My Little Pony: Return of the Primal Fear

by Lizardsareradical

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Main 6, Original Character, Trixie, Comedy, Adventure, Prince Blueblood
Length: 105665

Will Twilight and co. save Equestria from a new evil and prevent an eternity of nightmares?

Twilight discovers three new elements of harmony. Respect, Caring, and Tolerance. But on the cursed island of Phobos, an imprisoned alicorn has been planning his revenge for thousands of years. And now he's ready for his plans to start, with the help of his "frogpony" minion Blubayou.

Comments and criticism are always welcomed.

To anybody who is tracking this story, thank you.

Published 2012-01-15 17:56:59 UTC
Last updated 2012-07-23 03:22:20 UTC

The Legend of Phobos

My Little Pony: The Lost Elements

Chapter 1: The Legend of Phobos

"In the very south of Equestria, beyond the Great Cerulean Sea, there is a small island eternally surrounded by fog. This is the island of Phobos. Legend has it that it was the home of the nightmares of everypony from the past, present, and yet to be. The very center of Phobos though, inside the Volcano of Hysteria, is something known as the Primal Fear, the incarnation of the deepest fears of whomever looks at it. But with horror comes temptations. It is said that vast treasures exist on the island such as hundreds of exotic jewels, artifacts and archives. But unless one goes there, nobody will ever know."

"Quite a read Spike! Especially the jewel part! Where did you get this?" Rarity asked the baby dragon sitting right next to her with curiosity and amazment in her eyes. They were in Twilight Sparkle's house, reading one of the books from one of the many shelves in the library. Rarity was initially here just to deliver her friend a nice new outfit she just made for her but she got distracted with this new book Spike showed her.

It had jewels on the cover was Spike's logic for attention from the mare of his dreams. He didn't even really know what it was about, he just stared at her beautiful eyes in wonder as she continued reading into the blue, relatively large tome.

Twilight on the other hand was studying on the legends of Starswirl the Bearded upstairs wearing her new outfit. It was a nice, purple cape with a star for the clip, it was really sparkly (she wasn't sure if it was a pun or not). It was also quite tacky, but she didn't want to complain. She looked back at the two as they were looking into the tome. She didn't really reconize the book. She went downstairs and walked up to them.

"Never seen this book before." Twilight said in curiosity as she got in between Rarity and Spike, to the latter's annoyance.

"I'm assured that's because you have so many other books in this house dear." Rarity calmly suggested to her friend.

Twilight thought for a bit, then nodded in agreement. It was true, she had hundreds of books, some she haven't even touched yet. It would be no surprise if this was one of those many books.The purple mare then took a better look at the book. She then began to read out loud for Spike and Rarity.

"It is said that the commonly forgetton less important second cousin of Princess Celestia and Luna is imprisoned on Phobos, punished for his trangressions against Equestria. Prince Cosmus as he was called was once part of the happy alicorn royal trio. He had no responsibilities with the Sun or Moon, so he spent his time archiving all of the magic and wonders in Equestria. It also allowed the prince to find love quicker than his sisters. But when Cosmus was the first to marry, he believed that he should be king then, making him the absolute ruler of Equestria. Cosmus talked about it with his two siblings, but they insisted that they share the power as equals. "

Twilight flipped the page with her magic and saw a picture of Celestia, with Luna on her right side. By Celestia's left though was a black stallion about a foot taller than Luna. His black coat was covered with small, white spots which made him look like the starry space. He had a short, black mane also with white spots. His cutie mark was five bigger stars organized to make a circle. He was wearing nothing but a golden crown on his head. Twilight then looked at the opposite page, which revealed more text. She continued to read again.

"Cosmus was not satisfied with the answer and secretly looked into the Dark Unicorn arts. He decided to use the strongest weapon he knew. Fear. He then used his newfound power to transform himself into the monsterous abomination known as Screameater. His signature ability was to make opponents face their deepest fears."

Twilight once again turned the page with her magic, revealing a picture of a pure black, maneless stallion with a red moon for a "cutie" mark. He was by the looks of it, two feet taller than Celestia, razor sharp fangs, and had one big glowing orange eye in the center of it's head that lacked a pupil. He wore no armor or clothing whatsoever, even lacking his crown. But the their were two distinguishing things about him. The first were his bat-like wings that looked like they would be bigger than either her or Rarity. The second, more horrific trait were several smooth, black tentacles on his back, which were grabbing people left and right. All of them shuddered at the monstrous alicorn. Twilight then began reading again.

"He would've brought Equestria into an eternal nightmare when if it weren't for Celestia and Luna. Together they used the Elements of Harmony to fight back. This severley weakened Screameater and he was eventually banished to Phobos, but at the cost of three lesser elements known as the Paraelements. Some ponies say that they were destroyed but others say that he took them so they'll never be used against him ever again. But unless you go to Phobos for yourself, you'll never know."

And with that, Twilight shut the book. She then looked at both Rarity and Spike, who were shaking with fear. But by the looks in their eyes, they were also confused.

After some uncomfortable silence, Twilight finally spoke up.

"I never heard of the Paraelements. I thought we were the only ones."

Rarity aknowledged her friend. She then nudged the baby dragon, who quickly snapped out of his frightened stupor.

"I know how you feel." Rarity comforted Twilight as he held her held as if to contain all of the information. "We just learned about an island of nightmares, that there are three more Elements of Harmony and that Celestia has a corrupted younger brother. I too, am baffled."

"Thanks Rarity, but me and Spike heard hints here and there about a brother, just not an evil one." Twilight answered the fashion designer as she tried to smile. She still had Screameater on her mind and imagined him wrecking havoc.

Rarity was at first shocked that Twilight knew of Cosmus, but then she realized that she was Celestia's best student, so she must've known a thing or two about her.

"But when you think about it, I do wonder how she had that pig-of-a-prince Blueblood as a nephew anyways." Rarity said to both Twilight and Spike as she shuddered about "that night". Although he did let her hit his airship with a bottle, the gala memory was still an annoyance. But it was in the past.

"So wouldn't that make Prince Blueblood over a thousand year old cause by the sound of this story, it seems to be even before Nightmare Moon." Spike added to his crush as he smiled, putting his right hand under his chin. He said this not to glorify Prince Blueblood, but to hopefully make Rarity even more appalled by the prince.

It worked.

"OH MY GOODNESS! I WANTED TO MARRY SOMEONE THAT MUCH OLDER THAN ME? OF ALL THE WORST THINGS THAT COULD HAPPEN, THIS IS THE...WORST...POSSIBLE...THING!" Rarity hollered out like the drama queen she usually was. She then used her magic to get a sofa out of...nowhere and began to sob. Twilight and Spike just rolled their eyes.

"Soooooo? Rarity? Don't you...like have some designing to do?" Twilight suggested as she tried to change the subject.

With that, Rarity immediately jumped off the couch as if she forgot her past sadness.

"Why thank you deary. I almost forgot about that I have to make a couple of dresses for a couple of Canterlot ponies. Silly legend made me forget. Farewell." Rarity told her friend as she walked to the door in a cheery mood. But suddenly she forgot about something. She then gasped in horror.

"OH NO! I HAVE TO TAKE OUT THE TRASH, PAINT THE HOUSE AND CUT THE LAWN! I'LL HAVE NO TIME AT ALL! OF ALL THE WORST..."

"I can help."

Rarity looked down and saw Spike with his hands together and eyes wide open. It looked like he was begging to help.

"Thank you so much Spike! What would I ever do without you?" Rarity exclaimed overdramatically to the baby dragon as she patted her head. Spike made a stupid grin.

Twilight just facehoofed and shook her head in annoyance.

Spike then gentlemanly opened the door for Rarity. As she left, the white mare waved goodbye.

"Ta-ta! And don't let that legend bother you too much okay!" Rarity told Twilight as she finally left with Spike. Spike then closed the door, leaving the Element of Magic to her studies.

"She knows me too well."Twilight said to herself after she and Spike left. It was true, she was still perseverating on the whole Screameater of Phobos. She then went back to the book and opened it. She looked for the list of the Elements of Harmony and found it.

Honesty

Generosity

Kindness

Loyalty

Laughter

Magic

But to Twilight Sparkle's shock, the rest of the page was torn off before it got to the paraelements.

She now seriously considered consulting the Princess about the legend. She once thought that Nightmare Moon was a legend, but that turned out to be true. What if this was true also?

"Deja Vu." Was the only thing she could say as her head drooped down slightly scared but slightly annoyed. She had a feeling this would be a lot like Nightmare Moon and Discord. Maybe even like Sombra too.

Meanwhile, on the island of Phobos, in the middle of the jungle, there was a relatively clean pond, and in that pond was an earth pony leisurely swimming about as if on vacation. He swam with his hooves together, swishing his tail back and forth. He was humming a personal tune underwater.

His only normal traits were his yellow eyes and a cutie mark that was the green silhouette of a frog. Other than that, he was quite different than other earth ponies though. He had no hair; instead he had dark blue, slimy and clammy skin. Instead of a mane, he had a sail, like the ones on some newts. He also had fins behind each of his hooves. He also had four gill slits at each side of his neck. He saw a fly hovering twenty feet above him and out came his long, sticky tongue, grabbing it and eating it. He then made a loud, satisfied burp.

As the amphibian-stallion thing swam to the edge of the pond, he spread his forehooves out on the edge of the body of water as if he was in a hot tub. He then began to sing to himself in a Cajun accent.

Ba-Doo Bam Doo! Walla Walla Wa Loo! Jep-Pala Do Dang! Paaaa-boooo!

Restin in a pond, havin the time of m'life! Doing nutin much just havin a gooooood time!

"BLUBAYOU!!!!”

A deep, dark voice called out to the amphibipony. From the sound of it, the calling came from quite a distance, and it sounded angry. Any normal pony would shiver in terror, but for this particular stallion, it brought a smile of excitement to his face.

“Woooo-hooooo! Finally a job!!!! Imma Comin Screamy!!!”

Blubayou immediately jumped out of the water and started using his strong, skinny legs to hop unusual heights on his way to the volcano that Blubayou was taught to call the Volcano of Hysteria. He jumped off of tree and rocks, over bushes and bodies of water and even a group of sleeping Manticores. But when he attempt to leap over a thirty foot wide ravine, he started to fall within twenty feet. This wasn’t too much of a problem for him. He just used his long, sticky tongue to grab a tree branch from the other side and lifted himself up. It tasted like dirty treebark, but it was worth his life. Blubayou then finally found the chasm under the Volcano and entered as if it was an everyday thing. Which it was.

Blubayou went through the vast cavern, finding a twenty foot tall double door made out of pure gold with a large red moon in the center. On the floor in front of the entrance were three five stars that made a circle. Each star had a different color. From top clock wise the colors were: blue, green, yellow, red and purple.

“Alrighty! What was the password again?” Bluebayou asked himself as he scratched his head with his foot. After some thinking, he flicked his tail in triumph and jumped to the stars on the floor. He placed his left forehoof on red first, then on yellow, then on green, then once again on red, then on purple and finally on blue. All the stars then simultaneously flashed, allowing the pony to know he succeeded.

The “earth pony” then watched in triumph as the doors slowly opened, revealing the hidden sanctuary within the volcano. It was as big as a mansion, despite having significantly less rooms. There were three floors. The middle (where he was on) had a kitchen, bathroom, a study room full of archives and artifacts and sleeping quarters (where only Blu slept). The bottom floor had a prison (which due to lack of visitors, hardly ever used), a workshop for his master’s work and a cellar for miscellaneous supplies. The top floor had an observatory, a grand bedroom for Screameater and last but not least, behind a ten foot tall and five foot wide door of pure obsidian, which led to the “throne room”, which was only a hundred feet from the lava. The only reason Blubayou was comfortable with the lava was because the Volcano of Hysteria has never erupted for as long as he lived here, and that was his whole life. Blubayou knew Screameater was behind that door.

He opened the door, revealing the orange light of the burning magma, temporarily blinding Blubayou. When he regained his sight, he saw that the door led to a large ledge that ended in the center of the volcano. At the end of the ledge was a pure obsidian black throne that was turned away from the entrance. The stallion delightfully stepped forward to greet master Screameater, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Ya hollered Screamy?” Blubayou asked with a grin on his face. He put his right hoof up in a salute.

Four foot black, writhing tentacles appeared from the throne. Slowly, the throne began to turn towards the minion. Blubayou then saw Screameater in all his greatness.

A tiny little, pitch black alicorn no bigger than a filly.

“It is about time colt. I thought I had to use another screaming spell to get you out of a pond.” The miniscule dark lord said in an impatient manner. It was hard to take seriously though, his voice sounded like a cat that just sucked up a bunch of helium. But Blubayou learned not to laugh at his voice; the hard way.

“No worries Screamy! Ya know I’m always here for ya!” Blu said as he hopped over to his little master, putting a forehoove over his master as if they were pals. Screameater responded by slapping him across the face with a tendril.

“How many times have I told you? Don’t called me SCREAMY!!!!” The filly sized villain shouted in anger. He always wanted to be referred to as either master or Screameater. Anything else infuriated him.

They next thing Blubayou saw was several green snakes with bright orange eyes coming out of his master’s mouth. They hissed uncontrollably and started slithering towards the stallion, who in response started to walk backwards to avoid the serpents. He tripped over a gap in the cliff and stumbled backwards towards the very edge. Now Blu was screaming in terror as he flailed his forearms to avoid falling into the lava. But just as he was about to plunge to his doom, Screameater used one of his tendrils to grab his minion by one of his hind legs. Screameater then brought Blubayou right up to him, making him stare into his pure orange eyes.

“Have you learned your lesson not to call me that anymore?” Screameater questioned his servant with a cruel grin on his face. He loved how the amphibipony was in utter terror. And this was just him at the low point of his life.

Blubayou only had the courage to muster up a nod. He looked towards where the snakes were, and saw that they were gone. He then let out a sigh of relief. I was quite a sight, getting threatened by a squeaky sounding puny overlord. Screameater then put his servant down.

“But anyways. I have a job for you.” Blu’s master told him still grinning as he slouched back in his throne, putting his two forehooves together.

“Y-Y-Yes master?” Blubayou recessively replied with a sheepish grin on his face. He was still visibly shaking. Screameater just chuckled and started to speak.

“I want you to go find a Unicorn that excels in magic. I have been saving up some of my limited power for him or her. Give or take, I care not for gender. For as you know…I can’t leave this island until full power and I’ll need someone who can get what I need from the outside.”

“But ya got-“

“SILENCE!!! I MEANT SOMEONE COMPETANT!!! When you go, bring him or her to me, you will join them in finding the beings I need to absorb for full power. THEN I WILL TRULY BE KNOWN AS THE PRIMAL FEAR!!!!”
Screameater began to laugh maniacally as he threw his forelegs into the air. His tendrils were flailing around uncontrollably. But the moment was ruined by his minion’s stupid question.

“Wait? So what ya need is snips, snails and puppydog tails right?”

The dark lord stopped laughing and gave his servant a “What?” look. Blubayou just stared blankly hoping for an actual answer for he honestly forgot. Screameater just sighed and quickly explained in a deadpan manner.

“Alright, alright. All I need to absorb is a prince, two princesses, a cutie markless pegasus filly and one pure of heart. And that’s the ritual. Woo hoo!”

The “earth pony” scrunched in thought for a little while and then came up with an idea.

“I know where ta start master! Howsa bout Manehattan! That place has got everything!” Blubayou suggested to his master in a giddy, almost childish manner.

“Fine, whatever.” Screameater passively told Blu not even caring. He then used a chunk of his hampered magic to create a blue rod with silver linings. He then used a tendril to toss it over to his minion. He then continued to speak.

“Here’s a teleportation rod. It only has two uses. So just go there and back with a unicorn. Also…remember to do two things. First, cover yourself in a cloak. The ponies out there aren’t used to your…look so to say. Second…I have really been craving for a good granny smith apple. Get a few while you’re there.” The vile stallion instructed, only smiling when he started to talk about apples.

“YES SIR!!!” Was the only thing that came out of the Amphipony’s mouth as he waved another salute with a cheery demeanor. He then leaped out of the throne room with three large hops.

When Blubayou was gone, Screameater just looked down and shook his head in disappointment. He then realized that he needed him. Not just as a house servant and scout, but as a sort of prisoner.

Screameater was sitting on his throne inspecting two heart shaped artifacts when the obsidian door opened to reveal a skeleton of a pegasus stallion. He had used a spell to summon to undead to go to Froggy Bottom Bog as he sensed that an Element of Harmony was just born. He ordered the skeleton to retrieve the foal and now it has come back, holding a crying pony covered in a red blanket in its arms.

Screameater got out of his throne and took the infant with a tendril. He then ended his undead spell, turning the skeleton to a useless pile of bones. The baby was stilling wailing profusely, to the little overlord’s annoyance. He then uncovered the blanket from the infant’s face to reveal a perfectly healthy blue earth pony.
One look of the horrid fallen prince caused the infant to cry even louder. Screameater could not handle the noise anymore and used his tentacles to dangle him over the cliff into the lava below. He was about to let go of the sobbing newborn but then it struck him. I he disposes of this pony, what makes him so sure the Elements won’t choose another pony in its place.
This was enough reason to bring the pony to safety. He then started to cradle the foal in his tentacles, trying to calm it down. After a nice lullaby, the infant was fast asleep. Screameater let out a sigh of relief and left the throne room, foal still in his tendrils.

He brought the sleeping infant into his study room. He cleaned his desk of papers and quills and laid the foal gently on the desk, as not to wake it up. He then grabbed and put on a bronze necklace with an emerald jewel in the center he liked to call the Necklace of alteration. He thought for a moment, and then decided that since the child was from a swampy region, he should give him amphibious features to enhance his usefulness. So he gave the colt moist, clammy skin, fins on the back of his hooves, a long, sticky tongue, strong hind legs and replaced his mane with a fish-like sail.

As the infant yawned and woke up, it seemed not to mind its new, twisted form and attempted the even hop, going four feet in the air. Screameater quickly grabbed the amphibipony before it hit the ground. The foal then started to coo and tried to touch the dark prince’s face. This made Screameater acknowledge that the child wore a blue medallion. I was in the shape of a blueberry and had the name “Blubayou” which the malign pony had a feeling was his name. Screameater then officially decided to adopt the foal as his own, keeping the name but getting rid of the medallion, keeping it in a drawer.

Screameater then refocused from his sudden flashback by slapping himself with a tendril. He then cackled to himself in joy. He knew he had an advantage against the Elements of Harmony if they tried to stop him. Then suddenly, Blubayou came back in.

“Master? Which cloak looks better on moi? Black or blue?” The amphibipony innocently asked Screameater, interrupting his cackle.

“YOU’LL BE BLACK AND BLUE IF YOU DON’T LEAVE NOOOOOOW!!!!” Screameater screamed/squeaked in pure rage. His tentacles doubled in size and started flailing about madly.

“Yes sir.” Blubayou sheepishly answered as he trotted away.

When his minion finally left, he did some relaxing breathing exercises to calm him down. He then closed his eyes, put his left forehoof on his chin and “tsk tsked”.

“The things I put up with to gain an advantage.” Was the last thing he said in utter annoyance as he got off of his throne and went on his way to his living quarters.

Questions and Answers

Chapter 2 Questions and answers

It has been several hours since reading about Phobos and Screameater, yet Twilight Sparkle still couldn't get the subject out of her head. She always perseverated on something if there was a chance something terrible can happen from it. This was almost like what happened with Nightmare Moon. That was supposed to be a story and that turned out to be true. Why couldn't this be too?

After another couple of minutes, Spike entered through the front door, finished doing all of Rarity's chores. Before he even knew it, Twilight dashed right next to him.

"Let me guess? You want me to write a letter about this whole "Screameater" guy?" Spike asked rolling his eyes. He could tell she was still thinking about the fallen prince. So he took out a quill and a piece of paper and gestured the purple mare to start talking.

Twilight Sparkle took a deep breath and started to speak.

"Dear Princess Celestia,

It has occurred to me that your brother Cosmus is never around. But today I came upon a book that claims that he was corrupted and imprisoned on an island called Phobos. Is this true? If so, why haven't you told me earlier? And something about three more elements? May you please answer these questions for me?

Your Faithful Student,

Twilight Sparkle"

And with that Spike sent the message to the Princess with his fire. After five minutes, Spike spat out a scroll. Twilight used her magic to open and read the scroll. She then began to read aloud to Spike.

"My loyal student Twilight Sparkle

I'm sorry I have gotten you worried about Cosmus. But unfortunately, Screameater does exist. And he has been a problem. If you look outside, you will see that a carriage is ready to take you to Canterlot. I have important news to tell you.

From,

Princess Celestia"

Twilight Sparkle immediately looked out her window, and of course there were two white pegasi guards waiting outside with a carriage. Twilight then grabbed the book on Phobos to show the princess. She then turned to Spike, who was stunned at the shock of Screameater's existence. The studious pony then patted his head as she turned away to the door.

"Alright Spike. Keep an eye on the place for me. And if anybody comes around, tell them I'm speaking with Celestia." Was the last thing Twilight said before she opened the door. She looked rather unsure about this meeting with her teacher. She knew she would learn a lot.

As the chariot ascended into the air, Twilight took one last look back at her house. She saw Spike waving back at her trying to keep a happy face. She decided to wave back, with a smile that said "Everything is going to be alright".

Spike waved until he couldn't see her anymore. He then thought to himself and shrugged.

Why should I be so worried about Twi? She's been through worse.

He then began to do his daily chores in a more positive light, knowing that his friend/guardian would come back without any trouble.

After a brief chariot flight, Twilight Sparkle was in front of Canterlot Castle. She showed the scroll to the two pegasi guards in front of the castle, who immediately opened the door and let her pass through without argument. After all, it wasn't her first meeting with the princess.

Twilight entered the castle and went straight to the throne room. As she expected, Celestia was there waiting for her. The Element of Magic walked over to her teacher with several questions on her mind. But as Twilight showed her the book, Celestia lifted her hoof to peacefully silence her student.

"I understand your questions Twilight Sparkle. Once again, I'm sorry I didn't tell you or your friends sooner. But as you can tell by now, neither me nor Luna are too comfortable talking about Cosmus, or Screameater as he likes to be called now." Celestia explained to her pupil in an understanding tone. She kept the warm smile on her face but thinking about her twisted brother made it that much harder to keep her calm demeanor. Even immortals had soft spots.

Twilight Sparkle then looked back about ten years ago. She thought of the first time her tutor mentioned her brother. She hasn't thought much about it until now, especially since Rarity mentioning that the Prince must've been from a sibling of the Sun Princess. The memory flashed before her eyes.

Twilight Sparkle was grabbing some spell books to look at with her teacher when she noticed an elegant if not overdressed male unicorn walk right past her. After asking a guard who the unicorn was, she discovered that it was none other than Prince Blueblood. She wondered how he was a prince when she only knew of a princess.

After seeing Prince Blueblood in the castle during her lessons, she was at first convinced that he was her teacher's son. The very same day, she asked Celestia if the prince was in fact her son. Celestia just chuckled and told her that Blueblood was her nephew. Twilight then asked if the prince's parent was a brother or a sister. With that comment, Celestia brought her head down to the purple filly saying that it was her brother's. But when Twilight asked where her brother was, Celestia just frowned. Celestia then immediately changed the subject with the day's teleportation lesson.

Twilight Sparkle went on with the day without a hassle. She never thought about her teacher's brother after that. But now that she knew the truth she wondered if he was a threat now.

Twilight finally shook her head to stop reminiscing about the past. She then once again got ready to question the shining princess.

"Is Cosmus…or Screameater…give or take a threat?" Twilight asked thinking of what to call her tutor's brother. She thought that perhaps the princess preferred to call him by his old name rather than his malign title.

Celestia just used her magic to lift the book about Phobos out of Twilight's bag. She then began flipping through the pages. After a minute, she found what she was looking for and showed it to the purple mare. The picture was of Screameater being shrunk down and weakened by Celestia and Luna with the nine Elements of Harmony. On the opposite page was a filly sized Screameater with a bunch of suitcases in the middle of a volcano. The small dark prince had a relatively upset face, with his eyebrows down and with a huge frown on his face as if he was annoyed about his punishment.

"That's…him…now?" Twilight asked to the princess trying not to laugh. According to the book, Screameater was at least an inch shorter than Applebloom. Her worries were suddenly lifted.

"Sadly Twilight, this isn't a laughing matter. He did steal three of the Paraelements." Her tutor answered her, her voice changing from divinely serene to quite solemn, bringing the mare's worries back. Celestia then sighed and continued to explain. "But for simplicity's sake, let's just say they're nine elements. Makes the bearers feel a little more important.

"Many years ago, the Element of Tolerance was born to a couple from a town in Froggy Bottom Bog known as Berrybash Bottom. As you can guess, like how Appleloosa specializes in apples, Berrybash Bottom specialized in berries of all kinds. A resident Earthpony family known as the Blueberries just had a cute little colt. It was a time to celebrate for the small town. There were strawberry shortcakes, cranberry juice, raspberry tarts, blueberry muffins and the greatest Berrybash delicacy; multiberry pie."

Twilight listened intently on what the princess had to say. It seemed so positive right now. What could have gone wrong?

"Cosmus must have sensed the Element's energy and with his limited power summoned a pegasus skeleton to capture the foal. The Blueberries tried as hard as they could to keep the child safe, but the skeleton just took from them the most valuable thing everypony has."

Twilight gulped in horror. She knew what the undead took. And it wasn't money or berries.

"With the family out of the way, the skeleton took the foal and flew off with it, leaving Berrybash Bottom to grieve of their loss. From what I know, if an element of Harmony dies, a new pony takes the previous one's place. And since I have never detected another Element of Tolerance, that means Cosmus has the child as a prisoner for so many years."

"But why couldn't you just get the baby back? And come to think of it, how did he get a pegasus skeleton? And how did somebody know so much about Phobos to write a book?" Twilight questioned Celestia quite puzzled yet visibly disturbed by the story. The princess just sighed again, obviously not comfortable with the conversation.

"I and Luna are part of a ritual that if he absorbs us, Cosmus will be that much closer to his full power. And without the one element he took, nobody would be able to save Equestria from facing what likes to call The Primal Fear. To answer your second question would also answer your third question.

A hundred years ago, I sent a unicorn explorer named Hazelhoof and her crew to explore Phobos by ship and make sure Cosmus did not anything up his saddle, and perhaps even recover the lost elements. Turns out he was up to no good as his mere presence on Phobos for over a millennia has allowed him to use his slowly charging magic to make the island a living nightmare to anyone he saw fit. There were casualties, thus the skeleton mentioned before, but more than a third of the crew had managed to escape.

But unfortunately, over the years, the horrors they saw took a toll of the crew's mental health. Many of them started acting erratic and had to be put under mental care. Even Hazelhoof, one of the most resilient mares I knew, eventually succumbed to her nightmares, which were only made worse by writing the book you brought me. With my magic, I managed to help restore their sanity so they can be part of society again. But I do regret having them suffer like they did." Celestia lamented as she told her story to her student, who was in awe by the chilling answers to her question.

But Twilight had one more question left to ask.

"What and who are the three lost Elements of Harmony?" Twilight questioned as she got to her senses once again. Celestia seemed happy by the slightest change of subject from her brother's atrocities to the elements. She once again began to speak in her always soothing voice to her pupil.

"The three lost paraelements are as I said Tolerance; the feeling when you can handle the occasional disagreement and learn to forgive, continuing the friendship. That wielder is the child my brother sadly has in his hooves. The second element is Caring; very similar to kindness, but also considering the safety and well being of the fellow pony. And also minding their steps quite a bit if you know what I mean. That wielder is actually a stallion in Ponyville named Paramail. Ever heard of him Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight scrunched her face trying to remember who that was and if she's ever seen him anywhere. After a while, she just gave up and shrugged. Celestia also shrugged and continued speaking.

"Me neither. But the third and last element is Respect; the way of treating each and every person equally and without biases. That pony actually lives in Diamondale. His name is Coocoodrill. And I'm not going to lie, it fits him quite well."

"Why's that?" Twilight asked Celestia confused about this "Coocoodrill". Pinkie Pie was quite a handful, how bad can this guy be?

The princess just looked at her student awkwardly, as if trying to find the right words then answered the curious mare.

"Well…? You know… the time…during your magic school years…when the School of Magic had… a huge hole in the center of several floors in the building?" Celestia answered quite clumsily as she had the memory in her mind. It cost many bits to fix those floors.

Twilight though about it for a bit and then slowly and also awkwardly nodded her head. It was quite a disaster that day.

"Well that was Coocoodrill trying to do a simple levitation spell. Ended up using his horn to magically drill into the floors." Celestia said as she got back to her usual benevolent voice. But she did roll her eyes.

Twilight Sparkle's eyes just widened and her jawed dropped to the floor. A simple levitation attempt went that disastrous. She wondered where he was now. He definitely was expelled, but due to her lack of a social circle in the past, didn't really know who did it.

After an awkward silence, Celestia decided to speak up again.

"But anyways, Coocoodrill works in the mines around the mountainside. I will get a guard to show you the way. But don't worry, Coocoo's a nice person. He wouldn't intend to hurt you in any way."

That made Twilight come back to her senses a third time (spacing out a lot today). So she waved goodbye to the princess and left with the guard.

"So she still calls him Cosmus. It must mean she still cares for him." Twilight muttered to herself as she left to find the element of respect.

Meanwhile in Manehattan, Blubayou was wearing his black cloak, looking for a worthy unicorn for Screameater. All the Unicorns he met always ran away for some strange reason. He thought it might just be his breath. He lifted a finned hoof in front of his mouth and breathed and sniffed it. He didn't smell anything bad. He just shrugged and saw a supermarket. He remembered that his master wanted a couple of granny smith apples.

So he rushed inside, grabbed a basket, got several granny smiths and went straight to the checkout counter. The obviously bored mare at the counter just looked up and saw the freaky, amphibious, slimy stallion in front of her.

"TAKE THE APPLES! THEY'RE FREE TODAY!" The clerk hollered as she dived under her counter, cowering.

The amphibipony just blinked twice, then made a big wide smile.

"Why thank ya madame! Have a nice day!" Blu told the cowering mare in a jolly manner, not even wondering why she was under the counter anyways.

So he bowed and left. But not before leaving a couple of bits in the tip jar.

Blubayou was still in Manehattan searching for a unicorn to bring to Screameater. He was having no luck at all. Every time he tried to talk to someone, they ran off for some odd reason. Now he was in the Manehattan Park. After some walking, he saw a tan unicorn mare sitting on a bench reading some sort of fashion magazine, using her magic to lift it and flip the pages. The amphibipony walked up to the mare feeling that this would be the one willing to work with/for his master. So far, he hasn't even gotten far enough with anypony to even tell them who he's working for.

As he walked closer, the unicorn looked up at Blu relatively disinterested. She just rolled her eyes and put her magazine down.

"Can I help you?" The mare asked Blubayou with little interest. She then took a closer look at the approaching earth pony, seeing his clammy blue skin and yellow eyes from under his cloak. In a second, she screamed in terror and galloped away.

Blubayou just watched her "escape" in confusion. He takes off the hood of his cloak, causing everyone in the park to stare at him in shock. He then used his long, sticky tongue to scratch the top of his head, causing the crowd to gasp in horror. After a while of thinking, the monstrous earth pony spotted a large fly hovering about two meters away. Licking his lips in delight, he used his froglike tongue to snatch the insect from the air and into his mouth. The crowd just looked at Blubayou as if he was some sort of abomination. They all then screamed and ran off. Blu didn't even notice them gallop off. He just whipped his tail in realization of what he did wrong to scare off the mare.

"I KNOW WHA I DID!" He shouted in triumph. "I was hiding my face with this cloak! Hooooooo weeeeeee! That's just ain't right to just walk over to a stranger like that! It's creepy!"

He then looked around him and noticed that virtually everypony was gone. The only pony left was a small tan earth filly. She was shaking in fright and whimpering, tears about to stream from her eyes. She was so scared of the unusual horse that she couldn't even move. Blubayou jumped ten feet right up to the filly, and started to asked the foal where all the ponies went in curiosity.

"Excuse me bu…"

The filly started to scream in fear, tears pouring out of her eyes. Blubayou had no idea what to do about it. It's not that he didn't care; it's just that due to living on a relatively deserted island with a short, if not intimidating adoptive father. He simply had no idea how to handle the situation. As he was cringing, pondering at what to do, some of the girl's tears fell onto his smooth, drying legs. It's been a while since he was in water, and he was getting thirsty, and the tears helped slightly. Blubayou realized that he needed water soon or he will risk dehydration. He then started to smile in excitement, rubbing his forelegs. He had an idea.

"Sorry for startling ya little missy. But I have a question. Where's the nearest pond? I've been walking all day and I'm tired. Plus, I need to rehydrate myself. Can ya give me a hoof?" The amphibipony kindly asked the still crying filly as he crouched down to equal height of the little girl.

The little girl stopped screaming and started to calm down a bit. He didn't look malicious at all. He actually looked more like a tourist with his map upside down.

"Wait? You're not going to hurt me?" The filly asked Blu still quite nervous. She stepped back a couple feet relatively unsure how to handle the situation. Her parents did teach her about "Stranger Danger" after all.

The amphibipony was shocked at such an accusation. Why would she assume such a ridiculous thing? He never acted threatening, he used his manners, and he never hurt a fly all day (just ate one [different story]). He then got to his senses and rapidly shook his head.

"You promise?" The filly asked still relatively paranoid. She crept a little bit closer to Blubayou, a sign of trust.

The blue "earth pony" went on his hind legs. He then used his tongue to "cross his heart".

"Cwass my hwart." Blubayou promised the girl with his tongue still sticking out. He saw that the filly was grossed out, so he stuck the tongue right back into his mouth. After an awkward two seconds, Blu spoke up once again.

"So where's the nearest…" But before Blubayou could finish his question, the filly just pointed behind the amphibipony. The earth pony looked behind him, seeing a quaint, clean, relatively large pond. He then looked back at the foal and smiled sheepishly. He then made a croaking sound, which inflated the area between his chin and throat. It sounded just like a relatively high pitched tree frog's croak.

"Sorry to waste ya time madame. I shall leave you alone now." Blubayou quickly and awkwardly said to the little filly as he patted her head with a slimy hoof. He then hopped away in joy of a good rest.

The little earth filly just wiped the slime off her head in disgust and annoyance and turned to walk away.

"Freak." Was the only thing she could mutter as she trotted away. She felt like she needed a long bath.

Bluebayou was leaping towards the pond absolutely thrilled that he was finally going to rest. He was hopping so fast, he didn't see the branch in front of him. He jumped straight into it, hitting his stomach on the branch. He then fell to the ground.

"Uuuuuh. Toad-daddies that hurt." Blu groggily whined as he slowly got up. When he opened his eyes, he saw a poster being blown by the wind towards him. He grabbed the poster with his tongue then put the post in his forehooves.

It had a picture of a Unicorn mare lifting various things such as ropes, cards and even a rabbit with her magic. She was blue in color with silvery hair and was wearing a purple wizard's cloak and a pointy, slightly limp wizard's hat. Both articles of clothing had different sized stars all over it, each one colored blue or yellow. Under the unicorn had an audience of various ponies cheering for the magician from off the stage. On top of the poster was the words "Behold the magic of the GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!" The poster also had the address of where the show was.

Blubayou was jumping for joy at the find. It was around two thirty right now and the show started at about nine o'clock. He decided that a unicorn this "GREAT AND POWERFUL" would be great for Screameater. He then galloped the rest of the way to the pond laughing cheerfully to himself. He was going to get both a powerful mage for his master and a great show.

"How can this trip get any better?" the amphibipony said to himself with his eyes beaming as he put his belongings away in a hole in a nearby tree.

He then jumped twenty feet into the air, just above the pond. At the highest point, he tucked his hooves in and shouted "CANNONBALL!" before splashing into the pond. Under the water, he made a small bed out of grasses and dirt. He then got into his makeshift bed.

"Oh boy! Good old Screamy's gonna love it when I get him that Trixie girl." Blubayou groggily said to himself as bubbles came out of him mouth. He then deeply yawned, although it sounded more like gurgling. He then closed his eyes. After a while, he started to snore, which was just him breathing in, the softly croaking out.

He needed all the rest he could get, for tonight, would be all about "THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE".

Coocoo for Elements

Chapter 3: Coocoo for Elements

Twilight Sparkle was guided by her guard to the bottom of the mountain Canterlot was built on. I wasn't as flashy as Canterlot was but she could easily see the waterfall from Canterlot seep down to the bottom of the mountain, landing in a large pond at the bottom. Around the pond was a small village, which wasn't as extravagant as the city above her but hospitable enough. As Twilight and her guide walked further down, she could visibly see several ponies around the village. The mares and stallions down there were all earth ponies and looked much tougher and dirtier than the Canterlot counterparts, and they all had cutie marks that revolved around mining, such as drills, picks and even just plain rocks. As she was observing this new town, she noticed that she was now at the bottom of the mountain. Her guard was not far behind.

"Thank you for your help, but I can handle it from here." Twilight said turning towards her pegasus guardian with sincere kindness. The guard just nodded and flew off. Twilight Sparkle just rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Not very talkative are they?" Twilight asked herself a rhetorical question. She then proceeded to enter to town. As she entered, she noticed that she didn't really blend in very well, being cleaner, more proper and a unicorn and all. When everyone saw her, they stopped what they were doing and stared at her in awe. It got so quiet, Twilight could hear the work going on in the nearby cave. It was so unbearable that she just had to break the ice.

"Why..." She said to the residents hesitantly and awkwardly "...hello there folks of..." She frantically looked for the sign of where the village's name was. She found it on a sign just next to her "Diamondale...how are you guy's doing?" Twilight then forced a smile.

"We don't take kindly to city folk." A random mare in the crowd told Twilight in a intimidating manner. Twilight couldn't even tell who said that.

"Ah c'mon Digz, she ain't hurtin nobody." A stallion's voice came in response sounding much more reasonable. Twilight didn't even know who said that either.

She just took a deep sigh and decided to ask the question she actually wanted answered.

"Sooooooooo? Anyways? Anybody know where a pony named Coocoodrill is?" Twilight asked the residents of Daimondale already relatively uncomfortable manner.

It got quiet once again. After thirty seconds, that random, unseen mare Digz spoke up again.

"We don't take kindly to whackos." Digz once again called out from the crowd in the same unfriendly manner.

"Ah c'mon Digz, he ain't hurtin nobody." The random stallion called out once again to the unseen mare.

By now, Twilight was fed up with this town already, she just wanted out as soon as possible. And this "whacko" she's talking about? Was she referring to the element she's looking for?

"Does anybody know where this Coocoodrill guy is? Anybody?" The Element of Magic asked quite irritated. Everybody just pointed to the tunnel leading to the mine. Twilight just looked at the mine for a bit, looked back and forced a smile to the villagers before running into the tunnel.

The villagers of Diamondale just stared at the unicorn go into the tunnel in such a hurry for a good minute. The silence was then broken once again.

"We do't take kindly to..."

"DANG IT DIGZ! FOR THE LAST TIME! AIN'T NOBODY HURTIN ANYBODY!"

After that outburst, the residents went back to their usual work.

Twilight Sparkle explored deeper and deeper into Diamondale's mine. It wasn't as dirty as she originally thought it would be. In fact, it was well structured and very well lit. There was even wooden planks made for a path so she didn't even have to get her feet dirty. The workers there were in all sorts of crevices, from being in a hole digging with a shovel to hanging from ropes to grab loose jewels and precious metals from the ceiling. Those gems and metals were easily the best sight in the Diamondale mines, with the various rubies, gold, sapphires, silver, emeralds, diamonds, and topaz that stuck out from the walls, floor, and ceiling of the tunnel, with each gem reflecting the lights from the ceiling.

"What Rarity would give to see this." Twilight Sparkle said to herself amazed at the visuals of the mine. She then walked up to a grey mare who was digging up a particularly large emerald with only a pick she held in her teeth. Twilight put on her friendly face once again.

"Excuse me?"

The working mare turned around. She was sweating from all the hard work and didn't look like she was in the mood for a conversation.

"What?" The pony asked Twilight quite irritated and giving her an "I'm busy" look. She turned her head back to look at the emerald that was at least four feet in diameter, a worthy find for anypony.

Twilight was relatively startled by the pony's reaction, but eventually composed herself to ask "Do you know where Coocoodrill is?" still trying to smile.

The worker looked at the purple unicorn for a few seconds, then burst into a fit of chuckles.

"Your looking for Coocoodrill? The only unicorn in Diamondale? That guy may have dug half of these tunnels, but he is bonkers! Why'd ya want to see him?" the miner asked Twilight now openly laughing. Twilight just rolled her eyes, sighing in annoyance. Obviously, this Coocoodrill wasn't very liked in the village, but even on that thought, it seemed she wasn't very well liked in this village. This town's greeting was far from Ponyville's. But finally, Twilight got the guts to speak.

"Because he's an Element of Harmony." Twilight told the miner in a deadpan and stern manner. The miner stopped laughing and immediately pointed to a long, winding tunnel to the right of Twilight. Twilight nodded and left to go deeper into Diamondale.

At the very end of a tunnel, a unicorn stallion was lifting a large bag of gems into a nearby mine cart. He was dark green with a brown, messy, medium sized mane. He had had two different colored eyes. His left pupil was blue and his right pupil was purple and bigger than his left pupil. His cutie mark was a grey circle with a black spiral inside it.

He was looking at the mine cart smiling, proud of his work. He then started to talk in a formal manner.

"Nice work good ol' Coocoodrill. You really outdone..." He stopped talking for a second, and heard his stomach rumble. His pupils got bigger, his horn started to glow red.

"I'M HUNGRY!" Coocoodrill screamed as if it was the end of Equestria. Instead of his previous formal speech, he sounded more like a relatively high pitched Southerner.

He then jumped into the air laughing like a maniac, went upside down and activated his magic to spin around extremely quickly. As he fell to the ground, he used his horn to drill into it, making a hole. He dug around for a bit, until he found a sapphire and a ruby in the ground. He then went to the top of the hole, still laughing with his prizes in his saddlebag.

But suddenly, he stopped laughing and whimpered "I'm being watched." He then quickly turned around to find a purple unicorn mare looking down at him. Coocoodrill thought for a moment, then jumped out of the hole right next to his guest. His guest then began to talk in an approach, well meaning way.

"Hi there. My name's Twilight Sparkle and..."

"Hey there Twilight Sparkle!" the stallion exclaimed in a loud but friendly but loud manner as he used both his forehooves to shake the mare's hoof, causing her to stagger. His voice changed from Southern to a Fillydelphian voice. "Name's Coocoodrill! That's my name and mining's my game! Want me to sing about it? You from here? Don't think I've ever seen you in these parts! You being a unicorn and all! I thought I was the only unicorn in all of Diamondale! And...MPH!"

He was interrupted by a hoof going into his mouth.

"Whoooooah there. Slow down a bit will you?" Twilight suggested to the eccentric pony a little creeped out but forcing a smile. If she met this guy a while back, she'd run for the hills. But thanks to Pinkie Pie, she developed a tolerance for such energy and craze.

Coocoodrill moved a couple of feet back to give her some space. He then smiled and nodded.

"Sorry Twilight. I just get a little carried away sometimes. Never do get many guests." the green stallion told his visitor in a much slower manner. This made Twilight's forced smile much more legitimate. She then continued to talk.

"So Coocoodrill. I been sent here by Princess Celestia herself..."

"Celesty wants me? Sweet! What for?" Coocoodrill asked once again full of pep and sounding almost effeminate. He hasn't seen her since the day he left Canterlot. What he said sort of annoyed Twilight.

"You don't just called our princess and my tutor "Celesty"! It's not proper! And you're supposed to be the Element of Respect for crying out loud!" Twilight snapped at the Element of Respect, making him corner himself in a wall. She hated when people didn't give her teacher the proper respect she deserved. She then saw how Coocoodrill was feeling. He was shaking from being talked down and was on the verge of tears. The Element of Magic immediately regretted her outburst. She began to apologize.

"Coocoo! I am so sorry..."

The stallion just cried streams of tears, and began to speak like a colt having a boo-boo.

"But...I...was showing respect. I like to treat each and every pony as an equal. I don't favorite! That's just being..." He then stopped crying when realized something. He sprung back up, once again grinning as if nothing happened. He then started to speak in his Fillydelphian accent again.

"I'm an Element of Harmony?" Coocoodrill asked Twilight almost squeeing. Twilight, just seeing the drastic mood swing, just smiled and nodded.

"Just like what Gram-gram Hazelhoof used to say!" He changed his voice to sound like an old lady "You're meant for great things Coocoo. Just respect others and treat others as you want to be treated and you'll see that one day, you're would be known around the land. Also..." He was interrupted by Twilight's gasp of astonishment.

"You're Hazelhoof's grandson?" Twilight questioned Coocoo in surprise. The wacky stallion just nodded, wondering why his grandma was so important to his newfound friend.

"She was the one who wrote this book on Phobos then." Twilight said putting the pieces together. She couldn't believe it, she was talking to the grandson of a heroic explorer. And perhaps it also explained why her new ally had such questionable sanity. But who was she to consider someone insane? She went nuts over missing an optional deadline.

The green stallion just smirked with pride. He then started to speak in his Fillydelphian accent once again. Twilight got a feeling that was how he normally spoke.

"I course I know! Gram-gram always told me stories about it before beddy-bites! I know every bit about that book!"

And with those word, Twilight immediately found him to be not as annoying, but quirky in his own little way. She couldn't understand why anypony in Equestria would called their grandmother "Gram-Gram" though.

"That's great! I need to bring you to Celestia right now! She'd love to see you again." Twilight Sparkle said to Coocoodrill in a joyous manner. She then grabbed his left hoof and was about to use a teleportation spell, but was interrupted by her new friend.

"Hey Twi? Do you like rubies" Coocoodrill innocently asked calmly and innocently. Twilight looked at him awestruck, but slowly nodded.

"Great! Here you go!" Coocoodrill said in a positive attitude as he grabbed the ruby he found from his pack and tossed it to her. Twilight sparkle caught it and saw Coocoodrill toss the sapphire he collected into the air. He then opened his mouth and let the precious rock enter. He then swallowed the stone whole.

"Delicious! Who said only dragons can eat gems? Always preferred a good sapphire over ruby." The stallion commented in satisfaction as he sat upwards to rub his stomach.

Twilight just rolled her eyes and used her magic to teleport the two to Celestia throne room.

In the throne room, Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill were greeted by a waiting Celestia.

"Greetings my little ponies! Did you tell Coocoodrill the good news yet!" Celestia said in the warmest manner possible. Coocoodrill just nodded repeatingly and in rapid succession.

"Twi sure did Celesty!" Coocoodrill hollered in joy, but mellowed out and continued "or Celestia. Give or take what you want to be called." He then smiled innocently. Twilight could have swore she saw a halo above his head. But then Coocoodrill continued to speak.

"But anyways." He said nice and calmly, but then he began to speak louder and faster. "Do I get like...A SWORD, OR BATTLE ARMOR OR SOMETHING ELSE EQUALLY RADICAL?"

Twilight just rolled her eyes. Boys, always think of cool before useful.

Celestia answered Coocoo's question by using her magic to create a necklace around the green pony. It was a more masculine form of an element of harmony, with his grey spiral symbol in the center of it. He looked at this artifact of his with great curiosity. He poked it, shook it around and even bit down on it. He was so focused on it, that he wasn't paying attention to what Celestia was saying to Twilight.

"Twilight Sparkle. We now have one of the lost Elements of Harmony. That will make Cosmus that much weaker. But we still need the Element of Caring and I have been hearing sightings of a frog-like earth pony wandering Manehattan. I have a feeling my brother's twisted magic made such a pony." The princess took a long sigh of sorrow, then continued on. "My hunch is that this amphibious stallion is the element of Tolerance."

"So what do you say we do about these two elements?" Twilight asked her teacher perplexed. Finding Tolerance might be too dangerous but finding Caring might be easy. Celestia just got back to her positive demeanor and chuckled. She then stooped down to her pupil's level.

"Don't worry about Paramail, the Element of Caring. I got that all taken care of even as we speak." Celestia told Twilight as she chuckled to herself. Twilight Sparkle had no idea what she meant, but she had faith in her teacher.

"All right Celestia, so should me and Coocoodrill go back to Ponyville?" Twilight asked the Sun Princess as she bowed down. Celestia nodded in approval.

"Sure thing!" the purple unicorn said to the princess. She then called out "Coocoodrill! Were leaving now!" Twilight turned around to the nutty stallion and saw him shooting harmless rainbow beams out of his element as he made "Pew! Pew!" noises. She facehoofed and went up to the brand new element and poked him a his side. He turned around and laughing with pure, innocent joy.

"This...is...AWESOME!" Coocoodrill exclaimed at the top of his lungs. He then mellowed down to a more inside voice "So anyways, you got one of these?"

Twilight was about to answer when she felt something on her head. Celestia summoned her magic tiara to show Coocoodrill. Coocoodrill stared in awe.

"You get a crown? Awwwwww maaaaaan. That's hardcore." the green unicorn said almost envious of his newfound friend. But then he felt his stomach rumble again.

"Hungry!" He exclaimed almost in panic as he used his magical horn. He shouted "Cupcake" and pointed his horn to the ground. There was a flash of light, then out appeared a piece of asparagus.

"But didn't you say cupcake?" Twilight asked Coocoodrill confused. She had no idea how cupcakes led to asparagus. Coocoo just sighed and nodded, making her think this wasn't the first time this happened.

Twilight then had an idea for the disappointed stallion. She patted his back and gave him a positive smile.

"Don't worry Coocoo! I just just the right pony to see when it comes to cupcakes!" She told her kooky buddy as she almost felt hungry herself. she couldn't wait to see Pinkie. Her and Coocoodrill would get along real well.

Coocoodrill cheered up within a second and the two waved goodbye to Celestia aand started to leave for Ponyville by chariot.

This guy's going to love it here. Twilight thought in her head as she saw Coocoodrill looking down at all the sights. She made quite the friend today. Along with a valuble ally. She would have to remind herself to ask about his knowledge of Phobos and Screameater though. For an adventure like this, that would sure come in handy.

Paraelemental

Chapter 6: Paraelemental

It has been about an hour since Twilight Sparkle left for Canterlot, and since she told Spike to keep an eye on the place, he couldn't even go anywhere. He was just lying on the ground of the library, reading the Book of Obscure Equestrian History Twilight gave him He was that bored. Just as he was about to pass out from chronic boredom, he heard a knocking at the door. He jumped right up, praying to Celestia it was Rarity. But when he finally got to the door, it turned out to be a mailpony.

The pony was a teal pegasus stallion only a bit bigger than Twilight Sparkle. By the looks of it, he cut his mane to the point that it was only a navy blue line that went down his forehead and neck. His eyes were a maroon color of sorts. His cutie mark was two white exclamation marks, with a white question mark in the center.

"Message for Twilight Sparkle. Oh hey Spike." The mailpony said at first monotone and then politely as he recognized the dragon. He handed a letter over to the baby dragon.

How did this pony know his name? This guy didn't even ring a bell. Spike decided to find out slowly and hesitantly.

"So uuuuuh? How do know my name?" Spike asked sort of weirded out. The pegasus just looked at him funny, then rolled his eyes.

"Remember? Paramail? I was at Pinkie's party when you and Twilight first got here? Any of this ringing a bell?" The mailstallion asked trying to get Spike's gears in his head turning.

Spike put his hand under his chin trying to remember this Paramail guy.

During Pinkie's "new residents" party, Spike drank way to much punch and went on a sugar rush of pure energy, to the point of putting a lamp shade on his head. As he was at the refreshments table, he heard a voice introducing himself as Paramail, but couldn't see him due to the lampshade. He was pretty sure they talked about the neighborhood and shortcuts and such, but Spike totally spaced out.

He then remembered that when Nightmare Moon revealed herself to all of Ponyville, a couple of pegasus guards attacked her, but were easily sent flying by the corrupted princess. He recalled Paramail walking into the building oblivious to what was going on, saying "Sorry I'm late" before one of the pegasus knights crashed into him.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember! You're the guy from our first party here." Spike said happy to remember such a nice, if unfortunate pony. "Why don't you come around more often?"

"Nice for you to remember me." Paramail congratulated the dragon with gusto, but then went deadpan. "But I was at half of Pinkie's parties since you were here."

Spike just smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He didn't notice him at any of those parties. Paramail just sighed, looked down and shook his head. He then shrugged.

"Anyways sir. Be sure to give that letter to Miss Twilight Sparkle." Paramail passively reminded Spike. "I'm off to Carousel Boutique." He then took a running start then began to fly.

Spike shut the door, crossed his arms, and then huffed in jealousy. The mention of anything Rarity when he's forced to stay at home just hurt.

Paramail flew from the library to Carousel Boutique with a letter in his hand. He landed straight in front of the Boutique and knocked on the door. A glamorous white, purple maned unicorn mare answered the door.

"Greetings m'am! Letter for you!" Paramail said courteously to the owner of the house as he showed the letter to her.

"How gentlemanly of you." The unicorn told him almost flattered as she used her magic to grab the letter. She then chuckled "But I insist, call me Rarity. What's yours?"

"Sure thing Rarity. Name's Paramail." Paramail replied with the upmost respect bowing her head down. He knew her ladylike reputation and wanted to make her feel that way.

Rarity was delighted to be the center of attention. She then saw the navy blue line of what was left of is mane. She gasped in horror, almost fainting. It was a fashion apocalypse.

"What's the matter?" Paramail questioned the suddenly shocked Rarity. He then began to also panic. "Is there a spider on me? Get it off! Get it off!" He was trotting in circles in hysteria, his left hoof desperately looking for a non-existent spider. This was enough to get Rarity to stop and look in confusion.

"There's no spider!" Rarity called out, causing him to stop in his tracks. She then took a breath of relief and continued to speak, choosing her words wisely. "I was startled by…your…mane." She then looked away awkwardly, hoping he hasn't upset the mailpony. He might just get his revenge by sabotaging packed fashion materials.

Paramail just looked up, touched his "mane" with his left hoof. He then grinned as if he wasn't offended.

"You mean this?" Paramail delightfully asked pointing at his head. "I got my mane shaved!" He then went closer to Rarity, lowering his voice and squinting his eyes. "It gets in the way of flying. One day, I could be flying. I my mane gets in my face." He then clapped his hooves together. He then shouted "BAM! I crash! Pain everywhere!" He then walked back to where he was, calming down. He then looked at Rarity, who was just staring at him weirdly. He just awkwardly chuckled.

"S-sorry about the morbid imagery Rarity." He then turned away, getting ready to fly. "But anyways, I've got places to go!" He then took a running start and quickly flew away.

After watching him leave, she just rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Strange one isn't he?" She said to herself as she closed the door to get back to work.

Paramail then went up into the clouds and found his next stop, a cloud house. He flew onto a tangible cumulus and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again a little harder, but there was still no answer. He was about to look a mailbox when a rainbow colored bolt flew right in front of him. He shrieked like a little colt and jumped right into the air, thinking that it would hit him, but stopped right in front of him, revealing a female cyan colored pegasus with a multicolored mane.

"Sweet! The mail's here! I wonder if that Wonderbolt's costume copy I order arrived!" The pegasus exclaimed to herself with great zeal as she looked at the mailman. She then took a closer look at the teal pegasus. Paramail looked back, recognizing her as Rainbow Dash from flight school and most of his academic classes as a colt.

"Paramail?" Rainbow Dashed asked the stallion almost rhetorically. He slowly nodded, but then got to his senses and calmed down from his shock. Rainbow then walked up to him and gave him a hard pat on the back, causing him to wince a bit.

"I knew it was you! Who else shaves their mane?" RD said full of the joy of reuniting with an old friend. Paramail on the other hand was glad to see an old friend, but was annoyed by how she recognized him. He took a breath and began to talk.

"I told a hundred times at school. It gets in the way of flying. Remember Dumb Bell, Score and…" He pondered for a second. "The other one? They crashed all the time!" He then shuddered at the thought of the three stallions, remembering how they used to take him and his friend's lunch money and called him names like "Meganerd" and "Wussy". He was spacing out for so long, Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of him.

"Hellooooooooo! Earth to Paramail!" The cyan mare called out to Paramail wondering what was going on in his mind. She then quickly stepped back as he got back into reality. He looked around confused, and then sighed in relief.

"I thought I lost you for a minute Baldy." RD told her friend as she couldn't help but laugh. She knew it was mean, but she couldn't help it. "Baldy" described the stallion in front of her perfectly.

"Baldy" just groaned in frustration, rubbing his forehead with a forehoof. He then smirked with triumph.

"Ah c'mon! That stings Rainbow Craaaaaaaa…" Paramail told the cyan pony sarcastically, jokingly holding onto the last word. Rainbow Dash immediately stopped chuckling and went deadpan.

"Don't finish it." Rainbow Dash told the teal pegasus not amused. Paramail stopped, not because of what sounded like a threat, but out of kindness.

"Just joking around RD! Until I grow at an inch of a mane, you can call me that!" Paramail told his buddy while chuckling, which was enough to make Rainbow Dash loosen up again. "Besides, you could've called me "Parafail"!" Parafail was his most hated insult. He hated it as much as Rainbow Dash hated "Rainbow Crash", if not more.

"It's okay bud!" RD said as she ruffled what would be his mane. "But don't you have places to be?"

Paramail realized this and began to look into his mailbag. He got a letter from the bag which said "To Fluttershy". Rainbow Dash could already see him blush.

"Looks like your crush is next in line huh Baldy?" RD teased the embarrassed stallion as she elbowed his shoulder. She knew he liked her friend since flight school. She didn't mind though, Fluttershy was her own pony and she could do what she wants.

Paramail just rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled nervously. He has seen her around, but hasn't had the chance (or the courage) to talk to her since school. He gulped and looked at Rainbow Dash.

"W-w-well…G-g-g-guess I-I should get…g-g-g-going then. Work and all that." "Baldy" said as he tripped on his own words. He then waved goodbye and flew off, covering his face in embarrassment.

Rainbow Dash held in her laughter until he was completely gone. When he was nowhere in sight, she burst out laughing like crazy. This lasted for a good two minutes, and it only stopped because her sides started to hurt.

"I wish him luck with Fluttershy!" She shouted hysterically wiping a tear from her eye. "He's gonna need it!"

She then got up and went inside her house. She went into her closet and got a huge bag of tortoise food. She then whistled loudly.

"Time for lunchie wunchie torty worty!" Rainbow Dash affectionately called out to Tank, sounding like a mother feeding her foal. The tortoise used the helicopter on his back to come downstairs and landed right in front of his bowl.

"If anyone ever finds out I speak like that, they're goners." RD muttered to herself as she poured the food into the bowl.

Paramail looked at the letter for Fluttershy, looking at the address as he was flying towards her house. He sighed out of mixed feelings. He was glad that he will finally be able to talk to his long-time crush but at the same time, he had no idea what to say. He knew she was a little on the shy side. Okay, she was a lot on the shy side. How her parents just knew to name her that was beyond him. But when he thought about it, his parents named him Paramail, and he turned out to be a mailpony, and was a bit on the paranoid side. Some names just control your life. He the wondered what his life would be like if his name was Braveblade or Slickshadow or Gladius. He continued thinking about this for so long, that he almost missed the cottage at the edge of the forest below. He came to a screeching stop and descended onto the ground.

As he was walking to the door of the house, he felt something breathe down his neck, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. He then heard a low growl from behind him, and from the sound of it, it was a lot bigger than him. His legs started to shake and Paramail could feel sweat going down his face. He took a deep breath and slowly turned around to face the beast. It was a large tiger at least twice his size and was ready to pounce, licking its lips.

"Oh Celestia. I'm a goner." Paramail whimpered, almost crying. He closed his eyes in order not to see the beast that will eat him.

He then felt the sheer force of the pounce and felt himself fall on his back. He expected to feel the claws and teeth but instead, he felt something wet feeling his face. He opened his eyes and realized that the tiger was actually licking him. Paramail had no idea what to think about his situation. He then heard the most innocent and serene voice he's ever heard. It was almost like a loud whisper, if that made sense.

"Whiskers."

Both the mailpony and the tiger looked at the cottage. Paramail then saw Fluttershy, who didn't have a worry in the world, despite being in front of a tiger. She was right at the door, with a small, fluffy rabbit on her back. She had her cute smile on and gestured the tiger to get off of the mailpony. The tiger then purred and went up to the yellow mare, allowing her to pet it. The tiger then ran off to play with a lion and bear.

"Oh my." Was the only thing the awestruck stallion could mutter after watching the gentlest pony he's ever known just talk to a tiger as if it was a kitten. He then saw Fluttershy walking up to him. He took a breath to maintain his composure in front of the mare of his dreams.

"Are…are you okay sir?" Fluttershy asked in concern as she looked down at the prone mailpony. Her voice was almost was whisper, but Paramail could decipher what she said. Paramail's eyes just gleamed as he got up, not even blinking. The rabbit on her back just rolled its eyes giving an "oh brother" look.

"Why yes I am Fluttershy." Paramail answered her with as much confidence as he could muster. He then noticed that the mare in front of him looked relatively puzzled, as if she didn't recognize him.

"Does the name Paramail ring any bells?" Paramail said with significantly less confidence. The mare was pondering about it. Paramail then decided to give her a final reminder.

"Baldy." The mail stallion said as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh I remember now." Fluttershy quietly exclaimed as she remembered the stallion in front of her. Paramail's heart dropped a bit at only being remembered by a harsh but true moniker.

He then saw the rabbit snickering at where his mane should be. He felt better seeing Fluttershy's smile, his eyes gleaming once again as he made a small smile. The rabbit on her back stopped snickering and began to look jealous.

"That's great Fluttershy. Sadly, we didn't share too many classes. Just flying class." Paramail congratulated his crush with his eyes still gleaming. He then got to his senses and decided to ask the first question that came into his mind.

"So anyways…" The teal pegasus hesitated, rubbing the back of his almost hairless head while bashfully chuckling. "What have you been doing for all these years? I've been working at the Ponyville Mail Service. In fact, I just switched shift with Der-" He realized what he was going to say. "I mean Ditzy Doo." He knew it was wrong to say his co-worker's "other name".

He then saw Fluttershy slightly chuckling, as if she was amused by him. The rabbit was just had his hand in his open mouth, making a gagging noise.

"That's great of you Paramail." Fluttershy told "Baldy" warmly smiling and already comfortable with the new company. "I have been tending to animals as you can see." They both looked around, seeing a hawk, a hedgehog, and even a penguin. "I also have been a model, but that didn't end as well as I wanted." Fluttershy looked into space, as if ashamed of that experience. She then almost squeaked as she remembered one big detail. "Oh yeah. I'm also the Element of Kindness." Saying it as if it wasn't a big deal.

Paramail's jaw just dropped. He couldn't believe what he just heard. He knew about the modeling career, seeing it on a magazine, but didn't buy one due to that just being a little on the creepy side. He even heard about a group of mares saving all of Equestria twice. But he had absolutely no idea it was her. This made his life look so much blander, which it kind of was. He then closed his mouth, shook his head and looked back at the yellow pegasus.

"That's…" He paused to find the right word to say. "…amazing. You're a real hero." He said doing a friendly nudge to Fluttershy so softly it wouldn't even move an empty glass. Fluttershy tolerated the playful shove, almost flattered about his complement. The little rabbit on her back just rolled his eyes.

Paramail then hesitated for a bit before saying anything. He liked her a lot and would love to meet her more. But he had no idea what to say. Should he just ask her out right then and there? Or should he just visit by often with her mail? He then looked around the area, seeing all of the animals. He then had an idea.

"Um? Hey Fluttershy." Paramail spoke to Fluttershy still unsure of himself. She perked up to listen.

"Yes Paramail?" Fluttershy asked as she looked at him intently, wondering what he was going to say. Paramail took a deep breath and then continued speaking, though still nervous.

"I was just wondering. You have a lot of animals around here." They both saw a flamingo fly past them. "You think like, one day…I could come around and help you tend the animals? I got a B in biology so I know at least the basics. What do you say?" He then put his front hooves together and made a large smile.

Fluttershy didn't even have to think about it.

"Oh! Why yes you could help! I always could use a hand around here!" She said with quite a lot of excitement, even using her slightly louder voice. "And after that, we can go to lunch." She said thinking about what he can do around the farm.

"That's great!" Paramail almost exclaimed, catching himself. "I'm off on the day after tomorrow. I could meet you then. It'll be great." He then began to sweat nervously. "You know? Friend stuff." He added the last part to make her comfortable.

Fluttershy nodded in delight. The rabbit just gave the mailstallion the "Stink eye", making Paramail even more uncomfortable.

"Oh yes! That would be lovely! See you then!" Fluttershy spoke out in such a warm manner, the teal stallion's heart almost melted. She then offered to shake hooves with "Baldy". Paramail, who was really nervous now, slowly gave out his hoof to shake.

"Well then…" Paramail hesitated to find a way to exit before he loses his cool. "I got more mail to deliver. Here's your letter." He then flew up waving goodbye to the mare of his dreams.

Fluttershy waved until she could no longer see him. She then looked at her rabbit friend.

"I'm getting good at making friends Angel. That didn't take long at all." Fluttershy commented to the bunny. Angel just rolled his eyes.

Paramail soared over Sweet Apple Acres with great spirits after offering to help Fluttershy with her animals. He said that it was "friend stuff" but that was way better than nothing. In fact, many books he have read had the same thing. Friends turned to lovers. He lifted his right forehoof into the air and shouted at the top of this lungs in triumph.

"YYYEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSS! WHOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO! BOOOOOOOOO-YAAAAAA!!"

Then he had a horrid realization. "Wait! Did I just get friend-zoned?...ACK!!"

He felt something fly down his throat as he was shouting in triumph. Baldy then began to gag and choke.

"That one was a wee bit too high Sis." Applebloom commented as she saw her older sister smack a rotten apple with her tail, trying to get it into the bucket the filly was next to.

"My bad Sugarcube! I'll get it!" Applejack hollered in joy as she hurried to where the bad apple went. Her entire family loved making games out of work.

As she was galloping, Paramail dropped down right in front of the orange mare, causing her to jump so high up, her hat almost fell off.

"What in tarnation?" Applejack yelped in shock. She then took a closer look at the teal stallion. His eyes were wide open, his mouth was open, and his tongue was out. He was also choking, coughing, and gagging. Applebloom also saw this and rushed to the choking pegasus.

"Stay back Applebloom!" Applejack said as she put a hoof in front of her little sister. She then went behind him and started to do the Heimlich maneuver. She can hear him gagging, but it wasn't budging as much as she wanted it to. She then placed him on the ground and started to press on his chest, still not working.

"I know what to do" Applebloom hollered as she got a running start, jumped into the air, and elbowed Paramail in the chest, causing him to recoil in pain, but he managed to spit the rotten apple right out, creating a horrid taste in his mouth.

"See! No problem at all!" Applebloom said with pride as she expected congratulations were in order. Applejack just scolded but Paramail weakly got up and ruffled her mane with a hoof.

"Thank you so much." The mailpony said to Applebloom weakly. "But next time, can you choose a less…" He tried to find a suitable word a filly can understand. "Painful method?" He then made a weak grin as a put his left hoof on his aching chest. The filly was heavier than he thought, but he didn't dare say that out loud.

He then realized why he was here and turned to Applejack. He went into his bag and took out a letter with her name on it. Applejack politely received the letter. Paramail nodded and soared off. Applejack then looked at Applebloom, who was looking for a CPR cutie mark.

"I doubt elbowing a mailpony gonna get ya a cutie mark Sis." Applejack told Applebloom shaking her head. Applebloom stopped and sighed a sigh of disappointment. She then saw the gross, rotten, spat out apple in front of them. I had to be disposed of immediately.

"Not it!" Applebloom shouted out as she pointed at the partly digested fruit. She then galloped off to find more apples to collect.

Applejack just groaned and went up to the bad apple. She took a good look at it and winced in disgust. She was about to grab it with her teeth, but backed out at the last centimeter.

"That one's for nature." Applejack commented to herself grossed out as she opened the letter. As she read, her eyes opened wide.

Paramail had one last stop; Sugarcube Corner. He went there all the time, absolutely loving the cupcakes, cake and coffee. He even sometimes got a muffin for a certain co-worker. He flew to the ground and entered the bakery.

As soon as he walked two steps, the pink employee of the sweet shop appeared right in front of him. He didn't even see it coming. He would have yelped in shock, but after going to the same place for so long, he got used to it.

"Yay! Mailpony's here! Mailpony's here!" The pink mare cheered right in front of him, hurting his ears a bit. "Who has mail? Who has mail? Who has mail?" She was bouncing up and down in a giddy manner, like a filly getting a new doll.

"Baldy" was a little startled at first, but got to his senses and got the last letter from his bag.

"To a Pinkamena Diane Pie." The pegasus told the excitable earth pony trying to sound as professional as possible. Pinkamena just giggled in bliss.

"It's Pinkie Pie silly!" Pinkie told the teal stallion as she slid close to his, rubbing where his mane would be with her hoof as if they were the closest of friends. She then grabbed the letter from the mailpony.

Paramail was about to turn away and fly home when he heard a loud gasp. He turned back to see that Pinkie Pie opened the letter and already read what was inside it. He trotted up the mare. He was about to ask why she gasped, but Pinkie hugged him in her front hooves, shaking him as if he was a teddy bear. She was stronger than she looked.

"I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE AN ELEMENT OF HARMONY! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO?" Pinkie Pie hyperactively and happily stated as she continued to embrace him as if she was a close buddy.

"I didn't." Paramail weakly muttered as he was gasping for air. She was holding on a little too tight and didn't like gasping for air twice in one day.

Pinkie then let go of the suffocating Element. Paramail took a couple of breaths and then looked back at Pinkie Pie.

"So anyways, what Element am I?" Paramail asked barley holding his excitement. He hoped he had a cool element like Fire or Power or EPICNESS.

"You…..Got….CARING!" Pinkie Pie shouted with glee as she bounced around the new Element of Caring. She then started talking about some sort of "We found a new element" party.

Paramail thought about this Element for a bit, and then came to terms with it. I sort of matched him and his feelings for Fluttershy along with his devotion to his job. He then wondered if he got a cool sword for being an element.

Outside Sugarcube Corner, Twilight Sparkle teleported at the entrance, with Coocoodrill in tow. He wasn't used to teleportation and was wobbling about.

"That was fun." Coocoodrill commented as he tried to balance himself. He then stumbled and fell over. Twilight Sparkle just nudged him and he jolted right up. The green stallion looked into the bakery and all her could say is "food" as if he received a present from a loved one.

As they both entered, both ponies saw Pinkie Pie still rambling on about a "We found a new element" party. The two unicorns just looked at each other and simultaneously thought "that was easy".

Pinkie reread the note. "Oh wait. A PARA-element of harmony. NOT a full element."

Paramail just sighed in relief. "Well at least history hasn't completely changed for me and some other guys."

Meet the Elements

Chapter 5: Meet the elements

Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill walked up to Pinkie Pie, who was still jumping around in joy around Paramail, who was starting to look freaked out. Twilight Sparkle was just about to speak, when Coocoodrill interrupted her.

"HIYA THERE! MY NAME IS COOCOODRILL!" The green unicorn shouted as he trotted up to the pink mare with an excited smile. Pinkie suddenly stopped and gasped as she noticed the green stallion in front of her. She then grinned wide as she vigorously shook his hand. He shook back just as hard.

"HI COOCOODRILL! I'M PINKIE PIE! I LIKE PARTIES AND CUPCAKES AND SINGING AND A TON OF OTHER STUFF!" The mare exclaimed to Coocoo.

"I LOVE TONS OF STUFF TOO!" Coocoodrill hollered with joy as he put his right hoof up. Pinkie put her left hoof up and they brohoofed. Paramail took this oppurtunity to move towards Twilight and out of Pinkie's line of vision.

"Glad I'm not the center of attention anymore." Paramail told the purple mare as he wiped the sweat off his brow. He could tolerate Pinkie most of the time, but sometimes, it was too much.

"What can I say? Pinkie's Pinkie." Twilight said to the teal pegasus with a weak smile as they both looked at Coocoodrill and Pinkie bouncing around one another still talking about what they liked. She then turned towards Paramail. "So what's your element?".

Paramail took a deep breath to add more tension to what he said, when on two legs and put his forehooves at his sides.

"It's Caring." The mailpony finally told the librarian full of pride. Twilight tried as hard as she could not to laugh at the failed attempt at machisimo.

Coocoodrill heard annd rushed over to Paramail. He then patted the mailpony hard on the back, making "Baldy" cringe in pain.

"Caring eh? That's pretty cool. Kinda sounds like Kindness, but a bit different." Coocoodrill began to then analyze the differences between caring and kindness in a "fancypants" manner. "You see, Kindness is about being nice to others and happy, happy, joy, joy. But Caring is about taking care of somepony's well being and such. Along with..." He was interrupted by Twilight shoving a hoof in his mouth.

"That's nice Coocoo. Really." Twilight told her new unicorn friend trying to hide her slight annoyance. She then took her hand out of his mouth. "But anyways Coocoo. What's you're element?" Twilight asked with a smirk, glad she stopped his rambling. Pinkie perked up as she heard of another Element of Harmony and leaped right over to the other three.

"You're an element too? What is it? What is it? Cause I'm laughter!" Pinkie Pie asked her newfound buddy still bouncing up and down.

"I ave-hay espect-ray! Isn't-ay hat-tay wesome-ahay?" Coocoodrill happily told Pinkamena as he went right up to her. Pinkie thought for a moment what he said, then replied in her usually bubbly mood.

"Ooray-hay! Ou-yay peak-pay in illy-say oo-tay!" Pinkie then put her hoof up and they once again brohoofed. She then wrapped a foreleg around Coocoo and gave him a playful Noogie.

As the two hyperactive ponies hopped off to play around and speaking in "illy-say", Paramail and Twilight just looked at one another confused.

"That's Pinkie and Coocoo for you." Twilight said to Paramail shrugging. She didn't at all mind their childish behavior, as long as one of her closest friends had someone to play her games with. She then noticed that Paramail was still stumped, probably about what the crazy unicorn's element was.

"Oh yeah! His Element of Harmony is Respect." Twilight reminded the mailpony she hardly even knew. In fact, she found out his name only because of Celestia told her. She felt awkward asking him the next question, but if she was going to work with him, she is going to have to get to know him.

"Sooooooo? Never really seen you around. New around here? Twilight asked Paramail with a slight sheepish smile. "Baldy" just groaned and looked down, shaking his head. He then lifted his head to talk.

"I was at your first party here." Paramail told the Element of Magic quite annoyed about being forgotten. But then he realized that he didn't see her the whole time there, making him cool down a bit.

"Where were you when Nightmare Moon appeared?" Twilight questioned the teal stallion once again in order to attempt to remember him. Paramail's eyes just shifted around and he slightly frowned.

"I waaaaaaas…a bit late." Paramail nervously chuckled. "I saw the Mare of the Moon for a second…" He then let out a sigh of embarrassment.

"Then what?" Twilight asked Paramail, still trying to pry out what happened. The pegasus just took a deep breath of shame and continued.

"When the pegasus guards got sent flying by Nightmare Moon, one of them crashed into me." Paramail then felt a shiver down his spine. "I was on crutches for three months."

"I am so sor-" The awestruck Twilight was interrupted by Paramail "shsing" her.

"No need to pity me. You've nothing wrong." The teal pony told the purple one in a benevolent tone. He then patted her shoulder. "Besides, that's way in the past." He then froze with a shock of horror in his face. "But I still have nightmares about it." He then started shivering again. Twilight began to move a bit away, a little weirded out.

Are all colts like this? Twilight then shook her head, knowing that wasn't true. She then heard a whoosh sound from the window, making Paramail yelped and jumped behind her, as if she was a shield. Twilight immediately recognized the pony as no one else but Rainbow Dash.

"Heya Twi!" RD greeted her close friend still hovering in the air. She then noticed Paramail was right next to her, along with a strange, green unicorn that was playing with balloons along with Pinkie Pie.

"Hey Baldy!" RD greeted her old friend as she gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. "Read the letter you left on my doorstep." She gave him another playful punch. "Why didn't you say anything sooner? You missed out on some crazy adventures."

"Just learned today actually." Paramail replied calming down from his last few chills. "I gave the rest your friends the letter too. Turns out it says that I'm the Element of Caring." He then shrugged. "Who knew?"

"Celestia did." Twilight told the stallion matter-of-factly. "She's never…" She was then interrupted by the cyan pegasus going in between her and Paramail.

"So Para! When you mean sending the letter to everypony, did you mean everypony?" Rainbow loudly teased her buddy getting a little into his face. Paramail knew what she was going to say. "Even Fluttershy?" RD jokingly questioned as she put on a mock cute face, with her eyes wide and sparkly and her forehooves at her heart.

The mailpony just looked away and blushed. "Yeah. Her too." Twilight couldn't help but giggle a bit. Rainbow just patted the stallion's relatively smooth head, giving him a face to let him know that she's just playing with him.

Pinkie Pie heard RD's voice and ran over extremely quickly. Coocoo followed close behind.

"HEY DASHIE!" Pinkie exclaimed in her usual overly happy manner.

"HEY DASHIE!" Coocoodrill hollered as well, sounding exactly like Pinkie. The curly maned pony just looked at her buddy in surprise.

"You can copy voices too?" Pinkie asked amused by the minor but entertaining talent. That can really help with her pranks.

Rainbow noticed the unicorn stallion next to her pink friend. She dropped to the ground and walked up to him to greet him.

"Hey there I'm Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty and the greatest flyer in all of Equestria." RD said to the Element of Respect as she opened her wings and did a quick pose. "But anyways, what's your name?"

"Name's Coocoodrill!" the unicorn told her while shaking her hand a little too hard. He then started to speak just like RD. "The Element of Respect and the greatest miner in Diamondale." He then did a small bow to her.

"Please do me a favor." RD said nicely. She then went stern. "Never copy my voice again." Coocoodrill smiled sheepishly and nodded.

All five of the ponies then turned around to see three more mares entering the bakery. They went over to greet them.

"What's up Applejack?"

"Good afternoon Rarity."

"Uh….Hey Fluttershy."

"HEYA RARITY! HI APPLEJACK! How's it going Fluttershy?"

"COOCOODRILL!"

The other nine ponies just turned around to the green unicorn. He just waved to them. Coocoo then heard his stomach rumble again.

"I'm hungry." Coocoodrill said using his inside voice as he licked his lips. He already looked at all of the pastries and knew what he wanted.

"Let the FEAST BEGIN!" Pinkie declared as she jumped seven feet into the air. The Elements just nodded in agreement.

A couple of hours later, the group was at a big table, talking about their lives, hobbies and personal anecdotes as they ate various cookies, cupcakes, muffins, pies, and cakes. Coocoodrill was stuffing himself with everything in his corner of the table. Rarity looked in awe at how much a stallion could eat.

"You have quite the appetite." Rarity commented in awe. "How do you stay so thin?" If she even tried to eat half as much as he did, she'd be as fat as her cat. "What's your secret?" She then gave him her sparkly eyes look.

Coocoodrill thought for a second while taking a drink of milk to help him swallow the cupcake he just ate in one bite. He then licked his face and began to talk.

"I do have an answer for you Miss Rarity." He said in a scientific, upper class tone. "I believe that it is due to my fast-acting metabolism. At my level, I would need as many carbohydrates as possible to sustain my body or else I'll suffer from malnurishment." He then ate a blueberry scone and commented "Absolutely stupendous meal we have here don't you agree madam?"

Rarity was at a loss for words. He spoke just like a Canterlot stallion such as Fancypants. "That's great." Was the only thing she could say as she used to magic to take a sip of tea.

"THANKS!" Coocoodrill replied in his average, Fillydelphian accent as he shoved his face into a chocolate cake, eating like a slob.

Twilight Sparkle then tapped her hoof on the table, getting everybody's attention.

"I'm glad we got to know our two new friends." Twilight announced as she pointed at Coocoodrill and Paramail. Coocoodrill waved and Paramail nervously chuckled. Twilight then got serious. "But with good news comes bad news."

Pinkie Pie just gasped in horror. "Bad news? I hate bad news. It's bad."

"I know it is. But can you let me continue? As me, Coocoodrill and Rarity already know, Princess Celestia has a brother she has only told few ponies about. And no Pinkie, he's not getting a party."

Pinkie Pie just frowned.

"This prince once went by the name of Cosmus. He believed that due to having a foal first…"

Rarity made a coughing sound. Rainbow Dash heard her say "Blueblood".

"Thanks for that Rarity. But to the point, Cosmus thought that he should rule all of Equestria as king. Celestia and Luna disagreed and this led Cosmus to practice forbidden magic. He became a being of fear…"

"Nightcolt Space?" Pinkie innocently asked. Applejack just shushed her with a cupcake.

"No not "Nightcolt Space". He changed his name to Screameater. He made all of Equestria a living nightmare, getting stronger from their fear."

Paramail's jaw just dropped to the table.

"But Celestia and Luna used the nine Elements of Harmony to weaken him before sealing him off to the island of Phobos.

"Whoo Hoo." Fluttershy almost whispered in joy, hearing the princesses saving the day.

"Very nice Fluttershy. As I was saying, Screameater made Phobos as terrifying as possible for sailors and such. So nobody would take back the three elements he stole."

"And Paramail and Coocoodrill are the Elements of Caring and Respect." Applejack pointed out to Twilight. She then thought to herself and gasped. "That means there's one more!"

Twilight just sighed, getting annoyed by the interruptions. She then continued.

"I understand Applejack. The Element we are missing is Tolerance. But I know who he is."

"Then why didn't you bring him here?" Paramail questioned the purple mare confused.

"Because he works for Screameater. He's could be a danger to us." Twilight answered the teal pegasus getting tired of all the ponies calling out. Rarity then spoke up horrified.

"I know. I just heard of this "fishpony" in the paper. He's hideous. And I'm not just talking about his fashion sense."

"I also heard about that." Fluttershy peeped up concerned.

"Yeah me too." Paramail said while shivering. He prayed that he wouldn't have to fight him.

The Element of Magic just coughed and everyone went quiet.

"Sadly, I don't know why the "Fishpony" is in Manehattan. But must find a way to get him on our side. So the Elements of Harmony can be one again!" Twilight Sparkle tried to sound like an epic commander, but Rainbow Dash couldn't helped but snicker, getting an elbow from Applejack in return.

"I'm done." Twilight said slightly embarrassed.

There was an awkward silence for a while as the eight ponies finished eating. The silence was broken by Coocoodrill's loud burp, causing everyone to look at him awkwardly. The eccentric stallion chuckled sheepishly and wiped his mouth with a napkin. He then looked at the time.

"Well whad'ya know? It's already eight o'clock and I haven't done any unpacking!" Coocoodrill told the group as he put some bits on the table. Twilight looked confused.

"Wait a minute. You moved already? But you were with us the whole time." Twilight said to Coocoo stumped.

"I know! Celesty said in my mind that she got all my stuff moved already! Right next to your house in fact!" Coocoodrill excitedly reassured his fellow unicorn as he got up to get ready. He then looked at all of his new friends "But anyways. It's been nice meeting all of you. Back in Diamondale, nopony ever wanted to sit with me at mealtimes." He then drooped down a bit, but then immediately perked up.

"It's an absolute pleasure Coocoo." Applejack told Coocoodrill as she got up also. "But I need to get back also. Big Macintosh needs help with storing the apples and Applebloom's hopefully doing her homework. Thanks Pinkie." She then said goodbye and left.

Twilight then also got up. "It's been swell seeing all of you. But I've gotta show Coocoodrill how to get home from here." She smiled to the group as she and Coocoo went out the door.

The rest of them followed one by one, each of them thanking Pinkie and saying goodbye. In a short time, they were all gone. Pinkie just cleaned up after them with high spirits of what adventures they can have with having eight of them now. When she finished cleaning, she went up to her room, fed Gummy some left over cake, jumped into bed, then went to sleep.

Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill reached the Library and Twilight was looking for a house around. She didn't see any.

"THERE'S MY HOUSE!" The Element of Respect shouted out in joy as he pointed to a mailbox. On closer inspection, Twilight saw that the house was underground, with a large, wooden door covering from the outside world.

"Awesome." Coocoodrill said almost squeeing in delight, he then opened the door, revealing a relatively messy house, with everything scattered about; just how Coocoo liked it. But the house was well barricaded from things such as worms and moles thanks to the stone walls and ceiling. Twilight was sort of disgusted and her friend's poor organization skills. But all Coocoodrill could say was "Double Awesome."

Coocoodrill then had an idea. "Hey Twilight!" Twilight turned towards him. "You want me to make a hole that leads to under your house?" He then started bouncing in the air like a child. "We could have sleepovers and stuff."

Twilight was sort of creeped out by his offer, but force a grin. "No thanks. I'm good. See you tomorrow!" But before Twilight can leave, she felt his forehooves wrap around her. He was hugging her.

"Thanks Twi." Coocoodrill said with his voice full of gratitude. "For everything. This place is great, the people are great, everything's great. The guys back in Diamondale were a little on the jerk side." He then let go of the embrace and elbowed the mare. "But you know those ponies. Specially Digz."

Twilight felt good for him. She made him so happy today. Sure he may be childish, out of it and even a little gross. But he was true friend material.

"See you tomorrow." Twilight repeated with much more meaning than before. Coocoodrill just waved goodbye with a wide smile and entered his house.

Twilight then entered her house. Spike was waiting for her this whole time, and he was quite ticked off about how long it took.

"Twi! What took you so long? Do you know how long I…?"

Twilight used her magic to take the ruby out of her back and put it in Spike's hand.

"I forgive you Twilight! You know these are my favorites." Spike then immediately gobbled up the jewel, forgetting his past conflict.

Twilight just nodded, went upstairs and lied on her bed. She then took out the book on Screameater and began to read. She wanted to know more about him. She had a feeling his servant was in Manehattan for a bigger reason than the sights and she wanted to know what he was up to.

Trix are for foals

Chapter 6: Trix are for foals

Back at Phobos, Screameater was standing on a large stool studying two artifacts at his study room's desk. They were two halves of a red heart, which attracted to one another when the filly sized prince tried to put them together. He thought that these two pieces (known collectively as the Heart of Reanimation) were meant to be together, and with one, the other would be useless. He made a vile, squeaky chuckle to himself as he hovered off the stool with his puny bat wings and went to the corner of the room, where a large, red curtain hung. He created a five foot long tendril from his back slid the curtain away, revealing what was behind it.

It was a pony made of pure metal. It looked like an earth stallion the size of Celestia herself, but had a more muscular appearance. The golem had a gleaming silver body and pure red eyes, which were actually carved rubies. Its artificial mane and tail were red and made of pure phoenix feathers. The most striking feature was that it had a mock cutie mark of an anvil, with the left cutie marks having an empty slot in the middle of the anvil for the Heart if Reanimation. Screameater greatly admired his own creation, to point of hovering to its face and hugging it like a father to a foal.

"Just little longer snookums!" the teeny alicorn affectionately told the inanimate construct as he embraced it, petting the mane. He then let go and hovered a few feet away. He then started to sound more sinister. "Once I get some foolish unicorn to get me my first victim! I will unleash the power of these hearts." He put the whole Heart of Reanimation into the slot of the left cutie mark. "And then." His raised his squeaky voice. "YOU SHALL WALK ANVILLIAN!" He then began his diabolical laugh in front of "Anvillain". It sounded like a rat getting strangled.

But then from the corner of his blank, orange eyes, he saw two large stone spheres light up. One was glowing white and the other one a bright grey. He hovered down and walked over to the two spheres and inspected them. They were two of the three Elements he stole, specifically the ones of Respect and Caring. He was so shocked he stumbled back, tripping over a spell book lying on the floor. He began to get paranoid that if two Elements were found so quickly, there might be a chance that Blubayou could be discovered, foiling years of planning.

"Blubayou better get back soon." Screameater muttered angrily to himself as he got up. He then looked at Anvillain. "Or else this would all be for nothing."

Meanwhile in Manehattan, Blubayou woke up from his nap in the pond. As he yawned, large bubbles came out of his mouth and gills, going up to the surface. He then swam up to the surface, with only the top of his head coming out of the water. He saw that it was already night time and all the lights around the buildings were on. The amphibipony then took a look around him and saw nobody around him. He then swam to the edge of the pond and got out. Blu then went to the tree with all of his supplies and packed up. He then looked at the "Great and Powerful Trixie" poster and realized where he needed to be.

"Great crawdadies and a cockatrice!" He hollered almost in panic. "Ahm a gonna be late!" He then searched for the address on the poster; Flatway Ave. He then put on his cloak and starting hopping out of the park.

After a few minutes, he found Flatway Ave. There were bright lights everywhere, ranging from yellow to bright pink to even blue and green. There were ponies everywhere going into various buildings, each one with a sign on top such as "The Pony of the Opera", "The Manticore King" and even "Marey Cloppins". Blubayou found himself smiling at the sights. Never has he seen such joy and such pretty colors. Back in Phobos, nothing like this ever happened. His master never cared for such things.

He then noticed a large, neon blue sign with the "GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE" written in neon purple. There also stars and moons in various colored lights. There was a small line to enter the establishment. Blubayou croaked in triumph and went to the end of the line. As he was waiting, he saw a large, brown moth. Feeling hungry, Blu snatched the insect from the air with its large tongue, swallowing it whole. The ponies in line noticed his tongue and trotted away in disgust. The blue "earth" pony just looked around puzzled.

"Hmmmm? Where'd they be going?" Blu thought to himself rubbing his head with his tongue. He then just shrugged. "Their loss." He then went to the ticket booth, grabbed some bits and placed it on the counter.

"One ticket to the Great and Powerful Trixie please." Blubayou said to the mare at the counter without any hint of hostility. The booth worker was too busy reading a fashion magazine to notice him and just gave him a ticket.

"Enjoy the show." The mare said not even caring. Blu nodded, grabbed the ticket and entered the building. He saw a coat rack and hung his coat and bag up, both slimy and dripping from the amphibipony's wet skin.

Blubayou entered the auditorium and saw hundreds of seats filled with ponies of all kinds, all waiting for the show to start. He then checked his seat number, which was F-789. Blubayou saw that the very first seat was F-599, so he went two rows back and moved to his seat. Nopony really noticed the frogpony though. Just as he sat down, the lights dimmed. A mysterious, echoing voice then appeared from nowhere.

"PREPARE TO BE SHOCKED AND AWED BY THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!"

Blubayou was shaking in his chair in excitement as the curtains lifted up, revealing Trixie herself, in her usual outfit. The audience clapped and cheered, and Blubayou could've sworn he heard a wolf whistle in the mix. He then saw the magician lift her forehooves into the air and used her magic to lift her hat and she put her hand inside, taking out a rabbit, causing Blu's jaw to drop. And that was only a warm up.

Throughout the whole show, she did magnificent tricks the amphibipony had never seen before. His eyes were glued to the stage, whether it was a card or rope trick, or sawing a pony in half. He then began to think to himself.

How'd she'd do that? She'd be perfect for Screameater. With the power the boss has stored for her, I bet she'd give them tyrants a run for their bits. Screameater would thank me for this.

Two hours flew by just like that, and the show was over as she successfully completed her "escape the fiery iron maiden of a thousand venomous snakes while in a straitjacket" trick. The audience cheered, throwing roses, daffodils and tulips. Blubayou was one of the people applauding. But then he knew that it was time for business.

Blubayou was the first of the audience to leave, not wanting to be stuck in the crowd. He then exited the building and went into a narrow alleyway. He made sure nobody saw him and then hopped onto the side of the building. On impact, he then hopped off the wall and onto the opposite building. He then consistently wall jumped until he got to the top of the building. He then checked the backs of the building to find Trixie. After several minutes, he saw the blue mare walk out of the backdoor with a bunch of flowers on her back.

"Trixie did it again!" She said to herself with pride and she trotted along. "Perhaps that whole "Ponyville" incident was good for Trixie after all! Got Trixie to actually train her skills!" She then made a victorious laugh.

Blubayou jumped from building to building, following her across the city. Finally after fifteen minutes, he saw her enter a building. After some waiting, he saw her opening her window for extra air. He decided to make his move.

The building was just across from the one he was on and only about fifty feet apart. The target was on the fifth floor and he was on technically the tenth floor. He then took a running start and leaped for the window. He made it, but his hindhoofs stumbled and slipped off, causing him to hold on for dear life.

Trixie, who was reading letters from adoring fans on her couch, heard the amphibipony's struggling and looked at the window. She went towards the window to see what the commotion was. When she saw Blubayou, she gasped in horror as she saw the blue, yellow eyed, finned abomination. She was about to use her magic to slam the window onto the monstrous pony's arms, but then she heard it talk.

"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT!" Blubayou begged the "Great and Powerful" one. "I'M HERE TO OFFER YOU A DEAL!" He then finally managed to climb into the apartment, hitting his head on the ground.

Trixie just scolded at the freak of nature. "What do you have to say?" She had little patience for ponies who tried to break into her house. But who doesn't?

Blu took a deep breath and began to explain.

"Trixie thinks you're insane!" the unicorn accused Blubayou as she put her hoof on her head after hearing what he had to say. She was absolutely horrified that someone would even consider overthrowing the princesses, or as this "thing" referred them to; Tyrants. She wanted him out of her life.

Blubayou looked at her in disbelief. "Look who's talking? You're the one who speaks in the third…" Blu immediately stopped talking when he saw the angry look on her face as she walked closer to him. He stepped back and then thought to himself.

Okay Blu! Plan B! Plan B!

He took out some cue cards from his bag. He then began to read then out loud and emotionlessly to Trixie.

"Would you like to be the greatest mage in all of Equestria?"

Trixie stopped for a second and thought to herself. She was good, but she could be better. She knew she was still in that Twilight Sparkle's shadow and she was getting sick of it. She slowly nodded to the amphibipony, slightly calming down. Blu nodded back and then read another cue card.

"No worries then. Master has been saving enough power for you to make you able to do great feats of magic such as teleporting across Equestria, moving multiple large trees, tracking things, and…"

"Silence Frogpony!" Trixie exclaimed at him, making him slightly cower. She then walked right up to Blu, staring him directly in the eyes. "Trixie…wants…to see your master." She said to him without even blinking.

Blubayou just gulped and quickly used the last charge of his teleportation rod and before the magician could even say anything, they were inside Screameater's lair.

"Where are we?" Blu's guest asked him slightly shivering.

But instead of answering the mare's question, Blubayou just hollered out "SCREAMEATER! I'M BACK! AND I'VE GOT A UNICORN!"

Screameater was asleep in his king sized bed when he heard his minion call him. He begrudgingly woke up, got out of bed and walked towards the door.

"This had better be good." The fallen one muttered to himself in frustration. "If not, I don't care if he's an Element, he's getting tossed into the lava!" He then used two tendrils to open the door. He then flied down to the middle floor. As he rubbed his eyes, he was not disappointed at all.

In front of him was a relatively good looking mare that wore a purple cloak and wizard's hat. By the look of her outfit, she considered herself a professional in the magical arts. He then began to think that when he rules Equestria, she'll make a nice queen.

Trixie on the other hand was stunned at how small this "master" was. Along with his "minion", she almost thought this was a joke. That was until she realized he had both wings and a horn.

"Who…who are you?" Trixie asked the puny prince unsure of herself. She was beginning to regret this idea.

The alicorn just took her hand and kissed it. He then began to speak in his high pitched but gentlemanly manner.

"You can call me Screameater, the middle child of Celestia and Luna and Master of Nightmares." But then he remembered his plan. "If my minion had a brain, he would've told you about the power I have stored for a lucky lady like yourself."

Trixie felt a little awkward by this "Screameater's" approach. But she got herself to nod.

"Well that's perfect then!" Screameater said in a jolly manner as he closed his eyes. His horn began to glow pure fiery orange, making a pure scarlet orb out of thin air.

The orb floated towards the blue unicorn. Trixie considered moving away, but stood perfectly still. When the orb touched her body, it made a static sound and absorbed right into her. Within seconds, her horn began to strongly glow a bright purple. Screameater just smirked while Blubayou watched in awe.

"So how do you feel?" Her new master asked her still smug.

Trixie hesitated to answer due to her shock from getting so much power so quickly. But then she softly said "Trixie…feels…great." She then made a small smile.

"Great! But one question." Screameater looked at the mare smugly. "What's your name?"

"The name is Trixie." The magician told the little prince as with more confidence. "But if you excuse me? Trixie is quite tired. May she rest?"

Screameater nodded and pointed to the sleeping quarters just behind her. She nodded and walked towards the door. But she had one thing on her mind. Why was she given this power? The only answers she got she didn't like very much.

Blubayou on the other hand noticed his master watching her leave with a dumb grin on his face. He waved his hoof in front of him, rewarded with a slap with a tendril. Screameater then looked directly at his adopted son, who looked at him confused.

"I'll grow bigger okay? Yeesh!" The vile prince told his minion annoyed at Blu's curiosity with his new interest in Trixie. Blubayou flinched at his tone. He then calmed down and sighed. He then asked. "Did you get the granny smith apples?"

Blubayou only nodded, went into his bag and gave the little overlord the whole bag of fresh apples. Blubayou then hopped off. When he knew he was alone, he let out a small, sinister chuckle as he took a bite.

"Oooooh yeah! Now that is delicious!"

Blueblooded

Chapter 7: Blueblooded

Twilight Sparkle awoke at on top of her bed with her face on the Book of Phobos. She was completely groggy, staying up all night to read and learn more about Cosmus/Screameater. She finished the book cover by cover and was done by five in the morning. The current time was eight-thirty; she was in no condition to get up.

But unfortunately for her, there was a knock at the door. She just groaned in exhaustion and looked at the dragon curled up and asleep in front of her bed.

"Spike." Twilight mumbled with her head now in a pillow. "Get the door." In response, Spike just mumbled something. The only words she could hear was "This looks...beginning…a beautiful."

"Twilight! Open up! Or even better! Little Spikey Wikey, can you open the door for me?" From the voice, Twilight could tell it was Rarity. And with that, Spike jumped out of bed and dashed towards the door.

But when Spike enthusiastically opened the door, the visitor turned out to be a green unicorn stallion Spike's never seen before.

"Why hello there little fella!" The unicorn greeted Spike as he patted the dragon's head. "Twi did say you have a thing for that Rarity lady! Guess she was right!" He then looked around the house a bit, not quite entering though.

"How'd you know?" Spike demanded the guest shocked that he knew about his crush, but then blushed while looking away. "Uh…I mean…" Spike thought for a bit but then noticed the stallion staring at all the books. "…You're this "New Element" Twilight's been talking about all night." Spike then yawned as he began to lose his energy.

"INDEED I AM! NAME'S COOCOODRILL!" Coocoo then pointed to his underground house. "I'M YOUR NEW NEIGHBOR!" Spike just looked at the mailbox and door in the ground. He then shrugged and called to the purple mare.

"This Coocoodrill guy's yours Twi." Spike called out to her as he yawned deeply. "I'm going back to sleep." He then walked back up the stairs, with Coocoo following him.

Twilight looked up from her pillow and saw the Element of Respect at the top of the stairs waving at her. She just sat up slightly annoyed.

"You seem giddy today." The mare apathetically asked her visitor with her eyes still shut. The male pony was unfazed by her lack of energy.

"In a world where we don't need to wear clothes, who wouldn't be?" The eccentric stallion replied to her proud of being naked. "I was gonna ask you if you wanted have breakfast at Sugarcube Corner with me and Pinkie. I hear they make the best pancakes ever!" Coocoo asked as he imagined himself biting into the sugary, sweet, syrup covered treats. Twilight and Spike just noticed him completely spacing out, drooling onto the floor. Twilight just used her magic to get a tissue and stopped the drooling, bringing him back to reality.

"I'm going to pass. I'm beat." Twilight told Coocoo as she faceplanted onto her pillow. She then started snoring softly. Spike also fell asleep soon after.

Coocoodrill just looked at his "Gram-Gram's" book and realized what she was doing all night. He then shrugged and left the library.

Pinkie Pie was in Sugarcube Corner's kitchen using a frying pan and spatula at a stove. She was flipping the morning pancakes. After a bit, the pancakes were all ready and Pinkie brought the pancakes out. She saw Coocoodrill sitting at one of the tables and immediately set the large batch of pancakes down and took a seat right across him. He passed the pink mare the syrup and she poured it all over their breakfast.

"Alright, on the count of three." Pinkie told her friend already giddy as they stared at the sugar coated pancakes ranging from plain pancakes to chocolate chip and blueberry. Coocoo eagerly nodded and they began the countdown.

"One!"

They tied their napkins around their necks.

"Two!"

The two placed both hooves on the table, ready to feast.

"THREE!"

The two ponies shoved their faces into the batch of pancakes, devouring every bit of their meal. The rest of the bakery noticed the two completely pigging out with their faces in their plates. Most winced, others just thought "Meh. It's Pinkie". After only ten minutes, the two ponies' plates were empty, not even a speck of syrup. Coocoodrill's and Pinkie's Pie's faces were covered in sugar and syrup.

"That was amazing." Coocoodrill told Pinkie Pie as he panted for air with a smile of satisfaction on his face.

"Thanks. I've been practicing." The pink earth pony replied also gasping for air after nonstop eating. She then took a napkin and cleaned her face. She then looked at him and giggled. "None of the girls ever wanted to just pig out with me like that. Great to have a piggy-buddy once in a while." She then pointed at Coocoodrill, who just chuckled as he wiped his face.

"Nice to feel appreciated." The male unicorn told his friend as he stretched. He then frowned a bit. "Nobody in my old town, or the town before that, or the town before that even wanted to sit with me at lunch." He then made a soft sigh.

Pinkie just gasped a little too loud to be necessary. "WHAT? WHY? YOU'RE SUPER MEGA FUN!" Pinkie then moved closer across the table until she was only inches away from his face. Coocoo cheered up a bit, knowing he had support. He then coughed a bit and began to explain in a relatively serious manner.

"I was born in the great city of Fillydelphia to two unicorn sailors named Ropenot and Tansand. We lived with my extremely awesome Gram-Gram Hazelhoof, the Legendary Explorer of the Unknown. You know that book Twilight's been talking about lately."

The mare nodded, still listening intently on what he had to say.

"Well, my Gram-Gram saw that island with her own two eyes and lived to tell the tale. She even wrote that book and used to read it to me every night."

Coocoodrill reminisced those times for a second before continuing on.

"But the foals there thought I was a loon for believing in such tales and called me names."

He looked down, but then perked up and smiled.

"But you should have seen their faces when my Gram-Gram asked Celesty a favor to send me to Canterlot's uhhhhh…something something of Magic. It was named something like that."

Coocoo then frowned again.

"But those fillies and colts thought I was also weird. In fact, they were even more pompous about it, calling me a "Crazed Colt of Sea Dogs". They also laughed at me for my poor magic skills."

The green pony tried called out "cinderblock" as his horn glowed red. All that he summoned was a little cottonball on the floor. He then continued.

"But one day, I was learning how to use a basic levitation spell. But for some reason, I went upside down and started drilling into the floor with my horn. I accidently drilled through four floors in one of the buildings that day."

He then sulked lower onto the table, ashamed. Pinkie frowned a bit, not wanting to see him sad.

"You should've have seen how furious the school headmaster was. He called my family immediately. We had a conference together and all I focused on was the disappointment on my father's face, the sobbing of my mother and worst of all, the apologetic look on my Gram Gram's face. All I remembered the Headmaster saying was that I was expelled."

He took a deep breath before continuing so he wouldn't lose his cool and break down crying.

"As me and my family were about to leave Canterlot, the Princess herself came up to us. She said that she knew about what happened and found a use for my drilling. I felt in debt to her since."

He began to feel a little better as he looked towards where her palace would be with a light smile on his face and hoof to his chest.

"She asked me to work in the town of Diamondale, where over half of Equestria's jewels and bits were mined. I was dropped off there by my family, who left for Fillydelphia. I quickly adapted to my environment, using my drill spell to quickly make tunnels. But those Diamondalers were always jealous of me and my quick tunneling."

He smirked and rubbed his chin as he thought about it. He then continued his story.

"My parents visited once in a while, but it was mostly my Gram-Gram, who still loved me no matter what. Always said that I was destined to do great things. And by the looks of it, she was right." Coocoodrill once again had a full grin as he made a small tear of joy. He felt like he was home. Pinkie just walked right next to him and patted him on the back, happy that he pulled himself together.

"Don't worry about those meanies. You'll always be okey dokey lokey in my book." Pinkie told Coocoodrill as sincerely as she could. She then discussed to her friend about her past as a rock farmer. She discussed all about how miserable she was until Rainbow Dash sonic rainboomed, making her as jolly as she is now. After that little story, Pinkie remembered something she had to say.

"Oh yeah! Hey Coocoo!" The unicorn's ears perked up. "Rarity's heard of your mining abilities and since she's busy with work and Spike has chores, she asked me to ask you if you could help her!" The then waited for an answer with her hooves together.

Coocoodrill just rapidly nodded in glee. "OF COURSE I WOULD!" He then thought for three seconds. "Wanna come too?" He asked his friend with complete, child-like innocence.

Pinkie just hopped away quickly to her room, when she came back less than a minute later. She had a helmet, shovel, pick and flashlight.

"Ready!" She said to the green stallion. The two ponies brohoofed and then trotted out of the bakery.

Meanwhile at Phobos, Screameater was using some of his black tendrils to polish his iron pony golem with deep care, allowing the puny prince to see his reflection.

"In on hour, you will rise for me Anvillain." Screameater told the inanimate construct with tender affection. His face then soured. "And unlike that incompetent frog of mine, you'll bash anypony who gets in your way." He then stop polishing the iron earth pony and took several steps back. The fallen prince then realized the time and was wasting that precious time.

"I'm going to get that stupid servant of mine and that magnificent magician now." He told Anvillain as if it was a little foal as he trotted out of the Archive room. He then stuck his head back in "Now don't you go anywhere now." He told his creation with a huge smile and his eyes squinted. He then scurried away. He was going to get the first part of the ritual today, and he knew who to choose first. His one and only son.

"Let's see how Blueblood's doing shall we?" He asked himself as he wondered what his son was like. He hasn't seen him since he was an infant and wanted to see if he was anything like his father. He'd better be.

Trixie and Blubayou were fast asleep in the sleeping quarters. Trixie was in one of five cots and Blubayou was in another cot at the other side of the room. It was nice and dark in the room and due to the base being in a volcano; it was also quite warm and cozy. Screameater went into the room and went up to the resting mare. He softly shook her with a tentacle, making her eyes slightly open.

"Wake up Trixie the Terrific." The dark prince softly said still slightly shaking her. She then completely opened her eyes.

"Wha…what time is it?" Trixie asked still woozy. She rubbed the top of her head and got up.

"About time to kidnap a prince." Screameater told her as if it was perfectly okay to just abduct a member of royalty. He then went to his servant's bed. He used four of his inky tendrils and shook hi vigorously.

"WAKE UP YOU FOOLISH FROG!" He shouted at the magically enhanced earth pony as he kept violently shaking him. Blu woke up real quickly and noticed his master. He immediately jumped out of bed.

"Bonjour master Screameater! Do we start our mission now?" Blubayou said to the alicorn bowing down even lower than the fallen one's height. Trixie walked next to Blu, curious of what the filly sized conqueror had to say.

"I'm glad you asked." Screameater told his minion as he patted his slimy head with his hoof. "Our mission today is to capture my son, the great Prince Blueblood." He shuddered at how tough this could be and began to imagine his fully grown son.

He saw a white unicorn in shining platinum armor magically controlling a shining blade to slay an entire army of fire breathing dragons the size of building. It only took one mighty slash of his blade for the knight of legend to take out all the dragons. He then stood triumphantly over the dragon's leader as several mares went to him, admiring his strength and charming good looks. Blueblood then said "I'm just that awesome pops." as he basked in his glory.

Screameater immediately tried to get the thought out of his head. He then drooped his head, afraid of failure. Trixie and Blu just looked at each other confused.

"Sir?" Trixie asked slightly concerned, but trying not to laugh. "Are you really that scared of one of Equestria's most obnoxious members of royalty?"

Screameater just perked up in dismay. "Did you really mean that?" was all he could say.

"Sadly Trixie means it. He is quite a pansy." Trixie told him rolling her eyes. Blubayou just snickered a bit.

Screameater just looked at the ground awestruck. His own son is an "obnoxious pansy"? He expected him to be a great conqueror of lands, slaying monsters and receive the attention of faraway princesses. He soon became disappointed and began to think to himself. This is what happens when a son doesn't have a father in the house.

"Well then…."Screameater paused to think what to say to the unicorn. "My prissy pony prince of a son will be no problem for you." He then pointed at Blubayou. "Or for you for that matter." Blubayou just looked around, giving a "who me?" look.

"So Trixie and Blu just go teleport to the castle, get Blueblood and take him here." Trixie asked with a malicious smile. She (along with many other ponies) always wanted take him down a notch or two.

Screameater just nodded, flew up and patted the magician on the head. He then went to his soft, squeaky sinister voice. "Indeed you will. Indeed you will." He then perked up. "But first! I've got something to give you." He then put his forehooves together.

There was an awkward silence for seven seconds. Screameater then looked towards his amphibious servant in anger. "BLUBAYOU! GET THE NECKLACE OF ALTERATION!" He then pointed towards the door to leave, signaling his minion to leave.

Blubayou just put on a grin and saluted with a forehoove. "Right master! Ima terrible pony for forgettin." He then quickly hopped off. Screameater then turned towards Trixie.

"Do you know how to make what is called a "Mara"?" He questioned the blue unicorn with a cruel smile. As he expected, Trixie just shook her head, confounded, so he flew to a shelf to grab a quill and paper. He then continued to speak as he drew with a tendril, not even looking at her.

"A Mara is a pony-like being formed from the nightmares of all ponies young and old. They in turn, go into houses in invisible form, causing bad dreams for other ponies, thus creating more Mara. They spread like a parasprites or the common cold. This world just doesn't know it yet." He then looked up at Trixie with a smirk on his face. "I bet the Great and Powerful Trixie was a victim…and a creator at least once in her life." He then flew over uncomfortably close to her face. "Hasn't she?"

Trixie was at first going to say the opposite with pride, but then drooped her head, knowing that lying was pointless. "Trixie has." She solemnly admitted to the fallen stallion. Screameater nodded, knowing what her answer was going to be and showed her the picture he drew.

The Mara looked like a pure crimson pony without any signs of gender. It was about the size of an average pony that had pure orange eyes not unlike Screameater. It had no mouth whatsoever. Next to the main picture was a Mara head with a unicorn horn and another picture of bat-like wings. This gave Trixie a feeling that they came in the three pony varieties not unlike normal ponies; Earth Mara, Pegasus Mara and Unicorn Mara. Even she felt a chill down her spine as she looked at the picture. She was interrupted by a loud clap and looking up, saw that it was the puny alicorn only a few feet away.

"So Trixie the truly amazing master of tricks, can you summon me a unicorn Mara?" Screameater asked in a shockingly soothing voice. From what she's seen so far, she's never seen him talking to that freak of an earth pony this way. Why was he being so much nicer to her?

But she shook that thought out of her head and got ready to use a summoning spell. The spell was surprisingly not that different from summoning flowers out of a hat. As she concentrated, she saw a swirling, crimson cloud forming in between her and Screameater. After a mere five seconds, the cloud formed into a crimson unicorn lying on the ground with its hooves tucked under itself as if asleep. It then suddenly opened its bright orange eyes and got up. It snorted a dark purple mist into the room. Trixie was awestruck and nervous of her creation, fearing that it might lash out at her. But Screameater on the other hoof just chuckled and pushed it next to its summoner, without it even showing a hint of resistance.

"My, my Trixie. I have got to face it. You just hit the jackpot." He said impressed. "This Mara is a Thirteenth Spawn. Notice the crimson color of it? Well, most are meant to be pitch black. And this isn't just a mere color swap my dear. This horrid haunt is even stronger than your average Mara. Any nightmare it makes become a night terror. And another thing…"

Screameater then heard a croak from the hallway. He turned around and saw Blubayou leaping back into the room with the bronze, emerald adorned necklace in his mouth.

"Hiya!" Blu shouted in glee with his mouth muffled from the artifact. "What'd I m..." He spotted the Mara standing right next to Trixie and his jaw immediately opened in shock. The tiny alicorn just grabbed the necklace with a tentacle and flew to the mare.

"This is the Necklace of Alteration." Screameater whispered to the unicorn as he put the necklace on her with a few tendrils, causing a chill down her spine. "It allows you to morph either yourself or others on your very whim." He then moved back a bit.

The corrupted prince then pushed the amphibipony next to Trixie and the Unicorn Mara. He then once again went up to Trixie, this time much more serious and threatening.

"I'm going to let you teleport to my son's room. And all you're going to do is grab him, morph the Mara to impersonate him and then get back here." He then went straight in Trixie's, looking into her eyes. "And if you even think of abandoning me…" He let out a cruel chuckle. "I gave you this new power. I can just take it right back just as easily. As a bonus, I'll be sure to find a way to let my sisters know what you did. And…they…will…have…you…banished." He then moved away and descended to the floor. "Got it?"

Trixie was surprised how intimidating a high pitched voice can be with the right choice of words. But she managed to maintain her composure enough to say. "Trixie promises to return." She then teleported alongside Blubayou and the Mara.

Screameater just lied down on the bed and waiting to see his child. He then smiled and thought to himself. "Too bad my son turned out to be such a wimp. He could've made a great protégé. But then again, who needs a protégé when you can have an even more talented queen?"

In Canterlot Castle, Prince Blueblood just woke up from his king sized best. He let out a loud yawn and got up. He went into his large mirror and looked at himself.

"Oh dear! Look at my mane!" He said to himself overly horrified about his slightly messy bed-head. "What would Large Ham say if I went to tonight's party like this?" He then used his magic to grab his comb from a drawer and began to brush.

He then heard a strange croaking noise from behind him. He looked into the mirror and saw the famous Manehattan magician, a strange, mouthless unicorn, and worst of all; a half fish, half pony monstrosity. They were only a few feet away.

"How long have you three...?"

"Long enough."

The amphibipony shot out his long tongue, wrapping it around the prince. He yelped in horror as he felt the fishpony's disgusting saliva. Blueblood then saw from the mirror the mare turning the crimson unicorn into an exact copy of himself, fabulous mane and all. The he then saw was a bright blue flash, and he was teleported away.

Inside the royal chambers, "Blueblood" looked at his new body in curiosity. It never had been in a form like this in anybody's nightmares. For this was a body of a mare's dreams, nobody would possibly fear it. It then heard a knocking at the door.

"Prince Blueblood! Are you okay? We heard you yell!"

The Mare checked this new body's face and found that it had a mouth. It then smiled and spoke up.

"Yes sir! I'm fine! Just caught my brush in my mane!Always feels funny when that happens you know. But thank you very much for asking!"

The guard behind the door paused for a moment then answered. "You're sure your alright sir?"

The imposter shouted in annoyance "What'd I just say?!" The Mara then decided to use this opportunity to discover the prince's schedule for the day. "So anyways, are you ready to bring me to this Large Ham place for tonight's party good sir?"

It was silent behind the door for a few seconds, but then one of the guards answered. "Sir, Large Ham has been six feet under for fifty years. I should know because I collect that old merchandise as a hobby. Me and my parents love that actor!"

The Mara was now experiencing his first sensations of nervous sweat. It would be an embarassment to have his cover blown so quickly.

"But did you mean you wanted to go to the Canterlot Museum of Large Ham? Then sure we will take you there!" The guard made an excited yelp. He must have noticed all the attention he was recieving because he immediately got back to his stoic self. "I you would like to go."

The Mara shrugged in relief. "Sure thing. I'll be out in a bit."

When it heard footsteps leaving the doorway, the Mara/Blueblood then just used its magic to dress into a fancy tuxedo, cackling with glee. Ritual one was complete.

Back at Phobos, Screameater was pondering about his son until he saw the flashing blue light. He then saw Trixie and Blubayou. Blu had his tongue wrapped around a struggling unicorn. He stared at the pony with intrigue."This is my son?"

His then saw the large unicorn face contort into anger as it shouted "GET OFF OF ME!" He then shifted his body in such a way as to send Blubayou flying into the air, causing him to let go. Blu then hit the wall hard on his back, wincing in pain, his tongue lying limp. The prince then turned to Trixie.

"WHERE AM I?" He shouted at the mare in anger, confusion, and as Screameater can sense: Fear.

"You are on Phobos Blueblood." Screameater told Blueblood in his more humble voice. He was sure this was the right stallion. This was enough to make the stallion turn around. He then made an evil smirk "My son."

This bewildered Blueblood to no end. A tiny alicorn no bigger than a filly was his father? He couldn't imagine it. But then he remembered his mother once telling him about his father and how he was imprisoned when he was a few hundred years old. He still was unsure though.

Blueblood then spoke up a little calmer but hesitant. "S-Surely you can't be serious. Are you really my father?" He then remembered what his mother called him. "Cosmus?"

That name hit Screameater like an arrow in the heart. He hasn't heard that name in over a thousand years. He never even muttered that name to himself. He then flew up to his offspring in anger, his tentacles writhing around. He then spoke to his son breathing heavily.

"Never…ever…CALL ME THAT!" The dark alicorn ordered his child, shouting the last part in his demonic, shouting spell voice. This even caused Trixie and Blubayou to gasp in shock. "YOU PRISSY, POSTIVELY FLAMBOYANT, PRIMA DONNA, PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A SON, PRINCE! YOU WILL TREAT YOUR FATHER WITH UPMOST REEEEEESPECT! EVEN BLUBAYOU HERE IS A BETTER SON THAN YOU!" Blubayou took pride in the last part, but was still shocked about the outburst.

As he stopped shouting, Screameater/Cosmus looked down at his child, who was beginning to flare up as if he had been truly dishonored. The alicorn then sighed and grabbed his child with ten long slick tendrils. It was time for the first part of the ritual.

"You disappoint me son." Was the last thing Blueblood heard his father mutter as he was dragged into the tiny pony's body head first, seeing nothing but darkness.

Blubayou and Trixie were absolutely horrified at the monstrous, yet almost laughable sight. Blueblood's head was inside their master's stomach, slowly getting absorbed into him. But Blueblood wasn't about to go down without a fight. His head may be in his father's body, but he still had the rest of his body available and was going to take full advantage of it. He began to smash Screameater's body on the ground and on the walls, trying to get him off. The dark prince was actually squeaking in pain. After a while, both minions had to cover their eyes.

"Blu." Trixie muttered shaking. "Have you seen him do this before?"

"Fraid not madam. This is new ta me too." Blubayou whimpered to the mare.

After about five minutes, the muffled screaming finally stopped. Both of them then heard a slick, charming, yet malign sounding voice.

"You two can open your eyes now." Both of them listened and saw that Screameater changed. Not only was his voice different, but he was now as big as Trixie, his horn was of normal unicorn size and his batwings were much bigger. They saw that he was grinning as he checked himself out.

Blubayou could only let out a small ribbit in surprise.

"Nice body I have here. Haven't felt like this in forever." The new and improved Screameater said to the two as he looked at them. He then asked "How'd you think I look?"

Trixie and Blubayou were silent for a few seconds, but the amphibpony got the guts to shout out "Ya'll look TEEEEEE-RIFFIC!"

"Much better than before." Was all the blue unicorn could say as she awkwardly clapped a bit.

"Good. I've got something to show you guys then." Screameater told the two still grinning as he walked to the door. Trixie slowly walked behind while Blubayou happily hopped to the exit.

"It's not a cookie Blu." The empowered alicorn told his adopted child in a deadpan manner. Blu stopped hopping and frowned.

They went to the archives room and Screameater brought them in front of a curtain. He then used his new and improved tendrils to open the curtain, revealing the iron pony. Trixie and Blubayou just stared in awe at the shining golem.

"And now with my new power, I shall revive my creation!" The dark prince shouted triumphantly as a pure black aura came from his horn. He aimed his magic at the whole Heart of Reanimation already in the left anvil "cutie" mark.

"NOW ANVILLAIN RISE FOR YOUR MASTER!" Screameater called out at as the heart began to glow. Magical red energy began to flow through Anvillain.

There was a short silence after that. All three ponies (even Screameater) looked at the result in awe. But then, the construct looked up, its ruby eyes glowing brightly.

"I am ready master." The pony golem said in a gruff, monotone voice as it took its first steps towards them.

Screameater just smiled, anxious to use Anvillain. Trixie stared in awe, never seeing an artificial pony in her life, nevertheless one that as big as Celestia herself. Blubayou just fainted in shock.

"Time for the next steps." The dark prince thought as he stared at Anvillain. It would be of much use for his plans.

Curious thoughts

Chapter 8: Curious thoughts

Paramail was in his slickest tuxedo inside the grand Clipclop Casino. Ponies were in their best outfits and were using the golden apple filled slot machines, playing checkers for bits and drinking fruit punch at the bars. There was smooth jazz playing at the theatre. Paramail was playing a game of cards in the corner with this particularly menacing stallion with a brown guard earth stallion in a suit and glasses next to him.

This stallion was an earth pony with a grey coat and short, white hair. He was wearing a pure black suit with a black bowtie. He had pure brown eyes, wearing a monocle over one of them. His cutie mark was a monocle. He was sitting upright as he stroked a pure white cat with one of his forehooves. He looked at his hand and smirked as he laid them down. It was four kings.

"Four kings. I never lose" The mastermind said in a thick Russian accent as he let out a loud, deep laugh. "Now before I enslave all of Canterlot with my enslaving ray, would you tell me your name?" He then smiled sinisterly.

The pegasus stallion kept his cool and only chuckled. He placed his cards on the table face down. He then answered his foe. "The names Mail. Paramail. And Dr. Neigh…" He then flips his cards up. It was a royal flush. "…I also never lose."

Dr. Neigh just stamped his hoof in anger and pressed a button under the table. The wall behind him then opened up, revealing Fluttershy wearing a sparkling red gown trapped in a cage, which was hanging over a pool full of sharks with explosives tied to them.

"Help me my one and only love." Fluttershy cried out reaching out to Agent Paramail. The teal stallion just blew her a kiss, assured of himself.

The supervillain was through with games; he turned to his guard and cried out "ODDITY! GET HIM!"

His guard took off his tie and threw it directly at Agent Mail. It spun into the air like a razor boomerang. Paramail quickly ducked under the bowtie and slid to Oddity, tripping him with a hoof. As the guard was in the air, Paramail delivered a quick kick straight to the jaw, knocking him out. He then flew to Dr. Neigh and yelled out "JUDO CHOP!" before hitting the criminal mastermind with a forehoof right behind the neck, taking him out and saving Equestria. He then saw the bow tie coming back and he used his awesome dexterity to grab the tie without harm. He then threw it at the cage, cutting it in half. Fluttershy quickly flew out before the other half went into the explosive shark pool.

"Oh my hero." The damsel in distress said with a beautiful smile and eyes gleaming. She flew over to Agent 003, wrapping her hooves around his neck as they flew into the air. She closed her eyes and brought her lips closer to his, as did the savior of Canterlot. They then…

Paramail woke up to his alarm clock ringing. He then looked around his room, wishing he was still asleep. The room was nice a cozy with a bed with a blue quilt, a desk with several drawers and a closet for clothing, a shelf full of books and a night table with a book known as "003: Dr. Neigh" and an alarm clock. He then sighed and stopped the clock.

"Another day for Paramail the delivery pony." He mumbled to himself in disappointment. He loved his job, but hated that it was always the same old thing. Grab some mail, go around, and deliver. Never any adventure or anything too exciting. He admitted that at first flying all around Ponyville was exciting, but now it became almost boring. His parents were mailponies, his aunts and uncles were mailponies, and his grandparents were mailponies. He was just following family tradition.

He then got out of the bed, brushed his teeth, washed up a bit and went out. His house was in the third and top floor an apartment complex in Ponyville. He thought the height was perfect for not risk falling to his demise while sleep walking and not to low that zombie ponies can easily get him. He had the basic living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a closet, and what he called "The Emergency Room". It was a narrow room full of random items behind breakable glass. Each glass had the words "IN CASE OF…" such as "IN CASE OF FIRE", "IN CASE OF DROUGHT" and "IN CASE OF PARASPITE INVASION".

He remembered that parasprite invasion. He yelled "I told you so!" as he hid in his house. But joke was on him, he stayed in his apartment for three weeks straight, eating nothing but canned dandelion seeds.

The most striking part of "Baldy's" house was the security of it. All the walls were pure brick cemented together, which he did himself. There were also only three exits; one door and two windows, with one of the windows on the ceiling. Each entrance was heavily fortified, each with three locks and two chains.

Paramail just grabbed some breakfast, grabbed his mail bag and keys, unlocked the side window and exited. He then turned and locked all three locks. He then headed to work.

Just another bland old day. He then realized something. Wait a minute? I'm an Element of Harmony! Maybe one day I'll be needed! But then he frowned to himself. But even if that day comes, would I even be ready to face whatever shows its ugly face? He then proceeded to fly to the mail station.

Meanwhile in Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack, Applebloom and Big Macintosh were squishing apples to make apple juice. The youngest then realized that they needed more jugs to contain the apple juice.

"Sis." Applebloom called out, getting her attention. "We need a couple more jugs to fill up. Can you get some?"

Applejack never said no to a chore and nodded. She jumped right out of the juicing tub and trotted towards the cellar.

"Be right back you two! Don't ya'll just stop stamping now!" The Element of Honesty called out to her siblings. All she heard was an "Eeyup" which was good enough for her.

He proceeded to open the cellar and entered. I was quite dark in there and the light bulb was sub-par at best, but she managed to spot the apple juice containers on the top of the shelf. It was a bit of a reach, but she never gave up easily, so she kept trying to grab a container with her forehooves. She stretched too far and accidently tipped over a container.

"Shoot!" She muttered as she heard the container break from behind the shelf. She rushed over to clean it, but found a chest she never saw before, hidden under cobwebs.

Applejack opened the chest and saw nothing but baby toys. She excavated further through the chest and found a picture in a frame. The picture had a dark magenta mare with a black mane and a dark blue pony with the same colored mane.

It was a portrait of Auntie Razzi and Uncle Bluebarry in their younger years. She then looked further at the picture and noticed that on Razzi's back was a newborn colt. The infant had a pure blue coat and a tiny, dark blue mane. Due to the appearance of the picture, Applejack had a feeling that this foal should already be around her age. But never has she seen him in any of the reunions.

"Hey AJ! What's taking so long?" Applebloom called out rather impatient. She was knocking on the door.

Applejack decided to take the picture with her, along with a couple of juice containers. After work, she planned on asking Granny Smith who this cousin of hers was.

In the jungle of Phobos, Screameater, Trixie, and Blubayou were watching what Anvillain can do. Screameater used his magic to remove all of the fog from the island so they can see better. The construct already smashed five rocks, knocked down three trees, and scared off an entire manticore. Screameater quickly and loudly clapped while Trixie and Blu just stared in horror and disbelief. They imagined what this Anvillain thing could do to a real pony.

Trixie then tried to get the thought out of her head by attempting a conversation with the amphibipony next to her. She'd rather talk to anypony else, but the only other choice was a diabolical madpony enjoying himself by watching an iron stallion wreck an island.

"Soooo?" Trixie asked hesitantly, getting Blu's attention. "If the boss can't get off this island himself, how did you get here?" She was actually quite curious about this.

Blubayou frowned a bit, quite upset. Even his ears and the sail on the back of his head drooped down. Trixie almost regretted asking him.

"Well madam Trixie." Blubayou said with hints of sadness. "The master said that my parent abandoned me here. He found me and raised me as his own foal." He then rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Why would my parent abandon me?"

Trixie could think of a few reasons, but didn't have the heart to say.

"I owe everything to Screameater." The blue, aquatic pony then looked up to the sky with glory in his yellow eyes. "And I will help him reclaim his rightful throne from his sisters!"

Trixie was surprised at how loyal Screameater's subject was. He was willing to take a lightning bolt for his master, willing to be banished to the harshest of lands, and probably even willing to be imprisoned in the Canterlot dungeons for the rest of his life. Trixie was going to continue to conversation, but was interrupted by Screameater's cheering.

"SPLENDID JOB YOU INCREDIBLE IRON MONGER!" The fallen prince called out to Anvillain as the golem smashed a large boulder to pieces with one head butt. He sounded almost like a fan boy.

The unicorn and "earth" pony were less interested.

"Trixie thought that was nice."

"S'alright."

They then weakly clapped with little enthusiasm. But when they saw their master glare at them, they began applauding and cheering.

All Screameater could think about was how excited he was at sending Anvillain, Blu, Trixie and a bunch of Mara into Ponyville to find more ponies for the ritual. He then chuckled to himself as he watched Anvillain's decimation of the surrounding area.

It was the middle of the afternoon and Rarity was working on a fancy new dress for a Canterlot filly. Sweetie Belle had to be the one who wore the sample dress, as she was the only one around of that size.

"I don't know sis. It's itchy." Sweetie complained to her her older sister as she chaffed in the golden, frilly outfit.

Rarity just looked at her work, analyzing every bit of the garment. She then looked at her sibling and shrugged. "It'll be fine for now. I'll work on it later. Just have to do a little adjustments." She then used her magic to take off the dress and smiled. "You can go play with your friends now." She then gestured towards the door, which suddenly was knocked on.

"Wonder who that would be." Rarity said to her sister. She wasn't expecting any guests and Sweetie was supposed to go to Applejack's house. She opened the door and saw Paramail with a package of new materials.

"Heya Rarity!" The mailpony hollered as she passed her the package. He then smirked a bit. "Haven't seen you very often." He then put his forehooves at his sides, awaiting her reaction with a smile. That reaction was bewilderment and surprise as she started to speak.

"But we just met yester…"

"OH I GET IT!" Sweetie Belle called up, laughing as scurried outside. Rarity took a second to get the joke, and then groaned at the horrible play on words. She then faked a chuckle.

The unicorn mare then made a more friendly expression and nodded. "Why thank you Paramail. I…appreciate it." She then called into the house. "Spike! Can you take the trash in?"

Within seconds, Paramail saw Spike walk out of the boutique and to the entrance, where an empty garbage can lay. Paramail looked at Rarity, then looked at Spike, and then Rarity again confused. She sure knows how to get somepony wrapped around her hoof. Was what went through his mind. Come to think of it, how did he get himself into doing chores for Rarity? He then put his hoof on his chin and pondered. Wait one moment! When I said that I was going to Rarity yesterday, he was jealous. And now he is being almost a servant of sorts. He must have even begged Twilight to let him work for her. The mailpony then almost gasped. OF COURSE! SPIKE MUST HAVE A CRUSH ON RARITY! WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT?

"Hello? Equestria to Mr. Baldpony!" Paramail snapped back to reality and saw the little unicorn filly poking his leg. He moved a bit and awkwardly smiled.

"Sorry my bad." Baldy said as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Sometimes I just get too lost in thought."

Sweetie Belle just looked up at the mailpony stumped. She then slightly tilted her head. "How can you be lost if you're right in front of us?"

Paramail was about to answer, but the fashion pony just put a hoof in his mouth.

"Now, now Sweetie Belle. The mailpony is quite busy." Rarity delightfully said trying to make thing less awkward. She then turned to the pegasus. "Don't you?"

Paramail thought for a second then shook his head. "Fraid not. My shift is over." He then saw the two unicorns eyes wide open, looking at something behind them. He turned around to look and made the same reaction.

Spike was lifting up the large garbage can with all of his might. But then he looked from behind the trash can. It was Coocoodrill with a large topaz in his hoof. Behind him was Pinkie Pie and four mine carts full of various jewels. He had a mischievous smile. The green pony stallion then yelled out to the dragon.

"GARBAGE DAY!"

Spike had no idea why he just said that. But then the green stallion flung the topaz at Spike, who just shouted "YEAH" as he caught the jewel. The dragon just fell over from the force of the throw. The dragon then started munching on the gemstone.

Coocoodrill and Pinkie then pushed the carts to the front of the boutique.

"Hiya Rarity! Hiya Sweetie Belle! Hiya Baldy!" Pinkie Pie greeted all three of the awestruck ponies as if what they did was no big deal.

Rarity just gulped and slowly asked. "How…did…you…find so many?"

Coocoodrill and Pinkie just thought for a moment.

It was about noon and Pinkie Pie and Coocoodrill were at the mines. They looked at a wall in a cave with many gems embedded inside. As Pinkie was about to use a pick, her friend motioned his hand to stop. He then showed her an entire bag of dynamite. Pinkie just nodded in excitement.

They planted the explosives into the wall and Coocoo got the longest fuse. He then signaled for the pink mare to take cover around the corner as he lit the fuse. He then trotted to the cover and the two ponies covered their ears. They both heard and loud explosion along dust and jewels flying everywhere.

When they took a peek, they saw a huge pile of gems. Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds everywhere. They then noticed that a large Diamond Dog was standing in front of the jewels. He had soot all over his face and he was dizzy. By the looks of it, he was caught in the blast.

The two ponies just smiled sheepishly and put a giant apology diamond in his hand. As they began collecting the jewels, the diamond dog just collapsed over.

"Found it." Was all Pinkie and Coocoo could say.

Rarity paused for a few seconds, then trotted over to the jewels like a little filly. She looked as if she was about to squeal in excitement. Spike could've sworn he saw little ruby hearts in her eyes. The unicorn then grabbed a chunk of jewels from one cart and flung them into the air as she shouted in joy.

"Thank you so much you two." Rarity told Pinkie and Coocoo as she hugged them both in gratitude. Spike just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

Paramail just felt jealous that they went on an adventure while all he did all day was deliver mail. The most exciting thing he did was lift a box that said "fragile".

"Was nothing Miss Rarity." The green stallion told the white mare as he walked to one of the mine carts. He then grabbed himself a small emerald. He then looked towards Rarity and asked. "May I?"

The white unicorn nodded in approval and before she could react, all five of them saw him swallow the emerald whole with a face of satisfaction. Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Paramail and Spike visibly winced, but Pinkie just smiled.

Coocoodrill then had a sudden idea as he took a glance at both Paramail and Spike. He then walked over and put hoof around the dragon.

"I've just had a wonderful idea. Why don't we have a "Guy Time" later today?" Coocoodrill asked looking at both Paramail and Spike. "Like right now?"

Paramail just passively shrugged. "Sure. Why not? Got nothing better to do." The mailpony then walked towards the green unicorn.

Spike thought for a moment. He had to see Twilight later, but he never really had a friend that was a guy. And who knows, maybe this guy was fun. He then looked at Rarity for a moment, he still had some work to do. He then realized that he was quite bored of what he was doing. He then realized that he didn't have much to do, and anything left, she could do without any problems.

So the dragon just dashed into the house with the garbage can and then dashed right back out. He then went right next to Coocoodrill.

"Hey Rarity." Spike asked almost groveling. "Can I please go with Coocoodrill for "Guy Time"?" He then put on his cute face.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle just rolled their eyes. Rarity then begrudgingly nodded. "Fine. But don't stay around for too late. Twilight expects you to come back home."

"Don't worry Rare!" Coocoo assured the elegant pony as he patted Spike's head. "I'll be like a father to him."

Spike just jumped into the air and hugged Rarity's foot. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" He was so close to kissing her hoof but was interrupted by Pinkie Pie.

"OH! OH! OH! CAN I BE PART OF "GUY TIME" TO?" The pink mare loudly asked her green buddy as he hopped up and down.

Coocoodrill thought for only three seconds. He then put a hoof on her back. "WHY NOT?"

Spike and Paramail just looked at one another for a second and then shrugged. It sort of got rid of the point of "Guy Time", but it was no big deal. Pinkie was no Twilight Sparkle or Rarity.

"Well what are we waiting for?" Pinkie questioned the three guys. "LET'S GO BOWLING!" She then trotted off to town. Coocoodrill quickly followed and Paramail put Spike on his back and flew off towards the eccentric ponies.

"I'll keep an eye on him!" Paramail called to Rarity as he flew off.

After they left, Rarity used her magic to get all of the jewels into chests for each kind of gem. Sweetie Belle just watch bored.

"Can I go see Applebloom and Scootaloo now?" The little filly asked her sister almost pouting. "We're trying to become wildlife rangers."

Rarity was so busy admiring the different gems, that she just put up a hoof and gestured her to "go ahead". Sweetie Belle just shrugged and left.

Meanwhile in Canterlot, the Mara disguised as Prince Blueblood was wandering the streets, seeing the great sights. All the better to see the ponies happy now before hearing them scream later.

But as he was sightseeing, a large bucket of blue paint landed straight onto his head. His head was in the bucket and the paint got all over his face and clothes.

"OH GOSH!" A brown, buck toothed colt in am white shirt and green hat shouted out in panic. He knew of Blueblood's reputation and was afraid to feel his wrath. So the pony slowly got down from his ladder and took the bucket off "Blueblood's" head.

"I am so sorry Mister..." The pony was interrupted by the royal unicorn's hoof going into the air. The brown stallion sensed a crowd gathering around.

The reaction he got from Blueblood was just a pat on the head.

"It's quite alright good sir." The prince told the pony not at all angry. He then shouted out to the crowd, actually laughing. "AT LEAST I'M REALLY BLUE NOW!"

All of the ponies were just confused that the Prince was just being so humble and friendly. They got even more stumped when they saw the prince give all his bits to the brown earth pony.

"Here's some bits for your thoughts. Mr...?" The regal pony said to the buck toothed stallion in a respectful manner. He then hinted at wanting to know his name.

"Hayseed Turniptruck." The brown pony answered back in his good mood. He just earned a ton of bits. Maybe he should have dumped paint on him earlier.

"Well then Hayseed." Prince Blueblood told the stallion as he bowed down to him. "Good day to you." And then he turned to the crowd and shouted. "ANY CLOTHES BOUGHT ON THIS STREET IN THE NEXT THIRTY MINUTES ARE ON MY TAB!"

The crowd just cheered for him. A group of ponies picked him up and made a small parade down the street to celebrate the prince. The Mara prince just laid back, content with how he was doing.

Fun first, business second. He then just smiled to himself.

Guy plus one girl time

Chapter 9: Guy plus one girl time

Coocoodrill, Paramail, Pinkie Pie, and Spike soon found themselves in the bowling alley. They walked into the building and saw all the mares and stallions bowling, playing darts and eating at the snack bar. Some ponies looked up and saw Paramail.

One of them shouted at the top of her lungs in amazement. "OH LUNA! IT'S THE BALD BOWLER OF BRILLIANCE!"

With that, many bowlers galloped towards the teal pegasus, crowding him. Paramail was a bit flustered getting surrounded by all these ponies. They were all complementing him, asking for tips, and he wasn't sure, but "Baldy" thought a mare even asked him out. Spike on the other hand, quickly jumped off Paramail's back and onto Coocoodrill's, who were curious as to why their friend was such a big deal here.

Pinkie decided to discover why and poked a cream colored mare with a blue mane and wearing a bowling shirt. The bowling mare turned around.

"Why's Baldy so famous?" Pinkie innocently asked the mare. The mare turned around.

"Were you living under a rock or something?" The mare asked still giddy with the new arrival. Coocoodrill just nodded to her question. The mare just looked at him funny, and then continued speaking. "Paramail is the only pony here to ever get a perfect score in bowling. How awesome is that?" The bowler then squealed in delight.

"That's SUPERDEETACULAR!" Pinkie told the mare in her usual bubbly attitude.

The cream mare analyzed what the pink earth pony said and then squealed again, pointing at the wall. On that wall was a large picture of Paramail holding up a score sheet with all X's on it standing next to a large trophy in the shape of a gold bowling ball. Pinkie, Coocoo, and Spike then saw a blonde earth pony with a green shirt, a large pony with shades, and a scrawny stallion were all bowing down to the picture. They even saw the ponies give offerings to the picture, which was enough to make Spike cringe.

After a bit, Paramail finished giving autographs and such and headed for the rental counter along with his friends. He was about to put bits on the table, but he was stopped by the mare at the counter. She just smiled to him, with her eyes half closed.

"This game's will on the house champ."

Paramail could only say a grateful "Thank you" to the pony at the counter. The four got their gear and got ready to bowl.

"How did you do that?" Spike asked bewildered by the fact that the teal stallion as he pointed at the picture of "Baldy's" likeness.

Paramail's navy blue tail drooped and his jaw dropped as he saw his worshippers. He slightly turned away and began to explain.

"Well Spike. You know how Rainbow Dash is really fast and Applejack is really strong?"

Spike nodded, still paying attention.

"I have the luck to see very well. I can see the detail of things, even if they are one hundred meters away. It also helps with my aim and such. In fact, you should see my darts trophy."

The pegasus stallion pointed to the other side of the bowling alley, where there were dart boards. Within a glass wall was a picture of Paramail holding a trophy shaped like a dart. Behind him was a dart board with a true bullseye dart in the center. The remaining darts were stuck behind the previous dart and then the previous dart before. So in short, it was pretty much a line of darts heading towards the bullseye. Spike was awestruck.

"H-how do I get a good as you?" Spike asked the bowling/dart master with his hands together. "What is your secret?"

The pegasus thought for a minute, and then answered with a smile. "You know, eat you carrots. They're good for your eyes."

Spike just looked down is disappointment. Vegetable? BLECH!

Out from right behind them, Coocoodrill and Pinkie Pie exclaimed "BOWLING TIME!". Paramail just jumped ten feet into the air.

One hour later, all four of them were still bowling. Paramail kept getting strikes, causing a crowd of ponies to go wild. Spike can tell he was beginning to like the attention as he saw him do more fancy tricks.

Spike was doing okay, nothing special. He had a gutterball, three splits and one spare. Pinkie Pie was surprisingly good at bowling, getting four strikes, three spares and one split. A little practice, she would be great. Coocoodrill on the other hand only got gutters or one or two pins at best. The green unicorn didn't seem to care though. He was much too busy having fun.

In fact, the whole "guy time" group was enjoying themselves. They talked about random things such as if they ever ate heart ruby before and discussed current events such as the disappearance of the frogpony. But as Paramail was aiming his bowling ball for a solid strike, Coocoodrill called out.

"So does anybody here have any crushes?" The green unicorn asked the group as he and Pinkie feasted on nachos. He thought such a question was "guy time" material.

Paramail stumbled with his aim and fell over, getting a gutterball for his last shot, missing a perfect game. The crowd of bowlers glared daggers at the unicorn, who just smiled sheepishly, his face covered in nacho cheese. Spike and the prone Parmail just raised their hands.

"Who is it kiddo?" Coocoo asked the dragon as he leaned back in his seat, paying full attention.

Spike took a deep breath, trying to gain confidence. "Rarity." He admitted, looking at his feet.

Pinkie Pie, Paramail, and Coocoodrill looked at the dragon and gasped in surprise. I knew it. Paramail thought in his mind as he got up.

"But I already told you Pinkie." Spike reminded the mare.

"Oh yeah! Silly me!" Pinkie said cheerfully as she turned towards Paramail. "You're turn Pary!"

The teal pony began to sweat as he saw the entire crowd of bowlers around him. It would be enough to tell his three friends, but with all these ponies, who knew how long someone spilled the beans? So he walked up to Coocoo and Pinkie and signaled Spike to come over. He then noticed that the crowd of bowlers was listening intently, so he waved a hand and his fans moved away in respect. He then took a couple of breathing sessions before admitting his secret.

"IhaveacrushonFluttershy!" Paramail quickly admitted. It took Spike a while to process what he said but the other two ponies reacted as if they understood perfectly.

"Fluttershy?" Pinkie Pie asked still shocked at the revelation. But she was curious as to why.

"Why is that?" Coocoodrill asked twirling his hoof, encouraging his maneless friend to elaborate.

Paramail just put his hooves to his heart and began staring into space. He then began to speak in a soothing voice.

"To be honest, I've had this crush since school. Sure we only shared flight class but I just felt…my heart beat when she was around."

Spike almost gagged.

"She might have been shy, but she was and is still so beautiful. Her bright eye that gleamed like sapphires. Her pink, flowing mane that reminded me of the most magnificent tulips. Her yellow coat the color of the sand on the beach. And how her innocence and purity rivals that of the even the Princesses themselves. Along with how she treats each and every animal as if they were her children." He then made a loving sigh. "Such a wonderful mare."

Spike and Pinkie just looked at one another, both thinking how cheesy that whole speech sounded. Coocoodrill got back to reality and since he didn't hear a thing, decided to humble the pegasus by complementing him.

"Uhhhhh?" The eccentric unicorn spoke up. "That's like…your opinion man." His eyes started shifting around. "And it's a fine…opinion."

Paramail just took a breath of relief and spoke up. "Well!" He started to laugh to himself. "That was a load off. Only other person who knows is RD."

"I knew."

The voice in the background alarmed the teal pony. He looked around and saw Rainbow Dash. He then wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Just playing with you Baldy." Rainbow Dash assured her fellow pegasus as she chuckled, patting his shoulder.

"HEYA DASHIE!" Pinkie and Coocoo called out to her with their mouths full of nachos.

"Heya Rainbow Dash." Spike called out waving at her. "You go here too?"

The cyan pegasus just shrugged. "Not really. I'm just here to find Pin..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the pink earth pony was right next to her.

RD rolled her eyes, remembering Pinkie logic. "Anyways, I was totally thinking we could prank Rarity."

"HOW?" Pinkie exclaimed while jumping up and down.

Rainbow hovered closer to Pinkie to whisper to her. "I found "Tom" and I also found a ton of paint. I was just going to ask if you would help me make "Tom" look like a huge diamond. Then we set it in front of her house, sent as "Your secret admirer". Then when she get closer, she'll find out that it was "Tom". Then she'll freak. It'll be sweet."

"IN!" Pinkie called out. "But who's Tom again?"

Rainbow just facehoofed. "You'll find out."

"OKIE DOKIE LOKIE!" Pinkie then turned to Coocoodrill, Paramail, and Spike. "SEE YA SOON! HAVE FUN WITH "GUY TIME"!" Pinkie then hopped off with Rainbow Dash. The guys just waved back.

"Now what?" Spike asked Coocoodrill, wondering what the crazed pony was thinking of next.

Coocoodrill just patted the dragon's head. "Spike my boy. Now…we feast." He spoke in a rough cockney accent, pointing towards the exit.

Paramail and Spike nodded in agreement and they walked to the exit. The bowlers chanted "BALD BOWLER OF BRILLIANCE" as they left to eat.

Meanwhile at Fluttershy's cottage, Fluttershy just calmly watched as the Cutie Mark Crusaders were eating dinner after work. Work wasn't a nightmare as expected, but they weren't earning their cutie marks today. Scootaloo got trapped in the chicken coop. Applebloom fell into the water as she was trying to feed the otters. Sweetie Belle had to be rescued when she somehow got trapped on the back of the elephant, she didn't want to question how. But none of the fillies wanted to go near the cobra den for some reason, so she had to do that part alone.

Out in the corner of her eye, she saw Applejack walking towards the cottage, almost stepping in some "cow pie". She walked over to Fluttershy.

"Hey there Fluttershy. How have they behaved?" Applejack asked knowing completely well that the three fillies were a handful.

"They did just fine." Fluttershy told her with an innocent smile. Applejack just grinned and raised and eyebrow.

"Ya telling the truth there?"

Fluttershy just rolled her eyes, still smiling. She then spoke softly. "Okay you got me. They did below average. But it's okay."

Applejack playfully elbowed the yellow mare. "Can't lie to me Sugarcube. Sometimes you are just too nice for yer own good." Fluttershy just shrugged, still in a good mood.

Applejack then saw the three finishing off their flower sandwich. The Element of Honesty then called out. "Hey girls! Time to go home now!"

"Okay AJ!" Applebloom called back as she got up from the table. The other two followed shortly after.

Sweetie Belle then turned back toward Fluttershy. "Same time tomorrow?"

"No thanks. I have somebody else coming around tomorrow to help." Fluttershy insisted in her soft tone.

"Who's coming over?" Applejack asked curiously.

"Our new friend Paramail, the Element of Caring." Fluttershy answered her friend still in her good mood.

Scootaloo blabbed her mouth open. "Hey I know that pony! I heard Rainbow Dash say that he totally got…" Her mouth was muffled by Applejack.

"Now we don't gossip about others. Ya understand little lady?" Applejack told the young pegasus in a calm but stern manner. Scootaloo just nodded.

Applejack and the Cutie Mark Crusaders then left, waving goodbye to Fluttershy. The Element of Kindness then went into her cottage to make Angel and herself dinner. When she made herself a flower sandwich and gave Angel a carrot, she spoke up to the rabbit.

"So Scootaloo said that Paramail got something. I'm not the one to gossip, but what do you think?" Fluttershy asked the rabbit as she thought to herself.

Angel just rolled his eyes and then pointed to the top of his head.

"No mane?" Fluttershy asked.

Angel nodded.

Fluttershy thought for a bit then shrugged. "Well I guess Scootaloo is a little Captain Obvious then." She then giggled to herself and then took a bite of her meal. Angel just sighed in relief and then began to nibble on his carrot.

Fifteen minutes later, Applejack had just dropped off Scootlaoo and Sweetie, along with making Applebloom start her homework from Cheerilee. She then went over to Granny Smith's room, intending to ask her about the blue boy from the picture.

Unfortunately, she found Granny fast asleep in bed. Not wanting to disturb her, she closed the door and went to find her brother. He must have been around during the young colt's birth, so maybe he would know. She looked around the house and saw her brother eating some apple pie.

She walked up to him and took the picture of the Berry family out and showed it to him.

"Macintosh."

The large stallion looked up at his sister.

Applejack placed the picture on the table so her brother can see. "Do you know who this is?"

"Eeyup."

"Great! Who is it?" AJ asked almost giddy.

"Why that's Auntie Razzi and Uncle Bluebarry. I thought of all people you'd know."

Applejack just rolled her eyes and pointed to the blue colt. Big Macintosh just shook his head.

"Nnope."

Applejack sighed and left her brother to finish his pie. She then went up to her room and placed the picture at her bedside.

"Who are you?" Applejack asked the foal in the picture.

An few hours later, Coocoodrill was trotting home with Spike on his back. Paramail left after dinner, saying he had a long day of work with Fluttershy tomorrow. So the two went to the local batting station and hit some baseballs, along with playing catch. Now the green unicorn was just dropping Spike off to Twilight's house.

When they got to the tree, Coocoo knocked on the door. After a bit, Twilight Sparkle opened the door. She was glaring at Spike with one of her forehooves tapping on the floor.

"Spike? Where were you?" Twilight asked still looking still staring at the dragon angrily.

"Guy time." Spike answered quite intimidated. He hated it when Twilight was angry.

Twilight just looked at the dragon in disbelief. "Guy time?"

"Yeah! With me, Spike, Paramail, Pinkie Pie. I insisted he'd come with us." Coocoodrill spoke up unaware of the mare's mood.

Twilight looked at the stallion and gestured Spike to get inside. When he went inside, she walked towards Coocoo slowly.

"You just brought him along without asking me?" Twilight asked him trying to control her anger.

Coocoodrill felt a bit uneasy now and just nodded with a weak smile.

Twilight stomped a hoof. "I NEEDED…!" She then stopped to try and compose herself. "I mean, I needed him here after Rarity. I had to reorganize the books, feed Owlowiscious, clean the dust off of the shelves and polish the globe all by myself."

Coocoodrill took a breath and calmly spoke up. "I'm sorry Twi. But I just thought it was a good idea for him to hang out with other guys. I believe it's necessary to his childhood development to hang around with people of his own gender once in a while." He then stepped away from the purple unicorn.

Twilight couldn't believe what he just heard. "Since when did you think you could consider what he needs?" She started to get mad again.

"Since I learned that he lived with you." Coocoodrill answered back raising his voice. "In a way, I see him as a son. And he did say that he never hung out with many guys." He felt himself getting angry.

"Do you even hear what your saying?" Twilight questioned him, also raising her voice.

Coocoodrill just looked away and quickly muttered. "Iwantadivorce."

The angry mare didn't understand what he just said. "What did you just say?"

"I…want…a divorce." Coocoodrill rudely said right in her face.

"We're not married." Twilight told him, getting into his face.

"Well then I'm breaking up with you."

"We're not a couple!"

"WELL THEN YOU'RE NOT MY FRIEND ANYMORE!" The stallion shouted at her enraged to his highest point. He then turned around and trotted into his underground house. As he opened the door, he blew the purple mare a raspberry before slamming the door.

Twilight quickly calmed down from the argument. She actually felt hurt. Sure she never had many friends, but never before has somebody said to her they weren't friends anymore. Nevertheless have them scream it right in her face. She just quietly closed the door.

When she looked up at Spike, she saw him in his sleeping basket turned away from her. She heard him mutter something about Coocoodrill being more fun than her and how much of a bore she was. She just looked down in sadness and went to her bed. She got under the covers and looked at Spike with remorse.

"Good night Spike." Twilight told the dragon in a fruitless cause to make amends.

The baby dragon didn't even bother to answer her. That was when Twilight felt her eyes get teary and she sniffled. She then closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep. Hopefully, tomorrow would be better. Before she went to sleep, she promised herself not to do anything involving Cosmus/Screameater.

What a Drag

Chapter 10: What a total Drag

The next morning, on the island of Phobos, inside the Volcano of Hysteria, Blubayou was teaching Trixie how to open the large golden door that lead to the entrance of the of the base. The two ponies were in front of the colored glyphs.

"Alrighty Trix! All you have to do is press red, yellow, green, red, purple, blue." Blu quickly instructed the magician patting her on the back. The unicorn shivered as she felt his slimy skin.

Trixie moved towards the glyphs and pressed each and every one of them correctly. The golden doors slowly opened up, splitting the red moon moon picture in half.

"Trixie didn't think that was any problem at all!" Trixie said indifferently as she turned to the amphibipony. "You got it on your first time too right?"

Blubayou just looked away ashamed. It took him thirty tries to completely memorize the code, and even then it slipped his mind once in a while.

As the doors slowly opened, both ponies can see Anvillain walking towards them, towering over both of them. Screameater was lying on his back on top of him, enjoying the ride.

"Good morning." The dark alicorn said to Trixie as he jumped off of the artificial pony's back. He then walked towards the two.

"Morning Master Screameater." Blu eagerly told his master with a salute. Screameater just used a tendril to slap him upside the head.

"I was talking to the lovely lady." Screameater grumbled to the blue pony, spraying a purple smog from his mouth into his servant's face. Blubayou eyes shot wide open and he began to creep away from his master like a scared puppy, closing his eyes and whimpering.

The fallen one just snorted and turned to the unicorn in a good mood. "Don't worry about my sniveling servant. He's fine." He then petted the amphibipony with a tendril. "I just got him to see my face split apart four ways, revealing fifty long, slimy tongues that each had a lamprey like mouth." He then smirked. "I've been more creative."

Trixie didn't see any of that when he looked at him. But she got herself to say. "Trixie...is curious about how you did that."

Screameater just looked back to Blubayou and spewed out more purple smog at him. Blu paused for a moment, but when he looked at his hooves, he started flailing about screaming "FIRE SPIDERS!" as he started running in circles. He then turned back to the magician.

"You see? My fog makes them see things not there. I have also looked into his mind long ago, finding his deepest fears. But I don't necessarily need it, the smog's just for a single pony's mind. Different ponies see different things. Some might see scorpions; some might see dragons, others their grandmothers..." He then stared into Trixie's purple eyes. "And sometimes, things not from this world and too twisted for words." He then let out an otherworldly chuckle.

The blue mare felt a chill up her spine as he chuckled, but she managed to keep her composure. Unlike Blu, who was still hollering about fire spiders while rolling on the ground, managed to keep her composure. She then got the courage to ask.

"Do have a job for me or something?"

Screameater nodded his head and used a tendril to bring her closer to him. He then began to speak like a true gentlecolt.

"I do have a job for you Ms. Great and Powerful. I need the second part of my ritual. Do you know any dragons that are easy to teleport here?" He then began to mutter to himself. "And are easier to absorb than my son?"

Trixie thought it over for a bit. She then remembered that purple and green baby dragon that accompanied that Twilight Sparkle mare from Ponyville. She then smiled spoke up to the alicorn.

"There was this baby dragon back in Ponyville." Trixie admitted to him, praying that would be enough.

"That would be perfect!" Screameater told her in a postive manner as he put both forehooves on her shoulders. He then tsk tsked. "But a baby dragon. Now that's cold." He then whispered into Trixie's ear. "I like that."

He then coughed to himself, looking away. "But anyways, here's a Mara to replace the dragon." He then used his magic to create an Earth Mara, which looked just like the one Trixie replaced with Blueblood, except without a horn.

"Now can you be a dear and shape this Mara into this "baby dragon" you speak of." Screameater politely asked the unicorn magician with a smug grin.

Trixie just nodded and used the Necklace of Alteration to transform the Mara into a small, purple and green male dragon. The Mara took a minute to admire its new form, checking out its claws, fangs, tail and most of all, its green fiery breath.

"Speak Mara!" Screameater sharply ordered the creature. The creature checked its vocal chords and then spoke up.

"Yes master."

Trixie nodded, remembered that was exactly how the dragon sounded. She then looked at her master with confidence.

"His name is Spike." The magician told the fallen alicorn sure of herself. He just analyzed every bit of the transformation before whiplashing his tail.

"How about you and "Spike" go and find ourselves a certain baby dragon?" Screameater smugly suggested the two. He then gestured them to leave. Trixie bowed down and teleported herself and the Spike/Mara to Ponyville.

Screameater then took a look at the still flailing Blubayou. He just rolled his eyes and undid the illusion. Blubayou just stopped confused, looked around and got up as if nothing happened.

"Where's Trix Screameater?" Blu asked looking around. He couldn't see any evidence of her around.

Screameater just facehoofed. "She's out to get the next ritual. She'll…"

"Can I come too?" Blubayou unwisely interrupted his master. "Please? Please? Please?"

Screameater just facehoofed again. He then muttered. "Fine. Next ritual is a pegasus filly who has yet to find her destiny. You, Trixie, and Anvillain will be on that in a few hours." He then flew up to Anvillain's face. "I just have to work on my shining silver stallion's aura vision." The alicorn then scoffed. "And before you ask Blu! It's to detect beings worthy of the ritual! And before you ask again, I have it too!"

Blubayou completely ignored his adoptive father's annoyed expression and hollered in excitement as he hopped off the walls. "OH GEE! OH MY! Finally! After all these years, I get to find a ritual!" He then rushed over to kiss his master's feet. "Thank ya so much! I cross my heart, I won't let ya down!" He then used his tongue to make an X motion on his chest.

Screameater just sighed and shook his head. He then used his magic to fling the amphibipony into the base. He then got back on his golem's back.

"Mush amazing Anvillain! Mush!" The fallen alicorn told the construct as he rode on his back. "To the amazing archives for your…uhhh?" He pondered for words, but then just shrugged. "Amazing aura vision!" He then used his magic to close the golden doors.

Later in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle woke up and got out of bed. To her dismay, the memory of her and Coocoodrill's argument over what was best for Spike was still fresh in her mind. She decided that after some breakfast, she would go and apologize to Coocoo. She also hoped for an apology back, since in her opinion, they both acted wrong.

And when she thought about, she never sent Princess Celestia a letter about how to deal with such a problem. This then made her think about Spike, the reason for this dispute in the first place. She looked up at his basket bed and saw that he was completely covered.

"Spike?" Twilight called as she approached the basket. "Can you please get up?"

No answer. Twilight began to have a feeling that he was mad at her for last night.

"Come on Spike. Get up." She was starting to get worried. "I know you're probably mad at me, but I'm going to make it up to you." She then forced a smile. "After breakfast we can go to Rarity's. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Still no answer. Twilight was beginning to get teary, her closest friend she's ever had. But when she thought about it, she was the closest thing he had to a mother also. To make the whole situation worse though, she began remember moments when she wasn't very fair to him. The first that went into her mind was that she made him stay when she had her first "true" birthday. In hindsight, that was borderline unforgivable. Would any friend, nevertheless any mother do that?

But as she was wallowing in her own shame, she noticed a little blue under Spike's blanket. She poked the bed, and there was still no response. She then lifted the blanket with her magic, begging to herself that this wasn't what it appeared to be. But her hopes were shattered.

All that was in the basket was a bunch of books to make it look like he was under the covers. On one of the books was a letter.

Coocoodrill woke up with a loud yawn, admiring his new underground home. His whole house was disorganized. Comics were on the floor, the rug was dirty, he had no clothes in his closet, and the shelves and drawers were crammed with random items. He even had a whole room for food, which was nice and cool to preserve his food.

"Ah! I wonder what that weather's like today." Coocoo said to himself as he got out of his cot. So he walked up the staircase to the front entrance. He opened the door and walked out.

It was a nice day outside. Nice and sunny, but with just enough clouds for shade. The green unicorn took a breath of fresh air and was about to find a place to eat.

"COOCOODRILL!"

The stallion turned around still in his blissful mood. "Why hello there. Needed…" He then saw that it was Twilight galloping up to him. He frowned and looked away.

"Oh. It's you." Coocoo said in a nonchalant tone, not even looking at the purple mare.

Twilight just let out a mellow sigh and then spoke up. "Look! I know we didn't treat each other very well last night, but we have a crisis on our hands!"

Coocoodrill just rolled his multicolored eyes, agitated. He then turned and walked towards her. "Is this about Screamy? Cause it better not be!" He looked at her with his one big, purple eye pupil.

The unicorn mare just used her magic to shove the letter into Coocoodrill's mouth. He spat it out and began to read out loud.

"Dear Twilight Sparkle, I heard the whole argument last night and I think what you did was completely…inequeetable? Iequisable?" Coocoodrill showed Twilight the word. "What's this word?"

Twilight just groaned. "Inequitable."

Coocoodrill just pointed a hoof at her. "HA! Knew I was right! IN YO FACE!"

Twilight was beginning to get irritated with his behavior. He really takes this "not friend" thing seriously. She then spoke out loud to him. "Just…finish reading."

Coocoo did as her was told. "But that also doesn't mean Coocoodrill's opinion is also…Justifibble? Joustifeeabell?"

"Justifiable!" Twilight snapped. She then covered her mouth, realizing how rude she was. "Sorry."

Coocoodrill began to frown. He then began to read with more concern. "He may be more fun than you, but he just babies me around. So that makes me stuck between two ponies who never let me do anything myself. I'm my own dragon. And until you two start treating me like one, I'm not coming back. Which means you'll just have to find another way to contact the Princess."

Twilight gasped.

"P.S: I've looked into "guy time" and it's stated that you don't invited friends that are girls or mention anything about crushes. Next time, get it right."

Coocoodrill's jaw dropped. He then turned to Twilight horrified. "There's rules for "guy time"?"

Twilight just sympathetically patted him on the back. "Yes there is Coocoo. Yes there is." She then got serious. "But the big picture here is that Spike's out there alone and we need to find him and apologize to him."

The distraught stallion just sighed. "Definitely. This is both our fault. Well maybe mostly yours."

"HEY!"

"I'll stand by my statement. You were the one who started the argument."

"Yeah! But you dropped him off so late last night!"

Coocoo just gently pushed her way with a hoof. "Alright, alright. Point taken." He then looked down at the ground. He then muttered a lowly "Sorry".

Twilight could see tears well up in his eyes. When she thought about the situation at hand, she also got to the verge of tears.

She put an understanding hoof to his chin and brought his head up to her face. She asked with all the kindness she can muster. "Look. We both said terrible things last night and we are equally the cause of this. But if we just sulk around, we'll never get him back." She then took a long breath. "I'm sorry too."

Coocoodrill held back some tears. "Do you really mean that?"

Twilight only nodded in agreement. She then hugged her friend that exact same way he held her two nights before. He was at first surprised, but was quick to hug back.

"I forgive you." Twilight softly said during the embrace.

"I forgive ya too." Coocoodrill told her, switching his normal voice for a cheery southern drawl. "But one thing."

"What's that?"

Coocoo went back to his average Fillydelphian accent. "Can we never, ever, ever be a couple? Cause no offense that would be awkward."

Twilight would have been offended if any other stallion said that, but with Coocoodrill, that was a sigh of relief. If they ever dated, she didn't what she'd do to him if he got out of line.

"Of course not." Twilight reassured him, feeling much better now. She then let go of the embrace and put a forehoof up to him, hoping he would shake it. "Friends?"

Coocoodrill didn't even have to think. He quickly grabbed her hoof and shook it. "Friends." He then pointed towards Ponyville. "I'm not the best with common sense. But I'm going to guess Spike's town. Perhaps we should make a search party though?"

Twilight thought about making a search party for a bit, but went against it. This was a matter between her, Coocoodrill and Spike. She just shook her head.

"Alrighty then!" The green unicorn said back to his joyous mood as he started walking. "Lead the way!"

Twilight and Coocoodrill then started to trot to town, hoping to find Spike soon.

Meanwhile, Spike was grumbling under his breath as he walked around town. What both "guardians" said to one another last night was still fresh in his mind. It made him angry just thinking about it.

"They think I can't take care of myself. I can handle myself just fine." Spike angrily muttered under his breath as he kicked up some dirt. "Just because I'm a "baby dragon" doesn't mean I have to be treated like any normal foal. Why can't they see that?"

"Having problems aren't we?"

Spike heard the voice coming from the narrow alleyway and moved closer to the voice.

"Who's there?" Spike wearily asked. He slowly went into the alley.

Suddenly, Trixie stopped her invisibility spell and moved closer to him. Spike was so startled, he fell over.

"Tis I! The great and powerful Trixie." The unicorn answered the dragon.

Spike just rolled his eyes. "What cheap magic tricks do you have in your hat now?" He told her annoyed.

Trixie just smiled and took off her hat, putting her hoof inside it.

"YOU!"

She revealed Mara copy of Spike from inside her hat, placing it onto the ground. Before Spike could scream in terror, Trixie used her magic to teleport him and herself away.

Spike found himself on the edge of a cliff, horrifying him. He looked down, and at the bottom of the cliff was molten hot magma. Spike slowly moved away from the edge, but bumped into something. He looked behind him and saw a Trixie looking down at him.

"Screameater! He's here!" Trixie called out. Spike didn't like the sound of this.

He saw an obsidian door and ran past Trixie, hoping to escape. But as he ran past a throne of sorts, he heard a suave voice.

"Now don't run little one. That just makes it harder for yourself."

The dragon then felt a tentacle grab his leg, dangling him upside down in the air. When he got a good look at the voice, he saw a male alicorn no bigger than Trixie with bat wings and pure orange eyes. Spike knew exactly who he was.

"Screameater."

The dark alicorn sinisterly chuckled. "Bingo kiddo."

The last thing Spike saw was multiple tentacles bringing him into Screameater's belly. The last thing he felt was being absorbed into his body. The only thing he could think of was. "Twilight help me!"

A Meeting of Nightmares

Chapter 12: A Meeting of Nightmares

Trixie, Blubayou, Anvillain, and the group of Mara found themselves in the middle of an apple tree forest. Blu and the Golem had exactly no idea where they were, but Trixie knew exactly where she brought them. She turned towards her two accomplices.

"Okay you two. We're in Sweet Apple Acres." Trixie informed them. "From what Trixie remembers, an Element of Harmony lives around here. That might just be worthy to be considered "one pure of heart". Is Trixie right?"

Blubayou, Anvillain, and the Mara just stared at her. Finally, an Earth Mara managed to quickly nod in agreement. Trixie looked at it, and then at all the others. She then put a hoof on her chin in thought.

"Hmmmm? Trixie might need to hide you guys somewhere." She deduced staring at the group of over thirty Mara. She then came up with the idea to make the creatures of fear invisible. Her horn began to glow and with the blink of an eye, all the Mara disappeared. Anvillain looked without any care, but Blubayou croaked in surprise.

"What ya do to em Trix?" The amphibipony asked the magician awestruck. He looked left and right for them.

Trixie just brushed her mane. "All Trixie did was bring them back to the Dreamworld." She then walked over to him and petted the blue pony as if he was a dog. "Don't you worry about a thing. Trixie's got all the planning covered." She then turned towards the iron pony, not noticing Blubayou sticking his long tongue out at her. "And besides, those creatures would only draw attention towards us."

Anvillain nodded in agreement but Blu was still confused. "But all three of us stick out anyways. You wear a bright purple dress…"

"Cloak." The blue mare corrected.

"Cloak. Whatever. Anvillain's a giant iron pony, and I'm extraordinarily handsome." The frogpony told them as he pointed to himself with a smug grin. Trixie just facehoofed and the construct just ignored him.

"Ugh! Less sore hooves. Whatever." Trixie told him losing her patience. Blubayou thought for a moment and happily agreed with her.

Anvillain finally began to walk towards the edge of the forest. It then turned back to the two ponies and spoke in a very monotone manner, but also had the sounds of clanging metal. "I suggest that we split into two groups. I will hunt for the pegasus filly with no mark. While you two, search for one true of heart." He then squinted at the two. "But whatever you do, do not go to crowded areas." He then proceeded to gallop away.

Trixie watched then metal being leave and then turned to Blubayou. She saw him watching a pure grey bunny hop around as he watched in curiosity. He hopped where it hopped as he inspected the animal. He moved up to it, took a small sniff, and then licked the bunny. As the blue pony was spat the fur out, the bunny just looked back at him with a horrified expression.

Blu moved back and used his tongue to grab an apple from a nearby tree. He then placed it right next to the bunny, which hesitantly ate it. After some staring, the animal decided to move closer to the strange pony. The bunny stretched out its paw and touched his clammy skin. It considered hopping away but it saw the amphibipony stay still.

After a bit, Blubayou slowly laid down a hoof in front of the bunny. The bunny moved up slowly, but when it saw the warm smile on the pony's face, it decided to move slowly up the hoof. After a bit, it began to feel more comfortable and hopped onto the gentle pony's head. Blubayou let out an innocent chuckle and turned to Trixie.

"What is this oh so glorious animal madam?" Blubayou asked Trixie as her slowly petted the animal on his head. He had never seen one before, but he enjoyed them a lot. They were calm, fluffy, compassionate, and didn't try to eat him.

Trixie stared at him with disbelieving eyes. She was not at all mad though. She was more surprised by his actions, almost disappointed. She remembered what Screameater told her what to do if he became a liability. And to Trixie, that meant forging emotional bonds with the outside world. She looked away and him and began to walk aimlessly.

"It's a rabbit Blu." Trixie told him forcing a smile as he walked up beside her.

"Well then! Guess I'm gonna name this rabbit Hopz!" Blu then petted the rabbit. Hopz just chattered in delight as it got of his new friend's head and settled down on his slimy yet warm and protective back.

Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill had managed to recruit Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity to help them on their search for Spike. Rarity mentioned that she saw him near the café, but he only took a look at her and turned away. This only worried the violet and green unicorns even more. As they looked around the local plaza, they noticed Fluttershy, whistling as she walked out of the plaza. Rainbow Dash quickly rushed towards her, with the others following her.

"Hey Fluttershy!" The cyan pegasus greeted her friend in a hasty manner. "Where have you been? We've been looking for you?"

Fluttershy looked at RD in a blissful mode. "Oh hey everypony. I was just on my way home from lunch with Paramail. He was helping me with the animals."

Rainbow calm down after hearing what her friend has been up to. She then began to snicker a bit. "So Fluttershy? Was this a date?" She then elbowed her a bit. "Huh? Huh?"

Fluttershy just backed away a few feet, her face completely red. She then began to speak timidly. "Oh no, no! This was just…friend stuff."

Rainbow Dash, Coocoodrill, and Pinkie Pie just looked away with smiles on their faces. Twilight just walked up to the blushing mare.

"Is Paramail around?" The Element of Magic asked her friend, looking up, right, and left. Fluttershy just daintily shook her head.

"I'm afraid not. He said he had things to do." Fluttershy replied as she stared into space. "But he was great company. We talked about our favorite books, animal care, our families…" Twilight just stuck a hoof in her mouth.

"That's nice and all. But Spikes missing at the moment and we're looking for him. Have you seen him anywhere?"

Fluttershy was slammed back into reality. She let out a tiny shriek. "Spike's gone?"

Coocoodrill solemnly nodded, acknowledging why he ran off. Rarity patted Fluttershy on the back, trying to make her feel better. "I know this is hard to grasp dear. But we are going to find our dear friend even if it's the last thing we do. Will you help us?"

Fluttershy quickly nodded. Rainbow Dash then flew up and away.

"I'm going to find Baldy! You guys continue searching for Spike!" Rainbow Dash called back as she flew off.

The others were about to walk off until Pinkie started shaking like crazy. The mares moved away from her but Coocoo just looked confused.

"What's the matter Pink?" Coocoodrill asked his friend concerned for her well being. All of a sudden, she stopped shaking.

"We got a doozy on our hooves." Pinkie told the group with her eyes wide open, terror running down her spine. The girls just gasped in uncertain horror.

Coocoodrill just let out a sigh of comforting relief. "Alright! No big deal! I was just a…" He then realized what she just said. "…Say what now?"

Big Macintosh just rounded up all of the sheep and was expecting Applejack to help with the cows. As he looked into the distance chewing a piece of hay, a bright light temporarily blinded him, causing him to put a hoof over his eyes. As he squinted to look at what it was, he saw a stallion the size of Celestia herself. He noticed that the stranger's body was shining silver; even thinking he saw his own reflection off of it. The towering pony walked up to the red stallion with a face void of emotion.

Big Mac couldn't help but move back a few feet. But ebing the nice pony he was, he decided that a greeting was necessary. "Why hello there stranger. What brings ya to Sweet Apple Acres?"

The Iron Pony just looked down at the farmer without any expression. "I am here to find a pegasus filly with no mark." It brought his face down to Big Mac. "Have you seen one?"

Big Mac definitely saw his reflection now. He even began to doubt he was talking to a pony. He began to frown as he wondered why this being would want a filly. He took a defensive position and looked at the golem straight into in its ruby eyes. "Why should I tell you stranger?"

Anvillain just lifted its head, but still looked down on the angry stallion. It stomped its hoof. "Ritual."

Big Mac hardly even understood what this thing said. "Rita-what?"

But instead of an answer, he just saw the "pony" swing a forehoof at him. The stallion dodged to the left and knowing that there was no dealing with this thing, bucked it at the side with all his might, creating a loud clanging sound. Anvillain staggered back, but the golem didn't even make a sound.

But Big Mac felt a surge of pain rush towards his hind hooves. When he looked back, he saw that the golem was still up. He saw two small dents at its side, but it appeared that his target didn't even feel pain. He then realized it. Eeyup. This pony's made outta metal.

But before he could react, Anvillain charged towards him head first. The head butt sent the red pony flying back twenty feet. As Big Mac got up, he saw the iron pony charging at him again. He tried to brace himself for impact, but the construct was too strong, even for a pony as tough as him. He fell to the ground with a loud thud.

As Macintosh tried to get up once again, he felt a hoof on his side, around the area where the ribs would be. He looked up and saw Anvillain staring down at him, still with a purely emotionless face.

"What are you?" The stallion weakly asked his assailant as he winced in pain. That pain just got worse as he felt the golem slowly added more force to its hoof.

"I am Anvillain." The metal being answered him. "But where is a pegasus filly with no mark? Tell me now."

"Nnope." Was the only reply the red pony can say. He knew it was talking about somepony like Scootaloo and he knew where she was. But he wasn't about to let this monster find her.

"Where is the pegasus filly?" Anvillain asked once again as it asserted more pressure onto the poor pony, causing him to grunt in pain. It got up on its hind legs and was ready to smash the stallion.

Big Mac couldn't handle the pain anymore. "Fine. There's an orange filly just around there." He pointed to the edge of a part of the apple tree forest. He then shed a tear. "But I'm beggin ya. Please don't hurt any one of em!"

Anvillain looked at the beaten stallion without any care. It looked up towards where the pony pointed and saw a faint light blue aura. The golem then heard somepony call from behind it.

"Macintosh!" Applejack called out to her brother as her and Caramel saw him on the ground next to a gigantic pony. Both ponies ran towards the assailant. But to her anger, she just saw the giant pony kick her brother one last time in the gut, flipping him over. The being then galloped off.

Applejack considered chasing the attacker down, but she controlled herself enough to follow Caramel to check on Big Mac, who was too injured to move. As they went to his side, Big Mac softly spoke up.

"That metal pony's runnin off to see the fillies." He visibly winced from his injured, but continued to speak. "Save them."

Applejack knew what she had to do. She signaled Caramel to help her brother get to the hospital. She ran after the iron pony as fast as she could. Caramel lifted the big red pony up and helped him walk towards the medical center.

"I hope I'm not too late." Applejack told herself as she followed the golem that beat her brother and forced information out of him. She knew it was time for the Elements of Harmony to go back into action.

Paramail was just lying back on a cloud in the sky in complete bliss. His meeting with Fluttershy was a success in his opinion. He helped her with her animals, sang along with her, and even took her out to lunch. It wasn't exactly a date, but it was start. He didn't know what to call it, but he was so at ease after being with her, and that was saying something. He should be doing some paperwork right now, but he had no concern for that right now. He was in such a carefree mood; he could just take a relaxing nap right then and there.

But lady luck had other things planned for Paramail as his light blue pegasus friend landed on the same cloud as him.

"BALDY WAKE UP!" Raibow Dash called the dozing stallion as she shook him rapidly. Paramail quickly jolted back to reality with a look of terror in his face.

"What's the matter?" Paramail frantically asked jumping to his feet. "Is Ponyville on fire? Hydra attack? Political mutiny?"

Rainbow just rolled her eyes at his farfetched disasters. She then just shook her head. "No, no, no. None of those things. The problem is that Spike's missing. Have you seen him?"

Paramail began to panic even more. His eyes widening, forehooves on both sides of his face and making a deep gasp of shock "Missing? That's…that's horrible!" He then had a dark thought. "What if he was taken by this Screameater fellow and used as a sacrifice?"

RD just chuckled, amused by her friend's antics. "Don't worry so much. He's just mad that's all! Nothing some good old fashion cheering up wouldn't fix!" She then made a sly smile. "But I heard you had lunch with a certain pony."

Paramail just looked away and turned as red as the ripest tomato. He began to speak nervously. "W-well, I was j-just h-h-h-helping her with the animals. I just then took her ou-ou-out to lunch." He began to sweat and speak through his chattering teeth. "No biggie at all."

Rainbow just hollered with laughter as she patted his back. "Whatever lover boy! C'mon let's get going!"

She took to the air and soared above the clouds. The cyan pegasus then looked behind herself, and saw that Paramail wasn't following her. Annoyed, she dashed back to the cloud, seeing him looking towards the horizon.

"Baldy! What are you looking at?" Rainbow exclaimed to him quite impatient. She flew over to him and saw the teal stallion staring at the ground a little over a mile away. He had a face of pure concern as he squinted his eyes.

"Why are you just staring at a bunch of apple trees?" The mare questioned him as she waved her hoof in front of his face. She knew he had a knack for seeing things, but had no idea what he was looking at.

Paramail pointed to where he was looking, breathing heavily. "Something bad's going to happen!"

"On a scale of one to ten, how bad?" Rainbow asked him unsure if he was just over reacting or not.

Paramail stopped making eye contact and took a second look. He took a long breath. "Would you say that a bunch of fillies being stalked by a running giant metal pony with Applejack pursuing it with a look of focused rage be about a solid ten?"

Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were out trying to get pest control cutie marks. They were protecting this one large tree from animals that would want to steal the apples. They made a little fortress out of sticks and rocks and took cover behind it. Each filly also had a helmet on that was too big for them.

"Do ya see anything yet?" Applebloom asked her two friends getting bored. For as long as they guarding this tree, nothing came around. The animals were smart enough to go to other trees, ignoring the cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Nothing yet." Sweetie replied as she looked into her binoculars. As she put the binoculars down, her helmet went down to her eyes. "But why are we trying to be pest control when we were just trying to be rangers yesterday?" He question was ignored.

Scootaloo just looked right and left, looking for apple thieves. She then looked back to her two friends with a smile of pride. "Well I guess we're so good, they didn't even want go near us. Nothing's stirring about. Not even a…"

She then heard a stick snap from behind her. All three of them turned around and saw only a small mouse. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief as they stood guard of the tree.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Scootaloo called to the other two. "You know what to…AHHHHH!"Before any of the fillies could react, Scootaloo was grabbed this gigantic earth pony that charged from their side, decimating their little stick fortress. All three of them screamed as the shiny silver stallion held Scootaloo within its teeth.

"RITUAL!" Anvillain called out in its monotone manner with the pegasus still in its mouth.

Trixie and Blubayou were at the other side of the apple forest when they heard the golem call out. Trixie quickly had her, Blu, and the rabbit Hopz teleported to where the scream was heard.

Applejack caught up to the construct that attacked her brother and gave it a good buck to the rear. Anvillain staggered back, dropping Scootaloo, who along with the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, scurried behind the orange mare.

"What'ya want with a little filly?" Applejack questioned the iron pony, demanding an answer. The bucking he gave it hurt her more than she expected.

All Anvillain cried out was "Ritual" as it got ready to charge towards her, digging its hoof into the ground.

Rainbow Dash couldn't bear to hear anymore. She knew what she had to do to save her friend.

"Alright, I'll help AJ and stall for time! You go and find the others!"

Paramail quickly nodded and flew away so fast, Dash was surprised.

"Hm? When you want him to go towards something, he's a slowpoke. But away, totally different story." She then flew down towards the commotion as fast as she could.

Anvillain was charging towards Applejack and all three of the Crusaders, ready to take Scootaloo and trample the other three. But as it was only inches away, the artificial pony saw a rainbow blur hit it straight in the face, causing it to stop. Applejack took this opportunity to move the three fillies away from the golem.

"Go Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo cheered as she galloped away to safety.

The Element of Honesty made sure that her sister and two friends were far away from the giant metal pony. She then stood her ground, ready to face this new threat.

When Anvillain got to its senses, the iron pony saw a female pegasus with a multicolored mane along with the orange earth pony with the hat standing in front of it. Neither pony was radiating an aura, but when it looked to its right, the golem saw the light blue aura radiating from the pegasus filly. It then noticed that the blue mare in front of him was speaking.

"Just who do you this you are?" Rainbow Dash questioned the iron pony stamping a hoof.

Applejack added in. "Ya think you could just walk around these parts, beat up my brother and walk away as if nothing had happened?" She snorted. "Well ya gotta another thing…"

Anvillain just pushed both ponies out of the way and charged towards the three fillies, crying out "Ritual".

"Where'd ya think you're going?" Applejack called back to the golem as she ran after him. Rainbow Dash flew ahead of her, determined to flank the metal horse.

Trixie and Blubayou teleported too far from the point of the scream and were running the rest of the way. Hopz was on Blubayou's back, enjoying the ride as the amphibipony hopped forward. As they were going towards the shout's point of origin, Trixie saw three fillies running away screaming. She saw that one of the fillies was a pegasus without a cutie mark. She stopped galloping and used her magic to stop Blu from hopping.

"Whad the matter Trix?" The blue stallion asked his partner confused why they stopped. All it took was Trixie pointing at the running fillies for Blu to understand why.

Trixie teleported towards the three fillies and before they knew it, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, Scootaloo were being levitated into the air. They tried to struggle but it was useless.

"Who are you?" Applebloom asked trembling at the presence of the sorceress. All the fillies began to tremble even more as they saw the monstrous frogpony hop towards them, bunny in tow.

Trixie chuckled with pride. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is what I like to go by." She then put down Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. But before they can escape, she used her Amulet of Alteration to morph the ground into a cage, trapping them. Blubayou hopped to the cage and crouched down to their level.

"Don't worry you two. All we need is your buddy for a bit." Blubayou said looking down at the two weeping fillies. Sweetie Belle turned away frightened, but Applebloom stared him straight in the eyes.

"I hate you." The young earth filly muttered as she comforted her friend. Blubayou was taken aback by what she just said. He then looked at his rabbit. Hopz just looked at the two unsure of itself, causing Blu to just shrug.

"Anvillain's coming!" Trixie muttered to Blu, signaling him to moved next to her. The blue stallion listened and hopped next to her, waiting for the iron pony to arrive.

Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Coocoodrill, and Rarity were still looking around town, calling out for Spike, still without any signs of him around. Just then, Paramail flew to the ground, panting and with a panicked look on his face.

"T-T-There's a metal pony at Sweet Apple Acres!" Paramail told the group quickly and frightened out of his mind. He was flailing his hooves around in panic. "It's for some reason after this orange pegasus filly! For some sort of ritual or something! We have to hurry!"

Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill looked at one another, knowing from the Book of Phobos about the ritual. They both yelled out "SCREAMEATER!" to one another. Twilight then turned to the others and spoke up.

"As the Elements of Harmony, it is our sworn duty to protect Equestria from all evil!"

"It is?" The shivering bald stallion asked Rarity. The white mare reluctantly nodded.

Twilight then turned towards Paramail. "Where is this all going on?"

"Sweet Apple Acres acre 3-G!" The Element of Caring spat out to her still quivering in fear. As a mailpony, he had to split the whole town up into certain areas. Finally it became useful.

Twilight nodded in understanding and got her magic ready. Within a flash, all six of them were teleported away.

Only a few meters away, a dizzy and stinking "Spike" came stumbling about from around the corner, wondering what the sudden flash was all about. It then just shrugged and moved on.

Anvillain was on its way to its two partners. The cyan pegasus was on its head, trying to wrestle the construct down with no success. It also heard the hoofsteps of the earth pony behind it. Finally, it saw its two partners and rushed towards them.

But as the golem was a fifty feet away, a purple mare along with five more ponies teleported in front of it. All the ponies but this purple mare was slightly disoriented from the teleportation. Anvillain stopped and took a closer look at the six new ponies. It saw the light blue aura around the pink earth pony, yellow pegasus, teal pegasus, and the purple unicorn. It then began to mutter "Ritual" as it moved closer towards the group.

Twilight analyzed the large pony walking up to her. From what she could see, it was a metallic silver stallion the size of her tutor. She saw the ruby eyes, anvil cutie mark with a heart in one of them. She also noticed Rainbow Dash trying to wrestle the colossal being down, hitting it again and again, making loud clanging sounds. This thing didn't even react; it just looked around at her, Fluttershy, Paramail, and Pinkie Pie.

She looked towards the rest of the group, who all had the same reaction. They were all thinking the same thing. What is that thing?

"Twilight!" Applejack called out to her friend. "Don't let this monster get near you!" She ran ahead of Anvillain and up to the rest of the group. Rainbow Dash felt like she had no choice but to also fly to the group, she was smart enough to know that there was safety in numbers.

Twilight used her magic to lift the metal pony into the air. It was quite heavy, but for a unicorn like her, this was absolutely nothing. But as she was lifting it up, the metal pony stopped struggling as the magic aura changed from her standard pink to a light blue. The iron pony was then lifted behind the group without her control. All eight of them looked behind and saw the golem land next to a blue, amphibious stallion and a familiar unicorn mare.

"Trixie? What are you doing here?" Rarity questioned the magician wary of her surroundings.

Trixie just made a soft chuckle. "Tis I, the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"And I'm Blubayou!" The amphibipony happily stated out loud. He then pointed to the golem. "And this here's Anvillain!" He then also pointed to his rabbit. "And this is Hopz! With a Z not an S. It's betta that way."

"Ritual." Anvillain stated once again, looking directly at Paramail. The teal pegasus just gulped.

Applejack just stared at Blubayou almost in pity. How did he end up with this form? But then she got to bigger issues as she and the rest of the group noticed Scootaloo behind Trixie.

"HELP!" Scootaloo shouted to the group.

"Let her go!" Rainbow demanded as she stomped a hoof.

Trixie jokingly thought for a second, but then shook her head with an obnoxious grin. "I don't think Screameater would want that."

All eight elements gasped at the name. These three were working for the fallen prince himself.

"Why would you work for Mr. Meanypants?" Pinkie asked the magician confused.

Trixie just shrugged. "You know. Power, wealth, stuff like that."

"None of us are letting you get away with this!" Twilight shouted at the three servants of Screameater.

"Try us." Trixie answered back as she used her magic to summon the Mara back.

Seven of the eight elements were stunned to see these dark, mouthless, orange eyed pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies. Coocoodrill just scoffed.

"They're not that scary!" He commented to Trixie. Trixie rolled her eyes and used her Necklace of Alteration to give each Mara a mouth with long, sharp teeth. All thirty Mara growled as they surrounded the eight. Coocoodrill's ears just drooped. "Okay. Now they're scary."

Trixie signaled Blubayou and Anvillain to join the Mara. Blubayou put Hopz safe in a hole in a tree before joining. All eight ponies got on the defensive.

An Earth Mara rushed towards Rarity and tried to hit her with a forehoof. Rarity ducked and bucked the Mara straight in the face. Everyone watched as the nightmarish equine staggered back seeing stars. Half its teeth were knocked right out and it was muttering to itself as it hit the ground. It then disappeared in a purple haze.

Trixie was shocked that such a dainty unicorn can pack such a wallop. She then charged up her magic, and aimed at the purple mare. "Well let's get started." Trixie then shot a turquoise beam of energy from her horn at Twilight.

Twilight countered the beam of energy with a purple energy wall. She focused her magic on moving the beam away from her friends. But Trixie pressed on with the spell, causing a stand still.

She then saw a unicorn Mara summon a short, red blade of energy from its horn. It then charged at Twilight, ready to slash at her. But Coocoodrill came from underground and dragged the twisted unicorn down into the ground. Seconds later, the hole filled up with purple haze as the green stallion jumped right out.

"Don't worry Twi! I got your back!" Coocoo assured Twilight in midair. He then used his magic to drill into the earth again, horn first.

Rainbow Dash and Paramail were back-to-back fighting off seven Pegasus Mara twenty feet in the air. A Mara lunged at the cyan pegasus, and she just roundhouse kicked it straight in the face, causing it to disappear.

"Dude! These things are all bark and no bite!" Rainbow commented to her fighting partner as she hit one of them into the ground below.

Paramail was wrestling with a Mara, who was trying to bite him. The teal pony headbutted the attacker, taking it out. Paramail then shook his sore head as he held onto an incoming Mara's jaws. He then answered his friend. "That's easy for a black belt to say!" He then flung it to two others and panted for air. "But sadly, I'm not one!"

The two Mara didn't even dematerialize, they just wobbled in the air for a bit and left, targeting Fluttershy. Paramail looked in horror.

"Hey RD!" Paramail called out to his fighting partner as he decked a Mara in the face, taking it out. "I gotta cover Fluttershy!"

Rainbow jokingly saluted him as she had a Mara in a headlock. He then pursued the two Mara.

Despite popular belief, Fluttershy could handle herself in a fight. She was fast and nimble, and thanks to massaging bears, knew several pressure points. She darted under an Earth Mara, kicking it in the stomach, vaporizing it. She then somersault kicked a Unicorn Mara straight in the face, making it form into the purple haze.

But as she turned around, she saw two Pegasus Mara about to strike her down. But before they got to her, Paramail tackled one of them into the dirt, taking it out. The other one was then hit with the same rock multiple times. She saw that the rock came from Rarity, who was magically lifting five rocks at the same time, flinging them at Mara then reeling them back to her for another use.

The yellow pegasus then saw a Unicorn Mara about to ambush the prone Paramail with some sort of magical blade emanating from its horn. She quickly rushed over and applied a pressure point move to the Unicorn's neck, causing it to go to its knees. She then helped the stallion up.

"Th-Thanks." Paramail muttered to his crush panting for air. He, along with most of these ponies was not too suited for fighting. He thanked Celestia these things were so easy to take out.

Both pegasi then went opposite directions to take out more Mara. Paramail went back to helping Rainbow Dash while Fluttershy helped Coocoodrill cover Twilight Sparkle.

Pinkie was confronted by three Earth Mara. She just giggled, flipped back, and took out her trusty party cannon from who-knows-where.

"Allow me to introduce you to my trusty party cannon!" Pinkie Pie told the Mara in her cheery nature. She then shot the cannon at them point blank, sending them flying into the air with cake on their faces.

But there was also that one cupcake that hit Anvillain right in the face. It wiped the custard away and charged at the pink mare, destroying three Mara on the way there. Pinkie used her Pinkie sense to dodge to golem as it smashed everything in its way. She tried to hit the golem, but he was too durable. So she called out for Coocoodrill for help.

"Coocoo!"

"Yeah?" The green unicorn replied as he drop kicked a Unicorn Mara.

"Can you do some kind of spell to weaken and slow this tin butt?" Pinkie requested still in her bubbly mood.

Coocoodrill thought for a moment as he grabbed and piledrivered an Earth Mara. He then shot out a bright green ray out of his horn. He was aiming for Anvillain, but to his dismay, Pinkie got in the way.

She suddenly stopped with her eyes wide open in shock. Coocoodrill had no idea what to do. But then she saw her shaking uncontrollably and fidgeting around. She then jumped high into the air.

"SUGAR RUSH!" Pinkie screamed out at the top of her lungs as she bucked a Pegasus Mara in midair. She then landed on the dart, darting around the battle, beating up every Mara there.

Anvillain tried to tackle her, but she easily dodged it, making the construct fall on its face. She then jumped on the iron pony again and again, making huge dents in the pony. Anvillain had a chance to crawl away as she lost interested and went after a bunch of Mara, all of them running away from her screaming.

Seeing that his closest friend was covered, Coocoodrill focused on saving Scootaloo. Trixie looked too busy trying to breach Twilight's defenses with her beam. It looked like an ideal opportunity. So he dug into the ground and began to tunnel his way to her.

Rainbow Dash saw what he was doing and flew towards Trixie in an attempt to save her number one fan. She went for the left while Coocoodrill popped up to the magician's right. Both ponies tried to grab the filly, but Trixie used a force push to send both of them flying back. Both ponies hit the back of a tree and both of them were knocked out.

Blubayou was too nervous to fight the group. In fact, he never fought before, only ran. He tried to stay at the edge of the area, relieved that nopony was attacking him. But as he turned around, he saw the orange, freckled mare lunge at him and tackle him to the ground. He tried to struggle out, but she was too strong.

"Why are you helping Screameater?" Applejack demanded.

"He…raised…me…" Blubayou got his hind legs loose and pushed Applejack into the air. "…like a SON!" The amphibipony then hopped onto the top of the tree, checking the hole to see if Hopz was fine. He then stayed on a branch.

Applejack got up and bucked the tree. She was beginning to lose her temper. "So you want to do this the hard way? Fine!" She bucked the apple tree so hard, it caused the tree to tremble, causing Blu to almost fall off.

Blubayou then realized how much she could've scared Hopz. He felt like he had to defend the bunny from this mean mare. He jumped down and tried to hit Applejack with both forehooves, but she managed to block with her forehooves, causing them to struggle against one another, both on their hind legs.

"But resorting to kidnapping?" Applejack questioned him as she gained the upper hand. "I know ya can be better than that!"

Blubayou wouldn't hear any of it. He quickly inflated his throat sack to its maximum size, pushing Applejack back a few feet. He then quickly hopped behind several Mara, who rushed towards her.

The Mara were about to attack, but then they saw the energized Pinkie and escaped the fight in horror. Applejack looked around and saw the remaining Mara begin to retreat.

Trixie saw this and then realized that Twilight was beginning to overwhelm her. She then also noticed that Anvillain was limping towards her, a huge dent in its back. She also saw Blubayou cowering next to her. She made a thorough and wise decision; retreat.

"Let's get out of here!" Trixie told both Anvillain and Blubayou. She ended the beam spell and began to gallop away with Scootaloo in tow. Blubayou and Anvillain followed her.

Anvillain turned around to see the pink mare moving as quick as lighting towards it. The golem only shouted "Pink one!" and picked up the pace. But when Pinkie was only a foot away from it, she just collapsed onto the ground, fast asleep.

Applejack, Twilight, Paramail, Fluttershy and Rarity saw the group run off. But they were all determined to get Scootaloo from them. Twilight turned to the group.

"Alright gang! Me, Applejack and Rarity will pursue them!" Twilight told them in a serious manner. "Paramail, Fluttershy, you two keep an eye on Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Coocoodrill!" All of them nodded and Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack galloped off.

Paramail and Fluttershy brought the unconscious ponies together. RD and Coocoo didn't have any bad injuries and Pinkie was just in a sugar crash. Fluttershy couldn't help but chuckle as she thought of how much pastries her friend always had, but never losing energy. But as Paramail looked around for any Mara, he saw something move inside one of the apple trees. He took a better look and saw that it was a grey bunny.

"Fluttershy." The teal pegasus said to her. "There's some sort of bunny in that tree over there." He pointed towards the tree.

Fluttershy, extremely caring of animals, quickly flew towards the tree. She looked into the hole and grabbed the grey rabbit. The bunny tried to struggle free, but was calmed down by Fluttershy's soothing demeanor. It made Paramail remember why he liked her so much.

Fluttershy then recognized the bunny as Hopz, the same bunny Blubayou had on its back before the battle. She then remembered the "Fishpony" news Twilight Sparkle told her.

"Paramail?" Fluttershy softly said.

"Yes?"

"I think we just saw the Element of Tolerance. And from what I saw, he only fought when Applejack hit the tree." She then looked at the stallion. "He was protecting this bunny." She then began to softly cry, shaken from the fight and upset about Blu's fate.

Paramail just looked down and sighed as he walked over to her. He then hugged her, trying to make her feel better. "I understand. We have to find a way to get him to our side."

Abandonment and Imprisonment

Chapter 13: Abandonment and Imprisonment

Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity were pursuing Trixie, Anvillain, and Blubayou through the apple trees, trying to avoid the sticks, logs and upturned trees Anvillain left in its wake. They were only thirty feet behind Trixie and Anvillain, and fifty feet away from Blubayou. Trixie was beginning to worry that they were gaining on the two of them. But then she came up with a dirty trick up her hat.

She called out to the three Elements as she ran. "Hey! I think I left a couple of fillies behind a bunch of trees. I sure do hope the others found those little fillies!"

As expected, all three pursuers stopped in their tracks, giving Anvillain and Trixie to widen the gap.

The Elements of Generosity, Honesty, and Magic were all concerned about what she said. They knew they meant Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but they couldn't just give up the chase on Scootaloo.

"I'll go make sure they're okay!" Rarity interjected. "You two continue on!" She then ran back to the battle scene. Applejack and Twilight wasted no time to continue the chase, seeing the two foalnappers in the very distance.

But to the two's confusion, all three of Screameater's minions stopped running as they stood in front a pond. Both mares stopped only ten feet away. The golem may have been injured, but it was probably still a threat.

"Giver back!" Applejack shouted out to Trixie, taking no for an answer.

Trixie thought for a moment. She knew that she couldn't just give her to them. Screameater would hate that. But on the other hand, if they did take her, chances are Celestia will go to Phobos on a full scale assault. She looked up and noticed that a Pegasus Mara was just above, encircling the scene like a vulture. She then looked at her amulet. And then she remembered Blubayou and that bunny Hopz. By what she saw, he got too attached to it. The blue mare remembered what her master what to do when that happens. In no time, she formulated a plan.

"Hello! Equestria to Trix!" Blubayou stated as he waved his hand in the deep-in-thought Trixie. She snapped out of it and gave the stallion a harsh look.

"Ahem!"

Trixie looked ahead and Applejack and Twilight were still ready to fight if need be. Scootaloo was sobbing, reaching out towards them.

The magician used a fog spell to obscure all vision. Trixie then whistled for the Mara to fly down as she used a spell to improve her vision. She then used her Amulet of Alteration on the Mara, making it look just like the pegasus filly they were taking. She then passed "Scootaloo" towards Blu.

"Here's the brat! She's a kicker!" Trixie told him as he heard him catch the imposter. She soon saw that the fog was fading. She quickly put her hoof on Anvillain and in a blue light, they were gone.

When Twilight Sparkle and Applejack regained their vision, all they saw was Blubayou holding a flailing Scootaloo in his forehooves. By the looks of it, he was struggling to keep his grip. Both ponies looked around to see any sign of Trixie or Anvillain.

As Blubayou was trying to keep his grip, "Scootaloo" kicked him straight in the face."YEOWCH!" He rubbed the front of his snout. As he saw the two mares gaining, he quickly hopped onto a tree branch. He then put the frightened filly down on the branch. "Somebody needs a time out!" He then looked down the tree, seeing both Elements looking up with distain.

"That won't stop us!" The purple pony exclaimed as she began to use her magic to lift Scootaloo into the air. Blubayou desperately held onto the filly, trying to pull him back to her. But to his ill luck, he got lifted up with her, his forelegs dangling in the air.

He soon dropped himself to the ground in-between the two mares. He was on the complete defensive now. He hopped back, ready to fight. Applejack slowly moved closer to him.

"Alright then." She spoke up to the foalnapper as she stopped only five feet away from him. "We can either do this the easy way." She then got ready to fight, if need be. "Or the hard way."

Blubayou looked at her, and then looked at the filly as Twilight put her down on the ground. He quickly shot his tongue out at Scootaloo, trying to grab her. But before he even got to her, he felt a painful buck to his side, causing him to yelp and stumble back. Went her looked up; he saw the orange mare was the culprit, looking down at him.

"Before ya even consider trying again, think about you two partners. Where did they go off to?" Applejack told Blu trying to control her anger.

The amphibipony just head butted her in response, and then used his strong hind legs to kick her ten feet away. He then spoke up. "They'll be back! They'll never leave! They just need to find one pure of heart!"

He then leaped thirty feet towards Twilight, trying to get to the filly, which refused to leave her side. But when he was only inches from her, the Element of Magic suspended him into the air. He kicked about and tried to free himself. He looked to his left and saw Applejack tackle him.

The two tumbled for over twelve feet, hitting each other the whole way. Applejack then pushed the amphibipony right off of her. He jumped up and hopped towards a tree. He then leaped right off the side of the tree and tried to once again go for the pegasus filly. But he was grabbed by the tail and landed face first on the ground.

As he got up, Blubayou quickly felt a solid hoof hit him square in the jaw, sending him into the nearby pond. As he wallowed in the shallow water, he slowly tried to get up. Applejack walked over, still with a stern expression on her face.

"You ain't getting this filly even if it's the last thing I do!" She then looked straight at her opponent and began to speak more rationally, realizing she was beating up her own blood. "Just give up. Make it easier on all of us. I beg of you."

Blubayou just panted for a bit as he absorbed what she was saying. He gritted his teeth, tensed his muscles, and began to breathe harder, and from what Applejack and Twilight can see, his normal blue hue becoming slightly duller. He then looked straight up at the orange mare, with the look of determination in his face.

"I NEED THE GIRL!" He told them almost desperate as he shot his long tongue out at Applejack, wrapping it around her. He then dragged her into the water to him. He then grabbed her with his forehooves and tossed her into the deeper center of the pond, where she was neck deep in water.

Applejack tried as best as she could to swim away. She was an okay swimmer, but she was on somepony else's turf now. Blubayou swam at a great speed towards her, hit her at her side, and then swam away. Applejack got her feet on the bottom of the pond and waited for another attack. The pond looked very nice, but wasn't exactly the easiest to look through. But she knew he was somewhere, ready to attack.

She soon tried to swim again, but she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She then felt a blow to her left shoulder. Then she saw him rise out of the water, with his bluish-grey face filled with anger.

"I HAVE TO FREE HIM!"He looked straight into her eyes, and then looked away. "But you servants of his tyrant sisters keep getting in the way." Applejack was horrified what he just said. She had no time to reply as Blu dunked her head into the water.

Blu then realized something. He let Applejack up to breathe. He then quickly asked curiously, letting out a small croak. "Whatcha say madam?"

Applejack coughed out some water and answered him. "I was going to say how you can believe such a lie. I know you're smarter than that. She's the kindest pony anypony knows."

Blubayou just shook his head. "That's what she wants you to think." He then looked at her sternly. "She and her sister imprisoned their own brother…" His let out a sigh. "…my master…" He looked away from her. "…my guardian…" Applejack could see tears well up in his eyes. "…my savior."

He then let go of AJ and quickly swam out of the pond towards "Scootaloo" and Twilight, who galloped to the pond out of concern for her friend. When Blu got out of the water, he hopped right next to the scared filly and got ready to grab her. But as he was about to get her, he saw two blue hooves hit him straight in the face.

Blubayou's vision got slow and blurry. He also heard this horrible high pitched sound. As he tried to shake the feeling out of his head, he saw the orange mare get out of the water with her hat in her teeth. He also saw the filly he was after move quickly towards the violet mare, hugging her. As he stumbled around he saw the blue pegasus with a rainbow mane looking at him in rage. He could barely hear her say something. He wasn't sure what, but she looked furious at him.

He then noticed the ponies behind her. The gentle looking pegasus mare looked almost bad for him. He then realized that she had Hopz on her back. Blubayou began to regret that he forgot him.

Next to her was this bald stallion that looked at the blue pegasus, then him, then back to the pegasus again. Blu could hear the words "You hit him way to hard." Come out right out of the stallion's mouth. The rainbow maned mare just shook her head as she continued to scold the amphibipony.

He also saw a pink pony and green pony look and him, then brohoofing one another, doing a victory dance. A white unicorn next to them was keeping two crying fillies close to her, patting them on the head. The earth filly with the bow on her head took a look at him in distain.

But then Blubayou realized he had something to do rather than look around and stumble about. He needed to get that pegasus filly. He couldn't just go back to his master empty hoofed could he? But on the other hoof, he wondered if Trixie and Anvillain succeeded in finding one pure of heart.

But his work first. He tried to gain his footing as he tried to hop towards "Scootaloo". He tried to hop, but he only went six feet and fell onto the ground flat on his face. But he knew he couldn't just stop. He began to slowly crawl towards the orange filly, who hid behind the purple unicorn.

His limbs started to limp and his vision got worse. He felt his eyelids getting heavier as he pathetically attempted to crawl around the unicorn mare. His limbs then suddenly started to stop and he just layed on the ground, only three feet from his target. In one more futile attempt, he tried to lash out his tongue to try and grab her. His tongue came out as slow as molasses and he tried to move it towards the filly, but it went limp right in front of her. Blu now knew he was helpless. He had failed.

"I'm sorry Screamy." Was the last thing he muttered as his eyes fully closed. The last thing he felt was being gently picked up before losing consciousness.

Blubayou woke up with an aching head. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the sun was going down and he was in the middle of a town full of ponies of all kinds. They were all staring at him. Some looked confused, some looked like they pitied him, but many looked absolutely disgusted at him.

"It's the fishpony!" One pony with a cream coat and a purple/pink mane cried out horrified. She looked like she was about to scream.

Blubayou didn't understand what she really meant. He just decided to politely correct her. "Actually, the term I prefer to be called by is "Amphibipony". I can breathe air as you see, but common mistake. No hard feelings."

He then tried to hop away, but he realized that his limbs were chained to a golden chariot. He tried to struggle but he then heard a voice.

"Quit your struggling!" He looked to his left to see the blue pegasus mare looking at him with those angry eyes of hers. Behind her were the other Elements of Harmony.

Blubayou didn't dare look at the rainbow maned pony. He just turned his face away from her, losing all faith in himself. "So what happens now? Ya'll are just gonna feed me to the tyrannical princesses or something?"

Rainbow, along with the rest of Ponyville, were horrified with what he just said. Even the pegasus guards linked to the chariot were dumbstruck about such an accusation. Paramail just fainted right then and there, landing flat on his face.

"Wha? Something I said?" Blubayou asked the audience confused, still tugging at his chains. "It ain't surprising when it's true."

A green mare with a green and white mane called out from the crowd, her voice angry and condescending. "HOW DARE YOU INSULT OUR PRINCESS! WHAT KIND OF PONY HAS THE NERVE TO SAY THAT?"

Another pony in the crowd answered her. "WHO SAYS HE EVEN IS A PONY?"

"YEAH! HE'S A MONSTER!" Another pony called out.

A unicorn stallion picked up a tomato with his magic. "NO WORSE! HE'S A FOALNAPPING FREAK!" He then tossed the tomato at Blubayou, hitting him straight in the face.

Blubayou had no idea how to react. He didn't even see it coming. He had no idea what was even thrown at him. He just wiped his face with a forehoof and looked at the remains of the smashed fruit. He then felt himself get hit by a green, leafy vegetable of sorts. Now Blu began to panic as he saw the barrage of food being thrown at him by various ponies. Each one was calling him "monster", "freak", "foalnapper", and more. All he could do was puts his hooves in front of him in an attempt to protect himself.

Applejack looked at her friends. Pinkie Pie couldn't bear to look and had to turn away. Coocoodrill drilled into the ground to muffle the sounds and isolate himself from the incident. Rarity looked straight at the amphibious stallion as he was being clobbered with all sorts of food, Applejack can tell she thought he deserved what was happening. Paramail got back up, but when he saw what was going on, he fainted once again. She could see Fluttershy softly weeping, feeling pity for the poor pony. She even saw Rainbow Dash joining with the pelting of food. Twilight just had no idea how to react to this situation, she just stared blindly.

But when Applejack thought about it, she didn't have any idea what to do either. On one hoof, he brought Trixie to Screameater, trapped her little sister, and tried to kidnap Scootaloo. But on the other hoof, he was taken by Auntie Razzi and Uncle Blubarry at such a young age, he probably had little idea what was right and wrong. It didn't help that he was also her second cousin. She just looked back at the poor amphibipony, who was now visibly tearing up.

"TRIXIE! HELP ME! HELP ME!" He cried out as he was pelted with an egg, an apple, and a muffin. He looked at his hoof, which began to get even greyer. He then began to let out a small whimper as he began to lie down. "Please. I beg of you. Help me."

Applejack couldn't stand watching any longer. She rushed in front of the Blubayou. She kept telling the crowd to stop tormenting him, but they all ignored her as they continued tossing the various food items. She even got herself hit a couple of times.

But then from behind Applejack, a bright light shone, causing all of the residents to stop. Applejack and the other elements saw that it was the radiant princess. Paramail once again got up, but when he saw the great alicorn's angry expression, he fainted for a third time.

"STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING THIS INSTANT!" Celestia demanded the entire group of ponies. All of the ponies, including Rainbow Dash, dropped what they were about to toss. The princess wasn't this furious since Twilight made everypony go crazy over a doll.

Everypony watched as Celestia walked over to the sobbing stallion. She nudged him softly, causing him to bolt up straight, his chains holding him down. He tried to slowly crawl away from her, but he just hit the back of the chariot.

"Please don't hurt me." Blubayou begged the princess covering his face from any sort of attack. Celestia's only reply was using her magic to release him from his chains.

"There, there. I'm not here to hurt you." She reassured him, wiping away a chunk of food scraps from his body with a hoof. Everypony could tell that she was grimacing at what happened to him. Blu had no idea what she was doing or why she was doing this. He was also puzzled as to why she levitated him onto her back.

Celestia then turned towards the crowd. "I am very disappointed in all of you. This is not how we act towards transgressors. He may have committed several crimes, but it does not give you the right to treat him like a beast, calling him a monster." She then looked at Applejack, who was covered in food from trying to defend him. "Out of all the ponies in Ponyville, only one bothered to help him. I thought I taught you better than that. But you resort to throwing apples, custards, and cabbages at somebody when they can't even defend themselves. So now I ask you one question. What makes you any better?"

All of the ponies just looked down in shame. Some were genuinely remorseful, but others still didn't like Blu. Celestia then looked towards her star pupil in a much less angry manner.

"Twilight Sparkle. I need you and Coocoodrill to come to Canterlot to ask this poor, poor pony some questions. I know that you two know the most about Phobos." Celestia told her in her more benign manner. She knew this amphibipony was the pony her brother Cosmus took.

Coocoodrill popped his head from out of his hole, hearing what the princess wanted with him. He then jumped right out of the hole and galloped next to Twilight, putting an arm around her. "We'd be more than happy to interrogate Blu." He then shook his friend a bit. "Right Twi?"

Twilight knew they still had to search for Spike. But when she thought about it, she remembered that a dragon was part of Screameater's ritual according to the book. She didn't want to admit it, but perhaps they already took Spike away from her. It was a tragic thought and she didn't dare tell the green unicorn next to her about the subject. All she did was nod an answer to Coocoo.

"Well then my little ponies. I'll see you in Canterlot." Celestia told the two unicorns as she flew away with Blubayou on his back.

Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill just got into the chariot, which was covered in all sorts of food. The guards then began to fly into the air. Coocoodrill grabbed a mostly complete cupcake from the chariot and took a bite. He offered a chunk of apple pie to Twilight, but she just looked away in disgust. Coocoo just shrugged and ate it himself.

Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie watched them leave. Rarity turned to the rest of the group.

"Now that that is over, I'm going to go home. I have orders to fill." Rarity told them in a relatively sour manner. Her sister was just at risk and in her opinion, the perpetrator wasn't punished enough. She then trotted away.

Rainbow Dash took to the air. "Well I'm going to take a nap." She then nonchalantly moved her left forehoof around. "My forehoof is tired from throwing stuff." She then quickly flew away before Applejack can say anything about it.

Applejack then looked at Fluttershy and poked Paramail, causing him to immediately get up.

"What did I miss?" Paramail asked the two mares as he rubbed his head, looking at his surroundings. He then felt a sudden jolt of pain in his right forehoof. Just as he said "Ouch", Fluttershy was right next to him, holding up the hurt forehoof, inspecting it. Applejack can see him blush and couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Oh dear! Oh dear!" Fluttershy softly interjected as she put down the teal stallion's hoof. "It's sprained!"

Paramail immediately took heed of what she just said. He remembered tackling a Mara into the ground and hitting it in the face. Guess he was too pepped up with adrenaline to notice that he injured his hoof in the process. He took a look at his injured hoof and sighed in disappointment. "Well this really stinks. I guess I'm going to have to see a doctor then. We see ya later."

But as he was about to fly away, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see Fluttershy with her usual cute smile. It made Paramail's heart feel so much lighter.

"Paramail…"Fluttershy paused for a bit, trying to muster up some courage. "I have bandages and medicine at my house. I can wrap that sprain up for you if you like." She then turned away. "You know…if you like."

His longtime crush just offered to help him in a time of need. He didn't even think about it. He just made a warm smile and nodded. "Sure thing…thanks a ton. I'll even help you with the animals again. Twice in a row, awesome deal."

Fluttershy looked at him in joy and hugged him, causing to get even redder. "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you! Nobody ever helps me at this hour! You're the best!"

Those last three words caused Paramail's eyes to go wide open. Even Fluttershy was surprised that she even said that, blushing a bit. After a bit, the two broke away.

"Well…let's go I guess." Fluttershy told him trying not to let out a girlish giggle. She then walked on ahead, intending to get to her home by foot. Paramail followed suit.

Applejack watched them leave with a small smile. At least somebody was enjoying their day. She then looked back at Canterlot in the distance, concerned for her cousin.

How are they going to treat ya Blu? Ya didn't any of this. She then slowly walked home. Due to the huge distraction today, there was still work to do at home. And she was determined to finish it.

Meanwhile on Phobos, Scootaloo was in the dungeon, confined to a mere bird cage. She was sobbing, scared of what this "Screameater" will do to her when he wakes up from his nap.

"Help me Rainbow Dash. Please get here." She begged her distant idol, denying the fact that no help can possibly come.

Work and Play

Chapter 14: Work and Play

Scootaloo attempted to break free from her confined bird cage. She's been trying for an hour and she was out of tears. She tried to shake the bars, trying to bend them enough to escape. But she immediately stopped as she heard footsteps coming from the stairs. As she took a closer look, she saw a pitch black alicorn stallion the size of Big Macintosh. He had no mane whatsoever, pure orange eyes, a pure black tail and large bat wings. He had a red moon for a cutie mark. She also saw him grow six inky tentacles from his back. She saw him walk over to her cage with a cruel smile as he used a tendril to grab the keys to her cage.

"Perfect start for today. Wake up and find a ritual in a cage." The dark alicorn said to himself as he casually walked over to the trapped pony. He then looked straight at Scootaloo with his piercing eyes. "But small stubborn Scootaloo was such a hassle to take wasn't she?" He started making baby noises to her as he opened the cage and grabbed her with a tentacle. "That marvelous mare maiden mage has gotten herself exhausted in the tussle and my great golem needs repair." He then brought the shaking filly closer to him, whispering to her. "But you did one fantastic favor for me child."

"Wha-what's that? And how do you know my name." Scootaloo hesitated to ask, expecting the worst. The dark prince just used a forehoof to point at his horn, which began to glow. She was then patted on the head with a tendril as the vile prince moved his head away from her.

"Well you got my sniveling servant out of the picture!" Screameater told her in a celebratory manner as her tossed her into the air. As she was screaming in midair, he grabbed her by a hind hoof with another tendril. "Now that blasted Blubayou isn't my problem anymore!" He then threw her up into the air again, catching her once again. "I mean seriously, I would've been worried if he was captured three days or so ago." He the flung the filly into the air another time, catching the panicked filly again by the forehooves. "But now look at me." He noticed the orange filly was not looking at her, so he just used a tendril to direct her head to look at him. "I went from a disgraceful dark prince to this suitable sized stallion." He then brought her closer to his face. "But now with your help…"He had his sadistic smile back. "…I'll get even bigger, and thus closer to becoming The Primal Fear." He let out a low, sadistic laugh.

"What are ya gonna do?" Scootaloo questioned him, flailing around, trying to get her forehooves free from his grip. "Eat me or something?"

Screameater thought for a moment. He then used his magic to give himself razor sharp teeth. "That can be arranged Scoots!" He then licked his lips in appetizing delight. But as he was going to take a bite, he felt two little hooves kick him square in the face, chipping a bunch of his new teeth. Screameater hollered in pain, but refused to let go. He just undid his spell and glare at the filly, who was sticking his tongue out at him.

"You know, you're not that tough." Scootaloo taunted him with a small laugh. "I bet Rainbow Dash can beat your flank."

Screameater just growled at her enraged by her insult. An idea then popped into his twisted mind, making him make a mock sad face. "You really mean that?" He let out a crocodile tear. "I'm hurt."

Scootaloo just nodded with a cocky face. She wasn't about to let him enjoy absorbing her.

The dark prince just put his hoof on his face, making a false sniffling sound. "Fine! I don't need you anyways!" He then began to walk out of the dungeon with the little filly still in his tendrils.

Scootaloo saw him take her past the main floor, up the second flight of stairs, past a large, obsidian door and finally, to a cliff over boiling hot lava with a throne at the middle. She was curious as to why he brought her here at first, but when she saw Screameater walking to the very edge of the cliff, she began to tremble. He then stopped at the very end, hanging the pegasus filly by on hind leg above the lava.

The alicorn laughed in sadistic delight as he heard the little filly's screaming in terror as he dangled her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Screameater just let out a playful shrug. "Meh. If the feisty filly doesn't want to be absorbed, this is the other option for you. Besides, I can always get my oh so menacing minions to get another cutie markless pegasus filly anyways." He let out a playful pout as she saw her horrified expression. "What? Is Plan B not good enough for poor sad Scoots?"

Scootaloo mustered all the courage she can get to speak up. "You…You wouldn't dare do it."

The dark prince just tsked tsked her, still mocking her. "Oopsie daisies! Wrong answer!" He then tossed her off the cliff. "HOPE YOU CAN FLY!"

Scootaloo flailed in the air in a panic. She let out one loud "HELP ME!" before bracing herself for the lava. But she felt a pair of hooves grab her at the last second. She opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash herself carrying her in her forehooves. The cyan pegasus dashed up into the sky, where Scootaloo saw all this purple fog surrounding the entire island. Once in a while, she saw a black manticore, a giant monstrous mantis, and other things too hard to describe. She then looked up at her hero, who suddenly stopped in midair, as if she hit a wall.

"What's the matter Dash?" Scootaloo asked her confused. They should have left as quickly as possible, why did she stop?

Rainbow Dash began to speak without looking at her. "You got some spunk squirt. Kicking Screamy in the face like that. Not many ponies can say they did that. To be honest, couldn't do better myself." She then turned her head to the filly. "Who knows? With your level of cool…"

She then revealed her orange eyes, fork tongue, and sharp fangs as she began to hiss. "Maybe you can be just like me!" Scootaloo shrieked as she realized who it actually was. "Rainbow Dash" then opened her jaws like a snake, swallowing the terrified filly whole to be absorbed.

Screameater transformed back into his normal self, except now, he was a good bit bigger. As he descended back into the Volcano of Hysteria, he admired his new look.

"Hmmm? As big as my little sister now." He then felt some rumbling in his stomach. Before he knew it, he let out a gigantic belch, which echoed around the whole island. He then patted his stomach with a forehoof. "Well…off to fix Anvillain. Time for somebody else to become bigger, badder, and better."

Both Paramail and Fluttershy were working hard to feed the nocturnal animals. Fluttershy was feeding the fruit bats melon while Paramail was feeding the ocelot cubs some meat. The teal stallion had some bandages on his forehoof, taking care not to make his sprain worse. When he finished petting the little cubs, he turned towards the yellow mare, who was only fifteen feet away.

"That's all of them right?" Paramail asked in a quiet whisper. Many of the animals were already asleep, and many of them hated to be disturbed. The two ponies were working for almost three hours, and it was night time. I was almost full moon.

Fluttershy finished with the bats and slowly nodded. "That's each and every one of them." She then made a cute smile. "Thanks to you, I was able to work on schedule." She then looked away from him, remembering today's events. She brought her head down as tears began to form. "It's been a tough day."

Paramail walked over to her, not wanting to see her cry. He recapped all that happened today in his mind. After an attack like that, he was lucky to get out with just a sprained hoof. He then saw that fishpony get chained to a chariot. He fainted three times, but remembered the residents throwing things at him. He then stopped thinking to himself and began to softly speak. "I know how you feel." He then put his left forehoof under her chin, encouraging her to look up at his face.

"It…" Fluttershy tried to gently speak before choking on her own word. "It's not fair what Screameater did to him." She made a weak little sniffle. "He ruined his life. Made him a means to an end." She then wrapped her hooves around the stallion in front of her. "I saw what all the ponies did to him. It was horrible." She then began to softly weep into Paramail's shoulder.

Paramail began to remember what Twilight said as he wrapped his right hoof around the sobbing mare, trying to comfort her. He remembered something about this Screameater taking the Element of Tolerance away from his own family. If only he knew who that family was. As he dwelled into this matter, he felt tears begin to form in his own eyes. He then stared straight into Fluttershy's teary eyes.

"I feel the same way." He gently wiped the tears off of her face as he forced himself to smile. "But knowing Twilight, she'll get this all under control. So let's hope for the best. We are the elements after all."

Fluttershy began to absorb what he just told her. She knew both Twilight and Celestia were trying to help Blubayou. Couldn't get much better than that could it? She looked directly into the stallion's eyes as she began to feel warm inside. She just felt so safe around him as the two stared into one another's eyes for the longest minute she ever felt in her life.

But when she felt herself about to blush, she slowly let go of him, awkwardly chuckling. Paramail got out of the mesmerizing trance and rubbed the back of his head with a goofy yet cute smile. Fluttershy decided to speak up first. "W-well, anyways…thanks for all of your help." She then began to trot towards her cottage with a wide grin. "By the way, your hoof will be just fine by tomorrow. Just don't hurt it or anything." She then opened her door and was about to enter.

"You're welcome. Maybe if I finish work early I can come around again. I'm pretty sure the anaconda's starting to like me now. That's a good thing right?" Fluttershy turned to see the comforting smile of Paramail, who didn't move an inch where he was. She just turned back with her eyelids half closed, letting out a relaxed sigh as she entered the house.

As Paramail watched her close the door for the night, he finally let out a long breath of air. Who knew trying to keep your composure was that strenuous? But he was happy all the same. He then began to leave towards his house.

"Well this certainly was an interesting day." He said to himself as he began to fly home. He helped his biggest crush, got into a huge brawl with Mara, sprained a hoof, got medical help from his crush, helped her again, and then made her feel better when she was down. He made a small smile as he realized that that was more adventure in one day than his whole life. He then began to think if this adventure was over. Deep down, he knew it wasn't.

Twilight Sparkle was sitting on a bench in front of the Canterlot donut shop. Her forelegs were crossed and she was tapping her hind hoof on the ground in impatience. When she heard then door open from behind her, her mouth went agape when she saw Coocoodrill balance a tower of donut boxes in his forehooves, wobbling around on his two hind legs. She then put herself together and gave the green unicorn a stern look.

"Coocoo? Are a dozen boxes of half dozen donuts really necessary?" She asked her friend as she used her magic to catch a falling box. "We have a pony to interrogate."

The stallion just peeked behind the pillar of boxes with a wide smile. "Of course it is! Who ever heard of an interrogation without donuts? These delicious babies are virtually a requirement!" He then began to slowly and carefully walk towards his buddy, the pile of boxes getting more and more unstable. The boxes finally tipped over, but Twilight Sparkle levitated the whole dozen of them without a sweat. Coocoo just made a sheepish smile and a weak chuckle as he grabbed a chocolate donut from one of the floating boxes, swallowing it whole. The purple pony just shook her head.

"Down." Twilight told him as she pointed to the ground. Coocoo whimpered like a puppy and got back on all fours. Twilight then place the boxes on his back in two even piles. She then petted his head. "Good boy." Twilight then magically lifted a nice jelly donut to the stallion's mouth. Coocoo just smiled, wagged his tail and quickly ate the treat.

"So anyways Twi…" Coocoodrill spoke up with his mouth still full. "Who wants to be the good guard and who wants to be the bad guard?" He then swallowed. "You can choose. I won't complain."

Twilight just rolled her eyes and the silly question. Somebody's been reading too many comics. But she gave in. "Good guard I guess."

"Aw man! I was gonna pick that-" Coocoodrill then caught himself. "I mean…sure, whatever you say. To Canterlot Castle!"

He then proceeded to trot ahead. Twilight just rolled her eyes and lifted him with her magic as she walked the opposite direction. "The castle's this way."

Blubayou was in a small room with only one light on the ceiling. He was sitting a table in the center of the room and a he saw that there was a glass that he couldn't see through to his right. He was wearing hoofcuffs for safety measures.

It's been several hours since he was taken here. He was allowed to eat, wash up his food covered body, and sleep for a few hours. He was still unsure as to why he was getting greyer though. He was just taken here forty five minutes ago and he was getting bored. He saw a moth attracted to the light and the amphibipony took a wary look around. He then shot out his sticky tongue and caught the moth. He then ate the bug and finished with a satisfying croak.

He then almost jumped up when the door suddenly opened. He then recognized the pony that was entering was that purple unicorn mare he encountered when trying to capture that filly. She walked up the table with a notepad in her mouth and sat down at the opposite end of him. He then saw a box full of strange chunks of dough of varying colors with holes in them get tossed into the room. The unicorn caught them with her magic, placing them onto the table, giving the glass window a stern look.

"THESE ALWAYS COME IN HANDY TWI!" A stallion's voice from behind the glass called out to the unicorn mare. She just facehoofed as Blu just looked around confused.

"So ya name's Twi huh? Whad ya want?" Blu spoke up in an indifferent manner, but looking away. He wasn't too keen on talking to somebody who foiled his master's plan.

Twilight tried to ignore his rudeness. "Actually my full name is Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic and Princess Celestia's student." She then offered her hoof to shake. Blu just showed her his hoofcuffs in a deadpan manner.

"Well now that you introduced yourself, it'd be only fair that I'd introduce myself." He took a deep breath. "As you know, name's Blubayou. But you can call be Blu if you want. Don't halfta, just can." Blu quickly shook his head to get to the point. "But anyways, as you also know, I'm the student slash helper slash adopted son of the GREAT SCREAMEATER!" He emphasized his master's name in a zealous manner, causing Twilight to feel uneasy around him. After a small pause, Blu just lashed out his tongue to grab a strawberry frosted donut, placing it in his cuffed hooves.

"TOLD YOU THEY'D WORK!"

Twilight just rolled her eyes at the interruption from behind the window. She watched Blu examine the delectable pastry, sniff it, take a tiny nibble from it, make a wide grin, then finally begin to eat it. After finishing, he looked back up to her.

"These things are delicious Twilight Sparkle. But what are they?" He spoke gently and without any hint of hostility.

Twilight began to speak up. "Well Blu they're-"

"DONUTS!"

"COOCOODRILL!" Twilight called back to the window annoyed.

Blubayou just thought to himself. A donut? Such a fine food. Why hasn't Screamy ask for one? He'd love these. But then he realized what was supposed to be going on. "So aren't ya going to question me some more?"

Twilight stopped glaring at the window and looked back flustered. "Oh yeah! I was supposed to do that! So how did you ever meet this "Screameater"? She used her magic to lift a quill, ready to write in her notepad.

Blubayou let out a small, sad sigh. "Well, when I was a mere foal, maybe only days old, my parents abandoned me on Phobos."

Twilight knew something about his story was fishy just by the first sentence she wrote down. "So why did they leave you?"

"I don't really know why, but judging what those ponies out there did and said to me, I can take a good guess." He then looked at his body, showing a slight amount of shame.

Twilight was once again quite skeptical. How could he believe two normal ponies can have him? He then questioned him once again. "Why did Screameater take you in?"

Blubayou was quick to answer this one. "He needed me. He was trapped on an island with nobody but himself and a few artifacts."

Twilight scribbled some more notes. "So how did he get trapped in the first place?"

Blubayou thought for a bit on this one. "Well from what I remember him telling me, he was banished by his two sisters there on accounts of being…as I quote "A hero to the oppressed". He's been working on an escape ever since, hoping to restore Equestria to its former glory."

Twilight Sparkle looked into his eye in curiosity. "Do you…believe that his own family would imprison him for helping the helpless?"

Blubayou thought for a moment. "Depends on their goals."

Twilight spoke up once again. "Then explain Princess Celestia rescuing you from those ponies."

The stallion just stared at the table, pondering what happened back in town. He rememebered how gentle she was to him. She could've easily rallied up the ponies to throw twice as hard. But no, she gave him mercy. All Blu could mutter was a shaky "I can't".

Twilight took a deep breath, mustering the courage to ask a more risky question. "Have you ever considered that…Screameater…might be lying to you?"

Blubayou spine shivered, his eyes went wide, and he started to breathe quicker. He slowly shook his head. Twilight could tell that he wasn't completely sure of himself.

Twilight let out a quiet sigh of sympathy. She then turned to the window. "Coocoodrill, can you please get in here now with the document." There was no answer. She called out again with less patience. "Coocoodrill. Are you listening." Still no answer. Twilight groaned in annoyance as she signaled Blu to wait a moment as she checked on him. She opened the door and yelled out "COOCOODRILL!".

The green unicorn was fast asleep on the floor under a pile of mostly empty donut boxes. He was snoring and rolling around in the litter. Twilight just facehooved and poked the stallion on his shoulder, causing him to jolt up.

"I LOVE YOU MARE DO WELL!" Coocoodrill then noticed his surroundings. He then saw Twilight's stern look. He let out a weak chuckle.

"To be fair it's like ten o'clock." Coocoodrill tried to justify his laziness as he grabbed the folder from under a half eaten cinnamon donut. His real excuse that he was just bored would just make the situation worse. He then followed Twilight into the room with a groan. They make these so much cooler in "The Marvelous Mare Do Well" comics.

The two unicorns took a seat and they both noticed that Blubayou was still lost in thought, frowning. The two interrogators looked at one another.

Coocoodrill was the first to speak up. "I thought you were supposed to be the good-" He was cut off by Twilight's shushing him. She then lifted the folder Coocoo was holding and passed it to Blu, signaling him to open it.

Blubayou hesitantly opened the folder and sorted out the papers with his tongue, not knowing what to expect. As he dragged the first paper towards him with his cuffed hooves to start reading, he was shocked, his eyes going wide. A few seconds later, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. He then fully opened his eyes once again, making a soft gasp of horror, his hooves trembling. As he delved more into the documents, he began to grit his teeth. Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill patiently looked on as the amphibipony pushed the notes away from him. Twilight wrote more stuff down on her notepad.

"This is too much." Blu muttered with a grimace, not even looking at the two ponies. Both unicorns looked confused.

"You don't believe us?" Twilight asked awestruck. The proof was right there, how can he deny it?

Blubayou stared up at the two. "Do you just expect me to buy that I was taken from a loving family?"

Coocoodrill quickly nodded.

Blu snorted. "Two things are wrong with that. First of all, how would somepony have a child like me? I have yet to see that during all of my visits beyond the island. Second of all, where are my "parents" right now?"

Twilight tried to answer. "They live in Berrybash Bottom if you read."

Blu scowled at her. "Yeah I've read it. But what I meant is…" He began to feel his anger increase. "Are dey alive? Why didn't they search for me? Why would this "fallen prince" botha to take me away if he already owned this "Element of Tolerance", nevertheless feed me, teach me, and all around help me?"

Twilight tried to answer once again. "But he stole those elements. The elements are within us. Getting the stones help, but true harmony is within you, me, him…"

"Me?"

"Yes Coocoo, you. But as I was saying, he took you as a means to an end, a key to the outside world, a way to keep the Elements from ever foiling him again. With you on his side, he can become what he wanted to become for thousands of year…The Primal Fear."

Blubayou spoke up yet again, beginning to stress out even more. "But why me? Of all these "Elements" he coulda taken, why did he go for me?"

Both unicorns wondered that same question. Both of them did nothing but shrugged. Both of them can only answer "By chance."

Blubayou just uttered one more question in a mellower manner. "If what I did was wrong, why are you being so nice to me?" He remembered his punishments from Screameater being far worse than just answering question although this particular discussion came very close to him.

Twilight placed a sympathetic hoof on his. "Because me, Coocoo, Celestia, everyone wants to help you." She let out a sigh. "I know it's hard to comprehend all of this new, life changing news, but just try. And I have heard that you're parents are alive and well from the princess yourself. They miss you. They are a wreck without you. The sooner this is all over, the more bearable this will all become." Coocoodrill nodded in agreement.

Blubayou just put his restrained hooves to his face as he slowly began to weep. As Twilight and Coocoo saw him slowly turn completely grey, he began to mutter a few words. "I don't know who to believe anymore." He then looked up towards the two. "I can't handle this anymore. I'm too tired and my noggin ain't working straight." He looked at the ceiling with blank eyes. "I'm sorry for hurting either of you and I'm sorry for threatening the rest of your friends." He then looked back at them with a glare. "But until you guys find a way to get myself to remember, I can't get myself to believe ya."

Both unicorns took a glance at one another, and then at the broken stallion. They then realized that there was no point in trying to speak to him anymore. So they both decided to call it a day and headed for the door. Before Coocoo head for the door, he pushed the box of donuts on the table towards the melancholic fishpony, who didn't even respond.

When he saw that the two left, Blubayou let out a sigh and grabbed a plain donut a brought it in front of himself. He then noticed how generic the donut was compared to the rest of the pastries in the box. He let a single tear drop from his eye as he began to speak up as he admired the donut. "Why can't I be more like you? Normal."

Meanwhile, "Blueblood" was lying around, playing with a paddleball by his indoor pool. He was wearing a button up shirt that was yellow with green and red flowers on it and a red pair of swimtrunks. As he was admiring his skills with the toy, a servant stallion came in.

"Sir!" He called out. "I have dire news!"

"Alright bro!" The prince turned towards to butler with a docile deameanor. "Shoot."

"Try to comprehend this master."

"Don't have to call be master dude! But go on!"

"This frogpony thing has been sent to prison by your aunt this evening!"

"Blueblood" began to recall a certain pony just like that. He slowly spoke up. "Why was he taken in?"

The servant began to feel really uneasy. "According to the guards and your aunts, it's you father. He's trying to come back."

The prince imposter comtemplated the matter of what to do. But then he realized something. Hey I'm a prince now! I can make a "My dad ain't never coming back party". It'll be non-formal, it'll be rad, and it'll make a nice trap.

The Mara then focused on his servant again with a wide smile. "No worries bro! My dad's never gonna get here! So don't you worry!" He then put a hoof around the butler. "But I've been thinking of a party. Can you call a caterer for a party tomorrow night?

The butler was stunned. "At this late at night?"

"I'll give you a raise."

"Done." The butler then trotted off to find a catering company. The prince then went back to his paddleball, contemplating his plan with Screameater with his master's telepathy. He knew the fallen prince would like it.

Finding Family

Chapter 15: Finding family

The sun was rising up and the Mara disguised as the baby dragon slowly walked out of dense forest. "Spike" saw its master's older sister in down, speaking to the crowd, apparently upset. As the imposter looked from behind a building, it saw the aura it was looking for surrounding the princess; a nice light blue hue. But the Mara was smart enough not to be seen since it had no idea if she could see through the disguise or not.

He was just walking around a forest for the rest of yesterday, eventually making a small camp to sleep; it didn't like how this body needed so much of it. But during these hours, the Mara began to notice that animals wouldn't at all go near it. Whenever it got too close to a bunny, bat, or even a snake, it cowered and moved away. But it didn't matter to the Mara now or ever. Currently he was looking at this quaint cottage in the middle of the patch of forest.

As he looked around, it noticed a path that led to town, which in hindsight, it could've just used. "Spike" groaned at this waste of time as it watched a beaver come out of its den to work on its dam some more. As the wolf in sheep's clothing walked towards the cottage, he saw many animals waking up, looking at its false form, and then shaking in fear. The Mara ignored these things and continued to the front door. It was still looking for a pure of heart for the ritual, and it wasn't about to give up searching. It knocked on the door and idly waited for response.

Fluttershy was just waking up in her bed as she heard the knocking at the front door. As she fully opened her blue eyes, she saw that she was fifteen minutes late to feed the animals. All that late work last night made her a little behind schedule. Luckily Paramail was there to help her last night or she would be even more behind.

Fluttershy blushed at the thought of Paramail and her heart started to beat faster. She never felt anything like this before but she knew what it was though. It was her first crush. She never really paid much attention to colts as a filly. In fact, she ducked out of all of her school dances, even the prom. But now, she just felt so comfortable around the Element of Caring. It wasn't just how helpful he was, it was how kind he was to her, being there when she was down, and his little quirks were enjoyable. He might be a good bit more talkative than her, even more cowardly than her and have a relatively boring job, but in that way, he completed her. And besides, his lack of a mane made him stand out.

She then snapped back to reality as she heard the door knock once again.

"C-coming!" Fluttershy softly called as she rushed to get ready. As she made her bed and brushed her mane, she wondered who the early morning guest was.

Didn't Paramail say something about coming around today? But not this early, he has work to do. Then who could it be?

Fluttershy shrugged and went down the stairs to answer the door.

The Mara was beginning to get impatient. It groaned and was about to turn and leave, but then it saw the door open. The first thing it saw was the light blue aura around the pegasus mare. He made a small smile.

Finally, I've found one pure of…

Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around him in a warm embrace. "Spike" considered trying to struggle free, but it thought it would be blowing his cover. This pony obviously knew who the baby dragon was and it would be wise to play along. So he hugged back.

She yellow mare broke the hug, but still carried the dragon in her forehooves, looking directly at him in concern. "Where have you been Spike? We were looking for you."

The Mara came up with an answer. "I had a lot on my mind. Couldn't think straight. Just wandered on my own all day yesterday." It then gave a quizzical look. "Did something happen yesterday?" It knew the answer.

Fluttershy let out a sigh. "A lot did happen yesterday. I'd tell you everything but I know I'd leave out details. Twilight and Coocoo know a lot more about this than me." She then remembered how worried the two unicorns were when he was missing. "Those two were worried sick about you. They wanted you back and they are sorry for whatever they did to make you run away. Please try to understand."

"Spike" thought for a moment. Was this baby dragon supposed to be forgiving? It took a wild guess and began to speak up.

"I guess I'm willing to forgive them." It then made a stern look while pointing at her. "But I got to hear it from them!"

The pony slowly nodded and began to flap her wings, getting five feet off the ground. She then signaled for Angel to get the animal food to feed them. He groaned but listened.

She flew over all of the trees with the baby dragon of her back. They were beginning to get close to the Apple's farm.

"So where are you taking me?" "Spike" asked as he looked down. It wasn't afraid though, it was the cause of many an acrophobic's nightmare.

"I'm taking you to find Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy warmly told the imposter. "She usually naps in a tree at Sweet Apple Acres. We just have to find her and get her to fly you there."

"Why can't you just do it?" The Mara then thought of another good point in its head. Why doesn't Rainbow just sleep at home?

Fluttershy let out a light chuckle. "I'm much too busy to bring you there myself. Besides, it Rainbow's day off. All we have to do is find her.

"But what about that bald stallion pegasus guy?"

Fluttershy began to blush to her embarrassment as she spoke slowly. "You mean Paramail?"

"Yeah him." "Spike" gave her a weird look, not sure why she's blushing. "Why so flustered when I mention him?"

Fluttershy looked around, making sure nopony was around. She then whispered to "him", which was as quiet as a mouse trying to steal cheese. "You have a crush of Rarity right?"

The Mara was confused. "I do?" It then remembered to stay in character as the pegasus looked at the dragon funny. "I mean…I don't just have a crush on her. I absolutely adore her! She's more beautiful than both the princesses combined and she is smart, funny, and considerate. If I wasn't for Twilight, I'd have already made a shrine dedicated to her in my closet. And I will kiss it every night before I go to…" It then noticed Fluttershy's creeped out reaction and stopped rambling. "But anyways, what's the problem?"

Fluttershy let out a soft sigh of uncertainty. "Ever since yesterday, my heart's been feeling so light around him. He may make a bad pun once in a while, but he's nice, well meaning, and a hard worker." Her eyelids began to droop as she looked into space. "I've just never felt this way towards anypony before. But he is…" She stifled a giggle. "A little cute. Just a bit whacky. But who isn't every once in a while?"

The Mara thought about some dreams it turned into nightmares that were suitable for such an innocent mare. It then began to speak up as if it was a love master. "Alright listen. From what I've heard, you like this stallion."

Fluttershy nodded.

"But I'm going to guess that you're too afraid to admit it to him in an everyday manner."

Fluttershy hesitated, and then regretfully nodded. "That's true. But I just don't know what to do. Have any ideas?"

"Spike" thought for a bit, considering something nice and romantic, something it wasn't a professional at. He then heard his master's voice in his head. It said "There's a party at my "son's" mansion tonight. The Elements are invited. Encourage them to go." The Mara listened in and then brought its attention back to Fluttershy. "So let's say…hypothetically…there's a royal ball and both of you are invited."

Fluttershy looked nervous. "I don't know what I would do. So many ponies there."

"Well let's just say that you separated from the party and in the garden. He follows you there wondering what is wrong."

"Okay."

"And now let's imagine that just as you two meet up, a romantic song starts playing."

Fluttershy began to blush. "Okay."

"Now a true gentlecolt would offer a dance. You don't turn down the offer."

"But what if I do?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

"Then you messed up. But you don't want that do you?"

"No."

"You two dance together, looking into one another's eyes. After the dance, if he doesn't admit his feelings first, you do it. You two then make small talk, smooch, then congrats, you're together! Not too hard huh?"

Fluttershy slowly nodded in agreement, but still unsure about herself. "I guess so. But what if he doesn't offer a dance?"

"Spike" just facepalmed. Why am I giving romantic advice to a ritual?

Applejack was up and early at work. She was bucking apple trees, letting all the apples fall into the buckets below. As she bucked her hundredth one today, she saw a blue pegasus fall right out of the tree.

"OOF!" Applejacks saw Rainbow Dash fall flat on her face. The orange mare just rolled her eyes as the pegasus got up rubbing her head. She constantly told her friend not to sleep in her apple trees. Maybe she'll learn this time; But probably not.

Rainbow immediately got up, still a bit dizzy. "Watch it AJ. Didn't you see me up there?" She then shook her head to get back to her senses.

Applejack let out a sheepish laugh. "Sorry Dash, fraid I didn't!" She then got stern. "But consider it payback for hitting me with a tomato yesterday."

It was Rainbow's turn to make a sheepish laugh. "I'm sorry AJ, I was just aiming for that frog monster. Shouldn't have got in the way."

Applejack's expression just got sterner. "Ah know who you were aiming for. I was protecting him from you and them ponies."

Rainbow gave her friend her best "huh?" face and then spoke up in annoyed manner. "But why would you want to protect him? He put your own family in danger. He's a thrall for Screameater, the "master of nightmares" or whatever. He even attacked us! What do you see in that creep?"

Applejack kept her demeanor, but refused to yell. "Remember what Twi said two days ago at Sugarcube corner when we discovered that Coocoodrill and Paramail were Elements?"

Rainbow calmed down and thought for a bit, then shook her head. "Nah I sort of lost focus with her story babble at that time."

Applejack took a deep breath as she put her forehoof on the shoulder on the stumped mare. "Well a long time ago, Screameater reanimated a pegasus to capture a newborn Element of Harmony. The Element of Tolerance so to say." She then made a sad grimace as she looked down shaking her head. "The skeleton went to Berrybash Bottom and stole Blubayou from his own parents. When he was taken to Phobos, Screameater must've transformed him into what he is now."

Rainbow was still confused. "By what does he have to do with you?"

Applejack took her forehoof away as she continued to stare at the ground. "He's my second cousin." She then began to get angry as she looked into the sky. "And that Screameater twisted him inside and out." She then solemnly looked towards Rainbow Dash. "Ya understand right?"

Rainbow began to think about Blubayou's situation. His crimes were still inexcusable in her opinion, but she had a feeling he didn't know any better. "Well I guess when you…"

"GIRLS!" A gentle voice called from above the two. Both mares looked up to see Fluttershy carrying Spike in her forehooves. They moved a bit to let her land. Just as the yellow pony put the dragon down, both Applejack and Rainbow asked at the exact same time "Where were you?" in both concern and relief.

"Spike" just rubbed the back of its head and answered, feigning sadness. "I had a lot of stuff on my mind recently. I was really stressed the last couple of days, felt excluded and stuff. You know that whole shebang."

Rainbow Dash picked up Spike with her teeth and tossed him onto her back. She made a large grin. "Well buddy, we're gonna straighten out your problems right now! I'm taking you to Twilight and Coocoo!" She flew into the air and as she was ready to go, she heard Applejack call for her.

"Wait up Dash! I'm coming too! I'm going to see Blu and bring him to Uncle Bluebarry and Aunt Razzi!" Applejack then shifted her eyes around awkwardly. "But not to intrude or anything. But can you lift me to Canterlot?"

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes in irritation.

Applejack made a smug grin. "Element of Loyalty remember?"

The cyan mare just groaned and picked up her friend with her forehooves and hindhooves. She then looked towards Fluttershy. "You coming too?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No, no I'm afraid. I've got a lot of work to do at home." She then forced a smile. "But have fun guys."

"Spike" let out a slight grin. "I intend to."

Rainbow Dash then lifted herself back into the air. As she began to fly away, she vociferated her opinion on having to hold both Spike and Applejack. "This is making me look like a total pack mule." She then noticed a male mule on the ground looking at her. She called down to him. "No offense bud."

"None taken." As she left, the mule groaned angrily. "They always say that."

Coocoodrill was in a guest room in Canterlot fast asleep and snoring loudly. In one of his forehooves was a Mare Do Well comic. He was drooling profusely on the bed that he didn't even bother getting under the sheets. He was twitching a hind leg in his sleep. He didn't even wake when Twilight poked his side to get him to up.

He had a wide smile on his face as he snoozed. "Mare Do Well...w-will you…" He let out a loud snore. "…marry me?" Twilight just rolled her eyes and lifted him up with her magic. After some magical shaking, the green unicorn was up.

Coocoodrill waved at Twilight still in the air in an innocent and jovial mood. "Why heya Twilight! How you doing?"

Twilight just pointed at the clock in the room, which read 9:54 AM. She then began to speak in a worried manner. "We're supposed to be at the palace by Ten o'clock sharp!" She shook Coocoo a bit in the air then put him down.

As Coocoodrill regained his balance, he just spoke up in a carefree but energetic manner. "Don't worry Twi!" He gave her a friendly shove. "Blu's not going anywhere!"

Twilight considered what he said for a bit. He had an inkling of a point. It also wasn't like Celestia would get angry at them for being late or anything. In fact, she hadn't even eaten breakfast yet, and her stomach was grumbling. If she was this hungry, she couldn't even imagine how the stallion in front of her felt. She put on a smile and gave in, returning the friendly shove. "Alright we'll eat first." She then to a whiff and began to cringe, knowing the source of the stink. "But first…you need a bath." She then pointed to the bathroom.

The dirty stallion began to whine like a little colt. "But Twi…I had a bath two weeks ago."

The mare gave him a stern but calm look. "No buts Coocoo! In!" Twilight then used her magic to turn the faucet of the bathtub. She then levitated a rubber ducky in front of her childish friend, who immediately tried to grab it in his teeth. Twilight then slowly lifted the ducky into the bathroom.

"Duuuuucky, ducky, ducky, ducky!" He called out in a little foal voice as he pursued the object of his desire. When he finally grabbed the ducky in his teeth, he realized he was already in the tub to his surprise. The door then shut behind him.

"Don't forget to use the soap!" Twilight called from behind the door in a playful manner. Coocoodrill let out a slight grumble and used a hoof to grab the soap as he made the ducky squeak and squeak.

In Canterlot Castle, Celestia was still waiting for both her pupil and her wacky friend as she sat on her throne. She recently got a message about Blueblood having a non formal party of sorts. She looked at the picture that came with the letter. It was blueblood wearing a black leather jacket, sunglasses and a red cap that was worn sideways. He was on his hind legs, with his forehooves crossed together.

Celestia just shook her head in strange and puzzled wonder. My nephew sure is acting differently nowadays. Perhaps it's all that mediocre publicity finally got into his head and he's absolutely desperate to change his look. Better ask about it tonight.

As she was shaking her head in bewilderment, the giant doors opened to reveal Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Spike. Applejack and Spike were stumbling as they walked. Rainbow just looked at them with a cocky smile. "C'mon you two! I didn't go that fast!" The two just looked at the cyan mare as if it was some kind of cruel joke. They then took their attention to Celestia, with all three of them bowing down to her.

Celestia gave and warm smile and signaled a hoof for them to get up. She then began to speak in her usual benevolent manner. "Greetings my little ponies…" She noticed Spike's almost insulted expression. "…and dragon! What is your reasons for such a visit?"

Applejack stepped up towards the alicorn. "I'm here to see Blubayou."

Celestia put her hoof under her chin in bemusement. She then remembered that she saw Applejack trying to stop the ponies from throwing things at Blubayou. She had a feeling she was connected to him somehow. "So Applejack, how are you connected to Blu?"

"He's my second cousin." Applejack told her quite serious. Everyone around her can tell that she was determined to meet him. "I intend to bring him to see his parents Auntie Razzie and Uncle Blubarry. Blu needs to know where he's from. Without him, Screameater is just going to continue assaulting us with these Mara things."

Celestia looked down to the ground and let out a long sigh. "I prefer the name Cosmus. But I understand what you mean. Without all nine of you, Equestria can be doomed. But I read the interrogation papers and he is unsure about what he believes in now. Perhaps he leaning towards us, but perhaps he's still on my brother's side. And believe me on one matter; Blu is much smarter than he appears to be. He's been taught many things about artifacts, history, and even how to discern some unicorn spells from others. He has potential to be a very smart stallion, but he knows little of our current world. He probably knows nothing about tuxedos, Wonderbolts, monkeys, and board games."

Rainbow Dash piped up in shock. "Not knowing the Wonderbolts?" She saw everyone, even the guards staring and her awkwardly. She then spoke more calmly. "But anyways, how do we get this fishpond…" She saw the Element of Honesty glare daggers at her. "…I mean Blubayou to remember this stuff. It's not like we can just tell him that AJ's family. Who'd buy that?"

"Spike" silently nodded in agreement with the pegasus as it looked around the great throne room. Screameater has some redecorating to do when he's done.

Celestia understood the Element of Loyalty's question very well. They had to make him believe them one hundred percent. So she started to use her magic, he horn glowing as radiantly as the brightest of lights. The three guests had to cover their eyes. Once they opened their eyes again, they saw an emerald stone floating in the air. It was perfectly smoothed into an oval shape. The two elements and the dragon had no idea what it was, and Celestia knew it.

"This my little ponies…and dragon is a memory stone. If you bring the subject and stone to an area where the subject once was, even as a newborn foal, they would be able to see their past personally. Think of the experience as almost a dream except they're not asleep." The princess levitated the memory stone towards Applejack, who grabbed it with her teeth.

"Thanks princess!" Applejack gratefully said to the princess once again bowing down. As she got back up, she realized she had forgotten about something. "Oh yeah! Do you know where Twilight and…"

Both doors opened once again to reveal the Elements of Magic and Respect. They noticed that Coocoodrill looked a lot cleaner, except for his messy hair which was probably deliberate on his part. They also noticed that Coocoodrill was absorbing some information Twilight must have told him. After a few seconds, he just "pffffted" and let laughed like a hyena.

"YOU REALLY THINK I'LL BELIEVE THAT YOU WERE REALLY MARE DO WELL?" Coocoodrill then began to mimic Applejack's voice. "And that's why ya ain't the Element of Honesty missy!" Twilight just passively shrugged as she noticed Applejack, Rainbow, and most of all Spike in the company of the princess. Coocoo saw him too.

"Spike!" The two unicorns called out in unison as they galloped toward the dragon, bringing it in for a hug. "Spike" had no idea what was going on, but it could tell that their hearts were filled with joy. As it looked at both ponies, he noticed that the purple mare had the same aura as Fluttershy.

Perfect…a menu of rituals.

"I am so sorry for no appreciating you enough! We thought you were taken!" Twilight apologized to the purple dragon as she held him closer. The imposter can tell that she was visibly tearing up.

"AND I'M SO SORRY FOR TREATING YOU LIKE A BABY!" Coocoodrill told Spike as he sobbed loudly. Everyone can visibly see the tears dropping out of his eyes like rain.

"Spike" had no idea how to feel. These two genuinely thought he was the real Spike. So it just did what he thought Spike would do, and hug back. They stayed this way for quite a while.

Rainbow Dash finally spoke up almost teary eyed of the reunion. "Awww! No I getting teary!" She then turned to Celestia. "So where's Blu being kept?" She wanted to leave the mush fest as soon as possible.

Celestia answered still looking at the joyous reunion. "He's in the dungeon." Applejack gasped in horror. "But he's being kept in the best conditions. Did you really think I'd let anypony in Equestria, criminal or not in the bleakest of conditions?"

Applejack breathed a sigh of relief and placed the memory stone under her hat. "HOOO-WEEE! BLUBAYOU HERE WE COME!" She bowed down to the princess in thanks and galloped off. Rainbow Dash saluted her and zoomed out of the throne room.

Celestia then turned to the two unicorns and the dragon with a warm smile on her face. "I am so glad you three are so happy be with one another. You're almost like a family."

Twilight, Spike and Coocoo stopped hugging and stared awkwardly at one another and then at Celestia. Twilight Sparkle was the one to speak up. "Actually...we're all just friends here."

"Really good friends." Coocoodrill added with joy in his heart as he placed a hoof on "Spike's" head. He then let the dragon get on his back.

"Perfect either way." Celestia told them. "But I have a new job for you two." The alicorn used her magic to summon a list and passed it to her pupil. "Twilight Sparkle, I want you to research this list of artifacts."

"As good a done." Twilight assured her teacher.

Celestia then summoned a pitch black tome, which had no picture on the cover and looked very old and worn. Celestia expression got more serious. "Now Coocoodrill, listen closely." She put the tome in his forehooves as his listened intently. "This is the Book of the Malign, the exact same book Cosmus used to become that monster Screameater. It also has much more spells only the most depraved or foolish of unicorns would even dream of casting. So I warn you, be careful of this book. I only gave this to you to find if there is any way to save my brother from his lust for power."

Coocoo slowly nodded, shaking about what she just said. Celestia can also tell Twilight and Spike felt uneasy about it too. But she had a reason to give it to Coocoodrill. First of all, she knew his mind was relatively warped anyways, so he would not have any mental repercussions from reading it. Secondly, she knew whenever Coocoodrill tried to cast even the simplest of spells, it turned out to create the exact opposite effect anyways. So even if he became insane enough to attempt one of those evil spells, it would have a beneficial and benevolent effect that would purify rather than corrupt.

She then let out a small whistle to her guards, who immediately came by her side. "Guards, may you escort these two to the library?" They complied and went by the unicorns and dragon's sides.

As the group left, Celestia called to them once more. "I almost forgot, you three also got invitations to my nephew's non-formal party! You can go if you want!"

Twilight turned back for a second and then took a look at Coocoodrill and Spike, who looked like they were itching to party. She then replied to the sun princess. "We'll think about it. Thanks." Celestia then passed them their invitations. As the three looked at the cover, Twilight and Spike cringed at the picture of Blueblood. But Coocoodrill had a different opinion.

"MAN! THAT GUY LOOKS AWESOME!"

Feeling Blu and feeling good

Chapter 16: Feeling Blu and feeling good

Blubayou was broken. He had no idea what to believe anymore. As he wallowed in the large, wooden tub of water in his cell, the now grey amphibipony let his thoughts wander around what happened the last few days. He thought of how everyone avoided him back in Manehattan whenever he showed his face. He remembered Trixie being horrified during their first meeting. Worst of all, he brought the memory of all that food being tossed at him while he was helpless and in chains back into his mind. He clenched his teeth as he realized what all those ponies thought of him as. He was considered a monster. Blu began to feel thankful of all the warnings his master gave him of keeping his cloak on in public; now he wished he took more heed of that. But then he began to think of something. If was considered a monster, should he live up to those standards?

He quickly shook those thoughts away as he hopped out of the water, dried up with a towel and hopped into bed back first. He began to remember what was nice beyond his home on Phobos. Blubayou thought about that young filly he scared but convinced that he was harmless. He reminisced about the exciting show Trixie did at the theater. He reminded himself about the cute bunny he found in the grove of apple trees he named Hopz. How he hoped that Hopz was safe.

But then he thought about how much more minor those were compared to the bad of this world. He wondered about how his own parents could be so intolerable as to abandon him on an island. He was in such fine condition. He was in perfect health, he was understanding, he was loyal, and if anything, his form was a beneficial adaptation. He saw all those ponies without a horn or wings. He thought if anypony, they should be the one discriminated. Compared to unicorns, pegasi and…whatever he was, they bordered on unless. But yet, all of Equestria treated them fairly. He suddenly felt his anger boil up and rushed out of bed with a growl. He went up to the tub of water bucked it as hard as he could. He knew he was envious of those earth ponies. But then something hit him in the back of his mind.

As he watched the water from the overturned tub seep through the cracks on the floor, he began to realize that his conditions could have been much worse. He thought about this Princess Celestia fellow, who he thought was going to eat her, but she gave him mercy from his assailants. She even let him live in better conditions than he expected. He had a bed, a toilet, lighting and had some water to stay hydrated. The cell was surrounded by stone walls on three sides and the entrance/exit consisted of many bars placed vertically and closely together, with a few of them creating a door. He walked up to the bars to look around, noticing that there were no other prisoners. He let out a soft sigh and was about to turn away, but then he heard hoof steps from the stairs. He waited to see who they were patiently.

As he watched the stairway, he noticed two guard stallions, which was nothing special. But as he looked closer, he noticed that orange mare with the hat. Blu had no idea what to think of her. She was one of the many ponies who thwarted his mission, but on the other hoof, she was the one who tried to help when he was helpless. The incarcerated stallion had to admit, he was interested what she had to say, almost making a small grin. But then Blubayou noticed another mare and immediately grimaced.

It was that rainbow maned pegasus. She was the pony who knocked him unconscious. She berated him while helpless. He even remembered that she threw a lemon pie, a tomato, and a chocolate cupcake at him, and she was pretty accurate too. He didn't even want to look at her. Blu just slowly walked away from the bars and sat down on a puddle, facing away from the front. The stallion softly closed their eyes, ready to hear what they'd say to him.

"Blu? You okay?" Came a soft and concerned tone directed at him. Blubayou mustered the strength to look around and saw that it was the orange mare speaking to him. By how she looked, Blu could tell she was pretty desperate to start some sort of conversation.

Blubayou stared at both mares in complete apathy. "What's it to you…uhhhh…two?" Blu was trying to remember their names, if he heard them at all.

Applejack just let out a sigh. "I'm Applejack and this here is Rainbow Dash. We're here to talk to you about something important?"

Blubayou just groaned. "Is everypony still trying to force me to just land on what's right and what's wrong?"

Rainbow snapped a little bit at just how stubborn he was being at the moment. "Is it really that hard to figure out? Didn't Twi already tell you that you were taken from your parents and…" She was interrupted by Blubayou hopping up to her with a grunt, hitting the cage with his forehooves in the process, creating a loud clang. She quickly stepped back, slightly startled as he gave her an angry glare. She also had a feeling why he wasn't so keen on seeing her. Both guard stallions began to move, but Applejack stopped them.

"Look Blu." Applejack said compassionately. "I know all this has been hard for you. But Rainbow Dash is really sorry about what she did to you." But then she made a visible frown. "But…are you sorry for foalnapping?"

The imprisoned stallion slightly lowered his temper but looked at her confused. "For what?"

"Foalnapping."

"I heard what you said, but what is that?"

Rainbow just facehoofed. This frogpony's hopeless. But instead of saying what was on her mind, she decided to speak up as nicely as possible. "Foalnapping is taking another pony against his or her will. And did Scootaloo want to go with you or Trixie, or that metal pony thing?"

Blu helped her out. "Anvillain."

"Yeah Anvillain whatever. But are you sorry or not?"

Blubayou contemplated this for a while. He felt like he truly hurt these ponies and by the looks of it, they weren't the ones who started it. The amphibipony just looked down, a look of genuine remorse on his face. "I'm sorry for foalnapping this Scutagoo…"

"Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash chimed in.

"Scootaloo, Scootaloo." He then looked towards Applejack. "And…I'm sorry for attacking you." He then looked towards Rainbow once again. "I am willing to accept your apology. And sorry for my little…outburst." He then looked behind himself and made a loose grin. "Oh look! My breakfast's ready!"

He then used his tongue to grab an egg and cheese sandwich from the floor. To both mares' disgust, it was covered in ants and Blu knew it. They both made grossed out faces as Blu cherished the taste of his meal. He offered the sandwich in his hoof to Applejack, but she shook her head almost gagging. But she was glad to see his get a little less grey and becoming bluer.

But then she realized why she was here. She took a long, deep breath, ready for whatever reaction she may get. "So cuz, ah can see your really enjoying that meal there."

This made Blu pause and stare at her in confusion. "Cuz?"

Applejack replied. "Yes Blu I'm your cousin." She then made a smile and chuckled while shrugging. "Well second cousin anyways. But same thing to me."

Blu once again found himself not knowing what to say. "But…how?" He pointed to himself and then to her. "We look nothing alike."

Rainbow Dash answered him in a jokey manner. "Yeah I was shocked too buddy."

Blu quickly looked at the cyan pegasus in a perplexed manner, tilted his head down and softly repeated. "Buddy? What does that mean?"

Rainbow Dash looked around awkwardly. "Yeah it means friend." Rainbow Dash then felt relieved when she saw him begin to smile, and regaining some of his lost color once again, becoming a dull blue of sorts.

Applejack then began to speak up. "Great to see ya'll are getting along just fine. I expected this to be a doozy." She then turned to Blu. "Today Blu, me and Dash here are gonna take ya to your parents."

Blubayou nodded in agreement. He stepped away from the bars and let the guards open it. But before he could hug them, the guards put large weights on each of his legs. Before he can question this, one guard put a face mask on him. Blu assumed that that the guards didn't trust him just yet and didn't want him hopping around or lashing out with his long tongue. He understood why but frowned under the mask. Applejack walked over to him and gave him a small hug, not even caring that she got slime all over her coat. She then gave him a pat on the back.

"Don't worry cuz. You'll be seeing your parents in no time." She said keeping the stallion's hopes up. She then turned to Rainbow Dash. "Can you do the eency weency favor of flying us to Berrybash Bottom?"

The cyan mare just rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. "Fine." She said exasperated. "The packmule's getting to work again." She then walked ahead of them to the exit of the prison.

Applejack just shrugged and looked at Blu. "Eh. That's Dash for ya. Element of Loyalty but quite a slacker. Strange mix if ya ask me." Blu nodded in agreement and they both began to walk towards the exit. Blu's new weights made him significantly slower but his cousin waited up for him.

"Hey AJ." Blu spoke up to Applejack as they walked up the stairs.

"Yeah Blu."

"What is my Element? That Twilight girl told me I was one. But which one?"

Applejack just made a quick yet whole hearted answer. "Tolerance."

At the Carousel Boutique, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom and "Scootaloo" were crocheting, making little shirts for themselves in another attempt to get a cutie mark. The earth and unicorn were quite bored while the pegasus filly was deeply focused in her work.

"Sis!" Sweetie Belle whined. "Can we please go outside?" She then looked at the pink lump of her shirt, making a deep sigh.

Rarity answered from her work room in a controlling manner. "I don't think so Sweetie Belle! You remember those things from yesterday! They can be anywhere!"

"Scootaloo" made shifty eyes as Sweetie Belle and Applebloom groaned in boredom. All of a sudden, the doorbell rang. Rarity got out of her work room and opened the front door, revealing Paramail with a letter in his hoof.

"Hey Rare. You got mail." The mailpony said to the mare in a friendly manner as he gave her the letter.

The unicorn quickly opened it, revealing a picture of Prince Blueblood in a red shirt and sunglasses on a skateboard in the air. It said "YOU'RE INVITED TO A GNARLY PARTY TONIGHT! CATCHA LATER!" in big red letters. Rarity tried to hold it in, but in the end, she couldn't help but burst out laughing on the floor.

Paramail just looked around confused, not understanding why she was laughing like a madpony. He picked up the letter and saw the picture, bringing a grin on his face. "Hey I got one too! But my picture was different! In mine, he was wearing jeans and carrying a boom box!"

That only made Rarity laugh even harder, tears beginning to become visible under her work glasses. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle came over and saw the picture. They stared for only a second and then also broke down into a hysterical fit of laughter.

The teal stallion was beginning to feel creeped out from all this laughing as he moved a few steps away. He then slowly and awkwardly asked. "Uhhh? What's so funny anyways Rare?"

The unicorn made tried wiped a couple of tears as she tried to speak up. "This unicorn...HA HA…was the most obnoxious…HA…stallion I've seen…HA HA HAHA HAHA HA…now look how desperate he is for attention!" She then started to uncontrollably laugh once more.

Paramail took a double take at the picture and began to feel himself chuckling to the relatively stupid picture. How can a prince change so suddenly and look so dumb? He fell on his back in laughter too. He managed to stifle a few word though. "Wow Rare! HO HA HA! To make a transition as desperate as this…WHAhahaha…he must have been..." He got the self control to make a dramatic pause. "…a royal pain!"

With that, all three female ponies stopped laughing immediately and processed in their minds what he just said. Paramail looked up at them as they got up, wondering why they stopped. Applebloom felt a shiver down her spine from that awful pun.

"I don't get it." Sweetie blunty told the bald stallion still trying to think about it.

Rarity just shook her head in disbelief as she spoke up in a surprisingly stern manner. "Please Paramail please…never… say that again."

Paramail got the message and slowly got up from the floor and picked up his mailbag. He put his hoof to his mouth in embarrassment. "Sssssss. That was awkward." He turned towards the door and made a quick good bye. "WellIgottago! Bye!" He then quickly flew off.

There was a moment of silence for a bit after the pegasus left. I was broken by Sweetie Belle turning to her sister. "I still don't get it."

Rarity was about to answer her when Scootaloo ran up to her with her beautiful purple sweater with a wide smile. "All done Rarity." As she was putting the sweater on, she felt a tingling feeling on her flank. As she took a look, the filly's eyes went wide open.

It was a cutie mark of two crochet hooks crossed together and a red ball of yarn.

Fluttershy just finished taking care of her animals. She was at her table drinking some lunch with the two bunnies Angel and Hopz. Angel was devouring a carrot while Hopz was daintily chewing on some celery. As the pony was drinking some tea, she heard a knock on the door. Her ear perked up to hear who it was.

"Hi Fluttershy. You have mail here."

Fluttershy immediately recognized the voice as Paramail's. She felt her heart beat quicker and began to blush. She made a barely audible squeak as she hid under the table. She then signaled for Hopz and Angel to get the door. Angel rolled his eyes in annoyance while Hopz cheerfully clapped as they hopped towards the door. Angel opened the door to reveal Paramail with a letter in his hoof. He crouched down to be more at level with the two rabbits.

"Hello Hopz! Hello Angel!" The mailstallion greeted the two bunnies in a babyish voice as he petted both of them. Hopz snuggled with the hoof but Angel just grabbed the letter from him and pointed to the exit.

Paramail didn't get the message and got up, making a quick look around from where he was. While he was looking at the opposite direction, Fluttershy quickly crawled behind a vase with him not even noticing. He then shrugged began to speak to the two bunnies again.

"Well guess she's not around right now. But when she does come back, can you two tell her that my leg feels better already." He showed them his slightly bandaged leg. "Bet it'll heal by tonight. She did a great job." He then turned around and began to walk away, but then turned his head towards them.

"Oh yeah and one more thing! If you see her." He rubbed his maneless neck in nervousness. "Can you convey the message that I…sort of…" Angel made an "oh here we go" face while Hopz made an "awwww" face with both hands together. "Like her?" Paramail wiped some sweat from his brow. "Thanks." He then flew away to continue his job.

Angel almost gagged while Hopz was jumping for joy. Angel then shut and door and both bunnies hopped towards the vase they knew Fluttershy was hiding behind. They were met with a surprise though.

Fluttershy appeared to have fainted.

Trixie was being led into the archive/workshop room with two tentacles covering her eyes. She had no idea what Screameater was going to show her. When they entered, the alicorn uncovered her eyes, revealing Anvillain right in front of them. But when Trixie took a closer look, she saw that the iron equine no had a long, sharp unicorn horn and folded metal wings.

Screameater noticed the mare's surprised expression and spoke up with pride. "The new physical features are great and all. But the true adjustment is something completely new." He brought Trixie closer to him and whispered into her ear. "A personality."

Trixie felt very uncomfortable being so closer to her master, but didn't dare try to move. So she just nervously spoke up. "Trixie doesn't completely get what you mean."

Screameater just made a low chuckle as released her from his tendril. He then clapped both of his hooves together. "Adjusted amazing artificial alicorn Anvillain…ARISE AGAIN!"

With those words, the metal pony's ruby eyes began to glow red. It got up on its four legs and unfolded its wings, which were as big as her and appeared to be as sharp as swords. It looked at both ponies and then bowed down.

"Greetings Lord Screameater and Master Trixie." Trixie noticed that it's voiced still had a bit of a metallic sound to it, but it now spoke like a normal being, with pitches, "breaths", and pauses. Anvillain then got up, making a small chuckle. "I feel like I have been summoned for a mission. What is that mission exactly?" It made a sadistic smile. "I hope it involves crushing somepony's ribs or something else equally fun."

Trixie was disturbed by how real this new and improved Anvillain was. It looked twice as dangerous than it previously was and it appeared to be just as twisted as the dark prince himself. Screameater on the other hand was wiping tears of joy with a handkerchief. He then took a deep breath as six of his tendrils began to move around as if in dance.

"I do what I love and I love what I do.

But now it's time to make a move you two."

Anvillain pointed at both Trixie and Anvillain, who were both shocked that their master just started singling. He then teleported himself plus them to coastline of the beach, where they all saw mighty waves hit the black coral and the fins of giant red sharks. He tried to extend a hoof but an invisible barrier of sorts stopped him.

"You see I've been in this crazed coop for a bit too long.

But on the bright side this makes my plan twice as strong.

You know out there all those happy colts and mares.

I've been itching to give them a good scare."

He teleported himself and the group to a dark cave. Surrounding them were skeletons of various ponies in exploration gear. The alicorn used a spell to animate them to dance and wild dance full of spins and flips.

"You know I'm a pony who believes in personal choice.

I just only listen to only my own voice.

Look at these poor husks of a pony that has been.

But they never heard that I always win!"

He began to dance along with the skeletons as he used a spell to create flashing light and fog. All Trixie and Anvillain could see was silhouettes and the orange eyes of their master and skeletons. They also heard the skeletons singing as backup for him.

"I always wiiiiiin!"

"He always wins!"

"I always wiiiiin!"

"He always wins!"

"My stupid sisters thought they'd just seal me off then fiiiiiin!

But they are dead wrong!

I AM STILL GOING STRONG!

Reveling in my treachery and siiiiiiiiin!"

He then teleported himself and the other two to the throne room inside the Volcano of Hysteria. He then slid towards Anvillain, putting a tentacle around it.

"I know you saw many ones pure of heart.

And to choose one is quite an art.

But remember our schedule is tight.

For the pure one is the last one to be absorbed at midnight!"

The dark alicorn then used his magic to summon a net made of loose metal rings and passed it to the metal pony. He then summoned four cards, each with a certain pony.

"You can choose Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie or Paramail!

But don't forget this net of chainmail!

Have fun spreading fear and trouble!

But I must speak to Trixie on the double!

But you had better not fail!"

He grabbed Trixie with a tentacle and twirled her around as if they were in a ballroom. Naturally, Trixie just stumbled about on her two hind legs dizzy. But as she was about to fall over, the alicorn caught her with a forehoof, keeping her suspended in that positon, making her feel awkward. He then began to sing more softly to her.

"Now dear I have a special job for you.

Since you're one thousand times better than Blu.

You must disguise yourself as a pony from our Blueblood Mara's party.

This will be the part when things get…naughty."

After an uncomfortable five seconds for Trixie, she found herself magically lifted onto Anvillain's back, ready to ride off. Screameater then magically generated an invitation card with the Blueblood Mara with an afro on his head under a disco ball. Trixie and Anvillain just stared at the picture, trying not to laugh.

"Yes I know, I know my "son" looks like a buffoon.

But Trixie you need to meet him soon.

Enhance him with this teleport spell.

He'll grab a sister and then all is well.

FOR I ALWAYS WIIIN!"

He lifted a scroll into Trixie mouth. He then summoned ten Earth Mara, each with a drum to play vigorously. He then slapped Anvillain's flank and it took to the air. As they flew higher and higher, Screameater summoned over fifty Pegasus Mara, which began to fly around Trixie and Anvillain in a black funnel shape. The alicorn's voice then began to become demonic.

"I ALWAYS WIN AGAINST MY KIN!

THEY SHALL BE MY SNACK!

GO MY MINIONS, GO ATTACK!

FOR…I…ALWAYS…WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!"

At the end of that final note, Screameater made laughed menacingly to the sun above as he teleported Trixie, Anvillain and all those Pegasus Mara to their next location one by one in a bright red flash. He then slowly walked to his throne and sat down on it. As the Earth Mara played the final notes, he teleported them all away with a mere wave of a hoof. Screameater then continued to laugh.

"I...can't take this anymore." Rainbow Dash said panting and out of breath. She was carrying Applejack on her back and Blubayou in her hooves. Normally, this much of a load was not a problem, but counting Blu's weighted restraints, it required much effort on her part. She had no choice but to descend to the ground. As they got down, all three ponies saw that they were in a swampland area.

"Where we be?" Blubayou managed to say through his facemask as he looked around his surroundings in wonder.

Applejack hopped off her friend's back, causing the pegasus to lose her footing and falling face first into the mud. As Rainbow Dash looked up with an irritated and muddy face, The earth mare just smiled sheepishly. "Sorry there Dash! All that flying gets me antsy and such. Heights were never my thing." She then turned to answer Blubayou. "Well this here is Froggybottom Bog, the biggest swamp in all of Equestria." She sniffed the surrounding area and immediately covered her nose. "And also one of the smelliest places."

The dull blue stallion took a small sniff at the surrounding landscape, then took a breath of relaxation as he turned to his second cousin. "I dunno, I kinda like the all natural odor in this land."

Applejack cringed a bit as she got back on all fours. "Good for you cuz." She then turned her attention to RD, who was wiping the mud off of her face, still grumbling a bit. "Well I guess we're going the rest of the way on our hooves." Applejack then noticed a nearby crudely made road, complete with a wooden sign that read "Bonjour amis! Berrybash Bottom just 3 miles ahead!" written in a rather sloppy manner. Applejack then got ready to walk and pointed ahead in triumph. "Well fellas! Good new! Berrybash Bottom and Blu's parents are just this way!"

"Yippie." Rainbow Dash said in a monotonous manner as she wiped the remaining mud off her stomach. She was still panting a bit but managed to follow her friend.

Blubayou took one step with his restrained hooves and quickly fell flat on his face, making a small grunt. He struggled a bit to get up and tried to walk again, but just fell over again, making a low ribbit sound. Applejack and Rainbow Dash rushed to the slimy stallion as he struggled to get up once again, only to fall down again.

"We ain't going anywhere with them weights!" Applejack told Blubayou slightly mad at the concept of him even having his mobility limited. She lifted a hoof and was about to get a weight off when she felt a tap on her shoulder from Rainbow Dash.

"So what are you suggesting Rainbow? Leave these confounded things on? Do ya even trust him?" Applejack sternly asked her not even looking at her, still busy with removing a weight with her teeth.

Rainbow thought for a bit then answered in the most positive way possible. "I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but I've met some pretty two-faced characters in my life. Remember Gilda?"

Applejack nodded. "I remember her a bit. She was as she would put it "dweeby"." She chuckled a bit about the way that griffon spoke, but then got serious again as she got rid of a hind leg weight, earning a thankful nod from Blu. "But this is a much different story. Gilda had a choice to be mean; Blu had very little choice on the matter. Now can ya help me with these things?"

Rainbow Dash came to terms with what she said and went over to help the amphibipony. As they freed a forehoof, Blubayou grabbed his face mask and chucked it into the mud as he let out a breath of relief.

"Alright Blu one more and we're done!" Applejack assured her cousin who was already getting fidgety.

When the two mares got rid of the last weight, Blubayou quickly jolted up, laughing like a child. He then began quickly hopping towards the pathway and behind the trees. They can hear him shouting "YAAAAAAA HOOOOOO! IMA FREE AS A FOUR EYED FRILLED GATORBUG!" at the top of his lungs.

Applejack had no idea how to feel. He just bolted and left them. She just watched him leave her sight as she slowly lied down. From what she could, Rainbow Dash had a solemn "I told you so" face. Applejack just stomped a hoof in the mud in frustration. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. So this is how it feels being backstabbed huh? Ungrateful amphibian.

"I'll get him." Rainbow Dash assured the distraught earth pony as she flew up into the air, her energy renewed to catch him.

But as she was about to zoom away, Blubayou popped up from behind some trees, with a confused look on his face. "Somethin the matter cuz? I thought ya wanted to get there?" He then looked at the flying mare. "Why the long face? Ya look frustratingly angry."

Rainbow Dash landed back on the ground in relief as Applejack got up, both of them breathing a sigh of relief. Both mares were glad that Blu was more trustworthy than expected. They both galloped towards the path with smiles on their faces. Blu joined the gallop, excited for what was waiting for him in Berrybottom Bash.

A look to the past

Chapter 17: A look to the past

"We're finally here!" Applejack exclaimed to Blubayou and Rainbow Dash as she lifted a hoof. "BERRYBOTTOM BASH!" She looked quite proud to know this place. To her, it was like a "sister company" for the apple farm. She walked across a wooden bridge over a murky river towards the settlement.

Both Blu and Rainbow admired their surroundings. It was a small but quaint village with most of the housing consisting of wooden shacks with straw for roofs. The whole town was surrounded at three sides by a murky river, which they can even see alligators in the wallowing in. In the very back of the village, there was a large field of various berries being cultivated by the residents. Strawberries were being picked by mares and stallions alike, blueberries were being put into dough for muffins, and raspberries were being made for jelly. Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash knew that if Pinkie Pie were here, she'd be drooling at all the sights.

Soon enough, the three ponies walked up to a slightly larger cottage. Applejack knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Within three seconds, a dark blue stallion the size of her older brother burst out of the door, pulling the orange mare into a warm embrace.

"WELL IF IT AIN'T MY FAVORITE NEICE APPLEJACK!" The jolly pony hollered a he shook her around like a rag doll while hugging her. Applejack was used to her boisterous relative though.

A mare with a deep magenta then came out, leaning at the entrance of the door with a warm grin on her face. "Hun, last time lil Applebloom visited, you said she was the favorite." She then slightly chuckled as she waved.

The stallion let go of his niece and turned to his wife with a sheepish yet playful smile. "Ah Razzi. Ya know how fickle ah get sometimes. Can't ever pick one or another." He then brought his wife under a foreleg and turned back to notice the multicolored mane pegasus.

"Well if it ain't RD herself!" Razzi greeted the mare in a sweet manner. "Little lady, ah got a surprise for you today!" She then hollered towards the fields. "HEY CHROMEWING! YA NEICE IS HERE WITH HER FRIENDS!"

Rainbow Dash looked both overjoyed and confused. Uncle Chromewing? What's he doing here?...Worry later, meet now.

Within seconds, an average sized pegasus stallion swooped down next to Rainbow. He had an indigo coat and a cyan mane which was short and relatively straight. He had green eyes and his cutie mark was a rainbow wing. In fact, his most discernable feature was his multicolored wings. The base was violet, and then indigo, then blue, then green, then yellow, then orange, and the very tips were a bright red.

"Well if it isn't my brother's daughter!" Chromewing said in a cheery manner, ruffling his niece's hair a bit. "Haven't seen you in a while, how are things going?"

Rainbow straightened her mane a bit and answered him with complete confidence. "Well for starters, I'm an Element of Harmony." She paused to allow the three family members to "ooooo" in surprise and intrigue. "I'm also a chewin to be a Wonderbolt." She paused again to hear them "aaaaah". "And last but not least, I've created sonic rainbooms, kicked a dragon, been in a play, got a tur-tortoise, went to the Grand Galloping Gala, and saved the world. Twice." She then basked in her glory as the three were completely silent, awestruck by how adventurous and remarkable this young mare was. Blubayou was also shocked at how glorious of a life she lived, even a bit jealous.

Chromewing let out a little whistle as he rolled his eyes, overwhelmed by how much his niece did compared to him. "Well…" He began to say awkwardly as his eyes looked away from her. "…you sure know how to…get around."

Rainbow Dash tried to act humbled, but wasn't very good at hiding it. "Awww! It's nothing!" She made a cute smile. "I got a lot more stories to go around!"

The large, berry loving stallion finally acknowledged the blue stallion next to Applejack and walked up to the pony still with his cheery demeanor. "Why hello there bud! Name's Bluebarry!" He then noticed the pony's strange appearance. "Don't cha think it's a bit late for Nightmare Night? Or are you one of dem cosplaying kinda ponies?"

Blubayou was about to politely correct him when he was interrupted by the stallion. "I'm just playing with ya! But what do I call ya?"

The amphibipony took a good look at Bluebarry and his wife. Bluebarry looked almost just like him, only bigger, having a black mane instead of Blu's fish-like sail, wore a pair of brown overalls, just plain not being adapted to swimming. Razzi was dark magenta, also with a black mane, which was made into a small bun. Her cutie mark was three raspberries. Both ponies had distinct Cajun accent like him. He then quickly shook his head and remembered the question addressed towards him. "Oh yeah! It's Blubayou!"He made a smile, trying to be as approachable as possible.

Blu then noticed Bluebarry, Razzi and Chromewing slowly frown. Even Rainbow Dash and Applejack went silent. The amphibipony had no idea what the big deal was. But then it hit him. These were the two ponies his second cousin was talking about.

Razzi, Bluebarry, and even Chromewing all tried to hold back a few tears. It was as if their worst memory came back to them at full force. Without any words, Razzi signaled Blubayou and Applejack into the house. Her husband soon followed, nodding a goodbye to the two pegasi. Rainbow Dash was about to follow forth, but her uncle stopped her with a wing.

"Come on Rainbow." He said in an uncharacteristically mellow manner as he began to ascend. "I have something to show you." He then flew away, with Rainbow Dash following.

Bluebarry and Razzi lead both Applejack and Blubayou to a closed door in the house. The wooden door was at the very end of a hallway and was white, which contrasted with the rest of the brown colored house. Bluebarry slowly opened the door, which made a loud creaking sound. When Applejack and Blubayou saw what was beyond the door, they could easily tell that it hasn't be opened for a while. There was no light in the room, and it was easy to see the amount of dust on the floor and walls. There was one shut window with bright red curtains with pictures of smiling strawberries on it. The wallpaper was of a long faded turquoise color with a berry salad motif and was peeling all over the place. And in the center of room was a small, blue crib.

Applejack took the memory stone from under her hat and passed it to Blu. Her cousin just looked at her confused, so she decided to explain what the oval emerald was. "This stone is gonna help ya remember this place." She nodded towards the berry couple, who nodded in agreement.

"Alright AJ." Blu said wondering how the memory stone worked. He walked up to the crib with the stone in his hoof.

He looked down into the crib. Inside was a little frog doll, which was the same shade of green as his cutie mark. To his surprise, it was still in excellent condition, with only a little bit of dust on it. He blew off the dust and picked it up with his mouth, balancing it on the side of the crib to get a better look at it. As he admired his stuffed frog, he saw a bright emerald flash.

Blu found himself inside the crib. He couldn't control anything around him, not even his line of sight. He heard a baby cooing, he knew the memory stone must have worked and that he was looking in the eyes of his baby self.

From his line of vision, he could see that the vibrant walls full of different types of berries. The line of vision looked up to see the open window complete with a curtain with lovely smiling strawberries. From what he can tell from the window was that it was night time. His baby self then crawled towards that same frog doll he saw, except significantly cleaner. As he crawled, he noticed that there were no fins on the back of his limbs and he didn't feel slimy. Come to think of it, he felt all these little hairs all over his body, with a whole lot of hair on his head and the back of his neck.

As he saw himself hug the stuffed frog while giggling in delight, he felt a warm blanket cover him. As the foal looked up, he saw that it was Bluebarry and Razzi looking down at him with loving eyes, except a good bit younger. As he squirmed around under the red blanket, his mother began to sing some kind of lullaby in such a sweet and serene melody, making his infant self stop moving.

"Sleep now little colt, you are safe from the cold.

There's no need to twitch tonight, just relax and sleep tight."

Blubayou saw that his eyes were beginning to shut. But he saw the emerald light again and when he could see, he was still in the crib, but he was flat on his back under his blanket. Looking up, he saw his father place some sort of blueberry-shaped medallion around his neck, which read "Blubayou". He noticed that he can still hear Razzi's lullaby in his head.

"There is no need to be sad or mad.

You've got your loving mom and big strong dad.

So little Blu be calm for nothing will go bad."

The emerald flash occurred once again. When he could see again, he saw a skeletal pegasus stallion looming over him. A second later, the monster took him in his forehooves. Blu heard the loud crying of his baby self as the skeleton flew out the window when it looked to its side to see the baby colt's parents. Blu was partially glad he couldn't see either of his parents faces, but he heard both of them scream in horror as the skeleton flew away with him, still wrapped in his blanket. And still the lullaby echoed in his mind.

"Nothing bad will come to you.

Whether a big bad wolf or witch's stew.

Not little bugs or big gators will get you now or later."

After another flash, Blu's vision was restricted by the red blanket. He can hear his baby self wailing and sobbing, to the point that he was hardly able to discern anything. But what he felt was the flying skeleton pegasus bucking for some reason. All he managed to hear over the crying were two pained grunts, one masculine and one feminine. Then it went green again.

"Little Blu we're here with you.

Whether it is warm or cool.

Now stay nice 'n' snuggly for tonight for it will be alright."

Next thing Blu knew, he felt a familiar tendril wrap around his leg. Through his foal self's teary eyes, he can see himself being dangled over a lava pit. Blubayou knew exactly who the culprit was.

"Sleep now little Blu.

No one will find you.

You're happily here to stay."

After one more Emerald flash, Blu felt himself cradled in the little dark prince's arms. Even more to his horror, he was singing the exact same lullaby his mother was singing, even copying her voice.

"And you'll never be away."

And with that, the baby Blu's eyes closed. The last thing he saw was Screameater's wicked smile.

Applejack, Bluebarry and Razzi watched the whole thing. They saw Blu stumble, crawl, and reach out during his trance. Eventually, he stopped moving around as he stared at the frog doll and just stood there speechless. His mouth was agape, he was breathing heavily, as shown by his gills visibly opening and closing.

Bluebarry looked at his wife and niece, concerned for his son. He took a deep sigh and began to walk towards his son. He then put a hoof on his long lost son's shoulder and spoke softly. "It's alright son. You're home now. It's okay."

The amphibipony turned to see his true father, tears welling in both their eyes. All Blubayou could get himself to do was gently put his forehead on his dad's chest, and softly weep tears of both sorrow and joy. All Blubarry could do was gently pat his son's back.

Razzi on the other hand couldn't take it anymore. She just burst into tears and galloped towards her lost son, embracing him in a hug, not even caring about his clammy skin. "AH MISSED YA SO MUCH BLU!" She cried out. "I LOVE YOU NO MATTER WHAT!"

Applejack watched and let out a small grin as she saw her second cousin finally regain his normal color hue.

Rainbow Dash quickly bolted to her uncle's cloud house, which looked similar to hers but much smaller and more humble. She had a face full of spunk by the time Uncle Chromewing made it at quite a high speed. He was huffing and puffing a bit, but was alright nonetheless.

"Ah Dash…" He panted though still smiling. "…I'm getting too old for such speeds. You were faster than me ever since I started giving you lessons. I honestly can't compete."

Rainbow looked at her uncle in confusion. She expected at least a morsel of praise, but instead, her uncle was acting as if he was ready for a retirement home, which she knew he wasn't ready for. He even flew really well compared to most pegasi while they were racing to his house. So she decided to playfully speak up about it. "Why so humble uncle? Those loops and turns would make the Wonderbolts jealous! And you believe me, that's saying something!"

The cyan mare then gave her uncle a friendly shove. Chromewing responded with a sly grin. "Well then Dash. I've got something to show you then." He then opened the door and they both entered.

He led her niece to a drawer made out of clouds. As he opened one of the drawers, he spoke up to her niece without even looking at her. "So I heard from the grape you had a little tussle yesterday in your friend's apple farm. What was that about?"

Rainbow was shocked by how seriously he was speaking to her. Usually her mother or father was the one who talked about her problems, Chromewing was just the one who made jokes and taught her how to fly. He never got into the serious issues. So she carefully answered him. "Some unicorn named Trixie, Blu, but from what I can tell, he's with us now, and these weird pony things called Mara. I don't know, a friend named Twilight told me about them. Said they were link to this Screameater guy. You wouldn't really understand."

Chromewing just grabbed a small box with his teeth and placed it on top of the drawer. He turned to his niece. "I understand perfectly."

Rainbow Dash had to double take what her uncle just said. "Really?" She asked bewildered, only getting a nod for an answer. "But how?"

Chromewing opened the lid of the box, and grabbed something from inside it. When he unfolded it, it was revealed to be none other than an old Wonderbolts costume, which was similar to the present day costumes except a lighter blue, almost turquoise. Just the sight of it made Rainbow Dash drool.

"Y-you…you were…" Rainbow Dash then shouted in excitement. "…A WONDERBOLT?" She made a cute little fan girl squeal. "OMYGOSH, OHMYGOSH, OMYGOSH, OHMYGOSH! I'M RELATED TO A WONDERBOLT! OMYGOSH, OHMYGOSH, OMYGOSH…"

Chromewing just pushed her jaw up to stop her from talking for a minute. He then corrected her in a deadpan manner. "Ex-Wonderbolt."

The pegasus mare immediately cooled down. She was bewildered at even the concept of an "Ex-Wonderbolt". She decided to ask on the subject. "What happened? Did you get in a fight with the Captain? Were you too slow? Were you injured? What?"

Chromewing just placed the costume back in the box before answering her in a mellow voice. "None of those things."

"Then what?"

"I quit."

That hit Rainbow Dash like a charging buffalo, and she didn't like it. She demanded to know why. But before she can question him, he just raised a hoof to silence her.

"I quit because I failed." Chromewing looked down in shame as he began to explain. "I used to be a member of last generation's Wonderbolts. We raced, showed off, but most of all, given the situation, were heroes." Rainbow Dash immediately sat down, listening intently at her uncle's anecdote. "I was on the team for about two years, starting at around the time your parents married. I wasn't one of those more memorable members." He made a little snort. "Wouldn't be able to find me in the hall of fame anytime soon, but I loved every second of it. But not as much as I loved this one mare on the flight team."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, expecting mush. "Her named was Cloud Dancer." Chromewing said sighing, relishing in his memory of her. "Such a beautiful pony. We started to date, it got more serious than expected, and before long, I popped the question. She said yes."

"This is sounding pretty nice so far." Rainbow Dash interrupted. "Gross but nice. But what happened though?"

Chromewing rolled his eyes. "I was getting to that. A month before our wedding, Celestia called us for an emergency from Berrybottom Bash about a foalnapping. Me, Cloud Dancer and some rookie got right on it. Celestia gave us the directions with her magic and we pursued." He began to speak more melancholically. "Soon enough, we saw this decaying skeleton of a pegasus. I was one of the vilest things I've ever seen. The cries of the foal didn't help either. After about fifteen minutes worth of a chase, we all saw this purple haze. That bag of bones entered that haze without a qualm. Cloud Dancer and the rookie followed forth but…" He began to sob a little. "…I didn't. I stopped right in my tracks. I knew it was fear that stopped me. I waited for my fiancé and that rookie stallion to come back, but nothing. I'm pretty sure I waited for three hours before coming back with the bad news."

Rainbow Dash can now easily see his tears. He choked a little then continued, staring right at her. "I couldn't take it. I quit the team, begging them to never mention me or list me in their history. But that isn't the bad part. The horrible part was telling Blu's parents, that rookie's parents, and Cloud Dancer's parents. At least one in each family broke down crying. Cloud Dancer's father even gave me a good hoof sandwich for "abandoning her", I couldn't and didn't argue with that. I've been helping with the Berries for a long time now, even treated as a friend. But Cloud Dancer's parents still won't even talk to me." He then looked across the room. "I didn't even know that's rookie's name. He was a nice kid."

He then wiped his tears and looked back at his niece. "But a few weeks later, you came along. And I devoted myself to making you a better pony than me." He made a weak smile as he opened another drawer. "And I knew one day, you'd be worthy of this."

He grabbed another box and placed it in front of Rainbow Dash. She opened it, revealing a mare sized previous generation Wonderbolt costume. Naturally she was speechless, so Chromewing spoke for her. "This was a spare uniform of Cloud Dancer. I'm sure she'd want a pony like you to wear it. Just take good care of it and don't forget who once wore it."

"I will." Rainbow answered in gratitude, even saluting to her uncle. She was almost overwhelmed by all that was going on.

Chromewing wiped the last of his tears with a multicolored wing as he placed his forehooves on her shoulders. "I know you've done great things, with greater things on the way. You've done better than I could have ever imagined. Really proud you Dash."

Rainbow nodded, full of gratitude and honor. "Thank you so much."

The rainbow winged pegasus made a light chuckled. "No problem." He then walked past her, but looked back with a grin. "I'm going to guess that there's going to be a welcome back feast for Blu. Bluebarry and Razzi are great with feasts." He then made a small laugh. "But I suggest you drop that costume off home first. I love Berrybottom and all, but it gets quite muddy."

Dash nodded once again, admiring her new costume. Even the likes of Spitfire and Soarin would be jealous.

"Good! See you there!" And with those last words, Chromewing flew off into the open sky.

Let's get this party started

Chapter 18: Let's get this party started

"How are you doing Coocoo with that book?" Twilight asked her research partner looking away from a book on Equestrian artifacts. Her, Coocoodrill and Spike were in the Starswirl the Bearded wing in the Canterlot archives for several hours now, and the sun was going down. Twilight made a lot of progress though. She managed to learn all about both the Amulet of Alteration and the Heart of Resurrection after recognizing that Trixie had the former and Anvillain the latter. Both items once belonged to Cosmus as some of his favorite artifacts to play with.

Coocoodrill got his face out of The Book of the Malign to answer his friend in a surprisingly indifferent manner. "Actually not too bad for reading a book on how to rot an entire forest, make somepony my eternal thrall, summon a Draconequss, turn somepony inside out, and last but not least, instantly make a pony instantly go caput." The green unicorn quickly moved his hoof across his neck, made a small gagging sound, and made his head go limp with his tongue stuck out.

"Ugh." Was the only thing Twilight could say as she looked away slightly disgusted. But she was assured Coocoodrill would never use any of those wicked spells; and even if he did want to, he wouldn't be able to due to his magical problems.

The green stallion got the cue and got back to reading. As he turned the page, he noticed the title of a spell named "Visage of Nightmares". He slowly and thoroughly read the description of the spell, and then quickly closed the book and calling. "TWI! I found what we were looking for!"

Twilight looked back and walked towards the stallion. Half of her mind thought it would be something completely irrelevant, but the other half wanted to hear what he was going to say.

"What is it?" The purple mare asked her friend a little curious, but a little annoyed. "Better not be some kind other gross spell though." She shivered at the thought of an inside out spell.

Coocoodrill shook his head in innocence and intrigue. "No, no Twi. I'm serious about this. According to this book, Cosmus used a spell known as "Visage of Nightmares". According to what the description says, the caster would get a strong connection to the Mara and can see the deepest fears of ponies and other sentient creatures." He opened the book again to take a second look, making sure Twilight couldn't see the pages.

"Is there more?" Twilight inquired, wondering why he wouldn't let her see.

"You bet. It also allows the user to create this purple mist that messes with the minds of anyone inside the mist that makes them see their greatest fears. And knowing this guy, he also spent his time learning mind readings spells and illusions. As a bonus, the caster's body becomes some sort of mallabill…mallieball…"

"Malleable." Twilight corrected him impatiently.

"Yeah that. The caster becomes body some sort of malleable substance that can allow him to grow tendrils, melt, and change size and such. And to top it all off, they can absorb ponies and other such beings to increase their own power." He made a small but nervous chuckle. "Quadruple whammy on our parts."

"Is there more?" Twilight asked, concerned about any other possible abilities of the fallen prince. She tried to get another look at the twisted book but Coocoo kept the book away from her.

"Sorry Twi." The green unicorn apologized in a slightly stern manner. "But Celesty said I have to be extra careful with this book. Nothing personal."

Twilight was about to question his logic, but went against it. When she thought about it, it made sense for one of Equestria's worst spell casters to be the one to read the book, and even if he could use them, due to his magical problems, things would probably turn out for the better. She also remembered what that book did to the once beloved Cosmus. What would such power do to the Element of Magic herself? She'd rather not know. But as she was contemplating all this, Coocoodrill spoke up.

"Weeeeell that's my work done!" Coocoo announced as he stretched his hooves and neck. "I'm gonna go to that party Blueblood's doing." He then looked towards Twilight. "You coming to?"

Twilight thought for a bit. She already decided that she should research the Elements of Respect, Caring and Tolerance. Such knowledge could be useful for finding a weakness to defeat Screameater with. She took a deep and remorseful breath. "Sorry. Got some more work to do."

Coocoodrill looked at her with concerned eyes. "Are you sure Twi?"

Twilight immediately felt bad about her decision, but had to stick with it. "I'm sure." She forced herself to smile. "Go have fun. I'm sure Pinkie and the others are there too."

The green unicorn analyzed what she said for a second, then immediately perked up to a gleeful mood. "Alright! Suit yourself!" As he was walking out, he saw the baby dragon fast asleep at one of the tables. He couldn't help but make a playful yet warm hearted comment.

"Hey Twi look. We bored this little guy to sleep." He saw a nearby checkerboard blanket and placed it on "Spike".

Twilight turned and saw the stallion placing the blanket on the dragon and softly chuckled. "Hey Coocoo. Didn't you promise not to treat him like a little baby anymore?"

The loony unicorn just did an innocent shrug. "Sorry. Force of habit." He then had a flash of realization about the Book of the Malign. He remembered Celestia distinctly telling him to be careful with it, and he was more than willing to listen to her.

"Before I leave can you close your eyes, cover your ears and look away for a minute? Gotta hide the Book 'o' Evil." Coocoodrill politely requested, making a sheepish grin and hoping not to offend.

Twilight complied and counted down. She could hear a little scuttling but it wasn't very discernable. After a minute, she looked back and he was gone, with no evidence of the book around. She looked around for a book on Cosmus she was sure would have the three newer Elements mentioned and saw it next to her sleeping dragon assistant. As she went for the book, she saw that "Spike" was shivering a bit. She used her magic to make the blanket wrap around him like an infant. When she saw that he was comfortable now, she proceeded to read in peace.

It was only a few minutes before Blueblood's party began and already many of Equestria's elite were already there. As expected, they were all wearing fancy uniforms; the stallions had nice suits and the mares had lavish dresses. Some ponies were there to meet close friends, others wanted to see the princesses, knowing that both were invited and some just had nothing better to do with their lives. But some on the other hand had no idea why Blueblood was acting like this all of a sudden.

A light blue unicorn mare was at the gates waiting for them to open. She then saw a platinum bit from the corner of her eye. She couldn't resist.

"Looks like my lucky day and somebody's unlucky day." She said to herself as she picked it up with her magic. She then saw another bit not too far away and went to get that bit. She then saw another and another and another. After getting what was worth a hundred bits, she saw a blue hoof with a handkerchief muffle her. Not long after, she felt woozy and her eyes shut.

"Nobles." Trixie commented to herself shaking her head in pity as she threw away the rag. "Can never get enough money." She then took a good look at the sleeping body and used her amulet to change herself into the wealthy unicorn. She then felt the mane of her new form for it felt unusual.

To her dismay, she was actually wearing a wig. The pony she was impersonating was bald.

Pinkie Pie was bouncing up and down waiting for the party gates to open. She was also one of the few ponies who didn't dress up. She had the widest smile she could possibly make. She was speaking to a random pompous stallion in an extremely hyper manner. "This is going to be so exciting! I'm excited, are you excited? This Blueblood guy is superdeetacular for inviting all of us! I remember my friend Rarity, she's a unicorn, said that he's just a pompous, stuck up! But maybe he was just having a bad day that night at the Gala cause from I can tell from this invitation of this card of him surfing with the term "cowabunga" on it, he seems to be a very laid back person! Maybe that's why he was supposedly so mean that one night! Perhaps he didn't like tuxedos? But anyways, what does "cowabunga" mean anyways?"

The stallion just stared at her strangely and quickly walked away without a comment. As she was about to follow him, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She bolted around and saw Coocoodrill right behind her.

"Heya Pinks! You here for this awesome non-formal party?" He asked delightfully, though emphasizing the non-formal part in slight annoyance as he noticed everybody else around him wearing suave suits, elegant dresses, and worst of all…the occasional pair of pants. Coocoo shivered at the look of pants.

Pinkie waved her hoof in front of him and he snapped back to reality. She then started to joyously speak again. "Sure am Coocoo! Can't wait until those doors open! I came here with Fluttershy and Rarity! I wonder where they are right now." Both ponies looked around for a bit.

"We're over here." Pinkie Pie and Coocoodrill looked to their right and saw Rarity speaking to them, with Fluttershy right next to her. They were only ten feet away from the two eccentric ponies. Rarity was wearing her Grand Galloping Gala dress while Fluttershy was wearing nothing.

In fact, all the guests but Pinkie Pie, Coocoodrill and Fluttershy were dressed formally. Coocoodrill then counted the three mares and then subtracted Applejack, Blubayou, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash in his mind. He realized one of the Elements was missing,

"Wait one moment. Where's Baldy?" Coocoodrill asked the group not exactly worried, but concerned. Who would ever miss a party as bodaciously radical…scratch that…BO-RADICAL as a mad chill prince's manor?

Fluttershy made a little squeak and hid her face under her mane. The pink earth pony could easily tell she was blushing, and had a feeling why. She was considering to comment on it, but somepony called out in shock.

"IT'S CELESTIA...AND LUNA!" Somepony from the crowd called out. All the ponies turned to see the two regal princesses riding on a chariot pulled by the royal guards of both sisters. Everypony clapped for them as they rode over towards them.

The chariot came to a halt and the alicorns stepped out. "Greetings Everypony!" Celestia called out to the group happy to see all of them.

"Yes! Art thou ready to do the boogie?" Luna exclaimed practicing the more "modern" language. Everypony stopped clapping and looked at her in silence.

"What does boogie mean?" One noblemare questioned the two princesses confused. A lot of the other elite ponies were also puzzled with such a word. Pinkie could only gasp in horror.

Luna just looked away awkwardly and whispered to her sister. "Sister. I still question why we are here. As we have noticed the last few days, our nephew has gone a little…unusual. Must we feed into his activities?" She spoke in deep concern for her nephew.

"Do not worry sister." Celestia reassured her. "He's just going through a phase. He'll be over it by the end of the week."

All of a sudden, loud techno beats started playing from the gates, dry ice created a thick fog and blue and red lasers flashed and flickered. From the fog, the guests could see Blueblood's silhouette bobbing his head to the music playing.

"Hey you all! We bouncing off the walls!

We all gonna jam until we tip and fall!

Stick around and revel in the sound!

This party's gonna rock all leaps and boundssssss!"

The music and laser show suddenly went off. "WELCOME ALL TO LE CASA DE BLUEBLOOD!" He called out to the crowd as the fog began to fade away, revealing that he was wearing sunglasses and several blue and red glowing necklaces around his neck. He lifted his forehooves into the air, expecting them to cheer wildly.

To his dismay, only the pink mare and green unicorn cheered wildly for him. The rest just looked at him dumbstruck at what they just saw. Rarity had her jaw on the ground in shock and bewilderment.

"On second thought…" Celestia whispered to her sister's ear. "…a little therapy would hurt him."

"Blueblood" took a good look at his audience. Aw man! Only two ponies ready to party? What part of "non-formal" do these guys not get? He then spoke aloud to his guests.

"Well if it isn't all my greatest friends, aunties and Elements of Harmony. I would love to ramble on about the weather, economy or something boring like that, but I am a stallion of action not words. So onwards to my manor, where they'll be food, drink, and DJ PON3!" He then used his magic to lift Rarity's jaw back up. "So let this fiesta of awesomeness begin!"

He started dance-trotting back into his manor as the music went back on. Both Pinkie Pie and Coocoodrill followed him. One well dressed brown earth stallion was bobbing his head to the music. But when the others looked at him, he quickly awkwardly stopped and ran towards the manor in defiance of his wealth. The rest just shrugged and followed.

What has gone into that jerk? Rarity wondered to herself as she walked towards the great manor.

All the citizens of Berrybash Bottom were at a long table in the middle of town, which had all sorts of berry made food products. Blubayou was sitting at the very end of the table, with his parents, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Chromewing sitting with him. All of the other ponies were hollering out in joy, knowing that the lost child was back with them.

Before anybody could eat, Bluebarry stood on his two hind legs to speak up. "Before we begin this bountiful feast, let's remember this day as the day that the great alicorns granted our wish for the return of my son. His form may have been altered, but he is still me and my wife's child. Today, we celebrate the return of BLUBAYOU!" Everyone in the crowd cheered for the long lost amphibipony. Applejack patted Blu on the back with a warm smile.

"But before we begin ya'll." Bluebarry added to his speech. "Let us take down his gravestone." A mare quickly got up and bucked a grave saying "R.I.P little Blu" down.

"Don't forget to take out the little memorial too." Chromewing said pointing to a large plaque that listed the unheard goodbyes to the infant. Two stallions got up and took it down.

Razzi then chimed in. "And let's get rid of them offerings to the dark spirit that has once taken this colt so it won't come back to take more foals." A bunch of ponies ran to the corner of the settlement to grab bowls of berries in front of a wooden pegasus skeleton. All the ponies threw away the rotten food and bucked the wood sculpture to pieces.

With that all done, Bluebarry gestured the feast to begin and everypony dug into all the pies, muffins, tarts and other assorted foods. Blubayou looked at everything surrounding him and got a feeling that he had never felt before; the feeling of belonging and being loved by others. He shed a tear of joy as he got a piece of blackberry pie, loving every moment of his new life.

"Greetings everyone in the ever grand empire of Equestria! I shall now announce the beginning of a new reign! My reign as your king! Bow down or live a never ending nightmare!"

"No! Too blunt!" Screameater criticized his own domination speech disappointed as he was trying to write a good one down. He crumpled up the paper and threw it behind him. "I remember I had a really intimidating one 492 years ago. If only I can remember."

He began to pace in circles, trying in vain to come up with a good introduction to his eventual tyrannical takeover. As he pace around, he saw something that made him regret many of his actions. In between the glowing Element of Harmony spheres of Caring and Respect, the Element of Tolerance was now glowing bright green. Screameater began to panic in his mind.

Oh Tartarus no, no, NO! How could this happen? I made that mongrel of a minion as hideous as possible, how can he have found it? He then began to realize how he raised him wrong. Oh crud, instead of treating him like a mere servant, I SHOULD'VE SPOILED THE BRAT! Make him refuse to put up with stuff. Yeah. Or maybe I shouldn't have educated him at all and make him as dumb as a bucket of bricks. That might've also worked. The dark alicorn then realized how futile his hindsight was and began to shout in pure, unbridled rage, flailing his tentacles in the air and stomping on the ground with all four hooves.

"CRUD, CRUD, FEATHERS, FEATHERS, FLANK, CRUD, FLANK, FLANK, FEATHERS, FLANK, CRUD, CHILD OF A DIAMOND…!"

He looked at the entranceway and noticed that a unicorn Mara was staring at him, probably wondering what was going on in its master's head right now. It was magically holding a glass of water and a green apple. It just placed the snack on the desk and ran off as soon as possible.

"Uh…" Was the only thing Screameater could mutter after the Mara left, replacing his anger with discombobulation. He slowly grabbed the apple and took munched on it. As he was eating his happy food, he thought about the current situation.

So that blasted Blubayou found his element huh? Alright, that's a setback. But I have Trixie, Anvillain, and my "son" at a party where hopefully at least one of the pure of hearts will go to. If they can capture at least one of them, the elements would be incomplete. And as a bonus, if I can get at least one of my siblings, It would take all nine of the Elements of Harmony to take me out. But...there would only be eight of them to destroy. They could never win! He then let out a sickeningly sinister laugh.

Screameater then used his magical power to contact "Blueblood". After a little waiting, the Mara answered him.

"Yo whaddup Screamy? Need anything bro?" Blueblood replied to the telepathic message in a carefree and upbeat mood.

Screameater deeply grumbled in annoyance before answering. "First of all, don't call me "Screamy". Second of all, did any of the pure of hearts come to your party? Third, did you rendezvous with Trixie yet? "

"Ronda-what?"

Screameater just groaned and continued his telepathic conversation. "I meant meet her yet? For the teleportation upgrade for you so you can capture the princesses?" He spoke to his servant in a condescending manner, as if he was completely incompetent.

"Yeah, yeah! Don't worry "Daddy-O"! I'm gonna meet her right…" Screameater heard a distinct flushing sound in his head, but unsure of what it was. "…now. Catcha later!"

As the spell ended, Screameater was puzzled about one thing his servant said, rubbing his chin with a pitch black tentacle. "Daddy-O?" He repeated to himself stumped. He walked around in a circle and then lied down on the smooth floor, still thinking about the meaning of the word, and the point of such a word.

"Blueblood" walked out of the restroom in his manor with a sigh of relief. As he was shaking off a piece of toilet paper on his right hind leg, he saw a light blue unicorn mare with a large, overdone mane. Without even meeting her at the party on downstairs, he knew who it was.

"Well whatya know? I'm meeting my own maker!" The Mara called out to her in a teasing manner, laughing a little. The mare ran to him and covered his mouth, putting her hoof to her mouth and making an annoyed "sh" sound.

"Don't blow Trixie's cover you…" The disguised mare then facehooved herself a she realized what she said. "But anyways foolish one, I'm going to grant you the ability to be able to teleport to Phobos, along with one of those princesses. Got it?"

The royal Mara could only nod and snicker. "Foolish one? That all ya got? Mamma, my flank can make a better insult!" He then noticed his creator's stern face and immediately straightened up stoically. "B-b-but YES! I understand ma'm!"

Trixie just rolled her eyes as her horn made an unusual deep red aura. The aura surrounded "Blueblood" for a bit like a thin, scarlet rope. It then absorbed into his skin, in a bright light. He quickly tested it out by teleporting in an orange flash. When he appeared, he was two feet away, on his hind legs and his left forehoof on the wall for him to lean on.

"That felt good." The stallion said in a lax manner as he cracked his neck, making an audible snap. He then let out a sigh of relaxation.

Trixie just fidgeted in disgust at the cracking sound. But out of the corner of her eye, she saw a white unicorn with a purple mane, blue eyes and wearing a beautiful dress. The disguised mare immediately recognized her as somepony named Rarity she humiliated a while back in Ponyville. By the look of it, she was looking for Blueblood. Trixie poked the Mara and he managed to notice her.

"Blueblood" feigned coughing and then waved his forearms around with a big wide smile. "And then he said…" He paused for dramatic effect. "THE ARISTOCRATS!" He then got down on his fours, and made a bam-dum-tsh sound with his hooves. Trixie was not at all amused.

He then awkwardly whistled, but then made a smug grin and looked at the blue mare from under his sunglasses. "Stay beautiful." He then ruffled the mare's mane, causing the wig to fall to the ground. Trixie made a fake gasp of horror and slapped the prince across the face, making a loud smack. The mare then lifted the wig and walked away, nose in the air as the white stallion rubbed his stinging cheek, groaning in pain.

When the blue unicorn was out of sight, Rarity walked up to the unicorn with a look that meant serious business. She greeted him in a formal yet extremely uncomfortable manner. "Hello Blueblood."

"Hey…there." Blueblood replied uncomfortably looking away. He then came up with an idea of what to say. "So bet you wanted to hear that awesome joke I just told that bald chick huh?"

Rarity just glared daggers at him, but he continued anyways. "Alright, so a bunch of nobleponies go to this talent agent to show her their act. Though skeptic, the agent decides to see it. When she watches it, the show involves nine fillies and nine colts who to her dismay…"

"Enough of that now." Rarity demanded, knowing he was trying to change a certain subject. But she wanted answers.

"Blueblood" tried to not notice her tone. "What's the matter? Heard this one before? You could've…"

"Enough!" The mare barked at him, causing the Mara to step back. "I have questions for you and you are going to answer them." She was glaring at him worse than that time at the Gala.

"Blueblood's" face let out a shocked gasp as he put a hoof on her shoulder. "Oh my Aunties! I swear I will pay for…"

"No! No! No! A different question!" Rarity angrily interrupted him, shaking his hoof off of her. The false stallion was beginning to feel grateful that the music downstairs was so loud.

The prince let out a sigh of relief. "Alright then, shoot." The prince told her feigning interest. What's this mare up to?

Rarity's tone didn't simmer a bit at the prince's acceptance. "Would you like to explain your sudden change? Hmmm?"

The royal stallion just joyously laughed. "What is the matter with me being a little different? A better and chiller stallion? Somepony everypony wants to know and love? Or at least do my best?"

Rarity was dumbstruck by his answer, denying that someone so shallow could just have a total personality change almost overnight. The imposter noticed her blank expression and spoke up. "Is that a good enough answer for you…?" He tried to think of her name.

This got Rarity aggressive again. "Do you even know my name you…" She tried to think of a good insult. "…Royal pain!" She groaned to herself for using that lame of a term, especially one she just heard her mailpony/new friend say to no effect.

He was taken aback by this and scurried to think of a possible name she might have. "Hmmmmm?" He then pointed to her still with a positive attitude. "You look like a Toola-Roola to me!"

"IT'S RARITY!" She answered back to him, furious at him. "Don't you remember from the Gala? I was wearing this exact same dress!"

By now, Blueblood was starting to act more aggressively. "I'm starting not to like you attitude missy. Not like you were very nice to start with..."

"DON'T YOU?"

The fraud knew he was cornered now, so he decided to take full advantage of it. He just lifted both hooves in the air and made an overly comedic shrug, cross eyed, tongue sticking out and speaking in a voice as if he was half seal. "NOPE! I DON'T THINK SO!"

Rarity was disgusted by this stallion's immaturity. But she now had a feeling that this wasn't the Blueblood she knew and once sought after. Remembering Trixie giving the Mara mouths with some sort of amulet, she wondered what such an amulet could also do. She then wondered why these Mara, Trixie, Anvillain and that revolting Blubayou if their master didn't even have any power. There had to be a first victim, and she was sure who it was.

She stared at him straight in the eyes and spoke only three words to him in a threatening whisper. "You're not Blueblood."

The Mara looked at the pony in front of him with a blank stare right into her eyes. Within a second, his eyes turned pure orange as he opened his mouth grotesquely wide. Before Rarity could scream, the Mara spewed out a purple mist from his jaws. Rarity dozed a little bit then went off to a deep sleep.

The Mara regained his composure when went back to his normal Blueblood look. He lifted the shaking mare with his magic, opened a closet and tossed her in. He then two a few breathers and got back to his care free attitude before sliding down the stair railings.

"No! Sapphire! Don't call me fat!" Rarity muttered as she experienced a horrible nightmare. "DON'T CALL ME FAT!"

"And that's how I learned the Elements were PC." Coocoodrill finished his anecdote as he feasted on a giant chocolate chip cookie. He then started another subject. "Sooooo? One question. Why is your name Fancy Pants but you don't wear pants?"

The regal stallion was a little stunned by the strange question. But he managed to politely answer. "Well dear boy, it's just a name. Not a big deal." He then lowered his voice a bit. "Besides, I absolutely loathe those things. Just so itchy."

The green stallion immediately knew what he meant. "Yeah I get ya! I hate pants! Hate it! Hate it! Hate it! They creep me out so much."

Fancy Pant shifted his eyes a little creep out. "What's so scary about pants?" He had a feeling he would regret his question.

Coocoodrill swallowed the rest of the cookie whole, swallowed and then softly spoke as if he was stalking a berserk gorilla during a great hunt. "I heard from this guy, from this guy, from this girl that she knew a guy who wore pants."

"So?"

"The pants…ate his entire lower body." Coocoo ominously told him with. "It then ate his upper body, leaving no evidence of his disappearance. I can never look at pants the same again."

Fancy Pants resisted the urge to laugh at such a preposterous conspiracy. He remembered such a story as an urban legend he once heard while off in the East. But he decided to humble him. "That sounds like and absolutely ludicrously horrendous fate that beseeched that poor pony."

The pants phobic could only nod solemnly, wishing well to that poor pony eaten by their own trousers. He then looked behind himself and noticed a familiar teal pegasus stallion walking towards them.

"Yo what's up baldy? Ain't this party cracka lacka?" Coocoodrill asked Paramail back to his energetic and upbeat mood.

Paramail looked around. There was DJ PON-3 as the DJ. The dancefloor was quite barren save for Pinkie Pie and some wealthy stallion, both dancing like crazy. Celestia and Luna were at two throne Blueblood ordered and were talking amongst themselves about what he could guess was politics. The rest of the wealthy ponies were just talking to themselves about money, art and berating other ponies. He saw a rich mare snicker while pointing to his head. He groaned a bit.

Aw c'mon! I still have a mane! It's just a streak going down from my forehead to the back of my neck. Hmph! Bet half of them wear wigs anyways.

"Equestria to Paramail!" Coocoodrill called out waving his hoof in front the pegasus.

Paramail jumped back to reality and quickly answered. "Oh yeah! Hey Coocoo. Hey…"

"Fancy Pants and a pleasure to meet you."

"Fancy Pants. Sorry I'm like an hour late." He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Turns out being an Element of Harmony isn't an excuse to get of work early." As he was about to reply to the crazy unicorn's question, he noticed Fluttershy outside in the courtyard sitting in front of a lake. He felt his heart skip a beat.

Fancy Pants looked where he was looking and noticed the pegasus too. He remembered her from when a party at the courtyard he was in was interrupted by a birthday bash; A splendid night indeed. He could Immediately tell that the pegasus stallion had a thing for the mare. He spoke up about formally and calmly. "Do you like that pegasus lady outside Mr. Baldy?"

Paramail got out of his little trance again. "Who? Fluttershy?"

Fancy Pants nodded. "If that's her name, then yes that is who I am referring to. Do you?" He could hear Coocoo snicker and elbowed him, making him straighten up.

Paramail looked away embarrassed. "Yes."

The looney unicorn spoke up. "By why it's so obvi…" He was then muted by a spell the formal pony casted. He just shrugged and began to devour some cake, silently munching and gulping down the desserts.

"Then why don't you speak to her? Ask her for a dance. It's what a true gentlecolt would do." Fancy Pants suggested to the stallion.

"Baldy" looked at the unicorn confused. "With this techno music? Forget it! This is definitely not her cup of…" He was interrupted by Fancy raising his hoof.

"Don't worry Mr. Baldy…" He gave the teal pony an assuring smile. "I'll handle it."

The pegasus took two breathers and then flew off, giving a thankful nod to Fancy Pants. He nodded back, un-muted Coocoodrill and walked towards the DJ.

As Coocoodrill swallowed down an entire strawberry cake, he saw the fancy pony whispering something to the DJ. The DJ just gave him a "You're joking right?" look and shook her head. Fancy Pants then magically summoned a bag of bits onto her back. She then quickly nodded, got a CD and by what he could see, thanking him. Fancy Pants then walked back to the green unicorn.

"Teach me your methods of diplomacy." Coocoodrill said to the stallion, awed by his glorious charisma. Fancy Pants only nodded.

"Indeed I shall."

These New Feelings

Chapter 19: These New Feelings

"There you go Mr. and Mrs. Tweetums." Fluttershy said as she gave two little swallows their supper of birdseeds. She was sitting in front of the courtyard pond, which was circular roughly 5 meters. There were flowers such as roses and daisies around the pond, which were in lovely shades of red, orange and yellow.

But the yellow mare was sort of bored at the party. The techno music was too loud and not her kind of music, to her it was just loud annoying beats. The other guests she didn't know very well and many were not very kind and quite snobby. The animals were the highlight of the evening so far, but since it was about nine o'clock, many of the animals were starting to fall asleep, and Fluttershy didn't dare try to wake them up.

She sighed as she lied down on her stomach, looking into the water, which was reflecting the light of the full moon. She heard the sound of something landing behind her and quickly got up to see what it was, expecting some sort of waterfowl that needed tending. But when she turned around, she was caught by surprise.

It was Paramail. The one thing that came into her mind was to hide behind her mane to cover her blushing. The stallion appeared to not notice as he moved beside her, taking a good look at the beautiful pond.

"So…uh?" He looked at his recently sprained forehoof, now in much better condition. "Thanks to you, my leg feels better. I owe you one."

"Thanks." She whispered under her mane.

The teal stallion rubbed the back of his neck, obviously nervous. "So anyways, why are you out here all alone? The party's inside."

Fluttershy softly spoke up. "Well…I'm not really too into the music…and it's really loud…and the animals are really cute. Like the squirrels, the ducks, the moths, the koi, you…" She made a small squeak.

"What was that?"

She could tell that her face was getting redder. "Y-you-you…you're late for the party. What happened? I…I mean we were waiting for you to show up." She mentally congratulated herself for that recovery.

The mailpony passively shrugged with a light smile. "Well turns out that being the Element of Caring, saving children from nightmare creatures and being invited to a royal party doesn't qualify for getting out of work early."

The two pegasi both let out a chuckle, considering how ridiculous somepony's boss must be to refuse something like that. Paramail then continued to talk. "But anyways, didn't expect the party to be like this." He pointed to back inside, where there were still technobeats irritating both ponies.

Fluttershy nodded her head in agreement, loosening up a bit and speaking louder. "Yeah. I understand every bit of it. This isn't music, it's just some random sound effects put together to sound like music." She gently stomped her hoof to emphasize her dislike for it.

Paramail completely agreed about what she was talking about. "I completely get your view on this "genre" of "new age music". They'll never compete with what we grew up with." He broke into a mocking laugh as he lifted his forehooves into the air. "Who was the pony who thought making sounds like "WUB WUB WUB WUB WUB" and stuff?"

Fluttershy openly giggled at the comment. "That is a horrible sound. Sounds like the toads from "Butterfly Blaster III", and that sounded better."

Paramail looked at her in joyous surprise. "You play video games too?" He considered patting her on the back but didn't want to intrude.

Fluttershy looked down, making a little circle in the dirt with a hoof. She then looked upwards and admitted with a smile. "Yeah. When I'm done with my animal friends and the others are busy, I like to visit the arcade once in a while. It's relaxing to say the least."

This was the first pony who she ever told about her arcade visits. The teal stallion had a warm look on his face and with some hesitation, walked a little closer to her. She did not move away, but felt her legs tremble a bit.

"I love the Ponyville Arcade, especially the new "Mare-Do-Well: The Troubling Twelve" game." He reminisced about playing the relatively bit devouring game. "Can never beat Bile the Bog Belcher though. Level's unforgiving. Have you though?"

Fluttershy never even heard of that game. But due to her past identity as one of many "Mare-Do-Wells, she put that on her mental to-do-list. "I'm afraid I never played it." But then she made a playful boast. "But I do have the high score in all three games in the "Butterfly Blaster" trilogy." She sighed as she remembered the amazing ending of the series as she scooted a little closer.

She was feeling really comfortable about talking to Paramail about this, and as far she could tell, he was too. She then remembered the little message he gave to the two bunnies. She remembered he explicitly stated that he "liked" her, and from what she could feel, she felt the same for him. She just hoped that this was the "like, like" not just "like" like a friend. She saw the fireflies glowing, the moon and stars shining and the flowers in full bloom. All that was needed to make this feel just right was some nice, romantic music instead of that vile "New Age" stuff.

Somepony must have been reading her thoughts. The techno beat suddenly stopped at the end of the "song". Both her and Paramail had no idea what was going on inside. But suddenly, they both heard the soft, lovely tune of a wind chime. Following it were the soft sounds of a piano, which gently increased in volume. Then other instruments such as cellos, violins and percussions, making the music a full blown orchestra. Then the soft, soothing voice of a stallion began to sing.

"Now here we are, under a sky full of stars.

You stand right by my side with an idea on your mind."

Paramail immediately knew that this was the work of Fancy Pants, to improve the atmosphere of this encounter. Not that he ever did this before, but the stallion was smart enough to know that a dance was due. But if only he could get the courage to ask her.

Fluttershy looked at him intently, remembering the advice Spike told him earlier that day. Her legs were shaking, but she felt extremely excited for such a moment. She did her best to keep her cool.

"But you're too scared to say it.

Don't know what to do.

But you've known one another for the longest time…"

The stallion opened his mouth, about to say something but took it back. But after a deep breath, he reached out a hoof to her, profusely blushing. Fluttershy looked at the hoof for a moment and slowly took a hold of it.

The two ponies then began to dance ballroom style as both of them stood on their hind legs. Fluttershy placed her spare forehoof on Paramail's neck while he placed his spare forehoof around his dance partner's waist. Both ponies felt slightly awkward about the new experience as they moved to the music, slowly spinning and swaying back and forth, unsure who was leading as they stared into each other's eyes.

"So now it is the time to decide what is right!

Will you stand idly by or will you let your heart FLY?"

Both of them flapped their wings to ascended several feet into the air, still rhythmically dancing to the song. As the musical instruments began to play louder, both ponies began to even their tempo. On instinct, Paramail dipped Fluttershy, here mane almost touching the ground. Both dancers looked into one another's eyes, with a new surge of confidence in their half closed eyes.

Neither of them couldn't believe this moment was actually happening. But they didn't care, they just reveled in the music as Paramail brought her back up and they danced towards the pond.

"Now that we're together everything is much better!

I can't describe the feel but it just feels SO REAL!"

They softly danced on top of the water, their wings supporting them. The pegasi created small ripples in the pond every time they took a step. Various animals began to watch the couple as the he twirled her gently. One squirrel let out a sigh while a buzzard was visibly tearing up.

"Great time for you and I!

So happy I can cry.

My only regret was the amount of time.

I am lost in your eyes.

We are flying like birds."

Fluttershy nodded to Paramail, ready for the next move. Paramail gently tossed her up into the air. She gracefully twirled around in the air, her wings folded together.

"There are now JUST NO WORDS!"

A pair of Cymbals hit together in the soundtrack, followed by the string instruments playing their notes twenty percent louder. Fluttershy quickly opened her wings at the highest point of her spin, which covered the bright full moon. Paramail quickly swooped over and caught her in his forehooves.

As the music became a full blown instrumental, he took her to the top of Blueblood's mansion. The middle of the room was flat and big enough to be its own ballroom and the stained glass pictures of the prince let out colorful rays of light, making the roof stop as colorful as a rainbow. The two stepped, twirled and dipped in their own private ballroom as they were lost in their own little world together as they danced to the minute long instrumental part. The song began to slightly soften as the instrumental ended and the singing return.

"Fly! Fly! Fly way up high!

Let your wings be still but let your souls be filled!"

Both ponies once again began to ascend into the air, close enough that their noses were touching. They smiled lovingly to each other as they danced to the chorus.

"We will do what feels right!

We will stay side by side!

We are letting our hearts reach the sky!

We will what feels right!

We will stay side by side

We are letting our hearts reach the sky!"

Both pegasi stopped dancing as they descended down to the top of the roof on all fours. Neither pony had to say how elated they were with one another. They just gave one another an affectionate nuzzle.

"Now we're both alright with our hearts now alight.

Now let us remember…"

Fluttershy put her head under his chin with her eyes closed and a wide smile on her face. Paramail accepted the warm embrace, feeling perfectly content and without a care for anything else in the world. Both were making soft, affectionate whinnies towards one another.

Both ponies thought that they were the luckiest pony in the world at that moment. Finally finding their special somepony.

"…Tonight."

"You're not going to get away with this!" A guard of Celestia shouted in anger as he was getting tied up to a tree by a Mara. His fellow guards were also tied up to other trees and they were surrounded by many of these things. Suddenly, he saw a giant metal alicorn fly down and look at him with a sadistic grin.

"Aw come on featherflank!" Anvillain insulted the guard with a cruel laugh as he close to the stallion's face. "Is that the best thing you can say about getting tied up to a tree by the bringers of a New Age of rulers? A little…cliché of you to say the least."

The guard just spat in the golem's face. Anvillain slowly wiped the spit off his face and felt its fury increase. He had half a mind to crush the guard, but he was just as content with hitting him upside the head, knocking him out.

The iron equine then looked at all the Mara at his disposal. There were sixty-three in all since there were stragglers from the last skirmish. It then began to command them. "Alright all of you! Surround the mansion and don't let anypony leave! I've got to find this "One pure of Heart" and then we'll be good!" It then hesitated to itself as the construct put a hoof to its chin.

"But first, I'm gonna need to find one pure of heart." It pondered to itself. "Now where am I gonna find that?"

A Mara poked Anvillain and signaled him to look upwards. Anivllian looked up and hit his hooves together with a clanging sound as he saw a familiar aura emanating from the roof.

"Bingo."

"Wake up Mara."

No answer to Screameater's borderline affectionate telepathic call.

"Wake up."

Still no response.

"Come on this is ridiculous. Upsy Daisy now!"

Once again unheard.

"…"

The baby dragon made an obnoxiously loud snoring sound.

"WAKE UP YOU DIM WITTED DRAGON DOPPLEGANGER!"

"Spike" quickly opened its eyes, revealing pure orange Mara eyes. Another blink turned them back to the dragon like green eyes. It got ready to pay attention to its master's mental orders.

"Glad you're up little one!" Screameater told the Mara with a huge hint of insincerity. "I have something for you to do. Do you want to guess?"

When "Spike" only yawned again, the imprisoned prince only grumbled. "Fine! Be lazy about it! But just get rid of the Element of Magic." The alicorn used his magic to look through the dragon's eyes for a second, seeing a purple unicorn mare reading a book on his former wife Evening Star. Screameater felt pity for his beautiful wife. To him, her only contribution to this world was bringing an incompetent prince to this world. Though to be fair, he was imprisoned only a year after his son's birth and they were usually much too busy to speak very much.

But as he spaced out about his wife, Screameater senses alerted him of a light blue aura around the mare. Screameater would love to have order the capture of the studious unicorn, but Anvillain already alerted him of two Pure of Hearts. He turned off the sight spell and spoke back to "Spike".

"Alright little lizard. I want you to "get rid" of that Element in front of you. Personal tip for you…" The alicorn made a dark, demonic laugh. "…you're in a room with many flammable objects and unicorns get hurt by fire. Be creative." The voice in the Mara's head then left.

"Spike" tried to get up, but realized that it was wrapped in a blanket. It wasn't hard to realize for the dragon that one of the two unicorns did this to keep him comfortable. It slowly got out of the blanket. It then remembered the white unicorn from yesterday.

"Yoo-Hoo! Spike Darling! How are you doing?"

The Mara scoffed at the idea of that mare treating him like a little nephew. It then slowly and silently walked behind the busy pony, who was too busy reading. It then heard the yellow pegasus mare's voice.

"Where have you been Spike? We were looking for you?"

"Spike" shook his head to get the memory of that animal loving pegasus out of its mind. But it did wonder how she was doing at the party right now. Perhaps she did follow the advice the Mara gave her.

The dragon spat out a slight flicker to get ready to burn her to ashes as he stopped only two feet from her. But it then had one last memory. In it, both the purple and the green unicorns ran towards it calling out his false name. They then both embraced him as they were both visibly tearing up.

It froze up completely, not moving a muscle. It thought about how much they must have missed the real Spike. Now it was going to incinerate this dragon's closest thing to family and she wouldn't know it was a fake. It contemplated where such a virtuous pony would go during death but it knew too little from the dreams he's seen and ruined. It then remembered how many ponies, dragons, griffons, minotaurs and other creatures dreams it has turned to nightmares and the sheer terror on their faces. Sure that was fun and it never truly harmed them, but this was different. This Mara was about to destroy one of the few beings that ever cared for it right behind her back. These ponies felt so benevolent and looked like they would never intentionally harm anything. How would they feel if they found what it did to this pony? How would it feel about it?

It went to its knees and broke out in tears. "I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T DO IT!" It desperately tried to cover his eyes.

Twilight quickly turned around and looked at Spike concerned about any possible problems. She kneeled down to his level. "What's the matter Spike are you all right?"

"No" was the only answer "Spike" can choke out.

"What is it then? You can tell me anything." Twilight put a comforting hoof on the crying monster's shoulder. "I'm here for you."

The Mara took two seconds to control his tears. It then slowly got up and uncovered his eyes. Twilight gasped at the recognizable pure orange eyes and began to move away. She almost shrieked when she saw the dragon she thought she knew turn into a Mara twisted into the mockery of an Earth pony without a mouth. She might not have trusted this…thing, but from the flood of tears its eyes, it seemed genuinely remorseful and ashamed of itself. Twilight took a long breath then spoke up with a hard expression on her face.

"Tell me everything you know. And don't you dare spare details."

Fluttershy and Paramail were still on top of Prince Blueblood's manor and were admiring the starry night and the great full moon. They were sitting down close to one another, both enjoying the presence of their special other as they talk about one another's lives. I was no surprise that the mare had the more exciting experiences.

Fluttershy cuddled next to her first coltfriend and softly spoke up. "Paramail."

"Yeah?"

"I…I have a question for you."

Paramail was glad to answer any question for his new marefriend. "Sure what is it?"

The animal enthusiast looked away from the sky and into the stallion's eyes. "How long did you have these feelings for me?"

Paramail was slightly taken aback and slightly surprised at such a question but answered nonetheless. "Well…I remember seeing you first as a little colt in our first year of flight school." He let out a slight chuckle. "I still remember I had a full mane on my head. But anyways, at that time I wanted to fly just as badly as RD. You know be the best."

"What happened?" Fluttershy asked curious what this had to do with her really. She was too nice to stop him from rambling on.

"Baldy" took a deep breath. "Alright then. It's the first day of flight school and most of us are really hyped up about learning to fly, especially me and RD. We wagered an entire bag of candy on who would be the better flyer by the end of the quarter. That was the first day I met you in the corner of the cloud. You looked kind of lonely so I went to your cloud to strike up a conversation…"

Fluttershy began to remember those first few days at flight school. She never really acknowledged it too much, but now she fully remembered.

Her parents insisted that she go to flight school, but she didn't really want to go. They wanted her to go not just because flying was virtually a necessity for residents of Cloudsdale, but also to make some friends. Not wanting to hurt her parent's feelings, she went every day after school.

On the first day of flight school, she recognized many of the fillies and colts around from her class. She remembered that many of them also have teased her numerous times. Not wanting to bring attention to herself, she isolated herself from her environment, doing her homework. During a break from some wing exercises, she watched all the other ponies playing with each other, hardly paying attention to her.

Then she saw a little teal colt leave the crowd. He had a long navy blue mane that covered most of his maroon eyes and his flank was blank. He walked towards her and casually stretched out a hoof with a smile. "Hi there! My name's Paramail!"

She remembered flinching at the loud volume of his introduction. But she saw that he was trying to be genuinely friendly, so tried to be nice and gently shook his hoof. She then barely audibly said her name. It was hard enough speaking to anypony else but her parents, but any colt enhanced that social phobia by five.

For some reason this didn't bother the colt too much and he began talking about his excitement for his first day, how droll school was, his boring mailpony family and how he wanted to one day be a Wonderbolt. She just smiled and nodded, pretending to pay full attention and mentally groaning at his lame puns he sprinkled into the conversation.

She then heard the loud whistle of the coach who called for the first volunteer through a couple of "pipsqueak level" rings. The teal colt and a rainbow maned filly were the first to volunteer. The coach picked Paramail and he jumped out to fly. He began to flap his wings and started to go through all of the holes and dodged all of the poles, making it to the other side. The coach congratulated him and told him to come back through the course. The colt just cockily nodded.

But as young Paramail got near his destination, he began to fly erratically. He called out something about his mane getting into his eyes and before anyone knew it, he hit the soft cloud ground and tumbled headfirst into a metal light post. Nobody made a sound as the coach quickly flew up to the hurt foal. He then called the nurse and she flew down to take the now crying little pegasus.

Fluttershy felt bad for the colt and asked the coach at the end of the day how Paramail was doing. The coach knelt down to her.

"Don't worry. Your friend is okay. He just has some bruises and a bump on his head. But if I had to say so his pride is absolutely demolished. He had to go home, but he'll be good by next week." He then pointed to behind the little filly. "Come on now. You're parents are here. See you next week." He then flew off as Fluttershy went to see her parents.

During the week, she noticed that the rainbow maned filly and the teal colored colt were in her school. Fluttershy saw that while the filly was still full of pep, the colt was now much less energetic now. She also saw that he shaved his mane, getting the nickname "Baldy". Somehow after years this became his more common school name, to the point that Fluttershy even forgot his name.

As flight school went on, she befriended the filly named Rainbow Dash, got her cutie mark and made a bond with various animals. But other than extremely scattered (almost once or twice a year) conversations, she never really remembered Paramail's existence again. She now felt quite ashamed about it.

"And that's when I decided that a pony like me would never be a Wonderbolt. So I got my grades up, made a new clique of friends and started to learn my family's trade." Paramail summed up, looking down in shame.

After a deep groan, he then looked back up to her. "That's why I like you."

Fluttershy didn't really understand what he meant. Sure she was too busy having a flashback, but from what she heard him say, it sounded a little like speaking about his past failure, giving up on his dreams and other…angsty stuff like that. What did this have to do with her?

But before she could ask he started speaking again. "I mean, you're kind, smart and beautiful." Fluttershy started to blush a little. "But…but I think I admire you're courage the most."

Fluttershy was befuddled. "B-but I'm such a scaredy cat. I was once startled by my own sha…" Paramail gently place a hoof on her lips, causing her to stop speaking.

"That's not true Fluttershy. In my eyes, you're quite the opposite. And I'm not just talking about you saving Equestria." He took one of her forehooves and held it between his two hands as he looked into her deep blue eyes. "You had the guts to follow your dream. To be with the animals and help them out. You ignored the norms of pegasi society and made your own path in this world. Most ponies do what their family did and on and on and on. But you…you did what you wanted to do without a hint of regret. That takes guts; and I wish I had those kinds of guts. I've been attracted to you for that quality since foalhood." Paramail gently nuzzled her. "In a way I…I think y-you…you…complete me."

Fluttershy was almost overwhelmed by what he said. But then she realized it was pretty much true. She chose her life, he was pressured into his. She was quiet, he was talkative. She just went with the flow, he always tried to be a few steps ahead. She loved every moment of her work, he begrudgingly did his work. She had a long, pink, flowing mane while he had only a navy blue line going down the back of his head and neck. The list went on.

All Fluttershy did to agree was look away and blush harder. She then began to speak up. "Paramail."

"Yes?"

"I-I never…" She said the rest of the sentence so softly, even be right next to her didn't help.

Paramail looked around confused. "Never really what? Sorry didn't hear you."

Fluttershy took a few seconds to keep her cool and then quickly spoke up. "Ineverkissedanyponybefore."

Paramail processed what she said in his mind and he immediately blushed too. He looked away a bit as he gently put down her hoof. "Well…uh? Neither have I…actually."

"Will…will you be my first?" Fluttershy asked him a little awkwardly, getting her mane out of her face.

The teal stallion only nodded as they smiled to one another lovingly. Both ponies then closed their eyes and puckered their lips. Both ponies wanted to make this moment as memorable and romantic as possible. Paramail's mind was running with thoughts.

"This is finally happening! Tonight I declare myself the luckiest stallion on the face of Equestria!"

Fluttershy's thoughts were also trailing as their lips came closer together.

"I can't believe this is finally happening! My only regret is that this didn't happen sooner! I wonder how a kiss…"

"EEEP!"

Paramail immediately opened his eyes only to see his new marefriend struggling under a net of what appeared to be chainmail. His reacted to his first instincts, to try to get her out. But when he just touched the net, he felt himself getting slammed to the side of one of the roof's domes, getting pinned by a large hoof. As he got to his senses, he saw the same metal pony that he saw yesterday, but this time with wings and a horn. It smiled sadistically as it pointed its sharp horn at him. Paramail shut his eyes when he saw the golem thrust the horn.

When he didn't feel anything, he opened his eyes to see that the metal alicorn stabbed the wall just a few inches to the right of the pegasus's neck. The construct then took his hoof off of him, causing Paramail to fall on his flank to the floor. He then watched in horror as the artificial steed flew to the helpless Fluttershy, grabbing her and the net with a hoof.

Anvillain then began to mockingly laugh. "I've been waiting to block that almost kiss for like forever! It was totally worth it! Priceless!"

Paramail snorted as he resisted the urge to tackle him, seeing as Anvillain was in full control. He then noticed a familiar blue mare teleport next to the golem.

"Trixie Lullamoon?" Paramail guessed still on the defensive as he saw several pegasus Mara surrounding him.

"How'd you know?" The pony asked as she threw of her wig and used her amulet to change back to her normal form. "That it was Trixie?" She then gave him a quizzical look. "And how did you know my last name?"

"I saw a poster of your show." Paramail growled stomping a hoof with Trixie nodding in reason. "And I had tickets to go watch it next week." He then pointed to the weeping Fluttershy. "Now let her go!"

Anvillain let out another cruel laugh as it placed a sharp steel wing under the yellow mare's throat. "We don't think so! This lass is a "Pure of Heart", soon to be part of the ritual for master. You should be glad I didn't choose you." Fluttershy tried to get free, but it brought its wing closer to her throat. "Ah, ah, ah! Don't move or I'll slice you like a chicken on a farm." It laughed again. "WHO KNOWS! MAYBE YOU'LL RUN AROUND A BIT!" She kept still after that threat.

Paramail clenched began to feel relatively helpless as all of the Mara got closer to him. He then realized what Anvillain said. I was a longshot, but it was his only chance to save his marefriend. "Wait one minute." He pointed towards the golem. "You said something about choosing me?"

Anvillain didn't know what he was talking about. "Yes? So?"

Paramail knelt to the ground with his head down. This act was not of servitude, but of tribute. "If I'm worthy of the ritual, then can you take me instead?" He looked back up to Anvillain and Trixie. "Just let her go." He then closed his eyes, ready to be taken.

Trixie and Fluttershy couldn't believe what this pony was doing. He was virtually writing "absorb me" all over himself. Fluttershy looked at him as if to say "Don't do this. It's not worth it."

"Trixie…" the unicorn said to him befuddled and almost sympathetic. "…Trixie thinks you lost your mind. Sacrificing yourself to be used as a ritual, thus being the one responsible for our new king's rise. Do you want that to be in your mind for all eternity?"

Paramail began to feel slightly pathetic. "If it keeps her safe. She has animals to care and such. What will they do without her?" He then lowered his head, waiting to be taken.

He then heard that same metallic laugh. Looking up again, he saw Anvillain shaking it head before strictly saying "No."

Paramail felt even weaker than before as he got up. "But…why? I'm offering myself to be a snack and you're refusing?"

Anvillain cherished the taste of its domination, walking up to the teal pegasus, holding his head with a hoof and looked at him with its ocular rubies. It then slowly spoke to the pathetic stallion. "Because…it…will…make…you…that much…happier." He then pushed the pony to the ground and signaled the Mara to get ready.

But Trixie stopped the Mara before they were about to pounce on the now crying stallion. "Enough!" She then spoke to Anvillain with authority. "We need all the Mara we can get to take Celestia. Leave him be." She then spoke to Paramail not even looking at him. "Just…just leave. Go home."

"GET THE RAINCLOUDS!" Anvillain cried out to the Mara reveling in this moment. The Mara quickly got some clouds, kicked them and made a downpour over the mailpony. Anvillain began to laugh even harder as Trixie just watched. Even the Mara took part in the mocking, pointing their hooves at the drenched stallion.

Paramail looked around to see that no help was going to come. He knew that if he even tried to fight back, either he or Fluttershy could get seriously injured. So he looked towards his mare with an apologetic look. Both pegasi were softly sobbing, knowing that this was the last time they'd meet as they slowly waved goodbye to one another. Before Paramail could feel any more emotional pain, he slowly turned away to head back to Ponyville. He gave one more glance and then flew away in shame.

"Well that's our job done." Anvillain cried out as it shook the net with Fluttershy in it. She gave up struggling, and softly weeped into her forehooves. Trixie just signaled the Mara to get ready and they then teleported back to Phobos with the sobbing pony.

Party Crashers

Chapter 20: Party Crashers

And then she said "He did that on porpoise!" Get it?"

Both Pinkie Pie and Coocoodrill started hollering with laughter at Pinkie's joke. Fancy Pants merely let out a chuckle, showing his amusement from the two ponies' antics as they all hung around the snack bar.

Around them were all the mares and stallions were now beginning to leave, most likely due to the noisy music that only a brown stallion with a ripped up tuxedo that was currently spinning on his head as well as doing somersaults and back flips. The two princesses were conversing with one another in some sort of anti sound barrier. Blueblood was just lying around near his aunts, tapping his hooves to the music.

Coocoodrill managed to stop laughing enough to complement his friend's joke. "Wow Pinkie! You actually make puns funny!" He then tossed a raspberry tart into his mouth.

"Thanks Cooks!" Pinkie Pie said as she put drank some more fruit punch from a mug. She then turned to Fancy Pants. "You know any good jokes?"

The formal stallion thought for a bit, but managed to come up with one that the two ponies would be able to understand without thinking too hard. "Alright I got one." He moved closer to the two ponies so they can only hear.

"So a stallion is loses all her precious bits in a court case and goes to the donut shop to drown away her worries. She cries out "All lawyers are scum!" as she gorges on donuts. The pony next to her says "Hey I find that offensive!" When she asks if he's a lawyers he then says "No I'm not. I'm scum!" Fancy Pants then took a small sip of punch from his glass.

Pinkie and Coocoo looked at one another then back at him trying to process the joke. Eventually, both just simultaneously said "I don't get it." And shrugged.

Fifty-one Pegasus Mara, eleven Earth Mara and one Unicorn Mara were all on the roof planning their ambush. They all started to get ready for the ambush. The unicorn Mara began to stomp its hoof, signaling a countdown.

On the count of ten and nine, all the Mara paired up in groups of three. The Unicorn Mara had two Earth Mara on its team.

On the count of eight and seven, all the Mara picked a window to go through, whether normal, frosted or stained glass. The Unicorn's chose a stained glass window on the top of the roof. It knew from its last skirmish that an ambush was the way to go, but it needed a distraction from the others in order to get to the prey.

On the count of seven and six, the nightmarish abominations stretched their limbs and wings, ready to moved quickly and capture the princesses immediately.

At five and four, they all began snorting and stomping, readying themselves for a wild and intense battle. To take out a princess, they'd need to be at their toughest. The Earth Mara were driving themselves into an crazed frenzy while the sickening parody of a Unicorn stood stoically in deep focus.

But then at the count of three and two, the Unicorn Mara used its magic to lift the two adjacent earth Mara off the ground. The two Mara struggled as hard as they could, befuddled on why their partner was doing this. The Unicorn only narrowed its eyes at the stained glass window of Blueblood with malicious intent.

It then counted to one.

Everypony in the party heard the loud crash of a window shattering. The music stopped as all the ponies saw two pitch black, pony shaped beings falling through a the stained glass picture of the prince. What baffled them more was that when they crashed to the ground, they became nothing more than a purple haze. Only Celestia, Luna, Pinkie Pie, Coocoodrill and Blueblood had any idea what they. The prince quickly ran and held behind the Princess of the moon tight, shivering in terror.

"Now is not the time to cower nephew." Luna stated struggling to get him off of her. "We must battle the servants of your insane father."

The unicorn stallion stopped trembling. "Now, now Auntie." As Luna looked towards her nephew confused, she saw that he replaced his frightened grimace with a malign smile. His eyes then became a pure orange color as his voice changed to sound like twenty Bluebloods speaking at once as it shook its head. "Don't talk about DADDY THAT WAY!" The pony then menacingly laughed as it teleported away with the princess of the night in front of the entire crowd in a bright orange light.

Nopony, especially Celestia, could believe what they just saw. Princess Luna was just taken away by some sick, twisted copy of the prince. Celestia stared at the spot where her sister once stood, wondering that if Blueblood was a Mara in disguise, how many more victims could there be? What if Twilight herself was taken? What if her brother had the depraved mind to take away a young filly? The princess's mind flood with these thoughts, causing her to go into a trance of fear.

After a few uneasy seconds, all the windows in the mansion broke as Pegasus Mara soared into the room. All of the noble ponies (including Fancy Pants) screamed in terror and began to run for the exit, escaping the grounds. Coocoodrill and Pinkie Pie immediately got into defensive positions as a few earth ponies leaped from the windows and landing on their hooves, ready to attack. The last one to enter was a Unicorn Mara, who merely floated down in a dark red aura.

All fifty the winged Mara flew towards the catatonic Celestia, dog piling her. The princess didn't even struggle. Six of the Earth Mara charged towards the pink mare and the green stallion.

One of the Mara tried to lunge at Pinkie Pie, but she ducked, causing it to crash into another Mara. When both Mara regained their senses, they saw two pink hooves hit their faces. They were both sent flying into a pillar as they turned into the purple haze. She then called out to her friend, slightly annoyed but trying to best cheery. "You know Cooks! This is the second worst party I've ever been to." A Mara charged straight at her, but she just head butted the creatures, causing to wince, go down to its knees and disappear.

"You don't say?" Coocoodrill jokingly commented as he sidestepped a charging enemy and grabbing its tail with his forehooves. He then spun around a couple of times to gain momentum. "I'm getting sick and tired of these thingamajigies too!" He then let go of the tail, sending it flying into two others, causing them all to vaporize.

As the crazed stallion took a breather, he saw two of the Earth Mara surrounding the party DJ. He began to recall one of the tips Fancy Pants said to him about speaking to DJ's.

He and Fancy Pants were at the party's snack bar in Blueblood's radical home, with heavy metal being played in the background and all of the ponies in the house were bobbing their heads. Fancy Pants was wearing a shirt with a picture of a long maned Pegasus stallion with his fore hooves in the air and looking upwards in front of clouds obscuring the rising sun. The formal stallion's mane was fashion into red liberty spikes and he had a nose ring. Coocoodrill was listening intently to what the stallion had to say over the loud screaming of the music.

"So ya wanna impress the DJ eh?" Fancy Pants asked the green unicorn as he pointed to the DJ, who was dressed up as Mare-Do-Well.

Coocoodrill quickly nodded his head. Fancy Pants chuckled a bit. "Alight then. The awesomest tip aboot impressing DJ's is when they are…hypothetically in some kind of distress, you jumped in at the last second and rescue them. It's both shows how much of a bodacious stud and they dig it. Got that eh?"

Coocoodrill nodded once again with a stupid grin on his face. Fancy Pants nodded back as he summoned a chariot driven by one thousand burning phoenixes. He backflips onto the chariot and used the legendary Flaming Whip of Fire to steer the phoenixes into the black hole filled with electro beams in the sky. Coocoodrill shed a tear from his eye at such a glorious sight that all the alicorns of the past, present and yet to come sung to as he flew into the wormhole to slay all of the googly-eyed undead vampire minotaur weregiraffes of Alpha Centauri.

Coocoodrill turned towards Pinkie Pie in a deep, brooding voice. "I gotta rescue that DJ. You help out the princess." Pinkie listened and ran towards the princess dog pile. Coocoodrill took a long, deep breath before he charged towards the two Mara threatening the DJ as he shouted his war cry in a highland accent.

"FOR INFINITE MUSIC REQUESTS!"

Both Mara stopped threatening the DJ and looked towards the charging unicorn utterly baffled by what he just said. Before they can react, Coocoo jumped over the mix table and split his hind legs, kicking both Mara in the face. Coocoodrill remembered seeing a move just like that in Mare-Do-Well issue #73, used against the vile Dr. Laserclaw and Haggis. The two Mara quickly recovered, but Coocoodrill bucked one of them through the wall, leaving a hole in its shape. He then uppercutted the other Mara straight in the chin as he jumped into the air while spinning, sending it through the ceiling. He got that move from Mare-Do-Well: The Troubling Twelve.

The white unicorn just watched in awe as the crazed pony landed on all four legs. She then remembered her manners and spoke to her rescuer. "Thanks champ."

Coocoodrill went on two legs, placing his forehooves by his sides in triumph. "Fear no more miss DJ. Just all in the day's work of THE ELEMENT OF RESPECT!" The outside wind blew through his hair and the light shined upon him as he smiled. She managed to control the urge to swoon at her stallion savior, but she did detect the slightest blush.

The green pony then got back on all fours and quickly asked a question to her. "So do I get infinite requests now?"

DJ PON-3 just looked at him from under her shades, bamboozled by such a question at a time like this. But she took another look at the stallion and relented. She gave him a playful punch in the forehoof. "Anything for you tough guy."

Coocoodrill did not get the flirtatiousness in her voice. He just merely hoofpumped in triumph of scoring infinite songs, hoping that Fancy Pants would be proud of this moment.

Pinkie Pie was distracted by an Earth Mara on her way to the princess. She dodged a blow from the creature and bucked it in the face, knocking it back. It then just got up like a normal pony, irritating the mare.

"No fair!" She accused the monster as she dodged another attack. "You're supposed to turn all purply-poof and such!" She then felt her pinkie senses tingling and just managed to duck from the red blade emanating from the unicorn Mara horn. She then tripped the unicorn, flipped into the air and landed on it, but it didn't disappear. She then started to think about the problem.

"Hmmmmm? Now how can these two double meanie flanks keep getting up when the others disappear in like one hit? Is it…nah too predictable. Perhaps…No to cliché. Or maybe…that's not at all family friendly. Wait one second…a crowning moment of brilliance is about to appear in my mind. These two ponies were from the last conflict we battled along with that metal pony thing, Blu...but he's not really a bad guy and Trixie. But come to think of it, why is Trixie bad? And why does it sound somewhat cliché and drab? I seriously feel like I saw it coming. But anyways on my mental assumption, I think the longer these things stay out of the Dreamworld, the more realistically durable they get. I bet I totally nailed that, even when I'm dodging all these random attacks. Now what's with the shimmering light emanating from under that pile-ponie wannabes, going through every possible weak area of it?"

One second later, the bright light burst in a huge solar flash, sending all the Pegasus Mara flying, vaporizing soon after. The unicorn Mara noticed this and quickly grabbed the earth Mara, using it as a shield from the overwhelming radiance to save its own hide. Pinkie Pie, Coocoodrill and the DJ had to shut their eyes and turn the other cheek to avoid being blinded.

As the light subsided, everybody saw the princess standing tall. She had no visible injuries, but she had tears in her eyes and she stared at the last remaining Mara in anger. She was ready to send it back from whence it came.

The Mara was strangely unfazed by the alicorn's threatening glance. It then became affected by some kind of outside magic that gave it a mouth. It then moved slowly towards her, speaking in a voice Celestia hadn't heard in over a thousand years, but knew all too well.

"Hello dear, dear sister of the sun? How are you doing as of late?" It scoffed. "We haven't talked in ages."

Celestia stiffened up. "What do want…" She paused for a bit, but then continued. "…Cosmus?"

The Mara stopped for a bit, then let out an ear piercing shriek. Coocoodrill, Pinkie Pie and the DJ covered their ears from the painfully high pitched sound. Celestia didn't move a muscle as she watched intently as her brother once again continued to speak through the living puppet, now sounding like one thousand angry ponies all speaking in unison.

"DO NOT CALL ME BY THAT NAME SISTER! IT IS MY WEAKLING NAME! THE NAME WHEN I WAS JUST MERELY THE MIDDLE BROTHER OF TWO GLORIOUS, GIFTED GIRLS WHO HAD THE HUMONGUS HONOR OF RAISING THE SUN AND MOON, GETTING ALL THE GLORY AND ATTENTION AS I JUST SAT ON MY FLANK IN THE CASTLE, RESEARCHING THINGS THAT NOPONY IN THE RIGHT MIND WOULD EVER WANT TO READ ABOUT!"

"ENOUGH!" Celestia shouted out to her brother. She then spoke slowly and with completely unfazed rationality and sincerely. "Brother…you're job might not have been as necessary as mine or Luna, but it was just as memorable. You managed to make three more elements in order to stabilize the Everfree Forest, a land irreversibly twisted by chaos, showing mercy to all the creatures there. You managed to list down over one hundred thousand spells. You managed to find that special somepony before either of us even tried. And we still have yet to try. But most of all, you had a son and a…"

"I CARE NOT FOR MY ONLY CHILD!" The Mara took a breather to cool down and speak more rationally and less monstrous. "But to speak more gentlecoltly, I have no child."

Celestia was about to correct her brother, but she decided to leave her niece out of his clutches. The Mara made a little laugh. "Besides, he's in my stomach right now." It started to laugh even harder. "And just your luck I've got myself one of those Pure of Hearts I need so badly. She's on her way to my throne room as we speak." It waved a hoof to Celestia. "Goodbye sister! Hope to see you soon... in my belly."

The Mara then began to swell up like a balloon, to the point that it was touching the ceiling. Pinkie, DJ-PON-3 and Coocoodrill took cover behind the mix table while Celestia created a bright energy sphere to protect herself, not even flinching. The Mara blew up into the purple haze, blowing all the loose furniture away and making a loud booming sound. Screameater's laughs can still be heard as an echo for several seconds.

After the gust subsided, everypony noticed looked back and noticed Rarity rushing from the hallway, her mane and tail all messed up and her dress extremely wrinkled.

"PRINCESS CELESTIA! YOU'RE NEPHEW IS…!" She looked around the room, awestruck by how much damage there was. The tables were either turned over or destroyed, the pastries were all over the floor, the statures and paintings were completely broken. Rarity just overdramatically fainted.

Screameater sat around on his throne as he played with a random molten hot rock, tossing it around in his tendrils like a ball. He was wondering if his brief message to his sister creep her out enough.

"Maybe I should have threatened her entire kingdom and say in deep dark description how I would constantly terrorize everypony in her land with Mara and such and have her slowly go insane from my evermore violent descriptions. Hindsight always gets me. Ah well! Always next time!"

As he was lost in thought, the large obsidian doors opened to reveal Trixie magically opening the door for Anvillain with Fluttershy still in the net. She then yawned and closed the door. As the golem walked into the room, Screameater could see that the pegasus mare was all out of tears to shed. The dark prince tossed the molten rock into the lava and flew to meet his new "guest".

"Well look who we have here?" Screameater softly said to the prisoner in a mocking manner. "A petite pegasus pony petrified of my mere presence on Phobos." He used his magic to teleport her out of the net and in front of him. She whimpered and curled into a little ball, not even looking at the alicorn standing over her.

Screameater merely tsk-tsked at this measly first impression. He brought her head up with a tendril in order to make her look directly at him. She tried to struggle from his clutches, but he had a firm grip.

"Now, now. Why the long face?" Screameater rhetorically questioned her with a slight snicker. "Get it?"

Fluttershy still refused to answer him. Screameater let out an exasperated snort and began to speak more seriously as he let go of her head.

"Alright little lady! Don't want to cooperate huh? Fine. I'm alright with it. I don't care who you are, what your profession is, who your friends are or your reason of existence. You're only here as a means to an end as far as I care. When I finally manage to absorb my sisters, believe me on one thing." He poked her side with a tendril. "You. Are. Next." He then brought all his tentacles back into his body. "I am going to tie you up, get some Mara to drag you into this very room, and as they play fitting music, I'm going to slowly absorb you into my body." He then brought his face to hers. "And you know what lies in my own stomach? Just a foot of muck, which will be your home for all eternity! Nopony would be able to save you! Not those Elements, not my siblings, and not even a thousand dragons! I sure hope you don't have many family or friends to weep about your loss. And hope to my dear, dear sisters that your don't have some stupid special somepony stallion savior coming after me to rescue you. Because if he or anypony else does, hypothetically speaking of course." He started to speak in his more monstrous voice. "I WILL MAKE SURE THAT THEY…"

His prisoner's eyes suddenly opened wide as she stared into his orange eyes. He shivered at her gaze, but he couldn't get himself to look away from her deep blue eyes. He then dropped to the ground with a grunt.

It was now Fluttershy's turn to talk. "LISTEN MEANIE! YOU NEVER…EVER INSULT ANYPONY AT ALL! IT MAKES ME MAD! NOW TAKE BACK EVERYTHING YOU SAID AND LET ME GO!"

"NEVER!" Screameater hissed in defiance. He then felt the full force of the stare and shrieked in agony.

"I SAID TAKE IT BACK AND…" She felt herself get picked up by the iron pony's hoof and she began to struggle. "LET ME GO!"

She began to look directly into Anvillain's ruby eyes for a good ten seconds as Screameater was shrieking and screeching otherworldly sounds on the floor. Anvillain just looked away slightly annoyed.

"Sorry little one. But you can't use that little move on artificial life." It covered her eyes with its other forehoof. "Just don't have many nerves to unnerve me." The construct then turned toward his master. "What do I do with her?"

Screameater slowly managed to get up and shake his head. He then growled in full rage. "Take her to her cell. And next time I see her, make sure she has a blindfold on." He then began to compose himself as he flew into the air. "But anyways, I sense my little sister around here so off I go." He then quickly flew out of the volcano to find the next ritual.

Anvillain left the room with the struggling mare. It walked all the way down to the dungeon. It opened the cell and tossed Fluttershy in. The golem then laughed at the helpless pony as it went back up the stairs.

Fluttershy just sat in her cell, lamenting her current situation. But then she realized something.

"If Screameater was affected by my stare, that means even he can be afraid."

"WHAT HAS THOU DONE TO MY NEPHEW AND WHY CAN I NOT TELEPORT?"

Luna had the false Blueblood pinned to the side of a cliff. Immediately after she was teleported to Phobos, she kicked the Mara off of her and used her magic to slam him into the granite wall. The false "prince" was shaking and had a sheepish smile on his face, hoping that she wasn't going to send him back to his realm.

"ANSWER ME!"

"A-a-a-alright ma'am. No need to have a meltdown." He muttered before making a snarky comment. "I see you don't say "we" anymore. That's a benefit." He then began to answer the alicorn to avoid her wrath. "You can teleport anywhere you want on this island. But Screameater set up a spell to only allow people to teleport to the island, but not away." He let out a gulp. "That answers your questions right." He looked away.

Luna looked at the mockery of the prince disdainfully for ten seconds. She then slammed him into the wall three more times, making his sunglasses fall to the ground.

"NOT RADICAL! NOT RADICAL! NOT RADICAL!"

She then brought him so close to her face that they were touching horns. Her voice changed from a booming shout to a threatening whisper.

"I'm going to repeat myself and you are going to answer clearly." She hissed to the Mara. "Where. Is. Blueblood?"

"Blueblood" considered to be a smart aleck about the question, but he knew better than to insult an alicorn. He rolled his eyes and let out a groan. "Fine. He's been absorbed by your bro along with from what I've heard, a pegasus filly and a baby dragon." He then made a high pitched squeal as he tried to struggle from the princess's magic as she just stared at him with an intimidating glare. "Can you please let go of me now?"

Luna only growled.

"Pretty please?"

Luna tossed the copy of her nephew into the side of the mountain, giving him a bump so large it look like a second horn. She was disgusted by how her brother had no qualms about taking children from their homes. She was about to turn and try to send a message to her sister, but was interrupted by "Blueblood".

"Don't even bother." The Mara got up and put his now cracked sunglasses back on. "Screamy's canceled at telepathic communications on this island." He felt the large bump on his head, wincing in pain. "Congrats auntie." He then began to laugh a bit. "You turned me into a bicorn. Don't see that every day."

Luna turned back, enraged by the Mara's mockery. This only made him laugh louder.

"You should look into a mirror auntie. Your mad face is worth one thousand bits. No more, no less." He looked straight at her. "And I thought Nightmare Moon was the temperamental one."

Luna was flabbergasted, but still irritated. She moved back a bit. "How do you know about that?" She hated being reminded about her times of trying to create eternal night.

"Blueblood" snickered a bit. "Well that has been your name for a long while. In fact, I've played as you many times in nightmares a many. One of my favorite beings to take shape of was you. Everypony was terrified by your mere name. I was you like…twenty times a night." He then made a jokingly lamentful sigh. "I wish ponies were a little scared of you more often nowadays. I missed being you."

Luna defended herself from his words, but covered her face with her starry sky mane. "But I'm not that pony anymore." She looked away in shame. "I was only acting out like a little foal."

The Mara just rolled his eyes. "Boy did you lose your edge. No wonder only about…" He calculated in his mind for a second. "…five ponies a night are still horrified. Worse is that half the time, I don't even get to play you." He then gave her a sly grin. "But when I do, I make sure it's a full-fledged NIGHT TERROR!" He raised his forehooves into the air, proud of his previous work. "And I make sure I do an act those little fillies and colts remember forever." As he placed his hooves onto the ground, he looked towards the princess, inching a little closer. "Would you like to hear some of my lines?"

"ENOUGH!" Luna stomped the ground with her two front hooves with a neigh. She was furious how one "pony" could take so much pride in harming others and mocking a member of royalty of her past mistakes. Her horn began to glow and her eyes became pure white.

The Mara was once again floating in the air against his will. His grin was wiped off. "LEMME GO! LEMME GO!"

Luna did not listen to this monster's pleas as she continued using her magic. "YOU WILL BE SENT BACK FROM WHENCE YOU CAME THOU VILE…!"

"Hello sister."

Luna immediately lost her concentration and put down the Mara. She looked behind her to see her own brother only twenty feet away. The only thing she could say as the Mara teleported away was "Cosmus".

Her brother sprouted six tentacles from his back and he looked like he was going to lash out. She braced herself for his fury, getting into a defensive stance ready to fight. But to her surprise, he managed to control himself, but barely.

"Luna." He said through his teeth, rather annoyed. "I suggest you do not call me by that name, lest you suffer the wrath manifesting from the majority of my multi-millennium madness moping away from the mainland." He looked away in shame for a second. He remembered a thousand years ago, he found himself befriending a dark manticore, dating a lump of gold and using the Rope of Infinite Length as a trapeze; and these were all mild in comparison to other things he did during his time on Phobos. He didn't even want her to even see his journal.

Luna didn't lower her defenses. "Fine…Screameater. What is your reason to conquer Equestria? Why put so many at risk?"

Screameater just groaned, now having to say some exposition. "Well for starters, I really, really, really want to be king of Equestria and become the Primal Fear." He was about to laugh in triumph, but realized he forgot to say something. "Oh yeah, and also to spread ETERNAL NIGHTMARES!" He stood on his hind legs, spread his bat-like wings and began to laugh maniacally.

Luna was beginning to tire of her brother's antics. Slowly, some form of inky blackness came from under the princess's feet, slowly covering her entire body. She then summoned her old blue armor and slightly increased in size. Her blue helmet then appeared on her head and she got ready to battle her brother.

The alicorn stallion stopped laughing and looked towards his sister, noticing her transformation. Before having a panic attack though, he had an idea. "Why hello there Nightmare Moon."

She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Let me guess? You learned that from a little filly's nightmare?"

"You bet Nightmare Moon."

"My name is Luna Cosmus." The Mare of the Moon answered back, ready to attack at any sudden movement.

Screameater was getting increasingly frustrated. "I SAID DON'T…!" He then managed to reel his anger back once again, going back to his more gentlecoltly manner. "I mean…fair enough Luna. You use your name, I use mine." He then covered his mouth with a tendril and cleared his throat. "But anyways, I would like a make a proposition."

Luna/Nightmare Moon appeared to want to hear none of this. But she stayed motionless.

"In exchange for not being absorbed for my future perfection, you find me another princess to absorb in place of you." He moved closer to his sister until he was only ten feet away. "After that, how bout we split the land ninety-ten. With the ninety percent being my end of the deal of course." He then he moved right next to her, bringing a tendril over her shoulder. "Don't you think Duchess Luna sounds nice?"

Luna was disgusted by the offer. She quickly got away from his grasp with a teleportation spell to move several yards away. When she spoke to him once, she spoke slowly and made sure every word would seep into her fallen brother's brain as she aimed her horn towards him. "I will not be a part of your plan brother. You are a disgrace to Equestrian Royalty, your cruelty to every living thing is abhorrent, your mind is twisted, vile and unsalvageable…" Her brother looked as if he was agreeing with her, so she let out the ultimate insult. "…and I find your added alliterative appeal annoying."

Screameater was steaming mad now, his tentacles ready to grab his sister for the ritual. "I take OFFENSE TO THAT LAST ONE!"

The Mare of the Moon just brought up a forehoof with a cocky smile. "Alright. Then do as the ponies say nowadays..." She motioned her hoof for him to come closer. "…and bring it."

With a loud roar, Screameater summoned a gigantic skeleton of a bull elephant skeleton. He then signaled the elephant to charge at the princess. The undead animal stomped its forelegs and ran towards Luna, its tusks ready to devastate her.

Nightmare/Luna just stood there stoically as the elephant charged right through her and disappeared. She just shook her head and moved closer to her kin. "Your illusions will not work on me brother. Now release your prisoners."

Screameater just lashed out with all six of his tendrils, all of them heading towards her. She just teleported in a flash and reappeared next to him. Before he could react, she bucked him in the side, knocking him down with a thud.

She stood over him with a serious expression as he tried to get up. "Last chance. Release them."

Screameater just created a pitch black portal under him and sank into it. He then created another portal right behind her in an ambush. But before he can grab her, she just buck him back into his portal, coming through his first portal. She then used her magic to telekinetically throw him back into the portal. As he came back through the portal behind her, she just bucked him back through the first one before he could do anything. She then repeated the process over and over again as all he could do was repeating shout out "OW!"

After about fourteen cycles, Screameater managed to transform his right forehoof into a crab claw. As he got bucked for the fifteenth time in a row, he managed to stretch his limb to grab a hind leg, dragging her into the portal with her.

As they were sent flying in the air from the force of her own buck, Luna began to kick his face in order for him to let go. When he still didn't let go after three kicks and got his tendrils ready, she created a field of lightning all around her. Screameater had to relent and was sent flying from the shockwave over fifty feet away in the air.

Both winged unicorns began to flap their wings as the battle now became aerial. When Screameater could finally recover from the attack, he turned the tips of his tendrils into scorpion stingers, spreading them out and extending them all the way towards Luna. He grew more tendrils as extras just in case.

Princess Luna used a spell to create a radiant blue magical blade from her horn and began to dodge the stingers, cutting the tendril. When she cut them off one by one, the lost chunk turned into a strange inky liquid and fell to the earth. She began to fly towards her sibling as the tentacles regenerated their tips.

Screameater released used his next volley of stingers and when the other stingers regenerated, he flanked her with twelve stinging tendrils. He let out a snicker. She can't get out of this one.

But she just artfully dodged all of the attacks, cutting each one of the tentacles clean off two to three at a time. Finally, he felt one of them sting her, but then he heard a clinking sound, signaling that her armor protected her. She then chopped off the rest of the tendrils with little effort.

He withdrew his tendrils and with a dragon's roar, charged right at Luna. He managed to tackle the surprised alicorn mare and got ready to absorb her as she tried to struggle free. But then the dark lord saw her horn light up and released a flash of light into his eyes. As he was blinded, she managed to free herself from his absorption and used all her forelegs to kick her downwards.

As Screameater managed to stop his descent, she noticed that they were right above the Volcano of Hysteria. But as she saw Screameater beginning to regain his sight, she began to charge up one of her strongest spells. She didn't want to use this option, but it was the only way to stop him. As Screameater quickly flew towards her, her horn began a crackle blue lightning. She took a breath and quietly spoke what she thought might be the last words she will ever say to him.

"Goodbye brother. I am sorry it had to end this way."

As Screameater looked up, Luna activated her spell. All of a sudden, a huge beam of blue lightning shot out of her horn. The dark lord's eye's popped out of their sockets in terror as the beam engulfed him. He let out a high pitched monstrous shriek of agony and disbelief as he the spell hit him with thousands of volts of electricity. One minute later, the spell ended and Screameater tried to grab her one last time, but lost consciousness and fell from the sky.

Luna tried to rescue him from his fall, hoping to save the ponies inside him, along with possibly her brother. She dived downwards, trying to catch her falling brother. But even flying as fast as she could, Screameater plunged into the volcano and into the molten magma with a small splash.

When Luna landed in the throne room, she left her Nightmare Moon form and looked down into the lava in pity. Such a shame he had to go that. I just wish it could've ended differently. And you had to be so selfish and take three victims with…

She heard a three thuds from behind her. Two small ones and one big one. When she looked back, she saw Scootaloo, Spike and Blueblood alive and well but quite disoriented. When they looked up at her, they instantly smiled in relief and joy.

"You're back!" Luna exclaimed in joy as she patted the dragon and the filly on the head and hugged her nephew. As she was getting ready to teleport them all home, she heard wings flapping.

When she looked back, she saw not Screameater, but Cosmus she once truly knew. His black coat that looked like the starry night was singed and his mane was also messed up and the tip was on fire. He landed and began to stagger about as if he had no idea what happened all these years. As he fell over, Luna caught him in her hooves.

"Cosmus? Is that you?" Luna asked him, making sure this whole thing was genuine. She was in the same position one time and maybe, just maybe, her own brother wasn't any different. Perhaps his sanity can be saved.

Cosmus looked up to see her sister. He let out a chuckle as he felt her face. "Hey little sister. My, look how much you've grown." He began to visibly tear up as he felt his sister's cheek with a hoof. He let out a wracking cough.

"No!" Luna began to breathe harder as he felt him slipping away. "Not just when I got my brother back!"

Spike, Blueblood and Scootaloo rushed towards the weak stallion.

"I'm going to miss my life, my wife, my son." He desperately clung to his existence as he pointed towards Blueblood. "I wish…I got to know you."

Blueblood cried out in shame and despair, beginning to cry. "But you're an alicorn. I thought you can live forever!" He then began to sob. "PLEASE LIVE FOREVER!"

Cosmus made a weak smile as his limbs went limp. "I will son. Hopefully I'll be alive in your heart, my sister's heart, my other's sister's heart and I sure hope I'll be in the hearts of many more." He coughed once again, even worse than before, forcing him to speak more softly. "Thank you Luna for freeing me." His eyes began to close. "Remember me as a better pony." He let out one final breath and then lied in his sister's arms motionless.

Luna cried towards the night sky as she held her lifeless brother in her forehooves. She unleashed a flood of tears from her ducts, hating this bittersweet ending to a heroic battle. But as she sobbed for minutes on end, she realized something in her mind.

"Only my nephew is sobbing with me. But the filly and the dragon are not. But then again, why would my brother feel such a bond to somepony who absorbed him for their own gain? This just doesn't add up… Unless…"

Prince Blueblood, Scootaloo and Spike morphed into blobs of black goo and before the princess could react, all the globs lunged at her, becoming one bigger blob with her in the middle. "Cosmus" reopened his eyes and ended his shape changing spell. He then stood up on all four legs and magically lifted the inky blob to him. He then opened his mouth unnaturally wide and swallowed the goo whole. When he swallowed, he felt his next growth spurt occur. Within seconds, he grew about a foot higher.

"Sucker. Finally, my old size." He said to himself in sickening satisfaction as he admired his hooves and wings. As he was reveling in his new look, Trixie, "Blueblood" and Anvillain all frantically entered at once.

"Trixie heard screaming and came to make sure everything was okay!" She'd just woke up and still had bed head.

Screameater just looked at the three in annoyance and disbelief. He just rolled his eyes. "Ugh! Now you arrive to help me!" He rubbed his sore side with a batwing. He had no visible injuries, but getting hit around was no fun. He then mellowed out into apathy. "No matter, just got a new ritual." He let out a loud yawn. "Four down, two to go." He yawned once again. "I'm going to bed. Anvillain, keep an eye on the prisoner. Trixie, go back to bed. You…" He pointed to the Mara with a wing. "…don't get into any trouble."

All three minions nodded and their master pass and sleep for the rest of the night. "Blueblood" then turned to the mare.

"Can ya change my coat color to crimson?" He asked surprisingly politely. He remembered what he looked like as a Mara. Unlike the usual pitch-black, he remembered being crimson. He liked his body, but now he didn't need his disguise as much and though and little change would be cool.

Trixie just rolled her eyes and used her amulet to change his coat to crimson before teleporting back to bed. Anvillain went downstairs to keep guard of Fluttershy. The Mara admired his "Crimson Prince" look for a bit before deciding to assist the metal pony.

Yeah. He thought to himself. Crimson Prince. I like that.

Luna was inside her brother's body now. Inside some kind of mushy, oozing void of space She looked around herself in anger and humiliation.

"How can I let myself fall for such tricks? Why didn't I just…"

Luna ended her assault of self shame prematurely when she saw a faint green light only about half a kilometer away. It faded for five seconds, and then appeared again. She quickly flew over to the source of the light.

When she got to it, she saw her nephew along with an orange filly she recognized from Nightmare Night and Spike. The filly and the dragon were on the prince's back as he lied down in the muck, not caring about his coat anymore. The little filly was trying to sleep while Spike just sat there, randomly breathing fire upwards out of boredom. He and Blueblood heard a sloshing sound and saw the Princess of the Night walking towards them. The two just looked at one another and then to her. They then spoke up at the same time with the same melancholic attitude.

"Welcome to the club."

Pony up

Chapter 21: Pony up

Paramail clumsily landed a few hundred feet away Fluttershy's cottage, causing him to tumble for ten feet, his face landing straight in the dirt. It has been forty-five minutes since Fluttershy was taken by the alicorn golem, but he still had plenty of tears to be shed. He wracked with the shame of just flying away, leaving his marefriend to Screameater's clutches. He pondered in his mind about how he could've saved her. He had yet to even find one.

He slowly got up from the ground and slowly began to walk the rest of the way. He imagined how horrible she must be feeling right now. He pondered as to of all the Pure of Hearts possibly out there, why her?

He let out a gloomy exhale as he spoke to nopony in particular. "Why did it have to be her? She didn't deserve it. I should've been the ritual." He kicked a rocked off the trail in frustration as he raised his voice and looked up towards the night sky. "She had plenty of friends that cared for who she was! She had animals that she treated as her own family! She had adventures and stories more amusing than ten ponies combined! She decided to follow her dreams! And you got her taken!"

He began to walk faster as he began to berate himself. "I should've been me! I'm just a workaholic, cowardly, pathetic FEATHERBRAIN who gave up on his dreams!"

He began to quiet down a bit in order to show the decency to let the nearby animals sleep in peace. He was not done berating himself though as the failure he knew he was though. The only time he could remember emotionally bashing himself this badly was the first day of flight school. How he regretted being such a rash youngster, yet at the same time, a free pony.

The little teal colt woke up in the morning in his Wonderbolts pajamas. He let out a small yawn as he looked around his room. He had his own bathroom, a couple of Equimorph action figures and foal's books on his shelf, a closet for clothes, and even a desk to do his boring homework. But his most valued item of all was a large poster of his favorite Wonderbolt Soarin', who was flying in the air with a fore hoof in front of him, as if either pointing at the poster's owner or offering a high hoof. He then remembered what day it was.

To most ponies, it was just another day in Cloudsdale; but to Paramail, it was the first day of Flight School. He eagerly jumped out of bed, hopping over the clothes he wore for picture day the day before. He opened his bathroom door and washed his face, brushed his hair and gingerly got out of his PJs.

"Honey! Breakfast is ready!"

At the call of his mother, the pepped up pegasus hurried out of his bathroom. He placed his folded pajamas under the pillow of his unmade bed. He hovered into the air and gave the poster a quick high hoof.

"ALL RIGHT! Today is the day to start Soarin'." He hopped off the desk, hoping that one day he would be good enough to be part of Soarin's Wonderbolt squad. Paramail remembered that he and his friend Rainbow Dash promised one another that they would both try their best to be just like them; daring, adventurous, and fearless. Both foals had some early private lessons by Rainbow's uncle Chromewing. He then went down the stairs, imagining himself flying through tons of obstacles, doing loop-de-loops and saving all of Equestria from Dragons and other monsters.

He went into the kitchen and noticed that his mother went back to his parent's room to go to sleep after her tiring night shift at the post office. His father wasn't around due to working morning shifts at the same post office. Due to that, he didn't see much of his parents. But they were a bore anyways.

Paramail noticed a plate of carrots and orange juice on the table and sat down to eat them. According to the Cloudsdale doctors during a checkup, he had twenty-ten vision. After that, his parents encouraged him to eat foods that would help his eyesight, hoping that it would improve to be even greater. He ate everything on his plate, drank down his juice, got his lunch bag and then ran back upstairs to brush his teeth and grab his books for school.

Ten hours later

Parmail enter his home with his head lowered in shame. He had bump on his head and a few bruises from crashing into a metal pole in an obstacle course in Flight School; the pipsqueak level course no less. He felt embarrassed, ashamed and stupid about messing up on the easiest obstacle course offered.

He had to go to the nurse and leave early. The coach sent a message for the colt's parents to give him a week off from Flight School to get him ready. He blamed his mane for this predicament for it got into his eyes, making him loose control. But what was really sending chills down his spine was what the other fillies and colts might think of him for his failure. Would RD make fun of him? Would his class isolate him? Would that yellow filly he just met think he's a crybaby loser?

His father was fast asleep at the time after his tiring job so he couldn't try to comfort the down in the dumps colt. Paramail knew there was dinner in the fridge, but he was currently in no mood to eat. He slowly went upstairs to his room, not even bothering to attempt to fly up.

He tossed his book bag onto his bed and took a seat at his desk. He began to stare at his Soarin' poster, which showed how carefree the Wonderbolt truly was. The little colt felt envy surging in his body as the poster began to appear as if it were staring at him, almost teasing him with utopian ideals of pegasus perfection. He soon began to dwell on how such a clumsy flyer like he would never be as Wonderbolt. He felt his envy swell into anger as he began to glare at the picture, feeling his breathing get faster and faster. No more than ten seconds later, he had it with the stupid poster.

"QUIT LOOKING AT ME!"

The colt got onto his desk and brought his hooves to the top right corner of the poster. He felt a sudden feeling of hate and contempt for those stupid showoffs that think that they have the right to set the standards for pegasi everywhere. He was ready to tear the picture right off the wall then rip it into a million pieces with his own teeth. Paramail took one last glance at the pegasus champion before never have to see that stallion ever again. He counted down to three in order to gain the courage to destroy the poster he spent much of his allowance on.

He couldn't do it.

He brought his forehooves to his face and began bawling out tears. He remembered when he and RD were at a Wonderbolts show with Chromewing. He got the last Soarin' poster that day. He also began to think about how Soarin' was one of Rainbow Dash's favorite members and always offered a trade of sorts. Paramail knew RD wanted this poster more than him and he didn't want to hurt his friend.

He forced himself to stop crying and began to gently take the poster off of the wall. He got it off in one piece and he rolled it up. He then grabbed a rubber band from his desk to keep the poster from unrolling. He then put it under his bed to give to Rainbow Dash tomorrow.

As he looked at his bed, he saw his language arts folder sticking out of his bag. He loathed doing homework and tended to just half-baked work. But now he felt like he had nothing else to do. So he took out the folder, went to his desk and started to work. As he worked on his vocabulary, his mane once again got in the way of his eyes. He cleared his vision and looked at his piggy bank, reminding himself to get himself a haircut during the week. Something that assured that he will never crash again.

Over time, Paramail began to radically change. He shaved his navy blue mane to the point where it was as long as his teal coat, giving him the nickname "Baldy". He began to devote himself to academics, greatly boosting his sub-par grades. He began to speak to his parents about their job, getting them to teach him the ropes. He passed Flight School with a wingpower of 7.1, average but a little below. He even got his cutie mark of two exclamation marks and one question mark thanks to his new lifestyle.

But one part of his new life hurt a lot. After admitting to Rainbow Dash about his lack of interest in the Wonderbolts anymore, the two ponies slowly began to move further and further away from one another. Eventually, Rainbow began hanging out with some Griffon and he began to make his own group of friends. But even then as time passed by, most of his newer friends left Cloudsdale for their own reasons.

Eventually after graduation, he took a job at the Ponyville Post office and moved there. Ever since that one day, he began to become just another mundane stallion.

Paramail shook the thoughts out of his head. This was not the time to feel bad for himself. This was the time to try to tell the animals what happened to their guardian and friend. This was absolutely no time for regrets.

Soon enough, he made it to the front of her cottage. He looked around the area to see most of the animals asleep, with only animals like tarantulas, owls, bats, and the occasional cat being the only animals awake. They all stared at the stallion curiously as he walked towards the door.

Paramail noticed how some of them looked around the area. From what he could guess, they were expecting Fluttershy to have come back too. He was going to hate having to break the news to them. But a bunch of animals must have noticed his tears or his melancholic mood, for a few of them started to show signs of sadness too. He approached the front door and knocked, expecting one of the two bunnies. The mailpony knew he was going to hate breaking the bad news to them.

The door opened to reveal the happy-go-lucky little grey bunny. Hopz hugged the pegasus's leg and looked around for the yellow mare. After looking behind the pony, she looked up at Paramail as if asking where she was.

He felt guilty about telling her the truth, but it had to be done. Paramail gently patted the bunny's head as he looked away from her in shame. "She's…she's not here."

The little bunny just stared blankly at him, to the point where he couldn't tell whether it was naivety or denial. Paramail crouched down so they can see at eye level. "She's been taken by bad monsters." He felt horrid for telling this to such an innocent creature. "I'm sorry that this happened."

Hopz understood that all too well. She quickly broke down into crying, with large fountains of tears coming from her eyes. With that, most of the animals began to visibly cry over the loss of their friend, keeper and in some cases savior. Even such animals as bears and vultures were tearing up. This woke up the diurnal animals which also began to cry. This was not helping Paramail's mood one bit.

A few seconds later, a white rabbit with a sleeping mask on his forehead groggily came to the door with an annoyed look on his face. Angel looked around at the crying animals around him and looked towards Hopz as if to ask what was going on. The grey bunny chattered to him and Angel just froze with his eyes wide open.

"I understand that this was hard for all of us." The stallion tried to comfort the white bunny, but looking more like he was the one in need of comfort. He buried his face in his hooves as he continued to cry with the rest of them.

Angel just stared as he watched the maneless pony make himself look pathetic. To Angel, he was more spineless than the jellyfish in the back. The cockroaches had more dignity than this excuse for a pegasus. He knew this ever since he first met him, going ga-ga over his owner, his benefactor, his friend. It made the little bunny furious at the stallion in front of him, and he couldn't take it anymore.

He picked up Paramail's head, slapped him across the face and stared into his maroon eyes as if to say "Pull yourself together".

Paramail immediately stopped crying after that, along with most of the fauna as they all looked towards the bunny, who was chattering unintelligible word to the pony. Hopz covered her ears though and began to move away, obviously not liking what he was saying.

Paramail stared at the ranting rabbit for a bit. He began to think that this rabbit wanted him to be a real pony. He wiped away the last of his tears and quietly spoke up.

"So you're saying you want me to grow a spine?"

Angel stopped ranting and just looked blankly at him, having no idea what he was talking about.

Paramail began to speak in his normal voice as he got up. "So you want me to get over my stupid whiny angst and go out there?"

Angel just looked around to see if any of the animals knew what this guy was talking about.

"You want me to rescue your benefactors and my new marefriend?" Paramail was beginning to gain aforementioned spine.

Angel gasped at the thought of Fluttershy and this guy being together.

Paramail looked towards the rest of the animals and called out to all of them. "DO YOU WANT ME TO SAVE EQUESTRIA AT THE SAME TIME?" The stallion thumped his right hoof on his chest.

When he noticed that all of the animals were just looking at him as if he was a madpony, he just sighed and took a stick from the ground. He wrote in the dirt in front of Angel and Hopz "I'm gonna save Fluttershy". That they got.

Hopz began to applaud for the hopefully valiant hero for his newfound courage. A little monkey joined in the cheering, then a crocodile, then a flamingo. It didn't take long for the whole animal home to begin to cheer for the pegasus. Angel looked at him for a bit, then begrudgingly also began to clap his paws.

Paramail made a genuinely thankful smile. "Thank you all so much!" He began to hover in the air. "I won't let any of you down!" He saluted to the resident animals. "Wish me luck!" He then flew off, followed with an elephant trumpeting his leave.

As the pony left, Hopz noticed that Angel's eyes were watery. She pointed them out and he immediately looked away, chattering his denial of the idea of him crying. He then hopped back to bed.

Paramail got back to his apartment to get supplies. He went into his "In case of" room and began to kick all of the glass away from the "In case of having to learn how to sail", "In case nightmares", and "In case of marefriend being kidnapped". From that, he got a manual on how to sail a ship, a dreamcatcher and a firepony's axe. He stared at the three items and just tossed the axe over his shoulder. He knew the other two would come in handy.

He then went to his desk to write letters to Applejack and Rainbow Dash about the situation at hoof. He then began to write to his parents should he not come back. He then folded the letters, but them in envelopes and flew out his window to send them himself. He knew he wasn't going to sleep tonight. He had far too many things to prepare for the next morning.

Applebloom woke up and got out of her bed. It was a school morning and she didn't want to be late for school. Ms. Cheerilee was going to starting teaching marine life and she didn't want to be behind. She walked out of her room and went downstairs to get some breakfast. As she went down, she began to think to herself.

So Scootaloo got her cutie mark now? Does that mean she's outta the group? I mean we can still hang out though right? It's not like she's not Scootaloo anymore or anything. But enough of that silly talk, I'm gonna get myself some good old fashioned…

She got a glimpse of that same blue slimy pony that tried to kidnap her best friend. The stallion was sitting at the table eating apple cinnamon waffles, licking it first with his long tongue, and then devouring it whole. He looked towards the little filly, both ponies awkwardly staring at one another. He then waved his hoof to her to greet the startled filly.

"Bonjour."

"FISHPONY!" Applebloom ran away as fast as her little hooves could take her. But after ten feet of scurrying, she bumped into somepony's leg. When she looked up, she saw that it was her big sister.

"Sis! Ahm so glad you're here! Where've you been?" The frightened filly hid behind her sister. "Gettim AJ!" She pointed a shaky hoof at stallion.

But instead of rushing over to give the guest a beating, Applejack merely used her mouth to lift up her sister and placed her on a chair in front of the amphibipony.

"Don't ya'll worry." Applejack tried to reassure her sibling. "Me, Dash, and Blu here went to Berrybash Bottom to introduce the guy to his folks?" She began to space out as she remembered last night's party. "We had raspberry tarts, blackberry muffins, blueberry ice cream…"

"AJ!"

Applejack stopped her food fantasizing and got to the point. "He ain't gonna bite Sugar Cube. In fact, he's family. Uncle Bluebarry's kid in fact." Blubayou nodded in agreement with his mouth full.

Applebloom looked at her sister still unsure. "But how? He's a fishpony and we're earth ponies." The filly poured some "Outrageous O's" cereal and milk into her bowl. "And since when did uncle Bluebarry have a foal?"

"Amphibipony." The orange mare kindly corrected her. "And if you really need to know." She whispered into her ear about everything from his kidnapping to his unwilling transformation.

Applebloom started out as still suspicious but after a few minutes of hearing her sister's words, she slowly began to understand what her she was talking about, getting a lot less defensive about the unwanted guest. Blubayou just paid attention to the maze on the back of the Outrageous O's cereal box, trying to ignore the fact that the two were talking about him.

Applebloom finally nodded in agreement as Applejack stopped explaining. She then slowly began to speak up rather reluctantly. "I guess that makes sense." But then she made a glare a Blu. "But he tried to take Scootaloo to some monster prince bent on taking over the world." She waved her hooves in the air a little bit to emphasize about the dark prince. "And forgive me if ahm wrong, but some things take more time to forgive then other things." She quickly ate her breakfast and hopped out of her seat. "I'll be upstairs gettin' ready for school." She then walked away in a rather moody manner, but either Blubayou or Applejack could really blame her.

After breakfast, Applejack opened the the door to get to work. Yesterday's visit messed up her schedule a bit and she had to work a little extra. And she knew just the helping hooves.

"C'mon Blu!" She hollered to her cousin. "We got some bucking to do!" She then walked out of the house. She looked back and saw that Blubayou was a little reluctant to go outside. But given how the other ponies treated him not too long ago, she could hardly blame him. She decided speak a little more softly to the stallion. "Don't cha worry Blu. Ain't nopony's throwing things at you on my watch."

Blubayou looked at her, then back inside the house, and then to the ground unsure of what he should do. He shut his eyes as he took one step out of the house. He opened his eyes to take another step, then another step, until he finally jumped next to his second cousin, back to his more playful mood.

As they were about to walk to work, they saw that the mailbox's flag was up. Applejack passively opened it and saw a red letter. She knew that red was rarely a good thing when it came to mail, so she slowly opened the envelope. Both ponies then began to read the contents. By the end of the letter, both Applejack and Blubayou were in a panic, their eyes wide open. But as soon as they finished the letter, AJ snorted in anger.

"Blu." She said in a no nonsense manner.

"Yes?"

"Let's get back inside. We got packing to do."

Blubayou just nodded in agreement and quickly hopped inside, with Applejack following. Blubayou began to get bad thoughts in his head.

"Oh Monterey mosquito munchkins! Screamy took that kind mare back ho…to Phobos! If only I didn't get that unicorn mare or took that prince!"

Twilight Sparkle got out of her Treehouse, ready to save her friend. She, along with Rarity, Coocoodrill and Pinkie Pie left Canterlot early in the morning to pack for the upcoming adventure. Scones was to be personally brought to Fillydelphia due to most ponies being uncomfortable around it. She had the book on Phobos, camping gear and the elements of Harmony with her. She remembered first looking into the chest, seeing three new, more masculine necklaces, one for Coocoodrill, Paramail and Blubayou. As she was ready to go to the statue of Celestia to meet her friends, she saw a large bag her size get tossed out of the hole Coocoodrill liked to call his home. The green unicorn then ran out of his house, closing the door behind him. He then tossed the sack onto his back.

The stallion acknowledged her existence. "Oh hey Twi! What you got there?"

"Oh nothing too big." She admitted humbly. "Just some adventuring gear and the Elements. You?"

Coocoodrill made a wide, toothy grin. Twilight did not like it. "I've got rations, a sleeping bag, that evil creepy book Celesty gave me." He put his head in the bag. After some searching, he had a long, red, cylindrical item with a short fuse at the end of it in his mouth. "Owh yeah! Amf these!"

The purple pony gasped in horror. "Is…that an explosive?" She could already imagine all of them in a dark, cramped cave. They light a match to check their surroundings. Somepony drops said match, lighting a fuse going to Coocoo's bag of explosives. Before they can all scream, it explodes. Twilight shuddered at the thought of such an explosion.

Coocoodrill noticed her expression and spat out the dynamite stick, balancing it on his nose. "Aw c'mon! I'm a professional with these!" He tossed the stick straight into his bag. "I keep them safe next to the matches. What could possibly go wrong?"

Twilight could see many things wrong with his theory, but she decided to keep her mouth shut about it. She just let out a tired exhale. "Let's…just get to the statue."

The two unicorns walked through the town and got to the statue without a problem. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were already there with their large amount of supplies. Twilight knew two thirds of it probably were unnecessary, but she didn't even bother to argue.

If somepony can get away with bringing explosives, everypony can get away with bringing dresses and cake.

Both mares waved to them. "Hello dears? Do you have all you need?"

"Yeah! To rescue our beloved friend from dangerous danger that is dangerous?"

Coocoodrill quickly nodded and put down his bag. "Of course I do! I got the usual mundane stuff like toothbrushes and strawberry jam to dynamite!" He reached into his bag with a hoof, taking out the Book of the Malign. "Along with this book, which I hear is so evil, no normal pony can read it without going insane! It goes double for unicorns cause you know…they can actually use this stuff!" He flipped the pages to look for a spell. "Like instantly make somepony kick the bucket!"

Rarity gasped in horror how somepony can make such a book of black arts seem like an everyday conversation. She wondered what was going on in his mind to treat such disgusting spells as normal. She reminded herself never to take a look at one page of that book.

Pinkie Pie was still in her usual cheery mood. "Cool!"

"YEAAAAAAAH!"

Paramail let out a breath of relief as he shook the hoof of the insanely muscular white pegasus as they conversed on top of a cloud. "Thank you so much for offering to take care of Fluttershy's animals while me and the other elements are out saving the world on such short notice."

The giant stallion gave the pony a confused look, but then once again shouted. "YEAAAAH!"

"Yeah turn out a great evil is upon us and me and the other Elements of Harmony are going to save the world from eternal nightmare."

"YEAAAAH?"

"I'm surprised about the Elements being PC too. I always thought there were some kind of cool artifacts six stallions would get that represented courage, diligence, spirit and that kind of stuff while at the same time getting their own weapons and elemental powers. And we'd go off and slay dragons, stop evil armies, and rescue princesses. Then somehow we get paired up with the Elements of Harmony romantically, ranging from love-hate relationships to the token cute pairing. And then after hundreds of adventures together, we all get this huge, yet really unnecessarily big wedding, which is nice but really tacky. And for all this time, we are somehow never as useful as the Elements of Harmony, but we are always the ones getting beat up by the big bad. So all in all, we are just the designated love interest for the bigger picture. But at least we have this really cool and snarky guy on our team who's like the lone wolf and…"

"YEAH!"

"Sorry. Got distracted there." Paramail realized he was thinking about his own little fantasies. "But anyways, thanks for your help and brohoof."

"YEAAAAAAH!" The two stallions then brohoofed a good bit harder than Paramail expected, causing him to wince a bit. At least he didn't use his recently sprained hoof. He then politely waved as the super strong pony flew off on his tiny wings towards Fluttershy's cabin.

When the muscular stallion was finally of sight, the mailpony finally yelped in pain from the strength of the pegasus's brohoof. As he shook his hoof in an attempt to numb the pain, he saw a familiar rainbow streak quickly land onto the cloud.

"I got your letter Baldy!" Rainbow Dash told him surprisingly stoic. "Those freaks are gonna regret taking Fluttershy!"

From what Paramail can see, she was already prepared for adventure. She has a few saddlebags on her and was wearing some kind of light turquoise costume. She was traveling a good bit lighter than the stallion, but she wasn't the one that stayed up all night.

Rainbow Dash noticed that he was staring at her new Wonderbolt costume Uncle Chromewing. She showed it off with style. "Like my brand new last generations Wonderbolts costum? Uncle Chromewing gave it to me last night. And then me, AJ and Blu went to a party in Berrybottom Bash till it was super late."

Paramail looked at the costume indifferently, thinking about how it looks so similar to the current generation Wonderbolts. But if she was happy, it was fine. But then he realized what she said. "Wait a minute? Who's Blu?"

"Blubayou."

"Who?"

"You know. The frogpony that's all covered in goo."

"Ew." Paramail then remembered two days ago with a shocked expression. "Wait a minute? Isn't he with the bad guys?" He then recalled a little bit more about that day. "And didn't you kick him square in the face?"

Rainbow Dash looked away in shame. "Yeah. Yeah I did. And threw a tomato, a cupcake, and a wad of guacamole at him."

Paramail checked his old friend's expression and saw that she was genuinely remorseful for what she did to the poor pony. Paramail placed an understanding hoof on her back. "Don't beat yourself up RD. Ponies make mistakes. Besides, Blu's the Element of Tolerance from what I know. He'll forgive ya." He then gave her a weak smile. "Besides, there's only room for one mildly angsty pony."

Rainbow let out a sympathetic sigh as she noticed how tired he looked. She knew he didn't get any sleep at all to get ready to save his crush. She admired his devotion, which she found truly worthy of his element. She then spoke up in a less serious manner. "So anyways. This is going on during your work days. How many vacation days you got?" She used to love playing around with the workaholic this way

Paramail didn't really get the mild teasing. "five…"

"Alright that's not too bad. We're gonna make it by…"

"…hundred and seventy four." Paramail saw the mare's jaw drop in shock. He chuckled a little. After this is all over, I'm using a hundred more days.

He then looked down from the cloud and got a good view of Ponyville. He focused on the center of town and saw most the Elements of Harmony talking amongst themselves. Rainbow Dash looked towards the town too, trying to see what he was seeing. He pointed to the statue of Celestia and Rainbow Dash could see those familiar colors of pink, lavender, white, and the not too familiar color of green. She immediately took to the air full of zeal.

"C'mon Baldy! Let's ditch all this self doubt and troubled time stuff and get ready to save the world!"

The mailpony found relief in the changed subject. He flapped his wings and both ponies flew down towards the town. Both pegasi then landed in front of the four ponies.

"Hiya Dashie! Hiya Baldy!" Pinkie exclaimed with joy. "Are ready to save the world!" She then nudged Paramail while winking in a lighthearted manner. "And your new girlfriend?"

Paramail took pride in finally having a special somepony. "Why yes I am Pinkamena. Glad you asked." He then took out a large map of Equestria from one of his bags. He spread it onto the ground for everypony to see the cities and trails marked by red pen, leading to Fillydelphia's Buckston Bay. The teal stallion sat on the ground to discuss his strategy.

"Alright here's the plan. First, we go through the Everfree Forest as a shortcut to Trottingham. There's an open plain in the middle of the forest so we can find refuge there for the night. Then the next day, we'll get to Las Pegasus too resupply our rations. Then we get to Buckston Bay to rent a ship…"

Twilight interrupted in a deadpan manner. "Or we can just teleport to Fillydelphia and borrow one of the ships from Coocoo's parents."

Paramail looked at her, then the map, then the rest of the ponies, then the map again. Paramail then quickly took the map and crumpled it up, tossing it into a garbage can. "That's six hours of planning down the drain." He lamented how he could've used that precious time for sleep.

As Rarity and Coocoodrill were admiring Rainbow Dash's suit, Pinkie Pie began to bounce in the air. "Hooray! We're gonna be pirate adventurers!" She then began to point at individual ponies.

"I'm the Jack-of-all-trades!"

All of them began to look at her to see what she was talking about.

"Coocoo's the demolitions expert!"

"SWEET!"

"Twilight's the archmage!"

"Thanks…I guess."

"Dashie's the scout!"

"Alright!"

"Baldy's the secondary scout!"

"Secondary?"

"Rarity's the one who frequently whines throughout the whole trip but in the end proves her worth?"

"What?"

"And then we have the token non-pony, the muscle and the aquatic master!"

Rarity thought about what Pinkie said for a second. "Pinkie?"

"YES?"

"I understand that Applejack is the muscle and Scones is the non-pony. But who is this "aquatic master" you're talking about?"

Pinkie Pie just patted her head. "I mean Blu silly! Who did you think I meant? I heard from certain sources that AJ and Dashie helped him out."

Rarity was about to faint. They not only introduced a Mara into their team, but now they were going to get that slimy, monstrous fishpony on their team. She shuddered just thinking about all of his sickening mucus. But she tried to speak about the subject. "So I wonder where those two are."

Pinkie just pointed right behind the white mare. Rarity and the others turned around to see Applejack and Blubayou fully packed and ready to go. The amphibipony slowly offered to shake the fashionista's hoof, but she didn't really want to touch the disgusting being, but she did out of politeness.

As Rarity was shaking the slime off of her boot, Twilight began to speak in her leadership voice. "Alright Elements! Are you all ready to save Equestria from the vile clutches of Screameater, keep the peace, and BE HEROES?"

"I'M OKEY DOKEY LOKEY!"

"Ready as rain dear."

"Ready to kick some Mara flank!"

"I've been up all night! What do you think!"

"HOOOOO-WEEEEE! Let's get this started!"

Blubayou let out a triumphantly loud croak, inflating his throat sack.

"Yeah I'm ready Twi!" Coocoodrill told the Element of Magic. "But one question."

Twilight just rolled her eyes, expecting a pointless question with an equally pointless answer. "Go ahead."

"So do we get like… cool weapons for being Elements? I mean I know I'm not getting a wicked awesome sword or anything but…do I at least get like a quarterstaff?"

"Nopony gets weapons!" Twilight told him a little annoyed. "It's just the necklaces and that's it! We're going now!"

Pinkie Pie, Coocoodrill, Paramail and Blubayou groaned in disappointment as Twilight teleported them all to Fillydelphia.

Not so Blueblooded

Chapter 22: Not so Blueblooded

Spike, Scootaloo, Princess Luna and Prince Blueblood were completely trapped inside the fallen prince Screameater. They couldn't stand that all around them was pure darkness forever. They hated how they had to step in inky sludge for all eternity. But most of all, they all despised that such a monster had a chance to ruin everything that Equestria stood for just for his own selfish goals.

Luckily, Luna's and Blueblood's magic weren't taken from them. Both nobles made a bright white light to illuminate at least feel more secure about their fate. They didn't talk too much though. Luna was hoping for her sister and the Elements to find a way to stop her insane brother, almost to the point of pitying him. Scootaloo as a mere filly, missed her family and friends the most and hoping that they weren't hurt. Spike regretted the fact that he left Twilight Sparkle on such bad terms, wishing that he could find a way to make amends. Blueblood was the most still of the group, deep in thought as he ignored everything around him.

"A prissy, pansy prince? Surely my father has never seen me in my prime. Was he really stupid enough to think that a stallion can live for over a thousand years and be the same pony? Obviously he hasn't paid attention to himself. I have done many things in life he would be proud of. But from what I can tell is that he only cares about the present.

Does he really know what it is like to be surrounded by friends and family for so many years? Does he understand the pain of watching your loved ones pass away one by one while you stay ever young? Does he even miss mother?

But I am the fool to. I waited till it was too late to get out of those monotonous parties and well-meaning-but-still-somehow-snobbish charities. I wish I went back to my old ways."

"How long do you think it's been?" Scootaloo asked the rest of the group; her peppy spirit pretty much completely drained from her as she lied down on Blueblood's back.

Luna let out a sigh. "I do not know child. When it comes to Eternity, the days, years, and even centuries begin to start flying by. But on a more optimistic tone, I would say that judging by us being the only ones inside my brother for quite some time though; it has only been a few days at most."

Spike just groaned in boredom. "This eternity is going to STINK."

After a while, everypony noticed that Blueblood was remarkably quiet and appeared to be in deep thought. Whatever he was thinking about, he was missing it badly.

"What is the matter nephew?" Luna asked him. "Do you miss your home?"

Blueblood just shook his head.

"Do you miss all of those great, princely riches?" Scootaloo questioned the mellow stallion.

All Blueblood said was a mellow "No."

Spike looked towards the prince. "Is it all those fancy parties and reveling in self indulgence?"

Blueblood gently got up and was quite stressed out by such questions. "Those stupid things are the last of my worries. Have you ever thought that maybe I'm thinking about my friends, my aunt, my great, great, great etc. grandchild?" He scolded at the dragon and alicorn. "Do you really think I'm that selfish?"

Scootaloo and Luna shook her heads but Spike was unsure how to reply. But then a strange thought came into his head and he had to ask it. "Wait a minute? How old are you?"

Blueblood was slightly taken aback by such a question. Normally it would be extremely rude to ask such a thing, but since they might be in here for a very long time, he decided to humble the dragon. "Over one thousand years old. Still young."

Spike's eyes widened with shock. "Seriously? That means you must be like…Cadence's great, great, great, great…"

Blueblood gave the dragon a deadpan look. "Yes I am. Just…don't add too many greats. Makes me feel older than I want to be."

Scootaloo softly spoke up. "But if you had children, who were you married to?"

Blueblood once again began to reminisce about his old days. But now he felt much happier about. Finally after so many years, he will have somepony to talk about his old adventures with. He magically lifted the filly, sat normally, and softly held Scootaloo in his forehooves, cradling her as if she was a foal. "Her name was Princess Armada; known by many as the Corsair of the Air. Met her way back about three hundred years ago. I was assigned by Celestia herself to stop the legendary skeleton pirate..." He spoke in a mock pirate accent. "Captain Scurvy Jones."

Spike raised his hand, remembering that name from one of Twilight's books. "Hey I know that guy! I remembered he terrorized the Cerulean Sea for his whole life and then one hundred years after that."

Blueblood nodded. "That's right. But I take no responsibility for him and his crew's…whirlpool accident. They did that to themselves." But then the prince had an idea. "But instead of telling you what Armada and Scurvy were like why don't I show you?"

Blueblood used his magic to create a large, floating that showed the Cerulean Sea. Spike, Scootaloo, and Luna saw the waves moving and the warm, early morning sunrise. Blueblood was proud of his spell, impressed how good it turned out for the first audience in a long time.

"This little spell is going show my memories of one of my many battles against Scurvy. Back when I was Captain of the Guard." He let out a chuckle. "Shining would be so envious of my past pursuits. But nevertheless, let the adventure begin."

Captain Blueblood was in his private quarters, documenting the condition of the ship and the results of their search. He was wearing a blue jacket with many medals on it to show his rank. He had heard from his girlfriend Princess Armada that Scurvy and his crew came back from their watery grave as skeletons hungry for revenge upon the living. Blueblood simply could not turn down the offer. So he got his unicorn guards and set sail on the finest, grandest ship in Equestria; the S.S Cetus. His crew has been searching for about a week now and still no sign of Scurvy. But just then, he began to vaguely hear a Sea Shanty tune along with fiddles and accordions.

What shall we do with the apple cider?

What shall we do with the apple cider?

What shall we do with the apple cider?

DRINK IT EVERY MORNIN'!

Blueblood stopped writing and began to pay close attention to the singing. He was pretty sure who it was and he was ready.

Way hay and up we're rising!

Way hay and up we're rising!

Way hay and up we're rising!

AND NO ONE WILL BE MOURNIN'!

Blueblood could sense the music getting closer. So he magically unsheathed his emerald embedded blade and quickly got out of his quarters.

Slice their belly with a rusty rapier.

Slice their belly with a rusty rapier.

Slice their belly with a rusty rapier.

MAKE THEIR MUMS START MOURNIN'!

Blueblood looked outside and saw a large, battered and improper ship. It had a wooden figurehead of skeletal seapony, a common legend of the high seas. The ship had black sails and their flag had a mare's skull and crossbones with a dagger in her teeth.

"ALRIGHT ALL HOOVES ON DECK!" Blueblood cried out ready for action. All the guards quickly got ready for the attack.

Stick them in an empty cider bowl headfirst!

Stick them in an empty cider bowl headfirst!

Stick them in an empty cider bowl headfirst!

THEN DUMP THEM IN THE MORNIN'!

Blueblood and his guards were getting very tired of these pirates singing threats to them. This also wasn't first time he heard them either. This song alone he heard at least five times.

Put them him bed at the ocean's bottom!

Put them him bed at the ocean's bottom!

Put them him bed at the ocean's bottom!

HIS AUNTIE WILL BE MOURNIN'!

The pirate ship was faster than it looked and managed to catch up the S.S Cetus, being only twenty feet away from the vessel. Blueblood and the guards can now see all of the skeletal mare and stallion pirates; each of them being an earth pony in life. Each one had cutlasses, instruments or apple cider in their hooves. None of them had eyes, but Blueblood could tell that they were looking at them with sadistic delight. Many of the guards began to shiver, but Blueblood remained steadfast.

The prince can now see his old foe Scurvy Jones slowly limping towards the side of the ship to look at all of the demoralized guards. The pirate captain was the remains of an earth stallion about the same size as the prince himself. He had a long grey beard covered in splinters and rotten seaweed and he only had five teeth left. He was wearing a thick black jacket and black pants to make up for his lack of flesh. The undead wore a black captain's hat that was wearing away. To compensate for a lack of a cutie mark, he stitched two of the ship's flags onto his pants. He even replaced his missing right forehoof with a ghastly and rusty hook.

Scurvy was chugging down a mug of apple cider, the liquid pouring out of his body.

What shall we do with the apple cider?

DRINK IT EVERY MORNIN'!

He took a glance at Blueblood and quickly tossed the mug at the stallion. Blueblood stood in his place as he used his magic to catch the mug and flinging it at a pirate in the crow's nest. The mug hit the skeleton stallion in the face, causing him to fall out and break to pieces.

Scurvy watched his wretched crewman's fall and then looked back towards Blueblood as he laughed heartily. "AHOY MATEY! HAVE SEEN YE IN MANY MOONS YE BUG EYED BARNACLE BREATH!"

Blueblood just began to laugh, to his own crew's confusion. "Is that the best insult you got? Your brain must have rotted away as well then!"

Scurvy still continued to laugh. "Still the sharp tongue as ever aren't ye pretty boy?" He took out a saber from his scabbard and held it in his good forehoof. "No matter. When I take you and your crew out, I'll be sure to cut that tongue out and feed it to the sharks!"

Blueblood was still nonchalant as he magically twirled his blade with great skill. "That's nice. I'll tell that one to my dog as we play fetch with one your ribs." He signaled his ponies to draw their swords.

Scurvy quit laughing and turned to his crew. "ALRIGHT YE MAGGOTS! PLAYTIME'S OVER! WE GOT OURSELVES A GOOD PRINCE FOR YE OLD "WALK THE PLANK" ENTERTAINMENT!" The crew dropped their drinks and instruments and each one took out their cutlasses. They all then began to growl and sneer at the soldiers.

Scurvy glared at the prince as he pointed his saber at the white unicorn. "Any last words hero?" A couple of skeletons began to twirl grappling hooks, ready to latch onto the boat and climb on.

Most commanders would have felt at least threatened, but Blueblood kept his calm, cheery, and almost cocky demeanor. He put on a smug grin. "Why yes I do good sir." He then calmly levitated his sword into the air. "Fire."

All of the unicorn guards' horns began to glow. Before any of the pirates could react, the S.S Cetus's cannons fired upon them. The cannonballs created huge holes in at the side of the ship, turning much of the side to shards. All of the skeletons but Scurvy were wobbling around uncontrollably, some of them even falling apart. One peg legged pirate even cried in horror, hollering that the cider has been hit. Blueblood and his guards only watched without even moving a muscle.

After twenty seconds of destruction, the opposing ship was in complete disrepair. The masts have been destroyed, the sails ruined, much of the crew's body parts were scattered about, and the ship was starting to sink. The only thing unharmed on board was Scurvy Jones himself. He didn't even flinch.

As the guards congratulated one another on their success, Blueblood stayed idle. Normally, he would consider this an amazing victory and a new record for quickest defeat. But he could tell just by looking into the blackness of Scurvy's eye sockets that this wasn't over. He looked even closer and could see that the Buccaneer of Bones was actually smiling. The prince's worries came true when the captain suddenly burst out in a laughing fit.

"IS ALL YE GOT YE SCURVY SCALIWAGS? CAUSE IT'S GONNA TAKE MORE THAN THAT TO TAKE US DOWN!"

All of the guards stopped what they were doing and watched in horror as the pirate ship began to rebuild itself piece by piece. The holes in the sails mended, the mast was propped back up, and the planks of wood were fit back into its original place. The skeleton crew recollected their own body parts, whether it was merely grabbing a hoof or a head jumping towards its body. After only a minute, the ship and crew were as good as new. Scurvy was bellowing the whole way through.

Blueblood looked at his own crew of privateers. Each one was shaking and unsure what to do against something invincible. One was so nauseas from the sickening view, he stuck his head into an unused barrel and vomited. Blueblood then quickly spoke to his crew with the easiest, yet most reckless order.

"I'm going to board their ship. Follow if you feel the need."

With that, he used his magic to high jump onto Scurvy's ship, doing a somersault on the way there. He landed on a pirate and took out two more with his blade. When one mare tried to sneak up behind him, he used his levitation magic to use her as a shield from attacks as he jumped into their lower deck. He tossed the mare out of a window and then began to cut apart the skeletons trying to start the cannons. He then used a ray to create a temporary hole in the wall and pushed all of the cannons out as he controlled his sword to chop a skeleton's head of, making her desperately try to put it back on.

Blueblood let out a chuckle when he heard Captain Scurvy neigh in anger. But to his surprise, in was interrupted by some other opposing force. He galloped from out of the basement to see the Pegasus Pirate Princess Armada in all her glory. She was more than a match for the pirates, being about Luna's size and having a red X for a cutie mark. She had a tan coat and a long, black mane which was partially hidden with a red bandanna. She wore large, gold earrings and wielded two cutlasses, which she used with the upmost panache. The mares and stallions accompanying her were also doing a number on the skeletons, accompanied by his guards. Blueblood then looked up to see the giant ship in the sky, completely made out of clouds. He was so distracted by this glorious site, that Armada swooped behind him to take out some sneaky pirates.

"I suggest ye watch yourself land dweller." She jokingly stated as she gave him an affectionate nuzzle. "Don't wanna get that lovely face of yours hurt do ye?"

Blueblood nuzzled her back with a joking retort. "Don't worry dearest; I'll try not to be distracted by such a beautiful mare again." He kicked a pirate overboard without even looking.

Both the princess and the prince then saw Scurvy Jones dueling against three guards at once. He used his saber and hook to make himself a deadly whirlwind to his foes. The privateers had to retreat from the battle once they saw hooves holding cutlasses moving towards them. Scurvy then saw both Armada and Blueblood and walked towards them, scraping his hook on the deck.

Blueblood made a sly grin towards his girlfriend. "I call dueling him one on one."

The princess made a playful scoff. "Oh fine cutie. But I'm going to clear you and bonehead's stage." She then flew into the air, grabbed a stallion skeleton, and flung him overboard.

Her fellow buccaneers followed her lead, grabbing skeletons and tossing them into the sea. The unicorns then got into the act and started magically flinging the undead overboard. Soon enough, the ship was cleared of minions and Blueblood's allies stood back to watch the duel.

Scurvy was now completely insulted now. "Ye taken out me crew for the last time ye stubborn, rat dwelling flea. And now you, your crew, and ye little marefriend ultimately mock me with a duel?" He twirled his blade. "This will be your last mistake."

Blueblood just placed his emerald blade in his forehoof with a cocky grin. "En garde."

Scurvy swung his sword at the prince, but the unicorn easily blocked the attack, pushing the pirate back. Blueblood just let out a yawn, enraging him more. Scurvy kept on trying to slash and stab at him, but he passively blocked every attack. If it weren't for not having any muscles, the pirate captain would've wore himself out by now.

But when Scurvy tried to slice towards the head, the legendary warrior just caught the blade in his teeth. Armada and the rest of the audience were cheering. Even Blueblood raised an eyebrow to insult the captain, snickering with a sword in his teeth.

Scurvy Jones could take it no longer. "THAT'S IT YOU PRISSY PANSY PRINCE! I'II MUTILATES YE LIVER!"

The pirate attacked with all his might with his sharp hook, aiming for the pony's side. Blueblood just quickly caught Scurvy's arm with a free hoof. The prince then glared at the now intimidated foe.

"Nopony calls me a prissy pansy prince."

He hit Scurvy in the face with a hoof, causing the skeleton to drop his blade. Blueblood then spat the saber out of his mouth and head butted the pirate. As Scurvy was stunned, the prince jumped into the air still holding the hook arm. This caused Scurvy to flip over onto his back, disorienting him. When he tried to attack with his hook again, Blueblood used his sword to pin his right sleeve down. As the pirate king tried to desperately struggle, Blueblood just grabbed the pirate's head and with a yank, removed the skull from the rest of the body.

"I call mercy matey! MERCY!" Scurvy begged desperately in the victor's hooves.

Blueblood just let out a passive sigh. "Sorry buddy but…" The stallion teleported onto his ship right next to one of the cannons. "Nopony called me a prissy pansy prince."

He then shoved the screaming head into the cannon and lit the fuse. Three seconds later, the skull was shot flying into the horizon, screaming the whole way. All of his allies cheered at the finale as they all went up to him and congratulated the prince.

Armada flung away Scurvy's still struggling body into the sea and then flew into Blueblood's forehooves. "Nice dueling champ…" She made a playful scoff. "…for a land dweller."

Blueblood just gentley nuzzled the pegasus's nose. "What can I say my sweet? I just have a knack for impressing ponies."

Blueblood ended the spell, joyfully reminiscing those old days. He then turned towards the others. "And then three months later, me and Armada were wed." He let out a soft sigh. "Such a wonderful lady."

Scootaloo, enjoying the Corsair of the Air, asked him a quick question. "But what happened to Armada Mr. Blueblood?"

Blueblood lowered his head and answered the little filly. "She's…not like me or Auntie." He began to shed the first tear he had in years. "She's…in a much better place. She's happy and she's safe from all those monsters out there." The others can see more tears coming from his eyes. "She's with her parents, my mother, my son, my daughter, my granddaughter, my great granddaughter, and many more granddaughters." He covered his face with a hoof. "I miss them all very much but they'll always be in my heart. I just hope they remember how much they meant to me."

Luna, Spike, and Scootaloo just watched as the prince began to softly sob in his hooves. Luna was aware how much it could hurt to be immortal. When she discovered that her brother's son was immortal, she was full of joy for the young child. But even if she hasn't seen him eye to eye in so many years, she knew that that to him, eternal life was a curse.

Scootaloo softly patted the prince's head. "Please don't cry. I know it must hard for you, but you're not alone in this. You have me, Spike, and your loving aunt to keep you company. Just please don't cry."

Blueblood tried to absorb what the little filly had said to him as she slowly began to cry into his chest. She reminded him of his great, great, great great, great granddaughter all those years ago. Such a naïve innocence that even he had to admire. Without even speaking, he just embraced the filly in his hooves. She hugged the prince back, trying to make him feel better. Luna walked over and hugged her nephew for the first time in over a millennium. Spike just shrugged and also entered the hug.

Somehow, Blueblood felt happier at that current moment than the last thirty years of his everlasting life. To think that he'd find so much peace in his own father's body. He also had a new hope for the Elements of Harmony, whoever they were, honestly never paid much attention to them. He then had himself an idea.

"You know what? Why don't we make every minute of life in this place worth it?" The group looked at the smiling prince as if he was crazy. All the prince did was make a small grin as he got ready to use his memory portal spell again. "Now who do you want to watch me beating up? Harpy, queen of the griffon barbarians and master of blades? Coldclaw, the frost dragon who wanted and eternal winter? Or maybe even the Stallion Strudel Slingin' Spirit of the Southwest, the legendary cowboy bandit?"

The three were beginning to enjoy this new Blueblood.

"Awesome! Griffons!"

"I am voting for this cowboy being! Whatever a cowboy is."

"I would totally watch that ice dragon get burned!"

The voyage begins

Chapter 23: The voyage begins

Twilight, Coocoodrill, Rarity, Paramail, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Blubayou found themselves at a bustling city dock. When they looked towards their right, they saw ships moving about in the large Buckston Bay. To their left, they saw large buildings in which the smallest was at least twice the size of an average Ponyville building. All of the ponies around were shopping, sailing, and sightseeing.

Despite their peaceful surroundings, the group had to get to Coocoodrill's parent's house. Both Scones and their ship were there, ready to sail. As they made their way through the crowds, many ponies looked at the heavily geared group in bewilderment. Some even took one look at Blubayou and looked away in disgust. Blu tried as hard as he could to ignore the staring. He looked towards Applejack for support, but she only signaled him to simply ignore it. Blue tried to ignore but he couldn't help but notice the group got more space to walk when he moved about.

After a few minutes worth of walking, they encountered a large house by the bay. Next to the house were many docked ships. One particularly grandiose ship in particular looked ready to go. It was painted pure white, had shining golden sails, and was the largest ship of the group. As they went by it, they could see the name S.S Beluga at the side. Rarity put down her heavy pack for a minute and admired the ship.

"My goodness! What a fabulous ship!" The white mare delightfully commented as she continued to be entranced by the sheer design of the nautical vessel.

Twilight took a little time to turn towards her friend to add her two cents. "It has to be. I've read that this ship was made to be a worthy successor of the legendary S.S Cetus. I heard that this boat can manipulate the wind, travel the entire world in a week, and with such stability, seasickness isn't going to be a problem."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "How's that?"

"Magic. But anyways, this ship is literally the ship for a cause like this. With a masterpiece like this, we can probably make it to Phobos in less than a day." Twilight let out a light squeal. "Seriously, we're making history here. The Legendary Captain of the Cetus would be proud of such a ship." She then turned to the Green Unicorn. "Isn't that right Coocoo?"

Coocoodrill just tilted his head and looked at her as if she had three heads. "What are talking about?"

Twilight was baffled by how his parents could be such successful sea goers, but their own son had exactly no idea what she was talking about. But she never really knew how long he was in Diamondale after being expelled from the Academy. So she kept her mouth shut about it. But when she looked at Pinkie Pie, the lavender pony could easily tell that the curly haired mare knew the reason why. But rather than dwelling on the subject, Twilight decided to drop the subject and began to walk towards the large house, soon followed by the others.

Coocoodrill knocked on the door and after thirty seconds, the door opened to show two unicorns; a mare and a stallion. The mare was tan with a light yellow mane that was made into a braided ponytail. The stallion was as blue as the oceans with a short black mane but a scruffy beard and mustache. The mare had a ship's steering wheel for a cutie mark while the stallion had a rope tied in a sailor's knot for one. Twilight had a feeling these were Coocoo's parents.

"Hi mom. Hi dad. How's it…" Before the green unicorn could even finish his greeting, his father got him into an affectionate bear hug.

"Welcome home son!" His father happily greeted his child. "We haven't seen you in forever!" His voice was a rough Fillydelphian accent as if he swallowed too much seawater in his lifetime.

His mother playfully ruffled her son's mane. "We missed you so much!" She then turned towards the rest of the ponies.

"Why hello there! I'm Tansand and my husband's Ropeknot! We heard from the Princess herself that you're all off on an important adventure to save all of Equestria from total demise and despair for all eternity!" She noticed everypony's horrified expression, so she changed the subject a little. "But anyways, your little pixie pony friend is with us. We were just having tea." She let out a sigh of pity. "Poor thing's got no mouth to eat."

Twilight, Pinkie, Coocoodrill were relieved to hear that Scones made it to Fillydelphia without a problem. Rarity was still unsure about allying herself and her friends with a Mara that had previously tried to hurt their loved ones.

Rainbow Dash, along with the rest of them had no idea what Coocoo's parents were talking about. "Pixie what?"

Scones walked out of the house and stood behind the two sailors. The Mara then politely greeted all of the Elements with a wave. Rainbow Dash, Blubayou, Applejack, and Paramail were slightly concerned about having a Mara in their group. But each one dealt with it in their own way. Applejack had a feeling that if her cousin Blu can be on their side, so can this Scones fellow. Blubayou considered it hypocritical to be against somepony that was in the same position as him. Rainbow Dash, being the Element of Loyalty, fully trusted Twilight's reasons for having a Mara on board with them (as navigator no less). Paramail was just glad to have another helping hoof for the mission.

Twilight looked at Scones confused and slightly weirded out. "Pixie? Seriously Scones?"

Scones just shrugged and wrote in its notebook and showed it to the eight Elements.

"They said it. Just go with it."

Tansand then firmly took and shook Twilight's hoof. "You must be Twilight Sparkle! You're everywhere on the papers and such!"

As Twilight tried to comprehend being so popular in the papers, Tansand continued to speak. "I am so happy my little boy found a nice girl like you to be with!"

Coocoodrill's and Twilight's eyes immediately went wide open. "WHAT?"

Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Paramail also couldn't comprehend the concept of Coocoo and Twilight dating. Such an idea was completely alien to them. They just looked at the unicorns with their jaws agape.

Blubayou just looked around, wondering what the big deal was. He did not know the two well enough and from what he saw, it was more of an orderly mare/chaotic stallion partner duo. Although he also noticed some sort of strange older sister/younger brother, strict wife/aloof husband, and even a mother/son relationship with them while he was being interrogated. The amphibipony just shook his head to get the strange thoughts out of his head.

Those two have one messed up relationship! Yeesh! And ponies say I'm the freak!

Pinkie Pie just giggled and began to bounce around the purple pony as she sang. "Twilight and Coocoo sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love! Then comes marriage! Then Twi and Cooks have a baby carriage!" She then did a back flip. "And then I can be the token awesome aunt that discreetly gives the kids sugar, thus making it my fault if they grow up being overly energetic. But I bet it won't hurt their education one bit. Hopefully."

Twilght quickly spoke up in borderline panic as she waved her forehooves around and shook her head. "NO, NO, NO! It's not like that!"

Coocoodrill slipped out of his father's tight embrace and also rejected the idea, but a little more casually. "Nah! It's not like that at all. We're only buds." He wrapped a hoof around Twilight. "Besides, us being in love? No way! Too cliché! Somepony else another day!" He shook the distraught mare. "Right Twi?"

Twilight only imagined the hypothetical child between her and Coocoo. Between her unique traits and his unique traits, the foal would be…average. Paramail level average. Nopony wants to be Paramail level average. That's the kind of average you think would make for nice parenting, but then it turns out that they merely live out a mundane life. From what she could tell, even Paramail was disgruntled with his overly mundane life. It took being an Element to make his life more interesting; an Element that hardly anypony knew existed. That child might not be so lucky. Twilight would rather live the rest of her life alone than have an average child. And she didn't even want to think about such a married life.

"Twi?"

Applejack's voice ended her inner nightmare. She then quickly nodded her head to answer whatever Coocoodrill said.

Tansand and Ropeknot understood just fine. They looked at the rest of the mares, who also just quickly shook their heads. The two then just let out a sigh and gave one another the "No grandkids for us" look.

But then Ropeknot noticed something about the group. He spoke up about it. "Wait one second here?" He pointed towards all of the elements, stopping at Blubayou. Blu just gulped, wondering what this was about.

Tansand also looked intently at the group, but finally spoke up about it with concern. "Yeah. Something's fishy about this whole thing."

Blu was hoping this wasn't about him. He didn't want to be labeled a monster by benefactors too.

"Where Fluttershy?" Tansand asked her husband. "You know that absolutely gorgeous mare from those magazines?"

Ropeknot just shrugged. "I don't know. I don't read those things."

Paramail revisited last night's painful memory in his head over and over again. Rainbow saw her friend go catatonic on them, so she spoke up for him. "Well to put it bluntly…"

The teal pegasus suddenly and quickly called out. "She's been taken by evil forces and we gotta save her and all of Equestria! If not, we'll be forced to live in eternal nightmare!" He then began to hyperventilate. "I don't wanna live in eternal nightmare."

As the stallion tried to get his fears under control, Tansand and Ropeknot took a closer inspection at the blue stallion. When they noticed he wasn't your average pony, they used their magic to move the other ponies to make a pathway for themselves towards Blubayou. Before Blu could react, he was held still by Rope Knot's magic as Tan Sand magically summoned a bunch of tools that are used for biological study. Before Blu could even protest, they took him into their home to examine his unique body structure.

Coocoodrill awkwardly turned to the others. "Did I mention my parents are also specialized in marine biology?"

"What in tarnation do they think they're doing to my cousin?" Applejack shouted as she stomped a hoof in displeasure. It took the Rainbow Dash, Coocoodrill, Scones, Pinkie Pie, and Paramail to prevent her from barging right in.

"Let it go AJ." Rainbow Dash told her, struggling to maintain her hold on her. "They're only learning about his…uh…biological functions as an amphibious pony. He can have all kinds of special cells that can help society in general for medicine and stuff. But on a brighter side, they're probably just doing a checkup. You know, give him a biological name. Like Equus Amphibios or something fancy-smancy like that if not fancier. So just cool down AJ, It'll be alright."

Everypony stopped and listened to her little scientific rant. Rainbow just indifferently shrugged. "What? I copied from Baldy during science class."

All the other ponies nodded in understanding. But after ten seconds, Paramail's mouth went agape when he realized what she said. But he could only mutter a small and pathetic "What?" as the cyan mare offered an apologetic and sheepish grin.

Twilight was highly curious of this Hazelhoof pony. She was the only pony she knew who managed to escape Phobos in one piece. Sure her mind was partially twisted, but she must at least have tips for such a journey. She magically lifted Coocoodrill towards her.

"Where's Hazelhoof Coocoo?" The lavender mare said as she put the green stallion down.

Coocooodrill looked around for a bit then spoke up. "Gram-Gram's not around anymore."

Twilight immediately regretted asking her question. She placed a hoof on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "I am so sorry. I didn't…"

"She's in a retirement home." Coocoo interrupted wondering why Twilight was so saddened all of a sudden.

All Twilight could say was "Oh" as she awkwardly looked away, taking her hoof off of his shoulder. All of the ponies then started to hear noises coming from the house. And they all wished that they didn't hear a thing."

"Is this really necessary now?"

"Of course Blu. We just need to know what species you are. You are a very unique being and we are merely curious. But do try to stay still."

Everypony did not like what Ropeknot just said. Next thing they heard was a yelp from Blubayou as Coocoodrill's parents started examining the amphibipony.

"What kind of gills he got honey?"

Scones had to prevent Applejack from barging into the examination when they heard Blu take a deep breath.

"The freshwater type. Can't adapt to the sea at all. His body mucus would also quickly dry up by the looks of it. Anything about that long tail of his?"

"Adapted for swimming not unlike salamanders. The hairs on the tail are real hard and they form a paddle shape to move side to side. He also has these itty-bitty fins behind his hooves. Probably to help with maneuvering and such along with this fish-like sail for what would be a mane. All in all, this stallion is made for stream lined rivers and lakes. Now what about his legs?"

"What miss Tansand? WHAH! Hey that kinda tickles!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "What is this? A fully autopsy?"

Paramail winced in disgust. "Guess so."

"His hind legs are absolutely made to hopping with relative ease Tansand! These legs would make even the giant frogs of the Tikifriki Islands look like slowpokes! I'm betting at least forty foot long jumps for this one. Now about that throat sack of his."

"Is this a normal unicorn greeting?" The ponies then heard a silent croak, followed by an extremely loud croak.

"Throat sack can inflate up to three feet in size. Able to make croaking noises ranging from 15 to 45 decibels. But now, let's see his tongue."

"Wha?" All the ponies heard the disgusting sound of Blu's tongue coming out of his mouth. Rarity now had to hold down Applejack with her magic.

"Roughtly around ten feet long. Adhesiveness I'd say about a seven out of ten. But now Tansand…"

"Are you serious honey?"

"Yes! No we check if he can lay eggs!"

"I don ray ehggs!"

"I sorry what's that?"

Everypony heard Blu's tongue snap back into his mouth as he began to protest. "I said I don't…YIPES!"

Both Paramail and Rarity got woozy and fainted. As everypony else grimaced in disgust, Twilight helped Scones keep a hold of Applejack.

"Yup…doesn't lay eggs." They heard Ropeknot conclude. "So that means…"

"Ropey. Don't even start.""

"…There are females of his kind! Perhaps he is an endangered species of sort! We must see his children!

Applejack finally called from outside, tired of their experiments. "He's just a magically adjusted Earth Pony! Now will you please bring him back outside?"

Ropeknot let out a sigh. "Fine. And I was going to name the species Equus Amphibios."

Rainbow Dash let out a sly grin. "I totally called it."

The ponies then heard hoofsteps going down stairs. When Everypony turned towards the door, they saw Tansand and Ropeknot coming out of the door carrying a shaking Blubayou in tow. He was muttering over and over to himself "I didn't know I had that".

"Alright! That'll do it!" Tansand put down her traumatized test subject right next to Applejack. "So we now know that he's not a sea pony."

Applejack just groaned a facehoofed. "But those don't even..."

"But since you mentioned something about him being a former earth pony." Ropeknot interrupted her. "What shall we call him now?"

As Blubayou recovered from his examination, he found that he had all eyes looking at him for a name. He began to frantically look around the area to help think of a reasonable enough name. He knew he was alone on this idea and had to for once think of something by himself. Screameater used to dictate every moment of his life and since he left his old master, he's always been reliant on Applejack for support. Now it was his time to be independent and make a good name for himself.

Alrighty Blu! Think, think, THINK! You're a might smart guy and you know it! Just think of a nice little name for what ya are! Alright a window made of glass! Now what can I do with that? Glassi, Glastig? No, but I think I'm onto somethin'!

Okay now through that glass window is a fireplace. I see ash in that fireplace. Now what can I do with that at glass? Glash? No too simple. Need something with a bit more "oomph".

Ah! Lookey here! A tin can on top of the fireplace! "Now let's see what I can do with all three words. Ashtinglass, Tinglash, Glashtin? Wait Glashtin! Hmmm? Complex enough yet can be memorized. And now let's add a "Y" instead of an "I" to make it sound more exotic and the WHALAH!

"GLASHTYN!"

All the ponies (and Mara) stared at the amphibious being perplexed by the random name. Both Rarity and Paramail got up and looked at Blu without a clue about what was going on.

"What about a trash bin?" Rarity asked having no idea what was going on. "What on earth are we talking about?"

"Glashtin?" Applejack repeated. "Where'd ya find a name like that?"

Blu just shrugged. "Around. But it's with a "Y" not an "I". G-L-A-S-H-T-Y-N. Glashtyn."

Pinkie Pie started bouncing around the Glashtyn. "I like that name! That's my favorite name! It sounds like a combination of glass, ash, and tin! I wonder how you came up with that name! You must be like super smart and…"

They group heard a stomping and saw that it was Scones. He was holding up and pointing at its notebook while looking quite frustrated.

You guys realize that we're wasting time with this stuff right? Who knows what Screameater is doing right now? Seriously, we gotta get a move on! Does it always take this long to begin an adventure? C'MON! This is ridiculous!

Tansand nodded in agreement and gave her orders. "Pixie's right! Let's load the S.S Beluga and get three unicorns, two pegasi, two earth ponies, a pixie, and a…glashtyn onto it!" She pointed towards the great ship.

As the ponies headed towards the S.S Beluga, Applejack questioned Paramail.

"I've been seeing all these pony parents lately. So I've been wonderin' somethin'."

Paramail answered while still flying straight. "Yeah?"

"What are your parents like?"

The stallion just let out an irritated groan and turned his head towards her. "Only ask about work and grandkids. Through letters no less."

Applejack wasn't really prepared to hear such a thing. So she just said the first thing on her mind.

"That's rough sugarcube."

Screameater looked into a scrying gate as he slouched on his throne eating an apple. He was watching the Elements of Harmony get ready to leave to try to defeat him. He merely chuckled as the group got ready for the voyage and saying goodbye to their family members. He then started bawling with laughter as he saw that one of the ponies just got a letter asking how his job was and asking for grandkids.

"Such a hopeless cause." He mocked as he finished the rest of his granny smith apple, spitting out all of the seeds.

He then began to think to himself. Hm? If these pathetic ponies are out to end my reign of terror, I might just have to hurry up with my plan. So first things first, find a queen. Easy enough.

"Trixie!" Screameater called in a sing-song voice from his throne. "I've got something to tell you!"

Not long after, the blue unicorn entered through the obsidian doors, bowed down, and answered her master. "What do you need sir?"

Screameater took a breath as he used a tendril to lift the mare's up. He then looked directly into her eyes, speaking to her in an uncharacteristically soothing voice. Even then, Trixie could feel a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Well Trix." The dark prince gulped. "I know we've only known each other for like less than a week. But I'm pretty sure that's like…a good chunk of mortal life. And we've…" Trixie could see him blushing, making her feel very uncomfortable. "…kinda made this bond and all and…" He slapped himself across the face and spat it out. "…WELL MAYBE YOU CAN BE MY DARK QUEEN AND SUCH! TOEGTHER WE COULD RULE ALL OF EQUESTRIA WITH AN IRON HOOF!" Screameater brought his forehooves up into the air as he began to laugh maniacally. "WE SHALL BE LIVING THE DREAM WHILE THE REST OF THIS PATHETIC PLANET WILL BE LIVING THE NIGHTMARE!" His laughing then went down several octaves as it began to sound much less natural.

Trixie just gasped in horror. She imagined their future child together. That child would be the most twisted thing in existence. It would have her amazing charisma while retaining the utterly corrupted mind of the father. It would pretend to act sweet, yet would only do it for personal gain. The foal probably would also have bright orange eyes or other traits that would send it straight into uncanny valley. And not the same named valley on this island. She imagined that everypony would be so disturbed by how it looks so much like a pony, but wasn't. She had to speak up about this.

"Wait one second sir."

Screameater settled down, relieved about spitting it out. "Yes Ms. Magnificent? And call me Screameater dear," He brushed her silvery hair with a tentacle, causing her spine to shiver. "You'll make a beautiful alicorn."

Trixie couldn't believe what he just said. "What about Trixie being an alicorn sir?"

Screameater merely chuckled and summoned an illusion on Trixie. But this Trixie was the size of the Moon Princess, had large wings, and had flowing silver hair that reached the ground. She wore silver slippers and a shining platinum crown. The magnificent radiance around the illusion made Trixie fall back in shock; this was her as an immortal ruler of Equestria.

She couldn't even imagine herself with all that power. Her abilities would have no equal. There would be no argument that she would be both great and powerful. But the cost of it would be so much. Equestria would never be the same after this monster's ascension. And she knew that if she became queen, all the ponies wouldn't cheer and love her, they would be afraid of her. They would run at the sight of her, insult her behind her back, and possibly make a vain attempt at a rebellion. She didn't want to be held responsible for ruining millions upon millions of lives.

She then began to think why she even chose to work for this insane monster. She began to show spite for that pitiful amphibious pony that brought her into this situation. Without him, she would not even be in this situation. But for some reason, she couldn't stay mad at him. What if that was all he knew? What if his life revolved around being lied to by Screameater? And she abandoned him over bonding with a single bunny. Now who knows how those ponies are treating him right now. For all she knew, they locked him up in a zoo and thrown peanuts at.

Then Prince Blueblood came to mind. She realized what the implications were for kidnapping royalty and was afraid of the punishment. Blueblood may have been mean (perhaps even possibly sociopathic), but that was no excuse to have him absorbed to live for all eternity. And when she thought about, there were plenty of nobles just like him; he was merely just the most snarky and bitter. She then began to wonder what could possibly make a member of Equestrian royalty so bitter. And if he was truly Screameater's son, how did he deal with over a thousand years without a father? Maybe he was at one point a decent pony. It then struck her. If Cadence was the age of an average pony, that meant that Blueblood could've possibly been a descendent of the prince. She had a feeling that he had a lot of bad things happen to him in his life and tons of pent-up anger inside him. She had pent-up anger many times before due to hecklers and such. But she couldn't imagine hundreds of year's worth of it.

Her mind then focused on the young dragon she took. She remembered replacing it with a cold, vile Mara as she took him to Screameater. She remembered the look of horror in his face as she watched him get devoured by the prince. She recognized him from that time in Ponyville when she tried to perform. He was the least condescending of the hecklers from what she remembered. Surely he didn't deserve such a fate.

The pegasus filly then squirmed into her mind. She was just so innocent, and they just took her from her friends. If it wasn't for the Mara that replaced her, her parents would be worried sick. And thinking of that, she also helped create that abominable golem Anvillain. It was just fine before without a personality to speak of. But now, it acted just like a pony, but it still had no empathy. It was still a monster through and through; it just got a conscience that it refuses to listen to.

On the thought of Anvillain, she began to think about how they both ambushed that pegasi couple on top of Blueblood manor. Those two ponies looked so happy and both of them ended it just like that. Sure she spared the stallion, but Anvillain's humiliation of him was too hard to watch. The yellow mare's tears were also hard to look at, but she had all the right to cry. Trixie began to imagine what those two might have done with their relationship that she helped ruin.

But her biggest failure was creating the thirteenth spawn. When it was a twisted mockery of Blueblood, it acted really nice to everypony around him. But Trixie knew better than to buy it. She knew inside that the Mara who now insists on being called Crimson Prince, was just as vile as Screameater; possibly even more so. But after thinking about her actions, Trixie discovered that she was not much different.

Tears began to seep from her eyes as she dropped to the floor, guilt-wracked about her crimes to all ponykind. She knew that her crimes were unforgiveable. As she laid on the ground, she could only feebly mutter one sentence.

"Trixie's a monster."

Screameater looked at her confused and cleaned an ear, still in a good mood. "What was that dear?"

Trixie looked up towards the alicorn as she continued to weep. "Trixie's a monster."

Screameater stared at her for a moment and then laughed merrily. "OF COURSE YOU ARE DEAREST! IT'S WHAT IT TAKES TO MAKE IT BIG IN THE WORLD OF VILLAINY AND SUCH!" He then used his magic to summon a bunch of wedding gowns of different colors. "Now let's see. Red's like a fiery chili pepper but not classy enough. White's too boring. Grey is too grim and nopony likes a grim wedding. Blue's just…blue."

He then found the perfect bridal gown and displayed it to his future queen. "Scarlet would look perfect on you!" He picked up the glum mare and looked at her face to face. "I can see your tears of joy over this! Think about all of the little ponies screaming out 'Ah! It's the Scarlet Queen of Equestria! Bring her our offerings and beg for her mercy!' Quite a ring don't ya think?"

He then stared at her as tears still continued to fall to the ground. He analyzed how she must have been feeling right now at the moment. He could see her despair and he could smell her fear.

He wrapped his tendrils around her in an embrace as he spoke softly to her. "Now, now. No need to fret dear. Everything shall be alright with you. This fear is normal." His horn then glowed pitch black as he used his evil magic.

Trixie tried to back away, but she gradually found herself in less and less control of her actions. Unspeakable horrors invaded her mind, bringing a sense of dread for the poor unicorn. After much struggling, she fell to the ground.

Screameater just shook his head. "I cannot have a fearful queen I'm afraid. My ideal mare needs to be able to see the horrors I shall bring unto this world without even wincing." He lifted Trixie from the ground, who now had blank eyes and a cold, emotionless face. "But whatever. I'll find a changeling or something suitable as a queen."

"Hey!"

Screameater quickly looked up to see a shocked Anvillain and Crimson Prince just outside the obsidian door. Both minions were just staring at the sight in confusion. Before Screameater could awkwardly explain explain, Crimson spoke up with a smile.

"What awesome spell did you use on her?"

Screameater writhed his tentacles with pride as he answered the two minions. "Well you see. The spell I cast allows me to control the body of my victim to do my very whim." He then made a sinister, sharp toothed grin. "But her mind is trapped in nightmare after nightmare. She is screaming at the top of her lungs but nopony can help her." He licked his lips. "I can just imagine her anguish."

Crimson Prince cruelly cackled with delight. "I totally dig that idea Daddy-O! I can imagine her shrieks right now, begging the visions to stop! Haven't imagined such a beautiful display of pain, suffering, anguish, loathing, depravity…"

"Whoah! Whoah! Whoah!" Anvillain immediately stopped the crazed Thirteenth Spawn in disgust. "You think such visions are beautiful?"

Screameater began to gag on such a concept. "You're one weird sicko!"

Crimson showed no offense and merely shrugged it off. "Meh. To each their own boss."

Trixie's controlled body began to walk around the area, moaning like a zombie and drooling. Screameater enjoyed the effects of the spell and gave her his first order.

"Trixie. I would like you to play bowling with Anvillain and Crimson Prince in front of our prisoner's cell."

Screameater summoned ten rabbit taxidermies and a bowling ball and passed it to the blue mare. She lifted it with her magic and proceeded to go to the exit. Both Anvillain and Crimson loudly expressed their excitement to play bowling with stuffed bunnies as they followed suit, leaving Screameater alone on his throne once again.

"Now to hurry my sister up." Screameater put his hands together as the pitch black aura surrounded his horn again. "A scorpio would do the trick."

The worst possible thing

Chapter 24: The worst possible thing

Shining Armor rushed into the Canterlot Castle throne room with dire news. It was only a few hours since he said farewell to his little sister and watching her go on her voyage, and then a guard informs him that Ponyville was under attack by a Scorpio. Since Scorpios were arguably the most aggressive beasts of Everfree, he went to Celestia to tell her the bad news. When he saw her on her throne, he bowed down to her in respect and gave her the news.

"Princess Celestia! Ponyville is under attack by a Scorpio! We were informed by the guards sent to defeat it that it was transformed from an orange pegasus filly! Eyewitness accounts say that she had bright orange eyes just before she turned! What are my orders?" He looked up to see her frown, almost scowl.

Celestia immediately knew who was responsible for such a thing. Shining almost felt his spine chill when she had an unusually angry look in her eyes that seemed completely out of character for her.

"It is Screameater at it again." Celestia said to the captain in her most serious manner as she got up from her throne. She then began to raise her voice. "My brother's power lust shall never be quenched! This must end now!"

As Shining Armor was about to get ready for battle, Celestia called back towards him, this time in a much calmer voice. "Keep your guards away from my brother's atrocity." She walked towards her in-law. "I will handle this myself. I have let my brother get away with too many crimes. He has kidnapped, terrorized, and robbed. He betrayed this kingdom, its inhabitants, me, Luna, his wife…" She hesitated when she thought of the young Blueblood over a millennium ago. "…and his son."

Shining was stunned at the idea of the ruler he swore to guard was going to face danger personally. He knew this was a major emergency, but when Celestia ever got off her throne, it meant business. He learned of Screameater's name not too long ago, but he knew what he was capable enough thanks to old archives. But he still worried for the Princess.

"But…what if he…gets you?"

Celestia placed a hoof an understanding hoof on his shoulder. "Then you and Cadence shall rule Equestria." She then proceeded to leave the throne room. "Rule it well Shining."

Shining felt his legs shaking in fear. The concept of being ruler of Equestria should have been a dream come true, but he couldn't help but be afraid of the pressure. He was not nearly as wise as either of the princesses and he doubted Cadence knew everything about ruling a kingdom either. But now with Blueblood taken, they were the most qualified to rule should unfortunate events happen to Celestia. But if that was what she truly wanted, he'd do it.

So Shining Armor bowed down once again. "As you wish Princess. I shall not let you down."

Celestia solemnly nodded to the captain. "Understood. Just wish the best for me."

Shining slowly nodded and watched Celestia teleport away in a bright flash. One second later, he was all alone in the throne room. He looked towards the empty throne and hoped that he and Cadence would not have to deal with the pressure of ruling Equestria.

"I am not ready for such a responsibility."

"Whoah! I just got the weirdest thought right now! What if…and keep up with me here. What if…there were millions upon billions of universes, each one slightly different? Like some of us exist in one universe but others don't. Or like how there are only two or three alicorns but in others, they're as common as any other pony. Or one is extremely grim and smile free while another is so overly peppy that it gets annoying. Wouldn't that be something?"

Both Pinkie Pie and Blubayou listened to Coocoodrill in awe as he ranted on his strange idea. All three of them were having lunch consisting of pastries inside the ship mess hall. Twilight Sparkle was steering the ship, Scones was the navigator, Paramail was asleep in the crow's nest, and Rainbow Dash was exploring the ship. Rarity and Applejaack were at the same table, ignoring the conversation that they thought was pointless.

Blubayou scratched his head with a hoof as he lapped up a slice of strawberry shortcake with his tongue. "Well…that's…deep I guess. Don't really get it though."

Pinkie's mind was overwhelmed with the concept. "So does that mean there's billions of Pinkie Pie? If that's the truth…" She jumped out of her seat. "…THEN THAT WOULD BE THE MOTHER OF ALL PARTIES! A MEGA PARTY!"

Rarity just rolled her eyes and whispered to Applejack. "How do they come up with these ideas?"

Applejack let out a snicker then whispered back. "Don't know, but one Pinkie and one Cooks is sweet and dandy. But a thousand, that'd drive me nuts." She then slouched comfortably in her seat as Rarity nodded in agreement.

"OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH!"

All five ponies turned to see Rainbow Dash flying past them with a look of excitement on her face. In her forehooves was a gleaming sword with two emeralds embedded in it; one at the bottom of the handle and the other at the base of the blade. She flew through the lunchroom and to the deck. Rarity, Coocoodrill, Pinkie Pie, Blubayou, and Applejack just sat there for a bit.

Applejack turned to Coocoodrill. "Since when did we have a sword in the ship? Somepony could get hurt."

The green unicorn just shrugged. "I dunno. Not my ship. But don't worry AJ. Not like anypony's gonna get hurt. Right?"

They then saw the tip of the blade stab into the ceiling. Twilight's high pitched scream was heard milliseconds after that. With that, all five ponies hurried to the ship's wheel to see what was going on and if Twilight was okay.

At the ships wheel, they saw Twilight staring at the sword stabbed into the floor in between her hind legs. Rainbow Dash was rapid firing apologies for dropping the blade, but the lavender mare was silent. Scones noticed the crowd of ponies, wrote in its notebook, and showed it to the others while shrugging.

"And you thought running with scissors was dangerous."

But as soon as the ponies surrounded Twilight to help her up, her expression changed from shock to awe at the blade to looking like a giddy fan girl. She lifted the blade out of the floor and placed it in her hooves.

"It's the Emerald Abolisher!"

Applejack tried to speak up. "What is it sugar..."

"Nothing else other THAN THE EMERALD ABOLISHER ITSELF!" Twilight twirled the weapon with her magic, admiring the design.

Blubayou admired the wonderful craftsmanship of the blade. "But what's so special about this "Emerald Abolisher" dohiky?"

Twilight was still staring lovingly at the blade. "It's just the finest blade ever crafted. Over one thousand years old and still didn't age a year. And it was wielded by none other than Warrior Prince of the Monolith Mountains. He worked for Princess Celestia and Luna back in the old days."

Coocoodrill immediately knew what she was talking about and loudly explained as he flailed his hooves in the air. "I know him! I know him! He was the Unicorn who defeated the legendary barbarian general Harpy of the Whitetalon clan and her habit of sword collecting, and her vile act of stealing the helmet of the current Captain of the Royal Guard notorious for his massively uncreative name of Shieldpony." The green unicorn then went off track. "Who would name their foal that? It's just cruel and unusual. How about Ripper or Shadowwing…or horn? Maybe he was a unicorn. Or maybe Shadowearth if he's an earth pony But who would name their foal something involving he dark unknown and…?

Coocoodrill then noticed that they were all staring at him. It got so quiet that they could hear Paramail softly snoring on top of the crow's nest.

Blubayou continued the conversation. "So who's this guy exactly? Never heard of him. In fact, I don't think I know a thing about Equestrian history. Other than that Sunwhirl the Mustachioed or somethin' of that sort."

Twilight almost felt a singe of pain from such historical inaccuracy. "That's it! He's getting tutoring lessons from me!" She thought to herself.

She then saw a piece of paper get in her face, courtesy of Scones.

"I know who the wielder is."

Twilight was stumped. "But I thought that you were less than a month old. This guy's over one thou…"

Scones turned the paper over, showing more text.

"Nopony said he wasn't immortal. In fact, how did you think the Legendary Captain also wielded this mighty blade? And how did it even get here in the first place?"

Twilight scratched her head. "Never thought too hard on that. Thought about it of course, but not as a primary subject." She then had an idea. "Let me read your mind."

The Mara shrugged, wrote down some words and showed it to her.

Alright. But careful. I saw things you can't even comprehend on any level. And I am not going down as the one who drove Twilight insane. That can be Cooks and Pinkie's job. So I'm just gonna think real hard and you take my memory. Kapeesh?

Twilight nodded, took a breather and got her horn ready. As the others saw her horn glow, they immediately saw her squirm for one second. The unicorn mare then opened her eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

"Alright everypony...and Mara. I'm casting a spell to indentify the wielder of this blade." She let out a squeal of excitement. "This is going to be so…informative!"

She created a flashback portal for all of them to see who it was. In the portal, they saw the vast Monolith Mountains during a huge snowstorm. From the blizzard, they could see a silhouette from of a stallion wearing a bearskin hide and boots to keep warm. In his scabbard was the Emerald Abolisher, just as brilliant as ever. As he walked closer to the portal's screen, they were able to see his features.

Rarity froze up in dumbfounded shock as she took a closer look. "Is that…Blue…?"

Pinkie Pie and Coocoodrill began to cheer, flanking Rarity on both sides. "Sure is Rarity! Me and Cooks knew he was awesome!"

"Yeah Rare!" Coocoodrill chimed in. "How can you ever think this guy was lame? I lost faith when he turned out to be a Nightmare creature thing, but the faith is back and better than ever!"

The portal showed a white/light gray stallion of above average size. He had blue eyes and flowing, wild golden hair. He also had a golden goatee. Around his neck was a compass shaped medallion. Without a doubt it was Prince Blueblood; albeit a gruffer, more primitive Blueblood.

Prince Blueblood walked through the raging blizzard with the Emerald Abolisher in his sheath. He paid no heed to the cold or the deep snow as he focused on his destination. Not far was a large fortress with a wall made from large, pointed logs. He could see several Griffins encircling above the base, each one armed with crossbows. But he was undeterred and continued to walk.

After a few more minutes of walking, he stopped in front of the front gate. He knocked twice and stoically waited for an answer. The first thing he heard was a sneer.

"Well, well, well. Your aunts must be quite desperate to send their fragile little pretty boy of a prince to greet us."

Blueblood looked up and saw a large, muscular, grey griffon looking down at him from the safety of the fort with her talons crossed. She wore a white ermine coat and a bronze necklace depicting an eagle holding two blades in its talons. She wore purple war paint on her face which went across her eyes, under her beak and throat. On her back were several different kinds of swords, each one in a holster. To insult all of Equestria, she wore the helmet stolen Equestria's captain of the guard.

A smaller mahogany and white griffon wearing a wolverine hide popped up next to his master. He was even wearing a battered Royal Guard helmet, probably as a mockery to Equestria. The griffon spoke with an annoyingly high pitched voice. "He, he! Yeah! Fragile little pretty boy!"

Blueblood decided to humble them with a bow and then spoke back to them without a hint of fear. "Don't be fooled Queen Harpy of the Whitetalon clan. My aunts are not at all intimidated by mere barbarians."

Harpy let out a roaring laugh. "I see then Prince. She's are merely coward then."

The smaller griffon nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah. They are merely cowards then."

The grey griffon then raised her claws into the air. "But I cannot blame them. All the ponies out there have a right to tremble when the Whitetalons raid their villages as they helplessly watch all their work be for naught."

"Yeah! All those helpless ponies watching for naught and stuff." Harpy glared at the smaller griffon, annoyed by his presence.

The prince let out an irritated sigh and answered back, much more coldly this time. "Don't let their lack of presence here today fool you. They just come up with the plans…" He pounded his chest with a hoof. "…WE enforce them."

Both Queen Harpy and the other griffon flew up and looked around the area in confusion. After thirty seconds, Harpy focused back on to relaxed Blueblood. She scratched her head in wonder.

"What do you mean we? You are the only pony around for miles."

"Yeah. The only pony around for…"

Harpy immediately got in the other griffon's face and shouted at him. "Private Fisher! Quit copying what I say!"

Fisher timidly saluted. "Yes ma'am! I'll quit copying what you sa…" Harpy quickly kicked her minion of the gate. "…AAAAAAYYY!"

Blueblood winced as he heard the private hit the ground with an audible thud. He then saw the gates slowly open up to reveal the inside of the fort. At the insistence of Harpy, Blueblood allowed himself to enter. Inside were around one hundred griffon raiders, each of them ready for battle. They had all kinds of weapons, ranging from crossbows, to swords, to warhammers, to any other weapon they could scavenge. They were wearing various kinds of animal skins; from bear to boar. The prince noticed that most of the griffons were also wearing armor taken from the Royal guard.

"These savages have no respect for Equestria's ideals." Blueblood said to himself as Harpy flew down to greet him more personally.

"I hope you don't mind that we…borrowed some of your armor." She told him as if he was a mere foal. "They wouldn't need them anyways."

The unicorn began to feel his blood boil as he watched Harpy, Fisher, and the rest of the griffon cackled and screech in excitement. Soon enough, most of them were beginning to dance about in crazed frenzies, swinging their weapons recklessly. Soon enough, Harpy came up with an idea.

"Blueblood is it?"

The stallion stoically nodded to her question, ready for whatever this may lead to.

"You've got all of my troops riled up by your mere presence."

The prince loosened his attitude and made a smug grin. "We have that effect on others. We are quite flattered actually."

Fisher called out from the crowd. "The prince and the queen should battle!" He then he began to chant. "Battle! Battle! Battle!" Soon enough, all the other griffons were demanding a fight between Harpy and Blueblood.

Harpy made a sinister shrill to Blueblood as she drew out an iron sword shaped like a single feather. "Well then prince. It seems they want to see battle. If you have the guts to that is."

Blueblood magically drew out the Emerald Abolisher and got ready for a fight. "Fine Harpy. We were hoping for some good diplomacy, but it seems that you've decided to do things the hard way."

The griffon queen twirled her sword in her claws. "Hard way? Don't make me laugh prince!"

She charged at him with her blade and diagonally slashed at him. Blueblood blocked it with surprising ease. Harpy was impressed he even lasted this long. So she stabbed at him and he sidestepped to safety. As Blueblood got ready to buck her, she jumped back. Taking the opportunity of having his back turned to her, Harpy attempted to make a solid cut. But he just lifted his blade to the back of his head and blocked it. And with another motion, Blueblood got the Emerald Abolisher to hit the sword right out of her hands, sending it flying across the fortress.

The entire horde gasped as they watched the sword spin in the air as it landed behind the fortress. But they were still unfazed.

"Lucky shot." Harpy grumbled as she unsheathed a wickedly curved blade shaped like a talon. She slowly scratched a claw, creating a horrid noise and bright sparks. Fisher and the other griffons had to cover their ears to numb the painful noise.

Blueblood remained unfazed by the intimidation technique as he twirled his blade with his magic. "Round two?"

Harpy flew into the air, hiding in the clouds. The barbarians looked around for where she was, but couldn't detect her through the blizzard. To make it more eerie, Harpy even made screeches and roars, causing the other griffons to quiver. Fisher then saw their opponent's horn glow and eyes light up. Within seconds, Harpy swooped down as fast as she could from the right, ready to slice her victim.

Blueblood merely smirked, turned to her, a slashed with the Emerald Abolisher. Harpy watched in horror as her blade was cleanly cut from the handle. All of the raiders gasped as they watched the broken blade stick into the snow.

But fear was soon replaced with anger as harpy saw her foe's smug grin. She roared in fury as she tossed the handle of her broken blade into her crowd of minions. Fisher managed to catch it.

"I got it! I got it! I will name it Handy!"

Blueblood yawned loudly and placed his sword in his teeth. Harpy pounded the ground in fury.

"WHAT? AM I BORING YOU?"

The unicorn acknowledged her presence as he spoke through his teeth. "No no not at all. Just using a handicap. No more magic."

Harpy managed to suppress her rage and forced a smile. "Your funeral prince." She then used both her hands to draw out her largest sword. It was less like a blade and more like a sharp iron slab that was as big as Blueblood himself. "This claymore here is guaranteed to cut through anything. But dealing with ponies like you is its specialty."

She clumsily lunged towards him and slashed vertically, but the unicorn managed to dodge to the right. She then lifted up her claymore and did a 360 sweep around her. To her anger, Blueblood merely ducked under the attack. But before she could react, the prince hit her with a mean right hoof to the side of the head. She was sent flying through a wooden wall, dropping her gigantic sword.

Fisher and the rest of the griffons were shaking in their coats and their stolen armor. If their queen couldn't take this guy on, none of them stood a chance. But Fisher decided to call out in desperation.

"Hey prince! Don't you have a rule about not hitting girls?"

Blueblood turned to the accuser and let out a chuckle. "Don't you know we are the reason that chivalry is deceased." He then picked up the claymore and to all of griffon's shock, smashed it with only a hoof.

Fisher and the rest of the griffon's mouths went agape as he watched the shards fall to the ground. Harpy got out of the wall she smashed through and also looked in awe. Her stolen helmet fell off, revealing her large, feathery crest. By now she was fuming so much, the snow and icicles around her melted a bit. She quickly pointed to the prince and screamed out an order.

"ATTACK HIM!"

The raider took out their crossbows, javelins, and bows in panic and all aimed at Blueblood. Luckily, they all got him before he could react. The Harpy took a sigh of relief as she watched the thirty second volley of projectiles. Before long, it looked like they were attacking a giant urchin.

Harpy took a breath of relief. "Finally. That prince was stronger than I thought."

"Yeah, yeah! Stronger than I thought too!"

"Fisher!"

"Sorry my queen!"

But at the corner of her eye, Harpy saw the huge mound of javelins, arrows, and bolts move a bit, creating a rattling sound. The rest of the griffons also noticed and watched in curiosity. But curiosity turned into fear as the rattling grew louder and louder. No griffon, young or old, big or small, male or female could believe what they saw when the projectiles were all shaken off.

Prince Blueblood looked as if he was completely unharmed. His bearskin hide was damaged but that was about as much damage as they did. The unicorn merely brushed off some crossbow bolts off a leg and spoke towards the awestruck crowd.

"Thanks you very much but we already had an acupuncturing session last week."

By now, the enemy's morale was lower than it ever was before. Only one unicorn was able to take them all on without much effort on his part. But he was more than unicorn, and Harpy was determined to find out.

"What are you?"

"Yeah what are you?"

"Fisher. Not now."

Blueblood sheathed his blade and answered a booming voice with lots of confidence. "We are the IMMORTAL PRINCE BLUEBLOOD! WE HAVE BLOOD OF THE IMMORTAL HEIRARCHS! WE ARE CELESTIA'S EYES AND LUNA'S EARS! WE ARE MASTER OF MANY AND NOVICE OF NONE! WE ARE THE GUARDIAN OF EQUESTRIA, WHO CALLS FOR US WHEN IN DISTRESS! WE ARE THE PURIFIERS OF MONSTER LIKE YOU!" He then softened his voice. "We are the third most powerful pony on this planet and you got to deal with that. Because we are above you whether you like it or not."

Harpy felt anger and fear surge through her unlike any other. She would not be called below any pony, griffon, or even dragon no matter what; immortal or not. She drew out two bright red curved short swords and lunged at him. She got ready to do what her troops called the "Scissor slice".

But it was all too easy for the immortal prince to counter. Her rage has cost her any defensive options and thus he could take her out easily. He could simply block, attack, or even dodge, but he had a better idea to teach these raiders a lesson.

Harpy gasped in shock as she saw him clench down on her last two blades with his own teeth. The rest of the griffon warriors gasped alongside her. She tried to pull them away, but this stallion was unnaturally strong. As she stared at her blades in his mouth, she saw them slowly crack. The next thing the griffons saw was Blueblood shattering both swords with his own teeth. As the bits of blade fell to the ground, Blueblood merely spat the remaining bits out of his mouth without any sign of pain.

"Are you done now?" He said as he wiped his mouth with a hoof. He looked at all of his foes horrified looks. It was absolutely priceless. "You are all lucky we don't like lethal force.

Harpy stepped back and fell to the ground, face first in snow. Her pride has been destroyed. "I give up. You win."

Fisher fell to the ground next to his queen. "Yeah we give up. You win."

Harpy slapped him in the back of the head without looking up.

"Sorry my queen."

The other griffons weren't so willing to surrender. They weren't foolish enough to fight. So instead, they tried to fly away. But Blueblood merely created a magic blue shield around the fortress, trapping them.

As the griffons were banging, clawing, and even ramming the shield, Blueblood spoke up with a loud, booming voice once again. "YOU ARE ALL HEREBY ARRESTED FOR PILLAGING, TREASON, ATTACKING, AND RESISTANCE! FURTHER RESISTANCE SHALL BE MET WITH QUICK RETRIBUTION!"

All the griffon barbarians finally one by one gave up. Each one knew that there was no escape. With their queen beaten, their resistance was done. Each griffon landed on the ground, dropped their weapons, and put their talons up.

Blueblood let out a breath of satisfaction. "Not bad for your first battle Blue. It can only go uphill from here."

The eight of them stared as Twilight deactivated the memory portal, stunned from what they witnessed. They just saw the Prince of Equestria take out a Griffon Queen with little effort. Pinkie Dash, Rainbow, and Coocoodrill began to cheer, pounding their hooves on the deck in applause.

Applejack flung her hat into the air in energetic excitement. "Hooo Boy! That was one of the bestest beat-ups I've seen in a long time!" She then caught her hat and put it back on. "This pony's a hero and ahm one hundred percent ready for calling mah grub carnie fair or something!" She turned toward the two unicorn mares. "Wah'd you think Twi? Rare?"

Twilight got back to her senses and quickly turned towards Applejack. "I was great and all but…why did he change from a hero to…now?"

Rarity huffed, not amused by what she saw. "That's because it's just his dreams! In reality, he's still just a jerky…" She scrunched up her face to think of a good insult. "…poncy…prince or…jerk…ness."

Twilight and Applejack tried to prevent themselves from laughing at the lamest insult they've ever heard. Pinkie and Blubayou looked at the unicorn mare confused. Rainbow Dash and Coocoodrill just bursted out laughing, falling to the floor in hysterics.

"Hey Rarity!" Rainbow cried out to her friend, trying to control herself. "Did you think of that one all night?"

Coocoodrill joined in too. "If I didn't know better, which I probably don't. You're just jealous of awesome ol' B-Blood! That's my new name for him by the way…Trademark."

But in Scones's case, if it had a mouth, it'd be laughing like a foal to a fart joke. It wrote in its journal and then showed it to the annoyed Rarity.

"C'mon ma'm! Look at yourself! Don't let such petty little grudges get in your way! I know what he did to you, and it was wrong. But seriously…GET OVER IT! I am not defending him or berating you, but it is true. You have no reason to berate him anymore. And you won't until you can grasp the concept of immortality. Until you can watch all that you loved ones wither away over time. Now try understanding that concept with a mortal mind.

You wanted to have your own little fantasy land with him huh? Well it was never going to happen because he didn't want to lose another thing dear to him. He treated you like a fly because in his perspective, you are one. You would've rotted away within a few decades, while he doesn't even gain a wrinkle. Now imagine that for a few hundred years and think about where that other Princess Candance or Cadence or whatever came from?

So all in all, you simply don't matter to him. You are just a mere speck in eternity that is to be wiped clean. Your words to him do not matter because you have not proven yourself worthwhile in his mind. In fact, he's probably even forgotten you even exist as a pony. You are that small in the big picture to him. What he sees is an endless void trillions of years from now. And he would still be ever young. It scares him to the bone. Now while your fear may be spiders or darkness or something else normal, his fear is the concept of eternity. I wouldn't be surprised if his mind became completely alien to most beings within a millennium or two.

But even if this was his dream, then why would he act like a hero if he is merely self-centered? In dreams, your world may change, your body may change, but you ideals do not. Have you ever thought of that? And besides, what about me and Blu? Are we so cruel…Well maybe I am for freaking you out with this note but Blu's just fine.

But maybe that is your fear. You are merely afraid of things not going your way. You keep grudges because they did not approach your simple expectations. Blueblood's rudeness destroyed your fantasies. The strange form of Blubayou and his previous motives bended what you thought could exist. Even I might have destroyed your perspective on reality. But I am not meaning to harm you. I just want to make you stronger."

Rarity could feel herself shivering as she read what the Mara wrote down. She then saw that Scones's face was completely serious. She knew it was trying to help her mentally, but it was too much too soon. She had to find a place to think about this alone.

"I'm…going to go back inside." Rarity slowly said as she headed inside. "It looks like a storm's coming."

Pinkie looked up into the cloudy sky. "What storm?"

A bolt of lightning came down and struck Paramail inside the crow's nest. The teal pegasus made a high pitched yelp as he woke up to the shocking pain. It then immediately began to downpour, soaking everypony outside. As Paramail tried to get up, another bolt of lightning struck him. Then another, then another, then another. Each time, a loud yelp was heard. He then fell out of the crow's nest face first onto the deck.

A lightning bolt then struck the Emerald Abolisher directly. But instead of conducting like most metals, the sword deflected the electricity, sending to towards Paramails for another shocking.

The others cringed at the sight of the pegasus sprawled on the main deck, twitching. But then they saw him raise a hoof, waving it about.

"Well! Least I got the first adventuring injuries outta the way!" His hoof then fell back down. "Ouch. Somepony got first aid?"

Singing and silence

Chapter 11: Singing and silence

Spike woke up with his heading hurting, face first in some sort of goop. He got up and saw that he was in a place where all he could see was pitch black. He remembered what happened to him just before and realized he must be inside Screameater himself. With some hesitation, he began to explore the darkness, his feet sinking into the black oozy substance.

After much walking, he saw a faint white color in the distance. He decided to run towards it, believing that he had nothing to lose. As he moved closer to the object, he saw that it was a stallion. But when he came up to him, he recognized him.

"Blueblood?" Spike asked recognizing the regal unicorn in the darkness. The prince looked extremely glum, but also extremely bored.

"Yes. Tis I young dragon." Blueblood replied without even looking at him. His face was in the slushy floor, not even caring anymore. "In my father's stomach."

Spike just froze at what the stallion said. "Father?"

Blueblood just let out a mellow sigh. "Yes indeed. This is the same pony who was once wed to my mother. As you can see, he doesn't care much for his only son, letting me be the first ritual."

"But is there a way out?" Spike asked, knowing the answer all too well.

"Not that I know of." Blueblood replied as if he lost all hope from the start. He then got up from the muck and looked at Spike, his eyes stern. "But did you see a copy of yourself before you were taken by that Trixie witch? The indecency!" He then sat down again, once again mellow.

Spike also sat on the inky ground, thoughts racing in his mind. He prayed to Celestia and Luna that the Elements will save him. He also felt terrible for abandoning both Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill and leaving them to find a fake, and most likely dangerous clone of him. He then began to wonder what his copy was doing in Ponyville.

It was about noon and Rarity was having some tea and a muffin while reading the Newspaper at a local cafe. As she looked at the front page, she noticed the words "The Great and Powerful Trixie missing from apartment". Rarity never really did care for Trixie or her rise to fame, mostly due to their one and luckily only meeting. But in this case, she felt bad for her, worrying that the magician could even in legitimate trouble.

As she turned the page of the paper, she noticed that there was also an article called "No Fishpony sighting in 24 hours". The article next to that one was "Prince Blueblood opens high quality orphanage for all Equestrians alike". She just looked at that titled stumped at why such a selfish pony would just all of a sudden be so charitable.

"Must be just hogging the credit from some good old pony." She said to herself as she began read the articles about Trixie and the Fishpony. She then noticed something and began to think to herself.

Why would someone such as Trixie leave all of her fame behind? And why would such a terrible beast only be in Manehattan for such little time? Perhaps these two stories are connected to one another in a way. Perhaps the Fishpony wanted to eat Trixie. OR maybe she's starting an underground cult that uses magic to be able to breathe water. And when she has enough crazed ponies, she'll flood the world and start anew…Nah that's a silly thought.

Wait a minute, who is that I see outside the window? I hey it's Spike! I wonder how the little tyke is doing. But wait a minute? Where's Twilight? He's usually with her. Maybe he's doing errands for her. But let's not be rude to him. I'll wave to him to grab his attention.

"Yoo-hoo! Spike Darling! How are you doing?" Rarity called out to the baby dragon as he walked past.

The Mara in disguise just looked back and squinted to take a good look at the white mare waving at it. "Spike" was checking for an aura, to be worthy as part of the ritual to restore the Primal Fear. But to its disappointment, the Mara saw no aura. So he just snorted green fire and turned away, ignoring the unicorn.

Rarity watched Spike leave confused. He has never blatantly ignored her before. This was actually completely out of character for him. She just then decided to go back to her newspaper.

"That was rude of him. He must be having a bad day. Perhaps Twilight knows why he's acting like this. I'll see her later."

A few minutes later of just walking around town, the dragon imposter was still looking for potential victims of the ritual. All it had to do was find one, alert Screameater, and then wait.

As it passed by a three floor apartment complex, "Spike" saw a faint, almost clear colored wisp. An aura perhaps? It wasn't sure, it never had to search for an aura before, the monster was just enchanted with the ability to see them and that's all it knew. The Mara took a closer look and saw that it came from a third floor apartment, which unlike the rest of the house, was made of bricks. It then noticed the faint wisp coming from an open window. It saw the entrance to the building and ran inside, hoping the wisp was an aura.

After running up three stairs, the Mara was sweating and panting for breath. This body had less stamina than it expected. It then saw the brick fortress of an apartment, complete with several locks. The mara saw that the door was made of metal, so burning the door down was not an option. So baby dragon just rolled its eyes, and resorted to doing the polite thing.

"Spike" knocked on the door a couple of times before waiting for an answer, hissing in malicious delight. It heard no answer whatsoever and saw a doorbell right next to the entrance. The imposter tried to press it, but it was out of reach. The Mara then just hit its head against the brick wall, sighing in frustration.

"Spike" then looked outside the window of the hallway, seeing a teal pegasus flying away, whistling a tune in delight. The purple dragon noticed that the stallion looked relatively well groomed, and even a little wet. The Mara then realized that it wasn't looking at an aura; it was looking at shower steam.

The false baby dragon just grunted in anger and disappointment and kicked the door with all its might. But due to never having toes before, the Mara realized that kicking a steel door hurts. It yelped and picked up it injured foot, hopping backwards to the neighboring apartment's door. The door slammed open, crushing the poor Mara behind it. Out came a yellow pony with curly orange hair, which closed the door and walked down the stairs, not even noticing the dragon flattened to the wall. The Mara got up dizzy and stumbled around, seeing little skeleton birds fly around its head. It then stumbled back to an open window and fell out. It then landed into an open dumpster, the garbage breaking its fall. "Spike" just groaned at its misfortune.

Paramail was flying to Fluttershy's house to help her with the animals. He was very excited to give a helping hoof to the mare he admired so much. In fact, he had to excuse himself from Coocoodrill's guy time just to practice some yoga books to stay calm around his crush. With those relaxation exercises, the pegasus had a good feeling he'd be able to be with for the afternoon without having a nervous breakdown.

He finally got to her cottage and landed onto the ground. To his surprise though, he saw Fluttershy already up and feeding a chinchilla. He walked up to her with the warmest smile he can make. She noticed him coming towards her and waved.

"Why hello there Paramail. You got here right on time." Fluttershy said to him, glad that he made it.

Paramail rubbed the back of his head, retaining his composure. Thank Celestia for those yoga tips. He then spoke out. "Wouldn't miss it for the world." He then noticed that all of the surrounding animals were already fed and taken care of.

"How long have you been working?" The bald pony asked her as he saw an elephant eat a mouthful of leaves.

"Oh, only about since six thirty." Fluttershy told him as if it was no big deal. Paramail was stunned.

"I am so sorry. If I knew you started sooner, I would have come around earlier." Paramail told the yellow mare almost apologetically.

Fluttershy just waved a hoof as if without any worrie. "It's okay. In my opinion, I just finished the easy half." She then let out a cute chuckle. "Baldy" saw an anaconda swallowing a huge chunk of meat. He let out a refreshed sigh.

Good thing that's the easy stuff. I don't know what I'd if I had to go near that.

"Come on! Let's get started!" Fluttershy "exclaimed" in excitement as she grabbed his hoof and she flew him to a part of the land surrounded by all sorts of animals who were waiting to be taken care. The teal stallion was awestruck with how many animals she had.

"Are these…all under your care?" Paramail asked stunned as he watched badger run right past him. "Wow. You really like animals." He groaned to himself. Thank you captain obvious.

Fluttershy had a huge smile on her face. "I LOVE animals." She then fluttered into the air, taking in a long breath.

"All of the animals need our love and care!

From the cute little kitten to the speedy hare!"

Paramail was at awe with her amazing voice. He was also impressed with how she can sing and work at the same time. She then continued as she approached a water tank.

"These animals could really use our help!

Such as the trumpet fish with a house of kelp!"

Paramail began to tap his hoof the song. He saw a baby deer, grabbed some deer food and flew over to it, singing.

"We're here to give some helping hooves!

For this baby deer. AND A PACK OF WOLVES?"

He saw a bunch of wolves growling, but looked happy. As he was shaking, Fluttershy swooped in and checked their throats, giving them cough medicine, making them feel better. She then patted Paramail's back as she continued the song.

"I keep them here and give them help!

For each one here needs me!

This Tamaran had one bad knee!

But when it's better I'll let it free!"

Paramail looked at the cute monkey with a small caste and petted it, giving it a banana. He then gave Fluttershy a warm grin. He then trotted towards a tree with some lizard feed.

"I see what you a doing here!

And I just think great!

You found this gecko a true mate!

Such a meeting's only fate!"

"That's actually his sister."

"Oh." Paramail then made a sheepish grin as he saw both geckos looking at him funny. Fluttershy just giggled, with Paramail blushing and shrugging. He then continued to sing.

"These animals from everywhere!

From the wallaby to the panda bear."

Fluttershy then jumped in.

"Helping animals is my one true wish.

Like otters and the crown of thorns starfish."

Paramail took a grand look at all of the animals. They were all in bliss. He then took a deep breath.

"I can see that they all love this land!

Especially that lizard with a bunch of bands!"

He pointed at the banded skink that was laying on his back on top a rock wearing sunglasses. It was getting a tan. Fluttershy then put her arm around Coocoodrill, with him doing the same. They then began to sing together.

"This home is bliss and an eco boon!

For the peregrine falcon, fox, crocodile, raccoon!

Hippopotamus, flamingo, lemur, loon!

Bonobo, flying fox, poison dart frog!

Red kneed tarantula, katydid, and the ground hog!"

Fluttershy picked up the bunny next to them and kept on singing.

"All these animals act oh so well!

Especially my little wittle bunny Angel!"

Angel just stuck his tongue out at Paramail, causing the teal stallion to awkwardly look away. Fluttershy didn't even notice. She was too busy taking a long deep breath.

"AND THAT'S THEM AAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"

The mailstallion was surprised by how loud she could sing. Especially for a quiet mare. Fluttershy quiet down and then clapped her hooves.

"And now we are all done!"

Paramail looked around and saw that they were in fact, all finished. This was quicker than he thought it would be. She's right! Singing does make the time go faster!

"So where to for lunch?" Fluttershy asked back to her quiet self.

"How about that place downtown? You know the place with those great daisy sandwiches right?" Paramail suggested completely relaxed. Spending an entire afternoon with the pony of his dreams, he didn't have many cares in the world. All he had to do was resist the urge to holler in joy.

Fluttershy quickly nodded and spoke up. "Yes! Yes! Yes I do! I'll go get my bag!"

She was about to turn to her house, but she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She looked back and saw Paramail looking straight into her eyes with a warm expression on his face.

"Don't worry. This is on me. I insist." Paramail told her in the most soothing voice he can make. He then thought to himself. Boy! Do I feel smooth right now!

Fluttershy looked away, trying not to blush. "Why…thank you very much." She then walked towards the exit. "But can we walk instead of fly?"

Paramail thought for a bit and then just shrugged. "Sure why not?" He then started walking beside her.

As the two spoke about what they would want for lunch, Angel just watched them, making gagging noises in disgust. He didn't really like Paramail very much.

Applejack finished her apple bucking relatively early. She already did most of it yesterday and she worked quickly today. She was anxious to ask her grandmother about the colt in the picture. So she went inside the house, grabbed the picture, and found Granny Smith in the living room on her favorite rocking chair.

"Heya Granny. Do ya have a minute?" Applejack asked her elder with respect as she walked up to her.

After a few seconds, Granny acknowledged her granddaughter. "Hey there Applejack. What can I do ya for?"

"Well Granny I have a question." Applejack hesitated, thinking about whether to ask or not. She chose the former. "Who is this foal in the picture with Auntie Razzi and Uncle Blubarry?"

She showed the picture to her grandmother and pointed at the foal. Granny took a good look at the picture, staring closing at the newborn. She then turned her head away frowning.

"What's the matter?" Applejack asked her concerned and beginning to get worried.

Granny Smith just looked back and sighed before speaking. "That there's your cousin."

Applejack was overjoyed at the acknowledgement of a new family member. But that only lasted a second. She then realized that there was some reason why she or her siblings never seen him before along with Granny Smith never mentioning him. She felt ready to know the whole truth.

"What…happened to him?" AJ questioned the old mare concerned of the fate of her cousin. She then noticed a tear in her grandma's eye.

Granny Smith then began to speak. "As you know the Apple Family has once in a while split into different fruits. Like your Aunt Orange. Some ponies just find different specialties and I approve of that. " She took a deep breath and continued. "I remember the day when my sister little sis Goldie found her talent with berries, moving down and founding Berrybash Bottom. Couple of years later, she had Blubarry. Such a good boy."

"But what was the name of my cousin?" Applejack asked still quite curious of her second cousin's identity. The child was truly her second cousin, but to AJ, it was a cousin all the same.

Granny Smith thought to herself for a bit. "Don't exactly remember. It was like Marshberry or Blackswamp or something like that." Her memory then kicked in as if by instinct. "Oh I remember now! It was Blubayou! In fact, he was born just a couple of days after you."

Applejack acknowledged what her elder said. She then hesitated, but felt like she had to ask. "What…what happened to Blubayou?" She was expecting the worst, such as an accident or illness.

Applejack was certain she saw tears in her Grandmother's eyes. The old pony just asked. "Can you get me some tissues?"

Applejack went to grab some tissues, gave them to her, and waited for her explanation patiently. Granny Smith just looked at her funny.

"What's with the tissues?" Granny asked back to her normal state of mind.

Applejack just sighed. "They're for the story you were going to tell me."

"The one about the founding of Ponyville?" She asked smiling.

Applejack just facehooved. "Not that one? What happened to Blubayou?"

Granny Smith frowned once again. "Well little Blu was just one week old when that fateful day occurred." She put a tissue in her hoof. She felt like she would need it. "The little foal was just in his crib. Razzi just sang him a lullaby and he was fast asleep. Blubarry and Razzi fell asleep soon after." Applejack then saw a tear go down her grandmother's eye. "The two heard a sound in the middle of the night and woke up. What they saw would scar the couple for the rest of their lives."

Applejack was enthralled by this story. "Wha…what happened?" She can now see the tears run down Granny's face.

Granny wiped some tears from her eyes. "They saw this pegasus skeleton at the baby's crib. It had Blubayou in its forehooves. The foalnapper didn't even acknowledge the two parents. It just flew off, carrying the baby off. Blubarry himself said that the foal was screaming and flying the whole time." Granny then brought her face close to her granddaughter's. "Sometimes, he and Razzi claim to still hear their son's wailing." She then moved her head back. "That's why that chest was down in the cellar. The two couldn't stand looking at it anymore and had to get rid of it. They lacked the heart to just simply throw it away. So I willingly took it from them, just to keep them in the right mind."

Applejack couldn't believe what she just heard. Her second cousin was taken by a skeleton of a pegasus, and she never knew about it. But even if she did know before, she had no idea where to start.

But then it hit her like a sledgehammer. She remembered Twilight talking about the Element of Tolerance and how that pony worked for this Screameater fellow. She then remembered Rarity talking about this Blue Frogpony. She went to the kitchen table and found today's paper. She saw a "Frogpony" article and saw a picture of a blue, amphibious pony, at a Manehattan theatre grabbing a cloak on a coat rack. This pony was the exact same color as the foal in the picture.

I then struck her that I would not be possible for Screameater to have several minions due to being trapped on Phobos. But he wanted out and the Elements impossible to use against him. She then realized that the best way to stop the Elements was to turn one of them against the rest. And what better way to do that then take one from the crib and raise it as his own. It also occurred that Phobos had many magical artifacts. One of those could have more than likely twisted her cousin into such a monstrous form.

Applejack began to feel tears well up in her eyes, feeling bad for her cousin. It could've been any one of us. I could have been Twi, Dash, Coocoo, Rare, Pinkie, Shy, Baldy, or even me. This Screameater is worse than either Nightmare Moon or Discord. Stealing babies, turning them into monsters, corrupting em to do your bidding. And I'm sure that is just the frosting of this cake. When I see this Screameater, I'm gonna…

"Hey AJ! Big Macintosh needs help on the sheep herding pronto!"

Applejack turned her head and saw Caramel peeking from the front door. Applejack considered just galloping off to Twilight's house, hoping to find a way to rescue Blubayou. But then she remembered that knowing her, she working the best she could on figuring out how to stop this oncoming threat. She made the firm decision to help her brother.

"I'm coming!" She wiped the tears from her eyes and hugged her grandmother. "Sorry for bringing that all up Granny! But I gotta go help my brother!" Applejack told the senior citizen and she ran off.

Granny Smith just thought for a bit, tilting her head. She then said to herself. "What were we talking about again?"

Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle and Coocoodrill were still looking for Spike in the middle of town. They already checked several place, including the Carousel Boutique, a highly likely place. But there was no evidence that he was even there. Both of them were beginning to feel down in the dumps.

"SPIKE! WHERE ARE YOU?" Twilight called out, still extremely worried. "YOU CAN COME OUT! WE'RE NOT MAD AT YOU! WE PROMISE!"

The purple mare then lowered her head down in despair. All Coocoo could do was put a comforting hoof on her back.

"Come on! Maybe it's time we get the others to help." Coocoodrill suggested to her trying to make her feel better. He then felt his stomach rumble, making him perk up. "We should find Pinkie first. I'm starved."

Twilight nodded but then noticed that they were near Paramail's apartment. She then looked up to the green unicorn. "We should get Paramail first. His house is right over there."

Coocoodrill thought for a moment, and then replied while shaking his head. "No can do Twi. Baldy's out helping Fluttershy, and then having lunch with one another. And by my guess, she lives the farthest away out of all of us." He then thought again. "But technically she's not the easiest to get to. RD lives in a cloud home, way out of our reach. But she could just be napping on one of thousands of trees. Or she's at work, working on one of many…"

"I get it." Twilight interrupted. "We'll see Pinky first and get a bite to eat." She then remembered what he said about Paramail. "Wait a minute? If Paramail's with Fluttershy, and then having lunch together? Are they on…a date?" Twilight was shocked. Her most quiet friend getting a boyfriend was shocking news to her.

"Yeah…" Coocoo told her with a straight face, causing Twilight to stare agape. He then couldn't help but loudly snicker. "…he wishes!" Twilight couldn't help but take a breath of relaxation. Coocoo's stomach then rumbled again. "BOY! I'M SO HUNGRY I CAN EAT A…" He then made a horrified face. "..UHHH! Never mind!"

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle at his strange antics. "Come on! Let go to Pinkie's. We can get something to eat and maybe she can even help us find Spike." She then looked away concerned. "Hope he isn't in trouble."

The two then walked towards Sugarcube corner. A few seconds later, "Spike" came from around the corner, dazed and smelling of garbage as it watched the two ponies leave. It then looked at the ground and saw a newpaper. It then picked the paper up, seeing an article about Prince Blueblood's new and much more charitable self. The Mara then used a spell Screameater equipped it with; the ability to transfer what he sees to his master.

At Phobo's archive room, Screameater, who was now the size of a relatively large pony was putting the finishing touches on Anvillain's aura vision. Blubayou was polishing the golem, making sure it was completely shiny. The alicorn then saw the vision the Mara sent him and called for Trixie. She walked in quite quickly.

"You called master?" She asked bowing down to the new and improved Screameater.

Screameater walked up to her calmly and collectively. He then whispered in her ear. "Is it normal for my son to be so nice and charitable?"

Trixie back away and shook her head. "Not a bit. In fact, he's one of the most pompous and selfish ponies in Equestria."

The fallen prince looked like he was about to yelled at the top of his lung, but he managed to cool himself down. He then used his magic to summon several different kinds of Mara, from earth to pegasus. He then ordered Trixie, Anvillain and Blubayou in go into a line formation.

"So since this Mara will most definitely rat us out to my sisters, and thus the elements. We need to act now. I am not at full power just yet. It would only take only five of those elements to destroy me in my current state. And we don't want that do we?"

"NO!" Trixie, Blubayou, and Anvillain called out.

"Good! So you three and all these Mara are going to go to Ponyville and take a cutie markless pegasus filly and one pure of heart. Is that clear?"

"Yes!" All three of them called out again.

"That's the spirit! Now get going!" He called out to the group. The alicorn then used his telepathy to speak to Trixie. If Blubayou ever becomes a liability, abandon him. I have no more use for him. Trixie can only weakly nod before teleporting with the construct, amphibipony, and tons of Mara.

Screameater just chuckled as they left. "Feel my wrath now sister. And be ready to bow before your brother." He then began to break down into demonic laughter, flailing his tentacles. The laughing can be heard from all around Phobos, making all the living creatures there cower.