Cultivating Crossroads

Cotton sat solemnly on a cushion on the floor of her room. She squeezed her stuffed pelican tightly to her chest. Her mother braided her mane silently. They did this every night before bed, but this wasn’t like every other night. She had done something terrible, and this dreadful silence was suffocating.

She wished she would just melt away through the floorboards and escape this mess she’d made. She forced herself not to cry. When she’d been called to the principal’s office her mom had dropped everything. She’d charged over from work in panic to find that Cotton had been bad. She’d put her mom through so much unnecessary stress. It wasn’t helpful, and she didn’t want to hurt her. She would make herself be as strong as her mom and control her emotions.

“You know I’m disappointed Cotton.” Quilted said.

A sad “Yes” was all the filly could manage. Any more words than that would break her facade, and there were no excuses to be given.

“After school you and Astral Glow are to go straight to town hall for your community service. You’re very lucky they didn’t just suspend you for the rest of the school year.”

“Yes.” She didn’t know what they would have done if she’d been suspended. Ms. Starlight Glimmer had rescued them. It was a huge favor from a mare who she’d only met once. She would have to work as hard as she could to repay her.

“You have to write Peach Blossom an apology letter.”

“Yes.” The bruises she’d left had shown the whole neighborhood how untrustworthy and bad she was. She didn’t care if the bully never forgave her, but an apology might convince the other ponies to.

“You’ll have to mail it to her because you are grounded from Filly Scouts.”

“Yes,” she nearly choked. That was tougher.

“You’re not going on the camping trip either.”

“But I’ve been getting ready for months! We had to sell so many muffins!” She had started to crack.

“You should have thought of that before you beat up a filly in your troop!”

She had no excuse to give. The Filly Scout Law said to be a sister to every Filly Scout. She had broken that bond.

Her mom tied off her braid and levitated her and Pelican into bed. The white mare leaned down to stare into her in the eyes.

“I love you Cotton, but you hurt that filly. You can’t do that. If a situation escalates like that, you leave. You turn, and you run away as fast as you can. You leave. Okay?”

“Okay.” She was supposed to be better than this.

“I love you,” her mom said, kissing her forehead goodnight.

“I love you too” she answered back.

She clung to Pelican as the door closed on the dark empty room. She finally let her tears roll down her face to soak into her fur. She wanted to be good. She wanted to protect her friend. She didn’t want to be a bad filly. She didn’t want to hurt her mom. She didn’t want to make things worse. Why did everything have to change? She cried silently.

She wished he could just come home.

Quilted Comfort sat at her desk and re-read the same paragraph of the same project proposal for what was at least the third time. She absentmindedly stirred a tupperware of quinoa salad with a softly glowing fork. This was technically her lunch break, but that didn’t seem to matter here anymore. Her “In” pile towered ominously. She didn’t personally care about embroidery floss sponsorship deals, but she cared about her mortgage.

“Your life balance could be better.”

She thought about that. When was the last time that she had reached the bottom of this pile?. Workplace culture always demanded she give more. She pushed herself everyday, and what had the results been? Her workload had grown to follow her home and invaded what little family time she could scrape together. Was there enough family time left? Had her daughter’s unusual outburst been her lashing out for attention? These doubts swam through her mind like fish trapped in an aquarium that was too small. It was all so exhausting.

“You could take a break. Maybe you could read a book to clear your head.”

She opened her saddlebags and pulled out a crinkled turquoise invitation. It’s intricate swirling decorations stuck out in the cold and empty office. The large analog clock ticked ominously above her. When was the last time she’d had any time to herself? She sold it away for money, she sweated it away into maintaining her home, and the sad remainder was poured into Cotton. The vicious cycle was draining her dry.

“You could make it to the library. You could get the book Starlight wanted to share with her friend.”

That was true, it was only a short walk to the Library. Sire’s Hollow was a small town after all. She levitated on her saddlebags and moved to the door. Nopony would notice if she stepped out for a short walk. It would only be a few minutes.

“You could get the book Starlight wants you to read. It could be nice to repay a friend.”

Yes, that was why this was important. Starlight Glimmer had shown her kindness and returning that kindness was the right thing to do. She had only met the young mare briefly but she had still jumped into action to help them. The dusty dirt road dirtied her fetlocks as she passed under the hot summer sun.

“You could try the book club.”

Yes, she could try. All she had to do was try. Trying wouldn’t be hard, and if she didn’t like it she would go home. The bell on the library door jingled at her arrival. She moved to the classical literature section on the far side of the building. Following in alphabetical order, she pulled out a surprisingly crisp book stashed between dusty old tomes. It’s cover had a bold illustration of a broken plow. Broken Reflections by Golden Ivy.

“This could be good for you.”

Cotton levitated her paintbrush with only a slight shake. It was no longer so difficult a feat that it required every ounce of her concentration, but it wasn’t easy either. Astral Glow worked beside her. The blue unicorn’s fur was speckled with globs of wet paint.

The long afternoons they had spent working for Ms. Starlight Glimmer had been boring. It was clear why these simple small projects had been neglected for so long. She asked her friend, “How much do we have left?”

“Just the benches. We’ve weeded the butterfly garden, washed town hall’s carts, painted the park fences, and now the hoofball shed,” Astral answered. “I’m guessing only a day or two more.”

“We’ll be done before school ends this week. That’s great!” She thought summer break was short enough as it was without being grounded. Not to mention that the time away was an opportunity for the gossip to move on.

“No! It’s not great! This whole debacle is unjust! She attacked me, and you defended me. We got in trouble, and she didn’t. There isn’t anything great about it.”

Cotton wasn’t sure why things had worked out this way, but she was sure her friend was hurting. They spent some time painting in silence. Two fields, one red and one yellow, worked together without words.

“Her mark isn’t for trash you know.”

She didn’t interrupt. A good filly was a good friend, and a good friend knew how to listen.

“It’s for restoration. She got it for uncovering and restoring an ancient Earth Pony medallion. The sponge is for ‘washing away time and returning things to their former glory’. It’s not just for trash,”

Cotton put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Ms. Lemon Glow had always been kind to her. She’d watched her countless times, and been there for every birthday and holiday she could remember. She had always been there for her, and Cotton would always defend her.

“I have a plan,” Astral said.

“A plan for what?”

“To prove it to everypony, and stop them from laughing. You’ve seen the way some ponies act around her. It’s only gotten worse since Peach Blossom. Everypony is talking about it again, and it hurts,” she said. “You’re grounded from the camping trip too right?”

“Yeah,” Cotton said sadly. She’d worked so hard to pay for that trip.

“We need to have our own mini camp out. We can set up the tent behind your house and have a campfire.”

“How will that help?”

“It’s better that I don’t tell you. If you don’t know the plan, then they can’t trick you into telling it to them. Starlight Glimmer said it's called planned ignorance.”

“Ms. Starlight Glimmer?” Cotton was surprised. “When have you been hanging out with her?”

“My mom and I started going to her book club. I haven’t talked to her very much, but she’s told me the truth about a lot of things nopony else will,” she said. “Just trust me. We have to convince them to let us have a camp out, and we need to get Summer Breeze to come too. I can get everything else ready, but I need you to do this.

Astral Glow stared at her with a pleading look of hope, but she didn’t need to. Astral was the smartest filly she knew, and she trusted her friend completely.

“Okay. We’ve got this.”

Quilted Comfort hesitated on the front stoop of an unfamiliar home and reread her invitation for the one thousandth time. She’d spent so much time thinking about what this could be like, that it was strange to actually be here. The white unicorn carefully raised a hoof to knock on the big wooden door in front of her.

“Quilted Comfort! I’m glad you could make it,” the pink mare answered cheerily. She bent down to look Cotton in the eyes. “And Cotton Crater! We’ve met before, but my name is Starlight Glimmer.” She offered the filly a hoof bump and led them inside to the kitchen. “Your friend Astral Glow is out in the backyard. There’s also a colt named Fleeting who is a bit younger than you, but I’m sure Astral can introduce you. If you go through the kitchen door right there you can join them. We’ll be in the living room if you need anything” she said.

“I also have a very important mission for an honest and trustworthy Filly Scout like you.” Starlight crossed her right foreleg across her chest in the Filly scout signal. Her daughter snapped to attention and copied the mare. “There is a box of grape popsicles in the freezer. In about forty five minutes I need somepony to get down three, open them, and share them with the other foals. Do you think you can handle it?”

“Yes ma’am!” The Cotton saluted.

“Then get out there cadette,” Starlight said. Quilted couldn’t help but giggle as her daughter rushed out the door.

“It seems like you may have done that before, Starlight,” Quilted chuckled. “Do you work with foals a lot at town hall?”

“Not particularly,” she said. “I just always remember to try and be the friend I needed when I was that age.” She motioned for her to follow her into the living room. “Oh, please excuse the mess.” Starlight carefully levitated a stack of heavy tomes out of the way .“My father is in the middle of a project on the history of the Summer Sun Celebration. His research has a tendency to spread out like this”

“Not at all! I of all ponies understand a little paperwork takeover. My own kitchen table is currently covered in reports that followed me home,” she reassured. She looked around at the many photographs and maps that decorated the walls. “ Your place is lovely.”

She led her into a plush living room where a large couch, an overstuffed chair, and a handful of bean bags were centered around a coffee table. Starlight settled in the chair, and Quilted opted for a beanbag next to Lemon Glow.

“You of course know Lemon Glow, but have you met Sugar Belle?” Starlight pointed a hoof at a pink unicorn with a poofy purple mane. She looked to be even a few years younger than Starlight. “She’s a baker downtown. She shared this recipe for raspberry scones with me.” She levitated a treat over. “Please, you must try one!”

Quilted politely took it with her own magic and bit into the treat. Something was just a bit off about the texture, but the sugar seemed to dance on her tongue. It was absolutely delicious.

“Well, I’m only an apprentice,” the mare deflected the compliment, ”I still have a lot of learning to do. Starlight Glimmer made those ones all by herself.”

“Starlight knows how to bake”

“You probably also recognize Night Glider from Barnyard Bargains” Starlight said gesturing to a navy Pegasus.

“Nice to meet you,” the pony smiled. “My pronouns are they, their, theirs. I’m sure we’ve chatted before, but never without me bagging your groceries. Ponies are usually more aware of the candy and magazines than they are of me. I get it though, it’s not exactly a mo’ mentos occasion!”

Sugar Belle snorted. “That was terrible!” Night Glider only smiled and took another scone. “You know, Night and I are best friends from back in school,”

“That’s the same as Quilted and me,” Lemon Glow said, pouring herself a glass of water.

“Though, I imagine our graduation is much farther behind us than is polite to mention,” Quilted said, eliciting quiet laughter from all six ponies.

“Last but not least, this is Capital Chance,”

“Starlight knows a lot of ponies.”

The large stallion nodded politely. “I’m in construction. Met Starlight here through the permit office. Something told me I had to join her book club. How do you know Ms. Glimmer?” Capital asked.

“She gave a tour to our daughters’ Filly Scout troop.” Lemon Glow answered cheerily.

“Oh you have foals too Ms. Comfort? My son Fleeting just finished up his first year of school. Is your daughter the same age as Lemon’s?” He asked.

“Yes. The two are practically inseparable. They’ve known each other their whole lives,” Quilted answered.

“Yeah, I wonder where they picked that up from,” Lemon said, rolling her eyes. Everypony chuckled.

“Was everypony able to get a copy of Broken Reflections all right?” Starlight asked. All heads nodded. “Good. I ordered extra from the inter-library loan, but you never can tell with these old systems. I’m glad my favor was able to pull us through.”

“Starlight understands bureaucracy”

“So what did everypony think of the leading mare?” Starlight asked.

“I thought she was very smart to clone herself with the mirror pool. It certainly seemed like it was a good plan to rescue Marebella” Lemon Glow said.

“It was definitely brave, but I don’t about smart. She didn’t know if it would work, but she tried it anyway. That’s bravery,” Night Glider said. “Though obviously her mirror clone kills her, so it didn’t exactly work out well.

“I liked that she stuck to her principles. Even when Marebella tried to convince her that she was the villain in the story instead of Marebella herself. She didn’t waver,” Quilted added.

“Did you like the ending?” Starlight asked.

“It was justified. Her cutie mark had doomed her from the start.” Lemon Glow said.

“What do you mean by that?” Quilted asked.

“Marebella’s cutie mark was too pure for the world she lived in. When she drowned herself she was fulfilling her destiny of optimism by removing herself from the crushing doom,” Lemon Glow said.

“You don’t think she should have tried to fight her mark?” Capital asked.

“Fight her cutie mark?” Quilted asked.

“Yeah. I assume both Lemon and I do it everyday. You didn’t think the orbiting moon on my flank meant cashier did you?” Night Glider laughed.

“Night Glider is right. We should all strive to be braver than Marebella. Other species don’t let cutie marks control them, so why should we? We are all ponies first. Neither it my cutie mark nor Equestria can tell me what to do” Starlight asserted.

“Starlight knows a lot about ponies”

“You could spend more time with Starlight”

Cotton sat on the floor of the living room. A rainbow of colored pencils was strewn about her. She quietly observed her mother writing at the kitchen table. Astral was depending on her, and a good filly was helpful. She lit her horn, cleaned up her work, and walked over to the kitchen table.

“Mom?”

The white unicorn hummed something vaguely positive, but didn’t look up. Cotton pulled up a chair and waited. A good filly was respectful, and wouldn’t interrupt. After a few minutes, her mom looked up and stopped.

“Oh Cotton,” she said, surprised “What is it?”

“I’ve got something really super important, but you have to come to the couch. I’ve prepared a presentation.”

“You’ve prepared a presentation?” the mare giggled. She ruffled Cotton’s mane. “You’re quite the little business-mare”

“Thank you,” she said. They moved to the living area and Cotton levitated up her first page. It was a picture of lots of ponies around a campfire dramatically crossed out in red.

“The situation is that I’m not supposed to go on the camping trip, but I learned my lesson and promise to be really good. So the proposed solution is that I get to have a sleepover in the backyard with my friends instead.” She replaced the picture with one of a big sad face.

“I am sorry I hurt Peach Blossom, and I will never do it again. She was mean to Astral, but I shouldn’t have hurt her. I was supposed to protect my friend by getting us away, and I was wrong to escalate things. I’m sorry.” She held up a picture of a pony sweeping.

“I’ve tried to prove I am sorry. I’ve done everything you asked me to, including lots of work for Ms. Starlight at town hall. I know I can’t go on the trip because Peach Blossom is going, but can I please have a sleepover in the backyard?” She held up a picture of three ponies around a tent.

“I was looking forward to the trip all year. I really wanted to go, and did lots of fundraising to pay for it. If I could just have two friends over, we could make a tarp tent and sleep outside. You wouldn’t have to help us with a fire, we could just have popsicles instead. We could play flashlight tag, catch fireflies, and you wouldn’t have to do anything. I just want to ask Astral Glow and Summer Breeze, so we won’t even be loud or anything!” She stared at her moms with eyes as big as the mare in the moon.

“Please?” she pleaded. The mare paused with a glassy vacant look in her eye. Then snapped back to reality and giggled again like nothing had happened..

“You have been paying attention! You only missed the summary. All my presentations have a summary near the start, but there is no doubt you're my daughter. Though the long black and red mane usually gives that away first.” she laughed. Cotton stuck out her bottom lip.

“Alright, you can put that face away. You can ask Astral and Summer if they want to come over on Friday after the last day of school.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” She hugged her mom tightly. This would be perfect.

Quilted Comfort read through her grocery list one more time. Going to so many stores was tiresome, but economical. Rice, beans, lentils, and other dry goods were always cheaper at Barnyard Bargains. Her flyer said that they had a buy one get one deal at the fruit stand. If she walked out to the flower shop she had a coupon for daisies. She hated wasting so much time, and her hooves hurt, but they had been a two income family when she signed the mortgage.

She was so tired. Tired of working late every night, desperately trying to get promoted. Tired of staying up late to do all the cooking, cleaning, maintenance, and budgeting. She was tired of doing everything herself. She was tired of being alone.

“Starlight knows a lot of ponies.”

“They could be your friends.”

“Starlight could be your friend.”

That was right, she was making friends now. She shifted her heavy saddlebags to a more comfortable spot on her back. She missed when they had friends. She used to think their little star parties were boring. Now she missed leaning against him on the picnic blanket listening as some pony lectured on about light pollution. Now those ponies hurt to look at. All she could do was guess how much they had known.

She crashed face first into pink. Her saddlebags spilling out and under metal post drop boxes.

“Sorry!” Quilted apologized.

“It’s fine. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never crashed trying to read while walking.” Starlight Glimmer smiled.

“Yeah,” Quilted mumbled somewhat dazed. She lit her horn to gather her things.

“Oh let me get that for you,” Starlight interjected. The pink mare lit her own corona and ripped the blue metal mailbox clean out of the concrete. She held them floating as she levitated, dusted, and returned the groceries all at once. Then she liquified the cement, replaced the blue boxes, and re-hardened the concrete pad.

“Wow,” was all Quilted managed to say.

“Starlight could be the most powerful unicorn in town.”

“Thank you” the mare smiled. She looked at Quilted’s sale flyer. “Did you see if the strawberries look good this week?”

“No. Earth Pony magic or not, It’s just too late in the season. The only thing that they’re good for at this point is jam,” she answered.

“That’s too bad. Well I’ll see you soon?” she asked.

“Yeah. I’ll see Tuesday,” Quilted said. They parted ways.

“You could be more alike than you thought.”

“I think she’s asleep,” Summer Breeze whispered. Cotton poked her head up above the window sill to see. Her mom was at the kitchen table snoring.

“Good. Now we can start,” Astral Glow said. She led them back over to their sleeping bags. Cotton fidgeted uncomfortably. Good fillies respected authority.

“Peach Blossom lied to everypony. We have to help my mom prove she doesn’t eat trash.” Astral said. “Being a garbage collector is just her job. She has to use her mouth because she’s an Earth Pony. She doesn’t eat garbage. Her cutie mark is for restoration. We just have to find something for her to restore.”

“How do we do that?” Summer asked.

Astral levitated a page out of her pillow case. It’s edges were rough where it had been torn out of a book. In its center was an illustration of an oval shaped silver gemstone on a black ribbon.

“It’s a void medallion,” Astral said. “I got this from a book in Ms. Starlight’s Dad’s library. It says Lord Void lived in Sire’s Hollow a really long time ago and had these made for his guard during the civil war. They were enchanted to steal all your fear so his soldiers wouldn’t be afraid to fight other equestrians. If we get one for my mom she can restore it!”

“Did you steal that?” Cotton hesitantly asked.

“Of course not,” Astral said “Starlight and I just borrowed it.” Cotton wasn’t so sure that was true.

“That was so long ago though. Haven’t they already found all the metalons?” Cotton asked. She was worried about where this was going.

“It’s medallions, not metalons, and that’s why this is perfect. They’re super old, but Lord Void made hundreds of them. There were enough for a whole army, so there has to be at least one left!” she answered. “The book says he made his final stand along the stream. If we follow it away from town we’ll find a void medallion for sure!”

“It’s a treasure hunt!” Summer Breeze squealed. The small teal pegasus flipped in the air. “Let’s go right now!”

“Wait!” Cotton interrupted. “We can’t just leave!”

“Why not?” Summer asked.

“We’re supposed to stay in the yard. We can’t sneak away,” Cotton said.

“Yes we can,” Astral said. “Peach Blossom isn’t supposed to be a tribalist bitch, but she is anyway. We have to do this. Don’t you care about my mom?”

“Of course I want to help your mom! It’s just, are you sure this plan is the right plan? If our parents find out we’ll be in so much trouble.” Cotton worried.

“My mom is in trouble right now! I’m going to help her,” Astral said. “If you were a good friend you’d follow me.” She stomped off. Summer Breeze shrugged at Cotton and flew after Astral.

A good filly followed directions, but a good filly was also loyal to her friends. Her directions were to stay in the backyard, and to look after her friends. What was she supposed to do when she couldn’t do both?

Astral Glow was one of the only things she had left. It was dangerous on the fringe of the settled zone. Celestia only knew what could be waiting for them out there in the darkness. She couldn’t let anything bad happen to Astral Glow. If she couldn’t make her friends stay where it was safe, she had to look out for them where they were going.

“Wait for me!”

Willow tall and strong,

Wary justified,

Open up your heart,

On friends you should rely,

Airing out the chaff,

Rooted deep inside,

Whip away the doubt,

On friends you should rely,

Quilted pounded on the front door of one of the town’s few two-story buildings. She shouted, “Help! Help! Officer open up!”

A sleepy Earth Pony opened the door. “Yes miss,” he mumbled. She wished the town was big enough to have a twenty-four hour police station, let alone a proper royal guard outpost. Instead there was only a small apartment on the upper floor where one of the newer officers lived.

“Officer, my daughter is missing! She was having a sleepover in the backyard with her friends, and now they're gone! You have to help me find them!”

The stallion let out a long sigh. “Ma’am, a missing pony report can only be filed after the pony has been missing for twenty-four hours.”

“She’s just a filly! You have to come quickly!”

“The policy is to wait twenty-four hours. She’s probably just playing a prank with her friends, just ignore her ma’am.”

“Don’t stand there and ma-am me! Find my daughter!”

“Police policy is to wait twenty-four hours. Now go back to bed,” he started to close the door.

“You’re supposed to serve and protect! Is that what you call this bullshit! My daughter’s life is in danger!”

“Police policy ma’am.”

“Do your bucking job!”

The door slammed shut.

“Eat a dick ass wipe!”

“Starlight Glimmer might be the most powerful pony in town.”

“Starlight Glimmer knew how to help you last time.”

“Starlight Glimmer could help you now.”

“You know you need to find Starlight Glimmer.”

The white unicorn ran.

Two sets of hooves and one pair of wings carried three fillies through the night. The unicorns splashed from rock to rock. The pegasus glided just above the water’s surface. While her friends searched for a void medallion, Cotton’s eyes constantly checked their surroundings. She knew first hoof what monsters lived in the dark.

Gradually, backyards turned into farmland. That farmland turned into forest, and the mare in the moon became the only other pony around for what seemed like miles.

“Astral, this is boring,” Summer whined.

“We can’t stop now. We’re so close,” Astral said. Cotton’s eyes never left the surrounding darkness.

“But, you don’t, like, know that. Not for real. I’m…”

“Get down!” Cotton snapped. She leapt at Astral, shoving her roughly into a bush. In front of them the stream pooled into a small pond. Perched on a branch above the water was a six foot tall black bird. It’s pure white eyes glinted in the moonlight.

“What is that?” Summer whispered. They didn’t answer her. Cotton saw it had hunched shoulders like a vulture, but vultures weren’t that tall or fat.

“Look,” Astral pointed to the water below the bird. There was a pile of something silver below the surface.

“Are those the thingies?” Summer asked. The blue unicorn went to step out of hiding, but Cotton put a hoof on her chest blocking her.

“Wait. Look!” A raccoon quietly slipped into the water on the opposite bank. It swam towards the glimmering treasure. Cotton held her breath. When the animal was directly below it, the bird moved.

It’s long beak suddenly lunged down and impaled the raccoon. Blood dripped down as the mammal screamed. The bird flicked it off and up into the air like an egret, then caught it again up where the beak met face. The critter shriveled up like a raisin as all the blood was sucked out of it. The empty furry husk was then tossed away, and the bird resumed waiting.

Cotton and Astral both teared up at the horrific site. Summer barfed into the stream. The retching noise reverberated around the clearing. Empty white eyes turned to stare directly into the pegasus. It smiled an empty wicked grin.

With a flash the bird was gone, and in its place was a white pegasus stallion. He had no cutie mark, and no eyes.

“Hello little pony. Lose something?” He asked in an empty voice. He took off towards them.

“RUN!” Cotton yelled. Summer let out a guttural scream and took off. Astral froze at the sight of the fake stallion moving towards her.

“Doesn’t pony want a shiny? I can help you. Come here!” the monster called.

“No!” Cotton cried. She quickly turned around and ran back behind Astral. Using both her hooves and her magic she physically shoved her friend into action.

The sky darkened around them. Thick black clouds moved in to hide the sky. Electricity crackled across the stallion’s wings and he transformed back into the black bird.

“On your left!” Cotton screamed as lightning struck where her friend had been just moments before. Sweat dripped off Cotton’s nose but she couldn’t stop. The wind roared in her ears as branches began to come down around her.

The world flashed blue in front of her as Astral caught a stick moments before it smacked her in the face. That was it. Astral redirected the branch to smack the fat bird in the head. Cotton reached for her own magic and flung rocks blindly behind her.

Rain started to pour down. The ground became slippery with mud. The stream roared full of white water. The two little unicorns ran faster than they had ever run in their lives. Thunder boomed around them shaking the forest. The fat bird cackled behind them, firmly centered in the eye of the enchanted storm.

They were almost back to town. They just had to make it a little farther. Her horn blazed as she desperately flung anything she could grab behind her. She didn’t dare turn her head to look. In front of her, Astral slipped.

The little blue unicorn skidded hard. Her magic weak, Cotton shoved her friend with her whole body. The other unicorn latched on and pulled her into a roll as a sharp beak stabbed into the ground where they had both been standing.

Thunder boomed as the bird struggled to pull itself out of the muck. The fillies scrambled to find footing in the pouring rain. It’s giant wings crawled with lightning and it lunged towards them again.

The small body of Summer Breeze shot down through the cloud cover. She intercepted the lightning arcing towards them and redirected it back at the monster with her wings, stunning it.

The two unicorns cheered but wasted no time helping each other up. They finally burst through the tree line into the farm field at the edge of town. Summer and the bird followed behind them.

Cotton continued to scream as lights in homes began to blink on. The rain began to stop as Summer flew counterclockwise around him. She was unwinding the storm!

“Take that you big bully!” Astral cried as she threw a fence picket at him with her field. It proved to be too much for the burnt out filly though, as she then collapsed in pain. The bird saw, and turning away from Summer, rushed in for the kill.

“No!” Cotton cried. She pushed her horn into a double corona and tried to levitate the massive bird itself.

Then the world exploded green.

Ms. Starlight Glimmer teleported right in front of her. The mare’s magic seized the monster in a sparkling bubble, silencing it as it thrashed against its prison. The air began to warm. Ms. Glimmer’s horn sparked, and she lit the bird on fire.

“Stay away from here!” She commanded, and she teleported the creature away.

“Are you girls okay?” She asked.

“Mom! Dad!” Summer called as her parents flew over the horizon. She crashed into them with a hug.

Cotton saw her own mother and Lemon Glow galloping over the horizon. She ran to her own mother crying and was met with open forelegs.

“I’m sorry!” She sobbed into white fur. “I’m so sorry mom! I, I just, I wanted to, I’m sorry!”

“I’m here Cotton,” She hushed. A gentle hoof ran through her mane. “I’ve got you! You’re okay! You’re okay.”

“It’s all my fault.” Astral Glow said solemnly. “This was my plan. I was angry and I pushed them both to follow me into danger. This is my fault.”

Starlight Glimmer stood off to the side while all four ponies cried. They were all interrupted by a loud squeal from Summer Breeze.

“I got my cutie mark!”

Quilted Comfort lay in bed hugging her daughter close to her chest. After that ordeal, she didn’t plan on letting her go or sleeping anytime soon.

“Mom, are you still awake?” Cotton Crater squeaked out of the darkness. Quilted hummed an affirmative.

“How did you and Ms. Starlight Glimmer find us?”

“When I banged down her door she jumped straight into action. She teleported everyone together, and then we saw the wild storm. It wasn’t on the weather schedule, so she guessed it was an Impundulu and teleported us close. She was right, and was able to locate the monster.”

“That was lucky.”

“It was.”

“Why would you go to Ms. Starlight Glimmer to help though? Isn’t she just a book pony?”

“She could be the most powerful pony in the world!”

“Starlight knows about everything!”

“She could solve any problem you have!”

“Starlight knows all the answers!”

“Something inside me just told me I needed her.”