The days leading up to the annual Running of the Leaves had some events happening for the ponies of interest. Most notably was the fact that Rainbow Dash and Applejack were showing their competitive natures by challenging each other to a series of competitions in an effort to prove their superiority over one another.

Sophia was all for a little friendly competition but the two mares were acting like winning was all that mattered. That kind of competition would lead to a rivalry which could have a negative impact on their friendships.

However, Sophia decided to let this play out and let them realize for themselves that their hypercompetitive natures would make them lose touch with what really mattered.

Amusingly, this lesson hit them during the Running of the Leaves competition in the form of both of them being so focused on one another that they never realized the other racers had passed them. Their attempts to sabotage one another only led to both of them tying for last place.

Surprisingly, Twilight participated in the event and did fairly well, earning fifth place. Starlight had earned first place, thanking her training with Nova for that. Scootaloo also participated and earned fourth, mainly due to her smaller size not allowing her strides as much reach as adults. Lyra and her friend and roommate, Bon Bon, placed in the top three behind Starlight.

Sophia was still impressed that the bookworm, who didn’t get a lot of exercise, was able to get into the top five out of about fifty ponies. It made her wonder what untapped potential lied within her if she committed more of her time to work on her body.

A few weeks later, shortly before winter was set to begin, Rarity had just finished another batch of starship metal and was working on a few more improvements for Sweetie Belle’s annual birthday upgrade.

“Hmm…maybe I need to start thinking of installing weapons? Sophia did say that Equestria would soon be attacked by ‘space pirates’...whatever those are. I will need to come up with something that would be feasible to fit into her chassis.”

A knock at the door stirred the inventor from her thoughts. She wondered who it could be since she wasn’t expecting Sophia for another couple of days.

Opening the door, she spotted the mailmare, Derpy Hooves, with a letter in her mouth. Rarity used her magic to pull the paper free before looking at her with curiosity. “Miss Hooves, why did you feel the need to personally deliver this to me instead of placing it in my mailbox?”

“Post office policy, Miss Rarity,” Derpy replied. “Somepony paid for the VIP delivery to ensure this was delivered to its recipient. Whoever paid for it really wanted the letter delivered promptly.”

“Very well, thank you for your service, Derpy.”

The mailmare left and Rarity returned to her workstation. At first she was considering placing it on her desk and opening it later, but for somepony to pay extra for the delivery, it seemed like they needed to contact her as soon as possible.

She decided to open the envelope and read its contents. Though what she found was a shock and a sign of change in her life.

Dear Rarity,

I hope that this letter has reached you and not fallen through the gaps of the mailing system like plenty of mail tends to end up. It is important that I speak with you soon.

I have witnessed your potential in mechanical engineering and your work in processing starship metal that goes into your inventions. The mechanical filly schematics I drew up for you appear to have served you well and it impresses me that you continue to improve upon the design. Your alchemical converter invention intrigues me.

Over the year that I have observed your progress through reports brought to me by Sophia, I have witnessed your growth and I have decided that it is time for us to meet.

I am an inventor like yourself who has been designing mechanical wonders for a very long time. Therefore, I would like to offer you an apprenticeship under me. If you choose to accept this offer, I will show you how to make mechanical marvels well beyond your imagination.

I do not require your answer immediately. I would like to hear it myself during the celebration Equestrians refer to as the Grand Galloping Gala. You will find me there on that night. I will be dressed as somepony who looks like they know their way around a wrench. I look forward to your reply then.

Sincerely,
The Mystery Mentor, whose name shall be revealed then

Rarity wasn’t sure if the sender was being cheesy on purpose or not. She had known plenty of ponies who try to act mysteriously through letters, at least in the novels she read in her free time.

Still, whoever the sender of the letter was, they were offering to mentor her and help her expand her knowledge. It would appear that this pony was also the one she would need to thank for the blueprints to Sweetie Belle’s mechanical body.

It seemed that she would need that gala ticket after all, much to her dismay.

It was not unusual for her to be in a waiting room at Ponyville General Hospital, she had been here a few times after being in a few accidents with her scooter, at least the nastier ones where she dislocated a leg. However, if the reason she was here was because of that she wouldn’t be as nervous as she was now. She looked ready to snap at any pony who disturbed the tense silence.

Thankfully she wasn’t alone as her aunts were here with her. Loft and Holiday could tell that Scootaloo was anxious about this appointment as this could have a major impact on her future.

After training her body diligently through the summer and fall and halfway through winter, Sophia had informed her that her body was now fit for the procedure. It didn’t help that Sophia hadn’t informed her about what the procedure would entail, though she had a feeling that she would find out soon. Her aunts were her legal guardians whenever her parents couldn’t be reached, which was nearly always, so they would sign the consent forms.

One thing was certain, this was her best chance for her to be able to take to the skies.

Their attention soon turned to a nearby door that opened to reveal Sophia wearing a tiny lab coat. She hopped over to the three where she took a deep breath and cleared her throat.

“It’s about time for the procedure to begin. I can let you know, first, that this procedure doesn’t involve surgery or any type of sharp object if you have any fear of those. Though I will say that this procedure will be unorthodox by any medical standard.”

“Is it safe?” Holiday asked.

“Will it hurt her?” Lofty asked.

“Yes, it is safe,” Sophia assured. “I can control the progression of the procedure so it shouldn’t cause any unwanted complications. However, I’m not going to say that it won’t hurt, because it will, albeit slightly. Rapidly, yet safely, correcting the genetic defect in her wings is not a painless procedure. There’s a reason creatures take years to physically mature. Accelerating the growth of her wings means enduring the years of growing pains that she missed out on in the span of hours. At least, it would take hours for a fully-grown pony. Since Scootaloo hasn’t entered her growth spurt yet it should only take an hour at most.”

“Didn’t you say that you needed materials for this?” Scootaloo asked.

Sophia nodded, “Indeed, I needed a number of genetic samples from healthy pegasi, mostly feathers, to determine the part I needed to focus on.” She quickly noticed the blank looks on the three’s faces. “Right…I forgot you ponies haven’t discovered the science of genetics yet. Let’s just say the feathers were for research purposes.”

“What is genetics?” Holiday asked.

“It’s a science to study how you appear and how your body functions. It’s the reason Scootaloo is a pegasus with an orange coat and maroon mane, for example. Her colors are inherited from her parents.”

“Really? That’s how it works?” Scootaloo asked.

“You’ve seen Apple Bloom’s parents. Have you ever noticed how her colors made her look like a filly version of her father? However, her eye color comes from one of her mother’s colors.”

“But why are my wings small? My mom’s wings are about average for a pegasus.”

Sophia shrugged, “Could be any number of things. It could be that your genetics couldn’t decide between earth pony or pegasus so it split the difference since your parentage was a mix of two tribes. Who knows. It happens rarely though.

“Anywho, let’s get to the important part. I’m going to apply a special concoction to your wings that will be absorbed through the skin. It’s as simple as that but I’d like for her to stay in the hospital for a few hours while the salve takes effect. It’s going to feel like she pushed herself too hard when exercising which is still far better than if I had to use the salve to regrow a severed limb. You don’t want to know how that would feel.”

Once the explanation concluded, Sophia led Scootaloo to the assigned hospital room that was prepared earlier by Thanatas where she revealed the salve which looked like a glowing green substance in a small cup. Scootaloo could almost swear that she could see it moving.

Truth be told, Sophia had to create the salve with her own body since it was composed of pre-programmed Zerg cells. She had to take the necessary precautions for creating it since it could result in the infestation of the subject if she wasn’t careful. She couldn’t use this method on Sweetie Belle when her body was mangled since there was too much risk for infestation for the level of damage she sustained.

“You’ll have to lay on your belly for the entire time so we don’t get this stuff on the bed,” Sopiha warned. The last thing she needed at this time was to have this hospital end up in a biohazard quarantine. Scootaloo hopped onto the bed and laid on her belly.

Once Scootaloo was in position, with her aunts nearby holding each other, Sophia began applying the substance to her wings. “This stuff is strangely warm,” Scootaloo noted.

A few minutes later, the filly began to feel the effects of the salve. It felt equivalent to pulling several of her muscles and that was never fun. She couldn’t hide the discomfort on her face as her aunts looked at her with worry. As the minutes ticked on, Sophia noticed that her wings grew a couple of millimeters. The filly groaned in pain and as much as she wanted something for it, Sophia recommended against it as any medication could interfere with the process and make her condition worse. Still, she was a tough filly so she willed herself to endure.

To help distract Scootaloo from the pain, Lofty and Holiday talked about various things but mostly had the filly talk about her numerous adventures with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. The funny part was that in most of those adventures they ended up covered in tree sap somehow.

An hour felt like a long time for Scootaloo to be in so much agony but the pain eventually began to fade and she was beginning to relax. As the pain subsided, she was suddenly struck by a powerful wave of fatigue. The land of dreams was calling to her so she answered it. Her aunts were relieved to see that their dear niece was now sleeping peacefully.

Sophia noticed that her wings were now the appropriate size for a filly her age so she used her psionic power to secretly deactivate the Zerg cells then rotating Scootaloo so she was on her back so she could sleep properly on the bed.

The two caretakers were led out of the room so the filly could rest. Sophia then gave them some instructions, “Her wings are properly sized now but now comes the hard part. With her body’s muscles in good condition, she will need to work on her wing muscles as well. Strengthening those should allow the mana channels in her wings to develop quickly. However, the muscles are still underdeveloped so she will need to keep the wing exercises light for the first few weeks then she can gradually push harder after that. After a few months she can begin working on her flying.

“So…she will be able to fly soon?” Lofty asked, a sign of hope in her eyes. Sophia nodded in response which prompted the two mares to cheerfully hug one another while cheering until one of the hospital staff had them quiet down.

“For now, let her have her rest. I will be overseeing her rehabilitation once she is ready.”

Winter soon gave way to spring and Ponyville suffered a nearly disastrous Winter Wrap Up where Twilight tried to find her place in the event since she couldn’t use magic as per tradition. In the end, her organizational skills helped the town clean up the snow in time for the change in seasons. Starlight was part of the lake-thawing team when she showed that she had some grace on the ice that was second to Pinkie.

More importantly, the time was nearly upon them for the event they had waited nearly a year for: the Grand Galloping Gala.

Unfortunately, none of Twilight’s friends had a proper dress for the occasion and the dresses they had were too plain for the event. This included Fluttershy who had decided to go when she found out that Rarity was going as well.

“I know of a place in Ponyville where we can have dresses for the gala made,” Starlight offered. “I was told about the place and checked it out with a few of our friends from Canterlot.”

“Do we really need new dresses for the gala, Starlight?” Twilight questioned. “My old dress should work for me.”

Starlight cringed as she remembered that old yellow dress that Twilight wore on some occasions. “That dress isn’t going to work this time. Besides, it’ll be fun to have all of us showing off new dresses made for us by an actual fashionista.”

“Well, if you say so.”

Once all of their friends were rounded up, Spike as well, they made their way to the boutique that had seen some significant improvements since Starlight last visited. A pair of ponies exited the store with boxes on their backs and smiles on their faces.

Upon entry, they were greeted by an off-white earth pony with a cyan mane who gave a welcoming smile to the group. “Welcome to Coco’s Couture! How may I help you?”

“Hey there, Coco,” Starlight greeted. “We were hoping that you would be able to design dresses for us for the upcoming Grand Galloping Gala.”

“The Grand Galloping Gala?! I had been told that I might end up making gala dresses but I didn’t think I would actually be given such an honor! Give me a moment.” Coco ran into another room and slammed the door. The group felt slightly worried for the mare when they heard the sounds of what seemed to be a panic attack happening. Starlight should know, she had to stop quite a few of Twilight’s panic attacks since she met her.

Thankfully, the fashionista managed to calm down after a few minutes and entered the lobby. She had also taken the time to put her mane in order after her episode which spoke well for her sense of professionalism. “I shall do my best to design formalwear that will bring out your best.”

After that, Coco took the measurements of the entire group and wrote them on a notepad. Her mouthwriting was impressive. She also conducted interviews with each mare to get a feel for their personalities since she didn’t just want to go by their colors.

The week after the order was made, the eight of them returned to see what Coco had made for them. When they saw the dresses, they were uncertain at first since it wasn’t what they envisioned but Coco insisted that they try them on. The mares changed their tune quickly after that.

The ponies and dragon soon realized that their new formalwear was amazing. Starlight was in awe of her royal purple dress with many stars forming swirl patterns with a brooch of a purple four-pointed star and a mane clip to match it. Rarity’s dress was a shimmering sky blue that gave a pony the impression that it was woven with a fusion of thread and crystal. The hemline was lined with the image of interlocking gears. The brooch took the form of a blue gear and the mane clip was two interlocking crystal gears.

“This is a lot better than I had envisioned,” Rarity commented. “This is amazing work, Coco!” The others also voiced their gratitude as well, making the fashionista blush. Coco had never received this much praise for her hard work when she was working for Suri so this had made her the happiest she had felt in a long time.

“How about this, I’ll give you a fifty percent discount for those dresses,” Coco offered. “In exchange, please tell those at the gala who made them so that word of my brand may spread.”

“It’s a deal!” Starlight said. The others agreed as well.

“Status report!” Schezar demanded.

“Sir, we’ve completed our takeover of this small village. We are awaiting the supply teams before we start building the forward base,” a sergeant replied.

“Good. None of the residents escaped, correct?”

“None, sir! They are all present and accounted for.”

“Very well. Once the lab is up and running, start the experiments on the creatures and see if we can find a way to harness the energies of this world. Those zebra-like creatures have given us some data but I’d like an entire collection of the beasts that inhabit this world for study.”

“Sir, are you sure this is humane?”

“We’ve been over this, sergeant. They are animals, no different than the Zerg. Even if they do possess intelligence comparable to us their tech is primitive at best. In the end they’re nothing more than savage beasts pretending to be civilized.”

The sergeant hesitated for a moment but suppressed his reservations and gave a crisp salute to his leader. “Sir!”

“Once we are up and running, get a scouting team together and investigate the power sources to the west,” Schezar instructed. “Pray that the Archon doesn’t know we’re here. If she does, God have mercy on you all.”

The sergeant gulped.

Author's Note

That takes care of the episodes up to the S1 finale. It shouldn't be hard to guess where Schezar set up his newest outpost since it's in a place that's practically a blind spot in Equestria.

Next time: A 2 part chapter and the big trigger that puts Sophia's plans into motion.