The Sisters of Empathy and Trust

Chapters

Mare in the Moon
The Elements of Harmony
Griffon the Brush Off
Boast Busters
Dragonshy
Look Before You Sleep
Bridle Gossip
Coming to Equestria

Mare in the Moon

Eleanor's POV.

*Dream*

*Dream End*

I woke up with a gasp, as the doors of the castle library flew open to reveal my new study partner. That's the third time I've had that dream this week.

Princess Luna becoming Nightmare Moon? Why would I dream that?

Oh, hey there, viewers. Long time no see. :D

It's been about 12 years since my family and I were teleported to Equestria, and Sam and I were transformed into Pony fillies. Me a bat pony and Sam a unicorn. We met Applejack, I met Sunset Shimmer and I became her study partner, only for her to leave to the Equestria Girls world...

Since the time has passed, I have grown into my new Pony form and embraced my new home. Unfortunately, I've been having trouble fitting in with the other ponyfolk. It seems, due being the only bat pony in Canterlot, everypony in Canterlot has been avoiding my like I have the plague. Still unable to fly.

Now, when I realized that Sam and I aged back to fillies, I'm now 18 years old and have grown into a mare and a citizen of Canterlot. I've even earned my Cutie Mark.

I earned my Cutie Mark when I ran away and got lost in the Everfree Forest. I followed a loud sonic boom to find a sick Zebra looking for herbs to make her feel better. I saw mystical wisps within the forest and followed to the herbs the Zebra needed. I healed her with the herbs I found. My Cutie Mark was a patch of night sky with three purple wisps. Isn't that cool?

As I grew, the taller I've gotten. I'm now nearly as tall as Big McIntosh or Princess Luna.

Anywho, my study partner, that opened the door, revealed to be the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle herself.

Twilight Sparkle was a unicorn mare. Her mane was well-combed and a sapphire blue with pink and purple streaks. Her coat was a light mulberry purple with gradient indigo forearms and socks. Violet eyes, dark purple hooves and leonine tail with her tuff matching her mane.

(https://derpibooru.org/1701728?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Ctwilight+sparkle)
(Ignore the wings and feathers)

"Spike! SPII-IIKE!" Twilight called, then she looked down at the floor, "Spike?"

Spike, our young purple and green dragon assistant, sat up and recovered from the impact, as I rubbed my head.

Twilight smiled, "There you are." She ran past us and started searching through the book, "Quick! Find me that old copy of Predictions and Prophecies." She looked at Spike and asked, "What’s that for?"

Spike looked at his tail and noticed it impaled his gift for Moondancer. He removed it from his tail and answered, "Well, it was a gift for Moondancer, but…"

An impaled teddy bear fell out of the wrapping and dropped to the floor with a squeak.

Twilight sighed and resumed searching through her book, "Oh, Spike. You know we don’t have time for that sort of thing."

"But we’re on a break!" I argued, getting up to my hooves, as I stretched from my nap.

Twilight ignored me and used her magic to grab some book from the top of the bookshelf nearest to her. She searched the books, "No…no…no…no, no, no!" She groaned in frustration and shouted, "SPIKE!!"

"It’s over here!" Spike answered from another high self.

Twilight used her magic to grab the book. But Spike still had hold of it. Spike fell off his ladder and flew toward Twilight.

Twilight looked at the book and smiled, "Ah!"

She dropped the other books and walked toward the nearest the podium. I helped Spike back to his feet and we started picking the books Twilight dropped.

"Elements. Elements. E, E, E…" Twilight muttered as she used her magic to flip through the pages, then read in a clear voice, "Aha! 'Elements of Harmony'. See 'Mare in the Moon'?"

My eyes widened as Spike spoke up from on top of a ladder, "'Mare in the Moon'? But that’s just an old ponies tale."

"Mare. Mare…" Twilight muttered, as she flipped through the pages, "Aha! 'The Mare in the Moon. Myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria. Defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about nighttime eternal'."

I closed my eyes and heard an evil laugh echoed through my head. In my black vision, all I could see was a pair of menacing, yet very sad turquoise eyes. Why?

Twilight gasped and asked, "Spike. Ellie, do you know what this means?"

I opened my eyes and quickly nodded my head. I never wanted to know, but I truly do.

"No." Spike answered.

However, he lost his balance and fell off the ladder. I caught Spike on my back, before he hit the ground.

"Take a note, please." Twilight instructed, giving Spike a parchment and quill, "To the Princess."

Spike smiled and slide down my back, "Okie-dokie."

Spike started writing, as Twilight paced and spoke, "'My dearest teacher, My continuing studies of pony magic have led me to discover that we are on the precipice of disaster'..."

"Hold on." Spike spoke up, "Preci… Preci…"

He gives Twilight a lost look. Being a baby dragon, he doesn't understand large words.

"Threshold." Twilight simplified.

Spike tried again, "Thre…" But to no avail.

Twilight raised a brow, "Uh…brink?"

Spike gave her a look. She groaned in frustration.

"Why not just say, 'We're on the edge of disaster'?" I suggested.

Twilight and Spike looked at me. Spike wrote down my suggestion and nodded for Twilight to continue.

Twilight returned pacing and continued, "'For you see, the mythical Mare in the Moon is in fact Nightmare Moon, and she is about to return to Equestria and bring with her eternal night. Something must be done to make sure this terrible prophecy does not come true. I await your quick response. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle'."

"'Twi-light… Spar-kle.'" Spike finished and answered, "Got it!"

Twilight nodded and smiled, "Great! Send it."

"Now?" Spike and I asked.

Twilight nodded, "Of course!"

"Uh…I don’t know, Twilight. Princess Celestia’s a little busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration, and it’s, like, the day after tomorrow." Spike shrugged his shoulders.

"That’s just it, Spike." Twilight replied, "The day after tomorrow is the thousandth year of the Summer Sun Celebration. It’s imperative that the Princess is told right away!"

"Impera…Impera…" Spike tried to write, but, again, didn't quite know how to spell the word.

"Important!" Twilight shouted.

The volume and force of the word threw Spike toward me and we rolled into the nearest bookshelf, "Ow..."

"Okay, okay!" Spike replied, getting back to his feet.

He took a deep breath, rolled up the parchment into a scroll and burned it with his green, magical fire breath. The cinders flew out of the window and toward the castle, "There! It’s on its way."

"But I wouldn’t hold your breath, Twi." I warned.

Twilight smugly smiled at me, "Oh, I’m not worried, Ellie. The Princess trusts me completely. In all the years she’s been my mentor, she’s never once doubted me."

I tilted my head and looked away in thought. Spike let out a burp and his fire breath morphed into a rolled up scroll.

Twilight smirked, "See? I knew she would want to take immediate action."

Spike opened the scroll, cleared his throat and read, "'My dearest, most faithful student Twilight, you know that I value your diligence, and that I trust you completely'."

Twilight looked out the window and smiled.

"In 3... 2... 1..." I counted down.

"'But you simply must stop reading those dusty old books'!" Spike finished.

Twilight gasped, as I smiled, "There it is."

"'I have given you an assignment for you outside of Canterlot'." Spike continued reading, "'Spike and Eleanor will accompany you. You leave as soon as possible'."

Twilight sighed.

*Later, Flying over the Plains...*
"'My dear Twilight, there is more to a young pony’s life than studying. So I’m sending you to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in this year’s location, Ponyville'." Spike continued reading, as we were riding a chariot, drawn by pegasi guards, to our next destination.

I couldn't believe I'm coming back to Ponyville. I've been in touch with my family, thanks to Princess Celestia's promise and Sam and I have been keeping in touch by writing letters to each other via a certain delivery mare named Derpy Hooves, or as I call her, Ditzy Doo.

Sam explained to me that Ponyville is not as old as Canterlot or the Everfree Forest, but it's a heck of a town. Pegasi, Unicorns and Earth Ponies working together and living together as very close friends can get. It's the same town that my family live and work.

"'And I have an even more essential task for you to complete; Make some friends'." Spike finished reading Celestia's letter.

Twilight just sulked and sighed softly.

"Look on the bright side, Twilight. The Princess arranged for you to stay in a library." Spike tried to encourage, "Doesn’t that make you happy?"

Twilight suddenly raised her head, "Yes. Yes, it does. You know why? Because I’m right. I’ll check on the preparations as fast as I can, then get to the library to find some proof of Nightmare Moon’s return."

"What about making friends, like the Princess said?" I asked in a concerned tone.

Twilight shook her head, "She said to check on preparations. I am her student, and I’ll do my royal duty, but the fate of Equestria does not rest on me making friends."

The carriage landed and the Pegasi whinnied, indicating we have reached our destination. Twilight, Spike and I exit the carriage.

"Thank you, sirs." Twilight thanked them. The guards snorted, and they returned to Canterlot.

"Maybe the Ponies in Ponyville have interesting things to talk about!" Spike spoke up, as an earth pony mare skipped toward us.

The mare stopped in front of us and smiled. Her fur was a light pink color with lighter pink neck markings. Her socks start a darker pink and turn white with light blue hooves. Her mane and tail were a darker shade of pink, with a yellow streak, and were poofy and wild. Her eyes were a light shade of blue. Her Cutie Mark was of three party balloons.

Like she was made of cotton candy. Or gumballs.

I recognized her as the local Party Pony, Pinkie Pie.

(https://derpibooru.org/1702399?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Cpinkie+pie)

"Come on, Twilight. Just try." Spike encouraged Twilight.

Twilight looked at the mare and waved her hoof in uncertainty, "Uh…hello?"

The mare jumped into the air with a long gasp of surprise. Then she zoomed off somewhere. That was one odd Pony.

Once calmed, Twilight noted, "Well, that was interesting, all right."

With that, she walked off. Spike and I sighed and followed after her. This is not gonna end well at all.

*Sweet Apple Acres...*
"'Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer's Checklist. Number one, banquet preparations, Sweet Apple Acres.'" Spike read the Checklist, as we entered a large farm, full of apple trees.

"Yee-Haw!!!" A pony shouted, startling Spike, Twilight and I.

We turned and saw an orange earth pony mare run and kicked an apple tree, with buckets around it. The apples fell in all of the baskets.

Not one missed.

The pony crossed her hooves proudly. Her mane and tail were blonde and her eyes were green. Her mane and tail were in a low ponytail. Near white socks and freckles under her eyes and on her shoulders, blaze and underbelly, with dark brown hooves. She wore a cowgirl, setson hat, and a Cutie Mark of three red gala apples in a triangular formation.

Applejack!

(https://derpibooru.org/1702384?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Capplejack)

Twilight sighed, "Let's get this over with." She walked to Applejack with a smile, "Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

Applejack grabbed her hoof and shook it violently, "Well, Howdy-doo, Miss Twilight. A pleasure makin' your acquaintance. I'm Applejack. We, here, at Sweet Apple Acres, sure do like makin' new friends." She introduced herself in a very strong Southern accent.

"Frie-e-e-ends? Actua-a-ally-y-y-y, I..." Twilight tried to explain, but Applejack let go of her hoof.

"So, what can I do ya for?" Applejack asked with a kind smile.

Twilight Sparkle was still shaking her hoof, so she couldn't speak. I grabbed her hoof and stopped it from shaking. Spike suppressed a laugh.

"Well, I am, in fact, here to supervise preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. And you are in charge of the food?" Twilight Sparkle explained and asked her.

Applejack smiled, "We sure as sugar are. Would you and your friends care to sample some?" She replied, then asked.

I smiled, "We'd love to, Applejack."

"Well, as long as it doesn't take too long." Twilight answered with an raised eyebrow.

Applejack rang a loud triangle bell, then shouted, "Soup's on, everypony!!"

On cue, a large group of ponies charged toward us and carried us to a round table. Applejack appeared beside us.

"Now, why don't I introduce y'all to the Apple Family." She said, with a smile.

"Thanks, but we really need to hurry." Twilight Sparkle tried to explain, but a pony with a plate of apple fritters stopped her.

"This is Apple Fritter. Apple Bumpkin. Red Gala. Red Delicious. Gold Delicious. Caramel Apple. Apple Strudel. Apple Tart. Baked Apples. Apple Brioche. Apple Cinnamon Crisp..." Applejack introduced the ponies, as each gave us their specialty. Leaving us with a large pile a apple related treats.

She took a deep breathe, before she carried on, "Samantha, Big McIntosh, Limelight Suki Ginger, Apple Bloom and... Granny Smith." She finished, before putting an apple in my mouth.

Samantha, my younger sister, was young unicorn mare. A teenager, around a year younger than me. Light blue fur that faded to a gradient deep blue at the socks and the top of her head. White trimmings above her amethyst hooves. White underbelly and a leonine tail. Her mane was light blonde with dark blonde streaks. And her eyes were light blue. Samantha's Cutie Mark was of a red gala apple with a lily resting beside it.

(https://derpibooru.org/1756087?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Cstarlight+glimmer)
(Blue fur coat and blonde mane and tail.)

Big McIntosh was a large Earth Pony stallion about the same height as Ellie. His fur coat was a brick red color. Mane and tail were a ginger orange color in neat combed style. Green eyes. His mane reached to his shoulders. His forearms, blaze and socks were a lighter red color. Dark beige hooves with well-kept fetlocks. His Cutie Mark was of a shining green apple.

Limelight Suki Ginger, my mother, was an Earth Pony mare, around the same height as Sam. She bared a similar resemblance to Applejack. The difference was that Limelight's eyes were light blue, she wore a green bandana around her neck, and her Cutie Mark is of a zap apple with a lightning bolt behind it.

Apple Bloom was a young, yellow Earth Pony filly, with a pink bow in her red mane. She had no Cutie Mark yet.

And Granny Smith was a female was an elder Earth Pony mare. Her fur coat was a pale green. Her mane and tail were white, due to age, and tied in a bun. Golden eyes of wisdom and life-long lessons. Her blaze and socks faded to a near white color. Her hooves were a light brown. She wore a plaid shawl over her shoulders and a Cutie Mark of an apple pie.

"Up'n'attem, Granny Smith. We got guests." Applejack woke the elder pony.

"Wha..? Soup's on? I'm up. Here I come, Ah'm coming." She woke up and walked over to us.

Applejack put her hoof over Twilight's shoulder, "Why, I'd say they're already part of the family."

My mother looked at me and smiled, "Oh my gosh! Ellie!" She threw her arms around me, "My goodness! How much you've grown. We missed you so much."

I hugged my mother back, "It's good to see you guys too, Mum."

Twilight Sparkle spat the apple out, and gave them a nervous smile, "Okay. Well, I can see that the food situation is handled. So, we'll be on our way."

"Aren't yah gonna stay for brunch?" Little Applebloom asked in the same Southern accent, giving us a sad look.

"Sorry, but we'd an awful lot to do." Twilight told her as gently as she can. Everypony sighed in sadness. Twilight looked around, trying to find a way out of this, but she gave up, "Fine."

Everypony cheered.

*Later, in Ponyville...*
"Food is taken care of. Next is the weather." Spike informed Twilight and I, as we entered the streets of Ponyville.

"Ugh, I ate too much pie." Twilight Sparkle moaned over her full stomach of apple pies and cakes.

I'd admit, the food was good, but very filling on the first two servings. Spike and I didn't look as bad as Twilight did. Spike only ate some apple fritters, while I ate two apple straddles and an apple cinnamon crisp.

"Hmm... There's supposed to be a pegasus pony, named Rainbow Dash, clearing the clouds." Spike told us, looking up at the sky.

Twilight and I looked up and the clouds were still around.

"Well, she's not doing a very good job, is she?" Twilight asked.

I gasped and pushed Twilight aside, as something flew into me. The collision caused me to fall into the mud puddle with a mare. the mare and myself were covered in mud.

The mare was a light cyan pegasus mare, with spiky rainbow mane and tail. Her eyes were a rose pink. Cutie Mark of a white cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt.

(https://derpibooru.org/1702362?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Crainbow+dash)

It was Rainbow Dash.

The pegasus mare got up and looked at me with a small chuckle, "Um... 'Scuse me?"

I got back up to my hooves and tried to dust myself off, keeping my composure. Rainbow Dash chuckled again, "Here, let me help you."

She flew off for a second and returned with a small raincloud. She jumped on top of it a few times, making the cloud rain on top of me. Rainbow Dash looked over to see me. I was soaked. Fur, skin, mane, wings, and tail. I kept my composure, but I felt cold and embarassed.

Rainbow Dash suppressed a laugh, "Oops. I guess I overdid it." Then she thought for a second, "Umm... How about this?" She flew around me in great speed, creating a small tornado, "My very own, patented, Rain-Blow Dry. No, no. Don't thank me. You're quite welcome." Rainbow smiled proudly, as she landed and looked at the results.

My mane and tail were a mess. I looked like a sad dark clown. Rainbow Dash burst into laughter, as Spike followed her, when he saw my 'new look'. The only one that kept her composure was Twilight Sparkle.

"Let me guess. You're Rainbow Dash." Twilight concluded, getting Rainbow Dash's attention.

Rainbow Dash stopped laughing and stood up proudly, "The one and only." She took off into the air and looked at Twilight, "Why? You heard of me?"

"I heard you're supposed to be keeping the sky clear." Twilight snapped, but she calmed down and smiled, "I'm Twilight Sparkle. And the Princess sent me to check on the weather."

"Yeah, yeah. That'll be a snap. I'll do it in a jiffy. Just as soon as I'm done practicing." Rainbow Dash told her, lounging on a cloud.

"Practicing for what?" I asked with a raised brow.

"The Wonderbolts!" She pointed to a poster of the Wonderbolts nearby, "They're gonna perform at the Celebration tomorrow. And I'm gonna show them my stuff." Rainbow Dash explained, flying to another cloud.

I smirked, "The Wonderbolts?"

"Yup." Dash answered.

"The most talented fliers in all of Equestria?" I asked.

"That's them." Rainbow Dash answered again.

"Please. They'd never accept a pegasus, who can't keep the sky clear for one measly day." I teased with a smile.

"Hey! I can clear the sky in ten seconds flat!" Rainbow Dash defended.

"Prove it." I dared.

Rainbow Dash gave me a look, and began flying around, kicking out every cloud in the sky. She flew very fast, that the wind picked up whenever she fly past us.

"Loop-de-loop around and wham!" She muttered, as she hit the last cloud. "What did I say? Ten seconds flat. I'd never leave Ponyville hanging." Rainbow Dash gloated with a smile.

Spike and Twilight Sparkle had their mouths open from shock, while I smiled and clapped her hooves. I knew Rainbow Dash was fast, but to see it in person... Wow!

"You should see the look on your face." Rainbow Dash laughed, as she flew by behind us, "You're a laugh, you two. I can't wait to hang out some more." With that, she flew away.

"Wow. She's amazing." Spike was able to say with a smile.

Twilight Sparkle gave him a blank look, as he began playing with the my messy mane, trying not to laugh.

Twilight looked at me with a genuine smile, "Thanks, for pushing me out of the way."

"It's no problem, Twi." I replied, smiling back at her, then walking to the Town Hall. Twilight Sparkle followed me to the Town Hall.

"Wait. It's kinda pretty once you get used to it." Spike lightened as he followed us.

As we entered the hall, Spike got the checklist out, "Decorations. Beautiful..." Spike said the last part love-struck. There were banners of ponies, the sun and the moon, colorful streamers and all sorts. It was very beautiful.

"Yes. The decor is coming in nicely. This oughta be quick. I'll be at the Library in no time. Beautiful indeed." Twilight examined, as we looked around the hall.

"I agree." I nodded in agreement, with a small smile.

"Not the decor. Her." Spike replied, pointing to a unicorn mare.

Her fur coat was a very pale grey, nearly white with gradient grey socks and back with diamond patterns. And her mane and tail were purple-blue, wonderfully combed with a natural curl. She wore light blue eyeshadow over her darker blue eyes. Her Cutie Mark was of three blue diamonds.

(https://derpibooru.org/1701768?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Crarity)

I recognized the unicorn mare as Rarity. Ponyville's local fashion designer and fashionista.

Rarity was using her blue magic to pick out a colored ribbon, "No. No. No. Oh goodness no."

"How are my spines? Are they straight?" Spike asked, checking himself. Twilight Sparkle rolled my eyes, and walked to Rarity, while I lightheartedly giggle.

"Good afternoon." Twilight greeted Rarity.

"Just a moment, please. I am in the zone, as it were." Rarity told her, as she continued to looked at the colored ribbons. She smiled, and tied a red sparkly ribbon in a bow, around the pillar in front of her, "Ah, yes. Sparkle always does the trick, does it not? Why, Rarity, you are a talent."

She turned and looked at Twilight and I, "Now, um, how can we help yo-" She gasped in shock as she saw my messy mane, "Oh my stars, darling. Whatever happened to your coiffure?"

I tilted my head in confusion, then looked at my bangs, "Oh, you mean my mane?" Then I assured, "It's a long story. My friend, Twilight, and I are just here to check on the decorations, and we'll be out of your hair."

"Out of my hair? What about your hair?" Rarity asked, as she jumped behind me and started pushing me out of the Town Hall and to Carousel Boutique. Spike and Twilight followed, of course Spike used his tail to fly.

Silly love-struck dragon.

*A Little Later...*
After Rarity sorted my mane, which was now a short and spiky with long bangs, she got my trying her new outfits for tall ponies, as she judged them on me, "No, no, uh-uh. Too green. Too yellow. Too poofy. Not poofy enough. Too frilly. Too... shiny."

We stopped on a saddle that made me look similar to a princess of darkness.

"Now go on, my dear. You were telling me where you're from." Rarity encouraged, as she tightened the corset of the last outfit.

I struggled to breathe as I spoke, "We've... been sent from... Canterlot... to-" Rarity stopped pulling with a gasp, causing me to fall forward and bump into Twilight Sparkle and Spike, "Ow..."

"Canterlot? Oh, I am so envious! The glamor, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can't wait to hear all about it!" Rarity smiled with glee and stars in her eyes. She got a little too close to Twilight and I, as she continued, "We are gonna be the best of friends, you and I..."

Then she looked at the emerald on the chest of me saddle, "Emeralds?! What was I thinking? Let me get you some rubies!" And she walked off.

Twilight quickly nudged me and made her way to the exit of the Boutique, "Quick! Before she decides to dye your coat a new color!"

Spike sighed, as I picked him up and placed him over my back.

*Outside Ponyville...*
"Wasn't she wonderful?" Spike asked, still love-struck and thinking about Rarity.

"It was very generous of her to fix my hair." I smiled.

"Focus, Casanova." Twilight told Spike, "What's next on the list?"

Spike cleared his throat and looked at the Checklist, "Oh, uh, music. It's the last one."

I smiled, then we heard a group of birds singing. Spike, Twilight Sparkle and I went to investigate and saw a yellow pegasus mare. Her back was facing us, so we couldn't see her face.

From what we could see, the mare's mane and tail were a cherry blossom pink with a blue streak. Her fur and feathers were a butter-cream yellow the faded to a gradient golden color. Dark golden hooves. Her Cutie Mark was of three pink butterflies. So graceful and gentle.

The pegasus was conducting music with a bunch of birds. A blue jay was a little out of rhythm, so the Pegasus kindly told him.

"Hello." Twilight Sparkle greeted loudly, startling the pegasus, and scaring the birds away.

The pegasus looked at me and Twilight. Her eyes were a light blue and were hooded, to add to her delicate figure.

(https://derpibooru.org/1702350?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Cfluttershy)

It was Fluttershy!
"Oh, I'm very sorry for my friend, here. We didn't mean to startle you." I apologized politely and softly, "We're just here to check on the music, and it's sounding beautiful."

Fluttershy landed in front of us, scuffed her hoof, and avoided eye-contact, not saying a word.

Twilight looked at me, then gave Fluttershy a nervous smile, "I'm Twilight Sparkle."

Fluttershy still said nothing.

"My name is Eleanor." I introduced myself in a gentle tone, "What's your name?"

The pegasus spoke in a soft, and very quiet voice, "Um... I'm... Fluttershy..."

I nodded with a smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm sorry. What was that?" Twilight asked her, getting closer, so she could hear her.

Fluttershy repeated her words, softer and more quieter than before, backing away from Twilight

"Didn't quite catch that." Twilight told her.

Fluttershy backed away again, and squeaked in timid fear. The birds came back.

"Well, um, it looks like your birds are back." Twilight noticed and encouraged, "So, I guess everything's in order. Keep up the good work."

The timid pegasus squeaked in reply.

"Okay." Twilight muttered, walking off. Spike walked out of the bushes with a smile. "Well, that was easy." Twilight told him with a smile.

I heard a gasp from behind me, "A baby dragon."

Fluttershy charged from behind me and stopped in front of Spike, making me and Twilight fly a few feet away from them, "Ow..."

"Oh. I've never seen a baby dragon before. He's so cute." Fluttershy cooed, staring at Spike with a sweet smile.

"Well, well, well...!" Spike said with a cheeky smile, and crossed his arms.

"Oh my, he talks. I didn't know dragons could talk. That's just so incredibly wonderful, I just don't know what to say." Fluttershy smiled excitedly, hovering during the last part.

I recovered and smiled, "Heh. I didn't know you had a thing for animals."

Fluttershy smiled back at me, "Oh, yes. I love all animals. Big and small."

I gave her a happy smile. I think I'm in love with the timid pegasus.

Twilight used her magic and levitated Spike onto her back, "Well, in that case, we'd better be going."

She began walking off. I quickly followed her by her side.

But Fluttershy followed to talk to Spike, "Wait, wait. What's his name?"

"I'm Spike." Spike introduced himself.

"Hi, Spike. I'm Fluttershy. Wow, a talking dragon. And what do dragons talk about?" Fluttershy, introduced and asked Spike.

"What do you wanna know?" Spike asked.

"Absolutely everything." Fluttershy answered with a smile. Twilight groaned in frustration and annoyance.

"Well, I started out as cute little purple and green egg..." Spike began telling his story to Fluttershy.

*Later, Outside the Library...*
"...And that's the story of my whole entire life. Well, up until today." Spike finished his story, then asked Fluttershy, who followed us all the way, "Do you wanna hear about today?"

"Oh, yes please." Fluttershy insisted. I quickly turned to face Fluttershy and faked a smile.

Then Twilight turned to Fluttershy, before Spike could say another word, "I am so sorry. How did we get here so fast? This is where I'm staying while in Ponyville. And my poor baby dragon needs his sleep." She lied to the gentle pegasus.

"No I don't." Spike shot back, but Twilight lightly kicked, knocking him off her back, making it look like he fell.

"Awww... wook at dat. He's so sweepy, he can't even keep his widdle bawance." Twilight cooed in a baby tone. Spike and I gave the lavender unicorn a glare.

Fluttershy picked Spike up, "Poor thing. You simply must get into bed." She flew into the library, but Twilight stopped her and pushed her out.

"Yes, yes, we'll get right on that. Well g'night." Twilight told Fluttershy, as I walked into the library.

Twilight Sparkle slammed the door closed in Fluttershy's face and locked it. It was very dark in the library.

"Rude much?" I asked Twilight with a glare, as Spike folded his arms.

"Sorry, guys. But I have to convince the Princess that Nightmare Moon is coming, and we're running out of time! I just need to be alone so I can study without a bunch of crazy ponies trying to make friends all the time." Twilight explained, then realized how dark it was and began looking around, "Now, where's the light?"

The light was switched on, and everypony was in the library yelling, "Surprise!!!"

Twilight groaned in annoyance.

"Surprise!" The pink mare from before, Pinkie Pie, shouted with a large smile on her face.

"Hi. I'm Pinkie Pie. And we threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were ya? Were ya? Huh huh huh?" The pink mare introduced, then asked me, jumping all over the place.

"Very surprised. Libraries are supposed to be quiet!" Twilight Sparkle told her, saying the last part in extreme annoyance.

"Well, that's silly! What kind of welcome party would this be if it were quiet? I mean, duh, bo-ring!" The pony, Pinkie Pie started chatting, as Twilight went off to get a quick drink. "Y'see, I saw you when you first got here, remember? You were all "hello" and I was all... " Pinkie Pie took a deep gasp, then continued, "Remember? Y'see I've never saw you before and if I've never saw you before that means you're new, 'cause I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!"

Twilight groaned a little. She stopped at the drink table, and started pouring some juice, from the red bottle, into a cup. I drew a blank, unsure how to explain to the lavender unicorn that she was gonna drink a cup full of hot sauce.

Pinkie Pie continued with her story, "And if you're new, that meant you haven't met anyone yet, and if you haven't met anyone yet, you must not have any friends, and if you don't have any friends then you must be lonely, and that made me so sad, then I had an idea, and that's why I went ...!" Pinkie Pie took a deep gasp again, "I must throw a great big ginormous super-duper spectacular welcome party and invite everyone in Ponyville! See? And now you have lots and lots of friends!"

Suddenly, Twilight stopped drinking, and turned to see everypony. She tried to say something, but her face was turning red and she was crying

"Are ya alright, SugarCube?" Applejack asked Twilight.

Twilight's mane and tail burst into flames, as she jumped into the air, and dashed to the washroom.

"Aww! She's so happy, she's crying." Pinkie Pie said with that huge smile plastered on her face.

Spike picked up the bottle and read the label, "Hot sauce.

Pinkie Pie poured some on to a cupcake and ate it without a single flinch from the sauce, "What? It's good."

*Later, that night...*
I walked out of the library for a breath of fresh air, from being around so many ponies. I've never been one for crowds, or loud noises, or parties. So I just needed some time alone to think.

I looked up at the moon, as four stars circled around it, getting closer as they circled.

"Is it true, Princess? You're coming back after being trapped for so long?" I asked in a whisper.

As if a reply, the moon's craters, shaped as a unicorn's head, turned to face me and its eyes glowed.

I gasped and closed my eyes. Something came into focus, through the darkness of my vision.

'Ask not the Sun,
Why She sets,
Why She shrouds her light away.
Or why She hides her glowing gaze,
When Night turns crimson gold to grey....'

'For silent falls the guilty Sun,
As day to dark does turn.
One simple truth, She dare not speak,
Her light can only blind and burn.'

'No mercy for the guilty,
Bring down their lying sun.
Blood so silver, black by night,
Upon their faces pale white.'

'Cruel Moon, bring the end.
The Dawn will never rise again...'

I gasped and opened my eyes, catching my breath. I couldn't wrap my mind around this. Why show my these visions, if Twilight already figured it out? Is it because of what I am? Is that it?

"Ellie? Are you alright?" I heard my sister's voice speak from behind me.

I turned to the light blue unicorn and faked a smile, "Yeah. I'm alright. Just been staring at the stars for too long."

Sam smiled, "Okay. Applejack called me to get you. It's time to see the sun rise." Her smile grew tighter, "You know what that means."

With that, she skipped off to follow the other ponies making their way to the Town Hall. I looked at the moon one last time, before following after my sister.

*Later, inside the Town Hall...*
Everypony gathered around the grand stage, as we waited for the mayor, Mayor Mare, to introduced the coming of the celebration. Pinkie Pie dashed right next to Twilight Sparkle.

"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited? 'Cause I'm excited, I've never been so excited-- Well, except for the time that I saw you walking into town and I went..." Pinkie took a deep gasp, then continued, "But I mean really, who can top that?"

I kept my eyes on the moon and the stars. The stars were moving closer to the moon, quicker than before.

Fluttershy's birds sang their song, as a spotlight shone upon Mayor Mare, an adult, light brown pony with white mane and tail, wearing glasses and a business tie.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts. As the Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration." The Mayor announced. Everypony cheered in joy.

"In just a few moments, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year." The Mayor continued, as I looked at the moon. I saw the stars enter the moon, and the unicorn crater formation disappeared. I held my breath.

"And now, it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria..." The Mayor began the introduction of Princess Celestia.

I saw Fluttershy look at her birds with a smile, "Ready".

"Princess Celestia." The Mayor finished, as Rarity pulled the rope, Fluttershy's birds sang, and the curtains revealed to show nothing.

"Huh?" Rarity exclaimed, as she noticed and began to look backstage.

"This can't be good." I heard Twilight mutter to herself, as everypony began to mumble to themselves.

"Remain calm, everypony. There must be a reasonable explanation." Mayor Mare told everypony, as they went quiet.

Pinkie Pie jumped in excitement, "Ooh, ooh. I love guessing games! Is she hiding?" She asked, as she began looking around.

Rarity returned with a shocked look on her face, "She's gone."

Everypony gasped in shock and horror.

"Ooooh. She's good." Pinkie said with a smile, until she yelped loudly.

A mist of dark blue and stars appeared on the balcony. Everypony was tense and began muttering. I narrowed my eyes and prepared myself.

"Oh no." Twilight grimaced, as the mist took the form of a young adult alicorn.

The alicorn was covered in black fur. Her eyes were turquoise with a menacing glare. Ethereal mane and tail that looked like the night sky. She wore light blue armor breastplate. Her Cutie Mark was splodge of night sky with a crescent moon.

(https://derpibooru.org/985817?q=moonbat)

"Nightmare Moon."

Spike gasped and fainted.

"Oh, my beloved subjects. It's been so long since I've seen your precious, little, sun-loving faces." Nightmare Moon greeted, with an evil smile on her dark face.

"What have you done with our Princess!!?" Rainbow Dash asked her in a 'demanding to know' tone. She dashed to fight Nightmare Moon, but Applejack was able to catch her by the tail.

"Whoa there, Nelly." Applejack calmed.

Nightmare Moon chuckled. "Why, am I not royal enough for you? Do you know who I am?" She asked with a serious look replacing her smile.

"Ooh, ooh. More guessing games. Um, Hokey Smokes. How about... Queen Meanie? No. Black Snooty. Black Snoot-" Pinkie Pie guessed with a cheerful smile, but Applejack put an apple in her mouth, to stop her from talking.

Nightmare Moon looked around the crowd of ponies, then laid her eyes upon me. The other ponies around me stepped away from me, as Nightmare Moon flew toward me.

She smiled, "Well, well. You must have been chosen to welcome you queen on her return." Then she raised my chin to look at her in the eyes, "Tell me, my little warrior, where are the others?"

I refused to answer her. Nightmare Moon frowned at me, "Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" Then, she flew to Rarity, "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"

"I did!" Twilight Sparkle spoke up, catching everypony's attention, including Nightmare Moon's, "You're the Mare in the Moon. Nightmare Moon." She finished.

Everypony gasped in shock and fear.

Nightmare Moon chuckled again, "Well, well, well. Somepony who remembers me. Then you must know why I here."

"You're here to..." Twilight tried to answer, but couldn't bring herself to finish. "To..."

"Remember this day, little ponies. For it will be your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!" Nightmare Moon announced, laughing evilly, as thunder and lightning flashed and crashed. Her mane and tail flew upward, forming a small tornado over her head.

The Elements of Harmony

Eleanor's POV.
Nightmare Moon continued to laugh, as her mane and tail floated upward.

"Seize her! Only she knows where the Princess is!" Mayor Mare told the royal guards. The guards took flight and dashed toward the evil, black mare. I gasped.

"Stand back, you fools!" Nightmare Moon shouted, as her eyes glowed white, and lightning struck in between the guards and herself.

The guards halted their charge, and Nightmare Moon laughed. She morphed into mist of the night sky, and exit through the window.

The mist, of course flew toward me and circled around me. I closed my eyes and braced myself. I felt a pulse of pain course through me as I heard Nightmare Moon's voice whisper in my ear, "Equestria will be ours yet, my loyal warrior."

I opened my eyes and Nightmare Moon was gone. Rainbow Dash dashed after her, since Applejack's grip loosened. Twilight picked up Spike over her back and left the town hall in a hurry. I followed behind her, but stopped just a few feet from the Town Hall.

Without a doubt, she's going to the library.

"Ellie!" I heard Sam call out to me. She was smiling.

"Sam." I smiled, "Thank goodness, you're okay."

"Did you see that?" She asked me, "That was Nightmare Moon. The Nightmare Moon!" Then she came nose-to-nose with me, "She spoke to you!"

"Samantha. Now's not a good time to be excited. This is dangerous." I told her.

Sam just shrugged, "What dangerous? We know what's gonna happen next."

I quickly put my hooves over her mouth, "Samantha, quiet down. You want other Ponies to hear?"

"But, it's true. What's the worse that can happen?." Sam asked me, removing my hooves from her mouth and quieting her voice down.

I nodded, "I know that. But, now I've met her in-person..."

"Alright, what gives, Miss. Darkness!?" I heard Rainbow Dash's voice from over my head.

I looked up at her, "What are you talking about?"

Rainbow Dash flew nose-to-nose to me, "Don't give me that, Battie! Nightmare Moon spoke to you. You're a bat pony! A loyal subject of the Mare in the Moon. A Child of the Night. Did you know that your 'Princess' was coming back? Did she send you here to be the welcoming committee? Are you a spy for Nightmare Moon?"

I gave her a deadpan look, "Nightmare Moon spoke to me once. And Battie and Miss. Darkness? A spy? That, dear Rainbow Dash, is racist."

"Just answer the question!" She demanded.

"Elements. Elements. Elements... Ugh! How can I stop Nightmare Moon, without the Elements of Harmony?" We heard Twilight Sparkle wondered, as we stopped just outside the Golden Oak Library.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash flew into the librabry and into the lavender unicorn's face, "And just what are the Elements of Harmony?" Rainbow Dash asked, "And how do you know about Nightmare Moon? Are you a spy?" She gestured to me and Sam, "Just like these two?"

"Hey!" I glared, feeling mildly offended. First 'Miss. Darkness', now 'Spy'? What next? 'Wispie'? I am not having a good night.

Applejack stopped Dash from asking anymore questions, by pulling her tail back, "Simmer down, Sally." She let go and looked at me, Sam and Twilight Sparkle, "They ain't no spy. But, they do seem to know what's going on. Don't ya, Ellie?"

Twilight looked at the Ponies before her, waiting for an answer. Sam shook her head, refusing to answer. I looked at Twilight and moved my head to gesture 'Go on'.

Twilight Sparkle sighed and explained, "I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon. Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only things that can stop her, but I don't know what they are, where to find them, I don't even know what they do!"

"'The Elements of Harmony; A Reference Guide.'" Pinkie Pie read, looking at a bookshelf, close to the door.

Twilight dashed toward the shelf and stared at the book, accidentally throwing Pinkie away, "How did you find that?"

"It was under 'E'..." Pinkie Pie answered in a sing-song voice, jumping around.

"Oh." Twilight uttered under her breath. She used her magic to open the book and began reading, "'There are eight Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The Final Three are a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the Elements was in the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It is located in what is now--'"

*At the entrance of the Everfree Forest...*
"The Everfree Forest." Everypony grimaced in fear.

I tilted my head in confusion. I never understood why the Everfree Forest is so scary. Just because it looks after itself without any pony magic to help...

"No thanks. I choose life." Sam shook her head and started walking away.

I shook my head and caught my sister by her tail, "Oh no, you don't missie."

"Ow!" Sam yelped, as she returned to the group. I let go of her tail and she glared at me, "Your teeth are way too sharp, Ellie!"

"You know just as much as I know, that Nightmare Moon has to be stopped." I told her, "If we don't, the balance of magic will be forever tilted."

Sam growled and stomped her hoof, "I hate it when you're right."

"Wheee! Let's go." Pinkie Pie encouraged, walking into the forest.

"Not so fast!" Twilight Sparkle spoke up, Pinkie freezing in mid-step, "Look, I appreciate the offer, but I'd rather do this on my own."

"No can do, SugarCube. Ellie is right. We're not letting any friend of ours go into a dangerous place alone." Applejack told me. Twilight froze, at the word 'friend'. Again with that word, "We're stickin' on ya like caramel on a candy apple." Applejack finished, as she and the others trotted into the forest. Everypony agreed.

Pinkie Pie un-froze and jumped, "Especially if there's candy apple in there." Twilight Sparkle stared at her in confusion, "What? Those things are good." Pinkie Pie followed the other ponies.

"I understand why you're taking so much responsibility, Twilight." I spoke up from behind her, "But, you must understand that you can't do everything on your own. Sometimes, you just need a little faith."

Then I followed the Ponies into the Everfree Forest. The moment I entered the forest, I began hearing voices whisper in my ear.

"Ingonyama nengw' enamabala..." The voices chanted.

I looked up and the leaves were moving in the trees. I know the chanting, but what is that doing here? Am I the only one that can hear it?

"So, none of you have been in here before?" Twilight Sparkle asked, as we walked down the forest.

"Ugh. Heavens no. Just look at it, it's dreadful." Rarity answered, with slight fear in her voice.

"And it ain't natural. Folk say it don't work the same as Equestria." Applejack included.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked in curiosity.

"Nopony knows. Ya know why?" Rainbow Dash said and asked, in a creepy voice, creeping toward Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity.

"Rainbow, quit it." Applejack told Rainbow Dash, but she didn't listen.

"'Cause every pony who's ever come in, has never come OUT!!" Rainbow spooked, jumping and shouting the last word.

Suddenly, the cliff we were standing on gave out and everypony fell, except Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash flew to save Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Applejack and I saved ourselves by grabbing a nearby root. Sam saved herself by using a teleportation spell. Well done, Sammy.

However, Twilight continued to fall and she found herself hanging over the edge of the cliff, with nothing the grab onto.

Applejack and I looked at each other. Applejack was the first to let go of the root and slid towards Twilight, "Hold on. I'm a-comin'."

She grabbed her by the hooves, but she wasn't strong enough to pull Twilight up.

"Applejack, what do I do?" Twilight Sparkle asked her in a panic.

Applejack looked up, then looked at Twilight, "Let go."

"Are you crazy?" Twilight asked her.

"No, I ain't. I promise ya'll be safe." She told the lavender with a calm tone in her voice.

"That's not true!" Twilight Sparkle told her, trying to help herself up a bit.

"Now, listen here. What I'm tellin' ya is the honest truth. Let go, 'n' you'll be safe." Applejack assured her.

Twilight looked at Applejack, then at me. I nodded in agreement. I trust Applejack with her honesty. Twilight let go and screamed for dear life. As expected, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash caught the lavender unicorn and started hovering her down.

Fluttershy slipped for a second, be regained herself, "Sorry, girls. I'm not used to holding anything more than a bunny or two."

Applejack and I made our way down the cliff, by jumping down the stones that lead the way down.

I felt something warm coming from my flank. I looked and my Cutie Mark glowed for second. When did Cutie Marks do that?

My Cutie Mark stopped glowing and I followed after the Girls, as they continued their way to the ruin.

Of course Rainbow Dash was telling the story of how she and Fluttershy were able to save Twilight, "And once Pinkie and Rarity were saved, whoosh... Me and Fluttershy loop-de-loop around and WHAM! Caught you right in the nick of time."

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Yes, Rainbow, I was there. And I'm very grateful, but we gotta-" Then she gasped in shocked.

A large Manticore roared loudly to catch our attention.

A Manticore is a large lion with dragon wings, large teeth, and a scorpion's tail. They're very dangerous when disturbed or under attack.

"A Manticore!" Twilight identified, as it roared in anger and rage.

"We gotta get past him." Twilight Sparkle told everypony.

The Manticore aimed to attack Rarity, but Rarity dodged and kicked him in the chin, knocking him back a bit, "Take that, you ruffian!"

The Manticore roared at Rarity. Rarity's mane was fluffed up and poofy, like Pinkie's but more wild. Rarity looked at her mane in dismay, "My hair!" Then she remembered the Manticore and ran.

"Wait." Fluttershy tried to say, but she was too quiet for everypony to hear her.

The Manticore chased Rarity, until Applejack jumped on to its back. "YEE-HAW!! Get along, little doggy!" She shouted, as the Manticore thrashed around, trying to get her off.

"Wait." Fluttershy said again, but a bit louder. Sadly, she still couldn't be heard.

The Manticore was able to throw Applejack off his head.

"All yers, partner." Applejack told Rainbow Dash, as she flew past her.

"I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash saluted, flying at full speed toward the Manticore.

"Wait!" Fluttershy tried to shout again, but nopony listened.

Rainbow Dashed used her Rain-Blow Dry to distract the Manticore. However, the Manticore used its scorpion tail to attack Rainbow Dash, causing her attack to stop and crash toward us.

"Rainbow!" Twilight called in worry. She landed in front of us and tried to get back up.

Twilight glared at the Manticore. He scuffed his right paw, as she, Sam and Applejack scuffed their hooves, ready to charge.

They charged toward the Manticore, until I jumped in front of them and shouted, "STOOOOP!!!"

The four mares stopped a few feet from me. I turned to Fluttershy and nodded with a smile, "Go ahead, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy nodded back, turned to the Manticore and smiled. She walked up to him. The Manticore roared and raised his right paw.

"Eleanor, what are you thinking?" Rainbow asked me.

"Watch her." I simply answered.

"Shh... It's okay." Fluttershy told the Manticore in a kind tone.

As she nuzzled his left paw, she assured him with a smile. The Manticore looked a little unsure, but showed Fluttershy a large thorn in his left paw.

"Oh, you poor, poor little baby." Fluttershy said, showing sympathy to the Manticore.

"Little?" Rainbow Dash asked in confusion.

"Now, this might hurt for just a second." Fluttershy assured the Manticore, as she grabbed the thorn and pulled it out. The Manticore picked her up and roared.

"Fluttershy!!" The others called out of worry for the shy Pegasus.

The Manticore purred in happiness, as he licked Fluttershy's face and mane in gratitude.

She giggled, "Aw, you're just a little ol' baby kitty, aren't you? Yes you are, yes you are."

We walked past the Manticore, but I stopped for Fluttershy. The Manticore put her down and she joined the rest of us.

"How did you know about the thorn?" Twilight asked her.

"I didn't. Sometimes, we just need to be shown a little kindness." She answered with a smile.

Sam walked up to me and whispered, "That was a little dangerous, Ellie."

"Relax, Sam. Fluttershy had everything under control. All she needed was somepony to push her." I assured.

"I hope so." Sam answered, as she marched forward.

My flank felt warm, as I looked at it again. My Cutie Mark glowed for a second again. I wonder what it means. Suddenly, I felt the pulse of pain again from before.

The pain surged through me, as I could hear Nightmare Moon's voice in my head, "My little warrior... I'm waiting for you..."

"Ellie! You coming?" I heard Twilight call out to me.

I shook my head and quickly followed close behind, "Y-yeah. I'm right behind you."

"Ugh... My eyes need a rest from all this icky muck." Rarity whined, as we entered a dark forest. The forest covered the moon, making it hard to see in front of our noses, "Well, I didn't mean it literally."

"That ancient ruin could be right in front of our faces and we wouldn't even know it." I told everyone.

Everyone started shouting at each other, due to the darkness.

"Oh wait. I think I stepped in somethin'." Applejack spoke up, as she lifted her hooves.

Fluttershy must've saw something, because she screamed in fright.

"It's just mud." Applejack told Fluttershy, until she saw what Fluttershy screamed at.

She yelped and joined us. The trees glowed with scary faces. We screamed in fright, except for me, Pinkie Pie and Sam.

Pinkie Pie was laughing at the trees, making funny faces and giggled, I just stood there with a confused look, and Sam was making scary faces and laughing.

"Pinkie, Eleanor, Samantha, what are you three doing? Run!" Twilight asked us, and told us with pure worry and fear.

I just shrugged, "I don't see the problem. They're just trees."

"Oh, guys. Don't you see?" Pinkie asked, until she started dancing.

When I was a little filly, and the sun was going down...

"Tell me she's not..." I grimaced.

The darkness and the shadows, they always make me frown...

"She is." Rarity answered.

I'd hide under my pillow,
From what I thought I saw.
But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way,
To deal with fears at all.

"Then, what is?" Rainbow Dash asked.

She said: 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall
Learn to face your fears
You'll see that they can't hurt you
Just laugh to make them disappear.
Ha! Ha! Ha!

As Pinkie laughed, the scary face disappeared in a poof of smoke. We gasped at the sight, then joined in the laughter.

So, giggle at the ghostly,
Guffaw at the grossly.
Crack up at the creepy,
Whoop it up with the weepy.
Chortle at the kooky,
Snortle at the spooky.
And-tell-that-big-dumb-scary-face-to-take-a-hike-and-leave-you-alone-and-if-he-thinks-he-can-scare-you-then-he's-got-another-thing-coming-and-the-very-idea-of-such-a-thing-just-makes-you wanna... Hahahaha... Heh...
Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuugh!

We laughed the scary faces away, and continued to laugh out of joy and enjoyment.

This time, I noticed Sam's Cutie Mark was glowing for a second, but Sam didn't notice. We laughed our way to the river, but we stopped to notice the waves were rapid and wavy. Impossible to swim across.

"How are we gonna cross this?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Suddenly, we heard a distant cry from down the river. We followed the river and saw a purple sea serpent, with an orange, combed mane, and half-a-mustache, crying in sorrow. Thrashing his tail, creating the wild waves.

"What a world! What a world!" The serpent cried, as he threw his fists into the water.

My eyes widen in recognition and nudged Sam lightly in the arm. Sam nodded in agreement.

It was Steven Magnet. One of the few characters with a human name. The fashionable sea serpent.

"Excuse me, sir. Why are you crying?" Twilight Sparkle asked Steven Magnet in a polite tone.

"Well, I don't know. I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this 'tacky' little cloud of purple smoke just whisped past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off." Steven Magnet explained, before sobbing again, "And now I look simply horrid!!"

He dove into the river, with his head laying on the bank, and the water splashed all over us.

Sam and I quietly sighed in relief. The plot hasn't changed yet. Thank the stars.

"Oh. Gimme a break." Rainbow Dash sighed in annoyance.

"That's what all this fuss is about?" Applejack asked, not understanding fashion.

"Why, of course, it is! How can you be so insensitive?" Rarity snapped, as she walked to the sorrowful sea serpent, and stroked his chin, "Oh, just look at him. Such lovely, luminescent scales."

"I know." Steven answered, sniffing a bit.

"And your expertly coiffed mane." Rarity added with a smile.

"Oh, I know. I know." Steven smiled, stroking his mane.

"Your fabulous manicure." Rarity continued.

"Oh, it's so true." Steven continued to smile, until Rarity's smile vanished.

"All ruined without your beautiful mustache." Rarity finished.

"It's true! I'm hideous!" Steven cried, covering his face.

"I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected." Rarity said with determination. She ran toward Steven Magnet, and ripped a scale off.

"Ow! What did you do that for?" He asked.

"Rarity, What are you-" Twilight Sparkle was cut-off by Rarity used the scale to chop off her the crest of her mane.

All of the ponies gasped in shock, as Steven Magnet fainted.

Rarity used her magic to fuse her mane to what remained of the Steven Magnet's mustache.

Steven laughed in joy and relief, "My mustache. How wonderful."

"You look smashing." Rarity smiled.

"Oh, Rarity. Your beautiful mane." Twilight frowned sadly, at the sight of Rarity's new short mane.

"Oh, it's fine, my dear. Short manes are in this season. Besides, it'll grow back." Rarity assured me with a small smile.

Twilight Sparkle smiled back, then Rainbow Dash whispered to her, "So would the mustache."

Sam looked at me, "I don't understand. Why didn't she cut her tail like in show?"

I glanced behind her. Sam followed my gaze and noticed her leonine tail.

She looked at with a raised brow. The clarity hit her and her eyes widened, "Oooohhh."

I smiled, "See? You're learning."

"We can cross now. Let's go." Twilight Sparkle told everypony, starting to cross the calm river. The Girls, Sam and I followed behind her.

As she reached half-way across, something purple lifted us from the water. It was Steven Magnet.

"Allow me." He insisted. So, we jumped across his back and made it to the other side. Sam's Cutie Mark glowed again.

As we trotted through the forest we came to a bridge with the ruin just on the other side.

"There it is, the ruin that holds The Elements of Harmony. We made it!" Twilight Sparkle smiled with relief and happiness. She charged toward the bridge.

"Twilight, wait for us." Applejack called, as we followed after us.

"We're almost there!" Twilight told us, until she came across the bridge and slipped.

She struggled to prevent herself, so I grabbed her by the tail and pulled her to safety.

"What's with you and fallin' off cliffs today?" I asked her with a joking smile.

Twilight Sparkle just looked at me, "Samantha was right. Your teeth are way too sharp."

We all looked over the misty casm. The bridge was broken on the other side. The rope was snapped.

Sam glanced at me. I nodded, knowing what she was asking.

Nightmare Moon did this.

"Now what?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Duh..." Rainbow replied, as she twitched her wings.

"Oh yeah." Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

Rainbow Dash turned to me, "Come on, Ellie. I can use your help."

I scuffed my hoof and looked away in shame, "I... Can't fly..."

Everypony looked at me in shock, "What?"

"All those years in Canterlot? And you don't know how to fly?" Sam exclaimed.

I glanced at my younger sister, "You try being the only bat pony in the city and see how the citizens treat you!"

I lowered my head with a sulk, then Rainbow Dash spoke up, "I'll teach you."

I looked at the cyan pegasus, "Really?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, "Sure. Bat ponies and pegasi are cousins, after all. I can teach you how to fly."

I smiled. Rainbow smiled back and dived into the chasm to fix the bridge.

There was a few minutes of silence, until Twilight called out, "Rainbow! What's taking so long?"

I looked across the chasm and narrowed my eyes. Rainbow Dash was talking to a trio of dark-toned pegasi. They weren't ordinary pegasi either. They were the Shadowbolts.

But something was off about them. I gasped in clarity and shouted to Rainbow Dash, "Don't listen to them, Rainbow!" But the mist moved over the bridge and muffled my voice. I growled and scuffed my hoof in frustration. Then saw Rainbow Dash flying toward us.

The girls and Sam cheered in joy and relief as Rainbow Dash returned from fixing the bridge. The mist cleared and the three pegasi were gone.

"See? I'd never let my friends hangin'." Rainbow told me with a smile, as we crossed the bridge.

I smiled in relief, as voices began chanting again. My flank felt warm again, I looked and my Cutie Mark glowed for a second. Then another pulse of pain surged through me. Nightmare Moon's voice echoed in my ear, "The time is close, my little warrior..."

I shook my head and followed close behind the others.

The Girls, Sam and I entered the ruin and saw the Elements of Harmony upon the center altar. The Elelments were fossilized gems, like they haven't been used for centuries.

"Whoa." Applejack gasped in awe, as we saw the altar, "Come on, Twilight. Isn't this what ya been waitin' for?" Applejack asked Twilight Sparkle, as the lavender unicorn looked at the altar.

Twilight Sparkle smiled, "The Elements of Harmony. We've found them."

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew and picked up the Elements, one-by-one, and placed them in front of me.

"Careful. Careful." Twilight told them, not wanting to break the Elements.

"One, two, three, four..." Pinkie Pie counted, then she drew a blank a little, "There's only five."

"Where are the other three?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight, as Fluttershy put down the last one.

"The book says: 'When the five are present, a spark along with two pure hearts will cause that Final Three Elements to be revealed'." Twilight answered, as she examined the fossilized Elements.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Applejack asked, not understanding riddles much.

Sam glared at the amber-golden mare, "Applejack, language."

"I'm not sure. But, I have an idea." Twilight told us, "Stand back. I don't know what will happen." Then she looked at me and Sam, "Sam, Ellie, I need you two to stay with me." She closed her eyes, as her horn glowed in her magical aura.

"Come on now, y'all. She needs to concentrate." Applejack told everypony, as the Girls left the ruin.

But I didn't move. I couldn't feel my hooves. It was like my whole body shut down. My head was lowered, my bangs shadowing my eyes. I tried to move, but nothing seemed to be responding.

Suddenly, a smile grew on my face as I darkly chuckled. I walked past Twilight and walked over to the Elements of Harmony. I knocked Twilight over, cancelling her spell.

Twilight recovered and Sam looked at me in shock, "Eleanor, what are you-"

I looked her and smirked. My entire body was moving on its own. I felt a dark presence and a tornado of night sky appeared, picking up the Elements and was about to take them away.

"The Elements!" Twilight gasped. I chuckled and entered the tornado, teleporting myself to the other side of the castle.

I tried to fight whatever was controlling me, but it's stronger than I thought it would be. As I reappeared from the teleportation, I bowed before the pony in front of me, Nightmare Moon.

I heard Sam's voice gasp behind me, "Eleanor? How could you?"

I turned and looked my sister and Twilight with a dark smirk. Twilight saw Nightmare Moon and gasped, "Rainbow Dash was right! You were a spy for Nightmare Moon!"

Sammie! Twilight! You don't understand! I'm not in control of myself. Help me!

Silence, you fool! You are a Child of the Night. Serve your queen!

Who are you?

I'm you.

You're not me! You're that essence of Nightmare Moon merged into me. You're that pain I've been feeling all night!

My, my. You are a smart one.

Get out of my head, Nightmare Moon! I'm not your slave!

My body turned and saw Twilight Sparkle scuffing her hoof, ready to charge. Her horn glowing in her magical aura.

"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" Nightmare Moon asked.

Twilight charged toward toward Nightmare Moon. Acting on it's own, my body turned and charged toward the lavender unicorn. I charged into Twilight, knocking her a few feet from Nightmare Moon to her left.

Twilight looked at me, "Eleanor, what are you doing?"

"Something I should have done a long time ago." I answered with Nightmare Moon's voice under my own.

Twilight picked herself up and charged to attack me. I kicked her back and Sam tried to hit me with a magical blast. I dodged the blast and charged toward my own little sister. I took flight and tackled my own sister into the wall behind her.

Sam noticed my actions and gasped, "Wait. Ellie can't fly!"

Twilight looked at me and noticed the moon symbol on my Cutie Mark. Twilight gasped and turned to Nightmare Moon, "What have you done to my best friend?"

My body froze and I looked at Twilight. Did she just call me her best friend?

Sam took advantage and knocked me a few feet from her with a magical blast from her horn. Memories of Sunset Shimmer flashed before my eyes for a second, then I shook my head and growled at my sister.

Sammy, use your magic again!

Nightmare Moon chuckled with a dark smile, "I just awoken her inner warrior. She's a Warrior of the Night."

I smirked, took flight again and charged toward Twilight Sparkle. Twilight braced herself an her horn glowed. Just as I got close enough, she vanished. Sam charged toward me and knocked me into the nearest wall, knocking me out-cold.

Samantha's POV.
"I'm sorry, Ellie." I apologized, "You left me no choice."

Twilight Sparkle reappeared behind Nightmare Moon, but she was a little dizzy. She recovered and then lit her horn up again, "Just one little spark. Come on, come on!"

The Elements glowed in Twilight's magical aura, and sparks flew around them. The magic hit Twilight Sparkle and threw her away from the Elements of Harmony, leaving Nightmare Moon with the fossilized gems.

"No. No!" Nightmare Moon grimaced, as the Elements glowed. Twilight Sparkle smiled, but the Elements stopped glowing around Nightmare Moon. Nothing happened.

"But... Where is the sixth Element?" Twilight Sparkle wondered, as Nightmare Moon laughed and destroyed the Elements into shards with one powerful stomp.

"You little fool! Thinking you can defeat me!!" Nightmare Moon, "Now, you will never see your princess, or your sun. The night will last forever!!" Nightmare Moon laughed, as her mane and tail rose to the sky once again.

Twilight looked at us in hopeless defeat. I heard groaning from the walls and noticed Ellie was waking up. I quickly lit up my horn again, ready to fight my bat pony of a sister. Ellie looked at me I gasped and ran to my sister. Her eyes were normal.

"Ellie!" I helped my sister to her hooves.

"Sam... Twilight..." Ellie gasped, then sulked, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Ellie. You're with friends." I assured her.

"No. I tried to fight back, but it was too powerful. I couldn't stop." Ellie sulked.

Suddenly, I heard the voices of the Girls calling out Twilight's name. I felt something warm building up in my heart. It felt powerful

Applejack. Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash. Rarity. Twilight Sparkle.

This the Magic of Friendship that these 6 have been talking about?

I understand now!

Twilight gasped in shock, then looked at me and Nightmare Moon, "You think you can destroy the Elements of Harmony, just like that? Well, you're wrong. Because the Spirits of the Elements of Harmony are right here!" She told us, as the six mares arrived by her side.

The shards glowed and began to circle around five of the mares.

"What?" Nightmare Moon asked in confusion and shock.

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the Spirit of Honesty." Twilight Sparkle started, as the orange shards circled Applejack.

"Fluttershy, who tamed the Manticore with her compassion, repesents the Spirit of Kindness." The pink shards surrounded Fluttershy.

"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the Spirit of Laughter." Blue shards circled Pinkie Pie.

"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the Spirit of Generousity." Indigo shards floated around Rarity.

"And Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the Spirit of Loyalty." Twilight finished, as the light red shards circled Rainbow Dash.

"The spirits of these five Ponies got us through every challenge you threw at us." She told Nightmare Moon and I.

"You still don't have the other two Elements. The spark didn't work." Nightmare pointed out, looking around for something.

"But, it did. I different kind of spark." Twilight replied. She turned to her five friends, "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared for you. The spark ignited inside me, when I realized you all..." She turned back to Nightmare Moon and I, "Are my friends!"

Suddenly, a light shone above Twilight's head. A fossilized gem, with a six-point star marking, appeared, floating above her head. Two lights appeared from above the stone and few toward mine and Ellie's hearts, making Ellie's and my Cutie Marks glow in colors of the rainbow.

"You see, Nightmare Moon. When those Elements are ignited by the... The Spark, that resides in the hearts of us all, with the hearts of the Keepers revealed, it creates the Final Three Elements. The Elements of... Empathy, Trust and Magic." Twilight explained, as a bright light consumed her and the others.

The glowing shards created necklaces around the Girls' necks, as the sixth Element created a tiara on top of Twilight's head. Ellie and my Elements fused into us, merging with the magic of the Elements, turning my sister and I into a rainbow beam and create a tornado around Nightmare Moon.

Eleanor's POV.
Twilight opened her eyes and there was a flash of light. Once the light faded, everypony dropped to the ground in slight exhaustion, then recovered.

"Ow. My head." Rainbow Dash said in slight pain.

"Is everypony ok?" Applejack asked, looking around.

"Oh thank goodness." Rarity shouted, getting everypony's attention. She was smiling, looking at her fully re-grown crest.

"Why Rarity, it's so lovely." Fluttershy complimented with a smile.

"I know. I'll never part with it again." Rarity said, rubbing her head against her crest.

"No. Your necklace. It looks just like your Cutie Mark." Fluttershy simplified.

"What? Oh?" Rarity asked, as she looked her necklace.

It was gold with the indigo gem, in the shape of a diamond, just like her Cutie Mark.

"So does yours." Rarity noticed Fluttershy's.

Fluttershy looked and gasped with a smile. Everypony's necklace looked like their Cutie Mark. Sam's looked like a blue lily, and mine looked like a green wisp.

"Look at mine. Look at mine!" Pinkie cheered, jumping around, looking at her necklace.

"Aw yeah." Rainbow Dash smiled in pride of her necklace.

Twilight looked at her tiara and noticed, like the necklaces, a gem that looked like her Cutie Mark too.

I also noticed something else has changed. I gasped, "Sam, you're Cutie Mark."

Sam tilted her head and looked at her Cutie Mark. Circling around the red gala apple and lily, was now a group of stars with a small wisp of magic.

Sam smiled, then looked at me, "You're Cutie Mark has changed too."

I looked at my Cutie Mark. My Cutie Mark is now a combination of the three wisps and Nightmare Moon's indigo patch of night sky and a Celtic knot in the shape of a crescent moon. My smile turned to a frown and I lowered my head in shame.

Twilight walked over to me and put her hoof over my shoulder. I looked at her and she smiled. She knew I wasn't in control of myself when I fought her.

"That was awesome!" Rainbow Dash smiled and me and Sam, "You two turned into a rainbow." Then she dashed toward us, "What was it like? Was it cool?"

"It was exhilarating!" Sam smiled.

"But terrifying." I finished, "I'm also a bit thirsty."

Rainbow frowned, while I gave her a sheepish smile.

"Gee, Twilight." Applejack spoke up to Twilight Sparkle, "I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hoo-ey. But, I reckon we really do represent the Elements of Friendship."

"Indeed, you do." A voice spoke, as the sun rose from the mountains.

From the light of the sun, an adult, white-pale golden alicorn appeared. She had a golden crown with an amethyst in the center. Around her neck was a matching necklace and golden 'shoes'. Her mane was pastel-toned and was flowing, like there was an invisible wind. Her tail matched as well. Her eyes were a pale magenta. Everypony bowed, except Twilight.

(https://derpibooru.org/1756351?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Cprincess+celestia)
(The Alicorn on the right)

I gasped in recognition of the alicorn before us and bowed. Sam followed me.

"Princess Celestia." Twilight smiled, as she ran toward the Princess of the Day.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student." Celestia greeted Twilight with a hug, "I knew you could do it."

"But, you told me it was all an old pony tale." Twilight reminded her.

"I told you that you needed to make some friends. Nothing more." Princess Celestia reminded Twilight, "I saw the signs of Nightmare Moon's return and I knew it was you who had the magic inside to defeat her, but you could not unleash it until you let true friendship into your heart." She explained, as Twilight looked at Sam, the Girls and I, who smiled at me too.

"Now, if only another will as well." Celestia added in a sad tone.

We stopped smiling and followed her gaze. In Nightmare Moon's place, was a smaller, navy blue alicorn, with the same Cutie Mark as Nightmare Moon, only the patch of night was black. Her mane and tail were turquoise, just like her eyes. And she wore a small, black tiara.

"Princess Luna." Celestia greeted. The alicorn, Princess Luna, gasped awake from the sound of Celestia's voice.

"It has been a thousand years, since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister." Celestia told her.

"Sister?" Twilight and her friends repeated in unison and confusion.

"Will you accept my friendship?" Celestia asked. We all leaned forward and held our breath. Of course, Pinkie leaned too far forward and fell.

With tears in her eyes, Luna dashed into a hug with Celestia, "I'm so sorry. I've missed you so much, big sister."

"I've missed you, too." Celestia said with tears in her eyes, and hugged Luna back.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's sobs disturbed the reunion. Then she stopped, "Hey. Do you know what this calls for?"

*Later, at Ponyville...*
"A party!" Pinkie Pie finished, as we began a large celebration upon our return.

Eveypony welcomed us back from the Everfree Forest, including Spike, who gave Twilight Sparkle a large hug. As Celestia and Luna arrived, Luna looked a little upset, until two pegasi foals gave her a necklace of flowers around her neck. Indicating that they don't see her as a threat anymore. Luna smiled at Celestia.

Twilight looked sad. I nudged Sam and pointed to her. Sam smiled and nodded.

"Why so glum, my faithful student? Are you not happy that your quest is complete, and you can return to your studies in Canterlot?" Celestia asked Twilight.

"That's just it. Just when I learned how wonderful it is to have friends, I have to leave them." Twilight told her with a sad look.

Celestia smiled, "Spike, take a note, please." Spike got a paper and quill, and began writing Celestia's words, "'I, Princess Celestia, hereby decree that the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, shall take on a new mission for Equestria. She must continue to study the magic of friendship. She must report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville.'"

The Girls, Sam and I gathered around Twilight Sparkle and cheered in happiness that she didn't have to leave us.

"Oh, thank you, Princess Celestia. I'll study harder than ever before." Twilight Sparkle promised her with a smile.

Griffon the Brush Off

Eleanor's POV.
It's a quiet day in Ponyville. A few days since Diamond Tiara's Cute-cenera, and Apple Bloom found a couple of friends without Cutie Marks like her. Right now, Twilight, Pinkie and I were in the park, enjoying the day. Twilight was sitting on the bench, reading one of her favorite books. I was sitting next to Twilight, watching the clouds and listening to Pinkie Pie.

And Pinkie Pie was telling a story of one of Rainbow Dash's flight stunts, "Nail-biting action overload! She was like a stunt superstar, flying higher and higher, and then Rainbow Dash swooped down -- Swoosh -- And right before she hit the ground -- Shoom - She pulled up -- Vrrrmmm!"

"Uh-huh." Twilight nodded, turning a page of the book.

"Then what happened?" I asked, looking at Pinkie.

"And then she looped around and around like - Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo!" Pinkie answered, spinning her head in a circle, then falling on to her back.

"Uh-huh." Twilight nodded again.

"Sounded like a very neat trick." I smiled.

Then Rainbow Dash flew by above the trees. Pinkie Pie got to her hooves and followed after her.

Twilight sighed, "Phew." And turned the page.

Pinkie Pie's POV.
"Rainbow Dash!" I called after the rainbow-themed Pegasus.

She looked at me and then started to pick up speed. I noticed where she was going and chased after her, "Rainbow Dash."

"Not now, Pinkie Pie." She told me, as she continued flying.

"But, but Rainbow Dash–" I tried to speak, but she flew farther from me.

"I'm in the middle of something." Rainbow Dash picked up more speed.

"But–"

"I said not now-"

Then *wham!* Rainbow rammed into a mountain that was right in front of her. She slid down the mountain, to ground level and looked at me.

"I was gonna tell you to look out for that mountain." I told her.

Rainbow grumbled under her breath. Hey, I tried to warn her.

*Later, the next day...*
Rainbow Dash's POV.
I spent most of the day, trying to avoid Pinkie Pie. That random pony never stops until she gets what she wants. Sometimes it's beyond understanding and it gets annoying.

Anyhoo, I was napping on a cloud above Ponyville's town center, until I heard familiar humming. I picked up two handfuls of cloud and plugged my ears with them.

However, I was able to hear Pinkie ask Derpy, "Hi, I'm looking for Rainbow Dash. Have you seen her?"

I gasped and started digging into the cloud to hide.

"Hi Nellie, have you seen Rainbow Dash?" Pinkie asked.

"Can't say I have, Pinkie. Sorry." Ellie answered.

"Okay, thanks anyway." Pinkie assured, then turned to Twilight, who was on her way to the book store, "Twilight, have you seen Rainbow Dash anywhere?"

"Isn't she right up there?" Twilight asked, looking up in the cloud I was hiding in.

Uh-oh...

"Rainbow Dash."

I quickly took off and flew as fast as I could to the back of Applejack's house. I peeked at the road and did see the pink pony anywhere.

I sighed in relief, "Phew. That was close."

I turned then heard a familiar voice, "Hi!"

I gasped in started, then flew off again, "Aah!"

I into the leaves of the Golden Oak Library. Once I lost sight of that pink pony, I caught my breath and smiled.

"Hi again." The voice smiled from below me.

I screamed and flew off again at top speed, "Aah!"

I flew over the hills and hid behind a cloud, creating a fake speed trail. Pinkie Pie followed after it. I snuck past her and landed near the lake.

Everything was quiet again, until a voice spat something and spoke to me, "I need a favor, Rainbow Dash."

How does Pinkie Pie find me so fast?!

I was about to fly away again, but I sulked, "Oh, forget it."

I gave up and fell to the ground.

"I totally promise it'll be totally fun." She assured me.

I just sighed in defeat, "Okay."

*A Little Later...*
Pinkie told me to grab a small thundercloud and position it close to the town hall.

She measured it and instructed, "Over to the right." I moved the cloud to her instructions, "No no, a little to the left. Oh wait, back to the right. Now a little left-ish while staying right-ly. Stop. Hmm. Maybe a few inches to the south. Now a couple centimeters north. Okay. One more smidgimeter to the--"

Annoyed and impatient, I shouted, "Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie sheepishly smiled, "Uh, I mean, perfect. Now wait for my signal."

She hid behind the door-way, as Spike exit the town hall with a pile of scrolls in his arms. Pinkie Pie gave me the signal, and I kicked the cloud.

The cloud sparked with lightning and loud thunder. Spike jumped, "D-aah!"

Pinkie grinned and Spike started hiccupping.

Pinkie burst into laughter, "Oh Rainbow Dash, we startled Spike into getting the hiccups."

I giggled. Spike turned to Pinkie and I and laughed, "Good one, Pinkie *Hiccup* Pie. *Hiccup* You're always pulling a fast one *Hiccup* on me." He picked up a scroll, but hiccuped an his fire-breath caught the scroll, "Nnaa--"

"Oh no, you're not hurt are you?" Pinkie asked in concern.

"Ne*Hiccup*eh, don't be *Hiccup* silly, dragons are *Hiccup* fire-proof." Spike answered between hiccups.

Pinkie Pie smiled in relief, "Oh, okay, good."

Then both she and I continued our laughter. Spike picked up half the scrolls, but his fire-breath hiccups burnt them toward Canterlot.

"I wish the same thing *Hiccup* were true with scrolls." He muttered under his breath.

He tried picking another scroll, but the scroll got caught in his fire-breath hiccups. Pinkie and I laughed. Pinkie fell on her back.

"Have you ever seen anything more hilarious?" Pinkie asked, between laughs.

I smirked, "I can think of one thing."

I kicked the cloud and another roar of thunder and lightning cracked.

Pinkie jumped, "Aah!" Then started hiccupping, like Spike. She laughed.

I smiled, "I didn't take you for a prankster, Pinkie Pie."

"Are you *Hiccup* kidding? *Hiccup* I love to pull pranks." She smiled, as I landed to her level, "It's all *Hiccup* in good fun, and Pinkie Pie lo*Hiccup*oves to have *Hiccup* fun!*Hiccup*"

"You know Pinkie Pie, you're not as annoying as I thought." I admitted with a smile. Pinkie hiccupped again, then I asked, "You wanna hang out?"

Pinkie grinned and started to hiccup all over the place, "That'd be-*Hiccup* I'd really-*Hiccup* When do-*Hiccup* I mean-*Hiccup* When would you-*Hiccup*-"

I raised my hand over her mouth, as she zoomed toward me, "A simple nod would do."

Pinkie Pie nodded, "Mmm-hmm."

And so, we got some pranking supplies from the party shop, and began our day of pranking other ponies. Pinkie Pie made sure that the pranks were harmless but still a good laugh.

The first pony we pranked was Rarity. We left a bouquet of paper flowers with sneezing powder on her doorstep. Pinkie rang the doorbell and we hid behind the bushes.

"Is she even home?" I asked in whisper.

"I don't know." Pinkie snickered, "This is gonna be gold."

The top half of the door opened and revealed Rarity looking around.

"There she is." Pinkie Pie alerted, as we hid.

Rarity looked at the flowers. She sniffed the flowers and got sneezing powder all over her nose. She sneezed and Pinkie and I exit our hiding spots laughing. I held the sneezing powder in my hoof.

I dropped the powder and ran off to do more pranks on our friends. Pinkie zoomed behind me. She got caught by the powder.

The next we pranked was Twilight and Ellie. I was thinking about shocking Ellie with a hoofshake-buzzer, but Pinkie advised against it. Ellie is extremely sensitive, so a buzzer might hurt her more than it normally would a normal pony..

So Pinkie and I decided a combination prank. Invisible ink for Twilight Sparkle and mints in Ellie's drink of orange juice.

We pranked Applejack next, buy painting her apples with whacky designs. Not to worry. It comes off after one drop of water. Applejack didn't like our prank, so she threw her apples at us.

Our next prank was a turtle that squirts water at our victim. I use that term lightly, they're still our friends.

I looked over the telescope and snickered.

"Is someone over there? Who're we gonna squirt? Who're we gonna squirt?" Pinkie asked with her mouth full from the squirter, giddy with excitement.

"Fluttershy." I answered.

"WHAT?" Pinkie exclaimed, spitting the squirter on the floor, "Nononononono, we can't prank Fluttershy, I mean, she's so sensitive. It'll hurt her feelings, even our most harmless prank."

"Yeah, you're right." I sighed with a raspberry, "We need another victim who's made of tougher stuff. So, who's it gonna be?"

Pinkie Pie chuckled, "Oh, I've got someone in mind. The toughest around."

That got my interest, "Oh, awesome." Then asked, "Who? Who? Do I know them?"

She giggled and pointed to the lake, "Oh, yes. You're very close."

I looked at my reflection and saw that there was black ink around my right eye. I smiled at the pink pony, "Good one, Pinkie Pie."

I gave her a 'down-low', but I made her keep missing. She and laughed the sunset away.

*The Next Day, Outside Ponyville...*
Pinkie Pie's POV.
The sun was rising over the mountains, as I made my way to Rainbow Dash's house outside of town. I was wearing a pair of wacky sunglasses, an arrow-through-the-head headband and a party hooter in my mouth.

I arrived just under the house and called, "Rise and shine Rainbow Dash! It's a brand new day and we got a lot of pranking to-"

However, what looked at me wasn't Rainbow Dash. Heck, it wasn't even a pony. It had a beak. White feathered head. Brown body of fur and feathers. Large wings. A leonine tail. Golden talons and back paws.

"Ooh." I uttered, stepping back from the creature's stare.

Then Rainbow Dash appeared, "Mornin', Pinks." She flew toward me and spoke to the creature staring at me "Gilda, this is my gal pal, Pinkie Pie."

The creature, Gilda, landed in front of me and greeted, "Hey. What's up?"

Everything on my face dropped to the ground. Gilda stood the in-between height of me and Eleanor, with a strong, tomboyish build. Stronger than Dash's.

"Pinkie, this is my Griffon friend, Gilda." Dash introduced me to Gilda.

"What's a Griffon?" I asked.

"She's half-eagle, half-lion." Rainbow Dash started.

Then Gilda leaped in front of me and hugged Rainbow Dash, "And all awesome." The two shared a secret hoof-shake, "Yeah, that's right."

Something about the Griffon made my stomach turn. Like she's a bad influence on Dash, or something worse...

Dash turned to me, "Gilda's my best friend from my days at Junior Speedster flight camp." Then asked Gilda, "Hey, remember the chant?"

Gilda nodded with a smile, "Sha, they made us recite it every morning, I'll never get that lame thing out of my head."

"Sooo..." Rainbow started, smiling.

Gilda rolled her eyes, "Ugh." Then smiled, "Only for you, Dash."

Rainbow Dash and she lifted into the air and danced,

'Junior Speedsters are our lives,
Sky-bound soars and daring dives
Junior Speedsters, it's our quest,
To some day be the very best!'

I couldn't help but laugh at how funny the dance was. I smiled at the duo, "Oh that was awesome, and it gave me a great idea for a prank." I grabbed my accessories and looked at Gilda, "Gilda, you game?"

Gilda smiled at me, "Huh. Well, I groove on a good prank as much as the next griffon." Then turned to Dash, "But Dash, you promised me we'd get a flying session in this morning."

She took off into the air. Rainbow looked a little uncertain, "Yeah, uh, well..." The she turned to me, "Pinkie Pie, you don't mind, do you? Gilda just got here. We'll catch up with you later."

Then she took off after Gilda.

I gave an uneasy smile, "Oh. Um, well sure, no problem. Have fun you guys, I'll, uh, just catch up with you--" I sighed, "Later...."

*A Little Later, in Ponyville...*
Rainbow Dash's POV.
Gilda and I raced each other across the skies, performing tricks and clearing a few of the clouds along the way. We found a large, stable cloud and crashed into it, laughing.

Gilda got back to her paws and smiled, "Whoa, that was sweet. Just like old times."

I nodded, "Yeah, only faster." We shared a bro-fist, "So now what?"

We aimed for another, but a familiar pink Earth Pony's head peeked through the cloud and smiled, "Hey there."

"Huh?" Gilda and I raised a brow.

"It's later. And I caught up." Pinkie explained, as she appeared and disappeared from the cloud, like she was bouncing off something.

I looked and it turned out she was using a large trampoline to reach us. Wow, talk about resourceful.

I giggled at the pink pony, "Pinkie Pie, you are so random."

Pinkie smiled at me. Then Gilda spoke up, "Hey Dash, think you got enough gas left to beat me to that cloud?"

That got my wings itching, "A race? You are so on."

We crouched, ready to take off. "One, two, three, go." Gilda counted down, then we flew off.

We raced toward the cloud and I smiled, "I win."

Gilda shook her head, "As if. I won, dude."

"No way." I exclaimed.

She nodded, "Yes way."

Then we started arguing over the victory. Pinkie Pie showed up, this time using balloons, "Wow guys, that was really close, but I think Rainbow Dash beat you by a teeny weeny itty bitty hair, or a teeny weeny itty bitty feather."

I smiled, "Hah, see? Good thing Pinkie Pie's here to keep you honest, G."

Gilda looked like she was about to lose her temper, but she calmed and told me, "Okay... Dash, last one to that cloud up there is a gnarly dragon egg. Go!"

I took off and flew toward the cloud. I was there first for real this time, because Gilda showed up a second later.

Pinkie Pie rejoined us, this time in a strange contraption, "Oh wow, you guys almost got away from me that time."

Gilda put her arm over my shoulder, "So, Dash, got any new moves in your trick-tionary, or are you 100% old school?"

I smiled, "New moves? Heh, sit back G, this is gonna take a while."

Then I took off into the air.

Pinkie Pie's POV.
With Dash gone, Gilda turned her attention to me, "Hey Pinkie, c'mere."

I leaned my pedi-coptor a smidgemeter closer to her, "Yeah?"

She grabbed the pole of my contraption, then got really close to my face, "Don't you know how to take get lost for an answer? Dash doesn't need to hang with a dweeb like you now that I'm around. You're dorkin' up the skies, Stinkie Pie, so make like a bee and BUZZ OFF!"

She grabbed the propeller and I span out of control. I flew around the area and crashed to the dirt road, just outside of Sweet Apple Acres.

I recovered from the crash and thought about Gilda's words and actions. That was really mean.

*A Little Later, In Golden Oak Library...*
I decided to tell Twilight and Nellie about what Gilda was about, and what she did.

"So Pinkie Pie, are you sure that this friend of Rainbow Dash is really so mean?" Twilight asked me, her eyes glued on a spell book.

"Um, yeah." I answered, "She keeps stealing Rainbow Dash away, she pops my balloons, and she told me to buzz off. I've never met a Griffon this mean. Well, actually, I've never met a Griffon at all, but I bet if I had, she wouldn't have been as mean and grumpy as Gilda."

"You know what I think, Pinkie Pie." Twilight spoke up, looking at me.

I nodded, "Hmm?"

"Well, I think... you're jealous." She told me.

"Jealous?" I exclaimed.

"Green with envy." Spike nodded, "Well, in your case, pink with envy."

Nellie shook her head, "I dunno. I have a pen-pal that's a Griffon and she's very sweet."

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Well, yes." Then looked at me, "Jealous. Listen Pinkie, I don't want to upset you, but just because Rainbow Dash has another friend doesn't make Gilda a grump. I mean, perhaps it's you, Pinkie, who needs to improve her attitude."

"Improve my attitude?" I repeated in shock, "But I... D... B.. It's Gilda that... D... Are you seri..."

I couldn't find the words to express how I felt at that moment. I growled, then walked out of the library.

Eleanor's POV.
Pinkie growled and stormed out of the library, slamming the door behind her. Twilight sighed.

I tilted my head and glared at my best friend, "That wasn't nice, Twi."

"Don't tell me you believe her." She looked at me.

"As a matter of fact, Twilight Sparkle, yes. I do." I answered.

I trotted out of the library and found Pinkie just outside of the tree, sulking as she walked.

"Maybe Twilight is right." She spoke to herself, "Maybe Gilda isn't a big, meanie, grumpy, mean-meanie-pants. Maybe I'm just a big jealous, judgmental, jealous-jealousy-pants."

She sighed and resumed sulking.

"Hey, Pinkie." I called after her.

Pinkie turned to me, "What? You're gonna say you agree with Twilight too?"

I shook my head, "Not really. I believe you about Gilda being mean."

Pinkie just sighed and sulked again. Twilight's words must have really got to her.

An idea hit me, and I put my arm over her shoulder, "Hey, how about a good, foamy shake to turn that frown up-side down. My treat."

Pinkie looked at me and nodded with a small smile. With that, I took Pinkie to SugarCube Corner and treated her to her favorite strawberry shake. I had a triple chocolate. She was still sulking.

Then we heard laughter over our heads and the sound of flight. Pinkie gasped and hid close to me.

"That was sweet." An unfamiliar voice chuckled.

Then Rainbow Dash sighed, "Ugh, I gotta take care of a few weather jobs around here. Shouldn't take long. Just, uh, hang out in town and I'll come find ya."

Rainbow landed in the other side of town with a Griffon.

The Griffon smiled, "That's cool, I guess. I'm gonna go chow down."

"Later." Dash flew off to take care of her job.

"That's Gilda?" I asked Pinkie.

Pinkie nodded her head. Gilda looked around and saw a vegetable stand. Granny Smith was walked toward it.

Gilda hid behind the stand. Once Granny Smith was close enough, Gilda moved her tail up to her and moved it like a snake.

Granny Smith shrieked in fear, "Aaah! A rattler, a rattler! Run for the hills!" Then ran away as fast as she could, "Everybody forsake yourselves!"

Gilda smiled, but a mare was looking at her. Gilda pressed a tomato with her tail and shook her head, "This stuff ain't fresh, dude."

"Aw, poor Granny Smith, she didn't know it was a joke. How mean." Pinkie frowned, then shook her head, "No, no, I can't misjudge her. It was kind of a funny prank, I guess."

I shook her head. Then Gilda used her tail to snatch an apple from Applejack's stand, and ate it. Nopony else noticed.

Pinkie gasped, "I did misjudge her. She's not only a meanie, mean-pants, she's also a thief." Then she shook her head, "Nonononono, she might give it back. It's just a joke."

I sighed, "Pinkie, you've got to stop this. Twilight hasn't met Gilda yet. Follow your gut, for Luna's sake."

Fluttershy walked past us, softly walking backward, leading a family of ducks through the town, "Alright little ones, this way, this way. Mama duck, you're free and clear." She didn't notice she was heading for Gilda.

"Fluttershy, watch out for-" I called, but she bumped into the Griffon.

"Hey!" Gilda shouted, as Fluttershy bumped into her.

"Please excuse me." Fluttershy politely excused.

"I'm walkin' here." Gilda glared.

Fluttershy backed away from her, "Oh, um, I'm sorry. I-I-I was just trying to..."

Gilda rolled her eyes and mocked in a soft voice, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Then shouted, "Why don't you just watch where you're going, doofus?"

"B-b-b-but I... I..." Fluttershy stuttered, as the ducks waddled off.

Gilda took a breath and roared at her. Fluttershy ran away, sobbing. I could feel my blood boiling.

Gilda sighed and rolled her eyes, "Ugh, please, all these lame ponies are driving me buggy. I gotta bail." Then she took off.

I looked at the pink pony sitting next to me, "Still think she's playing around, Pinkie?"

Pinkie shook her head, "She's a grump, and a thief, and a bully. The meanest kind of mean meanie-pants there is. I can take it, but no one treats Fluttershy like that. No. One. This calls for extreme measures, Pinkie Pie style."

*A Little Bit Later, in SugarCube Corner...*
"Welcome, welcome. Welcome!" Pinkie greeted, as the guests arrived.

Pinkie decided to throw a party for Gilda. I'm not a big fan of parties, but hopefully this will better Gilda's attitude with the townsfolk of Ponyville. She's been holding up so much of Dash's time, that Dash hasn't seen her true colors.

"Who's this Gilda I've heard nothing about?" Applejack asked Rarity.

"I hear she's an old friend of Rainbow Dash." Rarity answered, "A Griffon, so rare."

"You've met Gilda, right?" Twilight asked Fluttershy, "What's she like?"

"Oh, um, well..." Fluttershy stuttered, then answered, "I'll tell you later, Twilight."

"Welcome. Welcome." Pinkie continued to greet.

Fluttershy walked over to Pinkie, "Um, Pinkie Pie, about this party for Gilda. Umm... Do you really think it's a good idea? I mean–"

Pinkie patted her head, "Don't worry your pretty little head about mean old Gilda. Your auntie Pinkie Pie's got it all taken care of."

"I'm a year older than you." Fluttershy pointed out.

Then Gilda showed up.

Pinkie Pie smiled, "Gilda! I'm so honored to throw you one of my signature Pinkie Pie parties." She extended her hoof, "And I really, truly, sincerely, hope you feel welcome here among all us ponyfolk."

Gilda shook Pinkie's hoof, the got shocked. Pinkie laughed and revealed a hoof-shake buzzer on her frog.

Everyone else laughed with her. The Rainbow Dash showed up, "Oh Pinkie Pie, the old hoof-shake buzzer. You are a scream."

"Yeah..." Gilda chuckled nervously, "Uh, good one, Pinkie Pie."

"Come on G, I'll introduce you to some of my other friends." Dash offered, as she walked off.

Gilda smiled, "Right behind you Dash." Then glared at Pinkie, "I know what you're up to."

Pinkie smiled, "Great."

Gilda shook her head and growled, "I know what you're planning."

"Well, I hope so." Pinkie giggled, "This wasn't supposed to be a surprise party."

"I mean, I've got my eye on you." Gilda warned her.

"And I got my eye on you." Pinkie replied.

Then she turned to everypony in attendance, "Everyone, I'd like you all to meet Gilda, a long-time, dear friend of Rainbow Dash. Let's honor her and welcome her to Ponyville."

Everypony cheered. Gilda gave them a forced smile. Rainbow Dash put her arm over Gilda's shoulders.

"Welcome to Ponyville, Gilda." I greeted with a friendly smile.

Gilda just gave me a look, "What are you suppose to be?"

"I'm a bat pony." I answered in a polite tone.

The Griffon raised a brow at me, "Aren't you a little tall for a bat pony?"

I looked away in thought. I was unsure how to answer. Sure, I'm as tall as Princess Luna, but that doesn't mean you should make fun of me.

Then Pinkie offered, standing near a bowl of lemon drops, "Please help yourself."

Gilda smiled, "Vanilla lemon drops. Don't mind if I do." She ate one and then she blew fire like a dragon, "HOT!"

"G, the punch." Rainbow directed.

Gilda grabbed a glass and started drinking. However the glass was dribbling over her crest, "Huh?"

"Well, whaddya know, pepper in the vanilla lemon drops, and the punch served in a dribble glass." Pinkie smiled.

Rainbow Dash smiled, "Ha. Priceless. Priceless." Then laughed.

Gilda was starting to take breaths, uncertain to take another glass or cup.

I gave her my glass of milk, "Here. Milk will drown out the pepper in a flash."

Gilda took the glass and chugged the milk down. She caught her breath and smiled at me, "Thanks." Then rolled her eyes, "Yeah, hilarious."

"Hey G, look, presents." Rainbow Dash pointed to a table full of well-wrapped presents.

Gilda grabbed one that was shaped like a can. She pulled on the bow and springy snakes flew out. A burst of air ruffled Gilda's feathers.

Everypony laughed at the prank.

"Spittin' snakes. Hah, somepony pulled that prank on me last month." Applejack laughed.

Gilda rolled her eyes again, "Ha ha." Then glanced at Pinkie Pie, "I bet I know who that was."

"You do?" Pinkie asked with an innocent smile.

After everything calmed down and Gilda smoothed her feathers, the party began and everypony was having a really good time.

Pinkie Pie arrived from the kitchen with a large cake on a cart, "Cake time everypony."

The cake was cased with cream fondant icing and purple-pink butter cream frosting. On top were nine blue and yellow candles.

"Hey, can I blow out the candles?" Spike asked, like a birthday kid.

"Why don't we let Gilda blow out the candles, Spike." Twilight answered, "She is the guest of honor after all."

Gilda moved Spike out of the way, "Exactly."

She took a deep breath and blew the candles out. However they re-lit themselves. Gilda blew them out again, but they re-lit again. Everypony laughed, as Gilda continued to blow the candles out, but they kept re-lighting themselves.

Spike chuckled, "Re-lighting birthday candles, I love that prank. What a classic."

"Now, I wonder who could've done that." Pinkie wondered, rubbing her chin in thought.

Gilder glared, "Yeah, I wonder."

"Mmm, who cares." Spike spoke up, as he literally dug into the cake, "This cake is amazing."

"Spike!" Twilight scolded.

"What?" He asked, then smile, "It's great, try some."

Gilda looked ready to blow a fuse, until Rainbow Dash asked, "Hey G, you're not upset about some silly candles, are you?"

She shook her head, "No way Dash, like I said, I'm down with a good prank."

Rainbow Dash nodded, "Come on then, let's have some cake."

Gilda grabbed Pinkie and took her behind the cake, "Hey, I'm watching you. Like a hawk."

"Why? Can't you watch me like a Griffon?" Pinkie asked.

Then Applejack spoke up, "Hey y'all, it's pin the tail on the pony. Let's play."

Rarity smiled, "Oh, my favorite game." Then asked, "Can I go first? Can I have the purple tail?"

Gilda quickly grabbed the tail, before Rarity could, "Well, I am the guest of honor, and I'll have the purple tail."

Pinkie nodded, "Yeah, Gilda should definitely go first. Let's get you blindfolded."

Spike hopped on to Gilda's shoulders and tied a blue blindfold over her eyes.

"Hey what-- Ugh-- What are you doing?" Gilda asked, as Pinkie grabbed her and span her around.

"We're spinning you around and around and then you can pin the tail on the pony." Then she guided her to the poster, "Now just walk straight ahead and pin the tail."

"Now just walk straight ahead and pin the tail." Gilda mocked, then shook her head, "Hmph, yeah, right. This is another prank, isn't it?" Then she turned around, "I'm going this way."

Gilda made her way to the kitchen.

"Wait. The poster is this-" Pinkie tried to tell her.

I looked at the floor and saw her step, "Gilda, watch out for the-" Gilda stepped on some frosting and lost her balance. She crashed into the kitchen, "Frosting..."

She walking of the kitchen, covered in cake batter and icing. The tail hung from her beak, making her look like she had a mustache.

"Uh, Gilda? You pinned the tail on the wrong end." Pinkie Pie pointed to her nose.

Gilda noticed and everypony started laughing at her.

Gilda lost her temper and roared, "This is your idea of a good time? I've never met a lamer bunch of dweebs in all my life." She glared at Pinkie, "And Pinkie Pie, you! You are queen lame-o with your weak little party pranks. Did you really think you could make me lose my cool?" She put her arm over Dash's shoulder, who was frowning, "Well, Dash and I have ten times as much cool as the rest of you put together. Come on Dash, we're bailing on this pathetic scene." She was on her way to the exit, but Dash didn't move, "Come on Rainbow Dash. I said, we're leaving."

"You know Gilda, I was the one who set up all those weak pranks at this party." Rainbow Dash admitted.

"What?" Gilda exclaimed in shock, then looked at Pinkie.

"So I guess I'm queen lame-o." Rainbow glared.

"Come on, Dash, you're joshing me." Gilda pleaded.

"They weren't all meant for you specifically, it was just dumb luck that you set them all off." She explained.

Pinkie face-palmed, "I shoulda known, that dribble cup had Rainbow Dash written all over it."

I nodded, "So did the re-lighting candles."

Gilda shook her head, "No way. It was Pinkie Pie, she set up this party to trip me up, to make a fool of me."

"Me? I threw this party to improve your attitude." Pinkie explained, "I thought a good party might turn that frown upside down."

"And you sure didn't need any help making a fool of yourself." Rainbow added, "You know, this is not how I thought my old friends would treat my new friends. If being cool is all you care about, maybe you should go find some new cool friends someplace else."

Gilda looked hurt for a second, then covered it up, "Yeah? Well you, you, you are such a, a flip-flop: cool one minute and lame the next. When you decide not to be lame anymore, gimme a call."

With that, she left SugarCube Corner and took off.

"Not cool." Rainbow muttered under her breath.

"Wow, talk about a party pooper." Spike spoke up.

The others muttered among themselves on what just happened.

"I'm sorry everypony, for bringing Gilda here. I didn't know how rude she was." Rainbow apologised, then turned to Pinkie, "And Pinkie Pie, I'm really sorry she ruined that awesome party you put on for her."

Pinkie shrugged, "Hey, if you want to hang out with party poopers, that's your business."

Rainbow smiled, "I'd rather hang out with you. No hard feelings?"

Pinkie nodded, "No hard feelings."

The two shook hands, but ended up getting shocked. Everypony laughed, as they revealed to both have hoof-shake buzzers.

I glanced at Twilight, "Twilight, don't you need to say something?"

Twilight nodded, "Okay, Ellie." She walked over to Pinkie, "Hey Pinkie. Sorry I accused you of misjudging Gilda. Looks likes I'm the one who misjudged you."

Pinkie smiled, "It's okay Twilight, even you can't be a super smart, smarty, smart-pants all the time." Then encouraged, "Come on everypony, there's still a whole lotta party to finish."

'Dearest Princess Celestia,
Today I learned that it's hard to accept when somepony you like wants to spend time with somepony who's not so nice. Though it's impossible to control who your friends hang out with, it is possible to control your own behavior. Just continue to be a good friend. In the end, the difference between a false friend and the one who is true will surely come to light.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.'

Boast Busters

Eleanor's POV.
"Come on, Twilight, you can do it!" Spike encouraged Twilight.

Twilight nodded, "Okay, here goes."

She closed her eyes and her horn glowed in her magical aura. The same aura appeared around Spike's muzzle and a black mustache grew in its place.

Spike smiled, "Ha ha! Ya did it!" He drew a check mark on the list, "Growing magic, that's number twenty-five. Twenty-five different types of tricks and counting."

Twilight smiled bashfully. I clapped my hooves with a smile, "Well done, Twilight."

Twilight, Spike and I have been spending the day learning new spells and putting them to practice. Ponyville has been well behaved, so we deserve a bit of a break. After what happened with Gilda. Geez, that girl can't take a joke.

Spike checked out his mustache in the mirror, "And I think this is the best trick so far." Then acted suave, "Hello, Rarity. What's that? Aw, it's nothin', just my awesome mustache." Then chuckled in humor.

"Sorry, Romeo. As attractive and enticing as you look, it's just for practice, and it's gotta go." Twilight told the young Dragon, as she closed her eyes and her horn glowed again.

"Wait!" Spike cried. The aura appeared around the mustache and Spike flinched. The mustache disappeared and Spike sighed, "Aw, rats."

Twilight gave a light giggle. With that, we decided to take a break from the practicing and take a walk around town.

"Twenty-five, Twilight. Twenty-five different kinds of tricks and counting." Spike exclaimed, as Twilight smiled proudly, "I thought unicorns were only supposed to have a little magic that matches their special talents."

Twilight nodded, "True, for ponies whose talents are for things like cooking or singing or math." Then wondered, "But what if a unicorn's special talent is magic?"

"Well, there is a reason Princess Celestia made you her protégé." I pointed out, "You know a ton of magic."

Twilight blushed, "Oh, stop it. I'm sure there are lots of ponies right here in Ponyville that know just as much magic as me."

"Are you kiddin'?" Spike exclaimed, "I don't think there's another Unicorn in all of Equestria with your kind of ability, Twilight. Ellie's got a very good point."

Then a goofy-sounding voice shouted, "Gangway! Comin' through!"

Two Unicorn colts came charging toward us. One was tall and skinny, while the other was short and stout.

The tall one's fur coat was a light brown and his mane and tail were a greyish cyan. The short one shared the colors, but reversed. As in his mane and tail are light brown and his coat is a greyish cyan.

As for their Cutie Marks, the tall one's was a snail and the short one's was a pair of scissors.

The two colts charged into Spike.

"Snips, Snails! What's goin' on?" Spike asked.

Snips and Snails came to a stop, knocking Spike onto his back.

"Wha, haven't you heard?" Snails, the tall one, asked, "There's a new Unicorn in town!"

Snips, the short one, nodded, "Yeah! They say that she's got more magical powers than any other Unicorn ever!"

"Really?" Twilight and I asked.

Spike recovered and shook his head, "Aw, no way, that honor goes to Twilight here."

Snips and Snails turned to Twilight, who blushed. Then she asked, "Where is this Unicorn?"

"Ho, she's in the Town Square. Come on!" Snails answered, then ran off to the Town Square.

Snips nodded, "Yeah! Come on!" Then he ran off, "Whooo!"

Twilight, Spike and I looked at each other, then followed after the colts. Parked in the Town Square, in front of the Town Hall, was a small travelling carriage. Very plain-looking.

"Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" A mare's voice announced, as the carriage unfolded into a colorful, but still plain stage.

In a poof of smoke, a young mare appeared. She was around the same age as Twilight and I. Her color scheme was all blue. Her coat was a light greyish blue. Her mane and leonine tail were almost white with pastel blue streaks.

She wore a light purple magicians hat over her head. A matching cape.

The audience 'ooh'ed and 'awe'ed at the mare's presence.

"Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!" The mare announced, as fireworks launched colorful displays upon the stage.

Rarity rolled her eyes, "My, my, my! What boasting!"

Spike nodded, "Come on, no pony's as magical as Twi--" Then he noticed Rarity next to him, then he acted all shy, "Twi-- Twi-- Oh! Hey, Rarity, I, uh-- Mustache!" Then he dashed off.

"There's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?" Twilight asked.

Applejack shook her head, as Trixie made a bouquet of flowers appear, "Nothin' at all, 'cept in when someone goes around showin' it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons."

Rarity nodded in agreement, "Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us."

Twilight looked away, doubtful and ashamed.

"There's a big difference between humility and a big ego." I spoke up, "Showing off just inflates your ego. It does not make you humble."

"Especially when ya got me around being better than the rest of us." Dash boasted with a smile, jabbing her chest with her thumb. Applejack glared at her and Rainbow corrected her words, "Eh, I mean, yeah, uh, magic shmagic. Boo!"

Trixie must have heard us, 'cause she glared, "Well, well, well, it seems we have some neighsayers in the audience. Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical Unicorn in all of Equestria?"

Rarity blew a raspberry, "Just who does she think she is?"

Spike nodded, as he returned, "Yeah! Since we all know that Twilight here is--"

Twilight quickly covered his muzzle, "Spike! Shhh!"

She took Spike and sneaked to the back of the audience. "What? What's wrong?" Spike asked in a whisper.

"You see the way they reacted to Trixie?" Twilight pointed, "I don't want anyone thinking I'm a show-off."

I shook my head, "Twilight, you're-"

Trixie's fanfare cut me off, as it startled me to silence. Thanks a lot, crazy mare!

Rainbow Dash flew to Trixie, "So, 'Great and Powerful Trixie'. What makes you think you're so awesome, anyway?"

Trixie chuckled with a smirk, "Heh, why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish the dreaded Ursa Major!"

The fanfare went off again and the fireworks drew a picture of a large bear with a star on its forehead.

Everypony gasped in awe.

"What?" "No way!" Snips and Snails gasped.

"When all hope was lost, the ponies of Hoofington had no one to turn to..." Trixie told her story, as the fireworks drew a picture of her fighting the bear, "But the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped in, and with her awesome magic, vanquished the Ursa Major and sent it back to its cave deep within the Everfree Forest!"

Snips and Snails smiled, "Sawweet!"

Snips smiled, "That settles it."

Snails nodded, "Trixie truly is the most talented, the most magical, the most awesome Unicorn in Ponyville."

Snips shook his head, "No, in all of Equestria!"

I tilted my head and raised a brow, "Is that counting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?"

Snips and Snails looked unsure how to answer.

Then Spike spoke up, "How do you know? You didn't see it! And besides, Twi-"

However Twilight used her magic to morph his mouth into a zipper and zipped his mouth closed.

Trixie laughed, "It's true, my enthusiastic little admirers. Trixie is most certainly the best in Ponyville."

Everyone fell silent.

"Don't believe the Great and Powerful Trixie?" Trixie asked, then smirked, "Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians -- anything you can do, I can do better. Any takers? Anyone? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who has ever lived!?"

Her fanfare went off again, startling me stiff.

Spike unzipped his mouth and pleaded Twilight, "Please! She's unbearable! Ya gotta show her! Ya just gotta!"

Twilight shook her head, "There's no way I'm going to use my magic now, Spike. Especially since--"

Trixie cut her off and pointed, "Hmm, how about you!"

Twilight gulped in nervousness.

"Well, how about it? Hm?" Trixie asked, "Is there anything you can do that the Great and Powerful Trixie can't?"

"I-- I--" Twilight stuttered...

But Trixie was talking to Applejack, "Well, little hayseed?"

Applejack marched toward the stage, "That's it! I can't stand for no more of this!"

"You show her, AJ!" Spike encouraged.

Applejack grabbed her lasso, from her belt, "Can your magical powers do this?"

She spun the lasso and began performing amazing tricks. She finished by grabbing an apple and eating it without breaking a sweat.

Everypony cheered at Applejack's amazing show of talent.

Applejack crossed her arms and hooves at Trixie, "Top that, missy."

Trixie smirked, "Oh ye of little talent." Then she removed her hat to reveal she was a Unicorn, "Watch and be amazed at the magic of Trixie!"

The rope on the stage started moving under the influence of Trixie's magic.

Simple telekinesis.

It moved in the motion of a snake, distracting Applejack, while the other end grabbed an apple from the same tree. The first end tied around Applejack's hands and tied them to her hooves. The rope threw her to the ground and put the apple into her mouth.

The audience cheered and laugh. Seeing that humiliation made my blood boil. I didn't notice my ruby pendant around my neck glowing for a second.

"Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie prevails." Trixie smirked.

Rainbow Dash flew up to her, "There's no need to go struttin' around and showin' off like that."

Trixie looked at her, "Oh?"

Rainbow puffed her chest proudly, "That's my job!"

With that, she flew off toward the windmill and used it to gain speed. She took off into the sky and pierced through a group of clouds. She dove through the clouds again, collecting drops of water, then used the mill to the stage. She stopped and the water drops created a rainbow above her head.

Rainbow smiled, "They don't call me 'Rainbow' and 'Dash' for nothin'!"

The crowd cheered at her display.

Trixie scoffed, "When Trixie is through, the only thing they'll call you is 'Loser'."

Her horn glowed and Trixie cast a spell on the rainbow. The rainbow turned on Rainbow Dash and started spinning her around at great speeds. Rainbow flew around in a spin and she landed on the ground.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Rainbow gulped. Free from the ropes, Applejack helped her to her hooves.

Trixie chuckled, "Seems like any pony with a dash of good sense would think twice before tussling with the Great Trixie."

She created a small thunder cloud and lightning struck Rainbow on her tail. I jumped with a squeak.

"Ow!" Rainbow yelped.

Everypony laughed at Rainbow, along with Trixie. My anger boiled again.

"What we need is another Unicorn to challenge her." Spike spoke up, nudging Twilight, "Someone with some magic of her own."

Rainbow Dash nodded, "Yeah! A Unicorn to show this Unicorn who's boss."

Applejack nodded in agreement, "A real Unicorn-to-Unicorn tussle."

Twilight looked unsure. Then Rarity stepped forward, "Enough. Enough, all of you. I take your hint, but Rarity is above such nonsense.' Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace."

"Ooo, what's the matter? Afraid you'll get a hair out of place in that rat's nest you call a mane?" Trixie taunted.

That triggered Rarity's temper, "Oh, it. Is. On!" She walked onto the stage, "You may think you're tough with all of your so-called powers, but there's more to magic than your brutish ways. A Unicorn needs to be more than just muscle."

Her horn glowed and the curtain from the stage flew around her, "A Unicorn needs to have style." In a flash, the curtain became an elegant dress, her mane styled to match, "A Unicorn is not a Unicorn without grace and beauty."

Everypony was in awe of her work. Trixie scowled, then her horn glowed.

"Rarity won't let Trixie get the best of her!" Spike stood up, "She's strong, she's beautiful, she's--"

In a flash of magic, Spike was stopped short. Everypony gasped over what Trixie has just done. I'm sorry, even I can't describe what has happened.

"Quick! I need a mirror! Get me a mirror! What did she do to my hair? I know she did something terrible to my hair!" Rarity cried.

"Nothing." Twilight quickly answered.

"It's fine." Rainbow Dash smiled.

Applejack nodded, "It's gorgeous."

But Spike was blatant, "It's green."

I glared at the young dragon, "Spike!"

Spike looked at me, "What?"

Rarity gasped, "Ugh, no. Green hair! Not green hair!" She cried and ran off, "Such an awful, awful color!"

That made my blood boil like it was in a kettle. My ruby glowed brightly, but I decided to try and keep my cool and glare at the Unicorn mare.

Spike turned to Twilight, "Well Twilight, guess it's up to you. Come on, show her what you're made of."

Twilight quickly shook her head, "What do you mean? I'm nothing special."

"Yes, you are!" Spike argued, "You're better than her!"

"I'm not better than anyone." She interjected.

Trixie smirked, "Hah! You think you're better than the Great and Powerful Trixie? You think you have more magical talent?" Then dared, "Well, come on, show Trixie what you've got. Show us all."

Everypony looked at Twilight.

"Who, me? I'm just your run-of-the-mill citizen of Ponyville. No powerful magic here." Twilight quickly defended, "I, uh... I think I hear my laundry calling. Sorry, gotta go."

With that, she ran home.

"Twilight!" I called after her, but she was gone.

"What about you, Miss. Nightmare?" Trixie asked, gesturing to me. I turned to her with an icy glare, "What can you do that I can prove to do better?"

I glared at the showpony and raised a brow at her. Then I smirked, "I'm taller than you."

Everypony 'ooohhh'ed over me about the burn and Trixie glared at me. Her horn glowed and she used her magic to light up a firecracker spark at my hooves. I squeaked in startle and curled up in ball.

Trixie laughed, "Ha! Once again, the Great and Powerful Trixie has proven herself to be the most amazing unicorn in all of Equestria." Then she turned and left, "Huh, was there ever any doubt?"

I glared at Trixie with my anger burning inferno in my heart.

How dare a mare to think she could do measly tricks automatically makes her superior than other talents?! That's not on! Whatever happened to humility?!

No, Ellie. You can't let your anger control you. Remember what happened last time. You don't want it to happen again.

*Later that night, in the Golden Oak Library...*
"Twilight, would you put down that book and just listen to me?" Spike asked Twilight, who was reading a book on magical creatures.

"Didn't you see how they hated Trixie's bragging, Spike?" She asked, "If I go out there and show off my magic, I run the risk of losing them as friends."

"It's not the same thing, Twilight." Spike argued, "You'll be using your magic to stand up for your friends!"

"No, Spike, it's exactly the same." She pointed out.

"It's not the same, Twilight." I shouted, "Trixie's bragging and boasting. You using magic is humble and modest. There's a huge difference between ego and humility."

"There is no difference." She told me.

"Come on, Twilight. Ellie's right. Any one of these tricks, even the teeniest, would be enough to show up Trixie." Spike encouraged.

"I don't want to be seen as a bragger like Trixie." Twilight insisted.

Then she used her magic to create a door and slammed it in mine and Spike's faces, "Ow..."

Spike opened the door and argued, "But you're the best!"

Twilight sighed, "Uh. Please, Spike, I said no!"

Spike sighed in defeat, "If that's the way you want to be, then fine."

He slammed the door, but realized which door he slammed and walked out of the library. Twilight sighed and sulked.

"Twilight, sometimes you really gotta listen to me." I told her, "There's a huge difference between you and Trixie. You're not a show-off. You're smart, modest, and kind. Trixie is just a bragger and full of her ego."

"That still doesn't stop me from becoming like her." She pointed out.

I growled in frustration, which merged into my burning anger. I walked into the bedroom and walked on to the balcony to try and meditate my anger away.

It was working, until I heard screaming and roaring. Snips and Snails ran passed the tree and Spike entered in a hurry. I ran into the library to see what this was about.

"Twilight! You've gotta come! Quick!" Spike shouted.

Twilight glared at him, "I already told you, Spike, I don't wanna show up Trixie!"

Spike shook his head, "No, you don't understand, it's--"

A loud roar echoed across town and caught Twilight's attention.

"Uh, is that what I think it is?" She asked.

Spike nodded, "Majorly."

Twilight, Spike and I left the library and entered town. The ponyfolk were evacuating the town. The only ones that didn't leave were Trixie, Snips and Snails.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked.

"We brought an Ursa to town." Snips answered with a smile.

"You what!?!" Twilight and I exclaimed in shock and unison. Are they nuts?!

"Don't worry, the Great and Powerful Trixie will vanquish it." Snails assured.

We looked at Trixie, who was standing in front of us without her hat and cape, and wearing a lavender nightgown.

She sulked, "I can't."

"What!?" Snips and Snails exclaimed.

"I can't, I never have." Trixie admitted, "No one can vanquish an Ursa Major. I just made the whole story up to make me look better."

"Made it up!?" Snips and Snails exclaimed again.

The ground shook. We turned and saw a large blue bear with a starry fur coat approaching us, standing on its hind legs. Twilight hid behind me. The Ursa roared. I narrowed my eyes at it and thought for a second. That's not an Ursa Major, but it is close.

Spike nudged Twilight. Twilight shook her head. She still didn't want to feel like she was showing off.

Aaarrgghh!

My blood reached past the boiling point and I marched forward, "That's it!"

Twilight Sparkle's POV.
Ellie marched toward the large bear.

"Ellie! What are you doing?" I asked her, cautious and worried.

Ellie didn't answer and stood in front of the Ursa. The Ursa roared at her, but the angry human stood her ground. The ruby around her neck started to glow brightly.

Ellie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. A spiritual blue, flame-like magical aura surrounded Ellie's body. The wind picked up and music started playing. Ellie sang in a weird language.

The Ursa listened to Ellie's song and began to fall asleep. The aura around Ellie intensified, as it circled around her like a circle of flame. Ellie opened her eyes as he Cutie Mark was enveloped in the magic aura, and her eyes were glowing white and emitting a magic mist.

(https://www.deviantart.com/orin331/art/Earthponies-can-t-use-magic-729266823)

A large bottle of milk appear and the aura levitated the Ursa into the air. The bottle floated toward the bear and the aura transported it back into the Everfree Forest.

The song ended and the aura faded. Ellie looked like she was about to topple over. I quickly ran toward the ravenette pony and caught her, just as soon as she fell, "Ellie!"

Ellie opened her eyes and looked at me with her hazel bat-like eyes, "Twilight?"

I smiled in relief and hugged my best friend. Everypony cheered and applaud at the performance incredible magic.

"Unbelievable!" Rainbow Dash cheered.

Spike smiled at Ellie, "That was amazing!"

Applejack nodded in agreement, "Heavens to Betsy! We didn't know an bat pony can use that kind of magic!"

Ellie smiled in humility. Who knew so much power can be summoned by a tall bat pony? It's no wonder she has wisps in her Cutie Mark.

Then my heart dropped in worry, "Please, please don't hate Ellie." I pleaded, hugging my best friend close.

"Hate Ellie?" Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash exclaimed with smiles.

"Why, whatever do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Well, I know how much you all hated Trixie's showing off with her magic tricks, and I just thought--" I began my explanation, but Rainbow Dash cut her off, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Magic's got nothing to do with it. Trixie's just a loudmouth."

Rarity nodded, "Most unpleasant."

Applejack nodded as well, "All hat and no cattle."

"So, you won't mind my magic tricks?" I asked in uncertainty.

Applejack shook her head, "Your magic is a part of who you are, SugarCube, and we like who you are." She smiled, "We're proud to have such a powerful, talented unicorn and a special earth pony as our friends."

"And after whuppin' that Ursa's hind quarters, we're even prouder." Rainbow added.

I regained my smile, "You are?"

The three girls nodded in unison and agreement.

Eleanor's POV.
Twilight smiled and threw her arms around me. I smiled back and giggled with a blush.

"Wow, Ellie, how'd you know what to do with that Ursa Major?" Spike asked me.

"I didn't." I answered.

"What?" Everypony exclaimed in unison.

"I sensed the emotions of the little guy and followed my gut instinct." I explained.

"That's funny. I was reading up on them." Twilight looked at me, "You really are empathic."

"So it is possible to vanquish an Ursa Major all by yourself?" Spike asked.

I shook my head, "That wasn't an Ursa Major, it was just a baby, an Ursa Minor."

"That was just a baby?" Trixie exclaimed from behind the crowd.

I nodded, "And he wasn't rampaging, he was just a little grumpy because someone woke him up." I glanced at the Unicorn colts.

Everypony looked at Snips and Snails. Snips and Snails shrunk themselves in embarrassment.

"Well, if that was an Ursa Minor, then what's an Ursa Major like?" Spike asked.

I shook my head, "You really don't wanna know."

Trixie laughed and walked up to me, "Huh. You may have vanquished an Ursa Minor, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

My anger reached its peak, "Oh, for the love of..." I walked over to the bragging Unicorn, "I've had just about enough of your boasting, Trixie Lulamoon!" I towered over her, "Nopony cares about your magical prowess. Nopony gives a dang about your talents. Ego crushes confidence and that leads to ponies thinking they're nothing but fucking dust!"

"Ellie!" I heard Rarity gasp.

"Until you learn about the meaning of humility, I'd suggest you make like a tree and leave!" I told Trixie.

Scared, she threw a smoke bomb and vanished.

"Remind me to never get on your bad side, Ellie." Rainbow noted.

I returned to my shy demeanor, with my anger gone, "I hope I didn't go too far. That was building up all day."

Twilight shook her head, "Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson." Then turned to Snips and Snails, "Now, about you two."

Snips nervously chuckled, "Uh, we're sorry that we woke up the Ursa Minor."

Snails nodded, "We just wanted to see some awesome magic."

Snips nodded with a smile, "Yeah!" Then turned to me, "And the way you vanquished that Ursa Minor was awesome!"

I folded my arms and gave a disapproving glare at the colts.

Snails and Snips bowed to their knees. "We deserve whatever punishment you give us." Snails told Twilight and I.

"For starters, you can clean up this mess." Twilight started, looking at Trixie's trashed carriage. Then smiled at Spike, "And... What do you think, Spike? Should I give them number twenty five?"

Spike smirked, "Oh, twenty five! Yes!" Then added, "And I think I deserve it, too."

Snips and Snails raised a brow, "Heah?"

I smirked and nodded, "I agree with Spike. It'll be cool."

Twilight closed her eyes and her horn glowed. An aura appeared around Snips, Snails and Spike's muzzles and each of them grew a different styled mustache.

Snips, Snails and Spike smiled, "Sweet."

*The Next Morning...*

'Dear Princess Celestia,
I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a show-off that I was hiding a part of who I am. My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off... Especially when you're standing up for your friends.'

Twilight finished writing her letter to Princess Celestia.

"So, you finally admit that you're the most talented unicorn in all of Ponyville?" Spike asked, his mustache still on his muzzle.

Twilight thought for a second, then answered with a smile, "Well, yeah, but it's nothing to brag about." Then asked, "So, uh, how did it go with Rarity?"

Spike sulked, "Eh, she didn't go for the mustache."

Twilight smiled at him, "You know, Spike, that mustache has nothing to do with who you really are. Maybe you should just try being yourself."

Spike twisted his mustache in thought, "Or... Maybe the mustache wasn't enough. Maybe if I had a mustache and a beard?"

Twilight sighed in annoyance, "Uh, not this again!"

"Okay, imagine me with a nice, long, Fu Manchu type beard. Or maybe a goatee." Spike started requesting, "Oh, no a soul-patch right on my chin!"

I giggled and sent the letter to Celestia.

Dragonshy

Eleanor's POV.
*Sigh* Finally a quiet day in Ponyville. It's been over a week since Trixie's visit and the attack of the Ursa Minor. Now everything has been fix and everypony is enjoying the day as a normal day.

Well, except a certain shy Pegasus, who was running into the park shouting, "Help. Help! Please? Help? There's-- there's a horrible cloud of smoke." Everypony seemed to be ignoring her, "It's headed this way and--"

Fluttershy squeaked as a red starred ball came flying toward her. She ducked and the ball missed her. Rainbow Dash quickly dashed past her and caught the ball, kicking it into the air.

"Don't be such a scaredy-pony. It's just me, future Equestria Ball-Bouncing Record Holder." Rainbow assured, then resumed counting, "Three forty six, three forty seven..."

Pinkie Pie accompanied Rainbow and smiled, "This calls for a celebration!"

Fluttershy shook her head, "Oh, no, Pinkie Pie, this is no time for celebration. This is a time for panic, for--"

Ignoring her, Pinkie Pie bounced by, "Ooo! I'm going to need balloons! One for every pony in Ponyville!"

Fluttershy followed after her, "There's-- There's smoke. And-- And where there's smoke, there's fire. And--"

Pinkie came to a sudden stop, Fluttershy rammed right into her. Pinkie counted the Ponyfolk present, "Let's see, that's one, two, three, four..."

Rainbow was still counting her bounces, "Three hundred fifty four..."

"Five, six..."

"Three hundred fifty five, no, wait..."

Pinkie cut Rainbow off by jabbing her chest, causing Rainbow to drop the ball, "Seven."

Rainbow took a step back and caught the ball under her arm. She glared at Pinkie, "Pinkie Pie! Now I have to start over."

A small cough caught me by surprise. I looked up and saw a large trail of black smoke sneaking across the sky. A familiar smell reached my nostrils. Fire and brimstone.

Oh no. Not again...

"We're all going to have to start over, in a new village." Fluttershy tried to speak up, "'Cause ours is gonna be--"

But she was cut off by Rainbow Dash flying off somewhere.

Pinkie Pie dashed after her friend, "Hey, Rainbow Dash, wait up!"

Fluttershy started to get desperate, "Oh, please, this is an emergency. I-I need everypony to--"

But, yet again, she was cut off. This time by Twilight Sparkle, on the bridge, "Listen up! Smoke is spreading over all of Equestria."

The other Ponies gasped, "What?" "Oh no!" "That's awful!"

"That's what I've been trying to--" Fluttershy tried to speak up, but Twilight cut her off again, "But don't worry, I've just received a letter from Princess Celestia informing me that it is not coming from a fire."

Fluttershy sighed in relief, "Oh, thank goodness."

"It's coming from a dragon." Twilight finished.

Everypony gasped in dread and panic.

"A... d-dragon?" Fluttershy stuttered.

*A Little Later, in Golden Oak Library...*
Twilight told everypony in Ponyville to go to their homes and stay inside. Then she rallied to rest of us into Golden Oak Library to come up with a plan to stop this dragon.

"What in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?" Applejack asked, as Twilight looked over her books

"Sleeping, of course." I answered.

Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Sam, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie tilted their heads in confusion, "Huh?"

Twilight nodded, packing her saddlebags with books and scrolls, "According to Princess Celestia, he's taking a nap. His snoring is what's causing all this smoke."

"He should really see a doctor." Pinkie Pie frowned, "That doesn't sound healthy at all."

Rarity shrugged her shoulders, "Well, at least he's not snoring fire." Then asked, "What are we meant to do about it?"

"I'll tell you what we're meant to do." Rainbow Dash spoke up, "Give him the boot." She took off into the air and kicked the library's centerpiece, "Take that." Twilight quickly grabbed the piece, with her magic, before it fell to the ground. Then she lifted it as Rainbow charged through, "And that!"

Rainbow crashed into a bookshelf.

"Violence doesn't always solve the issue, Rainbow." I told her, "We need reason as well."

Twilight nodded in agreement, "We need to encourage him to take a nap somewhere else. Princess Celestia has given us this mission, and we must not fail." Rainbow Dash got back to her hooves and saluted, "If we do, Equestria will be covered in smoke for the next one hundred years."

Fluttershy gasped, while Rarity scoffed, "Talk about getting your beauty sleep."

"All right everypony, I need you to gather supplies quickly." Twilight told everypony, "We've got a long journey ahead of us. Let's meet back here in less than an hour."

Rainbow cheered and smiled, "Okay, girls, you heard her. The fate of Equestria is in our hooves. Do we have what it takes?"

Applejack, Sam, Pinkie Pie and Rarity smiled and cheered in affirmations. They left the library to make their way home and pack some supplies.

Fluttershy was the last to leave. She hesitated, "Um, actually..."

"Is something the matter, Fluttershy?" I asked.

Fluttershy looked at me, "Umm... Well... It's just that-"

But Twilight cut her off, "Fluttershy, we need to get going!"

She pushed the shy Pegasus out of the library and slammed the door behind her. I quietly glared at my friend.

That was rude.

*Less than an hour later...*
Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Sam, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy returned outside the library with saddle bags full of supplies and such.

"All right girls, listen up. I'm mapping out the fastest route, but we've all got to keep a good pace if we expect to make it up the mountain by nightfall." Twilight told us, as she marched past us.

"M-m-mountain?" Fluttershy stuttered.

Twilight nodded, as she pointed to the mountain just outside of Ponyville, "The dragon is in that cave at the very top."

"Looks pretty cold up there." Applejack noticed.

Rainbow Dash nodded with a smile, "You bet it is. The higher you go, the chillier it gets."

I shuddered, "I hate the cold."

Sam looked at me, "You're a bat pony, Ellie. Shouldn't you be lucky to have a thicker coat than the rest of us?"

I glanced at my sister, "Just because I have a thicker hide, doesn't make me more resilient to the cold."

Rarity smiled, "Good thing I brought my scarf."

She reached into her saddle bag and got out a pink stripped scarf. She wrapped it around her neck.

Pinkie Pie smiled, "Ooo! Pretty!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled, "Heh, oh yeah. That'll keep you nice and cozy."

I looked up at the mountain. For some reason, I felt scared and frightened. The funny thing is I'm not afraid of mountains, dragons or heights. I've done this thing before, with Sunset Shimmer. It was actually pretty fun. Cold... But fun.

I looked to my right and saw that Fluttershy was looking scared and nervous.

"Is something wrong, Fluttershy?" I asked the timid Pegasus. She looked at me, then away in uncertainty. "It's alright. You can tell me anything. I'm your friend." I assured her.

Fluttershy looked at me, and took a deep breath, "I... I really don't want to go up the mountain. I thought... Maybe I can stay here in Ponyville, keep an eye on the others while you and the others are gone."

I raised a brow, "You're afraid, aren't you?" Fluttershy gulped and gave me a small nod. I smiled, "That's okay, Fluttershy. I'm not a big fan of the cold. We just need to tell Twilight. Okay?"

Fluttershy looked uncertain, then looked at Twilight, who was looking over a map of the outside of town.

"Um, excuse me, Twilight?" She spoke up to Twilight, "I know you're busy, but..."

"Uh-huh." Twilight nodded, her eyes glued on the map, "Well, we could go this way."

"Twilight, Fluttershy wants to speak to-" I tried to speak up, but Twilight cut me off, "Uh-huh. No, we want to avoid that."

Fluttershy took a breath and spoke up, "So, um, I was thinking that, um, maybe Ellie and I should just stay here in Ponyville."

Twilight nodded, "Uh-huh." Her eyes were still glued on the map.

Fluttershy smiled, "Oh! Good. Ellie and I'll stay here and--"

Twilight finally heard Fluttershy's words and turned to her, "Wait! You and Ellie have to come! Your way with wild animals will surely come in handy. And Ellie's experience with dragons will definitely help."

"I don't think I--" Fluttershy tried to argue, but Twilight cut her off, "Oh, and don't worry about your little friends in the meadow. Spike's got it covered while you're gone."

Spike nodded, with little critters at his feet and birds and chipmunks perched on his arms, "You can count on me!" Unfortunately Angel Bunny thumped on Spike's head. Spike reacted and the animals ran off. Spike chased after them, "Hey! Hey! Wait!"

"I don't really think he's up to the task. Maybe..." Fluttershy told Twilight, but her words fell on deaf ears, as Twilight put the map back in her backpack and started walking, "But... But..."

"Are you sure you want Fluttershy to come along?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight, "I mean, that pony's afraid of her own shadow. She's just going to slow us down."

I nodded in agreement, "And you know how much I can't stand the cold." I told her, "Maybe we should stay here."

Twilight just shook her head, "Oh, she's just a little nervous. Once we get going, I'm sure you both'll be fine."

Suddenly, we heard Fluttershy squeak in fright. Twilight, Rainbow and I turned to see Fluttershy jogging on the spot, looking at her shadow. Then she leaped into a bush behind her.

I helped Fluttershy out of the bush, then Twilight announced, "All right girls, move out!"

With that, the girls charged forward, toward Fluttershy and I. "But... But...!" Fluttershy tried to argue, but we were carried with them.

Fluttershy screamed, while I shouted, "TWILIGHT BELLATRIX SPARKLE! YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!"

*A little later, at the Base of the Mountain...*
Twilight, the Girls and I arrived at the base of mountain. The dragon's snore caught everyone by surprise, creating a larger cloud of smoke toward Ponyville. Fluttershy gasped and hid close behind me.

"Whoa. What was that?" Rainbow Dash gasped.

"That is what it sounds like when a dragon snores." I answered.

"Geez, Ellie. You seem to know a lot about dragons." Sam noted.

"It helps if you've studied them a while ago." I smiled.

Fluttershy looked at the mountain and squeaked, "It-- It's so... High!"

"Well, it is a mountain." Rainbow Dash pointed out, then added, "I'm going to fly up there and check it out!"

She was about to dash off, but Applejack stopped her by grabbing her tail, "Hold on, now." She spat Rainbow's tail out of her mouth, "I think we should all go up together. Safety in numbers an all."

The others nodded in agreement. Rainbow folded her arms and pouted, "Oh, all right."

With that, the girls, Sam and I started climbing up the mountain.

"I hear the only thing that sparkles more than a dragon's scales are the jewels they use to build their nests." Rarity spoke up, as we climbed up the mountain, "Ooo, if I play my cards right, I might be able to convince him to part with a few!"

With a growly voice, Pinkie Pie imitated the dragon, "Welcome to my cave, Rarity. Care for a diamond?"

She roared. The rest of us laughed at her joke. The only one that wasn't laughing was Twilight Sparkle.

"Girls, this is no laughing matter!" She told us sternly, then we continued climbing.

I cleared my throat, "I think you might have trouble getting one gem from the dragon's nest, Rarity."

Rarity looked at me, "Why is that?"

I was about to answer, but Twilight marched past me and asked, "Fluttershy, you're the expert on wild creatures. What do you think the dragon will be like?"

Getting no response, Twilight looked behind her, "Fluttershy?"

The rest of us turned to find Fluttershy still at the base of the mountain, hiding behind a bush.

"Hey! What are you waiting for? An invitation?" Rainbow Dash shouted impatiently.

Pinkie smiled, "Ooo, I think I have one in my bag!"

She dug into her backpack and got out a card. Confetti popped out with a party whistle and startled Sam. Sam glared at the pink party pony.

"I-It's so... So... Steep." Fluttershy squeaked timidly

"Well, it is a cliff." Rainbow pointed out, "You could just, oh, I don't know, fly up here?"

"Come on, Fluttershy, you can do it." Pinkie Pie encouraged with a smile, flapping her hands, "Flap those wings!"

"Oh... Okay." Fluttershy took a breath and flapped her wings.

She made it to our location and we smiled at her accomplishment. However another snore alerted Fluttershy. Her wings snapped closed and she fell into the bush at the base of the mountain. Rainbow Dash sighed in annoyance.

"Fluttershy, you okay?" I called.

"I'm okay." She answered. She tried to open her wings again, but they weren't cooperating with her this time around.

Twilight sighed in impatience, "Uh, we don't have time for this." I rolled my eyes and grabbed her map. "What are you doing?" Twilight asked me, as I looked the map over.

"I'm gonna be needing this, if I'm going to take her around the mountain another way." I answered.

Rainbow Dash groaned, "Around the mountain?" I rode down the cliff to meet up with Fluttershy, "That's going to take them forever."

I made to Fluttershy, she was still struggling to open her wings. Another snore echoed from above the mountain. Fluttershy froze solid and fell on her back.

"Don't worry, Twi. We'll reach you guys as soon as we can." I assured Twilight.

*A Few Minutes Later...*
Twilight Sparkle's POV.
The girls and I were still waiting for Ellie to bring Fluttershy to meet up with us. During that time, I was pacing along the path. Rainbow Dash was trying to keep herself from getting bored by following me. Applejack was sitting down and waiting patiently. Sam was practicing her magic on a stone. And Rarity and Pinkie were playing Tic-Tac-Toe. So far, Pinkie was wining.

"Whoo-hoo! I win again!" Pinkie cheered as she won another game.

Rarity sighed, "Ugh. That's thirty-five games in a row." Then asked with a smile, "Best of seventy-one?"

Then I heard the sound of hoofsteps. Finally arriving was Ellie and Fluttershy. Fluttershy was hiding behind Ellie and holding her hoof.

"There we go." Ellie smiled at Fluttershy, "Told you, you can do it."

"Told you it was going to take them forever." Rainbow Dash whispered to me.

Sam gave her a look, "They were only gone for eight minutes."

With Fluttershy calmed down and both her and Ellie finally with us, it was time to continue up the mountain. I followed the map up a crooked path and met up with a gap across the mountain. Rainbow Dash wasted no time and leaped over. The other girls and I followed behind her. The only one left was Fluttershy.

"Your turn, Fluttershy." I told her.

Fluttershy refused to move and hugged a nearby rock, "But... It's so... Wide.

"Come on, Fluttershy, we should be much farther along by now." I sighed.

"You could just leap on over." Applejack encouraged.

Fluttershy looked over the gap, "I--" Another dragon snore echoed from the cave. It was louder this time around. Fluttershy squeaked and curled into a ball, "I don't know."

Applejack and I shook our heads. Then Pinkie Pie spoke up with a cheerful smile, "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a hop, skip and a jump." She leaped over to Fluttershy with ease, "See?"

Then she broke into song,

'It's not very far,
Just move your little rump.
You can make it if you try with a hop, skip and jump.'

"We don't have time for this." I sighed.

Pinkie resumed singing, leaping back and forth across the gap,

'A hop, skip and jump,
Just move your little rump,
A hop, skip and jump,
A hop, skip and jump,
A hop, skip and jump,
A hop skip and jump,
A hop skip and jump!'

Sam looked at Ellie with annoyance, "Remind me why we're friends with her?"

Ellie just quietly shook her head at her sister.

Fluttershy gathered her courage and stood up, "O-okay. Here I go." She hopped over to the edge, "A hop."

Applejack smiled, "That's it."

I nodded, "You've got it."

"Almost there." Rarity cheered.

"Skip." Fluttershy skipped, and leaped over the edge.

"You're doing great." Ellie smiled.

I nodded, "Just don't look down."

Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked down. Panicked, she lost her hoofing. Luckily, the gap was smaller than Fluttershy believed it was. You could've just stepped over with no harm.

Rainbow Dash sighed in annoyance and flew over to the other side. She pushed Fluttershy over, while Applejack and I grabbed her hooves and pulled Fluttershy over.

Again, Fluttershy lost her hoofing and tripped over, falling on top of Rainbow Dash. "I guess I forgot to jump." She whispered with a sheepish smile.

*A Little Later...*
Eleanor's POV.
"Let's keep it down. According to my map, we're entering an avalanche zone. The smallest peep could cause a huge rock slide." Twilight whispered, as we arrived to a part of the mountain that looked like it could collapse at anytime.

"An... An ava... Ava..." Fluttershy whispered, as fear began to pick up on her again.

Twilight quickly 'shh'ed her and we walked up the path, as quietly as we could. Fluttershy stayed as close to me as possible. Rainbow Dash flew past a tree, her shoulder brushing over a branch. Two leaves fell and landed on Fluttershy's shoulders.

Startled and frightened, Fluttershy screamed at the top of her lungs, "AVALA--" I quickly covered her mouth and her echo screamed into the air. Luckily, no avalanche.

The girls sighed in unison, and the ground started to shake around us. The wall next to us started to topple over with rocks of shapes and sizes falling toward us.

"Avalanche!"

The girls and I ran around the area, trying to avoid getting crushed by the falling rocks. Rainbow Dash stuck to her flying skills.

"Oh no! Help!" Twilight screamed, as she tried to avoid the rocks.

Applejack tackled her out of the way and the rocks created a huge cloud of dust. All of us coughed the dust out of our lungs, as the cloud cleared and a large hill of rocks blocked our path.

"Everypony okay?" Applejack asked everyone.

Twilight sighed and smiled at Applejack, "Thanks to you I am."

Fluttershy popped out of the dirt with a small sheepish smile. Rarity found herself covered in dust and dirt, from the cloud. She dusted herself off and the dust and dirt attracted itself to Pinkie Pie, who bounced in excitement.

"Whoo-hoo! Let's do it again!" Pinkie smiled, now covered in dirt and dust.

Sam popped out of the dirt and screamed, "NO!"

Rarity smiled, "This is why a girl always packs extra accessories." She reached into her saddle bag and wrapped her pink-striped scarf around her neck. Then her smile fell, "Oh, please tell me I brought the tiara that goes with this."

"Uh, think we got bigger problems than making sure our hair bows match our horseshoes." Rainbow pointed out, pointing to the hill of rocks and stones.

Fluttershy sighed with a sulk, "Sorry."

I smiled and assured, "Don't worry about it, SugarCube." Applejack gave me a look.

Twilight nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we'll just have to..." Her smile fell and sighed, "Climb over."

With that, the girls and I started climbing over the hill of rocks, stones, dust and dirt. It was quite slippery on the up, Rarity helped me this time around. On the way down, Fluttershy lost her hoofing and slid down the hill. She collided into Rarity, me and Applejack, crashing into the foot of the hill.

Rainbow Dash flew over and tried to help Rarity out of the pile. "My apologies." Rarity apologised.

"Not your fault." Rainbow Dash answered, glaring at Fluttershy. I gave the impatient Pegasus a glare.

Not Fluttershy's fault she has been trying to tell us she's scared of dragons. If you just... I dunno... Stop and listen, you'll know and help her out too!!

Then Rainbow Dash flew off to meet up with Twilight, as the rest of us got back to our hooves.

"Still think it was a good idea to bring Fluttershy along?" She asked Twilight.

Twilight looked ahead, "We're about to find out." Then came to a stop, "We're here."

The rest of us gathered with Twilight, in front of a large cave with the smoke leaking out from the ceiling.

Twilight turned to Rainbow Dash, "Rainbow Dash, you'll use your wings to clear the smoke."

Rainbow Dash nodded and took off into the stream of smoke.

Twilight turned to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, "Rarity and Pinkie Pie, you'll create a diversion to distract the dragon if things get a little hairy in there."

Rarity and Pinkie nodded, as Pinkie got out a rubber chicken from her backpack and started shaking it around like a dog, much to Rarity and Twilight's confusion.

"I don't think that's a-" I tried to speak up, but Twilight cut me off and turned to Applejack, "Applejack, you're ready with the apples in case he decides to attack."

Applejack nodded and threw two apples into the air, kicked them into a nearby tree.

"Twilight, there's no need fo-" I tried again, but Twilight cut me off again, "But it shouldn't come to that, because Fluttershy will do what she needs to do to wake him up, and between both her and Ellie, we should be able to get him to understand why he needs to go." Then she asked, "Is everypony ready?"

Everypony, but Fluttershy and I, nodded in agreement.

Twilight nodded and took hold of my hand, "Okay then, we're goin' in."

With that, Twilight and I entered the dragon's cave. It was getting darker the more we walked in.

"So, what is the best way to wake up a sleeping dragon without upsetting him?" Twilight asked.

"Well, the most efficient way is to-" I answered, but Twilight turned and noticed a certain shy Pegasus wasn't with us, "Fluttershy?"

I quietly growled in frustration. Twilight wasn't asking me about the dragon. She was asking Fluttershy!

Twilight grabbed my hand and we exit the cave, "Oh, come on!"

We found Fluttershy curled in a ball, with her head buried in her knees. Poor lass is scared to death.

Twilight picked Fluttershy up by pulling her wings, "Come on! We have to do this!" Then she started pushing her forward, "Now!" Rainbow Dash joined her, "Every... Second longer that dragon..." Rarity joined in, "Sleeps is another..." Applejack and Sam joined, "Acre of Equestria that is covered in... Smoke."

Fluttershy refused to move. Pinkie joined with a laugh. I just tilted my head with anger boiling my blood.

"I-- I--" Fluttershy stuttered, then admitted, "I can't go in the cave."

The girls fainted in impatience.

Rainbow Dash sighed, "Oh, great. She's scared of caves now, too."

Fluttershy shook her head, "I'm not scared of caves, I'm scared of..." She mumbled the last word very quietly.

Applejack leaned closer, "What's that, SugarCube?"

"I'm scared of..." Fluttershy repeated, mumbling the last word more quietly.

Twilight leaned closer, "What?"

"Oh for the love of..." I growled, then shouted at the top of my lungs, "Fluttershy is afraid of dragons!! There, it's said!! Are you happy now?!"

The dragon snored again. It was very loud that it shook the cave and created another cloud of smoke around us. Fluttershy squeaked and hid behind me.

The girls coughed, as the smoke cleared.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy, "But Fluttershy. You have a wonderful talent dealing with all kinds of animals."

My blood continued to boil, as Fluttershy nodded, "Yes, because they're not dragons."

"Oh come on! We've seen you walk right up to a horrible manticore like it was nothing." Rainbow Dash pointed out.

Fluttershy nodded again, "Yes, because he wasn't a dragon."

"Spike is a dragon." Pinkie pointed out, "You're not scared of him."

Fluttershy nodded again, "Yes, because he not a huge, gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a pony in one bite, totally all grown-up dragon!"

The dragon snored again. Fluttershy hugged close to me, shaking in terror.

"But, if you're so afraid of dragons, why didn't you say something before we came all the way up here?" Twilight asked.

I turned to the bookworm Unicorn, "We tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen!" I told her with a glare, "And you have a dragon expert right in front of you. But no!" I walked toward her, "No-one listens to the tall bat pony. You have to ask the shy Pegasus, who is frightened out of her own wits!!"

Twilight looked at me, then sheepishly looked away, rubbing her arm.

"Alright, Ellie. Calm down." Sam told me.

I glared at her, "Don't get me started with you..."

Applejack helped Fluttershy to her hooves and assured with a smile, "All of us are scared of that dragon."

Rainbow Dash shook her head proudly, "I'm not!"

I raised my hand, "I was my first time to face a dragon, but not anymore."

"Almost all of us are scared of that dragon." She corrected, "But we've got a job to do. So, get in there with Twilight and show her what you're made of."

Fluttershy looked at her friends, 'I-- I-- I just..." Then she sulked and sighed, "Can't."

She turned made her way back down the path. I watched her with a sad look, "Oh, Fluttershy."

Twilight mustered up her courage and marched into the cave alone, "I'm goin' in. He... Probably just doesn't realize what he's doing." She looked back at the entrance, "Right?"

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie all answered in agreement, but were nervous in their answers.

Twilight walked deeper into the cave and looked around, "Mr. Dragon?" Then she bumped into the muzzle of a large dragon.

His scales shined like red rubies with an underbelly of heliodor. Large wings and sharp spines of rose quartz running down his back.

Twilight cleared her throat, "Excuse me?" The dragon grumbled and rolled on to its back and scratched its underbelly, "Mr. Dragon?"

The dragon opened its amber-golden eyes and looked at Twilight.

Twilight took a step back and smiled, "Oh, good, you're awake. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight-"

The dragon yawned. Twilight got caught in his breath. Twilight gagged a little, then continued, "Sparkle, and my friends and I are residents here in Equestria."

The dragon looked at the entrance of the cave. The girls smiled politely, while Pinkie and I waved.

"Ponyville, to be exact. We've come here to ask that you find another spot to take your nap." Twilight continued, "It's just that you seem to be doing an awful lot of snoring, and every time you do you send out a terrible cloud of smoke."

The dragon blew a small cloud of smoke at Twilight's face. Twilight coughed a bit, before continuing, "Equestria simply can't survive a hundred years in a dark haze. You understand, don't you?"

The dragon stood up and stretched with a yawn.

Twilight smiled, "So, you'll find another place to sleep?"

The dragon collapsed back into his nest and fell back to sleep, blowing another cloud of smoke out of the cave.

Twilight exit the cave, coughing. The dragon blew more smoke our way.

"So much for persuading him." Rainbow spoke up, between coughs.

I shook my head, "Yeah, adult dragons don't listen to reason. As long as he's comfortable, he's not moving until the next Dragon Migration."

"Now what?" Applejack asked.

Rarity cleared her throat and spoke up, "Obviously, this situation just calls for a little pony charm." So she made her way into the cave, "Allow me, girls."

"Uh, Rarity? I don't think that's a go-" I tried to speak up, but she was already inside. I growled in frustration and kicked a nearby rock off the cliff.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt." Rarity cleared her throat, "But I couldn't possibly head back home without mentioning what handsome scales you have." She started picking up some of the jewelry from the dragon's nest, "And those scales have to be hidden away in some silly cave for a hundred years?"

"Rarity Tabitha Stone? What are you doing?" I whispered.

The dragon smiled in humble pride of Rarity's words.

"Personally, I think you should skip the snoozing and be out there, showing them off." Rarity told him. The dragon got too prideful. Then Rarity said the dreaded words, "Obviously, I would be more than happy to keep an eye on your jewels while you're gone."

The dragon caught her words and growled in anger. He stomped the ground and hugged his nest close. Scared, Rarity dashed out of the cave, leaving all the gems and jewelry behind.

"I was this close to getting that diamond." Rarity complained, lightly pinching the air.

"You mean... Getting rid of that dragon?" Twilight corrected.

Rarity rolled her eyes, "Oh, yeah... Sure."

I blew my bangs out from my eyes, "I tried to tell you. Dragons are also very greedy creatures. Never give up their loot for any reason. Trust no-one either."

"What in tarnation...?" Applejack gasped.

Twilight, Rarity and I looked and saw Pinkie dressed up like a clown inside a present box. With flippers, balloons and large shades.

"Darling, you look ridiculous." Rarity told Pinkie, with hands on her hips.

Pinkie nodded with a smile, "Exactly!" Then made her way into the cave, "Sharing a laugh is a sure-fire way to get someone on your side!"

I quickly reached my hand to her, "Pinkie, no!"

But she was already in the cave, "Hi!"

The dragon growled and there was the sound of something getting beaten up. Pinkie Pie exit the cave, looking like she just lost a battle with a freshly baked cake, "Apparently he doesn't like laughing, heh. Or sharing."

Rainbow Dash lost her patience, "All right, that's it. We tried persuasion, charm, whatever it is Pinkie Pie does. It's time to stop wasting time! I'm going in!"

"Rainbow Dash! Don't!" I shouted after her, but she charged into the cave.

Rainbow Dash met with the dragon and shouted, "Get! Out!"

She kicked the dragon's muzzle, hard. The dragon let out a sneeze, the growled angrily at the rainbow-themed Pegasus.

Rainbow Dash sheepishly smiled, "Heh. Sorry."

The dragon roared at her, throwing Rainbow Dash out of the cave, into us and into a nearby rock. The girls and I recovered from the collision and gasped, as the dragon started to emerge from the cave. The girls huddled with one another in fear.

I jumped in front of my friends, made myself look large and growled at the dragon. Angry and challenged, the dragon attacked with a blast of his fire breath. My ruby glowed brightly and projected a magical shield against the flames.

The dragon withdrew his fiery blast and attacked me with his claws. I was able to dodge some of the attacks, then the dragon mixed combos of his claws, teeth, and fire breath.

"Go get him, Ellie!" Rainbow Dash cheered, as I fought.

"Dragon vs. Tall earth pony. Place your bets!" Sam cheered.

I was able to slide underneath, and get behind the dragon. Thinking I was after his gems, the dragon attacked me with his tail. I was thrown into the air and crashed into a nearby rock. It crumbled apart from the impact. A powerful surge of pain shot through my body. The left side of my torso was bleeding, you could see red leaking from my hoodie.

Hiding behind the rock was Fluttershy. I heard blurred voices calling my name before my vision started to go black and silence filled my ears.

Fluttershy's POV.
I jumped in startle, as the rock I was hiding behind crumbled into smaller rocks. I looked on the other side, to find Ellie. She didn't look so good. Her ravenette fur was burnt. Her glasses were cracked and there was a pool of red appearing behind her. I knew that red color.

"Ellie!" I gasped in worry.

Ellie was able to look at me, before blacked out. Anger burned and boiled in my blood, as I glared at the dragon, "How dare you... How dare you!" I rose from my hiding place and flew toward the dragon's muzzle, "Listen here, mister. Just because you're big, doesn't mean you get to be a bully." I looked at him dead in the eye, "You may have huge teeth, and sharp scales, and snore smoke, and breathe fire. But you do not-- I repeat-- You do not! Hurt! My! Friends! You got that?"

The dragon lowered his head in shame, his eyes not turning away from me.

"Well?" I asked him, folding my arms.

"But that rainbow one kicked me." The dragon told me, pointing to Rainbow Dash, "And the tall one-"

"I am very sorry about her." I apologised about Rainbow Dash, then I furrowed my brows, "And Ellie was trying to protect us. But you're bigger than she is, and you should know better. You should also know better than to take a nap where your snoring can become a health hazard to other creatures."

The dragon nodded in understanding, then spoke up, looking away, "But I--" But I cut him off, "Don't you 'but I' me, mister. Now what do you have to say for yourself?" I hardened my tone, "I said, what do you have to say for yourself?"

The dragon's lip started trembling and he started crying.

I regained my smile and stroked his muzzle, "There, there. No need to cry. You're not a bad dragon, you just made a bad decision." I made my way back to my friends, "Now go pack your things. You just need to find a new place to sleep. That's all."

My friends gathered around me, cheering and smiling. Twilight smiled at me, "You did it! I knew you could do it."

With that, the dragon grabbed his things and left the cave to find somewhere else to sleep.

Later, back in Ponyville...
Eleanor's POV.
I finally was able to find the strength to open my eyes. I opened my eyes to find myself back in the Golden Oak Library. Twilight was looking over me.

"Twilight?" I recognised, finally able to find my voice.

The purple Unicorn smiled in relief, "Ellie! Thank goodness. I thought you weren't gonna make it." I tried to sit up, but Twilight put her hooves over my shoulders, "Don't get up so fast, you're still recovering."

I looked myself over. My right hoof and forearm was bandaged, as well as my torso and my left shoulder.

"What happened?" I asked, "Did we get the dragon to leave?"

Twilight nodded, then turned to Spike, "Spike, take a letter."

Spike smiled and grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, "With pleasure." He started jotting down Twilight's words.

'Dear Princess Celestia,
I am happy to report that the dragon has departed our fair country, and that it was my good friend, Fluttershy, who convinced him to go. This adventure has taught me to never lose faith in your friends. They can be an amazing source of strength, and can help you overcome even your greatest fears.
Always your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.'

"Twilight! You gotta come see this!" Applejack's voice shouted from outside. Twilight helped me off my bed and we walked toward the balcony. "She's just five away from a new pony record!" Applejack told us.

Of course, she was referring to Rainbow Dash, who was bouncing the red, starred ball and keeping it in the air.

"Three hundred forty-seven, three hundred forty-eight..." Rainbow Dash counted, then froze at the sound of a loud roar, "Dragon!"

Rainbow Dash froze and fell on her back in a similar fashion that Fluttershy was earlier.

Everyone started laughing in humor and irony.

Rainbow Dash recovered and asked, "Why are you laughing? That awful dragon is back!"

Finally it was revealed to be Pinkie Pie who was roaring. Rainbow glared at Pinkie, "Pinkie Pie, you scared me!" Realizing what she said, Rainbow recollected herself, "I mean, uh, you... broke my concentration."

Fluttershy put her hand over Rainbow's shoulder, "It's okay, Rainbow Dash. Not every pony can be as brave as me."

A small leaf almost landed on Rainbow, until she blew and the leaf flew over and landed on Fluttershy's shoulder. Once it touched her shoulder, Fluttershy squeaked, froze and fell on her back. Laughter broke and I couldn't help but smile.

Look Before You Sleep

Eleanor's POV.
It's been another quiet day in Ponyville. Just about a week and a half since the events with the dragon. I'm still feeling sore from what the dragon did to me. But I don't blame him. Rainbow Dash made him angry and he was retaliating. I just got in the way, trying to protect my friends.

Twilight and I have just finished preparing for the upcoming storm this evening. Magical lightning rod is in place. Spike is away on Canterlot business. All that's left is to prep the basement room for me.

Yeah... Storms and I really don't get along. Especially thunder and lightning storms. So it's either spend the night in the basement, or spend the evening embarrassing Twilight by freezing up, cowering under furniture, or crying every time lightning claps or thunder roars.

I grabbed my toothbrush and facial towel, when there was a knock on the door. I placed my things on a nearby shelf and walked toward the door. I opened it to reveal Rainbow Dash on the other side.

"Hey, Ellie. Are you ready for your first lesson on flying?" Rainbow greeted with a smile.

I nodded with a smile, "Yeah." Then I frowned, "But we have to make this lesson quick, though. Storms and I really don't get along."

Rainbow Dash nodded, "Say no more."

With that, I followed Rainbow to a ravine on the other side of the Everfree Forest, named Ghastly Gorge.

Rainbow Dash stretched, as she spoke, "Now, to begin, you must understand that flying is a very easy skill for anypony with wings. Your wings are your best friend when flying. They're your lifeline, a part of you. You must work with them, never against them." She went nose to nose with me, "Am I getting to you, soldier?"

I saluted, "Ma'am, yes, ma'am!"

Rainbow giggled, "Easy, Ellie. I was just joking around." Then she smiled, "But flying is easy." She asked me, "Just one little question; Are you afraid of heights?"

I shook my head, "Nope."

Rainbow smiled, "Then this will be easy."

With that, she leaped behind me and kicked me in the back, pushing me off the cliff and into the air. I fell into the gorge, screaming, until Rainbow Dash shouted, "Flap your wings, Ellie!"

I closed my eyes and moved the muscles in my back, flapping my wings. I opened my eyes and noticed that I was gaining elevation. I stopped screaming and smiled. Cool!

I flew up to meet Rainbow Dash, who was already in the air and she smiled, "See? Told you it was easy."

I folded my arms and glared at her, "Don't ever do that to me again! You almost killed me!"

Rainbow sheepishly smiled and chuckled, "Hehehe, sorry about that. I guess I wasn't thinking."

I shrugged and smiled, "Hey, at least I'm flying."

Rainbow nodded, "You're hovering, which is a great start. Most pegasi start off that way. Now we move to actual flying."

I nodded, then my ears perked up to sound of thunder coming from Ponyville. My blood started to feel cold from the crawling fear.

"Uh... Rainbow? I think it's time we wrap today's lesson and head home." I suggested, my voice starting to crack.

Rainbow tilted her head, then nodded, "A promise is a promise. Let's head home."

With that, Rainbow lead me out of the gorge and back toward Ponyville. I followed Rainbow Dash's example and was able to fly properly. I must have forgotten to tell her that I'm a visual learner. Oh well, maybe next lesson I'll tell her. It was already raining when we arrived. Rainbow Dash returned to her home and I returned to Golden Oak Library.

Once I was close enough, I saw Applejack having trouble controlling the garden hose.

I landed a few feet from her and offered, "Here, Applejack. Let me help you."

I took hold of the hose with my mouth and started cleaning off the mud on my cousin's hooves. Once both of us were done, Applejack and I made our way into the library.

Applejack noticed something and gasped, "What in tarnation..."

Rarity and Twilight were sitting on the floor, with their faces covered in a pale mint paste. Rarity was rubbing the mask on Twilight's face, getting every un-mudded spot.

"Now wait just a goll-darn minute." Applejack frowned, "Ya make me wash the mud off my hooves, but it's okay for y'all to have mud all over yer faces?"

"Silly!" Rarity replied, wiping her hands from the paste, "This is called a mud mask. It's to refresh and rejuvenate your complexion."

I picked up the bowl of paste and looked it over. "Uh, Rarity? This isn't a mud mask. This is mint paste." I looked at the near-white Unicorn, "You got this from the Aloe Sisters, didn't you?"

"It does the same thing, right?" Rarity shrugged.

I lowered my eyelids into a deadpan expression, "Yes."

"We're giving each other makeovers!" Twilight squeaked with an excited smiled, then she used her magic to levitate the open book on the podium, "We have to do it, it says so in the book."

She showed the book to Applejack and I.

Applejack read, "'Slumber 101: Everything Ya...'" Her eyes widened, then she looked at her empty wrist, "Oh hey, heh, would'ja look at the time. I gotta skidaddle on home quick." She turned and adjusted her setson, "I'm powerful late for, uh, for somethin'." Then made her way to the door, "Uh, g'night."

"Applejack, wai-" I was about to protest, but thunder roared over us and lightning flashed through the window.

Ice quickly froze my veins and I squeaked, tightly hugging close to the nearest Pony to me. Which was Twilight Sparkle. Applejack yelped and quickly ran back to the library.

"Or maybe I'll sit here for a spell." She quickly considered with an embarrassed smile.

Twilight smiled and clapped her hands in excitement, "Hurray slumber party!"

With that, Rarity slapped the mint paste over Applejack and my faces. Applejack wasn't comfortable with it, neither was I. Then Rarity put cucumber slices over our eyes.

"What in the world is this for?" Applejack asked, reaching the cucumbers.

"To reduce the puffiness around one's eyes, of course." Rarity answered with a sigh, and in a 'duh' tone.

"Actually, the cucumbers do nothing." I replied, "They're actually used to keep the paste away from the eyes. Mint irritates the eyes."

Twilight smiled, "Wow, Ellie. You seem to know quite a lot about beauty products, huh?"

I lightly smiled back, "I know my herbs and remedies. It's simple common sense with the cucumbers."

"Puffiness-schmuffiness!" Applejack spoke up. She slipped the cucumbers from her eyes to her nose and ate them with a smile, "That's good eatin'!"

Rarity frowned. Twilight giggled, as she looked over her slumber party book, "Isn't this exciting? We'll do everything by the book, and that will make my slumber party officially fun." She clapped her hooves in excitement.

"Did you hear that, Applejack?" Rarity eyed at Applejack, "You certainly would not want to do anything that would ruin Twilight's very first slumber party, would you?"

Applejack shook her head, "Of course not." Then glared at the white Unicorn, "'N' you wouldn't either, I reckon?"

"So do we have an agreement?" Rarity asked.

I nodded in agreement and performed the 'Pinkie Promise' vow.

The Pinkie Promise is something that Pinkie Pie invented when she was younger. It grew in popularity and now everypony does it.

It's a solemn vow to keep until it's fulfilled. Basically, you cross your heart with your dominant hoof, then flap your hooves in the air, and finally cover your best eye while saying, "Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye."

Applejack nodded, "You betcha." She spat into her hoof and extended it toward Rarity.

Rarity quickly took a step back in disgust, "Oh! Gross! You know, there's messy and there's just plain rude."

"Ya know, there's fussy, 'n' there's just plain gettin' on my nerves." Applejack shot back.

"Fortunately, I can get along with any pony, no matter how difficult she may be." Rarity pointed out.

"Oh yeah? Well, I'm the 'get-alongin'-ist pony yer ever gonna meet." Applejack argued.

Rarity glared at her, "That's not even a word."

"Girls, that's enough." I whispered to the two quarreling Ponies.

Then Twilight appeared in between us, "This is going to be the bestest slumber party ever!" She put her arms over our shoulders and hugged us close, "Yay!"

I smiled in excitement, while Applejack and Rarity just looked away, "Yay..."

*A Little Bit Later...*
And so we resumed with the makeover session. We reached to the point of curling our manes and tail. It turns out Applejack and I share quite a bit in common.

"So, how are you getting along over there, Applejack?" Rarity asked Applejack.

"Just fine, Rarity." Applejack answered, slumped over with an embarrassed sulk.

I scratched my head, under the curlers, "These curlers are making my head itch. Where did you get these things, Twilight?"

Twilight ignored me and smiled, "This is so awesome!" She giggled and grabbed the slumber party book and a quill, "Makeovers, check."

She used her magic to poof the curlers away and our mane and tails back to normal. I sighed in relief as the itching subsided.

Twilight looked over her book, "Ooh, it says here we have to tell ghost stories." Then asked, "Who wants to go first?"

Applejack wasted no time in raising her hand, "Me!" Then spoke in a haunted tone, "I'd like to tell y'all the terrifying tale of the prissy ghost who drove everypony crazy with her unnecessary neatness." She waved her hands in a ghostly fashion, "Oo-oo!" Then she eyed at Rarity, "I'm sure y'all are familiar with that one?"

Rarity shook her head, "Never heard of it." Then smiled, "But I have a much better one." Then she spoke in a weak haunted tone, "It's the horrifying story of the messy, inconsiderate ghost who irritated every pony within a hundred miles!" She waved her hands in a similar fashion to Applejack, "Oo-oo!"

"That's not a real story. Yah made it up." Applejack told her.

"It is a ghost story, they're all made up." Rarity pointed out.

"You know, not all ghost stories have to be about ghosts." I spoke up, clearing my throat.

Rarity glared at me, "That's the whole point, is it not?"

I shook my head, "No. They just have to be scary."

Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder roared loudly overhead of us and the entire room went into complete blackout! Ice quickly froze my veins again. I screamed, covered my ears, closed my eyes, to stop the tears of fear, and laid on the ground, trying to think happy thoughts and not think about the terrifying storm that was getting worse as the evening continued.

Twilight turned a lamp on and smiled, "I've got one!" Then added in a hushed tone, "This story is called 'The Legend of the Headless Horse'."

Lightning and thunder made the ground shake under my hooves. I closed my eyes tighter and wrapped my wings around my body for comfort, but it wasn't helping. Tears started falling down my face, my body was badly trembling and quiet whimpers escaped my throat.

"It was a dark and stormy night, just like this one. And four Ponies were having a slumber party, just like this one..." Twilight Sparkle started her story.

"Uh, Twilight?" Rarity spoke up, "Please pardon my interruption, but I don't think Ellie can take any more of this slumber party." Then she suggested, "Is it okay if I take her somewhere she feels safer?"

Twilight turned to look at me. Her tone changed from enthusiastic to guilty, "Oh, shoot. I got so excited I forgot Ellie is extremely astraphobic."

"Astro-what?" Applejack repeated.

"Astraphobic. Fear of storms." Rarity simplified.

Applejack tilted her head at me, then clarity hit her, "Oh! Sam told me about that. Ellie's extremely sensitive when the weather gets bad."

Twilight nodded, "Ellie has a room in the basement, in case of a bad storm. She can go there."

Rarity nodded and helped me to my hooves. She lead me downstairs, to my room in the basement. I was able to finally open my eyes and enter my basement room.

"You gonna be okay from here, darling?" Rarity asked me with concern in her tone.

I nodded and made my way to my bed. Rarity left the room and walked upstairs to the main floor, with Applejack and Twilight.

I laid on my bed, put my glasses on the bedside and rested my head against the pillow. My eyes began to feel heavy, as darkness clouded my vision. My eyes closed and all I could see was snow. Why snow?

*Dream*

*End Dream*

~CRASH~

I woke up with a gasp, hopped out of bed, grabbed my glasses and made my way to the main floor. Applejack was hanging from her rope, which was tied to a pine tree. Rarity and Twilight were on the second floor, where Twilight and my beds were.

What in the name of Luna's moon did I miss?

"I tried to tell you it would come crashing down in here." Rarity shouted from the second floor.

I ran to the second floor. Rarity was protecting herself from the wind with a book. Twilight was on the other side, recovering from the fallen tree.

"Well, ya should'a tried harder." Applejack shouted, as she climbed the rope to the second floor.

"Twilight, are you okay?" I asked in concern.

"I'm... Ok...Ay..." Twilight answered, dizzy from the impact of the tree.

"I'm mighty sorry, Twilight." Applejack apologised.

"It's..." Twilight started, then shook her head, "Well, it's not okay. There's a giant tree branch in the middle of my bedroom, and the book doesn't say anything about having a giant tree branch at your slumber party." She looked over her book, "Or at least I haven't found that entry yet."

I sighed in relief, "Yeah, you're alright." Then asked, "What the heck happened?"

"Well... It was-" Applejack was about to explain, but I cut her off with a glare, "I didn't ask you."

"Where do I start?" Twilight wondered, then explained, "Applejack and Rarity couldn't get along and started fighting over the bed blanket. Then lightning struck the nearby pine tree. Applejack used her rope to pull it steady, but it fell into the library. And here we are now."

"Okay..." Was all I say.

Why am I not surprised? Rarity and Applejack are complete opposites. It's no wonder they're not getting along.

"What in tarnation are y'all doin' over there?" Applejack shouted. I turned and saw that she was shouting at Rarity, who was gently and carefully putting books away.

"Cleaning up this mess somepony made." Rarity answered, then added in a sarcastic tone, "Who was that again? Oh, right, that's you."

"I don't care started this!" I shouted, "Just fix it!"

Applejack nodded in agreement and turned to Twilight, "We gotta do somethin'!"

"Baking... BFFs... Brothers..." Twilight sighed, still looking over her book, "There's nothing in here about branches."

I growled and tried to help Applejack move the tree. However our efforts were to no avail.

Applejack made her way into the tree and toward Rarity, "Rarity, for pony's sake, stop sweatin' the small stuff and help me get rid of this thing!"

However, Rarity was ignoring her and continued to put books back into the shelf.

"I said hustle over here and help me!" Applejack shouted, but Rarity ignored her again. Applejack finally gave up and sighed, "Look, I'm sorry, alright?"

"What was that?" Rarity asked, turning to the hardworking Pony.

"I said I'm sorry!" Applejack repeated, then explained, "I should'a listened to ya when ya noticed where this here branch would end up. Your annoyin' attention to detail would'a saved us from this whole mess. But right now, ya need to stop bein' so dang fussy pickin' up all the little things and help me move the one big thing in here that actually matters!" Rarity looked uncertain, until Applejack shouted, "Please!"

Rarity finally turned her attention to the tree, but then looked at the mess, "But I'll get all icky."

"Fer fuck's sake! What the... Eh... You..." Applejack shouted, but she tried to keep her temper.

I decided to speak up, "Yes, you will. But getting dirty is the effect of hard work. Nopony can do a job well without getting covered in dust. Applejack and I can't do this alone. We need help. Please, Rarity."

Rarity looked around, then removed the book from on top of her head and smiled, "Let's do this."

With that, Applejack, Rarity and I planned out how to deal with tree. Rarity and I hopped out of the tree and used our magic to turn most of the tree into pretty ornaments. Dust, mud, leaves and splinters covered our fur and pjs, but it was worth it.

Applejack was about to kick the stump out of the window, but noticed Rarity was glaring at her. If Applejack does kick the stump, she could hurt somepony.

Applejack lowered her leg, picked it the stump to drop it close to the base of the library and closed the window. Rarity and I smiled at her.

Then Rarity looked herself over and frowned, "Oh, I look awful."

Applejack thought for a second, then grabbed a couple of sliced cucumbers and placed them over Rarity's eyes, "Better?"

Rarity smiled in relief, "Hmph, thanks."

She reached over to Applejack. Applejack walked closer to Rarity and the two Ponies hugged. I smiled in relief. Another friendship problem solved.

Twilight finally looked up from her book and saw the ornaments, "Oh, pretty! Where did these come from?" Then looked back into the book, "They're not in the book either."

*A Little Later...*
We're finally having fun in the slumber party. Rarity, Applejack, Twilight and I have cleaned ourselves up, with Twilight and Rarity wearing curlers in their mane and tails. And now we're playing a game called, '20 Questions'.

"Is it bigger than a barn?" Applejack asked.

"Nope." Twilight answered with a laugh.

"Is it smaller than a saddle?" Rarity asked.

"Nope." Twilight answered.

"Is it as big as a Pony?" I asked.

Twilight laughed again, "Yes! Only three of your twenty questions left!"

Applejack sighed, "We're never gonna guess what you're thinkin' of, it could be anythin'."

"Are we getting warmer?" Rarity asked.

Confused, Twilight asked, "Why? Is it too cold in here for you? I can turn up the heat."

I giggled, "She means are we gettin' any closer with our guesses?"

"Oh!" Twilight smiled with clarity, then shook her head, "No." Then smiled again, "And that technically counted as a question, so only two more left!"

"Is it... A six-legged pony with a purple polka-dotted mane and shootin' stars comin' out of his eyes?" Applejack asked quickly.

"Who flies through the air all over the world to hide magic, sparkly eggs?" Rarity added.

Twilight raised a brow for a second, then smiled, "That's it!"

"It is?" Rarity and Applejack asked with a smile.

Twilight shook her head, "No." Then she chuckled and pointed above our heads, "It's that."

Applejack, Rarity and I followed and noticed the answer was her telescope.

"But it was just so nice to see you two finally getting along, I wanted you to be able to win together." Twilight explained.

Applejack and Rarity started laughing.

"See?" Twilight smiled, "We could have been having fun like this all along."

"If only somepony hadn't been so persnickety." Applejack spoke up, glancing at Rarity.

Then Rarity turned to Applejack, "Well, maybe she wouldn't have been, if somepony else hadn't been so sloppy."

The two glared at each other, then smiled.

"Sorry for being such a pain in the patootie." Applejack apologised.

Rarity shook her head, 'Oh, no, I'm sure I was much worse."

Then the two were at it again.

"That's kind of ya to say, but I'm the one who's sorry."

"Oh, I'm much more sorry than you are."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not!"

"Are too."

Then the two started smiling again.

"Are not."

"Are too."

Applejack and Rarity laughed.

"I declare my first slumber party a success!" Twilight announced.

Applejack and Rarity high-fived and cheered. Everyone was happy.

Twilight grabbed her book and checked, "Have fun, check."

Applejack and Rarity laughed in enjoyment.

I grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, and started writing,

'Dear Princess Celestia,
Tonight, Twilight and I have learned the it can be difficult to be friends with someone who you have very little in common with. But if you are able to embrace those differences, you might be able to find a friend in the end.
Let's hope this friendship between two opposites lasts as long as two kindred spirits.
Your Student,
Eleanor May Carter.'

Twilight turned to Applejack and Rarity, "So, who's up for another slumber party tomorrow night?"

As a reply, she got two pillows in the face.

"How about a week from Thursday?" Applejack, Rarity and I started laughing, "Oh, how about two weeks from Saturday? A month from now?"

Bridle Gossip

Eleanor's POV.
Another beautiful day in Ponyville. The sky was clear. The sun is glowing with a warm embrace. And it was time for Twilight, Spike and I to talk a walk around town.

"Wow, what a gorgeous day!" Twilight smiled, looking up at the sky.

"Rainbow Dash must have gotten up early for once and cleared all the clouds away." Spike spoke up with a smile on his own.

Twilight nodded, "I bet all of Ponyville is going to be out enjoying the sunshine."

However, when we reached the town square, we noticed something amiss. Nopony was outside.

"What? Where is everypony?" Twilight asked, looking around.

We looked around and were only able to catch Shoeshine, Berry Punch and Berry Pinch retreating to their homes and locking their doors shut. Other than that, the entire town was empty. I've never felt so much fear before, apart from during the Ursa Minor attack.

But why is the town so afraid?

"Is it some sort of pony holiday?" Spike wondered, as we walked around town to see anyone else.

"Not that I know of." Twilight answered.

"Does my breath stink?" Spike asked. He let out a small fire breath and sniffed the smoke.

"Not more than usual." I joked.

"Is it... Zombies?!" Spike asked with a scared gasp.

"Uh... Not very likely." Twilight answered, uncertain.

"Not likely... But possible?" Spike asked, starting to get frightened.

Then we heard a familiar, "Psst!"

Twilight, Spike and I turned to SugarCube Corner. Pinkie Pie poked out of the doorway, "Twilight! Nellie! Spike!" She waved her hand, "Come here! Come! Here! Hurry! Before she gets you!"

Wasting no time, Twilight grabbed my hand and we entered the café. It was really dark inside. Pinkie flashed a flashlight in our eyes. Twilight and I recoiled from the brightness of the flashlight.

"Who?! The zombie pony?" Spike asked, hugging Twilight tightly.

"Z-Zombie pony?!" Pinkie stuttered in fear, putting the flashlight under her face.

"Spike! There are no zombie ponies." Twilight told Spike sternly, then looked at Pinkie, "Pinkie, what are you doing here alone in the dark?"

Pinkie shook her head, "I'm not alone in the dark."

Our eyes adjusted to the darkness and saw that all our friends were surrounding us. Fluttershy. Rarity. Sam. Rainbow Dash. Applejack and even little Applebloom.

"Okay then, what are you all doing here in the dark?" Twilight corrected her question.

"We're hidin' from her!" Applejack answered, pointing out the window.

Twilight and I looked out the window. Outside, in the middle of the town square, was a lone Pony wearing a hooded cloak. We could tell it was female by her build. She was digging in the ground, as if she was looking for something. The Pony glanced toward us. The others, beside me and Twilight, gasped and hid in the shadows.

My eyes never left the Pony. It felt like she was looking dead in my eyes. A few seconds of staring and the Pony returned to her digging.

"That goodness your sense of style allows you to blend in the shadows, darling." Rarity sighed in relief.

"Did ya see her?" Apple Bloom asked, "Did ya see... Zecora?"

"Apple Bloom! I told ya never to say that name." Applejack scolded her little sister.

"Well, I saw her glance this way..." Twilight started.

"Glance evilly this way." Pinkie corrected.

"And then a bunch of you flip out for no good reason." Twilight finished with a raised brow.

"No good reason? Ya call protectin' yer kin no good reason?" Applejack exclaimed, putting her arm over Apple Bloom's shoulders, "Why, as soon as my sister saw Zecora ridin' into town..." She started shaking her little sister, "She started shakin' in her lil' horseshoes."

"Did not!" Apple Bloom interjected, while getting shaken.

Then Applejack put her over her back, "So I swept her up and brought her here."

"I walked here myself!" Apple Bloom argued.

"For safe keepin'." Applejack added.

"Applejack, I'm not a baby! I can take care of myself!" Apple Bloom argued.

Applejack shook her head, "Not from that creepy Zecora."

I cleared my throat and asked, "Who exactly is Zecora to you guys?"

"She's mysterious." Fluttershy answered.

"Sinister." Rainbow Dash added.

"And spoooooky!" Pinkie Pie finished.

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window, to Zecora. The others crowded around me and looked out the window. Zecora stood up and removed her hood. From the back of her head, we could see that her fur was a light grey with darker grey stripes. Her mane was styled in a mohawk and matched her fur scheme. Large earrings hung from her ears and matching golden rings around her neck.

The others gasped and hid in the shadows again.

"Will you cut that out?" Twilight asked in slight annoyance.

"Just look at those stripes!" Rarity noticed, "So garish!"

"She's a Zebra." I spoke up.

Everyone looked at me in confusion, "A what!?"

"A Zebra." I repeated, then looked at Rarity, "And her stripes aren't a fashion choice, Rarity. She was born with them."

Rarity gasped and fainted.

"Born where?" Applejack asked, "I've never seen a Pony like that in these parts, 'cept... her!"

"Well, for one, she's not a Pony." I explained, "Zebras are native in a land across the seas. In between Saddle Arabia and Collambia. But, I've never seen her from here." Then I asked, "Where does she live?"

"That's just it." Applejack answered, "She lives in... the Everfree Forest!"

Suddenly, there was a loud, thunderous crash. It startled everyone and scared me to yelping and falling to the ground.

Twilight turned to the kitchen and shouted, "Spike!"

Spike was in the kitchen, with a cupcake and candy cane in his hands. He must have knocked over some pans by my mistake, "Uh, sorry."

"The Everfree Forest just ain't natural." Applejack explained, regaining her composure, "The plants grow..."

"Animals care for themselves..." Fluttershy added.

"And the clouds move..." Rainbow Dash included.

Then all three finished in unison, "All on their own!"

Rarity fainted again. Then Pinkie Pie spoke up, "And that wicked enchantress Zecora lives there doing her evil... Stuff! She's so evil I even wrote a song about her!"

"Here we go." Rainbow sighed, as Pinkie broke into song and dance.

'She's an evil enchantress,
She does evil dances,
And if you look deep in her eyes,
She'll put you in trances,
Then what will she do?
She'll mix up an evil brew,
Then she'll gobble you up,
In a big tasty stew,
Soooo... Watch out!'

Pinkie Pie finished standing on her hind legs, on top of a table, with her arms in the air and catching her breath from the song.

"Wow. Catchy." Twilight spoke up.

Pinkie smiled, "It's a work in progress."

I shook my head, "This is all just a lot of gossip and rumors." Then asked everyone, "Now tell me; what exactly have you actually seen Zecora do?"

"Well..." Rainbow Dash started, "Once a month, she comes into Ponyville."

I nodded, "Okay. What else?"

"Then, she lurks by the stores." Rarity added.

I nodded again, "And?"

"And then, she digs at the ground." Fluttershy finished.

I sighed and shook my head, "Okay, I've heard enough. That's not what I see. Could it be possible that she's here to pay a visit?"

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement, "Yeah! Maybe she's just tryin' to be neighborly."

Twilight nodded, "And maybe she's not lurking by the stores, maybe she's going to them, lurk free, to do some shopping?"

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement again, "Yeah! Everypony likes to shop. You know what I think?"

"Apple Bloom! Hush and let the big Ponies talk." Applejack told her little sister.

"I am a big Pony!" Apple Bloom muttered under her breath.

"W-what about digging at the ground?" Rainbow Dash pointed out, "You've got to admit that's weird."

"What if she's digging for innocent creatures?" Fluttershy asked with a sad look.

"I'm pretty sure she's not doing that, Fluttershy." I assured, then added, "And I'm sure there is an explanation for everything Zecora does. You know what? I'm gonna go out there and talk to her."

I made my way to the exit of the café, but Applejack stopped me by grabbing my tail, "No way, SugarCube. What if she puts a curse on ya?"

Sam nodded in agreement, "I'm sorry to say this, but Zecora does look a little odd. Looking at her up close."

"You've got to be kidding me, Sam."I exclaimed, "I thought you of all Ponies would use common sense more than behave irrationally." I pulled my tail out of Applejack's mouth, "You Ponies are being ridiculous!"

"Well, I heard that Zecora eats ham." Pinkie Pie told me.

"Pinkie, I eat ham. You eat ham!" I pointed out.

"Yeah, but I heard it's the evil way she eats ham." Pinkie argued.

Then Applejack noticed something, "Hey! Where's Apple Bloom?"

We all turned and saw the back door. "The door's open." Fluttershy gasped.

"She went outside!" Rarity gasped.

"And Zecora's still out there." Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"That silly lil' filly!" Applejack shook her head, "I told her to stay put!"

Twilight turned to Spike, "Spike, you stay here in case Apple Bloom comes back."

Spike saluted, "Will do!"

With that, the girls and I chased Apple Bloom and Zecora into the Everfree Forest. We followed them into a large patch of blue plants. They looked very familiar.

Once close enough, Applejack shouted, "Apple Bloom?" Her voice caught Apple Bloom and Zecora's attention, "You get back here right now!"

"Beware! Beware, you pony folk!" Zecora told us, in a deep, African-esque voice, "Those leaves of blue are not a joke!"

I raised a brow in confusion. Applejack quickly picked up her little sister and shouted at Zecora, "Y-ya keep your creepy mumbo-jumbo to yourself, ya hear?"

Everyone started shouting insults at the Zebra. I rolled my eyes and sighed, "Oh brother."

"Beware! Beware!" Zecora shouted, as she disappeared into the mist.

"Yeah, back at ya, Zecora!" Rainbow Dash shouted, "You and your lame curse are the ones who better beware!"

Applejack turned to Apple Bloom, "And you! Why couldn't ya just listen to your big sister?"

"I... I..." Apple Bloom tried to explain, but couldn't find the right words.

"Who knows what kind of nasty curse Zecora could have just put on you?" Applejack scolded.

Realization hit me. I looked at the patch we were standing in and quickly jumped out. It might be a bit too late, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. I noticed Sam was in the patch. I walked over to her and nudged her shoulder.

"What is it, Ellie?" She asked me.

I pointed to the plants we were standing. Sam gasped and used her magic to project a small shield around herself.

"It might be too late for that." I whispered to her.

She shrugged, "I have to try something."

"Just like in my song!" Pinkie Pie pointed out, then started dancing and singing her song again.

"There's no such thing as curses!" Twilight interjected, matter-of-fact.

"Well, that's interesting to hear coming from 'Miss Magic Pants' herself." Rainbow Dash pointed out, lightly tapping Twilight's horn.

"My magic, real magic, comes from within. It's a skill you're born with." Twilight explained with pride, "Curses are artificial, fake magic. It's conjured with potions and incantations; all smoke and mirrors meant to scare. But curses have no real power, they're just an old pony tale."

But nopony was listening and making their way out of the forest.

"Just ya wait, Twilight. You're gonna learn that some pony tales really are true." Applejack told Twilight.

*The Next Morning...*
Twilight Sparkle's POV.
"Ugh... what a dream... Curses, schmurses." I woke up with a groan, from my nightmare about what has transpired yesterday. I got out of bed and made my way to my bedroom mirror. My mane was in a bit of a mess, "Whoa! Maybe Zecora cursed my hair."

I chuckled, picked up my hairbrush and brushed my bangs neatly. Once they were nice and neat, I noticed in the mirror something was wrong. I looked at my forehead and gasped, "Or she cursed my horn!"

My horn had blue spots all over it and was limp over my forehead. That's not good!

Then I remembered something. Ellie was close to Zecora before any of this happened! What if she got infected too?! Only one way to find out.

I dashed out of my bedroom and made my way to Ellie's room. She was still asleep. I quietly leaned and gently poked her shoulder, "Ellie?"

Ellie woke up with a sharp gasped and wide open eyes. Her bangs were hanging over her face, so I couldn't see her face. And her room was dark.

She calmed down and rubbed her eyes, "Twilight? What's wrong?

"Have you noticed anything off, lately?" I asked.

Ellie squinted her eyes at me, then she reached over for her glasses. She put her glasses over her eyes, blinked, then looked at me again.

She looked at my horn and looked like she was about to burst into laughter. But she took a breath and asked, "What happened to your horn?"

"I don't know. I think Zecora might have done something to it." I answered in a slight panic.

Ellie gave me a deadpan look, "Or it could've been something else."

I looked at her, "We better call everyone who was around Zecora, just in case."

Ellie smiled and nodded. She was about to get out of bed, until she lost her hoofing and fell on the floor.

"Ow..." She muttered in a deadpan tone, rubbing her head, then asked, "What was that all about?"

Ellie removed her blanket and lifted the bangs from her face. I switched on her bedroom light. To our surprise, Ellie was replaced by Nightmare Moon.

I quickly took an offensive stance and growled, "Nightmare Moon! What have you done with Ellie?"

Nightmare Moon tilted her head, "What are you talking about? I am Ellie." She looked at her hoof and gasped with wide eyes, "Holy Luna!"

"Alright. If you're really Ellie. Tell me something only she could know." I told the Mare of Darkness.

Nightmare Moon rubbed her chin in thought, then told me, "Your older brother is the captain of Princess Celestia's Royal Guard and your foal sitter was an Alicorn named Cadence."

My eyes widen in shock. I got a good listen to Nightmare Moon's voice. Her voice was rasped and gentle at the same time.

"Ellie?" I gasped. Nightmare Mo-, I mean Ellie nodded, "D-D-Don't worry, Ellie. We'll fix this." I assured, "I'll call everypony and see-"

Suddenly, I heard laughter. I looked at Ellie was laughing, "You should have seen the look on your face! Priceless, Twilight."

"This isn't funny, Ellie! Focus!" I shouted, getting her out of her laughing fit.

*A Few Minutes Later...*
Eleanor's POV.
With that, Twilight dashed into the library and started looking through her books, "No no no no no! None of these books have a cure!" She sighed and looked at her horn, "There has to be a real reason for this! An illness? An allergy?!"

"A joke?" I shrugged.

"A curse!" Spike spoke up, looking over a book.

"I said a real reason." Twilight told Spike, "Something that points to something real."

"How about this one?" He asked, showing her a dark green book with a plant symbol.

"'Supernaturals'." I read, then smiled, "That's not a bad idea, Spike."

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, "The word 'supernatural' refers to things like ghosts and spirits and zombies, which are as make-believe as curses." She pushed the book back, "This book is just a bunch of hooey!"

I gave the lavender Unicorn a deadpan look, "Twilight Bellatrix Sparkle, you're doing it again."

"Doing what again?" Twilight looked at me with a raised brow.

"Reading the cover and not reading the book." I answered, folding my arms.

"What if you're wrong, Twilight?" Spike spoke up, "What if this really is a-"

"Ah pfurse!" Pinkie shouted, as she arrived to the library.

Pinkie's tongue was very swollen to the point that it hung out of her mouth, and was covered in blue spots, like Twilight's horn. I covered my mouth to supress a laugh at the irony.

"A purse? How could it be a purse?" Spike asked in confusion.

"She said 'curse', Spike." I translated, regaining my composure.

Twilight turned to the forced mute, "Pinkie? What happened?"

"Pee pah Pthepopa!" Pinkie tried to answer, but ended up spitting all over Spike, "Pe put a curpe on pe!"

"Hey, say it, don't spray it, Pinkie!" Spike told her, wiping the spit from his arms and face.

Suddenly, we heard a loud thud from the window. We turned to see Rainbow Dash trying to enter the library, but seemed to have lost control of her flying.

"Ow!*THUD*Oh! She's*THUD*trying to say-ow!- Zecora*THUD*-oh!-" Rainbow Dash tried to explain, making her way to the door, "She slapped us all with a-"

She charged through the door and charged through the library, crashing into the bookshelf across from us, "Ow- curse!"

Once the dust cleared, we saw Rainbow's wings have been altered as well. Her wings were up-side down. No wonder her flying was all over the place.

"I'm afraid I have to agree." Rarity spoke up, as she entered the library.

Even she was infected. Her fur, mane and tail were overgrown, tangled and matted up. She looked like a shaggy dog in desperate need for a grooming. Twilight and Spike gasped, but I tried to keep my laughter under wraps.

"Ah hate to say 'I told ya so', Twilight, but I told ya so!" A tiny, but familiar voice shouted from the doorway.

We turned to see Apple Bloom enter the library. Sitting on her back was Applejack. Applejack has shrunk to the size of a Breezie.

"It's a curse, I tells ya!" Applejack shouted.

Then Twilight turned to Fluttershy, who arrived with Rarity, "But Fluttershy and Sam... Seem just fine!"

Rarity nodded, "Yes, there doesn't seem to be a thing wrong with them."

I turned to Fluttershy and my younger sister, "Fluttershy? Sam? Are you okay?"

Fluttershy looked away and refused to speak. Sam shook her head.

"Is there something wrong with you?" I asked.

Fluttershy nodded her head. Sam pointed to her throat and opened her mouth. I tilted my head, processing what was going on.

"Would you care to tell us?" Twilight asked. But Fluttershy shook her head, "So... you're not going to tell us?" Fluttershy nodded, "Yes you're not, or yes you will?"

Fluttershy shook her head again. My eyes widen in understanding. Applejack's patience ran thin. She leaped off Apple Bloom's back, ran across the centerpiece table and shouted at the shy Pegaus, "Good gravy, girl! What's wrong with ya both?!"

I lightly stomped my hoof and smiled, "I get it. Something happened to your voices."

Sam smiled and nodded, "Finally! Someone who understands! About time too."

The girls gasped. Sam's voice changed from its cheerful tone, to a raspy parrot voice.

I turned to Fluttershy, "It's okay, Fluttershy. We're not gonna laugh."

Fluttershy looked at me, then nodded, "Yes. Well done, Ellie."

Fluttershy's voice has changed from a sweet, soft-spoken female to the deep male voice of a jazz singer. Oh boy...

Finally, Spike burst into laughter, "This is hilarious! Look at all of you!" Then he gestured to each of us, "We got: Hairity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Nightmare Ellie, Apple Teeny, Flutterguy, Sam the Parrot and..." He turned to Twilight and drew a blank, "Uh... I got nothin'..." He looked at me, "Twilight Sparkle. I mean seriously, I can't even work with that."

I couldn't help but let out a small giggle.

Twilight gave us a sarcastic laugh, then glared at us, "This is no joke, you two." Then told us, "Now start looking for more books so I can find a cure!"

Spike try hard not to laugh at Twilight's horn, as it flapped around her forehead.

"Come on, Twilight. What if this is a joke?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"You're not helping, Eleanor." Twilight glared at me.

Sam giggled, "It certainly sounds like one."

Spike sighed and returned to looking though the books.

Rainbow Dash got herself free from the ladder she was tangled in and spoke up, "I think we'll find a cure to this curse at Zecora's place!"

"This isn't a curse!" I shouted at Dash, as she flew into another bookshelf.

Applejack nodded in agreement, "I agree with Dash! We'll go to Zecora's and force her to remove this hex!

I shook my head and shouted, "This isn't a hex either!"

Then the girls started arguing amongst each other, completely ignoring me. I growled in frustration, kicked a book across the room and leaned against a bookshelf.

Then I heard Apple Bloom mutter to herself with a sulk, "This is all I fault. If I hadn't followed Zecora in the first place, none of this would-a happened." Then she started marching to the door, "I just gotta fix this."

I stood up and followed after the young filly, "I'll come with you, you'll need my help."

Apple Bloom looked at me, then smiled and walked close to me. We quietly exit the library and made our way into the Everfree Forest, to find Zecora.

We reached into the entrance of the forest, until we heard a familiar voice shout, "Stop right there!"

"Applejack?" I recognised.

In a second, Applejack popped out of Apple Bloom's mane, just from the bow, and shouted, "Turn around right now, missy!"

Apple Bloom smirked and answered, "No."

"No?!" Applejack repeated, then shouted her sister, "Ya can't ignore a direct order from your big sister!"

Apple Bloom flipped Applejack out of her mane and caught her before she hit the ground.

She put her sister on a branch above a bush of thorns and giggled, "Hehehe. Sorry Applejack, but I'm the big sister now."

"Sometimes, you guys really have to listen." I told Applejack, gently poking her nose.

With that, Apple Bloom and continued into the forest.

Applejack shouted after us, "Apple Bloom, you come back here right this instant! I'M GONNA TELL BIG MACINTOSH ON YOU!"

Given time, Apple Bloom and I made it to Zecora's hut. Zecora's home was a hollowed out tree, like the Golden Oak Library and was decorated like the home of a herbalist from a foreign land.

We walked to the door. Apple Bloom was hesitant to knock, so I knocked instead. The door opened to reveal Zecora on the other side. Without her cloak, Zecora was a beautiful Zebra.

"Hello, Zecora. My name is Eleanor, and this is my friend, Apple Bloom. May we come in?" I greeted with a kind smile.

Zecora smiled at me and stepped aside, "Please, by all means." Apple Bloom and I entered the hut. Zecora closed the door and asked, "For two Ponies who I hardly see, why have you come to see me?"

Apple Bloom tilted her head in slight confusion, so I decided to answer, "You see, Zecora. We believe you might be able to help us." I removed my hood, to show her what has happened, "You warned my friends and I about the blue plant we were standing on, but the effects happened over night."

Zecora gave me a small laugh, "So my understanding is not to invoke, you remember the effects of the Poison Joke."

"Poison Joke?" Apple Bloom repeated in confusion.

Zecora nodded, "Very much like poison oak, but the results are like a joke."

"That's why I look like Nightmare Moon, and Applejack is tiny." I simplified.

Apple Bloom nodded in understanding and asked, "So, do ya think ya can help us?"

Zecora nodded in agreement, "Help you I surely will, however I am missing some herbs from Ponyville."

"What for?" Apple Bloom asked.

Zecora grabbed a familiar green book and showed it to us, "This book holds the cure for the joke, all you need is nice soak."

"A herbal bath." I simplified, Zecora nodding in agreement.

Apple Bloom smiled, "Oh, I can get the flowers you need. Just write me a list and I'll get them."

Zecora smiled at Apple Bloom and wrote a list of the herbs she needs. Apple Bloom marched out of the hut and made her way safely to Ponyville. At the meantime, Zecora and I got started on making the herbal brew in a cauldron large enough for a Pony to sit in.

I stayed in the hut, keeping an eye and stirring the brew, while Zecora got the herbs from the forest, and put them into the pot.

Once the last herb was introduced into the brew, Zecora started chanting in her native tongue. It sounded like a nursery rhyme.

"I think the brew is almost ready, Zecora." I informed the Zebran.

Zecora looked over the brew of boiling green water. She grabbed a spoonful and tasted it. She smiled in delight, "The perfect temperature for Ponies, I presume." Then wondered, "Now, where is that little Apple Bloom?"

"I'm pretty sure she's on her way back." I assured.

Then I heard a familiar voice gasp in horror, "Or... What if she's put Ellie in one of her trances and making Apple Bloom soup?!"

Then there was screaming, then a familiar tiny voice shouted, "I'm comin' for ya, Apple Bloom!"

The door flew open to reveal Applejack riding Rainbow Dash, flying up-side down, into the hut.

"What the-?!" I exclaimed in surprise.

Zecora exclaimed in her native tongue, as Rainbow Dash flew all over the place.

"Whoa there. Easy, Rainbow Crash." Applejack shouted, as Rainbow Dash crashed everywhere, trashing Zecora's hut.

"Rainbow Dash, stop flying around!" I shouted, as Zecora exclaimed in her native tongue again.

Rainbow Dash didn't hear me and continued to fly around.

"Malaleh!!! Malaleh!!/Rainbow Dash! Stop!!" Zecora and I shouted at Rainbow Dash.

Then Twilight, Fluttershy, Sam, Pinkie Pie and Rarity charged in.

"What have you done with Apple Bloom?" Twilight asked in a demanding tone.

"No! No! Malaleh!" Zecora shouted, her attention on Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

Applejack used her lasso to leap over to Zecora's head and started wrestling with her ear. Rainbow Dash continued to fly out of control.

Then she saw the other four, "Ponies! What is this you..."

Then Rainbow made the biggest mistake. She flew across the cauldron of brew and knocked it over, spilling the brew over the floor.

"No!" Zecora exclaimed in dismay, "You know not what you do! You've gone and spilled my precious brew!"

"We're onto you Zecora." Twilight told the Zebra, "I didn't want to believe that you cursed us, but the evidence is overwhelming!"

"You made me look ridiculous." Rarity pointed out.

"You made me and Sammie sound ridiculous!" Fluttershy added.

Pinkie tried to speak, but it came out as spits. Luckily I was able to understand. She said, "You made me speak ridiculous!"

Then Twilight finished, "You ruined my horn!"

"How dare you!" Zecora frowned, "You destroy my home, destroy my work. Then rudely accuse me of being a jerk?"

"You put this curse on us, now you're gonna un-curse us." Rainbow Dash shouted, as she landed and joined her friends.

I stepped in between Zecora and Twilight, facing Twilight, "This isn't wise, Twilight. You, of all Ponies, should know not accuse until questioned." I balled my hands into fists, "When will you learn to take my word on faith?"

"My fight isn't with you, Ellie." Twilight told me, "My fight is with the one who has you under her spell."

"Will you just listen to me, for once in your life!!" I shouted.

Then Apple Bloom arrived, "Zecora! I think I found all the things ya asked for." She entered the doorway and saw the mess, "What in Ponyville is goin' on here?"

Applejack saw Apple Bloom and gasped in relief, "Apple Bloom! You're okay!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Because Zecora is an evil enchantress, who cursed us, and was gonna cook you up into soup!" Twilight explained, standing in front of the young filly in a protective manner.

Zecora and Apple Bloom started laughing at Twilight's accusation.

"Oh Twilight. Did those silly fillies finally get in yer head?" Apple Bloom asked, "You know there's no such thing as a curse."

"Apple Bloom, sweetie." Twilight smiled sweetly at the filly, "You can't just stand there and tell me this isn't a curse."

Apple Bloom smiled and walked over to me and Zecora, "This isn't a curse."

"If you will remember back, the words I spoke were quite exact." Zecora explained.

"Beware, beware you pony folk. Those leaves of blue are not a joke." I repeated, then explained, "Zecora was warning us. About the blue plant we were standing in. It's called Poison Joke."

"That plant is much like poison oak. But its results are like a joke." Zecora finished explaining.

Applejack let go of Zecora's ear and asked, "What in the hay does that mean?"

"It means this plant does not breed wrath. Instead this plant just wants a laugh." Zecora answered.

Applejack raised a brow, then asked, "Will somepony please talk normal?"

"Zecora means that when we ran into the Poison Joke, the pollen attached onto us and turned what we most took pride in into a little prank." I translated, glancing at Twilight, "These aren't curses. Just jokes."

"LITTLE JOKES?!" Applejack exclaimed, then muttered, "Very funny."

"But, last time I checked, you have no pride, Ellie." Twilight pointed out, "Why did it turn you into Nightmare Moon?"

"I'm a Child of the Night. And so is Princess Luna?" I guessed, rubbing my cheek, "Either that, or the Poison Joke thought it would be funny to remind me of what I did a few weeks ago..."

"You have to admit, it is pretty funny." Sam lightly giggled.

"You look better as Nightmare Moon, Ellie." Fluttershy told me with a sweet smile and a blush.

A light blush crawled on my face, "Thanks, Fluttershy."

"Ok, fine." Rainbow nodded, then asked, "But what about the cauldron?"

"And the chanting?" Sam added.

"And the creepy decor?" Rarity included.

"Treasures of the native land where I am from." Zecora explained, gesturing to her fallen masks, "This one speaks 'hello', and this 'welcome'."

"Not welcoming at all, if you ask me." Rarity noted.

"The words I chanted were from olden times. Something you call a nursery rhyme." Zecora explained about her chanting.

"The language she was chanting is Zulu." I explained, "A foreign language in my world, but the native tongue to Zebras."

"But the cauldron... The Apple Bloom soup?" Twilight asked.

"Lookie here Twilight. That pot of water wasn't for me, it was for all these herbal ingredients." Apple Bloom explained, pointing to the Supernaturals book, "The cure for Poison Joke is a simple old-natural remedy. Yah just gotta take a bubble bath!"

Twilight looked over the book, "But I tried to find a cure in all my books and couldn't find anything. What book has this natural remedy?"

Zecora closed the book to reveal the cover, "Here is the book you see. Sad that you lack it in your library."

"Actually, I do have this book, but I didn't look inside because the title was so... Weird." Twilight explained, sheepishly. Then she read the title, "'Supernaturals: Natural remedies and cure-alls that are simply super'."

I tilted my head and smiled at the bookworm, "I told you, you were doing it again, Twilight."

Twilight gave Zecora an apologetic sulk, "I...I... I'm so sorry Zecora. I had the answer the whole time, if only I had bothered to look inside."

Zecora chuckled with a warm smile, "Maybe next time you will take a second look, and not judge the cover of the book."

Apple Bloom and I chuckled at the irony.

"Zecora? Would you be kind enough to mix up another batch of the herbal bath?" Twilight politely asked Zecora.

Zecora nodded, "Mix it up I certainly will. Yet I am missing an herb from Ponyville."

"But whenever Zecora comes to town, all the shops are mysteriously closed." Apple Bloom explained.

Twilight lightly smiled, "Oh, well... I think we can help you with that."

*A Little Later, In Ponyville...*
With Zecora and Apple Bloom, the girls and I made it to Ponyville. As expected, upon sight of us and Zecora, the Ponies of Ponyville ran into their houses and locked the doors tight.

Twilight walked over to the flower shop and knocked on the door, "Daisy, we need to talk."

*Later, In the Day Spa...*
Twilight Sparkle's POV.

'Dear Princess Celestia,
My friends and I all learned an important lesson this week: Never judge a book by its cover. Someone may look unusual, or funny, or scary. But you have to look past that and learn who they are inside. Real friends don't care what your 'cover' is; It's the 'contents' of a Pony that count. And a good friend, like a good book, is something that will last forever.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.'

My friends and I were quickly cured from the Poison joke, thanks to the herbal bath that Zecora brewed up. Thanks to a small explanation, the Ponies of Ponyville were able to accept Zecora as a friend and a member of their community, instead of shunning her like the enchantress they thought she was.

"Miss Zecora." Lotus Blossom spoke to Zecora in a strong accent, "I would love to get the recipe for this bath. It's simply luxurious!"

Zecora was about to speak, but Apple Bloom noticed something, "Applejack! Hey, where's Applejack?!"

The girls and I gasped in panic and started looking in the tub, until a familiar voice shouted from underneath us, "Ah'm right here, little sis."

The girls and I looked and saw Applejack, back in her original size, sitting in a small bucket of water, "Ah ain't tiny no more!"

Everyone sighed in relief and relaxed. Rarity smiled, "I have never felt so lovely in all my life!"

Then Pinkie Pie rose from the water and gasped, "Oh my gosh! I never realized how horrible it is not to be able to talk. I mean I love talking so much and when I couldn't talk 'cause my tongue was all 'ehhhh'. It was the worst!" Then she turned to Fluttershy, "Don't you agree, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy smiled and nodded, "Yes." Even her voice was back to normal.

My friends and I shared a laugh. It's good to see things back to normal.

Author's Note

I was thinking about taking a page from EarthSong9405's Book of Gaia and make the Ponies omnivorous. It widens allergies and what some Ponies don't eat.

For example: Twilight Sparkle is a afraid of quesadillas and is allergic to nuts. Rarity doesn't like gluten but loves herbal teas. Pinkie Pie loves baked goods (Obviously) but is allergic to seafood.

That sort of thing.

Coming to Equestria

Narrator's POV.
Another day, another brilliant episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.

My younger sister and I sat on the couch with a bucket of popcorn and a shared cup of soda. Today was the two-parter finale of Season 9. The reviewers said that this episode was gonna be their best one yet. So, it has me and my sister excited when it aired in Canada.

The episode was the best one in the series. It made us laugh, it made us cry, character development that actually stuck and the bad guy was defeated. A good season finale.

But, then there was an aftershow notification from Hasbro, informing us that My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has reached its series finale. And That they'll be preparing the first episode of the new generation of My Little Pony.

"What? You can't be serious!" Sam, my younger sister by one year and two weeks, exclaimed, throwing the nearly empty bucket of popcorn over her head, "That was a great show! Why finish it?!"

I rubbed my nose under my black rimmed glasses and shrugged, "Maybe the children need something new?"

Sam leaned back on the sofa and sighed, "It's just not fair. I hoped for one more season, or another movie."

I stood up and sighed. I walked to the corner of the living room and grabbed the broom. I started sweeping the crumbs and thrown popcorn from the hardwood floor and started to wonder. I caught something at the corner of my eye and looked out of the window.

The sky was a violet color with an orange glow fading into the horizon. It was reaching sunset, nearly time to get ready for bed. Within the violet sky, I saw a star. It was shining brightly and was a little bigger than the other stars I've seen in the night sky. It felt like it was talking to me.

"Ever wondered what it would be like to live in Equestria?" I wondered.

Sam looked at me with her light blue eyes, "What was that?"

I shrugged, returning to sweeping up the popcorn, "It was just a thought. Living in Equestria. Have you ever thought what it would be like?"

Sam started at me, then nodded with a smile, "I'll be honest, Ellie. The thought has crossed my mind every now and again..." Her smile faded into a frown, "But, it's impossible. Equestria isn't real."

"I believe it does." I answered, "It just can't be reached by normal people." I waved my free hand in defense, "That's what I believe, anyway." Then I smiled, "It would be cool, though, eh?"

Sam smiled with a giggle, "Yeah. It would be cool. Knowing what we know, we can easily predict what's gonna happen and remain safe."

I chuckled, "Where's the fun in that? I love to see how they would react with us. Your sass and my logical thinking." I smiled at the thought, then shrugged, "Just like I said. It was just a thought."

With that, Sam and I resumed what we were doing. Me cleaning up and Sam making a small mess. Once I was done and Sam was finally getting sleepy, it was time to hit the hay. The sky was now a beautiful midnight black with numerous shining stars and the full moon glowing over the fields.

Sam and I entered our own separate rooms and climbed into bed. Before I rested my head against the pillow, I looked at the stars and the moon. I could see the large star as it shined brighter than the other stars.

I smiled, "Yeah. Wonder what it would be like to live in Equestria..." I rested my head and closed my eyes, waiting for the Dreamscape to take me to my adventure for the night.

*Dream*

*Dream End*

Unknown to the two sisters, they weren't the only ones that saw the bright star in the night sky. Upstairs, in the master bedroom of their house, their mother was staring at the same star, as the sky grew the soft shade of violet-blue.

The mother, Lorraine Susan Gentry, closed her eyes and whispered, "I wish, I hope, I dream, I pray. By the Princess' rule, light my way. I wish... I wish..." A stray tear fell from the mid-aged woman's cheek, "I wish to return home. I've lived this lie long enough. I want to see my mother, my brother, my sister... I wish to see my family again. Please..."

The star glowed brightly and a light shined brightly upon the house.

Ellie's POV
With a groggy groan and aching muscles, I opened my eyes and sat up. I tried to look around, but my vision was blurry and getting worse every time I blinked.

I rubbed my eyes and started searching the ground for my glasses, "Sam? Have you seen my glasses? You know I can't see without them."

I gasped and put my hand over my throat. My voice sounded younger than I remembered. Like I've been regressed back to being 6 - 7 years old.

"Oh! You mean these?" A familiar young female voice with a strong Southern accent asked, as I felt something being placed on my face, "There we go. All better?"

I blinked and my vision was crisp and clear. I smiled, "Much. Thank you..." I turned to see something I thought I would never see again.

I saw a familiar amber-golden pony filly with sap green eyes and brown hooves. In her coat were white coat markings of a blaze, underbelly and socks. Freckles under her eyes and across her back. Her mane and tail were a dirty blonde color tied in low ponytails with red bands. She looked about 6 - 7 years old.

(https://derpibooru.org/1702384?q=artist%3Ahioshiru)

I narrowed my eyes for a second, then gasped, "A-Applejack?"

The golden pony looked at me and raised a brow, "How did you know my name?"

My eyes dart around, wondering if I should lie or avoid the question. I was about to answer, until an orange-golden Earth Pony mare, with blonde mane and tail and light blue eyes, gasped and smiled.

"Applejack!" She gasped in a familiar voice, as she wrapped her hooves around the filly in a warm hug.

I narrowed my eyes and my ears twitched, "Mum?"

The mare looked at me and smiled, "Ellie! Look at you. You look just like your father."

I raised a brow at the mare, who I recognized as my mother. I felt something move behind me and I looked. A pair of ravenette wings with deep green membrane flapped in response as I moved the muscles inside them.

Curious, I looked myself over. My body was covered in a ravenette fur coat with malachite green hooves and dark green underbelly and gradient socks. My mane and tail were long, in a pastel color with deep green tips. I couldn't see my eyes or my face, but I hope that my eyes are still hazel.

(A combination of https://derpibooru.org/985817?q=my%3Afaves%2Cthe+moon+rises, https://derpibooru.org/1827272?q=oc%3Asoothing+leaf and https://derpibooru.org/1702384?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Capplejack)

I looked next to me and gasped with wide eyes. There was a 5 - 6 year old unicorn filly with a light blue fur coat and a leonine tail. She too had a white underbelly and socks, but her grew a gradient dark blue as it reached her back and the top of her head. Her hooves were an amethyst purple and her mane was wavy, its normal dirty blonde color with pink and blue streaks. Even her eyes were still blue.

(https://derpibooru.org/1756087?q=artist%3Ahioshiru)
(Just picture her blue with blonde mane and tail.)

I narrowed my eyes at the unicorn filly, "Sam?"

Mum turned to the unicorn and smiled with a hug, "Sam, look at you. A unicorn."

The unicorn filly looked her Earth Pony mother, "Mom?" Then she looked at me and her eyes widen, "Ellie? You're a pony!" She looked at herself and gasped again, "And I'm a pony too!"

Applejack waved her hoof, "Excuse me. I'm talkin' to ya."

Mum blinked and turned to the golden-amber filly before us. She released her hug and smiled at Applejack, "You... May not recognize me, Applejack, but I'm your aunt from your father's side."

Sam and I gasped, "Aunt?"

If Mum was telling the truth, then that means Sam and I were born in this place, wherever we have appeared.

I took a look around and found that Mum, Sam and I have appeared in a large orchard of apple trees. My eyes widen in shock. I recognized the orchard. Sweet Apple Acres!

Then I tried to stand up, but lost my balance and landed on all-fours. I found myself to be as tall as Fluttershy when she was a filly.

Applejack thought for a second, then asked us, "Well, I don't remember any aunt, but do ya'll have a place to stay here, in the meantime?"

"Not really. No." Sam shook her head, as she tried to stand up too, "We just appeared here. So, we have no idea what to do, or where to go."

I thought for a second, then looked at Applejack, "Since you're the first Pony we've met. I don't suppose you have room for two extra hooves, do you, Applejack?"

Applejack looked behind her, at a large red barn and farmhouse, then she smiled at us, "I guess I can squeeze two more helpful hooves into my home." Then she asked, "Do y'all have names? Since you appear to know mine."

Sam and I looked at each other in uncertainty. Since this is Equestria, the naming system is different from Earth. But, we can't give her fake names, she'll catch a lie faster than a snake can catch its prey.

I cleared my throat and took a breath, "My name is Eleanor." I gestured to my sister, "And this is my sister, Samantha."

"Sam or Sammy is fine." Sam smiled sweetly.

"Eleanor... Samantha..." Applejack repeated in thought, then looked at us, "You two really aren't from around here." Then motioned to the farmhouse, "Since you're gonna be stayin' a while, why don't I introduce ya to my family? It was Granny Smith's idea to find and talk to ya."

I nodded with a smile, "Sure."

Mum smiled, "Ma Smith is still around?"

But Sam waved her hoof and smiled, "You guys go ahead, we'll catch up."

Applejack nodded and she and Mum trotted over to the farmhouse. I looked at Sam. Her face was beaming with excitement. She looked at me and squealed like a crazed fan, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! We're here, Ellie! We're in Equestria! I can't believe it!"

I nodded with a smile, but furrowed my brows, "Yeah, but aren't you curious how we got here? Magic doesn't exist on Earth."

Sam shrugged, "Who cares. This is amazing!" She took hold of my right hoof, "You've always said that we have to make the best with what we have. Well, we're in Equestria, in Pony forms, and the first Pony we meet is Applejack."

I nodded, then noticed, "But doesn't she look a little different to you?"

Sam thought for a moment, "Well, it's not the Applejack from the show, but it's still Applejack."

I shrugged, "I guess I can't argue with that." Then I took hold of her hoof, "Come on. If we're gonna make a first impression of this opportunity, we'd better make a good one."

With that, Sam and I walked toward the farmhouse and entered. It was a struggle walking on all-fours, but I remembered that it was a little different from when Sam and I played horses when we were kids, so it made things a lot easier.

Maybe living in Equestria isn't as bad as I thought.

Suddenly, before I can move, a magical circle appeared under my hooves and the next thing I knew, there was this bright light.

"Hey, you okay? Are you hurt?" I heard a young, female voice ask.

I lightly moaned in pain. My head felt like it was hit by a football. What hit me? I opened my eyes and saw that everything was very blurry, but full of color. I rubbed my eyes and the blurs just got worse. I wasn't wearing my glasses again...

"You alright?" The voice asked again.

"I'm fine. Can you help me find my glasses? They're black." I answered, the asked, searching the cold, tiled ground around me.

After a few seconds of searching, I felt a pair my glasses over my face.

"Are these your glasses?" The voice asked.

The blurred images cleared to reveal I was inside a classroom. Occupying the room were a small group of six... Unicorns? Five adults and one foal. Three females and three males. All of them different colors. I blinked my eyes twice and looked beside me. It was the unicorn filly around the same age as me. 6 - 7 years old.

Her fur was a light amber color. Her eyes were a normal cyan. Her mane was was red with yellow streaks with a natural curl. Her leonine tail matched her mane. The color scheme kinda remind me of a sunset. Upon her flanks were a mark of a yin-yang styled shimmering sun.

My eyes widen in recognition, "Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunset Shimmer tilted her head, then glared at me, her horn glowing in her cyan magic aura, "Who are you and how do you know my name?"

My eyes widen again and I put my hoof over my mouth. I must have said her name out loud. I bowed, "I'm sorry. My name is-"

"Sunset Shimmer, what happened?" An older, more regal voice spoke from the other side of the classroom.

The filly, Sunset Shimmer, and I looked at across and saw very pale golden, almost white unicorn with large wings, walking toward us.

An Alicorn....

Judging by its figure, it was female. She was very tall for a pony. Her eyes were a pale magenta. Her mane was lower-back length, pastel-toned and was flowing, like there was an invisible wind. Her leonine tail matched as well.

Upon her head was a golden crown with an amethyst in the center. Around her neck was a matching necklace. She also wore golden princess shoes. On her flanks were a sun-like symbol.

(https://derpibooru.org/1756351?q=artist%3Ahioshiru%2Cprincess+celestia)

My eyes widened in recognition and quickly bowed. It was Princess Celestia. The Alicorn Princess of the Day.

"Princess Celestia." Sunset Shimmer gasped, standing still as a statue, "Please, I can explain."

The alicorn, Princess Celestia, looked at me. Her eyes had a gentle, motherly feel to them. She was not cross, but surprised to see me.

Princess Celestia looked at Sunset Shimmer, "There's no need. I just wish to know what happened."

Sunset Shimmer looked at me, then looked at the Princess, "Well, I was casting the growth spell on the vine, and something came to my mind. And the growth spell became a summoning spell." She pointed to me, "Then this bat pony appeared and well, you came."

I folded my arms and lightly glared.

Sunset Shimmer looked at me again, noticed my glare and stopped pointing.

"Do you have a name, young bat pony?" Princess Celestia asked me.

I looked at her. I couldn't say nothing to her. I bowed in respect, "Eleanor May Carter, Your Majesty. But, I also go by Ellie."

"It's very nice to meet you, Eleanor." Princess Celestia greeted with a smile. She looked at Sunset Shimmer, "Sunset Shimmer, I have noticed that your studying has gotten quite rigorous. How would you feel if Eleanor could help you?"

"Like a study partner?" Sunset Shimmer asked, then she smiled, "Of course. There must have been a reason why I summoned her."

I smiled back. Maybe I can help Sunset Shimmer picked the right path this time around.

*The Next Day...*
Sunset Shimmer and I got to know each other better, over time. The books she studied with were most fascinating. Magic, laws of physics, rules on how to use magic, even the history of Equestria. How much I missed from the lore of this place...

The only thing I was having trouble with was leaning how to fly. Every pegasus I asked in Canterlot avoids me like the plague. Even the Wonderbolts refuse to teach me. I guess bat ponies aren't seen as normal ponies in Canterlot.

Anywho, I'm rambling too much again.

Today was a nice summer day. Sunset Shimmer and I were sitting on a bench, reading some of the advanced spell books. Around us, Unicorns were enjoying the day and having picnics.

Across from us, I saw a teenage male unicorn and a teenage female alicorn playing with a young unicorn filly, around mine and Sunset Shimmer's age. I recognized them as Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. They looked like they were having fun.

"Sunset Shimmer!" A voice called.

I yelped in startle, then calmed down. Sunset and I looked over and saw five young unicorn fillies.

One was yellow with a curly blue mane and tail.

Another was in a full blue color scheme.

The third was in a pink color scheme with blue eyes.

The fourth was a shade of mint green. Her mane was the a deeper color, but with a white streak, same with her tail.

The last one had a combed, red mane and tail, with a two-toned purple highlights and dark purple eyes. Her fur was a light yellowish grey. She wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

"That vine you made was amazing!" The blue one exclaimed with a smile. Sunset raised an eyebrow.

"Really exquisite." The pink one added.

The green one nodded and asked, "Would you like to come have lunch with us." She looked at me with a smile, "We can get to know your friend."

I smiled and was about to answer, but Sunset Shimmer scoffed and walked off, dragging me along, "Hmph! Ellie and I have better things to do than socialize! I'm going to re-read 'Advanced Elemental Magical Practices', and then Ellie's gonna help me practice for my advanced summoning spells exams. What are you studying for? Nothing, that's what."

I looked back at the unicorns. They looked hurt by Shimmer's words. The light yellowish grey one looked at me. I gave her a sympathetic look then turned to Shimmer.

"Actually, Shimmer. I'd like to get to know some of your classmates. Practice Princess Celestia's lesson on humility." I told her.

Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Fine. But don't take too long. We're study partners for a reason."

I nodded and joined the other fillies. The light yellow filly regained her smile and we got to know each other over lunch.

The all-blue filly was named Minuette.

Lemon Hearts was the yellow and blue one.

Lyra Heartstrings was the green one.

The pink-schemed Unicorn was Twinkleshine.

And Moondancer was the yellow one with glasses.

*A Little Later, in Celestia's Castle...*
Princess Celestia has called Sunset Shimmer into the main foyer, so she could talk to her. Shimmer insisted that I'd come along. Just in case something goes wrong.

"Sunset Shimmer, I've heard that you're not getting along well with the other students." Princess Celestia told Sunset Shimmer, "We've talked about the fact that personal relationships-"

Shimmer cut the Princess off, "Personal relationships? Who needs anypony? The most important thing in life is to be the best."

I shook my head, "Shimmer, trying to make friends doesn't make you weak." Princess Celestia smiled and nodded at my words.

Then she looked at Shimmer, "We've talked about friendship and its importance before, and we've discussed that you need to open yourself up to new friends." Then she lightly smiled, "And you remember that talk we had about humility?"

"I remember how boring it was." Shimmer answered.

"I enjoyed it. The other classmates don't think I'm weird, thanks to a chat about it." I answered with a small smile.

Princess Celestia smiled at me, as she lead us to a small room with a strange mirror. There was something about the mirror, that made me feel uncertain.

"Look into this mirror, and tell me what you see." Princess Celestia told Shimmer.

"A beautiful pony that has nothing but power and protential." Shimmer answered, looking at her reflection and touching her face with a smile.

She stepped aside and it was my turn to look. I looked at my reflection.

I saw my face. My eyes were hazel, but my pupils were narrow and slit. My ears were fluffier than Sunset Shimmer's. I was a bat pony alright. I had a deep green blaze too. Then something happened.

Behind me, I saw two adult ponies. A tall, handsome, dark unicorn stallion and a beautiful earth pony mare. Both of them were smiling and looking at me with loving eyes. I felt like I knew them, I recognized the mare as my mother. The dark and handsome unicorn looked like...

(https://derpibooru.org/988250?q=a+tale+of+one+shadow)

I narrowed my eyes... Sombra?

The couple morphed into a vapor and the vapor flew around my reflection and took the shape of a group of 7 colors; Purple, orange, yellow, pink, cyan, blue and white. My reflection glowed green.

"I see a loving family. A group of friends. Rainbows. Happiness and smiles." I answered.

Princess Celestia smiled at my answer, but turned to Shimmer, "Care to try that again with our talk about humility taken to account?"

I stepped aside. Sunset Shimmer growled under her breath and looked at her reflection again, "I see a pony, who isn't powerful enough. Somepony who could be great, powerful... Somepony that could rule Equestria."

I looked at Shimmer's reflection and saw her as an Alicorn. But something felt off. The reflection smirked and stood up on her hind legs, morphing into a teenage human girl. Then she was engulfed in fire. I took a step back in fear, as I saw a pair of menacing cyan eyes and draconic wings sprouting out of the flames.

Princess Celestia must've noticed my fear and moved Shimmer and I away from it, "Maybe we better move on..."

"Wait, what was that? I thought I saw-" Shimmer exclaimed, as Princess Celestia guided us away from the mirror.

"Oh, it was probably a trick of the light. Our lesson is over for today. For tomorrow, I want you to reflect on the discussion we've just had." Princess Celestia answered.

Sunset Shimmer kept her eyes on the mirror. I guess she doesn't know what the meaning of her reflection's actions meant.

I shuddered, as the thought came to me.

*A Few Weeks Later...*
It's been a few weeks since the lesson with the mirror. It still worries me that Sunset saw what her reflection did. However, it seemed to have caught Shimmer's attention. Through the past few weeks, Shimmer kept asking Princess Celestia about it, and Celestia kept refusing.

One day, during a windy picnic, Shimmer brought it up again, "You know what's fascinating? Mirrors. About that one in..."

Princess Celestia had enough, "Sunset Shimmer. We've been over this, we will get to the mirror and many other lessons in due time. When you're ready."

The windy weather turned into rain. Worried that this weather will turn into a storm, I cuddled close to Princess Celestia. Celestia saw me, and put her wing over my head. Dang it, I hate rainy weather. Celestia and I walked back to the castle. Sunset Shimmer made her own way back.

With my strong hearing, I was able to catch Sunset Shimmer mutter under breath, "I am ready."

I looked back at Shimmer, as she walked off. My heart sank, she's slowly turning into the demon I saw in the mirror. That's not good.

*Later, that Night...*
I was in my room, in the castle, laying on my bed, staring at the night sky. The moon was in the center of the sky. The moon's eye glowed. I heard a voice speak to me.

"Protect your friend. She is following a path not destined for her..."

With that, the moon's eye stopped glowing and continued its duty. I heard a rapid knock on the door. I walked over and opened the door. It was Sunset Shimmer at the other side. She had a large grin on her face.

"Shimmer? It's the middle of the night. We have exams in the morning." I whispered.

"I think I've found something about that mirror. Why we saw what we saw." Shimmer answered.

I sighed. This again? Shimmer is very persistent when she wants something. Whether it be magic or answers.

"There's a section, in the library, that is about certain books on types of magic. I need your help to find it." She explained.

I thought for a second and remembered what the moon told me. I looked at Shimmer and nodded. She smiled, grabbed my hoof and lead me into the library. I hope I'm making the right choice in protecting Sunset Shimmer.

Sunset Shimmer lead me to a door, that was locked tightly. The door said 'Dark Magic. No Entry'. A voice inside my head told me to go back to bed. But my gut told me I needed to stay with Shimmer. She needs me. With a simple lock-pick spell, Sunset Shimmer opened the door and we entered the room.

I gotta say, there were a lot of books in this section. Why did Princess Celestia keep this room locked like a secret?

'Dark Magic'......

"Not ready? I'll show her not ready." Shimmer muttered under her breath, then she joked, "You'd think this place would be better guarded."

I suppressed a giggle, then started looking through the books. Sunset Shimmer and read through a bunch of books.

'Crossing Over', 'The First Ponies', all sorts.

"Nothing on the mirror yet, but a few of these spells will come in handy..." Sunset Shimmer said, as we read the books.

I closed my book and set it aside. Then, another caught my eye. 'Canterlot Castle. A History. Vol II'. I picked up the book and started reading it. I smiled, "Shimmer, I think I found something."

I gave the book to Shimmer and she started reading it. She smiled, "Well done, Ellie. You've got really good eyes."

I smiled and pushed my glasses up, "Thanks to these babies."

Shimmer flipped through the pages, "The Crystal Mirror... Every 30 moons, a portal will open to... Another world?"

I shook my head, "I'm pretty sure it's not my world. I would've noticed something."

"That's not really for you two to know, now is it?" A familiar voice asked from behind us.

Sunset Shimmer and I turned and saw it was Princess Celestia and a couple of her guards. How did she know we would be here?

Of course, the librarian. She must've slipped past us. The guards grabbed me and dragged me away from Sunset Shimmer.

"Please, let me go." I asked the guard on my left, trying to struggle free.

"I'm sorry. Princess' orders." He answered.

"How dare you keep this kind of magic from me! You know that I'm ready for this, that I can be great!" Shimmer shouted at Princess Celestia.

"You could be great." Princess Celestia corrected in a calm tone, "I thought I saw compassion and sincerity in you, but it was nothing but ambition. The compassion and sincerity came from Eleanor. You're being selfish, you need to step back and reflect-"

In anger, Sunset Shimmer's horn glowed black with a cyan hue. Her eyes emitted a black haze. Oh no.

She cut Princess Celestia off, "I'm selfish?"

Her horn fired a strong beam of magic. I forced myself out of the guards' grip and pushed Celestia aside. Shimmer's beam hit me in the chest, where my heart was. A sharp pain struck my heart and my body was overwhelmed with pain. I fell to the ground, holding my chest in pain.

I felt a pair of soft, furry hands over my shoulders. I looked up and saw Princess Celestia's deeply concerned expression.

"That book, right there, says that I could become as powerful as an Alicorn Princess! I could rule here! It's selfish of you to keep me from my rightful place!" Shimmer continued, "I deserve to stand beside you and be your equal... If not, your better. Make me a Princess."

"No." Princess Celestia answered in a low tone, "Being a Princess must be earned. I have been trying to teach you everything you need to know, but you've turned from it. Everytime you say you 'deserve' to get something without the effort just proves to me that you're not ready."

Then she announced, standing up and held me close to her, "Sunset Shimmer. I am removing you from the position of my pupil. If we cannot get past this, your studies end here. You are welcome to stay in Canterlot, but you are no longer welcome in the castle."

"We'll never get past this because you aren't seeing how great I deserve to be. Is that really all you have to say to me?" Sunset Shimmer asked with a sharp glare.

"No. The guards will escort you out." Princess Celestia answered.

With that, the guard walked beside Sunset Shimmer and escorted her out of the building, at the doorway Shimmer hissed, "This is the biggest mistake you'll make in your entire life."

Once Sunset Shimmer was gone, Princess Celestia lowered her head with a sad look, "One of many." She turned her attention to me and helped me back to my hooves, "Are you hurt?"

I stood up and answered, "A bit sore, but I think I'll be alright." Then I looked at the regal Alicorn of the day, "Uh... Princess Celestia? Am I in trouble too? Are you gonna banish me as well?" I asked, as my mind raced with paranoid thoughts.

Princess Celestia looked at me with a small smile and shook her head, "No, Eleanor. Like I told Sunset Shimmer, I see compassion and sincerity in you. You went out of your own way to help her. I even saw you with the other students. You can stay in the castle, and we'll find you a new friend."

I regained my smiled. Princess Celestia and I entered the room, with the mirror inside. To our surprise, the guards were inside and were knocked out. Sunset Shimmer was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Sunset Shimmer... No..." Princess Celestia grimaced.

Celestia and I helped the guards back up their hooves. "Sir, what happened?" I asked.

"She took us by surprise and just... Just... Jumped into the mirror. I don't know." One of the guards answered the best he could.

"Shh. It's fine." Princess Celestia assured, then asked, "If you're feeling up to it, would you please help move the mirror to a safer place?"

*The Next Morning...*
While Princess Celestia and the guards were moving the mirror, Princess Celestia advised me to stay in my room and just wait. I laid on my bed and stared at the sky in sadness and wonder.

Will I be able to see Sunset Shimmer again?

Can she be forgiven for what she's done?

Who will be the next pupil for Princess Celestia?

Will she, or he, be as good as Sunset Shimmer?

And what the heck is gonna happen to me?