“Now, increase the power just a bit,” said Nurse Redheart while I fired a beam of magic into some kind of device. Apparently, it was designed to test fluctuations in a pony’s magic. I do as she says, and the device begins to beep with a red blinking light before settling back to green. “You can stop now,” I do so and the machine blinks yellow before printing off some paper with odd information on it. “From what I can tell, you have perfect control over your magic, but you are very fatigued,” she looks at me with a slightly annoyed look, “doesn’t Starlight give you enough time to recover?”

“Yes, she does,” I reply, “but I do like to visit my friends and I am quite exhausted afterwards.” Judging by the sudden glare, I don’t think she liked my response.

“Obviously, you’re only a filly after all,” she stated. “It should be common sense that you like to spend time with your friends, and Starlight should have incorporated that into your recovery time.” I feel like I just got Starlight in trouble. I better try to salvage this.

“But if I don’t work this hard, how am I going to beat Comet Blaze?” I suddenly find myself shrinking under her gaze.

“Celestia help me, why can’t you just let that go! This ‘quest’ of yours is hurting your health in the long run. Yes, at the moment, the training is making you much stronger, but at what cost?” I could only stare as she looked at me with a mix of anger, sadness, and sympathy. “Cherry Blossom, you are too young to be doing this to yourself. Please– “

I raise my hoof at that part. I’m still scared, but I have to get this out of the way. “Nurse…” I shake my head, “Miss Redheart, I have a secret I haven’t even told Mom, yet.” She raised an eyebrow at that. “After my visit to the Crystal Empire, Princess Twilight has mandated that I turn over my search for my parents to her.” I could see her relief showing even as my sadness began harder to contain. “I have one week while I’m there to find any information I can on them. If I find them then that’s great, but if I don’t…” my voice trails off. The room is silent for a moment before I decide to continue, “If I don’t, then I must turn over any information I have on them over to her, and she will be spearheading the search. I’ll still be informed, but I won’t be allowed to participate in any site locations. That means that even if Comet Blaze is involved, I won’t be able to see him after this.” I stare straight into her eyes, “I don’t know if I hate him for being part of the ponies who took my parents, or like Mom said, like him because he’s some pony that I can see as a special some pony for his strength.” I can almost hear the awe coming from her silently opening mouth. “What I do know is that if he’s there, then this is my last chance to challenge and defeat him. I have to work hard to do it. I promise, I’ll ask Teacher to lower the training after we come back, but please, I have to do beat him this time!”

“Fine,” she says with a defeated sigh, “but I’m making sure you keep your promise.” With that she went over to a desk and wrote something down. She then put it into an envelope and handed it to me. “Make sure Starlight gets this message,” she says as I grab a hold of the envelope with my magic, “if she doesn’t then I’m making sure to forcefully give you a long recovery time using a magic seal.” I vigorously nod at the threat. She doesn’t joke about those. “I’ll see you in two weeks, and remember, I will make sure you gave her the message.” I nod again.

“Goodbye, Miss Redheart. I’ll see you in two weeks.”

=====================================================================================

Once I met Starlight after the checkup, I handed her the letter and the message. She read it, and after a while, she put it down. “This is quite the bomb she put here, you know. Why didn’t you tell me? I would have gladly given you more time.”

“But I wanted to get stronger, now,” I reply solemnly. I could feel her disapproving gaze, “He’s bound to be there, why else would he have been at that station when he was? Teacher, you know this is my last chance. If I don’t give it everything, then how will I look at myself in a mirror again?” Her gaze softens, and she lets out a small smile.

“Suppose he is there, and then suppose that he accepts your challenge, do you think you could win in your current state? According to Redheart, your own stubborn head is the only reason you haven’t fallen over unconscious. So, here’s what I’m going to do.” She pauses to think a moment. “We have two days before the trip. You are to take those two days to rest, recover, and get ready for the trip. Playing with your friends is included in the recovery part, but,” she pauses, “and this is a big ‘but’, you are not, under any circumstances, to train yourself in any form. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Teacher,” I state with a salute. Admittedly, I felt a bit betrayed by Miss Redheart, but I know she is just worried about me. The mood stays heavy for a moment, so I decide to try and lift it. I trot over to my saddlebag and pull out a small container that Sugar Belle and I prepared the night before. The container held some apple fritters we just designed. They were shaped like a hoof with cherry bits sprinkled along the edges, and a special apple frosting we finally perfected. We called them the ‘Hoof Me Ups’ and it was time to see how they worked. As I trotted back with the container, I turned to Starlight, “Teacher, before I forget, Mom and I made some new pastries that we were hoping you’d try out.”

“Sure, I can use a good snack after everything we just went through,” she said in a happier tone. “What kind of pastries are they?”

“A new kind of apple fritter we call ‘Hoof Me Ups’. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face faster than Pinkie Pie can pop-up,” I say with pride. We giggle a bit, before I opened the container. The fragrance of the fritters begins to surround us, and I could swear I saw Starlight drool before she turned around to ‘cough’. Eating the sweet bread was even better. The combination of the new apple frosting over the cherry bits was wonderful, and the bread was so soft and fluffy that if butter had feelings, it would be jealous. It was a shame that only two were packed.

“That was amazing,” she said in bliss, “tell Sugar Belle for me that she has a real winner on her hooves. Those’ll sell faster than tickets for Pinkie’s annual Fun Day party.”

“Pinkie sells tickets to that?”

“She does ever since Mayor Mare mandated it,” she said in an amused tone. “Turns out that when the party in question starts getting bigger than the town itself, some boundaries have to be placed.” She then put a hoof under her chin to think. “Though that doesn’t stop Pinkie from also having the ‘Surrounding Fun Day Party Party’ for those ponies who can’t buy a ticket in time.” I burst out into laughter at that. Leave it to Pinkie to find a way to bake her cake and have every pony eat it.

=====================================================================================

The remaining two days passed relatively quickly. Truthfully, Sugar Belle and I didn’t have a lot of things to pack. After all, Princess Twilight arranged for myself, Starlight, Sugar Belle, Sweetie Bloom, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom to be staying at the castle for the duration of the trip. I had to fight tooth and hoof for Starlight to agree to my friends coming, but it was worth the extra training. Sugar Belle had to make some arrangements for the Cakes to take a vacation of their own after the trip, but I had promised to help out too. It also meant I’d be working with Pinkie Pie more, so there was that, too.

All the excitement was great, but after everything, I found myself staring at the moon the night before the trip. “Azurinne, I know you’re there, come out, silly cat,” I say without even turning my head.

“I just wanted to let you think,” she said in a pouty tone, “sorry for being a ‘silly cat’.” I turn to her and smile.

“I’m sorry too,” I reply, “I just can’t believe this is really happening. We’re going to the Crystal Empire tomorrow.” I turn back to the moon and stare at it for a few moments. “There’s a chance I may find my parents, or at the very least a clue to where they are.” I feel her nuzzling my side at that.

“Just remember that there isn’t a guarantee that we’ll find anything,” she said with a purr, “I want you to be happy, and for the most part, you are. Ever since we started staying in Ponyville, you have been really happy, and I don’t want that to go away.” Her tone was solemn, but I could still feel that all too familiar grin of hers beaming my way. “I love you, Cherry Blossom, and no matter what crazy ideas you have, I’ll always support you.” I then got up and walked forward a bit. Unsurprisingly the moon moved in the same direction, as if it just wouldn’t let me touch it. “Cherry Blossom?”

“I… I want to fight Comet Blaze by myself,” I announce. I was greeted with silence, and I could either think that she was too shocked to answer, or she was suddenly mad and about to shout ‘why’. If it was the ladder, I decided to continue rather than give her the chance, “I don’t know if I like him because he’s strong or because he beat me. But like Sugar… like Mom said, if I want him to like me back then I have to beat him.” I turn to my familiar, apparently shock was what hit her. “I can’t prove it was my win if you help, and I certainly won’t feel like I won if he doesn’t. The fight may not happen. As much as I want it to happen, it may not, but if it does, I want to show him that I’ve grown stronger and am some pony he can’t ignore. Plus, beating him is the fastest way to get information on my parents, and I need as much of that as I can get.”

“That last statement seemed a bit half-hearted compared to the other reason you want to fight him,” came a teasing voice from my home’s door. Sugar Belle was standing there with a smirk on her face. “I hope you know that I’ll have to talk to Starlight in order to let you do this.” I could feel my ears close on my skull. “Now don’t you dare try that one, Mini Me. You know that she was going to be the biggest hurdle in your little ‘request’.” As she was speaking she moved closer to me until she was close enough to lift me into a warm embrace. “Know that I may not be as powerful as you, or Starlight, or any princess, but if he dares hurt you any more than the fight requires, then I will show him why ponies are scared of parents.” Azurinne was right. Ever since I moved to Ponyville, my life has been full of happy times. This moment was no exception. “So why do you like to look at the moon so much?”

“I sometimes imagine myself as a pegasus. Spreading my wings and flying as high as I can, until I touch its surface,” I respond. “I used to dream about it all the time back in my own village.”

“You mean you don’t now?” She asked curiously.

“No,” I confirm, “not anymore. I admit that the thought is still there, but I feel like I’ve already spread my wings. Thanks to you, Azurinne, and every pony I’ve met since leaving that town. I even have to thank Lady Mammešhu. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t even be here.”

“I’m so proud of you, and I bet that if your other parents were here, then they would be too,” she then gave me a nuzzle and lifted me onto her back with her magic before heading back inside.

Author's Note

Well... For better or worse, it's time we go to the Crystal Empire, and the Disc 1 Final Boss(es). You ever wonder how things could have ended up so differently than the original plans?