" Rosedust inclined her head apologetically. "I'm so sorry, my good mares! I did not mean to steal your property. We shall endeavor to return your husbands to you at once!"

"Thanks, but they really aren't our husbands or anything." Wind Whistler blurted out, before the others could stop her. "They're just stallions we got to guide us through the forest here in flutter valley."

"Grrrr, blast it Windy!" A.J. grumbled to herself, planting her hoof in her face. "Why the %$#! couldn't you keep your mouth shut?!"

"Oh, is that all?" The queen waved her hoof dismissively. "I have a few flutter mares who would be more than happy to guide you out of our forest, and back out into Ponyland."

"I'm vary sorry, miss but we would like to take our guides with us." Majesty interjected. "We are the ones who asked them to come out here, and I personally see them as our responsibility."

"Now, wait just a second here, we caught those males fair and square!" Rosedust snapped. "Why should we give them up to you, if you have no claim on them?"

"We flutter ponies lost quite a few of our stallions in the dragon wars, and we must replenish our supply." Hollywood added in. "You wouldn't condemn us to extinction, would you?"

"You keep your trap shut and stay out of this, Hollywierd." Applejack warned her. "Or I'll throw you into a giant bug zapper!"

"Eeep!" Holly shrieked, her wings flexing outward in a panic. "Shutting up!"

"What?! How dare you threaten one of my subjects?!" Rosedust glared the the non-flutters angrily. "I should have you outsiders taken to the edge of my kingdom in chains, and tossed out of Flutter Valley altogether!"

The flutter guards closed in on the mares, pointing the sharpened spears they carried in their hooves.

"Uh oh, looks like we're in trouble now! -tweet!-" Wind Whistler whistled despairingly. "Majesty, what're we gonna do?!"

"Wait a second... Majesty?" Rosedust raised a hoof, halting her guards. "The princess of Dream Valley? What are you doing in my kingdom?"

"Actually, I wanted to come here to see the beauty of you and your subjects, which I had heard the bards and poets sing the praises of." Majesty replied boldly, facing the queen down. "My two friends here and the stallions are simply along for the ride, and it's my duty too see them out of Flutter Valley safely."

"Hmmm, perhaps there is a way this could be worked out." Rosedust replied thoughtfully, scratching her chin with her front hoof. "You and I are both royalty, and there is a traditional way we could decide the fate of the stallions."

"Whatever it is, I'll do it." Majesty blurted out. "I'm willing to do anything to help those boys out."

"Bad idea there, princess." A.J. whispered to her. "First rule of Royalty; never agree to something, when you don't know what you're agreeing to."

"Excellent!" Rosedust turned to face all of her subjects. "Attention, all flutter ponies! Let it be known that three days hence, Princess Majesty shall face me in royal one-on-one combat in the battle corral, for the right to claim the captured stallions of Misty Mountain!" The queen raised a hoof. "Until such time, the princess and her friends shall be our honored guests, and Hollywood shall be their guide for the duration of their stay. Queen Rosedust has spoken!"

"Great, there goes me rehearsing for the lead part in 'the sound of Music'!" Holly sighed. "And this is why I never get any of the good parts..."

"Yaaay! We're gonna be guests of the flutter ponies! -tweet!-" Wind Whistler chirped, bouncing around in the air excitedly. "You're the one who wanted to see 'em, Majesty! Isn't this the most exciting thing?"

Understanding

The flowers, the sights, the scents... Majesty didn't want to admit it, but Flutter Valley was a rather beautiful place. The flutter ponies lived in small, gazebo-like houses that fit their diminutive stature, which sat at the very top of luxuriant tropical trees. Beautiful gardens were maintained all throughout the massive tree-city, making it looking like one big, scenic park.

"I must say, Holly, these flowers are rather beautiful." Majesty declared, sniffing one of the Marigolds. "I mean, there are a lot of exotic flowers in the Dream Castle gardens, but this? I've never seen some of these tropical flowers growing this far north before."

"It's the warmth of the Sunstone that keeps flutter valley tropical." Hollywood explained, fluttering beside the amazed unicorn princess. "Without it, our valley would be nothing but a cold and dead husk."

Wind Whistler and Applejack had gone of to see the boys, leaving Majesty and Hollywood to wander about cobblestone paths of the flutter capital. The two ponies were gazing at all of the flutter ponies fluttering all around them, their gossamer wings reflecting the sunlight onto the ground in rainbow patterns. The princess craned her neck upward to view the swarm of flutters far over her head.

"Why do they stay up in the sky all of the time?" Majesty asked, her neck getting sore from looking skyward. "Don't they ever come down and walk, like Pegasus ponies do?"

"Not very much, we stay out of the way of danger in the air, and we can fly far faster than we can gallop." Hollywood explained, flexing her flutter wings. "We tend to get tired out if we stay too long on the ground to trot. Speaking of which, I'm kind of getting a little winded right now."

Well then, maybe we should head skyward." The princess noted, gazing up at one of the small houses. "I've always wanted to see what the inside of a flutter pony dwelling looks like."

"Good Idea, Majesty."Holly nodded, and pointed a hoof towards the tree where her own house was. "We'll take a rest at my place."

The two ponies want over to Hollywood's tree, and the flutter motioned over to a nearby basket attached to a rope. Majesty trotted over and climbed inside, and a pulley and rope system took her up to the door of one of the flutter houses. Trotting inside the doorway, the princess was quickly followed by Holly.

"Huh, nice little place you have here." The princess noted, looking around at the cozy little cottage nestled high in the treetops. "It's small, but it seems really cozy, with all these small rooms and tiny furniture."

"It works for us flutter ponies, that's all that matters." Holly insisted, motioning for Majesty to have a seat on the couch. "Besides, it's certainly better than the big and empty halls of you regular pony's castles."

"Holly, can I ask you something?" Majesty inquired, as the flutter sat down next to her. "Why does your tribe hate the rest of us so much? What did the rest of Ponydom do to your kind that makes you despise us so?"

"What, besides the way you all treat us with contempt? And the way you all come bursting in and making demands and threatening whenever you think a flutter pony has does something wrong?" Holly replied angrily. "We're all taught as foals that we were betrayed and cast out by regular ponies back in the time of the ancients, and because of that no flutter pony should ever, ever trust a normal pony."

"But it's okay to kidnap our stallions and attack us, right?" Majesty asked, raising an eyebrow. "You want better treatment, but don't want to treat others better?"

"Like I said, it's a hatred and distrust that dies hard. And we're really, really desperate for stallions right now" The flutter actress sighed, slumping on the couch. "By the way, I wanted to say thank you for saving me from your two friends back there. No regular pony has ever stood up for me before."

"Glad to be of help." Majesty smiled softly. "And I'm sorry about Applejack and Wind Whistler, our prejudices against flutter ponies die hard as well, I guess."

Hollywood was about to reply, when a soft knock came at the tree cottage's door.

"Hello, Holly? Are you in there?" A soft voice asked timidly. "I heard you brought the pony princess back here, and I brought you both some sweet treats."

"Oh, Yum Yum! Come on in!" Hollywood opened the door to a purple Flutter with a yellow mane, who was carrying a small basket with a handle in her mouth. "Yes, our royal guest is right here. Majesty, this is Yum Yum, our resident flutter pony chef. Yum Yum, this is Princess Majesty, daughter of the Queen of Dream Valley."

"Your Highness." Yum Yum bowed respectfully, setting a basket of chocolate chip cookies on the table in front of the princess. "When I heard you were a guest here, I made these chocolate fudge brownies for you."

"Well, that's very sweet of you." Majesty replied, before her eyes suddenly went wide. "W-wait did you say FUDGE!?!"

To their surprise, the two flutter ponies quickly learned of Majesty's greatest weakness...any baked good made out of fudge. The princess proceeded to devour almost the entire content of the basket.

"OM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM BUUUURRRRRRP!"

"Oh my, it seems our royal princess has quite a royal appetite!" Hollywood laughed. "I was hoping to get a few brownies myself, though."

"Oh don't worry, Holly. I brought a second batch." Yum Yum replied, reaching just outside the door, and bringing in a cecond basket she left hanging on a branch. "But I am pleased to see the princess enjoyed my baking so much."

"Are you kidding, these brownies are great!" Majesty gave the two a big smile. "Even our cook cupcake back home couldn't make something this wonderful!"

"Well, I do try." Yum Yum giggled. "I love to bake everything from cookies to doughnuts; you should try my spaghetti sometime, every flutter pony just loves whatever I make."

"You should take your recipes to Bright Valley, and start a restaurant there. Your cooking would put all the ponyland chefs to shame." Majesty sat back, thoughtfully. "In fact, with your beauty and grace, there are a lot of things you flutters have that put the other kingdoms in Ponyland to shame."

"It's true, it's why so many other ponies hate us." Hollywood sighed. "It's why flutters who are captured have their wings clipped, for pony alchemists to use in their magic potions. And why flutter ponies are treated with suspicion everywhere."

"Oh no, it doesn't have anything to do with flutter ponies taking earth ponies as slaves centuries ago." Majesty retorted, stamping her hoof on the floor. "Nor the superiority complex that lets your tribe ponynap innocent stallions against their will."

"Would both of you stop it, please?!" Yum Yum pleaded, stepping between them before they could start arguing. "Can't you both see that it's lingering distrust on both sides that's kept this whole mess going?!"

Majesty started to say something, but then though the better of it, and fell silent. After a few minutes, Yum Yum finally spoke up.

"So, you're going to be facing Queen Rosedust tomorrow in the battle corral, that's incredible!" The cooked told her, flittering her wings excitedly. "No one has ever beaten her in a duel, you've really got your work cut out for you."

"Say, I can use my magic in this duel, right?" Majesty asked nervously, realizing she had never asked about the rules. "I'd kind of be at a disadvantage if I couldn't."

"Yes, unicorn magic is permitted." Hollywood replied, taking a bite of a brownie. "But so are the queen's flutter pony abilities. If you're not careful, you could be utter fluttered right out of the corral."

"Oh, well that just makes me feel so much better." Majesty sighed. "Great horsemaster, what the hay have I gotten myself into?"

That sat there in silence again for several minutes, before Hollywood finally spoke up.

"Hey, we shouldn't just be moping around here, you need to get your mind off the duel." The actress smiled. "Why don't you let Yum Yum and I show you some real flutter pony culture?"

"Okay..." Majesty replied, unsure. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Sunlight Ballet

"Trust me, Princess." Hollywood declared. "You are so going to love this!"

The two flutter ponies took Princess Majesty to a large, circular amphitheater, filled with mares and stallions who were all talking and laughing among themselves, while they waited for the show to start. Finding a seat in the third row opposite the stage, Majesty and her two friends too a seat on the stone benches.

"Wow, there must be over a hundred flutter ponies here!" Majesty said in awe, looking around at the gathered crowd. "I've never seen so many of you in one place!"

"They have a good reason to be gathered here, Princess." Yum Yum assured her. "You've never seen anything like what we're about to show you!"

The curtain rose, and Majesty saw a lovely flower-covered stage with a fountain in the center.

"Ladies and gentlemen, mare and stallions and foals of all ages!" The announcer's voice boomed throughout the amphitheater. "Please, put your hooves together for Lady Flutter and her Summerwing ponies!"

Six mares all came out on stage, bowing to the audience, before beginning their dance. They started slow at first- twirling, jumping, kicking, and leaping in midair- before gradually getting faster and faster. Majesty was impressed by their leaps and flips, but didn't seemed to be very awed by the Summerwing ponies' performance.

"Not bad, they are very good performers." Majesty conceded. "But I don't see anything that makes them any more or less special than Dream Valley's dance troupe back home."

"Just wait for it, princess." Hollywood told her. "These girls are just getting started!"

Next the Summerwing ponies took off into the air, dancing and spinning around in graceful arcs above their heads. They seemed almost like butterflies fluttering about the sky to Majesty... but she was still not impressed.

"Okay, that's even more amazing. But I've seen more incredible stunts from the Fort Dash fliers." Majesty scoffed. "I'm still not seeing what you are both so-"

And then... she saw.

The Flutter Ponies flew up in front of the sun, and a thousand colors exploded from their wings. Red, blue, green, yellow.... a tapestry of colors suddenly exploded all over the arena. The six Summerwings danced all through the sky, the sun shining down through their wings, and filling the area with a rainbow.

"Wow!" Yum Yum exclaimed.

"Incredible" Majesty agreed, her jaw almost hitting the floor. "Simply... incredible!"

"Not so unimpressive now, are they?" Hollywood asked, a smug smile spread her face. "I told you there was something special about them."

"But how..." Majesty stumbled over her words, dumbfounded. "But why...?"

"It's called the symphony of color, one of our greatest traditional ballets." Hollywood said proudly. "In our oldest legends, it is told how a mare of the ancients attained flutter wings through magic, then did a fantastic dance across the sky to create a fantastic display of color."

"But the mare grew proud, and flew too close to the sun, which caused her beautiful wings to burn up." Yum Yum continued. "She fell from the sky, and we flutter ponies remember it as a tale of a pony who did not respect the gift of flutter flight."

"We created this ballet to remember how much we revere the gifts that have been given to us." Hollywood finished. "It's a celebration of everything we flutter ponies are

On stage, the six summerwing dancers all rose simultaneously towards the sun, before dropping back towards the stage in a glorious dive. The audience exploded into thunderous applause, including the unicorn and her two friends.

"I never you you were capable of such beauty..." Majesty Whispered, still in awe. "Tell me... may I speak to the dancers, if it's all right?"

"Here, let's go up to the stage." Hollywood replied with a smile. "I'll introduce you to Lady Flutter and her troupe."

....

Farther away in a wood stockade, the three captured males were being held against their will. Applejack and Wind Whistler were only able to talk to them through the bars, but soon discovered their level of unhappiness and discomfort. The two mares tried to ignore the two flutter pony guards glaring at them, as they tried top comfort the captives.

"Ugh, it's so cramped in here!" Ice crystal groaned, trying to shift around while being stuck in a tiny cage with his two friends. "When are they gonna let us out? I have to go to the bathroom!"

"Awwww, poor Icey!" Wind Whistler frowned, caressing his hoof through the bars. "Those mean old flutters keeping you in a tiny cage? That's -TWEET!- terrible!"

"We'll be all right here, Miss Whistler." Tornado replied, struggling to stand up in the cramped cage. "Just make sure Majesty wins that duel tomorrow, so we can get out of here!"

"I don't know, you three actually look better off in there." Applejack goaded them. "Maybe we should just leave you in there for the Flutter Ponies."

"Noooooooo, you can't just leave us to Rosedust and her tribe!" Thundercloud pleaded, rattling the cage bars. "The flutter ponies will try and put us to stud to create other flutters!"

"And you three want me to let you out, so Ice Crystal can be put to stud with Wind Whistler again?" The three stallions and Windy all scowled at her. "Okay, okay... just teasing all of you. I wouldn't leave you thee become flutter mares' playthings."

"But we can't get out unless Majesty defeats Rosedust." Tornado noted, shaking his head worriedly. "Do you think the princess has a chance?"

"I don't know, Tornado, I just don't know." Applejack replied with a sigh. "We'll just have to see if Majesty has what it takes in her."

...

"Excuse me, Lady Flutter?" Hollywood called out to her, trotting up onto the stage. "This is Majesty, the visiting princess of Dream Valley. She wanted to Meet you."

"Huh? Oh yes, Princess Majesty, The one who is challenging the queen to a duel." Lady Flutter and Majesty bowed to each other. "Always good to learn someone enjoyed our performance."

"I thought it was incredible! Such passion, such dedication you put into your art form!" Majesty declared, smiling and bowing to the pink flutter pony with the ladybug cutie mark. "I've never seen such strong emotion in a dance before!"

"Really that surprises me, princess." Lady Flutter replied in surprise. "After all, it was your own mother who was my dance instructor when she was younger; she was the one who taught me to put my feelings into my movement and form while dancing."

"What?! My mother? My cold-hearted, ruthless mother?!" Majesty squeaked, her mouth agape. "I'm sorry, lady flutter, but you must be mistaken. My mother never taught any dance classes, at least that I've heard about."

"Oh no, your mother did indeed teach a dance class I was in, back during the Dragon Wars." Lady Flutter explained. "I was a young noblefilly for flutter valley, and I had been sent along with several other fillies from the nobility to entertain the troops during the war. There were almost a hundred of us from different kingdoms in the confederacy, and most of us were scared and shy, and few of us even knew how to sing or dance. But your mother had been sent along as the princess of Dream Valley, and she took charge of all us girls on the tour. she taught us to dance, to take out are fear by finding joy in the joy we were bringing to the troops on the front lines. I am eternally grateful for the lessons she taught me during those trying times."

"I can believe she took charge, but I can't believe she taught you anything about feelings." Majesty shook her head in denial. "My mother the queen is many things, but kind is Not one of them. She has about as much warm hearted feeling inside of her as an iceberg."

"You would be amazed what some people are like, Princess Majesty, once you get to know them." Lady Flutter told the filly as she trotted offstage. "You may find more in a pony than what you believe them to be."

As the dance troop flittered away, Majesty was left to ponder the noblemare's words.. and to wonder how she was going to overcome the diffcult challenge of her battle with the flutter queen.

Battle Corral

"Rose-dust! Rose-dust! Rose-dust!"

"Majes-ty! Majes-ty! Majes-ty!"

The audience erupted into cheers, as both mares entered the arena. The field of battle was a large, elevated circular area, surrounded by a large wooden fence with a swinging latched gate. Each mare took her place on the opposite sides of the corral, standing on their back hooves, and assuming a fighting stance.

"Be careful, princess! Watch your flanks!" Applejack yelled from the sidelines, her eyes carefully fixed on the fight about to begin. "Don't let her fly above you and surprise you!"

"Go get her, Majesty!" Wind Whistler called out. "Kick her in the flank!"

"Good luck, both of you!" Hollywood declared, not cheering for either combatant- one being her friend, the other her queen. "May the best mare win!"

"Oh dear!" Yum Yum declared, covering her face with her hooves. "I hope nobody gets hurt!"

Several similar shout outs came from the audience in favor of her opponent, but the princess blocked them out. Majesty's attention was focused solely on the flutter pony queen, who had removed her plume Penna feather from her mane, and was now scowling at her unicorn opponent angrily.

"Just because your mother is the most powerful pony on the planet, do not think I will go easy one you." The flutter queen warned.

"Don't think just because you're a fragile flutter pony, that I'm going to go easy on you, Featherduster." Majesty snapped back.

"Ladies, the rules are simple." The duel's arbiter explained from the sidelines. "No weapons, no fatal blows, and no magic besides winking and levitation. The first pony to either get knocked out of the corral, or to leave willingly, is the loser." She dropped her hoof. "Now, noble mares of Ponyland, fight!"

Majesty barely had time to react, before the other mare was upon her. Jab with the front hoof, bite, kick with the back hoof; Majesty barely dodged all three blows, before launching a counter attack- jab, jab, kick, bite, kick! Roseduxt nimbly avoided the blows, then jumped and roundhouse kicked Majesty, right back into the corral fence.

"Yay, Rosedust! I knew you could do it!" One of the flutter mares declared, cheering her queen on. "Show that prissy princess who's boss!"

Two hot mares fighting, this is awesome!" One of the few flutter stallions in the audience told his friend beside him. "Now all we need is a bucket of mud for them to wrestle in!"

"Seems you non-flutters aren't so tough, after all." Rosedust snorted, trotting up to Majesty. "Ready to give up, your spoiled brattyness?"

As the flutter queen mocked her, the princess's face turned up into a snarl of rage. Majesty's horn began to glow, and Rosedust was thrown violently against the other side of the corral. Majesty leapt after her, and the two jumped up onto their back hooves and began to kick at each other with their front legs like feral ponies.

"Ohhh, a contest of strength!" Applejack noted, munching on her popcorn. "Majesty's got this one in the bag!"

"Don't be sure about that, Miss Applejack." Hollywood spoke up, sitting in the seats above the two non-flutter mares. "Our queen has not yet pulled out her greatest weapon."

The two ponies fought for several more minutes- jab, kick, jab, duck from Rosedust, and a kick, jab, kick, duck from Majesty- before the two ponies became locked in a grapple. Majesty was just about to throw the queen with her front hooves, when the flutter mare decided she had had enough.

"That does it, the filly gloves are off!" Rosedust snorted angrily, breaking the grapple, and fluttering up high into the air. "Now you're going to get it-shifting to utter flutter!"

A powerful wind hit Majesty, knocking her clean of her hooves, and nearly sending her flying out of the arena. Grabbing onto the corral fence, the Dream Valley princess hung on for dear life.

"Still think you can defy me, child?" Rosedust taunted her again. "Your efforts to win this duel are futile; give it up, before you truly get hurt!"

"That does it, Queen Rosebutt!" Majesty snapped, getting her last burst of adrenaline. "You're going down!"

Majesty's horn lit up one final time, and she managed to teleport high into the air... right above the utter fluttering Rose dust. The princess fell upon the surprised flutter queen, tackling her back down to the ground, and sending them both tumbling out of the battle corral.

"Aieeeeee!" Rosedust shrieked as she and her opponent landed on the ground. Majesty quickly bit down on the queen's right front hoof, biting in like a pit bull, as blood spurted out. "All right! Enough! Princess Majesty, you fight like a wild mare! I concede victory, you and your stallions may go free!"

The audience exploded into cheers, and they came pouring out of the stands to congratulate both combatants. Majesty, still weary from the combat, was hoisted up by Applejack and Wind Whistler, who congratulated her on freeing the stallions.

"You really did it, princess!" Wind Whistler declared, grinning wildly. "You beat the flutter queen!"

Both sides would call it a draw that day, but it was indeed a win. It was a victory for both flutter and non-flutter ponies, in seeing such an honorable battle fought between two mares. An though nobody present was yet aware of it, this was to be the first step in a friendship between Dream Valley, and Flutter Valley, that would one day save them both from destruction.

Farewell to the Flutters!

"Well, it's about time that you let us out of here!" Tornado snorted, as the flutter guards released him and the other stallions from their wooden cage. "We were trapped in there for far too long!"

"Awww, my poor -tweet!- Ice Crystal!" Wind Whistler cried in dismay, helping him as he stumbled out of the cage. "They didn't hurt you too much, did they?"

"I feel like..." The stallion stuttered, his eyes going wide as he galloped away quickly. "Oh shoot, I have to go to the bathroom!"

"Thank you for getting us out Miss Applejack." Thundercloud bowed to her, as he was released. "It's seems we owe you mares a great deal."

"Don't thank me, Thunderbutt. It was princess Majesty who saved you three's sorry flanks." The apple picker snorted. "If it were up to me, you'd all three still be in that cage."

Although it had been a tie because both mares had crashed out of the battle corral together, Rosedust had so been impressed by Majesty's fighting spirit, that she had decided to release the stallions anyway. What followed was a massive luau party, filled with the tropical music and dancing the Flutter ponies were famous for. The four mares were seated at a table with the queen, enjoying tropical fruits while the boystood and drooled over the flutter pony hula dancers.

"Gee, this lime fruit drink sure tastes -tweet!- great!" Wind Whistler declared, sipping a kiwi lime drink out of the coconut-shaped cup it had been served in. "But I wonder how they got the lime in the coconut in the first place?"

"It's just a cup, Windy. It's not an actual coconut!" Applejack replied, rolling her eyes. "They just pour the lime fruit punch into the top, like with any other cup!"

"Wow Rosedust, you flutter ponies sure know how to throw a party." Majesty told her host, as a flutter stallion trotted up, and slipped a tropical flower into the princess's mane. "The celebrations back home never even got near this exotic."

"We like to make sure our honored guests are will entertained." The flutter queen replied, a small frown crossing her face. "Unfortunately, we don't really get that many guests from the rest of Ponyland."

"Well, maybe if you were nicer to outsiders, didn't kidnap their stallions and be suspicious of them all the time, you wouldn't have as much trouble." Majesty chided her. "I know outsiders haven't been friendly to flutter ponies all the time, but distrust and hatred works both ways."

"I know, you are quite correct, princess." Rosedust sighed, taking a bite of the pineapple sundae the serving stallions put in front of her. "I fear we flutters have let a grievance we had against the ancients carry over to you Ponylanders."

"Well, at least the flutter ponies never enslaved us Ponylanders like you did with the ancients." The princess replied with a nervous laugh. "That would've caused some serious relations problems."

"Actually, we were kind of pleased your ancestors drove the ancients out." The flutter queen replied awkwardly, trying to change the subject. "So , where will you and your companions go after this?"

"Well, Wind Whistler want to go and find the cutiesarus, so since she was filling to come along and help me to find the flutter ponies, I kind of want to help her out."

"If it is the cutiesarus you seek, follow the trail out of Flutter valley north, into Rainbow Valley and through the old unicorn run." Rosedust told her. "You can take shelter from time to time in the ruins of the ancients that dot the countryside. But beware the human wizard, Rugmatot Wantall. He lives in that region, and it is said he harbors no love for ponies of any kind."

"I think we can take care of ourselves, we handled a bunch of goblins in the mastificent forest already." Majesty told her proudly. "Besides, we already have the mountain boy ponies along to protect us if we need them."

"Those worthless males? They can barely protect themselves." Rosedust scoffed. "Hollywood, get your worthless flank over here, this instant!"

"Yes, great Rosedust?" Hollywood asked, fluttering out of the line of hula dancers, and bowing to the queen. "What is it I can do for your highness?"

"I want you to accom-pony Majesty and her entourage out of Flutter Valley, and join them on their quest." The queen shook her head. "A flutter pony's agility and grace might be of use on this adventure."

"B-but your highness, I'm just an actress!" The flutter pony protested. "What can I possibly do to help on an adventure?!"

"You led them into flutter valley, now you can lead them out!" Rosedust growled at her. "Or perhaps you'd like to spend the next month helping Queen Bumble and her bees harvest honey from their hive?"

"*gulp* I-in that case, I think I'll go and get my bags packed!" Hollywood zipped away through the air. "See you again after the party, princess!"

"Wow. that was kind of mean, your highness." Majesty noted, staring after the panicked flutter pony. "Must you be so harsh with your subjects?"

"Majesty, you will find that sometimes, that a ruler must be firm when dealing with other ponies." Rosedust explained. "It's one of the things you will have to learn, before you will ascend to your mother's throne, and become queen."

"The more I learn as I go along, your highness, the less I wish to take my mother's throne." majesty replied, shaking her mane sadly. "I should probably head back to my room, we'll need to get an early start tomorrow."

"Hey A.J., Windy!" thundercloud called out, as he, the other males, and the hula dancers formed a conga line. " The party's just gewtting warmed up! Why don't you come and join us?"

The two fillies smiled at each other, then went to joins the stallion in the line. They conga danced around the burning torches and tiki heads, dancing along with the pounding drums and tropical music until daybreak.

Beware Wizard Wantall!

"So that was how you defeated Rosedust, and rescued the stallions!" I replied with a laugh, putting my quill down for a moment. "I've heard so many stories on how you did that, I was beginning to wonder how much of the tall tails were true."

"Well, I've heard some of those tails, and I can assure you; Rosedust and I did not blow the tops off of mountains with my magic blasts, and her utter flutters." Our queen replied with a laugh. "Both of us trotted away with bruised egos and bruised bodies that day, but we also trotted away with a mutual respect for the other we would not have otherwise."

"So, you added a Flutter pony to your group, before continuing on your way." I added, steering the discussion back onto the subject of the narrative. "Did she slow your group down any? I mean, given those skinny bodies, there's not much muscle in there.""

"No, not at all!" The queen replied. "Actually, flutter ponies barely walk around at all, fluttering around just above the ground to move. Hollywood could flutter fast enough to keep up with us at a well-paced trot, and she could even keep pace in the sky when we went into a full-on gallop!"

"Did her addition cause any friction for the group?" I asked, taking some notes before we returned to the story itself. "Did those bad feelings from the other two mares carry over from Flutter Valley to the rest of your trip? What about my father, and the rest of the mountain boy ponies?"

"Oh yes, Applejack and Wind Whistler *did not like that girl following us for the next part of the journey." Majesty replied, shaking her head with a sigh. "And let me tell you, your father and the other two stallion's reactions to Hollywood's presence did not help the situation one bit."*

"Speaking of Wind Whistler, this doesn't sound like her at all." I noted, thinking about something that had been bothering me throughout the story. "The Wind Whistler I know is a cold and logical pony, free from emotions and emotional responses. This doesn't seem like her at all."

"The Wind Whistler you know is a very different pony than she was in her youth, Tornado." Majesty replied sadly, closing her eyes, and turning her head away. "How she became like that, is a story for another time."

"Anyway, how did you feel about how everything was going?" I asked her, shifting around my weight as I continued writing. "Did you personally want to go and look for the cutiesarus?"

"I was more concerned with helping Wind Whistler out, after she had done so much for me." Majesty looked thoughtful for a moment. "Besides, I really wasn't really ready to go home and face my mother. So another adventure seemed to be the way to go."

"So you headed into the Rainbow Valley?" I asked, ready to begin the narrative again. "You headed into the territory of the Wizard Rugmatot, near the vicinity of Fort Dash?"

"That is correct, Baron Tornado." Majesty replied, settling back into her throne. "We were on our way into a very different kind of trouble..."

....

"Come on, you guys!" Winder Whistler called back to the stragglers. "Hurry up, try not to -tweet!- fall behind!"

The party of five ponies tried to keep up with the Pegasus, but it was difficult to follow on the rocky terrain on the jungle floor.

"Hey Windy, could you slow it up a bit?" Applejack asked, gasping for breath. "Not all of us can keep up with a flier, ya know!"

"Awww, come on you sour apple!" Wind Whistler giggled. "You can keep up with me, if you would just gallop a little faster -tweet!- and maybe stop eating so many apple dumplings, hee hee!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Tornado chuckled. "Good one, Windy! You should laid off the apples, fatso!"

"Are you saying I'm FAT!?" A.J. Scoffed. "You shut your mouth, you stupid stallion!"

"Hah hah! The silly pony can't even take a joke!" Wind Whistler laughed. "I knew fatty couldn't keep up with-"

ZOOOOOOM!

Hollywood raced past Windy, nearly knocking out of the sky as the flutter literally flew circles around the Pegasus. Zipping back down to where the other ponies were, she landed right in front of the stallions.

"Whoa, Holly! that was awesome!" Thundercloud exclaimed, rushing up to the Flutter pony. "I've never seen anybody fly like that!"

"Yeah, that was pretty incredible!" Ice Crystal agreed, trotting up beside Thundercloud. "You the greatest flier I've ever seen!"

"You got it boys, I'm the best mare in the air!" Hollywood landed in front of the stallions, turning her backside to the boys, and wiggling her gorgeous flank at the two fascinated males. "Some girls got it, some girls don't!"

"Boy, I'll say!" Ice Crystal whispered to his best friend. "That caboose blows Windy and A,.J.'s behinds away!"

"I know!" Thundercloud whispered back. " Just looking at her flank, I can feel my saddle belt tightening!"

The two other mares, meanwhile, glared at the flutter pony, scowling.

"What do you say we make a truce, and gang up on the flutterbutt?" Wind Whistler spat, landing beside Applejack. "Maybe we could push her into a pond while she's asleep?"

"Sounds good to me." A.J. agreed, looking back at Majesty. "You with us, princess? I haven't heard anything from you for the past hour."

"I'm trying to keep my attention on where we're going, A.J." Majesty replied, still trotting forward on the path. "And that means ignoring you two and you're little school filly antics!"

"Hmmm, I wonder what would happen if we introduced Holly over there to Prince Tux n' Tails from Fort Dash?" Applejack replied with an evil grin, remembering the name the princess had muttered in her sleep. "I'm suuuuure the little flutter trollop would get along with him juuuust fine!"

Majesty's eyes went wide, before she started glaring at Hollywood like the other two.

"No girls, you're thinking too small." Majesty whispered to her two companions, as Hollywood giggled and flirted with the two stallions. "We wait until she's asleep, splatter her wings with syrup so she can fly, that it's time to play a game of 'swat the bug' until she agrees to stop acting like a harlot."

As the three mares were plotting, Tornado came back down from the path ahead, trotting up to his two male friends. "Guys, I've scouted ahead... I saw a dark fortress, on a hilltop about four miles from here."

"Oh no, that must be the Wizard Rugmatot's lair!" Hollywood whinnied in terror. "We flutter ponies never come this far north, out of fear of falling under his spell."

"Don't worry, Miss Hollywood!" Ice Crystal declared, bowing to her. "We'll protect you from this great evil!"

"Yeah, it can't be that hard!" Thundercloud agreed. "How tough could a human wizard possibly be?"

......

"What?! Ponies in my domain?" An angry voice bellowed. "What arrogance is this!?"

A dark and shadowy figure watched the ponies from his enchanted mirror, displeased at the new arrivals in the unicorn run. Pulling his cloak up in front of his face with his right arm, the sinister looking being called out into the darkness of his tower in anger. "Rapunzel! Goldilocks! Come here this instant!"

"Coming your greatness!" Two twin earth pony mares, with pink coats and golden blonde manes, came galloping up the steps and bowed to the man. "You called us, wizard Wantall?" The twins replied in unison.

"A herd of ponies has entered our lands, uninvited and without my permission." He growled, turning to face the twins. "These ponies must learn the folly of angering Rugmatot Wantall. Greet them warmly, and bring them to me."

"As you command, my lord." Both mares bowed again, then turned to gallop away. The Wizard turned back to his mirror, to watch Majesty and her friends.

"Well, it looks like I may have a few new mirror slaves soon, after all..."

Amidst the Ruins

"I dunno, this place is really creepy." Tornado said with a shiver, looking at the eerie decor all around her. "Are you girls sure you want to set up camp here?"

"Ohhh, don't be such a fraidy stallion!" Wind Whistler chided flapping above the mountain boy pony's head. "These ruins are the perfect place for us to set up camp!"

The seven ponies had arrived at the center of the valley, where what appeared to be the ruins of a small city stood at the crossroads of two very ancient traveler's roads running though the Rainbow Valley. Majesty had felt the ruins would be a safe place to set up camp for the night, seeing how the first set of ruins they had stayed in been advantageous against the goblins in their last battle. It was not yet evening as the party began to set up camp, but they were all grateful for the rest it would bring.

"Wow, the rainbow valley looks incredibly beautiful." Ice Crystal noted, standing at the edge of the ruins, and looking back up the path they had first come from. "It's more forest-y than the jungle we came though in Flutter Valley. But why do they call this place Rainbow Valley?"

"The answer to that is right above your head." Hollywood pointed a hoof skyward, causing everybody to look straight upwards. "If you look high into the sky, you'll see a wonder that not even the ancients knew existed!"

As their eyes gazed skyward, they noticed a long, beautiful rainbow arching high above the clouds, filling the top of the sky with colors. Even now, as the sun was setting, the giant overhead rainbow filled the night sky over the valley with color.

"Whoa, is that...?" Thundercloud asked in awe, his voice trailing off as he stared at all the bight colors.

"The rainbow portal to earth, yes." Holly wood finished, looking between the stallions with a smile. "It's how the humans and the other races first came to our world. The rainbow lights up the night sky over the unicorn run, and touches down in Dream Valley to the east. It's a beautiful sight for any pony, wither by day or by night."

"Uhhhh, Holly? Don't you mean everybody?" Wind Whistler asked in confusion. "Everypony isn't even a real word."

"No no Windy, I meant 'every pony', as in two separate words. I was just referring to equines who might wander through here" Hollywood corrected . "But I do admit, 'everypony' does sound like something really stupid word."

"Yeah, just like 'anypony'!" Windy replied with a giggle. "Or nopony!"

"Or somepony!" Holly laughed back. "Or manypony!"

"This is a riot!" Wind Whistler fell back, laughing hysterically. "Too many ponies!"

"I don't get it." Ice Crystal said in confusion, watching the two mares laugh over their own joke. Thundercloud just shrugged.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Majesty were on a tower in the center of the ruins, getting the layout of the land before they set up camp. The princess was staring down at the other ponies, amused by their little joke.

"Look at those goofs down there, just having their little fun." Majesty chuckled. "It amuses me Wind Whistler can get along so well with Holly, even with how much she dislikes her."

"Yep yep, the airhead gets along with the bimbo, no real surprise there." A.J. replied, half ignoring the princess, as she unrolled a bunch of maps on an old stone table. "We've got more important things to worry about, kid, like figuring out where we're going from here."

"Say, Applejack? Do you wonder what kind of place this was?" Majesty asked, looking down at all of the crumbling walls, and toppled stone pillars. "Did you ever winder what the ancients built it for, or what they did here?"

"Can't say I ever gave it much thought, kid. Nor that it warranted much thought." Applejack looked up up from her maps, and pointed a hoof at a pony statue with both wings and a horn on it. "See kid, I've heard the ancients believe in a lot of silly stuff that ain't worth wasting time on. They were a bunch of wierdoes with heads too big for their bodies and ridiculously giant eyes. They paid lip service to friendship, but let their rich and powerful ponies get away with bullying and walking all over other mares and stallions." A.J. stamped her hoof on the table, snorting angrily. "The best thing we Ponylanders ever did was driving those losers out of these lands, and good riddance to them, I say!"

"Wow, you don't like ancient ponies, and you don't like modern ponies." The princess sighed. "Is there anything or anybody you do like?"

"I like ponies who don't ask stupid questions, and don't waste my time." A.J. turned back to her map. "Now, are you going to come over here and help me figure this thing out, or not?"

"I'll be there in a sec." Majesty looked back down where the others had been. "Hey, everybody but Tornado up and left! Where the heck did they all go? What are they doing?"

"Tornado's standing guard like I asked him to, Ice Crystal went off with Wind Whistler, and Hollywood's gone with Thundercloud." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "And as to what they're doing.... you're a grown filly, kid. You've seen the looks those mares have been giving those stallions, and vice versa. what do you think they're doing?"

"Ugh, I don't want to even think about it!" Majesty rolled her eyes, trotting away. "You always seem to think the worst of people, A.J., I think I'll go talk to Tornado, instead."

"Suit yourself." The earth pony replied, again not looking up from the map. Applejack was so engrossed in what she was doing, that she didn't hear the two didn't hear another earth pony come up behind her with ropes, and suddenly spring on the unsuspecting mare.

"Hey, what are you-!?" A.J. snorted in surprise, struggling against the other mare. "Let me go!"

The two ponies wrestled against each other, kicking and biting. Applejack was strong... but the other mare had gotten the drop on her.

"I'm really sorry about this." Rapunzel sighed, pulling the ropes tightly around A.J.'s legs, before gagging her. "But I really have no choice."

Far below the tower, the sound of two ponies giggling and laughing could be heard from a cluster of trees just outside the ruins.

"Ohhh, Icy, you're so energetic!" Wind Whistler gasped for breath, trotting out into the clearing, and pushing some loose strands of hair back into place in her messed- up mane. "Now you wait here, and I'll be back in a few minutes, okay?"

The Pegasus mare trotted over to a nearby stream, and was cleaning herself up as an earth pony mare snuck up on her with a rope. Windy had barely gotten out of the water, when the other pony jumped her.

"Hey, what gives?!" The Pegasus squeaked, as the earth pony pinned her to the ground. "A.J., is that you in disguise?! Is this some sort of joke?!"

"I apologize for doing this to you." Goldilocks whimpered, holding back the tears in her eyes. "But I am compelled to obey."

An earth pony mare was stronger than a Pegasus mare, and Windy couldn't fly away with her wings soaked. Goldilocks soon had Wind Whistler tied up and gagged, and was soon off with her captive to join her twin.

"Let's get out of here, before the others find out." Rapunzel whispered to her companion, dragging her heavy sack along by her mouth. "There's no way the two of us could take that unicorn, the flutter, and the stallions all by ourselves

"I'm glad we didn't have to hurt the others." Goldilocks replied, dragging her struggling sack along the ground as well. "Rugmatot should be happy with these mares."

The two ponies vanished into the forest with their captives, slowly trotting their way back towards Wantall's castle...

Seeing Double

The central chamber in the dark stone tower was a dark, damp, and lonely place. Antiquated furniture from a bygone age were littered about the room, and shelves covered in spell books lined the walls. The sounds of hoof steps coming up the stairs broke the silence, as two mares carrying a pair of moving sacks set their burdens down upon the cold stone floor.

"UGH! Let me out of this bag, you ornery sidewinder!" Applejack snapped, rip[ping her gag off with her teeth, and struggling to break free. "Damn you, let me GO!"

The earth pony mare was promptly dumped onto the tower's stone floor, and Wind Whistler was quickly deposited beside her.

"You damn madmares! Howe dare you kidnap us!?"A.J. spat, looking up at the twins and scowling. "Who are you, and why the heck have you brought us here?!"

"We are sorry that we had to take you, but the master forced us to carry out his evil will." The two mares replied in unison. "We are Rapunzel and Goldilocks, and we are the mirror twins."

"Well, I can see why you're called the mirror twins, since ya both look exactly alike, except for slightly different coat tints and cutie marks." Applejack replied. "So is your 'master' using some kind of spell to control the both of ya?"

"No, you misunderstand." Rapunzel Explained. "We are the mirror twins, born of the enchanted mirror. We have no choice but to obey he who controls the mirror."

"The pony we were copied from, Fairy Tale, was a favorite of the master's, the only pony he ever befriended from a time when he hated most ponies." Goldilocks continued. "Fairy Tale expired from old age long ago, yet we remain here, to serve the master."

"Gee, that really sucks that you girls are stuck being his slaves!" Wind Whistler spoke up, as the twins removed the gag from her mouth. "I hope he doesn't plan on doing the same to us!"

"Oh, don't worry! I have no plans to enslave two worthless ponies such as yourselves!" Rugmatot declared, coming down the spiral staircase from above. "It's your essence that I desire, your forms as a basis to build my army!"

"Wizard Wantall, I didn't hear you slither up!" Applejack snapped, glaring at the wizard in anger. "So you grabbed us to use as pawns in your evil magical plans, hmm?"

The towering spell caster loomed over the two helpless ponies, pulling back his hood to reveal a bald head and cold-back eyes. Gaudy jewelry of different colors and sizes decorated his hands, head, and neck. The overweight wizard kept wringing his hands constantly, showing his obvious nervous demeanor to the two captive ponies.

"Gee, mister Wantall, you sure have a lot of big furniture -tweet!- in a tiny room." Wind Whistler noted, looking around at the bizarre decor. "You got size issues or something?"

"I know this place must seem a bit disconcerting, but that's simply because of it's construction." Wantall replied, gesturing around the room dramatically. "This tower was once a military base for the ancients, who were apparently only about two to three feet tall. My furniture was a little bit... large by comparison, when I moved in a few centuries ago."

"So is that what you brought us here for?" A.J. replied snarkily. "To show off your home decor to two ponies?"

"Ohhh, indeed! I've brought you to this chamber to show you a very special piece!" Rugmatot walked over to a tall object covered with a cloth covering it. "In fact, I have a strong feeling this particular little gem will have you two reflecting upon yourselves!"

Wantall pulled the cloth of the piece of furniture, revealing a tall circular mirror. As the mirror twins took their ropes off, the two ponies powerlessly gazed into the reflective surface for a few moments... until they noticed the ponies in the mirror were staring back.

"Eeee! Applejack!" Wind Whistler shrieked, jumping into the air in surprise. "I think our reflections are moving! On their own!"

"They ain't just moving!" A.J replied, too shocked to run away. "They're coming out off the mirror!"

The two duplicates stepped forward through the glass, trotting right out to face their original counterparts. Several moments of silence passed between the four ponies, before the Applejack reflection spoke up.

"Howdy, yall! It's really nice ta meet ya!" The fake earth pony smiled warmly, talking in a southern accent that haunted the back of A.j.'s mind. "I'm as pleased as punch that y'all could come by fer a spell!"

"This... this is not possible!" The original Applejack cried, taking a step back. "Who are you?"

"Why, I'm y'all." The A.J. copy replied. "I'm y'all before life too away all the happiness and innocence. Back when you knew how to love, instead of how ta hate."

"No, you can't be!" Appljack screamed back, collapsing to the ground and covering her face with her hooves. "This cant' be happening! It just can't!"

"Salutations, Wind Whistler." The Windy duplicate greeted her, trotting up to face her counterpart. "I trust my unexpected appearance is not too alarming to your person?"

"Wow, who are you, lady? -tweet!-" The original Wind Whistler asked in confusion. "You look like me, but you sure as heck don't sound like me!"

"Oh, but I am you... I am the mare you will one day become." The reflection replied, a cold and emotionless gaze in her eyes. "I am you, free of all those silly emotions and feelings, free to embrace the cold hard truth of logic and reason."

"Noooo! I don't wanna be like you!" Wind Whistler cried, tears streaming down her face. "I don't wanna be anything like you!"

The two original mares tried to escape, but were quickly set upon by their counterparts and the mirror twins. It didn't take long for the four reflections to subdue A.J. and Windy, before tying them in ropes once more.

"Excellent, girls! Take them to the dungeon!" Rugmatot Wantall roared with laughter. "Their reflections will return to the group, and help bring the remaining ponies under my power!"

Confession

"Hey, guys? Have you seen Windy around?" Ice Crystal asked, as he came racing out of the underbrush. "We were playing a game of tag, and she just disappeared. Now I can't find her anywhere!"

Hollywood and Thundercloud looked up from where they were playing a board game, troubled looks crossing their faces.

"I don't know, we haven't seen them come this way." Thundercloud replied, standing up and trotting over to his fellow mountain boy pony. "Bid you hear her go off in the other direction?"

"No, she just walked over by the river to get a drink, and vanished!" The other stallion replied. "I think we should go, and try to find her!"

"Everyone, we have a problem!" Majesty came galloping up to the others. "Applejack's disappeared, and I really need your help to locate her!"

"Wait, A.J. had disappeared, too?" Ice Crystal exclaimed. "Wind whistler is gone, too! She disappeared while we were playing hide and seek, and-"

"Whoa, you and her were just playing hide and seek? And Holly and Thundercloud were just playing a board game?" Majesty grinned, as she looked down at the game lying on the grass. "Boy, is A.J. going to be depressed when she finds out she was wrong about all of you!"

"Look, Princess, we really don't have time for that right now." Hollywood interjected. "We need to find our friends, before something awful happens to them!"

"Quite right!" Majesty agreed. "Ice Crystal, you and Thundercloud go search around the area Windy disappeared, and head west. Holly, you and I should head east. Tornado's out scouting about, so he may run into them, as well. let us all meet back at the camp in on hour!"

"Got it!" The all replied in unison, each trotting off in their own separate directions. When Majesty turned and looked back, she noticed the two stallions had trotted over to the other side of the clearing, and vanished into the treeline.

As Majesty and Hollywood made their way through the great pine forest, Majesty tried to strike up a conversation with the flutter pony.

"So, Hollywood..." The princess spoke up, trying to think of something to say. "... I bet you're missing flutter valley by now, huh?"

Hollywood said nothing, letting several minutes of silence hang in the air between the two mares. Undaunted, Majesty tried again.

"Hey, have any family back home?"

Again silence. After several more minutes, the princess turned her head and asked;

"Holly, is there something wrong?"

The flutter pony stopped dead in her tracks, and turned to face the other mare.

"Majesty, why do you and the other girls hate me so much?"

That stopped the princess dead in her tracks. "Huh?... whuh... h-how did you-?"

"Ice Crystal told me all the nasty things you were all saying about me." Holly replied, her voice quivering as she looked like she was about to cry. " Ever since A.J. pulled me out of that bush, Ive tried to be nothing but nice to all of you. But while the stallions have been really friendly, you mares have been talking about doing stuff like throwing me into the river, and threatening to tear my wings off."

"That-that was just talk!" Majesty sputtered out. "We weren't actually going to do all of that horrible stuff!"

"Even though Rosedust ordered me to, I actually really wanted to come along with your party... I wanted to be you friend." Holly turned away to hide the tears. "But all you and the other girls have done is scream and yell at me, and hurl insults. What did I every do to all of you to make you hate me so?"

The flutter pony turned her head to the ground, before Majesty trotted over, and put a hoof under her chin.

"Hollywood, listen to me... we really don't hate you. In fact we're jealous of you... even me." The princess sighed. "Look, Holly... as a flutter pony, you're more beautiful than us, way more pretty than the rest of us." Majesty looked the other mare over as she spoke. "I mean, look at you! Those colorful wings! Those long legs! That slender body! And that flank!" Majesty frowned. "How could any of us even hope to compete with that?! We earth, Pegasus, and unicorn mares, we just cant' measure up."

"That's why you were so mean to me?" Hollywood asked in surprise, drying her tears. "Because you were jealous?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry we acted like that, okay?" Majesty admitted, shaking her mane. "I guess another thing a princess has to learn is how to learn when to tell her friends not to insult the new girl... and when to apologize for when she's acted like an idiot herself."

"Thank you, princess. I really appreciate that." Holly smiled, perking up again. "Now, what do you say we get otu there, and find those two knuckleheads?"

....

On the other side of the forest, Ice Crystal and Thundercloud trotted on a path through the forest, unaware they were trotting towards the evil wizard's tower.

"Applejack, Windy?" Thundercloud called out. "Are you girls out there?"

"Applejack, Windy!" Ice Crystal called out. "Are you certain they came this way?"

"They must have." The other stallion insisted, pointing a hoof at the ground. "Look, there are two trails of hoof prints coming this way, and the shallowness of the steps indicates a mare's weight."

"But what are these lines beside them, like two sacks being dragged along?" Thundercloud noticed. "Something smells fishy here, and it's not coming from the river!"

"Howdy boys." Applejack's voice called out in greeting, as she trotted over to the two stallions. "What y'all doing out heyah?"

"A.J., is that you?!" Thundercloud asked incredulously. "Where in the name of B'zekre have you been?"

"Salutations my good stallions." Wind Whistler added, coming up trotting behind her. "We are pleased to encounter you at this juncture upon our return to our encampment."

"Windy, is that you?" Ice Crystal asked, surprised. "Where did you go during our game? And why do you sound funny?"

"No time for talk naow." Applejack giggled. "Gotta get back to the others."

"See you back at the camp, boys!" Windy finished. "Can't keep our companions waiting!"

Puzzled, the two stallions followed the mares back to the campsite, both exchanging suspicious looks they trotted along after their very strange-acting friends...

Double Trouble

"Hey, girls! Good to see you back here!" Hollywood called out, as the other two mares approached where they stood in the ruins. "What took you so long?"

The six ponies all met back in the center of the encampment, the others surprised to see Applejack and Wind Whistler return so quickly. As the two mares marched coldly up to the fire, Majesty cautiously approached her two friends, curious as to their whereabouts.

"Applejack, Wind Whistler... so good to see you back here." Majesty told them, confused and disturbed by the two pony's eerie blank stares. "So, what did you find out there that kept you so long?"

"We found a place... a wondrous place, where an equine can reflect on themselves." Wind Whistler replied calmly. "In fact, I do hypothesize that you will be beside yourself to get in."

Really? That's... that's interesting." The princess replied, noticing the gestures that the two stallions were making at her that something wasn't right, and taking a step back from the two mares. "And- and what do you have to say about all of that, A.J.?"

"Ahm totally with Windy, here. This place will change yer life." Applejack agreed, as she and Wind Whistler slowly edged closer to Majesty. "If fact, y'all be a different pony when y'all come outta heayah."

The two mares were almost on top of the princess, when she suddenly cried out. "Boys, NOW!"

The pair of males were upon the fakes in an instant. tackling them to the ground before they had a chance to react. Two two imposters bit, kicked, screamed and howled at the stallions, giving them cuts and bruises all up and down their bodies. Finally, the mountain boys managed to headbutt the two mares in the skull simultaneously, causing the to mares to explode and vanish into a puff of smoke.

"Whoa, that was totally crazy!" Ice Crystal coughed and gagged, as the smoke cleared. "Is everybody here all right?"

"Yeah, we'll live." Thundercloud replied, waving some of the smoke away with his hoof. "I can't believe those mares thought they might be able to fool us!"

"But where in the world did they come from?" Majesty asked curiously, looking down at the spot where the two impostors had been. "This definitely wasn't a disguise spell, because they wouldn't have vanished like that. So what manner of magic created these imposters?"

"It's Rugmatot's evil magic!" Hollywood declared, landing next to the other equines. "He is known for his power to make evil duplicates of good ponies, and now he has taken copied our poor friends, and made them disappear!"

"If they have taken our friends, then in my opinion we must do our best to get them back." Majesty said simply, a determined look in her eye. "I'm not going to leave two of my friends to the not-so-tender mercies of an evil human wizard."

"Then we should head for Rugmatot's palace, at once!" Hollywood declared, speared on by Majesty's bold attitude. "Before he can use them to make any more of his diabolical duplicates!"

"Wow, Holly! That's quite a shocking thing to hear from you." Ice Crystal noted in surprise. "I mean, the way those two treated you and all."

"Fellow ponies are in danger, Icy." Hollywood replied, flutter around over their heads. "It's time to put differences aside, and save our mean-spirited friends."

"Where can we find Rugmatot's tower?" Majesty asked her, ignoring the flutter's crack at A.J. and Windy. "We need a path we ground ponies can follow you on."

"Up, on the other side of the ruins, there's a path that lead's up to Wantall's peak." Holly replied with a shiver. "I had hoped we could avoid that terrible, horrible place... but here we go!"

...

Far, far away from the site of the encampment, Tornado the stallion wandered aimlessly through the forests of the unicorn run. Having gotten hopelessly lost while on his scouting mission, the mountain boy pony was desperately trying to find his way back to camp.

"Blast it, I think this is the third time I've past this rock. Wait is it the same rock?" Tornado asked aloud, with no one around to hear him. "Wait a sec, I think I hear somebody...."

"Shooby doo! Shoop shoopy doo!" A voice called out from the river, with no visible source. ""Shooby doo! Shoop shoopy doo!"

The eerie song filled the air all around Tornado, it's sweet melody falling upon his ears like a haunting call. The stallion was frozen in place, unable to move as the soothing voices called out to him.

"The river... yes, I shall come to the river..."

The stallion trotted forward blindly, paying no attention to his surroundings or whereabouts. Walking to the edge of the raging river, the blank eyed tornado stood there, inches from the swift and steady current.

"Shooby doo! Shoop shoopy doo!" The voice repeated again, as if speaking to the stallion. "Shooby doo! Shoop shoopy doo!"

"Yes, I will come in..." The stallion replied, in a bland tone. "The water is fine..."

Without another word, the mesmerized stallion stepped forward, sinking into the swift current, and vanishing beneath the water's surface. Within a few moments, he was gone, as if there had never been a stallion standing on the bank a moment before. The forest then fell silent once again, entirely uncaring about the poor foolish equine that had mysteriously vanished into it's mighty river.

One Lucky Colt

"Are you certain this is the way?" Majesty asked, looking at the deary landscape around them. "It's so dark and dismal around here. If I were a powerful human mage with phenomenal magic, this would be the last place I'd want to live." She carefully watched where she put her hooves, so as not to step in the filthy mud that surrounded them everywhere. "I'd use all that magical power to earn enough gold to buy a big and luxurious mansion... or something."

"Ahhh, but you don't understand how human warlocks think, Majesty." Hollywood explained smugly, fluttering over the unicorn's head. "They love dark and foreboding castles and slimy fortresses, it suits their evil disposition. There are plenty of creepy crawlies here to serve as minions, and carry out their evil whims."

"Well, this place sure fits the bill of being full of icky and creepy crawlies. " The princess replied, trying not to lose her lunch. "I just wish we didn't have to come here at all."

"Don't worry princess, well protect you from all the icky things." Thundercloud said proudly, trotting ahead of the two mares. "We big brother ponies aren't afraid of anything!"

"You got that right, buddy!" Ice Crystal agreed proudly, walking up beside his friend. "There's no monster in Ponyland we can't handle!"

The four ponies slowly climbed the path towards Rugmatot's old fortress, that curved around the towering peak in a swirling spiral. A cold wind blew over the shivering ponies, as occasional lightning flashed across the darkened skies. Occasionally, they would pass a dead tree on the path, each one of which housed a pair of ugly leering vultures, whose eyes seemed to follow the group's every move.

"Okay, this isn't totally creepy at all." Holly added,crossing her hooves over her chest in a desperate attempt to keep warm. "We're lucky we've got less than a mile to go, otherwise we'd catch a nasty chill out here."

"I can totally dig that, Holly." Ice Crystal agreed, trying to pick up his pace a little. "The sooner we get to that wizard's tower, the better."

"Then we're going to have to-" Thundercloud suddenly stopped in his tracks, his ears perking up. "Do the rest of you hear that sound?"

They all stopped for a moment, listening carefully for several minutes. At first, they all heard nothing but the soft moaning of the wind, but they soon picked up the sound of a small hoof breaking a twig on the path behind them.

"Somebody's following us." Ice Crystal whispered. "Girls, get behind us, we'll take care of whatever wizard Wantall has sent our way!"

The two mares zipped behind the stallions, who prepared themselves to tackle whatever came around the last bend. A long shadow was cast over the four equines, as whatever it was came around the side of the mountain path.

"Now!" Thundercloud cried out. "Get him!"

"AHHHHHHH!" The two stallions called out loudly, both jumping towards the intruder.

"AIEEEEE!" a young voice cried out, as the two stallions barely stopped themselves from pouncing on a earth pony half their size. To everyone's shock, they found themselves looking at a little blue colt, with a blue mane and horseshoe cutie mark. The startled youth had covered his eyes with his hooves, and he was currently cowering on the ground in front of them. "Please, don't eat me!"

"Awww, it's just some colt!" Thundercloud rolled his eyes, taking a step back. "Don't worry kid, we're not going to hurt you."

"Oh dear, what's a child doing out here all by himself?" Hollywood asked with concern. "He must've gotten lost out here on the unicorn run!"

"That, or his parents were abducted by the wizard, and this little colt managed to get away." Majesty trotted up to the small earth pony. "What's your name, little one? What are you doing out here?"

"My name's Lucky, and this place is my home." The little colt laughed, a smile crossing his face as his fear melted away. "It's kind of lonely around here, do any of you want to play with me?"

"Sorry kid, we're kind of on a rescue mission." Ice Crystal waved a hoof dismissively. "We don't have time for silly things like playing."

"Awww, you guys are no fun!" Lucky's ears drooped as he slowly began to trot away. "But I understand, I'll go find somewhere else to play, and leave you guys alone."

"Wait a minute, Lucky." Majesty stopped him, putting a hoof around the little colt. "You'd better stay with us, it could be a bit too dangerous out there for a little pony like you."

"Yipee! Thanks, lady!" The eager little boy pony began skipping around them in circles. "So, what you're names? Where are you guys from? Why'd you come here?"

The little colt asked a flurry of question the rest of the way up the mountain, which the other ponies did their best to answer. Majesty swore she had never met a pony child so curious or playful, but he seemed to dodge all of their questions about who he was, or where he was from. It wasn't long before the group found themselves at the very top of the peak, standing just outside the tower's ominous stone wall.

"Well, looks like we made it." Thundercloud stated, looking up at the impenetrable fortress. "So, anybody have any idea about how we're going to get in?"

"Ohhh, I know a secret way in!" Lucky offered eagerly, rushing over and pushing on a stone in the wall, causing the wall itself to swing open. "C'mon, I'll take you to your friends!"

"How could he know the way in?" Hollywood asked, before shrugging. "Huh, I guess we shouldn't look a gift pony in the mouth."

As the others trotted in, Thundercloud stopped Majesty just outside the entrance.

"Princess, you do probably realize this is a trap, don't you?" The stallion asked her. "I mean a friendly colt, coming out of nowhere, guiding us to a secret passage..."

"If we want to save our friends, we have no choice." The unicorn replied with a sigh. "We'll just have to be on our guard..."

The Wizard's Tower

"I'm telling you guys, that kid is leading us into a trap!"

Through the twisting and turning corridors of the tower they followed Lucky, Trying to ignore the Colts continuous stream of chatter, while looking around at the cobweb-covered walls and praying this whole thing wasn't one giant mistake.

"Would you please knock it off, Thundercloud?" An exasperated Majesty snorted, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "We've already got enough problems here, without your paranoia making it worse."

"I just wish this tunnel would come out somewhere soon." Ice Crystal complained. "Because I'm gonna go nuts if we have to keep stumbling around in the dark down here."

"It won't be much longer, guys, I promise." Lucky reassured the others. "And Don't worry about being discovered, Wantall has forgotten most of these tunnels are down here."

"You really seem to know a lot about the wizard and his tower, Lucky." Hollywood told the colt. "How long were you the Wizard's prisoner, and how did you escape?"

Oh, he kept me locked up an awful long time, but I didn't escape." Lucky just shrugged. "I just kept getting loose, but since I didn't cause any trouble he just gave up, and let me run loose. After awhile, I think he just kind of forgot about me."

"Poor thing, his parents must've been killed by Wantall, and now he has nowhere to go." Majesty said sympathetically. "We"'ll have to take him back with us when we leave here, and I can make arrangements to send him back to Dream Castle."

"Yay, I'm going to a castle of dreams!" Lucky exclaimed proudly, bouncing around the tunnel like a red rubber ball. The colt's enthusiasm charmed the two mares of the group, as it contrasted with the grim and dark surroundings of the current location they were in. More than ever, Majesty was determined to get this boy out of this horrible place, and back among civilized ponies again.

"Whoah, looks like we made it." Ice Crystal noted, as the five of them emerged in the tower's great center hall. "But from the look of this place, I sure wish we hadn't."

"Ewww, looks like Wizard Wantall is really into creepy decor!" Hollywood added, sticking her tongue out at the dreary cobweb-filled chamber. "This place looks more like a tomb than a living space."

"And it'll be our tomb, if we end up hanging around here for too long." Thundercloud added, already looking around for another door or passage. "Now, we just have to figure out where A.J and Windy are, so we can get out of here!"

"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere, my good ponies!" Rugmatot's voice called out, as he stepped into the chamber from a set of stairs above them. "After I make duplicates of your reflections, you shall join your friends in the dungeons below!"

"Aieeee! It's the wizard!" Holly shrieked, before hiding behind Thundercloud. "Everybody hide, before he casts a spell on you!"

"So, wizard Wantall, I presume!" Ice crystal snapped, as he jumped in front of the others to face the warlock down. "You better let our friends go, mister, or you'll really regret it!"

"No! Watch out, Icy!" Thundercloud warned his friend. "He could hit you with a lighting bolt, or something!"

"No he won't! Rugmatot can't do anything like that." Majesty told them, trotting up to stand beside the stallion in the front. "I read my mother's royal intelligence reports on this guy, and he's an enchanter, not a battle mage." The unicorn glared at him smugly. "He couldn't even hit us with a fireball the size of a walnut."

"Maybe not, your royal highness- and yes, I know who you are, Majesty of Dream Valley." The warlock sneered back. "-but my mirror clones are just dying to make your acquaintance."

Confused by the villain's words, the five ponies looked all around them. To their horror, the equines found themselves surrounded by an entire army of Applejacks and Wind Whistlers. The mirror clones sported hungry looks on their faces, as if they were eager to devour the five ponies.

"You're not going anywhere...." the clones stated in unison, inching ever closer to the ponies.

"Uh, oh... looks like there are too many of them." Majesty took a step back, before taking off in a gallop. "Everybody, RUN!"

What followed was an insane chase all through the fortress, with five screaming ponies running up and down stairways, through open doors, and in and out of secret passages. Being that this was a wizard's tower, things often didn't make much sense; Thundercloud would run through a spinning bookcase, and would find himself galloping on an upside-down staircase on the ceiling.

"Thunder, how the heck are you doing that?!" Ice Crystal asked, glancing up at him quickly as two Wind Whistlers chased him. "You're not a Pegasus!"

"Hey don't ask me how I'm breaking the laws of gravity!" The other stallion replied in bewilderment, running away from three Applejacks. "This whole place is like some freaky M. C. Escher painting!"

Hollywood raced away from several mirror copies, before realizing she was zooming straight into a wall.

"Aieeeee!" The frighted mare cried out. "I'm going to crash!"

But as the mare collided with the wall, she flew straight into a painting on an open roadway. The bewildered clones stared at the painting for a few minutes, before Holly came out of a similar painting on the other side of the room, surprising the mirror duplicates with a back-leg kick that sent them flying.

"Hah, that's the trick!" The flutter grinned with a smile. "Use Wantall's own magic lair against him!"

The ponies continued to race all through the labyrinth-like halls of the tower, occasionally attacking the pursuing clones whenever they got the chance, and causing the duplicates to vanish in large puffs of smoke. Majesty had just blasted a few Appljacks with her horn, before she had Lucky took off running again from the swarm of clones after them.

"Stay close to me, little one." The princess warned the colt. "I don't want those impostors getting their hooves on you."

"Sure thing! This game is fun!" Lucky cried out, almost outrunning the unicorn in his enthusiasm. "Wheeee!"

Majesty was surprised by how much the little colt was not taking this whole thing seriously, when Lucky accidentally ran into the edge of a table, cutting his shoulder on a sharp edge.

"Ouch!" The little colt cried out, as blood tricked out of the cut on his coat. "That really hurt!"

"Argh!" Rugmatot cried out in pain, clutching his arm at that exact moment Lucky had accidentally cut himself. "You stupid ponies! I'll kill you all for this insolence!"

Majesty risked a brief glance at the wizard as she galloped by, and she was shocked to see a cut of the exact same shape and size on the exact same spot on his shoulder.

"Now that doesn't make any sense..." She muttered to herself, as she and the colt continued to run. "Unless..."

Suddenly, a look of horror spread across her face, as the pieces fell together in her mind. She remembered the stories of Rugmatot having a mare he had been friends with long ago, that enchanted mirror, and a young colt whose injuries appeared on the wizard at the same time....

...and Princess Majesty suddenly realized just how horrible this whole situation actually was.

Finally the clones were abler to chase four of the five ponies into a circle at the base of the tower's grand staircase, and corral them just as the wizard came down the steps. The fiend greeted them with a cackling laugh, rubbing his cold and clammy hands together.

"Well well well, it looks like this merry chase is over!" Wantall smiled evilly. "It has been a fun little game, ponies. But I'm afraid it's all over!"

Where's Hollywood?" Ice Crystal whispered to his friend. "I last saw her flying around upstairs."

"Wherever she is, she better off out of the wizard's clutches!" Thundercloud whispered back, glaring up at Rugmatot in anger.

"You fools thought you could actually get away from me?" Rugmatot gloated. "Don't you fools know that I always win?"

At the wizard's cruel words, a look of rage spread across Majesty's face. She stood up trotting defiantly over to face the wizard defiantly.

"No, foul villain, you shall not win." Majesty snorted at him. "You shall never harm another pony ever again."

"What is this?!" Rugmatot demanded angrily. "You dare to defy me, even in defeat?"

"No, Wantall, you did not win this game." The princess announced, he voice a mixture of sadness and anger. "In fact, you lost your battle a long time ago."

And in an upstairs chamber, Hollywood was still flying around excitedly, even though she was no longer being pursued. Once again not paying attention, she smashed through an old wooden door, and tumbled into a chamber that had clearly long gone unused. After pulling herself up onto her hooves again, the confused flutter began taking in her surroundings.

"Where am I? What happened to all of the duplicates?" She asked aloud, looking around at the furniture and books long collecting dust. "How did I get in.... oh my horsemaster..." Holly could only stare in horror at what met here gaze.

There on a chair in the corner, was the skeleton of a human male who had obviously been long dead for many, many years. For a moment, the flutter assumed it was some long-forgotten prisoner who had died in Wantall's captivity. But as she studied the jewelry and clothing scraps, Hollywood realized she had just seem them on a figure who had been moving and talking downstairs.

...for this skeleton was the dead body of the wizard Wantall himself.

Little Colt Lost

"You're already dead, Rugmatot." Majesty declared, looking away from him dismissively. "You just haven't realized it yet."

"WHAT?!" The warlock sputtered in an angry rage. "How dare you presume to-"

"Majesty, what the heck are you doing?!" Thundercloud yelled. "He'll have his clones tear you to pieces!"

"No he won't, Thunder." The princess replied, turning to the little colt beside her. "Because he's not the one doing all of this... is he, Lucky?"

"What? I don't know what you talking about." The little colt replied in confusion. ""I don't understand, Miss Majesty... what did I do?"

"That little bugger was a spy!" Ice Crystal snapped. "I knew it!"

"No not a spy, a little lost colt." Majesty replied, looking over at her friends. "It came to me, when I remembered the story of Rugmatot, a kind and gentle wizard, who had discovered a magic replicating mirror, and befriended an earth pony mare named Fairy Tale."

"Mommy..." The colt declared, staring at Majesty in silence, The two stallions with then noticed that neither Rugmatot nor the clones were moving, now that Lucky was distracted. The two stallions put the pieces together in there own head... and both nodded at each other simultaneously, as the realized everything Majesty had already figured out."

"I figured as much." Majesty replied, walking around the little colt in a circle. "Rugmatot was a friend to all ponies, but had a particularly strong friendship with Fairy Tale. She came to live here at this tower with him, helping the wizard by retrieving components for his magic spells."

"But their feelings ran deeper then friendship.....they shred a love that could never be, due to their differences in physical forms." Thundercloud continued, realizing what Majesty was getting at. "The two wanted a child, but could not have one by natural means, due to their differences."

"So they turned to magic, as Rugmatot found the mirror of the ancients, crafted from the solidified water of the mirror pond after it was drained." Ice Crystal finished, as all three ponies stared at the colt. "They both gazed into the mirror together, and by it's magic, a colt was crafted in their image."

"No, it's not true..." Lucky whimpered, looking between the three other ponies. "I'm not a mirror clone, I'm not!"

"They loved the colt as long as they lived, but being a creation of the mirror, he never aged, never grew old." Majesty continued. But Rugmatot and Fairy Tale did grow old, and they died here together, many centuries ago."

In the upstairs room, Hollywood cautiously approached the human skeleton, pulling the sheet away from it's body to reveal the skeleton of an earth pony mare clutched tightly in his arms...

...together in death, as they had been in life.

Downstairs, Majesty continued. "But the two left behind their little colt, who was now all alone. But he had the magic mirror, and mommy and daddy had left copies of themselves to keep the colt company after they were gone." The princess looked up at the mares Rapunzel and Goldilocks standing on the stairs, and the now frozen Rugmatot standing in front of them. "But even with this, the littler colt got bored."

"Please don't be mad at me!" Lucky whimpered, falling to his knees. "I didn't mean to scare anybody! Nobody got hurt!"

"So the little mirror colt and his mirror family concocted a game... one that would allow Rugmatot to play the part of a 'villain', by kidnapping and copying ponies, and Lucky to be the 'hero', helping the ponies escape." Ice Crystal added. "And the ponies who escaped from here told the tales of how Rugmatot had turned evil, and was now copying ponies to build an army."

"And then Rugmatot and the two mares who destroy the clones, and begin the cycle all over again." Thundercloud said sadly, looking upon the now sobbing colt with pity. "You're never going to play this game with any travelers, ever again."

"No, I'm a good little pony!" Lucky sobbed, covering his eyes with his hooves. "I didn't want to hurt anybody!"

"Please, do not punish the child." Goldilocks pleaded. "We never should have gone along with his plan. We shall take you to your friends in the basement, they are restrained, but unharmed."

"We shall take better care of Lucky from now on,and not give into his demands such as these, as we should have been doing since the beginning." Rapunzel agreed. "That what his parents created us to do."

"We retain the memories of the parents who loved Lucky in life." The Rugmatot clone agreed, finally moving on his own again. "Maybe we could be parents to him as well, instead, of just servants."

Majesty look out at the mirror duplicates coldly, narrowing her eyes. "I shall spare you four, to remain here and continue as a family for as long as this fortress stands." Looking up to where the mirror hung, she fired a blast from her horn, shattering it into tiny pieces, then atomizing the fragments so it could never again be reassembled. "But I'm taking your toy away from you... as well as all of these duplicates."

She fired another blast, swinging the beam from her horn around in an arc, and shattering all of the A.J. and Windy clones. The duplicates each let out a scream of agony as they died, creating one loud symphony of pain.

"AIIEEEEEEEEEE!"

"Majesty, how... how could you do something like that?" Thundercloud asked in horror. "You saw these four are alive and intelligent. How could you just murder hundreds of ponies like that?"

"We already have a naturally born Windy and A.J, there was no place for those mirror clones in this world." Majesty replied coldly, trotting away from the others, and trying to hide the tears forming in her eyes. "Sometimes a princess has to make the hard decisions. Now, let's go and free our friends."

"Majesty, have you forgotten the very cold-hearted and ruthless mare you told us you left Dream Valley to get away from in the first place?" A worried Ice Crystal asked, as the princess trotted away. "Don't you realize who you are starting to sound like?"

The Road Ahead

"Hmph, sure took you guys long enough to rescue us." Applejack snorted, scowling at her four rescuers. "Any longer tied up in that dungeon, and the two of us would've staved to death."

"Really, A.J.? You sure don't look any leaner." Majesty chuckled. "I'm sure after a few apple tarts and apple pies, you'll be just fine!"

The six ponies were trotting away from the tower, celebrating the fact that they had successfully dealt with the threat of Rugmatot once and for all. Returning to the sight of their encampment, the princess and her friends couldn't believe how everything had turned out.

"Wow, that was sooo lame, being trapped with that gag over my mouth." Wind Whistler declared, as she and Hollywood zipped around over the heads of thew others. "I mean, can you believe how dark and dingy that creepy old basement was? With all those creepy spiders and cobwebs down there- icky! Why in the world did Rugmatot stick us down there, anyway? I'm, like so totally glad to be out of that mess, aren't all of you glad, huh?"

"Actually, I kind of wish we'd kept the gag on her." Applejack snorted, shaking her head. "It could've saved the rest of a whole lot of headache."

"Boy, being trapped sure didn't help your mood any, now did it?" Holly rolled her eyes, flying overhead. "What happened to the two you while you were in captivity, anyway?"

"We don't want to talk about it." The two mares replied in unison, looking away as they remembered the personalities of their two mirror duplicates.

"Wow, A.J. and Windy agreed on something." Ice Crystal said in disbelief, looking at the skies overhead. "Does anyone see pigs flying overhead? Or, I wonder if hell is freezing over right now."

"Would you all please stop your bickering?" Majesty scolded all of them."We're almost back to the camp site, and I'm getting sick of listening to you cackle like a bunch of old hens."

"We need to let Tornado know where we've been." Thundercloud interjected. "He should be around here somewhere."

But as the group arrived back at the campsite, they found no trace of their stallion friend anywhere. Ice Crystal and Thundercloud searched high and low for any kind of tracks or signs of a struggle, but all they found was their gear and ration, completely untouched, even by the wild animals.

"There's no trace of him anywhere, your highness." Ice told Majesty. "It's as if he simply wandered off, and left everything behind without a care in the world."

"I think I picked up his scent heading down to the river, princess!" Thundercloud told her, sniffing at the ground, and following the scent towards the riverbank. "But his trail stops right at the water, as if he trotted right into the moving water."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Wind Whistler piped up, hovering over the river, and gazing in. "Why would he jump into the water, and where the heck did he go?"

"I'm afraid that knucklehead might've fallen into the water, when he went to get a drink." Applejack replied, staring down at the swiftly moving water with regret. "The current would've carried him downstream, meaning he's somewhere in the Rainbow Valley, beyond the unicorn run."

"Holy horsemaster, we gotta go and rescue him!" Windy started to fly down river, when she noticed the others weren't following her. "Wait, what are you guys..."

"Windy... I hate to say this, but Tornado has probably washed down stream and drowned by now." Applejack replied sadly. "That is an awfully powerful current in the river, even for a stallion."

"Icy. I think our good buddy might've gone to B'zkre's stable in the sky." Thundercloud told his friend in a sorrowful tone. "We may have lost a big brother pony."

"But we can't just give up hope!" Thundercloud protested. "Tornado wouldn't leave us to get washed away!"

"Yeah, let's go search for him!" Windy agreed. "Icy, do you think you can pick up his scent by the river back, and we could follow him down stream?"

"No." Majesty replied curtly, glaring at the others. "We are not wasting time on a pony who's probably already dead."

"WHAT?!" The whole group asked in disbelief. Every pony present stared at the unicorn mare in shock, not wanting to believe they had just heard their friend say what they thought she said.

"Majesty... how can you be so cold?" Hollywood asked, landing beside the princess. "Tornado has stood by you though this adventure so far, how can you just abandon him?"

"Stood by me? How? By getting captured by the flutters, and needing rescue? By disappearing down river, and needing saved again?" The princess snorted. "Even if he did survive, Tornado was more of a liability than an asset. We are much better off without him."

"Majesty, you big meanie!" Wind Whistler flew right up into the unicorn's face, snapping at her angrily. "How can you just toss a friend away like that?! You're just as hard-hearted and cruel as you claim your mom is!"

Those words hit Majesty like a ton of bricks, and she remembered the argument that led to her leaving Dream Valley in the first place.

"All right, we'll go after him." The princess let out a defeated sigh. "Hollywood, where does the path by the river lead?"

"The river path?!" The flutter pony mare's eyes went wide, and she backed away as if stung. "Uhhhh.... Majesty? Trust me, you REALLY don't want to go that way!"

"Why not?" Applejack asked, a cold feeling growing in her stomach due to the other mare's reaction. "Holly, where does that pathway lead to?"

"Girls, you remember how our campsite here is among a small cluster of ruins of the ancients, and Rugmatot's tower is a rebuilt fortress of the ancients?" The flutter pony gulped in fear. "Well, this path leads right into a giant cemetery of the ancients, where it's always dark and spooky." She looked down as the princess. "Majesty, the river road leads to the pathways of the dead..."

Through the Valley of Shadows

"Are you sure this is the way, Holly?" Wind Whistler asked nervously, her hooves shaking in her horseshoes as she walked along quietly after the others. "This place is scarier than a whole army of trolls."

"I don't like it either, Windy. But this is the path that follows the river, and that silly stallion could've washed up anywhere downstream." The flutter mare replied. "We can't just leave him, he could be drown, or hurt!"

The five ponies trotted their way along the dark and winding road, huddling close together to protect themselves from the bitter cold. It had become evening by the time the group had reached the pathways of the dead, and a chilly wind and dark path lie ahead of them. The only sounds they heard were the dead leaves crunch beneath their hooves, and the sound of the swiftly running river off to their right. Majesty tried to keep the way lit with her horn, but nothing could break the eerie gloom that seemed to surround them on all sides.

"I really can't believe it, this is totally insane!" Majesty grumbled, leading the entire group from the front. "First, I set out on a quest to get away from my mom and to discover myself, and I end up rescuing ponies over and over again!"

"Well, what did you think you were going to find out in the world outside of your safe little castle?" Applejack replied, raising an eyebrow. "Out here, ponies often get captured. Out here, ponies can even get killed. Rescuing them is the thing a princess- no, a queen- sees to. Did you really think this was going to get any easier?"

"Applejack, I don't really need you lecturing me about my faults and failings." Majesty growled, looking back to face the earth pony. "And I do believe I've thoroughly proven I'm willing to make the hard decisions, that softie you first left Dream Valley with is long gone."

"We know, and that not entirely a good thing." Ice Crystal muttered to himself, trotting just behind Majesty. "You're becoming just as harsh as some of the monsters we've been facing."

The five ponies had gone down the path a ways, when that all noticed broken up bits of an old rusted iron fence running along the left-hand side of the river. Several carved stones, of many different shapes and sizes, dotted the left side of the path. Their surfaces etched with a writing none of the ponies could read.

"W-What is this place?" Wind Whistler asked. looking around nervously. "It looks really, really creepy."

"It's called a cemetery, Windy. I've seen them in the human towns." Thundercloud responded, trying to hide his own fear. "It's where they bury their dead in the earth."

"They put the dead.... underground? That's kinda creepy." Windy asked, shivering in horrific disgust. "But there aren't any human towns around here... what is this one for?"

"This is a cemetery of ponies, Windy. Used by the ancients long before our time." Applejack replied, eyeing the tombstones warily. "The ancients used to bury their dead like the humans do, instead of interring their dead in the citadel catacombs like we Ponylanders do."

"Why, that's horrifying!" Hollywood replied, disgusted. "How could you just throw your loved ones in a hole, and cover them with dirt for all eternity?"

"A lot of things the ancients didn't don't make any sense, Holly." Ice Crystal replied, the only pony not shivering in this cold. "We'd best keep moving, if we wish to reach the path's end by sunrise."

Suddenly, there was a strong gust of breeze, casing the leafless tree branches to rock around in the wild winds. A low moaning filled the air, as eerie orbs of light began to rise from the tombstones, and swirl about the ponies walking the path. Then, they swore they could hear voices on the wind.

"Turn Back!"

"This path is filled with great danger, turn back!"

"Whoa, what are those things?" Hollywood asked, flapping around in a panic as the wispy orbs of light swished all about her, leaving trails of light like small comets. "Are they some kind of night pixie or something?"

One of the balls of light drifted in front of Wind Whistler's eyes, causing her to recoil in horror.

"Faces!" The Pegasus cried out. "There are pony faces in the orbs!"

"We see it too, Windy!" A terrified Thundercloud replied, as the glowing balls all morphed into glowing pony heads. "There aren't pixies, they're ghosts!"

"Go away." One of the spirits whispered. "Turn around and go back."

"You are in grave danger here." Another whispered. "The singers of songs will take your lives, just as they took your friend."

"Turn back, unless you wish to become like us." A third whispered. "Stay away from the horror that lies ahead."

"W-what are they?!" Holly shrieked in fear.

"It's the ghosts of the ancients, rising from their graves!" Majesty exclaimed, averting her eyes from the whirling spirits. "In life, they didn't believe in our great goddess B'zekre, and now they can't enter the Friendship Gardens, the pony heaven." She turned her head, to look back at the others. "They have no afterlife to go to, and so wander the world, trapped in limbo forever!"

"Eeeee! Let's get out of here!" Windy cried out, zooming though the air. "I don't wanna end up a ghost, too!"

"Wait, where's Applejack?" Majesty asked, looking around. "She was just here, a moment ago..."

The four ponies looked back, and saw a full-sized pony ghost appear in front of A.J., staring at her, as the translucent mare stared back. The two seemed transfixed by the sight of each other, as if they were both looking at something they hadn't seen in a very, very long time.

"What... what do you want?" Applejack addressed the shade. "I don't know why, but I get the feeling you're trying to tell me something."

"Song....Song is the key, Ponylander." The earth pony spirit with the grey coat, mane and musical note cutie mark told her. "The ones who took your friend use song as their weapon, and it is a song that will defeat them."

A.J. thought for a moment, then nodded. "Thank you for your advice, but... who are you? I feel like... I should know you, somehow."

"Help your friend, Ponylander, and remember that we helped you." The ghost's icy voice chilled the mare to the bone. "And when the day you pass away comes, comes and you go to meet your goddess, ask B'zekre to remember our good deed. Ask her if we might be allowed some relief from our suffering in this living death, that all who did not believe in the goddess must endure." The Ghost faded away. "Goodbye forever, Applejack of Dream Castle. We shall never meet again."

An eerie but beautiful song filled the air, calling all of the other ghosts back to their graves. The five ponies turned to the east, where they saw the sun rising over the trees. The darkness was banished away, and the five ponies found themselves alone once more.

"Look, there's the exit to the path!" Windy rushed ahead. "Oh man, I never want to see another ghost for as long as I live!"

The others all trotted out of the forest, but Majesty turned back to see Applejack sitting in front of a larger headstone, with the small statue that looked just like the ghostly mare they had all just seen.

"Something wrong, A.J.?" Majesty asked

"She helped us, and sang the other ghosts back to sleep, but..." The earth pony shook her head. "Who was that mare, and why did she seem so familiar to me?"

"Who knows, Applejack? But there's nothing we can do for her now." The princess replied. "the best we can do is figure our what her advice meant, and how it can help us to rescue Tornado." She motioned with her head. "For now, let's get our flanks out of here, and let the dead rest in their graves."

Applejack nodded, and began trotting out of the forest. But as Majesty turned back to the gravestone, she could only stare at the statue of the singing earth mare with the aqua-grey coat, and wonder who she had been...

Parting Ways

It wasn't long before the group emerged from the unicorn run, and the ponies couldn't have been happier to be out of that place of darkness and danger. Now, Majesty and her traveling companions found themselves on the open plains of the Rainbow Valley, and were marveling at all the bright colors and rich beauty all around them. But little did the mares in the group realize that they were about to say goodbye to two of thier newest friends....

"Oh my goodness, this is so amazing!" Wind Whistler whispered in awe, lost in the bright beauty all around her. "I had no idea the Rainbow Valley was sooo bright and full of color! The trees seem so extra green, and the sky even bluerer than anywhere else I've been!"

"You know 'bluerer' is not a word, right?" A.J. grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Try to talk right, you whistling airhead."

"Quit your griping, Applejack, and let the girl be." Majesty commanded. "Even I must admit, I have never seen such beauty as here in the Rainbow Valley. The colors all seem so much brighter, so much... more alive."

"That's the magic of Rainbow Valley, your highness." Wind Whistler explained. "The Rainbow Ponies keep this whole valley burning bright, drawing off the warm and happy feelings of every equine in Ponyland, to create this wonderful paradise."

"The color flows out from Rainbow Valley, and light up all of Ponyland with it's beauty." Hollywood continued. "Without the ceremony performed by the monks at the harvest festival every year, these lands would be dull, drab, and gray."

"Yep, the Rainbow Ponies should actually be performing their ceremony a few days from now.. it's what gives the trees their bright and vibrant colors." Applejack fished, looking over the horizon to the west. "If we weren't caught up in this rescue mission here, I'd recommend we head over to Rainbow Falls and watch them bring in the colors ourselves."

Quietly listening to the mares' conversation for several minutes, before looking at each other, and nodding. Turning to face their female companions, the pair of mountain boy ponies announced they had come to a very important decision.

"Look, girls.... maybe we should continue looking for Tornado on our own." Ice Crystal offered. "Your highness and your companions shouldn't waste you're time on such trivial matters, we can locate our missing friend by ourselves."

"WHAT?!" A.J Bellowed out in shock.

"Are you guys crazy?!" Windy added.

"Why on earth do you think we would abandon Tornado!?" Hollywood finished. "He could be hurt... or worse!"

"Tornado's probably okay, Holly, really!" Thundercloud reassured her. "He's gone off on his own before, he'll come back when he's ready."

"Yeah, he might already be on his way back to Misty Mountain by now." Ice Crystal agreed. "So we'd better go catch up with him. Besides, we've taken up enough of you girl's time."

Majesty just stood there, silently considering the two boy's words as she nodded her head.

"You guys can't be serious!" A.J. Turned to the princess. "Majesty, you can't seriously be thinking about letting them go~! You have to order them to stay with us on their search!"

"No Applejack. They know their friend far better than we do." Majesty replied, shaking her mane. "Ice, Thunder... if the two of you believe Tornado isn't in any danger, and you'd do better without us tagging along, I hereby relieve you of all obligations to my friends and I, and give you both leave to depart."

"By your leave, my princess." Both stallions replied in unison, bowing low before majesty. "Good luck on the rest of your journey."

As the two stallions turned and trotted away, the three mares instantly all turned on the princess at once.

"All right, you royal pain... how could you let them go!?" Applejack snapped at her. "You could have ordered them to stay, a Ponyland stallion is not allowed to sneeze without a mare's permission!"

"And you're a princess! That gives you double the authority!" Wind Whistler yelled, getting up in her face. "Now the cute stallions are gone, and Tornado is still missing..."

"We stood a better chance out in these wilds, when we had those male's muscle to back us up." Holly sighed. "Now we've lost our strength in numbers..."

"Okay, could all of you just get off my case!?" Majesty snapped back, turning away from them. "They are big boys, I''m sure they'll be fine! Besides, we've got more important things to do." She turned back to face the others. "Windy... didn't you want to hunt for the cutiesaurs? And A.J., weren't you keen on seeing the rainbow ceremony at the fall festival?"

"Yeah, I do want to see the cutiesaurus... but not at the cost of my new friends..." The Pegasus's ears drooped, and she landed on the ground. "I just hope the guys will be okay..."

"Well, since there's no chance of helping the boys anymore, I suppose we could go to Rainbow Falls and catch the ceremony." Applejack added with a sigh. "It'll be neat to see the magic that turns the leaves different colors in person for a change."

"Then we can achieve both goals by heading to Rainbow Falls." Hollywood added, trying to hide her own sadness. "The Ceremony will be held there, and then we can ask the Rainbow Ponies about the cutiesaurs... those mystics know everything about everything."

"Well, Rainbow Falls in the only continuously inhabited city in Poinyland that dates all the way back to the time of the ancients. And I've always wanted to see it's historic Pre-Ponyland architecture." Majesty replied, as the group started to trot onward. "Come on girls, it's time we got back to what we were doing."

And so the group stared on their new journey towards Rainbow Falls, a little more downhearted than they had been previously. And Majesty simply couldn't shake the feeling that the 'friends' she had met along this journey, were not nearly as friendly towards her as they had been...

Rainbow Falls

"C'mon, girls! Try to keep up!" Wind Whistler called back to the others, as four mares climbed the path up towards the colorful community. "The view Hollywood and I are seeing from up here!"

"Majesty... Applejack... you're not going to believe this, but I thin this place might be more beautiful than flutter valley!" Hollywood gasped, fluttering beside her Pegasus friend. "I-I've never seen anything like it in my life!"

The city of Rainbow Falls... the oldest continuously inhabited town in Ponyland. Going all the way back to the time of the ancients, this community was like a slice of the distant past, manifested in the modern world. Small homes and cottages dotted the plateau, most so old their actual construction date was lost to history. Rainbows were painted on every house and store, giving the whole town a look more bright and cheerful than anything that Majesty, wind Whistler, or Hollywood had ever seen before.

But Rainbow Fall's greatest feature, was the town was situated right beneath the great rainbow that stretches across the confederacy and serves as the gateway to earth. Due to this, Rainbow falls has the blessing of all the waterfalls and rain that cascade down from the heavens are all rainbow colored. These colorful waters, having filtered through the great rainbow on their descent, feed into several rivers and lakes all over the confederacy, including Dream Valley's own waterfall and Rainbow River.

"Bright, colorful, and alive..." Applejack snorted, as if she had expected this. "This place never seems to change, no matter how many years pass."

"Really? You sound as if you've seen this place before." Hollywood commented, flutter in front of the earth pony curiously. "Have you been here before, Applejack?"

"A long time ago, kid." A.J. replied, shaking her mane as if to knock a faint memory loose. "Long before you were fluttering around, and asking silly questions."

"Ohh, quit talking like an old Lady, A.J.!" Windy chided her. "Ohhh, lookie there! There's already a whole bunch of ponies here for the party, too!"

Majesty looked all around the village, and surprised by the largest and most diverse crowd of ponies she had ever seen. Snow Ponies, Twinkle-eyed ponies, Breezies, and Crystal ponies milled about the town's streets, stopping to visit the various vendors stalls and merchant stands set up for the fall festival. The princess had seen many a large fete like this one for Dream Valley's feast days, but never and she gazed upon such a mix of equines from all over the confederacy!"

"They must all be here for the fall festival... makes sense, given how pretty the leaves will be at the turning." Hollywood commented, gazing over at the rainbow-colored water in the town's waterways. "Hey, are those sea ponies in the rivers? Whoa, every pony type really IS here for the festival!"

"Okay everybody, I know this festival looks exciting and everything, but let's try to stay calm and-" Majesty turned, and saw that all of her friends had scattered all over the festival. "-stay together." She sighed, burying her face in her hooves.

The four mares scattered throughout the festival, racing to try various foods and play various games. Holly went over to one booth to try some pumpkin pie, while Wind Whistler raced to an arts and crafts booth to help weave dead corn stalks into harvest wreaths. Applejack stop and a farmer's tent, and began to scarf large amounts of hot buttered corn, while Majesty simply stood there, watching her friends go about their crazy and goofy antics.

"You know, my princess, harvest festival activities are more fun to participate in, than they are to merely sit back and watch." A voice from behind the unicorn told her. "Why don't you go out there and join your friends, Fraulein? "

Surprised, Majesty spun around to find an earth pony staring at her from the shadows. Majesty noted the stranger had a blue coat and crescent moon and two star cutie mark, and was slowly trotting towards her through the crowd. The princess took a hesitant step back at first, until she noticed the flowing rainbow mane flowing on top of the mare's head.

"Oh my goodness, a rainbow pony!" Majesty bowed politely, suddenly remembering her manners. "I'm so sorry, I meant no offense."

"None taken, Princess Majesty." The mare replied, trotting up to stand beside the other pony. "My name is Nachlicht, and I am a rainbow pony from the northern lands."

"It's a pleasure to meet you here, your grace. I have nothing but respect and admiration for the ponies who act as the spiritual leaders of all of Ponydom." The unicorn smiled at the other pony. "I cannot wait for you and your sisters of the rainbow order, to turn the leaves at the ceremony tomorrow."

"Do you truly believe we rainbow ponies cause the leaves to turn?" Nachlicht asked in surprised. "No, my good Majesty, our rainbow magic ask nature to changer the color of the leaves, and to spread color throughout Ponyland. We do not command such power ourselves."

"Really? But I thought you rainbow ponies controlled the colors, like my mothers orders around her subjects. "Majesty protested. "Are not the forces of nature under your control? Is not your power to command and order the world in B'zekre's name?"

"We rainbow ponies are the servants and messengers of B'zekre. We ask the almighty to favor us, we do not tell her." The rainbow pony explained. "The leaves will turn themselves, Prinzessin, we rainbow ponies merely perform the ceremony thanking the higher powers for the color and beauty the provide us." Nachlicht replied. "The changing of the leaves is like the changing of the seasons- nature moves at it's own pace, we ponies merely ride the tide of nature's changes."

"But, didn't the ancients command both the weather and nature?" Majesty asked, remembering the fairy tales she had head as a filly. "Or are those merely the whispers of legend?"

"The ancients did indeed command nature, and tried to arrogantly control the entire world around them. That was the arrogance led to their downfall." Nachlicht agreed, before trotting off. "Make sure you do not fall into that same trap, my good princess. Do not try to command and control every aspect of your world and the ponies in it, when you should instead be acting as a living part of that world yourself."

The rainbow pony departed, leaving a very confused Majesty to contemplate the meaning of her words....

Changing of the Seasons

The girls were up all night at the festival; trying different kinds of food, playing games, and dancing with cute stallions at the bandstand. As the dawn approached, all of the ponies at the fall festival began to congregate at the Shrine of B'zekre, at the very center of the town. As they all found their seats, several ponies with flowing rainbow manes made their way through the crowds, and up onto the raised platform. Then, one of them addressed the crowd.

"Ladies and gentleman... mares and stallions... honored guests... it is now time for the ceremony to begin!"

Several mares, stallions and foal were gathered in front of the great shrine, their eyes focused on the nine rainbow-maned mares who now trotted out in front of the altar. Eight of them turned toward the great mosaic of the goddess B'zekre, while the remaining rainbow pony, Parasol, turned to face the crowd.

"Honored Guests, we are here to celebrate the end of fall, and the dawn of Winter." The the pink mare explained, looking over the crowd. "This time of the year always comes with a sense of melancholy in Ponyland, as the days get shorter, and the nights get longer. The weather grows cold, and the land is buried beneath a blanket of ice and snow." The earth pony with the umbrella cutie mark raised her hoof to the crowd. "The year has grown old, and is preparing to hand this world over to the coming year. But now as we enter the holiday season, we hold a great celebration of color, to say goodbye to this passing year, and remember all that it has given us."

From where Majesty and her friends sat in the crowd, the rainbow ponies and the altar were both barely visible. Squinting and craning her neck to see what was going on, the princess bumped into another white unicorn mare, who was standing in the crowd beside her.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" Majesty apologized. "I didn't meant to run into you like that!"

"Oh, no worries! It's fine!" The brown haired pony with the yellow star cutie mark replied. "It's always crowded here every year for the rainbow ceremony."

"I'm just scared we're going to miss something." Majesty replied, squinting again. "I can't believe how far we are from the shrine back here!"

"Oh, don't worry! It's not the shrine you'll be wanting to keep your eyes on!" The other unicorn giggled. "See all those trees around us? That's where you'll want to be looking!"

Majesty looked at the trees in confusion for a few minutes, just as the rainbow ponies on stage began their incantations and prayer. Suddenly, one of the nearby trees exploded into a bright display of color, followed by another, then another, then another. It was like watching a fireworks display put on my nature, as the leaves into into a beautiful sea of red, blue, green, and yellow.

"Oh my gosh!" Wind Whistler whistled excitedly, flapping around over Majesty's head. "Look at all the pretty colors!"

Then, the next part of the show began, as a great gust of wind blew up through the trees, and blew all of the colorful leaves into a swirling vortex of colors all around the gather ponies. A shower of colors reigned down upon the gathered ponies for several minutes, before they finally settled into a colorful carpet that covered all of the ground.

"Heh, this might've been impressive and all," Applejack smirked. "But just wait until you see the finale!"

The rainbow ponies ceased their chanting, and ended their prayers. To finish off the performance, a gentle snow began to fall on the assembled crowd, and beautiful white snowflakes fell all around them.

"We thanks the goddess for answering our prayers, and blessing us with this glorious display of nature's beauty!" Parasol announced, as all of the rainbow monks ponies turned to bow to the assembled ponies, who applauded the mystics respectfully. "Fall is officially over. And we, the rainbow ponies, officially declare the Christmas season has begun!"

The gathered ponies began to disperse, and Majesty and the others met up near the altar again.

"Wheee, that was fun!" Wind Whistler exclaimed, bouncing around excitedly. "I'm sooo glad we stayed awake for that all night party! And the ceremony at the end- SO AWESOME!!"

"Yeah, but now I'm really tired." Hollywood yawned, stretching out her hooves. "I really think we should hit the hay for a few hours or so!"

"Hit the hay, but I'm not even hungry." Applejack replied, causing everybody to glare at her. "Sorry... I know we Ponylanders don't eat hay... horse humor."

"Anyway, I don't know if we can find a place to stay here at rainbow falls, the inn's probably booked up for the festival." Majesty finally replied, getting them back on track. "And I don't want to use my princess influence to get us a room, so..."

I believe I can remedy that problem for you, Prinzessin Majesty." Nachlicht announced, appearing out of nowhere again. "We rainbow ponies still have an extra room for you and your friends at the shrine, and we would be honored to have the princess of Dream Valley stay with us for the duration of the festival."

"Thank ya kindly, Nach!" Applejack replied, yawning as she and the others followed the rainbow mare to the shrine. "We really needed a place ta stay, seeing how her royal laziness here didn't do any planning, and reserve us some rooms ahead of time!"

"Geez, you're even grouchy when you're tired." Windy yawned, as the mares were shown to a room with four beds on the shrine's second floor. "Don't pick on Majesty, she brought us to a really fun party!"

"The princess couldn't have planned ahead, our decision to come here was spur of the moment!" Holly added groggily, before trotting into one of the beds and crashing. "Any, let's get some sleep. I don't want to miss this evening lighting of the Christmas tree, that'll take us into the second night of the festival's events."

"Good night girls, sweet dreams!" Majesty called into the room, before turning back to face the rainbow pony. "Thank you so much for your help, sister Nachlicht. Please, let me know if there is anything I can do to repay you and t\your sisters in the rainbow order for your hospitality."

"Actually, Prinzessin, there is a way you can assist us." Nachlicht replied, shaking her flowing rainbow mane. "There is a somebody who we rainbow ponies sense could use you and your friend's aid, and request that you assist them."

"Really?" Majesty asked, her ears perking up. "Of course, we'd be happy to help! Who is this pony?"

"Well... it's not exactly a pony..." Nachlicht replied, shaking her head again. "There is one who dwells in the forests surrounding rainbow falls, who is in much need of the holiday spirit, and has not known friendship and family in a very, very long time...." The rainbow pony closed her eyes "She is the oldest living creature in Ponyland, older that the ancients themselves, and she needs your help." She opened her eyes again, and looked over at Majesty. "But you probably already knew that, for I sense the one in your group called Wind Whistler is already trying to seek her out...."

The Tale of the first Cutie Mark

"Wait, you mean the Cutiesaurs?" Majesty asked in disbelief. "I thought that thing was just a myth. Heck, I was just humoring Wind Whistler on her crazy search."

"Oh no, the Cutiesaurs is very real, my good princess." Nachlicht replied. "She is the oldest being on this world, predating even the ancients themselves.She was the first creature in this world to obtain a cutie mark."

The two mares walked the streets of Rainbow Falls, while all around them the ponies of the town hung Christmas lights, and decorated the trees all around them. A feeling of the holiday season filled the air, as wreaths and stockings were hung everywhere.

"But how did this creature earn such a mark?" Majesty asked. "I mean, this is a creature that had a cutie mark long before we ponies did. How was that first cutie mark earned?"

"It is a story that goes back into the mists of time, my good Majesty." The rainbow pony replied looking out across the snow covered hills. "To a time before ponies walked this world. Only the faintest whispers among the oral traditions oldest tribes of animals remain to tell this tale...."

When the world was young, and the purity of life had not been tainted by civilization, there was a time of peace. Nearly all of the animal tribes lived in harmony with one another, for the struggle with their environment to survive was too great to be quarreling with one another. In those days, the great thunder lizards roamed the planet. They were the ancestors of the Dragons, and mightiest of the animal tribes. Great in strength and size, they dominated the other animals, bullying them into giving them food and hunting land, while giving nothing in return.

But while they did not quarrel in those days, the other animals did not know friendship. It was clan against clan, only family could be trusted and cared for. It was into this world a young female Thunder Lizard named Gertie was born. She was different from all the others of her kind, lacking their greed and selfish natures. And when Gertie looked upon the other animals her kind tormented so, she felt nothing but pity for those lesser creatures. Why should her own tribe bring suffering upon those weaker than themselves?

In time, the young thunder lizard came to look upon her own tribe in disgust. And so did a most remarkable thing... she reached out to the other tribes for companionship. The others were hesitant at first, for why would a creature not of their own kind seek them out? But as they became convinced of Gertie's sincerity and kindness, the other animal tribes each came to accept her as one of their own. In turn, she was able to convince each tribe to form ties with the other tribes not of their own kind.

It was in this that friendship- caring for one not of your own family, and having them care in turn- first entered this world.

Using the gift of friendship Gertie had given them, the animals were able to unite against their oppressors for the very first time. The united animals fought a great battle against the thunder lizards; the first true battle, to occur upon this world. the untied animals vanquished the thunder lizards, driving the few survivors back into the caves, where their descendants would eventually become the dragons- hoarders of gold and valuables ever more greedy than their now-extinct ancestors.

As to Gertie, she received from almighty B'zekre a symbol upon her flank, to represent her special talent of bringing the animals together in friendship. This was the very first cutie mark, given for her talent for bringing others together. As the centuries past, other animals would earn this mark for their mastery of their special talents now and then. But it would not be until the rise of ponies that the mark would become a regular occurrence on the flanks of ponydom; an inherit part of who each pony was.

And so, all the races celebrate the Winter festival as a remembrance of how Gertie liberated all of our ancestors from oppression, choosing the evergreen tree and decorating it as a symbol of the evergreen warmth and beauty of friendship, that can withstand even the bitterest of hostile cold. And the tradition of exchanging gifts came about, to represent what a gift friendship is to all living things. Each tribe as their own version of this holiday, with it's own customs and rituals. But the meaning is always the same, the wonderful gift of friendship given to us by Gertie so long ago.

"The ancients later came up with their own story of how the holiday came to be- tied to a historical pony incident involving friendship- and the story of Gertie and her bravery were lost to them." Nachlicht finished. "Our own ancestors remembered her as the cutiesaurs, a friendly spirit who represented the spirit of the holiday season."

"And when the humans came, we turned our holiday celebration into Christmas." Majesty replied, as the tale ended. " But... whatever happened to the cutiesaurus? How is she still out out there?"

"It is said she has bestowed with an eternal existence, and continued to wander this world even after her species was gone." Nachlicht replied. "She's remained in hiding all these thousands of years, avoiding the various civilizations that came and went as the ages past."

"Wait a minute... let me get this straight." Majesty interjected. "So you're telling me, that the first creature to bear a cutie mark... the first creature to discover the power of friendship... has been out there since before recorded history began... and nobody has ever sought her out before now?"

"Every tribe has their own origin of how the holiday season came about... even the ancients had one! No one wanted to give the cutiesaurus credit for freeing all the animals and introducing friendship, so they made up their own stories about about what happened, and Gertie was forgotten." Nachlicht replied. "No race has ever tried to go after her, because nobody remembered or cared about her anymore."

"But why do you want me to go and find her, after all this time?" Majesty asked, confused. "Why break thousands of years of her solitude, to just now seek her out?"

"Because it's time somebody finally gives back, to the one who first gave us friendship." The rainbow-maned mare replied. "We want you to bring Gertie the Cutiesaurs back to rainbow falls, so she can discover the magic of the holiday season. We want to allow the lonely and forlorn founder of friendship, to be able to experience the joy of friendship once more."

Through her eyes

She was not alone.

It was very rare for anybody to come out this far... the ponies didn't like these wild lands. Oh, there were occasionally bold explorers would come out this far, but none actually stayed very long, after discovering there was nothing of value out here. But these four mares... they were not like the others. They had come here, looking for something. Could they be... looking for her?

It had been so long... so long since she had talked to anybody. It had not been since the days of the sun pony and the moon pony that others had sought her out, but could never find her. Oh, an equine does manage to find her me every century or two, but for the most part she was left here to my solitude. It's not surprising really; with all of the interesting and strange things in this world, why would anyone care about such an insignificant creature as her?

"Hurry up, this way, girls!" The bug-winged pony calls out to her friends, as she watched the equine lead them along. "I'm sure the tracks lead this way!"

"THE CUTIESAURUS!" The blue Pegasus squeaked out excitedly, flapping around like a mad pony. "I CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE GOING TO MEET CUTIESAURUS!"

"Would y'all calm down, Wind Whistler?" the earth pony muttered, looking up at her friend in annoyance. "If that cutisaur-thingy is nearby, you're sure to scare it away."

The Pegasus is excited to meet her... now why would that be? She was nothing special, a relic of a time long gone. She had seen mighty leaders and great empires rise and fall around her, she had watched the tribes of her time slowly change and grow into the mighty nations of the world. But she had never paid much attention to these events, as the years came to blur together for her. Why on earth should she care about such things?

She watched the four mares make their way deeper into the forest, led by the white unicorn with a flower cutie mark. Who was this mare? she seemed to have an air of authority about her, that greatly impressed the watcher. The others all respected her, and followed her commands. Was this unicorn a royal?

"Everyone, try to stay together." The unicorn told her friends, looking back over her shoulder. "Applejack, please stop eating our stores before we even find the cutiesaurus!"

"Aw, quit picking on me, Majesty!" The pony called applejack whined. "I can't help it I'm always famished!"

The complaining one... Applejack... she had seen her kind before. Hard edge on the outside, soft and warm-hearted under the surface. She remembered having a friend like this one, the one who complained all the time, but was the first to make sure everybody else was okay. Just like she remembered having another friend like the bug-winged pony.

"Why is this cuite- thingy hiding out here in the woods?" The fairy-like equine asked. "I mean, there isn't a good hooifcure salon or beauty salon around for miles!"

"I really don't think an ancient dinosaur is going to care about something like that, Holly." Majesty replied to her fluttery friend. "She 's a survivor from the prehistoric world. The cutiesaurus probably doesn't have any appreciation for the necessities of modern life, and only cares about food and shelter."

That's... that's not true at all! She had loved to visit beauty spas and salons in the time of the ancients. In those times, she would visit the towns whenever she got lonely. The ancient ponies welcomed her, assuming she was just some kind of weird dragon. She was always welcomed in with open hooves, and treated like royalty. She loved so much that ponies embodied her lessons of friendship so well; no other race had so thoroughly taken the concept to heart. And had enjoyed many, many pony friends throughout the ages; perhaps she should go out and try to greet these new arrivals?

"Man, this forest is soooo big!" Wind Whistler exclaimed, looking around in awe. "It's no wonder Gertie was able to stay hidden for all these years."

"We can't give up, Windy. We owe to to the cutiesaurs to find her." Majesty replied, using her magic to move a low-hanging branch aside. "She brought ponydom the gift of friendship so long ago, and it's high time ponykind paid her back for that noble deed."

That was it? They were looking for her... to thank her? For the gift for friendship? No, this had to be a trap. The ponies had tried tricks like this before, trying to lure her out into the open, so they could eliminate her. The few who guessed at her existance among the ancients had decided her existence was a threat to pony society, as ponies believed they had first discovered friendship. The Starswirl wizard and the sun and moon ponies had sent out bounty hunters to eliminate her, so nobody would ever learn the truth about the origins of friendship. But she and stayed hidden, and none had ever managed to find the 'mythical' Cutiesaurs.

"Oh, Gertieeeeee! Hey, Gertie!" Wind Whistler called out, flying over the treetops. "You out there? Come out come out wherever you are!"

The ponies drew closer to the shrubbery she was hidden in; this was the time she should be running. but... wasn't the whole point of her message of making friends? Didn't that mean she had to give these ponies the benefit of the doubt? Even if the ancients had treated her poorly, she had to give this 'Majesty' and her friends the benefit of the doubt. With a sigh, she stuck her head out of the brush, and turned her long neck to face the ponies.

"Um, hello?" The cutiesaurus asked, smiling at the four shocked ponies who stood in front of her. "Excuse me, I'm sorry to bother you, but... were you girls looking for me?"

A New Friend, unlike any other...