Chapter 6 - Friends or Foes

'Don’t… do it…,' Brush whispers as he moves disturbed around in the bed. His eyes jump open as he wakes up and gasps from the scare of the nightmare. The stallion has regained conciousness.

Brush realizes that he isn’t in the freezing cave anymore, about to be turned into a popcicle by the traitorous mare, but lies in a comfy bed instead.

'What happened?' he mumbles in himself.

For a moment, he can't recall whether his nightmare is the thing that just happened, or the battle with the windigo. But when he thinks about it, he knows that the search for Lady Fame's gem ended about a week ago.

The red stallion looks confused around the room, deducing that he seems to be in the library, though this part looks more like a livingroom and bedroom. He notices the painting that hangs on the wall, most certain that he has seen it before. It is when he gazes at it long enough, he recognizes it. He made it himself, a lesson to forever remember: The friendship of the Mane Six, a true friendship.

'The meaning of true friendship...,' he whispers, continuing to gaze at the art. 'Twilight Sparkle kept it...'

He tries to get out of the bed, but feels a shot of pain going through his body, forcing him to lie back down. '-Kgh-' he grunts and looks at his chest and stomache, realizing that they're wrapped up in bandages. He remembers it clearly now: He was struck in his stomache by the iceblast from the windigo, crushing him between the ice and a bookcase.

'Welcome back, Brush,' a whisper sounds from the shadows in the back of the room. 'I was worried that you may remain asleep.'

Surprised, the stallion looks up at the corner of the room. There she is: The purple unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. He quickly recovers his glare, though it's less intimidating now that the bags under his eyes are gone and his skin is getting its healthy red color back. The stallion still tries to remain distant, like he's been doing this whole time.

'If you're curious about it: I checked on the gallery, your home, from time to time, like you asked me...,' Twilight tries to speak to him. Brush doesn't respond though, only looking quickly down at the bedsheet.

'Are you feeling any better?' the mare tries to ask him.

'Why am I here?' Brush suddenly grunts.

Twilight sighs and shakes her head. 'Brush..., you don't have to act like this anymore. Princess Luna told me everything: Your worries, your devotion, and your best intentions... You're not a bit different than when we met, are you?'

The stallion remains silent, but he definitly heard it, considering he looks up surprised at the mare. Twilight realizes that it's true; Brush was only harnassing his feelings deep within himself, forcing himself to be able to act as cold as he did and become able to take the burdens on his shoulders.

The longer Twilight continues the look into his glare, the more it seems like the hate is vanishing slowly. Brush' frown is gone eventually gone, making place for a sad, yet honest set of emerald-green eyes. Brush quickly looks away from her again.

'Twilight..., I don't deserve to look you in the eye anymore...,' he whispers sorrowful. 'The way I acted... I-I had no choice.'

'That's ok,' Twilight smiles. The mare is more than glad to see that her stallion friend is indeed recovering from his traumas, just like the princess told her he would. 'I can only imagine what you've been through.'

The red unicorn sighs exhausted, rubbing the sweat from his forehead with a piece of the blanket he lies under. 'Don't you hate me?'

Twilight shakes her head. 'Not really. I'm just a little on edge just like everypony else, considering the events that are  going on,' she says, comforting him with the truth. 'You had your own drama too, right?'

'You know that our dramas are connected...,' Brush tells her, knowing that Twilight has figured out more out than she's mentioned so far.

Twilight remains quiet for a moment after Brush said it, and understands what he means. Trixie's contact with the crystal of Lady Fame, the hatred she has for Twilight, the strange incidents that occured between her and her friends: It's all connected. Lady Fame seems to have returned from her imprisonment, controlling Trixie's body now like Ignis did to Brush, but seems to have kept some of Trixie's dense-headed ideas.

'I know...,' she eventually answers. 'Actually... I would really want to hear your side of the story... Nopony knows what happened to you more than you.'

He chuckles in response. The red stallion knows that he owes the purple mare alot, considering she also took care of him, even when they were on bad terms. All this time he had to stay quiet, until now. 'Where would you like me to start?'

'From the begin... Right after you left from our meeting in your home,' Twilight asks.

The stallion drops his head on the pillow with a sigh. With his dark mane hanging  partionally in front of his eyes, he looks at the ceiling, thinking back to that day.

'The day I left Ponyville, I was still corrupted by Ignis' magic, though I had regained control over by body, thanks to the Elements of Harmony,' he tells her, making her recall the events as well. 'I flew over Everfree Forest, without any idea of what to do next. I was confused, scared, and maybe even a little angry at myself... Before I know what was going on next, I felt a repercussion of magic. The burden of the Harbringer's power took a toll: Erasing my memory and strength instantly.'

Twilight moves away from the other side of the room to the bedside, looking at Brush as he continues to talk. The stallion doesn't look back at her, talking on about his tale while proceeding to stare aimlessly at the ceiling.

'I crashed in Everfree Forest, unable to move by myself... That's when SHE found me.'

'Zecora...,' Twilight knows, recalling the day that the zebra mare came to her and gave her Brush' farewell letter and his latest creation, which continues to hang on the library wall ever since.

The stallion nods. 'Zecora, like any other pony in Equestria, had lost any memory regarding Ignis' return. She hoped that by helping me, she would be able to recall what she forgot as well. Zecora managed to get every piece of darkness out of my body, curing me from any amnesia, restoring my memories. Too bad for Zecora: She still couldn't remember a thing.'

'In order to banish out the lingering darkness inside me, I was forced to show no emotions, having me to feel like I didn't care about anything anymore... Though that was only temporarily, I found it to be a solution to get things done...,' he speaks, which gives Twilight the idea that that must have been the time that Brush decided to act so cold. 'Zecora believed that I lost my emotions, because I never told her I didn't. And truthfully: I think that I actually made myself believe that I lost it too, making it much easier for myself to accept it...'

'Brush...,' the mare whispers, feeling sorry for the stallion. But Brush doesn't pause his story, unabling Twilight to talk about it further.

'I met Luna soon after I left Zecora's home, a few days after the "Lord Ignis Incident." Because I was the hostbody for Ignis, I was also able to see into his head, allowing me to witness the time of his reign in Equestria alongside Lady Fame... So Luna and I made a deal: I would tell her about Ignis' past, if she would help me to locate Lady Fame's gem and secure it in Canterlot.'

Brush tilts his head left, looking away from the ceiling and into Twilight's eyes.

'When we met the wandering blue mare in the Frozen North... Me, Luna and Trixie searched together for months: a capable good team to survive against the harsh enviroment. But... you already know what happened in the chamber of Lady Fame...' he tells the conclusion, believing that's all Twilight wanted to hear. 'If I could go back in time...'

Twilight pictures his tale in her head, adding the princess' details as well. But still, the purple mare can't figure out why Brush and Trixie would go this far. She believes that Spectrum Brush should've asked her and the others for help, that Trixie had gone too far, and possibly that she herself may have been too gullible to believe that the rest of her friends would do despicable things to each other. But she also knows that the stallion has not told all yet, considering he's still fighting right now.

'How did you escape? Trixie must have fled after she was taken over by Lady Fame, I suppose. But what happened to you?' she asks him.

'Luna found me... She entered the cave when she returned, in the morning. I was unconcious, half-frozen and sick. On top of that: Trixie's stupid ropes could withstand the cold, keeping me tied up at all time...,' he grunts, still angry over how Trixie, his presumed friend, had betrayed him and tried to get rid of him. 'The princess managed to drag me all the way back to the camp and took care of me for the time I was ill... When I was a little better, I explained to her what had happened and urged her to disregard my cold and hurry along to stop that blue madmare. I managed to convince her, getting us out of the mountains when I could walk again, and went south as quickly as possible.'

Brush turns his head away, making Twilight look at the back of his head as he continues to talk.

'By that time, we knew keeping this secret to Princess Celestia would be extremely foolish and futile... So we went to Canterlot first... and made a plan.'

'A plan?' the unicorn mare asks, leaning on the bedside to catch a glimpse of the stallion's face.

'I learned much about Trixie during our travels, enabling me to get the idea about how she thinks... From that: I made a plan to secure all ponies to a safe-haven. A safe-haven that could protect everypony inside from the Great Blizzard that Lady Fame once brought to Equestria...'

'Canterlot!' Twilight figures, knowing that the city is the greatest safe-haven of Equestria, mainly thanks to the princesses and her brother, Shining Armor.'

Brush nods in agreement and looks over his shoulder back at the mare, who still leans over the bed. 'Luna and I forced every possible pony we could find to head to Canterlot, where it's safe from the upcoming chaos. We had to convince every single pony...EV-ERY possible pony in Equestria!' he repeats, still unable to believe it himself that he managed to pull it off. 'And now we're here: Ponyville, where Lady Fame's abilities are used to break your spirit, Twilight.'

The mare needs a moment to think about her friend's story, knowing that it must be true, though still hard to believe. Lady Fame must be able, just like Ignis, to read their host's memories, giving Fame the knowledge about her, the Mane Six, the Elements of Harmony, and the previous return of Lord Ignis. She's attempting to drive them apart, making the Elements of Harmony unable to be used against her! It's almost exactly the same as Discord did when he got out!

'I knew that Trixie would just want to harm you emotionally,' Brush points out to her. 'She didn't want to confront you directly yet, but wants to crush the thing you hold dear: Your friendship with Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash...'

She understands that, feeling sick about being tricked by a jealous mare like that. But one thing stinks about Brush' idea though.

'Then why did she ordered a Windigo to attack me and the library?' she asks him. 'She wanted to watch and see at how our friendship was crumbling, but her windigo attack has ruined that completely! Sh-She wasn't aware of your arrival, right?'

Brush scratches behind his ears, finding it a little difficult to explain the reason to her. 'Sorry to say: but when you discovered Luna and me yesterday, she discovered us too... You were under surveillance by that "witch," thanks to those cursed three windigos that act as agents to her... She knows that me and Luna could wreck her plan, so she must’ve ordered a Windigo to assault the library, just to draw me out. Trixie knew that I wouldn’t remain in the shadow and watch how you would get "iced" by one of her beasts,' Brush explains. 'she knows me well enough that I would blame myself if you or anypony else would get harmed by her…'

The stallion pulls his head from his pillow, able to look at Twilight at the same height. The mare still leans on the bedside, with her head a couple of inches away from Brush'.

'I'm truly sorry, Twilight,' he sighs with sad eyes. 'Every single moment, I wanted to tell you everything... But I simply couldn’t. The Windigo’s ears could hear everything.'

Twilight smiles in return. It's alright to her now, now that she knows the reason behind it. But since Brush has decided to come clean about his secrets, there's on more thing she desperatly wants to know from him.

'Is Spike alright? Atleast tell me that much,' she asks him, looking at him in the eyes, making him realize that Twilight is truly desperate to know about the dragon's whereabouts.

The stallion looks away for a moment, thinking of a way to put it gently to her. 'I'm to blame...,' he sighs. '...I should've told you earlier that he is still safe and sound.'

Those words, put in this precise order in a sentence, are what make Twilight's hopes skyrocket. She can hardly believe the words the stallion just said. With a pounding heart of joy, she looks confused at him, still hard for her to believe that wonderful news.

'Spike is in no harm,' he tells her, giving a smile by being able to tell it to her.

Twilight drops her flank on the floor and she sighs from relief. Her draconic friend is truly out of harm’s way. Her worries and stress vanish like snow in the sun, making her believe that there's still a chance to get things right.

'Spike is alright... That's great news...,' she sighs relieved, turning her head to the empty bed of her dragon friend. 'Where is he now?'  

Brush shakes his head slowly and grunts. 'I’m sorry. That’s all I can say... Spike's location cannot be spoken, or else SHE will probably do something to him as well...'

'Oh..., I see...,' Twilight mumbles moody, though the satisfaction of Spike's safety keeps her relieved. Spike is safe, no matter where he is now. It's still the best news the mare could wish for.

The stallion has another burden of himself on his mind. One he must share with his friend. 'Twilight..., about what I said in the town square, about friendship being expendable...'

Before he finishes his sentence, Twilight pulls herself from the ground, stands back  at the bedside, and puts her hoof on his mouth. 'It's ok, Brush. I always had a feeling that you weren't serious about that.'

Though she takes it up lightly, the red unicorn still turns his face down to the bedsheet with concern shown on his face. As usual; Brush is terrible at forgiving himself.

But atleast he got to tell Twilight everything she wanted to hear, making everything crystal clear to the purple mare now. She has heard the past, which has taught her that she's not alone against a force of evil. Spectrum Brush, Princess Luna, and most certainly Princess Celestia are going to help her and Equestria.

'Look, Twilight…,' Brush attempts to break the silence, wanting to tell her what is planned next. But he is rudely interrupted when something small dashes into his stomache. '-OOPH!- What the hay?!' the red unicorn gasps surprised.

Twilight is flustered, recognizing the little pony that jumped against Spectrum Brush.

'Dusty Gust, get off of him!' Twilight commands the little colt, jumpy about his sudden appearance. 'I’m so sorry, Brush! I found him hiding in the library while you were asleep! He urged me to let him stay here until you would wake up, no matter why!'

Brush looks down to the colt, noticing the light brown skin, along with red spiky mane that comes from his head. Though seen years ago, he easily recognizes the colt.

'BIG BROTHER!' his young colt voice cheers as he presses his face against the stallion chest. 'You’re awake!'

Brush gasps in astonisment. 'D-D-Dusty?! What are you doing here?!'

'Wait...He-He’s your brother?,' Twilight asks surprised, dazzled by the turnout. She didn't even stop to think once that Spectrum Brush may have a brother or sister, like Brush must have no clue that she has a bigger brother. Though when she thinks about it, she's actually able to make the connection, thanks to the visits to Spectrum Brush's home from time to time.

'So that's where I know him from...' Twilight says in realization. 'I knew I've seen his face someplace before! It was on a photo in your house! I-I never would've thought he would be your brother though.'

'Well, thing is-' Brush tries to explain why he is a unicorn and Dusty a pegasus, but is squeezed by his little brother on his bandages, making him grunt in pain.

'Please, Dusty, calm down a bit,' Brush asks him with a tear in his eye from the squeeze. 'How did you get here anyway? Are mom and dad with you?'

'Nope! I came here all by myself to seek you out!' he gladly tells him. 'I wanted to see THE best ghost hunter in Equestria in action!'

'Ghost hunter?' Brush looks confused down at the colt, having no idea what his little brother is talking about.

'You always told me that you kept the ghosts away from our home in Canterlot! You always watched over me so I could sleep easy when I was still a foal, remember? I never even got to see a glimpse of them! You were already THAT good back then!'

Both Twilight and Brush get an idea of what happened. Back when the brothers both still lived back home with their parents, when Brush was still a colt, his little brother was scared of the nights, like many foals are. As good a big brother as Brush was, he told Dusty that nothing will happen to him, because his big brother will always guard the house. Gullible as Dusty Gust can be, he believed that to be true all this time. It's how his big brother became his idiol.

'But Dusty, I…,' Brush tries to explain the truth, never expecting that a promise like that would remain with him till this point. 'That wasn't...'

'I saw how you fought against that ghost, big brother! You were amazing!' he interrupts the stallion, believing that the misty windigo was a ghost. 'You could see how that ghost got scared when you were about to fry it! And the way you blocked that piece of ice from hurting that lady, it was awsome! I finally got to see how you hunt ghosts with my own eyes, watching how you risk your own life to save others!'

While Brush would dissagree with him, Twilight can't help but chuckle from the fact that Spectrum Brush truly IS often risking his own life to save others nowadays.

'You'll always be the greater one, big brother, I accept that without shame! But I want become just as big as you: a hero of ponykind!'

Brush means to tell him the truth now that Dusty is done speaking. But as he tries to find the right words, he simply can't bring it to him. The stallion softly stutters, overwhelmed by his little brother’s love for him, making him unable to crush such a bond with his brother like that by telling his young mind cold hard facts. To the little colt, he is an idol, a hero that will never be able to disappoint his innocent mind. The way Dusty looks up at him is pure and true, a thing that Brush normally could only dream of. Couple of years have gone by since Brush left the nest, when Brush left home to explore Equestria and make paintings. And even now Dusty still believes in him, having lost no respect for his big brother.

Brush looks up at the purple mare, who remains at the bedside and smiles at the heart-warming reunion of the two brothers. Twilight looks amazed at how Brush, the colt who once seemed to have lost all emotions, suddenly has a tear rolling over his cheek from happiness. Brush, the painting pony, has truly returned to Ponyville.

Brush looks back down at Dusty and hugs him back, even if he feels the pain from his injuries kick in. He doesn't care about the pain, the betrayal of friends, the months of hardships he faced. Now that he's finaly able to be himself again, he wants to do nothing right now but be happy to see his little brother, who didn't hesitate to travel alll this way on his own to find him.  

'Thank you, Dusty... Big brother will always keep the bad guys away from you…,' he whispers to his little brother, unable to control his tears anymore.

The colt shivers when he suddenly feels a teardrop fall on his back. 'Eh, brother, are you sad?' he asks him, looking up to the sniveling stallion.

'S-Sorry, Dusty,' he sighs with a smile. 'I-I just got a little... dust in my eye.'

Twilight has trouble keeping the tears of happiness inside herself, wiping a tear away with her hoof. This tiny moment of joy, even if surrounded by these dark times, is strong enough to give her a warm feeling of comfort. It makes her think about the time she was still a filly, always looking up at her beloved big brother. No matter how different they may be, big brothers will never let their younger siblings down.

Eventually, Brush places his brother next to him on the bed, who then rests his head against Brush' shoulder. Brush knows that now is not yet the time to get sentimental. So he wipes his last tears away, takes a deep breath, and turns his attention back to Twilight Sparkle.

'Twilight, during my travel with Luna and Trixie, she told me everything: Her past, her present, and especially the moment she came to Ponyville. Behind all the facts she kept from us, I can now realize that Trixie blames YOU for crushing her life, making her wish to gain powers beyond her control in order to exact her revenge against you and your precious friends,' he tells her.

'Revenge…,' Twilight sighs, thinking about that one tiny moment she met Trixie, barely being two minutes . 'Is... Is is this somehow my fault?'

Brush shakes his head. 'No, Trixie brought this all upon herself. The meeting with you was simply the "spark" that gave her a target to be vengeful to. Every moment she lived before coming to Ponyville, she TRULY believed that she was the most talented pony on Equestria. There was never a pony that proved her otherwise, after all. Until… you showed her otherwise, by saving Ponyville from an Ursa Minor.'

Twilight feels a little strange, barely knowing Trixie actually. She never hated Trixie or wanted to ‘best’ her, even if she was a stuck-up artist who made fun of her friends. All Twilight did was rescuing Ponyville, which is still the best way that things could've turned out to.

'It was only the start. After she left Ponyville, she became insecure. She started to doubt herself and her skills. It resulted into that she messed up every performance that followed… All her tricks failed, her show became a bust, and she became a laughing stock in front of the audiance. All because her mind was set on one thing: You,' Brush explains with bitter seriousness sound in his voice. 'It angered her. She left her career behind and moved away from civilization, despising anypony that laughed at her. Eventually she winded up in the cold north, remaining bitter in solitude for who knows how long. And that’s when we met her…'

Brush sighs. He thinks about that faithful moment when he and Luna met her, and wishes that it never would’ve happened.

'We trusted her... She said that she "humbly" wanted to aid us in our quest, despite her bitterness about her wrecked show. She knew that we know you... so she never spoke about her hatred for you. But when we trusted her enough, we told her about the crystal and… my past.'

The purple mare shakes her head, finding it hard to believe that even somepony as Trixie would go this far to risk possession. 'But, what is she trying to gain with this? She is sending all of Equestria into an eternal winter, making everypony suffer!' Twilight asks confused.

'That’s the "out of her control" part I was talking about…,' Brush grunts. 'She has gone crazy with her new abilities, testing it out blindly on everypony, just because she can.'

'Trixie... Lady Fame… Is this like when you were controlled by Ignis?' she asks him.

Brush looks next to him, realizing that Dusty Gust has fallen asleep against him. He puts a piece of the blanket over him, letting the colt rest while he speaks with Twilight.

'Eh… yea. In a way, it is,' Brush mumbles vaguely. 'Except: She somehow managed to retain control over her body, instead of being controlled by the alicorn... I don’t know how she managed to resists Lady Fame's will, knowing how much weaker Trixie is than her, but it seems like she has found a way.'

Twilight is baffled. Is Trixie’s willpower that much stronger than Brush’s, to be able to resist so much power? It's nearly impossible to believe it, even though proof has it that these past actions were completely directed specifically to her and her friends.

'And now she caused those incidents that happened to you six, like the traiterous coward she is... Trixie wanted to have you lose everything, just like she thinks that you made her lose everything,' he nods to his fellow unicorn. 'Twilight, don’t let the trickery destroy your friendship. You are not the Mane Six because you are chosen to, but because you mares share such a powerful and true bond with each other.

'Answer me this: Do you truly hate the others?' he asks her, making her think about their silly quarrel.

If it weren't for the others, she would've never gotten to be Princess Celestia's student, get her cutiemark, move to Ponyville, make friends, spend great times with friends. Twilight can go on with this list for hours, realizing that a little fight like that shouldn't seperate them like this, compared to the good things they've had together.

'…No, I don’t. I still think they’re my friends no matter what we said,' she admits openly.

'Then go to them. The blizzard becomes stronger and they will be in need of help from a friend or five,' he tells her and smiles. 'Your bond with them was powerful enough to resist Ignis’ mist of hatred. So I will NOT accept to see how you six fall apart because of ONE wicked mare!'

Twilight smiles back at him. She knows how right he is. Many villains have tried to separate them. So she won’t accept this one to succeed with that. Her friends are in need of her!

'What about you?' she asks him before leaving, still a little worried over the injuries.

Brush shrugs. 'Nah, I'll be fine. You go and find the others. Trixie will probably make herself present once she realizes that she failed to force you six apart,' he tells her, certain that once they're together again, they'll want to go after the Trixie and stop her from freezing the land any further.  

Hoofsteps are heard on the stairs, notifying them that somepony is coming into the room. It's Princess Luna, possibly having heard their entire conversation.

'You go on, Twilight Sparkle. I will look after Spectrum Brush here,' Luna assures her, clearing herself from the stairs to allow the mare to go down. 'I shall join with you and your friends, along with the Elements of Harmony.'

'Thank you, Princess Luna,' Twilight thanks her gratefully, knowing that the red stallion will be in good hooves. The purple mare doesn’t have a moment to lose and gallops down the stairs. With her unicorn magic, she opens the door, only to find out that the way is blocked by a meter high pile of snow.

'Nothing will stop me now!' she speaks confidence into herself, feeling like she's at the top of the world now. With an idea about that everything will be alright now, she uses her magic to plow through the snow, pushing it aside like a dozer. Her first stop is Sweet Apple Acres, hoping to find Applejack still present. 'Get ready, Trixie! Here I come!'

Once Twilight has gone out of range of hearing, Luna turns her attention to Spectrum Brush.

'Will you be alright?' she asks him.

'Yes, yes. Just a scratch… nothing more,' Brush painfully grunts as he pulls himself out of the bed, clearly injured more than he tells he is. 'We got no time to sit idly about now. There's still a plan to stick to.'

When the stallion is finally able to walk in the room, he heads towards the stairs where Luna is waiting for him.

'Luna, go on ahead to Canterlot and tell our little friend that we’re at Phase Four,' he commands the princess, still treating each other as equals. 'No doubt Trixie has already paid a secret visit to "The Chamber" in the castle. Even Princess Celestia's magic isn't foolproof...'

She nods in response and rushes downstairs to the open door. She stretches her dark purple wings and takes off, hurrying back to her home. Just as Brush is about to head downstairs as well, he looks over his shoulder.

'Sleep tight, little brother,' he whispers as he looks at the resting colt, who moves restlessly in Twilight's bed. 'Big brother will make sure that everypony sleeps safe in their own beds tonight...'

***

'APPLEJACK!' Twilight yells as she slams with a hoof on the front door. The mare can barely stay any longer in the cold blizzard, shivering as the cold wind continuesly blows over her purple skin.

Twilight has arrived at Sweet Apple Acres. She desperatly needs to speak to her friend, Applejack, to be able to apologize for her past behaviour.

'What the... She isn't home?' Twilight mumbles, ending the knocks on the door after trying for nearly five minutes. Knowing that the earth pony can't be too far, Twilight hurries around the house and looks in the open barn. 'Anypony here?!' she yells inside, without any response heard.

Growing a little concerned, the unicorn begins to search over the area, hoping to find Applejack somewhere on the orchard. Braving the snowstorm, she doesn't slow down while the wind continues to shake her very bones by the cold.

But then, a little covered under the white snow, Twilight sees a noticable orange dot, lying between the trees of the orchard.

'APPLEJACK!' she gasps worried and rushes over to the collapsed mare.

It truly is Applejack, still breathing, but heavily undercooled. Twilight takes no second longer and crawls under Applejack's stomache, in order to be able to carry the mare on her back.

'Hold on, Applejack!' she tries to talk to the dizzy earth pony, while hurrying towards the home of the Apple family.

***

The enviroment feels warm, the wind howls in the distance and the atmosphere is calm. Slowly, Applejack comes to her senses, feeling the warmed air of the house moving over her skin. She opens her eyes, recognizing the room she's in. She's in her own house, awakening in the livingroom. She's sitting in a chair, with a blanket thrown over her to keep her warm.

'Ah, good, you're alright!' the familiar purple mare in front of her happily speaks.

'T-Twilight?...' the earth pony coughs, surprised to see who rescued her. 'Wha' happened?'

'I found you lying in the snow outside! What were you doing, in a blizzard like this?!' Twilight asks, curious about what would make Applejack act so foolish.

The blonde mare is still looking dizzy out of her eyes, completely confused and worried. She has completely forgotten about her anger and suspicion on Twilight, having more urgent matters on her head.

'M-Mah sister is missing,' Applejack coughs, on the brink of catching a cold. 'A-Ah gotta go and search for her!'

'Applebloom is missing?' she asks the concerned earth pony, while preventing her from getting up yet. 'Is your family also outside, looking for her?!'

Applejack shakes her head. 'No... I sent them off to Cousin Braeburn today, considering that it's getting to dangerous to have everypony stay here. I-I said that I could handle everything mahself... But look now!' she coughs, feeling lonely and weak now that she lost the only family member she had to look out for now and nearly got herself frozen to death.

'She was supposed to be in her room. But Ah discovered that she escaped through her window, using a barrel of hay! Apple's know where that got from!'

Twilight starts to feel a crawling feeling of speculation, concerning all three fillies. She discovered Dusty Gust, who was sneaking around in the library, and told her that he did it because he wanted to help the Cutie Mark Crusaders, by finding a way to convince their sisters that seperating them is wrong. As far as Twilight knows: Dusty Gust is a colt with a real go-getter attitude, possibly sometimes not overthinking everything... It's a very recognizable "talent" that he shares with his brother, Spectrum Brush. So that's why it's highly possible that Dusty's the one that got Applebloom out. But as noble as his actions may be, it will be hard to get that explained to a mare who's worried sick over her missing sister, in the middle of this dangerous blizzard.

'I... don't know where Applebloom is...,' she admits to her. 'But I do believe that she's alright.'

The blonde mare looks up at her, a little confused about what Twilight means with that. 'What'ya mean, Twi? What makes you say that she's alright?!'

'W-Well-,' Twilight stutters, a little flustered over the hopefull reaction that Applejack gives her. 'I can only guess... But I can't say anything for certain, until we get to speak to Sweetie Bell and Rarity.'

'Rarity...' Applejack looks down to the ground and sighs, sounding a little unwilling to face any more mares with who'm she collided with.

Twilight realizes that Applejack may still hold a grudge, and wants to try to talk her out of it. 'Applejack, I know this may sound crazy, but I need you to listen to me. All our incidents, the ones that tore us six apart, it was done on purpose by somepony else. It was-'

'I know it wasn't you, Twi... I probably knew it all along in the back of my head... It's mah own darn fault,' Applejack interupt her, suddenly apologizing for her past behaviour.

'The orchard has never caught fire before. If me and mah own brother wouldn't have been on time, we could'a lost alot more of the trees... I was just so clueless and blinded by anger, that I instantly blamed the only clue that lay about: your book, without considering a different reason,' she sighs, having told the purple mare her true feelings. 'Can ya' forgive me?'

Twilight remains quiet, listening to Applejack's words. She's both glad that the mare understands that it wasn't her doing, but she also feels sorry for her, knowing that she made the same mistake like she did.

'It's ok, Applejack,' Twilight tells her and pats her on her shoulder. 'I should've taken things more rationally myself... We all should have.'

'-Heh- We should've figured that something was up, the moment Equestria's summer got snowed under, right?' the orange mare chuckles, glad to have put their differences and grudges aside. If they work together, the current troubles won't seem so big.

'Friends?' she asks.

'Friends,' Twilight confirms, shaking hooves with each other.

Applejack and Twilight have settled their former grudges, ready to work as a team again now. Though still feeling worried about Applebloom's safety, Applejack trusts Twilight about that Applebloom is alright. So they intend to head to Fluttershy's house first. Her home isn't that far from Sweet Apple Acres, and she deserves an apology. If she will want to help them with finding the others then, it will only work out better.

'So... What was it that you wanted to tell me?' Applejack asks while she runs alongside Twilight Sparkle, feeling a little better now. 'Who's twisted enough to make us turn against each other?'

Twilight nods. 'Eh... I’ll explain everything later. We better hurry now,' she tells her, noticing how the storm is about to break further.

***

'How are you feeling, Rainbow?' Fluttershy asks her fellow pegasus friend.

Covered in a blanket, sitting on a chair, the blue mare simply nods at her with a thermometer in her mouth. Rainbow Dash has no grudges left towards Fluttershy, especially considering she's trying so hard to make her well.

'Good,' the pink maned mare says, smiles, and continues to check on all the other creatures that fill her house. She looks up surprised when there's a knock on the door.

'Oh, my! Who could possible be outside in this storm!' she gasps, worried for the sake of others as usual.

As the knocks continue to come from the door, Fluttershy tries to squeeze herself through the crowd of animals that stand in the living room as quick as possible. Apologizing everytime she thinks she pushes a critter out of the way, she continues to press on until she reaches and open the door.

'Hello. Quick, come in! What are you doing out-' she invites the guest in, but stops speaking when she realizes that the ones at the door are not the good types that she was expecting.

'Fluttershy! We were hoping that you would be here still!' Twilight mumbles as she's shaking from the cold.

'Twilight... Applejack... Wh-What are you doing here? I-I thought I asked you to leave...,' she mumbles sad, afraid that they've come to make further trouble. She doesn't have the guts to close the door. So she simply turns around and hopes that the mares will leave out of themselves.

'Wait, Fluttershy! This time it's different!' the purple mare quickly tries to convince the pegasys. 'None of us was responsible for any drama's that happened to us!'

'Wh-What?' Fluttershy gasps and looks up at the mares. The words are almost too good to be true. She had already nearly given up on hope of recovering her beloved friendship with the others, believing that nothing could suddenly turn everything around. 'Is-Is that true?'

Applejack nods. 'It sure is! Turns out somepony set the whole thing up, just to seperate us!'

'I heard it all from a reliable source!' Twilight nods. 'None of us have any reasons to doubt each other!'  

The bashful pegasus doesn't know what to say. The news about that there's no reasons to despise each is wonderful to her, even though it's terrible to hear that somepony was cruel enough to do this to them.

A faint smile appears on her face, glad to be able to be with her friends again, who treat each other with respect again. 'yay...,' she whispers softly.

'Eeyup, sugercube. I too admit as well that I find this whole drama to be a nuisance. I'm glad that we can set it aside and go through one door together again,' Applejack nods while she tries to make space between her and all the critters that press against her. '...And we might even be able to fix this winter, so that yer house can get the space again...'

'Why should we believe you...-cough-,' Rainbow Dash grunts from her chair. 'Why should I just believe what you say? I know nopony that can buck apples better than you, Applejack!'

'C'mon, Rainbow!' Twilight Sparkle desperatly tries to convince the stubbborn blue mare. 'Don't you see that it was all an act? There are plenty of ponies that could've launched apples better than Applejack!'

The earth pony mare grunts, feeling like being given too less credit about her skills, though she knows that Twilight means it with the best intentions. 'Yea, c'mon, Dash! Rarity heard a explosion and saw a rainbow, right? Ah bet THAT wasn't your doing as well.'

'Still...,' the blue pegasus grunts, feeling urged to admit that Applejack is right. 'It doesn't hurt to apologize! If not for the applebucking, but for the insults!'

'WHAT?!' Applejack responds angry. 'Ya' were just as bad as me!'

Rainbow Dash doesn't care about that and stands up from her chair to confront Applejack directly. 'That doesn't cover it now, does it?!'  

'Stop it already, both of you!' Twilight grunts aggitated. 'Don't you see that we don't need to hate each other? We all made a mistake!'

'And who are you to say that, Twilight...,' Rainbow Dash grunts. 'Do you have proof? Because I don't see proof! Why should we believe your "reliable source"?!'

'Actually, she has a point...,' Applejack feels forced to agree, curious why Twilight is so certain. 'What makes you tell that it was done by somepony else?'

The purple mare sighs, growing tired of the mares' doubt. 'Because I was told in detail that it was done by a mare. A mare who was responsible for the Great Blizzard, ages ago!'

Rainbow Dash doesn't seem convinced at all, just like Applejack, who looks a little doubtfull at the purple mare with the good intentions.

'HAH! -cough-' Rainbow Dash tries to laugh at her, but is cut off when she has another cough in her throat.

'The... Great Blizzard?' Applejack asks, knowing what it is, but unable to believe that it was done by a pony. 'That dun' make any sense, sister! Stories say that it was done by three windigos!'

'Yea! -cough-' Rainbow Dash agrees sickly. 'Who in their right mind would discover an ancient fact like that and tell you about it?!'

'Brush did...,' Twilight grunts with bitters seriousness. 'Spectrum Brush, the Ignis victim from months ago, told me everything...'

The three listenting mares are all suddenly quiet, having no idea how to respond properly to such a claim. They all know Brush, having met them months ago in person. They were surprised to discover that he was the victim host body of Ignis and saw him leave the scene in the end, planning to burn down Ponyville. To hear that name again, after all this time, it sends a shiver down their spines.

'Spectrum Brush...,' Fluttershy whispers. 'Is-Is he alright?'

Twilight nods. 'He even barged into the library and fought a WINDIGO, right in front of my own eyes! He's been fighting to save our bond, Ponyville, and possibly all of Equestria for months!'

'Apples on a stick...,' Applejack mumbles amazed, having no trouble to believe that Brush would only return if something as disasterous like this would occur, whether it would be because of him or not. Twilight's reasons don't sound as farfetched as they did a moment ago now.

Twilight believes to have caught their believe now, basically having proven that she is right.

'Pfff, that explains a lot...,' Rainbow Dash sarcastically speaks out. 'It's his fault that this winter is happening now, isn't it?'

Twilight wants to dissagree right away, considering Rainbow Dash irrational way of thinking. But she has to admit that in a way it actually is Brush' fault, thanks to seeking and opening the prison of the alicorn. Dash had troubles getting along with Spectrum Brush before he even got controlled by Lord Ignis. She already said that she should've been nicer to Brush months ago, but apperantly she's still not all too happy about the stallion.

'It's not his fault,' Twilight stands up for her friend. 'He tried his best to prevent a disaster like this, but... it simply backfired.'

'Still, it means -cough- it's his fault!' Rainbow Dash interrupts, unable to see past blame and cause.

Twilight has had enough of the colorful maned mare, growing tired of her accusations all the time. 'Enough, Rainbow! You have no right to blame everypony but yourself all the time!'

A fight is about to break out again. Twilight Sparkle is provoked, Applejack yells out that she should'nt have to apologize for something she didn't do, and Rainbow Dash just wants an apology from Applejack no matter what and hear that she's right in every way.

'OK ENOUGH!' Fluttershy suddenly yells, silencing the other mares. 'I am sick and tired about these pointless fights! We had such a great time together! And now that we discover that our previous fight wasn't our fault, we still fight with each other?!'

Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash look flustered at each other, getting it pushed into their minds about how right Fluttershy is.

'Twilight, you said that I'm smart enough to see that you couldn't have done something that bad. I do believe you're innocent, as well as Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Spectrum Brush!' Fluttershy tells her, forcing it through their thick skulls to accept the facts and stop holding bad feelings for each other like this. 'Rainbow Dash, we all know that you want an apology for what happened to you, which you deserve. But pulling it out of somepony, who hasn't done anything, will be as wrong as the thing that happened to you!'

All three mares are silenced. They look with widened eyes at the desperate Fluttershy, who only wants what's best for everypony. And they all think that she's right: Why can't they let bygones be bygones, and proceed with the great times they've had so far?

'...I still have to apologize to Rarity myself...,' Fluttershy sighs.

Rainbow Dash notices that it took alot of energy and guts for Fluttershy to throw this speech out, considering it's not something Fluttershy would do normally. She throws a comforting hoof over Fluttershy, having realized her folly thanks to her.

'Me too, Fluttershy,' she tells her and smiles. 'And also to you.'

Applejack and Twilight move to her side as well, also throwing a hoof over her back. 'We all do.'

'I'm sorry for accusing you, Applejack,' Rainbow Dash humbly apologizes. 'I was just being a little childish, I guess...'

Applejack chuckles, finding it relieving to actually hear the stubborn Rainbow Dash apologize in person. 'That's alright, Sugercube. Ah made the same mistakes.'

Fluttershy smiles again, while continuing to breath deeply from her outburst. She's glad to see that her friends can look each other in the eyes this time and be glad to have worked things out. She personally still feels terrible for accusing Rarity of wrecking the mole hill. She always had the feeling that Rarity couldn't have done it, but simply couldn't leave it go unspoken when everypony started to yell to each other last time. Luckely, she won't have to apologize alone now. She has friends to back her up, all set to mend their precious friendship again.

Now that the two most stubbborn ponies of Ponyville have settled their past problems, the last two friends don't seem so tough. But the weather is acting up even further, starting to hail down on the four friends' path to Carousel Botique. It's supposed to prevent them from going any further. Twilight knows it, considering that the windigo's of Trixie/Lady Fame must be shadowing them unseen, every since she left the library. She knows it won't stop her or her friends. Even if a blizzard and a heatwave could bar their way at the same time, they won't stop until they're together again.

'Angel, could I ask you to look after our guests while I'm away?' she asks her little friend.

The white rabbit raises a desperate paw in the air, waving for help as he is squeezed between all the other critters that stand in the room. Fluttershy confuses the waves of desperation for a wave that means 'Alright.' Witout taking a second longer, the four mares walk outside, daring to brave the growing blizzard. Rainbow Dash is the only one that continues to bring the blanket along, wearing it like a robe, as a means to prevent getting sick any further.

***

As the blizzard grows further and further out of hand, the four mares haven't even taken a pause to rest, knowing that they'll freeze when they would. Stubborn enough to find their old friends and get back together, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Applejack are marching on to Carousel Botique, the home of their friend: Rarity.

'How much -sniff- further?' Rainbow Dash ask after a while.

'We just passed  the old gallery!' Twilight shouts over the howling wind. 'We should be reaching the botique soon enough!'

'I just hope that Applebloom will be there!' Applejack shouts along, still worried for her little sister.

'I-I hope that she will forgive me...,' Fluttershy mumbles as she shivers from the cold.

Knowing how much the cold is draining their energy, Twilight decides to use a spell on her and her friends, causing the snow to avoid them. It may not keep them warm, but atleast it keeps them from getting ill.

'Don't worry. We'll be at Rarity before you can say-' Twilight assures her, but stops talking when she notices a silhouette of a pony in the blizzard, a few steps away from them.

The pony looks hopelessly around, acting like it has no clue of where he/she is. The other mares have taken notice of it as well, looking puzzled at how the pony is trying to choose a direction, only to move the other way. When walking closer, the silhouette takes the shape of a mare. A white mare with a purple mane.

'Rarity? What are you doing here?' Twilight asks, surprised by the coincidence of running into the one she was looking for.

The white mare turns around, surprised to see the four familiar mares. '-Eh?- T-Twilight! I was just on my way home!' she explains to them. '...Which has to be around here someplace.'

Realizing the unicorn's obvious loss of directions, Twilight asks to make sure. 'Eh, Rarity, are you lost?'

'O-Of course not! Who do you think I am?' the pretty mare replies insulted, finding it embarressing to admit that she has lost her way.

'Really, how long have you been outside all this time?' Twilight asks.

Rarity drops her head in dissapointment, hating to admit it to her once-friend 'Just a couple of hours...,' she mumbles.

'But it's morning...,' Twilight notices and ponders, realizing that it means that Rarity has been up all this time in this cold. 'Have you been wandering all night?!'

Rarity is already out of excuses. she continues to stutter, trying to find the right words to answer to the purple mare. But when she is unable to give any explaination, she bursts out into a tantrum.

'Yes! Yes I have! I can't find the way in this blizzard at all! and now we're all stuck here in the middle of nowhere!' she whimpers, fallen into despair.

'Rarity...,' Applejack grunts. 'The path to Ponyville is right that way...'

'I -eh- well... Thank you,' the mare stutters, feeling a little foolish for crying tears of unnecesary sadness. She tried to find her home all this time, without succes, although the path has been this close to her. 'I will take my leave now then...'

'Wait, Rarity,' Rainbow Dash tries to prevent her from walking away.

'I have nothing to say to you, Rainbow Dash,' she tells her and raises her nose in the air, cold as an icequeen. Now that she isn't helpless anymore, Rarity continues to act high-and-mighty against the mares that she verbally fought with.

'Wait, Rarity...,' Fluttershy mumbles. The golden-hearted pegasus still feeling ashamed of her outburst against the mare, no matter how long it was ago. Rarity hears her whisper and to everypony's surprise stops walking. Without saying a word, Rarity looks over her shoulder at the bashful pegasus. The pretty unicorn would like to hear the words of the pony that accused her of something.

'I'm...sorry,' Fluttershy continues to speak in a whisper. 'I'm so so sorry... I was terribly wrong to even suspect your involvement in harming my friends... I should've known better. I know I don't deserve it from you, but could you ever EVER forgive me? If I could do it all over, I would've never done it like how it happened...'

'Hm,' Rarity sighs, thinking about the apology that she has been granted. 'I appreciate the turn of your accusations, Fluttershy. Your apologies are accepted,' Rarity merely tells her without showing any form of satisfaction from the apology. 'But now, I must take my leave.'

The kind pegasus smiles. Fluttershy is happy to hear that Rarity accepts her apologies. It doesn't bother her at all that the white unicorn is responded as cold as she did. She doesn't even mind that Rarity is already about to walk away from them. But that's a thing Twilight Sparkle does not agree on.

'W-Wait, Rarity! Don't walk away just like that! We need to speak to you too!' the purple unicorn shouts over to the leaving mare.

'Sorry, dear, but I have to go home and see if Sweetie Bell is alright. Atleast I know that she wouldn't backstab me,' Rarity tells her, still showing to be bitter about their fight. 'Unless there's a very good reason, I have no intention of staying.'

'And what if I said that Trixie was behind it? That she was behind all the bad things that happened to us all, just to seperate us?' Twilight shouts, loud enough for all her friends to hear it.

The howling wind is the only sound that fills the air. Everypony is dead-quiet, slowly recognizing that familiar name. The mare that mocked them months ago has returned, having received a power that she abused to break up their friendship and cause this winter. The "Great" and "Powerful" Trixie.

Rarity remains quiet, but stops walking away as well. Clearly she hasn't forgotten. 'Trixie... You mean that shameless monster who turned my hair green? She's back?' Rarity asks, bitter about that tragic disaster.

The purple unicorn nods. 'One and the same... though she may be a little different now,' Twilight sighs, knowing by the surprised faces of her friends that she has some explaining to do.

The white mare ponders what she should do. Should she remain true to her standards and leave them in the midst of their apology or should she stay and hear them out, having her forget the entire apology business. When mere seconds have passed, she has decided. 'Ok... I'll listen,' Rarity tells them.

Twilight Sparkle begins to explain the story of Spectrum Brush: The story of how he went on a journey to find the crystal of an alicorn, named Lady Fame, and seal it away like Lord Ignis' crystal. He ventured with Princess Luna through the Frozen North for months, hoping to redeem themselves, but found Trixie, who has been moving in solitude from civilization for months as well. Giving the history of Lady Fame power, and the betrayal of Trixie, The mares don't think that Twilight is making it up, knowing that it's indeed something to be expected from that selfish mare. They may have seen her for one day. But it's enough for them to know that a girl like her wouldn't be able to restrain herself when finding this form of power.   

'Oh my...,' Rarity whispers in astonishment. The mare is left speechless, just like her friends. Though they've been standing in the cold wind all this time, they have grown used to it. 'So Trixie is really back and has been tormenting us like this?'

Twilight nods. 'I'm afraid it's true... Turns out it was my fault, because I managed to prove that she isn't the most talented unicorn,' she sighs, hoping that she doesn't sound to full of herself to her recovered friends.

'No, don't blame yourself for something SHE did, dear' Rarity assures her that she understands her. 'She chose to betray Brush herself! That little monster should be taught a lesson for this behaviour!...Speaking of which: Where is that gentlecolt, Brush?'

Twilight is a little offguard by the chance of subject, causing her to respond to Rarity with a confused look on her face. 'Eh, well, he's resting in the library now. He got injured when fighting a Windigo,' she tells the fellow unicorn.

'Oh, we should seek him out!' Rarity proposes, sounding like a cheery little filly.

A little confused about why Rarity is so cheerful about after the mere mention of Brush' presence, Twilight has little to say in return. The other mares have to admit that they're also curious about the stallion, considering the way he left them all and Ponyville months ago. But that's not the case for Applejack, who hasn't forgotten about the more urgent matters.

'Eh, as much as I'd like to see the fellah, there are bigger problems!' Applejack interrupts them. 'In case y'all forgot: Applebloom's still missing!'

'Oh! I'm... sorry to hear that, Applejack,' Rarity tells, clearly showing compassion to the earth pony's worries. 'Is there some way I can help?'

'Well...,' Twilight likes to tell her idea, but is a little afraid that the pretty mare will take it the wrong way. 'Don't take it the wrong way... But we believe that Sweetie Bell may know where she is-'

'What?!' Rarity replies, feeling like it's blame towards her little sister. 'How dare you accuse my sister of abduction! This is most definitly the lowest-'

'Wait, wait, Rarity! We don't mean it like THAT,' Twilight quickly interrupts her outburst, before Rarity has the chance to continue on her mistaken assumptions. 'We only hope that she HAS seen her, considering they're still friends with each other.'

The white unicorn calms down again, agreeing on the excuse. 'Well... Ok then. We can always ask. I'm certain that my dear sister is still home, waiting for me to return.

'Because she's that loyal to you?...' Applejack grunts with sarcasm.

'Yes, she trust me alot,' Rarity replies, taking Applejack's words as a compliment. 'That, and the fact that I got the only key to the frontdoor...'

***

Arriving at the tall carousel building, which has the new windows installed already, the friends continue to follow their white unicorn friend to the front door. The house has an awful amount of snow on the roof, which slides down the carousel roof to the ground when it becomes too heavy. Without even a few candles burning inside, Rarity's and Sweetie Bell's home looks cold and dead-empty. It only takes a second for the white mare to levitate the right key into the doorlock and flip it open, allowing entrance to them.

'Sweetie Bell, your sister is home!' she echoes through the building and waits for a response. But when a minute has passed, and nothing is heard upstairs, she tries again. 'Sweetie Bell, are you here?'

When nothing is heard again, Rarity's heart starts to pound faster. Knowing the energic filly well enough, along with Applebloom's dissapearance, she's afraid that her little sister has managed to leave the house and may be lost in the blizzard! Quick to become worried, the white mare starts to think deeply on the terrible idea that her little sister is outside, unable to be found due to the storm!

'Oh, nono! Where is she?!' she yelps afraid.

'Calm down, Rarity,' Rainbow Dash tells her. 'We'll find them.

'Calm down? Calm down?!' Rarity asks them upset. 'How can I calm down! There's a storm going on! Oh, poor Sweetie Bell! If only I could hear your voice RIGHT now!'

'Rarity, over here!' a familiar voice calls out to her, coming from behind the other five mares.

'Oh, now I'm already losing it...,' the white mare sighs and drops herself on the floor. 'I could swear I just heard Sweetie Bell's voice...'

'Applebloom!' Applejack cheers out when she sees the little filly next to her friends, all shivering from the cold. She doesn't hesitate to rush to the little filly and hold her, glad to have her back. 'Ah was so worried! What in tarnation were you doing outside?!'

'G-Glad to see you too, sis,' Applebloom coughs out, feeling squashed together by Applejack's powerful hug.

'W-We couldn't get the door open again,' Scootaloo says.

'Yea,' Sweetie Bell agrees. 'We forgot about that little detail...'

'Sweetie Bell, you're alright!' Rarity cheers like Applejack did, also holding her sister in a breathtaking hug of sisters. 'How did you got outside? I was sure I locked the door so that nopony could get in!'

'Oh, stop it, Rarity,' Sweetie Bell suddenly speaks out to her big sister. 'You just locked the door because you KNEW that I wouldn't hesitate to find my friends, which YOU tried to keep away from me!'

Hearing that in public, and just having learned her mistake of accusations, Rarity's  cheeks becomes red of shame. As mean as it sounds, she knows that it's true. She actually believed that Sweetie Bell would be better off without Applebloom and Scootaloo, going as far as prevent her from making it her own decision.

'You too, Applejack!' Applebloom tells angry to her big sister, having no fear on telling what bothers her. 'Just because y'all had a bad day, didn't had to mean that ya could seperate us like ya did!'

The fillies pull themselves loose from their sisters' grip and stand together, glaring at them.

'B-But, Sweetie Bell, we only meant the best-' they try to explain, but are quickly interupted.

'NO EXCUSES!' the three fillies yell together. 'The fact remains: You forced us apart! What do you have to say for yourselves?!'

Completely humiliated by the truth, Applejack and Rarity both stutter for words while both their faces turn red of ambarresment. The other three mares simply stand by and look astonished at how this turns out, much to their amusement. Rarity and Applejack, both a "big sister," have been taught a lesson by their little siblings.

'W-We're sorry, girls...,' they stutter.

'And what about each other?!' they continue to shout. 'Have you finaly put your little problems aside and made amends?!'

'Y-Yes...,' they grunt and look at each other, feeling like they both couldn't be humiliated any further.

'Then shake hooves!' the fillies chuckles, knowing that they have the mares completely dominated. 'If you're friends, shake hooves on it!'

Without any dissagreement or objection, Rarity and Applejack simply do what their little sisters ask of them: hold up and shake on it.

Glad to hear their sister to have come to their senses, having them see the errors of their ways, the Cutie Mark Crusader smile and nod. 'Apology accepted!' they cheer and jump back to give their sisters a hug in return.

They all feel much better. Now that all their friendships are back on track, the little siblings don't have to be secretive, and their big sisters are also glad to have been set straight, they actually begin to look forward to the end of this. Because they know they won't be alone when the Great Blizzard itself will be confronted.

'Wait... But it doesn't explain how you two got out,' Rarity suddenly realizes. 'So, how DID you get out?'

The three fillies' smile suddenly dissapears, having realized that they haven't thought about how to explain that to them. They figured that what their sisters did was bad, but forgot that leaving their houses like this wasn't a very good thing to do too.

'Ehm... Well...,' Sweetie Bell mumbles as she thinks of a way to keep Dusty Gust out of it. They all don't want him to take the fall, considering he managed all of this for them. If they would tell them that it was thanks to him, they'll never be allowed to see him again!

'I believe they had alot of luck on their side and good brains to carry it out. Right, girls?' Twilight breaks the silence, having a gnawing feeling that it was thanks to the little colt that they got out as well.

'Y-Yea, that's right!' Scootaloo agrees quickly.

'W-We're getting smarter every day, sis,' Applebloom lies along.

For a moment, no words are spoken. Both Rarity and Applejack look straight at the three fillies, who nervously wait for their answer. Even if they continue to stand in the freezing cold, the fillies manage to break a sweat. But then both mares start to laugh.

'Well, Ah'll be!' Applejack chuckles at her sister. 'Ah gotta say that Ah'm proud to see "that typical" Apple wisdom brewing up, Applebloom! How did you pull it off, anyway?'

'Thanks to Scootaloo!' they cheer, relieved to hear that they're getting away with it. 'Because she wasn't grounded, she was able to come along and help us get out!'

'Ah asked her to fill a barrel from the barn and fill it with hay, able to break my fall!'

'And I made a parachute out of a nearly-weightless fabric, along with strong threads, while Scootaloo and Applebloom gathered enough snow for me to land on!'

'That is rather clever,' Rarity admits. 'Just don't do anything reckless like that again, ok?'

'No problem, sis! As long as you all won't do anything crazy like that too,' Sweetie Bell tells with a grin.

'Ofcourse, Ofcourse!' they promise.

'...Say, what fabric did you use?' Rarity can't keep from being asked, a little concerned about the value of the fabrics she has stored in her workshop.

'Ehm, I don't want to be the partypooper... But we still got to find Pinkie Pie!' Rainbow Dash urges, growing impatient. 'She probably locked herself up in Sugercube Corner! Let's go! -ACHOO!-' she demands and sneezes, growing ill again the more she continues to stand in this blizzard.

'Oh, right. Alright girls! Let's go!' they agree and get back up to follow their friends into Ponyville.

'Ehm...,' Applebloom mumbles, trying to catch their attention for a moment longer. 'D-Do I need to go back home, sis?' Applebloom asks worried, afraid that she can't stay with her friends again.

Applejack understands her worries now, realizing that she's been very ignorant regarding Applebloom's sake. She should've known better than to seperate her sister from her friends, having thrown her personal drama out on Applebloom's friendship. She shakes her head and smiles. 'Nah, Applebloom. You'll be much safer here now.'

'Thanks, big sis,' she thanks with a smile on her face, glad that everything is turning back to the things as it was.

'T-Twilight... H-Have you seen Dusty Gust anywhere?' Sweetie Bell carefully asks, worried that Rarity and Applejack will realize that it was thanks to him that they escaped from their homes after all. 'We're... a little worried about him.'

Twilight knows it all too well. She looks up at the orange and white mares and back to the fillies. To prevent Dusty Gust from getting trouble, she won't tell anypony else about Dusty's plan to bring Sweetie Bell and her friends back together, in order to let the filles stick together. Obviously it was the entire reason why Dusty broke into the library, after all.

'I believe I have, girls. He's currently in the safe hooves of his big brother,' she tells them with a wink.

Though the other mares have no clue about what Twilight is talking about, the fillies do. Their eyes widen from the surprising news that their friend has found his brother, still in Ponyville. As much as they would like to meet them, they've already promised to the grown-ups that they would remain in Carousel Botique, until they would return. The last thing they want to do now is get themselves in trouble now that they've proven to be able to outsmart their bigger sisters.

'Don't worry! We'll be back soon!' Rarity shouts from the distances, about to continue following her friends. 'We'll just be taking care of some "ghosts of the past."

The fillies hurry inside before they could catch a cold. Though they are glad to be together for good again, they still have a lingering negative thought in their mind.

'So... Our sisters get to hunt ghosts, while we don't?' Sweetie Bell asks her two friends, who nod in return. 'Unfair...'

***

'Pinkie Pie, open up! We really need to talk!' Twilight calls out to the mare behind the door.

The five mare continue to stand outside the Sugercube Corner, waiting in front of a locked door. The pink earth pony behind the glass continues to keep her back turned to them, being too busy to mop the floor. 'Sorry! Pinkie Pie isn't home right now! Leave a message after th-'

'Pinkie Pie! We can see you!' Rarity sighs.

'Toooooo late!' she responds, without looking back. 'It's past closing time!'

'But it's on the middle of the day...,' Twilight mumbles, understanding that the pink mare must still be pretty upset over the accusations and punishments she got of late.

'C'mon, Pinkie Pie! You don't hate ALL of us, right?' Rainbow Dash asks. But she doesn't get any response from her. She's being ignored right in front of her.

'Well, this is great...,' Applejack grunts, growing impatient over Pinkie Pie's childish behaviour. 'What'll we do now?'

'Well... I could always teleport inside and open the door?' Twilight suggests. 'It always worked to get in the library. I don't see why it wouldn't work here.'

'Ok then! And then we'll get in their and FORCE her to hear us out!' Rainbow Dash agrees and adds an idea of her own to the plan.

'No... Pinkie Pie will never want to talk to us when everypony is taking our side...,' Fluttershy suddenly dissagrees with a soft tone. 'She has trouble with me and Twilight... Not you.'

Twilight nods. 'Flutttershy is right. She and I, just the two of us, need to talk with her,' Twilight proposes. 'If we can explain her the situation and our regrets, maybe she'll come around... And I don't even want to think about that she might not forgive us...'

'O-Ok...,' Fluttershy whispers, a little concerned about the upcoming "trial" she will have to go through with her friend.

'Pinkie Pie, we're coming in!' Twilight warns to the door, preparing the pink mare for a confrontation. 'Give me a moment...'

Without warning, Twilight's horn starts to glow, preparing a spell, and vanishes in a flash. Having used her popular teleportation spell, Twilight reappears inside Sugercube Corner, allowing her to open the door.

'Are you coming, Fluttershy?' she asks the worried pegasus, who quickly runs inside.

Both now inside the store, leaving the other friends outside to wait, they appproach the pink mare, who continues to stand idly in the middle of the room, having no plans of turning around to her "customers." Though the cold wind blows into the store, cooling the entire room down, Pinkie Pie doesn't even shake a little. The candles that kept the store lit a little are dieing out, unable to remain burning by the storm's freezing currents.

'Welcome to Sugercube Corner...,' Pinkie Pie grunts, most unpleased about the mares' presence. 'What would you like...'

'We would like to TALK, Pinkie...,' Twilight answers calm, but urgent. 'I know you're mad at us, with good reason... But please, give us a chance to explain...'

The pink mare doesn't respond, keeping her back turned to the two apologizing mares. Since she's not walking away, or says no, Fluttershy and Twilight take it as a chance to speak.

'Look,When I saw the library in such a mess, I felt terrible at the mere sight...,' Twilight tries to express her feelings of then in words. 'I found Gummy, your pet aligator hidden on the shelves, which gave me a terrible, terrible assumption... I should've known better then than to put suspicion on you...'

Pinkie Pie seems to listen to her words, since the mare slowly looks over her shoulder to listen further to the unicorn.

'I know that you love to party, but I also know that you're not crazy to do something like this! I know you well enough that you would never cause any damage to somepony else's property or organize it at the completely wrong location. I just wish I thought of that earlier...,' Twilight sighs in dissapointment to herself.

'Pinkie Pie...,' Fluttershy starts to speak too, making the pink mare glare over her other shoulder. 'I'm... terribly sorry for what happened to you in the Sugercube Corner... You're the most cheerful and willing-to-help pony I know in Ponyville. You of all ponies doesn't deserve a punishment like that, for something you didn't do.'

'I... I just hope that you can also understand that it wasn't me that did it... I know they're my friends, and they would trust me wherever I go, but I also know that there are places that ponies wouldn't like to have them around!' she explains, growing desperate when she sees no change in Pinkie Pie's glare directed at her. 'I had nothing to do with it, I swear it... I don't know what got in their mind to do something like this... But it really wasn't because of me.'

The pink earth pony continues to glare over her shoulder, making the two other mares uncertain whether she accepts their explainations and apologies. They can't force her to accept it, due to that it's her own decision. But they hope with all their heart that Pinkie Pie will see behind the bad times, and give them another chance. The unicorn and the pegasus both grow a little anxious when the earth pony sighs and looks in front of her again.

'Pinkie?...,' Twilight carefully speaks.

'Dawwww, I can't stay mad at you!' the mare suddenly cheers in happiness and leaps to the surprised mares to hug them tightly. Both Fluttershy and Twilight are completely surprised, having no idea what's happening for a second.

'Y-You're not mad at us?' Twilight asks with a smile, though feeling uncomfortable by the tight squeeze of Pinkie Pie's hug.

'Nah! It was just a bad day! I don't let bad things get to me!' the pink earth pony squeezes their faces against hers.

'But you...,' Twilight tries to tell that Pinkie Pie contradicts herself, considering she was acting just as mad as the others. But quickly decides to leave that behind, for all their sakes.

'I'm glad we're friends again, Pinkie...,' Fluttershy whispers happily.

Pinkie Pie nods multiple times. 'Me too, girls. It got a little boring without you all around!'

'Hey, is our friend circle split in two now?' Applejack jokes from the door opening, having noticed that the fight is obviously forgiven.

Glad to see the others, Pinkie Pie squees of joy, urging everypony to join them. Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash take no second more and hurry to the other three mares, pressing themselves together in one big hug. It has been only a few days since they haven't been together, but it feels so much better to be now again.

'Friends forever, right?' Twilight asks with a smile.

'Friends forever!' they all cheer together, followed by laughter, all happy to be together again.  

The Mane Six are reunited in Sugercube Corner, having left their troubles behind, and are willing to never let something like that happen again for the sake of their precious friendship. Twilight can't help but rub a tear from her eyes, glad to not be alone anymore.

But their beloved regrouping is interrupt, when suddenly a loud sound screams over the building. A loud howl, like that of a wolf, sounds through the air of the empty streets in Ponyville, echoing in a spine-chiling sound, joining with the cold howling of the storm. When the six friends look outside, trying to peek through the falling snow that falls down, they notice three light-blue winds that float through across the sky. The beings move away, as if they're retreating.

'The windigos!' Twilight recognizes their ghastly forms. 'C'mon, girls! this is possibly the only chance we get to find Trixie!'

But her friends continue to stand idle and look at her with unconfident eyes. They're on the brink of solving this crisis. But now the mare's friends are all looking so docile, showing no intention of getting even with the Trixie.

'Wh-What's wrong?' she asks.

'Twilight... Don't you remember what happened last time?' Rarity asks her. 'We got swatted like flies by that beast, Lord Ignis... What makes you think that we can take on Trixie, who now must have the knowledge of nearly every spell?'

'She's right, Sugercube...,' Applejack mumbles. 'She ain't even alone. She got her three lackeys behind her back.'

Twilight has heard enough. She has lost friends, felt loneliness, got into fights with old allies, and saved Equestria many times alongside her friends, who she now got back! The others may not be convinced right now at the last straw, but she sure as hay is. And she will not see them give up, knowing that they're simply in a state of weakness right now because of all the confusion.

'Girls, we're doing this not just for us..., or Equestria..., but for EVERYPONY. We are together because we want to, not because we are the so-called "chosen ones." We could turn around and walk away, leaving Trixie to freeze all we hold dear... But isn't that what we're protecting? What we hold dear?' Twilight asks, knowing her friends well enough that they won't turn their back on everything just because of fear.

The mares look up in revelation and hope, becoming convinced by the proud words of the purple unicorn.  

'We do this for our friends, our families, and possibly even for those that we probably dislike! Trixie tries to take it away from us, following ancient hoofsteps of an alicorn who attempted to freeze our forefathers! We have defeated Night Mare Moon, Discord, and the Changelings, together! Are we going to walk away from that and turn our backs to those who believe in us, just because of one pony?!'

'Hay, no!' Applejack steps forth, feeling pumped by Twilight's speech. 'That stuck-up lil' vermin won't get away with burning the orchard and freezing mah family!'

'I-I'll show her m-my hooves! -ACHOO!-' Rainbow Dash talks along, but is too sick too sound confident in her words.

'I... don't like to resort to violence...,' Fluttershy whispers. 'But I'll see what I can do!'

'I got a bill for windows and violation of my hair with HER name on it!' Rarity grunts in anger, feeling like it's a good time to become careless.

'Party Hard!' Pinkie Pie cheers, having pushed her trusty Party Cannon outside. The mares are not sure if their pink friend is going to blow Trixie away or organize a party.

'And I won't let her get away with destroying our friendship, betraying my friends, and use forbidden magic to seek undeserved vengeance on me...,' Twilight whispers. 'Let's follow those windigos to their mistress!'

***

'Faster! They're getting away!' Twilight grunts and breaths deeply, galloping alongside her friends after the magical flying creatures.

They all know that they will lead them to Trixie, who controls them through the power of Lady Fame. Certain that it's a trap, they mares won't let it prevent them from saving Equestria. Rushing between the sleeping trees in Everfree Forest, the windigos continue to leave Ponyville.

'Where in tarnation are these creeps going?' Applejack sighs as she grows exhausted. The excersize keeps them warm, but tires them rapidly as well. By the time the windigos stop, they may not even have the energy to say anything.

'Waid, loog! They al slowin' down! -sniff-' Rainbow Dash mumbles with a nose full.

Ending their flight, the mystical equine beings decends, landing at a clearing in the forest. The mares have no idea whether the windigos know that they've been followed or not. But the creatures proceed into the mouth of a cave, disregarding the arrival of the Mane Six. It's like they're delibretly guide the mares to Trixie.

'They've stopped in that cave! That's where Trixie must be hiding all this time!' Twilight tells the others.

They quickly rush to the entrance and peek inside, trying to catch a glimpse of the windigos that went on ahead. But it's nothing but cave in their sight. The mares walk inside and look curiously around, ready to expect any kind of surprises.

'It looks... familiar, somehow,' Twilight mumbles to herself as she moves inside the cave. She has the strange feeling like she's seen this cave before, but is unable to recall from where or when.

'Ok! We don't know how big this cave is. So we need to stick together at all times!' Rainbow Dash orders to Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Despite her illness, the blue mare continues to act like she's in charge. 'Trixie is holding out here somewhere! She won't be getting away this time!'

'Cave search! First to find the treasure: wins!' Pinkie Pie makes a game out of it, though the others simply hope that the pink mare is being serious in the dire situation.

While the mares are ready to storm inside, Twilight remains at entrance of the cave. She continues to look at the cold air outside, hoping with all her heart for somepony that will arrive any time now.

'Where is Princess Luna...,' Twilight speaks to herself as she paces around the entrance. 'What if she can't find us? We need the Elements to stand a chance against Trixie now!'

'Ya ok, Twilight?' Applejack asks her. She knows from the Twilight's concerned face that she is anxious.

'I-I'm ok, Applejack,' she lies. 'I just hope nothing goes wrong...'

'Same here, sugercube,' the blond mare nods and smiles. 'It'll be fine. We're in this together, right?'

'You're right, Applejack,' Twilight nods and smiles in return. 'As long as we're together, Trixie won't best us. No matter how much stronger she could possibly have gotten.'

'Wait...,' the blond mare speaks in realization, while the purple mare was about to head into the caverns. 'You're hoping for somepony to bring us the Elements of Harmony, aren't you?'

'...It's possibly the only thing that could stop her... It's the Elements that form our friendship into a power that ends evil,' Twilight sighs. 'If Luna won't show up anytime soon with them, I'm not sure if we could ever beat Trixie.'

'I know... But-' Applejack agrees with mixed feelings, only to be interrupted by a shout.

'Wow! Girls, you gotta see this!' Pinkie Pie's joyous voice shouts from further inside the cave, alarming her friends.

Rushing without hesitation, the five mares hurry to Pinkie Pie's location. As they progress further into the darkness, the mares realize that the cavern walls widen. The cave continues to grow bigger and bigger the further they rush in. Even when the size of the tunnel is already big enough for the shed of Sweet Apple Acres, the cave's size continues to become large as they run towards Pinkie Pie.

'Incredible!' Rainbow Dash says in astonishment. 'What in the hay could be in a cave like this?'

'Maybe a dragon? I don't know,' Rarity answers to her. 'Wait! I see Pinkie Pie over there!'  

The pink mare stands motionless at the end of the cave, which is the entrance to an enormous mountain chamber with almost the width of Ponyville itself. Pinkie Pie doesn't  react to the hoofsteps that close in on her from behind. She simply continues to stare to the center of the chamber.

'Pinkie Pie, what's going on? Did you find Trixie?' Rainbow Dash asks.

'Look at the size of that iceberg!' Pinkie Pie demands from her friends and points before her, into the largest chamber of the cavesystem.

Before them, in the center of the enormous cave, a pillar of ice touches the ceiling from the ground, the size of a small mountain. The entire wall structure of the cave is covered in a few centimeter thick layer of ice, litting the cavern up with the little white light that reflects through the caves. The pillar glows like magic, containing an unknown silhouette inside.

'What in tar...,' Applejack looks at it with wide eyes, like her friends. They all can't believe the size of this magical pillar.

'What is the meaning of this,' Rainbow Dash grunts. 'Is it a challenge or something?'

Twilight decides to find that out. Unstopped by anxiety, the purple mare moves closer to the massive pillar and takes a close look into the ice. She realizes that the light, which reflects through the entire cavern, comes from inside the ice itself. The strange shape that it contains seems to look hairy, yet transparent as well. If she didn't know better, she'd almost believe that she's looking at a humongous bearpaw, atleast ten times the size of herself.

'By Celestia... No way!' she gasps and drops with her flank on the ground, shocked and unable to graps the truth.

Her friends hurry to her side and look into the ice as well, while Twilight backs away slowly in astonishment.

'What is it, Twilight? What is that thing?'

'That thing inside this piece of ice... It's an Ursa!' she speaks to them with fear.

Her friends look like they've been struck by lightning, all remembering very well how their previous encounter with an Ursa ended up like. And most of all: The terrible size and strength of such a creature.

'But... this ice is much much MUCH bigger than the Ursa Minor we saw last time!' Pinkie Pie contradicts.

'It is, Pinkie Pie...,' Twilight whispers. 'Because this is the Ursa MAJOR!'

The truth strikes fast and hard: Unabling the mares to grasp the power that was used to freeze a bear almost as big as Ponyville itself. This was all part of Trixie's plan: By showing the mares what they're up against. Trixie wanted to prove them her newfound powers, which show to be much greater than they could ever experience in their wildest nightmares.

'She was defeated in her fight against the Ursa Minor before. And now she wants to show us all that she can even single-hoofly take on an Ursa Major...,' Twilight whispers. 'This is bad, girls. VERY bad.'

'And that is only the begin,' a voice suddenly echoes throughout the cavesystem, causing it to rumble.

The ice on the walls begin to crack, Several stalactites start to shake and fall to the ground, missing the mares by mere inches. The cave is about to collapse, along with the Mane Six still inside the far depths of it.

'Wow! W-We need to get out of here!' Rarity says while she avoids the falling pieces of ice, the size of the pretty mare.

'Everypony, get out NOW!' Applejack urges to her friends, pointing to the cave where they came from.

Twilight is the last pony to get out, thanks to the extra distance she had to run from the center and back. 'W-Wait for me!' she shouts afraid.

The others have already managed to get out, entering the snowy forest once again. They can still hear how the cave crumbles from within, echoing the sounds of collapse in a thunderous rumble. They feel dizzy, scared and exhausted when they're back outside. But the fear kicks a higher level when they realize that their group isn't complete.

'Wait... Where's Twilight?!' Fluttershy asks shocked, realizing that the mare was already far behind them when they began to make a run for it.

Hearing the echoes of heavy breathing and galloping hooves, the mares rush to the crumbling cave entrance. Their worst fears are that Twilight won't make it in time and becomes trapped in the collapse.

'Twilight, hurry!' they shout together into the darkness of the cave, hoping to see her com eout unharmed. Finaly they see the purple shape rushing out of the shadows, with collapsing walls following behind her. 'Don't look behind you! Just hurry!'

Her time is short. The cave is on the brink of collapse. And just as the entrance begins to fall apart in front of her, she teleports. Just as the cave is crushed together in a loud crashing noise of boulders and dust, the mares are still holding their hearts with anxiety. But when the realization kicks in, they're relieved. All their friends are alright.

'Hay, ya made our hearts nearly collapse along with that cave, Twilight!' Applejack sighs, exhausted from both the rush and the worries.

Twilight doesn't say anything back. She simply drops on the snowy ground and continues to take quick breaths. If she wasn't a unicorn, she would've been burried alive now.

Fluttershy does the same thing, possibly even more scared than the others are feeling now. Even Pinkie Pie remains quiet and shocked, knowing that that trap was supposed to stop them at all cost.

'Where did it come from?!' Rarity asks between her gasps for air. 'Was Trixie inside there? What happened to the windigos.'

They look around aimlessly outside the cave, still shaky over their escape from a terrible fate. While the blizzard continues to rage on, preventing them to see very far into the forest, they feel cold and alone together. But they know that they're far from alone. Trixie is close by, waiting to strike.

'Watch your hoofing,' the voice shouts through the cold air again, echoing around from an unknown location.

'Wha-' Rarity gasps as she suddenly feels how the ground beneath her hooves begins to crumble. 'EEK!'

The white mare is not the only pony who falls down with the earth. Her friends are all surprised at how the ground collapses, splintering like freezing wood. A crater of almost half a mile in diameter takes place in front of the cave, crushing trees that were unlucky enough to fall within the radius. Unable to grab a hold on the glass-like smooth ground of the crater walls, the six mares roll all the way to the center, which is slowly filling up with the white snow that continues to fall down from the sky. It's a trap. And they've fallen into it with open eyes.

'-Ooph!-' Twilight grunts when she falls with her stomache on the ground.

The purple mare understands that it was Trixie's doing. She isn't surprised that the pony -who could freeze an entire Ursa Major- could create a crater out of nowhere, preventing them from escaping. When the tumbling in her brain is setting down, Twilight opens her eyes and looks around in the bottom of the crater, being about five meters below the original surface. The sides are unnaturally smooth, making it impossible to climb out of it. Flying out of it would be impossible too, because the air is freezing cold to the point that it would freeze up any wings that would receive the full wind on them. She can only think of her teleportation spell, which can't save her friends. Her friends are unharmed by the fall, though just as dizzy as she feels. They have no clue of what to expect next.

'Twilight Sparkle… It’s been a long time…I have waited so long for this day: The day where we shall finaly settle the things between us in my favor,' a voice speaks in front of Twilight, causing her to look up. The purple unicorn's eyes widen from astonishment, terrified by the tall mare that stands before her and her friends. 'What is it, Twilight Sparkle? It's as if you've seen a ghost.'

'Trixie...,' Twilight whispers. 'What in Celestia's name happened to you...'