Trill sighed in content, resting on Solaris's back as he carried her through the frigid, snowy fields of the north. Along with his natural body heat to help keep her warm, his inner fire could radiate from his body to heat up anything around him, which was why he wasn't affected by the cold that much. As he walked, some of the snow around his hooves melted and revealed the damp earth beneath him.

"I didn't realize how far I ran from the empire," Solaris said, finally able to see the Crystal Empire in the distance.

"You weren't in the right state of mind, Solly," Trill said, snuggling into his back. "Who knew that all it took to get you to calm down was to hit me? You really love to stick to your cavepony roots, huh?" She yelped as Solaris bumped her off his back, making her hit the cold snow. "Gah! Ok! Ok! I'm sorry! Warmth, please!" He helped his marefriend back up on her hooves, brushing the snow off of her and letting her climb back on his back. Her shivering ceased after a moment as he continued his way down the slope. "At least you have a funny side, if it's only about my pain."

"That's where the nature of comedy starts: inflicting pain or events of frustration that others deem as hilarious," the alicorn lectured. "And I would appreciate it if you quit calling me 'cavepony'. You were raised in a cave, too."

"I was raised in a HIVE. There is a big difference," Trill corrected Solaris.

He just rolled his eyes, knowing she clearly told him yesterday they were both raised in a cave before finally setting out into the world. Before they reached the barrier, Trill quickly disguised herself as Evergreen, so she wouldn't alert everypony in the city. They were soon spotted by some of the patrolling guards on the lookout for them, leading them back to the castle, where Solaris's family waited for them in worry.

Inside the throne room, Shining Armor, Cadence, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy waited, highly anxious for any sign of Solaris's whereabouts. They turned to the doors as they heard them opening, all of the relieved to find the alicorn unharmed, along with Trill in her disguise.

"Solaris!" Shining and Cadence ran up to him, pulling into a group hug. "We were so worried about you."

"I'm sorry," Solaris said. "I had a lot on my mind..."

"We know." Cadence held her nephew tighter, though not too tight as to suffocate him. "Don't you worry. We'll find you a good therapist and help you cope with all this madness."

"T-Therapist?" Solaris asked.

"Somepony at your age shouldn't have to go through all of this," Shining said. "You may be a teenager, but you're still really young. Nopony should ever go through this much pain at your age, or at all. I've been a royal guard, and I've been through harsh physical and mental training to be a hardened soldier when on the battlefield, but there are times where the stress could end up making somepony go mad and lash out or break down as memories in combat return to them. You weren't mentally or emotionally prepared for any of this...and I could have prevented Rarity's, Applejack's, and Rainbow Dash's deaths if I acted sooner."

"...Uncle..." Solaris could see his uncle felt some form of guilt, being the mercenary Zero and witnessing their deaths. He didn't blame Shining Armor, since he still believed it was all his fault they were dead. "...You didn't kill them..."

"But I could have saved them..." Shining felt tears begin to well up in his eyes, but he couldn't cry in front of his nephew. "I could have stopped your mother from joining the princesses to stop Lucifer, but she was stubborn. Her vision on what would happen involved her dying, along with Celestia and Luna. She was afraid if she didn't make it come true, then there would be no hope for Equestria. I found it absolutely ridiculous and tried to stop her, but she paralyzed me with her magic and it wore off the instant she was killed..." He shut his eyes, a few tears managing to leak out as the memory still haunted him. "That was my breaking point; my little sister, your mother, killed by that madpony, and I couldn't do anything to help her. I fell into a depression, and when I got angry, I almost hurt Cadence.

"I couldn't be anywhere near her, going through several appointments in therapy to cope. The pain was still there...and I wanted to get revenge for Twilight..." Solaris noticed Shining's hooves began to tremble as he sat down. "I wasn't myself. I was going to get myself killed for a life I couldn't have saved. I came to my senses when I saw one of Lucifer's assassins fail. I saw an impenetrable barrier around him, created by his dark magic as a fail-safe, their dagger barely able to pierce his skin. My attempt would have failed too, and I would have died for nothing..."

"I'm glad you finally did come to your senses, Shining," Cadence comforted her husband, nuzzling him and kissing his cheek. He rested his head against her shoulder as she looked at Solaris. "We both want you to be healthy in mind, Solaris. Going through a lot of tragedy and terrifying situations can destroy one's psyche, making them have a relapse and hurt themselves or others. As long as you receive help from professionals and support from your loved ones, you can recover from the pain in time."

"But, seeing a therapist now?" Solaris questioned. "What about the fate of Equestria?"

"...I think we can wait a moment longer for you to stop Lucifer." Cadence seemed unsure of herself, but she and the others knew that Solaris's health came first.

"Then I'll take a rain check on my appointment." The alicorn's responses shocked the adults, even Trill. "The sooner I complete my tests, the sooner I can stop Lucifer and save Equestria."

"Solaris-" The teen held out his hoof, stopping whatever protests his aunt, or anypony else, had to say.

"I'm not going to delay my destiny any further and let everypony suffer under his reign. After I defeat him, I'll get some help," Solaris said with confidence. "I don't want to let my mom down. I want her to see that I can do this."

"Are you sure?" Shining asked.

"Yes..." Solaris turned to Trill, smiling at her. "I have somepony who can help snap me back to my senses if I lose myself."

His horn glowed as his golden aura grabbed Trill's hoof, pulling her closer to him. Not even caring what Fluttershy or Pinkie thought, he kissed the disguised changeling, her horn sparking from the love he willingly gave her. The timid pegasus was surprised, while the party planner shook her head.

"Things are gonna be crazy with those two," Pinkie said, silently pulling up a sheet of paper. "...Good thing there wasn't a specific 'scene' written in the last chapter. That would just be awkward."

"What are you talking about, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.

"Nothing," she answered, shoving the page in her mane.

After gathering their belongings and supplies for their next destination, Shining and Cadence wished his nephew and entourage luck and said their goodbyes. They got on the train and set off for the location of Solaris's next trial, Cloudsdale. While riding along to the station beneath the floating cloud city, Solaris looked over the map, crossing off his third trial's location. He had heard a lot about Cloudsdale from Rainbow Dash, where she and Fluttershy were born, though he always heard more about the Wonderbolts and their shows. It was too bad they were disbanded when Lucifer came into power, everypony too afraid to leave their homes and watch their stunts with him and his corruptive young troops terrorizing Equestria.

"What'cha doin'!?" Solaris yelped as Trill popped up behind him, startling him as he knocked the map off the table he sat at.

"Trill!" He picked up the map, making sure he didn't accidentally rip it. "Don't do that. I could have punched you."

She let out a mock gasp, unable to hid the smirk off her face. "You were gonna punch me? Some loving coltfriend you turned out to be."

"I thought you were somepony who wanted to assassinate me," Solaris said.

"Who even knows you're still alive? The Shadow Knights and Lucifer think you're still dead." Trill wrapped her hooves around her lover's neck, nuzzling his cheek. "We're in the clear as long as we stay hidden."

"It probably won't last all that long if we get careless," he said, gently touching his hoof with hers. "Though, with your streak, it's gonna happen sooner than we think."

Trill groaned, loosening her grip and plopping her head on Solaris's shoulder. "Please stop bringing that up."

"As long as it annoys you, then never." Solaris smirked, patting the changeling princess on the head.

"...I guess it's fair, with my constant flirting and annoying you to the point of you wanting to inflict bodily pain to me." She got him to groan in annoyance this time, then yelp as she nipped his shoulder. "Speaking of, the other night, I thought my legs turned into jelly when we passed out. How about you do that to me to replace wanting to hit me in the face?"

"T-Trill..." Solaris blushed, stifling a moan as he felt her tongue sensually licking a sensitive spot.

"Yes?" Trill moved higher, nibbling one of his ears, getting his wings to flare out from the sensitive appendage. "Do you want something from me?"

Solaris's spine tingled hearing the changeling's voice sensually whisper in his nibbled ear. Her moans as she teased his ear arousing him, wanting to hear those noises come from her even more, and louder. Before he was able to sweep his mare off her hooves, drag her into an empty sleeping car, lock the entrances, and take her as his, Pinkie and Fluttershy walked into the private car with snacks. The two mares dropped the food, jaws dropped as they saw the two teens.

"What are you two doing!?" Fluttershy shouted, surprising the two as the timid mare was louder than she ever could be.

"U-Uhh...W-We were-" Solaris couldn't find an excuse as Fluttershy marched toward them, Trill quickly backing away in fear.

"Put those wings of yours down this instant!" The alicorn struggled to put his wings back to his sides, too stiff from Trill's sensual teasing. "Just what exactly were you two going to do?"

"N-Nothing! Honest!" Solaris exclaimed.

"As much as I can try to tolerate who you decide to love, but you were actually thinking about having sex when you clearly aren't old enough yet!?" Fluttershy asked.

"But I wasn't!" He still couldn't get his wings down as he tried to hide his lustful intentions. "Blame Trill! She started it! Her libido is erratic!"

Fluttershy's pupil's shrunk, Solaris covering his mouth as he realized he said the wrong words. "...What...did you just say?"

"...Uh oh..." Solaris knew he was in for it now.

Fluttershy dragged the stunned teen into another car, where Trill and Pinkie could hear the pegasus berating him. She may be the Element of Kindness, but she has her limits when it comes to holding back her anger. She loved Solaris like a nephew, but she and the rest of his aunts wanted to make sure he didn't do anything he shouldn't.

"...So, you two banged when you found him yesterday, didn't you?" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah..." Trill said, only to stare at Pinkie in shock. "Wait, how did you-!?"

"I know things that you don't know I know to know what is knowingly known." She leaned her face closer to the changeling, her eyes squinting as she leered at her. "Don't ya know?"

".........NO! I don't know!...I think...?" Trill's brain felt like it was going to explode. It was baffling to her when it came to Pinkie Pie and her sudden knowledge on everything she wasn't a part of and her logical breaking talents. "I'm so confused."

"Fluttershy and I don't want you two doing anything that you might regret, like getting pregnant." Pinkie poked Trill's chest, her eyes warning the young changeling.

"...We're not compatible," Trill said. "My mom lays EGGS, giving birth to hundreds of us if necessary for the hive. Other changelings can reproduce too, but if I were to get pregnant, Solaris would have to be a changeling. And before you even say anything, just because he's an alicorn, it's not the same thing. Besides, I wanted to get his mind off of everything that's happened this month, and ease his mind after he punched me while he was upset, knocking me out, and feeling twice as guilty as he was before."

Pinkie wanted to retort, but couldn't. She pulled out the same page she stored away in her hair earlier, going through the words written on it.

"...Oh...He did..." She stashed it away again, looking back at Trill, still confused with how Pinkie functioned. "Well, just don't distract him then!...Uhh, don't distract him too much...Yeah, that'll do." The two stood in silence, still hearing Fluttershy scolding Solaris in the other car. Pinkie grabbed one of the snacks and offered it to Trill. "Chocolate bar?"

Evening rolled in as the train had left the frozen tundra and made its stop at the station close to the floating city of Cloudsdale. Solaris got off, along with his two remaining aunts and his marefriend, being the only passengers disembarking the train. The locomotive sped off to its next scheduled stop in another town or city, leaving the four ponies alone. The moon above gave enough light on the landscape, Solaris gasping in awe as he looked up and marveled the majestic cloud city with his very eyes.

"Wow...Cloudsdale. The mobile city of clouds, where the weather factory resides, and the birthplace of many pegasi since its creation over a thousand years ago." Solaris's eyes sparkled like the stars above, though they dimmed when he wondered something. "Does Cloudsdale really move?"

"It does," Fluttershy responded, having more knowledge on the city since she was born there. "Or, it used to. Cloudsdale always traveled to different cities to bring the different seasons. The weather factory there was the main source of clouds, creating rain, storm, and winter clouds. But, for the past few years, Cloudsdale hasn't been active, and nopony knows why."

"Huh?" Solaris looked back at the cloud city, then the Fluttershy. "What do you mean it hasn't moved in the last few years?"

"I don't know...And it doesn't look like there seem to be any pegasi up there." They looked up at Cloudsdale, no sign of lights on anywhere. "Usually, there are supposed to be some places open in the evening. None of us have heard anything that happened here."

"You don't think the city's been liberated by Lucifer, has it?" Solaris worriedly asked.

"No. Everypony in Equestria would have known." Pinkie pulled out a telescope and looked at the city. "And there seem to be no sign of any baddies. Maybe now we can finally see Solly fight and win!"

"Pinkie, you can't walk on clouds, remember?" Fluttershy reminded the party pony.

"...Oh yeah," Pinkie sighed. "And Solly doesn't know how to cast a cloud walking spell."

"There's a cloud walking spell?" Solaris asked. "...Well, if Aunt Pinkie can't enter Cloudsdale, are we going to leave her behind?"

"...I'll stay with her," Fluttershy said. "You and Trill can go. The fewer of us that travel together, the less chance we'll get into trouble."

"B-But I don't know Cloudsdale like you, Aunt Fluttershy! What if we do get attacked!?" The three mares stared at Solaris, the teen taking a moment to think about their possibilities. "...Oh...You're not much of a fighter...I forgot."

"Right." Fluttershy hugged Solaris tightly. "Just be careful up there, ok?"

"I promise," he said.

"We'll make a little campsite in the nearby forest over here." Pinkie bounded over to the woods and began to set up their camp. "If it gets too dangerous, get out of the city as fast as you can."

"Alright. I'll be back soon...I hope." Solaris hovered off the ground and flew up to Cloudsdale, Trill following after him out of her disguise.

They both touched down on the fluffy cloud streets of the city, Solaris's first time ever touching a cloud, let alone stand on one. It was as soft and comfortable as the softest pillow ever created, and really fluffy. The two wandered around, finding no sign of any life anywhere. It was like the city had fallen to a standstill, all the pegasi having left their homes in one of the greatest cities ever known to ponykind. Little did they realize that, stalking them through the shadows, was a cloaked figure, tailing them as they turned a random corner.

"For a city where tons of pegasi need to control this place, it's pretty barren," Trill commented.

"I don't like this. And there's no sign of any of the Shadow Knights either." The figure following them sped on ahead of them, unseen through the cover of night and the dark cloak shrouding its body. Solaris felt something was wrong, catching a glimpse of something fly past them. "What was that?"

"Maybe it was a bird," Trill said.

As they approached a nearby empty pub, they heard someone whistle, getting both of their attention. Solaris and Trill could see something in the shadows, though they couldn't see much under the hood it wore.

"Hey, you're an alicorn, right?" the mysterious figure asked, its voice sounding feminine, though rough.

Solaris stood on his hind legs, prepared to fight and defend Trill from whoever they were talking to. "What if I am?"

"I'm not here to fight with you. I didn't expect you to be a kid." The figure approached Solaris, lifting its clawed arm up to his horn. He winced as he felt the talons clasp on it, pulling on it to test if it would come off like a fake accessory. Before he could ask what she was doing, he yelped as she pulled one of his feathers out of his wings. As she examined the forcefully pulled pinion feather, Solaris could see her yellow eyes eerily glowing under the shadows of her hood. "...Guess you're the real deal. I was expecting somepony far older than you, but we can't get what we want all the time."

"You could have just asked for a feather for verification," Solaris muttered, rubbing his sore wing.

"Quit your whining and follow me." She lead the two into an empty building nearby, both still unsure if this figure was friend or foe.

There was nothing inside of the cloud home, not even furniture. Guiding them through the house, she led Solaris and Trill to what appeared to have been a living room, looking at the wall. Wondering what she was doing, she brushed away something that didn't seem to be made of cloud, revealing a keypad with runes etched onto each button. Pressing a certain sequence, the wall began to flicker with light until it illuminated a bright white.

"I-Is that a portal!?" Solaris asked, both in awe and fascination.

"Stop gawking and get in there," she commanded.

Quickly obeying, they walked through the portal, feeling themselves falling through the air as they were blinded by the transportational light. They finally passed through to the other side, Trill landing on Solaris's back, knocking the wind out of him. The figure walked through without any trouble, shaking her head as she looked at the two teens.

"You know, if I was on the bottom and you were on top of me, it would have been more hilariously awkward," Trill said.

Solaris bumped the changeling off his back, making her yelp as she fell. As he got his bearings, he noticed they seemed to be in a large tavern that seemed to be underground, the sound of rough and tough soldiers of all species sitting around tables or the extensive bar, the scent of alcohol strong in the air. There were minotaurs, zebras, and griffons along with several Equestrians of the three pony races, some of them wearing scars on parts of their body from injuries they had sustained in the past. This was the first time he had ever seen any of the other species in the flesh rather than what he had read about them in the books he read.

"Whoa..." Solaris was utterly speechless. Their conversations and numerous noises ceased to a halt as they all looked at him, many of them seeming skeptical or sneering at him. Seeing how awkward the whole scene was, Solaris chuckled nervously, darting his eyes around while trying not to look any of them in the eye. "W-Where exactly are we? T-This can't be Cloudsdale, right?"

"We're farther than that, kid. You and your little changeling friend here are in the Resistance Underground Base, a few miles west of Equestria's borders," the figure explained. "Thanks to Princess Twilight Sparkle's plans for setting up portals throughout the kingdom, we manage to keep tabs on Lucifer's Shadow Knights and their movements. We have dozens of them scattered in hidden locations those bozos are too stupid to look for, ready to fight back and keep some of the cities from being liberated."

"My mom made these?" Solaris looked back at the portal, the teleporting device shutting down to keep possible spies from discovering the portal's location. He wanted to know how they worked out of curiosity, but the figure who knew of his arrival was more important. "She sought you out to find me AND make a Resistance against Lucifer?"

"Yup," she said.

"...Who are you?" Solaris asked.

The figure pulled down her hood, revealing herself to be a griffon. Her body was brown while the feathers on her head, neck, and chest were white, a small tinge of purples on the edges of her fringe on her head.

"Name's Gilda," she answered.

Solaris and Trill stared at Gilda for a moment, until the changeling spoke up. "...Well, I was half right."

The alicorn groaned and facehooved. "I don't think that matters, Trill..."