"...What did I join in on?!"

With the revelation of visions with many of the humans, they all knew that they had to gather everyone together to sum up everything that has happened. So the very next morning after they returned from the Crystal Empire, everyone went to gather the ponies to talk. While many of them were not exactly thrilled about another problem, they realized it was important to the humans when they saw how they were acting. So now they were all gathered in the human household, each of the humans who had them describing what happened in each of their visions. This of course led to comparisons and connections that could not be coincidence, such as the similar abominations that Alex saw in his and Xavier when he looked inside of the enchanted door in the empire. Everyone was now sitting in silence, trying to make heads or tails of what all this meant alongside the fact the humans were even here in Equestria in the first place, the silence breaking by Amity speaking up.

"I really wish I could tell you." Cali sighed.

"To be honest, we haven't been looking into the reason why we were here in the first place." Xavier admitted. "But with all of this, well it may be much more of a mystery that we need to look into as time goes on."

"Aaahhhnnn..." Amity groaned, flailing around on her chair. "I can't keep up!"

"Well it's kinda your fault." Zenix shrugged. "You were the one to bring this all to light."

"Now now, let's not play the blame game." Huston said, him and Fluttershy getting in between the two. "We should thank you however, as you did allow us to finally bring all of this up."

"Still, it's quite bizarre." Twilight said. "From what all of you have said, whatever is going on in those visions you're having is not exactly peaceful."

"And we can't even tell what they truly mean." Alex grumbled. "Literally or figuratively."

"What do y'all make of it?" Applejack asked.

"...We can't really come to any conclusions right now." Xavier said, eyes closed and arms crossed. "I wish we could come to a solid one with everything that we've discussed, but we really can't with how vague they are." Xavier opened his eyes with a serious face. "Still, we cannot put this off. For now, we'll wait for any more signs. Flint, Amity." Turning to the two, they sat at attention. "Please let all of us know as soon as possible if you happen to get a vision. Any clues will be useful to us at this point."

"Is that why you looked inside of the door?" Spike asked.

"Partially." Xavier admitted. "I... also- nevermind that. For now, we'll need to put this on hold. But we should probably keep this a secret to us only."

"Huh? Why's that?" Jasmine asked.

"It's not something I want to have spread around. We don't need any more unknowns about us in terms of us humans."

"I'll have to agree." Twilight agreed. "Though I don't think it's a bad idea to tell the princesses the situation."

"I cannot argue with that." Xavier nodded. 'Who knows, maybe they'll have an idea or two to help piece this together."

"I'll get a letter out to them. Hopefully they have some ideas."

"Does that mean we're done here?" Amity asked, clearly getting impatient.

"*sigh* Just about."

"Cool!" Amity swiftly got up and ran to the door. "I'm going!"

"Ye're really aren't subtle, ye know that?" Alex mentioned.

"Oh shut it! I just got here and I haven't had any time to explore!" Amity mentioned angrily. "I need to explore the town and let them know that a brand-new star has arrived!" Amity then bolted out, leaving everyone with no idea how to react.

"Is she going to be okay?" Huston asked.

"I really hope so-" Xavier spoke, but was interrupted by a piece of paper landing on his head. He looked it over and saw someone wrote a letter.

I'm going with Amity
I want to get started on her welcome party
Pinkie

"Welp we lost Pinkie." He said exasperated as he tossed the paper. "Might as well end the meeting for now." Everyone did just that and began for the library's exit, though all of them held some form of uneasiness for what was hiding under the surface.

Two Weeks Later

To say Amity caused an impact would be a bit of an understatement. Like in the empire, she did not change how she acted and talked herself up a great deal around the town, acting like she was the best thing since sliced bread. This had mixed results with the town, as some found her personality adorable with how young and energetic she was. Others however thought she was a bit annoying and full of herself. Still, it was somewhat admirable to see someone not care about "haters". As of right now though she was not putting herself in the spotlight. Instead, she was with the other humans hanging around Xavier's new workshop as they watched him work on repairing some things some ponies around town asked him to fix.

"So... is this your line of work or..."

"More like a side passion." Xavier answered the diva who was watching from behind him. "My actual job is maintained for the spa in town."

"We have a spa?"

"Yep." Jasmine smiled. "I also work there as a masseuse."

"Huh..." As everyone had some idle chatter, the was a knock at the door. Being the closest to the door, Zenix decided to answer it. Opening it, he looked down to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders in little hats, making them look like reporters.

"Xavier, that trio of fillies are here." Zenix called out before the three could speak. Xavier of course went to the door to greet them, the other humans watching in the background.

"Hey girls. What's up?"

"*ahem* Howdy there." Applebloom began. "We were wondering if y'all were willin' to answer a few questions, we would love to interview y'all for the school newspaper club!"

"School newspaper?" Jasmine asked. "Did you girls join that club?"

"Yes sire." Scootaloo said. "We're looking to get our cutie marks in journalism."

"Really now." Zenix smirked. "Quite an ambition."

"Yep. And we were hoping that our resident humans in town would be willing to be a part of some articles in the newspaper." Sweetie Belle said.

"Well, what would you want us to talk about?" Huston asked.

"Well, we would love to interview you all about your lines of work." Applebloom explained. "I'm sure many of the other fillies and colts would love to learn more about all of you."

"I like that idea!" Amity announced. "After all, who wouldn't like to hear about the next big star!" While the other humans were looked at her deadpanned, the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked with interest.

"Is this the new human that's moved to Ponyville?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"You are correct! Behold, the rising star of the world, Amity!" Amity gave a dramatic pose, getting little 'ahs' of admiration from the Crusaders.

"Alright, hot stuff. Tone it down." Alex said as he put a hand onto her head.

"Can you stop downplaying me!?" Amity growled, tic mark on her head.

"Ay will when ye actually become a star." Alex said matter-of-factly. Amity then rushed Alex, getting the same result as the last times she rushed him, everyone watching with sweat drops.

"Are they always like that?" Scootaloo asked.

"It's honestly surprising how often this happens." Cali shrugged as Amity tired out, looking down with tears yet again.

"Anyways... do you girls want to start on the interviews?"

"YEAH!" As the interviews began, one of the humans watched from inside of the workshop.

Later Date

After the Cutie Mark Crusaders completed their interviews with each of the humans and their lines of work and/or interests, they went back to town to review their material. After that nothing really happened for some time as the days passed. At least until many of the heroes were hanging around the watering hole having a nice and relaxing time.

"Anyone else wondering where you'd be in fifteen years or so?" Zenix asked.

"Where'd that question come from?" Applejack asked.

"Well when those little fillies came to interview us, it made me think about the future." He explained. "I mean, I know where life is going to take me already. I'm going to follow my family's footsteps and lead the Mirmadon company. But I wonder what life would be later on in my career."

"I'm actually thinking about that too." Xavier commented. "I wouldn't say I have a goal per say, but I do want to improve my metal shopping."

"Maybe make a business of it?"

"Can you not think about business for five minutes, dude?" Xavier groaned, enticing a cackle from Zenix.

"Well, I know I want to improve my cooking." Cali mentioned. "Though I really don't know how far I'd go."

"It looks like most of us haven't" Huston chuckled.

"And yet we can guess what a certain newcomer wants." Xavier mentioned, everyone sighing.

"I get wanting to go big," Rainbow mentioned. "But she's got some big ambitions for someone so small."

"You think she has what it takes?" Jasmine asked. "It seems like a pretty big dream."

"Who knows." Twilight said.

"Yoo hoo!" Calling out to everyone, Rarity came up to them with something in her magic. "I'm glad I found everypony."

"What's up Rares?" Rainbow wondered. "Find something interesting?"

"Oh you wouldn't believe." The fashionista said, levitating what he had over to them. Taking a closer look, they saw it was a newspaper, and on the cover was Snips and Snails covered in gum.

"Snips and Snails in Bubblegum Veils!" Zenix read. "And that's when the biggest jokester in school really stuck his hoof in it – literally!"

"Hilarious, isn't it?" Rarity smiled. "I found it in Sweetie Belle's bag and I couldn't get enough of it. I figured that you would find it entertaining too." Judging by the giggles by the ponies, it seemed to be going that way.

"Heh, it really is funny." Applejack commented.

"Yeah. You said you got this from your sister?" Rainbow asked, a hand taking the paper.

"Oh yes."

"...Hrm." Zenix grumbled as he read the paper.

"Something wrong? Twilight asked.

"Well, it doesn't look like any of the interviews the girls did with us made it in." He spoke.

"Maybe it'll be in a later article." Rarity suggested. "For now, what do you think about this?"

"To be completely honest with you, it's terrible." Zenix said, getting shocked expressions from the ponies.

"W-what?!"

"I agree." Cali said while glaring at the article. "Why the hell did they think this was better than what we were tellin' them?"

"Yeah..." Huston said hesitantly, his face displayed discomfort as he read the article.

"You really think this is a terrible article?!" Rarity questioned.

"Yes, because of the topic." Xaiver began, recovering from the shock. "It's just, defaming. Sure, it might seem harmless, but think about the reputations that could be harmed."

"It's just some school fillies having-"

"It's not okay!" Jasmine suddenly shouted, startling everyone. "It's kids bullying other kids! How is that okay!?"

"H-hey. Calm down-"

"NO!" Jasmine shouted, slapping Rainbow's hoof away. "Why do you find this entertaining!?"

"Jas, hey Jasmine!" Xavier took hold of Jasmine, pulling her into a hug. "Take a breath, it's okay." The two took some time to calm down, and when they did Jasmine released Xavier and began to walk away.

"I'm sorry everyone." She apologized. "I-I need some time to myself." She continued to walk, Xavier starting to follow.

"I'll make sure she's okay for now." As the couple left, everyone was left in shock.

"That... was new." Rarity commented.

"What's her problem?" Rainbow questioned as she held her hoof where Jasmine slapped it.

"You can't blame her." Cali said with a sigh. "You remember her past, right? She was bullied before and barely had anyone on her side. She knows firsthand how bad this could go."

"Besides, this really isn't a good topic to report." Huston added. "It would be one thing if it was the Ponyville Express doing this, but it's highly worrying if it's the young foals writing this."

"But this is pretty innocent looking at it." Rarity reasoned.

"Maybe right now." Zenix began. "I highly doubt that this will be the last and only article to come out."

"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked.

"Take it from someone who knows rumor mills and supply and demand well, rumors and gossip sell like hotcakes. After all, who wouldn't take the opportunity to rub some secret into a rival's face."

"It can't get that bad, right?" Rainbow said.

"You believe what you want, but don't come crying to me if your secret is revealed to the world." Zenix then rolled up the newspaper and began to walk off. "I've got some business to take care of. I'll see you guys later." As Zenix left, everyone began to trickle to do their own thing, the newspaper in their head. As Zenix was leaving though, he reopened the paper and looked at the author. "Gabby Gums, huh? Haven't heard of them before."

Another Later Date

To say that things became more interesting for the town's gossip would be an understatement. As Zenix predicted, Gabby Gums began to expand past the school and entered the town, in both readers and topics. It did start as simple facts like crying children, but started to become more and more unsavory as time went on. Nopony really seemed to care though, as they all were engrossed in the newspapers that were published by the school newspaper club. All except for the humans who weren't fond of the articles to the point of avoiding them. This particular day everyone was at the spa, the girls simply taking their time to relax while most of the guys were just hanging around talking. Most though as Xavier was working and Huston was taking part in a massage by Jasmine. As for Flint and Amity, they were doing their own things outside.

"Oh, this is the life, isn't it,?" Rarity asked. "The best hooficure I've ever had!"

"You said it, ooh..." Applejack answered, her voice vibrating due to her massage.

"I don't know if I've ever been so relaxed." Spike said, laying back with cucumbers in his eyes.

"You guys!"

"Aaah!" Spike sat up shocked, launching the cucumbers out of his eyes and onto the eyes of the one who called out to everyone, Rainbow. And she was holding a paper.

"The new Gabby Gums just came out! 'The Great and Powerful Trixie's Secrets Revealed!'" She said excitedly, taking one of the cucumbers and eating it.

"We already read that one, Rainbow Dash." Rarity commented nonchalantly. "Come on, relax, have a hooficure, it feels amazing."

"Did you forget who you're talking to? The day I get a hooficure is the day I turn in my daredevil license. Besides, I haven't read this Gabby Gums yet."

"Well, do it quietly, will ya? Some of us are trying to unwind!" Spike groaned.

"Ow ow ow! Jasmine, you're hurting me!" Huston flinched, Jasmine having an angry face on her.

"Huh, oh!" Jamsine backed off and bowed. "I'm so sorry!"

"Never thought that the next time I'd hear about Trixie is through such a defaming article." Xavier said as he walked in with a cloth.

"Ye know her?" Alex asked.

"Happened quite early in my time here." He said. "Quite an ordeal that I'd rather not talk about. Speaking of though..." Xavier then took the paper Rainbow had and sighed. "These papers are getting even worse, huh?"

"Worse? I'd say they're getting better." Rarity said.

"Seriously?" Zenix questioned. "All they're doing is making everyone look bad. Heck, they made one with princess Celestia for crying out loud!"

"This Gabby Gums pony has no respect for privacy." Cali sneered.

"Oh, lighten up, it's nothing but harmless gossip!" Rarity commented. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie popped out of the hot tub happily.

"Yeah, I mean listen to this one." She said, holding up a paper of her own. "'Mayor Not Naturally Gray!' The Mayor in a mane dyeing scandal? Who wouldn't wanna read that?"

"Do you not care fer what that could mean fer her reputation?!" Alex shouted, irritated how everypony was treating this. "Do ye not care about what the consequences are fer the people involved!?"

"Are you kidding? Do you know how awesome it is to get your name in the paper?" Rainbow said, thinking it was great.

"Rainbow, why don't you join me in one of these delicious hooficures?" Rarity insisted, Rainbow looking curious.

"It's that good, huh? Well, maybe just one little hoof." She said, flying over to a booth. One of the employees walked over with a file, ready to get to work. Though the client kept moving around like she was about to get a shot in her leg. Once the file finally reached and tapped, Rainbow shot up into the air. "Forget it, I don't like ponies touching my hooves." She cried, flying back to the ground to the paper Xavier held. "Man... I'd love it if Gabby Gums did a story on me."

"And risk whatever embarrassing thing she could say? Yeah, no thanks." Zenix said.

"She did one for me."

"WHAT!?" The ponies surrounded Spike who admitted an interview. As the girls were questioning him, the humans all looked worried. Unbeknownst to them all, Gabby Gums was creating an article for the town, one that would shake things up much more than anyone could predict.

The Next Day

Amity was having a peaceful day. And who could blame her, it was a beautiful day with not a cloud in the sky, all the animals were calm, and the day was still young. So she took this opportunity to take a stroll around town as she skipped along.

"Ah, what a fantastic day!" She beamed. "It's perfect for a celebration if there was one!" She gave a twirl with arms raised to the sky. She then receded, entering a thoughtful pose with a thought bubble above her. "I wonder if there is a celebration actually... Maybe I could convince Pinkie to create one..." As she was thinking, a pair of ponies walked by from a distance. She exited her thoughts (the thought bubble popping) and waved at them. Instead of waving back at them, they giggled at her with some pointing. This left her confused. "Huh? What was that about?" She didn't harp on it though and continued to skip along. As she continued however, she noticed that more and more ponies she passed began to laugh at her. Either that, or glare at her. It was off-putting and caused her to stop skipping happily and walk nervously. "W-why's everyone looking at me like that?" She wondered, sweat drops flying off her. That's when she saw a crowd of ponies standing by the news stand. She got closer to investigate, but when she saw a pony holding one of the papers her blood ran cold.

She was on it.

She immediately ran into the crowd, pushing past all the ponies and reached the stand. She snagged a paper and began to read the title.

"Amity, superstar or superfraud? Is this newcomer to Equestria all she's saying or perhaps she is nothing but talk. She says she dreams about becoming an idol, but perhaps she's just after the fame and fortune."

"W-w-wha-?"

"Can you believe it?" Amity turned around to see all the gazes of the town. What she saw was dozens of ponies judging her. Some were laughing at her. Others were glaring judgmentally at her. All of them however had one thing in common, they were all focused on Amity as this week's newest target of gossip. And Amity was panicking as they all talked.

"N-no, stop!" She tried to say, but everypony just kept talking.

"I always thought she was nothing more than loud and overconfident." A pony said.

"We've already had enough of that with Rainbow Dash running around and that time Trixie entered town." Another said. As they all talked, Amity's eyes went everywhere in panic. It all culminated to her finally breaking, bursting into tears. Though this time unlike the time Xavier told her his past, this one was less exaggerated. It was still her crying sadly though, and this actually caused a few of the ponies to stop for a moment. A moment however as something changed as everything grew darker. When they looked up, they saw that the sky was covered in dark storm clouds. Confusion began to settle in since there wasn't a storm scheduled today.

"Step away from her. Now." Then they heard a voice from behind them. When they turned they saw Cali and Jasmine, but surprisingly it wasn't Cali who said that. In fact, she looked a bit worried. Instead, it looked like it was the sweet Jasmine who said what was said, her face dark and angry. Before anyone could say anything, she glared at them all, thunder being heard above them, so they obliged, allowing Jasmine and Cali to get to Amity. Reaching her, Jasmine crouched down to see Amity's face, who as still crying. "Hey, everything will be okay." Jasmine said gently. "It'll be fine-" She was cut off by the younger girl throwing herself onto Jasmine, hugging her tightly as she sobbed. Closing her eyes, Jasmine patted her on the back before looking up at Cali. "Help me bring her back home." Cali simply nodded, knowing that this wasn't the time to talk. As she and Jasmine got Amity up and walked away from the news stand, Jasmine paused to give one last glare to the crowd. "If I see or hear anypony else read another paper, I won't be so forgiving." She said coldly, which sent chills down everyone's spines.

Later, at the Human Household

Turns out it wasn't just by the newspaper stand that was covered by clouds. It was the entire town that was covered. Of course the town was confused and concerned at why it was suddenly cloudy and stormy, but when some of the heroes saw Jasmine and Cali carrying a crying Amity, they began to assemble at the house. Now as Jasmine was comforting Amity in her room, everyone else was downstairs talking.

"And that's what happened." Cali finished describing what happened.

"So this Gabby Gums pony decided that Amity was their next target..." Zenix sighed.

"Grrr... If ay get my hands on 'em I swear..." Alex growled, fist clenched.

"Poor girl." Huston said with pity, feeling bad for her.

"Yeah..."

"Ye lot have no right ta be guilty!" Alex shouted at the ponies, shocking them.

"What!? Why not!?"

"Alex has a point." Xavier shrugged with a side eyed glare. "All of you wanted to see who was next in the paper. Well your wish is granted."

"Yeah, now Amity is now a laughingstock." Cali growled. Now that someone close to them was victimized by this newsletter, they all felt guilty.

"W-we-"

"Don't bother apologizing to us." Zenix said. "You should really apologize to Amity and any victims."

"Yeah." As all the ponies nodded, Cali looked outside.

"Still, to think that Jasmine had this kind of power." She said, refencing the storm.

"Wait, you think Jasmine did that?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, when we saw Amity on the ground crying, Jasmine seemed to get quite angry." Cali explained. "And then I saw her staff glow a bit. Soon enough that storm appeared."

"And she does have the power to create thunderclouds." Huston added, thinking back to Nightmare Night.

"Now that you mention it..." Rarity began to think back. "One time when I was in a bit of a bind, Jasmine created a storm cloud unintentionally. Maybe she did that unintentionally as well."

"And we still have no idea where or what that staff came from." Xavier commented.

"Well from what we've seen, let's try not ta get on her bad side." Alex said, everyone nodding.

"Let's get back on topic." Zenix said. "The only pony who should be apologizing is Gabby Gums."

"It's strange though..." Xavier pondered. "Last time I visited the schoolhouse, there wasn't anypony who went by the name 'Gabby Gums'."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah. All we know is that they are a part of the school newspaper club."

"Wait... newspaper..." Cali got to thinking, and after a bit she remembered something."

"We were wondering if y'all were willin' to answer a few questions, we would love to interview y'all for the school newspaper club!"

"Yes sire. We're looking to get our cutie marks in journalism."

"Yep. And we were hoping that our resident humans in town would be willing to be a part of some articles in the newspaper."

"Well, we would love to interview you all about your lines of work. I'm sure many of the other fillies and colts would love to learn more about all of you."

"I like that idea! After all, who wouldn't like to hear about the next big star!"

As those memories came to her, Cali's anger rose as she clenched her fists.

"Those girls are going to get it!" She growled as she stormed out of the house, startling everyone.

"Huh? Wait where are you going?" Everyone began to follow Cali, worried about what she was going to do. After some time, they found themselves at the schoolhouse, and Cali glared at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "There you are!" She shouted, getting the attention of the trio. "Why on earth are you three writing those terrible articles!?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Sweetie Belle stammered.

"Cali, what are you talking about?" Applejack asked.

"What I'm talking about is that these three are Gabby Gums!" Cali declared, getting gasps from everyone.

"W-what!?"

"What makes you think that?" Xavier questioned.

"Isn't it obvious? Only these three have done any interviews with us humans, and only they know that Amity's true goal! All the points lead to these three!"

"I-is this true?" Huston asked. The three stood like deer in the headlights.

"There really isn't anyone else who could!" Cali growled. "Don't even try to deny it!"

"Cali, that's enough!" Rarity pleaded, trying to pull Cali away. "My sister would never associate with anyone as beastly as Gabby Gums! I resent you even suggesting such a thing, Twilight! Why, she's the most innocent, most lovely–"

"I wouldn't be so quick to defend them." Zenix called out, everyone looking over at him at the girls's saddlebags. And in his hand was a purple book with a gold heart and lock on it. "I found this in Sweetie's bag, Rarity." Rarity suddenly gasped and dashed over to grab the book.

"MY DIARY!?" She panicked, clinging onto the book. Now everyone was certain about what was happening and glared at them.

"So it really is ye lot!" Alex shouted.

"W-well-"

"Girls..." Many of the heroes froze, knowing that they made someone angry. And as they turned to look, Xavier had a very angry glare on him. "What makes you think that posing such articles are a good idea?"

"We don't feel good about it!" Sweetie Belle finally stated. "We know it's wrong, but we just want our Cutie Marks!"

"Is it really worth it to ruin the lives of those you write about?" He questioned coldly. "You've costed Amity her reputation and is now hurt. Does that sound like something you want to say you're proud of?"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

"You girls have a lot to think about." Xavier said coldly as he turned around to walk away. "Hopefully you make the right choice soon." Him and everyone left, each of them feeling betrayed and upset at the Crusaders. Said fillies were also feeling guilty at what they've done, but they didn't know what was coming next.

A Few Days Later

Once word got around town, everyone treated everyone around them differently. No pony could really trust anypony else from the defamatory articles published, leaving the town in a tense state. It was also amplified by Jasmine's threat, too scared to say the wrong thing. There was one thing they were unified in however, and that was the broken trust with the Crusaders. No one wanted to be affiliated with them anymore, not even their own families as they felt betrayed by them. Now they were walking around town, downtrodden and lost.

"What are we goin' to do y'all?" Applebloom asked.

"I don't know..." Scootaloo answered.

"Well we need to find someone who'd be willing to interview." Sweetie Belle said. "Else we're in trouble-"

"Oof!"

The three of them, in their worried states, weren't looking at where they were going and ended up running into someone. As they looked up, they were greeted by Flint, carrying a bag of groceries.

"Huh, oh it's you three." He said, looking down curiously.

"Oh, um..." The three didn't know what to say, so they just got up and began to walk away. "W-we'll be seeing you."

"Now hold on." The trio flinched when they were stopped, waiting for harsh words. "You three seem upset. Would you three like to come to the house for some tea?"

"We- huh?" Before they knew it, they at the human household on the couch waiting for Flint to finish the tea. Thankfully, the house seemed empty for the time being, though Amity hadn't left her room since what happened. Flint entered the room, a tray with teacups, kettle, and tea snacks on it.

"I've brewed us some nice Earl Grey tea for us." He said happily, putting the tray down and pouring some tea. "Please help yourselves to some snacks." Passing three cups to the Crusaders, Flint sat down with his own. "I hope you enjoy." As he took a sip out of his own cup, the three looked at him bewildered.

"Why are you being so nice to us?" Scootaloo asked, Flint looking at them.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, seemingly oblivious to the obvious.

"Everypony is treating us like the plague." Applebloom began. "Nopony wants to even look at us and you're treating us to tea. Why?"

"Well it would be hypocritical for me to when I've been in this situation." Flint answered, taking another sip. The Crusaders were about to say something, but stopped.

"H-huh?"

"You heard that correctly." Putting down his teacup, Flint readjusted himself. "I too was in a similar situation."

"...You were?"

"Yes. It happened before I even joined the military." Flint said, looking back. "In fact, I only got the name 'Flint' when I was in the military."

"You're name isn't Flint?"

"Oh, no. That's just a nickname for how quickly I shot back at people in my early days at the academy." Flint said. "My actual name is actually just Frank."

"That's... kinda lame." Scootaloo deadpanned.

"You said it. So I would appreciate it if you'd keep this a secret." Flint said, getting nods from the girls. "But back to the story, I was raised in a town similar to this one. Calm, quiet and peaceful. Unfortunately, there was a flaw with it. And that was that everyone there was pretty much just goody two shoes that abided to nothing but what was right and wrong. No one stepped out of bounds, experimented, or even had an original thought." Flint crossed his arms and for once looked irritated. "They spent their time playing non-competitive games, talked about the weather for hours, and was overall just boring."

"That... actually sounds nice." Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah, for about a week. Then you get bored of how uninteresting everyone is. And the worst part, everyone had some secret that went against the town's ideal view. It's one thing to be a goody two shoes naturally, but it's just hypocrytical to hide that side like you are perfect. So, as an act of defiance for the norm, I ended up becoming the town's 'delinquent'."

"You, a delinquent?" Applebloom wondered.

"Believe what you want, I really was quite the trouble maker." Flint thought back. "Graffiti, picking fights, petty theft, and overall just being a nuisance to town. Because the town was so 'by the book' however, I was seen as even more of an annoyance than if I was somewhere else, so everyone basically tried to steer clear of me." Flint paused, taking a sip of tea. "All but one."

"Really?"

"He was a shy and quiet person, preferring to read all day. He however was different from everyone as he read more action and sci-fi novels than the basic history. He started to hang around me when he found me injured after a fight I picked. I found him annoying at first since he clung to me like a lost puppy, but I guess I just started to tolerate him. Everything changed however in my third year in high school. I caught word of the school newspaper and thought to myself, 'this could give quite the opportunity.'"

"An opportunity for what?"

"AN opportunity to get everyone to drop their masks." Flint described, a tinge of guilt in his tone. "I learned a lot about what everyone hides behind their masks, and like what you all have done, I put articles in the paper revealing those things. Let's just say that as time went on, people began to talk. And after some time, everyone's attitude changed. They started to lose trust in everyone else, and they were none the wiser as to who was posting those articles. All but one, the kid I told you about." Flint paused, looking down with sadness. "At least... he was my friend..."

"W-what happened?" Applebloom asked.

"It was around the last year of high school for me." Flint began. "I was walking around and overheard something from some kids. They were saying that they saw my friend doing something. I listened for a while, and learned he was going around town, buying strange things and talking about me. And they said that he might have been planning to cause something. I decided not to believe them and walked away. But sometime later people were saying that I managed to lose a fight. And that I was indebted to my friend. I... I was stupid back then." Flint paused yet again, swirling his tea around. "When I put the dots together, I thought that my friend decided to turn his back on me and reveal something personal. So I decided to get back at him and tell a secret to everyone through the article. One that he entrusted to me." The crusaders gasped. "It of course spread around town and before you knew it, he was on blast too. I didn't think much of it, but then I was confronted by the town being led by my friend. He decided to tell everyone who was writing those articles."

"He did?"

"Yes. It turns out, it was the guy I fought that told the town. I jumped to conclusions and ended up hurting my friend. And no one was on my side. I still remember the last look he gave me when he left, a look of disappointment and regret. And that wasn't the worst part."

"It wasn't"

"No, it was when I got home and saw a box. When I opened it, I saw the sunglasses I wear to this day." He said, holding onto those same glasses. "At that moment, it all finally hit me. All I ever did was create enemies, and the only ally I made, I turned my back on them without hearing his side. And I was now alone." Flint stayed quiet for some time, simply thinking about that moment. "The day before the last day of school I decided to change myself. Once school ended I left immediately and signed myself up for the military. Not only that, I decided to change something about myself. I would never choose any side to believe until I hear every side of the story. That brings us to now." As Flint finished off his tea, the trio all looked at him with awe.

"That... was quite the story." Sweetie Belle said.

"But... what's the point when we're basically in the same situation?" Scootaloo questioned.

"Because there is a difference between us." Flint said. "I was pretty much hated by the time I left. You girls however have a chance to make things right." Flint smiled at all of them. "All you have to do is apologize, quit what you're doing, and promise to never do such a thing again. Seems easy enough."

"It... We can't." Applebloom said sadly, catching Flint's attention.

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"It's..." The girls hesitated to say.

"It's okay. I won't say anything to anyone if you want. I can even help you if you want. From one school journalist to another if you will." Flint chuckled. The girls looked at each other, but ultimately decided to talk.

"It's the editor-in-chief!" Scootaloo said. "She's blackmailing us!"

"What?" Flint's calm demeanor immediately changed, becoming more serious.

"When we first started out as journalists, we made some mistakes." Applebloom described. "She's now using those to make us get articles or those will be posted." Flint's face darkened.

"What kind of child does such a thing?" He questioned. "What's the deadline?"

"Tomorrow morning." Sweetie said.

"So not much time..." Flint thought. As the girls were panicking, Flint came up with an idea. "Wait, maybe we can use this to kill two birds with one stone." The girls looked at him curiously. "Come close girls, I have a plan." As they began to discuss their plan however, they never realized that there was a fifth pair of ears listening in.

Two Days Later

"Are you sure this will work Mr. Flint?"

"I'm sure. You did say that she printed them out."

The four acquaintances were quite busy after their little talk. Their plan was now working out well, and now was the last part of their plan. All they had to do was collect something early in the morning before the editor-in-chief saw the papers.

"But you know that no one's going to read the paper after Jasmine's threat." Applebloom commented.

"Don't worry, if anyone tries to stop this I'll handle it." Flint reassured.

"Why do you want to help us so much anyway?" Scootaloo asked.

"I just don't want to see anyone else walk a dark path." Flint stated. When the group made it to the schoolhouse, Flint stopped them. "Okay, our plan is to collect all the papers before anyone else can even see what the article is about and hand them out around town. If anyone tries to stop us, I'll talk them down." The girls nodded and led Flint to where the papers were left. At least, where they should have been, as all there was an imprint on the grass.

"What!?" The girls all shouted.

"Where'd the papers go?!" Applebloom panicked.

"Calm down." Flint said, pointing at some tracks that looked like they came from some kind of cart. "Somepony must have taken them."

"Isn't that a problem!?" Scootaloo mentioned.

"Possibly." Flint answered. "It all depends on who took them." The decided to not waste time and hastily follow the tracks. They followed them to town, and when they found the end of the trail, they were shocked to see who took them.

"E-E-Extra extra!" Waving about a newspaper with a cart full of them was the last person anyone would think to have them. Amity. Though she didn't seem all that confident. "T-t-the latest p-piece from G-G-Gabby Gums!" Many ponies were looking at her trying confused, but none of them seemed interested in coming closer.

"Amity?" The young human jumped in shock as she turned to Flint and the Crusaders. "What are you doing?"

"I-I-I'm g-giving the p-paper out." She said shakily.

"Why?" Sweetie Belle asked. "Out of everypony here, you should be the most upset."

"I... I overheard everything you were talking about the other day." Amity admitted. "I-it sounded like you were sorry about everything, so I..."

"Amity..." Everyone nearby then noticed that the sky went dark with clouds yet again, and in a panic saw that the other heroes were walking up to the stand.

"Amity, what is going on?" Cali questioned, her and most of the others having irritated expressions on them. "Why are you trying to give out these defamatory papers after what you went through?"

"I-I-I-"

"Are they forcing you?" Rarity questioned, also irritated. "How far must you girls stoop?" The heroes began to close in on the fillies, but Amity put herself between them.

"Amity? What are you doing?" Zenix asked.

"They didn't put me up to anything!" Amity shouted. "I'm helping them apologize!"

"Apologize?" Jasmine asked, her voice, while irritated, had some curiosity. Amity decided to hand her a paper to read. To which she began to read out loud.

To the citizens of Ponyville,
For some time now, you've been reading this column to get the latest dirt and the hottest buzz. But this will be my final piece. We want to apologize for the pain and embarrassment we've caused.
Y'see, I'm actually three little fillies: Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo.
As the popularity of our column grew, we got swept up in the hype. We knew that what we were doing didn't feel quite right, but we ignored the guilt because everypony seemed to want to read what we were writing.
From now on, we promise to respect everypony else's privacy, and we won't engage in hurtful gossip any more.
All we can do is ask for your forgiveness, Ponyville.

Signing off for the very last time,
XOXO, Gabby Gums

As Jasmine read out the article, everyone nearby began to soften their expressions, seeing how heartfelt the article was. Once Jasmine finished, light began to penetrate the cloudy sky as it began to dissipate.

"They worked hard to write that article." Amity said, her confidence beginning to come back. "They spent all night writing it so they could get their feelings out."

"...One last question." Jasmine began. "Why did you go so far for them?"

"Because that's kinda my dream." Amity shrugged with a light smile. "I want to perform in front of the world not for fame or fortune... okay maybe a bit of fame..." She admitted, a little bit of sweat flying off her. "But I want to perform so that everyone is united for once. No quarrels, no guilt, no past or future. Just finally letting go and finding a place to belong, even if for a moment." Amity turned to the Crusaders with a smile. "And these three are trying to find that place. So I think I'll try and help them figure out their path. After all, I already know mine." The crusaders all looked up at her, eyes glimmering and a bit teary. The moment was quite touching that everyone almost forgot about what that did.

"There you are!" At least, until Diamond Tiara entered the scene clearly upset. "How dare you pull one over me with the paper!" She closed in on the quartet, Flint stepping in.

"Excuse me, but we are a bit busy young one." Flint said. "If you have business with these three I would-"

"I'm not leaving!" Diamond Tiara growled, pulling out a paper. "What is this?! You're retiring!?"

"Yes. We won't be making another Gabby Gums article again." Sweetie Belle confirmed.

"Grrr! Fine! Just know that the next paper will have your articles in it!"

"Wait, are you the editor-in-chief?" Flint asked, realization settling in. "The one who blackmailed them?"

"What of it! Gabby Gums is my bread and butter! I am not about to let that go!"

"I'm sorry, did I hear that correctly?" While most of the town didn't make much out of that sentence, the heroes outside of Amity flinched and went wide-eyed (one could swear they could hear actual glass break at that moment) "Did I hear that you, the editor-in-chief not only green listed those articles, but encouraged them to the point of blackmail?"

"Of course I did!" Suddenly, the air around town changed in a moment. Only the heroes who knew what happened at Canterlot knew why, and they turned to the cause. Everyone saw Xavier, and they saw that he practically had a dark aura around him. Needless to say, everyone in the vicinity were scared, but Diamond felt like she was in the most danger. But as she tried to flee, she was grabbed by the tail and brought to meet the gaze of Xavier. That gaze cold beyond belief.

"You're not going anywhere." Xavier said with an unsettling calmness. "We are going to find your father and Ms. Cheerilee and telling them what you were doing. No ifs, ands, or buts." Xavier lowered Diamond Tiara back to the ground and began to drag her, the filly struggling to keep up. As everyone watched him leave, they all felt the air settle, though that didn't change their feelings.

"Yep, still terrifying." Zenix shuddered, hiding behind Flint who was also a bit taken aback.

"W-w-w-what was that?!" Amity shouted, tears flowing and sweat flying and arm pointing and swinging in the direction of Xavier rapidly. "I thought he was the 'calm and collected leader'!"

"Theeeerrreeessss a lot ye don't know about him." Alex mentioned. Looking around, may of the ponies were still struck with fear. "How are we gonna calm this situation?" Amity looked around, and locked eyes with the cart of papers. She ran over and grabbed a paper, handing it to the others.

"Why not help me give these out?" Amity suggested. All the heroes and the Crusaders looked at each other and gave a nod and smile. Soon everyone was passing out papers, letting the town finally read something that was innocent to read.

"And after everything she was stripped of her title and grounded for a while."

After some time passing out papers, the sun began to set and the day was over. When the humans got back to the house, Amity as basically back to normal. Xavier got back later than them and they decided to go to bed early. The next morning however, Xavier told everyone what happened after he left them. All but Amity who was in her room.

"She seems ta be a problem, huh." Alex commented. "Pretty sure she was the one ta try an' embarrass Applebloom durin' that family appreciation day."

"Ever since I've known the Crusaders." Xavier sighed. "I don't even get it since her father is such a great pony."

"It's a mystery." Cali shrugged. Her gaze then drifted to Flint, who had a cup of tea. "By the way, were you also helping those fillies Flint?"

"Hm?"

"It's just that you were with the girls when we got there." Cali explained. "You also knew about the blackmail."

"I gave some advice." Flint said, taking a sip from his tea.

"And is that all you did?" Huston asked.

"Yes."

"You are one serious enigma." Zenix commented. Then in the corner of his eye he saw some movement. "And where are you going, Amity?" An exclamation mark popped up from the girl in question.

"Oh, well... I was going to wait outside for the Crusaders." Amity admitted.

"Hanging out with the Crusaders?" Huston wondered.

"Yes." She said with a huff. "Besides, I promised I would help them find their cutie marks as we were handing out papers." Before anyone else could say anything, there was a knock at the door. Amity lit up and hurried to the door, opening it for the Crusaders.

"Hi Amity!" The trio greeted.

"Hey!" The human greeted. "Let's get going!"

"Yeah!"

"Oh wait." The girls cheered, but Sweetie Belle stopped herself. She walked inside and up to Flint. "Here, this is our very last article as part of the newspaper club." She passed a paper over to him. "Alright, we'll see you later." With that, the four young friends left to play/work on getting the fillies' cutie marks. Flint took a look at the paper, smiling as he read the paper and saw the picture with the humans in a picture.

"The Inner Scoop on Ponyville's Resident Humans; Their Lines of Work and Their Plans
By Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo"

Author's Note

Hmm... new chapter finally
Like I said in that blogpost, many things have come up lately, so things are going to go slow for a while. Don't worry, I am still going to work on the story. Luckily I have a good idea on how to move forward on the story, so it's only a matter of finding time to do so. SO for now, Koops out!