Darkness swept over Ponyville and Marcus was bored out of his mind. He was lying on the bed that Lyra made for him without being asked. He was going to thank her, but when he tried she giggled and ran off for her room. He just shrugged his shoulders and went to his room after that weird spectacle. He heaved a big sigh as he got out of the bed and put his pants on. He forgone the shirt as he headed for outside. As he was walking towards the door he was stopped by Blood Rain, who was eyeing him suspiciously.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Blood Rain asked in a low menacing tone.

“I was just going to step outside and get some air,” Marcus deadpanned.

“Do you think that is such a good idea?”

“Honestly, I could care less what is a good idea at the moment since I have nothing better to do.”

“You could get some sleep like the rest of your friends.”

“I could but then your Princess of the Night will enter my dreamland and try to make it better. If it’s all the same to you I would like to avoid that.”

“Do you even know what would happen if you stepped out of this house at this time?” Blood Rain asked, but with a little more concern than he thought she would have.

“At most there are some guards that would try and arrest me for leaving my designated area of living. Even then that would be better than being cooped up in this house.”

Blood Rain could see that he just wanted to keep himself entertained. She heaved a sigh as she stood to the side, but stopped him before he could continue.

“If you wait here I can get changed into something more appropriate and lead you outside. If I am with you then the guards won’t jump you,” Marcus nodded his head as he took a seat on the couch and she headed for her room to change.

Blood Rain stepped out a few minutes later wearing a tank top and cargo shorts. She walked up to the human and gestured with her head that they could head out. The two of them left and went to the nearby table to have a seat. The lunar guard kept her eyes peeled for anything that might be out of the ordinary while he just laid on his back staring up at the stars.

“Have you ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what it would be like to soar that high?” Marcus asked. Blood Rain had to shake her head to understand what he was asking.

“I used to look up at the sky. When I was a filly I would stare up at it and just imagine flying with the stars. I would enjoy the freedom of that flight and prayed that it would never end,” Blood Rain answered as she gave a quick glance towards the sky.

“So how long did it take before your happiness was taken away from you?” Marcus asked never letting his gaze leave the sky.

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

“Luna already told me some of your background, but not all of it. From the way everything was told I think there is an underlying hurt within you.”

“Why do you care?” Blood Rain asked becoming irritated by the human.

“I only care because out of all the guards you are the most different. I mean sure they probably all have lost something but you lost something and refuse to retrieve it. I don’t need some mentally destroyed guard watching over me and my friends if she is too afraid to do anything,” Marcus answered as he sat himself up and stared straight at the pegasus.

“I can do my job quite well thank you very much. If I couldn’t then the princess wouldn’t have assigned me to this post.”

“I guess that may be true. I just don’t want this coming back to bite me or you in the ass later,” Blood Rain nodded as she bit her lower lip slightly.

“I was ten when I finally snapped into realization,” Marcus looked over and saw that she was ready to cry.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes. “You don’t have to tell me everything right now. We can go at your own pace that way no one gets hurt,” Blood Rain gave a small smile to him for being understanding.

Dreamland

The friends found themselves floating in the black sky watching over an old city. The darkness of night covered the city in shadows giving those below a means to move around. The friends watched their old selves as they went about cars and buildings trying to find anything useful. The friends were pulled from watching as the dream started to distort. They looked around for the reason and found Luna approaching them.

“Good night everyone,” Luna greeted them with a smile.

“Hey there, Luna,” Blake greeted back as the others watch the dream change into a white room.

“Where is Marcus?” Luna asked as she looked around for the angry human.

“He usually never sleeps so I doubt you will see him at all during the night,” Ryan answered. Luna frowned a little, but her smile returned as she continued to speak to them.

“So are all of you ready for this year’s upcoming Gala?”

“More or less. We still need to get fitted for clothing and then we need to make sure we don’t do anything stupid while we are there.”

“If I may ask, who are you the plus one of the pony taking you? Blake is already coming since he is staying at the castle with my sister and I.”

“I am going with Applejack,” Ryan answered.

“I am going with Twilight,” Alex answered.

“I am going with Octavia. Sadly Vinyl isn’t coming since she has a gig down in Manehattan,” Jaeden answered.

“I am going with Rose and she seems really excited to go,” Brandon answered.

“I am going with Whooves, but it was more of me forcing him to take me,” Callie answered.

“I am going with Fluttershy but she mainly wants to see the animals. I don’t really mind since her heart is in the right place,” Andrew answered.

“I get to go with Pinkie Pie and it has been Hell at that bakery. She has been making me cook up all these sweets for the Gala,” Luke answered.

“I get to go with Ditzy, but I think I will just hang back and away from all the crowds,” Drak answered.

“Well, I am glad that you all will be coming,” Luna said smiling.

“You say that now until someone says the wrong thing to Marcus and he destroys half the castle kicking their ass,” Luke retorted as he chuckled to himself.

“He wouldn’t even dare think of doing something like that while we are present, would he?” Luna asked as she grew concerned that having Marcus might cause problems.

“He would, but that would be only to protect his friends or make sure that person knows not to mess with him,” Blake answered trying to calm the princess’ nervousness.

“Would you like to see why he would do something like that?” Brandon asked.

“There is a reason why he does that?” Luna asked hopefully and gladly so she wouldn’t have to face him.

“Yes, but you must never mention this to Marcus. The only reason why we are showing you this is because you need to understand him. He may be stubborn, but that is only to make sure that everyone else doesn’t suffer,” Luna nodded her head as the friends looked at each other and nodded their heads.

The white realm shifted into a dark house. There were paintings and furniture all around the house, but could not be distinguished. The house was silent for a few seconds before a soft whimper was heard. Luna followed the friends as they walked towards the noise. The princess could feel her heart ache as the whimpers became louder and more constant. She could tell that someone was hurt and her motherly instincts told her to go comfort them.

They reached a door where the whimpers were coming from and the friends turned back to face the alicorn. Blake was giving her a look that was asking her if she was willing to see what was beyond the door. The princess stared at the old wooden door that was filled with tiny holes. She mulled over the thought for a few seconds before nodding her head. Blake gave a slight nod as he took a deep breath in and then releasing it as he opened the door.

The door opened to a blinding flash of light as they were sent to another area. When everyone opened their eyes they were standing near a small forest on the outskirts of a school. The princess watched as all the kids ran around the playground playing games or just talking. She smiled at all their smiling faces but that soon faded as she looked at a tree near the swing set.

She saw a small child sitting there with his legs pulled to his chest and his head resting between his knees. She looked at the friends and they gestured her forward in the direction of the child. She started off on her walk, but stopped when the others weren’t following her. She looked back to see the friends standing there with stoic expressions. She took a calming breath as she understood what they wanted her to do.

They were having her go alone so she wouldn’t be swayed by anything that they had to say. The other was so she could see this through her own eyes and know what he went through. She walked towards the tree making sure that she kept herself hidden from view. She reached a fence that surrounded the school, but she was close enough to hear the child crying. She stared at the child for a few seconds before her attention was pulled to another that was calling his name. The name that he was being called hurt her even more as she understood who it was.

“Hey, Marcus, what are you doing there?” The child asked.

“Go away, John. I don’t have anything to do with you,” Marcus said as he pulled his legs closer.

“I believe you do since you forgot to give me my money. I hate having to go hunting for the ones that have to pay me and I guess that you need to be taught a lesson,” the child gave a whistle and two other kids showed up.

The two kids smirked as they walked up to Marcus and yanked him to his feet. The alicorn watched with tear filled eyes, as she knew what was coming next. The kid that was hassling Marcus walked up to him and looked him over. Marcus kept his eyes to the ground as he was held in place by the two kids and being circled by John. John gave a slight scowl as Marcus kept his eyes off of him and pulled back his arm.

John’s arm shot forward and made contact with Marcus’ gut. He grunted as he felt the contact of the punch, knocking the wind out of him. He coughed as the kid pulled back his other arm and socked him in the face. The alicorn saw the blood that dripped from the side of his lip and grabbed the fence. She let the tears fall from her eyes as she continued to watch.

The two kids let go of Marcus and he fell to his knees. He was busy spitting out the blood that he didn’t notice a foot come to his side and kick him into the tree. The princess cringed as she heard the bark of the tree break and the sound of something snapping. Marcus grabbed his side as he tried to suppress his scream. John and the two kids took the time to walk up to him and stomp him into the ground.

The kids relentlessly beat on him until he couldn’t even move. The kids got winded from their beat down and gave one final kick before walking off and laughing. Once they were gone, the alicorn watched with tear filled eyes as Marcus began to cry. She fell to her knees as she watched the little child cry his heart out and no one even looked his way. She was about to reach out for him when another kid came walking up to him.

The princess was ready to cry again as she thought that this kid was going to have a crack at him. She was stunned when the new kid extended his hand with a tissue. Marcus only looked away from the child and tried to get away from him. The kid kneeled down next to him and wiped away his tears with the tissue. It took a few moments for the princess to process what she was seeing, but she recognized who the child was.

“Hello there, my name is Blake. What is your name?” Blake asked as he gave Marcus a warm smile.

“Why do you care?” Marcus spat at Blake.

“I want to know because I want to be your friend.”

“Yeah right. You just want to be my friend so you can beat me when I am at my lowest,” Marcus said as he tried to get up. He could only get a few inches off the ground before his injuries got the best of him.

He fell face first for the ground as the pain became too unbearable. Before he could hit the ground, Blake caught him. Blake gave a slight chuckle at his stubbornness, but also couldn’t help admire his courage. Blake swung one of his arms over his shoulder and headed for the nurse’s office. The princess gave a slight smile as she watched Blake take Marcus away to the nurse.

The alicorn walked back towards the forest edge as everything behind her turned white. She joined the friends who were all sitting together in silence. They saw the alicorn join them and got up as they made their way back into the white room.

“So, did you learn anything new?” Jaeden asked as he notice the small smile on the princess’ lips.

“Indeed I have, Jaeden. So Blake, you were Marcus’ first friend?” Luna asked as Blake gave her a knowing smile.

“Yes I was, Luna. He may have been stubborn as Hell when I tried to be his friend, but he finally opened up to me. Hell, all of us had a problem trying to get him to be friends with us. Each and every one of us saw him in a different state of loneliness.”

“What caused you to be friends with him? From what I could tell he was very hated, but you didn’t care.”

“I was new to the city when my parents moved here. I heard some rumors that were spread around about him, but my parents taught me to never believe what anyone says until I have seen them myself. I watched him get beaten, but he was stronger than he looked. All he needed was someone to be there for him and he could properly become strong. After all of us became friends he made sure that we or any other person would never feel like he did during his years.”

“Does that mean he also puts away his own safety if the others are in danger?”

“He would cross the fires of Hell and back to make sure that we are all safe. We may be able to protect ourselves, but he is the strongest because he won’t give up. No matter how many times you beat him down he will get back up if he is protecting someone,” Ryan answered.

Luna could only smile as the friends smiled at each other remembering the good times with Marcus. The princess let a stray tear fall from her face as she found new respect for the human. She may even have newfound respect for all of them after seeing how they care for each other. She was pulled from her deep thoughts as Callie spoke to her.

“Luna, if it is alright, I was wondering if you could open that portal to where Celestia threw the bags?”

“Why do you want me to do something like that? The reason Celestia did that was to keep such dangerous weapons away from you.”

“That is true, but there is something else in those bags. Inside one of them is a set of necklaces that we all got and we just want them back. It’s also a small memento to remember all the good times,” Luna looked over to Blake to see him nodding at her.

She let out a little sigh as she opened the portal and let Callie through. Callie stepped through the portal and started rifling through the bags. Several minutes of later she came walking out with ten different necklaces. Callie wore a pink heart necklace. Blake wore a crescent moon necklace. Brandon wore a flower necklace. Ryan wore a tree necklace. Alex wore a star necklace. Jaeden wore a guitar necklace. Drak wore a wing necklace. Luke wore an alligator necklace. Andrew wore a bunny necklace. The last necklace was for Marcus. The necklace was designed as a dragon claw holding a fire orb.

“Thanks, Luna and remember that you can’t share this with anyone,” Luna nodded as the friends were starting to disperse and wake up for the morning. The alicorn smiled as she left the dream world unaware of a dark mist that was lingering behind.

The sun was rising over the horizon and Marcus watched as the red and orange hues blanketed the skies. He looked over to see that the purple pegasus was having a hard time staying awake. He nudged her a little and she looked back at him. He gestured her back towards the house so she could go get some sleep. She was hesitant at first to leave him alone, but calmed down when she saw Rainbow coming down. The lunar guard got off the bench and headed back for the house as Marcus was talking with Rainbow.

“So what were you doing out here with that night guard?” Rainbow asked with a slight smirk.

“We just hung out here and star gazed. She is still a mystery to me, but I think she is a very nice person.”

“Is that all you did during the night? Are you sure you didn’t do anything more while you two were alone in the night?” Rainbow asked as she nudged his arm.

“That was all we did and nothing more,” Marcus answered as he got off the table. “So why are you here anyways?”

“Well, I thought that we would get your suit out of the way so we wouldn’t have to worry about that later,” Marcus gave a slight shrug at the plan. When he shrugged the pegasus noticed his left shoulder.

“Hey, Marcus, what is that on your shoulder?” Marcus looked at his shoulder and covered it up with his hand as he went to get another shirt.

“It’s just the tattoo that I told you about,” Rainbow held in her gasp as he walked past her and headed inside the house.

The prismatic mare sat down on the bench as she thought about what she saw. She remembered that he said he and the other three had tattoos on their arms, but he made them sound simple. After looking at the one on his shoulder she was starting to wonder. The sword was present but it had more to its design. Half the blade was covered in blood and it was dripping with a heart speared through the middle. She started to wonder what the others looked like since he never went into detail about them.

The human came out a few minutes later wearing a grey t-shirt and keeping to himself. The two of them headed off for Carousel Boutique to get the day over with. The cyan mare wanted to start some kind of conversation with him, but didn’t know where to start. She didn’t want to anger him and she also didn’t want to bring up any bad memories. One memory that kept playing through her mind was Olivia and she feared what he would do if she mentioned her.

The silence was finally broken as they reached Rarity’s home and entered it. The fashionista came out of the kitchen wearing a nightgown that was almost fully opened at the top. Marcus turned around and walked outside before anything started running through his mind. Rainbow kind of rubbed the back of her head as the unicorn scowled at her slightly for not knocking. She huffed as she walked upstairs and changed into a purple dress as the pegasus got him back inside.

“So what can I help you with?” Rarity asked as she continued to glare at Rainbow.

“Rainbow suggested that I get my suit made so that we won’t have to deal with it later,” Marcus answered as his face contained little of the blush he had from the encounter.

“Ah, then I guess this is a good time then. Your friend Callie stopped by and dropped off a necklace for you that I can base your suit off of,” Rarity levitated the necklace over to him and the two mares were stunned to see the huge smile that he gave off. They noticed as his eyes watered a little as he hastily put the necklace on.

“I never thought that I would end up wearing this again.”

“What is so important about this necklace?” Rainbow asked as she looked it over.

“Well, it may never had a purpose, but I did give it one when my friends got it for me. I swore that as long as this necklace was around my neck then I would make sure that everyone stayed safe.”

“But what does that mean about us?” Rarity asked. He could hear the slight hurt in her voice as he thought it over.

“In all honesty I am unsure, but what I do know is that if my friends find it necessary then I will keep all of you safe. We all will actually if we need to.”

The two mares were surprised to hear him say that he would protect them. Not once did it cross their minds that he would put them on a high pedestal like his friends. They said nothing of it and just took the kind gesture as the white mare led him to the back to try on the different pieces of the suit. He was glad that he was in a changing room so that the unicorn wouldn’t have to stare at his tattoo.

He could only look at the tattoo with disgust. Out of his friends, his was the worst to be seen. Blake’s contained the cross with two needles going through them, but one of the needles was filled with blood while the other was filled with limbs. Luke’s contained wings that flared to life with a fire below them and people burning. Andrew’s contained the biohazard with tiny explosions surrounding it.

As he continued to stare at his tattoo his necklace twinkled. He then looked at the necklace and smiled as he gripped it firmly. As he tried on the suit he made sure that his necklace was showing and he could make comparisons. He smiled as his necklace complimented his black suit with rainbow trims. He was even happier that there was a lot of room in the suit so he could wear underclothes.

He stepped out of the changing room to show Rarity her work. As he presented himself, the unicorn gave him a look over. He noticed that Rainbow was missing and looked around for her.

“Hey Rarity, where is Rainbow?”

“She is in another changing room trying on her dress.”

“No offense, but she is the last pony I would see in a dress.”

“You are correct in assuming that. She was so hard to work with when trying to make the dress, but now she seems more enthusiastic.”

“That may be because she is going to show me those fliers and she doesn’t want to look like a fool.”

“True, but I feel that there may be another reason as well. I will say that some of the others are acting the same way, but I don’t feel like prying. I do like a good bit of gossip every now and again, but this seems to be their personal reasons,” Marcus could only shrug since it was none of his business to know.

Rarity finished making the few adjustments to the suit and hung it up with other fancy clothes. He was sure that those were the other clothes that everyone else was wearing when they head for the Gala. He could only shudder at the thought of having to go to such an event and he felt even more worried for Drak. He didn’t have time to think about it as everyone else came walking into the boutique.

“Hey there, Marcus. How are you doing?” Twilight asked in a cheerful tone.

“I can’t really complain. Still don’t understand Lyra and now I am bored as Hell.”

“Well, lucky for you there is some show cart outside that can entertain you and your friends while we get our dresses.”

Marcus didn’t even say anything as he bolted out of the boutique to get some freedom. His friends just shook their heads as they followed him to the show cart. They reached the center of town and stood around the large crowd that was gathering. Marcus was staring intently with interest in his eyes until his attention was pulled down. He smiled as he saw Scootaloo give him a warm smile.

He pointed at his shoulders and the filly understood where he was going. When she nodded her head, he picked her up and placed her on his shoulders so she could see the show. He looked over and saw that Drak was a little uncomfortable with the big crowd, but his attention was pulled elsewhere. Drak looked down and saw Dinky smiling up at him and jumping in place.

He couldn’t help but laugh at the little filly’s antics and picked her up. The unicorn filly squealed in glee as she was pulled fast through the air and rested on his shoulders. It was nice to see something going good for Drak every once and a while. Everyone had their attention pulled back to the show cart when they heard fireworks. There was a blast of smoke and when it dissipated there stood an azure mare on center stage.

She was wearing a wizard hat and cape that had stars swirling around it. Her mane and tail were a shining silver that glittered in the sunlight. Her eyes were a dark purple and she spoke in a different way. She spoke with pride and power. Also for some reason in the third person, but it did help to make the show interesting.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is here to entertain all you ponies,” Trixie said as she grinned at the huge crowd.

Scootaloo couldn’t hold her excitement and made it apparent as she pulled on Marcus’ hair. Dinky was giving a huge smile as she was pulled into the show. Marcus looked at his friends and could see that even they were enthralled by the performance. There were flashes of light as the azure mare made things disappear and reappear. Back on Earth the friends were never interested in magic since it was all about illusion. With a unicorn doing all these tricks made it enjoyable since it was all real.

As the show went on the unicorn called on for volunteers. The mare apparently noticed the new creatures to the world and called up Blake. Blake smiled sheepishly as he walked up to the stage and looked out at the crowd. He gave a small wave to the crowd and he saw one pony give a wave back. He was certain that he saw that pony from somewhere, but couldn’t put a finger on it. He was pulled from his thoughts as the showmare brought him towards a box and settled him in it.

The azure unicorn walked around the box showing that there were no holes for him to escape through. The crowd watched closely as the showmare pulled out several long swords. The friends grew nervous as the showmare explained that she was going to stab the box. Even with her ability in magic and her expertise in the show they never had a chance to see how magic would affect them.

Their nervousness was spiked even higher as they saw two swords get thrusted into the box. There were no screams and that left two options for what happened to Blake. The first was that he was okay and somewhere safe or he could have been killed by them. The friends looked over at Marcus and prayed that the latter didn’t happen because if it did then there was nothing they could do to stop him.

The azure unicorn went about thrusting the rest of her swords in and then walking off to the side. Everyone watched in anticipation to see what happened next. The showmare lifted her hands and the friends were waiting for her to show that Blake was unharmed and safe. Sadly that is not what happened. As the friends were slowly calming down, their fear was spiked to the top as the box was caught on fire. Alex passed out from having his heart rate change pace so fast. The friends looked over at Marcus and saw that he was stepping firmly into the ground.

The friends looked back at the burning box, praying to God and any other supernatural being that Blake was okay. There was another flash of smoke as the fire was extinguished. When the smoke cleared the friends stared wide eyed at Blake who was standing on a pile of ash. The friends released a collective sigh as Blake took a bow to the crowd who were cheering loudly at the grand finale.

Drak and Marcus were able to get the fillies off their shoulders as the crowd started to disperse. Everyone looked at Alex who was still unconscious on the ground. Brandon left for Rose’s shop and grabbed a bucket. He filled it with water and threw ice into it. He walked back to Alex’s prone form and counted to three. Once he hit three he dumped the icy water on Alex. Alex’s eyes shot open as he let out a little girlish scream.

“What the hell was that?!” Alex screamed through clattering teeth.

“Whoa, watch your mouth there, Alex. There are young foals in attendance,” Callie said as the glared at him.

“So what did you think about the show, Scoots?” Marcus asked as he ruffled the little filly’s mane.

“I love the last one that Trixie did on Blake. She really surprised me when she set the box on fire and he came out okay.”

“Oh, I am very sure that she surprised everyone with that little trick,” Blake replied chuckling nervously to himself.

“I thought that it was an interesting approach. She usually never sets the box on fire when she performed that trick,” everyone turned to see a random mare smiling at them. She had a butter cream coat and an emerald green mane and tail.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Drak asked as he eyed the mare suspiciously.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I forgot to change out of my disguise,” before the friends could even question what she meant there was a flash of light. The light died down to reveal Luna.

“Any reason why you were disguised as some other mare?” Blake asked.

“Sometimes I like to be treated the same instead as of some royalty member. The ponies mean well, but they are afraid of the power that we hold. We tell them that they don’t have to treat us so highly, but I guess they are just comfortable with it.”

“They probably just want to show you some of the respect that you deserve and that they trust the decisions that you and your sister make.”

“True, but I would like to be treated the same.”

“I would say give them time and they might ease up to you,” Luna smiled at Blake’s kind words and gave him a bone crushing hug.

“Hey, Scootaloo, want-” Marcus looked around for the orange filly but couldn’t spot her anywhere.

Marcus felt a little hurt that the filly would run off without saying goodbye, but he saw that the sun was going down and concluded that she must have needed to get home. Twilight and the others joined the group all smiling like they never have before. Andrew asked what she was so happy about, but she was adamant about keeping it a secret along with the others. Marcus felt a little worried at how happy Rainbow was because it was hard to see her so cheerful without her competitive attitude.

The friends all gave each other high fives as they headed off for their homes. Luna took Blake to a hotel for the night since she wasn’t up to riding a train or teleporting. Luke was busy taking a shower as Pinkie was in the kitchen cleaning up. He felt something brush up against his leg and when he looked down he saw a baby alligator. He jumped out of the shower and as he did the alligator bit him on the leg.

He waited for the inevitable pain that would follow as his leg was torn from his body. There was a few seconds of silence and he felt something squishy. He looked down at his leg and saw the little alligator gnawing on him. He pulled the alligator from his leg and saw that he had no teeth. He shook his head as he knew that only Pinkie would own a pet alligator with no teeth. He placed the alligator down and headed to grab a towel.

He picked up a towel and as he dried off his body he heard a loud roar. He turned around and stared at the little alligator that stared right back. The alligator scared him a little as it blinked its eyes at different times. He went back to drying when he heard another roar. He sighed as he walked up to the little alligator and picked him up. He stared at the alligator and when he was about to yell at him the roar happened again.

He ran towards the window and looked outside. His jaw fell open as he saw a giant bear stomping through town. The bear was as tall as the houses if not taller than some others. The most striking feature about the bear was that it was made of stars. He could see the stars move around and make different types of constellations. As he looked at the bear he let his eyes wander around the town and noticed the ponies that were panicking.

He ran over to his pants and pulled out his phone. He sent out a massive text to everyone about the giant bear that was destroying the town. Once he hit send he put his pants on and then his shirt. He was in the middle of tying his shoes when Pinkie burst through the door looking for him.

“Oh thank Celestia that you’re okay,” Pinkie said as she hugged him tightly.

“Hey there, Pinkie. I guess you already know what is going on,” Luke said as he finished tying his shoes and got up.

“Yeah, I saw the Ursa rampaging through the town and was worried that you were out there,” Pinkie said as she wiped away a little of the tears that formed.

“Well, I am headed out there to help the ponies that aren’t somewhere safe.”

“You can’t do that. What do you think will happen to you if you go out there?” Pinkie was starting to get a little mad and it was made evident by her physical changes.

“I already contacted my friends so they will be out there helping as well. So you don’t need to worry about me.”

“I will not let you go out there and cause Pinkie to worry about you,” Luke noticed that Pinkie’s mane now completely flat along with her tail. Her coat was an even darker shade of pink, but what threw him off was the use of the third person.

“You have nothing to worry about, Pinkie. I will be fine and I will be back,” Luke said as he tried to calm Pinkie.

“No, you won’t be fine. Many have said that to Pinkie, but they always end up hurt. I will not let her feel the pain of losing another.”

“What are you talking about, Pinkie?”

“I am not Pinkie. I am her other side that she created when she couldn’t handle high stress situations. My name is Pinkamena Diane Pie,” Luke can only stare slack jawed at this new information.

“Either way I can’t sit around and do nothing. For now I will go along with what you say, but we will have to talk about this later. Those ponies out there need my help and I am going,” Luke stated sternly as he headed for the front door.

“If you walk out of this house then you better not come back,” Pinkamena warned. He looked back at her before opening the door and walking out and slamming the door. Pinkamena growled as she picked up her pet alligator Gummy and headed for her room.

The friends were gathered at the center of town with Twilight and her friends. They all looked at the bear with fascination and fear. They all heard a scream as the bear crushed the showcart and pinned Trixie under some rubble. The bear was going in to bite her head off, but stopped when something hit its muzzle. The bear looked around and saw one of the humans holding a rock. The bear stared at the human before being hit by another rock.

The bear released a ferocious roar as it turned its attention to Brandon. Brandon ran down the street and the bear gave chase. While Brandon distracted the bear everyone ran to help the showmare. They were able to get her free of the wreckage, but she was hurt pretty bad.

“Drak, I need you and Princess Luna and Fluttershy to get Trixie to the hospital while we deal with that,” Drak stared at the hurt mare and his friends, conflicted about what to do.

“Drak, I really don’t care about any argument that you may have right now. I need you to do this because you are only the second fastest out of us all,” Drak gritted his teeth as he pulled the azure unicorn onto his back and started running for the hospital.

As Drak ran for the hospital all the friends got up and stared at the bear that was trying to get at Brandon.

“Twilight, try and figure out a way to get rid of that thing while we keep it distracted,” Alex told the lavender unciron as his eyes burned with fury.

Twilight didn’t say anything as she grabbed her friends so they could think of something. Once they got somewhere safe all the friends charged at the bear. Luke was the first to reach the bear and he gave a hard kick to its front fore paw. He cringed in pain as it felt like he kicked a steel girder instead of a bear leg. The kick though was enough to get the bear’s attention as it looked down at him.

The bear lifted its paw up and brought it down quickly. Marcus shot out his whip arm and pulled Luke back in time before getting smashed into the ground. Andrew ran forward and shot out a stream of acid that hit the bear in the face. The bear roared in pain as the acid burned its face. The friends smiled as they felt they won the fight. That was quickly shot down as the bear shook its face and looked as though nothing happened to it. Marcus shot out his whip arm again grabbing the bear’s ear and pulling himself towards the bear. As he charged the bear, the other friends ran to get Brandon out of the alley.

Marcus flew high in the sky before bringing himself down onto the bear with his clawed hand. He felt as his claws stabbed through its ethereal skin and caused it to howl. The bear jumped onto its hind legs and started falling backwards. The human jumped off the bear, but he was still very high up from the ground. Luke jumped through the air and grabbed him as he fell back to the ground.

They were panting heavily as the others charged the bear with their knives drawn. They were stabbing and slashing at the bear as much as they could, but were barely doing any damage. The bear quickly got to its feet and swept one of its claws along the ground. Callie was stuck in the path of the attack with no way of dodging. Luke watched everything in slow motion as he felt something push him in front of the paw.

He had a strange feeling and didn’t know what it was. He held his ground as he brought both his arms up to the left in a blocking stance. The paw made impact on him, but he held his ground. He was certain that he should have been sent flying, but he didn’t even budge. He opened his eyes to see his body covered in some type of infection armor. He successfully stopped the attack and Callie got away.

The friends grouped together getting ready for another attack when the bear started to glow lavender. The friends looked to their right as Twilight was focusing her magic on big objects that looked like they belonged to a baby. There was a water tower that was turned into milk bottle and brought to the bear who happily took it and started drinking from it. There was a soft melody that was playing and started relaxing the bear.

The bear fell asleep from the combination of the milk and music. The lavender mare then levitated the bear and sent it back into the forest. The friends dropped their stances as they caught their breath. As they collected their breath they looked over at Luke who was turning back to normal.

“Luke, what was that?” Twilight asked.

“I’m not entirely sure. I don’t remember having this power at all,” Luke answered as he grabbed his head in pain.

“I guess they were right when they said we still have much to learn about our powers,” Blake answered.

“Well, either way we need to check on Trixie and the others. We can deal with this in the morning. So if everybody is ready let’s head out,” everyone headed for the hospital, but Luke stopped walking as he stared at Sugarcube Corner. He thought over how he would deal with Pinkie and decided he would figure it out in the morning.