Overthrown Book Three: Truths Untold And Friendships Refold

Fluttershy was walking in the woods of the campground where she and her friends were resting. This quest had really put her bravery to the test and not once had she had the chance to have time for herself. So it felt nice to get away from the realities of the world with her one favorite hobby: Exploring nature with her animal friends. But right when she was about to check out the lake, two mice raced up to her frantically. Fluttershy stopped in her tracks to help out the duo.

"Hello little friends," Fluttershy said. "What's going on?"

The mice frantically squeaked, trying to convey what was going on. "You lost your way to your hole and now you can't find your way back?!" Fluttershy asked. "Here. I can help you two. I was just out here getting some time to myself anyway. You won't believe what I've been through so far."

It took the pegasus and the mice at least 20 minutes to find the hole. But they eventually made it to a hole near an oak tree, complete with three young mice. The two mice gave Fluttershy a hug to thank her for her help.

"You're welcome," Fluttershy said with a giggle. "Try not to wander away from your children again. OK?"

Suddenly, one of the three baby mice rolled a few eggs in Fluttershy's direction as an additional thank-you present. Fluttershy looked at the eggs intently and saw that there were at least eight eggs in total. That was enough to feed a group of adventuring ponies. Suddenly, Fluttershy got an idea.

Back at the campsite, everyone was waking up after a well-earned rest. Even with the losses and the pain of the journey, both physical and mental, the group never lost their spirit. They still cared about each other and valued one thing over anything else: Their friendship. As long as they had each other, they knew that there was nothing they couldn't accomplish, including stopping a civil war. Purple Horn still found the concept of friendship a bit absurd, but he deeply respected the group, especially Twilight. He even wished he had the same strength in himself.

Suddenly, the smell of freshly cooked eggs and various herbs filled the air. Pinkie Pie was the first to notice the smell.

"Something smells good!" Pinkie said, with her typical enthusiasm.

"Thanks," Fluttershy said, as she prepared a frittata for everyone. "I helped a family of mice today and they offered me some of these eggs. So I figured I'd make us all a vegan frittata with some rosemary and thyme I found. We're gonna need our strength if we want to stop Moondust Bloom."

"Thank you so much, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash said enthusiastically. "We could all use some real food right now."

"One thing though," Rarity asked, transitioning into her usual germaphobic self. "You did cook the eggs all the way through, yes?"

"I did," Fluttershy said. "I cook for my animal friends back at the cottage all the time. So I had to learn proper cooking techniques for some of the dishes they request all the time, especially Angel's."

"Then that's good enough for me," Rarity said.

The rest of the Six were equally as excited to taste Fluttershy's cooking. They had all been to her tea parties back when things were normal and they knew that whatever she made tasted amazing. But the only one who was hesitant about the idea of tasting this frittata was Purple Horn. Not necessarily because of cooking techniques, but because of the dish itself.

"Uh... Do you have any meat options with you, Fluttershy?" Purple Horn asked, causing Fluttershy's brow to furrow.

"What? Did? You? Say?!" Fluttershy asked, with a bit of malice in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm on a bit of a carnivore diet. It's a healthier lifestyle," Purple Horn said. "I mean, hey. You don't become a skilled former warrior from eating plants. Besides, did you know you're still hurting animals by eating plants? How will the animals eat if all the plants are gone? So I apologize. But I'm gonna have to pass on breakfast this time."

Fluttershy couldn't believe her ears. Everyone knew full well that Fluttershy loved animals a lot. So to hear Purple Horn make even the slightest comment about eating animals was absurd to her. So with a deep breath and her rage at a boil, Fluttershy gave Purple Horn her infamous stare. But Purple Horn was unphased.

"I don't care how long you stare at me, girl," Purple Horn said, with a bit of cockiness in his voice. "It ain't happening."

Fluttershy continued to stare, growing more and more powerful with each second. Purple Horn was slowly starting to break, but he was determined not to cave into Fluttershy's demands. If he didn't want the breakfast, he would stand his ground.

"Uh... Hey dude," Rainbow Dash said, a sense of urgency in her voice. "Pro tip: Don't ever talk about eating animals around animal lovers and don't mess with Fluttershy when she's doing the stare."

Finally, Purple Horn gave in. "Fine! I'll have the frittata!"

"Now that's more like it," Fluttershy said, calming down instantly. The stare never failed her in any given situation.

After that little debate over this matter, the Six and Purple Horn were able to enjoy the breakfast properly. Everyone, including Purple Horn, loved it and things were great for the first time in a while between the group of friends. There was conversation, laughter, and joy all around. They haven't had this much fun since their journey began. Purple Horn was amazed at how close the six friends were and had lots of questions about their adventures saving Equestria together.

"Wait, wait, wait," Purple Horn said. "So you mean to tell me that Twilight was assigned the task of going to Ponyville and making friends as a homework assignment, which resulted in you guys becoming legendary warriors and saving Equestria multiple times, which earned Twi the title of the Princess of Friendship?"

"Yes, and we've been telling you that for hours," Applejack said, mildly annoyed.

"OK," Purple Horn said, invested in their stories. "Tell me again. I'm an idiot. There was once a donkey that Pinkie met who just wanted peace and quiet in his home, when all he wanted was to find his lost lover from Manehatten, right?"

"Yes indeed!" Pinkie said. "His name was Cranky Doodle Donkey."

"OK," Purple Horn continued. "Another time, you six got infected by some sort of plant in various ways, and you had to take a bath with a rhyming zebra to cure the ailments?"

"Yes we did," Twilight said. "Although I would say it was more of a shower."

"From what you told me, it was a bath," Purple Horn said. "Also, who is this unpaid intern you mentioned? She was a former dictatorial ruler of a town that took away ponies' cutie marks, just because she was insecure about finding a friend. Then, she tried to break the multiverse by preventing Rainbow Dash from performing the move that made her famous. But then, she felt sorry for herself, so you took her under your wing, Twi. Now, she's the unpaid intern at your school and is gonna become the principal of said school at some point. Who was that?"

"Her name was Starlight Glimmer," Rarity said. "And I would say she's more of a student worker who's doing the job for college credit."

"That sounds like an intern to me," Purple Horn said. "Anyways, we gotta figure out this transportation situation if we're ever gonna get to the palace in time. Like I said, flying and walking are out of the question."

"I think I may have just the thing," Twilight said.

At that moment, Twilight used her magic to gather several materials to build cars for the ponies to drive in. Trees, gems, and the like were merged together in order to make sure the cars were properly functioning. It took a few minutes, but Twilight now had three cars for everyone to ride in.

"Uh..." Purple Horn said. "Where did you learn how to make these?"

"It's a long story," Twilight said. "But one time, I was transported to an alternate universe that had these."

"In pursuit of an emo teenage pony," Fluttershy added. "But Twi, you know that we have..."

"Oh, I made them drivable with hooves," Twilight retorted.

"Well, that's perfect!" Purple Horn said, with enthusiasm. "Twi, Pinkie, you two are with me. Rainbow and Fluttershy, take the second car. Rarity and AJ, take the third one. I think things are finally looking up on this journey!"

The group of friends got into their assigned cars and drove away, ready to save their friends and all of Equestria from Moondust Bloom. But Twilight's lie was about to be exposed and put a delay on their plans.