Fallen Eagle

Chapter 50: Baby Steps

What's this? I'm updating a little ahead of schedule? That's right guys; this is one story arc that I've been dying to write for a LONG time, and it makes it a little more special due to the fact that it starts with the 50th chapter. At the beginning of the story, I said my goal was at least 40 chapters, and I've more than beaten that goal. I have no idea how long the story will be, but I still have plenty of material to work with.

As we all know, Season 6 is upon us. I can tell you guys right here, right now that Season 6 does not happen in this story. Only certain parts of Season 5 will remain. Speaking of Season 6, if you follow the link to my YouTube channel on my profile, I have published two review videos for the first few episodes of Season 6, and a review for the very first episode of the series.

One huge positive about the previous chapter is how glad I am that no one wanted to blame Flash at all for what he had to do. I tried my best to have him make a decision that he really didn't want to do, and according to you guys, I succeeded. As for what will become of Flash? Let's just say I've been talking to a few fellow authors and I have a pretty good idea on what will become of the guy.

SkullCrusher550: Thank you!

Nostalgia Cop: I hate to be that guy, but what exactly is Flashpoint?

theflammableflamedragon: Um, I've never watched a single second of Dr. Who, so I don't really know why he's a scumbag. Is he a player or something?

StacheKing: Well I was thinking a LOT about the many Human in Equestria stories I've read. A lot of them seem unrealistic in that EVERY pony likes the human. I was thinking that there has to be somepony out there who will just not like the human. And then I came up with Etherea who, like you pointed out, is a definite racist and deems anyone associated with Ivan unfit. But I do have some pretty big plans for her. I was also thinking, why not have a villain who has NO magic whatsoever, but the power of words? As for Flash, my main goal was to have a guy break up with his girlfriend, but do it in a way he HATED doing, yet had no choice but to do so. However, I'm not done with orange pegasus just yet; I have a few ideas to save him from Brad syndrome that the EQG movies inflicted upon him. And as for Discord, yeah he was pretty mellow, but if I had him stay at Fluttershy's cottage while everyone comforted Twilight, he'd seem like an ass.

dragonsofthe8elements: Because Twilight tried to force a huge step in their relationship on Flash without caring for his feelings for the matter.

Dixie Darlin: They're fun to write too! Ever since Dr. Whooves appeared in Season 5 in an official speaking role, I wanted to give him a shot. As for your opinion on Flash, you are 100% right, and I although it was my intention, I was in the wrong.

Sassymouse: Because hugging Book Horse makes everything better! And I do think you're referring to the Brad syndrome correct? I'm gonna try my best to cure that

Srey: I don't hate Flash either, but I'm annoyed that the writers made him such a Gary Stu in Equestria Girls that I decided to try and fix that in this story. I'm not sure if it'll be successful, but I'm willing to give it a shot. We hadn't had an Ivan and Apple family moment in awhile, so I thought that'd be the perfect place to try that. And Cheerilee and Big Mac are in fact growing closer but I thought I'd give it an explanation that she does stay there from time to time. And I like them as a couple mainly because they're opposites. Big Mac rarely talks at all, but Cheerilee is a teacher, so she HAS no choice but to talk. They kind of even each other out. I can't wait to show a little more of Dr. Whooves myself. And I'll be honest, as much as people liked that at least Flash HATED breaking up with Twilight, it was a rather brash decision, but it's all apart of my plan for the story

uss71832: Thank you for at least seeing Flash's point of view fairly. And as for your prediction, we'll see how it goes.

Okay everyone, we are here for Chapter 50, and I really hope you guys enjoy this arc. YES, it takes place during a season 5 episode, but ever since this episode premiered, I KNEW it was the perfect episode to insert this story arc into. After this chapter, you can guarantee there will be a little bit of grit and excitement.

ALSO, please read the author's note at the bottom of the chapter after you are done reading. I have critical instructions for everyone.

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(Two Weeks Later; Ponyville; Ivan's POV)

Two weeks. It's been two weeks to the day since a part of Twilight's life was completely crushed. All of us knew that Twilight could not wake up after three or four days and feel completely better. We all put forth our best efforts, no matter how long it would take, to help our friend. Obviously, Spike spent more time with Twilight than anyone else. Although she still didn't leave her castle for the first two days after her break up with Flash, she was well enough to at least cook meals, bathe, and as Spike told us, read a few books here and there to keep her composure. We even decided to meet at Sugar Cube Corner in the evenings so Spike could give us up-to-date information on his mom's condition.

We never told Twilight of our plan, but everyone took turns throughout the days spending time with her on whatever Twilight wanted to do. Every day of her recovery so to speak, Rarity would make herself, Twilight, and Spike some tea along with some cucumber sandwiches and bring over some outfits for Twilight to help on. Eventually, Twilight was well enough to leave her castle, but it would only be for short walks to get some fresh air. Fluttershy accompanied her and Spike for the brief walks, and over time Twilight gathered up the confidence to walk all the way across town to Fluttershy's cottage to assist with her animals.

Pinkie and Rainbow Dash teamed up to bring laughter back into Twilight's life. Even though Spike was in on it, they would come over to spend time with Twilight by pranking the dragon through, what I've been told, harmless jokes. Thanks to their efforts, by the end of the first week, Twilight was able to have full conversations with more than just Spike and her friends. Spike relayed to us that on the ninth day, Dr. Whooves showed up at the castle to bring some beakers and test tubes that he'd forgotten to bring back before. Apparently, the two talked for a good hour about science and some experiments that the Doctor wanted to conduct. Twilight even wrote a letter to Princess Celestia, asking her to give Dr. Whooves permission to examine and extract the radio parts from my jet. The last I heard about Dr. Whooves is that, when she was 100% back to her old self, Twilight would assist him on repairing and testing the radio equipment.

This left myself and Applejack. While every day Rarity would show up with fresh tea and sandwiches, Fluttershy and Twilight would go for a walk, and Pinkie and Rainbow would show up to help Twilight laugh, AJ and I would bring over any kind of treat we could make using Apple family recipes. As we expected, Twilight didn't eat them for the first three or four days, but eventually her sweet tooth returned and when we showed up one day, she was in the middle of pigging out on some apple cobblers. What really surprised the others though is that I wouldn't leave Twilight's castle with Applejack. While yes we arrived together to eat desserts and talk with Spike and Twilight, I'd stay a little longer, even after Spike would doze off.

After helping Spike to bed, Twilight would lead me to her library where we would sit in front of the fireplace, only speaking when something was on our mind. I suggested it after deciding to stay on what I believe was the eighth night of her recovery. The silence got to her a few times, but I'd start asking about happy memories for her to tell me. She told it quite a few times, but she didn't mind telling, and I didn't mind listening, about her first ever trip with Spike to Ponyville and how she met her friends, and how they helped reform Luna. Twilight questioned my approach to helping her, but my answer was quite simple. "Well, a library is a place where you not only gather knowledge to better understand the world around you, it's also a place that makes you think, that challenges you. A place where you not only gather knowledge, but it makes you think beyond, and makes you ask yourself why." Twilight understood, but was still curious about one thing. On the first night of when I'd stayed longer than AJ, she asked me how I got over adjusting to a completely alien world. I stared her right in the eye and said, "I know I didn't show it all that well, but surrounding myself with those willing to lend a friendly hand to help me assimilate to this world, kept me intact. I was going out of my mind back in my old world anyway; despite having a friend in Princess Luna and a few of you right away, I kept to myself yet still allowed all of you into my life. I was truly grateful to have friends like that, but again I didn't show it because I was afraid I'd lose it all too soon. But like I've been having you do, thinking of some of your happiest memories doesn't hurt at all." On the rare occasion we'd lost topics to talk about, Twilight would ask me to listen to music, explaining that she'd listened to all of her records and wanted something new. So I would take out my phone, set it on an end table between our chairs and play Def Leppard's Hysteria album until we either found new topics of conversation, or she was ready to hit the hay. Only on one occasion she fell asleep and I personally carried her back to her room.

And actually, while all of this drama with Twilight was going on, little Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo all got their cutie marks during class! The amount of joy and pride that beamed from AJ, Big Mac, and Granny Smith would've put Celestia's sun to shame. And although I wasn't an Apple, I couldn't help but feel proud for Applebloom and her friends. Twilight even sucked up her emotions to attend the girls's Cutecineria at Sugarcube Corner, even though we all told her she had no obligation.

Truth be told, these two weeks actually went by fast, and I had a lot of fun spending some of that quality time with Twilight. I found myself on more than one occasion chuckling to myself as I was reminded that I didn't take too warmly to Twilight when I first arrived, but now we had something we could bond over as friends. Like her recovery, it just took a little time for our friendship to start. After two weeks, we all agreed Twilight was about 75-80% better. But when we woke up on the end of the second week, she seemed to be 100% recovered. The seven of us were currently in the throne room of Twilight's castle, having been called by Twilight for a special announcement. Well, I was standing since I didn't have a throne to sit on, but it didn't bother me too much.

"Before we begin, darling," Rarity spoke up as Twilight levitated a scroll over to herself from Spike's claws. "I just want to say you look positively radiant this morning," the seamstress complimented with a large grin. All of us nodded in agreement, feeling happy that our efforts were paying off to help a friend in need. Twilight paused to give a small smile in return to all of us.

"Well, I have you all to thank. I know I haven't been at all like myself as of late, but thank you all for doing your best to keep my spirits up. I can't ask for any better friends than you," she quickly wiped a tear away with her hoof. "And this announcement really put me a good mood," she added gleefully until she noticed that I was standing. "Uh, you know Cougar, you can pull up a chair right next to Applejack if you'd like," she informed, trying to make me more comfortable.

"Nah, I'm fine standing," I shook my head politely, leaning with my elbow against Applejack's throne.

"Anyway," Twilight cleared her throat, raising up the parchment. "Somepony special is coming to visit Ponyville!" Twilight announced. I couldn't help but notice Pinkie Pie looking nervous like she'd seen a ghost, but she rubbed her hooves together as if planning something. I brushed it off as her just being Pinkie Pie and refocused my attention on Twilight. "And I need your help getting everything ready!" Twilight concluded. Everyone, except me started cheering and hollering at the announcement. I held off since I had no clue who it was that was visiting, and I don't cheer just because a random someone is visiting.

"Who's showing up, Twilight?" I asked, cracking my knuckles. Twilight sucked in a big breath of air. "It's Shining Armor and Princess Cadence!" Both Twilight and Pinkie exclaimed simultaneously. We all cast confused glances towards the pink party pony as she braced herself against the table. She had on a grin that looked physically impossible and her eyes were as wide as hell.

"…Yyyes," Twilight blinked a few times, "and they're coming tomorrow!" Pinkie copied Twilight at the exact same time again. Twilight honestly looked weirded out, and maybe even a little horrified at what Pinkie was doing. Except the pink mare had what appeared to be a nervous smile.

"Um Pinkie," Fluttershy coughed, "I hope you don't mind me saying, and please don't be mad, but it's kind of rude to uh interrupt somepony," the buttery pegasus had raised her hoof in the air to get Pinkie's attention. Fluttershy's statement hit Pinkie's deaf ears as the element of laughter nervously darted her eyes to her right, directly at Rarity. The seamstress was clearly put off by Pinkie's strange behavior as well as she raised an eyebrow and leaned back away from Pinkie. She then looked back toward Twilight who was scratching under her chin.

I could only stare at Pinkie as if I were seeing Bigfoot out in the wilderness. I couldn't decipher what the hell was going on; the 'normal' Pinkie I'd grown accustomed to was a far cry from what this Pinkie was doing. "Yes," Twilight started, uncertain if she could get a word in. "On the Friendship Express rather than the Crystal Empire train so as not to cause too much of a scene when they skip town to come visit?!" Pinkie cut Twilight off yet again at about three hundred miles per hour, finishing off with another creepy smile.

"AAAAND?!" Pinkie galloped across the table and stuck her nose against Twilight's, completely invading her personal space.

"That's…..it," Twilight had to pause, feeling uncomfortable and probably a little creeped out by Pinkie's actions. Pinkie sighed sadly at not being able to divulge any more information, allowing her head to sink low.

"How'd you know all that?" Rainbow finally asked what I was willing to bet was on everyone's minds. Pinkie darted her eyes over to the athletic pegasus, chuckling nervously and sweating.

"Uh, um, Pinkie sense?" She gulped as if she were guessing her answer. The mare slowly trotted backward to her throne, keeping her mouth shut for the time being.

"Pinkie?" I asked, causing her to look up at me, "have you started taking any new medication lately?" I questioned curiously. This wasn't a joke; I was really concerned if she was taking any new medicine or had stopped taking any medicine. She only shook her head as AJ elbowed me in the gut and shot me a glare.

"Did you say you needed our help with something?" Fluttershy asked sweetly. Twilight nodded happily and requested that we all follow her. She took flight, something we haven't seen from her in two weeks, and led the way. I lagged behind with Rainbow Dash, allowing the rest of the group get a little ahead.

"So, you see it too, Rainbow?" I asked in a more hushed voice for extra precaution. "I mean, has Pinkie ever acted, beyond Pinkie before?" I questioned. The rainbow maned pegasus shook her head quickly.

"No," she started, "well yeah. She's snapped from reality before, but she's never acted like this. Maybe her 'Pinkie Senses' are losing a little steam," Rainbow shrugged.

"You two teamed up to help Twilight," I pointed out as we made our way through the halls. "Did she show any signs of acting like this?" Rainbow could only shake her head again, having no idea what was wrong with our party-loving friend. After not too long of a walk, Twilight led us into a random room in the castle, only this room was different even from Spike's room. I took note that there was an ant farm on a shelf, a train set in the middle of the room, and various posters of what appeared to be Sci-Fi ponies.

"Hey, sweet posters!" Rainbow flew up to a poster of a unicorn pony wearing a futuristic suit, striking a dramatic pose. "Is that Smash Fortune?"

"Mhmm, sure is!" Twilight beamed. "When Shining Armor wrote to me and said he wanted to come to the castle and visit, I had my parents send me a few things he liked when he was a colt as a special surprise," she explained.

"SURPRISE!?" Pinkie burst out of a toy chest, wearing a spartan-looking helmet. The sudden shock of her outburst made me almost drop an action figure I was studying. After juggling with it for a few seconds, I got a good grip on it and set it down gently on a shelf before putting my hands at my sides. Thankfully no one saw my little episode and was instead focused on Pinkie's nervous laughter as she spun the helmet around to hide her face.

"I've been getting so excited the past few days that I've hardly been able to keep it to myself!" Twilight said with much joy in her tone. "And again, combined with your help, it's really helping me get back to my old self," she added.

"Heh, I guess a visit from your brother and sister-in-law is really what the doctor ordered, Twilight?" I asked, stuffing my hands into my pockets. The mare nodded vigorously as Pinkie's voice echoed from the helmet.

"I have no idea what that's like!"

"Aww," Fluttershy cooed. I turned to see her pressing her face up against the glass of the ant farm window. "Look at the cute little ant farm!" She gushed.

"And look at these cool comic books!" Spike exclaimed as he admired the pieces of heroic literature and graphics. Reminding me of the Big Bang Theory nerds, the comics were wrapped in a special plastic. "Awesome! Issue number four of the X-Stallions!"

"Careful Spike!" Twilight gasped, "those are mint in bag and nearly-" she tried to warn.

"Irreplaceable," Spike finished for her as he quickly wiped some dust off the cover of the bag. "I know mom," he smiled and set the comic back down. "You know I collect comic books too; I treat them like they'd fall apart just by looking at them." Twilight exhaled in relief and gave Spike a quick hug.

"How could I forget?" She asked rhetorically, squeezing Spike tightly.

"Ooh, what's this?" Pinkie Pie asked, holding up an old doll.

"That's Brutus Force, Pinkie," Twilight turned from Spike and trotted over to Pinkie. She seemed to chuckle at the memory, "Shining Armor used to carry him around all the time like he was his baby," Twilight described. Pinkie then juggled the doll around like it was a hot potato before laughing nervously.

"Yeah, heh heh, really cute!" She exclaimed. Me being somewhat of a nostalgia snob, I actually thought this room was pretty damn cool, even if it was a remodel of a little colt's room. Sometimes reaching back into your childhood was a good thing.

"It is somewhat juvenile for castle decor," Rarity chimed in, holding her chin as she scanned her eyes around the room.

"Well, maybe a little," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest and garnering everyone's attention. "But come on, what's wrong with feeling a little nostalgic? If I walked into my shack on AJ's farm and you guys somehow decorated it with posters of Spongebob, action figures of Buzz Lightyear, pictures of Jeff Gordon in his Rainbow Warriors car and had all my die-cast race cars, I'd be freaking thrilled!" Everyone gave me a blank stare in return, making me feel a little self-conscious of my exclamation.

"If you'd let me finish, Cougar," Rarity cleared her throat, "I was going to add that it was very sweet of Twilight to do for her brother." I began to purposely scratch at my neck so I wouldn't have to look at Rarity for interrupting her like an ass. Applejack only giggled at how flustered I looked and gave my waist a quick hug.

"I'm sure Shining Armor will love it!" Fluttershy grinned. What happened next was an odd mixture of Twilight asking us to help her collect a few more things for her brother, Rainbow explaining how much waiting for someone to be surprised can be better than the surprise itself, Pinkie asking some off the wall weird question about holding a huge surprise, followed by Rarity going William Shatner on Pinkie Pie about ponies who ruin surprises.

"GOTTA BOUNCE!" Pinkie randomly shouted before bouncing off the walls like a pinball before busting through the wall. As we all stared, completely flabbergasted at the mare, I couldn't help but bring up my prior theory.

"Still voting for any form of medication she's stopped taking or started taking," I raised my hand in the air.

Things with Pinkie only got stranger and stranger after we dispersed to gather a few things for the arrival of Cadence and Shining Armor. Applejack and I were strolling through town with baskets of apples when Pinkie zoomed by with a cart full of pastries, nearly running us over. Then as we were taking a break and chatting with Twilight, she raced by us again like the hounds of Hell were in hot pursuit. I stared at the dust trail the cart left before slowly turning to Twilight and Applejack. "Still think I'm thinking too much about this, Applejack?" I asked, balancing one basket of apples on each arm.

"Uh, maybe fer now, Sugarcube," Applejack was more on the fence about the issue than before.

"Hey, AJ, Cougar!" we heard Applebloom calling for us.

"What is it, lil sis?" Applejack greeted the little yellow filly. She was carrying in her mouth a ballon in the shape of a goldfish, more than likely Pinkie Pie's work. The filly took it out of her mouth and stepped on the string with her hoof to talk more clearly.

"Is Pinkie Pie feelin' a bit under the weather? She was makin' ballon animals 'n made a bottle fer Scootaloo but claimed it was a puppy dog," Applebloom asked. Applejack, myself, and Twilight all turned slowly to exchange odd looks. "Then Featherweight said she got real stingy 'bout makin' a balloon fer him." I didn't say any words for fear of upsetting AJ, but I did gesture toward Applebloom with an expression of 'Do you see what I've been saying?'

"Don't gimme that look, Ivan," Applejack shook her head. "Pinkie Pie hasn't mentioned anythin', Applebloom," AJ ruffled the filly's red mane. "But we'll be sure ta keep a close eye on her." She promised. Applebloom cocked her head to the side before clenching the balloon string in her teeth and trotting away.

"We'll talk to Pinkie about this later," Twilight pulled out a list from her saddlebag. "I want to start spiffing up the castle early so it's perfect when Cadence and Shining Armor get here!" She exclaimed giddily, hopping up from the picnic table. Myself, Applejack, and Fluttershy and Rainbow who were sitting at another table, got up to follow her.

A little while passed as we found ourselves doing the necessary prep work on the castle just like Twilight wanted. I didn't mind having to do so many different things to get the castle ready. As long as Twilight's mind was occupied and she was happy, I was glad to do this to help her. We hadn't seen Pinkie Pie since our brief glimpse of her back at the picnic tables, but we were expecting her to arrive soon with some extra snacks for the big arrival tomorrow. Rainbow Dash was setting up different plants and decorations on elevations the rest of us couldn't reach, while Fluttershy and Rarity were polishing a lot of surfaces and putting in fresh decor on the throne room table. Applejack was busy sweeping up around the throne room while I was cleaning the windows of the throne room. And naturally, Twilight had her trusty checklist out, checking things off as Spike reported they were done. "Why can't they make this stuff smell like blueberries or something pleasant?" I asked, covering my nose of the odor that the window spray left.

"Ah'd be a lil more worried 'bout gettin' in yer eyes, Ivan," Applejack called out from across the room.

"Hello Pinkie!" Twilight suddenly exclaimed. We all stopped what we were doing to see the pink mare entering the room with a tray of vegetables on her head and one her left forehoof. She didn't seem overly hyperactive and crazy like earlier in the day, but she looked a little discouraged to me. I set the window spray and cloth on the floor, wiping my hands on my jeans and curled my fingers over and over to get the feeling back inside them. "Those look yummy!" Twilight added, licking her lips and levitating the trays over to the giant table. "But we'd better cover them up now so they don't get spoiled," the alicorn put silver lids over top of the trays.

"Why would they get spoiled?" Pinkie scratched her head. "We're all going to eat them super soon!" She squeaked.

"Uh, I have to agree with Pinkie on this one," I cocked an eyebrow, pointing my thumb at her. "At room temperature the vegetables should be okay for quite awhile." Seeing how my pony friends loved eating vegetables, it seemed odd that they'd be so pessimistic about keeping the refrigerated.

"Didn't y'all hear?" Applejack approached Pinkie Pie, placing her foreleg on top of her back. "Shinin' Armor 'n Cadence got held up; they won't be here 'till maybe Saturday," she announced.

"Huh?" I snapped my head toward my girlfriend just as Pinkie shouted.

"WHHHAAAAAATTTT!?" She exclaimed loudly before leaping up into the air, higher than Rainbow Dash, and latched onto Twilight's tree chandelier. Everyone dropped what they were holding at Pinkie's sudden outcry as we stared at her acting like Spider-Man. Pinkie huffed and puffed, fanning herself with her hoof. "You mean," she started gasping for air, "I have….to wait…ANOTHER WHOLE DAY?!" She screamed before laying her head against one of the roots of the chandelier. "I don't know if I can!"

"I may move my theory from medication to possession," I narrowed my eyes at the mare. "Unless…..Hey Pinkie, are you positive you haven't taken any red pills lately?" I questioned both sarcastically and legitimately. I didn't get a straight answer from her as she rubbed her cheek against the root.

"Pinkie Pie," Twilight said carefully as we all gathered around under where she was clinging to the root. "Do you have something you need to say? You've been acting crazier than usual and look like you've been keeping something in," Twilight asked and pointed out. Well, that's one theory. Though to me, looking like someone was keeping something in looked more like someone who's acting depressed than whatever Pinkie Pie was acting like. Pinkie only gasped harder, clamping her own hooves against her mouth, shaking her head. Surprisingly, Fluttershy, not Rainbow Dash, took flight and flew upward to Pinkie Pie.

"We're here to listen," she reminded Sweetly, petting against Pinkie's coat. Pinkie only shook her head even harder.

"Well, go on then Sugarcube," Applejack added.

"We're not going to judge you, darling," Rarity chimed in. I actually lost focus on Pinkie and looked across to my friends and girlfriend. I understand that they all want to give her moral support, but their one-liners were starting to creep me out a little.

"You'll feel so much better once you get it off your chest," Spike beamed with big green eyes as he placed a hand on Twilight's back.

"What, is everyone gonna get a turn?" I asked under my breath. Pinkie pulled out a yellow balloon and started to hyperventilate into the rubbery device. At this point, Rainbow Dash joined up with Fluttershy hovering next to the chandelier.

"Come on," I heard her try to convince Pinkie Pie to both come down and to spill the beans. The balloon Pinkie was breathing in and out of suddenly popped, mildly startling Rarity next to us. "Whatever it is, you can tell us. We're best friends," Rainbow reminded the party mare. And then, something odd happened. Pinkie's face just went to stone. Her face froze up as if she'd been in contact with Medusa, not moving an inch of her eyes or mouth whatsoever.

"Is she stuck in a trance or something?" I squinted to see her face better.

"OKAY OKAY OKAY!" She suddenly screamed, snapping from her trance. "YOU WIN!" Pinkie exclaimed, sounding like she'd been under extreme torture. Then, like a vacuum, she sucked in a large breath of air, continuing to shout. "SHINING ARMOR AND CADENCE ARE GONNA HAVE A-"

"An awesome weekend with the greatest little sister in Equestria!" A male's voice interrupted Pinkie's rant. The voice was accompanied by the loud creaking of the door. We all turned around to see a large pile of suitcases, and none other than Shining Armor and Cadence themselves. Cadence giggled as her husband laced his foreleg around her back.

"Hi everypony!" Cadence greeted all of us. Pinkie Pie sighed in relief before lazily slipping off the root! Noticing her fall, I dashed over with my arms outstretched. The mare slipped into my grip as I fell over onto my stomach and chest. I groaned as the mare hopped up and out of my arms, trotting away as I sat up onto my butt. AJ quickly rushed over to see if I was okay as well, rubbing my back with her hoof.

"Dash and Fluttershy couldn't keep up?" I asked, standing up from the floor. AJ shrugged and walked me back over to where everyone was now gathered in front of the Crystal Couple with huge grins on their faces. I didn't have one after sliding about ten feet on the floor to catch a pony who's MUCH heavier than she looks. Nonetheless, I brushed it aside and put on my best welcome face as it did warm my heart a little to see Twilight so happy.

"Cadence, Shining Armor!" She squealed, galloping over and nearly knocking them down. "You're early! I thought something came up and kept you from showing up until Saturday!"

"Well we thought so too," Cadence chuckled. "It turns out we weren't needed in Maretonia until next week," Cadence explained. "And the summit we needed to attend to had to be rescheduled." 'What in the hell is that sound?' Was all I could think now. I looked over to see Pinkie chewing on her hoof.

"Sooooo, surprise!" Shining removed his foreleg from Cadence and gave Twilight a huge bear hug, rubbing their foreheads together.

"But it's so wonderful to see you all again," Cadence smiled.

"Hey, especially our favorite human!" Shining stuck out his free foreleg in my direction. I gladly accepted it and shook his hoof. "How's life going for you, Cougar?" he asked me.

"Well," I looked over at Twilight, "I can't really complain too much," I let go of Shining's hoof. I didn't want to blurt out to Cadence and Shining Armor about what Twilight had gone through the past two weeks. And I didn't know if Spike or Twilight had written to them about it.

"And how are, things," Cadence shot me a sly look after I placed my arm on AJ's back. Applejack and I looked toward each other before smiling, knowing precisely what Cadence was talking about.

"Ah'd like ta say things are goin' smoother than a butter covered griddle in the middle 'o August!" Applejack exclaimed, nuzzling my ribs with her cheek. Unsurprisingly, what AJ and I did the night before Hearts and Hooves Day still remained between us. Our plans to tell Rarity went to Hell, and it wasn't that important while we had a poor Twilight to console. I chuckled at Applejack's description and patted her on the back.

"I'm so glad you're hear!" Twilight exclaimed. "I have a pretty big surprise for you."

"Oh yeah?" Shining said with a bit of a cocky tone in his voice. Twilight once again led the way out of the throne room. I didn't quite catch where we were going, but I presumed it to be the room we'd been in earlier.

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(Short while later; Ponyville; Ivan's POV)

We found ourselves in Ponyville once again; this time Pinkie was actually WITH us. However, Cadence and Shining Armor weren't. After taking them to see Shining's room, (and having him flipping the fuck out) I noticed something odd about Shining. He took Spike aside to talk to the dragon. I didn't then and didn't now know what the hell that was all about, but I never got the time to talk to Spike, Shining Armor, or even Cadence. "Ugh," Rainbow groaned and clutched her stomach. "Where did they say they were gonna meet us? I'm STARVING!"

"In the town square!" Twilight replied in a chipper tone. "Though I wish they'd waited to walk over with us, but they said they had something to take care of first that required Spike's help," she explained.

"They're gonna have a lot more to take care of soon," we all heard Pinkie mutter under her breath.

"What!?" Twilight exclaimed as we all stopped and turned around at Pinkie.

"NOTHING!" Pinkie kicked up a ton of dust on the bridge we were walking on as she sped ahead of the group.

"Guys, are we seriously not gonna talk about Pinkie?" I asked with genuine concern. "Weird doesn't even describe her today!" I gestured toward the pony that looked like she was about to have a nervous breakdown.

"I think she was just excited for Cadence and Shining Armor to arrive, Cougar," Rarity brushed it off. My face instantly fell.

"MORE excited than TWILIGHT?" I asked in the most 'duh' voice I could muster.

"Well, you know how overhyped Pinkie can get," Rainbow agreed with Rarity.

"About the littlest details too," Fluttershy nodded. I groaned and gave up, realizing that there was no convincing these ponies, even if a few acknowledged earlier that something was up with our party loving friend. We spotted the mare in question leaning against a fountain that was in the middle of the town, but Cadence and Shining Armor were no shows.

"Wha?" Twilight asked. "Usually they're more punctual than this." Rainbow groaned loudly yet again, complaining that she was in need of a hayburger while punching the head of a statue that was in the middle of the fountain. "Hey, what's this?" We all looked towards Twilight's gaze as her magic engulfed a scroll settled in the statue's mouth. The scroll levitated over to Twilight who gasped upon untying and reading it.

"What does it say, darling?" Rarity questioned as we all gathered around the alicorn.

"It's a scavenger hunt!" Twilight squealed in delight, dancing around in place. "Shining Armor used to set these up for me all the time when I was a filly! At the end, he'd always have a big surprise waiting for me. Like a new book!" Twilight rambled on about how great this was. None of us, even Twilight, knew the true intentions of why exactly her brother and sister-in-law were in Ponyville, but seeing Twilight this happy didn't make that matter to me. In fact, I'm starting to think that's what Shining wanted to talk to Spike about. Maybe the dragon let him know what happened to Twilight, and Shining quickly whipped this up for Twilight.

"OKAY WE GET IT! YOU LIKE BOOKS!" Pinkie suddenly blurted, taking the scroll away from Twilight.

"So, what's the first clue?" AJ asked, as the rest of us minus Rainbow looked curiously at Pinkie.

"I hope it's something about eating lunch!" Rainbow whined, though I had to agree with her as my stomach growled just a bit.

"You've got a scroll; you're on a roll," Pinkie started to read off the list. "Why don't you take a peek at where young ones spend their week? A piece of paper will continue this caper," Pinkie removed the scroll from her face, darting her eyes around. 'School,' was literally the first thing on my mind after hearing that, though no one else had an answer yet. I wanted to say the answer, but at the same time I wanted Twilight to be able to handle this. Low and behold, Twilight gasped, repeating the clue.

"I don't get it," Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"Just follow me, girls and Cougar," Twilight chuckled.

---

Just as the two of us predicted, we were led to none other than the Ponyville Schoolhouse. Though it appeared all of the students were inside, the bell was going off for some reason.

"Oh, now I get it," Fluttershy giggled, apparently not understanding the clue at first as well.

"Yep, the Ponyville Schoolhouse!" Twilight declared. I was about to suggest we go inside to look for a clue when Pinkie barged her way through the group.

"GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME! Now, where's the next clue?" She started panting like a bloodhound and sniffing at the ground. Yeah, my theory about medicine made me want to scream now. Anxiety, some bouts of possible Tourettes, and now acting like Scooby-Doo? She sniffed inside a bush before sneezing loudly as a leaf stuck to her nose.

"Don't give us that look," Rainbow rolled her eyes when I shot everyone a 'Are you freaking kidding me?' look.

"Extra extra! Get your Ponyville News!" We heard Featherweight shouting behind us. "Read it in the paper!" He added, trotting around in a little uniform.

"Hmm, piece of paper?" Twilight whispered to herself. "A paper that will continue the caper," she paraphrased the clue. Twilight gasped and quickly paid for a paper from Featherweight, opening it up. Fluttershy, AJ, Rarity, and Rainbow crowded around Twilight and the paper, scanning through it. I held back and awaited to see what they found. Rarity pointed out a dress that the mayor was wearing in a picture. 'Typical Rarity,' I thought with an eye roll. I chuckled to myself as Applejack pointed out that it was Rarity who'd made the dress in the first place.

"FOCUS EVERYPONY!" I heard Pinkie's shrill voice cry out, followed by the sound of ripping paper. Peering over everyone's heads, I saw Pinkie's head had torn straight through the newspaper.

"You know, Shining Armor doesn't set time limits for these scavenger hunts, Pinkie," Twilight giggled at the mare.

"Aha! There!" Pinkie jabbed her hoof at the paper. This time I joined in crowding around the paper, though I was stuck looking at it upside down.

"Though this hall is rather small, in it you'll find files of all kinds. Take a look on the back of the birth certificate of Applejack!" Twilight read off the clue. If I had to guess, it would have to be the love I held for Applejack, but the minute Twilight said we had to look at her birth certificate, a smile grew on my face. Applejack's eyes had shrunk in surprise as we all leered at her.

"Uhh, Ah don't like where this is goin'," Applejack seethed just a bit.

"Aww, don't be like that, AJ," I said sweetly, putting my arm around her. "It's your birth certificate; it can't be all bad," I added.

Pinkie, like an NHRA driver, rocketed ahead of us toward town hall. Luckily the door was closed or I'm sure she would've smashed right through it without slowing down. Applejack had looked a bit uncomfortable that we were going to have to look at her birth certificate, but I was pretty intrigued. Though I've seen her baby pictures back at her home, a birth certificate is really something special, especially since it was hers.

"Um, you know where your own bathrooms are, right?" I asked the mayor as she looked to be dancing impatiently in front of town hall. She stopped dancing as we entered, only to have Pinkie run back outside for something. "Damn, this place looked smaller on the outside," I scanned around the room, taking note of every hallway that the building contained.

"Well, good thing your auntie Pinkie Pie is here to guide you, Cougar!" Pinkie suddenly exclaimed from behind, patting my leg with her hoof. She then gave a bunch of different directions about turning left, which interested me of course, but with how fast she was talking, I couldn't keep up.

"Wow, Pinkie," Fluttershy said, "I had no idea you knew so much about town hall!"

"There's a lot of things I know," Pinkie started to brag, "uh, that you don't know I know!" She corrected and held her breath before zooming down the hallway.

"Okay, can we please actually take time during this hunt?" I requested to everyone once we started down the same hallway. "I feel like she's rushing the hell out of us and we haven't been at one location for more than thirty seconds," I added.

"I feel somewhat the same way, Cougar," Twilight sympathized, "but Pinkie adds something to the game," she shrugged it off. We made it to the filing room just as Pinkie was fishing through one of the cabinets, looking a little pissed to me. She grasped a file within her mouth and opened it, pulling out a piece of paper.

"Aha, here you go!" She said victoriously, holding up the paper in her hoof so Twilight could hold it in her magic. Without missing a beat, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy began to gush over whatever picture was on AJ's birth certificate. The trio plus AJ were crowding around it so I had no view whatsoever. Even though I tried to use my height to my advantage, the four ponies didn't even attempt to move out of the way.

"Oh, did you want to see, darling?" Rarity noticed me trying to peer over and took a few steps back. I thanked her with a quick nod and saw that Applejack was blushing from all of the comments made about her picture before moving my eyes to the paper. I can't really explain what happened next; but the moment I saw Applejack's picture of her first moment of life, I not only felt a smile creep across my mouth, but I also felt my heart leap. Just seeing her, the one that I've pledged my love to, as not just a baby, but a newborn was a little surreal. It was also the moment the fool that lived inside me took over my actions.

"Aww," I said as well, slinging an arm over Applejack and pulled her close. But I didn't stop there. I also put my hand to her cheek and just played with it a bit. "You were just the cutest baby, hun," I teased, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. Applejack blushed harder, forcing a smile on her face as she looked up at me before flipping the certificate around. The next thing I knew, my foot was throbbing in pain. Releasing my arm from her, I grabbed my ball cap off my head and quickly bit down onto it to keep from screaming.

"Oops," Applejack chuckled, lifting her hoof off my foot. "Ah really do need ta watch where Ah'm steppin', Sugarcube," she even gave me a quick nuzzle to my hand. I started to breath in and out through my nose as I could hear Rainbow Dash trying not to bust her gut laughing. I need to remember just how strong Applejack's hooves are before I start teasing her like that in public. "Oh I'm so pleased that my pain made you forget about your hunger, Dashie," I called her by her nickname.

"Hey, you're the one who poked the bear by teasing your marefriend. It's game on from there," Rainbow shot back, crossing her forelegs with a smart ass smirk on her face.

"SHH!" Pinkie shushed the two of us.

"This next place is where you can buy a table or chair. Or some comfy beds to rest little heads," Twilight read off the clue from the back of the certificate. And just like that, Pinkie once again put both the Flash and Quicksilver to shame, bursting out of the room as everyone thought hard about the clue while I was still coming down from my pain high.

"REALLY!?" Pinkie then poked her head through the door. "None of you?!"

Out of the blue, Pinkie somehow managed to mash us all, even me, together in one ball and shoved us out of town hall and into the streets of Ponyville at what felt like 200 miles per hour. "IT'S OBVIOUSLY THE FURNITURE STORE!" She shouted as she pushed us until coming to a sudden stop. "GO IN, GO IN, GO IN!" She bounced up and down impatiently.

"Well, thank God no one has a camera," I muttered. When we came to the sudden stop, a few of us tumbled a few feet forward. Unluckily for Fluttershy, I landed underneath her while she landed right on top of me with our noses touching. I didn't feel embarrassed or anything since I only saw her as a friend, but the color of her face was a different story.

"OhmyCelestia!" She quickly exclaimed, scrambling to get off me. AJ helped me sit up as Fluttershy started to ramble on an apology. I assured her that it was okay and that she shouldn't be apologizing for anything.

"Twilight!?" Pinkie grabbed the alicorn's hoof and tried to pull her inside.

"Look Pinkie, I don't know about this," Twilight politely objected. And that's about the moment where Pinkie lost her patience. The mare groaned loudly before barging into the store, sounding like she was looting the place after a natural disaster or an L.A. blackout. We all stared at the building as we could see Pinkie through a few of the windows, tossing cribs and other pieces of furniture around before the door burst open with her riding a golden colored crib.

"I hate to be that guy, but could we at least get a decent pacing for the game, Pinkie?" I requested.

"Nope!" She exclaimed, "That'd take way too long! Now ZIP IT!" She jabbed her hoof at me before practically punching a riddle on the crib. I was actually taken aback by this. I was legitimately scared of Pinkie Pie for that brief moment.

"Wow, you're scary good at this, Pinkie Pie," Rainbow Dash commented. 'Fine choice of words there, Skittles,' I thought to myself before standing up and winced a bit as I put too much pressure on my foot.

"It seems we've saved the best for last; we hope that you've had a blast. Now it's time to take a break, where you can get a slice of cake!"

"Sugarcube Corner!" Everyone but me and Pinkie exclaimed.

"Pfft, that was an easy one," Pinkie waved it off. And then, the scavenger hunt on crack was, for the time being, over.

---

(Sugarcube Corner; Ivan's POV)

'What Hell is waiting for us here?' I asked myself as I tried to wrap my head around how quickly we finished the game with that mare acting a million times crazier than usual. I'm fine with doing an activity like this with my friends and girlfriend, but if Pinkie is gonna act like a psychopath the whole time, I may fake an illness the next time.

"Surprise!" Shining Armor greeted us as we walked into the bakery. "Twily, did you like the scavenger hunt?" He ruffled Twilight's mane. 'Unless it's to put Twilight's mind elsewhere,' I conceded after reminding myself that Twilight was happier from the sudden scavenger hunt. A few more days of Cadence and Shining Armor visiting, and Twilight may be back to normal.

"It was perfect!" Twilight exclaimed happily. "Just like old times, except even better because this time I got to share it with my best friends!" She added, turning to us. We all smiled while I even gave her a thumbs up to somewhat agree with her. But it was right about then that I noticed the bakery was completely covered with decorations. 'Was there a party for Twilight that I wasn't told about?'

"There's just one thing missing, isn't there?" Twilight asked as Pinkie pushed all of us aside. The alicorn looked underneath her brother for some reason before looking to the side of him and behind him.

"Oh really? What's that?" Shining asked. I could tell Twilight was trying to sound a bit modest, but she sounded genuinely excited for her prize.

"Well, you know, the book prize at the end?" She poked Shining in the chest. The white unicorn chuckled before patting his sister on the back and joining his wife.

"There is a prize, Twily, but it's a little different this time," Shining revealed as he and Cadence embraced each other.

"Actually, there's a few for you, little sister," Cadence added with a warming smile. I turned to ask AJ if she knew anything about all these surprises that Twilight was going to receive, but I instead focused on Pinkie who looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"I don't understand…." Twilight replied, confused as the rest of us.

"Well, all the places we sent you and your friends had something special in common," Cadence explained before both she and Shining put on smiles that were a cross between smug and proud. And as Twilight began to list off all of our locations visited, Pinkie moved from heart attack to 'apparent detonation.'

"Let's see, first we went to the schoolhouse; and then read the Foal Free Press." Pinkie suddenly gained an underbite for some reason which made me take a step away from her. That wasn't necessary however; she disappeared from next to me and appeared behind Twilight with a sort of serial killer look on her face. "After that we found Applejack's birth certificate," Twilight continued. The mention of AJ's birth certificate made my foot involuntarily throb. Pinkie then bit her hoof and fell to the floor in the fetal position. "And then the last clue was on a crib…." Twilight tapped her chin. And then Pinkie appeared holding Pound and Pumpkin Cake in her forelegs. "Hmm, school, foal, birth certificate, and crib," Twilight pondered.

'Hang on a minute,' I too started to piece together what we did. 'Oh holy mother of-' I thought until Twilight gasped.

"CAN IT BE? ARE YOU TWO-" She pointed a hoof at Cadence and Shining Armor.

"We're having a baby!" The duo parted ways to reveal a three layer cake with a baby carriage on top.

"A BABY, TWILIGHT!" Pinkie suddenly burst, sounding much more joyful. The mare then for some reason grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "It's a baby, whoo-hoo!" She released me before bouncing off the walls like a pinball.

"Boy howdy, isn't this excitin', Ivan?" Applejack asked and grabbed me so I could get my sense of balance back as Twilight leaned against a wall for support.

"Yeah, exciting," I shook my head to keep the room from spinning.

"Y-y-you mean, I'm going to be an aunt?!" She exclaimed. "This is the BEST prize ever!" Twilight exclaimed again, flaring her wings from excitement. The alicorn went to hug Cadence and Shining Armor, but for some odd reason, they stopped her. "Wh-what? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Twily, nothing like that," Shining replied, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "We still have a few more surprises for you," he then whistled. Spike appeared from the kitchen, marching proudly to his mom before giving her a hug.

"Not that I don't love seeing you, Spike," Twilight kissed his forehead, "but you're not that much of a surprise," she giggled.

"Twilight, this was all because of Spike," Cadence announced. We all took a few steps closer just to hear where all of this came from. We were all surprised, well everyone except Pinkie.

"What?" Twilight asked in awe.

"Look little sis," Shining hugged Twilight. "Spike wrote to us a few days ago and told us what happened to you on Hearts and Hooves and Day," he admitted. We all cringed, expecting Twilight to start shaking a few times from mentioning the holiday as she did the first few days of her recovery.

"And we're NOT mad at you," Cadence assured her.

"Even though you had him and the rest of your friends to carry you after what happened, Spike was so heartbroken to see you like that that he wrote to us to beg for help. We didn't tell him Cady was pregnant," Shining explained, "but we decided to come and visit you and that it would be the perfect opportunity to tell you our big news. You know, to take your mind off it." Twilight breathed heavily and looked at the ground.

"And," she swallowed, "and the actual party?" She gestured to all of the decorations.

"All Spike's idea," Cadence lifted Twilight's head to turn it to Spike.

"You've always comforted me when I was sad or helped me up when I was down," Spike said with a smile and a few tears of his own welling up in his eyes. "I just thought you deserved a special party to remind you how much you mean to your friends, and to me," he hugged her tightly before capping off with, "I love you mom!" He exclaimed. Twilight then cried out loudly before hugging Spike as well.

"I love you too, my special little Spike!" Not wanting to shed any tears, I looked around the room for a distraction, but found it very difficult. I tried to think of positive and uplifting things, but they were overpowered by the mother/son moment. Pinkie took out a handkerchief and blew into it loudly before crying loudly. Fluttershy smiled and rocked back and forth in place while slow streams of tears fell down her cheeks. Rarity tried wiping the mascara that was staining her white fur, and Applejack just leaned against me, not shedding any tears whatsoever.

"Um, Carrot Cake?" Rainbow said to the baker that was watching the whole scene behind us. "Can you close your onion drawer or whatever?" She requested, wiping her eyes.

"But we don't have an onion drawer, Rainbow Dash. This is a bakery," he reminded her, scratching the back of his head. Rainbow Dash groaned before she took a seat and covered her face with her wings and hooves. I couldn't stop myself from giving the cyan mare a slight smirk at her attempt to keep looking tough.

"I'm sorry for putting you in that situation, Spike," Twilight apologized, never letting go of her reptilian son.

"Mom, it's okay," I could tell Spike tried to chuckle to make the scene a little less heavy hearted, but it only came out as quiet sobs. "Like you taught me when I was a baby, everypony makes mistakes," he said, rubbing his cheek against hers. No one said a word as we watched Spike and Twilight embrace their roles as mother and son; how could any of us say anything? "Hey, believe it or not, we have one more surprise for you mom," Spike patted her back and pulled away.

"Hmm?" Twilight sniffed and cocked her head in confusion. Spike raised up his hand, and in the direction of the kitchen, put his thumb in the air. Surrounded by golden aura, the doors to the kitchen softly yet swiftly swung open. Everyone immediately took a gasping bow as Princess Celestia and Glock entered the room. Out of politeness, I bowed as well, sitting down on knee next to Applejack.

"Hello Twilight," Celestia greeted in her motherly tone. "You may rise," she granted softly. I lifted my head up to see if anyone else but Twilight and Spike had ceased bowing, only to find just about everyone else doing the exact same thing I was. "That means all of you, my friends," she corrected, casting her gaze our way. We all followed suit, but still dared to not say anything as Spike took a step away so his mother could talk to Celestia. Of course, Twilight couldn't say anything. instead her jaw quivered as if it were having a seizure.

"P-P-Princess Celestia?!" The mare's voice squeaked in both surprise and I'm guessing anxiousness. The only reason why I could think she was anxious was Celestia knowing of her plan and subsequent break up with Flash Sentry. However, the pearl white alicorn didn't glare, furrow her eyebrows, or even look at all judgmental to Twilight. In fact, Celestia didn't even ask her usual questions to the smaller alicorn. Instead, the goddess of the sun reacted only to Twilight's shock.

"When Spike wrote to me and told me about your condition, I thought I'd pay you a little visit," Celestia said warmly, placing a golden hoof on Twilight's shoulder. What surprised me the most about this is Twilight never responded to Celestia's explanation. Rather, she looked back in the direction of Spike and gulped loudly.

"Y-you told princess Celestia too?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"Only yesterday," Spike explained with a quick shrug. "I just thought that if you were surrounded by everypony that loved you…." the dragon trailed off, feeling as if he didn't need any further explanation. He gasped for air, however, when Twilight re-wrapped her forelegs around him and hugged him tight.

"I-I couldn't a-ask f-for a b-better son!" She cried out into Spike's shoulder once again. Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Celestia, Shining Armor, and Cadence all 'awwed' at the display. Applejack and I only smiled, trying not to express too much emotion while Rainbow still hid her face behind her wings, and Glock stood still, maintaining his body guard pose.

"Well, you know Twily," Shining chimed in, pointing at Cadence's belly. "Spike may have some competition here soon," he grinned. Even though tears were still coming out of her eyes, we all easily heard Twilight scoff as she wiped her nose with a napkin.

"Check back with me in about five years," Twilight patted Spike's back proudly. As this was all playing out, I bent my head down to Applejack's ear.

"Knowing how these usually go, I'm betting it's gonna be a girl," I whispered. The orange mare snapped back to give me a puzzled look, but I just put my hand on the back of her neck and lightly scratched it.

"Twilight, I just want to let you know that while I understand this is a day of cheering up for you, I am still fairly disappointed with what happened between you and Flash Sentry," Celestia cleared her throat sternly. I seethed, hoping that this one moment wouldn't destroy everyone's hard work. Twilight sighed, yet maintained eye contact with her former mentor.

"I-I know, princess," she said in a near weak voice. "It was completely wrong and out of line for me to force what I wanted onto Flash without even taking his feelings into consideration," Twilight admitted. One thing that I was pleasantly surprised with was the fact that no one, not even Twilight's brother or sister-in-law wanted to blame Flash. In about 99% of these situations, the guy is normally blacklisted as the one at fault, but here we all knew it was Twilight's fault this happened. Yet, we never said it to her face like that.

"Now, now," Celestia cooed as Glock's concentration broke at Celestia's motherly display. "We all make mistakes, Twilight Sparkle. And the best way to learn from them is to admit we committed them," she advised. "But I didn't come here as your former mentor, or even as a leader for that matter. I came here as your friend, Twilight," she pulled the purple pony in for a hug. The two held the hug for a solid ten seconds before Twilight gasped again.

"Wait a minute!" She turned to Shining. "Where are mom and dad?!" Her voice rose at her realization.

"Calm down, Twily," Shining Armor chuckled.

"We were hoping they could come down too, but they got held up in Canterlot," Cadence explained. "So we told them that they would be grandparents yesterday."

"But don't worry, we didn't mention anything about-" Shining tried to assure her before Twilight held up her hoof.

"Listen everypony, and Cougar," Twilight announced. "I want to thank you all for putting me at the top of all your thoughts and for doing everything you can for helping me. But I'm sick of this recovery," she forced a grin onto her face before looking toward Pinkie. "Pinkie, I think you know what time it is," she grinned harder. Pinkie disappeared for about half a second and reappeared in the middle of the bakery dining room with her party cannon. I shielded my eyes in case any confetti were to land on my face.

"IT'S PARTY TIME!" She set off the cannon, spewing cupcake scented paper all of the place. And just like an 80s movie party, music started to play from seemingly nowhere, but none of us minded as we are all ready to relax a little and have some more fun. One other thing was itching at my mind, though. As Carrot Cake cut up some slices of the celebration cake for everyone while everyone started to mingle and personally congratulate Cadence and Shining Armor, I snuck around to Celestia. And by sheer luck, I managed to get her away from the cake to talk to her.

"Hey, Celestia?" I tapped her side.

"Oh, how are you doing, Cougar?" She sounded pleased to see me.

"Just great," I quickly replied. "Twilight's looking happier than I've seen her in half a month, Cadence and Shining Armor are gonna be parents, and Applejack and I couldn't be doing better," I gave her a brief summary. She nodded at my response before levitating a piece of cake over to herself. "I like that you and Glock are here, but is Luna coming too? I mean Cadence is her niece too," I asked. Ever since Luna and I had our breakthrough a few weeks ago, I was eager to spend a little more time with her.

"Well, Luna's feeling a little ill today," Celestia said after swallowing her bite of cake. My heart sank a little. "But don't worry, it's nothing life threatening or anything of that nature. We sent letters back and forth this morning; she's sending Checkered to bestow a gift upon Cadence and Shining Armor. It's more of an apology gift for not being able to come," she explained.

"Oh," I clicked my tongue as Celestia practically swallowed the rest of her cake slice. "Well, do you know what she got Cadence and Shining Armor?" I looked over at the expecting parents who were chatting with Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy.

"She made a set of star and moon pajamas for their baby," Celestia said with her mouth full, probably so the surprise wouldn't be spoiled for the couple.

"Ah, well that's sweet," I grinned. "But wait-" I tried to ask.

"My baby sister may be ill, but she can really focus in her concentration on just about anything when ill," Celestia explained. Even though I've never seen Luna sew anything before, she'd been around during Equestria's much earlier days, so it wouldn't surprise me if sewing was something she could do to keep her mind at ease while sick. "And Cadence and Shining Armor alerted us to their news a few days ago as well," she added as I had another questionable look on my face.

"Howdy, Princess Celestia," Applejack suddenly said from behind me. The mare then slipped her head in between my side and arm, cuddling against me. "Hey there, Ivan," she added.

"Hello Applejack," Celestia winked at me. "I can certainly see that what you said is true, Cougar," she added. "Is there anything you need, Applejack?"

"Naw, Ah just came over ta see what y'all were doin' is all," Applejack explained, continuing to rub her cheek in between my arm and side. "Ah gotcha a slice 'o cake, Sugarcube," she held a plate in her free hoof, shoving it toward me. Celestia giggled before politely leaving us alone and to go talk to Cadence and Shining Armor. "How's yer foot, Ivan?" Applejack asked when I grabbed the plate from her.

"It's getting better," I replied, daring not to make a sarcastic comment.

"Ah'll make it up to ya tonight, Ivan," She remarked out of the blue when I sat down to eat my slice. Realizing what she said, I held the fork just above the dessert as if I'd been frozen. Of course I could've misinterpreted it. "So what were you 'n the princess talkin' about?"

"I, uh, just wanted to know where Luna was is all," I shook my head clear of what AJ had insinuated and began to eat the slice of dessert. "I just wanted to say hi to her, but she's sick," I explained. Applejack carefully took her own plate of cake off her back and slid it onto the tabletop before sitting down next to me. "You didn't eat any yet?" I asked, wiping my mouth of frosting.

"Nah, Ah'd rather eat with you, Ivan," Applejack smiled before digging into her own slice. "So, what's wrong with Princess Luna?" She asked me. I chuckled at how dirty her muzzle was getting from the frosting while scooping another bite into my mouth.

"Celestia said she's not feeling well," I reported, "but that Checkered should be by soon with a present for Cadence and Shining Armor's baby." Applejack ceased eating to wipe her own mouth before belching loudly.

"A present? But isn't that kinda upstagin' everypony? Especially her older sister?"

"It's more of an apology that she couldn't make it; don't tell them though," I jerked my head in the direction of the expecting parents. "Celestia told me Luna made special pajamas. And who knows, maybe Checkered will get the baby a foal sized hat," I chuckled, remembering the kid-sized Jeff Gordon hat I had when I was younger.

"Oh, well that's awful kind 'o Luna," Applejack took another bite. "Ya know, speakin' 'o Cadence 'n Shinin' Armor are ya gonna go congratulate them?" I put my fork down on the plate next to the remaining cake left.

"Well of course," I shrugged, not understanding why AJ asked that. It wasn't that I didn't care. "I mean once they get some free space away Twilight, Celestia, and Pinkie Pie," I looked back over to see Cadence and her husband practically surrounded by the three aforementioned ponies. "Besides, Twilight's still freaking out over being an aunt; I wouldn't want to interrupt that." Now that I thought about it, her going back and forth between emotions over the course of the day was probably going to turn into exhaustion for her soon. Although I was certain that she wouldn't have too much trouble sleeping tonight even with all of the big news that's happened.

"Ah'd say Twilight's not gonna leave Cadence 'n Shinin' Armor's side until she gets plum tuckered out 'n falls asleep," Applejack replied. I'd think that's a pretty safe bet. "Ah also wanted ta talk ta ya about a few things, Sugarcube," I could feel her hoof stroking my arm, drawing my attention away from Twilight, her friends, and family.

"Something's not wrong, is it?" I asked. I wasn't exactly thinking about the worst, but nine times out of ten in my life, bad news would follow that exact statement. Of course Applejack's reaction didn't adhere to my expectations.

"What?" She shook her head a few times. "Nothin' is wrong, Ivan!" She exclaimed. "What makes ya think that?" I took her hoof in my hand and explained that it just a normal reaction from me before allowing her to continue with what she wanted to talk about. She sighed in relief, knowing that she hadn't worried me. "Now, Ah know this won't be fer a good while, 'n Ah know ya just love the Crusaders 'n Pound 'n Pumpkin Cake," she began. "But Ah was thinkin' that as a present fer Cadence 'n Shinin' Armor's baby, do ya want ta help me make them one?"

"You could have phrased that first part so much better," I mumbled, feeling a huge weight lift off my shoulders.

"Heh?" She asked, clearly puzzled by my comment.

"Uh, nothing," I shook it off. "Sure I can help you, AJ. What were you thinking of making? Extra pajamas, a quilt, a special photo album?" I asked.

"Well, those don't sound too terrible 'o ideas," she grinned, "but Ah was thinkin' more along the lines of a cradle ta help the baby relax 'n get ta sleep," Applejack explained. "Ah asked you 'cause Ah already know ya like ta work with yer hands 'n yer good with them too."

"Yeah I think you've told me that before," I squeezed her hoof softly. The mare blushed and forced a giggle.

"An' Ah thought it would be nice fer just the two of us ta work on somethin' like that together. Ya know, as some good bondin' time?" She offered. I was going to say yes; how could I say no to her in the first place? But she even gave me a slight puppy dog look just to make me melt.

"Working with my hands and getting to spend quality time with you?" I asked before leaning forward and touching her face with my free hand. "I'd want nothing more," I grinned whilst gently massaging her cheek with my thumb. The mare smiled in returned and moved her hoof around in my other hand.

"That's, great," she replied, but I noticed that she paused briefly and her face actually fell into a look of disappointment before going back to normal. "Like Ah said, we don't have ta worry 'bout it fer awhile. But Ah can't wait ta get to it," she added, yet her voice had a hint of disappointment in its tone.

"What? Were you hoping you'd have to work harder at persuading me or something?" I smirked, knowing how much she loved to use her affections just to get me closer to her. All of a sudden, she moved her head away from my head and sighed rather sadly.

"Sugarcube, there's somethin' else Ah want 'n need ta talk to you about," she swallowed but kept moving her hoof around in my hand, pushing me to keep massaging it. She rose her head up to look me in the eye; I swear I could see a little bit of fear in her eyes.

"Applejack?" I had no clue what she could be so scared to talk about. I know for a fact she wasn't the jealous type, and I've always given her plenty of love and attention when needed and not needed. Her breaking up with me was out of the realm of possibility here; she wasn't the kind of mare to do it in public, and she didn't look like she wanted to at all.

"Ah'm sorry, Ivan," she finally spoke up. "Ah'm so sorry ta bring this up to you again, but since we've been so preoccupied the last few weeks, Ah haven't been able to tell ya," AJ admitted. Without saying another word, she allowed me to cup her cheek again and gently rub it. "You remember what happened last fall, right?"

"Last fall?" I squinted my eyes as I thought about what she was referring to.

"Ya know," she sighed again, looking ill just talking about it. When I still couldn't answer, no matter how hard I tried, she leaned forward and set her chin on my shoulder. "When ya woke up 'n Ah was treatin' ya like a…..toy?" She whispered shamefully into my ear. My eyes shot open as I briefly saw an image of her straddling my body with a crazed look in her eye. I didn't go into full flashback mode, nor did I jump from the memory, but I could feel my heart rate increase slightly.

"Please," I started, laying my head on hers, "please tell me you're not still beating yourself up over that," I begged. "You had no control over what you were doing."

"Ah know, but Ah don't think about it much anymore, especially since we officially made love together, Ivan," she pulled away yet kept her face close to mine.

"Applejack, it's fine," I assured her with a kiss to her nose. "But if I can ask, why are you bringing it up now?" Applejack bit her lower lip so hard I thought she was going to draw a little blood, but she released the lip before that could happen. She blinked several times and sighed.

"Well, Ah love you Ivan, but Ah wanted ta give ya fair warnin' in advance," she explained. "What happened in the fall ain't a once a year occurrence, Sugarcube." My eyes widened and my head involuntarily moved closer to hers so I could hear her better. "Trust me Ivan, Ah don't want ta make ya relive what happened to ya, but mares go through a spring 'n a fall heat season."

"Okay," I could only think of that reply since I was trying to wrap my head around what AJ was getting to.

"Ah'm only warnin' ya because Ah don't want ta scare ya awake ever again," she rested her chin on my chest now. "Which is why Ah'm givin' you an option."

"An option?" I replied quickly. "Why?"

"Because Ah don't want ta force ya ta mate with me if you don't to Ivan. Ah know you told me that yer species doesn't go through a heat cycle, so it could be a scary experience fer ya. Even if ya do agree outta yer own free will, Ah may not be myself," she advised. "Besides, we only just recently started gettin' physical; this ain't a three or four round deal in an evenin', Ivan. It goes on for a whole 48 hour weekend with only a few breaks in between, uh, sessions," she was starting to sweat a little. "If ya say no, Ah'll understand." I let out a breathy chuckle as I continued to rub her soft cheek. I wanted to ask her how she knew that if she's never had a mate during the estrus before, but I did the smart thing and skipped that certain question.

"You know I'm not gonna lie, Applejack," I said honestly. "I did enjoy doing that with you, and I know you won't quite be yourself," I managed to smile for her.

"Ah said Ah might not be," she corrected. "You already know Ah've never had a partner durin' this time, but mares are known ta be pretty resilient 'n tough as nails when in heat. Even if we do go through with it, Ah don't wanna risk the possibility 'o hurtin' you," the fear in her voice was coming out more. "If ya don't want ta go through with that-"

"Applejack," I interrupted her, "what kind of lover would I be if I just left you in that state for a whole weekend?" I asked gently. "I'm willing to do anything for you, AJ. You're right, the idea of a heat season does concern me a little bit, but as long as we stay together, we shouldn't have anything to worry about. And I may be a little sore when it's all said and done, but I'll consider it payback for how sore you were on our first night," I kissed her lips.

"Ah love you, Sugarcube," she said when we pulled away from our brief kiss. Our moment was interrupted when the music suddenly stopped, only to be replaced with the ringing of the bakery bell above the door. Just like out of a movie, everyone in the bakery turned their heads toward the ringing of the bell as the music whirred to a stop. In the doorway stood Checkered Flag with a box sitting atop his back. Luckily Pound was not present, so he wouldn't try and tackle Checkered again.

"Hello everyone," he greeted, trotting inside the bakery. Just barely before the door closed, I caught a glimpse of a pair of Luna's bat-pony guards standing watch in front of her personal chariot. Everyone cheerfully greeted him, but I was more curious about him than glad to see him. The pony didn't seem down or upset, (which I expected him to look like since his girlfriend was sick) but confused for some reason.

"Ah, Checkered!" Cadence greeted the stallion with a quick hug. "Aunt Celestia told me about Aunt Luna, I'm sorry she's sick," she apologized. AJ and I stood up from our table and headed toward the stallion as everyone else gathered around him. But the closer we got, the more I could feel something was off about him, like a child afraid of someone finding out they did something wrong.

"Yeah, thanks," he answered in a really low and uninterested tone as he looked around the room. "Uh, Lulu got this for you and Shining Armor as an apology," he explained, handing the box over to Cadence. The Princess of Love apparently felt the same way I did. She thanked him for the gift, but neither she nor her husband opened it.

"Checkered, is everything okay?" Rainbow asked the racing pony.

"Hmm, you look a little down," Pinkie noted, tapping her chin with her hoof. "Aw, is Luna's ickiness making you feel bad?" She asked him.

"Oh, if you'd rather be with Princess Luna, we understand," Fluttershy chimed with a smile. Sure, I agree with her wholeheartedly. If AJ was sick, I'd more than likely just make a quick stop so I could get right back to her. The light gray pony peered his head up and over the ponies that surrounded him, scanning the room one more time.

"Did my sister wish for you to pass a message along to me, Checkered?" Celestia inquired, stepping closer to the stallion while the others moved out of her way. He didn't respond, however. Checkered moved his gaze over to Celestia before swallowing roughly.

"Y'all didn't catch her bug, did ya?" Applejack spoke up. With a heavy sigh, Checkered opened his mouth to speak more than two words to us.

"Luna isn't here?" He asked, sounding just as confused as he looked.

"What?" I replied. "Celestia told me she was too sick to come here today, and that you were dropping off the gift she made," I added.

"Yes, that's precisely what I said," Celestia nodded, holding a hoof to the side of her head. "Glock and I haven't been here very long; I stopped by Luna's room before we left so I could say goodbye, but you two had fallen asleep," she explained.

"Well, after Luna finished with the gift, she told me she was tired and wanted to take a nap. I thought I'd keep her company and cuddle with her before I dropped this off for Cadence and Shining Armor," Checkered delineated. The next thing that ran through my mind was the Unsolved Mysteries theme song. Something wasn't adding up, unless this was an elaborate ruse set up by Celestia, Luna, and Checkered Flag to surprise Cadence and Shining Armor. "But when I woke up, she just gone. The sheets and blanket were a bit messy, but it didn't look like she had vomited anywhere. So I thought maybe she just decided to take the gift herself…." he trailed off.

"Except, you have it here with you," Twilight finished for him.

"I-I looked around for a bit in her room, her closet, and her personal bathroom, but I couldn't turn up anything." He couldn't have chosen a worse phrase to use.

"IS PRINCESS LUNA MISSING!?" Pinkie bellowed, causing us to cover our ears to we wouldn't go deaf at an early age.

"Hey calm down, Pinkie!" I exclaimed with my hands nearly melded to the side of my head. "There has to be a logical explanation for this."

"Yeah, I agree with Cougar," Spike declared, pointing his thumb at me. "How long did you look around for?" He asked the racing pony.

"Well, not too long," he admitted. "After I found no sign of her around her room, that's when I found the box was still there, so I got Venom and Bat Fang to fly me down here just on the off chance Luna arrived and just forgot the gift," Checkered explained further.

"Okay, so maybe she just went to the kitchen to grab some medicine for her tummy?" Fluttershy offered her own explanation.

"Or she probably used our own royal bathhouse," Celestia cut in. "We do have some all natural cleansing medicines for illnesses. Perhaps she woke up early and went to run a quick bath. She's done it before."

"Or maybe she opened a closet door thinking it was the bathhouse but she was so drained of energy that she passed out!" Pinkie exclaimed loudly, making Checkered look sick himself.

"Uh, Pinkie, I think a guard or a servant would have noticed that," Shining corrected her, putting Checkered's mind at ease.

"Look, I hate to ruin this moment for all of you, but even if Lulu is just taking a bath in your private bathhouse," he pointed to Celestia, "or just grabbing some medicine from the kitchen, I'm still worried about her. She woke up with a migraine and a stomach ache; I know how awful it can be to suffer those alone."

'Right, new month,' I thought to myself, remembering that the last time I saw Luna, she was dealing with her monthly visitor. Poor mare; migraines do suck.

"Yes, Checkered," Celestia held up a hoof, "Lulu told me about what made her ill," she grimaced, probably because her own visitor would arrive in about five to seven days. "I've rarely used this since I don't showing up when you and Luna are alone, but would you like me to try our mental link just to see where she is?" Celestia offered.

"Sure, just so I can know," Checkered mustered up a grin. Celestia, like a martial arts expert, breathed in deeply through her nose, concentrating hard on summoning up her mental link she shared with Luna. To me, the mental link they shared was almost like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker being able to mentally contact each other in the Empire Strikes Back. I wondered if Cadence and Twilight were powerful enough to have the ability to use that. But nonetheless, we all stayed silent to not break Celestia's concentration. Her eyes glowed a bright white, but she didn't say anything or move at all. In fact, she almost looked liked she was possessed for a brief minute before she finally snapped out of the link, breathing heavily from how hard it must take a toll on her.

"No need to worry," Celestia held up a hoof as a few of us rushed to help her catch her breath. "Even myself and Luna can experience fatigue when using magic," she assured us.

"Well, what did you see?" I asked her as Glock patted her side.

"To be honest, nothing," the white alicorn replied. "However, she could be helping somepony get over a nightmare; I am unable to reach her when she is in the realm of dreams," she explained.

"But it's still daytime," Pinkie rushed over to a window.

"So?" Rainbow countered, "Lots of ponies take naps during the day."

"Yer the grand champ at that, Rainbow Dash," Applejack snickered, causing the cyan pegasus to glare at her. I joined my girlfriend in snickering as well, thinking it was a pretty good jab at her. However, Spike all of a sudden grabbed the box that Checkered brought and started sniffing it like a bloodhound.

"Spike! What are you doing to Cadence and Shining Armor's gift?" Twilight exclaimed, taking it away from him with her magic.

"Wait mom!" The dragon snatched it back, continuing to inhale its aroma. "Princess Celestia, have you had enough of a recharge to zap us all into the castle?" He asked right out of the blue. Celestia did a double-take, as did a few of us.

"Um, I may need Cadence and Twilight to help with that, but why Spike?"

"It's just a theory," Spike replied.

---

(Ivan's POV; Luna's chambers)

After Spike's brief explanation, Celestia, Cadence, and Twilight all joined their magic as one and transported all of us, even Venom, Bat Fang, and the box containing the gift back to Luna's bedroom. The first thing Spike did was take the box out and sniff it once again. "Checkered, did Luna have the fireplace going at all today?"

"No, she hasn't lit it in a few days," Checkered shook his head. Spike's face sort of fell as he set the box down on the bed, leaning against the side with his arms.

"Okay, so if you couldn't get through to her with your mental link, then she has to be somewhere in her weird dream world," Spike groaned, thinking hard enough to make some sweat appear at the top of his head.

"Spike, don't give yourself a headache, darling," Rarity wiped his forehead with her handkerchief. "But, why did you have us transported all the way here?"

"Whatever odor is on that box, I've smelled it before, but I can't place it where," Spike explained, darting his head all around the room. He then sniffed the air a few times before planting his face on Luna's bed, inhaling its scent. "And Luna's bed smells like it too."

"Tell me Checkered," Shining cleared his throat, "you didn't wake up for anything when Luna was still here, right?"

"No, Luna didn't tell me if she was going anywhere or just to cuddle closer to me," Checkered replied, looking a bit paler than usual. I took note that he looked like he was breathing heavier than usual as if he had asthma. I was still on board with the idea that Luna was helping someone with a nightmare. But I could sympathize with him; if AJ was sick or on her period, I wouldn't want her working either.

"I'm sorry," Spike apologized. "I thought if I could identify that smell, then we'd know where Princess Luna was," he explained.

"You mean like if she smelled like the kitchen, she probably went there?" Pinkie Pie asked him. He nodded in return, looking aggravated that he couldn't put his finger on an answer. I walked over near the window, just trying to walk around everyone to maybe see if I could find a note Luna left that could have fallen underneath the bed. Maybe she left a quick one for Checkered before entering the dream world.

Chink

When I took a step that set my foot underneath the bed, I stepped on something that scraped across the floor. I looked around to see if anyone else heard it, but they were busy trying to come up with ways to ease Checkered's worry over his girlfriend. I had to give it to him, he loved Luna more than anything. Turning back to the bed, I took a step back and got onto my knees, sticking my arm underneath to feel around for whatever I had stepped on. It felt empty and lifeless under there. I don't exactly know what I was expecting to find, maybe some spare midnight snacks or something. But my fingers eventually traced along something that felt different from the floor. It felt small, but I was able to grasp it and firmly clench it in my fist. "What are ya doin', Ivan?" AJ suddenly asked, making me jolt and hit my head on the railing.

"AHH FFFF-" I bit my lip to keep from cursing. I pulled my head out and stood up, rubbing my head with my free hand.

"Oops, sorry hun!" AJ apologized, holding her hoof over her mouth.

"It's fine," I seethed, praying that it didn't form a welt or else I wouldn't be able to wear a hat.

"What did you find, Cougar?" Fluttershy asked as I opened my clenched fist. After shaking my head, I inspected what I had found.

"Does Luna play the guitar?" I questioned. I had what appeared to be a red guitar pick that shone brilliantly from the light coming in from the window. Everyone shook their heads no, just as surprised as I was. "Does she collect guitar picks?" I asked further, trying to make some sort of sense about this.

"GIVE ME THAT!" Spike out of nowhere shoved me aside and snatched the pick. I didn't fall over or anything, but I certainly wasn't happy.

"Hey, what the fuck?" I demanded, seething at the dragon.

"SPIKE!" Twilight scolded her son. "Apologize to Cougar now!" She ordered. Spike, however, ignored her. Instead, the drake put the guitar pick up to his nostrils and inhaled deeply before sticking it close to his eye, studying it closely. "SPIKE!" Twilight scolded again, losing patience. "Answer me right now!" She ordered. The dragon inhaled and opened his mouth.

"Garble," he said under his breath, staring at the guitar pick as if he were staring straight into Satan's face.

"What the hell is a garble?" I asked, still pretty pissed about him shoving me aside. While most of us were confused too, Twilight, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open like they'd been suddenly stabbed.

"Garble is a dragon, just like me," Spike explained, throwing the guitar pick so hard that it stuck into the wall like a ninja star. "Only he's-"

"An evil bucking reptile that tried to brainwash our Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity growled.

"And that," Spike pointed at the wall, "is one of his scales. I knew I recognized that smell; his scale and the box reek of it."

"Spike, a dragon got into my castle, into my sister's room, without Checkered Flag nor a guard or a servant noticing?" Celestia tried to get a firm grasp on this.

"If this Garble did get into the castle, how and why would he?" Shining Armor questioned. "What would be the point of getting captured?"

"I-I think he's connected with Luna's absence," Spike admitted, still glaring at everyone. None of us could breathe. The idea that someone broke into the castle and kidnapped Luna seemed a little farfetched for a few reasons. She was one of the most powerful beings in the world, how could no one notice a red dragon breaking in, and how could Checkered not know about it?

"But how?!" Twilight exclaimed. "The window isn't broken, and it doesn't look like it's been opened in quite awhile," she took some dust off the window sill with her hoof. "This doesn't add up!"

"Mom," Spike said, "Checkered wakes up to see Luna just gone. Even in her migraine induced state, I think she would wake him up to tell him where she was going," he explained. "Celestia can't contact her through their mental link," he continued, "and to top it all off, Cougar finds one of Garble's scales under her bed! He may not have taken her personally, but he's connected to this somehow. Now I can't answer how he got in, how he was able to take her, or even why, but if his scale is here, he knows something about it."

"So what are you saying?" I asked him. "We have to try and find him in…" I trailed off, not knowing exactly how to put it.

"Draconia," Celestia said for me. "Draconia is the kingdom of the dragons, but nopony has been there for over half a millennia," she added, furrowing her eyebrows. "Please, just give me a moment," she appeared to be doing some sort of calming exercise. This was getting bad. I really had no clue how to feel. I was pissed on one hand because my friend was possibly kidnapped, but it sounded so impossible that I was trying to deny it on the other hand. Everyone else was a mixture of emotions as well. Pinkie and Fluttershy were shaking in fear, Rainbow looked about ready to kill, Twilight was hyperventilating, Applejack was sitting on the edge of the bed with her stetson in her hooves, Rarity looked like she was going to puke, and Cadence and Shining Armor just looked pale.

"And we don't have to find him right away, maybe one of his idiot friends knows where he is," Spike was visibly angry. I know some would except maybe a few of us to be freaking out, thinking the worst about Luna. And rightfully so; when something this awful happens to a friend, a lot tend to jump to the worst possible scenario. Why? I don't know; possibly to rule out any surprises so the answer won't be so horrifying. But none of us (at least not yet) were jumping to conclusions or losing our minds. We were almost acting like the family of a soldier who just got the grim news that their family member was KIA. We didn't want to believe it at first; but we were all slowly grasping the reality of the situation. I couldn't blame anyone if they got sick from this.

"Oh Lulu," Celestia was having a difficult time keeping her head up. Besides Celestia, Checkered looked sicker than all of us. The poor bastard actually looked like he was about to pass out from the weight of the situation. In fact, he started to look like he was losing his balance before falling forward, putting all of his weight on his forelegs. "Checkered?" Celestia asked, stepping closer to the stallion as he was either dry heaving or hyperventilating. "Does anypony have a bag?" The alicorn requested.

"NO!" Checkered suddenly shouted, losing his balance finally. Glock luckily scooted over and pushed against Checkered before he could keel over. Glock asked the earth pony if he needed to sit down for a minute or if he needed a drink, but the racing pony said nothing in response. He just shook against the pegasus's body whilst darting his eyes around like a crazed Disney animatronic. Then to our shock, Checkered looked over at Glock and shoved him aside, painting his balance on his own.

"Are you sure you don't need to lie down, Checkered?" Rarity kindly asked, knowing how to act around ponies that are like this. I didn't know what to make of what was going on. I expected a least someone to maybe start crying or wail uncontrollably, but Checkered looked paranoid for some odd reason, almost like he'd seen a ghost and was going crazy.

"W-w-when do you plan to leave?" Checkered shakily turned his head to Celestia, ignoring Rarity's offer. "When are you going to save Luna?"

"As soon as I can come up with a plan, Checkered," Celestia bent her head lower to get closer to Checkered's eyes. "I'm going to want to speak to the dragon king Horntail," she added. Now to be fair, I hadn't asked if there was a kingdom of the dragons before, so it came as a shock to me that they actually had a king instead of just doing whatever the hell they wanted.

"But how long will that take?" Checkered snapped, his breathing intensifying. "Celestia please, you have to understand that you can't waste time with this!" he shouted. Celesta was most shocked at his yelling, especially since they weren't that far apart.

"I understand you're afraid for my sister's safety, and I find that comforting she has somepony else who deeply cares about her," Celestia lowered her voice. I've never seen anyone try to order Celestia like Checkered nearly did, but I expected she wouldn't take too kindly to that. I just put my arm around AJ, hoping that this wouldn't turn ugly. "But these are dragons, Checkered," she continued, "If myself and a few guards just fly into Draconia like the Wonderbolts demanding where my sister is, the dragons could take it as an act of war," she explained.

"But they TOOK your sister!" Checkered retorted loudly. I can see both arguments fairly clearly. I was pissed too, but I wasn't showing it. Demanding answers was a plan I was okay with, but Celestia's argument that they couldn't just show up with hostility was spot on as well. The worst and last thing that could happen was a war between Equestria and the dragons. And I've been in more than enough wars. "That's beyond time for diplomacy!"

"Uh-oh," Pinkie gulped as Checkered's emotions starting writing checks his ass couldn't cash.

"Did you ever think that Horntail may not even know of what took place?" Celestia asked, her voice getting lower with each passing statement and question, but she never growled at the stallion. I had to admit she was showing remarkable restraint. "We must treat him fairly about this and not blindly accuse him; he may even be willing to help us if this was a case of a few rogue subjects of his."

"Celestia," Checkered said eerily like Jack Nicholson in The Shining, "BUCK diplomacy!" He roared. "They took YOUR little sister, the mare I love, and a ruler of Equestria. Why do you care less about Luna and more about a dragon king's feelings?!"

"What, did you just utter?" Celestia finally growled, slamming her hoof onto the ground before the stallion.

"WHERE is your urgency?!" Nothing was going to stop him from speaking like that to Celestia. "You're acting like all that was taken were a few treasures instead of Luna! I can't lose her! I just can't, Celestia!" A few tears started to overflow his eyes.

"You're only thinking of vengeance, Checkered," Celestia tried to contain herself. "But who do you think you are telling me that I don't care about Luna? If there's a way to get my baby sister back without this snowballing into an all out war, I will choose that path! Everypony in Equestria will lose a lot if we don't save Luna, not just you!" She added, shedding a few tears of her own. The emotional toll of everything was getting to her now. "Now, if you just calm down and let me think, I can come up with a plan as quick as I can to get Luna back," she advised.

"THEN DO IT!" Checkered screamed, falling to his hind legs, "AND STOP TRYING TO PROTECT EQUESTRIA'S IMAGE INSTEAD OF SAVING HER!"

"Glock, subdue him until he calms down," Celestia quickly ordered, snapping her head over to her coltfriend. Reluctantly, Glock reached out for Checkered, but was met with a flailing foreleg. Checkered wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"Wait, just listen to me!" He begged, trying to evade the guard. We all took a step back, not believing what was going on right in front of us.

"Cougar, help Glock!" Celestia turned to me. I was caught off guard, not expecting to be called upon. I just stood there, staring at what was going on, unsure of what to do. Finally, Glock tripped Checkered, sending him crashing to the floor before sitting on the earth pony.

"You don't understand!" He screamed. "I CAN'T LOSE THEM!" He wailed.

"What?" Glock asked amidst Checkered struggling.

"SHE'S CARRYING OUR FOAL!" His voice reverberated throughout the room. The stakes were just shot through the atmosphere.

End Chapter 50

---

If I could have everyone's attention. I beg of you, please do NOT, I repeat do NOT, post the spoiler of this chapter in the reviews. If you want to talk to me about it, then feel free to PM me. But please refrain from leaking the end of this chapter; I'd like the surprise to stay a surprise.

But as for the next chapter, buckle up.