Chapter 2

The Former Element Bearers

*****

The time was now 11:15 AM. Six beautiful women were sitting around a table inside of a well-known establishment called Sugar-Cube Corner as they enjoyed themselves some full salads and fruits. And those very same women had begun to converse with each other about the daily routines that they all went through in order to get something done for the day, i.e. their jobs. But today was a little more special for them.

Rainbow Dash, the athletic Auran woman who made it to the Wonderbolts a few years ago, had begun to train some new recruits, who had confessed to being a few of her personal fans before, in making sure that the weather was cleared up for all of the citizens in the town. Needless to say, she was quite impressed with the new help.

Applejack, the down-to-Equius Equian woman who worked hard at her family farm, had talked about how her big brother, Big Mac, and her little sister Apple Bloom, had begun to hang out more often, thus making her really happy for them. So much so in fact, that when the Apple-Bucking Season came around, all hands were on deck for the big harvest. Even Granny Smith volunteered to help out, despite being slower than the rest of her family.

Twilight Sparkle, being the scholarly woman that she always was, despite being the most recent Alicornian in all of Equestria, had told her friends all about how she was able to find a rare copy of a book that had certain rare magic types that are still rare to see in this modern day and age. The highlight, of course, was a pair of certain mystical oddities that had greatly piqued her interests: Card-Summoning and Possessor Magic, to be exact, as she always made a point to note for herself.

And Rarity, the fashionista Magician with a reputation of being the best seamstress in both Canterlot and Ponyville, had begun to frantically (with a calm posture of course) relive the little tale of how Fancy Pants had given her a high compliment about how her recent summer lineup had become a huge success in Canterlot. And in turn, the mentioned man's girlfriend, Fleur De Lis, modeled herself in the same made dresses. This turn of events allowed her friends to cheer for her great success.

And even Fluttershy, the timid Auran veterinarian girl in their group, was feeling happy enough to speak up to them.

"I was already finished with making sure that Angel bunny did his part as we fed the animals back at the cottage," Fluttershy began, "when I noticed that some of my animal friends were saying to me that they picked up a scent that they never smelled before," she softly spoke to the group, who had also decided to share a bit of news.

"Did you ask them specifically what it was, my dear Fluttershy?" Rarity, the Rarity, the posh fashionista in the group, asked the shy aviator. And even Applejack, a hard-working Land-Woman from the Sweet Apple Acres farm, had begun to get a little curious about the topic herself.

"Well, shoot. Ah'm also wantin' ta know if Fluttershy asked," Applejack remarked to the proper woman near her as she placed a gentle touch on Fluttershy's shoulder, who only smiled with a sigh. "Makin' sure that the crop is harvested ain't as excitin' as it used to be," she sighed.

"So! Did you ask them, Fluttershy darling?", Rarity asked her, hoping for an answer. The shy girl could only nod slowly at the lady of the group.

"Well I'm just hoping that it isn't anything bad! We all know that Fluttershy can be trusted when it comes to her talent with the animals at her clinic," Rainbow spoke up. "But, if they say that they picked up something that we don't know about, then I'd like the right to find out," she finished saying.

"Just don't rough 'em up, Rainbow! We all know that ya like movin' fast," Applejack remarked with a knowing glare at her friend.

"Alright, already! Geez! I thought you wouldn't bring that up again!", Rainbow groaned, knowing that the ladies already knew that she had woken up with two specific members of the Wonderbolts in a bed on more than one night. This still made both Rarity and Fluttershy blush deeply, even though their composure was kept.

"Let's just move on, alright, girls?", Twilight Sparkle, the newest Alicornian Princess who ascended from being a Magician a long time ago, then suggested calmly to the group. “Take your time with telling us what your little friends were saying to you, okay Fluttershy?”, she then said to the veterinarian with a warm smile.

“W-w-well.... the squirrels and birds had all told me that they picked up a brand new scent in the air before we all agreed to meet here for lunch,” Fluttershy began. “When I asked them what got them so excited, it was one of the birds who told me what was happening. Apparently, a brand new person is coming to our town. And they all heard it from the train that stopped two hour ago. You, um.... you believe me, right?”, she then asked her friends with her trademark timid smile as her pink hair hid half of her face.

“We all believe you, Fluttershy,” Twilight said to her as the rest of the group nodded in a shared agreement.

"That's right! So!", Pinkie Pie, the town's premier party planner, began to cheerfully speak after hearing her friend speak up. "My Pinkie Sense went off for a little bit before I went back to making the cookies that I made for us! And it was quite a doozy!", she stated to the women around her as she pointed to the same treats that were handed out to them beforehand.

"How so, Pinkie?" Applejack asked her just as curiously as the others pondered.

"Well.... I'm not sure myself, but I definitely felt another presence! Not the bad type that we've had before in the past few years, but this felt just as intense!" Pinkie answered. "And if my Sense is telling me correctly, then it means that our town now does have someone new here! And this a person who has seen a lot of major battles in front of them!" Pinkie observed a little loudly to them with her grin growing wider.

"Like a... a warrior, per se?", Twilight asked Pinkie, who stared out the window curiously.

"Meh. I'm thinking more along the lines of a military veteran who had been fighting against a bunch of our enemies. Take a look," Pinkie replied as she gestured for all of the girls to look out with her. Sure enough, they all spotted a man slowly making his way towards Town Hall.

The same man, as they now saw from the window, had long hair that was jet-black in color, a big and muscular body frame that was small enough to be comfortable but big enough to intimidate any aggressor, a silver color in his eyes, and a black hooded zip-up jacket that covered a simple white shirt that he wore along with a pair of running shoes below his blue denim jeans. They were able to see those details as they saw the man turn around to look up at the place where they were at. But what they had not counted on was how he just looked so young and handsome to them. It was almost as if they haven't seen a new man in their town for a while. And not since Trender Hoof or Cheese Sandwich, from many years before.

Within the few seconds that they simply gawked at him in, each of the women had made an observation about the guy.

Applejack observed how much more muscular than he seemed under the clothes that he was wearing. And with muscles like his, she had gotten the impression that he must be able to take any type of work thrown at him. This made her believe, with an educated guess, that he must have been an Equian. Even she knew that most Magicians could not look that muscular. But if he was an Auran, like her friends Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, then some wings should sprout from his back. No pair of wings were seen from the man, thus making her brush off the thought.

Pinkie Pie was already shaking with the excitement of seeing a new person coming to the town. More so than when she had perfected a new recipe called 'Black Forest' chocolate cake. As far as she knew, this was a new face, thus prompting her to immediately decide to get to know him before throwing a 'Welcome To Ponyville' party for the new neighbor. But as she looked even more, she saw that he looked like he needed to get a laugh or two from how his eyes and lips had formed a serious look. It was then that she concluded that she wanted, deep down in her heart, to make herself become friends with him. And it was always easy for her to make new friends. But given her experience with a grumpy elderly man named Cranky Doodle, she didn't want to rush it.

Twilight looked at the new man and immediately saw a trait that made her face blush for a little bit. Though the guy looked young, the scholarly Princess was able to see something that greatly resembled the maturity of her big brother, Shining Armor. And even if he wasn't a part of the Royal Guard, which she would want to ask the mysterious guest later, Twilight saw that the man looked like he was able to analyze any situation with ease. She then saw a silver-colored magical aura emanating from the man's hand and immediately recognized that he was a Magician right at that moment. This set both her and her friends to go 'huh.' as she continued to look.

Rainbow Dash, however, was not so convinced that the man that she was seeing looked like a veteran of the Equestrian Armed Forces. But she was able to see a look that only a Marine could give if they were in a bit of a hurry. Then, she saw the same thing that her friends did. The same magic being used by the guy had also told her that this macho looking guy was a Magician. And after seeing the magic leave his hands, the anonymous person had started to look at a map before placing the same map being folded into a small pack box that was clipped onto a belt.

As Fluttershy and Rarity both looked at the man, both of their face cheeks went into a deep red color as their eyes widened with hearts going bump-bump in their chests. Never in their lives did they see a man that looked quite built, and also had a simple taste in clothing. In Rarity's eyes, the colors of black and white on top of denim blue were just fabulous to look at. And given that she was also able to glance at the muscles of the stranger, she concluded that this man must be as much of a health nut as her prism-colored friend was. But then she averted her gaze back to the man's face and saw his facial features. And she swore to Celestia, silently of course, that the same man must be an Adonis, despite some of the scars that were visible enough to be shown in the daylight. Fluttershy, given her very shy nature, could only make her trademark sound of squeaking as she peeked at the man in front of her from the inside looking outside with her hair in the way. After she and Rarity saw that he was a Magician, she kept her eyes locked on him.

Four of the women in the group had believed that a potential new friend could be made, while Fluttershy and Rarity wanted to get to know him before they became his brand new girlfriends. And as Rarity looked to Fluttershy, Fluttershy looked to Rarity and saw the same look of determination that they secretly shared among themselves. Twilight then used a bit of her magic to run a simple spell to identify him. After getting the spell done, she wrote down the bio on a scroll that she had somehow brought with her. And all after seeing that the same person had just disappeared from their sights.

"So who is the guy, Twilight?" Applejack asked her royal friend after seeing her friend finish writing her report down.

"Yes, do tell, darling," Rarity added to the inquiry while the other women had nodded their agreement.

"I have it all written down here, girls. Take a look," Twilight proudly answered them as she got the ink of her quill dried up long enough with a drying spell that she conjured up simultaneously after placing the writing utensil on the table. The girls then looked at the sheet that was on the table and read the notes that Twilight wrote down in the order that she saw.

Name: Sterling Caliber.

DOB: 08/14/990-2E

Ht: 5'10"

Wt: 177 lbs.

Eyes: Silver

Gen: Male

Former Occupation: Captain, R.E.M.C.

Race: Magician.

Time Served: 13 years, 7 months, 5 days.

"Whoa! He is a Marine!", Rainbow shouted out in the shock of learning about the man's former occupation. "And he's only twenty-three? Now that's just awesome!", she smiled at her friends, who also had a bit of the same attitude as she did. But as she looked at Pinkie Pie, the attitude that she saw from her friend was not as receiving as the others. Instead, Pinkie had felt her normally curly hair flatten a bit in the sadness. "Okay. What is it now, Pinkie?" she then asked straight up to her.

"Oh, gosh...", she began to sigh sadly, "This guy has been in the military for more than thirteen years, and long before he was even allowed to enter the Armed Forces legally. And I just know that he must have lost a lot of friends during his time of service," she began to cry as a tear had dropped from her left eye. This prompted Rainbow Dash to pick up a cookie from the table and nearly shove the confection to the now depressed party girl's mouth.

"Pinkie, eat a cookie," Rainbow told her as she held the morsel close to Pinkie's mouth.

"Why?", the pink-haired girl asked as she held a sob back.

"Because you tend to cry and go 'Pinkamena' on us when you're hungry," Rainbow answered her. Pinkie then took the cookie from her hand and took a huge bite, almost engulfing it whole. "Better?", Rainbow asked her.

"Yep! Much better!" Pinkie nodded after swallowing the bite as she felt her hair poof back to life.

"So, um... do you reckon that, uh... w-we could... y-y-y-you know, f-follow him?" Fluttershy whispered softly to her friends. "I'd.... like to get to know him," she then added when her friends gave her a confused look.

"I agree, my dear," Rarity nodded to her friend. "But I think that we should head back to our homes, first. A very good first impression is sure to win him over to all of us," she suggests to them with a refined giggle in her throat.

"Yeah! We don't want to make our new neighbor feel uncomfortable with us," Pinkie concurred. "I mean, I love seeing people smile, and I'd like to see if I can make him smile, especially if I can offer him a cupcake!" she cheered a bit.

"What was that, Pinkie?", a familiar voice called out to her. Pinkie's eyes went wide for a second before she saw Mrs. Cup Cake working at the register.

"Oops! Sorry, I meant the treat, not you, Mrs. Cake!", she giggled with a sheepish grin, causing the other girls to raise an eyebrow to show their confusion at what was just said.

"Perfectly alright, deary," Mrs. Cake calmly said to her with a warm smile.

The rest of the ladies stepped outside after Pinkie volunteered to pay the bill after having eaten their lunches. Fluttershy then walked up to the confectioner and asked, "What was that about?", in her trademark soft voice.

"Well, it was just a week ago when I confessed to the Cakes that I'm bisexual," Pinkie answered her with a shrug. "They took it pretty well after I told them my feelings, but here I was thinking that they would not want-- mmph?" Pinkie was interrupted as Rarity had taken her hand to gently shut her friends mouth.

"Pinkie Pie, are you really bisexual?" Rarity gasped, curious to know about it. Pinkie only nodded to her with a 'mm-hmm' noise muffled out, not showing any kind of deceit in her eyes. "Good heavens...." the posh girl gasped.

"Why? What's going on?", Twilight asked the women in front of her.

"Well, if you must know, then I must also confess something to you girls," Rarity began to speak. She cleared her throat before giving her answer. The rest nodded while Fluttershy walked to her left side. "It was a week ago, during our trip to the spa for our weekly get-together, after we had conversed about our past loves, that Fluttershy and I had discovered that we are both bisexual," she confessed to the girls. "And Fluttershy and I soon found out, after a very much needed discussion, that we both want a man to be with the both of us as a way of deepening our true love for each other," she continued to say before the shy girl spoke up.

"W-w-we... we still love you girls very much as our best friends, but... we discovered that our love for each other is just a little deeper than just as best friends," she squeaked before shying away from their faces.

"And now that Pinkie has confessed such a wondrous thing to all of us, just as we did, it makes more sense to me how she wants to see everyone smile," Rarity added to the speech. After hearing that, Pinkie gave her most infectious of giggles.

"Oh, thank you, girls," she said to them as her laugh prompted the others to give the same kind of laugh as well.

"Well, Ah only like men that way, but Ah'm very happy that y'all know what and who ya love, and Ah do love ya girls," Applejack smiled at the three girls who had just spoken about their true feelings.

"I am a straight girl as well, but if my looks can turn all peoples heads, including yours, then I'm cool with that," Rainbow grinned to them with a big smirk, obviously happy with what was said just now.

"I may not be wanting to be in a relationship at the moment, but I think we can all agree that being happy with each other is the best thing for all of us," Twilight nodded. The other girls then nodded in the same shared afterthought.

"Group hug before we all head home?", Pinkie then suggests to them. They all agree by sharing the hug. After breaking the hug and sharing a few 'love you' messages for a minute or two, the pink-haired girl then points to where the Town Hall was and said, "Hey look! He's coming out of the Town Hall!" The ladies then looked to where the man was. Sure enough, they saw him listing things out with his fingers counting something.

"So what do you girls believe he's doing right now?", Applejack asked them.

"I'm not sure," Fluttershy admitted.

"Perhaps... he's just become a citizen, and he's going to where his new home is at?", Rarity thought out loud to the group.

"That's actually a great hypothesis, Rarity. I was just thinking the same thing," Twilight agreed with her.

"Let's meet up at the bridge near the town at 3:00, huh?", Rainbow Dash then suggests before opening up her wings to take flight.

"3:00?", Twilight asked before looking at the clock from the tower to see that it was 11:30 AM. "I guess we can all squeeze in some hours before we all meet him. Everyone agree?"

"Agreed," the rest of the ladies spoke up. And from there, they dispersed after saying their goodbyes. Twilight used a spell to transport herself to the castle at the northern part of the town where her assistant, the now grown up dragon named Spike, was waiting oh-so patiently for her. Applejack made her way back to the family farm where she was needed to work some more at. Apple-Bucking Season and all that. Pinkie Pie made her way back to the same confection store where she worked hard at. And Rainbow made her flight to the skies above to see if any more clouds needed to be taken care of.

Fluttershy, however, decided to go to the Carousel Boutique with Rarity, much to the lady's confusion when she walked up to her with a little skip in her step.

"Fluttershy? Are you actually wanting to come back to the Boutique with me, my love? I'm sure that you need to go back home to feed those adorable critters there," Rarity asked her friend behind her, remembering that the same animals might need to be fed by her loving friend.

"Oh, um.... I already told Angel to start feeding the animals their lunches while I was away for today. He needs to learn to be self-sufficient," Fluttershy calmly answered her. "Besides," she grabbed Rarity's arm and held it comfortably as her breasts had squished themselves on the free limb. "I'd like to see if we can do some modeling first. Just so that we can find some dresses to impress the new man who just moved here," she giggled with a small blush on her face.

"Oh, Fluttershy... I just love the way you think, darling," Rarity waved her hand in a dramatic fashion before giggling at her own tiny performance. And with her arms around Fluttershy's, they walk to the same shop with a giggle escaping them both.

…..

The intended hour had arrived quickly and four of the six former bearers of the Elements of Harmony had met up near the bridge at the southern part of the town. Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie had already filled out their quota for their work during the three passing hours that they all agreed to meet up again after doing some work. And while Rarity and Fluttershy had begun to walk up to their friends, the others had been waiting patiently for them for five whole minutes.

"There you two are," Twilight spoke to the pair as they stopped just a foot or so away. "What kept you two?", she asked them curiously.

"S-sorry that we're late, girls. W-well, um.... you see.... we had to work out some.... new dresses for Sapphire Shores," Fluttershy had meekly answered her.

"That," Rarity decided to interject, "and we just couldn't decide on what hats to wear to go with some new dresses that I had made. And we all know that Princess Celestia's sun is quite hot for the both of us," she then waves her hand around to the same hot star while pointing to herself and her friend as she explains along with the timid one beside her.

"Somehow, I can agree with wearing a hat, because of how hot it is out here," Rainbow said, not entirely sure if she could shrug off that nagging feeling in the back of her mind while wiping off some of the sweat from her brow. "But I am wondering if it really was taking a lot of time to make the dresses for Sapphire Shores," she then says, hoping to alleviate that feeling in her head.

"But of course, Rainbow! I always have to make sure that the details are perfect for her," Rarity replies as she moves her hand to her chest in a pseudo-dramatic way.

"Heh-heh. Looks like we all have our hands full today," Twilight says with a smiling nod as a giggle escaped her.

"Yup. Especially since we all need ta git t' where our new neighbor's at," Applejack quips.

"And I just made a dozen cupcakes just for our new neighbor!", Pinkie excitedly speaks up with a bounce in her steps.

"Let me guess: MMM-Cups?", Rainbow smirked, knowing that Pinkie was always a bit of a mad scientist when it came to the confections that she was most famous for.

"Nope! Black Forest chocolate cupcakes! Made fresh today!" Pinkie cheers with a big smile.

"So, um.... should we--?", Fluttershy was about to speak before they all heard the distant sound of s roar coming from the outer town limits. And even the ladies could hear how quiet it was. Fluttershy gave out a small yelp before hiding behind Rarity.

"W-what was that?", she shivered with fright behind her voice.

"That did sound like a roar. Or maybe an explosion? But what was it? We know that Applejack isn't raising the barn again," Rainbow pointed to the farmer girl.

"Yup. We don't raise it until next month. And it certainly wasn't Rainbow making her Sonic Rainboom again," Applejack nodded.

"I think we should find out what it is later. You with me, girls?", Twilight asked them. They all nodded. "Well, let's not waste any more time, then," she spoke up before leading the way to the direction where the new resident was at. They all took the gravel road that led to the direction where Sweet Apple Acres was at, but they all had decided to not take the obvious road.

“Okay: If I was a new neighbor in this town, where would I be?”, Rainbow began to speak up in a '20 Questions' style. “My new home is on this road near the river, close to Sweet Apple Acres. I'm a veteran of the military, looking for only the best way to adjust to civilian life. And I happen to be a Magician with an array of spells. Where would I be?”, she then finished her remarks.

“And how did you acquire this information, Rainbow?”, Twilight asked her.

“Some of the weather team workers saw him going down this road. And given what we know about him so far, plus what I learned from the bio that you made for us, it's only logical that his new home must be at the river,” Rainbow explained to her Alicornian friend.

“But there's only one house that fit's the bill, Rainbow,” Applejack interjected for a moment. “And that house so happens to be th' old ugly two-story that no one goes to look at, let alone buy from th' Town Hall.”

“But I am sure that he is working hard on the reconstruction of that heinous looking property, even as we speak,” Rarity added. “I would be more than surprised if it was finished right now.”

Before the rest of them could speak their piece, however, a large, darkened shadow had loomed over their heads before they looked up to the sky while the shadow had quickly moved away from their sights. When their visions became corrected again, they all saw a large creature hovering over where they had intended to go to.

"D-D-D-DRAGON!!!" Fluttershy screamed before hiding in a bush near the Acres. The other women decided to follow suit while just as frightened. All of them, that is, except for Twilight. She could only stand in awe of how large and, strangely, familiar the dragon had looked to her.

"Wait a minute....", Twilight pondered a bit before looking intently at the red dragon that was hovering above the intended destination. And then it hit her like a ton of bricks. "I know that dragon! And so do all of you!" she spoke up to the girls who were hiding in the bushes behind her.

"W...we do?", Fluttershy shivered.

"Of course! That's the dragon who had slept in that cave years ago!", Pinkie spoke up.

"Aw, man! That was the same dude that I kicked under the chin," Rainbow also spoke up, regretting the memory.

"And the same creature that I tried to..... well, alleviate some of his wealth for," Rarity nervously said.

"Ah can still smell that smoke that he blasted us with," Applejack confessed, remembering it all from her point of view.

"Oh, my goodness! That's the dragon that I stared down before asking him politely to leave Ponyville," Fluttershy had then remembered as a bit of courage had returned to her. Rainbow had wanted to call out her friend on how cowardly she was, but thought it better to not bring up that detail at all.

"I think the dragon is above where our new resident is at," Twilight observed while looking at the flying creature in front of them. "So let's wait to see what happens before we go in, alright girls?" she orders them calmly.

"You got it," the girls nodded.

"Let's go," the Princess then said. With a wave of her hand, she beckoned the girls to follow behind her. Within a few seconds of walking slowly, they found a few trees within the Sweet Apple Acres land to hide behind. "Are all of you seeing what I'm seeing?", Twilight asked them while keeping her head down while looking up.

"Same dragon," four of the girls spoke.

"I see delicious apples hanging on this tree," Pinkie said with a smile.

"Pinkie, we're supposed to be looking at the dragon, not Applejack's crops," Rainbow spoke to her from a tree next to the one occupied by the party animal.

"I knew that!", Pinkie giggled at the Auran beside her.

"And Ah think we should stay focused on what's happenin'," Applejack rolled her eyes. "Can ya see what's goin' on, 'Shy?", she asked her teal-eyed friend.

"Umm.... I do see the dragon above, but I can also see the man," Fluttershy observed from her spot. It was thankful that both she and her friend, Rainbow, had the eyes of a hawk, as all Auran people were born with. “And the old house is not there anymore,” she gasped from the sight before her. “There's actually a brand new two-story home that looks much better than before,” she then said to them.

“Did he really make a new house, Fluttershy?,” Rarity asked her friend, who only nodded with the truth in her eyes to back her up. “Ooh! I certainly hope it looks good when I see it,” she then pondered before she set her sights on the top of the hill that was covered by the dragon's large shadow.

"Ah hope that it ain't somethin' bad, like how Rainbow rolled in the hay with Soarin and Spitfire," Applejack laughed quietly.

"I thought we all agreed to move on from that!", Rainbow almost cried while putting on a tough face against the farmer. "I don't feel that way about women, but that night was the only exception! It was only once!"

"We know, Rainbow. We know," Fluttershy calmly spoke to her while softly gripping her friends shoulder.

"Thanks, 'Shy," Rainbow thanked the timid girl. "You've always known how to calm us down, don't you?" she asked.

"It's a talent," the veterinarian spoke up with a small grin. She then gasped at a sight that immediately caught her attention. "Look!", she almost yelled out while pointing at the dragon hovering above the ground. But this time, the dragon was glowing an unnatural glow while it began to shrink down and transform into an anthropoid figure.

"But.... that's.... That's impossible!", Twilight hissed in the surprise that she was seeing. "There's never been a dragon that can reduce it's own size by will! Even Princess Cadence doesn't know about this!", she noted to herself loudly.

"Well then, it must be a new type of magic that you can do some research on, dear Twilight," Rarity quipped, noticing the curiosity that spread all over her royal friend's face. The answer that the fashionista received, instead of words, was a sudden hug by her good friend. "Ooh! Now-now, Twilight! I do love the attention, but we need to focus here," she reminded her gently.

"Oh! Uh, heh-heh, sorry about that," Twilight smiled sheepishly in her apology after separating herself. "I had to fight back the urge to just kiss you right then and there," she explained.

"Well now, just a simple hug will have to do, my dear," Rarity soothingly spoke to her friend.

"Thanks, Rarity," she thanked her friend with a hug.

"You're welcome, darling," the posh girl said back to her after breaking off the hug with a peck to each face cheek. The ladies then looked to where the new scene was taking place. “I wonder what is about to happen now....” she pondered out loud to herself as she scratched her chin in contemplation.

Soon, her question was answered, along with her best friends' own curious notions, as the silhouette of the lid of a gigantic treasure chest had appeared before her eyes. Her sapphire blue eyes, along with her friends eyes, almost popped out of their sockets with the sight that she beheld. And even Fluttershy, her best friend and new loving partner, was shaking a little bit. Then, both Rarity, Fluttershy and the others saw the dragon go back to its full drake body before flying off to the skies

Within a few seconds, both Fluttershy, Twilight and Rainbow had to take a few feet above the ground in a hovering move because of how the ground was giving off a violent shake. Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack had become just a little unlucky as the apples from the trees struck them above their heads, evidenced by a few painful noises being made by them all. And even with the protection of the two Aurans and one Alicornian, there was still some slight bruising on them. But as they felt it happen, the aftershock had begun to fade along with the shaking.

“Is everyone alright? Anything broken?”, Twilight asked her friends. “Check your limbs to see if there's any injury at all,” she instructed to them. And after they all checked their bodies, they sighed in relief because of how no one was hurt. Everyone, that is, unless you counted Rainbow Dash, who was still just as surprised at the events that took place. But even she was sharp enough to know that the top of the enormous chest was gone from her sights.

"Okay.... am I the ONLY ONE who saw what just happened here?!", Rainbow nearly screamed in awe of the scene that took place. "I mean, seriously! A Dragon Vault full of treasures?! This guy is seriously loaded!!" she continued to shout out before Twilight pulled her down from the tree branch with her magic.

"Rainbow, just calm down," Twilight spoke to her loud friend. "I can only speculate that this man had to have done something that was quite dramatic to be given such an intriguing gift by the King and Queen of Draconia," she noted to them. When they all said 'huh?', she answered them with: "It's another way to say 'The Dragon Kingdom'." A collective 'oh' had been heard before Twilight turned back around.

"But Rainbow Dash is quite right, darling! We just now noticed how our new neighbor has just acquired a mountain of wealth," Rarity contributed to the conversation.

"And Ah think that this here man is only brushin' off his new wealth like it's just nuthin'," Applejack complied.

"Exactly! This guy must be wanting to-- Wait a minute, wait a minute!", Rainbow stopped herself from adding more to the topic. She then looked to her friends, then looked around her to find that something was missing. "Hey, where's Fluttershy?", she immediately asked them.

The girls then looked around to find that their timid friend had gone missing.

"Where is she?", the girls gasped out in the shock of not seeing their friend with them.

"Wait! There she is!", Pinkie pointed to a place away from them. The girls set their eyes to where Fluttershy was being pointed to, and they saw their friend going down the hill to where their new neighbor resided at.

"What is that crazy girl doing?", Rainbow shakily asked.

"I'm guessing that she must be going to speak with the man," Rarity answered with her own speculation.

"And you wonder why we all love you," Twilight smiled again as the fashionista had just given a similar guess that she wanted to say.

"I know, darling. I know," Rarity smiled back. "Oh, Fluttershy... you brave, brave woman...", she then sighed, feeling more in love with her than before.

.....

(Meanwhile, in the Canterlot Castle....)

It was just after Princess Celestia had taken a short break from her duties that she was greeted in the throne room by a guard who had been waiting for her for a while. Along with the guard, there was also her younger sister, Princess Luna, awaiting her presence.

"Luna? What brings you around here at this time of the day?", Celestia asked her as she ascended from the bottom of the small stairs to give her a friendly hug.

"Well my dear older sister, we were waiting for thee to cometh here," Luna greeted with a returning hug.

"And how is it that you're up at this time? You're usually not up at this time," Celestia asked with her observation once again as she took her seat on the throne with her sister sitting beside her on another throne.

"If I may, your Highness'?", the guard spoke up. "I am the reason for why the both of you are here," he said after bowing to them in respect. "And for that, I must apologize profusely!" he told them while keeping his bow. "But I have a group of men who wish to meet the both of you, concerning a.... 'certain soldier that was made a Captain'," he announced to them both.

Celestia and Luna then looked at each other with widened eyes. They both knew who the guard was speaking of, though he did not.

"Bring them in," Celestia calmly ordered the man who saluted the royalty before leaving their presences. And after the guard left them, eight mysterious figures had approached below the throne of the royal sisters and gave a respecting bow to them.

"Your Highness', we are so pleased to finally meet you," a deep male voice spoke up.

"Are.... are all of you....?", Luna was about to ask when a certain chant was then shouted out from the figures below.

"Lothokriin, vhaszadarrou Equus.... sahnahvv-adarraagcht!"

.....

(To Be Continued...)