Zephyr Breeze POV<<<<<<

Dropping from the sky, I had finally managed to find the mane school after almost thirty minutes of searching, which the similar building styles that the Empire had definitely didn't help.

However, near the western edges of the city there was a singular green building with three floors that were a far cry from the single story houses that were around it. Even the shine of the crystals that lined the walls was more impressive than its neighbors!

This has to be the place! I exclaimed in my head as my eyes laid on a symbol of a pair of scissors and a comb crossed over each other above the doorway into the building, along with the words Crystal Cheveu in that font style prench ponies use whenever they think they're better than everypony.

Trotting towards the entrance, I couldn't help but notice that even the grass on the front yard looked really well attended, at least compared to the rest of the empire where flora is allowed to grow at any speed it wants to combat the snow outside.

Must be one of those high society places then...hopefully I dont stand out too much here. I thought with a frown before I was stopped by two big ponies I had managed to somehow not notice were standing at the doorway.

"Hold it, Bud. Who are you?" One of them, a burly red earth pony asked as he looked me over with a hint of disdain.

"Oh! I'm a new student here!" I told the stallion as his blue hued unicorn compatriot, who was not as burly but had a rocking handlebar mustache, squinted his eyes at me.

"You got an acceptance letter on you, pegasus?" He asked me, making me smile as I reached for the duffel bag on my back.

"Of course I-" I started happily, before freezing in shock as I remembered what had happened to our supplies when leaving the cave.

My duffel is gone...stuck at the bottom of that pit Mitch fell into, alng with my invitation to the school!

Noticing my lack of movement, the blue unicorn walked up and poked my side a few times.

"You still breathing, colt?" He asked as I shook out of my stupor and gave him a weak smile.

"Y-Yeah...Um, what if I told you two that I had lost my invitation to come here, but I did in fact get one?" I asked them as they glanced at each other for a moment before they both narrowed their eyes at me.

"No invitation, no entry." The red pony stated, taking a step to the left while his blue friend took one to the right, effectively blocking the door entirely.

"Cmon! I've been through Tartarus and back to get here!" I exclaimed as memories of the obstacle few days flooded my head. "I was enslaved by dogs, and almost died in a minecart for Lunas sake!"

The blue pony sighed, looking at me with what had to be pity. "Did you happen to register by mail? If so, I can go check and see if your name is in the freshpony list." He asked as I lowered my head in defeat.

"No...I was coming here to register in pony. I didn't exactly have an address to mail by." I told them as the red brute simply shook his head.

"Then there is nothing we can do for you. Have a great day, Sir." He said as they both looked straight ahead, ignoring me and returning to their vigilant post in front of the school.

Opening my mouth to say more, but deciding against it, I turned around and took off into the air, noticing it was harder to fly than usual thanks to the buildup of moisture in my eyes.

"Damned minecart..." I muttered, flying with no real destination in mind as I soared past several clouds and birds. "Why does this crap always happen to me?!"

Wiping the water from my eyes (It was water, I swear! You try flying through some clouds without getting wet!) I found myself looking down along the crystal paved streets, which were weirdly empty for the middle of the day.

"Why isn't there anypony out right now?" I thought aloud as I started to hear a familiar zooming sound approaching rapidly, something that sounded like-

"Rainbow Dash?" I questioned, turning towards the sound only to be hit by a yellow blur, causing both me and the assailant to crash land on a rooftop, sending up dust as we collided with the crystal slab.

"Oooooh...what the buck did I hit?" A feminine voice stated as I shook my head and looked around, noticing another pegasus doing the same before she looked towards me. "Hey! What the buck were you doing being stagnant in a fly zone!"

In pain and definitely not in the mood for this mares crap, I found myself standing up and narrowing my eyes at the light blue pegasus as I felt my feathers ruffle up slightly.

"Me? Your blaming ME for you slamming into me midair?" I yelled as I pointed at the sky and the city below us. "If you haven't noticed, no ones out here! You could've just went around me!"

"Kinda hard take those adjustments when flying at breakneck speeds, ya know! You should've just been more aware of your surroundings." She retorted as I let out a frustrated yell and turned away from her while spreading my wings.

"You know what, I can't deal with this right now." I said before taking off again, ignoring the pegasus and her retreating voice as I flew towards the castle, keeping my eyes on the roads as I looked for a familiar face on the road.

"Piper, Reks and Mitch have to still be in the empire...but where?" I muttered just as I saw Piper standing near a shop on the main road to the castle. "There we go! Hey Pip-"

Just as I was about to call out to her, a unicorn stepped out from the shop she was near and gave her the bag in his magical grasp, only to receive a big hug from Piper after she looked inside at its contents, causing the unicorn to blush slightly before returning the hug.

"Is that...No way." I whispered, perching on a rooftop nearby and watching the two from afar. That unicorn couldn't be the stallion Piper said she was dating...right?

Taking a closer look at the unicorn, he did have that fluffed up alabaster fur that drove mares wild, along with what had to be a perfectly combed yellow mane that reflected off of his black tie he was wearing.

"Who the buck is that?" A familiar feminine voice asked, making me yelp in shock (Not fear, by the way) as I turned towards the source with wide eyes.

"You!" I exclaimed, pointing at the mare who had crashed into me before. "What do you want?"

She shushed me and pointed at the couple below. "Quiet, you'll let them know we're here...though I've never seen a pony with a dog before."

Sighing to myself, I shook my head. "That's Piper. Her and two other friends of mine helped me get here, though she never said she was dating a noble-class pony."

The mare chuckled as we watched them walk towards the castle with Piper leaving a paw on the stallions withers with a bigger smile on her face than I had seen since meeting her.

"Noble-Class? That explains why the colt looks like one of those magezine stallions." The mare stated with a laugh before turning to me. "Name's Lightning Dust."

I gave the mare a long stare before sticking out my hoof. "Zephyr Breeze...but why did you follow me?"

Lightning Dust looked at my hoof for a moment before reaching out and shaking it with a almost silent sigh.

"I've been looking for somepony for a while now...and just before I crashed into you I thought I had heard you say her name." Lightning Dust told me as I frowned for a second before realizing what she was talking about.

"Your looking for Rainbow Dash? But why?" I questioned her further. "Are you guys friends?"

"Something like that...Let's just say we have a lot to catch up on." Lightning Dust answered as she shook her head and pointed to the retreating couple. "But hey! I can find her later. Let's follow that weirdo couple you know and see what they do next!"

I grimaced slightly at that, my ears flattening to the sides of my head as I thought about what would happen if Piper caught us spying on her.

"Um...I'm not sure that's a good idea, especially with-Whoa!" I exclaimed, taking a step back as I saw a yellow beam shoot straight out of the castle up ahead and into the sky. "What the heck was that?"

"I don't know, but it looked awesome!" Lighting Dust stated before lifting up into the air and looking back at me. "You coming or not? I wanna see where they are going next!"

Realizing she was going to go with or without me, I groaned and took to the air with a flap of my wings, causing the lighter blue pegasus to cheer as we followed after Piper and her stallion.

Why is everything in my life so complicated? Things were never this hard back with Mom and Dad! I couldn't help but think as we took to the air, praying to Luna that nothing bad came of this.

Mitch POV<<<<<<

After entering the wizards abode, I quickly realized that the guy needed a fucking maid.

There were books EVERYWHERE! And I'm not talking about on bookshelves either, they were in stacks all over the place at heights that could match Bertha anytime! Not to mention it looked like random paper and other utensils were scattered haphazardly as well.

"Ya know, for a wizard this dude has a really messy house." I whispered to Reks as Starlight sat down at a table with Starburst. Noticing a lack of extra stools, Reks and I stood to the side while the little lizard dude started rolling out a ginormous list on a scroll.

Reks snickered at my comment before he turned and grabbed a book off of one of the piles and opened it, the cover title flashing before my eyes for a brief second as he began to read.

10 ways to get that special somepony to recognize you, guaranteed!

OK, so the wizard also hasn't gotten laid either...dude must be a closet nerd or something.

Turning my attention away from Reks, I noticed that Starlight and the Sunburst guy were sitting awkwardly at the table, as if they couldn't find a way to talk to each other...and it was getting annoying.

"Ok!" I stated loudly, walking over to the table and getting on my knees (Which suprisingly made it to where I was at level with the two unicorns). "Check this out, wizard guy."

Placing my crystal arm on the table, I watched as Sunburst's eyes widened and he looked my arm over enthusiasticly.

"This...This is an artifical magic core! But that means you were born without one..." He looked up at me with a confused expression. "What did you say you were again?"

"Human, but don't bother looking me up. I'm one of a kind." I told him as he shook his head with a suprised smile on his face.

"This is incredible! I never imagined I'd find a unique specimen and a childhood friend of mine on the same day!" He exclaimed happily as he pulled out a couple books with his magic and put them on the table. "Now, what kind of magic core is it?"

"What type? there are magic types?" I asked him, getting a unblinking stare from the unicorn as Starlight spoke up.

"Most magic cores fall into six categories, Mitch, based on the six tenants or Elements of Harmony" Starlight explained as I turned to her. "Cores can be originated from Magic, Loyalty, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, or Generosity."

What...

"Why those names? No offense, but that sounds like something I'd hear in a little kids show." I asked the mare as Sunburst shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't really have an answer for that. It's just what's in all the magic books, even the history tomes don't date that far." The wizard said as he shook his head. "Regardless, those six types won't help us here anyway."

Narrowing my eyes slightly at that, I looked down at my arm briefly before looking back at the Sunny D stallion while Starlight looked equally confused

"Why is that, exactly?" I asked him as he pushed up his glasses and gave me That smile all big brain people do when they are about to explain something complicated.

"Well, your core is an artifical one, meaning that it has to be one made of dark magic." He started as he levitated a book to him and opened it. "For Dark magic, there are six counter elements to the categories Starlight listed earlier."

Starlight tilted her head, looking at Starburst in an admittedly adorable way as she processed that information.

"Six counter elements? You mean like anti Elements of Harmony?" She asked the wizard as Starburst nodded and tapped the book twice as he stopped flipping through the pages.

"Here they are! There's Greed for Generosity, Infidelity for Loyalty, Malice for Kindness, Deceit for Honesty, Misery for Laughter, and Solitary magic to Friendship magic." He listed out before closing the book. "Sadly, it doesnt go into detail about each particular magic type, just stating that they are the opposite of their counterpart and need to be feared."

"But...everything you listed are pretty much negative emotions or traits, and I don't recall really being like any of those personally." I told him, reflecting on my own actions up to this point while looking at the table.

Had I been acting like any of those? Or is this more little kid stuff that Im overthinking? I thought to myself as Starlight tapped her chin softly.

"What if you were overwhelmed by one of those emotions when you got your core?" She asked me as thought back to when I went into the magic pool back in the cave.

I passed that pony guys test, then got my core...but I dont really recall any negative emotions swirling inside me or anything, except maybe mass confusion for all of this magic stuff.

"No, the only thing I did then was pass some test and get lowered into some glowing water that made this." I waved my crystal arm around. "I didn't get any magic feelings or anything."

"Magic water? Why does that sound familiar..." He trailed off as he turned and looked through several stacks of books for a moment before turning back to me. "I think I've read something like that before in a book at the royal library here in the Empire, and I'm sure there were more of those pools you mentioned."

My eyed widened in shock as I stood up, noticing out of the corner of my eye that the lizard had fallen asleep and currently had several books on his head thanks to a bored Reks placing them there.

"You think this book might help me find the rest of these pools?" I asked him as Starlight narrowed her eyes slightly at me.

"Why would you want to find more of these pools?" She asked sternly as I turned to her with a glare of my own

"Calm down, Unicorn. I'm not trying to become some evil overlord, I just need to get better control of this core so I can go home, and finding these pools is one way to do so." I told her before looking back at Sunburst. "Do you have anything else that can help us?"

Sunburst shook his head, legitimately looking regretful that he couldn't be of more help.

"Everything I told you is all the books I have state...but the library at the castle here has what I don't, that's your best bet." He said before I nodded and stuck out my normal hand.

"Then you have my thanks, wizard!" I said as he looked at my hand with wide eyes before shaking it glee.

"No problem, friend! If you have any other questions about magic, feel free to come find me." He stated as I retreated my hand and turned to Starlight.

"Reks and I will be heading out now, so take care." I told her, getting a smile from the pink pony.

"You too, Mitch. I hope you make it home sometime soon." She said as Reks opened the door for us and we walked out of the house, though not before I let out a loud whistle, waking up the lizard and causing the books on his head to come crashing down.

"AGH! What the?!" I heard him yell out as the door closed behind us, causing Reks to snicker to himself while we turned back on the main road.

"Well, looks like we're going to the castle then." I stated as I looked up at the ginormous blue building in the center of the city, though I couldn't help but feel something stirring inside me as I did so.

Shaking it off, I turned to Reks and got a nod from him, signaling he was ready to go, though an idea popped in my head as he did so.

"Say, the castle is pretty far...and your a military dog, right?" I stated as I got a confused growl from my companion. "Why don't I race you there? We've been doing nothing but walking and sitting all day, and I could use the run."

And if the townsfolk were still at the castle, that meant the roads were empty, perfect for a race through the city.

Reks gave me a toothy grin as he and I took our places shoulder to shoulder and got into that bent over position runners do at the Olympics.

"First one to touch one of the castles walls wins, alright?" I stated, getting a bark from Reks as I began to count down.

"Three...TwoOneGo!" I yelled quickly before bursting forward as I heard Reks growl in suprise behind me before chasing after me.

Middle school track, dont fail me now!

Meanwhile, nearby Ponyville<<<<<<

With an audible snap, Discord appeared in the middle of the grassy terrain alongside the chamomile tea set he had gotten at the store from Canterlot (What? The lord of chaos can't go shopping like a normal pony every now and then?)

Snapping a blanket onto the ground, Discord smiled at his work as he looked around for his teamate

"Now, where could little Fluttershy be? She's never late to teatime, and it's half past noon!" Discord muttered as he donned a fancy outfit that would make the nobles of Canterlot green with envy (literally if the lord of chaos wanted it so) as he pulled out a pocketwatch and looked it over, confirming his previous statement.

"Hm...This really is-hold on." Discord started before noticing something odd. With another snap of his talon Discord had teleported across the field and towards a bird that was frozen in air midflight. "I don't recall doing that...which means-"

Turning around quickly, Discord found himself staring back at the tea setup, only now there was a jet black unicorn with a green tuxedo on staring up at him with eerie blue eyes.

"Ah, Discord. Mind joining me for tea?" He asked as Discord slowly floated over and grabbed a cup of tea, his eyes never leaving the new guest.

"What are you doing here?" Discord asked before taking a sip of the still hot tea, barely holding back a sigh of contentment from doing so.

The unicorn laughed softly and shook his head.

"Aw, I thought we were friends, Discord?" He asked in a silk-strong tone that would make mares swoon. Thankfully, Discord decided to be a male today, so his whiles wouldn't work on him.

"I'm not friends with people who think they can play games with others lives." Discord said, not seeing the irony in his words as the stallion simply shrugged.

"Well, that's just cruel. I don't mess with the lives of my children, I simply watch over all of you to make sure my little world's dont disappear or fall to darkness." The unicorn stated before, in the blink of an eye, had transformed into a black minotaur with the same tuxedo on. "And besides, you get along with Celestia in this world, and she's no better than I am."

Discord crossed his arms as his teacup did a midair waltz back to the ground. "Celestia also doesn't abandon her student, unlike someone in front of me."

The minotaur narrowed his eyes for a second before picking up a tea cup and sipping from it for a while before putting it down.

"We both know my students needed to develop on their own, that's why I gave them those books." He stated before looking towards Canterlot. "Oh, and how's Mitch doing?"

Discord had been going for his teacup again, but froze at the sound of the humans name.

"So that's why your here."

The minotaur had turned into a crow-like griffon when Discord averted his eyes, and was now laying on the grass.

"Indeed. This world is going to be tested soon, and that human you brought here will be at the epicenter." The bird stated as Discord shook his head.

"Mitch won't want to take part in your games, you know. All he wants right now is to head home." Discord stated as The griffon changed forms again, this time taking the form of a dark-tonned human as he wiped the dirt off his still green tuxedo.

"He has no choice, Discord. One of the world's have already cleared their test, thanks to a that kid and his two brothers, and this one is soon to follow." The man stood up, looking down at the six rings on his right hand before rubbing the yellow one.

With a flash of light, a yellow portal appeared behind the man as he stood and gave the lord of chaos a simple smile.

"Keep watch over the kid, Discord. And when the time comes, you'll know what to do." The man stated before walking through the portal.

As soon as the portal dissipated, everything around Discord went back to normal. The birds returned their course, the air felt breathable again, and...

"Wait a second!" Discord stated as he realized where his friend was. "Fluttershy isn't even in town! She's up north in the empire where...Mitch...is."

Discord stood up straight, snapping a talon and clearing up the tea set instantly.

"It's about time my little worker met his boss." Discord stated with a smile as he snapped a signed contract into existence and looked it over. "Yes, that does sound like a good plan, doesnt it?"

No one answered as the Lord of Chaos tucked it away in his rather small amount of hair and flew off towards the frigid north of Equestria.

Author's Note

Well, I can say with full authority that I am done with my first year of college! And holy crap was it stressful.

Hopefully this means I can get around to writing more. There was a lot I wanted to write here but I've let yall wait long enough so I decided to cap it there with Discord. Next chapter, we'll have Mitch arriving at the castle...where most of the main cast is right now (Wonder how that will go down?)

Starlight and Spike stayed behind with Sunburst (for obvious reasons) and Discord met up with a one of a kind face. (That guy isn't too important to the story, but he does have merit.)

Other than that, I got nothing else for yall! Hope yall have a great day!

p.s: too tired to spellcheck so feel free to notify me of anything like that, or just comment anyway!