Good Intentions

by fic Write Off

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Random
Length: 100258

Writefriends from all over /fic/ gathered in a war of words on the weekend of Mar 15. These are the resulting stories.

Writefriends from all over /fic/ gathered in a war of words on the weekend of Mar 15. These are the resulting stories.

See http://writeoff.rogerdodger.me/event/15 for more info.

Published 2013-03-18 08:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-03-18 08:50:01 UTC

The Ends

She came to the village from the barren, wasted fields when the autumn sun was halfway to zenith. He saw her from the height of his tower long before the other sentries. For some reason, he did not raise his crossbow.

She approached the twin carved poles marking the edge of the village, hailed the guards. They let her on through, spears turned in her direction. He saw the bulges on the sides of her cloak long before somepony had the idea to pat her down. They tore off her cloak. A thick belt pinned her wings to her sides. The guards surrounded her, spears leveled. One rummaged through the knapsack she brought. He found something, gave a shout.

The pegasus said something, her lips moving without tremble or stutter. The guards looked at each other and nodded. He denocked the arrow in his crossbow and holstered the weapon, picked up the strip of pink silk from his lap, folded it up and placed it in his saddlebag. Grabbing the sides of the ladder with his hooves, he slid down from the tower and followed the mare and her convoy into the village. They entered the biggest yurt in the center, and he followed, giving a nod to the guard.

Inside, the sun streamed throguh the hole in the ceiling and lit up the thick cotton stretched over wooden posts that served as the walls. Thin carpets covered the bare ground, grass sprouting in the cracks. She stood before the Elder, wings still bound. He squeezed through the ponies crowding the yurt and stood to the side.

One of the guards shook free the mare's knapsack. A statue fell on the ground with a dull sound, glittering with gold. It was a pony standing on her hind legs, her wings unfurled and horn pointing at the sky. The Elder picked it up with her boney hooves, her eyes darting over the strange statue like dull marbles rolling on a table, not knowing where they should stop.

"What a strange one, Ma Staff," said the elder's son sitting at her side. "It's got both wings and a…" He tapped his bare forehead with a hoof.

"It's gold, boy," the Elder, Gold Staff, replied. "Weird or not, the caravaneers will take it." She put down the statue and smiled at the pegasus. "To what do we owe the pleasure, drifter?"

The mare straightened her shoulders. Her wings twitched, trying to unfurl from the belt binding them. "I am Monsoon, of the Dragonpeak flock. We've a great suffering, for we are out of an ingredient for a potent healing salve we use to stave off disease. We need the eyes of twig blights, but the forests at the foot of our mountain are empty of them. The caravaneers said, you've scrappers without par, who can trap a twig blight for us."

"Twig blights, you say…" Gold Staff bobbed the statue on her hoof, judging its weight.

"I know it is dangerous, but we've more gold in our treasuries," Monsoon said. "We need a steady supply, and if your scrappers are as good—"

"Fine, fine, I get it!" Gold Staff waved a hoof. She picked him out in the crowd without error. "Flint, step forward."

He unsheathed his crossbow and knelt before the Elder. Monsoon eyed him from head to the tip of his tail.

"Flint Scrap is our best scrapper. He'll get you a blight for sure."

"I may need more than one, Elder."

"Fine, take Bronze Pot with you. He's somewhere on the edge of the Forest." Gold Staff grabbed the horn of the statue and pulled it side-to-side. "And your reward… is… is…" The horn snapped with crack, leaving a jagged stump on the statue's forehead. "This piece. Or bigger rations, if you want. Now go."

Flint stood up and gave a short bow. His eyes met Monsoon's testing gaze, and the stallion felt a heavy, sucking feeling in his gut. Without a word, he turned towards the exit.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Gold Staff said, putting her statue away. "It's a good thing you came on hoof. It's best that you keep those wings bound. The only feathers we have are on our bolts, but those never miss."

She angled her head and stared at Monsoon from under her wrinkled brows. "And do not approach the palisade. There will be neither questions nor mercy."

Monsoon took her bow and left the yurt at Flint's side. Without a word, he led her in the direction of the massive trees of the Whispered Forest, swaying in the distance.

There was not a single place, hidden or visible, in the Whispered Forest that was not constantly in motion. Red, dotted ladybugs and menacing stag beetles. Scurrying lizards and toads reclining in pools of mud. Dull-coated mice ran through the tall grass. Bright flowers dotted the ground like accents of paint dropped from a brush. Mighty trees, covered with slithering vines, blotted the sun with their leaves.

Flint stopped at a small clearing flanked by leaning trees. He placed the wooden cage he carried in his mouth on the ground, careful not to spook the white rabbit inside. He picked up the rabbit and some other supplies from Bronze Pot on the edge of the forest. The scrapper went in another direction to set his own traps, while Monsoon followed Flint, carrying a bundle of thin prods. She spat them on the ground while Flint took off his saddlebag.

"Is this what you're going to make a trap out of?" she asked.

"Mhhmm," Flint replied, using twine to tie the cage to spikes sticking in the ground.

Monsoon kicked the bundle with a hoof. "I don't think so. I can't imagine this firewood killing anything."

"Oh?" Flint put his forehooves on a tree, searching through the leaves with his eyes.

"Are you going to keep this up?" Monsoon narrowed her eyes. "You can't speak anything else?"

"Not really."

"Very funny."

Flint parted the branches. "If you really want to know," Flint said, tapping on a strip of brown cloth nailed to the bark, "this is the trap. I need that to reset it. I'm sorry if this isn't how your flock hunts twig blights."

"Fine." Monsoon leaned on a fallen tree.

"Why don't you tell me how you hunt?" Flint took out his knife from the sheath on his belt and bit the blade with his mouth. "And while you do, hoof me a cord from my saddlebag."

Monsoon trotted over to his saddlebag, trying not to look at the rabbit sitting still in the cage. "Can't help you, I'm not a hunter."

"Yet they've sent you for twig blight parts."

"I don't need to hunt them to know which parts we need. And… what's this?" She pulled out a short paper tube out of the bag, a grainy cord sticking from one end. Powder rattled inside. "You have thunderpowder?"

Flint's ears twitched. He took the knife out of his mouth and turned around, pointing the blade at Monsoon. "Put it down. Now."

"I can see hunting a blight with this—"

"No. You keep quiet in the Whispered Wood."

Monsoon pouted and put the thunderstick back. She tossed Flint a roll of silver strings from the bag.

"Don't ever touch my things again without permission."

Flint climbed the tree and returned with the strings in his teeth, tied to a hidden trap above. He hammered the prods in the ground in equal intervals with a stone and pulled the fishing line around them. The strings surrounded the cage from all sides, visible only as a slight silver sheen.

"So, what exactly do you need to take?" Flint asked, testing the strings.

"The eyes."

"How many?"

Monsoon looked around. Her wings twitched under the belt. "…Four should be enough."

"So, you'll need only one twig blight? And what about the tentacles? I thought they're the most potent component."

"The recipe doesn't call for twig blight tentacles, I only need the eyes." Monsoon gulped. "Do you smell that? Are we safe?"

Flint stood up. He spun around and looked Monsoon straight in the eyes, almost bumping foreheads with her. She gasped and jumped back.

"Twig blights don't have tentacles," Flint said, every other word of his carrying an edge. "And they've only got two eyes."

"What?"

"You've never seen a twig blight before. They never leave this forest, so I doubt they're even found anywhere else."

Monsoon took a step back, pushing against the fallen tree. "How?"

"Call it a scrapper's tricks, intuition, whatever." Flint snorted a puff of hot air on her snout. "What do you really want?"

Her eyes darted around. "I need to get into the Grove."

"Everypony wants to get into the Grove," Flint said. "That's why we turn away most drifters and shoot the rest."

"Help me get through the palisade." She put her hooves against his chest. "If I could take one thing from there, I would do a lot of good—"

He knocked her hooves away and stepped back. "Nothing good ever comes from that place. It's cursed. That's why we guard it."

"Then why do caravaneers peddle the apples from the grove? I know that the scrappers smuggle fruit from behind the palisade. You know a way…"

"What do you want? What makes you so sure that those apples will bring you any good?" Flint asked.

"A golden apple grows on the tallest tree in the Grove," Monsoon said, stepping to Flint's side.

"There are no golden apples in there."

"Ah! So you were inside!"

Flint cringed and raised an eyebrow. Monsoon's mouth stretched into a wide grin. He huffed and trotted to the tree housing the trap.

"This golden apple is magical," Monsoon said, trotting by his side. "It can save us from the hornheads, if we bring it to the Cinderhorn."

"We? To the Cinderhorn?"

"Yes!" Monsoon drew a straight line in the air with a hoof. "Just grab the apple, take the Iron Road to the mountains and slip past the hornheads."

Flint sighed and shook his head. "You have a stubborn head full of nonsense. I recommend finding a shaman and getting a hole for it."

In a single leap, Monsoon jumped in front of him. This time, he took a step back. "I'm sure of it! I've… been told so. If the apple is brought to the top of the Cinderhorn, the hornheads will disappear, just like that. Poof!" She clapped her hooves together and spread them wide, like a cloud exploding into mist.

Flint opened his mouth, but his breath caught in his throat. His ears perked up. A quiet sounds of striking bells resounded through the forest, barely a whisper over the rustling of grass.

"Something's coming!"

He grabbed Monsoon before she could say a word and jumped into the shrubs. A lean ash tree, overgrown with vines sprouting in pink roses, stood nearby, and Monsoon put a hoof on its bark to support herself while she peeked. Flint watched through the bushes.

The snapping of branches was its first announcement. The air filled with the stench of sulfur and iodine. Two bright lights lit up in the green darkness beyond the canopy. Monsoon swallowed a gasp. One paw, as large as a pony's head, covered in—or made from—rough tree bark and crowned with sharp claws stepped into the clearing. Then another. Then its face appeared, with a snout long and cylindrical like a log and two leafy brows over glowing, focused eyes. Its teeth were white like a sharpened palisade. The rabbit pushed against the wall of its cage.

The twig blight stepped forward, crouching low like a hunting dog, its eyes on its prey. A cloud of green smoke, sparkling with pollen, came out of its mouth. The beast towered over the cage. It lifted a leg to crush the thin bars, a silvery gleam rising with it, racing on twin lines to the ground. With a metallic pluck and a snap, the trap sprung. Something cracked above. The trees shook their branches. The blight only looked up as the canopy spat out a colossal tree trunk. It smashed into the beast with the sound of a hundred twigs broken underhoof at the same time. Splinters and wooden limbs flew in all directions. The heavy trunk pressed what was left into the ground, leaving only a head and a paw to stick out.

The ground shook from the impact, making Monsoon jump. Her eyes opened wide, pupils dilated, but a twitching smile appeared on her lips. "I see how it's deadly, now."

Flint let out a breath he's been holding and turned to Monsoon. His mouth snapped shut. He reached for the knife.

"It's dead, right?" Monsoon looked at him. "Flint? What is—"

His hoof clamped over her face. "Don't move!" He lifted the knife and aimed at her face, then slightly to the right. "Keep quiet! Don't breathe!"

She turned her eyes to the spot he was looking at. A pink rose, one of the dozens growing on the tree, folded in half. It flapped its petals a few times and flew off, turned into a butterfly. The insect traced a circle between them, Flint's eyes watching its every movement. When the butterfly left, he put away his hoof and sheathed the knife.

"What? What's that?" Monsoon asked between gasps.

"Butterfly," Flint said, stepping out of the shrubs. "Pink one, disguises as a flower. It's how the forest hears and smells."

He slung the saddlebag over his back. "How it hunts."

Monsoon stood still, staring at the remains of the blight while Flint fastened the belt. He turned to leave.

"Wait!" she called out to him. "So, what say you? About the grove?"

Flint reached into his bag and took out a small carving knife. He threw it before her hooves. "Take that thing's eyes and leave. Don't ever come back."

"But I need your help!"

"If you think you need more eyes, or a tentacle, look for Bronze Pot. Maybe he'll help you."

Flint stepped on the trail and started back to the village.

The moon shied behind a scatter of flakey clouds, spilling a gentle blue beam through the hole in Flint's yurt. Sleep escaped him, so he lied in his bed, stroking a strip of pink silk. It was soft and warm, and he tried to tell himself that it was warm by itself, not heated by his breath. Rooks fought outside.

A flash of red streaked across the moon. Flint blinked. The clouds turned purple. He sighed, stood up and went to the window. Light spilled from the mountain again this night.

In the distance, the Cinderhorn loomed. The mountain started gray like its neighbors, but the peak was black as charcoal, as if a veil dressed it for a funeral. On its side, the twisted tower hung, like a piece of charcoal, a tumor, a burnt match. Beams of light spilled from the windows like lamps set inside the empty sockets of a skull.

Flint closed his eyes and brought the silk to his nose. It smelled of strawberries and dandelions. There was a hint of thyme, a passing waft of mint and a subtle memory of roses in there, but behind them, an almost imperceptible smell of juniper, pungent and oily. He concentrated on the strawberries and the juniper, imagined them braided into hair and tied together with a pink bow.

Flint opened his eyes. He folded the cloth, placed it into his bags, slung them over his back and stepped outside, onto the roads of trampled durt and clouds of dust lighted by the moon.

Getting through the streets wasn't hard. Make sure there's nopony in sight, run to the next yurt, listen for hoofsteps, repeat. The village slept. The palisade guards did not.

A wide ring of empty ground surrounded the wall, patrolled day and night by arbalists. Flint ducked in the bushes on the side of the forest. Before him stood a wall of ancient tree trunks, cracked and withered, sharpened to a row of vicious teeth at the top. He crawled on his belly through the vegetation, circling the palisade, pushing crunchy leaves and twigs out of his way.

The boulder was on the usual place, pushed into the ground and cleaned of hoofprints. Flint tested the soil beside the stone. Moist and flakey. Somepony moved the stone and then replaced it.

"Oh that stupid, stupid mare."

Flint braced against the boulder and pushed. It rolled away with some effort, revealing the black hole of a tunnel beneath it. Taking one last look around, Flint dove into the ground.

He crawled through complete darkness, counting seconds under his breath. Hanging roots grabbed at his mane. He counted to eight minutes before a muted light appeared on the other end.

The tunnel exited inside the Grove, right under the palisade. A veil of vines covered the hole. The odor of crushed leaves, smoking wood and apples tickled Flint's nose, made him cough. A heavy leaf-green fog hung in the air, glowing from within as if a distant orange light beamed inside. The apple trees grew in ordered rows that stretched on until they were but identical shadows in the fog.

Fat red apples weighted down the trees. Flint turned away from one tree, then looked back. As always, the apples were still there—but hung from different branches.

The grass tickled his hooves like a silk carpet as Flint trotted forward. There was one constant place in the Grove, and he knew that he'd find her there.

An eyeless skull of a twig blight, set on a pike, guarded the site of the conflagration, its jaw hanging from one end in a distorted scream. Planks and wooded beams, white, red and charred, littered the ground, mixed with the ash. Monsoon stood in the center, looking around with knitted brows and a pursed mouth. She saw Flint approach and opened her mouth.

"You shouldn't have taken my advice so literally," he said.

"What are you doing here? Changed your mind?"

"The Cinderhorn." He pushed his hoof into the ash, charcoal crunching under his horseshoe. "Can you get there? To the hornheads?"

"Why are you trusting me all of a sudden?" Monsoon asked.

"I'm not. Answer me." Flint grit his teeth. "Do you know how to get to the Cinderhorn, by the Iron Road? Can you evade the hornheads?"

Monsoon gasped. Her brows climped up. "You… You've lost somepony. The hornheads took them, right?"

"Just tell me—"

A deep, loud groan reverberated through the grove, making Flint's throat tremble.

"The foghorn." He looked around. "Where is Bronze?"

Monsoon spun around, her untied wings springing to attention. "He went ahead and told me to wait here!"

"You stupid mare! He's sold you out. They're coming!"

A creaking, grinding sound came from the direction of the palisade. The gates were opened.

Flint broke into a gallop deeper into the grove, and Monsoon followed close.

"I thought it was forbidden to enter." she said, gasping for air.

"No, coming inside isn't bad, taking anything is." Flint turned left and right, snaking between the trees. "They're here to stop the thieves!"

The trees parted ahead. Flint braked on the ground. Monsoon almost crashed into him. In the clearing, a tree stood on top of a hill, a ribcage of roots supporting a withered trunk. Monsoon brought a hoof to her mouth. From one of the leafless branches, a golden apple hung from a copper stem.

"This wasn't here before," Flint said, shaking his head.

Monsoon galloped to the tree, spreading her wings and flying up for the final stretch. She grabbed the apple and plucked it from the branch, howevering in the air as she stared at her reflection. Something long and thin whistled before her nose. Before she could turn around, Flint jumped up and snatched her out of the air. Two more bolts passed where she was a second ago.

Flint spat out her tail on the run. "Go!"

They galloped to the other side of the palisade, bolts whistling past and bouncing off trees, their bark impenetrable even to axes. The wooden wall appeared in front of them. Without skipping a beat, Flint hooked one foreleg through the belt of his saddlebag and loosened it, leaving it behind him. He aimed at a pile of leaves gathered against the wall and jumped straight through, into another tunnel.

This one was old, the ground narrowing without use. He pulled himself through, sometimes digging through the narrowest places. Peddles and roots scraped against his coat. A dark blue spot appeared in the distance, and Flint redoubled his efforts.

He reached the end, tasting the night breeze with his nose and spit out the dirt from his mouth. Two pairs of hooves grabbed his forelegs and tugged him out. Flint winced from the scrapes on his coat and dropped his head in a coughing fit. Two spears poked him in the chest. A group of arbalists aimed their crossbows.

Flint sighed. "Damn it."

"Wait! There!" one of the arbalists shouted. They all turned towards the palisade, where a winged silhouette glided from the wall into the bushes on the edge of the forest. The marksponies aimed too late, firing blindly into the vegetation.

Flint frowned and spat on the ground.

They dragged him through the streets by his forelegs, his hind hooves leaving grooves in the ground. Ponies, awoken by the foghorn, lined the streets. They blinked curiously at first, but as understanding dawned, faces twisted with rage. They grabbed the dirt they stood on and threw it at him, hollering and cursing. A crowd gathered by the time he was taken to the main square, before the gates of the palisade.

The Elder was already waiting, her dusky eyes narrowed, her hoof gripping her staff so hard that it shook. The guards pushed Flint forward. He fell on his stomach, prostrated before Gold Staff.

The Elder lifted her staff and turned to the crowd. The ponies ceased their chanting and went silent. Flint picked himself up. His legs and hooves burned, but he tried to stand up on all four legs.

"From the moment we are born, and to the day of our deaths, we are the protectors of the Grove of Truth!" Gold Staff said, waving her staff. The crowd murmured. "The gifts of the Grove must be preserved, never to leave the palisade, for the good of the world and the safety of our own."

"Considering how they're peddled freely on the caravan—" A smack to his cheek by the head of the Elder's staff silenced Flint.

"Our mission is holy. It is for the greater good." Gold Staff looked him in the eye. "Then what are we to do with a traitor?"

The crowd answered. "Death! Death! Death!"

"I told you that this would happen, Flint Scrap." The Elder's eyes glimmered with a fire fanned by the chanting behind her. The villagers stomped the ground in a quickening rhythm. "You took from the Grove before, but I forgave you. I thought that what happened to your wife and daughter was enough, that life would teach you. I was wrong."

A sudden dizyness descended on Flint. His face contorted with rage, his breathing quickened. His heart pounded in his ears. With a scream, he lunged at Elder. She met him with a jab to the chest with her staff. The wind left his lungs. Flint faltered, the world leaning on one side. The Elder grabbed her staff lower on the shaft and swung at his head, sending Flint sprawling into the dirt.

The ground vibrated in rhythm with the crowd. A warm droplet streamed across his brow from the gnash on his forehead. The Elder's face came first into focus, twisted in a cracked grin. Something flew through the air between them, spinning, sizzling and smoking. The Elder gasped, her toothless mouth opening in a silent scream.

Like a giant fish slapping him in the chest with its tail, the explosion threw Flint back. The crowd screamed, but sounded oddly like bells ringing next to his ears. A cloud of smoke rolled on top of him. He rolled on his back, coughing. Through the cloud, he saw the silhouette of a giant, four-legged bird.

"'Scrapper's tricks' you've said, right?" Monsoon touched down next to Flint, a tinderwheel clamped in her mouth and his saddlebag strapped to her back.

"Not this close… to ears… dumb horse!"

Monsoon grabbed his forelegs and flapped her wings, jumping into the air. She reached into the saddlebag and took out another thunderstick, biting the cord down between the two wheels of the tinderwheel in her mouth. She pulled the cord through, the wheels lighting it near the end.

Flint shook himself awake. He brought his hind legs closer to himself and curled his tail instinctively when he noticed how far the ground was below. "Wait! Get down, or they'll shoot you!"

Something zipped past his face, flying through his mane. Monsoon yelped. The thunderstick fell out of her hoof. Her legs weakened their grip on Flint. "Monsoon!" he cried. The ground rapidly approached.

They fell on top of a yurt, breaking the supports and sending the tent crashing down into a tangled mess. It broke their fall, but Flint still had to brace for impact. Monsoon landed nearby, groaning with pain. The bangstick exploded somewhere in the street, sending up another cloud of thick gray smoke.

Flint rolled on his hooves, gritting his teeth against the burning pain. He ran up to Monsoon. A fletched shaft stuck from her wing near the joint, her feathers stained with blood. Flint shook her awake and put her foreleg around his neck.

They limped out of the remains of the yurt just as several bolts flew through the smoke, embedding themselves in the cloth. "Quickly, while they're firing blind!"

Through sheer luck, they landed close to the palisade near the forest. Flint and Monsoon crossed the no-pony's land before the wall and ducked into the thick vegetation. Flint led in front, swerving from one overgrown trail to another. Monsoon was right after him, her injured wing hanging on her side. Behind them, the foghorn groaned again.

Sparse shrubs turned to thick trees covered by ropey, slithering vines. The Whispered Forest was pitch-black inside, with rare beams of green-tinted moonlight making through the canopy. Torches and lamps flickered in the distance, like dancing candles. Even the screams of their pursuers, echoing from tree to tree, couldn't drown out the endless singing of cicadas.

"Stop!" Monsoon said.

Flint froze mid-stride. He leaned back and put his hooves where they were one step before.

"There's a trap."

Flint looked up. Sharp spikes peeked out from the canopy, only their very tips slightly visible.

"I saw the marker." Monsoon pointed at the brown strip of cloth nailed to the tree. "I've sharp eyes."

"Thanks." Flint nodded.

Monsoon gave him a half-smile, half-wince and they continued on, walking around the other side of the tree.Flint led them on a trail out of the forest, circling the village. Meanwhile, Monsoon was sharp on the lookout for more traps.

They came to a massive oak when Monsoon noticed a flicker of light in the pond nearby. Flint grabbed her hoof and led her behind the tree. The hoofsteps of a dozen ponies echoed around them, their shouts and barked orders resounding through the forest. Their torches lighted the oak's leaves from below and painted the surface of the pond yellow. Flint pushed himself deeper into the bark as shadows receded around them.

"I'm sorry," Monsoon whispered.

Flint looked down. Light reflected off the wet trails on her cheeks. Something moved on the bark behind her head. A rose flower folded in half, its petals flapping in the air. He gulped and reached out with a shaky hoof.

"Close your eyes."

Flint bit on his lower lip and pushed the butterfly against the tree as hard as he could.

It was as if he stuck his leg into a fire. Flint gasped and threw his head up. A puff of smoke sizzled from under his hoof. The cicadas stopped singing.

A low hum sounded from the depths of the forest and grew louder, like distant thunder flying towards them. The branches of the oak swayed as if shook by invisible hooves. Flint hugged Monsoon and jumped into the pond.

The swarm passed above, a thousand tiny wings beating with enough force to part the water around them. The ponies screamed and dropped their torches. The ground shook, as if the trees pulled out their roots like giant, snaking legs from the ground. The guards ran, screaming and swatting away at the insects. Some tripped and fell, and were the first to go mute. Others ran away, their voices growing quieter and quieter.

Flint and Monsoon laid in the pond, half-submerged in water reeking with plants, not daring to move.

What seemed like an eternity later, the cicadas sang again.

They walked through the rest of the forest without incident, silent, but alive.

Flint found a hollow tree trunk marked with a green strip of cloth—a stash for scrappers that lost their way. Inside were food, water, medicine, torches, a spare saddlebag, blanket, rope and a crossbow with ammunition.

They gathered wood and started a fire. Monsoon bit down on a fallen branch as Flint broke and pulled out the arrow. He cauterized the wound with a piece of burning coal. Monsoon herself was surprised at how well she took it. They washed her wing and bandaged it between two ribworth leaves. She was grounded for now, though gliding was still an option.

Flint cleaned out the frog of his hoof and applied a medicinal salve. The wound quickly formed a black butterfly-shaped scar. He bandaged it and put his weight on it, making sure that his limp was bearable.

The sun was halfway to zenith by the time they left the forest far enough from the village to avoid any patrols. There was only one road leading to the Cinderhorn, and it was a mystery. Nopony traveled by the Iron Road. Its only markers were two iron rails, half-buried in the sand, running parallel to each other, twisting and snaking as far as the eye could see. They were like two raised roads built by a civilization of lilliputian ponies.

"Lilliputian?" Flint asked.

"Little—little ponies." Monsoon smiled.

Flint looked back, where the road ran to the village. Only the tops of guard towers could be seen, little bumps on the horizon.

"So, how do we make it through the hornheads?" he asked.

"I don't know yet." She opened the flap of her saddlebag and touched the copper stem of the cloth-wrapped apple. "But we've this, so I'm sure that we'll make it."

So they set out on the road, with only the autumn leaves carried by the wind as their company. They walked through forest clearings and passed rivers on shakey bridges. They walked past burnt huts and abandoned carts. They walked by a peaceful lake, its surface disturbed only by water striders and flapping fish, and camped on its shore. They briskly trotted past a field of grass stained red and besieged by swarms of flies.

The sun was falling down over the horizon by the time the road took a sharp incline and dense shrubs and forests changed to gray stone. Another set of rails joined the road, swerving from a tunnel in the mountain, and the sand and gravel parted to reveal the wooden planks set at even intervals in the ground, holding the Iron Road together.

Coversations tired them a long time ago, and the only sounds they made were the occasional clink of a horseshoe on iron.

The higher they went, the colder and darker it became. They walked on the side of the mountain, a steep drop down separated from the road only by a dozen centimeters of gravel. The road swerved inside the mountain more frequently, and for longer. Flint lit a torch to guide them in the tunnels.

A frosty wind raced through the mountain, no matter how deep the road took them. Somewhere, always too far away, drops of water splashed on stone. The carved walls, once smooth but now covered in deep scratches and hollow depressions, radiated cold.

It was closer to end of yet another tunnel that Flint stopped and put down his torch. "I can see the stars from here. We'd better rest here than outside."

They dropped their bags and spread their only blanket on the ground. Dried fruit, nuts and oats was a dinner they shared over the light of a dying torch.

Before the light went out completely, Flint searched in his bag and took out the strip of pink silk. Pond water stained one end, but it still had that smell of strawberries and juniper.

"Did it belong to her?" Monsoon asked.

Flint turned around and nodded. He laid down on the blanket, facing away from her and placed the folded bow under his cheek.

Monsoon moved closer to his side. "That old hag mentioned something about your family. Can I ask?"

He shrugged her hoof away. "Go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow."

She laid down next to him. Flint shuddered as a wave of soft warmth covered his shoulder and back.

"What are you doing?"

Monsoon wrapped her healthy wing tighter around him. "We've no blankets. You don't want to freeze to death, right? And I don't care about that."

Flint didn't reply. He pushed the bow closer to his cheek and waited until he was tired enough to ignore how cold his hooves were and fall asleep.

The blare of a horn, low and trembling, awoke him. Flint shook from the cold, his hooves numb and sore. Steam rose from his mouth. He kicked Monsoon awake. "Wake up. Now!"

She jumped up, turning her head around in a daze. She pulled back her wing, flakes of frost falling from it.

A blue light, muted and even, spilled into the tunnel from the exit. Flint jumped to his hooves, stuffed the bow in his bag and slung it over his back.

"Oh no." Monsoon spun around, shaking her head. The wind hastened, pulling at their manes. "We've to go! Now!"

"What is it?"

"Go!" She broke into a gallop towards the light.

Flint threw the blanket around his shoulders and followed after her. They stopped at the end of the tunnel. He winced his eyes against the morning sun, but it wasn't on the sky.

The tunnel opened into a free-standing bridge over a massive gorge. A cloud of blinding blue fog hung in the air, so that the black mouth of the tunnel on the other end was only a blurred shadow. Everything else disappeared, as if the bridge hung in the middle of a vast, blue void pelted by a relentless wind. Instead of a blot of light where the sun should have been, the fog provided its own illumination.

The planks creaked under Flint's hoof. Weathered by the wind, they turned dry and frail. A lot were missing, leaving gaping openings like holes in a grinning mouth. What was left of the guardrails, made from weaker wood, could no longer support themselves, much less anypony else. Flint made several steps, holding his breath and testing how every plank bent under his weight.

Monsoon's teeth rattled. She panted, searching around for something. A gust of wind struck at the bridge, swaying it to the side. The supports, made from whole trunks and studded with iron, whined and screamed. The blanket tore off from Flint's shoulders, throwing him on his knee.

"Run!" Monsoon jumped from her spot, healthy wing opening and closing as if unsure if it was safer to fly or to cling to the bridge. Flint scampered upright and galloped after her, trying to match the swaying of the bridge.

Something crashed below, several supports twisting out of shape and falling down, taking a whole section with them. The bridge collapsed right before Monsoon, planks and all, with only the iron rails hanging over the gap, curved under their own weight.

Flint ran up to her. "Jump! You're a bloody pegasus!"

"No!" She stared down into the gorge. "It's the tempest!"

Flint turned his back to her and knelt down on his front legs. "Spread your wings."

Monsoon's eyes opened wide. "What?"

He bucked her right under the tail, sending Monsoon flying over the gorge. Her wings opened on instinct halfway, letting her glide the rest of the way.

Flint pulled back to make a running start. He lowered his head and broke into a gallop towards the gorge. He jumped, pushing against the edge with both rear legs and landed on the other side. With a loud crack, the planks under his rear legs broke, falling into the void. Flint fell on his chest, scratching at the smooth planks with his front hooves as he slid down. Monsoon jumped to him, grabbing his hooves and stopping his fall.

"Got you!"

Flint's legs dangled over the precipice. He tried to find purchase on the support beams when a bright blue light flooded the bridge. Flint squeezed his eyes shut against it, bright as staring into the midday sun.

It rose from the gorge and hovered over the side of the bridge. A blue will-o'-the-wisp, a bright disk like the sun shining through storm clouds. A halo of colors surrounded it: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue and purple. Monsoon froze, staring at it, her mouth agape.

Flint tugged at her legs. "Monsoon! Lift me up!"

She shook her head and blinked. Trying not to look at the light again, Monsoon pulled Flint over the edge, stood up and ran to the tunnel. Another gust of wind swayed the bridge, several sections on the other side collapsing. Flint ran after Monsoon, into the tunnel.

The wind followed them inside, howling and whistling against the walls. Flint gasped when he noticed his shadow growing shorter, despite him running away from the light.

A thunderous crack filled the air, like a giant whip snapping. For a moment, the tunnel turned blindingly bright with the colors of the rainbow. Something hit Flint in the back. A lash of pure fire licked his coat, sending spasms through his limbs. He tripped and fell, screaming in pain.

Monsoon picked him up, lifting his leg over her shoulders. They galloped through the tunnels, until it was dark, until they tripped without a torch. They ran until they could no longer hear the gale outside.

They collapsed on the ground, panting and sweating, shivering from the frost. Flint sat on his haunches, trying hard not move his back or think how it looked now. Monsoon lied on her side and curled into a ball. She trembled.

"The w-walls were b-b-blown away! The wind! The tempest! L-lightning…" she said, sobbing. "Zephyr… He just… Blown away…"

Using his forelegs, Flint crawled over to her. He put a hoof on her shoulder. Monsoon sprang up and batted him away with a wing.

"What… What in the name of Tartarus am I doing here? This isn't what I want. I can't do this!" She stomped a hoof on the iron rail. "Why the hay did I come here?!"

Flint sighed and shook his head. Propping himself on a foreleg, he took off his saddlebag. "I found it in the Grove, in the ruins of that house." He took out the bow and spread it across his lap. "Told the others I bought it from a caravan. My daughter loved it."

Still shivering, Monsoon perked up her ears.

"She put flowers she gathered in the plains in it: dandelions, roses. But she loved strawberries and juniper the most."

Monsoon half-turned towards him. "Why?"

He smirked. "Because those were their names. She was Juniper Berry, her mother—Strawberry Stalk. She thought it was cute."

The silk felt just as smooth under his hoof as always, but it was terribly cold. "One day, the shortage in our village grew very bad. We were always hungry—too many arbalists, not enough farmers.

"And the Grove was said to have anything anypony could desire. Others said that it had anything anypony ever deserved, but I thought that was good either way. I just didn't want to see Juniper hungry. I plucked an apple from the Grove, just one, and when I returned, they told me that they're dead."

Monsoon walked over to him and sat by his side, staring at the strip of pink silk.

"Hornheads ambushed them in the fields. They were gathering flowers. They… killed Strawberry. I've told that Juniper was dead, but her body never found. The apple I stole was found, and Gold Staff blamed me for everything."

Monsoon threw her legs over Flint's shoulders. "We'll find her! I know it, I know, I just know!"

"Care to tell me, how?"

"It was an apple from the Grove. Regular one. Bought it from a caravan." She took out the golden apple from her bag. "I saw it all in my dreams. The Grove and the golden apple, the Iron Road, the hornheads. I saw you—or, well, I saw that I needed help from somepony like you, a scrapper.

"If we bring this apple to the Cinderhorn, everything will be good. No more hornheads, no more tempests. No more groves and forests. The bad ones, I mean."

Flint's reflection stared back at him from the golden skin of the apple. "How's that going to happen?"

"No idea. But hey, it worked so far!" Monsoon sighed and covered the apple with its cloth. "Well, I sound terribly confident compared to you."

"Cheer up," Flint said. He tried to stand up, and gasped when a jolt of pain came through his back.

"Let's get this fixed, first."

She took the bandages from his bag and began to work on his back, rolling the white cloth oveer his burns and around his stomach. The wind still blared somewhere in the distance.

"I want you to know something, to keep it in mind."

Monsoon looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"I don't know if that apple will do whatever you believe it will do. That's not why I came with you. I'm here for Juniper first."

Monsoon nodded and went back to her work.

After a short rest, they continued through the tunnel, Flint's torch lighting the path. Large cracks started appearing in the walls. Rubble, ranging from boulders to whole collapsed sections, littered the path.

The tunnel came to a premature end where the ceiling collapsed completely. The Iron Road ended short of its only destination.

"No way through." Flint lowered his torch and jumped down from the boulder. "The section's a couple meters long everywhere. We'll spend a week digging through."

"Blow it up?" Monsoon grinned, her eyebrows dancing. "There are thundersticks left, right?"

"Only two. One would be enough to blow through the blockage, but I'm pretty sure that the rest of the tunnels would follow suit."

Several holes and passages lined the tunnels on their way here, but Flint and Monsoon ignored them. They traced back their steps, looking through each. Most were just places where pieces of the wall fell, uncovering a small natural pocket, or shallow cracks dug out by time. Finally, they found an opening big enough for them to squeeze through. A damp breeze blowed through.

The tunnel led down, into the depths. With a surprising satisfaction, Flint noticed that they were getting closer to the source of that cursed sound of dropping water.

Flint crawled out into the cavern first. He lifted his torch up, surveying his surroundings with wide eyes. Monsoon came to his side, speechless.

The cavern was at least ten meters wide, with a ceiling stretching at least twice as high. The length stretched on into the darkness. Where before was stone, the walls were now instead reflective crystals faceted with dozens of flat sides. The flame of their torch danced on each and every one, filling the cavern with a red, trembling light. Glassy gems, blue and green and red, all the size of a pony's hoof and perfect in their form, studded what stone was left on the ceiling, sparkling like stars in constellations. Thick white webs stretched on the ceiling and in the corners, light dancing on their silvery strings.

In the distance, silhouettes of ponies stood motionless in the dark. Horned silhouettes. Flint unsheathed his crossbow and nocked it with a bolt. Without a word, he plunged the torch into the gravel. They crouched and walked forward, crystal dust crunching under their shoes.

The hornheads turned out to be statues. Dozens of them, in different poses, all perfect and sparkling like marble, lined the walls of the cavern. One was standing with his hoof outstretched forward, a plea on his frozen lips. Another lied down on the ground, her hoof lifted to her forehead, her mouth open in terror or grief. A shorter one danced on his hind hooves, juggling balls that did not make it into the sculpture. They all had milk-white skin studded with blue sparkling veins. Not a single one had a crack or a blemish.

"They're so… lifelike," Monsoon said, her hoof hovering over a statue's frozen face.

"They're just statues, can't hurt you. I'm more interested in whoever put them here. Let's go."

Something broke under Flint's hoof. He glanced down. A sheet of webbing lied on the ground, shattered to white fragments underhoof. The material sparkled. It was thin and heavy, like a slice of granite.

"Flint! I found something," Monsoon called out from somewhere ahead in the darkness. She pointed out something only she could see. "A flashing light, yellow. I think it's sunlight reflecting off of the crystals. What do you think?"

Flint shrugged. "I can't even see you rightly, you're the one with eagle eyes."

A figure moving at the edge of his vision caught his attention. Flint raised his crossbow and turned, but he saw only his trembling reflection. The crystal mirror shook. He felt it in the ground next—a slight trembling, like a distant earthquake. A crack of stone upon stone came from the side of the cave they came through. Then another. And another.

"What's wrong?" Monsoon asked.

Flint could only shout, "Run!" as the cave filled with a sapphire-blue glow.

Three mirrors alighted like searchlights in the darkness. Their beams reflected through the crystal hall, but a solid wall of darkness covered the thing. The cracking and grinding of stone filled the cavern. Tremors shook the ground as it advanced.

Flint brought the crossbow to his cheek, braced the stock, bit down on the handle sticking from the side and slipped a hoof through the trigger. He fired between two of the glowing eyes. The bolt bounced off the darkness with the sound of metal hitting stone.

The thing roared, cracking crystals on the walls. Flint turned and broke into a gallop, sending clouds of white dust into the air.

With the light from the monster's eyes, he could see his path clearly. The cavern ended in a steep drop into darkness just a hundred meters ahead, with the walls widening into passages on both sides. Flint glanced over his shoulder, judging the speed and maneuverability of the thing. If he was fast enough, and it stupid enough, he could drop it down.

Something flashed before him. A large piece of crystal, knocked down by the tremors, fell right on his way. Flint crashed into the crystal, falling on his side straight into a patch of marbly webs. He jumped on his hooves as fast as he could. The crossbow laid on the ground behind a fault in the wall, one he could squeeze through. The light around him dimmed, a smell of mercury filled his nostrils. Flint dived through the crack and grabbed his crossbow. The tunnel extended on both sides, leaving him just enough space to crawl through.

The monster stared right at him, the beam of light from its eye dimmed by the encroaching darkness. Flint pulled the string back between his mouth and his hooves, nocked a bolt. He reached into his bag and pulled out a thunderstick. He bit the fuse two thirds of the way to the case and used the rest to tie the explosive to the bolt.

He lit the fuse with the tinderwheel when the monster pulled back. Flint aimed his crossbow, careful to not let the sparks from the cord hit him in the face. The darkness receded, and Flint, mindful of the shortening cord, glanced outside.

A massive, onyx-black tendril smashed into the fault, throwing Flint against the wall. He fell on his stomach and crawled towards the end of the cavern. The tendril followed, ploughing through crystal and stone, an entire wall collapsing from the monster's finger.

Flint reached the end and rolled onto the white sand. The cavern opened into a crescent platform surrounding the black pit. The wall of darkness blotted out the entire passage back, the black tendril snaking from under one of its eyes. Flint crawled back as it reached out towards him. He felt the stock of his crossbow under his hoof and grabbed it without thinking. The sparks disappeared inside the thunderstick as he pulled the tigger. The bolt flew inside the wall of darkness. He couldn't see the blast, but he heard it.

The monster roared and thrashed, sending tremors that made Flint jump. It crashed its head against the ceiling, burying its eyes in the crystals. A rain of reflective shards, flashing like stars, fell upon Flint. He covered his head with his legs when he was tackled out of the way—and into the pit.

Monsoon held him by his forelegs, gliding through the air with a considerable, and increasing, drop.

"What are you doing?!"

"Nowhere else to go!" Monsoon cried. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Hold on!"

They broke the surface of the water with force of a hammer beating a nail. Ice-cold water spilled into Flint's mouth and darkness swallowed his vision.

Flint woke up thinking that he shouldn't be so dry. His ears perked to the cracking of a fire. He opened his eyes.

He was covered by a thick quilt, embroidered with colorful thread. Monsoon slept beside him, under the same quilt. The high ceiling was flat, made from hewn stone, and perfectly square. A pair of boarded-up windows dominated one wall, with a wooden door opposite it. A small depression served as a fireplace, with a small bonfire burning inside. A pile of wood scraps filled one corner.

Flint stood up. Their saddlebags, along with his crossbow, rested against the wall opposite of Monsoon. He tried to nudge her awake when a metallic click sounded from the door. Flint reached for the strap of his bag.

The door swung open. Shod hooves clopping against the stone floor, a stallion with a long, silvery mane entered. He wore a brown vest embroidered with gold thread. The stallion smiled. "Awake already? Welcome! How was your sleep?"

Flint stared him in the eyes, and tehn looked a little higher. He pulled his knife out of its sheath, leaned forward and, with a single powerful kick, lunged at the stallion, pinning him against the wall.

"No, wait! Stop!" The stallion thrashed about, pushing against the blade Flint pressed to his throat.

Monsoon woke up to the commotion. "Flint?" She rolled on her back and blinked.

Flint lifted his free hoof and grabbed the stub sticking out of the stallion's forehead. "He's a hornhead."

"Yes!" the stallion said. "But one of the sane ones!"

Monsoon grabbed the crossbow from the pile of gear and loaded it.

"Listen here, to the voice of reason, will you?" The hornhead grinned, the corners of his mouth trembling. "If I was dangerous, would I take you into my home and dry you out?"

Monsoon stepped over to Flint's side, crossbow aimed at the hornhead's gut.

"I'm serious! I'm not like those painted-up brutes. Look!" He pointed a hoof at his forehead. "See this?"

"Yeah. You're a hornhead."

"See how small it is?"

Flint looked over the bone grasped in his hoof. It was short and stubby, more cylindrical than conical. The end tapered to a dull half-sphere.

"I'm not like the others. I'm cog-ni-zant. Immune to miasma!"

"To be fair, he did save us, Flint," Monsoon said. "At least let him explain."

Flint held the knife for a moment longer before letting the stallion fall back on his hooves. The hornhead rubbed his neck and smiled.

"Explain."

"We're not all born insane and painted, you know." The stallion touched his horn. "It's all in here, see. Because of the miasma. It drives the adult ones crazy.

"It's everywhere, but only the horn can sense it. Foals have short horns, so they don't feel it, but when it grows out, the miasma just… pushes at it, gives you migraines. With enough time, the hornheads go crazy."

Flint huffed. "And let me guess—you're a freak with an underdeveloped horn?"

The hornhead smiled and nodded. "At least tenth generation. And that's not all."

A glowing purple aura surrounded his horn. A similar cloud formed around the bolt in Monsoon's crossbow. It flew up into the air and hovered before Flint's face, aimed at his eye. Both Monsoon and Flint stared slack-jawed as the glow disappeared and the bolt fell into the hornhead's hoof.

"Miasma manipulation! I can protect myself, mister Flint. But I am patient and forgiving." He offered the bolt to Flint, along with his hoofshake. "Zigzag, archivist, historian, museum curator extraordinare, librarian or whatever else you wish."

Flint stepped away from his outstreched hoof, glaring daggers at Zigzag. Monsoon stepped between them, taking the bolt from Zigzag.

"Thank you, Zigzag. I'm Monsoon, this is Flint. We've come a long way in search of our destination. Would you be so kind as to help us get to Cinderhorn?"

He barked a laugh. "No problem! Come with me."

Zigzag left the room. Monsoon snatched her and Flint's saddlebags and followed after him, Flint trotting behind.

The stone corridor they walked through showed signs of a struggle. Blotches of soot dotted the walls and ceiling. Remains of furniture littered the corners, licks of flame staining wood black. Statues, broken and webbed with cracks, unlike the ones in the caverns, stood beside paintings: burned, warped, cut or otherwise rendered incomprehensible.

Monsoon, walking by Flint's side, pointed a hoof at his chest. "What's that."

Flint looked down. Thin white strands, sparkling with blue, criss-crossed his coat, like the marble webs from the cavern. He scratched one with the edge of his hoof, but it wouldn't come off.

Zigzag led them to a large hall dominated by a mountain of stacked furniture. A beam of yellow light streamed near the ceiling. "This is one of my peep holes. Come, take a look."

Monsoon and Flint climbed the overturned chairs and tables to the hole. Flint winced as the light hit his tired eyes and waited for it to adjust. Monsoon gasped.

Outside, a herd of hornheads camped. they convened around a large bonfire. One of the hornheads beat a steady rhythm on a heavy war drum. Some took grinding stones to their foreheads, sharpening their horns to points. Every single hornhead wore lumpy, red paint in concentric circles and curvy lines, with a single thin streak painted over their mouths, ear to ear.

"We're here," Monsoon whispered.

"Great, what now?" Flint asked.

Monsoon climbed down to the floor. "Why do the hornheads gather in Cinderhorn?" she asked Zigzag. "You've mentioned something called 'miasma'?"

"It's… an emanation." Zigzag scratched his head. "Hard to explain without feeling it. In very high concentrations, you can sometimes see it as a glowing fog inhabiting certain places.

"It attracts hornheads like manure does flies. The pain produced by exposure is excruciating, but the pleasure is on a similar magnitude. The result is that those with sensitive horns paint themselves up and climb down the mountain to raid the countryside."

"But why here?" Monsoon asked.

"It's the tower. It's like a miasma manufacture—the biggest concentration of miasma in… anywhere I know, really. And I own an amazing globe!"

Monsoon's eyes sparkled, a grin spread on her lips. "The tower! I think that's where we were going. Can you tell us anything about it?"

Zigzag laughed. "That's what I'm here for, friend! Come with me, I'll tell you everything!"

He led them through another corridor, deeper into the building. They descended several times, apparently passing through discreetly connected basements. Flint caught up with Zigzag.

"So, the other hornheads tolerate you?"

"Oh, no!" Zigzag waved a hoof. "I don't socialize with those brutes. I just keep them out."

"How?"

"That's another trade secret, I'll show you!" Zigzag winked.

They approached a set of wide double doors, inlaid with gold and malachite. Zigzag's horn glowed once more. The keyhole flashed purple, something clicked inside and the door swung open.

"The doors are mechanical. A set of pins inside keeps the door locked unless they are pushed in a specific way. And since I am the only one who can do it, I can easily keep unwanted visitors out. My grand-grand-grandfather even made all of them lock automatically, by just closing the door." He waved them to come inside and shut the door closed. "I do forget to close the doors sometimes, though…"

The five-sided room was painted yellow and glittered with gold. It was in the candleholders, on the ceiling, lining the corners. Tattered remains of tapestries hung from golden rods. In their place, drawings made from colored chalk and coal adorned the walls.

"Welcome to the history room! Where the most important story in history is preserved, as passed to me by my father, and to him by his father and so on."

Flint approached one of the pictures: a blurry landscape of a green meadow. A yellow sun hung in the clear sky. Mountains lined the horizon. Ponies frolicked on the green grass, with earth ponies and hornheads playing on the ground and pegasi flying in circles above them.

In the center of the meadow, a single mare sat surrounded by ponies, their eyes and ears all turned to her. She sat on her haunches, wings spread in a display of power, horn pointing at the sky.

"Both horn and wings…" Flint whispered.

"Yes, allow me to explain." Zigzag picked up a stick with his miasma and pointed at the picture.

"There once lived a regal pony princess—"

"So she's also a princess?" Flint huffed. "Isn't that a bit too much?"

"No, because that's why she was a princess. It's how they distinguished themselves from the commoners. Anyways.

"There once lived a regal pony princess, ruling equally and fairly over the three pony races. She gained her status on her own merit, not merely through blood, by proving that her wisdom was beyond all limitation. Everypony listened to her.

"And while the princess loved all her subjects, she loved her family and her friends far more. Far, far more."

The sky grew dark and clouded with black squiggles. The sun hid behind the cold mountains. The princess bowed before a row of gravestones, her crown resting on the ground under her.

"And so came the day when her friends had to die."

"They were sick?" Monsoon asked.

"No, they died from old age."

"So she kept friends with ponies half a century older than her?" Flint asked.

"No, she was immortal!"

"Oh, immortal too? Now that is definitely too much."

"You don't understand! She was immortal because she was the leader. We have no immortals left, and so nopony to lead us, and that is why there such chaos in the world! Now, don't interrupt.

"The princess was crushed with grief, for they were her closest friends, the ones that led her to her station and gave her the insight other so hailed in her. But the princess, in her limitless wisdom, had a plan."

The ground disappeared far, far below, until it turned into a single, condensed point of green and blue. The princess flew among the cold white stars, flapping her wings on the torrents of yellow celestial wind.

"She asked the help of the stars. And they responded. They gave her a magic—not entirely clear on what that is—that would help her achieve her dream."

"She wanted to bring her friends back to life?" Monsoon asked.

"No, not exactly. I don't think that even stars can do something like that. Instead, think of it as a final tribute to them."

The princess stood inside a five-pointed star, surrounded by five gems, each the size of her crown. She turned her horn skyward, a glow of miasma clouding around it.

"She asked her subjects for their support, and they answered. How could she be wrong? And so, she arranged the greatest, most powerful magical gems in the kindgdom in a special pattern of power, said the words and—voila!"

"What?" Flint raised an eyebrow.

"We have what we have today. Something obviously went wrong." Zigzag shrugged.

"It explained nothing! You ended the story by stating that you don't know anything!"

Mosnoon walked up to the final painting. She touched the lumpy, dried chalk with a hoof. "I saw this."

Flint turned to her. Zigzag perked an ear.

"This is it!" She turned around, beaming the stallions a smile. "This is where we've to go! It's in the tower, right?"

Zigzag stroked his chin. "Makes sense."

"Can you show us the way? Is there a tunnel we could use?"

"No, the tower is in the ruins of the old castle." Zigzag lit up his horn. A cupboard at the opposite side of the room opened, a scroll of paper flying in a cloud of miasma into Monsoon's hooves. "What you can do is take this map and use it to evade the herds on the streets."

"How?" Flint asked, looking over the map.

"I watch the herds through my peepholes, learn their random ways, count their numbers and their followers. They always move—standing still in one place makes them anxious. I know that they never return to the place where they have just camped before. So, you can use the bonfires and the beat of their drums to judge where you should go. Simply follow the fires that were just extinguished and stay away from the drums announcing their coming."

Flint narrowed his eyes at Zigzag. "What do you mean by 'their followers?'"

"The ones that belong to the herd, but aren't hornheads. Most of them were kidnapped from the countryside. A lot of ponies come looking for them or for revenge. Most die, some end up as followers themselves."

Monsoon and Flint traded looks. He looked over Zigzag again with an appraising eye. She prodded him with a hoof.

Flint gulped down. "Have you seen a… seen an earth pony filly among them? Five years old, green mane?"

Zigzag tapped his horn. "I'm not sure. I don't know, really."

"Her name's Juniper."

"Can't point you in a specific direction, sorry," Zigzag said. "But there are foals among the followers. They tail after teh herds, picking up their scraps and warming themselves by dying fires. If you tail the herds, you will see them."

Monsoon placed a hoof on Flint's shoulder. He nodded, and they returned to studying the map.

They made sure that the streets outside were empty and went outside. The door closed shut behind them with a bang. Flint nocked a bolt into his crossbow. Monsoon nervously flapped her wings.

Bonfires dotted the streets, with piles of lumber set against walls. The empty sockets of windows in the houses were ringed with soot. Red graffiti stained the walls, pools of the dried, cracked paint gathering around overturned buckets. Weird twig figures of ponies hung from bare lampposts, swaying in the wind and occasionally chiming with the bones hanging from their hooves. Every roof on every house was burned to a char above a certain height, as if a solid horizontal shadow fell over the city.

In the distance, the charred tower loomed, like a stone spike cooked inside a fireplace, lights flicking in empty windows.

They followed the map, looking for smoking bonfires and listening out for the beating of drums. Figures would sometimes walk in the distance when they caught up, and Monsoon tried her best to see who they were and whether they had neither wings nor a horn. They'd follow the herds closer, but whenever they came within distance, the drums would sound from another street, and they had to run back.

The sun was in zenith when they noted that they've walked on every single street shown on the map.

"This is impossible," Monsoon said, rolling the map again. "We have to try for the tower."

"We can still find her, I know it." Flint took a right turn, watching for billows of smoke in the distance.

"All I'm saying is that it'll probably be easier after we're done with the apple."

"You can't know that," Flint said, hastening his trot.

"Just like you don't know for how long we're going to scour these damn streets."

Flint looked at her with a dark gleam in his eye. "You forget what I came here for?"

"No, Flint! We can still find her—but please, help me out."

Flint cut a corner to another street. "I don't see why you can't leave on your—"

He stopped. The bonfire was unlit. No drums sounded. A crowd of hornheads stood on the street, looking him in the eye. Flint took a step back, bumping into Monsoon. One of the hornheads bared his teeth and shrieked out a warcry. Others picked up, and like a cascading downpour, their shrieks filled the air.

Flint turned around and ran.

They ran through the streets, dodging bonfires and ducking their ears against the rising screams behind them. A drum sounded down the street, and Flint took a turn to the left. More hornheads appeared from an alley, and he took another turn.

"They're herding us!" Monsoon shouted.

The hornheads led them onto a street overlooking a deep gorge. A delapidated bridge, lined with extinguished torhes, led to a crumbled tower. The hornheads approached from three sides, leaving them no choice but the bridge. A large door stood at the end. Flint prayed that it be open and have a way to be barricated from the inside. He burst through the door, shoulder first, and aimed his crossbow.

LIght streamed inside through stained glass windows. The carpet, torn and infused with dust, was as the color of dried blood. On the otehr end, an altar towered upon a dais, painted in red circles and wavy lines to nowhere. Smoking braziers filled with red-hot coals flanked the dais.The hornheads went silent. They stopped at the edge of the door, as if waiting for a signal.

Two ponies stood inside the crosshairs of Flint's crossbow. Zigzag wore bright yellow and blue balls on his vest. His face was bleached with wet chalk, a red line drawn over his mouth, ear to ear. And she stood by his side. Five years old, green hair lacking a pink bow.

The crossbow trembled in Flint's hooves.

"Is that? Oh, no…" Monsoon said.

She took a few steps towards him, prodded by Zigzag's hoof. Her smile looked even wider with the paint on her cheeks. Halfway through the hall, she ran to Flint, giggling and shrieking. He dropped the crossbow on the ground and embraced her.

"Flint! Wait, please!" Monsoon shook him by his shoulder, her eyes darting between Zigzag and the hordes of hornheads behind them. "Can't you see that he is controlling them?!"

Her hair smelled of juniper and strawberries, and she was warm, truly warm by herself. Flint looked with watery eyes at Monsoon. His lips tightened into a line.

"I came for my daughter."

The hornheads burst into a warcry and swarmed into the hallway. Monsoon screamed as they jumped on her, picked her up and carried her away. Zigzag trotted up to Flint, a pot of lumpy red paint hovering near his head.

"Few are lucky to survive, you know."

He passed the container to Juniper. She dipped a hoof into the red goo and smeared it across Flint's face, ear to ear. A pink haze descended upon the room, and the air filled with the mixed scents of chocolate and sweat. Flint stood uo and followed after Zigzag and his daughter.

They led him onto the dais, where Monsoon was tied to the altar as she was captured. A thick gag muffled her cries. Zigzag took a dagger from the folds of his vest and offered it to Flint.

Flint stared at the blade, as if it was the only object in existence. Zigzag stepped to the front of the platform.

"Brothers! Sisters! Today we celebrate the creation of the Vision by Her. We remember Her infinite wisdom and assure that the world She dreamed of will hold strong.

"A world where ponies are strong and in harmony with each other around groves of giving trees. A world where dark forests are not black holes to be avoided, but tranquil, quiet places of beauty. A world where the wind itself protects us from invaders and unwanted guests. Where beauty lasts forever, untouched by the ravage of time. A world united in community and laughter!"

The hornheads cheered. Flint noticed the trails of tears on Monsoon's face. He heard Juniper laugh.

"Let us remember the sacrifices we had to make to create this world in Her image, and let us always remember that whatever suffering or grief we have experienced, She always has but the best of intentions for us in her mind."

A beam of light struck Flint in the eye. He turned around, looking for the source. A piece of stained glass fell from one of the stained-glass windows. In it, six ponies stood under a black mare with both horn and wings, and hair of purple miasma. They smiled, holding each other's hooves even as she reared to trample them.

"Today, we welcome a new brother into our fold, and let him prove himself and give the honors of the day."

Flint lifted the dagger above his head. Monsoon squirmed in her bounds and screamed into her gag. The hornheads whistled. His heart beat in his ears. The Elder sneered from under her wrinkled brows. The dagger was heavy in his hooves. His daughter smelled of juniper and strawberries.

The blade plunged into flesh with a tearing, crunching sound. Juniper screamed. Blood flowed.

Zigzag touched the hilt with a hoof, surprised at the redness of his blood. "Un… ex… pected…"

He fell on the floor. One of the hornheads shrieked their battlecry, the other followed suit. Flint grabbed one of the braziers and toppled it over, spilling burning coals over the stairs and the carpet. He untied Monsoon, took out her gag and pulled her behind the altar.

A narrow door stood ajar. Flint closed it shut behind him, the automatic lock clicking into place. They ran through a narrow side hallway, as the screams behind them rose in volume.

They found an exit onto an alley free from the hornheads. The ground collapsed here, dropping a level below. Drums sounded from down the street.

"We have to get the apple to the tower!" Monsoon cried.

"There are too many of them, you have to escape."

"I'm not leaving you!"

"We can split, they might not catch us if we go separate ways. We'll meet at the tower." Flint pointed into the distance. "You take that way."

When Monsoon turned to look, Flint thrust his hoof into her saddlebag and took out the cloth-wrapped apple with the copper stem. Monsoon's eyes widened as she realized what he was doing. She opened her mouth to protest, but he grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her down to the level below.

Monsoon righted herself in the air and glided on her injured wings to a safe landing. She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes. "Flint!"

"…Goodbye." He turned away and broke into gallop.

He reached old castle, hornheads close in pursuit. Flint crossed the dried moat and ran through the gate in the fallen wall. In the courtyard, hanging from teh side of the mountain, the charred tower stood crumbled.

Flint ran inside, barricading the door with a large piece of rubble. The interior was burnt completely, most walls broken down, fallen boulders littering the halls. A single staircase, mostly intact, led upwards into the tower. The outer wall was full of holes, but a purple miasma filled them, glueing the structure together.

Flint collapsed against the door and caught his breath. "There are no ends to those means…" he said. He took out the golden apple, unwrapped it from the dirty, moist cloth. His face, beaten, scarred and smiling with a red, distorted grin, looked back. "Nothing ever comes from that grove." He let the apple fall to the ground and roll under a piece of masonry. "Grove of Truth… Everything is upside-down."

A sudden pain gripped his head. His teeth rattled. Purple smoke streamed into the room from cracks in the floor, stars whirling inside it. Flint jumped to his hooves and ran to the stairs.

The tower trembled, as if gigantic hooves gripped it from the outside and started shacking. He climbed up, looking out for falling debris.

He reached a platform suspended in the air before a giant hole in the outer wall. He stopped to look down. His heart sank into his stomach.

Hornheads swarmed the ground around the tower, already battering the door. Over them, a massive cloud of purple miasma shaped like a pony hovered in the air, wings unfurled and horn turned skyward. Stars shimmered inside the smoke. Two purple suns burned where the eyes were supposed to be.

A strong blow to his face broke Flint's trance. He spat out a piece of his tooth. Stones, iron bars and broken wood hovered in the air, surrounded by a purple glow. Flint dodged a piece of wood and ran up. On the ground floor, the door wringed from its hinges like a page of a book torn by a storm.

The stairs led to a single door, decorated with stars and slightly ajar. Flint ran inside, closed the door, felt the key sticking out of the key hole and turned it.

A strong prismatic glow filled the air. In the center, five bright gems glowed in tandem, arranged in a star around the biggest, sixth one.

It was impossible to conceive that this room was part of the crumbling tower. A smell of ozone filled the air. The walls were completely intact, with spotles wallpapers the color of the night sky. A large bed stood near the wall, covered with silk blankets embroidered with the moon and stars. Flint noticed the silverware on the cupboards and ducked, but the telekinetic assault never came.

He trotted up to the altar. The air crackled with energy, he felt it in his hooves and his eyes. Flint reached into his saddlebag and took out the pink bow. He brought it to his nose and inhaled, trying to catch the fragrance of strawberries and the dour of juniper through the ozone, the pond scum, the ash, the blood, the smoke and the smell of his own coat.

The key glowed with a purple aura and turned. The door burst open. Flint turned to his side, holding a leg against his face. Something whistled past, and two sharp, burning sensations peirced his torso. For a moment, the world compressed into his stomach and the space between his ribs. He fell to the ground, fletched bolts sticking out of his side.

"Stop, don't shoot! Don't touch the gems! If you move—" Zigzag burst into the room, holding a hoof against his bloodied chest. He grinned.

"It's safe! It's all right!"

Zigzag trotted up to Flint and kicked him in the ribs. He curled on the ground, holding his front hooves closer to his body.

"You've failed! You've achieved nothing! You almost killed me and—" Zigzag tore the silk bow from his hoof.—"you've betrayed your daughter."

Flint mumbled something, spat blood on the floor. Zigzag leaned in, red saliva trickling down his lips, mixing with the lumpy red smile.

"Well, you degenerate bastard? What are you going to say for yourself?"

Flint turned over his hoof.

Zigzag blinked. A tiny shower of sparks disappeared into a paper cylinder.

Flint smiled and closed his eyes. "…Scrapper's tricks."

Cloud Stories

It was a bright and sunny day in Ponyville, and just the thought of it was enough to make Rainbow Dash cringe. This weather wasn’t her fault. This weather couldn’t have been her fault. However, as captain of the Ponyville weather team, the blame for it would land squarely on her shoulders. If she was going to avoid a mountain of paperwork—not to mention actually fix this mess—she needed the answer to one very important question.

“How?” Rainbow Dash asked through gritted teeth as she slowly flapped her wings to stay afloat. She glared down at the three ponies sitting at the table outside Sugarcube Corner. Irritatingly enough, they were taking this situation far too lightly and were chatting amongst themselves and sipping their milkshakes. A fourth milkshake sat by its lonesome, but Rainbow Dash refused to drink it out of principle. She loudly cleared her throat, gaining the attention of her three unlikely perpetrators: Pinkie Pie, Derpy, and Sweetie Belle.

“How?” she asked again. “That’s all I want to know. The entire weather team busted their rumps getting today’s storm ready on time. How is it that the entire skies’ worth of storm clouds went missing during the ten minute break we spent in Sugarcube Corner? Especially since for five of those minutes you were talking with me, Pinkie! I mean—gah! Only one of you is even a pegasus!”

Pinkie Pie, Derpy, and Sweetie Belle looked between each other and then back to Rainbow Dash.

“Come on, Dashie,” Pinkie said with a nonchalant wave, “it was just a teeny, little mistake. No need to get worked up over it.”

“Yes there is! I’m the captain of the Ponyville weather team. Which means that when I have to write the report about how today’s thunderstorm went, I’ll have to say that there wasn’t one. And do you know what my superiors in Cloudsdale are going to say about that?”

Pinkie tapped her lips and thought for a bit before saying, “That there’s been too much rain lately and we should use this opportunity to have an afternoon picnic party?”

Derpy face lit up. “That I’m the best temporary weather pony and should be given more hours?”

Sweetie sighed into her milkshake. “That I didn’t get my sunshine cutie mark?”

Rainbow Dash placed a hoof against her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut. She would silently and slowly count to ten before continuing. “No. They are going to ask me why there was no thunderstorm, and I’ll have to tell them that, somehow, a directionally challenged pegasus mailmare, a baker-slash-party-throwing earth pony, and a unicorn filly that can barely use magic somehow cleared the sky out from under the noses of the entire weather team. And what do you think they are going to say about that?”

“That they should rethink their policies on not letting earth ponies join?”

“That compasses should be included in the ‘welcome aboard’ packet for all temporary weather ponies?”

“That I still have a chance at an improbability cutie mark?”

Rainbow Dash began batting her hoof against her forehead. Sadly, even a self-induced concussion wouldn’t get her out of the coming paperwork. If anything, she would have to fill out a form for an extension. She sighed and let herself drop to the ground.

“Okay, look,” Rainbow Dash said as she joined the others at the table. “Mistakes were made. I may be upset, but I’m not angry. Just confused. Really, really, confused. Can somepony please explain to me just what the hay happened so that we can try to undo it?”

Derpy’s hoof shot into the air and frantically waved around. “Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” Her hoof continued to rise as her wings lifted her body above the table.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Fine. Derpy, we’ll start we you. Since you’re the only one that is even able to fly.”

“Yes!” Derpy shouted as she dropped back into her seat with a thud. She placed a hoof under her chin and looked off into her distance. “Let’s see… where should I begin?”

Rainbow Dash pulled her milkshake forward and took a sip. Somehow, she didn’t think this explanation would be acceptable to her superiors. Since she was pretty much doomed, she was at least going to enjoy the taste of strawberries and bananas.

Derpy’s Tale

I think I should begin a few hours ago, after I woke up this morning. I had just finished baking Dinky’s breakfast muffin when I realized I was out of orange juice. Now, I still had some grapefruit juice—which I think tastes really nasty, but Dinky likes it, and it’s supposed to be good for you, so I keep buying it for her, even if it does taste like socks. Anyway, it looked like my choice was between water or sock juice, so I grabbed a glass and went to the sink. Luckily, there was a ring at the doorbell and it turned out some of Dinky’s friends wanted her to come over and play at their house today. I said it was okay and told them to hurry home before the storm started. After hugging Dinky and waving goodbye, I decided that there was enough time to run to the market. That way, I could get my orange juice, since it didn’t taste like socks.

On my way to the market, I looked up at all the pegasi pushing around the clouds. Storm clouds are a lot of fun, and I kind of wished I had signed up as a full-time member of the weather team instead of temporary help, but I really like my current job. I mean, who wouldn’t want a job where their special talent was so useful every day? Anyway, I noticed you flying around and shouting out orders. You sounded a little stressed, so I decided to call out to you and see if you needed any help.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash!” I called.

You looked down at me and said, “Forsooth, Lady Derpy of yon Muffin Fields. Verily, what is thine
enquiry?”

And I sa—

“Woah, Derpy. Stop,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Aww, why did you interrupt?” Pinkie asked. “The story was just starting to get good.”

Rainbow Dash stared flatly at Pinkie, decided a response wasn’t worth it, and then turned to meet Derpy’s eyes. “I do not talk like that.”

Derpy blushed and broke eye contact. “I know, but... well, whenever somepony is upset, I like to pretend they talk silly. It makes them seem less threatening.”

“You’re pretending I’m talking weird right now, aren’t you?”

“Aye, aye, admiral!” Derpy said with a salute.

Rainbow Dash slumped in her seat. “Urgh, fine. Just keep telling the story.”

“Anyway, so, like I was saying...”

I said to you, “You need any help?”

And you said, “Nay, Lady Derpy. Though our task be ardru.. ardo... uh, difficult, ye olde weather patrol be...”

Um, okay. Basically, you said ‘no.’ And I said, ‘please.’ And that went back and forth until you finally sighed and said it would be okay if I looked over the clouds to make sure there was no thin spots.

So, my breakfast task completely forgotten since I got to play with the storm clouds—uh, I mean work with them—I took to the air and started helping.

It was fun swooping back and forth, smoothing out the thicker clouds, my feathers tingling with static electricity. Or at least it was until I got a part of the clouds too smooth. I tried to move some clouds around to make it more lumpy again, but that only caused a hole to form. I tried to close that hole and, well, made another. Two actually. But I fixed those quickly and was left with one big hole! I was standing there on the edge of the hole, trying to figure out what to do, when I noticed Pinkie on the ground below me, and she was sitting on this weird looking thing. She looked a little nervous so I asked her if she needed any help.

That’s when things got crazy. Also fun!

“Things got crazy,” Rainbow Dash deadpanned. She leaned back and covered her face with her hooves. “Great. FIne. Then what happened?”

“Actually,” Pinkie quickly said before Derpy could continue, “maybe it would be better if I told this part of the story.”

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof towards Pinkie. “Sure. Go ahead. My report can’t possibly make any less sense at this point.”

“All right. Here I go! My story starts about five minutes earlier...”

Pinkie’s Fable

It had been a glorious morning in Ponyville for about the first twenty minutes, but with the sun up, it was time to get to work, and no other ponies were working harder than the weather team. Clouds streaked across the sky, propelled forward by mighty pegasus wings. They came together, first a few, and then many. The clouds piled up as they slowly but surely covered the entire town in a gloomy half-light. The storm rumbled and groaned, ready to burst, but the pegasi kept it contained. They knew what they were doing, for they were under the leadership of the one, the only, the incredible Rainbow Dash!

In practically no time at all, the storm was finished. All that remained was a solid buck to get it going. However, the weather team had finished early. Ten minutes early, to be exact. While they could have started the storm early and raced home in the rain, Rainbow Dash had a better idea: a celebratory break at Sugarcube Corner. There, they could feast upon the freshly baked donuts and cupcakes. When it came time to head home they may still have gotten wet, but with a belly full of delicious treats made with tender care and love, the journey would be a happy one.

The front door’s bell jingled, alerting Pinkie to the presence of her latest customers. It had been a slow morning—most rainy days were—but that did little to curb her ever-present enthusiasm. With a friendly smile on her face, Pinkie turned around from setting out the latest batch of cookies and was pleasantly surprised to see her good friend Rainbow Dash entering, followed by at least a dozen other pegasi.

Pinkie stepped up to the counter and welcomed everypony by saying—

“Hold it!” Rainbow Dash yelled, putting a hoof up. “I’m sorry to interrupt again, but why are you telling the story like that?”

Pinkie cocked her head to one side. “Like what?”

“Like... like that! Why are you telling it like you’re a character in it rather than just telling it like how it happened to you?”

“Well, Derpy told her story in first person, so I decided I wanted to tell mine in third person.”

Sweetie Belle’s face scrunched up as she looked to Pinkie. “Wait, if first and third person are taken, then how do I tell my part of the story?”

“Hmm, I suppose you could do it in second person.”

Sweetie Belle only looked at Pinkie in the same amount of confusion that Rainbow Dash herself was feeling.

“You know, like in those choose your own adventure books?”

“Okay... do I have to?”

Pinkie laughed and wrapped a foreleg over Sweetie Belle’s shoulder. “Nah. I think that’d get more annoying than it would funny. You just tell you part of the story whoever you want.”

Rainbow Dash returned her face to her hooves. “Urgh. Why do I even open my big mouth? Keep going, Pinkie.”

Pinkie welcomed everypony by saying, “Welcome, everypony! I hope you’re hungry because almost everything has just come from the oven!”

This news was met with immediate excitement as all the hard working pegasi rushed forward to place their orders. It was a brief moment of chaos, but soon, everyone was satisfied. Everyone except for one, that is.

Rainbow Dash still stood at the display counter, looking over each and every delectable delight. A slight worry came over Pinkie. While her friend may have been indecisive in the past over which baked good she most wanted, it had never gone on this long.

Pinkie could feel a bead of sweat slowly sliding down her brow. Had she somehow lost her baking touch? Was she no longer able to make presentable pastries to please her pals? Was Rainbow Dash just not hungry? These questions and more flooded Pinkie’s head as she watched for second after agonizing second of her friend staring listlessly through the glass.

Then, it happened. The moment Pinkie knew would one day come, yet prayed it never would. Rainbow Dash raised her head, looked Pinkie in the eyes, and asked, “Hey, Pinkie, does Sugarcube Corner have any cloud cakes? I know I’ve never seen them here. It’s just that, after my last visit to Cloudsdale, I’ve really had a craving for one.”

Time seemed to freeze as the question wormed its way through Pinkie’s skull. The answer was simple, yet horrifying: no. No, Sugarcube Corner has never made cloud cakes. Pinkie had never made cloud cakes. There was one single, semi-solid baked good out there that, try as she might, she would never be able to create. Didn’t Rainbow Dash know that? Didn’t she realize how many sleepless night went by with Pinkie staring at her ceiling, trying desperately to come up with a way to make the impossible possible? Didn’t she know why Pinkie couldn’t make cloud cakes? Didn’t she?

Pinkie was leaning across the table, her face mere inches from Rainbow Dash’s.

Nervously, Rainbow Dash looked to the side, then back at Pinkie. “Er, i-is this part of the story, or are you actually asking me?”

It was because Pinkie Pie was an earth pony and therefore unable to manipulate clouds in her bare hooves without the aid of magic. And before Rainbow Dash tries to interrupt Pinkie’s story again, cloud cakes can’t be made with the assistance of magic either. Seriously, Pinkie learned the hard way that magic makes those cakes taste nasty. Blech.

However, despite knowing the answer, Pinkie refused to give up. If her friend wanted a cloud cake, then, by gum, her friend was going to get a cloud cake.

“Of course,” Pinkie said. “You just wait five minutes, and I’ll whip one up really quick.”

Pinkie quickly turned around and exiting into the kitchen, all the while hoping Rainbow Dash couldn’t see the look of dread on her face.

Pinkie knew the dangers of biting off more than she could chew—she had even read Twilight’s friendship report on the subject—but she was determined. Somehow, in some way, today would be different. Today, she was going to make that elusive cloud cake. Especially since this day Pinkie had a special assistant with her: an exuberant little filly named Sweetie Belle.

“Ooh! It is my turn, now?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Sorry, Sweetie, I still need to get to the part where I met Derpy. But don’t worry, I’ll let you tell the end.”

“Wait. Sweetie Belle was helping you bake?” Rainbow Dash asked nervously. “Are you sure that was a good idea? Rarity always said that her cooking—”

Realizing that the pony she was talking about was right there, Rainbow Dash whipped her head in Sweetie Belle’s direction. The little filly looked up at her with hopeful eyes that could easily start filling with tears.

“...was delicious,” Rainbow Dash finished with a grin.

Sweetie Belle’s eyes shined brighter as she opened her mouth and made a squeeing noise. She quickly turned to look at her flank. Instantly, her joy vanished and she hung her head.

After placing one hoof on Sweetie Belle’s shoulder, Pinkie used her other hoof to lift the sad filly’s chin and offer a smile. “Don’t be upset you didn’t get your cutie mark. You were still a big help! The only problem was everything you made was so good that we both ended up eating it before we could sell it. Keep trying. You’ll get it one day.”

A snuffling sound came from Derpy, who had a big hankie dabbing her eyes. She smiled at Rainbow Dash and said, “It’s such a touching moment. It reminds me of when Dinky asked me when she was getting a cutie mark.”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yes. The feelings are overwhelming. Now, can we get back to the story of how you three managed to remove the clouds?”

“Oh, right! Where was I...”

With her special assistant ready for anything, Pinkie sprang into action like a rubber ball thrown really, really hard at a trampoline that was also on an even bigger trampoline. Ingredients were called out. Instruction were giving. Batter was tasted. Soon, all the preparations were complete, and only one ingredient remained: a cloud.

It’s a well-known fact that cloud cakes get their incredible fluffiness from having a cloud mixed in with the batter, but what many ponies didn’t know was that the type of cloud played an equally important part in its creation. For example, trying to use cirrus clouds would produce a crumbly mess, while fog would make the cakes too mushy. Ordinary cumulus was the Cloudsdale standards. However, the best tasting clouds to use—and most dangerous ones—had to have been storm clouds. One bite of the statically charged cake would produce a flavor explosion that could knock a pony onto their haunches.

Pinkie smiled. As luck would have it, there was a whole sky of those clouds right outside. All she had to do was find a way to get them.

After a quick trip to her room to get her whirly-copter-ma-jiggy, Pinkie bid Sweetie Belle farewell and reminded her to keep the oven preheated. Once outside, Pinkie opened a compartment on the side of her copter. Inside was a special device she had prepared in the eventuality of this situation. It looked like a pile of metal bands stuck together into a tube shape because, well, it was a pile of metal bands stuck together into a tube shape. The special thing about these bands was that they were all magnetized to very specific magnetic fields. The end result was that, instead of metal, they could attract clouds. Twilight had tried to explain to Pinkie that such a device made from only magnets was scientifically impossible, and while Pinkie respected Twilight’s seemingly endless knowledge, she knew that there were some things that even the world’s smartest unicorn—whoops, alicorn. Pinkie was still getting used to that. Anyway, Pinkie knew that there were some things that even the world’s smartest alicorn didn’t know. Magnets were, apparently, one of them.

There was just one teensy little problem with the cloud-attracting magnet. Well, three of them: the cloud had to be a storm cloud, she had to be very close to the cloud, and the magnets also attracted lightning like a lightning rod made out of thousands of lightning rods.

Pinkie climbed onto her copter and put on her safety goggles. She knew what she was doing was crazy. She knew that she should go back to Rainbow Dash, tell her that they were all out of cloud cakes, and offer something else. But a part of her also knew that she had to do this. That this would be the step that set her on the path to fulfilling her destiny of becoming the greatest baker Equestria has ever known. She just needed a sign, something to tell her she was doing the right thing.

That’s when the sky opened and a beam of sunlight shone down upon Pinkie.

Caught in that soft, warm glow, Pinkie couldn’t help but think that maybe this was the sign she had asked for. Looking up, her gaze fell upon a smiling face surrounded by a mane that glowed gold like the sun behind it. A rush fell over the world as the being spoke to Pinkie: “Hey! You look a little nervous. Need any help?”

Derpy fluttered down through the clouds to land on the ground. Pinkie knew this was her chance and quickly explained her situation. Derpy listened intently and even agreed to the plan where she would try and safely lead Pinkie around the lightning the inevitable lightning strikes.

Afterwards, Derpy asked, “You know, if all you need is a cloud, I could get one for you.”

“Thanks, Derpy, but no,” Pinkie answered. “No ordinary storm cloud will do. I’m only going to get one shot at this, so I’m going after... the Heart of the Storm.”

The Heart of the Storm was said to be a myth, a legend passed down from one pegasus to the next. Nopony has ever actually seen it, or at least lived to tell the tale. Every storm cloud was supposed to have one, and it was also supposed to be a literal heart, beating and pulsing with the energy that fueled the storm around it. If a normal storm cloud made a delicious cloud cake, then the Heart of the Storm would make a cake at least ten times as delicious.

Derpy didn’t believe in the existence of the Heart, and Pinkie couldn’t blame her. After all, most of Grammy Pie’s stories seemed pretty far out there, but they always had a seed of truth to them. If the Heart did exist, then Pinkie would find it. Failing that, there were plenty of other delicious storm clouds to choose from.

Pinkie inserted her hoof into her magnetic band and, with a click, locked it into place. She started pumping the pedals on her copter, causing the blades to rotate faster and faster. Soon, she was airborne.

Derpy flew ahead and scanned the cloud line for a way in. She pointed to a spot and Pinkie nodded. Together, they flew forward and were engulfed by the storm.

“Alright, Pinkie, hold on,” Rainbow Dash said. She remained quiet for a few seconds after Pinkie had stopped talking. There was so much wrong with Pinkie’s story that she didn’t even know where to begin. “All the impossible stuff aside, you were gone for five minutes. I know, because I was watching the clock so we didn’t miss the storm’s starting time. So, I have to ask: how could you have possibly done all this in five minutes!?”

Pinkie smirked and giggled into a hoof. “Oh, don’t worry, Dashie. They were an extremely long five minutes, but you’ll see, the story will fit into them perfectly.”

“But... that... that doesn’t make any sense!”

Derpy snorted and quickly buried her mouth in her forelegs to muffle her laughter.

“Stop pretending that I talk weird!”

Rainbow Dash groaned. There wasn’t a point to listen further since listing any of this on her report would only get her superiors to question her sanity. She motioned for Pinkie to continue anyway. She would at least get to listen to one of Pinkie’s wild stories.

The world had become a confusing sea of gray. The winds threatening to send Pinkie careening off course, while the lightning nipped at her tail. It was only thanks to Derpy’s warnings of where the lightning was preparing to strike that Pinkie hadn’t been blown out of the sky long ago.

They seemed to travel for hours, but it was actually only for one extremely long minute. Then, the storm opened up into a great cavern filled with cloudy stalactites and stalagmites. The air was thick here with electricity, and Pinkie could feel all her fur standing on end. The cavern walls crackled with veins of power. While the sight of this cavern alone was enough to take away anypony’s breath and make them question if they really knew anything at all about meteorology, the most stunning thing was the cloud in the center. It was big, it was connected by thin, wispy strands to the cavern walls, and it was shaped like a heart. And not one of those Hearts and Hooves day fake hearts. This was the real deal.

Pinkie stared in awe, a smile pulling her lips ever wider. However, the smile vanished in an instant as Pinkie realized that the storm had her exactly where it wanted her.

Derpy tried to shout out a warning, but no warning could have prepared Pinkie for what was happening.

Lightning came from every surface, and it all streaked straight at Pinkie.

What happened next was all a blur for Pinkie. She remembered the strange feeling of weightlessness moments before the pull of gravity returned. She remembered the molten pieces of metal, her remains of her copter, falling beside her. And she remembered the Heart, seething with anger for having its domain violated. As Pinkie closed her eyes, all she could think was the silly thought of how the Cakes were going to be upset with her when she didn’t show up for work tomorrow morning.

Then the falling stopped and Pinkie found herself jerked awake. Derpy was there, her hooves wrapped around Pinkie’s midsection while she flapped her wings furiously to stay aloft. An ordinary pegasus would have chosen that moment to head to the safety of the ground before her wings tired from the increased load. However, Derpy was no normal pegasus. Years of lugging around a heavy mailbag had strengthened her wings to the point that carrying Pinkie wasn’t even an inconvenience.

Derpy shouted something, likely asking Pinkie what to do, but the sounds of the storm were too loud for them to hear each other. But that was fine since there was only one thing they needed to do: capture that Heart.

Pinkie pointed and Derpy nodded in understanding. Together, they shot forward, dodging left and right as the Heart redoubled its efforts to destroy the intruders. Twisting, twirling, corkscrew-urling, Derpy evaded every attack. The Heart was right in front of them. It looked like they were going to do it. Then, a wall of electricity came forth and blocked their path.

Derpy pulled up into a ninety-degree turn. Even with her conditioned strength, the extreme flying and weight of Pinkie was beginning to take its toll on Derpy. Her breathing had become labored and her grip slick with sweat. Still, she didn’t give up, and continued to climb higher and higher as she flew parallel to the vertical streaks of lightning. Upon reaching the top of the cavern, Derpy did a backflip and went into a dive. The wall of lightning collapsed downward, chasing after the fleeing pegasus. But as Derpy spun and dodged the lightning, the Heart must have realized its folly, as Pinkie was no longer there.

The lightning strikes stopped. If the uncaring Heart felt any emotions at that moment, it must have been confusion. Where had Pinkie gone? She couldn’t possibly have given up, had she? Did her friend really drop her in order to save her own skin?

Well, in reverse order, the answers were: Nope, she threw her; not on her life; and way up in the air.

The simple fact was that Pinkie Pie was an earth pony and therefore unable to manipulate clouds in her bare hooves without the aid of magic. That meant that when Derpy had reached the ceiling and let go, Pinkie continued upward, through the clouds and into the sunny skies above. Once she reached the top of her arch, Pinkie went into her own dive with her magnet-covered hoof stretched out before her. Down, down, down she fell. Her vision was briefly obscured as she once again passed through the clouds, but then she was back in the cavern and directly above the Heart.

The Heart was crafty. All Heart of the Storm had to be. How else had been unnoticed all these years. But even the Heart saw this attack coming too late. It tried to strike, this time sending forth lightning from itself. Pinkie smiled. She had been waiting for this mistake. With a quick twist of her hoof, the magnets were in position. Perhaps then, the Heart had realized what Pinkies plans were, but it was impossible to recall the lightning.

The bolt struck the magnets, providing the power needed for Pinkie to activate its secret technique.

With a fierce shout because she hadn’t taken the time to come up with a battle cry, Pinkie lashed out, sending out a blue electric bolt straight into the Heart. Instantly, the power of magnets took over. The Heart writhed as it was ripped free of the wispy tendril that held it in place. Its power stolen, the constant rumbling of the storm came to an end.

Pinkie had done it. She had accomplished the impossible. She, and earth pony, held a cloud on the end of her hoof.

She was also falling, but luckily, with the storm no longer trying to zap her, Derpy was able to swing around and snatch Pinkie out of the air.

Together, the heroes exited the storm. They didn’t speak at all on the return trip. But that didn’t matter since the giddy excitement either felt would have made their attempts at speech unintelligible anyway. What did matter was that they had conquered a legend, and now, they would get to eat it.

Back outside Sugarcube Corner, the heroes realized the cost of their actions. With the Heart no longer there to provide power, the storm clouds above were breaking apart and letting rays of sunlight shine through. Pinkie and Derpy knew that they were both going to get in really big trouble after all this, but hopefully the cloud cake would be delicious enough for everypony to forget all about it.

Inside, Sweetie Belle greeted them with a thousand questions about where they went and why were parts of them black and singed and what was that weird thing Pinkie was holding, but Pinkie ended the enquire with a simple order.

Since she was such a good little helper, Sweetie Belle ran to get the bowl of batter they had prepared earlier. With the moment of destiny upon them, Pinkie held her breath and plunged the Heart into the mixture. She then shook off her singed magnets and went to grab a spoon.

Once. Twice. Three times Pinkie stirred. The secret to cloud cakes was to use as little agitation as possible. With the preparations complete, Pinkie grabbed to biggest cake pan in the kitchen and poured the rich, golden batter out. They could easily have snuck a hoof-lick of the batter, but the thought hadn’t even crossed their minds at the time. This was a special event, and couldn’t be rushed.

With some help from Derpy, Pinkie moved the ginormous cake pan into the oven and closed the door. It wouldn’t take long at all for the cake to bake, which was a good thing, as the five minutes were almost up.

The oven timer dinged and the moment of truth had arrived. Together, the three ponies opened the oven and peaked inside. It was then Pinkie remembered a property of cloud cakes she had forgotten until now. Which normal cakes grew as they cooked, cloud cakes shrank. The result being that, instead of having one giant cake they could cut up and serve to everypony, they now had something about the size of a tiny cupcake.

Pinkie grew silent and shut her eyes. A smile came to her lips as she leaned back in her chair.

Rainbow Dash waited as patiently as she could, but quickly realized Pinkie wasn’t going to say any more.

“Well? Rainbow Dash asked. “Don’t leave me hanging. What happened next?”

“I think,” Pinkie said slowly, “that it’s Sweetie’s turn.”

“Me?” Sweetie Belle squeaked. Her ears dropped and she appeared to be trying to sink into her chair. “How am I supposed to follow that?”

Pinkie opened her eyes and smiled. “Just tell the story. It doesn’t matter how good or bad it is, just so long as it’s your story.”

Sweetie Belle gulped and took a long breath. “Okay. Here goes...”

Sweetie Belle’s Story

I ate the cloud cake.

Rainbow Dash blinked. “You what?”

“This is harder than it looks,” Sweetie Belle whined. “I’m not a good story teller like Pinkie.”

“No, not that.” Rainbow Dash smacked her forehead with a hoof. “I mean—gah! I don’t even know what I mean anymore.”

Pinkie leaned forward and whispered something into Sweetie Belle’s ear.

“Oh, okay,” Sweetie Belle said. “I’ll do that. Here’s my story...”

Sweetie Belle’s Story Revised

I came to Sugarcube corner that morning to wait for Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. I knew there was supposed to be a big storm today, but Scootaloo had some big idea that involved kites and keys. She said that today would have been the perfect day and that we’d get our cutie marks for sure this time.

I waited for them, but then I found out that Apple Bloom had to help her sister get the barn door’s nailed shut and Scootaloo had apparently been grounded for some reason. I was about to go home before the storm hit, but Pinkie must have realized I was bummed out, because she asked me if I wanted to be a baker’s assistant today.

I know Apple Bloom already tried that, but it sounded like fun, so I agreed.

We made a lot of really tasty treats, and the best part was that we got to eat everything we made. Not all of it turned out great, but a lot of it was really good. I didn’t get my baker’s cutie mark, but I still really enjoyed myself.

There was some commotion up front when Rainbow Dash and the weather team showed up, so Pinkie went to take their orders while I waited for my latest batch of cookies to be done.

When Pinkie came back, she looked like she had seen a ghost. She tried to act like everything was okay, but I could tell something was wrong. Pinkie had me get a whole bunch of ingredients together and mixed them in a bowl. Then she dragged this weird machine across the kitchen, told me she was proud of me and to keep the oven ready, and then went outside.

I didn’t know what was going on, but I Pinkie looked really serious, so I nodded.

I went to the oven and it was just after I got my cookies out that Pinkie returned and had Derpy with her. They were all banged up and looked like they had been set on fire a few times. I tried to ask them what happened and why Pinkie was carrying that thumping cloud on her hoof. Pinkie told me to grab the batter, so I did. I could tell this was something important.

She mixed everything together and stuck it in the oven, and then pulled it out a minute later. I was so surprise that all that batter has shrunk into one little cupcake.

Since we had been baking like this all morning, I thought this was just another one of our baked goods. Since it was my turn to get first sample, I grabbed what I thought was a cupcake but was actually a cloud cake and ate it.

It was so good, it knock me onto my haunches.

The End.

“The end,” Rainbow Dash repeated, realizing that this was, indeed, her end. With the stories over, the only thing left to do was write her report on why there was no storm. Her only hope was to try to glean some information out of these three that could have actually caused the storm to disappear.

“Okay,” Rainbow Dash said as she got up out of her seat. “First off, there is no Heart of the Storm. There are no legends about it. There are no folk stories. Pegasi make storms. We know all about how they really work. As cool as it would be, there are no mystical clouds inside that control them.

“Secondly, cloud cakes aren’t actually made from clouds. They’re only called that because they are light and fluffy like clouds and originated in Cloudsdale. Earth ponies can make them easily. The only reason they’re so rare is because there are really high in fat and most bakeries don’t want to contribute to their customers having a heart attack.

“Thirdly, even if you could make a cake out of clouds, there is no way one little filly could have eaten an entire skies’ worth in five minutes.

“So, can any of you tell me what really happened or do I just have to make things up about freak heat refraction destroying the clouds or something?”

The following silence was nearly deafening as Pinkie, Derpy, and Sweetie Belle looked between each other. Finally, Sweetie Belle turned her watery eyes up towards Rainbow Dash and said, “B-but I really did eat the cloud cake.”

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth only to have her voice catch in her throat. She couldn’t call Sweetie a liar. It wasn’t her fault she had gotten caught up in Pinkie’s shenanigans. She bit back any retort she could have given and instead said, “Don’t worry about it. You guys can go home now.”

Extending her wings, Rainbow Dash turned away from the group. She didn’t take to the sky right away. While it rarely happened, today she didn’t feel like rushing home. With a final sigh, she was about to flap her wings when she heard a loud hiccup from behind her.

“Uh, Dashie?” Pinkie said. “You might want to see this.”

“What is it n—”

Freezing in mid turn, Rainbow Dash watched the small storm cloud floating away from Sweetie Belle’s head. A tiny spark of lightning shot out of the cloud, zapping the straw of a milkshake glass, followed by a miniature boom.

Rainbow Dash poked the cloud, which then began to sprinkle rain on the table. She turned to Sweetie Belle. “How’d you do that?”

“I don’t know. I just—hup!”

As she hiccuped, a wisp of cloud shot out of her mouth. The vapors swirled together until they thickened and formed into another gray cloud, identical to the first.

Rainbow Dash’s mouth twitch into a smile. “Sweetie Belle! Quick! Hiccup more!”

“I can’t—hup!—just make my—hup!—self hiccup whenever I—hup!—want to—hup!”

Rainbow Dash scooped up all the newly formed clouds a smooched them together. She then beamed at the fully sized cloud before her. “I don’t believe it. This just might work. Derpy!”

Derpy snapped into a salute.

“Go get the weather team. Tell them to meet me here. The storm is back on.”

As Derpy took to the skies, Rainbow Dashed turned her eyes on Sweetie Belle. “Sweetie Belle? Don’t stop hiccupping.”

Sweetie Belle gulped. “I don’t think I—hup!—like this—hup!—story anymore.”

Let Me Be Your Armor

A noontime spring sun shines in the cloudless sky, but the breeze retains the biting chill that rarely leaves these northern climes. The last of the snow melted weeks ago, and the fields are filled with fresh greenery and young critters eager to shake off cabin fever. Despite that restlessness, the alicorn standing on top of the hill finds herself briefly content to merely let the sun try to warm her upturned face, to enjoy the heat and pressure against her eyelids.

The moment passes quickly: her leisure time is far too constrained to squander it so. She flexes the wings that have seen too little use of late, breathes deeply, and takes a running leap into the face of the wind. She powers for altitude, knowing she’ll pay later for the sudden exertion, but it’s worth it to be free, to feel the air rushing through her feathers and mane, to move unhindered by any will but her own. Eyes still closed, she smiles as she indulges in this small escape, banks to her left. . .

. . . and finds herself quite suddenly back on the ground as a heavy tome hits the table in front of her.

“One might think,” intones the frowning unicorn, “That you had no interest in using that horn of yours.”

The alicorn stays silent and tries to suppress her embarrassment at being caught daydreaming, though concealing a blush on her pale coat is an exercise in futility.

“One might further speculate that you’d rather waste your time frolicking like some pegasus foal, than learn to control your magic before you set another fire in your sleep.”

Her face burns with a greater heat than the sun, shining through the high narrow window, could ever hope for, but caring is a distant memory.

“I am a pegasus, sir! And a unicorn, and fully entitled to the heritage of each! And-”

“Spare me, child. I know who your parents are,” the stallion cuts her off. “That heritage of yours is all the more reason to learn proper focus. Magical or otherwise, you cannot afford distraction. You must always be focused and in the moment. So long as you remain a member of your family, you do not have the option of shirking that responsibility.”

She glares at the book, perversely wishing that she’d learned the control to set the thing on fire by will alone. Then again, that might raise even her father’s ire.

“Perhaps it would ease your long, hard suffering to know that you are not the only one wishing to be outside of this room. Perhaps Her Majesty might find Herself more at ease with this injustice were She to be reminded that I myself am here at the behest of Her esteemed Father. Perhaps such a reminder should not be necessary for someone of Her station.

“Perhaps She has overheard that I am also engaged in some rather fundamental magical research, again, at her Father’s express request. And perhaps, if She truly makes the effort, She might understand how valuable my ti-”

“Enough, Star Swirl. You’ve made your point.” Every word from her mouth is clipped, every muscle taut with rage.

“Of that, I have my doubts.” His appraising stare fails to penetrate the sea-green mane which hides her glare, but does nothing to hide her emotions. “Still, the lack of argument is a step in the right direction.”

The room fills with the jingling of the bells on the hem his robe as he walks back towards the chalkboard. Supposedly, the sound of the Conjurer’s Bells serves to remind their wearer that every action has greater consequences than the unicorn intends, and are worn in number proportional to rank and skill.

Privately, certain alicorns suspect that they’re worn simply to annoy others.

“Since you are apparently uninterested in listening to me, the book is now in your hooves,” Star Swirl says. His magic grasps a piece of chalk and he begins to sketch geometric shapes on the board. “My dearest Princess Celestia, you may begin with the title.”

She presses a hoof against the near edge of the book to incline it to her eyes.

“Structure and the Basis of Magick.” Celestia frowns. “Star Swirl, even I know this stuff! Magic comes from the seven elements of harmony, and if you aren’t in tune with at least some of them you can’t do magic!”

The chalk stops moving.

“That . . .” Star Swirl sets down the chalk and turns back to her. “That is a very. . . post-modern interpretation of magical theory. It is an interesting idea, but lacks evidence. Its proponents cannot even agree on the number of so-called ‘elements of harmony’ there are! They cite honesty, and loyalty, and inspiration, and any other positive quality you care to name. And they get away with it, because they can claim that harmony means having all of them, and so they settle into bickering over which elements are more fundamental than the rest!

“Much as I appreciate the irony in that, the theory is unsound, and unproven, and I’ll not hear it again from you. Unless, of course, you’d care to prove that you deserve that horn on your head and make your way through a proper course in real magical theory. Such as the book in front of you.”

With something between a snort and a sigh, she noses the cover to the side. Compact text with alien serifs and strange punctuation greets her. Many of the words are almost familiar, but misspelled, and a riot of colors provides levels of emphasis which escape her entirely. Hopeless confusion overtakes her anger.

“Star Swirl. I can’t read this.”

“Ignore the colors for now.”

“No, I mean, I don’t recognize the script.”

The book floats off the table and levitates in front of Star Swirl.

“It’s only just over three hundred years old. If you ignore the extra vowels and treat the intra-word dashes. . .” He looks over at her. “Have you really not been taught this?”

She shakes her head, and he grimaces.

“Then in the interests of saving each of us the added time, we’ll set the book aside. Provided, of course, that you can manage to listen.”

Star Swirl’s drone is a heavy price, but for one fewer book to study, worthwhile. With any luck, he might gloss over the inevitable tedious details in his impatience. Celesia nods.

“So be it. The fundamental tenet of crafting a magical spell is to choose a subset of the objects in the world around you to affect, and while recognizing the structure or structures of that external reality, hold it in your mind while also enforcing a structure closer to your desires, but with a minimal thaumic delta so as to reduce the force of will necessary to create or maintain the change. Retaining those structures may be aided by mnemonics such as incantations or runic sketches...” He turns and begins embellishing his diagrams on the board.

Celestia glances at the window, but the sun has already dropped below the sill.

“Mother, why am I different?”

“Is this about your cutie mark again?” The pegasus offers a slow, wry smile that betrays the tiredness of a pony old beyond her years.

“No. Why am I the only alicorn? Why is everyone else a pegasus or a unicorn or an earth pony?” An afterthought: “And I don’t mean the birds and the bees, mother.”

A shadow crosses the pegasus’ face. She’s avoided the subject for years, hoping in vain that her daughter would somehow be blind to the issue. But Celestia is no foal, and the mother knows well enough that little can distract her daughter once her mind is set. In that, she takes after her father.

“You aren’t the only alicorn, Tia. Just the only one here, and now. You aren’t a freak, or-”

“That’s not what I asked, mother.”

“Regardless of how different you might feel, your father and I love you very much.”

“Mother. . . “

“It’s not a comfortable subject, Tia.”

“Which is all the more reason to learn it from someone who ‘loves me very much.’”

“You think you’re being clever now?”

“You think you’re changing the subject?”

The pegasus sighs.

“Tia, what can you tell me about our city? Who lives here? What kinds of ponies, and since when?”

“It used to be an outpost when more ponies lived in the north, but almost nopony lives up there now. Back then it was mostly unicorns, and earth ponies, especially out in the countryside. But there have been pegasi here, too, since before I was born!”

“But not for all too long before you were born. Within my lifetime, you might recall.”

“Yes, I know how you and father met.”

“Do you now?”

“When everypony was leaving the north, your flight was grounded by a blizzard. You had too many young fliers to risk slipping out between storms, but some farmers found you and told you you’d be welcome here. Father took you in and helped everypony and a bunch of other things happened and you fell in love and got married.”

“That’s glossing over quite a bit.”

“I’m not worried about ancient history, mother.”

“That ‘ancient history’ has the answer to your question. We left the north because the entire region was locked in a winter that didn’t end and kept growing deeper. We didn’t know why, but nothing we pegasi did to the weather seemed to help, so we did what we thought best. We gathered up our loved ones and flew south.

“Everypony else came to the same conclusion. The unicorns and earth ponies left before us, to tell the truth. I suppose we thought we just needed to figure out why the weather was misbehaving, so we stayed longer to prove ourselves.

“Your father had lived here in this border town for all his life. He met with each group coming down from the mountains, especially the other unicorns. Some of them doubted that the winter was at all natural, and your father asked them to remain behind and build the town into a refuge for everypony coming south. Some stayed, and many of those who kept running left behind things that were weighing them down. Books, instruments of music and science, things that they had no time for on the road.

“Your father and the other unicorns here finally figured it out. Somewhere in those musty old books, they read about creatures called wendigoes. The wendigoes froze the air around them, and that was the cause of the impossible weather.”

“Nopony knew about them? Nopony saw them?”

“Somepony must have dealt with them before, but no, nopony remembered. And I have never seen one, nor has your father, but we know they must be the cause of that winter.”

“How can you possibly say that? How do you know the book they were from isn’t just a bunch of filly-”

“Because they fed on hate!”

The strange exclamation momentarily shocks Celestia to silence. “They. . . what?”

“Hatred. Anger, suspicion, disgust. All of it.”

“But. . . hate? How could they feed on hate? Where did it come from?”

The pegasus screws her eyes shut against the memories. “We gave it to them, Tia. Who knows what small hoofhold they first found, but once the winter started, we hated each other. We blamed each other for imagined faults. We blamed each other for creating the winter itself. We did, in a sense. We gave them the opportunity, and they bred quickly and overwhelmed us.

“And by ‘we,’ I mean the races of ponies. Back then, the unicorns lived apart from the pegasi, and each lived apart from the earth ponies. We knew each other, and we traded, but rarely would anypony spend much time with the other races.

“When the winter began, we didn’t trust another. The pegasi were first blamed, of course, because we’d always kept the weather reasonable. We couldn’t find cause for the cold, so we accused the unicorns of creating it with some spell gone wrong. Some even accused the earth ponies of exaggerating the harm the chill did to the crops, though that never made much sense.

“So we blamed each other, and when our accusations failed to solve the matter, we foalishly insisted even louder that they must be true. We nurtured out grudges, and the wendigoes grew in number until they eventually chased us from the north entirely.”

“Then why did they ever stop?”

“In part, because of your father. He had always been too far away from the cities of the north to be much impressed by such foalish bickering and choosing of sides. Especially once his researchers learned of the wendigoes, he made a point of giving anypony a home here. That’s how his border town became this city, and how his humble town hall was replaced by this castle, as small as it is.

“The other ponies ran too far south for us to hear much from them. Our pegasi scouts never report unusual weather from there, so we know that the wendigoes gave up the chase. That, or perhaps those ponies finally learned to live alongside each other like we do, and the wendigoes wasted away.”

Celestia sits silently, wrestling with the implications of this new history. She’d known the events, in abstract, but that ponies could have been so divided is an novel concept.

Memories of Star Swirl’s tutelage take on an unpleasant light, in retrospect. How often had he accused her of not deserving her horn? Had her flight instructors given her leeway she had earned, or did her parentage count for more than ability? Did she receive deference based on her rank, or were other ponies simply put off by the hybrid creature in front of them? Was she shielded from harsher treatment by fear of wendigoes? Or did it come back to her parents?

Thoughts indistinct, the alicorn rises to her hooves and makes for the door.

“Tia. . .”

But the princess refuses to hear.

The nursery is calm, silent save for the occasional pop from the fireplace and the low moan of the wind echoing down the chimney. Sheltered by the surrounding rooms, the walls have no need for the shuttered windows that rattle against the winter storm that shrouds the castle.

Celestia stands next to the crib and looks upon its tiny inhabitant. A sister. Years too late for them to really play as equals, once she was grown, but a sister nonetheless. She could tell her stories, at least. Help her learn to fly. Maybe even teach her some simple magic, so that she’d suffer less at the hooves of the stubborn old unicorn their father would surely send for.

A murmur from below interrupts her thoughts. Celestia conjures a dim light to help her see into the crib and holds her breath, watching her sister’s legs twitch in response to some dream. As the foal finally settles down, Celestia exhales, grateful to have dodged at least one round of coaxing her back to sleep. With tired eyes, she continues to study the newborn.

Luna is her name. Her coat is much darker than Celestia’s, and more like their father’s. There’s an even darker, mottled patch on her flank, but the doctors promise that it can’t possibly be a cutie mark, for which Celestia is overwhelmingly grateful. Luna has inherited their father’s darker mane as well, though there are blueish hints from their mother’s side.

And, of course, she’s an alicorn.

It was never in doubt, from the moment the impending birth was announced, but Celestia is still ill at ease with the fact.

Alicorns are not hated or feared. In the years since she came to understand her exceptional heritage, Celestia has learned this. They are, however, held apart. The unicorns distrust their pegasus side for their capriciousness, their willingness to follow their gut and fly by instinct. The pegasi understand the desire to play with the unseen, but generally fail to grasp any desire to tinker with magic so long as the wind can fill the role while remaining fully tangible. Earth ponies tend to be too agreeable to object much, but Celestia knows that a penchant for honesty does not preclude hiding uncomfortable opinions.

And she knows that she wants none of this for her sister.

I’ll protect you, Luna. When you struggle, I will be there to help you along. When they doubt you, I will be there to prove that alicorns are just as capable as they are. I’ll make sure you understand why we’re different. I won’t hide that history from you, but I won’t let it hurt you. I won’t let anything hurt you.

She holds that thought in her mind as she slowly leans against the crib and drifts to sleep.

Untitled Journal

3 S.D. 676 C.E.—Pop and Barley went out of town today to sell potatoes. I don’t know how long they’ll be gone for, but they said it shouldn’t be longer than a week. This was the first time they’d ever gone so far out of town. The local marketplace wasn’t very good for business any more, so Pop said they had to go elsewhere to sell.

I had the farm all to myself. What a responsibility! It sure was a tough job though. My legs haven’t ached like that since my first day on the farm. But I finished my day before the sun did, giving me time to make a good stew before bed.

That’s why Barley went and not me. He’s a salesman, not a farmer. His tongue gets him what his legs can’t. He’ll grow half as many potatoes but sell them for twice the price. No good when you just wanna eat them, of course.

7 S.D. 676 C.E.—The cattle got restless today because I forgot to feed them. It’s not that I forgot. It’s just that there’s so much to do! Herding them together was a real trouble too. How do you do that with just one pony?

I hope Pop and Barley come back soon. It’s getting so lonely.

14 S.D. 676 C.E.—I saw Pop along the horizon today while out in the potato fields. He looked his old weathered self, pulling the family wagon down the road. Barley slogged along behind him.

I dropped the plough right away and ran up to meet them. As I got closer, I saw their faces were glum.

Pop told me what happened. It took them two days to walk to Marecelona. The market wasn’t open for the first two days, so they had to spend them in a local stable. They didn’t have the bits on them to pay, so they had to barter their potatoes. It was a complete ripoff. Not even Barley’s tongue could work around it.

But once the market was open it wasn’t so bad, he said. There was plenty of bread being sold and they picked up a good lot of it before the morning’s end, over a month’s worth. But that’s all there was. They learnt by the end of the day that that’s all ponies were selling. That and potatoes.

Barley said there was a mare selling pumpkins, but she wanted fifteen potatoes for just one pumpkin. Fifteen! I couldn’t believe it. It was an outrage.

They spent two more days at market trying to get something besides bread. They got some carrots, but only a couple week’s worth, and not exactly at a good price. I almost thought they shouldn’t have bothered, but Pop says you need carrots for good health and that they help you see in the dark. Potatoes sure don’t do that.

It took them four days to make it home. A wheel on the family wagon went all jagged and started making it a whole lot harder to pull. They had to take a few more breaks along the way than they’d have liked to.

Barley was more upset than Pop. He had a fire inside him. He said that it’s all the government’s fault, that ever since the republic got into power, all the wealth’s been going to the rich, hurting the common work pony.

He handed me a pamphlet he got from the Maine Communist Party. It talked a lot about how the republic has been neglecting farmers and workers, how there’s a depression going on that can’t be solved through selfish labour, how we lost a lot of land in the war, how treaties with the pegasi haven’t done our crops any good.

Barley said that there was a mare called Valencia on a soapbox in the marketplace telling everyone all this as they went about their business. He said that she was the most inspiring thing he’d ever seen. He couldn’t quite remember what she said, but he knew she was right.

Pop says it’s just the way of things, that the world keeps on turning as it always does. As long as we’ve got our farm, we’ll be just fine.

I think Pop’s right.

23 T.R. 676 C.E.—Pop’s been sick for weeks. He says he feels weak all around and his bones ache something terrible. There’s not a doctor for miles, though, so we’re not sure what’s wrong. All we can do is hope.

We’re down to our last loaf of bread. It’s been a while since anyone’s been out of town. Barley wants to go out on his own, but Pop won’t let him.

We’ll be living off just potatoes soon.

28 T.R. 676 C.E.—Pop asked me why I don’t have kids yet. He knows why Barley doesn’t, because he’s a smooth talking double-dimer. But why don’t I?

I didn’t know what to say. I spend all day on the farm. I hardly meet any of the mares in town, let alone fancy them. We could certainly use a few extra hooves around here, especially since Pop’s not got…

No. I shouldn’t say that.

7 F.U. 676 C.E.—Pop didn’t wake up today. We buried him out back before starting the work day.

I wish I got to say goodbye.

11 F.U. 676 C.E.—Barley left for the markets today. He said he’s got a whole sales route planned out, tried explaining the details to me. Some places have lots of corn, some lots of carrots. If you move around a lot and in the right directions, you can make a lot of profit, he said.

I fixed up the family wagon as best I could and he loaded it with as many potatoes as he’d pull.

I hope he comes back with some pumpkins.

3 F.T. 676 C.E.—The next yield of crops aren’t due for at least a week, and I’m out of potatoes. All that’s left are a few rotten ones with brown spots all over. It’s either them or starving, I guess.

6 F.T. 676 C.E.—Ate the rotten potatoes. Vomit everywhere. At there’s plenty of rain to clean it up.

I scoured the next yield for some potatoes to eat and found a couple that looked good enough. They tasted foul. But at least I didn’t throw up.

7 F.T. 676 C.E.—Two of the cows ran away. They broke the fence on their way out, too. I keep forgetting to feed them. I just don’t have the energy.

I hope Barley comes back soon. It’s so lonely.

10 F.T. 676 C.E.—Not the best yield, but it should keep me going till the next. Gotta make sure these ones don’t go rotten.

It’s so much harder without Pop here. He’d know what to do.

19 S.I. 676 C.E.—Barley finally came back today. When I saw him all I could do was cry tears of relief.

There were two other stallions with him. They had fancy uniforms that made them look very important. One had glasses and was rather lanky and carried a clipboard. The other had a fierce moustache and was almost as big as me.

They were from the Maine Communist Party, Barley said. They were here to check out the farm and see if they could help us grow more potatoes. It all took a very long time. They checked just about everything.

I told them about the broken fence and how two of the cows had run away. That didn’t seem to bother them, though.

When they were done the lanky stallion’s face was bright as the sun. He said that the farm would be perfect for their new potato-growing program. He said that with this land we could be growing ten times as many potatoes. Ten times! I would’ve been crazy to believe him, but Barley told me he was an agronomist, which is a scientist who researches about food growing, from the College of Matrot, the biggest college in Maine. Fancy that.

To get started, all we’d have to do is let them run the farm. I’d say it was a tough decision, but after the last month I felt like I wouldn’t mind a little break.

It almost made me forget that Barley had barely brought much food home. But he did get a pumpkin, just for me. It cost him about five potatoes all up, which isn’t so bad. It tasted delicious.

20 T.N. 676 C.E.—We now have three other ponies from far away working on our farm: Rocker, Cherish, and Jetty. Dr Brussels oversaw the whole development, popping in once every few weeks to check up on a few things.

Rocker and Cherish are pegasi. They make great assistants, being able to control the weather and all, but they aren’t so good workhorses. All that flying around sure doesn’t breed a good, strong pair of legs.

Jetty is the most lovely pony I’ve ever laid eyes on. When I first looked at her with my stunned, stupid eyes, she shied away with the cutest blush. And she’s got the strongest legs on mare you’ve ever seen. She could topple a castle with that buck. We hit it off before she even started working the farm. She gives me the willies, she does.

The farm growth went exactly as Brussels said it would—even better, in fact. It was amazing! Brussels said that we were getting fifty tonnes of yield per hectare, higher than any other farm in Equestria.

This was the power of communism, Barley said. Everyone was working, and everyone had enough to live and then some. Under a republic, it’s everypony for himself.

1 F.S. 677 C.E.—Barley went off to live in Matrot. He got a job working propaganda for the MCP (what Barley calls the Maine Community Party), and what better place to start than the big city? He pretended that leaving was hard, but we both knew that he looked forward to his new job.

Brussels organised another earth pony come in to replace him on the farm.

9 S.D. 677 C.E.—Barley sent a letter to me the other day, telling me that the MCP’s political campaign was coming nearby soon. Valencia was going to be talking about their plans for the future. He wanted me to go see her speak, because I hadn’t yet. I’d heard lots of good things about her, though, and it was only an hour’s walk away, just the next town down. Jetty and I hadn’t taken a good old walk for a while anyway.

By golly, I can see why Barley says the things he does about her now. I feel I could listen to her talk for ages on end. She makes me feel so… so… I don’t know the word. Hopeful?

I remembered what Barley said about not being able to remember what she said, so I took some scrap paper along with me and wrote it down as she was talking. Well, I tried to anyway. In all the hubbub it got so hard to keep focus, and I don’t quite write that quick. Luckily, today the papers printed an excerpt from the speech which, as I read it, becomes a vivid scene.

“I know how you feel today. The last century’s war has collapsed the strong, prospering Maine people into a downward spiral. But this is not the way of our people. If you look back into the history of Maine, this is the lowest we have ever been! But why? Because the common pony, the true hero of our country, is battered, broken, pushed so far down that even the strongest legs can no longer hold them upright.

“The most precious resource you have in the whole world is your own people. And for the sake of this people, we will struggle and fight, and never slack, never tire, never lose hope, and never lose faith.

“A new community is being built in Maine, and it is a most beautiful goal and aim. Those who can’t even see past their own nose, deserves our pity more than anything else. It is with strength and fortune that one can give, to commit themselves to a communist state, for to help our brothers and sisters who are less fortunate, there is no greater goal.

“Our social welfare system is so much more than a charity, it is the camel upon which Maine rides into the future. We do not say to the rich: please, give something to the poor. Instead we say: please, people of Maine, help yourselves! Everyone must help, whether rich or poor. Everyone must believe that there is always someone in much worse situation than I am, and I want to help this person as a comrade. It is only with a united people that we might return to the great nation we once were.

“Already we have begun programs with destitute farmers: good, hard working ponies who with the help of their people are able to double their produce. Then their fruits pass on to the next pony, whose produce doubles in kind. When you commit yourself to your country, to your people, your country commits to you.

“Our belief in Maine is uncompromising, and our will is overwhelming. And when will and belief combine themselves so ardently, not even Celestia will deny you.”

The election is coming up next month, and I’ll sure be voting for Valencia.

17 T.R. 677 C.E.—Oh, what a wonderful day! Barley came home for the election. The polling booth looked very collected compared to last time. There were ponies dressed in uniform handing out ballots and quills to fill them in with and little slips informing people how to vote for each party. I didn’t need those though because Barley had already showed me what to do.

The election results would be in the paper two days later. Barley was more anxious than anything I’d ever seen. We went into the newsagent together to find out the results. Everyone did.

When the paper came, he was elated. He jumped up and down and wagged his tail like a giddy puppy. I’d never seen him so excited. He said that everything was going to be all right now. Valencia also made an acceptance speech on behalf of the party, which the papers published an excerpt of. It spoke to me in her wonderfully charismatic voice.

“The great time has just begun. Maine has awoken. We have won power in Maine. I know, my brothers and sisters, that it must have been difficult at times, when you desired change that never came, when you made appeals that were never answered. But no longer. Change is here, and it is the people who have brought it about. United we stand.”

Not only that, Jetty thinks she’s pregnant! I’m going to be a pop soon.

Funny thing, though. I could have sworn the newsagent used to be run by a unicorn.

21 F.U. 677 C.E.—Jetty’s so big now that she can’t work the farm any more. Barley sent a letter suggesting that we move into the city for a while. With the recent surge in prosperity, we could afford to take the break.

He talked with some people in the MCP and he managed to get us a nice little apartment that had plenty of space to raise a kid in.

11 F.T. 677 C.E.—It’s amazing how much food there is now. Our cupboards are filled with it: bread, corn, meat, even spices.

29 T.N. 677 C.E.—I read in the papers that the MCP introduced a new law today taxing profitable uses of magic. Valencia said it’s not right that unicorns have such an advantage over other ponies, that without sharing the fruits of their labour, it would introduce class divides as it has in the past. I never really thought of it like that, but it made a lot of sense. Most of the unicorns I’ve seen are very rich folk.

10 T.R. 678 C.E.—Jetty gave birth today. My own little foal snuggled in thick, white sheets melts my heart. I could sit by her cot forever.

Jetty named her Blueberry because of her deep-blue coat.

8 T.N 685 C.E.—I haven’t written for so long. Life as a pop doesn’t leave much room for writing.

Blueberry’s growing up strong, just like her mother. She has the same cute little mole on her cheek as her mother.

I’ve been drafted into the army. That’s why I’ve got the time to write, now. Ever since the economic boom brought about by the MCP, foreign policy has been very chaotic. Valencia says that the unicorn-rich society in Canterlot is trying to bring us back into classism, that they aren’t so enamoured by our equal society.

Maine’s military is expanding quite rapidly. We’ve actually declared war. Valencia calls it an aggressive defence. Better to fight on enemy land than our own. The people of Maine are in unanimous support of the decision.

It’s an honour to fight for my country.

10 T.N. 685 C.E.—My squad is tasked with taking care of prisoners of war. They’re all unicorns. It’s such a ghoulish sight. They’re so frail that their rib cages show. We can’t feed them too much or else they could use their magic to escape. MCP scientists are working on magic inhibitors, but I haven’t heard too much success on that front.

23 T.N. 685 C.E.—I put a pony down today.

The unicorns were lined up in cuffs as we walked them to the cafeteria. I was at the back of the line, and two of my fellow soldiers were at the front. One unicorn somehow broke his cuffs and ran for the fence. As he started climbing he looked me in the eyes. He was so battered, his face was alien to me. I pointed my gun at him. If I let him go, the other soldiers would know.

He should have stopped climbing.

29 T.N. 685 C.E.—Two more unicorns tried escaping today. At least I wasn’t the one to shoot them.

Why do this to us? It’s their fault we’re in this mess. I can’t help it. Then they go ahead and… and make us do these terrible things.

I want to go home.

14 E.L. 685 C.E.—We had to move the unicorns to another compound last week. That’s what it’s called: a compound. They aren’t ponies any more. They’re animals to be processed.

It was a long trek. Ten of them died on the first day. Four days later we arrived, almost a quarter of them were dead. A few tried to escape. Why bother? There was nothing for miles. If it wasn’t our bullets that killed them, it was the hypothermia.

The new compound is much bigger than the last one. There are over three thousand unicorns being held here. News from the war front doesn’t make it sound like this is ending soon.

3 S.D. 686 C.E.—Where did it all go wrong?

A unicorn scrambled up to me with his dead, alien eyes today. I snarled and told him to get back to work. What work? There was none. I just wanted to get that disgusting thing away.

He said that he had kids in the compound, that they were starving. If I could just spare them some food…

I don’t know if I can return to my daughter after what I’ve done.

9 S.D. 686 C.E.—They attacked… A unicorn ate my forelegs… Blood everywhere… I’m sorry.

Only Good Intentions

Twilight Sparkle admired the bright and peaceful surroundings as she trotted into town. Nearby ponies chatted away, some smiling or laughing, and the smell of freshly cut grass scented the air. It all told her that it was going to be a good day … but if that was the case, then why did she suddenly feel so uneasy?

She stopped and threw a few glances around her, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just then, she felt a chill in the air, and the sunlight was obscured. The unicorn looked up to find a blanket of clouds rapidly expanding to engulf the sky.

There was a deep rumble from above, like the throaty growl of a manticore. Twilight did not recall any lightening flashes. Her eyes remained fixed on the turbulent mass, which continued to darken further still. This is not a storm cloud, she thought, as her unease was replaced with fear.

The rumbling took on a staccato effect, making it sound like a laughing giant. It left her feeling tiny and defenseless. The sound continued, but Twilight started to make out words.

“Tartarus will open,” thundered a voice that sounded like a talking avalanche. “Those in our path shall be destroyed.”

“No, I won’t let you!” she cried out, but her voice was barely audible over the thunderous noise that surrounded her. She struggled to take her eyes from the wicked cloud formation, but what she now saw was even worse. Twilight stifled a gasp when the once-cheerful town was now a ruined shell of its former self, and the scent of grass was replaced with the smell of burning. In the murky light, some buildings were scorched, and others looked as if a giant hoof had come down and crushed it … and not a single pony in sight. It was all gone, destroyed, and she was helpless to do anything.

Returning her gaze to the roiling mass above, a part of the cloud swirled and took on a different shape. It started to resemble a face … and it was looking right at her. Her fear became terror as she started to backpedal away from it (what little good that would do). It increased in size—or maybe it was getting closer—and to its left, a section of cloud started to extend toward her, and what looked like claws formed on the end. Helpless and afraid, she clenched her eyes shut and screamed.

All of a sudden, the hellish noise was gone. When Twilight opened her eyes again, she was sitting up in her bed with a cold sweat. She then turned to see her little purple assistant trembling.

“I … I just came up to wake you, like you asked,” Spike stammered.

Realization sunk in, and she gasped. “Spike, I’m so sorry!” She started to feel embarrassed. “You just caught me at a bad time. I was having a bad dream.” As she looked at him, she thought of the face in the clouds, and the claw that had been reaching out for her. She suddenly felt silly, and let out a long breath. “Oh right, it was just you.”

“What was that?” asked Spike, who looked a little calmer now.

“Never mind,” she replied shaking her head, causing her messy, purple mane to sway from side to side. “Maybe I’ll explain later.”

“Okay then,” he said. “I better get going; I’m in the middle of making breakfast … or at least trying to.”

After Spike left, she got out of bed, grabbed her brush with her magic, and started working at her mane. As the brush glowed and did its work, she trotted over to the window and pulled the curtains open. She winced at the bright sunlight, and could see a grass-cutter pony doing his rounds. She didn’t notice the smell of grass until she was right up at the window because it was overpowered out by the burning from downstairs. Guess that explains why the smells seemed so real, she thought, smiling to herself.

Spike snatched another piece of charred toast from the plate. He had this idea of being more efficient, and decided to cook it with his own fire. Sadly, there was a bit of a miscalculation, and it ended up a good deal darker than he intended. Also, he may have accidentally used the wrong fire on a few of them. I hope Celestia doesn’t mind the random delivery of bread slices, he thought.

Sitting at the table with a bowl of oatmeal held in her hooves, Twilight nibbled away at it while her mind was clearly elsewhere.

“So, umm, Twilight,” he said, while trying to swallow a mouthful of toast.

“Yeah, Spike?” she said distractedly.

“What exactly was the dream about anyway?”

Twilight stopped, and her attention snapped back into place. “Oh, it was nothing really.”

“Come on, that wasn’t nothing,” insisted Spike. “I want to know what you were screaming at. That really scared me, you know.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I did that.” Twilight took a deep breath and said, “Okay, I’ll tell you. I gather you’re aware of Tartarus, a part of the underworld that contains many scary and powerful creatures?”

“Uh huh,” mumbled Spike, as he munched at another blackened triangle.

“Well, I was dreaming that monsters had escaped, and they destroyed Ponyville … and I was powerless to do anything about it.” She put her bowl down with a frown and downcast eyes.

“Cheer up, Twilight, it was just a nightmare.”

“I don’t know, Spike, it felt so real. How do I know it wasn’t some kind of premonition?”

Spike sighed. “Come on, we already have Pinkie Pie claiming to see the future. There are no records of anything like this ever happening in Equestria. I’m pretty sure we’re safe. Besides, it’s not like there’s anything we could do about it.”

The purple pony’s eyes widened. “That’s it, Spike,” she said with enthusiasm. “If I’m not prepared to face a threat like this, then I should get to work.” She quickly got up and trotted down to the library section.

He watched her disappear out of sight. “That’s not what I meant,” he said, more to himself, and sighed. He could tell that she was slipping into one of her obsessive moods, and trying to argue with her now would be an uphill struggle. I should probably keep an eye on her just in case, he thought, and headed after her.

He saw Twilight systematically working her way along the shelves. Intermittently, she pulled a book down with her magical grasp, skimmed through it, and then returned it to its former place and continued the search. After several minutes, a feeling of hope rose inside Spike when he saw resignation start to form on her face.

“There are plenty of books I still haven’t checked,” she said, “but who am I kidding? The sort of spells I’m looking for would not be in a small library like this.”

“So, does this mean …” Spike started.

“Yes, Spike, I’m going to the Canterlot library,” declared Twilight. “What I’m looking for would surely be here.” She stopped for a moment, as if in contemplation. “Then again, they won’t have material like this just lying around for anypony to see. It would probably be locked away somewhere.”

“Oh well, I guess there’s nothing we can—” the baby dragon tried, but was cut off again.

“Then we’ll just have to find it, won’t we. Care to assist me with another late night stroll through the library.” Saying it that way made it sound innocuous, like going out to buy some groceries.

“Umm, don’t you mean breaking and entering?” he countered in a deadpan tone.

“Don’t be silly, Spike, it’s not really breaking in when you know how to unlock the doors.” Twilight made her way back to the bedroom.

“But we’re still going somewhere we shouldn’t. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be—”

“Oh, details,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hoof, then searched the room for things to take with her.

The dark courtyard was illuminated by the golden glow of lamps. Twilight was wearing all black, and she worked to remain in the shadows. She leaped behind a bench, and then sneaked along the dark side of a hedge. She poked her head out, glad to see the building was just ahead, but dropped down again when a guard pony walked past.

She lay flat on the grass, with Spike sitting beside her. After a long moment of holding still, she whispered, “It should be clear now.” When she popped up to take another look, there was no one around. “Good, the coast is clear. Let’s go.” She leaped over the low hedge and landed on the cobblestone path with a soft patter, appreciating the soft pads on her hooves. It made sneaking around a lot easier.

Spike scrambled over the hedge and closed the gap from Twilight who cautiously trotted along the building wall, away from the main entrance. After going around a corner and along a bit, she stopped and looked at one of the windows. With a glow of her horn, the locking clip on the other side moved, and the window creaked upward. She climbed up, and then reached down to help her little assistant.

“Right, we’ve made it,” she said, closing the window behind her. “Now to locate that room.”

Iron Bars the security pony was making his rounds, and the clopping of his hooves echoed along the dim, quiet corridor. There was a shuffling sound just within the threshold of his hearing. He halted and tried to listen for it, but it had stopped.

Up ahead, he reached a t-junction in the corridor. He looked toward the left. It was clear. When he turned and looked the other way, there seemed to be something near one of the curtains. Clicking on his flashlight, he could now see the end of a purple ponytail protruding from behind it. It prompted a feeling of familiarity, and it took a moment for him to put his hoof on it.

Silly pony, he thought. Did she not know that, as a personal apprentice to the princess, she was fully authorized to access any part of the library? Or maybe she just enjoyed sneaking around. In that case, who was he to spoil her fun?

“Hello, anypony there?” he called out, making a show of it. “Hmm, I guess not.” The guard pony clicked his light off, and trotted right past Twilight. A few seconds later, he heard what sounded like a sigh, followed by a light patter of hoofsteps.

Twilight was still trying to calm herself after that close call. It shouldn’t take much longer, she told herself. She thought about searching Starswirl’s wing, but she doubted that he ever made the sort of offensive magic that she sought. A few minutes later, they stopped in front of a door with a sign that read “powerful and unstable spells” in red lettering.

“Ah, this must be it,” she said, clapping her front hooves together. “Now let’s see if I can open this lock.” She closed her eyes and her horn glowed. In her mind’s eye, she visualized the tiny pieces that moved with a key turn, and attempted to use her magical force to emulate those movements. Her eyes clenched tighter as she exerted herself more. The lock was more difficult than others she had experienced, and it was a bit of a struggle, but eventually she heard the click. The unicorn sagged with relief, and from the exertion.

This room was noticeably darker, and Twilight searched around for a light. She found and switched on a small lamp which was perched on a stand. The warm light source illuminated the various scrolls and dark leather-bound tomes up on the shelves. However, these books were not stored together in rows, but each one was separated by a partition that was several inches wide.

Looking at a few of them, there were books about dark magic, and a book with something to do with exponential growth. Taking a closer look at that one, she examined the picture on the cover, and spotted a cluster of what looked like parasprites.

“Could it be,” she said, “were those things the result of a spell gone wrong? What do you think, Spike … Spike?” She turned around and he wasn’t there. He did enter the room with her, didn’t he? Just then, she heard a loud burp with an accompanying green glow from behind another isle.

“Umm, sorry, I guess I had some trapped fumes,” he said, coming back into view. “I’m sure it’s gone now.”

“Yeah, I hope so. The last thing I need is for you to start burning old books.” Twilight levitated out a peculiar tome covered in unfamiliar runes, which seemed to morph and shift around on the cover. There was also a chain and padlock sealing it shut. Just then, some of the glyphs on the front started to take the form of words. It read: ‘Demons of Tartarus, and how to defend against them,’ but then it was back to unreadable markings. Her eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, Spike, this is precisely what I’ve been looking for!”

Spike gave the book a wary look. “I don’t know, Twilight. With the way it’s all locked up, I don’t think it’s something we should be messing with.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s only there to stop inexperienced ponies from reading advanced spells that they can’t control. I mean it’s just some text, after all. What could possibly go wrong?” The lock didn’t have a keyhole, so it must’ve been designed with magic in mind. With some mental effort, the padlock clicked open, and the chain slipped off and dropped to the floor with a clatter.

When Twilight opened to the first page, she saw more dancing and changing runes, like those on the cover, but smaller and much more densely packed. She flicked through the pages, but only saw more of the strange markings. “Hey, there’s nothing here but gibberish!” she said as frustration started to take hold. She considered that maybe it was some sort of magical code, but the glyphs were nothing she had seen before, and it didn’t help that they kept changing. If it was so heavily encrypted, then why even lock it in the first place?

“Okay, I really think we should stop now,” said Spike

“No, not when we’re so close,” protested Twilight.

“I’m so glad I sent it when I did,” the little dragon muttered.

“What was that?”

With a start, he replied, “Umm, nothing!”

Returning to the book, she noticed that something about the runes had changed. She still couldn’t read any of it, but they did look different somehow. Suddenly, she realized what it was. The animated symbols were now floating above the parchment, and they were beginning to glow. The flowing light patterns were entrancing, and she felt her eyes becoming heavy. The world around her faded until it was just the lights.

There was a distant rumbling sound, but it steadily got closer. She was startled to find herself outside and looking upon the same dark and menacing clouds from her dream.

Over the din, she heard a voice, a different one this time. “With my help, I can prevent this travesty from happening.”

“What are you?” Twilight called out, but she didn’t need to wait for a response. “Are you … from that book I was reading?”

“In a manner of speaking,” it responded. “If you allow me inside, you may call upon my powers whenever the need may rise.” She thought about it for a long moment, and was about to open her mouth to respond.

“Do no listen to it!” said a familiar female voice, and it took a moment to place the commanding tone. Princess Luna, she realized. “It is only telling you what you want to hear. You must resist.”

At first, she didn’t want to hear it, but then realization struck her like a spear. Like other situations before it, she had dwelled on it until she lost perspective. And here she was, ready to deal with some manipulative presence. Twilight closed her eyes and tried to resist the illusion around her (taking the form of her dream).

“No, you’re making a mistake. You need me!” cried out the previous voice.

The presence in her mind became a figurative dead weight. “Get out,” she strained, struggling to push it away. But suddenly it let up.

There was a sound that resembled a sigh, and the voice said, “Fine. I cannot inhabit a pony who objects so strongly to my presence, even if I wanted to.” It started to fade now, and Twilight opened her eyes to find herself back in the dim library chamber.

“Twilight!” yelled Spike as he darted forward and hugged her forelegs. “When I saw you going into that trance, I was so worried.”

“Yeah, I’m okay now, Spike,” she said, feeling a little embarrassed. She then turned to the princess, who stood a few paces away. “Not to sound ungrateful, but why are you here?”

Luna hovered a scrap of parchment in front of her, and there were some rushed scribbles on it. “I received this … letter, and I knew to come.” Spike suddenly withdrew and looked very self-conscious. “I know the letters are addressed to my Sister, but I agreed to read any that arrived during my cycle, in case of an emergency.”

Twilight took the note in her hooves and strained to read the sketchy writing. She read it aloud. “Princess, Twilight had nightmare and is now obsessed with finding something. In the royal library, in a place with dangerous magic. Something bad going to happen. Please help. P.S. Don’t be mad at her because she only had good intentions.”

It took a moment for it to settle in. “Wait a minute, that fire you let out a few minutes ago.” She made an indignant gasp. “Spike, did you just … tell on me?”

Spike, who had now taken refuge behind Luna’s left foreleg, said, “I’m sorry, but I just knew something unpleasant was going to happen the moment we entered this room, and I started to feel that you weren’t listening to me.”

Twilight sighed. “No, Spike, I should be the one that’s sorry. I got carried away, and I should have paid more attention to you.” Looking at Luna, she said, “I’m grateful for your help … though I really shouldn’t have gotten into this mess in the first place.”

The night princess smiled at her. “Do not worry yourself.” She picked up the book with her magic, reapplied the chain and lock, and returned it to its place on the shelf. But before she was done, she gave it a stern look. “What did I tell you about messing with the minds of ponies? I let you sit here as a privilege, but anymore of this and it’s back to the basement with you.”

“Umm, Princess, what is that exactly?” asked Twilight.

“There is a lot of complex magic in the world,” said Luna “In fact, some of it is so intricate and powerful that it starts to take on a life of its own. But sometimes they’re driven to propagate, and grow by absorbing other magic, so we have to takes measures to make sure it does not happen.” Then she turned and headed for the door. “Come, I shall escort you out of here.”

Trotting along a lamp-lit Canterlot street, there was a soft, cool breeze and a peaceful silence. The princess turned to Twilight. “I am curious, what was it that wound you up like this?”

“Well, you see,” said Twilight, coming to a halt. “I was dreaming that the monsters of Tartarus had escaped, and destroyed everything in its path, but I was not … hey what’s so funny?”

Luna had started giggling. “Is that really what had you worried? How much do you know about Tartarus?”

“I know it’s a part of the underworld where a lot of powerful monsters are imprisoned,” said the unicorn.

The princess shook her head. “You do not understand. It is not really a prison, and they live there for their own sakes as well as ours.”

“I’m not sure I follow you.”

“You see, most of the beings down there are no more ‘bad’ than us ponies. However, they are so big and powerful that it is simply not safe for us to co-exist.” Luna tapped her hoof against her chin. “Oh, imagine you are trotting along, and you feel a squish under your hoof.” She stomped her hoof to the ground for emphasis. “You look and find that you have killed a few ants. You did not mean to do it, and it is possible that you could do it without even realizing it.”

“So, what you’re saying is, they don’t mean us any harm, it’s just too easy for them to harm us without meaning too?”

“Precisely,” said Luna, nodding. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to my royal duties. Night shift has more work that you think, you know.” She spread out her voluminous wings, and took off into the air.

“Good bye, Princess,” said Twilight.

“Take care, Twilight Sparkle. I hope you visit again soon.” A few seconds later, Luna was out of sight.

“Let’s go home, Spike,” said Twilight, and she had a stretch and yawn.

“I couldn’t agree more.” They then headed for the train station. Along the way, Spike started to make joke roaring sounds and said, “I’m going to destroy you!”

“That’s not funny,” she protested.

“Yes it is,” the dragon responded, then made another roaring sound. After a long moment, Twilight smiled. Sometimes, you just had to laugh at yourself.

Those Who Aim to Please

Abacus checked his map for the third time in as many minutes. After a two day trip, he could finally see the outskirts of a small town. According to the map, this was Ponyville. There weren’t any other towns in the area, but he wanted to make absolutely sure that he was in the right place. When he was close enough to make out the words it, a colorful sign that read ‘Welcome to Ponyville!’ satisfied his concerns.

The cart came to an abrupt stop. Abacus straightened his glasses and levitated a small bag of bits into the driver’s waiting hoof. Before he could thank him, the taxi sped off and left him sitting in a cloud of dust. He checked his map again, then headed into town.

The town itself seemed rather quaint, especially compared to the tall towers of Manehattan. Instead of glass and steel, there was wood and thatched straw. He smiled. It wasn’t home, but architecture had always spoken to him. The measuring compass on his flank was proof enough of that. The buildings in Ponyville were still wonderful, if a little basic.

He pulled himself from the sights and focused. Somewhere in the small town there was a pony named Applejack, and he had business with her and her farm. He could see what he assumed were apple trees dotting the rolling hills on the other side of town, but short of that, he had no idea where to start looking. He’d decided to check the town hall when a pink blur flashed in front of him.

“Hi!” a mare said. She grinned broadly. “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, you must be new!” She bounced around him in circles and giggled.

“Uh, wha-?” Abacus said.

“You look silly with your mouth hanging open like that, silly!” she said. She stared at him with sky blue eyes and he strongly suspected that she could see his soul. “Where are you from? What’s in your bags? What’cha doing here? Are you just visiting?” She let out a gasp that lasted for a solid few seconds. “Are you moving here?! This is a great place to live! There’s some empty houses too that are perfect! And you’re going to need friends! What’s your name? I’m Pinkie Pie!”

Abacus gaped. The pony-shaped ball of pure energy in front of him had stopped talking, but he was still trying to keep up with all she had said.

“S-slow down,” he said. He took off his glasses and produced a small cloth to wipe them off. “My name’s Abacus.”

“Abacus?” Pinkie said. She tilted her head. “That’s a silly name. I like it! You must be a nerdy math pony then, huh?”

“...Yes?” Abacus said. “I’m good with numbers, if that’s what you mean.”

“Well then, mister Abacus-good-with-numbers,” she said, “you need to head to the party at Sugarcube Corner!” She hung her hoof around his shoulder and stuck out her tongue as she thought for a moment. “It’s just... that way!” She gestured towards the other end of town. “You just pass that pair of cottages, take a left, and then it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump away! You can’t miss it! Well, you can miss it, but you’d look really silly if you walked past it while you were looking for it!”

He stared at her. “A party?” he asked.

“Well, duh!” Pinkie said. “I’m throwing you a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party! There’ll be cake and ice cream and punch and cupcakes and pin the tail on the pony!”

“Actually, I’m looking for somepony,” Abacus said. He straightened his glasses.

“Then you met the right pony!” she said. She tossed her hooves in the air. “Because I know everypony and I mean everypony in Ponyville! Who are you looking for?”

“Well, in that case,” he said. “Do you know where I can find someone named Applejack? She’s supposed to be the caretaker of a farm in this town.”

“Of course I know Applejack!” Pinkie said. She giggled. “Applejack just so happens to be one of my most best friends ever!”

“Perfect,” Abacus said. “Where would she be? I have some business with her.”

“Business?” she asked. She narrowed her eyes and stared hard at him. “That sounds awfully suspicious, mister. What do you want with Applejack?”

“Nothing of that sort,” he said. He took a small step back. “I’m working on a gift for my father. I just want to buy apple seeds to grow an orchard.”

“Oh!” Pinkie lit up. “Well Applejack is definitely going to be at the party. You can meet her then!”

“A-alright.” Abacus nodded. “In that case, I’ll be there.”

“I knew you’d come around!” she said. She winked at him. “Meet me at Sugarcube Corner!” With that, she bounced off.

'Well then', he thought. 'That was unexpected.'

“Ah can’t believe that didn’t earn us our cutie marks!” Applebloom said. She kicked at the ground as she walked down the town’s dirt road.

“I dunno,” Sweetie Belle said. “A lumberjack cutie mark would probably look weird.”

Yeah,” Scootaloo said. She flapped her wings a few times. “And I don’t think I’d want to deal with those timberwolves every day. They weren’t really happy with us trying to smash up their trees.”

“Still,” Applebloom said. “What should we try next?”

“Hey, what’s Pinkie Pie doing?” Scootaloo pointed in the distance. Pinkie looked to be bouncing around somepony they didn’t recognize.

“There’ll be cake and ice cream and punch and cupcakes and pin the tail on the pony!” Pinkie said in the distance.

“Wow, she’s goin’ all out on him,” Applebloom said. She shrugged. “I guess he’s new in town”

“Then she’s definitely throwing a party,” Sweetie Belle said. “We should stop by. It’s the perfect break from crusading, and we can think about what to do next while we have some cake!”

“That’s a great idea!” Scootaloo said. Applebloom rubbed her chin and smiled.

“Ah’ve got an even better idea!” she said.

“Ah don’t think we did it right,” Applebloom said. She stared into the depths of the huge punch bowl.

“Is it supposed to be that... murky?” Sweetie Belle asked. She considered poking it, but decided against it. “I thought punch was supposed to be kind of see-through.”

“It smells pretty good,” Scootaloo said.

“Did it just move?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It’ll be fine,” Applebloom said. She tried her best to ignore the bubble rising up from the viscous surface. “We’ll just toss some ice in it and it’ll be ready for the party. Let’s go see if Pinkie wants help with anything else.”

Rather than going straight towards this ‘Sugarcube Corner,’ Abacus decided to wander the town a bit. The town library caught his eye. He wondered how the builders had gone about hollowing out a giant tree. They’d even kept it alive in the process, if the lush leaves were anything to go by.

A buzzing sound distracted him from his thoughts. Something big and green flew past his face. He turned to see what this could have been when he was face to face with a flying green monster. Abacus screamed and ran. He vaguely heard someone above him laugh, but he didn’t care. He wanted to put as much distance between him and that hovering beast as possible.

He’d made it all the way to the outskirts of town when somepony intercepted him. Forcefully. A flying tackle that knocked the wind from him with the force of a train put him on the ground. He got up and cleaned his glasses. A mare was standing in front of him and smiling. This one, however, had a multicolored mane.

“Does anypony in this town greet someone properly?” Abacus said.

“Hey,!” The mare said. “You were the one that took off yelling. Half the town thought there was a fire or something! The other half was wondering why you sounded like a filly.”

He looked around frantically. “Where did that thing go?” he asked.

“‘Thing?’ You mean Tank?” she said. She scratched her head. “He probably couldn’t keep up. He isn’t as fast as me. Or you, apparently. You’re quicker than I thought you’d be. Not as quick as me though.” She puffed out her chest. “Also, you dropped your saddlebags when you took off. Here.”

“So I lost it, then?” Abacus asked, and donned his bags. He let out a sigh and smiled. “Perfect.”

“So...” the mare said. “What was with the running around screaming? It was just a flying turtle.”

“A flying-?” he said. He took a deep breath. “I apologize for my reaction. I’m... uncomfortable around reptiles.Just thinking about their scales and those eyes and...” He shuddered.

“Oh,” she said. “That must be lame. Sorry for scaring you like that, though. It was just supposed to be a prank.”

“I... see,” Abacus said. He glanced towards the ground.

“Anyway,” the mare said. “Pinkie told me to let you know that the party’s all set and ready. You’d better get there while there’s still cake.”

“She was serious about that?” he asked.

“Oh yeah!” she said. “She’s a bit random sometimes, but when it comes to parties, she’s always serious.”

“Alright then,” he said and shrugged. “Which way is it again?”

“I’ll show you,” the mare said. “Just make it fast, I need to go make sure that Tank’s alright. I’m Rainbow Dash, by the way.”

“Abacus,” he replied.

“Okay, ‘Abacus,’” she said. She flapped her wings a few times and hovered in the air. “Let’s get going. You do not want to miss a Pinkie Pie party.”

Abacus followed Rainbow Dash to Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie had been right. Not noticing the place would have been embarrassing. The entire place was decorated with the likeness of various sweets, and he had a hard time telling whether or not the roof was actually gingerbread. He doubted it, of course, but it was uncanny how realistic it looked.

Inside, every surface was covered in streamers, balloons, and confetti, and was filled to the brim with ponies all wearing party hats. As soon as he stepped through the threshold, all of them cheered. He saw a familiar pink puff of hair weaving through the crowd and before he could react, Pinkie was once again invading his personal space.

“You’re late!” Pinkie said. She smiled. “I told you to come straight here! I had to go ask Rainbow Dash to find you!”

“But I just saw you less than twenty minutes ago,” Abacus said. “You put all of this together that fast?”

“Of course I did, silly!” she said. “I wouldn’t be much of a party pony if I couldn’t put together a party! I’m gonna go bring out the cake, have fun!”

“Does she keep this place decorated or something? How did she set all of this up?” he asked to nopony in particular.

“Oh no, nothing like that,” a voice from behind him said. He turned around to see a lavender unicorn with some kind of wing ornament on her back. On second glance, however, he saw that they were actual wings.

“I’ve seen Pinkie put together parties even quicker than this,” she said. “She didn’t even use the cannon this time.”

“W-wings?” Abacus said. He bent to his knees. “You’re a p-princess?!”

“Please,” she said with a small laugh, “get up. It’s just a title, I’m still just a citizen here.”

“Sorry, princess,” he said. He stared down at the ground. “I just- I mean, I never-”

“I’m Twilight,” she said. “You must be Abacus. Applejack told me about you.”

“You know Applejack?” Abacus asked. He scolded himself under his breath. “Well, of course you would, you’re royalty, eheh.” He forced a laugh.

“She’s here if you want to meet her,” Twilight said. She pointed across the room to an orange earth pony carrying a tray of baked apples.

Abacus summoned up all of his tact and conversational expertise. “OkayIshouldprobablygotalktohernowthankyoubye!” He turned and hurried across the room.

'Oh, well done,' he thought. 'Very impressive, you idiot.'

“Applejack?” Abacus said.

“Yep,” the orange pony said. “That’d be me. Y’all must be Abacus. Nice to meet’cha!” She held out her hoof.

“Hello!” he said, accepting her hoofshake. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect from your letters. You’re the one to talk to about apples, then?”

“That’s right,” Applejack said. “Mah family runs the farm here, and apples are our specialty. It’s how we make our livin’. So Ah know a thing’r two about ‘em.”

“Perfect!” Abacus said. “With your help, I hope I can have a thriving orchard.”

“‘Bout that,” she said. “Ya said y’all are from Manehattan? There ain’t much plantin’ space there. How big’s this orchard of yours going to be?”

“Well, it’s actually for my father. He’s moving to Hoofington, and I’m getting him an orchard as a gift. I hear there aren’t many apple trees in that area.”

“...Oh,” Applejack said. She shifted her weight from hoof to hoof. “Well, I’m real sorry about this, but there’s a reason apple trees aren’t too common ‘round Hoofington. Ya see, the soil ‘round there isn’t right for apples, and they won’t grow too well.”

“Wha-?” Abacus said. His eyes widened. “Is there a way to make the soil richer, or something?”

“It’s not that the soil ain’t rich enough,” she said. She rubbed the back of her head. “It’s just not quite right fer apples. Ah don’t really know why. They just don’t grow right.”

“What can I do?” Abacus asked. “I don’t want to go back on a promise.”

Applejack thought for a moment, then clapped her hooves. “Ah got an idea. Ah’ve got a friend in Dodge Junction who runs a cherry grove. Her name’s Cherry Jubilee. So, while apples might not grow well ‘round Hoofington, Ah know for a fact that cherries will.”

“That... might wok.” Abacus nodded. “I guess I can travel to Dodge. That’d take a few days though...”

“Huh?” Applejack said. “There’s a train that runs there. Y’all could be there and back by tomorrow if ya wanted.”

Abacus blinked. “There’s a train station here?”

“‘Course there is,” she said. “Y’all didn’t take the train here from Manehattan?”

“Er, no,” he said. “I came by chariot. My father said that no trains ran here.”

“Well, that ain’t important,” Applejack said. She shrugged. “Y’all don’t need to go all the way out t’ Dodge. Me and Miss Jubilee have been exchangin’ seeds and saplings fer about a year now. I’ve got enough cherry seeds fer y’all’s orchard. C’mon down to the farm after this here shindig’s over and we can still do business.”

“Thanks,” Abacus said. “You didn’t have to tell me that. I think some ponies would have just sold me the apple seeds and sent me on my way. I really appreciate the honesty.”

“Well now,” she said with a chuckle. “Honesty’s mah other specialty.”

“It’s nice to see a town that’s so friendly to strangers,” he said. “A cherry grove it is, then. Lead the way to your farm.”

“Wait!” somepony called from behind. He turned to see a small filly looking up at him. Her eyes widened and she started to tear up. “Don’t y’all wanna stay for punch?”

Abacus glanced over at Applejack. “That’s not fair, you know,” he said. “How is anypony supposed to say ‘no’ to that? I guess I’ll stay a little longer.”

“Alright then,” Applejack said. “We can talk more later.”

Abacus nodded, and followed the little filly over to the punch bowl.

“Ah’m Applebloom,” the filly said. “That was mah sister you were just talkin’ to.”

“Oh?” Abacus said. “I guess you two do have the same accent. Hers is a bit thicker, though.”

Applebloom gestured up at a table. “Tah dah!” she said. “Ah made this batch of punch myself! Well, me and my friends, anyway.”

He peered into the huge bowl, but couldn’t see the bottom. A bubble surfaced from the concoction with a soft popping sound.

“It looks... interesting,” Abacus said. He levitated a ladle through the mixture and brought it to his nose. “Smells good!” The filly looked proud of herself.

He picked up a nearby cup and drew more punch with the ladle. He nudged something solid on the bottom of the bowl. 'I guess there’s fruit chunks in this?' he thought. When he pulled the ladle from the bowl, a scaly face looked up at him with blank eyes and a toothless grin.

Abacus dropped the ladle and screamed. He ran out of the sweet shop, his heart pounding.

“What the-?” he heard somepony say behind him, but kept running.

“What was that all about?” Applebloom said.

“Pinkie!” Rainbow Dash said, calling into the back room. “Did Gummy get into the punch again?”

Pinkie poked her head out from the kitchen. “Maybe? I don’t know,” she said.

“I guess I should have said something,” Dash said. She groaned. “That guy Abacus doesn’t like reptiles, apparently. You should have seen his reaction to Tank.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen somepony with herpetophobia that bad,” Twilight said. “The way he was yelling, you’d think he saw some kind of monster.”

“I’m gonna go look for him,” Dash said. “Between this and my pr- I mean, seeing Tank earlier, he’s not having a great day.”

“Good idea,” Applejack said. “Ah’ll help.”

Abacus stopped. He wasn’t sure how far he ran, but his heart had finally stopped pounding. He looked around to get his bearings, and noticed the town hall. He took a few deep breaths and tried to focus on something. The design of the town hall seemed pretty simple, and he could figure out most of the structural design just by looking at it.

He pulled some parchment and a quill from his bags and laid them out on the grass. Thinking about architecture always calmed him down after something stressful, so he began to sketch the building. It was a quick sketch and he didn’t have a proper desk, so it looked rather sloppy. He noted various flaws in the design, and wrote down how he would have gone about fixing them. Upon finding several of these flaws, he pulled out a new sheet of parchment and began to draw how he would have designed the building. He kept to the same basic design, but tweaked a few things to use less materials but keep the same structural integrity.

Before too long, Abacus had two complete sketches and a steady heart rate. He rolled him his work and put it back in his bags. I hope they aren’t worried, he thought, and started back towards Sugarcube Corner. Or at least, he thought that’s where he was heading. He was having a hard time backtracking and navigating his way back.

“He-ey!” somepony called in the distance. He straightened his glasses and looked around to see Rainbow Dash and Applejack running towards him. He started towards them and met them halfway.

“Sorry about that,” Abacus said. “Like I said earlier, I’m not that comfortable around reptiles. I didn’t mean to disrupt the party.”

“That seemed a mite more than just bein’ uncomfortable,” Applejack said. “Are y’all sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.” He looked up at the sky. “It’s a bit later than I thought. Is there a hotel here that I can settle down in for the night?”

“No,” Dash said. “I think there was plans to build one, but Ponyville doesn’t get that many visitors.”

“Aw, shucks,” Applejack said. “Ah’ve got a few spare rooms at the farm. Y’all can stay the night there. It’s the least Ah can do after what happened back at Sugarcube.”

“T-thanks,” Abacus said. He poked into his saddlebags. “I-I can reimburse you for this, just let me find-”

“Don’t,” Applejack said. “It’s fine. Like Ah said, it’s the least Ah can do.”

“That’s very kind,” he said.

“Dash, do y’all mind goin’ back and tellin’ everypony not to worry? Ah’m gonna take him over to Sweet Apple.”

“Sure thing.” Rainbow Dash gave a quick salute and sped off.

“C’mon, it’s not that far from here,” Applejack said. “Follow me.”

The farm was much further away than Abacus had been led to believe, and by the time they arrived, it was nearly sundown. Applejack took him upstairs in the farmhouse and showed him the guest room. It was rather simple. A bed, a nightstand, and a dresser. Not that Abacus needed much more. Applejack had told him to make himself at home for the night, and they’d worry about business in the morning.

He left his bags by the door and looked out the window. From there, he could see a massive apple orchard stretching towards the horizon. 'Beautiful,' he thought. 'I hope a cherry grove will be as impressive.'

“Hey,” Applejack said, making him jump. “Big Mac an’ Applebloom are still in town, an’ they’re supposed to do the shoppin’ today. If you’re hungry, though, we’ve got some leftover corn casserole that Granny made last night.”

“It’s okay, I can wait,” Abacus said. “I don’t really want to impose.”

“Heh, y’all remind me of Fluttershy,” she said. “She’s real careful about not wantin’ to step on somepony’s hooves too. It’s gonna go bad if it isn’t eaten. After a day, it’s fine, but after two, it’s compost.”

“Well, in that case, corn casserole sounds perfect.” Abacus smiled.

“Alright then, Ah’ll be right back.”

A little while later, Applejack called him downstairs. As advertised, a steaming plate of corn and bread crumbs sat at a sizable table. She spooned some into a bowl and offered it to him.

“Thanks again,” Abacus said. He took a small bite, and threw his head back. “Oh, that’s hot!”

“It did just come out of a hot oven,” Applejack said. She set her own bowl onto the table to let it cool. “About earlier today, are y’all really sure that you’re alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said. He blew onto his meal to cool it off. “It really isn’t a big deal. Please, stop worrying about me.”

“...Alright then,” she said with a shrug. “That’s the last of it you’ll hear from me. How about this cherry grove you’re wantin’ then?”

“Well, like I said, it’s a gift for my father,” he said. “He had some plans to move to Hoofington, and mentioned that he wouldn’t mind having an orchard there.”

“So what’s yer pop like?”

“Uh, well, he works at an architect’s firm, and they’re letting him retire,” he said.

“That’s not what Ah meant,” Applejack said.

“What then, personally?” he asked. He took another bite of his meal. “He’s nice enough, I guess. He’s my dad. I can’t really say anything bad about him. He can be a bit insensitive at times, I guess.”

“Like how?” she asked.

“Well, he used to think my... distaste for reptiles was me just being stupid.” Abacus shrugged. “He used to joke about it a lot. A couple times he tried to break my mindset by tossing lizards at me.” He looked up and saw Applejack gaping slightly. “It wasn’t as bad as it sounds.”

“It didn’t exactly sound good,” she said. “I don’t wanna talk bad about anypony’s folks, but y’all’s pop doesn’t sound that nice.”

“It’s really not a big deal,” he said. The rest of the meal was carried out in silence. Abacus thanked Applejack again for the meal and headed up to the guest room. He flopped onto the bed. The day had tired him out more than he’d realized, and he quickly fell asleep.

Applebloom woke up with a dry throat. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was barely past midnight. She groaned, then headed down the hall to get something to drink. In the kitchen, she filled a glass of water and downed it in a single gulp. Unsatisfied, she filled the glass again, and let the water swirl around in her mouth before swallowing.

She started back towards her room when she noticed that the door to the guest room was ajar. Glancing inside, she could see Abacus’ saddlebags and Abacus himself sprawled on the bed.

'An architect, huh?' she thought. 'I ain’t never tried that before. Maybe it’ll help me get my cutie mark!' She smiled, then flipped open the flaps on his saddlebag. Two rolls of parchment caught her eye, so she pulled them out and brought them back to her room. She unrolled them and saw that they were sketches of the town hall.

'Ah’ll just see if Ah can figure out what he wrote and return these in the mornin’.' Her eyelids felt heavy as she tried to decipher his scribbles. 'Ah’ll just close mah eyes for a minute or two.'

Abacus snapped his eyes open at the sound of a rooster. 'They actually do that at dawn?' he thought. He yawned and pulled himself out of bed. The sheets were thoroughly wrinkled, so he made the bed properly. He donned his saddlebags and headed downstairs.

Applejack and a bulky, red pony that he assumed was her brother were already up and eating breakfast. They both waved when they noticed him.

“Yer up early!” Applejack said. “Ah wasn’t sure when you’d wake up, so Ah only made breakfast fer me and Big Mac. Sorry ‘bout that.”

“It’s not a problem,” Abacus said. “Please, you don’t need to cook anything for me. I usually just grab something quick in the mornings anyway.”

“What’s with the bags?” she asked, tilting her head. “Y’all are leavin’?”

“I wasn’t even really planning to spend the night,” he said. “Though I do appreciate it. I figure I’ll head to the train station and catch an early train.”

“Alright then, if y’all insist,” Applejack said. “Gimme a couple minutes and Ah’ll show you where I keep the seeds.”

She finished up her meal and led him outside to the cellar. She unlocked the doors and descended the stairs. The room was full of shelves containing various jars. Some of them contained what looked to be a kind of jam, some contained apples soaking in spice mixtures, and some were filled with mashed pulp. She went over to the far side of the room, which had different types of seeds arranged by name. The cherries were right between corn and carrots.

“Here,” Applejack said, passing him a small jar. “That ‘ought to be about a hundred seeds. Should be plenty for y’all’s orchard.”

“Thanks so much,” Abacus said. He lifted a small pouch of bits from his bags and dropped it in her hooves. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

“Ah’ll see y’all off,” she said. She led him back up to the farmhouse. “If you’ve got everything, we can leave now.”

Abacus nodded, and they set off into town.

Applebloom woke up with a loud yawn. The clock read 11:00. 'Oh wow, Ah’m glad there’s no school today,' she thought. She started making her bed when she heard the rustle of parchment. 'Uh oh, I must’ve slept on those sketches. They aren’t too wrinkled, Ah’ll just roll ‘em up and it’ll be fine.'

She headed downstairs with the sketches. The house seemed completely empty aside from Granny Smith’s soft snoring. 'AJ and Mac must already be in the fields,' she thought. Just then, the door opened and Applejack walked in.

“Perfect timin’!” Applebloom said. “Where’s Abacus? He, uh, left these here.”

“He was up real early,” Applejack said. “Ah just took him to the station, he’s gone by now.”

“But... these are his!”

“What are they, sis? We can mail ‘em if we need to.”

“They’re sketches of the town hall.” Applebloom unrolled the parchment on the table.

“Whew! These look pretty complicated.” Applejack squinted to read the writing. “Looks like he found a few buildin’ weaknesses in the town hall. Ah’ll at least show these to the mayor before sendin’ ‘em off.”

“You headin’ back into town then?”

“Yep.” Applejack grinned. “Y’all can’t come with. Y’all didn’t even do yer chores yet!”

Applebloom groaned. “Can’t Ah just leave ‘em be this once?”

“Not a chance, sis.”

Abacus took a deep breath. He was on the train back to Manehattan and his father. 'I’ll even get back sooner than I thought.' He groaned inwardly. He could see the city on the horizon, and he’d definitely be there before noon.

About an hour later, the train came to a stop at the Manehattan Central Station. His home wasn’t far from there, so he decided to forego hailing a taxi. He found the apartment building and headed up the stairs to the fifth floor. He knocked on the door labeled ‘501’ and entered.

“Dad?” he said. He stepped into the living room, which was full of clutter. He sighed. It looked like Plumb-bob couldn’t keep it as organized as Abacus preferred. “I’m back! Though Applejack, the farm mare in Ponyville, told me that apples don’t grow so well in the soil around Hoofington, though, but I got some cherry seeds instead. You can still have your orchard!”

“Cherries?” a voice called from another room. Abacus’ father, Plumb-bob stepped into the living room. He laughed. “If I’d wanted a cherry grove, I think that I would’ve mentioned that. What does this country hick know, anyway?”

“Her name’s Applejack,” Abacus said with a sigh. “She runs a huge farm, dad. She knows what she’s talking about.”

“Well, at least I did something productive over the weekend,” Plumb-bob said. He pointed up towards the ceiling. There was a square of the ceiling cut out, with hinges and a pull cord attached.

“...You cut into the ceiling? Dad, there’s ponies living above us. You’re the one who taught me about architecture, you know that better than me that that’s dangerous.”

“Yeah, but this is the best part!” He yanked on the pull cord. The cut portion of the ceiling gave way, and something fell on Abacus with a hissing sound.

Abacus screamed and fell over as the snakes wrapped around him.He flailed around, trying to get them off as Plumb-bob clutched his side, laughing. After a few minutes, Plumb-bob wiped the tears from his eyes and levitated the snakes off of Abacus, placing them into a large glass case.

“Oh man,” he said. “You should have seen the look on your face. Priceless!”

Abacus fought to catch his breath, still feeling the scaly creatures constricting his hooves. “Thats not funny!” he said, his heart racing.

“Oh come on,” Plumb-bob said. He laid on the couch and sprawled out. “I need to get my kicks somehow. Get this: management said they’re not letting me retire after all. So I’m not moving to Hoofington now! Can you believe that?”

Abacus gaped. “So you’re staying here?” he said.

“Yep, at least for a few more years.”

“I see,” Abacus said. He bit his lip and sifted through his saddlebags. He levitated the jar of cherry seeds out and chucked them at his father’s head.

“Hey!” his father yelled. “Watch it! I don’t need to give Betty and Berka another workout, do I?” He gestured towards the glass cage.

“Theres your orchard, dad,” he said. He started towards the door. “I’m getting out of here. Bye.”

“I’ll see you tonight!” Plumb-bob yelled, but Abacus was already gone.

“Didn’t you just come from Ponyville?” the ticketmaster asked. “I’m not great with faces, but I’d definitely remember one that I saw less than an hour ago!”

“Yeah, I did,” Abacus said. He pushed the bits towards him. “I’m going back again. I should have a long time ago.”

“Well, alright then, it’s your bits. The train’s still here. You can probably even have the same seat.”

“Perfect.” Abacus took his ticket and boarded the train. He found his seat again which was, as advertised, still empty. 'This is the right choice,' he thought. 'It’s not really planned. I’ll have to send my employment termination letter when I get there. If he’s still going to be there, then I’m sure not doing it in person. I can find work in Ponyville.'

He checked his bags and pulled out his money pouch. Looks like I’ve still got... twenty-six bits. Crap. Maybe I should just go back. He started to get up when the train lurched forward. No getting off now... That’s fine. It’s enough for a few days worth of food. I can find work by then. I hope... He wiped his eyes, and pulled back a damp hoof.

The train arrived at Ponyville and Abacus donned his bags. He exited the train and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he saw familiar pink curls.

“Hi!” Pinkie said. “Welcome to- wait, Abacus? Didn’t you already leave?”

“Y-yeah,” Abacus said. He glanced at the ground. “I-I just wanted... I mean, could I...”

“What?” Pinkie blinked.

Abacus took a breath. “D-do you know if that sweet shop needs any help?” he asked. “I could use a job.”

“Uhm...” she thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. At least not at Sugarcube. I don’t really keep up with job openings, though. Why?”

“I want to stay here,” he said. “Though, I don’t have a lot of money. Are you sure you can’t think of anypony that needs work?”

Pinkie bounced into him with a hug. “You wanna stay? That’s great news!”

“Pinkie, please,” he said. “Can you help me?”

“Sorry, not me,” she said. “The only pony I can think of is Applejack. That farm is not easy to work on. Take my word for it.” She shuddered. “The Apples don’t slack though, no sir, and that farm is always in great shape, so they might not even need help.”

“I... see,” Abacus said. He hung his head. “I’ll at least go ask Applejack. Do you know where she is?”

“Sure I do!” Pinkie said. “She’s at town hall. Which is weird, because she almost never goes there!”

“Thank you,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I know how to get there. I appreciate it, Pinkie.” He started away from the station towards the center of town.

“Not a problem!” she said. She bounced alongside him. “I hope you find what you’re looking for.” She smiled and bounded in the other direction.

“Yeah...” Abacus said. “Me too.”

A little while later, Abacus managed to find the town hall. It was easier than he thought, as he could see the tall roof from almost anywhere in the town. He stepped up onto the deck and knocked on the door. To his surprise, Applejack answered.

“Abacus?” she said. “What happened? The train break down or somethin’?”

“Erm, no,” Abacus said. He straightened his glasses. “I’m... kind of deciding to move here to town. I don’t have a lot of money though. Would you mind hiring me to work at the farm?”

“Hmm.” Applejack rubbed her chin and smiled. “Nah.”

“W-what?” he said, taking a few steps back.

She laughed. “C’mon inside,” she said. “You should hear this.”

He stepped inside the threshold of the town hall. The place was incredible spacious, and he could see the ceiling from the bottom floor. In the back of the room was an important looking mare with a grey mane. She was looking over some papers sprawled on a desk.

“Abacus, this is the mayor of Ponyville,” Applejack said.

“Nice to meet you,” Abacus said.

The mayor looked over him. She pointed towards two familiar pieces of parchment. “Do these belong to you?” she asked.

“Y-yes,” he said. “They’re mine. Is there something wrong?”

“I’ve been mayor here for a long time, you know.” The mare looked around the room. “And in all my time here, I never questioned this building.”

“What?” Abacus said.

“According to Applejack, you sketched those blueprints from looking at the hall from outside? You had no access to the original schemes?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “They were just random sketches. I didn’t even realize I’d left them.”

“I spoke to the head of the Ponyville Construction company,” she said. “They saw your sketches, and admitted the same flaws in their designs. So, I have a proposition for you, Mister Abacus.”

“Okay...” Abacus straightened his glasses.

“I’d like to make changes to the town hall,” she said. “Even Ponyville Construction admitted that your designs had merit, so I would like to purchase these blueprints.” She gestured to a bulging bag of coins on the desk.

“Really?!” he said. “I-I mean, yes, gladly!”

“There’s also another company asking me to commission building designs for them. I’d like you to talk to these people, and design something for them. Let me set up a meeting. Afterwards, come talk to me again, and we’ll see if your talents are something we can rely on in the future.”

Abacus gaped. The money was more than enough to keep him going until then. He might even be able to rent out a house.

“Thank you!” he said. “I- Thank you!”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she said. “I haven’t decided anything major. This is just to see if you’re as talented as you seem.”

“I won’t disappoint, miss!” Abacus said.

“We’ll see. You can go. You too, Applejack.”

He stepped outside and walked down the stairs. He flung his hooves into the air and whooped.

“Applejack?”

“Yeah?”

“I need to go talk to Pinkie.” Abacus grinned. “This calls for a party.”

Fillies, Flying, and Friendship

Firefly’s Gambit

It was another beautiful early afternoon at Cloudsdale flight camp. All the little filly fliers were in their classrooms awaiting the last few minutes to pass before the onset of their first weekend away from home. One filly in particular, a rather small rainbow maned and sky blue filly, was a little more excited than most.

‘Aw yeah! Flight camp has just been sha-WEET! I can’t believe it’s almost the end of the first week! I’m already the best flyer by far in camp, the classes are a breeze, Miss Firefly is an awesome teacher, and everypony loves me! Oh, OH! Class is about to be dismissed and I’ll be on my first camp weekend adventure! I’m so ex-CITED!’

Miss Firefly, a vibrant pink mare with a blue mane and a matching blue pair of lightning bolts for a cutie mark, eyed the trembling cyan filly sitting immediately in front of her. Not sure if the filly was in need to go to the little mare’s room or had just been sitting too long, she chose to end class either way since she was looking forward to the days off just as much as her class certainly was.

“Alright my little fillies, that’s it for class today! Please enjoy your first weekend here at camp, stay safe, don’t get yourselves in trouble, and I’ll see you all again Monday morning!” announced Firefly. The class of filly fliers let out a resounding cheer and in remarkable unison responded, “Goodbye Miss Firefly!”

The small cyan filly erupted from her desk, nearly knocking it over, as she made a dash to be first out the door. However, she barely got her hoof on the handle before Miss Firefly called out to her.

“Miss Dash, I almost forgot, but I need to speak with you for a moment,” called out Miss Firefly, who paused briefly before asking, “Um, you don’t need to head to the little mare’s room do you?”

Some of the fillies now making their exit giggled a bit at the question, resulting in Rainbow Dash sticking her tongue out at the offenders.

“No, Miss Firefly, I don’t need to go to the bathroom,” was Rainbow’s eventual response before she flew back to sit atop her desk.

“That’s good. Oh, and don’t worry Miss Dash, you aren’t in any trouble, I actually have some news for you and perhaps a favor to ask,” said the teacher now sitting behind her desk.

“What’s up teach!?” squeaked the excitable filly. Before Firefly could start, Rainbow Dash’s imagination took control of her yapper, “You’re promoting me to the Junior Speedster Academy already, aren’t ya!? Don’t worry, I can have my stuff packed and ready to go in a second! I must be the best flyer in flight camp history! At this rate I’ll be a Wonderbolt by the time I get a cutie mark! OHMYGOSH! I bet my cutie mark IS A WONDERBOLT!”

“Whoa, slow down there Miss Dash!” Firefly got up from her desk and moved next to the filly, her back to the class entrance, and placed a hoof upon Rainbow’s head, “Miss Dash, although I do admire your enthusiasm for your goals at such an early age, and I have no doubt you’ll be successful in your endeavors to get into the J.S.A. after camp completion… I don’t think there’s such a thing as a Wonderbolt cutie mark, as interesting as that would be.”

Rainbow Dash frowned a bit at this news, but Firefly simply chuckled to herself as she gave the disappointed filly a small ruffle of the mane, “Although that’s not what our talk is about, you did get one thing right. I will be asking for you to pack your things and make a move, but just to a new dorm room with a new roommate.”

At this time, all but two fillies had made their escape to a weekend’s freedom. The two that remained were Rainbow Dash and a rather lanky pink maned and cream coated filly that was halfway out the door. Firefly continued on, “The staff and I have decided that it would be best if we had you change things up a little and pair you with a new roommate. She’s actually one of your classmates, Miss Fluttershy. Of course, this is only if you are ok with it too.”

The cream colored filly that had just made her way around the corner of the door froze solid.

A surprised Rainbow Dash immediately asked, “My new roommate is Fluttershy? There’s a Fluttershy in our class?”

The lanky filly that was so recently rooted in place was now sprinting down the hallway, heading to her room as quickly as her hooves could take her.

Rainbow Dash continued on with her spree of questioning, “Who is she? What’s she look like? Is she nice and fun to play with!?”

Firefly raised her hoof to silence the seemingly jaw powered youngster. Taking a calming breath, Firefly began her attempt to answer the filly’s questions as well as enlighten the little one about her agenda. “Yes, Rainbow Dash, she is a very sweet and kind filly and I’m certain she can be very fun too if given the opportunity. She’s the tallest filly in class and has sat in the back every day keeping mostly to herself, thus I’m not terribly surprised you don’t remember her from introductions.” Taking another breath, Firefly pressed on with a softer tone, “I am concerned she hasn’t made many friends this entire week and the flight instructors feel she needs extra help with flying lessons.”

The change in Firefly’s tone caused Rainbow Dash to tilt her head in confusion. Firefly noticed the filly didn’t quite fully understand what she was implying and petted the filly’s head once more before finishing her request, “Can you do that for me, Rainbow Dash? Can you be her friend for me and help with her flying as a tutor?”

With a huge grin, Dash churned her wings bringing her to a hover. “Don’t worry teach! You can count on me!” the little filly squeaked out, “I’ll be the best friend she’s ever had and she’ll be the second best flyer at camp in no time or my name isn’t Rainbow,” Rainbow Dash struck a pose that threw her hover slightly off balance, “Mareweather,” the filly now tried jutting her chest out and brought her hoof to her forehead, “D-DASH!”

Firefly couldn’t help but grin at the antics of her smallest pupil. Deciding it was time to get on with the day, Firefly chose to rile the excitable filly into action, “Oh, only the second best? Well THE best flyer better take this note and get a move on before she gets passed up!”

Rainbow Dash made an audible gasp at such a prospect of her spot as top flyer being usurped. Not one to deny a challenge, the cyan filly asserted, “Ain’t gonna happen!” and snatched the note in her mouth before speeding back to her dorm.

Firefly, with a heavy sigh, said to herself, “Oh Firefly, I hope this plan of yours works like you think it will.”

Rainbow Dash’s Move

Fluttershy sprinted into her room, not even bothering to close the door behind her as she leaped muzzle first into the pillow on her bed. No pony had noticed the tears that fell as she ran nor did any of them bother to ask why she was running. And this was fine with her, she didn’t want to talk to any pony anyhow. No, she simply wanted to be alone, away from all the ponies that ridiculed her, picked on her, treated her as a second class pegasus, or worst of all… not even acknowledging her existence, as if she weren’t even there. And she was very alone, her room situated at the very end of the hallway, as far from other ponies as can be. The room itself was just as lonely, lacking any décor for she had not brought any with her to camp. It was also void of a roommate even though two beds were bunked together; as if the staff had decided beforehand not to burden somepony else with her pitiful existence. The only thing keeping her company now were the muffled sounds of her own sobs and thoughts.

‘It’s not fair! Flight camp is no better than before. Everypony picks on you, calls you Klutzershy and other mean things, or just ignores you! The instructors think you’re inept or mute and useless. Not a single pony even wanted to be your friend on the first day! They were all too enamored with that blue filly and her trick flying! I mean, she is really good at it, but still! It’s not fair! And to think, you almost believed you had a chance of being friends with her too. HA! As if, Fluttershy. Why would an awesome filly like her even bother remembering who you are? Oh, that’s right, she doesn’t! The only reason she hasn’t been mean to you yet is because she doesn’t even realize you exist! I bet if she did, she’d make fun of you too. And why not? You ARE a useless pegasus that can’t even fly! No pony wants that. No pony wants you. No pony has ever wanted you. That’s why the orphanage is where you belong!’

The sobbing and self-destructive thoughts continued on for quite some time before the cream colored filly decided she had had enough and punched her pillow as hard as she could in her shaky condition, shortly followed by screaming into her pillow.

“It’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair?”

“Everything! Haven’t you been paying attention?”

“Uh, no?”

“Oh great, now I’m ignoring me too!”

“What? You’ve lost me. Can we start over?”

“UGH!! FINE! EVERY PONY IS MEAN TO ME!”

“I was never mean to you.”

“Well, of course not! But also, no pony wants me around neither! That’s why I’m an orphan!”

“Hey, so was I!”

“Well, obviously… but worst of all, no pony here even tried to be my friend.”

“I can be your friend!”

“You can’t! I mean… I can’t be my own friend, can I?”

“See, you lost me again. I’m standing in the doorway you know. And what’s with you talking with your face in a pillow, are you that shy or something?”

“Huh, what!?” squeaked a stunned Fluttershy as sudden realization dawned on her that she was, in fact, no longer alone. She pulled her face out of the soaking mush that had been her pillow and looked towards the doorway. Seeing the Rainbow maned filly she was semi cursing in her mind just minutes before caused the grieving filly to give a look of sheer terror expressed across her tear stained face.

“That’s better! I, uh… think? Hey, are you ok? You look like you’ve been having a not so awesome time,” questioned the cyan filly hovering in the doorway.

‘She really came! She doesn’t even know who I am though! Why would she want to be roommates with somepony she doesn’t even know?’

Rainbow Dash waited for a response, but after waiting for a few moments with no movement from the pink maned filly, she decided to keep talking.

“Uh, ok then. You’re kinda creeping me out, but that’s ok I guess. Anyway, I was hoping you were Fluttershy cuz teach gave me this note, see?” Rainbow Dash held out the note as if Fluttershy could actually read what was written on it, “Anyway, even though it’s just a room number, I’m not sure if this is the right one cuz it’s a nineteen this way, but a sixty-one this way,” Rainbow rotated the note to demonstrate this to the other filly, “and yeah! This is room nineteen and I was hoping it’s the right one cuz I don’t want to drag my stuff over to room sixty-one.”

‘She’s talking to you, Fluttershy. She’s not being mean and she sees you and everything! She said she was an orphan too! Or was that me? No, it was her for sure! And she said she’d be your friend! She’s asking you questions. Come on Fluttershy, answer her!’

Fluttershy continued to stare in awkward terror at the blue filly trying to find out if she was at the right room. It didn’t take long for the silent stare to persuade Rainbow Dash that she was better off just leaving and looking for the room sixty-one.

“Alright, uh, whomever you are. This is getting kind of super awkward so I’m just going to go over to that other room and stuff. Nice meeting you I guess… um… bye?”

Rainbow Dash bent down to grab hold of her suitcase’s handle between clenched teeth, turned, and started to walk away.

‘NO!!! Fluttershy! She’s leaving you! This was, IS, your only chance to have a friend here and you’re too shy to say anything or even move! Come on, for once in your life, be brave and say hello to somepony.’

‘But she said I creep her out and she’s already leaving, there’s no point. She’s already given up on me like every pony else.’

‘Is that it, are you just giving up on making a friend? Are you just going to give up on yourself like that?’

‘Yes.’

‘No! I won’t allow it! You don’t want to be alone anymore, right?’

‘Yes?’

‘You want somepony to see you and care about you, right?’

‘Yes!’

‘You want a friend, RIGHT!?’

“YES!”

“Yes, what?” said the cyan filly a few steps removed from the door.

“Yes! This is room 19. Yes! I’m Fluttershy! Yes! I want a friend!” Fluttershy leapt out of her bed and tackle hugged Rainbow Dash, sending them both tumbling into the wall opposite her door, “Oh please be my friend, Rainbow Dash!”

“Alright, alright already!” choked out a gasping Rainbow Dash, “Just one thing!”

“Anything! Anything at all!” squealed the happiest awkward filly in existence.

“Dibs on the top bunk!” shouted the little flyer.

“You got it, Rainbow Dash,” happily agreed Fluttershy.

“Also, can you stop with the hugging?” asked Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy responded, “You said one thing!”

“But, but it feels so uncool and… I can hardly… breath!” panted the suffocating filly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” said an alarmed and embarrassed Fluttershy. The larger filly released her hold on her new friend, “So, um… I guess we should move you in?”

“Yeah, sounds good to me,” agreed Rainbow Dash, “and remember, I get top bunk!”

Fluttershy returned with the sweetest of smiles, “Yes!”

It didn’t take long for Rainbow Dash to move herself in. Her suitcase wasn’t very big and contained just the essential bathroom supplies, a set of pajamas, a few snacks, some toys, and a Wonderbolts poster; which she immediately tacked to the ceiling above her bed. Fluttershy watched in admiration as her new roommate whizzed around the room with her wings, checking the place out and putting her items away.

“Pretty bland place you got here, Fluttershy. It’s a good thing I brought the Wonderbolts and myself to liven things up!” announced the little filly to her new roommate that was idling on the floor. Fluttershy simply nodded in agreement as she continued to watch her very first friend intently.

‘Oh, you did it Fluttershy! You actually did it! You made a friend and she’s amazing! Rainbow Dash is an adorable little pony and she’s an awesome flyer! Now that you’ve got a friend as cool as her camp will be better now!’

“Uh, hey, Cloudsdale to Fluttershy? You’re doing that staring thing again and it’s kind of wigging me out.”

“Oh, um… sorry!” blushed the cream coated filly, “It’s just, I’ve never had a friend before and I never could have hoped my first one would be the coolest and most adorable filly at flight camp!”

Rainbow Dash choked up a bit at the sudden compliments, “Coolest? Yes! But adorable? I think you mean awesomazing! I’m not going to be the best camper being adorable.”

Fluttershy protested, “Oh but you are! With your rainbow mane and being so small and cuddly!”

“WHAT!?” Rainbow squeaked, “I am NOT cuddly. Do I look like a teddy bear?”

Fluttershy covered her now blushing face as she nodded in affirmation.

“Oh, that’s it. I’ll show you who the cuddly one around here is!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she leapt from her perch atop her bed in an attempt to tackle the offending filly. Fluttershy was an easy target to hit as she simply squeaked in shock as the little blue ball of a filly made contact with her. The pair tumbled around the floor a good bit before coming to a rest against the far wall, Fluttershy somehow managing to finish the roll on top.

“Hey, no fair!” cried out Rainbow Dash, “You’re like twice my size!”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Are you ok?” asked a worried Fluttershy.

“What? Of course I’m ok!” asserted Rainbow Dash as she wiggled free from her pinned position, “You sure are sorry a lot, aren’t ya?”

Fluttershy hid behind her mane at this accusation and whispered, “Sorry.”

“Figures. Anyway, nothing to be sorry about Fluttershy. I just don’t like to lose is all,” said Rainbow Dash reassuringly, “and I guess it’s not really much of a loss since you’re way bigger than me! How much older are you anyway?”

Fluttershy re-emerged from behind her mane, “Um, actually, you’re a month older than I am. We lined up by age on the first day and you were ahead of me in line.”

“WHAT!?” yelled Rainbow Dash, “Now that’s unfair!”

Fluttershy squeaked in response and returned to her hiding place behind her mane.

Rainbow stared just a bit at her new friend’s odd reaction, “Eh, it’s whatever. I just have to eat more and catch up! When’s dinner anyway, I’m starving!”

“Dinner ended five minutes ago,” responded Fluttershy in a hushed tone.

“WHAT!?” groaned the rainbow maned filly as she flung her forehooves over her head and toppled over onto her back in dismay.

“I’m sorry!” whispered Fluttershy yet again as she somehow retreated even further behind her own mane.

“Ugh… it’s fine Fluttershy. I’ve got some snacks,” moaned the cyan filly, “Come on, let’s eat!” Rainbow flipped onto her hooves and dashed over to her suitcase where she left her snacks. “Alright, I think a bar of oats and honey and some applesauce will do it for me. Whatcha having, Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy pawed at the floor as she shook her head from side to side, “I don’t have any snacks. I usually just skip dinner so it’s ok.”

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to hold an expression of mock terror. It was only a short lived moment though, as the little filly sprang into action. “Nope, that’s just not gonna cut it, Fluttershy. As my first awesome act as bestest friend ever, I’m giving you my applesauce,” proclaimed the little filly as she presented her friend with the container and a spoon, “Mom always says it’s important to share and that it’s uncool to eat in front of those without food!”

Fluttershy was astounded by her new friend’s generosity and accepted the applesauce graciously, “Oh thank you Rainbow Dash! You didn’t have to you know. And your mom sounds really nice.”

“She’s the awesomest mom ever!” agreed the little filly, “But anyway, time to eat!”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement and the two ate their dinner in happy silence. Although it was a paltry meal, the two appeared satisfied enough with what they had managed. It had already become fairly late and it didn’t take long for the two to realize this as they both yawned after the completion of their snacks.

“Fluttershy, I think it’s t-aaaaaime for bed,” Rainbow yawned to her friend as she got up and headed to the washroom to brush her teeth.

“Uh-huh,” agreed Fluttershy through her own yawn as she got up to follow the cyan filly.

Rainbow Dash brushed her teeth in a hurry, threw on her blue and lightning bolt covered pajamas, and jumped into her top bunk before Fluttershy had time to spit out her rinsing water. Fluttershy didn’t mind at all at her friend’s habit to rush around and took her time to turn out the light and climb into bed. The two fillies said good night to each other and each made their way to dreamland. Or, that would be the case, but now that Fluttershy was actually lying in bed, her thoughts seemed to flood to the forefront of her mind.

‘I have a friend. I have a friend! This is the best day ever! And she’s the coolest pony and so adorable and so nice too! I can’t believe she gave me her applesauce! I have to remember to do something nice in return tomorrow! Her mom sounds real sweet too! Her mom… wait! I thought she said she was an orphan too? How can she have a mom and be an orphan? I should ask her! Oh! But, what if she’s already asleep? She was so nice to you already and the first thing you’re going to do in return is wake her up? Fluttershy how can you be so mean to your only friend? But… I really want to know! Maybe… maybe I’ll just check really quietly if she’s awake and if she answers, then it’ll be ok! OK…’

“Um… Rainbow Dash?” quietly asked the timid filly.

“Mmm… yesh, Fwuttashy?” responded the half asleep Rainbow Dash.

“Can, can I ask you a question? If that’s alright with you?” said Fluttershy with a hint of excitement knowing that she didn’t completely disturb her friend’s rest.

“Umph, wut is it?” said the rainbow maned filly.

“Well, um… I remember you said you were an orphan when you arrived, but when we ate, you mentioned having a mom. How can you have a mom and be an orphan?” inquired the curious Fluttershy.

“Oh, that’s easy. I was adopted the day I was born,” Rainbow declared as she now fully re-awakened to the conversation.

Fluttershy was confused by this. She knew what adoption was, but she knew you couldn’t be adopted at birth. Puzzled, she asked, “How, how can you be adopted the day you were born?”

“Dad said a pony lost me at our home one day. He was concerned and had our doctor examine me. Doc told him I had to be a newborn and needed immediate care or something. Mom and dad were overjoyed, I guess cuz mom says she can’t have foals but really wanted one and they agreed to adopt me,” explained Rainbow Dash.

“How… how do you know all that?” asked Fluttershy.

“That’s an easy one too! Mom and dad told me the day before flight camp! They said that before I started school stuff they wanted me to know the truth and told me all about it! They started crying and stuff though, said they were worried I might think and feel different about them or something and they got super mushy,” explained the cyan filly.

“Oh, how troubling! Did it? Did it change anything?” asked a concerned Fluttershy.

“Hay no! My parents are awesome! Even if they get sappy sometimes! Besides, the way I see it, if somepony is dumb enough to lose an awesome filly like me then it’s their loss! Oh, and dad has the same rainbow colored hair like me too! That’s got to be way cooler than some pony I never knew!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, well, I’m so happy for you and your family!” answered Fluttershy, “Maybe one day somepony will adopt me too!”

“I bet! I mean, you’re not as cool as me, but you’re not half bad,” assured Rainbow Dash, “But anyway, I’m real tired Fluttershy. How about we go to sleep and ta… talk,” Rainbow let out a hefty yawn, “awn towarro’s vencha?”

Fluttershy returned the yawn, “OK, good night Rainbow Dash!”

“Good night, Fwuttashy.”

“Thank you, for everything.”

“Mmm… welkom”

‘Best. Day. Ever.’

Fluttershy’s Adventure

It was still dark out when Rainbow Dash awoke from her slumber. The little filly yawned as she stretched out her limbs while still under her covers. Rubbing her eyes open, she stared at the ceiling until her sight adjusted to the dimness of the room. With a big grin on her face she said good morning to her stationary idols pinned above her. Not one to stay still for longer than needed, the cyan ball of pony rolled out of her bunk and hovered gently to the floor. She headed for her stash of snacks, it was too early for breakfast to be open and there was no way she was going to wait however long she would need to with what little she had eaten last night. Shifting through the snack pile, she settled on consuming a fruit and grain bar to tide her over. Having satisfied her appetite for now, Rainbow looked about the room, eventually settling her gaze upon her new roommate and friend still fast asleep in her bed.

‘She sure does look happy. A lot happier than when I first saw her yesterday. Teach was right though, she is a nice pony and she seems like she could be a lot of fun. I still can’t believe I’m older than her though! She’s so much bigger than I am! But that doesn’t matter as long as I’m still the best flyer!’

Rainbow grinned as she moved closer to her sleeping filly friend.

‘Ya know? I’m surprised I’m her first friend. Ha! I guess that means I’m already her best friend! VICTORY!’

Instead of whooping in joy, however, Rainbow Dash began to frown.

‘That doesn’t seem right though. How can such a nice pony not have any friends? I mean, I guess she IS an orphan so she probably didn’t get out much, but don’t orphanages have other fillies in them? She said everypony picked on her and stuff. Did they all really be that mean to her? I wonder if that’s true, she did seem to sweat the small stuff a lot and said sorry a ton. Well, what does it matter? I’ll be her friend, her best friend now. We’ll go on all sorts of adventures and have tons of fun! And no pony would dare be mean to a friend of the coolest filly in camp, Rainbow Mareweather DASH!’

Rainbow Dash jutted out her chest at the thought of announcing her last name.

‘Speaking of adventures. It’s about time we get this weekend started! Geez, she sleeps forever! I think I gotta speed things up a little.’

Rainbow Dash reached out with a hoof and poked Fluttershy on the muzzle. The sleeping filly’s nose twitched in response, but she continued to sleep away. Rainbow giggled at the reaction and decided to poke Fluttershy on the muzzle again. The result was the same, much to Rainbow’s pleasure and she decided to step the fun up a notch. Rainbow hovered over the sleeping filly and gently landed herself so that she was standing over her friend and able to reach her target with the feathered tips of her right wing. Gently swaying her wing back and forth over Fluttershy’s nose, Rainbow began her feathered tickle assault. Fluttershy twitched quite a bit and after a few moments her whole body startled wriggling around. Rainbow Dash could no longer contain her fit of giggles, but she didn’t stop the onslaught on her friend’s resting state. Distracted by her own amusement, Rainbow Dash failed to notice Fluttershy’s forehooves suddenly folding upwards in an attempt to scratch her own muzzle; but because of the way Dash had situated herself, Fluttershy ended up pulling the entire filly straight into her own face.

“Ah! Lemme go!” yelped Rainbow Dash in surprise.

Fluttershy gave no response as she continued to hold her friend captive in her sleep.

“Fluttershy, wake up! How can you even sleep like this!” cried out the cyan filly.

Fluttershy finally began to stir as her friend attempted to wriggle herself loose on her head.

“Huh? Vwunbuh Das? Vut’s apening. Uh ken’t see!”

“Well, duh! You won’t let me off your face!” answered Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy let go of her friend with this sudden clarity, frantically apologizing, “Oh my! I’m so sorry Rainbow Dash! I didn’t mean to! Oh… how did this happen!? You’ll still be my friend won’t you! I’m so sorry!”

Rainbow Dash stuck her hoof out in front of her, “Whoa, Fluttershy! Of course I’ll still be your friend. And stop being sorry, it wasn’t even your fault!” Rainbow Dash took a gulp as she thought about what she just did, “Eh, it was kind of my fault actually. I kinda sorta got bored waiting for you to wake up so I thought I’d, you know, have some fun waking you up with a little prank,” now scratching the back of her head, “Heh, guess it kinda backfired with you getting me. You’re a lot stronger than you seem, you know that?”

Fluttershy blushed at this compliment, “Oh no, I’m not very strong at all. I’m sure I just caught you off guard. I’ve seen you fly, you’re much stronger than I am for sure.”

“Yeah, that’s probably true,” puffed Rainbow Dash, “But speaking of flying, let’s get this weekend adventure started already!”

“A-adventure?” questioned Fluttershy.

“Yeah! We agreed to it right before sleeping, remember? Come on! Let’s get going!” commanded Rainbow Dash as she sped off towards the bath.

Fluttershy trembled at the idea.

‘Adventure? I don’t want to go on an adventure! That sounds scary!’

‘You did agree to it though!’

‘But we were half asleep!’

‘But Rainbow Dash really wants to go on one and she invited you! What about when you said you were going to return her kindness for sharing her snacks with you? Going back on your word and into hiding already?’

‘N-no… I won’t do that… I’ll go. I’ll be a good friend to Rainbow Dash too!’

‘Good! Now get going before you get left behind!’

“Wa-wait for me!” called out Fluttershy as she hastily scampered after her only friend.

The morning routine for the two fillies was uneventful. The pair brushed their teeth, Rainbow got out of her pajamas, and the two had breakfast as the dining hall opened. In fact, due to Rainbow’s eagerness to get the day started, the pair were already out in the practice fields before most of the other fillies had even awoken or left their rooms.

Rainbow Dash grabbed ahold of her friend as she gave out orders to her, “Alright Fluttershy! Let’s get these wings warmed up! We’re gonna have to do a lot of flying for our adventure!”

Fluttershy knew this was going to happen eventually, she just hoped it wasn’t going to be so soon. “Rainbow Dash, I… I can’t fly,” tears started to form in the now sad filly’s eyes, “I, I’m sorry. I wanted to go with you, I really did. But I guess I can’t,” Fluttershy’s tears were trickling down her face now, “I… it’s ok if you go without me. You don’t have to be my friend if you don’t want to.”

“Ohhhh, that’s right! Teach did say you needed help with that,” answered Rainbow Dash as she pondered what to do about her crying friend. “Hey, chin up there Fluttershy. Mom always says you should never leave a friend hanging and you’re my friend.” Rainbow Dash re-gripped her friend around the neck and continued her consoling, “Don’t worry Fluttershy! I’ll teach you how to fly like me in no time! It’s still early so we’ve got plenty of time for our adventure! And besides, there are good non-flying adventures out there too, not that we’ll need to worry about that anyway!”

Fluttershy’s sniffling came to a halt, “R-really? You’ll do that for me? You’ll give up on your adventure and help me learn to fly?”

“Sure thing pal!” answered the confident filly, “But we’re not giving up on the adventure yet!”

And thus the two new filly friends set out to practice their flying. Rainbow Dash was astonished by Fluttershy’s wingspan when she saw them unfurl for the first time. It was impressive for a filly her age to have such filled out wings, which made it even more shocking that she couldn’t use them. Starting out with the basics, Rainbow Dash instructed Fluttershy to jump up and down while trying to unfurl her wings at the height of her jump and holding them open. With any luck, the inexperienced flyer would start to glide naturally on her own, albeit after and with plenty of crashes.

To Fluttershy’s surprise, it didn’t take very long at all to do short glides successfully. Learning to fly seemed almost easy when everypony wasn’t staring at you, ready to laugh and bully you at every mistake. With just Rainbow Dash at her side cheering her on, she would even say it was pleasant.

After gliding successfully for close to half an hour, Rainbow Dash decided Fluttershy was plenty ready to get those wings flapping and learn to hover. And that she did, for the next half hour until her wings tired out and she needed a rest. By this time, the other fillies had headed out into the morning air above the camp grounds ready to play.

“Hey, hey Hoops?” asked a brown colt to his bud.

“Yeah, Dumb-Bell? What’s up?” responded the orange colt with three basketballs for a cutie mark.

“Isn’t that the really good flyer from Miss Firefly’s class?” Dumb-Bell pointed out with an extended forehoof.

“Yeah, what of it? You gotta a crush on her now or something?” snickered Hoops in mockery of his best friend.

Taken aback by his friend’s jab, Dumb-Bell struggled to change the topic, “Wha- what? No! Cooties, Hoops! Anyway, it’s like she’s hanging out with that loser dweeb Klutzershy!”

Hoops looked again to confirm his friend’s claim. “Hey, would you look at that! Do you think Klutzershy actually made a friend?” jeered Hoops. “How about we do every pony a favor and save your rainbow princess from that lame excuse of a pegasus?”

Dumb-Bell stammered and failed to respond to his friend’s sarcasm.

“Geez Dumb-Bell, I’m just messing with ya. Come on, let’s go have some fun with our dear pal Klutzershy,” commanded the only filly in camp to already have his cutie mark.

The two colts flew down from their perch by the dorms and landed close to where Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were currently taking a break from their flying practice.

“Hey there, friends!” Hoops called out to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

“Yeah, hey friends!” echoed Dumb-Bell.

Rainbow Dash turned to face the newcomers, not noticing that Fluttershy snuck behind her as she did so. Hoops continued on, “So, there really is a rainbow maned filly in the other class. I hear your name is Rainbow Dash and I hear you’re a pretty good flier. And by the way, the name’s Hoops.”

Rainbow Dash beamed at the prospect of her skills already spreading throughout the other classes after only a week and proudly responded, “Yup, that’s me! Best flyer in all of flight camp, the one, the only, THE Rainbow Dash!”

“The best huh? I bet that means you’ve already got your cutie mark, right? Well let’s see it!” responded Hoops. He then turned to his side to show off his flank, boasting, “I’m the best flyer in my class and I’ve already got mine. Three awesome basketballs!”

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by this. She didn’t have her cutie mark, but no pony in her class did yet either. Not as boastful as before, she responded, “Uh, no, not yet. No pony in our class has theirs yet. But I’m sure to be the first!”

“Would you look at that, claiming to be a better flyer than me and she doesn’t even have her cutie mark yet! Can you believe it Dumb-Bell?” jeered Hoops. Dumb-Bell laughed in response.

“Hey, I said I’d have it soon! Besides, you look way older than me anyway!” defensively remarked the cyan filly.

Hoops and Dumb-Bell laughed at Rainbow Dash’s defensive nature, but Hoops decided to not antagonize the new acquaintance any further. “Hey, don’t take it so seriously, Dash. I just want you to know that I’M the best flyer in camp until proven otherwise.” Hoops now looked around for his usual victim, Fluttershy, whom he quickly spotted attempting to hide behind the smaller filly.

“Hey Dumb-Bell, get a load of this! Our dear friend Klutzershy is hiding behind our new pal Dash!” jabbed a laughing Hoops.

“Oh, come on Klutzershy, won’t you come out to play with us?” taunted Dumb-Bell.

Fluttershy managed to shrink herself even further behind her make-shift shield comprised entirely of puffed up Rainbow Dash.

“Hey, why are you calling her names!? What she ever do to you!?” barked the riled up filly protector at the now verbal assailants.

“Oh, come now my little Rainbow. Don’t tell me you’re actually friends with her? And here I thought we could be pals, the three best fliers in all of camp, but here you are being so uncool,” came the mocking response of Hoops.

“I ain’t your little anything! Especially not your pal! I’m not friends with any pony that acts like a jerk and makes other ponies upset!” came the half snarling, half squeaking response of a now furious filly.
The two colt bullies were now laughing openly at the two fillies. Rainbow Dash snarled, “What are you two laughing at! Don’t you two have moms that taught you not to pick on others!?”

The two bullies couldn’t take it anymore, at the mention of moms they collapsed in hysterics.

Hoops was the first to recover and addressed the growling pegasus, “Yeah, Dash, we have moms. Something an unwantable filly like Klutzershy over there wouldn’t know anything about.”

Fluttershy could hold back the tears no longer and she began to sob as bad as she had the day before. That was also the last straw for Rainbow Dash, it’s one thing to mock her, but no pony makes one of her friends cry on her watch and gets away with it. Rainbow Dash lunged at the two bullies and shouted, “YOU BETTER LEAVE HER ALONE RIGHT NOW YOU JERKS OR I’M GONNA KICK YOUR FLANKS SO HARD PONIES’LL THINK YOUR BRUISES ARE YOUR CUTIE MARKS!”

The two bullies jumped back, not actually wanting to get into a physical scuffle with a filly. That wouldn’t look so good for their reputation, especially if they somehow managed to lose the two on one. For once, Dumb-Bell took charge of the conversation, “Don’t worry Rainbow DASH, we’re leaving! We’ve had our fun, but don’t say we didn’t warn you! Hang around with that pathetic excuse of an earth pony any longer and pretty soon we’re gonna have to start calling you Rainbow CRASH!”

And with that, the two bullies took flight before Rainbow Dash had the chance to cream one with a quick hoof to the muzzle. Rainbow Dash could barely make out Hoops giving praise to Dumb-Bell for coming up with her new nickname, ‘Rainbow Crash’ as they headed for the playgrounds. Steam practically billowing from her flared nostrils, Rainbow Dash turned towards her quivering friend while yelling, “Can you believe those jerks! SO not cool! As if I would ever be friends with them! And I could totally kick that Hoops’ flank in a flying competition any day!”

Realizing Fluttershy had been reduced to a messy heap of sobs and matted hair, her anger vaporized and condensed into sympathy as she laid down next to the poor filly. “Hey, hey there Fluttershy. It’s ok now,” consoled the little filly as she gave her friend a gentle nuzzle, “I scared off the stinkbrains and it’s just me now. It’s safe to come out from hiding.”

Fluttershy’s sobbing and rapid breathing slowed down to a more natural pace with the presence of her only friend lying next to her. Managing to hold onto one of her gulps of air, Fluttershy blubbered out, “Th-thank you, Ra-Rainba-bow.”

“Shhh, Fluttershy, just relax a bit, alright?” consoled the worried filly. Adjusting her position a bit, Rainbow Dash reached around her larger friend and gave her the tightest hug she could manage, “Mom always told me if I ever saw somepony cry, that it was because they needed a hug and that it takes an awesome and brave filly to give one out.”

Fluttershy gave a hearty giggle at her friend’s claim, “Hee, and an awesome filly like can’t not be awesome and brave, huh?”

Happy that she managed to get through to her friend, she gave Fluttershy one more quick squeeze before standing up, boasting with her usual demeanor, “That’s right I can’t! Now come on Fluttershy! Mom also says everypony crashes or falls or gets sad, but it takes an awesome and brave pony to get back up and wipe away the tears!”

And with that, Rainbow Dash dug her way underneath Fluttershy’s belly and with all the strength her little body had, pushed Fluttershy up onto her feet. Fluttershy wobbled a bit as she regained her balance. She looked back at the friend beneath her, both fillies now with big grins on their faces. It was then that Fluttershy finally felt brave, that everything really would be ok.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash?” asked Fluttershy.

“Yeah, Fluttershy?” answered Rainbow Dash.

“I don’t think it counts if you stand me up for me,” said Fluttershy with a cheeky grin.

“Naw, I’m sure it’s o-OOOF,” was Rainbow’s response as the filly standing over her collapsed on top of her, pulling the cyan filly into a new embrace.

“Oh, thank you so much Rainbow Dash! You’re the best friend I’ve ever had!” cried out Fluttershy as tears of joy now flowed from her eyes.

“Aw geez, you’re too much Fluttershy,” replied the blushing captured filly, “no seriously, you’re crushing me again,” she wheezed.

“Oh, sorry my Dashie!” cooed the happy cream colored captor.

“Dashie!? Ew…” protested Rainbow Dash, “Don’t call me that in public! It’s, uh, not awesome sounding.”

“O-Ok, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy agreed, “By the way, Dashie, your mom really does sound very nice. Could I meet her someday?”

Rainbow Dash glared at Fluttershy for her immediate slip-up, but consented to just giving an answer, “Heck yeah! My parents are visiting next weekend so every pony can meet them!”

“Oh, how wonderful! That’s exciting!” happily said Fluttershy.

“Hey Fluttershy! Enough of this talking stuff. Let’s go get lunch, I’m starving!” ordered Rainbow Dash, who rolled out from under her friend and got up on her hooves.

“Tee-hee, Dashie, you’re always hungry, aren’t you?” replied Fluttershy as the two headed back to the main hall.

“I said stop calling me that!” shouted Dash.

“Oh, I’m sorry Dashie!”

It was now Monday afternoon and all the filly fliers were in their seats awaiting for class to let out once again for afternoon flight lessons. Firefly was pleased to see that Rainbow Dash was seated next to her new roommate, Fluttershy. However, she wasn’t nearly as pleased at the fact that her smallest pupil was sound asleep with her muzzle buried in her desk. Firefly dismissed the class at the toll of the bell and promptly made her way to the two fillies still seated in the back of the room, one because she was too timid to not leave until she was the last out, the other because she was too zonked out to not be aware of what was about to happen.

*SNAP*

Down came the ruler upon Rainbow’s desk, causing the two fillies to jump in fright. Rainbow in particular shot like a rocket straight into the ceiling before crashing back down onto her desk.

“Alright, Miss Rainbow Dash, this is the THIRD time I caught you passing out during class and I want an explanation,” Firefly was glaring at the now dazed and terrified filly, “Fluttershy, you may go. This does not concern you and I don’t want you to get into trouble for being late to flight lessons on somepony else’s behalf.”

Fluttershy let out a small ‘eep’ as Firefly continued with her lecturing of the cyan filly, “So Miss Dash, what is it? Did you stay up too late last night? Or do you no longer appreciate my instruction and think you’re too good for it now? Come on filly, speak up!”

Rainbow Dash took a large gulp of air, not having been in trouble like this before and not sure what to say. Luckily for her, somepony else found the words for her.

“Um, Miss Firefly. It’s not Dashie’s fault she’s really tired. You see, Miss Firefly, after we became roommates she’s been helping me practice flying. But, I’m really shy, you see, and don’t do well with others around. So she’s been staying up late and getting up really early to help me practice and today she accidentally slept through breakfast too so she’s been extra tired. She loves your class, she really does! She even told me you’re her favorite of all the instructors by far!”

Firefly slammed her ruler on Fluttershy’s desk this time, “Miss Fluttershy, I am shocked. We do not speak for others when we are not addressed and flattery will get you nowhere. Now if I am not mistaken I asked for you to head on out to your lessons.”

Fluttershy let out another audible ‘eep’ as she scurried out of the classroom, hoping with all her heart that Rainbow Dash wouldn’t be in too much trouble.

Rainbow Dash took another large gulp as Miss Firefly’s stern gaze returned to her. “So, Miss Dash, is what Miss Fluttershy said all true? Have you really taken my task of helping her to fly and being her friend to heart? So much so that you now miss out on sleep, meal times, and classroom instruction?”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t finding the atmosphere to be very palatable at this point, yet she gulped down another mouthful.

“Miss Dash, answer me or you may very well be in real trouble very soon,” scolded Firefly.

“Ye-yesh, Miss Firefly,” Rainbow Dash finally answered. Gulping down one last mouthful of tension, she continued on with tears flowing, “Everything Fluttershy said is true! I’m sorry I fell asleep in class! It won’t happen again, I promise! And please don’t be mad at Fluttershy, she didn’t do anything wrong either! It was my idea and my fault this happened!”

Firefly chuckled to herself at Rainbow Dash’s terrified demeanor. She hadn’t really meant to put the filly into a state of tears, but she wasn’t going to lie and admit that she didn’t enjoy acting strict from time to time. Rainbow Dash was again left very confused by her teacher’s laughter and didn’t know whether to be more terrified than before or if it was safe to relax. Either way, Firefly began to speak, “Oh, Miss Dash, this is good news indeed. Don’t worry my little filly, you are not in any trouble, not today anyway.”

Rainbow Dash let loose a heavy sigh of relief at the good news.

“Now Miss Dash, though I do not approve of your falling asleep in class and I do not expect to see it happen often from here on out, I very much appreciate the friendship and kindness you have clearly shown to Miss Fluttershy in the past few days. You probably don’t realize this, but this is the first time she’s spoken to me all camp! And it was to defend somepony else no less! Now, you can’t tell any of the other fillies about this, but I will have a word with the other instructors. Let’s just say that as long as you continue to help your new friend with flying lessons, I’ll do what I can to let the occasional nap go unnoticed.”

Rainbow Dash beamed at the idea! A nap at any time of day if she needed it! And all because of her new friend, Fluttershy! Without realizing it, Rainbow Dash was buzzing happily in the air and nodding in agreement. With another hearty chuckle, Firefly shooed the excited filly off to attend the afternoon flight lessons, to which Rainbow Dash obediently obliged.

“Oh Firefly, you old dog you. It’s good to see you’ve still got a knack for helping the little ones grow. The road might be long for the little one and a little rougher for the lanky one, but with each other’s help they ought to turn out just fine I think!”

Making Friends

Bethany cast a wary glance over the unicorn standing in front of her. A sturdy body that could take more punishment, hooves that could probably run a lot faster than her, and the horn... Lyra didn’t need to make preparations for battle. After all, a unicorn was never unarmed. But Bethany wasn’t quite so confident in her own abilities.

“I’m gonna need to fly,” Bethany declared with a brief nod.

“Ooh! I know just the thing!” Lyra dashed into the house and emerged a minute later with a towel. “Will this work?”

Bethany broke into a big smile. “Perfect!” She tied her trusty cape around her neck and went for a quick test flight, but something was still missing. Thick stands of dead, gnarled trees grew up in the backyard as she gave it some thought. Leaves rustled, and strange animal noises sounded in the distance, but it would take more than that to scare her. “Be right back!”

She ran into the house, checking the kitchen first. The potato masher would look weird. No, Mom would be mad if she got one of the wooden spoons dirty. She’d already gotten in trouble for using Dad’s tennis racket once. What to use...

Moments later, Bethany careened back outside, brandishing her magic wand. “See, I need some magic, too. But it’s not as strong as yours, ’cause it’s, like, inborn or somethin’ for you, while mine’s just based on the wand, right?” She waited a few tense seconds for an answer. It could be a serious breach of etiquette to overlap someone else’s superpowers, so she had to tread carefully.

“Sure! Long as you can’t shoot lasers or nothin’.”

“No,” Bethany answered with a little slump of her shoulders, “that’s your thing.”

“Let’s go, then!” Lyra shouted, already galloping toward the forest path.

Bethany followed, flying low to stay under the crooked branches and hanging carpets of moss. They must have gone several miles into the woods when Lyra stopped short, forcing Bethany to loop around for a landing after she overshot her friend.

“There!” Lyra shouted, pointing through a gap in the black trunks. Just over the next rise, a tall castle loomed, the tips of its spires lost in the clouds. “That must be where the evil wizard lives.”

No trees stood near the castle, which sat on a pinnacle of rock surrounded by a deep chasm. The shiny, dark stone walls glared down at the heroes, and the drawbridge creaked and groaned its way down, inviting them, daring them to enter.

Bethany took a step forward, but then noticed that the birds had stopped singing, the wind had stopped hissing, the leaves had stopped scraping. There was a complete lack of sound, except one: a low, throaty growl behind them.

Lyra immediately turned around and tore into the lead timber wolf with a beam from her horn. It blew apart easily, but the pile of branches and logs was already twitching—it wouldn’t take long for the beast to put itself back together. Bethany swooped down and strained to pick up the bigger pieces with her magic, but she managed to get the wolf’s core and fling it across the river. A hero had to think quickly under pressure, and that would make it reassemble over there, where it couldn’t get to them.

By the time Bethany dove back into the battle, Lyra had demolished three more wolves, but two of them were already halfway back together. Gritting her teeth, Bethany tried to pick one of those up, but... Too heavy! She’d have to settle for the one that was still in the most pieces, but she couldn’t keep this up for long. Lyra, either—the pack circling her was growing all the time, pressing in closer, and she was already panting. It was time to see what this wand could do.

Bethany closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, then could see her wand glowing through her eyelids. She felt... stronger. Still not enough to pick up a wolf, but—a smirk crept across her face—enough to pick up Lyra.

Back to the ground she swooped and hoisted Lyra up piggyback-style. From above the treetops, Lyra easily picked off four more wolves, one by one, now that she could take her time doing it. The timber wolves bristled and snapped and snarled below, but ultimately could only slink off into the trees.

“I guess we taught them a lesson!” Lyra said through her laughter. “They won’t be back.”

Bethany touched down softly, then took off running for the castle with Lyra in hot pursuit. They dodged stumps, leaped over rocks, and ducked through bushes until Bethany caught her foot on a tree root and went sprawling. She sat up and rubbed her knee, her hand coming away with a deep-red smudge on it. Gaping at the sight, she held back the tears that danced on the edges of her vision.

Only a few paces behind, Lyra trotted up to her and wrinkled her brow. “I-is it bleeding?”

Bethany just stared back for a minute, then finally nodded and sniffled. She wiped her eyes, coughed a few times, and smiled. “C’mon! I bet there’s a hydra over by the sandbox!” With a quick pull on the treehouse’s ladder to get herself standing, Bethany retied the towel around her neck, picked up her toilet brush, and ran off toward their next battle, with just a barely noticeable limp.

Bethany tiptoed into the bedroom with a hot bowl of vegetable broth and set it down on the nightstand. She was on her way back out when she heard Lyra stir. “Oh! You’re awake. Do you feel any better?”

Lyra flashed a weak smile and shrugged. She pushed the cold cloth off her forehead, then licked her lips as she glanced at the soup. “Can you hold that for me? I haven’t gotten the hang of levitation quite yet,” she croaked, wincing at the pain in her throat.

“At least you’re getting your appetite back,” Bethany said. She took a spoonful of broth, cupped her hand under it, and held it up for Lyra to slurp it. “I wish you felt better. It’s not nice outside today, so it’d be a great time to sit around and talk.”

Lyra gave an apologetic grimace and pushed Bethany back with a hoof. She took a sudden breath, then jerked forward with a giant sneeze. “Sorry,” she said, reaching for a tissue.

“Oh! I forgot!” Bethany jammed a hand into her pocket and pulled out a pack of lozenges. “Here. These’ll numb your throat so it won’t hurt to talk ’n’ stuff.” She unwrapped one and popped it in Lyra’s mouth.

Stepping back to the door, Bethany reached out into the hallway for her backpack and brought it over to the bed. “I’ve got your homework here, if you want to get it over with. It’s not too bad except—”

“Can you help me with the spelling?”

“—spelling. Lyra, you know I can’t spell.” Bethany stuck her tongue out at Lyra and rolled her eyes.

Lyra couldn’t help laughing, but it started her coughing again. Holding up a hoof to ward off Bethany’s concern, Lyra took a moment to catch her breath. She swallowed hard and looked back up, her eyes wandering to a flash of color. “I’ll do homework later—Hey, are those your new earrings?”

Bethany nodded and pulled her hair back from her ears. “They’re aquamarines.”

After a glance down at her coat, Lyra broke into a big smile.

“They’re clips. I can’t wait until I’m old enough to get them pierced for real!”

Lyra gasped. “Me too! We should go and get them done together!”

Bethany raised an eyebrow and craned her neck forward while shaking her head. “Well, duh!”

Scrunching up her face, Lyra gritted her teeth. A faint glow hovered around the glass of water on the table and flicked a few drops at Bethany.

Bethany squealed and backed away from the bed, but then fell silent as she glanced into the hallway. “Listen—I heard Mom and Dad talking earlier today, but when I walked in, they stopped and just looked at me. You know what that was about?”

Lyra raised her eyebrows and shrugged.

Remaining silent for a minute, Bethany hurried over and flopped into a chair next to the bed. “Oh! Your birthday’s coming up soon, Lyra. What do you want this year?”

Lyra looked down at the quilt and frowned while tapping her hooves together.

Giving the room a quick survey, Bethany looked over their old toys. A real wand she’d gotten for their backyard adventures a few years ago, now with the star broken off the tip and tossed in the corner. Her friend’s first lyre—but Bethany didn’t know a thing about music. A few dolls, their hair and manes now hopelessly tangled. “I dunno. I was thinking maybe another doll... or...”

Lyra’s lip curled a little. “We haven’t really... played with those much lately.”

“Yeah...”

“Oh!” Lyra’s eyes brightened, and she broke into a broad grin. “Hey, how about a new saddle? I’d say a vest, but I’ll get a nice one for Winter Wrap Up anyway. But I don’t have a good saddle...”

“Yeah. That’s a good idea! Some nice white fluff around the edges...” Bethany traced her hands around the fleece border of the object in her imagination. “What color would you like for the leather?”

Lyra’s eyes shot wide open, and she folded her ears back. “Leather?” She tried to sit up, but Bethany held a hand against her chest to keep her down.

“Sorry, it was a bad joke.” Bethany waited until Lyra’s ears had perked back up. “We’ll find some nice denim or canvas or something.”

“Bethany! Time for dinner!” came a voice from downstairs.

“Coming!” she shouted out the door. She shoved the bowl of broth to the nightstand’s edge so Lyra could at least lean over and drink some directly from it if she couldn’t manage the spoon. Then she ran into the hallway. “I’ll save you some dessert!” she called back over her shoulder.

“You seem to have hit it off with Bon Bon.”

“Yeah, we have a lot in common,” Lyra answered.

“Good.” Bethany made a few more pencil scratches at her homework, then returned to staring out the window. Lyra looked at her from the bed, over the top of the magazine she was reading. She glanced back and forth between Bethany and the page before finally putting it down. “Is... something wrong?”

“No...” Bethany drummed her pencil against her cheek, never moving her gaze from the sky.

“You sure?”

“It’s not that... It’s just...” She finally turned in her chair and faced Lyra. “Well, you know that guy Jason? In our class?”

“I think so,” Lyra replied, holding a hoof to her chin. “The one with the black hair that sits in the second row?”

“Yeah.”

“What about him?” Lyra leaned forward. The blush on Bethany’s cheeks was too good an opportunity to pass up.

“Well... boys are gross, of course.” Bethany made a dismissive wave as she cocked her head.

“Of course.”

“I just... If you think about it, he’s not so bad.” Just how she’d always done for as long as Lyra had known her, Bethany swung her legs in her chair, but unlike those old days of fighting dragons in the backyard or playing with dolls, her feet brushed the floor now. “He’s nice, and he’s got nice hair, and... he’s nice.”

“Yeah. You said that.”

Bethany turned back to her textbook, her eyes scanning back and forth across the paragraphs, but after ten minutes, she still hadn’t turned a single page. “Do you... Do you think you could ask him if he likes me?”

“Really? Why?” Lyra had to hold back her laughter, but at least Bethany wasn’t looking at her.

“Nothing. Just curious.”

“You wanna smooch him, don’t you?” She’d tried her best, but Lyra finally burst out giggling at Bethany’s horrified gape. As indignant as she was trying to look, she was still smiling. And blushing.

“No! I mean—” Bethany exhaled sharply. “Look—are you gonna do it or not?”

Lyra rolled off the bed and gave her a hug. “You know I will.”

Her smile softening, Bethany hugged her back. “Thanks.” She sighed. “Listen—have you heard Mom and Dad talking lately?”

“No. Maybe. I dunno.” Lyra’s heartbeat quickened a little. “I guess I noticed Mom whispering a bit. Why?”

“Just... nothing. I thought I might have heard them say something.” Bethany pursed her lips. “About... you know...”

Lyra’s cheeks went pale. She levitated her teddy bear over and squeezed it to her chest.

Reaching an arm around Lyra’s neck, Bethany said, “Don’t worry. We’ll be okay. It’ll all be okay.”

Lyra lay back in her favorite spot on her bed, her hind legs crossed and one hoof tapping to the beat that was leaking from her earbuds. Bethany could make out enough of the sound to follow along, and bobbed her head with the music.

“Isn’t that song great?” Bethany shouted so that Lyra would be sure to hear. “A couple of the girls at school told me about it.”

Lyra nodded and closed her eyes to concentrate on listening. So it was that Bethany heard first—a slow, soft thudding from the staircase. She froze and followed the noise’s progress down the hallway. When it reached the door, Bethany laid a hand lightly on Lyra’s shoulder.

A hesitant knock sounded. Slowly, Lyra removed her earbuds and stared back at Bethany, whose eyes had shot wide open. She blinked back a few tears and walked to the door as Lyra levitated the earbuds onto the nightstand and gasped. “Y-yes, Mom?”

Their mother and father both came in. Mom sat on the bed next to Lyra, and Dad took a spot on the floor, patting the rug next to him to invite Bethany.

“I thought we’d have... more time...” Lyra said, hiding her eyes.

“You know we love you both very much,” Mom said as she stroked Lyra’s mane, “but you knew back when all this started, when you met because of that silly cartoon, how it would have to go. Back when you were both little girls, you said you understood, and you agreed.” She kept her voice soft and steady, each word carefully measured. “You knew what responsibility you were taking on. I know your hearts were in the right place, and you’ve been wonderful friends for each other. Sisters, for all practical purposes.”

Lyra couldn’t tear her gaze away from the quilt. She must have thought that if she didn’t acknowledge it, then it wasn’t happening. Her own concentration focused on breathing steadily, Bethany shifted position to face her dad.

“You’re both getting to an age where there are more demands on your time,” Dad said as he patted Bethany’s shoulder. “You’ve got much more homework, class projects, after-school activities.”

“Before long,” Mom chimed in, “you’ll be starting high school, dating”—Bethany and Lyra exchanged a weak grin—“maybe finding a professional-grade music tutor.” She tousled Lyra’s mane.

“And maybe joining the soccer team,” Dad finished.

Bethany glanced up at the pair of trophies on her shelf.

“Many children make friends, but not many actually, you know, make friends.” Dad reached over to Bethany and gave her a little squeeze. “The point is—you’re becoming young adults. And as much as we’d like to, we can’t support you both. It wouldn’t be fair to you, either. You have such different paths ahead. I’m afraid we just don’t have the resources to nurture an imaginary friend.”

It was barely noticeable, but Lyra’s body jerked at the use of that phrase.

“Imaginary friends have—” Dad took a deep breath while waiting for the proper words to filter into his head “—special abilities that we can’t help them develop. And conversely, they can’t do some things that we take for granted.”

Bethany glanced at Lyra’s horn, then down at her hands. Yeah, it’d be nice to have a magical horn, but there’s a lot she can’t do without these...

“Girls, we discussed this long ago,” Mom said. “There is a place where imaginary friends can get the attention they need to grow up, if they choose, or stay as they are.”

She slid a brochure onto the nightstand. In multiple pastel colors, it proclaimed, “Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.”

“The important thing is that you’re not children anymore, and you have to make adult decisions.” Mom gave a tight-lipped smile and looked Bethany in the eye, and Dad reached over the edge of the mattress to pat Lyra’s hoof.

“I... understand,” Bethany said and nodded slowly. “I guess I knew this day was coming. I just hoped... But you’re right.” She glanced up at Lyra. Except for the one look they’d shared, Lyra had spent the whole time staring down at the covers. Her lower lip trembled, and shimmering teardrops danced in the corners of her eyes.

Dad kissed Bethany on top of her head. “I appreciate that you’re being very mature about this.”

Is this what it’s like to be an adult? It doesn’t feel much different. My adult eyes want to cry as much, my adult arms still want to wrap around Lyra’s neck, and my adult chest hurts just the same.

Bethany led the way up the front walk to Foster’s Home. Right behind her was Lyra, levitating a suitcase, then Mom and Dad brought up the rear.

Madame Foster met them on the porch. “Welcome, welcome!” she said, then gestured toward the large, well-dressed rabbit beside her. “This is Mr. Herriman. He will help get you situated.” Her face broke into a wide grin. “Oh, I just know you’re going to love it here. There’s never a dull moment, and there are so many interesting characters around.”

“We’ve enjoyed having both of you live with us,” Mom said. “I hope we’ve been good parents.”

Lyra’s lip quivered, but she managed a nod. “What happens now?”

“She’s welcome to stay as long as she needs,” Madame Foster interjected to Mom. “Another child may form a bond with her. If so, she’s free to go with them. She’s one of the unusual ones that’s capable of growing up. It could be that she finds her own place in the world. And if these two happen to reconnect as adults, so much the better.” She smiled in turn at Lyra and Bethany. “Of course, you can visit whenever you like.”

Their eyes wide, Bethany and Lyra both spun to cast a pleading glance at their parents, who immediately nodded back. “Certainly,” Dad said.

“Mr. Herriman, would you please help with her bag?” Madame Foster asked. Lyra let the suitcase float to the ground so that he could take charge of it.

“Of course. It will be waiting in your room, young lady.” He bowed smartly, twitched his nose, and hopped into the house.

With all immediate topics of conversation exhausted, everyone stood quietly for a moment, forcing smiles and scuffing feet against the pavement. Bethany rushed over to give Lyra one last hug, throwing her arms around the unicorn’s neck and feeling the soft mane against her cheek. Mom and Dad stooped down to hug them both as well, but as time dragged on, Bethany knew she would have to be the one to end it.

She pulled away from her family and stepped over to Madame Foster. “It’s... time. I’ll just get settled in—” she turned her head back toward her parents “—and maybe we can visit next weekend?”

Mom and Dad smiled and nodded, but Lyra just sniffled hard. She started to mouth “good-bye,” but her voice broke, and she hid her eyes behind her forelock as a few tears dotted the sidewalk. Dad reached a hoof around her shoulder and nudged her along to begin the long trot home.

“You’re going to fit in just fine, dear,” Madame Foster said as she patted Bethany on her back.

“But... you’re human, too. I don’t understand...” Bethany knit her brow and looked down at the short-statured old woman.

“Oh, I run the place,” she said, tittering, “because I’m good at it. But I’m Mr. Herriman’s imaginary friend.”

“Oh.” Bethany had to smile. Some things in the world just made too much sense. “No other humans here, though?”

Madame Foster shook her head. “No. But there’s one scheduled to arrive tomorrow. A boy by the name of Jason.”

No Quixote Here

Blueblood decided he was having a good day. The Canterlot gardens were buzzing with activity, and most of it was swirling all around him, just as it should be. Ponies filled the garden nearly to the brim, enjoying the gentle yellow lanterns swathed in Neighponese paper designs that cast eerily beautiful shadows on the cobblestone paths twisting through the trees. Above them loomed the castle, the warm lights from its windows giving the night a serene yellow hue. He passed by many faces he only vaguely remembered for how much worth they were to the infrastructure of Equestria and, more importantly, his own personal coffers. He rather enjoyed the way smiles stretched the lips of every pony he passed—or how they hid their faces with a bow if they did not—there was something satisfying about making a pony look happy to see you regardless of how they felt. There was Winning Streak, who did something about cloud maintenance, here was Golden Locks who was important because she was a well-known investor in airship manufacturing. Here was another menagerie of different colored coats and manes, assortments of cutie marks that he only guessed the purpose of, ponies who in spite of all their riches never matched the magnitude of his presence. All of them smiled and bowed and self-consciously picked at their mane styles and vest collars, wondering if they were presentable to meet a prince as grand as he.

None of them really were, of course, but he appreciated the effort nonetheless.

“Your lordship,” said a grey earth pony mare with a gaudy mane that seemed to be curls piled up on top of each other, “I must thank you profusely for the hospitality of your house. It is an honor to be company with royalty, even if the Princesses did not attend.”

Blueblood smirked, though her lilting voice and the way she rolled her r’s made him inwardly cringe.

“Oh yes, but it is quite trying being the proverbial shield for my dear aunties at these social functions. They must find some way to mingle with the ‘common’ folk, after all!”

They all tittered at his clever sarcasm, because of course nopony here was ‘common,’ just slightly beneath him, which put them all leagues above the peasantry. He was about to move on when the curly-maned mare spoke again. He resisted the urge to give her the cold shoulder: Celestia would pull his ear if he snubbed too many guests.

“Oh, but if your lordship is so kind, there is the matter of the royal investitures; there’s much to be said about the candidates—!”

Ah, well, that was perfectly all right to shrug off. He didn’t know the candidates for whatever royal office needed filling and didn’t care to; all he needed to do was put the stamp of approval or failure down. He still didn’t know which stamp he liked more.

“All in good time, all in good time,” he said with princely grace, “the Princesses have it well in hoof.”

The mare gave him a plastic smile and let him leave first before turning away.

He passed the rest of them with his own fake smile carved by self-confidence. He knew most of them had an opinion of him as high as his horn—impressive though it may be—was wide. But the important thing was he knew they all tried to fool each other, and more importantly, him, into thinking they thought the world of him. Their poison laced grins could wheedle him all they wanted; it made no difference as long as they acknowledged he was their better.

After all, it was only proper. He wasn’t called Prince Blueblood so he could show how humble he was.

At least he could indulge the adulation from the mare who walked next to him, properly and demurely silent for most of the evening. Her fur was a creamy yellow, her mane as ivory white as the foam atop a cresting wave, and her long white dress flowed delicately around her voluptuous curves, hugging her flanks with chivalrous adoration as it trailed like a marriage gown. Her doey green eyes were ever on him and every blink was slow and methodical, like she was trying to delay the moments when he’d be out of her sight. Ah, he’d never tire of that fawning, star-struck look young mares whenever they looked at him, how their eyes spoke of dreams carefully cultivated for years in the virgin gardens of their cloistered imaginations.

He was pretty sure her name had something to do with fruit.

“It’s such a lovely night, isn’t it, Prince Blueblood?” she simpered.

“Of course,” he replied with flawless dignity, keeping his chin up. “My dear aunties really went all out for this party.”

He didn’t even remember what it was for. But what did it matter? The Princesses were the fulcrum on which all of Equestria balanced, and he merely sit in his appointed spot and stay happy and content.

“Of course,” the mare said, batting her eyelashes, “it’s not nearly as lovely as the time I’ve already spent with you.”

“No,” Blueblood said with an easy laugh, “it’s really not.”

She seemed to take it as a compliment and smiled. Blueblood turned to hear something some unimportant pony said, listening only because it contained a veiled reference to his private derby project, but the mare at his side gave him a nudge on the shoulder. His ears flattened.

“So tell me,” she said in that coquettish voice mares used when they were working up some nerve, “how is it a Prince like you stays so... composed when you’re surrounded by so many flatterers? I doubt I’d be able to handle it.”

“It comes with the title, which was mine by right before I was even a twinkle in my parents’ eyes,” Blueblood replied with a toss of his mane. “We royals are born with all our gifts fully formed the moment we come into the world. One is not simply given this position. They are a kind of pony as unique as the Princesses themselves! I am descended from the very first unicorns to come from the Old Kingdoms, who laid the first stone in Canterlot before the Princesses ever came to Equestria. Composure and decorum is in my blood.”

The mare’s lips made an exaggerated ‘o’ shape. “Is that so? Such a grand lineage, I had no idea your family went so far back!”

Blueblood put a hoof on his chest. “Just one of my many points of pride.”

“Can nopony achieve greatness if they are not like you?”

“Only if they are destined to. Of course I am, and always have been, a great pony. Apart from the Princesses, nopony is like me.”

The mare’s ear flicked back down the path they had come from, peering over her shoulder at one of the many grand fountains most of the party had congregated around.

“It seems some would take dispute with that,” said the mare, squinting to look through the veritable sea of powdered manes and beribboned dresses. A voice called out from amidst the masses—a voice Blueblood knew all too well.

“Ladies and gentleponies, may I present to you the guests of honor at tonight’s soiree, the heroes of our great nation, the mares to whom we owe our lives many times over: the bearers of the Elements of Harmony!”

Blueblood spun around, struck by a lightning bolt of sharp realization. “What?! How dare he—!”

“The Elements of Harmony are here?!” the mare next to him squealed. Her hoof flew to her lips. “Oh my, it’s too early! Is my dress straight? I have to get a glimpse of them!”

Blueblood’s nostrils flared. It was too early. “Out of my way!” he demanded, shoving in front of the mare more to vent his frustration at being shown-up than because he needed any room on the wide path. He broke into a cold sweat as he pondered all the possible ways he would be reprimanded for this level of royal neglect. And to top it all off, a pony he loathed quite particularly had stolen his thunder.

Hayseeds, Blueblood, you had one job! Granted, it wasn’t a job fitting your royal person, but if Celestia finds out... never mind! Time to deal with an upstart.

“Fancypants!” he roared over the dignified cheers of the crowd. He bull-rushed them, desperate to get through and use them as cover before he caught the eye of a certain purple-maned terror.

“Out of my way you common piles of peasantry!” he snapped at their bewildered faces, using his large-but-perfectly-proportioned figure to heave them aside. All of a sudden it became easier as they parted like the very gates of Canterlot, very nearly making him trip over his own hooves in his haste. His blood froze in his veins as he found himself alone and exposed in the middle of the pathway, and six mares he wanted to avoid like the plague were suddenly right there, arrayed in an impenetrable line and walking straight towards him. Panic almost gripped him. Almost. A real prince didn’t panic; that’s what they had commoners for.

“Curses!” Blueblood hissed, skidding his hooves as he turned on a dime and slithered behind a nearby row of bushes just in time to avoid the procession. He couldn’t afford to be spotted by them, and especially not by her so soon into the evening. He watched them go by, all dressed in resplendent finery no doubt designed by that alabaster harridan on the right. Look at her, soaking up all the attention that should be on him! Her eyes were closed as she basked in the cheers and well-wishes of the crowd, no doubt the only reason she hadn’t spotted him. She was so close he could see her curly mane bouncing daintily with each step, and resisted the urge to stick out a hoof and trip her in the middle of her triumph.

Patience, he told himself. Correct Fancypants now. Revenge later.

Carefully avoiding every twig, bramble and branch, he slid out behind them and aimed straight for the stallion who trailed behind them.

“Fancypants!” he growled through gritted teeth, grabbing the stallion by the tail with his magic and yanking him down a side path, out of sight and earshot of most of the others. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Fancypants was nonplussed, straightening out his tail and top hat. He replaced his monocle, which had fallen off after Blueblood snatched him, and shrugged.

“Oh, well it seems to me I’m doing your job, your highness,” he said with such imperial condescension that Blueblood was almost impressed by his audacity. “I do believe your role was to welcome our esteemed guests to their party, but you weren’t at the door, and I was, and, well, here we both are. Don’t tell me you forgot?”

“You cad! You insufferable insignificant stallion!” Blueblood raged. “That was my royal duty! You can’t just swoop in and steal my moment in the spotlight. You’re not even of proper blood!”

Fancypants smiled. It looked far too much like one of Blueblood’s own smiles. The prince felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.

“My dear, dear boy. You haven’t the slightest idea what you’re on about, do you? Even if you stood at the door at the appointed time, said your lines perfectly and escorted those lovely fillies all the way down the walkway... you would be in their shadow. Where unimportant stallions like you and I deserve to be.”

Blueblood gaped and boggled at Fancypants’ outright insubordination. “I... no! I am not unimportant! I am a Prince and I will not be talked down to like that!”

“Nopony need try and do that, Blueblood. You’ve made yourself small enough that it just comes naturally.” Fancypants wiggled his moustache. “Perhaps the presence of those fine mares inspires me, along with the many shots of whiskey I’ve had to gather the courage to do this, but... Prince Blueblood, you ceased being important a long time ago.”

“You stole my spot!”

“And nopony seemed to care, old bean, because they had eyes only for the truly great ponies here. You’re a prince without a kingdom. You know the only thing sadder than a pony who isn’t important? One who thinks he still is.”

Blueblood wilted, sputtering for something, anything to strike the fear of Celestia into this common-born rich pony’s heart. “I’ll... I’ll have you thrown in the dungeon for those words!”

“Just try, my boy. Just try.”

Fancypants marched off without another word. Blueblood dropped onto his haunches, his mouth hanging open. In the space of one arrival and a few choice words, his special night had been utterly ruined. Again. By those silly, ridiculous mares who had power they didn’t deserve in the slightest.

And yet, Fancypants’ words rang true. He watched as pony after pony passed him by, eager to be in the train of those six mares who had stumbled into their heroism. In an instant every eye had gone from him to them, like some kind of pony in a booth turned all their heads with a crank of a wheel and stolen away his attention. Blueblood felt very much unbalanced, almost as if a rug had been swept out from underneath him. He staggered back to his hooves, watching a gay young couple laugh and titter as they hurried to meet their heroes. The Elements of Harmony had stopped at one of the open areas, shaking hooves and schmoozing like they had done it all their lives, save for that one shy little pegasus he never bothered to get the name of. Shutterfree or something like that.

Peering around a tree, he felt something in him snap. Too many parties had gone just like this. Too many days watching his royal house slip away into obscurity as Celestia’s favored pet and her silly, rude, obnoxious friends had gone off and just become household names, sweeping Equestria off its hooves. It was easy for them. Too easy. Only he deserved to pick up heroism like that!

Something simply had to be done.

He barely slept a wink last night, even though he’d gone home from the party early. Not that anypony cared. The next morning, as bright and cheerful as it was, only served as a horrible, impertient contrast to his dour mood. He wasn’t having a good day at all, why should everypony else? At least he had an authority to go to whenever his plans fell apart.

The door to Celestia’s chambers swung open easier than Blueblood thought they would.

“Auntie!” he roared, his voice ringing like a bell. If Fancypants could suddenly bend the rules and treat royalty like any other pony, why couldn’t he do it too?

Celestia, lounging on a pile of floor pillows, didn’t even look up from her paperwork. “Yes, Blueblood, dear?”

“I have decided something!” Blueblood declared, striding grandly into the room.

“Oh my,” she replied in her ethereally calm voice that he knew she only used just for him, “sounds serious.”

Blueblood went to her window and looked down on Canterlot’s skyline. He used to enjoy imagining that everything really did look as small as it did from here, whenever the Princesses chased him off or the castle staff wouldn’t obey his every command. Nopony would have an excuse to ignore him if he was really that huge. “It is, auntie! I’ve come to the conclusion that nopony is prepared to give me the royal accolades that I deserve anymore!”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Blueblood. You’re a Prince, and everypony knows it. You hardly let them forget it,” she said with a laugh in her voice.

“This is no joke!” Blueblood snapped, stamping his hoof. “I need to do something! I must become as the Elements of Harmony are! I must do something that will put me back in Equestria’s good graces and be the prince that those...” He stuck his tongue out. “That those commoners seem to demand.”

“My my,” said Celestia as she scribbled down something that looked like a royal decree, “I’ve rarely seen you this passionate, Blueblood.”

“You’re not even looking at me!” he whined.

Celestia sighed, placing her quill in its inkwell. “Blueblood, do you even have an idea of what kind of things you’re going to do to perform the feat you’ve just described?”

Blueblood sniffed. She didn’t have to make it sound impossible; after all, what was for a prince of his stature? He jutted out his chest and raised his chin. “I’m going to have an adventure and become a hero!”

There was a long moment of painfully awkward silence. Blueblood looked at Celestia, who looked at him.

She blinked, somehow making the gesture look elegant and royal.

“... Just like that?”

“Yes like that!” Blueblood huffed. “Now then. I need you to tell me about any and all ongoing international disputes between us and our barbaric neighbors! Then, I should like you to send me off to resolve them instead of those brutish country ponies you keep dragging out. With luck, I’ll be back in a week or two and my latest shipment of fine wines will have aged perfectly so we can celebrate. So, quickly now! Are the griffons preparing for war? Changelings inserting themselves into our government? Evil beings that need dispelling?”

He waited. The silence dragged on. His eyes were closed to complete the image of a proud, capable prince, but eventually he had to slide one lid open and peek at Celestia.

The Princess of the Sun was giggling behind her hoof.

“Auntie!” he gasped. “How could you? I’m being serious!”

“No, no, my dear Blueblood! Please understand. It’s just that there aren’t any disputes at all!”

Blueblood almost fell over his own hooves. His carefully laid plans were unraveling right in front of his face and he hadn’t even gotten started. His ears went down to half-mast.

“Wh... what? That’s impossible! What about the griffons?”

Celestia smiled lazily, looking out the same window Blueblood had peered from with that maddeningly patient and loving gaze of hers. “They’ve been our friends for ages. The last thing they’d do is go on some meat-eating, warlike rampage. They’re really quite friendly once you get to know them.”

Blueblood’s ears went all the way down. “Changelings?”

“Resolved entirely and in perpetuity when Chrysalis was ejected from Canterlot. My sister and I took measures to ensure they never plague us again.”

Blueblood groveled on the floor. “Ancient evil spirits?” he squeaked out.

“Absolutely none that I am aware of. And pardon me, Blueblood, but you wouldn’t last a moment against any of the ones that I know of. Pray you never meet the ones that I don’t.”

Blueblood raised his hoof meekly, like a schoolcolt answering a question nopony else wanted to field. “But... but I heard Discord was back! Maybe if I could just-”

“Oh, the last time he caused trouble was months ago. I believe you were getting a pony pedi that day, my dear. He was returned to stone and then I decided to give him a rehabilitation.”

“... Oh. Perhaps you could allow me to—”

“I let Fluttershy handle the rest.”

He slammed the door on the way out, making a beeline for the guard quarters.

“So let me get this straight,” said Shining Armor, “you need me to lend you an entire battalion of guardponies so you can ride off into the sunset, correct all the wrongs you find within Equestria’s borders, and become a hero?”

Blueblood slammed his hooves down on the Guard Captain’s desk. Just because he was a Prince in name didn’t make him an equal by any means, and his original job title still held true, which made him thoroughly beneath Blueblood.

“Yes! I don’t see why that’s so hard to grasp for anypony around here!”

Shining Armor rubbed his chin. “Well... you see, the thing is, generally you aren’t supposed to bring an army of well armed, well trained guards along with you when you go on an adventure. They don’t exactly work like that.”

“Oh, what do you know!” Blueblood hissed. “I’m Prince Blueblood and I demand that you give me the proper protection whilst I patrol Equestria’s core regions and seek out injustice and maleficence wherever it may hide.”

Shining Armor rubbed his temples and let out a groan that Blueblood could only believe was his inability to comprehend that such a stunningly amazing and handsome pony like himself was in his office.

“Do you even know how many ponies are in a battalion, Blueblood?”

“That’s Prince Blueblood, and I don’t even care! Give me a battalion of ponies that I may not suffer some untimely end whilst I am on my glorious pilgrimage of triumph!”

“You can have two.”

Blueblood’s eyes widened; was the lowborn Guard Captain finally seeing reason?

“Two whole battalions?”

“Two ponies.”

Blueblood let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

“They’re off duty right now. I’ll need them back by tonight for the Night Guard.”

Blueblood’s jaw dropped. It was amazing how often it did that in the presence of these silly peasants. Perhaps their slack-jawed idiocy was catching. “Off duty?! Back by tonight?! Do you want me to get killed out there?”

Shining Armor opened his mouth. His eyes rolled to the side as he seemed to mull something over in his head. He shut his mouth again.

“Just take them. With my blessing.”

Blueblood got the distinct feeling he was being made fun of, but he couldn’t put his hoof on it, so he decided to change the subject.

“Look, if you’re going to be so monumentally unhelpful when it comes to defending your liege, then at least tell me where there are problems that need a prince’s touch to resolve! If there are no disputes across the seas for somepony of my stature to resolve, then I will simply have to find some here.”

“There are... none. None that a prince of your stature should be involved in, anyway.”

There was that feeling again. Blueblood waggled his hoof. “Well, That’s what your little sister did, isn’t it? Do those silly little everyday things that bring about true harmony or whatever it is she does and now everypony respects her?”

The Guard Captain narrowed his eyes. Blueblood took a step back. “Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she’s twice the stallion you’ll ever be.”

“But she’s a mare!”

“Exactly.”

Blueblood slammed the door on the way out, making a beeline for the royal archives.

“I’m sorry, my lord, but there simply aren’t any entries that match the description you give.”

Blueblood’s cheeks puffed out as he struggled to hold back words that were unseemly for a pony of his position. The royal archivist in front of him was nonplussed.

“But... but there has to be at least one!” Blueblood exploded. “Where else would a pony get their inspiration for grand adventure but where all the greatest secrets in Canterlot are kept? Even Twilight Sparkle broke in here once!”

“My lord, I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a little more specific.”

Blueblood waved his hooves in the air. “How can I get more specific than ‘secrets of the ancients?’ What else do you ponies keep in here?!”

“Just about everything, my lord. But our shelves are full of wisdom passed down from the Princesses and beyond, not stuffed with random arcane knowledge.”

Blueblood was about to tell the stuffy, snot-nosed little that called himself a pony where he could stuff some arcane knowledge when he heard the sound of clopping hooves behind him. He turned to see two guardponies, both pegasi, trotting towards him. They looked extraordinarily unhappy, but Blueblood knew that was only because they shared his misery that they weren’t going to join their fellows in a grand, adventurous journey with a prince.

“Your lordship, you requested that we meet you here?” said the one on the right. “My name is Wind Shear, and this is Thunder-”

“Yes, yes,” said Blueblood, “all very well and good. Now listen, my first task for you both is to search these archives up and down for any hint of troubles that might be returning from ancient times to plague Equestria!”

The guards looked at each other. They looked up at the imposingly gigantic hallways of shelves full of books that loomed over them. They looked at Blueblood.

“Now?” asked Thunder Something.

“Yes, now!” squealed Blueblood, who took a moment to straighten out his mane and regain control of his voice. He hadn’t had time to go through his morning routine ever since he got up from bed, he was in such a tizzy! “I want every inch of this room searched. Every single time I’ve heard about this kind of thing, it’s always been some random book in the middle of a library that starts it. This little pissant,” he said with a toss of his glorious mane in the archivist’s direction, “is obviously hiding something to protect my innocent royal mind from the ancient secrets of my ancestors. So you two are going to find it for me, and when we discover the undoubtedly jaw-dropping and terrifying nature of this dilemma, you’re going to help me solve it!”

Both guards kept their expressions impassive. The archivist stood around like the idiot he was. Blueblood felt his patience fray to the breaking point.

“Well don’t just stand there! Get to work! Your prince commands it!”

He stormed out and slammed the door without waiting for them to obey.

Once he got out of that infernally dusty place, he took a moment to calm himself down. So far nothing was going to plan. Nothing was even going at all. He’d had to adjust to every single impediment on the fly, and he hadn’t even made it outside of Canterlot. Perhaps if those silly guards he’d been assigned couldn’t help, then he’d just have to do some of this detective work himself!

Blueblood left the archivist and his guardponies behind, heading into another section of the royal library. Books upon books glared down at him. He barely even knew where to begin.

“Your highness?” a perky, cheerful voice next to him said.

“Not now, I’m busy!” he snapped, and then realized that just because he was in a bad mood didn’t mean he should chase off ponies willing to throw themselves at his hooves like proper subjects. He dragged a hoof over his face and turned around.

“Ah, my royal apologies,” he said. “I didn’t mean to—”

Twilight Sparkle stood there, eyes wide with concern.

They both stuttered over each other.

“I was just—”

“I’m so sorry, I—”

They went quiet again. Twilight found her words first, which he found mildly irksome. Was he really that upset over all these roadblocks in his way?

“My friends and I are staying at Canterlot for the week! I... came here for some peace and quiet after all the excitement in the party.”

Blueblood blinked. “... Oh.”

Twilight seemed bothered by something, rubbing one leg over the other and biting her lip, her eyes searching the shelves anxiously. Perhaps that purple-maned fiend she called a friend had slandered him to Twilight’s face. It wouldn’t surprise him.

“I didn’t expect to find you here!” she blurted out without warning, and then clapped her hoof to her lips. “I’m so sorry, that came out wrong! I didn’t mean it like... you don’t like libraries. I’m sure you’re very literate! I mean, oh!” The flustered unicorn buried her face in her hooves, mumbling to herself about how she must be under the influence of all the cider she drank last night, making her trip over her words.

Meanwhile, Blueblood was almost flabbergasted, leaning back and raising a hoof in preparation to flee. This was Celestia’s pupil, the most powerful unicorn in the land? The one who brought back Princess Luna and defeated Discord, god of chaos? Who foiled the plans of changelings and commanded the greatest artifact known to ponydom? He wasn’t sure what to think. She looked lost, vulnerable even, sitting there with her cheeks red and her violet eyes twitching back and forth to find an excuse for herself, her slim shoulders hunched down humbly.

It was almost cute. Perhaps she wasn’t the stuck-up, jumped-up girl he’d thought she was. Perhaps, just perhaps, a little conversation with her wouldn’t hurt at all. It’d certainly make up for his abominable day so far.

“It’s just, Rarity’s said a lot about you...”

Or maybe it would be akin to shoving a hoofful of razor blades down his throat.

“I just wasn’t really sure what to expect—no, that came out wrong too!”

“Miss Sparkle,” he said in his best ‘I’m tired and humoring you’ voice, “really, I’m here to find some books. That’s all. I wasn’t here to terrorize you.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, along with a smile that spread with alarming, mercury-like quickness over her face. Blueblood’s eye twitched as the corners of her lips seemed to actually touch her ears.

“Oh, books? I know all about books, your highness! Just tell me what you’re looking for... I know this place like the back of my hoof!”

Well, then... maybe she had her uses after all. And the way she jumped up at the first opportunity to assist him was quite fetching.

“Well,” he said with a laugh and an easy smile, “I happen to be looking for adventure.”

Two hours later, Blueblood stood at the gates of Canterlot Castle, tapping his hoof impatiently. His loyal guardponies were late! Late! As if they had anything better to do. Shining Armor had even said they were off duty, and they actually found time to be lazy though they were being commanded by a prince. Perhaps he should have them both dismissed. That would show them.

He didn’t like the looks other ponies were throwing him either. Instead of shooing them away like the cads they were, though, he let them have their gawking time at his wonderfully rugged attire and handsomely mussed mane. He wondered if it was part of the effect that those silly old books described. He took out the one Twilight had recommended to him (such a helpful filly, if rather chatty): a strange old novel titled The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Dole. He’d barely read more than a paragraph before he’d excused himself from Twilight’s incessant talking about this, that, and the other book. Still, it turned out to be a helpful, if unexpected guide. He must remember to thank her later. Perhaps he could make her blush again.

The ponies therein were, dare he say it, very common. Only one or two had titles to their names and they didn’t seem to do anything of particular importance besides, well, go on an adventure! It seemed royalty didn’t really get to have adventures unless they became common first or disguised themselves as such, which didn’t strike him as making a bit of sense. But most importantly, they all had a common theme: none of them were afraid of getting dirty, and all of their equipment was described to a tee as rough and travel ready. Rolling around in the training circles of the guard barracks had been disgusting, but it was worth it to complete the look of a weathered traveler. He was brown with dirt and smelled a little bit of sweat (even if it wasn’t his own) and the earth, and had even managed to swipe a second-hoof set of guard armor from the quartermaster, along with an entire cart full of provisions, weaponry, and maps of Equestria and beyond. Strangely enough the quartermaster was—apart from Twilight—the most helpful pony today! Why, the way he practically shoved everything into Blueblood’s hooves and told him to leave as soon as possible was almost flattering.

So here he was, finally ready to go out and find some trouble as the lower born heroes did it in those silly foal’s books. It was astonishing, really, how the others in the castle had refused to tell him how great and amazing he was for even deigning to step from his throne and improve the lives of everypony beneath him.

He looked up at the sky. A cloudy day over Canterlot was being slowly broken up by the clouds. Celestia’s sun shone through a patchwork of bulging grey shapes, peering curiously at him and bathing him in gentle, searching rays of sunlight that played over the polished breastplate of his armor. Who are you? it seemed to ask. Where are you going?

He was Prince Blueblood, and whatever anypony else said, he was ready to make his mark on the world.

He scratched at his flank. This armor was amazingly itchy.

“We’re here, your lordship.”

Blueblood turned to see Wind Shear and Thunder Whatever coming towards him with their requisite blank expressions. “Splendid, splendid! My boys, this is going to be an adventure the likes of which you have never seen before. We’re going to head down...”

Pause for effect.

“Beyond the gates of the castle!”

The guards stared. Blueblood waved his hoof. “Into the city! Beyond our cloistered existence and into the rough and tumble, don’t you get it?!”

“Sir,” said Wind Shear, “I go outside the castle on a weekly basis. I live in the city. Not much goes on there.”

Blueblood blew a mighty raspberry. “Don’t be such a coward, Wind Shear! I’m sure you never found excitement because you never bothered to go looking for it. ”

“I don’t, your lordship. I report for duty every day at five AM sharp and do not move for the next seven hours.”

Blueblood blinked at him. “Well, then! Today is your lucky day, my fine fellows! We’re off to see if Canterlot is in need of good ponies like us. Perhaps we shall rescue a damsel from a mugging. Perhaps we shall meet a rich pony who would like us to find his long-lost scion. Or perhaps!”

He held The Lost World aloft.

“We shall find an eccentric pony who just needs one or two strong young lads like ourselves to help them on their daring mission into the unknown!”

The guards blinked up at the book. Thunder Something looked back at Blueblood.

“We’re going to follow the advice of a novel?” he wondered.

Blueblood rolled his eyes and took the book in both hooves, tapping the cover. “A novel recommended to me by the one and only Twilight Sparkle, pupil of Celestia! This is what ponies do, Thunder Whatsit! If I’m going to have an adventure and be a hero, I must do exactly as the books say. If that includes going down into Canterlot to find all the crazy ponies I can, then so be it!”

The guards rolled their eyes. Wind Shear looked up at the precariously teetering pile of essential travel equipment Blueblood had flung together on short notice.

“So who’s going to cart all of that?”

Blueblood scoffed. As if the question was ever in doubt! “You are, my loyal subjects! You will be my assistants on this journey and as such you will act as porters whilst I keep my weather eyes out for any damsels in distress or demons or whatever else we encounter out there. After all, I’m the one who’s supposed to get the lovely battle scars. Er, not too many of course. Or too deep. In fact, it might be better if I walk behind you two, seeing as the rear is a vulnerable place but seemingly less prone to scarring.”

The guards sighed in unison. Blueblood trotted out of the gate.

Canterlot was fairly buzzing with activity. Blueblood hurried along, snooping and sniffing every dark corner and random alleyway he could. According to the book, surprises came from around every corner, and adventure was found in unlikely places. After all, if a silly little news reporter could run into utterly random rich ponies who needed adventurous help, a prince should have absolutely no trouble!

“You there! I say, you there!” he called out to a nearby stallion. “Do you know where I can find some adventure?”

The pony gave him a strange look and walked on. Blueblood sputtered and pointed him out to his guards.

“Did you see that? That pony just ignored me! He ignored Prince Blueblood! I was right! Fancypants was right! I really am sliding into obscurity!”

“Maybe it’s because you look nothing like a prince?” Wind Shear suggested. “I mean, no offense your highness, but you’re covered in dirt and you smell kind of funky. Also, I didn’t know if you noticed before, but you’re wearing rusty armor.”

“... I just assumed it was bronze,” Blueblood muttered, poking at the rusty bits. Which were everywhere, now that he really looked at them. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t look very princely at all. But that was the idea, wasn’t it? He had to look the part, and apparently adventurers got very dirty, at least according to the description of the characters on page one hundred sixty-three.

And so, ignoring the looks of ignorant ponies who had no idea what kind of great future they were looking at, he wandered on, leading the two guards through the streets of Canterlot.

It wasn’t long before he found himself in one of the seedier areas of the city, and though rather perturbed by the lack of rich clothes on the populace (some of them were even going naked! How unfashionable!) and their yokel accents that completely lacked the sophistication of a pony in the jet set, he had meant to come here.

“Ah, this is where the low lifes thrive, is it?” he wondered to nopony in particular, taking a breath of the noxious fumes that permeated this part of the city and clung to the bodies of the poor-folk. Had none of these ponies even heard of the word ‘perfume?’

Thunder What’s-His-Name grunted. “Your highness, we’re one level away from Canterlot Castle. We’re not exactly in a den of thieves, here.”

“Nonsense!” exclaimed Blueblood. “You boys doubtlessly haven’t lived it rough enough to know a wretched hive of scum and villainy when you see it!”

He turned a corner and found a pub. Against the wishes of his loyal yet fearful guards who obviously weren’t as brave as he was, he went inside. It smelled of vomit inside and out. But doubtless this was a place to find some mysterious benefactor, wasn’t it? At least, the ponies in the book frequented a few pubs to gather more hooves for their journey. Shivering with anticipation, yet feeling strangely perturbed by something he couldn’t put his hoof on, he went inside. As expected, it was full of rowdy louts who were relaxing after a long day’s work.

Work that is doubtless concerned with shady deals and ideas that take ponies to far-off places! Blueblood thought, feeling giddy that he was even stepping hoof in a place like this.

A particularly loud crowd of ponies caught his attention.

“Halt!” he called out to his loyal guards, and ducked behind a nearby drunkard. The guards followed with less enthusiasm than he’d hoped for; what if those nasty ponies saw them first?

The ponies that surrounded the demure little more looked crude and low-class. One of them even spat on the ground. Blueblood shivered in repulsion. Were these really the kinds of ponies he was expected to tangle with? The mare in their midst (for even the other mares here weren’t very ladylike at all) was a far cry from them all, wearing a prim business suit, a thoroughly put out and pouty expression on her delicate features. The other ponies were laughing at her. Laughing like they hadn’t care in the world and she was nothing to them.

“They must be robbers!” Blueblood gasped.

“In broad daylight in a crowded pub?” Wind Shear asked. Blueblood growled.

“Or perhaps ponies come to collect the dues on a poor young thing like her. Why didn’t Shining Armor tell me we have ponies like this right here in Canterlot?”

“Maybe because—”

Thunder Thing was interrupted by another peal of laughter. The blushing mare hid her face in her hooves as her captors poked and prodded aggressively at her.

“Enough! I’ve seen enough!” Blueblood thundered, jumping to his hooves. “We have to stop this travesty! Obviously these cads are trying to bully that poor mare into revealing some kind of awful secret! We have to stop them and secure her financial aid for our journey!”

He saw Wind Shear’s eyes widen with the anxiety of a coming fight.

“Uh, wait, your highness, you don’t understand!”

“I understand plenty! Onward, loyal subjects!” Blueblood said, rearing up and charging into the fray. His heart pounded. His blood raced in his veins. The excitement could be held back no longer! These blackguards thought they could desecrate good ponies, who while totally beneath him in every way did not need cruel hooves trampling on their meager livelihoods? Not in the Canterlot that Blueblood was going to create! The adrenaline coursed through him, making him blind to everything else except his one, golden ideal. He’d be getting awards and parades and respect, now! Nopony was going to say he was a coward or a fool or obscure any longer!

He grinned as he saw nopony heard him coming over the drunken laughter of One of the ponies at the hole in the wall turned and saw him at the last moment.

And then he went down as Blueblood’s hoof connected with his broad square chin. The well-dressed mare screamed, doubtlessly terrified and struck by admiration for her rescuer.

“Hey!” shouted a formidable looking stallion. “Hey, nutjob! What’s the big idea? Look at me when I’m talking to you!”

He went down in a blaze of glory as Blueblood’s rear hooves connected with his nose. Blueblood laughed and went on to the next shocked pony, throwing him over a table with ease. He laughed. was invincible! He was unstoppable! He was—

“PRINCE BLUEBLOOD!”

Everything went silent as Princess Celestia herself burst through the door of the seedy establishment. A wave of commanding energy washed over the building, forcing even the clinking of bottles to go silent. Everypony dropped down to their hooves and bowed in sudden reverence, even the cads Blueblood had been fighting. Blueblood dropped the pony he’d been about to slam into a table and looked up at Celestia with a happy grin.

“Auntie! Look! I’ve apprehended these ne’er do wells—”

“They’re my friends, you idiot!” the mare yelled, red in the face.

Blueblood’s grin sloughed off his face. The realization of a horrible, horrible mistake cracked him right in the jaw like the punches he’d just been throwing. “Er, what?”

“My friends! My drinking buddies! They were just teasing me over a promotion I got earlier today! What is the matter with you?!”

Blueblood went cold as he looked up at Celestia’s glowering face. She looked at him like nopony had ever looked at him before. He turned around and saw everypony else staring at him in varying degrees of shock and terror.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you! When I heard that you had abandoned Twilight in the library and ran off ranting about doing something great, I didn’t expect to see this,” the Princess of the Sun snapped at him. “My own royal nephew here in a bar, picking fights for absolutely no reason! Is that guard armor? Where did you even get all that?!”

Blueblood’s heart dropped into his stomach. He ripped the rusty guard helmet off his head like it was a carrier of the plague, looking down at his hooves in mute humiliation.

“I was... I thought I was... it was just... I wanted to do some good...”

Celestia shook her head, looking around with a sigh at the mess he’d made. She bent her head down and her horn glowed. Everypony Blueblood had decked was brought back to their hooves, dazed and confused.

Celestia turned back to Blueblood and stared at him with an emotion he’d never really seen before. She was pitying him.

“I didn’t think you were serious, Blueblood,” she whispered, seeming apologetic, but not enough. Something cracked in Blueblood’s chest.

“But I thought I was—”

“Go home, Blueblood.”

And that was that.

Blueblood trudged out of the building, looking up at the sky. The sun had already dropped below the top of the wall, hiding its face from him. It no longer searched for him with gentle golden rays.

He looked down the street, to the main gate of Canterlot that hung open. The world was out there, big and unusual and full of important things that went on with or without Blueblood’s permission or desire. He looked up at the cart full of supplies. Nopony was watching him anymore, instead listening to Celestia trying to explain his actions to them. Soon they’d forget about him. They’d pass him off. They’d see him as nothing but a lout and a ridiculous pony who didn’t know what he was doing.

I didn’t think you were serious.

The cart was untended. The gate was wide open. Nopony was watching.

It would be so easy.

Blueblood sighed miserably and hitched himself to the cart, beginning the long walk back to the castle.

Life Less Frightening

Princess Luna stretched herself out on the top of a small hill, enjoying the cool grass that tickled her skin and the gentle breeze that caressed her mane. A soft, distant chitter of crickets and wildlife could be heard off in the surrounding forest. The tall, enshrouded trees offered her a sense of protection as they towered above, leaving her with only a small clearing of open sky to watch. Countless stars twinkled at her, each one drawn to the finest detail and shimmering with beauty that simply could not be found anywhere else. In the midst of the celestial congregation hung her pride and joy: the very moon itself, and it shined with majesty all its own.

There were no castle staff running amuck, making noise every which way they went. She was not behind a desk, staring up at towers of paperwork that needed to be done yesterday. There were no politicians begging at her hooves, no foreign ambassadors breathing down her neck, no subjects praising her for what she hadn’t done, asking her things she was incapable of answering or otherwise knowing. Not to mention her sister wasn’t here to nag her either. It was this moment of being alone, of pure serenity that she found most pleasurable: just to escape the routines and formalities of her life, even if for only a little while.

A haphazard, aimless series of snapping twigs suddenly made itself known from somewhere close in the forest. Luna’s ears flicked at the noise and she glance off in the sound’s direction. She probably would’ve passed it off as just some random critter had it decided not to come towards her, the sound of hoofsteps beginning to make themselves apparent. Her gaze hardened, irked that her peaceful time alone was being infringed on. She almost decided then to get up and leave before being found, yet some unidentifiable urge held her back and kept her still in the grass. Perhaps the pony would just pass by, she thought, but then again who would be by themselves in the thick of a forest, especially in the middle of the night?

A small earth pony colt suddenly emerged from behind a tree and into the clearing she lay in. His coat was most likely a bright alabaster, but it was hard to tell due to the grass and dirt that stained it. His mane and tail were a very deep shade of blue—not too different from the shade of her own fur—but it was disheveled and had leaves and twigs caught up in its tangles. Not to mention he was probably eight years old.

He didn’t seem to notice her at first. He was too busy looking up at the stars to notice her. Luna watched him with curiosity as he scrutinized the stars, his mouth wordlessly opening and closing, his head tilting from side to side. Only after several minutes passed did he seem satisfied by whatever thought grasped him, self-affirming with a confident nod. He took just two steps forward before it suddenly occurred to him he wasn’t alone and froze in place.

Luna was able to hide her amused smile. Despite how annoying life could be around others, she’d always had a soft spot for children. Their innate innocence simply appealed to her and often made her feel, for lack of better word, welcomed. If she wasn’t expected to do otherwise, she’d probably prance through the streets like the foals she’d want to be playing with. But now, that basic instinct of her was suppressed, in its place a feeling normally reserved for a worried mother.

“Are you lost, little one?” she warmly asked. Her voice only seemed to startle the colt, however, and it took several long seconds before she got a reply.

“Uh… No, I’m not lost,” he said, his eyes darting around as if he didn’t know if he was allowed to make eye-contact. “I’m just walking around, is all,” he added with a wary smile.

“Really now?” she asked. “Somewhere in the densest reaches of a forest, in the darkest hour of the night no less?”

The colt bit his lip. “What are you doing out in the forest in the middle of the night?” he asked right back.

“Trying to relax beneath the stars,” she told him with a slight chuckle, swinging a foreleg up to the sky. The colt followed her hoof, breaking out a tiny, awestruck smile as his gaze shifted upwards. She then looked back to him and asked, “What is your name?”

The colt stammered. “Mommy says I shouldn’t give my name to strangers,” he suddenly blurted out, giving her a cold stare and a pout in return.

Luna blinked. “What? I should be no stranger to you, my little pony. Do you not know your princess when you see her?”

He tilted his head. “You’re a princess?”

She paused, feeling her breath lump up in her throat. “Princess Luna? Have you not heard my name before?”

“Yeah, Mommy says Princess Luna brings the night to the world so all the ponies can go to sleep,” he answered, an almost indistinguishable crestfallen tone to his voice as the sentence ended. His head gradually lowered in unison as well, but then it immediately perked back up and his eyes went wide. “Wait, you’re Princess Luna?”

“That I am,” she acknowledged, chuckling again, but out of amusement over the colt or some sort relief she couldn’t tell. Perhaps it was a mixture of the two. The withheld knowledge that her sister’s day was, simply put, more embraced by the world’s populace than her night could ever be disheartened her. She was the lesser, something that had and always would be true since she and her sister took on the burden of the heavens. Though she herself could never sleep, everyone else surely needed it, and this colt was although most likely unintentionally, bringing that lonely fact to light.

“I’ve never met a princess before,” the colt mused aloud, more so to himself than to her. His words regained her attention, and Luna watched as he spoke wordlessly and wiped his hooves in the grass.

After an uncomfortably long silence for her, Luna spoke. “Well now you know who I am, a stranger no longer,” she said. “Why don’t you share with me your name?”

The colt blinked. “Oh. Uhm… I guess so. I’m Stardust.”

“That is a lovely name,” Luna hummed. “Now tell me, Stardust, why are you out in the middle of this forest and not in bed?”

“Uh… I-I got unsunniea,” he said uncomfortably, shifting under her confused gaze.

There was a pause. “Insomnia?”

“Yes, that!” he squeaked. “It’s hard for me to go to sleep sometimes, so I like to go on walks.”

“I take it your home is not far from here, then,” Luna mused. “By why then, I wonder, wander the forest? Do you not fear what awful creatures may be stalking its shadows?”

“But I’ve lived here my whole life and do this all the time! There’s nothing scary here at all,” he tried to reason. “Besides, I like the night and I like the forest. And it’s not like I could sleep anyways.”

Luna couldn’t help but smile.

“I don’t know about you, but I really enjoy these get-togethers.”

Luna lifted her head and gave the pony beside her a look. “Oh?”

“I just like having somepony to talk to, I guess,” Stardust said, unsure of his own words. He rolled over onto his back and looked up to the sky. The moon was as luminous and beautiful as any other night, and it shone down on them like a spotlight through the forest clearing they lay in. He brought a hoof up to his chin for a moment, and then began snickering to himself. “Although, it still boggles my mind it’s with the princess of Equestria.”

“There’re two princesses,” Luna reminded him with a tiny smirk. “Besides, we share a common attribute. Sister has told me many times that good friends have common traits.”

“Just to think, a year ago I didn’t even know what you looked like!”

“Quite,” she commented, and then silence befell the two of them, their eyes jointly trained upwards at the night sky. The tranquil, earthen sounds that took hold over their peace only stood to solidify it. The black shadows not so much intimidating as they were soothing, only serving to emphasize the delicate light they were receiving. The grass was cold, but gentle, and every time she shifted her weight atop the tiny hill it felt like she was getting brushed by the softest bristles imaginable.

“Hey, Luna,” Stardust began. “If you don’t mind me asking, I’ve always wondered why you’re out here in the forest. I mean, I have my excuse, what’s yours?”

“You mean aside from escaping formality every once and while?” He nodded, earning a little sigh from her. “The night is a beautiful thing. I just think it could be appreciated a little bit more.”

Stardust snickered. “You got that right.”

Luna crossed her forelegs over her chest and sighed. The moon was shining, the stars were sparkling, yet she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing, something other than the empty patch of grass to her side.

It was the fifty-seventh night in a row Stardust hadn’t shown up. Not that she was worried or anything; she understood perfectly how work can get tend in one’s way. Although she never experienced it herself, the stories she’s heard behind the concept of “homework” sounded no different than the grueling paperwork she had to tackle every now and again. Of course, she highly doubted a young pony would have to negotiate peace with a nation on the brink of war, she still held sympathy for him. Nonetheless, she felt like something else, something unidentifiable, was missing.

“Perhaps we should make a schedule?” she pondered aloud.

“Sorry I couldn’t be here last month,” Stardust apologized as he took his familiar spot in the grass. “I had a chess tournament the third week, and I was busting my flank over finals the time before.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Luna dismissed with a wave of her hoof. “I myself had been rather preoccupied lately as well.”

“Life is just too mundane for my tastes,” he joked, sticking his tongue out to show how tired he was. “Personally, I prefer to live for the moment.”

“And what better moment is this?” Luna said with a smile as she stared up to the night sky.

“Can’t think of any,” Stardust said with a chuckle. “I can’t think of any at all.”

“College, hmm?”

“Oh yes!” Stardust chirped. “I’m going to Stellar University off in Baltimare. They got the highest-magnification telescope in the entire nation!”

Luna hummed. “Yes, I know the one. I had it gifted a century ago as a way of congratulating the school for having the highest test scores in Equestria.” She frowned. “It’s seldom used, however…”

“Well expect it to get put to full use!” he exclaimed, pointing a hoof skywards in emphasis. “The first star I find is going to have my name on it!”

“I could tell you where they all are right now,” Luna teased.

“Well where would be the fun in that?” Stardust remarked. “The whole point to astronomy is the exploration and discovery.”

“I’ll be sure to make the nights the fullest for you,” she said with a hint of sadness in her tone.

“You mean you aren’t right now?” Stardust innocently questioned.

Luna opened her mouth to speak but no words came. With a puzzled look she focused her eyes to the starscape above. Surely, every star had to be there, but even her eyes could only see so much. Perhaps there could be more, she reasoned, looking at the empty spaces between each blinking speck, but the night was beautiful enough as is. There was no need to add extra clutter to it, and there definitely was no need to take away from it. There was the perfect amount, a wonderful blend of whites and blacks. Surely it didn’t need any modifications to it.

Stardust looked at her. “Well?”

“One more year,” Luna said to herself with a sigh as she relaxed on the crest of the hill. The night sky felt empty to her, even though she had added to it throughout the years. Yet no matter how many stars there were, she had soon realized, the lonely feeling that had been plaguing her persisted, not diminishing the slightest.

“I wonder how he’s changed.”

“Engaged?”

Stardust failed to hide his blush and oversized smile. “I know! I can hardly believe it myself! We met senior year in college, and it just took off from there. But then after we graduated, we kinda went our separate ways for a while. But we promised to stay true to each other, and it’s been so long, I know, but I ran into her in town just the other day!”

“I’m certainly happy for you then,” Luna said with a nod. “As the saying goes, love works in mysterious ways. Even with all my centuries of life I am yet to fully understand it.”

“I don’t think anypony ever will,” he chuckled in response. “Oh, and of course, you’re invited to the wedding whenever that’ll be.”

A bittersweet smile slowly crossed her lips. “Unless you plan for the ceremony to be at this time of night, I don’t think I could make it. Yet I thank you nonetheless, whether I can be in attendance or not.”

“Don’t mention it,” Stardust said, twirling his hoof at the sky above. “I just hope that someday you can see her face.”

“I’m so sorry,” Luna tried to comfort, holding the stallion in her hooves like a mother would to a frightened child. What would normally be another peaceful night was sundered by his quiet sniveling and occasional, heartfelt sob. She caressed his back gently, making up for the breeze which was mysteriously absent as well.

“Sh-he just…” Stardust was able to say before his voice cracked, turning once again to a series of blubbery noises and gasps for air.

“I know, I know,” Luna cooed and nuzzled him affectionately. “There’s no need to keep thinking it over if all it brings is more sorrow.”

Stardust stiffened his hug around her and burrowed his snout into her shoulder. Luna sighed, not letting her dear friend overhear her thoughts. To have not only one’s wife, but the unborn child be taken away so suddenly was incomprehendable to her. It almost made her wish her physiology allowed for such traits so accustomed to ponykind, but could she suffer the inevitable heartbreak?

“I ca-an’t live l-like thi-is…”

She looked down at Stardust and held him tighter. A new moon hung high in the congregation of dimmed stars, silent witnesses to the happenings below.

Luna sat in a small clearing in the middle of a dense forest, atop a tiny hill staring at the night sky above. Everything was quiet and tranquil, but as the hours passed by that tranquility seemed to falter.

“Lulu?” came a voice from behind.

“’Tia?” Luna craned her neck around, just in time to see her sister walk out of the shadows. “What are you doing here?”

“I was wanting to ask you the same,” Celestia said, a look of concern on her face. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, you know.”

“I’ve been here,” Luna calmly replied as she returned her gaze upwards, “waiting.”

“So I’ve been told…” Celestia mused, yet her sister didn’t seem to take any hints. Luna just continued to sit, eyes fixed but her mind wandered. She didn’t at all notice Celestia as she walked up to and sat down on an empty patch of grass beside her.

“Luna…”

“He’ll be here,” she interrupted. “Don’t you worry.”

“But the sun has to come up, Lulu.”

Luna turned her head. “Be that night can’t end now. He hasn’t shown yet!”

Celestia hung her head and sighed. There was a long a dragged out pause before she finally spoke. “This pony, Stardust, he was your friend, correct?”

“He is,” Luna affirmed with a nod. “We agreed to meet here on this day. If he wasn’t going to show, he would have told me beforehand.”

“That’s just it though,” Celestia said with a sad frown. Her ears were pulled back and her eyes seemed to sink, yet Luna was none the wiser. If anything that only made what she had to say harder. But Celestia swallowed the lump in her throat before it could form, and brought a small paper into view.

“My dearest sister, I want you to know there’s no real easy way to say this,” she began, “However, it is something that must be said. Eighteen months ago, your friend Stardust, in his grief over the loss of his wife, had committed—”

“Sister!” Luna suddenly shouted with noticeable pain in her voice. “Do not speak such things! The night will last forever for all I care, but he will show!”

Celestia brought up a hoof and tried to embrace her sister. “Luna, I know your heart is in the right place, that you mean the best of intentions, but unfortunately I cannot let this go on any longer. The sun has been absent for over a week now!”

“I will stay longer if it has to!” Luna cried. “I won’t let this day pass! He’s missed the past seventeen meets, but I know he won’t miss this one!”

“Luna, please! You are delusional! Listen to my words and—”

“No!”

Flight Drills

The sun was barely peaking over the horizon, draping the clouds in red and gold, as Scootaloo raced through Ponyville. Her wings buzzed as she hurtled down the road, the wheels of her scooter clacking loudly on the paving stones. So early in the morning, there were few other ponies in the streets that could get in her way, so Scootaloo was free to lose herself in her thoughts. Thoughts were something she had aplenty this morning.

”I can't believe it!” Scootaloo said to herself, “Today I finally get to start learning how to fly with the coolest, most awesome-est pony ever! Rainbow Dash is the best flier in Equestria! I bet she'll be the best teacher in Equestria too!”

As she rocketed down the path to Rainbow Dash's home, she whipped up a flurry of leaves in her wake. The road was more uneven here, and each bump sent her sailing through the air, higher and higher every time. Her wings pumped as fast as they could, driving her scooter ever faster, and with every twist and turn in the road, her anticipation of the day to come grew. Her heart pounded in her chest, eager to reach her destination and finally show Rainbow Dash that she could be everything a little sister should be. She'll be fast. She'll be agile. She'll be cool, and awesome, and radical. She'll be too busy dwelling on what will be that she won't notice that big rock until it is too late...

Scootaloo did notice it, but it was too late. The scooter slammed against the obstacle, and came to an abrupt halt. The filly with the buzzing wings did not come to an abrupt halt, and instead soared over the handlebars. Scootaloo winced and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the ground rush up to meet her, and pumped her wings even harder, trying with all her might to stay airborne. For a brief moment, her heart fluttered. “I did it! I'm flying!” she thought to herself, and opened her eyes to watch herself soar through the air. Instead, Scootaloo hit the grassy earth of the hillside with a thud, bouncing off and rolling head over haunches through the air once more. After a few more painful impacts, Scootaloo was brought to a stop as her helmet clacked off of a mailbox. Dazed, she managed to stagger to her feet, shaking her head furiously to clear it.

“A mailbox? What's a mailbox doing way out here in the middle of nowhere?”

A moment later, after recovering her senses, her heart shot into her mouth once more. She knew exactly where she was. Looking up in the sky, she could see it; like a bronze temple, Rainbow Dash's home in the clouds loomed over her, with fountains sending rainbows trickling into hidden pools. From the ground, much of it was hidden, but it was still an amazing sight for Scootaloo. Having grown up in Ponyville, and never having visited Rainbow Dash before, she'd never seen cloud architecture before. She'd heard about Cloudsdale in school of course, and seen pictures of the city in the sky, but seeing it in person was not something that the flightless pegasus had had the chance to do. Rainbow Dash's house was, of course, much smaller than Cloudsdale, but from where Scootaloo sat, it might have been the size of a mountain. Awe-struck and jaw-dropped, Scootaloo sat speechless as she watched tiny beads of rainbow fall from the edges of the cloud's foundation, evaporating into the air before they hit the ground.

“This,” she whispered, finally managing to breathe, “is going to be the best day ever!”

It was well into midmorning when the sunbeams coming through her window had finally crept across Rainbow Dash's face. Wrinkling her nose with a frown, the sleepy pony tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but soon discovered it was hopeless. She was awake. With a grand yawn, Rainbow crawled out of bed, and resigned herself to starting the day. A quick glace in the mirror revealed a mane wild with tangles, mussed by the night's sleep. With a sweep of her hoof, she loosened the tangles, leaving her hair to fall wildly down her neck. “Good enough,” she thought, making her way the the small kitchen of her home. After a quick breakfast of plain oats, she decided to take a quick flight around her home, to blow the persisting drowsiness away. Almost as soon as she took to the air though, she heard a voice calling to her from below.

“Rainbow Dash! Are you ready to start teaching me how to fly?” Scootaloo shouted up from her place beside the mailbox, from where she hadn't moved since her arrival. Rainbow Dash had completely forgotten that she'd agreed to start teaching the excited filly to fly, but wasn't about to admit that. Banking into a dive, she swooped in for a landing. As she touched down in front of Scootaloo, Rainbow struck a confident pose, and smirked to herself as Scootaloo grinned even wider.

“You ready to learn how it's done, squirt?” Rainbow said, putting her arm around Scootaloo's neck.

“Yes!” Scootaloo squealed. It was finally too much excitement, and she started bouncing in circles around Rainbow Dash. “Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Okay, okay, hold your horses, we'll get started right away,” Rainbow said, laughing, “First things first, show me what you can do.”

“What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked, no longer bouncing.

“How far you can fly,” Rainbow Dash replied, “I'm not expecting anything awesome; you're not me, after all. I just want to see how far you can go without touching the ground.”

“Ok, you got it Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said. The little filly crouched down, stretching her wings, preparing to jump.

“On your mark...” Rainbow said, “Getsetgo!”

Scootaloo sprang up from the ground, and right away her wings started buzzing. As Rainbow watched, Scootaloo began to fly with all the grace and skill of a rock. When she'd hit the ground again, Rainbow could hardly tell whether she's flown at all, or if she'd just jumped ahead. Nevertheless, Scootaloo turned beaming at Rainbow Dash “How did I do? Did I fly? Was I awesome?”

“Uh...yeah...not really Scoots,” Rainbow Dash sighed. The smile melted off of Scootaloo's face. “Well, now we know where to start. We've got a lot of hard work ahead of us if we're going to get you off the ground.”

By lunchtime, Rainbow Dash was starting to lose hope that she could teach Scootaloo anything. The morning had been filled with the most basic of flying drills. Hovering in place should have been an easy one, but Scootaloo could barely stay airborne for six seconds. Gliding was almost as bad; there was almost no difference between Scootaloo's aerodynamics and that of a rock. Rainbow Dash had checked.

“Ok Scoots, let's take a break for lunch,” Rainbow called, just as Scootaloo was struggling with another hovering drill. With a sigh of relief, she sank back to the ground.

“Where are we going to eat?” Scootaloo asked breathlessly. Instead of answering, Rainbow Dash scooped her up and began climbing higher and higher, up to her house of clouds. Scootaloo gasped and started giggling with excitement. “Oh my gosh, I get to see inside Rainbow Dash's house!” she murmured to herself, but Rainbow overheard her and a smug grin spread over her face.

Up in the front walk of her cloud house, Rainbow Dash put Scootaloo down.

“I've never really walked around on clouds before!” Scootaloo said, springing from side to side and pawing at the soft cloud beneath their hooves. “Oh wow! A rainbow pool!” she said, darting to the edge and looking at her reflection in the colourful, rippling surface. “This is the coolest house ever!”

“You know it,” Rainbow Dash shot back, “I am the best, I deserve the best house in Ponyville. Or above Ponyville. Now come on, let's get something to eat. You're going to need your strength for this afternoon.”

“What are we doing this afternoon?” Scootaloo asked eagerly, “Barrel rolls? Loop-de-loops? Are you going to show me how to do a Sonic Rainboom!”

“Uh, no. Wing-ups,” Rainbow said, slightly bemused that Scootaloo thought she could do any of those things. “You need to build up wing strength, so you are going to do one thousand wing-ups.”

“A thousand wing ups?” Scootaloo groaned, “But I want to fly!”

“You can't fly,” Rainbow Dash said, curt and matter of fact. She didn't notice the hurt expression on Scootaloo's face; it was true, so Rainbow Dash never stopped to think that it might hurt her protege’s feelings. “And you'll never be able to fly without building up wing strength. So you're going to do a thousand wing-ups, and I'm going to motivate you. The same way my Dad motivated me.”

“Just like real sisters!” Scootaloo said, but Rainbow wasn't paying attention. She was thinking back to her own early flying lessons.

When she was a young filly, just learning to fly, Rainbow Dash's father had insisted on intense training for his daughter, and never hesitated to correct her when she wasn't doing something just right. Rainbow had memories of many days that had started long before sunrise, and continued long after sunset, with her father throwing challenge after challenge at her. She'd always hated it at the time, having been forced to practice while the other fillies her age played in the clouds, but once she went away to flight school, she had to admit that it had worked. She was faster than all the other fillies her age, and even most of the older ones too. Once she was on her own, Rainbow Dash had decided to take a much less stringent approach to her practising, but had always been able to justify it to herself because she was already the best. “You've got to pay your dues,” her father had always said, and Rainbow Dash could see he was right. She had been forced to work harder at learning the basics than she'd ever had to work for anything else, and it made her the best. It worked for her, and it would work for Scootaloo, too.

Over lunch, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash talked about flying drills some more, and Rainbow Dash bragged about being the best at her Cloudsdale flight school. Scootaloo was always the best pony to brag to; Applejack and Rarity and the rest of her friends would always roll their eyes or complain when Rainbow Dash started to brag, but Scootaloo would eat it up and ask for more. Rainbow Dash was starting to really like this 'big sister' role.

“Ok, let's get back to work,” Rainbow dash said through her last mouthful of oats, “One thousand wing-ups in the yard, go!”

“Yes ma'am!” Scootaloo shouted, before running into the yard. Beside the rainbow pool, Scootaloo dropped down and started doing her thousand wing-ups.

“No!” Rainbow Dash shouted, almost causing Scootaloo to jump into the pool in shock, “Keep your front hooves off the ground! It's wing-ups, not hoof-ups!”

Scootaloo was shocked at the new attitude Rainbow Dash was taking. She was scowling, and serious, and she seemed kind of mean. But she was still the best flier in Equestria, so she must know what to talk about. Carefully, Scootaloo stuck her front hooves out in front of her, and pressed her wings into the soft cloud beneath her, using them to life her body into the air.

“Better. That's one,” Rainbow Dash muttered, walking in circles around her. Scootaloo gritted her teeth, and kept pushing.

At fourty-six, her wings gave out and she crashed into the cloud. Rainbow Dash wasted no time correcting her.

“Did I say you could stop?! Get back up on those wings! You're only at fourty-six. No breaks until you hit one hundred!” Rainbow Dash shouted, bringing her face nose to nose with Scootaloo, “Do I make myself clear?”

Whimpering, Scootaloo managed a quiet “Yes ma'am.”

“I can't hear you!”

“Yes ma'am!” Scootaloo shouted, propping herself back up on her wings. Tired as she was, her admiration for Rainbow Dash, not to mention her intimidation, kept her wings lifting until the count hit eighty-seven.

“Sloppy form. That one doesn't count. Do it again. Eighty-seven.” Dash said, looming over Scootaloo. Scootaloo tried another wing-up, but Rainbow Dash barked out again. “Eighty-seven. Keep those hooves up.” Scootaloo tried again. “Eighty-seven. No resting on the downstroke.” Scootaloo tried again. “Eighty-seven. All the way up. I don't need any lazy students!”

Finally, Scootaloo managed to force herself into a form good enough to suit Rainbow Dash, and managed to struggle her way to one hundred before collapsing into the cloud.

“Good, one hundred, time to take a break,” Rainbow Dash said, looking down on the filly with the trembling wings.

“Oh, thank you,” Scootaloo moaned curling up in the cloud. Suddenly though, she was soaring through the air, being held by Rainbow Dash.

“Time for running sprints!” Rainbow Dash said eagerly.

“I thought you said it was time for a break?” Scootaloo said, dreading what would come next when they hit the ground.

“Yeah, from wing-ups,” Rainbow said, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, “You don't need your wings to do sprints, and it will build up your stamina.”

When they hit the ground, Rainbow dropped Scootaloo, and started hovering above her. “Alright Scoots, see that tree over there?”

Scootaloo did see the tree Rainbow was talking about. Way off in the distance, nearly a half mile away, an ancient maple tree sat lonely in the middle of a meadow. “Yes...” Scootaloo said, nervous about what Rainbow Dash was about to ask her to do.

“You are going to run as fast as you can to that tree, then back here,” Rainbow Dash said, “On your mark...”

“But Rainbow, I-”

“Getsetgo!”

Having been given no option, Scootaloo started to run. Following above her, Rainbow Dash started to offer some...suggestions.

“Get those knees higher! Keep that head down! You're supposed to be running, not prancing! Keep those wings at your sides! Faster! Faster! Head down! Knees up! Wings in!” Rainbow Dash shouted, and Scootaloo did her best to comply. When they reached the tree, Rainbow started shouting “Back! Back! Back!” without giving Scootaloo a moment to rest. On the way back, she shouted even more. Scootaloo was exhausted by the time she reached Rainbow Dash's mailbox again. Panting, she fell to the ground, unable to stay on her feet.

“Oh good, you're ready to start your next set of wing-ups,” Rainbow Dash said calmly setting down beside Scootaloo.

“Oh no...” Scootaloo moaned.

“Hey, do you want to be the best? Or do you just want to be an Earth pony for the rest of your life?” Rainbow barked, only vaguely aware of how it eerily echoed her father's words from many years ago.

“I just want to be your little sister,” Scootaloo said in a meek voice.

“Well, no sister of mine is going to be any less than the best, and you don't get to be the best without working. You've got to pay your dues. Now give me one hundred more wing-ups, or stop wasting my time!” Rainbow Dash hadn't intended to sound so harsh, but when she saw Scootaloo's tear filled eyes looking up at her, saw the hurt carved so deeply into her features, she immediately regretted every word.

“Then I guess I'm not good enough to be your sister!” Scootaloo shouted at her, her voice cracking with pain and anger.

“Listen, Scoot, I'm-”

“Well I don't even want you as a sister anymore! I hate you!” With that, Scootaloo turned and ran off. When she reached her discarded scooter, she wasted no time hopping aboard, and riding off as fast as her exhausted wings could carry her.

“Wait, Scoots, I'm sorry!” Rainbow Dash called out, but Scootaloo couldn't hear her over the sounds of her own sobs.

Rainbow Dash found Applejack and Rarity eating dinner at the cafe in Ponyville. They were in the middle of a discussion about...something. Rainbow Dash didn't take the time to realize what she was barging in on, but barged in on it all the same.

“You have to help me! I've made a horrible, horrible mistake!” she cried, slamming into their table and sending their food clattering to the ground.

“Rainbow Dash, what is it? Can't you see that Rarity and I were having a talk?” Applejack said, scowling at the interrupting pegasus.

“Yes, what ever could have been so important that you had to ruin our meal to tell us about?” Rarity added.

“I've done something awful, and I need your help to fix it!” Rainbow continued, trotting in place out of nervousness.

“Well, spit it out girl, what is it?” Applejack asked, putting a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder to calm her down. Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash launched into the whole story.

“Scootaloo came by this morning to talk, and said she wanted me to teach her to fly, so I decided I would teach her to fly, and I realized she's not very good at flying, so I decided I'd teach her the same way I learned, and I pushed her really really hard to be better because I know that it will make her the best, but she didn't like it, and tried to get out of it, so I tried to motivated her by saying she couldn't be my little sister unless she was the best, but then she started crying and said she didn't want to be my sister anymore, and that she hates me, and she ran off without letting me say I was sorry, but I am sorry and I really have to make it up to her because I hurt her feelings and you need to help me!” After she finished her rapid-fire explanation, Rainbow Dash had to sit down and catch her breath. Meanwhile, Rarity and Applejack shared a glance, trying to make sure they understood the situation.

“So, you're saying that you said something mean, and hurt Scootaloo's feelings?” Applejack said, pulling Rainbow in close to settle her down.

“Yes!” Rainbow cried, slumping down on her haunches, absentmindedly pawing at the ground.

“And now she says she hates you, and doesn't want to be your sister anymore?” Rarity added.

“Yes,” Rainbow sniffled.

“And she ran away without letting you apologize?” Applejack said, nudging her friend.

“Yes...” Rainbow said quietly, her shoulders slouching even more.

“Well obviously you must find her and apologize properly,” Rarity said.

“But what do I say? And where am I supposed to find her?” Rainbow said, her voice betraying her desperation for reassurance from her friends that everything would be okay.

“Have you tried the girls' clubhouse? They're always hanging around there, trying to get their cutie marks with some scheme or another,” Applejack suggested.

“The clubhouse! But what if she doesn't forgive me? What if...what if she hates me forever?”

“Well, you'll never know until you try,” Rarity said, trying to soothe her friend's nerves, “But I'm sure that if you are honest and sincere in your apology, Scootaloo will forgive you for being so rough with her.”

“You really think so?” Rainbow said, perking up. Rarity had barely had time to nod before Rainbow dashed off.

“Thanks guys,” she called over her shoulder, “Wish me luck!”

“Good luck,” Applejack called. Turning back to Rarity, she could only shake her head, “That pony can't stop to think anything through.”

“It's okay Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom said as she held her friend close. Scootaloo had come tearing up the road so fast, she'd almost run over Sweetie Belle on the way to the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. By the time the other two fillies had caught up, she'd already disappeared inside, though her sobs could be heard outside. For over an hour, Scootaloo had sobbed uncontrollably into Apple Bloom's shoulder. Sweetie Belle had run back to Ponyville to try and get something from Sugarcube Corner to cheer their friend up, leaving Apple Bloom to try to work it out on her own. “Can you tell me what happened?”

Scootaloo had finally calmed down enough to speak, though it was still muffled due to her head being buried in her friend's neck. “I was...I was practising flying with Rainbow Dash,” she sobbed, “And...and she was so mean. She was shouting at me, and said I wasn't good enough to be her sister!”

“What? She said that?” Apple Bloom said, shocked that even a pony so often inclined to thoughtlessness as Rainbow Dash would say anything so hurtful.

“Well...she might as well have said it, she doesn't want me around anymore, because I'm not good enough at flying...” Scootaloo say up, looking at Apple Bloom through her tear-reddened eyes. Her lip quivered as tears rolled down her face. “Why doesn't she want me Apple Bloom? Why aren't I good enough?”

Apple Bloom felt her own eyes start to water, her heart breaking to see Scootaloo so sad. She couldn't think of anything to say, so instead she wrapped her up in a hug. When she heard the clatter of hooves on the ramp leading up to the door, Apple Bloom assumed it was Sweetie Belle returning, but when she looked up, she saw Rainbow Dash standing in the entrance.

“Uh, Scootaloo? Can...can I talk to you in private?” Rainbow said while staring at her hooves.

“Rainbow Dash! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, talking that way to Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom shouted, jumping to her feet. “Why, I oughta...”

“It's okay Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo said, sniffling, “Just wait outside, it'll be okay.”

“You sure?”

“Ye...yeah, go on.”

“Alright, but I'll be right outside if you need me,” Apple Bloom said. Glaring at Rainbow Dash all the way to the door, Apple Bloom made her way outside. Once they were alone, Scootaloo spoke up.

“What do you want, Rainbow Dash? Did you come here to tell me I wasn't good enough to be your sister again?”

“What? No! I came here to apologize,” Rainbow said, taking a step back without thinking, “I don't think that. You're a great little sister Scoots!”

“Ha, yeah right. That's why you shouted at me, and said that only the best pony is good enough to be your sister, and that I should just stop wasting your time.” Scootaloo muttered, wiping tears away with her hooves. Rainbow Dash only just then realized how harsh her words must have sounded to the filly who looked up to her.

“I didn't mean...listen, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said, taking a seat next to Scootaloo, “I was just trying to motivate you, the way my dad motivated me when I was a little filly learning to fly. He always taught me that you had to work as hard as you can if you want to be the best, and would always correct me when I did something wrong. Since...well since it worked on me, I thought it would work with you, and that if I was just hard on you, you'd get really good really fast. I...I didn't stop to think that I might be hurting your feelings. I'm so so sorry, Scoots.”

For a long time, they sat in silence, other than an occasional sniffle from Scootaloo. Finally she spoke up.

“I know I'm not a very good flier. I'm sorry.”

“What? No, Scoots, you don't have to be sorry! I'm the one who's sorry!”

“I just really wanted to be your little sister, and we'd do fun stuff together, and I'd learn to fly from you, and we'd be just like Apple Bloom and Applejack. But when we started practising, it was just so hard, and I wanted to make you proud as my big sister, but it was just too much. You just kept shouting at me though, and I thought that meant you were disappointed in me.”

Rainbow Dask gently reached out with her wing, and put it around Scootaloo. “No way. There is no way I could be disappointed in you, squirt.”

Still sniffling, Scootaloo shuffled closed to Rainbow Dash, allowing herself to be wrapped up in a warm hug.

“So, what do you say Scoots? Do you forgive me?”

“I...I forgive you, Rainbow Dash.”

“So, what do you say we try this whole thing again tomorrow?”

The sun was barely peaking over the horizon, draping the clouds in red and gold, as Scootaloo raced through Ponyville. Her wings buzzed as she hurtled down the road, the wheels of her scooter clacking loudly on the paving stones. When she came upon the stone in the road, Scootaloo veered around it. Up ahead, Rainbow Dash stood proudly by her mailbox. Smiling, Scootaloo vaulted off her scooter, flapping her wings furiously, and landed gracefully beside the older pegasus.

“Ready?” Rainbow asked, flexing her wings.

“Ready.” Scootaloo said, flexing her own wings in kind.

With that, the pair sprang into the air. With a hoof under her belly, and the breeze in her wings, Scootaloo's smile grew. With a glance over her shoulder, she saw Rainbow's smile rivalling her own.

“Good job, squirt!” Rainbow shouted over the wind, “Let's try it without the hoof!”

And with that, Scootaloo really was flying.

Good Thing I'm So Organized

“C’mon, Rarity. Ain’t nothin’ you can't handle, right?” Applejack put on her best easygoing, patient, good-friend-here-to-make-things-right voice, but trying to talk Rarity down from a fit was like trying to dry up a thunderstorm by drinking it through a straw.

“She interrupted my process!” hissed Rarity, who was now up to her knees in a mound of garments pulled from her workshop’s closet. Not just dresses, but vests, capes, and hats. Applejack even thought she saw a bit and bridle sitting on the pile before it was buried underneath what looked like one of the prototypes from the incident with the Grand Galloping Gala dresses. “Perhaps I should start hanging signs? Would that communicate my desire for other ponies not to move my tools and materials without my permission?” Rarity stopped throwing clothing for a moment to thrust a hoof into the air and sweep it from left to right, indicating where she would put a warning sign, if she were to actually make one. “Warning: Artist at work! Creative process in progress! Do not organize anything! Do not touch anything! Rrrgh!” Rarity threw her forehooves into the air with a little cry of frustration.

“Aw, c’mon.” Against her better judgement, Applejack stepped further into the room. Except for the growing heap of silk and cotton, this room was absurdly clean, especially for a workspace that saw as much use as this one. The workbenches were completely clear; somepony had done a thorough job of putting everything away in its proper place, down to the last stray pin. Even the mannequins were lined up in rows, like soldiers at attention.

Applejack smiled, and she even managed to keep the quiet terror out of her expression. “You know that Twilight means well, and--”

“Hmph!” Rarity plunged both forehooves back into the pile of laundry. “It's been a week of this! What, did the changelings fiddle with something in her brain?” Seemingly satisfied with how much clothing she'd dumped from the closet, Rarity waded over to the smallest workbench, upon which was a tall pile of fabric squares. The squares, Applejack noted, were perfectly arranged by hue in a vertical rainbow: red at the top, and purple at the bottom.

The first square rose in the grip of Rarity’s magic, and set itself down next to the stack. Then Rarity grabbed the second sheet, but instead of setting it on the table, she dropped it and let it flutter to the floor. The third also went to the floor. Then the fourth. The fifth was set on the work surface such that its corner draped over the edge by just a few inches. Rarity’s pace increased until fabric was flying like confetti, turning the floor into a patchwork collage.

“Tell ya what,” Applejack said, backing towards the door again. “I’ll go ‘n talk to her. A’right? Ain’t no need to--”

Applejack was cut off by the sound of Rarity pulling a drawer free of its housing and then upending it, dumping what looked and sounded like a heap of chromed scrap metal onto the floor.

Applejack excused herself from the room, and Rarity didn’t seem to notice.

The scene inside the library was quite a lot like Applejack’s visit to Carousel Boutique that morning, except being played in reverse. The shelves were completely bare, their contents emptied onto the floor. The entire main room was carpeted with books, except for a narrow walkway around the perimeter.

After a few moments of staring in awe at the sheer scope of the disaster, Applejack noticed Twilight’s perfectly combed mane peeking out from behind a wall of neatly stacked books.

“Hey, Twi?”

Twilight’s head dipped behind the “wall” and out of sight.

Applejack sighed and started down the cleared path which, she noted, was precisely the same width all the way around--a perfect oval-shaped walkway.

Twilight’s tail and hindquarters, crowded on either side by stacks of books, came into view. Applejack would have called Twilight’s name, but there was something odd about the mechanical way Twilight was working that made Applejack stop and just observe for a moment. As Applejack watched, Twilight levitated a book over from the mess and swatted it three times with a feather duster--front, back, and spine. Then she put the book on top of a stack, picked it back up, and put it down again so that it was perfectly aligned with the rest of the stack.

Without looking up, or even taking her eyes off of the books for a moment, Twilight trotted two steps forward, then shuffled back half a step. As she scanned for the next book to examine, she reached up with a forehoof to ruffle her mane and then straighten it back out. Then she levitated a book over and swatted it three times with her feather duster...

Applejack watched the process for several minutes, growing steadily more concerned. Twilight moved as repetitively as a wind-up toy; she even scruffed and straightened her hair exactly the same way between books. Eventually, Applejack tried to interrupt the process somewhere between the feather duster phase and the stacking phase.

“Hey! Twilight! You all right in there?”

Twilight suddenly straightened at the sound of Applejack's voice, dropping the book. Then, without saying another word, she picked the book back up, swatted it on its front back, and spine with the duster, and set it on top of a pile...

Applejack sidled up alongside Twilight and nudged her gently. “How ya feelin’, sugarcube?”

Twilight’s face twitched. “Oh! Hello, Applejack!” Twilight switched her facial expression to an unconvincing smile, as if to pretend she was noticing her visitor for the first time. “I’m sorry about the mess. I’m re-shelving!”

“Uh, yeah. Sure looks like it.” Looking around at the hallway of books--each piece of wall stacked exactly twelve books tall--Applejack started to feel a little silly for coming here to tell Twilight that she was being too organized. Still, Rarity had been awfully upset, and it wouldn’t do to let Twilight think that there hadn’t been any problem...

“Listen, couldja take a break from yer work here for a moment an’ come visit Rarity’s for a spell? I promise it won’t take but a minute.”

Applejack licked her lips at the look on Twilight’s face. It looked as if leaving this task unfinished was far too much to ask. Before Applejack could open her mouth to apologize and offer to come back later, Twilight spoke up hastily.

“Of course!” Twilight said brightly. “Just wait outside and I’ll be right with you.”

As she started off down the book-lined path, Applejack glanced surreptitiously over her shoulder to see Twilight pick up the book she’d been working on when she’d been interrupted. She picked it up, dusted it on the front, back, and spine, then put it down, and picked it up, and put it down again.

“Jus’ head straight there an’ say hello ta Rarity! I’ve gotta check in with Apple Bloom at home.” With that, Applejack trotted out the library’s front door. She resisted the urge to break into a gallop. Everything was going to be fine, right? Twilight would go over, and get chewed out by Rarity, and both of them would calm down and understand each other. Like good friends, right?

Right.

Applejack didn’t gallop, but she picked up her hooves just a bit higher as she hurried home.

Carousel Boutique was a complete wreck. It looked like there had been a fight--mannequins lay toppled with their clothing in pools and heaps around them, materials and tools were thrown haphazardly around the floor to the point where there wasn’t much floor visible any more, and even some of the shelves had been broken and were stacked at dangerous diagonal angles.

“What the flying hell happened here?” Rainbow Dash stood at the front door with her jaw nearly touching the floor between her forehooves. “I heard the yelling and the crashing, and...”

“Nothing!” Rarity and Applejack retorted in unison.

“Jus’ a... a bit of a... Uh..."Applejack sputtered helplessly for just a few breaths. Then she turning away from the door and crouched down next to Twilight again, running one hoof gently down a frayed pink and purple mane. "Oh, sugar, sugar, it’s fine, c'mon now...”

“A bit of a wardrobe malfunction!” Rarity finished, sliding in to block Rainbow Dash's view so quickly that she nearly tripped over the leg of an overturned table. “Nothing to worry about! Happens all the time! In fact, I think I--”

“Please, stop.” The voice came from behind Rarity, and it was too small and meek to belong to Applejack. In fact, whomever was talking sounded like they were going to break down into tears at any moment. “Rainbow Dash, could you go and bring Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie?” Rarity stepped aside, and Twilight looked up from underneath Applejack’s foreleg draped over her neck. The fur around her eyes was dark and wet, and she swallowed to steady herself before continuing. “I think all of you girls need to hear this. It should explain a lot about... well, about me.”

Twilight and Princess Celestia stood in a tiny atrium, a secret retreat reserved for times when the school’s most powerful magicians required privacy.

“What? No! You can’t mean...!” Twilight sputtered, her face twisted in unspeakable horror. If such a thing were possible, she would have backed away from herself in fear. Instead, she just crumpled.

They’d waited for almost ten years to tell her. Ten years of hiding the truth, letting little Twilight believe some cute, bedtime story version of what had happened. A light show, they said. A shining halo of purple, and glowing white eyes, they said. And, oh yes, she hatched the dragon too. Nothing about turning the infant creature into a monster. Nothing about transmuting everypony in the room.

Nothing about how Princess Celestia was the only reason Twilight hadn’t sent an innocent creature on a rampage before killing her parents, along with everypony else in the room.

“But... if I... I could have... I’m... I’m a...” Twilight couldn’t even speak clearly, but Princess Celestia always understood what Twilight meant, even when she didn’t say it.

“You are wrong,” Princess Celestia said, nuzzling Twilight with the side of her head.

Twilight didn’t respond.

“I saw your heart just as clearly as I saw your power, dear student. You will never be a danger to anypony, not now, not ever. I am sure of it.”

“But that didn’t matter back then!” Twilight shook her head violently. “I couldn’t see, I couldn’t think! It just happened! I didn’t decide! The magic, it--”

“Your magic is beautiful, just like you. And it is still growing, just like you.” Princess Celestia levitated a book down from one of the room’s many shelves. “We waited this long to tell you, because I wanted to be able to prove to you that as long as your heart is pure, so will your magic be pure.”

Princess Celestia opened the book to a page near the middle, and levitated it towards Twilight.

Twilight glanced at it, then glancecd away. “I’ve never seen it before,” she said bitterly. “It’s got six steps. Three channeling aspects. Too complex for a laypony. Must have been made by an academic. There.” She didn’t look up. “Why did you show that to me?”

“I want you to perform this spell,” Princess Celestia said, setting the book on a stand and gesturing towards it. “Work carefully from beginning to end. Learn every piece and understand it. Learn, and re-learn, and use the knowledge as a filter for you vast power.”

Twilight dried her eyes and started to read. The spell was every bit as hard as she'd expected, and she was glad for the challenge. Having to focus like this meant she had no room for distractions like emotions and horrible truths.

“Your magic is part of you; it cannot control you. You control it just as surely as you control your own mind.”

Twilight just nodded as she read. Her horn flickered experimentally as she tried to get a feel for one of the spell's aspects.

Princess Celestia's words echoed in her heart: Learn, and re-learn, and use the knowledge as a filter.

Your magic is part of you; it cannot control you. You control it just as surely as you control your own mind.

Most unicorns would have trouble learning how to throw magic through the air like a ball. When presented with such challenges, most of them had trouble grasping the idea of weaving and sculpting magic instead of simply pressing it into the mold of a “spell.” Others would fail because they lacked the skill to manifest magic as pure magic, instead of using it to affect existing objects.

“Don’t you dare do anything to my brother! You... you monster!”

Twilight Sparkle, of course, wasn’t most unicorns. She lashed out, and her anger slammed into one of the cave’s reflective surfaces, leaving a smoking crater.

There was still mocking laughter echoing in the caves. Twilight whirled and struck again. Fire surged from her heart, then through her horn, and out into the world, where it shattered and burned all that it touched. She fired at the walls again and again, each blast more hateful and more violent than the last, until finally--

“No! Wait!”

Twilight’s snarl of determination slowly twisted into a sick grin of victory as she watched the one who had been cackling with ear-piercing malice a moment ago raise a hoof in defense and scuttle pathetically backwards. Even more satisfying was the way the alicorn witch cowered, her eyes widened in mortal panic, when Twilight charged her down and pinned her.

“Please, don’t hurt me!” Princess Cadence begged. “Twilight? Twilight, it’s me! Please, you have to believe me!”

Rarity had invited the “party” into her bedroom because, by her reasoning, there were plenty of cushions for everypony there. Silence fell over the room as Twilight finished her explanation.

The silence didn't last very long. “And that’s why you started a FIGHT over Rarity telling you not to organize her stuff while she’s using it?”

Rarity shot Rainbow Dash a sharp glare. “Really, now!” she scolded. “Twilight needs our help!”

“What does she need our help with?" Rainbow Dash scoffed. "I’m pretty sure letting things get messy once in a while is a little bit different from flattening Ponyville--”

Rainbow Dash clamped her mouth shut, but it was too late. Twilight had a hoof to her mouth and was backing away from the table, her eyes quickly filling with tears.

Fluttershy flapped her wings and quickly hopped over to give Twilight an urgent nuzzle. “Twilight, no! We know you’d never hurt anypony! You’re our friend, and...”

“Well, I don’t know!” Twilight spat back so sharply that Fluttershy instinctually recoiled away. “I don’t know that I won’t hurt anypony! Why don’t you understand that?” She backed away from Fluttershy, and turned to glare at her five friends together.

“I almost ‘flattened’ a room full of ponies, including my parents, when I earned my cutie mark! And just last week I almost--” Twilight choked on the word, then turned her head aside and spat the rest of her sentence out while she still could without sobbing. “I almost hurt Princess Cadence when she was helpless. I... I’m...” She grit her teeth and squeezed the tears out of her eyes.

Applejack nudged her way past Fluttershy. “Twilight, you listen to me. You were a hero back there.” Twilight didn’t respond, but at least she stopped crying. Applejack pressed further. “When you finally made it back with the real Princess...” It was Applejack’s turn to silence herself as she saw her words backfire.

Twilight shook her head, still looking at the floor. She started to make her way towards the perimeter of the room, stepping carefully over fallen machines and mannequins the whole way. Her friends just stared helplessly as she went--except for one.

Twilight yelped in surprise as a bouncing, grinning, hot pink puff of pony exploded upwards from a pile of scraps in front of her.

“Not so fast, missy!” Pinkie snapped.

“What do you want,” Twilight monotoned.

The room fell silent as Pinkie fixed a hard stare on the top of Twilight’s drooping head.

“PILLOW FIGHT!”

Pinkie reared forcefully, flipping a blanket towards Twilight’s face. Twilight reeled backwards as if she’d been splashed with water.

“Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do?” Pinkie taunted, bouncing happily as Twilight fumbled with the blanket. “Better get ready, ‘cause here I come!”

Four pairs of eyes widened in alarm as Pinkie dove to grab a “weapon” from the bed. Rarity started to run over to control the situation.

“Pinkie! What are you--mmph!” Rarity was suddenly muffled by a white sheet, which wrapped itself around her head like a sack. After a few moments of impotent flailing, Rarity toppled into a pile of dresses.

Pinkie Pie laughed victoriously. “Ha haa! I have the best ideas! Now, where were we? Oh yes! Getting Twilight to defend herself!”

“I’ll stop her!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “Pinkie’s pillowfighting style has nothing on me!” She grabbed the cushion she had been sitting on and blasted straight towards Pinkie, skimming low, cushion readied. Pinkie, meanwhile, was holding a pillow in her teeth, head lowered in a defensive pillowfighting stance.

Rainbow Dash wound up for a devastating fly-by cushion attack, but Pinkie was too fast--the first swing caught only empty air.

“Come on, Dashie!” Pinkie mocked, turning her back to Rainbow Dash and shaking her haunches teasingly. “I think you’ve lost your touch! You’re not the pillowfighter you used to be!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Applejack yelled. “You are makin’ things worse! For Celestia’s sake--”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t listening; she was too busy looping around for another attack run. She dove again, but before she reached her target, she was blindsided by a pillow to the side of the head, sending her spinning off course.

“What was that?” she yelled as she got to her feet. “Aaargh!” she added, as a balled-up sock bounced off of her forehead.

All eyes turned towards the source of the assault.

Twilight had somehow managed to escape from the blanket, steal most of the pillows in the room, and set them all one neat stack. she’d also dragged over the laundry basket, which explained the sock.

Twilight’s expression was dark and stony for one terrifying second.

And then she smiled. Evilly.

“All right. You want a pillow fight? You got a pillow fight!”

Twilight lowered her head, and her horn flashed. Everypony in the room dove for cover as the orderly stack of pillows exploded, sending cottony projectiles flying like shrapnel from a pillow bomb. Then, with one feather-stuffed weapon in the grip of her magic and another between her teeth, she reared and flipped the laundry hamper, sending a spray of towels and socks into the air as a screen to cover her advance.

The ensuing pillow fight would be one for the ages. In her first pillow battle, Twilight proved herself a tactician and marksmare to match the likes of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. It was a legendary clash of embroidered beatings, fluffy violence, and glorious laughter.

When it was all over, Twilight and her five closest friends lay cuddled together on a bed meant to hold nowhere near so many ponies. To say that the bedroom was a disaster zone would be a severe understatement. Pictures had fallen off the walls, drawers had been yanked onto the floor, and the couch had been tipped over to be used as cover. It looked like Rainbow Dash had been using the room to practice making tornadoes.

Twilight was the last one awake. Too exhausted to move, but not quite exhausted enough to pass out despite the things on her mind, she stared up at the arched ceiling and tried to organize the day’s events in her head. Today’s lesson had been an important one, and Twilight wanted to distill it into something that she could learn and re-learn, but it was too hard to focus. She kept being distracted by things like the fading giddiness of adrenaline, Applejack’s soft snoring from somewhere near her hind legs, the lumpiness of the mess of sheets that she was laying on, and the weight and warmth of Fluttershy’s head against her shoulder.

Before she fell asleep, Twilight briefly thought of the reshelving she’d left unfinished, but only briefly.

The Good Intentions of the Great and Powerful

It was a typical summer day, the weather was clear and the sun burned brightly in the sky as Trixie Lulamoon stepped out of the grocery store with her meager bag of hay. Money had been pretty scarce since the Ursa Minor debacle. It had surprised Trixie how fast word got around about the fiasco and she found it even more surprising how much worse the rumors got the further out she went.

Though Ponyville didn't charge her for the damages to the town, the damage done to her reputation had cost her well over ten-fold over time. Bits were needed for repairs to her own wagon, bits were needed to pay the bills, bits were needed to take care of the usual maintenance, bits were need to fix what vandalism she couldn't fix it herself, and to top it all off, her income had been devastated by the blow to her reputation as both a performer and even just a pony in general. But her show was still making money, not much anymore, but she could still keep going on after she cut most of her expenses and went lighter on her essentials such as her food.

It was a short walk to the lot where she had left her wagon and she had a smile on her heart as she whistled a little tune her father had taught her. Last night's show had a pretty good turn out and surprisingly few hecklers. Sure a few ponies left in the middle of the show, but they had to pay for admission, so she already had their bits. All in all it was a pretty good night and she intended to celebrate with the little bottle of honey she had in the bag with the hay from the store. Perhaps she would make more stops to this village in the future.

Or perhaps not. Trixie heaved a sigh after she rounded the corner. The sight that greeted her was an all too familiar one. Her wagon was covered in graffiti and looked to have been egged more than a few times, but at least it still had all of its wheels, which was more than what she could say for it after the Manehatten show last week. Wheels, as it turned out, were rather expensive.

Trixie paid little attention to the outer state of the wagon as she went inside to put away her groceries. This sort of thing was all too common since the Ponyville Incident. Reaching inside of a small closet, Trixie pulled out a mop that she had become all too familiar with. Grabbing a bucket, Trixie prepared everything for cleaning her wagon. Ponies used to respect the Great and Powerful Trixie, but ponies cared little for regular Trixie Lulamoon. She remembered when all of this used to bother her. The first time she found her wagon covered in paint and eggshells, she cried all night. Now it was just part of the routine for getting ready to leave town.

Using her magic, Trixie levitated the mop and water bucket and began scrubbing the wagon's sides. She was a little hungry, but she had long since learned that paint came off quickly if she could get to it while it was still fresh and her food could wait. She jokingly made a show out of it to herself as she scrubbed off a pathetic picture of an Ursa Major.

“Behold as the Great and Powerful Trixie makes short work of pathetic juvenile mischief!”

The mop spun and twirled in a grandiose fashion. Perhaps, if she were fortunate enough, she could get a few loose bits for her impromptu street show. The mop dunked its head in the bucket, raised up and twirled in a matter that cast water droplets in the sky, producing a small rainbow. It was a simple trick, one that anypony could do with practice, but as always, both before and after the Ponyville Incident, Trixie found that skill didn't really matter if she put enough showmareship into it.

But all of her revelry and low level tricks came to a sudden halt as the mop's head fell onto a previously unnoticed sentence scrawled just under her window.

“GET OUT OF OUR TOWN GYPSY”

The word, gypsy, took all of the air out of Trixie's stomach. All of the fancy showmareship disappeared out of her task as she furiously scrubbed the words off of her wagon. Once they where gone, Trixie felt her heart sink even further as the mop head slid down the side of the wagon, dragging a red paint smear with it, but Trixie didn't notice. All of her attention was focused on how hard it suddenly was to breathe, to see through the water in her eyes, to stop shaking.

Some roaming ponies took to the word gypsy as a manner of pride, but most saw it for what it was, a hurtful slang for those who wandered. It was a convenient name for an inconvenient group of ponies, and once there was a word for a group of ponies, there was a stereotype for them.

Trixie hated the term and now she hated the town that gave it to her. Taking a deep breath, Trixie repressed her tears and cast the mop and bucket into her wagon. If they wanted her gone, then she would go. She was a traveling show pony after all, and she would never visit this wretched town again.

Hitching up to her harness, Trixie began pulling her wagon out of the lot. She would finish cleaning the wagon later and she didn't even care about her food anymore.

Just as she exited the lot and reached the street a sudden pop rang out from behind her. Trixie yelped as the wooden tongue of the wagon, still attached to her harness, forced her down onto the ground with a brutal thud. She barely had enough time to look behind herself in a panic as the entire wagon appeared as though it was going to lurch forward on top of her, but thankfully, the wagon ground to a halt with a bone chilling crunch as its front dug into the earthen street.

Worming her way out of her harness that had pinned her to the ground, Trixie examined herself before moving on to the wagon. She had few scrapes and bruises, but nothing a bandage wouldn't fix. Her wagon however was a whole different matter. Apparently some foal thought it would be funny to loosen one of the wheels on her wagon. A harmless prank on a lighter wagon, perhaps, but Trixie's heavier vardo was unbalanced and had too much weight on the front for the one remaining front wheel to carry it all.

What was supposed to be a childish prank, had turned into a nightmare when the remaining lead wheel snapped and the wagon surged forward and down, into the ground. The resulting damage was terrible. The tongue of the wagon was still attached, but only barely, the front axle was sheered off by the impact with the ground, and there was no telling what damage had been done on the inside of the wagon by all of her possessions being launched forward by the fall.

Though she had managed to contain her emotions before, Trixie completely lost herself as the tears began to flow. Her emotions felt all over the place as she raced back and forth between sorrow, rage, and despair. She barely had enough money to make ends meet, now she was going to have to find the money to fix her wagon or else all of her income would grind to a halt.

Trixie had no idea what to do. She wasn't even sure she could do anything as she sat there shaking and crying. She felt so alone as all of the local ponies passed by her. Everypony stared at her or ignored her and no pony stopped to help, except one.

“Excuse me miss, are you alright?”

The sudden words of concern and compassion jolted Trixie up and she spun to face her sudden aid. The earth pony was an older stallion, with a tan coat, a gray mane, and thick sideburns. He adjusted his hat and extended a hoof to help her up off of the ground.

Trixie immediately tried to make herself more presentable, after all, the Great and Powerful Trixie couldn't be seen so remarkably broken like this. But there was little helping her appearance. Her eyes were red from all of her tears, her mane was a mess, and her scrapes and bruises made her look as though she had lost a schoolyard fight.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you, but Trixie will be fine. She always has be-”

Trixie's words were cut off by a unicorn pulling a wagon down the road.

“Hey lady! Get yer trash out of the way!”

Without waiting for a response from the stunned Trixie, the stallion adjusted his tie, looked down the other side of the wagon, and then called out towards to unicorn.

“It's clear on the other side! Come on around!”

The unicorn seemed surprised at the stallion's words, but seemed to recognize him and proceeded around them, grumbling the whole way. As the unicorn passed, the stallion turned back towards Trixie before he began looking over the wagon.

“There ain't no reason to treat another pony like that... Are you sure you're going to be alright? Getting a tow for this is going to be expensive. I've got a cart and a jack a short ways from here. I can at least help you get out of the road.”

Trixie gave him suspicious look, his speech was slow, but and he had a straightforward expression on his face and he seemed genuine enough. Besides, Trixie had no good way of moving the wagon herself.

“Trixie thanks you, Mister...”

“Pie, Clyde Pie. Just wait here Miss Trixie, I'll be right back.”

Clyde trotted off, leaving Trixie a few moments with her wagon. As she eyed the damage, Trixie reached for her coin purse. After buying all of her groceries for the trip, there was no way she could afford a tow, and certainly no way she could afford the repairs.

As she contemplated what to do about the money, Clyde returned with his cart in tow. He carefully jacked up her wagon, slid his cart underneath and lowered the massive vardo down. His cart groaned and creaked under the weight, but Clyde continued to secure the two wagons together with full confidence his cart could handle it.

“Should I take it to the shop across town Miss Trixie?”

Trixie closed her coin purse and shook her head.

“No thank you. I'll-err... Trixie will be fine doing the repairs herself.”

Clyde gave her an unconvinced look before turning back to the wagon.

“No offense Miss Trixie, but a dislodged axle is quite a mess. If you don't have the tools for it you won't be able to fix it on your own.”

Trixie said nothing. She didn't want to admit that she was out of money and she certainly couldn't ask this random stranger for more help than he had already given. As they stood there, looking at the wagon, Clyde coughed into his hoof. He didn't want to be the first one to mention Trixie's lack of funds, but it was fairly obvious that they weren't going anywhere until somepony did.

“If you want, I've got a daughter who is pretty good with tools and the like. We can charge you a lighter fee than the repair shop, or you can work on the farm for a while to pay it off, whichever is easier.”

Trixie eyed him carefully.

“Why are you doing this? You do know who Trixie is don't you?”

Clyde nodded as he met her eyes directly.

“I do Miss Trixie. The truth is, my momma taught me to treat everypony with respect. Just because you do things differently doesn’t make you any less of a pony.”

The two stood in silence for a moment before finally Trixie broke eye contact and nodded as she looked to the ground.

“I would like to earn some money on your farm, if you don't mind.”

Clyde nodded again and began pulling the wagon down the street.

“Alright. We'll get your wagon set up today. Work on a rock farm begins bright and early, but I imagine you'll get used to it quickly.”

Neither one of them was very talkative on the road to Clyde's rock farm. In fact, the only words that were spoken the whole way there were when Clyde opened the gate and motioned with his hoof towards the farm before them.

“Here we are. I'll set you up by the silo and Blinkie Pie will look at the axle tomorrow.”

Trixie nodded without a word. Before long she was back in her wagon and carefully cleaning up the mess that was made by the wreck. Clyde confused her. She wasn't used to ponies helping her like this. But regardless of what she thought about it, she needed the money and she couldn't go anywhere else for it.

When Clyde had said that work began early, Trixie had expected to have to get up with the sun, but she did not expect to get up before dawn. When Clyde began pounding on her door, Trixie awoke with a start, fell out of her bed, and nearly tripped over everything in her wagon before she finally was able to open the door.

“Miss Trixie, It's past time for work. We're rotating all of the rocks from the south field to the east field today.”

Trixie stumbled out of her wagon and followed Clyde and one of his daughters out towards the south field while Clyde's other daughter, who Trixie would have presumed was Blinkie if she were awake, began examining the vardo carefully.

At first, Trixie assumed the reason no pony said anything on their way out to the fields was because no pony was awake, but as time went on, she could see that the Pie family just didn't say much. Of course her mind was more consumed by how she had missed breakfast than the lack of conversation, but she could at least last until lunch.

Moving rocks from one field to another was a dull and mindless task. Most ponies couldn't stand the boring repetition and at first, Trixie couldn't either, but soon she began working on various projects and new magic tricks for her show in the back of her mind. It was simple enough, to levitate a few rocks out of the cart she was carrying them in to use as models as she went from one field to the next. She could use one or two for a multiplying trick, but the more she thought about it, the more fun a few miniature dancing golems sounded.

Trixie was able to keep herself so entertained with this method that when Clyde decided to check up on her he nearly dropped his hat in surprise. Walking up to where Trixie was unloading her wagon, Clyde heaved a small sigh.

“Miss Trixie...”

Trixie looked up from her cart as Clyde looked around at her progress. She had not moved a very impressive amount, even considering that she was new to the fields, but there was a bigger problem.

“Miss Trixie, the south field is that way.”

Trixie froze as her eyes followed his hoof towards the south field, the exact opposite direction of where she had been going. She had no idea what to say. She may not have been eager for the job, but she knew she had to do it to survive. Now Trixie could see that her job was in jeopardy because she had just wasted an entire half day of work moving rocks to the wrong field. It was her first day and she was already lined up for disaster. Trixie held her breath as Clyde examined her work and shook his head.

“Well Miss Trixie, looks like we got our work cut out for us. I'll send Inkie over this way with her cart and we'll get all of this moved to the south field.”

“You're not mad?”

Clyde shook his head.

“Nope.”

“But I... Well... Trixie is sorry for her mistake...”

Clyde nodded as he headed towards the south field, leaving Trixie to refill her cart with the rocks she just dumped.

“It's alright Miss Trixie. You had good intentions about your work and we all make mistakes.”

The rest of the day was spent moving the rocks from one field to the next. The sun had set well before they arrived at the house at the center of the farm. Clyde's wife, Sue, had a hot meal waiting for them as they gathered around the table inside the small farmhouse. Trixie had been expecting to have to supply her own food, but Blinkie Pie pulled up an extra chair to the table for her and motioned excitedly for Trixie to sit next to her.

Trixie looked around, uncertain as to whether or not she could get away with a free meal, but the ever silent Pie family didn't object and the more Trixie thought about it, the less appealing her discount hay and honey sounded.

Food always tasted better after a good performance and, unsurprisingly, it tasted great after a hard day's work. Trixie expected the dinner conversation to be as sparse as the field talk, but Blinkie and Inkie Pie were very curious about their guest, especially after Blinkie discovered her fold out stage while repairing the wagon. After a short conversation back and forth between Blinkie and Trixie about her job, both of the Pie sisters became very eager, almost desperate to see her show.

“Just one trick Miss Trixie? Please?”

Sue however shut down her children's pleas immediately.

“Blinkie! Inkie! That is no way to talk to a guest at the table.”

Trixie however, saw her opening to endear herself to her patron or at least his fillies. Quickly allowing herself to slip back into her favorite persona, the Great and Powerful Trixie smiled as she tossed her somewhat messy mane.

“Of course the Great and Powerful Trixie would be glad to demonstrate the greatest and most powerful feats of magic ever witnessed by pony-kind!”

Using a little bit of magic, Trixie created a couple of small firework pops behind her which startled Clyde and Sue, but made the younger Blinkie and Inkie leap with excitement. Sue looked to Clyde with a look of discouragement in her eyes, but Clyde merely shrugged his shoulders and pointed to Blinkie's unfinished alfalfa.

“After dinner. You can play with Miss Trixie when you've cleaned your plate.”

Both of the Pie children sighed as though they were still little fillies. Trixie of course didn’t' need to be told to clean her plate. Given how long it had been since she had a full meal, Trixie was determined to eat it all.

After dinner, all of the Pies went about to a few after dinner chores while Trixie slipped off to get her robe, her hat, and to brush her mane. Looking into her mirror, Trixie smiled and relaxed her shoulders for the first time since she had gotten into town. Though her audience was small, almost nonexistent, her audience was polite and above all, her audience was eager to see her, the Great and Powerful Trixie. It had only been last night since she had performed a show, but for the first time since the Ponyville Incident, Trixie was actually looking forward to it.

Trixie hummed the small tune her father had taught her as she folded out the stage, being careful not jostle to propped up wagon too much. Once she had everything set up and ready for a full, high class show, Trixie trotted back into the farmhouse to fetch the Pie family with her cape billowing happily behind her.

As she walked in the door, Trixie overheard a conversation that halted her in her tracks. She couldn't see anypony in the kitchen from the door, but she recognized Sue's voice as she silently closed the door behind her.

“Are you sure about her Clyde?”

“She'll be fine.”

“I could see it all from here. She wasn't paying attention, she took all of the rocks to the wrong field, and she nearly broke her cart when she overloaded it trying to correct her mistake.”

“Now Sue, you're being too hard on her. She means well and that's what important.”

“After last year's harvest we can't afford to be too generous, especially if this year's harvest doesn't start looking better.”

“She will be fine once she get's used to it.”

Sue heaved a sigh and small silence fell on the kitchen before the conversation resumed.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I can see she has good intentions and wants to pay off her debt. Where she lacks skill she has the right heart. We can forgive her inexperience as long as her heart is in the right place. Now, let's not talk about this anymore, she should be ready to start her show soon.”

Taking that as her cue, Trixie rather loudly opened and closed the door behind her to announce that she was here and almost immediately the whole Pie family assembled and followed her out to the stage. Trixie was determined that there would be nothing held back for this show, with the exception of her bit about the Ursa Major. Blinkie and Inkie were visibly impressed by all of the colors and flashes as Trixie moved from one act to the next. Clyde and Sue remained almost emotionless in their chairs, but in the short time that Trixie had worked with them, she had come to realize that the heads of the household were about as far from emotional as a pony could get.

After the show was over, everypony went to bed. After all, they had another busy work day tomorrow. In fact it would be especially busy due to Trixie's earlier blunder. As she tried to sleep that night, her mistake and Clyde's explanation to Sue rolled around in her mind. Clyde had been far too generous in his covering for her mistakes. The truth was that while she was indeed working, it was only to pay off her debt. But now something in Clyde's words stirred in her. Though Sue may have her misgivings, these were the first ponies since the Ponyville Incident to receive her with open hooves. They had given her a place to stay with food while the repairs to her wagon were being done. Vain as Trixie might be, she knew she had to give the rock farm her all while she was here. She had to prove that Clyde was right about her intentions, or at least her new intentions.

Of course her resolve received its greatest test the next morning. Trixie always worked hard at pulling her wagon and performing her shows to the best of her ability, but rock farming and manual labor put a different type of stress on her body that she was far from used to. As Clyde pounded her door in the early morning. Trixie awoke with a start, but was barely able to get out of bed for being so stiff. She had been a bit sore last night before she went to bed, but now she was in pain as her body complained about this new type of work. Grabbing a couple of hoof-fulls of hay for breakfast, Trixie forced herself and her aching body out the door. Going out that door to that rock farm may have been one of the hardest challenges in her life, but her resolve was still intact as she continued out into the fields.

Trixie had expected to be on the farm for just as long as it took to fix the axle, but the problem wasn't the damaged axle or tongue, it was the damaged wheels. Blinkie proved to be quite capable with a wrench and managed to fix both the tongue and the axle with what they had on hand, but both front wheels needed to be replaced and, as Trixie had previously learned, wheels were expensive. To make matters worse, regardless of how hard she worked, she still tended to move things to the wrong place or break open the wrong rocks, or commit any one of a host of errors Trixie didn't even know could be done on a rock farm. By the end of a month, Trixie's productivity was only slightly better than her counter-productivity, but Clyde continued to stand up for her “good intentions” and Trixie continued to make progress, bit after bit. It was a slow pace, but Trixie knew she would get there one day.

One fateful day, Trixie and the Pies were out in the fields breaking open the rocks that were “ripe” and carrying the harvest back to the barn. Trixie had discovered that breaking rocks was much easier when she used her magic to swing the hammer, instead of her hooves, but it was still tiring work under the beating sun.

Sweat was pouring down as her brow as she tapped the rock with her hammer. At last the rock split down the center revealing a hollow core. It was a little victory, but Trixie celebrated as best as she could. But before she could pick up the rock pieces and carry them to the wagon, Clyde walked up to her and pointed behind her.

Trixie looked to where Clyde was pointing and nearly dropped her hammer.

“I need you to start working on that one Miss Trixie.”

Trixie's mouth fell open as she stared at the massive boulder that was almost a small mountain.

“That one?!”

“Yep. That one's been ripening for a while now. I think it's about time to bring 'em in.”

“By myself?!”

“You can do it. Besides, I need Inkie and Blinkie to continue harvesting the rest of the field. We wouldn't want the other rocks to over ripen.”

Trixie hung her head while Clyde hauled her cart of rocks to the barn. It was a huge project, far bigger than Trixie would have liked, but she still narrowed her eyes on the boulder ahead of her. A traveling pony needed as many safe havens as she could find and although her aching back may have disagreed, Trixie was determined that nothing would stop her from paying for her wheels and leaving the Pies on good terms. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie! Splitting a mountain would nothing to her power.

Clambering on to the top of this mini-mountain proved to be more difficult that she thought it should have been as she slipped and slid on its smooth surface and more than once she tumbled to the ground with a resounding thud. Rubbing her back, Trixie glared daggers at her greatest task since coming to the farm. Gritting her hammer in her teeth, Trixie closed her eyes and concentrated carefully. Envisioning the top of the bolder, Trixie calmed her mind and focused on placing herself just above the boulder's surface. With a bright flash and a loud pop, Trixie teleported to the top of the rock, just a few inches above it's surface.

She had chosen to teleport a little ways above the surface to avoid colliding with the previously hidden face of the rock. Though she should have expected it, the top of the boulder was just as smooth as the rest of it and her hooves landed and almost immediately she began to fall off of the mountain.

But Trixie was determined that the Great and Powerful Trixie would never lose to something as foolish and mundane as a boulder. With all of her fury and determination thrown into a single action, Trixie threw her fore-hooves out, just barely grabbing hold of a ledge and stopping her fall. Though she was exhausted from all the manual labor she had done so far, she pulled herself back up and with a triumphant laugh she took her hammer and brought it down with all of her might!

And nothing happened.

In retrospect, Trixie supposed that she had gotten a little carried away with getting on top of the boulder, but with nothing else to occupy her mind, she had found that such occurrences were not nearly as rare as they should have been.

Trixie would continue working on her boulder for a full week when finally and suddenly, the boulder rolled and split down the middle into two halves as though a great knife had cleaved it in two. Trixie yelped and barely managed to teleport herself away before she fell in between the two halves. Dusting herself off, Trixie calmly walked up to the boulder and looked inside. The interior of the boulder revealed a sight that shocked Trixie so much that she fell back onto her haunches and sat there with her mouth agape for almost a full minute.

Soon Clyde and all of the Pie family rushed out to where Trixie was calling them. She didn't sound like she was hurt, but she certainly sounded like the matter was urgent. And what Clyde saw was enough to cause him to fall onto his haunches and sit there with his mouth agape for almost a full minute.

Trixie stood triumphantly, perched on top of the boulder halves with a self-satisfied smirk upon her face as the sun's rays reflected on the innumerable gems beneath her and shined like a kaleidoscope of color upon her coat and mane.

Everypony was stunned. In one week's worth of work, Trixie had made more money for the rock farm than its past three years combined. That evening, as everypony gathered around the dinner table, Clyde tossed a rather large bag of bits onto the table in front of Trixie.

“Well Miss Trixie, it looks you'll have plenty to pay for your wagon wheels now.”

Trixie eyed the money bag on the table with a look of surprise on her face.

“That's all for me?”

“Yep, that's your share.”

Trixie picked up the bag of bits and peered inside. It was a beautiful sight in her eyes and was more than enough money to supply her show at least for as long as she could calculate out.

As dinner was passed around Sue, with all of her doubts about her guest gone, turned to Trixie.

“Tell me dear, are you going to resume your traveling show?”

Trixie nodded as she looked again to the bag of bits, but there wasn't a smile on her face.

“Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie will once again demonstrate her talents for all pony-kind to witness. This money will certainly keep Trixie going until business picks up.”

Inkie looked over at Trixie from her seat across the table.

“Business was down?”

“Ever since Twilight Sparkle defeated.... took care of a problem that the Great and Powerful Trixie was... ill equipped to deal with, there have been a number of detractors of Trixie and her performances.”

Clyde nodded as he finished chomping down on his alfalfa.

“Sounds like you need better tools.”

“What?”

“I know magic is different from rock farming, but I can lift boulders twice my size if I have the right tools to do it with. I bet there's something that can help you with whatever problem you couldn't handle before.”

Trixie was stunned by the simple words of the simple farmer. She had heard of magical amulets and wands before, but she had always prided herself on her raw talent. Though her experiences on the rock farm were enough to teach her about how much of a difference the right tools could make, giving up on using her raw talent alone felt almost like cheating.

Before she could finish her thoughts on the matter, Blinkie Pie chimed into the conversation.

“Yeah! Then all you have to do is beat Midnight Sparkly and everypony will know you're the greatest again!”

Blinkie proceed to make several magic sound effects as though she could see the battle already raging, but her mother glanced disapprovingly at the display.

“Blinkie, there is no need for violence. Miss Trixie is not a barbarian.”

Trixie started to nod, but the more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. She didn't have to physically beat up Twilight Sparkle, she just had to beat her in a contest. Twilight Sparkle would be a tough opponent, but if Trixie used “the right tools” then she could beat her easily enough. And once she proved that she was stronger than Twilight Sparkle, ponies would be interested in her show again and life could go back to the way it was before the Ponyville Incident. She could even stash away the amulet or whatever relic she found and go back to her old raw talent once her show was back on its hooves.

Trixie smiled as she finally nodded in agreement with Mrs. Pie.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie does not need to lower herself to violence. A simple competition of magical power should be enough to prove that Trixie is the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria.”

Trixie chuckled to herself as everypony raised a glass to her renewed spirit and good fortune. She knew a good spell that would help her find what she needed. It might take a while, and it might be expensive, but it would certainly be a worthwhile investment if it got her business back into the limelight.

Trixie left the rock farm early in the morning. She didn't have to get up with the rest of the Pies, but everypony wanted to say good bye before she left and Trixie, although she definitely wouldn't miss the work, was glad that she had been able to stay with them. As she headed off into the darkness of the predawn, Trixie cast back a few fireworks over the farm for Blinkie and Inkie.

Once she had gotten a good ways down the road, Trixie pulled the old spell book out of her wagon and began to read through it. Finding the spell she was looking for, Trixie closed her eyes and slowly focused on the magical airs around her. She had only cast this spell a few times before, and that was only in practice, years ago. She didn't expect to feel anything but a few weak and distant pulses, so she was quite surprised when a strong sense came over her from the direction of Trottingham. Whatever the item was, it was so powerful that Trixie could almost hear it calling out to her. She wasn't certain if an item seemingly calling out to her was a usual trait for the spell or not, but whatever this device was, it was certainly powerful enough to best Twilight Sparkle.

It took her a while to get to Trottingham, but the idea of restoring her career was more than enough to drive her onward. Every time she recast the spell to make sure she was on the right track for finding the magical tool it felt closer, bigger, and most importantly, better.

As she neared the outskirts of Trottingham, the weather began to turn foul. Rain started pouring down, but Trixie didn't care. She could feel the magical device almost calling out to her. The magical item that would rebuild her future was close and she had to find it. Parking her wagon in an empty lot, Trixie raced down the streets in the rain to find the source of the magical pull. Though she joked to herself about the item controlling her, her speed was not because of the device's calling as it was her desire to both get out of the rain and to avoid any vandalism that might happen to her wagon if she left it for too long.

Her senses led her to an old shop. The lights were off, but the door was unlocked. Proceeding in quickly, Trixie began her search for the item. Moving from shelf to shelf, Trixie began to get frustrated as she cast an old skull from one of the shelves aside.

The moment the skull hit the floor a light came on behind her. Turning her head, Trixie could see a strange looking stallion, obviously the shopkeeper.

“May I... help you traveler?”

The shopkeeper moved to his counter, smiling as Trixie followed him.

“Hmmm... Something drew you to my shop... Something powerful.”

The moment he finished his words Trixie's eyes fell on a strange amulet behind a protective glass dome. Immediately she knew that was it and she pointed to it eagerly.

Following her hoof, the shopkeeper's eyes fell on the amulet.

“Ah! You have a keen eye! The Alicorn Amulet is one of the most mysterious and powerful of all the known magical charms.”

Immediately Trixie began reaching for her coin purse, but as she pointed to the amulet again and began to say that she wanted it, the shopkeeper cut her off with a concerned look on his face.

“Ah- Um...I'm afraid this is far too dangerous.”

Trixie smirked as she tossed the full bag of bits on the counter. The shopkeeper's eyes looked to the bag and some of its spilled coins, at first in confusion, but then in glee.

“Would you like that gift wrapped?”

A broad smile came across Trixie's face as she eyed the amulet that was going to make everything better.

It was still raining when Trixie left the store, but it didn't matter. Once she was inside her wagon she pulled the amulet out of its bag. She was eager to try it on. She hadn't used any amulets before, so she wanted to make sure it fit right and that she got used to the feel of it before she challenged Twilight.

The moment the amulet was secured around her neck, Trixie felt lighter than air. The amulet didn't just feel good, it felt amazing. She could feel its power interacting with hers and at first it caused her to feel a bit lightheaded, but she shook it off soon enough. Turning to see how she looked in the mirror, Trixie couldn't help but smile. It looked amazing too.

Of course, she wanted to practice a bit and get used to her new power. Looking around for something to do, Trixie levitated the book that had taught her how to find the amulet and placed it back into one of the drawers. It was a simple test, but Trixie could definitely feel the difference in her power.

“I can feel it. I can definitely beat Twilight Sparkle with this...”

Her magical aura had changed from a light pink to a dark red, but Trixie didn't notice anything else different or unusual about her aura. Levitating a brush and pulling it over, Trixie adjusted her mane.

“I will beat Twilight Sparkle.”

Trixie tried casting a spell on her own mane, messing it up as though it had been caught in the wind outside and then she immediately straightened it with her magic effortlessly.

“Twilight Sparkle doesn't stand a chance.”

The thought had sounded a bit dark and almost violent when Trixie heard herself say it. She didn't want to hurt anypony. After all, Twilight Sparkle didn't really mean to ruin her, she was just trying to save the town. All Trixie wanted to do was beat her in a simple contest to prove that she was Great and Powerful.

Closing her eyes, Trixie concentrated on the weather and suddenly the rainclouds were pushed away with relative ease, something that only the pegasus ponies should be able to do easily. The power felt amazing as Trixie stepped outside and examined her work.

Twilight Sparkle may not have intended to humiliate her, but she certainly didn't do anything to stop it. If she should suffer a little humiliation in return, well that wouldn't that just be fair?

Trixie chuckled to herself as she used her magic to cast of her cloak back into the wagon. Normally she didn't use her magic for such trivial tasks, but the amulet just felt great to use. In fact it felt better every time she used it.

As she walked around to the front of the wagon, Trixie used her magic to levitate the vardo and examine the wheels. Those stupid things had broken on her enough times in the recent past and she certainly didn't want to be taken by surprise by them again. She wouldn't let anything stop her from extracting her revenge on the town that had tried to ruin her.

Using her magic to attach her harness, Trixie smiled and began pulling her wagon towards Ponyville.

She wouldn't just beat Twilight Sparkle, she would ruin her and everypony in Ponyville would pay for their insolence towards the Great and Powerful Trixie!

As she neared the outskirts of Ponyville, Trixie used her magic to park her wagon and put her cloak back on. The weather was fine, but honestly the Great and Powerful Trixie thought she looked much better with a billowing black cloak behind her. The stage was set for the duel that would change the world. Trixie gave a dark laugh as she lifted up her cloak's hood and walked into town.

Everything was going to be fine. After all, she knew she only had the best intentions.

To Dine with my Enemy

Twilight stormed through the hallway, sending more than a few royal Guardsponies scrambling for cover while simultaneously trying to maintain their posts. Her wings fluttered and twitched at her sides, a large manilla folder floating beside her as she glared at the particularly unfortunate pair of guards at the door.

“Hello. I’m here to see 1127.”

The poor pegasus glanced at the door behind him, before looking back at her with a loud gulp. “The captain said–”

“The captain will explain why he thought he had the authority for such a decision after I’m done here.” Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “Personally.”

The guard muttered a hasty apology, his companion unlocking the door with a spell and opening it for her without a moment’s delay.

The glare she wielded these days was not to be trifled with.

As she walked inside the concrete box, the first thing Twilight noticed was the shabby, yet strong built table set in the middle of the room. In the middle of the table was a vase holding a small assortment of flowers: a sprig of elderberry blossoms sat next to a pink rose and a white heather, which had been twisted together until the two blooms met in what could only be described as a loving kiss, and these three had been surrounded in a massive bouquet of orange mock, sunflowers, evening primrose and moon-vine blossoms.

Set up on the side closest to the door was the normal plate and cup assigned to such a cell—with beaten pewter glistening dully beneath the veneer of who knew how many meals—set in front of a single, empty chair. She’d have to see about getting those dishes washed after she left. They were absolutely revolting to look at. Across from the spread was another setting, made of even worse conditioned pewter, giving Twilight yet another browbeating the captain was going to receive when she was out of here.

The final thing to see was the ancient unicorn sitting at the table behind those nasty things, his elbows helping his hooves to prop up his head. He looked over towards her, his ears perking at the squeal of rusty iron, and a smiled cracked his face as he gave a small little wave with one hoof.

Colored the dark gray of thunderclouds, the unicorn’s coat was worn and thin over his prominent ribs, and his wispy mane of dirty white looked very brittle, like a doll that has seen little affection over its lifetime.

His body was almost emaciated, the thinness of his legs igniting a burn of anger through her chest. The captain was going to have some serious explaining to do. This was not how they were going to handle things, and she was not going let that pompous loudmouth out of her sight again until she was sure that this fact was leaking out his ears. Prisoner or not, she wasn’t going to keep somepony in these conditions. There were limits.

The mark upon the unicorn’s flank was an upside down crown, the tips each bearing a single drop of different colored liquid, such as green and blue and black and red. An entire rainbow of something flowed down, stemming from some unknown source and each drop bearing a cloudy mixture of another separate color in their centers.

As bad a condition as his body was, it was his horn that drew the eye the most. The shattered thing projected from his head like a craggy mountain, sharp and jagged as a broken tree trunk, and she saw his eyes flick up to it with a tired sigh.

“A pity, isn’t it?” he rasped.

His voice was like the grave: a dry thing which still somehow managed to ooze and slither and squirm into her ears until it almost made her want to retch. However, she kept her stony countenance, glaring at him and refusing to let a single emotion show other than sheer contempt echo across her face. He wasn’t going to get any reactions out of her. No matter what, she had to keep this situation firmly under her control. She was here on her own reasons, not because she had to be.

“There is no need for such ceremony, Miss Sparkle,” the unicorn chuckled, leaning back into his seat so he could look her up and down. “Because there are never second chances at first-impressions.“ He cocked up a single eyebrow, one corner of his lips following along for the ride. “Though I admit I do find your second impression very flattering. All that restraint, just for this old nag?” Dipping his head in a shallow bow, he grinned wide. “You are far too kind, my liege.”

She resisted the urge to sock him, strong as it was getting, instead flicking her head so she could get her mane out of her eyes.

“Would you mind if I sit down?” she asked, pointing at the empty seat.

“I would be more offended if you didn’t,” he said, waving a hoof over the table as he again propped his head in the other. “It took a good deal of work to get these in here.” A dramatic sighed boomed throughout the cell. “Even then, I couldn’t procure the proper utensils.”

“We both know why nopony would trust you with something like that.”

“Because you really think I’m utterly helpless with access to cups and plates?” He rapped a hoof on the table with a dangerous smirk. “Or such lovely pine?”

For a brief moment, Twilight froze, her eyes glued to the dangerous furniture and table settings, before he laughed and again waved for her to sit down.

“Because you’re right.” His eyes practically sparkled with mirth as he snickered at her. “At least for the moment. Such things would take proper preparations, and you caught me with my saddle off today.” He cocked his eyebrow again, tutting her like some small child. “You clever girl, you.”

Resisting the urge to grumble, Twilight let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding and quickly sat down. Finding that continued mocking grin on his face more than just a bit infuriating, she also purposefully leaned her neck out over the food, as if daring him to try something with the bits of hay and globules of grit.

He simply continued to smile. One of her eyelids twitched, drawing yet more laughter out of him.

“So,” began Twilight when his cackles had finally died away. “Since you’re so smart, you’ve probably guessed why I’m here.”

“I can guess why, Miss Sparkle,” he said, shrugging his shoulders with a slight tilt of his head. “What I can’t guess is what’s going to happen next.” A shiver ran up and down her spine at the look he gave her, the way his teeth flashed in a much more unsettling grin. It was almost predatory now, that smile. “Hence my interest.”

Twilight tossed the folder to the table, ignoring her churning stomach. “Starting from the beginning would be a good idea.”

“The ball is in your court, Miss Sparkle,” he said, waving a hoof permissively. “Begin whenever you’re ready.”

Twilight cradled her head in her hooves, copying his stance as she leaned forward with a scowl. Closing her eyes, she allowed her breath to flow in and out, in and out, in and out. Her blood pressure slowly dropped, the fire in her heart gradually dissipating until nothing but a hollowed icicle sat in the place it had once occupied. When she finally felt nothing but emptiness, she open her eyes again and stared directly into his own. They were the color of old hay, and had about as much life inside them. Yet there was a spark somewhere deep in their cores, like a flame just before it ignites, which belied the dangerous mind she knew hid in that feeble-looking frame of his body.

“Good morning,” she mumbled in an unemotional monotone, allowing her lids to sink until her eyes were about half-closed. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

He smiled leaning in closer as well until only a couple inches separated them. “Good morning, Miss Sparkle. How are you doing today?”

“You missed a step.”

A brief flash of confusion crossed the unicorn’s face and he leaned back, looking at the ceiling for a few moments as his lips moved in inaudible chatter. He soon sighed, shaking his head and rubbing at his face with one hoof in what she could only assume mock embarrassment.

“Oh, wherever are my manners? Forgive me, Miss Sparkle, my memory is a little spotty these days.” He closed the distance once again, his nose almost brushing her own. His breath smelled like his voice. “Good morning, Miss Sparkle. You may call me Wet Works. How are you doing today?”

“I didn’t sleep all that well last night.”

“What a shame.”

“How about you?”

“Quite well, actually. The beds in here are very comfortable when you find the proper sleeping position.” He gave her a coy little smile. “Are there any other games you would like to play, or should we cut to the heart of the matter before our nosy friend falls asleep on the job?”

Twilight heard the sound of somepony tripping over themselves right outside the door, a tremendous bang swiftly followed by the sound of curses and the clank and clatter of some armored pony trying to stand back on their hooves. She sighed, rubbing her eyes with a foreleg.

“Alright, you have me. How’d you know he was doing that?”

“I’m old, Miss Sparkle, not deaf.” He dropped one hoof to the table, letting out an amused snort. “Plus, a truly scintillating conversation like ours just can’t be missed for the world. I would easily give up a leg to be a fly on the wall for something like this, if I had such an opportunity.” He shrugged. “One and one make two.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Twilight was too busy trying to find some way to ask what had nagged at her since this had all started, and the reason she had come here before she lost her chance at talking with this creature, while her associate did who-knew-what in his own head. She really didn’t want to know what was inside such a pony’s soul, but whatever it was, it involved making her take the initiative at this moment. So, after a couple centuries of more silence while she fought for the words, she obliged him.

“Why?” she asked softly, the one word leaving her mouth like a punch in the gut.

“You’ll have to be more specific, Miss Sparkle.”

She grimaced, glaring up at him. “You know what I’m talking about.”

He smiled. “I can assure you that I don’t.” His shoulders lifted in yet another small shrug. “Oh, I can guess at what you’re talking about, but I certainly don’t know a single thing.” The unicorn leaned in again, obviously repressing some childish giggle as he whispered, “So tell me, Miss Sparkle: what is it that you want to know?”

It took Twilight a few tries before she could spit it out.

“Why did you do it?”

“Do what?”

Her hoof slammed on the table, her eyes flashing white with gathered magic as she bellowed like a thunderstorm, “YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!”

He just snorted at her outburst, rearranging his tousled mane with a tired sigh. “Didn’t we just go over this?”

Only through strength of will did she resist the urge to throttle him right there, instead pressing her hooves against the table until the wood began to crack and splinter. However, she resisted the urge to smash it into oblivion like some child in a tantrum, instead clenching her teeth as she settled back into her breathing. In with calmness, out with rage. In with thought, out with instinct.

“A nice technique, isn’t it?” he asked.

She ignored him. In with reason, out with images of his head five feet through the concrete wall behind him. In and out, in and out, in and out.

“Learn that from your teacher?”

In-and-out-in-and-out-in-and-out.

“It’s rude to not answer somepony when they’re speaking to you, Miss Sparkle.”

With a scream, Twilight rocketed from her seat, a flap of her wings propelling them both bodily into the far wall and sending the dishes and vase flying off the table to crash onto the floor. The folder also flew off the table, spilling its contents and sending papers flying through the air in a chaotic rain.

Her foreleg smashed into his windpipe, pinning him high on the concrete until his hindlegs dangled off the ground, and his eyes shot wide as he tried to force air past the new obstruction. However, it was hopeless, he couldn’t force anything out other than a tiny burst of shocked air.

“SHUT UP!” she screamed pressing even harder when he dared to try and hit her, the edge of his hoof raising a large welt on her cheek. “RIGHT NOW!”

Hatred unparalleled ran rampant as her blood boiled and frothed wildly, and she smiled as she watched him squirm like a trapped bug under her leg. His eyes were rolling back in his head now, a blue tinge working up his face. It was only a matter of time.

Then an image of Fluttershy flashed through her head, the kindly turquoise eyes reddened as she wept and sobbed at Twilight’s side. Just like the rest of her friends. Applejack held Pinkie, who was practically beside herself with grief, weeping and sobbing uncontrollably. Rarity wept with only a touch more dignity, dabbing at her eyes with a growling snarling Rainbow Dash at her side, the redness of her eyes the only other thing besides the bared teeth that betrayed the depth of her rage and sorrow.

Two caskets rolled past them, Twilight herself remaining in stoic silence amongst the weeping throngs. She didn’t cry. She hadn’t since Luna was taken. There were simply no more tears to shed. Even though of all of them, these were the two she should have cried for the most.

Twilight pulled her hoof away, listening to the wretch gasp and hack as he fell to the floor like a sack of soggy laundry. Without a word, she returned to the table, sitting at her place and returning to her calming breaths. She waited for him to climb back into his own seat, which he did by crawling over on his stomach like some verminous cockroach. When he’d finally made it back to the table, he dragged himself up so he could rest his head upon the surface of it, gasping and coughing as he fought for the sweet, life-giving oxygen she knew he didn’t deserve.

Then she heard him laugh. He cackled, and giggled, and snorted, resting his forehead against the table while his broken horn gouged a trough into the knotted wood as he simply shook with his disgusting laughter.

However, her breath now consumed all, and she simply waited for him to finish. After what felt an age, he’d finally worked it out of his system and fought for breath again, head falling limply to the side so he could rest his cheek against the cool wood. He glanced up at her, grinning wide.

“What stopped you?”

“It won’t bring them back, and they wouldn’t want me to. Your life is still precious, however despicably it has been used, and I will not take it from you if I have any other choice.” She opened her eyes half-way, staring completely through him. “That is the difference between us, and I am not going to cross that line. You won’t make me do it.” She allowed the smallest of smiles on her lips. “So don’t even try. It’s a losing battle.”

He lifted a hoof to whatever he chose to call that hollow space behind his ribcage. “I’m truly touched, Miss Sparkle,” he said, eyes sparkling. “You are wiser than your years suggest. Vengeance never–”

“Can we get this over with please? I have other business to attend to.”

“Of course, Miss Sparkle.” The unicorn sat up, wincing as he rubbed at the large bruise now forming on his neck. “I think you’ve made your point.” He then looked behind her. “Don’t you agree?”

She flicked a glance back, finding the terrified stares of her three guardsponies as reward. Not a solitary drop of blood looked to be in a single one of them, and when they saw her gaze, they quickly stammered an apology for the interruption and slammed the door shut again. Determined to worry about it later, she ignored the disturbance of their fearful looks—and the rapid clatter of hastily thrown locks—and swung her attention back onto the unicorn in front of her.

He’d propped up his head in his hooves again, smiling a little wider. “So, might we start from the top?” he muttered, rubbing at his neck again. “You’ll forgive me, I hope, but I’m suddenly feeling a little muddled as to where exactly we left off.”

Twilight sighed, a magic aura pulling up the sheaves of paper lying about and resettling them into their designated folder. On a whim, she also replaced the vase and its bouquet of flowers—which had remarkably not shattered on its journey to the stone floor—and set them directly in front of his face. Not looking into those eyes of his was doing wonders for her stomach.

“I was asking why you chose to do it. What did any of them do to you?

She flicked the folder open with a hoof, a few strands of magic shuffling through the numerous papers and bits of information until she found what she wanted. She pulled out two photographs, tossing them on the table.

“Neither Chrysalis nor Discord deserved to go that way.”

“I’ll assume you just put something on the table, Miss Sparkle, but I have not yet developed the ability to see through solid objects.”

She leaned forward with an aggravated grumble, tipping over the vase with a hoof. She hadn’t felt like eating today anyways.

It rolled about a foot, threatening to go over the edge, before hitting a small flaw in the rickety table and stopping. It was enough for him to see the photographs, and so she didn’t bother to do anything else. He glanced at the photographs, snorting in disbelief.

“Neither did they do anything exactly stellar with their lives, Miss Sparkle,” he said, glancing up at her as an eyebrow arched with surprising delicacy. “I hope you do not expect me to believe you cried much over their loss.”

“No, but they were living creatures, and you had no right to decide how it ended for them.”

“I think you had better find a stronger reason, Miss Sparkle.” The unicorn sighed, reaching into the vase with his nose and pulling out a single orange mock and primrose to lay them upon the two photographs like a mourner at the grave. “You are not here because of them.”

Twilight tossed out the next two.

“If you think you’re some vigilante, then why did Celestia and Luna have to be next? What possible evil could they have done to you? They never hurt anypony.”

Out came a sunflower and moon-vine blossom, falling to obscure the two alicorns’ glazed faces.

“It had nothing to do with them being evil, Miss Sparkle.” Twilight’s head cocked, and he smiled a little wider, leaning in close. “I am not a force of evil, as you would like to assume, for I did not hate Celestia or Luna. Nor am I some misguided zealot of good, as I had no noble purpose for when I removed Discord and Chrysalis. I am merely a force of change: an emissary of time.” He flicked his eyes back to his mark. “I am the collapse of kingdoms and the destruction of dynasties. Every beginning must have its end, and I am but a harbinger of the end for those who would imagine themselves endless.”

“You’re insane.”

“My kind have had many titles throughout the eons, Miss Sparkle.” The unicorn shook his hoof at her disapprovingly. “But we simply know nothing lasts forever. So, we come for you when it is time, wearing different faces but speaking in the same voice. We are what your kind has learned to fear, for as surely as the tide ebbs away the stone, so do we show the supposed eternal to the final journey, making way for the newest generation in the process.” He smiled a little. “And all while waiting for the day when you’ll finally thank us for it.”

“I think I had a little crazy in my ears. Mind running that last part by me again?”

He sighed, before it devolved into a weary chuckle. “Only through appreciating the moments of life you still have will you find that life is worth living at all, Miss Sparkle. Immortals with no knowledge of what it means to be afraid of the end do not appreciate the mornings, or see beauty in a butterfly’s wings, or find joy in the touch and voice of another.” He pulled out the two entwined blossoms, the pink rose and heather clutched in his teeth, and laid them on the table. “And only through such fear is true love given its ultimate test.” He nosed the blooms towards her. “You should be proud. They both passed with flying colors.”

Twilight’s heart sank, but she shoved the pain back. She hadn’t cried then. She certainly wasn’t going to cry now, not when this lunatic could possibly get even an ounce of enjoyment from it.

“And Fluttershy?”

He frowned, pulling the last flower from the vase. He set it on the table in front of him, taking a deep sniff of the the elderberry blossoms before also setting them in front of her.

“The six of you should not have cornered me like that. I know what the Elements of Harmony look like, Miss Sparkle, and I could not allow you to use them to try and simply wish me away like so many other obstacles you have faced over the years.” The unicorn then flicked up a glance at his broken horn and gave another weary sigh. “Especially after your brother did such a number on me.” He shrugged. “So I made an assessment and took a chance. Tragedy is a part of life, Miss Sparkle, especially when you chose to fight the noble fight, and you will see plenty more of it as time goes on.”

A bitter flame kindled in Twilight’s heart, though she suppressed the raging lion clawing to get out. For the moment.

“That’s all it was to you? Just removing the weakest link?”

He smiled sadly, giving a gentle puff of breath to ruffle the blossoms and send a whiff of their fragrance up Twilight’s nose. “Weakness of body does not mean weakness of soul, Miss Sparkle. We both know that. And it is only through the loss of something so precious that anyone discovers what they are truly capable of.” He sat back, running a hoof along the purplish blotch on his throat. “You made a choice because of them, Miss Sparkle. And though you wished for the simplest solution to your pain, you decided to follow a much more dangerous path. So, know that a little piece of their true strength shall now reside in you for all time.” He flashed some teeth, chuckling as he bowed his head. “And I am grateful to have played a part in that.”

Twilight pulled up the folder, shuffling the papers around a bit before turning for the door. “You’re a monster, Wet Works, and I will look forward to watching you rot.”

“I will be whatever you need me to be, as I am here to help your kind grow, Miss Sparkle. As I have always been. I am now the darkness you must overcome, the hatred you will fight to keep away, and the grief which will give you empathy for another’s sorrow.” As she knocked on the iron portal, trying to keep the desperation out of her rapid bangs, she heard him laugh. “I am now the face to your pain, your reason to act nobly, and you have been forever changed because of me.”

Twilight could hear the lock being opened, and her knocking grew a little faster.

“To no longer feel the hurt, you must let your own life, and your own needs, surpass their memories and so abandon them completely.” His teeth gleamed bright, gleaming within their withered face. “And that is why, Miss Sparkle. I am your final instructor, who is here to teach you the greatest lesson you shall ever learn.” Renewed laughter rolled through the chamber, maddened cackles and shrieks bouncing off the walls to attack her from all sides. “I show you who you really are.”

She flicked a glance back as the door was flung open with a loud crash, catching his toothy grin as she was quickly hurried outside. He waved waved at her as the door closed upon his cell, the final whisper of his voice barely catching her ears before he was drowned out with a resounding bang, the door slammed shut and hastily bolted.

The captain of the guard was waiting for her, his normally grey face almost pink with outrage. The guards rushed her away, the captain bellowing for a medic to check the welt upon her face and promising dire consequences to the guards that had disobeyed his direct orders. However, all Twilight could hear over her captain’s loud bellows and trumpeting was Wet Works’ final words, echoing through her mind in an endless loop.

It is only when you have finally forgotten my lessons, Miss Sparkle, that you’ll see me again; when I come to remind you.

All of you.

Within a World of Dreams

Within A World of Dreams – (Good Intentions)

The night was as peaceful as Luna could ever remember it being, beautiful and serene, with minimal cloud cover. A bright crescent moon was moving from its apex and beginning its slow descent back to morning, while a light breeze played upon the heights of the world and caught her mane into a billowing cloud that matched the sky above it. She rested atop a lone cloud that dotted the night sky. It would be hard to find her, even should any pony have reason to be awake at this early hour and actively searching the skies. This place held a solitude that she cherished more so than any treasure she owned.

She let out a quiet breath and studied the stars with her eyes, as well as sensing what lay beyond them. Luna pushed her consciousness outward and let her mind reach out to her sleeping subjects.

Touching other ponies' dreams was a subtle act she partook in. Thankless perhaps, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. There was something soothing about the repetitive action of reaching out and comforting a troubled, sleeping soul. She cherished those ponies' dreams and saw them as beautiful treasures, akin to her own stars in the night sky. It also evoked a prideful feeling, knowing that she was making a difference to those ponies' lives, even if the ponies in question never knew or met her in the flesh. That single feeling had changed her nights from a dreaded space of loneliness into a routine endeavor that she now looked forward to.

A small smile played upon her lips as she studied one particular dream. A small yellow filly who was distressed over not having her cutie mark yet. A fear played through the girl's dream, a fear that her friends would get their cutie marks before her and abandon her.

Luna felt the filly's plight, and it pulled at her heartstrings, so with nary a moment of thought, she sent a feeling of a comforting embrace out to the filly and worked away at the dream. She slowly bent the dreamscape to her will, and before too long, the little filly was laughing and playing around with her other two friends, as they chased impossible, yet beautiful, aspirations.

The Princess of the Night left the dream, allowing the filly's subconsciousness to guide it once again. It was small deeds like this that made the night so beautiful to her. She looked around at the stars seeing only contented dreams within their lights and a triumphant smile played upon her lips.

“Another masterpiece,” she whispered to herself, a voice that held equal measures of pride and wonderment. But her smile faded as suddenly as it had appeared, for she couldn't help but notice a change occurring upon her night sky.

Polaris, she thought to herself, that would be Twilight Sparkle's star, the star that guides those who are lost with its bright shine. She watched as the star in question slowly began to change before her eyes, its light transitioned slowly from white into orange, and then finally settled upon a solid crimson hue. She gazed at the star, interpreting the changes. A sign of deep conflict in her dreams? And on the eve of her coronation, this is poor timing.

The single star marred the beautiful tapestry of night, but even more importantly, Luna could tell Twilight Sparkle was in trouble. She was the unicorn – well alicorn now, but she had been the unicorn at the time – who had guided Luna herself out of the darkness of the nightmare that had befallen her. So, without hesitation, the princess made up her mind. Allow me to guide you to safety Twilight Sparkle, for you were the first of my friends in centuries, and I shall do all that is in my power to see you safe.

With a mere moment of concentration, she sent forth her consciousness to delve into the dream of one of the brightest stars in the night sky. However, the action was met with resistance.

“It would appear that merely touching a dream of one as prominent as her is impossible,” she mused to herself slowly, taking pride of her use of the newer vocabulary; her lessons had been paying off. She rose from her comfortable lounging position upon the cloud. “I suppose I have no other choice than to enter the dream in earnest.”

Luna wasted no time as she drew upon her magic and shot her own essence up to the red star. The princess' body then slumped softly upon the cloud, her eyes closed and her breath slowed to an even pace.

There was an ambient gray light that filtered in from above. When Luna looked up, she couldn't tell if it was supposed to be cloud or not. Even as she considered it, the solid gray mass began to shift slightly to form the texture of clouds, such was her power over the realm of sleep that a mere stray thought could change the nature of the dreamscape.

Shaking her head, the princess turned her gaze from the sky – it wasn't important – and took in her immediate surroundings. She was in a hedge maze, similar to the one inside of Canterlot. She could see the resemblance: a few statues looked the same, though they were positioned quite differently. She didn't let such sights daunt her, for she was used to the twisted reality of dreams.

Stepping forward, she took a direction at random, knowing that the twisting nature of dreams would eventually lead her to the source of this nightmare. Like a leaf caught in a whirlpool, she could feel herself being drawn in and she knew better than to struggle against the coercive nature of the nightmare. She took the feeling of imprisonment and donned it like a cloak, letting her body take her down the paths of the maze on its own accord.

The path had twisted and turned as the princess expected. She had seen many nightmares of being lost in her time, as a result, she had come to expect the feeling of disorientation. However, instead of the creeping sensation that she could normally sequester in the back of her mind, her vision itself began to feel warped with every step her body took. It made her feel uneasy, and she decided that flying under such a sensation would probably result in disaster. She was here in full force after all, she could feel pain in here as readily as if it were reality.

This isn't good. This is a powerful nightmare, for even one as powerful as I cannot resist the effects of it. Luna gritted her teeth and continued on defiantly. All the more reason for me to help assuage these fears from Twilight's mind. But first I must find her.

Sure enough, as if the mere thought of Twilight were enough, the maze led her to what appeared to be the center, and at this point, the twisting in her vision abated. It felt like her hooves were now touching solid ground, whereas before she had been walking on the surface of pudding. It was a welcome sensation. The center was a spacious area, with six enormous statues of Celestia, equally distributed along the circular perimeter. All of them gazed down in differing, yet similarly regal, scowls of disappointment.

In the middle of this area, amidst the finely cut grass, Luna spotted Twilight, pacing back and forth. A metal cube stood beside the mare. There was a single slat of metal missing from the front face, toward the top of the cube.

The lunar princess made her way up to her friend. Twilight was muttering to herself and Luna was only a few feet away when she could finally make out what was being said by the other mare.

“She said she wanted to test me and she did. But just so I could become a princess? Well, I suppose it's about time too.” Twilight then proceeded to turn and Luna noticed that the mare only had a single wing on her left side, her right one was gone as if it never were there. “All that practicing, learning, following orders, and doing her bidding. It all finally paid off. Now I have wings. I'm an alicorn, and perhaps even as powerful as Celestia herself! I wonder if I could move the sun if I gave it a shot now-”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna called out to the mare in a clear voice, interrupting the mare's train of thought.

“Oh, Princess Luna? What are you doing here in my dream?”

Such lucidity in a dream. She has a powerful mind indeed. I can hardly believe that she is able to hold the dream's fabric together, even while knowing that it is a dream. That takes a fair amount of willpower. Truly, she has earned her place amongst us, even young as she is.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she began, looking for signs of the nightmare, “I have come to your dreams because I feared you were having a nightmare.”

“A nightmare?” the one-winged unicorn asked. “I'm just using this place to work out my thoughts as I sleep. I haven't had nightmares in years. See, that's the neat thing about dreams. Once you know you are inside them, you can alter them to your will.” To emphasize the point, Twilight pointed to the sky and it darkened while the clouds parted, and a full moon peaked out from behind. “See? In my dream I can control the sun and the moon. There's no nightmare here. Not while I have the power of this entire dream under my control.”

Luna frowned slightly at the mare before her. She wasn't sure, but something felt different about her. Was it the fact that the lavender pony seemed to not be aware of her missing wing, or was it her attitude? Luna couldn't be certain. Admittedly, she didn't know her friend as well as she would have liked.

“Do not underestimate the realm of dreams, Twilight Sparkle,” she warned. “There is much to be wary of when experimenting with dreams. We are here like a cloud on the wind, or a leaf caught within the currents of a river. You must not attempt to change the flow of dreams too much, or you could slip and drown.”

“Oh, I know the risks,” the lavender mare insisted with a light shake of her head. “You're as worried as her.”

“Whom do you speak of, if I may ask, when you say 'her'?”

“Oh, take a look inside the box. It's easier than explaining,” Twilight remarked as she turned away from the princess and used her magic. With a light popping sound, a book appeared before the unicorn.

Luna gasped, and a look of horror befell her visage as she recognized the slight shadowy aura that the item held. “Twilight Sparkle, you know not the powers you are tampering with. You must not bring items from the material world to your dreams. It is forbidden!”

The one-winged unicorn turned to face her. One of her eyes' whites had turned a venomous green colour, and its accompanying pupil a solid crimson. The same colour light that Polaris had been shining. “Nothing is forbidden!” Twilight's voice held a slight echo to it, almost as if two voices were speaking at once. One voice was that curt tone of the friend that she knew, and the other was a voice she hadn't heard in centuries. Its tone was deep, like a boulder crushing gravel. Yet it was a voice she would recognize anywhere.

“Sombra!” Luna shouted and shot forth a blast of magic, a magic that was strong enough to move the moon. It should have been enough to suppress even the most powerful of unicorns. The princess didn't want to hurt her friend, and aimed instead with the intent to bind this mockery of Twilight before her.

But her magic flared and dissipated just before it reached its mark, crumbling and blowing away like the seeds of a dandelion caught within a hidden breeze.

“Sombra?” the lavender mare asked mockingly, that deeper tone cloaking her voice. “Sombra's gone, but I learned his magic. I learned his secrets. His magic holds a vast potential within it. It's quite useful to have in my repertoire. After all, magic is my special talent.” She then blinked and looked at Luna once again, her eye flashed menacingly one last time before returning to normal. With that simple change, her voice returned to its normal tone as well. “I know my magic, Princess, more so than any other pony, and I also know of this realm of dreams. I find it surprising that somepony as respectable as yourself should forget the rules of the realm of dreams. Which would be that the dreamer has control over her dreams. As such, my will shall be done while I reside in here.”

“We see that We are facing no foal here, Twilight Sparkle. We had hoped that our display of magic would catch you off-guard,” Luna admitted in defeat, her royal speech slipping out despite her last year of tiring speech lessons. She knew she could not best the mare, and it irked her, for dreams were her realm. So long as Twilight remained focused as she was, she had no hope to intervene with the mare's dream. The princess could feel the other mare's will upon the realm around her, anchoring the normally warped fabrics of the dream firmly in place. “Pray tell then, what art thou attempting to do, Twilight Sparkle? What thou hast done is dangerous, even for the most experienced of ponies.”

“Oh, don't worry Princess, I have a plan,” she replied reassuringly, “and you are the back-up plan, in case it messes up. But that shouldn't happen. So be nice and watch for a while.”

Luna frowned at the casual tone with which the mare was using. One would not simply give orders to the Princess of the Night. This was not the Twilight Sparkle that she knew. “I must decline, Twilight Sparkle.”

The other mare let out a simple sigh. “I figured as much. But unfortunately, I wasn't asking.” She then waved her hoof toward Luna.

The princess immediately felt Twilight's will focus upon her, and with a grunt she pushed back with her own will. She was no mere mirage as was the rest of the dream. No, she was the Princess of the Night and she was the master of dreams. She would not be so easily subdued.

The two mares locked eyes as they pushed against each other with their minds. As Luna gazed, she grinned smugly when she noticed the background of the dream began to shimmer and waver slightly, as if it were fabric caught upon the slightest of winds. The dream was beginning to return to its natural flowing state.

Twilight scowled back and lowered her horn in response and quickly let loose a single beam of magic right at Luna. Out of reflex, the princess turned her will upon the magic shot willing it to dissipate. The magenta blast thinned out into nothingness before her.

It was in that moment that she felt Twilight's full focus fall upon her. No! Luna managed to think in a second of comprehension, just as the world seemed to fold in around her.

For a time there was nothingness. Then suddenly, her senses came back to her, as if unfolding from within. They took a moment to solidify. The world faded into existence around her.

Blinking, she explored her new surroundings. She was now in a dark place, with only a single beam of moonlight filtering in from above. Without hesitating, she flew up and peered out of the opening. She could see where she had just been, and came to the conclusion that she was within that large metal cube that she had seen just before speaking to Twilight.

Gathering her will, she focused against the metal sides and pushed as hard as she could. The metal merely bulged ever so slightly. She sweated under the strain of such an act, only to see it pop back into place once she could push no longer.

“Oh, Princess Luna, is that you?”

Luna was surprised to hear Twilight's voice once again, although this time it carried a quiet, meek, and almost scared tone. Looking down, she saw the unicorn beneath her.

This Twilight carried a single wing, resting on her right side. She was sitting down, leaning against the metal wall.

“Twilight? There are two of you here. What is the meaning behind this? The other one out there, is she an imposter?”

“No, Princess,” Twilight responded, rising slowly to her hooves and proceeding to bow. “Neither of us is an imposter.”

“I do not understand. A dream exists around an individual and flows upon their subconsciousness. It should not be possible that there are two dreamers in a single dream. Which of thou art the real Twilight Sparkle?!” the princess demanded, her voice nearly a bellow.

“Neither of us,” the sullen unicorn repeated, emphasizing her words with a shake her head. “The real Twilight sleeps in her bed in Canterlot.”

Luna took in a light breath and calmed herself. “Yes, I know, but you are formed from her sense of being. You are her experience in this dream, her consciousness as it were. Tell me, why are you inside this...” she tapped the wall firmly in emphasis, “metal box? Were you imprisoned here by the other Twilight as well?”

“No.” The lavender mare shook her head and shrunk down to the metallic floor and gazed up at the princess with a hint of fear in her eyes. “I made this metal box, so I could stay away from the other me.”

“You are afraid of the other Twilight?”

“No. I'm afraid of this.” With a slight motion, she spread her single wing. “I'm afraid of being a princess. I just didn't want to wake up, so I split myself into two. I figured if I did that, I wouldn't be able to wake up until I became whole again.”

“You are afraid of being a princess? Why? There is truly no greater honour in all of Equestria.”

“But I don't want that honour. I just want to stay in Ponyville with my friends.”

“But your other self seems to want to become a princess,” Luna mused aloud. Then a feeling of dread befell her as she considered what it was the other Twilight must be attempting. Shaking her head and standing regally over the other mare, Luna gazed down at her. “Twilight Sparkle, we are in a most perilous situation. Your other self seeks to reach the real world from the realm of dreams. If that were to happen... I dare not consider the consequences of such an action.”

Twilight trembled beneath her majestic visage. “I-if she – the other me... if she opens a gate to the real world, then that would mean... I'd sleep forever, wouldn't I?”

Luna simply nodded. “That is a likely possibility, however-”

“That's perfect,” Twilight interrupted while smiling slightly. “Then I won't ever have to wake up and leave my friends!”

“Twilight Sparkle!” the indigo princess rebuked. “Thou shalt not even consider allowing such an action to take place. Thou wouldst let a part of thyself, incomplete and flawed, walk amongst the waking world, the world where your friends reside? How thine friends would mourn at the sight, and how We would as well. Twilight Sparkle, the debt We owe thou is vast, and We hold thine friendship dear to Our own heart. So listen when We speak the truth: allowing the other part of thyself to breach the world would only end in heartache for all thine friends, close or far.”

“P-Princess...” the submissive mare stuttered and shook her mane vigorously, as if clearing out the entirety of her mind. “You're right! I can't let that happen, not to my friends. Just because I'm scared of what might come doesn't mean I shouldn't face it. No, that's exactly why I should face it! I need to make my future myself. I can't run from it and push the burden onto all of my friends. It's my responsibility, and I have to be the one to shoulder it.”

Luna watched as the mare before her grew in confidence. She always found it exquisite how quickly change could happen within the realm of dreams.

“I'll head toward the future with my friends,” Twilight continued. “I realize now. Even if we won't see each other as often after I become a princess, we'll still be friends. That will never change.”

By the end of her speech, the one-winged unicorn now stood tall and proud. “I shall get rid of this metal block.” In the next moment, all around them, the metal cube fractured with the groan of stressed metal as pieces of it began to disperse into the fabrics of the dream itself.

The two ponies saw, within the pale ambiance of the moonlight, the source of their worry. She stood mere feet away, looking right at them.

“Oh?” the lavender unicorn asked at their appearance. One of her eyes began to glow with the red and green, along with the purple wisps of Sombra's magic. “What are you doing? I thought you wanted to stay in the cube for as long as you could.”

“I changed my mind,” the now-proud Twilight responded evenly. “We need go back. Now!”

“That's what I'm just about to do, but not in the way that you think. I believe it's time to find out if this spell will work like I planned for it to.” With a single motion, the unicorn cast forth a web of dark purple energy, which landed right before Luna. It had a disturbing current that ran through it like flashes of lightning. The web of energy hit the open air and stuck in place. A sizzling sound started filtering through the air, and Luna could feel the threads of the dream around her burning away.

“Stop this foalishness!” Luna ordered. She sent out her will in full force, targeting the dangerous magic, aiming to dispel it before further damage could be done to the dream. The opposing Twilight was waiting for her though. She felt her own will collide with the other mare's, like two dammed rivers breaking upon each other at the same moment. The dream around them began to ripple furiously under the pressure.

Both mares grunted under the stress, but neither dared let the other gain any leverage. The remaining Twilight only looked between the two for a moment, then she made her move. With as quick a run as she could muster, she jumped toward her twin.

With a yelp of surprise, the concentrating Twilight noticed too late and was tackled to the shifting ground.

Letting loose a triumphant cry, Luna willed the dark magic to simply not exist and it quickly faded to nothingness. Though, in its place, she couldn't help but notice a mark was left upon the open air. It appeared to be a crack, barely large enough to peak an eye through. With a quick inspection, she noticed the faint light of distant stars and heard the gentle sound of the calm summer's breeze passing through a surrounding sea of grass. These were sounds of the waking world.

The princess pried her eyes away from the anomaly and turned her attention to where the two unicorns had been. In their place, she caught sight of a glowing red light that slowly changed to orange, then to white. The light extended until everything within the twisted dream became entirely encompassed by the glow. Bright it was, but in a gentle way, and Luna looked around her, searching through the soothing light.

After a moment, she spotted the mare. Twilight lay there in the soft, white embrace, sleeping and whole once more, her wings were tucked in gently at her side.

Luna walked up to her sleeping form, across the solid floor that she imagined was beneath her. Such an act was easy now that the dream had collapsed, and she stopped mere inches away. “Sleep now, Twilight Sparkle, my friend,” she whispered, “and as all dreams must end, let the memories fade to mist so that you may face tomorrow with your convictions in tow.”

As she spoke the words, the light faded to darkness and countless pinpricks slowly formed in her sight.

Blinking, Luna stirred from her slumber and gazed at the stars from her lofty position upon her cloud. After a moment, she spotted Polaris, shedding its bright, white light. The northern star: one that never would cease to give direction to those who are lost. To her right, in the distance, she could see the sky beginning to colour from her sister's sun, while her moon touched down on the horizon to the left.

She let out a soft sigh in the twilight and smiled to herself. “Another masterpiece,” she whispered, and took flight, content to return home. She left her cloud floating there, as a memory of her solitude.

Beneath the cloud, there was a field below. Hanging in the open air, an anomaly of gentle light could be seen. It's light slowly washed away by the sun as it peaked over the horizon. It remained there, hidden from all the world, until, by nightfall, the treasured dreams of a beloved princess awaited; a sight only visible to those who were lucky enough to venture into the soft embrace of the night and follow its faint, guiding light.

Assumptions, or Making an Ass Out of You and Me

"Oh, Twilight, everything is simply a mess!"

Rarity, her mane resembling a violet palm tree, zipped from sewing machine to dress form to shelves, measuring, cutting, stitching, and embroidering, seemingly all at once. Viewing the alacrity of the white and purple blur was enough to make Twilight's head hurt.

"I'm simply a mess!" Rarity continued, giving her mane a disparaging upward glance before neatly attaching the third of three buttons to a sleeve. "I've been working nonstop, day and night, or I would be if I didn't keep falling asleep."

"Can't you take an extra day to rest up?" Twilight said, eyebrows cinched. "You're not doing yourself any favors by keeping up that kind of pace."

"But Twilight, I just can't." She dashed between snipping a ribbon at an angle and switching her sewing machine to a backstitch. "Hoity Toity's client has moved her deadline back by two days. It's bad enough that I have to rely this much on machine stitching, but if I did everything by hoof, I wouldn't have the slightest chance of finishing on time!"

"You can't reduce the number of dresses you're making, I assume?" Twilight tilted her head at a spool of thread that had been set spinning in place by the thrust of an errant needle.

"Perish the thought!" Rarity took a moment to run a damp handkerchief across her brow before returning it to the myriad of bobbins, needles, pincushions and so forth that were continually encircling the room. "I promised Hoity Toity thirty dresses in thirty days, and I shall not renege on that promise. That the time frame has shrunk is immaterial. You understand what a boon this will be to my career, Twilight, don't you?"

Rarity gasped as the formerly twirling thread launched away from her and towards Twilight.

"Have you thought about asking for help?" Twilight asked brightly. "If you showed me what to do, I could–"

"No, no!" Rarity, aghast, slapped Twilight's magic away from the thread with her own before placing it into the carousel of sewing odds and ends. "I apologize, Twilight; what I mean is..."

"Well, what about Fluttershy?" Twilight sucked on her lower lip, apparently unperturbed by the slight. "Or even Pinkie?"

Rarity's face twitched slightly. "Pinkie is far too... Energetic. And while I respect Fluttershy's abilities with a needle and thread, our opinions on fashion differ far too much. This order must reflect my vision, Twilight, do you understand?"

Twilight mulled that over a moment. Rarity cut her off before she could reply.

"I was, however, hoping to ask you for a different sort of help; specifically, the magical kind."

Eyes brightening, Twilight leaned towards Rarity. "Of course, Rarity! Just name what you need and I'll be glad to help!"

Rarity allowed herself a brief smile. "You see, the main problem is not the time, but my energy levels. I've fallen asleep mid-stitch before, and every time I do, I have to pick everything up–" she motioned to indicate the whirling circle of sewing supplies– "and sort it out before I can begin anew. It wastes so much precious time, you see."

"I don't know," Twilight said with a frown. "You have to stop and take a break now and then or you'll burn yourself out! How do you even find time to eat?"

"I'm on a diet," Rarity replied primly. "Which is to say Sweetie Belle is doing the cooking." She groaned. "Oh, I know I've made an awful muddle of things by taking on this much at once, and I dare say I shan't endeavor to do so again if I can ever help it, but I must finish this order in the next five days, or I'll be ruined!"

Twilight sighed and scratched the back of her neck with a hoof. "Well, I can think of a few spells off the top of my head that might help. But there's no magical replacement for sleep. You need to make sure you rest if any help I provide is going to do you any good."

The sewing machine snagged on a tightly curving seam, and Rarity bit down on her lip, face turning red as she fought to keep a lid on her anger. "I understand, dear," she squeaked through clenched teeth.

"All right, then. I'll grab a few books from the library and be right back!"

Rarity didn't even turn her head as Twilight teleported away. It took Twilight but a few minutes to gather the three spellbooks she'd been thinking of and then return to the Boutique. This had been time enough for Rarity to disentangle her tangled thread and begin mending the dress afresh.

"All right, Rarity," Twilight said, announcing her presence once more, "let me run a few of these past you and see what you think." She lifted the books, levitating them in a pale imitation of Rarity's series of utensils that floated in and out of position as she needed them. Clearing her throat, Twilight flipped to a bookmark in the first tome.

"How about Treeleaf's Timeless Trial? I use it for all-nighters. You stay awake for three whole days..."

"Oh, that sounds excellent!"

Twilight frowned. "Er, and then you fall asleep for one. I kind of forgot about that part." She laughed nervously.

"That won't do me any good right now, Twilight, I'm afraid."

"Right." Tossing that book back into her saddlebag, she turned to the table of contents of the next. "Oh, this sounds promising! Sunrise Surprise's Speedy-Speed Spell. The subject becomes able to move at lightning speeds for an extended time. You'd be able to get things done a lot more quickly that way."

Rarity rolled her eyes audibly. "Haste makes waste, Twilight. I require precision, not just speed."

"Good point! How about this one, it's Miracle Mile's Most–"

"Oh for goodness sake, Twilight, just pick one already!"

Twilight dropped the book, blushing furiously at the sudden upbraiding. Rarity turned to her, stopping her work for the first time since Twilight had arrived, and gave her a sheepish smile.

"I'm ever so sorry, dear. Stress."

"It's all right, Rarity. I understand."

Nodding, Rarity turned back to her work. "Just, choose a spell that will give me enough stamina to maintain this pace for the next five days, and let's be done with it, hm? I trust entirely in your judgment of all things magical."

Bolstered by the vote of confidence, Twilight turned to her final book, reading over the spell index carefully. It was an older tome, and moldy around one edge, as it had been handed down to her during her time at the School for Gifted Unicorns by a departing upperclasspony. Due to its dilapidation and general instability, not to mention its malingering odor, she had always treated it gingerly and read it infrequently, a consequence of which being that she was not entirely familiar with its contents. Taking them in now, she became rather excited at the possibilities presented in a number of spell titles. One, at last, stood out to her.

"Bumble Butters's Braying Bastion. This is the one!" Twilight began to vibrate slightly as she read. "The user will gain, for a predetermined length of time, the tireless stamina of a donkey."

"A donkey?" There was a snap as a piece of thread broke.

"Rarity, this sounds great! Think about it: donkeys are known for being cheerful, tireless workers. They can toil from sunup to sundown and they never complain! One dose of this spell and you'll have that same staying power, plus I can adjust it so that it lasts exactly the length of time you'll need!"

"Oh, that sounds wonderful, dear!" Rarity seemed to relax slightly. "But do set it for six days, won't you? Hoity Toity and his client will be coming by on Friday to view my work and I would hate to collapse from exhaustion in front of them."

"That sounds like a plan!" Twilight grinned, then flipped to the page where the spell's text began.

Part of it fell to the floor.

Twilight did her best to keep from moaning in despair, scooping up the tattered parchment and trying in vain to press it back into position.

"Just, uhh... Give me a few minutes to read over the spell and make sure I'm familiar with it!" she said with a nervous chuckle.

"Oh, certainly dear," Rarity said affably, not noticing Twilight teleporting out and then back again. "Take all the time you need. Why, it feels like I've come upon a newfound source of vigor already, and you haven't even cast the spell!"

"Yes, of course!" Twilight said, forcing more laughter. "Haven't even cast it yet!"

Gritting her teeth, she stared at the spell, willing it to pull itself together. Not only was the text three pages long, but various rather important words were smudged or missing entirely. From the context, she was able to deduce many of the omissions, but a few of the smudgier smudges remained painfully obtuse.

Is that 'although' or 'all through'?

"Having any trouble, dear?" Rarity asked, causing Twilight to shift the book behind herself. The loose page floated free once more.

"Oh no, no trouble at all, ha ha! Just give me another second here..."

Scanning the pages frantically, Twilight built the spell's frame in her mind. It was now or never.

"Six days, you said?"

"Yes, dear, six, if you please."

"All right!" Twilight's eye twitched. "Here goes nothing," she mumbled.

There was a prolonged burst of light from her horn. Upon its fading, a number of things happened.

Five bobbins, ten spools of regular thread, one spool of gold embroidery thread, two pairs of scissors, fifteen ribbons of various colors, two bolts of cloth, two pincushions, one extremely damp handkerchief, and one moldy, dilapidated tome of magic spells clattered to the floor of Carousel Boutique.

A scream was heard across Ponyville, though few paid it much heed as ponies screamed in abject terror at the silliest of things sometimes.

Twilight and Rarity turned into donkeys. That one may have happened first.

"Twilight, what have you done?" cried the donkey with the frumpy and disheveled purple mane.

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!" shrieked the donkey with the slightly less disheveled purple and pink mane. "I thought I had all the words right!"

"Twilight Sparkle, you change me back this instant!" Rarity stamped her hoof. "This instant, do you hear me?"

"How?" Twilight's sank to the floor and let out a low, sad bray. "I don't have a horn!"

"You don't?" Rarity's hooves patted her forehead. "Neither do I! I feel faint, I need air!"

"What are we gonna do?" Twilight pawed at her newly elongated ears, pulling them down below the level of her chin.

"We are going to do nothing," Rarity huffed. "You are going to find a method of fixing this, immediately, and I am going to..."

Her eyes traced over the clutter of pins and thread laying on the floor around the room's perimeter. She lifted a hoof, gazing at the loose brown skin of her leg. Moisture formed in her eyes.

"I am going to sit here and cry for a moment, I think."

Twilight watched Rarity hang her head, watched her shoulders begin to shake as the weight of what had just happened overwhelmed her. Twilight hesitated, wondering whether there was anything she could say or do that would comfort her friend. There was, of course: she could find a counterspell.

Then she hesitated again, this time realizing that she was trying unsuccessfully to retrieve the book with her nonexistent magic, before reaching out and flipping it open manually. Gingerly, she moved the pages, wincing every time one snagged under her clumsy hoof, until she had returned to the spell that had gotten them into this mess. Her gaze moved rapidly across the pages until she found the start of the counterspell.

And little besides.

The fourth page of Bumble Butters's Braying Bastion had been ripped nearly entirely out of the book, leaving behind only enough of a sentence at the top of the page that she knew it was where the counterspell was meant to be. Twilight bit back a groan of frustration, looking to Rarity.

"Don't worry, Rarity," she said. "I'll find a way to end this spell early, and then I'll find a unicorn who can cast it. You can count on me!"

Rarity wiped at her eyes, sniffling and turning to Twilight. "I leave it in your capable hooves, Twilight. And I'll ask Fluttershy to help me after all."

Twilight seemed struck by a lightning bolt. "Rarity, our friends! We need to tell them what happened immediately!"

"Oh goodness, Twilight, and what about other ponies?"

"One problem at a time, Rarity," Twilight said, mustering her courage. "First, we come up with a plan to get your dresses finished on time, regardless of what happens. And..." She swallowed, averting her eyes from her friend. "I should tell you that the counterspell is..."

She held up the book and Rarity gasped.

"I don't want you to get your hopes up," Twilight said quickly, "but I don't want you to despair, either. In the worst case, we're both donkeys for six days and then we're back to being ourselves."

"But Hoity Toity will be–"

Twilight forced herself to smile, which seemed to reassure Rarity. "One problem at a time."

Thankfully, convincing their friends of what had happened had not been overly difficult. Convincing Pinkie Pie that now was not the time for a "Yay, You're Donkeys Now!" party had proven slightly more of a challenge.

After laying out the issue for them, an issue that was really more Rarity's than Twilight's, their friends were more than willing to pitch in.

"I'd be more than happy to help with your sewing, Rarity," Fluttershy said. "And I promise to follow your patterns to the letter. I know how important this is to you."

"I'd even be willing to help with that," Rainbow Dash said. "I don't know anything about sewing, of course, but I could move stuff around real fast for you, if you tell me what's what."

"Not sure what I can do to help," Applejack said. "But if'n y'all need me, let me know."

"Ooh! Ooh!" Pinkie jumped up and down, waving a hoof in the air. "I'll ask Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda for help! I bet they can tell you all kinds of things about how to be donkeys!"

Twilight frowned. "Pinkie, we're only going to be donkeys for six days at the longest, and less if I can figure out a counterspell." She gave a small groan. "If I can even work on magic without a horn, that is."

"That's okay, Twilight," Pinkie said chipperly. "I'm sure they'll have loads of tips for you while you are donkeys!" She hopped out of the library before anypony else could say anything.

Twilight and Rarity looked at each other.

"Well," Rarity said slowly, "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"As a backup plan," Twilight said.

"Yes." Rarity nodded, her ears flapping back and forth. "In case our original plan does not work out. Though I've no doubts that it will."

Four and a half days to finish ten dresses, seven of which existed only as sketches and ideas. Rarity grit her teeth, swallowing a lump of fear in her throat. This was only a minor setback, she kept telling herself.

"The main problem," she announced, "is that I am far too used to using magic for delicate work. Being relegated to using my hooves will slow me down, and this is why I need your help."

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash nodded.

"So Fluttershy, you will be on sewing machine duty. I know that you're quite skilled and I have nothing to worry about."

Fluttershy mustered her courage, saluting. "You can count on me, Rarity!"

"I will be primarily concerned with cutting, layouts, and final embroidery. Rainbow Dash, that leaves you for gophering and pinning. If I show you how, do you think you can handle it?"

"Sure thing!" Rainbow Dash straightened her posture. "I don't know much about dresses, but some silly little pins aren't gonna keep Rainbow Dash from helping her friend!"

Rarity smiled. "You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that. Well, I've lost plenty of time as it is. Let's get a move on girls, one dress at a time!"

They moved to their designated positions, and soon the boutique was filled with the sounds of machine sewing and calls of, "Another spool of blue thread, Rainbow Dash," or "Rainbow, could you bring me the gold ribbon, please?"

Rarity quickly accustomed herself to not only doing three things at once, but doing them with her hooves. The setback of having no magic seemed not as great an obstacle as she had expected, now that she was actually working without it. Certainly, having her friends here helped, not only for getting things done faster, but also for bolstering her spirits. She may have changed on the outside, but she could still count on them when she needed them. Still, she couldn't help feeling like her hooves were just a tad clumsier in this form, and numerous pin-sticks and slipped lines were causing her to build a light head of steam.

"So," Rainbow Dash said during an interval of having not as much to do, "what's it like? Being a donkey, I mean."

"It's..." Rarity paused in laying out dress number three, looking up at her friend. "You know, I hadn't really thought about it much." She looked down at her hooves. "To be honest, I don't feel much different, aside from the obvious. A little frumpier than usual, perhaps, but even as a pony, I have certainly not been looking my best this week."

Rainbow crossed her arms, chewing on her lower lip. "You sure you don't feel any different? Like... I dunno, stronger? Or dumber?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy's admonishment caused the other pegasus to backpedal in midair, though Fluttershy never once looked up from her sewing. "You should be ashamed! After all, you know Cranky and Matilda, and they aren't dumb, now are they?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but they're old. I dunno... I was just always told that donkeys and mules and buffalo and everypony else just aren't as... Y'know, not as..." She scratched the back of her neck. "As good as regular ponies?"

Rarity felt her overly long ears begin to burn. Shame held her gaze studiously away from Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy made a noise of disgust.

"I don't mean anything by it," Rainbow insisted, "I'm just curious!"

"Rainbow Destiny Dash," Fluttershy said, looking up from her sewing for the first time, "I cannot believe you would accept such a ridiculous belief. Donkeys and mules and everypony else are just like us where it counts: inside. And other than losing her magic, Rarity hasn't changed at all. She's still the same kind, generous, smart pony you and I know and love."

Rainbow grunted. "I guess you're right about that. Sorry, Rare."

Rarity swallowed the building shame and returned to her work, though she found that she was less than eager to look at either of her friends for a while.

Towards evening, Sweetie Belle arrived, carrying a bowl of unidentifiable mush. Its brownish grey color suggested that her cooking skills had improved remarkably.

"Wow," she gasped, forgetting she was holding anything. Rainbow Dash scooped the bowl up, saving the floor from a summary coating of whatever it was she'd cooked, and deposited it next to Rarity.

"I didn't know you two were helping my sister!" Sweetie scanned the room, then frowned. "Hey, where is Rarity, anyway?"

"That's Rarity there, Sweetie," Fluttershy said, motioning with her wing.

Sweetie's look declared loudly that she was unconvinced, and she trotted over, giving Rarity a suspicious stare.

"It is me, Sweetie Belle," Rarity said, withering under her little sister's gaze as she was looked over from poll to pastern. "There was a bit of a magical accident earlier today, and I'm afraid I'll look this way until the end of the week."

Sweetie Belle, at hearing her sister's voice, smiled. "It is you!"

Her smile quickly became a frown as Rarity reached out to hug her. Sweetie backed up a few paces, grimaced, and then turned to leave.

"I... Think I'll go make some more noodle casserole," she said. "For Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. To eat."

Rarity brayed softly as her sister departed the room, and soon tears were staining the swatch of organdie on the table in front of her. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy exchanged helpless looks. Floating over, Rainbow put an arm around Rarity's neck, almost recoiling at touching the coarse skin and thick, bristly hide. As Rarity cradled her head in her hooves, Rainbow thought she could make out words between the sobbing.

"Six more days... Six more days..."

Despite Spike's help, though possibly because of his nagging questions about how she felt now that she was a donkey, Twilight spent the night fruitlessly scouring her shelves for counterspells. In the end, collapsing into bed, she'd had Spike send a letter to the Princess, with a request to forward it to the Royal Library. She hadn't mentioned the specifics of her situation, but she had no doubt that Celestia would be able to read between the lines and determine just why she needed to break a transformation enchantment.

In the morning, she was met with an exuberant Pinkie.

"Up and at 'em!" she cried, bounding up and down beside Twilight's bed. "We're gonna go see Cranky and Matilda this morning!"

"Pinkie," Twilight groaned, slapping her pillow over her face, "how did you even get in here?"

"Science fiction!" was Pinkie's only reply.

Twilight did her best to ignore Pinkie's rambling about cakes, pies, and cake-pies as she slowly and inexorably tried to carry out her morning routine sans magic. It was, she decided, far worse than being under the influence of Poison Joke, because that at least had not come with a dreadful change in appearance.

"Huh."

Pinkie stopped mid-bounce, hovering at the apex of her jump. "What is it, Twilight?"

"Pinkie, look in the mirror and tell me what you see."

Twilight scooted over so that her friend could share the reflection. Pinkie immediately began to stretch and squash her own features, sticking her hooves in her muzzle and letting her tongue loll out. As Pinkie collapsed, giggling, onto the floor, Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Just a bunch of silly faces, Twilight!" Pinkie answered at last.

Twilight frowned. "I only asked because I caught myself thinking that I was... ugly."

Pinkie's laughter halted, and she mirrored Twilight's frown. "You're not ugly, Twilight. I think you look great as a donkey! Well, maybe your mane color doesn't go with your coat, but I wouldn't really say it's 'ugly'..."

"That's just it, Pinkie," Twilight said. "I've been a donkey for less than a day and already it's affecting my self-image. Ugh, transformation magic is so troublesome! I've got to come up with a counterspell today!"

With no reply forthcoming from the Princess or the Royal Librarian by the time she was finished, Twilight decided to take Pinkie up on her suggestion that they visit the Donkeys, out on the edge of town.

As she followed her irascible friend through the streets of Ponyville, Twilight couldn't help but feel different. It wasn't simply for having been changed, or for not having her magic. She couldn't put a hoof on how, or why, but different-ness seemed to radiate from and through her, and it was making her feel not just uncomfortable, but wholly alien.

"Why doesn't donkey rhyme with monkey?" Pinkie jabbered. "It would make writing songs so much easier! I mean, what rhymes with donkey at all, really? Ponky, bonky, lonky: those don't mean anything! Not that I have something against nonsense words, but you can't make a whole song out of them if you're trying to make a statement!"

That gloomy sensation of alienness lasted through a diatribe on the many ways one could describe the sound of hoofsteps and a tangent about just how many bags of flour could fit in a hot air balloon's basket before it was too heavy to fly. In tuning out Pinkie's never-ending stream of consciousness babbling, Twilight found that she was sinking ever more deeply into her own thoughts.

"And that's how I lost my second tail!" Pinkie exclaimed, stopping in front of a small stone cottage. "Here we are!"

"Finally." Twilight shivered, then knocked at the door.

"Coming!"

After a few moments, a deadbolt slid open, and Matilda appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, good morning, Pinkie Pie!" Matilda's smile was warmer than the sun. "To what do I owe the honor of this visit? Who's your new friend?"

Pinkie giggled. "She's not a new friend, silly Matilda, she's an old friend who looks new!"

"Hello," Twilight said slowly. "I don't think we've really talked much, before, but Pinkie's told me all about you."

Matilda gasped, blinking and peering closely at Twilight. "Oh my goodness. You're... But how did you..."

Twilight gave her a lopsided smile. "It's kind of a long story."

"Can we come in?" Pinkie asked, excitement sending her airborne once again.

"Oh yes, please, make yourselves at home. Cranky!" she shouted into the dim interior of the cottage. "We have visitors!"

"Coming, Matilda!"

"Have a seat on the couch," Matilda insisted, "and I'll put water on for tea."

As she bustled off to the kitchen, Twilight and Pinkie took her up on her offer.

"I think she recognized me immediately," Twilight said, keeping her voice down. "How is that possible? I always kinda thought donkeys looked the same."

"Not if you're a donkey, they don't!" Pinkie said, good-naturedly.

Twilight wasn't sure how to take that. "And did you notice they keep their doors locked at night?"

Before Pinkie had a chance to respond, Cranky stepped out from the hallway. His coiffed golden toupee sat proudly on his head, and he smiled upon seeing them.

"Well hey there, kiddo, how've you been? Who's your friend?"

"I've been great!" Pinkie exclaimed. "And this is Twilight! Don't you recognize her?"

Cranky gave Twilight a squinting glance, then his ears shot up.

"What in the world?"

"I sort of turned myself and my friend Rarity into donkeys yesterday," Twilight admitted, tapping her hooves together.

"Well, that certainly would explain things," Matilda said, returning from the kitchen. She and Cranky sat in chairs across the coffee table from the sofa where Twilight and Pinkie were. "And I'd thought you said it was a long story. So what brings you both here today?"

"I thought you could give Twilight and Rarity some pointers about being donkeys," Pinkie said, smiling. "Oh, and Rarity's not here right now because she has a biiiig dress order to finish up by the end of the week, and being turned into a donkey has kind of set her back a teensy-weensy bit. So if there's anything you can suggest that would help her out, we'll be sure to let her know!"

Matilda and Cranky exchanged glances, while Twilight gave Pinkie a look of consternation.

"Well," Cranky began, "I can't say I've ever not been a donkey, so it's hard to know what might've changed for you."

Matilda cleared her throat. "Tell me, Twilight: do you feel any different?"

Twilight nodded. "At first, I thought the only change was not having a horn. But on the way here today, I felt..." She chewed on her lip. "I can't really describe it. It was like everypony's eyes were on me, maybe. And it made me feel..."

"Singled out?" Cranky offered after she had hesitated a few seconds. Twilight nodded, and he continued. "I know that feeling all too well, Twilight."

"Oh Cranky, don't start with the poor girl," Matilda said, resting her hoof on his.

"Now, now, Matilda," Cranky said evenly, "I think young Twilight has a unique opportunity here that she shouldn't pass up."

Twilight's eyes lit up and she leaned slightly toward Cranky. A smile began to form on the old donkey's face.

"Tell me, Twilight: where are we now?"

The simple question seemed to confuse her for a second. "Uh... In your house? In Ponyville?"

"Ponyville, right. And who lives in Ponyville?"

"Uh, well, there's me, you, Rarity, Pinkie and the Cakes..." Twilight looked at Pinkie. "Do you mean ponies?"

"I do." Cranky's smile grew wider. Matilda rolled her eyes and stood, heeding the kettle's whistle.

"You see, Twilight," he said, "Ponyville is a wonderful place, which is why I came here after traveling the world. But Ponyville is a town for ponies. It's even named after them. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Twilight frowned. "You mean that sometimes you feel like you don't belong or aren't welcome here?"

Cranky nodded. "Exactly. So tell me, Twilight: do you have any friends who aren't ponies? Or you, Pinkie?"

"Well, there's Spike, of course," Twilight said immediately. "And Zecora too."

"But Spike's kind of more pony than dragon," Pinkie said, and Twilight nodded. "I'm friends with you and Matilda, and Mike the Mule!"

"But besides them..." Twilight tapped her hoof against her chin. "You know, I don't really think I do."

"Rainbow Dash was friends with Gilda," Pinkie said, sounding slightly less than enthusiastic, "but she's nopony I'd like to be friends with."

"And now I'm thinking about how we treated Zecora before we got to know her." Twilight's ears drooped.

Cranky gave a sage nod. Matilda rejoined them, with a steaming tea set laden with muffins and cookies. Pinkie immediately had two of them stuffed in her mouth upon it being set on the table. She swallowed, then gave them all a sheepish look.

"I hope nopony else wanted those. I haven't had breakfast yet."

A twinkle danced across Cranky's eyes. "Now answer this one, Twilight: why did Pinkie just say 'nopony' when she's the only pony here?"

Twilight's mouth dropped open.

"Twilight, I'll get to the point," Cranky said, taking a cup and leaning back in his chair. "Equestria is a land for ponies, in the same way that Ponyville is a town for ponies. For the rest of us who live here, life is good, but...

"Sometimes, it's hard being a donkey, or a zebra, or a griffon, in a place where you won't see a familiar face, one that looks like yours, for days or weeks, or even years at a time."

Twilight nodded slowly. "I think I understand. If I was living in Zecora's homeland, I'd probably feel like I was sticking out horribly from the rest of the po... zebras there."

"So it's like I said, Twilight." Cranky smiled and sipped at his tea. "You've got a unique opportunity here to study Equestrian life from the perspective a non-Equestrian. I think if you try, you'll find the results surprise you."

Twilight found herself mimicking his smile. "Thank you, Cranky. That... actually makes me feel a lot better. Although in some ways, it makes me feel worse... I hope I never made either of you feel that way." She took a deep breath. "But that still doesn't solve our main problem, which is Rarity's problem."

Matilda nodded. "In that case, tell us everything."

"Well, Twilight, with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy helping me, we've been able to make good headway. " Rarity tossed her mane, which currently looked only half a fright. They had arrived at the Boutique and been surprised to find her taking a break, of all things. Fluttershy was having a stretch outside while Rainbow Dash powernapped in the sewing room. "I dare say our progress has been superior to what I'd been able to do by myself over the last week. As you can see, we've even worked in a break or two. I have every confidence we will have all the dresses finished Thursday night, with plenty of time before Hoity Toity comes with his client."

"That's wonderful!" Twilight said, her smile quickly fading.

After a long pause, Rarity asked, "Twilight, is anything the matter?"

Twilight nodded. "I received a letter back from Princess Celestia today. The Royal Librarian is searching for a counterspell, but she says that because the particular spell I used is a timed enchantment, it's very unlikely that there's any way to end it early without knowing Bumble Butters's precise counter."

Rarity's face fell. "You mean I'm going to be stuck this way all week? When Hoity Toity gets here?"

"I'm sorry, Rarity," Twilight said, "I really am. This is all my fault and I feel like I'm letting you down horribly. There's a chance the Royal Librarian could be wrong, but I don't want to hold out for that."

Pinkie hopped next to Rarity, grinning. "So you're gonna have to count on your friends to help you out of a jam!"

"But I don't see how!" Rarity protested. "There's simply no way I can finish the dresses, and present them as a donkey without ruining my career chances!"

"That's where Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda are willing to help out," Twilight said. "We had a long talk this morning, and I think they might know best how you can present yourself to Hoity Toity." She placed her hoof on Rarity's shoulder; Rarity did not seem entirely convinced.

"The only thing to do now," Twilight continued, "is to move forward and plan for the worst. One problem at a time, remember?"

Rarity's eyes squeezed shut. "This has just been so dreadfully difficult for me, Twilight. My own sister is treating me like a stranger. I'm just lucky I closed the Boutique this week. I don't know what I'd do if actual strangers came in and saw me working."

"I know what you mean," Twilight said softly, hugging her. "But we'll get through this together."

"Trust us, Rarity," Pinkie said earnestly, eyes wide and round. "Can you trust us?"

"Yes." Head lifting, Rarity gave Pinkie a determined gaze. "Yes I can. Why, together we've gotten out of far worse before." She pulled away from Twilight, moving to her drawing board and sweeping designs to the side. "It will take a bit of frantic last-minute planning on my part, but... I already see how this can work. Twilight, you can count me in!"

"Hooray!" Pinkie cried, and spewed confetti from who knew where.

"I'm glad to hear it, Rarity," Twilight said with a confident smile. "I'll go get Applejack while you plan. We'll meet back here in ten."

Twilight felt the eyes upon her again as she trotted through Ponyville toward Sweet Apple Acres. She wondered how she should react, or if she should react at all. Her initial thought was to react with defiance, but really, how would that look? If donkeys had a slightly more difficult time living in Ponyville, then being insulting would only make things worse for the actual donkeys once she was no longer among them. So might acting smug. Ignoring the problem wouldn't make it go away.

The answer, once she came upon it, seemed simple. The next pony that give her a strange look, in actuality snickering when they thought she couldn't hear her, she smiled at. The purple earth mare was caught completely off guard, and she actually returned the smile.

Heart lightened by the random act of kindness, Twilight picked up a trot in her step and made her way swiftly to the farm.

Applejack was mending the fence when Twilight arrived, and greeted her with a wave of the hammer.

"Well, hey there, Twilight," she cried. "I almost didn't recognize ya!"

Twilight gave her a deadpan look. "Oh, ha ha. Very funny, Applejack."

"I'm just funnin' with ya, Twi'." Applejack slammed the hammer twice more against the fence, then plopped it into the open toolbox at her hooves. "Now what brings ya out here? Any luck findin' that counter-thingy?"

"No, sadly," Twilight said. "And it doesn't seem like one is going to be forthcoming any time soon. So, I've gathered all the girls together, and we're all going to pitch in to help Rarity during these next few days."

"Sounds like a plan!" Applejack wiped her brow, smiling. "I'm bettin' y'all are gonna need my help too?"

"You got it, AJ!"

"Not sure how much good I'm gonna be at makin' dresses," Applejack said, lifting the toolbox and tossing it to Twilight. It landed square on her withers, and she brayed in surprise. "Carry that on up to the barn for me and we'll talk some more."

"Applejack, what are you doing?"

Applejack had turned away from her and begun to trot back to the barn. She froze mid-step.

"I... Uh..."

Twilight's lower lip began to wobble. "Did you... just treat me like a farmhand?"

"I was... I was askin' you to help..."

"You're a terrible liar, Applejack." Twilight tried to smile through the tears. Applejack trotted over, grabbing and pressing her forehead against Twilight's.

"Oh my gosh, Twilight, I'm so sorry," she said, eyes clenched. "I guess I ain't seein' you for you. I can't believe I did that."

"It's okay, AJ." Twilight put her hoof on her friend's shoulder. "I'm slightly more upset that my friends aren't quite as tolerant as I'd have expected." Rarity had confided in Twilight earlier about Rainbow Dash's questioning. "Cranky Doodle was right."

Despite having made no attempt to secure it, the toolbox still sat balanced on her back. Applejack picked it up. "I'll take this back up to the barn," she said slowly. "And you tell me what you got planned to help Rarity, okay?"

"Okay."

"All right," Rarity said, using a pointer to indicate the diagram on the poster board beside her, "we have slightly more than two dresses to finish per day. That is an entirely achievable goal, but it will take all our efforts combined to overcome any hitches, should they occur. Here is my plan.

"Twilight, you will be in charge of cutting and layout. I can trust your eye for detail will shine through."

"Got it."

"Fluttershy, you'll be doing hoof stitching now. Pinkie will take over the sewing machine."

"Okay."

"All right!"

"Rainbow Dash, you'll be gophering for everypony."

"No problem, Rarity!"

"I will be pinning, blocking, and generally making sure everything is going smoothly. I've already set us back an entire dress thanks to final touches after seeing it assembled."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

Rarity ignored her, setting the pointer down. "Now, Twilight, if you will kindly fill me in on what, exactly, you have planned for Applejack and the Donkeys..."

Twilight grinned. "They're going to make you into a jenny of refinement, Rarity."

Rarity gave them a quizzical look. "What?"

"A jenny is what you call a lady donkey," Fluttershy started.

"I know that, Fluttershy," Rarity said. "I am simply failing to see Twilight's point."

"It's simple," Twilight said, quite nearly bursting with the genius of her own plan. "Applejack has experience with both country slang and sophisticated, upper-class speech, and she's agreed to help with your diction."

"I'll have ya gabbin' like a real classy belle in no time," Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash burst out laughing.

"Oh man! The day finally came when Applejack has to teach Rarity how to talk!"

She got half a dress in the face for her troubles.

"Matilda and I are going to help you look like the best donkey you can possibly be," Cranky said.

"I think you would be able to fit one of my finer gowns," Matilda said with a smile. "When this Hoity Toity comes, he'll see nothing but grace and elegance of a sort that only donkeys possess."

Cranky cleared his throat. "Also, we'll be posing as your parents," he mumbled.

Rarity's eyes began to water. "Thank you. All of you. I don't know what I've done to deserve this much help, but..." She took a moment to compose herself. "I have every faith that with you helping me, this will go off without a hitch. Err... assuming there is a reason why Hoity Toity is being met by a donkey and not Rarity, that is."

"Trust me," Twilight said, grinning, "there will be."

The next few days were a blur of activity. Seams were sewn, blocks were cut, ideas were made real. Applejack found that she was a natural at speechifying, as she put it, yammering at Rarity constantly while she wove in and out of her friends' work spaces.

"Try it again."

"How do, sir?"

"Ya gotta drag it out a little, Rarity. How dooo."

Rarity scowled. "I declare, Applejack, your method of speech remains entirely opposed to what my mouth wants to say."

Applejack grinned. "But I got ya sayin' 'I declare' already, now didn't I?"

There were some hitches. Snags happened. Stitching unraveled. A sleeve tore off somewhere down the line, and Pinkie Pie got her tail stuck in the sewing machine. By Thursday night, however, they were down to one final dress, and Cranky called for a time-out.

"If there's one thing you need, Rarity, it's a minute to breathe. They can finish that dress; you come with us."

Now it was Rarity's turn to feel slightly unnerved. Since the magical accident, she hadn't set hoof outside her home save for the initial trip to Twilight's. The eyes of the townsponies filled her with a sense of wrongness, though she had only to look at the smiling Cranky and Matilda for reassurance.

She was quite surprised when they arrived at their destination.

"The spa?"

"Consider it a test run."

"Remember your diction," Matilda said as Cranky opened the door.

"What a surprise, Meester Cranky," said Aloe as they stepped in. "I deed not expect you coming for another week!"

"Well, girls," Cranky said, smoothing back his toupee, "it just so happens that our daughter Delilah is in town, and I wanted to show her just how skilled you two are at making donkeys feel like a million bits." He nudged 'Delilah' forward with his nose. "The usual, if you wouldn't mind."

"Yes, Meester Cranky!" the twins chorused, giggling.

As they led Rarity off to the spa proper, she turned and mouthed a 'thank you' to him. The look Matilda was giving him, meanwhile, could have burned through stone.

"He's going to be here any second! Twilight, how do I look?"

Rarity paced at top speed back and forth along the windows of her shop. She was clad in a black dress that had indeed fit her perfectly, not to mention went well with her newly-dyed and restyled mane. Matilda had seen to the final touches of makeup, and was waiting with Cranky for their cue.

"You look fine," Fluttershy said.

Twilight held out a hoof to stop Rarity. "But remember your diction."

Rarity nodded, taking a deep breath. "You're right, of course," she said, adopting her 'belle' speech patterns. "Ah just feel like I'm fit to pop, is all!"

"You'll do fine," Twilight once again reassured her. "Just sit down and act casual. Rarity has a lot riding on this, but Delilah Donkey is a jenny of refinement who's ready and willing to face down any high-class client on her behalf."

A carriage pulled up outside.

"He's here!" Twilight shouted, dashing for the back. "Just keep your story straight and you'll do fine." Her other friends pulled the curtain closed behind her, leaving Rarity and Fluttershy alone in the silent Boutique for a moment.

Then the bell chimed.

"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique," Rarity said in her sweetest, most refined-country voice, "where everythin' is chic, unique and magnifique!"

Hoity Toity stopped in the doorway. His valet ran into his backside, and was summarily squashed into it by the rather corpulent, high-class looking unicorn mare behind them. The fashion critic lowered his sunglasses, glancing around the room in confusion.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I must have the wrong boutique. I was supposed to be meeting a Miss Rarity here at nine."

"You must be Hoity Toity." Rarity smiled. "Miss Rarity has told me all about you! Please, do come in and have a seat. I assure you, you're in the right boutique."

Readjusting his glasses, Hoity Toity stepped through the door, disgust etched on his face.

"Something awfully funny is going on here," he said.

Rarity grinned, trying not to sweat too hard.

"Do my eyes deceive me," exclaimed the fat unicorn in a voice that both sounded and smelled of butter, "or is that long-lost supermodel Fluttershy?"

"Um," said Fluttershy, color suffusing her cheeks.

"Why, you are correct, Ms. Meal Ticket," Hoity Toity said, sitting down. His valet was there in a flash, placing a cushion beneath his rump before it could hit the floor. "Goodness, Fluttershy, it's a treat to see you again. The fashion world has missed you so!"

"That's, um, nice," Fluttershy said. "I can't say the feeling is mutual."

Hoity Toity shared a laugh with his client. "She's just a darling, I tell you! All right now, enough with these shenanigans. Miss Fluttershy, kindly bring Miss Rarity out from hiding, would you? She knows I don't bite."

Rarity stepped forward to say something, but Fluttershy stopped her with a glance and a slight shake of her head.

"I'm sorry to say," Fluttershy said, "that Rarity won't be joining us today. She's been dreadfully ill over the past week and is currently in bed, resting."

"Ill, you say?" Hoity Toity frowned. "Well, I suppose we could always return when she's feeling better..."

"Mister Toity," Meal Ticket said, her tone clipped, "I simply will not stand for any more delays in viewing this new line! I have a lot of money riding on this, you know!"

Hoity grimaced, leaning away from his client's breath. "Yes, I understand. Miss Fluttershy, surely it can't be that serious. Why don't you just go wake her up and have her come down here for a bit to show us the dresses, hmm?"

"Ohh, well..." Fluttershy hesitated, and Rarity made a face of desperation at her. "I'd love to, but... It's ever so contagious."

Hoity Toity blanched. "C... Contagious, you say?"

"Yes, but, um... Only to unicorns and earth ponies. Which is why I've been the only one able to see her all this week." Fluttershy bit her lip. "Um, to deliver her patterns down here for sewing, that is."

"Oh goodness, she has the creeping croup," Meal Ticket murmured, aghast.

"Well, we'll just let her rest, in that case," Hoity Toity replied in a high-pitched tone, adjusting his cravat. "Goodness, is it hot in here or is it just me?"

Fluttershy flapped her wings softly, positioning herself in front of them. "That is why Miss Delilah Donkey will be presenting the finished pieces to you both."

Hoity and Meal Ticket exchanged looks. "Miss... Er, Delilah Donkey, you say?"

"That would be myself," Rarity said, stepping forward at last.

"We're very lucky Miss Donkey arrived in Ponyville when she did," Fluttershy said. "She was visiting her parents, heard about Rarity's sickness, and came to help. Why, if it hadn't been for her, not even half of these dresses would have been finished on time!"

Meal Ticket made a face of disgust, which looked even more disgusting for having come from her face. "You say she did them herself? A donkey?"

"She did," Fluttershy said, nodding.

"And, you're sure the quality is up to Rarity's standards?" Hoity Toity prompted.

Rarity barely held back a scowl.

"It is!" Fluttershy smiled. "I oversaw the finishing work myself. These dresses possess quality fitting the name of Carousel Boutique!"

Hoity Toity made a noise of resignation in his throat. "Very well. Miss Delilah, if you would be so kind as to show us your..." He waved his hoof in a circle. "Work."

"It would be my pleasure, sir," Rarity said, and launched into her show.

Fluttershy sat in the back, quietly cheering her on, while Twilight and the others peeked through the curtain from the back room, breaths bated. Meal Ticket hung on every word that was said, though Hoity Toity seemed less enthused. The valet spent the entire time picking his nose. When she finished, however, all four of her audience members applauded.

"I must say," Hoity Toity admitted slowly, "that I would never have expected such results from a donkey. I couldn't even tell which dresses Rarity herself completed and which weren't."

"And the work isn't simply just good for a donkey," Meal Ticket exclaimed, rather out of breath, "it's entirely fantastic! I will happily take the lot!"

"You will?" Rarity momentarily lost control, reasserting her diction before anypony noticed. "I mean, Miss Rarity will surely be delighted to hear that, once she's recovered from her illness."

The doorbell chimed again, and Cranky and Matilda peered in.

"Are we late?" Cranky asked.

"I'm sorry, who are these?" Hoity Toity asked, his previous discomfort returning.

"These are my parents, of course," Rarity said. "Mother, Father, this is Mr. Hoity Toity and Ms. Meal Ticket. They're the clients I've been helping Miss Rarity with."

"Oh, how wonderful to meet you, Mister Toity," Matilda gushed. "Delilah has been so very excited to work with Rarity."

"Yeah," Cranky said, "this has really meant a lot to her. We said we'd stop by after she showed off her work, and I'm glad we were able to meet you both."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Meal Ticket exclaimed, cutting Hoity Toity off. "What a stunning coincidence, the loving parents of the superstar designer!"

"Err, superstar?" Hoity Toity lifted his sunglasses, peering at his companion.

"Why, Mister Toity, your boutique would simply soar if you had somepony as talented as Miss Delilah working for you! You were just telling me how you could use more help, after all. This seems like a perfect opportunity!"

Hoity Toity, suddenly on the spot, looked from Meal Ticket to Delilah, to her parents. Sweat beaded on his brow; he cleared his throat.

"Well, I, umm... That is..."

"Oh, don't say no, Hoity," Meal Ticket wheedled. Hoity Toity backed away frantically, dropping his sunglasses as she tried to invade his personal space. "Think of what a difference you could make in this poor young girl's life!"

"I, uh..."

His eyes scanned the dresses once more. He tugged at his tie. His valet returned his glasses to his nose, and he suddenly seemed to relax.

"Ms. Ticket, you make an excellent argument. After intense deliberation, I think I shall do just that."

Cranky and Matilda cheered, and Meal Ticket beamed, fluttering her eyelashes at Hoity Toity.

"Miss Donkey, would you like to come work for me? Your skill and attention to detail speak for themselves, and I would be thrilled to have someone with your talents at my boutique."

Rarity looked at Cranky and Matilda, who seemed to have become caught up in their roles. She looked to Fluttershy, who seemed entirely unsure. She looked to Meal Ticket and Hoity Toity, who were awaiting an answer. Then she lifted her head.

"No."

Hoity Toity's mouth dropped to the floor. Meal Ticket fainted.

"What?" the valet said. "How could you possibly turn down an offer like that, from one of the top fashion moguls in Canterlot?"

"Because," Rarity said, "I did not design these dresses. Miss Rarity did. If anypony deserves such an honor, it would be her." She walked a circle around Hoity Toity, exuding grace and refinement. "Furthermore, I did not finish these dresses, nor did I put on this show, for your benefit, beggin' your pardon, Mister Toity. Again, I did it as a favor to her.

"As much as an, ahem, aspiring young designer like myself would jump at the chance to work for you, Mister Toity, I simply cannot accept an offer not based on my own merits and my own designs."

Then, taking another deep breath, she added, "Plus, your opinion of donkeys leaves something to be desired."

Hoity Toity snorted. "Well, I never."

Fluttershy began biting her hooves.

"I mean..." Hoity Toity gazed up at the ceiling. "I never have seen anypony but, well, a pony create anything with this much refinement. I've never really considered it possible, to be honest. And even though the designs are Rarity's, your hoof guided them to completion." He stood, offering Rarity his hoof for the first time. "Do forgive me, Miss Donkey, for having treated you rather poorly today. You put on an excellent show, impressed my client, and I dare say you may have changed some of those opinions of mine."

Rarity smiled, shaking his hoof. "Then, Mister Toity, when next we meet, I dare say it shall be due to wowin' you with designs produced under my own name."

"I look forward to that day," Hoity Toity said, then clopped his hooves together. "Jeffrey, gather Ms. Ticket and the dresses. I believe our business here has concluded. Do give Miss Rarity my best, ladies." He trotted out the door, his overburdened valet groaning and shuffling his way behind.

The door closed, the carriage departed, and all was still inside Carousel Boutique. Then somepony began laughing; it was Rarity. She collapsed onto the floor, guffawing and slamming her hoof onto the tile.

"I don't understand," Matilda said. "I mean... I think I understand, yet I don't."

Rarity wiped her eyes, calming down. "I can't believe I did that! I told Hoity Toity 'no' and then accused him of being a bigot, to his face!"

"It was kind of scary," Fluttershy said.

Twilight emerged from hiding, trailing the others behind her. "I'm proud of you, Rarity."

"We all are," Rainbow Dash said.

"That took a lot of guts, Rarity," Applejack added.

"I'm proud of you too," Cranky said. Rarity picked herself up off the floor and gave him a hug.

"If I have ever treated either of you the way he was treating me, please accept my humblest and sincerest apologies." She wiped at the corner of her eye, smiling.

"The best way to make amends," Matilda said gently, "is to change how one acts."

Twilight nodded. "I think there's a letter to Celestia in all of this."

"One I would be happy to write," Rarity said.

Later that day, the spell's timer wore off. With a flash of light, both Rarity and Twilight were restored to their former selves. Whooping with joy, they hugged one another, then raced through town, using their magic to move as many things as possible, to the consternation and alarm of numerous townsfolk.

Laughing, they collapsed under a tree, panting from exertion, but with huge smiles on their faces.

"I never thought that being able to use magic again would feel so good!" Twilight exclaimed.

"You needn't tell me twice," Rarity said. Taking a few long moments to calm down, she rolled over and gave Twilight a look.

"You know, Twilight, it's funny... Now that I'm no longer 'Delilah Donkey', I sort of miss her." She pushed herself up on her elbows, gazing up at the sky. "After that head of steam I built up telling Hoity Toity off, it seems a shame that he'll never get to see what she can do. I really think Equestria could use a talented donkey fashion designer."

Twilight smirked. "Well, Rarity, if you ever want to start a new fashion label, I could always–"

"No!"

They shared a laugh.

"I think I'm happy just to be myself again, thank you." She sighed. "One pony, or donkey, at a time and all that."

this was never meant to happen

I lay there utterly defeated he had beaten us there we had no chance now. Sweetie Belle lay to my left lying bruised and defeated I probably looked in about the same condition. Her horn if you could still even call it that lay in pieces scattered across the ground all that remained on her head was a jagged stub. Her eyes were shut a final gift given by some unseen god she was unconscious and wouldn’t have to see what happened to me.

Apple Bloom lay to my right she wasn’t so lucky as to be knocked unconscious she was awake and well aware of what was going to happen to me. Her legs lay twisted and turned in unnatural angles bones breaking out of the skin from her legs. You didn’t need a doctor to tell that she would never walk again. It must have been extremely painful but she seemed to not even notice it she stared at me tears were streaking down both sides of her face but they weren’t from the pain she knew just as well as I did what was about to happen and she was sad we both knew we would never see each other again or if we did it would be under terrible circumstances.

Then there he was standing directly above me claw on my chest he wore a look of someone who knew they had won someone who had gotten almost everything they wanted. He smirked his eyes gleamed with something akin to desire he had everything he wanted except for one thing me. My fate would not be the same as that of my friends, no for me he had something far more special planned. Discord leaned down his draconic eyes seemingly trying to drill holes in mine and asked me one question “Are you ready?” I screamed, I panicked I had to get out of there right now I fluttered my wings as fast as I could trying to escape his grasp. It was no use his gryphon like claws grabbed my hooves and pinned them to the ground. My eyes met his as he pulled his head in closer to mine whatever was going to happen now I knew would be the end of me. The last thing I did was scream.

My name is Scootaloo and I never meant for any of this to happen.

I guess I should start somewhere from the beginning. This is the story of how me and my friends set the god of chaos free.

All of this started one warm spring day in the apple orchards of Ponyville to be more specific all of this started in a treehouse that had been the starting place for many other chaotic adventures for me and my friends. But no matter how many adventures we had been on before no matter how much chaos and hardship we had been through before would ever prepare us for what was to be started that day no amount of preparation could prepare us for what we would unleash all of this started with one simple sentence from a certain alabaster unicorn

“I’m boooorred,” Moaned Sweetie Belle, “we’ve been in here for hours lets go and do something.”

“Then come up with something for us to do me an’ scoots have been trying to come up with something to do since we got here an’ you’ve just been sitting there.” Apple Bloom said
“Ok then cutie mark crusader anthropologists.” Apple Bloom deadpanned
“Sweetie we did that yesterday.”
“I know it was fun so I thought we could do it again.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea Apple Jack wasn’t very happy about us digging up Sweet Apple Acres.” I said.
“Hmmm then maybe cutie mark crusader pilots?”
“Sweetie belle where would we get a plane and how would we know how to fly it.”
“Yeah plus I won’t need to know how to fly a plane as soon as I learn how to fly.”
“Alright then how about cutie mark crusader spellcasters.” Now it was my turn to deadpan
“Sweetie in case you hadn’t noticed me and Apple bloom can’t use magic unless you know of someway to turn us into unicorns.”
“Alright fine then, do either of you have any ideas.”

“Ah’ got one we could be cutie mark crusader teachers”

“Didn’t Mrs. Cheerilee tell us to leave her out of all our crusading after the hearts and hooves incident” Sweetie said.

“Oh yeah that’s right well I got nothing. What about you scoots got any crusading ideas?”

“I do have one but I’m not sure if you guys will like it.”

“Well spit it out no use in thinking we won’t like it unless you tell us what your idea is” Apple Bloom said. Sweetie nodded in agreement.

“I was thinking we could be cutie mark crusader explorers.” Both sweetie and Apple Bloom suddenly looked at me with faces of renewed excitement.

“Well what did you have in mind of exploring there’s not too many places around ponyville to explore and we all know the town really well so what did you have in mind” Sweetie said.

“That was the part I was afraid you guys wouldn’t like I was thinking we could explore the everfree” Saying that earned me two stares

“Scoots are you insane, the everfree!”

“Apple Blooms right scoots what would give you the great idea to go exploring around the everfree.”

“Now hear me out we wouldn’t just waltz into the everfree. We would prepare for it and just think what better of a place to explore noponys ever mapped out the whole thing and its about the one thing we haven’t done before. If there was a place that the three of us would earn our cutie marks it would be in the everfree.” Apple Bloom looked a little bit more convinced but from the frown on Sweeties face I could tell she would need a little bit more convincing

“Just think about it there could be ancient ruins out there or some sort of amazing talking pony dragon creature out there and we would be the first ponies to see it because noponys been brave enough to go out into the everfree and find it!” now both of my friends looked equally excited

“Alright scoots I think you’ve sold us on it but.” Apple Bloom gestured out the window to the setting sun. “ah’ think its getting a bit late to head out into the everfree today”

“Oh oh I’ve got an idea.” Sweetie said bouncing up ad down “Tomorrows Saturday so we can tell our parents we’re spending the night at Apple Blooms and Apple bloom can say she’s spending the night at Rarity’s. then we can camp out in the everfree that night and be home by Sunday.”

“Alright then it’s a plan we’ll go home and pack up some saddle bags and meet back here tomorrow”

“Ok well I should be going my dad told me that I had to be home by sunset and by the looks of it I’m going to be late already.” The three of us chimed in unison “Cutie mark crusader explorers yay!” With that the three of us went our separate ways. I grabbed my scooter and went as fast as I could with a new sense of urgency to get home and start packing my saddlebag for our overnight stay in the everfree.

The next day
“Alright guys you ready to go” we each had our saddle bags strapped to our sides. Tents, sleeping bags, food and water everything that we would need for our extended stay in the everfree was filling our saddlebags to the brim. We were at the edge of the everfree ready to start our latest journey to get our cutie marks crusader capes on and worn proudly we were ready.
“Yep I’m all set what about you sweetie.”
“One sec let me make sure that I’m not forgetting anything” she rummaged through her saddle bags. “Food, water, hairbrush, sleeping bag yep I got everything lets go”
“Alright then lets get going” I said as we took our first few steps into the everfree the forest was amazing we were only at the edge of it yet the trees here were bigger than the ones back in Ponyville. There was a certain chill in the air that wasn’t too uncommon at the start of spring but only served to add to the atmosphere. The three of us were doing something nopony had done before we were going into the everfree a place supposedly filled with ruins magic and all sorts of things that were totally amazing. It was exciting tense and terrifying all at the same time.

We walked in silence for a while the forest around us quickly changed from exciting and hopeful to something frightening and fearful. The trees around us changed no longer were there gaps in between the leaves that let light through the trees had grown much larger than that they were now easily twice as tall then any building in Ponyville and the leaves were so thick that they immersed us in a state of constant twilight. We could hardly see further than a few yards in front of our faces. The noises around us were no longer the happy calls of birds but they occasional snapping of a twig or rustle of a bush. The forest had gotten much thicker too there was no longer room to walk side by side through the forest we had to walk single file and duck and dodge branches and thorns. One of the branches caught a snag on my cape and tore a corner clear off. The forest was unsettling to say the least and I could tell that it was starting to get too Sweetie and Apple bloom. We made our way into a clearing.
“let’s stop here and eat lunch” I said I looked back and saw Apple Bloom but no Sweetie “Apple Bloom where’s sweetie.”
“what are ya’ talking about she’s right behind me” she said turning around her eyes went wide “She was just right behind me”
“Sweetie Belle” I yelled
“Scoots keep your voice down we don’t know what’s out here and I don’t really want to find out.”
“Do you have a better idea, Sweetie Belle!!”
“No but what’s the use of sweetie belle finding us if half the animals in the forest do too.” Our argument didn’t have a chance to go any further because it was interrupted by a loud roar and a high piercing scream. We ran as fast as we could trying to catch up to sweetie belle and whatever the thing that was chasing her was. We ran and we ran as fast as we could trying to catch our friend and whatever was chasing her for what seemed like hours but looking back on it was only a couple of minutes. we burst into another clearing but this one was different there seemed to be the remains of a town here long ago forgotten and left to the forest. I might have stopped to look around if it weren’t for the thing that I now identified as a manticore from some random biology lesson in Cheerilees classroom chasing my friend. We ran through the ruins and came to what I assume used to be the town center where there was an odd looking statue in the middle of the open space
Sweetie Belle ran up to the statue and collapsed from exhaustion the manticore who was following her ran forward and suddenly noticed the statue she was lying under froze mid run me and Apple Bloom ran past it straight to Sweetie Belle than the mantiore did the strangest thing it turned around and left
“A-a-am I dead” Sweetie said in a raspy tone barely even loud enough to hear
“No sweetie you’re not dead we’re all alive. We’re all going to be okay that manticore left us alone.”

“Scoots this was a bad idea we should have never come into the forest.” She said her voice barely more than a whisper

“She’s right scoots this was a bad idea we should have never come into the forest.”

“Well I think we have bigger problems right now than deciding if this was a good or a bad idea we’re lost and we need to find our way back to ponyville. I’m gonna take a look around these ruins you stay here and make sure sweetie belles ok.” All I got from Apple Bloom was a Stare in return.

I walked around the town center there were the remains of buildings surrounding the statue in the center which laid in the center of a stone circle that was inlaid in the ground. There were inscriptions all over the stone but the writing on it was faded and seemed to be in another language. The statue upon closer inspection was not of a pony but some creature I had never seen before it looked part pony part dragon and part gryphon it was one of the strangest things I had ever seen Apple bloom was laying it taking a nap next to sweetie belle who was curled up into one of the sleeping bags she wasn’t asleep though surprisingly.

“Hey sweetie you okay?” I asked

“Yeah I’m okay a little scratched up from running through the forest but nothing too serious. I just can’t get to sleep.”

“Why can’t you sleep what’s wrong?”

“It’s the strangest thing I’m getting some magical interference from somewhere and its making my horn feel all funny.”

“That’s weird can you tell where its coming from”

“yeah.” She said scrunching up her eyes her horn started glowing a faint emerald light “its coming from that.” She said facing the statue.
“Can you tell why it’s doing that.”
“No but I get the feeling that it was alive at one point”
“Well try using some magic on it”
“Alright I’ll try” Sweetie’s horn started glowing a faint emerald she walked forward touching it to the statue which then started to glow an emerald green that faded. “It’s no use” The ground beneath us started to shake
“Sweetie stop”
“I’m not the one doing that” Apple Bloom woke up
“Scoots what’s going on”
“I got sweetie to use her magic on the statue and I don’t know what’s going on.” Cracks started to form all along the statue and the letters in the circular stone started to glow an emerald green. A cackle that seemed to emanate from everywhere started and the statue burst open the form that was once inside now free from his prison with two quick flaps of his wings he was next to sweetie belle she hardly had time to scream before one of its claws shattered her horn into a million pieces while the other one connected with the side of her head knocking her to the ground.
Before either me or Apple Bloom could even react he was behind apple bloom both claws around her legs with a sickening crunching noise he bent her legs up to her sides she screamed out in pain. I ran over to try and help but was brushed aside by a claw and knocked onto my back. I heard another crunch and a scream from Apple Bloom then there was a sound like the rushing of wind and a clawed foot was suddenly on my chest from there the god of chaos took his time enjoying me look at my friends demise already knowing what was going to happen to me as his claws slowly started to reach for my wings the only thing I could do was scream
Authors Note: so this was written the day before the contest ended and I didn’t have time to edit most of this as it is currently 11:30 and I have to submit this like right now. Sorry if there are lots of mistakes and also the story was very rushed it was originally going to be much longer than this, sorry.

Crusading with Good Intentions

“One year, girls.”

The yellow filly slumped at the table dejectedly, her face in her hooves muffling her voice.

“It’s been a whole year since we started crusading, and we still don’t have our Cutie Marks!”

“Awww. Cheer up, Apple Bloom. I’m sure if we keep trying, we’ll get there eventually. We can’t just give up.”

Apple Bloom turned to glare at the white unicorn sitting beside her. “Try what, Sweetie Belle? We’ve tried everything already. We’ve tried running, diving, bowling, and ballooning. We’ve climbed to the highest places in Ponyville, explored the deepest, darkest hollows in the Everfree Forest, and braved the most bizarre baked goods to ever come out of Pinkie Pie’s oven. We’ve skied, skated, surfed, zip-lined, and hang-glided. What more could there possibly be for us to try?!”

“I still think that last one should have worked.” commented the orange pegasus who was pacing on the other side of the table. “How awesome would a hang-gliding Cutie Mark have been?”

“I’m glad I didn’t get my Cutie Mark in hang-gliding, actually. It took me forever to get the mud and grass stains out of my coat after that landing, Scootaloo.” Sweetie Belle absently brushed at her sides, picking imaginary blades of grass from between the fine hairs. “Anyway, I was thinking maybe we should stop trying to find our Cutie Marks….”

“What?!”

“No way! We can’t give up that easy, Sweetie!”

Sweetie pouted at the other two as they interrupted her, and they quickly settled down. “As I was saying, we should stop trying to find our Cutie Marks, and maybe let our Cutie Marks find us for a change. Rarity is always trying to tell me that my Cutie Mark will come when the time is right. Maybe we just have to let it happen.” Sweetie smiled nervously at her two fellow crusaders, waiting to see how they took her idea. Scootaloo was the first to break the silence, and far too quickly for Sweetie’s liking.

“But that’s the same thing as giving up! No, we need to be out there trying new things, exploring new horizons, earning the most amazing Cutie Marks Equestria has ever seen! Rainbow Dash wouldn’t just roll over and let a challenge beat her like that.”

“I gotta agree with Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle. I just don’t see how doin’ nothing is gonna help us get our Cutie Marks any quicker.”, Apple Bloom added.

“But we won’t be doing nothing. We can run around like we have been, trying to think of new things to do and then doing them, but there are thousands of Cutie Marks we could try before we find the right ones for us. *Or* we could go out and see what Ponyville has to offer, and maybe try a whole bunch of different things which are just waiting to find us.”

“I… guess that’s an idea, but where do we start? We can’t just walk through town and expect our Cutie Marks to jump out at us. I’ve been down the main street a hundred times, and I still don’t have mine.”

Sweetie Belle started to grin as Apple Bloom started to give her idea the consideration she thought it deserved. “Simple. We go to everypony and see if they have anything we can help them do. Maybe we’ll find our special talent helping our friends, or family, or neighbours, or maybe we’ll find something new from somepony we’ve never even met before.”

“But that sounds sooo boring, Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo interrupted again. “If we go around town asking people for things to do, all we’ll end up getting is a whole bunch of household chores. We need to find exciting things; things nopony has done before or will ever be able to do again, if we ever hope to get a Cutie Mark as awesome as Rainbow Dash’s!”

“Well, at least Sweetie has an idea, Scoot. And it kinda makes sense. What do *you* think we should do today? Which doesn’t involve possible injury or home destruction?”

Scootaloo snapped her mouth shut, all her carefully constructed plans for the day unfortunately stuck down early. Apple Bloom smirked knowingly at her friend, before turning back to Sweetie Belle, finally starting to cheer up as their plans for the day started to come together.

“So, where should we start?”

“Hey sis, you got anything we can help with?”

Applejack looked up at the self-proclaimed Cutie Mark Crusaders, proudly wearing their maroon cloaks with the hastily sewn club patches, as they approached with grins which were simultaneously optimistic and slightly scary. Apple Bloom trotted up and sat down in front of her, looking up with expectation as the other two settled in behind her with their own wide eyes and hopeful smiles.

“I don’t recall y’all bein too eager to do yer chores after breakfast this mornin’” she replied teasingly.

“But this is different! This is Crusader business. I do those chores every day and I don’t have my Cutie Mark yet. C’mon sis, there must be something different we can all help with?”

“Well, I suppose…” Applejack pondered the fillies, then turned back to a wooden structure beside the barn where they’d found her. “See this here small storage shed? I’ve been meanin’ to take it down fer weeks now, but never really got the chance. Think you gals might be up to the challenge?” She looked back and grinned at the two gleeful (and one slightly doubtful) faces below her.

“Really, sis? We get to knock down a whole building?”

“Ha! I told you we could get our Cutie Marks in destruction.”

“I don’t know about this. Isn’t this kind of dangerous? I don’t think Rarity would like me doing something so destructive…”

Applejack chuckled at the excited chatter. “Now hold up, young ‘uns. I don’t want it all smashed up. I’ve already taken the roof off myself, so I just need the walls taken down and set aside. There’s some good timber here, and we can always use that around the farm. And Sweetie Belle, I’m sure if yer all careful, Rarity won’t have anything to complain about. It’s not like I’m not askin’ ya to do it.”

“Oh, well, that’s OK then, I guess. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, shall we?”

“Yeah!”

As Applejack cantered off to deal with some other chores around the farm, she chuckled at the sound of three hooves meet in mid-air to a rousing cheer of “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER DEMOLITION WORKERS!”, before the fillies filed into the partially dismantled shed, already discussing the best way to take it down…

Applejack walked around the corner of the barn half an hour later, and stopped dead in her tracks at the sight in front of her. Oh, the shed was down, no doubt about that, but she just… wasn’t prepared for the devastation she’d discovered.

The most obviously wrong piece of the scene before her was the large hole knocked in the wall of the nearby barn. The walls of the shed were scattered around the yard in far more than the 4 parts she’d been expecting, and the roof she’d carefully removed and set aside beneath the eave of the barn had a large dent in the top and several shingles missing. To their credit, the Crusaders had not just left the mess behind, but were sitting glumly in front of the wreckage with guilty looks on their three faces.

“What… what happened?”

“Well sis, we started out well enough. I figured we could remove the timbers on the walls before we pulled the frames down, but…”

“But that was taking forever, and those walls are really well put together.” Scootaloo interrupted. “We couldn’t pull each panel off by itself, so we decided we’d just remove the nails in the corners and knock each wall out. But when we did that…”

“When we tried that,” Sweetie Belle continued, “we all had to buck hard against the first wall to get it to budge, and when it finally went down, it crashed into the barn. And when that happened, the gutter came off the barn and landed on the roof. So then we thought that was too dangerous, so…”

“So since we couldn’t take the walls apart, and we couldn’t knock them intact, we realised we’d have to cut the walls apart. So I got a saw from the barn and we cut the walls into too many pieces even though you said you just wanted the walls in one piece and we’re really sorry and can you forgive us, sis?”

Applejack surveyed the scene one more time, assessing the damage to the barn and shed. The three crusaders stared up at her with artful tears in their wide eyes, waiting for her to pronounce judgement for their failed attempt to help. Applejack’s mouth opened, and…

Luckily, a reprieve arrived in the form of a blue blur screeching to a halt in front of Applejack, kicking up a cloud of dust at her landing. Scootaloo gave a squeal of excitement as her idol, Rainbow Dash, cantered up to Applejack, a cocky grin on her muzzle as she surveyed the wreckage around her.

“Hey there AJ, sorry I’m late. I was about to ask if you still needed help with that job, but by the looks of things,” Rainbow Dash looked around and the smirk widened, “I’m guessing you’ve got it covered.”

“Uh, yeah Rainbow. I think I’ve jus’ about gotten all the help I’ll need today.” Applejack looked aside at the three fillies attempting to look inconspicuous. “Although, I’m sure you’ve got a lot of work to do today, and I know some ponies who I’m sure would be willin’ to give ya a hoof, if ya understan’ me.”

“Oh, um, really? I mean, definitely! I could totally use some help with the… stuff I need to do today.” Rainbow scratched her ear with her hoof, before turning to face the three condemned crusaders. “That is, if they think they can keep up with somepony as awesome as me!” The grin was back in full force.

“Ummm, but we were jus..mmmph!”

“What Sweetie Belle was about to say is that we’d be thrilled to help with anything you need today, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo quickly stammered out, removing her hoof from her friend’s mouth. “Isn’t that right, gals?”

“Definitely. We’re always glad to help a friend of my sister’s!”

“You didn’t have to shove your hoof in my mouth like that Scoot…”

“So, do you need to grab anything before we go, girls? Time’s a-wasting, and I don’t like to wait on anypony!”

“So, what amazing thing will we be helping you with today, Rainbow Dash? Will we be timing you for speed? Setting up obstacles for a new stunt? Can you carry us up high to show off your incredible wing-power?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled at the excitable pegasus following in her wake, her tiny wings buzzing as she piloted her trademark scooter, and the other two fillies riding in the bright red wagon trailing behind. She had to admit, Scootaloo was definitely no slouch when it came to riding her scooter. Rainbow wasn’t exactly flying at top speed, but even towing a wagon and two friends, the young pegasus was having no trouble keeping up.

“Actually, it’s not so much what I need done, as what I promised a friend I’d help them do. See, I told Twilight I’d help with reshelving books in the library, but that’s just too slow for my tastes. I can’t waste time in a dusty old library when I could be working on my flying some more. That’s where you three come in.” Rainbow grinned widely, not noticing the smiles falling off the crusaders’ faces. “With you helping Twi, I can go do my own stuff, guilt free!”

“That’s it?” came the response from Apple Bloom.

“I don’t know. It might be nice to visit in the library for a while. We’ll sit indoors and put a few books away. How hard could that be?”

“Have you ever seen Twilight’s library after one of her study sessions, Sweetie Belle? And I don’t know about you, but I’m not too thrilled at the idea of having a book for my Cutie Mark.”

“Are you sure we can’t help you some more, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked longingly as the library came around the corner. “Maybe, I dunno…”

“Too late girls, we’re here. Hey Twilight!” Rainbow rapped sharply on the door to the Golden Oaks Library. “Twilight, I brought you some help!”

The door to the tree house opened a crack to reveal the violet eyes of Ponyville’s resident unicorn egghead. Opening it a touch wider, she took in the broad grin of her friend, and the three reluctant fillies behind her. “I thought you said *you* were going to help me, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow’s smile drooped a little. “Well, yeah, I did. But you know I’ve still got a lot of stuff to do today, and these three are my official replacements.”

“But I… I thought… How am I supposed to finish my project if I have to keep an eye on these three? Not that I’m not happy to see you, girls,” Twilight addressed the crusaders more kindly, “But I’m kind of in the middle of something important.”

“Oh, well, that’s OK, Twilight. I’m sure we can find something else to…”

Rainbow interrupted Scootaloo in mid-excuse. “Well Twi, I’m sure you’re smart enough to keep them busy for a few hours and still find a way to do your work. Applejack sent them with me to help.”

“Applejack sent them to…?”

“Yeah. I guess she couldn’t stand to keep them on the farm for some reason.”

Twilight Sparkle looked from the fillies to Rainbow Dash, a thoughtful glint in her eyes. Finally reaching a decision, she suddenly smiled widely and opened the door wide.

“Well, I suppose I *could* use their help for a while. Come on in, girls. We’ve got a lot of work to do!”

The crusaders reluctantly trudged into the library, looks of betrayal cast in Rainbow’s direction, which she shrugged off with a toss of her prismatic mane and a self-satisfied grin.
“Have fun, girls!”

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo paused in the entranceway, shocked by the state of the normally orderly library. Stacks of books filled every corner and flat surface in the room, and what little desk space was not covered by books contained a messy mix of parchment, quills, glue, and scissors. The floor was at least mercifully clear, although somehow it did not help to make the room feel any less cluttered.

“OK. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, as you can see I’ve got a few books which need to be put away…”

“This is a few?” muttered Apple Bloom to Scootaloo, who snickered in response.

“…and I just need to clear out the clutter a little bit. Fiction is on the left side of the room, non-fiction on the right, and please try to keep them close to alphabetical order. There’s no need to be too troubled by it though, because I have a re-shelving day scheduled for next Wednesday anyway. Any questions?”

“I have a question, Twilight.” Sweetie Belle piped up. “Where’s Spike today? Doesn’t he usually help with this sort of thing?”

“Spike has gone out to do a bit of shopping for me today. I’m not sure when he’ll be back, because his route does take him perilously close to your sister’s shop. Until then, you’re on your own.”

“Wait, where will you be?”
“I’ll be working on a project I really need to have completed by tonight.” Twilight lit her horn, telekinetically grabbing a folder which was sitting on the desk and hovering it over to herself as she started walking away. ”Feel free to start with any pile you’d like, If you need me for anything, I’ll just be upstairs.”

And with that, Twilight trotted up the stairs, leaving three very confused young ponies to gaze at the piles of work surrounding them.

“Well, horseapples!”

“This is sooooo boring!”

“That’s what you said ten minutes ago, Scoot.”

“And guess what, Apple Bloom. It hasn’t gotten any more exciting in the last 10 minutes.”

“I don’t know, girls. Some of these books look kind of interesting.” Sweetie Belle paused in the act of putting away a copy of ‘Cutie Marks Throughout History: An Illustrated Guide’. “I might have to read this one myself later.”

“Well, I’m glad somepony is enjoying themselves. As for me, I’d rather be doing just about anything else.” Scootaloo grabbed another book off the dwindling pile beside the stairs: ‘Alicorn’s Ageless Almanac’. “Let’s see, A… I guess that goes on the top shelf? Pity I can’t fly up there yet.”

“There’s a ladder on wheels over there, Scoot. Just roll it around and use that.”

Scootaloo looked at the ladder, the shelves, and the book, and a small grin started to form on her muzzle as her wings buzzed experimentally behind her. “Hey girls, I’ve got an idea to make this more interesting.”

Twilight jerked upright as a loud crash echoed up from downstairs. Quickly marking her place in the book she was slowly filling, she rushed out of her bedroom and down the stairs two at a time. Coming to a screeching halt at the lower landing, she clinically observed the toppled ladder, dazed pegasus, worried unicorn, and a surprisingly sticky earth pony amidst a scattered pile of books.

“What… what happened in here? You were supposed to be putting the books on the shelves, not the floor!”

Scootaloo slowly stood up and shook herself, looking up at the worried librarian. “I’m sorry, Twilight, it… it was my fault. I wanted to speed things up, s-so I had Sweetie Belle sorting the books and Apple Bloom tossing them up to me while I raced around on the ladder shelving them. It was working fine… until I hit the end of the rails too hard.”

Twilight’s eye twitched, but her voice remained deceptively calm. “And then what happened?”

“Well, then the ladder came off the rails and started falling towards me.” Apple Bloom picked up the tale. “So I went to dodge it, and I ran into the desk. Books and things kinda went flying everywhere, including the glue.” Apple Bloom looked mournfully at the glue which coated her precious Crusader cloak and a number of books. “And then you came downstairs and found us like this.”

“I… see. Do you have anything you’d like to add, Sweetie Belle?”

“No, Twilight. It all happened pretty much like Scootaloo and Apple Bloom said.”

Apple Bloom started to extricate herself from the pile of books, when they all heard a loud ripping sound. Sweetie Belle cringed as a few of Twilight’s mane hairs sprung out of place. Looking down, they all saw the Cutie Mark Crusader logo from Apple Bloom’s cloak stuck to the cover of an old leather book.

“I… think you’ve given me enough help for today, girls.”

“But, if you’ll just give us a chance to…”

“No, no, I think I can take it from here, Sweetie Belle.”

“I promise I won’t ride on the ladder anymore!”

“That’s quite alright, Scootaloo. I’ve been meaning to have the wheels on that checked anyway.”

“We’re reeeeally sorry, Twilight.”

“I just… I think you should just go and find somepony else to help for a while, Apple Bloom.”

“Well, that could have gone better.”

“Look, I said I was sorry, Apple Bloom. Can’t we just move on and find something else to do?”

“I really hope I’m not banned from the library over this.” Sweetie Belle sniffled. “I really wanted to take a closer look at that Cutie Mark book.”

The three of them walked slowly along the main street, Scootaloo pushing her scooter and wagon as the other two walked beside her for a change. Looking up, she smiled as a familiar colourful store appeared ahead.

“How about we stop in at Sugarcube Corner? We’ve been working hard all day, and we could use a break.”

“That does sound mighty nice.” agreed Apple Bloom. “I could definitely go for a milkshake right about now”

“And we can take some time to figure out what we keep doing wrong.” added Sweetie, a small smile finally appearing on her face.
The three fillies picked up the pace, a spring appearing in their step for the first time since leaving the library. However, when they got there, it was to discover the door locked and the shades drawn.

“But… Sugarcube Corner is never closed in the middle of the day. There’s gotta be someone here!” Scootaloo knocked on the door, then again louder, but still no response came from inside the bakery.

“Maybe we can try around the back door? The Cakes might be in the kitchen, working on something.”

Apple Bloom led the way around to the back of the shop. The back door was locked as well, but a sliver of light shone through a back window with the blinds drawn. Nervously, she walked up and knocked, then started backwards as the door opened a crack to reveal a bright blue eye and a tuft of pink mane.

“What’s the password?” a voice whispered from beyond the crack.
“Uhhhhm”

“I can’t let you in without the password, silly!”

Apple Bloom looked at Scootaloo in confusion, only to find the same expression mirrored back at her. Glancing over at Sweetie, she was glad to see that at least one of them wasn’t too surprised to think about the question of a password.

“Is it... ‘Applejack sent us’?”

The door slammed shut, before opening wide enough for a pair of pink hooves to dart out and scoop all three of them into the kitchen.

“That’s right! Or at least I think it’s right. We never really settled on a real password, but that certainly sounds like the sort of password I’d want to use, so it’ll do for now. What can I do for you fine frolicking fillies this super-duper special afternoon?”

“Well, we’ve been helping ponies out all day, and we were hoping we could…”

“But that’s perfect. I really need somepony’s help today. Oh, but I can’t let just anypony help. I’m making the food for a super special surprise party this evening. Anypony I get to help me would have to be sworn to secrecy!”

“Ooooh!” exclaimed Sweetie. “We can definitely help with that. I help Rarity in the kitchen all the time.”

“We can?” Scootaloo asked Apple Bloom, who shrugged in reply.

“But you have to swear not to tell anypony what we’re doing!”

“We swear!”

“Pinkie Promise?”

“We cross our hearts and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in our eye!”

“Okey dokey lokey! You fillies can work on the cake, and I’ll make the cupcakes and muffins and pies. Here’s your baker hats,” three tall white hats appeared on all their heads, “Here’s your cooking station,” three fillies were quickly scooted into position next to a counter and oven, “And here’s your recipe book!” And with that, Pinkie bounced over to the other end of the kitchen, leaving the crusaders in various states of shock and excitement.

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle, who was bouncing happily in place as she flicked through the recipe book.

“Are you sure about this Sweetie? I mean, I’ve seen Granny Smith bake plenty of apple pies, but I don’t think I’m ready to try making a cake.”

“Sure! Look, we’ve got the recipe right here, we’ve got all the ingredients in the cupboard, so all we have to do is follow the instructions and everything will turn out fine. What could go wrong?”

“But, what went wrong?”

Pinkie Pie was examining the, for lack of a better word, cake. Sweetie Belle drooped in place as she took in the bubbly texture, the collapsed side, and the burnt top, but not bottom.

“I… I thought I followed the instructions.”

“Well, maybe it was the extra sugar you put in, Sweetie.” offered Apple Bloom.

“But I wanted it to be sweeter.”
“Maybe it was when you used the wrong flour?” supplied Scootaloo.

“But flour is flour, right? How can there be different kinds of flour?”

“Well, I don’t see anything at all wrong with this cake, so you can all stop picking on Sweetie, you big meanie pants!”

“…Huh?”

“I mean sure, it’s a little off centre, but that’s what the frosting is for, sillies! I can fix this in no time flat. Oh, that reminds me, it’s really time for you three to get going. I still have a lot of work to do, but you were all really really extra helpful and I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“But…”

“Thanks for the help, you guys! I’ll seeya real soon, but not too soon, because then I’d be early, and you wouldn’t be ready for me!”

“But…”

“And remember… You Pinkie Promised!”

And with that, the Cutie Mark Crusaders found themselves unceremoniously shoved out the back door of Sugarcube Corner. Apple Bloom looked at a stunned Scootaloo, and a shocked Sweetie Belle.

“What just happened?”

Once again, the fillies found themselves riding down main street without a firm destination in mind. One thing could be said for their trip to Sugarcube Corner, though: it had certainly taken their minds off their troubles. They were nearing Carousel Boutique when, for the second time that day, a blue blur interrupted their travels.

“Hey girls! Finally escaped from Twilight, I see.”

“Yeah, we had to find… other things to do” responded Apple Bloom carefully.

“But we can totally help you more if you want, Rainbow Dash!”

Sweetie glanced at Apple Bloom and facehoofed as Scootaloo once again fell back into idol mode.

“Yeah, that’s actually why I came to see you guys. I can really use your help with something Scoot.”

“Really?!”

“Yeah, I was wondering… could I borrow your wagon?”

“My… wagon?”

“Yeah. See, I’ve got some stuff I need to move this afternoon, and I could really use a wagon to help me shift it.”

“But… I can come help, right?”

“Sorry, Scoot. I can move things faster on my own, and I’m really in kind of a hurry.”

Scootaloo shuffled her hooves in disappointment. “Sure, I guess you can borrow it…”

“Hey, thanks Scootaloo. You’re a real life-saver, you know that?”

“Yeah, sure…”

“If I don’t seeya later today, I’ll leave it at your clubhouse, okay?”

“Fine.”

“Okay, gotta get moving. Catch you all later!”

And Rainbow Dash sprinted off, the little red wagon in tow, leaving a dejected pegasus filly and her two best friends to cheer her up.

“C’mon, Scoot. I’m sure she didn’t mean it personally. She’s just in a hurry, is all.”

“Yeah, we can, ummm, we can rest in my sister’s place for a little bit.”

“I guess…” Scootaloo half-heartedly followed the other two to Rarity’s Boutique, the bell jingling as they walked in the front door, and a stylish white unicorn pranced into the show floor.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, were… oh, Sweetie Belle, how nice to see you darling. Is there anything I can do to help you and your friends today.”

“Not really, Rarity. We’ve just, kind of been having a rough day. We tried helping Applejack, but that just caused a big mess. Then we helped Twilight, but we caused an even bigger mess. And then we helped Pinkie Pie, and she was actually really nice and understanding, but I think I ruined the cake anyway, and now Scootaloo is feeling down because Rainbow Dash snubbed her, and we just kind of want to relax for a little bit.”

“Oh, that’s quite alright, dear. Come along, let’s head back into my workroom and we can relax in there.”

Rarity guided the crusaders into her back room, which, in contrast to her neat and well appointed showroom, looked like a tornado had blown through it. Rolls of fabric lay draped over dress forms, sequins lay scattered across the floor, and ribbons were strewn haphazardly around the room and even, mysteriously, from the light fixtures.

“Now, can I get you girls anything? Maybe a small snack, or a cool drink?”

“Actually ma’am, I could really go for drink right now, if it’s not too much trouble. That’s what we were going to Sugarcube Corner for, but Pinkie Pie was too busy to help us.”

“Why of course, Apple Bloom. It’s no trouble at all. I’ll be right back.”

As Rarity left the room, the crusaders looked around the room with interest.

“Ummm, Sweetie Belle… we’re not going to end up cleaning this place, are we? I think I had enough of this sort of thing at Twilight’s.”

“No, I don’t think so, Scootaloo. Rarity doesn’t really like it when I clean up in the middle of one of her creative moods.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Rarity trotted back into the room, levitating three glasses of apple juice behind her and calmly giving them to the tired fillies. As she passed the glass to Apple Bloom, she noticed the poor condition of her clothing.

“Oh, Apple Bloom dear, whatever happened to your lovely cloak? It looks as though you spilled something on it, and the patch is missing completely.”

“Oh, yeah, I… kinda rolled around in some glue at Twilight’s place, and the patch got torn off in the confusion.” Apple Bloom looked sadly at her denuded, sticky cloak, then around at the mess. “So, if you don’t mind me askin’, what were you working on when we came in?”

“Oh, It’s just the best idea we had for the mayor." Rarity gushed. "You see, every time we have a festival, we have to make up a new banner to hang from the town hall. But I thought to myself, what if we had a re-usable banner? We could have a blank banner, and separate letters which we could attach and detach at will. Granted it wouldn’t have the individual flair of a custom-made banner, but the mayor was most pleased with the prospective long-term savings.”

“That’s actually a pretty neat idea.” Apple Bloom looked around again, a thoughtful expression passing across her face. “Is there anything we could do to help?”

“Well I suppose, now you mention it… I was just working on hemming the banner when you arrived, but I haven’t yet gotten around to cutting out the letters. If you girls could cut, maybe, five copies of each letter out of that roll of fabric behind you, it would really help speed this project of mine up.”

OUT OF TIME

Planned ending: Rarity is called out of the room by Spike arriving. The crusaders decide to cut corners by cutting through multiple layers of fabric of different colours at a time, thus making the banner more versatile by supplying different coloured letters for different occasions. They make a mess while cutting, including wasting fabric and cutting malformed letters, like an E with four spokes and an R with the leg pointing inwards. Rarity is not impressed by the waste and resolves to do it herself, prompting the crusaders to leave.

Apple Bloom wants to go see Zecora, so they head to the Everfree Forest, but are stopped by Flutter shy before they can enter, who persuades them that it will be getting too dark soon and they can come and help her feed her animals.
Apple Bloom offers to feed the farmyard animals (chickens, pigs...), Scootaloo the scary ones (bears, bats...), and Sweetie the cute ones (bunnies, cats...). But Apple Bloom ends up chasing after her charges, Scootaloo fleeing from hers, and Sweetie accidentally releases a tank of fireflies while trying to work out what they eat. Decides to finish the feeding herself, telling the fillies they need to get home soon, as it's almost dark.

The three set off back through town. Scootaloo remembers she still needs to pick up her wagon from the clubhouse, so they decide to head there first. Upon arriving, they're shocked by the mane six, who are holding a surprise one-year anniversary party for the CMCs.

Applejack has reconstructed the storage shed under the clubhouse, so they have somewhere to store their crusading equipment. Twilight has constructed a scrapbook of the crusaders' activities, and transplanted the damaged book cover onto it, complete with Apple Bloom's CMC patch on the cover. Rarity was in charge of decorations, with a multicoloured banner over the party, complete with malformed E's and R's. She also makes new cloaks for the fillies, to replace Apple Bloom's damaged one. Pinkie Pie handled refreshments, complete with lopsided cake (which she promptly replaces with the backup cake, but she never bakes just one cake, in case she eats the first one). Fluttershy has brought the firefly swarm to light up the party area under the apple trees. And Rainbow Dash has been flying between them all, delivering decorations, food, and generally organising everything, using the wagon.

The crusaders are thrilled to discover they have been helping all this time, just not necessarily in the way they intended. And everyone enjoys the party.

Overprotecting and Overreacting:What if Chrysalis Never Existed?

Twilight was alone in the hall room of the castle. Several moments before she confronted Cadance. Princess ran away in tears and all ponies left after her. Even guards decided to left the room.

Tears fell from her face, pouring down on the floor. She sat in this position for several minutes, thinking about how she failed her princess and friends.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Cadance. Mi Amora Cadenza entered the room, closed the door, cautiously to not let it bang too loud, walked across the room and stood closely in front of still weeping Twilight.

“I'm so sorry, Princess”, Twilight sniffed and poked her muzzle into the feathers of Princess Cadance.

“Twilight. It was so saddening for me to hear all these accusations. Especially after all of the years we spent together.” Cadance sighed and petted Twilight's head.

“I just... I just wanted to protect my friends. I didn't want to seem them hurt. And then. And then... And I don't know what came over me.”

“I know, Twilight, “ Cadance hugged Twilight with her wings. She put her head on top of Twilight and snuggled her with the chin. “You thought about friends. And though I still don't feel easy after all your words, I couldn't see all them leaving you. ”

“Could you forgive me?” Twilight sniffled again.

“I'm surely can. But your brother is still too angry. I think it will be better if you listen him and leave the wedding. I'll try to calm him down.“

“I understand.”

After several minutes they broke the embrace and parted their ways.

Day later Twilight woke up when sun was in zenith. The night didn't calm her even a bit.

She as usual went down to a kitchen and mechanically ate some salad. She did not notice Spike and decided that he went for a walk. Right after the breakfast, just as usual, she stood in the front of a mirror and groomed her hair, not even trying to focus the sight on the reflection. Result didn't end up being any good, but Twilight was not in the mood to pay attention. Her thoughts were in disarray, but any time she tried to think more clearly, she recalled previous day in way more details than she wanted. She relied more on mechanical memory than anything to lead her through the morning chores.

“Oh, Twilight? Are you all right? You don't look good.“

Rarity and Rainbow Dash entered the library. They said something. Twilight caught the words that they were saying, but she still was too stressed to glue the meanings of these words together. Then there were more words, then again more words. She probably said something in greeting.

“We missed you, darling,”, finally Twilight's consciousness recognized what actually Rarity was saying.

“Well, we didn't miss your craziness, that I can tell for sure“, Rainbow Dash chuckled .

“Rainbow Dash”, Rarity loudly gasped.

Twilight lied on the sofa and levitated a pillow on top of her head.

“Uhh. I dunt muind. I thuink she is riught.” she said through the pillow.

“You need to go for a walk to cheer yourself up.”

“Yes, darling, listen to Rainbow. I too think, it's a good idea. Putting pillow on your head is just not good for your face” Rarity tried to grab pillow with magic and move it away.

“Yuah. Maybe latuer. Not nuw”. Twilight grasped the pillow with her magic again and interrupted Rarity attempt.

“Twilight?”

Silence. More silence. Twilight just did not had any will to face them.

“I think it will be better if we leave her for now“ Rarity whispered to Rainbow Dash.

“Well.. If you say so”. They left.

Several hours later Twilight decided to follow the advice and left the library. Weather was clean and sunny, birds happily chirped around and force field no longer was visible around the castle. None if this managed to made Twilight happier. In fact, she would prefer if it was heavy rain or snow, as she felt that even the weather was going against her, the only pony who behaved so bad at the wedding ceremony that she was thrown away by the groom and her own brother.
As she passed by other ponies, she heard murmurs around her. She thought that at this point rumors about what happened on the wedding already reached Ponyville. Fortunately, none of the ponies asked her about previous day.

After walking for a while without clear destination, first, Twilight thought about visiting Sugar Cube Corner. She quickly dismissed it: Pinkie Pie was always too cheerful pony, and Twilight decided that no amount of confetti will cheer her up, and in fact she was worried that it will make Pinkie Pie sad.

Instead, she went to Sweet Apple Acres.

Unfortunately, Twilight couldn't approach working Applejack and Big McIntosh in worse time: the day of Applejack didn't start too well. First, leaving her farm for participating in wedding meant that on her return she had more trees to buck. Big Mac didn't mind doing a little more work while Applejack was absent, but he could do only so much. To make things worse, beavers razed the barn once again to stole planks to build their own dams.
Applejack managed to sleep only three hours before starting the work and all sorts of troubles piled in such short amount of time made her head spin. If it was not enough, in the morning Cheerilee went by and said that Applebloom's performance in school declined recently and Applejack should spend more time, controlling that her sister is actually studying and not just trying to find her cutie mark.

“Ah say, we should build stronger fence. “ Big Mac tilted his head towards the remainings of the barn.

“Uhm, hello”. Twilight dug small hole in the ground with her hoof.

“And ah say we should forget about this at least 'til next year,” Applejack bucked a tree. “Heyah, Twilight. Long time no see”

“Uhm, I wanted to talk about yesterday.“ Twilight kicked small rock and looked on trajectory of its flight, not daring to look on Applejack.

“Big Mac, ya know that we don't have enough of money. Especially after we spent HALF OF ALL OF OUR SAVINGS on repairing the roof,” Applejack turned her head back to Twilight “Sugarcube, we are a little busy.”

“Eeyup, but if we don't manage to strengthen the fence, then beavers again will bite through it. And they'll raze other buildings. And we will have no money at all. Ah'm telling you, we need metal fence. At least on the part closer to the river.“

“Have you seen the prices of the fences?” She kicked another tree.

“Ah've seen the barn, Applejack. And Ah don't want to see our home in the same condition.”

Twilight stood silently listening their arguments for some period of time. Realizing that they have more serious problems, she went home.

It was the evening. Several hours after visiting the farm, Twilight gathered her thoughts together, analyzed last two days and finally decided her best course of actions. It was not easy decision for her, but sometimes hard decisions needed to be made.
Together with Spike and Owlowiscious she knocked on the door of Fluttershy's cottage. Her mood still was grim, but now she knew what had to be done, so she was much more resolved and confident.

“Oh, hello Twilight. Hello, guys”. Fluttershy opened the door. “Oh. I was just going to drink a tea, uhm, would you like to join, maybe?”

“Yeah, sure.“ Twilight forced a smile, while Fluttershy let them in and brought two more cups. For some time they just sipped the tea and discussed flora and fauna. Twilight had read several books about this topic, so she could easily talk with Fluttershy about all sort of migrations that occur in modern butterflies. She found this talk to be a little relaxing.

“Fluttershy.” Finally, Twilight decided to bring up the goal of her visit. “I want to ask you a favor.”

“Me? A favor? For you? I'm not quite sure if I'm capable...” Fluttershy wiggled on her pillow.

“I'm going for a little travel. It might take a while. Could you look after Spike and Owlowiscious for me, please?”

“I? Take care of owl? And baby dragon?” Judging by her voice, Fluttershy was really happy of such proposition.

“Good! I'll take this as 'yes'. Here, I brought a bag of gems.” Twilight opened her saddlebag and took large bag from it. ”This bag also has bits so you can buy more food for Spike and Owlowiscious. And you can take rest as payment for your service. There will be enough.”

Fluttershy didn't like to take money from her friends for taking care of their animals, but what if declining the money would be too rude? She definitely did not want to be ungrateful to her friends.

“Wait. Travel? You did not tell me.” Spike looked at Twilight. Most of the day he spend together with Cutie Mark Crusaders, and this definitely was news for him.

“And why are you leaving right now? It's so late now,“ Fluttershy looked through the window. Sun was almost gone already.

“I have a train tonight. I'm sorry, Spike, you weren't home when I went to buy the ticket,” Twilight lied. It was for the best.

“Will you be ok? I'm worrying about you” Fluttershy thought if she should ask about why Twilight is leaving, but decided that if Twilight doesn't want to tell her on her own, then it would be too rude to insist.

“Yes. Absolutely.“

“Can't I go with you, Twilight?” Spike once again looked at Twilight. Since she moved to Ponyville, they rarely traveled together as often as they were back in Canterlot.

“No. It's dealing with somewhat personal. You can guess what. Heh. Here, if you'll promise to behave yourself, you'll have this big, beautiful gem. Right now,“ Twilight levitated gem from bag almost as tall as Spike's head and stopped it in front of Spike.

“It will be my pleasure!” Spike licked and grabbed the gem. Spike liked Twilight, but he also liked the gems. So as far as he was concerned, if Twilight wanted him to stay and give him gem for it, it was win-win situation: having a gem and making Twilight happy was much better than having nothing at all and making Twilight angry or sad, after all. He ate gem.

“Fluttershy, you are expert at taking care of animals. That's why I'm asking you.”

“Well, uhm, all right. I'll do it”.

Shortly after that she went home. It was already dark, so she had to lighten the room with her spell. Levitating the quill, she started to write a letter.

“My dear Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Spike. I'd call you friends, but I don't think I deserve to be your friend anymore. I almost ruined the wedding of my own brother. I made all of you worried, even you have your own problems. And none of you deserve it.

“I put a huge burden on Cadance, who had to calm my brother. None of them deserved that.

“At this point, Celestia is probably hating me, so I can't continue studying anyway.

“I'm sincerely sorry that I lied about Spike and Owlowiscious to Fluttershy, but in the end I think I betrayed your trust so many times, that at this point I don't think one more time will matter. I love you all, but it will be better for all of us. I'm going far, far away, please don't look after me. I don't want any of you to worry about me ever again.“

She put the letter on the table under the book. Even if somepony enters, the letter would be hidden from the sight. That should give her enough of time.

“I heard that Everfree had beautiful, beautiful cliffs,“ Twilight said to no one as she went away from Ponyville without any intention to come back.

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