Secrets of the Everfree

by PaisleyPerson

First published 13th of September, 2014

Acrylic prepares to begin a new life with Torchwood. They'll face hardships, discover dangerous secrets, and begin the most terrifying quest of all- starting a family.

EDIT! This series is now open universe! You want to make a spinoff version? You totally can! You want to self insert yourself into their shenanigans? You can do that too! The characters and story are now completely public domain. I've lost interest in the series but if for some reason you actually like it enough to write your own take on it, you're more than welcome to! I'd love to read them, so feel free to link back and please remember to credit me/the story as the source!

Thestrals have returned to Equestria, but some still aren't willing to accept them. Meanwhile, Acrylic prepares to begin a new life with Torchwood. They'll face hardships, discover dangerous secrets, and begin the most terrifying quest of all- starting a family. Follow her on a journey of self discovery as she finds out what it really means to be a thestral.

NOTE: Stops following the series at Season 4.

Part One: Chapter 1: Engaged

Author's Notes:

This is a sequel to my fanfiction The Seventh Element. I HIGHLY recommend you read that first if you haven’t already, just so you aren’t completely lost. Unlike the last one, it’s almost completely made from my own writing (which means that it’s probably going to end up twice as long, now that I’m not limited to the show’s script). I need to apologize in advance; my romance scenes are still rubbish.

I’ll be writing this in real-time, unlike the last one which I had already finished when I started posting. I'll be working on this in real-time, and I try to update weekly. Enough about me. Enjoy the story!

“Torchwood? Have you seen my hat?” I called.

“You hung it on the easel again,” came the reply. I trod quickly down the stairs to see if this was true. Indeed, the worn, purple plaid beret was hanging from the corner of the wooden frame. I sighed in relief and set it over my deep blue mane. I was always losing things, but I didn’t often misplace my hat. Rarity had given that to me. She was one of my closest friends, as well as my neighbor; my art supply store, Art Life, was just up the road from the Carousel Boutique. While I kept a stock of art supplies, I’d started accepting commissions for business fliers, posters, or any other kind of painting my customers could think of.

The hat now situated on my head, I walked out of the sun-drenched studio and into the main shop. Torchwood was propped against the counter, browsing a magazine. I smiled at the sight of the stallion. He was very dark brown, and extremely tall- about Princess Luna’s height. He had a narrow muzzle but a broad, squared jaw line, and coal colored eyes. His mane was jet black with mere wisps of blond emerging from the void, all brushed over to the side. He’d let his tail grow out a bit lately, but I kind of liked it although it was considered a little long for stallions around these parts. Really, it only brushed his hocks. His cutie mark depicted a flaming torch, tinged with green on the edges. That was the color of his thestral fire.

That’s what we are. Thestrals. Ponies with dragon wings. A thousand years ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna defeated thestrals, who had turned evil, and thought them extinct. Now we had returned- with permission from the royal sisters, of course. It was an interesting return, to say the least. Torchwood temporarily turned evil and nearly conquered Equestria, I almost died, and we somehow summoned a seventh Element of Harmony... it was weird. But that’s a whole different story. Now we were starting a new story, and a new life. Last week, Torchwood asked me to marry him. Of course I said yes.

He looked up with a smile as I entered, and kissed me over the counter. I returned the gesture, and looked down at the catalogue beneath his hooves. It advertised wedding invitations of every color and style imaginable. “Find anything good?” I asked.

“You could do better,” he shook his head.

“Too much work,” I dismissed. “Not that Graphite isn’t keeping me busy enough with all his new requests.”

“He’s ordering again?”

“Sure is. Almost twice as much as he used to.” Graphite Sketch was a very prestigious artist from Vanhoover. I’d met him at my first Grand Galloping Gala the same night I met Torchwood. Back then, Torch was working for Graphite. That earth pony did everything in his power to make his life miserable. He could get away with it, too. He’d found out that Torchwood was a thestral long ago, and used this fact to blackmail him. Now that the whole world knew about thestrals, it didn’t really matter. He’d tried to start a romantic relationship with me, but as it turned out, his butler was the one for me. When we got together, Torchwood quit his job to come work for me in Ponyville. Spiteful Graphite had stopped placing orders with me after that. But ever since the thestrals made a formal return, we’d settled our differences.

“I suppose that’s a good thing,” Torchwood finally said. “You know, I’m thinking of asking him to be my best colt.”

“Really?” I exclaimed. I knew Torchwood said at the last Summer Sun Celebration that he’d forgiven Graphite, but after all that earth pony had put him through, I wasn’t sure just how far that extended. Torchwood simply nodded at my outburst, somewhat amused. I smiled back. “Good for you.” I now represented the Element of Forgiveness. I was all for it.

“And you? Have you decided on your bridesmaids yet?”

“I’d have thought that would be a given,” I laughed. There was no way I could choose between my six closest friends. I’d want them all up there with me. And Blaze would be our ring bearer, of course. Blaze was my little dragon friend. I had been very close to his mother, Ignition. When she died, I swore to her that I’d take care of her two boys, Blaze and Garble. Garble was old enough to take care of himself, and rejected the idea of staying in Ponyville. He went back to the wild dragon flock to rejoin his friends. Still, Blaze, Heckley, Torchwood and I visited them as often as we could. (Heckley was my pet snake.)

“Fair enough,” Torchwood said, turning back to the booklet. “What’s our color scheme again?”

“It’s just like our flames: green, orange and white,” I answered. “Rarity keeps complaining the colors are too hard to work with. She’s been obsessing over our wedding day, analyzing everything down to the last detail.”

“I must admire her persistence,” Torchwood chuckled.

“By the way, we both think it would be a good idea to add blue to the color scheme. It’s a brilliant compliment to orange, and might make things a bit easier on Rarity. What do you think?”

“That sounds just fine. You always did look good in blue,” he nuzzled me.

“It might open up new possibilities for the stationary, too,” I noted, glancing back down at his catalogue.

“Well, you take a look and see what you can find,” Torchwood said. “I have to get these orders delivered.”

“Are you sure you’re up for that? We can always set the mail service to work.”

“I’m fine. Just between us, I don’t quite trust the mail mare.”

“I suppose living with wall-eyes can’t be easy,” I agreed. I knew he was speaking of Ditzy Doo, the gray pegasus mail mare with crossed eyes. She did her best, but wasn’t always entirely reliable. “Alright. But be back in time for lunch.”

“Can I treat you to lunch at the Hayburger?”

“Sounds good. I’ll go pick up Blaze right after I finish here.”

“Don’t work yourself too hard,” he joked, picking a bundle off the ground from beside the door. His large wings unfurled, and he took off.

I halfheartedly poked around the magazine before getting bored. He was right. These designs all looked tacky. I moved it behind the counter along with another stack of similar catalogues. Torchwood proposed at the Summer Sun Celebration in front of most of Canterlot. Since then, we’d been getting all kinds of wedding magazines.

I went back into the small kitchenette at the back of the house, and pulled out the snake food Fluttershy had given me. It didn’t take much for her to fall in love with my pet. He was waiting for his lunch upstairs. I still had a few hours before Torchwood got back, but it was best to take care of him now.

I found my snake curled up on top of the wardrobe where he liked to perch. It was still a mystery to me how he managed to wind his way up there, but I assumed he somehow used the neighboring coat hooks to make the transition. He got up and down just fine, so I didn’t really concern myself with it. I whistled for his attention, and he groggily looked down at me. I set his food on the chair, and left him to it. He didn’t move until I was gone. By the clamoring he caused once I left the room, I could tell he’d been hungry.

Now I could finally return to my work. I had a couple of landscapes for Graphite left to do. I only had a week left until the end of the month, and while that sounded like a lot of time, it really wasn’t. Oils took forever to dry. I didn’t want to rush through these, but I would have to use a faster drying paint on the under layers. It would produce the same effect for what I had in mind. I’d just set everything up; the canvases were primed, my paints were organized, and I had all the brushes laid out. I selected the fan brush to cover more surface area. I’d just dipped it in the goldenrod when the bells at the front door jangled, alerting me of a customer. I quietly growled in irritation. Timing.

“Hello? Anypony home?” Oh, it was okay. That sweet sing-song voice belonged to the one and only Rarity.

“Back here,” I called, setting the brush back on the palette. Rarity met me halfway, looking back from the counter as I came around. “Hey, Rarity. How are you?”

“A bit frazzled, honestly. Come along. I need you at the boutique.”

“What for?”

“I’ve got your new wedding dress prepared!”

“Another one? Isn’t this your third edit?”

“Well, yes. I haven’t quite perfected it yet.”

“Rarity, your work is always beautiful. You got Cadence’s wedding gown right off the bat, remember?”

“That was Cadence’s wedding,” Rarity protested. “Yes, she may be royalty, but she isn’t my best friend. Yours must be flawless!”

“So what was wrong with the last one?”

“It just wasn’t... you. I must admit, I’ve been having trouble coming up with anything ever since those wings of yours showed up. It’s a whole new side to you!” I wouldn’t admit it to her, but I had been feeling a little guilty for hiding who I was since our return.

“So do it like you would if I didn’t have the wings.”

“They’re part of you, darling. No need to hide them anymore. It just poses some new creative challenges, is all. Now, I hope you’ll be pleased with the results. And you must tell me what changes to make. No more of that indecisive nonsense.”

“Well, since you mentioned it, Torchwood and I were going to add blue to the color scheme after all. I don’t know how that’s going to affect what you’ve already got.”

“Oh!” Rarity froze on the spot.

“Did we completely ruin you? I’m sorry. I know how hard you’ve been working...”

“No, no, darling, this is perfect! I just need to make a few minor changes... don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back!” With that, she galloped back the way she came, and I returned inside with a chuckle. I was done with the first two layers before she came back to retrieve me.

We’d arrived at her shop just down the road, and the doors swung open. Like a grand centerpiece, what I realized must be the wedding dress, set at the center of the shop. I suddenly realized what Rarity meant. The other gowns were beautiful, but this one topped them all. It was silky and slim before flaring out into a flowing skirt. Its train was just long enough to brush the floor. The skirt had four layers, each stacked like a cape to the one above, the bottom being a dark blue, the next a little lighter, the third very light, and the top ultimately white. A crimped navy hem closed each layer off. A similar crimped ribbon twirled around the entire body, adding a nice decorative touch. The design for the wide slots for my wings had improved dramatically; they no longer sagged, and were outlined in the thick, rich blue. It looked like they were held in place by stiff wires inside the hem. The veil that sat atop the mannequin’s head was long, rimmed at the front with a small ring of blue and white flowers sitting atop a ruffled blue base. There was no way she had ‘edited’ the last design. It was entirely blue and white, so she must have used the last hour to put a whole new one together.

“Well? What do you think?” Rarity probed, beaming at her latest creation.

“It’s... gorgeous...” I breathed.

“That’s what you said about the last two,” she pouted.

“No, not that kind of gorgeous. This one’s... really gorgeous.”

“Well, let’s have you try it on, then. I must admit, I’m quite thankful you did decide to add blue. It makes my job a lot easier.”

“About that,” I said, taking the dress, “this means that we’ll need a whole new flower arrangement. Any suggestions?”

“Oh, darling, I have tried and tried to come up with something, but I’m afraid flowers just aren’t my area of expertise. I hate to back out on you, but I think you would be best off hiring a true professional for that.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” I admitted. Rarity had offered to be in charge of the decorations, but she’d been having a lot of trouble with the flowers. “I do think the blue and orange will go wonderfully together, as long as we can get the right colors to complement each other. That’s hard to do with flowers, sometimes.”

“Quite right. Perhaps Twilight knows some way to fix that. You may want to consult with her, as well.”

“Good idea.” I finished slipping into the dress, and sidestepped back out into the shop. Rarity looked away from whatever she’d been jotting down to look at me. I could see the prideful glow return to her face, but she extinguished it instantly. She wanted my input first. I almost rolled my eyes.

“What do you think?”

“Oh, Rarity, this is the one!” It was perfect! Rarity finally allowed herself the liberty of a victorious expression. Her eyes sparkled just looking at her creation.

“Yes, it is much better than the last one. Is there anything you want changed? Anything at all?”

“Now that you mention it...” I pretended to rub my chin in thought.

“Yes?” Rarity instantly took up her notepad.

“Nothing,” I teased, giving her a grateful hug. Rarity finally realized the joke and let out a short burst of laughter herself.

“Alright... if you’re sure...”

“I am. No more changing it,” I warned, pointing a hoof at her.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she vowed, performing the hoof motions that went along with the rhyme.

“Okay,” I nodded. Satisfied, I returned to the stall to change back out of the gown.

“But now, what do I do with the hair?” I heard Rarity mutter to herself. “Do you mind if I play with it for a little while?” I peeped back out the door.

“Let’s worry about it later, okay? The wedding isn’t for another two months, but I do have a lunch date with Torchwood in about an hour.”

“Oh, very well. Though I don’t understand why you keep putting everything off. If I was the mare getting married, I would want everything to be settled as soon as possible.”

“Too much stress,” I answered, gently pulling the gown back over my head. “I don’t want gray hairs in my mane before the wedding.”

“Fair enough. Shall I keep the dress here for you?”

“Would you mind? Torchwood’s been coming over a lot more lately, and I don’t want to risk him seeing it before the wedding.”

“It’s bad luck for the groom to see you in your wedding gown before the wedding,” Rarity understood, levitating the dress and sliding it back over the mannequin.

“I don’t believe in that superstitious nonsense,” I rolled my eyes. “I just want him to be surprised!”

“If you say so.”

“I do. Now, I’ve got to go. Blaze is still over at the Golden Oaks Library. I’ve got to pick him up for lunch.”

“Is Spike still giving him lessons on how to be your ‘number one assistant?’” Rarity chuckled.

“Yes,” I smiled, “which is pretty ironic. They haven’t actually been over to Art Life at all together, except to meet up.”

“I’m sure they’ll get to that point eventually,” Rarity assured.

“Oh, I don’t mind a bit. I think it’s great that they’ve been spending so much time together. It’s good for Spike to have someone his own age- and species.”

“That’s true. Twilight is an exemplary caretaker, but it isn’t the same.”

“I hope I can do as good of a job as she does,” I sighed.

“You’ve already done more for that dragon than anypony else could have,” Rarity assured. “Speaking of whom, you should probably go get him. It’s well past noon; he must be hungry.”

“You’re right. Thanks again, Rarity. See you later!” Realizing I’d spent more time than I’d meant, I kept up a brisk pace all the way to the library.

Chapter 2: The Hayburger

I lightly rapped on the library door as I trotted inside, just to let Twilight know I was here. She looked up from her book, and cast me a warm smile. “Hi, Acrylic!”

“Hey, Twilight. Is Blaze still here?”

“In the kitchen with Spike,” she answered, nodding towards the doorway. “I think Spike’s trying to teach him how to make triple-decker nut-crazy vanilla cream cookies.”

“I sure don’t mind that,” I chuckled. Spike’s triple-decker nut-crazy vanilla cream cookies were the best in all of Ponyville. He was also the one I knew to make that flavor.

“Well, don’t be expecting Spike’s. I think they were trying to put a ‘unique twist’ on them.”

“Oh yeah? How’d that turn out?”

“Actually, really delicious,” Twilight licked her lips. I laughed.

“Well, let’s put that to the test, shall we?” I nudged the door open to find the two young dragons baking at the stove. They were currently waiting for the next batch to come out, so they leaned against the table and casually chatted. As usual, Spike did most of the talking. Blaze was much more at ease around him than anypony else, but had always been quiet. The squeaking of the door’s hinges attracted their attention. Spike was the first to speak up.

“Oh, hey Acrylic!”

“Hey, boys.” I pushed the door the rest of the way open and strode inside. A heavenly scent reached my nose. “What have you been up to?”

“We’re making triple-decker nut-crazy vanilla cream cookies,” Spike answered. “Your favorite.”

“With a touch of lemon and powdered sugar,” Blaze proudly added. My mouth watered.

“You two are evil, you know that? You’re just teasing Twilight with that smell!”

“We gave her a few,” Blaze justified with a giggle, realizing he wasn’t in any actual trouble.

“Well, I guess that’s alright, then,” I teased.

“You want one?” The tray Spike offered was too enticing to say no. Not that I’d have said ‘no’ anyway.

“Don’t mind if I do,” I grinned, plucking one of the bulkier desserts off the top of the platter. Blaze’s face lit up in anticipation as I sank my teeth into the doughey sweet.

“Well?”

“This is fantastic! You boys made this?”

“Yep! It was Blaze’s idea to put the lemon in,” Spike proudly beamed.

“I knew you liked it,” he blushed. Then his brow furrowed. “Does Torchwood like lemon?”

“Even more than me.”

“Good.” Blaze seemed to huff a sigh of relief.

“Are you going to stay for lunch?” Spike asked.

“No, actually. Torchwood wants to treat us out to the Hayburger.”

“The Hayburger?” Blaze’s eyes lit up. We’d only been here a week, so he was dying to try out the different restaurants around town.

“Oh, you’ll like the Hayburger,” Spike voiced. “Drink an extra chocolate milkshake for me while you’re there, okay?”

“Okay!” Blaze didn’t need convincing.

“Come on,” I giggled. “Torchwood’s probably back by now. He’ll be waiting for us.”

“See you tomorrow,” Spike waved as I started back out, Blaze on my back. “Oh, hey Acrylic? Can we start practicing in your shop tomorrow instead of the library?”

“Sure thing,” I promised. “That good with you, Twilight?”

“Of course! Just make sure that you’re back for lunch, Spike. We’re having Fluttershy over, remember? I’ll need a little help setting up.”

“I’ll be there,” he declared.

“See you then!” Blaze waved and shut the door behind us as I led the way out. The cobblestone roads made the trip a little extra bumpy for Blaze, but he didn’t mind. There were a few other ponies out, and the clopping of hoofsteps rang through the square. It was still too quiet for me, so I struck up a conversation.

“Did you have a good time?”

“Oh, yeah! Spike is teaching me all kinds of stuff about how to be a good assistant,” he giddily chimed. “It’s just... until now, I haven’t learned how to be your assistant. That’s why I’m so excited for tomorrow! I like helping Twilight and all, but I’m supposed to be your number one assistant, not Twilight’s number two.”

“Oh, Blaze, you don’t have to prove yourself to me. You’re already my number one.”

“But I haven’t done anything yet,” he pouted. I gave him a sad smile. Spike had gotten it in his head that he had to be my assistant. But in all honesty, I didn’t see Blaze as assistant material. We had formed more of a mother-son relationship over the many months I’d cared for him and his brother Garble. It was great that he wanted to help, and I wouldn’t object, but I could never really think of him as any old assistant.

“You’ve already done more than you can imagine,” I told him. He looked puzzled, and sat quietly astride my back as he thought over my words. I chuckled quietly to myself, and turned my attention back to the road. The Hayburger was just up the way. I steered us for the restaurant, bringing Blaze out of the recesses of his mind.

“That’s it, right? Spike showed me when he took us on that tour of Ponyville, but we didn’t actually get to go inside.”

“Yep, that’s the Hayburger. And there’s Torchwood!” I eyed his dark coat from the window, already in line. I somehow managed to attract his attention, and he waved. Blaze hopped off, and I waved back. Torchwood stepped out of line long enough to greet us. I painfully noticed that even Blaze was a little shy around him, though he allowed himself to be pulled into a loose embrace.

“Hey, kiddo. Have a good day?”

“Yeah,” was all he got out of Blaze. Torchwood cast me a glance to ask, ‘What now?’ I could only helplessly shrug back.

“Well... what do you feel like? I’ll get your order in if you go find us a seat. This place is filling up fast.”

“Okay. Can I get a hayburger with extra crispy hayfries?”

“And the chocolate milkshake,” I winked.

“As you wish, my liege,” Torchwood jokingly bowed; that was quite a feat, considering his incredible height. Blaze didn’t really find it funny and just walked off to find a seat. I scooted into line beside my fiancé, who sighed. “Am I doing something wrong?”

“He just needs to warm up to you,” I assured. “I had months- over a year, actually. You’ve had a week. Just give it time.”

“We both know it’s more than that,” he quietly said. I was silent as we shuffled forward in line. Admittedly, I did know that it ran deeper. Granted, Blaze’s first impression of Torchwood had been a hero who rescued his mother from being mobbed by a group of angry dragons. However, his second, more recent experience had involved watching him fire a nearly fatal shot at Twilight. It hit me instead. Even I still shuddered at the experience. I knew it wasn’t his fault, and didn’t blame him for it. It had been the darkness in his thestral side coming out. It had since been vanquished. There was nothing more to blame, but Blaze couldn’t quite comprehend this just yet.

“You know it wasn’t your fault.”

“Wasn’t it? That was my shot. I almost killed you because I wasn’t strong enough to fight it.”

“You promised me you’d let it go,” I reminded. He looked away. “Look, there were times that I couldn’t fight it either. It kept bubbling up and trying to take over. It wasn’t. Your. Fault.”

“Can I get your order?” A rather tired and frazzled looking clerk interrupted us from the counter. The pony ahead of us had just moved off. We stepped up to fill the space.

“Yes. I’d like two hayburgers and one order of extra crispy hayfries.”

“Would you like a drink with that?”

“One bottle of spring water and a small chocolate milkshake,” he put in.

“Make that three. A hayburger sounds good to me too,” I decided. “And a lemonade to drink.” The cashier looked over at me for my order, but gave me a queer look when her eyes settled on my face.

“Hey, you’re that thestral couple that’s getting married, aren’t you?”

“How’d you know?” Torchwood suspiciously pried.

“Everypony’s talking about it!” she ecstatically exclaimed.

“They are?”

“Of course! This is the first thestral wedding in centuries! It’s a huge event!”

“Well it’s certainly a special day for us, but I wouldn’t call it a huge event...”

“Is it true that Princess Celestia invited you to host the ceremony at the palace?”

“What? No!”

“What about the dragons? Are you really inviting them to the wedding?”

“The only dragons that are going to be there are Blaze and Spike, but they’re local,” I stated, brow furrowed in confusion. Why was Equestria making such a big deal out of this? Did they expect it to be different just because it was two thestrals getting married?

“Garble isn’t coming?” Torchwood almost looked surprised.

“He’s welcome to come, but he’ll never stand for that ‘mushy stuff,’” I answered. Getting off track, I turned back to the clerk. “Look, can we just get our order in?”

“Oh! Of course. Congratulations, by the way.”

“How much do I owe you?” Torchwood asked.

“Sixteen bits,” she answered.

“Just sixteen? That can’t be right,” he muttered, running the numbers in his head.

“Oh, I gave you a slight discount. Just between us, hmm? Consider it a wedding present from the Hayburger to you,” she giggled in such a sugary voice I was almost sick.

“I’ll go get the napkins,” I hastily excused myself. Torchwood almost glared at me for abandoning him to the waitress. I cast a somewhat apologetic glance back. I gathered the napkins, ketchup, silverware and whatnot before finding Blaze at a booth. He was doodling on one of the paper placemats.

“How’s it look?” he asked, holding it up. Though the drawing was crude, it had seriously improved since the first drawing he’d shown me. (With nothing better to do during our exile in the Frozen North, I sometimes taught my companions what I knew.) I could even identify it as his brother.

“Much better,” I complimented. “You’ve improved a lot.”

“It doesn’t look much better to me,” he pouted. “Nothing like what you do.”

“I’ve had years,” I explained. “Experience comes over time. You have to practice before you can get good at something, right?”

“Yeah...” He didn’t look convinced.

“Do you want me to start teaching you again?”

“Would you?”

“Sure! This won’t be just in my spare time, either. I’ll give you a real, proper class to practice.”

“That would be awesome! Do you think it’ll impress Garble?” I knew better than to say yes. He was ‘too cool’ for that kind of thing, now that he was back with his clique. When it was just us three, Garble had let his sensitive side show through. But now that he was back with his crew, he had to toughen up. He didn’t want any of them to think he’d gone soft. I’d noticed an instantaneous change the first time we went to visit them.

“We’ll see,” I said instead. Blaze wasn’t deterred.

“This’ll be great!” Encouraged by our new appointment, he continued doodling. I shuffled my hooves, a little embarrassed about the question I was about to ask, but curious nevertheless.

“Hey, Blaze?”

“Yeah?”

“Have you been hearing... rumors about our wedding?”

“Rumors? Well, Pinkie keeps insisting that it’s going to be the best wedding ever.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

“Well, what kind of rumors?”

“I don’t know. It just seems like everypony expects our wedding to be something special, just because we’re thestrals. I don’t want to have to live up to expectations on our special day. That kind of defeats the purpose.”

“That’s stupid,” Blaze wrinkled his nose. “I haven’t heard anything like that.”

“Well, maybe I’ll ask Rarity. She’s always up on the latest gossip. It’d also explain why she’s been so stressed about getting my wedding dress absolutely perfect...”

“Hey, Miss Acrylic!” I recognized the cheery young voice.

“Hi, Apple Bloom, girls. I haven’t seen you guys in ages. How’ve you been?”

“Okay, I guess. But we still don’t have our cutie marks.”

“Give it time,” I smiled. “They’ll come eventually.”

“About that...” Sweetie Belle shuffled her hooves before mumbling something to Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom whispered back, then jabbed a hoof at Scootaloo. They seemed to be arguing amongst themselves.

“Yes?” I prompted.

“Well,” Scootaloo finally spoke up. “We were wondering if you could help us find our special talents.”

“Me?”

“Yeah! I mean, you’re such a good artist and all, we wondered if you’d teach us.”

“It would be so cool to have a painter’s cutie mark!”

“We asked Rarity, but she said she was too busy,” Sweetie Belle huffed.

“She said not to ask you yet, since you had so much on your mind with the wedding and all...”

“Congratulations on that, by the way!”

“Yeah, congrats. So we’d understand if you were too busy, too.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I was flattered that they thought me experienced enough to pass on my knowledge, but was I really capable of doing so? Ever since the attempted thestral uprising, I hadn’t been so sure of my own capabilities.

When Princess Celestia and Princess Luna took away my wings, it also removed my cutie mark. I’d gotten it back in the end, though slightly altered. I’d been puzzled by why it disappeared in the first place. Through all my friends’ crazy mishaps and adventures, never once had they lost their cutie marks. So why had mine vanished altogether? When they transformed me into an earth pony, had they taken away something that would prevent me from finding my calling in life? A part of my thestral side that was critical to fulfilling my destiny? In pondering such questions, I was left with an even bigger one: ‘who am I?’ Everypony kept trying to dismiss the incident as a side effect of the spell or a simple fluke, but I couldn’t help but believe that my cutie mark held deeper meaning than I previously thought.

I doubted myself, but here these three young fillies had enough confidence in me to ask if I would be their teacher! I couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps through teaching, I too would learn.

I looked down at Blaze- I’d already promised him personal time. But he nodded vigorously, glad for the company.

“I’d love to,” I smiled.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I’ve already promised to teach Blaze. You three are welcome to join us.”

“You’re the new dragon, right?” Scootaloo peered up at the orange hatchling beside me.

“That’s me,” he proudly boasted.

“We haven’t actually met. I’m Scootaloo.”

“I’m Apple Bloom. And this here’s Sweetie Belle.”

“Hi!” the white unicorn filly piped up.

“Oh, I already know you,” he casually waved. “Acrylic painted all your portraits while we were living up in the Frozen North.” I elbowed him. “What?” he hissed.

“You did?” Apple Bloom beamed.

“Wait, you went to the Frozen North?”

“Yeah! We lived up there for almost a year.”

“Was it cool?”

“It was a lot colder than that,” he corrected. “More like icy, sub-zero, winter weather all the time.” Giggles erupted out of the girls.

“You’ve got to tell us all about it, sometime!” Scootaloo begged.

“Really? You want to know about the Frozen North?”

“More like dragons in general. They’re so cool! I mean, we’ve talked to Spike and all, but he was raised around ponies. I want to know what real wild dragons are like!”

“Well, okay. We’ll do that.”

“Why don’t you sit with us?”

“Yeah! You can tell us everything over lunch!” Blaze looked to me.

“Can I?”

“Go have fun.” I nudged him out of the booth with a wink.

“O-okay!” He wasn’t used to the special attention, and wasn’t quite sure how to react at first. But once he settled in, he regained his confidence. Torchwood didn’t take much longer to appear with the tray.

“He left us?” he observed, noting Blaze over with the fillies.

“The girls didn’t really leave him with much of a choice,” I replied, moving Blaze’s food onto a separate tray to bring to him. Torchwood grinned at the comment. Blaze was already engrossed in his storytelling, and barely looked up when the tray was set down. The girls were fixated on his claw gestures that depicted the tale. Smiling to myself, I slid into the booth with Torchwood, somewhat relieved to finally have him to myself. It was getting harder and harder to find time alone with just the two of us.

“They asked me to give them art lessons,” I went on.

“Did they, now? What did you tell them?”

“I’m going to do it.”

“That’s a big leap from studio artist,” he noted.

“I know. I wasn’t so sure about it myself, but maybe it’ll help me.”

“To find out what your cutie mark really means?” Though I had purposefully chosen to leave that off the end of my sentence, he read my mind. I looked away and bashfully nodded.

“I know everypony says that it was just a fluke, but I think it was something more than that. I can feel it! Maybe through teaching, I’ll learn something myself.”

“The teacher often learns more than the student,” he nodded. “I suppose at some point or another you were bound to pick up an apprentice. I just didn’t think you’d wind up with three of them.”

“I’ve got four, counting Blaze,” I corrected. He nodded, letting his gaze drift away. “I’m sure you’ll get one of your own, too.” I knew how badly he wanted an apprentice. In the sectors we used to live in, school wasn’t an option, so it was everypony’s dream to become skilled enough in their field to take on and train an apprentice of their own. Fire dancers had become so rare, it was difficult for Torch to find one. And now that we had rejoined Equestria, the mentor-apprentice relationship had all but died out. Regardless, Torch’s desire to pass on his knowledge had never died out.

“Perhaps,” he disbelievingly agreed.

“Deliveries go smoothly?” I asked, changing the subject. I slid his water across the table.

“More or less,” he replied, turning over my burger. “Pish Posh has another new order, and Pristine Gallery wanted to make sure you were thanked for getting her last minute placement in so quickly.”

“She’s so sweet,” I smiled. The poor mare often found it hard to say no to her clients, and sometimes got in over her head with work. She’d recently started turning to me to help her satisfy customers.

“I also got Graphite’s package to him...”

“And?”

“And I also asked him about being my best colt.”

“And?! What did he say?” I almost jumped out of my seat in suspense.

“Well, at first he wouldn’t take me seriously, and accused me of pulling some kind of cruel prank,” he admitted with a dry chuckle. “But in the end, I convinced him. He’s in.”

“That’s fantastic!”

“It was quite a relief,” he sighed. “For a while, I wasn’t sure if he’d say yes. He got mad at me for ‘getting him back like that.’” I laughed.

“Poor Graphite. He feels so bad about before that he can’t comprehend that we’ve actually put it behind us.”

“I hoped this would help him understand, but it almost pushed him farther away,” Torchwood agreed. “Your friends, on the other hoof, can’t seem to get involved enough!”

“They’re pretty excited, for sure. We added blue to the color scheme, by the way. It was the only way I could finally convince Rarity to settle on a wedding dress. Now she’s calling in the rest of the girls to design the bridesmaid gowns.”

“I feel bad for them,” he joked. “I’d hate to have to act as a living mannequin.”

“Just you wait. Rarity hasn’t gotten to your suit yet,” I reminded with a mischievous grin. He realized the torture to come, and pouted. I playfully poked him. “Oh, it’s not that bad. She’ll take a few measurements, ask for input, and send you on your way.”

“Promise?” He jutted out his lower lip to add a pitiful effect.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” I vowed with a smile.

“So, has anypony replied to the invitations?”

“The Cakes promised they’d be able to stay for the reception. Applejack is obviously coming, but she said that she had a few ‘friends’ she wanted to bring along. If I know her, half the Apple family will probably turn up.”

“What about Discord? Is he coming?” I rolled my eyes.

“It’s Discord! He’ll show up if he feels like it.” Torchwood chuckled agreement.

“Who else?”

“Well, Twilight and Rarity want to bring their folks. Then there’s the mayor, Tanzanite Miner, Earthen Flame, the Solo twins, Colgate, Bon Bon, Lyra Heartstrings, Ditzy Doo, Time Turner, Rose, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, Carrot Top, Cloud Kicker, Berry Punch, Sea Swirl, Filthy Rich and his family...”

“So in other words, everypony said yes?”

“Minus three,” I confirmed with a nod. The sad look in my eye instantly identified the trio of ponies still unaccounted for.

“Still haven’t gotten ahold of your family?” he asked.

“I’ve asked around, and nopony’s seen them. I’ve checked the Ponyville campsite, and they’re not there. I don’t want to spend the biggest day of my life without them!”

“We’ll get ahold of them,” he assured.

“They don’t even know about you,” I sighed. “How are they going to react? I should have visited them before now. It was just too painful...” I bit my lip.

“Not all the thestrals were there at the Tree of Harmony, you know. Some of them are still spread throughout the Everfree. The news may not have reached them.”

“You think they’re still out in the forest?”

“It’s a possibility. Should we ask Twilight to send a few scouts out?”

“Actually, I think this is something I should do myself.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“Would you?”

“Of course.”

“It might be a good idea to get the official documents from Twilight, though. They might not take the news seriously from the two thestrals who left in the first place.”

“Good idea. Do you think we should have somepony else tag along to prove the point? Somepony who isn’t a thestral?”

“Who did you have in mind?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Do you think you could talk Rainbow Dash into going back? She’s been warming up to thestrals pretty quickly.”

“I’m sure I can convince her,” I winked.

“You know, Twilight might like to come along herself. After all, who better to welcome the rest of them back than the Princess herself?”

“I suppose it couldn’t hurt to ask...” I mumbled. I wasn’t sure how they’d react to an alicorn after all this time. A pegasus didn’t look so threatening, at least. Torchwood didn’t notice the hint of worry in my voice.

“Good. Are you going to be busy after lunch? We can take off as soon as we’re finished.”

“I’m sure I can take a break,” I confirmed. He gave a definite nod, satisfied with our new plans. I took a small, thoughtful bite of the hayburger. Was my family really still out there?

Chapter 3: Messengers

“Hey, Rainbow Dash!” I heard the snores turn to snorts as she started to rouse.

“W-what?” she yawned, rubbing her eyes. I glided down to land gently on the cloud she’d been napping on. Seeing it was just me, she flopped back down. “Five more minutes.”

“Have a good rest?” I chided.

“What do you want?” she groggily groaned, rolling over.

“Come on, sleepyhead. Wake up!”

“Can’t it wait?” she groaned.

“You don’t even know what I’m here for!”

“Doesn’t matter. Come back later.”

“You sure you don’t want to know why I’m here before you chase me away?” Realizing I wasn’t going to leave her alone, she jerked back up in annoyance.

“Oh, for Celestia’s sake! What is it?”

“Oh, nothing. Just wondered if you were interested in meeting my parents...”

“Come again?” The way I talked about my father, Wind Storm, almost made him seem like an idol in Rainbow’s eyes. He was, in fact, the fastest thestral I’d ever known. He was much faster than me, and I could already keep up with Rainbow- most of the time. She’d been incredibly eager to meet him.

“Well, I’ve been having trouble finding them all to invite them to the wedding, so Torchwood suggested that maybe they never got the memo. We’re going to the Everfree for a quick fly over to round up any stragglers. You in?”

“Well, since you’ve already got me up...” She tried to disguise her excitement under a calm and casual mask. It wasn’t working.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” I apologetically smiled. “Come on. Torchwood’s trying to recruit Twilight to join us.”

“Yeah? How’d that work out?”

“Well, let’s go see.”

“There you are! You ready to go?” To my surprise, it was Twilight who greeted us. She was wearing her saddlebags, which had been packed with several official looking documents.

“Uh, yeah... So you’re coming after all?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world! Princess Celestia left me in charge of integrating the thestrals back into society, and if some have been left behind, it’s my duty to make sure they’re recovered,” she declared, stuffing another scroll into the already packed saddlebags.

“Have a good trip!” Spike waved from inside. He’d been reunited with Blaze, and the two both waved from inside. While Blaze did have wings, he hadn’t learned to fly just yet. They hadn’t filled out enough to lift him off the ground. Even if he was able to fly, I doubted he could keep up for the duration of our trip. It was best that they both stay behind.

“Alright, then.” I backed out of the library, surprised at how quickly we’d gotten organized.

“Now, before we leave, I thought that it might be a good idea to divide into groups,” Twilight stated. “That way we can cover more ground. Acrylic, could you go with Rainbow Dash? I don’t mean to split you up from your fiancé, Torchwood, but I think it would be best if there’s a thestral in each group.”

“Good thinking,” he agreed.

“And Acrylic’s the only pony who can actually keep up with Rainbow. That leaves the two of us.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Rainbow exclaimed, jumping into the air. Twilight made no move to call her back, so I started after her.

“Acrylic, here!” A few of her scrolls were levitated up to me. “Just in case you find anypony, you’ve got proof,” she explained.

“Thanks,” I called back down. Rainbow was waiting for me, so I zoomed up after her.

“Any ideas on where we should start looking?” she called over the wind.

“Our best bet will probably be my old sector,” I answered. “Blade Wing Four. It’s this way.” I knew she wouldn’t tolerate a casual flight, and picked up the pace.

“Whatever you say, boss,” she saluted, slicing through the air after me. I looked back to find Torchwood and Twilight taking a much slower gait. Knowing her, she was probably taking the opportunity to learn all she could about fire dancing from an expert. At that pace, they’d get some ground covered, but it would be mostly up to Rainbow and I. Better get busy, in that case. I flapped even harder, pushing me into the lead. Rainbow took that to mean I wanted to race, and streaked off in a rainbow colored blur. I didn’t have much of a choice but to keep up. She had the advantage, though; I had to make sure the documents weren’t lost. I was beginning to wish I’d brought my own saddlebags. The wind was doing its best to steal them from me.

I soon forgot about the scrolls, and lost myself to the contest. I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. The air whistling by my ears almost seemed to be singing to me. I shut my eyes, furled my wings, and simply dropped. Rainbow got worried at first, but then remembering how much I loved to free fall, she flipped onto her back and dropped with me. What had started out as a relaxing free fall quickly escalated into a stunt competition. First, Rainbow tried impressing me with a series of barrel rolls. I countered that with a last minute free fall recovery, pulling up inches from the ground. She corralled five particularly puffy clouds and sculpted them into a shape resembling her cutie mark in ten seconds flat. Meanwhile, I was folding into another headlong dive for the trees, using the fold of skin inside my wing elbow (or wing membrane, as it was called) to swing me back up into the air and perform crazy spins and weaves. By the time I recovered from my dizziness, Rainbow was a speck in the sky. I perched on a cloud to catch my breath and regain my balance. What was she doing? By the time I realized, it was too late. Rainbow was going in for a sonic rainboom.

She was just a few hundred feet above me when she reached the required speed. At that rate, it would only take seconds to bring her to my level. I was trying to wave for her to stop, but she didn’t see me. A sonic rainboom would wake up the entire Everfree! While it did seem like the quickest way to attract thestrals, I didn’t feel like dealing with ursa majors or cragadiles today. Given our current location, though, we’d more likely have to face off with timberwolves or manticores. There would be no escape, then; the latter had wings.

My wings snapped open to bring me in her direction. I wasn’t sure what I hoped to do. Collide? At least it would slow her down and stop the shockwave from shaking the forest. She saw me coming, but she was going too fast. She swerved to avoid the collision, but only sped up. Before I could dive after her, a deafening *BOOM* struck me senseless. White noise rang in my ears, and I dropped about a hundred feet before finally regaining enough sense to recover. I hovered midair, shaking my head in an attempt to return to reality. Rainbow wasn’t too happy with me, either.

“What was that for? Afraid to get shown up?”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?” I shouted back. She remained silent, willing to hear me out. I was more interested in hearing something suspicious come from the forest. I listened for any unusual rustlings. I was too high up to hear anything if I’d wanted to. “A blast that loud would wake up the whole forest,” I explained in the sternest voice I could manage.

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Not when we’re right above manticore territory,” I hissed.

“Oh.” Realization hit her like a brick wall. Something moving in the corner of my eye attracted my attention. My jaw dropped.

“THE SCROLLS!” The abandoned parchments were fluttering to the ground. I must have dropped them when the blast of the rainboom hit me. Rainbow and I both dove to retrieve them. She was faster, and caught two in one swoop. I retrieved one, and eyed a second settled atop the tree canopy.

“Did you get them all?” Rainbow panted, cradling the two in the crook of her elbows.

“There’s one missing,” I gasped. “Twilight gave us five. We only have four!”

“So that means...”

“It’s down there,” I finished. We both peered through a gap in the branches, down at manticore territory.

“Find it yet?” Rainbow hissed. I peered under another bush.

“No. Be quiet!” She’d snapped another twig. Manticores had exceptional hearing. She gingerly stepped over a rock and explored a fox burrow. “Ugh. Where could it have gone?”

“Twilight’s going to kill us!” I whimpered, circling another tree trunk.

“Check the branches,” Rainbow ordered. “Maybe it got caught coming down.”

“It might be a better job for you. You don’t have such a large wingspan. You’ll fit between the branches better than me.”

“Alright. You take that grove, then.”

“Right.” I jumped over a couple of ferns to the area she indicated. The grove was shrouded by a ring of densely packed trees and shrubs. I poked around under the greenery for a while, but found nothing. I wasn’t sure how to get through the trees without attracting attention, but finally managed an angle where I could poke my head through. My breath caught in my throat. No wonder the trees were so densely packed. I should’ve known better than to go poking around in it. This was a manticore den! I jerked away, but then remembered that I was supposed to be quiet, and tiptoed the rest of the way. When I thought I was out of immediate danger, I scrambled back to where I’d left Rainbow. We had to get out of here, scroll or no scroll.

“Rainbow?” I whispered. I wasn’t sure what I was hoping to achieve with that. I’d have to raise my voice and risk attracting the manticores if I wanted her to hear me. I cleared my throat.

“Rainbow Dash!” I winced. The entire Everfree must have heard that. There was a rustling in the trees nearby. Already on edge, it didn’t take much to put me into full defense mode. A couple of leaves fluttering to the ground told me it wasn’t a manticore. They never attacked from the trees. And instead of snarling, all I could hear was faded grunting. I climbed onto one of the sturdier bows to investigate. The sight that met me made me want to face-hoof.

“A little help?” Rainbow grunted, tugging at her entrapped wing. The pegasus had somehow managed to work her way into a particularly dense cluster of branches. The problem was, she couldn’t get out.

“When I said you could fit through smaller spaces, I didn’t mean that small!”

“Thanks for that,” she grumbled.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” I said, awkwardly hovering beside her. My wings weren’t made for such tight quarters.

“First, I have to get out of here,” she irritably reminded, taking my hoof and pulling. I pulled back, hoping to break her out of the tangled brambles. “Ow! Careful!”

“Shh! You don’t understand!”

“Quit pulling so hard!” All of Equestria must have heard that one.

“Be quiet!” We both froze, ears swiveled forward as a growl echoed through the already dark and eerie forest.

“What was that?” Rainbow shuddered.

“I was trying to tell you,” I groaned. The mother manticore came smashing through the brush. We couldn’t yet see her, but she was coming up fast. “We’re about a hundred yards from a manticore den.”

“WHAT?!” She was practically screaming, not helping our case. The crashes came faster, closer. I pulled harder, despite Rainbow’s protests. A loud crack sounded her freedom. The branches snapped, sending us both tumbling to the ground. We were each tangled in each other’s wings. Well, mostly mine, given that they were long enough to envelope the both of us. By the time we were both back on our hooves, hot breath trickled down our backs. A very angry manticore proved to be the source.

“RUN!” Too late. Rainbow was already trying to fight it. Would she ever listen to me? I couldn’t let her face down the beast alone. What else could I do but join in? I reared, and brought my hooves down hard, not only causing an earth-shattering quake to rock the ground but also blasting white flames into existence. I recalled the little training Torchwood provided me in the art of fire dancing, and directed the fire with my mind to envelope the manticore. I didn’t want to burn her; she was only defending her cubs. So I kept the fire cool, but briefly let small patches grow very hot to chase her off. She howled at the pinching sensation I created, only making her angrier. I didn’t understand. This technique always worked to chase off Everfree creatures. We used it all the time back when I still lived out here. What was I doing wrong?

“YAAH!” Rainbow reeled back to avoid being hit with the creature’s scorpion tail.

“Get back!” I screamed. “Run! Just run!”

“What about the scroll?”

“Forget the scroll!” Finally, Rainbow listened to me. She darted off into the open sky. I was inches from freedom myself, when I felt claws digging into my ankle and dragging me back down. A startled whinny was all I could manage. I wasn’t sure if Rainbow heard me; a veil of leaves soon blocked my view. I lashed out, kicked, writhed, and did everything in my power to get out of the manticore’s claws. The vague stinging around my hoof told me that she’d broken skin. I’d suffer worse damage than a mere scratch if I didn’t get away soon.

I was flung to the ground, hitting hard against the base of a tree. The breath was knocked out of me by a tremendous force; I looked up to find a giant paw was planted squarely on my chest. The other paw was raised to plant the death blow. I flinched, closing my eyes in preparation for impact. The familiar whistling told me that help was on the way. A delay of the crushing hit caused me to peek an eye open: Rainbow was folded into a steep dive right for us. She’d attracted the manticore’s attention, too. She swooped down, barely knocking into the creature. It was still enough to make the manticore falter. So long as she was sparring with Rainbow, she was too busy to remember little old me. I shoved with all my might, pushing her off of me completely and fighting fire with fire, literally. This time, I let the flames blaze. She howled, finally backing off.

I couldn’t keep up the intense temperature much longer. But I couldn’t escape, either. My wing had been damaged somewhere in the skirmish. The pain was too much. I knew I’d never be able to take off like this. Even if Rainbow had realized my predicament, I doubted she’d be able to carry me very far. So I was stuck between a rock and a hard place, or more appropriately, between the ground and an angry manticore. My energy was wearing out. Even Rainbow had her limits. She was wearing thin as well. I couldn’t maintain the fire wall. It sputtered out. The manticore glared down at me, hatred in her eyes. Rainbow had vanished.

Chapter 4: Acrylic's Parents

I shrunk back, pressed against what might have been the same tree trunk as before. She was coming for me, and this time, there was no escape. Her breath was hot, and stung my coat like venom. I lashed at her nose with my hooves, but there was no fight left in me. They pinged off like nothing. If anything, she almost seemed amused at my attempt at this point. Looking past her, I noted Rainbow’s crumpled form discarded into the shrubs. She wasn’t moving. So she wasn’t coming to my rescue, and I certainly wasn’t coming to hers. This was it. I shut my eyes again. I didn’t want to watch this.

I didn’t have to. Something hard and hot blasted into the manticore’s side. It was too stunned to make a sound as the force caused it to tumble. Then a pale blur shot out of the shadows, picking up the fight where we left off. I couldn’t recognize our mysterious hero; he moved too fast. But it was obvious he was a thestral by the pale yellow flames he emitted. I didn’t have time to ponder his identity.

While the manticore was distracted, I limped over to Rainbow, and tried shaking her back to consciousness. “Rainbow? Rainbow, get up!” A loud groan told me she was okay. “Dashie, we’ve got to get out of here!”

“Five more minutes,” she moaned.

“You can have all the time you want once we’re back in Ponyville. Get up!” I could only drag her further from the clearing to keep us from getting trampled. Whoever had come to our rescue was making short work of the manticore. Rainbow was finally fully awake, and hunkered down with me to watch. A couple of hedges provided enough cover. I soon realized why my attacks hadn’t had the desired effect: I was untrained. A real thestral guard was prepared and exact, always ready to take on whatever danger they were faced with. I hadn’t lived in the Everfree for years, and let my guard down. My attack was unstrategic and sloppy. This thestral acted with extreme speed and precision.

The pale form attacked in a recurring pattern: kick, spin, fly, repeat. Kick, spin, fly, repeat. This allowed him to elude the manticore with extreme cunning while still planting a few blows here and there. After what seemed like an eternity, the manticore had enough. She bellowed defiance before tramping back into the underbrush. Rainbow and I stepped out from hiding to give our thanks, but the figure still hadn’t turned around. He was pale blue with a short, windblown mane and tail. The outer edges were tinged with white, but the inner hairs were a light blue just slightly more saturated than Rainbow’s coat. I couldn’t tell much else about him with his back to us. He was breathing heavily from the exertion of the fight, looking after the manticore as if he couldn’t believe he’d won.

“Uh... sir?” I called, hoping to attract his attention. He perked up, remembering the foolish fillies he’d just saved. He straightened from his crouched position, revealing his deceptively towering height. He would probably be eye level with Torchwood, but he was much more buff than my fiancé. Strength rippled in his large frame, that much was evident. When he turned, I was faced with kind and familiar blue eyes. I almost choked.

“DAD!”

“Acry-?” He was cut off when I tackled him into a bear hug, teary eyed. He squeezed me right back, wings folded around me in protective embrace. “Don’t you know better than to mess with a fully grown manticore?” he playfully chided.

“I do now,” I answered, burying myself deeper into his arms.

“Where’ve you been all this time?” he pried me away so he could get a good look at my face. “Look at you! You’re all grown up.”

“I was grown up when I left, Dad,” I insisted.

“Of course you were. But you’re different. You look... older.”

“Gee, thanks,” I laughed.

“What’s this?” Something shiny caught his eye, and he fished my engagement ring out of my mane. I thanked Celestia the chain hadn’t broken or come loose in the mayhem. His eyes grew wide with realization. “You’re...”

“I’ve been trying to get ahold of you and Mom,” I said with a nod. “We couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Honey, we haven’t moved an inch! Where’ve you been looking?”

“So you haven’t heard, then?”

“Heard what?”

“That thestrals are moving back into Equestria. All of them, not just in small groups like I did. The Princesses made it official and everything. There’s been a scramble to get thestrals placed in homes and stuff... I assumed you’d already been relocated.”

“Thestrals are back?”

“For good, this time.”

“That’s...” I wasn’t sure how he was taking the news.

“Dad?”

“That’s wonderful! I didn’t dare believe it when I saw the declaration. I assumed it was some colt’s idea of a prank. But I suppose this is yours, then?” I looked at the parchment he offered, recognizing it instantly as the lost document we’d come to retrieve.

“Uh, yeah,” I admitted, taking the troublesome scroll.

“You did it, then? You brought us back to the light, just like you said you would all those years ago?”

“With some help.” I remembered that Rainbow was probably awkwardly standing in the background, watching our reunion. I looked back to where she was standing, making her presence known and also accrediting her to assisting in our return.

“Hello, there,” Dad said, standing up. I moved out from underneath him to give him room, but still tucked myself under his wing.

“Dad, I’d like you to meet Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, meet my dad.”

“Mr. Wind Storm, it’s so good to finally meet you! Acrylic’s told me so much!” She eagerly shook his hoof when it was extended.

“All good things, I hope?”

“Very, very good things!” she assured. “You’re a really good flyer, right?”

“I like to think so,” he proudly confessed.

“I’d love to put that to the test sometime. If you don’t mind, that is,” she hurriedly added.

“Well, I don’t like to disappoint, but I’m afraid age is getting the best of me.”

“That’s for sure. I barely recognized you!” I playfully batted at a loose strand of white hair. The outer rim of his mane was once a glorious dark blue to match his eyes. Now, it had faded to its current cloudy color. He narrowed his eyes at the remark, taking it all in good humor.

“Well, old age or not, I have a reputation to uphold. It’s a date.”

“YES!”

“Where’s Mom? Back at the camp?”

“Along with a few others. We heard that there was to be a revolution; a thestral uprising, no less! Our numbers are dwindling since the recruitment of soldiers, admittedly, but a few remain.”

“I can’t wait to see Wild Flower again,” I squealed, happily trotting along after him. She was my sister, whom I hadn’t seen in years.

“Wild Flower?”

“She is here, isn’t she?”

“No. Shortly after you moved to Ponyville, Wild Flower decided to find her own way in Equestria too. I’d have thought she’d meet up with you out there.”

“I never saw her in Ponyville,” I shook my head. “Ugh! I tried so hard just to track you down. Now I have to go find her, too?”

“Well, she’s out there somewhere, I’m sure of it. We’ll have her rounded up before your big day. When is it, by the way? Goodness, I don’t even know who you’re engaged to! Is is somepony I know?”

“No, but he’s a thestral, too. His name’s Torchwood, from Midnight Armor Sector Two. He’s a fire dancer, and a good one at that. You’ll just love him!”

“We’ll see about that.” I didn’t like the tone of voice Dad had used.

“Come on, Dad. Just give him a chance.”

“It’s my job to worry about you. I wish you’d at least have introduced us before you decide to marry him!”

“I told you, I couldn’t get ahold of you guys. You never did write, you know.”

“Too risky. We couldn’t smuggle the letters in and out without raising suspicion. I guess that doesn’t matter now, does it?”

“Nope. I’ve even got a dragon friend, now. You can send your letters directly through him. Torchwood says that thestrals can send letters like they can. I tried to write to him once, but there was a magic barrier inhibiting them from being received.”

“A dragon?” Dad seemed surprised. “Where’d you find a dragon in Ponyville?”

“Not in Ponyville. You remember Ignition?”

“Of course I do! How is she?” The color drained from my face, and my expression told him exactly what had become of the dragoness. “Oh. Oh, no. I’m so sorry.”

“Me too. Well, Blaze was her youngest son. I promised to look out for him, so now he lives with me.”

“Doesn’t he have an older brother? Garble, wasn’t it? What’s become of him?”

“He’s ‘too cool’ for ponies. He moved back to the dragon flock.”

“Ah. I see.”

“Oh, I’ve just got so much to tell you and Mom! Hey, are we almost there? I don’t remember the trip taking so long.”

“You aren’t used to coming this way, either. And on hoof, no less. We speed demons used to cross the whole Everfree in five minutes. The trip takes a little longer down on the ground, you know. What do you say to a fly over?”

“I’m in!” Rainbow declared.

“I... can’t...” I sighed. Dad squinted, scrutinizing my frame more closely than before. The bloodied ankle and bent wing must have stood out like complimentary colors.

“Oh, what have you done to yourself?” he sighed, sitting me down before I could aggravate the wound any more.

“It was the manticore,” I indignantly huffed, wincing as he fooled with the gash.

“Your mother will be able to bandage this better than me,” he finally said. “Climb up.”

“What, on your back? No, thanks. I think I prefer to wal-” I was cut off when somepony yanked me off the ground and dropped me on Dad’s back. Rainbow smirked down from above.

“Hang on,” he ordered. I didn’t have much of a choice when his powerful wings lifted the both of us up into the air. I wrapped my hooves around his neck, taking care not to inhibit his flying ability. Rainbow was exhausted, but that didn’t keep her from chasing after us. She’d left the other scrolls wrapped safely in a cloud, so she made a quick detour to retrieve them. Dad was going fast, but not fast enough for Rainbow to take it as a race. I set my head on his, watching the treetops fly by. He didn’t seem to mind.

It wasn’t the same as flying myself, but I shut my eyes as the breeze sifted through my mane. It didn’t look like I’d be up here again any time soon with my wing busted as it was. Even so, I clung for my life. If he banked too hard one way, I’d be sent tumbling back into the trees. Of course, my flying expert knew this, and barely turned at all. In fact, instead of banking into the clearing as we usually did, he just sort of... dropped down. Hence, this wasn’t his most graceful landing. Rainbow came down in the proper manner with one clean swoop. Realizing the unusual circumstances, she made no comment about Dad’s clumsy landing. I hopped off without delay, glad to be back on my own four- er, three- hooves.

Dad wasn’t kidding. The clearing looked, well, clear. Most of the tents had already been taken down. Only a few sparse structures remained, spread throughout the clearing. The central bonfire still remained, currently ablaze with somepony’s deep purple fire. With such an open view, it was easy for me to identify our old tent. Mom’s pottery was still littered around the front. As if on cue, the mare shuffled out from behind the canvas structure with another new creation clutched between her jaws. Thestrals were nocturnal, so she must have been up late. This assumption was reinforced by her droopy eyes.

She wasn’t as tall as Dad, but still stood an inch above me. Her coat was pale yellow, but a shade brighter and just a touch more green than Fluttershy’s. Her mane was kept up in a green and pink swirled beehive with bangs bouncing over her eyes. Her tail was loosely twirled in on itself, but wasn’t really styled in any particular manner. She had beautiful emerald eyes, which were sometimes framed by stylish glasses. It was clear who I’d inherited my curled ears from, though her muzzle was small and petite like most mares unlike my pointed one. Her cutie mark depicted a simple red-clay vase.

“MA!” I called, dashing across the clearing on my three good hooves. Her head snapped around at the sound of my voice, and she dropped her latest creation into the grass. (Luckily, it didn’t break.)

“Acrylic!” She bolted to meet me halfway. Being so much larger than me as she was, she could have easily bowled me over. But I knew better. She was too gentle for that. She slowed down in plenty of time to scoop me into warm embrace. “I’ve missed you,” she sniffled through happy tears.

“I missed you too,” I choked.

“Let me look at you,” she smiled, taking a step back and releasing me from her hold.

“We do need you to take a look at her ankle, specifically,” Dad said, coming forward to greet his wife. Mom returned his nuzzle, peered down at the cut, and scowled at me.

“What have you gotten yourself into?”

“Oh, nothing big. You know... just a little skirmish with a... a manticore...” My voice got quieter and quieter in an attempt to muffle my answer. But there was no fooling Mother.

“A MANTICORE? You faced off with a manticore by yourself? Come, now! Your father drilled more sense into you than that.”

“Well, I wasn’t alone. Rainbow was with me.” I gestured back at my waiting pegasus friend. Luckily, Mom wasn’t fazed whatsoever by the fact that she was with me.

“Ah. I see we have company. Well, come in, come in! What kind of hostess would I be if I kept you all waiting out here? Now, we haven’t got much, but make yourself at home.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Storm, isn’t it?”

“It is, but I prefer Vase. Porcelain Vase. ‘Porcelain Storm’ doesn’t roll off the tongue quite so well, does it?”

“Sure thing, Mrs. Vase.”

“Rainbow Dash, isn’t it?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Well, it’s good to make your acquaintance, Miss Dash.”

“Aww, you can just call me Rainbow.”

“Very well, Miss Rainbow.” Dashie giggled at her formality. “As I said, make yourself at home. I’ll be back shortly. I need to find some bandages for this one here.” Mom gave me a gentle yet reprimanding cuff behind the ear with her wing as she walked by.

“Ow,” I quietly groaned, rubbing my head.

“You are lucky it wasn’t worse,” Dad reminded, setting himself beside me.

“Yeah, I know.”

“So, when do I get to meet this Torchwood of yours, hmm?”

“As soon as he finds us. He came along too, but got paired up with Twilight. She wanted a thestral in both groups in case we encountered... trouble.”

“Sounds logical,” he commented.

“Speaking of which, where are they? I’d have thought that sonic rainboom would have attracted their attention for sure.”

“That was loud enough to rock the whole forest! They must’ve heard it,” Rainbow mused.

“You don’t think they ran into trouble, do you?”

“I can go see if I can find them,” Rainbow offered.

“Perhaps I should go. After all, you raise a good point. If they have encountered some sort of danger, I will know better how to deal with it. And what’s more- not all of us who remain in the Everfree are aware of the peace treaty. If your friends have encountered more stragglers, they may become volatile. In self-defense, of course, but dangerous nonetheless. It would be best if another thestral were there to settle things down,” Dad pointed out.

“Torchwood’s a thestral,” I reminded.

“Yes. Torchwood.” Dad said his name slowly and critically, still wrapping his head around the fact that his little filly was engaged. “Still, better two thestrals than two of the... others.” He glanced at Rainbow Dash. I knew my father well enough to know that this was not a prejudice comment, simply implying fact. Rainbow, on the other hoof, didn’t know him quite so well.

“I can come along too. If you’re as fast as you say you are, we can have the whole forest covered in five minutes flat.”

“Can the race not wait?” Dad sighed. Rainbow now ignored him, determined to tag along and prove herself.

“I’ll cover the East end if you get the West. If you find anypony, just give a signal. How are you with fire displays?”

“Not the best, but not too bad either, I suppose. And you? Don’t tell me you have a flame-thrower on you.”

“I can do another sonic rainboom. Duh.” She took off to start covering the East side as she’d promised. She was a little weary, so I held Dad back another minute.

“Keep an eye on Rainbow. I don’t know if she has another sonic rainboom in her.”

“That I will. Don’t face off any more manticores while I’m gone, hmm?”

“I’ll do my best,” I giggled, giving him another farewell nuzzle. With that, his powerful wings carried him up to the Everfree skies.

This left me with nothing more to do than to curl up on the cushions inside the tent and examine Mom’s newer creations. I had been gone for so long that there wasn’t a single familiar pot in the whole place. That was fine by me. There was a whole new collection to be examined. I got my artistic talent from my mother’s side; we’d bred a long line of artists for generations. Even my sister, Wild Flower, was an artist in her own way. She always loved tending to her plants. I helped arrange her bouquets at first, but she’d come to do it herself over time. I cocked my head in thought. Speaking of which, I could think of no better pony to create the wedding’s floral arrangements than my dear sibling.