All complex characters do is get in the way of the plot

The fortress of Conquest lies in between dimensions, in a void that is cold and endless. Echos of the fallen and those who had been lost before to the conquer linger within the walls of his base as a trophy room for all who dared to walk into the base. The black walls towered over all, while the insides would find the males and females of the races who joined his army in various means of training. Training, and in some cases, enjoying other activities with various prisoners. For all who entered, this base would be the equivalent of entering a room in hell. For Conquest, this was home, "Oh, what a wonderful day!" shouted Dark Conquest as he skipped into the fortress, thrusting his hand into the air. "We beat the hero, introduced ourselves in a big way, and wiped a city off the face of the map! All in all, a great time!"

"But," Dementia began, saying her first words since returning, "Did we really have to kill all those people? There were children down there, families! I thought the plan was to scare them, not massacre them!"

"What's the matter Dementia?" asked Repstallion, raising a green eyebrow. "I thought you would relish the deaths of so many Starfleet ponies."

"Star Fleet, Rep, Starfleet. Those monsters knew what they were getting themselves into when they asked to be heroes. Heck, those Equestrians know what they are risking, but not those civilians. Not those children," Dementia argued.

"While I do agree that the killing of kids was a little much," Mysterious said, putting a hand to his chin as he stopped walking. "It is a fact that, for everyone of them we kill, it's one less figure that can serve in their armies."

"But not those kids! Star Fleet may be mad, but they would never stoop so low as to use child soldiers," said Dementia, looking down at the ground.

Conquest raised his hand, stopping the group from following him, "Look, Dementia, I can tell that you are a little upset. But look at it this way, we now have sent GR and his buddies a message. One that will be burnt into their heads for ages, or until we kill them." he then put a hand to Dementia's white cheek with a smile, "How about this, I handle the murder, and you handle the subterfuge. Deal? Deal. Well, you guys rest for a bit, I am going to go and party a little."

"With your fucktoy?" Mysterious asked, staring at Conquest with a look of disgust.

"No, I put her in her little room," the dark alicorn stopped walking. "Speaking of which, Dementia, you feed her. Actually, I was thinking of going around the base and dancing up a storm all the while. Tootles!"

As Rep-stallion watched him dance away, the reptilian like stallion got on top of a nearby crate, "Are you ok, Dementia? Ever since you got resurrected, you've been acting a little weird."

Growling, she walked up to Rep and pointed a dagger at his throat, "Look, dying and being blown up tends to put your whole entire world into focus. Besides, I seem to remember someone feeling antsy when he is near a wedding gown." When Mysterious began to chuckle, Dementia looked over her shoulder with a smirk. "And lets not forget you, Mystie. You seem to get a little sad when you walk past a science store."

The black unicorn nodded as he removed his hood, and stood against the wall, " It's true, I cannot deny that. Even before we died, we had emotions that we could not explain. We got mad, we loved, or we began to laugh. Why? Titan said that he made us out of graveyard soil and corpses, he said we do not have hearts. So why do we feel."

"I would ask him, but-" Dementia paused, pulling her blade away from Rep and walking away. "The bastard locked himself in the alcove since the big war meeting!"

As he watched Dimentia walk away, Mysterious added, "Also confusing is the Unicornians reactions towards us. We are made, and they say we have no hearts , yet they are also made, but they do have hearts."

A loud growl came from Dementia, "Look! I don't care right now, all right? When the next sortie happens, I'll be fine with killing the civilians, but draw the line at kids." and with that, she began to walk away.

"She'll be ok, right?" Rep asked.

"Sure, will you?" Mysterious asked, beginning his walk.

"Yeah!" Rep nodded, before sliding off the crate. "Just as soon as I know you guys are going to be with me through this." he trailed off for a moment.

"Problems?" Mysterious asked.

There was a sigh from the stallion as he walked to the barracks, "Nothing. Just something odd."

Nodding, Mysterious walked away, his own mind on the mysteries about his and his team's creation. Elsewhere, the black alicorn known as Conquest continued to dance through the halls, a wide grin on his face. His jubilation was quickly stopped, however, by a shout from down the hall, "Conquest!"

"Yo, what is it...oh, hey buddy," Conquest said, smiling as he looked into the red eyes of the hooded figure from the war party.

There was a low growl mixed in with his raspy tone, as his red eyes narrowed in anger, "You did it again! You played our hand too soon!"

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport, my friend. This world was teeming with anger and hatred, how could I not step into the ring and have a little taste? Heck, I even let the hero live so they can heal him up, and he can bear down on me with so much hate that I will be full for years!" asked Conquest, arching his shoulders in a shrug and smiling.

"And in the process, they now know we exist and they will prepare for war. They will then begin to prepare to attack us!" the creature in the black hood bellowed, stomping his hoof onto the ground and cracking it. The bell on his neck ringing.

"What are you so worked up about? Let them prepare, I'll still win. I'll still conquer this little pathetic waste of a world, and you get your little prize," Conquest said, walking in front of the robed figure.

"The problem is, I now have to come up with new strategies to take them down. You just made it-GAHHHHHH! This is the third time you did this to me! We come to a new world, you attack it before I can set up a base of operations, and then you make what should be an easy attack, harder to win!" the stallion put a cloven hoof to his face in embarrassment, "Look, just...promise me that you'll do things my way for now?"

Conquest's face lightened, "Sure. See this is why I am able to be so mad and cruel. Because, I know no matter how badly I mess up, you got my back."

Seeing the hand outstretched for a bump, the stallion smiled and returned it, "Always."

Turning around, Conquest began to skip down the hall, only to look over his shoulder with a smile, "Hey, I know that I don't show it, but...thanks, for everything."

The hooded figure nodded in response.


If the base itself was considered the outskirts of hell, then the dungeons were the inner circles of hell. Throughout the long hallways of the slave quarters, screams of various slaves from across the echoed in the small corridors. Along the stone hallways, there were rooms the belonged to beings from all walks of life. For it wa snot just pony worlds that Conquest had visited, but worlds belonging to each race. In each chamber, the screams of each of those races would escape the room and rebound the hallways. Everywhere, the slaves would scream from the horrors of being tortured and raped by their fiendish masters. Some even screamed until they fainted from even worse horrors brought upon them. These screams would forever haunt the mind of one particular slave, "Please, stop them. P-p-please, stop them." whimpered Starla as she sat in a fetal position in the corner of her particular chamber. This one was more furnished than the other rooms, having been picked as Conquest's favorite gave her luxuries that the other slaves never gotten.

"AHHHHHH! Please, not them! I need my br-aaaaaaaaaaah!" Screamed one slave.

"Please, don't fuck me with that knife, don't put that knife there!" screamed one male slave.

Another male slave shouted, "There, I ate your meat. Now where's my broth...no."

"No, please, stop raping me!" Whimpered one man.

"Please, not my baby, not my baby, please..." pleaded one other woman.

"S-stop, please. I can't help you," whimpered Starla. The opening of the door caused her to jump from her position and hide next to the basin, "Don't come near me!"

Dementia waved a hand gently, "Easy, sweetie. I'm not the boss." as the white pony watched Starla cower in fear, hands held up in defense, the villain sighed. "And I am not going to touch ya. Quite frankly, I find rape to be disgusting. I only tolerate it with him because I know I can't stop him. I'm just here to feed you, because the boss wants his toy to be well fed."

Starla nodded and came into view, away from the shadow of the basin. The sight made Dementia shiver, and cringe. All across Starla's body were cuts, bite marks, and torn pieces of fur. Caked blood discolored her once white coat and her purple mane was now torn and ripped. But, it was the eyes that was getting to Dementia. Gone were the eyes of a woman who stood defiantly against her, now were the traumatized eyes of a woman who had gone through two days of being violated in every horrifying way. Trembling, Starla reached out and took a chicken leg from the tray, "Thank you."

Dementia shrugged her shoulders at the whisper, "You know, we really made a big impression today. Wiped the entire city of Neigh Orleans off the face of the map!"

"Impossible," gasped Starla as she began to drink some tea. "The shields, they would've stopped you, or prevented casualties!"

"You know the fun thing about shields?" chuckled Dementia. "They can break, and that is what I did. We broke the shields and then we swarmed in to have a little fun in the city. Last I checked, there were very few survivors left."

Starla looked on in utter horror, "No. Y-you won't get away with this, Lighting will stop you. He will beat you!"

"Oh, Lighting? Heh, Conquest gave him the once over. Beat him to a bloody pulp and left him lying down in the ground to die. Don't worry...he'll live," said Dementia with a smirk.

Starla looked on in at shock at the news, and then raised her head with a defiant look, "You won't get away with this. We will stop you. We did this before, we'll stop you again!"

"Hah! You killed us, I give you that. But, as I recall, on the day that we came to Equestria, it wasn't you who beat us...it was the bearers of the elements," Dementia said, looking up at the ceiling.

"You lie!" Starla screamed, but reeled back when Dementia raised a hand to strike her.

"Don't you dare call me a lair!" commanded Dementia, sneering. "Those Equestrians are a lot stronger than you give them credit for, you little brat. Look at this," she lifted her shirt to show a burn mark on her stomach. Narrowing her eyes, she said, "That didn't come from you, that came from the princess. Ask Rep and he can tell you about the nightmares he still has from Fluttershy's stare and Myst is still suffering from the punch that Applejack gave him."

"N-no. That, that isn't what I remember," Starla whimpered, her eyes wide.

"We took them by surprise to prevent the use of the elements of harmony, but then those cheaters proceeded to kick our asses without them! Then we...wait," Dementia then looked at the shocked look in Starla's eyes. "How do you remember it?"

"The equestrians used the elements on you, they failed, and then you enslaved them," Starla said, trembling.

"Oh, you and I remember that day differently sweetie," said Dementia walking to the bed. "I remember being led by a spirit, I remember being taken out by the elements through their fighting prowess, I also remember getting lucky that the spirit threatened to kill their loved ones if they didn't surrender."

"You're a liar!" Starla argued, and then backed away as Dementia growled.

"What did I say about lying? I know how I got bea-wait," Dementia then began to laugh like a mad woman. "Oh, this is too rich. Grand Ruler has you by the short hairs and you don't even realize it! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA! He has you dangling on a little leash and doing everything he wants, and you don't even know you're being mind raped! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!" the white unicorn threw back her head in laughter as her red hair laid on her shoulders.

Watching as dementia walked away, Starla crawled to the corner and began to whimper, "She's lying. She's lying."

Meanwhile, Dementia began to walk out of the slave quarters thinking about how Grand Ruler has been leading, "Heh, gotta love how the big three horned ahole is-Fratello, what's up?" she asked as the golden robot walked out in front of her.

"Trying to figure out how to accomplish Conquest's latest task," Fratello said, looking at map of United Equestria.

"Oh, where are we going to attack next?" asked Dementia.

"Nowhere," Fratello said. "IT seems that Conquest wants us to spend a few days looking for a new city call home."

"Why? this place is nice enough," asked Dementia.

"Yes, but the more races that choose to fight under our flag, the less room we have. ITs better for us to establish a base for us to fight from," Fratello said as he began to walk away.

"Ah, I get it," nodded Dementia as she left the room.


It was close to sunrise when Lighting neared the castle o New Canterlot. He was grateful that Conquest didn't damage his wings, for they were the only thing that still had strength to move. Panting, he kept his eyes forward, making sure that his destination kept in sight as he neared the gleaming building. Feeling his wings giving out, the white unicorn turned his direction towards the courtyard below.

Grand Ruler walked out in the courtyard, sighing heavily. He and Celestia had another fight, and again he was banished to the couch. He looked to the stars, some small tears rolling down his cheek, "Why can't she see it like I do. I just want whats-By the stars!" shouted the tri-corn as he watched Lighting Dawn crash into the field. His face frozen in shock and terror he ran to the alicorn's sie, "Speak to me, what happened?"

"C-Conquest...Neigh Orleans...Star-" Lighting muttered out in pain before finally collapsing.

"Lighting, no," Grand Ruler said. HE then looked to a nearby guard, "Quick, get the medical staff on the duty and then put an alert out to Starfleet."

The yellow unicorn guard nodded, " Yes sir!" running away from the commander, the yellow guard shouted, "Somepony get Crusher Bones!"

The guards saluted and ran off into the castle, their faces tinged with fear over the fate of the commander.

The events of the morning in Canterlot had no bearing on what was occurring elsewhere in Equestria, especially in the home of one Applejack. As the orange mare slept, she could feel the sun bearing down on her face, warming it just slightly, "Mom, turn the sun down will ya? Ah'm trying to-" she stopped in mid sentence as her eyes shot up. "The sun? But Ah..."

As she trailed off, she looked down noticed that her alarm was set for 9:30 a.m. She let out a gasp and ran to her closet, "How the buck did Ah oversleep! Ah know Ah had that supi alarm set last night!" She growled to herself as she threw on a plaid working shirt and some jeans. Grabbing her hat, she quickly bolted down the stairs and into the kitchen, "Which one of y'all forget to wake me up when my alarm didn't go off?"

Before Caramel could say anything, Applebloom stepped forward, "Ah did. Ah thought you might have needed your beauty sleep."

"That's nice AB," Applejack said, grabbing a plate of pancakes and walking out. "But Ah don't need the extra sleep. Too much to do."

"Thanks," Caramel said, leaning into Applebloom's ear and whispering. "I was going to own up."

"No, thank you," Applebloom said, putting away a plate. "Applejack's been needing that sleep for a long while now."

"Has she been waking up before dawn a lot?" Caramel asked, putting away some of the plates.

"Since Twilight died," Applebloom sighed as she looked out the window to watch Applejack kicking a tree. " She's been eaten less, working harder, and training harder than anypony Ah've ever seen. She keeps pushing herself so hard that Ah get worried she's gonna faint out there."

"Why not talk to her friends about it?" Asked Caramel.

Applebloom turned away from the window, past an old photo of her sister with her friends, "It won't do any good. They...they haven't been as close as they have been in the past."

"I haven't noticed," Caramel said.

"Nopony has!" Applebloom yelled, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. "All you ever hear is, 'Starfleet attends this and stops this monster", "Starfleet teams with harmony to attack this," grumbling she looked at the photo. Slowly, she ran a yellow hoof along the image of her sister being in a group hug with her five friends, a tear falling from her eyes, "Ever since Grand Ruler came in, they never had a moment to themselves. You never get see them spend anytime together and build their friendships. It's like they forgot who they are, and they can't help each other."

Caramel hugged Apple Bloom close, "You are so worried for the,. don't worry, they'll find a way to fix this...I promise."

"Thanks," sniffled Applebloom, wiping a tear from her eyes and then looked up at Caramel," you know, you'll make a good big brother."

"Thanks," Caramel chuckled, putting his hand behind his head. He then took another look at Applejack as she practiced, "Does your sister usually forget her bra?"

"Doesn't wear one. Finds it too confining, like her panties," Applebloom growled. "Unfortunately for me." she then looked up at the stunned Caramel, "Caramel?

Unaware of the conversation that was taking place in the farmhouse, Applejack continued her farmwork. Her eyes narrowed in determination as she kicked another tree hard, leaving a small dent in it. Pulling away from the tree, her expression turned to one of happiness as she watched the re fruit fall from the branches and into the small buckets. Satisfied with her work on the tree, the farmer turned to look across the field of trees. Wiping the sweat off of her brow, she leaned her elbow on the trunk of the tree in an attempt to figure out where to work on next.

The sound of an explosion took her out of her train of thought, "What in the hey?!" she shouted a she ran through several of her orchards, until she came across an abandoned part of the farm, "This was we had a bad case of root rot a year back. Ah wonder what on-"

Another explosion caused Applejack to snap out of her thoughts, and this time she could see the culprit. Standing next to the small crater was a brown alicorn stallion, "Hmmmm, no...to short, the wick needs to be longer."

"Dyno?" Applejack called out. Though it was harder for most to tell the difference, AJ could recall what Pinkie said to tell the difference between the twins.

"Dyno has a scar under his right ear, while Myte has a slight nasal tone to his voice. I'm surprised you girls didn't see it," giggled Pinkie.

"Pinkie, how did you-" Twilight began, before shaking her head and putting away her drink. "Never mind, it's Pinkie."

"What in the hey are you doing here?" called out the farmer, trying to not think about her best friend.

"Huh? Oh, hey Applejack," called out the brown stallion, walking up the hill to Applejack. "I am dreadfully sorry about the explosions."

"Wait, you aren't near your brother and doing that weird thing," Applejack said leaning back against the tree.

Dyno chuckled, " Oh, the finishing each other's sentences? Oh, that is just something we do when we're together to drive other people mad. It was a hit back in middle school."

Applejack chuckled a little at the revelation, "So, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, your Grandmother lets me practice my explosives out here when we have a day off," Dyno said his spaneish accent not so thick as when they are in battle, sitting down next to Applejack. "You don't farm out here and the place is far away from any civilians so I don't have to worry about hurting anypony."

Applejack pulled back in surprise at this, first because his accent was no longer stereotypically thick and second, "Wait a second, you just said-"

"Anypony, yeah, I know," Dyno sighed. "Truth be told, I found your dialogue to be a lot more interesting. They way you guys add pony to common words."

Applejack let out a smile in response and put a piece of grass in between her teeth, "So, where's your brother?"

"Oh Myte? He's at home, working on his chemicals and potions," Dyno said. "He loves doing that and crafting new gels. Its his favorite thing in the world to do, you should see his face when he has a few new bottles to work with."

"Ah, never knew that about you," Applejack said, shaking her head.

A forlorn sigh escaped his lips, "That's because we never talk to one another. Our two teams rarely get a chance to interact outside of the latest event or something that Grand Ruler set up for us. You want to know a secret?"

"Ah'm not the best one for secrets," Applejack remarked. "Honesty, remember? A pony asks me something, Ah'm more than likely gonna tell them the truth."

"Then just avoid a question like that, please?" asked Dyno.

With a sigh and a nod, Applejack ran a finger along her chest and then put a finger to her closed eye," Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"Thanks," Dyno said, and then he held a knee close to his chest, "I kind of been wanting to retire from all of this. Myte too. All of this," he waved a hand in front of the scenery, "risking my life to protect the ponies, knowing that if we make one mistake that we end up killing so many people, the fate of the world on your shoulders...it's not me!" Dyno shook his head and looked up to the blue sky of the late morning, "When we started, me and my hermano thought it would be fun. Being heroes and taking down the bad guys, but it isn't. I don't know how you girls do it."

"Heh, it aint easy Ah can tell you," the orange farm mare laughed, laying on her back and putting her arms behind her head. "Ah know we ain't the most traditional of heroes: A seamstress, an athlete, an animal lover, a farmer, a...student, and Pinkie Pie. But, Ah think what drives us is that we are willing to go to hell and back for a friend. We can't just stand by while somepony is in trouble and not do anything. Ah guess its just one of those things you do when you fight with friendship."

"Friendship, ha," Dyno said with a sad expression.

"Now, don't you start," growled Applejack.

Dyno waved his hands protectively, "No, I don't mean it like that. I mean, what you got, that bond you girls have, we in Starfleet don't. We're teammates, not friends."

Applejack raised an eyebrow at this, "But, Ah thought that you-"

"Whatever you think about us, you're wrong," sighed Dyno, looking down at his feet. "If I can be honest with you, I am kind of jealous of you and your team. You six know so much about each other, your bond is so strong that you can joke and snark at each other and not have a care in the world. I don't have that. We barely talk outside of the team, and even then its about the enemy or some little event or Starla's and Lighting's relationship! I don't know the first thing about Starla, Lighting, Buddy, Artie, or Rhymey. Go on, tell me about one of your friends. Rarity, tell me something about her that is not related to her job or element."

"Well, she's a bit of a stuck up debutante, but she is a dang hard worker," she chuckled, and continued. "She puts her all into anything she does, and likes bringing out the inner beauty of the object. And, the gal can be quick on her feet when she needs to be."

"See?" Dyno asked, putting his head against the tree trunk. "I could never do that. I just..want to leave all of this and go into construction, Myte wants to be a chemist for the rest of his life. But, I just see I am going to be stuck here, alone and friendless."

Applejack then placed a hand onto Dyno's shoulder, "Hey, you have a friend. Me."

"You, but I-"

"Hey, Granny has decided to let ya in, and Ah figured it would be good to extend a hand to another for friends," Applejack said, smirking and then turning away. "Come on, we have breakfast if ya want."

"But, why?" Dyno asked.

"Because it's what friends do," Applejack said.


A scream and a few obsenities awoke Daphine that morning. Curious, she quickly put on her clothes and ran downstairs to see hew cousing in a bad predictiment. Daphine let out a small giggle as she saw Buddy in the kitchen, covered in batter and syrup, "Hehe, you ok Buddy?"

"Yeah," Buddy sighed, picking up his pink apron and wiping some of the baking goo off of his face, "I was just trying to bake you some spring cupcakes, for your class."

"Well," Daphine sat on her chair and pulled out a box of cereal, "You are the second best baker in the world."

Buddy looked up and smirked, "Oh, second best? Who is the first? Pinkie?" he said, walking with cruel intent as he took some of the batter off of his shirt and put it on his finger.

"Well, yes," she said, trying her best to hold back her cousin as he wiped some of the goo onto her nose, "Gahhh! It's the truth."

"Yeah, I know," sighed Buddy as he turned back to the stove and began to work on the next batch, "Doesn't mean that I don't like to help bake too. After all, somebody has to show Cookie that he is not the only great soux chef!"

"Do you think he's happy in Horn Kong?" Daphine asked, looking down at her bowl. Smirking, she grabbed a cup of sugar and prepared to pour.

While having his back turned to his ward, Buddy answered, "I hope so. We seem to be the only ones who care about him anymore. Ever since he left town, he's just been...forgotten by the others." sighed Buddy, then, without even turning around, he stated with a stern tone, "And don't put too much sugar in your bowl. You'll get a toothache."

"How did-"

Buddy laughed as he turned and winked at her, "A father knows these things my little bud."

Daphine stuck her tounge out at him, and then went back to eating er cereal, "You know, I'm really glad you're here. It's so much more fun to have you around here and not at Starfleet."

"Me too," Buddy said, smiling warmly. "Me too."

"I kind of wished these days stayed forever," sighed Daphine.

Buddy could only nod, a forlorn frown on his face.


Pinkie Pie awoke with a large yawn as the morning sun rose above the clouds. Rolling over in her blue pajamas with little balloons on them, she looked down and smiled at her little alligator, "Morning Gummy! Is our new guest safe?" she asked with a giggle.

Gummy only blinked in response and looked to the girl in the sleeping bag. Belle had a contented smile on her face as he breathed in softly, letting her mind wander in the dream world. A mischevious smile spread across her lips as Pinkie became tempted to wake her up with a fog horn or another tool as she once did to her sisters.

After pondering for a few moments, she gave out a soft gasp and whispered, "Wait, better idea." and ran out the door of her room and down the stairs.

Belle was unaware of anything that was happening around her, too focused on the dreams she wa having. Dreams of living and having fun with her new friends, of exploring this strange new world. Her mind was quickly taken out of the dream world when she felt a weight land on her stomach, "Huh, wha-"

"Morning sleepy Belle!" Pinkie giggled, reaching behind her back and pulling out a plate of muffins and sweet rolls, "I cooked you some breakfast. I didn't know what you liked, then again you probably don't either, so...I made you something to try and see what you liked!"

Smiling warmly at the breakfast, Belle nodded and sat up in her sleeping bag, beginning to eat slowly while Pinkie quickly got out of her pajamas and began to rummage through her dressers in search for a shirt and shorts, "Thank you Pinkie. You know, you didn't have to. I could've-"

"Tut tut!" Pinkie said with a grin,booping her friend on the nose, "You are my friend and you are a guest. So it's only fair that you get treated, Pinkie style!"

Belle laughed at this, smiling while eating her muffin, "Oh, right of course. It's what you do best. Well, that's what they told me during the party."

"They?" Pinkie asked.

"Your friends," Belle said pausing before smiling a little, "Well, I guess they're my friends too."

"Oh yeah," Pinkie said, sighing as she put her shirt on, "The best. Hey, think you can magic me my brush? I want my hair to be extra poofy today!"

Belle nodded and lifted up her hand, and began to concentrate. For a few moments, she held her eyes shut in concentration, trying to summon the inner magic. After a few moments had passed, she let out a gasp of air and stood up in the middle of her sleeping bag, looking on in horror, "I...can't do magic."

"What?" Pinkie asked, walking over to her and holding her hands, "Are...are you sure?"

"Yes," Belle said, "It's like there is nothing there, not even so much as a spark. I feel like I know how to use telekinsis, but I can't do it. I can't feel anything." she gave a shudder as she looked with horror, "What kind of unicorn am I if I can't-"

Pinkie immeaditally gave Belle a hug, rubbing her back gently, "A special one. You are special unicorn that is just starting to learn all of the stuff. It'll come to you in time."

"But, I can't do magic. I'm a unicorn and-"

"Your memory's a little faulty," Pinkie said, smiling warmly, " You can work on it. We just need to get Twi-" she then froze, her eyes going wide as the meaning of the date began to rush back into her mind. Turning her head away from the mare, she began to sniffle and felt a tear roll down her eye, "Twilight."

Belle looked at her friend with compassion and worry, "Pinkie, what's wrong?"

"Do," she paused, giving a sniffle, feeling down that she lets herself become this open, "You know what today is?"

"Near the beginning of May, right?" asked Belle.

Pinkie sniffled and sighed, tears still rolling down her cheeks as she said, "May 5th, the day Twilight died. It's been, one year since then. Since we lost her and seeing you, needing help with magic just made me think about her."

"Oh," Belle said looking down, "I am sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Pinkie sniffled and shook her ead, "No, I'm sorry. You're in a lot more pain than I am and here I am trying to talk about how much I'm hurting without thinking about you."

"No Pinkie," Belle said, "No one's tragedy is more important than another's. We're both hurting in different ways. I can't use my magic and you...can never touch your friend again."

"Or hear her laugh, talk, or do something scientifically cool," Pinkie said, whimpering before breaking down once more, leaning onto Belle's shoulder and crying unsoppingly, "I miss her so much."

"I'm so sorry, Pinkie, I'm so sorry," Belle whispered as she held Pinkie close, "Guess we're both broken, huh?"

"Y-yeah," Pinkie said with a sniffle and then pulled away to look at Belle in the eyes, "Maybe together we can be a little less broken?"

"I would love that," Belle said as she got up and went to the dresser, "Mind if I borrow your clothes?"

"Sure!" Pinkie said and then gasped, "Oh, then we got to take you to Rarity's for some new clothes."

"Pinkie, I don't think I can afford a new wardrobe," Belle said.

Pinkie winked at Belle, "Don't worry about money. I know Rarity, she;ll do it for free."


Rainbow Dash shouted to the sky in a fit of rage before punching the nearest cloud. Standing in the air for a brief moment, she sighed and shook her head. Looking down at her hands, she let out a small growl as she began to think back to the events of a year ago, "Should've been there, should've been a little faster."

Letting out a sigh, she did a backflip and flew towards the ground, "Don't think about it, don't think about it. Just focus on excerising and-"

"Oof!" grutned Ditzy as she bumped into Rainbow Dash. Shaking her head, she said, "Sorry about that, Rainbow Dash."

"It's ok, Ditz," Dash said, getting up and shaking her head. Looking back at her longtime friend, she asked, "Where are the kids?"

"Oh, Dinky is at school right now and Sparkler is tryign to get some jewerly for her shop," Ditzy said, smiling warmly.

Dash then noticed a letter in her right hand, "What's with the letter?"

"Oh, this? It's just from North Star, you know, Sun's sister? She's probably writing to check up on her sister-in-law," Ditzy said with a sheepish giggle.

"Ok," Dash said, walking to the side with an air of disbelif in her voice, "Well, got to-"

"Wait, Rainbow, question," Ditzy said, holding her friend's shoulder. There was a sullen look in her eyes as she asked, "If, anything should, ever happen to me, please watch over my little girls."

"Ditz, I think Sparkler can handle herself and Dinky is fine," Dash said, but stepped back when she saw the serious look in Ditzy's eyes.

"Promise me!" Ditzy said, her eyes water, "Please."

"Fine, I promise I'll watch over my godkids," Dash said, holding up her hand, "Happy?"

"Thanks," Ditzy said, flying away.

Dash let out a small chuckle as she flew off into the sky, "Ditzy, you can be so weird sometimes."

As Dash flew away, she did not notice Ditzy looking at the letter as it read, 'It's time. HRPL."


As Rymey began to talk to Fluttershy about his plans for the day, the buttery pegasus just timidly began to poke the bacon in front of her. She let out a sigh as she looked at the food again, having no desire to eat any of it. Of the group, she had been the only one to not begin to like eating meat. She sighed as she looked down at the two crispy strips, having the same reaction she usually did when she saw a piece of meat in front of her., trying her best not to think if it was a pig she knew once. Looking back up at the talking unicornian, Fluttershy spoke, "Rhymey, we have to talk."

"And then to the market we should go

Before taking in a show," Rhymey said, finishing his bacon and biscuit.

"Rhymey, dear, please I need to-"

"And then my lovely Fluttershy,

We can go and watch the night sky,"

"Rymey, please," Fluttershy interrupted and looked down, "Sorry."

"Oh no my dear,

Please tell me what I need to hear," Ryhmey said with a bow.

"Well, its that, I think you should know that I don't really like meat," Fluttershy said calmly. "I know that you and the others can handle it, and I know that I live with carnivores, but I cannot stand it. I have been able to stand the taste or that one of them might be a pig I know."

"Oh Fluttershy my love

You are wrong in thinking that, my dove

That is just your pony to be seen

Without meat, how can you gain your protein?" Rhymey asked, before taking another bite out of his biscuit.

Fluttershy opened her mouth, but then quickly shut it and went back to mildly touching her plate. This wasn't the first time he would try and put down her personal feelings with whatever it was that he was taught back on Unicornia and it wouldn't be the last. She sighed as she looked at the plate, making a mental note to give this food to her carnivore pets later. Taking a quick look back up, she watched as her husband continued on his description of their planned day. Watching him and listening to him talk was becoming more of a chore for her.

An alarm on the wrist of the yellow pegacorn began to wring out, "Oh Fluttershy my dear. IT seems the time for action is near. I must make for the castle posthaste, there isn't time to waste."

Quietly, the yellow pegasus nodded and put own her fork, before standing up to follow Rhymey, "Ok, I'll-"

"Oh no love, you shouldn't try

A job like this is more suited for I" said Rhymey, taking a hold of Fluttershy's hands.

Fluttershy looked up pleadingly into Rhymey's green eyes, "No, please I need to go. Don't you think that maybe Grand Ruler would want us all there."

Rhymey looked down at his wife and nodded slowly, "You may be right, my Fluttershy. Come now, lets fly." and with that the yellow alicorn flew out the open door.

Nodding, Fluttershy took off after her husband with a despondent and sad look on her face. As they flew through the sky, making their way towards the capital, the animal caretaker held back a little from her partner. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she looked down at the passing by ground below them, "How could it all have gone wrong?" she thought to herself, "Is it really so easy for a stallion to become different when they get married? I guess it is," with a quick look up, her blue eyes watched as Ryhmey continued his flight and she returned to look back down at the ground. Her mind quickly began to try and think about the love that she and her beloved once shared to try and remind herself to stay true to her vows.

"How did it all go so wrong? MY wedding day was perfect," she shook her head at this thought. IT wasn't perfect, for her dream day was always to be surrounded by her friends (Animal and pony) in an open field. And her betrothed was not the stallion that was flying in front of her, but a cyan mare with a prismatic mane and magenta eyes. Despondent, she lowered her head and tried to think o something else. She was with Rhymey and she loved him ever since the day he had first came to Equestria. She had loved him because, "Why did I fall in love with him again?" she asked herself as the white spires of the castle came into view. She remembered that when he had come to her world, she had fallen madly in love with him. At this moment, however, she could not remember why she loved him, "Um, Rhyemy? Why do you love me?"

"Why be so insightful?

It is because I find you beautiful," Ryhmey said with a smile.

"Isn't this the same thing you love me for

Or is there something you haven't told me before?"

"Oh, well, um I love you because..." Fluttershy stammered, trying to remember what it was that attracted her to him. "His looks, no. His ability to Rhyme, no. Well, he...he..." nervously, she took a quick look up to see his face having a look of confusion. But, before she could say anything else, a familiar raspy voice called out from the landing pad of the castle.

"Fluttershy! You're here," cheered Rainbow Dash as the two ponies landed before her. The cyan mare smiled a little at Fluttershy, but frowned when she saw Rhymey, "So, I see that he fin-"

"Rainbow Dash, whatever it is you're about to say...stow it," Applejack said, recognizing the argumentative tone in her friend's voice. "Just be glad she's here."

"But, Applejack," Rainbow Dash growled and then looked at Applejack, noticing she was panting, "Wait, did you run to the castle?"

"Yep," Applejack responded confidenally.

"But-" Rhymey began but was interrupted by a pink pony popping over Applejack's head.

"But, you have two wings, Applejack, you didn't need to land outside of the castle and run here," Pinkie Pie said, leaping off of Applejack's head and onto the ground.

"Yeah, Ah know," Applejack said blowing off her knuckles. "Ah've just been wanting to practice my running skills for a bit."

Rainbow dash smiled, and then turned when she heard the sound of wings flapping, and turned around to see Rarity being carried in by Spike, "Decided to fly her in this time Spike?"

"Dearest Rainbow Dash,," Rarity stated with a wave of her hand as she hopped out of Spike's arms and back onto the pad. " A lady such as I needs to arrive in style. And I cannot think of a better style than to be carried like a lady through the air."

Spike blushed a little, "Yeah, and it was kind of nice too."

"Oh, I get it. You just wanted an excuse to hold her," Applejack teased. "And she needed to make sure her new shoes weren't scoffed on entry."

"These are Crystal Empire originals after all," Rarity explained. "An engagement gift from the empire for as a way to celebrate my engagement to their hero."

Spike put a hand behind his head, "And besides, I love the idea of flying Rarity from place to place."

"Oh, Celestia no," Rainbow Dash said with a shake her head. "Girls, if I start to get that sappy when I start dating, please hit me."

"Ah'm a holding you to that sugarcube," Applejack said with a smirk.

"If you would all please talk later

We have a meeting to see from our great leader," Rhymey said, walking ahead.

. Slowly the others followed close behind the yellow alicorn, the six equestrians following together in a group with Rainbow Dash taking to the air, Applejack walking next to Pinkie as she began to talk a mile a minute. Fluttershy stood with Rarity, listening to her alabaster unicorn friend talk about the wedding dress she was making. Spike, who was walking with his wife, looked to his left and sighed, expecting an purple alicorn to be by their side. the purple dragon felt a hand on his shoulder, "Yeah, I know. I expect her to be walking by right now too. Just to talk about her new spell or some experiment she was working on."

"Using words that neither of us could hope to understand," Spike sighed. Trying to take his mind off his mother figure for a moment, he looked to his fiancee and smiled as she talked.

" I was thinking of using sapphires for some accents, but since that would be too bright, I think I could change it," Rarity said, looking over designs for her wedding gown.

"Well, I think I could lend you the weing dress book you gave me Rarity, " Fluttershy said.

"Why thank you Fluttershy," Rarity said as they came upon an orang alicorn.

Artie Bristles tried to hide the smile he would sometimes have when he saw the element bearers as he sat them walk into the room, "Hello, Bearers. I am glad you guys decided to come in so quickly. I am little sorry that our vacation might be cut a little short due to whatever is going on."

"Oh, don't be like that," Pinkie said, keeping her usual enthuasim up, "Maybe Grand Ruler just wanted to throw us a party or make us try to forget about our troubles, or even have us all go for a song and dance number!" she said, dancing a little, much to Rhymey;s disgust and growl.

Artie tried to surpress a chuckle as he said, "Um, Girls, about to-"

Before he could utter another word, he heard a loud slightly high pitch voice yelling out, "Wait, waitwaitwaitwaitwait!" Buddy Rose shouted, running to the small group of ponies. Panting, he did not notice the puddle of water that made him trip and send the plate of cupcakes flying out.

Letting out a gasp, Pinkie bounced in the air, catching the flying treats in mid-air and landing with perfect presicion. As she landed, she handed the treats to Buddy, "Here you are."

"Thanks," Buddy said, panting as he took the plate. "I just finihsed baking some treats for Daphine and her school when the call came in. I rushed over her as quick as I could."

"That much is certain

Juding by your apron," Rhymey said, frowning.

Buddy looked down at his pink apron that said 'love your daddy-chef.' Tapping his isiginia to get into his gear, he put his hands on his hips and said, "Hey, you try raising a 10-year-old and see how well you are dressed."

Rarity let out a chuckle and said, "Well, I for one found your outfit devine sir Buddy. Daphine is very lucky to have a devoted father."

"He isn't her father, Rarity

He is her cousin, don't be silly," Rhymey said.

Spike growled and stepped out,ready to attack but was interuped by the sounds of two brothers talking.

Applejack looked up to see the two brown alicorns walk their way, "Oh, hey Dyno and Myte."

"Hello," Dyno said, a frown on his face as he looked away from the orange mare.

"Applejack," Myte finished, also putting on a sour look.

"So, any idea what GR has for us?" Rainbow Dash said as she flew to the doors that lead to the throne room.

"Don't have a clue, but I hope it isn't another war," Buddy said, lookng down and frowning.

"For that matter, where the heck is Lighting and Starla? " asked Applejack as they entered the throne room and all bowed at once before the sitting King and Queen.

The Grand Ruler sat on his magnificent throne, Celestia at his side, and looked down at the group of ponies, "I am sorry that I have had to cut your vacation short, brave ponies."

"Yeah, I bet. You probably were just aching for a chance to send us into another fight," Rainbow Dash thought to herself as Grand Ruler began.

"Yesterday, the city of Neigh Orleans was under attack by an army of soldiers," with a wave of his hand, he produced an image of a destroyed city. Much of the city was on fire, while the sounds of ponies screaming filled the air.

The gathered group gasped in horror, Fluttershy looking on in shock, "But why? Who would do such a thing?"

"Why weren't we told about this? Why didn't the shields do something!?" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Where's lighting?" Asked Applejack.

Grand Ruler sighed, "Unfortunately, the ones who attacked us destroyed the shields and communications. And of course, you know how other races detest the perfect and order that we have set up in the land," he said, not seeing the looks of disbelief and glares from the equestrians. "Lighting Dawn tried to stop them from attacking, but he was sadly beaten."

As the tricorn sighed, Applejack glared art Rainbow Dash to stop her from making a snide remark, "Did he know who was leading them?"

"All that he could manage to say was, 'Conquest'. The he fainted from his wounds," Grand ruler said, looking despondent.

Celestia continued, " I have heard of the name before, but it is escaping me at the moment. This is why I have sent Luna into the library archives to see if she could find any information on this being."

"I am once again putting all of united Equestria in a state of marshall law, and you are to begin some harsher training. We don't know what we will be facing," Grand Ruler said as he walked away.

As the others saluted and left, Celestia called out to the Equestrians, "Wait, please!"

"What is it, princess," applejack said with a bow, being one of the few ponies who had kept to calling Celestia by her ol title when they were alone with her.

Celestia smiled, always preferring to be called a princess than a queen, and began to talk to her young ponies, "While I agree with Celesto that beating Lighting proves that Conquest is indeed a very real threat...I do not want you to focus purely on training."

"But, don't you want us to be prepared?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, but consider this, not even my royal guard are on the defensive twenty-four hours a day. They are still allowed to have a life and to be ponies. What Celesto wants is to only go out when he deems it necessary, to go to events when he wants us to, or to stay close to here. That is not living, that is not what having a life is. Our greatest strength is, what it has always been, is the strength we get from each other. Train if you need to, but don't make it the only thing in your lives. I want you to look at your friends, live with them, laugh with them, and tell me if that doesn't make you feel stronger than any amount of training. I feel like this war with Conquest will not be won through power, but with friendship. Our strength has never been in the military, but in the ponies and the bonds that we share. Now, you are dismissed."

"Yes, your majesty," the five mares and one drake said together as they bowed.

Upon exiting the throne room, the group of Equestrians were interrupted in their walk to the balcony by the appearance of a white alicorn, "Lighting Dawn? What are you doing out of bed?" Fluttershy asked, looking at the captian with concern.

"I'm fine. I just needed to rest for a bit," Lighting grumbled as he stormed pass. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and train."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and stated, "Oh, big surprise. The hot head went off all alone into a fight and got his butt handed to him. Now he is going off to train alone to preserve his bruised ego."

"Rainbow," growled Applejack.

"What? Its true!" Rainbow Dash said with a shrug of her shoulders. "This guy rushes off head long into battle and tries to fight without all of us by his side and expects us to clean up the leftovers. It's that type of thing that got Twilight killed!"

"What did you say?" growled Lighting as he pressed his nose against Rainbow Dashs', his black eyes narrowing in anger. "You know how Twilight died. She defied orders and ran off into battle without thinking."

"And you did nothing! You should have had us join you, you should have had us work together, but no! You," Rainbow Dash pointed a finger against Lighting's breast as she growled, "went off alone and didn't do a Celestia damned thing to save her!"

"A mistake she made. I could do nothing to help her-"

"That is BS and you know it!" she screamed, her wings flaring up behind her.

Applejack stood in between them, pushing the two ponies apart, "Ok, that is enough you two. Arguing aint getting us anywhere." she turned her green eyes to Rainbow Dash, "You know that there weren't anything we could've done to save her. Lighting, you had no business trying to fight somepony that powerful without us. We are your friends," she began, ignoring the scoff from Lighting, "and we are here to help you. Speaking of the rest of us, where's Starla anyway?"

Lighting Dawn looked down at the ground at the mention of his kidnapped wife, letting out a sigh," She's...busy at home. I-I," he stuttered, several different emotions hitting him hard, "I thought it would be best if she relaxed for the evening. I'll tell her everything when I get home."

Applejack arched an eyebrow in disbelief, "Well, ok. You go off and do what you need to, we'll be going now."

As Rarity watched Lighting walk away, she looked to the others, "So do you think something bad has happened to Starla?"

"What are you talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked. "He just said that Starla was at home."

Rarity shook her head, placing a hand onto her shoulder, "Dearest Rainbow Dash, you really must learn to read between the lines. Look at his walk, the way he talked, and his eyes. Something bad has happened to Starla, and he is hiding it."

"So ya felt it do," Applejack said, looking at the disappearing Alicorn.

"Um, guys," Pinki said, looking down, "I know with everything going on, you might have forgotten. But do you remember what day is today?"

Rarity gasped and then nodded, "Indeed, I do remember the day. Though, I want to forget and move on."

"Well, I was thinking," Pinkie began, her voice unusually quiet, "We could go and visit her memorial to say hello. All together."

"Ah, was thinking of heading there myself," Applejack said, looking down and sighing, "Ah think we all should go and say hello to her. It would help her spirit."

"Yeah, I'm not really planning on anything," Dash said, before looking to spike, "You coming?"

"I...I," Spike stammared before sighing, "I can't. I never could go anywhere near her grave, too many memories."

Rarity nodded and rubbed her boyfriend's arm, "We understand. Such a thing can be difficult. I will see you at home."


Being located near the foot of the capital of Equestria, next to a mountain, the small town of Ponyville was no stranger to hills. All across the small hamlet, there were hills that dotted the landscape, even on the farm of Sweet Apple Acres. However, there is one hill that is special. This little hill is located just south of the town, elevated just enough to give a pony the view of the entire town from the farm to the large treebary at the edge of town. This little hill also gave a view of Canterlot, a view of the stars that could not be beat, and the aurora borealis from the Crystal Empire at night. This hill would be very unremarkable, except for two things. There was a very large tree at the top and a small rock that sat next to it, "I do not understand." Belle said, following the band of five ponies, "what is special about this hill?"

"Because, it's her hill," Applejack said, walking at the head of the group.

"Her, hill?" Belle asked.

"Yepparooni! Twilight always would come to this hill if she wanted to read outside or if she just wanted to lay back and watch the stars," Pinkie said, skipping backwards as she spoke to Belle.

"Or if she just wanted to chillax away from us," Dash chuckled.

"So, why did you invite me to come with you?" Belle asked.

Pinkie giggled and snuggled up close to the grey unicorn, "Because, silly, you are our new friend and we want you to meet one of our old ones."

"We're here," Fluttershy said as they reached the top of the hill. Just ahead of the group, sitting next to the tree, was the marker that read

In Memoriam

Princess Twilight Sparkle

995-1015

May her magic watch us all and her Spark inspire us.

Belle gasped at seeing the small tombstone, reading the words that were etched on the stone slab , " But, I thought you tole me she was cremated."

"She was, but," the farmer earth pony shook her head, as if trying to shake off tears that would not come, "Ah just didn't feel right having her body burned and resting in a little urn like a flower pot. It just didn't feel right, and I don't think she would've wanted that."

""None of us did. Remember how Celestia threw such an argument about it to Celesto?" Rarity asked, coming to a stop near the grave marker. "So much so, that he made that statue in the town in order to appease her."

Everypony that stood on the hill, giggled at little at this. Applejack then looked back at the grave, "So, with a little help from Pinkie's sister Maude in gettin us the stone, we made this little grave for her. Just underneath the gaze of Canterlot, and watching over Ponyville."

"What about the statue?" asked Belle.

"Let the tourist and other ponies remember Twilight with that. This is just something personal for us, her friends and family," Applejack said, looking at the grave a soft and saddened look.

Rainbow Dash walked away from the group, smiling at the flowers and other trinkets left at the grave. Sitting down next to the tombstone, the cyan pegasus places some blue orchids and a small badge, "Hey Twilight. How do ya like the new treebary that they made in your honor? Kind of nice aint it? They even added a spot for me to land in, so no more crashing into the window for me. Heh, kind of funny aint it? OH, Scootaloo's fine, I finally got her off the ground, awesome huh. I'll show you sometime, honest."

As she walked away from the grave, memories came flooding in,

"I never leave Ponyville hanging!"

"Rainbow Dash, you are brash, egotistical, and overconfident," Twilight said, looking at Dash with flared wings.

"And you wouldn't have it any other way," Rainbow Dash chuckled.

Twilight shook her head and gave Rainbow Dash a hug.

Rarity sat on her knees, leaving a white lilly and her spool of thread, "Hello Twilight. Spike is doing well, I promise you that. I have been keeping an eye on him and taking good care of him. No, I haven't been working him ragged! He's just been trying his best to help me however he can, and to care for me." a faint blush then came over her cheeks, "Oh, so you might have seen what me and Spike did two nights ago. Like I said, caring for me. The things he has done, what he's grown into...y-you would be proud." She then looked at the ring on her finger, "It's a fire ruby, like the one he gave me. We haven't settled on a date yet, but we will."

"Sapphires, that is just insane, let me get you some rubies."

"Rarity, you really taught me alot," Twilight said, smiling.

"How?"

"That just because you are a lady, doesn't mean you can't save yourself," Twilight said.

Rarity smiled at her memories and got up, moving to stand in the line as Fluttershy took her place. The yellow pegasus said nothing, only letting her eyes well up with tears as she thought back to her dear friend. With a shaking hand, she laid the yellow carnation at the foot of the tombstone. Allowing herself to cry, she thought back to every sound and image that she could associate with her departed friend. Softly, she took a big breath and said, "I miss you."

"Oh, I'm...Fluttershy."

"Twilight, you've taken such good care of Owlicious, I'm impressed," Fluttershy smiled.

The purple unicorn grinned, " I had a great teacher."

Fluttershy raised her hand to wipe at a tear, but a blue hand did instead. Looking over her shoulder at Rainbow Dash, she smiled softly and then reached up to hug her. Forgetting her image for the moment, Rainbow Dash returned the hug and held her friend tightly. For a ew moments, the pegasi held each other in a tight embrace just letting their emotions flow for a few moments. Getting up, Rainbow Dash looked into her friend's eyes, "You ok?"

Fluttershy twirled her finger in her hair and looked back at the tombstone, "Yes," she said, before taking Rainbow Dash's hand and was lead back to the group.

Pinkie Pie bounced to the grave next, leaving a rubber chicken and a pink rose, "Hey Twilight! I just wanted to let you know that we are all right and you don't need to worry about us. You just go on having fun in paradise or wherever you ended up. My granny pie always taught me, before she died, that being sad when your loved ones are sad will make them feel bad. So don't worry about the others, I'll do my best to keep them smiling," she said with her usual glee, although her eyes began to water as she said it.

Applejack was next, as she strode up to the grave while reaching into her shirt pocket. Pulling out a brown colored bottle, she popped the top off and began to pour the contents onto the stone slab, "Here ya go, the finest hard cider that Ah could find in our cellar. None of this cheap stuff that Berry sells. You know my uncle, Celestia bless his soul, always said that nopony should go to paradise without having a taste of hard cider first. Heh, and Ah remembered that you told me once that you would not try alcohol until you were married. Well, here's your chance," then, she reached into her short's pocket and brought out a bit.

"This is just in case you got too busy studying the barrier between the living and the dead to remember to pay the ferry pony to paradise," Applejack added, flipping the bit onto the ground. Taking a deep breath, she placed her hat over her heart and sighed, "Ah think Ah've given these types of reports to too many ponies in mah life. Mah ma, pa, and you. But hey," she chuckled a little, "who knows, maybe you'll be able to talk to each other and give one another notes on us. As you can see, we are all doing fine right now. We've been in some scrapes and have had a few close calls, but we're alive. Ah've been all Ah can to keep an eye on them for ya, but you know how we can all be. Applebloom's fine, the second of her friends to get her cutie mark. Potions, can ya believe it? Ah guess it comes from hanging out with Zecora all that time."

As Applejack continued to give the report to Twilight, Rainbow Dash laid on the hill and played with a blade of grass, "I suppose it's back to constantly fighting a threat every day, training, and never getting to do anything but focus on the latest threat."

"It appears so," Rarity calmly said while leaning on a tree. "And just when I was getting back into the zone with my clothing line and the armor."

"No more parties, unless grand ruler says so," Pinkie said with a defeated tone, kicking at the ground with her foot.

Applejack put on her hat and laid down next to Rainbow Dash, "Maybe we might get together because of some random event or something happening that might require one of us. But beyond that, just training and fighting."

"I hate it!" screamed Rainbow Dash as she ripped some grass from the ground. "We should be able to find time for ourselves! Something for us to do that doesn't require Lighting and his idiots hanging around us all the time!. I feel like I am losing track of who you guys are anymore, you feel so...distant."

"Why did we let it get this far?" Fluttershy asked, holding herself and looking out at the town. "We used to be so close before, but ever since Twilight died..."

"Like Dash said, distant," Applejack said, sighing, "We should be there for each other, like with Pinkie or some of the other problems that have happened. Like when that Kudos feller took our marks. Rather than helping each other, we just went on like nothing was wrong. We should've been helping each other, but we didn't."

"It was Twilight," Pinkie said, looking back at the grave, "She was keeping us together. She really brought us together as friends and not just girls who just hanged out together."

Each girl nodded and Rarity added, "Indeed, without her, I don't think I would've become as close to any of ou as I am."

"Then why did you let it break?" Belle asked, looking at the group. "You couldn't have been that easily broken."

"I blame Grand Ruler," Dash said, "He never let us have a chance to mourn, to cry and just feel like ourselves. One week wasn't enough! And then it seemed like when we had a chance like today, we got forced into another fight or some monster would distract us! It was like we weren't equine to him, just toys for him to play with on his own!"

"And what's stopping from that happening again?" Pinkie asked, "Durning that whole Dark King thing, I felt so alone and seperate. We just felt like-"

"Starfleet," Fluttershy said calmly.

Applejack shook her head, "Rarity shouldn't have lost her wings. We should've figure out another way to capture Bad Horse or whoever he was. We should've been able to capture Kudos and we shouldn't have been put through the hell we've been through. We needed to stand together!"

"So, what are you going to do now?" Belle asked, looking down and feeling down about the gloom that descended on her friends, "If these fights keep you all seperate like this?"

"Ah don't know," Applejack sighed.

Belle smiled, "Well, a good walk might help clear our heads. Because, I want to keep all of us together. From the stories I heard, I can't see your friendship ending so easily."

Applejack got up and stretched, "Well, you know what, maybe your right. Maybe a good walk is just what we need. Maybe we could just walk around the town and make it to the old Golden Oaks library." This made the girls nod in agreement and began to walk with each other.

As they walked away from the hill, their conversations began in earnest. Rarity talked at length about her latest line, while Fluttershy would calmly listen and nod. Rainbow Dash began to brag about her exploits to the young Belle, while Applejack would interject with the truth when she could. Pinkie, being Pinkie, smiled and hummed to herself, thinking up a song in her head

For five of the mares, it was like the old days of the Equestria of old, but for Belle, it was a new feeling to be surrounded by five mare who were busy walking and talking about anything that came to their heads. She could feel a small warmth in her heart growing strong as she looked from mare to mare, each with a bright light that shone in their eyes. In all, the group was talking about nothing; however, for a group of close friends, talking about nothing is the perfect thing to talk about. Her ears began to twitch at the sound of Pinkie singing and quickly joined in with her own lyrics.

As the group of friends left the hill, the sun shined down on the random objects that the girls had left behind. With the sun hitting the objects in the right light, it made each glow a brilliant rainbow shine wich then shined upon the six mares. Unaware of this phenomena, Pinkie and Belle began to sing together as they walked away

Fluttershy walked happily with her friends, a warm feeling coming through her. As she looked at each mare, she felt an old warm feeling flow through her, one she hadn't felt in a while. She let out a contented sigh as she happily began to talk about her animals to her friends, knowing that they would listen. The more she talked, the happier she began to feel and feel the same music flow through her.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, looked down at Fluttershy and noticed how she was smiling again. Looking to her left, she could see her friends smiling again, as if they could feel the old feelings of love and friendship growing between them once more. There was a smirk on her face as she thought she saw Pinkie Pie having a real smile once more on her face, and this made her sing as well.

Rainbow Dash and Flutterhsy looked at each other and smiled warmly before singing together as one.

Applejack sighed as she looked at her friends and smiled. With a warm smile, she began to see them as they once were. Ponies, happy and free, gone were the times of armor and wars, instead just happy friends living the life and enjoying themselves. With a sigh she asked herself "Think we're doing good Twilight?" she then looked up at the waning light and sighed, singing to herself.

Rarity nodded to Applejack and slowly came closer to her. Smiling warmly, she gave Applejack a hug, strangely feeling closer to her old friends more than she had the past year. Looking from friend to friend, she felt that there was a small change in atmosphere for the group, as if a missing element had returned to them. Nodding, she began to sing with her friends.

Rarity and Applejack looked to each other and began to sing in unison together, letting the music in their hearts play together.

All six mares smiled and began to sing as one as they walked towards the old treebary, letting the warmth in their hearts spread across the town.

As the group stopped singing, Applejack smiled warmly and looked at the building while running a hand through her mane, "You know, that little walk, felt perfect, just what we needed to clear the old cowebs."

"Doesn't hurt that walk really did just feel like the old days," Rarity said, smiling warmly as she ran a hand through her mane, "No fear of battles, no worries, just us living the way we want."

"Why can't we keep it up?" Belle asked, smiling warmly. "Starfleet probably doesn't want me, so I can be an outside observer. I can probably find ways to get us to have meet ups like this again and again. It'll be easy."

"You would do that?" Rainbow Dash asked, her eyebrow cocked.

Belle nodded, "You guys are my first five friends...of course I will. I just need a house to call my own first and maybe some clothes."

Pinkie's eyes went wide and she pulled in Applejack and Rarity into a group talk. After a few minutes, Pinkie walked to Belle and said, "Well, until then, you can still stay with me."

"Thanks Pinkie," Belle said, giving Pinkie a hug.

And so it was, old friendships were rekindled in the gloom of a tragedy that would soon be forgotten by the fires of friendship.


"And the brave princess looked at the evil queen, her eyes narrowed at she glared at the woman who had destroyed her life so far. Holding out her magic wand, she could feel her friends nearby, giving their energy to defeat the-" Buddy was interrupted from listening to the radio show by a knock on the door. Looking down at his sleeping cousin, he lightly kissed her forehead and tucked her in the couch.

Getting up, he walked to the door and opened it, stepping back to see, "Artie?"

"Hey Buddy, want to talk outside for a bit," Artie said, stopping for a moment to listen to the music and the voices coming from the radio, "Is that the moon princess and her brave soldiers? You do know that show is for little girls right?"

Buddy nodded, "Yeah, and it still has great characters, awesome battles, and a great love story."

"Yeah, and it's very girly," Artie said, trying his best to control his laughter.

"So, doesn't stop it from being good," Buddy replied, and then looked to his sleeping cousin, holding a little doll of the moon princess, "And besides...I have a little girl you know."

Artie nodded and chuckled," I know, I know. I am just kidding, come on outside." he said, leading Buddy to the fence that surrounded the garden.

Buddy nodded and followed Artie out, and sighed, "Beautiful night, aint it?"

"Yeah, bet Starla is just," Artie paused and sighed, "Don't know what she's doing, but I bet it's with Lighting."

"Yeah," Buddy paused, gripping the rail of the fence, "with Lighting."

"Still not over her?" Artie asked, watching him shake his head. "Buddy, you know that she picked who she wanted."

"IT still hurts ok?" Buddy said, turning away as a tear rolled down his cheek. "It still hurts. Do you think I don't kick myself for not making my move when I could. Or trying to say, 'hey Starla, I love the stars too. LEt's go watch them. Oh by the way, how good are ya with kids?" Don't you think I wanted that? But...I didn't because I was a freaking coward."

"Buddy, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to-"

Buddy growled when he looked up, "Are we here to talk about my love life or did you have something else to insult me about."

"Hey, I wasn't trying to insult you," Artie said, looking down, "I know that you kind of get the raw deal from Rhymey a lot because of your...lack of masculinity?"

"So what? I like female things, I like making flowers grow, I like to listen to girly stuff with my daughter and make her teddy bears," Buddy said, "Doesn't make me any different from the rest of you."

Artie sighed and nodded, patting his shoulder, "Yeah, I know, I know. I am actually here just to check up on you."

"Me? Why?" Buddy asked.

Artie looked behind him at the little girl asleep, "Because of the coming war. If this guy beat Lighting, then we might be over in our heads. We might even lose one another."

"Lose?!" Buddy laughed and leaned back, "We're Starfleet, remember, we don't lose. We're invincible. We can handle anything that is thrown at us, and if not, we find some hidden power or weapon that will give us the win. We are not going to fail."

"You can't rely on that all the time," Artie said, before saying with a cold tone, "Heroes fall you know. We are only mortal."

"Why are you worried? I mean, none of us on this team are exactly friends you know," Buddy asked.

"Because, out of all of you," Artie said, sighing, "You are the one I tolerate the most, and can actually respect. You have a cousin back there and you manage to do all of this without much fear."

"Daughter," Buddy said, sighing as he looked at her, "Even if she doesn't call me dad."

Artie nodded, "Daughter, sorry. I just want to make sure you are prepared in case...you know."

"Nothing will happen, you'll see," Buddy said, trying to put some false confidence in his voice. "We'll fight Conquest and his cronies to a standstill and come out on top. Watch."

"As long as you are sure," Artie said, walking away, "Remember, you have someone important to look out for."

Buddy waved him off, saying to himself, "Yeah, yeah, got it." he then looked up to the stars and sighed, watching as one twinkled in the night. Turning away he walked to the door and walked back into his house.


In the small hamlet of Ponyville, just on the outskirts, was a small little house. Within this little house, a grey pegasus lived. This pegasus stood in front of a mirror running her hand through her blonde hair, taking one last look t herself. She let out a chuckle at how nice her body had filled out, despite having two kids of her own. Turning away, she walked into the bedroom of her daughter and sat by her bed, leaving a note, "My little Dinky," she whispered, running a hand through her daughter's hair, "When you wake up tomorrow, I'll be gone. I want you to go to your sister Sparkler's house and stay there. Momma has a very important job to do, and she might not come home, but, she wants you to know that she loves you more than anything." leaning in, she gave her little girl a kiss on the forehead.

"M-momma," squeaked Dinky as she turned in the bed.

Ditzy Doo backed up quickly, her eyes watering. It took everything she had to leav the side of that little girl and walk down the stairs. As she reached the bottom, she could hear the door knock.

"Miss Doo, come out, its time for you to head to the care facility," said one of the three guards that stood outside.

One of the three, an orange pegasus with an arrow cutie mark, shook his head, "Guys, do we need to do this? Her daughter goes to school with mine, she isn't dangerous!"

"Swift Arrow," the second guard, an alicorn, said, putting a hand on his shoulder "Ditzy Doo is dangerous. Her eyes are crooked, leaving her to make mistakes and would ruin our wonderful land. You don't want corruption like this to run rampant through our lovely country, would you?"

"No, but she-" Swift began, but was interrupted.

"Look, we have done this with a few other undesirables, what is one mo-URRRRK!" the guard let out a strangled gasp as three tendrils of purple magic wrapped around his throat and arms. As he began to lose conscious, he looked to his other friend, "H-Help me."

"OH GOD THEY'RE IN MY EYES!" screamed the other alicorn as he fell to the ground, blue magic eclipsing his head.

Swift Arrow turned his head to the sound of two ponies walking up from the shadows. Shining Spark held her hands out in readiness, looking up at Swift, "So, are you with them, or with Equestria."

Swift looked down at the two guards, and then back up to Spark, "My daughter Scootaloo has very tiny wings, and has problems flying. Aholes like this might be coming after her next, and I won't let that happen. So, who do you think?"

Trixie and Spark smiled at one another, as the door opened and Ditzy came out with a black coat and hood, "Wait, I know you," Ditzy said, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes, "You are that magician, Trixie. I didn't think that you were a part of-"

"This?" Trixie asked, bowing, "Of course she is. The great and powerful Trixie is always ready for an adventure that involves the safety of Equestria. Now come, we must make haste to the castle for the big meeting."

"Ok, and who are you," Ditzy asked, looking to Spark, "Are you Trixie's partner?"

Spark shook her head and calmly stated, "No, I am her teammate. I am here to help her gather the members of our little rebellion. Wich I still object to this one. She is a mother and stands to lose everything if she goes through with this."

"She will lose everything if she doesn't," Trixie said, looking down at the two knocked out guards. "Better to die standing for something then on your back."

"But she-"

Ditzy held up her hand and then looked back at her home, "Dinky is my world. She and her sister are all I have left. If going on this adventure means a better life for them both, then I will do what I can."

Spark nodded and sighed, "No arguing with a determined mare. Fine, let's go. But I will make extra sure that you are ok."

"All right!" Ditzy said, flapping her wings and flying off, before coming back and asking, "Where are we going?"