I don't like contradicting character development. You pick ONE trait and STICK WITH IT, or it becomes HARDER to deal with.

The months that led to the final days of Starfleet and the ultimate fall of United Equestria began with three unrelated but nonetheless important events in the lives of the Bearers of Harmony and their companions. The first of these events began with a worried Rainbow Dash as she began to fly around in circles just above Fluttershy's cottage. Occasionally, she would land on the top of one cloud, raise a finger and then drop it. After that, she would fly around again in a circle and then then land for a second time before kicking the cloud in aggravation.

After her third time executing this pattern, she took a deep breath and then flew off the cloud and landed on the ground below, just a few feet away from Fluttershy's cottage. Taking a slow deep breath, she began to make her way to Fluttershy's door, only to stop when she saw a small herd of Fluttershy's animals standing at attention at either side of the path. Magenta eyes looked back and forth between the two and asked, "Let me guess, you guys are watching me to make sure that I live up to your standards?"

The animals nodded in unison and then Angel ran up to Rainbow Dash and look her over. He had a finger on his chin as he looked her up and down, and then analyzed her outfit before nodding quickly and giving her a thumbs up.

"Oh gee," Dash said with a roll of her eyes, "I am glad to have your approval to ask your master on a date. Do you want an offering as well your highness?"

Angel gave Rainbow Dash a look that said "You pay me in carrots later."

Dash shook her head at this and went to knock on the door, only to see it open and Fluttershy standing there in a sleepshirt, "Oh, hello Rainbow Dash. What brings you here?"

"Well, I figured that since, you know, Rhymey is gone and your marriage is annulled," Rainbow Dash said, putting her hand behind her head and rubbing it gently, "That maybe..."

Fluttershy blushed at this, and hid behind her mane, "Oh, are you asking me if we should."

"I was thinking that-"

"Would you go out with me?" they asked simultaneously. Then in synch they continued, "Yes I would! Really?! When? Seven tonight? Great! See you then!"

Happily, Rainbow Dash flew off and away from Fluttershy's cottage and into the sky. Chuckling and giggling, she said, "I am going to go out with Fluttershy. I am going out with Fluttershy." she then paused as a look of horror came to her, "Oh sweet Celestia I am going to go on a date with Fluttershy!"

At the same time, in the cottage, Fluttershy gasped, "Oh dear, I'm going to go out with Rainbow Dash."

"This is an emergency!" they said at the same time as a look of shock and horror came over them both.

---

Applejack came rushing into Sugar cube corner with a worried look in her eyes, opening the door quickly and with a loud slam. As she panted she saw Pinkie Pie sitting across from a very worried and pacing Rainbow Dash, "Ah got the message, what's the trouble? Conquest making his move? Grand Ruler deciding to execute us all? Caribou turning us all into sex slaves?"

"No, worse," Dash said as she flew back and forth before turning to look at Applejack, "I'm going out with Fluttershy tonight!"

"What, you are? Well congratulations RD!" Applejack said, smiling and tipping her hat, "This is great news!"

"No, it's disaster!" Rainbow Dash said, grabbing tuffs of her mane and yelling out.

"Why?" Applejack asked, looking confused, "It's just a date. It's like a get together just between the two of you. Ya both done that all the time, it's just a little more intimate now."

"That's the point!" Dash shouted, "A get together would just end with us hugging or joking about our evening together. This is a DATE! This means that this will end with us snuggling, cuddling or-" she blushed, and tapped her fingers together, "kissing."

Pinkie Pie squeaked and then giggled, "Oh, I get it. You are afraid that you are a lousy kisser! Don't worry, I've seen you kiss Fluttershy, you'll be fine."

"Hey! I'm a great kisser, I can win awards for kissing! I can turn Applejack into a lesbian with my kissing!" Dash bragged, much to the reddening of Applejack's face. "It's just that...what if it goes wrong?"

"Wrong?" asked Applejack.

Dash nodded and sighed, "Look we both know that the reason why we keep winning these battles is because of our bond. With me and Fluttershy as a couple now, that kind of changes things between us. We're now marefriends, intimate and all of that other mushy stuff. What if we decide this doesn't work and we break up in the end? It'll make things awkward and weird, or worse, what if we break up badly? We break our friendship and then I leave us all vulnerable because of a mistake!"

Applejack took off her hat and dusted it off and then looked down at it, "My Granny said that ma and pa were friends for a few years before they even thought about dating. Heck, pa one time said he defended her honor way before he even thought about dating the little lady."

"What's the point?" Dash asked.

Applejack sighed, her parents faces smiling in her head, "Ah'm saying that the best way to start learning about the pony you want to be with, is to be a friend of theirs first. You two have been friends since you were babies, this is just you two becoming a little more intimate with each other."

"And a break up doesn't have to be bad, Dashie. I should know, I have seen it," Pinkie said, smiling at her friend. "You can just decide that it doesn't work out and you two can depart on good terms as friends. It'll be awkward, but you can adjust. I've helped a stallion once arrange a bachelor party for the guy who was marrying his ex. And get this, the guy ended up dating the maid of honor!"

"She's right, sugarcube," Applejack said. She got up and placed a hand on Rainbow Dash's shoulder, "What is between you two, isn't something that can be easily destroyed. Ah'm sure it will all work out."

"Yeah," Dash sighed and looked up at Applejack, "How do you think Fluttershy is handling this?"

---

"Oh this is a horrible disaster, a terrible disaster! I was such a foal for thinking that this would work," Fluttershy whispered as she paced back and forth, only a grunt from Rarity pulling out of her worries, "Rarity, are you alright?"

"Yes dear, just fine," Rarity chuckled, rubbing her belly tenderly, "Little Crystal here is just a little more active today."

Belle smiled as she looked to Rarity, "Probably is really eager to just get out there."

"I am too," Rarity smiled, "I cannot wait to see my little darling." Then she looked to Fluttershy, "Fluttershy, dear, I think you are overreacting."

"What do you mean!" Fluttershy said, looking frightened, "I haven't been on a date since Rhymey and I barely remember those. Am I a bad date, a boring date, or just a lousy date who hurts her marefriend? Oh no, what if Dash is expecting me to say something witty and I can't think of anything? What if she expects me to-"

Rarity calmly took Fluttershy's hand and rubbed it, "Dear, you are acting as nervous as Spike was when we went out on our first date." a soft giggle escaped her lips as she sighed and thought about her drake, "He was so confident that he was going to get something wrong and so nervous that he nearly burnt our waiter with his flames."

This made Fluttershy laugh a little, and then listened to Rarity as she continued, " The thing is darling, no date is perfect. It takes time for ponies to understand each other during their dates and find out if they are the right ones. There are going to be mistakes during your time together, but what is living for but the little mistakes in our lives. I had to work for years before finding my little is no such thing as a perfect date or mate, just the one that is right for us"

"Fluttershy, I know you and I have only been friends for a few months, but I have seen the way you and Rainbow Dash act to one another. You two have been friends for years and I think," Belle said, getting up and smiling, "if she had any second thoughts about you two being a couple, she would've had them by now."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said, smiling a little. Then her head turned up to the clock, "Oh, my. It's getting close to seven! I better go and get ready."

Rarity smiled as her horn glowed bright, and then she snapped her fingers, "Glarity, get Fluttershy to my ready room. We have a date to design and a mare to make fabulous!"

"Yes mam!" Glarity said, grabbing Fluttershy and helping her into the waiting room of the Boutique.

"Glarity seems to be-"

"Really peppy and energetic lately?" Rarity asked, watching Glarity move. "Yes, she has been for the past week or so, ever since the last fight."

"She must be scared, I mean," Belle looked down at Rarity's stomach and moved her hand, "The baby is going to be born soon and when that happens."

"Herr purpose will soon end and she will no longer be needed," Rarity sighed.

"A problem?" Belle asked.

"She wants to live Belle," Rarity said, watching as Glarity walked out of the room. "She has gone to staying with the name Glarity, she acts more and more on her own, and she has begun to act less like me all of the time. I know soon I have to turn her off but-"

"You don't want to?" Belle asked, and nodded, "I feel the same way. I kind of relate to her, and I kind of want her to stay too. I wish there can be a way."

Rarity smiled at Belle, "I think I might know, but that will have to wait. Right now, fashion calls! Glarity! Let's make a date!

---

As the last light of day faded away from the sky, Rainbow Dash soared through the sky towards the cottage of her date. The knight was dressed in something a little more formal than her usual wear, wearing a button up collared suit with some sky blue pants. When she neared her friend's cottage, she softly landed and began to dust herself off. Waving a hand through her prismatic mane, she took a few steps, only to be stopped by an outstretched paw, "What? Angel?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking down at Angel Bunny.

Wordlessly, the white lupine began to run around Rainbow Dash, a finger to his chin. After one lap funning around her, he began to look her up and down. Then he spread his little paws wide, and then closed them in before running around to the back to look at her after a few minute of looking at her and analyzing, he nodded and gave a thumbs up at her.

"Oh gee, so glad that I live up to your standards, rabbit," Dash said with a roll of her eyes. Then she saw Angel go through a series of motions and dances, "What? As long as I am not the rhyming moron, I am ok in your book?" Dash growled and was tempted to pay him back, but sighed and then walked to the door. Lifting up her hand, she gently rapped it and awaited for Fluttershy to open the door.

Slowly the door creaked open and Fluttershy stood before Rainbow Dash with her hair done in a bun with a butterfly hair clip holding it in place, "You look nice tonight, Rainbow Dash."

"Yeah and you..." Rainbow Dash paused her talk as she began to get taken away by Fluttershy's dress. Her magenta eyes looked over at how the green dress clinged tightly to Fluttershy's body, showing off her lovely curves. The straps of the dress were held by little flower buttons that shines along with the sequins. Dash continued to stammer, "Well, I mean, that is...I think, you look-"

"Wow, Rarity was right," Fluttershy said with a giggle as she walked up to Rainbow and tucked her chin, "I did leave you speechless."

"I, well, yeah," Dash shook her head and snapped out of the stupor. Smiling, she took Fluttershy's hand and said, "Come on, I know of this awesome place that has the best salads. You are going to love it!"

"Oh, is it A Taste Of Canterlot? Oh, I've always wanted to go," Fluttershy said with a smile as she was led by Rainbow Dash into the night.

Unbeknownst to the young couple, four pairs of eyes watched over them and followed them closely. A pair of blue eyes whispered, "Ok, Operation: Spy-on-Besties-and-Make-Sure-That-Date-Goes-Off-Without-a-Hitch is a go!"

---

A Taste Of Canterlot was just that, a restaurant done in the stylings of the upper crusts of Canterlot nobility but with a more common Ponyville taste. It was able to serve the best dishes for a relatively cheap price. The inside was also remensicnet of much of Canterlot's buildings with a look akin to marble and with a large window for viewing of the Ponyville streets. It was quaint and a nice place to have a starting date. This is why Rainbow Dash chose this place, and was happy to find a seat. Guiding Fluttershy by he hand, she pulled a seat and waited for Fluttershy to take her seat before sitting down across from her. Then they began to order their respective meals.

Unknown to the two lovers, they were being watched by their close friends, "Wow," Pinkie said, gasping, "I didn't think Dashie could be a gentlemare."

"Well, that is because I taught her," Rarity said with pride and put a hand to her heart. "The moment Dash told me about her plans for tonight, I gave her some quick etiquette lessons."

Applejack growled in frustration, "This is wrong gals, we shouldn't be spying on them like this."

"Then why are you here?" Rarity asked with a smirk.

Applejack rubbed her temple and said, "Because Ah am here to see when Rainbow Dash catches you and then chews you out fer spying on her."

"Oh, she wouldn't do that to little old me," Rarity said, smiling, "She knows how emotional I get."

"Shhhh," Belle said, waving her hand softly, "I am trying to read their lips."

"What are they saying?" Pinkie asked.

"Looks like Dash is bragging," Belle observed.

"Oh no, this is going to become a disaster!" Rarity said, looking worried, "I knew her ego would ruin this! She will talk nothing about nothing about herself this entire time."

Inside the restaurant, as the two waited for their appetizers to come in, Dash waved her hand in a downward motion, "So as I was trying to show off the attack pattern to the guys, I see Ace Ray almost beginning to fall out of formation. Deftly I turned to the left and grabbed him at the last moment. It was badass."

Fluttershy watched in awe as Rainbow finished the story, "Wow, that was so exciting Rainbow Dash."

Dash let out a chuckle and ran a finger through her mane in a style of confidence, "Of course. That's just the way things are when you are the coolest pony out there." Then, she looked at Fluttershy as she ran a finger along the glass's rim and said, "Ok, now onto my other favorite subject... you."

Fluttershy gasped and hid behind her mane, a deep red blush coming to her cheeks, "Oh, me? Oh, I... I... I'm not really all that interesting you know. You're the one who has all of the exciting stories and the heroic exploits. I'm just, me, the little mare in the shadows."

"Flutters," Dash said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, "You and I both know that's not true. I don't know anypony else who wrestles bears just to fix their backs, can dive bomb like a falcon to save a baby chick, or even reform the embodiment of chaos. You made a dragon cry, and that is badass!"

"Thank you," Fluttershy said with a warm smile, playing with her fingers under the tablecloth. "But, do you really want to hear my stories, you might not understand all of it."

As the waiter brought them some cheese sticks, Rainbow took one and began to dip it into the sauce, "You remember the butterfly migration?"

"Yes, you slept through it," Fluttershy said, frowning a little.

"Well, yeah, of course I did," Dash said, and then smiled a little as she added, "But I still had a great time."

"You did?" Fluttershy asked, looking at her friend weirly.

With a shrug, Dash said, "Yeah, of course I did. Look, I may not know all of the medical jargon you spew you. Hey, I never understood most of what Twilight said anyway, but I never cared." She looked to Fluttershy with caring and compassionate eyes as she continued, "What I cared about the most? Was spending time with you and listening to you talk. You are just so passionate about this stuff, and you get so wrapped up in talking about what you love that it's kind of cute. You sound like me when I get into racing and stunts."

Hearing Fluttershy giggle and smile, Dash reached over and lightly caressed the side of her face, "Look, the truth is, we could be going to watch grass grow and I wouldn't care. All I care about, is spending time with the people I care about the most."

"Thank you, Dashie," Fluttershy said, holding her marefriend's hand. Then she set it down and began to speak, "Well, last week, I caught this wolf trying to kill Mr. Ferret when he was out of his burrough. I told him to stop and go find some other meat to try, and that was when he said that he couldn't, there wasn't any time. I asked him why and he led me to this small little forest glen where he showed that his mate had just given birth to a little litter. The poor thing though."

"What happened?" Dash asked.

"He was the only surviving member of a litter of five and he looked very sickly. So, I told him I would help them out and went to get my supplies,' Fluttershy said. "I had found some leftover meat for when I feed my other predatory friends, filled a carcass and left it out for him."

Rainbow dash looked curious at her, "Why not just leave the meat or give it to him?"

"I didn't want to run the risk of giving him handouts," Fluttershy said, looking down at her salad, "Wolves can be very prideful like that, so you have to be careful. Then as he ate and fed his mate, I began to take care of the baby. It was a little touch and go for a few days, but I saved them both."

"Wow, that's actually pretty cool," Rainbow Dash said with a smile. "I mean, it's nothing like what I do on a daily basis, but it was still cool."

Fluttershy looked up, a little surprised at Dash, "Really, you mean it?"

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said, sliding her hand across the table and taking Fluttershy's into hers and holding it. Softly, her fingers entwined with her friend's and they stared at each other for a few moments.

"We have hand holding, repeat, we have hand holding!" Belle said with wide eyes as she looked through her binoculars.

Pinkie Pie gasped as she bumped up beneath Belle, putting her eyes behind the binoculars, "Oh my Celestia! They are are holding hands, this is so great and they look so cute!"

Lifting up both Belle and Pinkie, Rarity put her eyes to the binoculars and began to look through them, "Oh this is so wonderful! Look at them, gazing longingly into each other's eyes, staring into the pits of their souls. They just ready to let themselves be carried away by the depths of passion."

Applejack gave a grunt as she lifted up all three mares onto her back and began to look out the binoculars at the couple, "You are starting to sound like something from a cheesy romance novel."

"Well, I do write those on the side, dear," Rarity said, putting her hand to her chest as she sat on top of Applejack's back.

Rolling her eyes, Applejack looked through the binoculars once more and noted, " Looks like they're done eating and Rainbow's paying for the check."

"Oh, how sweet," Rarity said, smiling. "Quick, let's follow them."

Silently, the quartet followed the two lovers out from the restaurant and towards the park. As they kept their distance away from the two, they could not hear the conversation that they had between one another.

Rainbow Dash took /fluttershy's hand and walked her into the park, where all was covered in a glistening blanket of snow. Fluttershy let out a gasp at the sight, enamoured with how the lights shining on the blanket made the park seem as visible as if it were daylight. Letting go of her hand, Rainbow Dash picked up a bit of snow in her hands and wings. With her snow bunched up, she took off into the air.

Slowly, she began to fly around in circles around Fluttershy, sprinkling the snow lightly around her. With each lap that she made around Fluttershy, she would drop more and more snow, creating a fine little tower of falling snow around the yellow pegasus.

Once her amount of snow had run out, Rainbow Dash flew in from the top of the tower of falling snow and landed in the middle of the large circle. Taking Fluttershy's hand into hers, she pulled the mare close and put her hand onto Fluttershy's hip. Fluttershy, placed her hand onto Rainbow's shoulder and looked deep into her marefriend's eyes. The two then began to dance within the circle, their feet moving along to a tune that played only in their heads.

With the circle of snow acting as their world, the two danced, leaving behind little footprints in the snow. With each step they took, their bodies would sway in tandem and their eyes never left each other. Their hands began to move through the dance, from resting on the hips and shoulders, to slipping behind each other's backs and holding themselves in a warm embrace. This made their movements slower, but they did not mind. Both were just enjoying the closeness of their bodies and the warmth that they had gave off.

Fluttershy eventually laid her head on Dash's shoulder, sighing in bliss. Slowly, she nuzzled against Rainbow's neck and smiled to herself. Rainbow Dash returned the nuzzle affectionately, sighing calmly and smiling as she continued to dance with her long after the snow had finished falling.

Pinkie Pie grumbled as she watched the scene from a tree branch. "Is snuggling all they are going to do? When are they going to get to the heavy duty lip smacking!?"

"That type of thing is reserved for the second date, Pinkie Pie," Rarity said, leaning against the tree. As her eyes watched the two lovers dance, she took a deep breath and sighed, "Oh, when I see them dance, I think of me and Spike's second date. Oh... he was so romantic."

"Supermare has nothing on me," Applejack sung a little to herself.

"What was that?" Belle asked, looking to where Applejack stood.

"A little song that pa tried singing to ma when she was pregnant with Big Mac," Applejack replied, before putting her hat down over her eyes and laughing, "Couldn't carry a tune to save his life. Ma said that the song was so bad that it made her go into labor."

Belle laughed a little at this, before turning back to watch the couple finish their dance. For a few moments, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy stood there, gently rocking back and forth while the last of the snow rings fell around them. A light chuckle escaped Dash's lips as she watched a snowflake land on fluttershy's nose. Carefully, she wiped the little flake away before lightly kissing Fluttershy's nose. Then she ran her hand through Fluttershy's pink mane, letting her fingers run through the beautiful locks of hair.

Letting out a soft purr of contentment, Fluttershy rubbed her cheek into the palm of Dash's hand and smiled up at her. Bringing her own hand up to Dash's cheek, she rubbed it and then ran her hand through the prismatic short mane. With a warm smile, she looked up at her lover and friend and sighed. Then she nodded towards a small bench that was nearby. Nodding in response, Rainbow Dash took Fluttershy's hand and led her to the bench and sat on the seat.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and let it out, resting her head on Dash's shoulder as she looked out over snowy field, "I love the park when it snows like this. It's almost like it's daylight out here, and it makes it so beautiful."

"Yeah," Dash said, looking down at Fluttershy, "I guess it does."

For a few moments, Fluttershy just laid against Rainbow Dash resting and watching the night pass them by. That was when Fluttershy looked up at the sky, seeing a small circle of brightly colored stars, "Oh, Rainbow Dash, look up there."

"Look at what?" Rainbow asked, looking up at the sky at the stars.

"Wait for it," Fluttershy said, watching the sky. Then she smiled as she pointed to a bright purple star in the center, "See, it's Twilight's star."

"What makes you think it's Twilight's?" Dash asked.

Fluttershy smiled and began to say, "Mom told me that the stars were the night's way of allowing our loved ones to watch us from the Elysian fields. A few days after Twilight died, I saw this star appear in that little circle. I just think it's Twilight watching us, protecting us. And sometimes," she looked away for a moment in a bit of calm serenity, "I talk to her."

"You do?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Don't you talk to Twilight sometimes, when you aren't at her grave or with us?" Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, "No, I think she prefers it when I talk to her with you guys. I mean, never did much talking alone anyway. Just a lot of egghead talk that I never got and Daring Do stuff, you know."

Fluttershy nodded in understanding and looked up at the purple star as it rested in the middle of the other stars, "Twilight, thank you for watching out for us and protecting us. And more importantly, thank you for sending Rainbow Dash to save me."

A part of Rainbow Dash wanted to point out that she saved herself mostly, but thanks to both ego and knowing how Fluttershy acts she held back. Instead she just sat and listened to Fluttershy as she continued her talk.

"I know I made a big mistake in marrying Rhymey and dating him, maybe if you were here you could've done something to help. I would like to think that, or maybe this was all your way of getting me and Rainbow dash together in the end," With a smile on her lips, Fluttershy wrapped her arms around Dash's waist and held her close. "I want to thank you for doing that, and bringing me closer to my heart."

In response to the closeness, Rainbow Dash hugged Fluttershy and nuzzled her. Then she heard Fluttershy ask, "Do you have anything to say to Twilight?"

"Huh, me?" with a shake of her head, Dash responded, "Nah, I think you hit the nail on the head, Flutterbutter."

"Flutterbutter?" Fluttershy asked with a blush on her cheeks.

"Well, I was trying to think of a pet name for ya and that was something off the top of my head," Rainbow said with a chuckle, placing her hand behind her head.

Fluttershy smiled at this as she got up onto her feet and took Rainbow's hand in hers, "Maybe you can work on those while we head home... Snuggly."

Rainbow Dash blushed a little as she heard the pet name and saw her lover's wink to her. Nodding, she got up and took Fluttershy by the hand, walking her home through the snowy fields. After a few minutes of walking, not saying a word to each other as they took in the night, they soon made their way to the entrance of the cottage. Fluttershy held both of Rainbow's hands as she said, "I had a wonderful time tonight Dashie. Thank you."

Rainbow Dash smiled with her usual bravado, "Hey, when you date me, you tend to get the best out there. And I promise, you will always get the best dates with me."

"I don't want the best, Dashie," Fluttershy said, smiling warmly. Then she took Dash into a warm embrace and hugged her tightly, "I just want you. You are already the best marefriend I could have."

"Thanks," Rainbow sighed, nuzzling Fluttershy's neck and caressing her back.

Fluttershy then whispered, "They have been watching us the entire date."

"I know," Dash said, a smirk forming on her lips, "Let's give them a show."

"A show? What do you-Oh!" Fluttershy gasped as Rainbow Dash pulled away from the hug and then planted her lips onto hers, kissing Fluttershy deeply and passionately. A soft moan escaped her lips as she began to lose herself in the kiss, her lips pressing and rubbing against Dash's. Fluttershy then could feel Dash's hands run along her back feeling every soft curve and muscle. She giggled when she felt Rainbow's fingers play with her feathers, running through each pinion and feathertip.

Rainbow Dash let out a contented sigh as she continued to kiss Fluttershy, enjoying the feel of the mare in her arms. Opening an eye for a moment to look at her friends who were all silently cheering her on, she raised a hand and did a thumbs up to them. At first they were shocked to have been found out, but Applejack could only give a thumbs up in return. Rarity held her hands to her chest, swooning at the sight while Pinkie and Belle held their hands and cheered at the sight.

When they broke the kiss, the two took a minute to catch their breath. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak, "So, that was what a marefriend kiss was like... Awesome."

"I kind of liked it myself," Fluttershy said with a giggle as she ran a hand along Dash's cheek, "And I look forward to you improving it."

"I-i-improving?" Dash asked with a grin as she watched Fluttershy sashay to the door.

With a coy and sly look beneath her mane, she said, "Well, you always like to improve yourself don't you and push your limits?" with that she closed the door, leaving Dash to stand outside for a moment with her wings extended fully.

After shaking her head to get herself out of her stupor, she began to walk away, passing by Angel. Looking down at the furry rodent, Rainbow Dash asked, "So, do I meet your approval?"

Angel thought for a moment, and then gave a thumbs up to Rainbow Dash with a big smile. This made Rainbow Dash chuckle a bit as she took off into the night sky. Curious, the rabbit ran inside of the house to check in on his owner. He shook his head as he saw her lean against the doorframe with a very contented smile on her lips.

For the quartet who watched it, they all began to depart the cottage. Rarity waddled ahead of the group, her hands over her chest as she breathed contently and exclaimed, "Oh, what a wonderful night for our two lovers! Oh, I simply must be off and tell Spikey all about it. Then he will have to cuddle me close as he whispers sweet nothings in my ears."

"Always the romantic," Applejack said, shaking her head slightly. As she walked ahead, she began to think Wonder if there is a stallion-"

"Hey, um, Applejack?" Caramel asked as he watched Applejack walk away from the cottage, "Can... I walk ya home?"

Applejack shrugged a little, "Sure."

Pinkie Pie smiled as she watched Applejack walk off with Caramel and skipped away. Then she paused and looked behind her at Belle who was standing in the middle of the snow looking up at the stars with a warm smile. Looking back, she asked, "Are you ok, Belle?"

"Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are together at last," Belle said, smiling warmly as she lightly kicked the snow. Taking a deep breath and letting it out, she said warmly, "I'm just glad to have been able to seen it and been a part of something big in my friends' lives."

"Hey," Pinkie said, walking over to Belle and holding her hand, "And soon you'll be a part of their wedding, bridal shower, and so many more parties and anniversaries, and all of that other fun stuff we can come up with."

Belle nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

"You're not worried are you?" Pinkie asked, looking into Belle's eyes and running a hand through her purple mane, " Because you know we will find a way to save you and make sure you don't die! Because, that's what friends do, we protect each other. You gave us something special that we needed and we are going to give it back a hundred, no a thousand times!"

"Pinkie," Belle said with a warm smile as she looked into her friend's blue eyes, "Since I came here, I have seen us do amazing things. You have held onto each other through pain, hate, and so many challenges when lesser ponies would have seperated by now. I know, you will save me. Why? Because I have five amazing friends who will go through hell for me. That's why I'm not afraid of dying. And I am looking forward to a lifetime of memories with you girls."

"Good!" Pinkie said with a big smile as she hugged Belle tightly. Then she took her unicorn friend's hand in hers and said, "Now come on, we've got a party to plan!" and with that, the two ran off into the night.

---

A black unicornicopian began to run from the small house, his arms laden with scrolls and documents. Panting he looked behind him to the small house and frowned, letting out a sigh of sadness. For a brief moment, he wanted to step towards the house and pick up the valuable person within. He backed up and shook his head, saying to himself, "No, Brain shouldn't be involved."

"Blackened Myst, code AV6N. You are under arrest," Harry said, landing in front of Myst as he smiled. In his hand he held the Ward Sword, the tip gleaming in the moonlight.

"Harry, please, in the name of our friendship, I implore you! Let me go," Myst said, shaking his head. "Do you know what Grand Ruler had me and my little brother create? Do you know what this is?"

"The ultimate weapon," Harry chuckled, "Serpent Tyrant. A massive world destroying snake that will ensure our lord's place in the universe."

"It will kill millions of creatures!" Myst said, shaking his head.

Harry shrugged, "Only lesser races. Now, hand over those plans nicely and your death will be swift."

"No, I won't! I won't let my little brother's inventions be used by-"

Myst's words hung loosely on his lips as he felt the blade insert itself deep into his stomach. With a small chuckle, Harry looked to the young five year old that stood in the shadows, "Watch closely, Rhymey. This is how we handle traitors to our lord!"

"Yes father," Rhymey said nodding.

Harry pulled out the sword without a blink and then slit Myst's throat. Slowly, he wiped the blade clean and began to walk away, "Rhymey, pick up those documents."

"Yes father," Rhymey said, picking up the documents and following his father into the sky.

Myst laid there, bleeding out slowly. He could feel the blood pooling around him as he twitched and writhed. Trying to reach up, he watched as his hand fell uselessly to the ground with the strength leaving him. Instead, he chose to lay there, watching as his life flashed before his eyes, while his heart began to beat it's last. That was when he was held in a white barrier by a mysterious figure. Stepping into the light, Myst saw a figure in a cloak holding out his hand glowing with white magic, "W-w-who are you?"

The figure in the cloak smiled under his hood, "Titan, the supposed 'lord of darkness' in your mythology. The one that Grand Ruler defeated with the corrupted form of Ultima."

"Ultima?" whispered Myst, "You mean... the Uniforce?"

"Is that what he is calling it now?" Titan asked, chuckling at the name. "He called it a different name when he fought me."

"Why are you here? What do you want with me?" asked Myst.

Titan began to walk around him, letting the white ball of magic follow him while he looked to the house in the distance, "It's not fair, is it? Your brother will live while you are left to die. He will be drummed in Grand Ruler's service, while you will be left alone in the afterlife. His inventions, his ideas, all will be corrupted and thrown away when found useless. He will be able to create miracles, but as long as they do not fit into Grand Ruler's world, they will be thrown away like a child does with a toy that no longer satisfies him."

"I know, I know!" Myst shouted, punching the white barrier, not noticing how his throat and chest had begun to heal. "But what does this have to do with me?"

"I am offering a chance for you to change the story," Titan said, walking to Myst as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orb. "I think you'll both agree with me that it isn't right that you and your brother's greatest work will be turned into a weapon of mass destruction. That your little brother is about to become a deliverer of death because of his association with the child. I am offering you a way to change it."

"How?" Myst asked.

Titan held the orb out and smiled, "Just place your hand on this orb and all that you want will be granted to you. You be granted the ability to stop Grand Ruler, save this world, and protect your brother."

Myst looked at the orb, "The price?"

"Your memories," Titan said, and then looked at him with a warm smile, "I should let you know, this is all up to you. You can always refuse and go into hiding for the rest of your life."

"If it means to be stronger, then I'll do it. I'll remove my memories to save him," Myst said. "I want to be stronger, invincible, and powerful. I want to be able to protect them from harm."

"Then it's a deal," Titan said, "Welcome to the team, my first soldier."

---

Equestria, an eon ago...

A young unicorn with a short cut yellow mane walked into the waiting room, looking at the tall black alicorn, "Sire, what is the matter? Why are thou looking agitated?"

"Is the look that obvious, Meadowbrook, that you can see it without looking at me?" the alicorn said, frowning as he pushed back his white mane and straightened his suit. Looking back at his flank at his friend and to his cutie mark, a white circle, he nodded and looked away.

"My Lord Titan," Meadowbrook said with a bow, "I hath been your eldest friend for decades. I have been one of the few that your mother allowed to talk to and some of my weapons were used by you. I know you better than yourself. It... is your marriage, is it not?"

Titan nodded, "Indeed, you have hit the nail on the head my friend. I worry about today and Terra. Will I be worthy of her, will I be a good husband?"

"She fell in love with you, sire," Meadowbrook laughed and patted her hoof on his back, "I think she finds you worthy."

Titan shook his head, "I fell in love with Terra. I had to earn her love, she already had me the day she defeated me at go. I still remember the look she had when she conquered my board, so beautiful." Lowering his head, he rested a hoof onto the mirror and asked, "I am a scholar, a thinker, not a warrior. She doesn't need me."

"She does," Meadowbrook said, "A warrior's strength is nothing if not tempered by the words of wisdom. Power unchecked by a mind is a storm waiting to happen. You two need to be different in order to stand as equals. Let her strength be yours. Why do you think it is tradition for lands to have two rulers? A Yin and a Yang. One to represent strength and the other wisdom?"

Titan thought about the wise words of his friend and then chuckled as he looked to her, "Always have a good word for me?"

"My dear Lord Titan, King of Harmonia, if you didn't have me by your side for all of these years, you would be insane," Meadbrook laughed as trumpets began to play the march. "Now go, lady Terra is waiting for you and your kingdom."

"Yes, Meadowbrook," he said, walking out of his room.

(Present Day)

A voice interrupted Titan from his thoughts as he heard a voice from behind, "Master?"

"Mysterious, why are you here in my chambers," Titan asked as he looked out the window and to the city.

"I was wondering, why?" asked Mysterious.

Titan arched an eyebrow from under his hood, his eyes looking at the muscular stallion questionly, "Why what?"

Mysterious looked out with Titan, "This war, this struggle with Grand Ruler? Why?"

"How long do you think I've been fighting?" asked Titan.

Mysterious put a hand to his chin in thought, " According to the legend, a thousand years."

"Now, think about it," chuckled Titan as he turned away from the window and to his desk, "How can Grand Ruler arrive at Unicorpia 1000 years ago, created the legend of Starfleet a thousand years ago, and then battle me all within the same time frame? I would have to break every law in the know universe my friend."

Mysterious nodded solemnly and sighed, "You are correct. Time seems to a thing that Grand Ruler has little knowledge of, like battle strategies."

"Yes," Titan said. He then looked at a paper, one asking him to bless a child. Then he looked a another asking for his aid in rebuilding a small house, "This war between me and Grand Ruler is nothing more than another step in a long hunt that I have been on. One that is very slowly coming to an end."

"A hunt?" asked Mysterious.

---

The second of these three events began just a few days later on February third, within the small little bakery of Sugar Cube Corner. There Pinkie was hosting her 'Congratulations On Becoming A Couple And Lighting Getting Out' party. Within, a pink blur was passing by the party guests as Pinkie race to give everypony gathered their drinks and food. Fluttershy smiled when Pinkie Pie passed her by, "Thank you for the party Pinkie, but you really didn't have to."

"Are you kidding, Fluttershy? Of course I do!" Pinkie said with glee. "Do you know how long I waited for you two to get together? Since I first saw you two talking when you got to Ponyville! I told myself, 'if they don't get together by the time I'm 21, I'll bring out a wacky scheme to do it."

"Why 21?" Fluttershy asked.

"All the best happen when you're 21, duh," Pinkie said with a chuckle and skipped off. This left Fluttershy to only shigh in contentment and look up the banner with a blue and yellow pegasus ensnared by a heart. Turning her eyes to where her marefriend was and seeing she was talking with Applejack, she began to walk over to her.

Dash looked at Applejack with concern in her eyes, "Why so glum, AJ? We took down one of Grand Eunuch's best soldiers, the Umbra Circle just saved a lot of ponies, and me and Fluttershy are together. Things are looking up."

"Ah know, and ah am happy for ya, Ah really am," Applejack said, lightly hitting Dash's arm and smiling, "Ah'm just thinking about two weeks from now."

"Why whats-" Rainbow Dash paused for a moment, as her mind began to mentally go through the calendar and then land on that day's date, "Oh, AJ, I'm so sorry. I'm such a feather brain that I forgot."

Applejack gave a shake of her head and looked back at Rainbow Dash, "It's ok, sugarcube. With everything that's been going on this past year, Ah'm surprised Ah remembered it. It's one of those things ya have to deal with, every time it comes by and there's no getting around it. Ah'll be fine really."

Rainbow Dash sighed, put down her cup of cider, and then gave Applejack a big hug. This hug was joined by Fluttershy who added, "Applejack, if you ever need to talk to us. We'll be right here for you."

"Yeah, ah know, Ah know," Applejack said, nodded slowly and returning the hug. Breaking the embrace, she patted them both on the back, "Now go! Dance, kiss, sing, or whatever y'all want to do. Don't let a mopey friend drag ya down."

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy asked.

Applejack nodded, "Yeah, Ah just need time to think about some stuff and Ah'll be right as rain in no time. Go."

The two lovers nodded and walked away, leaving Applejack to sit back and watch the party. As she took a slow long drink, she thought that she saw the shadows of Twilight and her parents watching the party as well. She smiled warmly, letting her mind wrap itself within the good memories of the past.

Pinkie Pie looked to Belle and smiled as she walked over to her, seeing the unicorn write something down, "Whatcha writing?"

"Things to enjoy after April," Belle said with a smile. "This will help me forget that I don't have only a few months to live. That this will help me look forward to the future."

"Well let's see, you have weddings to attend, plenty of Hearth's Warming Eve to enjoy, and best of all-"

"A birthday party?" Belle asked with a giggle, "That is top of my list."

Pinkie Pie gasped, "It's mine too! Oh, I can't wait for you to attend!"

Rarity smiled and nuzzled her fiance, rubbing her belly, "Mmmm, what a perfect night for a party, Spikey."

"Yeah, it is," Spike said, kissing Rarity softly, while she tickled his chin. "Do you want me to refill the cup?"

Rarity shook her head as she stood up from the couch, "No, allow me. I want to get us two." she said with a warm smile as she walked to the punch bowl and picked up two glasses of punch.

As she walked away from the table, she felt a sudden contraction of muscles that caused her to drop both glasses. Looking down below, she noted that along with the puddle of liquid that formed from the broken glasses, there was one forming in between her legs. As she looked, she noticed a trail of clear liquid running down her thighs, "Oh dear..."

"What is it?" Pinkie asked as the room turned to look at Rarity as she stood there wincing a little.

"My...my water just broke," Rarity said.

"So, go fix your plumbing later," Dash said with a shrug.

Applejack had wide eyes and stood there in shock along with Fluttershy and Pinkie, "No sugarcube."

"She said her water broke," Pinkie said with a gasp.

Fluttershy finished nervously as she said, "That means..."

"THE BABY'S COMING!" the three yelled at once.

There was only one word to describe the atmosphere in the bakery that day.

Chaos.

"Gahhhhh," Rarity moaned as a contraction rocked her body.

Belle looked panicked, "Oh Celestia, this is not good! What are we going to do? The snow is too much for us to walk her there!"

"See looks like she's in a lot of pain," Pinkie Pie said worriedly, "Is she going to die? Oh, please don't let her die!"

"Um, excuse me," Fluttershy said, trying to raise her voice over the crowd.

Applejack shook her head, "She ain't dying. Not like this, not after all we've been through."

"Then you got any bright ideas?" Dash asked, "Flying her is out of the question, isn't it?"

Applejack nodded, "Not in her condition. We need a way to help her that won't hurt them both."

"GAHHHHH!" Rarity yelled as she got hit with another contraction.

"Um, excuse me," Fluttershy tried again to call out over the cacophony of sound.

Belle looked around, "Should we get water?"

"Oh Celestia, I can't believe I am about to be a father and I have no idea on what to do!?" Spike shouted with a panicked look in his eyes.

Fluttershy looked around and found a small party favor. Picking it up, she took a deep breath and blew into it, creating a loud sound that caught the attention of the panicking girls. Once their attention was drawn to Fluttershy, she began to speak, "Thank you. Now, Spike, you can fly in this snow, go and grab Nurse Redheart. She is on call right now and will be available."

"Got it!" Spike said, running out the door as fast he could.

Fluttershy then turned to look at Applejack and Rainbow Dash, "Would you two mind getting Rarity somewhere with some pillows and sit her comfortably?"

"Fluttershy what are you doing? Do you know anything about babies?" Dash asked.

Fluttershy nodded, "Yes, I have helped to deliver babies before."

"Flutters, this isn't an animal baby, this is a foal we're talking about," Dash remarked, "You know, a baby baby!"

Fluttershy nodded as Applejack helped Rarity to the couch and sat her down on the couch, "Before moving to Ponyville, I volunteered as a nurse to help my mother at Cloudsdale hospital. While there, I helped her deliver a could of fillies. I know what I'm doing."

"All right," Dash nodded.

Looking to her left, Fluttershy continued to give out orders, "Belle, could you boil water? Pinkie, get some lenin, preferably ones you don't want to use anymore."

"Yes mam!" Pinkie and Belle said, running off.

"Applejack, take a hand you won't be using for a few days and let Rarity hold onto it," Fluttershy said, getting onto the couch, lifting the dress, and peeling away Rarity's panties.

"What do ya mean, not usin-GAHHHHHHHHHH!" Applejack screamed as a contraction went through Rarity's body, making her squeeze Applejack's hand with an audible crack.

"Whoever decided that females were to carry babies must have been a man!" Rarity screamed as she began to pant and push, "Damn him and all his kind!"

Fluttershy calmly nodded, looking to the cervix, and then back to Rarity as she watch her friend sweat and pant. Within another few moments, a contraction went through and Rarity yelled, "GAHHHHHHH! Where is that boyfriend of mine? Oh, isn't it just like a drake, knock up a poor virginal female of the species and then go brag about it to his friends!" thrashing her head side to side, she whimpered and growled, "Oooooh, I bet I know where he is, fucking that dragon whore of a princess and bragging about how of an easy lay I am!"

Fluttershy merely nodded, and looked to the side to see the kneeling Applejack. Looking over her shoulder back to the other two mares in the room, she asked, "Belle, Pinkie, go get some ice and gauze, Applejack may need of it."

"ARGH!" Applejack and Rarity screamed at once, with Applejack replying, "How the buck is this hurting worse than the freaking boar!?"

Fluttershy looked down and then looked back up, "Keep it up Rarity, you are doing nicely and it looks like you have fully dilated."

"Oh shut up you dyke whore!" Rarity screamed almost demonically. "Bet you're enjoying the view down there ain't ya! Well, enjoy bitch, because it's about to-AHHHHHHHHHHH!

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" Applejack screamed, looking to Rarity in shock, "Didn't think ya would use such language."

"That's because I never had a thing trying to claw my insides out!" Rarity screamed harder and began to push with her might. For a brief moment, her horn glowed bright blue and fired a magic bolt with Dash had to jump out of the way. As Rarity regained her breath, she moaned in pain, "Never again! Never again will I let that miserable cur of a drake put something so unnatural and disgusting into my most personal of spaces! Fluttershy, friend of friends, remind me to grab his member, and slice it off with a rusty sword."

"Yes Rarity I will," Fluttershy said Calmly, looking back at the cervix, "You are now fully dilated, just a few more pushes. You can do this Rarity, I believe in you."

"Oh, give me a morphine spell! I need drugs," Rarity said.

Fluttershy shook her head, "Even if I could, I would not. You said you wanted a natural birth."

"Oh, what a horrid foal I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas!" Rarity screamed, cried, and moaned in pain.

Applejack barely had time to wrench her hand away and took Rainbow's hand quickly. With a moan of pain she said, "Rainbow, Ah can't...you'll have to carry on in my stead."

"AJ, I don't think I CAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Dash screamed as Rarity took Rainbow Dash's hand and crushed it. Rainbow Dash fell to her knees whimpering in pain as her life flashed before her eyes.

"Rarity, I think I can see the head," Fluttershy said, smiling as she looked over Rarity's stomach, "Just a little more."

Rarity screamed as she felt her body began to push, and contract. After a few more painful moments, she let out one painful scream that echoed through the building. Then for a few brief moments, there was silence in the hut. Then, after a few brief seconds of panting, gasping, and breathing, Rarity was treated to the most wonderful sound in her entire life, her child's first cry.

"Congratulations Rarity," Fluttershy said, wiping the baby down with the linen and wrapping it up. A warm smile came to Fluttershy's lips as she said, "Your daughter is here."

Rarity smiled warmly as she looked to the little kirin as she was handed to her, "Oh, my little daughter." she whispered as she catches her breath. Looking down, she began to take in the sights of her daughter's light purple coat and long dragon tail. At the tips of her little fingers were nubs that would soon become claws. As the baby began to settle down from crying, it turned it's slitted blue eyes up at Rarity, and smiled, sensing in its own way that the white mare in front of her was her mother. With a warm smile, Rarity brushed a hand through the light purple fuzz that made up her daughter's mane, "Oh, look at that...not even five minutes old and you are already stylish."

At that moment, Nurse Redheart and Spike opened the door, and when she caught sight of the little group and the new baby, Redheart remarked, "Well, I guess I wasn't needed."

A few hours later, Rarity and the baby were taken to the hospital for some much needed post delivery care. Just the same, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were treated for broken hands and had their palms bandaged up tightly. The earth pony and pegasus both found themselves sitting outside of the waiting room with the rest of the knights, waiting for the doctor to come out. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were sitting together on the floor and by the door.

With a moan, Applejack looked at her broken hand and said, "Dash, promise me, when I get pregnant and go into labor... knock me out so Ah don't put y'all through this."

"You kidding? When you go into labor, I am flying to Cloudsdale and never looking back!" Dash said.

Applejack rolled her eyes at this and chuckled, "Gee, thanks, glad to know Ah'll have your support in my time of need."

"Don't mention it," Dash said.

Belle put a finger to her chin, "This does raise the question, if Dash and Fluttershy were to go for artificial insemination, then who would carry. Fluttershy?"

This made both Dash and Fluttershy blush at the idea, while making the rest of the group laugh. They stopped laughing when they heard the door open and saw Nurse Redheart step out, "Both mother and daughter are ok. It is safe for you to come and see them now, but be careful."

The girls nodded in unison and walked in softly, while Pinkie was doing her best to hold back every ounce of her excitement. Once inside, they saw the new mother finishing breastfeeding the baby in her arms. Pulling the young kirin away, Rarity looked to Spike and then to her friends, "Girls, meet Crystal Clarity, my daughter. Clarity, these are your godmothers."

Pinkie Pie was the first to go to the new baby and smile warmly at it, singing a little to her, "Happy birthday to you

Have a birthday that's new

It's new because it's your first

Hi, I'm your aunt Pinkie Pie. When you feel sad or frowny, you come to me and I'll make you smile. Ok?" she asked, giggling as the little baby lightly batted Pinkie's mane. This made the mare giggle as she bounced back.

Fluttershy was next as she held the little light purple claws of her goddaughter, "Crystal, I know the world can seem scary at times. It can be a little frightening, but it'll be ok. If it gets too scary, I'll help you with your fears."

"Hey Clare," Rainbow Dash said, standing behind Fluttershy, "This is your awesome Aunt Rainbow Dash. Look, I know it might get a little boring, having a mom who makes dresses all of the time. But, if you get really bored with it all, come see me and I'll fly ya to places you never been."

When the two left, Belle stood to the little baby and smiled at her, "Clarity, I guess we are in the same boat huh? The world is brand new to you and you have a whole lifetime of memories to make. Me, I just started making them last year and I hope to make plenty more in the future. Maybe, together, we can make plenty of happy memories, ok?" When Clarity let out a little hiss in agreement, Belle giggled and walked away.

Applejack, tipping her hat and smirking, walked over to Clarity and began to speak, "Listen, Ah know yer mom will be a little overbearing sometimes and even aggravating, but if she gets too much for ya, come and see me, and Ah can help you both with your little problems. Shake hands with your aunt AJ," she finished, shaking little Clarity's paw.

Outside of the hospital, Night Nurse looked up to the giant purple sea serpent, "I am sorry Mr. Magnet, but you are too loud and big to see the baby. You can come by another time."

"Oh, that is simply too bad!" Stephen Magnet said, flipping his hair back. Sighing, he looked to the window of Rarity's room, "I can barely see the little one."

Inside of the hospital, everypony turned their heads towards the sound of the doors being opened and two dragons stepping inside. The first dragon stepped in with a bright smile on her face, "Oh, where is she? Where is the baby? Oh my gosh, there she is!" squealed Mina. "She is so cute. I haven't seen a kirin like that, she is just-"

"Mina, settle down," said Ember, shaking her head.

Mina rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, Dragonlord."

"Dragonlord?" Spike asked, looked to Ember as she walked towards Clarity.

"After Father found out I had the Umbra Circle help get rid of the amulet, he gave me the job, and one of my duties is to see over newborn dragons. Especially cute wittle Kirin's like this one," Ember said, kissing the baby's forehead. When she realized what she was doing, she blushed and backed away, "Um, anyway, congratulations on the new baby and I wish you all the best, Mina, come."

"Awwww, you do have a cute side, your lordship," Mina giggled as she nudged Ember while they walked away.

Just as the door closed behind the two dragons, it swiftly opened again to let in three unicorns. Rarity let out a gasp as she saw, "Mother, Father, Sweetie Belle?!"

"Where is she? Where is my little granddaughter, I think we need to see her don't' ya know," Pearl said, running over and smiling at the baby. Pearl smiled and looked to Rarity, "Awww, well, will ya look at that, she has your mane and eyes. Oh, you were just as cute back when you were that small."

"Yeah, but I bet she is going to be as tough as her mate, now ain't ya?" asked Magnum, nudging Spike and chuckling. When he looked at Rarity, he said, "Sorry, Esteem wanted to be here, but he said he had...responsibilities."

"I understand," Rarity sighed. Then she looked to Sweetie Belle, "Sweetie Belle, I thought Mother and Father were taking you to a concert in Las Pegasus to meet Sapphire Shores."

"They were, but Spike sent us a letter the moment you went into labor. When Mom heard the news, she paid the driver triple to drive back home to see you," Sweetie Belle said.

Pearl smiled and hugged her eldest daughter, "Well, I wasn't going to miss out one of the biggest days of my daughter's life."

A little yawn from Clarity alerted all who were in the room to the tiredness of the babe. Rarity smiled and looked to her friends, "She's getting tired everyone. I think she needs to get some sleep. I'll see you all later."

"Bye Rarity," the girls whispered as they left, leaving Spike and Rarity together.

Spike sighed as he touched Clarity's outstretched paws as they grasped at the air, and kissed her forehead. He noticed that while she had much of a dragon's body, her face and limbs were very much pony like. He smiled as he kissed her forehead, "See you later, my lovely gems." he said, kissing Rarity deeply and then leaving her to rest in the bed.

Rarity looked down at the bundle in her arms, who was begging not to fall asleep, "That, was your family Clarity. The whole lot of them, and they can be a little weird I admit." Rarity sighed as she looked to the door and then to the sky, seeing a purple star shining bright.

"But, I wouldn't trade them for all of the world," Rarity continued. She smiled as she said, "Your godmothers? Those are the best friends I could have ever hoped for, they were willing to stand by me through all of this and never once thought lesser of me for it. Now, I had to make a lot of of sacrifices for you. I had to stay away from them, had to split my duties between my shop and caring for you, and I had to deal with all of the annoyances you put onto my little body."

"All being a mother I suppose," she said with a warm smile as she looked to the now sleeping babe, "We sacrifice our bodies, energy, blood, and so much more to bring you out into this world. Then we sacrifice our time, money, and even our minds to make sure that you have a wonderful life. But you have to sacrifice too, don't you," she asked, looking at Clarity. "You had to leave the safety of a warm body to face this world. And soon you'll have to sacrifice more than you could ever dream to make out there in the big world."

Putting a finger to her baby's heart, she let out a small giggle when she felt it beat, "Now, I won't promise you that I'll be a perfect mother. There will be times when we will fight, argue, yell, and get angry. But I promise you this, you will want for nothing. I will give all that I can to make it so that the world you live in is the best and that you will be loved. Deal, my little perfect Crystal."

The baby said nothing, choosing to snore softly as she rested in her mom's arms. Not needing music or song, Rarity began to sing a lullaby in her heart.

---

A few days later found Rarity with her mane a mess as she began to calm the crying baby down. She sighed as she walked around with the small babe in the little nursery and looked at the kirin, "Well, more sacrifices I suppose." with a chuckle she said, "Worth the nine months though." she whispered as she heard the soft snoring of her little baby. Then, she put Crystal in her crib, leaned in and kissed her on the forehead.

As Rarity tucked Clarity in, she heard Glarity's footsteps and a whisper, "Rarity, I'm ready."

Confused, Rarity walked into the showroom where she saw Clarity standing there before her, "Ready for what?"

Glarity sighed, "To be, you know, turned off. I have fulfilled my purpose. The baby is now here, and soon you'll be ready to fight again. I...I'm not needed. So, I'm ready to be turned off now, for good." she gave a tiny sniffle, "You know, I-I-I am really going to miss this place. Our friends, Belle, the fun. Just please, don't forget me."

As Rarity saw the mare began to cry and whimper, a small rainbow shine shimmered across her eyes as she placed her hand onto Glarity's shoulder. Making her horn glow bright purple for a moment, she sighed and began to send in magical energy into Glarity. After a few moments, Rarity broke away and began to pant, "Oh, my...didn't think it would that during."

"What did you do?" Glarity asked.

Rarity smiled, "Gave up about fifteen percent of my own mana reserves permanently. Now you are free to live your own life, free from me. You and I are no longer connected by a magical link."

"What, but I...your magic, I-"

"Oh posh," Rarity said standing up, "I never needed all one hundred percent of my mana anyway. I just need enough to keep my business afloat and care for my baby."

"But, why? I'm just a golem, you didn't need to," Glarity asked as she looked to Rarity.

Rarity held her golem's hand, "You bleed, you cry, you think, and you dream. MY dear, you are more than just a golem. You are now a living being, a person given life because my friends treated you as your own pony. They wanted to believe that you were real enough so they treated you as such. Now, you can be. After all," Rarity smiled, "Would I do anything less for a sister."

"Oh, Rarity!" Glarity said, hugging her sister tightly, "Thank you so much...thank you," she began to cry into Rarity's shoulder. "Is it alright if I stay here though? I mean, you need a babysitter and your parents travel and Sweetie Belle sings and Spike can only do so much and-"

Rarity calmly put her hands onto her sister's shoulders and smiled warmly, "Glarity, I wouldn't have it any other way. I think she would need you as much as she needs me."

"OH, THANK YOU," Glarity said with glee as she hugged Rarity and ran off to her own room.

Rarity sighed and walked back to the nursery to look at her child. Then she was taken aback when she saw Spike looking over the crib, looking at his daughter. Shaking her head, she crossed her arms under her chest and leaned against the doorway. She didn't hear much of Spike's chatter or if he was talking, but she decided to alert him to her presence, "Yes Spike, she is real. She is very much alive and is still very happy to be here with us."

Spike looked up and nodded with a chuckle as Rarity walked to him, "Yeah, I know. It's just that, well," he shook his head as he looked down at Clarity, "We made her, you and me. This little girl, she was born because of us. Because we, we made love and now she's here. A part of you, with your beauty and voice."

"And your appetite," Rarity giggled as she looked at Clarity.

Spike laughed and ran his claw through the mane, "I just hope I can be the father she deserves."

"Spike, precious scales," Rarity placed her hand onto Spikes, her engagement ring shining bright, "You chose to give up being a fighter to stay and protect what is important to us. I don't think she can ask for a better gift from a father." then she cupped his chin and lightly tickled it, smiling warmly.

"Yeah, but you are going to be the big hero in her eyes. Going off on adventures, kicking ass and taking names, what do you think I'll be to her?" Spike asked, looking into Rarity's sapphire eyes.

"Her protector, best friend, and guardian," Rarity said warmly, "Someone who'll help her when I'm not around and will teach her what it means to be a dragon. All very important parts of our child's growth. That is what being a partner is for and is why I said yes to you." With that she leaned up and kiss Spike softly on the lips.

Spike smiled as he took the kiss and returned it, "Dressmaker, hero, and now mother, you are my perfect package." then he looked up at the stars, "Think... she's happy with this?"

"A little grumpy, but I think knowing that you are here living up to the responsibility would make her happy," Rarity said, kissing her husband-to-be once more, slipping her tongue in. This made Spike moan as he rubbed his hands along her back.

A little sound from the crib broke the kiss and they looked down to see Clarity kicking the covers with her legs. Her eyes looked up at the them both and smiled up at them. Spike looked down and said, "Don't worry Crystal, we were just talking. Your dad was just trying to coax a sympathy kiss from your momma."

"Ooooh, you little trickster," Rarity giggled as she kissed her husband. Then she looked down and lightly played with her daughter's hands.

---

A pair of hands clasped around Inquirous's hands, cupping them gently. Softly, he held them over a very large stomach, "Are you sure about this, Inquirous?" the pale green Kirin asked, his dark blue ponytail hanging over the shoulder of his tuxedo. On his chest he had a symbol marked 'RW3Y'.

Inquirous gave a small laugh as she ran her hand along the kirin's chest, "Swift Blade, I am eight months with child. I think it's a little late for me to have second thoughts about our wedding."

"Yeah, it's just that," he sighed, lifting up his lizard tail and tucking her chin, "People might think it odd that you are marrying a freak of nature. An Unicornicopian and dragon hybrid, remember?"

"And, the best scythe wielder in your entire team," Inquirous chuckled, "multi-decorated soldier, and a hero of many battles. I think that is enough to look past the kirin thing."

Blade laughed, "Yeah, and besides," he paused and slipped his tail under her dress, "You know other uses for this tail."

Inquirous giggled and lightly batted her boyfriend's tail away, "Not until after the ceremony and we are in the limo."

"But you," he said, looking at her low cut wedding gown and long train, "dressed so sexily, makes me want to tak-"

A loud knock on the door interrupted the two lovers. Blade looked up, curious as to the noise, "Who is it?"

Without answering, two Unicornicopian guards smashed down the door and began to look around. One of them looked up and growled, "There is the traitor, arrest him!"

"Traitor? Who, what?" Blade asked, quickly getting his arms grabbed and pulled away by the two guards. Growling and struggling, he shouted, "L-let me go! What do you mean traitor?!"

"Blade!" shouted Inquirious, only to wince in pain as she sat back down. Looking down, she saw some fluid leaking down her leg, "Oh, no...oh Grand Ruler no."

Blade could hear this as he was being escorted out of the church, along with a shout of 'Get the doctor, she's going into labor!"

With a gasp, he used his tail to trip the soldiers that held him fast, "Let me go! I'm about to be a father!" as he spun around, he pulled his scythe out from beneath his tuxedo, unfolded it, and then spun it around into a ready stance. Growling he raced to the church, only to be knocked back and across the lawn by a yellow blur.

Dazed, he took a few minutes to catch his breath before standing up and looking to the figure who pushed him," Harry?" he asked with a smile on his lips, "Oh thank Grand Ruler you're here. I need your help, Inquirious has gone into labor and the guards think I am a trait-"

"Stand down," Harry said, glaring his eyes at Blade.

Blade shook his head, "This... this is a joke right? Harry...what do you think you are doing?"

"I'm turning you in, traitor," Harry said coldly, holding out his ward sword and pointing at Blade's heart.

"This... can't be happening," whimpered Blade. As tears began to roll down his cheeks, he said, "You were my best friend. DAMN IT! You're the best man at the wedding!"

"In this business, friendship is useless," Harry said, before lunging forward with his sword.

With expert timing, Blade blocked the sword with his scythe and then pinned the blade down, "At least tell me what I am being accused of!"

Harry pulled his blade away and then slashed twice at Blade's chest, his sword being parried with each strike. Then he made a vertical slash, locking his blade with Blade's, "A week ago, on the planet Sontar, you were ordered to destroy a small village of criminals."

"There were children in that village, I couldn't kill them," Blade said, trying to struggle against the blade lock.

Harry shook his head, "It does not matter! You disobeyed a direct order and that makes you a traitor. Your name," he said, pulling away from the blade lock and slashing at Blade, making him back up as he tried to catch up with Harry's strikes," will be stricken from the records. Lands taken, your fiancee will forget you, your spawn sent away. It will be as if you-"

With a single slash, Harry destroyed the scythe.

"Never existed!" he said, running his blade deep into Blade's heart, "Thus be to all traitors."

Blade could only gasp and choke as he felt the blade inside of his chest and weakly looked down at the sword. Trembling, he reached his hand up to try and keep the blade in, as if it would stop the bleeding. Then he looked into the eyes of Harry and could only whisper, "I hope your son kills you, you son of a-"

"And that's enough of that," Harry said, pulling the blade out. Smirking, he did a horizontal slash across Blade's throat, causing him to fall to the ground.

As Blade twitched and writhed in the pool of blood, feeling his life flow away, he was aware of the sound of blood splashing from footsteps, "A horrible fate has befallen you."

"Sire, are you sure he is to be our second?" Myst asked, watching as Titan lifted up Blade in a white sphere of magic.

"Yes, he is," Titan said, looking back. "Skilled, heroic, and betrayed. Besides, he knows what is to lie ahead for his wife and son. Both will be used by Grand Ruler, turned into caricatures for his little story and then thrown away when their use has ended. He doesn't want that for his lady, now does he?"

Blade whispered, "I want to be strong, to be powerful enough to save them all. I don't care who gets in my way."

"Are you sure? This path will be hard, but if the game is played right, you will be rewarded in the end," Titan said.

"Am I a pawn?" asked Blade.

"Pawns are pieces in a chess game, and are usually sacrifices," Titan said, "I find Go pieces to have more respect in this light."

"Then I am your scythe."

---

Equestria... three ages pass

"Celestia? Celestia come here!" Titan growled as he stomped through the palace, his hoofsteps creating echos as he walked. Everytime he would turn, his royal cape would billow as he looked down each hallway. After a few minutes of walking through the halls of the castle, he saw a light green alicorn standing in the doorway to the royal nursery, "Terra? Where is that daughter of mine? It is time for her lessons on diplomatic relations."

Terra giggled softly, her earthy brown mane flowing behind her, "Your daughter is right now dividing responsibilities." she said, adjusting her gown and covering her cutie mark of a floral wreath.

"With who?" Titan asked.

Without saying a word, Terra moved her hoof to point into the nursery. When Titan looked inside, he could see Celestia bouncing around a crib, her seven year old body bouncing with excitement as she giggled for the twentieth time, "I have a little sister! I have a little sister!" Then she turned around, ran a hoof through her light pink mane and then looked down at the baby filly, "Princess Luna! I have a royal decree, which is big ponies talk for a command. That when you are older, we will rule side by side as equals. Which means that we have the kingdom split in half."

Little Luna merely blinked a few times at Celestia in response.

"You don't know what a half is?" Celestia asked, and then struggled to lift up a cookie with her magic. Then with a little grunt, she pulled the pieces apart, "Getting half means you get this one piece and I get the other. That way, we have the same piece, because we're sisters. Now I was born first, so I need to watch over and guide you."

Not really understanding what this weird thing was saying, all little Luna could do at the time was lightly boop her sister on the nose, and in turn, made Celestia smile warmly.

Titan watched this and leaned to his wife, "She knows that the little one can't understand her, right?"

"She doesn't care," Terra said, smiling at her two daughters, "For her, this is her world and she wants to spend everyday with her as possible."

"Before going back to the responsibilities that come with her crown?" Titan asked, frowning.

Terra looked to her husband and rubbed a hoof along his muscular chest, "We agreed on this, sweetie. You teach them how to rule and how be wise. I am the one who'll teach them how to fight and become warriors in magic."

"I know," Titan said, looking at Celestia as she began to introduce Luna to a series of plushies that she called her subjects, "I just worry that I am taking her childhood away from her and removing what is important to be a kind ruler."

Terra looked at the little waving four hooves and the sounds of laughter, "That's what Luna will be there for. To help Celestia remember everything that is real in this world."

"Can't let me feel miserable can you?" Titan asked, nuzzling his nose to his wife's.

"Momma! There is a bug trying to attack Luna!" Celestia said, trying to swipe at a harmless little fly.

Terra sighed, "Be there in a moment sweetie. Hey Titan? Hey, TITAN!"

(the present)

"Yes?" Titan asked, snapping out of his reverie as he walked down the street with Rep-Stallion on his side. Around the two, the city was alive with the sound of downtown Horn Kong, with many of the sellers hawking wares and the smells of food being cooked.

"You zoned out for a minute," Rep-Stallion said, moving along the road, slithering his body back and forth before resting on a box, "I was asking, when are you going to get us to the Umbra Circle and have us join them."

Titan found a place to stand next to a stall, and after throwing money into the vendor's coin purse, purchased two apples, "In due time. I feel as if though, they will come to us. Then you can make your decision on what your next move is."

Rep sighed, "Yeah, I guess. Just feeling useless right now. We can't get out because Conquest will find us and we can't stay here for much longer, Raven will show up soon."

"Do not worry, I will handle Raven when she comes," Titan said, "Conquest is right now busy attacking some of Starfleet's other worlds and taking slaves there."

"And no one is stopping him," Rep growled, punching the crate he sat on. He then looked up and smiled at the sight of two ponies, obviously siblings, standing together behind some bullies. The older colt glared down the bullies, making them back off. Rep chuckled at the sight, "Guess that's what Equestrians inspire, huh? The desire to do the right thing for a friend."

Titan smiled as a memory came to his mind, "You know why I respect Princess Celestia?"

"Why?" Rep asked.

"Because she reminds me of this little mare I had heard of once," Titan said leaning back and closing his eyes under his hood, " A long time ago, there were these two princesses, one was outgoing and brave while the younger was scared and prefered to stay home. One day, the younger ventured outside of her home, only to begin to hear rumors, horrible rumors."

"What?" Rep asked, not noticing the younger kids gathering around the leader.

"'The young princess is just the spare.' 'They only had her to protect the eldest.' 'She's worthless, just a tool.' 'all hail the eldest sister' and more. She began to fear for her life and question her own existence. Was she just a spare to her parents? Was that why she was only taught how to fight and use spells while her sister was taught how to govern? No, she couldn't have been. So scared was she that she started to run away from home, getting herself lost in the process."

"Oh no," gasped a small filly."

"What's worse, the little princess was cornered by some cruel bullies who wanted to beat the little princess up. Just when all hope seemed lost, the eldest sister came in and beat the bullies up with her magic. She told the bullies that if her sister was attacked or hurt, she would throw them in the dungeon. She was showing mercy in the hope they would later learn their ways and become good colts."

"Did they?" asked a little colt, hugging his little brother.

Titan nodded, "Indeed they did, they later on became the princesses royal guard when she took the throne. As for the princesses, Cel-the elder sister asked why her younger sister wan away. The younger said she didn't want to be the spare and her own mare. The eldest said to not to worry, for she would never be the spare to her that she would be the most important pony in her court always. The two then hugged each other."

As the children dispersed after the story, Rep-stallion looked confused, "So what does this have to do with Princess Celestia."

"She is merciful and kind, much like the princess in the story," Titan said, a warm smile appearing under his hood, "She could've killed them, slain them, but she chose to be merciful. Something that Grand Ruler is incapable of learning."

Rep-stallion nodded and then leapt off the box, "Is that why you are so pissed off with him? Does it have something to do with the hunt?"

"In a way," Titan said, his normally calm demeanor fading as he growled, "Grand Ruler was supposed to be confined to Unicornicopia and his taint was never meant to encroach upon this world. I tried to lure the darkness to his planet in order to destroy it without hurting anyone else while overthrowing that despot. However, he managed to bring Celestia to his world, and then take his black heart to this land and ruin it."

"But, wasn't Equestria destroyed too?" asked Rep-Stallion as Titan left the market.

---

The last event that began the fall of Starfleet had it's start on the day of Lightning's departure from the hospital. Just outside of the hospital doors, Pinkie Pie happily bounced up and down on her feet as she awaited the approach of Artie. When she saw the orange unicorn, she happily waved hi, "Artie! You made it."

"Hey Pinkie," Artie said walking up to Pinkie Pie. Looking around, he asked, "Where are the others?"

"Rarity is taking care of the shop and Crystal, Applejack is out in the field, and Fluttershy and Dashie are out on a date," Pinkie said, counting on her fingers for each of her friends, "And Belle is in the library researching something."

"So, that leaves us to check up on our friend?" Artie asked as he walked to the door. Calmly, he concentrated and used his magic to open the door for Pinkie, "After you."

"Thank you," Pinkie said, "You are getting better at the magic."

Artie smiled and followed Pinkie inside. After taking a few steps, they encountered a white earth pony with black mane and a health symbol cutie mark with a little candle in front of it, "Can I help you?"

"Night Nurse?!" Pinkie asked, "What are you doing during day shift?"

"A favor," Night Nurse said, looking down at her papers before asking, "So, how can I help you?"

"We are here to see Lightning and discharge him," Pinkie said.

Night Nurse nodded, walked out from behind the desk, and pointed to a door, "Fourth floor on your right."

"Thankie!" Pinkie said as she and Artie headed to the room. As they arrived to the door, they could hear from inside, the sounds of Krysta admonishing Lightning Dawn.

"You need to take it easy," Krysta said, "No one can take the punishment you did and walk away from it."

Lightning sighed, "The doctor gave me a clean bill of health and I need to see these recruits that Grand Ruler told me about. After I see them, then I can figure out how to help the rest of the knights, but still I need to get out of bed."

"Becoming a better person, but still a hard head," Artie laughed.

Lightning smiled and looked up at his two friends, "Funny, real funny." with a sigh, he got up slowly and took out his badge. For a long time he looked at it and put it into his pocket and put on a plain white t-shirt and pants. "Remind me to thank Rarity for this. She didn't need to do it for me."

"But she wanted to," Pinkie said, smiling as she looked at the symbol on his shirt, "Like the symbol?"

Lightning looked down at the lighting bolt on his chest, "Yeah, but what's it for?"

"Well, we thought for a long time on what you would have for a cutie mark if you were an Equestrian, and I said 'a lightning bolt'! You know, fast, running around, and maybe like an electrician," Pinkie said giggling.

Artie looked down at his own t-shirt, which had a paintbrush on it, "Rarity and Pinks have been making these for the two of us, consider us honorary members of their team."

Lightning lightly chuckled as he got off the bed, Krysta flying in behind him and landing on his shoulder. As he walked up to Artie, he looked and saw a badge missing, "Let me guess...you too?"

Artie nodded solemnly, "Rhymey betraying us was the last straw. I don't know why, but the moment he was imprisoned and vanished... it was like a haze if slowly getting over me and I am starting to realize that if any one of us has a chance of saving the day this time, we need to get away from Starfleet."

"He threw away his badge this morning," Pinkie said, looking at Lightning, "Are you-"

"Later," Lighting said, "If I do it now-"

He was interrupted by the sound of hoof falls next to them and a nurse with a brown mane showed up and smiled when she saw Pinkie Pie, "Oh, Pinkie, are you here to see some of the patients today? Some of the soldiers would love to have you."

Pinkie Pie smiled, "Well, sure! I would love to see them." then she looked behind at her two other friends and waved them to follow her. After a few minutes of walking, she soon made their way to another part of the hospital meant for the soldiers.

Lightning looked on and whispered to Artie, "I didn't think we had this kind of place."

"We're a military," Artie said with a sigh, "I am just surprised that Grand Ruler never had us visit these guys more often. They need support and more of what Pinkie is doing."

Lightning looked ahead, and was shocked when he saw the doors open to the ward and the many shouts that came from within, as many began to welcome and cheer at the sight of Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie Pie!" shouted some of the wounded soldiers.

"How's it going Pinkie!" asked some of them.

As Pinkie Pie began to cheer up the wounded and the more sombre patients, all Lightning could do was stare in shock and horror at the results of war. The grunts, the infantrymen, and thes of the lower rank were laying in beds side by side and all in various states of pain. Some had arms blown off thanks to an arrant magical blast, while others had their limbs burnt off.

Drifting his eyes from left to right, he could see that those were the lucky ones. Soldiers laid in bed with much of their coats burned off, revealing their pink skin. While others had visible eye injury to the point where only their sockets were visible. Then there were other soldiers that had their faces bitten off to where their insides were visible. Some just laid there, in utter shock at the horror that they had to face.

"Not pretty, is it?" asked Artie, sighing. "I had only found out about this place recently when I was stuck here."

"I wish it was simple, you know," Lightning said, sighing. "That Conquest would fight by the rules we are used to. You know, send a monster out one at a time, some of the soldiers fight on but get knocked away and then we jump in bravely to fight. I mean, these are the lower ranks, the guys who are only meant to fight grunts and protect the civilians."

"Bad guys don't play by the rules," Artie said, "Especially in war. Do you know how many casualties were caused because we weren't careful? All of that collateral damage because we left it to the grunts instead of protecting them ourselves."

Lightning could only whisper, "All because Grand Ruler wants us to be the heroes..."

Their ears perked to the sound of Pinkie Pie talking to a soldier lying in bed, a warm smile on her face as she said, "And I said, now that's a katana."

"Thanks Pinkie," whispered the soldier as he breathed through the mask. "That joke had always been a favorite of mine."

"Hey, no problem," Pinkie said with a smile, her eyes looking at him warmly. "I think everyone needs a chance to smile at least once."

"No, thank you, for being here... with us. It isn't easy you know, knowing that the country needs us and we're stuck here. But you, the knights, and the others, you do so much to protect against the threats we can't handle. Thank you for being you, and making me smile...one last time," the stallion said, his breathing slowing down to a few gasps and then, with one final inhale, he breathed his last.

Pinkie Pie sniffled and nodded, taking a step back as she let the doctors and nurses tend to him. Rubbing her shoulder she looked back and smiled to the other soldiers, "Bye Sassafrass, bye Camille, bye Rosie, Bye..."

Lighting stepped away as he heard Pinkie Pie name off every pony that was in room, along with each doctor and nurse that was in. Then when he saw her walk out, he asked, "D...Do you know the name of everypony in there?"

"Of course," Pinkie whispered and she looked down as they walked away from the room, "I know everypony in Ponyville, every name in that hospital, every soldier that I befriended, everyone who..."

When he heard that pause, Lightning froze, only for Artie to finish, "Died."

"Artie, j-just how many casualties have been in this war, just on our side?" Lightning asked, not wanting to know the answer.

"Over four hundred thousand, most are Equestrians and a lot of Unicornicopians," Artie said as they walked outside.

Pinkie sniffled as she leaned against the hospital wall, "It's hard you know, smiling like this. I want to try my best to keep everybody smiling, to bring everyone hope and to make everyone see the world the way I do. Then I see something like that and it hurts, because I feel like I'm not doing enough."

"She can be so immature sometimes"

"She's got pudding for brains"

"She's so pathetic, why is she an element. Laughter, ha! What good is that?"

Lightning's own words echoed in his head, and he resisted the urge to punch himself for insulting her. Taking a deep breath, he walked to her and smiled, "You are doing enough. What you are doing, keeping us happy, making jokes, keeping us entertained, that is just as impo-no," Lightning shook his head, "That is more important than anything I have ever done. Pinks...I am so sorry for the way I treated you."

Pinkie Pie smiled brightly as she hugged Lightning, "Already forgiven!"

"Thanks," Lightning chuckled. "Look, I am heading to New Canterlot soon, but when I get back..."

"What?" Pinkie asked.

"There is something I need Applejack for," Lightning said. Then he looked at Pinkie and Artie in the eyes and smirked, "Then... we're taking down Grand Ruler."

As he left Artie sighed and whispered to Pinkie, "Remember what we discussed, about my parents?"

"Yeah," Pinkie asked.

"I found a ship, next month... let's go."

---

Krysta floated close by Lightning, keeping herself nearby as the two walked. There was a scowl on her face as she said, "Can't believe we are actually still here, talking to him."

"It would be too suspicious if I just up and left. Besides, I want to see these new recruits," Lightning said, slowly walking down the hallway to the the throne room.

As his journey continued, his mind played back every lie, every story, and everything that Grand Ruler taught him. Each memory was like a lash of a whip, reminding him of what a fool he was to believe in his old mentor. For a moment, he wonder why he had ever believed in the man or why he so eagerly followed him. A slow breath escaped his lips as he slowly realized that it was partly his own fault and the rest was to his old teammate.

Lifting up his hand, he glimpsed for a minute blood before it vanished in a blink of an eye. Shaking his head, he tried to ignore the weight of what crimes he committed under Grand Ruler Celesto and instead focused on his destination. Slapping on his badge, he said with a disgusted tone "Starfleet Magic." and continued his way into the room as magic flowed over his body, cape coming on last and flowing behind him as his white armor shown through the shadows of the throne room.

Grand Ruler Celesto sat back in his throne, looking down at Lightning from above. Smiling, he said, "Lightning, I am glad to see you fully healed. It is a shame about our dear companion Rhymey," he said leaning forward and putting his hands together, entwining his fingers, "Mind control is a horrible thing to go through. I just hope that time in his cell will give us the chance to find the cure he needs."

"Yes sire," Lighting said kneeling before Grand Ruler, putting a hand over his chest, "You can't fool me, Grand Ruler. I'm not an idiot, not anymore. I know you ordered the death of my parents and I swear to Celestia I am going to make you PAY."

Grand Ruler sighed and unclasped his hand, "But, we must move on to a brighter and better world. If our safety is to continue and this war to be won, then you are going to need new recruits for your team. May I present,"

"Hot Shot," a red stallion with a black mane stepped forward, and with a smirk, he tipped his glasses, "Hey there. Warrior of fire!"

A grey Unicornicopian laughed, spinning his giant staff around, "Rocky Road. Warrior of Art"

"Lock and Load!" shouted a pair of blue twins as they jumped into the throne room. High fiving one another before spinning around and doing two handstands"Soldiers of explosions!

"And, Bella Belle," whispered a sultry mare as she lightly tickled Lighting's chin, her pink coat shining in the light. With a sway of her hips, she pirouetted to the front of the room and stuck her arm up. "Soldier of Light

The five each backed away from Lightning, leaping in front of Grand Ruler and did a small pose together. Then they immediately bowed to Lightning as they said, "We are the Neo Starfleet fighters!"

All Lightning did was see these new recruits with a look of disgust and revulsion. He could feel bile backing up in his throat as he saw these replacements for what they were. He clenched his hands together as his mind began to think back.

"I'm making tarts for Daphine...why are you laughing?" asked Buddy Rose, standing in his destroyed rose garden.

"Buddy," Lighting whispered to himself.

"Just wait right there," Artie said, painting a picture of Krysta standing in the middle of the park, generating lovely flowers with a touch of her hand. Around her wings, sparkles of many colors flew around her in the sunlight.

"Why am I naked?" asked Krysta, "And how do you know what my... color is?"

"Artie," Lighting whispered again, his memories coming in full.

"Hey, I know we don't seem much but... can we join?" Dyno asked, helping his brother to his feet.

Lighting snarled as he glared his eyes at Bella, seeing one last flash of memory.

Starla sighed as the two sat on the roof of the library, "Hey, do you think we can watch the stars one night?"

"Starla," he muttered, feeling tears as he began to think to himself, "I am sorry, all of you. I should've paid attention to who you were. To what kind of people you were meant to be and just what you meant to me. I promise you, if it takes the rest of time, I will remember you as I should've."

"Well, what do you think, Fleet Admiral?" asked Grand Ruler.

Lightning looked into the eyes of his former master and paused. He has wanted to say so much to him, wanted to tell him off, and give him what for. His body burned with hatred, and he wanted to release it. Instead, he looked down and said, "They are fine, though I miss my old teammates."

"Yes, but we must move on," Grand Ruler said with a wave of his hand.

Lightning looked up and asked, "May I talk with them? Alone?"

"Yes you may. As a matter of fact, I think I have a mission for your lot," Grand Ruler said, waving them off.

Nodding, the team walked away and into the hallway. As they did, Emerald Shaina stood with Grand Ruler and whispered, "I think he's breaking away."

"I know," Grand Ruler said, before looking to Shaina and handed her a list, "Prepare for 'Game-Board-Wipe'. I have a feeling we'll need it soon."

"Yes sire," Shaina said, bowing her head.

Outside in the hallway, Bella was the first to asked, "Problems, sexy?"

"I am only to tell you five this once," Lightning said, not even looking back, "Don't go on any missions. Don't do any heroics, and don't follow my orders. This is no game."

"But we-"

"No!" Lighting growled, "That man is just using you. He threw my team away like they were pieces of paper and now brought you in for replacements. He considers you worthless. Think of your families, and leave.." and with that, Lightning stormed out of the castle, his eyes focused on Sweet Apple Acres.

---

February 14th, a day that held great meaning for Applejack. Everytime she would wake up on this day, her mind would quickly think back to the day that she had lost everything. Taking a deep breath, she rolled out of her bed and stretched each muscle in her body. Before she could reach into her closet to put on her work clothes, she looked over her body, seeing various scars that had lined her body. The number seemed to increased since the arrival of Starfleet, but one would forever stick with her. Frowning, she ran a finger along a deep cut that came from the manticore that had taken her parents from her.

Putting on a pair of jeans, long white sleeved shirt, and a brown vest, she went to her coat rack to put on her hat along with her new piece of clothing, the red neckerchief from Rhymey. She chuckled, "Have to admit, it kind of suits me for some reason." Tying the cloth around her neck, she turned away and walked down the stairs and to the outside.

There was an eerie quiet as she began her walk through the snowy orchard. She looked over each tree, seeing the sleeping plants as something new to buck the next season. Putting her hand to some trees that had her fist or knees implanted in them, she quickly remembered how she had been using them for her practice dummies lately and felt a little bad for misusing them. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the tree that twisted around each other above a small rock. Her parent's rock.

When she neared the rock, her ears twitched as the silence was broken by a raspy voice, "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Apple, I'm Rainbow Dash. Guess you might already know that. I just wanted to say, thank you."

"Thank you?" Applejack asked herself as she stepped behind a tree and saw five mares standing in front of the tree. Crossing her arms under her chest, she leaned against the tree and listened.

"Thank you both for giving us, Applejack," Dash said. "I mean, she works hard, really hard. I know I don't always show it, but I appreciate it when she pushes herself to help us out. I always feel like, if I had ever failed, she would back me up." She chuckled as she put her hand to the back of her head, " And she had always been there to help us."

"Um, my name is Fluttershy, and I want to thank you both too," Fluttershy said, dropping a rose in front of the rock. "Applejack means the world to us. I know she hides a lot of her pain really well, so we don't have to worry about her. We do worry about her, a lot, but we also know that she worries for us too."

Rarity sat down, holding the little baby in her arms, and had her drop the rose, "There you go Clarity. Oh, and my name is Rarity Belle, Mr. and Mrs. Apple. I'm...the prissy girl that your daughter might have talked about when we were fillies." with a smile, she added, "I know we might always get along, but to tell the truth, I always felt like she could see the real me. Like we were closer than friends, more like sisters. Maybe because we could both be hard headed."

Pinkie Pie bounced to the rock, laid a cupcake and then looked up, "My name is Pinkie Pie! And...I really wish we could've met. I would've given you both the best wedding anniversary ever! Thank you, thank you so much for Applejack! I think we need her in our lives, even if she works herself into being a little silly."

As Pinkie jumped back, Belle took her place and sat down on her knees, "Mr. and Mrs. Apple? My name is Belle Amie, and I know that I haven't been here long, but I thank you for Applejack as well. She makes me feel like I have meaning, even without my memories. Thank you."

Applejack shook her head as she saw this little meaning, and made a move to ask them, when she heard a little voice next to her, "I asked them to come here today and to do this." Applebloom said, rubbing her arm.

"Why?" Applejack asked, looking down at her little sister as she walked up next to her.

Applebloom sighed and rubbed her arm, "You always handle this day by yourself, all alone. You only take me out here to get measured so you can so ma and pa how big I gotten. Then you just spend the rest of the time all alone. Ah figured, why not this once, have everypony join you and talk to you. Maybe show you how much we appreciate you, big sis."

Applejack smiled and sat down with her sister and gave her a hug, "Thanks, little sis. How about you head to the tree and get ready to be measured."

Applebloom let out a small giggle and hugged her sister as she said, "Sure thing, AJ." and then she ran off to join Applejack's best friends.

"Must be nice, having your friends do something like this," Lightning said, landing behind Applejack. "Me, I spent so much time pushing my team away to wallow in my own pain that I never gave them the chance to do something so nice for me. Maybe if I wasn't so focused on my own grief, I could've opened up more."

Applejack turned her head to look at Lightning, "It's ok. We have our own ways of dealing with grief."

"Yeah, but you didn't push everyone away to the point where you realized that you wasted time that you could've spent bonding with your supposed friends," Lightning sighed.

"So what brings ya here anyway?" Applejack asked.

"To pay my respects, and I need you to come with me," Lightning said, looking at Applejack, "If...that's ok with you."

Applejack tipped her hat slightly, "Where to?"

---

Just outside of Ponyville, not too far away from the mountain on which New Canterlot stands, is a small forested area. This forest lacked the sounds of life that accompanied the wooded area, in mourning over the death that had happened there. All through the area, there were burns deep within the ground, torrn trees that had moss beginning to grow on the stumps, and flowers that had long since died due to frost. The only signs of life that the forest had, was the presence of two ponies as they stepped through the woods, "Have you ever been here since that day?" Lightning asked, stepping over a hollowed out log and towards a clearing.

"No," Applejack said, stepping carefully, "None of us really had the courage to. Ah guess we were just unable to get the strength to see the place where Twilight...you know."

"I know the feeling," Lightning said, a small frown creasing his face. "I haven't been to where my planet was destroyed since that day. Maybe I should."

Applejack nodded, looking at the clearing with a curious look, "Why are we here? What are we looking for?"

Lighting could only say, "The truth," and then he began to look around the area, making a circle while stopping occasionally looking through the ground.

"The truth? You mean what really happened in the fight instead of the bull you gave Grand Ruler?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah," Lightning said, looking down and looking through the grass. Sighing, he looked over his shoulder and added, "Hey... Applejack. I know it might not add up to much, but I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for saying that it was her fault for getting herself killed, for disobeying orders, and for trying to stop a criminal. I should've done more to help her against Raven, and I shouldn't have been a...a..."

"Little coward who was stuck behind his master's cape to do the right thing?" Applejack snarked and leaned against the nearest tree, putting her hats over her eyes.

Lightning narrowed his eyes, and then laughed a little, "Yeah." After a little more searching, he saw a small indentation in the ground. Eyes wide, he ran over and pulled apart the grass and then stepped back in horror. With a gasp, he said, "Oh, sweet Celestia no. It was all true, wasn't it. All of it, I remember."

"Remember what?" Applejack asked, walking over to the spot where Lighting stood, and looked down at the ground, "What is that?"

"A magic rune, meant to activate a trap..."

---

I was chasing after Twilight in these woods, determined to catch her and ctop her from chasing Raven. I even said I was going to court martial her, for doing the right thing and being braver than I was. After a short while, I had made my way to these woods and saw them. I hid behind the trees to look for an opportunity to pick up Twilight when she lost or to save her. Luckily I was enough to the action to hear their words.

"I'm surprised, Sparkle," Raven said with a sneer. "I thought you would do like you were told and hide away from the big bad unknown evil girl. Running in recklessly, that don't seem like you."

Twilight ignored the comment, turning her head slightly to the left and taking a deep breath. There was a look in her eyes, as if she was taking a note in her mind, and then she looked up at Raven, "Please Raven, stand down. You don't have to do this! Celestia isn't your enemy!"

"The hell she isn't!" Roared Raven, "She took everything from me, the only pony that mattered to me in those whole damn world." Clenching her fists tightly, she began to dig her fingers into her hands, making them bleed, "She killed him in an accident and didn't even come back to help."

"But your backstory makes no sense!" Twilight exclaimed, shaking her head, "Let's ignore that Ponyville didn't even exist until ninety years ago and focus on the two important things. One is, why didn't Celestia teleport to the bad guys who had stolen her jewels instead of flying. Actually, why was she even with the royal jewels anyway and what criminal would be stupid enough to attack in broad daylight and in the presence of the princess herself. Second, what guard would hear "please help me!" and think "Hmmmmm, she is trying to get in the way, oh well. I'll just ignore her." No guard would be so stupid as to do that! And then you just magically disappear, that quickly? What you didn't stick around." that was when Twilight's eyes shot up, "Wait, one last question. If you are a unicorn, then you had telekinesis, if you had telekinesis, then why didn't you just lift up the carriage with your magic and save your husband."

Raven paused for a long moment, eyes wide at Twilight's utter deconstruction of her entire backstory. Lifting up her finger, she tried to say something, but her mind was utterly blank for a comeback or even to say something to counteract her claims. For a brief moment, she winced in pain as her golden horn glowed slightly and she glared daggers at Twilight, "It... it doesn't matter what the truth is or what you find wrong about my memories. The love I have for my husband was real and the memories I have of him are all I have! And every bit of hatred I have for that bitch Celestia is very very real!"

"But don't you see, all of those questions are just proof that maybe you shouldn't hate Celestia," Twilight said, offering a hand in friendship, "Please, just turn yourself in and maybe we can find out the truth together."

"What, you think I want to get rid of this? This rage and anger towards Celestia is all I have! It's who I am and I can't lose that!" Raven said, growling at Twilight.

"Why? You can't tell me that all of this hate towards Celestia is worth it!" Twilight said, shaking her head.

"Because if that is fake, then what about Berry?! Is my love for him fake?I," she looked away and frowned, letting a tear roll down her cheek, " I don't want to live in a world where he isn't real and that this is all made up."

"Raven," Twilight said, hand still extended, "I can't say you will like the answers, and I can't promise you that your husband was real. I can promise you this: that if you give up this path of vengeance and come with me, then you might be able to make a happier future for yourself."

Raven paused as she looked at Twilight's extended hand, and for a moment, her eyes changed to a softer tone. Looking up at Twilight, she smiled, which quickly turned into a frown as her golden horn glowed once more. Growling, she swatted Twilight's hand away, "Think it will be that simple! Ha! Think anyone is going to trust you after you broke rank and chased after me? Think Grand Ruler and Celestia will keep you on the team after you did this."

"I am only doing this to stop you from hurting anypony else, or using any more innocents in your mind games," Twilight said, eyes narrowed.

"Heh, you think I did that? I would never use innocents in this job. I have only one target and that is Celestia," Raven said, a little smirk on her face. "I want a real fight, not some sort of game to be played."

"Yet another item to add to the list," Twilight whispered to herself as she wrote down a note with her magic.

Raven overheard her whisper and asked, "What list."

"Oh, I've been making a list of all of the errors, mistakes, and discrepancies that have occurred ever since Starfleet first arrived here," Twilight said with a sheepish chuckle and a nerdy smile. "Like why on earth did no one in Starfleet tried to investigate you at all when Celestia's life is on the line. I know they said that it's because they-" making air quotes she said in a mocking tone, "'We have nothing to examine and we can't track her because we never been there before' but that is a perfect reason to start!"

"You..." Raven took a few minutes to come up with the right words, "are a complete dork, you know that?"

"I prefer egghead," Twilight said, looking down a little.

This remark, made Raven roll her eyes and shake her head, and then brought out a cocky smirk, "Fine then, you want to bring me in? Then come at me, fight me."

"I don't want to fight you," Twilight said, glaring down Raven.

"Neither do I," Raven said, her body becoming surrounded by magical aura, " See, I want to kill you. The idea of taking away one of the most precious ponies in Celestia's life like she took mine? It's just too tempting to pass up."

"Then I am sorry for this," Twilight said, taking a step back when Raven launched towards her at full speed.

With barely enough time to react, Raven threw two large fireballs right at Twilight and in an instant she jumped into the air with a few flaps of her wings. Her spell leaving behind black scorch marks in the ground, Raven turned her head to the air and glared at Twilight. Encasing her hands in black magical energy, she fired three bolts into the air at Twilight.

With the grace of a feather, Twilight managed to dodge the bolts of black magic, unaware of Raven flying into the air and striking Twilight back down to the ground with a lighting bolt. Twirling through the air, Twilight crashed into the ground and left behind a small divot.

I had thought that was my cue to save her...I was wrong.

Twilight stood up, and calmly brushed off the dirt and dust on her armor. With a glare, she said simply, "There, I figured it out. You never really were an unicorn."

"What?" Raven asked.

"See, I don't like to fight. I prefer to talk first and use battle as a last resort. Even then, I take the time to analyze my opponent, and figure out the best way to win," Twilight said, holding out her hands, glowing bright with red mana. Then, before Raven could react, Twilight's hands crackled with white lighting that she threw into the air, striking at Raven and electrocuting her, "You prefer to use big attacks, unrefined spells. You act like you have had a first taste of magic but don't know what to do with it. Thus, you lack the fine skills of a unicorn!"

"Gahhh! Shut up-" Raven never had time to finish her insult when she saw Twilight teleport behind her. Watching with shock at Twilight's speed in spellcraft, she watched as Twilight's hand's now glowed bright blue before she formed a cone with her hands. From within this cone arose a powerful tornado of wind that sent Raven spiraling straight into the ground and through several trees.

Growling, Raven rolled back onto her feet into a crouching position. Looking at one of the fallen trees, she smiled as she laid her hand onto the tree, making her horn glow green as she made the tree shine, transforming it into metal. Without a second though, she then made the large tree shatter into a million shards. Raising her hand up, she pointed a finger at Twilight, sending the million metal shards at Twilight.

Blue magic surrounding her hands once more, Twilight waved her hands before her, creating a gentle gust of wind that blew the offending shrapnel in a small circle around her. Then she made her horn glow a soft white, using white mana to combine the shards into a long sharp pole. Aiming at Raven, she immediately launched the missile straight at the would-be assassin.

Gasping in shock, Raven used her wings to push herself out of the way of the shot, only for the tip to slash into her upper thigh, making it bleed slowly. Putting her hand down at her thigh, she slowly wiped the bleeding wound and looked at her own blood. Turning back at the mare who gave her the wound, she growled and waved her hand in an arc of green magic. Then she pulled back an acidic arrow, aimed right for Twilight's chest. With immaculate skill, she fired no less than six acidic arrows.

Seeing the deadly projectiles coming at her, and seeing no time to dodge, Twilight used her magic to form a barrier around her to take the shots. This left her open to a gravity spell from Raven, sending her crashing down hard into the ground. Twilight could hear Raven's chuckling as she increased the gravity around her to ten.

Raven awaited for the sounds of Twilight's bone crushing screams as she increased her gravity magic more and more. However, she was shocked to not hear a sound. Stopping the spell for a moment, she looked to see if she could find a sign of Twilight's broken body within the crater. Taking a few steps forward, she saw an empty crater, with a pony sized hole in the bottom. Letting out a gasp, she turned around just in time to see thee ground erupt behind her and Twilight emerging with two large stones behind her, gripped tightly in her telekinesis.

Shaking her head in disbelief at the sheer power of her opponent, Raven barely had time to create a counterspell as Twilight threw the two large pieces of stone at her. Raising her hands up, she barely managed to turn one of the stone spears into mud, while the other managed to score a direct hit to her stomach. This knocked the wind out of her, while the shards cut into her arms and legs. Shaking her head to clear the dust, she used her magic to turn the grass and branches into vines that shot up to Twilight and wrapped themselves around her neck. Raven then generated two fire arrows, launching them at Twilight's arm and leg, hitting their mark and causing Twilight to scream in agony before she was slammed into the ground by the strength of the vines.

Struggling to get up and pushing past the pain, Twilight used some of her magic to rip out the vines that held her fast. Looking up with a gasp, she saw Raven's hand glow bright blue with magic. The very air around the hand freezing and turning into small flakes from the cold. On reflex, Twilight pulled her hand back and made it glow bright red and caused the air to shimmer around it. Just as Raven fired a ray of frost right at Twilight, the alicorn countered with a ray of heat.

The might of their two beams collided in the air, causing a large cloud of steam to form around them. As the steam began to cover them both, Raven noticed that Twilight had been increasing the amount of steam with her magic to make a fog barrier. Smirking, Raven broke the tug of war and stepped to the side. With a quiet step, she moved out of the fog bank and snapped her fingers to make the fog explode. Waving her hand to cause a gust of air, she looked around to see if Twilight was burned alive. Eyes widening at the sight of the loss of her target, she looked around, only to see Twilight at the treeline, using her telekinesis to gather every nut, acorn, and seed from the various trees.

Raven arched an eyebrow at this, curious at Twilight's plan. Breathing softly, Twilight lined up all of the nuts in front of her, creating a large line of seeds. Then, she made her hands glow red with magic, passing them overs the seeds and making them glow bright red as well. This made Raven swallow in fear as she saw Twilight move all of the seeds to her side like a gunner moving his ammo to his side. To add to the illusion, Twilight point her finger like a gun, winked, and said, "Bang." and began to fire out the seeds rapidly.

With a gasp of fear, Raven took to the air as the barrage of seeds fired at her. Behind her, she could hear each one explode in small explosions upon impact. With several flaps of her wings, she tried to escape the barrage, but it was not enough. Soon the projectiles caught up with her and hit her repeatedly. As Raven tried to recover from the assault, she watched in shock as Twilight rose up from the ground, a giant rock fist following her. With no time to dodge and move out of the way, Raven was struck hard by the rock fist colliding with her back and slamming her hard into the ground.

When Twilight landed on the ground, she watched as Raven struggled to get up from the blow and stepped back when she saw the fiery rage in her eyes. Snarling, Raven pulled up magma from the ground and sent a wave at Twilight. Encasing her body in a bright blue aura of magic, Twilight summoned a giant wall of ice that blocked and cooled down the magma. Then, with a flick of her fingers, she sent up some dark spikes that knocked Rave into the air and with a burst of magic, she teleported after her.

It was like no battle I had ever seen before. The use of spells, the way they moved, it was spectacular. I had thought that Raven had the upper hand, but it was soon apparent to me that Twilight was toying with her. After a few precious moments, it was becoming clear to me that Twilight was going to win. That was when she landed on that spot.

Lightning watched the fight, his eyes in awe at the sight. Then he looked down at the ground as Twilight landed on the ground and his eyes became vacant. With several stiff movements, he made his way towards the small patch of ground that was in front of him and moved aside the grass. As he moved aside the grass, he revealed a small rune.

Oh god...I remember. It's true.

Slowly, he laid his palm down onto the ground and made the rune glow black and light up a small circle around Twilight. The black energy surrounded Twilight for a brief moment, slid up her body and bind itself to her horn. The only sign that Twilight had noticed of this energy was wincing slightly in pain. Looking up, she glared at the airborne Raven, "Only need one more spell and then I can put an end to this. Maybe I should use-" the moment she tried to tap into her magic, she winced in pain, "What? My magic! Why can't I access my-UGGGH!" before she could figure out the answers, she was struck hard in the stomach by Raven.

A cruel smirk appeared on Raven's lips, "What's the matter? Run out of mana? How sad!" she growled as she uppercutted Twilight in the chin, knocking her straight. Then she used a side kick that knocked Twilight across the ground and into a tree.

"Applejack," Twilight whispered to herself as she was quickly electrocuted by a torrent of lighting from Raven. Without giving her time to recover, Raven impaled Twilight's legs with two large spikes.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight whispered again, her mind swimming with the pain that was hitting her. Raven pulled Twilight off the spikes, and dragged her along the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind her. Slowly, the bat-pony lifted Twilight up by the mane and with a chop, broke each one of Twilight's arms with a loud crack.

If the pain had gotten to Twilight, she had not shown it as she whispered, "Rarity, Fluttershy." she screamed in pain as Raven moved behind her, grabbed her wings, and burned them into cinders with her fire magic. Then, she brought out an electric whip and struck Twilight's back until she began to expose the bone beneath flesh.

Picking Twilight up by the shoulders, Raven took to the air and unleashed a wind spell that cut Twilight's body, leaving large bloody gashes along her frame. Twilight could only mutter out one name, "Pinkie Pie. I..." she breathed out slowly, "I'm...sorry. Sorry, Spike, I won't be home."

"What are you doing?" Raven asked, grabbing Twilight by the neck and crushing it.

Twilight choked out with a smile, grabbing a tight hold onto Raven's wrist, "S-saying goodbye to my friends. It's rude to leave without saying goodbye to your best friends you know."

"That's it? You are about to die and that is your last word?" Raven asked, not seeing the faint glow of Twilight's magic as it began to break the anti-magic field.

"Y-you may kill me. But my death, it's only to set off a spark that is going to bring out a miracle and save us all," Twilight said, her heart beginning to slow down.

"Such hopeful nonsense," Raven said, pulling her arm back, making it glow bright yellow, "DIE!" and then, placing her hand onto Twilight's chest, she bellowed out, "UNIFORCE!"

Time seemed to slow down in the area as Lighting was brought out of his trance. He stood there on the ground, watching in horror as the golden energy blasted into Twilight's chest and out through her backside, leaving behind a giant hole. A tear rolled down his cheek as he watched Twilight fell through the air and hit the ground with a loud boom. When he ran to look at the body, he saw Twilight laid on the ground, her eyes closed and a smile on her face.

"You know, you could've avoided this death if you guys got off your asses and actually did some real investigation like a team of heroes should," Raven mocked. "But, you didn't and now she's dead. Tell Celestia to stop getting her family involved in our fights."

---

As the memory faded, Lightning sat on the ground, shuddering as the realization hit him hard, "So, the dream was true. It was me. I activated this rune and hit Twilight with an anti-magic spell. I did it...it was me," holding out his hands, he thought he could see Twilight's blood on it. "I did it, I helped to kill Twilight Sparkle."

Getting up to his feet, he looked to see Applejack standing there in front of him. Though her hat was over her eyes, obscuring a chance to see her emerald eyes, the scowl on her face told of him of the rage that she was holding in. Feeling the rage that was irradiating off of Applejack, hearing the beastly growl that was coming from the farmer's throat, made him back up in utter terror. With a shuddering gasp, he whispered, "Oh, shit."

Letting out a roar like a manticore, Applejack grabbed Lighting by the shoulder and tackled him to the ground. Straddling him while keeping him still by placing her hand onto his shoulder, Applejack could only glare daggers at Lighting. Tears rolling down his cheeks, Lighting ordered, "If you're gonna kill me then do it! I deserve it for taking her away from you all!"

Applejack let out another yell of anger as she slammed her fist at Lighting's head, making him close his eyes as he waited for the killing strike. After a moment, he felt no pain or a strike. Trembling, he looked to his left and saw Applejack's fist deep inside of a hole just inches from his head. Shocked and scared, he looked up at Applejack and heard her say calmly, "Look me in the eyes." After a moment of hesitation, Applejack ordered, "Look me in the eyes, dammit!"

"Y-yes ma'am," Lighting said, scared as he looked into Applejack's eyes, seeing all of the rage and hate that lied within her emerald orbs.

Applejack began to breathe slowly, growling and snarling as she looked at Lighting, "Now, tell me. If you weren't under mind control, if you had any idea of what was happening, would you have saved her?"

For a moment, Lightning looked up at applejack. His eyes unable to turn away as he laid there beneath her. Struggling to find his courage, eh said, "If I had any control over myself on that day...I would've given my life to save her."

"All right, Ah believe you," Applejack said, pulling her hand out from the hole and getting to her feet. With her back turned to Lightning, she adjusted her hat and neckerchief.

"You're not mad at me?" Lighting asked.

Applejack sighed, "No, cause it ain't your fault. It's Grand Ruler's. He did something to ya, and made you turn on that spell just to kill her. You were just given the gun, he made you pull the trigger. Getting mad at you is getting mad at the wrong person."

"So, what now?" Lightning asked. "Can't head to New Canterlot, he's waiting for me.'"

"Get your stuff from your home and make your way to Neighpon. There is this scientist there Ah heard Twilight met once. See him and see about that golden horn," Applejack said, and then began to walk away.

"What are you going to do?" Lightning asked.

"Get the two teams together and have a meeting," Applejack said, marching off with a look of determination in her eyes, "It's about time we get our lives back."

---

Galaxia smiled with a cocky grin as she stepped into the next to the last chamber of the temple. Looking back behind her, she couldn't help but appreciate the devastation and the defeats she had given to the soldiers that blocked her way. Looking forward, she saw the two soldiers that guarded the door leading to the chamber. Sighing, she said, "Guys, do we have to? You just saw what I did right?"

"Luck shot," said one of the guards.

Galaxia sighed, running a hand through her shortcut redhair, "Seriously. Fine," she grumbled as she ran at the two guards and drove her elbow deep into the throat of one guard and then she roundhouse kicked the head of the other guard, taking him down. Standing tall in between the two fallen guards, she gave a shrug and picked up the keys that would open the door. Looking down at her emblem covered in some blood, she calmly wiped the blood off to reveal the id code: AM2R. Putting the key in, she opened the door and stepped in.

Once she stepped in, she saw on a pedestal a gem of vibrant green. Stepping towards it, she said, "The Rainbow Stone, so it is real. Heh," a soft chuckle escaped her lips as she reached out and took it from the pedestal and cushion. "One last mission, and then you stay at home and live the dull simple life." As she held the stone, she heard a faint word pass through her ears.

"Protection."

"What?" she asked herself, before hearing the door slam open. The white alicorn looked up and smiled at the figure standing there, "Oh, hey Harry. I was just finishing up the mission. Look at this, the Rainbow Stone. Cool huh?"

"My dear Galaxia, could you hand me the stone," Harry asked, his face as well as his arm covered in shadow.

"Sure," Galaxia said, throwing the gem to Harry and watched as he caught it with ease. "Mission accomplished, let's go-" a loud clink was heard. Gasping, she looked down to see chains attached to her legs, keeping her to the wall. "A trap but-"

"Yes, it seems that they had some excellent traps prepared for us. They really didn't want us to grab the Rainbow Stone it seems," Harry said, wiping the blood from his blade as he sheathed it once more.

With a grunt, Galaxia began to struggle, "Harry, help me out here. I'm stuck."

"You are? Well, that makes it easier for the bomb I had set up to kill you," Harry said calmly, turning around.

Galaxia looked confused, "Bomb? What? Oh, I get it, you set up an explosive in case we needed it. Now, come on, get me out. I need to go home and say my goodbyes to our team."

"Our team is dead I am afraid," Harry said with a slight shrug.

"What," Galaxia said with wide horrified eyes, "Fire Strike? Wind Shear? Bedazzle? Shadow Hawk? Dead, but...but how? They were alive only a few minutes ago."

"Yes, and they were alive when I last saw them," Harry said, smirking as he turned away.

Galaxia quickly put two and two together as she gasped, "You... killed them? How could you!? We ate together, laughed together, and cried together. We stayed fast through the tough times and the good."

There was a low chuckle as Harry said with a cold tone, "I was faking it, fool. In this business, you quickly learn that friendship is useless and that you can only believe in yourself."

"But why? Why kill us?" Galaxia asked, emotions rolling through her.

"Simple, our lord and master has decreed it," Harry said, "My son himself has sent some monsters to kill your husband."

"Stellar? No... why? Why kill him?" Galaxia asked, shaking her head.

"Simple, because your role in this story is over. There is no need of a parental guidance for the rest of your tale. However, we do have need of someone else," chuckled Harry.

Galaxia's eyes opened wide in horror as she shouted, "You stay away from her!"

"Don't worry, Rhymey will keep a good eye on her. Adieu," Harry said, waving his hand while the door closed.

"GET BACK HERE! YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOUR FAMILY FOR THI-"

For a few brief moments, Galaxia's world was fire and pain. When she awoke next, she found herself in a white orb with three people standing in front of her. The first to step out was Titan, his cloak billowing as he walked, "My apologies for the quick teleportation, but the explosion was rather unexpected."

"Who are you?" asked Galaxia weakly.

"Lord Titan, and these are my contemporaries: Blade and Myst. I saved you from certain death in order to asked of you to join us."

"Will you allow me to save her, to protect her?" asked Galaxia.

Titan nodded, "Yes. All you have to do is say yes."

"Let me save her, and I will become your sword," Galaxia said, feeling the magic heal her slowly.

Titan smiled, and turned to Blade as he sat on the box and asked, "Ok, Titan, we got our third member. Can we seige the planet and kill Grand Poobah already?"

"No, sadly we have to wait," Titan said walking along the dimension's edge. "While his magic pales in comparison to mine, one cannot underestimate the power of a child with with a mystical artifact. I took me this long for me to use astral projection to save the three of you."

Myst stepped out and put a finger to his chin, "So we have to wait? Until when?"

"Until the stars are right," Titan said.

---

"Father, I'm nervous," whispered Celestia as she stood on the balcony.

Titan looked at his daughter with a curious arch of the eyebrows, "My little sun, nervous? Whatever for?"

Celestia turned from the balcony and walked away, sighing, "Being chosen as a princess, ruling over a new land, being the sovereign, everything!" with a wave of her hoof she sighed, "I am only a teenager by alicorn years and they want me to become their ruler?! Me!"

"Well, you are the only other one out there who has bested me in go, besides your mother," Titan said. "And I do believe that you have already proven yourself to be kind and fair to your subjects. I think you are a perfect ruler."

Celestia looked at her flank, "A princess without a cutie mark." she sighed and looked down.

"And yet a noble one that I know will shine like the sun," Titan said, tucking his daughter's chin. "You will always make me proud of you."

"Thank you, father," Celestia said, looking down, "But I would rather them see me as a guardian, a protector, rather than a ruler. I don't want to dominate every aspect of their lives, to make them die and live by my word alone. I wish to be an inspiration to them, a guiding light. Let them come to their own conclusions and destinies on their own."

Titan rubbed his daughter's pink mane softly, "And you cannot be both, dear daughter? I believe you can still inspire them and find a way to rule as you want. You are my daughter and I believe in you."

"Thank you, Father," Celestia said, "But, I don't think I'm the only one who is scared about the future."

Titan was about to ask who, but then saw Terra step out onto the balcony from the shadows. Terra sighed as she stepped to her husband and nuzzled his neck, "Tag out. You handle the younger one, and I'll talk to Celestia."

"Yes, my queen," Titan said, returning the nuzzle of his wife before kissing her. As he walked away, he smiled when he saw a smile come to Celestia's face as she egearly spoke to her mother. Looking back into the royal bedroom, he stepped into the shadowy area of the room where a young teenager hid under the covers. "Luna?"

"Not going," squeaked Luna.

"Luna, they asked for the two of you to rule this new land," Titan said. "Rule of Two, remember? For every generation there has to be two rulers."

"Don't care, and I don't wanna go to this Equestla or whatever," Luna said.

"Equestria, dear," Titan said, sitting on his daughter's bed, running a hoof through her mane. "And why not? You have been trained for this ever since you were a child. You have dreamt of ruling by your sister's side for as long as I can remember."

Luna gave a small huff as she turned in her blanket, "Yeah, but then I just started to hear how Princess Prissy and Starswirl kept on complimenting Celestia. They just kept going on and on about her and I just felt... useless. I just don't want what I do to be ignored, you know."

Titan sighed as he rubbed his little girl's back, running the hoof in between her wings, "It won't be totally ignored, she will appreciate you. And so shall we."

"But, I'm scared, Celestia's the best at everything and I'm just second best," sighed Luna.

"Do you think I'm second best because I don't fight and battle like your mother? That I do all of the boring work?" asked Titan with a chuckle.

"Well, no father," Luna said, looking up at her father, "But doesn't it get lonely, working from the shadows while mother gets all of the glory?"

"No, not really," Titan said, smiling warmly at his youngest daughter, "Because I know I am helping her best by sticking to the shadows. That way, no one really know what I am thinking and when she falls-"

"Yes?" asked Luna, and then was tackled by Titan.

"I'll be there to back her up," Titan said tickling his little girl. "And that is what you must be for your sister. Her best weapon should she fall. And you know-"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Celestia said, stepping into the room with a bright and happy smile on her face. "I would never trust anyone else to have my back other than the best sister I have."

Luna smiled and giggled as she got off the bed and ran to Celestia, nuzzling her neck, "I'm the only sister you have, Tia."

"That's what makes you the best, Lulu," Celestia said, giving Luna a wing hug.

"Are two ready to go now?" Terra asked, "The carriage is awaiting you both."

"Yes mother, father," Celestia said, giving her mother and father a hug before running out the room. Luna in tow.

"We have raised them well... haven't we?" Terra asked.

(Present)

"We have, my beloved queen," Titan said as he blinked out of the memories. Sighing, he looked at the two images of his daughters at their respective go boards. There was a kind smile on his lips as he saw the status of both boards. Each board was covered with white and black stones, making the score even between the four opponents. Placing a finger on the stone where Celestia's board was, he looked up at Celestia's face. With a sigh, he looked down when he saw how much wear, tear, and sadness marred her face, "I am so sorry Celestia."

Growling, he looked back at Grand Ruler's image as it sat across the board, " I should have killed you a hundred years ago when I had the chance! But you used the items of my best friend to imprison me and then to add insult to injury."

With a glare he looked at his daughters and frowned, "You married her, mind raped her, and then began to spoil all of the work she had done with this kingdom, all because of your ignorance and selfishness. Tell me, does it please you at night to think of how you tried to ruin her subjects lives with your reality? With your constant destruction of their ideals and how you live to destroy any chance of hope they have?"

There was a small chuckle coming from his throat as he walked around Grand Ruler, "But, as they always say, dictators fall. And your time is fast approaching, for already my daughters have put into play a weapon you cannot defeat. One that you tried to shove under the ground for so long, and that is friendship and the hope it brings. Celestia uses the light, while Luna uses the shadows. Tell me, how do you like seeing your creation fall and all of those evils you believed in, destroyed? Feels bad doesn't it? That is how my daughter once felt, and now... she will soon smile like the sun once more."

"Boss?" asked Dementia, opening the door.

Titan stepped out of his board room and smiled at her, "Dementia, what brings you here?"

"I came to talk to someone other than my friends," Dementia sighed, taking a seat and looking up at the ceiling.

"You don't trust them?" Titan asked.

"I trust them! I do, it's just that...they're feeling the same thing I am right now," Dementia said, looking down.

"And what is that?" Titan asked, taking the time to step to the window to watch the moon rise.

"Worry about their memories and the ponies that they have met," Dementia said, sighing. "Brain, Inquirious and... Starla."

"You miss her a lot?" asked Titian as he levitated a drink to her.

Dementia nodded, "She's out there, alone and trapped in one of Conquest's dimensions and we're stuck here! She needs me and I can't help her. Someone I love is in trouble and I'm stuck here, useless! Ever felt that way, Titan?"

For a moment, Titan saw the image of Celestia laying on a bed and crying in front of a moon with the image of an alicorn on it, "Occasionally. I one time left those dearest to me because of a mad crusade to stop a demon from encroaching upon our dimension."

"What happened?" asked Dementia.

"I lost, and thus lost a thousand years of my-" he stopped for a moment, "family's to find out, to take down the beast, all I had to do was rely on harmony and belief in my family to fight all evil."

"Did you regret it, leaving your family like that?" asked Dementia.

Titan sighed and nodded solemnly, "Every day."

---

Starla shot up from her bed, letting out a shout of, "Mother!" panting, she wiped the sweat from her brow and walked to a broken mirror to look at her body. Frowning, she glared at the wounds, bite marks and so many bruises that Conquest had put on her body. She especially shuddered when she saw a rather large wound on her chest and turned away.

"Nightmares?" asked Inquirious as she stepped into the room.

Starla sighed and shook her head as she began to put on the makeshift armor, "No, I was dreaming of my mom again." With her badge long since gone, she had some of the more armor inclined slaves make her a leather breast plate and a small leather skirt.

"You have been dreaming of her a lot lately," Inquirious smiled, "Have some of my stories inspired you?"

Starla nodded softly, "Yeah. They have, just the idea of how great she once was and how she had been was enough to make me want to be more like her, you know."

Inquirious smiled warmly and then said, "You should know, we have found...survivors."

"You mean that there are other people on our dead world besides us?" asked Starla, "Who was on watch and talking to her now?"

Down below, a light blue pegasus stallion with a train cutie mark looked at a young raven haired woman who was staring at him strangely, "Alright, now that we have your name...favorite serial!"

"Caboose, that's serial number," A light blue stallion said, facepalming.

"Right, like Tucker said, Number of favorite serial," Caboose said.

"Caboose, it's ok, I'll take care of this," said Starla as she walked to the girl.

"Yes lady ma'am!" said Caboose as he and Tucker walked away.

"You are a native to this universe, aren't you?" Inquirious said, standing with Starla.

"Y-yes," the woman said timidly. "How are you all ponies, standing on two feet and talking?"

"We are from an alternate dimension that is parallel to yours," Starla said, thinking to herself strange, a few months ago I would've said that a planet and dimension are the same...guess being in that hell helped me a little.

"I believe there is a difference in the magical energy of this dimension that allows us to keep ," Inquirious said.

The girl backed up a little in fear, "So, you are like Conquest."

"No, if anything, we are like you, refugees," Starla said. "My name is Starla Shine Dawn, and this is Inquirious. And you are?"

"Casca of the Hawk," Casca said, being offered a cup of hot chocolate.

Inquirious looked down at the girl in armor and asked, "What happened to your world."

"Our land was protected by a team of titans and soldiers who watched over us. They were supposed to be our protectors and guardians until one day one of the titans snapped. He picked up a dark time that possessed him and made him destroy much of the galaxy in his rage. And then, the senshi-"

"What?" asked Starla.

"They were all butchered by this bounty huntress for no good reason. She was just filled with so much hate and rage that she murdered them in cold blood. We thought that was the end of it, but it only brought him."

Starla glared angrily as she growled, "Conquest."

"Yes, he came with massive armies and engines of pure death and destruction. They swept through our planet on a genocidal path of destruction. Those he didn't kill, he took on as slaves," Casca then shuddered.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Starla said with a venom in her voice, "Believe me, I know what he does to women."

"Not just women, but men too. He doesn't care as long as he gets the hatred he wants from you," Casca then looked around her, "Then when he is done with the universe he tortures, he just leaves destroyed and never looks back. Leaving us stragglers to hate his existence."

"Are there many of you left?" Starla asked, looking around.

"Other than my band? Only about a thousand people, left... in the universe," sighed Casca, frowning.

Starla stood up and looked down at Casca, "Gather your men and tell them to come here. We are going to watch and protect them from now on. Tell them to bring supplies and anything they can share with us."

"What?" asked Casca shocked, "But-"

"Doughnut, tell Doc and the others to start getting ready for new arrivals. I want this place to be a sanctuary for all of them," Starla said.

Casca shook her head, "But why, why are you doing this?"

"Simple," Starla smiled, "Because, the tough times get easier...when you have friends." Starla smiled warmly as she thought about six important mares who have been teaching her that.

---

For a few days, Fleur had kept to the shadows in her disguise. No one in the castle really paid attention to the maid. She did well to keep a low profile and to herself for the time being. This gave her a chance to memorize every single room in the castle and which were the most guarded.

One day, Fleur found herself cleaning next to a room that was hardly used and was rarely opened. As she dusted, she heard voices from the room, "Sire, preparations for 'Clean Board' are nearing completion and the choices are entering their final stage."

"Good," Grand Ruler said to Shaina. Slowly, Fleur peaked into the keyhole of the door and saw the two stand alone in the room talking to one another.

"Sire, we must alost talk about your-" Shaina began but was interrupted when Grand Ruler backed up and moaned in pain. "That."

Grand Ruler put his hand to his forehead, lightly moving the three horns at once, "The power influx is happening more quickly now. However it is nothing I cannot handle."

"But without the-"

"The orb has enough power to keep the changes for millennia to come, especially since it has been empowered with the 'Rainbow Stone'" Grand Ruler said, pulling a stone away from an orb and then throwing it to shaina. "Here, allow it to rejoin its five brethren for now."

"Rainbow Stone, Influx?" whispered Fleur, "I need to tell Princess Luna."

"Tell me what?" Luna asked Fleur.

"Luna, your majesty," whispered Fleur. "I need to get a message to the Umbra Circle."

"The circle is right now planning on meeting with the Knights, but I think I can tell them some information. What is it?" asked Luna.

---

The mood was unusually sombre in the halls of the Golden Oaks Memorial Library as the group of five ponies began to make everything ready for the meeting. In the center of the room, where the horse head normally stood, now a large round table sat with seats for eleven. The rest of the room was lightly decorated for a few tables and seats. Happily, Pinkie Pie began to move around, making sure that the drinks and snacks were ready while Rarity walked up the stairs, hearing the sounds of a few week old kirin gurgling, "I am going to make sure Clarity is ok, and then I'll be back down."

"Oh, can I help you?" Fluttershy asked, following Rarity with little flaps of her wings.

This left the other three to stand around as they waited for the arrivals of the others, "So...this is it, the big meeting that is going to decide everything. Anypony else nervous?"

"Me, nervous? Never!" Dash said, smirking as she stayed afloat with a book in hand, "Just can't wait to finally take down Grand Zealot a notch."

"I'm not really," Pinkie said happily, "I'm just excited to meet Trixie and her friends."

"Yeah," Applejack chuckled lightly, and then looked around, "Where's Belle?"

At this, Pinkie deflated a little and looked down, "She...she said she is going to do research on Titan. She figured that in case she doesn't...she doesn't make it pass April, she'll have done something for us to remember her by."

"Pinkie," Dash said, concern in her voice as she landed on the ground, "Are you ok?"

"I-I-I'm scared girls, really scared," Pinkie said, "What if," she paused shaking before looking up with a tear in her eye, "What if we fail her? What if we can't find her memories in time and she dies!? I can't... we can't lose another friend, not again."

"We won't," Rainbow Dash said with a warm smile, patting Pinkie on the shoulder. "Because we don't fail friends. That's not what heroes like us do."

"Yeah," Applejack said, stepping in and hugging Pinkie Pie tightly, "We'll save her, free the kingdom, and then have a big party afterward. You'll see, after all, she's important to us too. Ah think she's kind of helped us get back together."

Pinkie gave a little sniffle before wiping a tear from her eye, "Thanks girls. You know, it's kind of funny. A year ago, I would've hid this from your girls, because I didn't want you to see me as something other than happy and smiling all of the time."

"We all grow and change sugarcube, that's a way of life," Applejack said, rubbing Pinkie's mane..

Dash nodded, "Yeah, besides, no one wants you to stay the same way all of the time. That would make you boring. I would rather have the Pinkie that has more than just one setting anyday."

"Thanks girls," Pinkie giggled at this as the door opened slowly and six cloaked figures walked in.

With a flourish, the head of the group pulled back her cloak and threw it behind her "Behold! The Great and Power-"

"You wake up my daughter after I just gotten her to sleep and I will kill you!" Rarity said, walking down the stairs with Fluttershy behind her. Dash looked over to Fluttershy and noticed a warm smile on her lips.

Lyra looked to Fluttershy and asked, "Why did she bring the newborn here?"

"Spike and Glarity are busy shopping and her parents are away, so she had to bring her here," Fluttershy said.

Ditzy gasped and flew over to Rarity, "Aw, please, let me see the baby after this is done! I really need to see her. Oh, and I can show you pictures of little Dinky and Sparkler."

"Well, maybe you can give me some advice-" Rarity began and the two mothers quickly began a little talk amongst themselves.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at this, "What is with new mothers?" Looking over to Trixie, she smirked and walked to the magician, "So, ready to step out of the shadows and do some real work?"

"Real work?" Trixie asked, "Need Trixie remind you, that without her team's help, you would never have weakened Grand Ruler to this point? All of your victories against Conquest would be for naught if it were not for her merry band."

"Yeah, but my friends and I did all of the heavy lifting!" Dash said, shrugging, "Or do I remind you that you haven't had that hard of a time in your fights."

"Tricie would beg to differ!" Trixie said, pushing her nose against Dash's as they glared each other down.

"Ok you two, zip it up and cut it out. Now's not the time to be comparing ovaries and who's are bigger," Applejack said, getting to the front of the table. Looking to her right, she saw her friends all lined up in a row with Rainbow Dash at her side. To her right, the Umbra Circle sat with Trixie sitting across from her. For a brief moment, she thought she saw Twilight Sparkle sitting with them, a smile on her face as she held up a notebook, "Now that we are all here, Ah think it's about time we start getting to the bottom of a lot of these mysteries."

"Sorry that our unicorn isn't here," Raindrops said, looking down, "When we asked Spark, she said that she had some research to do on how to handle the next few steps of our plan."

"So, both our smart unicorns are gone," Dash remarked as Applejack cleared her throat.

"Now, we know that for one whole day, every Equestrian was hit with a black out and woke up the next day looking like this," Applejack said, and then added, "Plus, there was a whole battle with Titan that everypony who was an element bearer slept through."

"Which we now know is a fabrication made by Grand Ruler when he used a mental spell on us all," Rarity said, and then put a finger to her chin, "But a spell on that scale, on that level is impossible. Even Discord would have problems with that."

"Not, without one of these," Raindrops said, throwing the golden horn onto the table, "Compliments of Cerise Wonder. Seems that Grand Ruler gives one of these babies out to ponies he thinks are special to at as a control device and make them into gods. Instant alicorn power up."

Cheerilee nodded and continued, "And what's more, one of our spies has actually seen movement on his head, those horns are fake and that can only mean... he has one of the eight objects. One that is capable of powerful mental energy."

"Wait, mental energy?" Fluttershy gasped, "Rhymey and his family. They must be involved in this too, right?"

"Magical amplifiers," Trixie said calmly, "It isn't too far off for a mage to have an object, fellow wizard, or a mage to be able to amplify the magic that is already there and to boost his power. That is why you have always acted so strangely, and not like yourselfs but more like caricatures."

"Ok, but how?" Dash said, shaking her head, "I get all of this mental energy, and the illusions, and all of that, but how do you explain that we look like someone played mad scientist with our bodies?"

"He has two items, not one," Lyra said, smirking at her knowledge.

"What?" asked Dash.

Lyra chuckled before using her magic to create some images, "Ok, so check this out. I had been reading up on some old legends about Meadowbrook, kind of a way to learn about her and the items. It seems that she was a big believer in the rule of two, that's why there are eight and not seven. See, the items have always meant to work in conjunction with one another, that way one could help hinder or compliment the other."

"Like an outfit and jewelry," Rarity said.

"Exactly," Lyra said, "So like, the Staff Of Null could help with getting the armor off or the amulet and the crown could make you read dragon thoughts while seeing who is the most loyal. She was a freaking genius at this."

Trixie began to speak, "And of course, the power source that Grand Ruler uses for all of this is-"

Pinkie interupted with an excited bounce, "Ponies believing in him!"

"Yes, that is correct, but how did you figure it-"

"Lucky guess," Pinkie said with a giggle.

"That was something we figured out on our own," Applejack said.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, "You got to wonder if Grand Ruler was basically saying that all of their powers were boiling down to self-esteem and confidence issues."

"All of this just means is that we all got to work together to break his hold on the populace," Applejack said looking down at the table, "and to get an entire planet on our side."

"Still?! Even after all we did? With all of the ass kicking and day saving-" Rainbow Dash growled and grumbled.

"It can take a long time to break people out of something that they had believed in for years dear," Rarity said, frowning a little. Running her finger along the table she added, "With so much of Grand Ruler's lies, propaganda, mind rape, and manipulations, it can be hard to just up and start believing in something brand new. It could take years of hard work to break them out of this."

"What we need is something big, something so large and powerful that the Unicornicopians have to take notice and see him for the liar he is," Applejack said.

"You leave that to Trixie's team," Trixie said with a smirk, "We'll figure out a plan so big, so powerful, that the world will have to take notice."

"In the meantime," Rarity commented, "Maybe me and Pinkie can pull some tricks. Already I have noticed that some of the Unicornicopians are treating us Equestrians with a little more respect as it were."

Applejack nodded and then stood up, looking at the group in front of her. Solemnly, she pulled down her hat and put it over her heart, "Now, Ah'm not one for speeches, but Ah got something Ah need to say. Look at this weird little group of ours: A magician, two farm gals, a musician, a Wonderbolt, a weather pony, a fashionista, an animal caretaker, two smart unicorns, a teacher, a mail mare, and a party girl. We are just a rag tag bunch of girls right now ready to take on the world, overthrow a dictator, and then stop a demon from destroying everything we believe in. Bet none of y'all ever expected that you would be put into this situation, did ya? None of us did."

Applejack sighed and then put her hat on, "But that's just it, none of us asked for this. We didn't asked to be constantly at war with some kind of big bad of the year or fight a monster of the week. We didn't ask to be under constant attack by monsters with a vendetta or to have our ideal stepped on. We didn't ask for our ideals to be shat on, kicked around, and then treated like dirt just because we think on the bright side of life. And we sure as hell didn't ask for the deaths of our loved ones."

"But, that's just it," Applejack said, looking from pony to pony and smiling, "We didn't need to be asked to stand up for others or to fight against the bad guys. We just did it because it was the right thing to do. See, Grand Ruler, he thinks that we all need super strength and all of that other crud to be heroes and that ain't true. All that we needed, all anypony needs, is the ability to see something that goes wrong and say...enough. To say, no more, Ah won't live in fear of the dark, won't live in fear of being corrupted, or being slaves. We just need this," Applejack said, pointing to all of her friends. "All of this, together. Now, ah am ready for all of us to take our message to Grand Ruler, free our planet, and then kick Conquest's ass so hard, that the next Conquest wannabe is going to feel it!"

This got a chorus of cheers from the entire group.

And so, the party commenced in secret as the two teams began a night to relax before their missions could begin. There was parting, singing, dancing, and much discussion between the two teams. While the party was going on, Trixie walked over to Pinkie Pie with a curious look, "Pinkie, come here. Trixie has a question."

"Sure, what is it?" Pinkie asked.

"Applejack," Trixie said, looking over to where the mare in question was having an arm wrestling match with Raindrops, "She said that we had two unicorns. Trixie knows about her unicorn, but what about yours."

"Oh, Belle? She's not here right now," Pinkie said, "She's back in Canterlot getting some books on Titan and Grand Ruler. She is this really nice grey unicorn that looks an awfully like Twilight but she doesn't have her memories at all."

Trixie gulped visibly as a look of shock and horror came to her eyes, "You say... she looks like Twilight, but has no memories?"

"Yep!" Pinkie said, nodding quickly.

Reaching out, Trixie grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders and put a silence spell around the two of them, "Pinkie, Trixie's unicorn is Shining Spark, a purple unicorn that looks like Twilight but lacks her emotions."

Pinkie let out a gasp at this and smiled, "Oh my goodness! You know what this means?! I found Belle's memories! Oh, this is so great, now I can save her and-"

"No, this is horrible and one of the worst pieces of news ever!" Trixie said with a growl, causing Pinkie to deflate a little in her joy.

"W-wrong?" Pinkie asked, shaking her head, "How can it be wrong? You'll save your best friend's life and I'll save Belle. We all win, right?"

Solemnly, Trixie shook her head no, "Let Trixie enlighten you. Say you have an orange and a banana." she said, pulling out both pieces of fruit and a blender. "Both are delicious right? Now, put them into a blender and what do you get?"

"A smoothie!" Pinkie responded happily.

"And what happens to the orange and Banana?" Trixie asked calmly, and after a moment she answered, "They merge together and are no longer separate."

"Yeah, but what does this have to do with Belle and Spark? They are two-" Pinkie then paused as the pieces fell together in her mind. Tearing up, she put her hand over her mouth and let out a soft, "No."

"Best case scenario, only Belle will remain after the fusion or Spark will. Worse case, if they get together and fuse back into one being, then the mare that will be left won't be Belle or Spark. It'll be somepony else and we'll have lost two dear friends," Trixie then looked down and shuddered, "And I'll have failed her."

"NO!" Pinkie shouted, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. Giving out a few sniffles, she said, "We can't do this to her, she is starting to get a bunch of new memories and now you want to take all of that away from her?"

"You think this is easy for me to think about?" Trixie growled, her face in a mixture of emotions, "Spark had faith in Trixie to find her heart again and save her, and now she has to risk her life on a single gambit."

"It's not fair!" Pinkie cried, tears rolling down her cheeks, "It's not fair. We shouldn't have to sacrifice either one of our friends just to save them. Why should we kill them, why can't just find a way to save them both and keep them alive!? We shouldn't ruin their lives just because we want to save them, that's not how it's supposed to end."

"Trixie... I know Pinkie," Trixie said, sighing, "That's why you are going to promise me that we won't say a word to anypony about this!"

"But-"

"Why do you think I talked to you? I heard about your secret keeping and knew I could trust you. Spark is logic, she'll take Belle without thinking about it, and Belle is emotion, she'll be too scared. We need to find a way to save them both without having them fuse together," Trixie said, looking into Pinkie's blue eyes pleadingly. "Please?"

Pinkie gave a shuddering sigh and said, trembling, "C-c-cross my heart and hope to fly, s-s-stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Good, now come on," Trixie said, dispelling her spell, "Let's go and mingle."

---

The next day, inside of the mansion, the Umbra Circle sans Spark, were gathered around the living room. Luna was engaged in a game of Go with Dyno while Lyra was playing some soft music. Raindrops threw a stress ball into the air as she said, "How about a public confession?"

"No, that wouldn't work," Cheerilee said, reading a book to herself, "Grand Ruler would find a way to spindoctor it."

Ditzy walked in with a plate of muffins before calmly eating one herself, "Use a golem?"

"No, golems only work if you have the pony willingly donate the magical energy," Lyra said, shaking her head and playing a note. "It has to be something so big, so fantastic, that the world will have to stand up and take notice."

That was when the doors opened and Shining Spark walked in, "I have an idea." turning her head to look at Luna, she asked, "Princess, may I have the Go board?"

"Sure," Luna said, moving the stones back into the bowls, "Dyno was winning anyway, he has a marvelous grasp of the game."

"No," Dyno whispered, "she just sucks at the game."

A part of Spark wanted to smile at that, while the rest of her was unable to see the humor in the situation. Stepping to the couch, she began to use her magic to levitate the stones and place them on points on the board, one at a time, "The key here, is Titan himself."

"Whoa, wait a moment," Raindrops said, jumping to attention, "You mean the big guy in Horn Kong? That Titan?"

Dyno let out a gasp, "Wait, he's alive!? How did you-"

"Fratello told Cadence and she told me later on," Luna said, looking down, "I figured he was just biding his time so I had been waiting for him to make a move or to show his face for real."

Spark looked down at her board, making the final few moves, "And now we'll make the final move because he is the key, the final piece of all of this."

"The final piece?" asked Lyra, taking a muffin and sitting next to Spark. "What do you mean?"

"Look at this," Spark said, showing the board to her team. Although she did not know it at the time, she had successfully recreated the board just as Titan had set it up with only three moves remaining. "Right now, it's even, it can go either way. But, if we were to use Titan as the final piece," she said, putting down the white stone, "Then that means we can win in one more move."

Trixie pulled out a bottle of bourbon and sat next to Spark, "But why Titan?"

"Because he is the most powerful foe Grand Ruler has ever fought. Take him down and the world will be impressed," Dyno said, and then looked down, "Besides, someone that evil needs to be defeated."

"I think there is more to it than just simply good or evil, Dyno," Spark said, putting a finger to her chin, "Why would the greatest threat to Grand Ruler just sit back in Horn Kong for over a year, watching all of this. Why not make a move like Fratello did and attack New Canterlot right now? Why hold back and then give us the Staff of Null as a present to stop Sombra?"

"Ummm," Dyno paused and shook his head, "I don't know."

"What are you saying, Spark?" Luna asked, curious.

"He might not be the real threat," gasped Cheerilee, putting away 'Starfleet Nemesis.' "Right?"

"Correct," Spark said calmly, "I postulate two theories, one is that he is a secret ally and wishes to see both Grand Ruler and Dark Conquest driven from the face of Equestria just as much as we do. The other is that he is the bigger bad behind all of this, the villain behind the villain. He could be waiting for the two sides to destroy each other in order to deal with the scraps and step in himself."

"And you are saying that we are going to take him down?" asked Trixie, drinking some of her burnon.

"Not us, the Knights of Harmony will do it," said Spark.

"ARE YOU INSANE?" shouted Dyno, "You are suggesting that we are going to send those five, alone, to fight the most powerful threat in all of United Equestria history?"

"Yes," Spark said, not a tinge of anger in her voice. "You seem to forget, those five have bested far worse threats than Titan by working together and using the power of their friendship. They can beat this as well."

Carrot Top looked up from some of her plants, "So, let's say you are right and he is the big good, why take him out?"

"Because, I am positive that he would see an opportunity to help us from the inside of our jail as nothing more than a positive," Spark said, then putting her hands together and entwining her fingers, "And if he is a big bad... then we have taken out the bigger threat before he could attack us."

"So, how are we going to play this little move?" asked Carrot.

"We are heading to Horn Kong," Spark said, getting up from her seat and walk to the door.

---

The gates of Horn Kong stood tall and ominous over the roads that lead to the gleaming city. In the front of the massive doors, stood two unicorn guards who watched over the front gates. As they watched, their attention was drawn to the small party of seven mares in cloaks. Trixie walked over to Spark and asked, "You sure this is a good idea? How can you be so sure that his minions won't kill us on sight?"

"Because, if he is as diplomatic as he seems, then he will not resist a visit from a diplomatic envoy," Spark said as she walked up to the guards and removed her hood.

"Hold!" shouted the white unicorn, spinning his spear in a circle before aiming at the group, "Who goes there?"

Spark held up her hand, stopping Raindrops from leaping into action. Spark then said, "Parlay. My name is Shining Spark, diplomatic envoy of Princess Luna, steward of the moon."

"Ah," the second guard, a grey unicorn, said, causing his horn to glow brightly, "Lord Titan has been awaiting you. Please come in. White Run, please show the envoy to the castle."

White nodded, "Yes sir! Come with me please." he said, turning around and leading the band into the city.

While they walked through the massive urban city, the team was amazed to hear the normal sounds of a city square. The ponies around them were calling out various prices and goods, each trying to outdo the other in terms of who had the best prices. Ahead of them, pegasi flew around the towering buildings while the streets was filled with a throng of equines of various races walking down the streets. Even some of the more fierce of Conquest's soldiers: The boars and griffons, were walking with an air of happiness. Raindrops was the first to observe, "You know, for an occupied city, I was expecting a little more... misery."

"Misery?" asked White.

"Yeah, you know," Raindrops said, looking around, "Where are the ponies in fear for their lives, the innocent mares living in poverty, and the suspicious evil guards. You know, horror and misery!"

"Well, we did feel bad the one time Titan had to burn a ton of fruit," said White sadly.

"HA!" Raindrops said.

"Yeah, they were all rotten though but still," White said, much to the shock of Raindrops.

Lyra shook her head, "What she means is, what about harsh laws and that kind of thing."

White smiled and waved to a passing by quartet of fillies, red white black and yellow, "Well, we do have some laws that some might consider tough: No stealing, murder, don't drink and fly, that sort of thing. Ponies found breaking these laws are usually subject to harsh penalties by a tribunal headed by Titan."

"Who is on this tribunal?" asked Ditzy.

"Oh, you know, a member of each tribe, one to look at all sides of the evidence. That kind of thing, the punishments usually are things like prisons," White said calmly walking ahead.

Trixie shook her head, "Trixie can't believe this. This is exactly like how Equestria is normally run! This isn't an occupation! It's... It's..."

"Home?" asked Cheerilee with a warm smile.

"Yeah," Trixie sighed warmly as she kept on walking.

Lyra looked around and smiled, "Think we should continue on with this? I mean, they are happy here, and protected. When we beat Titan, it'll ruin all of this."

"Luna said she has plans for this little town when the mission is over," Carrot Top said, looking ahead, "And who knows? Maybe we can get our families here to keep them safe while we win."

"You are confident we are going to win this? Grand Ruler might have one last trick before this is all over," Lyra commented, looking down.

"As long as we keep at it, we will triumph over anything. You know that," Carrot said, happily nudging her friend.

Within a matter of moments, the group made their way to the large pagoda that sat in the middle of the city. Within the courtyard, there were a few soldiers training and sparring but would take the time to wave at the group as they walked in. Flanking the sides of the wooden doors were a trio of Unicornicopians, "We'll take it from here, white," Rep-Stallion said, high fiving the unicorn.

"Thanks Rep. My shift is over anyway," White said, leaving the group behind.

Ditzy looked to the trio with a big grin on her face, "Wow, I am so glad that you three are ok. When Rarity said you had a plan for getting the slaves free from Conquest and then meet us, we got worried when you didn't show."

"We... didn't free the slaves," Mysterious said grimly, "After we escaped, Conquest changed the coordinates of the portal and teleported the slaves away. We don't know where they are right now."

"Like Starla," whispered Dementia as she looked down on the ground, frowning.

Ditzy saw the look on her face, gave a warm nod, and then hugged her gently, "It's ok. You'll find her. She'll be safe, you just need to have faith in her."

"Thanks," Dementia said, hugging Ditzy back. With a chuckle she said, "Go on, say I am acting like I just lost my-"

"Daughter?" Ditzy asked. At Dementia's confusion, she added, "I get like that sometimes when I think of my girls."

"Yeah, like my daughter," sighed Dementia as she led the group inside the pagoda. "Titan is on the top floor, past that elevator. He says that he wants Spark alone to come and see him."

"All right," nodded Spark in agreement, but she was stopped in her walk by Trixie.

"If she goes, so does Trixie," Trixie said, looking at Dementia.

Dementia rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine, go. But the others stay."

"Trixie this is-"

Trixie interrupted Spark, "You are Trixie's partner, period. That means where you go, she goes. She is going to make sure that you are safe up there."

"Fine," said Spark, following Trixie into the elevator and going up to the top floor.

At the top floor, there was a single hallway leading to a room. When they opened the doors, they found Titan sitting before them. In front of him was a large Go board with a bowl full of white stones next to an empty chair and next to him was a bowl of black stones. Titan calmly had his hands clasped together and smiled at the two, "Welcome, Trixie and Spark. I was not expecting you both, but seeing as Trixie is a bit of a wild card perhaps I should've. Please my dear, take a seat," Titan offered.

Spark nodded and pulled out the seat mean for her and sat across from Titan. Looking at the board and the bowls, she remarked, "You were anticipating me."

"Yes I was. Now I assume you know the rules of go?" When Spark nodded, Titan asked, "Then which color do you want? White or Black?"

"White," Spark said.

Titan smirked as he took a black stone and put it down, "You want me to make the first move? Impressive. Most I see want the chance to strike first."

"It's how I prefer to play," Spark said, looking at how Titan placed his stone, "I can see the enemy's style and skill this way when I let them make the first move. Then I can prepare a swift counter attack."

"I see," Titan said, watching as Spark sat down her stone at the corner spot. Taking his next stone, he placed his on the corner below, "Now, tell me, why have you come here? Are you offering me something?"

"Lightning Dawn," Spark said calmly, putting a stone next to titan's, "He will be in Neighpon in three days."

Titan pulled back, looking at the stone. There was a chuckle as he said, "Playing your hand early are we? Why are you giving me such a prize? I am the villain after all. You have heard the legends, the stories and the tales. I am the god who fought Grand Ruler to a standstill, the destroyer of your home and the one who took the precious elements away." With a laugh, he placed his stone to the side of one of Spark's white stones.

"You are lying," Spark said, placing her stone in a spot next to his black stone, cornering it and allowing her to stealing it.

Titan pulled back at this and put a stone in the center left of the board, "Me a liar?"

"Yes, If you are a villain, then why have a peaceful city? Why treat the subjects like they are people. The lack of slaves, the lack of an actual attack, all of it. Why?" Spark said, putting down her next piece.

"Maybe it's a trick, maybe I want you to see what I need you to see?" Titan asked, putting his stone in place, and then watched as Spark followed suit, "Grand Ruler does the same." Titan asked, putting his stone down.

Spark looked at the board and answered calmly, "Because my friends are alive. You kept them alive and safe. That is proof right there." Spark said, putting a white stone behind his, blocking his path.

"Excellent," Titan said calmly, "Most would be at a lost of words at this move, but you held fast. I am impressed. I wish we had played this game when you were complete." he said, putting a stone in the center and looked at Spark. "Now, why are you giving me Lightning Dawn on a silver platter?"

"Simple," Spark said, putting her stone to the side of the board, "You hate Grand Ruler, and taking down his apprentice will be a good blow to his morale."

"Lightning has been beaten before," Titan responded, placing a stone and blocking a path for Spark, "There is no challenge there. How is that impressive?"

"You destroy Grand Ruler's best weapon, break his confidence, and the confidence of his people," Spark said, putting down her own stone and managing to steal one of his pieces, "I think that is a prize enough."

Titan put down another stone and then looked up at Spark, "It's a trap. You want me there to so the Elements of Harmony can defeat me. For what purpose?"

Spark watched the stone's placement and nodded, putting a white stone next to hers, forming a line of six, "Your defeat will show that Grand Ruler is wrong, that the Equestrians are just as powerful, if not more so than his Starfleet. That you don't need to be like them in order to win, just be a hero."

"So, you are saying you will expose their lies with my loss," Titan said, looking at the line of six. Then he placed a stone on the board, "You presume much, there is a chance I could kill all five of them. You would lose this country's greatest heroes and you would be defenseless."

With no fear in her eyes, Spark put down a stone behind Titan's and nodded, "I trust them. They have been able to accomplish much so far without Twilight Sparkle by their side. Rhymey, the siege of the empire, saving Fillydelphia, and more. Together, they have been a powerful force."

"But they never fought a being like me, not without her," Titan said, putting his stone down. "What will you do then if your trust has been placed wrongly."

"If you win, then we will still win," Spark said with a cold look and placed a stone behind Titan's, allowing her to take three pieces. "You will free the elements to find new bearers, Grand Ruler loses his apprentice, Conquest will have to fight a war on two fronts, and whoever wins will have to face..."

"Yes?" Titan asked, putting his piece down.

"Us," Spark said, placing her stone down. "So you see, you heading to Neighpon, fighting Lightning and the Elements of Harmony, will only be a boon to us no matter who wins. But here is the thing."

"Oh, is there something you want to add?" asked Titan, placing his stone down and adding the territory in his head.

Spark nodded, "Even without Twilight Sparkle, those five are more than a match for any god. They will win this."

"I see," Titan said calmly, before looking down at the board. He let out a sigh as he said, "In all of this world, there are only two ponies who have beaten me in Go. You...are number three, I congratulate you."

"Thank you sir," Spark said with a bow as she got up from her seat.

Titan then added as he rose, "I will be in Neighpon within two days to do battle with the elements. Tell them to be ready within that time for I will not be lenient."

"Yes sir," Spark said, walking away from the room with Trixie in tow.

Trixie shook her head, "Trixie never could get that game."

---

Applejack sighed as she looked out over her farm, seeing the snow covered trees and land gave it all a quiet look before her. While she was appreciating the sight, a little sigh escaped her lips as she began to think, "Celestia, Ah wish the snow could clear up soon. Ah really want to get back to work." the thought ran through her head as she leaned against the now dead tree. A small chuckle left her lips as she said out loud, "Maybe Ah should ask Rainbow to open up the clouds a bit and let in the sun so Ah can get an early start."

She laughed at this, but still felt a little down. The snow tended to hinder her running while there wasn't much need to plow or till the soil in the middle of the snow. So for her, her workout changed a lot over the past three months. Putting her hands behind her and into her pockets, she calmly breathed in the cold air and walked slowly, letting the soft crunching of snow accompany her as she made her way home.

For a quick moment, she stopped and held up her fist, letting out slow breaths as she began to practice her breathing. Softly, her body began to connect with the earth around her, allowing the magic to flow like a small river. For the briefest of moments, she could feel the harmon rise up within her and make her glow. Then just as soon as her body began to glow, she lost the magic. Growling, she punched her fist into her palm and growled, "Still nothing. Ah've been working on this harmon thing for months and Ah still can't get it."

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" Caramel asked, stepping out with a scarf around his neck. " I thought you told me you were going to take it easy before your big day."

Applejack shrugged, "This is easy for me. Ah'm just looking around the fields and planning on my harvest."

"No, easy is resting back with your family. Easy is not walking around here in the cold weather thinking that it's ok to embrace the snow," Caramel turned his head to the house with the warm smell of coca wafting through the air, "Resting is not leaving you family."

Applejack walked up to Caramel, glaring him down. Then she lightly tapped his nose and smiled warmly, "Not abandoning the family, and don't worry. Ah really am resting up. We have something big coming in two days, but this is also important. It's my farm and Ah want to be sure it's working fine for the upcoming Winter Wrap Up."

"Yeah, but-"

"But what?" Applejack asked, looking curious.

Caramel blushed at the look she had in her eyes, "Can I help? Ease the work a little?"

"You know, you have been helping me for a year now. You never had to, but you did. Now why go out of your way for this mare?" Applejack asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Caramel backed up and then put his fingers together, "Well, you see...I've seen you work so hard lately, and I wanted to, help you. I know I can be clumsy, and a little bit silly but I-"

"Shhhh," Applejack smiled warmly as she put a finger to his lips and then took his hand, "Let's check out the farm, together."

This made Caramel blushed harder and nod, walking into the woods next to Applejack.

As the two began to kindle something more in their lives, Pinkie Pie was happily bouncing down the stairs when she was stopped by a loud squeak of denial. Looking down, she saw Pound and Pumpkin standing side by side, blocking her, "No," Pound said.

"Un uh," squeaked Pumpkin.

Pinkie looked at her two siblings with curiosity, "Ok, guys why are you stopping me?"

"Surprise!" said Pound, fluttering his little wings in an attempt to get lift.

Pumpkin nodded and said, "Sissy surprise."

"Ohhhhh, well, you two are doing a great job at stopping me. Don't wanna spoil it, right?" Pinkie asked with a wink and this made the twin nod eagerly.

A yelp and a scream made the twins gasp and run away from the stairs, "Budder!" Pound said, running to the table.

Curiously, Pinkie walked down the stairs, helping Pumpkin into her arms and put her onto her shoulder. Looking at the baking table, she saw Artie leaning over a long metallic object with a cylinder at the end of the staff, "Are you ok, Artie?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Pinkie," Artie moaned, using his wrist to rub the bruise on his forehead. When he felt a warm pair of lips on his forehead, he smiled at Pinkie's sign of affection, "I was just using my horn to make this gift that Brain sent to me."

"A gift?" Pinkie asked, looking down at the pink hammer, "A new hammer! Oh, it'll go great with my other ones!"

Artie chuckled as he used his magic to lift the hammer and handed it to Pinkie, "Actually, it's not just a hammer. I asked Brain back on El to mix your Party Cannon with one of your hammers. Now it's a fun little hammer that can also fire out your party bombs. Cool huh?"

Pinkie let out a gasp as she took the hammer in hand and smiled widely, "Wow! But, what were you doing to it?"

"Well, I was using my magic to put it together and give it a name," Artie said, pointing to a name on the handle with his wrist, "I was thinking of "Artistic Hope' myself. Mainly because the handle is made from my old staff."

"What," Pinkie shrieked when she looked at the handle, and then looked up worriedly at Artie, "But what about coming back?"

"I will," Artie said, "But I also want to leave the past behind me. This, removing my staff, is just my first step. When I come back into the fight, I want to start clean and that means a new weapon. But I wanted to make something special for you, to show that I'm out there with you. Always."

"T-t-thanks, Artie," Pinkie said, giving Artie a big hug. Then she sniffled, "Hey, about about after all of this we go and see your folks like you wanted."

"Sure," Artie said, smiling back at Pinkie.

For the longest time, the two held each other close. A warm smile gleaned across each of their their faces as they let their eyes rest upon each other, looking and reading their emotions. As the quiet sounds of the bakery filled the space between them, they looked and leaned in a little closer, "Pinkie Pie!" Mrs. Cake called, snapping the two out of their reverie. "Could you help at the register for me? I need to make a new batch of cookies to put onto the display."

"Um, sure," Pinkie said with a blush as she broke the embrace and walked away. Turning over she shoulder, she winked at Artie and said, "Thanks for the gift."

"Yeah, welcome," Artie smiled back.

---

In the middle of the park, was a peculiar sight. Rainbow Dash was sitting perfectly still, not sleeping on a cloud or helping with weather duties, but sitting down on a small pillow. Across from her, was Fluttershy, who was also sitting across from her with her eyes closed and also sitting down. Softly Fluttershy's breath came out in slow wisps of air that condense in the air, allowing her to feel the air. Her chest rose and fell with each breath that she had taken, letting her feel the air around her.

Occasionally, she would open her eyes to look at Rainbow Dash. Each time she did, she looked to make sure that her friend was still concentrating. At one point, she asked, "Rainbow, did you fall asleep?"

No response.

"Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked, getting up and walking closer, waving her hand in front of her marefriend's face.

No response.

Curious, Fluttershy leaned in and put a ear close to Rainbow's lips, and got what she wanted to hear when she heard Rainbow's loud snore break out. This made her back up and let out a squeak in shock. Letting out a soft chuckle, she leaned in and kissed Rainbow Dash softly on the lips, "Wake up, sleepy head."

"Huh, what?" Dash asked as she snorted awake and shook her head. "I wasn't sleeping. Really."

Fluttershy scooted herself to sit with Rainbow Dash and smiled, "I know what you sound like when you fall asleep. You snore like, um, you snore like..."

"Like what?" Dash asked, giving Fluttershy a narrow look.

"A bear in labor," Fluttershy said, looking away in embarrassment.

Rainbow Dash let out a depressed sigh and lightly punched the snow, "Darn it. I wasn't trying to nap this time, I really wanted to see if I could do that whole badass and awesome calm mind thing you do."

"It isn't all that impressive, I don't get to use it that often," Fluttershy said, hiding behind her mane for a moment.

"What? Of course it's that awesome," Dash said, throwing her hands in the air, "I've seen you dodge a whole slew of attacks from somepony with that and then there was that thing you did at Rhymey's home! You always seem to have this cool trick you can do with your mind and I thought I might learn a thing or two."

"Why though?" Fluttershy asked sitting up closer to Rainbow Dash.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash looked up at the sky and sighed, "I was thinking that maybe it might help me, you know." Looking at Fluttershy's confused look, she continued. "I thought maybe if I could pull off that trick of yours, I might be able to sense where you guys are when you need me and race over there. Or maybe even get me connected to the speed force, that kind of thing."

"Rainbow, you don't need to do that," Fluttershy said soothingly, her fingers entwining with Rainbow's, "You are one of the fastest ponies I know, the loyalist pony I have ever met, and one of the bravest mares in existence. I know there is nothing you can't accomplish, you don't need my skill to help you. You can find your own way, and besides...you'll always be there right?"

For the briefest of instances, an image flashed through Rainbow's mind of the death of her friend. Her worst failure. Ears drooping a little, Rainbow Dash nodded and said, "Yeah."

"No, definitely," Fluttershy said, kissing her on the lips. Then Fluttershy looked over Rainbow's shoulder and gasped, seeing a small family of foxes, "Snow foxes! Rainbow, let's go see them!" and with a little skip, she got up and began to run to the family. With a coy look, she giggled, "Race you?"

"Flutters, you know I'll win. I don't like to-"

"Shame, guess I'll win because of a head start!" Fluttershy said with a laugh as she ran ahead.

Rainbow dash felt her wings perk up in excitement, her racing urge kicking in as she flew off towards her. However, she held back a little, just to give Fluttershy an edge and to spend time enjoying the view of Fluttershy running ahead.

Fluttershy, for her part, would occasionally look back over her shoulder to Dash and smile at her. A small thought came to her head as she watched her marefriend follow her, and she began to make a plan while she approached the foxes. After another quick step she neared the family, sat down and whispered, "It's ok, I'm just here to see you Mr. and Mrs. McCloud."

Dash looked at her weirdly, "You named them already?"

"Well, they look like a Mr. and Mrs. McCloud. And this one seems feisty already," Fluttershy said, petting the baby of the family who was yipping up a storm.

"Oh, I get it," Rainbow Dash remarked, watching Fluttershy play with the foxes.

As she held one in her arms, Fluttershy asked, "Are you upset you lost our little race?"

"Nah," Dash replied, putting her hands behind her head and lightly kicking the snow, "Watching your cute little rump bounce up and down was all the reward I needed."

This made Fluttershy blush heavily.

---

Rarity sighed as she looked over the designs of her latest pieces and then back to the armor she had made for Twilight. Then back to armors of her friends and gave a small groan of frustration while leaning back in her chair, pushing up her glasses, "Oh Twilight, this is so frustrating! These armors that they gave us is supposed to be infused with stardust and cosmic-whatevers, but look!" she said, holding up the cloth that was Applejack's armor, still broken, "This might as well be spandex for all of the good protecting it does! And whoever heard of armor that sparks upon impact?! I swear, it's like this armor was designed for a tv show where you need sparks for the hit detection."

Sighing, she got up from the chair and looked at the outfits, laying there before her, "I just wish I had something more concrete than something that sounds as odd as cosmic dust. With this war turning out the way it is, I know we need something stronger than what sounds like armor from a child's fantasy. Though, I wonder if this is just cloth. Oh, if only you were-"

The sound of the door opening and the sound of a baby crying alerted Rarity and in an instant, she was out of the chair, into the next room, and into the main room of her shop with her bow and arrow at the ready, "Lay your hands off my daughter you beast!" she growled with her eyes narrowed.

Rover held up his paws with a nervous yelp, "OH, I am sorry, Lady Rarity, I did not mean to scare your little one. I was just here to pick up the gem delivery and was distracted by the little cub."

Sighing Rarity put away her bow and arrow, walking over to her daughter in the crib, and picked her up. Gently she soothed the baby, "There there, little gem. This is not a monster from your nightmares, but a diamond dog that Mommy befriended. See?" she said, happily turning the two-week old krinin around to look at the strange beast. The baby let out a giggle and lightly patted his cold nose.

"Um, thanks for the apology. I really just wanted to see her, never saw a pony-dragon hybrid before," Rover said, smiling, "You must be proud of your pup."

"Indeed I am," Rarity said, holding onto the little girl and smiling. With a quick nudge she said, "Your gems are over there in the box as usual."

The diamond dog nodded happily, before throwing down a large bag that he had carried on his back, "Oh, and this is for you. A gift from our queen."

"Rover, as I told you, I am not expecting anything for my help or-"

"No, you do not understand, we found something precious you might like," Rover said, opening the bag, "Two days ago, while digging, we struck a vein of worthless metal that we had ignored. But, one of our metal smiths looked into it and said it was something that ponies would be interested in. Especially dressmakers, and maybe you as well, Lady Rarity. Perhaps you have heard of Mithril?"

Rarity let out a gasp as she gently laid Crystal into her crib and then put her hand into the bag to pull out a stone, "M-M-Mithril? Of course I have heard of it, I have heard that Luna's sword was made from it. And you are giving it to me?"

"Well, yes," Rover said, "We Diamond Dogs have no need of it, we work with diamonds and gems. But, you might be able to fashion something from it, and you have ever been so generous to us by giving us gems and the time to help make our armor. We figured that you might value it more."

"Oh, why thank you, Rover," Rarity said, patting Rover on his little head. Smiling, she opened the bag while Rover went to pick up the box of gems. After giving him time to leave, Rarity reached down into her shirt, pulled out her glasses and twirled them around in her hand to open them, "Well, Clarity, time for you to watch Mommy at work!"

There was a squeal of delight from the kirin as Rarity levitated each stone, some cloth, and a ton of gems, "See, Mithril is hard to work into fabric, only the most talented of designers are able to do it. But, luckily for your mother," she added, smiling at her daughter, "I have some training in making fabric and suits from mithril. Oh, this is so exciting!"

---

Applejack and the others sat in the boutique the next day, all sitting around a stage curtain. Looking over to see Spike play with little Crystal, she asked, "Got any idea what this big surprise is, Spike?"

Spike shook his head, "No, Rarity only said it was going to be amazing and you were going to love it."

"Ah hope it's going to be worth it and quick. The train to Neighpon is supposed to be leaving at noon and we gotta be on it," Applejack remarks as Rarity stepped out from behind the curtain.

With a glow of her horn, she pulled back the curtain hiding the outfits, "Thank you all for waiting. May I present to you all...your new Armor!" she said with glee as she pulled back the curtain to reveal five brightly colored outfits. Looking back at the looks of her friends, she smiled, "You like?"

"Uh, Rares? This is just clothes," Applejack said, walking up to her outfit and rubbing the brown vest in between her fingers and looking at the light orange sleeves.

Rarity held in a giggle, "Not just any clothes my dear Applejack, but clothes made from Mithril."

"What's Mithril?" Fluttershy asked looking at her long green cloak with white stripes on it.

"Mithril, that's like this super awesome type of metal that's found deep in the earth. It's stronger than steel, but it''s really super light so you don't get held down!" Pinkie said excitedly, bouncing to her suit, "Maude sometimes finds it when she's rock hunting! My family sometimes pulls it out back home."

"Indeed," Rarity said, "If you will all try yours on I can talk about the improvements I made."

Each girl nodded in turn and grabbed the outfits off the rack. After running into the dressing rooms, it was not long before Applejack was the first to step out, adjusting her hat, "First of all, I had to remove the so called 'increased strength, defense, and speed,' from the old armors. But in return, these new suits are a lot more durable than anything Starfleet could ever come up with."

"Fine with me, to tell y'all the truth," Applejack said, running her hand along the sleeves and then looking down at her jeans, "Ah never really felt all that stronger anyway, just stupider for wearing it. Heck, that armor seemed to get damaged a lot."

"Yes, that is why this is more powerful defensively," Rarity said, "You will still feel pain, but projectiles are a thing of the past. What's more, I customized Applejack's with emeralds to enhance her more earth pony capabilities. Now, the magic will make it easier to perform her usual feats with ease."

"Wait, emeralds?" Rainbow Dash asked, her blue track suit shining in the lights, rainbow streaks running down the arms, legs and chest.

Rarity nodded, "Another benefit of mithril is that it has a high potential for enchantments. I can use my magic to select a gem, imbued it with a spell, and place it onto the outfit. For instance, Rainbow Dash, I no longer have to modify your armor whenever you increase your speed. The rubies I used in that suit will match the durability with your speed, creating a shield that will protect you when you hit high speeds."

"Awesome!" Dash said, putting on a set of goggles. Looking over at Applejack, she asked, "Why are you still wearing that neckerchief?"

"Oh this?" Applejack asked, adjusting it around her neck, "After the fight with Rhymey, Ah ended up kind of liking it. Ah felt like it added to my look."

Pinkie smiled and bounced wildly, her bright pink frilly blouse contrasting with her long blue skirt, "Yeah, like that apple on the back of your jacket."

"I've found unique ways to put your cutie marks into each design," Rarity said with a smile from behind her own curtain, while Applejack looked behind her at her mark, "Pinkie, I've kept your usual pouches for your various pieces of equipment and tools. However, 've also added a strap for your hammer onto the back of the suit."

"Thankee!" Pinkie giggled, putting in her stuff such as streamers, bombs, balls, and various other nicknacks.

"Um, Rarity,my suit doesn't seem much for fighting," Fluttershy said, looking at her robes and taking note of the two gems on the sleeves.

Rarity popped her head and shoulders out from her dressing room, "Well dear, you don't usually fight. That is for the rest of us to handle. I specifically designed your outfit with gems that can produce a shield that can change size according to the wielder's will. It also offers some healing magic as well."

Fluttershy pressed a gem and backed away in surprised when it formed a shield. Applejack looked at the fashionista as she stepped out of her dressing room, "Uh, Rares, what is that?"

"Oh, this," Rarity said, fastening her greeves onto her arms tightly, "Is my armor." She said showing off her dark purple shirt that was hidden under a tighter vest and tight indigo pants. Around each thigh was a small pouch.

"You mean, Glarity's armor right?" Applejack asked.

Rarity looked shocked at this remark, " No, mine. I am going to be joining you on this fight, Applejack."

"No, ya ain't!" Applejack said with a growl as she glared into Rarity's eyes.

"Last I remember Applejack, I had planned on re-joining this team after my daughter was born," taking a quick look over her shoulder at the little filly in her boyfriend's arms, she sighed and looked back at Applejack, "Now that she is here, I have all the more reason to rejoin this team and stand with my friends on this, the eve of our greatest battles."

"That little filly is exactly why you shouldn't be out there," Applejack said, frowning, "If you die, then that little darling loses her mother. Ah have already seen one girl grow up without her mother, Ah won't do it again! Ya hear me, Ah won't!"

"Applejack, that isn't fair!" Rainbow Dash argued.

Rarity held up a finger and sighed before looking down, "I...see. You know, I had never thought about what I did as a mistake. Just a small, very welcome hiccup on the long road of life. Two ponies, give into the throws of passion, it happens. But, I had always thought about what happens after she was born, and how I would go about living my dreams and achieving my goals as a business mare. One of these was how I was going to come back into this group and help you as much as I can, now no longer encumbered by my precious gem."

Rarity sighed, "Every time Glarity was out there, I felt horrible because I couldn't stand with you, fighting the good fight. Each time I had gotten mad at my condition, I felt so horrible because I believed I was blaming Clarity for my own mistakes and something she couldn't help. But, I held tough, even though I couldn't do much and I was hidden in the shadows, because I told myself that I could fight once more, be helpful again once she was born."

"And now," Rarity sniffled, feeling tears coming to her eyes, "You are saying that I still can't fight, even though she is born! You tell me that I risk a lot by going out there, but what about you?! You die and Applebloom loses the closest thing she has to a mother. Rainbow Dash, sacrifices the only sister Scootaloo has. Pinkie, Fluttershy, The Umbra circle? They all risk so much during this war of ours, ready to give everything they have for the sake of others. And you wish to take it away from me?" Rarity began to whimper as she looked up to Applejack, "Please, I want a chance to fight alongside you once more. For my daughter's sake, my boyfriend's, and my friends! Please, I beg you, let me fight by your side once more and give me a chance to help you!"

"It is kind of unfair," Fluttershy said quietly, "That we leave Rarity behind now that she can help us again."

"But Ah-" Applejack began but was interrupted by Glarity.

"I have already made my plans to stay here, and let Rarity fight again," Glarity said, "Rarity's place is by your side, not me."

"But-"

Pinkie interrupted next, "And besides, we really need her back. You cant just keep her here."

Applejack growled and slammed her hat over her eyes, "FINE! She can come back to join us! Just stop hounding me."

"Oh, thank you, darling," Rarity said, hugging her friend tightly.

Applejack sighed, "Sorry Rarity, Ah was just looking out for ya."

"I know, but you need to know that some of us can stand on our own two feet," Rarity smiled at her friend, warmly. "I know it will be dangerous, but I have five ponies that will make sure Clarity won't grow up motherless."

Applejack smiled and nodded, giving Rarity a hug back. They quickly broke the hug and turned to the sound of a door opening, "Girls!" Belle said, "Oh thank Celestia I had caught you before you boarded the train."

"Belle? What brings you here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I have a plan for fighting Titan," Belle said, walking to bring out a small writing pad and began to write down the plan, "See, I have been analyzing all of the battles with Titan in the past."

"But, can we even trust anything we've been told about those fights?" Rainbow Dash asked, putting the fighting outfit into a small suitcase while putting on some civilian clothes. "Grand Kook has been lying so much and controls so much info, how can we tell what is the truth?"

"I know," Belle said, looking down as the others began to dress in warm civilian wear, " But, there is still correlations and I did notice the trend in that all of his fights were one on one. It's like he lives to battle an opponent alone so he can see what he is up against. He would rather have an opponent fight him alone than a group."

"What does this have to do with us?" Applejack asked.

Belle brought out a paper with arrows from all of their cutie marks, bearing down on Titan, "In all of your previous battles, you have been broken into single ponies. You fight by yourselves until the big threat is over, but what you need to do in order to beat Titan is to stand together and fight as one. There is no way he can cope with a changing strategy like this. It's how Starfleet's been wanting us to play it, fight separately and then let one of us handle it or transfer our power to Lightning. I think it's time for a surprise."

"Yeah, I'm all for that," Dash said with a smirk, walking out the door with her bag over her shoulder, "It's about time the big guys see what a real team is like."

"Good luck to all of you," Belle said, waving bye before she whispered to herself, "Wish I could be there."

Then she felt a pair of warm arms wrap themselves around her midsection and hold her close, "You will be, Belle. You will be."

Belle sighed and leaned into Pinkie's hug, "Thanks. I just trying my best to be useful and make sure that you girls will remember me."

"We will," Pinkie said, hugging her friend close. "You helped with that big hole in our hearts that we needed to fill. You helped bring us back together, and brought a smile to my face again. Nothing can ever take that away or will it ever."

"Pinkie I..." Belle smiled, turning around in Pinkie's arms and hugging her close, tears in her eyes, "Thank you, for making me smile."

"Hey," Pinkie chuckled, "Just you wait. I have over a billion, million, thousand more smiles to give you!"

"If we join them, your friend will die!" Trixie's voice echoed.

"Because you are one of my besties, Belle. Always," Pinkie said, ignoring the voice in her head.

Belle smiled warmly, wiped a tear from her eyes and said, " Get going or you will miss your train!"

"Right!" Pinkie said with a nod as she bounced out of the house.

Spike smiled at them and ran a claw over his daughter's fuzz of a mane, "They'll be fine, girls. Just you wait, they've faced gods before."

"Yeah." Belle sighed, looking at the path that led away from the boutique. Under her breath, she whispered, "With Twilight."

---

Lightning stood at the train station, a hood over his head to hide his face and horn. Keeping his eye on the train as it came in with a loud whistle, he turned his head one last time to the ticket. A harsh frown crossed his face as he turned his head over his shoulder and looked around. His heart hurt as he saw the lack of hs team by his side, "I miss them." Krysta whispered from under his coat.

"Yeah, I know," Lightning said, sighing, "It's weird, I was always the one who ran headlong into danger, risking life and limb just to prove myself. Then I moved onto just fighting alone because I was the leader, the strongest and the best. Now...standing here alone? I realize just how much better it would be if I had a team by my side. Maybe have Buddy make a quip about his cousin or something silly like that."

"It wasn't all that silly," Krysta said, looking down, "I remember how we sometime just had long talks with each other in bed, especially trying to get over the pain from your training."

"Yeah, I think we should've had those more," Lightning said, rubbing his friend's head.

"Hey Lightning," whispered Pinkie in his ear, making him jump a little.

"Pinkie!" Lightning gasped when he heard the pink pony's voice. Turning around, he saw the other members of the elements in front of him in their casual wear. With a whisper he asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Why, my dear friend," Rarity said, holding out her hand daintily, "We are all just on a trip to Neighpon as a way to relax and have a friendship get away. Nothing more."

"Yeah, nothing Titanic here at all," Rainbow Dash said with a wink as she boarded the train followed by the others.

Lightning chuckled a little at this, nodding in understanding as he boarded the train next. Once it took off, the group had all found their seats and began to relax while the train gently rode along the track. Applejack let out a sigh as she gotten a little more comfortable, "It's going to take a while to get there, so might as well just relax."

"Why does it take so long?" Rainbow Dash asked, annoyed and crossing her arms over her chest.

Rarity leaned back, pulling out her notepad, "Well, normally you take an airship or a boat to Neighpon. But this is a new train line created by Grand Ruler to help spur the economy. He did it to give some of the jobs to earth ponies and Unicornicopians."

"I see," Lightning said.

Fluttershy let out a gasp, looking at a map, and then blushed as everyone looked to her, "Oh, sorry, it's just that the town we'll be landing in is the hometown of some of my favorite Neighponese comic artists, like Chio. I was thinking we could see her and get her autograph."

"I can't believe that you are a giant fan of that Utena thing. I mean, seriously, a girl attends an academy, duels for an innocent soft spoken mare, and then spends the rest battling morons?" Dash let out a chuckle, "I think the whole thing is kind of silly."

"I don't know, you seemed to really get into it when you were reading it to me last night," Fluttershy said, blushing a little as she leaned in to Dash.

"Wait, she reads magna to you?" Pinkie asked with a big smile.

Fluttershy nodded, much to Dash's increasing embarrassment, "Oh yes, she reads and really gets into it. She'll act it out, do voices, and even play out the fight scenes."

"I don't do it...that often," Rainbow Dash said, sinking into her chair, much to the laughter of Applejack.

"Well, while you girls look at your magna and such," Rarity said, writing down in her notepad, "I will be looking at the fashion centers at some of the lovely kimonos."

"We ain't going to be spending our time shopping, Rares," Applejack frowned.

"Oh I know," Rarity said, "I am also going to look at the cherry blossoms for some inspiration for my spring line. I was thinking of incorporating them later."

"Are you girls really doing this," Lightning asked, a tinge of shock in his voice. Then he gave out a chuckle, "You know we are going to be attacked and you five are acting like this is fun little trip. If you guys were my old team, we would be too-"

"Hung up on the bad stuff happening to have any fun?" Pinkie interrupted.

Applejack sighed, leaning back and tipping her hat over her eyes, "It's like Ah told ya during the holidays. Ya can't spend time worrying about this stuff, it just ruins the trip and the time you could be spending with your friends."

Lightning sighed, "Yeah, maybe I should've taken that kind of advice earlier. It might have given me more friends to talk to and not feel so alone."

Pinkie leaned over the back of her seat, her head hanging down so she would look at Lightning Dawn, "Hey, you have a collection of friends right now. And that is a great start if you ask me."

Lightning said nothing to this, and just looked out the window of the train at the passing landscape. For the next few hours, the train was filled with talk about Neighpon and it's culture and what each mare planned to do once they had arrived. Lightning's heart, on the other hand, was heavy with regret as he dreamt about the talks that he and his friends could've had.

Soon, Celestia's day gave way to the night, and most of the group had fallen asleep with the exception of Rarity, Lightning, and Krysta. Krysta silently floated over to Rarity and calmly watched the fashionista work. Lighting, on the other hand, lightly tapped Applejack on the shoulder, "Hey, AJ, are you asleep?"

"Yes, Lightning. Ah'm asleep, in the embrace of wonderful Luna's arms, and now I am being kidnapped by an evil mad stallion who is asking if Ah'm awake," Applejack growled as she looked at Lightning from under her hat.

Lightning let out a sheepish chuckle as he said, "Sorry. I was just curious, about your dad and how he trained you."

"My pa?" Applejack smiled warmly, "Well, he was kind of hard when he trained me, pushing me to my limits. Every time he put me to work, it was grueling and tough, but Ah managed through it. Mainly because he kept encouraging me, cheering me on, and telling me how much Ah had improved."

"I wish I had your life," Lighting scoffed as he looked at the stars.

"What do you mean?" Applejack asked.

Lightning looked over at Applejack and asked, "Tell me, what do you think of a mentor who constantly berates you in the name of tough love. Where, even when you are too tired to pick up utensils and have to eat with your mouth, he calls you a dog and bashes you. Or how much of a disappointment you really are."

"Lightning," Applejack said calmly, "If Ah had heard of what that guy was doing to ya, Ah would've called child protective services on his ass. How old were you when you started training with him?"

"It was two years after my parents died so, about seven years old," Lightning said.

"You didn't need that abuse so soon after your parents died," Applejack said, looking down, "Be a little rough, sure. But temper it with kindness and telling ya what ya did right once in awhile. You know, be an actual caregiver instead of a monster."

"Yet another mistake from our great leader," Lightning growled as he lightly kicked the back of the seat. Sighing, he looked across from him at the three sleeping mares. Pinkie was curled up like a dog while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were asleep on each others shoulders, with Dash's wings wrapped around Fluttershy protectively. Sighing, Lightning looked to Applejack and asked, "How do you do it?"

"Do what?" Applejack asked, looking up at Lighting.

"Do what you do? Stick to your guns even though you have everything you have ever believed in, everything you have been told, spat back on and shat on by somepony else?" Lighting asked.

"You mean like Ah lived everyday for the past five years?" Applejack asked with a smile on her face. "Need Ah remind you, you guys kept telling us how wrong we were for believing in friendship and that everything will be ok and to stop thinking positively?"

"Yeah, and I'm sorry for all of that," Lightning said.

Applejack nodded, "Yeah, and we forgive ya. As for how Ah kept on fighting? Well, you see,it's easy to say 'Ah believe in myself', it's completely another to actually mean it. You see them," she asked, pointing her fingers to the others, "They're what drives me, my family is what drives me, and my own will is what drives me. Now Rhymey made me forget that Ah was the one who made my own decisions in life, not fate or destiny or anything else. And you know what gave the power for that? Courage to move on and become stronger. That is all Ah needed."

"Courage, huh. And ideals," Lighting said.

"Kindness, Loyalty, Generosity, Laughter, Honesty, and a little Magic thrown in," Applejack said, "Ah had once thought Twilight was throwing around a bunch of hooey, but Ah think she was right. Those are the Elements of Harmony, being a good friend, and a good person."

"Think I could become a good friend?" Lightning asked, to which Applejack smiled warmly and nodded.

Krysta turned away from the conversation and looked back at Rarity, letting her inner magic glow and provide a nightlight, "Can't sleep?" she asked fluttering down to sit next to Rarity.

"Hmmm?" Rarity asked, before shaking her head, "Oh no, I sometimes stay up late working on a late night project or finishing some last minute bills I need to pay. It's the cross you bear when you run a business, am a creative, and as a mother."

"Wow, and I thought being a queen was tough," Krysta laughed a little, and then sat down, "You know, I am so sorry for what some of the members of Starfleet called you."

"Was it a pompous idiotic diva who would take first prize in a stupidity contest?" Rarity chuckled lightly at that, "Or was it that I was a moron who completely forgot the lessons I had learned?"

"Pretty much yeah," Krysta said, nodding. "I mean you act so melodramatic at time and silly and over the top. It's a wonder that your other friends don't agree."

"That's because they know the real me dear," Rarity said, "They know how much I will help them no matter what or what I do when I am not having to put on airs of ladyship."

"Airs?" Krysta asked.

"Well, of course,"Rarity said, "While I know I can be over the top at times, I also know when to hold it in for clients or potential partners. Being able to hold it in, being classy, all the while, seeing behind the mask is what being noble is all about."

Krysta nodded and slightly kicked her foot against the seat, "Um, Rarity, I want to apologize for what I had said before to Twilight."

"Hmmm?" Rarity asked.

"During the Chrysalis incident, I told her to stop kidding herself when she tried to offer peaceful means of attack," Krysta sighed, "And now, after everything that has happened, I feel like a total fool and a louse."

Rarity smiled warmly, "All water under the bridge, at least you apologized."

"How do you do that?" Krysta asked, looking up at Rarity, "How do you just forgive me and Lightning for all of the jerkish things we done?"

"Remember what I said about being noble?" Rarity asked, smiling warmly, "See, my uncle helped to raise me like the early knights of old. Be respectful and kind, keep true to yourself and let your inner beauty shine through, and never to hold a grudge. I believe in offering as much help as I can because I believe we all need it and that deep down inside of us, is a lovely gem waiting to be released."

"Well," Krysta said, looking back at the sleeping Lighting before fluttering back down, "Thanks, for...seeing the inner beauty in Lightning. I mean, I know when you met him, he was a jerk. But he isn't. You guys were never there for when we would talk together, or when he would take care of me when I was sick, or all of the good things he's done for me. He can be nice, really! He's just-"

"Been corrupted by a mad stallion who wants him to play by his rules?" Rarity asked. Shaking her head, she said, "We are getting too depressing here my dear. Now let's see," opening her purse, Rarity pulled out two little outfits: One was a lovely green nightgown and the other a little yellow dress, "Fairy sized outfits, courtesy of Lady Rarity, my queen."

"Oh wow!" Krysta gasped and flew to the nightgown, "You didn't really have to do this. I mean, when did you get my size?"

"Oh, a fashionista knows dear," Rarity said with a wink. Using her magic, she pulled out a washcloth and spun it around to make a makeshift dressing room, "Here we are, privacy. You know, Krysta," Rarity said, "I would've made outfits for your entire kingdom, if I could. You just never invited me. I had an entire line in my head for you."

"I'm sorry for that. I promise, when I restore my kingdom, I'll invite you in," Krysta said, slipping off her pink dress and putting on the nightgown.

"You'll think we'll restore your kingdom and bring it back to life?" Rarity asked.

"I know if might sound like it'll take a miracle, but," Krysta looked over her shoulder and smiled, "You and your friends seem fond of making miracles happen." Once Rarity dropped the dressing cloth, Krysta stepped in her nightgown, "Well, how do I look?"

"Adorable," Rarity said, laying flat on her stomach and smiling. "Well, it's late at night, we aren't sleepy...let's gossip?"

"You mean, gossip and just talk about weird things. Like, a girls night out? With you?!" gasped Krysta, "Oh, I always wanted to do this with Starla."

"If you two don't mind, could you keep your gossip down to a minimum? Some of us actually sleep you know!" Rainbow Dash mumbled a little.

Rarity giggled and nodded, putting a blanket over the two girls, "Ok. so, spill."

"Well, if you want to know a secret," Krysta whispered, "Sometimes...I dream about just abandoning my duties and just travel the world with Lightning."

"Oh really?!" Rarity gasped, "Tell me more."

"Well..."

---

The group was awoken the next day by a call of, "Now arriving in Neighpon, now arriving in Neighpon!" from the conductor.

"Look!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed happily as she looked out the window and pointed to the large city looming in the distance, surrounded by all sides of rice fields.

"Rice fields?" Applejack asked as the city approached them.

"Yes," a light purple earth pony said with a warm smile, "Apple trees are rare here on Neighpon, so most of the farms here are low to the ground like rice and pineapples."

"I see, and are you from around here. Miss-" Rarity asked her.

The mare happily extended her hand out, making her messy and unkempt brunette mane bounce, "Cherry Lei! And, I'm not really from around the country, I just like to visit occasionally to take in the culture and style, see?" she then showed off her cutie mark of a star with wings on it, "I love learning about art and writing, it helps with my creativity."

"A pleasure, I am Rarity and these are-"

"The Knights Of Harmony! I have been reading about some of your adventures in the news and saw some of the theater shows," Cherry said with a smile, "I don't really believe them when they said that Starfleet did most of the saving though. I think it might have been you guys."

This comment made Lightning sink a little in his seat, trying his best to hide from the group. Rainbow Dash looked to the sides of the train, "Hey, where do those other tracks go to?"

"Oh, well, you see, Neighpon is split into three areas: Impa, Canto, Troto. Troto is the main area with the biggest city, then Canto is where the samurai live while Impa is home to ninjas," Cherry said as the train slowly rolled into the station.

"Ninjas!? Awesome! Ok, we are so going there," Rainbow Dash said excitedly, and then looked to Fluttershy. Fluttershy was quiet but had a crestfallen look, "After, we check out the comics."

"Yay," Fluttershy cheered excitedly as she walked out and flew with Rainbow Dash. The others, as they disembarked, got a good look at the towering city. The many skyscrapers seemed to pop up and grow around a central large tower.

Gone was the sounds of the small city, with many ponies hawking wares and food. Now it was replaced with open doors, hers of Unicornicopians and ponies alike flew and walked down the streets forming a small sea of different ponies.

Pinkie squealed with delight as she smelled the scent of baking, looked at a map and ran out the train as the others began to dismbark, "Sorrylovetostayandchatbutthismapsaysthereisacakestorenearybywithmynameonibyeloveya!"

Rarity and Applejack stood there in shock as the Pink blur left their side, "Well, Ah suppose we should start looking around too. You'll be fine, Lightning?"

"Yeah, it's just a town I never seen before, explored before, never even touched before, while I am searching for a stallion I never met before," Lighting said, rolling his eyes, "I'll be fine!"

"Who are you looking for?" Cherry asked.

Lightning held up a piece of paper and read the name aloud, "Osamu Ishinomori?"

"Oh, OZ?" Cherry said with a smile, "He lives on the outskirts of town. I can take you to him!"

---

The house of the old scientist was place just outside of the city, away from the large metal buildings and towers. It was situated near a small collection of houses that were small with shingled roofs and thin doors for an old look. With Krysta resting on his shoulder, Lightning followed with the young mare until he reached the door, "This is it," Cherry said, opening the door, "He is a little weird but he is very smart."

"Thank you," Lightning said calmly, stepping in. As his footsteps entered the small house, he found the room to be littered with tech, papers, and a motorcycle in the corner with a scarf wrapped around a handle. Walking and tying his best to keep balance, he saw that many of the papers were sketches for comics or even robotics.

"Please don't touch those, they are not ready for publication." the green earth pony stallion with a red afro mane said before stepping out of the shadows. Happily straightening his white overcoat and thumbing his rather large and round nose, he held out his hand, "Osamu Ishinomori! Friends call me OZ and you are?"

"Lightning Dawn," Lightning said, shaking the doctor's hand. "I heard Twilight visited you once."

"As a matter of fact she did," Oz said, his low pitched voice thick with an accent. "When she ascended to alicorness, she came to me for a better understanding of what had happened. And seeing that I am a premiere study on Alicorn lore and history."

Lightning looked at his cutie mark, a paper and black pen, he watched as OZ began to shuffle papers, "Alicorn lore?"

"Yes, there is so much to learn about them. About why in ancient times there was a whole race of them, but they have since have vanished off the face of the earth. Why, until recently, there have been no natural births of an alicorn in Equestrian history not until the family. Or even why it is now a gift to be given to those who perform a great magical feat. So what brings you here?"

"The truth about this," Lightning said, flicking his golden horn, "and my Enticorn form. I just know Grand Ruler is lying to me about both my past and this horn. Maybe I should've figure it out before, especially since he said I was descended from this ancient tribe of powerful beings. How could that be, when I am a space alicorn, born from his blood and mud and clay. Shouldn't that mean he is an Enticorn too?"

"I see, and have you transformed into this Enticorn form since the war began?" OZ asked, getting out a strange device.

Lighting shook his head, "No, not since Conquest attacked. When I lost my wife, think it broke something within me. I had lost all confidence and couldn't bring out the power to wield it. Since then, nothing."

Oz nodded, "I see, I see. Think you can summon the power now?"

"I can try," Lightning said, closing his eyes for the briefest of moments. After breathing in, he let out a small roar of rage that made his entire body flare up with magic and then quiet down.

"Hmmmm," OZ said, rubbing his big nose, "Interesting. Tell me Lighting, what do you know of alicorn ascension?"

"Like you said, usually when a pony does something of great worth," Lightning said, "Right?"

"Or does something that signifies the purest part of their cutie mark, like how Cadence was able to turn back the love stealing amulet's power. Or, how Twilight had her friends changer back their cutie marks, not through spell or word, but through their own inner magic." Oz said, lifting up a sheet of paper, "But did you know of a darker side to it all?"

"A darker side?" asked Lighting.

"When a pony begins to drift away from their talent, or begins to abandon the element that they represent. When they start to become corrupted, a darker half comes forth," unfurling the sheet, he showed the image of the pony of legend, the mare in the moon, "A Nightmare! I am sure you know of the story of Nightmare Moon and the Nightmare Rarity incident, correct?"

"Yes, shadows possessed them, didn't they?" asked :Lighting.

OZ shook his head, "They only allowed for the darkness that was already there to corrupt and possess them. They only opened the door, it was up to Rarity and Luna to make the move. See, because they drifted away from their elements and cutie marks, they became corrupted, allowing the darker emotions to enter their hearts and corrupt them. Your Enticorn form...is similar to that corrupted magic that comes with being a nightmare."

"What?!" Lighting shook his head, as if he was still trying to come to terms with this revelation, "But Grand Ruler, I mean, he-"

"Told you a lot of things," Oz sighed, "Didn't he? Your Enticorn form, it's born of rage, anger, and hatred correct?" when Lightning nodded, Oz continued, "Those are the same feelings that went through Nightmare Moon. Much like the Uniforce, and Valkyrie Mode, it is based on corruption of your own magic and inner harmony."

Lighting shook his head, "Wait, the Uniforce is a corruption too?"

"Twilight spent a long time looking it up and studying it remember?" Oz asked.

Sighing, Lightning nodded, "She did, once. I thought she was trying to learn and use it, even though Celestia said no and-"

"But why would she? She is a researcher, a scientist, and a student. She would not need to cast the spell, just simply study it and learn about it. She would leave it to you to cast it, she would just care more about how it works," Oz said.

"Yeah, I know that now," Lightning shook his head, "But, if the Uniforce it a corrupted form of a spell, then what is it the corrupted form of? And how did it get corrupted."

"Twilight told me, and she was going to tell the princesses about this, that she found out that the Uniforce is nothing more than a darker version of the most powerful unicorn spell of all. The one spell that combines the five mana pools into one god-like blast. A spell only five unicorns know about it, and only four of them are alive right now. The spell, Ultima," Oz then looked at Lightning's horn, "For the how? She suspected that!"

---

"Whoowee, those are some huge apples," Applejack said, looking at the large fuji apples before her, "Ah didn't think you guys could grow such huge apples!"

"Don't be fooled by the island's size, dear cousin," smirked Fuji Apple, a light red mare with her mane in a bowl cut and a fuji apple cutie mark, "Never underestimate the power of Earth pony ingenuity and magic. There is a small prefecture in Canto that is perfect for growing these babies. Here, have one on the house, cousin." she said throwing an apple to Applejack.

Applejack smiled as she caught it with one hand and tipped her hat, "No prob, cousin." As she walked away, biting into the apple, she said to herself, "Never know where you'll find family." Before she could take a bite out of the apple, it was taken away by a figure in a cloak. Growling, she turned to face the figure, only to smile when she saw the jasmine coat from within.

"It's time, Titan is making his move," Raindrops said, "Trixie wants us all to gather on the outskirts of the city. Says she has something big to show off to Titan."

"Wait, how do you know?" Applejack asked.

Raindrops shrugged, "Spark is using some sort of spell to detect high levels of magic or something. I don't understand this magic crap well, I just know she said that the 'ambivalent magic is being disturbed, showing that a mass teleportation spell is activating.' Or something."

"Ah got it," Applejack said, turning to look at the edge of the city. As she began to walk with Raindrops at her side, she asked, "Your friends getting the others?"

"Now do be careful dear, I want not a bit of that silk or my other purchases dropped," Rarity said to Carrot Top as she walked through the streets and stood by Applejack, "I suppose you were told too?"

"Rarity, what is all of that?" Applejack asked.

"Souvenirs, items I can use for my shop, and some gifts," Rarity said, pulling out a very large bear, "Oh, Crystal will love this, it will go so well with her other bears and plushies."

Applejack lightly chuckled at this, walked to Carrot Top, and patted her black cloak affectionately, "If it's any consolation, Ah appreciate the sacrifice."

"S-sacrifice?" whimpered Carrot Top.

"Yeah, she normally has me carry the heavy stuff," laughed Applejack.

"Valuable stuff, after all... if I did not bring the dear gifts, then Crystal might not think I love her enough," Rarity said, straightening her coat. Her face then turned to a frown as she asked, "Are you ready for this?"

"Battling a god without Twilight on our side? Protecting a city with a team Ah've only fought alongside once? And risking it all so we change the minds of an entire population?" Applejack said, frowning. Then she looked up at the sun as it began to sail past noon. "Yeah, Ah'm ready. You just be-"

"Do not worry about me, Applejack," Rarity said, "I have no plans on dying and leaving my daughter motherless."

Ditzy landed next to Carrot Top, smiling, "Neither do I! So, let's make sure that this works perfectly."

Fluttershy flittered from the sky with Rainbow Dash at her side, she said nothing, but took her place by Dash's side as they walked together while Applejack led the team out. Rainbow Dash looked to Applejack and smirked, "Hey, if you had any doubts about yourself, I could always lead them."

"Ain't happening," Applejack said, looking over to Lyra as she strummed along her lyre.

"Hmmm, hymn for the dawn or journey of the stars," Lyra said, walking along with her friends.

Pinkie Pie bounced to join her team, walking just next to Rarity, "What are you writing?" she asked Lyra.

"What to call the ballad of this battle," Lyra said, noticing that Cheerilee had joined them.

Cheerilee, now standing next to Carrot Top, the two groups making two v shapes, with the umbra circle trailing just behind the bearers of the elements. Cheerilee looked to Lyra and said, "How about, the Rise of Harmony?"

Lyra could only shake her head no as the two groups made it to the outskirts of the city where Trixie stood waiting. Once there, Trixie pointed to the large tower in the middle of the city, "If Spark is right, Titan should be showing up right there. Everypony, get ready for the big show!"

"Big show," Applejack asked with a pause, "Trixie this ain't no time for a-"

Trixie interrupted with a raised finger, "If the reports are true, Titan is a sucker for the dramatics. We need to beat him, now, you girls put on your suits and get ready for a big," a deafening explosion interrupted Trixie, "Boom."

In an instant, the tower of Neighpon was destroyed. The point as well as the roof of the observation tower was demolished and left only a round circular platform behind. Standing in the middle of the platform, was Titan, with his robe billowing around him as he slowly floated towards the edge of the tower, "Behold, the city of Neighpon, ours for the taking."

Behind him, slipping out of the teleportation portal were the trio. Rep-Stallion was the first, spinning out of the portal with a quick landing. Mysterious followed with a soft landing, while Dementia landed with one hand on the ground as she knelt down, armm behind her. Rep walked to stand by Titan's side as he looked down, "Time for the dramatics, Boss?"

"My dear friend, Rep," Titan said, smiling widely under his hood, "Would you think anything less from me? After all... what is the point of being evil if you are not dramatic once in awhile." and with that, he generated magic to make his voice heard, portals howling up across the city, "Ponies of Neighpon, listen well. On this day forward, the freedom that you once enjoyed will be forever destroyed by me!"

---

Minutes before the explosion, Lightning stood there in shock as he took in what Osamu had said. Thousands of thoughts ran through his head as did his emotions. Krysta looked up at her only friend worriedly and rubbed his arm, "Lightning? Are you, ok?"

"Corrupted," Lighting said shakily, feeling his body tremble. Tears began to flow down his cheek, "That man, he abused me, killed my parents, took away my home, and then corrupted my magic just so I could be his sword. He turned me into his weapon just so I can fulfill his little story about his greatness?" With a low growl, he asked, "How do I purify myself?"

"Well, normally one could ditch the power with the elements, but seeing as how they are a non issue right now," Osamu said, "I would suggest finding a way to break that link forever, and get rid of it."

"But how," Lightning said, "The moment I break this, he will know something is up and brand me a traitor. The hard work that the six have been doing will be for nothing!"

"Then, you might have to think of a different way, my friend," Osamu said, just as the explosion was heard.

Turing around, Lighting ran to the door and saw the destruction of the tower. Within minutes, he began to hear Titan's voice, "I offer you all a choice, bow down to me or watch everything be destroyed. I will give you a chance to live in a paradise of my choosing, or you can all choose hell as your home."

Lightning shook his head, "Titan...what should I do?"

"That is up to you," Osamu said, "Fly to him or stay here. You have a choice."

---

As Titan finished his speech, he lowered his arms and looked to the trio, "Attack with the soldiers, no casualties. I don't want anypony harmed in this," he said.

"Will they listen to us?" Mysterious asked.

Titan nodded, "All of them came here because they had something to protect or to serve for the greater good. None are here to kill."

"So," Rep said with a sneer, "The usual fun and games then? Got it boss. And might I say," with a nod, he leapt off the building, "It has been an honor."

Mysterious nodded and walked to the edge, "Master," he said, putting his fist to his palm and bowing before jumping off.

Dementia was the last and she stepped to the ledge of the platform. She sighed while feeling the wind blow through her hair, "So, this is where we ended up? Back in the fire with my old master telling me to fight and destroy. Life's funny isn't it?"

"Yes, the game we play, this little immortal game has many interesting moves and paths to reach the end. And for what it's worth, I was proud to have you as my general," Titan said, holding out his fist.

"Thanks," Dementia said, fist pumping Titan back, "It was honor to serve you. See you on the other side."

"Will do," Titan then winked to her, "Don't worry, you'll meet her again one day."

"I know," Dementia said, jumping off the tower.

Titan sighed and looked out at the city. Down below, her could hear screams, ponies running afraid, and building being attacked as guards and members of the lower ranks of Starfleet try their best to attack and defend the city. A small smile crossed his face as he would tell that his side was winning against the members of Starfleet, the lower ranks and grunts being no match for his forces. Taking his hood, he brushed back a lock of silver mane to put it behind his hood. Then he turned to the sound of fluttering wings, "Lightning Dawn, come to fight our destined battle? Wage a struggle with me for the ages while spouting a speech about justice, believing in yourself, and all that nonsense?"

Lightning stepped forward, took his badge, and threw it onto the ground in front of Titan, "No, not this time. This isn't my fight, it never was. I am just here to watch the real heroes save the day."

"Are you not a hero?" asked Titan, looking at Lightning curiously.

"I'm no hero," Lightning said with a chuckle.

"Lightning," whispered Krysta, looking up and rubbing his arm, "You are my hero."

A smile graced his face as he looked down at her, "Thanks, Kyrsta. But it's true, I'm not. I'm just a character in some man's sick story, a sword to be used and then forgotten about when he is done with me. I used to think that I was a hero, fighting for the right thing, now," he paused and sighed, "I see I'm just someone that was made out to be a big hero just to make him look good. The only reason why I was trained and chosen was just so I could fulfill my master's ego and to show why he was so superior. I wasn't allowed to think for myself, have friends, or to even feel real emotions."

"Why do you think Starfleet has been losing so much?" asked Titan as he walked along the platform, "It's because they were never that strong. Sure, they have been told that they are super strong and fast, that their bodies are durable, but they are just grunts, nameless soldiers that no one cares about, no one thinks about, and definitely does not get the chance to be the big hero when the time comes. No, their main goal in life is to lose while the big heroes get to take out the monster of the week. Does that seem right to you?"

Lightning shook his head no, "I was told that me and my friends were the front lines, the ones that were meant to fight the monsters while others were meant to protect the civilians or were just sentries. I never even saw another team, like we were meant to be the only fighters to protect the entire empire."

"And that is what they were told to be, just sentries while the big hero and his brave team fight the big bad monster! And what better hero than you, a man from an exploded world, his wife who lost her mother, a friend who wants to be a hero for his own sake, a lancer, and a man who fights for the sake of his daughter," Titan said, looking down. "That is why Grand Ruler set up those rules, why he never bothered to make some other team a hero. It was all so you and your friends can seem like the big hero."

"This is why they don't win," Titan continued stepping to the edge of the platform, "Because they have been told to lose just for you. This is why I will win today and why no one will come to save this city!" he shouted, and almost as if on cue, a giant explosion of smoke and light struck the outskirts of the city.

Emerging from the smoke, were eleven shadows, and as the smoke cleared, the shadows revealed themselves to be Umbra Circle and the Knights of Harmony. Applejack cracked her knuckles while shifting her head side to side, Rainbow Dash smirked and crouched down, ready to fly. Rarity knocked back an arrow in time with Pinkie Pie bringing out her twin hammers and spinning them into a ready position. Fluttershy simply nodded while fixing her gems for her shields.

Trixie tipped her hat, while Raindrops flexed her biceps. Cheerilee giggled, before looking over to Ditzy as she nodded reassuringly. Carrot top spun her little bomb while Lyra strummed up her lyra. Each girl glared down at the soldiers who all looked at the display with shock, awe, and fear. Without a word, Applejack tipped her hat to signal the charge, and the battle was joined.

Rushing in with a fury in her eyes, Applejack clotheslined two earth ponies with her around, she kneed a griffon in the gut before picking him up by the head and punching him out hard in the face. Slamming her fist into an unicorn's face, she uppercutted another earth pony in the jaw.

Letting out a grunt from an attack from a minotaur, she smiled at how much of her mithril shirt took the impact, "Thanks, Rarity." she whispered under her breath as she grabbed the club from behind her back with one arm, and swung him in front of the charging boar.

The boar, being forced to slow down when he impacted the large bull, was unaware of how Applejack used the minotaur's body as a ramp to run up, launch into the air and then slam her fist hard into the now vulnerable boar's back, cracking it.

"What are you doing?" asked Raindrops as she blocked a fist from an earth pony, "Applejack, Titan is up there. Get him now or you won't get another chance."

Applejack nodded, before asking concerned, "Are you going to be all right?"

"Yeah, just fine," Raindrops said, "That is if Trixie's plan goes off without a hitch."

"Plan?" Applejack asked.

Raindrops ducked under a punch, "She said, just have faith in her, she knows what she's doing."

Not answering back, Applejack ran off into the streets, leaving Raindrops to fight the horde alone.

Up in the air, Rainbow Dash was hearing a similar piece of advice from Lyra, "But there is no way you guys can-"

"We'll be fine. Beat Titan and this battle will stop, now go. Be a hero!" Lyra said.

---

"But we need to make sure that you are-" Rarity began.

Carrot Top shook her head, "This isn't our fight alone. We are only going to bring back Equestria and beat Conquest if we all do our part. You have to do your part!"

Rarity could only sigh as she reached into the pouch that was on her leg and pull out a small arrow head with a rope and pulley. Fastening the head to the shaft of the arrow, she knocked back the arrow and fired the shot, "Where did you get that?" asked Carrot Top.

Rarity smiled, "Belle took the time to make me a collection of arrowheads to use for this fight. Now, you don't die on us. I want us all to see the big party at the end."

Carrot Top nodded, and whispered, "Good luck, all of you."

---

"We don't need luck, we just need to work together," Pinkie giggled as she ran off and then turned to look at Cheerilee. Smiling warmly, she said, "Oh, and Big Mac misses you! He says he loves you!"

"He does?!" Cheerilee squeed in happiness while punching out a pony.

---

"But they-" Fluttershy began, only for Ditzy to stop her from talking by putting a finger to her lips.

"They don't need a thing, I can help them," Ditzy said, smiling warmly, "They just aren't the Elements of Harmony without a nit of Kindness to keep them in line."

"But what about you?" Fluttershy asked, "What about-"

"Don't worry, Trixie says that her plan was already in motion when she gave the signal. Now go, save the day and we'll handle the rest," Ditzy said, winking her eye to Fluttershy as she flew off.

---

Trixie jumped back from a blow caused by a reindeer, using her illusion magic to make another image. Panting from the work, she began to look around for the signs of her team, and then smiled when she saw the other five running towards her. As they neared her, Trixie looked back at the army as they growled and readied for the attack, "Wait! Trixie has one thing to say."

"And that is what?" growled a boar, unaware of the Ponies that began to surround them and smirk.

"Just that she hopes you really enjoy the surprise that she has planned for all of you!" Trixie said with a smile as she raised up her hand and snapped her fingers together, "NOW!"

Somewhere in the city, in a building, a white hoof put down a record. Red eyes looked at her friend and partner with a smile as she said, "There's the signal!"

With a series of bright flashes along side the throwing away of costumes, everypony that was not an Equestrian was replaced by a ninja or a samurai. The opposing army stepped back in utter shock at this, "See, with the help of a good friend of Trixie's, she had time to go to the different cultures and ask them to help us fight against you. She then applied each of them with a teleportation talisman to switch out with the civilians."

"But that's-"

"Oh, and we are not done," Trixie said, pointing behind them.

As they turned around, they saw Cerise Wonder with an entire army at her side, "Men... CHARGE!"

---

"Well all you cats and kittens, dolls, and whatever is listening, You are now listening to K-KOLT live from Neighpon!" Vinyl Scratch said, fist pumping in the air.

Grand Ruler looked at the radio in shock, "What on earth? Turn that newsfeed off. I want to know where Lighting Dawn is!"

"And in case you are wondering where Lightning Dawn is in the middle of this all out brawl, he is right now facing down the biggest and baddest foe of Conquests army," Vinyl said.

Octavia chirped in, "She is talking about Titan."

"T-T-Titan," gasped Grand Ruler, shaking his head. "No, that is not true!" he shouted, smashing the radio.

"Now," Octavia continued, much to Grand Ruler's horror, "You might be wondering how we are bringing this fight to you live. Well, thanks to a spell from the Umbra Circle's Spark, we are providing both footage and the report to you everywhere."

"Yeah, so no little cover ups this time, Ceelessto!" shouted Vinyl as she smirked.

Grand Ruler saw this, growled and slammed his fist into the table.

Elsewhere, Spark sat down and panted, her horn burning with magic as the glow faded. Discord popped up next to her, his fingers also glowing red from overuse, "You and your plans, genius!" Discord grumbled.

"It...will...be worth it," Spark said, panting, feeling exhausted.

Discord turned himself into a giant fan, "Here you go, mage girl, you got this, this plan is working perfectly!"

"Thank you Discord," Spark said.

Luna stepped in and looked at them both, "Is everything set up? Did you do it?"

"Everypony in Equestria who is in the free towns should have a front row seat, Lulu old gal," Discord said, smirking.

"Good, I wish I could see Grand Ruler's face right now," Luna said. Spark thought to herself as she levitated a small go piece and put it on the board.

---

"Now, let's rock this joint!" Vinyl shouted as she turned on her record player.

In the streets below the city and in the skies above, the battle was joined. Blade clashed against blade while in some cases, hoof met flesh as the two opposing armies gave it their all for dominance. Unicorns, trained by Titan, were using the weakest spells that they knew under orders of Titan while those of the Umbra circle used their most powerful paralyzing spells to hold their opponents down. The griffons who had become a mainstay in the way, were finding themselves opposed by trained pegasi who were prepared for their tactics as many used agility to bob and weave out of the way of the attacks, but used teamwork to overcome their foes by luring them into ambushes.

Titan watched the battle for Neighpon from above on his platform, putting his finger to his chin, "Interesting, they have yet to make a single kill. Did Spark know I would be lenient towards my foes. Of course, this means she has a backup plan, should the Elements fall in defeating me, then Horn Kong is vulnerable to attack as well as me," a low, earthy chuckle escaped his lips, "Well played Spark...well played."

Cerise blocked a magic bolt from one of the soldiers with her sword before slashing him down. Then she spun around, kicking an earth pony into a minotaur. Before the bull could strike, he found himself downed by a sword slash from Esteem. Esteem looked at Cerise, "I have to say, I was not expecting Luna to order us to go into this without taking life."

"You heard her," Cerise said, blocking a staff before cutting it in half, using the back of her blade to take him out. "We kill, then Titan will see it as time to escalate the battle. From what Spark said, these guys don't have a killing instinct like the rest."

Esteem nodded, blocking the blades of two others, and then in an instant, slashed them both down, "Kind of interesting that these soldiers are trying to fight for the same things that Conquest is, they lack that killing intent. The warrior's edge."

"I wonder why, maybe it's what Conquest is doing. Fueling their rage," Cerise said, standing back to back with Esteem.

"Perhaps we can discuss this, over dinner?" asked Esteem with a smile.

Cerise looked over her shoulder with shock, and a little blush, "Did you just ask me out on the battlefield? Did you-"

"Why not, a lovely warrior like you, and I do believe that love can blossom on the battlefield," chuckled Esteem.

Cerise couldn't help but roll her eyes, then with a light smile said, "Tell you what, meet me on Saturday in your best outfit and then we can talk about time and place for romance!"

Esteem let out a loud laugh of victory as he and Cerise began to slash down foe after foe. So fast did their bodies move, that they became like blurs. Every opponent that came at them was quickly squashed and taken down by the two ponies working together.

Above, on a nearby skyscraper, a lone yellow pegasus saw Dusk shine watching from above. Narrowing his eyes, he flew down and landed right behind him, "Freeze. I'm taking you in."

"Flash Sentry," said Dusk Shine calmly said, "Former of Cadence's royal guard, wanted for treason because of a crime you did not commit, and now a fighter for the rebels. Quite interesting as things go. I was a former member of the royal guard and was betrayed by my friend."

"They said I used Twilight," Flash shook his head, "That is not even true. I only met her twice when we bumped into each other. Yeah, I had a crush on her, for years even, but I would never use her!"

Dusk sighed, "Yet another soul taken away because Grand Ruler has a grand story he wants to tell, and a far as he is concerned, you are just a casualty in all of this. This is why Titan told me to give you this."

Flash watched as a sword flew into his hands, "A sword?"

"The Sword of Instant, one of the eight items to be found," smiled Dusk. "Capable of cutting through spells of any kind. It's meant to work with this armor as its power is capable of destroying its user."

"Why?" Flash asked, "How?"

"Titan says that there is a dark force coming closer to Equestria, one more powerful than Conquest and Grand Ruler. Even after this is all over, we both have our parts to play in the final acts," Dusk said, walking away from Flash, teleporting away.

Down below, the trio found themselves in a pitch battle with the main members of the Umbra circle. To any outside observer, it looked like the trio was in pitch battle and was struggling for their lives. The truth was, they were busy having a talk with the six, "Ok, so Starla's trapped in some other dimension. There are more slaves back at HQ and we have no idea how to locate the pocket dimension." Rep said, slamming his scythe into the arms of Raindrops.

Mysterious ducked under the bomb thrown by Carrot Top, "We have a few more soldiers and our tech is made by a scientist named Kudos."

"Once we disappear, we plan on finding out who we really are and help you guys out in any way we can," Dementia said, ducking under a kick made by Cheerilee.

"Thank you, and now, for Trixie to make you three disappear," Trixie said, pulling back her hands and smirking, "And this is going to shock everypony out there in the world."

And it was true, as every Unicornicopian in the world let out a gasp as they saw the golden aura flow around Trixie's hands. They shook when they heard Trixie mouth out a small incantation, though they could not hear the words, and then gasped as they heard Trixie shout, "UNIFORCE!"

A large blast of golden energy shout out from Trixie's hands and blasted the trio into dust. This made the Unicornicopians that had seen the sight begin to speak and mumble about the sight to themselves.

"I thought only those with a golden horn could use the Uniforce."

"How did a weak unicorn like Trixie use it?"

"Maybe it's not really special."

"Do you guys feel weird, like a veil has been lifted."

Back at the battle, Trixie collapsed to her knees, panting, "Ok, Trixie is done now. She is ready to just go back and handle things from the sidelines."

"Wait, what did you do?" asked Lyra, looking at the dust.

"Mixed a bit of illusion magic, plus a golden color spray and an invisibility spell so it looks like Trixie fried them. They are probably miles away from the city by now. " Trixie said, panting and then falling back to lay on her back. "Now it looks like Trixie just fired them alive."

Cheerilee looked over her shoulder, "Looks like the rest of the battle is clearing up too. All that is left is for the elements to do their job."

---

"The battle is over, my three generals have fallen," Titan said, smiling a little, "Which means that the Knights should arrive right about now."

"Titan!" Applejack bellowed as she stepped out from the elevator, adjusting her hat, "Ah'm bringing you in."

Titan smiled as he turned to Applejack, looking down at her as his cloak flowed in the wind while he stood on the opposite end of the platform, "You face me alone? You are very brave."

"Nah, Ah'm not alone, not for long," Applejack said, cracking her neck side to side with her hands on her hips, "Ah'm just here to warm you up for the slaughter."

"Confident," Titan chuckled lowly, "I like that."

Applejack looked over her shoulder at Lightning and said, "Stay out of this."

"I will. This is between you and him," Lightning said, stepping into the safety of the elevator and watching.

Applejack quickly got into a fighting stance, holding both hands up to block the next hit. Titan smiled cruelly, and lowered his head. In an instant, he had vanished from sight, hitting Applejack hard with a right hook that knocked her to the ground.

Shaking her head, Applejack took a few seconds to get up. Once she was on her feet, she was struck hard in the stomach by Titan's fist. Titan then followed it up with an uppercut that laid Applejack flat to her feet, "Mithril, interesting." he said, looking at his metal hand calmly. "Perfectly for absorbing damage from an attack; however, if you apply enough strength, then you are easily able to break through the armor and hurt the wielder."

Applejack did not hear him through the ringing in her ears. Pushing herself back up to her feet, she struck out with a right cross, only to miss as Titan disappeared and then appear behind her. With three hard strikes, he hit her back and then ducked under Applejack's backfist. Thrusting his hand down, he struck Applejack's thighs, bringer to her knees. Before she could recover, Titan uppercutted her chin and then delivered a hook into her side with a very loud crack. This hit knocked her across the platform and near the edge.

Breathing hard and gasping for breath, Applejack moved to get up on shaky legs, "Damn! This would be easy if he wasn't teleporting all the time!" she said to herself, getting ready for the next blow.

In an instant, Titan disappeared from sight and reappeared behind her. With a hard strike, he drovee his forearm into the back of Applejack's legs, forcing her to her knees. Then he delivered two punches into Applejack's chest that sent her flying back.

As she got up, she spat out some blood and narrowed her eyes. Looking down at the ground, she noticed scuff marks on the ground when titan moved, "He ain't teleporting, he's just moving so fast Ah can't see him move."

Before Applejack could mount a defense, Titan was upon her with another quick set of blows that staggered her. Breathing ragged, she could feel the pain in her legs and arms as stood on the ground. As she looked at titan, she thought to herself, "Oh Celestia, Ah'm really gonna die alone. Girls, Ah;m so sorry Ah broke my promise. Ma, Pa, Twilight, Ah'll being seeing ya soon."

Titan pulled back his lips into a sneer as he disappeared once more, his fist ready for a deathblow, "Never again!" Shouted Rainbow Dash as she flew down with a right kick into Titan's side, sending him flying off the ledge of the platform. Landing next to Applejack, she asked, "You ok?"

"Yeah, give me a second to recover," Applejack said as she stood to her full height. When she saw Titan float back up onto the platform, she asked, "You can see him?"

"Yeah, it's just superspeed," Dash said, "He looked like he was moving normally to me."

Applejack smirked, " Good, you watch for me."

Without a word, Rainbow Dash nodded and turned to look at Titan as he disappeared once more. Looking to her left, she shouted, "To the left." Nodding, Applejack blocked the punch and delivered a fist into Titan's face. Not to be outdone, Rainbow Dash delivered three fast punches into Titan's stomach.

Stepping back, Titan shook his head and vanished again, trying for an uppercut to Dash's jaw. With ease, she pulled back and dodge the attack. This let Applejack to deliver a hook into Titan's stomach and followed it up with an uppercut.

Stumbling, he glared at the two and held up his palm. Hand glowing bright with red magic, he sent out a stream of lightning at the two. They screamed in pain as the lightning flowed through their bodies. With a satisfied smirk, he readied an ice spell to throw at the two ponies.

Before he could complete the spell, his vision was blocked by a thick white goo, "Pie dough?" he asked, using fire magic to burn it off. Once his vision was clear, he saw a discarded piezooka and a very excited Pinkie wielding a bat. With a bit of glee, Pinkie spun her bat in a circle and slammed 'Pinkie's little nutcracker' right in between Titan's legs. As the pain shot through him, he let out a very ungodly scream of pain.

Pinkie swung her bat at Titan's head, ready for another hit. Managing to recover quickly, Titan stepped back from the blow and formed a fire blade in his hand. Stepping forward, he swung his blade at her midsection. Turning her bat around like a sword, Pinkie blocked the fire blade from hitting her. For a moment the two engaged in a blade lock, staring each other down. Smiling as she stared at Titan, she stuck her tongue out at him. This made Titan blink in confusion, "Made you blink." she said with a smile as she pulled out a super bouncing ball, threw it into the ground, and made it hit him in the chin. This distraction was all she needed to score three hits with her bat.

Shaking his head and unable to understand the silliness of his opponent, he stepped forward with his flame sword. Bat and sword met several times as the two struck and parried each other's blows. Then, in a quick motion, Titan managed to slash his flame blade into Pinkie's left thigh, burning her. Open to an attack, he slashed Pinkie's stomach and arm. Lifting up her bat, she swung it at his head.

Catching the bat in his right hand, he made it glow bright blue before freezing it solid. Then he looked at her with a smile before shattering her bat. Then he opened his palm and fired a fire bolt into Pinkie's stomach that sent her flying into her two friends. Rainbow and Applejack quickly went to Pinkie's side and helped her up.

His hand glowing blue once more, Titan prepared for a large ice lance and pulled it back for a throw. He then let out a large scream of pain as an arrow shot through his wrist. Looking down at it, he was blinded when the arrow exploded in a flash of bright lights. Looking up from where the arrow was launched, Applejack saw a faint white shape from one of the buildings, "Rarity?"

"Tally-ho!" Rarity shouted, firing a rope arrow into the ground of the platform. Smiling, she used the bow as a tool to slide down the rope and land on top of the platform. Turning around, she knocked back another arrow, and fired three arrows in a row at him.

Unimpressed, Titan waved his hand to create a small wall of wind meant to send the arrows flying away. As the arrows landed, he was taken by surprise as the three arrows detonated and blew him back. Panting and dusting himself off, he summoned a barrage of acid arrows and sent them flying at Rarity and the others. All striking hard and cutting deeply into their arms and legs.

Stretching out his arms, he summoned three orbs of black magic and threw them at the weakened quartet. Seconds before the blast could connect, a large pink shield protected the group. When the dust cleared, they all shouted the name of their savior, "Fluttershy!"

"Oh, I hope I wasn't too late, was I?" Fluttershy asked, looking at her friends as they got back to their feet.

Applejack shook her head, "Nope, right on time, Sugarcube!" she said, before racing right at Titan. Now catching her second wind, she ran to Titan and delivered three strong snap kicks into his stomach. When she tried for a roundhouse kick, Titan blocked it by grabbing the leg and electrocuting her. Then he backfisted her in the face, knockng her back.

When he was open, Rainbow Dash flew in right after with a loud boom following he while she drove her fist into his face with an audible crack. Not letting up for a moment, she delivered a series of rapid punches into Titan's body, leaving small dents in his frame. Struggling through the flurry of blows, Titan summoned a rock fist that punched Rainbow Dash into the air and sent her spiraling into the air.

Before Titan could add another spell, he felt the sting of an arrow being struck into his shoulder. Looking to his arm, he saw an arrow covered in a stranger glue. Looking up, he saw Rarity smile as she flicked a switch and created an explosion that knocked him back. Before he could recover, two buzzsaw arrows flew through the air and cut into his side. Growling, he threw three fire arrows at Rarity. Though she blocked one with her bow, two others struck her in the legs.

Looking up, he noted that Fluttershy was tending to Rainbow Dash in the air. Narrowing his eyes, he snapped his fingers to summon a lightning bolt that struck Fluttershy's back, frying her and sending her flying to the platform.

Feeling three hard strike to his side, he turned to see Pinkie holding a gun with a boxing glove inside of it. Confused by the sight, he was struck in the face by the blow, feeling the pain of sharp brass knuckles stabbing him in the face. When Pinkie fired another shot, Titan punched the boxing glove, breaking it. As their fists collided, Titan concentrated and sent a spiral of flame and lighting down the glove and into Pinkie, burning her arm and electrocuting her.

As Pinke recovered from the blast, Titan looked over his shoulder at Fluttershy. Summoning a set of vines, he used them to wrap around Fluttershy's neck, and swung her around, striking her into an unsuspecting Rarity. This caused the two to fall on top of one another next to a panting Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie. While Pinkie helped her two friends up, Applejack said, "Ok, Ah admit. This son of a bitch is good."

Rarity held her arm and winced, closing her eye as she remarked, "I hate to say it dears, but I wish Twilight were here. She would have made this fight easier."

Titan frowned, a bit of disappointment in his voice as he spoke, "So, you are just like Starfleet. You are unable to win your battles without the aid of your leader. I am disappointed."

"Oh, dear. I am sorry, but I did not mean it like that," Rarity said, waving her hand in embarrassment, "What I meant was that she would make it easier, not that she was the only thing we needed to win."

"He doesn't get it, they never do," Applejack said, straightening her hat, "He doesn't know the true strength of Twilight Sparkle. See, she wasn't powerful because she was the most powerful mage on the planet: She was strong because of us!"

"Yeah," Pinkie said smiling as she looked from left to right, "The reason why she could go into a fight so easily, was because she knew that no matter where she was or who she was fighting, we were right there behind her and giving our strength to her. That why she could smile."

"Discord, Nightmare Moon, Sombra, Sunset Shimmer," Fluttershy said looking down as she named the villains.

Rarity nodded as she continued, "The truth is, she was only able to be that strong, because we were there with her. She knew, if she were to ever fall, we would back her up and help her to stand tall once more."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash boasted, looking back and forth between her friends, smiling. "Alone, we are pretty badass, but when we are together, we are invincible!"

"Well then," Titan said, stepping back and holding out his arms to the side. As he did, he thought he saw a vision of Twilight Sparkle floating over the five of them, watching them and protecting them. Smiling, he taunted "Come at me! Show me the true power of your friendship."

Applejack adjusted her hat in response, narrowing her eyes as she put her hat over her eyes while Rainbow Dash crouched down and spread her wings. Adjusting her goggles over her eyes, Rainbow felt lighting crackle and spark along her irises. Fluttershy adjusted her gems, making the forcefield around them while Pinkie reached behind her and pulled out her new hammer. Rarity pulled her bow string in readiness as she looked right at Titan.

Wasting no time in making the first move, Rainbow Dash flew headfirst towards Titan. Striking with the power of a sonic boom, she uppercutted Titan in the jaw with a loud crack. Spinning around in a twister, she delivered a series of spinning kicks into Titan's chest and stomach. Once she landed onto the ground, Titan shot a lightning ball into Rainbow Dash's stomach.

While his arm was still extended from firing the shot, Applejack slammed her forearm into his and knocked it down. Before he could recover, Applejack delivered a hook into his chest, followed by another into his stomach and then an uppercut. Titan tried to throw some punches at Applejack, but each one that he threw was easily dodged by Applejack. On the next punch, Applejack grabbed the fist, pulled it back and drove an elbow into the arm, cracking the bone. Then she delivered a side kick into his stomach, but had her spinning back kick countered by having it grabbed by Titan.

Lifting his elbow, he prepared to break the leg, but was blinded by the light of Fluttershy's shield. Using a tornado spell, he blew the two mares away. With his palm open, he left it ready for Rarity to hit the palm with another explosive arrow. Screaming pain, he barely had enough time to move to the side and dodge the next arrow. Looking at Rarity, he was shocked by her confidence, and then screamed as the boomerang arrow spun around in mid-air and stuck his back with a hidden buzzsaw.

Driving him to the ground, he growled as he froze the ground beneath Rarity's feet. Paralyzed, she was unable to get out of the way of the two piercing stone slabs rising up from the ground and cutting into her legs. Reading an acid arrow, he fired at her, only to watch it as it got blocked by Fluttershy.

Hearing the sounds of charging footsteps, he turned around to see Rainbow Dash and Applejack charging at him and ready to throw two straight punches right at him. Eyes open in shock at their speed and power, he barely had the time to grab both fists as they struck him. Holding Rainbow Dash and Applejack's hands, he began to squeeze, trying to gain the strength to crush their hands. His attempts were foiled as Pinkie ran in-between them and struck him with a vertical strike from her hammer. As he let go of Applejack and Rainbow Dash's hands, Pinke swung her hammer three times, striking him hard in the chest and stomach, pushing him back. As a final touch, Pinkie fired three rounds of explosive confetti into his eyes, blinding him for a brief second. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Rarity standing there with a single arrow drawn. Letting the arrow fly from her bow, the small projectile split into a dozen arrows at once and flew straight at him. Unable to react in time, the arrows struck him fast and hard. Two of these arrows struck and pierced his wrists.

As he screamed in pain, he watched as Pinkie threw a gas bomb right right at him. This bomb created a large dust cloud that blinded him. The next thing he knew, the dust cloud began to form a large tornado around him. Looking up, he saw that Rainbow Dash was flying around in circles, creating a large obscuring tornado around him. This tornado was enclosed and captured around him by Fluttershy's shield as she used it to keep him trapped.

Looking through the dust, he saw Applejack walk out slowly from the dust tornado, her hat over her emerald eyes to block out the dust while her bandanna kept her mouth covered. Realizing his disadvantage, he tried to move from there, but he struggled. Looking down at the ground, he saw to his shock and horror, that the arrows had pinned his robe to the ground.

Pulling back her fist, Applejack struck hard into Titan's stomach, and then did it again with an uppercut. She followed this up with a hook into his ribs, and then a roundhouse into his arm. Then she began to throw a cross, a jab, and another uppercut into his face. Each blow that she threw, each time she struck, resounded with a bone shattering crack. The faster that she struck the more powerful her blows had become. For a few precious seconds, her body began to glow with harmon and in one final blow, she delivered a powerful uppercut that took down the massive god.

When the tornado dispersed along with the shield, one figure stood still. Lightning looked on with shock and awe at the sight as he saw Applejack stand alone, panting and tired. His mouth could barely form words as he watched the four other mares land next to Applejack to offer their support and help her up. Then he whispered to himself, "Impossible. It took the power of the grand Celestial Ruler to beat Titan. It took our combined powers to destroy him but they...they beat him. Alone. No super powers, no armor, just...them."

Applejack summed it up as she looked down at the beaten god, "Titan, you're under arrest."

"Applejack, your one-liners suck," Rainbow Dash joked, wincing at the pain in her ribs.

"Oh shut up," Applejack teased as she lightly punched Rainbow's shoulder.

After taking the time to tie him up and fix any wounds they may have had, the five ponies went down the elevator of the tower. After a few moments, they reached the bottom of the tower and walked out, facing down a crowd of Unicornicopians. All of them looked on the wounded ponies and the downed god with awe, unable to speak for moments. Rainbow Dash sighed, "Great, do you think we'll get any respect with this?"

That was when they heard the sound of slow loud claps. Looking around for a few moments, they found the source of the clapping, coming from Lightning as he leaned against the door frame. It wasn't long until the clapping began to speed up, faster and faster. Soon Lighting's clapping was joined in by another Unicornicopian, followed by another, and then another. Then the clapping was joined by the entire crowd cheering and clapping at the sight of the knights.

"Praise be to the Knights of Harmony!"

"Long live the Elements!"

Vinyl smiled and hugged Octavia, kissing her deeply, "You saw it here first, everypony! Those brave mares just kicked Titan's ass without the power of Starfleet! Those five wonderful mares of justice, of friendship, and everything else! Let's hear it for them!'

Grand Ruler shook his head at the news and screamed up into the heavens, "NO!"

"So," Applejack said, looking to Rainbow Dash, "Respect enough for ya?"

"Well," Dash shrugged, "Could've used a little bowing too." this earned her a light punch from Applejack, followed by her mane being messed by Pinkie. Rarity and Fluttershy looked at each other and sighed.

---

Celestia walked slowly through the deepest part of the dungeon, watching as the cells pass her by with each step. As she walked, she began to think about he earlier conversation that she had with her husband not too long ago.

"I killed him..."Grand Ruler said in shock. "How is he alive? I killed him. I watched him die, he should be dead!"

"And now he is resting in our dungeon," Celestia said, walking towards the doors of her throne room.

Grand Ruler growled lowly, "You should kill him before he-"

"You kllled him twice if I recall. It didn't take now did it," Celestia said. "What was it that I heard somepony say once? That to try the same thing multiple times expecting the same result madness."

"No, you don't understand, he needs to die!" Grand Ruler said.

Celestia smirked, "Flash Sentry of the Umbra Circle has a message from Dusk Shine. He says, we know the truth, and it will be exposed soon." Celestia smiled as she saw the look of fear grace his face.

Once she reached the lowest dungeon of the castle and past the Staff of Null, "You are currently under lock and key, you have so much anti magic fields around you that you won't be able to perform so much as a card trick, and even then we can stop you in your tracks with a freezing spell before you even leave. So, why are you smiling?"

"Why shouldn't I smile?" Titan asked, his wide grin showing beneath his hood, "Grand Ruler's power is weakening, Conquest has lost one of his best generals, and two princesses have won in the face of adversity. I say that is a reason to smile."

"But, you lost," Celestia said plainly.

"Did I? Or was I just another well-placed piece in your game," Titan said, leaning back on his cot with his hands behind his head.

"What do you mean, my game?" Celestia said, shaking her head, "I did nothing, it was all the Umbra Circle."

"Funded by Fancy Pants and led by your sister. I wonder who was it that told the K-COLT girls to head to Neighpon for the live feed. Who was it that asked for Discord's help in that little newsflash and made sure that my battle took place in the day. Are you telling me that you had nothing to do with this, or the loss of Twilight Sparkle did not spur you into anger into changing things?" Titan said smiling warmly.

Celestia said nothing, but choose to turn around, only to look over her shoulder and ask, "Why do you have his name?"

"Coincidence, I assure you," Titan said. Then he held up a finger, "One last thing, my princess. You have done a father proud this day. In spite of everything stacked against you, you have persevered through the bad times and good. You have done well."

"Thank you," Celestia said solemnly walking away.

"Oh, and next time you come back, bring your son," Titan said with a smile, "I want to see him." As the door closed behind her, Titan smiled and said to the shadows, "Hello, Princess Luna."

"How did you know?" Luna asked, walking out into the light.

"I have ways," Titan chuckled, "Do not worry, I will help you in whatever way possible. I just want one question answered, if you would please."

"What is it?" Luna asked.

"How was your life?" Titan asked solemnly.

Luna sighed and kicked the ground, "Before or after my incident?"

"Both," Titan said calmly.

"Well, in both cases, I say my life was good. Celestia tried her best to help protect me, raise me, and watch over me," Luna said, feeling a tear roll down her cheek.

"I see, must have been tough, ruling alone for so long. No one at night to tell you what you did was worth it and your sister was so busy with her duties that you felt left out," Titan said, frowning.

Luna nodded, "Afterwards, it's gotten better. Ponies stay out more and they do appreciate my work now. And me and Celestia have improved our relationship immensely! We have our arguments, sure, but she listens to me more and tries to spend as much time as she can with me. Though sometimes, I think she is a little too overprotective. I one time screamed in bed and she broke down the door thinking I was being attacked by an assassin." she laughed, being joined by Titan as he laughed with her.

Titan smiled and rested, "Thank you. Luna, do me a favor next time you come to me, please?"

"What?" Luna asked.

"Tell me a story. I have been so stuck hearing tales of Celestia and Luna: Conquerors of Sombra, Defeaters of Discord, and Sovereigns of the lands, that I never heard tales of Celestia, the lonely princess or of Luna, the missing sister. I would like to know more about them."

"I," Luna paused and said, "see. Very well, I shall give you stories when next we meet."

Titan nodded and waited until Luna was out the door before he floated onto the ground. Closing his eyes, he began to slowly break through the anti-magic fields that surrounded him. For any lesser pony, it would've been impossible to break through these barriers. But, he is Titan, he has been there since these were first made. It was no hard feat to break through the spells and activate his own magic.

Using his own magic, he discarded the cloak that had covered his body to reveal his equine features. His long silvery mane now draped over his shoulders and his armor. With a grunt, he discarded his fake hands, quickly replacing them with hooves and in an instant, he revealed his hind legs along with a cutie mark of a blank white circle. With a quick flick of his horn, the armor that once adorned his body was now replaced with magnificent silvery barding. For a moment, he looked at his cutie mark, the white circle meaning perfect order and harmony. He also looked at the back pocket of his barding and pulled out a small locket. Opening it up, he looked at two photos within. One was of a beautiful green alicorn with long brown mane and the other was of two alicorns, white and midnight blue. The white one had a frown on her face while the midnight blue one looked like she was giggling a storm. Titan smiled, remembering the day the photo was taken.

"Luna, what you doing? This is a photo of the two of us, you can't being eating ice cream. You need to look majestic," Celestia frowned, holding the ice cream cone away from the picture.

"You can too look maj-maces-that thing you said," Luna said, looking to Celestia with a frown. "Besides, I don't see you throwing away your ice cream!"

"Because I know how to hlde mine correctly," Celestia said with a slight smug smile.

"Well, I know how to do...this!" Luna squealed, shoving the ice cream cone onto Celestia's forehead.

Titan let out a small laugh as he ran his hoof along the faces of his daughters and smiled. A tear rolled down his cheek as he whispered, "You have done well, my daughters. I am proud of you both."

---

"Did you get anything from him, Luna?" Celestia asked, walking down the hallways of the castle. Her formal dress was on now, pure white full bodied gown with red and yellow stripes running along it.

Luna, now wearing a midnight blue evening gown, shook her head, "Nothing. Titan was a open book. He paid me compliments, asked me how I was, and what my life was like. Strangely he was very... amicable."

"And it ticks me off," Celestia growled, "He had my number, seemed to know everything about me. He acted just like, just like..."

"Father?" asked Luna, smiling warmly. "Do you remember how he always fought us?"

"He never really fought us, he taught us. He would hold back just enough for us to gain an edge and then began to point out our strategies while we fought, making us think about our own moves," Celestia said, "And he would always answer our questions with questions. It was annoying."

"You liked it and you know it," Luna said with a chuckle. Then she frowned, "Titan is right though, this was all your plan, I was just the delivery girl."

"Luna," Celestia said, tucking her sister's chin and smiling while looking into her eyes, "Don't say that. While I may have given you the idea to lead this rebellion, the rest was all you."

"But, Tia! Those were your student's friends that won the day! It was all because of the inspiration that she gave them that made them who they are," Luna said, shuddering and looking away. "I just did this from the shadows."

Celestia smiled warmly with her traditional 'you are better than you think you are' smile, "Luna, you were the one who trained Trixie, and you were the one who hired this Spark girl. Everything that has happened has been because of you and the work of your rebels."

"I still should've been out there on the front lines," Luna said, sighing, "I'm just not used to letting others fight for me. I should've been-"

"You did perfectly," Celestia said, "You gave them the power and the knowledge they needed to unite and fight together, and it was because of you that Trixie found her true companions. We did our part by becoming the guiding light for the ponies to seek out their own destinies. We are meant to be observers and the guardians of their stories. Our destiny is always to be there when they need us and to let them have the will to achieve greatness on their own. And you have done that greatly. Today is not just the victory of my ponies, but yours."

"I suppose so," Luna said, smiling warmly. "And besides, when it is time to really let loose, let them beware."

Celestia smiled and hugged her sister tightly, "And I wouldn't have anypony else by my side."

"Aww, sisterly love!" Discord said, "Shame I can't-"

"Come here you miserable mishmash!" Luna said, grabbing Discord and hugging him as well.

Celestia broke the embrace and looked to the entrance to the grand ballroom, "Come, we have some partying to get done. Shall we?" she asked, watching as Discord assumed his Goldwin form.

"Ready when you are, my princess," Discord said with a smile, putting on his fake voice.

"And where is your husband?" Luna asked.

"I don't know," Celestia said, "He didn't even show up when I gave the medals to the elements."

"Oh, I bet he is just steaming mad!" Discord said, bringing out an effigy of Grand Ruler and putting the doll into a small tea kettle.

---

"Have you made your decision?" asked Grand Ruler ass he watched from a distant balcony.

Shaina nodded, "Five hundred Unicornicopians have been picked and are ready to be teleported when you give the word. Plus one hundred Equestrians."

"Good," Grand Ruler said looking over his shoulder, "When Lightning falls, begin operation 'Board Wipe.'"

---

Rarity stood with Clarity resting comfortably in her arms. She sighed as she straightened her purple and green ballgown with a low cut neckline, "Thinking about something, Rare?" Applejack asked, tipping her hat. Her dress was brown and green with no shoulders, while there were apple lapels on the sides of the dress.

"Oh, just thinking of how a year ago, this was all different," Rarity said with a smile, "This wee one was on the way and our victory was just a small one compared to the many losses we suffered. Now, we are on the verge of changing the world for the better, I have a daughter and you have become a great leader."

"Fluttershy is no longer with a jerk," Rainbow Dash said, straightening up her suit, her wonderbolt uniform now having a few medals on it.

Fluttershy, dressed in a skyblue gown with an open back and nodded happily, "And now I am free to dance with my marefriend."

"And most importantly," Pinkie said, bouncing in with her bouncing pink ballgown with orange candy slices on it following, "We are all still together."

"Well," Belle said softly, fixing her modest grey one piece dress, "Shall we go and enjoy our victory."

The girls all smiled happily and went onto the dance floor, finding positions to take. As the party began, Celestia took the stage, "Fillies and Gentlecolts! Our victory today is a truly great one. Today, we have defeated the villain Titan and destroyed one of Conquest's most powerful generals. Thanks to the brave ponies that battle in Neighpon alongside the brave elements of harmony," she said, holding out her hand so the spotlights could shine on the elements, much to the cheers of the crows," We are now one step closer to ending this war and defeating Dark Conquest. While we can be certain that Dark Conquest will become stronger from this, thus we remain vigilant, today we have been victorious. Today, we are here to party and to celebrate our future! To honor this, Sapphire Shores and the Countess Coloratura wish to perform a duet."

Sapphire Shores and Coloratura smiled at each other as they stepped onto the stage, behind them their rock band began to play, starting off with a slow drum beat while the guitars began to strum ever faster. Coloratura quickly began to sing followed by Sapphire Shores.

Hello
Hello
Hello

Woke up just at the start of then of the world,
Feeling as if everything was just like the day before,
Now I wonder what our life would mean if it's gone,

Applejack leaned against the concession table, listening to the voices of some of the children that came to the ball, "I want to be like Applejack!" said one little unicornicopian filly.

An Unicornicopian colt smiled, "I want to be Rainbow Dash!"

"I know what I want to roleplay as," said another little filly, "Rarity." when she looked at the confused looks, she smiled and said, "What? Rarity is feminine, but still awesome. She likes makeup and shopping, but isn't a weak DID for the others!"

"I don't know what's worse," Caramel joked as he walked up to Applejack and smiled, "That those Unicornicopians want to become a second set of you or that almost every family in Equestria wants to name a baby after you."

"Caramel?" Applejack asked, "What are you-"

"I heard you didn't have a date tonight so I was wondering," Caramel said putting his hand behind his orange suit, which matched Applejack's coat color. "Could you honor me with a dance?"

Applejack gave a small chuckle as she saw the outfit, admiring the double breasted chest and the long pants. Holing out her hand, she said, "Ah would love to dance."

Caramel smiled widely as he took her to the dance floor.

Spike happily guided some of the mares to the bathroom and walked back to the ballroom. The music made him skip and dance for a bit, letting his dark purple tux flur around him as he skipped. Then he was interrupted by a pair of baby green eyes, "Excuse me, Mr. Sparkle. Can I pwease have this dance?" Rarity asked, holding up her daughter in front of her boyfriend.

Spike laughed at this and took her little paw, "Sure thing, Lady Crystal. If my fiancee, who I love with every fiber of my being, doesn't mind me dancing with a beautiful woman."

"Well," Rarity said, taking Spike's hand in hers and winking, "I wouldn't mind sharing, just this once."

As the two danced, Spike looked at Rarity, "Are you still worried if the rest of the planet, you know...I mean she's a little.-"

"Gem," Rarity said, looking at the baby in her arms. "Yes, I am still a little worried, after all, they may change their minds about us but there is still racism and I will worry about her." then she smiled as she looked in the ballroom to see five mares dancing, "But, I won't be alone. Ever." and with that, she kissed Spike on the lips softly.

Pinkie felt a tiny tap from a horn on her back and when she turned, she saw Artie wearing a lavish Pink tuxedo, "Lady Pinkie," bowed Artie as he smiled at her.

"ARTIE!" Pinkie said, hugging him tightly, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, besides to celebrate the heroine of the piece. I was looking for a place to show off my new feet art," chuckled Artie.

"Well, to show it all would be a mean feet," Pinkie giggled as she put her hands onto his shoulders.

Artie smirked and said, "Cute." and kissed her nose, wich made her squeak.

As Pinkie began to swat back and forth with the sway of her partner's footsteps, she asked, "A slow dance for a fast song?"

"Why not? Don't we like to dance to our own beats and not follow the path of others," chuckled Artie as he swirled in a circle before shifting along with her along the floor.

Pinkie nodded and said, "You know it."

As Artie looked into Pinkie's eyes, he smiled at her, "And that is getting better too."

"What?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Your true smile. I haven't seen it in a while. It's nice." Artie said with a wink at her.

This made Pinkie blush a little and then smile warmly at the stallion in her arms.

Fluttershy smiled as she felt herself being rose up above the rest of the dancers, joining the other pegasi. Holding her hand at arm's length was Rainbow dash, who quickly pulled her in close before extending her out and then spinning her in a circle. With a giggle, Fluttershy spun back to Rainbow Dash, rubbing her back against Dash and swaying her hips against Rainbow Dash's hips gently.

Chuckling, Rainbow Dash put her arms around fluttershy's waist, holding her close as she danced, "A year ago, I would've been afraid to hold you like this."

"Why?" Fluttershy asked as she danced with her.

"Well, I thought that I was making you chose between Jerkbait and me. I couldn't have hurt yo-"

Fluttershy kissed Rainbow Dash's lips softly, "You, every time. I wouldn't have resisted if you broke down my cottage, picked me up in your arms and flew me home."

"Oh, you mean like this?" Rainbow Dash laughed, picking Fluttershy up bridal style, flying her up to the ceiling and then spinning her around to tip her down.

Fluttershy smiled from where she was tipped, put her finger over Dash's heart and made a symbol of a little heart, smiling warmly at her.

Belle sighed as she watched her friends dance, looking at her little journal. Keeping the page open, she wrote down in it about the day. After closing it, she stood up and smiled when she saw Lightning Dawn walk out, "Lightning?"

"You know, last time, I wanted to skip this because it wasn't my victory. It was theirs," he sighed. "I should've been smarter than that, so I could've spent time with my...teammates."

Belle walked over to Lighting and put her hand onto his shoulder, "None of us really know how long we have. Sometimes it's better to just enjoy what we got and live for the moment. Especially when there are friends involved."

"Speaking from experience?" Lightning asked.

Belle sighed, "I came into this world without memories, and sometimes I am a little scared about what I will find or who I will become when I get those back. But they," she said, pointing to the mares on the dance floor, "Have made each day worth it. Memories or not, they made me feel complete as a pony. Because, each memory I have of them, have helped to shape me and make me feel like a whole pony now. My own pony."

Lightning smiled warmly, "I think I am starting to understand why you guys love this whole friendship thing now."

"And," Belle smiled as she looked at a little light, "I think somefairy wants a dance."

"Krysta?" Lightning asked, seeing the little fairy decked out in a little white ball gown.

"Rarity made me this dress," Krysta said, smiling warmly, "I was hoping you could dance with me?"

Lighting laughed as he held out his hand, "Sure thing, lady Krysta."

Belle smiled warmly and stood behind at the table, watching the dancers before her.

"Vive le cercle de l'ombre!" Trixie shouted from the top of the mansion as she pour the last of her bourbon/vodka mix into her glass, "Und down with whoever made booze limited."

Carrot Top laughed, before hiccuping as the drink got to her, "Oh, this is why I only drink to celebrate."

"Will she quiet down!" Raindrops shouted, "We are supposed to be in hiding!"

Cheerilee laughed as she patted Raindrops on the back, "We are, most everypony is in New Canterlot right now. This is just for us. Hey, Berry! Give Raindrops another round, she is still sober!"

A light purple earth pony mare with a grape cutie mark nodded, "Sure thing sis! One Raindrops smasher coming up. Plus a elemental fizz for the coolest little sister ever!" smiling Berry made the two drinks by shaking them up in a little mixer and then poured out the glass. Smiling, she put it on a table and shouted, "Two drink order up. Come and bring them, little pinchy!"

"Yes momma!" said a little unicorn filly as she carried her mom's drinks to the girls. The outside of the mansion was littered with tables, a dance floor, and a radio that played the music from Canterlot.

"Seesh? That little fill's cute, but nothing's cuter than Dinky. My little muffins," Ditzy said, swaying back and forth, pulling out a photo album and putting it next to Lyra.

Lyra sighed, "I know Ditz you have shown me those photos twice now. You are so drunk."

"Nope, pixelated," Ditzy said.

Spark sat at the table across from the two, "Girls, what should I do? Every colt and stallion has asked me to dance and I cannot logically think of who to dance with."

"Trixie's advice," Trixie said, jumping down to the floor, "Mademoiselle should dance with moi!"

Titan looked over from across his cell as the sleeping Crystal Hope who began to have her memories return to her. On top of her was Sombra who also was fast asleep. Hearing the music above and the celebrating ponies, he found himself singing along with some of the lyrics.

Celestia and Goldwin began to dance along the floor, causing the ground to almost burn from their furious dancing, with Discord smirking beneath the mask. Silently he whispered, "So, who's ready to see the kingdom free again?"

"I think we all are, and once that is done and my husband is overthrown... let's talk marriage," Celestia said with a smirk. This caused Discord to blush.

Shaking his head, Discord nodded his head to a lonely bat pony guard, "Hey, somepony is not enjoying themselves."

Celestia looked and saw Luna sitting in the shadows, watching the party, "And neither is my sister. Are you thinking of what I am thinking?"

"I get the girl, you get the boy," Discord laughed as he slinked over to Luna while Celestia walked to the stallion. Chuckling, Discord whispered, "Lulu, you should be dancing.

"I will dance only if somepony requests me of it. For now, someone has to be watching over this party to make sure that all goes-"

"Mam!" the bat-pony guard said, saluting, "Supernova of your third battalion. I have been ordered to request that you come with me to the dance floor. Mainly because-"

"Because what?" Luna asked.

"I have...been too scared to ask you myself, milady," Supernova said, blushing.

This made Luna smile warmly and took his hand into hers, "Very well, you may escort me to the floor."

Kudos sighed, walking to Conquest and looking out at the party below, "I cannot believe that we are celebrating Titan's fall."

"We aren't celebrating that, silly," Conquest said with a shout as he held up a kitten's skull filled with kool-aid, "We are celebrating the fact that the fun is about to begin!"

"The fun?" Kudos asked.

The figure in the cloak sighed, "For him, this is fun."

"Not just for me, but for all of them," Conquest said with a wink, "For we all know that now is where we really amp up the war! More kills, more death, and now I can finally attack Lightning Dawn. It is the climax of this long story! A hero's final battle, a champion's last struggle! You know how it goes. The big bad, that's me, goes off to fight the champion now that his generals are dead."

"I see," Kudos said, looking down, "Perhaps it's time I reintroduce myself to Applejack."

Conquest smiled, "You do that. Me, I am just waiting to see Lightning's face when I really let him have it. So come on, let's rock!"

During the musical break in between songs, Rara ran off the stage and grabbed Applejack by the arm, "Come on! The hero needs to sing this!"

"Well, Ah, Ah mean," Applejack stuttered, and then sighed, "Let's do this."

Up above, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy watched as Applejack was led to the stage, "Hey, we can't let her sing alone, right?"

"Never," Fluttershy said, putting her hand out for Rainbow to take, "Lead the way, Knight of the Wind."

"Sure thing, Lady of the Animals," Dash winked.

Rarity saw Applejack and nodded, "Please, hold Clarity, Spike? Mother is about to show how well she can belt out those chords."

Glarity took Clarity in her arms and smiled, "Go get them Rare!"

Pinkie Pie looked to Artie and then to the stage and then back to Artie. With a smiled, she said, "Got to go, they need me!" she said, kissing his lips quickly before running off.

Belle saw the five and nodded, putting her drink down and racing off to join her friends.

Applejack walked up to the stage, put her face to the mike and began to sing.

Rarity was quick to join her, smiling as she sang along, matching her beat to Applejack's.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash joined up with two microphones, each taking a lyric.

Pinkie happily jumped in grabbing the stand

Belle then jumped in with the last lyric, belting it out as hard as she could

Then as one the girls began to sing in perfect harmony, each one looking to each other as they sang. Smiles began to cross their faces as they began to feel an inner harmony that they hadn't felt in a long time. A power began to erupt from them as they sang with their voices loud and clear.

Somewhere in the ballroom, sat a dark blue pegasus. Draped around his shoulders was a long black cape, the same color as his glasses. Furiously, he typed along the keyboard on the typewriter that beared his cutie mark, a book with a pair of lips on it. Pausing, he looked up at you, the reader and smiled, "Oh, hello! Thanks for joining us for this wild ride so far! Been loving it too? Good, kind of makes me feel glad." Pausing, he looked at the singing mares, "Oh, don't worry, I'll still have plenty of challenges for those six to face. Trust me, the next seven chapters are gonna be a blast! Till then though-" Storyteller said with a smile as he began to sing.

"OH, wait," Storyteller said, "Let's check up on the trio, shall we?"

---

Dementia walked out into the middle of the Whitetail woods, looking up at the two other members of her team, "Titan said that this is it." she said, her mind going back a few hours ago.

Dementia walked into the dungeon, looking back at Titan, "Ok, I'm here. You are beaten. Now, my memories!"

"Here," Titan said calmly, handing her a small glowing orb.

"What is this?" asked Dementia.

"A memory orb. It's like what I gave to hope there. This one contains your memories. I should warn you, you made not like the answers you find. Just put all three of your hands onto it."

"Guys," Rep said, looking down at the orb. "I am a little worried. What if... what if we're wrong? What if we really are just mud and clay or a bunch of assholes."

"Then we are that," Mysterious said, walking forward. "Our past will not define us, but who we are now. What's more," he placed his hand onto the orb, "I will not lose my friendship with the you guys."

Rep-Stallion smiled, "Me neither. So, see you on the other side?"

Dementia smiled and nodded holding out the orb for the two to touch. When they placed their hands onto the orb, their eyes became filled with white light, while blue magic began to flow over their bodies and into their heads. After a few moments of power flowing through them, Dementia let go of the orb and collapsed to her knees, putting her hand to her mouth while her eyes widened in utter horror. She could barely hear Rep-Stallion speak, "Oh, goddesses. I remember. My name is Swift Blade, I was going to be married soon. Then, just because I refused an order to kill civilians, that bastard took my wife away. Oh, Inquirious..."

"I couldn't let them take my brother's prize invention and pervert it," Mysterious, now known as Blackened Myst said, frowning, "So I tried to hide it and steal it away. But, they found out and tried to kill me."

Dementia, however, shook her head. The being once known as Galaxia began to whisper as tears began to flow from her eyes, "No, it can't be, please don't be true."

A little white filly who looked so much like her mother ran up, her purple mane bouncing up and down, "Mommy, pick me up, I want to see the elephants."

"See mommy?" asked the little filly as she showed off her little drawing, "I made a star chart, it's my first one."

"Mommy, I'm scared of the dark, can I sleep with you?" asked the little filly.

"Mommy you found me! You always know how to find me right?" asked the filly.

Galaxia nodded, "Yes, little one, even in the dark."

"It can't be, It... no," cried Dementia as she gripped the grass beneath her.

"Starlight, is the message, I'm sending from beyond," sang Galaxia as she laid her baby girl into the bed, "Sleep well, my little Starla Shine."

"He raped her," whispered Dementia as she tore the grass. "That son of a bitch raped my daughter! He raped her, and he laughed! The bastard laughed, which means he knew. He knew she was my daughter and he raped her!" Dementia growled, got to her feet and began to run, only to be stopped by Rep and Mysterious, "LET ME GO! What kind of mother am I if I can't save her! I WILL KILL HIM!"

"Don't!" Rep said, holding her back. "If you go out like this you'll be playing into Dark Conquest's hands and get yourself killed. Then what good will you be?!"

Dementia was about to argue, but then saw the look in his eyes.She could see the tears flowing from his eyes, showing how much pain he was in. With a whimper, she cried into his chest, "I want him dead. I want Dak Conquest dead for doing this to her and I want Grand Ruler dead for letting her get into this. I want them both dead."

"Titan, he told us the risk, and we took his offer. We couldn't fight our families without memories, so we sacrificed them with power," Mysterious said, looking down. "Explains why we never went all out."

"So, what do we do now?" Rep-stallion asked.

"We have faith," Dementia said standing up and sniffling as she began to feel her strength and drive returning. "Those six... they can provide the miracle we need to save our families." Pausing, she looked at Mysterious, "Myst, you can go to Brain and stay with him."

"I'll visit Brain one day, but I won't abandon my friends. I'm staying with you until the end," Myst said.

Rep-Stallion looked to Dementia and smiled at his friend, "So, do we still call each other by code names or real names?"

"I am kind of partial to Myst myself, but Rep-Stallion is interesting," said Myst.

Rep-stallion smirked and looked at Dementia, "And what about you?"

"Personally, you can call me Dementia still, but I rather be called by the name my daughter will say when I see her again," Dementia said, "Galaxia Shine."

Thanks to Wyvern and Zolt...these guys put into a lot of effort.

This chapter...Did not exist originally. See, the thing is, Titan was meant to be the final boss, as kind of a way to match up with season 1 and a shout out to thee immortal game. I even had Celestia look on as Titan arrived and whisper "Daddy's home." He would then fight and wage a bloody battle with the heroes and then, ok I'll admit the rough draft kind of ended there.

Heck, the once crowned king was even a refenerence to that idea. But, something changed through the story. Time went on and I was enjoying having Titan become this balancing force, this guy who kept everthing in order. Still evil, but was mainly there to make sure the sides were even. But, as time wore on, I just enjoyed writing this guy who was csalled evil by Grand Ruler but was in fact, a hero because of who he is.

So thus, the final fight was changed and Titan was moved to be a boss to be fought on the rooftop. Before the character devlopment, he was even going to lay the smackdown on Lightin; however, after developing this guy for so long...I kind of gotten tired of kicking his ass.

Dimentia's releationship with Starla had been one of the first real changes to the story from the rough draft. See, the trio never were really there for the most part in the rough draft. They just killled the starfleet team and dissappeared near the end. But, after a few talks with a certain person on heartless characters, I began to think about how if they were really born without hearts, then how come Rep gets a craving for food and has a love for it. Why did they bicker and argue amongst themselves, why did they get jelous and everything else in between? If they didn't have hearts, then why did they act like they did (Hello Kingdom Hearts)

So, I began to toy around with the idea. However, I read something in the original version of the fic that gave me pause.

[quote]Out walked a woman that looked excatly like Starla[/quote]

Hmmmm, now, the author told me the reason why she does look like Starla is-because that is the only way he can come up with villians. However, you can't write something like that and not think I am going to look into it. Why would a villian look excatly like Starla and not be related? It didn't help that in the remake, we find out that her mother 'died in the battles with the bulls', off screen. Ok, if she died like that, then how? What happened to the body?

So, I took the idea and ran with it. This is why Dimentia had a lot more development in the opening chapters than the other two, because she was the one I had thought out the most by the time. And I also decided to leave clue for my eagle eyed viewers.

-She was kind to kids

-Her attention to Starla was more motherly

-Her lullaby was from Jem's mother.

-She owned a copy of "MRs. Brisby and the Rats from Nimh" a book all about a mother saving her kids.

-Her room was set up to house a girl

-She listened and was supportive of her daughter's dreams.

As for Rep and Mysterious, I originally planned for Rep to have the brother and Mysteirous to be married, but they just got switched around. I was also planning Mysterious's brother be Abra, but Abra was far too gone by this point.

Some additional notes

-I love fun wiht Acronyms and tried to put them in much as possible. Thank goodness Starfleet has an easily to mess with code system. AV6N: Avngry Video Game Nerd, RW3Y: RWBY, and AM2R: Another Metroid 2 Remake.

-that isn't the only Metroid mention. Last chapter, Lighting has a doll that is actually Samus. Yes, she exsists in this world

-Clarity is actually from Kiala's work, I love the second generation that much and try to link up to it as much as I can.

-Yes, I know we are about to see Mage Meadowbrook in the comics. This is why I had to get it out now! They have been old friends fo years by this point.

-Yes, this is the Casca from Berserk. In this particular world, her battles with Conquest took over the God Hand. Griffith was her best friend and Guts was her lover. She had to watch both die.

-I love the idea that Fluttershy has a nurse for a mother.

-We have guests in this story: Cherry-Lei is one. Then we have Night Nurse, who is based on my mom!

-Twilight has been the pony I relate to the most and the mare I connect to. So, her comments about Raven...are my own. They are excatly the same questions I have.

-About Twilight's fight, this is why she is not in the present at the moment. She would break the fic so bad!

-The Titan scen was one of those I have never tried before. I have never written a scene of two characters just playing a game like that and tried to make it interesting.

-Ozumu Ishimori is a call out to two very influental people: Osamu Tesuzka (Creator of Magna) and Shotoro Ishimori (Creator of Kamen Rider and Super sentai. Without him no Power rangers)

-Yes, that blue pony with glasses is my ponysona. He owns the treebary memorial bookstore in Ponyville, down the street from Sugar Cube Corner. Story Teller has heard all manner of stories, legends, and other tales. Come visit and he might tell you a story about the mane six.

Thanks for reading, next time...Lighting's biggest battle