Trailblazer's New Life

Chapters

The New Neighbor
Your New Good Samaritan
Firefighter
Discovered
Unpleasant Honesty
Back To Square One
Overthrown
Epilogue

The New Neighbor

Rainbow Dash was flying around Ponyville to tell everyone the news that Twilight Sparkle found out about. Naturally, her first destination was AppleJack's place. She swooped down to a lower altitude and glanced over the apple trees. After searching for a few minutes, she finally found the orange cowpony.

"Hey, AppleJack!" Rainbow Dash called out as she touched down. She found AppleJack bucking apples in her orchard on her own. But she did not acknowledge that she heard Rainbow Dash, which was unusual.

Rainbow Dash walked over to her. "AppleJack! How come you didn't answer me?"

"Please, Rainbow. Ah don't wanna be bothered right now," AppleJack said. She looked up to show an unhappy look.

"Are you... What's the matter?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Ah'm beginning t' think that this here is as far as Ah'll ever get in life. Ah'm just a hillbilly t' the rest of Ponyville..." AppleJack walked over to another tree to start kicking it.

"What do you mean?"

"Shucks, Ah feel like Ah'm the one at the bottom of the totem pole."

Rainbow Dash still did not get an answer that she was looking for. "Uh, how so?"

"Just think about it. Pinkie Pie is the funny one, Rarity is the glamorous one, you're the cool one, Twilight Sparkle is smart, Fluttershy is kind... And Ah'm just the one who works with apples. Nothin' more..."

"Aw, come on, now! A bunch of ponies have seen you perform awesome athletic feats, like with the lasso and with your great legwork!"

"Yes, except Ah can only put that into use t' buck apples. The lasso is just a hobby."

"Well, what about your natural honesty? You're the most trustworthy pony anyone knows!"

"Yeah, and that turned me into a welcome mat when Ah had a huge forest of apples to pick from last applebuck season."

Rainbow Dash saw that she was getting nowhere in this disagreement, and sighed. "I guess there's no arguing with you now. Just continue feeling miserable bucking apples."

"It's what Ah've been doin' the last few days."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Fine." Then, under her breath, "Still a stubborn pony." She began to fly off when she remembered to tell AppleJack the news. "Oh, and one more thing."

"And that is...?"

"We have a new colt coming to Ponyville, and Pinkie Pie invited all of us to throw a surprise welcome party for him."

"Okay, Ah'll come to it. When is it?"

"Tommorow at 3 in the afternoon."

"Eh, I dunno. Ah think Ah still have to..."

"Do NOT, say that you have to buck apples during it!"

"Okay, okay, Ah'll be there."

"Good. That's what I thought." After that, she flew away, leaving AppleJack to continue her work, which she now no longer enjoyed right now.

The next day, Twilight Sparkle walked with Ponyville's newest resident, Trailblazer. He was an earth pony with a shaggy chocolate-brown mane and a coat that was a somewhat lighter shade of that brown. His tail also matched the color of his mane, but it had split ends, bearing a close resemblance of Rainbow Dash's tail. His cutie mark was a pair of crossed Stratocaster guitars, the left one was blue, the other, red. As the two were walking to Ponyville, they chatted to get to know each other better.

"...And when I got to perform in front of our entire city, I was cheered, and got my cutie mark."

"I guess this goes to show that a lot of cutie mark stories come from great self-discoveries and experiences. Yours was no different," Twilight complimented.

"Thank you. I guess it also goes to show my attitude too," said Trailblazer.

Twilight giggled. "Oh, you..." They reached the location of Pinkie Pie's surprise party, which was Mr. and Mrs. Bake's house, and opened the doors. Inside was all of Ponyville's residents.

"SURPRIIIIISE!" came the booming reply from everypony inside. All except one. AppleJack's shout was more mellow and lasted a bit longer than everypony else's, making her lack of enthusiasm obvious.

Trailblazer had a look of shock on his face. "You threw this all for me??"

"Of course, silly!" Pinkie Pie said as she bounced over to him. "Every new pony who comes to live here gets a welcome party! It's so that everyone here gets a chance to know you!"

"Oh, well, that's very thoughtful of you," Trailblazer said.

"You're welcome!" Pinkie Pie said with glee.

After some time passed so that everyone got their refreshments, Twilight Sparkle got some of her friends over to meet the new stallion.

"This is Rainbow Dash," Twilight said.

"Heh, and you must be Trailblazer," Rainbow Dash responded. "Sounds like you love the thrill of high speed!"

"You bet I do!" Trailblazer replied. "I just love the thrill of running past and way ahead of the competition! And I love to win too!"

"It feels great, doesn't it?"

"You bet it does!"

"Sometime, we'll have to race each other and see who wants to win the most!"

"I'd like to, but I can't fly..."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll go on foot, just like you."

"Thanks! I look forward to it!"

Once Rainbow Dash walked away, Trailblazer quietly said to Twilight, "She's going to fly, isn't she?"

"I have a feeling she will."

"And, you must be our newest pony in Ponyville," Rarity said as she walked over. "You may call me Rarity, darling."

"Nice to meet you, Rarity," said Trailblazer.

"Ooh! I must say, you have quite the figure. Broad shoulders, nice tone... Oh? What's this?"

"What's what?"

"Your mane... It's quite messy. I know that no one's perfect, but you could've fixed that before you came here."

"My mane has always looked this way."

"Oh, good heavens!" Rarity said in shock. "That's no way to show off your stature! Well, rest assured, I can fix that if you stop off at my place sometime. Anyways, I'll let you meet the others. Until we meet again!" Rarity trotted off after saying that.

Trailblazer looked at Twilight. "Is she really THAT judgmental of other ponies' looks?"

"Quite. The first time I met her, it was a big game of dress-up for her."

"That sounded like fun," Trailblazer said sarcasticly.

"It sure was," Twilight said with sarcasm of her own.

"Um... Pleased to meet you..." said Fluttershy meekly. "I'm Fluttershy."

"Is everything alright?" he asked.

"Oh, no, it's fine. It's just, this is the first time I've seen you. I'm just a little nervous."

"I guess you do live up to your name of 'shy'."

"I'm sorry. Did I make a bad first impression?"

"Oh, no. I guess I'd be nervous too when meeting someone completely new to me." Then, under his breath, "No way in Hell would I be THAT nervous."

"Ah, okay. Well, I guess that's it for me then..." Fluttershy stuttered as she slipped away back into the crowd.

"She seems WAY too timid," Trailblazer judged.

"She forgot to tell you that she has a way with animals," Twilight added.

"Still, she should shown a warmer greeting and not so much a quiet one."

"Oh, she's just too kind to be mean," Twilight said, defending Fluttershy.

"If you say so..."

"And, I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie Pie added. "I was the one who set this whole thing up!"

"Well, again, that was nice of you."

"Oh, I just LOVE to be happy and to make others happy, because it makes me happy and it make the friend's friend's happy!" she said quickly.

"Whoa!"

"Was I too fast for you?"

"No, you're fine."

"But you get the idea. It's all in good fun, and joy is spread and shared with others!"

"Yes."

"Anyways, enjoy the party!" With that, Pinkie hopped away.

"Too much caffiene?" Trailblazer turned to Twilight again.

"Oh, how you saw her now means she's on a caffiene withdrawal," Twilight mentioned.

"Oh, boy..."

"I know, right?"

Both of them let out a short laugh. Then, Twilight looked around, confused.

"Rainbow Dash?"

Dash flew to Twilight Sparkle. "What is it, Twilight?"

"Have you seen AppleJack around here?"

Rainbow Dash thought for a second. "She didn't leave, did she?"

"Not that I've seen."

"Hmmm, well, I guess I'll go look for her." Rainbow Dash went airborn again and looked around a group of ponies.

"Hey, who's her?" Trailblazer asked Twilight.

Twilight turned to her left to see where Trailblazer was looking to. Off in a corner, drinking a cup of cider on her own, with drooping ears, was AppleJack.

"There's AppleJack!" Twilight exclaimed. "What is she doing over there? She was supposed to come and greet you."

"Oh, that's no problem," Trailblazer said. "Actually, I find her interesting already. I think I'll come to her."

"Uhh..." Twilight tried to think of something to say, but Trailblazer had already walked away to greet AppleJack.

"You must be AppleJack." said Trailblazer as he walked up to her.

"Ah am..." AppleJack said with a little bit of sorrow. "I reckon that you're our new colt in town..."

"Is something wrong?"

"Oh, it's just that Ah've been working in an apple orchard fer so long, and Ah can't seem to go any further than that. Ah buck them, bake them, and no one seems to care who puts the effort to provide those desserts. Ah feel like Ah'm in a rut."

"You work with apples?" Trailblazer's eyes widened. "I love them!"

"You do?"

"Of course! They're my favorite fruit, whether as themselves or as desserts! I really like the work of anyone who makes that stuff!"

AppleJack was a bit surprised at what he said, and her mood started to improve. "You're the first pony in a while that's appreciated mah work at the farm. Thanks, sugar."

"Oh, it's no biggie. I like to bake too, making some of my own treats when I'm in the mood for something sweet." Then, a thought came to his head. "Do you think we could hang out together sometime?"

AppleJack was feeling happier by the minute with this stallion. "Oh, that'd be great! Y'know, Ah haven't had a visitor stay and actually take the time to be with me for a while either, so Ah'd love that." AppleJack paused for a small moment. "Could you... tell me more 'bout yourself?"

Back at the enterance where Twilight Sparkle was chaperoning, Rainbow Dash flew back to her.

"Twilight, I couldn't find AppleJack here..."

"Well, Trailblazer did," said Twilight.

"Wait, what?" Rainbow Dash turned to see what Twilight was looking at, and sure enough, Trailblazer and AppleJack were chatting. AppleJack was even laughing.

"Wait a minute!" Rainbow Dash was confused. "Yesterday when I saw her, she was feeling miserable because she said that all she did was buck apples. Now, she's feeling better all of a sudden?"

"It looks like she has made another friend," Twilight added.

"It sure does," Rainbow Dash said. They heard more chatter and laughter coming from both ponies for quite a while, and it seemed to last through the remainder if the party.

"...So, maybe you'll be around tommorow?" asked Trailblazer.

"Well, you'll always find me in the orchard bucking apples when Ah'm workin'. You'll be sure to find me there!" AppleJack replied.

"Great! I'll be there."

"Allrighty then. Bye, sugarcube!" AppleJack said in an affectionate way.

As everyone was getting ready to leave, Twilight said her good-byes to everyone leaving the building. She stopped AppleJack to talk to her.

"So, I couldn't help but notice that you and Trailblazer talked quite a lot," she asked.

AppleJack let out a short laugh. "Yeah, we did! Ah've never met anyone quite like him. Has a big imagination, a great way with music, and a gentlecolt. Ah gotta tell ya, Twi, meeting him was one of the best things that's ever happened to me recently."

"You really mean that?"

"Heck yeah, Ah do! Ah'm also grateful that he likes what I do for Ponyville. You've seen how no one seems to acknowledge that Ah provide fruit for everypony recently."

"Uhh..."

"Don't you deny it. Ah'm just glad he's around! Anyway, Ah need to go hit the hay. Later, Twi!" She walked away back to her barn after that.

"Uh, Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Yeah, Dashie?" she asked back.

"You don't think that AppleJack and Trailblazer... Well..."

"Oh, definetly! The way they were talking, the way they were laughing, it just seemed so obvious that they're already great friends!" Pinkie Pie declared quickly.

"Well, I was actually thinking... You don't think that they will... Eh..."

"Oohhhhhh, you're thinking that they'll be MORE than just friends??"

"Well, they MIGHT."

"Might what?" Trailblazer asked as he was leaving.

"Oh!" Rainbow Dash looked around for assistance. "Uh..." She saw Pinkie Pie shaking her head. "It's nothing."

"Well, whatever. I just thought I'd let you know that AppleJack and I have a lot in common! Athleticism, a liking for apples, both of us having younger siblings, the list just goes on!"

"Well, good for you," Rainbow Dash said with a half-forced smile. "One thing I couldn't help but notice is how you seemed to cheer her up almost instantly."

"Yeah, she looked bummed when I first met her. But I don't think that's any of my concern." He walked out of the building. "Thanks for the party, Pinkie!"

"You're welcome!" she replied gleefully.

After Twilight Sparkle left the house and went back to the library, she went to her room and got into bed to sleep, pondering on how AppleJack, a friend she has known for a fair amount of time, was already a great friend with Trailblazer, a pony everyone in Ponyville had just met today. She drifted off to sleep, imagining how the whole scenario would unfold.

Back at Trailblazer's new home at the edge of some woods, he set up a few things that he packed with him and got his bed made. Just then, a light that looked like it came from a flashlight shone into his house from a window. He quickly got outside to try to catch the eavesdropper, but when he got to the area that the unwelcome guest came from, all he saw darting back into the woods was another pony's black tail. He knew what it was, but he didn't know just exactly who it was, but he had a good idea just who that pony was part of.

"I know you're out there..." he said in a low dark tone. "Pony up and show yourself."

Nothing happened.

"And I know what you're here for. But I cannot let you take it."

He slowly backpedaled back into his new home, locked the doors, closed the drapes to the windows, and went to bed. Either it was just some prankster, or one of his adversaries. He thought about what happened in the recent past. Could it really be THEM? he thought. No, he feigned his death and snuck away disguised. But he couldn't help but think that he was discovered to be still alive. He knew that he had the power to stop the imminent threat, but he still had to act just like any new neighbor. The thought faded back into memory as he fell asleep.

Your New Good Samaritan

As promised, Trailblazer got to Sweet Apple Acres the next day. He walked up to the farm, only to see a big red pony and a yellow filly with a bow tie on her head. The big one was in a field of dirt, plowing the soil, while the filly was just watching.

"Excuse me," Trailblazer said to the two. "Is AppleJack around?"

"Eeeeup," the big pony said back.

"Okay, do you know where she is then?"

"Nope," replied the big one again.

"Oh, Ah do!" the filly spoke up. "She's out in the orchard, bucking some more apples. It shouldn't be too hard to find her. Just look for the trees with dropped apples and listen for the sound of rustling trees."

"Good to know. Thank you."

Trailblazer began to walk away, when the filly spoke again.

"Hey, are you that Trailblazer stallion she's been talking about when she got home?"

"Why, yes I am."

"She seems to like you a lot."

Trailblazer chuckled. "Oh, you fillies... Anyway, I'm going to look for her now." He walked away again and into the orchard, looking for AppleJack. A few grunts was all he need to hear to find her.

"Oh, you made it! Thank you!" AppleJack said as she spotted Trailblazer.

"Hey, AppleJack," Trailblazer said. He looked around to see several trees without any apples on them. "How long have you been at this?"

"Ah've been working in this orchard for just two days."

"Looks like you have your work cut out for you," Trailblazer mentioned. AppleJack stopped working for just a second to see all the trees that still had to be picked. There were hundreds of them.

"Yeah, it's definetly Applebuck Season," AppleJack said, recalling a bad memory. "It's the busiest time of the year, where the Apple family gathers the apples from each and every tree on the farm so they can get sent to market."

"You aren't planning on doing it yourself, are you?"

"Well, since Ah'm the only bucker here, that really doesn't give me a choice..."

Trailblazer thought for a second. "Maybe you could use my help?"

"Well, Ah guess you could. But Ah don't want you to hurt yourself or anythin'."

"Pfft, oh, please, how hard could it be?" Trailblazer walked over to a tree with some baskets already underneath the branches and kicked them. All the apples fell down in just that one kick.

"Boy, howdy! It's like having two if me workin' here! Go ahead and help out!"

The two of them worked in the orchard for about three hours straight, until sunset struck, and they decided to call it a day.

"Well, I think we got a lot accomplished," Trailblazer said as the two of them were standing on a hill to look at all the cleared trees they worked on.

"Yes, quite a lot, boy," AppleJack replied.

Trailblazer looked to the left to see much more apple trees to buck. "But I guess we still have a lot more to take care of."

"We can take care of that tommorow," AppleJack said. "Why don't we take a gander at these apples and see what we can bake out of them?"

"That'd be great. I haven't eaten since noon."

Both of them brought some apples in to prepare for a dessert. Inside the barn was the rest of the apple family.

"Say, Trailblazer, have you met mah family yet?"

"Um, just two of them, right when I first got here," he replied.

"Well, Ah'm here for that. This here is mah big brother, Big Macintosh..."

"Howdy, partner," Big Mac said after his introduction.

"...Over here is mah little sister, Applebloom..."

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Trailblazer!" Applebloom said after AppleJack finished her.

"...And last but not least, Granny Smith."

"Why, hello, dear..." Granny Smith wheezed.

"Good to know you all," Trailblazer said to the rest of the Apple family.

"Hey, AppleJack, do you know what we're having tonight?" Applebloom asked.

"Hmmm... Well..." AppleJack started.

"I know of something we can have," Trailblazer spoke up. "Provided that you have the right ingredients."

"Oh, really, now?" AppleJack blabbed.

"Sure. Do you have any oats?"

"Up in this pantry," AppleJack pointed. Trailblazer reached the cabinet and pulled out a container of oats.

"Now, do we have some brown sugar?"

"Right behind those marshmallows."

"Great. Now all I need is a pan to put all this stuff in..."

"Here you go," AppleJack said as she put a baking pan on the counter.

"Perfect." Once he gathered all the items, he chopped up the apples and placed them in the pan, then he took some brown sugar and sprinkled it over the apples, and sprinkled the oats onto those as well. After he did all that, he placed it in the oven and let it get heat up.

"Say, what is it that you just made there anyway?" AppleJack asked.

"It's a dessert that my grandmother taught me how to bake when I was a filly: apple crisp."

Once enough time passed with the apple crisp in the oven, he pulled it out and cut it into 3x3 squares.

"Go ahead, give it a try." he insisted.

Each one of them took a bite out if their piece, and all of them looked like they enjoyed it a lot.

"Why, of all the sweetest apples Ah've ever picked, this stuff is delicious!" AppleJack exclaimed.

"I love this apple crisp!" Applebloom said as well.

"That's quite the dessert you made there!" Big Macintosh agreed.

"Heh, it never fails. No one has ever disliked this dessert," Trailblazer said.

"Oh, Ah definetly want that recipe for this!" AppleJack said.

"Well, when I get the time, I'll write it down for you."

"Oh, thanks, sugarcube!"

"You can keep the apple crisp I made there. I should get going back home to get some sleep."

"Yeah, it's really late right now," AppleJack agreed.

"So, will I see you again tommorow?"

"You bet, Trailblazer."

"Okay. Good night, everyone!" With that, Trailblazer left.

Trailblazer went back to the farm the next day to find AppleJack in the orchard by herself. However, she didn't seem to be doing as well as yesterday's bucking. She looked rather exhausted.

"AppleJack?" he asked.

"Oh... Howdy, Trailblazer." AppleJack coughed.

"Um... Are you okay right now?"

"Just, dandy." She walked over to another tree, but her kick missed and she almost fell down.

"Um, it just doesn't look like it..."

"Oh, it's no biggie. Ah've handled an entire orchard myself before." AppleJack walked up to a basket thinking it was a tree, and ended up kicking that instead. "Dag-nabbit dang it!"

"Aw, didn't you learn anything from your last applebuck season?"

"Wha... How do you know about m' last applebuck season...?"

"Twilight told me about it when I passed her yesterday as I was making my way home."

"Oh..." She yawned. "Sometimes, she has a way of exaggeratin' things, and Ah have a feelin' that this is one of them." She kicked another tree while Trailblazer walked along with her.

"I think you need my help," Trailblazer said.

AppleJack scoffed. "Ah'll be fine. See? I can do this even faster if Ah wanted to!" She started running from tree to tree, kicking all the trees and knocking all the apples down from each one. But on the sixth one, she stopped and had to catch her breath.

"Um, I don't want to sound rude, but I really think you should stop this," Trailblazer suggested.

"Nah, Ah'll be fine!" AppleJack said back. "Ah've been workin' on this orchard since 6 in the morning."

"Okay, that's just going too far. And another thing..." Trailblazer paused to think if it was okay to finish what he was about to say. "I hate to see you suffering like this."

"Aw, come on, now. Ah'll be just fine!" she put some baskets on her so she could catch them. She kicked her next tree and caught the apples from that tree, but the weight of them was too much to handle in her sleep-deprived state, and she collapsed.

"Oh my God! Are you all right?" Trailblazer shouted as she fell and he ran to her side.

AppleJack panted some more before responding. "Well, shucks. It looks like Ah can't work right now after all..."

"Yeah, I thought so."

"But these apples won't shake themselves down, that's for sure."

"Hey, how about I buck them today for you?"

"You would? That'd be great."

"But first, let's get you back inside. You need some rest."

Trailblazer got down and started to nudge his head under AppleJack's belly. While he was still down on the ground, he kept forcing his head and body forward so she would end up lying on his back. He stood back up and carried her back into the barn. He went into her room and laid her down on her bed.

"Trailblazer, Ah really appreciate what yer doin' for me," said AppleJack as she was dozing off.

"Oh, I'm always here to help. Now get some rest. I'll take care of the apples."

"Ah will... Thank you..." AppleJack fell asleep after that. As an affectionate gesture, Trailblazer took her sheet, tucked her in, and gave her a small hug before going back outside.

Right as he got started on the trees, Twilight Sparkle showed up to see what the two were up to, only to see Trailblazer bucking apples instead if AppleJack.

"Trailblazer?" Twilight said.

"Oh. Hi, Twilight." Trailblazer replied. "What brings you here?"

"Well, I just wanted to see if AppleJack learned her lesson from last applebuck season. Last time, she tried bucking this entire orchard by herself and didn't accept any help until I asked to help for the fourth time."

"Was she tired, weakened, and dizzy?"

Twilight immediately got the hint. "She tried doing it again, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Or, for... Pfft, when will she get the hint that many hooves make light work?!"

"Well, maybe she will someday. But let's leave her alone right now."

"Why?"

"When I got here when AppleJack was working on her own, she tried working even harder then what you told me about yesterday night. Then, she tried catching some apples, fell down, and that's when she saw that she couldn't work like that. So, I brought her to her room in the barn and got her into bed, so she's sleeping now."

Twilight was starting to see a pattern. "This is starting to get real strange..."

"What is?" Trailblazer asked. Since he only got her a few days ago, he had no clue as to what she was referring to.

"She's been stubborn to the rest if us at times, but with you, she hasn't been stuck on her opinion. She's been listening to you a lot more than to us."

"...Huh," he thought. "She DID think she was feeling fine when I saw her today, but it only took one time to tell her that she just wasn't fit for apple bucking. And back at the party, AppleJack felt bad until I told her that I liked those who work with apples."

"Oh, yeah, she definetly listens to you more than to us," Twilight repeated.

"Well, I think I should get working on these trees," Trailblazer said as he started to resume his work.

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Twilight said. "I can handle this orchard in just a couple of seconds."

Trailblazer laughed. "Kind of boastful, huh?"

"No, watch."

Twilight Sparkle's horn started to glow, and all the apples in all the trees glowed in the same purple color of her coat. All those apples were plucked from those trees and placed in their baskets. Trailblazer's jaw dropped at the sight of that.

"You really DID take care of them all in a matter of seconds!" he exclaimed.

"With Princess Celestia as my teacher, I can use all kinds of spells." giggled Twilight.

"I have no idea why AppleJack rejected your help in the first place."

"Oh, don't worry about it."

"Well, technically, the work is done now. I guess I wouldn't mind hanging out in Ponyville now."

"Be my guest."

Firefighter

A week has passed since Twilight Sparkle took care of the applebuck season. Rainbow Dash still wanted to race Trailblazer, and now was going to get the chance.

"Now then, Rainbow Dash, I know that you have wings, but this is a footrace. Please race like an Earth pony and keep it fair," lectured Trailblazer.

"Yeah, yeah, fair and square," Rainbow Dash said lazily as she rolled her eyes.

"You know the track then, don't you, dears?" Rarity said. "Start here, take the path under Cloudsdale, run past my place, then to the library, and finish back here."

Both competitors nodded.

"All right then!" she said back.

"Let the race begin!" Pinkie Pie shouted.

Both ponies leaned forward to get started.

"Three... Two... One... GO!"

The race began, and both ponies were showing signs of equality. Both were racing at seemingly the same speed as they raced towards Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash was known to be fast, but primarily when airborne. Signs started to show that Rainbow Dash wasn't as good on foot as she was in the sky. Trailblazer kept his pace going as the two of them passed under Cloudsdale and towards Rarity's home, while Rainbow Dash was showing signs of slowing down. She started to trail him by two and a half seconds when Trailblazer passed Rarity's place. As they ran towards the library Twilight Sparkle called home, Trailblazer saw two pegasus ponies looking at the race. One was a blue colt with an indigo mane, and the other was a mare with a bright orange coat and mane. He didn't recognize them and proceeded back to the finish. When Rainbow Dash passed the library around three seconds after Trailblazer did, she immediately knew who they were. Soarin' and Spitfire, both of them being members of the Wunderbolts. As much as she wanted to meet them, she actually grew fearful that she was setting a bad example in front of them. She tried as hard as she could to catch up, but it was of no use. Trailblazer ended up winning the race, with Rainbow Dash three seconds behind. After she crossed the imaginary finish line, she had to stop and catch her breath. Trailblazer was doing the same, but didn't seem as worn out as Rainbow Dash was.

"Better luck next time, Rainbow," Trailblazer said to her.

"Awww... If only you could fly..." Rainbow Dash replied. "I think it would've been more fun."

"I think you're just saying that because you want an easy victory."

"Rainbow Dash?" a voice spoke.

Dash immediately knew that voice and quickly turned around to see the two Wunderbolts that saw the race, and saw how it was Spitfire that was talking to her. Then, she started to feel rather gloomy, and her ears drooped.

"I... I just couldn't keep up..." she said. "I guess I wasn't fit for joining your squad after all..."

"No, you did fine. And this was a footrace, so it really has nothing to do with flying," she reassured. "Actually, we came here so that you could introduce us to your new friend."

"Huh??" Rainbow Dash was growing jealous, seeing how they wanted to talk to Trailblazer more than to her.

"My name is Trailblazer. And you are...?" he spoke up.

I'm Soarin' and this is Spitfire," said Soarin'. "You were a great racer there! If only you were a pegasus, then you'd definetly be a part of our squad!"

Trailblazer wasn't excited by that. "I'm sorry, what squad are you talking about?"

"Trailblazer!" barked Rainbow Dash. "How can you not know the Wunderbolts?! They're, like, Equestria's most talented flyers!"

"Anyways, I guess we came just to congratulate you on your victory over Rainbow Dash," said Spitfire. "And she's even our best candidate to be our next Wunderbolt."

Rainbow Dash immediately felt better after hearing that.

"Hey, what does your cutie mark resemble?" Soarin' asked. He pointed towards Trailblazer's cutie mark of the two crossed guitars.

"Oh, this? It just shows that I have a talent for music on the electric guitar."

"You know, we're looking for a musical performer along with our DJ Vinyl Scratch for next week's show. Do you think you could be our lead guitarist?"

"That'd be nice, but..."

"Trailblazer!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "You can't seriously think about turning down this offer! It's like being a part of the Wunderbolts themselves! And besides, there'd be thousands of ponies watching you play!"

"THOUSANDS??" Trailblazer immediately grew worried at the thought of it.

"Oh, come on now. Twilight told me about your cutie mark story. How would that be any different?"

"Uh, well, it's just that, Ummm..." he stuttered.

"Trailblazer," Rainbow Dash began, getting in his face. "You have no idea how big of an opportunilty this is. You almost CAN'T turn it down!"

Trailblazer tried to think of something good to reject the offer of making himself known, but the pressure from Rainbow Dash and the two Wunderbolts made it difficult. "On second thought, I'll give it a shot," he finally said, cracking a nervous smile.

"Good choice, buddy," Spitfire said. "We'll let her know so that you can practice together."

"Hey, Spitfire, we should get ready for our upcoming show now," Soarin' spoke up.

"Oh, yes, we should. Well, we'll see you both later!" And they flew away.

"Wow... Being the head of the musical performers of the Wunderbolts! You must be stoked!" Rainbow Dash said in awe.

"We'll see how practice goes and then I'll let you know how I feel about it." Trailblazer backed away, and the rest of the ponies split up to do their own buisiness.

But in the back if his head was a nagging voice that said, "What have I done? What have I gotten myself into?!" Surely, this would be the place where his cover would be blown, and if so, then no pony in Ponyville would be safe.

The next day, as Trailblazer tried not to think too much of his performance for the Wunderbolts, he decided to visit AppleJack again. But she wasn't in the orchard at all. He walked back to Big Macintosh's plowing ground and found him plowing there.

"Hey, Big Mac," he greeted him with.

"Howdy, Trailblazer," Big Macintosh said. "What can I do ya for?"

"Oh, you know, I was just looking for AppleJack."

"You see that there woods past the orchard?" he directed. "She's in there along with Applebloom."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it, partner."

Trailblazer walked to the woods and ended up finding a small treehouse. He heard some chatter from inside, and he walked up to it and knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" an unfamiliar voice called.

"Ummm... Is AppleJack there?"

"No, she isn't, and I was told not to talk to-"

"Sweetie Belle!" That voice was definetly Applebloom's. "Both AppleJack and Ah know Trailblazer! He's no stranger." She paused for a moment. "And, AppleJack just went to the barn to bake some apple fritters. She should be back any second now."

"Applebloom, you know well enough that it could be some stranger anyway," a second unfamiliar voice spoke.

Then, from back outside, they heard AppleJack and knew that she was back. "Oh, hi there, Trailblazer! What are you doing here at the Cutie Mark Crusaders' club house?"

"Your big brother told me that I would find you here," he responded.

"Oh, okay. Anyway, Ah'm here with the fritters, youngins!" AppleJack walked in with the treats, but Trailblazer stayed outside.

"Oh, don't worry now, hon'! You can come in!"

Trailblazer walked in and saw Applebloom. By her side were two other fillies, a unicorn and a pegasus.

"I don't think you've met the other two crusaders, have you, Trailblazer?"

"Not at all."

"Why don't y'all introduce yourselves?"

"I'm Sweetie Belle," the unicorn with a white and magenta mane and white coat answered. "I'm Rarity's younger sister."

"And I'm Scootaloo!" the purple-maned orange pegasus said. "I really like Rainbow Dash!"

"I can see the resemblance," Trailblazer said.

"Hey, AppleJack, is it okay if we share these fritters with Zecora?"

"Go ahead. Ah'm sure that she'll enjoy them," said AppleJack.

"Thank you!" After that, the three fillies walked out of the treehouse and walked away.

"So, now what?" Trailblazer wondered.

"Hmmm... Ah was thinking... Maybe you and Ah could spend some time together in the park?" AppleJack thought leaning towards him.

"A walk does sound nice... Sure, I'll go."

It was a 15 minute walk from the Cutie Mark Crusaders' club house to Zecora's place. AppleBloom knocked on the door.

"Hey, Zecora!" Applebloom called.

A few seconds later, the zebra opened the door to greet the fillies.

"Oh, good to see you all three! And what's this? Some treats for me?" chanted Zecora.

"Yeah, m' big sister made some apple fritters and we decided to share them with ya."

"Aww, you fillies, how sweet of you! Even from your friends, the other two," she chanted again.

At the same time, Sweetie Belle said "Thanks!", while Scootaloo said "I guess..."

"Hey, Zecora, could we visit now?"

"You know, I'd love to stay, but for this remedy, I have to be away. A Ponyville pony is feeling under the weather, so I made some medicine, to make her feel better." Zecora said as she walked away.

"Aww, well, that ain't no fun..." Applebloom said.

"Hey, I got an idea!" Scootaloo said. "Could we go inside?"

"Um, we didn't ask permission to go inside," mentioned Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, come on, nothing bad's going to happen! Let's go inside!"

Scootaloo barged in and looked around the place.

"Wow, this zebra has some really neat stuff in here!"

"Scootaloo! Shame on you!" Applebloom yelled. "You shouldn't be acting like you own every home ya come by!"

"Hey, do you think there'd be something in here that'll let us get our cutie marks faster?" Scootaloo pondered.

"You know full well that Ah tried that already! Ah got that doggone cutie pox from doing it!" Applebloom scolded.

"Hey, what's this?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking at a vial.

"Is there a label on it?" Scootaloo wondered.

Sweetie Belle squinted. "'Cutie Mark Potion'. Under that, it reads, 'Use with a container of C3H8 (Propane), and your unique cutie mark will show up.'"

"Does Zecora even have propane with her?" Scootaloo asked.

"Actually, right next to it, there's a vial that's labeled 'Propane'".

"Then what are we waiting for!? Let's get that mixture going!"

"Uh, Scootaloo...?" Applebloom asked in a dull manner. "Doesn't that sound too good to be true?"

"Who cares? I want my cutie mark now!" She took the two vials and poured them into the vat Zecora had with her. Then, the mixture immediately started to flare.

"Hey! What's going on?!" Scootaloo shouted.

"I don't know but it looks dangerous!" Sweetie Belle screamed back.

"Oh, this is bad!"

"Get out of here!" yelled Applebloom.

The three fillies ran out of the hut as fast as they possibly could, but the flames from the vat got very intense very fast. And they could not run away fast enough.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie called. She figured that Rainbow Dash would be taking a nap on a cloud somewhere, although this time, she could not find her on some clouds at all. Maybe she's hiding away from the sky to fool me, she thought. She happily hopped away to go look for her.

"Is Pinkie Pie always like that?" asked Trailblazer asked AppleJack as the two of them were sitting on a bench licking some ice cream.

"Ah, she's always in a good mood, so ya gotta give her credit for that," she answered.

"I guess so." He paused. "I've been thinking... I think I've been too hard on Fluttershy when I first met her at the party..."

"Aw, she's got to be one of the nicest ponies you'll ever find," AppleJack reminded.

"Well, you've known her more than I have, so I have to take your word for it."

"Here she comes right now."

They looked down the path to their right to see Fluttershy backpedaling with a group of bunnies.

"That's good now. Just follow me and I'll take you to our garden. I made it specially for you," she ordered.

"You never told me that you have a way with animals, Fluttershy," said Trailblazer.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you about that," Fluttershy said quietly.

"Oh, that reminds me," AppleJack said. "She's your animal expert and y'all should know it! One time, she stood up to a fully grown dragon and got it to leave with words alone!"

"You're kidding!" Trailblazer said with widened eyes.

"Not at all, now, mister!"

"How come you never told me that, Fluttershy? That's awesome!"

"Oh, thank you," Fluttershy said, sensing an approval from Trailblazer.

"You're welcome. I guess I underestimated you at first, but look at how wrong I was there."

"Well, thanks again," Fluttershy said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, these bunnies are hungry. I'm going to go now and take them..."

But before she could finish her sentence, a loud boom was heard, and a small magnitude could be felt. This frightened the bunnies and they scattered.

"Oh, no! Bunnies! Come back!"

"What in the name of the princess was THAT?" AppleJack said.

"I think we should look into this right away," Trailblazer suggested.

"Good idea," agreed AppleJack.

The three ponies walked towards the source of the boom, but all the other ponies in the park were wondering the same thing. It was a big group of almost the entire town. The other four caught up with them as they walked to the source.

"Goodness, me, what was all that noise?!" Rarity asked.

"That sounded like a bomb went off," indicated Twilight Sparkle. "But, I don't see any mushroom cloud or anything..."

"I'm thinking that I may be able to see where it came from if I get a better view," Rainbow Dash offered.

"Go ahead, dear," said Rarity.

Rainbow Dash flew up to try to find the source. From her perspective, a rapidly growing fire was spreading all over the Everfree Forest.

"Over there!" Rainbow Dash pointed. "There's a wildfire spreading in the Everfree Forest!"

All the ponies made their way to the fire and stood outside the forest.

Then, panic gripped AppleJack.

"Oh no..." she said.

"What is it?" asked Rarity.

"It's Applebloom... No, it's Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo too! They're all in that forest!!" she panicked.

"What?! You can't be serious! My little sister is in there too??"

"All three of them are in there!"

"Sweetie Belle!!" Rarity called out, and started to weep, fearing that they'd be gone in the fire.

"Ohnoohnoohno! This is bad, we have to do something, this is an emergency!" Rainbow Dash quickly said. Both her and AppleJack started to panic, trying to think of what they could do.

Trailblazer looked at the burning forest, then at Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and AppleJack. Three fillies would lose their lives in this. But he knew that he had to do the right thing, and he decided to be the one to keep them from getting incinerated. With a look of determination, he ran to the forest.

"Trailblazer, what are you doing!?" Twilight Sparkle yelled at him. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

Trailblazer ignored her. He continued to run into the forest to save the Cutie Mark Crusaders. No trees were on fire in the area that he was in, but there was flowing smoke from the source of the fire. As he ran deeper inside, more trees had more fire on them, and some branches were getting burnt off. One tree fell off to the side as he was running. There was an intense heat from all directions as he ran deeper inside.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders! Where are you!" he shouted.

A faint cry of help came from a distance. He tried running in that direction, but more and more trees fell down, cutting him off and forcing him to take alternate routes.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders!" he called again.

"Over here!"

The call was more clear now, and could also hear some crying and coughing. He still tried to run there, but they still seemed out of sight.

"Where are you, you crusaders!" he called once more.

"We're in this area!" the voice called out. This time, he made out their location. They were in an open area, but it was enclosed by fire. "Get us out of here!" Sweetie Belle cried.

Trailblazer jumped over a tall log pile and reached the three fillies. He bent down towards them. "Get on my back, we have to get out of here!" he commanded.

Unanimously, all three got on and Trailblazer ran off again. He tried taking the same path he took as he came in from, but the trees were getting weaker as they were getting burned even more. Some toppled in front of them, cutting them off. He immediately stopped and looked for a detour, which was easily off to the right. He got around the fallen tree and continued to run back to Ponyville. A few more trees ended up getting in their way, most if which have fallen as he was running towards the Cutie Mark Crusaders. He simply jumped over them and made his way back. But the fire has spread since he was gone in the heart of the burning forest, making him have to use different routes until he could continue the straight way back out.

Just as he was about to get out of the inferno, a lone rock was in the ground, and he tripped over it. This sent him tumbling and the fillies flew off his back, scattering into different directions. Just as he got back on his feet, he looked around to try to find them. Scootaloo and Applebloom ran back to him, but Sweetie Belle was nowhere to be seen.

"Sweetie Belle!" he called out. "Where are you?!" The flames in the area were catching up with them, and he had to find her quickly. But no response came.

"Sweetie Belle!" he shouted again.

"Help me! I'm stuck!" she finally responded. Trailblazer heard where she was coming from. She was trapped in a pile of fallen branches, which would not budge. Behind her was a tree that was getting set on fire; it would topple on her if she couldn't get out. He ran to Sweetie Belle's trap and tried to remove the branches. They were part of a new tree that was going to grow, and they stayed put.

"Get me out if here!" she cried out.

The trunk behind her started to lean towards her. Trailblazer just couldn't spread the branches apart. There were too many and too thick to be pushed away, and trying to uproot them didn't work at all. They stayed in place.

Then, the trunk started to fall.

Trailblazer felt an adrenaline rush flow to him, and the branches were pushed apart. Some even snapped. Sweetie Belle immediately jumped out and ran away, while Trailblazer jumped back, just in time before the trunk fell.

"C'mon, let's get out of here!" he yelled.

He bent down and let the fillies get back on his back, and he ran away, leaving the wooden furnace behind.

The forest fire heat could be felt at a distance from the group of ponies outside of it. Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and AppleJack were closest to it, seeing as the last few acres were getting burnt.

"Scootaloo was in there with them..." Rainbow Dash said in tears. "She was like a little sister to me..."

To her side, Rarity was hunched over and crying.

"How... And WHY??" Rarity sobbed. "Why did my little sister Sweetie Belle have to be in there??" she continued crying, thinking all hope was lost.

"My Applebloom is in there too..." AppleJack said to her, trying to hold back her own tears. She provided a shoulder for Rarity to cry on, showing support, and sharing the same feeling of having a younger sister in danger and unable to do anything about it.

"That's four ponies that are gone now," Twilight Sparkle told them. "Trailblazer went into the forest and hasn't returned."

The crowd continued to talk about the fire in their own ways and to their own peers. Most of them still showed concern for the fillies in it.

The forest had one acre standing, which wasn't going to last much longer. Pinkie Pie watched the fire intently, showing signs of worry.

Then...

Pinkie Pie started jumping around in place at the sight of a silhouette showing a pony racing away from the fire. It revealed itself as it got closer; Trailblazer was running towards them with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom.

"He's here, he's here! He made it back!"

The crowd gazed in awe as Trailblazer stopped away from the forest, out of breath. He bent down and let the fillies climb off of his back. All four of them were singed, but Trailblazer was burnt the most. He stood still and breathed heavily.

"You did it! You saved the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she continued hopping.

The crowd started to cheer for him, applauding him for saving the three fillies. He turned to see this, then stood prominently to the side with one hoof hanging in midair, trying to strike a heroic pose. The other six saw him and ran towards him, cheering for him as well.

"You did it, Trailblazer!" Twilight Sparkle shouted. "I was wrong to doubt you!"

"SWEETIE BELLE!" Rarity screamed.

"Rarity!" Sweetie Belle yelled back. She ran to Rarity and jumped to her. Rarity caught her and hugged her tightly.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're safe! Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Rarity was still crying, but these were now tears of joy. She turned to look at Trailblazer. "Oh, Trailblazer, I cannot thank you enough! You're my little sister's savior!"

Rainbow Dash took Scootaloo and hugged her, then got into the air.

"Rainbow Dash! I'm so glad I could see you again!" she shouted in happiness.

"Awww, it's good to see you're safe now," Rainbow Dash said as Scootaloo started to nuzzle her.

"Trailblazer, you are a sight! One of the best!" AppleJack started. "Ah'm glad you had the guts to save mah little Applebloom." Tears of joy started to stream down her face as well.

"Trailblazer, Ah'm EXTREMELY grateful that you saved me," Applebloom said to him. "You're mah hero!"

"All in a day's work," Trailblazer finally said.

AppleJack glomped Trailblazer and hung on to him tightly. The sting from the burns hurt him, but he didn't mind this and hugged her back intently in their little moment.

They did not notice Zecora walking up to them.

"That fire burnt down my home, but I suppose I can get a bigger one of my own," she rhymed.

"Oh, yeah, there's our million-dollar question: What started that fire?" Rainbow Dash asked.

All the other ponies stopped and got back up on their feet. All eyes were on the Cutie Mark Crusaders. A sense of guilt swept over them.

"Well, we walked into your home seeing if there was anything interesting in there," Scootaloo explained. "Then we saw a bottle of Cutie Mark potion and tried it out."

"Cutie Mark potion?! There's no such thing! Are you sure no one's playing tricks with your brain?" asked Zecora.

"No such thing??" Sweetie Belle talked back. "But I looked at it and it was labeled 'Cutie Mark potion'!"

Trailblazer stepped back and turned to glare at the burning forest. AppleJack saw this and walked to him.

"Is there something wrong, sugarcube?" she asked.

"I have a feeling that this wasn't an accident..."

"What do ya mean by that?"

"Somepony must've tricked them with some sort of flammable liquid and caused this entire forest to burn."

"Well, whoever did that is probably too much of a coward to pony up and admit it."

"Yes... VERY much so of cowards..." he agreed, squinting even more.

"Well, in the end, you're all safe and sound. But your story just doesn't seem fate-bound..." they heard Zecora finish.

This was not fate... Trailblazer thought. It's a sign. They're here, waiting to get me. This was a test of my courage, and even though it looks like their little experiment failed, it succeeded. No, it would've succeeded either way, if I burned alive in there or not. ...They're out to kill me because they fear me.

Discovered

"Oh, goodness, you handsome rogue!" Rarity said as Trailblazer showed up. She massaged him for a little bit, and noticed that almost his entire body was rock solid. "You carry an incredible amount of tension all over you! Don't you ever stop to calm down?"

Rarity brought Trailblazer to her home to show her gratitude for saving Sweetie Belle. What she wanted to do was still unknown to Trailblazer.

"I guess it's just, there's been so much going on at once," said Trailblazer. "Being the lead guitarist for the musical part of the Wunderbolt's performance next week, saving the Cutie Mark Crusaders..."

"Oh, I understand very much so, but you still mustn't forget that you can't think straight if you're focused on too many things at once," reasoned Rarity. "Come now, I've got just the thing to get you to settle down."

"Uh, I dunno..."

"Oh, I insist, dear!" She had Trailblazer follow her to a room in her hallway near the end of it on the left, which brought him to a bubbling hot tub, which Trailblazer was still in doubt about.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Do you ever try to relax... At all?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Trailblazer, no wonder you're so stiff!" Rarity nudged him. "Come along now, I guarantee that you'll feel better as soon as you hop in."

"...Well, here goes nothing..." He placed a hoof into the water and quickly retracted it, testing to see how hot it was. He put it back in, and then slowly got the rest if his body in the water.

"HSSSSSS!" he hissed as he got in. But then, it started to feel better. "Oh...?" He then let out a relaxing sigh and sat back.

"Feeling better?"

"Actually, yeah," Trailblazer said.

"Oh, I knew it was just the right thing for you!"

Trailblazer sat back as his head was sticking out of the hot bubbling water. He laid there for 15 minutes until finally deciding that he's been in there long enough. As he got out, Rarity gave him a towel and he dried himself off.

"So, did you find everything okay?" Rarity asked once more.

"I feel better now, so, yes, I did."

"Splendid! Oh, and as a memento for saving Sweetie Belle the other day, I'd like you to have this."

Using her unicorn magic, she pulled out an emerald badge that looked exactly like his cutie mark and placed it on his chest.

"Whoa! How did you make this?"

"It's an emerald badge that looks just like your cutie mark! I usually don't make these often but you... Well, you could say that it's a gift for saving my Sweetie Belle, from me."

"Wow... I don't know what to say, but... I really grateful that you went this far to show your own gratitude to me. Thank you, very much."

Rarity beamed. "Run along now. You have that concert to practice for!"

Trailblazer nodded and left.

After a long practice session with Vinyl Scratch, Trailblazer walked back to his home at twilight. He saw a note on his door, which must've been placed on while he was gone. He took it off and went inside as he read it.

Dear Trailblazer,

I want to thank you for rescuing Applebloom yesterday. I was hoping we could spend some time together at the farm tonight. I'll be waiting for you like a rooster staying up to call for dawn.

Yours truly,

AppleJack

After reading the note, he packed his guitar away and headed out to AppleJack's home.

It was nighttime with clear skies when Trailblazer got to AppleJack's farm. He went inside the barn to find her, but when Trailblazer called her name, she didn't respond. The rest of the apple family wasn't around either. This was puzzling, for even Applebloom or Granny Smith would be around inside. He looked around the place himself, but there were still no signs of any of them around. He walked back outside and decided to look around the orchard. But he stopped. AppleJack had no reason to be bucking apples at this hour. So he tried looking in the areas with less trees around. But he still didn't see her at all. He started to think that someone was pulling a prank on him, placing a fake letter on his door to trick him into thinking that AppleJack would be around when all four of them were out somewhere else.

Then, sitting down on a high hill in a corner of the orchard clear of any trees, was a lone mare looking up intently at the stars.

AppleJack.

He slowly walked up to her, wondering why she would be out here in the first place. Maybe that'd be something he'd ask her when he caught up to her.

"AppleJack?" Trailblazer wondered as he approached her.

"Go ahead, sugarcube," she answered. "Come sit with me."

Trailblazer did so, still unsure why she wanted to be out here with him, or what she wanted to do as well. Although he had a good idea for both reasons.

"Ain't the moon pretty out there?" said AppleJack.

"It sure is," said Trailblazer, hiding his lack of interest in it. He was only interested in AppleJack right now.

"Ah've always wondered... Trailblazer, Ah always seem to be the happiest when Ah'm around you. Actually..." AppleJack paused and blushed, leaning on his side."Ah think Ah love ya, sugar."

"You do??"

"Heck yes. Think about it. You appreciate my work, you and Ah have a lot in common, you've taken my place when Ah couldn't work, and you even saved my little sister from that forest fire. Is it just in your nature to help others out at all times, or is it that you like me back as well?"

"...It's both, really," Trailblazer spoke.

AppleJack's smile got bigger. "How so?"

"Well, when I first saw you at my welcome party, I instantly wanted to know more about you. And you know how we talked and laughed together and everything. After that, I started to care about you, which is why I wanted to work with you and told you that I didn't like to see you exhaust yourself. And saving the Cutie Mark Crusaders... Well, I did that both to do the right thing, and to save Applebloom for you."

AppleJack looked at him with some awe. "Now, those are just some of the reasons why Ah love you."

Trailblazer simply smiled at her.

"Do you... love me back?"

"Well, umm..." He bit his lip, looking off to the side with a worried look.

"Yes?"

"I think... I just..." He still found it difficult to spit out.

"Are... Are you trying to say, that you DO love me back??" she asked anticipating the answer.

Trailblazer saw that she already knew the answer. "...Yes. I do... I love you, AppleJack."

AppleJack stared at him, and her ears drooped. "Aw, Trailblazer..." Then, she blushed again. "You've just made me the happiest cowpony ever!" She wrapped her two front legs around him and gave him a big hug. Like last time after the rescue, Trailblazer stood still when she did this, but then he decided to hug her back. Both of their eyes were closed as they they started to nuzzle each other, all the while thinking of how much they cared and loved each other. They continued to hug each other, trying to think of what the other one was thinking about right now. Even with the cool breeze that night, Trailblazer felt a warmth that he hever felt before. Either it was just having his body pressed against AppleJack's, or it was his imagination. Maybe it was the feeling that he finally found another pony who accepted him and how he accepted her. Still, he tried not to think about it and focused on AppleJack. He even tried to kiss her. AppleJack felt that and allowed it. Both lips were pressed together as well, showing to each other that they were almost meant for each other.

Then, Trailblazer felt something wet on his face. He opened his eyes with a confused look on his face and looked at AppleJack. Her eyes were still closed, but he saw that tears were streaming from her eyes. He did not know why, but he didn't want to ruin their moment. He waited for a couple more minutes to let the moment pass.

"AppleJack? Are you crying?" he asked.

"Ah'm just so happy right now to be with you," she said.

"But why are you crying?"

"Oh, sugar. These are tears of joy. Ah'm SO happy that it's brought me to tears."

"...I don't get it..."

AppleJack stopped. "What don't you get, Trailblazer?"

"Why would you cry over a happy occasion?"

"Oh, you can't tell me that you've never cried before."

Trailblazer looked down and bit his lip with a guilty look.

"You HAVEN'T?"

"I'm think not."

"Why, sugar, why is that?"

"Back from where I grew up, crying was a sign of weakness and should only be done when mourning."

"Now, why would that be?"

"Well, in my hometown, we were all trained to be strong and to help out others in need. Crying over anything other than mourning was like asking for exile."

"Oh, now that's horrible! Why would they do such a thing?"

"I honestly don't know, but I didn't do it and wasn't considered an outcast."

"Now that there's just plain mean!" AppleJack leaned over to him again. "You need more love, that's what you need."

From a distance hiding in some apple trees, was Rainbow Dash. She looked at AppleJack and Trailblazer hugging and nuzzling each other again. It then grew into soft nudging, and then to some playful chasing, tackling, and tickling. Happy laughter came from both of them as they did so. There was no doubt in Rainbow Dash's mind anymore about the two.

"They really ARE now more than just friends..." she said under her breath. Then she felt really guilty for eavesdropping on them, and snuck away. But as she was getting out of the farm, she saw a hooded pony with a black tail staring at AppleJack and Trailblazer too. That pony's hiding spot was in some nearby shrubs. Rainbow Dash tried to see who it was, but the other onlooker saw her and instantly fled into the bushes. Rainbow Dash tried to chase it, but the other pony was gone. She looked in surprise. How did it disappear so quickly?? she thought. Then, some more thoughts flooded into her head. This kind of pony never showed up here before. The only time it did was when Zecora showed up to Ponyville for some ingredients for her various brews. And she turned out to not be threatening after all. But here, something was definitely wrong. There was a reason why he didn't want to be seen. Rainbow Dash thought all about this. She turned to walk to Trailblazer and AppleJack, who were now back to cuddling each other, but she hesitated. If she walked over to them, they'd get angry at her for eavesdropping. No, she thought. A possible threat was more important. Rash as he was, she walked up to them.

"AppleJack...?" she started.

Both of them jumped back from each other and turned to look at Dash.

"Rainbow Dash!" scolded AppleJack.

"What the hell!" added Trailblazer.

"Were you watchin' us the whole time!?"

"No!" Rainbow Dash yelped.

AppleJack cocked her head to her right and lowered it. "Were you? Be honest."

Rainbow already got the hint that she was caught lying. "...Yes."

"Okay, a couple things..." started Trailblazer. "One, why were you eavesdropping on us, and two, what made you ultimately blow your cover by walking up to us?"

"Because I saw another pony watching you guys," reasoned Rainbow Dash.

"What, ya got some other pony spyin' us too?" AppleJack asked in contempt.

AppleJack began to walk towards Rainbow Dash to get in her face and tell her something else, but Trailblazer rose one of his front legs and placed it on AppleJack's chest, stopping her.

"Hang on a minute, I think I need to know this," he said. Then he looked at Rainbow Dash. "D-Did you happen to get a good look at him or her?"

It became apparent to AppleJack that Trailblazer was worried about it. She too became curious about this.

"Well, we made eye contact, and all I saw was this gray hood hiding his face. His coat was also gray and his tail was black, but that's all I saw of him," said Rainbow Dash.

"What?? Oh, no, that must be one of the spies!" Trailblazer ran into the bushes himself to search for him.

"Now he sounds all serious 'bout this..." AppleJack muttered. "How do ya know 'bout this pony, sugarcube?"

"I'll explain later. Right now, I have to flush him out." Trailblazer responded as he continued to sift through the foliage. He looked around to see if there was any rustling around to locate him. There was no luck for a little bit, but he stepped too close to the pony's hiding spot. The other eavesdropper rustled the grass, seeing how his cover got blown. Trailblazer noticed it and pinned it. He then got down and kept him in place.

"Gotcha!" he yelled. Trailblazer popped back out from the bushes with a hooded pony in a headlock. He dragged him into the open, threw him down, and pinned him at his side again.

"You've got some explaining to do," mentioned Trailblazer.

"I'm not telling you anything. Not even a novice is as stupid to just blurt out our plan," the spy hissed back.

Trailblazer pressed down harder on his side, hurting him even more. "We can do this all night if we have to."

"I won't tell you a thing!" he snapped.

Trailblazer glared at the spy. He punched him in the head and knocked him unconscious. "AppleJack, do you have anything I can tie him with?"

"Oh, Ah do have some rope you can use." She ran to the barn and grabbed some rope. She galloped back to them and gave it to Trailblazer, who used it to tie his legs together and pin them to his body.

"This spy has intelligence about the Shadow Rulers..." He turned to face Rainbow Dash. "Thank you for telling about him. If you didn't and let him get away... He'd let Silver Soul know and turn Ponyville into ruins, possibly killing us as well."

Rainbow Dash was a bit frightened at the thought. "But what about you? What do they have against you?"

"I'll explain some other time," he answered. "But for now, we need to know what Silver Soul planned on doing."

Trailblazer grabbed the tied up spy and walked away to his home. AppleJack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other.

"Do you find it strange that Trailblazer knows about them?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Ah don't like the sound of these Shadow Rulers one bit. But we need to know what my little sugarcube knows about them," the cowpony replied.

"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," said Rainbow Dash. "But I have a feeling that there's some undercover buisiness going on between the two..." She flew away back go her home as AppleJack walked back to her barn to rest easy for the night

Unpleasant Honesty

The next morning, Trailblazer walked to Twilight Sparkle's library with the trapped spy dragged behind him. He entered the door and dropped the rope at his feet for a moment to speak.

"Twilight Sparkle," he began.

She turned around. "Trailblazer? What are you doing here?"

"Send Princess Celestia a request to meet with her."

"Why?"

"Because..." he grabbed the rope and yanked the spy through the doorway. "THIS."

"Uh, I'm not sure if I should do that..."

"What? Why?"

"Well, it's just that..." But before she could finish her sentence, the other five emerged from the back of the room.

"Listen up, Trailblazer," growled Rainbow Dash. "You'd better tell us what you know about what you talked about last night."

"Well, I was going to, but-"

"Stop right there!" she interrupted. She started to inch towards Trailblazer, forcing him to back away. "We don't want to hear some made-up story you came up with last night! And here are a couple other questions: How do you know about that spy? And how does he know you? And, how can we trust you if you're hiding stuff from us? Are you one of them? Is that why?"

AppleJack bit her tail and yanked her back. "Ya just don't give it up, do ya?" Then she looked at Trailblazer, and all six of them walked slowly towards him, crowding him. "But you sure know what's going on. Dontcha, sugarcube?"

Trailblazer looked back at the spy he bagged, then back at the ponies. "Well, since the spy's presence here shows that something's amiss, I'll tell you why I'm here. Twilight."

"Yes?"

"Prepare a letter to meet with the princess. She'll want to know this."

"Fine." Twilight pulled out a scroll and wrote in it as Trailblazer spoke.

"I lived off in the west side of Equestria. In that area is a castle at the end of a city known as Tethleon. In that castle was our former unicorn ruler: King Gold. He established a guild known as the Rising Warriors."

"Rising Warriors? Never heard of them," Pinkie Pie spoke.

"I'm getting there."

"The Rising Warriors guild was a place of getting tough. We were told to stand up to any kind of danger and save anypony that was in danger. And were also supposed to be good in spirit too. Crying was a sign of weakness in all of Castle Tethleon, and was forbidden. Our policy was to do good and be good, and I fulfilled them quite well. So well that King Gold took me in as his right-hand colt, and he became like a second father to me."

King Gold had a gold luster for his smooth mane, and his coat was a saturated goldenrod, shining like gold as well.

As Trailblazer spoke, his memory played back the events that took place from his perspective.

'Guards!'

'Yes.'

'Bring me the Rising Warrior Trailblazer to me.'

'Yes, sire.'

'Yes, King Gold?'

'Trailblazer, I have observed your good deeds for others as a Rising Warrior. You are undoubtedly the best of them all. I would like to have you be my right-hand colt.'

'Really??'

'Of course! I'm certain that you'll make a great ruler someday. As my pupil, you'll be able to accomplish much more.'

"My musical skills came from there too. As his colt, I got a guitar and learned how to play. When I got good enough, I played for everyone around, and when I got cheered for in my concert, my cutie mark showed up."

"Unfortunately, good times were not meant to last. One day, during a public announcement he was making, King Gold was assassinated by an unseen archer. An arrow struck him in the head, killing him instantly. Yet, to this day, his assassination remains unsolved. Due to the political circle we had, his younger lesser-known unicorn brother, Silver Soul, took his place on the throne after the funeral services we held for King Gold."

Like his brother, Silver Soul gave off a shine, but instead, his mane had a mix of gray and silver stripes, and his coat was a brilliant silver color.

"For a while, his rule was just as good as King Gold's. But power corrupts, and he turned into a warlord."

'So, Trailblazer, do you know what I have in store?'

'No?'

'Expansion! Conquer all that is meant to be ours! This deal will generate millions for our people. King Gold wouldn't want you to miss out on this. We've done so much for many ponies out there, and we won't just let them walk all over us. We're going to make sure that we leave our mark.'

"Silver Soul even had such powers of persuasion. With it, he turned our group of good-hearted stewards into vicious killers."

'Fellow Rising Warriors. Look at yourselves. You work hard for others, you do good deeds for them, and you rescue them too. But they don't ever thank you, nor do they return the favor, nor do they even show you that they're grateful for your hard work. They show no incentive to do anything for you, not the SLIGHTEST thing, to show you their gratitude for your duties. How does this make you feel? Does it get you angry that they are so greedy that they don't thank you for protecting them? Well, I now have a deal that'll get us our just desserts. We shall take back the land that is meant to be ours, and what's even better, we could take over all of Equestria in the name of us! Think about this, my fellow Shadow Rulers, as I invite you to join me.'

"Almost all of the ponies agreed and joined him, and they no longer were Rising Warriors. They are now Shadow Rulers."

"I couldn't give up doing good for everypony. He's a maniac, and he turned the Rising Warriors into ruthless homicidal soldiers. What's even worse is that if you rejected Silver Soul's new establishment, you were sentenced to death in a dungeon at the bottom of the castle, leaving your body to be devoured by vermin. That is what also made our Rising Warriors turn over to the dark side."

'Out of all ponies who'd reject us, I expected you the least. Trailblazer, my friend, my wingman, and now my betrayer. We will take all of Equestria, even if it has to be burnt down to the ground scattered with the rotting carcasses of the ponies that have taken our help for granted. Nothing, can stop us now. Not even you.'

"Executing me was his personal privilege. He pulled out a bow and shot me with an arrow. I thought fast and caught it between my foreleg and body, making it look as if it actually went through me. And I pretended to die. It is because he fell for that trick that I am still alive today."

"As soon as I was out of earshot and sight, I got back up and snuck out of that dungeon. Already, Silver Soul was preparing scouts and spies to search for land to conquer. I put on a disguise to look like one of the spies and escaped from Tethleon. When I was safe from all of them, I took it off and got away from them. And that's when I happened to head to Ponyville, which is where I met Twilight Sparkle and became a Ponyville resident."

Now that all six of them were aware of his past, they all looked worried about the situation they were brought into.

"Oh, dear. It looks as if we got caught up in something serious just because you made your escape here," pondered Rarity.

"Oh..." Trailblazer turned away, ashamed at himself. "I'm sorry, all. This is my fault. I put you all in danger just by being here..."

"You did whatcha could, Trailblazer," AppleJack said, getting close to him to comfort him. "If you ran off to some other town, they'd be after you and the ponies that lived there too."

"No..." he responded. "Silver Soul will order his army to demolish any town they come across. They'll still try to take me down first because I left them. All because I am a Rising Warrior, not a taker of innocent lives..."

"Oh, come now!" Rarity trotted to his other side. "We shouldn't feel sorry for ourselves at this time!"

Trailblazer shook his head and groaned. Then he looked up at Twilight.

"So, how about sending that letter to the princess?"

"Done," she said.

"Well, I guess I should apologize too..." Rainbow Dash said.

"What for?" he asked.

"I assumed that you were an enemy and took you for granted..."

"You don't have to apologize for that. Besides, you finding that spy last night was almost a God-send. If he got away, he'd send his army here and attack."

A scroll appeared out of thin air in front of Twilight Sparkle.

"That was fast," she thought.

"She must've wanted to take immediate action," reasoned Trailblazer.

Twilight read the letter to herself, mumbling some of the words she read. "She accepts your request and is sending over her troops to discuss the situation Equestria is in."

"Very well."

The next day, Celestia's soldiers came to Ponyville and carried the seven ponies and the spy Trailblazer had trapped to Canterlot by chariot. It was around an hour long flight until they reached Celestia's castle. All of them made their way into the throne room upon arrival.

"My student Twilight Sparkle tells me that Equestria is in danger of being conquered accusing to a new friend she made," she started. "And... I suppose the brown male is the one you're referring to?"

"Affirmative. I'm known as Trailblazer. And..." He dragged the spy into the room. "We have captured intelligence about these Shadow Rulers, but I know for a fact that he won't tell me the truth about what they have planned."

"Maybe I can work that out." using her unicorn magic, she used a spell that managed to get her target to be honest on everything asked by any pony.

"Now then, before we get started, I'd like to know for sure the answers to these things..." Trailblazer started off with. "Did you stalk me that one night when I first arrived in Ponyville?"

"Yes," the spy said.

"Are you the one responsible for setting the Everfree forest on fire, nearly incinerating three fillies in the process?"

"That was the goal. In order to see if you WOULD be brave enough to save them from that fire. We were testing you..."

"And you are also plotting to look for more clues before confirming it with Silver Soul, correct?"

"Yes."

"Indeed."

Rarity became steamed. "You nearly killed my little sister in that fire!"

"As well as mine," inquired AppleJack. "Let's see how ya like it when ya begin to burn."

"Hold on, I'm not done with the questions." Trailblazer looked back at the spy. "Now, what does Silver Soul have planned for taking over Equestria?"

"We were going to find out where you escaped to, run tests to see if you were truly yourself, and once confirmed, attack your new home and try to kill you. Once you were gone, we'd send our entire army to destroy every other town, taking no prisoners if nessecary."

"No wonder you brought this to my attention," pondered Celestia. "Clearly, this is no empty threat."

"From what the spy has told us, I'll have to go back to Tethleon and get rid of Silver Soul so that this doesn't happen."

"But how?" asked Celestia.

"Do you have an armory in your castle?"

"It's just down the hall to the left."

"In that case, I'll need to prepare for this trip."

Back To Square One

"Trailblazer, what are ya thinkin'?" asked AppleJack. "You can't take them all on yerself!"

"Maybe I can't," Trailblazer thought. "But if I use stealth, they can't stop me." He turned back to the equipment and looked through it to see what he could use. "Can't kill what you can't catch."

"You can't just go there alone!" shouted Pinkie Pie. "An army of one never works!"

"Don't you want us to come with you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know. I really don't want to put you six into harm's way."

"Oh, stop it, sugarcube!" AppleJack stepped in front of him. "Ah know for a fact that you'll fail if you go alone. Besides..." She stopped and wrapped her front legs around him, resting her head under his chin. "It's gonna hurt me deeply if ya do. Ah care for ya too much to keep you from goin' on this... this suicide mission."

Trailblazer looked at her, with a look of guilt. He already felt that he hurt her feelings by being so headstrong.

"We're coming with you, Trailblazer, wether you like it or not," said Twilight.

"...Do you insist on helping me THAT much?"

All of them were saying "Yes".

"Well, I guess I shouldn't stop you."

The other five walked in and joined AppleJack to search for supplies that they could carry.

"We might need these," said Rarity. the other six looked at her to see that she was holding up a first-aid kit.

"You know, seeing that, I'm thinking that I should've allowed you all to support me from the start," said Trailblazer.

"That's what friends are for," replied Rainbow Dash.

After the seven ponies gathered supplies that they planned on using, Princess Celestia's guards flew them all towards Tethleon. Trailblazer was leading the front guard, directing him as he flew to lead them all there.

"Here's the thing..." Trailblazer mentioned between his directions. "Even with you six with me, we still can't just barge in and attack like this. We need to look and act like one of them to find Silver Soul and get rid of him."

"Do you know how we're going to do that?" asked Twilight.

"We'll have to disguise as their spies to blend in. I know just where to get them. Unfortunelty, they're in the castle, so we'll have to remain out of sight until we reach that room."

They landed a safe distance from the castle, and all seven got out of the chariots. The guards stood in place as the seven ponies walked to the castle courtyard. Upon reaching the enterance to the courtyard, Trailblazer peeked from the wall and saw several soldiers patrolling the area.

"Ah, crap. It looks like they're prepared." Trailblazer hid back behind the wall. "There are several soldiers patrolling this area. We'll have to REALLY be stealth in order to get past this."

"Hey, Trailblazer, maybe I can help this cause," Twilight Sparkle proposed. "I know a spell that can turn all of us invisible for a short time."

"Do you have an exact time for it?"

"Tests have shown it to last nine seconds long during each invisibility period. After that, it takes some time to regain that invisibility."

"Okay, but what about each other?"

"We can still see each other even when invisible."

"Okay. Let's do this then." Trailblazer looked at the courtyard again. "When we're in here, do as I do, understand?"

All of them said "Yes" again.

"Good. Let me just take a look here." He scanned the area until finding some cover a short distance from the enterance. "Okay, activate the invisibility, and follow me."

Twilight used her magic and all of them became cloaked in a transparent veil, giving them full invisibility. Trailblazer walked to the small pile of rocks and all of them followed. They got there two seconds before the cloak wore off. They stayed there out of sight until the cloak became active again. They snuck past the soldiers, undetected, and reached the castle security room enterance.

"I'll take care of this door," said Trailblazer as he deployed his knife. He knocked on the door. It was unbolted from inside, and a soldier opened it. Trailblazer thrust the knife into his throat, killing him instantly. Two other scouts were in the same room, and he slashed them accordingly.

"Pardon me," he said sarcastically.

"Trailblazer?" Twilight asked. "Do you know where the uniforms are in this place?"

"We're in that room right now," he answered.

They looked off to the right side of the room to see a closet with uniforms in them. Armor for soldiers and hoods for spies hung on by hangers.

"Hoods are the only way we'll be able to blend in. Going in there without a uniform will give us away."

"And if we get caught?" questioned Rainbow Dash.

"I'll make sure that they don't tell their friends," Trailblazer answered, holding up his knife. "Also, Twilight, don't cloak us while we're in the castle."

"What? Why?" she asked, confused.

"If we do while in the enemy's presence, it'll gives us away. None of these spy ponies here share this ability."

Trailblazer grabbed a key ring from the soldier's pocket loop and juggled the keys until he found one that allowed them to unlock the castle enterance. He opened it and walked inside.

"Cheers," he said to the dead soldier.

The others followed him inside. Upon coming to a certain enterance down the hallway on the right side, two soldiers were standing guard in front of it.

"What business do you have here?" the one on the left asked.

"I have a date with Silver Soul," he joked.

Both soldiers looked at each other, confused. While they were focused on themselves, Trailblazer took out his knife and backstabbed the one on the right. The guard fell, and before the left guard could understand what was happening, he knocked his head to the stone wall, sealed his mouth shut with one hoof, and cut his neck with the knife in the other, leaving no attack noise from him. He too, fell down.

"You got blood on my coat," scolded Trailblazer to the corpses as he wiped their blood off of his chest and right foreleg. He even rolled his eyes at them.

"Trailblazer!" whispered Twilight. "Don't you think that they'd find the bodies?"

"I've made sure that the castle enterance was sealed shut and won't open on the outside. This is the only enterance to get into the heart of the castle."

Although they couldn't argue about his successful attack, they began to think about whether or not he was being too cruel now.

As they walked into a winding corridor, three other spies were walking in their direction. Fluttershy turned around.

"Now what do we do?" she asked. But the four looked around each other. Trailblazer was gone.

"Did he just ditch us??" Pinkie Pie whispered.

"What do we have here? Some outsiders pretending to be one of us?" one of the spies said. The six looked to see the three enemy spies closing in on them.

"Hey, maybe they'll make a good meal for our rodents in our dungeon," the second one said.

Twilight Sparkle backed away while biting her lip. She was the most disgusted at that thought.

"Shall we get rid of them?" a fourth one asked.

Wait... Four of them?

Trailblazer was standing behind them.

"Why don't we, then?" the third one said.

AppleJack mouthed the words "How could you??" to Trailblazer, but he didn't answer. The ponies had their backs against a wall as the three spies and Trailblazer creeped towards them. Little did the spies know that Trailblazer was targeting them. While the enemy spies were preparing their own daggars, Trailblazer prepared his own.

"May I make a suggestion? RUN," he told his friends. But the enemy spies were unaware of which side he was really on. He stabbed away at the enemies before they had a chance to kill his friends.

"I never really was on your side," he told the dead bodies.

"Oh, I see what you did there," said Pinkie Pie.

"Have mercy, darling!" Rarity said, shaken. "Aren't you taking these killings too far??"

He stopped and looked back at the moments that he had when he killed the other few enemy ponies, and what he said to them when he killed them.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I guess that I got carried away and let my anger get to me."

He walked away again, letting the others follow him again. Trailblazer did not go killing any other enemy from that point on, and walked trough the castle some more until he got to the door that led to the throne room.

"Here's the room," Trailblazer said. Then he scowled. "Well, THIS was a disappointment!"

"What?" asked Fluttershy.

"I expected to be sneaking past MEN. Silver Soul has almost made our former Rising Warriors weak!"

"I don't think that's important," said Twilight, annoyed.

"Wait. Trailblazer," AppleJack said, showing concern. "Do you know what yer up against?"

"He's a unicorn," he replied.

"That's the thing. You're just an earth pony."

"I already know what he does and how he'll use his spells..."

"Trailblazer..." AppleJack began to tear up and drooped her ears. "What if ya don't come back?"

Trailblazer couldn't think of anything to say.

"Ah'm worried about you..." AppleJack spoke up again.

Trailblazer began to realize that even the thought of being gone upset her to the point of shedding actual tears. He walked back to her.

"I'll be just fine, AppleJack."

Trailblazer showed his gentle side. He walked up to her and nuzzled her neck while giving her a reassuring hug. AppleJack responded by hugging him back tightly, showing no intention of letting go.

"There now, I hate to see you sad like this. It hurts me too..." he whispered. "Don't worry, I'll be just fine. I've dealt with tougher situations before." He started to stroke her mane too, and she began to feel better.

"Okay, AppleJack," Trailblazer spoke up. "I have a job to do."

AppleJack let go of him. Now was neither the time or place.

"Sorry. I just had a feelin' that things would turn for the worse," she told him.

"I need you to be strong. Show it like it is for me."

AppleJack shook her head, then lowered her eyebrows and smiled, showing that she was. "Yeah, Ah'm ready all right."

"Okay then, let's go." Then, under his breath, "I'm coming for you, you menace." He finished with an eerie whistle.

He backed away, ready to barge through the doors. Then...

"Wait," Trailblazer walked back to the door. "Change of plan."

"Wait, what are we doing now?" Rainbow Dash wondered, growing a little impatient.

"We may not have to fight him after all." Trailblazer hid his knife in his hood. "If I act like one of his recruited spies, then I can pull off an ambush when he least expects it. And then, we run like hell."

"Trailblazer, what if he figures out that we're not on his side?" Pinkie Pie asked, sensing that the plan wouldn't work.

"Then I'll have to fight him. But for now, just follow me."

He opened the doors. A brilliant throne room was beyond it, complete with a red throne, red carpet, silver and gray tiles, and red curtains. On that throne sat Silver Soul. His appearance didn't change since Trailblazer last saw him, except that he was slightly smaller than Big Macintosh. There were no guards in the room. Big mistake, Trailblazer thought.

"My lord, Silver Soul, I come rearing urgent news."

"So, you've decided to come back, TRAILBLAZER?" he asked.

Overthrown

"I do believe that you're mistaken." Trailblazer said, trying to play dumb.

Silver Soul used his unicorn magic to remove the hoods that hid all seven of them. Once Trailblazer saw his removed hood floating above him, he looked around from side to side quickly, and knew that his plan was foiled.

"I knew you were coming all along. You just forgot to knock," joked Silver Soul.

Trailblazer glared at Silver Soul and growled.

"But first, let's get down to business outside." Silver Soul's horn glowed again, and all of the ponies and himself were teleported to a wasteland outside the castle.

"I see that you've captured my spy and got him to talk."

"You'd better believe it," Trailblazer talked back. "And we all know about your plans now."

Silver Soul let out an evil chuckle. "All lies, of course."

"Huh...?" Fluttershy wondered.

"It's true that I plan on conquering Equestria. However, I have this army to do the dirty work, all with the motivation to get revenge on those pitiful ponies that, 'took us for granted', and doing so to take away Equestria and have it for 'ourselves'. Also, the land will be for me only, not these Shadow Rulers that are working for me. Poor things... They should've known that I'm a liar."

AppleJack stepped forward and stood next to Trailblazer. "Yer selfish and cruel, and y'all ought to be taught a lesson," she said, trying to be as brave as Trailblazer wanted her to be.

"Well, you see, as King Gold was making the Rising Warrior's guild, I saw this as a growing opportunity. He was practically making that army for me. And if I had control of it, then none would stand a chance against me if I were to take over. I guess you could say that I got impatient, and I took the throne early."

"...Trailblazer, didn't you say that your King Gold ruler got assassinated?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well, yeah, but I also said that none of us know who did it... Unless..." he thought.

"Do you have it figured out now?" questioned Silver Soul.

"It was YOU? You killed your own brother??" Rarity asked loudly.

"Does it make sense now? With him off the throne, I take control of the army, and they take over for me!"

"That's unthinkable! Why would you do such a thing?!" Rarity screamed back. "I nearly lost my sister in a forest fire, and I couldn't have been any happier to see that she was safe when she got rescued. But you... MY GOD!"

"Oh, please! You'll all die anyway when I take over."

"Not if I can help it!" Trailblazer said. "I can't have you carry out your evil deeds. You have to be stopped, and I'm going to send you back to Hell, where you belong."

"Oh, look at you, Trailblazer, you little pony. You're honestly going to fight me. Really, if you know what's good for you, you'll run away like a little crybaby."

"Make your jokes while you still can, because they'll be your last."

"I have nothing else on my mind. Let's fight."

Trailblazer dug at the ground with his right front leg, ready to fight.

"Kill him, KILL HIM!" screamed Rarity. "Slaughter that maniac like he did to his own brother!"

Trailblazer ignored her, but he dug his hoof in one last time, and he charged.

"RAAAAAUUUUGH!" came his battle cry as he rushed the unicorn.

Silver Soul disappeared into thin air, but Trailblazer predicted his position and kept himself looking in the same direction, rearing up and ready to kick him. Just as he expected, Silver Soul reappeared directly behind him, and took the kick. Silver Soul retaliated by letting out a pulse of energy from his body to drive Trailblazer back, who was charging him again. Then, using his horn, he shot out a beam to attack Trailblazer. This missed. Seeing how it failed, he gathered energy for another attack and shot out another beam, only it shot out faster and was harder to avoid. The attack connected, knocking Trailblazer back.

"Do you know what the difference between you and I is?" Silver Soul asked his adversary. "I can deal just as much damage you can at range."

Trailblazer charged him again, only to see Silver Soul starting to levitate. He sprinted towards him in an attempt to ground him. He jumped, and rammed him. But Silver Soul was not knocked back. Instead, he continued to levitate and rise from the ground. Trailblazer hung on to him and managed to climb on his back. He was literally riding Silver Soul as he continued to float. While on him, he started to land some punches at his head and neck. Silver Soul frantically shook to try to get Trailblazer off of him. With one last rapid spin, he shook him off, leaving Trailblazer plummeting to the ground.

"Oh, no no NO!" AppleJack ran to his landing spot and broke his fall, toppling underneath him as he landed on her back. Above them was Silver Soul, readying his attack.

"Get out of here!" Trailblazer quickly rolled over on his legs and fiercely shoved AppleJack away, kepping her safe from the attack, right before Silver Soul launched it at Trailblazer as he took the rapid firing of beams. Both combatants were only slightly banged up, but Trailblazer seemed to have taken a little more blows than Silver Soul. The unicorn leisurely touched down next to him.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Silver soul asked.

Trailblazer responded with a powerful kick from his hind legs.

"Hmph... I should've expected that from such a cheeky pony," grumbled Silver Soul.

Trailblazer rammed him again. Silver Soul struck back with a rear-leg kick just like the one Trailblazer used a little bit ago. He fell on the ground on his side, then started to stand back up, trying to shake himself off, but Silver Soul ran towards him and pinned him back to the ground.

"I don't think so," Silver Soul said grimly.

Rhythmatic beams shot from his horn again, blasting Trailblazer as he was stuck to the ground, defenseless from each shot, letting out severe yells of pain from each one.

"NO!" shouted AppleJack. She sprinted towards Silver Soul and kicked his side, bruising him and knocking him back a little bit. This distracted him long enough to let Trailblazer get out from underneath him. Silver Soul looked at AppleJack with a look of disgust and punctured her with his horn to her side and then blasted her back in the direction of the other three ponies. The blast sent her airborne, but not far enough to her friends to get a chance to be caught, and she landed on that same side and rolled around from the blast, increasing the pain and severity of that injury. The pain spread to her other side too.

"Oh, this is bad!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She ran to AppleJack and pulled out her first-aid kit, but hesitated. She looked at Trailblazer, who was in a gridlock with Silver Soul as they were both pressing against each other's foreheads, then back to AppleJack, who was seriously wounded. But she looked back at Trailblazer, who was also hurt, yet he continued to fight in that condition.

Trailblazer looked at Pinkie Pie, who was still unsure of what to do. "What are you doing standing around like that?! Help her out!"

"But what about you??" Pinkie Pie shouted back.

"Just do it!" ordered Trailblazer.

Pinkie Pie did so. She cleansed AppleJack's puncture wound and began to treat it some more. She placed a bandage on it and had to wrap it around her waist to stop the bleeding and ease the pain. She then got AppleJack back on her feet.

"I owe ya one, Pinkie Pie," AppleJack said, still a bit dazed by the blow.

Trailblazer continued to force Silver Soul's head back as the unicorn was doing the same. But Trailblazer couldn't press on, and he gave in to the gridlock, falling back and on his side. Silver Soul was starting to fire continuous beams at him, but before he could, Trailblazer spun and tripped him. He then pinned him on his side to retaliate.

"Now it's my turn," Trailblazer said.

With forceful punches, he damaged Silver Soul at his head and neck again. Silver Soul took several blows before he teleported again. Sensing a fake-out, Trailblazer stayed put, ready to strike him when he reappeared. But he didn't show up. Trailblazer turned around to see if Silver Soul would show up, but he still didn't. He turned around again and was caught off guard. Silver Soul appeared right in front of him and knocked him back on his side again. Silver Soul gathered more energy for a powerful attack.

"Ever wondered what's like to die?" Silver Soul asked.

But before the beam was launched, Rainbow Dash barged in and rammed him. Her inertia sent Silver Soul flying away, which bought them more time.

"Did you just, save me?" asked Trailblazer.

"Yeah, but that's beside the point. Come here for a second," said Rainbow Dash quickly.

Trailblazer followed her back to the other ponies. AppleJack walked up to him with her first-aid kit ready.

"Here, sugarcube, let me fix you up a bit." As she used her supplies, Trailblazer looked at Twilight Sparkle, who was reading a book.

"Twilight, this is not the time or place!"

"Au contraire, it is," Twilight talked back. "I'm looking at this Type Transfer spell."

"Type what?"

"If I can utilize it, and if the transferring pony allows it, I can transfer my unicorn horn and/or Rainbow Dash's pegasus wings to you temporarily."

Trailblazer was a bit surprised at the thought of using it. "Well then, I guess I shouldn't begrudge you for bringing it."

"Okay, now I'm going to transfer my horn and Dash's wings to you so you can use unicorn magic and get the level of..."

"No! Don't do it yet."

Twilight was confused. "What? Why?"

"I want to make sure that he's ready." As soon as he said that, AppleJack finished healing him.

"But you'll still remain an earth pony right now!"

Before she could reason with him some more, Silver Soul returned to the battlefield.

"And I JUST keep getting reminded of my failures!" he shouted.

"You mean your failures at killing me or just in general?" Trailblazer asked while being sassy.

Silver Soul growled loudly and charged Trailblazer. The attack was faster than the eye could follow and he immediately got rammed. Trailblazer stayed standing, but Silver Soul quickly closed in on him just as fast and started to land more punches. After taking several blows, Trailblazer blocked both hooves at the same time and knocked him back with his hind legs, and he fell on his side.

"Now, Twilight!"

"I sure hope this works!" Twilight said to herself. Her horn glowed, and then a white sparkling ball started to shine from the tip. Rainbow Dash felt a sinking feeling at her sides, and she looked to see that her wings were getting sucked into her body. She looked at Trailblazer and saw that wings were emerging from his sides now. A horn started to grow on his forehead too. This process took 15 seconds before finally becoming complete. Trailblazer looked at his horn, then at his wings. Then he looked at Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. It looked strange to see them without a horn or a set of wings, but they were gone, making them earth ponies.

"Hyaa!" Silver Soul shouted, firing a laser from his horn at Trailblazer. Although unsure how to use his new horn, he thought about using it. Already, a fiery beam shot from the horn at Silver Soul.

Of course. I just have to think and the spells will work, thought Trailblazer.

Both beams connected at the center between them. Both were struggling to force their opponent's beam back at them to make them hit the opponent. Using his wings to help push himself forward, Trailblazer began to walk towards Silver Soul, closing the distance between them while keeping his beam steady. He kept on firing and managed to make it connect with Silver Soul, knocking him back. He quickly got back up and began using his rapid fire beams at Trailblazer, but he jumped and started to fly, avoiding his shots. He flew in a low arc above the ground, not taking a single hit. Then, he tried to combine his newborn unicorn and pegasus abilities and started to do an in-line twist. A blaze surrounded his body and he spun faster. He was practically a flaming drill. He flew at Silver Soul and closed in to bash him. Silver Soul looked horrified and tried to run away, but Trailblazer proved to be faster. The attack left Silver Soul branded by his hooves and horn with a second-degree burn. He was knocked back to the edge of a cliff, and he was hanging for his life. A deep chasm was below him, which had a shallow rocky stream at the bottom of it. Trailblazer landed next to him and looked down at him disdainfully, unfazed by his own flames. Right as he did that, his wings and horn shrunk into his body, and he became an earth pony again.

"Equestria will thank me for this," Trailblazer said to him as he lifted a hoof into the air, ready to sweep away Silver Soul's front hooves that were gripped onto the cliff edge.

"WAIT!" screamed Silver Soil. "I'll stop, I regret everything that I've done!"

Trailblazer froze and looked at him, somewhat surprised at what he said.

"The assassination, the slavery, the planned ruling of Equestria! I give up!"

Trailblazer planted his hoof back down on the ground. While he looked confused, Silver Soul was very scared. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'll pull back and drop all plans for taking over Equestria if I'm spared!"

Trailblazer looked at him some more, thinking. The other six watched intently, waiting for him to make a move. Then he shook his head and got ready to knock him down. "I can't trust you. You said it yourself: 'You're a liar'."

Silver Soul saw the rejection, and saw that he was going to be left hanging. "If I'm going to die... Then..." He suddenly became enraged. "You're going down with me!"

Before Trailblazer could react, Silver Soul grabbed his front leg and dragged him down. The inertia caused both of them to fall at the same time.

"NOOO! SUGARCUBE!!" screamed AppleJack. She sprinted to the edge and looked down, watching in fear as the two ponies tumbled to the bottom of the chasm.

"Leave it to me!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. She reached the edge, jumped, and dove down after them.

Trailblazer and Silver Soul were still attached to each other. Both of them started fighting by punching and kicking each other, constantly trying to dodge the other pony's attacks. While they were flipping through their free fall, Trailblazer caught a glimpse of Rainbow Dash flying at them. She was diving faster than they were falling, so catching up was of no concern. But the two of them were wrapped around each other, which made it very difficult to pick him off.

"Trailblazer, grab my hooves!" she yelled.

"I'm... Trying, but I... Can't... Get him to let go!" he yelled back between blows. Silver Soul kept a tight grip around his body, keeping him in place. If Rainbow Dash were to catch them, it would sabotage her as well. Then, Trailblazer thought fast and bit Silver Soul's front legs that kept him in place. Silver Soul immediately felt the sharp pain and pulled back.

"OwowOW!" he yelled, letting go of Trailblazer to examine his bitten legs. He suddenly learned that he fell for the trick, and Trailblazer got a hold of Rainbow Dash, keeping him hanging in midair. Silver Soul turned around, falling belly-up, watching in fear as Trailblazer was saved and he himself was about to die.

"NOOOOOOooooooo..." he yelled as he flailed his legs around and fell towards the rocky stream. Trailblazer and Rainbow Dash watched him as he fell, becoming smaller and smaller with each millisecond. A faint cracking sound was heard as he landed. Both of them cringed at the noise, feeling as if they felt his pain. A dark-red patch spread out from Silver Soul's landing spot, and started to flow with the stream.

"C'mon, let's get you out of here," said Rainbow Dash. She began to fly back up towards the cliff edge, just to see the other five at it, watching as the two ascended back on the wasteland. As soon as he touched down, everyone began to cheer for him, praising him for saving Equestria.

"Wait," he demanded.

The six stopped their applause, confused. Trailblazer walked back to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the faint splatter of blood at the bottom.

"I knew you were trying to trick me the whole time," he spoke softly. "Whether I fell for your cry for mercy or not, you would've dragged me down. Although realistically I saved Equestria, and all the ponies that live here, theoretically..." He closed his eyes. "I saved you."

"Sure, every other pony would disagree, but I had to fix your horrible mistake myself. If only you realized that you were a maniac and didn't join the dark side... You would've made a great ruler. I'm sorry, but I had to stop you this way..." Then he stepped back and yelled. "SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!"

He ran back to the six, and began to praise himself. The others began to cheer again, knowing that the job has been done.

"I owe you big time, Rainbow Dash," he told her. "I owe you with my life, and you saved it." He and AppleJack then made eye contact.

"Oh, Ah'm so glad you're safe!" exclaimed AppleJack. "Ya had me scared to death when you fell, Ah actually thought Ah'd lose ya. Much obliged, Rainbow. Much obliged."

"Oh, it was nothing, really," Rainbow Dash said. "I wouldn't leave my friends hanging."

"Ya don't know how much we mean for each other, Rainbow!" exclaimed AppleJack.

"Oh, I think I do," she said back.

"Oh, yeah, Ah forgot about that."

Trailblazer could feel his strange warmth again, and he and AppleJack kissed each other. The other five, except for Rainbow Dash, were surprised at the sight of this.

"You...? Trailblazer...?" Rarity asked, just as confused as the other four.

"I still love you, AppleJack." Trailblazer said as their lips separated.

"Ah love ya too, Trailblazer."

"Heartwarming..." Rarity said with a small smile. The others smiled at them too.

"You know, I never expected you two to go this far, but you did!" said Pinkie Pie, hyped.

"I find it to be kind of cute," Twilight Sparkle said, showing a cute smile herself.

The young couple continued to nuzzle and cuddle each other a little bit, until Fluttershy spoke up.

"How about we all go back home?" she suggested.

All the others agreed, and they walked back to Celestia's guards, got on board, and flew back to Ponyville to spread the good news.

Epilogue

It was no secret. A fair amount of ponies in Ponyville knew that AppleJack and Trailblazer loved each other. They were practically a young couple. Some took it fairly well, while quite a few others found it cute. The rest didn't pay any attention to it, or didn't care.

The aftermath of Silver Soul's death came to be a disastrous one for the Shadow Rulers. They fought over who would have the throne, and they ended up killing themselves over it. This went on until only several survivors stood standing. In the end, they gave up trying to fight over who would rule and left. They gave up their evil behavior, seeing how there was nothing to gain from fighting over who could rule, especially since there were so few of them capable of fighting. They parted ways and gave up their evil intentions.

It was now the day that the Wunderbolts were going to perform. At night, everything was getting set up, both in the air and below. Many ponies showed up to watch, sitting in the bleachers and either having some concessions or chatting wither friends about the show. Down on the ground was a stage for Trailblazer and Vinyl Scratch. As Trailblazer tuned his guitar and set up some effects for the show, the six ponies and three fillies were talking to him, while the DJ pony got her cables set up and worked on her turntable.

"Well, this is it, Trailblazer!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "You get to be one of the Wunderbolts' musicians!"

Trailblazer let out some happy laughter. "Yeah, I am."

"Aren't you excited??"

"Oh, am I excited all right! I'm hyped!" he replied with."

"That's the spirit! I'm sure you'll do just fine!"

"I'll put on the best show these ponies have ever seen!"

"I'll be rootin' for ya!" said AppleJack. And wispered in his ear, "Do it for me, sugar." Then, she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Best of luck, Trailblazer!" Rarity cheered.

"Now, wait a minute..." Twilight wondered. "How can you play the guitar with hooves? And if so, how do they work?"

Trailblazer gave her a dull look without answering her question. "I think you all need to take your seats."

"Good luck, Trailblazer!" Pinkie Pie said as the ponies started to walk back to their seats. Pinkie Pie followed them and bounced away.

"You ready to kick this thing off or what!" said Vinyl Scratch.

"Heh, I'm sure we'll put on a better show than the Wunderbolts!" Trailblazer replied, just as excited as her.

"High five!" she said, raising a hoof.

Trailblazer shrugged and smiled, and then threw his hoof forward to connect with the DJ pony's hoof. Right after that, Trailblazer flexed both of his arms towards his chest and bent forward. "OOHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he yelled.

"All right! We're gonna rage tonight!" she said at the sane time.

It wasn't until after 10 minutes that the show began. The lights dimmed, and the ones around the stage became bright. Their first song would be their dense forest themed song. A soundtrack from the DJ started playing, and Trailblazer followed suit. He played the riff they practiced for this song and brought in the Wunderbolts, high in the sky with festive light ornaments wrapped around them. Right now, it was their forest song, so the color for this part was green. The riff was repeated a few times until opening to a new one, quick and going back and forth down the neck, giving an impression that the Wunderbolts were representing a race, as they flew together, flying straight on getting ahead and behind each other. As they progressed through their sky race simulation, Trailblazer pulled off his sustained-note solo. At this, the Wunderbolts started doing some in-line twists. Two of them flew at each other head on, twisting past each other as they were about to collide. Then, another Wunderbolt showed up with a streaking light fixture around him. His duty was to create pictures with the lines of color he left behind. This time, he drew a bunch of trees in a landscape. This drew the end of their first performance.

Next came their space-themed show. After a small intermission, the Wunderbolts came back, half of them wore white lights, while the other ones were red. For the song, more was required from the Vinyl's part. The phasing effects and reverb was up to her, and she turned them on respectively. Trailblazer played the tune accordingly, as the DJ pony played some bass and a vocal part which sounded like a radio tower worker in space, although the vocals were made up of gibberish. With the added audio effects, they pulled off a song that gave the spectators an outer space feel. The Wunderbolts provided the visuals of the song, circling around each other to form a rotating planet, and made rings around each other to resemble the solar system they lived in. Another part came where the white Wunderbolts formed stars, while the red ones flew at them, imitating a meteor shower. The streaking pegasus showed up in red to draw a picture of the sun, which like the rest of his pictures, faded after several seconds.

Five more songs were played and performed by both groups accordingly. In order, they gave the song and visuals of a vast sea, a raging sea of magma, an ocean of sand, a canyon, and a futuristic city. The ponies cheered, although more than likely for the Wunderbolts alone. Then, Spitfire took a microphone and flew down to the stage.

"We'd like to thank our two musicians for providing the concert to make this performance possible!" she announced.

The ponies' cheers sounded a bit louder for the guitarist, Trailblazer, and the DJ, Vinyl Scratch, than the initial cheers for the Wunderbolts. Although Trailblazer knew that the ponies would be looking at the Wunderbolts the whole time, the cheers for him and his partner was all he needed to know that he fulfilled his duty to give them something good to listen to as the Wunderbolts gave them something good to look at.

"Thank you all for attending. Please find an exit nearest you and have a nice night!" an announcer said over another microphone.

Trailblazer began to jump up and down on stage, happy for the praise he got. He then put a hoof beside his ear, as if he was saying that he couldn't hear the cheers. The audience responded with even louder cheering, and Trailblazer nodded his head and smiled. He met back with his friends outside the gates.

"Trailblazer, you have no idea how much I envy you!" Rainbow Dash said. "It sounded like they liked you two more than they liked the Wunderbolts themselves! It's like you two outperformed them!"

"Hey, Trailblazer!" Yinyl Scratch said as she walked away with her equippment. "You rock!"

"Wow, it seems like I've been getting a lot of fans already!" Trailblazer said.

"Ah KNEW that my motivation would work!" exclaimed AppleJack. "That there was a mighty fine show you put on."

After their small regrouping, the Wunderbolts, along with Vinyl Scratch, were at the stage exit, greeting their fans as they left.

"Hey, Trailblazer!" Soarin' shouted. "Get over here!"

Trailblazer jogged over to them, and was told to stand next to Vinyl Scratch. From there, a lot of ponies greeted the performers as they left. It was about an even 50/50 for ponies that cheered for the Wunderbolts, and the other half that cheered for Trailblazer and Vinyl Scratch. Most of the time, he just rubbed the back of his head, smiled, and thanked them for the compliments, and like the others, told them to have a nice night. This went on for about 20 minutes until every last pony was gone.

"Well, I'm ready to go to sleep now," Twilight Sparkle said.

"Me too," Fluttershy agreed.

And with that, they all made their ways home.

The next day, Trailblazer woke up to his usual morning routine. Woke up, worked with his personal hygiene, and made a fried egg sandwich for breakfast. When he walked back into his room, he saw a note on his guitar case. Next to it was a small black box. He picked up the note and read it.

To Trailblazer,
You have my honest thanks for saving Equestria from the threat of the Shadow Rulers. From what I've heard, the battle was rough, and yet you still emerged victorious. Please accept this gold medal as a token of your heroic deed, and my gratitude.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Trailblazer looked at the box and opened it. Inside was a small gold medal with some white fabric above it that pinned to the body. On the medal was Trailblazer's cutie mark, embossed on it. He put it on his chest, then he looked at the mirror to see the two badges he had on: the emerald one Rarity gave him, and the gold one he just got from the princess.

"You have my word, fellow friends," he said out loud. "I'll continue to keep you all safe and sound, and to continue my life like a Rising Warrior."