Link sat outside Sugarcube Corner, accompanied by Navi. His hand rested on the handle of a pushcart that carried a 2-layer vanilla cake. The sun was high in the sky, with no clouds to block its rays. Pinkie came out of the establishment with a second 2-layer vanilla cake. At first glance, the only difference was the color of the outlining icing.

"Glad you agreed to help me deliver these cakes," she admitted, carefully helping the cart down the steps. "Ordinarily, the Cakes would make the delivery and I'd watch the shop, but Mrs. Cake is busy filling another order, and left Mr. Cake to handle the register."

"It's no trouble, Pinkie. I had nothing else to do anyway. It's been slower than I expected since we came back from the mountain." Link stood, allowed Navi to rest on his head, and walked beside Pinkie as they started heading through town. "Where are these going? And why are there two?"

"1: We're taking these 2 2-layer cakes to the Musician's Guild in the south part of town. Vanilla's their favorite, and their favorite colors are the outline. 2: Two of its members have birthdays within 5 days of each other, and are content with sharing it. If you ask me, I think it's nice that they're sharing their birthdays. Though what are the odds of them having the same birthday?"

"Very low... I'd imagine." He looked up for a moment. "What does the Musician's Guild even do?"

"I'm glad you asked," Pinkie replied. "You know how there's venues?" Link stayed silent. "Uhh... Events with food, games, music, and the like?" He nodded. "Well, as with catering, music is also required. The Guild here gets a request for a certain style of music, and they send out those who best fit the requirements. At the end of the venue, those performers receive a donation from the ones who filed the request. They get to keep most of it, but the rest goes toward the Guild for supplies and stuff like that."

"So, it's like a volunteer organization..." Pinkie nodded. "Think they could help me? All I've got is the ocarina, and a magic one at that. But, is it wort-"

"No no no, bad idea. The musicians who already volunteer, don't take kindly to new faces. Especially new faces that don't know what they're doing. It's a bit of an issue, really. They have lessons available to help ponies improve, but they're only open to those already in the Guild. And in order to get in to the Guild, you have to play a piece for them. If it's not good, they request you attend a lesson in their guild, but you can't since they never agreed to let you in." Pinkie paused and thought. "Relating to our last topic, isn't your birthday just around the corner?"

The two of them turned a corner down another street. "Not literally, but yeah. 4 more days. And if I know Twilight, I'll be getting a book from her. Like I have the last few birthdays I spent with her."

"A... Book? What kind of book? Cook book? Comic book? Astrology book? Animal book?"

"Adventure book. I must have read it cover-to-cover at least a dozen and a half times the last 5 years." He looked over at her. "Twilight's the only other pony besides the princess who spent any time with me. Most of the time it was spent learning spells, or playing in the gardens. Granted, I didn't learn any of the spells Twilight did, with the exception of the barrier one I use. Even that one was taught to me by somepony else."

"Well, what kind of cake would you like? If you know of it, I can make it. That's a Pinkie-Promise." She made a strange motion with her hoof and covered her eye.

"But you don't have any pinkies to promise with." Link held up the finger at the end of his hand, and bent it a few times. They shared a laugh and walked on. "Anyway, since I don't like chocolate cake, I guess I'll have-"

"You don't like chocolate cake?" Pinkie exclaimed, coming to a halt. Link shook his head. "Then... how about carrot cake?"

"Does it contain nuts?"

"Only if you want it to," she answered. "You're not allergic, are you?"

"Nothing like that, he responded as Pinkie started pushing again. "Carrot Cake sounds good. Add the nuts." Link looked to the sky and added, "13 years old... Strange that I don't feel any different."

"Nopony ever does. HEY! Do you want to handle the invitations? Or can I? 'Cause I'll ma-"

"Thank you, but no. I only want our friends there anyway, not all of Ponyville." Link shrugged. "I got it covered."

"Okie dokie lokie." The two got to their destination, dropped off the cakes, then returned to Sugarcube Corner. As Link made his way back to the library, Rarity stopped him and invited him to relax while they had tea.

Inside the boutique, Rarity had several outfits all arranged on the ponyforms that scattered the room. It seemed the only clean spot was the table they sat at. Link took notice of the half-finished outfits that covered most of them, and the finished ones that covered the rest.

"You certainly keep yourself busy..." Link commended. "Saving for something?"

"Not entirely, no. Now that Sweetie Belle went back with our parents, this is all the downtime I have. With it, I'm charging through the orders I'm getting. And in record time. I should have them done by the end of the week, if all goes well." Rarity sipped her tea and asked, "What brings you out and about?"

"Pinkie needed someone to help with a delivery." He took a drink of his own tea and continued, "Did you know there's a guild for musicians?"

"I should. They've played at a few venues I've made the outfits for. Including some high society get-togethers. Is that where you delivered?"

"Yeah. Two vanilla cakes. Two birthdays. Both cakes 2 layers. 2 colors each cake... 2 deliverers... There's a lot of '2' in there, and I'm just now noticing..." Link quietly mumbled to himself.

"Oh? I assure you, think nothing of it. I'm sure it's all a coincidence. Nothing that involves Pinkie could possibly be well thought out." Rarity finished her tea and set her cup on the small plate. "It's Pinkie after all."

Huh. She insists it's just a coincidence, and that Pinkie can't plan that far ahead. Yet, she beat Rarity so many times in a very short game. That doesn't hold much water. "Is that right?"

"To an extent, yes. I've yet to see her plan for anything beyond 5 minutes. But don't take my word for it, I'm sure the rest of Ponyville would agree." Link finished his tea and looked around. "You said there were birthdays?"

"Yeah, two of them. Why?"

"Well, as it comes back to me, yours is in a few days yes? You'll be...

Link sighed, as he's been through this already. "I'll be 13 in 4 days. Pnkie asked the same thing, believe it or not. Even offered to make my cake. Have you ever had carrot cake?"

"I have. Quite delectable. Could do wthout the nuts though. A cake should not be crunchy." She looked at her empty cup, then refilled it with the kettle. "Another?"

"No, I'm fine. I was just about to leave anyway."

"Well, before you go, is there anything you'd want? For your special day, I mean." Rarity placed the kettle on the heat pad and looked over at her guest. "Anything?"

"Nothing comes to mind right away, at least nothing specific. But, if it's all the same to you, I'll settle for a favor in the future." Rarity hesitated, then nodded. "And if you could, keep the news of my birthday to a minimum of our friends."

"Should I count that as your favor?" Link chuckled, then shook his head. "Very well."

She finished her cup, then said her farewells to Link and Navi. The pair departed for the library, and looking back, he remarked, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say she's up to something..."

"Who?" Navi asked. "Rarity? No chance."

"Is it that improbable? She could be in on something with Pinkie. I wouldn't put it past either of them."

"Come on, Link. They just want to give you the best birthday they can. There's nothing to be so paranoid about. They're your friends." Navi flew beside his head and looked forward. "If anything, your being this way might put them on edge."

As they entered the library, he saw Spike at the bottom of the stairs with his favorite broom in hand. "Twilight! They're back!" Link looked at him, then heard shuffling from up stairs.

Moments later, Twilight came down the stairs with a tired look in her eyes. "Woah, what happened to you?" Link asked.

"Nothing too important. How was your day?" Twilight inquired as she walked to a side table. She began looking through the drawers.

"Uhh... Fine, I guess..." He looked over Twilight's shoulder. "What are you looking for?"

"Just 'fine'?" she questioned. "Surely there's more to it than that..."

He backed up and continued, "Well, there is. Pinkie needed help with a delivery since Mrs. Cake was busy handling another order. Went to the Musician's Guild to drop them off, and on my way back to town, Rarity invited us in for tea. By 'us', I mean Navi and myself. Don't know where Pinkie went..."

Good. Doesn't sound like Pinkie let slip anything. And Rarity played along nicely. "I'm sure she didn't evaporate into thin air. She probably went back to help Mrs. Cake with that order." She pulled out a new inkwell and another quill, then looked over at him.

"Today's been long and I want to sleep. See you in the morning, Twilight." He went for the stairs, but was stopped by Twilight's instant question.

"You don't want to know where Epona is?"

"She's a grown mare, she can handle herself. She may look up to me, but I'm by no means her father."

" ... I suppose you're right." She looked outside and saw the sun had set. "Tomorrow's another day. Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning."

Link said his good nights and ascended the stairs to his room. Twilight asked if I wanted to know where Epona went. While that's not unlike her, she asked it immediately after I showed no interest. Did she expect me to ask? Hmm... I must try something tomorrow. After setting up Navi's bed, he fell asleep in his own.

The next morning, Link woke up and looked over at Twilight's empty bed. she's up awfully early... He looked over at Navi and decided to wake her up. "Hey, Navi..." She moved over in her sleep and mumbled something. "Come on, wake up. It's morning."

Navi opened her eyes and stretched, sitting up. "Mmm. Morning." She yawned and looked around. "Where's Twilight?"

"Downstairs, most likely." Quietly, he stepped to the door, and opened it, allowing no creak to escape the hinges.

"He'll come back and ask for my help. Then, you can take him away. That'll" Link's footfall as he walked to the stairs fell on Twilight's ears. When he got down to the main room, he looked around. Twilight was sitting at her table next to an opened window.

"Who were you talking to?" he asked.

"Myself. I do that often. And where is my 'Good morning, dear sister'? Unless it's not a good morning, in which case I completely understand." Twilight looked back at him and saw his curious face. "Nothing? So be it."

"Alright, alright. 'Good morning, dear sister'. Better?" She smiled and returned to her book. "Anyway, I'm free for the day. What's say we go somewhere?"

"I'm afraid I must pass on the invite. I've got a project I'm working on, and a deadline that's approaching fast. I'm sorry, but you can go if you want. I'm sure there's a lot of Ponyville yet to be seen. Why don't you stop by the schoolhouse? Say hi to the teacher for me." She casually looked out the window.

Link also looked and saw nothing. "The schoolhouse? With the other kids? Hah, I'm too old to be in school. But, I will go for a walk. That sounds nice."

"No gear though. Remember: you're trying to get a message of peace across to the public. Can't have you looking like a warmonger."

"When you put it that way, I suppose not." He walked to the door and stopped. "Hey, do you want an apple?"

"No thanks. I've already eaten." Twilight refocused on her book and heard the door shut behind him. Alright Dash, your turn.

Outside the library, the morning was graced by the beautiful sunrise. Navi flew around his head and looked ahead. "Gonna stop by the schoolhouse like Twilight suggested?"

"Something's not right. I heard her say something before I came downstairs, but I didn't hear what it was. She has a project she's working on, and didn't ask for help, like I thought she might. This smells like a plot." Link walked into the square and looked at the other ponies around him.

"Well, to be fair, your ... you know what... is just a few days away. You very well could be imaginging things. But, maybe she's getting you out of the library intentionally?" Navi looked over at him and followed his decided direction.

"That's possible, but 2 days in a row isn't a pattern. Just a coincidence. And on top of that, yeah, she could have told them on their way down the mountain when I wasn't there... And we have yet to see an exception... I can't just jump to conclusions yet." He walked over a bridge and stopped half way. Link looked over the flowing water and rested his arms on the side of the bridge.

"There you are, kid! Been looking everywhere for you. Twilight said you'd be out for a walk." Dash landed beside him and smiled.

"You want to join me, is that it?" 2 days in a row, and Dash is in on it...

"Heh, how'd you guess?" Rainbow asked. "On second thought, don't answer that... Where ya headed?"

"Wherever I feel like. That's the point of taking a walk." He continued on his path and heard Dash walking behind him. And now she's following you. Where do I take her...

"Do you feel like joining me?" she asked, raising her tone at the end of her question.

He stopped and turned around. "Where?"

"My house. In the clouds. Got this sweet statue I wanna show you." Please say yes. Even if you don't want to see the statue of a Wonderbolt...

"Statue? Of what?"

"Oh, just a Wonderbolt. My whole house is basically a shrine to them." Dash smiled all the while, playing it off like it was no big deal.

"This I gotta see. But, one problem. I can't walk on clouds. But..." he thought, "Twilight can cast that spell on me. Come on!"

The two returned to the library and Dash volunteered to stay outside. Again, he saw Twilight over her book, like she hadn't moved. But she must have, as a few more books made it to her table. Along with a scroll for notes, there were a few open books and several bookmarked closed books.

"Welcome back Link. That was a short walk. Did you make it to the schoolhouse?" she asked him, breaking concentration on her studies.

"Not quite. Dash invited me up to her house... In the clouds... Where I can't quite go yet. You see where I'm headed with this?"

"With crystalline quality. You want me to cast that cloudwalker spell so you can go, right?"

Link nodded and walked to her table. This mineral, commonly used for- He stopped reading because Twilight had slammed the book closed without marking the page.

"I think that's a wonderful Idea." Her horn lit up, as well as Link, and both faded after a few moments. "Enjoy, and tell me all about it when you get back. Remember, you only have 10 hours, so use it wisely."

Link thanked her and ran outside to Dash's waiting cloud ride. A few minutes later, the three got to her house. He spent the day looking at all her stuff. From statues to posters, figurines to plushes, pillows to blankets, window decals to decorative soaps. It seemed she had one of every piece of Wonderbolt merchandise. A true fan. 8 hours later, he told Dash he had to go back to the ground and return to the library at Twilight's request. Hesitantly, she agreed and made the trip with him. Inside the library, he and Navi told Twilight and Spike everything he saw inside Dash's house. From the statues to posters, figurines to... So on and so forth. Even as he described the soaps, he couldn't help but wonder about where Epona had gone. No word, no note, no appearance in the last couple days.

Quite frankly, he began to worry.

There Link stood, by the mailbox for the library, accompanied by Navi and Applejack. The latter of which looked and sounded short on breath. He had only gone out there to fetch the Monday paper and saw Aj running at him. Then, having heard her story, he had a very serious look on his face as she concluded, "Ah'm real sorry, Link. Ah just don't know where she is!"

Link took a deep breath and looked at the ground. I was wrong to not be worried. "Aj, it's alright. We'll find her, I promise. I don't blame you at all for not going in the woods after her. It's dangerous after all."

"But Ah should have! The forest is like a maze. Moreso for somepony who ain't never been in there before." She hung her head and sighed. "Ah didn't think nothin' of it when she didn't come back last night. Now Ah reckon Ah should have..."

"Ease up on yourself, Aj. Accidents happen, things go wrong, and we have to work our way around obstacles every day. Come on in, and I'll get ready." The two entered the library to see Twilight looking worried herself. "Relax, Twilight. I'll go get her and be back for dinner."

"I know you will be, but... where are you going?" she asked. "What's going on?" Twilight looked at Aj while Link ran up the stairs followed by Navi.

In his room, he prepared. He put on his sword, wore his shield, put his hat on, his shoes, pockets, and finally his gloves. "Are you really so nonchalant about Epona going missing?"

"Not even close. I'm so worried she might become food for some big animal like that Ursa. They do eat meat after all. She's meat." Link stopped at the doorway. "But at the same time, this could be a trap for me. A way to get me out of the library. That said, when would Twilight have been able to talk with her when I wasn't there? Epona didn't come with us up the mountain, so it couldn't have been on the way down. We met back up at the library, but she went up the ... no she didn't... She stayed downstairs, where she sleeps. Twilight didn't come up until an hour later. But she was alone. She may have planned this with Epona's compliance in mind."

"I don't follow."

"It's like this: Twilight told Applejack about this plan, but because Epona wasn't on the mountain with us, she had to factor in Epona's compliance probability. Then, when I went upstairs to sleep, Twilight explained the situation to Epona, and she went along with it. With the two agreed on a plan, they could set it in motion on any given day." Link reached for the handle of the door. "Which also explains why she questioned me when I didn't ask about Epona. My lack of caring wasn't what she expected, so she decided to wait a few days. Dash could have told Aj, or even Pinkie could have. Anypony I wasn't around could have."

"All of this is just the off chance there's something going on. But what if you're wrong, and Epona really is in trouble?" Navi asked.

"Then I will act as though she is and stop at nothing to bring her back." He walked out and descended the stairs.

"Link!" Twilight nearly shouted. "You bring her back safely, you hear me?"

"Aren't you coming with?" he asked her.

Twilight paused, trying to come up with a reason. "No. I can't. She might find her way back here somehow, and I have to be here in case she does."

While she's not wrong, it could happen, I still think something's not right... "You have a point. Aj, Navi, let's go."

The three of them traveled to Sweet Apple Acres in relative silence. Once there, they followed a shallow set of hoofsteps to the forest's edge. Likely Epona's, Link questioned why they were there in the first place. After all, it's rather difficult to leave an impression with so evenly distributed weight on at least 3 points of contact with solid grass. At the edge of the woods, Link looked in and saw the tracks become more noticeable, and eventually disappear from sight.

"Alright. I'm going in with Navi. Aj? Stay here in case she decides to come back. This is under the assumption she's still in there." Link started walking in when Aj stopped him.

"Alone? What happened to 'It's dangerous in there'? Ah'm goin' too."

"No, you're staying here. Twilight stayed at the library in case she came back, and you should stay right here for the same reason." That might give me some time to sort this out. "Trust me, I'll be fine."

Aj had no argument. She knew he was right. Silently, she nodded and watched him disappear behind a thick row of trees. Be careful, Link.

He followed the tracks for some time. His sense of time lost with the woods, as he could no longer see the sun's position in the sky. As for the tracks, he took mental note of how deep they were, suggesting she fought to keep from being dragged away. Then, suddenly, the tracks split into 3 different paths. Strange thing was, they looked like normal hoofprints. Like she voluntarily went along.

"What's going on here?" Navi asked, flying to the far left set. "These look like she's running..." Then to the middle set. "These are walking..." Finally to the far right. "And these are... backward?"

"Is this some kind of joke?" Link looked around at his surroundings, barely seeing 20 feet in any direction. "Seriously, Epona. If you're out here for fun, then I need to have a serious conversation with you." He listened for any signs of movement, but heard nothing. Carefully, he knelt down to look at the tracks better. "Well, it seems like this is really happening. That said, whatever took her may have made the other sets. So, I need to find the freshest set. Those will be hers."

"Yeah, they all look the same size, too." Navi returned to his head and looked around. She could have swore she saw slight movement in the trees, but couldn't be sure. She rode on his hair as he walked down the middle path.

"This way is most likely. At least, that's what I think." A long while later, he came to a gap in the ground, spanning at least 30 feet to his left and right. And the set he was following lead to a fallen tree that crossed said gap. As he walked over it, he saw the tracks spread apart like she started running again. Quickly, he ran after them all the way to a clearing in the woods. A nice looking meadow with a single, fully covered tree in the middle. Link walked to the opposite side, beyond the tree, and saw the tracks vanish. Odd... He turned around, and in front of the tree stood the one he was looking for. Epona.

"So, you did find me. Heehee~" She watched as he approached her. "I'm so glad. Ya know, I was starting to think you had forgotten about me."

"No chance. I heard you were in here, and I couldn't sit around and do nothing. Now that I found you, let's get out of here." Epona nodded and walked behind him, leaving the dead tree behind.

"How'd you get lost in here, anyway?" he asked.

"I heard a voice and ran in. I couldn't help myself. Before I knew it, I was being dragged by ... by something. I couldn't see what it was either. Then I saw something in the woods, a face I didn't expect, so I followed it, then found myself by that strange tree."

"I ... see..." Something's off with her... She's not herself. "Well, it looks like you're still safe. You're lucky too. If Spike hadn't barked loud enough to wake me up, I might still be asleep."

"Oh, did I make him worry? Aww, shame on me. I'll have to give him a special treat when I see the little dog at home." Link turned back and saw her smiling wide.

THAT'S NOT EPONA!!! This is bad... Very, very bad. If this is a fake Epona... then... what happened to the real one? Link felt a shiver run the length of his spine. Navi stayed silent, and out of sight under his hat. Too afraid to come out.

"Is something wrong?" she asked him.

"No. Nothing at all..." The two walked in silence as they approached the edge of the woods. Link glanced back at his follower, then forward, seeing how close he was to the exit. Now! In one burst of speed, he ran for the exit and dove into the clearing. Link landed on his back breathing heavily, and looked with serious intent into the woods. With enough focus, he barely saw a solid black figure with red eyes look back at him before vanishing into the woods.

"Woah, easy there, champ. You look like you jus' seen a ghost," Aj commented, standing over him. she looked into the woods and saw nothing strange. "What even took ya so long? Ah've been waitin' for hours."

"Yeah, what's got you so freaked?" Epona asked him, standing beside Aj with a concerned look. This caused Link to scramble away from the pair.

"What the Tartarus was that?!" Link continued to breathe heavily, looking between Epona and the woods. Hours? That's not possible. I couldn't have been gone for more than one. Then he looked to the sky and saw the sun had shifted too far for one hour.

Aj and Epona looked at each other. "I don't know what you mean. I came out after you followed the track down the middle. I figured you'd find that gap a dead end and come back out. I even think Navi saw me."

"I thought I saw something, but I couldn't be sure it was you..." she replied, coming out of hiding. "But... there's something else..."

The four of them walked back to the library while Link told them of what he saw. A strange figure resembling Epona. The once lively tree turned dead in moments. The gap that was thought to be a dead end, but had a tree bridge the gap instead. At the time, Link dismissed the thought that they had planned this, as the stress got to him. Later, at the library, they all walked in to see Twilight with her muzzle in a book once more.

She looked up and saw the four of them. "Good. You found her. Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

"I'm fine, Twilight. But... Link might not be..."

"Hm?" Twilight looked over at Link and saw his fatigue. She walked over to him and lit up her horn, closing her eyes. After a minute, she stepped back. "Oh my... Your mental state is so frazzled, like you got really terrified. What's more, the fear was so justified, you're about ready to collapse from the experience. What happened to you?" she asked, dimming her horn. This was not my intention. What could have scared him so much?

"I ... I'd rather... not say..." Link took short, quick breaths, still reeling from the day.

"Whatever it was, yer safe here. Didn't seem like it was interested on leavin' the forest." Applejack didn't see it, but concluded all the same.

"A being that resides in the woods... I doubt Zecora would do something like this... What about that friend of yours?"

"Ruby? Doubtful. This was near the farm, not from the castle." Link sat down and continued, "It... it had red eyes... like a creature from my nightmares. All shadowy, but for some reason, it took the form of Epona... Maybe it only changes into what it can see.."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin. "A creature that can change its form at will. Nothing's coming to mind. I'll have to look into it. For now, you get some rest. Sounds like you could use it." She watched as Link and Navi went up the stairs. "Wait. Before you go. Fluttershy stopped by earlier and wanted to invite you to a picnic tomorrow at noon. I said you could make it, and from what I gathered, you could use a nice relaxing picnic." Twilight looked at him as he continued up the stairs with Navi.

In his room, he removed his gear and fell to his bed. "I don't know what that was back there... Planned or not, that was absolutely the most terrifying experience I've ever had."

"It... might have been the woods playing tricks on you..." Navi tried to explain. "It could happen... right?"

"Maybe..."

That night, Link got to sleep easily, but his nightmare suffered dearly from the day's experience. Princess Luna appeared and protected him from his malevolent nightmare, even banishing the creature of dark to outer space. The two talked about what happened, and how it could be connected to his other nightmares. After ensuring there was no connection, Luna let him sleep in peace.

Downstairs, Applejack stayed with Twilight. She whispered to her, so Link couldn't overhear. "So, about that gift. Ya finish it yet?"

"Not quite. I've got one more day. Thanks to Pinkie and Rarity, I could assess what the metals were in the ingot I got from Rarity when I dropped her off. The problem was, when I learned what made it, I accidentally split the metals apart. I had to read about them, to figure out how the metals bonded together. I explained it to Rainbow, and she agreed to help me out. Link almost caught me, but she was able to take him away."

"Ah saw him fly away over the farm. Sure looked like fun."

"With him gone yesterday, I was able to combine them, and learn what the metals were. After I did that, I could apply special magic to each of the different metals. The spell I planned on using affects the different metals separately, not as a whole. Found that out the hard way."

"So ya had to cast it on each of the different metals when they were separated?" Twilight nodded. "An' yer sure it'll do what ya want?"

"Hopefully. And, thanks to today, I finished the spell. Tomorrow, I apply the finishing touch. With this last spell, Link will be able to use his strength to push, pull, and lift heavier objects, without expending his own magic pool. Instead, it'll draw on his physical energy, and magnify it by 4. Any more than that and the strain would be too much."

"Good thing ya got Fluttershy to invite him on that picnic, right?" Aj asked.

Twilight shook her head. "That wasn't planned. To be honest, I expected to be done today. But..."

"Things don't work out. Tell ya what: Ah'll come by tomorrow an' see how it's comin'." Twilight shook her head. "Huh?"

"I'll be alright on my own. There's not much else to do with it anyway. I just hope my calculations are correct. If I'm wrong, at all, it could not work, or work to well and tear him apart."

"It'll be fine. Yer the smartest, most talented mare Ah ever met. An' if anypony can do all o' what you jus' said, it's you Twi."

"Thanks, Aj." Twilight reached over and hugged her friend. "You're the best. See you in a couple days, alright? Get home safe."

Aj tipped her hat and left the library. Twilight felt a warmth spread over her face as Aj walked away. Focus Twilight. Get your work done, then you can ... think about her... !! Focus Twi! She returned to her book, closed it, then went upstairs to bed.

Before going to the picnic, Link spent his morning delivering the invites to his birthday. One to each of his friends, and one to the mailbox of one Ms. Derpy Hooves. He noticed the flag was upside down, and the door opened sideways instead of downward. Noon came that day, a little too quickly, and Link and Navi joined Fluttershy on a blanket outside her home. Accompanied by several of her animal friends, most of which were fascinated by Navi. Fluttershy and Navi herself included. Link sat on one of the corners eating toast. "I heard Epona went into the woods yesterday..." she said.

"How'd you hear that?" he asked her.

Fluttershy pointed to one of her birds. "My friends told me they saw a pony wander into the woods that looked a lot like Epona. So she flew here and told me. Glad to hear she made it out alright. I didn't interfere, because it sounded like you had it under control."

"To a point, I did." He refused to explain what happened inside the forest, so he changed his approach on the subject. "Tell me, do you believe in ghosts?"

"I can't say I do. Why?" She took a bite of her cheesecake and listened.

"Would you believe me if I said the Everfree Forest has one?"

"I ... well, if anywhere has a ghost, the Everfree Forest would be at the top of my suspect list. But, I wouldn't put much faith in what you see in those woods. Way I hear it, they enjoy playing tricks on all of your senses."

"I don't doubt it..." Link took a sip of his tea and looked over at Navi who sat atop a bear's head.

"On a not-creepy-at-all topic, I hear you turn 13 tomorrow. Put much thought into what you want?" Fluttershy asked him.

Link thought for a moment. "Just my friends there will be fine. Show up, and I'll be happy." Link finished his own slice, then downed his tea.

"The 6 of us, Epona of course... Navi... Who else?"

"I'm thinking about inviting the mailmare. She would have fun there, I'm sure of it." Link laid on his back and looked toward the sky.

"Ms. Hooves, you mean?" Link nodded in response. "And that's everypony?" Another nod. "A small list. But, if that's what'll make you happy."

He looked over at her. "Did you want to invite somepony?"

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Yeah... I-I mean, if it's not too much trouble... maybe... invite... Emmy?"

"Emmy, huh..." Come to think of it, I never did get in contact with her those days ago. Guess I got side tracked. "Can you keep a secret?" Fluttershy nodded. "Your animals too?" They all nodded. "Emmy won't be back until the Running of the Leaves, whenever that is."

"That's not until after summer. Why so late?" Link shrugged and returned his gaze to the sky.

"She may change her mind though. Who knows? Not me." He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sunlight.

The group of friends enjoyed what remained of the picnic, Link and Navi said their farewells and returned to the library. Fluttershy cleaned up with her animal friends and returned to the cottage. At the library, it was a new sight to see Twilight laying on the couch with a book that didn't relate to rocks or minerals. She welcomed him, inquired about his day, and asked what he wanted for his birthday.

His response, much to Twilight's astonishment, was, "Surprise me. I'll love it all the same, no matter what it is." Twilight wrapped him in a hug for the first time in what felt like ages. Epona came in from the kitchen and waved.

"Hey, Link. Have fun?" He nodded, released his sister, walked over to Epona and patted her head. "Good, because I've got something for you tomorrow."

"Of course you do. I turn 13, after all. But for now, I'm gonna go lie down in my bed. If you need me, you'll know where I'll be."

That night, Twilight watched as Link turned over in his bed. Have a nice dream. I'll see you in the morning, birthday boy.

Next Chapter: Chapter 25: The Birthday Request Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 48 Minutes