A/N: Hellooooo, Internet! That's right, I'm still alive baby! :D

I'm really sorry this took so freaking long, but it's mostly exposition, you know, just introducing the countries and all that.

WARNING: Romano angst, adorable Latvia pony, and a special plot-twist at the end…*evil grin*

Disclaimer: I own nothing. You got that? NOTHING USED IN THIS FANFIC IS MINE.

Celestia lowered her force field, as there was no danger nearby; that they knew of. The alicorn that had stayed on his legs was looking around curiously, though he did have that oh-crap look on his face that was normal for the countries to have when they first come to Equestria. She walked towards him, inspecting his appearance.

As mentioned before, he was cerulean in color, which contrasted pleasingly with his mane and tail, which were bright scarlet. He had thick eyebrows and piercing, bright green eyes that told you he was not one to be tested. His Cutie Mark was peculiar; a white ball of light, surrounded by seven smaller balls, one in each color of the rainbow. He was wearing two white bands of fabric around his chest in an 'X' shape. He turned his head toward her, narrowing his eyes and grinning savagely.

"Awrite thaur. Aam nae in a guid muid the-day, sae dornt test me." He growled. Celestia blinked in surprise; his accent was difficult to understand, but she got it after a second of thought. At the sound of this alicorn's voice, Arthur whimpered in fear.

"Oh no. Oh NO!" He whispered, diving behind Twilight, who raised an eyebrow curiously. He glanced up at her and made a shushing noise. "Just pretend I'm not here!" He whispered desperately. Luna giggled quietly; Arthur always seemed to calm and collected, it was funny seeing him cower behind Twilight like a little foal.

"I can see that you are powerful enough to take the form of an alicorn. I won't challenge you sir, as long as you tell me your name." Celestia said calmly. The stallion sighed.

"Mah name's Allistor Kirkland, thoct most ken me as Scotland. Now, who th' heel ur ye an' wa ur ye a talkin' cuddie?" He asked sharply, and she chose to ignore his cursing.

"I am Princess Celestia, one of the two rulers of this kingdom, known to all as Equestria. The smaller alicorn behind me is Princess Luna, my sister and the princess of the night." Celestia said, introducing both herself and her sister. Luna nodded politely at him and he smirked, winking at her.

"If ye dorn min' princess, woods ye teel me exactly whaur my hen brither Arthur is? Ah need tae hae a wee th' crack wi' heem." Allistor asked sweetly, a little too sweetly. Rainbow Dash flew up, seriously confused.

"Excuse me but…what the buck are you saying?!" She yelled, and he gave her a glare so powerful she yelped and flew back to the ground, hiding behind her wings. America flew to her side.

"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash. Uncle Allistor's just cranky because his dashing good looks have gone." America laughed, and Allistor's cold eyes seemed to soften.

"Alfred? Is 'at ye?" He asked, and America puffed out his chest, happy that his uncle had recognized him so quickly.

"The one and only!" America replied happily, and Scotland laughed.

"E'en if ah aam a cuddie, Ah reckon aam still better lookin' than ye." Allistor smirked, twisting his neck around to get a better view of his new body. He'd been around longer than most countries, he'd seen some pretty strange stuff, but this was a whole new level of weird. This was worse than the time England had accidentally transformed them all into women. The cramps…! He could still feel them! After that incident, Scotland silently swore to never underestimate a woman again.

"Still, we have bigger issues than who looks the best." Canada quietly noted, still trying to get on his feet. Fluttershy stood protectively next to him, as though daring anypony to come near the two of them. It was obvious the pain from Xear's sinister magic was hurting Mathieu more than the other countries; the poor Pegasus was shaking horribly, shifting closer and closer to Fluttershy in a search for her warmth and comforting voice.

A short distance away, two more ponies had managed to stand properly. Or rather, they were viciously attacking each other while another pony watched from the ground with an expression of exasperation as he struggled to get up. America flew over, leading the Mane Six and other countries towards them. England was still hiding behind Twilight, walking with his head low in the hope that Scotland wouldn't see him.

America squinted, trying to identify the two brawling ponies. They were fighting rather ferociously, biting kicking and head-butting, so it was difficult to tell which pony ended where. Finally, America just groaned and nodded to Rainbow Dash, and on cue they both tackled one of the two other ponies, pinning them to the ground underneath their hooves.

The one America had attacked was dark olive green in color, and was a tall, strong Earth pony. His mane was short and dark brown, and his tail was the same color but was longer with a silk-like feel to it. He was wearing a tan scarf around his neck and had a sword at his waist, but there was one major thing that told America immediately who it was; a white mask on his face, blocking his eyes from view. America yelped and scrambled off the pony, who stood up with ease and shook himself like a dog to get the dirt off his coat.

"Turkey! I'm sorry man! Please don't kill me with your bad coffee!" America wailed, falling to the ground and earning himself a lot of strange looks. Turkey growled and was about to kick America square in the face, but Rainbow Dash interrupted.

"Um…who's this one? He fell asleep…" She asked, peering with curiosity at the light brown Pegasus that was pinned under her hooves. His mane and tail were both longer than the norm for colts, and were curly and dark brown. He had peculiar light blue and white stripes leading up his forelegs, and his Cutie Mark was a light pink paw pad.

"That's Greece." France said, glancing with worry at Mathieu, who was still on the ground and was beginning to shiver violently, eyes clenched shut. "He also goes by the name Heracles…mon fille?" France asked Canada, kneeling down in front of his younger sibling. Canada's eyes fluttered open, staring dazedly at Francis. Canada's trembling had gotten worse; he was shaking so bad he could barely raise his head to look at his older brother.

"Papa…" Mathieu groaned, and France quickly shushed him, running a hoof comfortingly through Mathieu's mane.

"Go to sleep, mon fille. We're safe here…I promise. Its okay, you can rest now." France whispered, knowing what to do. Mathieu sometimes had panic attacks, especially if something horrible happened to him or someone he loved. Poor Mathieu; he must be suffering so much. What did Xear do to him anyways?

Francis could feel something rising inside his chest, something he hadn't felt for a long, long time; raw anger. He wanted to smash Xear into tiny, miniscule pieces for hurting his family like this. For hurting Mathieu; poor, kind Mathieu, who just wanted a simple day with his Fluttershy! And what did Arthur and Alfred do?!

But the worst, the absolute WORST, of what Xear did was terrify Rarity to the extent of tears. Nobody hurts Francis' friends in any way. Nobody. And nobody, nobody, messes with his family. Xear was going to die. Xear had to pay.

France could feel the hatred burning in his heart like a fire, a burning, searing fire. He reveled in it, knowing that someday soon, Xear would feel his wrath. No. No! Calm down. Focus on Mathieu. You cannot reveal your 2p self in front of these ladies, who have already been terrified out of their wits. Focus on helping Mathieu…

"Dear? Are you alright?" Rarity asked in concern, making her way over to him and placing her hoof on his shoulder. He didn't even notice that he had started trembling, nor that steam had begun to slowly rise in wavy tendrils from his skin. Francis took a couple deep breaths to try and quell the flames, and glanced back at Rarity.

Her diamond blue eyes looked at him in worry, and Francis lost himself in them for a moment. They were so beautiful. Everything about her radiated elegance. He hesitantly looked away, to see Arthur and Ludwig staring at him as well. Arthur had his large eyebrows crumpled in worry, and Germany was glaring at him challengingly, as if to say 'Don't you dare go crazy on us now.'

"Oui. I'm alright." Francis answered quietly, looking back at Rarity. Rarity hesitantly removed her hoof from his shoulder, choosing instead to nuzzle his neck. He chuckled softly and nuzzled her back. "I'm just worried about Mathieu, is all." Rarity nodded.

"Understandable, of course. That looked awful." She whispered as Mathieu laid his head back down on the grass and closed his eyes. He was still shaking, but at least his breathing was becoming slower and more even. Francis ran his hoof through Mathieu's mane once more, before turning to Fluttershy, who looked on the verge of tears.

"Fluttershy, take care of him. Make sure that he knows he has you. Mathieu needs kindness in his life more than any other thing. Please, help him through this." Francis said, and Fluttershy nodded without hesitation, wiping away her tears before they could fall. She laid next to Mathieu and wrapped her arm around him, cuddling his head into the crook of her shoulder and resting her cheek on his forehead. Nopony disturbed them, for which Fluttershy was thankful. If anypony interrupted the peace she had gained with Mathieu, she'd snap.

Rainbow Dash, after a nod from America, got off of the sleeping Greek pony, who merely rolled over onto his stomach and slept harder in response. Kiku walked forward and extended a helping hoof to the third pony who had been watching the fight between Greece and Turkey.

This was a dusty brown earth pony, who was easily identified. He was wearing a white keffiyeh, which made his mane hidden from view. His muzzle and legs darkened to black at the ends, and there were some golden bands wrapped around his black, silky tail like Zecora's. A horn, longer than England's, poked out of his forehead and his eyes were dull, golden green. His Cutie Mark was a black dog and a golden ankh.

"Kon'nichiwa, Egypt. I expect you're confused." Kiku greeted, and Egypt rolled his eyes as if to say, 'Uh, DUH.' "We shall explain once we have situated everybody else." Kiku finished, and Egypt nodded, sitting down next to Turkey, who was standing by the still-sleeping Greece.

"Uh…Norge? You got an explanation for this…?" A familiar voice asked, and Arthur and Dmitri's heads swiveled to see the pony-fied Denmark just barely get to his feet.

Denmark was a black Pegasus with a bright red underbelly. His hair was its usual spikey mess, but with streaks of red and white in it. His tail was the same way; short and spikey. He was about the same size as Big Mac, but didn't seem to notice. His Cutie Mark was a steel battle axe with a crown around its handle.

Norway was still on the ground, struggling to stand so he could properly maim Denmark. Norway, or Lukas to his friends, was a rather handsome navy blue unicorn with a slim, somewhat feminine figure. His mane was pale blonde with its usual cross-shaped hairclip, and his tail was the same but with streaks of red, white, and blue mixed into it. Like Egypt and Turkey, his tail was as long as a girl's was. His Cutie Mark was a light green, Navi-style fairy.

Iceland lay farther away, a rusty brown earth pony with his familiar white ribbon tie around his neck. He was noticeably smaller than the rest of the ponies surrounding him; though he wasn't as small as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Whether we chalk this up to him being short or just him being young is your choice. His mane and tail were the same silvery-gray, but his mane had small streaks of blue. His tail had red and white streaks in it, and his Cutie Mark was a snow covered, smoking volcano.

Iceland somehow managed to get to his feet before his older brother did. This caused Denmark to burst into peals of laughter, which only enraged Norway further. In a burst of rage, Norway threw himself at Denmark and latch on to the older pony's tail, yanking on it hard with his teeth. This was a substitute since Norway couldn't strange Denmark anymore, seeing as how Denmark was no longer wearing a tie.

"Yah!" Denmark yelped, jumping at least three feet in the air in surprise and pain. Geez, that hurt! Was this how it felt having your hair pulled? He wouldn't know; his hair had always been too spikey, and he wouldn't let people touch it for fear of them messing it up. Norway growled and glared at him, and Denmark (Mathias) whimpered like a hurt puppy, giving Lukas the eyes.

"Don't. You. Dare." Lukas snarled, his teeth still clenched around Mathias' tail. Lukas knew that Mathias, MATHIAS, of all people, could give him puppy dog eyes that would make the toughest man alive cave in. It just wasn't fair! Lukas slowly, reluctantly let go of Mathias' tail and stumbled over to Iceland, not sparing Mathias a backwards glance.

Allistor yawned pointedly and flapped his new wings, taking to the air with little effort and no former experience. America stared, jaw against the ground.

"H-How did you-" He began, but Allistor cut him off before he could finish.

"Serioosly Alfred. Use th' brain Ah ken yoo've got in thaur. Aam th' best wizard we've got in th' warld. I've hud wings afair. Mony, mony times in fact." Allistor smirked, and Alfred muttered something indiscernible under his breath, shrinking back into the crowd with his wings held low.

"Princesses, Ah hink it's time we introduce th' warld. In th' most orderly we can manage tha' is." He added sarcastically, and Luna stifled a giggle. Allistor's horn lit up, and several balls of light flew all over the clearing, stopping and hovering in certain spots. "Alrecht! Fin' yer region an' line up! An' try nae tae kill each other…"

The countries each moved to their individual spots, marked by the hovering balls of light that spelled out the names of each certain region.

Scandinavia

Germanics

Baltics

Mediterraneans

Balkans

East Asia

North America

Central Europe

Eastern Europe

Oceania

UK

Once everypony was situated, Allistor floated back to the ground and cleared his throat, standing up straight.

"Alrecht. We'll gang by region. Oceania, Ah want ye tae start. Say yer country nam, human nam, an' explain yer Cutie Mark. That's th' tattoo oan yer behinds. Gie tae it!" He yelled, and the first pony stepped forward.

He was a tall, strong chestnut earth pony with a russet brown mane and tail, and his mane had a double ahoge that made him pretty recognizable. He had a band-aid over his muzzle, and he had dark, forest green eyes that shone with the same emerald fire that the Mane 6 were learning was a trait of members of the Kirkland family. There was a tan-colored sun hat tied around his neck and his Cutie Mark was a stingray jumping out of a cerulean blue ocean wave.

"G'day! I'm Australia, but my real name's Kyle Kirkland. It's great to meet ya!" He shouted happily, running forward and shaking Princess Celestia's hoof in an Applejack-like fashion. His grin was huge, and his eyes sparkled happily, making him almost immediately liked by the Mane 6 and princesses. "I wish it wasn't a stingray, but I guess it's because some of the most dangerous animals in the world live in my country, and I'm great at water sports, like swimming and surfing."

The next pony stepped up, a small crimson unicorn with a light brown, almost dirty yellow mane in a peculiar style; it curled around into two short curly bobs, one on each of their head. Their gender was very vague, but it was certain he was a Kirkland by the way his emerald eyes shone. There was a golden sash over one of his shoulders and his Cutie Mark was a fluffy white sheep.

"I'm James! I'm the second youngest Kirkland, and I'm the country of New Zealand. It is a pleasure to meet you." He said politely, bowing to all the ponies gathered in front of him. (A/N: New Zealand's gender is officially unconfirmed as of this point, so I shall assume by my own opinion, that James is a boy.) "I can't believe these things are called Cutie Marks, but my country has more sheep than any other. I love sheep!"

The cluster of ponies to New Zealand's right was Scandinavia, and Denmark took his turn.

"Hej prinsesser! I'm Denmark, king of Scandinavia!" He shouted happily, pointing at himself with a hoof and Lukas snorted. "The self-proclaimed king…" Lukas muttered, and Denmark chose to ignore him. "My human name is Mathias Kohler, and are these things seriously called Cutie Marks?" He asked, twisting his neck around to see his own. After the rest of the ponies nodded exasperatedly, he continued. "I guess the crown is because I'm a freaking king, and the axe is typically my weapon of choice." Lukas took his turn next.

"God kveld, prinsesser. I'm the Kingdom of Norway, known as Lukas Bondevik. The fairy is because typically, while England sees unicorns and fairies, I see fairies and trolls/ogres. All the members of the Magic Club can see mythical creatures." He explained, seeing the questioning looks on the Mane Six's faces.

"In that case, what does Dmitri see?" Twilight asked, still trying to come to terms with the fact that the creatures that resided in Equestria didn't exist in the country's dimension. Dmitri grinned happily, showing off his fangs.

"Monsters." He answered simply, and Ivan flinched a bit. They all moved on to the next country, who happened to be Iceland.

"Island her." He said lazily, waving his hoof in the vague direction of the princesses. "I'm Iceland, known to my friends as Emil Steilsson. The volcano on my butt here…" He said sarcastically, turning to the side so that his audience could see it better. "My country rests on a huge volcano, so we've got a lot of hotsprings and such where I'm from."

Twilight edged closer to Arthur, looking up at him with curious eyes.

"Is he the one you were talking about? The one who coughs up ash because of the volcanoes?" She asked quietly, and Arthur nodded solemnly. She winced in response; no matter how you looked at it, it did NOT sound pleasant.

The next Scandinavian, a white unicorn with sparkling, gentle lavender eyes stepped forward. He had a light blue spot on his forehead, and he was about the same size as Iceland. Like Lukas, he had a slight, feminine figure, and he was rather adorable. His mane and tail were both soft yellow in color, and his Cutie Mark was a red Santa hat.

"Hei, olen Suomessa! That's Finland, who is me!" Just by hearing him talk, the Mane Six knew that he was very sweet and happy. "My human name is Tino Vainamoinen. It's okay if you can't pronounce it! Most people can't, so don't worry! The 'Cutie Mark' is because I act the part of Santa Clause during the Christmas season!" He cheered, and Pinkie Pie gasped.

"I told you he was real!" She squealed, pointing at Tino and glaring accusingly at Twilight, who just sighed. The next pony, a very intimidating navy blue Pegasus, took his turn. He was very tall and well-built, similar to Big Mac in size and stature. Despite how creepy he looked, there was something in his ice blue eyes that told you he was just a big teddy bear. He wore glasses, and like Finland, there was a spot on his forehead, only his was lavender. His Cutie Mark was a Viking Helmet.

"Olen Ruotsi. My real name is Berwald Oxenstierna, and my country name is Sweden. The Viking helmet is because most people associate Vikings with my country." He said, though his voice came out more as a low mutter. Lukas rolled his eyes.

"Mine too." He argued, and Berwald nodded apologetically. Suddenly, a new pony popped up, a young sandy-brown pegasus about the same size as Scootaloo. He had patches of red, white, and black on his shoulders, ears, and chest, and he had the same Kirkland eyes and eyebrows. Upon seeing him, England growled angrily.

"Who is that?" Twilight asked, and the small Pegasus answered for Arthur.

"I'm Sealand! Known to all as Peter Kirkland!" He shouted excitedly, and Arthur stepped in front of him, hiding Sealand from view.

"He's not actually a real country." Arthur said bluntly, and Sealand whined.

"I am too!" He protested, and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"The day you become an actual country is the day Austria throws away his piano." Arthur snarled, and Sealand shrunk back, muttering curses to himself. He didn't have a Cutie Mark at all. The next region of countries decided to go, trying to take some of the attention away from the humiliated Sealand.

"Ni hao. You already know me, but I'll say it again. I'm Yao Wang, but I'm better known as China!" Yao announced happily, surprisingly chipper. He wouldn't tell anyone, but the reason he was ecstatic was because he was surrounded by his family once again, which was a complete relief. Last time he was here was decently fun and interesting, but it would have been even more special if his family was here with him. Everything was better when there was good company to share it with.

"Hello Yao!" The Mane Six replied happily, smiles on their faces. A white blur suddenly shot out of nowhere, landing on Yao and knocking him to the ground. The blur was actually another pony, one that was laughing quite loudly and excitedly.

"Aniki~! You're popular! But your breasts still belong to me, da ze~" He laughed, and America whooped with joy, running over and hi-hoofing the pony, who was still lying on a very pissed off Yao.

"GET OFF ME, ARU!" Yao yelled, and the pony pouted but nonetheless got off of the red unicorn. Twilight gave Arthur a confused look, and he shrugged.

"Yo Korea! SUP BRO?!" America yelled, grinning like an idiot. The same expression was on the other pony's face, only his grin was wider.

"Alfred! Hey!" Korea shouted back, embracing America in a hug. The two of them knocked their heads against each other's and then let go of each other, both of them a little cross-eyed from the impact. Korea shook his head then looked at the Mane 6, his grin never disappearing. "Neomusugnyeo ege insa~!" He added, winking charmingly at them. Francis glared at him, but he was smiling.

"Back off, coureur de jupons. This one is mine!" He scolded, throwing his arm around Rarity's neck. Rarity blushed and smiled at him, looking up at him adoringly. Dmitri rolled his eyes in the background.

"As you already heard, I'm the country known as South Korea! My real name is Im Yong Soo!" Korea introduced himself, bouncing up and down in excitedly, barely containing his hyper. He was a rather cute white Pegasus, with a dark blue chest and underbelly. His mane was a rich, dark chocolate brown, and like Italy, he had that weird side curl. Only his had a face. Strange. Yong Soo's tail was short but spunky, and his Cutie Mark was rather weird. It was the same orange, blue, and black crest that was on his flag, but the circle in the middle was wearing rather cool sunglasses.

"Hello, and what does your Cutie Mark represent?" Twilight asked, and Yong Soo turned his head to the side confusedly. His eyes widened when he realized exactly what Twilight was referring to. He twisted his neck around and stared at it for a moment.

"Oh! My Cutie Mark represents balance and harmony between things, and the sunglasses are just because I got swag. Swag was invented in Korea, da ze!" He laughed, and America scoffed.

"Yeah, whatever!" He teased, sticking his tongue out at his buddy. Korea stuck his tongue right back out at America, but he was smiling. Both Arthur and Yao chose that moment to facehoof exasperatedly.

"Little brothers…" They both muttered, but even they had a small smile on their faces. Yao nudged the next pony, who had been staring around with a very bored expression on his face, which was a little strange considering that every other nation-turned-pony had been panicking when they first got here.

He was a dark red unicorn, and his coat was a shade darker than Yao's. His mane was near black in color and was styled rather handsomely. This, unfortunately, made him and Yao look extremely similar, seeing as how Yao's hair was, unfortunately, still short. The main difference was the ponytail in Yao's tail, since this pony's was short. Another difference was their Cutie Marks; this pony's was a collection of bright fireworks.

"Hey. I'm Kaoru Li Xiang." Seeing Arthur, he huffed indignantly. "To some though, my name is Leon Kirkland. Please, though, call me Kaoru." He muttered, and Arthur smiled sheepishly at all the strange looks that were sent his way at Kaoru's words. "Cutie Mark? I guess because my country, Hong Kong, is famous for pyrotechnics and festivals. We get a lot of tourists, so we have to keep them entertained. Since most of the tourists are American, we entertain them with explosions." Kaoru deadpanned. His expression didn't change at all during his introduction, and he spoke in monotone.

Twilight couldn't help but notice that Yao was standing rather close to Kaoru, like he was protecting him from something. It was hard to tell since his face never changed, but Kaoru seemed to be grateful that Yao was so close and yet annoyed by him at the same time. Yao was also shooting small glares towards Arthur, who was glaring right back. Twilight's gaze traveled between the two. Had something happened with them, involving Kaoru? She'd have to ask Arthur later.

"Hi! My name is Mei Wan, and I'm the country known as Taiwan." The first girl country said cheerfully. Taiwan was an extremely adorable light pink pony with a black, silky mane and tail. Her mane had a wild curly strand sticking out, and there were flowers tangled in her mane by her ears. She had a white, sun shaped mark on her forehead and her Cutie Mark was a white fan with several flowers surrounding it. "My Cutie Mark is because as you can see, I like flowers~" She flipped her mane for emphasis.

Over with Mathieu, Fluttershy smiled timidly. Although her special talent was working with animals, she did like to grow flowers as well. She looked down at Mathieu, who had finally calmed down, and was asleep, breathing deeply and steadily. This reminded her of when Mathieu had told her how nobody remembered him. They had cuddled together, just like this, warm and together. In the sun.

"Konnichiwa. You know me as well. I'm Kiku Honda, Japan." Japan said, bowing to both princesses once more. The only difference from the first time the ponies had met him was that now, a steel katana hung at his waist. They also knew him better now. Knew his rage, and his kindness. "As you also already know, my name, Japan, means 'Land of the Rising Sun'." He finished, and that concluded Asia.

The next pony, a rather stunning royal blue unicorn began the next region of countries. He had a white jabot around his neck, and he wore glasses like America. He had a small mole on the left side of his muzzle, near his mouth. His eyes were a bright, deep violet. His mane was a strange mauve brown, with a curl like Italy's, though his came from the top of his head. His Cutie Mark was a treble clef molded into a dollar sign while still identifiable as a treble clef. (A/N: Insert sheepish shrug and grin here ^.^')

"I am Austria, but my human name is Roderich Edelstein." He said haughtily, and the mane six couldn't help but notice that he had a very thick accent, more than the other countries. "My Cutie Mark is because I play the musical instruments the best out of all the countries."

"…A-And because…he's a tight-fisted penny pincher…" Prussia groaned, just beginning to wake up. Ludwig let out a huge sigh of relief. He had been diligently sitting by his brother's side for this entire time, trying to wake Gilbert up and worrying like a mother hen over her chicks.

Anypony could see. Gilbert looked awful. He was so skinny, just a pile of skin, fur, and feathers. There were large scars all over his body, matting down his feathers with dried blood. His ribs were clearly showing and his wings had several feathers missing. He looked so desolate, like he was on the verge of death. He was getting several pitying looks from every nation and pony present, though Germany seemed to be the only one showing any real concern for him.

At Gilbert's words, Austria sputtered and tossed his mane, cantering to the other end of the line that held the Germanic nations. He sat next to another girl pony (one that you guys have been begging for =.=).

This particular pony, a light, mint green Pegasus, had been practically fawning over Italy this entire time. She was very pretty, with a long, light brown mane. Her tail was the same color, but it was cut more like a stallion's, short. Like Mei, she had pink flowers braided into her hair, and her Cutie Mark was a black frying pan. After a nudge from Austria, she stopped focusing on Italy, and instead turned to the princesses.

"Oh, sorry! I was focusing on little Veneciano here! He's just so cute~!" She squealed, squishing Feli in the biggest hug he'd ever gotten. Italy yelped in pain, and the girl turned her head around and looked at the princesses, smiling widely. "I'm Elizaveta, by the way! Elizaveta Hedervary, mainly Hungary! And my special talent is cooking, cleaning, various housework things! I'm very efficient in using the frying pan as a weapon too!" She said, and Applejack laughed. She'd had to use a frying pan as a weapon before. It was some creepy older pony hanging around Applebloom all the time, so Applejack took frying pan in hand, and hit him hard. He hasn't bothered her sister since.

"She also has frying pan because she is a total baby and is only fit for kitchen work." Dmitri scoffed, sending Hungary flying at him in anger.

"You stupid, annoying vampire!" She yelled, trying her best to hit him with her frying pan, which, like Vash's gun, had just appeared out of nowhere. Dmitri grinned savagely at her, dodging with ease as his fangs grew in size. Princess Celestia moved to separate the two, but Allistor stopped her by placing a hand on her hoof.

"Dornt fash yerse abit it, princess. They've bin at each other's throats ever since they mit each other." He said simply. She nodded, though she did spare the two a backwards glance. Vash and Lili both introduced themselves once more, this time though explaining their Cutie Marks.

"The white cross is the same as the one on my flag. It stands for refuge/healing, since many people flee to my country during times of war." Vash said, still standing close to Lili. Lili smiled; she had taken refuge with him too, healing from her horrible economy. She knew first hand Vash's healing powers; he was really nice and caring when he wasn't grumpy.

"My Cutie Mark is because my home is very quaint and pretty…though most of the Germanic countries are known for that…" She added quietly. Vash scoffed and nudged her pointedly.

"Don't be ridiculous. Your country is famous for pretty things." He said, affectionately patting her on the back. Elizaveta stopped in her attack against Dmitri and nodded.

"Of course!" She said, and Lili blushed and smiled, rubbing her foreleg shyly. Twilight watched the exchange and smiled. It was obvious that Lili was the baby of the family, and was looked after by everyone. And Italy had explained to her at one point that Elizaveta had cared for him when he was younger; him and another boy. Another boy who broke Italy's heart.

So, in the Germanic family, Austria was the aristocratic dad figure who didn't have time for his kids. Elizaveta was the wife, who loved everybody. Vash was the unwilling older brother who really did care deep down, and Lili was the little sister who wanted to be like her brother.

"Guten Tag, though you know me as well. I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt, also Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Germany, to those who are confused." He said, standing up tall and proud. "This…" He began, pointing with a hoof at his Cutie Mark, "Is a medal we award great military leaders in my country." He explained, and Gilbert whined, trying as well to stand. However, he immediately fell back down, landing with a whumf on the grass. He sighed, huffing through his beak as he saw everypony shoot him a pitying look.

"Ze awesome Prussia is fine! I've been zhrough worse." He said, trying to get to his feet again, and once again failing. Ludwig crumpled his eyebrows in worry; his older brother shouldn't be acting like this. What he said was true. He had been through worse, much, much worse, so he should be back on his feet by now. So why was this affecting him so bad? Xear said he had used Gilbert's life force for energy, so perhaps he had drained him more than they had thought.

Ludwig knelt down and helped his older brother to his feet, using his head to nudge him upwards. As Gilbert leaned on his shoulder, Ludwig almost gasped. His brother, even though he was now half his normal size and was half bird, should not be this light. He barely weighed anything at all, he was just skin and feathers! Gilbert quietly whimpered in pain, but opened his eyes and leaned his head into the crook of Ludwig's neck.

"Danke, bruder…" Gilbert whispered, not letting anyone else hear. Ludwig was even more shocked. His brother's voice was so weak. The amount of effort he was using just to speak normally and put on a smile…Gilbert was shaking heavily, and his breathing was coming out in short gasps. He looked like he was going to pass out again at any second. That, and how much gratitude was in his brother's voice…Ludwig hadn't heard that tone since he'd made Prussia into a micro-nation, and gave his brother another chance to exist. His older brother had been crying tears of joy; though, of course, he wouldn't let anyone see.

"I'm Gilbert Beilschmidt…zhe…awesome Prussia…" Gilbert's voice faded as he closed his eyes and he whimpered again. Ludwig didn't waste a chance.

"Francis!" He yelled, and the Frenchman jumped. Ludwig jerked his head towards his brother, who hadn't moved at all. Gilbert's breathing had become fleeting, and he was leaning very heavily on Ludwig. Francis cantered over, worry shining in his eyes. Twilight nudged Arthur as she watched Francis tend to Gilbert.

"Why did he call Francis over?" She asked, raising an eye questioningly. "I mean, I don't want to sound mean, but Francis seems kinda…useless." She finished, rubbing her hooves together anxiously. Arthur snorted.

"Ha! Francis is useless, especially on the battlefield. But there is one quality that redeems him."

"And what's that?" Twilight asked curiously.

"He's the best doctor we have. And don't tell him I admitted that." Arthur added under his breath and Twilight laughed. Arthur and Francis had a very odd relationship. Ludwig and Francis began the care of Gilbert, who was weakly protesting and struggling.

"I'm fine! I don't need a doctor!" He said, but his eyelids were fluttering and he was lying down. Francis sighed.

"Camarade, yes you do. Now shut up and take a nap." Francis commanded, but he was smiling. Gilbert groaned, but nonetheless closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep as Ludwig breathed a sigh of relief. The next country decided to go next, to take the attention off Gilbert.

"You know me too! I'm Alfred F. Jones!" He yelled. Forget his wings, he looked like he was flying all by himself by sheer excitement. He was bouncing up and down, his hooves barely touching the ground as he fell back down. "I'm the HERO!" He yelled, grinning like an absolute idiot. "And I'm the country of America!"

"No, you're not." Another voice said, and a stucco yellow Pegasus roughly shoved America out of the way. This new Pegasus had shaggy midnight sky black hair, and a red kerchief around his neck. He had charming, coffee brown eyes and his Cutie Mark was a green gecko-type lizard thing. America bounced right back up, glaring at this Pegasus.

"Come on, Mex! Yes I am! I'm America and you know it!" He yelled, and Mex, as he was called growled.

"No, you're not! You're the United STATES of America! Not America, you idiota! America's the name of the continent, estupido idiota!" Mex yelled, and the two of them slammed their foreheads together, glaring into each other's eyes.

"Oh, I'm Mexico, by the way. Alejandro Carlos Fernandez Carriedo, to everyone else. Encantado de conocerte!" He said politely, glancing back to the princesses. Arthur sighed.

"He's got a point Alfred. America is the name of the continents." He said, and Alfred growled.

"This isn't your business, Arthur." He said harshly, and Arthur muttered something under his breath. Something along the lines of 'idiotic little brothers'? Twilight looked up at him curiously.

"Is Alejandro your brother too?" She asked. Jeez, he had a lot of siblings. And not just younger ones, judging by the amount of ponies clustered nearby under the sign that said 'United Kingdom'. They all had the Kirkland eyes.

"The lizard is because everyone thinks my entire country is a huge desert, but it's really not. We have a lot of iguanas though, so that may be it too." Mexico explained. Alfred rolled his eyes.

"And his name's not Me-hi-co. Call him Me-xi-co, it's the right way to say it." He growled. Mexico snarled.

"At least I know how to say my name properly, unlike you." He shot back, and the two roared angrily at each other, starting to brawl on the grass. Another earth pony looked ready to jump in, but Antonio held him back.

"Carlos, don't. Let them brawl it out, si?" Antonio warned, and the other pony sighed and grumbled angrily in Spanish. This pony was a rather large olive green earth pony, the same color as Turkey, weirdly enough. However, his mane and tail were a lighter shade of brown and were in dreadlocks. He was wearing a red and yellow Hawaiian shirt, and he had a bit of stubble on his chin like France does. His Cutie Mark was an ice cream cone. The pony sighed and turned to the princesses and Mane Six, who were looking at him expectedly.

"Hola! My name is Carlos, Carlos Hernandez." He said, smiling cheerfully. "I'm the country known as Cuba. And not only do I make ice cream, I love to eat it!" He finished, glancing backwards at his Cutie Mark. Thus concluded North America, as Canada was still unconscious.

"I guess we're our own category, huh sis?" A tan, sandy brown earth pony mused to a yellow Pegasus, who nodded in confusion. The earth pony stepped forward despite his dilemma, and began. "My name's Lars Van Houten. The Netherlands/Holland, respectively." He said, standing up straighter. His mane was dusty brown and spiked up much like Denmark's, and he had a small scar on his forehead. He had a blue and white striped scarf around his neck, and his Cutie Mark was a handful of dollar bills. "I'm known for being frugal." He explained with a shrug.

"I'm Bella! Bella Van Houten, Lars' little sister! My country is the Kingdom of Belgium!" She laughed, bouncing forward. She was a nice looking, pale yellow unicorn with a shaggy blonde mane and tail, and her mane had green ribbons tied on either side of it, stretching across to make a sort of headband. Her tail was tied near the end by a red ribbon, and her Cutie Mark was a rather delicious looking waffle. Seeing her, Spain immediately smiled and hugged her, nuzzling her face affectionately. Lars growled.

The Baltics started next, with Toris gently pushing an absolutely adorable Scootaloo-sized earth pony forward. He was a red-violet foal, who was shaking and looking around nervously, especially at Ivan. He had a caramel colored mane and tail, both of which were pleasantly curly. His eyes were big, and shone with unshed tears. Dear Lord, he was ADORABLE. Like Sealand, he didn't have a Cutie Mark.

"I-I'm Raivis." He stammered, flinching when he said his name, like he expected to be hurt. "R-Raivis G-Galante…" He finished, stammering out his words like he was in a great hurry. Anypony could plainly see by looking in his violet eyes that he was terrified of something. We just need to figure out what. "And…my country is Latvia…"

The next pony patted him on the back reassuringly, a good-natured looking dark blue unicorn with a blond mane and tail. His mane had white stripes in it, and his tail had black stripes. He was wearing glasses like Alfred, and his eyes almost seemed to sparkle in the light. His Cutie Mark was the Macintosh logo, you know, the Apple?

"My name's Eduard Von Bock, and I'm called Estonia. I'm known as being a technological expert, so I'm usually the authority on technical matters." He explained, in an accent that made Rainbow Dash want to snort. Toris stepped up next.

"You already know me too. I'm Toris Laurinaitis, and I'm also Lithuania." He said shyly, even though they did indeed already know him. "And…I enjoy strategy games like chess, so I guess that's why…" He trailed off, glancing back at his Cutie Mark.

Jumping out of nowhere just like Pinkie, Feliks appeared in a cloud of shimmering pink sparkles with a huge grin on his face, startling everypony.

"You know me too! I'm like, totally Feliks Lukasiewicz!" He shouted happily, making Toris wince at the loud noise. "And I'm totally Poland, OMG!" He added. "Plus, my like totally fabulous Cutie Mark is a phoenix. Because like, phoenixes are reborn in fire. And…" He suddenly adopted a rather dark look, stopping in his antics. "My country is famous for being a target, yet we still get back up and keep fighting."

Everypony gave him a slightly pitying look, but nonetheless started to move on. Or at least they tried to, when Ivan gave an alarmed cry of fright and tried his best to run for the hills. Dmitri grinned widely and laughed aloud; there was only one woman who could make Ivan scream in fear like that.

She was a baby blue Pegasus, with a dusty white mane and tail that could only be compared to spiderwebs. She had a dark blue bow in her hair, and glaring, intense eyes that were like chips of ice. Her Cutie Mark was a Black Widow spider, sitting in its web.

The thing that made everypony back up in fear was the anklets around her hind legs. The black, leather anklets that sheathed at least ten knives each. She was slowly creeping towards Ivan, her gaze petrifying him to the spot.

"Big brother…this is where you've been all this time…?" Belarus hissed, moving closer with every word. Ivan whimpered in fright, and Twilight nudged Arthur again; she felt like she was asking him a lot of questions today. She didn't want to be imposing, but she didn't really know much about the countries when she thought about it, and Arthur did seem to be the one she was closest to.

"Who is she?" Twilight asked, and Dmitri answered before Arthur could.

"She's Natalya Arlovskaya –Belarus- and she's Ivan's little sister! Oh my-! YES!" He shouted, and everypony stared. No one had ever, ever been so happy to see Belarus before. Their surprise deepened further. Their jaws hit the ground. Dmitri did something really odd.

He had practically glomped Belarus. BELA FREAKING RUS. Did he have a death wish?! Everypony stared, slack jawed, buggy-eyed, at the scene. Dmitri tightly hugging Belarus. Wow.

"You've got no idea just how glad I am to see you!" He yelled, smiling like the lovable idiot he is. Belarus had frozen, all muscles tense, just staring at him along with everypony else. Ivan swallowed nervously. This was just plain scary. Eventually, Dmitri let go of Natalya and cantered off, trotting happily over into the forest where he disappeared from sight.

Alfred was the first to break out of his stupor. He shut his mouth, blinked, and shook his head in disbelief.

"No way that just happened." He said in awe. Mexico stared at the spot Dmitri had disappeared.

"He's dead." Mexico said faintly. Everypony nodded in agreement.

Belarus did nothing in response. Her entire brain had just shut down. She hadn't been hugged by anyone in a long, long time, so her initial response was that he was attacking her. Dmitri had actually been happy to see her. Nobody had said that in a long time either. The only other person who told her that was-

"Ivan! I was so worried about you!" A worried cry yelled, and a dusty white and navy blue cow-patterned earth pony smothered Ivan in a hug. For a mare, she was as large as Big Macintosh, which was somewhat intimidating. However, something about her told you she was a bit of a crybaby. Her Cutie Mark was a pitchfork and a basket of bread loaves.

"Yekaterina, I can't breathe!" Ivan protested, trying to pull himself out of the hug, though he was smiling a bit. It was another one of those rare smiles they saw from Ivan lately; a real one. They were seeing more and more of those since he'd been reformed. She got off of him, wiping away tears.

"I'm sorry, little brother! I just…I was worried and I didn't know where you'd been and…" She sobbed, and Ivan smiled exasperatedly, wiping away her tears with the end of his scarf.

"Why don't you introduce yourself, da?" He asked kindly, and she sniffled and nodded.

"I'm sorry…I'm Yekaterina Braginskaya, Ukraine. My special talent is because most of my country is farmland, and we grow grains most of all." She explained, wiping away her tears again. Twilight and the other Mane Six were still trying to wrap their heads around the idea of Ivan being the 'little' brother; he was just too big and strong to be considered the younger sibling. Natalya was watching this with narrowed eyes, skulking somewhere behind Ivan.

That left one more region of countries. Let's start with the ones we already know, hm?

"Hola~! I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo!" He smiled, standing next to Belgium instead of with his region. "Also, I'm Espana! That means Spain! You also know that my country is known for being sunny and happy!" He said. Over in the Mediterranean region, Lovino rolled his eyes.

"You kno-" Lovino began, but Feliciano cut him off. The combined stress of the day and over all social interaction made Lovino want to cry. Why did his brother have to get all the attention?! It wasn't fair!

Lovino felt tears welling up in his eyes as Feliciano explained himself to the rest of the countries. Why, dammit?! It's not fair! He sobbed in his mind. Why does Feli have to be more lovable than me?! Once, just once in my life, I want people to call me Italy. I don't want to be Romano anymore. I…I don't want to be me. I DON'T WANT TO BE MYSELF! I don't want to look at myself anymore…I'm no one. I don't even get attention from my own twin brother…!

Lovino grit his teeth as he heard the Mane Six greet Italy with enthusiasm that made his heart twist painfully in his chest. There was a hard lump in his throat and he couldn't breathe anymore. He cautiously looked up and glanced around. Just as he thought. Nopony was paying attention to him. No one was even so much as bothering to ask if he was okay, even though he was clearly hurting.

Shakily, Lovino got to his feet, and walked away from the circle of countries. He kept his head low, hoping against hope that someone would notice him and yell and ask where he was going. But no one did.

Once he was past the tree line, he ran. He ran and he ran and he ran. Finally, he came to a stop underneath the largest oak tree he'd ever seen. But he didn't notice. He just flopped to the ground and cried, hooves over his eyes.

Back in the circle, Feliciano had just wrapped up. The next country went next.

"Hey. You all heard America; my name's Sadik Adnan, and I'm Turkey, the former Ottoman Empire." He said, and Pinkie opened her mouth to say something. He quickly glared angrily at her. "If I hear one joke about my country's name, I swear I will kill you where you stand." He snarled, and she shrunk back. "The crescent and star are symbols of good luck in my religion/culture." He explained, with his voice a mite softer.

"*yawn*…My name's Heracles Karpusi…Greece…to others…." Heracles said sleepily, still curled up in the grass. "I love cats…" He muttered, before promptly falling asleep again.

"I'm Egypt." Egypt said stoically, though he did attempt a small yet polite smile. "My human name is Muhammad Gupta Hassan. It's fine if you want to call me something else that's shorter, though nothing too ridiculous, please." He said when he noticed that the Mane Six had trouble comprehending his longer name. "The ankh represents rebirth in my culture, plus the jackal is a symbol of power and magic."

"Could you do magic too?" Twilight asked, and he nodded.

"Yes, but I preferred not to use it unless it's for ceremonial reasons." He explained, and Scotland stood up.

"Well, I guess that just leaves the UK. I'm Alistair Kirkland, Scotland respectfully. I'm the most powerful magic user we have, so I guess that explains the circles on my ass." He noted bitterly. He was about to say something else, but suddenly, Spain gasped.

"Amigos! Where did Lovi go?" He yelled in worry, his neck swiveling back and forth as he looked for his little tomate. Belgium gasped as well.

"That's right! We completely forgot him! Where'd he go?!" She yelled, and everypony scanned the area for Lovino.

"Ve! He was there when I started introducing myself…" Italy though aloud, then his eyes widened. "But he wasn't there afterwards!"

"And last time a country went missing, well…" Ludwig began, gesturing with a hoof towards his older brother. "…We know what happened there." Antonio stood up, shaking the dirt and bits of grass off his coat.

"I'll go look for him. He's probably just gotten upset and stormed off again." He said soothingly, trying to sound reassuring even though his eyes danced with worry. Antonio disappeared into the forest as well, calling out for Lovino.

"Anyways…" A tall, bright green unicorn began. He was about as tall as Princess Luna, and he had a light orange mane and tail, and nice clover-green eyes. He had freckles like Applejack as well, and his Cutie Mark was a pot of gold with a rainbow diving into it. "I'm Ireland, Patrick Kirkland to the ladies." He winked, shaking hooves with the princesses. "And my country is pretty well known for being lucky." He said, craning his neck backwards to see his Cutie Mark better.

The next pony stood up, a pure white unicorn stallion like Japan. Only this one had the Kirkland eyebrows, lime green eyes, and strawberry blonde hair. His Cutie Mark, very strangely, was a red dragon.

"I'm Wales, also known as Dylan Kirkland. This dragon is just like the one on my flag, and I'm not necessarily good at spells and stuff, but I prefer to deal more with mythical creatures than actual magic." He explained. Twilight's lips twitched up; he'd love to meet Spike, then. The very last pony began.

"I'm Charlie Kirkland, Northern Ireland!" He announced proudly. He was a nice mint green colored unicorn, with teal eyes. His mane and tail were both dark red, and his Cutie Mark was a keg of beer. "People often assume that citizens of my country are violent drunks, but that's not true." He said, with a sort of apologetic tone.

England stretched.

"Alright, you guys know me as well, but I'll say it again. I'm Arthur Kirkland, England and the UK together, and I used to be a pirate and I am currently a wizard." He explained, then he stood up from his stretching and smiled.

"That's everypony! I thought that'd take forever…." He noticed something rather frightening. America was standing shock still, his sky blue eyes clenched shut and his teeth grit against a violent scream. "Alfred?" Arthur asked, inching closer in concern. "Alfred, are you alright?"

Alfred cracked an eye open, and Arthur noticed the problem.

The entire right half of Alfred's ribcage and his right forearm had turned into fine, gray ash, slowly blowing away in the wind.

"Alfred! Alfred, what's wrong?!" Arthur shouted, running over to him and nearly tripping over himself in a desperate attempt to figure out what was happening. Alfred opened his other eye, opened his mouth, and in a hoarse whisper, said one word.

"Yellowstone."

He screamed in pain as his very soul was set on fire.

…