Hi everypony, welcome back again.

Now then, let's have a look at those poll results. 9 people will support my choice to change the chapters I don't want any more, 2 people say I can change them but won't like it, and 1 don't want anything changed. By the time you read this, the chapters would probably be changed by now. If not, I'm still working on it.

Anyway, on to the chapter. Please enjoy.

Chapter 53: Deviless in Disguise

Ponyville hospital

After arriving at the hospital with Zelga, I took her to my usual doctor and he tended to her broken wing. During that time, I got to know Zelga a little more. She was definitely a free-spirited pony, the type that likes the thrill of things, particularly danger.

I was actually starting to think how she got in that mess with the Timberwolves in the first place. Was it your common wild animal attack, or a thrill chase gone wrong?

I sat in the room with Zelga as the doctor used his magic to wrap bandages around her wing. At one point, she Zelga flinched in pain. "I'm sorry, miss. Did that hurt you?" the doctor asked as he stopped.

Zelga looked at him. "A little, but nothing compared to the crash that caused it." she said.

"You never did say how you crashed in the first place." I said while sitting at the other end of the room.

Zelga looked over to me. "I trying to get to this town in a hurry, then there was this flock of birds or whatever, flew right into it, and…I guess you can tell what happened after that." She said.

"Oh." I said before I looked at the clock on the wall. It was nearly twelve-o-clock and my eyes widened slightly. "Oh god, is that the time?" I said before I stood up onto my hooves and looked at Zelga. "I need to go, my wife and friends are waiting for me somewhere. I'll see you around, ok." I said as I made my way towards the exit.

"Wait!" Zelga said; making me stop and turn around to face her. "Do you mind if I come with you to see them? I won't be a bother, I promise." She said with an innocent smile.

I turned my body around so I could face her properly. "You want to meet them? But what about your wing?" I asked.

Zelga gave me an amused smile. "Matt, I just need to ease off on the flying for a while, my hooves work fine. *Giggle*" she giggled.

I chuckled as I returned her smile. "Haha…well, ok then." I said.

"Awesome." Zelga said before she jumped of the hospital bed and walked over to me. "Ready whenever you are, good lookin'." She said with a cheeky smile.

I blushed slightly at what she called me. "Um…a-alright…we can go right now." I said.

"Great." Zelga said before she turned her head around to look at the doctor. "Thanks for tending to my wing, doc. I owe you one." She said.

"It's quit alright, Miss. Just stay off that wing for a while and let it heal." The doctor said.

"Will do, doc." Zelga said before she and I walked out of the room to leave.

After leaving the hospital, Zelga looked at me. "So…where are we meeting your friends?" she asked curiously.

I turned my head to face her as we kept walking towards town. "They're at the café in the town centre. Don't worry, it's not far." I said.

"Ok…but before, in the emergency room, did you say your friends and wife were waiting there?" Zelga asked even more curiously.

I nodded. "Yeah, her name's Twilight Sparkle. Or as I like to call her, the lovely gem in my life." I said.

Zelga's ears dropped slightly. "Oh…that means you're married…how nice." She said with a bit of a disappointed voice while looking down at the path.

I noticed this and felt concerned. "Hey, are you alright? Did I say something?" I asked.

Zelga then looked at me again and gave me a weak smile. "No, you didn't…I'm looking forward to meeting her, she must be quit a pony if she got your attention." She said.

I nodded. "She is. I met her when I first came to Ponyville, she let me stay with her in the library, one thing led to another and now here we are, nearly a year later and happily married." I said before I returned my attention to path ahead.

While I wasn't looking, Zelga grinned deviously. "Hmm…we'll see about that." She thought as we continued on our way into town.

Later: Ponyville Café

As Zelga and I arrived at the café, I saw Twilight and the others, including Spike, sitting around a big table and they were talking to each other.

As we walked up to them, Pinkie Pie was quick to notice us. "Mattie! Where've you been? Have you been playing hide-and-seek without us?" she asked with a large smile.

I shook my head. "No, Pinkie. I had a bit of problem to take care of." I stated.

"Jeff and Peewee told us you went off to save a mare in the Ever Free Forest." Rarity said before she looked at Zelga who was standing beside me. "Is this her?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yeah." I said before I looked at Zelga. "Everyone, this is Zelga, she had a bit of trouble in the forest." I said.

Everyone looked at Zelga. "Oh! Was she playing hide-and-seek with somepony but they couldn't find her and forgot about her and she got lost trying to find her way home?" Pinkie asked.

I looked at her again and shook my head. "No Pinkie, I don't think she was." I said before I leaned my head over to Zelga. "Were you doing that?" I asked in a whisper.

Zelga looked at me with a raised eye-brow. "Urr, no. I told you how I got in that mess, remember?" she said in an obvious tone.

I then remembered what she told me before. "Oh yeah, sorry." I said before I moved my head away from Zelga and focused on the others. "Anyway, she broke her wing and I had to take her to the hospital. I was going to leave her in the doctor's care, but she wanted to come meet you guys." I explained.

At that moment, Zelga stepped forward. "It's an honour to meet you all…Wow, I can't believe I'm actually meeting the six ponies who represent the Elements of Harmony, this is so cool." She said in excitement.

Applejack gave her an awkward look. "Urr…thanks and all, but how do you know about that?" she asked.

Zelga looked at her and laughed nervously. "Haha…well, dah, who doesn't know about it. You beat Nightmare Moon with them and they turned her back to Princess Luna. That's not something anyone just forgets, it's gonna go down in the history books, I wouldn't be surprised if it already is." She said.

"Well you sure know a lot about us." Rainbow Dash said.

Zelga looked at her. "I'm a big fan, particularly of yours, Rainbow Dash. You're totally awesome, is it true you pulled off a Sonic Rainboom more than once?" she asked.

Rainbow Dash stared at her for a moment before she smiled proudly. "Well, I don't like to brag but…oh who am I kidding, I totally like to brag! Yeah, I must've pulled it off loads of times." She said.

"Three times, by my count." Applejack said with her eye-lids half closed; earning a look from Rainbow.

Zelga rolled her eyes before she noticed Fluttershy giving her a shy look. Trying to pass as a friendly visitor, she smiled at her. "Hello…Fluttershy, right?" she asked.

Fluttershy gave her a small smile. "Yeah…it's nice to meet you, Zelga." She said shyly.

"Matt told me about you on the way here. He says you like to take care of animals. I like animals too, particularly bats." Zelga said.

"Bats?" Fluttershy said out of confusion.

Zelga nodded. "Yeah, I just find them fascinating. How they sleep upside-down, come out only at night, and how there's so many different types of them. I mean, there're Vampire Bats, Fruit Bats, and possibly many more." She said.

"I think there's some Fruit Bats nesting somewhere in my Peach Tree, but it's been a while since I saw them." Fluttershy said in a not-so-sure tone.

"Cool, I should come by sometime." Zelga said before she looked over to Rarity. "And you must be the generous Rarity that Clothes Horse magazine always talks about. I must say, you're much prettier in person." Zelga said.

Rarity smiled kindly. "Why thank you, Zelga. I did use some new eye-liner today." She said as she fluttered her eyes.

"Yeah, I've noticed, it looks great on you. By the way, I love your work in fashion, I'm thinking of studying it myself one day. Say…I've been looking for a fashion designer to help me get a new wardrobe, think you can help me out with that, you'll be well paid." Zelga said.

Rarity smiled with excitement. "*Gasp!* I'd be honoured to, Zelga. It may be a great opportunity to show off my latest designs." She said.

"I'm looking forward to seeing them." Zelga said before she noticed Spike walking around the table to me. "Oh my goodness, I never knew you had a dragon. What's your name?" She said.

Spike smiled up at her. "I'm Spike." he answered.

"That's a nice name for a dragon. Aww, you're so cute." Zelga said like a girl who just saw a baby bunny.

Spike blushed slightly. "Thanks." He said before he looked up at me with a smirk. "I like her already." He said as he tapped my side with his elbow.

Zelga then looked across the table to see Twilight sitting on the other side. "Let me guess, Twilight Sparkle, right?" she said.

Twilight nodded. "Yeah, that's me." she said before she gave Zelga her best smile. "So…Matt saved you, right?" she asked.

"Yeah." Zelga said before she looked at me. "He saved my life from those Timberwolves. And may I say, he looked pretty awesome doing so." she said still looking at me.

Twilight noticed the look she was giving me and gave her a look of disapproval. "Yeah…well, he does that lot. Care to sit down and tell us more about yourself?" she asked calmly.

Zelga looked over to her. "I'd like to, but I was hoping someone could give me the tour of the town. Maybe…Matt would be so kind as to-"

"I'll do it!" I'll do it! I love to give new ponies the tour, I know all the best places to go!" Pinkie Pie said in excitement while hopping on the spot.

"Good idea, Pinkie. You don't mind, do you Zelga?" I asked with a friendly smile.

Zelga looked at Pinkie awkwardly before she gave me a fake smile. "Of course not, it'll give me and…Binkie here enough time to get to know each other." she said.

"Urr…my name is Pinkie." Pinkie Pie stated.

At that moment, Zelga wrapped her arm around her neck. "See? We're already starting." She said while still smiling.

"Well in that case, we'll see you later." I said.

"Yeah, see you all lat-AHH!" Zelga yelled as Pinkie started pushing her away with her head to start the tour.

"You're gonna love it here in Ponyville, we have farms, stores, a spare, a library, restaurants, an arcade." Pinkie kept going on as she continued to push Zelga away; making her gain an annoyed look.

As they went away, I walked around to Twilight and sat down beside her. "Well she was nice, wasn't she?" I asked.

Twilight, with the disapproved look still on her face, looked at me. "I suppose, but there's something a bit…odd…about her." She said.

"Oh come now, Twilight. She just knew a lot about us, many ponies probably do by now. She was probably just excited to meet us and wanted to make a good impression." Rarity said.

Twilight then thought about what she said. "Well…maybe." She said before she glanced over to Zelga who was still being pushed away by Pinkie. "But that doesn't mean I have to trust her." She said under her breath.

That night: Library

While Spike and the others were sleeping soundly in the basket, Twilight and I was in bed having a small conversation. But unlike our usual bedtime talks, this one was hard, mostly because Twilight had her face buried in a book…again.

While lying flat on the bed with my head on the pillow, I tapped my hooves together trying to think of what to say. "Well…today was nice, wasn't it? I mean, Rainbow Dash was still in a bit of a mood with me, but I did a good deed and we got a new friend out of it. That's good, right?" I asked.

"Uh-huh." Twilight said while still reading her book which was held in front of her face with her magic.

I noticed she wasn't in her cheeriest mood tonight and I was a little concerned about it. "Twi, are you alright? You've barely said three words all night. Is something bothering you?" I asked as I leaned up on the bed.

Twilight let out a small sigh before she closed the book. Once she placed it down, she turned her head to face me. "Sorry Matt, it's just…I can't help but feel a little bother by this Zelga girl. She just seems a bit…odd to me." she explained.

I gave her a slightly amused smile. "You've never had a big fan before, have ya?" I joked.

Twilight didn't return it. "No, it's not that. I'm bothered because of the things she knew about us, things we don't usually share with other ponies that often." She said.

I shrugged. "Well maybe she's the type who likes to learn about things. You and her should get together for a study session sometime." I said.

Twilight then crossed her arms. "Also, I noticed the looks she was giving you. And I think you noticed them too." She said with a small glare.

"What looks?" I asked in confusion.

"Oh don't act like you didn't see it. She was eyeing you like vulture looking for prey." Twilight said.

I was slightly nervous by this. "She was?" I said before I thought about some of Zelga's actions from earlier. "Well…I noticed some weird stuff before. But I thought she was either being nice or just joking." I explained.

After hearing this, Twilight calmed down a little. "Well…still, just remember who your wife is." She said in a serious tone.

"Twi…listen to me…you're the only pony for me. I love you more that life itself, remember?" I asked.

Twilight was able to grow a small smile. "…I love you too, Matt." she said.

"And besides, Zelga's gone now. Pinkie said she went back home. I wonder where she lives anyway." I said.

"Hopefully far away from here." Twilight said under her breath.

"What was that?" I asked curiously.

Twilight shifted her eyes left and right. "Nothing. Whoo, is' that the time? We better get some sleep." she said before she kissed my cheek and lied down on the bed. "Goodnight, Matt." she said before she closed her eyes to fall asleep.

I didn't know what that was all about, but I just let it slide by. "Goodnight, Twi." I said with before I lied down on the bed and rested my head on the pillow.

We both then closed our eyes to go to sleep peacefully.

Meanwhile: Canterlot castle

Celestia entered her room to get some well-earned rest after a tiresome day. As she made her way towards her bed, she used her magic to remove her tiara, golden shoes, & neckpiece and placed them on a desk on the other side of the room.

Celestia was about to climb into bed, she heard a bunch of small noises down the hall outside her room, it sounded like talking. She turned her head around and sighed. "Doesn't anyone sleep around here?" she said before she walked over to the doorway and left the room.

She followed the sound until she saw the Diamond Dogs walking down the hall away from her. "Why is he making us do this now? At this time of night?" Rover asked in annoyance.

"He is trying to impress pretty pony Princess by solving the robbery thing." Spot explained.

"Still! At this time of night?!" Rover repeated.

"Shhhh, not so loud. Sleeping ponies will hear you." Fido said in a slight whisper.

Celestia wondered why they were walking through the castle at this time of night. "What are those three up to?" she thought before she decided to follow them.

She followed the three dogs to the vault room where the Elements were once held. She peeked through the doorway and saw Discord wearing a detective's outfit with a smoking pipe in his mouth, each time he blew into it bubbles came out of the other end.

Each of the Diamond Dogs were in different parts of the room sniffing around on the floor.

"Pick up anything yet, boys?" Discord asked before he blew into his bubble pipe again.

Rover stood up and turned around to face him. "No, sir. All we can pick up is the Princesses, some guards, and I think a sales pony." He said.

"Yeah, he was in here earlier today. I got some lovely smelling bath soap from him." Discord said as he pulled out a red bar of soap and smelled it. "Mmm, strawberries." He said before he made it disappear in a flash of light.

"Lord Discord, don't you think it's too late for this. I mean, the robbery happened weeks ago. If the culprit's sent was here, it's probably gone by now." Fido said as he joined them.

"That I can agree with." Celestia said as she entered the room and walked over to them.

Discord and the Diamond Dogs quickly turned around to see her. "Celestia! What are you doing out of bed at this time of night?" Discord asked.

"I could ask you the same question." Celestia replied as she stopped in-front of him.

Discord tapped his fingers together nervously. "Well…I…I'm just trying to help solve the case of the missing Elements. I thought it would best to do it while everyone else was sleeping." He explained.

Celestia remained silent until she looked at the Diamond Dogs. "I need to talk to Discord for a moment, you three can go to bed." she said kindly.

They smiled at her. "Thank you, your highness." Rover said before they walked past Celestia and made their way towards the room's exit.

Discord watched as they left. "But I need them to help me solve the case." He said.

"Discord, I appreciate that you want to help solve this mystery, but you can't stay up all night searching the room for more clues." Celestia said.

"Of course I can. I'm a spirit, I don't require sleep." Discord stated.

"Maybe, but the Diamond Dogs do. Solving this case could take many more weeks, possibly months, you can't really expect to do to in one night." Celestia said.

Discord frowned as he took his detective's hat off. "I was only trying to be more helpful." He said sadly.

Celestia stepped forward to him. "And you can be, but not right now. If you want, you can continue this in the morning, but for now you need to get some rest." She said sweetly.

Discord thought about it before he gave her a small smile. "Very well, Celestia, I'll go bed and continue this in the morning." He said before his detective's outfit disappeared in a flash of light.

Celestia smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. Goodnight, Discord. Pleasant dreams." She said before she turned around and made her way towards the room exit.

"Goodnight, Celestia. Same for you." Discord said before he snapped his figers and disappeared in a flash of light.

The next morning: Ponyville

After waking up and having breakfast, Twilight and I left the library and were now on our way to Sweet Apple Arches to help Applejack and her family gather the last few apples in the orchard before the cold weather kills them.

Along the way, we admired our surrounds. The entire land, including the town, was covered in a thick blanket of snow. Small white specks floated down of the cloudy sky and landed on the white ground beneath our hooves.

Twilight and I were both wearing scarfs. Twilight was wearing a pink scarf with light-pink stripes on it, and I was wearing the red scarf Rarity gave me for my birthday. "Wow, winter sure is beautiful, isn't it?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, we didn't get much snow back in England. Well, we did, but only if we got luck." I said before I thought of something that made me chuckle. "Haha, one time it snowed so much that it was a foot deep, and even then it kept snowing. A bunch of kids made a giant pile out of snow and it took forever to melt after winter ended. It was probably there for a month or possibly longer." I said.

Twilight turned her head around to face me. "Really? Well around here, you won't have to wait for the snow to melt after winter. What with Winter Wrap Up and all." She said.

At that moment, I remembered that. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. My God, will I have to be part of that when it comes?" I asked her.

Twilight thought about it for a second before she answered. "I suppose so. But don't worry, Spring isn't for another few months, so just relax and enjoy winter while it's here." she said.

I then stopped and let her walk ahead as I grinned deviously. "Alright then, if you say so." I said before I lowered myself down to the snow-covered ground and gathered as much snow as I could. I scooped a bit of it up in my hooves and made a snowball out of it.

Once it was done, I threw it towards Twilight and it hit the back of her head; making her yell out in surprise. She spun her head around to see me whistling innocently. "Very funny, Matt." she said with an amused smile.

"I have no idea what you're on about." I said; acting like I didn't do anything.

At that moment, Twilight used her magic to make a snowball and grinned deviously at me. I saw this and backed away slowly. "Hey, whow, wait a minute!" I said in fear.

Twilight didn't hesitate in throw the snowball at me and it hit me straight in the face; covering it with snow. This made Twilight laugh. "Hahaha, there, now we're even." She said with pride.

I wiped the snow off my face with my right-hoof. "Not even close." I said before I made another snowball and made my way towards her while holding it in my right-hoof.

Now it was Twilight's turn to back away with fright. "No! Don't you dare! NO!" She said as she spun around and galloped away.

I quickly chased after her and threw the snowball once I had the chance. It his Twilight's back and she stopped galloping, she turned around to face me and made a very large snowball with her magic. I looked at it with slight fear and gulped.

Twilight threw it at me and it landed right on top of me, I was so mesmerised by the snowball's size that I didn't even bother to move, I just let it hit me; burying me in a big pile of snow.

Twilight galloped over to the snow pile I was now under and stopped in front of it. "Matt! Matt, are you ok?" she said in concern.

"Well, well, if it isn't Equestria's faverate love birds." a familiar female voice said.

Twilight felt a cold shiver go up her spine before she turned around to see Zelga wearing a dark-purple wool hat and a dark-purple scarf. "Having fun with your hubby?" she asked.

"Z-Zelga?" Twilight asked with a surprised look on her face.

I heard what she said and I quickly popped my head up out of the snow pile. "Zelga?" I repeated.

"That my name, don't wear it out or I'll have to make you buy me a new one." Zelga said with a cheeky smile.

Twilight and I looked at each other awkwardly before we looked back at Zelga. "W-What are you doing here? I mean, I thought you went home yesterday." Twilight said.

"I did. I live in a cottage on the other side of town." Zelga explained.

Twilight's eyes then widened. "You…You live in Ponyville? Since when? I've never seen you around here." she said.

I forced my way out of the snow pile and stood beside Twilight to listen closely to Zelga's answer.

Zelga rubbed the back of her neck with her hoof. "Yeah, you know when I was in the Ever Free Forest yesterday? I was following a Moving Wagon. Walking was tiring and boring, so I decided to follow them through the sky. But when they entered the forest, I lost sight of them, so I went down to find them and…I suppose you both know what happened next." She explained.

"So what? You're here to stay? You live here now?" Twilight asked.

Zelga nodded. "Yep, and I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time with you guys." She said with a pleased smile on her face.

This didn't make Twilight feel any better. In fact, she felt more nervous and troubled than she was before.

"So, what are you guys up to? Just a fun day playing in the snow?" Zelga asked.

"No, not really, we just got caught up in the fun. We're heading over to Sweet Apple Arches to help Applejack and her family, they're trying to gather every apple in the orchard before the cold weather ruins them. Something about needing them for cider sales." I explained.

"*Dramatic whistle*, that's a lot of apples. You sure you can gather all of them in time?" Zelga asked curiously.

"I think so, but Applejack's always open for some extra hooves. If you want, you come with us and help." I said with a friendly smile.

Twilight quickly turned her head to face me. "No!" she said quite loudly; making us both stare at her in confusion.

"W-Why not, Twi?" I asked curiously.

Twilight then realized how she just sounded and quickly made up something to say. "Because…she's probably busy with something else. She's just moved here, I'm sure she wants a little time to get used to her new home." She lied to hide her true feelings.

"Actually, I don't. Tinkie already showed me around town yesterday." Zelga stated before she looked down at the ground with a slightly annoyed look on her face. "All day yesterday, in fact." She said under her breath.

Twilight looked at her with her eye-lids half closed. "It's Pinkie, her name is Pinkie." She said.

Zelga looked at her and gave her a fake smile. "Of course it is, how silly of me." she said before she looked at me. "Now to answer your question. Sure, I'd like to help you guys with the orchard." She said.

"Cool, let's go then." I said before Twilight and I continued walking down the street with Zelga following behind.

Along the way, Twilight couldn't help but look over her thoughts about Zelga. She couldn't explain it, but she felt that something was wrong with Zelga, like there was something she wasn't telling us. However, she knew how her paranoia could make her feel and think things that weren't true. So she decided to give Zelga a chance and see how the rest of the day turns out.

At that moment, Zelga came up between me & Twilight and smiled sweetly at me. All I did was smile nervously at her before I turned my head away to avoid eye-contact. Twilight may be giving her a chance, but she didn't have to like it.

A few minutes later: Sweet Apple Arches

After arriving at Sweet Apple Arches, we headed into the apple orchard and saw Applejack bucking trees. Applebloom was with her collecting any apples that missed the baskets under the trees.

As we walked over to her, Applejack noticed us. "Well you two sure took ya time, but I'm glad ya both could make-" she said before she noticed Zelga with us. "Urr…hey Zelga, what're you doin' here?" she asked curiously.

We stopped in front of her and Zelga answered her. "I'm here to help you with the apple gathering. I can help you, can't I? Matt said you were always open for some extra help." She said.

"Well…y-yeah, I suppose. Big Mac's over yonder on the other side of the orchard, you can go help him if ya want." Applejack said with a small confused smile.

"Thanks AJ." Zelga said before she trotted past us to help Big Mac. "See ya, guys." She said.

Once she was far enough away, Applejack looked at us. "Not to be rude or anythin', but why was she with you guys?" she asked.

"We ran into her on the way here and I asked if she wanted to help us." I explained.

Twilight then stepped forward. "Sorry about this, Applejack. I think we should've asked you first." She said.

"Why be sorry, Twilight? I'm glad ya brought her. Not only will the job be done twice as fast now, but we're connectin' with our new friend. Now we just need to get the others over here and we'll be done by launch." Applejack said with a normal smile.

Twilight gave her a slightly shocked look. "B-But Applejack!"

"Twilight, you help me over by the on the East side of the orchard and Matt will work with Applebloom on the South side. Big Mac & Zelga's already coverin' the North side, so we don't need to worry about that." Applejack answered as she

"What about the West side? Is Granny Smith covering it?" I asked curiously.

Applejack shook her head. "Nah, Granny does what she usually does. In fact, if you look real close like, you can just see her inside the barn." She said as she pointed at the barn.

Twilight and I then turned our heads to look over to the barn. We squinted our eyes until we could just make out a small green dot rocking back forth inside the barn. "Oh yeah, I think I see her." I said.

We then returned our attention to Applejack. "Now then, on to business." I said before I started making my way towards Applebloom.

"Be careful, Matt." Twilight called to me.

As I kept walking, I turned my head around to face her. "I will. You be careful too." I replied before I turned my head back around.

As Twilight and Applejack made their way to their work posts, I approached Applebloom and noticed that she was facing the other direction. I instantly thought up a funny idea and I grinned with amusement.

I spread out my right-wing and slowly lowered it down to her. The tip of my longest feather touched behind her right-ear and I tickled it. Applebloom soon felt it and she pressed down on her ear with her hoof. "Haha, whoever's doin' that, stop it." she said with a giggly smile.

"I'll stop it when you stop laughing." I responded.

Applebloom's eyes widened before she spun around to see me. "Matt! Ya came!" she said with joy before she stood on her hind-legs and hugged me around my neck.

I smiled and returned the hug with my left-arm. "Hey sweetheart, how are you?" I asked.

"I've been fine, thanks." Applebloom said before she released my neck and placed both her front-hooves back on the ground. "When did ya get here?"

"I just arrived with Twilight and Zelga. Applejack sent me over to help you with the apples." I answered.

Applebloom looked at me with confusion. "Who's Zelga?" she asked.

"She's new in town." I said before I looked over to where Big Mac and Zelga were. "She's right over there with your brother." I said as I pointed my hoof at them.

Applebloom looked over to her and titled her head. "Wow, I've never seen a pony like her before. But she's very pretty." She said with a small smile.

"Yeah, she is." I responded before I realised what I said. "Urr…I meant that in a complimentary way, just so you know." I stated.

Applebloom looked up at me in confusion. "Huh?" she said.

I was afraid to say anything else, so I decided to change the subject. "You know what, never-mind, forget I said anything." I said before I went over to the nearest tree and bucked it.

A bunch of apples fell down and landed in the baskets below. "Let's just get back to work, we've got a lot to do today." I said.

Applebloom just nodded before she came over to me and started gathering the apples that missed the basket.

Meanwhile, Applejack and Twilight were doing the same by some other trees. While Applejack was bucking the trees like she normally does, Twilight was using her magic to pick the apples off the other trees and drop them in the baskets. However, she wasn't fully focused on that, half the time she was looking at Zelga with a frim face.

Twilight was so distracted by her suspicions that she didn't see where the apples where floating and instead of dropping them in the baskets, she dropped them right on top of Applejack; burying her in a big pile of apples.

Applejack popped her head out of the top of the pile and looked over to Twilight. "Hey! Watch where you're droppin' these things!" she said.

Twilight spun her head around and saw the mess she made. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Applejack." She said before her horn glowed and all the apples lifted off Applejack.

Twilight then placed them in the basket before she walked up to Applejack. "I guess my mind was else-where." She said.

"I noticed. You seem to be lookin' at Zelga a lot today. Somethin' you wanna talk about, sugar-cube?" Applejack asked.

Twilight looked over to Zelga again before she returned her attention to Applejack. "Well…this is gonna sound crazy, but do you feel a bit, I don't know, strange when Zelga's around you? Like the air seems to grow colder?" she asked.

"Well winter is comin' up, Twilight. The air's bound to cold 'round about now." Applejack stated.

Twilight gave her a dis-pleased look. "That's not what I meant. I can't explain it, there's just something weird about her. Like how she knows about us and what we've been through. And above that, she seems to have grown a particular liking to Matt." she said while looking at Zelga from the corner of her eye.

"You probably just feel a bit nervous around her, Twi. Everypony gets nervous when they meet someone new. Remember how nervous you were when you first arrived at Ponyville?" Applejack explained.

"I wasn't nervous, I was just…in a hurry, that's all. And what about all the things she knows? Not many ponies know things like that, not even the ponies here in Ponyville." Twilight said.

"Well…she said she was one of our biggest fans, right? So it's likely she knows a few things about us." Applejack stated.

"That kinda makes sense. But what about her interest in Matt? She seems to be getting a little too comfortable around him…I don't like the way she looks at him when she thinks we're not looking." Twilight said.

"Well Matt did save her from a pack of Timberwolves. Plus, he's the big hero these days. No surprise she'd be takin' a bit of a fancy to him, Princess Luna sure did." Applejack said before she smirked at her. "You're not feelin' a bit threatened, are ya?" she asked.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Threatened?! I don't feel threatened by her! Matt told me last night that no other girl would ever come between us, especially Zelga." she said firmly.

"Then what's the problem? She's not doin' any harm. So far she's been a very nice pony. Just give her a chance, Twilight, then you might just see that yourself." Applejack said before she turned around and made her way over to the next tree.

Twilight wasn't satisfied with the advice she had just received. She was expecting Applejack to support her, to understand her concerns. But when she looked back at Zelga one last time, she saw that she was actually doing a good job. Not only that, but she was talking to Big Macintosh and laughing with him, like they were becoming good friends.

Twilight then realized that maybe she was wrong to suspect Zelga. Maybe one day, if she connected with her more, they could become just as good friends.

Later that day

After surprisingly gathering all the apples in the orchard, Big Macintosh filled a big wooden cart with as much baskets as he could and took them into the barn. After emptying the cart, he came back for the rest. He did this repeatedly until last bunch of baskets were left.

Without any more work to do, we all followed him to the barn to help him unload the cart. As we got closer to the barn, we noticed two Royal Guards standing by the entrance. They must be the guards that were assigned by Celestia to protect the Elements, in this case, the Element of Honesty.

When we reached the barn, Big Macintosh entered the barn first with the basket filled cart, then Applejack and Applebloom, then me and Twilight. But when Zelga was about to follow us inside, the guards stuck out their wings to block the way. "Halt! No citizens can enter here!" one of them said firmly.

Zelga looked at them in confusion. "Excuse me?" she said as she backed away a little.

I noticed this and walked over to help. "Guys, it's cool, she's with us." I said.

One of the guards turned his head to face me. "Sorry, Mr Matthew, but we're under strict orders. No civilians can enter the restricted zone." He said.

"Since when was this barn a restricted zone?!" I said in an annoyed tone.

Applejack then rushed over to me and held her mouth in front of my left-ear. "Since I hid my Element in here." she whispered before she moved her head away and stood beside me.

I looked at her and instantly understood. "Oh right." I whispered before I looked over to Zelga with regret. "Sorry Zelga, but you can't come in here. Princess's orders." I said.

"Why? Don't you trust me?" Zelga asked with a slightly sad face.

My ears lowered slightly. "Yeah, I do…but…there're some things even our best friends can't know. We've been having a bit of trouble recently, I can't go into much detail, but it's a big deal and-"

Zelga then held up her hoof to tell me to stop. "You don't need to explain, Matt. I understand." She said before she sighed. "I'll just…go home then." She said before she turned around and started walking away.

"Zelga, wait! You don't need to go home. Just…wait for us to come out, then we can do something else. Maybe we can see Fluttershy, she might need some help with her animals." I said.

Zelga stopped and turned her head around. "It's alright, I need to go anyway. I've got some important stuff to do back home. I'm still unpacking my things…you know, after moving here." she said with a small smile.

I understood this and nodded. "Oh…ok then, well…maybe we'll see you later." I said.

"Maybe. By the way, tell Big Mac we're on for Friday." Zelga said before she turned her head back around and continued to walk away until she was out of sight.

Once she was gone, Applejack and I looked at each other before we turned around and went back over to the others. I then looked at Big Macintosh. "Big Mac, did you ask Zelga out?" I asked.

Big Mac rubbed his left front-leg with his right-hoof. "Urr…Eeyup." He said with a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

Applejack was slightly shocked by this, but she smiled up at him. "Well good news, big brother, she agreed." She said.

Big Macintosh instantly grew an excited smile. I was sure he was going to start hopping up and down on the stop, he definitely looked like he was fighting the urge to do so. After a few seconds, he calmed down and gave Applejack a normal smile. "That's great." He said before he went back to work, obviously trying to hide his excitement.

At that moment, Applejack turned her head to face Twilight. "See Twilight? You don't need to worry anymore, she has her eyes on Big Mac now." she said with a smirk.

Twilight didn't show it, but she was a bit relieved by this. I, however, was confused. "What? What are you talking about?" I asked curiously.

Twilight and Applejack looked at each other before they looked at me again. "It's nothing, Matt, just some…girl to girl things." Twilight stated, earning a disapproved look from Applejack.

"Oh…alright then." I said before I turned my head to look at Applejack. "So, you hid the Element in here?" I asked curiously.

Applejack nodded. "Yep, I keep it in a really safe place." She said.

"Where?" I asked curiously.

"It's right up there." Applejack said as she pointed her hoof up to the loft. "Wanna see where I hid it? Just in case of emergencies?" she asked.

"Sure." Twilight answered with me nodding in agreement.

Applejack then took us over to the stairs that led up to the loft. While Applejack climbed up them, Twilight teleported and I flew up there. Once we were all up on the loft, we saw a load boxes full of old family stuff. I remembered them all from when I helped clean the farm.

"It's behind these here boxes." Applejack said before she started moving them aside one by one with her hooves.

We could both tell by how Applejack was struggling that this was gonna take a while, so Twilight stepped forward and placed her hoof on AJ's shoulder; gaining her attention. "I'll take care of it. Don't worry, I'll be careful." She said.

With a nod from Applejack, Twilight's horn glowed and her magic covered the rest of boxes. They then moved aside by themselves; revealing a metal safe.

"I keep my Element in there, I figured the boxes would make it harder to find all the way up here." Applejack explained.

Twilight and I stared at the small safe before we looked at her. "That's it? A small family safe hidden behind a couple of cardboard boxes? Applejack, this guy was able to pry the Canterlot vault open and this is where you're Element is kept." I said.

"Is the best I could do at short notice, Matt. I don't live in a bank, you know." Applejack said with raised eye-brow.

"I know that but…isn't there something else you can do? Put it in your attic or something?" I asked curiously.

"Don'cha think that'll be what the crook would expect? Think about it, who ever hear of hidin' an important artefact in a barn with no security and no big locks? If he does come, he'll be expectin' it to hidden somewhere where it's hard to reach. I've hid it here because not only is it too easy, it's very unlikely." Applejack explained with smirk.

We then understood where she was going with this and grinned. "That's…kinda clever." Twilight said.

"Yeah, not bad, Applejack." I said with a slightly impressed voice.

Applejack smirked proudly. "Just doin' what I can with the old noggin." She said as she tapped her head with her hoof.

Applejack then placed her hoof back on the floor before she went over to the moved boxes. "Now let's put these boxes and get somethin' to eat, I'm starvin'." She said as she pushed one of the boxes in front of the safe; hiding it.

"I hear that." I said before Twilight and I helped her move the boxes back.

The last few boxes were moved back by Twilight using her magic again. Once that was done and the safe was well hidden, we got down from the loft and left the barn to get some well-earned launch.

However, as we left, Zelga watched from a small hole in the barn's roof. She had watched the whole thing and now knew about the Element's location. "Smart, Apple-smack, but not smart enough." She said with an evil grin before she flapped her wings and took off into the air.

That night: Library

After returning from Sweet Apple Arches, we all spent the rest of the day in the library. As night-time came, everyone started going to bed one-by-one, all except me.

While everyone was sleeping, I took this opportunity to sneak into the guest room and read a few more pages of Grimerd's journal. With the door locked, I once again sat by the wooden table with the journal in my hooves.

"Words of an Alicorn – page 10

Ever since I first stepped in Canterlot, I have been learning to interact with other ponies. Some are kind, some are rude, some look at me as if I was they have never seen an Alicorn before. And for a while, I thought they hadn't, I thought I was the only one in the city…until today.

I saw Princess Marella, the Princess of that era. Not only was she the ruler of Canterlot, but she brought the day and night to the land. She was being escorted through the streets while greeting her many loyal subjects. I couldn't believe I was seeing her in person, it was like watching a god walk amongst mortals.

After she passed by, I saw a large group of ponies follow her, all led by a pony I recognised all too well. Star Swirl the Bearded, the most power powerful Unicorn in the land. I knew much about him, he was the head of an academy for powerful Unicorns and Alicorns. The ponies following behind him must've been his students.

And that…is when I saw her. A white Alicorn with a pink flowing mane. Out of all the sights I've seen since I left the tower, she was the most beautiful. I didn't know why, but I couldn't take my eyes off her.

As the group passed by, she surprisingly stopped and looked at me. Our eyes met and I knew then…there was something. I thought for a moment that she would come over and talk to me, but unfortunately that didn't happen. A short blue Alicorn walked up to her and said something to her, the mare then walked away with the blue Alicorn.

Stunned, I watched as they caught back up with the group. The white mare looked back at me for a moment before she kept walking along with the other ponies.

As the crowd dispersed, I stood exactly where I was. I didn't know what was wrong with me, I felt sick and jittery at the same time, I still do, I feel like I've been turned inside-out. I am currently researching this new wave of emotion.

But during my studies, all I can think about is that white mare. Who was she? Why did she notice me out of everyone in the streets? These questions are rushing through my mind, but there is only one I want answered…when I might see this mare again?

After finishing the page, I stared into the air to think. "White Alicorn mare?" I said in confusion before I put the pieces together and I looked back down at the page. "Celestia…that was when they first met…that was when it all started." I said, remembering all the stuff Celestia told me about him.

At that moment, I looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was 2:08AM. My eyes widened at how late it was. "Is that really the time? Damn, I have work tomorrow!" I said i9n a whisper before I flew up to one of the book shelves and shoved the journal back in its hiding spot.

Once that I was done, I flew out of the room and landed beside the bed where Twilight was sleeping. Trying not to wake her up, I carefully climbed into the bed and pulled the covers over my body before laying my head down on the pillow.

Luckily, Twilight didn't wake up, all she did was moan gently in her sleep. I exhaled quietly in relief before I closed my eyes to go to sleep.

Meanwhile: The middle of the Ever Free Forest

While everyone in Ponyville was sleeping, Zelga snuck out of her cottage and entered the Ever Free Forest. She travelled far into the dark forest until she stopped in a large area with no trees.

As she waited, she suddenly heard a growl behind her. She turned around and saw 3 Timberwolves approaching her. They snapped their wooden teeth viciously as they got closer.

However, Zelga showed no sight of fear. Instead, a large bolt of purple flames surrounded her and she changed back into her large Alicorn form. Once the flames when away, her horned glowed and a powerful bolt of purple lightning shot out.

It stuck one of the Timberwolves and it blew up, scattering its wooden parts everywhere. See this scared the other Timberwolves and they ran away into the forest whimpering.

Zelga's horn slopped glowing and she smirked. "Pathetic." She said out-loud to herself.

"Nice shot." A male voice said behind her. She turned around saw the Thief, like always, he was wearing his hood to cover his face.

She smiled down at him. "Thank you, sweetie. I still can't believe I had to pretend to be afraid of them the other day, as if they could scare me." she said.

"Nothing scares you, nothing ever has and never will." The hooded pony said before he got down to the real matter. "Now, you called me to meet you here?" he asked.

"Yes, I was working on Applejack's farm today and discovered the Element of Honesty is kept. It's hidden in the barn in a safe." Zelga said.

"Excellent work." The hooded pony said before his pleased smile went away. "But it seems a bit easy. What if it's a decoy to fool us?" he asked.

Zelga was going to say that would've been ridiculous. But as she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. "Hmm…maybe you're right. It could be hidden in the house. You'll need to search everywhere when you go for it." she said in a serious tone.

"I'll go tomorrow night while their sleeping, I'll be as quiet as I was in Rarity's house." He said with an evil grin.

"No, that was when there was only one pony in the house, this time there'll be four. You'll need to strike when they're not at home." Zelga said.

"But ever since they moved the Element there, no-one has left the farm unguarded. There's always someone still there while everyone else is gone. How am I supposed to do that?" the pony asked.

Zelga thought about it for a moment before she answered. "I'm not sure, I'm going to have to look into it. We'll have to leave the Element alone for now." she said.

"And…what will my master say about that?" The pony asked, almost scared to.

"Don't worry, I know how to handle my brother. Just make sure you're ready when I call again. In the meantime, I have to keep earning the trust of my new…friends…and find out as much as I can about the whereabouts of the other Elements." Zelga said before her horn glowed again.

As another blot of purple flames surrounded her, she turned back into her Pegasus form and the flames soon went away; revealing herself to the hooded pony.

"Now then, I have to go back to my cottage and get some rest. I have a lot of work to do." Zelga said before she gave him a kind smile. "You do the same, we don't want you to be tired on the job, now do we?" she said.

The pony nodded. "Yes…Mother." He said.

Zelga walked over to him and nuzzled his neck with her head. "That's my boy." She said before she pulled her head away and looked at him. "Now go on, I'll see you again soon." She said.

With that, the hooded pony's horn glowed and he disappeared in a flash of light.

Zelga spread her wings out and took off into the sky before flying back to town. "If I keep this up, the Elements will be ours in no time. With their magic, we'll finally find what we seek. And once we have it, there'll be nothing to stand in our way…nothing!" Zelga said darkly to herself as her eyes glowed red for a second before returning to normal.

Zelga continued to fly until she reached Ponyville and landed in front of her cottage. "But first, I'm going to have to distract Matthew from the Elements. And to do that, I'll have to keep him away from Twilight." She said as she walked up to the front door and entered her cottage before locking the door behind her.

As Zelga walked through the front room, she grinned deviously. "I'll eventually get him alone. And once I do, I'll just give him the old Zelga charm and he'll be mush in my hooves by the end of the day. Then, haha, the fun will really begin." She said before she entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her.

As Zelga got ready for bed, all she could think about was how much fun it was going to be…to ruin my life.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Poll: Do any of you know the games franchise, Skylanders. Because if you do, you'll want to listen to this.

I'm a big fan of Skylanders and I want to write a new FanFic about it. It won't interfere with the production of this story, possibly just slow it down. I'd write it like this. One chapter for AWCT, one chapter for Skylanders, one chapter for this, one chapter for that, and so on.

In the end, it's up to you what I do. I want to write it because I want something else to write for a change and I have a good idea on what it'll be about. But still, you vote on my profile.

Reminder, this Skylanders story will NOT stop me from continuing this story. This story will NOT be abandoned, not ever.

1: Give me Skylanders

2: Don't write it yet, focus only on this story for now.

Pony news: I keep forgetting to mention this one, Season 5 was announced a while ago. I hope it's the usual 26 episodes.

New episodes on the way and they'll come in this order.

Spike will be tasked to light the Equestria Games touch.

Celestia chooses Discord over Twilight to hunt down a new or possibly old villain (Hoping Queen Chrysalis or King Sombra)

Something happens and Twilight needs to combined her powers with the other Princesses to save Equestria.

Not 100% sure about the final but we'll probably get some proper info soon.

Anyway, please remember to review.

Next chapter will be up as soon as possible.