“How are you holding up there Ms. Cloud?” Sweetie Belle asked, scanning over the persian blue Pegasus’s bandaged body. “Are those injuries still hurting you?”

“No...no they’re not. At least, not all that much anymore.” Cloud Kicker replied as she rested her head against the pillow. “I’ll admit, they hurt like a bitch when I first got here after that fight with the Tantabuses. I’m glad that Dinky didn’t get to hurt by them, otherwise my little sister would kill me for letting her daughter and my youngest niece to get hurt.” She smiled thankfully at Sweetie and the rest of the foals. “Thanks for that again, by the way…for keeping my niece safe.”

“Oh, it was no trouble at all.” Apple Bloom said shyly, a small modest blush making its way to her sun yellow cheeks. “We were jus’ doin’ our part...lookin’ out fer a friend as all.”

“No, I’m serious baby. I’m am feeling a lot better now knowing that Dinky’s safe...and a lot more comfortable too.” Cloud insisted, grinning somewhat wolfishly. “You guys really are a really good bunch of friends that Dinky has you are, especially you there, kiddo.”

Sheton, who was sitting beside Crescent Shield and reading a book with her, looked up, only to see the persian blue mare’s eyes locked onto him. He looked in between his sisters, Spike and the other fillies, before asking, “U-um…are you talking about me?”

“Who else would she be talking about dear?” Snowflake asked amusedly. “I saw how you were protecting Crescent, Spike and Dinky while me and Midnight were fighting that Tantabus. You looked ready to drain it dry of its magic if it came anywhere near them.”

“W-what do you mean?” Sheton asked, stuttering slightly. “I-I wasn’t doing anything! I was just as scared as Spike, Crescent and Dinky were! I was literally right in front of them!”

“True, but that didn’t mean you were terrified for long.” Midnight said, giggling slightly. “Around sometime during the fight, I had noticed that as the Tantabus was getting closer to you and the others, your demeanor did a complete one-eighty. You were from being so petrified to being in full on protective mode against anything that would hurt your friends. I have to admit Sheton, I did find it pretty cute…if not a little bit scary.”

“I…I was?” Sheton asked softly, blinking a few times. He looked in between Crescent, Spike, and Dinky, all of who were nodding in confirmation. “Wow…I don’t really remember that. I mean, I know something inside of my changed and I didn’t feel scared anymore, but…aside from that, everything was just a blur.”

“Well, you did end up getting all angry and ferocious when the Tantabus tried to get us.” Spike murmured, rubbing the back of his head. “I remember you crouching in front of us and opening your wings, while your fangs were bared. You did look…just a little bit scary to be honest.”

“Yeah, just a little.” Dinky nodded, smiling slightly. “You, uh…also ended almost poking me in the eye with the claw of your wing. Just to let you know.”

“I did?! I’m so sorry!” Sheton gushed, reaching over and gingerly examining Dinky’s face. “Are you hurt anywhere; do you have any cuts?”

Dinky blushed at the contact the Thestral colt was giving her. “U-um…no, I don’t have anything that needs bandaging. Your wing just hit me really hard in the face, that’s all.” She said meekly, the smile on her face matching her tone. “T-thank you for being so worried about me though…”

“I have to say kids, you were really good in helping Snowflake and Midnight in helping me fix my wounds, especially you Scootaloo.” Cloud Kicker murmured, running a hoof over one of her bandaged wings. “I know you guys are around eight or nine, but you were pretty efficient in doing this. I have to say…I’m impressed; you look like you might have the potential to be nurses and doctors someday.”

“Pfft, Doctors and Nurses?! Us?! Please! As if any of us would want to have a job like that!” Fire Flash snorted. “I you want my honest opinion, the only one of us who’ll have even the slightest chance of working in all of that medicine stuff is Scootaloo. She’s the one with all the knowledge about animals and stuff!”

“Oh? She does?” Cloud asked, her golden eyes trailing over to the bright orange Pegasus filly.

Scootaloo looked away, a deep blush making its way to her cheeks as she poked her forehooves together bashfully. “Well, um...yes, I do. M-my sister and I live in a cottage that’s right on the edge of the Everfree Forest, s-so she has a lot of animals living with her that she takes care of daily, besides me.”

As the shy filly looked up at Cloud, she noticed the wide-eyed look of horrified shock on the persian blue mare’s face. Not wanting any criticism to be thrown at her sister, the bright orange filly quickly continued. “D-d-don’t worry! I-It’s not those types of animals that she takes care of. A-at least, not all the time since they can take care of themselves, due to them having c-chaotic magic and all. F-Fluttershy takes care of the animals that you’d normally find in the W-Whitetail Woods, l-like Rabbits, Sparrows, Swallows, Ducks, Ferrets, Mice, Small Cats, Weasels, Deer, Elk, Moose, a-and even Bears. I-I think she’s thinking about opening up her very own sanctuary near our cottage sometime too. I heard her mention it a few times to the members of Critter Crew she works with that she sometimes takes me to see, but I don’t really know for sure.”

A small smile came to Scootaloo’s face as that though crossed her mind, before she gently shook it and addressed Cloud once more. “A-a-a-anyway, I do have an advanced knowledge of animals, and not just the ones in my sister’s cottage. I also know about the ones in the Everfree Forest too, like the Timberwolves, Manticores, Cave Demons, Night Furies, Battoookamis...you name it. I have yet to learn more about the animals that aren’t where we are, and I hope to have a talent in taking care of them someday...or at least learning about them. A-and yes, I do hope that I’ll be able to take care of them one day. Though, something tells me I’ll exceed farther than that…”

“Really? You want to work with animals too?” Sheton asked, looking over at Scootaloo with wide eyes. “That’s what I’ve always wanted to do too!”

“You do?” The bright orange filly asked, both of her ears perking up.

“Uh-huh! Back at Canterlot, where I’m still kind of living at, there’s a few Zoos that me and my family like to visit all the time, that have all kinds of creatures! Like Toucans, Spider Monkeys, Wallaroos, and even Bats there too, which are my favorite animal!” Sheton replied with a nod of his head. “I know so much about the animals there, and I really hope that I get to be some part of an animal sanctuary and protection group someday! Oh, and one that involves protecting endangered species, like the bats!”

“Really? Wow, that’s amazing Sheton! You have the same dream that Scootaloo has!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, looking at the stormy grey colt with a wide sweet smile. “Maybe you two can be part of one of those group together, or maybe even make you’re own sanctuary based on it!”

“Yeah!” Crescent Shield nodded, before a thought crossed her mind. “Or maybe, the both of you could join that ‘Critter Crew’ group that Scootaloo’s sister is a part of!”

“Now, now, you kids, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Cloud said as she rolled over and laid on her stomach. “While it’s great that you what you want to do when you grow up, I think it’s safe to say that neither of you are ready that kind of work yet. You still have another six or seven years before you should even think about getting jobs, so you don’t have to rush into adulthood now.”

“Yeah they know that, and so do we.” Spike said as he crossed his forelegs, a small pout coming to his face. “They were just saying that they wanted to do it as a job someday. We all know that we can’t get a job at our age...not that we’d really want to right now anyway.”

“Hmhm, that’s good to hear. I’m sure that none of your sisters or parents would want to waste your foalhoods before you even got halfway, and I sure as hay wouldn’t want my little niece to either. Especially since there are more…pleasurable things for her to experience.” Cloud Kicker giggled, ignoring the glare that Snowflake sent her way. “Until then, why don’t you just stick to being sweet little foals for now and worry about becoming more responsible later, okay?”

“Okay…” The two foals said quietly, looking away from each other and twiddling with their forehooves.

“So Sheton...y’all like learnin’ ‘bout bats huh?” Apple Bloom asked nonchalantly, making the stormy grey colt turn to her. “Ya know...me an’ mah family do have a family of Fruit Bats that like to hang around in our trees on our farm.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Apple Bloom found her whole vision enveloped by two sparkling emerald blue orbs as Sheton shot up in front of her. His transfixing emerald blue eyes were wide as they shine with excitement.

“Really, you actually have Fruit Bats on your farm?!” He cried, a wide smile on his face as he leaned in so close to Apple Bloom that their noses were practically touching.

“Eeyup, a whole flock o’ ‘em, rangin’ from all different colors, an’ lookin’ like th’ very fruits they were named after.” The sun yellow filly replied, smiling in amusement. She used a hoof to gently push him away, if only by just a few inches. “If ya want, after this is all over an’ done, Ah could have one o’ mah sisters ‘r Granny Smith take ya t’ the Western fields an’ have a look at ‘em. We have a lotta them in western fields, and they don’t really bother us. So Ah’m sure that it’ll be a real excitin’ thing fer ya; ya know, since yer half bat an’ all.”

“Really?! Oh, thank you thank you thank you Apple Bloom!” Sheton squealed, bringing the sun yellow filly in a tight hug as he nuzzled his cheek against hers. “I’ve been wanting to see real Fruit Bats for so long! you don’t have any idea how much this means to me!”

“Heheheh...it’s nothin’ Sheton.” Apple Bloom murmured softly, blushing slightly at the hug. “Could, um…c-could ya lemme go now? I-I can’t really breathe…!”

“Um, Sheton…” Scootaloo suddenly said, gaining the stormy grey colt’s attention. “M-me and my sister have b-been at S-Sweet Apple Acres a f-few times t-to see the F-Fruit Bats a-and um, I-I-I learned some interesting facts about t-them. I-if you want, y-y-you can come over t-t-to our cottage s-sometime and w-we can t-teach you a few things a-about the F-Fruit B-Bats.”

This time, it was Scootaloo’s turn to blush as Sheton shot over to her and wrapped his forelegs around her waist. Although, he was gentler with her and didn’t try to hug too tightly, least he hurt other Pegasus foal with her own unnatural strength.

“You can totally count on my being there Scootaloo!” Sheton giggled as he hoisted her up in the air, earning a small squeak from the filly.

“G-g-great...I-I’m excited t-to see you b-back there…” Scootaloo stuttered, the blush on her face as red as Apple Bloom’s mane.

“Alright, we get it! You like bats and you both want to have a job that has to do with animals just like Fluttershy.” Fire Flash said as she grimaced at the display of affection. “You don’t need to be so mushy about it, sheesh!”

At these words, Sheton blinked and looked up at Scootaloo, who was looking back down at him with a scarlet red face, and the tiniest hint of a smile on her face as her single violet eye gazed into both of his emerald blue ones. The Thestral colt then looked at the way he was holding the indigo maned filly, and a blush came to his own cheeks as his tufted ears went limp against his head. Looking away from his fellow flyer, he gently, and veryslowly, set her back down on the ground, before shuffling a good few feet away from her, pulling his fedora over his face.

“Oh, now look what you did, Fire Flash!” Sweetie Belle chastised as she hopped off of Twilight’s bed and trotted over to Sheton. “You just made Sheton feel embarrassed and guilty for hugging Scootaloo! Did you really have to say that?!”

“What?” The crimson filly asked perplexedly. “All I said was that he didn’t need to get that excited! He looked like my big sis whenever another Daring Do book comes out!”

“And yer saying that yer one t’ talk?” Apple Bloom asked flatly, raising a scarlet red eyebrow. “Ah seem t’ recall y’all bouncin’ round like Pinkie Pie on a sugar rush an’ squeezin’ Sheton ‘ere when he mentioned that he’s a fan o’ them Wonderbolts you an’ Dash like so much back at the Town Square.”

Fire Flash’s face heated up at these words, and had it not been for her fur being so red, Apple Bloom would’ve most definitely seen the blush on her face. “T-that has nothing to do with this!”

“Sure...sure it doesn’t.” The sun yellow filly said smugly.

“I’m serious!”

“O’ course ya are.”

“Are you saying that I’m into that kind of stuff?!”

“No, Ah’m jus’ sayin’ that yer a real big softie inside.” Apple Bloom said teasingly with a small smirk on her face. “A real big red super softie.”

“I think so too~!” Spike giggled, both green claws coming to his lips

“Ha! Take that!” Sweetie shouted, pointing a hoof up at the crimson filly.

“Why you-” Fire Flash growled as her golden eyes flashed, the fur on her neck bristling. Before she could make a move on Apple Bloom however, Crescent Shield came to the rescue. “You take that back right now!”

Apple Bloom grinned even wider “Y’all gonna make me Flashy?”

“Maybe I will!” The crimson filly hissed as she stomped over towards Apple Bloom, both of her eyes glowing. Before she could do anything, Crescent Shield came to Apple Bloom’s rescue.

“You guys please! Now’s not the time to be fighting!” The ocean blue filly cried, encasing Fire Flash in an icy blue aura of magic. “Remember, we’re trying to keep Miss Cloud and Dinky safe here, and Miss Amethyst gonna get really mad at us if she finds us fighting like this!”

Then, as if to prove Crescent Shield’s point, Amethyst’s voice came ringing from downstairs. “Kids, what’s going on up there?! Is something wrong with Derpy?!”

“Nope, everything’s just fine Ame!” Cloud quickly replied back. “Fire Flash and Apple Bloom are just having a little debate over who likes your brother, that’s all!”

“No, we weren’t!” Both fillies protested at the same time, both of their faces heating up in embarrassment.

“Miss Cloud…” Sheton whined as he pouted at the mare.

The giggling persian blue Pegasus and the other foals waited a few moments for Snowflake to reply back while they all calmed down. When she did, her voice carried the same tone of amusement as Derpy’s did, with the slightest hint of slyness added to it.

“Well, just make sure that they keep it down okay?!” Amethyst asked, the tone in her voice making Derpy grin wider. “I’m on watch duty, and Ireallywouldn’t want to be distracted by the sounds of Dinky and her friends fawning over their new coltfriend!”

“Duly noted!” Cloud chirped, laughing at the blush on Dinky’s face.

“We AIN’T fawnin’ over him!” Apple Bloom cried with a stamp of her hoof.

“Sure you weren’t.” Sweetie Belle said slyly, causing the farm filly to shoot her a heated glare.

“Oh, don’t you start now too!”

“Start what?” The alabaster filly asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes innocently. “All I was doing was just agreeing with you that you weren’t fawning over Sheton, that’s all.”

“Oh, and yer sayin’ that you didn’t do the same when you met him?” Apple Bloom asked, grinning when she saw Sweetie Belle flinch.

“Y-yeah!” Sweetie Belle replied with a slight stutter, her tail skirt swishing nervously. “I-I wasn’t anywhere near as touchy feely with Sheton when I first met him! not even when me and him got into a tickle fi-” She clapped her hooves over her mouth as she realized what she was going to say, but it was too late. It was said, and everypony heard it loud and clear.

“Ah knew it!” Apple Bloom shouted triumphantly. “You were, weren’t you?!”

“A-Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo began, only to be cut off by Sweetie.

“N-no!” The two-tone maned filly squeaked as she back away from the sun yellow filly, who took a couple steps towards her. “I-I wasn’t fawning over him when he came to the boutique! All we did was play up in my room, and the whole time he was really sweet to me!”

“Admit it!” She demanded, pointing a hoof at her friend. “Y’all were coddlin’ him back at yer sister’s boutique, weren’t ya?! Jus’ like ya did back at th’ Town Square!”

“N-n-no! I wasn’t!” Sweetie Belle indignantly protested, before she gave a pause. “Well...I may have given him a few hugs here and there but-”

“So you do admit it!” Apple Bloom interjected, grinning wickedly at Sweetie Belle. “You like him, don’t you?!”

“How can I like somepony who I just met?!” The alabaster filly asked incredulously.

“She um...does bring up a good point.” Scootaloo said quietly, coming up to Sweetie Belle’s defense. “You can’t really have feelings for somepony only a day after you meet them.”

“Yeah, I mean…” Spike added, giving Apple Bloom perplexed expression. “Where’s the logic in that?”

“See?!” Sweetie Belle cried, pointing in between Spike and Scootaloo.

“Ah knowya can’t like somepony in a day, Ah wasn’t raised in a chicken coop.” Apple Bloom said with a roll of her eyes, before turning to look back at Sweetie Belle. “Ah’m jus’ sayin’ that there may be a few...exceptions, here and there.”

“How many times to I have to tell you…” Sweetie hissed through gritted teeth. “I. Do not. Like. Sheton!”

“Ya most certainly do.” Apple Bloom cooed, grinning widely. “A lot.”

“I most certainly donot!” The alabaster filly shot back. “At all.”

“You most certainly do too!”

“I most certainly do not!”

“Do not!

“Do too!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“DO NOT!”

“DO NOT!”

“DO TOO! Wait...HEY!”

“HA! Ah was right!” Apple Bloom shouted, bouncing up in the air. “You do like him!”

“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo scolded as Sweetie Belle froze on the spot.

“I...I…that wasn’t...” The alabaster filly stammered, her growing redder by the second as she glanced at Sheton, whose face was just as red. “T-T-That was a cheap shot Apple Bloom!”

Fire Flash burst out in a fit of laughter. “She got you there, Sweets! AB got you really good!”

“Shut up, Fire Flash!” Sweetie Belle shrieked, which sounded more like a squeak as the crimson filly laughed even harder. Sheton, who was also frowning at Apple Bloom, paused upon hearing Sweetie’s squeak.

‘Sweetie Belle just…squeaked!’ He thought as his face went pink. ‘And it was so cute!’

“Oh dear…” Snowflake sighed shaking her head.

Throughout the whole argument, Cloud still lay on Twilight’s bed, watching the whole scene play out in front of her, giving out a few muffled giggles here and there as she watched the foals bicker with each other. By the end of it, she was rolling around on the bed in hysterics, her face contorted with mirth. Her eyes were shut tight as tears flowed from them; her smile so wide that it hurt. She struggled to contain her laughter, least she fell off the bed or reopen her wounds, which were starting to ache a bit under the bandages, not that she really noticed. With each attempt she made, persian blue Pegasus found herself losing the battle, and getting closer the hard-wooden floor waiting for her below.

Just as she had reached the edge of the bed, Cloud suddenly froze, her ears picking up the sound of something exploding from outside of the Golden Oaks Library. Abruptly after that a bright light shined faintly through the window and into the upstairs bedroom. The mirth that the sex-obsessed mare was feeling vanished quicker than it had come as she whipped her head around to the source. She let out a hiss of regret as she used one of her forelegs to shield her eyes from the shining light, everypony else doing the same as a wave of power rush across the room.

“What in tarnation is that?!” Apple Bloom asked. “Is somepony lettin’ off fireworks outside?!”

“I don’t think that was it, Apple Bloom.” Crescent Shield replied. “That considerably too loud to be fireworks. Plus, I just felt a wave of magic reverberate around the library, so that could not have been any fireworks.”

Scootaloo looked over at the ocean blue filly nervously. “W-what do you think it was then?”

“…It was Amethyst’s magic shield.” Cloud Kicker replied, looking up at the fillies and the two Thestral mares in the room. “No doubt about it; I’ve felt different waves of magical power before, and I know that was Amethyst’s just now.”

“What does that mean?” Dinky asked. “Is something happening to big sis downstairs?”

“No baby, there’s not.” Snowflake replied before the filly could do anything. “It just means one of the Tantabus creatures tried to break down Amethyst’s. Or, at least…they ran into it and are now trying to break it down.”

“R-really?” Fire Flash asked, her eyes widening. “Is that why we saw that light a moment ago?”

“Mhm.” Snowflake nodded. “No doubt they’ve noticed the shield Amethyst made, and they believe there’s another group of victims. Which is why they’re trying to break at Amethyst’s shield right now.”

“They’re not going to get in, are they?” Sheton asked, looking up fearfully at his older sister. “I mean, we all saw what happened downstairs, and what how much power those T-T-Tantabuses contained. I-Is miss Amethyst’s shield going to be able to hold out until they go away?”

“Of course it will baby.” Cloud Kicker replied confidently. “Before that sexy ass mare Twilight came to town, Amethyst was the best magic user to ever walk the streets of Ponyville. There was no Unicorn in this entire town that could wield magic as expertly asshe could, or cast as many spells either. She’s conjured up shields before and the one she has in this how now, is sure to hold off against whatever things that might come in. Trust me when I say that.”

“O-oh, don’t worry Auntie Cloud, w-we trust you.” Dinky said reassuringly. “I-it’s just that I’m still s-scared that t-they’ll find some other way t-to get inside.”

Crescent Shield looked over at her fellow horned friend. “Some other way? Like what?”

“I don’t know…” Dinky replied, unable to elaborate. “…I’m just afraid that they will.”

“Well, even if they do, we’re not going to let any of them hurt you!” Spike said cheerfully, wrapping a foreleg around Dinky. “It doesn’t matter how many of those monsters are out there trying to break in! If any of them try to mess with any my friends, or you, I’ll burn all of them to a crisp!”

“Ah second that!” Apple Bloom said, raising a hoof up. “Ah’ll buck them varmints t’ th’ west side o’ the orchard where th’ Fruit Bats are if they even think o’ tryin’ t’ mess any o’ mah friends!”

“Don’t forget me girls; I’ll blast anypony to smithereens before they even try to hurt one of us!” Sweetie added, her eyes glowing as her horn did as well. “Nopony messes with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and gets away with it,nopony!”

Fire Flash nodded. “True that AB, true that.”

“R-really? I-I’m your friend too?” Sheton asked, looking at Apple Bloom. “E-even though we just met?”

“Well yeah, o’ course ya are Sheton.” Apple Bloom replied, smiling at the Thestral colt. “Ah mean, sure, ya having wings, an’ fangs an’ all o’ that stuff, but that don’t mean ya ain’t one o’ my friends. We may have only jus’ met, but th’ rest o’ th’ girls all told me ‘bout their time with ya b’fore we went to th’ Town Square. Anypony that’s kind t’ mah friends an’ not a bully t’ ‘em is a friend in mah book, an’ that there is th’ honest truth.”

A blush came to Sheton’s as a smile of his own came to his muzzle. “W-wow, I-I never really thought of it like that. I-It usually takes a lot of time for somepony to become friends, b-but I’m glad that you think of me that way Apple Bloom.” His fangs gleamed as his smile grew slightly wider, if not a bit shyer. “T-though, if it’s not too much trouble, c-could we maybe take us being friends at a steady pace? I-I haven’t really had that many friends at my school, besides Spike and Crescent Shield, and any time I tried ended in pretty, um…bad conclusions. I don’t really want to take any chances in messing our friend up this time, s-so…maybe we could take it one step at a time? I-If that’s okay with you?” He asked, poking his hooves together as he looked at the sun yellow filly with his big blue eyes.

Apple Bloom’s heart melted upon seeing the puppy dog look on Sheton’s face, feeling her own face forming into a cute frown. Before she could say or do a thing, Scootaloo beat her to it, racing over and bringing Sheton into a gentle hug.

“Yes, of course we will Sheton!” She cooed, running her hoof up and down the back of Sheton’s head soothingly. “I can all see how scared you are about losing any potential friends that you want to have, including us! I also saw how nervous you were about you and I wanting to be friends when you were at my big sister’s college! I don’t want you to ever feel like that about anypony else you want to be friends with, and I know than the others don’t either!” She pulled away from the colt just enough to cup his face in her hooves, causing him to plush. “I promise, we’ll do whatever we can to make you as comfortable with us as possible, and we’ll be the best friends that you’ve ever had! We did the same with Spike and Crescent Shield, and we can do it for you too, even Melon Cake.” She looked at the rest of the foals. “Right everypony?”

“Absolutely!” Crescent Shield nodded. “Me and Spike do need to catch up with Sheton and tell him all about what happened while we were hear in Ponyville. I know that he’s gonna love all of the stories we have about this place!”

“I think so too~!” Spike chirped, doing so in such a way that Dinky could not help but coo to.

Sheton looked around at each of the fillies, taking in the conviction and honesty in their eyes as they all smiled warmly at him, Dinky included. The shy smile on his face slowly grew until he was almost grinning from ear to ear, his teeth gleaming brightly. A giggle escaped him as he leaned back slightly, covering his mouth with his forehooves as he continued to laugh.

“Oh wow, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this much ever!” He said, adjusting the fedora on his head as he looked at Spike and the other fillies. “Thank you girls, really! I’m glad that you’re all willing to take this slow. I’m really excited for what we’re going to be doing here after this is all over!”

“So are we! This town is really really really fun!” Dinky squeaked, smiling widely as her leonine tail swished back and forth. “There’s so much to do in it, and looks of places for friends to go to together!” She paused, her expression going from cheerful to bashful in less than a second as she rubbed her foreleg. “U-um…s-speaking of which, S-Sheton? C-can I ask you something?”

The stormy grey colt tilted his head. “What is it?”

“U-um…my M-momma t-told me about h-how she met you on the street e-earlier today, a-after she um…almost crashed into you.” Dinky explained, pausing to glare at Cloud as the mare giggled in her hoof. “She also told me about how she planned to introduce you to me a-at the Summer Sun Celebration today, s-since you seemed like r-really sweet colt to her.” She took a deep breath and shook the blush off of her face. “A-anyway…I-I was wondering…d-do you mind if we also be-”

That was all the grayish violet filly was able to see before a hoof gently pressed itself against her muzzle, thus preventing her from speaking. Squeaking in surprise, she looked up to see Sheton in front of her, smiling in a way that made him want to hug him until his eyes popped out of their sockets.

“Yes Dinky, I’d love to be friends with you, along with the other fillies.” He replied, taking his hoof away. “Your mom told me about how you and Amethyst would love to see meet me because of how nice I was to your mom today. Though you can see how that went after what happened at the Town Square.” A sweat drop appeared on the back of his head as he giggled sheepishly, before regaining his composure. “Anyway, yes, I’d love to be friends with you, and maybe your sister if she’s up for it. Just as long as you’re okay with taking it slow with me like the others said they would.”

Dinky nodded eagerly, her cheerful mood returning as quickly as it had vanished. “Sure, we can take as much time as we need to! I know we don’treally become friends in a day, so I’m willing to do this as slow as you want!” Her expression softened as she looked off to the side. “Though, um…do you mind if I, um…give you a hug for accepting my offer to be your friend?”

“O-oh, um…sure, I don’t see the harm in that-wah!” Sheton was cut off from what he was going to say when Dinky lunged at him. She pulled him in a tight hug, her chin resting on top of his head as she wrapped her forelegs around his neck. “Wow, heheheh…you’re really a hugger, aren’t you Dinky?”

“She sure is kiddo.” Cloud Kicker replied slyly as Snowflake smiled fondly at the scene. “The more you get to know her, the more hugs you’re going to be subjected to. And when you two are older…she may want to huge for another more, intimate reason.”

Snowflake glared warningly at the persian blue mare. “And just what reason may that be Cloud?”

“A reason that involves banging, screaming, and a very big banana.” Another voice replied bluntly. “One that my mom will surely stare Aunt Cloud’s eyes out for if she here to hear it herself.”

Almost everypony jumped upon hearing the voice, and they looked over to see Amethyst standing in the doorway, leaning against it casually. She was standing on her hind-legs with her forehooves crossed, glaring daggers at Cloud Kicker as if she tried to hit on her.

“Amethyst!” Dinky squealed, running over and leaping into the elder Unicorn’s embrace.

“Oh, Amethyst. I didn’t hear you coming up the stairs.” Snowflake said. “Are you doing alright there dear?”

The magenta purple Unicorn nodded. “Yeah, I am; I have plenty of Twilight’s books form downstairs, so I’m plenty occupied for right now.” She frowned as she put a hoof to her horn. “Even so, it didn’t help that jolt I felt when I put up that shield…stupid manifested Tantabuses.”

“I don’t blame you; I’m still trying to believe that those things were created by…her.” Cloud said, looking down at her hooves. She looked over at Snowflake, who was sitting on the far side of the bed. “Are you sure that Nightmare Moon was the one who created those things?”

“No doubt.” Snowflake replied, her brows furrowing. “I felt the magic coming from that Tantabus when it broke in here. It had the same dark, icy, and malicious feeling as Nightmare Moon’s had…along with an unquenchable amount of bloodthirst.” Her head lowered so her mane was covering most of her face. “Nightmare Moon was definitely the one who made the Tantabuses; for the specific purpose of laying waste to this entire town. And unless we, and the Royal Guard can stop them, they’re not gonna stop until that happens.”

The whole bedroom went silent when Snowflake said these words, the three mares and the eight foals having various expression on their faces. Each of them was scared in their own rights, not only for themselves and each other, but for those that they knew. Not only for the ones that were in the town trying to keep themselves safe, but for the ones that were currently after the villain that brought all this terror upon them. Despite everything that happened, there were still some of them who were unable to grasp the fact that one of the most feared villains of all time, Cloud Kicker and Amethyst especially. However, that was slowly being chipped away as the night progressed and more Tantabus monsters continued to wreak havoc all across the town. Even so, that didn’t take away the fear and worry they had of what would happen to them and the ones that were out to stop Nightmare Moon. They knew that something needed to give, or else they were not going to survive the night, and something told them that things were only going to get even worse from there.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think it really matters how many of those things are out there.” Spike finally said after nearly a minute of silence. “There are just as many of these Tantabuses as there are ponies, and that means they can totally be knocked down a peg or two!”

“Um, kiddo, I appreciate your optimism…” Cloud Kicker said. “…but I think it’s going to take more than a draconic colt to go up against all those monsters.”

“That’s not what he meant.” Sheton deadpanned. “What he means by there as much of those Tantabuses as there are ponies, they can be fought back against. What I mean by that, is us, since we’re all able to use magic like they can, so we can definitely defend ourselves against them if we need to.”

“Oh, that makes much more sense.” Cloud Kicker said, giggling a bit. “Why didn’t you just say that honey?”

Spike sweat dropped. “Uh…I just did. Didn’t you hear me?”

“Just ignore her Spike.” Amethyst sighed, putting a hoof to her forehead. “My aunt’s always been a bit on the short-minded side. So, if I were you, I wouldn’t waste your breath.”

“Well, regardless of whether Ms. Cloud understands what Spike’s saying or not…” Sweetie said, giving a sigh of her own. “…his point still stands. Just because there’s a flock of Nightmare Moon’s creations prowling all over Ponyville, doesn’t mean that the same can’t be concluded about us. We’re just as powerful as all of them, regardless of whether we’re Royal Guards or not, and while some of us may be weaker than them…” Her eyes glowed as her sword horn did the same, electric sparks of magic emitting form it “…that also doesn’t mean we can’t take on anything thrown from them.”

“Yer darn tootin’.” Apple Bloom nodded, stamping her hoof. “We may jus’ be fillies, but we ain’t any ordinary fillies. Even we can take a sucker punch ‘r two if we can help it; Ah ain’t a member o’ th’ Sweet Apple Titan family fer nothin’.”

“Damn straight.” Fire Flash growled, bashing her hooves together. “Anypony that messes with us, is going to be in world of pain. And if they think they can mess with these colts and fillies, then they’ve got a real ass kicking prepared for them, am I right guys?”

“Yeah!” Sheton, Spike, Dinky, and most of the other fillies exclaimed.

“M-mhm…” Scootaloo mumbled, smiling sweetly.

“Well, look at you little ones.” Snowflake cooed. “Not even fifteen and you are already just radiating with conviction and determination. Your sisters and mothers would be so proud if they were to see this now.”

“Yeah, they sure would. I know that Derpy would be crying her eyes out if she saw my niece wanting to protect her friends.” Cloud Kicker said, letting out a soft chuckle. “Don’t you think so Amethyst?”

Amethyst, who was staring outside of the window just behind her aunt, snapped out of her daze upon hearing her name being called. “Huh? Oh yeah, momma sure would be hugging the ever-living shit out of Dinks if she were here.”

“Um, are you okay there Ame?” The persian blue mare asked, raising a brow. “You seem a little out of it there.”

“Oh, it’s not anything that serious.” Amethyst replied. “I’m just you know…worried about Blossomforth.”

“Oh…you mean about how she might be doing going off against all of those Tantabuses after you and her, well…split up?” Cloud Kicker asked, earning a light nod from her eldest niece. “I see…well, I don’t think you should worry too much. Blossom’s a tough mare in her own right, like all the other ponies and lil’ cuties here in this town. Plus, she has all of those Royal Guards there that’ll happen to drop in on her if she runs into one of those Tantabus things, so I know that she’ll be okay. Who knows, maybe she’s already at the Town Square with my little sis right now.”

“Yeah…” Amethyst murmured, looking back out the window at the Moon from outside of her shield. “…I hope so.”

Author's Notes:

Hmmm...there's not much of this chapter that I can say that I had changed at beginning at the middle of writing this, other than who it was that was being treated for their injuries, this being Cloud Kicker instead of Derpy, and Snowflake and Amethyst being there instead of the former and Midnight, along with Dinky being with the res of the foals. That, along with changing a bit of who said what, with the ending being the only difference to the new version of this chapter, something that I had quite a bit of fun doing. Now, I was going to make this longer and add Blossomforth making it to the Town Square and telling Shining Armor what he had found out about the Tantabuses, but I felt that I should write it into another different chapter, because I have a little plan about how that little journey's going to go down and just how Shining and the rest of the Solar and Lunar Guards are finally going to get the drop on the Tantabuses. This will also follow up on how the Lunar Guards will meet up with Snowflake, Cloud Kicker, Amethyst, and the foals like I had in the twenty first chapter, except in this version, we'll have, Cloud Kicker, Amethyst and Dinky with Snowflake and the other foals.

Alright, that's all for right now, I'll see you guys in the next chapter when its up and ready to be read! While I won't go into what I'm going to do, it will be a much better and well thought out version then what I did the last time I wrote that meeting, because...yeah, that last version was just...yeah, it was bad.