Misunderstood

Dusk Shine was restlessly reading a book in the library. It wasn't that the topic of the book was too complicated, but rather that Dusk's mind was distracted by the excess of silence there.

Normally Dusk would be listening to Spike laugh occasionally while reading his comics next to him, or he would be laughing while Pinkie Pie sneaked into his house to hug him and tickle him, as had been customary that last month. However, for the past two days Pinkie Pie had been completely missing, telling him that she would be busy for two or three days.

When Pinkie Pie told Dusk that, he didn't worry, but now, he realized how alone he felt without his marefriend's caresses. And the worst thing was that Dusk had done the math and had realized that the month of dating Pinkie Pie was almost over.

“ Why does Pinkie want to be alone right now? Shouldn't we be taking advantage of these remaining days together?” Dusk thought, distracted from his reading. Feeling his stomach tighten at the thought that in a few days, he would stop being the tender and sweet Pinkie Pie's coltfriend.

'Knock Knock!' Dusk Shine was distracted from his thoughts when someone knocked on the door. Opening it, he was surprised to see his four friends there, all with tired or worried looks. Applejack had some stains on her face and hat of what appeared to be applesauce. Rarity had an annoyed look as she levitated something behind her. Rainbow Dash looked a little dizzy and had a few tree leaves in her mane. And Fluttershy seemed to have fallen asleep standing up.

“What happened to you?” Dusk asked immediately. Knowing from their looks that something bad had happened.

“What you see is caused by Pinkie Pie's 'surprise'.” Rainbow Dash responded, noticing that she had a leaf in her mane and brushing it off.

“'Pinkie Pie's Surprise'?” Dusk asked, confused.

“It's kind of hard to explain…” Applejack responded with an unsure look, scratching her head. “We don't want to ruin Pinkie Pie's surprise, so we can't explain the details.”

“That's why I brought this with me. Since a picture is worth a thousand words.” Rarity said, levitating in front of her a dress that, for some reason, was so poorly sewn that all of its seams were showing. A job obviously unworthy of an expert fashionista like Rarity. “Pinkie Pie came to my house with her 'surprise,' and it distracted me so much; this is the result!”

"Me too. I was practicing some stunts, and 'it' surprised me so much that I ended up crashing into some trees." Rainbow Dash added. Finishing shaking her head to throw away all the leaves that were still stuck in her mane.

“It’s not an exaggeration. That 'thing' is so loud, it made all the apples in the North orchard explode!” Applejack added. Touching the applesauce on her cheek and showing it to Dusk.

After the three mares spoke, they all looked at Fluttershy, but upon noticing that she was sleeping, Rainbow Dash touched her ribs with her hoof, and the yellow pegasus jumped awake.

"Uh!? Oh! Yes, I... I couldn't sleep well because Pinkie Pie played 'that thing' in the forest, just when the animals were going to take their nap.” Fluttershy said with a tired look, giving a small yawn. “So I spent hours awake at night, putting them to sleep again.”

After his four friends spoke, Dusk looked at them confused for a long moment and then simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I still don’t understand," Dusk said raising an eyebrow. “What is Pinkie Pie doing? And what do you mean by 'that thing'?”

Dusk's friends looked at each other with worried looks, and they all looked away, remaining silent. As if none of them wanted to be the first to speak.

“It's just like Applejack said, dear. “We don’t want to ruin Pinkie Pie’s surprise.” Rarity finally said, looking worriedly at Dusk. “But we thought maybe it's best for you to see for yourself what Pinkie Pie is up to. Otherwise, when she shows you her… 'surprise', you might be too shocked… in the bad sense of the word.”

“We know Pinkie Pie wants to do something nice for you. But maybe what is nice for her, is not nice for others.” Fluttershy added, very worried. “We're scared that all the effort she's putting into your surprise will end up being a disaster.”

Still not fully understanding what his friends were referring to, but understanding that he had to respond correctly to their concern, Dusk accompanied his friends so that they could all go see Pinkie Pie together. It seemed that the pink pony had moved to the forest that surrounded Fluttershy's cottage, after being chased from everywhere in the town. Once they entered the grove, Dusk raised his ears worriedly when he heard a strange noise in the distance. One that he couldn't identify.

"What's that? Is it a moan? Are there any injured animals nearby?” Dusk asked worried. Accelerating the pace to help the poor injured animal. Not realizing that if it had really been a wounded animal, Fluttershy would have immediately rushed to its aid. But instead, she looked away, with a look of concern and pity.

After running a little, listening in fear as that horrible noise grew louder, Dusk stopped short when he reached the place where the injured animal must be. However, to his surprise, what he saw there was only his marefriend, carrying with her what seemed to be a huge cloth bag, with several wooden tubes of different sizes coming out of it.

“Dusk! What are you doing here!?" Pinkie Pie asked very surprised. Trying to hide behind her the strange instrument that had been making all that noise. But since it was so big, trying to hide it was in vain.

"I... I was just walking around here with the girls..." Dusk said confused. Looking back and seeing that his friends had stayed behind, watching from afar, hidden behind some trees. However, after Dusk revealed their position, the four mares sighed in resignation and also approached. “Pinkie, what is that?” Dusk asked, looking back at his marefriend and pointing the huge bag with tubes behind her.

“Oh, this! It was supposed to be a surprise, but... It doesn't matter! After all, I couldn't hold on anymore! I wanted to show it to you!!” Pinkie Pie answered with a big smile. Showing Dusk the strange instrument behind her. “This is a yovidaphone, my friends from Yakyakistan sent it to me as a gift.”

“Yovidaphone?” Dusk asked confused, since he had never heard that name, nor did it give him any clue as to what that was. Until he realized something even more surprising. “Wait… You have friends in Yakyakistan!?”

"Of course! Remember the yaks that were at Cadance and Shining Armor's wedding? They were very funny, and I wanted to know more about them, so I sent them letters every day.” Pinkie Pie answered smiling. “Yakyakistan is very far away, but they finally responded to me a few days ago and sent me this cool musical instrument as a gift.”

“Is… Is that a musical instrument?” Dusk asked, very surprised.

“Yep, I have been practicing all these days. That's why I was busy in the afternoons. I wanted to practice to improve as soon as possible!” Pinkie Pie responded, smiling and hugging her new favorite musical instrument. “Just now, I was fine-tuning it a little.”

"Oh… That's good. For a second, I thought that was what that instrument normally sounded like, hehe.” Dusk laughed in relief.

"Of course not. When I play a song, it sounds so much better.” Pinkie Pie said, with a look full of pride. “Not to brag, but I think I've gotten pretty good at playing the yovidaphone. Maybe I have a gift and I didn't know it until now!”

“So, this was the surprise you had for me… Well then, let's listen to a song!” Dusk said smiling, sitting on the grass in front of Pinkie Pie. Without noticing that their friends were next to him, they became tense upon hearing Dusk's proposal.

“Uh... well... It's true that this was a surprise, but it's only part of the surprise. I still have several things left to finish the great surprise I have prepared for you.” Pinkie Pie answered, blushing and looking lovingly at Dusk. "But it's okay! I'll show you a little preview, but remember, it's not finished yet, my final surprise gift will be much bigger and better than this!" Pinkie added excitedly, with a big smile.

Pinkie Pie got into position. Standing on two legs, holding the enormous yovidaphone under one of her front hooves, and putting her mouth on one of the thinnest tubes of that instrument, which was the mouthpiece through which she had to blow. For his part, Dusk smiled excitedly, thinking about how interesting it would be to listen to a recital of a foreign instrument, even more so if his marefriend was a virtuoso, as she herself had said. Meanwhile, Dusk's other friends sat next to the stallion with resigned looks, and as soon as they did so, each of them took out two cotton balls that they had brought with them, and put them in their ears, to prevent their eardrums burst at what they knew they were about to hear.

For the next five minutes Dusk had to maintain a huge, forced smile while clenching his teeth tightly, as a reflection of the horrible noise he was hearing. As soon as Pinkie Pie started playing that exotic instrument, Dusk finally understood the reason for his friends' fuss. When Pinkie blew into the yovidaphone, the huge cloth bag inflated and the large wooden tubes released a unique noise, which sounded like the snoring of a dying chimera that had gotten a bone stuck in its throat and was screaming for help... No, even that sound would have been more pleasant.

"So? What do you think about it?" Pinkie Pie finally asked, after finishing her little concert.

"Uh... Yeah... It's... It's unique, hehe..." Dusk smiled. Who had clenched his teeth so hard that now it was difficult for him to stop smiling with that exaggerated smile he had.

"Yeah!! I knew that you would like!" Pinkie Pie said, her eyes shining with excitement. Jumping up to hug Dusk. While he was still struggling to unlock his tense jaw. Regretting not being able to tell his marefriend the truth, that listening to her yovidaphone concert had been one of the greatest tortures he had experienced in his life. But telling the truth was not an option. Less so after seeing Pinkie Pie's vibrant excited smile.

“You know darling, something occurred to me.” Rarity said looking at Pinkie. Subtly removing the cotton from her ears, just like her friends. “How can you know if you are playing that instrument well? After all, it’s typical of Yakyakistan, and I haven't heard of any pony playing it before.”

“I know I'm playing it right, because I feel very happy playing it.” Pinkie Pie replied, smiling, without a hint of doubt. “Besides, if my coltfriend likes it, that's enough for me.” Pinkie added, hugging Dusk tightly again.

“Yaaay…” Dusk feigned excitement, forcing a smile. Feeling that even though his ears were bleeding, he didn’t want to destroy the illusion of his dear marefriend.

“Although, now that you mention it, I was thinking of asking some yak musician to give me some advice on how to play the yovidaphone even better.” Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful look.

“Do you plan to take correspondence classes?” Dusk asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, silly. I’ll ask when I’m there in Yakyakistan.” Pinkie Pie answered smiling. An answer that left a long silence in the air, as everyone remained silent, believing that they had heard wrong.

“Do you want to go to Yakyakistan?” Dusk asked confused.

“Not only me, 'We' will go to Yakyakistan.” Pinkie Pie answered smiling. “At the wedding, Prince Rutherford invited me to the Yickslurbertfest .”

“The Yik-lurg-what?” Rainbow Dash asked, trying to repeat the tongue twister her friend had said.

“The Yickslurbertfest. It’s one of the most important festivals of the yaks.” Pinkie Pie corrected. “When I was chatting with the yak prince, he said that the Yickslurbertfest is better than any pony party and that I could attend so I could see it with my own eyes. I marked it on my calendar weeks ago!” Pinkie added, pulling out a paper calendar from nowhere, where she had marked tomorrow in giant letters.

“Pinkie… Yakyakistan is far away, beyond the northern border of Equestria!” Dusk said worried.

“I know, but I already promised I would go. And I always keep my promises.” Pinkie responded, marking a cross with her hoof on her chest.

For a few seconds, Dusk looked thoughtful.

“If the yak prince himself invited you, I guess you can't despise his invitation. Even more, knowing the effort that Princess Celestia is putting into creating new alliances with other kingdoms.” Dusk said after thinking a little. “Also, Cadance and Shining must be there right now… Maybe we could take the opportunity to greet them too.”

“So, is that a yes?” Pinkie asked with a look full of emotion. Looking very closely, face to face, at Dusk.

"Yes." Dusk responded. Happy to see the pretty face full of emotion of his marefriend. He couldn't help but laugh a little when he saw that Pinkie Pie began to jump with excitement.

“It's very cold in the North. You should dress warmly so as not to catch a cold.” Applejack said with a thoughtful look.

“Don’t be silly, you’ll go too.” Pinkie Pie said smiling. “Did you not hear what I said? I said 'WE’ will go to Yakyakistan'.” Pinkie Pie added, pointing at all her friends and Dusk. "It’ll be very fun! It’s been a long time since the six of us went on a trip together.”

Pinkie Pie's friends looked at each other with uncertain looks.

"Uhm... Wouldn't you rather go just you and Dusk?" Fluttershy asked with a shy look.

“After all, it's almost time for both of them to end their courtship…” Pinkie Pie's four friends thought worriedly. Without wanting to say that out loud.

“Nah-ah! I want my new friends from Yakyakistan to meet my best friends!” Pinkie Pie answered smiling. “After all, it's not just Dusk that is important in my life.” Pinkie Pie added with a cuter smile. Guessing what her friends must be thinking and thanking them for their concern.

“I also think it's a great idea for us all to go together.” Dusk said, standing next to his marefriend and smiling at his friends.

Seeing that the couple genuinely wanted to share this trip with all of them, finally the four mares sighed and smiled, accepting the invitation. With Applejack and Rainbow Dash starting to get excited as they imagined how cool it would be to travel so far north, while Fluttershy calmed down Rarity, as the white unicorn started to get nervous thinking that she would only have one day to prepare her luggage.

“It's always more fun when we're all together.” Pinkie Pie said, taking advantage of the fact that her friends were distracted to whisper in Dusk's ear. “But even if we are all together, my surprise will be only for you.” Pinkie Pie added, giving Dusk a quick kiss on the cheek. Which made Dusk blush, thinking about what kind of surprise gift his cute and loving marefriend was preparing.

Since Yakyakistan was outside the borders of Equestria, there was no train that went directly there, so Dusk thought the best option would be to travel by balloon. To do this, he had to talk to Cherry Berry, a mare with pink fur and blonde mane, who owned a small hot air balloon in Ponyville.

“Do you want to go to Yakyakistan!? Hmm… In theory, the balloon should support, but it has never made a trip there.” Cherry Berry said after Dusk told her his destination, while he paid the balloon rental and his friends began to board.

“But you have a travel service to Griffonstone, the distance is almost the same.” Dusk said raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, but the distance is not the problem, but the storms from the north.” Cherry Berry responded with a thoughtful look. “Before reaching Yakyakistan, you must pass the 'Northern Storm'. It’s an area that is always subject to storms at all times of the year. Additionally, the Cloudsdale pegasi sent out a cautionary notice months ago, because the storm has intensified for some reason in recent months, and has not subsided.”

After thinking for a few seconds, Cherry Berry counted the passengers and everyone's luggage.

“Six passengers… I guess you’ll be fine if you fly at maximum altitude, so as not to run into the storm.” Cherry Berry finally said, knowing that the famous 'Northern Storm' had the peculiarity of being present at ground level and not at high altitudes. “You'll be fine, as long as you travel LIGHT.” Cherry Berry added a little annoyed, pointing towards Rarity. Who was struggling to try to fit four huge travel suitcases into the balloon basket.

After convincing Rarity to carry only a small suitcase, which was not easy, the six ponies finally raised the hot air balloon and headed north. With Dusk Shine handling the balloon's flame, following the instructions given by Cherry Berry to fly to the maximum height the small balloon could.

“It's a long journey. What would you like to do?” Applejack asked as the balloon moved away from Ponyville.

"I know! Let’s play ‘Twenty Million Questions’!” Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly. “I always play that with Gummy on long trips. You guys have to ask twenty million questions and guess what I'm thinking about.”

“Uh… Twenty million questions isn't too much?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, if you guess less, you win.” Pinkie Pie said smiling.

Since entertainment options were limited in the small space of the balloon basket, everyone agreed to play with Pinkie. Asking random questions to try to piece together little by little whatever Pinkie Pie had chosen as a concept. Ten, fifty, one hundred, five hundred... The night slowly fell as the initial spirit of the game began to fade when they saw that after endless questions, they still couldn't guess what Pinkie Pie was thinking.

"Enough! What is the concept!?" Rainbow Dash yelled in frustration.

“Oh… But we're only going on question one thousand seven hundred and forty-three.” Pinkie Pie said with a pouty face. But seeing that everyone had tired faces, Pinkie Pie decided to listen to her friend. “Okay... It was easy. What I was thinking about... It was a Koosalagoopagoop!”

"A what!?" Rarity asked confused. “That thing doesn't exist.”

“Of course it exists! It’s an imaginary friend that I created.” Pinkie Pie said full of pride. “It’s a chubby, yellow dragon, with a big heart on its chest, which shines if you hug it. Wear glasses, and-”

“Imaginary friends are not real!” Rainbow Dash interrupted in annoyance. Realizing that they had wasted hours trying to guess something that only existed in their friend's crazy imagination.

“Imaginary friends are real. Although… I guess if you couldn't see it, you couldn't guess what it was…” Pinkie Pie said, looking away with a thoughtful look. “So... Do you guys want to play another round?”

"No!" The other five ponies shouted in fear at the same time.

"I think it's best to get some sleep, since it's already night, hehe." Dusk added with a nervous chuckle. Seeing as although everyone loved Pinkie Pie, it was sometimes difficult to share her games.

“Oh! Does everyone want to sleep? Then I have the perfect recipe to help you!” Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile. Then she looked for something in her travel bag and showed it to her friends. “I'll play you a lullaby!” Pinkie Pie said, while her friends looked in horror that her friend had brought her yovidaphone with her.

Pinkie Pie's friends quickly looked around with horror and realized that none of them had brought their earplugs with them. Resigned, the five ponies put on tight smiles as they watched Pinkie Pie begin her yovidaphone concert. Testing the resistance of the eardrums of everyone present, with an infernal noise that was far from being a sweet lullaby.

Seeing that the song seemed to never end, Dusk looked at all his friends. They were all doing their best to endure the noise of the yovidaphone, all because they didn't want to hurt the feelings of Pinkie Pie, who enjoyed playing that instrument so much. However, Dusk began to question how good it was to make Pinkie believe a lie? She was horrible playing that instrument. And while Dusk looked at his friends, his eyes focused on his ex-marefriend, the honest Applejack, who just at that moment also looked at Dusk. The stallion understood that his honest friend couldn't take it anymore and wanted to tell Pinkie the truth, but Dusk was her coltfriend, and he knew that if anyone would hurt Pinkie, it should be him.

“Pinkie… Pinkie! Stop!" Dusk shouted, to make his voice heard above Pinkie's noise.

"Uh? But the lullaby doesn't end until everyone is asleep.” Pinkie Pie said confused, stopping her concert.

“Pinkie, I… I’m sorry, I lied to you.” Dusk said with a saddened look, then putting on a more serious look, so that Pinkie wouldn't misunderstand what he was going to say. "The truth is that I don't like the yovidaphone. I... I think it's too noisy."

"Noisy? But in Yakyakistan the yak babies fall asleep to yovidophone music.” Pinkie Pie said confused. Looking at everyone around her, who only remained in a dead silence.

Pinkie Pie looked at Dusk in surprise, then looked at the yovidaphone for a long time. She opened her eyes in surprise as she discovered the truth. Pinkie looked at all her friends and realized that they all looked away, very embarrassed.

“It's not the yovidaphone... Is it me? Don't you like how I play the yovidaphone?” Pinkie Pie asked confused.

“Well… We have no point of comparison, since we don't know how someone who does know how to play that instrument well plays.” Rarity said with a worried look. Immediately covering her mouth as she discovered that she had inadvertently confirmed what Pinkie Pie feared.

“Oh…” Pinkie Pie said in surprise. Lowering her head and staring blankly down.

“You're good at other things, Pinkie. You don’t have to worry about not knowing how to play a silly foreign instrument well.” Rainbow Dash said, trying to cheer up her friend.

"That's right! You're good at throwing parties, baking cakes, being a great friend…” Fluttershy said with a small smile. “We've even seen you play ten instruments at once.”

“But playing the yovidaphone… It's definitely not your forte.” Applejack added, finishing Fluttershy's idea.

“Please don't feel bad.” Dusk said, looking worried at his marefriend.

"What? Why would I feel bad?” Pinkie Pie said surprised, smiling again. “What you say is true, I am good at many other things. It's impossible for her to be good at everything, hehe. You should have told me before I brought this on the trip.” Pinkie Pie laughed, shrugging her shoulders and tossing the yovidaphone out of the balloon.

Dusk was surprised by Pinkie Pie's gesture and rushed to the edge of the balloon, but in the middle of the night, Dusk couldn't see where Pinkie's instrument fell.

“Dusk, it doesn't matter. It’s just a musical instrument, it’s not as valuable as my friends’ happiness.” Pinkie Pie said smiling, approaching Dusk and looking at him lovingly. “I prefer to have a trip with all my friends and for them all to be happy, that's what really matters! Thanks for telling me the truth!" Pinkie Pie added, smiling at her friends.

Seeing that Pinkie took the criticism they gave her in a very good way, everyone sighed in relief and smiled. They even joked a little about how tense they thought everything might have gotten. Jokes that Pinkie Pie herself continued, joking about her poor interpretation of the yovidaphone, causing laughter among her friends.

"Hehe! Well, I guess now that that annoying noise is gone, now we can sleep.” Pinkie Pie said smiling. Starting to settle down to get some sleep. Same action as the other mares, who were also tired at that point in the night. The only one who remained standing was Dusk Shine, who stared strangely at Pinkie Pie while she slept with her back to him.

"Is Pinkie really okay?"Dusk Shine thought confused.

Pinkie Pie's smile seemed the same as always, and none of her friends had noticed anything strange. They had known Pinkie Pie longer; why would he notice anything different if they didn't? With that thought, Dusk decided not to immediately approach Pinkie Pie and wait until the next day to chat with her, without realizing that his suspicions were correct. Throughout that month, Dusk had seen day after day, face to face, all of Pinkie Pie's smiles. Without realizing it, he was now the greatest expert in detecting the very subtle change of mood in the pony who knew best how to hide her emotions in Equestria. And although everything seemed fine, and Pinkie Pie's smile seemed perfect, his coltfriend's sixth sense couldn't let him be completely calm.

After a long journey, the six ponies finally passed the northern border of Equestria the next morning. With the rays of dawn, the ponies could see the entrance to Yakyakistan in the distance. Large wooden walls that completely surrounded the yak village. And at the entrance, two large wooden statues of two yaks, standing on two legs, each holding a shield and a large burning torch.

“Wow… I must admit, the entrance is impressive.” Rainbow Dash said as they approached Yakyakistan and saw more clearly how huge those statues and walls were.

“I think it would be best to land the balloon on the outskirts of town.” Dusk said, controlling the fire of the balloon to begin to descend. “Since we are foreigners, it would be best to wait for them to open the doors of the town to us.”

“You could land near that tent.” Pinkie Pie said, pointing towards a large tent that was just outside the large wooden doors.

Dusk was surprised to see that that tent looked very similar to the camping tents that ponies normally used. And following his curiosity, he followed Pinkie Pie's idea and landed right there.

Upon landing, two ponies immediately came out of the tent. Surprised to see a balloon landing there, and even more so to see who were those who came inside the balloon.

“Dusk!?” Shining Armor asked, stepping out from the tent next to Cadance.

“Shining!” Dusk said surprised and excited. Since for a moment he almost forgot that his brother and sister-in-law would also be there.

The two brothers of the Sparkle family hurried to come over and greet each other. Excited to see each other in that remote place. However, as soon as they were just two steps away from each other, they both stopped and looked away in embarrassment.

They had both rushed to greet their brother with a hug. After all, after settling their problems at the wedding, they both knew they had become closer. However, so many years of not showing affection to each other in public made them both still feel ashamed and avoid hugging, even though deep down they did want it.

“Huff…! You already made peace, now you have to make up for lost time.” Cadance said approaching them both and using her magic so that both brothers touched and hugged each other.

Both brothers were surprised to be forced to hug each other, then they both looked at each other, blushed and laughed at how clumsy they both were at expressing their affection. Hugging this time of their own free will.

“It's good to see you, Dusk.” Shining said smiling, after hugging his brother.

“I'm glad to see you too. To both of you." Dusk said smiling, turning to see Cadance. Then he couldn't help but see the tent where Cadance and Shining had come out from. “Were you sleeping in that tent!?” Dusk asked almost horrified, because Cadance was a princess, and in no way was it dignified for someone of her rank to sleep in those conditions.

“Yes, but it's more comfortable than you imagine.” Cadance responded with a smile. Guessing what Dusk must be thinking.

“I didn't want Cadance to sleep in a place like that, but the truth is that we had no other option.” Shining added, averting his gaze with a mix of annoyance and fear. “The negotiations with the yaks… have not turned out as we expected.”

Dusk looked at the huge wooden doors that blocked access to the town of Yakyakistan, and then looked back at his brother.

“Have the yaks not allowed you to enter? I thought that after the wedding, they had agreed to make treaties with Equestria.” Dusk said confused.

“Yeah... But after we got here, everything got complicated.” Shining replied, scratching his head uncomfortably. “A few days ago, Cadance, Sunset and I arrived to pay our respects to the Prince of the Yaks…”

“Sunset?” Dusk Shine asked, closing one painful eye, as if he had had a fleeting migraine. “She… Miss Sunset Glimmer? Cadance’s student?” Dusk asked slowly, as if he was having trouble remembering the figure of that hooded mare he met at his brother's wedding.

That didn’t go unnoticed by Cadance and the other mares, who gave scared looks, since they knew the truth behind Dusk's strange attitude. For his part, only then did Shining look surprised, as he almost forgot that, from what his wife told him, Dusk shouldn’t remember Sunset Shimmer under any circumstances.

“Uh… Yeah… Sunset Glimmer… Anyway!” Shining said awkwardly, trying to quickly continue with his story so that Dusk would forget that he had just named Sunset. “Finally, the three of us presented several gifts to Prince Rutherford, but he didn’t seem to appreciate them, as he didn't even react when receiving them. So... Cadance's student thought it would be best to show our respect by doing the ‘traditional yak greeting’, which she studied in an old book. This consisted of making two strong stomps on the ground before greeting the royalty. However, Cadance's student didn’t know that after the ceremonial stomp, they had to 'clash horns' and that when the prince launched himself at Sunset to perform the clash of horns, she thought she was being attacked and threw the prince into the air.”

“She threw away a royal from another kingdom with magic!?” Dusk asked very surprised. “No wonder the prince was angry.”

“Actually, that's not why he got angry…” Shining said sadly. “After Cadance's student threw the prince away, we got scared and asked Sunset to leave the yak village before everything was ruined. So, we ran to ask the prince for forgiveness. But the prince was not bothered by being thrown out. Apparently, since Sunset didn't have horns, the prince dismissed that as a yak greeting, and thought it was a normal pony greeting. But finally he did get angry, when he didn't see Cadance's student there! She fled so quickly, following my orders, that the prince thought she left without saying goodbye, and apparently, that is a great insult to the yaks.”

“Was he angry about that and not about being thrown into the air?” Dusk asked very confused.

“The personality of yaks is… quite special.” Cadance said with a weak nervous smile.

“After Cadance's student left, the prince didn't speak to us for days, and said he would only speak to us after the festivities.” Shining added, continuing with his story. “All those days, the prince didn’t speak to us, but at least we were still inside the town. However, the worst happened two days ago, when the yak festival began. They stomped so hard and played music so loud, that they finally caused an avalanche to fall on them, covering the entire town with snow.”

“So… the town is destroyed?” Dusk asked even more confused, since the walls of the town looked intact.

Cadance and Shining looked at each other with worried looks, and moved closer to Dusk, speaking to him in a whisper so that their conversation could only be heard by Dusk and his friends.

“When everything was covered in snow, we offered to help the prince and his yaks, but he refused.” Shining continued speaking, at a very low volume. “Finally, when Cadance saw the little yaks moaning from the cold and hunger, she got upset. Cadance went to insist that the prince receive our help, and when the prince continued to refuse, Cadance told him that he was a bad leader and stubborn.”

“I was very upset, and the prince was too.” Cadance added with a regretful look. “So he ordered us to leave and said… that if all the pony princesses were like me, then not only would the yaks not make treaties with the ponies, but… they would go to war, for insulting them.”

“The yaks… Will they go to war against Equestria!?” Dusk and his friends shouted. Totally surprised, unable to believe what they had just heard.

“I was supposed to come to form an alliance, and now, instead, I made a kingdom declare war on us…” Cadance said, on the verge of tears. While Shining approached her and hugged her.

While his astonishment passed, Dusk looked out of the corner of his eye at the walls of the yak kingdom, which were in perfect condition, and even smoke could be seen and laughter could be heard from behind them.

“Wait… Something doesn't fit.” Dusk said with a insightful look, raising an eyebrow. “If there was so much snow to make Cadance fear for the well-being of the yaks, how come the yaks seem to be okay within their walls?”

“That's because I helped them without them realizing it.” Cadance whispered, looking seriously at Dusk.

"What!?" Dusk thought, believing he had heard wrong.

“Yesterday, Cadance and I decided that the little yaks didn't deserve to spend their festival frozen just because of the prince's stubbornness.” Shining said whispering, with a firm look. “So we sneaked in at night and melted all the snow with our magic. We even fixed up their huts… It was lucky that yaks are such heavy sleepers.”

“But… That was just what the prince didn't want you to do!” Dusk said scared, almost in a scream. Until Shining and Cadance rushed to cover his mouth.

“That's why we're whispering!” Shining said annoyed, with a gasp muffled in a whisper.

“Never let your sense of moral prevent you from doing what is right.” Cadance said seriously, with an astute phrase, precise for the occasion.

“Although the yaks are fine now, they cannot know that we help. And the worst thing is that he still doesn't want to talk to us, and today the festival ends!” Shining said scared, speaking normally again. “If we don't solve this today, Equestria will go to war!”

Both Dusk and his friends remained in complete silence, with scared looks. If Shining and Cadance were scared, it meant that the situation was really very serious. What could they do to help? Dusk began to think scared, while a tense silence was suspended in the air.

“Hohoho!” A deep voice burst into laughter near where the ponies were, breaking the seriousness of the moment. Then all the ponies turned and opened their eyes in surprise when they saw that the gates of Yakyakistan had opened. And at the entrance, there was a big, furry yak laughing out loud next to Pinkie Pie. None of the other ponies had noticed the pink pony's absence, and much less did any of them imagine that Pinkie Pie would get the doors of the yak kingdom to open so easily.

“Pinkie… H-How did you get the doors to open?” Dusk asked, approaching Pinkie Pie with a shocked face. Almost as amazed as Shining Armor, who was almost shocked to see Pinkie laughing next to a yak.

“I just knocked on the door.” Pinkie Pie responded with a shrug. “When I knocked, I saw that the guard was Yojan. I met him at Cadance's wedding, he was one of the guards accompanying the prince.”

“Why all that noise!?” A loud voice suddenly said from behind the wall.

The large wooden doors opened completely, revealing another yak, which Dusk could recognize from Shining and Cadance's wedding, since that yak had more gold decorations than any other yak, and his voice was very imposing. He was Prince Rutherford, leader of the yaks.

“Pink pony! What joy to see you again!" The prince said, approaching Pinkie and smiling at her. “What do here?”

“You invited me! At the wedding, you said I was welcome to the Yickslurbertfest.” Pinkie Pie said with a big smile.

For several seconds, Prince Rutherford was silent. Probably with a thoughtful look as he tried to remember. But it was hard to tell, since he, like most yaks, had their faces almost completely hidden under their long coats.

“Of course I not forget! Yaks never forget!” Rutherford said, feigning indignation, because the truth was that he didn't remember that. But obviously, he wouldn't admit it to others.

“I know you only invited me, but I was hoping you could accept my friends with me.” Pinkie Pie said with a shy smile, pointing towards the other ponies.

“Hmpf! If you are friends with pink pony, then fine.” The yak prince said, with a small snort. Until he turned to see Cadance and Shining. “But not the two of them. Princess pony and white pony offended yaks. They can not get in.”

Shining Armor opened his mouth to say something, however, Cadance touched his side to make him stop. She didn't want to further ruin the trouble caused with the yaks. Furthermore, now, thanks to Pinkie Pie, there was a small glimmer of hope, and to do so, they only had to trust Dusk Shine and her friends.

“We’re sorry for offending you, prince. We’ll accept your decision and we’ll wait here.” Cadance said solemnly. To which Rutherford simply responded with a small, annoyed snort.

The prince motioned for Pinkie to follow him, and she, Dusk and her friends walked through the town gates.

“Dusk, you must be careful. Yaks have strange habits, and they’re very sensitive, although they may not seem like it.” Shining whispered quickly into his brother's ear, before they separated.

“Don't worry, we’ll solve this problem.” Dusk whispered, looking askance at his brother with a big smile.

After Dusk and his friends passed through the doors, the yak guards began to slowly close the doors again. While Shining watched his brother walk away, having a worried look when he saw him. For a second, remembering that day when he accompanied Dusk to his first day of school, and also left him alone, without help... for years.

“No more... I’ll not leave you alone again, nor will I let you carry the entire weight of Equestria alone.”Shining thought worriedly, putting on a serious look. “I have to find a way in and make sure everything will be okay.” Shining thought, feeling that solving a possible war was too much responsibility for his little brother.

For their part, Dusk and her friends saw the town of Yakyakistan with great interest, since they had never known a Yak town. All the huts seemed to be very simple, made of mud, with thatched roofs. In addition, there were several torches everywhere, while the ground was divided between wet earth and snow. In the ponies' opinion, it didn't look very comfortable, but the yaks didn't seem to mind, as they all looked smiling beneath their fur-hidden faces.

“Prince Rutherford… Is… Is it true that you are going to war against Equestria?” Pinkie Pie asked worriedly, as she and her friends walked deeper into the town.

“Hmpf! That happen because pony princess offended yaks and me. I am not stubborn! And not need her help! She insists that I have to ask for help, but the problem solved itself. Now ponies have to pay the consequences of have an insolent princess.” Rutherford responded annoyed. Until he saw Pinkie Pie's worried look and gave her a gentle nudge. “But pink pony not worry. Yaks no attack friends.”

At Rutherford's display of affection, Pinkie simply put on a weak, insecure smile. After all, what was the point of the yaks not attacking her if they were attacking all the other ponies? Meanwhile, Dusk and the other ponies gave scared looks when they heard from the prince's own mouth that he was willing to go to war.

“Here we have a space.” Rutherford said, once they arrived at an area where there were several huts. “Here yaks can build a house for pink pony and her friends. Yaks are very good and to build huts!” The yak prince added proudly. Until he looked askance at Dusk and paused briefly. “Or perhaps, ponies like sleep in their own tent better.”

“I… I think a tent would be best. After all, we don’t want to be a bother.” Dusk responded, bowing his head solemnly. Thinking that the best option was to be humble and not make the yaks work too much.

As soon as she heard that Dusk was choosing to sleep in a tent instead of a hut, she motioned with her hooves from behind the yak prince, for him to stop talking. Unfortunately, too late to stop Dusk's response.

“That no bother yaks! Ponies always offend yaks!” Rutherford replied annoyed. Making a big snort and continuing with his walk in a very bad mood. Leaving Dusk Shine and his friends very confused.

“You can't refuse something a yak offers you.” Pinkie Pie said, whispering to Dusk and her friends. “They don't mind working, as long as they do things well. They offered us to build a hut, and you didn't accept it, it's as if you had despised them!”

"He... He was testing us..." Dusk thought with a surprised look. "It seems that this diplomacy thing will be more complicated than I thought..."

The ponies hurried to follow Rutherford, and thanks to Pinkie's great social skills, the prince's bad mood quickly passed, and he continued showing the town to his pink friend and her annoying companions. So it was that they came to a place full of logs, where, for some reason, several yaks trampled and broke them with their hooves and heads.

“This is place of stomping. Here yaks gather to trample things.” Rutherford said, taking the opportunity to take a thick log with his hoof, and breaking it with one blow with his head.

“Oh… I love breaking things too!” Pinkie Pie said. Seeing a small branch that was on the ground and starting to trample on it.

For a second, Dusk could have sworn that the prince smiled briefly, but he wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that Rutherford was now staring at him. Despite not seeing his eyes, covered by his fur, Dusk still felt the prince's penetrating gaze that was once again testing him. It wasn't necessary for him to say anything, Dusk understood perfectly what he was demanding with his gaze. The prince wanted him to give his opinion on his most sacred tradition, stomping.

“Wow… It's amazing to see how strong yaks are when breaking things.” Dusk said, exaggerating his astonishment. Until he realized that praising the strength of yaks could show that ponies are less physically strong, and further encourage them to go to war. “M-My friend Applejack is also very good at hitting things! She’s capable of shaking huge apple trees with just the power of her hind hooves.” Dusk added nervously, trying to change the subject.

"Oh! Yeah, I’m always hitting apple trees and kicking things.” Applejack added, looking away nervously, as she was stretching the truth a bit. “It's exhausting, but it's part of my job.”

“Hmpf! For yaks it not exhausting. For yaks is relaxing to break things!” Rutherford shouted angrily, looking away and walking again. Causing Pinkie Pie to go after him again to calm his bad mood. While Applejack and the others were left with tired looks, since it seemed that they would never understand yaks.

Next on the tour, Rutherford took them to a big bonfire. Where some yaks were gathered around telling stories.

“...And this is how our great town was founded, between these two great mountains. Between the 'Two horns' and the 'Spitfire', which over the years, changed their names.” An old yak finished telling a story, pointing to the two mountains that were at opposite ends of Yakyakistan.

“Well done, Tormand. You tell with great emotion the history of our town.” Rutherford said, applauding as did the other yaks and the ponies, who decided to simply imitate everything the prince did. Then Rutherford looked at Dusk again, waiting for his reaction.

“It was… A very good story.” Dusk said. Deciding that it would be best not to elaborate, so as not to ruin it by saying something unnecessary.

“Yeah, very good.”

“Fabulous.”

"Brilliant."

Dusk's friends responded. All following the lavender stallion's strategy of few words. Meanwhile, Rutherford stared at them for a long time in silence, until he finally exploded.

“No enough words! You must say how you feel! No just saying is good! Hmpf!” Rutherford growled. Again turning around to continue on his way. While the ponies stood stunned, not knowing what to do so that the prince wouldn't tell them that they were doing something wrong.

After calming Rutehrford with a joke, Pinkie Pie again managed to calm the explosive yak prince, and the next stop was a large hut where three yaks were preparing large cakes that other yaks devoured almost instantly after they were served.

“This is traditional yak cake… Taste it!” Rutherford ordered, looking at the ponies.

Instantly, Pinkie Pie comically opened her mouth and devoured the cake in one bite, while the other ponies tried to do the same, without being so successful at being able to devour it so quickly.

"MMM! It was delicious!" Pinkie Pie said, running her tongue through her mouth. “I think I detected a hint of vanilla, right?” Pinkie Pie added with a thoughtful look. Such an expert pastry chef, she recognized that important ingredient immediately.

“That right, pink pony.” Rutherford responded pleased. “These lands are too cold to grow vanilla, so once a year yaks travel south in search of vanilla.”

“Oh! In Equestria there are many ponies who grow vanilla and other spices.” Dusk said, opening his eyes cunningly. “If instead of a war, a trade treaty were agreed upon, ponies could-”

“No treaty with ponies! Yaks go to war!” Rutherford interrupted, annoyed. “You want to deceive me! But I be very smart to know what you plan. Ponies don’t understand anything about yaks. Ponies can never be friends with yaks!”

After shouting at Dusk, Rutehrford turned around and walked away again. Followed by Pinkie Pie, who quickly followed him to once again improve the prince's mood. For his part, Dusk stood still, with a sad look, realizing how foolish he was to believe that he could deceive Prince Rutherford.

"Maybe he's right... We’re very different... We could never understand each other, much less be friends..." Dusk murmured with a serious look of concern.

"Dusk, don't give up... There must be something we can do." Fluttershy said, approaching Dusk to comfort him. “A war… That is something so horrible that I don't even want to imagine it!” Fluttershy added scared.

“Yeah, take it easy.” Rainbow Dash added, smiling confidently. “There must be some way for that hardhead Rutherford to understand that we do understand them.”

For several seconds, Dusk looked thoughtful. Until finally he came up with an idea to show the prince that they could understand them. After explaining his plan, Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed Dusk's instructions and left to complete their mission. While Dusk, Rarity and Fluttershy hurried to follow Pinkie Pie and Rutherford, who seemed to be in a better mood after Pinkie told him about the time Luna played a prank on Celestia.

“This is the sleeping hut.” Rutherford said, leading Pinkie and the other ponies towards a large hut, where several yaks were sleeping on large piles of straw. “Hmm? Where are other ponies?” Rutherford asked, noticing the absence of Rainbow Dash and Applejack.

"Uh! T-They went to the bathroom, hehe. They'll be back soon.” Dusk responded quickly and awkwardly. Because he almost forgot that the yaks thought it was a disgrace if someone left without saying goodbye, like Cadance's student had done. “I beg forgiveness for my friends, your highness. What happens is that the girls were feeling a little sick to their stomachs, and-”

“Shhh! Silence! This is hut for sleeping, not talking.” Rutherford said annoyed. Again looking away indignantly.

“But you were the one who asked me!” Dusk thought annoyed. Until he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm down.

“Shhh!” Rutherford screeched again. Annoyed by Dusk's noisy breathing.

Using all his patience, Dusk remained silent, until Rutherford finally led them out of the hut.

“Now we go to music hut.” Rutherford said, starting to walk. While Dusk motioned to Fluttershy to continue with their plan.

“Uhm… With your permission, your highness. I’ll go to the bathroom for a moment.” Fluttershy said, giving a small bow and hurrying away.

“Hmm… Ponies go to bathroom a lot.” Rutherford said with a suspicious voice. But finally he shrugged his shoulders and they continued on their way to another large hut, which unlike the previous one, was quite noisy.

Inside that hut, Dusk and Rarity were surprised to see that there was an old yak playing the strange instrument that Pinkie Pie had been playing before, the famous yovidaphone. However, to his surprise, the old yak played a sweet melody with that strange instrument. It was still quite loud, but the musical notes could be understood clearly.

“Wow… It was a musical instrument after all…” Rarity whispered in surprise to Dusk.

“That means… That we were right… Pinkie Pie was the one who played that instrument horribly… ” Dusk thought with a sad look. Looking askance at his marefriend.

Upon entering the musical hut, Pinkie Pie was as surprised as Dusk and Rarity to hear the old yak and his yovidaphone. However, after the surprise, she looked away and had a very sad look. Just at that moment, she noticed that Dusk looked at her, and she quickly changed her attitude and smiled again with her usual joy... her same smile as always.

“No… There it is again. Now I'm sure.” Dusk thought, opening his eyes in surprise. “It's almost perfect, but she's faking that smile…”

“Wow… The blanket that musician wore looks divine.” Rarity suddenly said, distracting Dusk. Paying attention to the musician's clothing.

"Of course! Be yak blanket. Yak blankets are the best.” Rutherford responded, giving a small snort of pride. “White pony with horn has good eye.”

Upon hearing that, Dusk signaled to Rarity with his eyes, and she immediately understood that now it was her turn to continue with the plan.

“Excuse me, your highness. But I have to go to the bathroom to fix my makeup.” Rarity said very politely, hurrying to get out of there and join her other friends.

“Hmpf! Female ponies go to the bathroom a lot… Maybe I should go look for them.” Rutherford said, again staring at Dusk Shine.

“Oh, don't worry, they'll be fine.” Dusk responded, this time, knowing that the prince was testing him again. “Besides, I would never miss a yovidaphone concert, especially one played by someone who plays so well.” Dusk added, praising the old yak musician, who couldn't help but blush at the praise.

“Hmm… Good answer!” Rutherford said after a short pause. Finally satisfied that that stallion understood yaks a little better.

“Huff… I wish I could play the yovidaphone as well as him.” Pinkie Pie said smiling, approaching Dusk to rest her head under his.

"There's no need. You’re already perfect just the way you are.” Dusk responded, smiling and resting his head on his marefriend's. Thinking he would give a nice response to his marefriend. Without realizing that this time, he got the answer right to the prince, but failed with the answer to his marefriend...

After finishing the yovidaphone concert, Dusk asked Prince Rutherford if he could give him another quick tour of the huts, to see how beautifully built they were. Obviously, it was all an excuse, since, for his plan to work, his friends had to have as much time as possible.

Finally, after a long tour of each hut in the village, the prince took Dusk and Pinkie Pie to the place where they had started their tour. There, Rutherford opened his eyes in surprise to see that there were several yaks gathered for some reason, watching something and chatting animatedly.

“What happen here?” Rutherford asked, making his way to see what everyone was seeing. Then he was surprised to see that in the place he had assigned for the ponies to pitch their tent, there was now a small yak hut. “Where does this cabin come from?”

"I built it." Rainbow Dash suddenly said, appearing from the crowd. “The walls are made of mud, nothing difficult to build. Still, it was a lot of work for me alone, so I asked a couple of these guys to help.” Rainbow Dash added, pointing at a pair of young yaks, who posed proudly as the pegasus pointed at them. “And that's not all… Look inside!” Rainbow Dash added, pushing the prince into the hut.

“I made these hay beds, just like the ones you use in the hut to sleep in.” Fluttershy said, who was already inside the hut. Showing the prince two beds of hay that were, indeed, almost identical to those used by the yaks.

The prince, at first surprised, approached to inspect the beds of hay more closely. However, there was something else that distracted him.

“What are you wearing!?” Rutherford asked, with a mixture of surprise and disgust. Pointing at Rarity, who was also there.

“These are scarves that I made, taking your traditional blankets as idea.” Rarity responded, sporting a beautiful woven scarf, which had the same design as the other yaks' blankets. “It seems like they loved it.” Rarity added, pointing to a young yak girl, who was wearing a scarf similar to Rarity's, and the other yaks were looking at her with great interest.

“'Sniff! Sniff!' What is that smell?” Rutherford asked even more surprised, unable to finish a thought before something new distracted him.

“This is the traditional Yakyakistan cake. I made it with the same vanilla essence that you use.” Applejack replied, showing the prince a large cake, identical to the one they had seen before, that the yaks were baking. “Why don't you taste it?”

Prince Rutherford sniffed suspiciously at the cake, and then, after several seconds, finally made up his mind and took a big bite.

“Do you see it, prince?” Dusk said while Rutherford ate Applejack's cake. “We care a lot about yaks. So much so that we paid attention to all your traditions, and we wanted to-”

“This is not a traditional Yakyakistan cake!” Rutherford shouted angrily, spitting out the cake. “No have enough vanilla.”

Then Rutherford turned to the young yak who had the scarf, touched the scarf between his hooves, and then took it off the young yak and threw it far away.

“This isn't yak clothes either! No have yak cotton!” Rutherford shouted in annoyance. While the poor young yak looked sadly at where her pretty new scarf had been thrown.

Rutherford ran to one of the beds of hay and jumped on it.

“This is not a yak bed either! Too little hay!” Rutherford shouted, disassembling the bed of hay from jumping on it so much.

Finally, Rutherford looked at the hut walls and snorted angrily. Dusk anticipated what he knew would happen and made everyone run out of the makeshift hut. Just as everyone left, Rutherford gave the hut a hard blow and it completely collapsed. Thus, all the ponies were left with stunned and frightened looks, seeing how the yak prince so easily destroyed what they had made with so much effort.

“This… This was not necessary!” Dusk shouted annoyed. Finally deciding to confront the yak prince.

“In these mountains there are always avalanches… Tell me, purple pony. What happen if I let others sleep in a bad built hut?” Rutherford said, snorting and looking angrily at Dusk. Who, for his part, didn’t expect this question, and unconsciously became defensive.

“I… Well…” Dusk stuttered, still trying to stand his ground.

“And yak beds must support the weight of yaks. That is why it must have more hay.” Rutherford said annoyed. “And blankets and cakes, they are yak traditions. They must be perfect! That is the yak tradition! What ponies think if I make fun of ponies festivals?”

Dusk quickly realized that Rutherford had only seemed irrational in his anger, but, although he acted with excessive force, his reasons were totally logical. Dusk and his friends had acted with the best of intentions, but the truth was...

“You no understand yaks. If you no understand, you can not be friends of yaks.” Rutherford said, looking away angrily. Saying out loud the conclusion that Dusk had reached in his mind. “It is best that the ponies leave.”

“No… Prince Rutherford. It wasn’t our intention to insult you.” Pinkie Pie said very worried, trying to calm the situation. “Dusk and my friends… They just…”

“You are a good pony, you understand yaks.” The prince said with a small smile. For some reason, looking askance at Dusk again. “But other ponies disappointed me… They are not ready to be friends with yaks.”

Without saying anything else, the prince finally turned away from Pinkie Pie and left, without saying anything else. Leaving the six ponies with dejected looks.

“It's not your fault… The same thing happened to me and Cadance…” A voice near Dusk suddenly said. Then the lavender stallion looked scared to his side and saw that there was no one there. However, his magical training made him realize that a strange aura was standing right next to him.

“Shining!? Are you using an invisibility spell?” Dusk asked surprised and worried.

“I'm sorry, I needed to make sure nothing happened to you and your friends.” Shining responded, still maintaining his invisibility spell. “When I saw what you and your friends planned, I was hoping it would work. But it seems that the prince is more stubborn than we expected.”

“Yeah… It’s true that he’s very stubborn. But it was also our fault.” Dusk responded with a sad look. “We always think like ponies. We forget that they’re a proud, different race, and they don’t act or think the same as we do. We value the effort, but where they live, they cannot tolerate something halfway. For them, everything must be perfect, or someone could get hurt. That's the yak mentality…” Dusk added, seeing the destroyed hut.

“I guess you're right... But there's no turning back now.” Shining said sadly but also with determination. “If war is imminent, I’ll have to tell Cadance that we immediately return to the northern border to prepare the defense.”

“No…” Dusk said, looking away from where his invisible brother was, and concentrating on his marefriend. Who still kept her gaze on the ground, with great sadness. “Rutherford is stubborn, but he has a good heart. I know it because my marefriend is his friend, and she would never be friends with someone with a bad heart… There is still hope.” Dusk added, hurrying to follow Rutherford.

Dusk Shine followed Rutherford to the throne room. Which was basically the largest hut there was, with the difference that there was a large throne on it, where Rutherford was already back, sitting.

“Get out here, pony. I give my last word." Rutherford said annoyed.

“Prince, just…” Dusk said carefully, slowly approaching Rutherford. Upon doing so, Dusk suddenly opened his eyes in surprise when he saw that next to the throne there were several books, chests, and other items that seemed not to match the aesthetic taste of the yaks.

“Those look like… pony items… They must be the gifts Cadance and Shining gave him!” Dusk thought surprised. Thinking that, with how upset the prince had been with Cadance, and how good the yaks were at breaking things, it would have been normal for all those things to be smashed to pieces. “Once again, I’m prejudging the yaks… If the prince kept Cadance's gifts, it’s because he values the ponies… There is still a chance!”

“I thought that boyfriend of pink pony was a better pony.” Rutherford suddenly said with a thoughtful look, taking advantage of Dusk's silence to speak.

“You… You know that I'm Pinkie Pie's coltfriend?” Dusk asked very surprised.

“Of course I know. Pink pony write hundreds of letters talking about purple pony.” Rutherford responded, taking out several letters from behind the throne. “She talk that purple pony was kind pony, that he would understand yaks and make friends with yaks. But pink pony make mistake.”

Completely forgetting about his main mission there, Dusk approached Rutherford's throne and took the letters he offered him. In fact, there were dozens of letters that Pinkie Pie had written almost day after day since she met the yaks. The letters talked about a little bit of everything, telling about her daily life in Ponyville, asking the yaks strange things like what cakes they liked or what balloon figures they used to make at their parties, but what was repeated most in the letters was that Pinkie always repeated how much she liked being Dusk's marefriend, how fun and loving he was with her, and how much they loved each other. That touched Dusk's heart directly, seeing how happy Pinkie was with him and how his tender marefriend seemed to want to show it to everyone. But what finally moved Dusk to the core was seeing the last letters that Pinkie Pie had sent. In them, Pinkie had made several drawings about what her BIG surprise for Dusk would be like. Drawing herself playing the yovidaphone with her best yak friends, and thus playing together a beautiful serenade for 'the best coltfriend in the world.'

'I'll show you a little preview, but remember, it's not finished yet, my final surprise gift will be so much bigger and better than this!' They had been the words that Pinkie Pie had said to Dusk when she first played the yovidaphone for him. Words that Dusk almost forgot until that precise moment.

For a moment, Dusk smiled tenderly when he saw how sweet his marefriend was. Thinking about how long Pinkie Pie must have planned to serenade him. Realizing that Pinkie must remember when he had only been living in Ponyville for a few days and she had tried to serenade him, without success.

Then Dusk's look radically changed to a sad one, squeezing his eyes with regret as he remembered when he told her to stop playing the yovidaphone. She had been preparing a special surprise just for him, and he unintentionally ruined all that sweet fantasy that Pinkie Pie had been preparing just for him, to show him her love.

“I think that pink pony asks yaks to play yovidaphone with her. But she never asked.” Rutherford said, getting annoyed at not understanding the ponies.

“Prince, I…” Dusk said trying to concentrate, looking at the prince. However, his heart tightened seeing that he was once again leaving out something very important. “I… I know that peace between our kingdoms is important… But now I must go!” Dusk added, shaking his head and turning to leave. Knowing that he was doing the wrong thing, but right now, more than peace in the world, his heart ordered him to apologize to his marefriend.

“You come here without being called and now you leave without saying goodbye. All ponies are insolent!” Rutherford shouted very upset.

Rutherford's shout made Dusk stop, with an uneasy look. His heart screamed at him to go immediately to his marefriend, and his mind told him that the right thing to do was to resolve the possible war.

“Prince Rutherford… We are not so different. Neither of us knows how to appreciate when someone is giving everything for us.” Dusk said with a sad smile. Seeing that what he said could be applied to both the problem with the yaks and his problem with Pinkie Pie. “I understand that yaks don't like things that aren't absolutely perfect, and that's why you crush what isn't, but we didn't want to offend you. We simply wanted to give you a nice surprise, without knowing that you wouldn't like it. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't value our efforts. That's why we're still here by your side! Because we want to be with you, understand you and be friends.” At that moment Dusk raised the letter on which Pinkie Pie had drawn her ideal date, and looked at it tenderly. “Sometimes what is important is effort and intention. Sometimes... the important thing is not what was done, but the love with what it was done..." At that moment Dusk returned to focus on Rutherford and looked at him seriously. “It’ll be your decision to go to war or not, but I trust you’ll do the right thing. You’re a great leader, and above all, you’re Pinkie's friend. And she always recognizes a kind heart.”

Without wasting any more time, Dusk quickly left the throne room. Leaving Rutherford silent, with a thoughtful look, always hidden by his great fur.

After a quick chat with Pinkie Pie's yak guard friends, Dusk returned to join his friends. There, Dusk asked his friends to wait patiently for Rutherford's decision, meanwhile, he asked Pinkie Pie to accompany him. The pink pony was surprised by that sudden invitation, but without hesitation, she smiled tenderly and followed her coltfriend.

Pinkie Pie and Dusk walked through the town gates and walked along the edge of the town. Where Dusk finally diverted the path and headed to one of the two high mountains that were on the outskirts of the town. There, Pinkie Pie was surprised to see that there were some stone statues of yaks. Similar to the ones at the entrance to the town, only they were much smaller, made of stone, and looked very neglected, covered in snow.

"What is this place?" Pinkie Pie asked curiously.

“Apparently, it is a shelter that yaks use when they’re in danger. I don’t think they’ve used it in years.” Dusk responded, also looking at those statues with great interest. “I asked your yak friend Yojan if there was any place away from the town where we could shelter from the snow for a bit, and he pointed me to this place.”

“Why did you want to leave the town?” Pinkie asked confused.

“Because I wanted you to play this.” Dusk responded smiling. Using his magic to make a yovidaphone appear in front of Pinkie Pie.

"Uh!? You want….? No! You said… You said you didn't like me playing it.” Pinkie Pie responded, for a fleeting moment with a twinkle in her eye, but then taking a step back scared. Then she radically changed her face and put on a big smile. “Dusk, I really don't need to play the yovidaphone again.”

“But I do need you to play it.” Dusk said, bringing the yovidaphone closer to Pinkie and staring at her with a sad smile. “You don't have to keep faking that smile. I know all your smiles, and I want to see your true smile of happiness.”

Pinkie Pie widened her eyes in surprise and then looked away, looking unsure.

“Dusk, I... I do like playing the yovidaphone. I think it's very funny, but…” Pinkie Pie responded, this time lowering her head more, as if trying with all her being to control her emotions. “I… I don't want to ruin the last moments we’ll be together!” Pinkie Pie screamed scared, with a few small tears in her eyes. Finally releasing the hidden anguish that she had kept those last few days.

“Pinkie…” Dusk said, moving. He approached and gave his marefriend a tender, warm hug. Thus, they both stood hugging together, while Pinkie Pie slowly calmed down.

“I know you want me to play the yovidaphone, but sometimes… even if you really like something… things have to end.” Pinkie said slowly, not being able to lift her head to look at Dusk.

“Pinkie… If you love it, don't leave it.” Dusk responded, gently lifting Pinkie's head from below with his hoof, to look into her eyes tenderly.

No further explanation was necessary. They both knew that they were not only talking about playing the yovidaphone, but also about their relationship. Pinkie Pie's mouth trembled, she wanted to scream at that precise moment for Dusk not to leave her, but when she saw Dusk's eyes, deep in her lover's pupils, she saw her blurry reflection, that of a mare in love. And in just an instant, she understood that that blurry reflection could be her, but it could also be any of her other friends.

“Everything would be simpler if only I liked the yovidaphone…” Pinkie whispered very slowly. Pressing her face against her coltfriend's warm fur and letting out a small giggle full of nerves and anguish, not knowing what to do. With all her being she wanted to be with Dusk forever, and with all her being she wanted to make her friends happy too.

Deciding that she had to escape from that distressing moment, before her thoughts made her betray her friends, Pinkie Pie detached herself from Dusk's hug, approached the yovidaphone and took it between her hooves.

"Good! So, do you really want me to play you a song?” Pinkie Pie asked, smiling, getting into position to play that strange instrument again. Just feeling it on her hooves and hearing it let out air humorously made Pinkie smile a huge, genuine smile.

“Heh! No, this time, you’ll not play a serenade alone.” Dusk smiled, happy to see Pinkie smiling normally again. Then he used his magic and made another yovidaphone appear, which he caught between his hooves. “This time we’ll play as a duet.” Dusk added, leaving Pinkie Pie open-mouthed, her eyes shining with excitement.

Both ponies began playing their yovidaphones, and Dusk quickly discovered that if Pinkie Pie played badly, he played even worse. Both blowing on their instruments and making a hell of a noise. They both knew their music didn't sound good, but they didn't care. They both continued playing and laughing. Seeing how the other smiled when playing made them even happier. They both became happier and happier as they saw how happy the other was. Approaching and looking at each other lovingly, smiling and flirting, and laughing again. All that noise they made went into the background, the only thing they began to hear was their own heartbeats, dancing not to the music, but to happiness and love.

Finally, both ponies stood back to back, looked at each other, and gave a loud snort into their yovidaphones, causing everything around to shake from the great noise they made. Then, having finished their performance, both ponies stared at each other, with labored breathing, and then they both fell on their backs and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! That was actually a lot of fun!” Dusk said, sitting down after laughing, looking tenderly at Pinkie Pie.

“Yes… It felt very good.” Pinkie Pie said, lying on her back in the snow and looking up at the sky with a big smile. “It felt very… warm.” Pinkie added, touching her chest and feeling a very pleasant warmth inside her.

"Yeah... Now that you mention it..." Dusk said a little confused, unable to stop smiling. Also touching his chest and feeling a pleasant warmth inside him. “I… I've felt this before…”

“Of course you've felt it… It's called love.” A female voice suddenly said, approaching where both ponies were.

“Cadance!? What are you doing here?" Dusk asked surprised, immediately recognizing the voice of his former nanny.

“Remember that I was camping outside the town.” Cadance replied smiling. “When I saw you, leading Pinkie Pie here, I knew you were planning something and… well… my curiosity made me follow you.” Cadance added, slightly embarrassed. “When you both started playing those… instruments. I thought about running away because of the noise you were making. Until I could feel the love song that their hearts sang.”

“Is that the heat we feel in our chests? Is it your magic?” Dusk asked confused.

“No, what you feel are your own feelings. It’s your love, only it’s manifesting physically.” Cadance smiled tenderly. Until she looked away, embarrassed again. “But… I guess you feel it more intensely, because I decided… to share a little of your love.”

"What? What are you talking about?" Dusk asked even more confused. Then he put on a thoughtful look for several seconds, until he finally began to understand what Cadance was telling him. “You used your magic to share our love with the yaks…” Dusk said, opening his eyes in surprise.

"Yeah. I thought that if some of that pure love that you were manifesting could reach the hearts of the yaks. Maybe we could stop this war.” Cadance said sadly. “I couldn't ask you or interrupt you, because otherwise it wouldn't have been as genuine and pure a feeling as the one you showed each other. I… I’m sorry I did it without consulting you first.” Cadance added sadly, bowing her head in forgiveness.

“So, could everyone in the village feel like Dusk and I feel?” Pinkie Pie asked, raising an eyebrow and making a very confused face. “That… That's great!” Pinkie added, who for a second looked like she would get angry, but it was all a joke to hide her happiness. “If everyone could be as happy as Dusk and me, there would definitely be no war anymore!”

“I guess that's true…” Dusk added, scratching his head. He couldn't help but blush when he thought that everyone shared her state of love and happiness for a second. “Still, I’m worried that this concert reached the ears of the yaks. They only love perfect things, and… well, our music with the yovidaphone was not exactly a sample of perfection.”

“Oh! Don't worry. I just used my love magic to share your feelings. I don't think that 'music' was ever heard in the town.” Cadance responded with a nervous smile. Since she wasn't sure if the noise that Pinkie Pie and Dusk made could be called 'music'.

“Music no reach the town, but I do listen to it.” Another voice suddenly said. Then the three ponies turned and saw that who had spoken was none other than Prince Rutherford.

"Oh no! Why precisely did HE have to listen to us!?” Dusk thought scared. “I left the town just so that no yak would hear our 'serenade', especially Rutherford!”

“I came here to talk to purple pony. He leaves without saying goodbye, and that is great insult to yaks.” Rutherford said, looking at Dusk annoyed. But then, he snorted with his nose and looked at Cadance. “But I still here, because I want to understand ponies too. As a good leader I am.” Rutherford added, looking at Dusk out of the corner of his eye. Making Dusk realize that the yak prince had used the same words that he had told him when he went to see him at his throne.

“He's trying hard... He's not a stubborn prince like everyone thinks!” Dusk thought, smiling hopefully. Finally understanding Rutherford's true personality.

“I want to congratulate pink pony and purple pony for playing yovidaphone so well.” Rutherford added, picking up one of the instruments and beginning to play it. Showing that, on the hooves of a yak, a yovidaphone could play a harmonious melody.

"What? B-But we don't play that well.” Dusk said very confused, after Rutherford stopped playing.

"Uh? I don't play like the old Gruntwig in the music hut. Every yak plays different.” Rutherford responded confused. Realizing that he had to explain a little about the yak culture to those ignorant ponies. “The important thing about yovidaphone is to play it with emotion, with feeling. And ponies played with a lot of love.” Rutherford added, subtly drying a tear, remembering the beautiful feeling of love he felt when listening to the ponies' music.

“But… That was Cadance's magic…” Pinkie Pie said timidly. Not wanting to deceive his friend, the yak prince.

“I just shared it, Pinkie. That beautiful feeling was only created by you and Dusk.” Cadance responded with a tender smile.

“Hmm… I knew that there was something strange with that warmth in my chest to feel before…” Rutherford suddenly said, looking at Cadance intently. “That heat, is similar to what I felt last night.” Then Rutherford was silent for several seconds, until he came face to face with Cadance and looked at her menacingly. “You are the one who melted all the snow last night, right? You use pony magic. You use it even though I say I don't want help.”

Cadance looked at Rutherford in surprise, knowing that she had angered the great yak prince. She looked away with some fear and insecurity, remaining silent for a few moments. Finally, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and raised her head high with dignity. She was a princess, she couldn't let herself be intimidated by anyone else, but above all, she didn't regret her actions. If saving a town from freezing to death and starvation was a bad thing, then she was guilty, and would bear the consequences.

“That's right, I did it. I did it knowing that you didn't accept my help and that it would make you angry. But I did it out of the goodness of my heart.” Cadance responded, looking seriously and intently at Rutherford.

The great yak remained silent, static, for several seconds. Until finally, he gave a big snort with his nose and lunged at Cadance. For a second, Dusk and Cadance thought that Rutherford was so angry for disobeying him, that he would attack Cadance. For the same reason, they were so surprised to see that Rutherford rushed towards Cadance to give her a big hug, while laughing happily.

“Finally pony princess understand yaks, hahaha.” Rutherford said as he hugged Cadance, so tight that Cadance's fragile body could barely stand it. “Yaks no ask for help, ever! But that no mean that yaks no need others sometimes. True friends always help, even if they no ask, that is true friendship yak!”

Cadance forced herself to smile, even though she was almost out of breath from the tight embrace, while Pinkie Pie and Dusk also smiled, understanding what Rutherford was saying. A friend helps without asking or expecting anything in return, that was something that ponies and yaks had in common, their definition of friendship was the same. The difference between the two, however, was that the ponies didn't know if the yaks wanted to be friends with the ponies; while the yaks simply waited for that gesture to confirm that they were.

“That means… You won't go to war?” Dusk asked cautiously. Wanting to completely confirm that the danger had passed.

"Of course not. Pony princess help friends yaks. Yaks don't go to war against friends.” Rutherford responded smiling.

The ponies sighed in relief and started laughing… just for two seconds. In an instant, everyone fell silent as they heard a loud explosion, and felt the ground shake slightly.

"What was that?" Dusk asked surprised and worried, looking everywhere.

"I do not know." Rutherford answered seriously. Until he opened his eyes in surprise, turned around and walked over the hill to look towards the Yak village. All the ponies approached where Rutherford was, and they all gave the same look of horror as they looked towards the town.

Yakyakistan was besieged by dozens of dragons flying above it. Several of them had sent up large flames on some of the yak huts, which were now on fire. Causing smoke to fill the valley where the yaks lived slowly.

"Yaks no go to war with ponies... But we go to war anyway..." Rutherford growled furiously, looking with hatred at the dragons that were terrorizing his village, and at their leader, who seemed to be a young dragon with turquoise scales.

End of chapter 33

Author's Note

Many thanks to 'Silveranon' for his great help