Hi everypony, and welcome back again.

Now to talk serious, I need you all to decide something for me. You know how in some stories some chapters get deleted because they're not good enough or the author just doesn't like them? Well that's pretty much the situation here. There are 2 chapters I don't want in my story anymore and I want to get rid of them, I'll delete one and re-write the other. You'll find the poll at the end of the chapter.

Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 52: New problems

Ponyville library

The morning sun was now high in the sky and shining dimly over Ponyville. As every pony in town began to wake up, Twilight and I were still sound asleep.

Yesterday was my birthday and it was the best birthday ever had, it even ended just as great with Twilight and I having some special alone time. Our peaceful slumber, however, didn't last long.

My eyes weakly opened until I could see the bedroom completely. Upon examining the area, I saw Twilight lying in front of me facing the other direction, my arms were wrapped around her waist lovingly.

That's when I remembered what happened last night and everything we did. At first, I couldn't believe it, but our scruffy manes and Twilight's see-through nightgown at the end of the bed confirmed it. We had finally had our special night.

I felt like releasing Twilight and pulling myself away from her, but for some reason, I didn't want to let go. She felt so warm in my arms and he fur was so soft.

I liked this feeling and I didn't want to lose it just yet, so I decided to rest for a little while longer by gently pulling Twilight closer to me and nuzzled my head against her mane.

After a few minutes, Twilight woke up and slowly opened her eyes. She soon felt my arms around her waist and immediately remembered what happened last night. She blushed deeply at the thought of last night's events before she turned her head around until she could see my head. "Matt?...You awake?" she asked.

I was still awake, but only just. "…Yeah…" I said tiredly with my eyes still closed.

"I can't believe we finally had our special night last night. It was just as I imagined it. What did you think of it, Matt?" Twilight asked.

A small smiled grew on my face. "Twilight…I can honestly say that last night was the greatest night of my life…you were absolutely amazing, Twilight." I said as I opened my eyes slightly.

Twilight returned my smile. "Thanks. So were you." she said before she planted a small kiss on my nose.

"So…where do we go from here?" I asked curiously.

"I think we just carry on with our normal morning routines. How about we get up and get some breakfast, huh?" Twilight asked.

"Sounds good to me." I said before I released Twilight from my embrace and climbed off the bed, Twilight did the same and we both went down stairs together.

When we reached the living room, we went into the kitchen and started making breakfast for ourselves. While we were doing that, Twilight and I couldn't help but keep looked back at each other. Every time I turned my head around to see her, she'd quickly look away.

Once our breakfasts was finished, Twilight and I both sat down by the kitchen table and started eating it until it was all gone. As we let the food settle in our stomachs, we started making small talk. "So how do you think Spike and the others are doing at Rarity's?" Twilight asked.

I shrugged. "Not sure. Good, I hope." I said before I began to think about last night again. "Twi, listen…about last night, I…do you think this will put us in some kind of awkward situation?" I asked nervously.

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean? Didn't you…you know…like it?" she asked.

I was quick to answer. "Of course I liked it, Twilight. It was the greatest thing I've ever experienced. It's just…we've barely spoken or looked at each other all morning and I'm afraid it's because of what we did." I said as I became more nervous.

Twilight understood what I was saying, there was a bit of awkwardness in the air. But she soon grew a sly smile and stood up. "Well…maybe we don't have to do that things, maybe we can do something else." She said.

"W-What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

Twilight then made her way around the table and stopped in front of me. "I mean, we don't have to pick up Spike and the others just yet, we have the whole place to ourselves for a little while longer." She said as she stood up on her hind-legs and wrapped her arms around my head.

I soon realised what she was doing and grinned. "Oh really? Well then, what are we gonna do until then?" I asked; knowing what the answer would be.

Twilight answered by leaning her head closer to mine and we shared a deep kiss. After a few seconds, we separated and smiled at each other. "Since when did you start acting like this, Twi?" I asked with the grin still on my face.

"I don't know…something about last night just rattles me in a way that makes me feel cheerful about everything. Is that natural for married couples after they do…what we did?" Twilight asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, Twilight, p-probably. I mean, it's common for a couple to feel good after they've expressed their love in that way." I said, giving her my best answer.

"Well I'll read up about it later." Twilight said before he grin returned. "But for now, where were we?" she said.

We both then leaned in for another kiss. But before we could, we heard the front-door slam open in the living room; startling us both. Twilight quickly released me and placed her front-hooves back down onto the floor. "What was that?" she asked.

I stood up from where I was sat and looked at her. "I don't know. I think it was the front-door. I'll go check it out." I said before I made my way over to the kitchen entrance.

As I entered the front-room, I was a bit surprised to see Spike in front of the front-door with his hands on his knees, he looked out of breath. "Spike?" I said.

Once I said that, Spike shot his head up and rushed towards me. "Matt!...*Pant, pant*…you and Twilight…need to…*Pant, pant*…" he said before he stopped in front of me and continued to pant.

Twilight then walked into the room and saw Spike. "Spike? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at Rarity's." she said.

Spike continued to pant as he looked up at her. "*Pant, pant*…Rarity…bedroom…safe…help her!" he said in a panicky way while still out of breath.

Not understanding what he was trying to say, I placed my hoof on his shoulder. "Whow, calm down, little bro. Catch your breath, then speak." I said.

Spike nodded as he continued to pant. After a few seconds, he caught his breath and spoke. "You guys need to come to Rarity's place quick!" he said as he grabbed my hoof and attempted to pull me over to the front-door, but I didn't move.

"Why? What's going on? What happened?" I asked as Spike kept trying to pull me over to the door.

Spike then stopped pulling on my hoof and looked at me. "Rarity's been robbed…and you're not gonna be happy with what they took." He said.

Twilight and I immediately looked at each other before we looked back down at Spike. "Show us." I said.

Spike nodded before he turned around and rushed out of the library with us following behind. Along the way, Twilight and I had a good idea of what was stolen, we just hoped we were wrong.

Carousel Boutique

After arriving at the Boutique, Spike led us up to Rarity's room to show us the crime scene. It was exactly what we feared, The Element of Generosity had been stolen.

Rarity was lying face-flat on her bed crying loudly into her pillow. I couldn't blame her for being upset, knowing someone was in her room while she was sleeping must terrify her.

I would've gone over to comfort her, but Jeff and Peewee already had that covered. They were both standing beside Rarity on the bed and Jeff was patting her back with his wing. "It's ok, girl, let it all out. No-one's blaming ya." He said softly.

Spike then walked over to the other side of the bed and stranded rubbing Rarity's back. "Of course we're not. It's not your fault, Rarity. It could've happened to anypony." He said, trying to help.

Rarity lifted her head off the pillow and looked at him. "I…I know, Spike. It's just that…whoever stole my Element was in this room…while I was sleeping in this very bed…if he wanted to, he could've…" she said as more tears swelled up in her eyes.

Knowing she was about to cry some more, Spike quickly climbed up onto the bed and pulled Rarity into a caring hug. As she hugged back, Spike looked over to Twilight who was standing at the end of the bed.

They both then turned around to see me examining the broken safe which once held Rarity's Element. As I stared at the bent corners and broken hinge, all I could think about was how worse this situation had got and how worse it could've been. Screw the Element, I could've lost one of my best friends to this asshole. The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became.

At some point, Twilight walked over to me and saw my studious face. She could clearly see I was rattled, so she tried a gentle approach. "Matt…honey…are you ok?" she asked.

I didn't look at her, I only kept my focus on the safe. "…He knows…" I answered.

"Huh?" Twilight said in confusion.

"He knows…the thief from Canterlot…he knows the Elements aren't in the castle vault anymore, he knows we moved them, he knows they're here!" I said with every sentence getting louder.

Twilight placed her hoof on my shoulder. "Matt, please calm down, shouting isn't gonna help anyone." She said, trying to calm me down.

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down before I turned my head to face Twilight. "I know, sorry…it just…I can't believe how smart this guy is. How did he know where the Element was? For all he knows, it could've been in our safe along with the other Elements." I said in a frustrated tone.

"I don't know, Matt. I wish I did, but I don't. But like we said when this whole thing began, we're probably not dealing with any ordinary thief." Twilight stated.

"Tell me about it. It's as if he knows our every move, like he's watching us or something." I said.

"After all this, he probably is." Jeff said.

At that moment, a scary thought hit me. What if the thief was watching us? It would explain how he knew were the Elements were. "You know…that might be possible." I said out-loud.

Twilight looked at me with a raised eye-brow. "What? Matt, I don't think the culprit is watching us every minute of the day." she said.

I turned my head to face her. "What if he doesn't have to? Maybe he's hiding in plain sight." I said.

Twilight became more confused until she realised what I was saying. "Oh Matt, you're not still convinced one of the Royal Guards, are you?" she asked.

"Well who else could it be, Twi? The Elements slowly start going missing one-by-one shortly after new Guards arrive at the castle. Seems too much of a coincidence." I stated.

"Don't you think you're getting a little too paranoid about this whole thing?" Twilight asked.

"Look, I'm just saying it makes more sense than anything else. So until something else comes up, that's the only lead we have." I said strongly.

Twilight thought about it for a minute before she sighed. "Ok Matt…I'm not saying you're right, but I'll trust you on this. What do you want me to do?" she asked.

I up a plan of action before I looked her. "Can you take Rarity back to the library and comfort her? She looks like she really needs it." I said.

Twilight nodded. "Of course…but what are you gonna do?" she asked.

"Spike and I are gonna stay here and investigate for clues." I answered.

Twilight nodded again to say she understood before she walked up beside Rarity's bed and placed her hoof on her back. "Rarity, I need you to come with me back to the library, ok?"

Rarity broke away from Spike before she turned her head around to face her. "W-What for?" she asked with some tears still in her eyes.

"Matt and Spike need to set up and investigation. I know you're upset, Rarity, but you'll feel safer at the Library. I'll be with you the whole time, ok?" Twilight said softly.

Rarity was silent for a moment before she agreed. She climbed off the bed before she left the room with Twilight walking beside her; leaving me, Spike, Jeff, Peewee and Owlicious alone in the room.

Once they were gone, I looked over to Jeff. "Jeff, I need you to gather the rest of the girls. Tell them what happened and take them to the library so they can take care of Rarity." I said.

Jeff saluted me with his wing. "You got it." he said before he took off into the air and flew out the open window to do what I said.

I then looked at Peewee. "Peewee, the Mayor needs to know what happened as-well. I hate to say this, but this building contains a serious crime scene, it needs to be closed off for a while." I said with regret.

Peewee was silent as he nodded before he took off into the air and followed Jeff out the window.

At that moment, Spike walked over to me. "But this place can't be closed. Where will everypony buy new outfits? Rarity lives here, she can't just be locked out." He said firmly.

I quickly looked down at him. "Spike, I promise you, Rarity will not lose this house. We need to investigate every part of this building and we can't do that with loads of ponies coming in and out tampering with possible evidence. We have to make sure no-one comes in until it's done, do you understand?" I asked calmly.

Spike thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "Yeah…but what about Rarity?" he asked.

I gave him a small smile. "We still have the guest room in the library. If she wants, she came stay with us for the time being." I said, knowing he'd probably like the idea.

And I was right, Spike quickly grew a smile. "Really? You'd let Rarity stay with us?" he asked.

"Of course we would, she's our friend and we have to do everything we can to help her." I answered.

"So what about Owlicious?" Spike asked as he pointed at the owl standing on top of one of the chair in front of Rarity's make-up desk.

I looked over to him with no idea on what he should do. "Urr…Owlicious, you can…urr…go back to the library and make sure everything's going alright." I said.

"Hoo." Owlicious hooted before he took off into the air and flew out the window.

"Well…I take it he's alright with that idea." I said out-loud before I looked down at Spike. "Ok Spike, you know what to do…let's get to work." I said.

Spike nodded before we both spread out to different parts of the room to begin our investigation. All the while, we couldn't help but wonder how Rarity might be coping. We were both worried about her, especially Spike.

Half-an-hour later: Library

Thanks to Jeff, the rest of the main 6 was now at the library comforting Rarity. They, along with Jeff, Peewee and Owlicious, were all in the main room. They waited for me and Spike to return with further news on the situation.

The first thing Rarity wanted to do once she entered the library was relax, so Twilight brought her a bunch of pillows to lie down on. She was still slightly upset by the whole thing, so she didn't say much.

While everyone else was sitting close to her, Rainbow Dash was hovering back and forth impatiently. Each minute felt like a wasted hour to her. "Grr….what's taking them so long?! How hard can it be to find things that obviously don't belong there?!" she said as she continued to hover.

Twilight looked up at her with a firm face. "We've been through this type of thing before, Rainbow. Trust me, it takes a while." she said.

Rainbow Dash stopped where she was in the air and looked down at her. "Why is Matt in-charge of all this stuff anyway? For all we know, he may have started it all in the first place." She said as she crossed her arms.

Everyone looked up at her with slight shock. "Now hold ya horses there, Rainbow. You can't honestly be sayin' this is all Matt's fault." Applejack said.

"Well how do you explain it all? All this weird stuff started shortly after he came into our lives and we're supposed to believe it's some sort of coincidence?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"In a way, yes! If you're going to blame Matt for this, then you might as well blame him for everything else, like that whole thing with Thorn." Twilight stated firmly.

"You know something, Twilight, I might just do that. He did do all things to get back at Matt for kicking his flank, after all." Rainbow said a bit coldly.

Twilight couldn't believe what she was saying. "Rainbow Dash, Matt's your friend, why are you talking about him like this?" she asked.

At that moment, Applejack walked over to Twilight to answer her question. "Don't pay any attention to her, Twi. She's just a little ticked because she had to share her first kiss with 'im." She said as she smirked up at Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash's ears flung up before she quickly looked down at them. "That's not true! I just…urr…didn't realize how much of this stuff is his fault….until now, that is." She said while rubbing the back of her head with her hoof.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other before they looked back up at her. "Yeah, you keep tellin' yourself that." Applejack said with the smirk still on her face.

"Just…just get off my back." Rainbow Dash snapped as she turned away from them.

After a few minutes, Spike and I came through the front-door with tired looks on our faces. Twilight and the others saw us and came over to us. "Are you two okay? Did you find anything?" Twilight asked.

With regret, I shook my head. "No, we didn't. We turned the whole place inside-out and found nothing to help us. The thief was smart this time." I answered.

"Guess he learned his lesson after what happened in Canterlot." Applejack said.

I looked at her and nodded. "That's what I'm thinking as-well. He's learning from his mistakes…*sigh*…this probably means he's gonna be harder to catch." I said while looking down at the floor.

Twilight then placed her hoof on my shoulder. "Hey, it'll be alright…we'll catch him and get the Elements back." she said with a soft smile.

"How do you know, the guy's probably miles away by now." Rainbow Dash said while still hovering in the air.

Twilight quickly looked up at her with a firm look. "Rainbow! That's not helping!" she said.

"No Twi, she's right. It's impossible to catch him at this point. For all we know, he probably is miles away by now, perhaps on the other side of the country." I said.

Twilight and the others looked at me with slight shock until Applejack stepped forward. "Wait a minute…what are ya sayin'? It's like you're givin' up or somethin'. That's not the Matt I know." She said strongly.

"Yeah, just because you didn't find anything today, doesn't mean you won't find anything eventually. I mean, if he's after all the Elements, won't he come back for the ones he hasn't stolen?" Pinkie Pie asked.

After hearing what she said, my ears perked up with hope. "Yeah…yeah, you're absolutely right! He will come back, and we're gonna be ready for him this time." I said with a confident look.

Everyone smiled at my regained confidence. "Now that's the Matt I know." Applejack said.

"So what've you got planned this time, oh fearless leader?" Rainbow Dash asked in a smug sarcastic way.

I didn't know why she spoke in that tone or why she called me that, but I'd have to find that out later. "Well…I'm gonna need to write a letter. But first, I need to talk to Rarity." I said.

Once I said her name, Rarity looked at me with curiousness. I knew she wouldn't like what I had to say, but I was ready to comfort her. I walked over to her and my ears lowered slightly. "Rarity…I'm…I'm sorry to say this, but…we have to close your shop for a few days. No-one can be allowed to go inside until it's been fully examined for clues by professionals." I said with regret.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Rarity broke it. "But…doesn't that mean I can't go inside either?" she asked.

I looked into her eyes and I answered. "I'm sorry, Rarity." That was all I could say.

"B-But…where will I stay? Where will I sleep?" Rarity asked.

I knew she was getting more upset, so I gently placed my hoof on her shoulder. "You can stay with us until you go back. I'm sure Twilight won't mind." I said before I looked over to her. "You don't mind if Rarity stays with us for a few days, do you?" I asked.

Twilight shook her head. "Of course not, she can stay with us for as long as she wants." She said with a weak smile.

I returned her smile before I looked at Rarity again. "But it's up to you, Rarity. Do you want to stay with us?" I asked as Twilight came over and stopped beside me.

Rarity looked at my face with wonder. "Y-You'd let me stay with you in your home? Matthew…Twilight…that's so generous of you." she said before she finally managed to grow a smile. "I will…Thank you so much." She said before she stood up and hugged us both.

Everyone smiled as they watched us.

We then broke the hug. "You're welcome Rarity, and I promise you, we'll catch the guy that did this." I said once again with confidence.

I then turned around and walked over to the door that led to the next room. "Now I need to write a letter to the Princess and report what happened." I said before I looked over to Spike. "Spike, can you come and write for me please?" I asked politely.

Spike nodded. "Sure thing, Matt." he said as he followed me into the other room. Once we were inside, Spike closed the door behind us.

A moment later, Spike brought out a sheet of paper & a quill and got ready to start writing. "Ok Matt, whenever you're ready." He said while looking at me.

I nodded at him before I started telling him what to write.

"Dear Princess Celestia.

As you know, you intrusted us to protect the remaining Elements after the incident in Canterlot, which is why I regret to inform you that the Element of Generosity has been stolen by an unknown criminal. But my friends have given me an idea on how to catch him once-and-for-all. If he's trying to get all the Elements, then he'll be back for the rest. My plan is to wait for him to return and then strike before he can make off with another Element. If you can help us in any way possible, we would surly appreciate it.

Yours: Matthew."

Once I was done and Spike had written it all down, he rolled up the paper before he held it up in front of his face and breathed fire onto it; causing it to burn and flow out of the window in a small cloud of magic smoke.

After that, Spike looked over to me. "Do you think she'll be upset about this?" he asked.

I looked at him with an unsure look. "I don't know, Spike, probably. I mean, she intrusted us to protect the Elements and we screwed up...how did the thief even know we brought the Elements here in the first place?" I asked.

Spike shrugged. "No idea…maybe he really is watching us, lurking in the shadows and waiting for us to lead him to each of the Elements one-by-one. Maybe he's still here in Ponyville, hiding in plain sight." He said, getting more frightened with each of his thoughts.

I walked over to him. "Whow, whow, calm down buddy. Don't go giving yourself nightmares, that's the last thing we want." I said as I placed my hoof on his back.

Spike heard what I said and too a few breaths. "Thanks." He said. Suddenly, his cheeks inflated and he burped out a small amount of fire; releasing a small cloud of magic smoke that turned into a scroll.

As it dropped to the floor, I looked at it with nervousness. "Looks like the Princess wrote back. W-What's it say?" I asked, almost afraid to.

Spike picked up the scroll before he unravelled it and read it out-loud to me.

"My dearest friend, Matthew.

Even though I don't blame you or anyone else, it is unfortunate that another Element has been stolen and, as you may already know, this cannot be allowed to happen again. So in response to your request, I will aid you in keeping the Elements more protected. I am sending some of my guards down to you, it will take them at least half-an-hour to get there. Once they arrive, they will discuss the plan with you Twilight.

Yours truly: Princess Celestia."

Once Spike had finished reading the letter, he looked at me. "She's sending down some guards? How will that help?" he asked in confusion.

"Well…I have a good idea on what they're plan is." I stated.

"Really? What is it?" Spike asked curiously.

"Let's just say…we better get used to seeing them around for a while." I said nervously before I changed the subject. "C'mon, we better tell the others what the Princess said." I said.

With that, we both went back into the main room to inform Twilight & the others of this news and patiently waited for the guards to arrive.

Half-an-hour later

After a while of waiting, there was finally a knock on the library door. We answered it to see at least 12 guards standing outside, two of them entered to discuss the plan with us. They were both Pegasi, one of them was white and the other one was light-grey.

Dispite having the same pony feature, they were wearing different armour from the other guards. It looked similar to Shining Armor's, but instead of purple plating, theirs was bright-red. Twilight told me they were Elite Guards. She also told me that they're not normally seen around Canterlot, they only come out during really serious situations.

They told us the plan, but some of us weren't really big fans of it. "You wanna patrol outside our homes all day and night?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Precisely, Miss Dash." One of the guards said before he looked at the rest of us. "Each of you will have two guards standing watch at your homes every night and every day until the culprit is captured. And if young Matthew's theory is correct, that shouldn't be too long." He said.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but there is such a thing as personal privacy. I don't wanna sound rude or nothin', but we can't have you guys bargin' in our homes any time ya please." Applejack stated.

"We are aware of that, Miss Applejack, and I assure you that we care for your privacy and it won't be disturbed unannounced. We want you all to feel relaxed and carry on with your normal lives while we tend to the protection of the Elements." The other guard said.

"But my Element has already been stolen, along with Pinkie Pie's, why do we still need guards?" Rarity asked curiously.

The guard turned his had to face her. "Your Elements may already be gone, but that doesn't mean you're safety is out of harm's way. Who knows, the culprit might come back to…how should I say it?…silence possible witnesses?" he said.

At that moment, Rarity looked as though she was going to faint. I noticed this and looked at the guard. "Don't say that, don't ever say such a thing to her. She's just been through a terrified state and I'd appreciate it if you didn't make her feel worse, thank you very much." I said firmly.

He then looked over to me. "I'm just saying, we can't take any chances with this guy. The Princess was very clear, your protection must be our top priority." He stated.

"But what about the Elements? She sent you to help us protect them." Twilight said.

The guard looked at her. "That's our second top priority. Have no worries, Mrs Sparkle, we'll all keep a very close eye on the Elements, you can guaranty that." He said.

"I'm not so sure about this." Twilight said with an unsure voice.

I walked up beside her. "Twilight, maybe we should consider this. When we're sleeping, the one time we've got our guard down, the culprit could sneak into our homes and snatch the Elements right from under us. I mean, look what happened with Rarity. Celestia said that this can't be allowed to happen again, I don't think we should take any more risks. But…if you're not comfortable with this, then we'll send them anyway, I'm sure the Princess would understand." I said.

Twilight turned her head to face me before she thought about what I said. "Well…I may not be keen on this idea, but you're right, Matt. We shouldn't take any more risks. The Elements are too important." She said.

"Wait a minute, you're actually considering this? From what you guys have told us, that crook took down a lot of tough guards, what's to stop him doing the same to these guys?" Rainbow Dash asked as she landed beside us.

"No need to worry about that, Miss Dash, we've been trained to fight off almost any foe. We've ever taken on a Hydra and captured it alive." One of the guards said.

Rainbow Dash heard that, but she was still unsure. I stepped forward to speak to her. "C'mon, Rainbow, it won't be so bad. They're not going to bother you, if that's what you're worried about, they said that themselves a few minutes ago." I said.

"Yeah, I heard." Rainbow Dash spat before she turned around and stormed to the front door. "I'll go along with this, but I'm not happy about it." she said before she walked out of the library and took off into the sky.

I could tell by the way she was acting today that something was bothering her. "What's eating her? She seems to be mad about something." I said.

"I'll tell you later, Matt." Twilight said before she looked at the rest of our friends. "Are the rest of you ok with this idea?" she asked, hoping they were.

Everyone looked at each other before they looked at us again. "We're not so sure, Twi. I mean, havin' a pair of guards in our homes all day just seems a bit…uncomfortable."

I then stepped forward. "Trust me, guys, this is probably a good thing. If he's just a common crook, then we don't have to catch him, we just need to make getting to the Elements harder than it's worth." I said.

"And if we're not dealing with a common crook?" Rarity asked.

I looked at her. "Then one way or another, we'll take him down and make him tell us where the missing Elements are. Hopefully these guards are tough enough to take him on and weaken him." I said.

"*Clears throat* Hydra, captured alive, I think I mentioned this." One of the guards said.

I just shook my head at this before returning to the subject. "Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, do any of you feel uncertain about this idea?" I asked.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Fluttershy spoke. "H-He's right…we have to guard our Elements somehow, and we can't do it every minute of every day. It's like the guard said, w-we have our own lives to tend to." she said before she looked at Applejack. "Applejack, can you protect your Element while running your farm?" she asked.

Applejack's ears lowered slightly. "…You've got a good point there."

"And Rarity & Pinkie's Elements may already gone, but who's to say they're safe? What if this crook needs us to power the Elements for something after he's got them? He might start snatching us in the night next, unless there's someone to warn us first." Fluttershy said.

Rarity and Pinkie Pie just gulped at this.

"And I can't protect my Element. I have my little animal friends to look out for…also, I…I'm not the toughest pony in the world." Fluttershy said shyly before she continued. "But these guards are tough and they can protect my Element for me, for all of us. I think we should give it a try." She said with a small smile.

After hearing all that from the usually shy pony, the rest of the girls looked at each other before they looked at me and Twilight. "Alright Matt, we're with ya on this. We'll just have to find a way to get used to it." Applejack said with Rarity and Pinkie Pie nodding in agreement.

I gave her a small smile. "I'm glad to hear that, Applejack. Now…it's getting late into the day, maybe this is a good time to go home and try to relax. Take one pair of guards with you and tell them where your Element is kept so they can begin guarding it." I said.

But before they could have a chance to leave, I walked up to them and motioned my hoof in a way to tell them to come closer. Once they did, I started whispering to them. "If you keep your Elements in a safe, don't tell these guards the combination to it. We're trusting them, but not that much. Ok?" I said.

Everyone nodded to say they agreed.

I then stepped back a bit. "Ok, see you all some other time." I said.

"See ya, Matt." Applejack said before she and the others turned around and made their way towards the front-door.

Applejack left the library, Pinkie Pie looked back at us. "And don't worry about Rainbow Dash, Mattie, I'm sure she'll come around eventually. Then we can all look back at that kiss you two had yesterday and laugh about it." she said with a cheerful smile before she left the library and closed the door behind her; leaving me, Twilight, Rarity, the guys, and the Elite guards alone in the room.

"Wait, what?" I said in confusion before I looked at Twilight. "What did she mean?" I asked.

Twilight turned her head to face me. "We'll talk about it later, Matt. For now, let's just try and make the best we can out of the rest of the day." she said.

I nodded to her. "Ok, Twilight…Tell you what, how about we set these guards up with their task, then we can go out to our favourite restaurant, just the two of us." I said with a small smile.

"But what about Spike, Jeff and Peewee?" Twilight asked.

Rarity stepped forward. "Well, I could look after them while you're gone. It's the least I can do for letting me stay here for a while." she said with a kind smile.

I looked at Twilight. "See? Everything will be fine. Wouldn't it be nice to get out for a little while, just you and me in a romantic atmosphere?" I asked.

Twilight then rubbed her chin with her hoof. "That does sound nice." She said before she looked at me. "Ok Matt. You tend to the guards, and I'll get some money upstairs." She said before she trotted over to the stairs that led up to our room.

Once she was gone, I looked over to the guards. "Alright, you two. Follow me and I'll show you where our elements are hidden." I said.

With that, I led the two Elites into the next room to show them where we were keeping our Elements; leaving Rarity, Spike, Jeff and Peewee alone in the room to discuss what they were going to do for the evening.

Meanwhile: Mount Forbidden/throne room

The large pair of doors slowly opened to reveal the Thief accompanied by Zelga. They both entered the throne room to see the Alicorn Leader sitting on his throne.

As the hooded pony and Zelga stopped in the centre of the room, the hooded pony bowed to his master. "Master, I have returned." He said.

The leader gave him and displeased look. "You're late." He said in a dark way.

The hooded pony raised his head back up to look at him. "A thousand apologies, master. I couldn't risk using my magic so close to the town, I had to travel further away." He explained.

"Is that so? Well, I trust you have some useful information regarding where those ponies have hid the Elements." The leader said.

The hooded pony stood up. "I have something better than that, my lord." He said before he reached his hoof into his cloak and pulled out one of the Elements. He held it in both his front-hooves and held it out to his master.

The leader's horn glowed before the Element shot over to him and stopped in front of his face. He took a close look at it before he grinned. "The Element of Generosity." He said before he looked down at the hooded pony. "Well done, my student. You will receive a fine reward for this. Now return to your quarters and wait for further instructions." he said.

The hooded pony bowed one last time. "Yes, master." He said before turned around and left the room with the doors closing behind him; leaving Zelga and the leader alone in the room.

The leader looked at the Element. "Generosity, what a foolish excuse for power. When a pony shows generosity, they show weakness! Weakness I will not allow in my world." he growled.

"Well you know what they say, brother. Generosity comes with its own reward. Maybe there's a way we can use that to our advantage." Zelga said with a devious smile.

The leader stopped and thought about what she said. "Hmm…a cunning thought, sister." He said before he tried to think up a plan.

After a minute, he thought of something. "Yes…I have an idea. We still need to know the location of the other Elements, and to do that we'll need a set of eyes in the crowd." he said.

"Say the word and I'll send the boy in, he'll find out where they're hiding them." Zelga said.

The leader held his hoof up. "No! He's already gained the attention of Matthew and his friends, if he gets anymore, they'll become suspicious. No, we need someone new, someone they won't suspect. We need." He said.

Zelga rolled her eyes. "If Matthew wasn't so busy playing detective, my boy could find all the Elements in one day. Isn't there anyway we can distract him somehow? What's the one thing he cares about more than this investigation?" she asked.

At that moment, the leader's eyes winded. "Of course…that's the answer. There is something more important to him, his dear little wife, Twilight Sparkle." He said with a dark smile.

"So what's the plan, kidnap her and hold her ransom for the Elements?" Zelga asked.

"We need to draw his attention away from us, doing something like that could do the exact opposite. No, we need to do something that doesn't involve the Elements, we need to cause a problem secondary situation in their lives...and I believe I know what that is." The leader said before he chuckled. "Haha, after all, what's a marriage life without its problems…especially if there's another mare involved."

Zelga gave him an unsure look. "I may not know much about Matthew, but by watching him, I can tell he isn't the cheating type. How do we expect him to turn his attention to another mare?" she asked.

"Simple, all it needs is the right touch from the right mare. I trust you know what I speak of." The leader said as he raised his eye-brow at her.

Zelga was confused for a moment before she realized what she meant. "Oh…" she said before she grinned. "Haha, I understand completely, brother." She said.

Zelga's horn then glowed before a bolt of purple flames shot up around her and covered her whole body. Within the fire, she body began to shrink and he parts of her body began to change.

The next day: Sugar Cube Corner

It was late in the morning and Jeff & I had decided to spend a little time together at Sugar Cube Corner. Like any ordinary guys, we talked about pretty much anything that interested us.

"So how was dinner with Twilight last night?" Jeff asked while standing on the same table I was sat in front of.

"It went well, Twilight enjoyed it, that's what really matters." I answered.

"Cool." Jeff said before he decided to change the subject. "Well, at least those guards weren't bothering us last night. I can probably live with it if they stay that quiet every night." he said.

"Hopefully, they will." I said. "So, any luck with Philomena lately?" I asked.

"Not really, haven't seen her in a while. I might go up to Canterlot sometime this week and see how she's doing." Jeff answered.

"Well at least she's not mad at you anymore, that's a starter." I stated.

Jeff chuckled slightly. "Haha, yeah." He said.

Just then, we heard someone come through the front-doors. We both looked over to the entrance to see it was Rainbow Dash. The moment I saw her, I knew this was a chance to talk to her. "Rainbow Dash!" I called.

Rainbow heard me and looked over to us. But once she saw me, she gave me a small glare before she stormed over to the counter. This both disappointed and saddened me a little.

"What's her problem lately?" Jeff asked.

I looked down at him. "Twilight told me the reason over dinner. She's mad because she had to share her first kiss with me." I said.

Jeff raised his eye-brow. "You're kiddin', right? She's in a grump because of that? Doesn't seem worth it if you ask me." he said.

"Maybe not to us, but to a girl it's all different. I think they're more touchy about it than we are." I said.

"I don't doubt that." Jeff stated.

Just then, Mrs Cake came over to our table. "Can I get you boys anything? Maybe a nice drink?" she asked kindly.

I turned my head to face her and shook my head. "No thanks, Mrs Cake, we're good." I said. Just then, I noticed something different about her, he stomach was larger than usual.

Mrs Cake noticed me looking at her stomach and gave me a small smile. "You're probably wondering about that, huh?" she asked.

I snapped my head back up to her face. "What? No, I wasn't wondering anything." I said while looking away. I knew it was rude to stare, so I was trying to act like I wasn't looking at anything.

"Matthew, it's ok. I was actually hoping someone would eventually notice." Mrs Cake said.

I turned my head to face her again. "Really? Why?" I asked.

"Because…are you ready for this?...I'm pregnant!" Mrs Cake said with a cheerful smile.

"Pregnant?!" Jeff and I said at the same time.

Mrs Cake nodded. "Yeah, five months now. Four more months and we'll have a little foal of our own." She said.

"Well that's great news, Mrs Cake. I'm happy for you, and Mr Cake." I said with a kind smile.

"Thank you, Matthew. By the way, I see you and Twilight have been enjoying your married life, ever thought about having kids of your own?" Mrs Cake asked before he smile suddenly went away. "Oh goodness, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be asking you that without your promotion. That was rude of me."

I raised my hoof up. "No, it's alright, Mrs Cake. To answer your question, we haven't really talked about it. I think she tries to mention it sometimes, but can never find the right words." I said.

"Well in the end, it's completely up to the both of you." Mrs Cake said.

Just then. "Excuse me, Miss, I need some help over here." a pony called from the other table across the room.

Mrs Cake turned her head around to look at him. "I'll be right over." She said before she looked at me again. "I have to go, it was nice talking to you, Matt." she said.

"Same to you, Mrs Cake." I said.

Mrs Cake then turned around and made her way over to the pony on the other table; leaving me and Jeff alone at our table.

The moment was then quiet enough for me to think about what she said. I still couldn't believe she was pregnant. I mean, seriously, 5 month without us noticing? You'd think Pinkie would've said something by now. My thoughts then changed to the other subject about Twilight and I having our own child.

I've been married to Twilight for a while now and I've never really thought about it before. Would it make our lives better or harder? Maybe the better question is, would I make a good father? All these questions ran through my mind until I realised something that made a chill go up my spine.

Jeff noticed the slightly worried look on my face. "Hey dude, are you ok? You don't look so hot." He said.

I snapped out of my thoughts before I looked down at him. "Wha?...Urr, yeah, I'm fine. I just had a worrying thought." I said.

"What is it?" Jeff asked curiously.

I didn't know whether or not I should tell him. But he was one of my best friends and I could trust him. So I looked left and right to make sure no-one was looking before I lowered my head down to him to whisper. "It's possible that…Twilight may be getting pregnant." I said.

Jeff was silent for a second before he spoke. "I think the winter air may be getting to ya head." he said.

"No Jeff, I'm serious. Twilight doesn't know it yet, but she's probably getting pregnant, it's early to say." I said with a bit of worry in my voice.

"Dude, c'mon. Even I know how the birds-and-the-bees thing works. A couple has to do the, you know…business…before they can a kid. I mean, haha, it's not you and Twilight have actually…" Jeff stopped in his sentence once he saw the look on my face.

After a second, he realised what I was trying to tell him. "*Gasp* Matt! Are you tellin' me that you've-MMM!" I quickly silenced him and slamming his beak shut with my hooves.

"Speak a little louder, Jeff, I don't think the Ponies in Las Pegasus can hear you!" I said loudly.

Jeff then pushed my hooves off his beak and spoke. "Sorry, but…seriously, you and Twilight have…w-when was this?" he asked.

I rubbed the back of my neck with my hoof. "…On the night of my Birthday." I answered.

Jeff gave me a slightly confused look. "Your Birthday? But that was the day before yesterday." he said before his eyes widened. "When me and the guys had to sleep over at Rarity's for some reason." He said.

"Yeah, that's was Twilight's doing. I had no idea what she was up to at the time, but…I can't say I didn't like it." I said while blushing slightly.

"Well…if Twilight is pregnant, wouldn't that be a good thing?" Jeff asked curiously.

I thought about it for a minute before I answered. "…Yeah, it would…but I'm just worried. What if I'm not cut out to be a dad? I mean, if can barely protect the Elements, how am I supposed to protect my own child?" I asked.

Jeff walked up the table and placed his wing on my hoof. "Hey, I know you, and you would make an awesome dad. You would protect your kid the same way you'd protect Twilight." he said.

"…With my life…" I said.

"Exactly. Also, you're a fun guy when you want to be, your funny, and I've seen how you treat Applebloom and her friends. They really like you, and if you treat your kid the same way, he or she would like you too." Jeff said with a kind smile.

I returned his smile. "Thanks Jeff, you're a real pal, you know that?" I said.

"When am I not?" Jeff said with a smirk. "You know something, I am feelin' a little thirsty now. How about we get some of those drinks Mrs C offered us?" he asked.

"Sounds good to me." I said.

But before I could call for Mrs Cake, Peewee flew into the building and looked over to us. "Matt!" he said before he flew over to us and landed on the table, he looked as though something was wrong.

"Peewee, What's wrong?" I said in concern.

Peewee panted as he answered me. "Something *pant, pant*…up in the…*pant, pant*..Ever Free Forest…*pant, pant*…Someone's in trouble…I heard a girl scream. It was near the Ruined Castle." He said.

With that, I looked at Jeff. "Sorry Jeff, you're gonna have to count me out with the drink thing." I said before I stood up and rushed to the exit.

Peewee and Jeff watched me. "Where are you goin'?" Jeff asked.

I stopped in front of the doorway before I looked back and answered him. "Ever Free, apparently." I said before I left the building and took off high up into the sky.

From this high up, I could see Ever Free Forest in the distance. Once I knew where I was going, I shot off to find this endangered mare.

A few minutes later: Deep in the Ever Free Forest

I flew above the trees so I could have a good view of what was below. I searched and listened, but I couldn't find any trace of this mare Peewee told me about.

I saw the Ruined Castle up ahead and flew around the area surrounding it. I still couldn't find anything, until. "AAAAHHHH!" A female voice screamed.

I flew in the direction the scream came from until I found what I was looking for. A female Pegasus was trapped on top of a big rock surrounded by what looked like wolves made of sticks.

I flew down to them and targeted one of the wolves. As I swooped in, I rammed into it and it literally exploded into sticks. This caught the attention of the others and they watched me turned around to them.

I landed a short distance away from them and I got a good look at the wolves. "Wood wolves…that's a new one." I said to myself.

The 3 remaining wolves then charged towards me barking like actual wolves. "Crap." I said to myself as I back up a bit.

I continued to back away as they got closer. Eventually, I backed into something, I turned around to see it was another big rock. At that moment, I got an idea. I looked at the wood wolves and waited for the right moment.

Once it came, I quickly took off into the air and one of the wolves ran straight into the rock and, like the other one, it exploded into sticks. The other ones were smart and stopped before they could share the same fate.

While I had some spare time, I landed on the rock beside the mare and looked at her. "Hey, are you ok?" I asked.

She looked at me. "Urrr…n-no, not really. One of my wings are broken, I can't fly away. I tried to reach the town called Ponyville, but these Timberwolves came out of no-where and chased me. I managed to get on top of this rock, good think they can't climb so well." She said.

"Timberwolves, aye? Better name than Wood Wolves." I said.

At that moment, the 2 remaining Timberwolves came to the rock and started barking and snarling up at us. I spread my wings out to prepare to fight. "Stay up here where it's safe, I'll take care of these things." I said.

But before I could take off, she placed her hoof on my shoulder. "Wait, you can't fight them, they'll eventually overpower you." she said.

I turned around to face her. "They die with one hit? How can they overpower me?" I asked.

"They don't die, look." She said as she pointed her hoof down at something.

I looked to where she was pointing and saw the remains of the first wolf I beat. The pieces of wood and leaves began to glow green until they started putting themselves back together. After a minute, the whole wolf was back in one piece and joined the others. I then looked over to the second wolf I beat to see it was doing the same. "Oh that's just cheating." I said out-loud.

We now had all 4 Timberwolves trying to reach us. "Got any other ideas?" the mare asked.

"Just one." I said before I turned around to her. "You need to climb onto my back, can you do that?" I asked.

She gave me a confused look. "What?...Y-Yeah, I think so." she said before she climbed onto my back and wrapped her arms around my neck.

I then managed to spread my wings out again. "Hold on tight, it's gonna get windy." I said before I used all my strength to take off into the air with the mare on my back.

The Timberwolves saw this and attempted to chase us, but eventually gave up and stopped in the middle of the forest. All I could hear was their howls growing quieter as I flew further away from the area.

A few minutes later: Field outside Ponyville

I landed in the field outside Ponyville and the mare climbed off my back. I took this time to get a good look at her.

She had a purple coat, a black mane & tail, and her eyes were light-purple. She had the same body as Luna, but she had the same mane and tail as Cadence. She was also just as beautiful as them.

I then looked at her wings to see one of them was in a crooked position, that must've been the broken one. "Maybe we should go to the hospital about that." I said.

She turned her head to face me. "Yeah, but first I want to know the name of who I'm thanking for saving me." she said with a small smile.

"Oh, I'm Matthew." I answered.

She then looked at me with slight shock. "The Matthew? Wow, I can't believe I'm actually meeting you. No, scratch that, I can't believe I actually got saved by you. My life is now fully complete." She said, sounding like an excited fan girl.

I chuckled. "Well I'm glad to see you're in a cheery mood, considering the fact that we nearly got mauled by walking firewood." I said.

The mare laughed at this. "Haha, wow, no-one ever said you'd be so funny." She said before she took a step closer. "Not to mention…handsome." She said with a sly smile.

I gulped a bit before I cleared my throat. "Well…urr…anyway, maybe we should head over to the hospital and have that wing put into a cast." I said before I turned around and started making my way towards town.

As the mare began to follow me, I stopped and turned my head around to face her. "Oh by the way, I never got your name." I said.

With that, she gave me a kind smile. "…Zelga…Miss Zelga." She answered.

I returned her smile. "Ok, Zelga, just follow me to the hospital. Then we can get that wing wrapped up and you'll start feeling better in no time." I said.

Zelga chuckled. "Haha, I bet I will." She said.

As I turned my head back around and kept walking, Zelga grinned deviously. "I have a feeling things are gonna get much more interesting." She said as her eyes glowed red for moment before they returned to normal.

Zelga then caught up beside me and we both made our way towards Ponyville to find the hospital.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Pony News: A lot of new episodes are on the way. Here's what we can expect from them.

Today's episode will feature one of Pinkie's sisters coming to town.

Sweetie Belle gets a visit from Luna in her dreams.

Flim and Flam return and this time they're selling they're new project, cure-all tonic. Granny Smith gets some and it actually works.

Rainbow Dash tried to become a member of the Wonderbolts Reserve.

There's another episode, but the plot isn't so clear yet.

Poll: As I mentioned at the beginning, I want to delete one of my chapters and change another. These chapters are 'From one world to another – part 1 & 2'. I don't think I need to tell you why I want to change them, all I want is your support on this. These are the options.

1: Change them if you want, it's your story and I will support your choice.

2: Change them, but I won't like it very much.

3: Don't change them.

Please remember to review.

Next chapter will be up as soon as it can.