Friends or Foes

Chapters

Prologue
Guidelines of Friends
FIENDship is Magic
Cold as ice
Winter at the frontdoor
Trix up the sleeves
Friends or Foes
The Cold Heart
A Celestial Past
The Fire of Friendship
The Merciless and The Merciful
Epilogue
???

Prologue

Friends or Foes

Prologue

Yet another excellent day, like any other day these past weeks: The sky is clear, the sun shines, and there is practically no wind at all. Summer has begun and brings plenty of wonderful days to be used for fun. In this nearly unbearable heat, nopony even thinks about working. Instead, most ponies spend their day by lying in the sun, getting a tan on a balcony, in the town square, or in the fields just outside the town. Or they are having a picnic on the grassy hills, enjoying the cloudless sky while a cool breeze flows along their manes. And playful little ponies play games in the shadow of the forests, avoiding the energy-draining rays. Every pony has their own ways of enjoying this day.

As to be expected: Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia, uses this opportunity (like any other opportunity) to enjoy reading a good book inside the library. Using a little fan with her levitation magic, she keeps herself cooled.

'Hey Twilight. If you're going to read a book anyway, isn't it best to do that in the sunlight? Better make use of it while it lasts,' a young voice tells her from outside the room that Twilight sits in.

Twilight's draconic assistant: Spike. Of course he has taken any action required to enjoy the sun to the fullest. With a comfy chair, a pair of sunglasses, and a cold drink he works on his tan on the balcony of the library.

'Oh Spike, I'm sure that there will be more sun coming these weeks,' Twilight tells him, without even looking away from her novel. 'It's just past the Sun Summer Celebration. There's no rush for me to read a book in this heatwave yet. Besides, I will take a walk outside later today anyway.'

'Meh, suit yourself,' Spike shrugs and carries on back to his own business.

***

The boiling heat is not good for everypony though. A pink pony in the town square has a hard time to keep her happy mood up. She started very cheerful in the morning, jumping around as happy as can be. But now she's running out of steam, breathing deeply from thrist.

'Couldn't he have chosen to write about a less warm day?!' she pants exhausted as she slowly moves through the town square.

***

But even under these circumstances there are some ponies that keep working no matter what. On Sweet Apple Acres in specific. Even with this unbearable heat, the residents keep working to keep the trees from dehydrating, buck apples out into many numbered barrels, and plowing the field. Heat is no reason for a day off to them.

'Yow, Big Mac!' a voice yells from the hills, to the working stallion.

'Hm?' Big Macintosh looks up with a sweaty head to his sister.

'Have you seen apple barrel #86 somewhere? I can't find it anywhere!'

'Nope,' he bluntly responds and carries on back to plowing the field.

'What ya' mean 'no'? Did you see anypony? Barrels don't just disappear by themselves!' Applejack says agitated.

But then she stops yelling at her brother, who is too busy to plow the field and ignores her. Applejack reconsiders the situation and realizes another possibility. The most common reason of multiple troubles that have happened before on sweet Apple Acres:

'APPLEBLOOM!'

***

'Hey, did you girls hear that?' a filly with a bow in her mane asks as she looks up in the air.

'Hm? Heard what, Applebloom?' one of her two friends asks her.

'Oh, nothing. Probably my imagination. Anyway, are you really really REALLY sure that Applejack won't notice that we took a barrel of apples?' she asks anxiously.

'Don't worry! There are hundreds of these barrels. You really think your big sister can keep track of one barrel disappearing?' the white unicorn filly assures her.

'How else are we going to find out if we're cut out to be applejuice salesmares or not if we don't even have any apples?' the pegasus filly adds to Sweetie Bell's statement.

'Yup! You're right, Scootaloo.' Applebloom admits.

The 3 fillies are stationed at a shaded forest road that connects leads from Ponyville to places like Canterlot. It's the perfect place to set up a crudely build wooden vendor and sell applejuice made from fresh apples to weary travelers.

'It's done!' Scootaloo cheerfully tells them after she spat out the hammer, which she used to strike nails in the construction.

'Beautiful,' Sweetie Bell compliments. 'If we won't be successful in selling juice, we can always try carpenting again.'

The 3 of them jump behind the counter and put a large bowl with applejuice on it. It has a lot of apple residue in it, considering they didn't truly know how to properly make it. But with an attitude of thinking that applejuice is applejuice, they will try it out anyway.

'Vendor? Check. Applejuice? Check. Customers?'

They remain quiet when they realize that not a single pony has passed them the entire time while they were building. Nevertheless, they will remain idle and patiently wait for the line of customers they anticipate.

Alas for them: They don't know that the road isn't used very often.

3 hours later

The fillies sigh together, leaning on the wooden counter. Several hours have passed and there has been nopony that even came by.

'I start to think that this may not be our best idea, girls. We got everything... except customers,' Sweetie Bell sighs.

'Let's wait a little longer... Somepony is bound to show up,' the pegasus foolhardly doesn't want to give in.

'How much longer do you want to wait?' Sweetie Bell asks. 'We've been here for hours now and nopony has yet to show up, let alone buy our juice!'

Her words strike the hard truth into their young minds. Maybe this idea sounded better in their head than it actually is.

'Wait! Look over there!' Applebloom gasps and points to the horizon of the road.

A little shadow on the road is starting to move closer to them. It was certainly not there a moment ago, and it's shaped like a pony. Finaly the customer they waited so long for!

Though it seems as if the shadow isn't getting much bigger. The pony is almost there and he's only as tall as the girls.

The pony has a light-brown color and a spiky red mane, just like his tail. Two tiny wings are resting on his sides.

The pony that they hoped to be their 1st customer turns out to be a colt pegasus, probably not much older than them, complete with an empty spot on his flank.

'Yow,' he greets the girls without much attention. He doesn't even pay notice to their vendor, since he's simply walking on without pause. Of course, the Cutie Mark Crusaders won't just let a possible customer escape.

'Hay there! You look thirsty!' Applebloom says as she jumps into his way with a smile, surprising the colt a little by the sudden response.

'Eh, hey? Not really, thanks,' he answers, hoping to continue on now. But Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell jump to his sides.

'C'mon. A restless traveller such as yourself can't be walking this whole time and not get thirsty?' Sweetie Bell asks with the same grin as Applebloom.

'Nope,' the pegasus bluntly agrees.

'See? Try some CMC applejuice: the best thristbuster in Equestria!' Scootaloo sticks her hoof out in front of him, holding a cup of applejuice.

'Made from fresh apples!' Sweetie Bell adds.

'But please don't tell my sister about it. She's -eh- too busy,' Applebloom anxiously adds as well.

The colt gets a little tired from this pushy behavior and refuses the offer. 'Seriously, I'm not thirsty,' he tells them.

'Why not?' Sweetie Bell asks dissapointed.

'Because I just drank some water at a different vendor, a mile back...,' he grunts.

The fillies feel like they are shot with stupidity. The never knew about another vendor this close, with the same idea as they had about this road. How could they sell anything like this?

'But... weren't those last meters tiring enough for the need of some applejuice?' Sweetie Bell tries to hold on to the sale.

'C'mon! One blanc-flank to another: It won't kill you to try some!' Scootaloo starts to get more pushy.

'Yea. How much does it hurt to buy some?' Applebloom rhetorically asks him, while remaining a friendly salesmare.

The little colt gets more uncomfortable by these pushy fillies. They don't seem to leave him alone until he's out of the picture or buys their applejuice.

'Gimme a break, I gotta keep moving. I'm on family visit!' he tells them angry. He pushes them out of his way and tries to continue along the road.

Applebloom and Sweetie Bell feel like this sale is a bust, forcing them to give up. But just when the colt is about to walk away and the girls are heading back to their stand, Scootaloo jumps in front of him.

'You're not going anywhere just yet, buddy!' she threatens grumpy.

'Oh for the love of... Out of my way!' the colt threatens just the same.

Scootaloo has waited with her friends for hours, waiting for a customer. She won't let this one get away this easy now. Narrowing her eyes to glare, she attempts to beat him through sheer willpower. 'Make me...' she whispers.

Both Scootaloo's friends are a little surprised to see their friend starts to go hostile on a 'customer', noticing how they are both glaring each other's eyes out.

'Wait! Scootaloo!' Applebloom gasps.

The two pegasi are struck in a duel of wits. While Scootaloo tries to prevent the stranger from passing by jumping in every direction her tries to take, the stranger tries to get past Scootaloo to continue his way to Ponyville.

The male pegasus tries to go left and right of her, which she quickly blocks. Even an attempt to jump over her is stopped by a head butt against his skull.

'Ehm, Scootaloo? I... think we should try something else than selling juice,' Sweetie Bell mumbles to her, knowing that things are getting out of hand.

But Scootaloo ignores her friends completely. The only thing that's on her mind is this ridiculous fight. The 2 pegasi keep yelling threats and push each other violently.

'Step aside!'

'Forget it!'

'Don't push me! You'll be sorry!'

'Oh yea? Try me!'

'Grrr!'

The colt is slowly getting more and more aggravated, enough to take some serious action. He starts to take a few steps backwards, making Scootaloo think that he's giving up.

'Alright then... Prepare your brain for astonishment! I didn't want to have to do this, but you made me force my hoof!' he tells her, feeling very confident about himself all of the sudden. He prepares his little wings for action, stretching them as far as he can. It doesn't impress Scootaloo. It's just another desperate effort to get past her, in her opinion. And with wings like his, he won't get high enough to fly over her.

He starts to run towards her and bends through his legs at the last moment, ready for take-off.

'BANZAI!' he yells as battlecry.

Completely unexpected to anypony: Their customer is gone! The only glimpse they caught was that he jumped up at a much higher speed than they expected.

'What in the hay?' Scootaloo looks defeated at the spot where he stood, unable to grasp the reality.

'Hah! What'ya think about THEM apples?' they suddenly hear from above. They look towards where the voice came from. Shining from pride, the pegasus stands on a treebranch high in the treetops.

'H-How did you do that?! That was amazing!' Scootaloo gasps, clearly impressed by the colt's move.

The colt chuckles, gladly accepting the praise.'I know, I know. I Came up with it myself. Since I can't fly so well yet, I just had to improvise on my jumps!'

Instead of using a jump as a kick-start to fly, he used his flightless wings as a bonus to his jump:, making him jump much further and faster than normally. Simple to come up with, yet difficult to preform.

'I can also use it to tackle someone. But I didn't wanted to make you cry,' he laughs, literary looking down on the three fillies now. But Scootaloo doesn't care. She is still overthrown by the impressively useful technique he performed that doesn't require actual flight. They all forget about the business they had in mind and now truly get to meet each other.

'Who are you anyway?' Sweetie Bell asks him.

'Who am I?' he chuckles at the question. 'I Am Dusty Gust: kamikaze colt and ghosthunter in-training! But I usually go by my nickname: "The Guster!"

That last part sounded the most odd to the girls. Not his nickname, but his ghosthunting thing. The most common thing that an energic Pegasus like him would want to become is a member of the Wonderbolts. Yet he wishes to hunt things that probably don't even exist?

'Ghost hunter? Are you saying that ghosts real?' Applebloom asks him carefully.

'Of course they are real! I've seen them with my own eyes!' he responds insulted. 'I may not be a full fledged hunter just yet, though. But my brother is! He's the best ghost hunter in Equestria and I will work hard to follow in his hoofsteps! I haven't got my Cutie Mark yet, but I already know it's going to be a ghosthunter mark!'

His long story about his devotion to hunting mythical things has caught some interest from the fillies. 'That DOES sound pretty cool,' Sweetie Bell admits.

Dusty smiles, glad to hear the respect he thinks it deserves. 'I came here to visit him, since I heard from mom and dad that he moved to Ponyville. So I came on my own and take a look,' he tells them. '...Though I never got to hear WHERE he's living in town,' Dusty sighs, feeling a little embarrassed.

Applebloom thinks deeply and comes up with an idea. 'Girls, Cutie Mark Crusader meeting, now,' she whispers to her friends to come over to her. Putting their heads close, they start to whisper out of Dusty's range of hearing.

'Have we ever done something like ghost-hunting before?' she asks them.

Sweetie Bell grabs a list filled with words of professions and talents, marking what kind of stunts and jobs they have tried to see what they're good at. After she searches down to the bottom of the list, she rolls it back up.

'Eh.... monster hunting is the only thing that comes close, I suppose. Does that count?' she asks them.

'Monsters and ghosts aren't the same, right? We shouldn't take any risks in missing out anything,' Applebloom backs-up. 'What say y'all if we join up with this colt's search for his pegasus brother? And in the meantime we may find out if we're any good of ghost-hunters!'

Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo look at each other in excitement. It sounds to them like a good plan to them. 'Good idea! Either we get our Cutie Mark as professional ghost hunter.... or we get Cutie Marks of being tourguides!'

They giggle happily, while the colt is simply lying on the branch and waits until the fillies are done with their whispers. The little crusaders turn around to him when they stopped laughing.

'Maybe we can help you. We come from Ponyville, so we can be your guides!' Applebloom yells to the treetop.

Dusty hadn't come up with that idea yet. If anypony should know where his brother is, it should be residents from the town itself. 'You would?' he asks them, discarding his ego. 'That would be awesome!'

'And hey, maybe you can show me that move again!' Scootaloo brings up, still wanting to see more of that flightless technique he showed.

'Sure thing!' he gladly replies. 'But... I need to ask for a favor first...'

The fillies look up, curious of what the colt wants. 'What is it?'

'...Could you help me get down from this tree? I can leap into it... but not out.'

Guidelines of Friends

Chapter 1 - Guidelines of Friends

The day turns out pretty well. Not only do the CMC's get to help somepony, but they get along with him as well. The little colt is excited too. Visiting his family and making three new friends in one day makes it a successful one already. Curious about each other's lives; the fillies tell about their adventures as the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the colt proudly exaggerates about how his brother has saved him from several ghosts when he was a foal, and how he came up with his personal move.

'So you're from Canterlot, hm?' Sweetie Bell asks the colt. 'my sister is completely fascinated about it! How does it feel to live there?'

'Meh... In all honesty? It's boooooring. I'm the only pegasus at school! Imagine how it must feel to be surrounded by stuck-up magic-horned unicorns all day...,' he grunts irritated.

When he realizes that Sweetie Bell gives him a look, he understands that his words may be insulting to her, considering that she's a unicorn herself.

'No offense!' he quickly recovers.

Sweetie Bell feels a little awkward of asking about the 'oh-so-perfect Canterlot' and get an answer like this. "None taken," she replies.

The awkward silence that is about to drop is prevented when Applebloom speaks.

'Here in Ponyville we don't have that problem! As you can see from us: Every pony is welcome here,' Applebloom smiles.

'Really?' Dusty questions in curiosity.

She nods at him. 'Our group, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, was formed here! And as you can see: We look different than each other, but we get along like we're sisters!'

Dusty hears the name for the first time. "Cutie Mark Crusaders?" he asks confused.

'That's us!' Scootaloo smiles. 'Me, Sweetie Bell, and Applebloom made this group when we met each other. Because we haven't discovered our talents yet, we work together to find it out!'

'That's pretty neat,' he nods interested. 'And where are the other members?'

Followed with a cough of slight embarresment, Applebloom mumbles, 'Eh... We ARE the members.'

'Oh, sorry. I thought there were more,' Dusty replies.

'Nope. Everypony else has already found their Cutie Mark,' Sweetie Bell sighs. 'But you haven't, right Dusty?'

'Oh, only for now,' he shrugs. 'Like I said: I'm moving in my brother's hoofprints. I WILL become a hunter of ghosts, just like him!'

'Shouldn't you look further than one thing?' Sweetie Bell questions. 'We try different things every day. It's fun to try. Even if it turns out not to be our thing. Ghost hunting is one thing we haven't tried yet...'

'Hm. I won't say that it doesn't sounds like fun,' Dusty admits. 'Tell you what: Maybe my brother can help all four of us with trying ghost hunting once we find him!'

The girls smile. This is the exact reaction they had hoped to hear from their new friend.

'Deal!' Sweetie Bell agrees happy and reaches out her hoof to him. 'Let's shake on it!'

Dusty chuckles at the enthusiasm they show. Without hesitation, he reaches out and shakes hooves on his promise. 'Deal!'

'Ah Sweetie Bell, there you are!' a voice sounds nearby.

A white unicorn, using her magical horn to levitate a yellow parasol float over her head, walks over to them. The colors fit well in the sunny environment, while the contrast between the yellow parasol and the blue mane of the mare shows how artistic she thought about it using it today specifically. But its primary use: To protect her sensitive white skin from the merciless sunrays.

'Hello girls, how are you all doing today?' she asks the little ponies.

'Hey sis,' Sweetie Bell greets her with a smile.

'Hay Rarity,' the other two fillies greet as well.

'Are you three careful enough? The sun could easily cause a sun burn,' Rarity warns them, noticing how they ignore the sun completely because of their fun time.

Sweetie Bell shakes her head. 'Don't worry sis, we're in plenty of shade,' she assures her.

'No reasons to become worried yet?' Rarity jokes. 'Oh, by the way: I ran into Applejack just now, saying something about a lost applebarrel. Have any of you girls seen it maybe?'

The fillies remain silent, unable to tell the full truth about the barrel they "borrowed" for their applejuice business. Applebloom is more nervous than her friends though. She gasps and starts to stutter.

'A-Applejack spoke about that?' Applebloom asks.

Against all odds; Applejack has found out. The filly is in big trouble when her big sister will find her.

'Yes, she did,' Rarity nods. 'She even asked me to keep an eye out for you, Applebloom. Do you have any idea what that is all about?"

'Eh... no?' she lies. She can't tell which sweat drops on her forehead are from the heat and which are from the fear of the upcoming "Wrath of Applejack". 'No idea, Rarity.'

'Alright then. I trust you girls on your word. I will just be - ' she stops talking when she realizes that there is another pegasus with them. 'Oh, who's your new friend?' she asks them about the fourth pony that tags along with them.

'This is Dusty Gust. He's here to visit his big brother, and we're helping to find him,' Sweetie Bell proudly explains.

Rarity smiles, happy to hear of their good deed. 'Oh. That's very sweet of you, girls,' she praises them.

'Heya, miss,' Dusty greets her.

'Hello, Dusty Gust,' Rarity friendly replies, ignoring the blunt way he greets, considering that he's still a colt. 'So you're here to visit your brother?'

'Yup!' Dusty exclaims happily, getting excited every time his brother is brought up in a conversation. 'When I heard my big brother moved here, I HAD to find him!'

'Aw, how adorable. It sounds like your brother is very special stallion. I assume that you just moved here with your parents to Ponyville as well?'

'Nope. I live with my mom and dad in Canterlot,' he corrects her.

Rarity looks a little surprised from hearing that little Dusty Gust moved all the way from Canterlot without any supervisors. The route is rather long, even for a pegasus like himself. 'You-You flew all the way from Canterlot to Ponyville? Alone?' Rarity asks worried.

'Oh no, of course not," he corrects her again.

Rarity sighs relieves, understanding that he's not on his own, 'That's good to hear,' she says.

Dusty nods. 'I can't fly yet. So I just walked on my own to here.'

Rarity is at a loss of words again. The colt doesn't seem to have a clue how reckless he is. 'B-But aren't your parents worried about you?' Rarity reminds him.

But the pegasus only shrugs. 'Oh I don't think so. Maybe just a little. Anyway, I just wanted to see my big brother. That's what I came for and that's what I'll do too,' he says.

Rarity realizes how rash the little colt must have considered his actions. His parents could be worried sick. On one hand; she thinks that she should help them. Yet on the other hand; she figures that if he is with his older brother, he should turn out ok.

Eventually Rarity nods. 'Alright, do you need any help with finding your brother?'

Rarity's little sister jumps in between them. 'Eh, we can handle it ourselves, Rarity.' Sweetie Bell interrupts them. 'After all: We're the best (and only) tourguides in Ponyville!'

'CUTIE MARK CRUSADER TOURGUIDES!' They cheer together with an ear deafening volume. Dusty's young ears remain unharmed from the young noise. But Rarity needs a moment to get the buzzing out of her ears again.

'We'll be fine, ma'am,' Dusty assures her.

The mare sighs. 'Well..., I can't argue with that, I supp- '

'Alright then, let's go!' The fillies interrupt her again.

They quickly move on to the town square of Ponyville under the burning sun, of which Rarity warned them about a moment ago. She can't help but sigh and walks away as well. But for one second, she looks back at them, hoping that this won't become one big drama.

'Well, that was my big sister,' Sweetie Bell tells Dusty, as the group walks through the many small alleys of Ponyville. 'What's your first impression?'

'I didn't stop to think about that you'd have a sister actually, Sweetie Bell,' Dusty Gust remarks. 'Do you all have one?'

'Close,' Applebloom nods. 'I got a big sister AND a big brother! They're the best a filly like me could wish for!' she speaks out cheerfully.

'My sister, Rarity, is also the best! She is always so caring for me. And I got to stay with her in Ponyville!' Sweetie Bell tells with open heart.

'Sweet!' Dusty laughs. 'Heh, I sure envy you three. If I could choose between Ponyville and Canterlot, I'd pick Ponyville in a second,' he admits.

'Really?' Applebloom asks.

Dusty Gust nods in absolute certainty. 'Though I don't see my parents move here any time...'

'Hey, that gives me an idea,' Scootaloo suddenly speaks up. 'Hey, Dusty. Your brother is staying in Ponyville for good, right?'

The colt nods, understanding from the letter he got that his brother would stay here for a long time atleast. 'Yea, he is. Why do you ask?'

Scootaloo smiles innocent. 'Sweetie Bell got to stay with her big sister. Maybe you can stay with your brother here in Ponyville too?'

Dusty and the other fillies remain silent for a second. They even stop walking for a moment. The idea that Scootaloo has made up doesn't sound bad. Not bad at all. In fact: Dusty loves it.

'That-That would be awesome!' he admits. 'I would get to stay here with all of you, with my brother, and NOT with my classmates!'

In their moment of joy, Dusty raises his hoof in front of him towards Scootaloo. Without hesitation, she presses her own hoof against it as a sign of victory. Her plan cannot possibly backfire!

'Alright then! Let's hurry up with finding my brother then!' he proposes.

The fillies cheer together in harmony. 'AYE!'

Pumped from excitement, they rush towards the town square, the center of Ponyville. If anypony goes through Ponyville, they go through the square as well. That should include the colt's brother.

***

'So!... what are we looking for?' Sweetie Bell asks the question out of nowhere when they look around the square.

Their moment of joy ends when Dusty suddenly cuts short of answers, leaving them clueless of where to start their search properly. The girls turn their heads towards Dusty, waiting for an answer.

'Well... Since my brother is a ghost hunter... Eh, I actually have no idea where he might live in,' Dusty coughs embarrassed.

He never even thought of where to look in Ponyville in specific. He didn't even consider that Ponyville would be this big!

'Well, we're guiding you around town anyway. Maybe we'll find the right home or bump into him,' Sweetie Bell suggests. 'Let's ask around!'

They nod in agreement. The group spreads out over the square. Several ponies that pass through are confronted by atleast one of them with the question if they've seen Dusty's brother. None of them give valuable answers though. And some even react insulted, because they think the little ponies are making fun of them with their talk about a so called ghost-hunter. Some are even ignoring them completely because they don't want to stop in the near-unbearable heat. After an hour has passed, they youngster gather back at the inactive fountain.

'Nothing?' Scootaloo asks her friends.

The others look disappointed and mumble. 'Nope.'

She grunts in defeat before she faces the colt again. 'Dusty, do you REALLY have not a single clue of where we should look for him?'

'My brother has been gone from Canterlot for ages. I dunno where he's been all the time,' Dusty sighs. 'When mom and dad got a letter from him saying that he moved to Ponyville, I just had to see him again. The reason why my parents and I never got here earlier was never explained to me. So I just decided to go here myself. He MUST be here somewhere! He should be known nationally by now!'

The girls nod in understanding.

'He's best there is! He kept me safe from them when I was a foal. I've never even got to SEE a ghost in my life! He's that good!' he tells them, trying to prove them that his brother is as good as he says he is. 'He's here somewhere. I KNOW it...'

'Well..., we can always show you around in the meantime right?' Applebloom tries to cheer the mood up.

She pushes Dusty softly with her flank, hinting him to follow her. They climb on top of the dry fountain for a better view of the square. When they are positioned, Applebloom starts to explain.

'The town square is the place where every pony passes through atleast once when they come in Ponyville. It's also got many buildings and shops around,' she explains and starts pointing towards several buildings. 'That's the library, there's the Sugercube Corner, Quills & Sofas-'

Applebloom stops midway her sentence when she notices the pink pile of tiredness that lies on the ground a few meters away from them.

'Oh, and this is Pinkie Pie!' Applebloom points at the pink pony.

'Hay, Pinkie Pie!' the fillies greet her.

Pinkie groans, exhausted from hopping around in the merciless sun. 'Water...,' she coughs thirsty. The ever so cheerful pony has found her weakness: High temperatures.

The little ponies hurry and lean over her, surprised to see her worn out like this. Flat on her stomache, Pinkie Pie looks aimlessly in front of her with exhausted eyes. Her fluffy hair has lost its vitality and lies flat and lifeless from her head to the ground beside her.

'Hey Pinkie. Are you alright? You don't look so good,' Scootaloo guesses.

Dusty nods. 'Is she always like this?'

'Oh nonono. On the contrary!' Sweetie Bell corrects him. 'She's the most hilarious, energy-filled, and social pony that you could possibly find in Equestria!'

Scootaloo nods. 'If there's someone up for any party, it's her alright!'

'In fact: she's as social as to greet every new face she gets in sight...,' Applebloom speaks while she starts to fall into thought. An idea starts to process in her mind. 'Pinkie Pie might actually know where your brother is! She basically greets everypony that even sets hoof in Ponyville!'

Dusty Gust smiles when he hears of their increase in chance. If this pink mare is really as happy and friendly as the fillies say she is, then she MUST have seen his brother!

'Pinkie Pie? Have you ever noticed a ghost hunter passing through Ponyville? The best ghost hunter you could POSSIBLY notice?' Dusty asks her, trying to keep his excitement controlled.

'Water...,' is the only thing that Pinkie Pie can say in response.

The colt is left unanswered. 'Eh... water?' he questions her confused.

'The applejuice would've come in handy now...,' Scootaloo mumbles. 'No better customer than a thirsty customer.'

But Applebloom steps forth and dissagrees with her. 'C'mon, girls. Pinkie was always ready to help us out. It's a good time to do something for her now!' Applebloom tells them.

Dusty Gust shrugs when he looks around the steamy hot area. The streets are nearly glowing of heat from the sun, no store is opened today, and there isn't even water in the fountain. 'Where are we supposed to find water so quickly, Applebloom?'

'There's a heatwave! Of course there is water!' Applebloom responds to him as if he's always this clueless . 'How about you try to move Pinkie Pie into the shadows, while I try to get some?' she suggests.

Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, and Dusty Gust nod in response, stationing themselves next to Pinkie Pie.

'Wait here, Pinkie! I'll be right back!' Applebloom tells to her right before she gallops off.

'Okie....Do,' she groans sad.

Pinkie Pie is suddenly startled by the pressure she feels on her stomache when the colt and the two fillies start to push her out of the sun.

'Hold on, party pony. We think that you've had enough sun for today,' Sweetie Bell tells her.

***

'Pfff, this heat is unbearable...,' A brown stallion gasps thirsty as he walks into the square.

An hourglass covers his flank as his Cutie Mark, and a dark brown mane comes from his head and down his neck. The heat has gotten to him too, proven by the sweat that rolls over his face. He quickly pulls out a bottle of water from the bag that he carries on his side and takes a sip from it.

'Just what we need!' Applebloom tells him as she walks up to him. With a leap for the bottle, she snatches it from his hoof with her mouth.

To his utter surprise, the stallion looks down at the pony that has taken his drink. 'Eh-Hey!' he gasps.

'You'll get it back later! Thanks!' she hurries back to the others, leaving him in complete astonishment behind.

'That filly again? First she tries to force apples on me and now she robs me from my drink...,' he mumbles irritated as he moves under the shadows of the nearby buildings. 'The nerve of some youngsters...'

***

The others have succeeded in pushing Pinkie Pie into the shade of the Quill & Sofas building. Though she won't get more thirst than she already has, she won't be able to do anything cheerful until she finally get a much-needed ice cold drink.

'Pff, what is Applebloom taking so long?' Dusty sighs from the heat. 'I thought she said that water is easy to find in a heat wave.'

'Just wait some more,' Scootaloo responds. 'Applebloom will be back before you can say- '

'Hey!' Applebloom cuts Scootaloo's sentence off as she hurries to them with a bottle in her mouth. She moves in front of Pinkie Pie's face, which remains gazing towards the distance in front of her.

'Pinkie Pie look! Water!' Applebloom smiles while she shakes the bottle in front of Pinkie Pie's face.

The pink mare blinks a few times and starts to see the shining bottle in front of her. 'Water!' she gasps when she realizes that there's a drink in front of her nose.

She doesn't hesitate for a second and uses the last energy in her hooves to throw the bottle of water upside down above her head, glugging the liquid away in matter of seconds. When the bottle is relieved from its final drops, Pinkie Pie's hair jumps back into its fluffy shape and her voice is clear and happy again.

'Ah, much better!' Pinkie Pie cheers rejuvenated. With a swift move she grabs the ponies and gives them a big hug. 'Thanks girls!'

'Excuse me?!' Dusty coughs.

'And boy!' Pinkie Pie quickly adds to her sentence.

The fillies are happy to see their pink friend back in her optimistic self again. 'You're welcome, Pinkie Pie!'

'Now that you're back alright, can you help us find my brother?' he coughs as he tries to free himself for Pinkie Pie's hug of gratefulness.

'Sure thing!' she replies and release the ponies from her iron grip. 'A ghost hunter, you said?'

Pinkie Pie rolls with her eyes to the sky while she scratches her head. 'Hm...,' she sighs deep in her thoughts. The colt and fillies silently look up at Pinkie Pie, waiting anxiously for a positive reply.

'Nnnnnnno. Can't say that I have,' she eventually answers.

'Aw...,' Dusty Gust sighs disappointed.

'But, have you seen Gummy anywhere?' Pinkie Pie asks them in return. 'We were playing hide and seek... But he's suddenly much better at hiding than he usually is!'

The fillies shake their head. 'Sorry, Pinkie Pie. We haven't seen him today,' Sweetie Bell answers. 'But if we do see him, we'll let you know!'

Pinkie Pie smiles by their offer of help. 'Thanks again girls! And good luck with finding the big bro'!' she waves at them as they turn around to move on.

'Well, that was waste of time...,' Dusty Gust grunts. Unable to find satisfaction from the help they've given to Pinkie Pie, he remains impatient about finding his brother.

'Don't say that,' Sweetie Bell tells him. 'It only means that your brother hasn't been in the square. It only narrows the amount of places we can check, right?'

He shrugs, believing that the unicorn is being too optimistic right now. They told him a moment ago that EVERY pony that enters Ponyville comes through the town square atleast once. His brother is supposed to be living in Ponyville, yet the most social pony of all hasn't seen him.

'I don't think my brother would hang out with somepony like Pinkie Pie actually. She may be nice, but my bro' is E.P.I.C. He would probably only get in contact with those worthy of his stature!' he concludes.

It makes the fillies get mixed feelings over whether their new friend is exagggerating, or truly has some high-ranked super hero as brother.

'I bet Rainbow Dash knows!' Scootaloo brings up. 'She's the pinnacle off 'awsome' after all! If your brother is that awesome as you say he is, Rainbow Dash MUST have caught wind of it!'

'Rainbow Dash?' Dusty questions. '...Never heard of her. Sorry.'

Scootaloo jumps to his side, throws a hoof on his back and points with her other front-hoof to the clouds.

'Rainbow colored mane, a speed faster than that of sound itself, and NEVER unable to overcome any obstacles that comes her way!' she tells with a sound of joy that is higly recognizable in Dusty's voice when he speaks of his brother. 'I can promise you: If it's awsome, she knows it!'

The colt looks doubtful at the filly. He simply shrugs and throws her hoof off of him. 'Okay? We'll try your plan. Any clue where we can find her then?'

Scootaloo's response is pointing with her hoof towards whatever is behind Dusty Gust. He looks over his shoulder and sees the fields outside Ponyville, a few clouds in the air, and a bunch of trees that mark the entrance to the forest. But nothing particulary shows where Rainbow Dash should be. Dusty turns back at Scootaloo, who is still pointing towards the area behind him. Dusty takes a second look, but can REALLY not figure out what Scootaloo is pointing at.

'...What?' he asks her confused.

'The clouds, dummy!' Scootaloo sighs. 'Rainbow Dash single-hoofly takes care of the weather of Ponyville! She removed all clouds to let the sun in past days. If those clouds are left, it means that she's working on them right now!'

***

'So, what is that she does?' Dusty Gust asks while they walk under the shadow of the remaining clouds.

'She's basically the on that keep the weather of Ponyville in check,' Sweetie Bell answers. 'It's thanks to her that we get to have this much sun the past days!'

'AND thanks to Princess Celestia, Sweetie Bell,' Applebloom adds.

The unicorn nods. 'Eh, yea. -And thanks to the princess, of course.'

'So, Rainbow Dash is a weather mare?' the colt summerizes. 'Just faster than most pegasi?'

'"Just" Faster?' Scootaloo chuckles. 'You clearly never heard of the Sonic Rainboom before, have you?'

'Sonic Rainboom?' Dusty asks.

Before Scootaloo can answer, they realize that the shadow they walked under has vanished. Surprised, they look up in the air and notices a flying pony that spins around the clouds and bucks them out of sight.

'There she is!' Applebloom cheers. 'Hey Rainbow Dash!'

The mare doesn't hear her. She proceeds to gather the clouds and buck them away, one by one.

'She can't hear us,' Dusty Gust says.

The fillies start to smile. 'Maybe not one of us. But we figured that pretty much everypony can hear us together,' Sweetie Bell snickers.

'RAINBOW DASH! OVER HERE!' they yell together.

The mare suddenly looks up, hearing the noise that fills the air. To anypony; A filly yell can pierce through the soundbarriers. She looks away from the cloud that she was pushing and looks below her.

'Hey girls!' she yells down when she notices the little dots on the ground.

With a quick swoop through the air, Rainbow Dash leaves her "cloudy" business aside and rushes down to the ground. A little anxious over the speed that the mare uses to storm towards them, the four ponies gaze at how the distance between them and Rainbow Dash is closing in. Right before she reaches the point that she can't halt enough to prevent a painful crash, Rainbow Dash stretches her wings as wide as possible to slow down rapidly to land graciously before them. When the winds from her landing vanish along with the dust, the young ponies are face-to-face with Rainbow Dash.

'How are you all doing? Enjoying the heat?' she asks them with a smile of satisfaction.

They all nod gratefully for her work. Scootaloo most of the four.

'It's awsome how fast you managed that, Rainbow Dash!' the pegasus filly praises her idol.

'Hehe well. It comes with the job, right?' Rainbow Dash snickers.

The other three ponies move closer for asking the mare their questions.

'Rainbow Dash. Would you happen to have seen Dusty Gust's bigger brother? We're looking for him in Ponyville.'

She looks at the newcomer. 'Ah sorry. I didn't see you at first. Welcome to Ponyville, Dusty Gust!'

'Hehe, thanks ma'am.' Dusty chuckles in response.

Rainbow Dash starts to laugh. 'Ma'am? Please, call me Rainbow Dash or Dash for short. Anyway, you're searching for your brother?'

Dusty Gust nods. 'Yup. My big brother moved to Ponyville a little while back! My friends said that you would probably know everypony that stand out of the crowd!

'So, is there any specific thing about him?' Rainbow Dash asks.

'Specific? My brother is the #1 Ghosthunter of Equestria! How about THEM specifics?' he laughs proud.

When he stops his laughter, he realizes that the others remain rather silent. He admits to himself that he may went a little too far with his entheusiasm this time.

'...Anyway,' Applebloom breaks the silence. 'We all want to try to become proffesional ghost hunters! And if somepony can help us, it's Dusty's brother!

'Ghosthunting?' Rainbow Dash asks. The idea of the excistence of ghosts itself already sounds doubtful to her.

'Oh! I get it. This is one of your games, right?' she suddenly laughs. 'Sure, sure. I see ghosts all the time! They're a real problem in Ponyville.'

'Wh-What?' Dusty Gust responds surprised. Is Rainbow Dash laughing at him? Laughing at his brother?

Rainbow Dash then proceeds with raising a hoof on her forehead, saluting them like a soldier. 'I wish you all the best of luck, brave guardians!' she snicker. 'I count on you four to keep Ponyville safe from any ghastly dangers!'

Don't worry, Rainbow Dash! We will!' Scootaloo smiles.

She honestly believes that her idol is truly counting on them, unconsidering that Rainbow Dash is simply playing along with their game. But Dusty isn't as gullible as Scootaloo. He feels like he he's being mocked and treated like he's a mere child with a lot of imagination. It makes him feel a little angry.

'Aside from that...,' Dusty suddenly interupts. 'Have you seen my brother; Yes or no?'

'Sorry, kid. Can't say that I have,' she shrugs. 'I've seen many faces come into Ponyville, but none of them were "specialized" in something like this.'

'So that's it? That's all the answers I get from searching all over town? A nope?!' Dusty suddenly speaks out of tone.

The fillies realize that their friend isn't amused and quickly jump to his side to try and calm him down.

'C-Calm down, Dusty! We have far from seen every place in Ponyville!' Sweetie Bell tells the angry colt.

Applebloom nods. 'Yea! Just because Rainbow Dash hasn't seen him, doesn't mean he's not around!'

Dusty grunts angry. 'You're ab-so-lut-ly right about THAT, Applebloom!'

Rainbow Dash just believes that Dusty is angry about that he hasn't found his family relative yet, instead of understanding that she may have insulted him by making a mockery of his brother's proffesion. She expects their chat to be over and stretches her wings out to fly off again. With a little jump in the air, she starts to flap her wings to hover off the ground.

'Anyway, I gotta go now. I wanna wrap these clouds up quickly so I can get back practice on my moves! A Sonic Rainboom isn't learned in one day, you know!" Rainbow Dash rushes and turns around to fly off. But when she gets an idea, she halts for a moment and turns around to the little ponies again. "Why don't you try Fluttershy? If Dusty's brother ain't in Ponyville, he may be outside of it!"

And without even waiting for a response, Rainbow Dash quickly flashes away towards the final bits of cloud that hang above Ponyville. The little ponies are left behind on the ground, dissapointed to have been given another lead rather than a comfirmation of the ghost-hunter's presence.

'Don't worry, Dusty,' Applebloom tries to cheer the colt up. 'He has to be around here someplace.'

'Yea! let's take Rainbow Dash's advise and ask Fluttershy!' Sweetie Bell tells them.

The fillies start to move on, expecting the Dusty to follow them in a few moments. After a deep sigh, Dusty Gust continues to follow the fillies to their next destination. It's not like he's got another choice to find his family.

Scootaloo shrugs. 'Hm... It's too bad that Rainbow Dash didn't see him.'

'Yea...,' Dusty Gust grunts.

'I mean: It's Rainbow Dash! She HAD to know your brother if he's this awsome!' Scootaloo rants on.

'Yea...,' Dusty repeats, starting to get a little aggrevated by what Scootaloo might be suggesting.

'I Guess your brother isn't that awesome,' Scootaloo suddenly speaks out.

That reply was the worst reponse she could've made. She has barely finishes her sentence, or Dusty Gust already presses his nose against hers and glares with eyes of anger.

'OR... maybe your Rainbow Dash isn't at the top of the "Pinnacle of Awsome" like you claim she is! To me she seems like a simple weather control mare! Other than able to fly constantly and pluck a few clouds out of the air, she is nothing more special than you: A foal with feathers glued her back!' he tells her.

Scootaloo is getting provoked by his words. 'You take that back!' she demands and presses him back.

'Not after you take that back about my brother!'

'After you!'

'No! After YOU!'

Their childish arguing has resurfaced, resulting in pushing each other away with their heads. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell are forced to see their friends go at each other again. They only met today, but they already seem like bitter rivals rather than friends.

'Scootaloo! Dusty! Are you finished with fighting yet?' the little Earth Pony and Unicorn ask them in anger.

They manage to catch their attention this time. Scootaloo and Dusty Gust step back from each other and look surprised up at their other friends. Are they being that childish to the point that Applebloom and Sweetie Bell have to act like the grown-ups?

'Eh, Yea. We're done...,' Scootaloo answers in surprise over their sudden attitude. 'Sorry for that.'

'Yea. No problems here...,' Dusty replies.

When Applebloom and Sweetie Bell turn around and walk further outside Ponyville, Scootaloo and Dusty both whispers the end of their sentences at each other. '...For now.'

That little outburst was actually exactly what they needed to calm down. The pegasi both chuckle over their fight. To them it was more humorous than hostile.

***

Their adventure moves outside Ponyville, into the grassy hills. Even though not many ponies live here, there still are some that do. Applebloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Bell, and Dusty Gust arrive at a house that belongs to Fluttershy and her rabbit friend, Angel.

'Hellooooo? Anypony home?' Scootaloo yells outside. The girls tried to knock on the door, but there is no response at all.

Applebloom turns to her friends. 'Where could she have gone to?' she wonders out loud.

'Probably helping critters,' Sweetie Bell shrugs. 'You know how sensitive and kind Fluttershy is.'

'Wait a minute. Isn't that her in the grass over there?' Applebloom asks when she notices a pink piece of grass sticking out from the hills. Considering grass can't get a color like pink, it HAS to be something like Fluttershy's mane!

'Hey, yea! Good eye, Applebloom!' the filly pegasus compliments.

They quickly move towards the peaceful mare. But when they realize that they're missing a part of the group, they look around and notice the colt that doesn't move further.

'Dusty? What is wrong?' Sweetie Bell asks him.

He is breathing deeply and rubs some sweatdrops from his forehead. 'Y-You go on ahead...,' he pants. 'I just need a little break.'

With a sigh of exhaustion, he drops his Cutie Mark-less flank on the ground. Clearly, Dusty's stamina isn't as great as the fillies'. Nopony can blame him, since they've been travelling all over the place today without even eating lunch.

'What's the matter, Dusty? Afraid to meet Fluttershy?' Scootaloo teases.

'Why don't you "fly off", Scootaloo? Oh, wait! You can't!' he snaps back at her.

Applebloom and Sweetie Bell try hard to suppress a giggle over Dusty Gust's snappy comeback. Scootaloo simply grunts insulted, turning around towards Fluttershy in a way that could be translated as "whatever, dude." She knows that it was just a joke, but still has trouble to let it slide like one.

Sleeping in the soft grass with the warm sun shining on her, Fluttershy makes the best of the day by resting through it. Aiding all the critters everyday is something she loves to do. But now that every creature is resting in this heat wave, she takes their example and naps up as well. The girls don't hesitate to go to the pegasus mare and say hello to her though.

'HAY, FLUTTERSHY!' the fillies greet together.

The mare jumps awake, flustered over the noise that shatters through her dreams. 'Wh-What-Who-Where?!' she responds confused.

When she notices the three young fillies next to her, Fluttershy takes a deep breath and calms down again.

'Hello girls. Have you come to enjoy the sun too?' she smiles.

'Not right now, Fluttershy,' Sweetie Bell replies.

'We need your help!' Sweetie Bell tells her.

'We were wondering if you've seen Dusty Gust's brother,' Scootaloo asks and points towards their new friend in the distance.

Fluttershy takes a look at the colt, trying to recognize any similarities to any stallions she may have seen in Ponyville lately.

'Oh, maybe I have,' Fluttershy responds. 'How does his brother look like?'

The fillies shrug. 'Wel... I suppose he's a tall male pegasus,' Applebloom guesses.

'And strong, I bet,' Scootaloo adds.

'Oh, and most certain of all: He's a professional ghost hunter!' Sweetie Bell quickly brings up.

The mare has honestly no clue. Pegasus: ok. Male: ok. But a ghost hunter? She has never even heard of such a proffesion.

'G-Ghosts? I'm sorry, girls. I'm afraid I can't help you,' she sighs.

'Oh, ok. Thanks anyway, Fluttershy!' Applebloom thanks her happily out of kindness.

When the fillies turn around to walk back to their friend, Fluttershy drops her head back in the grass and continues with her nap undisturbed.

'Well, that didn't help much,' Scootaloo states the obvious.

Dusty shrugs and stands back up when the fillies reach him. 'No success? Fine then. We're probably just looking in the wrong place,' he concludes from their search. 'Where haven't we been yet?'

The fillies remain awkwardly silent. They have been scouting through and around the entire town today. They have no ideas anymore!

'I wouldn't know where else we can look anymore! Fluttershy's house was the last house outside Ponyville, along with Sweet Apple Acres!'

Dusty is struck by truth in a surprised way. 'We-We must've overlooked a place!' Dusty repeats in denial.

He looks around desperately to find another place. Any place that could be an option.

'Ehm, what about this road? Where does it go to?' he asks as he points his hoof towards a gloomy path that leads into a forested area right next to Ponyville.

The path is covered in weeds and the trees have grown excessively, proving that it hasn't been used truly used by somepony for a while. It's odd, considering it's very close to the main roads.

'Oh, that leads to the abandoned gallery. Nopony has been using it for ages,' Sweetie Bell shrugs.

Dusty ignores her neglection. The tiredness from the fruitless search is driving him desperate. 'Well, I'm going to check it anyway! Places are abandoned for a reason! Maybe it's where my brother is hunting for those ghastly creeps!' he grunts and moves towards the route.

'Wait! If there are ghosts, we shouldn't go after them without your brother!' Applebloom warns.

Clearly she is nervous of checking out a distant and empty building. She's not the only one. Sweetie Bell is also shaking from the mere thought. Without any nearby help or knowledge over the unknown, their courage is reduced to a minimum. Looking as frightened as they do now, they're maybe not cut out for ghost hunting after all.

Dusty becomes impatient. 'Fine then. Stay here. But I'm going over there and find my brother OR kick some haunted flanks!' he bravely speaks out at them as he starts to march towards the road.

'Hold on, pal!' Scootaloo tells him and jumps in his way. 'We can't leave Sweetie Bell and Applebloom behind!'

Dusty taps with his hoof on the ground, feeling stuck within two fires. He knows that Scootaloo is right, yet he can't accept the idea to overlook a very obvious place to look. Wanting to go on and see what there is at the gallery, but he agrees that he can't leave these two fillies behind.

'C'mon! You're not scared of a few ghosts, are you?' he tries to provoke the girls into proceeding with their quest. 'Even if my brother isn't there, he probably scared any possible ghosts off ages ago!'

His encouraging words don't work. Applebloom and Sweetie Bell still remain nervous and unmoving.

'We'll just have to go another time,' Scootaloo proposes.

Dusty turns around to her. 'I can't go another time! I must know if he's there or not!' he yells angry.

'Well, yelling isn't going to get you further!' Scootaloo yells just as hard back at him.

The colt and filly are back in argue, just like their meeting. Their two friends are looking at their pointless fight, trying to talk them out of it again. Their voices can be heard all over the place, able to make Fluttershy even turn her ears into the grass to block it out.

'Ssst!...' Scootaloo suddenly hisses to him. 'Did you hear that?' she whispers.

As they silently listen along, they start to hear movement coming from the dark road. As they start to break sweat of fear, they listen silently how the sounds are getting louder and louder. Something is heading their way!

'Wh-What is that?' Dusty whispers back.

Scootaloo shakes her head. 'I-I don't know! A ghost maybe?'

Their hearts start to pound twice as fast. They squeeze together and remain frozen by fear. Their tiny hooves are unmoving in the muddy ground and their ears try to catch any sounds that come their way. They can't help but look at the road to try and see what is coming for them. Yet, the fact that they see nothing on it is even more disturbing.

But then a shape starts to move out of the shadows: A blurry purple silhouette.

'Girls?' a voice speaks.

'EEEEEK!' the fillies yelp in panic. Out of control, they start to run around, looking for a place to hide from the monsters of another world.

Dusty Gust remains frozen to the ground, looking in amazement at the so-called ghost. 'Girls, Girls!' he yells at the panicking fillies.

Hearing Dusty's voice, they look around at him. The shape stands right in front of him! It's the shape of a pony with a horn on top of the head. A purple mane waves on her head and a pink star-shaped Cutie Mark decorates her flank. They recognize her!

'Hello girls. Sorry if I scared you,' A purple unicorn greets them. 'What are you doing over here anyway?'

'Twilight! We could ask you the same thing! We thought the Gallery was abandoned!' the fillies tell her with their still-pounding little hearts.

'Oh, eh... yes. It is abandoned,' Twilight assures them. 'I just promised to check up on it from time to time.'

'To who?' Applebloom asks.

'Ehm... That's not important right now,' she replies vaguely.

The little ponies are relieved by the ending of their adventure. They truly believed that their final seconds were counting.

Twilight looks down at the colt, who looks up at her with curious eyes. 'Who's your new friend?' she asks them.

'Eh, this is Dusty Gust. We're touring him around while looking for his brother,' Applebloom introduces him.

'Ah, well that's great,' Twilight smiles. 'Hello there. My name Is Twilight Sparkle.'

'Yow,' he responds bluntly. Unlike the fillies, he seems to be completely calm.

Twilight takes a second look at Dusty, who taps his hoof anxiously on the ground. Dusty is getting impatient of waiting.

'Have we met?' Twilight asks him with uncertainty. 'I believe that I've seen your face before.'

Dusty looks confused up at her. 'Eh? I seriously doubt that, lady. I haven't been to Ponyville before,' he assures.

'Oh, sorry then. Must be my imagination,' Twilight shrugs. 'In any case, I have to move along again. Good luck with finding his brother, girls! It's getting late already,' she tells them before walking off again to the library.

The fillies are surprised to hear that it's late. They had so much to see, that they lost track of time. The orange sky and the sinking sun proves it.

'Twilight is right, girls. It's getting late!' Scootaloo remarks.

They turn around to move quickly back to Ponyville, but suddenly realize that Dusty was supposed to stay over his brother, which they haven't found yet!

'Eh, Dusty, where are you staying for the night?' Applebloom asks out of curiosity.

Dusty wants to answer, only to realize that his plans are shambled. 'Eh... I was hoping that I would've found my brother before it would come to that!' he admits, understanding that he should've thought of a back-up plan in case finding his brother would take this long.

Applebloom has an idea. 'Well, I'm sure you can stay over at Sweet Apple Acres! Plenty of space there,' she offers.

Sweetie Bell jumps in. 'No wait, I'm sure Rarity wouldn't mind if Dusty would stay over at us!' she suggests.

'Are you kidding? Of course he's staying over at me! He still hasn't shown that jump yet!' Scootaloo urges.

The three fillies start to bicker over their new friend, all eager to give hospitality to their new intriguing friend that they decided to help today.

'A barn sounds fine,' Dusty simply admits. He doesn't even seem to realize that he wasn't truly asked where to be and that his friends are sort of fighting over him. 'Although I could sleep just fine in the open air," he adds confident.

'Eeyup!' Applebloom smiles victoriously. Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo look defeated upon hearing Dusty's choice. But that will probably be forgotten again when they see him tomorrow again to be his guides or ghost hunters.

'Alright then,' Sweetie Bell agrees and accepts his decision with pride. 'We will see you two tomorrow then.'

'Yea, ok. But Dusty, don't forget that move, alright?!' Scootaloo urges before turning around.

Dusty Gust shrugs. A move that he invented himself is impossible to forget.

'Goodnight Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, Dusty,' they wish to each other, as they go their own respective way to home under the last bits of sunlight that shine from the horizon.

Dusty Gust and Applebloom move on to the large orchard. Passing along the many appletrees that grow. By the time they've reached the buildings, the sun has already sunk away and made space for the rising moon.

'Let me show you around!' Applebloom offers as they have arrived at Sweet Apple Acres.

Several barrels, filled with apples, have already been moved in and around the barn. Applejack seems to have worked her flank off as usual. Considering that they missed dinner, Applebloom grabs two apples from a barrel and offers Dusty one.

'Hungry?' Applebloom asks.

Without question, he eagerly accepts it and takes a bite, followed by the delicious taste of apple on his tongue. He never even knew that apples could taste this good when they are fresh from the tree.

'Mhm, this is good!' he remarks.

Applebloom smiles to hear it from somepony coming all the way from Canterlot. 'Eeyup. You won't find better apples than Sweet Apples.'

Dusty can't disagree, nodding at her while eating the apple. As they both eat up their apples, they move to the front door of Applebloom's house. When they arrive, she halts.

'I -eh- should probably ask Big Mac or Granny if you can stay over actually. I have a feeling that my sister, Applejack, will give me trouble rather than permission today...,' she mutters, remembering the barrel she took this afternoon which still stands at the vendor in the forest.

Dusty nods and remains outside while Applebloom sneaks through the door. He just taps his hoof, hoping to get a positive answer in a bit.

When a couple of minutes have past, Dusty hears an angry noise coming from inside. 'Applebloom, I know ye'r here somewhere! Don't take me for a foal!' he hears.

When he tries to sneak towards the door for a quick peak, he is surprised by Applebloom, who jumps outside in a hurry.

'Big Mac said it was ok! Let's go!' she hurries and pushes Dusty along with her to the other side of the building. Clearly, Applejack found out and is still mad at her. They quickly hide in an empty barrel in order to avoid Applebloom's angry sister.

When danger has passed, they have the courage to get out. 'Close one...,' the filly sighs. 'Though it's a little bit rushed, I managed to let you sleep over in the barn.'

Dusty smiles, glad to have a place to stay for the night. It may not be at the place where his brother is, but still it's very kind of somepony he just met today. 'Thanks! I 'preciate it!'

They open the large doors and walk inside. Applebloom help the colt a bit to make shape some hay into a matrass. When they're finished, Dusty feels ready to collapse and fall asleep.

'Let me just warn you: Don't walk out of the barn without me,' Applebloom suddenly tells him.'If Winona discovers total strangers on the vicinity, she doesn't take kindly to their company...'

The colt keeps it in mind. The last thing he wants is causing trouble.

'Well, goodnight Dusty! See 'ya tomorrow!' Applebloom bids farewell as she walks outside. For a filly she shows a lot of energy to be this awake still. Goes to show that Earth Ponies can take a lot more than pegasi or unicorns.

'Goodnight Applebloom,' Dusty yawns. The moment he lays his head in the spiky hay, he falls asleep.

***

Two mysterious figures approach the outer perimiter of Ponyville. Gazing from the hills under the hoods of their cloaks, they wait until the sun is completely out of sight.

The pony in brown ragged cloak sighs. 'Ponyville...'

A mare in a grey cloak moves up behind him. 'Brings any memories?' she asks.

'Memories... that's a good one,' he shrugs. 'Nevermind it. The only thing what I think about Ponyville, is that it should prepare for a "cold entrance"...'

The mare nods. 'I shall make contact tomorrow morning,' she suggests. 'What should we do with Twilight Sparkle?'

'We will keep her in the dark for the time being...,' he grunts at her. 'No doubt the townsfolk will panic soon. Our presence will be appreciate if it's known by a MINIMUM. Don't expect a "warm welcome" for any of us, understood?'

The mare nods. 'Yes...'

FIENDship is Magic

Chapter 2 - FIENDship is Magic

The day starts slowly, with a chilly wind in the air. Yesterday's heatwave was followed by a cold night, which can still be felt on this day. Dew hangs from the tips of the grass and the apples in the appletrees shine in the morning sun. Today won't be as warm as it was yesterday.

The barn doors slowly open. A young colt with a brown spiky mane walks outside, rubbing in his eyes with his left hoof. This was Dusty Gust's first night in an actual barn.

'Good morning!' a girly voice greets him.

The boy looks surprised in front of him. The raising sun hurts his eyes, making him see everything blurry. Dusty shakes his head a few times to wake up. After blinking a few times as well, he starts to see that it was his friend Applebloom that greeted him.

'Hey, Applebloom. Goodmorning. You seem very rested,' he yawns.

The filly smiles. 'This is a normal time to get up at Sweet Apple Acres. You've actually slept for quite a while. Would you like to eat something before Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell are here?'

Dusty Gust nods, still half dizzy from his night. 'Breakfast sounds very good to my ears.'

'Haha!' Applebloom laughs. 'You've missed breakfast already, sleepyhead! It's basically lunch you can get now.'

Dusty blinks a few times again, completely oblivious about the time. But he just shrugs, not caring much about it anyway.

'Is your sister still mad at you?' he asks, changing the subject.

'Meh, she already scolded me this morning. As long as i bring the barrel back A.S.A.P. she won't make a big deal out of it,' she sighs.

'Hehe,' Dusty chuckles as they head into the house.

***

'Goodmorning, everypony!' Sweetie Bell and Scootaloo say to their waiting friends.

'Goodmorning, girls,' Applebloom smiles.

'What's with the scarf, Sweetie Bell?' Dusty asks the unicorn, who is wearing a light-blue piece of cloth around her neck.

'Oh, that's my sister...,' she sighs. 'Just because it's a lot cooler than yesterday, she's afraid I could get a cold.'

They try not to laugh over Sweetie Bell and her sister, but can't help but snicker a little.

'Well, atleast it looks good on you,' Dusty compliments her.

Sweetie Bell smiles happy. 'Thank you.'

'What say we head out?' Scootaloo brings up. 'We got a lot of Ponyville left to find Dusty's brother. We might as well try to speed it up!'

'AYE!' they all cheer and rush off again.

'Dun' forget, Applebloom! I want that barrel back this afternoon!' Applejack yells to her before her little sister could get the chance to move out of hearing range.

Applebloom sighs, feeling forced to waste their precious time for a barrel. 'Fine, sis,' she yells out to her and speeds off with her friends.

When they're out of sight, Applejack shakes her head. 'That lil' filly... I can't wait for the point that she knows the word "responsibilities." she sighs.

Heading outside as well, Applejack moves to the back of the house to prepare her applecart for another day of work on the orchard. She discovers her big brother, Big Macintosh, who is doing the same.

'Brinin' a colt over, who they barely met. And they already take him like they've known him for years. Didn't that strike you as odd, when you gave permission to let him stay in the barn?' she asks, with a feeling of passing guilty feelings to him.

'Is that a problem?' Big Macintosh asks her.

'Nah,' she shrugs. 'Ah just don' want Applebloom to get completely mixed up in this ghost game. That lil' guy is a little too drawn into it.'

'Wha' do you think of him, big brother?' she asks the red stallion.

He nods a little, being focused on his equipment more than his sister. 'Ah think you're a lil' too worried for nothin', sis.'

'Meh..., maybe you're right,' Applejack admits. 'It's better for them to hunt on things that don' excist rather than things that DO excist anyway.'

She looks over her brother's shoulder, noticing that his gear is nearly fixed up.

'Ready for the next round today, Big Mac?" Applejack asks him. 'It ain't as hot as yesterday. So we might's well use it.'

'Eeyup,' Big Macintosh replies. From his voice you can never tell if he's eager or not. But it's never a question if he can or can't do something, considering he has the strength of atleast three ponies combined.

Applejack straps her own cart to herself and waits for her brother to get ready as well.

"Then let's go, bro. Apples won't grow themself' she jokes.

She walks on, turning around a corner of the building and towards the appletrees. But when she takes a look at the orchard, she stops.

'What in the hay?" Applejack gasps.

She suddenly drops her cart and hurries back to her brother. Panic is breaking out, with good reason. Applejack saw the giant orchard of Sweet Apple Acres, shrouded by a thick black smoke that emerges from the far end of the orchard, where a yellow glow signs the source.

'BIG MAC! Gimme a hoof! The orchard is on fire!'

***

The danger has passed. With barrels of water and throwing dirt, only 10 procent of the orchard is ravaged to ashes. Applejack sighs in confusion. If she would've been a few seconds later, much more could've been burned down.

'How in the hay was this possible?' she wonders. 'It was far from as hot as yesterday! This couldn't have been from drought!'

'Eeyup,' Big Macintosh agrees. His vocabulary doesn't extend much further than that.

'Let's get some more water. Better make sure the fire doesn't wake again,' she says with exhaustion from the tension.

Applejack moves through the ashes, horrified of the terrible loss. This part wasn't even harvested yet. Some apples remain; Either turned to ashes, or roasted unedible. But as she looks around, she fails to avoid something heavy on the ground, which makes her trip onto the ground.

'Wh-what in the hay?' she grunts surprised with an ash-black nose.

Looking over her shoulder, she realizes that she tripped over some sort of box-shaped object. It turns out to be a burned book. When she flips the book open, she is suprised to see that the feather bookmark is stuck on a page about firework magic! But the most terrible discovery would be the signature that is written at the bottom of the page.

"Wait a minute... This-This is Twilight's book!" Applejack gasps. "Why would she... Did she just ran away when things got out of control or sumthin'?!" she yells angry.

Big Macintosh realizes his little sister's anger, and doesn't attempt to speak a word to her while she thinks.

With a loud slam, Applejack closes the book and takes it with her. 'Could ya' take care of the damage on your own from here, Big Mac? I got some word to share with miss "firefly"..."

***

Meanwhile, a purple unicorn is passing through the streets of Ponyville, loaded with two bags on her side filled with multiple items. Twilight is happy, humming a melody that is stuck in her head. When she arrives back at the giant tree, serving as the library and her and Spike's home, she tries to open the frontdoor. A little suspicious, Twilight Sparkle figures that the door won't open. Somepony locked it.

'Spike, I'm back!' Twilight Sparkle yells from the front door of the library to the balcony, expecting that her draconic assistant would hear her. 'I was just off to the stores to get some supplies while you were gone this morning. This temperature is just perfect to enjoy. The one of yesterday was simply too high to my liking.'

No response is heard.

"Spike, are you there?' she calls up to the open windows. But no response is given. 'Ok, Plan B it is,' she decides, using her magical horn to unlock the door without keys.

The only danger is that it could wreck the lock, which is something a beginner in magic would easily manage to do. But as experience shows fruitation: the door opens without any trouble, making Twilight smile from success. She proceeds to walk into the main room, only seeing darkness that originates from closed curtains.

'Hey, Spike, what's going on?' she asks into the shadows. Even now, she doesn't get a response.

With a quick spell, Twilight roughly throws the curtains out of the way, allowing the sunlight to lighten up the whole room in a flash. Twilight freezes up from the shock. Goosebumps crawl over her skin as she gazes into the library. The sight is most horrifying to her.

'What in Celestia's name happened here?!' she yelps.

Books are laying everywhere. A sticky sweet substance is smeared all over the literature, and several bookcases are even thrown on their side. The library is a mess!

'Did somepony party here while I was off?!' Twilight still gasps in disbelieve. 'All those books... RUINED! If find the one responsible, he'll regret for ever entering!' she yells furiously and stomps on the ground with her hooves.

'SPIKE! Come out now!' she yells through the library again in anger.

The chances that Spike would've done this are slim, considering he's also the one that cleans the stuff up most of the time. But maybe he saw somepony. 'Come out, Spike! This isn't funny! I know you're here somewhere!'

No response. Her draconic assistant seems to be out.

'That's odd... Spike would never leave without a good reason or without leaving atleast a note,' Twilight thinks in herself. 'Well... I better clean this mess up all by myself. Maybe I can get this mess out of the pages.'

With a sigh she moves in to clean the mess up, sorting books and put them back in the cases in alphabetical order. Her hooves get more and more sticky as Twilight moves over the library floor. When most books are lifted from the ground, she has to give more effort to move than when she started. Using a sponge and a bucket of water, she scrubs over every piece of knowledge in an attempt to save it.

At the end of her work, she has gotten even too tired to use her magic anymore. The final books have to be put back by hoof.

'There... Wait, I´m missing something! It should be on this- OUCH!' Twilight suddenly yelps in pain and quickly pulls her hoof out from the books. She looks in surprise at what has bitten her. A little aligator has locked his jaw onto her hoof.

"Gummy?! What are you doing here!" Twilight asks surprised.

Of course the aligator gives no answer. He simply remains to hold onto Twilight, until she pulls him off with her magic. The reptile lands on the ground and continues to stare up at her confused.

'Wait... You're here and the library is wrecked like some candy storm raged around? Actually..., this makes a lot of sense... I can only think of one mare who would be crazy enough to actually be capable of this disaster...,' Twilight realizes. Her worst suspicions are brewing in her head. 'PINKIE PIE!'

***

"Gummy? Where are you?" a pink pony calls through the town square. "Come out, come out, wherever you are.'

Pinkie Pie searches through Ponyville for her pet aligator, Gummy. Suddenly disappearing is not something Gummy would do.

She looks in every nook and cranny. In the fountain, beneath empty boxes, or even on the roofs. She goes as far as to check in the manes of different ponies that dare to set hoof in the town square, making them turn around and run away in panic from Pinkie's desperate search.

'Where are you, Gummy!' she yells out.

A loud slam is heard from behind her.

'Huh?' she gasps surprised and looks around. 'Gummy?'

She looks directly at the building that is both her home and her "haven" of treat, sweets, and deliciousness: Sugercube Corner.

'But Mr. and Mrs. Cake said that they were closed for today!' she realizes.

Noticing that nopony else is nearby, she starts to feel a little nervous. With little hoofsteps, Pinkie Pie sneaks to the store. Peaking over the rim of the window, she cannot believe her eyes.

'Holy moly!' she gasps.

The Sugercube Corner is full. But not with customers. No pony is inside, but squirrels, rabbits, birds, and many other critters have taken over the store! It's like the forest has moved itself to Ponyville! Of course, they don't hesitate to take a bite from the many tasty treats that stand on display.

Pinkie Pie doesn't wait a second and storms inside, surprised that the door is unlocked. Somepony has let these creatures in on purpose!

"Ok! Party is over, critters! Time to salute out of here!" she commands to them.

Her words fall on deaf ears. Only a few animals look at her when she makes her noise, but go on with their business soon after.

'C'mon! You don't even like sweet treats!' she desperatly attempts to convince them. 'You're supposed to eat something else!'

It doesn't work. The only thing she gets is being trampled by rabbits, who simply walk over Pinkie Pie like she isn't standing there.

'Hey! This isn't your store! This is my home, and my piece of paradise!' she yells, reaching the end of her patience. The critters look surprised up at her as she jumps behind the counter and starts to search for supplies, throwing several tools through the building.

the pink eath pony then Jumps on top of the counter, wearring a pair of sunglasses on her nose, her mane bonded into a ponytail, and a doughroller in her mouth, Pinkie Pie is about to get BITTER serious.

'Last chance, critters!' she threatens. 'Leave the pie on the floor, unharmed, and nopony gets hurt...'

Everything is silent. The critters look at the war-going pony with the doughroller in her mouth, afraid of the possibly agony she could inflict with that attitude. The only sound that fills the room are the deep breaths from the furious Pinkie Pie.

When the nibble on a candycane by a hedgehog is heard from the back of the store, they all know that trouble is about to break loose.

'That was my last warning...,' Pinkie Pie grunts with a burning rage in her eyes.

The entire town square is filled with rampaging noises from Sugercube Corner. Critters yelp in panic as they are being chased by the madmare. Swinging with her doughroller, Pinkie Pie doesn't hesitate to scare the animals into a heartattack, if that's what's needed to get them out of the store. The ones that are unlucky enough to get to close to Pinkie Pie, are wacked out of the building like a baseball.

Just when Pinkie Pie chases the last of the critters out of the building, she doesn't look where she walks and slips over a cake that fell on the floor.

'Whoopsie,' she says as she pulls herself back up and looks at the cream that covers her complete flank now. "Mwah, a worry for later!" she grunts and goes on with her devestating assault.

With one final crash unto a stand, the animals take their leave in haste. Rushing out of the building, they escape into the alleys of Ponyville.

"And stay out!" Pinkie Pie yells exhausted at the last creatures that move into the alleys and throws the doughroller in their direction. Pinkie Pie breathes deeply and looks around into the shop. Her fight has left the store in a terrible condition.

'Ugh, look at what a mess they made...,' Pinkie Pie sighs. 'Let's fix this post-haste, Pinkie Pie style!' she convinces herself, hurrying behind the counter to search for a broom.

'Got'ya!' she cheers triumphantly. 'Maybe if I'm quick, this place is fixed before it's-' she gasps halfway her sentence and drops her broom when she realizes that Mr. and Mrs. Cake have arrived in their store. '-too late...,' Pinkie gulps.

With wide eyes and speechless mouths they look around. Cupcakes, pies, cream, and many other substances are smeared all over the place and half-eaten. The displays are completely wrecked, like a tornade has burst in and tore the store up. And in the center they see the nervous little Pinkie Pie.

'Eh, Hi Mr. and Mrs. Cake!' she gasps friendly with a forced smile. '...S-SURPRISE!'

'Pinkie Pie! Wh-What happened here?!' Mrs. Cake asks her, looking like she could pass out any moment from the horrorible sight.

'I-I can explain!' Pinkie Pie tries to reason.

But the Cakes already have a sneaking suspicion who is responsible.

'You can? Well, then explain how the displays got broken.' Mr. Cake asks her.

Pinkie Pie scratches her hoof behind her head, realizing that that was her own fault when she wacked around the store. 'Eh, that was me. But-'

'And why is there cake smeared all over the floor?' Mrs. Cake asks her.

'Well... I tripped over a cake that was lying on the floor. But-' she remains honest, but keeps getting interrupted when she tries to give the full story.

'Pinkie Pie, I can't even describe at how disappointed we are...,' Mr. Cake shakes his head.

'W-Wait a sec! It was the critters! There was a horde of critters from the forest inside here! I only tried to shoo them away!' she gasps.

The Cakes both raise an eyebrow in disbelieve. 'Really?...'

'Yup, really really!' Pinkie nods excessively.

'Then where are these critters now then? And how could they possible get inside while the place was locked? AND adding the fact that we're in the middle of Ponyville, miles away from the forest!' Mr. Cake asks, growing noticably angry.

For once, Pinkie Pie is speechless. She realizes how unbelievable this is, even if it's true.

'B-But I swear!' she tries to hold on.

'No Pinkie Pie, that's enough. J-Just go out for now. We don't wish to see you at the moment...,' Mrs. Cake speaks in stress and points Pinkie Pie the door. 'For this week, please don't show yourself on this floor...'

Pinkie Pie is shocked. Is she truly banished from the Sugercube Corner for a week? Is she being treated like a criminal because she tried to save the store? She would like to protest, but understands how that could make things only worse for her. She simply hangs her head in sadness and walks out. When she looks back, the door is closed from customers until the Cakes have fixed the chaos.

'I don't deserve this. I saved the place! Why are heroes treated like criminals now?!' she grunts and stomps on the ground in anger. 'How did those little monsters get in anyway? There's no way those creatures could go all this way by themselves! They could only get this far with help from somepony!'

She pauses for a moment, realizing the only possible conclusion.

'They could only get this far with help from somepony..., Somepony that the critters trust...,' she realizes with a growing rage.

'FLUTTERSHY!'

***

'Mhm...,' the peaceful mare sighs in her sleep. Fluttershy still enjoys the sun which warms up the ground and soothes her to sleep, even if it's not as hot as yesterday's sun. The cool breeze that flows through the tall grass gently brushes through her pink mane. The waving branches of the trees behind her sound as a lullaby to her ears. She has found complete tranquility, which she gladly surrounds herself in.

But something small is rushing through the grass towards her. Little yet long white feet move in great haste. Fluttershy doesn't have a clue of the upcoming trouble, closing in on her.

'Wuh?' Fluttershy mumbles as she is rudely awakened by the rabbit that leaps on top of her head.

'Oh, hello Angel. Where have you been?' she asks her little friend with a smile.

But Angel is certainly not as calm as Fluttershy. He keeps jumping up and down on her head and mumbles something quick. Something is definitely wrong.

'What's the matter, Angel? Is there something wrong?' she asks flustered.

The rabbit's reply is a tug on her mane, forcing her to stand up and move in his appointed direction.

'Ok, ok, Angel,' Fluttershy responds calm. The pull on her mane hurts a little, but she takes it as a sign that she should really hurry.'S-Show me what is wrong.'

***

'Oh...No...,' Fluttershy yelps in horror. The place where they have arrived at is known to her as the biggest molehill in the area; A grassy hill of about 5 meter radius. Many moles have found refuge in the pile of dirt. But now, all that is left is a crater. The former inhabitants have already left in panic, digging deep underground and away from the place.

'How did this happen!' the mare sniffs sadly. 'Wait, Wait! M-Maybe we can fix this!'

she yelps and jumps into the crater to desperatly attempt to collect enough dirt to fill the hole. Fluttershy is covered in dirt, her mane is terribly messy, and the only thing she managed to do is collect dirt that wouldn't even be enough for a worm to live in.

'Oh no...,' Fluttershy whimpers, ready to burst in tears. She reaches her hooves out to rub the tears away, but when she moves her dirty hooves to her face, she notices a shiny pebble that got stuck in the dirt.

'A... gem?' she looks curiously at the crystal. When she turns her sight closely at the ground, she notices that the ground has more crystals hidden in the dirt.

'Was this done for jewelry?!' she realizes in disgust.

Crawling over the ground, she tries to find any tracks. Any leads that could be present must be found, in order to discover the culprit. The only thing she can find are a track of hoofprints. The prints in the soft dirt are proof that this was certainly a pony's work. But Fluttershy has trouble believing that there's a pony that could be this selfish.

'Who could've known that this hill had gems? Even I didn't know!' she gasps.

When she says it out loud, it brings a possibility in her mind. A most horrible possibility she would never wish to believe in. There is only one pony in Ponyville that can find hidden gems with her magic horn.

'No... It couldn't have been Rarity. Right, Angel?' she asks her white furry friend.

The rabbit crosses his paws and frowns, remaining a more reasonable thinker than Fluttershy. Rarity is the only pony that can find unseen gems and get a hold of it.

Fluttershy scratches a hoof over the ground, slowly admitting that she has to think outside the box to be certain.

'Mhm..., Maybe I should go talk to Rarity. It doesn't hurt to ask, right?'

***

Gently passing through the streets of Ponyville, the blue-maned mare carries multiple crystallic items in her bag. Rarity has returned from the field and discovered a plentiful amount of gems for several of her artistic designs.

'Ah... Gems, a warm sun, and cool breeze. What else could a pony wish for?' she giggles, feeling satisfied about her day.

Looking athe trees, where several birds are whistling in tranquility, Rarity's day feels better and better.

'So pretty,' she sighs, closing her eyes and stops for a moment to enjoy the sounds.

But when she is disturbed by a strange rumbling sound, she opens her eyes and looks confused around. 'Wh-what could that have been?' she mumbles.

The sound has already passed. The mare ignores it and is about to move along to her home.

'Home, sweet Home,' she smiles when she gets Carousel Botique in her sight.

Rarity is suddenly surprised by a rumble in the ground, the same rumble like a moment ago. For a second she thinks it's an earthquake, but she notices a strange tone that starts to rise in volume. A loud explosion is followed, creating a noise that echoes on for miles. The noise is created near Rarity, making her victim of the devastating pitch.

"Ah! My ears! My sensitive ears!" she yelps and covers with her hooves.

She remains like this, cowering to the ground, waiting for the tones to pass. It feels to her like an eternity. 'When will it finaly end?' she thinks. Just when she prays for it to end, the noise is fading. Rarity dares to take her hooves away again, slowly.

'Pfoe, what in Celestia's name was that?' she sighs and looks around her. When she notices nothing odd, she turns around to walk on to her home, But is shocked from her sight and screeches in despair.

"My-My house! My windows! Ruined!" she panics.

The noise didn't just make Rarity a victim, but her home as well. Every single window that was part of the building has been shattered by the ear-deafening noise, littering the floor with sharp pieces of glass. The mere sight at her home gives a feeling of disorder, completely contradicting Rarity's personality and making her look foolish.

"WHO! Who could do such a terrible thing!" she yells, ready to burst into tears any moment.

The air around her remains silent, leaving her all alone with a broken display of her home. Sniffing in sadness, her attention is caught by a colorful display that circles behind her home: A rainbow.

"A rainbow...," she sniffs. "A rainbow?"

She frowns when she considers the most obvious culprit. An explosion plus a rainbow can only mean one thing to her: A Sonic Rainboom; A unique skill that is preformed when somepony breaks through the soundbarrier, creating an explosion of sound and colors. And the only pony known in Equestria that is able to pull it off is, ofcourse,

'RAINBOW DASH!'

***

'Wow, where do you think you're going?' the pegasus laughs, chasing a cloud that floats away.

Rainbow Dash is once again working against the clouds that threaten to cloud up all of Ponyville. But thanks to the flying mare, the sky will remain summer clear like this for coming weeks. Flying high in the sky, Rainbow Dash is in her never ending struggle with the weather.

'How'd you like THIS?' she laughs and bucks against the cloud, launching it towards horizon. 'See you in a couple of days! Any volunteers left?' she asks rhethorically. The mare looks around her, noticing only one small cloud.

'Ah, another perfect job, preformed by the perfect pegasus,' she sighs happy and drops herself unto the cloud. Feeling the burn of the excersize in her muscles, she decides to take a little rest before focusing on anything fun for the rest of the day.

'I believe I deserve a little rest...,' she yawns, letting the cloud float her through the air. She closes her eyes, just for a moment, to get a little rest.

'Ouch!' Rainbow Dash exclaims in pain as she gets struck by something on her back 'What was that?' she grunts, followed by looking confused at a red fruit that drops down to the ground, which hit her a moment ago. 'An... apple?' she ponders.

'Ooph!' she grunts again. This time she got hit on the head. 'Ok, who in the hay is doing that?!'

She looks down, realizing that the cloud has drifted her above a large patch of appletrees. It's Sweet Apple Acres. The fact that she got hit by an apple sound reasonable now, but from this distance, the only pony that could shoot this far and precise would be Applejack!

'Oh, hehe,' Rainbow Dash chuckles. 'Alright, Applejack. If you wanted to keep your rainclouds over your little land, you could've just told me!' she yells down to the ground.

Rainbow Dash remains quiet and waits for an answer.

'UGH!' she gasps when being struck by another apple on her head. Getting provoked by the second assault, Rainbow Dash jumps off of the cloud and starts to fly out of herself again. 'That's enough, Applejack! You're starting to get on my nerves!'

She ducks quickly for another apple that was aimed for her head. 'Haha, missed-' she tries to laugh from victory, but is silenced by an apple that is shot directly into her open mouth.

In need for air, Rainbow Dash spits it out. 'Are *cough* Are you insane?!' she yells angry.

Her question is answered by more apples. More than one apple. A rough amount of fifty apples is launched in an enormous barrage into the air, all aimed for the pegasus.

'Wowow! Time-out, Time-out!' she yells, while dodging every fruit that comes at her. But the attack doesn't stop. In fact; the apples are being thrown faster and harder by the second.

Her luck runs out when an apple strikes her face and blinds her sight from the juice. Before she could make another move, she is struck several times by the painful rain, making her plummet to the ground.

'Ack!' Rainbow Dash yelps in pain. She slowly recovers from the attack, waking up in a barrel filled with apples, all squished to juice by her fall.

'Grrrr, APPLEJACK, YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!' she screams out in anger. Rainbow Dash tries to pull herself out of the barrel, being left with a flank covered in applejuice.

***

Meanwhile, there are friendlier moments happening in the town square of Ponyville. four little ponies are truly enjoying the day, messing around with each other.

'Tag, you're it!' Sweetie Bell laughs.

Scootaloo shakes her head in denial. 'No way! Poking me with your horn doesn't count!'

'It does!' Applebloom responds. 'We went over this a million times.'

'Ah, don't be a sore loser, Scootaloo,' Dusty Gust laughs at her. 'Just try and reach me, if you can.'

The four friends have forgotten about their quest for a moment. Instead, they are having plain fun with a game of tag.

'Tell you what: If you manage to tag me, I'll use my move to tag you back. Deal?' Dusty Gust jokes, knowing that Scootaloo is still eager to see his leap.

'Deal!' she smiles and starts to hurry after the other pegasus.

Clearly, the colt has underestimated Scootaloo again. Even with her lack of flight, she is very fast on hoof! And considering Dusty hasn't played with tag in Canterlot with the unicorns, he starts to feel how the distance between them is slowly shrinking.

'Miss!' Dusty laughs when Scootaloo fails to tag him.

She hurries and tries again.

'Miss again!' Dusty laughs, having jumped over Scootaloo right before she could tag him.

'Hold still!' Scootaloo grunts angry.

The colt only gets more and more entertained when Scootaloo starts to get irritated from not being able to tag him. She hurries on and tries again.

'Miss for a third time!' Dusty laughs as he tries to jump over her again, unprepared that Scootaloo would jump up when he would.

Feeling Scootaloo's head press into his stomache, Dusty drops on the ground, coughing for air.

'TAG!' Scootaloo laughs. 'I got the last laugh, Dusty!'

The other fillies have to laugh as well, completely unexpecting this turn of events.

'Ha-Ha, very funny,' Dusty gasps. 'Want a medal for it?'

'Nope, I want your promise!' the filly tells as she smirks.

'Ok, Ok, a promise is a promise,' the colt chuckles. He doesn't seem to mind at all to show off what he can. He gets up from the ground and takes a deep breath. 'Ready for this?'

The colt takes a few steps back, ready to dash. The fillies are giggling over the idea that Dusty could tag them at an impossible speed, like when he surprised them at their meeting. When the colt stands ready, they remain silent for his concentration. And then, Dusty starts to run!

'Ready or not, here I come!' he laughs. when he starts to reach a fast pace, he ducks to the ground, ready to leap.

'BANZA-' he yells his battlecry, but ends all his actions when he realizes that a pony has enter the town square and takes notice of his loud noise.

'Wait a minute... Isn't that your sister, Sweetie Bell?' Dusty asks, noticing the blue-maned mare walking into the town square with angry hoofsteps.

'Hey you're right,' Sweetie Bell replies. 'Hey, sis!'

'Hello, Sweetie Bell...,' Rarity mumbles. She barely looks at her sister. All her attention is focused on something else.

'What was that about?' Scootaloo asks. 'Rarity doesn't seem to have a good time.'

Mumbling something to herself, Pinkie Pie moves into the town square as well. Her glare feels intimidating and misplaced, considering she's the happiest pony you can find.

'Pinkie Pie? Are you alright?' Applebloom carefully asks her.

The filly is completely ignored. Pinkie Pie just walks by and keeps on mumbling angry words while moving toward the center of the square.

'What is going on?' Sweetie Bell wonders out loud. 'Why are they so angry?'

The others shrug. The anger of the mares seems completely pointless.

'Look! There's more!' Dusty remarks and points at the other mares that enter the square.

Six mares, all furious to the bone. They move to each other, creating a circle for confrontation.

The Mane six are together again. But their reasons seem far from friendly today. In fact: In this tense moment, anything bad is possible. The little ponies watch silently at how the six mares are looking at each other without speaking a word. They are waiting in the silence before the storm.

'Ehm, Rarity? I need to ask you something...,' Fluttershy whispers to Rarity next to her. 'Please don't take it the wrong way.'

'Not now, dear. I have an issue that needs solving first...,' Rarity tells her.

'Oh, ok... I will wait,' the pegasus mumbles.

They all remain quiet, waiting for the first words to fall. Twilight dares to step forth first.

'Pinkie Pie, I got a little question for you,' Twilight starts, faking a smile on her face.

The pink earth pony looks up towards Twilight. 'What is it, Twi?'

'Have you eaten anything sweet lately?... Brining your pet along with you to a location you're not supposed to wreck?...,' Twilight asks very "subtle".

Pinkie Pie frowns at her. 'Of course I ate some yummies lately. But that is now taken away from me, thanks to a certain animal loving troublemaker, who's name I won't name out loud... Fluttershy,' she looks at Fluttershy, who looks up in surprise from her accusations.

'Now, hold on just a minute,' Fluttershy speaks to Pinkie. 'What is this about?'

Pinkie Pie rolls with her eyes. 'Duh! Don't play dumb with me! You let all your little friends into Ponyville, wrecking up Sugercube Corner, and got ME in trouble for it!'

Fluttershy desperatly shakes her head in denial. 'I did nothing wrong! My friends got homeless thanks to one gem-greedy pony!'

'Excuuuuuuse me?!' Rarity gasps, surprised to the accusation that was definitely meant to her.

'You heard me, Rarity! How could you crush all those homes for some gems!' Fluttershy asks with a raised tone, feeling pumped from the adrenaline that rushes inside her from the confrontation. 'I never would've thought you could go this low!'

'Well, bringing them to Ponyville was an even worse idea, Fluttershy! Now I am banished from my work for a week!' Pinkie Pie yells offended, feeling like her undeserved banishment is far worse than the demolition of critter homes.

'And you shouldn't have started some 'party' in the library, Pinkie Pie!' Twilight yells as well. 'The whole place is covered in sticky suger and torn paper! And your monster of a aligator pet was even present at the "crimescene"!'

Pinkie Pie looks surprised when she hears her pet friend being brought into the conversation. 'What is Gummy doing in the library, Twilight?! I sought all over for him!' Pinkie Pie continues to throw her anger out on her.

'You tell me! The sugar must have affected your brain, is my opinion!' Twilight insults her.

'I was out for for only a moment. And when I return; I hear a loud explosion and watch at how my beautiful windows are crushed to smittereens by a Sonic Rainboom!' Rarity claims.

'And why weren't you at home what Rainbow Dash did that, hm? On any possible gem hunt?' Fluttershy pokes her.

'Hey! What are you accusing me for?!' the rainbow-maned pegasus grunts at her, insulted.

'It's nothing big, dear... As long as you apologize and promise to never do that again so close to anypony's home,' Rarity proposes.

'This is getting better and better!' Rainbow Dash yells angry. 'I haven't even preformed a Sonic Rainboom today! I'm NOT going to apologize for something I haven't done! And I should take this from you, "miss high-and-mighty"?!'

'Yes, you should just accept your mistakes and make amends!' Rarity yells back.

'You couldn't be more right, Rarity,' Fluttershy backs her up, only to use it against her.

'Ah Hay! I wasn't even around Ponyville, you stuck-up egotists! I WAS flying around Sweet Apple Acres, until I got HIT by a rain of apples!' she yells angry and turns around to Applejack. 'And there's only one pony I know that could've done that!'

'You were at Sweet Apple Acres?!' Applejack asks her, starting to feel like accusing Rainbow Dash for the fire as well.

'Don't play dumb with me, cowgirl! You were there all the time!' Rainbow Dash points out to prove her point.

'Yes. And I found somethin' interesting too. Twilight?,' Applejack attempts to get Twilight's attention from her confrontation with Pinkie Pie.

'Applejack?...,' Twilight responds.

'Would you happen to have an explaination for "this"?' she asks as she drops the roasted spellbook on the ground before Twilight.

Twilight is surprised to recognize the book. It's the book that she was missing in the library.

'How-How did you get this?' she asks.

'So it's truly yers, eh? Would you mind explainin' why I found it flipped open on spells about fireworks, in the middle of a fire in the orchard?!' she asks her with a raised tone.

'I have no idea! Would YOU mind explaining ME what my book was doing in Sweet Apple Acres in the first place?!' she yells, blaming her back for thievery.

Their accusations are turning all the mares extremely hostile to each other, enflaming everypony's hatred. Becoming more aggrevated and insulted by the second, they start to indiscriminitly accuse every pony for their ill luck.

'Burning a quarter of Apple Acres is one thing... But running away and pretendin' that your nose is bleedin' is another, "partner"!' Applejack grunts.

'You call me a liar, Applejack?!'

'Well ah sure ain't calling you a saint, bookworm!"

'What about Rainbow Dash?! She was around Sweet Apple Acres too!'

'WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash rages, feeling like she's backstabbed by Twilight in order to save her own skin. 'You're the only pony who can make magic like that! If somepony caused a fire, it's you! ...Or Rarity.'

'I've heard enough of this nonsense!' Rarity yells in anger.

'You crushed my friends' homes!'

'You got me banished from the Sugercube Corner!'

'You wrecked the library!'

'You burned down the orchard!'

'You threw apples at me!'

'You ruined my windows!'

'OK! THAT'S IT!' Twilight screams in fury, overpowering all the other voices. 'I have accepted a lot of differences between us... I have done my best to show my best side, like you all did... But if this is how my friends truly are... THEN I'M BETTER OFF ON MY OWN!'

'I AGREE!' they all yell.

They turn around and move away in siex different directions, dooming the wonderful friendship they have shared. Once known as the Mane Six; heroines of Equestria sharing an eternal bond of friendship, now on the brink of hating each other for good.

The four little ponies look in amazement about what just transpired here, unable to grasp what happened in front of their innocent eyes.

'Are-Are they mad at each other?' Applebloom asks her friends.

Scootaloo nods slowly. 'I'm pretty sure they are...'

'Applebloom, come over here!' Applejack calls for her sister.

The filly hurries to her side, curious about what is going on. 'What is it, big sis?'

'We're going home. Come along,' she tells her.

'Already? But-But I was still playing with my friends. And we still haven't found Dusty's bro-' she tries to explains, but gets interrupted.

'No, Applebloom. You're coming along right now! I don't want ya' to be with little troublemakers that make your brain rot away anymore!' she orders her.

Applebloom is scared of what she just heard. She isn't allowed to be with her friends anymore? She tries to protest, but Applejack ignores her completely.

'Wh-What about the barrel? I haven't gotten it yet! If you let me go with my friends, we will-' Applebloom tries to find excuses, but stops mid-sentences when she realizes that Applejack has already stopped listening to her.

The others are forced to see at how Applebloom is forced to bid them farewell for an unknown length of time. Why is their friendship suffering because of theirs?

'Sweetie Bell, hurry on now,' Rarity calls out to her sister as well.

The three remaining friends are afraid that she gets the same treatment as Applebloom; forced to leave her friends.

'Wh-What is it, Rarity?' the filly asks carefully.

'We shall head home together,' she orders, just like Applejack.

But Sweetie Bell backs away a bit, scared that she has to say goodbye to her friends too.

'B-But Rarity, we're having fun! Please don't make me lose them!' Sweetie Bell begs her sister.

'Oh, dear Sweetie Bell. Trust your big sister when I say that It's simply for your own good. If there's something I've learned today, it's that friends tend to betray you eventually. I won't let that happen to my little sister,' she explains and pushes her forward.

'but-but-but...,' Sweetie Bell stutters.

All that remains are two pegasi: good friend Scootaloo and newcomer Dusty Gust. They are forced to see their two friends being pushed away with their sisters, while the other four mares are also leaving the square in fury. It all seems so terribly unfair to them.

'...What just happened?' Dusty asks confused.

'Is our friendship over? Just like that?' Scootaloo wonders fearfully. How can she be part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders if the other two crusaders are gone! 'Is it all to end like this? Just because bigger sisters say so?! Is it OVER?!'

Dusty Gust looks at Scootaloo, realizing how scared she actually is. Her friendship with Applebloom and Sweetie Bell seems to be more precious to her than he realized. He takes a deep breath and calms down.

'No...,' Dusty grunts. 'It isn't over.'

Scootaloo looks surprised up at the colt. Dusty sounds different than before. His voice sounds strong. Very strong. Strong enough to make her believe that he's right.

'Not as long as we have something to say about it! I may not be friends with you for long, but I still won't let others decide who can be friends and who can't!' the colt promises with all honesty. 'My brother wouldn't let others pick on the "lower class", and neither will I!'

Scootaloo smiles when she hears that challenge. The way Dusty promises to keep the CMC together sounds like music to her ears.

'What do you say, Scootaloo? What do you think about "Operation: Cutie Mark Crusaders Liberation"?' he asks with a smile.

***

'Bunch of mad, malicious, moronic, monsterous mares!' the purple unicorn grunts in anger. 'How dare they accuse me of crimes, while THEY are the ones that always cause trouble!'

Twilight talks to herself, while moving through the streets. Several ponies that pass by look surprised up at the furious mare, and avoid her when they happen to be in her path. Twilight doesn't care at all. She is enraged enough to ignore everypony else and wallow in her own hatred.

But she does look up when he eye catches a glimpse of a noticeable pony; A mare in a dark-grey cloak.

'Hey, Zecora,' Twilight greets the approaching pony.

But when they get close, the pony simply walks past her and grunts.

'Oh, wrong mare I suppose,' she mumbles, and proceeds to walk to the library. 'Stuck-up, annoying, noisy...'

With a slam, Twilight throws the door open. She walks inside with angry hoofsteps and talks to herself again.

'Ugh, I can't believe them! What kind of friends would accuse each other without real proof!' she yells angry and drops the roasted book on the table with all her strength. 'I don't even know why I was friends with them in the first place! I was doing just fine without them in Canterlot, I thought they were a bunch of madmares from the start, and I bet I can be perfectly on my own still! What do you think, Spike?' she asks up the stairs.

No response comes from the upper floor. Twilight calms her anger when she realizes that Spike has been gone for an awfully long time now. 'S-Spike? Are you there?' she asks. When no response is given again, Twilight hurries upstairs.

The rooms are empty of any life. The only living thing is, Owlowiscious, her pet owl. Of course, she can't ask him if he saw her draconic assistant. Twilight loses all her anger in that moment that she realized that something may have happened to him. Depeseratly, Twilight starts to search every corner in the library. whether it's to find Spike, or a clue of his whereabouts, the mare wants to learn SOMEHOW that Spike is alright. But her endevours are in vain...

The last true friend she has left is missing!

Cold as ice

Chapter 3 - Cold as ice

Today is a dark day in Twilight's life. She has lost her best friends in such a short, near impossible time. And the dragon, with who'm she's been since she was a filly, is nowhere to be found, without a trace. Nervous for his safety, Twilight ponders deep in herself about what she's supposed to do now.

'M-Maybe I'm overreacting...,' Twilight tells herself as she moves stressfully through the room. 'Maybe he's just hanging around somewhere, didn't expect he would stay away this long, and will be back later today.'

'But..., what if he's in serious trouble? Even Spike would atleast consider possible delays and write a note just to be sure!' she contradicts herself. 'Maybe he ran away! Or maybe he's stuck somewhere and begs for my help at this specific time! Or worse: Maybe he's been dragonapped!' Twilight shivers worried.

Unable to think of any reason, Twilight decides to take "certain" over "uncertain." 'M-Maybe i should check around Ponyville..., just in case,' she decides and walks downstairs again.

When she opens the door to go outside, Twilight closes her eyes when a strong wind blows through the door porch. It's amazing, due the surprisingly low temperature of the wind.

'What in Celestia? -Brrr- Who turned the sun off?' she shudders from the cold wind that flow over her skin.

Something really strange is going on. It was atleast 18 degrees a moment ago. It must have atleast dropped 15 degrees in a matter of minutes! Witnessing the drastic changes to the enviroment, the climate has turned into something like Fall! The temperature has dropped abnormally rapid, causing the birds to leave Ponyville much earlier than normally. And even the leafs have already started to change, coloring the trees auntumn-red. What happened to the warm summer?

'I-I need Spike. I won't be able to do anything about this now,' Twilight tells herself, ignoring the unnatural cold in order to focus on her lost friend.

The mare hurries to the town square, hoping to either find Spike walking around the stores, or find somepony who has seen him today. It feels uneasy to return to the town square, only about 30 minutes after the fight she had that broke her friendship apart, but Spike's safety is above her personal feelings!

***

Entering the square, Twilight sees that several ponies are busy. For some reason, some workcolts have fenced off the center of the square, creating a pile of wood. Multiple ponies have gathered around to see it. Curiously, Twilight takes a moment of her time to walk up to the brown stallion that's in charge.

'Eh, excuse me,' she speaks, trying to catch his attention.

'Eh? Who?' he looks a little surprised behind him, realizing it was Twilight. 'Oh, hello miss. Is there a problem?'

Twilight nods. 'If I'm not wasting your time, I actually just wanted to ask what is going on here. Why are you making a pile of wood here?'

The stallion smiles, understanding her surprise. 'You're not the first one that asks. It's an emergency call from the Major.'

Twilight looks surprised. What emergency is he talking about?

'This strange dropping of temperature is definitly unnatural, she claimed. We were asked a few minutes ago to prepare a bonfire here for extra heat to the citizens during the evening,' he explains to her.

Twilight looks surprised. She admits that it's something that has probably never happened before, but is it truly worth such hasty decisions?

'A bonfire for a sudden freak of nature? Isn't that a little exaggerated?' she asks out loud.

The stallion shrugs. 'The Major's orders, miss. She believes that the situation may only worsen. I only listen and act to the orders.'

The stallion returns back to his business when he realizes that Twilight has already stopped paying attention. Her little chat is wasting more of hers, and maybe Spike's time as well. But the crowd that got attracted by the bonfire preperations, is an easy way to ask many ponies quickly if they've seen anything suspicious. From the crowd that looks at the project, she recognizes two little colts who may be able to help her; Snips and Snails!

'Snips! Snails!' Twilight calls out to them.

Snails looks up, realizing he was called upon by Twilight. He quickly pokes Snips, who also notices Twilight's presence. But instead of heading towards her, they start to act like they didn't notice her and walk away!

'Snips, Snails!' she yells again to the colts, believing that they may not have heard her. When she attempts to catch up to them, they try to hurry away quicker. But their little legs are not able to outrun Twilight, being caught up quickly by the unicorn mare. Twilight runs in front of them, preventing exit.

'Boys. Have you seen Spike anywhere?' she asks with her hopes up. 'You spend time with him sometimes. Have either of you seen him today?'

Snails smiles oddly, as if he's forcing himself to look "normal". 'Eh, no, Twilight. We didn't see anypony,' he grins.

'N-Nopony at all!' Snips stutter suspicious along with his friend.

Twilight raises an eyebrow, easily noticing their odd behavior. Snips and Snails always were odd colts with the best intentions, but their timing now is TOO suspicious.

'Are you hiding something?' she asks them calmly.

Snails starts to break a sweat and shakes his head excessively. 'N-No, not at all! Why would we want to hide anything?'

When they believe that their efforts are not fooling her, they start to grow anxious to leave. 'A-Anyway, Twilight, we REALLY gotta go now,' he hastily responds.

"Yes!" Snips agrees. 'We're getting away from the cold quickly! This place ain't getting safer!'

Before Twilight could ask them what they're planning to do, or even ask them about the strange cold that forces them to leave, the two colts rush off in two different directions around Twilight, quickly dissapearing in the closest alley. The mare sighs a visible cloud of breath out, floating along the cold breeze that remains alongside Twilight.

The colts are not the only ones to leave, to Twilight's surprise. When she looks around, she notices how there are more ponies in a hurry like Snips and Snails. They all seem busy with packing stuff, as if they're off for a trip. It's like half of Ponyville is leaving. Even a recognizable couple, who are always eager to work in their shop, have packed their things and prepare to leave the town.

'Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Where are you going?' Twilight asks surprised to the couple that walks past her, pulling a cart with supplies.

'Oh! T-Twilight Sparkle,' the couple notice surprised. 'N-Nothing at all! We're just off to....to....a vacation!'

The mare looks nearly staggered at the couple. 'Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Vacation? Since when?' she wonders in her head. 'This is even more abnormal than this weather!'

Twilight shakes her head in confusion. 'But what about the Sugercube Corner? I thought you were still fixing the place from... Pinkie's rampage?' she asks them.

The couple looks at each other for an answer to Twilight's questions, unable to give a clear answer right away. Mrs. Cake starts to choke on her words.

'Eh..., well..., after giving some thought, we...we admitted that we may have been a little too harsh to Pinkie Pie. We're absolutely sure that she would never cause such a devestation to the store!'

'But... only today you thought that she-' Twilight speaks.

'We have learned that we were dead wrong, ok?' Mrs. Cake whispers. 'We trust that Pinkie Pie can take care of Sugercube Corner while we're gone.'

'But... Where ARE you going?' Twilight asks, only too late.

The Cakes ignore Twilight's furhter questions and hurry off. They are remarkably fast, considering their conditions.

'Uhum...,' somepony coughs from the Sugercube Corner, catching the unicorn's attention.

Twilight looks to the entrance, noticing the pink pony that glares at her from the porch. Even after making eyecontact, Pinkie Pie remains quiet and glares. Obviously, she hasn't forgiven Twilight for her accusations yet.

It actually scares Twilight a little, noticing that the mare isn't even blinking during her stare. Without a word spoken, Twilight turns around and walks away. She wouldn't even know what to say to Pinkie Pie right now. Like Mr. and Mrs. Cake claim that they have judged too hastily, could it have been that she judged Pinkie Pie too quickly as well?

***

'Have you seen Spike, sir?' Twilight asks random ponies in the town square again. 'He's a purple dragon. A head smaller than me, and walks on two legs.'

None of the ponies that Twilight encounters give a promising answer. In fact: Most ponies only shake their heads and proceed to walk away from her. In the worst cases; Some ponies see Twilight and immidiatly turn around!

'What in Pony's name is this all about?!' Twilight thinks in herself. 'Why is everypony avoiding me today?!'

Twilight stomps with a fronthoof on the ground out of anger, irritated that nopony is helping her in the hour of need.

'I bet this is the girls' doing... I bet they're turning everypony against me out of revenge!' Twilight grunts.

She truly wishes to be able to believe that. But deep inside her head; she knows that they wouldn't do that, even if they do have a grudge for each other. Twilight walks on through the quiet alleys of Ponyville, shiver by the cold from hooves to head. And yet, her sadness surpress any form of reaction to it.

'I can't even return to Canterlot as long as Spike is missing...,' she sighs. 'What would Princess Celestia do?'

Just when she is about to walk out of the town square, she makes eyecontact with a familiar mare who was looking at the bonfire preperations: Rarity.

When they both notice each other, they both quickly look away. The last thing they want is another confrontation.

'Rarity...,' Twilight mumbles indifferent. Yet, it makes her thinking, 'Could Rarity possibly help her? Spike always had a crush on Rarity. Maybe he gave her atleast a clue of where he is?'

She wants to ask Rarity if she saw him somewhere, or has even the slightest track of him. But she would ask something like that as if they are still friends, which Twilight can't picture right now. Should she act like the adult and try to make amends? For Spike's sake?

Twilight looks back up and walks to the pretty mare. Rarity is surprised when Twilight has the courage to walk up to her, wondering what she should do.

Twilight takes a deep breath, preparing to discuss with her new "enemy" as peaceful as she can. 'Rarity, I know there we're not on the best of terms. But I just wanted to-' Twilight speaks to her calmly.

But before she could finish her sentence, Twilight is suddenly struck by something hard on the back of her head.

'OW!' she gasps. Turning around, Twilight quickly noticies the culprit; a blue mare, flying over a barrel with apples, a few meters away from her.

'Oops, sorry Twilight,' Rainbow Dash apoligizes sarcastically. 'It slipped right through my hooves.'

'Rainbow Dash! What do think you're doing!' Twilight asks provoked.

The pegasus shrugs. 'Doing what?' she chuckles and throws another apple at her.

'Ouch!' Twilight grunts after being hit on her head. 'Do that again! I DARE you to try that again!'

Rainbow Dash takes the challenge and simply throws another apple from the barrel below her. Flying through the air, Rainbow Dash eagerly waits for the moment of impact. But just when it is about to strike on Twilight's head, the apple halts in mid-air.

Rainbow Dash looks surprised that her throw ends so suddenly, realizing that Twilight has caught it with her unicorn magic. But before the pegasus could react, it was already too late. Twilight fires the apple back with a burst of magic, aimed for Rainbow Dash' face.

'Ack!' the pegasus cries out in pain as the apple explodes, covering her mane under applejuice.

Rainbow Dash looks furious out of her eyes. Even more when she notices the smirk of satisfaction on Twilight's face.

'You want to fight? You get a fight!' the flying mare yells angry, and dives to the barrel to grab as many apples as she can carry with her hooves. A foodfight has unchained between the pegasus and the unicorn. Twilight manages to catch several apples with her magic and throw them back. But Rainbow Dash is able to avoid all of Twilight's throws with her speed and flight. It's a pointless battle without winners or losers.

'Ugh. Barbarians...,' Rarity sighs disgusted at the fighting mares. She has seen enough and walks away from them, heading back to the Carousel Botique.

Twilight doesn't notice it, being too focused in her fight instead.

Their brawl continues. Though neither of them is getting hit, they keep throwing apples at each other with all their strength. The barrel is half empty when they're suddenly startled by a yell directed to them.

'Hey! Enough of that!' the Earth Pony mare yells angry.

It was Applejack, obvious owner of the apples and the barrel that Rainbow Dash has been using this whole time.

'Rainbow! Twilight! Have you two not caused enough trouble in Ponyville yet?!' she asks angry.

'Why don't you tell me, cowgirl,' Rainbow Dash grunts and throws an apple in Applejack's direction. Applejack ducks, having anticipated Rainbow's response.

'First you try to burn Sweet Apple Acres down, and now you will throw apples at me?!'

'Eye for an eye, Applejack!' Rainbow Dash chuckles and pulls one of her eyelids down with a hoof and sticks her tongue out as insult.

Twilight is also pumped for a fight again, thanks to Rainbow's provocation a moment ago. The blame for Sweet Apple Acres' fire is still a sensitive subject to Twilight, making her feel angry by hearing the accusations again from Applejack.

Without much thought, she throws the last apple she held at Applejack, launching it off with all the magic strength she can possibly use for this. the Earth Pony has no time to react to Twilight's surprise attack, and receives the blow right in her face. Now, like Rainbow Dash, her face is covered in applejuice.

'No one calls me a criminal for something I haven't done!' Twilight yells angry and turns around to walk away.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash both look surprised at Twilight. They knew they had bad blood between them now, but they never would've expected TWILIGHT to pick a fight with Applejack! They are left behind, exhausted and confused. Twilight's outburst has brought questionmarks to the mares' reasons of bullying. Are they all at wrong here?

'Anyway... Rarity-' Twilight wants to proceed where she stopped. But she quickly realizes that Rarity has already left. Twilight didn't see that one coming, feeling a little grumpy at how bad luck keeps chasing her all the time.

'Ugh... Fine. I don't need any of you three to find Spike,' the mare mutters childish.

***

Getting slowly desperate to find Spike as quick as possible, Twilight thinks of the mare she has the least troubles with. She knows how friendly and calm Fluttershy is, hoping to be able to count support from her.

Twilight walks out of Ponyville and heads over to Fluttershy's house, which has already gotten a coat of white frost on the roof. Knowing Fluttershy well enough, Twilight moves to the backyard, discovering the pegasus mare fixing the chickenpen up for a winter.

'Ehum,' Twilight coughs, attempting to catch the attention of Fluttershy.

Fluttershy looks up surprised over her shoulder. When she realizes that it was Twilight, she looks back at the chicken pen.

'...Hey, Twilight,' she mumbles sad, with her back turned to her.

Twilight feels uncomfortable, due to how distant Fluttershy is acting to her. The pegasus has definitly not forgotten their fight already.

'H-How are you doing?' Twilight asks.

'I'm ok...,' Fluttershy mumbles, not looking back.

'I -eh- know that we haven't been on best of terms today...' Twilight tries to sweet-talk Fluttershy out of her resentment, but stops when Fluttershy raises a hoof out to her.

'No, Twilight... Please, I-I really don't feel like talking to any of you right now,' she sighs sad.

The purple unicorn understands how confused Fluttershy must be. She always had trouble making friends, other than the critters. It must've been heartbreaking to her when all her friends are suddenly fighting with each other. But still, Twilight MUST find Spike quickly!

'C'mon, Fluttershy! You of all ponies should know better! Do you really think I would be capable of something as terrible like that?'

'All I know is that you all blamed each other so easily, even though we've been best friends for so long... I was certain of our friendships, until I saw how crude you could be...,' she sighs as she slams a plank on the roof of the chickenpen. 'I'm sorry, Twilight. I-I just can't forget how you all yelled to each other. How you all yelled to me... I-Could you please just go now, please?'

Twilight wants to respond to her, but has no words to use. She knows that Fluttershy is absolutely right; They all acted like monsters to each other, herself included. They haven't even gone easy on Fluttershy, even though they KNEW how sensitive she is to confrontations.

'Alright... I'll go...,' the unicorn sighs. Twilight turns around to walk away, buts waits a moment for a possible response from Fluttershy. But when she looks over her shoulder at the pegasus, who continues to mind her own business, she walks away.

For a moment, Fluttershy turns around to look at her former friend, longing for the days before their fight today. In all honesty; Fluttershy misses her friends very much.

***

Night starts to fall; decorating the dark sky with many stars, and pushing the sun behind the horizon. Twilight walks back into Ponyville, completely broken by all the events. The chill in the air has lowered even more by the nightfall, but she doesn't care at all. Twilight's sadness shields her from any chill, making her invulnerable from anything that could cheer her up as well. She has lost her friends in a flash, been accused of crimes she didn't commit by her friends, and faced the reality of how cruel she and the others have been to the most innocent mare of them all. But the greatest burden on her head remains to be the wellfare of Spike.

'Oh Spike... Where in Equestria are you...,' Twilight sighs. 'I've sought everywhere in Ponyville, I have asked anypony possible, I've done everything in my power to find even a trace of you...'

The burden of loss starts to take its toll on Twilight. Never in her entire life has she felt this alone. Her eyes turn wet from tears. Her heart aches so much from worry and despair.

'I can't ask the others for help, I can't find any answer in a book, I can't even return a letter to Princess Celestia without your help!' she sniffs. 'What am I supposed to do?'

Twilight knows how much attention she is drawing, even if all the other ponies are in a hurry themselves. Noticing the citizens around her, Twilight has a need for solitude. For some peace and quiet, Twilight hurries into the small alleys of Ponyville, used mostly for stacking supplies rather than serving as a passage for ponies. But for now; it's a good place for Twilight to let the tears flow, liberating her from the pain a little bit.

'Rarity and Fluttershy don't want to see me, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are fighting me, and Pinkie Pie hates me! I-I just don't know it anymore,' she cries desperate. 'Spike... Wherever you are, I hope that you're alright. There's nothing I value more now than your-'

'-YOUR SAFETY!' a voice yells from the alley that Twilight approaches.

Surprised, Twilight looks up, not expecting any other pony to be in these alleys. She quickly dries her tears and moves to the wall before she could be discovered, and hides behind a large box that stands on the ground before her. Curiously, she peeks around the corner into the dead-end, witnessing a secret meeting between a cloaked stranger and two mares from Ponyville.

The dark pony, covered under a brown ragged cloak, speaks to two mares. The stranger's clothing is torn on several rims and is dirty from both mud and water. His face remains concealed by his hood, giving Twilight an intimidated feeling. This pony has definitly been to some dangerous places, considering his condition.

Twilight recognizes the mares as Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon, noticably intimidated by the figure. They cower together, trembling in fear. Clearly, this conversation is not meant to anypony else's ears but theirs.

'What in the hay is this...,' Twilight whispers.

'So, I suggest you leave while you still can. Understood?' the hooded pony commands them.

He is a bit taller than Lyra, Bon-bon, or Twilight, and his voice is deeper. It is definitely a stallion beneath those dark robes.

'We get it, we get it!' they whisper frightened to him.

The stranger nods. 'Good... And don't speak a word of this conversation to anypony else! I will make sure of that myself,' he tells them and directs them towards the exit with his hoof, pointing to where Twilight is hiding. 'Now, get out of my sight...'

The two mares take not a second longer and hurry out of the alley. Twillight ducks behind the large box when the mares pass by, waiting until they are far enough. When Lyra and Bon Bon are out sight, she dares to spy further on the terrible stranger.

'Just a few more...,' he mumbles to himself. 'How are you holding out?'

'He got me!' Twilight gasps quietly.

She ducks away behind the wall, afraid that the stallion has noticed her this whole time. But when a few moment have passed, Twilight peeks around the corner again, noticing that the stranger is looking in a completely different direction than hers.

'Is he talking to himself?' Twilight wonders in her head.

'Just the same,' a mare's voice suddenly sighs out of nowhere. 'Convincing the ponies of ponyville incognito really makes things harder.'

Twilight realizes that the voice came from the shadows, dark enough for a mare, who is camophlaged by her dark-grey cloak. To Twilight's surprise, It's the same mare that she mistook for Zecora today, right after her fight with the others!

The male grunts in agreement. 'If they want what's best for Ponyville, they better do what we suggest.'

'Mhm. Canterlot is the only safe haven against this winter. With all ponies in all of Equestria covering from the coming storm there, we have the battlefield all to ourselves.' she agrees to him. 'Which brings me to the following question about your plan: What about Twilight Sparkle? The Mane Six' friendship has been broken. No doubt she will suspect something is going on...'

Twilight is surprised to hear her name. These two strangers know her? They know her fight with the other mares? Who in Celestia's name are they?!

The stallion quietly listens, while the mare continues to speak. 'Adding the fact that it's freezing in the middle of summer... Who knows when she'll figure us out?'

'...I know, I know,' he responds moody. 'Their friendship was the first target, and now it's Ponyville itself. But MARK-MY-WORDS: Their friendship may be broken, but it isn't lost...'

The mare nods again. They both have no clue that their entire conversation is heard crystal clear by Twilight, who continues to spy in amazement.

'Every possible pony hiding in Canterlot? The place must be crowded already! What does Princess Celestia have to say to this?' Twilight ponders. 'And why am I involved?'

The stallion continues. 'And about Twilight herself: ...We'll keep her in the dark just a little longer. She can't know about Spike just yet...'

A world of realization opens up to the unicorn mare. Twilight is utterly shocked! No doubt about it: These two are the dragonappers that she feared for!

'Let's head out. All the ponies in Ponyville will soon be gone from here as well. It's high time that we proceed to phase #3,' he orders to his companion, ready to leave together.

'HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!' Twilight yells angry, and jumps into the only way out. She ends her cover and is ready to face the challenge with the two conspirators.

The stallion and the mare are struck by surprise. They turn around to see where the noise came from, only to see a furious Twilight Sparkle in their sight.

'Twilight Sparkle!' they gasp together.

Without taking a second longer, the mare stretches a pair of wings from under her grim-grey robe and takes off into the nightsky, vanishing from sight. Twilight has no choice but to stay on the ground, while one of the culprits is escaping. When she looks down to the ground at the stallion, she gets pushed aside by him against the big box.

'Stay out of this, Sparkle!' he tells her and hurries off into the alleys.

The stallion seems to be no Pegasus, making him a better target to catch. Twilight quickly jumps back up on her hooves.

'H-Hold it!' Twilight coughs and gallops after him.

Though their heated chase goes through the multiple empty alleys in Ponyville, it feels more like a labyrinth to them now. Twilight has to keep up, or she could easily lose the kidnapper in a second.

The chased stallion desperately throws boxes and barrels that stand in several alleys on the ground, trying to slow his pursuer down. But Twilight is pumped of adrenaline by her urgency to rescue Spike, jumping over them, blowing them out of the way with magic, or sometimes even bashes through with her horn. She won't stop at nothing to catch the villain. Twilight has never felt this furious before in her entire life.

'I demand you give Spike back!' she yells at him.

The stallion doesn't pay any attention to her, proceeding to throw trash at her.

When Twilight starts to lift up some crates herself with magic and throw them towards him, the mysterious stallion knows that he can't keep this up against her. In a desperate attempt, the stranger goes into the Town Square. Twilight figures he made a big mistake: The town square is an open place, without any places to hide.

'Oh no...,' Twilight sighs when she ends her chase at the entrance of the square. 'The bonfire!'

Twilight stands defeated, looking at all the citizens that have come here to warm at the flaming pile of wood in the freezing night air. The culprit has mingled in with the enormous crowd before her.

Normally, Twilight would come to the simple scientific conclusion that finding this one pony now is an impossibility. But she has no choice. She HAS to catch that one pony no matter what. So she starts to move through the crowd, looking for the brown ragged cloak.

'If I were a black-hearted kidnapper of dragons... where would I hide?' she thinks to herself, trying to slim down the possible hiding spots.

She arrives at the fire, giving her a warm feeling on her purple skin. The waving yellow flames enlighten the area, showing many faces of ponies that feel ill by the sudden cold, or have fallen asleep by the warmth of a group they're in. Twilight gives another peek through the crowd, looking past the many ponies... A suspicious red color from the corner of her eyesight catches her attention: A robe that is noticable by the glow of the flames, trying to hide behind two random ponies.

'There he is!' Twilight gasps.

As soon as the stranger realizes that Twilight has spotted him, he makes break for it to the exit of the square.

'Got you now!' Twilight gasps with empty lungs, hurrying after him.

Twilight bashes through the crowd, pushing several ponies crudely aside. She can't be careful or slow down, or she will lose this creep again: Something she CAN'T afford. He runs back into the alleys, with Twilight hot on his hooves again. But this time luck is in Twilight's favor. The stranger has ran into a dead end, making it impossible for him to get past Twilight this time. When she turns around the corner to block the exit off, she looks at how the stallion makes a desperate attempt to climb on a roof, by using a pile of boxes that are stacked up here.

'Oh no you don't!' Twilight yells.

Without hesitation, Twilight plunges herself into the boxes, making the pile crash down on top of her. The stallion can't remain stable anymore and falls down, just before he got to get a hold on the roof. With a crash, the stranger falls into the boxes, dazed by the amazing shake that even reaches his head.

'Ugh! D-Darn it...,' he gasps dizzy as he stumbles out of the trash. The sprint and the fall has left him with no energy to make another escape attempt. He feels as weak as a stick right now.

'YAAAAH' Twilight screams as she charges out of the pile, throwing herself against the stallion's back. Before he could regain his balance again, Twilight jumps back up and presses her front hooves on top of him. Panting from the exhausting event, Twilight looks at the shrouded face of the crook.

'Now, SPEAK UP! What did you do with Spike?!' she bellows at him while pushing him to the ground.

He remains quiet, keeping his face cast under the shadows of his cloak. Without any attempt to free himself, he simply stares up at the furious face of Twilight Sparkle.

'I said speak up!' Twilight yells again and pushes her hooves onto his stomache. But aside from a few grunts of pain, the stallion gives no response.

'He is not the one you seek for, Twilight Sparkle,' a voice speaks behind her. 'He is not your enemy.'

The grey-cloaked mare has decended from the sky and dares to approach Twilight now that the stallion has been beaten. Keeping a distance of a few meters from the two ponies, the mare remains calm.

'Oh yea? And why should I trust you?! You work with him!' Twilight yells at her.

The mare shakes her head. 'I may be allied with him, but only because of good reasons. And you will understand too, once you look beneath the shadow. Can't you recognize an old friend?'

Twilight has no idea what the mare is talking about. She looks back at the stallion, unable to recognize him with his hood on. When Twilight shoves it off with a hoof, she gasps in unbelievable surprise. With one of her hooves still pressing onto him, Twilight looks in disbelieve at the red stallion, with a unicorn horn sticking out of his dark unbrushed mane. His emerald-green eyes stare in a same surprised way like Twilight's do right now. Even though he has bags under his eyes of tiredness and has a grimmer skin than she can recall, the stallion is still completely recognizable to her.

'...Hello, Twilight,' he softly whispers to her.

'S-Spectrum Brush?' Twilight whispers.

Spectrum Brush, a painter who travelled all over Equestria, before he moved to the Ponyville Gallery, months ago. After becoming friends with Twilight, getting corrupted by the Harbringer of Hatred, Lord Ignis, and harming Princess Celestia in the process, he left in sorrow over his uncontrolled deeds. In an attempt to redeem himself to himself and everypony, he lost all of his emotions and moved in solitude to recover his pride.

And now, he has returned.

'Brush? Is that really you?' Twilight whispers with disbelieve, and jumps off of him.

Slowly, the red stallion stands back up and nods at her.

'The one and only, Twilight...,' Brush grunts.

Brush seems to be different than how Twilight remembers him. He used to be a gentle and bashful stallion, wanting nothing but to make true friends. But when she looks at him now, she realizes he is different beside his looks.

'Brush, what happened to you? Where have you been all these months? All the ponies in Ponyville were worried about you! I was worried about you!' she tells him.

'Hm,' he shrugs. 'You all wasted your time then. I just needed some time alone; Fixing some damage...'

'What do you mean? You said that you would set your problems straight. Just what have you been doing exactly?' she asks further.

'That's my business, Twilight,' he bluntly tells to his friend. 'You weren't even supposed to find me yet. I have not solved the crisis at hoof yet.'

Twilight shakes her head in disregard. Brush seems to have gotten involved in things that are beyond him! He never truly had to do anything to set things right.

'Crisis? Do you know what is going on here?!' she asks in realization of Brush's involvement.

Brush only sighs. 'I've said too much already. If you don't mind, I will be on my way now,' he tells her as he tries to walk past her.

But Twilight quickly jumps in his way again, having no intensions of letting him off the hook yet. Brush remains in the dead-end, with his companion only watching at how Twilight and Brush are coonfronting each other.

'Twilight? What do you think you're doing?' he asks calmly.

The mare feels far from friendly to Brush at the moment. Now that she lost all her friends, she will not be denied by the final friend she feels like she has left.

'Fine by me if you want to keep your stories to yourself, but you know more about this weather than you're letting out! For instance; What is up with the conversations?'

'You meant like the one I had just now? I simply gave them some... safety guidelines,' he shrugs. 'I was only telling them the best thing to do now.'

Twilight frowns by Brush's crude remark. 'Guidelines? It sounded more like you threatened them!'

'Well, probably because you didn't hear the whole story. Wouldn't you doubt to believe me when I would say something unbelieveable, like that "the Great Blizzard is returning" or something as crazy like that?'

'True...,' Twilight nods. 'But then what DID you tell them?'

'Just that they're better off in a place than Ponyville. I swear that that is all,' he tells her, and stares deep in her eyes.

'Don't you lie to me, Brush!' Twilight sniffs disappointed. 'Why are you sending everypony to Canterlot? You know where Spike is! Just tell me everything! NOW!'

Brush remains silent. Possibly he's staggered by Twilight's desperate attempt to get the information she longs for. He has to swallow before he can answer to her again.

'...Sorry, Twilight... It's not your business...'

Twilight is frozen by astonishment. Brush was a friend once. He was a stallion with a heart of gold and adored their new friendship from day one. What has gotten into him to act so distant from Twilight now?

'...What did you just say? ...Spike is missing... and you say it's not my business? ...Why would you keep a terrible secret like that from me? ...WHAT KIND OF A FRIEND WOULD DO THAT?!' she yells in anger at the stallion, moving her face close to his in an attempt to intimidate him.

But Brush gives no reaction to it, proceeding to look straight to her face.

'...Should I honestly feel guilty, hearing that from one of the six friends that all blamed each other from things that were never proven?' he mocks her.

Twilight can't believe her ears. Brush knows about the fight. But how MUCH does he know?

'How did you know... Are you responsible for all that?!' she yells at him again. Losing control over her own actions, she furiously pushes Brush into the pile of boxes again. With a crash and a grunt, the red stallion falls in the middle of the pile.

Brush grunts again and shakes his head, trying to pull himself out of the boxes. He looks back up at Twilight, who is slowly walking towards him with a rage that can even be read from her face.

'If I must risk our friendship for the greater good..., then so be it,' he sighs.

'I'm warning you, Brush!' she threatens him and points her horn near his face, making it glow by her powerful magic. Brush backs his head away from the threatening magical unicorn horn of her, but gives no sign of surprise to her threats as well.

The cloaked mare that stands by is simply watching at the fight between them, without the consideration to step in and end it.

'Is this how you welcome your old friends back to Ponyville, Twilight?' he asks, without a speck of fear.

'You said it yourself just now, that friendships can be a bargain in a risk... I saw how you talked to Lyra and Bon Bon just now. So I'm not entirely sure if I still WANT to be your friend! If you're not going to tell me willingly what you did with Spike, I will force it out of you!'

'And THEN what, huh?!' he starts to yell back at Twilight, silencing her by the surprising reaction. 'I will not let my plan be in vain! Not after all I went through to get this far! Will you let yourself succumb to hate and anger?! ARE YOU TRULY FOOLISH ENOUGH TO MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES AS I ONCE DID?!'

They're both at a loss of words now. Twilight is shocked to hear this coming from him, and Brush is breathing deeply from the adrenaline that runs through his veins from the rage. Twilight slowly pulls her horn away from Brush, knowing that she may have been a bit too hasty to act like this to him.

'I'm... sorry, Twilight,' Brush tells her, after calming down again. 'It's true; I know where Spike is. I am aware of my fiendish behavior, and your concerns. But believe me when I tell you; I have my reasons for not telling the truth to you YET.'

There is something strange about Brush' eyes. Twilight still tries to find the promising look in his eyes: The kind that gives you a warm and comfy feeling of that everything is going to work out well. But when she looks in those eyes now... she sees nothing. Not a single emotion can be drawn from his eyes and words. No happiness, sadness, or hatred. It's just like Zecora said: His emotions have suffered terrible under the past events. But she would've never guessed that it was this drastic!

'What has become of you, Brush?' she wonders in her head.

Their quarrel is interrupted by screams of fear, originating from the town square. In complete surprise; Twilight, Brush, and the mysterious mare look towards where the noise comes from, understanding that something bad is going on right now.

'Brush, we have a lead,' The cloaked mare tells to the stallion.

He nods at her and tries to walk past Twilight again, who remains in his way.

'Look, Twilight. We can continue with this argue anytime you like. But let's focus now on the more urgent matters, ok?' he convinces her.

Twilight sighs. She is far from done about talking with Brush, but she can't let that be reason to leave havoc go its way.

'Fine...,' she grunts, and she steps aside for him.

'Alright, Let's go,' Brush tells to both mares.

They run together through the alleys, making their way for the town square. Twilight follows him and forgets about the second fight with a friend she had today, focusing on the urgent matters ahead. She takes a quick look behind them, noticing the unknown mare that managed to escape with her pegasus wings, who is following them.

'Say, who's that actually?' Twilight asks Brush.

The stallion unicorn chuckles 'Heh, you don't know? I admit: it must've been a while since you two saw each other, but still-'

Brush stops talking when he notices a group of ponies ahead; A complete stampede of panicking ponies that run away from the square in great haste, scared off by something. They all run like their lifes depend on it, looking with widened eyes from fear.

'Out of the way!' Brush yells behind him to Twilight and his companion.

They push themselves against the walls of the buildings, allowing the group rush through.

'What in Celestia's name is going?!' Twilight gasps by the sight of half of Ponyville's citizens that leave the perimeter.

'I have a suspicion...,' Brush mumbles.

***

The three ponies arrive at the square, which is covered in a thick layer of snow. The rooftops are completely white, just like the streets. It's like there was a freak winter for a matter of seconds.

The fiery bonfire has been doused by the cold as well. Both the wood as the ashes are frozen in a coat of ice, making it very much clear that this is not an everyday winter. But nopony is here, other than Twilight, Brush, and the mare. The town square is empty.

'We're too late...,' Brush grunts. 'The creep has flown off already.'

Twilight steps forth and looks at the former bonfire. Remembering the talk she had with the stallion this afternoon, she starts to make a connection between Brush' knowledge and the Major's quick reaction.

'Brush,' she speaks to him. 'Was it thanks to you that the Major decided to organize a bonfire, before the cold even acted up?'

'Eh...,' Brush coughs and looks at his cloaked companion. 'Well, in a way, yes...'

'So... It was thanks to you that the remaining ponies in Ponyville would have a place to warm?' she deduces.

The stallion shrugs. 'I have no need for innocent victims,' Brush answers like he doesn't care.

It feels weird to Twilight. Brush seems like he went through a complete tranformation for the worse. But still, she shows that he uses his knowledge for good this one time. 'Who's side is he truly on?' Twilight wonders.

The purple mare looks back at the bonfire, noticing something odd about the display.

'Wait..., maybe there's a lead,' Twilight suspects when she looks closely at the frozen pile of wood.

Twilight moves forward into the abandoned square, pressing her nose right above the frozen lumber. The wood couldn't have been frozen by a sudden load off snow, because it's pure frost that covers it. It's as if the wood froze up, while ignoring the heat from the fire.

'Brush, this isn't ordinary cold. It's done by magic! Somepony is definitly responsible for this! Come over and check it out for yourself!'

'...Brush?' she asks and looks around, trying to face the red stallion. But no matter in which direction she looks into the square, Brush and his companion have vanished. The stallion and mare have left her when they had the chance, escaping from another confrontation with her.

It makes Twilight angry again. First a friend disappears without notice, five so-called friends accuse each other from several things, and now her lost friend turns out to be a jerk that keeps things from her. And in the meantime, SHE is supposed to fix everypony's troubles all the time?

"FINE! Run away! That's what you seem best at!" she yells, echoing throughout the empty town. 'I don't need you! I don't need any of you! I'm FINE on my own!'

Twilight breathes deeply, out of air due to her yelling. Despite her angry reaction, Twilight starts to realize how lonely she actually is. There's nopony at her side who she can trust. and in the meantime; Ponyville is under attack by a powerful phenomenon.

She has no choice but to solve it all by herself, though she would've prefered a friend at her side.

'I...don't need you.'

Winter at the frontdoor

Chapter 4 - Winter at the frontdoor

'I'll find that jerk... I'll find Spectrum Brush, even if I have to go to the end of the Equestria!' Twilight mumbles in anger.

She throws the door of the library open in anger, unable to act normal thanks to Brush' "betrayal". Requiring the stallion's information to discover her assistant's whereabouts, she is prepared to bring the fight to him if neccesary.

'Maybe I can deduce from what Brush has told me, of where he might be heading now?' Twilight ponders. 'He spoke to all possible ponies in Equestria, and then sent them off to Canterlot. But... why?' Twilight thinks up as she walks through her room. 'Well... he told that mare that they aren't done in Ponyville yet... So he should still be here! I can still catch up to him again!'

Even though it sounds good, she sighs dissapointed. 'But that won't change anything... Brush will just do the same thing. He'll keep his information to himself! What in pony's name has gotten into him to become like this?!'

'He used to be so nice... I barely got to truly know him, but I DO know that he wouldn't hurt a fly... Or would he?' she questions herself.

'Wait...,'

'Wouldn't you doubt to believe when I would say something like that the Great Blizzard is returning?' she repeats a sentence of Brush.

'Was that just an example or...' she figures. 'No... it can't be! The Great Blizzard was centuries ago!'

Unable to drop the possibility, Twilight starts to search through multiple books, all that has a chance to contain information about the history of the founding of Equestria. Her first glance lands on the history book itself, grabbing it and throwing it open on the first pages.

'The Great Blizzard: A happening before Equestria was founded. The Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth Ponies lived separated from each other, despised to each other -blablabla-. Their hatred for each other fed the phenomenons called Windigos, who caused an unending winter that scarred the food supplies of all three pony races -blablabla-. After the three parties abandoned their homeland and moved away from the cold, the all created their respective kingdoms: Unicornia, Pegasopolis, and Earth,' Twilight reads up.

She takes a pause when she is distracted by a rumbling noise from afar, which is possibly thunder. When the rumbling has stopped she continues to read.

'But their hatred for each other remained, drawing the Windigos towards them again. When the three leaders begun a cooperation; it proved that to be the solution. The three kingdoms managed to make a bond with each other: A bond of friendship. This drew a new order, one based on kindness rather than hatred. Their bond was symbolized by the Fire of Friendship, which banished the Windigos away from the corporeal plane and ended their cruel threat upon ponykind,' she concludes.

'Oh, This doesn't make any sense... Could it REALLY be a Great Blizzard, or did I just mistake about Brush's sentence...'

Twilight looks at the pile of books that are left, all probably containing useless information on this matter. She sighs and closes the book, feeling exhausted from today's happenings.

'I'll look further tomorrow, unless the cold hasn't frozen us into popcicles...," she grunts as she moves upstairs to her bed.

Tightly wrapping herself in her warm blanket, right before she decides to close her eyes, she looks outside at the winter in the summertime.

'Could it be true?" she questions, unable to ignore the near-impossible possibility. 'And what does Brush know about this. And WHERE has he been all this time anyway...;'

She drops her head on her pillow, facing the empty bed that belongs to Spike. She should be unable to sleep from worry for him, but her intense efforts the past days have taken a toll on her. All she can do now is dream for a better tomorrow.

***

'Are you ready?' Dusty Gust asks his fellow pegasus filly.

Scootaloo nods. 'Ready as ever!'

The two little pegasi are still outside in the snow, in the midst of the night, secretly plotting a way to reunite Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Bell back together. With two warm scarfs from Scootaloo's home, they move unhindered by the winter. Heading to Sweet Apple Acres first, they scout the area from behind the sleeping trees of the orchard.

When they take the guess that nopony is outside, they hurry to the side of the house of the apple family.

'Alright, Applebloom's room is right over there,' Scootaloo informs Dusty, pointing at a window above them.

The colt looks around, searching for anything that may be of use to them. 'No nearby tree..., no ladder..., no rope...,' he grunts while he looks through the area.

Scootaloo keeps an eye on the doors and windows. 'Pipe it down, Dusty. Applejack or Big Macintosh may hear you.'

'Applejack? Big Macintosh?' Dusty ponders, slowly conjuring an idea from merely hearing those names.

And then it hits him: an idea!

'I got it!' he tells Scootaloo. 'We don't have to GET to Applebloom. We want Applebloom out of there anyway!'

Scootaloo shrugs. 'Eh, duh? Of course we want her to get out! That's the plan! But how else will we get her, if we won't get her ourselves?'

The colt snickers. 'Because she's gonna bust out herself.'

The filly has no idea what Dusty is blabbing about. She just decides to follow Dusty, who rushes off to the barn.

'Gimme a hoof with the door, Scootaloo,' he asks her, trying to open the large barn doors that block their way into the building.

Pulling with all their might through their young front legs, the door of the barn slowly opens to them.

'No, don't stop yet. Push the door open ALL the way,' Dusty tells Scootaloo, noticing that she stops when the door is open far enough for them to enter. She quickly grabs back onto the door and pulls again.

When the door is open all the way, Scootaloo follows Dusty inside, still unable to figure what Dusty has come up with. 'Just what are you planning, Dusty?' she asks.

'Ah! Here it is!' he speaks out, ignoring Scootaloo's question.

The filly sees nothing out of the odd. The barn is full of supplies, apples, hay, and barrels. There are no ladders or ropes to be found.

She is startled when Dusty suddenly pushes an empty apple barrel her way. When he stops, he peeks over the rim at his comrade. 'Help me to put some hay in this barrels!' the colt commands her.

Following his instructions without question, the filly and the colt are filling one apple barrel to the rim with hay.

'Now, will you finaly explain what we are doing?' Scootaloo sighs when they're finished.

Dusty quickly starts to push the barrel outside with all his strength, explaining on the way.

'-Urk- Applebloom can't use the front door -cough- considering she would have to pass any family to reach it,' he grunts. 'But her bedroom window -pant- is another story!'

Scootaloo starts to understand his idea, jumping to his side and aid him in pushing the barrel.

'I -cough- get it now! She jumps out of her window. And we will break her fall with the hay!' she pants, grasping the plan of the colt.

Dusty nods at her and smiles. 'I remembered these things when I was sleeping in the barn last night. Good thing I chose to sleep over at Applebloom, right?' he chuckles.

They continue to push the barrel, but try to refrain from breathing too hard when they are nearing the house. If anypony would discover them now, it would mean "game over."

'What in tarnation?' a voice surprises them.

The colt and filly stop moving, freezing to the barrel in shock. Somepony other than them just spoke! Scared to death, they slowly look over the rim of the barrel, afraid that they have run into Applejack. But when they look; there is nopony to be found...

'What the...,' Dusty grunts confused.

'Psst,' they hear again. 'Dusty, Scootaloo, up here.'

They look surprised up to the window of Applebloom, recognizing the voice that whispered to them. Through the window, there is a filly looking down at them, wearing a pink bow in her mane.

'Applebloom!' Dusty and Scootaloo sigh relieved.

The filly nods happy, having realized that her friends are trying to get her out of the house.

'Just a moment,' Dusty warns her, noticing Applebloom is already preparing to jump down. 'Just a few pushes more.'

Without delay, the pegasi quickly push the barrel all the way under Applebloom's window.

'-pfoe-,' Dusty sighs tired. 'Alright, Applebloom. Jump!'

The filly takes no second longer than neccesary. With a little jump, Applebloom aims herself straight above the barrel. Making no sound, other than a soft drop in the hay, the Earth Pony has busted out in a second time!

'We did it,' Scootaloo whispers with joy. 'That's CMC: 1 and "grown-ups": 0'

Snickering over their accomplishment, less than they would actually want to, they quickly rush away from the building, afraid to be caught in the very end.

***

All alone, Sweetie Bell stares out the with condensation-covered window. She can't sleep. All she can think about is playing with her friends in the snow. The unicorn look away for a second into the room and sighs.

'Why did Rarity have to be so strict because of her own problems? I know my friends would never betray me...,' she talks in herself.

She looks back out of the window, noticing something else is misplaced. Three colors are moving through the landscape. Her heart starts pounding faster when she notices how the colors are heading straight to Carousel Botique! Rubbing with her hoof over the window to make an O-shaped clear view, her expectations are only confirmed: Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Dusty Gust have come to her!

Without hesitation, Sweetie Bell uses all her strength to lift the window up, making her shudder from the cold that flows inside the building.

'Applebloom! Scootaloo! Dusty! You've come!' she cheers happiness.

'Sssh!' Scootaloo hisses up to her. 'If Rarity finds out, we'll never get you out!'

Sweetie Bell gleefully cheers again. 'You're here to get me out? Great!'

'SSSSHHH' the three ponies hiss together. 'Do you WANT to get caught?!'

Sweetie Bell smiles. 'No worries. Rarity hasn't returned tonight. I suspect she's taken cover from the storm someplace else.'

'Ah!' Brush sighs with a grin. 'That makes things easier! Come through the frontdoor then!'

Sweetie Bell's ears drop down in sadness. 'Well... she figured I would try that... So she got the only key with her.'

'Oh...,' the ponies mumble in dissapointment. 'Well... Then we'll just have to go with "Plan: A" anyway.

"Plan: A"?' the unicorn filly wonders.

'Well, I suppose you can call it "Plan Applebloom". We placed a barrel filled with hay under her window and had her jump into it,' Scootaloo explains. 'We'll just do the same here!'

'But there's no apple barrel or even hay around, Scootaloo!' Applebloom tells her. 'And we can't drag one all the way from Sweet Apple Acres!'

'Then we'll just have to improvise,' Dusty Gust grins, clearly having another idea.

Gathering all the snow they can find from around them, the young ponies make a big pile of soft snow for Sweetie Bell to jump in. When the heap is atleast as big as the three ponies together, they stop.

'This should do it,' Scootaloo smiles at their work.

'Alright, Sweetie Bell. Ready when you are!' Dusty yells up to the unicorn, expecting her to make a jump into a pile of snow from the first floor.

Sweetie Bell trembles on the edge of her window, but not only because of the cold.

'I-I can't!' Sweetie suddenly tells.

Her friend look in surprise. At the final chance for freedom; Sweetie Bell is scared of heights?

'What do you mean "you can't"?' Scootaloo asks. 'C'mon! Applebloom did it as well! We're THIS close!'

Sweetie Bell shakes her head. 'I-I'm sorry... I want to be out there with all of you, but only with my legs not-broken!'

Dusty plants his hoof on his forehead, sighing from the delay. 'Ok, ok. We'll find another way!' he promises impatient.

'Another way, Dusty?' Scootaloo asks him with doubt. 'Plan A is basically all we have! You're not seriously suggesting that we should drag a barrel with hay all the way here, just when we managed to prevent getting caught by Applebloom's family?'

'I know, I know...' Dusty grunts. 'No, we should improvise on the spot... And I may know how.'

He looks back up at the shaking unicorn. 'Sweetie Bell! Didn't you say that your sister is a designer?'

The filly looks down at him, unaware of what that has to do with getting her out.

'Eh, yea. She designes and create dresses. Why?' she asks.

'Ok then. Did you manage to learn a thing of two about it?' he asks.

All three fillies have no idea what Dusty is getting at. It's like he's just making idle conversation, wasting their time while they all have to stand in the freezing snow.

'Well... yea, I did.' Sweetie Bell nods.

The colt smiles, figuring that his plan may work yet. 'Ok then! It's very simple, really. If you can find any soft and feather-light cloths, try to cut it into something like a parachute!'

The girls look surprised at him, thinking that he's either a genious, or crazy.

'A parachute?' Scootaloo confirms. 'THAT'S you're plan?'

Dusty nods without shame at her. 'Yup. She can't possibly hurt herself if she glides down slowly, into this pile of snow.'

As farfetched as it may sound, Dusty makes a good point. Behind all of the colt's ego and go-getter love for action, hides a pony that truly thinks outside the box in their favor.

'I'll try!' Sweetie Bell yells down to them.

She quickly jumps back inside, off to search for something usefull. Her search begins in the most usefull place: Her sister's workshop, where it's filled with different colors and kinds of clothes, and all kinds and sizes off threads.

'This'll do!' Sweetie Bell smiles as she grabs a few strong threads and weightless clothes.

After cutting the cloth roughly to an acceptable square shape, and poke 4 tiny holes at the corners, she takes it upstairs to her room again.

When she has tied the threads through the holes, and around her, she climbs back up the window.

'Ah! There she is!' Scootaloo speaks when she notices the white unicorn again.

With shaking legs, Sweetie Bell prepares herself for the upcoming jump into the snow. But she has to admit that she's afraid that either the parachute will collapse, or she will miss the snowpile.

'I-I'm not sure...' she mumbles insecure.

Dusty shakes his head! 'No, no, Sweetie Bell! You can do it! Trust us!'

'Just use your magic to keep your parachute stretched when you jump! We'll make sure that you'll land softly!' Applebloom yells along to her.

Sweetie Bell looks down at her friends again, considering again that she wants to be with her friends quickly, meaning she has no time to be a chicken.

'O-Ok! Here goes!' she speaks out, giving herself more courage for her "leap of faith".

With a jump and a yelp of anxiety, Sweetie Bell glides down to the ground, aiming for the snow. Hanging like a piece of meat on a balloon, she waits for the impact. But a wind suddenly blows, pushing her in the wrong direction.

'EEK!' Sweetie Bell yelps scared.

Her friends look with sweat on their foreheads at the floating pony. They start running in her direction, hoping to be able to do something.

'We got you! We got you!' they yell up to her, but didn't expect another turn in the wind current.

With a drop, Sweetie Bell lands softly. Her fall was broken by her friends indeed: using themselves as a pillow for Sweetie Bell.

When she notices her friends beneath her, Sweetie Bell quickly jumps off of them. 'Oh, sorry!' she apoligizes.

'Th-That's ok, Sweetie Bell,' Applebloom chuckles with empty lungs.

'Yea. Atleast now you know for sure that you can always "count on your friends",' Scootaloo jokes.

They all stand back up and don't even hesitate to hug. They laugh in happiness, either because of their reunion, or Scootaloo's joke. It doesn't matter.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are finally reunited.

***

Walking through the snow, telling each other how they got both Applebloom and Sweetie Bell out of their homes like a jailbreak, the four young ponies are having the time of their life.They have enough energy to last through the night, unable to even think about sleep.

'So, what should we do now?' Scootaloo asks.

Sweetie Bell ponders. 'Well... While we're at it: Maybe we better find a way to prevent getting caught again! It's no fun when were not supposed to see each other!'

'You're right, Sweetie Bell!' Applebloom grunts angry. 'Our sisters have gon' too far with this!'

'If only we knew how to solve it...,' Dusty mumbles to himself, thinking along with them for solutions.

They all stop when they've reached the outer perimiter of Ponyville, taking cover from the snow under the roof of the nearest house, and think very hard.

'Any ideas yet?' Dusty asks the fillies.

They all shake their heads, still trying to think.

'Well...,' Scootaloo suddenly speaks. 'This all started when Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash got in a fight with each other, right?'

Her friends nod at her, hoping that Scootaloo has a plan by bringing that up.

'All that needs to be done: Is getting them all back together!' she puzzles out. 'Simple!'

It's true. The seperation of the Cutie Mark Crusader happened when the six mares got into a fight. If they all see the foolishness of their argue, they'll have no reason to seperate them again.

'Right!' they agree.

'But where can we find anything to make them understand how stupid they were acting? How can we make them see that what they do is wrong?' Dusty asks the three.

'Oh, Ah know,' Applebloom interupts. 'Twilight Sparkle writes a report about friendship everytime, and sends it to her mentor; Princess Celestia! If she still has some of those reports lying in the library, we may be able to show it to remind them of the times they weren't fightin'!'

It sounds like a good plan to Dusty, but he's not completely certain on how to get it.

'Well... I doubt she'll give it to us, just like that. But if I can sneak into the library while she sleeps, search the place for those reports, and get out without being seen; We'll have step #1 complete!' he chuckles, a little uncertain about his own idea.

The fillies feel a little odd about it as well. Breaking into a home is definitly not allowed. Stealing can also get them in alot of trouble. It may be an emergency, but if they get caught; They'll be in trouble like they've never experienced before, possibly making it only more impossible to keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders together!

'You three remain here. I'll sneak into the library and find some answers,' the brave colt proposes.

Sweetie Bell shakes her head. 'Nuh-uh, Dusty! We'll go together!' she dissagrees with him.

'Just because you're new here, doesn't mean you should be the only one getting into trouble for OUR sakes!' Applebloom tells him.

'...You helped me seek for my brother this whole time... You became friends to me like nopony has ever been to me! I have already accepted the fact that my brother isn't here... So I'll probably have to return to Canterlot anyway!' Dusty tells them. 'And I will do it ALONE this time. Risking the chance of you two being discovered by your sisters, and get hauled off back to your rooms? I don't think so!'

'If somepony is gonna do it, for the sake of your friendship, it's ME!'

The fillies remain silent after hearing Dusty's argument. He's truly willing to sacrifise everything in order to bring order to Ponyville, while he's just a young colt himself! They would wish to deny it and still work together, now that they're a team again, but they know Dusty is completely right. If they were to enter Ponyville and be found by Rarity of Applejack, they would never be led out of their rooms ever again.

'Don't worry. I won't take long,' he promises them, and smiles.

'Ok then, Dusty...' Scootaloo sighs, almost unable to accept the answer she gives. 'But you are mistaking about one thing...'

Dusty looks up at her. 'What is that?'

'Maybe you keep seeing yourself as an outsider, who's brave enough to save somepony else's friendship. But as far as we three consider; You're as much a friend in the circle as any of us,' Scootaloo tells him. 'It's OUR friendship.'

Dusty Gust needs a moment to process the feeling of joy that he got from hearing that. For the first time in his life, he feels like he truly belongs someplace.

Without a word in response, he hurries off into the town.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders are left behind, waiting until their colt friend will return with information, alone. Dusty has only known them for barely a couple of days, and still he gave his all to prevent the Cutie Mark Crusaders from falling apart. And now he's off on his own again. He's truly a great and special friend.

'Good luck!' Applebloom yells to him, before Dusty vanishes from their sight.

***

The wind blows faster than first. A few small rays of light through the clouds mark the breaking of dawn. Snow and a freezing cold wind scourge Ponyville. The only ponies that haven't left Ponyville are trying their best to stay warm, having lost their entire "summer feeling" that they had only a few days ago. No pony dares to set a hoof outside, afraid that they may return as popcicles instead of pony.

Even Sweet Apple Acres is in turmoil. The family is forced to take drastic actions. The kind they've never used before.

'Ah already said; Don't worry 'bout me. Somepony's gotta watch the place!' Applejack tells Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. 'The orchard is asleep in this weather, the house is isolated well enough, and there's food to last for a year! Me and Applebloom will be fine.'

The weather keeps worsening, even forcing the strong apple family to move to a warmer place. Leaving Applejack and Applebloom in Ponyville, Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, and Winona are heading to Cousin Braeburn, in Appleloosa, until Ponyville is back in order. Both ponies have trouble about leaving Sweet Apple Acres, but it's for their own good. Winona barks alot at the weather, as if she knows from instinct that the weather is going to get worse.

'Tell Cousin Braeburn Ah said "Hi",' Applejack tells her brother, and watches at how her family is quickly hurrying to the trainstation, followed by Winona, before the railways may be possibly shut down by the weather.

The duty of keeping Sweet Apple Acres in order befalls now completely on Applejack's shoulders, making her sigh in worry from the very idea itself. Not inclduing her little sister; she has to do it all on her own now.

***

'Quickly everyone! Come on in! Don't be shy!' Fluttershy tells the critters in front of her home.

The winter has surprised the animals as well, leaving them without shelter or provisions. The mare tries her best to make space for as many critters as possible, for a stayover in her home. All squeezed together, Angel crawls out of the groups of hedgehogs, deers, chickens, and the bear. Unlike Fluttershy, the little bunny believes that there's absolutely no space left for anybody else, while Fluttershy keeps trying to make more space by putting some unnecesary furniture outside.

'Sorry, Angel. I can't just leave them in the cold, can I?' she giggles at the grumpy bunny.

'Excuse me! Coming through!' a voice suddenly speaks out and pushes Fluttershy aside.

'R-Rainbow Dash! Wh-What are you doing here?!' Fluttershy asks flustered at the pegasus.

A sweating, red faced, Rainbow Dash gives her an unamused sneer. 'My home is in the air... I can't move these cursed clouds... I'm FREEZING UP THERE!' she responds angry, followed by a loud cough.

'...A-Are you alright?' Fluttershy asks worried. 'You look a little sick.'

'Well... -sniff- Yeah... 15 degrees below zero tends to do that -ACHOO!-' the mare answers sickly.

Fluttershy cannot possible denie her a warm place now. If the blue mare would stay in the cold any longer, she could pass out. Completely set their past troubles behind for now, Fluttershy quickly grabs a blanket and throws it over Rainbow Dash' back.

'Come. You can stay her as long as you need,' Fluttershy smiles, happy to help the pegasus in need.

Rainbow Dash doesn't respond at all, looking sleepy out of her eyes, and sniffing up a nosedrop.

Just when the weather doesn't seem to be able to get any worse; Lightning starts to strike simultaneously, more than a normal thunderstorm could possibly conjure. The sky is filled with flashes and rumbling, and spews an amount of snow, which makes the layer of snow already present 20 inches thick and still rising.

The ponies left are now trapped in their own homes.

***

'N-no... Flames... Too hot! Stay-Stay away from them!' Twilight mumbles in her sleep.

The mare moves restless around in her bed. Her head is nearly swimming in her sweat, and her heart is beating faster than normal. Twilight is having a terrible nightmare.

Lightning strikes outside her house, nearly striking into the tree house. When the thunder rumbles, Twilight's ears pick it up.

'AH!' she gasps awake, making her jump up in fear.'Wh-What was that?!'

Panting from fear, the mare slowly clams down in her bed, looking through her window at the lighting. Realizing she was having a bad dream, she sighs relieved and drop her head back onto her soaked pillow. Though the night has passed, the sky remains dark by the clouds. It doesn't make her feel any better.

'Ugh... I-I should look further,' Twilight sighs confused as she climbs out of her bed. 'No pony is around to help me... But maybe... maybe I can solve this crisis... I-I HAVE to...'

She gasps scared when she hears another loud noise. It was certainly not thunder, considering it came from downstairs.

'There's somepony here....' she whispers to herself.

Slowly sneaking to the entrance of the library, Twilight carefully peeks around the corners to catch a glimpse of the intruder. She keeps doing that, until she reaches the lowest set of stairs. She looks around the room, where there's nothing to see. All the bookcases are left untouched, and the door and windows are closed. The only strange thing are suspicious books that lay on the ground.

'Hey, what is this...,' Twilight thinks as she moves closer to look at the books. 'I know these books. I saw them yesterday... These tell the story about the Founding of Equestria...'

She tries to lift the book up, surprised to realize that she can't. The books are stuck to the floor, like gum. As a second plan; Twilight tries to use her magic to get it off the ground. But the books won't budge at all. If she uses more force than this; the books will be torn apart!

'Wait a moment...,' she mumles when she realizes something white is beneath the books. When she closes the cover of a book to see what it is, she looks at the reason; the books are frozen to the ground!

'F-Frozen?!' Twilight gasps, followed by a loud snort that sounds from behind her.

Slowly, Twilight turns her head. She can feel that somepony is looking down at her. The first thing her eyes catch is a white mist, followed by a shape as she turns further around. The mist is ghastly-white and slowly fills the entire floor of the library with its bone-chilling cold presence. The center of the fog has a shape of an equine-like beast, looking down at Twilight with its cold blue eyes.

'What in Celestia's name is that?!' Twilight gasps.

The beast then roars through the building, shaking several books from the cases by the mere echo. Twilight closes her eyes and covers her ears, trying to resist the massive power that comes forth from the mere soundwaves. She remains unharmed, but is completely overthrown by the unknown creature. When it stops shouting, Twilight looks at it again.

The beast simply looks back at her again.

'What do you want?' she asks it.

The creature simply keeps staring down at Twilight, breathing with a freezing air. In response; he slowly starts to stretch the wing-shaped clouds that are attached to the back. Twilight doesn't get what he means to say with that, waiting for any further movement. With a quick flap of the wings, the wind blows Twilight several meters back into a bookcase.

'Ouch!' Twilight yelps in pain. Quickly recovering from the fall, she jumps up with a glowing horn, ready to counter-attack. 'That's far enough! G-Get out now, before I get mad!'

The misty creature remains silent, proceeding with motionless staring at the mare. When it raises a hoof to step forward, Twilight blasts a magical-purple beam from her horn past the creature as a warning shot.

'I said get out!' Twilight repeats.

The beast keeps looking at the mare, at her horn in particular. Without a warning; it starts to become formless, imploding into a cloud-like mist. Twilight starts to think that the creature has accepted her warning shot and decides to flee, ending the glow around her horn.

But before the cloud grows any more smaller, it suddenly explodes in a white flash, blinding Twilight. The white light radiates through the entire floor, coating everything it touches with layer of ice. While Twilight tries to regain her sight, she tries not to slip over the frozen floor of the library.

'Gagh! What is- I can't see!' Twilight gasps afraid. Her eyes need time to readjust to the normal light, making her vulnerable for any attack from the malformed creature.

Panicking that the creature may attack any second now, she feels a shudder go down her spine when she hears the front door of the library slam open.

'That's far enough!' Twilight hears. 'Take my advice and go back to that witch you call your master, as fast as you can!'

She rubs her eyes and starts to see shapes and colors again. The ghastly white beast is still in the room. But now somepony new has come inside: a red blob that stands before her.

'Twilight, are you alright?' the familiar male voice asks her.

When she looks again she starts to recognize the red skin and the dark mane of the stallion that has come to her aid.

'Brush! B-But what are-' she questions confused.

'No time to explain. We have to get rid of this thing first before it freezes your library into a block of ice!' he interrupts her with urgency.

Twilight has no idea what is going on. She should be furious at Brush for leaving earlier today. But at this moment she would really appreciate his help in driving this beast away.

Another roar is sound, surprising both the stallion and the mare. Brush turns his vision towards the threatening mist.

'Hey, are you still here after the warning I gave you? If you won't leave peacefully, I'll just have to force you out!' he threatens, throwing his brown ragged cloak off.

Brush stand ready to fight, decorated with the cutie mark of a paintpalet and a brush on his flank.

The Windigo is still unimpressed, remaining calm and ready to attack both ponies now.

'Brush, what in Equestria's name are we dealing with here?' Twilight asks him.

'A magical abomination..., An equine beast that threatened Equestria ages ago... A feaster on hatred and bringer of the Great Winter!' he grunts, while keeping his sight locked onto the beast.

Twilight looks in disbelieve at Brush, thinking for a second that he's gone mad. 'You mean... this thing is truly a Windigo?!'

They quickly duck out of the way when the equine beast fires a white beam of ice in their general direction, missing them by an inch.

'Yea!' Brush responds to Twilight's question. 'This is also the creep who freezed my bonfire!'

The two ponies stand ready, prepared to do battle with an entity that was only known as an ancient piece of fiction. As far as Twilight knows; she'll have more of a chance against the Windigo than Brush, considering the magical weakness he shown her months ago.

The beast starts to fire several beams of frost in Brush' direction, ignoring Twilight completely. But the male unicorn simply jumps and ducks to avoid the beams, showing no exhaustion through the course of battle.

'Why is it only going after Brush...,' Twilight grunts, ready to fire an empty bookcase at the creature.

'Take this, freak!' Twilight yells and pushes the bookcase with her magical skill.

The massive piece of wood strikes the target, making the Windigo be stunned for a moment. To Brush' surprise; the creature has stopped to attack him and now looks behind him towards Twilight Sparkle.

'There! I got his attention!' she grins when she notices how the Windigo looks at her with its blue eyes.

Just when Twilight starts to lure the attention from the phantom, she is rudely pushed aside by Brush.

'Out of the way, Twilight! I'll handle this MYSELF!' he yells at her, taking her place in attacking the Windigo.

Twilight lands dazed against a bookcase, falling on the ground alongside her. Recovering from the surprise attack; Twilight can't do anything but watch Brush fight the Windigo alone. 'What in pony's name is that idiot thinking?!'

'So... you like shooting at ponies, don't ya?' he asks the mindless monster. 'Well... I may be an opponent that lives up further than your expectations!'

Without a warning, Brush's horns starts to glow extremely bright, filling the entire library floor with a crimson-red radiance. The glow continues to grow by the seconds, shaping into what looks like fire. In that little chance of possibility; It causes the Windigo to back away, clearly afraid of it.

'Th-That flame... That is Ignis'!' Twilight gasps scared, recognizing the horrible ability Brush is using.

'I learned this little trick when I was not myself, months ago... Finally it can be put to some GOOD use!' he yells in anger, and unleashes the spell.

A large flame, the size of the town square bonfire, engulves the Windigo, absorbing it in a flare of fire. With a loud roar of fury, the windigo seems to be weak against the spell, dropping down to the floor in defeat. With a shrug and a grun; Brush accepts it as the sign for his victory.

When the flame ends to spout out of the stallion's horn, the ice on the bookcases have noticably started to melt. And Windigo; lies in defeat.

'I warned you...,' Brush says with a reluctant sigh.

When he turns around to move to Twilight, she starts to back away out of reflex. The red unicorn halts when he notices it, and starts to realize what kind of terrible show he must've given the mare.

'I...,' Brush pants exhausted. 'I believe I owe you some explaination, Twilight...,' he speaks to her.

Twilight was already struggling to understand who Brush has become. For a moment; he seemed like a good guy, on her side. But now... Now that he used the personal spell of the Harbringer of Hatred; How could she ever believe he's good now?

Their moment is broken by another roar. The Windigo has taken the flames surprisingly well, having already caught a second wind.

'What in the hay!' Brush gasps, clearly not having expected the Windigo to remain standing after his devestating move. 'Blast! I-I should've taken more time!'

Using the last bits of energy left; the Windigo starts to conjure a white sphere at the tip of its horn. It is his final attack; containing all slivers of power it still has inside him. It is willing to give his all for a chance of victory against the mare and stallion.

Brush gets ready, glaring with the bags under his eyes. He is prepared to take on any spell that the Windigo may throw his way. But grows nervous when he realizes that the beast isn't looking at him anymore. He looks around to where the Windigo is staring at, realizing his aim is not set on him at all.

'No! Twilight!' Brush yells in fear for her safety. He quickly jumps between her and monster, blocking Twilight's view on the Windigo completely for a second.

A bright flash is shown from behind the stallion, followed by a block of ice that strike him in the side. Being launched over Twilight, Brush is crushed between the ice and a bookcase.

'AGH!' Brush screams in pain, collapsing on the floor. He has passed out.

Twilight has to look in horror at how her savior has taken the hit from her and now lies lifeless on the floor.

'Brush!' she yelps with a tear in her eye. She can't help herself but feel terrible by the sight of the stallion being harmed.

Too focused on her injured friend, Twilight Sparkle doesn't even hear the following explosion behind her.

'Enough, you beast! Begone this instant!' a mare yells.

Twilight looks away from Brush, turning her head around to the Windigo and his new opponent.

It's the companion of Brush; the mare in the grey cloak!

Whatever she did in the split second; it injured the Windigo pretty bad. Without any more delays, the Windigo turns back into mist and flees through the open door, vanishing in the winter's wind. The battle is truly over.

'Twilight Sparkle, are you well?' the mare runs up to her.

'I-I'm fine. But Brush is...,' she ends her sentence as she looks at the unconscious stallion, still uncertain about his condition.

The mare walks to the stallion and lowers her head near his. She grunts unamused, but doesn't say why. She then places an ear on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Twilight feels a little better when she notices that the mare smiles.

'He shall be alright. Spectrum Brush has taken worse beatings than this,' she chuckles, attempting to comfort Twilight from obvious worries.

Twilight glares at the mare, still suspicious about her. That, and the unfitting joke she makes is unfitting for a moment like this.

'He requires rest, very badly...,' the mare answers serious. 'Is it ok if we put him in your bed, upstairs?'

'How do you know the library lay-out...?' Twilight questions her grumpy.

The mare simply chuckles by her question. 'My, my, Twilight Sparkle. Are you THAT suspicious of me? If I didn't know better; I'd believe you're sounding jealous, the moment you figured I've been with Brush this whole time!'

Twilight blushes, still with an angry face. These jokes are highly unfitting at a time like this, especially from a stranger like HER.

'Whatever!' Twilight responds grumpy. 'I don't even care about what you two have been up to!'

'I believe you do, Twilight Sparkle...,' the mare tells her serious again. 'Don't deny it: You want to hear everything that's been going on through your friend's head all these months. The reason for his "transformation". The reasons for this mysteriousness! The reasons of Spike's dissapearance!'

Twilight looks away, not wanting to give the strange mare a look of her worried face. But she has to admit to herself; She would rather have Brush share his troubles with somepony else, rather than keep it to himself and let it eat him away like this. And Spike... she would do anything for even a little bit of info right now.

'It's ok, Twilight Sparkle. Everything and everypony will be fine,' the mare smiles and walks closer to her.

'You're voice... it sounds so familiar...,' Twilight whispers and looks up at the mare. 'Who are you?'

She snickers. 'Oh, Twilight Sparkle. It's a little disappointing that even to this point; you STILL don't recognize me.'

The mare grabs her cloak with her mouth and uses a firm pull to tear it off of her, revealing her identity in a flash. Twilight can hardly believe who she's been talking to, and has been with Brush the past months. How could she not realize this before?

'I must be better at acting than I thought,' the dark-purple alicorn chuckles.

'P-PRINCESS LUNA?!' Twilight gasps.

It truly is. The mysterious companion of Spectrum Brush is nopony else but Princess Luna herself. Twilight can't give any different response, but look in surprise at the mare.

'Are you alright, Twilight Sparkle?' Luna asks again a little worried, considering the event that transpired here must've turned the unicorn's world upsidedown.

A forced smile appears on Twilight. Her head is on the brink of collapse, due to the weight of all the questions that she has. What in Celestia's name has Luna to do with Brush?

'Heh... How should I feel alright? ...Brush suddenly returns without warning, did something to Spike, pushes me out of the way all the time, worked with you, Princess Luna, the entire time, AND he now uses the powers of... of a MONSTER!' she tells angry, without considering the fact that Luna is of royalty and is normally not spoken to with this attitude.

'He's changed so much! I know Zecora said that his emotions and memories have suffered greatly. But this... this is madness! We seemed to have so much in common, months ago. But the moment he is freed from Ignis' possession, he runs away. And now that he's back, he's become... become "THIS"! I don't even know if he's still a friend anymore!" Twilight yells, followed by deep breaths from the anger she used to say what's on her mind.

Realizing Twilight's confusion, Luna puts her hoof on Twilight's back, attempting to help her through this.

'Believe me, Twilight Sparkle; he hasn't changed at all. He's still the same stallion that you met when he moved here,' she tells her with a smile. 'On the outside he may look like he doesn't care at all, but deep down he still has all of his emotions burried away.

Twilight looks up at the princess, with sweat dripping from her forehead. 'H-How?' she asks with disbelieve.

'You know how he pushed you aside when you wanted to confront the Windigo just now?' the princess asks.

'Out of anger and vengeance?' Twilight answers.

Luna shakes her head. 'He didn't do that out of anger, and certainly not out of vengeance. He was only concerned that you would get harmed, believing that he would be to blame for it,' Luna explains to her, attempting to prove the stallion's feelings. 'When he realized a Windigo was coming after you, he went here without hesitation, even though he was afraid that you'd never want to see him again. I tried to tell him that you are strong enough to handle it yourself, but he just wouldn't listen to me...'

Twilight grunts and looks at the ground, noticing the sweat drop spots on the floor, because she can hardly calm down now. 'He...He was right about that...'

Luna doesn't stop. 'On our travels the past months, he was just like that: He was always looking out for others, and forgot about his own safety in the process many times. He took leadership on his shoulders, acting like he always knew everything better than the rest. But all the time he actually tried his best to keep everypony else unharmed, believing that if others were to get hurt; he would be responsible for it.'

'Thanks to his lack of emotions, he was able to carry the burden on his shoulders this whole time... But this time, when he went out to help you, there was more to it than a sense of responsibility... When the block of ice was about to hit you, he pushed you aside to take the blow from you. Do you know why?'

Twilight gives no answer, shaking her head a little and continues listening to Luna's story.

'Because he cares for you,' Luna smiles. 'He spoke about the day he met you multiple times during our travels. And everytime he did; I couldn't help but notice that he showed a sense of happiness on that supposed emotionless face of his. There's nothing he values more than your friendship...'

'Heh...,' Twilight chuckles quietly, thinking about Luna's story. It sounds so farfetched, yet possible somehow. Spectrum Brush, the jerk, could actually have turned into a leader and something like a hero...

'Do you have a minute, Princess? I should help Brush out,' she asks Luna and heads to the unconcious stallion.

'You're willing to help him, Twilight Sparkle?' Luna asks with a smile. 'I must say; You're believe in friendship is admirable.'

'Just a moment,' Twilight grunts as she throws Brush on top of her in order to drag him away. 'Let me just get this IDIOT to a bed...'

A little uncertain of her previous comment, Princess Luna simply follows the unicorn upstairs. When they both have gone upstairs, a couple of books are being pushed off the shelf by a little creature that was hiding behind it. Two curious eyes look around the room, checking if the coast is clear.

Entering Twilight's and Spike's living room, Princess Luna looks curiously around. She has never been in her sister's apprentice's house before.

While the princess looks curiously around, Twilight drops Brush in her bed with a gasp of exhaustion from carrying the stallion's weight. She quickly throws some sheets over him to make sure he remains warm, and looks at him, still a little horrified from Brush's transformation.

'I...will set this right... It's... what a friend would do...,' the red unicorn suddenly whispers, recalling words of the past. Twilight takes a step back, surprised to hear them from him, especially considering the words were definitly meant to her. Did he hear all this? Does he know that she's helping him?

When no other word escapes from Brush' mouth, Twilight sighs with hanging ears and turns her attention back to Princess Luna.

'Does Princess Celestia know about this?' Twilight asks her.

'Eh?' Luna asks confused, being thrown out of her concentration from looking around. 'No, no, she does not. If she knew what I've been doing the past months... I wouldn't even want to think of how worried she'd react. I AM her younger sister, after all.'

'We wanted to remain incognito as well as possible, to make sure our identities wouldn't be discovered in Ponyville. We were being followed... I'm not pointing hooves here; but when you discovered us, a Windigo must've followed you and seen us as well,' she explains why.

'The beast that was sent to assault you was just a way to make Brush come out of hiding...' Luna admits. 'She knows that Brush couldn't let it slide, no matter how uncaring he makes everypony think of him...'

Twilight looks confused. 'She?' she asks.

'I'll explain in a minute...,' Luna grunts to the impatient mare.

Twilight feels silly. It turns out that if she hadn't uncovered Brush, this wouldn't have happened. But atleast she gets some answers now.

'We should've warned you and your friends, instead of staying in the dark... My deepest apologies, Twilight Sparkle,' Luna sighs with disappointment over her actions.

'Th-That's ok, Princess Luna,' Twilight replies with respect.

'In any case-' Luna continues unhampered, possibly not even having heard the mare. 'Now that our cover lies in shambles, I can atleast come clean by telling you what I know, and what Brush and I been through. It's the least I can do.'

Luna looks at Brush, who remains asleep. 'And I'm sure it's what he would want, very badly...'

The princess looks back at the purple mare and takes a deep breath before she continues. 'Allow me to make one thing clear. A little lesson on unicorns and alicorns.'

'Unicorn horns are capable of conjuring magical preformances. Alicorn horns are born with an exceptional strong magic capability, a personal touch you could say. All alicorns grow up with some unique ability, see?'

This is nothing new to Twilight. She knows that Princess Celestia can raise the sun and the moon, Princess Luna can raise the moon atleast, Princess Cadense can bring love, and Lord Ignis can bring hatred.

Princess Luna continues when Twilight nods at her. 'Only a handful of unicorns manage to reach a level of magic that allows them to conjure their own unique ability. ...two examples are you and your brother.'

Twilight doesn't wish to rudely interrupt her 'lesson', but she gets impatient when she understands that the princess is going too deep in details. 'Where does this lead to, Princess Luna?'

'Ahum, my apologies... The great blizzard that was brought by the Windigo's centuries ago. It was the work of an alicorn,' Luna reveals. 'An alicorn going by the name of Lady Fame.'

"Wh-What?" Twilight asks surprised.

'She was a magical miracle, having learned nearly all spells that have been discovered through the ages. The Windigos were her personal guards, and agents in espionage on everypony. Unbeknownst to any pony, in the land that was going to be named 'Equestria', it was SHE who truly ruled over them. Her minions kept the blizzard close, shrinking the ponies' food supplies terribly to make them weak.'

'That's terrible...,' Twilight whispers in disgust.

'Yes, but she couldn't have done it alone though... Her Windigo's feast from the hatred inside the ponies' hearts, making them strong enough to bring the winter, as long as they dispised each other. The citizens didn't choose to hate each other as much as they did... It was DONE for them.'

Twilight can hardly breath from the choking history lesson. She realizes how all the dark puzzle pieces fall together, making chains of connections she would hope never to be truth.

'Hatred brought to them? It can't be...'

'Lord Ignis!' she figures as the only possibility.

Luna nods sadly. Yes... Lord Ignis; The Harbringer of Hatred. The one who was chained away in the Crimson Asteroid, centuries ago. The very dark alicorn who controlled me, and possessed Spectrum Brush...'

Twilight sits down on the ground, requiring a moment to consider the truth. She has finaly discovered the truth about Lord Igni; The ruler of Equestria, before it was even named yet.

'HATE THE FOOLS THAT TURNED AGAINST ME! HATE YOUR FRIENDS FOR HATING YOU! FROM THIS DAY FORWARD; YOU SHALL LIVE IN HATRED FOREVER, COATED UNDER THE BLANKET OF DARKNESS! DAY AND NIGHT, SUN AND MOON, SHALL BECOME BUT A MYTH IN YOUR RAGE-FILLED HEARTS! FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, HATRED SEIZES THE CYCLE!'

The words still haunt Twilight's memory, unable to be forgotten ever since that terrible day when Ignis made all Equestria hate each other. The only way he could've survived centuries of imprisonment, was by being sealed into a gem, which happened to have been discovered by nopony else but Spectrum Brush... Now he remains locked away in Canterlot, safely put away by Princess Celestia herself. But now...Now she may have to go through this horrible experience again!

'Tough truth to swallow, hm? I couldn't believe it too, when Brush told it to me the first time,' Luna tells from Twilight's expression.

Twilight simply can't grasp the story. For centuries ponies believed that the great winter was brought by windigos. But no pony has ever brought this story before. Is this really the truth of Lady Fame and Lord Ignis? Did they rule together before Equestria was even founded?!

'How... How did Brush know this?' she asks the princess.

Luna sighs again before answering. 'When he was possessed by Ignis; he could read his mind, just like Ignis could read his. It taught him the truth of the past and that flame spell that Ignis knew,' she tells and looks back at the resting colt. 'He suffered dearly for this information...'

'The burden of guilt...,' Twilight understands.

Luna nods. 'From this memory; We worked together to find the gem that contained Lady Fame. Considering Night Mare Moon was a part of Ignis' madness; I wanted to aid him in any way I could. So I managed to slip out of Canterlot from time to time, unbeknownst to my sister. Our search ended in the mountains, in the far north from Canterlot. That's where things went wrong...

Twilight remains silent. She kept wondering what Brush was doing all this time, and now she'll get to hear it.

Brush remains asleep. But he still hears every word that Luna tells Twilight, making him dream about a strong memory from his past; The day he found Lady Fame's crystal.

'Don't do it...'

Trix up the sleeves

Chapter 5 - Trix up the sleeves

'I said; Don't do it!' Brush yells to the mare, who keeps checking on their supplies, rather than staying close to the campfire.

With a lil jump of surprise, the mare quickly leaves the things and hurries back to the campfire, which serves as their only source of heat.

High in the mountains, many miles north of Ponyville and Canterlot, where the air is cold that the clouds rain snow down with no end on the unlucky souls that reside here; a group of ponies residing at a small camp. Even if it's the middle of the day, the sun barely gets the chance to shine through the stormy clouds, making the daytime extremely depressing.

The ponies seek warmth in their robes, shivering at a campfire that barely remains on.

'Luna, are you doing alright?' Brush asks the tired mare, who remains asleep with her eyes closed. She can't hear the stallion over the howling wind.

'LUNA!' Brush yells.

'Eh? Ah, yes. I'm feeling well...,' Luna mumbles as she finds comfort in her grey cloak.

She suffers as much from the cold as the rest, being treated more like a team member than of royalty now. But she was smart enough to bring one specific tool with her: A big comfy pillow to lie on, rather than the cold rocky ground.

Brush sneezes over the cold, making him feel sickly. 'Are you certain? You always have to return to Canterlot before night starts, and during the day you fly back here to help find the place, which you would normally use to sleep," he tells.

Luna nods sleepy at him, grateful for his concern. "-yawn- I'll be alright, truly...," she sighs, slowly dozing away on her warmed pillow again.

Brush remains unmoved, not even showing a smile to the good news. They've been searching for months now for signs of Lady Fame's crystal, checking through the entire northern region with the senses of the stallion's memory. But every day; it feels like they're getting closer and closer.

'I can sense the artifact...,' he whispers as he takes a deep breath of cold air. 'It's only a couple of mountains away now. Finally..., We will be able to put our history of Night Mare Moon, Ignis, and Fame behind us...,' he believes.

Luna smiles, glad that all errors will be corrected as well as possible, in the course of time.

'Let us not forget who to thank for bringing us here,' Luna reminds him.

Brush nods to her words. 'Yea, this HAS to be the place where we can find Fame. If it we wouldn't have met you, weeks ago, we would still be searching for directions. Thanks for bringing us," he thanks the blue mare next to the fire.

She giggles gladly. 'It's my pleasure. Everything I can do to help Equestria and the royal princesses is my honor. I'm just happy that I'm allowed to be a part in your noble quest.'

'Truly, your magic surpasses that of mine. Everything would've taken way longer if it weren't for you,' Brush praises back at the mare.

The guide smiles from his compliment. 'Well, that's what you get when you travel around from town to town to advance your skills in magic,' she explains. 'And aimlessly wandering around the frozen north also helps...'

'Yea. You had a magic show, right? You've told me about it sometimes,' Brush recalls.

'Ah yes, that was a while ago. But then my house got wrecked by an... accident,' she grunts, still bitter about the past behind it.

Brush feels a little awkward, bringing up such an unfortunate event. The conversations are basically the only thing that keeps them awake in this storm, so he feels like they have to keep the conversation rolling. It's basically the only moment of the day that the red stallion doesn't sound a little hostile to them, considering his devotion to strict leadership.

'Well, it's good that we crossed paths,' he admits again.

The mare chuckles along with Princess Luna, both amused about how Brush manages to repeat himself multiple times while he tries to keep a straight face. She pulls her large, stars-decorated, blue wizard hat, further over her white mane, feeling the chill moving over her skin.

'No thanks needed. I always have my tricks up my sleeves,' she tells with pride, shaking the snow from her shimmering cape. 'You need help: You get it free of charge!'

'From the Humble and Helpful Trixie!'

***

After a few hours, the storm was slowly subsiding. Aside from snowflakes slowly falling from the sky, the weather is perfect to continue their trip.

Brush stands from the spot he stayed unmoving, and shakes the snow off that gathered on his back. So do Princess Luna and Trixie, when they notice that it's time to move on. The start to pack their bags, which they carry on their sides. With their magic, it's easy to perfectly fit their things in there. Which is especially required for Luna to get her cushion as small as possible.

'Are you girls ready?' he asks for confirmation. When they all nod, Brush turns around to follow further up the mountain path behind the camp, with him walking on front.

Trixie moves to the stallion's side. 'Are you sure, Brush?' Trixie asks him. 'You haven't slept all night. Aren't you tired?'

'No, I'm not,' he grunts a little grumpy, without looking at her.

'Yea, right...,' Trixie responds sarcastic. 'You have bags under your eyes! You're going to give yourself a heartattack if you don't rest when you can in this constant storm!'

'I SAID I'm fine, thank you very much...,' he grunts again, growing a little more aggrevated from Trixie's best intentions.

'I don't understand one thing about you, Brush,' Trixie tells. 'How do you managed to remain so calm and... distant? You still haven't told me before. I know you were mentally scarred by you-kno-who, but that wasn't it...'

The stallion first sighs in response, sounding unamused to the mare's subject of conversation. 'By losing every bit of dignity that you have left inside your head, Trixie...,' he tells her. 'By losing ever bit of dignity that you have left...'

Trixie drops the subject quickly, noticing how it the red unicorns reacts to it.

'There's one thing I have wondered ever since we met, up till this very moment about YOU, actually,' he suddenly tells.

Trixie looks back at him, wondering what he could possibly be talking about.

'How in Celestia's name do you manage to not getting frozen, while all you wear is a fancy cape and a hat from your show?' he asks, unable for Trixie to figure whether he asks it seriously, or as a joke.

'Hehe,' the mare chuckles. 'Well, a true artist never abandons that which she adores most! In my opinion; It's my hat and my cape,' she explains with a compassion for her gear. 'I warm myself with good memories and dreams of a bright future for me.'

Luna can't help but giggle in herself a bit, finding it amusing to see Trixie cling to her possessions like that. Brush, on the contrary, only shrugs and accepts the answer as "valid".

'A true artist clings on that which he adores most?' he repeats Trixie's words. 'I guess

I never was a real artist then...'

'-Tsk-,' Trixie denies snappy. 'You're being too hard on yourself again, Brush! Ease up! You're a great friend, leader, and survivalist! Not to mention that this entire journey is based on doing the best thing for Equestria! Some would call you a hero!'

The fact that Brush doesn't grunt in response, already tells Trixie that Brush appreciates her pep-talk. 'Thanks Trixie. You've been kind this entire trip, despite my... behaviour. You... you kind of remind me of Twilight Sparkle...,' he mumbles.

'Nay,' Trixie dissagrees. 'I'm not anything like her.'

When the silence starts to push in their conversation, the mare knows that their chance for chatter has passed for now. She slows down, to the point that she can walk next to Princess Luna.

'I honestly never would've expected to hear something like that from Brush, Trixie,' Luna whispers to her.

'Why's that?' Trixie whispers back at her.

'Because Brush' friendship with Twilight Sparkle is the real reason why he would risk his life, is what I believe,' Luna tells her. 'You must've really touched his heart these past months, if he's giving you a compliment like THAT.'

The blue mare smiles, feeling complimented somehow, even though she hasn't received it officially as a compliment. It means much to her to know that she is important to somepony else. 'I thought so,' she whispers.

'So, how are you feeling, princess?' Trixie asks the alicorn mare, changing the subject to regular mare chatter.

Luna smiles at her, always glad to speak to the fellow mare on this journey. 'Not much different than always, Trixie. How about you?'

'Oh, still in one piece,' she tells with a smile.

The past months, Trixie and Luna have become friends during their travels. Without the population around them, or royal regulations in use, the two mares have discovered that they are alike in several ways.

Chatter is the only thing that can keep their minds off the cold. So if they aren't discussing with Spectrum Brush about the next steps of the day, they're chatting with each other. Brush doesn't mind; considering he is the only one neccesary to look out for potential dangers that could lurk around every frozen corner.

***

'Halt,' Brush suddenly interupts the mares' conversation, stopping their walk before a gap between mountains, atleast half a mile wide.

The only thing that connects the two peaks is a long frozen bridge of pure ice, being only as thick as four pony lengths.

They understand what is going to happen; Brush will tell them to cross it, after he checked whether it's safe.

'I'll cross it first,' he tells them indeed. 'If it's safe, follow me.'

He pokes the ice first, which is followed by a loud creaking sound that echoes between the two mountains. When the creaking stops, Brush waits a minute longer and then starts to walk onto the ice.

'I'll fly on ahead,' the alicorn mare suggests, stretching her wings and takes off.

Effortlessly crossing the ravine, Princess Luna looks down into the abysss below her. She feels a little nervous about the two unicorns who are forced to take an ice bridge to the test. Aside from the fact that the bridge has never been used before, there's also the lingering danger of slipping over the smooth ice and fall down to their doom. But when she notices how Spectrum Brush moves over it, without any sign of fear, she feels a little more satisfied with the risk.

'Trixie, are you coming yet?' Brush asks, noticing how Trixie continues to wait at the begin of the bridge.

'Just... gimme a moment,' Trixie mumbles, clearly frightful of the natural bridge that she is forced to cross. When Spectrum Brush is already halfway the bridge, she decides that she should be able to go as well. After all; she's lighter than the stallion. So, with little hoofsteps, she dares to cross slowly.

Brush continues bravely, believing that the bridge is strong enough to hold him without a doubt. When he's about to reach the end, Luna begins to fly next to him.

'Close one...,' the princess sighs in relief.

Brush raises an eyebrow in response to the princess' words. 'What do you mean? That bridge was perfectly fine.'

'Yea, turns out it was. But when i noticed those little cracks on sides, I got a little scared,' Luna laughs.

Brush halts just when he has reached the other side. 'Wait... Did you say cracks?'

Both hearing a creepy cracking sound, growing in volume by the seconds that tick away, they don't hesitate to turn to the Trixie, who still moves slowly over the icy walkway.

'Trixie! Get off of there! NOW!' They both yell at her.

Before Trixie could respond to their sudden outburst, she is startled by the collapsing sound of ice that occurs a couple of feet behind her. When she looks to see; she realizes that the entire bridge is falling apart, about to fall down with her still on it!

Rushing for her life, the mare tries to remain ahead of the crumbling ice. Her lungs are filled with ice cold air, breathing in and out rapidly as she hurries with all her might. But the cracks keep up with her, slowly closing in on the hooves of her. As she draws closer to the princess and the stallion, the noise becomes louder and louder in her ears.

'AAH! HELP ME!' Trixie yelps in fear for her life. She can feel how the floor beneath her is crumbling faster than she can gallop, causing her to slip. With a final attempt for a leap, she manages to hold onto the ledge of the broken bridge, only inches away from falling into a deep ravine below her. Her hat is blown off by the wind, dropping down the great distance beneath her.

'Trixie!' Luna and Brush both gasp, rushing to the mare's aid.

The two ponies grab onto Trixie's hoofs, preventing her from slipping away. 'At two!' Brush commands the princess. 'ONE, TWO!' they count, followed by pulling Trixie up with all the strength they possess.

With a powerful pull, the blue unicorn is thrown over the ledge, crashing on top Brush. Still fearing for her life, Trixie holds onto Brush without any intention of letting go. He's a little surprised about Trixie's action, unknowing how to handle now with a mare squeezing him in a hug.

'P-Pull yourself together, Trixie,' he tells her.

The mare still shudders from fear, clamping onto the stallion for comfort. Brush can't do much but simply wait until the mare calms down from the scare.

'This is going too far..., Luna grunts when she pulls herself up from the snow. 'We've been searching for months now... We've crossed miles over these frozen mountains for so long! Isn't the crystal already safe; Being stuck in a place where nopony would dare to come?'

Brush shakes his head at her. 'Trixie was her before us, remember? If a mare like her manages to stay here, it means more ponies can. And if only ONE pony already manages to get this far, it means that Fame's crystal could be discovered... No, we MUST find it. I will not rest safely until that gem is safely locked away in Canterlot!'

'But at what cost, Brush?!' Luna suddenly speaks out with more volume. 'We've encountered yeti's, risked the chance of hypothermia, put an innocent mare into danger by taking her with us, who nearly fell to her DEATH! DON'T YOU EVEN CARE ABOUT THAT?!'

'LUNA, THAT'S ENOUGH!" he suddenly interupts her, surprising her with the royal canterlot voice. He has alot of nerve to use it, considering he is not of royalty, and using it against HER. The mountains still tremble from the shout, unleashing an avalanche on the other side, leaving the ponies out of danger. Trixie quickly jumps off of him and goes standing next to Luna, both looking quietly at the cold-hearted stallion, while the snow rumbles in the distance.

'You are here on MY quest! Which makes ME responsible for all of your lives! I will not stand idle and watch how a guide and a princess get hurt, if I could prevent it!" he yells at her, disregarding her rank, adressing her like an equal. 'I will risk my OWN life if that's what neccesary to save you two from any harm. As long as I'm around; NOPONY gets hurt! DO YOU GET THAT?!'

Luna is at aloss of words upon hearing this, understanding Brush' best intentions. She turns her face away, rethinking of what Brush just told her. Their guide mare remains speechless as well.

Brush thinks that he may have been a little too harsh to Luna, considering she only want whats best for them. Deep in his mind; he knows that she's right. They've been searching for months, everyday believing to get closer to the end of their journey. But the truth is: The stallion has no idea where to go further with this.

'Luna... You and I; we're the same... We both want to find recognition and forgiveness for the horrors we faced, sometimes forgetting the road that is needed to walk to reach it...,' he suddenly speaks with a calm and exhausted voice.

Luna looks back up at him, listening to him.

'But this is my plan and my thing to do. I could've just ignored my past and accepted the forgiveness that everypony would give me, but that's not the decision I chose. You wanted to come with me and help me, which I appreciate from the bottom of my heart. I let you come with me, because you want the same redemption as I do. But if you,Trixie, or anypony else falls victim to this journey... I could never look at myself in the mirror again.'

Luna nods. If she wouldn't know better she could've sworn that she noticed some emotion hidden in his words.

'If... If you wish to turn back and head home to Canterlot; I would never hold it against you. This is a fools trip. Only a moron like me could possibly come up and execute it. That does not mean you two should risk it...'

Luna looks at Trixie, noticing how much she has calmed down from the fall she nearly made a moment ago. Trixie looks back at her and gives a nod. She doesn't wish to quit now, considering Brush won't be able to do this without them. And the princess knows that too.

'No, Brush,' she tells him. 'I already made the deal with you; Your information for my help. And a princess always keeps her promises! And besides, you wouldn't continue without a pair of friends at your side, right?'

The red stallion looks over his shoulder at the mares, unable to believe that they're willing to continue with this after all. Luna and Trixie both smile at Brush' staggared face. Luna gives a little wink at him, telling him that she's fine with the risk herself. Brush doesn't smile in response. But deep down, they all know that he is grateful for the mares' help.

'Thank you,' he whispers.

***

Unhindered by any more delays, the ponies climb further up the mountain path. Their trail proceeds along one of the many peaks that decorate the horizon of the frozen north. They walk among something that they picture as a path, though it's pure snow. The only direction they can count on is Spectrum Brush' senses. But their path ends; covered under a several feets thick layer of snow.

'Blast!' Brush grunts in anger. 'The snow has covered the entire road! Just when we're getting so close!'

Luna sighs and shakes her head. 'Brush, this snow is here because of that avalanche you caused...'

'I know that, Luna...,' he grunts dissapointed, blaming himself. 'But...But I am certain that-' the unicorn whispers sad.'

'No, Brush,' the female alicorn interupts his futile hopes. She places a comforting hoof on his back. 'Face it; The path is gone... It's over.'

'It can't be. I cannot give up now...,' the stallion speaks in denial.

'Wait... What's that?' Trixie asks, pointing with her hoof at a huge wall of crystallic ice as part of the mountain, which reflects like an enormous mirror in the little amount of sunlight.

They awe in amazement at the wall, never having witnessed such a spectacle of forces of nature before.

'It-It must've come exposed because of the avalanche!' Brush gasps.

Slowly walking at the natural phenominom, the three ponies look at their reflections in the wall, feeling entertained somehow. Trixie and Luna both continue to look at how detailed their reflections are, being as clear as a mirror from home.

But Brush doesn't really care. He ignore his rotten reflection completely and keeps looking up and down the mirror, searching for anything useful. When he makes a little step forward closer to the wall, his hoof hits something hard. Looking down at the ground, Brush notices that he hit a cube of ice. But this ice is different than everything he saw before; Considering the cube has a symbol engraved on it, which resembles a symbol that he saw from the past. It's the symbol of Lord Ignis' dominion!

'Could it be...,' Brush whispers as he starts to plow through the snow, eagerly digging a path into the soft cold substance.

Luna and Trixie look at him surprised, confused at what in the Equestria's name he's trying to do. They step back a little when the flying snow starts to hit them.

'Brush... What are you doing?' Trixie asks him.

For a moment there's no sounds coming from the hole he digs. But when the rain of snow ends, the two mares look curiously over the ledge into the pit he dug.

'I found it! I actually found it!' he yells exhausted up to the mares above him.

They know what he talks about, but can hardly believe it. With pounding hearts of excitement, the mares jump into the pit. Landing next to the stallion, Luna's and Trixie's eyes look in amazement at the rune-inscribed wall before them. They have no clue what the symbols mean, but know enough that it has to be the doorway into Lady Fame's chamber!

'We have found it...,' they whisper together.

After they're done with gazing, Brush turns around to the girls. 'Ok! We have succesfully completed step #1! Now it's time for step #2: Claiming the crystal, and secure it in the lockbox!'

'Lockbox ready, Trixie?' he asks the blue unicorn.

'Yes!' she replies cheerfully, pulling a brown box from her bag. The box is decorated with gems and symbols of Canterlot, proving to be one of the same lockboxes that contained Lord Ignis' crystal months ago.

'Ok... Let's open this door,' Luna tells with a grin. 'What do the inscriptions say, Brush?'

She knows that the stallion has the knowledge to decipher it, having learned it from the Hatred Harbringer himself. When Brush is done reading, he drops his flank in the cold snow.

'It... It says we can't enter...,' he whispers with a defeated look on his face. 'This ice is magical...'

'Wh-What?' Luna stutters surprised.

Brush turns around to face the both of them. 'It says that only an equal of her power can open it...,' he sighs.

'An... equal of power? Wait! That means nothing!' Trixie speaks out. 'Can't Princess Luna be considered an equal? She rules over Equestria too, like Lady Fame did ages ago!'

Brush shakes his head. 'No. It says, specifically, that we need POWER! We need somepony who exceeds her own strength; A power that can overpower Lady Fame's knowledge!'

'What about my sister? She's the most powerful being in Equestria! She could-' Luna proposes.

'No, she can't!' the red stallion interupts her. 'Celestia is not the strongest, but Ignis is! His... His flames of hatred are the only thing that can melt Lady Fame's ice...'

This is it. Their road ends just before the treasure. With no way inside; They have no other business here anymore.

Luna shakes her head. 'I'm sorry, Brush...,' she apologizes to him, knowing that this was his only way to fix his mistakes for himself.

They stand silently at the runed ice, nopony willing to say that this is the end of their journey. Princess Luna and Trixie try to give the impression by turning around, ready to walk back to the camp.

'Well... See it this way; Nopony could possibly get the crystal then. It's already locked away better than it is in Canterlot,' Trixie chuckles.

But something snaps in Brush' head. He traveled for months, overcame many obstacles, only to reach the point where he can't continue to the conclusion of his quest. His lack of sleep is finally taking its toll; causing the broken stallion to go berserk.

"NO!" Brush yells, surprising the two mares. "We are THIS close to finally put an end to it all. And now we are supposed to be blocked by some stupid ancient scribbles?!"

His eyes glare at the blockade, his pupils generating a small yellow glow that reminds of the light from a flame, and his way of thinking is lost in his rage.

'W-Wait, Brush,' Luna gasps at the enraging stallion. 'It's over! We don't have to get the crystal!'

But he has stopped listening to reason.

'I was manipulated, mindcontrolled, used for destruction! And now my only chance for true redemption are taken from me?!' he hisses in fury.

Luna and Trixie take a step back, rather frightened by Brush' sudden outburst. The anger he shows starts to gather inside his horn, making it glow bright red.

'I won't be stopped! I-WON'T-BE-STOPPED!' he screams in unbridled fury, resulting in an aura of fire surrounding the stallion. His horn glows crimson-red, instantaneously melting the ice in a mile radius. The radiance can be seen from miles away, marking their location on that specific mountain. Luna and Trixie quickly cover their eyes, hearing a mighty explosion from Brush' direction.

And just like that; The silence returns.

When the heat starts to make way for the chilly wind again, the mares dare to look again. Baffelled by surprise; The runed ice has molten, along with all the snow that surrounded them. The giant wall of ice is covered with water, making the reflections all blurry now.

When Brush realizes what has happening, he is shocked to see what his rage has caused. The last time he was this furious and destructive, he wasn't himself. He was a monster back then. Even though the wall is broken, and the passage of his quest has reopened, Brush needs a moment to process.

'...Let's go,' he finaly tells them and moves inside the dark cave, almost like he ignores what he just did. but he doesn't; he is actually truly dissapointed in himself for using a trick that he was forcefully taught.

Luna and Trixie remain quiet. The power Brush shown was overwhelming, even if he wasn't Ignis. It makes them a little scared of him.

'Incredible power...,' Trixie whispers.

'Brush...,' Luna catches his attention.

The red unicorn doesn't respond at first. He knows how dissapointed she must be at him now for letting himself go like this. 'I know, Luna... You were right; It was safe enough before I blew the gate open... I let my passion for redemption be my own downfall...'

'That's not it,' she corrects. 'The sun is setting. If I am to return to Canterlot in time, I must go NOW.'

It's true; the sun is close to touching the horizon. Giving a faint orange glow on the ice peaks of the northern mountains of permafrost, the day is dawning. Princess Luna remains princess of the night at all time, making it neccesary for her to be at the castle of Canterlot before the sun has vanished behind the horizon. Delaying the night is unnacceptable, and would also bring suspicion about her whereabouts.

Brush and Trixie look at each other for a moment, and nod.

'Luna, it's ok. Trixie and I will check out this cave. We will meet up with you at the camp if you feel alright," the stallion kindly offers.

Luna looks a little guilty, dropping her ears in dissapointment for herself, feeling like she's leaving them on their own. 'Are you really sure?' she asks polite, feeling a lingering emotion of worry for the male.

The two unicorns nod. 'This has been the deal for weeks now, Luna. We cannot possibly expect from you to delay the night this time. Trixie and I will be able to take it from here and secure the jewel.'

The princess smiles, glad to hear their compassion for her duties. 'Alright, I shall return in tomorrow's dawn. I wish you the best of luck,' she wishes to her two unicorn friends, and flies off with stretched wings. And like that; she flies off, moving out of sight when she starts to fly above the snowy clouds.

Brush continues stare into the snowy sky for a couple of more seconds, followed by sighing from tiredness.

'Brush,' Trixie gets his attention. He looks back at her and nods, admitting that they should hurry and see if the cave leads to someplace.

The cave goes on without any side ways, or even tunnels for daylight. The tunnel could be a few feet, or a couple of miles! The only light that the two ponies have to work with; are the lights from their magical horns.

They remain silent at first, thinking of different possibilities about this cave. Could it be Lady Fame's crystal chamber, a trap, or something completely different? But when a couple of minutes have passed, Trixie starts to get an urge to speak to the "leader."

'So... About that flame-,' she starts.

Brush grunts. 'Not now, Trixie... It was a terrible mistake -dot-, he answers, keeping the subject closed.

'Well... Ok if you don't want to talk about "that". But... could you atleast tell me what you think about Twilight Sparkle?' she surprisingly changes the subject completely. 'You asked me multiple times about her, but you never said what YOU think about her.'

'Me? What I think about Twilight?' he repeats the question, a little amused from Trixie's curiosity. 'Well... There's not much to tell actually. I only knew for like a day.'

Trixie chuckles softly. 'And that was enough to make a journey like this? For a friendship you made in a day?'

'...I'm not doing it for her, Trixie. I'm doing all this to feel better about myself, prevent another disaster for Equestria, and find redemption of my actions as a "Harbinger of Hatred"...,' he grunts irritated. 'M-Maybe I just do it for the Mane Six, considering the harm I did to them too! They're my friends too... sort of.'

'Don't make me laugh, Brush,' she chuckles on. 'Nopony in their right mind would do this, without somepony specific in their mind to do it for.'

'...Still, if I'm wrong, it would mean I would have a chance to score, hm?' she speaks flirty to him.

He can hardly believe that Trixie just said that! Brush' face becomes red, feeling a little startled from the mare's unsuspecting comment.

'Eh..., Trixie?' he questions as he looks at the smiling mare.

'What? You and Twilight are mere friends, right? I don't see a ring decorating your horn...,' she chuckles and winks slyly.

The stallion feels highly awkward, never having expected something like this to happen in a place like this. Is she serious?

'Haha, calm down, stallion! I'm just joking!' she suddenly laughs, knowing from Brush's silence that he must've felt a little crazy from that.

Brush breezes his lungs empty, relieved from the nerves of awkwardness. 'Heh, got me there...,' he fakes a chuckle.

When the silence returns during their walk in the icy tunnel, Trixie tells about the thing on her mind at the moment.

'...Do you think the gem is truly in here?' Trixie asks a little worried from possible dissapointment.

'I believe it is. It HAS to be...,' Brush mumbles.

'Good...,' the mare sighs.

Time must've flown by, thanks to their little conversation, because it ends right when the tunnels ends; A large cavern, lit by a sapphire-blue object that floats continuesly in the middle of the chamber. Three large crystallic statues in an equine shape surround the pedestal, which stands beneath the crystal itself.

Brush cannot believe his eyes. After searching for so long, he has found the crystal that can only belong to one pony: Lady Fame.

'We did it...,' he whispers. 'WE DID IT!'

A big smile decorates the stallion's face, unable to cover his happiness like all the emotions he surpressed the past months.

'Wonderful...,' Trixie mumbles as she looks at the gem, which radiates a light of terrifying power.

'Prepare the lockbox, Trixie. We will capture it in it now! But don't make any physical contact with it! The slightest touch can already consume you in her grasp!' Brush warns her, with a grin of succes on his face. 'It's high time that this adventure gets a happy ending!'

Before he could make another step towards the center of the cavern, he is surprised that he can't move his legs all of the sudden.

'Ugh! What is this?' he wonders as he looks down to his hoofs, which are being entangled by ropes.

The rope flies around his body, tying him completely up. 'A trap?!' he questions in panic. Struggling futile against the ropes, Brush collapses on the rocky ground, with barely any space to move.

'That... would be called a magic trick,' a voice chuckles.

Brush can only lie down immobile and look at the blue unicorn that passes him, looking down at him with a sadistic smile.

'And it's the best Trixie can do..., yet,' Trixie laughs, starting to speak in the third person.

His eyes shrink from surprise of this unexpected turnout. 'Trixie, what do you think you're doing?! Untie me!' he desperately demands, only to be ignored. The mare looks away from him and gazes into the icy pattern inside the blue gem, hoovering a step away from her.

'Lady Fame; The most powerful magical alicorn of Equestria. The strongest magical enhancements could come from this little gem? Trixie can only imagine what kind of magic power she would have when she takes this!" she tells. 'So, according to you, the slightest touch can already activate the gem?'

Brush gets the idea that she has gone mad. Her thirst for power is a deathtrap!

'Have you gone insane?! We were supposed to make sure that crystal can't do any harm! Don't do anything stupid, Trixie! She will control you like a puppet, instead of lending you her power!' he yells at her. 'We promised together that we would secure the gem!'

Trixie giggles at the adorable way Brush struggles with her magical ropes, which keep the stallion down. 'Oh, Brush. This was Trixie's plan this whole time! While I was wandering in the middle of nowhere in selfpity, Trixie was lucky to discover you and the princess' presence! When I figured you are friends with that accursed purple pony, and you were after an artifact of great power, ...Who was Trixie to turn down such a wonderful oppertunity?'

'Trixie has better plans than yours, Brush... I can use it to take revenge on the pony that made a mockery out of me... With this crystal's knowledge; Nothing can stop Trixie! Twilight Sparkle will pay for the humiliation she brought upon me..., And so will her friends! I will be the most powerfull unicorn in Equestria! And not even Princess Celestia will keep that title from me, because I, Trixie, deserve it!'

'T-Twilight?! B-But you said you were friends with her!" Brush panics, hearing the name of his best friend involved in some maniacal plot for revenge.

Trixie only laughs at Brush and walks up to him. When her face is one hoof away from his, she strokes her left hoof over his cheek, making him only more infuriated. 'Guess what, Brush; Trixie is a good liar.'

'HEEEELP! I'm so scared!' Trixie acts poorly, re-enacting the moment she nearly fell into the ravine today. 'Oh, Brush. You're such a dashing stallion!' Trixie speaks while flapping with her eyelashes rapidly, pretending to seem flirty.

Then she bursts out in a laugh. 'Haha! You completely fell for it, idiot!'

'Y-You... filthy traitor...,' he grunts. Brush feels betrayed. He put Trixie in his circle of trust, believing her to be actually something like a close friend! But now, she is on the verge of bringing another horrible catastrophe to Equestria!

'Don't be a foal, you madmare...,' he gasps as the ropes tighten around him. 'I became possessed by such a power myself! You will be used as a host the same way! The only thing "Great" and "Powerful" about you; will be your foolishness, if you continue with this!'

Trixie gives him a disbelieving frown, unconvinced by his attempt to talk her out of it.

'Pfah! You were just too weak to handle it! You're nothing but a fool, like all the rabble out there! But not Trixie!' she tells him and pushes him on the ground, focusing her attention back on the blue gem.

'I-AM-THE-GREAT-AND-POWERFUL-TRIXIE!' she yells as she jumps onto the pedestal and presses her hoof against the crystal. When the connection is made, a blast of white energy fills the chamber like a raging current.

'NO!' Brush gasps with desperation, afraid of the event to follow.

An ice cold current starts to fill the room, making Brush shake as much as he possibly can in his paralyzed state. Trixie vanishes, becoming invisible in a cloud of mist. Many lights spout from the fog, a huge burst of energy coming forth which pierces through the walls like an a spear.

A silhouette in the mist starts to grow, stretching wings from back, enlarging a powerful horn, and growing long snow-white manes from her head.

Brush tries to move, either to get out of the ice filling room, or attempt to stop Trixie at all cost. But he can't even budge away from his spot. All he can do is witness how Trixie is being transformed in a terrifying shape that resembles the monster he once became.

He can only yell in denial, cry a tear from the feeling of betrayal by how his supposed-ally turns out to have abused him. The sillhoutte explodes in a wave of frost and magic, blowing towards the bound stallion.

'TRIXIE! DON'T DO IT!'

Friends or Foes

Chapter 6 - Friends or Foes

'Don’t… do it…,' Brush whispers as he moves disturbed around in the bed. His eyes jump open as he wakes up and gasps from the scare of the nightmare. The stallion has regained conciousness.

Brush realizes that he isn’t in the freezing cave anymore, about to be turned into a popcicle by the traitorous mare, but lies in a comfy bed instead.

'What happened?' he mumbles in himself.

For a moment, he can't recall whether his nightmare is the thing that just happened, or the battle with the windigo. But when he thinks about it, he knows that the search for Lady Fame's gem ended about a week ago.

The red stallion looks confused around the room, deducing that he seems to be in the library, though this part looks more like a livingroom and bedroom. He notices the painting that hangs on the wall, most certain that he has seen it before. It is when he gazes at it long enough, he recognizes it. He made it himself, a lesson to forever remember: The friendship of the Mane Six, a true friendship.

'The meaning of true friendship...,' he whispers, continuing to gaze at the art. 'Twilight Sparkle kept it...'

He tries to get out of the bed, but feels a shot of pain going through his body, forcing him to lie back down. '-Kgh-' he grunts and looks at his chest and stomache, realizing that they're wrapped up in bandages. He remembers it clearly now: He was struck in his stomache by the iceblast from the windigo, crushing him between the ice and a bookcase.

'Welcome back, Brush,' a whisper sounds from the shadows in the back of the room. 'I was worried that you may remain asleep.'

Surprised, the stallion looks up at the corner of the room. There she is: The purple unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. He quickly recovers his glare, though it's less intimidating now that the bags under his eyes are gone and his skin is getting its healthy red color back. The stallion still tries to remain distant, like he's been doing this whole time.

'If you're curious about it: I checked on the gallery, your home, from time to time, like you asked me...,' Twilight tries to speak to him. Brush doesn't respond though, only looking quickly down at the bedsheet.

'Are you feeling any better?' the mare tries to ask him.

'Why am I here?' Brush suddenly grunts.

Twilight sighs and shakes her head. 'Brush..., you don't have to act like this anymore. Princess Luna told me everything: Your worries, your devotion, and your best intentions... You're not a bit different than when we met, are you?'

The stallion remains silent, but he definitly heard it, considering he looks up surprised at the mare. Twilight realizes that it's true; Brush was only harnassing his feelings deep within himself, forcing himself to be able to act as cold as he did and become able to take the burdens on his shoulders.

The longer Twilight continues the look into his glare, the more it seems like the hate is vanishing slowly. Brush' frown is gone eventually gone, making place for a sad, yet honest set of emerald-green eyes. Brush quickly looks away from her again.

'Twilight..., I don't deserve to look you in the eye anymore...,' he whispers sorrowful. 'The way I acted... I-I had no choice.'

'That's ok,' Twilight smiles. The mare is more than glad to see that her stallion friend is indeed recovering from his traumas, just like the princess told her he would. 'I can only imagine what you've been through.'

The red unicorn sighs exhausted, rubbing the sweat from his forehead with a piece of the blanket he lies under. 'Don't you hate me?'

Twilight shakes her head. 'Not really. I'm just a little on edge just like everypony else, considering the events that are going on,' she says, comforting him with the truth. 'You had your own drama too, right?'

'You know that our dramas are connected...,' Brush tells her, knowing that Twilight has figured out more out than she's mentioned so far.

Twilight remains quiet for a moment after Brush said it, and understands what he means. Trixie's contact with the crystal of Lady Fame, the hatred she has for Twilight, the strange incidents that occured between her and her friends: It's all connected. Lady Fame seems to have returned from her imprisonment, controlling Trixie's body now like Ignis did to Brush, but seems to have kept some of Trixie's dense-headed ideas.

'I know...,' she eventually answers. 'Actually... I would really want to hear your side of the story... Nopony knows what happened to you more than you.'

He chuckles in response. The red stallion knows that he owes the purple mare alot, considering she also took care of him, even when they were on bad terms. All this time he had to stay quiet, until now. 'Where would you like me to start?'

'From the begin... Right after you left from our meeting in your home,' Twilight asks.

The stallion drops his head on the pillow with a sigh. With his dark mane hanging partionally in front of his eyes, he looks at the ceiling, thinking back to that day.

'The day I left Ponyville, I was still corrupted by Ignis' magic, though I had regained control over by body, thanks to the Elements of Harmony,' he tells her, making her recall the events as well. 'I flew over Everfree Forest, without any idea of what to do next. I was confused, scared, and maybe even a little angry at myself... Before I know what was going on next, I felt a repercussion of magic. The burden of the Harbringer's power took a toll: Erasing my memory and strength instantly.'

Twilight moves away from the other side of the room to the bedside, looking at Brush as he continues to talk. The stallion doesn't look back at her, talking on about his tale while proceeding to stare aimlessly at the ceiling.

'I crashed in Everfree Forest, unable to move by myself... That's when SHE found me.'

'Zecora...,' Twilight knows, recalling the day that the zebra mare came to her and gave her Brush' farewell letter and his latest creation, which continues to hang on the library wall ever since.

The stallion nods. 'Zecora, like any other pony in Equestria, had lost any memory regarding Ignis' return. She hoped that by helping me, she would be able to recall what she forgot as well. Zecora managed to get every piece of darkness out of my body, curing me from any amnesia, restoring my memories. Too bad for Zecora: She still couldn't remember a thing.'

'In order to banish out the lingering darkness inside me, I was forced to show no emotions, having me to feel like I didn't care about anything anymore... Though that was only temporarily, I found it to be a solution to get things done...,' he speaks, which gives Twilight the idea that that must have been the time that Brush decided to act so cold. 'Zecora believed that I lost my emotions, because I never told her I didn't. And truthfully: I think that I actually made myself believe that I lost it too, making it much easier for myself to accept it...'

'Brush...,' the mare whispers, feeling sorry for the stallion. But Brush doesn't pause his story, unabling Twilight to talk about it further.

'I met Luna soon after I left Zecora's home, a few days after the "Lord Ignis Incident." Because I was the hostbody for Ignis, I was also able to see into his head, allowing me to witness the time of his reign in Equestria alongside Lady Fame... So Luna and I made a deal: I would tell her about Ignis' past, if she would help me to locate Lady Fame's gem and secure it in Canterlot.'

Brush tilts his head left, looking away from the ceiling and into Twilight's eyes.

'When we met the wandering blue mare in the Frozen North... Me, Luna and Trixie searched together for months: a capable good team to survive against the harsh enviroment. But... you already know what happened in the chamber of Lady Fame...' he tells the conclusion, believing that's all Twilight wanted to hear. 'If I could go back in time...'

Twilight pictures his tale in her head, adding the princess' details as well. But still, the purple mare can't figure out why Brush and Trixie would go this far. She believes that Spectrum Brush should've asked her and the others for help, that Trixie had gone too far, and possibly that she herself may have been too gullible to believe that the rest of her friends would do despicable things to each other. But she also knows that the stallion has not told all yet, considering he's still fighting right now.

'How did you escape? Trixie must have fled after she was taken over by Lady Fame, I suppose. But what happened to you?' she asks him.

'Luna found me... She entered the cave when she returned, in the morning. I was unconcious, half-frozen and sick. On top of that: Trixie's stupid ropes could withstand the cold, keeping me tied up at all time...,' he grunts, still angry over how Trixie, his presumed friend, had betrayed him and tried to get rid of him. 'The princess managed to drag me all the way back to the camp and took care of me for the time I was ill... When I was a little better, I explained to her what had happened and urged her to disregard my cold and hurry along to stop that blue madmare. I managed to convince her, getting us out of the mountains when I could walk again, and went south as quickly as possible.'

Brush turns his head away, making Twilight look at the back of his head as he continues to talk.

'By that time, we knew keeping this secret to Princess Celestia would be extremely foolish and futile... So we went to Canterlot first... and made a plan.'

'A plan?' the unicorn mare asks, leaning on the bedside to catch a glimpse of the stallion's face.

'I learned much about Trixie during our travels, enabling me to get the idea about how she thinks... From that: I made a plan to secure all ponies to a safe-haven. A safe-haven that could protect everypony inside from the Great Blizzard that Lady Fame once brought to Equestria...'

'Canterlot!' Twilight figures, knowing that the city is the greatest safe-haven of Equestria, mainly thanks to the princesses and her brother, Shining Armor.'

Brush nods in agreement and looks over his shoulder back at the mare, who still leans over the bed. 'Luna and I forced every possible pony we could find to head to Canterlot, where it's safe from the upcoming chaos. We had to convince every single pony...EV-ERY possible pony in Equestria!' he repeats, still unable to believe it himself that he managed to pull it off. 'And now we're here: Ponyville, where Lady Fame's abilities are used to break your spirit, Twilight.'

The mare needs a moment to think about her friend's story, knowing that it must be true, though still hard to believe. Lady Fame must be able, just like Ignis, to read their host's memories, giving Fame the knowledge about her, the Mane Six, the Elements of Harmony, and the previous return of Lord Ignis. She's attempting to drive them apart, making the Elements of Harmony unable to be used against her! It's almost exactly the same as Discord did when he got out!

'I knew that Trixie would just want to harm you emotionally,' Brush points out to her. 'She didn't want to confront you directly yet, but wants to crush the thing you hold dear: Your friendship with Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash...'

She understands that, feeling sick about being tricked by a jealous mare like that. But one thing stinks about Brush' idea though.

'Then why did she ordered a Windigo to attack me and the library?' she asks him. 'She wanted to watch and see at how our friendship was crumbling, but her windigo attack has ruined that completely! Sh-She wasn't aware of your arrival, right?'

Brush scratches behind his ears, finding it a little difficult to explain the reason to her. 'Sorry to say: but when you discovered Luna and me yesterday, she discovered us too... You were under surveillance by that "witch," thanks to those cursed three windigos that act as agents to her... She knows that me and Luna could wreck her plan, so she must’ve ordered a Windigo to assault the library, just to draw me out. Trixie knew that I wouldn’t remain in the shadow and watch how you would get "iced" by one of her beasts,' Brush explains. 'she knows me well enough that I would blame myself if you or anypony else would get harmed by her…'

The stallion pulls his head from his pillow, able to look at Twilight at the same height. The mare still leans on the bedside, with her head a couple of inches away from Brush'.

'I'm truly sorry, Twilight,' he sighs with sad eyes. 'Every single moment, I wanted to tell you everything... But I simply couldn’t. The Windigo’s ears could hear everything.'

Twilight smiles in return. It's alright to her now, now that she knows the reason behind it. But since Brush has decided to come clean about his secrets, there's on more thing she desperatly wants to know from him.

'Is Spike alright? Atleast tell me that much,' she asks him, looking at him in the eyes, making him realize that Twilight is truly desperate to know about the dragon's whereabouts.

The stallion looks away for a moment, thinking of a way to put it gently to her. 'I'm to blame...,' he sighs. '...I should've told you earlier that he is still safe and sound.'

Those words, put in this precise order in a sentence, are what make Twilight's hopes skyrocket. She can hardly believe the words the stallion just said. With a pounding heart of joy, she looks confused at him, still hard for her to believe that wonderful news.

'Spike is in no harm,' he tells her, giving a smile by being able to tell it to her.

Twilight drops her flank on the floor and she sighs from relief. Her draconic friend is truly out of harm’s way. Her worries and stress vanish like snow in the sun, making her believe that there's still a chance to get things right.

'Spike is alright... That's great news...,' she sighs relieved, turning her head to the empty bed of her dragon friend. 'Where is he now?'

Brush shakes his head slowly and grunts. 'I’m sorry. That’s all I can say... Spike's location cannot be spoken, or else SHE will probably do something to him as well...'

'Oh..., I see...,' Twilight mumbles moody, though the satisfaction of Spike's safety keeps her relieved. Spike is safe, no matter where he is now. It's still the best news the mare could wish for.

The stallion has another burden of himself on his mind. One he must share with his friend. 'Twilight..., about what I said in the town square, about friendship being expendable...'

Before he finishes his sentence, Twilight pulls herself from the ground, stands back at the bedside, and puts her hoof on his mouth. 'It's ok, Brush. I always had a feeling that you weren't serious about that.'

Though she takes it up lightly, the red unicorn still turns his face down to the bedsheet with concern shown on his face. As usual; Brush is terrible at forgiving himself.

But atleast he got to tell Twilight everything she wanted to hear, making everything crystal clear to the purple mare now. She has heard the past, which has taught her that she's not alone against a force of evil. Spectrum Brush, Princess Luna, and most certainly Princess Celestia are going to help her and Equestria.

'Look, Twilight…,' Brush attempts to break the silence, wanting to tell her what is planned next. But he is rudely interrupted when something small dashes into his stomache. '-OOPH!- What the hay?!' the red unicorn gasps surprised.

Twilight is flustered, recognizing the little pony that jumped against Spectrum Brush.

'Dusty Gust, get off of him!' Twilight commands the little colt, jumpy about his sudden appearance. 'I’m so sorry, Brush! I found him hiding in the library while you were asleep! He urged me to let him stay here until you would wake up, no matter why!'

Brush looks down to the colt, noticing the light brown skin, along with red spiky mane that comes from his head. Though seen years ago, he easily recognizes the colt.

'BIG BROTHER!' his young colt voice cheers as he presses his face against the stallion chest. 'You’re awake!'

Brush gasps in astonisment. 'D-D-Dusty?! What are you doing here?!'

'Wait...He-He’s your brother?,' Twilight asks surprised, dazzled by the turnout. She didn't even stop to think once that Spectrum Brush may have a brother or sister, like Brush must have no clue that she has a bigger brother. Though when she thinks about it, she's actually able to make the connection, thanks to the visits to Spectrum Brush's home from time to time.

'So that's where I know him from...' Twilight says in realization. 'I knew I've seen his face someplace before! It was on a photo in your house! I-I never would've thought he would be your brother though.'

'Well, thing is-' Brush tries to explain why he is a unicorn and Dusty a pegasus, but is squeezed by his little brother on his bandages, making him grunt in pain.

'Please, Dusty, calm down a bit,' Brush asks him with a tear in his eye from the squeeze. 'How did you get here anyway? Are mom and dad with you?'

'Nope! I came here all by myself to seek you out!' he gladly tells him. 'I wanted to see THE best ghost hunter in Equestria in action!'

'Ghost hunter?' Brush looks confused down at the colt, having no idea what his little brother is talking about.

'You always told me that you kept the ghosts away from our home in Canterlot! You always watched over me so I could sleep easy when I was still a foal, remember? I never even got to see a glimpse of them! You were already THAT good back then!'

Both Twilight and Brush get an idea of what happened. Back when the brothers both still lived back home with their parents, when Brush was still a colt, his little brother was scared of the nights, like many foals are. As good a big brother as Brush was, he told Dusty that nothing will happen to him, because his big brother will always guard the house. Gullible as Dusty Gust can be, he believed that to be true all this time. It's how his big brother became his idiol.

'But Dusty, I…,' Brush tries to explain the truth, never expecting that a promise like that would remain with him till this point. 'That wasn't...'

'I saw how you fought against that ghost, big brother! You were amazing!' he interrupts the stallion, believing that the misty windigo was a ghost. 'You could see how that ghost got scared when you were about to fry it! And the way you blocked that piece of ice from hurting that lady, it was awsome! I finally got to see how you hunt ghosts with my own eyes, watching how you risk your own life to save others!'

While Brush would dissagree with him, Twilight can't help but chuckle from the fact that Spectrum Brush truly IS often risking his own life to save others nowadays.

'You'll always be the greater one, big brother, I accept that without shame! But I want become just as big as you: a hero of ponykind!'

Brush means to tell him the truth now that Dusty is done speaking. But as he tries to find the right words, he simply can't bring it to him. The stallion softly stutters, overwhelmed by his little brother’s love for him, making him unable to crush such a bond with his brother like that by telling his young mind cold hard facts. To the little colt, he is an idol, a hero that will never be able to disappoint his innocent mind. The way Dusty looks up at him is pure and true, a thing that Brush normally could only dream of. Couple of years have gone by since Brush left the nest, when Brush left home to explore Equestria and make paintings. And even now Dusty still believes in him, having lost no respect for his big brother.

Brush looks up at the purple mare, who remains at the bedside and smiles at the heart-warming reunion of the two brothers. Twilight looks amazed at how Brush, the colt who once seemed to have lost all emotions, suddenly has a tear rolling over his cheek from happiness. Brush, the painting pony, has truly returned to Ponyville.

Brush looks back down at Dusty and hugs him back, even if he feels the pain from his injuries kick in. He doesn't care about the pain, the betrayal of friends, the months of hardships he faced. Now that he's finaly able to be himself again, he wants to do nothing right now but be happy to see his little brother, who didn't hesitate to travel alll this way on his own to find him.

'Thank you, Dusty... Big brother will always keep the bad guys away from you…,' he whispers to his little brother, unable to control his tears anymore.

The colt shivers when he suddenly feels a teardrop fall on his back. 'Eh, brother, are you sad?' he asks him, looking up to the sniveling stallion.

'S-Sorry, Dusty,' he sighs with a smile. 'I-I just got a little... dust in my eye.'

Twilight has trouble keeping the tears of happiness inside herself, wiping a tear away with her hoof. This tiny moment of joy, even if surrounded by these dark times, is strong enough to give her a warm feeling of comfort. It makes her think about the time she was still a filly, always looking up at her beloved big brother. No matter how different they may be, big brothers will never let their younger siblings down.

Eventually, Brush places his brother next to him on the bed, who then rests his head against Brush' shoulder. Brush knows that now is not yet the time to get sentimental. So he wipes his last tears away, takes a deep breath, and turns his attention back to Twilight Sparkle.

'Twilight, during my travel with Luna and Trixie, she told me everything: Her past, her present, and especially the moment she came to Ponyville. Behind all the facts she kept from us, I can now realize that Trixie blames YOU for crushing her life, making her wish to gain powers beyond her control in order to exact her revenge against you and your precious friends,' he tells her.

'Revenge…,' Twilight sighs, thinking about that one tiny moment she met Trixie, barely being two minutes . 'Is... Is is this somehow my fault?'

Brush shakes his head. 'No, Trixie brought this all upon herself. The meeting with you was simply the "spark" that gave her a target to be vengeful to. Every moment she lived before coming to Ponyville, she TRULY believed that she was the most talented pony on Equestria. There was never a pony that proved her otherwise, after all. Until… you showed her otherwise, by saving Ponyville from an Ursa Minor.'

Twilight feels a little strange, barely knowing Trixie actually. She never hated Trixie or wanted to ‘best’ her, even if she was a stuck-up artist who made fun of her friends. All Twilight did was rescuing Ponyville, which is still the best way that things could've turned out to.

'It was only the start. After she left Ponyville, she became insecure. She started to doubt herself and her skills. It resulted into that she messed up every performance that followed… All her tricks failed, her show became a bust, and she became a laughing stock in front of the audiance. All because her mind was set on one thing: You,' Brush explains with bitter seriousness sound in his voice. 'It angered her. She left her career behind and moved away from civilization, despising anypony that laughed at her. Eventually she winded up in the cold north, remaining bitter in solitude for who knows how long. And that’s when we met her…'

Brush sighs. He thinks about that faithful moment when he and Luna met her, and wishes that it never would’ve happened.

'We trusted her... She said that she "humbly" wanted to aid us in our quest, despite her bitterness about her wrecked show. She knew that we know you... so she never spoke about her hatred for you. But when we trusted her enough, we told her about the crystal and… my past.'

The purple mare shakes her head, finding it hard to believe that even somepony as Trixie would go this far to risk possession. 'But, what is she trying to gain with this? She is sending all of Equestria into an eternal winter, making everypony suffer!' Twilight asks confused.

'That’s the "out of her control" part I was talking about…,' Brush grunts. 'She has gone crazy with her new abilities, testing it out blindly on everypony, just because she can.'

'Trixie... Lady Fame… Is this like when you were controlled by Ignis?' she asks him.

Brush looks next to him, realizing that Dusty Gust has fallen asleep against him. He puts a piece of the blanket over him, letting the colt rest while he speaks with Twilight.

'Eh… yea. In a way, it is,' Brush mumbles vaguely. 'Except: She somehow managed to retain control over her body, instead of being controlled by the alicorn... I don’t know how she managed to resists Lady Fame's will, knowing how much weaker Trixie is than her, but it seems like she has found a way.'

Twilight is baffled. Is Trixie’s willpower that much stronger than Brush’s, to be able to resist so much power? It's nearly impossible to believe it, even though proof has it that these past actions were completely directed specifically to her and her friends.

'And now she caused those incidents that happened to you six, like the traiterous coward she is... Trixie wanted to have you lose everything, just like she thinks that you made her lose everything,' he nods to his fellow unicorn. 'Twilight, don’t let the trickery destroy your friendship. You are not the Mane Six because you are chosen to, but because you mares share such a powerful and true bond with each other.

'Answer me this: Do you truly hate the others?' he asks her, making her think about their silly quarrel.

If it weren't for the others, she would've never gotten to be Princess Celestia's student, get her cutiemark, move to Ponyville, make friends, spend great times with friends. Twilight can go on with this list for hours, realizing that a little fight like that shouldn't seperate them like this, compared to the good things they've had together.

'…No, I don’t. I still think they’re my friends no matter what we said,' she admits openly.

'Then go to them. The blizzard becomes stronger and they will be in need of help from a friend or five,' he tells her and smiles. 'Your bond with them was powerful enough to resist Ignis’ mist of hatred. So I will NOT accept to see how you six fall apart because of ONE wicked mare!'

Twilight smiles back at him. She knows how right he is. Many villains have tried to separate them. So she won’t accept this one to succeed with that. Her friends are in need of her!

'What about you?' she asks him before leaving, still a little worried over the injuries.

Brush shrugs. 'Nah, I'll be fine. You go and find the others. Trixie will probably make herself present once she realizes that she failed to force you six apart,' he tells her, certain that once they're together again, they'll want to go after the Trixie and stop her from freezing the land any further.

Hoofsteps are heard on the stairs, notifying them that somepony is coming into the room. It's Princess Luna, possibly having heard their entire conversation.

'You go on, Twilight Sparkle. I will look after Spectrum Brush here,' Luna assures her, clearing herself from the stairs to allow the mare to go down. 'I shall join with you and your friends, along with the Elements of Harmony.'

'Thank you, Princess Luna,' Twilight thanks her gratefully, knowing that the red stallion will be in good hooves. The purple mare doesn’t have a moment to lose and gallops down the stairs. With her unicorn magic, she opens the door, only to find out that the way is blocked by a meter high pile of snow.

'Nothing will stop me now!' she speaks confidence into herself, feeling like she's at the top of the world now. With an idea about that everything will be alright now, she uses her magic to plow through the snow, pushing it aside like a dozer. Her first stop is Sweet Apple Acres, hoping to find Applejack still present. 'Get ready, Trixie! Here I come!'

Once Twilight has gone out of range of hearing, Luna turns her attention to Spectrum Brush.

'Will you be alright?' she asks him.

'Yes, yes. Just a scratch… nothing more,' Brush painfully grunts as he pulls himself out of the bed, clearly injured more than he tells he is. 'We got no time to sit idly about now. There's still a plan to stick to.'

When the stallion is finally able to walk in the room, he heads towards the stairs where Luna is waiting for him.

'Luna, go on ahead to Canterlot and tell our little friend that we’re at Phase Four,' he commands the princess, still treating each other as equals. 'No doubt Trixie has already paid a secret visit to "The Chamber" in the castle. Even Princess Celestia's magic isn't foolproof...'

She nods in response and rushes downstairs to the open door. She stretches her dark purple wings and takes off, hurrying back to her home. Just as Brush is about to head downstairs as well, he looks over his shoulder.

'Sleep tight, little brother,' he whispers as he looks at the resting colt, who moves restlessly in Twilight's bed. 'Big brother will make sure that everypony sleeps safe in their own beds tonight...'

***

'APPLEJACK!' Twilight yells as she slams with a hoof on the front door. The mare can barely stay any longer in the cold blizzard, shivering as the cold wind continuesly blows over her purple skin.

Twilight has arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. She desperatly needs to speak to her friend, Applejack, to be able to apologize for her past behaviour.

'What the... She isn't home?' Twilight mumbles, ending the knocks on the door after trying for nearly five minutes. Knowing that the earth pony can't be too far, Twilight hurries around the house and looks in the open barn. 'Anypony here?!' she yells inside, without any response heard.

Growing a little concerned, the unicorn begins to search over the area, hoping to find Applejack somewhere on the orchard. Braving the snowstorm, she doesn't slow down while the wind continues to shake her very bones by the cold.

But then, a little covered under the white snow, Twilight sees a noticable orange dot, lying between the trees of the orchard.

'APPLEJACK!' she gasps worried and rushes over to the collapsed mare.

It truly is Applejack, still breathing, but heavily undercooled. Twilight takes no second longer and crawls under Applejack's stomache, in order to be able to carry the mare on her back.

'Hold on, Applejack!' she tries to talk to the dizzy earth pony, while hurrying towards the home of the Apple family.

***

The enviroment feels warm, the wind howls in the distance and the atmosphere is calm. Slowly, Applejack comes to her senses, feeling the warmed air of the house moving over her skin. She opens her eyes, recognizing the room she's in. She's in her own house, awakening in the livingroom. She's sitting in a chair, with a blanket thrown over her to keep her warm.

'Ah, good, you're alright!' the familiar purple mare in front of her happily speaks.

'T-Twilight?...' the earth pony coughs, surprised to see who rescued her. 'Wha' happened?'

'I found you lying in the snow outside! What were you doing, in a blizzard like this?!' Twilight asks, curious about what would make Applejack act so foolish.

The blonde mare is still looking dizzy out of her eyes, completely confused and worried. She has completely forgotten about her anger and suspicion on Twilight, having more urgent matters on her head.

'M-Mah sister is missing,' Applejack coughs, on the brink of catching a cold. 'A-Ah gotta go and search for her!'

'Applebloom is missing?' she asks the concerned earth pony, while preventing her from getting up yet. 'Is your family also outside, looking for her?!'

Applejack shakes her head. 'No... I sent them off to Cousin Braeburn today, considering that it's getting to dangerous to have everypony stay here. I-I said that I could handle everything mahself... But look now!' she coughs, feeling lonely and weak now that she lost the only family member she had to look out for now and nearly got herself frozen to death.

'She was supposed to be in her room. But Ah discovered that she escaped through her window, using a barrel of hay! Apple's know where that got from!'

Twilight starts to feel a crawling feeling of speculation, concerning all three fillies. She discovered Dusty Gust, who was sneaking around in the library, and told her that he did it because he wanted to help the Cutie Mark Crusaders, by finding a way to convince their sisters that seperating them is wrong. As far as Twilight knows: Dusty Gust is a colt with a real go-getter attitude, possibly sometimes not overthinking everything... It's a very recognizable "talent" that he shares with his brother, Spectrum Brush. So that's why it's highly possible that Dusty's the one that got Applebloom out. But as noble as his actions may be, it will be hard to get that explained to a mare who's worried sick over her missing sister, in the middle of this dangerous blizzard.

'I... don't know where Applebloom is...,' she admits to her. 'But I do believe that she's alright.'

The blonde mare looks up at her, a little confused about what Twilight means with that. 'What'ya mean, Twi? What makes you say that she's alright?!'

'W-Well-,' Twilight stutters, a little flustered over the hopefull reaction that Applejack gives her. 'I can only guess... But I can't say anything for certain, until we get to speak to Sweetie Bell and Rarity.'

'Rarity...' Applejack looks down to the ground and sighs, sounding a little unwilling to face any more mares with who'm she collided with.

Twilight realizes that Applejack may still hold a grudge, and wants to try to talk her out of it. 'Applejack, I know this may sound crazy, but I need you to listen to me. All our incidents, the ones that tore us six apart, it was done on purpose by somepony else. It was-'

'I know it wasn't you, Twi... I probably knew it all along in the back of my head... It's mah own darn fault,' Applejack interupt her, suddenly apologizing for her past behaviour.

'The orchard has never caught fire before. If me and mah own brother wouldn't have been on time, we could'a lost alot more of the trees... I was just so clueless and blinded by anger, that I instantly blamed the only clue that lay about: your book, without considering a different reason,' she sighs, having told the purple mare her true feelings. 'Can ya' forgive me?'

Twilight remains quiet, listening to Applejack's words. She's both glad that the mare understands that it wasn't her doing, but she also feels sorry for her, knowing that she made the same mistake like she did.

'It's ok, Applejack,' Twilight tells her and pats her on her shoulder. 'I should've taken things more rationally myself... We all should have.'

'-Heh- We should've figured that something was up, the moment Equestria's summer got snowed under, right?' the orange mare chuckles, glad to have put their differences and grudges aside. If they work together, the current troubles won't seem so big.

'Friends?' she asks.

'Friends,' Twilight confirms, shaking hooves with each other.

Applejack and Twilight have settled their former grudges, ready to work as a team again now. Though still feeling worried about Applebloom's safety, Applejack trusts Twilight about that Applebloom is alright. So they intend to head to Fluttershy's house first. Her home isn't that far from Sweet Apple Acres, and she deserves an apology. If she will want to help them with finding the others then, it will only work out better.

'So... What was it that you wanted to tell me?' Applejack asks while she runs alongside Twilight Sparkle, feeling a little better now. 'Who's twisted enough to make us turn against each other?'

Twilight nods. 'Eh... I’ll explain everything later. We better hurry now,' she tells her, noticing how the storm is about to break further.

***

'How are you feeling, Rainbow?' Fluttershy asks her fellow pegasus friend.

Covered in a blanket, sitting on a chair, the blue mare simply nods at her with a thermometer in her mouth. Rainbow Dash has no grudges left towards Fluttershy, especially considering she's trying so hard to make her well.

'Good,' the pink maned mare says, smiles, and continues to check on all the other creatures that fill her house. She looks up surprised when there's a knock on the door.

'Oh, my! Who could possible be outside in this storm!' she gasps, worried for the sake of others as usual.

As the knocks continue to come from the door, Fluttershy tries to squeeze herself through the crowd of animals that stand in the living room as quick as possible. Apologizing everytime she thinks she pushes a critter out of the way, she continues to press on until she reaches and open the door.

'Hello. Quick, come in! What are you doing out-' she invites the guest in, but stops speaking when she realizes that the ones at the door are not the good types that she was expecting.

'Fluttershy! We were hoping that you would be here still!' Twilight mumbles as she's shaking from the cold.

'Twilight... Applejack... Wh-What are you doing here? I-I thought I asked you to leave...,' she mumbles sad, afraid that they've come to make further trouble. She doesn't have the guts to close the door. So she simply turns around and hopes that the mares will leave out of themselves.

'Wait, Fluttershy! This time it's different!' the purple mare quickly tries to convince the pegasys. 'None of us was responsible for any drama's that happened to us!'

'Wh-What?' Fluttershy gasps and looks up at the mares. The words are almost too good to be true. She had already nearly given up on hope of recovering her beloved friendship with the others, believing that nothing could suddenly turn everything around. 'Is-Is that true?'

Applejack nods. 'It sure is! Turns out somepony set the whole thing up, just to seperate us!'

'I heard it all from a reliable source!' Twilight nods. 'None of us have any reasons to doubt each other!'

The bashful pegasus doesn't know what to say. The news about that there's no reasons to despise each is wonderful to her, even though it's terrible to hear that somepony was cruel enough to do this to them.

A faint smile appears on her face, glad to be able to be with her friends again, who treat each other with respect again. 'yay...,' she whispers softly.

'Eeyup, sugercube. I too admit as well that I find this whole drama to be a nuisance. I'm glad that we can set it aside and go through one door together again,' Applejack nods while she tries to make space between her and all the critters that press against her. '...And we might even be able to fix this winter, so that yer house can get the space again...'

'Why should we believe you...-cough-,' Rainbow Dash grunts from her chair. 'Why should I just believe what you say? I know nopony that can buck apples better than you, Applejack!'

'C'mon, Rainbow!' Twilight Sparkle desperatly tries to convince the stubbborn blue mare. 'Don't you see that it was all an act? There are plenty of ponies that could've launched apples better than Applejack!'

The earth pony mare grunts, feeling like being given too less credit about her skills, though she knows that Twilight means it with the best intentions. 'Yea, c'mon, Dash! Rarity heard a explosion and saw a rainbow, right? Ah bet THAT wasn't your doing as well.'

'Still...,' the blue pegasus grunts, feeling urged to admit that Applejack is right. 'It doesn't hurt to apologize! If not for the applebucking, but for the insults!'

'WHAT?!' Applejack responds angry. 'Ya' were just as bad as me!'

Rainbow Dash doesn't care about that and stands up from her chair to confront Applejack directly. 'That doesn't cover it now, does it?!'

'Stop it already, both of you!' Twilight grunts aggitated. 'Don't you see that we don't need to hate each other? We all made a mistake!'

'And who are you to say that, Twilight...,' Rainbow Dash grunts. 'Do you have proof? Because I don't see proof! Why should we believe your "reliable source"?!'

'Actually, she has a point...,' Applejack feels forced to agree, curious why Twilight is so certain. 'What makes you tell that it was done by somepony else?'

The purple mare sighs, growing tired of the mares' doubt. 'Because I was told in detail that it was done by a mare. A mare who was responsible for the Great Blizzard, ages ago!'

Rainbow Dash doesn't seem convinced at all, just like Applejack, who looks a little doubtfull at the purple mare with the good intentions.

'HAH! -cough-' Rainbow Dash tries to laugh at her, but is cut off when she has another cough in her throat.

'The... Great Blizzard?' Applejack asks, knowing what it is, but unable to believe that it was done by a pony. 'That dun' make any sense, sister! Stories say that it was done by three windigos!'

'Yea! -cough-' Rainbow Dash agrees sickly. 'Who in their right mind would discover an ancient fact like that and tell you about it?!'

'Brush did...,' Twilight grunts with bitters seriousness. 'Spectrum Brush, the Ignis victim from months ago, told me everything...'

The three listenting mares are all suddenly quiet, having no idea how to respond properly to such a claim. They all know Brush, having met them months ago in person. They were surprised to discover that he was the victim host body of Ignis and saw him leave the scene in the end, planning to burn down Ponyville. To hear that name again, after all this time, it sends a shiver down their spines.

'Spectrum Brush...,' Fluttershy whispers. 'Is-Is he alright?'

Twilight nods. 'He even barged into the library and fought a WINDIGO, right in front of my own eyes! He's been fighting to save our bond, Ponyville, and possibly all of Equestria for months!'

'Apples on a stick...,' Applejack mumbles amazed, having no trouble to believe that Brush would only return if something as disasterous like this would occur, whether it would be because of him or not. Twilight's reasons don't sound as farfetched as they did a moment ago now.

Twilight believes to have caught their believe now, basically having proven that she is right.

'Pfff, that explains a lot...,' Rainbow Dash sarcastically speaks out. 'It's his fault that this winter is happening now, isn't it?'

Twilight wants to dissagree right away, considering Rainbow Dash irrational way of thinking. But she has to admit that in a way it actually is Brush' fault, thanks to seeking and opening the prison of the alicorn. Dash had troubles getting along with Spectrum Brush before he even got controlled by Lord Ignis. She already said that she should've been nicer to Brush months ago, but apperantly she's still not all too happy about the stallion.

'It's not his fault,' Twilight stands up for her friend. 'He tried his best to prevent a disaster like this, but... it simply backfired.'

'Still, it means -cough- it's his fault!' Rainbow Dash interrupts, unable to see past blame and cause.

Twilight has had enough of the colorful maned mare, growing tired of her accusations all the time. 'Enough, Rainbow! You have no right to blame everypony but yourself all the time!'

A fight is about to break out again. Twilight Sparkle is provoked, Applejack yells out that she should'nt have to apologize for something she didn't do, and Rainbow Dash just wants an apology from Applejack no matter what and hear that she's right in every way.

'OK ENOUGH!' Fluttershy suddenly yells, silencing the other mares. 'I am sick and tired about these pointless fights! We had such a great time together! And now that we discover that our previous fight wasn't our fault, we still fight with each other?!'

Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash look flustered at each other, getting it pushed into their minds about how right Fluttershy is.

'Twilight, you said that I'm smart enough to see that you couldn't have done something that bad. I do believe you're innocent, as well as Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spectrum Brush!' Fluttershy tells her, forcing it through their thick skulls to accept the facts and stop holding bad feelings for each other like this. 'Rainbow Dash, we all know that you want an apology for what happened to you, which you deserve. But pulling it out of somepony, who hasn't done anything, will be as wrong as the thing that happened to you!'

All three mares are silenced. They look with widened eyes at the desperate Fluttershy, who only wants what's best for everypony. And they all think that she's right: Why can't they let bygones be bygones, and proceed with the great times they've had so far?

'...I still have to apologize to Rarity myself...,' Fluttershy sighs.

Rainbow Dash notices that it took alot of energy and guts for Fluttershy to throw this speech out, considering it's not something Fluttershy would do normally. She throws a comforting hoof over Fluttershy, having realized her folly thanks to her.

'Me too, Fluttershy,' she tells her and smiles. 'And also to you.'

Applejack and Twilight move to her side as well, also throwing a hoof over her back. 'We all do.'

'I'm sorry for accusing you, Applejack,' Rainbow Dash humbly apologizes. 'I was just being a little childish, I guess...'

Applejack chuckles, finding it relieving to actually hear the stubborn Rainbow Dash apologize in person. 'That's alright, Sugercube. Ah made the same mistakes.'

Fluttershy smiles again, while continuing to breath deeply from her outburst. She's glad to see that her friends can look each other in the eyes this time and be glad to have worked things out. She personally still feels terrible for accusing Rarity of wrecking the mole hill. She always had the feeling that Rarity couldn't have done it, but simply couldn't leave it go unspoken when everypony started to yell to each other last time. Luckely, she won't have to apologize alone now. She has friends to back her up, all set to mend their precious friendship again.

Now that the two most stubbborn ponies of Ponyville have settled their past problems, the last two friends don't seem so tough. But the weather is acting up even further, starting to hail down on the four friends' path to Carousel Botique. It's supposed to prevent them from going any further. Twilight knows it, considering that the windigo's of Trixie/Lady Fame must be shadowing them unseen, every since she left the library. She knows it won't stop her or her friends. Even if a blizzard and a heatwave could bar their way at the same time, they won't stop until they're together again.

'Angel, could I ask you to look after our guests while I'm away?' she asks her little friend.

The white rabbit raises a desperate paw in the air, waving for help as he is squeezed between all the other critters that stand in the room. Fluttershy confuses the waves of desperation for a wave that means 'Alright.' Witout taking a second longer, the four mares walk outside, daring to brave the growing blizzard. Rainbow Dash is the only one that continues to bring the blanket along, wearing it like a robe, as a means to prevent getting sick any further.

***

As the blizzard grows further and further out of hand, the four mares haven't even taken a pause to rest, knowing that they'll freeze when they would. Stubborn enough to find their old friends and get back together, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack are marching on to Carousel Botique, the home of their friend: Rarity.

'How much -sniff- further?' Rainbow Dash ask after a while.

'We just passed the old gallery!' Twilight shouts over the howling wind. 'We should be reaching the botique soon enough!'

'I just hope that Applebloom will be there!' Applejack shouts along, still worried for her little sister.

'I-I hope that she will forgive me...,' Fluttershy mumbles as she shivers from the cold.

Knowing how much the cold is draining their energy, Twilight decides to use a spell on her and her friends, causing the snow to avoid them. It may not keep them warm, but atleast it keeps them from getting ill.

'Don't worry. We'll be at Rarity before you can say-' Twilight assures her, but stops talking when she notices a silhouette of a pony in the blizzard, a few steps away from them.

The pony looks hopelessly around, acting like it has no clue of where he/she is. The other mares have taken notice of it as well, looking puzzled at how the pony is trying to choose a direction, only to move the other way. When walking closer, the silhouette takes the shape of a mare. A white mare with a purple mane.

'Rarity? What are you doing here?' Twilight asks, surprised by the coincidence of running into the one she was looking for.

The white mare turns around, surprised to see the four familiar mares. '-Eh?- T-Twilight! I was just on my way home!' she explains to them. '...Which has to be around here someplace.'

Realizing the unicorn's obvious loss of directions, Twilight asks to make sure. 'Eh, Rarity, are you lost?'

'O-Of course not! Who do you think I am?' the pretty mare replies insulted, finding it embarressing to admit that she has lost her way.

'Really, how long have you been outside all this time?' Twilight asks.

Rarity drops her head in dissapointment, hating to admit it to her once-friend 'Just a couple of hours...,' she mumbles.

'But it's morning...,' Twilight notices and ponders, realizing that it means that Rarity has been up all this time in this cold. 'Have you been wandering all night?!'

Rarity is already out of excuses. she continues to stutter, trying to find the right words to answer to the purple mare. But when she is unable to give any explaination, she bursts out into a tantrum.

'Yes! Yes I have! I can't find the way in this blizzard at all! and now we're all stuck here in the middle of nowhere!' she whimpers, fallen into despair.

'Rarity...,' Applejack grunts. 'The path to Ponyville is right that way...'

'I -eh- well... Thank you,' the mare stutters, feeling a little foolish for crying tears of unnecesary sadness. She tried to find her home all this time, without succes, although the path has been this close to her. 'I will take my leave now then...'

'Wait, Rarity,' Rainbow Dash tries to prevent her from walking away.

'I have nothing to say to you, Rainbow Dash,' she tells her and raises her nose in the air, cold as an icequeen. Now that she isn't helpless anymore, Rarity continues to act high-and-mighty against the mares that she verbally fought with.

'Wait, Rarity...,' Fluttershy mumbles. The golden-hearted pegasus still feeling ashamed of her outburst against the mare, no matter how long it was ago. Rarity hears her whisper and to everypony's surprise stops walking. Without saying a word, Rarity looks over her shoulder at the bashful pegasus. The pretty unicorn would like to hear the words of the pony that accused her of something.

'I'm...sorry,' Fluttershy continues to speak in a whisper. 'I'm so so sorry... I was terribly wrong to even suspect your involvement in harming my friends... I should've known better. I know I don't deserve it from you, but could you ever EVER forgive me? If I could do it all over, I would've never done it like how it happened...'

'Hm,' Rarity sighs, thinking about the apology that she has been granted. 'I appreciate the turn of your accusations, Fluttershy. Your apologies are accepted,' Rarity merely tells her without showing any form of satisfaction from the apology. 'But now, I must take my leave.'

The kind pegasus smiles. Fluttershy is happy to hear that Rarity accepts her apologies. It doesn't bother her at all that the white unicorn is responded as cold as she did. She doesn't even mind that Rarity is already about to walk away from them. But that's a thing Twilight Sparkle does not agree on.

'W-Wait, Rarity! Don't walk away just like that! We need to speak to you too!' the purple unicorn shouts over to the leaving mare.

'Sorry, dear, but I have to go home and see if Sweetie Bell is alright. Atleast I know that she wouldn't backstab me,' Rarity tells her, still showing to be bitter about their fight. 'Unless there's a very good reason, I have no intention of staying.'

'And what if I said that Trixie was behind it? That she was behind all the bad things that happened to us all, just to seperate us?' Twilight shouts, loud enough for all her friends to hear it.

The howling wind is the only sound that fills the air. Everypony is dead-quiet, slowly recognizing that familiar name. The mare that mocked them months ago has returned, having received a power that she abused to break up their friendship and cause this winter. The "Great" and "Powerful" Trixie.

Rarity remains quiet, but stops walking away as well. Clearly she hasn't forgotten. 'Trixie... You mean that shameless monster who turned my hair green? She's back?' Rarity asks, bitter about that tragic disaster.

The purple unicorn nods. 'One and the same... though she may be a little different now,' Twilight sighs, knowing by the surprised faces of her friends that she has some explaining to do.

The white mare ponders what she should do. Should she remain true to her standards and leave them in the midst of their apology or should she stay and hear them out, having her forget the entire apology business. When mere seconds have passed, she has decided. 'Ok... I'll listen,' Rarity tells them.

Twilight Sparkle begins to explain the story of Spectrum Brush: The story of how he went on a journey to find the crystal of an alicorn, named Lady Fame, and seal it away like Lord Ignis' crystal. He ventured with Princess Luna through the Frozen North for months, hoping to redeem themselves, but found Trixie, who has been moving in solitude from civilization for months as well. Giving the history of Lady Fame power, and the betrayal of Trixie, The mares don't think that Twilight is making it up, knowing that it's indeed something to be expected from that selfish mare. They may have seen her for one day. But it's enough for them to know that a girl like her wouldn't be able to restrain herself when finding this form of power.

'Oh my...,' Rarity whispers in astonishment. The mare is left speechless, just like her friends. Though they've been standing in the cold wind all this time, they have grown used to it. 'So Trixie is really back and has been tormenting us like this?'

Twilight nods. 'I'm afraid it's true... Turns out it was my fault, because I managed to prove that she isn't the most talented unicorn,' she sighs, hoping that she doesn't sound to full of herself to her recovered friends.

'No, don't blame yourself for something SHE did, dear' Rarity assures her that she understands her. 'She chose to betray Brush herself! That little monster should be taught a lesson for this behaviour!...Speaking of which: Where is that gentlecolt, Brush?'

Twilight is a little offguard by the chance of subject, causing her to respond to Rarity with a confused look on her face. 'Eh, well, he's resting in the library now. He got injured when fighting a Windigo,' she tells the fellow unicorn.

'Oh, we should seek him out!' Rarity proposes, sounding like a cheery little filly.

A little confused about why Rarity is so cheerful about after the mere mention of Brush' presence, Twilight has little to say in return. The other mares have to admit that they're also curious about the stallion, considering the way he left them all and Ponyville months ago. But that's not the case for Applejack, who hasn't forgotten about the more urgent matters.

'Eh, as much as I'd like to see the fellah, there are bigger problems!' Applejack interrupts them. 'In case y'all forgot: Applebloom's still missing!'

'Oh! I'm... sorry to hear that, Applejack,' Rarity tells, clearly showing compassion to the earth pony's worries. 'Is there some way I can help?'

'Well...,' Twilight likes to tell her idea, but is a little afraid that the pretty mare will take it the wrong way. 'Don't take it the wrong way... But we believe that Sweetie Bell may know where she is-'

'What?!' Rarity replies, feeling like it's blame towards her little sister. 'How dare you accuse my sister of abduction! This is most definitly the lowest-'

'Wait, wait, Rarity! We don't mean it like THAT,' Twilight quickly interrupts her outburst, before Rarity has the chance to continue on her mistaken assumptions. 'We only hope that she HAS seen her, considering they're still friends with each other.'

The white unicorn calms down again, agreeing on the excuse. 'Well... Ok then. We can always ask. I'm certain that my dear sister is still home, waiting for me to return.

'Because she's that loyal to you?...' Applejack grunts with sarcasm.

'Yes, she trust me alot,' Rarity replies, taking Applejack's words as a compliment. 'That, and the fact that I got the only key to the frontdoor...'

***

Arriving at the tall carousel building, which has the new windows installed already, the friends continue to follow their white unicorn friend to the front door. The house has an awful amount of snow on the roof, which slides down the carousel roof to the ground when it becomes too heavy. Without even a few candles burning inside, Rarity's and Sweetie Bell's home looks cold and dead-empty. It only takes a second for the white mare to levitate the right key into the doorlock and flip it open, allowing entrance to them.

'Sweetie Bell, your sister is home!' she echoes through the building and waits for a response. But when a minute has passed, and nothing is heard upstairs, she tries again. 'Sweetie Bell, are you here?'

When nothing is heard again, Rarity's heart starts to pound faster. Knowing the energic filly well enough, along with Applebloom's dissapearance, she's afraid that her little sister has managed to leave the house and may be lost in the blizzard! Quick to become worried, the white mare starts to think deeply on the terrible idea that her little sister is outside, unable to be found due to the storm!

'Oh, nono! Where is she?!' she yelps afraid.

'Calm down, Rarity,' Rainbow Dash tells her. 'We'll find them.

'Calm down? Calm down?!' Rarity asks them upset. 'How can I calm down! There's a storm going on! Oh, poor Sweetie Bell! If only I could hear your voice RIGHT now!'

'Rarity, over here!' a familiar voice calls out to her, coming from behind the other five mares.

'Oh, now I'm already losing it...,' the white mare sighs and drops herself on the floor. 'I could swear I just heard Sweetie Bell's voice...'

'Applebloom!' Applejack cheers out when she sees the little filly next to her friends, all shivering from the cold. She doesn't hesitate to rush to the little filly and hold her, glad to have her back. 'Ah was so worried! What in tarnation were you doing outside?!'

'G-Glad to see you too, sis,' Applebloom coughs out, feeling squashed together by Applejack's powerful hug.

'W-We couldn't get the door open again,' Scootaloo says.

'Yea,' Sweetie Bell agrees. 'We forgot about that little detail...'

'Sweetie Bell, you're alright!' Rarity cheers like Applejack did, also holding her sister in a breathtaking hug of sisters. 'How did you got outside? I was sure I locked the door so that nopony could get in!'

'Oh, stop it, Rarity,' Sweetie Bell suddenly speaks out to her big sister. 'You just locked the door because you KNEW that I wouldn't hesitate to find my friends, which YOU tried to keep away from me!'

Hearing that in public, and just having learned her mistake of accusations, Rarity's cheeks becomes red of shame. As mean as it sounds, she knows that it's true. She actually believed that Sweetie Bell would be better off without Applebloom and Scootaloo, going as far as prevent her from making it her own decision.

'You too, Applejack!' Applebloom tells angry to her big sister, having no fear on telling what bothers her. 'Just because y'all had a bad day, didn't had to mean that ya could seperate us like ya did!'

The fillies pull themselves loose from their sisters' grip and stand together, glaring at them.

'B-But, Sweetie Bell, we only meant the best-' they try to explain, but are quickly interupted.

'NO EXCUSES!' the three fillies yell together. 'The fact remains: You forced us apart! What do you have to say for yourselves?!'

Completely humiliated by the truth, Applejack and Rarity both stutter for words while both their faces turn red of ambarresment. The other three mares simply stand by and look astonished at how this turns out, much to their amusement. Rarity and Applejack, both a "big sister," have been taught a lesson by their little siblings.

'W-We're sorry, girls...,' they stutter.

'And what about each other?!' they continue to shout. 'Have you finaly put your little problems aside and made amends?!'

'Y-Yes...,' they grunt and look at each other, feeling like they both couldn't be humiliated any further.

'Then shake hooves!' the fillies chuckles, knowing that they have the mares completely dominated. 'If you're friends, shake hooves on it!'

Without any dissagreement or objection, Rarity and Applejack simply do what their little sisters ask of them: hold up and shake on it.

Glad to hear their sister to have come to their senses, having them see the errors of their ways, the Cutie Mark Crusader smile and nod. 'Apology accepted!' they cheer and jump back to give their sisters a hug in return.

They all feel much better. Now that all their friendships are back on track, the little siblings don't have to be secretive, and their big sisters are also glad to have been set straight, they actually begin to look forward to the end of this. Because they know they won't be alone when the Great Blizzard itself will be confronted.

'Wait... But it doesn't explain how you two got out,' Rarity suddenly realizes. 'So, how DID you get out?'

The three fillies' smile suddenly dissapears, having realized that they haven't thought about how to explain that to them. They figured that what their sisters did was bad, but forgot that leaving their houses like this wasn't a very good thing to do too.

'Ehm... Well...,' Sweetie Bell mumbles as she thinks of a way to keep Dusty Gust out of it. They all don't want him to take the fall, considering he managed all of this for them. If they would tell them that it was thanks to him, they'll never be allowed to see him again!

'I believe they had alot of luck on their side and good brains to carry it out. Right, girls?' Twilight breaks the silence, having a gnawing feeling that it was thanks to the little colt that they got out as well.

'Y-Yea, that's right!' Scootaloo agrees quickly.

'W-We're getting smarter every day, sis,' Applebloom lies along.

For a moment, no words are spoken. Both Rarity and Applejack look straight at the three fillies, who nervously wait for their answer. Even if they continue to stand in the freezing cold, the fillies manage to break a sweat. But then both mares start to laugh.

'Well, Ah'll be!' Applejack chuckles at her sister. 'Ah gotta say that Ah'm proud to see "that typical" Apple wisdom brewing up, Applebloom! How did you pull it off, anyway?'

'Thanks to Scootaloo!' they cheer, relieved to hear that they're getting away with it. 'Because she wasn't grounded, she was able to come along and help us get out!'

'Ah asked her to fill a barrel from the barn and fill it with hay, able to break my fall!'

'And I made a parachute out of a nearly-weightless fabric, along with strong threads, while Scootaloo and Applebloom gathered enough snow for me to land on!'

'That is rather clever,' Rarity admits. 'Just don't do anything reckless like that again, ok?'

'No problem, sis! As long as you all won't do anything crazy like that too,' Sweetie Bell tells with a grin.

'Ofcourse, Ofcourse!' they promise.

'...Say, what fabric did you use?' Rarity can't keep from being asked, a little concerned about the value of the fabrics she has stored in her workshop.

'Ehm, I don't want to be the partypooper... But we still got to find Pinkie Pie!' Rainbow Dash urges, growing impatient. 'She probably locked herself up in Sugercube Corner! Let's go! -ACHOO!-' she demands and sneezes, growing ill again the more she continues to stand in this blizzard.

'Oh, right. Alright girls! Let's go!' they agree and get back up to follow their friends into Ponyville.

'Ehm...,' Applebloom mumbles, trying to catch their attention for a moment longer. 'D-Do I need to go back home, sis?' Applebloom asks worried, afraid that she can't stay with her friends again.

Applejack understands her worries now, realizing that she's been very ignorant regarding Applebloom's sake. She should've known better than to seperate her sister from her friends, having thrown her personal drama out on Applebloom's friendship. She shakes her head and smiles. 'Nah, Applebloom. You'll be much safer here now.'

'Thanks, big sis,' she thanks with a smile on her face, glad that everything is turning back to the things as it was.

'T-Twilight... H-Have you seen Dusty Gust anywhere?' Sweetie Bell carefully asks, worried that Rarity and Applejack will realize that it was thanks to him that they escaped from their homes after all. 'We're... a little worried about him.'

Twilight knows it all too well. She looks up at the orange and white mares and back to the fillies. To prevent Dusty Gust from getting trouble, she won't tell anypony else about Dusty's plan to bring Sweetie Bell and her friends back together, in order to let the filles stick together. Obviously it was the entire reason why Dusty broke into the library, after all.

'I believe I have, girls. He's currently in the safe hooves of his big brother,' she tells them with a wink.

Though the other mares have no clue about what Twilight is talking about, the fillies do. Their eyes widen from the surprising news that their friend has found his brother, still in Ponyville. As much as they would like to meet them, they've already promised to the grown-ups that they would remain in Carousel Botique, until they would return. The last thing they want to do now is get themselves in trouble now that they've proven to be able to outsmart their bigger sisters.

'Don't worry! We'll be back soon!' Rarity shouts from the distances, about to continue following her friends. 'We'll just be taking care of some "ghosts of the past."

The fillies hurry inside before they could catch a cold. Though they are glad to be together for good again, they still have a lingering negative thought in their mind.

'So... Our sisters get to hunt ghosts, while we don't?' Sweetie Bell asks her two friends, who nod in return. 'Unfair...'

***

'Pinkie Pie, open up! We really need to talk!' Twilight calls out to the mare behind the door.

The five mare continue to stand outside the Sugercube Corner, waiting in front of a locked door. The pink earth pony behind the glass continues to keep her back turned to them, being too busy to mop the floor. 'Sorry! Pinkie Pie isn't home right now! Leave a message after th-'

'Pinkie Pie! We can see you!' Rarity sighs.

'Toooooo late!' she responds, without looking back. 'It's past closing time!'

'But it's on the middle of the day...,' Twilight mumbles, understanding that the pink mare must still be pretty upset over the accusations and punishments she got of late.

'C'mon, Pinkie Pie! You don't hate ALL of us, right?' Rainbow Dash asks. But she doesn't get any response from her. She's being ignored right in front of her.

'Well, this is great...,' Applejack grunts, growing impatient over Pinkie Pie's childish behaviour. 'What'll we do now?'

'Well... I could always teleport inside and open the door?' Twilight suggests. 'It always worked to get in the library. I don't see why it wouldn't work here.'

'Ok then! And then we'll get in their and FORCE her to hear us out!' Rainbow Dash agrees and adds an idea of her own to the plan.

'No... Pinkie Pie will never want to talk to us when everypony is taking our side...,' Fluttershy suddenly dissagrees with a soft tone. 'She has trouble with me and Twilight... Not you.'

Twilight nods. 'Flutttershy is right. She and I, just the two of us, need to talk with her,' Twilight proposes. 'If we can explain her the situation and our regrets, maybe she'll come around... And I don't even want to think about that she might not forgive us...'

'O-Ok...,' Fluttershy whispers, a little concerned about the upcoming "trial" she will have to go through with her friend.

'Pinkie Pie, we're coming in!' Twilight warns to the door, preparing the pink mare for a confrontation. 'Give me a moment...'

Without warning, Twilight's horn starts to glow, preparing a spell, and vanishes in a flash. Having used her popular teleportation spell, Twilight reappears inside Sugercube Corner, allowing her to open the door.

'Are you coming, Fluttershy?' she asks the worried pegasus, who quickly runs inside.

Both now inside the store, leaving the other friends outside to wait, they appproach the pink mare, who continues to stand idly in the middle of the room, having no plans of turning around to her "customers." Though the cold wind blows into the store, cooling the entire room down, Pinkie Pie doesn't even shake a little. The candles that kept the store lit a little are dieing out, unable to remain burning by the storm's freezing currents.

'Welcome to Sugercube Corner...,' Pinkie Pie grunts, most unpleased about the mares' presence. 'What would you like...'

'We would like to TALK, Pinkie...,' Twilight answers calm, but urgent. 'I know you're mad at us, with good reason... But please, give us a chance to explain...'

The pink mare doesn't respond, keeping her back turned to the two apologizing mares. Since she's not walking away, or says no, Fluttershy and Twilight take it as a chance to speak.

'Look,When I saw the library in such a mess, I felt terrible at the mere sight...,' Twilight tries to express her feelings of then in words. 'I found Gummy, your pet aligator hidden on the shelves, which gave me a terrible, terrible assumption... I should've known better then than to put suspicion on you...'

Pinkie Pie seems to listen to her words, since the mare slowly looks over her shoulder to listen further to the unicorn.

'I know that you love to party, but I also know that you're not crazy to do something like this! I know you well enough that you would never cause any damage to somepony else's property or organize it at the completely wrong location. I just wish I thought of that earlier...,' Twilight sighs in dissapointment to herself.

'Pinkie Pie...,' Fluttershy starts to speak too, making the pink mare glare over her other shoulder. 'I'm... terribly sorry for what happened to you in the Sugercube Corner... You're the most cheerful and willing-to-help pony I know in Ponyville. You of all ponies doesn't deserve a punishment like that, for something you didn't do.'

'I... I just hope that you can also understand that it wasn't me that did it... I know they're my friends, and they would trust me wherever I go, but I also know that there are places that ponies wouldn't like to have them around!' she explains, growing desperate when she sees no change in Pinkie Pie's glare directed at her. 'I had nothing to do with it, I swear it... I don't know what got in their mind to do something like this... But it really wasn't because of me.'

The pink earth pony continues to glare over her shoulder, making the two other mares uncertain whether she accepts their explainations and apologies. They can't force her to accept it, due to that it's her own decision. But they hope with all their heart that Pinkie Pie will see behind the bad times, and give them another chance. The unicorn and the pegasus both grow a little anxious when the earth pony sighs and looks in front of her again.

'Pinkie?...,' Twilight carefully speaks.

'Dawwww, I can't stay mad at you!' the mare suddenly cheers in happiness and leaps to the surprised mares to hug them tightly. Both Fluttershy and Twilight are completely surprised, having no idea what's happening for a second.

'Y-You're not mad at us?' Twilight asks with a smile, though feeling uncomfortable by the tight squeeze of Pinkie Pie's hug.

'Nah! It was just a bad day! I don't let bad things get to me!' the pink earth pony squeezes their faces against hers.

'But you...,' Twilight tries to tell that Pinkie Pie contradicts herself, considering she was acting just as mad as the others. But quickly decides to leave that behind, for all their sakes.

'I'm glad we're friends again, Pinkie...,' Fluttershy whispers happily.

Pinkie Pie nods multiple times. 'Me too, girls. It got a little boring without you all around!'

'Hey, is our friend circle split in two now?' Applejack jokes from the door opening, having noticed that the fight is obviously forgiven.

Glad to see the others, Pinkie Pie squees of joy, urging everypony to join them. Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash take no second more and hurry to the other three mares, pressing themselves together in one big hug. It has been only a few days since they haven't been together, but it feels so much better to be now again.

'Friends forever, right?' Twilight asks with a smile.

'Friends forever!' they all cheer together, followed by laughter, all happy to be together again.

The Mane Six are reunited in Sugercube Corner, having left their troubles behind, and are willing to never let something like that happen again for the sake of their precious friendship. Twilight can't help but rub a tear from her eyes, glad to not be alone anymore.

But their beloved regrouping is interrupt, when suddenly a loud sound screams over the building. A loud howl, like that of a wolf, sounds through the air of the empty streets in Ponyville, echoing in a spine-chiling sound, joining with the cold howling of the storm. When the six friends look outside, trying to peek through the falling snow that falls down, they notice three light-blue winds that float through across the sky. The beings move away, as if they're retreating.

'The windigos!' Twilight recognizes their ghastly forms. 'C'mon, girls! this is possibly the only chance we get to find Trixie!'

But her friends continue to stand idle and look at her with unconfident eyes. They're on the brink of solving this crisis. But now the mare's friends are all looking so docile, showing no intention of getting even with the Trixie.

'Wh-What's wrong?' she asks.

'Twilight... Don't you remember what happened last time?' Rarity asks her. 'We got swatted like flies by that beast, Lord Ignis... What makes you think that we can take on Trixie, who now must have the knowledge of nearly every spell?'

'She's right, Sugercube...,' Applejack mumbles. 'She ain't even alone. She got her three lackeys behind her back.'

Twilight has heard enough. She has lost friends, felt loneliness, got into fights with old allies, and saved Equestria many times alongside her friends, who she now got back! The others may not be convinced right now at the last straw, but she sure as hay is. And she will not see them give up, knowing that they're simply in a state of weakness right now because of all the confusion.

'Girls, we're doing this not just for us..., or Equestria..., but for EVERYPONY. We are together because we want to, not because we are the so-called "chosen ones." We could turn around and walk away, leaving Trixie to freeze all we hold dear... But isn't that what we're protecting? What we hold dear?' Twilight asks, knowing her friends well enough that they won't turn their back on everything just because of fear.

The mares look up in revelation and hope, becoming convinced by the proud words of the purple unicorn.

'We do this for our friends, our families, and possibly even for those that we probably dislike! Trixie tries to take it away from us, following ancient hoofsteps of an alicorn who attempted to freeze our forefathers! We have defeated Night Mare Moon, Discord, and the Changelings, together! Are we going to walk away from that and turn our backs to those who believe in us, just because of one pony?!'

'Hay, no!' Applejack steps forth, feeling pumped by Twilight's speech. 'That stuck-up lil' vermin won't get away with burning the orchard and freezing mah family!'

'I-I'll show her m-my hooves! -ACHOO!-' Rainbow Dash talks along, but is too sick too sound confident in her words.

'I... don't like to resort to violence...,' Fluttershy whispers. 'But I'll see what I can do!'

'I got a bill for windows and violation of my hair with HER name on it!' Rarity grunts in anger, feeling like it's a good time to become careless.

'Party Hard!' Pinkie Pie cheers, having pushed her trusty Party Cannon outside. The mares are not sure if their pink friend is going to blow Trixie away or organize a party.

'And I won't let her get away with destroying our friendship, betraying my friends, and use forbidden magic to seek undeserved vengeance on me...,' Twilight whispers. 'Let's follow those windigos to their mistress!'

***

'Faster! They're getting away!' Twilight grunts and breaths deeply, galloping alongside her friends after the magical flying creatures.

They all know that they will lead them to Trixie, who controls them through the power of Lady Fame. Certain that it's a trap, they mares won't let it prevent them from saving Equestria. Rushing between the sleeping trees in Everfree Forest, the windigos continue to leave Ponyville.

'Where in tarnation are these creeps going?' Applejack sighs as she grows exhausted. The excersize keeps them warm, but tires them rapidly as well. By the time the windigos stop, they may not even have the energy to say anything.

'Waid, loog! They al slowin' down! -sniff-' Rainbow Dash mumbles with a nose full.

Ending their flight, the mystical equine beings decends, landing at a clearing in the forest. The mares have no idea whether the windigos know that they've been followed or not. But the creatures proceed into the mouth of a cave, disregarding the arrival of the Mane Six. It's like they're delibretly guide the mares to Trixie.

'They've stopped in that cave! That's where Trixie must be hiding all this time!' Twilight tells the others.

They quickly rush to the entrance and peek inside, trying to catch a glimpse of the windigos that went on ahead. But it's nothing but cave in their sight. The mares walk inside and look curiously around, ready to expect any kind of surprises.

'It looks... familiar, somehow,' Twilight mumbles to herself as she moves inside the cave. She has the strange feeling like she's seen this cave before, but is unable to recall from where or when.

'Ok! We don't know how big this cave is. So we need to stick together at all times!' Rainbow Dash orders to Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Despite her illness, the blue mare continues to act like she's in charge. 'Trixie is holding out here somewhere! She won't be getting away this time!'

'Cave search! First to find the treasure: wins!' Pinkie Pie makes a game out of it, though the others simply hope that the pink mare is being serious in the dire situation.

While the mares are ready to storm inside, Twilight remains at entrance of the cave. She continues to look at the cold air outside, hoping with all her heart for somepony that will arrive any time now.

'Where is Princess Luna...,' Twilight speaks to herself as she paces around the entrance. 'What if she can't find us? We need the Elements to stand a chance against Trixie now!'

'Ya ok, Twilight?' Applejack asks her. She knows from the Twilight's concerned face that she is anxious.

'I-I'm ok, Applejack,' she lies. 'I just hope nothing goes wrong...'

'Same here, sugercube,' the blond mare nods and smiles. 'It'll be fine. We're in this together, right?'

'You're right, Applejack,' Twilight nods and smiles in return. 'As long as we're together, Trixie won't best us. No matter how much stronger she could possibly have gotten.'

'Wait...,' the blond mare speaks in realization, while the purple mare was about to head into the caverns. 'You're hoping for somepony to bring us the Elements of Harmony, aren't you?'

'...It's possibly the only thing that could stop her... It's the Elements that form our friendship into a power that ends evil,' Twilight sighs. 'If Luna won't show up anytime soon with them, I'm not sure if we could ever beat Trixie.'

'I know... But-' Applejack agrees with mixed feelings, only to be interrupted by a shout.

'Wow! Girls, you gotta see this!' Pinkie Pie's joyous voice shouts from further inside the cave, alarming her friends.

Rushing without hesitation, the five mares hurry to Pinkie Pie's location. As they progress further into the darkness, the mares realize that the cavern walls widen. The cave continues to grow bigger and bigger the further they rush in. Even when the size of the tunnel is already big enough for the shed of Sweet Apple Acres, the cave's size continues to become large as they run towards Pinkie Pie.

'Incredible!' Rainbow Dash says in astonishment. 'What in the hay could be in a cave like this?'

'Maybe a dragon? I don't know,' Rarity answers to her. 'Wait! I see Pinkie Pie over there!'

The pink mare stands motionless at the end of the cave, which is the entrance to an enormous mountain chamber with almost the width of Ponyville itself. Pinkie Pie doesn't react to the hoofsteps that close in on her from behind. She simply continues to stare to the center of the chamber.

'Pinkie Pie, what's going on? Did you find Trixie?' Rainbow Dash asks.

'Look at the size of that iceberg!' Pinkie Pie demands from her friends and points before her, into the largest chamber of the cavesystem.

Before them, in the center of the enormous cave, a pillar of ice touches the ceiling from the ground, the size of a small mountain. The entire wall structure of the cave is covered in a few centimeter thick layer of ice, litting the cavern up with the little white light that reflects through the caves. The pillar glows like magic, containing an unknown silhouette inside.

'What in tar...,' Applejack looks at it with wide eyes, like her friends. They all can't believe the size of this magical pillar.

'What is the meaning of this,' Rainbow Dash grunts. 'Is it a challenge or something?'

Twilight decides to find that out. Unstopped by anxiety, the purple mare moves closer to the massive pillar and takes a close look into the ice. She realizes that the light, which reflects through the entire cavern, comes from inside the ice itself. The strange shape that it contains seems to look hairy, yet transparent as well. If she didn't know better, she'd almost believe that she's looking at a humongous bearpaw, atleast ten times the size of herself.

'By Celestia... No way!' she gasps and drops with her flank on the ground, shocked and unable to graps the truth.

Her friends hurry to her side and look into the ice as well, while Twilight backs away slowly in astonishment.

'What is it, Twilight? What is that thing?'

'That thing inside this piece of ice... It's an Ursa!' she speaks to them with fear.

Her friends look like they've been struck by lightning, all remembering very well how their previous encounter with an Ursa ended up like. And most of all: The terrible size and strength of such a creature.

'But... this ice is much much MUCH bigger than the Ursa Minor we saw last time!' Pinkie Pie contradicts.

'It is, Pinkie Pie...,' Twilight whispers. 'Because this is the Ursa MAJOR!'

The truth strikes fast and hard: Unabling the mares to grasp the power that was used to freeze a bear almost as big as Ponyville itself. This was all part of Trixie's plan: By showing the mares what they're up against. Trixie wanted to prove them her newfound powers, which show to be much greater than they could ever experience in their wildest nightmares.

'She was defeated in her fight against the Ursa Minor before. And now she wants to show us all that she can even single-hoofly take on an Ursa Major...,' Twilight whispers. 'This is bad, girls. VERY bad.'

'And that is only the begin,' a voice suddenly echoes throughout the cavesystem, causing it to rumble.

The ice on the walls begin to crack, Several stalactites start to shake and fall to the ground, missing the mares by mere inches. The cave is about to collapse, along with the Mane Six still inside the far depths of it.

'Wow! W-We need to get out of here!' Rarity says while she avoids the falling pieces of ice, the size of the pretty mare.

'Everypony, get out NOW!' Applejack urges to her friends, pointing to the cave where they came from.

Twilight is the last pony to get out, thanks to the extra distance she had to run from the center and back. 'W-Wait for me!' she shouts afraid.

The others have already managed to get out, entering the snowy forest once again. They can still hear how the cave crumbles from within, echoing the sounds of collapse in a thunderous rumble. They feel dizzy, scared and exhausted when they're back outside. But the fear kicks a higher level when they realize that their group isn't complete.

'Wait... Where's Twilight?!' Fluttershy asks shocked, realizing that the mare was already far behind them when they began to make a run for it.

Hearing the echoes of heavy breathing and galloping hooves, the mares rush to the crumbling cave entrance. Their worst fears are that Twilight won't make it in time and becomes trapped in the collapse.

'Twilight, hurry!' they shout together into the darkness of the cave, hoping to see her com eout unharmed. Finaly they see the purple shape rushing out of the shadows, with collapsing walls following behind her. 'Don't look behind you! Just hurry!'

Her time is short. The cave is on the brink of collapse. And just as the entrance begins to fall apart in front of her, she teleports. Just as the cave is crushed together in a loud crashing noise of boulders and dust, the mares are still holding their hearts with anxiety. But when the realization kicks in, they're relieved. All their friends are alright.

'Hay, ya made our hearts nearly collapse along with that cave, Twilight!' Applejack sighs, exhausted from both the rush and the worries.

Twilight doesn't say anything back. She simply drops on the snowy ground and continues to take quick breaths. If she wasn't a unicorn, she would've been burried alive now.

Fluttershy does the same thing, possibly even more scared than the others are feeling now. Even Pinkie Pie remains quiet and shocked, knowing that that trap was supposed to stop them at all cost.

'Where did it come from?!' Rarity asks between her gasps for air. 'Was Trixie inside there? What happened to the windigos.'

They look around aimlessly outside the cave, still shaky over their escape from a terrible fate. While the blizzard continues to rage on, preventing them to see very far into the forest, they feel cold and alone together. But they know that they're far from alone. Trixie is close by, waiting to strike.

'Watch your hoofing,' the voice shouts through the cold air again, echoing around from an unknown location.

'Wha-' Rarity gasps as she suddenly feels how the ground beneath her hooves begins to crumble. 'EEK!'

The white mare is not the only pony who falls down with the earth. Her friends are all surprised at how the ground collapses, splintering like freezing wood. A crater of almost half a mile in diameter takes place in front of the cave, crushing trees that were unlucky enough to fall within the radius. Unable to grab a hold on the glass-like smooth ground of the crater walls, the six mares roll all the way to the center, which is slowly filling up with the white snow that continues to fall down from the sky. It's a trap. And they've fallen into it with open eyes.

'-Ooph!-' Twilight grunts when she falls with her stomache on the ground.

The purple mare understands that it was Trixie's doing. She isn't surprised that the pony -who could freeze an entire Ursa Major- could create a crater out of nowhere, preventing them from escaping. When the tumbling in her brain is setting down, Twilight opens her eyes and looks around in the bottom of the crater, being about five meters below the original surface. The sides are unnaturally smooth, making it impossible to climb out of it. Flying out of it would be impossible too, because the air is freezing cold to the point that it would freeze up any wings that would receive the full wind on them. She can only think of her teleportation spell, which can't save her friends. Her friends are unharmed by the fall, though just as dizzy as she feels. They have no clue of what to expect next.

'Twilight Sparkle… It’s been a long time…I have waited so long for this day: The day where we shall finaly settle the things between us in my favor,' a voice speaks in front of Twilight, causing her to look up. The purple unicorn's eyes widen from astonishment, terrified by the tall mare that stands before her and her friends. 'What is it, Twilight Sparkle? It's as if you've seen a ghost.'

'Trixie...,' Twilight whispers. 'What in Celestia's name happened to you...'

The Cold Heart

Chapter 7 - The Cold Heart

All six mares look up from the ground, noticing the tall dark-blue mare that looks at them with glaring eyes. Her luminesant-white mane hangs over her face and waves in the wind, like it's made of snow. Though the tips of her mane seem almost solid, crystallic like ice. A horn and wings are attached to her body, just like the sadistic smile of satisfaction on her face. A large sapphire-blue crystal is decorating the silver chestplate, glowing with a very recognizable glow of power. But even if everything on the alicorn looks nearly unrecognizeable, her Cutie Mark is not: A cloak and a magic wand. The alicorn truly is the "Great" and "Powerful" Trixie.

'Trixie, It really is you, isn't it?' Twilight whispers as her eyes look over every inch of the mare, nearly unable to recognize anything of her original form.

This is the second time that Twilight sees this form of corruption. Her fears of Lord Ignis haven't passed since that day, making her a little scared to see the once-harmless artist turned into a mare of mass destruction. It's just like Spectrum Brush's accident: Trixie has been transformed by one of the mightiest beings of Equestria.

'Lady Fame is in no control, if that's what your wondering,' the mare comfirms and continues to chuckle at the faces of the astonished mares. 'You all expected to see Trixie again as the little mare as she was, didn't you?

'Wow! She turned around just like Brushy!' Pinkie Pie realizes, recognizing the smililarities between Trixie's and Brush's transformations.

Trixie smiles, understanding that the terrible experience from Lord Ignis is still burned in their memories. 'Yes, that's right. Except this time: Trixie remains in control!

'How in Celestia's name did you do it?' Twilight asks her, dieing of curiousity about what Trixie has that Brush didn't.

The question causes Trixie to laugh, mocking the purple mare. 'Trixie is far more talented in magic! Ofcourse Trixie would remain dominant over the alicorn and claim her power for myself!'

'Th-Then why did you freeze Ponyville? Why freeze all of Equestria?' Twilight asks, growing a little scared of the tall blue mare.

'To lure you fools out...,' she grunts in response. 'All those fools deserved to suffer, like they mocked me!'

'Y-You're not serious, are you, Trixie?' Twilight asks, hoping that Trixie is lying.

But the alicorn shakes her head and smiles. 'Look me in the eyes and tell me that Trixie is joking. Trixie came, Trixie saw, Trixie conquered. And know what? It was FUN to see everypony squirm!'

Her words are filled with sadistic joy. Trixie's motives are vague, showing no true reason of why she would go through so much trouble. The mystery tickles Twilight's brain, making her grow a need to know why this nemesis has turned her back on so many ponies.

'I let you go that day... I thought you'd return and come around your mistakes. But it seems I was wrong about you after all...,' Twilight sighs, dissapointed to have believed that Trixie would've changed her attitude by now.

'Oh, Trixie's heart is bleeding,' the alicorn laughs at her. 'Sorry to not shake hooves that day and become best friends forever. It's a good thing that I didn't turn out as the likes of you... It made Trixie stronger and more talented than before!'

'More talented and stronger? Look at you! You have desecrated your own mind and body for power and knowledge! How can you live with yourself?!' Twilight asks her, unable to understand the reasons of Trixie's rash actions. 'I may have only seen you one day. But I know that you have been an artist in your shows throughout Equestria, becoming a succes on your own talents!'

'And a big bloated pushover...,' Rarity grunts in herself.

'That was long ago. That Ursa Minor wrecked my home and supplies, remember? Though, I've left that behind now. As you could see: I paid him and his mother back in full...,' she laughs and looks at the crushed rock, once serving as the home cave of the Ursas. 'It was thanks to you that Trixie realized her weakness! Trixie became terrible at the following shows after Ponyville, becoming a laughing stock for the audiance! I had to sleep outside in the cold, because I had no place to stay anymore!'

She takes a moment to take a few breaths and calm down. The blue alicorn doesn't want to give her enemies the satisfaction of her anger.

'But now everything is different! Trixie has her own talents! Lady Fame's are a part of MINE now! And Trixie will use them to show all of you ingrates just what she has accomplished!' she laughs again, amused the idea that she can truly make everything happen as she pleases.

'You mean a pair of wings and a bigger horn?' Rainbow Dash mocks her. 'All you managed to do was give me a cold!

Without much of a reaction, Trixie's eyes simply stare at the cocky rainbow-maned mare. 'Well, Trixie also managed to break you fools apart... Trixie doubts that she needs to prove any further?'

'So it really was you, hm?' Rainbow Dash asks. 'Well, that only proves that your powers are nothing! You tried to make us hate each other. But now were still together!'

'Grrrr...,' Trixie grunts provoked, grumpy about that she's been proven wrong by a pony she deems weak. 'Silence! If it wasn't for that bothersome stallion and his cursed devotion, you would still be fighting with each other,'

'His name is Spectrum Brush! And you betrayed him, along with Princess Luna!' Twilight shouts, angry and confused about why Trixie would do such a thing, after being treated so well by the princess and lost artist. 'He thought you were a friend, Trixie! How could you throw that away for mere power? Wasn't the talent you had enough?'

'NO! Ofcourse it wasn't enough!' she shouts back, which mysteriously affects the storm, causing the wind to blow even harder. 'Trixie doesn't need friends! Trixie only needs herself! Hopeless fools like the painter are only thorns in my side! He will never understand true power!'

'He understands very well, Trixie...,' Twilight mumbles. 'He knows that power doesn't come from strength, horns, or wings. He knows that true strength is friendship: A combined power that can overcome any obstacle!'

'Trixie has been alone for months in the Frozen North, braving the coldest mountains on Equestria. Trixie doesn't need anypony! Spectrum Brush was merely a little guideline to my succes and has served his purpose now! Trixie had to be patient... Trixie had to wait... Trixie DESERVES this power!' she shouts in anger, both mad about the confrontation with her most hated nemesis and the idea of what she had to go through to get this far. But then Trixie sighs and smiles again. 'But what about you, Twilight Sparkle? If you're so determined in stopping me with your friends, what is letting you from doing so? Why are we talking, while you're supposed to stop me and bring "peace" to Equestria as usual?'

Twilight is still waiting for Princess Luna to arrive with the Elements, believing it to be the only thing that keeps them from beating the almighty alicorn. But she doesn't want Trixie to know THAT. But if Luna takes any longer, they'll be forced to fight Trixie with their own skills. Either it will be enough to stop her, or atleasy buy time.

'Trixie will say why: You are scared,' the blue mare tells them. 'All ponies are scared. My power has become so much greater... It shifts the balance of Equestria by the mere blink of my eye! All this knowledge in this tiny gem... You envy me, don't you?'

'Forget it! I would never do something so incredibly stupid, even if it wouldn't cost me my friends!' Twilight shouts provoked, furious over how Trixie is trying to make her seem as heartless as she is. She can feel her blood boiling of anger. Not because she aches for vengeance on Trixie, but to stop her from causing more harm to any pony. Twilight will always remain true to fight for a right cause, while Trixie only believes in herself.

'And that's exactly what makes me the strongest,' the alicorn nods. 'With such attitude. Trixie could never hope on surpassing the student of Princess Celestia.'

'That's enough out of you, Trixie!' Applejack shouts and moves to Twilight's side. 'Ya been blaming Twilight this whole time for your own mistakes! It's exactly what I'd expect from a coward such as yourself: Unable to handle the truth.'

'Darn right!' Rainbow Dash agrees and moves to Twilight's side as well. 'A weak and cocky mare like you would never understand the right values! You make truths up in your head as you see fit and does whatever's neccesary to get back it!'

'Twilight has nothing done anything to you,' Rarity says and follows Dash. 'In fact: She saved your live along with everypony else's! If it weren't for her, you would have become bearfood.'

'Maybe we were too hard on you...,' Fluttershy mumbles. 'The ponies only challenged you to see if you were as good as you said you were that day. You seemed overconfident, even though you've proven to be very talented. But... If it's somehow my fault that you hold such a grudge against me and my friends... I'm sorry.'

'Yea!' Pinkie Pie cheers, seeming to be happy. 'Sure: You messed up bigtime against that Ursa back then. But that doesn't mean we can't let bygones be bygones, right? We can still settle our differences, stop this winter and celebrate a happy ending!'

Trixie seems somewhat surprised by the mares' remaining confidence and the courage to try and lecture HER. She doesn't become angry though, even though she's been told that she's believing in lies and that SHE is a madmare here. After all: These mares are not the likes of which she should feel insulted by. She merely chuckles instead, finding entertainment in their attempts for peaceful resolvings.

'-hmhm-' she snickers and looks at the orange pony. 'So, I am a coward? I blame the mare that cost me my show, which means I am a coward? I believe it is you who is the true coward, farmgirl. You fear me, which causes you to lash out instead of keeping it down. You seem so brave... while actually you're scared to the bone...'

'And you...,' she continues to speak as she turns her gaze towards the rainbow-maned mare. 'I don't understand the right values? Are you truly in a position to say that to me? You say I'm making up the truth, yet you were the one that immidiatly blamed your best of friends when you were struck by the apples I shot at you. They were your friends! They were the ones that you could always trust, right? Isn't that the what you mean by "the right values?"

'I could say the same about you,' she snickers and turns to Rarity. 'Twilight Sparkle saved my and your lives? She prevented me from becoming that Ursa's dinner? Is that what you truly believe, or are you simply backing up your friend's excuses in order to not seem like a friend who only has bad things to say about her friends? You have trouble with the differences between the others, forcing you to ignore it and support them: Fooling yourself. How can you say I am making up lies, when you may be doing the exact same thing?'

The mares are shut silent, feeling strange to be taught a lesson like this by their enemy. They remember Trixie as a selfish and ignorant mare who only thinks like she's the whole world. It's Lady Fame's knowledge that she is able to abuse for her own excuses. She uses her mind as a weapon to make them doubt, just like she did to seperate them. Trixie's greatest weapon now is not just her extensive knowledge of spells, but her brains.

'No,' Twilight suddenly says. 'I don't believe a word you say, Trixie.'

Trixie looks down at the purple mare, astonished by her words 'Wh-What?' the alicorn asks surprised, not having expected an answer like this.

'No matter what you say: The utmost truth is that ESPECIALLY you are not the right mare to judge others. You betrayed those that wouldn't betray you, selfishly accepted powers that are beyond your control and only wanted to break us apart for your amusement,' Twilight speaks from her heart, piercing through Trixie's lies. 'Maybe the things you say are true or not. But I know I can always trust my friends no matter what. And I also know that it's about time that your madness ends now.'

Her friends look astonished at the confident purple mare, realizing the truths that she spoke in the open. Even if they has a little trouble between each other a while ago, it doesn't mean that they're bad friends. Everything that Trixie tells them are simply excuses to break them apart again, which means that they will have to disregard anything that Trixie may say no matter how convincing it may be. They stand together: Ready to finish the madness of the Great and Powerful Trixie.

The alicorn remains quiet as she continues to look at the confident face of Twilight Sparkle. Even if terrible underpowered, Twilight has outsmarted the blue mare. She won't be able to seperate the mares anymore, meaning that this is one battle that she lost. But she continues to smile, knowing that the real one is about to begin.

'Very well... You win, Twilight Sparkle... But I shall win the final battle,' she promises. 'My lonely self VS you six? It's unfair for you... but ok. Allow me to remind you: Ignis was able to take you on without breaking a sweat' Trixie mocks them, implying that their presence is of no threat to her.

The mares continue to stand ready to take her down, unmoved by her threats. But other than standing, they don't actually show the guts to land the first strike. They remain standing in the cold until a minute passes, without even having moved one hoof. Trixie has grown tired of waiting.

'What, are you scared to battle the Great and Powerful Trixie now? Where's the party?'

'Oh, I like parties!' Pinkie Pie chuckles, gullible to believe that Trixie has no harm in mind with her words. 'Does that mean you're going to surrender? That would make everything so much easier for everypony!'

'That was a play on words...,' Trixie mumbles, only to be ignored by the pink mare completely.

'Let's head over to Sugercube Corner and talk this over like friends! We'll have some cake and play some games...,' she says as she imagines it.

Her friends look with big eyes at Pinkie Pie, astonished about what could possible cause the mare to come up with ideas like these at a time like this. They're in conflict with the most selfish mare of all. And Pinkie Pie can think of is settling things peacefully and celebrate. Though meant with the best intentions, they all know that it would never work.

The alicorn slowly gets more and more irritated by her voice.

'Alright! You will be the highlighter of this celebration!' the alicorn laughs and aims her horn in the pink mare's direction.

Before anypony could comprehend what is happening during Pinkie's chattering, the horn of Trixie begins to glow with a white radiance. The light reflects from the smooth crater's side, causing the entire area to light up. A white beam explodes out of her horn, passing between the other mares with the speed of sound. Pinkie Pie looks up when she hears and sees the light coming at her, moments before it crashes her. Pinkie’s panicking screams slowly fade in the white light that comes from her, followed by a chilly mist that shrouds in a few meters radius around her.

'PINKIE PIE!' Rainbow Dash shouts, panicking for how her friend next to her got hit by Trixie's spell.

The mares continue to look in horror at the mist where Pinkie stood, growing more and more anxious as the earth pony remains silent. Once the clouds slowly blow away, her friends all gasp in horror. There stands Pinkie Pie: frozen solid inside a large block of ice. Her face is still posing like when she screamed, wrecking the memory of the always cheerful Pinkie Pie.

'Instant freezing spell,' Trixie tells them with a sadistic chuckle of satisfaction. 'Works perfectly against loudmouths such as her.'

'T-Trixie, are you mad?! Unfreeze her!' Twilight tells her as she's shocked by the terrible abnormal action. Combat with spells is one thing. But this is even greater madness than any pony could expect even from Trixie.

'Not a chance,' the alicorn bluntly answers. 'It's possibly the most favorite spell that Trixie controls now. And I find it a very good fate for my enemies...'

'Please, Trixie...,' Fluttershy mumbles, barely hearable to anypony but herself. 'We don't know why you're so upset or what we ever did to you to deserve this, but please change free Pinkie Pie. She always has the best intentions, including for you.'

'And... who are you?' she grunts when she looks at the anxious little Fluttershy. 'You've never been to one of my shows as far as I remember.'

'P-Please d-don't hurt me,' she whimpers in fear and walks back slowly.

'Enough, Trixie!' Twilight shouts. 'You've crossed the line for REAL now! Unfreeze Pinkie Pie and leave everypony alone!'

'Please, Sparkle, let the little mare speak. The scared pegasus didn't got to speak to me when I wasn't this powerful, yet now she gets the honor. I would like to hear what she has to say further,' Trixie chuckles and turns her attention back to Fluttershy. 'Now, "Fluttershy," what is it that you ask of Trixie?'

She needs a moment to swallow her fear and speak again, afraid that she may get the same treatment as Pinkie Pie if she doesn't live up to Trixie's anticipations. 'L-Last time, when you held your show in Ponyville, I wasn't around to see everything. If I take up a challenge now, will you free Pinkie Pie?'

Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity look in surprise when their friend offers the challenge against the almighty mare. Trixie begins to smile, seemingly interested by the pegasus' offer.

'Are you insane, Fluttershy?' Rainbow Dash asks her doubtful. 'What makes you think you can beat her with a magic trick?'

'If... If I win, will you free her?' Fluttershy asks.

Trixie chuckles, growing more amused when she figures that Fluttershy is being serious about this. 'Alright then. If you win: I shall free the pink terror again,' she promises with a hoof on her heart, causing Fluttershy to believe that she got a chance to help.

But her friends know better. They know that even if Fluttershy would manage to win, Trixie will never uphold her end of the bargain.

'Dun' do it, Fluttershy,' Applejack warns her. 'Ya know this ain't gonna work.'

'B-But I've been given the chance already!' Fluttershy tells the orange earth pony. 'If I got a chance to help my friends, I must take it!'

Fluttershy moves slowly forwards, until she stands before the tall blue alicorn. Even though she shivers from fear, Flutttershy is eager to give it a shot to save her friend.

'Now then, what would you challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie with?' Trixie asks the puny mare.

'I... I challenge you to...,' Fluttershy speaks as she thinks, trying to come up with something that she can win with. '-Ehm-...I challenge you in who can give the best compliments!'

Everypony is baffled to this request. A challenge of giving compliments. It sounds nearly ridiculous. But when giving thought: It may be something that Fluttershy could actually be better at than Trixie.

'-Haha!- That challenge has NEVER been offered to Trixie. It sounds rather ridiculous,' Trixie tells her and laughs, proving from her mocking that it's truly something that the "Great and Powerful" Trixie can't do even with her newfound power. 'But... I accept.'

Even though a duel that Fluttershy most likely could win, her friends are still worried because she's dealing with TRIXIE.

'Are you sure you want to continue with this, Fluttershy?' Rarity asks her.

But Fluttershy simply turns around to her and smiles.

'Your friends seem worried about you,' Trixie tells her, causing Fluttershy to look back at her. 'You should be glad to have them.'

Fluttershy nods. 'But so should you, Trixie. You've been on your own for who-knows-long, but you continue to stand tall and be proud.'

And like that: the challenge has begun.

'May I just say that your shows are inspirational?' Fluttershy asks. 'You have a talent for excelling above other and decorate it with such a grand show. It nearly makes you seem invincible by your mere devotion.'

Trixie smiles and nods. 'Thank you, Flutttershy. You are most certainly right. I've been always put alot of effort in my work, hoping to receive the praise I would deserve.'

'And you should really not stop with that! You should start your touring again and show everypony your talents! It's both entertaining as it is a test to the ones that need to calm down about their own overconfidence.'

'Alas, that is too late. It's kind of you to have faith in me, unlike many others do, but it's too late. The damage has been done, regretfully as it may be,' Trixie answers to her. 'You are lucky, Fluttershy. You've never had trouble to deal with hate or pain for others. You see deep in others' souls and try to uncover the kindness that resides deep within. You deserve a good life.'

Fluttershy chuckles softly, finding comfort in their peaceful conversation. Her friends ca hardly believe it: Their most anxious friend has found peace between herself and the most destructive mare of Equestria.

'You're too kind,' she mumbles and begins to blush from the compliments. 'You deserve a good future, just like everypony else does. There's nopony whou wouldn't deserve a good life, no matter how dark their hearts may be.'

'Maybe... you're right, Fluttershy,' Trixie whispers. 'Just maybe you're right...'

'Believe me, Trixie: It's never too late,' Fluttershy tells her.

Both mares speak no words anymore. The five friends behind the pegasus are waiting anxiously for what follows. When the time continues to pass in silent, Rainbow Dash dares to ask the question that everypony has on their minds.

'So... who's judging who wins?' Rainbow Dash wonders out loud. 'Because if it's us, I will most likely vote for Fluttershy!'

'No, we are the judges,' Fluttershy tells her friends. 'It's tough to judge something like kindness. It's not just the words, behind the meaning behind them.'

'Trixie agrees,' the cold mare answers. 'Who do you believe wins, Fluttershy?'

The pegasus thinks deeply, puzzling out in her own way of how valuable the words were that were spoken by both of them. 'It's tough...,' she mumbles in thought. 'What is your opinion, Trixie?'

The others have no doubt about what Trixie will answer. She will most likely vote for herself, considering her true egotistcal nature. Trixie was most likely faking all her kindness, managing to even fool Fluttershy. All she has to do is declare herself the winner, and Fluttershy might not even object.

'I'd say Fluttershy wins,' Trixie suddenly tells them, astonishing the other mares completely. 'You've proven to be more kind than Trixie, which means that you have defeated Trixie with a skill that surpasses hers. You should have the honors, in my opinion.'

'That's very kind of you, Trixie...,' Fluttershy whispers, realizing that she has been granted victory by the "selfish" mare. Fluttershy seems to have won, due to the surrendering words of Trixie. Her reward: Pinkie Pie's release out of her icy prison, as promised.

'But... this is exactly why YOU win,' Fluttershy suddenly claims.

'Wh-What?!' Rainbow Dash asks baffeled. Her friends react the same way: astonished by Fluttershy's unreasonable decision. She had won from the powerful blue mare, but forfeits before claiming the prize.

'You haven't lost before. Have you, Trixie?' the mare asks. 'Defeat now would scar your victory... I wouldn't like to ruin that for you.'

'You're certain, Fluttershy? It would mean you loses. Would you really give up a chance to save Pinkie Pie just to keep me from the only defeat Trixie would know?' Trixie humbly asks.

'I do...,' Fluttershy mumbles with a smile. 'But.. it was fun, right?' she asks and smiles at the tall mare, remaining sportive about her loss.

'It certainly was,' Trixie agrees and smiles in return. If Fluttershy didn't know better, she could swear that there's a sparkle of joy in Trixie's eyes.

Fluttershy nods and turns around, off to walk back to her friends. She gave it a shot to save Pinkie Pie without any unnecesary violence and failed. But she feels like she bonded with the powerful mare. After giving compliments to one another, it feels like they've become friends. It may change Trixie's way of thinking bad about friendship, causing her to understand the folly of her diabolical plans.

She can only hope for the best and looks at her friends. They all show a faint smile to cover up the sadness of her loss to free Pinkie Pie. Even though they should be terrified about Fluttershy's decision to give up victory, they believe in their friend and trust her gut. The pegasus is coming closer to them. But then everything suddenly turns white in her vision and she feels cold all around her.

'You forgot your consolation prize,' Trixie snickers as she looks at Flutttershy, who is now frozen inside solid ice. The alicorn's horn is still breathing a freezing cold mist from her freeze spell, which has claimed another victim. The mares look at horror at the second friend that got frozen up, without even the slightest proper reason.

'Fluttershy!' they shout together, though the pegasus is unable to hear them.

Fluttershy remains in a trotting pose, still with the smile on her face. But when looking closely at her, anypony could see that her eyes are filled with fear. She has shown forgiveness and kindness to Trixie, which only resulted into nothing but utter defeat.

'What in tarnation?! You said nothing about this, madmare!' Applejack shouts furious.

The alicorn gloats over the angry faces of the mares, understanding that by freezing Fluttershy she provoked them even further. 'Trixie didn't say that she WOULDN'T freeze her if the pegasus would lose, did she?' she answers with a smile.

This act of betrayal weighs like a ton on the remaining mares' minds. Fluttershy tried to reason with her, befriend her and even give her the pleasure of holding onto her winningstreak. And still, she froze Flutttershy up for the fun of it. Trixie has done terrible things already, but this is one hoofstep too far.

'You ain't getting away from this!' Applejack shouts and rushes towards the blue alicorn, without any anxiety or fear for failure.

'Darn right! Let's get her, Applejack!' Rainbow Dash agrees and rushes after her, flying close to the ground.

The long-waited struggle against the powerful mare has begun. Trixie watches as the two mares storm towards her, willing to do her harm.

'Very well...Let us begin then,' she whispers.

As soon as Applejack is one jump away from her, she tries to headbutt against the alicorn. But Trixie merely avoids her by moving her head a bit to the right. As soon as Applejack lands on the ground again, she immidiatly leaps for Trixie again, unrestrained by anger.

'Hold still, darn it!' Applejack shouts as she keeps missing her.

The orange mare continues to grow more angry everytime she hears Trixie chuckle, provoking her. But when Rainbow Dash tries to charge into her as well, she stops her laughter. Requiring her full focus, Trixie avoids the two attacking mares by sheer alicorn strength and slenderness. Even though it seems like she may be able to keep this up longer than Applejack and Rainbow, Trixie begins to break a swear.

'Take this!' Rainbow Dash shouts as she charges towards her again, missing her by an inch this time.

'-Kgh...-' Trixie grunts and begins to back away, feeling closed in by the furious little mares. Betraying Fluttershy like this has certainly angered them more than she expected.

'Where do ya'think you're going?!' Applejack asks and jumps in her way, preventing her from backing away further in the crater.

'Trixie goes to the TOP!' she grunts and stretches her blue wings, pushing herself off the ground.

'Bad move, chump!' Rainbow Dash yells at her and begins to dash even faster towards her. Trixie may be powerful in magic now, but not in flight. She has entered Rainbow Dash territory, being even less safer for her than when she was on the ground. Before she gets even the chance to fly away from Applejack, Trixie is forced to land.

'Curses...,' she sighs when she sees how Applejack is rushing towards her again, ready to repeat the process until Trixie is supposed to collapse from exhaustion.

'Game over, Trixie!' Applejack tells her, ready to leap into her again. 'Any last words before we buck you to the moon?'

But just as Trixie is about to be stuck between two forces again, her horn begins to glow with a soft white radiance. Before Applejack is able to reach her, Trixie has vanished into thin air. Reappearing with a flash on the other side of the crater, she has basically warned the mares that she's about to become serious and use magic against them. Thanks to the extensive knowledge she now possesses, Trixie doesn't even require time to conjure a teleportation spell.

'Come, over here!' she tells to them and chuckles, somehow seeming to be glad even though she had a tough time just now.

It simply means to them that Trixie had grown desperate, unable to find a way out other than using her emergency exit. If she's able to grow desperate this fast: It means that she can be stopped.

'Alright, Rainbow, let's counter her from two sides this time,' Applejack tells to her pegasus ally.

Rainbow Dash nods, ready to finish it.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash try to charge her together from two different directions, guessing that it's a tactic Trixie wouldn't expect for them to do. All she does is move her head back and forth between both mares, who move closer to her. But just as the two mare charges into her, she quickly teleports away again. Instead of succesfully landing a double blow to the mare, Applejack's and Dash's heads strike against each other with fullspeed.

'OUCH!' they grunts in pain and drop with their flanks on the ground. With their front hooves on their head to ease the pain, they can both feel rather dizzy from the impact.

As they are slowly recovering from the blow, they notice that Trixie is laughing at them from a distance again. 'Come now! Trixie was expecting more from your "power of friendship!" So far you've only been a dissapointment to Trixie! Is simply fighting together all you can do?'

'Gaaah! Stop with those third-person speeches!' Rainbow Dash shouts and presses her hooves against her ears. 'They're driving Dash mad! ...-Argh!- Now I'm starting to do it too! It's contagious!'

But Trixie has lowered her guard, being too focused on the two hot-headed mares.

Twilight and Rarity try to sneak onto Trixie, using the distraction of Applejack and Rainbow Dash to close in on her. They know that if they can remove the contact between Trixie and the blue gem on her chest, she should turn back to normal, freed from the powerful source of Lady Fame. Only a few more steps and they'll be right behind her.

'Ready?' Rarity whispers to Twilight.

'Let's get her,' she says with a nod in return, ready to make a jump on the distracted alicorn.

'Not so fast, Sparkle!' Trixie suddenly raises her tone, without even looking back to the mares. 'Did you honestly believe that Trixie is that blind?'

With a conjuration time of merely three seconds, Trixie levitates both mares into the air, unabling them to move to or away from her.

'W-Wow!' Twilight gasps as she tries to remain stationary a meter above the ground.

Both mares, mowing around with their legs, try to get a hold on the ground. But as helpless as they are, Trixie can simply shake them and swirl Rarity and Twilight around like two dolls.

'Pathetic attempt. Didn't you think that I might use an all-seeing spell to keep the entire area under surveilance?' Trixie laughs and turns her head around to look at the dizzy mares. Without warning, the blue mare suddenly drops Twilight on the ground.

'-Ooph-' Twilight sighs from the collision with the frozen ground, making her cough for air.

'Twilight, watch out!' Rarity gasps. She is frightened to see how Trixie is conjuring a freezing spell, while Twilight can't even see clear yet. The purple mare is nothing but a dizzy bulls-eye now.

But instead of freezing Twilight completely up like Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, Trixie fires a white light on the right hoof Twilight, instantaneously freezing it into a coat of ice. The friends' little plan has failed, having only resulted in getting Twilight shot by Trixie's freezing magic.

'-Kgh!-' Twilight grunts, surprised by the suddenly cold around her hoof. She can't move an inch. When the unicorn looks down, she realizes that her hoof is frozen in a magical chunk of ice to the ground, unabling her to move. Desperatly she quickly tries to use her own magic to reverse the ice, without succes. Lady Fame's magic power is powerful enough to be able to counter any known spell in Twilight's knowledge.

'I'll save you for last...,' Trixie mumbles to her. The tall mare then turns her attention to the worried mare next to her, who continues to float a meter above the ground. 'Oh yes, Trixie Remembers you. You were that mare who's hair Trixie turned green! Trixie has been wondering... How would you look like if Trixie would turn your hair blond and fuzzy?'

'NOOOOOOOO!' Rarity screams in fear that Trixie may actually do it. 'Leave me and my hair alone, you maniac!'

'Ugh... That voice! Your shrieks hurt Trixie's ears!' she grunts and distances her head from the screaming white mare. 'Your no opponent to Trixie anyway... Begone!' Before Rarity even gets the chance to calm down, Trixie quickly uses a new spell to launch the pretty away.

'-Owww!-' Rarity yelps, even though she lands in the soft snow. Her ten meter flight has made her dizzy again, adding up to the headache she already has. It makes Rarity completely defenseless, becoming a potential target for the spell that Trixie now begins to aim at her.

'Rarity, run away!' Twilight shouts to her. She can only turn her head towards her friend, because of her right hoof that remains frozen to the ground. 'She's preparing another spell! Get out of the way, NOW!'

But it's too late. Before Rarity can even hear the words of the purple mare, or even see clear through her eyes again, Trixie is already done.

'Trixie remains victorious!' she shouts and fires another white beam, striking into Rarity.

'EEK!' is all Rarity can say, before she is engulfed in the white blast. The white mare shares the fate of being a frozen statue with Pinkie Pie and Flutttershy, happening in front of Twilight's very eyes.

'Another one bites the snow...,' Trixie whisperes satisfied as she sees how the Rarity is encased in ice, holding her face full of fear. 'Do you see now, Twilight Sparkle? Your endevours are futile.'

Twilight suddenly begins to shiver and stutter incomplete words, catching Trixie's attention. Small drops of water begin to fall on the snow beneath Twilight, originating from the mare's eyes. Twilight can't hold her tears now that three of her friends are frozen up.

'Hm? Twilight Sparkle, don't tell me you are crying,' Trixie grunts, 'Was this all that was needed to make tears come out of you?'

Twilight doesn't answer. She continues to stare at Rarity and can't stop thinking about the fear she must've feld right before this magic strukc her.

'Well, you certainly should,' Trixie tells her and smiles, feeling joy from giving others sorrow. 'I have frozen three of your friends and your hoof. You are not made for combat like this. You are friends. Nothing else. You are friends of each other, without any form of true strength or magic.' she tells the helpless purple mare, nearly convincing her that all the fighting is in vain.

'Face it: I, Trixie, shall be-'

Her words are cut off when something dashes against her face with alot of strength, pounding the alicorn into the snow. Twilight looks up astonished, hardly able to believe her eyes about what just happened. Trixie has fallen down! She was caught off guard and bucked against the ground, powerful enough to make the mare pass out from the blow.

'That one's for turnin' me against my friends!' Appejack shouts, being the one that charged into the alicorn.

'Way to go, Applejack!' Rainbow Dash cheers and rushes over to her non-frozen friends.

The orange mare simply spits on the ground and breathes deeply, still too angry to sound victorious right now. 'Thanks, sugercube. But let's celebrate when we got that infernal gem in our hooves and the others are unfrozen,' she commands, sounding like the battle isn't over. 'y'allright, Twi?'

'Y-Yea,' Twilight says and nods, still surprised about the near-impossible victory. 'I'm just stuck to the ground still... And the others are-'

'Leave that to us,' Rainbow Dash nods and walks with Applejack to Twilight for a closer look.

'Ow! Don't pull! That only hurts more!' Twilight grunts after a failed attempt from Rainbow Dash.

'Sorry, sorry,' she apologizes and pulls her hooves off of the ice. 'Hm..., hay. This is impossible!'

Applejack shakes her head. 'Nothin' is impossible, Rainbow. If we have to, we could set a fire and melt it slowly. Then we'll find a way to get the others out of their beautysleep-' she plans ahead, but stops talking when she realizes that Twilight and Rainbow Dash are looking with wide eyes in her direction.

'Wha?' the orange earth pony asks. 'It ain't that much of a weird plan. Sure: It'll take some time, but-'

'BEHIND YOU!' both mares suddenly shout during Appejack's explaination, surprising her.

But when Applejack turns around to see what is behind her, it's too late. A blinding light fills the mare's sight: moments before she's instantaneously cover in solid ice.

'Teleportation spell: #13 and body illusion spell: #83,' the alicorn chuckles. 'I merely had to fake a body, let it toy with those two mares, let them throw off their guard, and claim the victory personally... Like Trixie was saying, Twilight Sparkle: All your futile little plans are futile against my knowledge.'

Having been faking her body this entire time, the real Trixie is unharmed. As her unconcious fake body starts to vaporize in smoke, Twilight and Rainbow look horrified at Applejack, who now too stands frozen in place.

'J-Just stop it!' Twilight shouts, having become desperate for her friends' sakes.

'Is that despair Trixie hears, Twilight Sparkle?' she laughs like a sadist. 'Keep it in until I've frozen the last one! That cocky rainbowhead made fun of me before! Now it's my turn!'

Fearing Trixie's magic, Rainbow Dash and Twilight see how Trixie lowers her horn again, ready to freeze up the pegasus as well. If Twilight could, she would jump in front of her. But thanks to this ice on her hoof, she is forced to watch and do nothing else.

'Wait!' Rainbow Dash shouts and leaps into the air, moments before Trixie could finish. Flying around in the air above the crater, Rainbow Dash feels confident again. 'Hah! You can't freeze me when I'm up here, can you? You're weakness is against me while flying!'

'W-Wait! Rainbow! Don't do it!' Twilight shouts to her friend, too late to warn her from flying too high.

'I don't need to freeze you myself,' Trixie snickers and simply looks at how the blue mare is flying higher into the air, leaving the crater below her.

Before Rainbow Dash could understand that Trixie has a plan, she is surprised by how the wind is suddenly enveloping around her. 'Wh-What the?!' she gasps, not having expected the winds to turn against her.

The blue mare attempts to fly out of it, without succes. The winds rage around her like a whirlwind, causing her to remain hovering on one spot. No matter how much Rainbow Dash flaps with her wings, she can't free herself from the winds. Twilight knew this would happen: Knowing that the high air is too cold for anypony to fly through now. If she was faster in warning her friend, she could've prevented Rainbow from becoming an idle piece of target practise.

'All HAIL The Great and Powerful Trixie!' the alicorn laughs and prepares a new spell, which immidiatly turns the winds around Rainbow Dash into solid ice. The mare can't even scream in anger or fear, being instantly frozen in a cask of impenetrable ice. With a heavy drop, Rainbow Dash crashes into the ground before them.

'Rainbow Dash!' Twilight shouts in denial of the terror. It feels like it's her fault that she can't help her friends. Twilight is forced to sit back and watch at how her nemesis is harming them, one by one. A total nightmare, only having occured before when Ignis was unleashed in Equestria.

All that remains is snow and ice, flying through the wind over the battlefield. Scattered around the giant crater stand five chunks of ice, each containing a frozen mare. The howling wind is all that sounds, along with Twilight's deep breaths. Puffing clouds of warm air from her lungs, the purple mare looks with wide eyes around her. The lifeless statue of her friends are shattering the final bits of sanity she has left. Unable to think or hope, Twilight falls in depression, right before the very presence of the mighty mare of the Great Blizzard.

'Is it over already?' Trixie sighs in dissapointment. 'I was hoping to saviour the fight a little longer. If I knew how weak you six are before we began, I would've considered to show restraint after all...'

Twilight ignores her as she tries to free herself from the ground. 'How could you, Trixie... HOW COULD YOU BE SO COLD?! How could you turn my friends into icecicles like that!' she shouts with anger and sorrow in her voice.

The blue mare simply looks over her shoulder at the furious mare. The pony she always blamed for being better than her is no more. All Trixie sees now is a purple mare with anger over her victimized friends. 'You are so weak, Twilight Sparkle. Look at you: frozen to the ground, unable to free yourself with your own magic! And yet, you're still better off than your friends though... They're popcicles now.'

'Trixie... You caused so much pain and sorrow to so many ponies when you became like this... You don't have to do this... Why DO you do this?' Twilight asks.

Trixie turns around and walks up to Twilight, continues to look at her with confused and frightened eyes. Trixie has no reason to surprise her with any tricks now, considering she has basically won now. 'You've shown Trixie to be greater in magic than me, Sparkle... You've shown Trixie the fearful truth of excelling me in every aspect of unicorn magic. A Minor Ursa was defeated by your hooves, while I was helpless against it... The only way I could keep up was to do this...'

'And do you actually think it's worth it, after all it cost you?' Twilight whispers, unable to believe it herself.

'Well... I have gained a terrible power that most certainly exceeds that of the Princesses... And now that I look at how weak you look from up here... Yes, I regret nothing,' she simply chuckles, showing no care for how monsterous it may be to most ponies.

'I never did something wrong to you... My friends never did anything wrong to you... So, why?' Twilight keeps asking, still unable to understand Trixie's simple motives.

'The truth is lost to you, Twilight Sparkle...,' Trixie sighs. 'You and your friends shall stand here for the rest of eternity,' Trixie whispers and points her horn in Twilight's direction, which begins to glows with its cold white radiance once again. 'Allow me to liberate you from your sorrows.'

Twilight has reached the end of her limits. She felt anger about Trixie's crimes to everypony, sorrow for the victims and Trixie's poor decisions, and confusion about Trixie's unnecesary terrible motives. But now she feels nothing but confusion. She is unable to be angry, sad or scared as long as the lingering question remains beyond her understanding: Why is Trixie doing this? Twilight closes her eyes and ends her struggles against the ice around her hoof. All she does is wait for the overpowering mare to freeze her up, just like her friends, accepting defeat with a heavy heart.

'Farewell..., Twilight Sparkle...'

'ENOUGH!'

A voice shouts out of nowhere, surprising both mares. Completely unexpecting somepony else, Trixie's concentration has broken, causing her freeze spell to cease.

'Who in pony's name...,' Trixie grunts and turns around towards the rim of the crater, where the voice came from.

Before Trixie could even prepare to defend herself, she is astonished by the huge fireball that is bursting towards her, the size of a grown appletree. But instead of striking into her, the flame strikes into the ground before her hooves, nearly stopping her heart from the shock. It was a warning shot. When it turns out to be harmless, the blue alicorn looks back up.

'It ends her, Trixie...,' the pony in the distance grunts softly, though it is loud and clear because of his use of the Royal Canterlot Voice.

'P-Princess Luna?' Twilight assumes, though the voice sounds far from the princess'.

A big smile appears on Trixie's face, followed by a soft chuckle. Madness has taken her common sense, causing her to laugh for barely any reason. 'Spectrum Brush..., it seems my windigos did a poor job on getting rid of you...,' she whispers between her chuckles. 'It's good to see you again at last.'

'B-Brush?' Twilight stutters, surprised to the unexpecting turnout. She was expecting the princess to arrive with the Elements of Harmony, instead of her injured friend. But it's truly him: The red stallion with the dark mane, unmoved by the cold that breezes over his skin.

'B-BRUSH, GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!' she shouts to him, urging him to get away before she has to witness another friend being frozen by Trixie's might.

He looks down to the front of Trixie, noticing the half-frozen purple mare. He clearly heard his words. But instead of turning around and walk away he jumps over the ledge, sliding into the crater with no way out. He deliberitly thrown himself in Trixie's trap.

'Sorry if I'm a little late, Twilight,' he tells to the purple unicorn as he slowly walks up to the mares. 'I've come to help a hoof out before it's too late... Which seems to have been close enough.'

'Nothing to say, Spectrum Brush?' Trixie asks with a bitter smile, causing the stallion to glare to her. 'We haven't seen each other for sooooo long. Trixie was NEARLY going to miss you.'

The red unicorn doesn't respond to her, not even showing any signs of provocation. When he arrives a meter before the two mares, he continues to glare at her in the eye.

'Taking you on my journey was a bad idea, Trixie. I've come to set things right!' he suddenly tells her.

'Hah! The cold must have given you brainfreeze!' she mocks him. 'What do you, an injured helpless little painter hope to accomplish against the mightiest mare of Equestria?! Do you honestly believe that you, a simpleton, can stop Trixie?!'

He remains quiet and unmoved, while Trixie on the other hand begins to show a nervous twitch. His presence alone seems to cause a reaction of several emotions through Trixie's head, even though he shouldn't even be able to harm her.

'Yes, I do,' he suddenly answers boldly, without cringing by her threats.

'-GRRR!-' the blue alicorn growls and bites on her lip.

Twilight can hardly believe it: Brush is actually able to anger her. But she's most certain that it's not a good thing. Brush still wears bandages on around his body and he walks sickly. The purple mare is afraid something really really bad is going to happen if Brush doesn't have a VERY good plan right now.

'Wait, wait, wait...,' she suddenly tells them. Trixie takes a deep breath and calms down, causing her to smile again. 'What will you do, Brush? By the sight of those bandages, Trixie doubts that you had much luck against ONE windigo... How will you stand up against me?'

'I made a promise, Trixie. I promised to everypony in Equestria that I would set everything right. That includes my terror when I was Ignis and when I got you and Luna in the Frozen North with me...,' he tells her. 'But... I also made a promise to myself, a very personal promise. I promised myself that I would stop your madness AT-ALL-COST!'

'-HAH!- Brave words!' Trixie mocks him and prepares to shoot everything she got at him. 'Now prove them, Toy of Ignis!'

'TAKE THAT BACK!' he shouts furiously and channels a flame around his red unicorn horn, a spell of extreme heat and devestation. He quickly throws the sidebag he hid on his side on the ground and begins to walk towards the blue mare.

Though Trixie backs away, she continues to smile.

'You recognize this flame? It's the personal spell off Ignis. It's a spell nopony else will ever learn. And you know how effective it works on ice like Fame's...,' he asks her as he eventually closes her in between him and the end of the crater.

'B-Brush, what do you think you're doing?' Twilight asks him, afraid that Brush will do something brutal out of vengeance.

'What do you think you can do, Brush?' Trixie asks him, unimpressed by the spell. 'Didn't I already froze you once with my new power? You think a little fire will stop me?'

'You froze and betrayed me that day! We were supposed to put that gem in a place that would never see daylight again! And you selfishly stabbed me in the back and took it instead, wanting to hurt my friends!' he shouts at her and points his horn closer to the mare, though it doesn't intimidate her. He looks deeply into her eyes, without even thinking of blinking. 'I injured Princess Celestia with this spell once... Now I'll finaly put it to good use!'

'BRUSH, DON'T DO IT!' Twilight shouts at him. She's terrible frightened. Trixie has been a monster. But that doesn't mean that she wants Brush to do something equally monsterous back to her! If Brush injures Trixie with that spell, he would be no better than Trixie.

The stallion hesitates and looks over his shoulder at his friend, who nearly begs him to do no crazy things. 'It will be alright,' he whispers at Twilight and winks, followed by unleashing the flame.

The western side of the crater is completely lit in flame, melting the snow instantenously. The flame's are intense enough, able to scorch the earth black like ashes. It's definitly the destructive power that Lord Ignis once wielded. And Trixie stands in the center, supposedly turned into a crisp by the merciless fire. It's over.

Brush quickly turns around, ending his spell immidiatly. The flames vanish like a candle that's been blown out, leaving a circle of ash and smoke the size of a barn behind. The stallion doesn't look back, having no need to see if Trixie is there or not. Twilight looks horrified at her friend, who has done something terrible against her warnings. Brush doesn't look at her, just like Twilight quickly looks away from him. No words need to be spoken, considering that there is nothing sane to be spoken.

But suddenly he stops, noticing a clop sound coming from behind him. When he turns around to look at the smoke, he can still hear the clops, sounding like a slowclap.

'Impressive, Spectrum Brush,' a voice speaks from within the smoke. 'If that would've hit me, Trixie would never have needed to sunbathe ever again.'

The smoke clears, revealing the blue mare, standing on the smoldering earth. Her skin and manes are untouched, as if she wasn't there at all when she was struck.

'T-Trixie! Y-You're alive!' Twilight stutters, astonished and frightened by the mare's survival. 'H-How's that even possible?!'

'-Haha!- Ofcourse Trixie lives, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie was never in any danger!' she laughs and takes a few steps aside, revealing the injured blue mare behind her, which suddenly evaporates into thin air.

'I knew it!' Brush grunts. 'I could see it in those eyes! It was a fake body!'

'Exactly! And still you used all your energy against it...,' she sighs with a smile. 'Why would you waste all your power? You're already weak as it is! A mere unicorn isn't supposed to use advanced magic like that!'

Her words speak truth. Everytime Brush would use this spell, he'd feel like he galloped for hundreds of miles in an instant. '-Urk!-' he suddenly grunts and collapses on the ground. The injuries on his side are acting up, causing paralysis to the brave stallion.

'B-Brush!' Twilight shouts and tries to free herself from the ice again.

She attempts to use several spells again. Unlocking, fire, icepick, teleportation and even hitting it with a keychain. Nothing helps. Lady Fame's magic is absolute. Twilight Sparkle is forced to continue to watch as how Brush is unable to defend himself, while Trixie is walking up to him. It feels like a horror movie.

'Aw. Poor little Spectrum Brush,' Trixie speaks to him like he's a helpless little colt. 'You seemed so strong when I met you... Such a powerful leader. Good thing I know now that that was all a ruse. In truth: You are SO terribly weak...'

'Sh-Shut up...,' the red unicorn grunts and quickly manages to stand up. To the mare's surprise, Spectrum Brush attempts to leap at her, with his horn pointed towards her.

Trixie doesn't even need to use her magic against him. The stallion is slowed down by his injuries to the point where she simply has to step aside in order to avoid him. When Brush lands on the ground, he needs a few seconds to recover for another futile leap, which only entertains the female alicorn.

'Oh...,' Brush sighs and collapses again, right in front of Trixie. He seems to have run out of energy.

'Idiot...,' she grunts and hit him in his side with a hoof, causing him to grunt in pain.

'Do you see this, Twilight Sparkle? Another friend that needs your help! What are you going to do against the Great and Powerful Trixie? If you won't hurry, he'll only beg for mercy!' she laughs and kicks the stallion again. Trixie has become nothing but a sadist.

'Stop it! You're hurting him!' Twilight shouts furious, amost ready to burst out of tears again. This pit isn't a mere trap for Twilight and her friends. It's a torture chamber: Just to make Trixie's nemesis suffer from the helpless feeling of watching her friends becoming defeated one by one. But when she looks at the weakened red stallion, something happens that Twilight didn't expect as well. Something that boggles her mind: he smiles at her and winks. If she didn't know better, it's as if he intended all of this.

'THIS-IS-WHAT-YOU-GET-FOR-CHALLENGING-TRIXIE!' the alicorn shouts and kicks him every time she speaks a word, causing him to grunt harder for every kick he receives. 'I hate you, Spectrum Brush... Trixie is still disgusted by the idea that you considered me as a friend... If I knew you were going to be such a pain in the flank, I would've made certain that you would never unfreeze!'

The stallion lies battered in the snow, unable to move an inch. He can only lie and puff clouds of breaths, glad that Trixie walks away from him.

'Oh, what is this?' the mare curiously asks him when she notices the sidepack that Brush dropped in the snow. Using her magic to levitate his backpack to her, she curiously looks inside. It contains a lockbox inside.

'Get your filthy hooves of of that...,' Brush hisses at her.

'Oooh! Look at what Trixie finds!' the alicorn cheers like a little filly at the candystore when she opens the box. 'Look Twilight. You're friend brought me jewelry! Don't they look pretty?'

The purple mare looks up in confusion, having no idea what is going on. Her breath is taken by the sight on the contents of the box. Five necklaces, each decorated with a different symbol, lies inside. And on top of that: A crown, with her own Cutie Mark decorating the peak.

'Th-The Elements of Harmony!' she gasps.

'And these are the real ones! Not fake ones, like Celestia tried on Ignis!' she chuckles, being able to read the magic power from the objects.

'Thank you, Brush. That's very kind of you! I'll keep them at a place where they're safe from anypony!' she tells them and chuckles. 'I won't foolishly attempt to break them. Trixie knows better than that. No, I'm going to make them unreachable.'

She chuckle over her own plan and looks over her shoulder, towards the center of the crater. With one swift move with horn, the earth cracks open at her mercy, creating a pit of many feet down.

'Say Bye-Bye Elements!' Trixie jokes and plunges the lockbox in it and waits until she hears the landing. When a soft "bonk" is heard at the bottom of the pit after five seconds, she quickly blast a blue beam from her horn, which fills the hole with snow from her magic, filling the entire pit with impenetrable frost. The stallion and mare can only look in horror at how their salvation is disposed of. They'll never get the Elements now.

'And that is that,' Trixie tells them, followed by a big laugh. Feeling victorious, enjoying every moment of torture to the two ponies, Trixie's happiness feels endless. Now that she's the most powerful mare of Equestria, unable to be stopped by anypony, her dreams have come true. 'Well, Twilight, don't you have anything to say to your brave little friend? -Hahaha!-' Trixie jokes and uses her magic to grab the red stallion by his front legs, making him hover above the ground before her.

The stallion looks at the ground, covering his eyes with his mane. He is defeated. Defeated by his greatest nemesis: Trixie. Twilight doesn't know what to say. He couldn't have done anything more to stop this, just like she feels useless this entire time. His failure is theirs to share.

'You've shown your purpose, Brush. But now it's time to get out and accept defeat!' she jokes and shakes the stallion with her magic, causing him to grunt in pain. 'Now, out of my sight! Your weakness sickens Trixie!'

Without any sign of restraint, the mare uses her magic to throw the stallion away, outside the crater.

'-UAGH!-' Brush screams in agony as he lands on the ground, unable to move from the pain that shoots through his body.

Twilight looks over the shoulder, looking at the ridge of the crater of where her friend was thrown beyond. She can only lie down and listen to his cries of pain. Her heart is filled with grief, unable to do anything for him. Trixie listens for a little while too, until the stallion's screams start to fade, making her smile.

'It's about time we keep unwanted visitors outside. Don't you think so too, Twilight?' she asks her nemesis, who looks back at her with wide eyes. 'The windigos failed Trixie... They were supposed to break you and your friendship apart. But they couldn't even stop Spectrum Brush from telling on you! As punishment: They shalls serve as my shield!'

Conjuring a new spell, Trixie's horn begins to glow with a snow-white hue. The windigos appear from the forest with their ghastly voices, responding to the call of her mistress. They all land on three different spots outside the crater, in a position that resembles a triangle. As the spell of the alicorn continues to be channeled, the equine beasts start to dissolve into their mist, stirring the very air that surrounds them. Moving like one giant wind around the air above the crater, they begin to freeze up into smooth ice. The beasts have abandoned their equine forms and have fused into one big dome of ice, making it impossible for outsiders to come in the crater, and vise versa. The space inside is now one big sphere, containing Trixie and Twilight, along with the frozen friends of Twilight, who are still able to see everything from their prisons.

'So....cold...,' the unicorn whispers and shivers, feeling how the air inside the dome is beginning to cool down.

'How sad that it comes to this, Twilight Sparkle…,' the alicorn whispers to her. 'I was so sure that you would put up a little more resistance than this. But you couldn't even break the ice around your hoof.'

Twilight can only grunt exhausted, feeling like her lungs are freezing my the mere breaths she takes. With the last of her strength, she attempts to break loose from the frost that keeps a hoof stuck to the ground, though it still proves to be futile.

'Even your precious princess, Celestia, managed to defeat both Lord Ignis and Lady Fame together,' Trixie chuckles, making fun of the purple mare while she walks around her frozen friends. 'Or should I say... BETRAY?'

'Wh-What?!” Twilight gasps.

'You're dieing to see what Trixie knows, don't you, Twilight Sparkle? The curiosity about your mentor's past is a burden on your shoulders... Don't deny it,' she whispers as she moves back to the weakened mare and moves her face close to Twilight's. 'I can show you... I can show you everything...'

Twilight doesn't know what to think or say anymore. Is Trixie speaking the truth or is she lying again?

Suddenly they are interrupted by a loud knock on the ice walls.

'Trixie! That’s enough!' a muffled voice comes from behind the icy dome. A blurry red dot can be seen leaning on the ice, unable to stomp through.

'Ah, Spectrum Brush. You're still with us. Sorry, but this is "girl talk." No stallions allowed,' she laughs.

Twilight looks surprised behind her, realizing that her stubborn friend is still around, wanting to help her. If he keeps this up, he'll be fighting to his end.

'Brush! Get out of here, NOW!' Twilight yells to him, believing that there's nothing he can do anyway. 'You're going to get yourself killed!'

'Let him stay there,' Trixie tells her. 'Besides, Brush knows it too...'

Twilight looks up at the blue alicorn and back at the stallion, recalling that Brush has suffered a same fate as her. He, like Trixie, came in contact with an alicorn from the same time of Lady Fame: Lord Ignis, the Harbringer of Hatred.

'He knows about Celestia's secret too and even shared it with Princess Luna..., but never shared it with you, did he? HE thinks that you should be kept from the truths, all the time. But I say that you're smart enough to make your own decisions...,' she tells the purple mare, confusing her with her words. 'Wouldn't you want to finaly witness it yourself? The past of Princess Celestia?'

Twilight can't ignore the fact. She was always curious about her mentor's past, but never got to hear it from her personally.

'I-I,' Twilight stutters, unsure of how to respond. She would really like to see the past of Princess Celestia, considering this to be the only time she may have the chance. But should she trust Trixie, the one has brought her nothing but trouble? Brush may have the best intentions, but he still decides for her.

'Just touch my alicorn horn, and you will see it all with your own eyes...,' Trixie whispers and lowers her head, pointing her horn in front of the freezing mare, tempting her with this one-chance decision.

'Y-You lie! All you've done is bring us and everypony else nothing but pain! Why should I believe that you can "show" me the past?!' Twilight declines and shakes her head.

Her response makes the tall mare laugh, finding her resistance from her own desires humorous. 'But I know that you're desperate enough to try it out anyway,' she tells her, followed by a soft chuckle. 'I don't need to show you a lie. The truth is good enough...'

'Twilight...,' Spectrum Brush whispers, unknowing whether Twilight will drop this tempting oppertunity or see that which he and Trixie have witnessed. He can only lean with his hooves against the inpenetrable icy walls and watch.

Twilight continues to think, slowly believing that Trixie means what she says, considering that she already has her where she want her, which means that Trixie wouldn't need to use this as a trap.

Twilight then reaches out with her right hoof, making contact with the glowing horn.

'Very good... Let us dive inside Lady Fame's, Lord Ignis', Princess Luna's and Princess Celestia's memories...,' Trixie whispers, followed by being engulved into a bright white light, along with Twilight Sparkle in front of her. The are no longer in the crater. Spectrum Brush isn't here. In fact: None of them were even born by now. They're heading back in ages past: The youth of Princess Celestia. 'It's a lesson you'll never forget...'

A Celestial Past

Chapter 8 - A Celestial Past

The sun moves slowly over the snow-covered fields. In the distance, far away from civilization, there stands an ancient castle in a frozen forest known as Everfree Forest. the vast fortress is removed from any nearby village or city, standing in the middle of nowhere of the frozen world. The ruins look abandoned from the outside. But inside, there is definitly life moving around.

Everything is dark as the night, with only a constant buzz sounding in the mare's ears. The world felt like ending, the moment she touched the horn of the powerful alicorn. Twilight doesn't feel alive anymore. Either she is unconcious or something worse.

'Wake up, Twilight Sparkle,' a voice echoes through the mare's head, causing the buzzing sound to fade. 'Sleeping late as usually? You shouldn't study so hard...'

It feels nearly impossible to move. Forcing with all her strength, Twilight opens her eyes. She can only see a blurry sight of a white room, with something blue standing right in front of her.

'Hey, get up!' the voice shouts, followed by a hit against her hoof.

Twilight scares awake. She definitly felt the hit against her hoof, proving that this is no dream. Her brain begins to function completely again, allowing her to see and hear clearly again. A nice room temperature can be felt, unlike the freezing cold that she was enduring a moment ago. With a little trouble, Twilight pulls herself from the ground, feeling like she slept in a closet for a week.

'Though there's more than a thousand years between this and the present, this is NO time to sleep through a memory!' Trixie shouts down at her, being the one responsible for making the racket and kicking her.

'Wh-Where am I...' Twilight grunts, as she slowly comes to her senses.

'Where do you think?' the blue mare grunts. 'We are in Lady Fame's extensive memory. Ages back in time, to be more precise.'

'Ages back... in time?' Twilight repeats and looks around the large white room they're in, unable to recognize it. The architecture looks old, yet familiar. It reminds her alot of Canterlot, though it cannot have been founded yet in this time period. Obviously designed by magic, Twlight assumes that unicorns have created it. Which makes it all more confusing it between Canterlot and this place.

But Twilight's attention is drawn away eventually by the young white mare that is sitting at the desk, reading through a thick book. Completely absorbed in scanning the contents of the literature, she doesn't seem to realize that Trixie and Twilight are right next to her.

'Pfoe,' the white alicorn sighs and blows her messy pink mane out of her sight. She throws the finished book on top of a pile of other books, which are presumably literature she has already read. Sleepy, but eagerly, she picks up another book and continues to read.

'That mare...,' Twilight whispers. 'I-Is that...'

'Princess Celestia,' Trixie confirms. 'Hard to recognize, hm? Remove a thousand years and her colorful mane: This is what you have.'

Twilight walks amazed and curious towards the reading mare, who doesn't even look up when Twilight is standing right next to her. 'Ehm... Excuse me,' she mumbles. 'P-Princess Celestia?'

But the princess doesn't look away from her book, being once again absorbed in the long lines of text.

'She can't hear you,' Trixie tells her. 'This is only a memory brought to life. You can't alter it.'

Still, Twilight is astonished to see her mentor like this, reading a book like she always does too. This Celestia is possibly just as old as she is! She can't keep her eyes of the white alicorn, who continues to simply read her book. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the purple mare.

But then, a sneeze is heard, catching Celestia's attention. She turns away from her desk and walks towards Twilight. Before Twilight even tries to move out of the way, she realizes that she and Celestia can't make physical contact, considering it's all an illustion spun by the fabrics of memories. The princess passes through her like a ghost, looking at the crib, decorated by several shiny gems and containing a soft purple silk sheet with a moon pattern on it.

'Aw, how are you, little sis?' Celestia whispers into the bed where a little purple foal is trying to fall asleep. 'Goodnight, little angel. You’re big sister is here to watch over you, so no worries. You can always sleep peacefully.' she whispers and kisses the foal on her head.

'Princess Luna...,' Twilight whispers, looking at the purple foal in the crib while Celestia is walking back to her desk.

'Surprising, isn't it?' Trixie asks her. 'This is the youth of the princesses. Celestia is still a mare who wants to do nothing but read books and Princess Luna is not even old enough to remember this.'

Twilight barely listens to Trixie's words. She is too curious about the young princesses that she is standing with in one room.

Just as Celestia is about to head back to her book, she suddenly hears the large golden door open. A tall dark-blue female alicorn enters the room, catching everypony's attention. She stops right next to Trixie, which causes Twilight to recognize an awful lot of resemblance between the two alicorns.

'No way...,' Twilight whispers, while Trixie only smiles at her. the resemblance between the two mares is striking.

'Celestia, it’s time for another gathering. We're waiting for you to come to the great hall as soon as possible,' the alicorn tells Celestia with a gentle voice.

Celestia sighs and presses her open book on her head in tiredness. 'Oh... Do I have to, Lady Fame?' she asks moody.

The tall alicorn chuckles, finding the young mare's childish attitude funny. 'I know it can be boring to listen to us all the time. But I assure you that it's absolutely vital for your studies to know what is going on in the present, instead of ONLY in history books.'

The young princess understands and somewhat agrees with the blue mare. Though she really doesn't feel like going, the young alicorn sighs and nods. 'Yes, Lady Fame. I will be there in a second...'

'Just don't take too long, yes? You know how much your presence is appreciated,' the tall mare tells her as she leaves the room with noisy clops from her hooves, echoing through the hallways of the castle.

Twilight quickly hurries to the hallway, which is also made of white marmer, going on for an unknown length. She continues to look at the behind of the tall alicorn, who heads towards a tall door at the end of the hallway.

'This part is a little long...,' Trixie grunts. 'Celestia never knew how to stop reading her books... I'm just gonna fast-forward thi-'

'No, wait!' Twilight interrupts her. 'I... I wanna see this.'

'Hm...,' Trixie sighs, noticing Twilight's wish to see her mentor like this while she reads. Feeling little need to rush things up, Trixie eventually shrugs. 'Fine. Have fun. But it will take a while...'

The white alicorn turns back to her desk and opens her book again, eager to read the information that is described inside. Twilight continues to lean on the desk, looking at the reading mare the whole time. She is simply unable to keep her eyes of the mare that is to become her mentor in her present.

***

When several hours have passed, Twilight notices that Celestia sighs again and drops the book on her desk. But just as the princess likes to pick up another book, the princess pauses and thinks.

'The gathering!' she yelps. 'By the sun, I'm too late again!'

Suddenly hurrying desperatly, Celestia jumps away from her desk, nearly causing the pile of books to drop on the ground. But Celestia quickly levitates all the books, afraid to wakeher baby sister if the books would drop with all the noise. Quickly putting the books back on a steady pile, she then turns around to her little sister again.

'I’ll be right back, Luna. I will join you in dreamland soon,' she yawns with a smile.

The little foal has fallen asleep, keeping herself warm under her purple blanket. With quiet hoofsteps, Celestia moves outside her room. But once the large golden doors are closed, she begins to rush through the hallway with hasty hoofsteps. Twilight and Trixie hurry after her, knowing that staying in the room won't help.

Celestia runs to a large door that Twilight saw before. She slowly pushes the door open to see if she’s too late, attempting to be unnoticed.

'-And yet no track to be found!' an angry male voice thunders through the chamber.

The large chamber has glass windows decorating the white walls. In the middle of the chamber stand two thrones, one bigger than the other. The one on the left is mostly red, decorated with several rubies and garnets, while the one on the right is white and slightly smaller, decorated with sapphires and azurites. One seperate, smaller throne stands close to the two main thrones, colored in white with one large diamond decorating the top.

Twilight looks curiously around the chamber, noticing the two conversating alicorns on their respective chairs. When she looks at the ceiling, the unicorn realizes that the windigos, serving as Lady Fame's agents, are stationed there and seem to wait for orders at any time. But her heart skips a beat only when she looks at the crimson stallion, looking just as terrifying as when she met him personally. He carries red unpenetrable armor and thunders with a cruel heavy voice. His intimidating yellow eyes could glow in the dark like flames. It's Lord Ignis, the Harbringer of Hatred: The beast that would control Brush in her present is alive and well here, unrestrainted to no crystal. Even though he can' see her now, Twilight is still scared by him and his yellow eyes.

'Wait... Why is the princess here with them? BOTH of them?' Twilight wonders out loud. 'Why is Princess Celestia with these monsters!'

'Because she is their student,' Trixie whispers in her ear. 'You being the the student of Princess Celestia? This is exactly the same. Your precious Princess Celestia is the student of the most powerful and dominating alicorns of this nameless continent: Lord Ignis and Lady Fame, the ones responsible for the racial hatred and the Great Blizzard!'

'No way...,' Twilight whispers. She would want to be able to ignore this SO badly. But she can't. She can't let the fact slide that the most terrifying alicorns were her beloved mentor's teachers.

But right now, Celestia has bigger matters on her mind than Twilights. She is late for the meeting. But lucky for her: the mare and stallion haven’t noticed her yet. If she moves slowly to her chair, she might get away with it.

'Ponies don’t just disappear into thin air, Ignis. They must have fled someplace else when they realized that they can’t live under the control of my Windigo’s,' the blue alicorn tells to the stallion that begins to walk nervously around with his heavy armor.

'I know that! But my main concern is WHERE they fled to!' he snaps back at her.

Only a few more little steps and she is in the safezone. 1 more, and…

'Pfoe…,' Celestia sighs relieved, now sitting on her white throne. She made it.

'…You’re late again, lass,' The red alicorn grunts at her with his back still turned towards her, having noticed her entrance after all.

Celestia gulps anxiously. 'Busted…,' she yelps anxiously.

'Do you have another excuse, Celestia?' Ignis sighs impatient and turns around to her.

Before she could give any answer, the tall mare speaks before her. 'Easy, Ignis. She studies hard. It’s no wonder that she always shows up this late.'

Having no need to go up against Lady Fame's excuses, the stallion doesn’t argue with it further. 'Just let her know that I do not tolerate this any longer… Celestia, knowledge is good. Studies give knowledge. I’m fully aware of that,' he starts.

Celestia was afraid of this: The 100th scolding of Ignis.

'Knowledge helps you come with decision. Knowledge lets you predict the future to a point. But it is ACTION that makes change! Let ‘action’ change your world and let ‘knowledge’ be your guide. That INCLUDES coming on time to a meeting! You are still Fame's and my protégée. So try to act like one too! When we stop our rule over this world, you must be prepared to take over the throne. Understood?'

'Yes sir…,' Celestia sighs sleepy.

Ignis doesn’t argue further about that she probably missed half of his explaination, and leaves her be for now. 'Good.'

The stallion walks back to his own chair to continue his discussions with the dark mare, expecting Celestia to listen to them.

'In any case: I’ve already sent a scout out to find any clues. He should return soon,' Lady Fame tells him.

Ignis grunts, growing anxious again. 'Please, don’t tell me you’ve sent Spite out? That little worm works half as hard… And I KNOW he does it on purpose…,'

'Well, he’s still the best infiltrator and manipulator we got,' Lady Fame admits. 'My windigo’s can’t go scouting too far from me. You know that.'

The stallion grunts angry. There mere thought of ‘Spite’ seems to give him a bad taste in his mouth. But what he hates more is that Lady Fame is right. Before he could complain any further, they hear a loud knock on the chamber door.

'Enter!' Ignis commands.

The doors open slowly and a slender snake-like figure about the size of Celestia walks inside. Two grey horns are located on top of his head and two draconic feet and claws are attached to his relatively slim arms and legs. It makes him look innocent, rather than threatening.

'What is it, Twilight Sparkle?' Trixie asks the purple mare next to her, who looks puzzled at the dragon's appearance.

'I dunno...,' she mumbles. 'This dragon: He looks so familiar...'

'Spite, you have returned from your scouting mission. Have you relocated the citizens?' Lady Fame asks him.

'Yes, ma’am. I have,' the dragon nods.

'Well? Spill the beans already, worm!' Ignis shouts, having grown out of patience already.

The little dragon makes a little jump backwards, unable to get used to the stallion's outbursts. His white furry eyebrows twitch nervously by the echo of Ignis’ intimidating shoutings. 'Hold your hooves, you puffed-up old...,' he mutters to himself, unable for Ignis to hear him. 'T-They have moved away. Pegasi, Earth Ponies and Unicorns have started to settle in their own seperate kingdoms, further south.'

Both alicorns sigh and shake their heads, dissapointed by the seemingly bad news. 'Hm.. It seems they still oppose each other. We can still catch up to them so you can continue their hatred before your spell wears off,' Lady fame proposes.

'Indeed. Then we shall send your Windigo’s in pursuit. They will realize that they cannot escape their destiny: under our hooves! Even if they don't know that we're pulling the strings, they must know that they can't escape it either,' Ignis agrees, satisfied by the plan. 'We shall leave at noon tomorrow. Now tell us, Spite: Where are they now?'

The dragon begins to explain in full detail about his reports, keeping Twilight and Trixie distracted as well. All ponies in the chamber pay attention to the dragon, while Celestia yawns again from boredom.

The white mare feels completely at ease. For some unknown reason, she feels like a cloud. When she looks into a lake from the air, she notices that she truly is a cloud! Her legs have taken a fluffy form, hovering in one shape through the air.

'Hehe, How weird,' she simply giggles, not being surprised by it somehow. She continues to float towards the horizon, where the sun is slowly rising from. 'The sun… It’s so pretty…,' she whispers softly while gazing at the distant fireball.

The warm rays feel very comfortable, and allow her to fly even higher. She notices a few towns in the distance below her. When she flies over them, she looks down and sees many ponies living together. Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth ponies: Laughing, working, and feeling happy! Their old fueds have been resolved somehow!

'Wow, that looks so nice,' she sighs happy. She tries to wave at the ponies below, but as a cloud she has now hoofs or even wings to wave with.

'Hey, hold up!' she demands from herself as she keeps moving away from the town. 'I wanna go down there!'

And just like she says that she suddenly poofs back into an alicorn, plummeting down to the ground. But from pure instinct: the princess stretches her wings and soars down towards the village below. When she lands, she looks around curiously at how all kinds of ponies don’t hate each other and live together in complete harmony. It's strange: She has never seen anything like this before.

'Hello, Celestia!' a pony suddenly greets her from a house.

A little surprised, the princess looks at the pony and smiles. 'Hello!' she happily responds back. To be greeted so eagerly, it gives such a warm feeling. A feeling that shows acceptance and love to her. She feels more than alive here.

'Hey, Celestia!' another pony greets her. 'Good to see you!'

With a bashful smile Celestia walks down the street, being noticed by many inhabitants. It feels like they’ve known each other for centuries. When she reaches the end of the street, she enters into the town square. Continuing her walk, she moves towards a fountain, where another alicorn seems to be waiting for her.

When she looks the white stallion in the eyes, she feels yet another warm feeling in her stomache. He looks tough, yet gentle. The alicorn smiles at her when he notices how bashful she is. Celestia doesn't know what to say. For some reason she just felt like walking up to him and meet this pony.

'Celestia, Will you accept my friendship?' he suddenly asks her.

'Hm?' Celestia asks curiously. She never heard of anything called "friendship" before. 'Is that what keeps everypony here so happy together: Friendship?' she asks.

The stallion nods. 'Will you accept my friendship?' he asks her again.

Celestia feels like she must be dreaming. This alicorn who she never met before wants to be friends with her, whatever it means? This all seems too good to be true. 'Yes! I do!' she quickly says, afraid that her silence may be taken as a no.

'Celestia…,' somepony suddenly addresses to her behind her.

Celestia looks around to see who said it, only to realize that all the ponies in the village are suddenly gone! Showing no signs of leaving, it's like they all vanished into thin air.

'Celestia…,' the voice sounds again.

When she turns back to the stallion, she realizes that he disappeared too!

'What is going on here?' she asks confused. 'Wait… This has to be-'

***

'Celestia? CELESTIA!'

She scares awake by the loud yell, clearly having fallen asleep. She must’ve dozed off!

'Sleeping again?!' Ignis rhetorically asks in frustration.

Lady Fame sighs slightly disappointed. 'Celestia dear, please try to listen closely. This is important,' the mare asks calmly.

'S-sorry. It won’t happen again, Lady Fame,' she stutters nervously, feeling completely embarrresed about her nap.

Twilight snickers, unable to keep herself from laughing over her mentor's mistakes as a young mare. She always saw Princess Celestia as the perfect ruler of Equestria, which makes her mistakes as a young mare only more funny.

Ignis shakes his head in disappointment. 'Too late. We just finished… You’re dismissed, Celestia…,' he grunts and turns around, heading back to his throne.

Celestia gets up from her chair and walks out the room quickly. She couldn’t wait to hear those final three words. These meetings are always so boring.

The dragon servant that finished his explaination five minutes ago simply looks in surprise at how Celestia walks away. He can’t help but snicker over how humorously dizzy and wobbly Celestia walks when she’s sleepy, causing Celestia to feel more embarressed. When she gets out of Ignis’ sight she can breath safely again.

’You’re dismissed, Celestia’,” she quotes Ignis with a silly voice and sticks her tongue out towards the big door where the two alicorns still remain behind. 'You're brain is dismissed, Lord Irritatus...'

While Twilight and Trixie continue to follow the white mare back to her room, still snickering over Celestia's childish behaviour, the princess can’t stop thinking about her dream. Could this ‘friendship’ be simply that: A dream? It seemed so wonderful. She wish it would be real.

'Well that was unexpected,' Twilight chuckles. 'Princess Celestia doesn't act like a pony of royalty much.'

'Yes. Don't forget: She is the student of these two beings. She is marked to be their follower of the throne some day,' Trixie reminds her, putting Celestia in a bad spotlight again.'

'Yes, I know, but...,' the mare sighs, but stop talking when she notices that something quickly sneaks past them along the walls and floor.

The silent creature moves in on the white princess, who is still rolling with her eyes over bitterness about her mentor. But just as the being stands right behind her, Celestia can sense his presence.

'W-watch out, Princess!' Twilight shouts, though it has absolutely no point considering this is a memory.

'Well, hello there,' the creature greets.

'Wow!' Celestia yelps and jumps up in surprise. She quickly turns around and recognizes the voice and slender figure. It's the dragon from the meeting!

'You are Celestia, correct? Pleasure to meet you. Allow me the introduction. I am Spite: Spy, solver, servant and scout under service of Lady Fame and Lord Ignis, my masters,' he introduces himself, as if he's joking about his professions.

'Y-You're all that?' Celestia stutters, still a little jumpy from being sneaked up upon. Raising her head back up to look back at him, she asks, 'Wh-What's with the being sneaky?'

But he's suddenly gone. Without even a footstep, the dragon has vanished from her sight, even when Celestia looks left or right into the long hallway.

'Because I'm pretty good at it,' he chuckles, standing right behind the white mare again.

'W-Wow!' Celestia gasps again, scared again. With a pounding heart she turns around to the wingless dragon, who continues to smile at her.

'Woops, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you,' he chuckles again, seeming like he's making fun of her. 'Can't help it. It's what I do. That's possibly why they named me Spite.'

'Fine...,' Celestia grunts, growing a little tired of the servant's stealthy attitude.

She decides to turn around and walk onwards through the hallway, trying to leave the dragon behind. But the creepy male doesn't give up that easily and quickly hurries after and walks along at her side.

'Wowow, I'm sorry. Please don't be upset about my... shady appearance,' he apologizes, though Celestia doesn't even grant him her looks. 'If Fame and Ignis find out I even spoke to their pupil, they'd probably pull me through the wrangler.'

Celestia isn't sure whether the dragon is merely joking or serious, considering that he is laughing again from his own joke.

'Tell you what: I'll make it up to you,' he says and smiles. 'A little token of apppreciation.'

Gaining her attention, the white mare looks back at him, clearly curious about whatever present he wants to give her. The slender dragon moves his arm on his back as if he's about to scratch it. But then he suddenly pulls his arm back in front of him, holding something surprisingly colorful.

'-Tadah!-' he proudly presents a boque of flowers, plucked from outside the castle.

The collection of different colored flowers are real eyecandy. Celestia hasn't been much outside in her life, having only seen some flowers in the castle that never whither, thanks to Lady Fame's magic. The mere sight and smells make the white alicorn happy.

'They're... They're beautiful!' Celestia comments and looks with joy at the pretty colors of the flowers, bundled together as a little gift for her. Gratefully she takes the flowers from Spite's claws, using her magic to levitate them in front of her face. She takes a deep breath to smell the flora and savors the moment, enjoying the sweet smell that they breath out. Though the slender dragon is rather creepy and a little bit crazy, he obviously has a good heart.

'Thank you very much, Sir Spite,' Celestia thanks, appreciating his gesture.

'You're welcome, dear,' he humbly tells her and gives a little bow back at her.

The white mare begins to laugh over his behaviour. '-Hehe- Did you call me"dear?" she chuckles at him.

'Eh?' he mumbles a little confused and looks back up at the smiling princess. 'Well... If you don't like me calling you "dear, I'll stop it now.'

But Celestia shakes her head. 'That's ok. You can call me "dear" if you really want to. I just find it a little unusual and funny to be called "dear" by somepo... someBODY I just met.'

'Well, technically we've seen each other before, haven't we?' he chuckles and brushes a claw over his chest, trying to seem like some gentleman. 'I just thought of it when I considered you to be a "Dear of a pony."

Twilight begins to laugh, finding this meeting between her mentor and the dragon refreshing. It feels both odd and funny to see her mentor like this, blushing like a cherry over the way how this dragon seems to be able to put the princess in a bashful emotion. If Twilight didn't know any better, she would suspect that the dragon is flirting with her. She and Trixie continue to follow Celestia, who is now being escorted by the strange spy of the royals.

'Cute, isn't it?' Trixie asks the purple unicorn next to her. 'Makes you wonder where went wrong...'

'Yea...,' Twilight mumbles. 'I still have this itchy feeling of that I know that dragon from SOMEWHERE... I just can't put my hoof on it.'

'Let us proceed further in time,' Trixie tells Twilight while she begins to channel a spell, tearing a glowing white hole into thin air, right in front of them. Causing a breach in the space-time, Trixie's magic fills the entire hallway with the extremely bright light of the portal.

Celestia and Spite simply pass through the portal like ghosts, proceeding down the hallway like nothing happens. But when Trixie and Twilight enter it, they are moving forward into time.

***

Stars twinkle in the sky, unhindered by clouds that would normally pass by. A bright full moon shines down on the snowy landscape. It is nighttime, even inside the sleeping castle. A white hole of pure energy pierces through the space, glowing with a bright radiance through the new chamber. Two mare's exit, entering the familiar room. Twilight jumps out of the tunnel and enters the white chamber in nighttime, feeling like she is burdened with a timelag all of the sudden.

They're in the bedroom of Princess Celestia and Luna, who are fast asleep at this time. The portal closes behind Trixie and Twilight with a fizzle, ending the buzzing tearing of the space-time and returns the silence and darkness in the room. The only thing that lights up is the moon, which shines it's rays of light through the tall window next to Celestia's bed. The princesses continue to sleep, unable to hear whatever the two mares are experiencing.

Twilight walks up to Celestia's bedside, watching as how her mentor is asleep.

'Haven't you "stalked" her enough, Twilight Sparkle?' Trixie grunts impatient. 'Watching how your mentor is living her youth isn't all THAT interesting.'

Twilight looks over her shoulder at the arrogant Trixie. 'Well, it's thanks to YOU that we're here in the first place... I might as well use it the best as I can,' she grunts, shutting Trixie up, and looks back at the sleeping white alicorn. 'I always wanted to know how it would've been if I got to meet Princess Celestia in this time... and now I finaly have.'

'-Hmpf- Suit yourself...,' Trixie mumbles and turns around, ignoring the purple mare.

Trixie walks over to the jeweled crib, which carries the sleepy little foal that would grow up into Princess Luna one day. The blue mare looks quietly at the little princess and thinks deeply, feeling a possible sense of regret and grief somehow.

'Look at you, Luna... So peaceful and innocent... To think that you and I work together in the far future, alongside Spectrum Brush...,' she sighs and continues to look at how the little foal yawns and turns around to sleep further. Seeing Princess Luna still sets a chain of emotions in progress for her. Even though she's a mighty mare with unlimited powers, it doesn't mean that she cannot feel anymore.

One of the large golden doors of the bedroom suddely opens slowly, much to both mare's surprise. A tall blue mare sneaks inside, peering through the darkness.

'What is she doing here...,' Twilight grunts bittter as the memory of Lady Fame passes her, unable to feel or notice her presence.

'Celestia,' she whispers 'Celestia, wake up.'

The white mare remains asleep and only turns her back to the alicorn in response to continue her dreams.

'-Psst- Celestia. It's me, Fame,' she whispers again and softly pokes the white mare on her shoulder, causing the princess to wake up.

'Wh-Wha...?' she mumbles half asleep and looks over her shoulder. Seeing the face of her mentor, Celestia jumps up in her bed from shock. 'L-L-Lady Fame! Wh-What are you doing here around this time?'

'-Ssshhh-' she hisses and softly presses a hoof on Celestia's mouth, preventing anypony to catch notice of the noise. 'I wanted to talk to you,' the blue mare whispers.

The awakened mare calms down and nods, signalling to Lady Fame that she will be quiet. When she takes her hoof off slowly, Celestia sighs relieved. 'Is it so urgent, Lady Fame? Couldn't it wait for tomorrow morning?' she asks.

But the tall alicorn shakes her head. 'No. I need to speak to you in absolute privacy. It's about the dream you had during our meeting today,' Fame whispers.

Celestia's eyes jump open from the surprise, realizing that her mentor can see into her dreams! 'H-How do you know what I dream off?' she hisses, nearly having shouted the question out loud.

'I can read minds, Celestia...,' Lady Fame sighs, as if Celestia should know that by now. 'It may not be a skill I'm excited about, but it allows me to discover great potentials from time to time.'

Celestia looks back down to her bedsheet, feeling like her privacy of mind has been violated. Though a little mad at the blue mare, Celestia feels like it may be nice to share her dreams with somepony she can trust. She looks back up at the mare at her bedside, who looks very curious about her story. Considering her more like a friend, Celestia doesn't have much trouble now to tell her about the dream.

She speaks of every tiny detail about the dream, unable to forget it. She speaks about her being a cloud, the warm sun that shines on her, the pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies that greet her, and ofcourse the white stallion that asked her a very important question. 'Will you accept my friendship?' Lady Fame listens carefully at her pupil, leaning with curiosity on the side of the bed. Twilight listens carefully as well, finding it an experience to never forget to hear about the dreams of her beloved mentor. It feels odd. It feels like this age doesn't even realize the meaning of "friendship."

'And then I got interrupted when Ignis shouted,' Celestia ends her story.

'Amazing...,' Lady Fame whispers, completely baffled about the amazing dream her student speaks of. 'You were raised in this enviroment, having nopony but me, Ignis, and your little sister... and still you have learned about the meaning of friendship...'

It almost sounds like friendship is a taboo inside the castle, making Celestia wonder if this dream means she is in trouble. 'A-Am I in trouble, Fame?' Celestia whispers with hanging ear.

But instead of a strict "yes," the blue mare snickers and strokes with a hoof through Celestia's mane, comforting her from her anxiety. 'Ofcourse not, Celestia. I'm very happy that you are who you are.'

'That wasn't so bad,' the young alicorn thinks to herself, glad to hear that her favorite mentor takes it up so well.

'But let's not tell Ignis about this, yes? I have a feeling he may not be entirely happy about this particular subject,' the tall mare chuckles, loving the idea of torturing Ignis with these tiny secret details.

'Will this stay one of our little secrets?' the white alicorn asks hopeful, always enjoying the idea of keeping Lord Ignis in the dark with the little secrets that go between Lady Fame and herself.

'This will be our little secret,' Fame smiles and winks. 'But there is.... something I'd like to show you now. It's very important to me. And I believe you may be able to help.'

Before Celestia asks what it is, Lady Fame has already turned around and silently opens the large doors. Giving Celestia a little nod to follow her, the young mare quickly jumps out of her bed and hurries after the blue alicorn, proceeding into the dark hallways together.

'Let's follow them,' Trixie tells Twilight, both following after the two mares together.

***

After a while, watching how Celestia and Fame sneak through the sleeping castle, the four mares arrive at a large steel door, decorated with the symbol of a tome. They all understand what lies behind it: It's the library. When Lady Fame and Celestia push the doors open together, using their magic, Twilight cannot believe her eyes: This library is the biggest she has ever seen in her entire life. The ceiling is almost as tall as the top of her home in Ponyville, and possibly wider than the town square. Towering wooden bookcases stand along the walls and around, creating a labyrinth of knowledge. Every case is filled with different books, all filled with different types of wisdom and studies. Even Twilight can't recognize some titles, which have possible been lost in the course of time.

'What is so special about my dream, Lady Fame?' Celestia asks her mentor as they pass the several rows of books, understanding that she won't need to whisper anymore. 'Why is so strange about it that it gets so much attention from you?'

'I'm just amazed that you are able to dream of friendship, while it's taboo in this castle,' the blue mare admits.

'Why? Why is it taboo?' the young mare asks in return.

Lady Fame sighs as they both pass under the ceiling window, which allows the light of the full moon to fill the chamber. 'Ignis chose that,' she answers eventually. 'Ignis said that friendship is unproductive and not something that a leader should possess. I... kind of believed him, accepting his ideals long ago. Often leadership must be carried above friendship, though Ignis is wrong about that it's pointless. The tales about friendship were long lost before I even got the chance to study them myself... Ignis was supposed to have burned all the knowledge down, believing to have rid the world from it for good. If Ignis were ever to hear the word "friendship," he would probably explode from anger. He isn’t really fond of the concept...'

'Why?' she asks again.

'Even I don’t know... I merely trust in fate. I believe that everything happens with reasons. If this is Ignis' path, I will follow it unquestioned...'

The purple and white mare listen carefully, horrified by the stallion's past actions. Whatever caused Ignis to preform such a crime... only he could be so black-hearted to actually do it.

'But... that all changed when we took refuge into these ruins in what we call Everfree Forest. I made a grand discovery, though it is not within my power to uncover it...,' Lady Fame sighs dissapointed, giving her student the impression that it must be way harder than it can be, considering that even she can't solve this supposed discovery. 'There is something I'd like you to see... I kept it a secret for long. But I believe now that you are truly the one that can pick up my research.'

Having arrived at a noticable small bookcase, only a head bigger than the tall alicorn, Lady Fame ends their walk. Giving a small push against the bookcase with her hoof causes the bookcase to move backwards, revealing a small passage into the darkness.

'Shall we?' Lady Fame asks the mare to follow after her, causing the bookcase to close as they move further into the darkness.

Twilight decides to shed a light on the hallway in order to see ahead, while Celestia and Lady Fame are forced to peer through the pitch-black shadows. But the passage is small, ending very quickly. When they enter the following room, six torches instantaneously explode in a bright fire, litting up the entire chamber.

Awing in surprise and astonishment around the chamber, shaped like a hectagon, Twilight notices the six bookcases that stand in the respective corners. The bookcases are all separated into six groups and lined up next to six long pillars that stands in the separate corners, all decorated with a big stone orb that hang near the ceiling.

They're all filled with ancient scrolls, dusty and untouched by ponies for atleast a hundred years. Only some are lying on a pedestal that stands in the center of the room, being the only scrolls that Lady Fame dared to inspect before.

'What is this place?' Twilight and Celestia whisper at the same time.

The blue mare nods. 'This is the hall of friendship, secret vault of the last remaining scrolls of Friendship. Even I don’t know who build this. I discovered it when I was searching for something uncommon to read, and stumbled upon this little secret years ago.'

Celestia heads to the pedestal and reads the unsealed scrolls, written in some odd language of scribbles. And yet, Celestia can somewhat understand it. They all tell stories of many different characters that have experienced something that they seem to call friendship.

'Does Lord Ignis know about this place?' Celestia asks when she looks over her shoulder at her mentor.

'Oh dear, no. If he did, this place would probably be burned to ashes. That’s why I urge you not to tell him,' she nods, hinting that Celestia remain quiet about this for ever.

'My lips are sealed,' Celestia giggles. 'It’s our little secret after all.'

Fame smiles at her. She knows that she can trust her pupil more than anypony else. 'Actually, there is a greater reason I show you this place.'

Celestia looks in wonder up at the blue mare, who's gaze moves along the stone orbs that decorate the pillars, each holding a different colored gem.

'I have read these scrolls many times, yet I cannot decipher the ancient tongue it is written in...' Fame tells as she turns her look to the closests bookcase and lifts one scroll carefully with her magic.

Moving it towards the white mare, Celestia takes it over with her own magic and opens it up. Blowing the dust from the parchment, Celestia begins to look at the scribbles again. 'Friendship...Report...,' she mumbles, making out the first two words that are entiteling the story.

She takes a quick peak in it, and sees what Fame meant. The language on this scroll is some unknown mumbo-jumbo that she mostly never seen before. Only a few ancient words are recognized from some study books she read before. But that's all.

'I have seen how eager you have read the books in the library: More than I ever could. That’s why I was hoping that you may have stumbled upon texts that could aid you in decoding them,' Lady Fame explains to Celestia, who continues to stare at the texts. 'Celestia, can I pass this matter on your shoulders? Can I trust in your skills to help me further in uncovering the meaning of Friendship?'

Celestia turns around from the scroll to look at her teacher. She feels honored to be given such a task from her mentor, given the importance it holds to her. Just like Fame, she is also nearly desperate to learn about this so-called ‘friendship’, thanks to the dream she had. And now the Lady is willing to trust her as far as to allow HER to understand this secret!

'I-I’d be honored, Lady Fame!' she replies both happily as astonished.

Lady Fame smiles. 'It makes my heart jump from joy to hear that you truly share the same passions as I do, Celestia,' she mumbles in herself, unable for Celestia to hear it. 'I couldn't be more proud of you as if you were my own flesh and blood daughter...'

'Hm? Did you say something, Lady Fame?' Celestia asks, able to hear the soft whispers in the background.

'N-Nothing, dear,' Fame shoves the subject aside and walks to Celestia, who has already begun to search through the bookcases. 'I think you'll find most answers in this book. It's rather thick and full of that language. But I'm pretty sure it's either a manual or a collection of stories like the scrolls.'

Celestia looks back up at her mentor, who levitates a ten inch thick book in the air. With a heavy sound, Lady Fame drops the book on the ground before the young mare. Like a mouse who has found cheese, Celestia leaps to the book and opens it, curious about the content.

'In any case. Don't let this business take over your life, Celestia. Our normal lives must proceed, ofcourse,' the blue alicorn speaks to the busy mare as she turns around to walk back into the small tunnel. Celestia is already too far focused on the book to notice her mentor's leave. 'Ignis must not find out. Don't cause any suspicion of what takes place here.'

The night carries on. Celestia remains in the torch-lit room, deciphering what she can from the seemingly amazing stories that are written on the paper. This possibly continues to carry on all night, though this cannot be proven. Trixie has already opened a new portal inside the space, which will carry her and Twilight further into the memories. Twilight looks over her shoulder as she follows her nemesis and sees how the young version of her mentor is fading away in the light that closes around them.

***

'Where are we going?' Twilight asks Trixie.

The blue mare looks down at her in response. 'This story carries on for weeks,' she tells her as they begin to flash-forward into different memories for a short time. Still inside the timeless void that leads to different timeperiods, Twilight looks up surprised when different windows begin to open one at a time. This continues to show in a speedy tempo, opening up a window to a different time from the upcoming weeks.

'Hey, Celestia,' What are you up to?' Spite asks Celestia, as she was walking down the hallway to her room.

'Hey, Spite! Not much. I just got a new book from the library!' she happily shares with the dragon, who's presence begins to be more appreciated every time he appears and greets her, usually leading to a little walk together through the castle.

As expected, Spite doesn't hesitate to walk at Celestia's side, listening to what she has done for the day. Even though Celestia remains quiet about her research with Lady Fame, she still openly tells him about her studies and novels she read.

Twilight watches how her mentor is enjoying the time with her friend, though she may not even realize it right now that Spite can be considered her friend.

The window closes quickly again, which allows a new one to open up right next to the puzzled mare. She quickly turns her attention to the next window that followed, while Trixie silently watches at how Twilight continues to watch the memories.

The princess lies on her bed, reading through the thick book of friendship again. Occasionally throwing a glance at her little sister in the crib, the young mare is completely absorbed in the facinating stories that she manages to descipher.

'Celestia, are you in here?' a heavy voice speaks from behind the golden doors of her bedroom. It's easy to recognize it. The discipline nearly crawls from under the door, figuratively speaking.

'I-Ignis!' the white alicorn gasps, fearful of what may happen if he would discover the book. She looks around and notices her pillow as a good hiding spot, quickly hiding it beneath it and prays that it will be safe for now. If Ignis were to find it, there’s no telling how long the scold will be, and IF she could get away with it!

Without further warning, the golden doors open, making way for the alicorn with the flaming mane. 'What are you doing?' he asks the anxious mare, who sits up in her bed with a book about survival teachings.

'N-Nothing going on. Just… Studying!' she lies to him nervously with sweat on her forehead.

'Look: I know that you may think my classes are boring... I'm smart enough to understand that from a studious pony like you that you may find other things more important than learning how to rule a kingdom,' he tells her, trying to sound compasionate about his student's feelings. 'But my teachings are as important as those of Lady Fame. Don't forget that you need two halves to become one.'

'I know...,' she sighs. 'It won't doze off again, Lord Ignis,' she answers, trying to sound as honest as she can to the intimidating stallion.

The second portal closes again in a fizzling spark, allowing a portal to open up next to Twilight again. The time is again in Celestia's room. Twilight remains quiet and looks at the memory, like it's a movie.

Princess Celestia has taken a break from her studies, spending some time with her baby sister, Luna. The little foal has already learned how to walk rather well. The white mare plays with her, walking around the room in small circles, allowing her sister to follow her.

'C'mon, Luna! You nearly got me!' Celestia roots for her baby sister.

But just as Luna is about to tag Celestia, who is slowing down on purpose, they both look up surprised when the doors of her room open up. A scaled snake-like head pokes inside, looking around until the reptilian eyes notice the two ponies.

'Ah, Celestia! I thought I'd find you here,' Spite grins and walks inside, without even having asked for her permission.

But Celestia doesn't mind, having grown used to actions like these from the odd dragon now. 'Hey there, Spite,' she greets him with a smile. 'Say, Have I ever introduced you to my little sister yet?'

'No. No you haven't,' the dragon chuckles and walks towards them, looking curious at the foal. 'Helloo there, sweetcheeks.' he kids with the little pony and presses his claws against his face, making a funny face.

But despite his attempt to entertain Celestia's little sister, Luna looks in astonishment at the dragon before she quickly hides behind her sister, using her pink mane as cover.

'Hm... Guess I'm not very good with kids,' Spite shrugs.

'It's ok Luna,' Celestia smiles at the foal. 'Spite is a nice person.'

Luna peeks over the mane at the dragon again, who looks a little puzzled at her. Unlike Spite's "funny face," she does seem to like the face of confusion that Spite gives her. Less anxious than before, the young princess starts to move in front of her big sister, taking a closer look at him.

'Hello there,' Spite calmly greets her, believing that his comedian-like attitude won't work on her. Acting like a calm and collected gentleman, Spite lowers his slender body down to the ground, allowing Luna to look at his face from her level.

Other than giving a few a blinks and a smile, Spite simply lies and watches with Celestia at how Luna moves closer to his face. When Luna suddenly presses her hooves against his snout, they both have to chuckle at each other.

'She likes you, Spite,' Celestia compliments him and snickers at how Luna proves to be stronger than most foals, being able to press the dragon's snout a little too far away for comfort.

'Myea... I beweeve fo,' Spite snorts and stands back up to allow his nose to recover. 'Tough sister you got, Celestia.'

They both start to laugh, confusing little Luna over their sudden change in attitude again. But then the laughing stops abruptly when the flowing window closes, surprising Twilight Sparkle a little as she was completely absorbed in the event.

'So cute...,' Trixie sighs. 'The princess actually found somebody with who'm she has all the best chance to be friends with. Even though behind the backs of Celestia's mentors, they are still happy with each other...'

Even though Trixie has become more maniac than mare, Twilight has the growing feeling that Trixie actually envys the princess. Maybe Trixie is more alone than she lets out, hiding it behind her attitude.

'And still it continues,' the blue alicorn sighs and waves with her horns again.

'-And that's why they helped him!' Twilight hears from behind her, coming from another window of time. She looks over her shoulder and sees Princess Celestia in the hidden chamber in the library again, accompanied by the tall blue mare who listens closely to her pupil. 'Do you see, Lady Fame? They help each other because they were friends!'

The blue alicorn nods and smiles at the proud mare. 'That's incredible, Celestia. You're even better at this than I thought!' she compliments her student with a nod and a pat on the head. 'Who knows... Maybe you will reach a day when your knowledge even surpasses mine.'

Celestia glows with red cheeks over the compliment she's been given and feels how her mentor strokes her hoof through her mane.

'I don't think so, Lady Fame,' she humbly tells back. 'You are so wise. I doubt I'll even get close to your wisdom.'

'But you have the courage to surpass your limits, Celestia,' the white-maned alicorn chuckles and encourages her student. 'In all honesty: I wish I was half as brave as you've shown to be.'

Twilight feels warm inside. Sometimes she isn't sure whether she is watching the young Celestia and Lady Fame or herself and Celestia. When she moves closer to the window, it suddenly shuts in front of her.

'Alas.... There are more urgent matters that happened from out of sight...,' Trixie tells the purple mare while she opens another window. 'Even though Lady Fame and Spite show to be wonderful allies to her, there's always a dominant evil that lurks within the shadows.'

The shows another memory of Ignis and Celestia, who stumble upon each other in the white hallway. The black-mane alicorn looks far from amused, confronting his student again.

'Celestia! This is the third time you've missed our session about tactics! What in the blazes are you doing?!' Ignis shouts at his student, growing tired of her constant absence.

'I'm...just studying, Lord,' Celestia stutters, finding it hard to lie against a mentor.

The red alicorn raises an eyebrow, having trouble to believe it this time. 'Oh, really? And would you mind to explain why I've seen you several times walking through the hallway with that worthless living piece of scales?' he asks, referring to Spite.

'That? -Eh- That's nothing. I simply ask him to escort me from time to time. You never know where the danger lurks,' she lies to him, hoping that the stallion will simply take it as a little paranoia on her side and tolerates it.

Ignis glares into her eyes, as if he's looking through her pupils into her brain to read her mind. Celestia tries not to choke in her words as she feels terribly intimidated by the powerful stallion, who is clearly running out of patience. If she hadn't stayed up so long to read all those scrolls, she wouldn't be this tired in his classes.

'If I find you lying... It will be your own fault!' he shouts as answer and turns around, walking away with angry hoofsteps.

'Ok, ok...,' she sighs relieved and watches at how the stallion walks away again. 'That was close...'

'She grows into a little rebel, Don't you agree?' Trixie asks Twilight, while the window of the time is closing in front of them again.

'Serve's Ignis right...,' the purple unicorn grunts. 'He's too pushy about his way of work. He shouldn't have destroyed the stories of friendship in the first place!'

Trixie simply chuckles in response. 'Alas... Ignis has different plans. Missing a few classes of him isn't the problem for him. But it's "this" action that creates the spark that starts the fire of a terrible turnout..,' Trixie tells her confused purple mare and stomps with a hoof on the bright floor, causing a window to open beneath their hooves, giving a view from the ceiling down to the mare and stallion again.

'Celestia! For the HUNDREDTH time: I won't tolerate it if you ever sleep during the teachings about confrontation and intimidation again!' the armored alicorn shouts down to his pupil, who looks quietly at the floor. this scolding is possible weeks after the previous one that Twilight just saw, considering the limit of the stallion's patience for his student. 'Fame and I haven't been in control over this world, unnoticed by the ponies, because we were slacking on the serious things!'

'I know...,' she grunts.

But he doesn't give her a break, scolding her further than neccesary again with his endless ramblings. 'If I find you sleeping off during my teachings, I'm going to tie you to your bed from early afternoon until the end of sunrise! Do you understand me?!'

'Enough, Ignis! Get off my back, will you?! I'm busy, ok?!' Celestia shouts, staggering the stallion with her reaction. 'As always: I'm STU-DY-ING! Ask Lady Fame! She'll say it's true!'

The white mare runs off into the hallway, not wanting to be around when Ignis comes back from his senses and begins to shout at her. This is the first time that she shouted at Ignis, causing Ignis to look astonished for possibly the first time. She had the urge to tell him what she thinks about all these tactics for combat and control, growing more and more tired as she reads further about friendship every night. Before she knew the book of Friendship, she never even reallized how aggresive Ignis' knowledge is about control over others.

'I'm sure she would...,' he hisses and glares at the fleeing white mare. Celestia's sudden disobiediance has set the fire on. Ignis lives through his way of assuming the worst at all time, causing him to think of his next steps that involve the white mare.

Twilight knows the dark look in Ignis' yellow eyes: It means that a storm is coming. 'This is bad...,' Twilight whispers. 'Do I even want to see what happens next?'

Trixie chuckles softly and shows a sadistic grin on her face. 'No... you don't want to see it...,' she whispers and casts another spell, sending them both to a period further in time.

***

Two weeks have passed since Celestia's outburst against Ignis. Lady Fame and Spite both know about it, but do not speak of it further. Life continues in the castle as usual, though Ignis seems to have stopped talking to Celestia when not needed. Even when she manages to doze off, he stopped scolding her. Celestia likes to believe that her outburst opened his eyes. But Spite and Fame both know that it's something else.

A glowing white portal opens in thin air again, giving access for the two mares to walk amongst the memories again. Twilight has gotten used to the timeskips. Instead of feeling dizzy, she immidiatly goes out to look for her future mentor. Trixie merely follows her, letting Twilight have her way here.

Twilight looks over her shoulder at Trixie. 'Where is everypony?' she asks.

'Where do you think?' Trixie grunts and points with her horn to the nearest door.

Taking the hint, Twilight heads to the doors and passes right through them. As usual: The trip has led back to Celestia's bedroom. Twilight looks at the desk, where the white mare is studying once again. Relieved that nothing has changed, Twilight sighs with a smile. 'Nothing bad has happened...,' she says.

Celestia looks happy at the book she's reading, while Princess Luna is asleep again. Time goes on unchanged.

'Indeed. Nothing has happened YET,' Trixie tells her, breaking her hopes for a good ending again. 'Just wait... First she'll get a little visit...'

Just as Trixie says that, the doors open behind the two mares.

'Hey there, Celestia,' Spite greets her and walks unasked into her room again.

The princess looks up from her book at the slender dragon and smiles. 'Hello, Spite. How are you?'

'Ah, you know... Scouting and spying. Nothing uncommon,' he shrugs and brushes his nails over his chest. 'You're still studying, amigo?'

Celestia nods and looks back at her book. She has reached some strange chapter in the book about some artifact called Elements of Harmony, being a completely different type of story than all the others. Even though she's read it several times now, she can't figure what it means, aside from the words: Kindness, Honesty, Loyalty, Generosity and Joy. There's something else that should be the connection between the five words, though Celestia hasn't figured it out yet.

'Well, I better get back to my job,' Spite sighs, growing tired of the wetworks he has to do all the time. 'I should find another job...'

Celestia giggles from his joke as the dragon leaves the room. When the dragon has closed the door behind him again, Celestia looks at the flowers that stand on her desk. It's the boque of flowers that Spite gave her months ago when they met, unwhithered thanks to Lady Fame's magic.

She then begins to think: 'I've been reading and studying all the time, while Spite keeps doing his job all the time. Maybe we should do something together more often?' With that in mind, Celestia jumps away from her desk and hurries outside her room, hoping to catch up on Spite.

'Hey, Spite. I was wondering-,' she says as she opens the doors, surprised by the tall alicorn with the white icy mane that stands before her. 'L-Lady Fame! You scared me!' Celestia gasps with a rapidly pounding heart in her chest.

The white-maned alicorn looks at her pupil with sad eyes. She needs a moment to be able to speak to Celestia, rather than simply greet her with joy.

'Hello Celestia...,' she mumbles. 'How are you today?'

Celestia looks puzzled up at the blue mare. She has never seen her mentor like this before. 'What's wrong?' Celestia asks, noticing the anxious behaviour of her favorite mentor.

'I just had a hard time just now... Some decisions are harder to make than others, you know,' Fame mutters, attempting to bring the words easily to her student. 'Sometimes... you just have to tell things openly, like I'm telling you now...'

'What are you speaking about?' Celestia mumbles, expecting some bad news.

'You must believe me... I tried to deny it. But Ignis, he...,' Fame tries to explain, finding it hard to talk about what had happened. 'I... spoke with Lord Ignis a moment ago... You.... You should probably not go to the library anytime soon...'

Both Twilight's as Celestia's eyes widen. The white mare's jaw drops, feeling that something snapped in her senses. From the words of her Lady Fame and the way she brings it, it sounds like her greatest fear must've come to realization.

'She told him...,' Twilight whispers, feeling as emotionally drawn into the memory as if it's a part of her life.

'You told him...,' Celestia repeats after Twilight.

Not waiting for a response, Celestia bursts off into the hallways. Twilight Sparkle takes no second longer and rushes after her mentor, knowing that she's speeding off to the library.

'Celestia, Wait! Come back!' Lady Fame shouts at her, afraid that this won't turn out well.

But Celestia doesn't stop, just like Twilight. Trixie simply stays behind with Lady Fame and begins to smile when Twilight is leaving into the hallways, expecting that Twilight won't like the sight as much as Celestia will. 'DON'T wait, Twilight,' she snickers. 'Go ahead and look at what happened to the chamber.'

During the gallop, as she gasps for air, Celestia can't stop thinking of several things. She cannot believe that Lady Fame told Ignis about the chamber, breaking their promise. How could Ignis have founded it out anyway? Ignis expects the worst usually. But still something must've signalled him that something is going on. Could it been her behaviour to him? Could Spite, the kind dragon servant of her mentors, have tipped it off? Before she can come up with answers to her own questions, she has already reached the giant doors with the engraved scroll.

Without taking a second longer, Celestia rams into the doors, opening them with a load slam that echoes through the entire library. The first thing that Celestia notices is the warm air that passes her, coming from the far end of the chamber.

'No. It can't be!' she gasps in denial, hoping that her fears are a lie.

The white alicorn doesn't stop running. She reaches the tiny bookcase, which has been cast aside by alot of force. Noticing the glowing flames in the distance of the passage, Celestia's breath stops for a second. 'Oh no…,' she gasps.

Quickly she runs inside to find out who has entered the room. As she moves closer to the chamber, she begins to her talking. Somepony is muttering words from the Hall of Friendship. It's a spell.

Just before she could enter the room and see who is incantating the magic, she is blinded by a flash. A raging heat bursts passed her, leaving the room through the tiny passage. Though the princess can't see anything by the light, hear anything by the raging fire, or feel anything over the heat, Celestia presses further until she's inside the Hall of Friendship.

But when the noise and heat calms down, and a stallion is heard breathing heavily, Celestia opens her eyes. 'AAH!' she cries, witnessing the destruction that was brought into this sensitive part of history.

Bookcase are lit on fire, the pedestal is crushed into rubble and the ashes of the scrolls move through the warm current. And in the middle of the devestation stands a crimson-red stallion, breathing deeply from growing fury. Ignis burned down the last vault of friendship.

'So this is where it was hidden, hm?' he grunts, having noticed the presence of his pupil behind him.

Celestia looks in fear at Ignis. He has discovered the room and burned it down to ashes. And he's not done yet. Celestia is more fearful of Ignis than ever, afraid that he may do more than simply scold her.

'I gave you a home... We taught you well... And STILL you defy me?! You disappoint me, Celestia… More than ever!' he shouts at her and turns around. His eyes are nearly burning with rage, his teeth are grinding over each other and his breaths don't slow down.

'B-B-But Ignis! I was just-' she mutters.

'SILENCE!' he shouts and bucks a burning bookcase against the wall, splintering it into a hundred pieces. 'I’m so furious right now that I can’t even come up with a good punishment for this insolence! Studying friendship... Just thinking about it makes my head boil! Return to your room NOW!'

Celestia is scared: Scared for her furious mentor. Without any resistance, Celestia surrrenders. She has lost the game and now she takes the fall for it. 'Y-Yes sir…,' she stutters as she walks outside.

Celestia's fear has taken over her mind so badly that her eyes are wet from tears. All those precious scrolls and stories are gone. The only thing that could teach her about friendship has been set aflame by the most brutal stallion of the world. Crying out loud, the princess bursts out of the chamber.

Twilight remains with Lord Ignis. She is also horrified by the stallion's actions. This is a second time that she has witnessed a traumatizing event that Lord Ignis caused, feeling like it cuts open the scars of the memories about Spectrum Brush' accident. It pains her heart, watching everytime how the stallion stomps on the sizzling scrolls that her mentor loved so much.

'I will have a little word with Fame about this…,' Ignis hisses, far from done with this.

***

Twilight walks back through the hallways, following after the upset princess. The purple mare is feels sickly, finding it hard to process another crime that Ignis brought, while she was unable to do anything about it. Celestia was having a worse time, having ran off back to her bedroom in tears and sweat.

Trixie has waited all this time at the bedroom doors, gloating inside over Twilight's face of defeat. 'Well... That must have been an "enlightening" experience,' she jokes, being the only pony that could laugh about it.

Twilight doesn't even answer to her, simply passing her and enters the bedroom. She expected as much: Princess Celestia feels awfull, muting her cries in a pillow. The purple mare simply sits next to her and watches at the princess. If she was able to do anything for her now, she would do it. She keeps looking at the white mare for several minutes, watching her squeeze her pillow and rub the tears off into it. But when she lifts it to throw it against the wall in a move of anger for the cruel stallion, Twilight notices the book that was hidden under it. Celestia quickly grabs it and holds it tightly against her, finding comfort in the last remaining book of friendship that is left.

'It's just not fair...,' is all that Celestia is able to mutter out loud.

'Princess Celestia...,' Twilight whispers and jumps on her bed. Even if she can't make contact with the memory of the mare with the same age, Twilight still feels like it helps when she can sit next to her, as if she's able to befriend the young version of her mentor. It makes the unicorn smile, never having felt as close to Celestia as this, even though Celestia doesn't even know that she's right next to her. 'It'll be alright... You will become the Princess of Equestria, along with Princess Luna.'

Just as she said that sentence, both mares look surprised up when cries are heard from the crib. Celestia jumps off her bed and moves to the cradle, feeling bad for awakening her baby sister with cries. 'I'm sorry, Luna,' she whispers and picks up the foal. Holding her in her arms, watching how Luna calms down and falls back asleep, Celestia feels alright again. She knows now that this doesn't have to mean the end of the world.

'Fame?' a heavy voice mumbles from behind the doors, alerting Celestia. 'It's time we have a little talk again...'

'D-Did you burn it down?' Celestia hears her other mentor, who seems to have been listening to the sounds from her room this whole time!

Fame wanted to speak to her student and explain why she told Ignis about it, but simply couldn't find the courage to enter the room and confront the white mare. Her cowardish is what keeps her from doing the right things, so it seems.

'Of course... But there are still some loose ends that we need to knot together,' he grunts, followed by eight hooves that move through the hallway, fading into an echo.

Celestia looks staggered about Ignis words. "Tightening some loose ends" usually means something VERY bad. Putting the sleepy foal back into her bed, Celestia decides to follow the two "traitors of mentors." Expecting they will head to the Throne Room, Celestia sneaks off into the white halls again. Twilight wants to know what happens now, forcing her to follow after the princess again. Trixie simply watches at how Twilight is rushing off, letting time takes its course.

***

'She’ll never be able to uphold our order now… good job, Fame!' a shout of Ignis thunders from behind the doors, followed by a loud stomp on the floor.

Twilight and Celestia peak through the narrow opening between the two doors, spying on the two alicorn's verbal fight.

'She had the right to learn, Ignis...,' Lady Fame tries to explain calmly. 'I just wanted to extend her knowledge and vision to one we never achieved.'

'And there's a REASON why we never achieved it! Because we don't NEED anything as pointless as friendship!' Ignis snaps back, as if he's trying to force Lady Fame in believing his words to be absolute truth. 'Friendship brings nothing but trouble! A true leader has no friends, GOT IT?!'

'Why? What makes you hate it so much if you don't even know what it means?!' Fame asks with a desperate tone, growing tired of the mysteries that surround the black-hearted stallion. 'You're just as oblivious about it as I am! you have no right to decide for everypony that we can find out what it means!'

'And that's where you're wrong, Fame... I HAVE the right!' he grunts. 'Don't you forget your place! No matter how you look at it: my title of LORD means that I stand above anypony else in this wretched world! That includes above you...'

Lady Fame has nothing to say in return, as if she acknowledges it. She humbly stares at the ground, unable to stare directly at the stallion, and listens to the raging alicorn.

'The only thing you managed is destroying my faith in our protégée! She’s so interested in friendship now that it will hamper everything we worked for!' he grunts and scratches his face with a hoof, followed by sighing over the situation. 'The damage has already been done now... We can’t take care of her now... She must leave the castle.'

Twilight notices how Celestia's breaths are going deeper, obviously feeling scared now. But remaining quiet to continue to spy, Twilight turns her head back and proceeds to listen to the conversation that rises in tension.

'You can't do that, Ignis! She knows nothing about the outside world! Where would she go?!' Fame questions alarmed, fearful for Celestia's life. 'She would die on her own in the cold!'

'Ironic, isn't it? Considering that the cold is caused by YOUR magic...,' Ignis grunts, remaining solid about his plan to ditch their student like rotten apples.

'Are you insane?! Do you really have no heart for her?! She's basically a daughter to us!' Fame cries out to Ignis, wanting to reach deep inside his mind and make him realize the mistakes he plans.

'Maybe to you... She's already dead to me now,' Ignis tells him, completely unmoved Fame's feelings or Celestia's decided fate.

'Graaaah!' Fame shouts in anger and leaps towards the stallion, who turns around when he hears Fame's sudden battlecry. Getting an alicorn horn pointed under his chin, Ignis continues to glare at the mare, who desperatly tried to control herself from doing anything she'll regret.

'….Really, fame? This again? Remember the last time you disagreed?' He speaks to her, completely unmoved by her threat.

Fame hates his unbreakable attitude and quickly summons the Windigo from the ceiling to join at her side, all pointing their magical horns towards the lone stallion. But he doesn't even cringe. The black-maned stallion looks deep into the mare's pale eyes, breaking her with his gaze. The stallion doesn’t even seem a bit concerened about the Windigo.

'We both know who is the strongest, Fame. The only reason you are this powerful is because I allow you to leech off the hatred and rage I create..,' he whispers at the mare. Ignis' horn glows for a little second, which has immidiat results in causing the three windigos collapse on the floor, as if they've been starving for days. 'I'm still the master around here. Your windigos are nothing when I refrain them from the rage they seek for all the time. You may try to call yourself an equal, while we both know that I shall always remain a rank higher than you. Don't make any moves that you will regret.'

Fame remains determined, proceeding to look into his eyes to show him her devotion for Celestia's sake. But slowly she starts to back away, like Ignis expected she would. The mare lowers her horn, not having the guts to stand up to him.

'Wise choice,' Ignis grunts, looking down at the saddened blue alicorn, who's eyes are slowly turning wet from tears by the tought that she was never truly able to protect her precious student. The windigos are slowly standing back up, being given their energy back from the stallion. He turns around, off to get Celestia. 'Celestia has been given a taste of friendship... She will NEVER be a good leader to this world now...'

Even Twilight's heart begins to pound faster, anxious for Celestia's sake and Ignis' terror. Yet, she still can't help but feel a little funny when she recalls Ignis' sentence about that the princess would NEVER be able to become a good leader to Equestria. If he knew, he would probably go mad over it.

'W-Wait! …Please... spare Celestia,' Lady Fame begs to the stallion. The red alicorn turns around and looks at the weak mare, who always seemed invincible in the eyes of Celestia. 'Wh-What if make another suggestion?'

Ignis remains silent, giving the impression that he's willing to listen. As he turns around to listen to her, Lady Fame needs a moment to breath in order to talk, feeling weakened from the rush of emotions that coursed through her mind. And when she has recovered, she makes an awfull suggestion.

'What If we choose to train her Princess Luna instead... Will you leave Celestia alone then?' she asks, trying to persuade him to leave her precious student alone.

Celestia's eyes widen and her ears jump up, unable to believe her mentor just suggested that.

'And start all over again? She would just turn out like her goody two-hooves sister!' Ignis grunts.

'Yes… we would start over. But Luna is still so young. She could be tutored like soft clay. If we use our magic combined Princess Luna will remain obiediant to you and will never trust friendship...,' continues to talk him into this plan of madness.

Ignis goes into thought. He slowly thinks of developing a plan from her suggestion to see if this is worth it.

'…Agreed. Let's do it YOUR way, Fame...,' he finally admits. 'Celestia can stay if we can turn Luna into our rightful prodigee. If we share our abilities with her, she will be more than eager to follow in our hoofprints.'

The white mare gasps in horror, quicky holding her hooves on her mouth to prevent being discovered. Lady Fame, who always had the best intentions for her, has suggested to Ignis to completely brainwash little Luna! Celestia bursts away from the door. As she storms aimlessly through the hallway, she can’t believe her ears. Twilight hesitates for a moment to hurry after her, but then follows her after all.

But Ignis wasn't done. He has some extra demands as safety caution to prevent Luna from becoming as good as her sister. 'But I want no "sunshine of a student"... Princess Luna must become more battle-hardened, tactful and disciplined! A bitter leader with great power that is capable of taking tough decisions and never looks back at them,' he demands from the blue mare, who humbly listens to him like some underling, rather than an equal. Ignis looks out the window, staring at the moon and the stars. 'She needs to become... "A Mare of the Night."

***

'Why? Why would they do this?! I-I can’t let them harm Luna! But what can I do?!' spooks through Celestia's head as the white mare rushes through the halls. 'I... Maybe I need to escape! I can't stay her and let Luna be turned around against her will and mine!'

Desperate for her baby sister's safety, Celestia feels like she has no other choice: They must leave the castle. She wants to rush to her room and quickly pack her things, making her not notice the windigo until she bumps into him. Stopping in the middle of Celestia's path when she notices him. Surprised by the being's abnormal attitude, Celestia looks at him in his ice-blue eyes.

'Eh, hello?' she mumbles to the windigo, expecting no response from Lady Fame's minion. 'I -eh- am just gonna move now...'

But the windigo moves in her way again, preventing exit.

'E-Excuse me? I'm Princess Celestia! You're supposed to step aside and let me pass!' she demands from him, growing desperate to escape from the windigo's unknown intentions.

A second windigo suddenly lands behind her, closing her in in the hallway. But he turns around and motions Celestia to follow him, which will definitly lead her back to the Throne Room! They must've been ordered telepathically by their mistress to bring Celestia to them. The first windigo begins to move forward, forcing Celestia back.

'NO! I won't go there! Tell your mistress that I have nothing to say to her!' she shouts at the equine being and quickly rushes passed him between its legs.

Feeling the adrenaline rush through her veins, Celestia is afraid that she has less time than she expected. Galloping down the halls, with the two windigos hot on her trail, Celestia rushes towards the golden doors that mark hers and her sister's bedroom. Giving one glance behind her to the rushing beasts, Celestia throws the doors open.

'Luna! Let's go! We're getting out of-' Celestia warns, but stops talking when she realizes that a windigo is standing in her room, preventing access inside. 'AH!' she gasps.

Celestia has to act quick. The two windigos behind her are closing in, making it impossible for her to escape if they catch up on her. She can see the little crib with her baby sister in it, but the path is blocked by the third creature. Desperate that neither of them will be able to do anything if they close them in, Celestia makes the heavy decision of rushing further into the hallway, leaving her sister behind.

'I'm so sorry, Luna! I WILL come back!' she shouts, behind her as the three windigos have formed a group and stampede after the princess.

Celestia needs time and space to think, being unable to come up with any plan while these beasts are right behind her. But she's all alone: Doomed to fail when she will run out of air. The cries of Luna are echoing through the castle. She can sense that something bad is happening and that her big sister is unable to see her. As much as Celestia would like to comfort her, she has to keep running now.

'-pant- -pant-' she coughs, running out of air. The white mare looks behind her with sweat on her forehead, noticing how the three beasts are closing on her. Unlike her, the windigos cannot run out of air.

Closed in by the three windigo in the hallway, Celestia begins to sweat further from fear. They are definitly ordered to keep an eye out on her and force her to come to their masters, who would probably seperate her from her sister for good!

'J-Just leave me alone!' she stutters as the windigos have cornered her against the wall. But when all hope seemed lost, being captured by the white creatures off magic, Celestia suddenly feels how cold stone suddenly presses against her flank.

'Hey, friend. Need a way out?' a reptillian head pops out of a hole behind the wall, normally blocked by a brick.

'S-Spite!' Celestia gasps astonished and takes no second longer for the windigos. The white mare hurries behind the stone and enters the hole in the wall, being her only escape now.

'Arrividerci, "Windos!" Spite laughs mockingly at the ghost-like beings and pulls the stone back into the wall, preventing access for the powerful windigos.

Twilight sighs relieved when Celestia has escaped, having grown anxious ever since the windigo showed up in the hallway. But a calm and collected heart, Twilight chuckles at the beasts' defeat.

'Well, seems the princess escaped the castle, hm?' Trixie shrugs, clearly not as surprised as Twilight.

'So good that Spite was nearby! He's a hero for doing this!' Twilight sighs with a smile, feeling joy for the needed help that her mentor got from the trustworthy dragon.

But Trixie chuckles, mocking Twilight. 'Really now? I'd like to hear you say that in our time...,' she mumbles, unable for the purple unicorn to hear it.

Without further talk, while the windigos head back to the Throne Room, Trixie conjures a new portal, allowing access for her and Twilight again to move further in time of the memory. Just when they enter the white gate, it closes behind them with a fizzle and crackle again.

***

Loud screams of rage and defeat are heard from behind the mare and dragon, coming from the windigos that failed to carry out their duty. The furious noises mean that they aren't able to catch them now, which calms the white mare slightly.

'Spite...,' she mumbles at the dragon that moves in front of her, being able to pass her in the narrow tunnel thanks to his slender body. 'Th-Thank you.'

'Ah, don't sweat it, Celi,' he shrugs. 'You would've done the same for me.'

'But if they would've caught me...,' she whispers, thinking of what would've happened if they Spite wasn't there to save her.

'What’s the matter, Celestia? You look a little glum, to say the least,' the dragon asks behind him, noticing how the crouching mare is quiet all of the sudden.

'You don't know what happened... I just overheard a conversation between Fame and Ignis...,' she whispers. 'I-I-'

'I know,' Spite tells her as he moves further into the tunnels, showing the way through the castle. 'I've heard and seen the entire speech.'

'You... You were there?' she asks, haven't seen any sight of the dragon when she was spying at the door herself.

'Why, yes. See? I'm pretty good at this,' he snickers, despite Celestia's painful feelings about what the conversation was about. 'Look... We can't do anything now. We should find a safe place and come up with a plan, don't you agree?'

'We?' Celestia asks.

'Why, yes, ofcourse!' he answers insulted. 'What? You expect me to let you out the front door without your sister or proper revenge? I thought we were more supportive, Celestia. You scratch my back, I scratch yours.'

The white mare takes his reaction as a compliment. It makes her happy to hear that even after all this trouble, she isn't alone.

'If anything were to happen to my sister-… I don’t even want to think about it...,'she shudders, while the mare and dragon must've moved for atleast thirty mintutes through the narrow tunnel, making Celestia a little claustrophobic on top of her current anxieties.

Spite looks over his shoulder at the crouching white mare, feeling sorry for her. 'Well... Let's start right now then,' he suggests to plan ahead to stop Ignis and Fame while they're in the tunnels.

'You know how their business works, right? From the dark they rule. Out of the sight of the many ponies that live down there. Ignis keeps the Unicorns, Pegasi, and Earth Ponies to hate each other, so that they may never cooperate and bust the alicorns’ reign. And in turn, Fame’s Windigo feed off of the hatred they harbor for each other like harvest, and use it to keep that blizzard up that keeps them undernourished enough to prevent any resistance.'

Celestia knows this already. But hearing it like this from the dragon, she starts to realize that this reign is more terrible than she ever dared to believe. She was always told that it was for their own good, though that must’ve been just a lie. It makes it much easier for Celestia to think about turning against her mentors, even after thinking of knowing them for so long.

'I know where the kingdoms of the ponies are. Months ago, remember? Fame and Ignis sent the windigos after them weeks ago, repeating the blizzard process. But with the ponies on the move, and starting to see the urgency of battling together against a common foe, the whole game is turned around! New rules! They have done an action that could turn the entire gameboard! We have new rules for the game!'

Celestia understands the gravity of this matter and that it’s indeed a good thing for the ponies she never seen before. But what does this have to do anything with her little sister’s salvation? 'So, what are you getting at?' she asks as they have reached an wider tunnel where Celestia is able to stretch her wings again.

'…Fame and Ignis seem to want to have Luna take over their jobs... They want to turn her into some tyrant to take over their reign! But if there’s no kingdom to rule, there’s no point anymore, right? If all unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies stand against them, Ignis and Fame won’t have the chance to take your sister away.'

There is logic in his words. On her own she can’t even think of a way to keep Ignis and Fame at bay. If she has to sacrifise their corrupt kingdom to save these suffering ponies and her sister, then she will do it without hesitation. But there's one lingering matter that stops them.

'But... how will that help?' she asks.

Spite looks confused behind him at Celestia, not understanding the question. 'Wh-What do you mean?'

'We are talking about Fame and Ignis... AND three windigos... Even if combined, how can those ponies stop them?'

'-Haha!- Celestia, my dear, I wasn't saying that they should fight them,' he chuckles. 'Those ponies below don't have to risk anything.'

'B-But what do you mean...,' Celestia mumbles confused, having no clue what the dragon is talking about.

'The hatred they share is keeping Fame's windigos strong. Ignis' power comes from the hatred he is able to instill into the hearts of others. If we are able to forge an alliance between the citizens, it will weaken those two hotheads ALOT,' he explains, with a chuckle followed. 'I can know it. I've been working for them for a long time now.'

'Creating an alliance between the three kingdoms? Will that truly help us stop them from turning Luna into a monster?' she asks, still puzzled about Spite's farfetched plan.

But the dragon nods, promising that he's right. 'Ignis' hatred is weak against friendship. That's why he hates it so much! If we can finish your research, we should be able to find a solution to stop both of them!'

'Wait a minute... How do YOU know that I'm studying about friendship?' Celestia grunts, feeling like he's been watching her 24/7.

The dragon laughs again and stops halfway the dark tunnel. 'Did you think you and Fame were the only ones that knew about that hidden chamber? Somebody like me shouldn't deserve a job like "spy" if that thing would've gone unnoticed to me...'

'You knew all along... You knew all along that I was holding it a secret...,' Celestia mutters, feeling ashamed for keeping it from the dragon. Even though Fame, the mentor who was so precious to her, told Ignis, she wouldn't be able to break a promise herself.

'Hey, don't worry. You promised not to tell anybody else, I know and respect that,' he smiles and turns around to lay a claw on her shoulder. 'I call that a proffessional's abilities of staying silent. Maybe I should've shared my own stories with you first.'

Celestia looks up at Spite, who continues to smile at her. He's trying to tell her that he's serious about the respect for her personal secrets and doesn't think any less of her about it. When she realizes it, she's able to smile back at him.

'So you read the scrolls too?' she asks.

'Well.... I tried. Didn't got very far. I'm a proffessional sabotager, not a wizzkid,' he shrugs.

'But I am,' the young alicorn snickers. 'I've been able to translate alot of it and learn from them. I'd be glad to share it with you, Spite.'

She begins to tell everything to him: About the adventures of ponies that cooperated, even though they were so different from each other. The princess knows all the fascinating stories from her head, inspiring the dragon with her vast knowledge about friendship, which he finds facinating. Even though they're halfway out of the near-endless tunnel, the dragon and mare sit down, repeating the stories that were written inside the scroll of friendship.

'Interesting...,' Spite mumbles when Celestia is done. 'Very interesting... Could you repeat that part about those elements again?'

'The Elements of Harmony?' Celestia assumes. 'Well... I couldn't figure much out about it... It's some ancient artifact that was here before any records were wrote on parchment... It's supposed to be some myth about an elements that holds the power to force the wicked away. It's like they're being powered by the emotions that come with the bond between two friends.

'Emotions?'

'Honesty, Kindness, Joy, Generosity and Loyalty: The Elements of Friendship,' Celestia repeats. 'There should be a sixth element... But I never found out what it is.'

'I see...,' Spite whispers.

He looks at the mare, who looks a little clueless about this whole mess. Figuring that they haven't come up with ideas yet, Spite starts to think deeply about any new info that Celestia may have told him that could prove usefull. He closes his eyes, crosses his arms and thinks deeply. Knowing from his experience, the tiniest detail could already turn an entire table. When a minute or two have passed, making him think for a moment that he can't think of anything, it hits him: An idea.

'Alright, that settles it! Let's go make some friends!' he laughs and stands back up, ready to head to the end of the tunnel with a hurried pace.

'Wh-What? What are you saying, Spite?' Celestia giggles, surprised by Spite's sudden view on the situation. 'We are in the middle of a crisis. And you want to solve it by making friends?'

'Not necessarily us, Celestia. But the citizens! It's time we hand the fire of the gods to the ponies!' he tells her. Spite is excited, having an idea he deems gold.

'Hooves...,' Celestia grunts, critizing Spite's use of words. 'I got hooves...'

'Well... -cough- In any case... Let's go find us some Elements of Harmony, baby!' he picks up his joy and points towards the tiny light that marks the end of the tunnel. 'Luna is waiting for us both. I do not intend to let the ponies freeze to popcicles again and get terrorized by a crazy sister!'

'Really? Y-You think it's possible? ...Though you've never told me "Why," Spite...,' Celestia whispers. 'Why are you helping me?”

'Why?' he repeats after her.

'Yes, why?' Celestia asks again. 'You've always been a servant of Fame and Ignis. Why would you suddenly want to help me, knowing that it means you'd betray them?'

'Celestia, Celestia, Celestia...,' the dragon chuckles and faceclaws. 'Dear, ofcourse I would choose you above them. Just because I was their servant doesn't mean that I LIKE it.'

Celestia didn't see that answer coming, feeling a little surprised over how easy Spite is willing to do this. 'You don't?' she asks.

'Ofcourse not! I get treated like dirt that got dragged from the bottom of the swamp every day! All those rules, order and discipline... I've grown tired of it! Fame may be treating you like her little princess, but she would never stand up for me if Ignis lashes out against me! Something... I would actually think you'd be capable of...'

'Spite, ofcourse I'd help you! That's what friends do!' she tells him and looks up surprised when she realizes what she just claimed. 'We're.... friends... right?'

'Bingo, baby,' he nods and winks, confirming her hopes. 'I know you're different than them by far, Celestia. I know you're capable of leaving the track when you deem it needed: Breaking the rules when it's for the greater good. And just for that, I already think I should stick at your side. I like to break the rules sometimes.'

'Spite... I-I,' Celestia stutters, feeling honored about Spite's devotion.

'And besides... If we're both gonna wreak some havoc, I'm sure it's gonna be one heck of a fun time!' Spite laughs, making fun of a situation at the wrong time as usual.

The dragon's sillyness has helped, even though not sure how. His jokes and positive attitude give Celestia the confidence she needs now more than ever. If there was anypony she would wish to have at her side, it would be Spite.

***

Twilight watches as how a glowing portal starts to open in the void, leading to an entirely different place. The mare looks around the area as she moves through the gateway, noticing that she and Trixie have gone to some place in Fame's memory that shows a location on a hill, overseeing a frozen forest. The hill is in control over several ponies, surprising Twilight.

The robes of the ponies look incredibly old to her, just like they must've worn them a thousand years ago.

'Where.... Where are we now? Where are Princess Celestia and Spite?' Twilight asks Trixie while she looks around to find them. 'I can't see them anywhere.'

'We are currently two days from our previous time, seen at the encampment where the three kingdoms were attempting to find a connection between the their kingdoms to stop the remaining threat of Fame's windigos. Right now they should all be freezing in a cave...,' Trixie mumbles, clearly uncaring for the emotions and efforts that can be shown from the ponies in this time. 'About Celestia and Spite not being present: It's because they're not really in the spotlight... Why do you think there was never a known connection between the Great Blizzard and those two lovers? Celestia believed that they had to work from the shadows, aiding the citizens of Equestria in passing the information she learned subtle.'

'Information?' Twilight repeats.

The tall blue alicorn nods. 'They decided that to save Luna from a terrible future, they had to stop both Ignis and Fame. The only way to make that possible is to bring the three kingdoms together, bring the myth of friendship to life, and hope that it would lead them to finding the meaning behind the Elements of Harmony.'

Twilight looks surprised, hearing about the Elements of Harmony before she found it with her own friends. 'Th-The Elements of Harmony?' she repeats.

Trixie nods again in response before speaking further. 'Right now the ponies are fighting against the windigos... With a little of Celestia's and Spite's influence, the ponies should come to their senses and their leaders will discover a new way of treating each other... This procedure is a real "blast," Trixie jokes, which is followed by a loud bang in the background.

A flare of light can be seen from behind the purple mare, coming from close by. Twilight looks quickly behind her, noticing that the top of a mountain has exploded entirely, making way for a great pink burning heart that shines over the area like the sun. The ponies around them are in turmoil, rushing up and down through the camp in panic. Their leaders are gone, who have sought shelter in the cave that just exploded. Twilight knows this lesson all too well, considering she once played a character from the reënactment of the Great Blizzard: Clover the Clever, advisor of Princess Platinum. This is the story of the Great Blizzard, as it's known to all of ponykind. And she's one of the only ponies that is actually a witness of the point that changes everything.

The heart that lights the sky all the way to the horizon is the Fire of Friendship, which is the exact opposite of Lord Ignis' power of hatred. The power from the flame shares its radiance to the ponies who haven't seen daylight for a long time. It gives a feeling to them that they haven't experienced for a long time: Friendship.

Now they can see the sky again, feel the warmth again, and share the joy that they all feel coursing through their veins. The power of friendship has been brought to Equestria with a great explosion, marking the end of an old and cold era. Celestia has succeeded.

'S-So... it was actually thanks to Princess Celestia that friendship was brought in this time? B-But she always told everypony that it was thanks to Puddinghead, Smark Cookie, Platinum, Clover, Hurricane and Pansy!'

Trixie chuckles, finding Twilight's believes very gullible. 'Ofcourse she would never share it openly with Equestria... What would you think if you'd find out that Celestia was the student of these monsters? Would you really choose her to be a leader for an entire land?' she asks, making Celestia look bad again for her past.

'Well...,' the purple unicorn sighs, feeling like admitting to Trixie that she is possibly right if put this way. 'T-That's is of no concern now! We gotta go up there to that cave!'

'Unnecesary!' Trixie claims. 'I just showed this to let you witness what Celestia and Spite have managed to do: Stop the hatred harvest of Ignis and Fame and end their dictatorship completely, having banished the windigos into a cryo state, due to the sudden removal of hatred in the hearts of any pony that lives here.'

'B-But... I wanna see how Clover the Clever really looked like...,' Twilight mumbles childish.

Trixie's eyes turn from the unicorn, growing tired of Twilight's inability to accept the facts she is thrown in her face. Her eyes open wide when she notices two cloaked ponies walk away from the cheerful crowd, heading out of sight. Trixie looks back at the oblivious mare and grins.

'You might want to check out those two ponies...,' she chuckles. 'You'll find them more interesting than the six ponies you just spoke of.'

'What?' Twilight asks and looks past the blue mare, noticing the two figures as well.

'We... We did it.... We actually did it!' the hooded mare cheers relieved and throws her hood off, revealing her pink mane. 'Spite! We've brought all of ponykind around!'

Before the other hooded pony gets a chance to say anything in return, Celestia loses herself and jumps for her friend, giving a hug of indescribable joy.

'Y-Yes we did!' Spite cheers along, surprised by Celestia. 'If Clover wouldn't have listened to us...'

'But he did! And now we've actually gone and brought friendship to everypony! It's.... It's just like my dream!' she ends in a whispering tone.

The stallion nods her and stands back up from Celestia's "jump of joy." He nods and starts to laugh, beginning to understand the consequences of this legendary day. But Twilight can't believe her eyes. Spite was a dragon in the castle and for months. How could he be a pony now?

'Celestia didn't only study history, if that's what you think...,' Trixie tells to the astonished mare. 'She has a vast knowledge about spells already at this age... Including one that allows the completely reform a being into a pony. They figured that a dragon wouldn't be much trustworthy, considering they're generally seen as a menace... But now he has a pretty face, don't you think?'

Twilight continues to look amazed at the stallion. She never even heard of a spell that is capable of something like this. On one hoof: It's very awsome. But on the other hoof: The face of the dragon has only become MORE recognizable now that he has an equine face. The only thing that remains not-ponylike is one dragon's tooth that comes from his mouth.

'Wait... He looks an awful lot like...,' Twilight whispers, just before a light flash fills her sight.

'There! How does that feel?' Celestia giggles, having preformed a spell on her companion.

The stallion has turned back into its previous snake-like slender body, glad to be the way he was. 'Mmmmuch better, amica,' he praises her and flexes his thin arms, glad to see his body back the way it used to be. 'We have saved ponykind and brought an end to the windigos completely! Fame and Ignis are powerless now!'

'But...,' Celestia mumbles, suddenly saddened, to Spite's surprise. 'It's been two day after we left... What if we're too late? We still haven't found the meaning of friendship! We haven't found the Elements of Harmony! We don't even have anything else that we could use to break Ignis and Fame into submission!'

'Y-You're..... absolutely right, Celestia...,' Spite sighs, unable to contradict her despair.

Twilight feels awful to see this happen. Her mentor and her mentor's best friend have turned an entire era of darkness around into one that stays in light and friendship. And yet they don't have what it takes to secure this peaceful future as long as Fame and Ignis roam free to do as they please.

'We... We just haven't sought in the right places! This action was NOT for naught, I PROMISE! We just have to find the Elements someplace else! ...But where...,' Spite brings to realization, trying to outthink a way out of their mess. 'Those Elements must be ancient by now… If they do excist, they have to be kept someplace that hasn’t seen daylight for a looooooong time. But where could that be?'

Celestia hears what her friend says, and makes a small connection in her mind. She conjures a revelation that makes her eyes widen from sudden realization. How could she not have thought of it before? The Elements were right under their noses this entire time.

'Spite, I-I know where the Elements of Harmony are!' she tells the puzzled dragon and stretches her wings, ready to carry the dragon away with her. 'Quick! We have to go back to the castle!'

***

A bright flash is seen once again, filling the entire library of the alicorn castle with a white light. Twilight leaves it as the first one again, followed by Trixie, who continues to enjoy the torment that Twilight has to see.

'This... This is the castle!' Twilight speaks out when she notices it. 'Why are we here?'

Trixie sighs and rolls with her eyes, growing tired of having to explain everything. 'Didn't you listen, Sparkle? Celestia had a realization of the Elements' location! She believes that they can be found inside the castle!' she tells the purple mare. 'They entered through the same hidden passage that they also used to escape two days ago, unbeknownst to the two alicorns that remain here, even after they've lost contact with the windigos...'

But Twilight has already stopped listening, moving through the maze of bookcases to find the passage to the Hall of Friendship, which is the most obvious place Celestia must've gone to. It's the most ancient part they can think of, adding to the fact that it's a VAULT. When she has found the passage, with the broken bookcase next to the entrance, she hurries inside towards the noises that come from the chamber.

'So... what are we looking for again?' Spite asks as he crawls through the ashes that were part of the literature.

'I dunno,' Celestia tells him without much hope. 'But it HAS to be around here! We're looking for an artifact of Friendship! An ancient weapon of some sort than can banish the wicked! This HAS to be the vault where they are hidden!'

Spite shrugs and dives back into the ashes, searching for any clue or sign. 'What about that book you have left?' he asks when he pops his head out of the trash again.

'No.... Nothing...,' she sighs defeated and drops her flank on a rock that was once part of the pedestal, which Ignis broke in his rage. 'What if I was wrong? What if the Elements of Harmony are far away from here, someplace we'll never go?'

'Eh... is that despair I hear, Celestia?' Spite looks says and looks up from the ashes at the beaten mare.

Just as he he was afraid of, Celestia sinks into a depression. Getting the crawling feeling that their journey may end here, without being able to help Luna after all, is nervebreaking. They fought and still may have lost everything.

'Wait wait wait, dear. Don't get all moody now. Don't forget that we do this for not just us, but for everypony in this land! We can't just give up because things look a little bad!' Spite tries to cheer her up and throws an arm over her neck. 'Do you remember all the fun we had together so far? Messing around, much to Ignis' temper?'

'-Hehe-, yea. That was fun.' she chuckles.

'See? We had FUN! That's already a big thing that should keep you going! If we ever want to play a game of tag with Luna again, we have to keep searching!'

Unbeknownst to the dragon and mare, a crystal begins to glow near the ceiling, originating from a light-blue crystal that decorates the large orb on a pillar of the chamber.

'But... What is it all for? I trusted Lady Fame with all my heart... But she simply betrayed me!' Celestia sighs.

'I know you have trouble to to believe in somebody else now, considering how important we all know Lady Fame was to you...,' he sighs along, unable to say that it's not a big deal. 'But let me tell you, with absolutely honesty: You can ALWAYS count on me.'

Celestia looks up at the dragon next to her, who looks into hers. 'D-Do you mean that, Spite? Honestly?' she asks, afraid to be dissapointed again if she simply assumses.

'Honestly!' Spite promises with a nod.

A second gem begins to glow, green as grass. Still nopony realizes the lights that begin to glow above them. The gems react to the emotions that flow throughout the chamber, coming from the dragon and the mare that stand together in the ashes. Even when the day seems grim, they continue to stay together because of the bond that links between them.

It makes Celestia feel much better, growing back into her confident self like before. She stands back up from the rock and continues to look at the dragon. 'You know what, Spite? You're right! I know I can trust you always!' she agrees with joy.

'Hah! Now you get it!' Spite laughs and jumps in front of her, holding her shoulders. Kneeling at eye-level, the dragon wants to keep Celestia in this boost of optimism. 'Though I may betray Fame and Ignis myself..., I would NEVER ditch the bond we have between us! No matter what happens!'

'I know, Spite,' Celestia agrees. 'I don't call it betrayal. They never trusted you, right? I find it mighty generous of you cast your safety aside and move to my side, even though we're horribly outnumbered!'

Like a painting of different colors, two other gems begin to glow on their orbs, mixing together in half a rainbow on the ceiling.

'That's what friends do, right? You tell me, honestly... Because I never studied it!' he jokes.

Celestia continues to look into the lizard's eyes, who simply glow with confidence at her. 'Spite..., this whole time you've been so kindhearted to me... Why did you do it?' the white mare needs to ask again.

Without warning, Spite suddenly clamps himself around Celestia's neck, giving a firm hug. Celestia looks baffled at the dragon, never having experienced Spite this emotional this before. 'Its only natural that I return the favor, Celestia... You never saw me as low-life scum... but an equal instead,' he whispers in her ear. 'If someone deserves my kindness, it's you, Celestia.'

The fifth gem begins to glow purple, adding to the lightshow. The flickering gems begin to shine in a glimpse of Spite's and Celestia's eyes, causing them to look up to the ceiling in surprise.

'Wh-What is that?' Spite asks, astonished by the lights.

'I-I dunno,' Celestia mutters. 'It's almost like it's... Magic.'

The sixth gem starts to glow along with the others. Uniting, the lights burst out in a flare of bright white light that fills the entire room. Celestia and Spite cover their eyes in reaction, but realize that the light doesn't hurt their eyes. They are still able to look into the light, as bright as the sun, and see how the six orbs are hovering down to the ground.

Twilight can't believe her eyes. She looks astonished at the turnout, as if it's a fairy tale with a happy ending. She recognizes the orbs all too well, being the orbs that she found in her confrontation against Night Mare Moon. No doubt in her mind: These are the Elements of Harmony in their raw form.

'This... Is this it? Are THESE the Elements of Harmony?' Spite whispers.

'This feeling...,' Celestia whispers too, feeling the warmth from the light coursing through her body. 'It feels like the joy I feel when I am with... you!'

Spite looks back at the white mare, who nearly cries tears of joy, and chuckles. 'We actually did it, Celestia... We did it together,' he whispers and hugs her again. 'I think it's high time we picked your sister up from school, don't you agree?'

***

'Don't hold back, Fame!' the red stallion shouts at the intimidated blue mare next to him, who continues to channel a spell in the little crib.

'Y-Yes...,' Lady Fame sighs, conjuring a spell alongside Lord Ignis.

The two alicorn masters stand in the Throne Room, next to the little bed of Princess Luna. Due to the sudden change in the wind, the acknowledged defeat of the windigos and the melting of the nevermelting ice, Ignis and Fame are forces to push their schedual, enhancing the little foal directly with their own corrupt power.

'-Kgh- Why can't this little foal be quiet for a moment?' Ignis grunts, growing tired of Luna's endless crying.

'She misses her sister...,' the blue mare mumbles to him. 'Celestia has been gone for two days now...'

Completely against their expectations, the giant doors of the Throne Room slam open, nearly crashing out of their frame. A white mare and a slender dragon walk inside, with six large orbs rolling after them. The student has returned, more determined than ever.

'Stay away from my sister!' they suddenly hear echoing through the hall.

The mare and stallion look surprised at the door, noticing a glaring Celestia and a smirking Spite. Lady Fame is the most surprised pony, nearly unable to believe that her student has returned after two whole days.

'C-Celestia! Where have you been?' she asks, though she doesn't halt her spell on Luna yet. 'Don’t tell me that it was YOU who aided the ponies in defeating my Windigo’s!'

Celestia says nothing in return, only giving a glare at her former mentors. Spite, on the other hand, chuckles. 'It wasn't just her, Fame. It was US!'

Ignis finaly turns his gaze into Celestia's confident eyes. 'Quite amazing, Celestia... you've managed to anger me to my very limits,' Ignis says, remarkably calm.

'Ignis…,' Fame gasps, having no idea what Ignis is capable of doing now.

The armored stallion walks away from the little foal and stands before Celestia, blocking the view on Lady Fame. 'Now... Why have you returned to your doom?' he asks.

'I've come for my sister! What are you doing with her?!' she shouts, completely unintimidated by the beast.

Ignis looks back at the crib where Luna sleeps in. 'We give her power…Power to rule this land when she has grown up. Give us a few more minutes and she will be able to become the strongest mare that has ever ruled. A mare that will surpass you in any way!' he explains in a glorious way, as if he's a god that made a weapon out of a pony.

'Forget it! I will not stand by and watch you two corrupt Luna!' Celestia shouts back, and turns her head to the dark-blue mare that looks surprised at her. 'Fame, how could you? I trusted you. How can you be as black-hearted as Ignis to come up with a plan like this? How could you even think of using my sister?'

'You… You overheard us?' she gasps, caught surprised again. She had the best intentions for Celestia, though she was to cowardly to fully force against Ignis' plans. 'Celestia...I-I only wanted...'

'You wanted me to learn about friendship… You helped me in my times of need… But I can’t let you get away with this!' Celestia sighs, deeply hurt by her most precious mentor.

With a loud slam Celestia throws the six orbs on the ground around her and Spite.

Ignis and Fame look a little confused at the orbs, having no idea what it is. 'Would you care to explain what the meaning of all this is?' Ignis grunts unimpressed.

'This is called Coup D'état, Iggy,' Spite chuckles.

'I did what should've been done ages ago, Fame... I brought Friendship to Equestria,' Celestia calmly tells to the blue mare behind Ignis.

'E-Equestria?' she repeats, never having heard that name for the land before.

'That's the name Spite and I came up with,' the white alicorn confirms and nods. 'The ponies below, the ponies you two deemed weak and intolerant, listened to us and came to realization... THIS is what defeated your hatred-feasting minions...'

Fame holds her breath, while Ignis begins to growl with burning rage within him. They share one common emotion: They're scared.

'This is where it ends, "masters," Spite tells them and points a finger at them. 'You and your little list of laws and rules is hereby overthrown.'

'So... you actually went and did it...,' Ignis hisses, growing out of his calm act.

The common frown returns around his eyes and his teeth are seen, clamping on each other out of unbridled rage that spooks through the stallion's mind. Ignis has reached a level of fury never seen before, which doesn't even seem to have effect on the confident mare and dragon.

'YOU IGNORANT LITTLE WRETCH! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!' Ignis roars through the chamber and starts to storm towards them.

Lady Fame looks in horror at the outburst, afraid of what he'll do to Celestia. But even then, when her worries for her student are this great, Fame doesn't have the courage to step in and stop the stallion. And yet, Celestia simply looks unimpressed at the raging beast, waiting for him to come close.

But just as he's about to come within a two meter radius around the six glowing orbs, he's is suddenly struck back. Like walking into a mountain, with an amazing force, the powerful stallion crashes into the wall in the back of the chamber. Everypony is silenced over the overpowering on Ignis, with the exception of Princess Luna, who continues to cry for her sister.

He slowly stands back up, confused over what just happened to him. The orbs continue to glow brightly, while Celestia and Spite smile down at the beaten alicorn. 'N-NO! THIS CANNOT BE! WH-WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!' he gasps, growing truly anxious. He recognizes the feeling that hit him: the power of Friendship.

'WE have began a new order, Ignis. One that replaces your foul dictatorship!' the dragon shouts and throws an arm around Celestia.

'You two always thought of her becoming the new ruler of Equestria?' Spite chuckles and looks down at his friend, who remains controlled and calm. 'You're wish has been granted. She's going to take care your home much better than you two dimwits ever could.'

With alot of effort, the stallion pulls himself back up. Taking a few breaths, like he's been galloping for the last couple of days, Ignis looks exhausted back up at the overpowering couple. Unable to accept defeat, Ignis drags himself forward, passing Fame and the crib again. Lady Fame can't believe her eyes. Lord Ignis has actually bitten the dust.

'We took you in like a daughter… We gave you an opportunity for greatness… We tutored you… AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US?!' Ignis roars through the hall while he continues to slowly move back in front of the two youngsters.

Celestia not even a little intimidated by Ignis, even though he's never been this furious to her before. She can feel a claw pat her on mane. The princess knows that it's from her dragon friend, who will remain at her side at all time. Spite will help her through any hardship she has to go through.

'Let’s end this madness, Celestia,' Spite whispers.

It makes her much more at comfort to know that she doesn’t have to do this alone. With a friend like Spite, she doesn’t have to worry about any obstacle that comes her way! The orbs suddenly start to glow brighter, enlightening the entire room.

Celestia and Spite look in amazement at how the orbs start to hover through the room, brimming with more and more magical power every second. The artifacts begin to circle around the two friends, speedingup with more strength and light. Even Ignis and Fame gasp nervous when they look at how the stones become more powerful to a point that exceeds their powers combined.

'C-Celestia, I demand that you stop this instant!' Ignis tries to command her.

But Celestia doesn’t even pay attention to him anymore. She only looks at her best friend and recalls the adventure they’ve been through to come this far. From the day they met till this day, she's grateful for every moment they shared together.

'Amigos forever, Celestia?' Spite asks her.

'Friends for eternity, Spite,' she nods happy.

The Elements of Harmony suddenly halt in mid-air and blast off into six corners of the Throne Room and radiate an immense flow of magic that paralyzes Ignis and Fame. Fame looks up above the crib of Luna, where a raging torrent is generated in the center of the chamber, drawing in anything that is opposing harmony. Luna looks at the colors of the whirlwind and laughs.

'Celestia, wait!' are the only words that Lady Fame manages to yell before she gets sucked into the multicolored whirlwind.

Ignis tries to chain loose with all of his might, but it proofs fruitless. The current tries to draw him to the center of the magic, forcing him to hold on to the ground until he runs out of energy. He gives one final glance up to Celestia, who now stands one hoofstep in front of him. She mocks him by standing this close to him, showing that he can't even harm her now that she's standing so close to him.

'Celestia… This isn´t over… This isn´t over by a long shot! I will return! And when I do, I will punish you for this treason tenfold! Your sister has already been affected enough by my and Fame’s power: Affected enough for me to make her my hammer of retribution! The first time that she will feel TRUE hatred, I will be there to feed it and make her into your personal nightmare! You hear me? YOUR NIGHTMARE! Mark my words: This-isn’t-over-yet!' Ignis spews out in fury, right before he loses his grip and is sucked into the current, leaving his final message burned into Celestia’s memory.

A great explosion is followed that blows the windows out of their housing and cracks the floor. When the light lifts, Celestia and Spite can see that the two master are gone. The voices of Fame and Ignis echo in the wind, next to the loud bumps that are heared when the Elements of Harmony fall back on the floor. But other than that, the only sound that is heard is the laughter from Princess Luna. Equestria is finally safe.

Celestia and Spite look in amazement at the spot where Ignis and Fame stood, nearly unable to believe that it all actually worked. When the smoke has been lifted by the warm breeze that comes through the broken windows, they notice 2 crystals of the size of a hoof: A Crimson-red one and a sapphire-blue. Ignis and Fame are no longer a threat, being crystallized into mere gems.

'We…We did it…,' Celestia gasps. 'WE DID IT!'

Cheerfully she jumps around Spite, who is also relieved that it’s finally over. Spite looks dazzled out of his eyes, hardly able to believe he's free from their tyranny.

'We did it… we did it indeed…,' he sighs happy and hugs the white mare back, while he can't stop staring at the gems that were once his cruel masters.

'It's over...,' Twilight sighs with a rapidly beating heart in her chest. She can't calm down. The joy of her mentor's victory is a sight to be cherished forever in her memory.

Celestia looks again at the crystals that glow from power. It definitely holds the two alicorns imprisoned, though not sure for how long. 'Now what should we do with them?' she asks.

Spite lets go of the mare and walks with her towards them over to the gems while thinking about it. Celestia heads to her younger sister and feels relieved to see that the purple foal is still as happy as she remembers. Despite Ignis' threats of corruption, Celestia is happy to be reunited with her usual sister again and picks her up from her crib.

Spite heads over to the gems and bends through his knees, listening to the humming sound that comes from the gems.

'I think we should bury them someplace. Put them where nopony will ever find them,' he thinks up. He reaches out to pick up the two crystals. 'Who knows, maybe we can-' he stops speaking as he touches the gems.

Celestia looks upwhen Spite suddenly stops talking. 'We can… what?' she asks.

'GRAAAAAAAGH!' Spite suddenly screams out in agony, feeling a tremendous power surge through his entire body.

Unable to let go of the gems, Spite is forced to go through an entire torture. The alicorns have become more than mere gems. They are now powerful artifacts like the ones that crystallized them. The energy of the crystals start to cover his entire body, energizing it by an extreme amount.

'Spite!' Celestia shouts scared, forced to watch how her dragon friend is screaming it out like his soul is being torn out. The red and blue lights that fill the air circle around the lizard, refraining Celestia from coming close to him.

'Help me! They…They…They…-' he can’t finish his sentence. Spite is going through an alternation that couldn’t even be dreamt in the most darkest nightmare. His grey horns start to shape into a deer’s antler and goat’s horn, his claws start to turn into a lion’s paw and an avian claw, and his slender legs change into that of a lizard and a goat. And as final: his face starts to shape less like that of a dragon, but more like a pony, with only his sharp tooth, eyebrows, and goatie remaining of his original self. Two wings sprout from his back as final change: a Pegasus wing and a bat wing. Spite has turned into a horrible monster.

When he finaly manages to let go of the crystals, with smoke coming from his former claws, the damage has already been done. While the echoes of the screams and channeling are fading off, Spite looks dazed around the room, unable to apprehend what just happened to him. Celestia looks frightened at what could've possible happened, afraid for her friend who continues to keep his back turned to her.

'Spite? I-Is that you?' Celestia stutters, with Luna still in her hooves.

He doesn’t respond at all. Spite slowly looks at his horribly misfigured bodyparts, while giving no reaction of any kind. His eyes move over his arms, his body, his legs, and flaps with his wings a few tims.

'This is…,' he mumbles softly.

Celestia remains quiet when Spite suddenly starts talking. He slowly raises his arms into the air and starts to cheer happily.

'THIS IS JUST GREAT!' he laughs. 'Haleluha! Hahaha!'

Completely confused about this reaction, Celestia simply remains idle and looks at how her friend is suddenly so cheerful. 'Wh-What?!' she gasps.

The dragon turns around to his friends. 'Dear Celestia, you can only imagine what kind of rush I felt when I touched those crystals! I admit: It felt like I was under shock treatment... But still the outcome is amazing! Just look at me!' he says and continues laughing.

Celestia does take a look at him, but she’s nearly disgusted at the repulsive figure of him. Who could’ve expected something like this could possibly happen from merely touching the gems of Ignis and Fame?

'Ah, don’t judge the book by the cover, dearest,' he points out to her, realizing what Celestia thinks of his appearance. 'It’s the inside that counts! And in this case: I’m on fire, baby!'

He points his finger towards walls and concentrates deeply. In a magical flash, a brick has turned into what looks like a chocolate cake.

'And this is just basics! I had no magic at all at my disposal. But I only had to get a little touch on those two alicorn’s crystals, and badaboom: almighty dragon!' he proudly chuckles while he keeps zapping several bricks with his fingers in a revolver motion. 'I can do so much now! I can do… so much,' Spite sighs exhausted.

When he stops shooting bricks into chocolate, he turns his head back to the astonished Celestia, who is still horrified by his change.

'Celestia, don’t you understand? I have no rules to abide to anymore, forever! It is I who can make and bend the rules to my liking! We don’t have to answer to anyone!' he shares with her. He is clearly unaware that his plans are completely against what they were fighting for this whole time.

'My order-….no! My DISorder! For long enough this place was dominated by those two freaks. And now I shall liberate the ponies by placing them under my own rule! The complete opposite of Ignis’ and Fame’s law-bound dictatorship! They made reality such a bore, and I will be the one to set that thing right,' he laughs openly which echoes through the hallways, getting too caught up in his newfound powers.

'Look at what I can do!' he asks her attention while he conjures a heap of dirt from the chocolate cakes he made from the stone bricks. 'My powers have no limits! I can bend all of reality to my will! Birds swim, grass flies, rocks grow, and I drink wood as a cold drink for a hot winter morning!'

He points his fingers towards the dirt again, circulating it around the ceiling of the chamber like a tornado. Then he picks up the crimson gem again and stares deep into the flames that burn inside of it.

'Ah Ignis, Ignis, Ignis… You cannot fathom how long I have waited to be able to do "this,” he whispers to the crystal and drops it on the floor again. 'Now pay close attention…,' he says right before he snaps his fingers.

In a second, the dirt gathers around the red burning crystal that contains Ignis. When the dirt closes in to a pile, it has become a stone-hard crimson-red boulder that exhausts a red smoke.

'FORE!' Spite yells out as he pulls a hair from his mane, which turns into a golfclub when he readies it to swing it. With a loud slam he fires the rock miles away at the speed of sound, crushing it through the atmosphere into space.

'Heh, he’ll need atleast a century or two to come back and pay us a visit.; he chuckles while he has his hands shaped like binoculars and looks through them. 'Now then: golfball #2!'

He draws more dirt out of the glass that lies splintered on the floor, and once again uses it to wrap the dirt like a boulder around the sapphire-blue crystal.

'FORE!' he yells out again. Celestia can only look amazed out of eyes at what in pony’s name is going on here. Spite has suddenly become something of a sadist, being too caught up in power. The dragon tries to slam the rock again, but unexpected to anyone in the room: his golfclub explodes in his face.

'-Cough!- O…..k? I suppose I do need a little more practice before I go change the world,; he coughs, a little surprised over his lack of control over his abilities.

He looks through the window at the blue sparkle that soars through the sky. The explosion was strong enough to blow the crystal out of the chamber, towards the mountains in the distance.

'…In any case: We should get ready for when we take our righteous places as rules of Equestria, right Celestia?' the dragon asks her and hovers to Celestia, who steps back anxiously. Luna starts to cry again, feeling uncomfortable in the dragon's presence now.

'Spite! That’s enough!' Celestia shouts.

Spite looks surprised up. This kind of reaction comes completely unexpected to the draconic being. 'Wh-What are you talking about, Celestia? Isn’t this what we wanted: A kingdom of freedom? A kingdom that is opposed to that of your tutors?' he asks her.

Celestia shakes her head angrily. Her best friend has suddenly turned into a crook, just like Ignis and Fame. 'No, this is not what we want! We want a kingdom where ponies are free from the destiny that was forced by Ignis and Fame! Not to just change their fates and STILL force it down their throats! Get back to your senses, Spite!' she begs him.

Spite seems to have lost interest in their conversation, considering he’s very "busy" with picking his ear. 'I’m sorry, Celestia… you lost my attention at the word ‘kingdom’. But that’s another thing: My name. I’m sick and tired of hearing that name over and over again. It’s nothing more than a title of slavery, bound to the hooves of two stuck-up alicorns!' he points out irritated. 'My name should be way more… respectful…, powerful…, and above all else: a title that backs-up my endeavors to crush the rules and commands everyone must obey and follow each day!'

'Hm...,' he grunts as he ponders deeply. '-Hehe- Spite is a name of the past! From this day: Call me DISCORD!'

The clouds in the air start to rumble, striking lightning down to the land as far as the eye can see. It is an omen to the terrible future that awaits. And at the top stands one entity: Discord.

Celestia doesn’t wish to lose another second by remaining here. To her great disappointment; Spite is now an even more terrible force than the previous one. While the dragon stays caught up in his moment, she tries to make a run for the doors. But when she opens it, she is greeted by the same dragon that stood behind her just a moment ago.

'Oh, and Celestia? Don’t forget your marbles too. I know I won’t need them soon,' he chuckles cocky as moves past her back into the room. With another snap of his fingers he launches the Elements through the hallway, missing Celestia by an inch.

Celestia doesn’t pause for a minute and keeps on running. Running and running and running until she finally reaches the exit of the castle. She looks around the hallways and sees how the shapes all change into different forms and colors, because of Spite's vast power. His laughter can still be heared, haunting Celestia as she runs on and on. When the final doors of the castle is reached, stretches her wings and takes off quickly before Spite would even get a moment to change his mind and keep her in the castle.

'Ah, yes… I finally made it big-time…,' the dragons sighs satisfied while he lays back in the throne that once belonged to Ignis. 'Run all you want, Celestia. Since you are still my best friend, I won’t hate you for not chosing to take my side. Do whatever you like, and I will do the same then,' he mumbles to himself while he looks at the empty seat that belongs to Celestia.

Celestia is flying past the mountains and leaves the castle far behind. When she has traveled several miles, she dares to look behind her. With a heavy breaths and wide eyes she looks at the castle that has turned been altered completely, defying laws of gravity. 'What have I done… I made things only worse now! Now both Ignis and Fame are gone, but my best friend is now turned into a monster and all the ponies will still be dominated when he decides to take over Equestria!' she sniffs afraid, saddened over the loss of another friend.

'Mhm…,' Luna sighs asleep on Celestia’s back, having fallen asleep during her escape.

Celestia looks at her little sister; still at peace even after the tragedies. She will grow up in a way she deserves: by her big sister. And when she does, she will have a chance to live in a world where chaos is not at order or disorder.

She thinks back at the moments she shared with Spite when he still was the harmless friend she adores. She will also bring harmony to Equestria for him: A victim to corruption. But without a friend at her side, how can she possibly hope to use the Elements?

'I will set this right…,' Celestia whispers. 'It’s what a friend would do.'

The Fire of Friendship

Chapter 9 - the Fire of Friendship

The howling winds can be heard outside the dome of ice, while it's still complete windstill inside. White snow lies on the ground, like a cold blanket. The mind is blurry, trapped within reality and imagination. When it finaly begins to see the light to truth, the purple mare inside the dome of ice slowly starts to wake up. Twilight has returned to the crater, next to her frozen friends.

'My... body...,' Twilight whispers, barely able to speak with the cold air in her lungs.

Though she didn't feel cold or warm inside the memories of the ancient mare, Twilight suddenly feels how the cold has completely overwhelmed her in her absence. The unicorn starts to realize that she can't feel anything anymore. Like she's been asleep in a fridge this whole time, guessing that though she was in a memory this whole time, her body was lying still here in the freezing cold, dropping in temperature to the point where Twilight can barely wake up and remain that way.

Her eyes slowly focus on the light above her, which is barely able to shine through the vast sphere of ice. Working like an isolated freezer, the inside of the dome becomes colder and colder by the minute. Twilight looks down at her hoof, which is still encased in ice. A little scared by the sight of her skin, she realizes that she is now light-blue due to the bitter cold. Her nemesis is still with her, standing as tall as ever before her. Barely able to breath or move, Twilight looks sleepy up to the blue mare, who grins down at her. Trixie's terrible intentions have shown fruitation: Breaking the purple mare's spirit completely before freezing her up, painfully slower than how Trixie did it to her friends.

'And now you know the truth... How does it feel, Twilight Sparkle? Lost hope? Friends in doubt? Trust in the princesses waning?' Trixie whispers down to the unicorn, who barely seems to hear what she's being told. 'Ofcourse, it should be hard to think about anything now in your situation... How does it feel when all your body functions are failing? Mind going numb? The will to win fading?'

The blue mare is obviously fine, thanks to the protection of Lady Fame's power. 'Celestia always was a student to take over their dictatorship, Night Mare Moon was supposed to be what Celestia never managed to become, and Discord was made thanks to the friendship she shared with him. Just goes to show: You can't trust anypony...ESPECIALLY those close to you,' she laughs, even trying to make Twilight more insecure while she's already about to pass out in defeat.

'-Kgh-......,' Twilight grunts, unable to speak full words. With the little strength left, the unicorn tries to raise a hoof up towards Trixie and speak to her. But before another sound could be told, it drops back in the cold snow along with her head, unconcious.

The Mane Six are defeated by Trixie.

The wind continues to sound outside, creating a tranquil yet scary atmosphere inside the dome. Trixie looks down at the unicorn, taking a moment to let the moment process through her mind. She can hardly believe that it's over and she has won, while the Mane Six have all bitten the snow. Looking over the snowly landscape with five piece of ice, containing a pony each, Trixie takes a deep breath of satisfaction. 'It's a Pity...What a way to go,' Trixie sighs, followed by a soft chuckle. 'Farewell... Twilight Sparkle. It was a pleasure.'

Trixie turns around, ready to walk away from the battlefield and leave her opponents behind in permafrost. Her plan to torture Twilight and her friends is done, completing her need for revenge. Now it's up to her to head to Canterlot and take the fight up to Celestia and Luna, claiming the throne for herself, like she believes she earns it.

But then she suddenly hears a noice behind her, causing her to turn around. Looking with her puzzled light-blue eyes around, she sees nothing out of place at first. But then she looks down at the purple mare, who seems to have regained conciousness somehow.

'-Ghuuuuuh...-' Twilight gasps, trying to stay awake.

'T-Twilight Sparkle...,' Trixie whispers, slightly impressed by the underheated mare's ability to remain awake now. 'How did you...'

'Y-You're right, T-Trixie... Celestia has been a student to Ignis and Fame... Hay, she may be somehow responsible for Discord in a way...,' she stutters, obviously having become ill by the cold. 'B-B-But... You are W-Wrong about one Th-Th-Thing...'

Trixie walks back to her, curious about what Twilight is speaking about, obviously saying the last words she got left before she will pass out again. 'And what is that?' she mumbles.

'I don't think any less about Princess Celestia now...,' Twilight says, followed by a soft laughter. '-Hehe- In fact... I-I know now that Princess Celestia is more a heroine than I thought she was before...'

'Wh....WHAT?!' Trixie suddenly shouts, aggrevated to the extreme by the few words of the weak little mare.

The tall alicorn can't believe her ears. She went through all this trouble to break Twilight Sparkle's spirit completely. She ruined their friendship, froze Equestria, froze her FRIENDS and shown her the true past of her mentor! And yet, there lies Twilight: Half unconcious and freezing, but laughing at her.

The unicorn tries to stand back up, barely able to with her light-blue legs. 'W-W-Without her, friendship would probably still be a m-myth... She was the only one that shown sympathy to somebody that others treated so badly, e-even if he became a god a chaos by accident soon after. She...She saved Equestria from certain doom, having found the courage to choose the greater good above her own safety...,' she whispers while she continues to look at the ground, unable to raise her head with the little energy that courses through her body.

'My r-r-respect for her will n-n-NEVER fade now. My g-g-greatest pride is that I am.... her... faithful student...,' Twilight chuckles and drops on her back into the snow again when she runs out of energy. Still concious by the few strings in her head, Twilight can't do anything now but laugh as much as she can, which isn't as loud as she would like to. She has seen the truth of her mentor with her own eyes: A past that she would probably never have seen in any other way than with Trixie's help. She knows what Celestia went through, reminding her of herself alot. She couldn't feel more happier now. 'Thank you, T-Trixie... Without you, I never would've seen the truth...'

'You... You thank me?' Trixie hisses. With heavy stomps through the snow, the furious mare approaches the weakened unicorn. If she wasn't in such a terrible cold right now, Trixie would probably be blazing from rage. Her pupils are small, her teeth grind over each other and she breathest deep clouds of air out. When she stands before Twilight's body, she stops and lowers her head to hers. 'What does it take... Why...WHY WON'T YOU BREAK!?' Trixie screams in rage.

But Twilight doesn't answer, looking aimlessly towards the icy dome above her. She possibly didn't even hear her, laughing even softer than Fluttershy can. It only makes Trixie more and more provoked.

'GRAAAAAGH!' Trixie screams and kicks the snow around her hooves away. 'HOW DARE YOU?! I DID ALL THIS! I DID ALL THIS TO BREAK YOUR SOUL INTO TINY PIECES! AND YET YOU DON'T GIVE UP, EVEN AFTER FACING THE TRUTH! TH-THIS IS ABSURD!'

Trixie is so furious that she even forgets to speak into third person as usual, going mad over Twilight's strange victory over the almighty alicorn.

'I...,' Twilight whispers a word of an unfinished sentence, right before falling asleep again. With a smile on her face, Twilight leaves Trixie on her own in this isolated area. In a way she's the winner.

'No... No this can't be..,' Trixie whispers, growing mad over the impossiblities. 'I did so much... I planned ahead... I have power... So why? Why don't you give in....'

And then it snaps: Trixie has lost the last bit of sanity left in her head. Bursting out in a loud laughter, the almighty alicorn has lost it. 'I DID ALL THIS! AND STILL IT DIDN'T BEAT YOU!' she cackles and continues to kick the snow around her away. 'YOU.... YOU WRECKED MY LIFE! YOU RUINED MY SHOW! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO MAKE US EVEN!'

But her shouts are left unheared, echoing throughout the entire dome. Even though on the brink of losing everything that made her Trixie, It is then that Trixie starts to realize how alone she truly is.

'You... You'll never hate your friends... You'll never mistrust your mentor...,' she whispers. '...Then there's only ONE thing for me left to do!'

Pointing her horn at the sleeping Twilight Sparkle, Trixie begins to conjure a spell that causes her horn to glow bright-white. The gem on her chestplate glows along, radiating a glow of equal sapphire-blue colors as the crystal itself. Since she can't crush Twilight's spirit, she decides to freeze her into a popcicle like she did to her friends. Not saying another word, Trixie unleashes the magic. A white flash is followed, filling the entire dome with frozen dust. Now that no winds blow over the crater, it takes much long for the dust to fall back down to the ground. Trixie can't do anything but anxiously wait until she can see the results.

And then the clouds fade, revealing the spot where Twilight was sleeping in the snow. Frozen like an iceberg, Twilight Sparkle is encased in a thick coat of ice, keeping her from waking up. Like Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity, she now shares the same fate of her friends: Frozen in unbreakable ice.

Like snow for the sun, Trixie calms down again. Forcing herself to see victory in this sight, she declares herself the winner, ignoring that her original plan failed. '-Hah!- What do you have to say now, Twilight Sparkle?! Nothing? I'd expect so, because you're frozen in ICE! -Hahaha!-' she laughs at the frozen smiling mare in on the ground. 'Trixie wins! Trixie wins! The Great and Powerful Trixie wi-'

But just when the tall mare was preforming a little victory dance, she is shaken by a loud noise from behind her, which even shakes the entire ground beneath her. The ice of the dome shivers from the blow, dropping a few tiny pieces of ice to the earth. Dazzled by another unexpected occurance, Trixie looks surprised around to see what it was.

She cannot comprehend what is happening. With wide eyes of fear and astonishment, Trixie finds herself at a loss of words. 'C-Curses...,' is all she is able to whisper as she continues to stare at the red glow that covers the entire east side of the dome, bright as the sun sinking down the horizon.

The heat is causing the dome to drip water, proving to be more powerful than the strongest of Lady Fame's abilities. Loud screams of fear are heard, coming from the windigos that used themselves to make out the dome. They can feel the heat behind outside, which is forcing them to move out of its way.

The screams are quickly overthrown by the sound of the flare that bursts inside, burning like the sun. The windigos have surrendered to the irresistable fire, which cracks a hole the size of an appletree into not-so-unbreakable dome. Frozen by shock, Trixie looks up at the giant fireball that comes crashing towards her, bursting with the heat of a forestfire.

'AAAAAAH!' the mighty mare screams in fear and covers her eyes, knowing that she's unable to defend herself against this.

And then it strikes. The flame courses around Trixie's body like the wind, instantaneously melting the snow around her into steam. The flame rages through the entire dome in a circle, causing it to shatter into tiny shards of ice. Though she stands in the middle of the burning horror, Trixie opens her eyes, noticing that she doesn't feel the burn. She looks up and lowers her hooves from her sight, astonished that the fire moves around her body, yet doesn't burn her. 'Wh-What is this...,' she gasps.

But though she's is remaining clueless, the fire ball doesn't stop at nothing until it reaches the top of the dome, before crashing down to the earth. Right in the center of its crashcourse stand the six frozen statues of the defeated mares, moment before being struck by the explosion of fire and cinders, flashing the entire crater into a bright-white light. Trixie is forced to cover her eyes again, being blinded by the light that burns more than the fire. But before she even gets the chance to cover her eyes, it already stops abruptly.

At the crashing point, where the fireball has vanished into thin air, grass starts to rise back from the soil, waking from its slumber. Six mares slowly stand back up out of the flora, unharmed by the seemingly harmless spell.

'Th-That was awsome! Do it again!' Pinkie Pie cheers, finding being frozen funny.

Rarity decides to stay down, knowing that she's to dizzy to remain standing anyway.'W-Wow... Wh-What happened?' the pretty mare asks with rolling eyes.

'We... We're unfrozen!' Fluttershy gasps, looking at her hooves. 'B-But I thought this ice was supposed to be permanent!'

'N-No.....,' Trixie hisses, looking horrified at the impossible: The Mane Six are slowly recovering, from their imprisonment, completely unharmed after all these conflicts. The blue mare's entire plan has been crushed to pieces.

'Hey! My cold is gone!' Rainbow Dash cheers, being able to talk normally again.

'My.. My hoof!' Twilight cheers as well, looking at the original purple colors of her body. 'My hoof is free too!'

All the ponies are back to their original selfs, including their entire health. As if they've never been experiencing any cold, the friends look at each other and feel relieved to see they're all alright. Whatever it was that happened, it saved them from being living statues for the rest of their lives.

'NONONONO!' Trixie screams, alerting the mares. 'You're supposed to stay frozen for all eternity!'

'Trixie! Ya' back-stabbin' snake!' Applejack grunts, not having forgotten about the cowardly battle she put up against her and her friends a moment ago. 'Too bad your "Eternity" is a couple a minutes to me!'

The friends turn towards the powerful mare again in the crater filled without snow or ice. The soil isn't even soft from the molten snow, due to the heat that made it into steam before it could even touch the ground. Trixie's entire scheme has been crushed by one unexpected margin, so little and tiny that she deemed it impossible. Shaky and angry, Trixie moves forward, closing the gap between her and the six mares. When she stands with furious hoofsteps before them, they realize that Trixie must have really lost it, considering the deep breaths she takes and her nervous twitches on her face.

'Who.....,' she hisses. 'WHO was responisble for that.......'

Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all look at Twilight, expecting that only she would be able to do something as powerful like that. But Twilight looks just as surprised as her friends and shurgs. 'T'wasnt me!' Twilight tells them.

'Was it YOU, Twilight Sparkle?! -Hehehehe-' Trixie chuckles insane with a pluck of her white mane hanging in front of her eyes. 'I should've known! I shouldn't have underestimated you! You.... You are the most powerful mare in Equestria! All beings are nothing compared to you!'

Hearing something crazy and untrue like that from Trixie, nopony has any idea what to do with her now. Considering Trixie is still very powerful, and possibly even more dangerous now that she's gone apples, they have no idea how to prepare for her insanity.

'But I can do it again! I'll freeze you six even if it takes a lifetime!' Trixie shouts and makes her horn glow again, ready to freeze everything up again.

'Everypony! Out of the way!' Twilight shouts to the others, preparing them for another beam of ice.

The mares split up, afraid to get struck by one shot. Rainbow Dash doesn't even dare to fly up, afraid it would just make her another easy target again. But while they all try to seek shelter in the empty crater, they slowly realize that the magic around Trixie's horn isn't growing, but fading instead. Astonished herself, Trixie looks at her horn, with the glow that soon dies out like a candle. She can't freeze anything anymore.

'Well... That was an anticlimax,' Pinkie Pie shurgs.

Shaking her head, trying to throw the magic out of her horn somehow, Trixie is growing impatient. 'C'mon! C'MON! Why won't it work?!' she shouts, unable to preform her ice spells anymore.

'That would be MY doing...,' a voice echoes through the dome. Originating from where the hole in the ice started, another individual has entered the crater. Trixie and the others look surprised behind her, noticing the red stallion with the dark mane in the distance. None of the seven mares have trouble recognizing him.

'S-Spectrum Brush!' Trixie hisses, growing further mad everytime something completely unexpected happens to her, against her advantage. 'You're supposed to broken by guilt... Nothing you know could have gone past Fame's knowledge! How in Equestria's name did you do that?! Wh-What did you do to me?!'

The red unicorn shrugs. 'You thought you knew everything, didn't you? But you only saw FAME'S version of the past, Trixie. You did not get to see what Ignis is capable of, because he kept alot of secrets from anypony else, including her!' he shouts to her and jumps down into the crater, landing on his hooves without any trouble. 'Ignis may be the most destructive and evil pony in Equestria, but he ALSO knew a few harmless tricks. One of them is rendering the second-most strongest pony's powers useless... Which happens to be the mare who's powers you're abusing right now.'

Trixie grunts, not having anticipated the possiblity of further unshown skills in Brush's possession.

'Brush! Y-You're alright!' Twilight gasps, astonished by Brush' quick recovery. Even though he still wears the bandages around his waist and had a terrible beating a moment ago, Brush walks to them as if nothing ever happened.

Her friends are even more surprised, seeing Brush for the first time after months again. They knew he was in the picture, but never got to see him live and well until now.

'Well Ah'll be...,' Applejack mumbles, surprised to recognize the stallion that saved them from an icy prison. 'Ah know that face from a mile distance!'

'Applejack. good to see you again,' Brush greets her and smiles. 'I believe I still owe you a payment for spilling paint all over the orchard months ago...'

Applejack grins, finding the timing for this little thing very unexpected. It's funny to her to hear that Brush hasn't forgotten a thing about what happened months ago.

As he walks further towards the seven mares, the stallion's eyes move towards every individual, followed by a personal greeting.

'Fluttershy. How are the birds in the meadow doing?' he asks, referring back to the day he arrived in Ponyville and accidently scared half a forest of birds awake.

'G-Good...,' she whispers, shy over the idea that Brush still remembers her and that day, deeming it not special because it was about herself.

He nods at the pegasus and turns his look to the pretty mare, who is sharing both her attention to the surprising stallion and her mane, which looks messy because of the frost.

'Rarity... I owe you an apology for running out when you were showing me your creations,' he apologizes, referring to the time she helped him and shared her artistic knowledge with him.

'Th-That's ok,' she says and giggles. 'I should thank you for unfreezing us. It's not good for hair to stay frozen that long...'

They all seem a little surprised over the stallion's incredible change of character, barely able to recognize the bashfulness he shown them months ago when they met. Only Twilight isn't surprised, knowing that alot has happened during the past months. Spectrum Brush is different now: More confident and hardened. He may not be covering his emotions anymore, but is still not an emotional wreck either.

Having crossed halfway the crater, he turns his attention to the fourth mare: The one with the colorful mane. 'Rainbow Dash,' he says her name, who looks surprised up when he speaks to her. 'Would you accept my apology for calling you a "flapperback"... twice?'

'-Hehe-' she chuckles and winks. 'No problem, "hothead."

That joke referring to the moment he shouted against her on day one makes even Brush smile, though proceeding to look confident in all their eyes.

His eyes move further to the pink mare that jumps up and down from the energy overflow in her. She's very excited.

'Well, Pinkie Pie. Glad to see you too,' he says and smirks, expecting a barrage of greetings from the energic pony back.

'Hey, Brushy!' she cheers, having decided to use that as his nickname. 'Been a long time! Where've ya been? Are you alright? Cause we're fine now!'

The ecstatic joy in her voice makes even Brush slow down his pace, still not used to the contrast between him, the calm stallion, and her, the cheerful party mare.

'I -eh- will explain everything later... ok?' he mumbles to her as he walks passed Trixie, who continues to glare silently down at the red unicorn.

Brush doesn't even give Trixie one glance, turning his focus to the purple mare that stands before him instead. When he stands between Twilight and Trixie, he halts.

'Sorry I'm a little late, Twilight. Making a fire took me a little while and the weather was a little against me today,' he jokes.

Twilight only gives a smile, while Pinkie Pie laughs out loud, taking everypony's attention. When she realizes that her laughter ruins the moment, Pinkie Pie quickly presses a hoof on her mouth to giggle in silence.

'What happened to ya?' Applejack asks, noticing the bandages around his midriff. 'Ya look like a bruised apple.'

'Applejack is right!' Twilight speaks out worried. 'How are you even standing? I saw how you got thrashed around by Trixie! Are you alright?'

'Well... I admit: It hurts ALOT more than I expected it would,' he chuckles, acting like it's funny that he underestimated the madmare. 'But I'm ok... Really.'

Though hard to believe that he's truly alright, rather thinking that he must be hiding his pain again, Twilight is still glad to hear that all her friends are out of harms way. They all have so many questions left to ask the stallion from the begin to the end, but remain silent instead and listen to what he has to say. They know that he has come for more than just saving their flanks from being frostbitten.

'Where are the Elements of Harmony?' he asks to Twilight, who turns her head to the only spot that is still frozen.

The humongous flame of Brush wasn't enough to melt through, considering it was too deeply burried in the ground. The mares say nothing, astonished to hear that the Elements of Harmony were brought here and out of grief that they're lost.

'I see...,' Brush grunts. He turns away and walks over to his sidepack, which lies in the soil a few steps away from him.

Twilight continues to stare at the spot, still frozen shut by meters-thick frozen water. With the Elements burried under more than thirty layers of ice, they are unreachable by any means.

'That's right, Brush,' Trixie chuckles. 'You lose. Your Elements off Harmony are lost for good! Not even you can get them now!'

'No way! We'll find a way! No matter what!' Twilight snaps back at the gloating alicorn.

Trixie turns her grinning face from the red stallion to the purple mare. 'I highly doubt it, Twilight Sparkle,' she mocks her. 'Have you ever succeeded in removing chaos without the Elements? I don't think so.'

Though spiteful, her words speak truth. Ever since Night Mare Moon, the first villian that threatened Equestria, they've been bringing harmony back to Equestria thanks to the Elements of Harmony. If they have no access to it, how do they actually hope to win now? They stood no chance against Discord without them, so why would it now?

'Wh-What are we supposed to do now?' Rarity asks to her friends, who don't have any ideas either.

'M-Maybe if we ask nicely?' Fluttershy suggests, which is obviously taken as the worst idea of all.

While the six mares fall in heavy discussion over what they could posssibly do now, growing more and more concerned. Trixie merely looks down at them and grins by the idea that she still got the upperhoof, laughing at their desperation. And yet Brush calmly picks up his bag and brushes the dust off with his hoof. When he's done, he walks back to the noisy crowd of mares.

'Nothing is lost,' he shrugs, catching the mares' attention.

'D-Do you have a plan, Brush?' Fluttershy asks hopeful.

He looks up at the pegasus, who stares at him with both hope and fear, wishing for good news from him. 'To get the Elements of Harmony? ...No, I don't,' he simply answers in honesty.

Trixie starts to laugh, drawing all of their attention again. 'See, you foals? Even the "mighty" Spectrum Brush is at a loss here! We all know that the trinkets in that pit are the REAL Elements of Harmony! And now we also know that not even your flame could tear the ice away! How do you think you can beat me with the Elements of Harmony now if there's no way to reach them?!'

Brush looks over his shoulder at the mares, who look clueless back at him, hoping that she's wrong. He then looks back at the alicorn and shrugs. 'I don't. We'll never beat you with the Elements. That's a fact.'

'Wh-WHAT?!' Twilight gasps along with her friends, suddenly feeling sickly from the undeniable truth. Yet the stallion before her remains as calm as a millpond, showing not a little sign of worry. 'A-Are you saying we lost?!'

Brush turns around and looks deep into Twilight's eyes, burning with confidence. It startles her a little, because Twilight recognizes that look: It's a look that says that he's just beginning.

'I never said THAT, Twilight...,' he mumbles. 'I simply mean we don't need them.'

'Hahaha- Eh... What?' Trixie cuts her laugh, having heard how Brush still seems to have a plan up his sleeves.

'Not... need... them?' Fluttershy repeats after him, a little unsure if that's what he just said.

'...Brush, do you even know what you are saying?' Rainbow Dash asks him, as if he's gone insane.

But he ignores the others and continues to look at the purple mare in front of him. 'Don't you see, Twilight? The Elements of Harmony are NOT what defeated Night Mare Moon, Discord, Queen Crysalis or Ignis!'

She looks at him like he's gone mad, telling her something that she never thought of before. 'Wh-What do you mean? We had to use the Elements of Harmony everytime Equestria was in danger! If it wasn't that, what was it then?' she asks confused.

'It was the friendship between you six that did that! The Elements are merely TOOLS to enhance it into a force!' he tells her, bitter serious about his words.

Twilight can hardly believe it. She knows that her friendship between her and her friends are what unleashes the power from the Elements of Harmony, working like a key. But to think that their friendship is what truly is the thing that defeats the wicked, using the artifacts as a conduit, has never occured to her before.'A-Are you saying that-' she whispers in astonishment.

Brush nods at her. 'Those jewels aren't the Elements of Harmony! If they were, they wouldn't need you six to unleash their power! It's Pinkie Pie's cheerful joy, Rarity's great generosity, Applejack's honest truths, Rainbow Dash's unwavering loyalty, Fluttershy's sweet kindness and Twilight's magical presence that makes it all happen! Those things that lie in the pit over there are mere babysteps that allowed you to learn to control your friendship in a way like this! But it's YOU who are the real power behind it! The friendship you share is a bond that expresses the most powerful of all, which is why you are the chosen to work with the Elements of Harmony...'

Everypony is silenced by the stallion's words, both confused and puzzled about the truth he shares with them. At first they were a little sceptical about Brush' claims, though they start to make more and more sense when they think about it. They look at their friends, realizing it as well. This whole time it wasn't five necklaces and a crown that safeguarded Equestria, but THEM instead!

'He... He's right...,' Rarity whispers. 'How could've we been so blind?'

'The...I...-eh-...Wow...,' Pinkie Pie stutters, stunned by revelation.

Twilight looks Brush in his eyes, knowing from his look that he's completely serious about this. She has no idea how Brush came up with this information, considering it wasn't in the past of Princess Celestia, and yet he knows it. 'So... all this time... It was all thanks to ourselves that we stopped all the evil that tried to overtake Equestria? It had nothing to do with the Elements of Harmony?' Twilight asks to be sure.

The red unicorn nods again, knowing that it's a lot of truth to swallow. They still have a chance to win now.

'Insolence! You can't win without the Elements! Your merely bluffing, stallion!' Trixie shouts, believing his story to be the greatest nonsense she ever heard. 'You pray and hope that you are right, while you actually know that it's all futile now!'

But the blue mare is completely ignored by the mares, trusting their stallion friend over the blue mare that only wants to harm them with despair.

'I think you're right, Brush...,' Twilight admits, though still finding it a tough truth to suddenly swallow. 'But... that doesn't change the fact that those artifacts were the thing that enhanced the power of harmony! We are only seven ponies together! If we would want to reach that same limit or above, we would atleast need a THOUSAND friendships to even the odds!'

Brush remains silent, giving no contradictions to her claims. They all know she's right about that it requires that much ponies, though they are horribly outnumbered now. And yet, Brush begins to smile and whispers: '...Exactly...'

Without taking any more time, Brush opens his sidepack and uses his magic to levitate something out of it. He takes out a object, which turns out to be a little purple orb. It was hiding beneath the artifacts this whole time.

'Wh-What is that?' Trixie asks, never having seen something like it before.

The orb looks like a marble, in both shape and size. But the inside of the sphere seems alive, filled with a strange purple smoke. Though when Brush levitates it above himself and the Mane Six, causing it to hover in the air by itself, it starts to glow faintly.

'WHAT IS THAT?!' Trixie asks again, tired of being ignored.

'It's a little thing I call: Preperation,' he chuckles at Trixie, as if he's about to outsmart her again. 'You should've put this thing into the pit rather than the jewerlry, Trixie. If you would've put my entire bag in there and froze it, even I would've gone mad by despair.'

The sphere starts to glow brighter with a familiar purple glow like the night, as if it's charging up. The purple lights starts the spread out of the object, until it reaches the ground around the seven ponies, surrounding them in what almost looks like bars of a cage.

'NO! NO MORE TRICKS!' Trixie shouts, afraid of any more unexpected tricks from the stallion. Without hesitation she fires a blue beam of magic at it, which have returned to her control, intending to tear it apart before it could activate. But with no signs of effect, the orb only continues to glow more.

'Ah, it's time to go,' Brush smiles and nods at her. 'We'll be seeing you soon, Trixie! I'll tell Luna you said "Hi"!'

'Wh-What?' the alicorn asks confused, not sure what is happening.

But before she could, the orbs flares out a purple field shaped like a sphere around the seven ponies, sealing them inside like a shell. Trixie jumps back from anxiety and looks at how the ponies are vanishing behind the purple smokes inside the large orb, keeping her from seeing what happens. She quickly fires another blue beam at it, which disperses the moment it touches the glowing sphere, hovering silently in the crater before her.

'C-Curse you...,' she hisses defeated.

***

The smokes fill the air of whatever space it is. They have no smell whatsoever, yet are definitly magic by nature. Lost in a bright light again, Twilight find herself in a void again. She recognizes it: It's a void like that of Lady Fame's memory. Yet instead of pure white, this void is as black as the night and covered by stars all around her. Just like the previous time, this place has no visible floor either, making it seem like she's standing in space. Looking confused around her, she sees that's nothing but void. 'Wh-Where is everypony?' she whispers to herself.

'Twilight!' a shout sounds behind her.

The purple mare turns around quickly, recognizing the voice of Brush. Appearing out of the darkness of this place, the red stallion gallops towards her.

'Looks like the mists are a little thicker in the begin than I thought,' he mumbles with a smile. 'The others should find us real soon when the magic preperations will be lifting a little.'

'What is this, Brush? What was that orb?' she asks, not having any knowledge about the orb Brush used a moment ago.

He moves his last steps calmly to her, until he stands before her again. 'We are currently in a magic sphere, blocking all types of senses from our original location: The crater. We may still be present there physically, but this orb allows us to communicate with another place, as if we teleport,' he explains his actions, still rather confusing for the smart mare. 'It wasn't easy to do this, considering how much time it costed Luna to make this orb in the first place.'

Twilight looks up surprised and suddenly recognizes the magic in the air and the reason for the endless nightsky in this void. 'Princess Luna?! She's channeling us away?!'

'Ofcourse.' he chuckles, amused by Twilight's noticable surprise. 'Once she has found this void that is.'

'Why...,' Twilight asks, having asked this specific question probably a hundred times in her mind now.

Her friend stops snickering and smiling, turning his gaze from her to the sky above them. '...When I saw how you six split up in a fight, I doubted that it would be the end for you,' Brush speaks honestly to her, remaining calm while at it. 'But when I saw you get back together, I KNEW something changed within all of you. None of you may show it: But you're all scared.'

Twilight looks a little surprised at the seemingly distracted stallion, as if he doesn't know what he's talking about. But remaining sceptical about herself thanks to her several misjudgements, she won't suddenly start to doubt her friend's assumptions. 'Scared?' she repeats.

'Yes, scared. You lost each other so easily, when you thought that wasn't possible... All of you six came to realize that your friendship doesn't mean that it lasts eternal, but is still fragile. You're all afraid to lose each other again and that you'd be all alone then...'

'I...,' Twilight speaks, but sighs instead of finishing her sentence. 'You're right, Brush... I guess I am scared to lose them. They're my best friends! I don't want to risk to lose them again! Wh-What can I do?'

The mare presses her hoofs on the stallion's shoulders and looks him desperatly in the eyes with a few inches between their faces, urging him to comfort her with words that should take all the worries away.

'I -eh- I can't help you with that, Twilight,' he sighs. 'This is something you should speak about with your friends... They are worried about the same thing. They want to stay with you each of you for the rest of their lives as well.'

'I see...,' she sighs, knowing he's right. She drops her hooves back on the starlit floor of the void, surprised to hear that the impact made a sudden clop sound, instead of sounding like she presses in dirt. 'But... why are we here then?' she asks, though still a little distracted about the changing sound of ground, which remains as invisible as usual.

'Why are we here you ask?' he repeats after her. 'To show you what you all forget sometimes... For several times you all felt lonely: The ponies left Ponyville, leaving you all alone behind. You think that a connection of friendship is sensitive and only connects to close ones... But you must realize: There are always friends, not matter how far away you are... Even when you've never met somepony, they are still a friend in some way.'

'Yea, but...,' she whispers.

'TWILIGHT! BRUSH!' shouts sound again from the dark void, followed by five different colored mares than gallop towards the two ponies.

'Pinkie Pie! Fluttershy! Rarity! Rainbow Dash! Applejack! You found us!' Twilight cheerfully greets them, glad to see that they indeed found their way to her like Brush promised.

'Oh, Darling! That was just awful!' Rarity tells her with dread and grabs Twilight to give her a hug.

'I-I'm glad to see you safely too, Rarity,' Twilight says a little surprised of Rarity's worried attitude like this.

'I was CERTAIN that I would have to go through the rest of my days as a blonde!' she gasps, giving away her greatest fear of these moments.

'What's wrong that...,' Applejack mumbles, a little insulted about the color of her mane.

But rather than arguing with each other again, the happiness just makes them want to push together for a grouphug. Laughing and seeing each other, the mares are rejoiced to be able to be back together again. Even if Trixie is still out there, removed their instrument of harmony, froze them up easily, harmed them both physically and mentally while she remains untouched, they have no despair about what comes next. The only fear they hide under their smiles is the fear of losing this moment for good.

Brush watches happily at the mares, glad to see them back together again. But even though he feels nothing but joy for their recovered friendship, he can't ignore the lingering feeling of envy in his heart. And something else is missing: The group only exists out of five ponies.

'BRUSHY!' Pinkie Pie cheers and throws herself against Spectrum Brush.

'-URK!-' Brush grunts, completely surprised by the pink mare's enthusiastic greeting. Dropped on the floor, with Pinkie Pie clamping around his midrif to give him a hug, he feels a little embarressed at how it must look for the other mares to see Brush thrown down by Pinkie Pie like this. 'H-Hello, Pinkie... Good to see you too,' he mumbles.

'You still owed atleast this from me! I didn't even got to properly welcome you to Ponyville last time we met! You better prepare yourself for the party of your life when this is over!' she laughs as she squeezes the stallion harder and presses her face against his unbrushed mane.

'I -ooph!- I'm not the type for parties, Pinkie Pie!' he gasps.

The others have already have a suspicion that this message will be unnacceptable for their pink friend, knowing Pinkie Pie well enough.

The words fall indeed heavily on the partypony's ears, causing her to gasp in horror. 'NO TYPE FOR PARTIES?!' she shouts, only a few inches away from his ears. 'THEN IT'S HIGH TIME YOU GOT ONE!'

The other mares giggle at the two ponies and how the red stallion is trying to get himself free from Pinkie Pie's lethally tight hug. They didn't expect any less from the pink mare, breaking even Brush' moment of seriousness with her entertaining presence.

'Eh... I think you should maybe let him go now, Pinkie...,' Twilight suggests, knowing from Brush's desperation to get free and Pinkie's joy that this could go too far against Brush' comfort zone, no matter how kind the gesture is meant.

'...Ok!' she reacts, not any bit less happy about it.

Brush drops on the ground when the pink earth pony lets go off him, making him gasp for air again. 'Th-Thanks, Twilight...,' she sighs.

The female unicorn smiles and giggles, happy to help him. The stallion stands back up from the invisible floor and gets his act back together. He pushes the mane out of his sight and stops breathing too fast.

'So... Where are we?' Rainbow Dash eventually asks him, having paused the moment of endless joy with her friends to move ahead. 'What happened to Trixie?'

The red unicorn shurgs. 'Trixie is still in the crater, just like we are,' Brush tells all the mares.

'Just like we? What in tarnation are you talkin' about, partner?' Applejack asks him with disbelief. 'I know we're in some sorta magic bubble... But I can say absolutely sure that this ISN'T a crater!'

'Well... It may not seem, sound or feel like it...,' the stallion mumbles as the mares turn their attention from Applejack back to Brush. 'But right now we're waiting to get contact with another location, which should happen anytime now.'

'Why...,' Applejack asks, like Twilight did before her.

Before the answer is given, the mares start to take notice of sounds in the background. Turning around to check what it was, they see nothing but stars, shining towards them like the night. But though there may be nopony there, the sounds grow in volume, slowly coming from all around them.

'Ah, Luna has finaly found us,' the stallion says satisfied with a smile on his face.

While he continues to stand and wait, the six mares continue to look confused around, hearing the voices coming from everywhere.

'What is that?' Rainbow Dash asks. 'It sounds like cheering!'

'Big chance that it is, Rainbow,' Brush tells her.

The stars of the void starts to move around, swirling around the seven ponies that stand in the center. Like the universe being twisted like a football, the mares grow dizzy by the surroundings that start swirl faster every second. The magic of the sphere is reaching stability, resulting in the the tearing of the sky.

'Ah!' Fluttershy yelps, surprised by the sudden light that blinds them all from the tearing background.

But the others give nothing but a grunt, knowing that it's all part of this, even though it blocks their vision for a moment. Brush closes his eyes too and smiles.

***

The cheers are raised tenfold, sounding from everywhere around the blinded ponies. After the void was torn apart, the sounds and light returned in a second of time. They are curious to see what all the cheering is from, but are forced to wait until the light in their eyes fade down.

'What is going on?!' Rarity asks confused, shaking her head with closed eyes.

'A little gift from Luna and me,' Brush tells them, blinking a few times until he can see clearly again. 'Your greatest fear is to be alone, losing the friendship and binds you six. But we want you to know that even in the darkest hour: You are NEVER alone.'

Twilight's eyes begin to adjust, allowing her to see blurry visions of the tall towers that stand before her. She can recognize it, having seen these buildings for years when she was just a foal.

'This is...,' Twilight whispers.

The stallion nods, though nopony of them can see it. 'Our former home, Twilight...,' Brush completes her sentence.

Twilight looks down at the floor, recognizing the tiles as well. There's only one place where she's seen these tiles. 'N-no way…,' she gasps, able to see that they're completely surrounded.

Once the light has faded completely, something shows which nopony could ever expect. The town square, the towers around it, and the air are filled with hundreds and hundreds of ponies, easily counting into the thousands. Barely space for anypony left in the huge area, all the mares, stallions, colts, fillies of all types, races and colors are cheering at the seven ponies that stand in the center.

“Wh-what is this?” Flutttershy whispers scared from all the eyes that look at them.

Brush sighs, relieved and glad about his accomplishments. 'This is the "haven" Luna and I sent all ponies to. This is where all the ponies wait and cheer for the Mane Six to end this horror and bring Harmony to Equestria,' the stallion tells them.

'This… This is Canterlot!' Twilight gasps.

A moment ago they were facing Trixie, about to confront the mare that turned mad by failure for vengeance. But as quick as all goes, they are now able to breath easily and feel the cold rising to a nice warm temperature. Having used the magical spherical creation of Princess Luna, both the Mane Six and Spectrum Brush are now visible at the haven where all ponies of Equestria have sought shelter: Canterlot.

An entire crowd of ponies and beings surrounded them. Stallions and mares look over each other, while colts and fillies stand on their father's or mother's heads to catch a glimpse of the six heroines. Ponies from Ponyville, Cloudsdale and even places like Appleloosa have come to the square to root for them. Even the hairy backs of the buffaloes from Appleloosa can be seen in the far back. They all cheer and smile at the seven ponies in the center, who look confused and surprised around them. Aside from the space between the center and the first row the crowd, the ground can't be seen by the masses. Pegasi that couldn't find space down on the ground flew up, crowding up the morningsky as well. The towers and buildings of Canterlot aren't spared just the same, now stuffed with ponies that try to get a view through the windows. Like a fish in a bowl, the mares and stallion are looking from the bubble that remains barely visible around them, being the border between Canterlot and the Crater.

'Welcome to Canterlot,' Brush welcomes them.

The mares are completely overthrown by the humongous crowd that surrounds them. They look everywhere around them, seeing hundreds of ponies in whatever direction they turn their head towards. Even the many pegasi in the air seem to cheer and root for them, unless they're too busy not to crash into each other.

'Wh-What is everypony doing?' Rainbow Dash asks, barely hearable over the cheers and noise.

'They are rooting for you,' Brush tells the obvious. 'They're rooting for you six.'

'I mean what are they doing HERE?' she corrects herself, not having trouble figuring out herself that the ponies are cheering for her and her friends.

Brush turns around to look at the puzzled mares, knowing that he owes them all an explaination. 'Luna and I forsaw what was going to happen right after Trixie betrayed us. She isn't a very clever pony, even if she would have access to Fame's vast knowledge. We knew that she was going to try and tear you six apart,' he begins to explain, revealing the plan he kept in secret until this point. 'I came up with this plan to secure every pony in Equestria, and possibly use it to the advantage as well... Though I never believed it would be needed.'

'You didn't?' Pinkie Pie asks in curiosity.

The red stallion shakes his head. 'It was Luna who convinced me to take no chances... Good thing she thought clear enough to see that even your friendship could severe...,' he sighs, having lost the illusion of a perfect friendship. Still, he hasn't changed his mind in believing that these mares' friendship is the best of all in Equestria. 'The reason we show this is because I could see your doubts and despair, like Trixie could... While she tried to manipulate you through it, I wanted to heal it by showing this: The ponies who'm you all fight for. The ponies that have always believed in you ever since you defeated Night Mare Moon! Months have gone by after that day and ever since you've all made new friends and rivals. Some ponies, aside from your family, have become so indirectly!'

'This... This incredible...,' Twilight whispers, witnessing for the first time how the ponies openly feel about them six saving Equestria time and time again. 'I had no idea.'

'I feel so honored!' Rarity giggles happily and waves her mane around to show off, feeling like a celebrity. Her feeling of joy and fabulousness only rises when she starts to hear a bunch of stallions cheer for her name in specific.

Though some of the mares lose their attention to the still-explaining stallion, Brush continues to speak to the mares that won't stop to listen to him. 'It was impossible to get them all to come to Ponyville unnoticed from Trixie, so we decided to bring you HERE!'

'But how? How did you do this? Teleportation at a scale like this is impossible,' Twilight seemingly contradicts him, having enough knowledge about magic to know that she's right about this.

Brush smirks. 'With a little help from Princess Luna, we are now channeled into the townsquare of Canterlot. Even though we’re not physically here, you can see and hear everypony here and vise versa!'

Pinkie Pie jumps forward as close to the edge of the sphere they're in and pokes it, only touching it like it's a mirror. 'Hey, I can't go to them!' she grunts and continues to poke the sphere from the inside.

'See?' Brush says, confirming thanks to Pinkie's efforts that they can't physically connect with the ponies on the other side of the spell. 'But we CAN communicate with them. We can hear them, just like they can hear us.

He turns his face to the dark-purple mare that stands the closest to the sphere from the outside, conjuring a spell ever since they arrived here. The red unicorn has no trouble in recognizing her in a split second.

'Luna, great job! We've finaly done it!' he cheers at princess, who remains silent and continues to think about keeping a connection between the two sides. 'If it wasn't so innapropriate, and I would be physically able to, I could kiss you right now!'

The princess of the night shows no response. She is completely focused on her spell, sweating from the incredible effort and concentration it requires to keep it up. They both know that if she loses focus for a split second, the ponies will be send back to the crater in a flash.

Believing that Brush is done with his explaination, the girls look back at the crowd. They still have trouble believing that this is truly happening. There are so many ponies they know that have come to support them. And even some ponies they’ve never seen before are here for them too!

'So many ponies,' Applejack gasps and swallows, feeling a little nervous from so many eyes that look at her. 'Ah dun even recognize most of 'em.'

Brush turns around and walks to Applejack's left side, having overheard her words. 'And yet, I made special reservations for the first seats,' he jokes and points to the right of Applejack's sight, making her look at the three ponies that stand first in line.

The blond mare's eyes open wide when she recognizes them, having believed them to be in Appleloosa this whole time. But she knows her eyes aren't lying and feels overjoyed to see her family here with her in Canterlot. 'Granny Smith? Big Macintosh? Even cousin Braeburn?! Y’all here to support me?' Applejack says with joy in her heart.

Ofcourse the only real response she gets is the 'Eeyup' from her big brother Macintosh, ironically being the last of the three who expected to talk.

Brush smiles and turns around again, leaving the earth pony alone for some personal time with her family.

'...And I see YOU two are here too...,' Applejack mumbles and looks at the twin brothers that seem a tad embarressed to be here in the apple family's presence.

Flim and Flam sure were a pain in the plot before, daring to try and force the apple family out of Ponyville. But now they were obviously pressured to go and stay in Canterlot, leaving their Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 machine behind in the blizzard. Normally a very cocky and confident team, even these two stallions show anxiety from the idea that they're in a crowd which excists atleast 60% out of unsatisfied customers. Whether they've come around to see that their overconfidence and business was no good, Applejack still lets out a chuckle. she knows that even if there's a dark history of competition between them, the two scams are still counting on her and her friends to save Equestria. Even if it comes from them, it means something.

Rarity continues to wave at the crowd, receiving their cheers with pleasure. She gives a few kissyhooves at the many ponies. 'Thank you, thank you! I love you all just the same!' she cheers along with the crowd.

Her feeling of fabulous and joy only rises when she hears the stallions cheer louder and whistle at her, making her feel like a real queen of the people.

'You're really enjoying this, aren't you?' a voice sounds behind her, causing her to look up behind her.

She smiles when she figures it was from the red stallion, who walks towards her. 'Why, yes! If all these ponies are here to see me and my friends, I can't let them down, can I?'

'-Haha!- That's an entirely unique form of generosity!' Brush laughs.

The white mare has to laugh too, admitting that this is the form of generosity she likes most of all: One that puts her in the spotlight. Though aside the joy she finds in this cheering crowd, she also finds it nice to be able to laugh alongside the gentle stallion once more. Though she may not have thought about it much, she enjoys the company of somepony like him, who understands the finer things in life too.

When Brush stops snickering, he gives a sigh to let the last bits of laughter out to get back to his actually intention of approaching her right now. 'I do hope you understand what it means? Alot of these ponies know you, putting their hopes and trust on you without question. Even ponies that never have seen you are believing in you,' he tells her, giving her the absolute truth behind this crowd that cheers for her and her friends.

Rarity sighs, suddenly not feeling like parading without a care in the world anymore. 'I know, Spectrum Brush... I'm not letting mere attention get to my head, trust me on that. I have no intention of giving up on all these ponies,' she admits, promising not to tiny details of negativity get to her anymore.

Brush nods, glad to see that Rarity fully understands him. 'It's not something you wil do on your own, miss Rarity. Don't worry. We all stand with you all the way,' the stallion assures her.

The white unicorn smiles, happy to hear the words from him. 'Thank you kindly, Brush. I really appreciate it,' she thanks him gratefully, feeling comforted by the idea of not having to confront anything by herself.

Brush smiles along with her and points with his hoof behind her. 'Now I believe those two ponies ask for your attention in specific,' he tells Rarity.

The pretty mare turns around towards where Brush points at, noticing the two white ponies that stand in front of the crowd. They probably stood there all this time, though she didn't notice them until now: The stallion with the noticable brown moustache and the mare with a hairdo that Rarity strongly opposes.

'Mother! Father!' Rarity cheers and hurries close to the edge of the bubble. 'You are all well!'

'Well, hello thar, Rarity,' the white stallion simply greets his daughter with a noticable accent. 'Nice coincidence to be sent to Canterlot and see you in the middle of the crowd.'

Rarity's parents are surprisingly calm, as if this crisis in Equestria is perfectly normal.

The older mare nods. 'We even got'ta meet one of yer fancy friends here,' she tells her, as if they're having a vacation in this place.

'Friends?' Rarity asks, having no clue about who she could possibly mean, plus worried that her parents would embarress her to the clients she has and had in Canterlot.

'That would be me,' a tall unicorn with a monocle speaks from behind the couple and moves forward be seen as well. 'Marvelous parents you have, miss Rarity.'

'M-Mr Fancypants!' she stutters, overjoyed to see the famous stallion as well. 'A-A pleasure to meet you again.'

'The feeling is mutual, dear. The feeling is mutual,' he chuckles, glad to see one of his favorite aquantances again.

Satisfied by the sight of another heart-mended mare who comes back in contact with ponies she met before, Brush turns around and leaves the unicorn with her parents and friends. He knows now that his presence is not needed for now.

Rainbow Dash looks through the bubble surprised as well, though enjoying all the cheers for her as much as Rarity does. 'Thank you! Thank you!' she shouts proudly and waves at the crowd, feeling like she's the show of the day in front of all of Equestria. As she Gives them a few action poses to show off, the blue pegasus enjoys every moment of it. 'Dash is the name! Rainbow Dash!' she shouts, trying to make the crowd cheer out for her in specific.

Like she hoped for; a part of the crowd starts to cheer louder, encouraging the mare even more.

'I CAN'T HEAAAAAAR YOUUUUU!' the pegasus shouts back and presses a hoof at her ear, showing she's waiting for another cheer back.

'Yow, Dash!' a voice shouts over the noise, coming from the first row of the crowd. 'Remember me?'

If it would be anypony's voice that would've spoken to her, she would've ignored it and stuck with the crowd. But Rainbow Dash recognizes the voice, knowing it for many years. When she looks a little curious in the direction of its origin, she notices the feathered creature that stands out of the crowd of ponies by both appearance and size. The female gryphon believes that Rainbow Dash has seen her and smiles. She looks back for a second to push a stallion a little away, because he stands in her way.

'G-Gilda!' Rainbow Dash gasps and stops posing to the crowd to focus on her in specific. 'What are you doing here?'

'Aside from seeking shelter from the storm? ...I didn't have much of a choice,' she grunts and glares at the red stallion behind her friend. Brush looks up surprised by the grumpy gryphon's noticable presence, not feeling very welcome to join their conversation.

By the looks of how Brush suddenly turns around and moves away again, Rainbow Dash can speculate that it must've been tough to "convince" Gilda in seeking shelter here from the storm, most likely against her stubborn will.

'-Hehe-' Rainbow Dash chuckles, finding her feathered friend's defeat funny. 'Must've been tough to be forced by somepony that doesn't even got wings?'

'-Grrr-' the gryphon grunts. 'It's not like that! He had wings during his visit in Cloudsdale! It's not like he was helpless!'

'He's been a unicorn his whole life... Even if he got wings magically, he would still be an amateur flyer,' Rainbow Dash tells her and keeps on snickering. The pegasus is barely able to keep her whole laughter stomached about that Gilda, one of the fastest friends she has, got beaten by Brush somehow. It's even more funny when she thinks about it that Brush DID have wings before, when he was possessed by Ignis months ago, which Gilda has no knowledge about.

'...Know what? Whatever,' Gilda mumbles, acting like she's insulted now.

'C'mon, Gilda. you know I'm just messing with you?' Rainbow tells her and taps on the bubble, like a friendly push that she can't do from inside the sphere. 'But aren't you still mad about last time?' the mare asks carefully, recalling the last time she saw her in Ponyville.

'Mad? -HAH!- Good one, Dash,' the gryphon suddenly laughs, proving not to be insulted after all. 'If I would get a coin for everytime we were mad at each other-'

'-You'd be a millionaire now.' Dash finishes her sentence, having said it probably as many times as they've argued with each other in the past.

Gilda chuckles and pushes the same stallion off, who was pressing against her wing due to the lack of space.

'Nah, I've come to realize that I may have been acting like a jerk too much to anypony last time. Which reminds me that I still gotta say a sorry to that bashful pegasus and the pink menace,' she kids, pretending to have a grudge against anypony still. 'That's why I have turned around and-' the gryphon stops talking when the stallion bumps into her again.

'HEY, STOP PUSHING!' Gilda shouts behind her, scaring a group of ponies back. Forcing themselves to keep a radius of a meter around Gilda clear, the ponies press each other back so they won't anger the gryphon any further. '-and now you're looking at a whole new Gilda,' she finishes her sentence with a calm voice again.

'-Heh- I can see that,' Rainbow Dash snickers and smiles at the gryphon, admitting that her friend was holding back this time against those ponies.

'So bygones be bygones, Dash?' Gilda asks and plants a fist against the bubble.

Rainbow Dash shrugs and smiles, as if her answer should be obvious to her friend. 'Forgotten and forgiven, Gilda. The Great and Almighty Dash accepts your apology,' the mare jokes and presses her hoof on the same spot as Gilda's fist, making both of them laugh.

'That's cool. If you wouldn't have, I wouldn't have shown you the "special arangement" I went through for you,' Gilda tells her friend with a mysterious tone.

'Special arangement?' Rainbow Dash repeats.

Pressing two toes of her claw together and putting it in her beak, Gilda blows her lungs empty to create a whistle that screeches over the noise of the crowd. Having heared the signal, three pegasi stop flying along with the other pegasi in the sky and rush down with a tremendous speed. Landing right between Gilda and Rainbow Dash, the two mares and a stallion in blue uniforms look up at the mare in the bubble and smile at her.

'They said that they've met you before. It wasn't hard to ask them to come down and meet you personally,' Gilda snickers.

'Th-The Wonderbolts!' Rainbow Dash yelps, joyous like a little filly to see her heroes again. 'Here to cheer for meeee?!'

'Oh... My...,' Fluttershy whispers with a red face.

Embarressed and humble about all the attention she's given, Fluttershy looks down at the ground and breathes rapidly. She's never been a mare that could handle attention, especially not from a crowd that excist out of all the ponies in Equestria. But when she suddenly sees a red hoof step next to hers, she looks up at the unicorn that stands at her side.

'Sorry, Fluttershy. Your friends seemed happy enough to be in your house. Luna and I decided to keep them there as an exception,' Brush whispers at her, but loud enough to be heared over the crowd.

'Th-That's ok,' Fluttershy whispers back. 'I'm happy.'

'Just know that even though they're not here, I'm sure they are all hoping for your safe return. I hope you do understand that you're never truly alone?' he asks, worried that Fluttershy may not find the crowd convincing at all. He knows just as anypony else that Fluttershy isn't very good at making friends.

'I-I know...,' she whispers, clearly finding this occasion more scary than realization-giving. But the pegasus acts like she's fine with it, while deep down she misses her cirtter friends alot.

Brush sighs, afraid that he's not able to help her this time. Having second thoughts, the stallion wonders if he should've attempted to get a bunch off critters all the way from Ponyville to Canterlot.

But when he looks a little moody towards the cheering crowd before them, he is surprised to see how several ponies are jumping out of the way, freaked out about something that rushes from the back of the pony crowd towards the bubble.

A little anxious about what is causing the trouble, he watches closely at the hooves of the front row to see what will show itself any moment now. 'Oh, seems I missed a few,' Brush speaks surprised, noticing the critters that pop out of the crowd.

Squirrels, bunnies, hedgehogs and all kind of critters have rushed through the entire crowd, just to reach the bubble in the center. Neither Brush nor the rest of the ponies have any clue why the animals all did the effort for, but Fluttershy looks up and gasps at the critters that look up at her.

'Th-These are...' Fluttershy whispers in realization, recognizing the little animals that came all the way to see her.

The mare remembers that day of the Galloping Gala, where the critters were too scared to show themselves to her. Even though she managed to lose her temper back then, scared the critters even further and crash the Gala with her friends, they have somehow suddenly decided to move to her instead.

A little exotic bird with multiple-colored wings jumps to the bubble and picks it, never having seen something like this before. Yet, instead of being anxious about the unknown wall between them, the bird remains in front of the pegasus and looks up to her with big eyes. It makes the others come closer as well, supporting the kind pegasus' confidence.

Fluttershy feels happy, joyous to see she finally managed to get a chance to become friends with the Canterlot critters after all these months since the Gala.

'They seem to like you, Fluttershy,' Brush tells her and smiles. He didn't forsee or planned any of this, but sure is glad that it turns out in the cheer-up Fluttershy needed so badly.

The pegasus has already lost focus on both Brush and the cheering crowd. Fluttershy looks happily at the tiny animals that seek for specifically her attention. Though unable to reach them from here, Fluttershy lowers herself to the eye-level of the tiny critters and presses her nose as close to the border of the bubble as she can. 'Hello there. My name is Fluttershy,' she whispers.

Brush decides to leave her be as well, knowing that the pegasus would prefer some time alone with her new friends.

Brush is about to walk up to Pinkie Pie, who has already noticed Mr. and Mrs. Cake in the front row. But when he realizes how Pinkie Pie is talking on and on about everything and nothing, he backs away slowly before he becomes dragged into another Pinkie disaster against his will.

But unlucky for him: Pinkie Pie turns around, having noticed the stallion's specific presence behind her. 'Ah! That's Brushy! Hey Brushy!' she cheers and waves at him.

'Eh, hey.' he mumbles over his shoulder and turns around quickly, trying to walk away again.

Just when Brush believes to be safe again, he suddenly feels a tug on his tail, pulling him back with a surprisingly lot of strength. The red unicorn looks around and sees how Pinkie Pie hurried up to him and pulls him towards the Cake's with her.

'This is Brushy! He's our new friend!' she gleefully tells the two ponies as she drops the stallion's flank back on the ground. 'Brushy? Have you met Mr. and Mrs. Cake yet?'

'The name is BRUSH...,' he mumbles and pulls himself back up from the ground. 'And -eh- we have seen each other before, yea...'

The tension between the ponies feels little awkward, considering Brush's strict attitude to force the couple to Canterlot. Even the Cakes don't know what to say to him, while they have already figured that Brush' intentions were forceful for a reason. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof has no clue about it, including the fact that it was thanks to Brush that she got to go back to Sugercube Corner.

'There was this big frosty mare that turned us all into popcicles and left us as icy statues like that! Then Brushy showed up and unfroze us, followed by getting us here!' Pinkie Pie summarizes, only to repeat it again in much more detail.

The red unicorn has little plan to continue to stand with the pink mare and the Cake couple, knowing that she's probably the most cheered-up pony of the seven that wouldn't let him escape knowingly. Waiting for the right moment, he waits when the earth pony is completely absorbed in her own story, allowing him to sneak away before she drags him again. He has a better place to be right now: The side of Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle is in deep conversation with the four ponies in front of her, being her parents, brother and sister-in-law. Overjoyed to see her beloved family again, the purple mare savors every second of their reunion. She doesn't realize that Brush heads over to her, being too deep in her story about what has happened to her and her relief to see her parents, her brother Shining Armor and his wife Princess Cadence again. It is when her family looks up that she realizes that somepony is behind her.

'Ah, Spectrum Brush. Glad to see you're ok too,' Shining Armor greets him, alerting Twilight of the red stallion's presence.

Brush smiles, glad to hear a welcome like that from the Captain of the Royal Guards. 'Thank you, Shining Armor. Good to see you are well. I'm glad that it all worked out to handle his many ponies in one place,' he says back at the white stallion outside.

'-Hehe- Well, I admit I was sceptical about your plan. But I'm glad it's not something I and the guards couldn't handle,' the white unicorn gladly admits.

Twilight switches her look from Brush to her brother and back, surprised to see that the two stallions seem to know each other prety well. 'You know each other?' she asks them, just to be sure.

Princess Cadence nods with a smile. 'Well... We learned about Spectrum Brush's story when things were about to go sour. We discussed alongside Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with him about what he and the princess were secretly doing in the Frozen North the past months and his plan to bring an entire population into this city. So we sort of know each other thanks to that,' the princess explains.

'Really? I mean... I know Brush well enough that he would be stupid enough to keep all crucial info to himself...,' Twilight mumbles, simply saying what she thinks out loud.

'-Cough- Thanks, Twilight,' the stallion coughs sarcastic.

'So... you were all aware of this? This entire time you knew, without telling us?'

'We're sorry, Twilight... We wanted to, but we also shared Spectrum Brush's idea on keeping you in the dark up till now...,' the alicorn princess apologizes, feeling bad for it.

'Well... Aslong as you're all honest with me now: What else did you discuss about Trixie?' Twilight asks, painfully forgiving them by not going further about their silent treatment.

All ponies look surprised by Twilight's claims, which couldn't possibly be truth. Only Spectrum Brush knows what she's talking, but acts along like he's surprised as well.

'Who's Trixie?' Shining Armor asks, not knowing about the crazy mare at all.

'Eh? ...Wait,' Twilight mumbles, a little overthrown by the fact that her brother or anypony else hasn't even heard about Trixie.

Before she could even correct herself, Twilight feels a hoof poke her on her shoulder. 'Twilight? A quick word?' Brush asks for a moment between them two, stepping a bit back from the edge of the bubble to speak in private with her. Twilight follows him and listens to what he wants to say, leaving her family behind at the bubble in curiosity of what this is all about.

'You're right about that I keep info back sometimes for reasons I deem rightful personally... I didn't tell them about that Trixie,' the red unicorn whispers in her ear, unabling anypony else from hearing it. 'As far as they know: Only Luna and I were a team and accidenly unleashed Lady Fame into Equestria. I suspect Princess Celestia knows better... but as it turns out she seems to agree with us to keep silent about her involvement.'

'Huh? Why would you do that? What good does it do if everypony thinks Fame is responsible, while it's Trixie?' the mare whispers back, a tad bitter about the stallion's chosen actions. 'Why would you protect Trixie?'

Brush grunts and turns his look down at the ground, noticably uncertain about his reasons and intentions. But Twilight already has a slight suspicion, though hard to believe it for real. But taking the stallion's personality in account, his intentions are somewhat obvious to her.

'...You're still hoping that she could turn herself around, don't you?' Twilight speculates.

Brush sighs and nods, as if he's done a bad thing he regrets. '...Nopony deserves to be shunned by everyone... Not even a fool like her. She may have become insane by power, but I still can't bring myself to bring out somepony as a monster,' he mumbles, unsure what Twilight would say about his action.

'Brush... The Trixie you knew the past months was nothing but a cover from her real self... the Trixie you befriended was not the real Trixie,' Twilight carefully brings to him, not wanting to make him feel bad about his best intentions.

'I know.. I know...,' he sighs. 'Stupid as it may be, I can't help but think that she could become the Trixie I once knew, once she has found her own realizations.'

No matter how anypony can look at it: His action is called "Keeping information behind," which isn't the most honorable thing to do. Twilight always thought Brush hated Trixie for what she did to him, them, and everypony else. But when she thinks about it more carefully, considering they are not like that vengeance-driven Trixie, Twilight knows that Brush has done the right thing. He went through a same experience, though Brush never intended to harm anypony. It still doesn't leave out the possiblity that the power corrupts a pony, something only Brush, Luna and Trixie could possibly know.

The mare sighs, feeling urged to admit to the minor chance that Trixie CAN turn herself around. 'Alright, Brush... I trust you,' she mutters, supporting him whatever he has in store.

The stallion looks up at the mare and smiles, causing her to smile as well. Just like he promised the mares just now, Twilight has promised him that he won't have to do anything by his lonely self now. 'Thank you, Twilight,' he whispers.

'-Ehum-' the white stallion coughs, ruining the two ponies' moment of agreement.'

'S-Sorry. Everything is fine now,' Twilight apologizes, believing to have kept her family silent for long enough now.

'Aaanyway... we wanted to thank you, Brush. Nopony must forget the trials you've overcome to get this far,' Shining Armor says and nods, saying what everypony thinks.

Brush chuckles, feeling a little strange to receive a compliment about it now. 'I-It was nothing, really,' he shrugs humbly. 'Twilight and her friends are the real heroes. I'm merely a stallion that helped them in the right direction.'

'You truly can't see what you have done... can you? Have you ever stopped to think what would've happened if you hadn't done what you did?' Cadence speaks to him, trying to persuade the stallion in understanding what heroic deeds he has done for everypony.

'I...I HAVE though about what would've happened if I hadn't done what I did... But still... Fame would've never been around now if it wasn't for me!' he tells them, only looking back at the bad things that happened.

'He's really as humble as you said, Twily,' Twilight's brother whispers in her ear through the bubble.

'I know, right?' Twilight sighs with a smile, finding Brush's humble personality still something that will always be part of him no matter what.

'It's inspiring, really. He's gone as far for you as I would for Cadance,' he whispers further with a grin on his face.

'Yea, he defi-' she wanted to agree, but stops when she realizes some possible hidden meaning behind her brother's words. '... What are you implying, big brother?'

'Nothing, nothing...,' the white unicorn says and rolls with his eyes. 'I'm just saying that he's a nice guy who may remind me a just a little of you...'

'Shining... If you're trying to joke with what I'm think you're joking with...,' she hisses at him, trying to keep her words from reaching the red stallion's ears.

'No joke,' Shining Armor says and nods. 'I Just have to admit that you two would make a cute couple.'

That sentence was not something she prepared herself for, even though she knows her brother all too well. With an apple-red face she turns around to the grinning white stallion.

'Sh-Shut up!' she gasps with a blushing face. In an attempt to shut her big brother up, she tries to jam her hoof against his mouth. But thanks to the bubble around her and her friends, she can't even get close to him.

Brush looks a little puzzled at the two siblings: One snickering and the other being angry. Twilight turns around to look at her friend with her blushing face, with her hoof still pressed on the sphere. Shining Armor looks up as well and merely shrugs, acting like he has no idea what Twilight is so worked up about. Twilight fears that the stallion, who's trained himself to survive in the wild for so long, may have overheard them.

'I-It's not what it's like...,' she gasps.

'It's ok, Twilight. I understand,' he assures her and smiles.

'Y-Y-You do?' she whispers, blushing as much to the point that she's almost as red as the stallion next to her.

'Yea. I know you want to be with your family right now. But we can't take this bubble down yet, or we'll be sent back instantaneously. Ofcourse I understand that you'd like a familyhug together. I'm sorry about it,' he apologizes to her, feeling bad about not being able to help her.

Like snow in the sun; Twilight's worries vanish, completely relieved that this awkward moment ends now. Her face slowly becomes back to its original purple color, which she rubs clean from any sweatdrops that may have escaped through her skin by the tension.

'He apologized for something as little as that. He really is humble, isn't he?' Shining whispers to her sister again.

'You're going to regret this joke, bro...,' she hisses at the snickering stallion on the other side of the sphere, glaring out in provocation.

'You may not see it yourself, Spectrum Brush... But everypony else does,' Cadence tells him.

Brush looks back up at the alicorn and shakes his head. 'I dunno... All I did was set things right,' he tells them.

'Yet, you've gone this far to allow us all to see them all again. It means alot to everypony,' Shining Armor assures him and nods, respecting the work that the stallion has done for them. 'But if we can't convince you about the simply truth... Maybe THEY can.'

The couple stands aside, making way for the ponies that waited behind them for the right moment. Brush looks curiously at the two ponies that approach them: A brown stallion with a short spiky black mane, and a light-orange mare with a long red mane hanging along her face. The young stallion's breath halts, not having expected the presence of the two ponies that walk up to him.

'Brush? Is that really you?' the mare whispers, praying in her head that her eyes are not lying.

Twilight looks the couple and back her friend, surprised of his reaction. 'What’s the matter?' she asks him.

'My parents…,' Brush gasps.

The couple smiles at him along with a sparkle in their eyes, overjoyed to see the son they haven't seen for more than a year again. Slowly, without any words spoken yet, the couple walks to the bubble. Brush is unable to say anything by the surprise, choking in his own words.

A little tear escapes from the mare's eyes, overjoyed to recognize her grown son. 'It really is you...,' she whispers.

Twilight looks with big eyes of surprise along with her friends at the three ponies, none having expected to see the parents of their friend at this point. But what surprised them ever further is that the stallion is a unicorn, while the mare is a pegasus.

'So that’s why you and Dusty are…,' Twilight whispers.

'Brush…,' the mare whispers with tears in her eyes. 'I can't tell you how proud we are... We always believed you would land on your own hooves, no matter what you would've decided to become in life. But when your father and I heared about what you did for all these ponies here in Canterlot...,' she sobs, unable to finish her sentence.

'Mom… I-I-,' Brush stutters, unable to complete the sentence he wants to say.

'We knew that you would take the right path, son…,' the older stallion speaks. 'You should be more than proud about yourself! We knew you'd return one day, safe and sound!'

'But dad... I'm just one stallion who made wrong and right decisions...,' Brush tells him.

'Ah, I've heared enough! We ALL make wrong and right decisions! But the right decisions you made, son, are more important to Equestria than anypony could ever make! Pfoe!' he proudly tells his son, almost forcing him to look at himself in the mirror once in a while and only look back at what he did right. The stallion sounds confident and overjoyed, along with a little disciplinary, but even he has a hard time holding his tears in his head. 'Open your ears, son! If you do: you'll hear the fruitation of your actions! Everypony else seems to be proud of you too! Just listen to that crowd around you!'

Brush looks up around the crowd, realizing that everypony isn’t only cheering for The Mane Six now. The eyes of the ponies are suddenly all aimed at the red stallion; who sacrificed so much in order to prevent and save Equestria from chaos.'

'BRUSH! BRUSH! BRUSH!' the crowd continues to chant together, cheering for the stallion that made all of this possible.

Brush fights for harmony, rescued the Mane Six two times now. And on top of that: He personally made sure that everypony in Equestria would find safety inside the walls of Canterlot. His presence is just as valuable as the six mares, even if he may not realize it himself.

He looks shocked around him, hearing the cheers from all around him. He was never able to convince himself of his deeds, yet has no choice now that he can hear the entire population scream out his name in respect. 'Are... Are they cheering for... me?' he whispers, looking with wide eyes around him.

The five mares behind him turn around and walk up to him, chanting his name along with the entire crowd. Twilight smiles and nod at him, followed by chanting along. From the looks of his eyes and his twitchy smile, Twilight believes that the stallion finaly understands his value to everypony: A hero.

'They’re right, Spectrum Brush. If it weren’t for you, Equestria may have fallen to the chaos of Lady Fame,' a serene voice speaks to him, coming from the white alicorn that approaches the sphere.

Brush quickly bows for the princess, humble to her presence. 'P-Princess Celestia!' he gasps.

Celestia chuckles at his behavior and shakes her head. The royal alicorn is fully aware of Brush' humble nature. 'Rise, Spectrum Brush. Stand up and be proud,' she tells him. 'Your deeds of the past months have all been in good reason. You aided the Mane Six in recovering their friendship and you even set the steps to turn the bad situation into good. I commend you to your bravery and intelligence,' she compliments him.

Brush feels completely rejuvenated. All his effort for redemption suddenly feel much more rewarding than he thought it would be. If the crowd, his friends, his parents, and even princess herself tells him to be proud, who is he to dissagree?

Celestia steps forward, only a meter away from the rim of the hologram. 'Mane 6! For a long time you have saved Equestria with your power of Friendship from many fiends that threatened our lives! Our gratitude knows no bounds! And therefor it will now be Equestria that will help you! Use the friendship we all share with you, and banish this evil from Equestria!' her voice echoes throughout Canterlot. The princess' blessing to them gives confidence, making them feel ready for the final confrontation.

'Hey Twily-' Shining Armor speaks from behind the princess. 'You make an older brother proud for everything you have done and do. We are all here to support you. Don’t forget that, ok?'

Twilight shakes her head and smiles, living up to his promise. 'I won’t, big brother…'

'Twilight! Hey, Twilight!' a voice calls out to them.

Twilight looks up surprised when a small figure tries to squeeze himself through the crowd, coughing and panting from the effort it took to go through it.

'Sorry I'm a little late..,' the dragon coughs between his rapid breaths.

'SPIKE! You’re alright!' Twilight cries out happily. She tries to rush up to him, forgetting that there's an invisible wall between them to which she bumps into. The mare leans on the inner sphere as her eyes become wet from tears as she looks at her missing assistant.

'Of course I’m alright! Brush and Princess Luna asked me personally to gather everypony here! I'm basically the only guy around that knows all your aquantances out of his head!' he jokes, carefree as ever.

She only hears half of his words, completely overthrown and relieved to see Spike in safety. Forcing herself for control over her emotions, Twilight rubs in her eyes to stop crying, forcing herself to be ready to take on Trixie this time. 'I'm... happy...,' she whispers.

'Kgh......,' Luna grunts, growing tired of keeping the spell up.

Brush notices it, realizing that their time is cutting short. 'It's time to go... We'll see you all in a bit!' he shouts, ready to be warped back to the crater.

The six mares nod and stand ready, expecting to see the madmare once more and stop her from terrorizing Equestria.

'Ready as ever,' Applejack says and nods.

'L-Let's do it...,' Fluttershy whispers, but with a smile on her face.

'Let's show her!' Rainbow Dash laughs, pumped for action.

'For Equestria!' Pinkie Pie cheers.

'I'm not afraid!' Rarity proudly shouts.

Twilight nods at her friends. 'Because I know-'

'-I'm not alone!' Brush completes.

The sparks around Luna's horn die with a fizzle as she collapses from exhaustion. Like an implosion, the hologram of the seven ponies die with the spell. With a burst of lightning, the seven ponies vanish in a flash, back to the crater. Leaving the crowd behind with both worry and confidence, they continues to stand together in silence and wait until it's all over.

Luna gasps exhausted, drained from all her energy from keeping this hologram up all this time. Celestia put her hoof on Luna’s back and smiles. 'Did... Did I do ok?' Luna asks tired.

'You did wonderful, little sister,' Celestia proudly whispers. 'The rest is up to them now.'

***

Back in the crater, Trixie lies in the dirt, waiting impatiently as she stares aimlessly at the purple bubble in front of her. She has no idea how long it will take for it to break down by itself, but feels like she's able to wait for an eternity. If that is what's needed to take out Spectrum Brush and Twilight Sparkle, she gladly accepts it.

When suddenly cracks start to appear on the ball, Trixie looks up with wide eyes, knowing that the time has come. Quickly, the blue alicorn stands back up. The cracks continue to spread, until it's gone all around the orb. When smoke starts to leave through them, the sphere explodes in a wave of smoke. Trixie doesn't even close her eyes, staring impatiently at the smoke as a grin appears on her face. Seven figures appear from the fading smoke.

'At last... you have returned...,' she hisses at them. 'I hope you took this oppertunaty to bid your farewells to your loved ones... Because this is where it all ends!'

The ponies continue to stand defiantly against the madmare, not afraid of her anymore.

Brush looks next to him at the purple mare. 'Twilight… You know that this distance has no meaning anymore. We all know that we are never alone, and that litterarly everypony is rooting out for us! When we defeat Trixie, we can all go back home with all our friends and beloved ones!'

'Brush…,' Twilight whispers, noticing the change in Brush's behaviour.

Brush was once a victim: A young stallion with a lot of unprocessed emotions. And yet now he’s here to inspire them and aid them in a battle that once seemed impossible. And they all know one thing: They WILL win.

'Mane 6, Friends, It’s time to end this story with a happy ending!' he shouts, ready to take on everything that will come their way.

They all stand ready for round #2, with more faith in victory than ever before.

The Merciless and The Merciful

Chapter 10 - The Merciless and The Merciful

The seven ponies have ventured many trials that attempted to stop them from reaching this point in time. The Mane Six have defeated the Mare of the Night, the God of Chaos, the Harvesting Queen of Compassion, The Harbinger of Hatred, made up for their accusations to one another, survived the raging blizzard, avoided being caved-in, got freed from solid ice and reached this particular moment that will be the final step for returning harmony. They have said farewell to their families and friends, promised to return unharmed to them. And now they have reached that final confrontation: The conflict that will decide whether Equestria is doomed or saved from the Great and Powerful Trixie. Twilight has never felt this strong before without a solid plan, feeling invincible with these five mares at her side and that one red stallion who made this all possible. Trixie knows that they are her final obstacle and feels prepared to take them out with all the magic and might she has left.

'You have finally returned...,' Trixie hisses.

'Indeed we have...,' Brush says and shrugs. 'I forgot to say "hi" to Luna from you. I'm sorry for that... She may not be open about it, Trixie, but I can see in her eyes that she misses the nighttime conversations you always had together.'

A nervous twitch repeats itself around Trixie's left eye, showing how every tiny unspeakable subject angers her with ease. 'SH-SHUT UP! I don't care about that! Luna can fly to the moon for all I care!' the blue mare shouts and kicks the soft mud under her hooves at the red stallion.

Brush merely closes his eyes when the dirt hits him. It covers his red face and dark mane a bit, but mostly drops back on the ground when the stallion shakes his face a little. '-Heh- That's an ironic use of words,' he whispers with a soft snicker followed.

Though Brush may seem to act careless, Trixie on the other hoof has clearly ran out of patience, bending down and pointing her horn towards the stallion. Showing no sign of restraint or giving the ponies a moment to prepare; Trixie starts to conjure a new spell that causes her face to glow in the ghastly blue radiance of her magical horn. 'You want Irony?! I give you irony!' she screams out again, fearless of the concequences when her power will strike the ponies merciless.

'W-Watch out!' Twilight shouts to her friends and ducks to the ground, just like the other mares do in panic. Anxious about the unpredictable state of Trixie and her lust for revenge, all mares stay as low in the dirt as they can to have a chance to avoid the spell. Though Rarity despises the dirt alot as well, she finds hiding in it far more pleasant than being frozen again. The only one that stands out of the group is Brush, who looks unconvinced at the madmare. Twilight looks up at the unicorn in front of her, uncomprehending why Brush would stand around like a red bullseye. 'Wh-What in Celestia's name do you think you're doing?! Get down, idiot!' Twilight hisses up to him.

But the stallion doesn't respond to her or the others who all yell at him to get out of the way. He simply stares noticably calm at the blue mare, while the threatening light of Trixie's magic touches his skin. 'You wont,' he whispers.

'GRAAAAAAAAGHH!' Is all Trixie screams without holding back her power, overtuned by the sound and light that explodes from her alicorn horn.

Twilight's breath stops as she looks with wide eyes at her friend, about to become struck with unknown power. Even if she could, she wouldn't be able to protect him in time. All the mare can do is gaze up at the smirking stallion while he slowly fades in the bright light that encroaches.

'NO!' she screams.

But it's too late to do anything now. The entire crater lits up in the blue light. The mares and stallion are in the center, unable to tell what is going on. Light blinds them, they can feel a cold that almost feels like burn, their ears are plugged by the eardeafening sounds of the raging magical current. But as soon as the power of Trixie exploded out of her horn, it also fades away, leaving seven ponies on their original position.

When the sound stops and they still feel very much alive, they are all puzzled about their survival. They could all see their lives flash through their eyes, knowing that the blast should've been strong enough to erase mountains. Yet, they don't even have a scratch when they look at themselves.

'Wh-What happened? We... We're alright!' Twilight gasps as she checks her body for injuries, astonished and relieved that she and her friends remain unharmed. 'Th-The spell backfired?'

The other mares look up from the dirt as well, surprised at how the tables somehow turned in their favor. A moment ago they could feel the doom rushing at them from Trixie's magic, about to end any chance for succes in one swift move, yet now it is her that lies exhausted in the mud. The blue explosion has drained the alicorn mare from most of her energy, forcing her to take a quick break. The only place where her attention is aimed at is the red stallion though, standing just as calm as before the light closed in on him.

'Did Brush cast a spell or something? How come nothing happened?' Twilight thinks in her head and looks past the group at the ground. Mud has dried up all the way from Trixie's position to Brush, splitting into two ways around them. Unreal as it may be: The spell seperated into two beams right before it struck into them, roasting the dirt around them into a dry crust.

'I knew it,' Brush mutters, as if he knew for that they wouldn't even be touched by the spell. 'You had enough time to think while we were off in Canterlot, didn't you? You are confused now, Trixie. I can see it in your eyes. After all the confrontations you've encountered, the emotions that rushed through your veins, you no longer know for sure what is reality and what not. Am I right?'

Trixie growls. If he was wrong about it, Trixie would've probably laughed. But now that she's unable to fake one, it proves that the blue madmare was deliberately missing the ponies. Whether or not she could've easily struck the mares is a mystery, but it seems like she missed the stallion on purpose atleast.

'You want to destroy me so badly..., but you know that I'm the only one who can provide an answer to your questions,' Brush sighs. 'Admit it: You need me more than you admit,' Brush keeps on talking, believing it to be true before Trixie even has the time to admit it.

'I merely hesitated for a second...,' Trixie whispers between her breaths. 'The next time I charge, you won't be so lucky!'

The red unicorn sighs again, slightly dissapointed in Trixie for still wanting to go on with this insanity, aside that she has already shown to be a huge dissapointment ever since her betrayal to begin with. 'I know that...,' he merely muttters in understanding.

Meanwhile, the six mares behind him are standing out of the mud again. Still with tiny pupils in their eyes from the shock and dripping mud from their bellies and chins.

'Wh-What happened? A-Are we winning?' Rainbow Dash gasps.

Applejack has already cooled down, thanks to her extrodinairy stamina as earth pony. 'Ah think the last sparks are out of that creepy horn of hers!' the blond mare shouts, believing this to be the chance they all waited for: An opening to attack. 'Let's give her a piece of our mind now!'

'Very well!' Rarity agrees, eager to give Trixie a piece of her mind.

Rainbow Dash stretches her wings and starts to hover in the air, ready to strike as well. 'Let's do it!' she shouts confident.

Though, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie seem less certain to go. Either they are sceptical about Trixie's exhaustion, feeling uncomfortable to fight Trixie when she's already down, or it's some other reason.

But the other three friends don't realize it, ready to burst towards the exhausted mare. Yet, before the earth pony, the pegasus, and the unicorn could even set one hoof further in the dirt, the purple unicorn jumps in their path. 'No, wait! We're not!' Twilight demands to keep her friends from doing something incredibly stupid as direct confrontation.

'Wh-Wha? This is our chance, Twi! If we won't stop her now, how will we ever be able to get close?' Rainbow Dash asks at her friend.

But before Twilight answers it, Brush has already taken the liberty of answering it for her. 'Twilight is absolutely right. At this rate: Trixie will actually win before we do. That's because we're doing this all wrong,' Brush backs his fellow unicorn up and turns away from Trixie to walk to Twilight's side.

'Doing wrong? What are you talking about! Trixie is geting what she could'a seen comin'! It's about time she gets what she deserves!' Applejack dissagrees with a childish mood.

This dissagreement of her was one that she didn't thought deeply enough about. If she did, she would've understood how childish she is acting right now. It causes Brush frown at her, seemingly angry and dissapointed for what Applejack just dared to say. '...You've just proven my point, Applejack... You're thinking in a wrong pattern: The same pattern which caused you to lose your friends in the first place! You hate her! You HATE Trixie!'

The meaning of the word "hate" has gotten more value in these past days. The spoken words of Brush burn on not just Rainbow's, Rarity's and Applejack's minds, but also on Pinkie Pie's, Fluttershy's and Twilight's. Hate is the destructive emotion that brought nothing but chaos and fights so far: Splitting their friendship apart and causing Trixie to make such insane actions. Brush was the embodiment of hatred once, knowing better than no other pony how it feels like to be angry for no reason all the time. If they dare to dissagree with him now on this matter any further, it would be a total undeserved and heartless response that anypony should be ashamed of to even think about.

Their hate for Trixie is no better than the hate Trixie shows to them. Even if Trixie hates them for zero acceptable reasons, while the mares have reasons enough, hate is still hate. Twilight merely looks silently at the two ponies facing off, knowing in her heart that Brush knows much more about this than she does. It almost feels strange to her for not being the one that is in total control over the situation, now being as clueless as any of her friends. Though she has no problem to accept the idea of letting Brush take them wherever it is that they need to go to stop this crisis, despite her constant desire to know everything.

'Ah... Ah...,' Applejack stuttters, not sure what to say to the frowning stallion before her. She truly realizes and accepts Brush' point now: Fighting hate with hate won't work. Even if it looks like it's the only way out, it's not THEIR way of doing things. Every mare feels the same as Applejack: Revelated, yet also somewhat defeated. '...Ah guess you're right, partner...'

Brush nods and smiles, glad to have resolved the errors in their way so quickly. 'Thank you for understanding, Applejack. Now I'm certain of what must be done now,' Brush whispers and turns his head towards the panting blue alicorn again, who can't stop glaring at him.

'What are you blabbing about, Brush?' Twilight asks the stallion, who doesn't look back at her. 'Tell me... Do you still have some more ideas?'

Brush nods and looks over his shoulder at the purple mare. 'That's right, Twilight. Everything is clear now,' he tells her happily, as if everything is going just as planned to him.

'It is?' Pinkie Pie whispers to the rainbow-maned mare next to her, keeping Brush from overhearing her selfproclaimed ignorance. 'Dashy, do you know what he's talking about?'

Like her, nopony is sure about what the plan is that the red unicorn speaks of in this tensive situation. Yet, Brush really seems to have a plan, or simply lies about it to keep Trixie on the tip of her hooves. But before they could speculate further, the unicorn has already turned around to his friends and begins to explain from the start.

'Ages ago Lady Fame's windigos were defeated by the Revival of the Friendship to society. Lady Fame's power originates from the hatred that radiated between the ponies, feeding her capabilities and power at a constant rate-,' Brush explains to the mares.

But he stops speaking when his story is suddenly taken over by the mare next to him, being the only pony that understands him completely. '-Yet, with friendship being the opposite of hatred, it is also her greatest weakness! The Harmony that can defeat her is not one that comes from six mares and six elements, but one that comes from the citizens of Equestria itself!' Twilight tells, almost sounding forceful to make it believable to both herself and her friends.

Twilight looks at him as well and smiles, having said exactly the same thing as Brush was about to tell. He feels happy to see Twilight understand him, being one of the only ponies that know what happened in the past. It works: Their friends have no trouble believing atleast this part, understanding that they have to focus not just on the friendship between the six of them, but include every single pony out there as well. In a way, they're all friends.

'That reminds me of something...,' Fluttershy whispers to her friends. 'We have no Elements of Harmony because we don't need them...Right? Because we ARE the Elements now? Instead of the Elements being empowered by our friendship, it will be US who will be empowered by the friendships of everypony? Th-That's what happened ages ago as well?'

Spectrum Brush smiles and nods, agreeing to the pegasus' speculations. 'That is correct, Fluttershy. You all know it as "The Fire of Friendship."

The Fire of Friendship: A force that stopped the windigos and their Great Blizzard. It came to realization once the three kingdoms saw past their differences and found an emotion that was lost: Friendship. The harmonic power was unchained from all the once-hatred filled hearts from the citizens in the land that got to be known as Equestria and was unleashed by the six ponies that were about to be frozen in a cave: Platinum, Clover, Puddinghead, Smart Cookie, Hurricane and Pansy.

And now Brush intents to repeat history with these six ponies, knowing that it was strong enough to succeed where the mere Elements of Harmony could not: Defeat Lady Fame's overwhelming power.

'That is your plan?' Rainbow Dash grunts, questioning their red friend's masterplan. 'That has only been done once in all time! How can you be so sure that it’s gonna work now?! And it didn't even permanently put Lady Fame out of commision ages ago!'

But the stallion simply shrugs, unable to give a clear "yes" or "no" answer to her. 'I just know that you can do it. The Elements of Harmony were your safety net. And now you are all more than capable to do without them,' he tells them with complete confidence.

'B-But how? Really, I have no clue!' Pinkie Pie mumbles confused, unable to follow the puzzling story of Brush so far. 'Are we supposed to believe in everypony out there? Do we have to keep them in the back of our heads or something? Because I do! I bet we all do! But I still can't see how that is supposed to "activate" anything! Can this really beat that twisted twissle of a Trixie?'

'Yes... Though like I said before: There's only one thing more you must understand before you can...,' he whispers. 'You've learned two lessons so far. Lessons that are needed two hold onto the very Elements of Friendship you represent.'

'#1: You're never alone. No matter where you are, you're friends are always with you in their own way. Don't ever get fooled in believing it's not.'

'#2: Hatred will never solve a thing. Hate is the opposite of friendship: destroying both Harmony and Chaos in its destructive path.' he repeats the words of truth, so believable that it almost makes it sound like he's an expert on this part about friendship. 'But it takes one thing more to recognize and hold onto friendship...'

'What does that mean...,' Twilight mumbles. She doesn't mean to say it in a sense of irritation, but plainly from wonder; curious for what Brush means with this "Third lesson" that the stallion is speaks so highly about.

They all believed that Honesty, Kindness, Joy, Loyalty and Generosity were the elements that keeps and creates friendship, alongside the sixth element of Magic. Yet, Brush is saying that it's not enough. Before he can answer to her, they're interrupted by the denying white mare that steps forth.

'Sorry I'm saying this... But this is insanity!' Rarity interrupts them, unable to not call Brush's suggestions and speculations completely pointless. 'Like Rainbow Dash just said; The Fire of Friendship hasn't been seen by anypony alive in this time! For all we know it could be just a myth!'

'No! It really happened!' Twilight says before anypony even gets a chance to agree with the white mare. The smart unicorn knows the event from experience of course, having seen it from the memories of Lady Fame while her friends were all frozen solid. 'The Fire of Friendship really did occur!'

The other ponies, except for Brush, look surprised up at the purple mare. For a moment they could've sworn that Twilight Sparkle just said that the Fire of Friendship is fact, despite not having been there alive. The only possible proof she could have of that event is a history book.

With big eyes, Rarity looks at the confident purple mare. 'H-How do you know?' Rarity asks, confused and curious for her friend's opposing claim.

'Because I've seen it with my own eyes...,' Twilight mutters, a little ashamed for trusting Trixie to show her the past, despite the cruelty that the alicorn has inflicted on everypony.

It all sound crazy to the five mares, being forced to put all their hopes in a farfetched plan of the stallion and take the mare's words as proof. It's basicaly impossible, not to mention risky. But even if they would like to differ, they feel urged to believe them anyway, trusting their friends no matter what. Their faith in each others is so strong now that it makes them believe a miracle faster than friends lying to each other.

Rainbow Dash sighs, feeling the weight on her heart for having to submit to somepony else's story. 'Alright... So in the case it DID happen: What are we supposed to do?' she asks calmly, yet a bit sceptical too.

They expect some elaborate plan created by Brush, who actually lets out one chuckle of doubt instead, highly unusual to the other reactions he has given them so far. Twilight was about to wait for Brush to explain the upcoming explaination about what to do next, only to become anxious to hear that uncommon sign of laughter. 'Eh... I don't know that,' he mutters shamelessly.

An awkward silence follows after the stallion's last words. From the looks of their wide eyes and stopping breaths, Brush can assume that he's about to get some VERY negative responses. A moment ago, Twilight believed Brush knew far more than they do, yet has a poking doubt in her mind that makes her realize that Brush may actually not know more than her AT ALL on this matter!

'...You... don't know?' Twilight whispers, almost unable to believe he could actually mean it. The idea of Brush making a joke now is more likely to her now.

But Brush nods positive to Twilight's words, admitting that he indeed doesn't know what to do now. 'Even I don't really know the "manual" for the creation of the Fire of Friendship, Twilight,' he tells them without any sign of desperation heard in his voice. 'But I have trust in it that it should simply happen when you're ready for it.'

'THAT'S ALL YOU GOT TO SAY?!' Twilight shouts at him, clearly unamused by the stallion's careless attitude.

Brush makes a little jump away from the angry mare, surprised by her sudden outburst. 'Eh... I guess that sounded worse than I intended to make it sound like...,' he mutters startled.

'Smooth move, dummy...,' Pinkie Pie sighs.

Brush feels a little awkward, especially to hear that even Pinkie Pie calls him names now for such a bad answer in this tense moment. If that wasn't already bad enough, all the mares' eyes are aimed at him in shapes of glares, able to even make the "mighty" Spectrum Brush shiver from anxiety. Angry voices and words of desperation wave around the stallion's head, calling out to him to better finish what he started, rattling on and on about that this is no time to be a joker, that he CAN'T be serious about not knowing what to do next, and ask him if he's gone completely loco.

'W-Wait... Let me finish!' Brush mutters, trying to find a hole in the endless stream of angry voices.

The mares remain quiet immidiatly, thinking that the stallion BETTER have some good news for them this time. If he has; they'll follow along the way again. But if he has another comment about not knowing what to do; They'll just continue with complaining his ears off.

'When I said "I don't know what to do" I was talking about how to manifest the Fire of Friendship. That does not mean I don't know what we have to do next!' Brush quickly tells them, followed by a sigh of relief.

It sounds like complete nonsense: Not knowing how to get the endresult, but still knowing what to do next. Though their call for answers remains unanswered, the mares continue to listen quietly to Brush's explaination and hear what he meant.

The red unicorn takes a deep breath and realizes that he may have been too blunt. He wasn't like this at all the past months: Being more leader than he is now. If he were more like the Spectrum Brush of THEN, then he wouldn't be making such a scene that only causes confusion and slow results. For a moment it makes him think back about the months of leadership he shown during his travels with Luna and Trixie. He was a cold, yet a perfectly self-controlled leader. This is one of this times that he has to show that side of him again: A leader with only the goal in mind and a plan to make it happen. Forgetting about the cheering ponies in Canterlot, his family, his promises, his mistakes. He takes one more deep breath, the look in his eyes turns calm and radiates with power, clean of any emotions that would hamper the path to the goal. Twilight notices the change of attitude immidiatly, seeing it in her red friend's eyes. This is what seperates the stallion from them: The necessity to discard emotions in harsh times, while the mares must stay true to their friends through the emotions that connects them.

'Alright, Look,' he grunts, ready to get down to business. 'Trixie is not the Trixie I know. That girl is empowered by the possibly-most powerful mare ever known to Equestria, having become virtually invincible. A direct confrontation with her is the same as giving up, though comes with alot of agony.'

His friends have lost the intention to give him mad looks, knowing that Brush has suddenly somehow turned into somepony that sees nothing but logic and error. It is frightening at first, looking at an entirely change of attitude that's almost as drastic as when ponies were turned around by Discord months ago. But considering that the stallion is still prepared to do whatever it takes to return harmony to Equestria, they remain silent and listen closely to him.

'I stay true to what I've said before: You DON'T need the Elements of Harmony now as long as you have faith in your friends and acquaintances, just like they have faith in you this entire time. And NEVER, I mean NEVER walk the path of hatred that I, Trixie, and even Princess Luna have walked in the past. There are many ways to bring an end to fights... And I shall show you one of them.'

They have no idea what he's talking about. What does he mean with "showing how to end a fight?"

'But when ARE we ready, partner? We can't wait much longer DURING our confrontation against that madmare!' Applejack tells him and looks again at the angry blue mare in the distance, who almost breathes normally again. 'We need sum more time!'

Brush gives a stare at the six mares that remain insecure about this whole plan. He knows that they're still courageous, yet also anxious, no matter what. He continues to hope that his friends are ready for it. 'You're right, Applejack. You can't "Just do it." There's one more thing before you can summon the Fire of Friendship from your hearts,' he repeats again, seemingly knowing what must be done after all. 'You need time? I'll give you all the time you need.'

Like the other mares, Rainbow Dash looks a little anxious at Brush when he made this sudden promise, all knowing only one way how Brush might be able to slow down the violent Trixie. 'How? What will you do?' she asks him.

No response is given at first. Brush merely turns around at the panting blue mare and looks over his shoulder at his friends. 'I'm going to have a little chat with her... in a way she'll understand,' he grunts.

The stallion just suggested to confront the Great and Powerful Trixie, all by himself.

'Y-You're kidding, right?' Twilight asks, hoping that Brush is making some kind of sick joke again.

His promise does not bode well on his friends' hearts. He just said it himself: Taking on Trixie directly is the same as losing. If he would confront her himself, who knows what might happen to him.

'B-B-But you're injured, darling!' Rarity brings up. 'You're more insane than a hero if you take her on by yourself!'

Brush looks at the bandages that are wrapped around his waist. Though he can still feel that it's sensitive and painful, the stallion merely shrugs. 'I will only need to hold her off, while you will start the fireworks. The personal issues between me and Trixie shall be resolved in the meantime,' he tells them with an awkwardly timed grin.

But before he can look around and step towards the alicorn, a purple unicorn jumps in front of him, preventing him from passage. Twilight looks him in the eyes, giving notice that she doesn't want Brush to continue with any reckless actions any further. Brush ain't surprised that Twilight would do this, having already expected that she would, but not sure "when."

'-Ehm-, Twilight? Didn't we already do this before?' he grunts, recalling a few days ago when Twilight discovered his whereabouts in Ponyville.

She only continues to sneer at him, while keeping a threatening battlestance up to be able to block the stallion from passing her. 'I'm not going to let you go on with this... INSANITY, Brush! How is fighting Trixie on your own going to solve anything? Vengeance is the last thing we need now!'

'I know that, Twilight... This is no case of vengeance, I promise. It is a very important LESSON to see and hear what I shall do to Trixie...' the stallion assures her, telling her that he has other plans for Trixie. The way he speaks his sentences tickle Twilight's brain, giving away that there may be extra meaning behind the red unicorn's words than he lets out, other than that he's going to "fight" Trixie. 'But you do well to remember those words you just said... I only need to prevent her from reaching you six for a bit longer, while resolving black spots in my history book.'

'Hold her off? For what?! You'd get hurt even further and not be able to help us at all about how friendship can solve this crisis!' Rainbow Dash shouts back at him. 'Atleast tell us what you have in mind, rather than keeping quiet about it!'

Even if Twilight and her friends can't help but feel a worried for the stallion's safety, Brush remains calm and continues to look down at her with the serious eyes on his face that lack emotions.

'Listen: No matter how you look at it: I'm not one of your circle. I may have come up with ideas that led to succes so far, but still I'll never be one of the Mane SIX. In the end, the job of restoring peace and harmony falls upon your shoulders. The best I can do now is confront Trixie and resolve past difficulties, which will also buy you time...,' he whispers at her, trying to convince her again for letting him pass. 'You're the Mane Six... You'll know what to do when IT happens.'

He tries to walk past the purple mare, believing to be done about explaining it and convincing them. But before he can even set one more step, Twilight jumps in front of him again and headbutts him under his chin, bashing him backwards with her head. The blow pushes Brush on his back in the dirt, stunned by the surprising assault Twilight made.

'NO, WE DON'T! YOU came up with this plan, YOU find a way! This is NOT the time to act like the mysterious hero!' she complains angry to him about that he always has to get beaten up, while they always have to stay behind and look oblivious at whatever he plans again. 'And besides, you said it yourself: We aren't the Mane Six because we're chosen, but because we have such a good bond! That doesn't mean we can't be friends with anypony else! Why don't you finally get that through that thick skull of yours?! Do you honestly think that us being friends means we can't be friends with anypony else?!'

Brush lies speechless on his back, staring aimlessly at the sky above him. The others hold their breath, figuring that Twilight maybe overdid it a little by headbutting the already-injured stallion. As the words of the purple unicorn are reaching through his equine ears, the stallion notices how an innocent face with a pink mane looks down at him.

'Twilight is right, you know...,' Fluttershy whispers to him. 'Just rushing off to fight won't do anything good.'

"Awakened" by the whispers of the pegasus, Brush quickly stands back up, scratches the spot on his chin where Twilight hit him and grunts. 'Alright, maybe you're right... Let's see how much that impatient mare is about to give us more time...,' he mumbles, not amused about letting Trixie be uncontrolled and soon ready to attack them all together again.

'That's the spirit!' Pinkie Pie cheers behind him, taking his sarcasm as honesty yet again.

'I was- ...Nevermind,' the red unicorn sighs, not taking the effort of correcting the happy earth pony anymore. Instead, he rather focuses on shaking the dirt off of his back, which covered his red back and pallette Cutie Mark in a coat of dark-brown filth.

'Promise ya won't do anything crazy, alright partner?' Applejack asks of him, a little troubled about that Brush is hellbend on fixing everything himself again, just to keep others from being involved.

Brush looks from his Cutie Mark up at the earth pony, not entirely sure what she's getting at with this. 'Eh, what?' he bluntly asks.

'PROMISE on it! If there's one thing you do, it's keeping your promises!' Twilight tells him in aggitation and pokes the stallion's head with a hoof, as if she's trying to push her words through into his head.

Brush grunts, looks over his shoulder at the glaring purple mare, looks further to the glaring blue mare in the distance, and then looks further to the other mares. He has to think about his friends, but they want to do everything alongside each other, including him. Though against his wishes, he is simply unable to say "no" to his friends at this crucial moment, leaving him with little choice.

'...Ok... I promise...,' he mutters against his wishes.

That was all they wanted to hear, knowing that Brush won't rush off on his own anymore. Having given in to the mares' demands, Brush remains with them as docile as a foal. The seven ponies gather in a circle, trying to discuss about a idea or strategy that could prove to work now. The Fire of Friendship is their shared goal, yet the means to do it are still a mystery. They all know that Brush has a plan, but he needs a little "push" in the right direction to share it with others. Involving him more closely may be the solution to keep him from scheming on his own.

But the stallion merely looks over his shoulder from time to time, noticing how the furious blue mare is still breathing deeply, though it's out of rage rather than tiredness this time. Trixie is unable to calm down anymore, having lost all signs of restraint to him and Twilight. Having waited enough for the seven ponies to talk, the alicorn begins to take a few steps forward to them.

'Anypony got any ideas?' the smart unicorn asks.

'Well... Violence is a no-go. That's for certain,' Rarity repeats what they know, while trying to find a different way. 'Oh, the tragedy... I-I don't know anything. Whatever shall we do? I have no wish to lose you all, dears!'

The feeling is mutual. Their friendship is stronger than ever, yet it still doesn't seem to be enough. It's a very depressing matter, considering that they have no clue what it could be that they ARE missing! Could Bruh be right, or are they just hallucinating that they need more than the six elements of friendship?

'Can't we really just dig those Elements out of that pit?' Applejack asks and points at the one spot that is still frozen solid in mud. 'It sounds alot easier than using ourselves as Elements!'

'We can't...,' Brush sighs while he stares at the clouded sky. 'That ice is far tougher than any normal ice. Digging through it would take us about 21 hours atleast. WAY too much with Trixie ready to attack us within 10 minutes.'

A momentary silence falls. Everypony agrees that with these facts it's impossible to get the artifacts of the Elements of Harmony before Trixie strikes again.

'Is it REALLY not just possible to buck her to the moon while she's down? We'd be rid of Trixie and Lady Fame for quite a while AND we get to have the satisfaction of being a pain in that madmare's plot!' the blue pegasus suggests with a grin of satisfaction on her face.

'Rainbow, for crying out loud...,' Twilight sighs and facehoofs.

'Just kidding, just kidding,' Rainbow Dash jokes with a chuckle, followed by Pinkie Pie chuckling along with her about her untimely joke.'

'The Fire of Friendship... Hey, can't we just light a bonfire?!' Pinkie Pie suggests, giving any possible theory no matter how farfetched and unlikely they are. 'A bonfire in homage to our friendship? That could work, right?'

'No, that won't do... -Ugh- This is way tougher than when we had the Elements of Harmony...,' Twilight mutters, starting to run out of ideas. 'No, we can't think about artifacts anymore! It IS possible to do it without them! As long as we're together and we know that everypony out there is with us, we CAN solve this!'

Brush was a little hard of hearing to the mares' pointless ideas and moments of despair. Yet when the red stallion overhears the mare's words of confidence, he looks up and knows that it's exaclty what he needed to hear now from them in this desperate time: Hope. Glad to hear that hope remains no matter how grim the situation, Brush shows a faint smile on his emotionless face. His trust in his friends was indeed not in vain.

'C-Can't we solve this peacefully?' Fluttershy asks with a whispering tone. Though it's highly unlikely to happen, Fluttershy's suggestion would be the best outcome. If there's an emotion that fits best with violence, it's hatred: Something they can't allow themselves to stoop to again.

Brush silently looks at how his friends are still deeply in conversation about making a plan or assumption, while he KNOWS that this isn't something that you can plan ahead. Friendship is no science to him: It requires the right moment and a personal touch. Though Twilight may have the best intentions, and is far more informed than the others, her way of thinking just isn't going to work this time. Many things may be in common between them, but there's a noticable difference between the purple mare's and the red stallion's ways of thinking that are both good and bad in different situations: Twilight usually thinks in logical studious ways, while Brush thinks out of the box with his artistic view. It's basically what could make them a very good team on brainpower. With that in mind, Brush looks between the talking six mares and the approaching maniac. Trixie will only need to preform one move that could cost them victory, while the mares only need to learn one tiny thing to assure victory. He is the key to tilt the scales in their favor and knows what he simply has to do.

He looks into Trixie's direction again, keeping an eye on her condition. But to his horror, Trixie has begun to walk towards the group! With icy-white eyes filled with murderous intentions aimed at the ponies, Trixie takes one slow step at a time through the mud. 'B-Blast... She's prepared already?!' Brush thinks in his head, afraid that without obstacles they will be mere seven bulls-eye.

'Brush? Wh-What do you think?' Fluttershy whispers to the distracted stallion, who looks up in response at her when he realizes he's being spoken to.

'Eh... Well...,' he mumbles, not sure what to say to her. He only grows more anxious when the other mares stare at him as well, waiting for some smart plan he got hiding in the back of his mind. Even if it doesn't burden him as much as first due to his lack of emotions, it's still a very tense moment for him where he HAS to decide something fast.

'I think that...,' he mumbles while he looks over his shoulder again, realizing that Trixie is closing in rapidly. Taking her time, breathing deeply to keep her head cool, Trixie drags her white hooves through the muddy ground to move forward. There's only one thing he can do now, which involves the one thing nopony would expect from him: He has to break his promise.

Making use of the one moment that the mares let their guard down, the red unicorn suddenly turns around and rushes out of the group, doing the exact opposite of what he was told to do. With mud splattering around the route he gallops down, the distance between the red and blue ponies are closing in rapidly. 'FORGIVE ME!' Brush shouts behind him at his friends, who look up surprised at the insane action Brush is about to do.

'Wohow, there! Where are ya' going?!' Applejack asks in surprise, too late to stop the stallion herself.

A nervous twitch appears on Twilight's forehead, growing tired of Brush and his ignorant stubbornness again. '-UGHHH!- That stubborn moron! What is it with guys having to prove themselves all the time?!' the unicorn grunts aggitated and stomps with a hoof in mud, only to splatter it in her face by accident.

Rarity sighs and rubs on her forehead with a hoof, starting to grow a headache out of the stress she continues to endure. 'Why is it always the unique ones...,' she mutters in dissapointment.

Brush ignores the shouts of his friends coming from behind him, putting all his focus on the dangerous being that he approaches. He dares not to think about the difference between them, afraid that the slightest of hesitations could cost him his health. When he feels like he reached a distance good enough to converse, he stops before Trixie, looking at her with a straight face that asks for a personal showdown. Trixie feels her heartrate pumping up, feeding her fury for every second she looks at the repulsive stallion's face.

Brush keeps a straight face, filled with confidence and resilience. Yet, his heartrate rises quickly as well. Though he denies to accept it, fear is crawling through his veins. But he controls it, knowing that he can't let fear stop him now. 'This is between you and me, Trixie...,' the unicorn grunts. 'We shall settle our past right here and now...'

Trixie doesn't even show a wide grin on her face to mock him, continuing to look down at him with disgust. Her magical snow-white mane hangs partionally over her eyes, coated with mud on the ends of the mane and tail. In all honesty, Trixie looked like a beautiful alicorn mare at first. Yet now with the insanity and filth that she has to endure, she looks like a total witch that could eat foals for breakfast.

'Oh, yes... We WILL have our fight, Brush... The moment I remove you from Equestria is the moment I'll feel peace of mind...,' she whispers, almost as quiet that only she could hear it. 'But FIRST I need to take care of those six insects that violate my sight even more than you...,' she hisses and continues to walk further, passing the red stallion without any attempts of assaulting him just yet.

Brush looks surprised at her, hardly able to believe that Trixie delays the chance to battle him to take out the Mane Six first. 'W-Wait! This is between you and me! Come back and face me, Trixie!' he repeats, trying to keep Trixie's attention from the mares she is approaching.

But his words fall on deaf ears, hearing only the bitter whispers in her twisted mind. The blue alicorn has set all her thoughts on the six mares that continue to mock her for every moment they remain unharmed by her. Brush grows a little desperate over what he should do now, not having expected from Trixie to be tactful enough in her insanity right now. Without the Mane Six, restoring Harmony is impossible.

Luckely, he has been with Trixie long enough to learn a few things about her: She CAN'T decline a direct challenge. An idea hits him, giving him the right words that are required to make Trixie forget about his friends and make her turn around to focus on him alone. 'I challenge you, the Great and Powerful Trixie, to best me!' he shouts, burning with confidence.

Hoping that Trixie would respond to the words that she must've heared countless times in the past, he starts to realize that Trixie slows down. She sets all her hooves back on the muddy soil, coming to a complete halt. Not setting one hoof further towards the six friends, Trixie's head slowly turns back to the confident stallion that just dared challenged her one-on-one. No matter how far gone she is, Trixie would never ignore the direct call for a challenge to the Great and Powerful Trixie.

'You're incredible, Brush...,' Trixie whispers at him and turns around to walk back. 'I betrayed you..., I froze you up..., I harmed your friends..., I nearly stomped you into the ground! So why... WHY do you keep on being such a thorn in my side?!' she yells over at him again, as if everypony but her is deaf. 'You're not even half as powerful as Ignis was! You're JUST a pony!'

The red unicorn grins, amused about the story Trixie brings up. '-Heh- You're right, Trixie. In terms of power: I'm JUST a pony. Without Ignis haunting me, I don't have many tricks that could stop you... But like they say: If you're not strong, you have to be smart. And I'm far from a common stallion on that part, you know...,' he chuckles, giving the alicorn no satisfaction from his concealed depair. 'I can't believe that with all that knowledge you now possess; All the knowledge that passed on to you from Fame, you're still too dimwitted to know how to use it...'

Trixie forces herself to laugh and chuckle insane, running plainly on instinct now. She wants to keep up to insult him by laughing like this, as a desperate attempt to break a spirit. But Brush remains unaffected by her response, while Trixie actually does show to have been provoked to a maximum already. '-Haha!- You'll regret insulting me, you ignorant worm! I'll swat you like the miserable insect you are!'

With that said, she gives a second response: Firing a white beam from her horn in an attempt to freeze the stallion back into solid ice. Having anticipated the sneak attack, Brush jumps out of the way, barely avoiding the beam that freezes the dirt on the spot where he stood. Trixie has accepted Brush's challenge.

His friends have stopped shouting at him, looking anxiously at how their friend has started a war with Trixie after all. If they aren't shocked when Brush merely misses a freezing beam light, they shout at him to make distance. It would give him more space and time to miss her, giving him a slight advantage. But yet again he doesn't listen to them. Instead of keeping his distance, Brush suddenly starts to rush over to the mare, while avoiding every spell that the cackling mare fires at him. Hellbend on closing the gap between them, the stallion eventually stands within a meter radius around the mare. Trixie doesn't care though, firing beam after beam at the red unicorn, which he continues to avoid.

'Poor, poor little Brush... You try so hard, yet you are not strong enough,' Trixie chuckles, mocking him like he means nothing. Several parts of dirt around Trixie have completely frozen up by her magic, none having hit the stallion even slightly. Still, Brush remains quiet, while he stares up to the alicorn as he leaps around her. 'You may have kept some knowledge about Ignis' spells... But that doesn't mean you're as strong as he was! You're nothing but a bad painter now with an ego, ready to bite the dirt!'

Brush grunts, not intending to deny the simply yet complete truth. Trixie still has the knowledge and magic of Fame coursing through her body, while he has been completely cleansed of Ignis' dark magic. Though anypony would think he's in a disadvantage now, Brush has an entirely different view on that matter. Not just because Trixie is too messed up to be able to properly use any other trick than freezing him or push him away, but also because he has a plan.

´Fame was weak! She was nothing but a coward! Unlike me! You are not even a shadow of Ignis' powers, while I control all the knowledge of Lady Fame! Your defeat is imminent, Spectrum Brush!' she cries out in rage, unable to accept any other answer. Like a firehose, she continues to shoot spells like there's no tomorrow. The thought of that she could run out of energy again doesn't occur to her.

But STILL Brush remains resilient, holding not a single thought about surrendering to her. No matter how much Trixie continues to fire at him, all he does is jumping around her to avoid it. His own horn remains unused, not even conjuring one tiny spell to fire at her in return. It is almost as if he has no intentions of even attempting to attack Trixie.

'This between you and me anyway...,' he says between his breaths. 'Not between Ignis and Fame...'

Clouds of frozen dirt and soil fly up in the air everytime Trixie hits the ground with her spells, creating a mist that nearly blinds the audiance of six from the fight. Feeling both angry for Brush' insolence and scared for his wellbeing, they feel like their hooves are nailed to the ground. They are not in despair though, but they don't feel confident as well. Right now they're forced to come up with a way to save the day, without any clue how. They must reach out in the dark for a light.

'W-We have to help him!' Fluttershy yelps.

Nopony dissagrees, all knowing that their red unicorn friend needs their assitance if he wishes to claim victory. He may have brought this conflict upon himself, but that doesn't mean they should leave him for it.

'Hold on, Brushy! We're coming!' Pinkie Pie shouts, ready with the "cavalry" to assist him in the struggle.

The furious blue mare and the serious red stallion are too deeply focused to notice the approach of the mares. The ponies are already halfway to Brush' side when he suddenly takes notice of the hoofsteps coming at him. He turns around for a second, not giving Trixie enough time to charge him while he lets his guard down. He realizes that the girls are not planning to stand and watch. He jumps further off from the blue mare, creating distance between them again.

'NO! Stay out of this!' he shouts at the brave mares, who only have the best intentions. 'This is MY struggle! You will all stand back this instant!'

The mares stop abruptly, wanting to help him badly, though Brush's forceful words prevent them from joining his battle.

'B-But Brushy, what are you doing then? You're not even fighting back!' Pinkie Pie mumbles, a little puzzled why she they can't help him in this uneven battle with the red unicorn and the blue alicorn.

'Exactly... This fight cannot be resolved by more violence... That's NOT how we work things!' he shouts further to them, though he keeps his eyes focused on the threatening blue mare in front of him. 'If we wish to return harmony, do you really think conflict can bring that? Do you think I hate Trixie for what she did? No! I blame myself for making her a victim in my foolish journey! If I hadn't taken her to join Luna and me, she wouldn't have been turned into this! It's my fault for letting her too close to power, without considering that she may be capable of betraying us! So it is my choice to end our fight, one way or another!'

To them; Brush is blaming himself again for an indirect disaster. It was Trixie who chose this path herself. But convincing the stallion won't do any good, knowing how stubborn he is. Brush won't accept their help, no matter what. They don't see the big picture behind the red unicorn's intentions, believing that it's nothing but misplaced accusations on himself.

But Twilight does. This is exactly what was needed to her in order to solve the puzzle further, striking Twilight's mind like a sudden spark that zaps every loose end of the pieces together. Her grudge for Brush unreasonable actions vanishes like snow in the sun, making way for realization as clear as daylight. 'That's it! It's so obvious!' she whispers to herself, dazzled over the fact that she never could've come up with it with her tactful mind and the stress that burdened her. 'But what do you hope to do about "it," Brush?' she whispers, curious how Brush intends to stop Trixie now, even though she has a lingering theory that has to be the solution in her head.

Trixie merely responds with a forced heez of laughter. The idea of Brush believing that he has a chance of winning sounds absurt. But though the scales are tided in her favor, the mare can't help but feel anxiety, as if she has to do combat with the stallion on her own strength. The relentless confidence and mind of Brush is what makes him much more frightening than the powers of Lord Ignis.

'How cute... You blame yourself again, Brush? Let us dance...,' she says with a flirting tone, mocking him about the first time she managed to make him let his guard down by sounding like this in the Frozen North. 'I shall lead... you to your DOOM!'

But Brush knows better than this: Trixie is desperate in provoking him in return to make him slip up. 'A nice offer, Trixie,' he grunts, remaining unaffected by the corrupted mare's spiteful taunts as he gets ready to avoid more of the alicorn's spell barrage. 'But you seem to forget that I remain in charge of this operation to stop Lady Fame... Trust me: The outcome will be different this time, Trix.'

Trixie's smirking face changes back into a frown and bare teeth of rage in an instant. Such arrogant behaviour of somepony she compares with an insect is unspeakable. 'Let's see some words proven, rather than spoken, hotshot!' she spouts furiously again and starts to charge through the dirt with horn aimed for her opponent.

'Why don't you use your own dictionary for once?' Brush sighs and charges just the same.

With horns aimed at each other, though on different heights, the two ponies charge towards each other. Mud flies in two directions aside them, like two boats speeding through water towards each other. This is their final clash, being the one to decide who remains dominant over the other: Trixie VS Spectrum Brush.

Just as their horns are closing in, they start to brim with energy. Like a minus and plus charged, their horns start to connect with power as they close in to each other. Once their horns touch, a reaction is followed. Like a meteorstrike, the area around the two ponies explode in ice and fire, covered in mist. If Brush hadn't used magic as well, he most certainly would've been injured to the point of not being able to fight back.

'Take this!' Trixie screams, firing a blue beam from her horn that pierces a hole in the smoke.

Brush gives no words, being solely focused on avoiding the madmare's flurry of attacks. The red stallion jumps around the blue mare, dark and light manes wave around each other through the winds of the movement, and orange and light-blue glowing horns strike against each other with cinders and sparks fizzling by the touch. The blue gem on Trixie's chestplate has never been glowing as much as it does now, giving all the power it contains over to the madmare. The six ponies outside the fight can only look nervous with sweat-covered foreheads at how their friend is fighting an impossible battle all on his own. Brush is able to hold his ground for so far, but for how long can he continue like this?

'Wh-Wha are we supposed to do now?' Rarity yelps. 'Are we REALLY to just stand by and watch this go on?'

'Just ignore him an' his silly pride! We oughta help him out now!' Applejack proposes and is ready to storm off towards their friend in distress.

'No, wait...,' Twilight suddenly tells her friends, asking them to stop rushing headlong to the stallion. 'L-Let's watch him fight a little longer...'

The ponies can't believe Twilight is actually saying this. Have both of them gone insane? Brush has challenged a demon, while Twilight agrees to it. As if things didn't make sense already, this is just mindboggling.

'W-What in the stars are you sayin', sugercube?' Applejack asks with an overthrown tone, as if she's struggling to refrain from calling Twilight insane.

'Watch him suffer by that monster? Are you mad?!' Rainbow Dash asks more open than Applejack, not afraid to say exactly what's spinning through her head.

But Twilight simply nods, though she's clearly not pleased with the decision she has to take as well. 'Brush is trying to tell us something like this... Something he can't just say openly to us. We have to figure it out for ourselves and understand the meaning of it,' she calmly explains in a vague way, like Brush would.

'How far his sanity can drop?' Rarity asks rethorically, still bitter about the stallion's abominable decisions.

'I-I don't think that's it...,' Fluttershy tells them, sounding like she sides with Twilight's proposal.

'What then? He's simply out there fighting Trixie out of vengeance for what she did to him! I wouldn't know a better reason than that!' Rainbow Dash spouts aggitated again, believing to know what she thinks is truth.

'I really doubt that Brush would stoop to vengeance. It's just not his way of things. Besides, he hasn't even tried to harm Trixie! All he did was avoiding and deflecting every attack she launched at him so far!' Twilight contradicts.

She knows Fluttershy is right. Everything suddenly seems so clear to Twilight: The uncontrolled fury of Trixie, a meaning of friendship, the source of Lady Fame's power, the blame. Twilight knows what must be done, what she has to force herself to. It won't be easy, but she knows that she and the others can if they are wise enough. If they do, they'll never have to fear of losing each other again.

The beams continue to be fired, making so many holes in the cloud until only the red and blue ponies remain. This round has only been going for about five minutes, yet Trixie is already breathing like she was drowning this entire time. The same rules count to Brush, though not as tired as she is: Trixie knows she can't easily beat Spectrum Brush without an element of surprise.

'WHY-DON'T-YOU-STAY-DOWN!?' Trixie gasps exhausted and furiously, unable to get a clear shot on the stallion.

'You can't hit me when I'm too close, Trixie...,' he tells her and chuckles. 'Isn't it ironic? You beat me in the Frozen North because I let you too close to me... And now it turns to my favor instead.'

'SHUT UP, YOU FREAK! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN LIKE THAT: ALWAYS THE WISECOLT! I HATE YOU!' Trixie cries, trying to hit the stallion with her hooves, which he simply avoids without too much effort.

'Hate me? ...You're saying you hate me, Trixie?' Brush repeats calmly as he ducks to avoid another flail from Trixie's magical tail.

'No... I don't hate you...,' she whispers, tired of mowing around and firing spells that miss all the time. 'I DESPISE YOU!'

'Despise me... Is that what you believe this time?' the red unicorn sighs, as if Trixie is hallucinating everything. '...Alright then. Let me tell you something about hatred...'

While Trixie keeps on trying to strike the stallion down with brute force, though most of her crazy mowings miss completely, she can't ignore the speech that Brush gives her. He uses her moment of weakness to penetrate her thick skull, forcing her the absolute truth that he always wanted to face her with.

'You don't even know what hatred is, Trixie... Hatred is when somepony, who'm you've considered one of your best friends, betrays you for their own selfish needs... Hatred is when somepony freezes your hometown completely up, just out of an act of veangeance! Hatred is when somepony puts your best friends into ice, and believe it's righteous judgement!'

'Sh-Shut up! You know NOTHING!' she shouts in denial, firing another blue beam from her horn that misses the stallion by an inch. Her aim starts to fail more and more after each spell, just like her stance and breathing begins to weaken as well.

'It is YOU who knows nothing, Trixie! You've lived all your life in a lie! You've always believed that you were the greatest unicorn of all, until you were proven other wise. Instead of accepting the truth and move on, you swore revenge on the ones that were greater than you in one specific thing and did everything you could to prove to yourself that YOU are the greatest of all!' Brush shouts, while ducking down to avoid a mow from Trixie's wing. 'Your lied to yourself to be able to believe that you hate somepony... You never hated Twilight for what she was able to do to save Ponyville... You just couldn't accept the truth that she saved you!'

'Th-The truth?! What do you know about truth!' she gasps, exhausted by her outrage. Slowly failing to keep her rage up, Trixie's tiredness starts to kick in. Barely able to lift a hoof up anymore, the alicorn has no choice but to listen at the tireless stallion.

'You don't hate Twilight for proving to be more talented, the audiance for laughing at your failures, or Luna or me for wanting to be friends with you...,' he speaks further to her. 'You're afraid! You're afraid of the truth! You're afraid for the change in life! But get this: CHANGE HAPPENS TO ALL OF US! YOU MUST ACCEPT IT, RATHER THAN FIGHT IT!'

Tears appear in Trixie's eyes, freezing into crystals the moment they fall from her face. Scared and confused she crawls through the mud, pushing her hoofs on her ears to keep Brush' words out of her head. 'No! NOOO! It's a lie!' she screams.

Brush takes another deep breath before he continues, looking down at the cringing blue alicorn in the mud. Twilight and the others can hardly believe their eyes. Trixie almost seemed invincible, having control over every spell that exists. Yet even she has her limits, which she has seemingly reached now.

'You know what is true, Trixie? Do you know what you really think of me? ...You FEAR me!' he shouts at her, as if it should make it more believable.

'P-P-Preposterous!' she stutters. 'I-I have nothing to fear from you, Spectrum Brush!'

The stallion walks up to the blue mare, who seems too tired to try any moves on him now. Confident and slightly tired from jumping around like a toad, Brush takes a deep breath as he stands before the mare's face and speaks on.

'You're afraid of me because you know that I will try everything in my power to make you wake up and see reality as it is, instead of the dreamworld you've been living in your entire life! You know how much I value the friendship you, I, and Luna shared together for months... Enough to go to the extreme and wish to save you even now when you are completely insane!'

The words still manage to reach Trixie's ears, even though she presses her hoofs tightly on them to the point that it hurts. Tears continue to flow over her blue cheeks, sad and scared about that she cannot win from one measily stallion. The truth burns in her ears.

'Now wake up, Trixie...,' he whispers and reaches his hoof out to her. 'It's never too late to see your mistakes and make amends... I know, because we are the same as well... I've experienced the same thing as you... And you know what? In all honesty, even after all this: After all the pain you've caused and the chaos you brought... I'm still willing to forgive you...'

'Whaaat?!' Rarity gasps.

'Oh, no, he didn't!' Rainbow Dash shouts in astonishment.

Even Fluttershy's jaw drops from surprise. Nopony could've seen this coming: Brush is ready to forgive the mare that betrayed and hurt countless ponies.

Twilight looks unaffected by Brush's words and nods. 'I see...,' Twilight whispers, having confirmed for herself what Brush tries to prove. 'Sometimes you have to show forgiveness to your friends in order to keep friendship... Something I failed to show to my friends lately... You couldn't just tell us to forgive us, could you? It wouldn't have the same impact and devotion.'

'Y-YOU WHAT?!' Trixie shouts just as confused as the rest and looks up with wet eyes at the smiling red unicorn.

'I said I'm willing to forgive you, Trixie. I hated you for your betrayal first. But now I realize that it was me who was wrong as well. If friendship is to be held: You must be able to show forgiveness, like I am willing to show to you now,' he whispers with absolute honesty from his heart. 'It's never too late to turn yourself around and see what truly matters. I have a feeling that when you were acting to be humble and kindhearted, you felt much more satisfied than when you were all alone. If you truly regret the horrors you've caused, and are willing to learn from your mistakes, I and Luna would love to remain your friend.

The calm has moved in once more. The wind stops blowing over the crater, the mares hold their breaths, Trixie stops sobbing and Spectrum Brush looks down at her and continues to smile without an end. With a hoof still reaching out to her, Brush is able to wait for ages if that's what it takes to get an answer from the blue mare. He has done what he always wanted to do: Show mercy to others, like he was able to give to himself for his own past.

'What do you say, Trixie? We can still be friends,' he whispers.

For a moment Trixie seems overwhelmed, having accepted realization of everything. With widened eyes full of tears she can't stop looking up at her past friend, who's willing to turn the clock back to the "good old days." It almost seems to good to be true, looking like Trixie could jump into his arms any moment now and cry her heart out for all the evil she has committed.

But Trixie snaps out of her moment of silence and tears, rushing the hate and fury back into her mind. 'Sh-SHUT UP, YOU MONSTER! STAY AWAY FROM ME!' she screams with fear and jumps back on her hooves, followed by slamming the surprised stallion away with a hoof.

'-ACK!-' Brush gasps when he crashes into the dirt, bouncing and rolling over the mud like a pebble thrown over a pond. When he comes to a sudden halt, facedown in the mud, he stops moving at all. The only thing he eventually manages to move is his face up in order to breath. Other than that, he seems to have been utterly broken by that one blow.

'Brush!' the other ponies shout out in panic, knowing that that low blow must've hit him hard.

But Trixie wasn't done with him yet. For confusing her and being a thorn in her side all this time, while still offering to be her friend in the end, the mad alicorn has little mercy left for the stallion. Pent up by his words of mercy, she walks up to Brush who tries to stand back up. Without restraint or warning, she presses one of her hooves on his head, smashing him back into the wet mud with his nose.

'NO MORE! I WILL NOT LET YOU TORMENT ME ANY FURTHER, BRUSH! IT'S TIME TO BEG GOODBYE!' Trixie shouts with tears flowing from her eyes, along with drops of sweat from her face.

The alicorn is afraid: Afraid of anything that goes through her head. Believing Spectrum Brush to be the reason of it all, she stops seeing clear completely and only believes that getting rid of him will save herself. She then presses the stallion's face deeper into the wet mud.

'-Urk!-' Brush grunts, showing no resistance to the pressure of Trixie's hoof, knowing it would prove futile. Unable to breath properly through the wet soil, Brush starts to grow a little scared of passing out now. He can only lie still and hope that Trixie will stop soon, hoping to make her believe he's unconcious. If she will keep this up though, Brush is afraid he'll be unable to help his friends anymore. All his efforts for the past weeks have been for this crucial moment and may actually become all in vain.

'C'mon... Calm down already...,' Brush thinks in his head, wishing for Trixie to stop keeping his head down.

Brush feels how his lungs are starting to beg for fresh air, which he can't provide. His worries are proven rightful: Trixie is upset enough to take no little chances anymore. His vision becomes blurry, turning from brown dirt into a black nothingness. Spectrum Brush is about to pass out cold.

'D-Darn...,' he gasps in his head.

A few bubbles slip along his face, popping when they reach the surface of the mud. Brush is out of air.

'I win! You lose! ACCEPT THAT!' Trixie screams down at the seemingly lifeless red male, keeping her hoof pressed on his unbrushed mane.

'LET HIM GO, TRIXIE!' Twilight shouts at her with fear in her eyes. 'YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR ALREADY! IF YOU HURT OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ONE MORE TIME...'

'Then WHAT?!' Trixie shouts back and pushes the stallion's face even further in the mud to the point that only his mane can be seen. 'You can't do anything about it! You all let your friends down! Look at him; The sucker has passed out already! I'm Great and Powerful! Nothing can stop Trixie now!'

They all feel rage moving through their veins, furious about the cowardly actions Trixie continues to show. They feel like taking her down so badly, wishing to make her stop at last. Wishing to turn the clock back and stop Trixie before this all happened. They're willing to go that far, hating hate more than ever.

But when they look at each other to see if the other's agree, they are all shocked at the sight of their faces: Glaring, bare teeth in their grins of anger, burning rage glowing in their pupils. They realize that they nearly let anger take its course once again, making them think about vengeance over friendship. This doesn't feel right. If they are to succumb to rage once again, if they have the urge to take down Trixie at all cost, they would violate everything that their stallion friend stood for.

Then it hits them all: Brush's intentions.

Together they all take a deep breath, they keep their cool, they remain calm. They let the rage flow away in the cold wind of loneliness 'Trixie… you were once simply a mare with talent, full of pride…,' Twilight whispers. 'But you betrayed Brush…, betrayed us all! You froze our homes, you deceived us, you hurt our friends!'

Trixie remains quiet as she stares at Twilight. Her eyes are still wet from tears, though she stopped sobbing now that she's won from the red unicorn that pushed her this far.

'Brush knew what needed to be done... Our friendship was crushed by you, because we could only think about ourselves... If we would allow vengeance take the best of us again, we would be no better than you or Ignis. Brush was able to forgive you even now to prove that he believes in peaceful resolutions. Even after all the things you've done to him, he believes in you!'

'So I...,' Twilight whispers, making everypony wait for the pause she takes to honestly believe in the following words.

'I forgive you.'

'-Mhm-' Applejack grunts, understanding what Twilight means. But still she feels like she has trouble acceping it, considering how much damage Trixie has brought to her, her home, and her friends. And yet, she sighs and shows a nod of acceptance, followed with a smile. 'Ah forgive you too, partner.'

'I... I forgive you too, Trix,' Rainbow Dash sigh. She has a little trouble to forget how the blue mare mocked and hurt her, but is cool enough to follow her friends' example. She manages to see how Trixie must feel like, how she must've experienced everything she went through while being tested by the cruelty of loneliness.

'Oki-Doki-Loki! I can't stay mad at any of you! We should totally hang out sometime, Trixie! I'd love to see more of those magic tricks of yours!' Pinkie Pie forgives with laughter, being one of the ponies with the golden heart that holds no eternal grudges to others. 'Maybe that ice actually comes in handy! The summer was hot after all! Maybe we can go iceskating sometimes?' she rattles on, not knowing when to stop.

'O-Ofcourse I forgive you, Trixie. I-I hope we can be f-friends maybe?' Fluttershy stutters, praying for the best outcome for everypony. If forgiveness is all it takes to give a chance to turn Trixie into the mare that seemed so kindhearted to her during the challenge, she feels more than willing to grand it.

Like a world being turned upside down, Trixie looks confused at the forgiving mares. There was a point where she managed to break their spirits, torn them apart, froze them in ice. And now that Spectrum Brush is down, they're STILL able to go to insane extends like this: Forgiving her for the horrors she caused.

'A-Are you all insane?' Trixie hisses. Her wide eyes look at the six brave mares before her and forgets to aim her hoof on the stallion's head. Brush slips free, turns around on his back and coughs dirt from his mouth, still showing a sign of being with them. Slowly regaining his vision again of the clouded sky above them, he turns his face to the left to see what is going on between the mares. Though mud is all over his face and in his ears, he can still make out what is going on. He chuckles softly between the coughing up of dirt. The words of harmony sound like music to his ears.

Rarity however is a little stubborn in letting old hatred be bygones. 'But she made my hair green once... How could I possibly-' she mumbles.

'Rarity!' her friends shout impatient, knowing that Rarity is accidently talking herself back into the miserable memories of Trixie and her past. She has to let the past be past and look into the future.

'Oh... Alright. I doubt I can stay mad forever,' she sighs. 'As a lady, forgiveness is a requirement to be given. I... grand you forgiveness as well, Trixie.'

They feel happy. Forgiving somepony this openly feels so relieving. It feels like an absolute statement that allows them to completely let the anger go away and regret nothing. Though friendship exists out of six elements, there are still extra emotions that needed to hold onto friendship. Brush knew it all along: Forgiveness is like an unwritten seventh element, being the key to let out all the hatred that tries to grow over time in a friend's mind.

'And I'm sure everypony else is willing to forgive you, Trixie. Everyone deserves a second chance,' Twilight whispers, loud enough for the baffled alicorn to hear it.

'BLASPHEMY! YOU SIX ARE JUST AS PITIFUL AS THAT RED MONSTER!' she screams with tears filling up her cold eyes again. 'I DON'T CARE ONE BIT ABOUT YOUR MERCY! I WILL MAKE YOU EAT YOUR WORDS AND BURY YOU ALL TEN FEET UNDERGROUND!'

But she doesn't. Neither do the six mares feel threatened by her words. In their hearts they've already won, now knowing what they lacked to bring harmony to Equestria.

A bright light suddenly glows over the surrounding landscape, giving a warm feeling on the touch. Trixie looks surprised up at the light that appears east behind the six mares, who don't seem surprised at all. The alicorn first believes that it's the sunrise, knowing that the night is almost up. But even if it is, it shouldn't be able to see the sun at all because of the winter clouds that fill the sky! That's when she starts to realize that the warm white light isn't from the sun. It doesn't even come from air at all. It comes from the city that is settled in the east of them, holding every single pony of Equestria within its safe walls: Canterlot.

The light from the unicorn city starts to expand, filling the air more and more with it's harmonic aura, evaporating the blizzard's clouds by the mere touch of it's power. Six divine colors split from the light and move like waves in the water above them, like an Aurora Borealis in Ponyville. A night sky is uncovered, with a yellow radiance coming from the horizon behind the mountains: The Twilight of a new Dawn.

Trixie slowly backs away, clearly afraid of what is happening all of the sudden. She looks surprised at how the Mane Six start to glow with a pink aura, magically causing them to float in the air. Without any Element of Harmony worn by any of the six mares, they have proven that Harmony was inside them all along, having BECOME Elements off Harmony by heart.

The ray of light from Canterlot crashes into them from the air, like a rainbow hitting the ground, creating a crackling sound of power that fills the air around them. It responds to the power of friendship that connects them all together, causing their aura to light up the entire crater in seven colors.

'IMPOSSIBLE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY ARE STILL FROZEN UNDER ICE! YOU ARE UNABLE TO PROCESS THIS MUCH POWER ALL ALONE!' she screams between her rapid breaths.

'Your right Trixie…,' Twilight whispers calmly. 'We could’ve never done this alone…'

With those final words said, Twilight can feel the power of all her friends and family coursing through her veins until it reaches a maximum. Her eyes begin to glow with a bright white light, marking the begin of a new time of harmony in Equestria. The power explodes out of the mares, creating a towering inferno of seven colors that bursts into the air from the ground. The spiraling light reaches the top height and falls together, like waterdrops forming a puddle together. Everypony can see the glowing mixture, the size of an aged oaktree. The ponies in Canterlot know that this means that it worked, Trixie knows that she can't do anything to stop it, and the six friends know that the second coming of the Great Winter comes to a stop now. An event of ancient descriptions has manifested in Equestria for a second time: A burning pink heart comes out of the glowing magma-like rainbow, melting all the ice in the vicinity the instant it's correctly shapen. Trixie is staring in desperation at the thing, of which she knows that it can actually overwhelm Lady Fame's power and defeat her.

'Thank you, Brush. Without your help,Equestria would’ve been doomed along with our friendship,' Twilight thinks and smiles down at the stallion, who slowly regains his consciousness by the bright light that touches his face, granting him the warm feeling of friendship that he adores so much.

'I knew you six could do it…,' he whispers with a smile at the six mares with the giant burning heart floating above them.

'Curse you! You think this friendship nonsense will stop ME?! I will freeze you six, Spectrum Brush, the princesses, and your families! You can’t win from the great and powerful TRIXIE!' is what Trixie has spinning through her head, though she wanted to scream it out loud. But her breath stops, she stops blinking, and can't say anything but growls, gasps, and stutters. The corrupt alicorn has reached the very limit of what she can take mentally. Any common pony would normally pass out now. Trixie has finally acknowledged utter defeat.

'Trix, we're coming to save you!' Rainbow Dash yells at the mute Alicorn.

'Consider ya’self saved from ya’self!' Applejack backs her up, pumped up by the warm feeling that they all feel running through their bodies.

'Let’s just… get along,' Fluttershy giggles, happy from the warm feeling that burns inside her heart.

'Now this is what I call "heartwarming," Pinkie Pie giggles.

'This feeling...,' Rarity whispers with joy. 'I feel like every bit of stress has been entirely erased out of my head, darlings!'

Their friendship has never reached a point where they could FEEL the bonds of friendship with their hearts. It feels warm, friendly, and tranquil. It's a feeling that they would never would want to let go of, feeling like a living sun each. It's only moments before they have to let it go and have it connect with the pink hearted that manifested from the friendships of all beings in Equestria.

'This is what it feels to be a complete part of Harmony, isn't it?' Twilight whispers, trying to give it a description to what she experiences. 'This is feels to be a part of Equestria's harmony. -Hehe-... I'm going to need more paper when I decide to write to Princess Celestia what I learned today about Friendship...'

The time has come. Ready to activate the full potential the magical heart, they are suddenly surprised to hear a sudden shift of sound in the air.

'ENOUGH!' The Royal Canterlot voice of Trixie bellows through the area, shaking the very earth that she stands on. Giant cracks appear on the ice that hold the Elements, the dirt turns back into dry soil in an instant, and the remaining snow and ice vaporizes into thin air.

They all watch silently at how Trixie suddenly ends her insults, despicable personality, and calms down. Something is happening; Something that makes the mares pause their moment of glory in order to see what is happening. Trixie’s eyes are no longer blinded by fury, fear, or anything else. In fact: Not a single emotion can be read from the blue alicorn's face. Has Trixie truly lost it now?

'Eh... Trixie?' Fluttershy mumbles, while still hanging in the air by the magic that she is holding back. 'A-Are you alright?'

But she doesn't answer back at her. The blue gem on her chestplate lights up, followed by a swift spell that comes from her horn. The blue body of the mare has been cleaned of dirt by her magic, including her ghastly-white mane, making her look more like the beautiful mare she looked like hours ago. The alicorn merely looks up at the six floating mares with her snow-white eyes, without saying a single word.

'What's going on?' Rainbow Dash asks her friends. 'Is... she alright? This is so unlike Trixie to be quiet like that.'

The alicorn heard her well, yet doesn't respond. Her eyes simply turn to the stallion that lies on the ground. The red unicorn looks up, unsure what has happened. That's when their green and white eyes meet, staring deep into each other's souls. That's when Brush realizes the meaning of this change.

'…You’re not Trixie, are you?' Brush asks.

'And you were Ignis' vessel, weren't you?' she whispers with a completely different voice that is sounds soothing to ear, like a mother whispering to her child.

Though the others don't know it, Brush and Twilight most certainly recognize it. But before they are even able to say a word further, they are interrupted by a familiar mare that approaches through the air.

'Lady Fame… It’s been a long time,' a voice surprises all of them, coming from the white alicorn that flies down into the crater. Her multicolored magical mane and golden crown are recognizable by one glance.

'P-Princess Celestia!' the ponies gasp in surprise, not having expected the royal visitor in a dangerous place like this.

The blue mare turns away from the weakened stallion and looks at the white mare in front of her as well. Both alicorns show no attention to the seven ponies, though the don't seem to give any form of response to each other as well for a minute.

But eventually the body of Trixie nods. A nod that speaks for bookpages of words: Lady Fame controls Trixie's body.

The seven ponies remain quiet, surprised by the following turnout: Lady Fame has managed to take control over Trixie all of the sudden. Was it the loss of sanity that allowed the ancient mare to take control? Or was it possibly that Trixie let her? Whatever the case it may be: Trixie is no longer master over her own body, just like Brush when he was possessed by Lord Ignis months ago. With the power of the Fire of Friendship still shining over them, it is up to the six mares when they decide to cleanse the blue madmare from her possessor.

'Hello Celestia. It’s been too long indeed,' the blue alicorn speaks calmly to the white alicorn, showing not a speck of anger or violence in her voice. A faint smile even appears on her face. 'I’m glad to see you fare well.'

Princess Celestia show no similar response of joy on her face. Brush and Twilight know that the princess stopped Lady Fame a thousand years ago for the sake of Princess Luna. Seeing the princess this quiet makes it seem like she still has no room for mercy for her former mentor.

'Wh-What is going on? Do they KNOW each other?' Rarity asks out loud, though nopony answers to her question, asking themselves the exact same thing.

The alicorns ignore the audiance, being in the awkward reunion as they are. It is Celestia who suddenly dares to say the next words, over which she thought deeply over in her head '...Lady Fame, why did you allow Trixie to control you like you did?' she asks.

'She...She did WHAT?' Twilight whispers, barely able to believe his own ears. Even Brush looks up surprised of hearing that Lady Fame was purposely letting Trixie dominate her. To what point would she do that?

Lady Fame sighs, seemingly ashamed of something. 'I'm sorry that things turned into this, Celestia... I KNEW that it would turn into a mess like this. But I just had to know for certain... I just HAD to know if you earn the title of ruler of Equestria, like you did ages ago when you defeated me and Ignis. I wanted to know... if our influence didn't corrupt you for future times...,' the blue alicorn explains her actions and looks hopefull up at her past pupil. 'I'm happy to see that you are still the same mare I knew ages ago.'

But Celestia doesn't accept the compliment or result as a reward, still angry about the harm it caused to Equestria. 'You know that your judgement isn't the most valued one, Lady Fame...,' Celestia mutters. 'And now you've only done worse for yourself.'

'...I know...,' Fame whispers, looking down from Celestia's eyes to the ground in shame. She doesn't feel like she deserves to look her in the eye anymore. 'But I know YOU value it to some extend...'

Nopony knows what to say then. The five ponies around them don't have anything to say at all, knowing nothing about the connection between mentor and pupil. Even Brush and Twilight can't find the right words, remaining silent and listen to the two alicorns to say something next. Trixie's controlled body doesn't even peek at the princess in front of her, completely humble to Celestia's presence, while Princess Celestia keeps a straight face this entire time, though the experience could be tearing her apart without anypony noticing.

'…Do you despise me for what I did?' Celestia whispers. Obviously she's talking about the day she sealed her mentors into two crystals.

But Fame smiles, having anticipated Celestia to ask that question the moment they would stand face to face again. '...No, I honestly don't, Celestia,' the blue mare whispers and slowly attempts to look Celestia in her memorable eyes again. 'I never hated you for what you did to me and Ignis. It was meant to happen by fate, without any other way out of it. In truth: I’m actually very proud of you for having done it.'

Celestia doesn't say anything back, obviously listening to the words of truth that come from the mare's mouth.

'After Discord enherited portions of our magic, I was not afraid of what he would do to me, but of what would happen to YOU. You know that everything I did was for your sake, though it may have still been terrible decisions.'

'Fame…,' Celestia whispers, with a noticable different tone than she spoke with so far.

'I know you can never forgive me for what we did to little Luna... I was so busy with thinking of keeping you in specific unharmed, that I didn’t pay enough attention to your baby sister. If only I was strong enough to stand up against Ignis like you did... Things may have been different then...'

The white mare shakes her head. She doesn't want to be reminded of what Fame did then, knowing already full well that she didn't mean it to happen. 'Like you said... It was fate; Destined to happen.'

'But this time I was perfectly aware of what was going on,' she contradicts the princess' words of comfort that Fame deems unearned. 'I had no wish to confront you personally... So when I was found by Trixie, I let her have her way and dominate Equestria with the powers I once used. She seemed like the perfect mare to be taught a lesson and possibly teach you one, in the case you WOULD have changed. I wanted to see if you could still had the willpower and cunning that you've shown me ages ago, the kind of courage that is required to protect Equestria after all these years. My chosen research... of Friendship...'

Lady Fame suddenly begins to snicker softly and stands back up to look at Celestia from the same height. Even though she continues to tell everything she wants to tell her past pupil, she can't stop looking at how the young white mare has grown as tall as herself.

'But I never expected this to happen: You have cared enough for Equestria that it manages to protect itself! And without the Elements of Harmony no less!' she praises, entheusiastic about how Celestia's promises and willpower has achieved a better world than during the reign of Fame and Ignis. She looks around her with big eyes at the mares and stallion, happy. The blue alicorn that wanted to have their hides a moment ago has completely turned around into a mare full of happiness and emotions. Even though they all know that the Fire of Friendship can't be reverted now, and will the powerful alicorn's soul out of Trixie's body soon, she can't help but be overjoiced by this one chance she's given to talk to precious pupil and say the words she couldn't say ages ago. She has accepted the Fire of Friendship and eternal imprisonment in her crystal as her punishment.

'I was too angry to listen to you when I was so young... And you're absolutely right: I really do value the words you told me now...,' Celestia whispers, trying to sound the same. But everypony can easily notice that the princess has to try her best in order to keep her face straight to the point it hurts. 'I know that you did everything for me out of love. I really do... Thank you, Lady Fame. Thank you for everything you've done for me.'

The blue alicorn sniffs, feeling her heartbeat speed up from this words that mean so much to her. If given the chance, Fame would probably hug Celestia and never let go. But just to do her pupil a favor, she will attempt to remain as royal as possible as well, keeping her emotions stacked away as much as she can in her own mind. 'The one you should thank is yourself, Celestia, and the amazing subjects you rule over. It makes me so proud to see you have grown this much.'

Fame coughs her tears away.

'You've really grown... I-I couldn't be more prouder of you: As proud of you as if you truly are my flesh and blood daughter...'

Celestia is almost unable to keep her emotions secluded. Even if Lady Fame was responsible for bringing this mayhem to Equestria again, she was still the most important mare in the princess' youth. She can’t control the pressure of one tear that starts to roll over her cheek, dropping from her chin down on her left golden-decorated hoof.

She takes a deep breath and speaks calmly. 'Lady Fame… I must tell you that my student Twilight is studying the meanings of friendship. Her stories have filled one bookcase full already.'

Twilight looks up when she hears her name, while still floating in the air next to her friends. It starts to sink in to her that the reports she wrote, the letters of everything she learned about friendship and sent to her mentor, are just like the scrolls in the Hall of Friendship that she saw in Fame's memories.

The alicorn looks at her and allows the truth to sink in. The scrolls that she was so interested in and got burned down by Ignis are being rewritten by Celestia's student. 'Really now… That's wonderful news... Thank you, Celestia,' she whispers.

All has been said that was needed to be said. Fame looks up to the sky, where the burning heart still waits to banish Fame out of Trixie. Once it is done, she will probably never be free to walk Equestria again. A sparkle blinks in her eyes. She is still amazed at how strong the power of friendship turns out to be, able to recreate a power that was only seen once in a lifetime. After letting out a deep sigh of acceptance, she looks at the six floating mares in the pink light.

'Now then, Mane 6. Complete what you started! Banish me back into my crystal! Free Equestria from the final alicorn tyrant that threatened the Harmony of this beautiful world and ensure it's safety!'

It's their sign that the time has come. Together they breath deeply and let go off the magic that they held inside. The heart starts to light up further, responding to the friendship that connects Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Their auras forge melt together, bursting like a beam of light into the air. Like an arrow, the light pierces through the heart. A hole has been created, bursting it open into a pink inferno that blazes down to the ground like holy fire, spreading over the entire area when it strikes. Frost and ice that covered the plants and ground starts to melt with an insane speed, without harming anything other than that. The light continues to spread out over the ground, intending to go as far and wide as Lady Fame's magic has gotten. Brush closes his eyes when the light moves over him, though it couldn't have hurt his eyes. It's not like sunlight, but a light of compassion.

And in the center, Lady Fame gives Celestia a final look before she vanishes. Celestia takes a deep breath, with a gnawing feeling of longing to keep Lady Fame with her. But she takes heart and accepts that this too is fate, therefor inevitable.

'This light… So soothing...,' she whispers, with tears coming from her eyes from joy. Without any form of pain, Lady Fame is drawn back into the sapphire-blue crystal on the chestplate, while speaking of her final realization. 'I-I finally understand what friendship is about…'

Fame's breath is gone from this world.

***

Birds appear from the south and leaves on the trees start to gain their youthful green color again. The apples on Sweet Apple Acres glow in the morning sun, coated by the dew that came from the molten snow. Winter has passed completely, just like the cold and the clouds. Today shall be another hot summer day.

'W-Wow...,' Pinkie Pie sighs, feeling drained from all the energy that was coursing through her body.

Her friends don't feel any more different that her; drained. The little glow of pink aura that slowly fades away still allows the six mares to land safely on the ground, where they wobble and struggle to keep standing.

'I feel... dizzy,' Rarity says and lies down on the dry ground. 'I just need a moment of rest...'

Even Applejack and Rainbow Dash struggle against collapse. Though they may be the fittest ponies of them, even their stamina can't stand up against the amount of magic that they had rushing through them.

Only Twilight stands a better chance, having felt a similar sensation like this. Though she would love to lie down and rest like her friends, she pushes herself to stay up and walk towards the red stallion that looks away from her. Brush has recovered from his beating. Though the air around them remains as silent as void, she begins to hear a familiar sound: Somepony is crying. Only when Twilight appears at the red unicorn's side, he notices her.

'Twilight...,' he whispers and nods in front of him, signalling her to look. It wasn't him who is crying.

She doesn't say anything back yet. She merely turns her head and looks down at the ground, where a blue pony with a white mane lies on the ground in a fetal position. It's Trixie, who has turned back to her original unicorn self. Tears stream from her eyes like a river, unable to stop crying. Lady Fame's presence has obviously vanished, granting the body back to its original owner. She lost everything that she believes to have made her "Great" and "Powerful."

'Trixie?' Twilight says quietly, gently trying to catch her attention.

But Trixie remains unnaffected, keeping her back turned towards the two unicorns.

Brush has nothing to say. He hasn't seen Trixie for days since her betrayal in the Frozen North. Before that, he knew her as a friend he had for months. To see her now; To see her this broken, it makes him kind of saddened.

Twilight feels strange. Normally she should despise the whimpering pile of sorrow that crawls on the ground for all her selfish acts and call it just deserts. But her promise of forgiveness was honest, unabling Twilight to hate her anymore for what she did to everypony. She actually feels sorry for the blue mare, considering the traumas she went through to be stopped from her destructive career.

And somehow she feels a tiny bit responsible for Trixie's actions. In the end: most blame goes to Trixie and her messed up way of thinking, of course. But her humiliation last time in Ponyville could possibly be the catalyst of this.

'Trixie… It’s me; Twilight,' she whispers again, only louder now for Trixie to definitly hear it. 'Look, I know that we may have gone off on the wrong hoof and we both know that you brought this nightmare upon yourself…'

Trixie stops sobbing and looks over her shoulder at the purple mare, still with tears soaking up her vision.

'But I’m certain that we could’ve been good friends if things wouldn’t have turned out as they have now!' Twilight admits, trying to convince her. 'We can both forget the past and correct our mistakes, Trixie. Turn over a new leaf, right?'

Trixie remains silently still and continues to listening to her. Twilight is familiar with this situation. She recognizes the past between Celestia and Luna and the events now: both a huge misunderstanding. If things didn't go as they went, everything could've been all different. Thanks to what she learned today, she knows she can do what her mentor was able to do.

'Will you accept my friendship?' Twilight asks her with a smile, reacing her left hoof out to the sad pony to help her up from the ground. If Trixie will accept her help, it means all is forgiven.

Trixie looks in silence at Twilight, without any thought going through her head. Her tantrum has stopped and she rubs the tears out of her eyes. Looking up at the purple unicorn, who continues to offer her help, Trixie starts to realize what she must do. She slowly turns around to Twilight and lifts her hoof up.

'NO!' she suddenly shouts and hits Twilight’s hoof with her own. 'I-I will never forget this! We can’t be friends! Trixie doesn’t have or need friends!' she shouts with a nervous voice.

'B-But Trixie, don’t you think that that is why everything turned out so poor for you?' Twilight asks surprised to her reaction. 'Everyone needs a friend! I don't want you to go through experiences of loneliness anymore! Isn't that what you hate most: To be alone?'

Trixie only grunts, because she has no words to counter that statement. Still, she refuses to acknowledge Twilight's opinion. 'No! No way! Trixie is and always will be alone!' she yells again. Then she turns around and quickly runs away from the site, still surprisingly full of energy. Brush and Twilight won't be able to catch up.

'Trixie, wait!' Twilight yells into the distance, wanting to prevent another disaster like when she let Trixie leave the last time she left Ponyville. Twilight can only look at how Trixie runs away again into the morning sun, away from Ponyville.

Brush sighs and shakes his head. 'She’s a stubborn mare, isn’t she?' he grunts. 'She will be back. Don’t worry. As long as she knows that she is welcome here, and everypony in Equestria believes this tragedy was done by Lady Fame alone, she can't stay angry.'

The stallion turns around to walk back to their friends, clearly under the impression that Trixie really will return this time.

Trixie isn’t as smug as before. Being able to reach the top and still get beaten really did a number on her ego, giving her new doors to open in her decisions. Maybe this time things will be different. Still, Twilight feels sorry. Her favorable thing would be that they could've made amends and let bygones be bygones.

'So... We DID win this time, didn't we?' Rainbow Dash asks again, while laying down on the ground in exhaustion, still wanting to simply hear that it's done and she's claimed the victory.

Brush snickers and nods. 'Yea, it's all over now. You were all fantastic,' he praises them and gives a wide smile. 'I always believed that you had it all in yourselves.'

Multiple sighs of relief can be heared from the five mares. If they would have had to endure any more dramas and puzzling ideas, they would'nt have been able to carry it out. All they want now is to go home, take a hot bath, and go to sleep.

'Well... Guess Ah better get back and harvest before everypony returns,' Applejack says with satisfaction and stands back up to walk back to Ponyville.

The others laugh at the joke she made. Applejack's airtight schedual sounds like it could even be carried out by her when Equestria would be doomed.

'Wha? Ah'm serious,' Applejack grunts, not having intended to say it like a joke.

'Well, we can't go home yet!' Pinkie Pie tells them. 'What about our Saved-The-Day-Again-Party in Canterlot?! We HAVE to go back and celebrate, girls!'

They realize that the pink earth pony is right. Every single pony of Equestria is still in Canterlot, probably already celebrating about their grand victory. The dissapearance of the winter weather has probably not gone unnoticed.

'She's right! We should head to Canterlot immidiatly!' Rarity gasps, afraid of keeping everypony there waiting for their safe return.

'I get to enter first!' Rainbow Dash shouts, trying to claim the first cheers of Canterlot for herself.

'No way, Rainbow! That honor would be mine!' Rarity shouts back, just as needy about being the messenger of good news to everypony.

'Y-You should go after me... I wouldn't mind being last,' Fluttershy whispers, a little nervous of sounding selfish.

But Twilight shakes her head and pokes her two argueing friends, who look up at her. 'Wouldn't it sound fair if we go TOGETHER?' she suggests, being the most reasonable idea.

The pegasus and unicorn don't complain, accepting it rather easily.

Brush snickers about their pointless, yet funny arguements. He wouldn't ever want to miss this chance of returning to Canterlot, alongside his best friends. One of these days they'll most likely ask him about what has happened in the months of his dissapearance. Normally he would feel bad about recalling the past horrors that lie in his past. But now, now that Fame and Ignis will both be sealed away for good thanks to him, he can finally forgive himself.

In a group of seven ponies they walk out of the crater, which has now dried up in solid and climbable dirt. With laughter and talk they walk alongside through Everfree Forest.

All the action has made the ponies forget all about Princess Celestia, who stands in the center of the battlefield, right where Lady Fame vanished. The alicorn looks at the ponies that return to Canterlot with joy, and smiles. 'They’re really something, don’t you think?' Celestia asks to herself, looking at Twilight and Brush in specific. 'They really do remind me... of me.'

Whether ít's a Princess who may or may not made the right decisions in the past, a stallion who couldn't help but feel guilty for something he couldn't stop, or a group of friends that feel bad for ever doubting each other, they all realize their mistakes and the truth:

Sometimes you must leave the past behind and show forgiveness.

Epilogue

Epilogue

Time passed by. Nopony has heard of Trixie the entire day, assuming she has ran far away already. But the ponies, other than the ones that knew of Trixie's involvement, celebrate the end of the Second Great Blizzard that never got its chance to reach its full potential. Many went home to their own towns after they were able to, though they managed to make contact with different ponies from other reaches of Equestria and make new friends. The ponies that did stay, celebrate the entire day. The Mane Six and Spectrum Brush were the highlight of the day, being the heroines and hero that they are. Yet Brush was not entirely there with his mind in the party, being more focused on spending some time with his parents, who'm he hasn't seen for years. Exhausted as they all are; One by one, the seven ponies left Canterlot on their own to head home unseen. Ponyville is waiting for them, warm by the summer sun than shone over it all day.

But two ponies did not go home on their own. Though Brush tried to leave Canterlot when he found it was time to go back and see his little brother, he happened to stumble upon Twilight, who was waiting for him.

The sun is setting in an orange glow that fills the air. While the ponies in Ponyville are preparing to call it a day, two ponies are sitting in the grass on a hill just outside ponyville, watching at the sunset together. The tranquility of this place is just what they needed after the nightmares they faced last night.

'Lady Fame...,' Twilight whispers.

'Eeyup... Lady Fame...,' Brush repeats.

A moment where only the wind can be heared falls. They have a point where they don't know what to say next.

'Did...,' Twilight speaks, unsure whether she should ask the whole sentence. 'Were you dissapointed when I accepted Trixie's offer?'

Brush shakes his head. 'No, it was something that had to happen...,' he mutters. 'In fact: I'm sort of glad that you know the past now. Now you know the secret that I've had burdening my shoulders for months.'

'She was no bad alicorn...,' Twilight whispers, knowing now just as much of the past as Brush does.

'Indeed she wasn't...,' the stallion agrees.

They both sigh along, moved by the emotional history that lies behind Celestia's youth. Lady Fame will never return, being sealed into the crystal once again. She has most definitly been taken by Princess Celestia and sealed in a vault beneath Canterlot. Her heart may be right, but her powers are to dangerous to be within reach of ponies that could be even more bitter than Trixie was.

'...Do you think Trixie will ever return?' Twilight suddenly asks him.

Brush looks right of him at the purple unicorn next to him and nods. '…I think she will eventually… Don't worry about her, Twilight,' he assures his friends. 'She may not be able to admit it, but she actually needs you.'

'Need me?' Twilight asks and blinks a few times, not sure what Brush means.

'You are the only unicorn that has proved to be more talented in magic than she is. In a way, she thinks it was you that stopped her when she was so incredibly powerful by Lady Fame... But She has learned a lesson from her foolishness: She won't blame you anymore. Now that she has no clue of what "the tip of the iceberg" is, she will feel less urged to seek it anymore,' he explains to her, while his dark mane continues to wave in the wind, distracting her a bit. 'She has a lot of pride and naievity. It was bound that Trixie would make a mistake by it. Sadly her mistake had to be this crucial.'

Twilight nods and looks in front of her again at the sunset Dawn.

'What about you?' she asks without looking back. 'How do you feel towards her? Are you truly able to forgive her for every tiny thing?'

Brush snickers. 'Yes, I have. I too learned that hating somepony for who she/he is, is futile. Trixie will be Trixie, no matter what... And deep down I know: We are still friends, even if she won't admit it now.'

Twilight continues to be impressed by his noble view. 'You truly have no hatred towards her, hm?' she confirms and turns her head to him again.

Brush simply shrugs. 'I have been hating enough for a lifetime,' he tells her and smiles.

Twilight smiles back. 'By the way, according to Rainbow Dash, it’s going to rain tomorrow,' she changes the subject.

'-Ugh-, I hate rain…,' he grunts.

The stallion just said what Twilight was hoping for. She has to snicker softly, looking at her friend who is slowly realizing the contradiction he just made. When he turns his face towards her with a surprised look, the mare can't help but letting her laughter out. Like a chainreaction, Brush starts to laugh as well, humored by Twilight's joke.

'Ah, that’s gold,' Brush snickers when the laughter passes and rubs a tear out of his eye.

It's been a while since Twilight got to laugh like this. It's been a long time since that day when they met: Bumping into each other when Brush was running away from an entheusiastic Pinkie Pie. But with good things come also bad things, which is the painful question that she hasn’t dared to bring up yet.

'...Will you leave again?' the mare asks him anxiously.

Brush turns his head and looks her in her eyes, realizing what she's afraid for. He just left Ponyville last time, and travelled to countless place before moving to here. The chance that he would stay are still slim.

But he shakes his head, instead of giving a nod. 'Nope. I have done all I could and am able to forgive myself now. I’m going to stay here in Ponyville,' the stallion tells the mare with joy in his voice, glad as well to remain here.

'-Pfoe-, that’s a relieve,' she giggles, happy to hear that one of her seven close friends isn't going to leave. 'You always were one to leave into the sunsets, hm?' she brings up the moments that Brush kept vanishing from her.

Brush does remember what she means by that, still feeling bad about that and everything else that he had to do to safeguard the Mane Six. Though Twilight meant it as a joke, Brush's ears hang down. '...Can you forgive me for what I did? For keeping you in the dark?' he asks, slightly worried.

'What? You're STILL worried about that?' Twilight laughs. 'I always knew that you were no bad-guy, Brush. Even when you seemed so sinister the whole time. I trusted my gut that you were still the friendly guy I met months ago.'

Brush feels a heart-warming joy inside from hearing that sentence. He went on a journey that most ponies wouldn't dare to make even once in their entire lives. He schemed ahead to stop a threat of Equestria and succeeded with his friends. To hear her say this makes it all worth it.

'Twilight…, thanks for all the faith you put in me all this time. You are a true friend,' he whispers emotionally.

Twilight smiles from his remark and blushes. 'That’s what friends do, Brush,' she whispers just as calm and looks back at the sinking sun. The afternoon warmth can still be felt from the sunrays, making her drowzy in the waving grass in the cool breeze, creating a tone that sounds like a lullaby.

Suddenly she is surprised when she feels a little kiss on her left cheek, completely unexpected. With a blushing-red face she looks at the stallion that lies next to her, smiling at her with sparkling green eyes.

'You’re right,' Brush whispers to her. 'Thank you, Twilight...'

She quickly looks the other way to keep the smile she can’t control hidden. Her face turns almost as red as an apple. She did not see this coming, though it doesn't feel unpleasant somehow. All kinds of thoughts go rapidly through her head, caused by the adrenaline she feels rushing through her veins. What could she possibly say now to him with a red face like this?

'Twilight, I -UGH!-' Brush tries to say something, but is cut off from his sentence when something leaps onto his back with force.

'Big brother! Here you are!' says the happy little colt that squeezes himself against Brush’ mane. 'I finally found you!'

With big eyes, the stallion turns his head to look behind him. 'D-D-Dusty! I-I didn’t expect you!' Brush says.

'Finally, we did it!' somepony else says from a few meters away, approaching the two ponies as well.

When they both look around, they notice the three fillies that stand behind them.

'It took us a lot longer than I expected… But we finally managed to guide Dusty to his brother: As promised!' Sweetie Bell cheers.

'Quick! Check if Ah got a tourguide Cutie Mark!' Applebloom urges her friends and turns her flank in their direction.

But two shaking heads with dissapointment can already tell her if she has it or not.

'Aww!' Applebloom grunts. 'We should'a sticked to ghosthunting...'

'Hey there, girls,' Twilight welcomes them as calm as she can, though she still feels a warm feeling. She's secretly hoping that they didn’t see what happened a few seconds ago, expecting them to get the wrong impression. 'How are you this evening?'

'Just great!' Dusty Gust cheers and jumps on top of his brother's head, pushing Brush's mane into his own eyes. 'Check THIS out!' he gloats and raises his tiny pegasus wings, raising a cape along that is strapped around his neck.

'We let Dusty into the Cutie Mark Crusaders!' Scootaloo cheerfully announces. 'He also figured that he should try and see what he's good at!'

'CMC is going national!' Sweetie Bell cheers just as happy as Scootaloo.

Brush smiles from hearing the good news. '-Hehe-, I suppose this means you’ll look further than ghost-hunting, Dusty?' he asks him, still with hair pushed into his face.

The little colt jumps back on the ground and scratches with his hoof over the ground a little embarrassed. 'I’m sorry, brother... I just thought that I should look further than your carreer. I may not be as good a hunter as you are, but I can still be good in something else,' he tries to explain, afraid that Brush would be dissapointed.

'You know what? That’s exactly what you should do,' Brush supports him, glad that he gives up on the whole ghost nonsense. 'In fact: I think I’ll retire from the ghosthunting, considering the ‘mother of all ghosts’ is defeated now! I think I’ll pick up painting instead.'

He winks at Twilight for talking his way out to Dusty. 'Painting was always a big thing in my life,' he adds. 'Maybe it's best if I continues with that.'

'Really?' Dusty asks, not sure wether he's joking or not. 'Well..., anyway, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask, big bro' Dusty says. '...A favor actually.'

'A favor?' the stallion asks. 'Sure, ask me.'

'Cool!' he shouts. 'So I can crash with you for a while, big brother?” the pegasus asks him.

'Eh, huh?' Brush mumbles confused, not having expected THIS to be the favor. 'W-Well it's OFCOURSE fine with me... but shouldn’t it be discussed with mom and dad first? I don't think they'll want you to leave so soon...'

Dusty grins and shakes his head rapidly. 'Nope, I already asked them! They said it was fine, considering that we haven't seen each other for a while, and Ponyville would do good for me!'

'You told them? But… how? ...And they didn’t even ask for my-,' he mutters, a little unsatisfied by the sudden course of actions. But as the stallion of his word he is, he feels forced nod. 'Ok, ok. It’s alright with me,' Brush sighs defeated, not sure wether or not he should be concerned.

Though he may feel a little burdened by the idea to take care of himself in his creation of starting up in Ponyville AND his little energic brother, he actually doesn’t mind it that his Dusty stays over and has a chance to stick with true friends. It feels like giving Dusty a chance, which he didn’t have when he was little. Dusty has become good friends with the three fillies after all and there is a school in Ponyville as well, which should suit him better than a school full of unicorns in Canterlot. Taking it this oppertunity from him would make him feel awful.

'Yay! You won’t regret this, big brother!' he cheers as he jumps up and down on Brush’s back.

'-Ugh!- I will if you keep jumping on me like that when you grow up...,' he grunts softly to himself.

'Hoorays for the new member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders! HOOORAAY!!!' the three fillies cheer happily with an ear-deafening volume, scaring all the birds out of the surrounding trees.

'Ah, there they are,' another familiar voice speaks from behind them.

When the ponies look behind them again, they see several heads look over the grassy hill. Five mares and one dragon heard the noise of the fillies, easily assuming that the two ponies must've been here.

'Girls! Spike! How did you find us?' Twilight happily greets her friends, not having expected them to come outside. They looked like they could sleep any moment during the party in Canterlot, though seem totally fine now.

'It wasn’t hard to find you, thanks to these little racketeers,' Rarity giggles.

'So, what’ya doing up here?' Pinkie asks them.

'Not much. Just enjoying the sun-set,' Brush says, also glad to see the others. 'We were just talking about what happened over the past months. We would've asked you all to come too, ...but we figured you would all be exhausted from the all the action.

'Really? That's what you two were doing here?' Spike asks, not sure if he shouldn't question the whole "sunset watching" thing.

Twilight realizes that her face is still red and her heart pumping like crazy. If it wasn't about just now, it's also thanks to the surprising appearances of the others. Recalling the love jokes Spike kept throwing at her when Brush moved to Ponyville when she only meant to meet him as newcome, she tries to cover some of her face with a hoof and turns to look in front of her again. It would be embarressing if Spike would pick up where he left last time in front of all their friends.

'Hey, care to sit here together and enjoy the sunset?' Twilight quickly asks them, leaving the dragon's question unanswered.

Without any other question asked, the mares don't hesitate to drop in the grass next to them and chat.

'So where’d ya been this whole time, partner?' Applejack asks Brush, curious about what has happened to Brush these past months. She’s not the only one that thought about it. All the others are very curious about what transpired during Brush’ absence from Ponyville.

Brush is a little flattered about the interest in his journey and looks back, noticing that his little brother has already left to play hide-and-seek with his new three friends, and smiles.

'Let’s just say that I needed some time to think,' he chuckles. 'In the end: all I needed was a good friend to lead me home.'

Brush is about to start with the begin; the moment when Zecora found him half-corrupted in Everfree Forest. But before he can even take a deep breath, he is once again interrupted by his little brother that has something to say.

'...Say, bro, I got one more question: Why did you press your face against that lady's face a moment ago actually?' Dusty suddenly asks, heared by them all. 'It's not how you preform a proper headbutt...'

Their breaths stop. Twilight's face turns all red again, while Brush's face starts to sweat. The others look with big eyes at them, having no words ready to say. They can almost not believe it's what they think it is. One thing is for sure: Brush's story will have to make way for something else.

Spike remains completely silent, overthrown by the sudden revelation. But as the truth slowly sinks in, a wide grin appears on his face. 'Oh, you're SO not gonna hear the end of this...,' he says, followed by an sinister chuckle.

'D-DUSTY!' the two ponies shout together.

***

But while the ponies are enjoying the renewed harmony, letting their lifes progress as before, life does not "just" proceed for an alicorn. Several ponies are staying in Canterlot for the night, before heading home. Celebrations continue with laughter and entertainment. It's noisy outside, while it's deadly silent within the castlewalls.

Princess Luna walks through the hallways. Though many guards stand by to defend the castle against any possible threat, the mare of the night has gotten used to them and ignores them. The sun is almost down; meaning she has to stand ready to raise the moon to start the night.

But when she walks by the doors to her sister's chamber, she stops for a second. Things have been going smooth between them ever since she returned from banishment, just like nothing bad has ever happened between them. But still, Luna senses that there's a lot of background that her sisters keeps from her. She shakes her head and forgets about it, respecting Celestia's decisions.

Little does she know that Princess Celestia wasn't inside at the time. The tall princess walks into the royal library, passing along the bookcases. This is possibly the only place where there are no guards stationed, making it the most quiet and lonely place in all of Canterlot. At the end of the room, she looks around curiously to see if there’s anypony nearby that she may have overlooked. But when she sees nopony, Celestia looks back in front of her, at a bookcase that looks relatively smaller than the others. Her white horn begins to glow, aimed for the bookcase. Sliding away from the wall by her powerful levitation magic, a hidden entrance is revealed. She has to duck to be able to pass through it, even though she made it herself this way.

'I have returned,' she speaks into the hexigon-shaped stone chamber.

Nopony is here to answer her, but she was not talking to herself either. Walking up to the blue gem that is placed unto a stone pedestal in the middle of the chamber, she smiles when the gem starts to glow faintly.

'Good evening, Lady Fame. How are you?' she asks to a blue crystal. 'Do you recognize the room? It’s an exact replica of the Hall of Friendship from our castle in Everfree Forest!'

The crystal blinks several times with it's light. Celestia feels happy, as if Lady Fame is indeed with her in person.

'It’s where I keep all the letters of my protégée, Twilight Sparkle. I hope it makes you happy to be present here and watch how the bookcases slowly fill up,' she whispers. 'She works very hard for her friends... And I know they work hard for her as well.'

She looks up from the gem at another crystal on the other side of the pedestal, glowing with fierce energies. Celestia frowns.

'And I hope you are taking notice too, Ignis… You’re terrible nature brought you to this: Well deserved imprisonment inside your crystal. Your lust for destruction has become your own downfall,' she whispers with noticable anger in her voice.

The red crystal blinks rapidly, as if it's screaming at her in morse code.

'It will be your punishment to watch how the room is filling up with this knowledge of friendship, just like the room and knowledge YOU once destroyed in front of my very eyes… I-I can never forgive you.'

She ignores the red gem as it continues to blink rapidly with it's glowing power, unable to do anything to the princess. There is one other thing inside this room, standing on top of the pedestal, which takes her full attention and draws both her sorrow and her anger out.

'Discord… Will there ever be a day that I can release you without fear for disharmony; A day that our shattered friendship can be restored; A day when I can call you by your real name again?' she asks to the speechless stone draconequus, staring into empty space with fear engraved on it's solid face.

Celestia sighs disappointed, having hoped for one second to receive an answer somehow to her eternal unanswered questions. The day she hopes for could possibly never come at all, leaving a scarred spot open that was once filled with the only person that she could truly call her friend.

'Power is no good if it can’t be controlled by a healthy mind…,' she says while she heads towards the exit of the chamber. Just before the bookcase seals the chamber off, she takes on more glance into the chamber with the three sealed souls.

'Goodbye forever..., Spite.'

***

Days pass. Summer has moved further, making way for the upcoming fall. Leaves have started to turn brown, yellow, and red, ready to fall off during the Running of the Leaves. But before that time comes, some ponies still try to enjoy the final days of absolute summer.

The old gallery is back in action, inhabited by the two brothers that moved to Ponyville weeks ago. Spectrum Brush has gotten used completely to have his little brother around him, even though it doesn't go without regular brother-brother problems. The stallion has picked up his proffesion as painter again, using the gallery for both displaying art AND an art class to those interested in the fine art of painting. Dusty Gust, on the other hand, has too much energy for such a peaceful hobby. Along with his three best friends; Scootaloo, Applebloom, and Sweetie Bell, they try to discover their Cutie Marks together, doing the craziest stunts to find out what it could be. Though Dusty has shown Scootaloo many times how to do his Kamikazi charge, she can't copy it. But it doesn't bother her, believing that she'll be able to do something even greater when her wings have fully grown.

The day is setting, with only rain filling the air. Summer is obviously on the brink of ending. Only a mare and a dragon in the library are still awake, though ready to sleep soon enough.

'Spike, you know it's going to be good weather tomorrow, right? Have you decided yet wether or not you will come and try to get a tan before we only got rain for the next weeks?' she asks the dragon next to her, who is busy with putting some paper in a bag.

'Eh… I’d love to, Twilight. But I’m afraid I can’t . I…eh… got books to sort,' he stutters, without looking away from his equipment.

Twilight notices Spike’s odd behavior, knowing full well what is actually on his mind. Yet she asks anyway to see if he'll tell her anyway. 'You’re going to work on a sunny day? Is there something you’re not telling?' she asks with a smile on her face.

'Eh… No?' Spike says with a wide grin on his face, trying to look like he has nothing else on his mind. 'W-What else could there be than sorting books?'

'Spike..., Brush already told me that you participate in some of his painting courses…,' Twilight tells her assistant.

Spike has to swallow, realizing that his "secret" is a bust. The purple mare giggles by the look on the dragon's face.

'You thought this could stay a secret?' she laughs.

'I thought he has a license to remain silent about his clients…,' Spike mumbles grumpy, feeling embarresed about having Twilight find out about a new hobby he wanted to try.

'He’s a painter, Spike. Not a spy,' Twilight says and continues to giggle. 'Besides, he’s coming along with us tomorrow. He knows it too when it’s a time to work and a time to relax. So why not just come along? It'll be fun to go with the whole group.'

'Alright, alright. I’ll come along,' Spike grunts. He’s still a little mad that everypony seems to know what he’s been up to lately, while he thought that not a single pony knew about it. Next time he has plans for a new attempt of hobbies, he will make sure to ask anypony to keep quiet about it.

Suddenly they hear, other than the rain falling on the roof, a loud knock on the front door.

'Hm? Who could that be around this hour?' Twilight wonders and walks downstairs.

Spike is still busy trying to push the paper into the bag, using all his might until the bag tears apart. Looking dazzled at the flying papers and the hole in his bag, he sighs and grabs a new one.

The knocks on the door are heard again, only a little more urgent than the ones before. 'Sorry, but the library is already closed!' Twilight shouts at the door while she walks to it.

But even though her words must've been clear enough to be heared by anypony behind the door, a third set of knocks are heared.

'Is there anything you need? If it's about a book, isn't it better to come back tomorrow when it's not raining?' Twilight asks and opens the door. Her mouth shuts tight out of surprise when she recognizes the figure that stands in the rain, looking with sickly eyes at her.

'Y-You are...,' Twilight whispers, recognizing the blue mare that looks at her with saddened eyes.

'Is... Is the offer still open?'

THE END

???

'Hey, Twilight. Do you remember that day we met? The day I moved to Ponyville?' the red stallion asks to the purple mare walking next to him.

She turns around and smiles by the mention, unable to forget something like that in a time like this. 'Ofcourse I do! Gosh, it's been already years ago... It feels like it was the day of yesterday,' she sighs dreamy.

'-Hehe-, I feel it too,' the male unicorn chuckles. 'A meteor shower passed the night before that. You went into town to collect supplies to examine a crashed meteor, while I was just too busy to outrun Pinkie Pie,' he tells, regardless of Twilight's mention that she still knows it well. 'You took so much with you that you could barely see in front of you. And I wasn't looking in front of me AT ALL.'

The mare snickers, recalling the crash, the pain, the confusion, and the meeting it led to. 'Well..., All things considered, it's a good thing that we crashed into each other like that. It DID led us to meet each other, right? Every downside has its upsides, I guess,' she positively speaks of the memory. 'Why bringing this up all of the sudden, Brush? Feeling nostalgic?'

But he shakes his head and shrugs.'Nah, I don't regret anything from the past. I just like to think about it and how we've changed since that moment.'

The purple unicorn nods, falling deep into thought about every thing that happened in the past. They are both silenced by the rush of thoughts that pass through their minds, savoring every moment they've experienced. The times with just her five mare friends, the times after meeting Brush, the times when Trixie returned, and all after that. Yet, as good and happy it sounds, it quickly ends when Twilight sighs about one important thing in her life, forcing her to think back about the present.

'...Do you think "she" will be present?' she asks to the unicorn next to her.

Brush is automatically snaps out of his thoughts too and grunts, always feeling a tad worried when Twilight brings this up and knows that she can't help it. 'Twilight... We promised not to bring it up again. We... We both know that the chances Celestia will return at this moment are slim... Even if it's such a special moment in your life...,' he whispers, though obviosly he can't ever experience the sorrow that Twilight feels, knowing how much stronger the bond between the two mares is.

'I know, I know...,' she whispers. 'It's just that... ever since I graduated, she left without a trace... She never even told me where she would go... I still haven't gotten over her dissapearance, even though it looks like she left by her own decision...'

She looks up at the male next to her with hopeful eyes, asking an answer from anything that her pupils look at. 'Where could she be?'

But instead of giving a useless answer, Brush throws a leg over her shoulder to comfort her, knowing well enough about how much is must sting Twilight to think about her precious teacher's dissapearance. '...Let's try to be strong. After all: Princess Luna wouldn't have asked us to become the Captain of the Royal Guard and her Royal Advisor if she would feel confident enough to be in charge over Equestria by herself,' he tries to move her view on other things, giving her an idea of proceeding, instead of standing still in time. 'We're the only ones that she truly trusts without any doubt now. She's counting on us to help her through this difficult time. Let's stop thinking about regrets in the past for now, and focus on the good things that are to come, you see?'

The purple unicorn sighs and recovers her smile, focusing back on the important events that will come in only a few days. 'You're right, Brush. Luna is even more worried and desperate than I am. To be suddenly given all the responsibility of Equestria on her shoulders like that... I can only imagine how horrified she must be. As if losing her sister wasn't already bad enough, she has to stay strong in front of everypony.'

Brush rubs his cheek against Twilight's. It's a promise that he won't leave her, like he has done years ago once for his own need to fix damage. Celestia's timing of leaving Equestria was indeed terrible, a moment after Brush asked "the question" to her student. He's certain that Celestia will return one day, though it could be easily years long until that day comes. 'Luna trusts us with all her heart. As the mare that was so close to Celestia and strongheaded in knowledge, and the stallion that fought alongside her in the Frozen North and planned out a way to prevent a new world order, this was a decision she couldn't be more certain to take by herself,' he explains.

It was only in a few days time that she would be given TWO questions that would make a big difference in what direction her life will proceed. Though shy to openly admit it, she knows herself well enough to be able to assist Princess Luna in the many decisions she has to make every day. Becoming an advisor of the throne sounds like a job well placed for her. Or like Rainbow Dash would put it: She's Queen Egghead.

A smile appears on his face; he knows that Twilight understands it well. '...Though I must say I wasn't really sure if I should accept the title of Captain so early, now that your brother has abandoned it. I havn't even tried to become part of the guard!' he remarks, doubting himself in a joking manner to break the ice.

His sudden change of attitude into something more positive cheers Twilight up somehow, making her smile along with him. 'Brush... We all know that a captain is mostly needed for tactical issues and commanding. You may be painter at heart, but you've proven many times to us that you are more than qualified to be in charge of what my brother was. You'll do great, I know it,' she chuckles and jokingly pushes the stallion to tease him, like she's meaning to say that he's an idiot for doubting himself on this.

But that's not all that was on her mind. When she thinks again about something, she becomes depressed again, looking down at the floor again. 'But... It's not just Celestia that is burdening on my mind...,' she whispers.

Surprised, Brush looks at the mare with curious eyes. He was certain that he found the reason of the mare's insecurities. 'What is it then?' he asks.

Before she answers, she takes a deep breath, needing to calm down from overthinking too much. 'It's just that... I'm worried of leaving our friends... We've went through so many things together, laughed together when we messed something up or thought too much about things, comforted each other when we were sad, helped each other in times of need. And in a few days we will be moving back to Canterlot... Leaving Ponyville behind,' she whispers with anxiety. The last sentence hurts by merely saying it out loud.

Brush understands it, but shrugs in response. 'So? That will never mean that we can't visit! Ponyville and Canterlot are not that far apart. We can see them whenever we like to and they can visit us as well! We'll always be best friends with each other, no matter what the distance is.'

His words speaks the harsh and utmost truth, though exactly what Twilight needed to hear. She thinks about it and quickly accepts it, almost able to believe it to the fullest from the stallion that said it.

'Thank you... You're right. I-I must be paranoid,' she chuckles. After another deep breath, Twilight moves with a hoof over her mane to keep it from looking messy by her stress of worries.

'And besides: Rarity has also moved to Canterlot a year ago to promote her company, right? We hadn't lost contact with her,' Brush continues to talk, pulling out every positive fact he can pull out of brainbox.

'-Mhm-' she agrees and nods. 'Though she's very busy ever since... Considering she has so much more clients nowadays. She only recently heard that Sweetie Bell has become a part-time teacher in Ponyville.'

The male hadn't thought of that, realizing he may have given an example that may not help much. 'Ok, you're right about that. But-' he tries to explain, only to be interrupted.

'And that also means that Applejack and Applebloom are running Sweet Apple Acres by themselves now, considering Granny Smith and Big Macintosh are in no position of doing it,' Twilight keeps talking, stressing further and scratches her head until her mane is messy again.

'Yea, I see what you mean. But still-' Brush tries to get a word, only to be interrupted again.

'AND Rainbow Dash has an extremely tight schedual. She can't abandon her team in the middle of a show just to say "hi," she talks on, sounding much more stressed than at the first given example.

'I know that... But-' he mumbles, again cut off by the nervous purple mare.

'Only Pinkie Pie, Spike, and Fluttershy have flexible times... But whether one or four can appear, it won't be any good unless we're ALL able to see each other at the same time!' Twilight concludes.

'...Eh...,' he mumbles, knowing that any effort of speech would be interrupted anyway.

'You can't ignore the idea that when we work in the Canterlot castle that we will be extremely busy as well...,' she sighs, done with talking about what spooks her mind all the time.

With a second sigh, she drops on the ground, exhausted of thinking and talking. Brush is completely quiet by it, unable to talk something over like this right. After all; It's true. Time kept going, reaching the point where young mares and stallions start to seriously work about the years that will follow in their lives. Their friends must think the same as they do: Will we ever see each other as easily as before?

'True... I can't. We won't be able to see each other as much as we used to,' he admits and moves in front of Twilight, causing her to look up at him from the ground. 'But still, I will remain positive and accept that this is how life goes. The idea that we will be able to see each other, though less, still manages to comfort me.'

The mare is less certain. She knows the stallion is right, but can't shake the feeling of uncertainty. Losing Celestia to the unknown has cut her optimism by a large scale, which Brush tries his best to aid her in recovering back. Twilight looks the Brush in his pure green eyes, looking at her between a few blinks. He looks both certain and strong-willed, as if he's trying to convince that everything will be alright.

'Are you scared?' she suddenly asks.

Brush doesn't respond right away. Twilight was right to suspect it. He takes a step back, while still looking at her face.

Somehow she managed to read through his confidence, knowing that Brush is only keeping himself so strong to prevent the both of them from falling into despair. There's too much going on that can't carry their burdens as well.

'...Yes. I am also worried. Not because of that, but because of the fear of leaving friends behind...' he easily admits, not trying to hide it from her now. 'And it's not just our friends... But I haven't seen Dusty for a while as well... I'm sure he's doing great in Ponyville, enjoying every moment with the others... But that doesn't fix it that I miss him.'

He drops on the floor as well, right in front of her, face to face. She didn't mean to, but she accidently managed to make Brush see as negative as she does, just because he was trying to stay strong for her. She can't let that happen, knowing again now that she must be strong as well again. Not just for herself, but for each other.

A smile appears on her face and she snickers, making Brush look up when she suddenly stands up. 'Right... Dusty Gust. Do you think he will ever notice that Scootaloo has an eye on him? Or is going to forever believe that there's nothing but clean rivalry between them?' she asks with a chuckle about the denseness of Dusty.

The stallion can't help but chuckle along with her, being distracted by the memories of his silly little brother. '-Heh-, I think he's still believing that Applebloom has a crush on him, just because he was allowed to sleep in the Acres' barn for the night when he first came to Ponyville,' he laughs along. 'That silly featherbrain... JUST what I'd expect from my little bro: Never able to let things of the far past go.'

'Just like his older brother...,' she giggles and winks.

Brush is happy already. Not because of one more silly joke like that, but because of Twilight's help to see the finer things of life. It's a perfect reason for liking her so much: Able to lift each other's spirits; always being there for each other when the going gets tough.

He stops laugh, though continues to smile. 'Thank you, Twilight... I wouldn't know how I would be able to see so clear without you at my side,' the red stallion whispers and takes a step forward to the purple mare, to the point where their horns almost make contact. 'I'll always be there for you. No matter how bleak the situation is, we'll never be alone.'

'Brush...,' Twilight whispers, admiring him the things he always knows to say at the right moment. Her heartrate increases as she slowly moves closer to his face, closing her eyes as the gap between their faces becomes smaller.

'Twilight...,' Brush whispers back, closing his eyes as well. Their minds are both out, unable to think about all the bad things. They feel nothing but that sense of relief and joy running through their veins, burning like a shared heart of fire.

But at the point where their lips should meet, Spectrum Brush is surprised to feel her cheek on his, with her lips right next to his ear.

'But if I ever see that "toothpaste pony" jump you again, I WILL send her to the moon,' she whispers, followed by a giggle of how she fooled the stallion like this.

For a moment, Brush has no idea what she's talking about. But before he has to think deeply about it, he recalls again what Twilight means.

At random moments, random days, and random hours, some blue mare with dark-blue/white hair has come into contact with him, always resulting in trying to tackle him for no apparant reason. Brush always tries to escape her, almost as if he's scared. But no matter what, the mare won't give up once she gets him in sight. It's a real embaressment to be seen like that in public.

The joke and laugh work contageous, causing him to laugh harder, which in turn makes Twilight laugh just the same.

'I'll remember that and make sure to continue to avoid her until we're in Canterlot. It's a little embarressing,' he promises between his laughs, knowing full well that Twilight was joking about sending that crazy, yet innocent, mare to the moon.

Though on the other hand; he can't be too sure if Twilight WOULDN'T do it. He's never seen her do something like that, though it's not unlikely she could.

'Atleast it will be organized in Ponyville, just like we both wanted,' he sighs with a smile, having gotten over the joke now.

'One only question I have left is... Who will you choose to be your best-mare?'

Like struck by lightning, Twilight looks like she fell in shock. With ears pointing up and eyes shrinking, while biting on her lip with her top set of teeth, Twilight is back at panicking over details. Even good things come with obstacles, with this question being the biggest obstacle of all. 'Oh, Gosh! I still can't choose!' Twilight grunts, having her energy back the moment she focuses back on the day. 'I wish I would just be able to ask my big brother... It's easy considering I only got ONE of those, instead of SIX!'

Spectrum Brush can't help but chuckle over Twilight's indecisiveness over a thing that will probably turn out best in the end. Twilight is back to worrying in herself, walking around the room aimlessly while thinking over every tiny thing that she feels worthy to think about.

'I can already feel it: It will be A wedding to remember...'

THE END?