The Astral Realm was a place of beauty. A formless expanse, mixed with the sparkling white stars of life, covered the region. The ‘ground’ was made of many stars surrounded by a light wavy blue that slowly faded to black as you looked up. It was a plane of higher existence, almost completely inaccessible to anyone, even most immortals. Normally, such a place was peaceful and serene, despite the chaos out in the physical world. It’s why Magi loved it, especially now that her siblings had returned. But for once, the formless expanse and peace did nothing to sooth her.

THIS DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE! Magi raged. Right now she wanted a body, rather than just being a formless mass at this point, so that she could pace and burn off some of this energy. She was annoyed, worried, confused, and infuriated all at the same time.

Calm down, Magic, Honesty said, his voice calm and collected and slightly accented. It was deep, strong, and always acted as a calming force for Magi. But not today.

How can I calm down!? That…That THING is a pure manifestation of harmonic energy! The only way it could have been created is if WE ALL WORKED TOGETHER WITH OUR FULLY REALIZED BEARERS! And last time I checked, I’M THE ONLY ONE THAT IS EVEN WITH THEIR BEARER!

But getting upset about it won’t solve anything, Kindness said in the deep, gentle, voice of a father comforting a child. Besides, Mother-

Never made a freaking MAGIC MAP! Seriously, when would she have EVER needed such a thing!?

Maybe so when we found our new bearers so they could go on magic adventures solving friendship problems across Equestria? Laughter suggested in a squeaky voice. Magi always felt like Laughter’s voice could inspire any creature to smile just a little bit, but right now if Magi had eyes, she would have rolled them.

Like that would ever happen.

There’s no need to snap at Kindness, Generosity chimed it with a smooth, rich voice as she moved to hover near the pink orb. Her voice always reminded Magi of the ocean, calm and precise, yet able to break into a violent storm at a moment’s notice. Right now, she sounded right on the brink. We know this concerns you, but you really need to stop yelling. You know that never solves anything.

Yeah, Loyalty said in a deep, rough voice. His voice always filled Magi with energy, revving her up for a fight. Yet somehow, it seemed to have the opposite effect now. The last time I heard you this stressed was because Discord had transformed your bearer into a pineapple.

You would have reacted just as badly if he did that to yours.

The point is, we’re not here to contradict you or make things worse. But right now, yelling and raving won’t solve anything, or help us figure out what this thing is.

Magi took a deep breath, held it, and released it. Maybe she didn't NEED to breathe, but it still helped her calm down a little.

You’re right, as usual. I’m sorry. It’s just…This is impossible. Not to mention that it somehow managed to find and reveal Laughter’s location. What if a hostile alicorn had seen it?

Oh, uuuuuummmm, actually, Laughter said, spinning in place and giggling, that was me. I changed the map to reveal my location right when they opened it.

HUH? But...but WHY!? And HOW!? She could REALLY use some alcohol right now, if she could drink.

Wellllllll, since it was made of pure harmony magic, I tried reaching out to it to see if I could mess with it. And I could! We can change it to show whatever we want. As for why, well, I needed some way for my bearer to find me, of course! Just having Twilight tell everypony where to go won’t be as effective as having them go on a grand adventure to find the lost Elements of Harmony. It may even work in our favor for helping Twilight.

Ok, you’re right about that, but why did it have FLYING PIGS?!

Because Applejack was asking for it, silly!

If Magi had a body, she would have face-hoofed.

Grrrrr…

Growling would just have to do.

While I agree that the pigs may have been unnecessary, Laughter does make a good point. Having Twilight journey across Equestria in search of lost artifacts of power will certainly help her reach her full potential. The question is, where do we send them? Laughter already chose a location, and if I had to guess, it is significant to your bearer in some way?

Yes, though…I do regret that it won’t exactly be pleasant for her…

I doubt any of the trials needed to obtain us will be pleasant, Laughter.

But couldn't we just… you know, skip the trials this time? They’re all so close anyway!

You know that we can’t, Honesty said, his voice full of regret. They need the trials to learn the final lesson about the attributes we represent, and no matter how close they are, they need this last push to be able to fully wield us. Speaking of which, I believe it would be best if I were to direct my bearer last.

Why—

I need time. My bearer is…hurt. As such, I need to devise a way to heal her pain and get past her stubbornness so I can actually teach her my lesson.

In that case, I’ll go after Laughter. Hopefully, by then something will happen that can test my bearer.

Not just giving yourself away this time?

You know that Sonic Boom had proved her loyalty enough and had already managed to learn my lesson by the time I revealed myself. But I think my bearer needs a bit more experience with other ‘loyal’ ponies before she can finally learn my lesson.

Fair enough.

I believe I will go after Loyalty then. Something is happening in the desert that I have my eye on, but I can’t say if it will be of use in teaching my bearer just yet.

I can go before Honesty. Things are...mostly calm up north, but with all the chaos the rebellion is likely to cause for the alicorns, it may, as much as I may hate it, escalate an already present conflict that I can use to teach my bearer.

But what about the map? We can’t just leave it as is. We NEED to find out where it came from.

For now, let’s leave it in the care of Flash Sentry. It was sent to him, after all, so maybe our mysterious map creator will contact him again.

Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

Because you’re paranoid and worry too much, just like all your bearers, hehehehe.

Quiet, you, Magi grumbled. Her siblings laughed at her, and before long, Magi was smiling on the inside. They couldn't talk when they were imprisoned in those anti-magic boxes, but now that everyone had broken out and recovered enough to talk, the Astral Realm was never silent, and the noise gave Magi hope that everything would be ok.

Back in the real world…

Fluttershy moved through the crowded streets as best she could, dodging other ponies and apologizing when she bumped into them. Everypony was scattered around Wall Flower's property, trying to find where they would be staying during the day, and the alicorn's ponies were coming out to assist with the unloading and moving.

All in all, it meant there were lots of ponies moving every which way and it was all very confusing. Fluttershy walked passed a barrel that she was sure she had passed three times already. It was enough to make her want to fly above all the chaos, but that would involve opening her wings and possibly hitting ponies. And she didn't want to cause anypony any more problems. If only she could find a way out of the crowd…

However, something small suddenly caught her eye. Little Sunflower was weaving through the crowd, carrying a big, wobbling box of camping supplies...wait a second. Hadn’t Wall Flower’s husband taken her back inside the mansion once everypony had begun moving around? What was she still doing out? And where was her father?

However, before Fluttershy could begin to move towards her, Sunflower accidentally bumped into a pony who couldn’t see her. She stumbled and tried to keep her balance with her wings, but the massive load on her back made her topple over. The heavy crate caught the edge of her right wing as she fell, pinning it to the ground. The small alicorn started wailing in pain.

Fluttershy ran forward, pushing ponies aside as she dashed to Sunflower. She quickly wrapped her hooves around the box and heaved it off the ground, allowing Sunflower to pull her wing to her side. Fluttershy quickly scooped the little one into her hooves and moved her off to the side of the road.

“Shh, shh, it’s ok, you’re ok,” Fluttershy whispered, nuzzling the sobbing filly. Poor dear. She petted Sunflower's mane with one hoof and shook her bag with the other. “Angel," she said, "I need bandages, some willow bark paste, and some cotton.” The tired-looking face of Angel appeared. He grumbled, dove back into the bag, and soon reappeared with the required supplies.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said sweetly, but the rabbit only grunted again before disappearing back into the bag. Sunflower giggled at that, and Fluttershy couldn't help but join in.

"You have to open your wing now," she told the alicorn after Sunflower realized that laughing hurt her. "I know it hurts to move it, but this way I can make it all better."

Sunflower's wing was full of bent and twisted feathers and was shaking slightly under Fluttershy's hooves, but nothing seemed to be broken. The pegasus straightened the feathers with her mouth and applied the willow bark paste to the bruising skin underneath. Sunflower whimpered at the contact and tried to retract her wing again, but Fluttershy held firm, humming quietly to soothe and distract distract the little alicorn.

The willow bark paste was supposed to stop pain, but Fluttershy found it worked best if it was kept in place. Once the paste was covering the bruised tissue on the wing, she padded the wound with cotton and tied it off with cloth bandages. Satisfied that the injury was properly wrapped and that Sunflower could still move her wing, Fluttershy gently folded the appendage back to the alicorn's side.

Sunflower didn't wince as her wing moved again, but she was still crying, so Fluttershy simply sat there with her forelegs around her, whispering soothing words as the medicine slowly started to relieve the pain. She tucked her own wing over the small filly. That always used to make her feel better when she was younger.

Slowly but surely, Sunflower’s tears eased, and she quieted down to occasionally sniffling and rubbing her eyes. Fluttershy stroked her mane with her feathers, and heard a worried voice calling from the mansion. When she looked up, she saw a significant number of ponies had stopped to watch them. She squeaked and ducked behind her mane, but Sunflower curled up closer to her and that helped her relax a little.

“Sunflower!” Wall Flower’s husband breached through the surrounding crow, skidding to a halt in front of them and catching his breath. “What…What happened?”

“I…I was just trying to help,” Sunflower muttered from under Fluttershy’s wing.

“She…She was carrying a crate, and she fell off balance,” Fluttershy explained, gently brushing the filly with her wing to comfort her. “The crate, it, well, it landed on her wing. But it wasn’t too bad. She just needs to not use it for a few days and she should be fine…”

The stallion sighed and hung his head. “Just like her mother,” he muttered. “Still, thank you for treating her, Miss…”

“Oh, um, Fluttershy," the pegasus answered, swallowing. "But, no ‘Miss’ please. And you're welcome, um…”

“Vineyard,” the stallion said. “Sunflower, what do say?”

“T-Thank you, Fluttershy,” Sunflower said, dipping her head. Fluttershy smiled.

“You’re very welcome, Sunflower. In fact, you were such a good patient, I have a little something for you.”

Sunflower looked up in confusion as Fluttershy once again dug through her bag, this time on the side pocket. Eventually, she pulled out a small, yellow lollipop Pinkie had found for her. She didn't know WHERE Pinkie had found it, but she didn't really feel the need to ask. Sunflower’s eyes lit up, and her horn followed suit as the candy zipped out of the bag and into Sunflower’s mouth.

“Lollipop,” Sunflower muttered, her eyes rolling back in bliss. Vineyard raised his eyebrow, but his mouth was curling up in a smile.

“Don’t worry, it’s sugar-free,” Fluttershy giggled quietly to the stallion, though she doubted Sunflower would have heard her anyway.

“Again, thank you,” Vineyard said, nodding to the pegasus. “Sunflower always want’s to try and help out, even when I specifically tell her it’s past her bedtime. I don’t even know how she managed to get away from me. She just…vanished.”

“There are a lot of foals in the village. They tend to do that,” Fluttershy said, standing up and moving the distracted Sunflower to her back. “I’m just glad I was nearby.”

“You were really good with her. Would you mind...coming to talk to my wife?” Vineyard asked, gesturing a hoof towards the mansion. “She's very anxious and I think you would probably help put her mind at ease.”

“Oh, umm…” Fluttershy hesitated. She usually had trouble talking to strangers, and those were just regular ponies. This was an ALICORN, and not a small, cute one like Sunflower. But…Twilight had said Wall Flower was ok. Or, Magi did? Either way… “Sure, I can talk to her.”

“YAY!” Sunflower cheered, having finished her lollipop and rejoined the real world. “You’ll like Mommy. She’s nice and kind and makes the best cookies! But she doesn’t usually let me help with big pony stuff,” she grumbled. Fluttershy giggled and nuzzled her head. Sunflower was just too cute!

“And how did you get hurt?” Vineyard asked gently, prompting Sunflower to blush and mutter an unheard response. “Exactly. We know you want to help, sweetie, but there are some things only big ponies can do. Plus, it is far past your bedtime, missy.”

“But I’m not TIRED,” Sunflower whined as the three began moving towards the mansion.

“Well, then, how about this - if you’re still awake when we get back to Mommy, I’ll read you another bedtime story, ok?” Vineyard said. Sunflower nodded vigorously.

As they walked, ponies continued to move around them, though the numbers began to thin as they approached the mansion. The big, IMPOSING mansion. But at least it was smaller than Thorn’s, Fluttershy thought. As they walked, Fluttershy could feel Sunflower lying down on her back, and the slight tugging on her mane told her that Sunflower was using it as a make-shift pillow. Smiling, Fluttershy began to hum again, soothing the little alicorn with the vibrations and whatever parts of the melody that reached her ears.

By the time they reached the front doors of the mansion, Sunflower had fallen asleep on Fluttershy’s back and was snoring softly. Vineyard smirked at the sight, shook his head, and walked through the door. Inside, Wall Flower was pacing in circles with a worried look on her face as a few ponies, resistance and non-resistance, moved about. Fluttershy had to admit, she did look much less intimidating when pacing. It made her look a little...softer.

Upon seeing her husband, she stopped moving and looked at him in worry. Vineyard smiled at her and nodded towards Fluttershy, who turned to show the sleeping Sunflower curled up in her mane. Wall Flower visibly relaxed and let off a sigh. However, upon seeing Sunflower’s wing, she started to fidget. Fluttershy was able to quickly explain what had happened while Vineyard used his magic to move Sunflower to his own back. As much as Fluttershy would have loved to cuddle the cute filly all night, she knew it was best if the little one went off to bed.

“I would ground her,” Wall Flower said, “but I think she’s learned her lesson. Vineyard, can you take her upstairs?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Vineyard replied, stealing a quick kiss from his wife before moving for the stairs. Fluttershy smiled as she watched Vineyard carry the sleeping Sunflower up the main staircase of the mansion. The little filly looked so peaceful and comfortable. At the top of the stairs, Vineyard looked back at the pegasus, flashed her another grateful smile, and turned out of the sight.

“Thank you,” Wall Flower said, watching as her family disappeared around the corner. “You didn't have to help her, and after how much pain ponies like you must have gone through, I didn't think you would want to.”

“Oh, um, it’s ok,” Fluttershy said nervously. Wall Flower was certainly shaping up to be the nicest alicorn she’d ever met, but she was also more than twice as tall as Fluttershy and it was more than a little intimidating. Twilight wasn’t even close to this size! “I don’t mind.”

“Still, thank you,” Wall Flower said, and actually bent her knees and BOWED to the pegasus. Fluttershy ducked her head behind her mane, unable to keep from squeaking. An alicorn, BOWING to a pegasus like it was nothing!

But even her heavy blushing didn’t stop Fluttershy from noticing that the alicorn was still fidgeting. She had hoped that the nerves Vineyard had talked about were simply worries for her daughter, but apparently, that wasn’t it. At least, not all of it.

And Fluttershy couldn’t stand by when another creature was hurting, no matter what kind of pain it was.

“Um, Wall Flower?” she asked, swallowing hard. “Are you ok?”

“Oh, yes…” Wall Flower said quickly. “Yes, I’m fine.”

But she was fidgeting even harder now, and it brought vivid images of a stressed Twilight to Fluttershy’s mind. “I just have the resistance in my home as I am now one of them which means I am at WAR with the rest of Equestria and that if the other alicorns find out they’ll come here and try and take my ponies and the rebels and my daughter and my husband and I can’t stop them because I don’t know how to fight and…”

And on she went, now once again pacing around in circles. A few of her Butlers that were assisting nearby ponies looked on in understanding. Maybe Wall Flower did this often? Or maybe they were nervous too?

But the alicorn sounded like she was getting close to tears, so Fluttershy mustered up her courage, flew up to Wall Flower’s eye level, and gently pressed her hoof over the other pony’s mouth. Wall Flower stopped mid-word and stared at the pegasus, blushing in embarrassment. Fluttershy smiled at her as gently as she could. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t been in the same worried boat.

“Oh, I was rambling wasn’t I?” the alicorn asked, looking down.

“It’s ok,” Fluttershy said. “This must really be a lot for you to take in.”

“Yes,” Wall Flower breathed. “Yes, it is.”

And with that, she sank down to the stone floor. She looked smaller now, a lot smaller. Maybe it was because she was letting herself be so vulnerable? Fluttershy settled next to her, their folded wings just barely close enough to touch.

“Would you like to talk about it? It might make you feel better.”

Wall Flower looked at the small pegasus and tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

“It’s just…what can I possibly do to even help?” she sighed. “I know that many of the other alicorns need to be defeated in combat, but I can’t help you with that. Even if it was a one-on-one fight, I would lose. The reason most other alicorns ignore me is because I purposefully keep myself and my ponies isolated.”

“You do? But…why?”

“Because I never liked the conflict and drama that occurred between alicorns. Fighting with each other, sending Butlers to cause terror among another alicorns' ponies, STEALING other ponies, what is the point of it all? We're supposed to be HEALING Equestria, not making it even worse. And in all those cases, it’s the ponies we’re supposed to be protecting that pay the price.

“I just...I just wanted to make a sanctuary for my ponies. A place where all the petty conflicts and politics didn’t hurt them or dictate how their lives were lived. And it worked. I created a place almost entirely out of every alicorn's view. A place where my ponies could grow and prosper without fear. But now, I’m destroying all that. I’m pulling them into a war with no combat experience to help or protect them. I don’t...I don't even know if I can protect my family.”

Her voice shattered, and tears started flowing thick and fast from her eyes. “I’ve never been so scared, or felt so helpless to protect those I love.”

Fluttershy never thought she would be comfortable talking to an alicorn, but seeing her break down like this couldn’t help but remind her how scared she felt so many times in her life. Especially when she was helplessly watching Rainbow lose her wings, all because Thorn wanted to punish HER. In a way, it made her realize that Wall Flower was just a normal pony, a pony that was just as hurt and terrified by the situation Equestria found itself in as she was. As they all were.

“It’s ok,” Fluttershy soothed, patting Wall Flower’s leg as she remembered something Second Sight had once told her. “I know what it’s like to feel helpless, or to worry about what comes next. But you just need to remember that you’re not alone. All your ponies will be there for you, and even if you might not think so, my friends will be there to help you too. You have others that are in the same boat as you, and they won't abandon you when the time comes." She smiled as the alicorn raised her head to look at her.

Wall Flower smiled back, if ever so slightly. “T-Thank you, my dear. That…That means a lot to me.” She wiped her eyes as she relaxed.

“You don't need to be a fighter to help,” Fluttershy added. "I don’t know how to fight either. And even if I learned, I wouldn't want to. That’s why I became a medic. Even if I’m on the sidelines, I still help ponies and do what I can to help us win. And I’m not the only one. Our friend Rarity is trying to learn to defend herself, but she is mainly going to be making clothes for everypony, some that will help us stay undetected. And my friend Second Sight is blind, but she houses our library and taught me everything I know about medicine. And her old friend Feather Duster has started babysitting some of the younger foals in our home so their parents can focus on their work.

“We can all do something to help. You don't need to fight to be a hero.”

"I'm not a hero,” Wall Flower whispered.

“And neither am I, or any of us. We’re just ponies trying to do the right thing in any way we can. Even if we are a little scary at times.”

Wall Flower chuckled.

“If only you had been born an alicorn. Your outlook is something Equestria has been lacking for many years,” she said, and then she smiled. A real, full, pain-free smile.

That was worth the butterflies that erupted in Fluttershy’s stomach at the thought of running a huge estate with hundreds of ponies.

“Oh, I don’t think I could have even been an alicorn,” she said, ducking her head. “All the responsibilities and pressure…I just couldn't handle it.”

“I think you would have done splendidly.”

The sheer warm in the words made Fluttershy look back at Wall Flower. The alicorn was smiling broadly at her now, and she stroked a large wing over the pegasus’ back.

“Besides, you couldn’t POSSIBLY be any worse than Thorn or Lady Obsidian!”

Fluttershy giggled, which made Wall Flower chuckle.

“I’m still nervous, though,” the alicorn admitted after a moment. “There’s just so many ways this can go wrong.”

There was only one thing left in Fluttershy’s arsenal. She reached into her bag and pulled out a sleeping Angel Bunny. “Do you want to pet him? That always makes me feel better.”

Wall Flower chuckled again as Fluttershy deposited the rabbit in her lap, but when she reached down to pet him, the tension slowly eased out of her at last.

The next morning…

While the map was a major discovery and mystery, Applejack had had enough nonsense for one night and said they would look at the stupid piece of parchment once they had gotten some rest. Twilight tried to argue, but Flash convinced her that Applejack was right. They would all be able to think more clearly once they had time to process their thoughts both on the map and on the fact that Wall Flower was now their ally.

Twilight agreed easily enough after that, saying that sleep would give her a chance to fill Luna in on what had happened and let her know that Wall Flower was ok. Plus, she was so exhausted from stressing over the judgement for so long. Flash guided her to one of Wall Flower’s spare rooms and helped her settle in, thanking her for not making him use a sleeper bomb on her. He earned a glassy-eyed glare and a pillow thrown in his general direction, but then Twilight fell asleep quickly.

After everyone had gotten some rest, Twilight, Rainbow, Flash, Spike, Applejack, Pinkie, and Fluttershy gathered in an isolated room in Wall Flower’s mansion while Big Mac went to speak with Wall Flower, her husband, and a few of her ponies about what their role would be in the rebellion. Applejack had let him go without more than a passing mention of food production. She had a bigger problem to worry about anyhow.

They all did.

“Magi says this is real,” Twilight said, looking down at the map that was spread across the table in front of them. Magi had just returned, allowing Twilight to take a few minutes to question her. “But even she doesn't know where it came from.”

“Any idea as to why it arrived in a package that opened as soon as I touched it?” Flash asked. Twilight shook her head.

“No. And even when I asked Wall Flower, she said the package that contained the metal cylinder didn't have a sender, to the point she was actually afraid it might have been a bomb or something.”

“Instead, we got a mystery map that shows us an element’s location, a magic package that opens when I touch it, and a whole bunch of questions,” Flash said.

“How do we know this thing ain’t some sorta trap?” Applejack asked, glaring at the map. In response, the paper flashed, adding a second pair of pigs flying across the top, holding a banner that read “It's not :)”.

Applejack’s eyes twitched as she clenched her teeth.

“That’s just weird,” Rainbow said, eyeing the map nervously as the second banner disappeared again.

“But even if this was a trap, shouldn't we take the risk?” Spike asked, catching everypony’s attention. "I mean, if the Element of Laughter is there, then shouldn't we get it before another alicorn does?”

“Especially if it can depower the alicorns like the Element of Magic,” Flash said, nodding.

“But, um, where exactly is the map leading us?” Fluttershy asked. “I've seen a few maps before, but this one just looks like it’s leading us to the middle of nowhere.”

Before anyone else could answer her, Pinkie spoke up for the first time.

“It’s wrong.”

Her voice was low and flat, causing everypony to turn and look at her. Twilight nearly jumped back in surprise when she saw that the mare next to her was no longer the cheery Pinkie she knew. Her mane had gone perfectly straight, and her colors seemed almost…duller.

“It can’t be right,” Pinkie said, still in that strange, flat tone. Her eyes were glued to the map, and they were blank and glassy and not moving. “There’s no laughter there. There never has been, and if Lady Obsidian has her way, there never will be.”

“Lady Obsidian? You mean—“ Spike began.

“My lady…” Pinkie said, but she didn’t seem to be talking to Spike or even acknowledging that he was next to her. “My birthplace. A land without laughter or happiness. A place…where I left them. I escaped, but I had to leave my family behind.”

Fluttershy wordlessly circled the table until she was within hugging distance of Pinkie. “Thank you,” Pinkie whispered as Fluttershy wrapped her forelegs around her.

Flash looked at Pinkie, back at the map, and then at Pinkie again. “Pinkie…I know this is hard for you, but can you tell us what happened to you? If you managed to escape…”

He let the statement hang.

“I…I can’t…”

Fluttershy hugged her tighter, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Pinkie,” Twilight said, moving closer and putting a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “If we know how to get in, we can stop Lady Obsidian. We could being laughter to your home and help save your family. I know this is hard, probably even harder than it was for me to talk about Gleaming Dagger, but please. If it can help us…”

Pinkie looked at Twilight, then at the others around the room. They were looking at her with a mixture of worry and sympathy.

“I…ok, I…I’ll tell you. Just…Just give me a minute.”

Everyony else nodded. Fluttershy walked Pinkie to the puffy couch along the wall and sat next to her, draping her wing over the pink mare’s back. Pinkie closed her eyes and tried to steady her breathing before she began her tale.

“What I told you originally was true. I lived on Obsidian’s land, working day in and day out on her property, never smiling, never laughing, and always sad. I never really knew what a smile was until the Sonic Rainboom. The colors, the beauty...I couldn’t do anything BUT smile. And once I smiled, I just couldn’t stop, and it was so amazing and wonderful that I HAD to share. So I hosted a party for my family using an invention I had made over night — a party cannon.”

“A party…cannon?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie nodded sadly.

“It was made to fire ribbons and streamers and all kinds of party supplies to help prepare for a party really quickly. I built the prototype out of an old barrel and some wagon wheels. But then Lady Obsidian found out.

“She…she smashed it, set the pieces on fire, and then dragged me away to a secluded part of the property. She…she doesn’t like the idea of ponies having hope. She said happiness and hope distracted us from work. So she took me to this shed with metal bars over the windows and locked me inside.

“She… she made me wear a muzzle. One that stopped me from smiling.”

Flash couldn't help but clench his teeth at that. Applejack was doing the same. Twilight and Spike had to cover their mouths to keep from gasping. Fluttershy’s eyes were watering dangerously, and she tucked her wing further around Pinkie.

“But it got worse…” Pinkie continued. “Lady Obsidian has this…this red flower with ten leaves that she grows on her property. If you eat it, it blocks you from using magic, and makes your emotions…bland. Or at least…that’s what it does to other ponies…”

“Carvilious flowers,” Applejack said suddenly, causing the others to blink and turn to her. “They’re a type of medical flower used ta keep patients calm in case of battlefield injuries. I learned about them in the past. But what did ya mean when you said that’s what happened to ‘other ponies’?’’

Pinkie shuddered.

“The flowers…she made anyone who disobeyed her eat them, which meant that their magic wouldn't work, so that they wouldn't be able to complete any task she assigned them. They would always fail, always fall behind, always be punished, and they could never do anything to stop it. The ponies, they would become hopeless. They would…they would learn that they were helpless, that they were powerless to fight back or get ahead, that everything was beyond their control, and this…this would break them.

“But something different happened when I ate them…” Her breathing became more rapid. “It…it was like some part of me was being ripped out. I…it HURT me, to the point that I passed out every time I was forced to eat one. Lady Obsidian thought I was just being dramatic…but she was so WRONG!”

Pinkie began shaking, her voice grew hard, and her eyes shrunk to the size of pin pricks.

“It TORE at me, RIPPED at my very being. Everything, even the color of ponies coats became dull, then grey, then black and white. And still SHE CONTINUED! Even when I couldn’t work, she WOULDN’T STOP! SHE DIDN’T CARE ABOUT ME, OR ANY PONY! SHE JSUT WANTED TO SEE US SUFFER, TO WORK WITHOUT END NO MATTER THE COST! SHE… SHE... SHE BROKE MY PINKIE SENSE!!!”

There was a moment of complete, stunned silence.

Pinkie’s voice and eyes reverted to normal and she broke down sobbing, burying herself in Fluttershy’s embrace. Twilight ran to the sofa and hugged her too, and the others quickly gather around them. Even Applejack joined the hug, her forelegs as steady and strong as her face was stoic.

It took several moments for Pinkie’s breathing to calm down. When she wiped tears off her face and new ones didn’t appear, Spike asked, tentatively, “What’s a Pinkie Sense?”

“Uh, yeah,” Flash said awkwardly. “I was wondering that too.”

Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy all nodded.

Pinkie sniffed and swallowed hard, barely lifting her head from the crook of Fluttershy’s wing.

“When…when I was young,” she said, her voice still shaking, “my body would twitch in…in unusual ways. At first, I just though it was a little quirk I had, but…then I began to notice a pattern. When my tail twitched, it meant something was about to fall, like if there was about to be a cave-in down in Obsidian’s mine. Or if my ears would flop, it would mean Obsidian was in a bad mood. It…it took some time, but I eventually had a whole list of twitches and what they meant memorized. But…” Pinkie looked down at the map glumly.

“The flowers,” Rainbow said.

Pinkie nodded.

“The Pinkie Sense may have been strange to others, but…it was a part of me. I even used it to create a special Pinkie Promise, and I could tell if anypony ever broke their promise, even if I couldn’t see them break it. It was just what made me…ME. And Obsidian took that from me.”

Applejack growled, but said nothing.

“Could I…Could I help?” Twilight asked. “I still have some of Thorn's magic, so…”

“No," Pinkie said.”Even…even if it could help me, and maybe it can, there are others that need it more than me. Ponies without legs, ponies crippled by Lady Obsidian or by working for her. I…I never brought this up because if you heal those ponies, then they’ll smile again, and that’s worth it. Seeing others smile after years of sadness is what makes the pain bearable, and I knew we would go for Lady Obsidian eventually.”

“If you’re sure…” Twilight said hesitantly.

“That’s very kind of you Pinkie,” Fluttershy said, squeezing the pink mare a bit tighter, and Pinkie gently nuzzled against the yellow mare. The two stayed like that for about a minute before Flash broke the silence again.

“If you were locked up, how did you escape?”

“My sister Maud helped me,” Pinkie said. “I don't know how, but she got me the key to my muzzle, a spoon, and a note through the barred window. She told me to leave the shed and hide in this small cave, one the two of us had discovered when we were working in the fields a few years before.”

“I thought she had a mine?” Spike asked.

“She had both. She mines for gems down below the land while those on the field move rocks and use their earth pony magic to grow more gems inside them.”

“Grow gems!?” Twilight asked, her eyes lighting up in shock. “I didn’t know earth ponies could do that! Nowhere in my books did—”

Flash gently covered her mouth before she got too carried away.

“Later, Twilight.”

“Oh, um, right, sorry, my bad,” Twilight smiled sheepishly.

Twilight’s embarrassment made Pinkie giggle a little, but the pink mare’s smile quickly fell away as she resumed her tale. "I got the restrain off and used the spoon to dig out of the back of the shed. I would have used my hooves, but…they were still hurting from all the work Lady Obsidian had made me do. I’m just glad she hadn't thought to make the bottom out of something harder than dirt, not sure why though. Maybe she thought anyone that got out would just be captured and punished more? Anyway, afterwards, I snuck to the cave and found some supplies Maud had stashed for me. There was another note that said Maud was going to make a distraction, and that I should run when it went off.

“Turns out ‘it’ was an explosion. Obsidian had a large warehouse of black powder we used in the mines if we found rocks we couldn’t get through with pick axes. Maud somehow blew it up, and that was my cue. Obsidian lives in the middle of nowhere, so she doesn't have any walls. Instead, she has Butlers posted around the outer reaches of her property in tall towers. Anypony that tries to escape would be spotted by at least two of the towers. Not really sure how this works at night, but someponies think she gives the Butlers something to let them see in the dark.

“Anyway, when Maud set off the explosion, she made all the Butlers retreat back into the center of the property to investigate, meaning there was nopony to stop me or see me escape. After that, I just kinda…wandered. Lady Obsidian lives on a really barren part of Equestria, so I had to make sure to only move at night or risk being seen. Thankfully, Maud had given me at least a week's worth of food, so I was able to start recovering by the time I reached the edge of her land.

Once I reached the edge, I just headed for the greenest part place I could see, which just so happened to be the forest. I got inside, ate as much as I could to try and recover faster, and eventually Fluffy found me.” She giggled slightly. “And…the rest is history.”

Pinkie took a deep breath and let out a sigh. Her mane wasn’t back to its original bouncy state, but it was a little inflated, and she was no longer clinging to Fluttershy quite as tightly.

Applejack ‘hmmmm’ed, looking at the map, then at Pinkie.

“Pinkie, does Lady Obsidian ever trade ponies with other alicorns? Or does she keep to herself?”

“She, well…” Pinkie said, her eyes becoming downcast again. “Sometimes other alicorns hire her to…to ‘correct’ their ponies’ behaviors. Some alicorns need every pony they can get to work for them, so if ponies are acting badly or disobeying their ladies, their ladies will pay Lady Obsidian in food to make their ponies more obedient. And I don’t mean normal disobedience - I mean ponies that might be actively attacking their Lady, her forces, or deliberately trying to sabatoge the Lady’s property.These ponies are brought onto the land in a cart with a cage attached to the back. I could see them coming in from the field, but they were rather rare. I never got to know any ponies that were brought in, but…but sometime I could hear them screaming or crying.”

“Could we use them as a way in?” Applejack asked. “Swap out a disobedient pony for one of ours?”

“Umm, maybe? It would be the quickest and easiest way, but like I said, they are a bit rare. And the cages I saw usually only had a single pony inside them, so it might take a while to get enough ponies on the property to take over.”

“Unless we do what yer sis did,” Applejack said. Pinkie’s eyes widened. “We get somepony in, have them create a diversion, and then, when the Butlers retreat, we dash in undetected and attack before they can see us coming.”

“That…might work,” Pinkie said. “But I don't know if blowing up the black powder again would work. They probably moved it somewhere more secure by now, and I think I only had about fifteen minutes to clear the boundary after Maud created the diversion. It was hard to tell how long it was, but I know that after a short amount of time I saw torches returning to the towers. I just barely got over the nearby hills to get out of sight, so it would probably take something bigger than just an explosion to get their attention for long enough.”

“Let’s work on that later,” Flash said. “Right now, we need to secure a way in. If what you said is true, Pinkie, we just need to camp outside the sight of her property’s towers and save an unsuspecting pony from being brought it. Then we replace that pony with one of our own so they can get a free ticket inside.”

“But first we need to figure out where the outside ponies come from,” Twilight said.

Rainbow smirked.

“Leave that to me. Once we’re set up nearby, I’ll search for a target for us to intercept and we can save whoever is being brought in. Piece of cake.”

“Just remember to wear Rarity’s stealth cloak,” Flash said with a deadpan. “You’re kinda hard to miss without one.”

“But, um, there doesn’t really look like anywhere we can hide,” Fluttershy said. “Won’t we get spotted if we’re out in the open anyway? Especially if we decide to light fires at night.”

“There’s a cave near the northern part of the property,” Pinkie said. “I stayed there on my first night out. It should be big enough for our group…I hope, and so long as we don’t use fires, we should be ok in there.”

“Not like we got any other ideas,” Applejack said. “Let’s just finish up here then get moving. The sooner we depower Obsidian, the better.”

And with that, their next destination was set.

Author's Note

If anyone has seen the movie, you then know that Fluttershy is most certainly a therapist. I just feel glad that I already had the draft complete before I saw the movie, that way I can still say it was my idea, and not a stolen one

So yes, here it is, and about two to three thousands words longer than it was before. Why? I added a lot in the scene with Fluttershy, and have been trying to add a bit of life to the scenes where there is a definitive narrator (thank you to the glorious girlfriend/editor for helping with that portion of the story, though I will admit I still need to work on it). But yes, now we have a destination, more info on poor Pinkie, and a format the rest of this act will definitely take with no interruptions or hiccups along the way (NOT).

But yes, please read, comment so I can know what you think, and enjoy overall

Also, I now have all of the songs from the move bouncing around in my brain. I can't tell if that's a bad thing or not...

Next time: Meeting someone I never thought I'd actually write