“Whew.” Vinyl sank into her seat but made sure she could still peer down at the remains of the ring. With precision cutting spells, medics pried Sunset from the ground. Spike tried to move, but none of his limbs responded. His wings laid limp at his sides. Even breathing hurt. A medic came over and scooped him up. “What a hay of a day.”

Tantabus did not respond. Vinyl was not sure, but it looked to her like the stars around where his brow would have been appeared brighter. As galaxies churned across Tantabus, so did his mind. So, even a dragon’s body cannot handle one-hundred percent use of the Elements. Then again, Spike is technically an infant. Hmmm, things are set for Twilight, but I’ll need to reconsider future plans…

Back down in the ring, Rockhoof looked around at the desolation and hefted his shovel. A grin spread across his face. “Ah, now this was a festival! My ancestor would be proud!”

“I’ll say.” Cheerilee thwapped her hindlegs with her tail and bit her lip. “What an amazing display. I want to have a one-on-one with all of them. Oooh, or maybe they could take me all at the same time.”

Rockhoof ignored Cheerilee’s swooning and buried his shovel in the ground. Dirt roiled like waves that rippled out from Rockhoof. In an instant, there was an earthen sea before him. It sucked in what remained of the ring, covering up the burn scars and other damage. Three pillars started to rise out of Rockhoof’s work.

“Spike!” Twilight and her friends cheered when they were allowed into the recovery room. Spike beamed at them but remained silent. He opened his mouth, but Redheart spoke before he could.

“Uh-uh-uh.” She turned toward Spike’s friends. “I’m sure you all have a lot to discuss, but Spike will need to take it easy on his throat for the next few days. He burnt it severely.”

Smolder jumped over Spike’s friends and landed in front of Redheart. “He burnt it?”

“Yes,” Redheart curtly replied.

Smolder blinked, stared at Spike, and then shook her head. “I’m done questioning what you are.” She then smiled. “Regardless, Lady Ember will totally want you as an intern, especially since you’re not grounded anymore.”

“Oh, congratulations!” Rarity ran forward and gave Spike a hug. She glanced at Twilight, who smiled, and then pressed close to Spike. His cheeks flushed. “I’ll have to do this in place of Twilight for today.”

“I wanted hug duties,” Pinkie pouted before giggling. She jumped back and forth around Spike’s bed. “I can’t wait to do a ‘Good-golly-gosh, you grew wings!’ Party! It’ll be my first time planning one! Ooh! Maybe Rainbow Dash can…”

Pinkie turned toward Dash, but she had split from the group. “Hmmm…”

“Well…” Shadowbolt grinned. “Seems Twilight knocked some business acumen into your head, too.”

Dash stared straight at him from across the hall. There was an intensity in her eyes, but the prior fury was gone now. Shadowbolt thought he saw a multicolored glint in her irises, but it may have just been a reflection of her mane. “So, is it a deal?”

“Of course, it is,” Shadowbolt bellowed. “Now, why don’t you run along and claim your bronze? I’ll blame this on you not having your head in the right place, but it’s gold from here on out.”

“It’s time!” Vinyl announced. Below her, the remains of the ring were gone. Thanks to Rockhoof, three pillars now stood amidst a flat earthen plain. “Let’s hear it for first place and the runners up!”

“Woohoo!” Pinkie cheered. Many in the participant area joined her, but stomps and cheers were spotty elsewhere in the stadium.

Looking at their friends, Spike and Dash were able to crack grins. Spike noticed others in the crowd muttering and whispering.

Sunset, confined to a wheelchair, kept her head down. Her eyes were dulled.

“Now, is this any way to treat future heroes?” boomed a voice from all directions. Everyone looked up as the area above the stadium radiated light and coalesced into the winged and horned pony everyone was familiar with. Celestia beamed at the crowd as she swooped down. “I am here t—”

“Let’s give it up for Princess Celestia!” Vinyl declared at the same time Celestia made her entrance.

“—o deliver the medals!” Celestia finished and landed in front of the winners. It was only for a second, but the faintest hint of a blush could be seen on her cheeks when she glanced up at Vinyl. Vinyl, on the other hoof, was pure red and steaming.

Whatever awkwardness remained evaporated as Celestia stepped forward. Medals of bronze, silver, and gold floated around her. With all eyes on her, she did not break stride.

“Such poise,” Rarity whispered with glistening eyes.

Celestia came to a stop in front of Dash. Dash stood stiff as a board. Celestia smiled and bent close while she slipped the bronze medal onto Dash. “You’ve certainly lived up to your name with those colorful displays today, Rainbow Dash.”

Dash blushed. “Heh, thanks.”

Celestia drew close to Dash’s left ear. “I couldn’t help but notice you seemed to falter a little at the conclusion of your fight with Sunset.”

Dash looked down. “I…”

“You’re still recovering from your fight with Twilight.” Celestia embraced Dash with a wing. It felt like a gentle summer breeze enveloped Dash. “She hit you with something far harder than any hoof.”

Dash was left speechless when Celestia backed away with a grin on her face. “I can’t wait to see how you grow from here.”

Celestia then proceeded over to Sunset. She could feel a slight warmth on her bandaged torso— her legs were in thick casts similar to what Twilight wore—but even with Celestia right in front of her, she did not look up. Celestia glanced at the silver medal floating between them: one side displayed a glistening sun and the other a crescent moon. “You know, Sunset Shimmer, first place is not everything.”

Sunset kept her head down.

“What matters is that you gave it your all. You showed great promise in today with your tactics and power. Nopony here doubts you have the ability to become a great hero.”

“Then…” Sunset slowly raised her eyes up. They were hollow spheres that reminded Celestia of another pony from long ago, but she kept up her smile to comfort Sunset. “What was I lacking?”

Celestia glanced at the other pillars. “I think it’s something Rainbow Dash remembered, and Spike always had: something to protect. I’ve lived a very long time, Sunset Shimmer, and I’ve found that beings that fight only for themselves burn out far sooner than those to fight for others.”

Sunset strained to ask, “Where can I find that?”

“It’s a lot closer than you think.” Celestia glanced over at Twilight. She then placed a hoof on Sunset’s chest. “You’ve strived hard on your own to be the best you can be, but sometimes we must expose our hearts in order to gain something even greater than strength.”

“What is it?” Sunset pleaded.

“It starts with friends,” Celestia beamed as she placed the silver medal on Sunset.

When Celestia flew up to Spike, Sunset bowed her head, but this time her eyes were contemplative.

“Spike,” Celestia said, “I heard from Nurse Redheart how you’re a bit tongue tied at the moment, so feel free to respond with your thoughts and I’ll listen.”

Spike bowed to Celestia. Thank you, Princess. I just wish Twilight could be up here too.

“Well, I think she’s pretty proud that all three of you made it to this point.” Celestia turned her head toward Twilight. Spike did the same as did Dash. Twilight looked at them all with a smile that even dwarfed Pinkie’s. Pinkie hefted a massive banner with Congratulations written on it and Rarity applauded with her hooves as loud as she could.

Behind them, Derpy and Tree Hugger blew party horns—likely provided by Pinkie. Bulk flexed at Spike to show his awe. The other class members cheered at the top of their lungs. Maud slowly clapped.

Starlight grinned. “Well, it may not have all gone according to plan, but hopefully damage control won’t be too bad.”

“I think we got what was coming to us,” Wallflower sighed and pressed an ice pack to her swollen face.

“We’ll be a little more scrupulous from now on,” said Starlight. “It’s what got everypony but Sunset so far, and she’s in a class of her own when it comes to firepower.”

“Trixie would just like to point out, she did nothing wrong,” Trixie pouted. “Trixie is quite proud of how Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, and Spike performed. Quite the pizzazz our year has. Speaking of pizzazz, where in Equestria has Lightning gone?”

“A dragon of all things?” Blueblood sighed.

“Quite,” said Jet Set. “What sort of example to heroes of our year is that?”

“Especially after he brutalized Starlight,” added Upper Crust.

A glare from Starlight froze all of them. “I’d watch my tongue if I were you. My injuries are my own fault. Rather than condemn Spike for losing control, you should commend him for regaining it and coming out as the ultimate victor.”

“Speaking of Twilight,” said Celestia just as she draped the medal onto Spike. She spun around. Her voice reverberated across the stadium. “These are your winners, Equestria, but I want to say something else! Everyone here today, be they pony, dragon, or any of the other races that prosper in our great land, they all have the potential to be standing as heroes! They pushed each other to higher and higher heights and forged bonds that will last a lifetime. The sprouts of today, with the nourishment of friendship, will grow to become the great heroes of tomorrow. Now, let’s have one final cheer!”

Twilight held her head high. “Through night…”

Dash thought of Scootaloo. “Through day…”

Sunset muttered, “… and ever onwards!”

Others in the crowd were saying the same phrase, but they were all drowned out by Celestia shouting, “Thanks for your hard work!”

Vinyl nearly fell out of her chair.

Tantabus shook his head. You never change, sister

Twilight and the others were stunned for a second before breaking into laughter. It had been a long day, but they had made it to the end. Their only shared regret was that Applejack could not be there with them.