Fall of the Trossels

by JudgmentisForbidden

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Comedy, Romance
Length: 8464

This is just an old shame that got popular on fanfiction.net; what do you think?

A magical species known as the Trossels, a long forgotten race that broke off from the rest of Equestria. Unfortunately, the species has since become extinct because of one mare's actions the species is now extinct…and the last of the species are living with Twilight Sparkle.

I originally posted this on fanfiction.net a long time ago, and surprisingly got glowing reviews across the board which astounded me. This was one of the first ponyfics I've ever written ever. Even if you hate it, that's fine; I'll be posting the loosely-based remake soon, which since it's so radically different and ninety TRILLION times better. The only thing that they have in common are some similar scenes, some jokes from the first one, and, well, the characters are actually there. Anyway, read, comment, rate, and if you like it, fine; more power to you.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2012-10-14 16:40:01 UTC

Leafwind Gets Her Cutie Mark

Frostburn was skipping home, very excited to tell her brother and sister about some very important. Frostburn had her long red and blue mane tied back in a ponytail (pun not intended) and a large pink bow around her red and light blue tail and her pale blue coat was spattered with several dozen freckles. When she came home, her brother was paging through a thick book. He looked up and saw his baby sister staring back him, her large yellow eyes sparkling and welling up with anticipation. Infernalo had a dark red mane, which streaked shades of bright yellow into, along with his white tail. His coat was dark grey, practically black. Her eager expression reflected back in his blue eyes, looking back at her in a look of discontent and annoyance.

"What," he asked, a bit annoyed. "I was reading." Frostburn looked over his shoulder curiously.

"Whatcha readin', big brother," she asked. Infernalo turned away from her.

"Eltigo Morose's Interrogation of a Soldier," he answered. Frostburn cocked her head to one side in confusion. "It's too complicated to explain to you, and would take much more time than I have. Do you want something, or should I just chalk this up as another chunk of what's left of my life that you've thrown out the window?" Frostburn tapped a hoof on her chin in thought, and beamed.

"Oh, now I remember," she said excitedly.

"Great," her brother said sarcastically. "Take it somewhere else." Frostburn nodded and skipped away. Infernalo sighed in relief and continued his book, when Frostburn burst back into the room. "Seriously? Can't I have just five minutes to read?"

"Do you know where Stonebolt is," she asked, inquiring about her twin sister. "I just learned this new trick, and I thought I'd be cool to show it to her." Infernalo glanced up.

"She said she was going out with a few friends," he said, desperate to get his baby sister out of his hair. "Now, leave me alone." Frostburn skipped out of the room, and Infernalo resumed his reading. Frostburn returned shortly after. "What," he demanded. "What is it this time?" Frostburn looked back at him, a bit guilty.

"I just wanted to apologize for interrupting you, Infernalo," she said, a bit depressed. He sighed, as Frostburn disappeared into a void under her feet which shortly receded.

A giant black void appeared and spat out Frostburn before disappearing. Frostburn looked out if the bushes and saw her twin sister Stonebolt, with her tan coat and bright yellow mane and tail, blotched with shades of brown. Just like Frostburn, Stonebolt had her face spattered with dozens of freckles. She walked along the road with her best friend Zephyroak, who had her mane styled in a variety of different shades of salmon and brown and light blue. Her teal coat glistened in the sunlight as many other boys whistled at them.

"Get a life," Stonebolt shot back. A small pale green filly with a light pink and lilac mane and tail trotted up to them, her orange eyes looking up at the older ponies.

"Leafwind, go home," Zephyroak ordered. Leafwind shook her head in disobedience.

"No," she said. "I wanna hang out with you guys, and if you don't, I'm telling Aunt Charlotte." Stonebolt looked over at Zephyroak with her bright green eyes.

"C'mon, Zeph," she said. "Let your cousin hang out with us. What's the worst thing that could happen?" Zephyroak sighed.

"Fine, she can come," Zephyroak said in defeat.

"At least Stonebolt is nice to me," Leafwind said. Frostburn leaned in to listen closer to the conversation, but fell through the bushes and tumbled in front of the three.

"Frostburn," Leafwind squealed excitedly. Frostburn got back to her feet and brushed herself off.

"You were bothering Infernalo again, and he sent you here," Stonebolt asked. Frostburn nodded while shaking the dirt from her hair. "What are you doing here? Last time Infernalo transported you to see me you said that you were flying weird."

"Turns out it was something I ate," Frostburn said. "Anyway, I learned this really cool trick with my powers. Watch!"

"Oh boy," Leafwind said, bouncing up and down excitedly. "This is going to be so cool." Zephyroak placed a hoof on the little filly's head to cease her bouncing, which succeeded. Frostburn took a few steps back, and flew into the air and spun around in a blizzard of ice. When she stopped, she was standing on top of a large glacier. Frostburn floated around it, shooting fire out of her front hooves on the way down and trying to melt the ice before landing back on the ground.

"That's it," Zephyroak asked in confusion. Frostburn stomped at the ground and the ice shattered away in a flurry of snow, leaving behind an ice sculpture of herself, Stonebolt, and Infernalo. A gentle wind began blowing away the snow as Leafwind looked up at the scene.

"Wait a minute," Frostburn said in disbelief. "There isn't a cloud in the sky. How is there any wind?" Leafwind looked up at the snow made from Frostburn's statue and watched it dance in the wind. The snow whirled around her, and eventually vanished. In its place, however, an image a leaf caught in a current of air appeared on her flank.

"Yay," Leafwind squealed excitedly. "I finally got my Cutie Mark! See? It looks so pretty."

"Congratulations," Frostburn said.

"That's so great," Stonebolt added. Zephyroak patted her cousin on the head in appreciation before glancing over at the sunset.

"It's getting late," she remarked. "See you tomorrow, Stone." She trotted off with Leafwind, beaming proudly about her new Cutie Mark as Frostburn and Stonebolt departed in the other direction.

They walked in, as Infernalo looked up from his book.

"You're late," he said. What confused Stonebolt was that it wasn't in his usual cold domineer as usual, but more grateful and a bit morbid. "I'm just glad that you're home safe. You know I worry about you."

"We know, they said."You just don't show it enough," Frostburn pointed out. Infernalo glanced over at the light on the wall and blinked, causing the light to vanish. He continued this with every light on the way to their bedrooms.

The Disaster

"Frostburn," Stonebolt said, nudging her sister awake. Frostburn moaned, and rolled over and ignored her. Stonebolt narrowed her eyes. "Frostburn," she said firmly, shoving her to no avail. Stonebolt stomped her hoof on the floor as the ground started to shake violently as Frostburn fell out of bed and hit her head on the floor.

"I'm up, I'm up," she said irritably. "What?" she looked over at the clock on the wall. "It's noon! I can't believe I slept in; why didn't you wake me up?"

"Duh," her sister responded irritably. "Now get up. We're going to be late."

"Late for what?"

"You'll know when we get there," Infernalo told them.

"Are we there yet," Frostburn asked, bouncing up and down excitedly.

"You said that an hour ago," Infernalo said in frustration. "You said that a half hour ago. You said that ten minutes ago. You said that five seconds ago. We aren't there yet!" Frostburn stopped bouncing, and looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Frosty," Stonebolt said reassuringly, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "If it helps, we're almost there." Frostburn sniffed a little and smiled weakly. They continued trotting along until they stopped at a large building.

"Why are we here," Stonebolt asked. Infernalo gave her a slight look, which quickly faded away when he saw someone trotting over to them.

"Hi Infernalo," she said. She had a periwinkle coat with a long curly pale pink mane with short streaks of yellow through it and an image of a wave with rays of light on her flank. Her purple eyes looked over the other two in curiosity.

"Hi Aquashine," they said. Infernalo stared at her longingly.

"Infernalo," Aquashine said, snapping him back. "You're staring at me again." he stopped, and followed her in. The room was completely dark.

"It's pretty dark in here," Aquashine said, nuzzling up to Infernalo. "It's a good thing that I have you here."

"Or you could use your powers to switch the lights," Stonebolt said firmly. Aquashine sighed and the room illuminated and revealed the whole town in wait.

"Happy birthday," they said.

"You really think I'd forget my baby sisters' birthday," Infernalo inquired.

"This is the best birthday ever," Frostburn said. Steelmind walked over to Stonebolt. He had a bright yellow coat and had his dark brown mane brushed over his glasses.

"I'm glad that the birthday girls are happy," he said. "How are you, Frostburn?"

"I'm not Frostburn, Steelmind," Stonebolt corrected her. "She's right next to me." He turned around and saw her staring back at him with her shining yellow eyes.

"So I heard that you learned a new trick," he said. Frostburn nodded.

"We'll have to go outside," she said. Steelmind smiled and led everyone outside to a large shape covered by a tarp. Frostburn tilted her head in confusion. "What's that?"

"I'm glad you asked, my little icicle," he said as he pulled off the tarp to reveal a large incredibly detailed metallic sculpture of Frostburn kissing Steelmind, standing next to Stonebolt.

"Steelmind," Frostburn said in amazement. "It's so beautiful! Did you make this?" He nodded.

"All I needed was control of metal, check, a lot of time and passion, check, and something beautiful to draw inspiration from," he said, leaning in closer to Frostburn. "Double check." Frostburn leaned closer to him and kissed him. Leafwind trotted over to them, forcing Frostburn to break their kiss.

"What about your new trick," she asked. Everyone cheered, encouraging her to do the trick.

"Alright, alright," she said. She backed up a bit, took a running start and flew into the air, spreading snow through the air. When she stopped, she was on top of a large iceberg. When she jumped down, fire emitted from her front hooves. Suddenly, her flight pattern shifted into an erratic pattern. "Something's wrong. I can't control my flight pattern." Frostburn spun out of control as the glacier shattered and caused a powerful blizzard while Frostburn's flames burned down all the buildings and enveloped several ponies trying to escape. The others froze in the midst of the blizzard. Frostburn crashed into the statue. A large black hole spat out Infernalo and Stonebolt before disappearing as quickly as it appeared. They looked around at the charred remains of their home-world and the results of the blizzard. Frostburn hung her head in shame. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to."

"Infernalo," Frostburn said when she stopped crying. "I said I was sorry. I don't know what happened; I just lost control of my flight, and then everything just happened so fast." Infernalo turned away from her in disgust and shot a look of malice over his shoulder. I deserve that, she thought. Stonebolt pulled back and put a hoof reassuredly on her sister's shoulder.

"Frostburn," Stonebolt said, trying to keep her sister from crying again. "Are you okay?" Frostburn shook her head wildly.

"I destroyed our home," she cried, fighting back tears. "I didn't mean too, I swear. I just—" She started sobbing hysterically, as Stonebolt rubbed her shoulder affectionately.

"Do you need some time to cool down," Stonebolt asked. Frostburn nodded, and Stonebolt ran to catch up with their brother.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on Frostburn," she asked.

"She's the same age as you," he said. "If it was you, you wouldn't act like this."

"Still, we look up to you as our brother and we love you, especially Frostburn. She practically worships you."

"She only loves me because she has to. We're family, unfortunately; besides, she loved that Steelmind guy and I had the lovely and enchanting Aquashine."

"That was dead on arrival and you know it. Do you even know where we're going?"

"Do you have a better plan, or are you going to let me find my own way? We wouldn't have to if—"

"Just stop fighting," Frostburn said with an, almost alien, tone of authority and command. "I'm too tired to keep walking anymore, so how about we just stay over at that little town over there?" She gestured over to a small colorful town not far into the east.

A New Home

Stonebolt and Frostburn collapsed near the border from exhaustion. Infernalo looked down at them as the sun started to set.

"I'm not carrying you two," he said bluntly. "Frostburn, you suggested it."

"It looked...a lot...closer...than it...seemed," she panted. Infernalo sighed and helped them back up to their feet, and lead them into town.

"Let's just find a place to rest," Infernalo said. Neither one of his twin sisters argued with him, which he was glad for. He stopped off at a house and knocked on the door. A young purple unicorn with a dark mane and tail opened the door, and looked into his eyes.

"Hi," she said, losing herself in Infernalo's eyes.

"Yeah, hi," he said, not noticing her reaction to him. "We kinda lost our home, and need a place to stay."

"Yeah sure whatever," she said a bit distracted. The unicorn lead the three into her house as Frostburn and Stonebolt started to steady themselves.

"I think we're starting to get our second wind," Frostburn said excitedly. She glanced around the room. "Where are we?"

"Yeah, what is this place," Stonebolt asked as she slowly began to regain her composure. She turned her attention to the pony staring her at her brother. "Who are you and what is this place?" The purple unicorn turned her attention to her.

"Well," she explained. "Your brother told me about how your home was kinda destroyed, so I'm letting you stay here at my home. My name's Twilight. Twilight Sparkle."

"That's cute," Infernalo said. Twilight blushed, trying to hide it from him. "We wouldn't have to inconvenience you like this if it wasn't for my little sister."

"I told you I was sorry," Frostburn whined. "I told you I lost control of my flight, and everything went wrong from there."

"Wait," Twilight said, a bit confused. "How exactly can you fly? None of you have wings, or horns for that matter."

"We're Trossels," Stonebolt explained, showing Twilight the spikes on the backs of her hooves. "Trossels have the abilities of both unicorns and pegasi, as well as a limited control of two of the 35 magical elements."

"Magical elements," Twilight inquired. "There's nothing about that in my books." Infernalo pulled out a stack of books.

"How about these," he asked. "I brought a few things with me before I left. I suppose that we'll just rest up for tomorrow, and let you do with those what you wish." They disappeared into a dark void that receded as quickly as it came. A baby dragon walked over to Twilight.

"Who was at the door, Twilight," he groaned.

"The most handsome pony I've ever met," Twilight sighed. "Just go back to sleep, Spike." Spike grumbled on his way back to bed, Twilight opening up one of Infernalo's books.

Twilight startled awake suddenly. Her face was pressed into the book as she looked out the window and saw a light shining in.

"I must've fallen asleep," she said to no one in particular. She glanced over at a plate of food next to her with a small mote next to it. "'As thanks for letting us stay here, I made you breakfast from all of us. Love, Frostburn.' That was sweet."

Infernalo and his sisters wandered around town, looking around.

"This place is so much like our last home," Frostburn said.

"Stop saying that," Infernalo snapped. "This isn't our new home, it's a temporary home until somepony can find a way to fix our last home." A bright blue Pegasus crash-landed near them. Infernalo ran over to her and levitated her out of her crater.

"Why is it I lose control of my flight and you hold it against me, and somepony else does it and you go all righteous and heroic," Frostburn asked irritably.

"You destroyed our home," he said as the Pegasus began to regain consciousness. She looked up at him.

"You okay," Infernalo asked.

"Am I dead," she asked weakly. Infernalo shook his head. "I'm Rainbow Dash."

"My name's Infernalo," he said. "These are my sisters Frostburn and Stonebolt. What happened?" Rainbow Dash steadied herself and shook the dirt from her rainbow mane and tail.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I was just flying around, trying out a few tricks, and then I crashed. It happens a lot more often than you'd think."

"Yeah," Frostburn said. "I can see that you two are...busy, so can me and Stonebolt go searching around?"

"Sure whatever," Infernalo said paying half-attention. "Go nuts." The two scampered off.

Spike stood outside Rarity's door, hesitating to knock.

"C'mon Spike," he told himself. "You can do this. You can..." He stopped mid-sentence when Frostburn walked by. "She's beautiful." He took a deep breath and went over to her. Frostburn glanced over at him. "Hi, I-I'm Spike."

"My name's Frostburn," she said. "I'm new around here. Let me guess, you're one of Twilight's friends, right?" Spike nodded as he stared into her eyes. "You're staring at me." He glanced away quickly and she giggled. "I never said I didn't like it. You remind me a lot of my boyfriend."

"Y-you have a boyfriend," he said, a bit disappointed.

"Not anymore," Frostburn said, crushed. "I don't like to talk about it." Spike patted her on the head reassuredly and she smiled down at him. "Do you, you know, have a girlfriend?" Spike thought about it before answering.

"Well," Spike said slowly and thoughtfully, choosing his words very carefully. "There is one girl, but she didn't really see me like I saw her. Needless to say, it didn't work out."

"Well, maybe it could work out with someone else," Frostburn said, leaning closer to him. "Someone not too far from here." Spike wasn't stupid, and knew when someone like Frostburn was coming on to him. A white unicorn with a curly purple mane and tail trotted up to the two.

"Spike," she said, calling attention to herself. "Who's your new friend?" Spike turned around and faced her.

"Oh, hi Rarity," he said. Frostburn took one look at her, and realized that this was the girl that he was talking about earlier. "This is Frostburn, she's new in town."

"Nice to meet you," Frostburn said smiling. He extended a hoof, but slowly retracted when Rarity didn't take it. Rarity looked down at the spikes on the back of Frostburn's hooves and raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly what are you," Rarity asked suspiciously.

"I'm a Trossel, silly," Frostburn said. She looked around before turning back to her. "Unless you have some here, I'm afraid one of the last ones." She hung her head in shame, as Spike took immediate concern to it.

"What do you mean 'one of the last,'" he asked. Frostburn sniffed, and looked back up at him slowly.

"I'm afraid that the only Trossels that I know of left are my brother and my twin sister," she said solemnly. Spike would've asked a few more followup questions, but he could see it was too troubling of a subject matter for Frostburn.

The Last Little Trossel

"Where did those two go off to," he asked. Infernalo walked along the trail, searching for his sisters. He stopped when he saw a freckled earth pony with a and pale yellow Pegasus walking in the opposite direction. The earth pony's mane and tail was blonde, with her mane tied back, and the pegasus's mane and tail were bright pink.

"Maybe these two have seen them around," he said to himself.

"Thanks for helping me keep track of all those adorable new baby bunnies, Applejack," the Pegasus said.

"Well, no problem, Fluttershy," Applejack said. Their attention turned to Infernalo as he walked up to the two. Applejack stared at him in a daze, while Fluttershy his her face within her wings.

"Excuse me," Infernalo said. "Have either of you ladies seen my sister around? Pale blue mane, bow on her tail, spikes on the backs of her hooves like mine?" He held up the back of his front hoof to show them. Apple jack shook her head clear, thinking.

"Uhh...oh, yeah," she answered finally. She went that way with Spike." She pointed to the left.

"Thank you," he said. "By the way, my name is Infernalo." He vanished into a black void, which disappeared shortly after.

"He's pretty cute," Applejack said absently.

"Yeah," Fluttershy added quietly. Applejack looked over at her suspiciously.

"What? You like him too?"

"No," Fluttershy answered quickly. "I mean, yes. I mean, I have to go." She flew away, as Applejack watched her.

Frostburn trotted along with Spike on her back as a giant black void opened up in front of them. Infernalo rose up, and the hole vanished.

"Who's that," Spike said shaking.

"Hi big brother," Frostburn said, chuckling a bit nervously. "Have you met my new friend Spike?" Infernalo glared at her.

"Don't you 'Hi big brother' me, young lady," he snapped. "Where have you been for the past three hours?"

"You said it was okay," Frostburn whined. "Besides, I've been with Spike the whole time."

"I can vouch for that," Spike chimed in. Infernalo looked down at him, and Spike shuddered.

"Where's your sister," he asked. Stonebolt flew into Infernalo, but he created a forcefield around himself and allowed her to fall to the ground. Rainbow Dash flew down next to her.

"Stone, you okay," she asked. Stonebolt got to her feet and nodded.

"Would you believe this isn't even my worst job. I'm a bit rusty." Rainbow Dash looked over at Infernalo and stared back at him in amazement.

"Hey," he said, remembering her. "You're that girl from earlier. Rainbow Sash or something, right?"

"Rainbow Dash," she corrected him. "Do you have a girlfriend," Rainbow Dash asked sporadically.

"I did," he said solemnly, hanging his head as he said those words. Rainbow Dash nodded sympathetically.

"I'm sorry," she said.

A large burning tree crashed down near a partially frozen Leafwind, who pried herself from the ice that trapped her. She looked around at what was left of her home.

"What happened," she asked to no one in particular. "I guess I'll have to find a new home. She hid behind the charred remains of the fallen tree as she heard three mysterious figures approaching. She poked her head up, seeing that the figures were just three small fillies: a white unicorn with a lilac mane, an orange pegasus with a maroon mane and a yellow earth pony who had her light red mane tied back with a pink bow.

"Apple Bloom," the unicorn whined. "Are you sure we're going the right way? None of this looks familiar."

"Plus, I don't think that we're any closer to getting our Cutie Marks than we were this morning," the pegasus added. Apple Bloom stopped and sighed.

"I guess we should probably head back," she said. The unicorn glanced over in Leafwind's direction, as Leafwind ducked back under the tree.

"It's okay," Leafwind whispered to herself. "Maybe they didn't see me."

"What is it, Sweetie Belle," the pegasus asked.

"I think I saw something behind that dead tree over there," she said. The three walked over to it as Leafwind hid inside the hallow trunk. The three trotted up to the trunk, and Leafwind was no where in sight.

"It must've run off," Sweetie Belle concluded. The Pegasus looked into the hole that Leafwind made in the hallow trunk as the others headed back. Leafwind sat there petrified as the Pegasus looked at her curiously.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Come on out." Leafwind gingerly scooted up closer and closer to the exit, before finally poking her head. The others, returning to see what was keeping their friend, looked down at Leafwind as she crawled out of the remains of the dead tree.

"Hi there," Apple Bloom said. "I'm Apple Bloom, and these are my friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. And together, we're..." she paused as they said the last words together. "THE CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!"

"My name's Leafwind," she said timidly.

"What happened here," Scootaloo asked as she looked around at the wreckage.

"This was once my home," Leafwind explained. "Seldreinia was the homestead of many, many Trossels for centuries. One day, a friend of mine named Frostburn showed us this trick and something went wrong. I just got up when I noticed all this." The three jumped when a large dark void opened up and Infernalo rose from it. Leafwind beamed, as she looked up at him.

"Infernalo," she squealed happily, hugging him tightly. "It's okay, guys. This is the brother of that friend I was telling you about." the girls walked out to see him.

"Alright, I'm taking you home," he saidwith finality. They didn't argue with him, simply walked up to him. "Leafwind, I'm bringing you with me as a surprise for Frostburn and Stonebolt. Just let go of me." Leafwind let go of him sheepishly as the five of them vanished into the void.

Rarity was pacing back and forth anxiously, as Twilight finally stepped in front of her.

"Rarity, relax," she said. "Sweetie Belle always turns up eventually. Besides, she's with Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. I'm sure that Infernalo will take care of it." Rarity looked at Twilight as though she'd just turned into a goat before her eyes.

"Who's Infernalo," she asked.

"The smartest, handsomest pony in all of Equestria," Twilight sighed, thinking about him. There was a knock at the door and Infernalo was standing outside with Sweetie Belle.

"Does this belong to you, Miss...," he asked, trailing off when he saw her. "and you are?"

"Rarity," she answered. "Thank you for finding my sister...do whom am I addressing?"

"Infernalo," he said, chuckling a bit at how she was trying to keep her composure. "I know what it's like to have a little sister. I got two of 'em." he glanced into the room and saw Twilight. "Hey Twilight." She giggled, blushing. Infernalo trotted off as Twilight joined Rarity in the doorway.

"I told you," she said and followed him to her home, leaving Rarity still phased by Infernalo.

"Frostburn," Leafwind said. "Wake up!" Frostburn bolted upright in her bed, as she looked down at Leafwind bouncing up and down on her bed excitedly.

"Leafwind," Frostburn cried. She hugged the little filly tightly before getting out of her bed. "How'd you get here?"

"I just followed Infernalo to here, and then some really pretty unicorn told me you were here."

Leafwind's New Friend

Rainbow Dash flew into a corkscrew as Stonebolt followed close behind.

"I don't know, Dash," Stonebolt said cautiously. "It looks pretty hard." Rainbow Dash flew over to her.

"Stone, relax," Rainbow Dash told her. "Just give it a try." Stonebolt flew up into the air and spiraled around in mid-air. "There ya go. Great work for a first try." Stonebolt swung back around and spun out of control.

"I can't stop!" she finally crashed into a pink earth pony. Stonebolt brushed herself off and helped the pony she crashed into as Rainbow Dash landed next to them. "Sorry, I just lost control."

"Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said. "You okay?"

"Don't worry about it, Dash," Pinkie said cheerfully. "I'm fine." Infernalo teleported next to Stonebolt in a flash of bright light.

"Stonebolt, what were you doing," he demanded.

"Look. I lost control. Relax." Infernalo turned his attention to Rainbow Dash, who was staring at him in amazement.

"Hi Infernalo," she said dreamily. "Thisis my friend Pinkie Pie. Pinkie, this Infernalo and his sister Stonebolt. They're Trossels."

"What's a Trossel," Pinkie asked. "Is it like some kind of desert?" Infernalo sighed.

"No," he said firmly. "We're the rarest race in all the world, as well as the most powerful. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to find something out." The two teleported away in a flash of light.

"Pinkie," Rainbow said. "Just to be clear, I saw him first." Pinkie shrugged.

"I don't see why you like him, Dash," she said. Rainbow Dash blushed.

"What are you talking about," she protested. "I don't like him like. Did he say anything about me?" Pinkie shrugged and trotted off.

Frostburn and Leafwind were trotting along across a long trail.

"Frostburn," Leafwind whined. "I'm bored. What do you do for fun around here?"

"Leafwind," Frostburn sighed. "Just go exploring around town, make some friends. We can meet up later." Leafwind sighed and followed the path to a treehouse. Scootaloo flew down to her.

"Hey Leafwind," Scootaloo said. "What's up?"

"I'm bored," Leafwind said. "What do you guys do for fun around here?"

"Well," Scootaloo said thinking. "What did you used to do for fun?" Leafwind tapped her front hoof in thought and shrugged in defeat.

"Well, we could always meet up withSweetie Belle and Apple Bloom and go searching in the woods."

"Searching for what?"

"Nothing in particular. It'll be like an adventure!" Leafwind smiled and flew away. Leafwind waited by the entrance to the forest for what felt like hours. A small pink filly trotted up to her.

"Well, hello there," she said. Leafwind looked around, assuming that she was talking to someone else. "I'm talking to you, silly. My name's Diamond Tiara."

"I'm Leafwind."

"So, why are you waiting outside the Everfree forest for?"

"I'm waiting for Scootaloo and her friends, so we can have fun." Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes, before resting them on Leafwind's cutie mark.

"You have a cutie mark," she said in amazement. Leafwind nodded. "And you still want to hang around with those blank flanks?"

"Well, yeah. They're my friends." Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow.

"Leafwind, Leafwind, let me show down the right path. Let's walk and talk." Leafwind followed Diamond Tiara blindly as they talked.

Infernalo placed the last book back on the shelf and floated back down to the floor.

"Thank you so much for helping me sort these books, Infernalo," Twilight said. "You're so sweet."

"Well," Infernalo said. "Aquashine always used to tell me that. It seems that I have a talent for helping pretty girls." Twilight blushed, trying to hide it by burying her face in her mane.

"Who's Aquashine," she asked. Infernalo looked down in depression.

"She was a girl I used to know," he said. "It didn't end well, for either of us."

"I'm so sorry," Twilight said. Infernalo looked up at her.

"At least I've been able to meet so many interesting ponies, including you."

"Well," Twilight said, blushing deeper than ever. "I'd say I'm pretty lucky to have met you guys. Frostburn is so sweet, and Stonebolt is so interesting, and you..." She slowly trailed off and leaned closer to Infernalo. Spike walked into the room, and broke the mood.

"Spike," Twilight said. "What is it now? You're ruining the mood."

"Sorry Twilight," Spike said. "Infernalo, do you know where Frostburn is? I've been looking for her all day."

"I'm not her babysitter," Infernalo said bitterly.

"You are her brother," Spike said. Infernalo sighed.

"Look, kid, I haven't seen her all day. She's probably with Stonebolt; they're never too far away from each other. If you find Stonebolt, chances are you'll find her." Spike nodded and left. Twilight glanced over at Infernalo's bag.

"You're reading Interrogation of a Soldier?"

"Re-reading. I don't think I've ever met someone who knew about the works of Eltigo Morose before."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked around outside the forest.

"I thought she'd be here," Scootaloo said. "If she went in without us..." Frostburn looked down at the girls.

"You must be Leafwind's friends," Frostburn said cheerfully. "She's told me a lot about you three. I'm Frostburn."

"Wait," Apple Bloom said skeptically. "Like the Frostburn that Leafwind told us about?"

"Seems that way," she said. As she left, Leafwind trotted up to the three.

"Leafwind," Scootaloo snapped. "Where the hay have you been?"

"I'm sorry, guys," she said, sounding genuinely sympathetic. "I just met this new friend of mine, Diamond Tiara, and sorta lost track of time."

"Wait a minute," Apple Bloom interjected. "You were hanging around Diamond Tiara?" Leafwind nodded, oblivious to the others confusion and surprise.

"She's actually pretty sweet," she said. "Well, maybe we can have some fun together tomorrow. See ya later." With that, she flew away.

Stonebolt walked up to Spike, who was sitting on a bench and sulking.

"What's up," she asked.

"I've been looking all over for Frostburn, and her brother said that she's never too far from her sister, but I couldn't find her either."

"You just did," she said. Spike glanced up and saw Frostburn staring back at him and Stonebolt next to her.

"There's two of you," he said in amazement.

"Technically," they said. Spike was overwhelmed and fainted.

The New Day

Spike laid unconscious on the floor of Twilight's home. Frostburn and Stonebolt had dragged him back in after he lost consciousness after seeing the two of them together.

"He's been like this for two and a half hours," Stonebolt explained.

"Is he okay," Twilight asked. Infernalo looked down at the baby dragon. He nudged him a bit with his front hoof and Spike moaned slightly.

"He's fine," Infernalo said in finality. "Now, let's just get some sleep." Leafwind trotted in and saw the unconscious Spike lying on the floor.

"Is this a bad time," sheasked.

"No more so than usual, Leafwind," Infernalo assured her. As they all went upstairs, Frostburn carrying Spike to his bed, Twilight held Infernalo back.

"Infernalo," Twilight said, her eyes wide with anticipation towards his response. "Why don't you sleep with me tonight?" Infernalo looked into her large violet eyes. Infernalo, you idiot, a voice told him. She's clearly coming onto you. Worst case scenario: she sees you as a jerk. You still got four others. What if I really like her, though, he thought. Just get in that bed, you half-wit, the voice retorted. Seeing Twilight's staring back at him, Infernalo sighed and nodded. He followed Twilight up to her room, and heard loud claps of thunder from outside. "Sounds like a pretty bad storm," Twilight said as she drew closer to him. "I get pretty scared alone during these thunderstorms." As Infernalo got into bed, Twilight snuggled up next to him. Despite her comfortable warmth and embrace, Infernalo couldn't get to sleep. Maybe it was the storm, or maybe it was what, or who, was racing through his head all night.

"Spike, Spike," Frostburn said sweetly, gently nudging him awake. Spike turned to her.

"Oh, hey Frostburn," he yawned. "You're up early." Frostburn looked back at him in confusion.

"It's ten in the morning," she stated. Spike stretched out and rolled out of bed.

"You won't believe the dream I had last night.

"Spike, that wasn't a dream," Frostburn said. "That was my twin sister Stonebolt." Spike didn't faint this time. He simply nodded acceptingly and left. Frostburn followed him closely.

Infernalo walked through town, trying in vain to clear his head.

"I've met so many cute girls here," he said to himself. "They're all in love with me too. There's that Pegasus, the cuter Pegasus, that cute earth pony, that really hot unicorn, and then Twilight. Then there's that other earth pony, but she seems far too annoying, and I've already got something bouncy, annoying, and childish. I call her Frostburn." he chuckled a bit at his own joke, before returning to his thoughts. He noticed Leafwind skipping by.

"Hi Infernalo," she said. "I'm off to play with my new friends."

"Leafwind," he said. She stopped and turned to him. "How exactly did you get out?" She shrugged.

"I don't know," she said. "I just woke up frozen and then some burning tree melted me out, then I think you know the rest." With that, she continued her skipping.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat up in their tree house, waiting for Leafwind to show up when finally they heard a knock at their door. Leafwind stood outside, standing on a tree branch. The branch receded when she stepped off.

"How'd you do that," Apple Bloom asked.

"I don't really know," Leafwind said honestly. "I just of got these powers when I got my Cutie Mark." She revealed her flank, showing off her new Cutie Mark.

"You already have your Cutie Mark," Sweetie Belle said in disbelief, with a hint of disappointment. Leafwind nodded.

"Trossels get their magical powers right before they get their Cutie Marks. That's how we find out our elements too. Just because I have my Cutie Mark doesn't mean I don't or can't hang out with you guys. You're my friends." They smiled back at her, not feeling as upset as Leafwind thought they'd have been.

Frostburn carried Spike on her back, as she decided to finally break the silence.

"Spike, do you think Rarity likes me," Frostburn asked. Spike paused a moment, trying not to answer in a way that would hurt her.

"What makes you say that," he heard himself answer.

"She just seems to come off as hostile and passive-aggressive towards me whenever I'm around," she pointed out.

"Rarity just needs time to adjust to you," he said, trying to be reassuring and hoping that Frostburn didn't see right through him like tissue paper. Frostburn nodded and accepted it as an adequate answer.

Rarity was pacing back and forth in a state of disarray when Fluttershy walked in.

"Rarity," she asked. "Are you okay? You seem a little upset." Rarity sniffed, trying to regain any semblance of her typical composure.

"Fluttershy, I didn't really ever see Spike as more than a friend," she said honestly. "Then I started seeing him hanging around with that Trossel girl, and I feel like I've just lost a part of my soul." She tried fighting back tears of pain as Fluttershy rubbed Rarity's back comfortingly.

"It's okay, Rarity," Fluttershy said comfortingly. Rarity stopped suddenly after her sudden realization.

"Then again," Rarity said. "There's always her super handsome brother Infernalo." Fluttershy blushed, thinking about him. Rarity seemed to notice this, and snapped her out of her trance.

"Fluttershy," she asked. "Do you like Infernalo?" Before Fluttershy could answer, she flew away and left Rarity with a questioning expression.

Frostburn sat on top of a tall hill, overlooking the sunset as well as seeing what was left her home far off in the distance. Infernalo trotted up behind her.

"I figured I'd find you here," Infernalo said, scaring Frostburn.

"Infernalo, you scared me. I thought you were someone else. How'd you know I'd be here?"

"You'd always go up to that hill outside of town to think or when you were upset when you were a filly. Since, y'know, I figured that this was the closest thing to it. Something up?"

"I just have a lot to think about," Frostburn said quietly. "Why are you here?"

"I got a lot to think about too," he said, sitting down next to her.

"The sunset is very pretty, isn't it big brother?" Infernalo nodded.

Closure

Twilight waited with the others for the last member to arrive. Finally, Fluttershy trotted into the room and sat down with her friends.

"Alright girls," Twilight said. "I think that it's clear why we're all here. We're all in love Infernalo." The others, except Fluttershy, murmured in agreement. "Only one of us can have him, though." Again, the others murmured in agreement.

"Where may I ask is Pinkie," Rarity inquired. Twilight looked around.

"Guess she's just not interested in him," Rainbow Dash said.

"I think that, if anyone should get to be with him," Twilight said earnestly. "It should be me. After all, he is staying at my house, and I did see him first."

"Twilight," Rarity interjected. "As your friend, I believe that Infernalo should be with somepony with, how do I put this, more class. Besides, I need this after that Prince showed his true colors at the Gala and Spike is coveting that annoying Trossel girl." She mentioned the latter with a notable level of malice and disgust.

"You mean Frostburn," Twilight said, not seeming to take any mind to Rarity's attempts to cover up insulting her. "She's really sweet."

"Now hold on there, princess," Applejack said, cutting off Twilight. "I reckon I got just as much chance with 'em as you do." Rarity glared back at Applejack.

"Need I repeat," Rarity retorted. "Infernalo deserves somepony with class." Rainbow Dash quickly intervened, not wanting Rarity and Applejack to kill each other over Infernalo.

"If Infernalo loves anypony here," she said boldly. "It's me. He said so himself." The girls began fighting and arguing, all the while Twilight trying to stop it and Fluttershy getting more and more anxious by the moment. Finally, the Trossels entered and the girls stopped fighting the second they were in Infernalo's line of sight. Stonebolt carried Leafwind upstairs, completely exhausted and sleeping soundlessly on Stonebolt's back. Frostburn carried Spike on her back before dropping him off with the others.

"Night, Spike," Frostburn said, kissing Spike on the cheek. She turned to Rarity. "Good night, Rarity." Rarity responded with a series of barely audible obscenities under her breath followed by an angry huff. As Inferalo looked around the room, the girls followed his every motion to a point.

"Ladies," he said with finality.

"Good night, Infernalo," they said simultaneously. He trotted upstairs and disappeared from their view.

"He's so handsome and so sweet," a voice spoke up. The others turned and saw Fluttershy speaking as though in a dream. "He thinks I'm cute." As she snapped back, Fluutershy blushed at the realization that her friends heard everything she just said out loud.

"I knew y'all liked him," Applejack said as though she'd just won a bet.

"Infernalo," Stonebolt said, tucking Leafwind in. "Have you ever noticed how everypony seems to like you? Not like, like you, even though you're very likable but like-like you, as it were." She sighed. "I've been spending too much time with Frostburn." Infernalo nodded, indicating that he understood what she meant.

"I know that," he stated justly. "The thing is I don't know who I should tell. There's Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Twilight..." he drifted off as he mentioned her.

"What about the pink one," Stonebolt inquired, reminding him about the girl she crashed into the other day. Infernalo screwed up his face in an attempt to remember her, and then met Stonebolt's gaze with a look of dislike.

"If I wanted to date Frostburn, I'd date Frostburn," he said. "Besides, even if I wanted her-though I can't imagine why-she doesn't see me like that." A sleeping Frostburn interrupted their conversation as she started murmuring in distress and tossing and turning. Infernalo pulled the blanket back over her and she slowly started to settle and smiled.

"You're the best, big brother," Frostburn muttered before going back to sleep.

As Stonebolt pried her eyes open, Leafwind's bright orange eyes stared back at her.

"Leafwind," Stonebolt asked.

"Yes," Leafwind responded.

"How long have you been up?"

"Infernalo woke me up," Leafwind whined. Stonebolt rolled out of bed, trying not to disturb Frostburn and Leafwind followed. Downstairs, Infernalo was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. "He's been like this all night."

"Eureka," Infernalo cried triumphantly. "Stonebolt, Leafwind, tell Frostburn that I found a way to restore our home to its former glory." He disappeared in a flash of bright light just as Twilight entered the room.

"Where's Infernalo," Twilight asked.

"You just missed him," Leafwind blurted out. Stonebolt glared down at the filly with a look that said she wasn't supposed to bring that up. "What?"

Infernalo followed the trail he took into Ponyville the first time when Rarity walked up to him.

"Infernalo," she said. "I never noticed how lovely your mane is. You simply must let me do something with it." Rainbow Dash swooped down and hovered in front of him.

"Wouldn't you rather watch one of my new tricks?" Before he could answer, Applejack pulled him aside and gave him a pie. Infernalo ate it, as the pony stared back at him.

"There's more where that came from, if you want," she said. Infernalo, using his powers, created a mirage image of himself for the girls to fight over while he strode along the path home. After a while, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo blocked his path.

"My sister thinks you're cute," Sweetie Belle said. Infernalo nodded and continued walking, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle following close behind.

"You're even cooler in person," Scootaloo said. "So, where are you headed?"

"I'm off to what's left of my home," he said, trying to get the two to leave him alone. "If my theory is correct, given how Leafwind managed to return here, we should be able to restore it to its former glory." With that, he simply vanished into a dark portal and appeared on the outskirts of his home, the buildings and some of the citizens encased in ice while everything else was burnt to ashes with various blackened pony skeletons sticking out of the ground. He looked down at Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom staring back up at him. Stonebolt, Leafwind, and Frostburn appeared in a bolt of lightning.

"Alright," Frostburn said. "You said you had a plan to fix everything. I can't wait to finally get over all the immense guilt." Infernalo whispered his plan to Frostburn as she nodded with each word. Frostburn flew into the air, emitting flames from her front hooves, but to no avail.

"I don't understand," Infernalo said, collapsing in defeat.

Home All Along

Twilight and the others teleported in as Infernalo sat there, trying to figure out what could've went wrong.

"What's up with your brother," Spike asked.

"He's upset because his hypotenuse didn't work," Frostburn said.

"That's hypothesis, Frostburn," Infernalo corrected her. "How did you guys find us?"

"We found out that the you that was still in town was a fake, so we just followed him here," Twilight explained. "Besides, I called in someone who might be able to help you." Everyone bowed as a tall white winged unicorn arrived. She had a long glittering rainbow colored mane and tail that seemed to blow even though there was no wind. She smiled down at the four Trossels bowing before her.

"Princess Celestia," they murmured.

"Ah, so you're the Trossels that Twilight told me so much about," she said. "You must be Infernalo, and these must be your sisters Frostburn and Stonebolt."

"Actually, Princess," Stonebolt corrected her. "I'm Stonebolt, and she's Frostburn."

"Your majesty," Infernalo said. "You can rebuild Seldreinia?" She nodded as her horn began to glow. The glacier melted within minutes and washed over the burned remains of the town as the entire town and its inhabitants began to regenerate. In a matter of moments, it was as if Seldreinia was never destroyed.

"Everything's back to normal," Leafwind said. "If I may ask, if no else is in power wouldn't you be a queen?" The Princess vanished before Leafwind got her answer. Aquashine walked up to Infernalo.

"So, this is Aquashine," Twilight said. "Infernalo told me so much about you. My name's Twilight Sparkle."

"Infernalo, I missed you," she said, leaning closer to him but Infernalo leaned away. "What's wrong?"

"Aqua, I've had a lot of thinking to do. Maybe we're not right for each other in a romantic sense." He trotted over to Twilight. "We can still be friends, but I found someone else that I connect with better."

"It's me, isn't it," Rainbow Dash blurted out.

"No, of course not," Rarity said. "He's talking about me."

"Enough of this," Frostburn said in her very rarely used authoritative tone.

"Thank you, Frostburn," Infernalo said. "If anything, I mean Fluttershy. She's the cute one anyway. No, I think this should clarify things." He leaned in closer to Twilight and kissed her.

"Infernalo," Twilight said, blushing. "I-I didn't..."

"Twilight, I love you," Infernalo said. "I hope that I didn't mislead any of you." Steelmind walked up to Frostburn.

"Frostburn," Steelmind said happily. "I missed you." Spike looked a bit crushed.

"So, this is your boyfriend," he said. Frostburn nodded.

"Y'know Spike," Rarity said. "There's somepony who still likes you." Spike looked back at her in wide-eyed amazement at her statement. Leafwind looked disappointed, as Scootaloo went to comfort her.

"What's wrong, Leafwind," she asked.

"There's no one here for me," she said solemnly. A shadowy figure in the distance stepped out from behind a tree.

"Don't be so sure about that, kid," Zephyroak said. Leafwind lit up.

"Everypony, this is my cousin Zephyroak. Zeph, these are my new friends Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle."

"Well," Apple Bloom said heavy-heartedly. "I guess this is the last time we'll see you guys again. It was nice knowing you, Leafwind." As the others realized this, Twilight looked into Infernalo's blue eyes and kissed him.

"I'm glad to see that you're home again," Twilight said. "I wish that we had more time to spend with each other." As the other ponies waved goodbye to their new friends and Twilight teleported them away.

When Twilight and the others teleported back, Pinkie trotted over to them.

"Hi guys," Pinkie said, but her expression quickly changed when she read their emotions. "What's wrong?"

"The most handsome pony in Equestria said he loved me, and now I'll never see him again." A large dark hole opened up as a legion of Trossels poured out of it. Before the hole could close, Frostburn, Stonebolt, and Infernalo jumped out as the void finally closed.

"Never say never, Twilight," Infernalo said. She ran over and hugged him.

"I thought you were going home," Rainbow Dash said.

"I never left," Infernalo replied. "Frostburn, you were always right. Home isn't about where you are, it's where your friends are."

"You know what this means," Pinkie said. "A party!" Frostburn, in honor of the occasion, attempted her trick again.

"Frostburn," Infernalo said. "You remember what happened last time?" She ignored him and flew into the air, creating a large mass of ice. Frostburn finally landed, melting the ice into a sculpture of all of them.

"What do you think, big brother," she asked. Infernalo put a hoof on her shoulder.

"It looks great, Frosty," he said. "It looks better than great."