When we last saw Enchanted Belle, Aurachalcum and Flare Blitz, Aura and Blitz were transported to Coltnelia by jumping through a bright portal after chasing down a mysterious mare in a black cloak. Now while Blitz was getting lots of attention from holding the Fire Amulet, Aura was accused of being a Warlock after his power of aura was mistaken for dark magic. Now the two stallions along with Enchanted Belle have found the mysterious figure and have been teleported outside of the castle after interrupting the mare from completing her magic. Who is this strange figure? And will the three ponies get back what she stole before she hatches her plan? Find out now.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic – The Team Light Chronicles

The Heroes of Light – Part 2

In the forest that's on the edge of the Wind Kingdom…

The three ponies traveled through the darker part of the forest that would lead them to their target pony. Aurachalcum, using his incredible power of aura, guided Belle and Blitz to find their enemy.

"That's a really cool ability you have there, Aura." Enchanted Belle complimented, "It's really helpful in this case."

"Thanks." Aura thanked as he guided them, "Your magic isn't bad either. Your magic is actually unlike the one I've seen before."

"Thank you." Belle thanked, "Actually. I've only just learned about this kind of magic I have. It was when a Warlock and a Dark Witch attacked."

"About them." Aura said, "Those ponies we fought are called Dark Ponies. Right? Warlocks and Dark Witches? Who are they?"

"You really don't know?" Enchanted Belle asked in confusion, "Everypony in Coltnelia knows who they are."

"That's another thing." Aura replied, "What is Coltnelia? I've never heard of a place like that."

"Huh?" Belle wondered.

"I don't remember ever reading anything about that kind of place in the history books of Equestria."

"Equestria?" Enchanted Belle asked, "What's that?"

"That's where we're from." Flare Blitz answered, "It's our home."

"Who asked you?!" Enchanted Belle asked in anger, "I'm not interested in anything you have to say until you explain everything about why you lied!"

Flare Blitz flinched from her outburst and frowned from the expression on her face.

"To think." Enchanted Belle said, "That I was gonna follow you to the end of Coltnelia."

"Huh?" Blitz said as he heard what she said, "You were?" After hearing that, Blitz smiled as he explained, "Well… see, the thing is I'm not the Flaming Inferno yet. You see, I'm training to master the –"

"But what actually happened?!" Enchanted Belle asked loudly, "If you didn't do any of those things you said, then what happened?!"

"I'll tell you what happened." Aura said as he overheard the conversation, "I was chasing down the pony that stole something from my master and I came across this strange bright portal. But before I could get some of my friends to help me learn about it, that dimwit there just jumped onto me and we both fell into the portal and ended up here. He thought I was working with that pony I was chasing."

"Heh, heh." Blitz chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, "Yep. That's pretty much what happened. I thought he was in cahoots with her and just jumped at the chance. But by the time I found out he wasn't with her, we were suddenly here."

"A portal?" Enchanted Belle asked, "What portal?"

"Not sure exactly." Aura replied, "It was just there in a cave in the Everfree Forest. Wasn't sure what it was doing there or who opened it."

"And that portal brought you two to the Crystal Chamber back at the Magic Kingdom?"

"That seems to be the case." Aura answered, "Not sure what it was doing there. I thought maybe that pony I was chasing went through it. But when we came to the other side, I realized that she found another way back. But I don't see how she could've gotten back unless she used that portal."

"A portal?" Enchanted Belle said to herself, "A portal… like to another world?"

"Another world?" Aura asked as he stopped to turn around, "What do you mean?"

"Well," Belle began, "Think about it. Those names you said to my people back at the Magic Kingdom. Princess Celestia, Equestra. We've never heard of those names. The only rulers of our land are the Queens of Coltnelia. With Queens Sol and Lua being the primary rulers. And you two came through a portal."

"Hm." Aura hummed as he thought about the new information, "I guess that would explain why nopony knows about Princess Celestia or Equestria. Because if we did go back in time, both of those names should be well known by now."

"She's actually not wrong." Flare Blitz stated as he overheard the conversation, "This is another world. We're not in Equestria anymore."

"Wait." Aura said, "Blitz. You know about Coltnelia? How do you know this place if you're from Equestria."

"Because," Flare Blitz answered, "The pony that gave me the Fire Amulet comes from this world. Flame Wheel the Bearded. He's the one teaching me how to master the fire that the amulet has awakened apparently."

What Blitz said caused Belle's ear to flop. She found the name Flame Wheel to be familiar and she couldn't help but want to learn more about him.

"Uncle Flame Wheel?!" Enchanted Belle exclaimed at Blitz, "You know Uncle Flame Wheel?!"

"Huh?" Flare Blitz yelped as he turned to Belle, "Flame Wheel is your uncle?!"

"Well, okay." Belle said, "He's not actually my uncle. I just call him that because of how close we were. But more importantly, he's on your world?! Is that where he's been all this time?!"

"Yeah." Blitz answered, "I'm still not exactly sure how he got there, but he says that the Fire Amulet just sort of led him there when he was searching for the Flaming Inferno."

"He was searching for the Flaming Inferno?" Enchanted Belle asked as her eyes began to quiver, "That's why he went missing? He's been searching for the Flaming Inferno this entire time?" She then looked away from the other two as some tears began to form under her eyes, "Uncle Flame Wheel. I've been so worried about you all these years. I thought that… I thought something…"

Belle then began to cry with tears of joy after hearing the news about Flame Wheel. She's been missing him for so long and has been wanting to see him again for such a long time.

"Princess?" Aura said as he got closer to her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Belle answered as she wiped some tears away, "It's just… I've been so worried that I'd never see him again. I thought something terrible happened to him. After the Dark Ponies led by the Great Witch came, he just disappeared. I thought the Dark Ponies got him. But he's been trying to find the pony that could possibly fix everything. Uncle Flame Wheel."

"It sounds like you and this Flame Wheel are pretty close." Aura said.

"We were. He'd come visit the Magic Kingdom from time to time ever since I was born." She then turned to Aura and continued, "He's the honorable wizard of the Fire Kingdom and serves the king and queen there. So I didn't really get to see him too often. But when I did, he's so much fun to be around. He's funny and exciting. I especially remember seeing him at my first Terrific Trotting Extravaganza. I was so happy to see him there after what happened before that."

"Huh?" Aura said as he heard the last statement, "What happened before that?" He asked himself quietly.

"But sometime after that, the Great Witch came, and he disappeared. I've been so sad since he left. The king and queen of the Fire Kingdom didn't know what happened to him and nopony has seen him since." She then turned to Blitz and asked, "Blitz. How is he? Is he okay?"

"He's just fine." Blitz answered, "For an old pony. He sure knows how to use that mouth of his though."

"Don't call him old!" Enchanted Belle exclaimed, "He's not that old! He's not even a middle-aged pony yet!"

"Please tell me you're not just yelling at me like that because you're still mad at me for lying."

"Both that and for insulting my uncle!" Enchanted Belle answered as she turned away.

"I'm sorry. Okay?" Blitz asked, "How many times do I need to say it?"

"There's no amount of times that you can say it that can make me feel better." Enchanted Belle explained as the group got back to traveling, "You've ruined the prophecy!"

"Ruined the prophecy?!" Flare Blitz exclaimed.

"The Flaming Inferno is meant to be able to cast any kind of Fire Magic with ease. And he's meant to be able to do all kinds of Fire Magic without having to work for them. He's that powerful. And yet all you can do is just a weak Fire spell when I can cast Firaga without having to try."

"That's because you've got unusual magic." Flare Blitz argued, "That's not a fair argument."

"In any case," Aura said as he guided the group again, "Why did you lie about me? I didn't do anything to you."

"I know." Blitz replied, "You didn't do anything. But..."

"What really happened?" Enchanted Belle asked as she calmed down a little.

Seeing the two gaining up on him like that, Flare Blitz decided to not go any further with his statement and just tell them what actually happened.

"Alright." Flare Blitz began, "It was after a battle I had against a pony who used the Ice Amulet. That pony that we've been chasing all day suddenly came out of nowhere in Manehattan and stole something from Flame Wheel. She stole a spell book he had. Afterwards, we caught up to her. But then she used her Teleport spell to teleport somewhere else. I guess Flame Wheel and I messed her up, because we kept teleporting to different places across Equestria. Afterwards, we ended up in a farm in a small town. I chased the pony down in a forest, which I guess was the Everfree Forest according to Aura, and then I saw hoofprints leading to a cave and the rest is history."

"That was when you saw Aurachalcum and pushed him in the portal." Enchanted Belle said, "Assuming he was with the pony that you were chasing."

"Right."

"You say that that pony has a spell book?" Aura asked, "Well she also has my master's pendant."

"Your master?" Belle asked.

"Master Lurio." Aura explained, "He's an Aura Master and my teacher. He's training me to become an Aura Master too. I don't know why that pony would want his pendant. But I've got a bad feeling that it can't be good."

"How much farther are we to that pony?" Enchanted Belle asked.

"Huh?" Aura said as he stopped and floated in the air.

"What's wrong?"

"I still sense her." Aura answered, "But I sense something else. Something big and dangerous."

"You used big and dangerous in the same sentence." Flare Blitz said as he felt nervous about what was to come next, "After reading a lot of Daring Do, I know that that's never a good sign."

"Daring Do?" Enchanted Belle asked in confusion, "What's that?"

"No time to explain that!" Aura said as he got serious about what was coming, "Get back! Something's coming our way!"

Suddenly, it started to get dark around our heroes and our heroes were left confused about what was going on.

"Woah." Blitz said in confusion as he noticed how dark it got, "Is it nighttime already? Boy, they weren't kidding when they say that time flies. Although it seems more like time runs if it gets dark this quickly."

"That's not nighttime Blitz!" Enchanted Belle said as she looked up in the sky.

"A storm then? Nopony forecasted a storm or anything. Then again, that was in Equestria. So…"

"Would you just look up!" Belle exclaimed as she used her magic to pull Blitz's mane.

"Ow!" Blitz yelled in pain, "Hey! What're you doing!?"

He was then forced to look up and saw what was blocking the sun. It was a big dragon flying down toward them. And based on it's speed, it seemed like it was coming down for them.

Blitz's eyes widened as he said, "That's not what I think it is, is it?"

The white dragon then landed right in front of the three ponies with a loud stomp. Aura got in front of Belle to protect her. And while Blitz did the same, he felt nervous about the creature that they were facing.

"ROAR!" The white dragon roared at the three ponies

"It's a dragon!" Belle said to her protectors.

"A big one too." Aura added.

"Sweet Celestia." Flare Blitz said to himself, "I knew I should've stayed in bed."

The dragon took a few steps forward to get closer to the ponies. It had an unfriendly look and it seemed to have a bone to pick with them.

"It looks like that dragon's not planning on letting us leave." Aurachalcum suggested, "Must be that strange pony's doing."

"I don't know." Blitz said as he sweated a bit, "Maybe that dragon is just after something else around here and we just so happen to be in the same area as the thing he's wanting." He then looked at the dragon and continued, "And I bet if we help him find what he's looking for, he'll let us go."

"He may be right." Belle said, "I'll go see what's up. I'm really good with animals and big creatures like dragons."

"Princess." Aura said in worry, "Don't. That dragon can eat you in one bite."

"I'll be fine. Trust me. I am friends with a dragon. And I don't mean just a baby dragon."

She then used her pixie dust in her horn to make herself fly. Once in the air, she then flew up to the dragon's face to see what the deal is with the dragon.

"Wait." Blitz said as he realized what she said, "What'd she just say?!"

"Belle…" Aura said with concern, "Be careful…"

"Hi there." Belle greeted the dragon, "You may not know me. But my name is Enchanted Belle. Princess of the Magic Kingdom. I know, it's far from where we are. Those two stallions and I are on a little quest. And you see, we need to go down this path in order to continue that quest. And you're blocking our way. I know it's a lot to ask, especially for a dragon. But can you please move aside so we can continue?" She asked politely with a smile.

"Wow." Blitz said as his eyes sparkled, "She's so artificial when she talks like that to a dragon."

"Articulate." Aura corrected, "And yeah. That dragon looks a little tamed now."

Suddenly…

"ROAR!" The dragon roared at Belle.

The roar was so powerful and strong that it made Belle's mane all puffy and messed up. Almost like she had just gotten out of bed.

"What happened?!" Belle asked with concern as she felt a funny feeling in her mane, "What did he do?!"

Using her magic, she turned a nearby rock into a small mirror so that she could look at her mane. But once she saw what happened, she had wished she only heard about what happened.

"AUGH!" Belle screamed at the sight of her messed up mane.

"Woah." Blitz said as he saw her mane, "Talk about major bad hair day."

"Heh, heh." Aura chuckled, "Looks like it'll take more than a brush to fix that."

"Grrrr!" Belle growled at the dragon, "How dare you mess with my mane like that! Nopony, or in this case, no dragon messes with my beautiful mane and gets away with it!"

"Princess!" Aura exclaimed, "Don't! You're gonna make it mad if you talk to it like that!"

"I wouldn't go and talk to him like that if I were you!" Flare Blitz added, "I may not have seen a dragon in my life. But I can imagine what a fried pony must be like."

Without listening, Belle continued scolding the dragon with, "Can you not see all the hard work I put into making my mane that gorgeous!? It took me years to get it like that! And I brush it ten times a day just to make sure it stays like that! Now because of you, I'll have to brush it through all my favorite meal times just to fix what you've done! Not to mention the fact that it'll take weeks to finish! You should know better than to mess with beauty like mine!"

Because of how Belle was scolding it, the dragon started to get more and more angry and was about to reach a point where it couldn't hold all the anger in anymore. It all lead to the point where it was about to unleash its rage on our heroes.

"ROAR!" The dragon roared at Belle again.

This time, the dragon tried to chomp at Belle and eat her in one bite. But thankfully, Belle teleported back to the other two ponies in time.

"Princess!" Aura yelled as he looked at her, "Now look at what you've…" But as soon as he saw her mane, he began to hold in a laugh, "Pfft. Pfft…."

"Don't you dare laugh!" Enchanted Belle scolded Aura, "You too Blitz!"

"Sorry. Pfft." Flare Blitz said as he held back a laugh, "I've just, pfft, never seen a mane like that. You look like you got out of bed."

"Don't remind me!" Belle yelled.

The dragon then leaned down to try and eat the three small ponies.

"Look out!" Aura shouted as he opened his wings.

Belle and Aura flew to evade the dragon's attempt, while Blitz was forced to run on hoof.

"Augh!" Flare Blitz screamed in fear as he ran to evade the dragon.

"Now that dragon wants to eat us." Aura said to Belle, "Princess. I know you like to look beautiful. But you didn't need to go and make him angry."

"He messed up my mane!" Belle replied, "I wasn't gonna take that sitting down!"

"But you weren't sitting down!" Flare Blitz yelled as he hid behind some rocks, "You were floating in the air! Not even close to sitting!"

Suddenly, the dragon saw where Blitz was hiding and quickly rushed over to try and eat him.

"Oh boy!" Blitz said as he saw the dragon coming fast, "Me and my big mouth!"

"Flare Blitz!" Aurachalcum yelled as he used his aura to hurry over there.

Before the dragon could try to eat Blitz, Aura came in to save him by kicking the dragon in the snout with his back hooves. And thanks to his aura, his kick was twice as strong.

"ROAR!" The dragon roared in pain form Aura's kick.

Aura then hurried over to Blitz, grabbed his front hooves with his and got him out of there before the dragon could recover. But Aura had a little struggle to carry Blitz due to him being much bigger than both him and Belle.

"Thanks Aura!" Blitz thanked as Aura carried him the best he could.

"No problem." Aura replied as he soon put Blitz down after getting far enough.

Aura then took a minute to relax and regain his strength. He panted a bit and was having a little hard time standing up.

"Whew." Aura panted as he sweated a bit, "Boy. You're heavy Blitz."

"Heh, heh." Blitz chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head.

Once the dragon recovered, it saw Aura and Blitz on the ground and hurried over to try and eat them.

Aura got up and said, "It doesn't look like it's gonna stop. I hate to do this, but you ready Blitz?" He asked as he tapped into his aura.

"I am now!" Flare Blitz replied as the Fire Amulet began to glow, "Let's get it!"

"You two stay out of this!" Enchanted Belle ordered, "That dragon is mine!"

She then flew right above the two ponies and got her horn ready to fire with magic.

"Anypony or dragon in this case messes with my beauty," Enchanted Belle continued with her horn ready, "Deals with me!"

"Princess!" Aura said as he got worried about her behavior, "Calm down! Don't do anything you'll regret!"

"He's already done something he's gonna regret!" Belle replied, "The time for playing nice is over!"

"She means business Aura." Blitz said as he looked at her with googly eyes, "The ones looking for revenge are just so filled with pride."

"Snap out of it Blitz!" Aura told him as he shook Blitz a bit, "Belle has powerful magic! Think about what could happen to that dragon!"

After waking up thanks to Aura, Blitz replied with, "I just imagined what would happen while you were shaking me. Now I wish I didn't."

"Hope you're ready for a magic show scales!" Enchanted Belle said to the dragon as her horn got brighter, "Because I've got quite the act for you!"

"Princess!" Aura shouted.

"Belle! Hold on!" Blitz shouted.

But right before, Belle could cast a spell she wanted to cast, she got a funny feeling in her horn and her horn began to sparkle in all different directions.

"Huh?" Belle said as she wondered what was going on with her horn, "What the?"

But once she recognized the feeling, she knew exactly what was happening.

"Oh no." Belle said as she knew what was about to happen, "Not again."

"Oof!" Blitz exclaimed in pain as something hit him on the back of his head, "Ow!"

"Blitz." Aura said as he heard his scream of pain, "What happened?"

Suddenly, something hit the back of Aura's head as he said, "Ow! What the?!"

Then, both ponies fell to the ground after something big and fast tripped them.

"Woah!" The two ponies yelled as they fell.

"Grandma?" Blitz said as he felt dizzy from hitting the ground, "Are those cookies ready?"

As Aura started getting up, he saw a log floating in the air and a pink magical aura surrounding it. Aura knew whose magical aura it was and looked up at Belle.

"Princess!" Aura yelled.

"It's not me!" Enchanted Belle defended, "I'm not doing this on purpose! Honest!"

"Your horn is glowing!" Aura stated.

"I know. But –"

Suddenly, Belle disappeared thanks to a sudden Teleportation spell. Once she disappeared, the log fell to the ground. Aura then looked around to find her, but it seemed like she had vanished off the face of the earth.

"Princess?!" Aura said as he looked around, "Where'd you go?!"

"Are you blind?" Blitz asked as he got up, "Belle is right –"

When he looked up, he saw that Belle was no longer there.

"She's not there anymore." Blitz said as his smiled disappeared, "Where'd she go?!"

Suddenly, Belle had reappeared and was now on the top of a nearby tree. Aura and Blitz heard the sound of the Teleport spell and turned to where it came from to find her.

"Princess!" Aura cheered as he saw her hanging on the tree, "There you are!"

"I thought the dragon took a bite out of you." Blitz said.

"Guys!" Belle shouted as she held on to the tree, "Help me!"

"What's wrong?" Aura asked, "Can't you fly?"

"Something's wrong with my horn!" Belle explained, "I can't control it again!"

"Again?" Blitz asked, "This happened before?"

"Yeah." Belle answered, "It's been acting weird lately. Now it just casts magic at random times when it wants to."

Suddenly, her horn glowed brightly again in a pink aura. Once it did, Blitz got shocked by a Thunder spell just like the first time she did it. Though this time, it was unintentional.

"Aaugh!" Blitz exclaimed in pain as he got shocked by the Thunder spell.

Just like last time, Blitz felt dizzy and was covered in singe. But Blitz couldn't help but smile from being shocked by the magic of a princess.

"Like that." Belle said as she pointed at Blitz, "And now I can't teleport down there, or use pixie dust to fl –"

Before she could finish her sentence, her horn glowed again, and she had teleported once again.

"What's going on?" Aura asked as he looked around for her, "Why is this happening?"

After shaking the singe off, Blitz said, "This is a bit peculiar. How can a horn just do what it wants by itself? That's never happened to my dad or my little sister."

"She needs to regain control of her horn fast." Aura said, "Otherwise, who knows what'll happen?"

"I've got an idea." Blitz said as he reminded Aura of the recent shocking from a moment ago, "And it's heavenly."

Aura just looked at him with a minor annoyed look and thought about what goes on in his head. Just then, Belle had teleported back to the scene right on top of the dragon's head. When the two ponies looked at her, they saw that she was wet and that she had some seaweed on her back and in some of her mane. Looking at how she appeared, the two ponies theorized that she had been teleported to the ocean.

"Woah." Blitz said, "Did you go swimming? Why wasn't I invited?"

"Were you in the ocean?" Aura asked Belle.

After spitting some water out, Belle answered, "Right at the bottom of it. And now my mane looks worse than ever! Not to mention my coat! My incredibly soft coat! Soaked!"

"Hey." Blitz said to her as he wanted to cheer her up, "It's not that bad. I mean, wet dog fur smells way worse than wet pony fur. At best, you'll smell like morning breath."

Blitz then got shocked once again from a Thunder spell and got singe on his coat and mane just like before.

"Ouch." Blitz said as he felt dizzy from the shocks again, "Guess your horn was acting up again."

"Not that time!" Belle shouted with slight anger.

"Princess!" Aura shouted, "Get off that dragon's head before your horn does something it really won't like!"

"The dragon's head?" Belle asked as she went to take a closer look of what she was standing on.

When she saw the eyes that belonged to the dragon and saw some scales as well, Belle found out that Aura was telling the truth and that she was standing on its head and not on a mountain.

"Oh." Belle said as she stepped back from the eyes, "I thought I was on a high mountain."

"Hang on Princess!" Aura said as he started to fly, "I'll come get you! As long as your horn doesn't turn me into a mouse."

He then tapped into his aura to try to get to her faster. But before he could touch her, her horn reacted again, and she had teleported away.

"Darn it!" Aura said as he arrived too late, "She's gone again!"

"Roar!" The dragon roared as it turned to Aura.

"Oh right." Aura said as he looked at the dragon with a shocked look, "Then there's you."

"Roar!" The dragon roared again as it tried to grab Aura with its claws.

"Yow!" Aura yelped as he avoided its claws, "Yipe!"

Blitz watched Aura dodging the dragon's claws and was worried about how the situation was looking. With Aura trying to avoid getting grabbed, and Belle's magic acting funny.

"Things aren't looking too good!" Blitz said to himself, "The only thing that could make this worse is the Fire Amulet getting shattered. Yipe!" He exclaimed as he covered his muzzle, "Why'd I have to say that?!"

After avoiding a chomp from the dragon, Aura flew back to Blitz and took a brief moment to catch his breath.

"Has the Princess," Aura said as he panted, "Reappeared yet?"

"No." Blitz answered as Aura got up on his hooves, "But now I'm worried that I might've jinxed us."

The dragon then saw the two stallions and was rushing over to them to try and eat them like it has been trying to do.

"Let's get out of here!" Flare Blitz told Aura, "Lead the way!"

"But what about the Princess?!" Aura asked.

"Hey. She appeared on a tree and on top of that dragon's head. After coming back from the ocean. At this point, she can pop up anywhere with how her magic is acting up. She might be ahead of us right now."

"I guess so." Aura replied, "Okay. Let me see if I can track down that Unicorn."

Before Aura could tap into his aura so that they can proceed with the mission, Enchanted Belle suddenly appeared right in front of the dragon. Floating in the air thanks to her pixie dust.

"Princess!" Aura cheered, "You're back!"

"Oh…" Belle groaned as she looked at her wet hooves, "I'm all wet, my beautiful mane is messed up, my magic is acting up, and now my tail is covered in sticks and leaves after I got stuck in one of the bushes far from here." She then yelled with frustration, "What else can go wrong?!"

"Don't say that!" Blitz exclaimed, "I've already jinxed us once with me saying about the Fire Amulet breaking! We don't need you trying to make things worse by saying that now!" He then noticed Aurachalcum using his aura and asked, "What're you doing?"

"I'm sensing something in the Princess' aura." Aura answered as he felt Belle's aura, "Something strong and powerful."

"Could it be her magic again?" Blitz asked.

"Maybe." Aura said as he stepped back a bit, "Get back. Because I've got a bad feeling about this!"

As soon as Blitz stepped back with Aura, Belle felt a peculiar felling in her horn. It was the same feeling she's been getting with her horn that made it start acting all crazy.

"Not again!" Belle complained, "Please horn! Please work with me right now! Just this once!"

As soon as she said that, the feeling felt slightly different. It started to feel warm and comfortable. And the feeling not only was in her horn that time. Suddenly, she started to get the feeling in her chest. Not only did this feeling feel comfortable, but it also made her feel stronger and more courageous and adventurous.

"Woah!" Belle exclaimed as the feeling spread all around her, "Did I say the magic words?!"

"Princess?" Aura said in confusion, "What's going on?"

"I feel afraid." Blitz said as he shook a little, "Should I be afraid? Because that definitely looks like something to be afraid of."

Suddenly, Belle's eyes began to glow in a light pink color. The feeling she was getting felt more comfortable than before. As her horn glowed brighter and brighter, and magical dust flowed around it, something big, white and round appeared up above Enchanted Belle. Aura, Blitz, and the dragon all looked up at the round shape and didn't know what to make of it as none of them knew what it was.

"This…" Enchanted Belle said as she saw the object above her, "What is this?"

And then, right from her horn, a sphere of Fairy Alicorn magic shot right at the dragon with a direct hit.

"Roar!" The dragon roared as soon as the sphere hit it.

Once the mysterious spell was done, the magic that was surrounding Belle slowly disappeared. And Belle was suddenly completely dry. Her coat, mane and tail no longer wet. Her mane back to its beautiful form before the dragon ruined it. Her tail no longer covered in leaves and sticks. And all the seaweed removed. Belle's appearance had looked like nothing had happened at all. As she floated down to the ground, Aura and Blitz's jaws were dropped as they couldn't believe what they just saw.

Once Belle landed on the ground, she said, "Woah. What was that?" She then looked at her dry hoof and cheered, "Hey! I'm not wet anymore! And my mane! It's dry, straight, and completely beautiful like it should be." She said as she stroked her mane.

"What… just… happened?" Blitz asked.

"I don't know." Aura replied as he stepped back a few more, "But…" He then pointed at the dragon and continued, "I don't think that spell did much. Look."

The other two ponies saw the dragon shaking its head a bit and then looking at them with a menacing look. All too quickly, the dragon swooped in and grabbed all the three ponies really fast before they had a chance to move out of the way.

"Augh!" All three ponies screamed as the dragon grabbed them with its right claw.

Pinning their hooves down, the three ponies were trapped in the dragon's claw and were being held tightly. Each of them tried to slip out, but the grip was too strong.

"Ergh." Blitz groaned as he struggled to get free, "No! This can't be where it ends for me!"

"That spell I didn't mean to cast nor I knew I could cast didn't work?!" Enchanted Belle exclaimed as she tried to get free, "But it looked so powerful! Ergh… And now my horn isn't working again!"

"I can't get free!" Aura said as he struggled, "That dragon moved so fast. I wonder why it didn't go that fast before."

The dragon then looked at the trapped ponies with its scary eyes and evil smirk. The ponies looked back at it and were afraid of what was to happen next. It looked like from there, it was the end of their stories. But right as they assumed the worst.

"Ponies!" The dragon exclaimed in happiness as it hugged the three ponies tightly.

"Woah!" The three ponies shouted as the dragon suddenly hugged them with both arms.

The hug was so tight that their eyes slightly popped out a bit. And they had a bit of a hard time breathing as well.

"What's going on?!" Blitz asked as he and the others were getting squeezed.

"Is he hugging us?!" Aura asked.

"Tight hug!" Belle said, "Tight hug! This is a bit much!"

The dragon then laid its hand flat to have the ponies stand on it rather than hold them like it did a second ago. The ponies stood on its big hand and were pleasantly confused by this positive behavior. Though Blitz didn't know whether this was a trick or not.

"He's acting rather nice suddenly." Blitz said with some disbelief.

The dragon then gave a soft poke on each of the pony's noses with its claw and said with each pony, "Boop."

The dragon then put the ponies down on the ground and began to flap its wings to fly away.

"Ponies friends." The dragon said as it smiled at them and waved, "Ponies continue with walking. Dragon leave."

The three ponies waved back with confused looks as the dragon flew away from the scene. Once the dragon was away and the three ponies stopped waving, they were at a loss for words.

"That. Was. Weird." Blitz commented, "But we haven't gotten eaten. So I guess that's good."

"I think I get what happened." Aura said, "Maybe that spell that the Princess casted did work. But rather than attacking it, the spell just made it nicer. As if that spell helped calm it down." He then looked at Belle and asked, "Princess. That spell you casted. That was amazing! What was that spell you did?!"

"I'm…" Belle replied as she didn't know how to answer the question, "I'm not sure. I didn't even know I could do that spell."

"Huh?" Blitz said, "What're you talking about?"

"My horn is working fine now." Belle explained as her horn glowed in a pink aura, "But for a while, my horn wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. Even just not working when I wanted it to. This is almost exactly what happened the first time. Only worse."

"The first time?" Aura asked, "Well maybe you can give us the whole story while we continue." He then tapped into his aura, started flying and said, "Come on. Let's hurry and find that Unicorn."

"Right behind ya!" Blitz said as he followed Aura.

"Coming!" Enchanted Belle said as she followed the other two.

"That strange feeling I got at the end." Belle thought as she followed Aura and Blitz, "That's what caused that strange spell. What was it?"

One story of Belle's recent experiences later…

The chase continued. Aurachalcum, now able to fly again, used his aura to sense the aura of their enemy. During this time, Belle told the two stallions about the recent events about how a Warlock and a Dark Witch tried to steal the Magic Crystal and how her horn could cast magic without it. She told the entire story in complete detail and left nothing out. When the story was done, the two stallions were impressed with how she saved the land.

"Woah." Blitz said in amazement, "That's so awesome! You saved the entire land from losing its light?!"

"That's an amazing feat." Aura complimented.

"Feet?!" Flare Blitz screamed as he looked around in fear, "Where?! What creature does it belong to?!"

"No." Aura said to Blitz in a minor annoyed tone, "I mean it's an amazing achievement."

"I don't see what feet have to do with achieving awesomeness." Blitz responded, "You should've said: It's unbelievable!"

After sighing, Aura then said to Belle, "So basically, Unicorns of Coltnelia can't cast magic unless the Magic Crystal is in its altar?"

"Well," Enchanted Belle replied, "Yes and no. The thing is, Unicorns can cast magic without it. But they need to use Ethers and Elixirs to do that. Without the crystal, Unicorns have a limited amount of magic to cast. The Magic Crystal gives Unicorns the ability of casting magic with their horns without having to run out. But Fairy Alicorns can cast magic without the Magic Crystal because they have their own form of magic that doesn't require the power of a crystal."

"I see." Aura said, "So the Magic Crystal is what grants the Unicorns ability of magic."

"That's right. It's been that way since the beginning as far as we can tell. But for some reason, I'm able to cast magic without the Magic Crystal. Not only that, but I don't even need Ethers or Elixirs to do that. And I can also cast fairy magic too. Even though I'm not a Fairy Alicorn."

"That does sound strange." Aura commented, "I wonder why that is."

"Maybe your horn is cursed." Blitz suggested, "Like something came to your horn and did something to it."

"Really?" Belle asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. Maybe it was an evil creature that hates the ponies of the land and sneaks into their homes to cast evil misfortunes on them. Like maybe for Pegasus Ponies, it cursed them so that their manes are their wings and their wings are their manes."

"Blitz." Belle said, "If there was an evil creature that curses ponies of the land, why would that creature let me cast magic without the Magic Crystal or Ethers or Elixirs? Wouldn't the creature prevent me from casting magic at all?"

Feeling a bit sheepish, Blitz rubbed the back of his head and said, "Oh right. Heh, heh. Good point."

"Hey." Aura began, "You said that your mother, the queen, is a Fairy Alicorn. And born one too. Maybe you got your magical talent from her."

"Maybe." Belle replied, "But I'm not sure. Even if my momma is a Fairy Alicorn, I still shouldn't be able to cast magic unless I become a Fairy Alicorn myself. I have some friends who are Unicorns that are daughters of a queen too. And yet they can't cast Fairy Magic."

"Maybe you're gifted." Blitz suggested, "Like maybe you've been given these magical powers because you're the chosen one! The one that shall save the whole world from a great evil! And bring peace back to the world!"

"Hmm…" Belle hummed as she thought of her dream, "Wishful thinking. If only that were the case."

"So those Dark Ponies we fought earlier." Aura said, "They were trying to steal the Magic Crystal to release their leader? But why are they chasing you now?"

"I don't know." Belle answered, "I'm just as surprised as you. I wonder why the Great Witch wants to capture me."

"What does the Great Witch and those Dark Ponies want anyway?"

"They want to steal light." Enchanted Belle explained, "Sorry. You asked about them earlier, but I never did answer the question. Dark Ponies are ponies that once had light in their hearts. But one day, evil shadows came and took over them. Forcing their hearts to be filled only with darkness and thus become Dark Ponies. But even as ponies of darkness, they still remember being part of light. And they desperately want the light again. They're lead by the Great Witch. Who was once a powerful magical pony of light. Their goal is to steal the light from the ponies of Coltnelia so that they can be ponies of light again."

"Steal light from other ponies?!" Aura exclaimed, "But… wouldn't that mean the pony whose light gets stolen would become a Dark Pony?"

"If they're light gets stolen, their heart would only be filled with darkness." Enchanted Belle replied, "So that would probably be the most logical conclusion. You can probably tell that we're in a tight spot with them."

"Wait." Flare Blitz said, "Dark Ponies trying to steal light? That's not what Flame Wheel told me. He told me that they were ponies from the Land of Darkness. And that they wanted to destroy the light. Not steal it."

"Oh." Belle said as she turned to Blitz, "Right. Those were the Dark Ponies from a long time ago. They're back in the Land of Darkness thanks to a big shield that Queens Sol and Lua made after defeating them. Unlike the Dark Ponies we fight today, those Dark Ponies were born without light. They're ruthless and only care about turning Coltnelia into their dark home. So while the Dark Ponies led by the Great Witch have the same abilities as the Dark ponies from the Land of Darkness, their goals are different."

"Two different kinds of Dark Pony groups?" Blitz asked as he felt a little light headed, "Golly. And I thought one group was bad enough. I sure hope we never have to face the ones from the Land of Darkness. They sound more dangerous than the ones who lost their light."

"Haven't you or any of the ponies tried to help the ones who lost their light?" Aura asked, "After all, deep down, they're friends who need help. Right?"

"We tried to help them." Belle answered, "But even though they want to be a part of the light again, the darkness seems to twist their minds and they think of us as the enemy. So they don't want us to help them. Even though we really want to help them."

"Gee." Blitz commented, "That's harsh. Not to mention unfriendly."

"So, the ones who lost their light." Aura said to himself quietly, "They're stuck in a darkness. A darkness they can't let go of. I sure know how that feels."

"Something has been bothering me." Blitz said, "That pony that we're chasing after. From the way it sounded earlier, I don't think she is a Dark Witch. And yet…"

Suddenly, Aurachalcum sensed something in his aura and quickly stopped and landed on the ground.

"Stop!" Aura ordered Belle and Blitz, "Don't move!"

"What's wrong?" Belle asked as she and Blitz quickly stopped.

"Is it trouble?" Blitz asked.

"I'm sensing a big aura around here." Aura explained as he examined the area with his aura, "And it doesn't feel friendly. It feels dangerous."

"Where is it coming from?" Belle asked as she got ready for if something were to pounce.

"It's not coming from an unexpected area, is it?" Blitz asked, "Because we're in hot tea if that's so."

"Hot water." Belle corrected, "And he's right Aura. Where is that aura coming from?"

Aurachalcum continued sensing the aura that he felt. He was seeing where the creature with the strong aura was going to come from. The aura got closer and closer. And as it did, it felt more and more dangerous to Aura. Soon, he felt the aura really close by and that's when he sensed an action from it. And then…

"Get down!" Aura shouted as he rushed over to Belle and Blitz.

He then pushed them both to the ground to save them from an attack.

"Oof!" Belle and Blitz yelped as they hit the ground.

Right from the bushes, a big creature jumped from them to try and attack the three ponies traveling together. But because Aurachalcum could sense its aura and predict its movement, he was able to save the other two ponies in time while evading the attack to save himself.

"That was close." Aura said to the others as they slowly got back up.

"Thanks for the save." Blitz thanked as he wondered what had attacked, "So, what did you save us from?"

"Uh oh." Belle said as she saw what had attacked, "Be careful boys."

The other two looked and saw the creature that tried to attack. It was a chimera. A beast with the body of a tiger, the head of a goat on its back, and a snake for a tail. The beast looked at the three ponies with an evil smirk and a threatening look in its eyes.

"Woah!" Flare Blitz screamed as he jumped a bit, "What the hay is that?!"

"Chimera!" Belle exclaimed.

"Looks more like a fusion beast to me!" Blitz commented.

"Well, well." The tiger part of the chimera said, "What do we have here?"

"Three little lost ponies I assume?" The goat part asked, "How unfortunate for them."

"Very unfortunate." The snake part added, "It would ssseem that that friendly figure in black wasss right. Thessse little foalsss are here. And it'sss about time we have sssomething nice to eat."

"To eat huh?" Blitz asked while feeling a little nervous, "I don't suppose you brought something here for us all to share? You know. Something that could probably stuff you really quickly and therefore can be on your way and not have the urge to eat anything else when all the other food is gone because we ate the rest of them? Not that we would eat them all." He added as he started to sweat, "Just uh… So where's the food you mentioned?"

"We're looking at them." The tiger part answered.

"I was afraid you were gonna say that." Blitz said as he gulped at the end.

"Don't be such a fraidy cat." Belle said to Blitz, "There's no way we're gonna let this abomination have us for lunch!"

"Not today!" Aura added.

"Hohoho." The goat chuckled, "Lookie sisters. They look like they're wanting to defend themselves."

"To not make it easssy for ussss." The snake part commented.

"I love food that makes things harder." The tiger part said.

"Run!" Flare Blitz shouted.

"No." Aura replied, "If we run it'll just chase us down. And I doubt it'll stop trying to catch us."

"Don't tell me that…" Blitz said as he thought of what he was talking about, "We're gonna…"

"Yep." Belle answered, "We're gonna fight it." She then got excited and said to herself, "Taking on a chimera. I've always wanted to do this."

"I somehow thought you guys would say that." Flare Blitz stated, "Good grief. Why'd this journey have to involve fighting?"

"I saw we eat the pretty one last." The goat said, "The pretty ones always are the tastiest."

"I'm both honored and angry about this." Belle said to them, "Honored that you think that I'm pretty. Angry that you're trying to eat us."

When Blitz realized that the chimera was planning to eat Belle first, it got him peeved and he decided to step forward to take the beast on. He saw this as an opportunity to show Belle that while he's not the Flaming Inferno, he can still cast powerful magic to protect her.

"Now just a moment there!" Flare Blitz said to the beast, "I can take being called a dimwit, which I'm not one, I can take almost getting bounced by a creature that looks like a test subject of a science experiment gone horribly wrong, and I can take a Warlock taking away the Fire Amulet to try and turn a magic duel in his favor. But trying to eat a beautiful mare? That's going to far!"

"Looksss like our food hasss a bone to pick with ussss." The snake part stated.

"Not just a bone." Blitz replied, "But all the bones in your body to be exact. I know what you're thinking. 'What can a worthless little Earth Pony do against a big scary looking mutated beast like me. Or us… or whatever it is you say when you're talking about yourself/yourselves'. But you'd be dead wrong there. You're not dealing with an average, boring Earth Pony stallion here. You're dealing with a legend!"

"Oh boy." Belle said as she rolled her eyes.

"He's really getting into that Fire Amulet power he has." Aura added.

"For I," Flare Blitz continued, "Am the chosen wielder of the Fire Amulet!" He proclaimed as he prepared a Fire spell with his left hoof, "And I know that you don't know what that means. It means that I'm destined to become the all great and all-powerful wizard! The Flaming Inferno!"

The chimera didn't seem all that impressed as it didn't even know what the Fire Amulet is. Nor the whole story behind it.

"I see that look in your eyes." Flare Blitz mocked, "And I mean all of your eyes. You've got the look of fear in those six eyes. I don't blame you. Because these flames that rest within me can roast more than just marshmallows. So, if I were you, I'd turn tail and run before I decide to show you how hot I really am!"

Blitz felt completely confident that his speech would intimidate the beast and that it would turn and run like he asked it to. But the beast didn't look the slightest bit fazed and it remained where it was. Blitz got confused by this and his confidence started to diminish.

"Uh…" Blitz said in confusion, "Isn't this the part where you realize that you shouldn't be messing with me and you should run?"

"I've got a better idea for our part here." The tiger part said, "We stay here, you stay where you are, and you get eaten first."

"Yeah." The goat part added, "Since you've stepped forward, you're looking to become our appetizer before we move on to the main course."

"H-hey now!" Blitz exclaimed as he got ready to throw the Fire spell, "Stay back! I'm warning you!"

"ROAR!" The tiger roared at Blitz's face.

Blitz's face was covered in saliva and his mane was messed up. He then shook his head to clean the spit off his face and put his mane back to normal.

"Okay!" Blitz shouted as he closed his eyes and got ready to throw, "I warned you!"

He then threw the Fire spell at the chimera. However, because he was nervous about being eaten and the fact that he had his eyes closed, his aim was completely off, and the Fire spell flew right over the chimera. When Blitz opened his eyes, he saw his error and felt completely sheepish.

"Heh, heh." Blitz chuckled nervously at the chimera, "Whoops?" He said as he started to sweat.

"Time to feast!" The tiger part exclaimed.

"No!" Flare Blitz exclaimed as he turned around and hid his face on the ground with his hooves covering it.

But before the chimera could bounce, Enchanted Belle swooped in and prepared her horn for a spell.

"Aerora!" Enchanted Belle chanted as her horn casted the spell.

The wind of the Aerora spell pushed the chimera back a bit. Leaving Belle and Blitz safe from its bouncing for a moment.

"Huh?" Blitz said as he peeked at what was happening.

"Blitz!" Enchanted Belle scolded, "What's the matter with you?!"

"Sorry." Blitz apologized, "Sometimes I get so nervous that my body just doesn't work with me much. That, and that beast looks so intimidating it looks like a nightmare come to life. How am I supposed to concentrate with that thing staring at me?"

"How about thinking about not getting eaten and getting through the forest safely?" Belle asked, "And don't embarrass me like that again. I'm already mad at you for lying to me."

"That mare!" The snake part said as it looked at Belle, "Ssshe hasss a powerful magic. I've never felt an Aerora ssspell ssso powerful before. I mussst get my coilsss around her."

"Forget it scaley." The goat replied, "That mare's mine. Anything that has magic that powerful has to be delicious."

"Sisters!" The tiger shouted, "Relax. We can share her. Just like we will share the stallions."

"Princess!" Aura shouted as he got next to her, "Get back! I'll protect you!"

"What?!" Belle asked, "No way! We can do this together!"

"But I can't let you risk your life like this!" Aura argued, "You're the princess and you need to be safe! Stay back and let me handle this."

"But –"

"No buts." Aura interrupted as he stepped forward, "You'll be safer if you stay as far away from the beast as possible. Let me handle it. I can sense what it's going to do."

"Go get 'em Aura!" Blitz cheered.

"I suppose you're not going to help Blitz?" Aura asked as he knew what the answer would be.

"I am helping!" Blitz replied, "I'm cheering you on! Let my cheers give you strength! And please don't let that thing eat us!"

"Ah." Aura sighed, "He's sure gonna make a great wizard one day." He said sarcastically.

"The Pegasus looks to face us." The tiger said to her sisters, "I can't wait to munch on his feathers."

"Enough talking!" The goat shouted, "Let's stop stalling and just get them!"

Aura tapped into his aura and sensed their upcoming bounce on them. Knowing where they will bounce, Aura prepared a counter for their maneuver.

"Feast!" The chimera shouted as it bounced.

"Aurachalcum!" Enchanted Belle shouted in fear.

Before the beast could bounce on Aura, Aura moved out of the way and then quickly countered with a kick to the tiger's head.

"Arugh!" The tiger part roared in pain, "Why you!"

"Alright!" Flare Blitz cheered, "That'll show them!"

"Feisty one." The tiger part said to Aura, "We've always enjoyed feisty food the best."

"Listen." Aura said to the beast, "I don't like hurting other creatures. It doesn't feel right to do that. Even if one is evil or if they're trying to eat me or my friends. Please leave now. I don't want to have to use my aura on you."

"Sssuch kind words." The snake part said as he slithered towards Aurachalcum, "Sssadly, we don't do kind!"

The snake then tried to bite Aura. But Aura evaded the bite by flying and then used his aura to increase his strength. He then rammed into the beast and caused it to fall back a few feet.

"Augh!" The chimera exclaimed in pain.

"Wow." Blitz said in amazement, "This guy is so cool. That aura thing he has. Why haven't I heard of it before? That's sure to attract the mares."

"I'm begging you." Aura begged to the beast, "Please leave now! You've already made me use my aura on you once. Don't make me do it again!"

"Use your aura thing all you want." The tiger part challenged, "We don't leave until we've had our snack!"

"You might as well go all out on us!" The goat added, "Because we ain't gonna stop!"

"Now prepare to use that ssstrange power of yoursss again!" The snake part said, "Becasssue we're coming for you!"

The chimera tried to bounce on Aura again. And as it came closer, Aurachalcum, not wanting to use his aura like he already did, put his stretched his hoof out as a signal to the beast to stop its actions.

"Stop!" Aurachalcum shouted at the beast as his light blue aura appeared around him again.

"Aura!" Belle shouted in worry.

"Look out!" Blitz added as he got up next to Belle.

Suddenly, something strange happened to Aurachalcum's aura. The aura that was on the hoof he stretched out began to glow brightly. And Aura got a feeling in his aura that he never felt before.

"Huh?!" Aura yelped as he felt and saw what was happening, "What's going on with my aura?!"

Suddenly, before the chimera could get Aurachalcum, a big aura barrier surrounding and trapping the beast appeared. Belle and Blitz saw what was happening and couldn't believe their eyes.

"Woah!" Belle exclaimed in amazement, "Aurachalcum?!"

"No way!" Flare Blitz exclaimed in amazement, "That is so cool!"

Inside the barrier, the chimera's eyes turned completely black for a brief moment before the blackness disappeared. And the eyes turned back to normal. Looking brighter than they did before. As this was happening, Aurachalcum's eyes glowed in a bright blue light. Aura didn't know what was happening as this had never happened with his aura before.

"No way." Aura said in amazement, "This feeling. It feels incredible."

Soon, the aura barrier disappeared, and the beast was free. Once the barrier was gone, the glow in Aura's eyes disappeared. And everything turned back to how it was before. Aura felt amazed and confused at the same time. All he could do then was look at his hooves and wonder what had happened.

"Ohh…" The chimera said as it rubbed its head, "What? What happened?"

"Where are we?" The goat part asked in confusion, "How did we get here?"

The snake part then looked at the three ponies and asked, "Who are you three? And where did that ssstrange pony in black go?"

"Pony in black?" Aura asked.

"Like she was wearing a black cloak?" Belle asked.

"Yes." The tiger part answered, "My sisters and I were just minding our own business looking for something delicious to eat. When she suddenly came around and hit us with some strange magic. Afterwards, we all fell asleep."

"Then once this scrumptious Pegasus saved us with that magic he has," The goat part added, "We woke up here."

"A strange magic?" Belle asked as she wondered about the information she just learned.

"Before we go any further," Flare Blitz said as he shivered a bit, "You're not going to eat us right now. Are you? I mean from how you explained things, it seems like you were under some kind of mind control from that rogue we're chasing. I think the logical way to go it from here is to feel grateful that we saved you and let us be off."

"That pony put us under mind control?!" The goat exclaimed, "How dare she! No creature controls us and gets away with it!"

"A horrible act indeed." The snake part said, "We now demand retribution."

"We're chasing that villain down." Belle explained to the chimera, "She must've saw you while she was on her way somewhere and decided to use you to make sure we don't catch her."

"So she can get away with whatever she has planned." Aura finished as he landed on the ground.

"Golly gosh." Flare Blitz said as his eyes widened, "Sending a chimera to try and eat us? This mare isn't fooling around. I like them dangerous types."

"It would ssseem that you freed usss from that mind control." The snake part said to Aurachalcum as she slithered over to him to look him in the eyes, "I don't know how you did it, but you did it all the sssame."

Aura felt startled by the snake coming closer but didn't feel that afraid.

"For saving us," The tiger part said, "We'll let you three go for now."

"But next time we catch you three alone," The goat continued, "I'm afraid we won't go as easy on you."

"Until we meet again." The tiger said as the fused beast turned around and ran off.

The young ponies sighed in relief about how the chimera left and felt lucky to have survived from two attacks from two different beasts.

"That was close." Flare Blitz said in relief, "I thought we were beast chow for sure."

"Aurachalcum." Enchanted Belle said with a smile, "That was amazing! What you did to help that Chimera?! I didn't know you could do that with your aura!"

Aura then turned around to the other two ponies and then turned his attention to his aura on his hoof. The way it felt right there was like how it's always felt ever since he was freed from Polstow's darkness. The feeling he got when he freed the Chimera had vanished. Everything was like it was a second ago.

Aura looked back at Belle and said, "Neither did I."

"You didn't know you can do that?" Blitz asked in confusion.

"No. This is the first time this has happened to me. When I was about to attack that Chimera, I suddenly got a strange feeling in my aura. And that's when it happened."

"A strange feeling?" Belle asked, "Like a warm, powerful feeling in your chest?"

"Y-yeah." Aura answered as he was surprised of her idea of strange, "How'd you know?"

"That was the exact same feeling I got when my horn did that spell on that dragon." Belle explained, "And now it looks like it happened to you. Only with your aura instead."

"Whatever caused that thing to happen," Flare Blitz said, "That was awesome! Aura stopped that freakshow in its tracks and set it free at the same time! Gee, that was so cool!"

"Wait a minute." Aura said as he realized something, "What happened with my aura…" He continued as he looked at his aura with his hoof, "I don't remember ever hearing about ponies from the Age of Aura doing this kind of technique. Which must mean…"

Aura's eyes began to widen as a big smile slowly formed on his face. Excitement then began to build up inside of him and his passion for the Art of Aura started to take over. He then started to shake and bend down as the excitement he was had was getting harder to hold back. Belle and Blitz saw this and were a bit concerned about what was happening.

"What's going on with him?" Blitz asked in worry.

"ALRIGHT!" Aurachalcum screamed as he suddenly flew up in the air with his aura glowing bright around him, "I'VE JUST DISCOVERED SOMETHING NEW ABOUT THE ART OF AURA! SOMETHING THAT THE PONIES FROM THE PAST PROBABLY DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT!" He then looked at the aura on his hooves and continued, "THISISSOGREATICAN'TBEILIEVEITIACTUALLYDESCOVEREDSOMETHINGNEWABOUTTHEARTOFAURA! WON'TMASTERLURIOBETHRILLEDTOHEARABOUTTHIS! IBETHE'LLBEBLOWNAWAYSOBADLYWITHWHATI'VELEARNED! THISISSOGREATSOGREATSOGREATIJUSTCAN'TBELIEVETHISISHAPPENINGTOME!"

"Aurachalcum!" Enchanted Belle shouted as she tried to get his attention, "Aurachalcum!"

"Huh?" Aura said as he looked down at the others.

"Relax." Belle told him, "No need to go talking all at once like that."

"Woah." Blitz said with a slight chuckle, "Didn't expect to see that side of you. Kind of embarrassing if you ask me."

Aurachalcum then grew a little red in the cheeks after acting all geeky right in front of them. He then slowly floated back to the ground while rubbing the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.

"Heh, heh." Aura chuckled nervously, "How much of that did you two see?"

"All of it." Belle and Blitz said at the same time.

"Really?" Aura asked as he continued rubbing the back of his head, "Gosh. Heh. Sorry about that. I guess I went a little nuts." He then got serious as he continued with, "But uh, we got a pony to catch. So let's get back to chasing her down!"

"Right." Belle replied, "Lead the way."

"Just don't go freaking out about how you get to lead." Blitz joked.

While still a little red, Aura lead the group and tapped into his aura to follow the pony they were chasing down. Belle and Blitz followed him like always. Meanwhile, inside of Aura's head, he was thrilled about this new and strange technique he did and wondered what it was called and how he could do it again.

Soon, later down the road…

"What was that cheerleading all of the sudden Aura?" Blitz asked, "You look so cool that you don't look like the kind of pony that would go all crazy like that."

"Sorry about that." Aura apologized as he guided the other two ponies, "It's just... when I did that technique that I didn't even know I could do, I just couldn't help but get excited about it. You see guys, ever since I learned about the Art of Aura when I was a colt, I grew a huge passion for it and once I did my first Aura Sphere, I wanted to learn everything there was about the Art of Aura. Every little bit of it. And maybe even discover something new about it to. That's my dream. To become an Aura Master and learn new things that haven't been discovered in the Art of Aura yet. And after I made that discovery with that move I did, I got so excited about it I just couldn't hold it in."

"That explains a lot." Belle said with a smirk, "You were over the top happy back there. But it is nice to hear that you have a dream."

"Thanks." Aura thanked.

"So you two have done something with your special talents that made you both get a strange feeling," Blitz said, "And had you do something that you didn't even know you can do before. As if it was a hidden ability deep inside you. That's cool and all." He continued as he felt a little disappointed, "But when is it going to be my turn? There's three of us and you two have gotten a chance. I mean, I can cast Fire Magic with my hooves! That's got to mean something!"

"Maybe lairs like you don't get any special abilities." Belle said with a scoff.

"You're still mad at me, aren't you?" Blitz asked as he was a bit annoyed at this behavior, "Can't we just let bygones be bygones already?! I'm tired of every word you say to me be something involving how I lied earlier!"

"While I'm still not happy with how he lied about me just so he could win some special attention from you," Aura said to Belle, "He does have a point. Isn't it time to forgive and forget?"

"I was just joking." Belle said with a smile as she looked at Blitz again.

"Really?" Blitz asked.

"I mean," Belle replied, "I'm still a little mad at you. But the way you tried to take on the Chimera to protect us was sweet of you. Stupid, but sweet. Even though you didn't really do anything to help, it still meant a lot to me that you were trying to help. So, thanks."

"Facing that beast eye to eye like that took bravery." Aura added, "You did good back there Blitz. You did good."

"T-thanks guys." Blitz thanked with a nervous chuckle at the end, "No need thank me though. I was just doing what those bona fide heroes do in those action movies and books do. Act now and think later."

"Probably not the best influences to go with." Aura said as he saw the connection.

"Movie?" Belle asked in confusion, "What's that?"

"I forgot." Blitz replied, "This world is set in the past apparently."

Before the conversation could continue any further, some rustles were heard from the bushes.

"What was that?" Blitz asked as the group stopped, "I heard something. And it didn't sound good."

"Aurachalcum." Belle said, "Sense anything?"

"I heard something too." Aura replied as he checked the area with his aura, "But I'm not sensing anything. No aura anywhere."

"No aura?" Blitz yelped, "Hold on. Nothing can make a sound and not have aura. If something is here, you should feel it. Right?"

"Yeah. But…"

Suddenly, strange wolf-like beasts jumped from the bushes and right in front of the three ponies. These were no ordinary wolves however. These wolves were made of twigs, logs, and weeds. And they also had foul smelling breath. Aura floated back to the other two ponies and the group backed up from the woodened wolves.

"Timberwolves!" Enchanted Belle exclaimed as they backed away from the wolves.

"I'm gonna go a limb here." Flare Blitz said, "These guys want to hurt and/or eat us. Right?"

"I don't know what else they'd want to do with us." Aura replied.

"Why couldn't we just get attacked by a bunch of cute cuddly bears or something?" Blitz asked in exhaustion, "For one thing, being attacked by things that want to eat you is cliché. And another thing is that I don't have plans for being breakfast to any monster."

"I wonder if I even had breakfast this morning." Enchanted Belle said to herself as her mouth watered a bit, "Things kind of went fast this morning."

"There are so many of these creatures." Aura thought as he examined the challenge, "And since I can't sense their aura, I can't predict their movements and thus makes this much harder. It's times like this where I wish I still had those dark powers Polstow gave me. They'd really be helpful for situations like this."

The Timberwolves then got closer and the ponies smelled their bad breath. Causing them to cover their noses.

"Oh man!" Blitz exclaimed as he covered his nose, "Someone needs a breath mint! Let's get out of here before we get stuck with this stench!"

"Yeah!" Belle agreed as the three ponies began to run, "I don't want to smell like this with this beauty of mine!"

But before they could get any further, more Timberwolves came out of some bushes and surrounded the three ponies. Soon, there was nowhere to run, and our heroes were trapped right in the center of a circle created by the Timberwolves.

"They're not making this easy for us." Aura stated.

"What're Timberwolves even doing here?" Belle asked, "They should only be living in the Besaid Forest."

"I think I know who to point hooves at."

"Let's see." Blitz said as he looked at the area, "Menacing creatures that want to eat us, no way to escape, and even if there were a way to escape, the said creatures would come chase after us and try to eat us. Do I have it right?"

"If this were a test," Belle replied, "You'd get a hundred."

"I had a feeling that'd be the cast." Blitz said as the Fire Amulet began to glow, "And I think I know what this means." He continued as he raised a hoof and prepared a Fire spell, "Let's get fired up!"

"Yep." Belle agreed as her horn glowed in a pink aura.

"I hate to do this to creatures like these." Aura said as he tapped into his aura, "But they're not giving us much of a choice."

And so the three ponies were forced to fight off some Timberwolves since the said creatures refused to let them leave.

"This won't take long!" Belle said as she prepared her magic, "A simple magic beam should do the trick!"

She then fired a magic beam at some of the Timberwolves and caused them all to dispatch and turn into leaves and tree bark.

"My turn now!" Aura said as he prepared an Aura Sphere, "Aura Sphere!"

It landed on some other Timberwolves. Causing them to dispatch too.

"And now to leave the rest to me!" Flare Blitz exclaimed as he prepared a Fire spell, "Fire!"

Just like with the other creatures, the Timberwolves that Blitz attacked were dispatched thanks to his Fire Magic. The Timberwolves put up a fight as well. But they for some reason weren't giving it everything they had. Aura began to notice this as they fought them off.

"Something doesn't seem right." Aura said to himself as he fought off the Timberwolves, "It feels like they're not really trying. What's going on here?"

"Aura!" Blitz shouted as he rushed over to Aura.

"Look out!" Belle added as she rushed to him as well.

"Huh?" Aura said as he wondered what they were talking about.

They then jumped right behind him and used their special talents to take out some Timberwolves that were planning to do a sneak attack on Aurachalcum. It was good that they made it in time or else Aura would've been devoured for sure.

"That was close." Belle said as she turned to Aura.

"You okay?" Blitz added.

"Yeah." Aura thanked as he turned to them, "Thanks for tha –"

But before he could finish his sentence, a strange feeling came to him once he turned to Belle and Blitz. A feeling like he's been in this position before with them. The way they saved him and how their positioned right now. It all seemed familiar to Aura.

"Hey." Aura thought as he looked at Belle and Blitz, "Haven't I seen this before? Being saved by a sneak attack like that?"

"Come on boys." Belle said as she got her magic working again, "There's still more to deal with."

"Let's make it fast." Blitz said as he got a Fire spell ready, "My nose is about to die of the bad smell."

"Huh?" Aura said as he snapped out of his thoughts, "O-oh. Right. Let's do it!" He finished as he tapped into his aura.

The battle continued and soon, all that was surrounding the three ponies were leaves and tree bark.

"Huh." Blitz said as he was surprised of how things went, "That was easy. It didn't seem like they were trying."

"They had us surrounded." Aura said, "Why didn't they try to pounce on us?"

"Something feels wrong." Belle said as she got a bad feeling, "Like maybe they wanted us to attack them."

"Why is that?" Blitz asked, "Why would monsters with bad breath want us to take them out so easily?"

Suddenly, a magic began to glow around all the shattered pieces and they all came back together and made all the Timberwolves come alive again.

"Oh." Blitz said as his pupils shrunk, "Maybe that's why."

"They put themselves back together?!" Aura exclaimed.

"I knew something was wrong!" Belle exclaimed, "There must be some kind of magic that can put them back together! And it seems like they just got bigger!"

"Enemies that can come back after being broken apart once and grow bigger each time." Flare Blitz listed, "Okay. Now I see how this could be a problem for us. Now my question is how do we beat them?"

"Not breaking them apart like we did before." Belle replied, "That's for sure."

"We've already had to deal with a dragon and a Chimera!" Aura said with a serious tone, "We can't waste anymore time! I can still sense that pony's aura! But she's getting away! We have to hurry and run!"

"But if we run," Belle replied, "They'll chase us!"

"We'll just have to outrun them then!" Aura stated.

"Running works for me!" Blitz said, "Let's kick it to high gear!"

And so, after seeing an opening, the three ponies ran as fast as they could to try and get away from the Timberwolves. Aura tapped into his aura so that he could track down the pony they were chasing while trying to get away. But right behind them, the Timberwolves were chasing after them without showing signs of slowing down.

"Gee!" Blitz said as they ran, "I can still smell their breath from here!"

"It doesn't look like their slowing down!" Enchanted Belle said as she looked back, "They look dedicated to catching us!"

"We've got to lose them somehow!" Aura said.

Flare Blitz was looking around the area as they ran. He was desperately trying to find something that could possibly help them escape the Timberwolves. Soon, he noticed a big bile of rocks up ahead and that on top of the pile were much bigger rocks.

"That's it!" Flare Blitz said as he got an idea, "Aura! That aura thing you have makes you stronger, right?!"

"Yeah." Aura answered, "It can increase strength in a pony's hoof, wings, and even head. Why?"

"Do you think you can try and tip over those rocks on those Timberwolves?" Blitz asked.

Aura opened his eyes and saw the pile of rocks with the bigger rocks on top. After seeing what he was going with, Aura felt pretty enthusiastic about the plan.

"Good thinking Blitz!" Aura praised as he started to fly, "You two just keep them distracted! I'll tip over the rocks!"

"Just hurry!" Belle said, "I don't want to go home smelling like a swamp!"

Aurachalcum then tapped into his aura to increase his speed and fly to those rocks so fast that to the Timberwolves, it looked like he had vanished. Belle and Blitz kept running as fast as they can to lead the Timberwolves to the trap.

"Belle!" Blitz said as they got closer to the rocks, "Pretend to hurt your hoof once we get there!"

Soon, when they got to the rocks, Belle did as Blitz had planned and fell over like she got hurt.

"Ow!" Belle faked as she fell on the ground on purpose, "My hoof! It hurts!"

"Princess!" Blitz faked as he kneeled down to check on her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But," Belle said in a fake worry voice, "Timberwolves!"

The Timberwolves approached the two seemingly helpless ponies with their bad breath and hungry faces. Belle and Blitz continued to pretend being helpless and scared. However, when they saw the big rocks on top of the pile moving, their scared faces turned into smirks.

"Okay. Okay." Blitz said to the Timberwolves, "You got us. You won. And I guess the fair thing to do is for us to stand still while you devour us. Great for you. Just don't go to pieces over it." He said at the end with a smirk.

The Timberwolves then got ready to pounce on the two ponies and eat them. But right before they could jump on them, the bigger rocks from the top of the rock pile came falling down and smashed the Timberwolves into pieces. Afterwards, Aura flew down to the others with a face showing that the plan had worked.

"Guess they couldn't heed your advice." Aura joked with Blitz.

"Way to go Flare Blitz!" Enchanted Belle praised, "That… was actually a pretty good plan. Looks like you've got some adventure in you."

"Heh." Blitz chuckled, "I just did what Daring Do would do. Examine the area, then use the first thing you see to your advantage."

"Daring Do." Belle said, "You've been saying that a lot. Who is that anyway?"

"She's the best and most beautiful mare I've ever seen!" Flare Blitz explained, "She's a –"

"Um. Guys." Aura said as he looked at the pieces, "Something tells me that this was just round two."

The other two ponies then looked at the pieces of the Timberwolves and saw that they were magically reassembling like last time. Only this time, it seemed like it was making something bigger than a normal Timberwolf. The three ponies took a step back as they creature was being formed. When the assembling was complete, the creature resembled a much larger Timberwolf.

"Uh oh." Blitz said in worry, "I think we've just met the alpha Timberwolf!"

"This is bad!" Belle said, "It's like every time we defeat one, they came back stronger and bigger! Now they've all assembled into one big Timberwolf!"

"There has to be some way we can beat this thing!" Aura said.

"That plan should've worked." Blitz thought, "I thought since magic and aura couldn't hurt it, I thought it took more than those. But I guess all I did was make things worse like always."

Suddenly, the large Timberwolf spit some of it bad breath onto the three ponies. Surrounding them with a cloud of the foul smell and causing them to cough in the cloud.

"Augh!" Belle coughed, "Blegh! This is a terrible smell!"

"Augh!" Aura coughed, "What's it doing?!"

"G-guys. Hack!" Blitz said with a cough at the end, "I feel so weird. Like something is… making me feel weak."

Belle began to notice the feeling too and started to kneel down in exhaustion.

"Me too." Belle said with a weaker voice, "It feels like I'm running out of energy fast."

"What's going on with us?" Aura asked as he felt weak as well, "This Timberwolf's breath. It's like it taking away any energy we have left so we can't escape. This is bad. I can't even move my hooves I'm so weak."

The bigger Timberwolf then looked at the weakened ponies as it started to lick its chomps. The ponies knew what it was planning next and Blitz just felt more responsible than he did before.

"Oh." Blitz moaned, "This is all my fault. My stupid plan caused this."

"Don't blame yourself Blitz." Aura said to him, "Nopony knew that this would happen. This could've been any of our mistakes."

"Yeah." Belle joined in, "Don't feel too bad about it."

"But it probably wouldn't be this bad if I hadn't come up with that dumb plan!" Blitz argued as he covered his face in shame, "We're about to become the Timberwolf's dinner and we don't have enough energy to escape! Why do I always have to make things worse!"

"Blitz." Belle said in sorrow.

"Of all mistakes I had to make, this one had to be one of them?! Why can't something good happen to me for once?!"

Suddenly, a glow began to emanate from Blitz's chest. A very bright light which its rays even got into the Timberwolf's eyes.

"Huh?" Blitz said as he got up to look at his chest.

It was the Fire Amulet that was glowing. And as it did, a strange feeling came into Blitz's chest. And then suddenly, just like when he first put on the Fire Amulet, a slight pain appeared in his head.

"Augh!" Blitz exclaimed as he put his hooves on his head, "Ow! My head!"

"Flare Blitz!" Aura exclaimed as he saw what was happening, "What's the matter?!"

"Are you okay?!" Belle asked.

"Ow! My head hurts!" Blitz said as he covered his head again, "And I've got a weird feeling in my chest! Augh! What's happening to me?!"

Soon, the pain in his head disappeared and then a more warm and comfortable feeling appeared. Not just in his chest, but in his entire body. Once the pain disappeared and the comfort spread, Blitz stood up straight and tall feeling refreshed and well.

"Hey." Blitz said in a calm tone, "The pain is gone. And now the feeling in my chest is starting to feel good. Like, really good." His eyes then widened as the feeling felt more comfortable than ever, "Woah! Sweet Celestia! This feels amazing!"

Suddenly, his eyes began to glow in a bright red light. And then he stood on two hooves as the Fire Amulet shot some strange dust into the air.

"Woah!" Blitz exclaimed as he saw the dust floating down to them, "What did I just do?"

The dust then landed on Flare Blitz. And once they did, they began to fly around him in a fancy fashion and then flew straight to him.

"Huh? Woah." Blitz said as he started to feel his energy coming back, "Hey. I feel… I'm feeling…" He said as he started to feel excited, "I'm… feeling… PUMPED!" He continued as he started jogging in place, "Yeah! I'm on fire now!"

"Blitz?" Aura said as he wondered about his sudden behavior.

"What's gotten into you?" Belle added.

"Guys!" Blitz shouted as he turned to them, "You've got to try this!"

The same dust from before shot out of Blitz's Fire Amulet again and this time, they landed right on Belle and Aura. As soon as they did, the two previously tired ponies started to feel all rested up and full of energy just like Blitz.

"Woah!" Belle exclaimed as she got excited, "This feel so amazing! I feel so pumped up right now!"

"Me too!" Aura exclaimed as he stood up and jogged in place, "My strength is coming back! I feel so awesome!"

"Blitz! What is this?!"

"I have no idea!" Flare Blitz answered, "But I feel like I can take on that wooden cur now!"

"But if we destroy it like we did before," Aurachalcum said, "It'll just repair itself again."

"I don't know." Blitz said as he turned to the bigger Timberwolf, "I've got a good feeling about this one."

He then prepared a Fire spell on his hoof thanks to the magic of the Fire Amulet. However, Blitz felt this Fire spell was different from the one he casted before. It felt twice as stronger and more powerful.

"Looks like the flaming passion inside me is working in my favor." Flare Blitz said to the Timberwolf as he got ready to throw the Fire spell, "Because this time, you'll find that this bit of fire is a bit hotter! Taste the magic of Fira!"

He then threw it at the big Timberwolf and it flew straight into its mouth. Once it did, the Timberwolf began to choke. It coughed a bit from the choking and soon, the choking had stopped. A second later, the big Timberwolf exploded into many pieces. Causing the surrounding area and further to be covered in timber and leaves.

"That worked?" Blitz asked with a surprised expression.

Belle and Aura couldn't believe their eyes. And they saw that the pieces were not coming back together like they did before. Blitz had done it. He defeated the big Timberwolf with this strange power from the Fire Amulet and being able to cast Fira.

"You did it!" Aura cheered as he flew over to Blitz, "You beat the Timberwolf!"

"Way to go!" Belle praised.

"To be honest," Flare Blitz said as he turned to them, "I didn't actually think that would work. I was just doing what I've been doing the entire journey and thought you guys would do the same and we'd all hope we'd get different results."

"Either way," Belle replied, "You sure showed that Timberwolf who's boss. You're incredible! And you even casted Fira!"

"Not to mention that weird dust you spread on us." Aurachalcum added, "It sure gave us and you a lot of energy."

"It did." Blitz said as he touched the Fire Amulet and wondered of what happened, "I wonder why. I just got a weird feeling in my chest and then it just happened. I didn't really want it to since I didn't know it could do that." Suddenly, he realized what he said and said, "Wait! Didn't you guys get a strange feeling when those strange abilities happened to you!?"

"Now that you mention it," Enchanted Belle said, "Yeah. When I casted that spell on that dragon."

"And when my aura helped free that Chimera from that mind control." Aurachalcum said, "I got a strange feeling my chest when it happened."

"All three of us." Enchanted Belle said as she pondered the current events, "Getting a strange feeling before doing all those abilities none of us knew we could do. That spell I casted never happened until I met you guys."

"Same with my aura." Aura added, "My aura was just normal aura until I met you two."

"And I know I've only been using the Fire Amulet for a short time." Flare Blitz said, "But that was the first time I spread that red dust everywhere. So all of this happened when we met each other. Could it be a coincidence?"

"I somehow doubt that." Aura answered, "Not just those abilities."

"What else?"

"Oh. Nothing." Aura replied, "Just something else that's not important right now."

"Whatever is going on," Enchanted Belle said with a smile, "I get the feeling that with these new talents we have, we'll catch that Unicorn and stop whatever she's planning without any trouble. With my Fairy Magic, Aura's aura, and Blitz's fire, she doesn't stand a chance."

"You can say that again." Blitz replied.

"Yeah." Aura added, "The three of us make a good team."

"No doubt about –" Blitz said before suddenly stopping. He then looked at Aura with a concerned look and asked, "Wait. What did you say?"

"Huh?" Aura said with confusion, "I said we make a great team."

"And we do." Enchanted Belle added, "The three of us aren't exactly ordinary ponies."

"A… a team?" Blitz asked as he suddenly looked like something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?" Belle asked with worry.

"Everything alright?" Aura asked.

Flare Blitz just stood still for a moment as the other two ponies waited for an answer. After a brief moment, Blitz looked at the other two ponies with a look that didn't seem angry, but not happy either. Belle and Aura didn't know what was going on and therefore didn't know how to react to this face they were getting.

"Well." Blitz said as he looked away from the other two, "It's uh… it's been nice working with you two. Great meeting you both. I…" He continued as he started walking past them, "I really appreciate you helping me get this far. But I can take it from here."

"Blitz." Aura said as he saw Blitz walking away, "Where're you going?"

"To find that Unicorn and get the spell book back."

"He's right." Belle said, "We do need to hurry. Aura." She continued as she turned to Aura, "Lead the way!"

"Right." Aura replied with a nod.

"Actually." Blitz said as he turned to them, "You two just… go without me."

"Huh?!" Aura and Belle exclaimed.

"I'm gonna go on my own from now on." Blitz continued as he turned away from them again, "I... I hope you guys get back the things she stole from you. And I also hope you two look out for each other. Good luck. And see ya around… maybe."

He then left the two ponies behind. Leaving them utterly confused and surprised about Blitz's sudden change of behavior. They stood still as they wondered why he suddenly talked and acted like that. It felt like it just came out of nowhere.

"What happened?" Belle asked Aura, "Did we do something wrong? If he's mad at me about how I treated him, I'm over that now."

"I don't know." Aurachalcum answered, "But we're going to find out." He then started walking as he finished with, "Come on Princess."

Belle and Aura then started following the trail Flare Blitz took to find out why he was acting the way he was and how they can fix this sudden behavior.

Later down in the forest…

Belle and Aura were trying to track down both the Unicorn that they've been chasing since the start and now Flare Blitz. Using his aura, Aurachalcum was tracking down both ponies and guiding Belle to them. But despite the mission they needed to focus on, Belle and Aura couldn't help but wonder why Blitz suddenly decided to run off and do the mission by himself. They also got worried about him due to there being Dark Ponies on the run and that other creatures could lurk in the forest.

"I've still got both Blitz's aura and the pony we've been chasing." Aura told Belle, "Surprisingly Blitz is heading in the same direction as the Unicorn."

"I just hope nothing happens to him." Belle hoped, "He may be tough, but from what I've seen from him, he's not the brightest pony I've met."

"I know what you mean." Aura replied, "He's doing fine right now. Nothing dangerous or anything."

Suddenly, Aurachalcum felt two evil auras near the area where he felt Blitz's aura. This sudden appearance of the two auras caught Aura by surprise and made him fall to the ground.

"Aura!" Belle said as she rushed over to him, "Are you okay?"

"I may have spoken too soon." Aura replied as he continued feeling the aura from up ahead, "I'm sensing two auras near Flare Blitz. And neither of them feels good." He then took a few steps as he continued with, "They feel like complete chaos. Like their hearts are fill with nothing but darkness. And no light."

"Dark Ponies!" Enchanted Belle exclaimed.

"That's what I was thinking!" Aura replied, "And from how it looks up there, Blitz may be in trouble! We need to go help him!"

"Let's go kick some darkness flank then!" Enchanted Belle said as she got ready for what's ahead, "Lead the way!"

Ahead of where Belle and Aura were, Flare Blitz had encountered two Dark Ponies. One being a Dark Witch and the other a Warlock. Blitz stood ready to battle and the Dark Ponies looked at him with evil smirks that Dark Ponies usually have.

"That's got to be one of them. Right?" The Warlock asked, "One of those stallions that the Princess was with?"

"He fits the description Dark Pulse." The Dark Witch answered as she got a good look of Blitz, "And he's got that amulet the fool mentioned."

"In that case," Dark Pulse said as he took a step closer, "We're on the right track."

"What do you freaks want with me?" Blitz asked with an insult.

"What we want is what Her Ladyship wants." The Dark Witch answered, "Princess Enchanted Belle."

"We know you've been with her." Dark Pulse said, "And we also know that if you're here, then she isn't far. Now where is she?"

"You've got the wrong pony." Blitz replied, "I'm not traveling with her anymore. I'm on my own now."

"Is that right?" The Dark Witch asked, "Heh, heh. Don't think for a second that we're gonna fall for that."

"What do you take us for?" Dark Pulse asked, "Jesters?"

"I'm not lying." Blitz argued, "I've really ditched them. And I like it better this way."

"The idiot is going to talk." Dark Pulse said to his partner, "What now?"

"We'll make him talk." The Dark Witch answered as she prepared her Dark Magic, "We get that Fire Amulet away from him then go all out on him."

"There's no way you're getting this!" Flare Blitz argued as the amulet began to glow.

"Try and stop us then!" Dark Pulse challenged as he got ready to throw some Dark Magic.

"Aura Sphere!" Aurachalcum shouted as an Aura Sphere came down fast near Dark Pulse.

"Woah!" Dark Pulse exclaimed as he jumped out of the way in time.

Blitz turned around and saw Belle and Aura coming in to help. Though he should be grateful, he felt annoyed at how they had followed him here.

"No taking what's not yours." Aura said to the Dark Ponies with a smirk, "Want me to call your mommy about what you've been doing?"

"I remember the two of you!" Enchanted Belle said as she remembered the Dark Ponies she saw, "You two were the ones who attacked the Magic Kingdom the other day! And tried to steal the Magic Crystal!"

"Oh good." Dark Pulse said, "I'm so happy you remember us. Because we remember what you did to us that day!"

"Princess Enchanted Belle." The Dark Witch said, "Be a dear and surrender yourself. For I, Ebony Moon, will not be leaving here without you."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Belle declined, "Why don't you both just back off!"

"Wrong answer!" Ebony Moon said with a growl, "I'm already in a foul mood for how you defeated me! Don't make me have to hurt that pretty little face of yours!"

"Don't you hurt the Princess!" Aura ordered, "I don't want to hurt you, but I will do anything to keep her safe from villains like you!

"Hold bold of you." Dark Pulse praised, "Sadly, that won't be enough to scare us! Dark Blizzard!"

Dark Pulse threw the spell at Aura, but Aura had dodged the spell in time and got ready to counter with his Aura Sphere. He quickly threw it once it was finished while floating in the air with his wings. Dark Pulse, however, protected himself with a shield spell.

"Oh!" Dark Pulse mocked, "You almost got me. And that probably would've made me want to escape."

"You shall come with us to meet Her Ladyship one way or another, Princess!" Ebony Moon shouted as she got some Dark Magic in her hoof, "Dark Fira!"

Belle blocked the Dark Fira with her Shield spell and then got ready to counter.

"My turn now!" Enchanted Belle shouted with her horn ready, "Blizzara!"

"Dark Fira!" Ebony Moon chanted as she threw the spell at the Blizzara spell. Causing them to clash and cancel each other out.

"Ohohohoho!" Ebony Moon chuckled evilly, "Princess. You must think that you can beat us easily just because you do so the first time. Sadly for you, you won't be so fortunate. After our first defeat, we did a little training with our magic. Now you're going to have to put more effort in this duel to beat us."

"And you don't have your precious Fairy Alicorn sidekicks to help you." Dark Pulse added, "Too bad for you."

"Their darkness." Enchanted Belle thought, "It feels so frightening. If we try to defeat them, it'll take too long and the pony we're chasing will get away. We have to find a way to escape before we stay for too long."

"Aurachalcum." Enchanted Belle said, "A little diversion please?"

"One diversion coming up." Aura replied as he prepared another Aura Sphere.

"They weren't kidding." Dark Pulse said to Aura, "You are a strange one. I don't know what it is you're using. But it's good that you have it since you've got us to deal with."

"Whatever your power is," Ebony Moon said as she prepared her Dark Magic again, "It's useless against us. Our darkness cannot be rivaled. Nothing can stop us from –"

Suddenly, Aura threw the Aura Sphere in to the air really high. The Dark Ponies watched it fly in the air and were surprised as to why Aura flung it so high.

"What the?" Dark Pulse said as he watched the Aura Sphere fly, "Are you kidding me? This is an easy dodge."

"Maybe." Aura replied, "But this won't be. Aura Sphere!"

"What?!" Ebony Moon exclaimed as she turned back to Aura.

When both Dark Ponies turned their attention back to the three ponies, another Aura Sphere was coming at them with extreme speed. Because it was already close, they didn't have time to perform a Shield spell and had to try to evade it instead.

"Woah!" The Dark Ponies exclaimed as they evaded the Aura Sphere.

But before they could breath, the second Aura Sphere collided with the first one that flew in the air and caused a little explosion. The explosion caused the Dark Ponies to be pushed back a bit and had them close their eyes due to the bright light and loud noise. Once the brief madness was over, the Dark Ponies looked back to where the three ponies were. But before they could say anything, they saw that the ponies were no longer there.

"Hey!" Dark Pulse exclaimed, "Where'd they go?!"

"Drat!" Ebony Moon scoffed as she got up, "That blue stallion tricked us with those strange spheres. It was to distract us."

"You mean we lost the Princess?" Dark Pulse asked, "No way! We can't lose the Princess! Her Ladyship won't be happy that we failed her again."

"Then we won't return until we apprehend her." Ebony Moon replied, "And I assure you, we will get her eventually. Even if I have to cramp a hoof or two along the way."

With our heroes…

Enchanted Belle, Aurachalcum, and Flare Blitz all ran away from the scene as fast as they could. With Aura leading the way with his aura power. Sensing where the target pony was and where she was going. Once the three looked like they were far enough, they stopped to catch their breath.

"Way to distract them Aura." Enchanted Belle praised.

"I've always wanted to try that." Aura commented, "I just didn't think it'd be so useful." He then turned to Blitz and said, "We're glad to see you're –"

But when he turned, he saw that Blitz was no longer there.

"Blitz?" Aura said as he looked around, "Where'd you go?"

"There he is." Belle said as she pointed behind Aura.

The two ponies turned to see that Flare Blitz had started walking away on his own. They were surprised that they didn't notice him leaving until now. This gave them the impression that he's as quiet as a mouse.

"Blitz!" Aura shouted as he and Belle chase him down, "Hold on!"

"Don't go!" Belle added, "It's not safe to go on your own out here!"

"Then I guess I'll have to get the spell book back quickly." Flare Blitz said as he continued walking on his own, "And you two should get your stuff back too. See ya."

"Stay with us Blitz." Aura told him, "It'll work better that way."

"I'm doing fine on my own." Flare Blitz countered, "And I could've handled those Dark Ponies without you. I mean, their magic can affect mine after all. Now if you'll excuse me."

"But Blitz –" Belle began.

"Bye." Blitz interrupted as he left them behind.

Soon Blitz was gone and nowhere to be seen. Despite helping him out with those Dark Ponies, he still decides to go on his own and reject Belle and Aura. The two ponies were more confused and desperately wanted to know what the problem was.

"Flare Blitz." Enchanted Belle said with a slight sadness in her voice.

"Come on Princess." Aurachalcum said, "We need to catch up with him. We can't let him go face off with that Unicorn on his own. Even if his magic can't be rivaled."

"Right." Belle replied with a nod.

Using Aurachalcum's aura, they got back to chasing down the Unicorn that they've been chasing since the beginning. While also trying to convince Flare Blitz to rejoin them. Not just because it's a dangerous forest to be in or who the enemy is, but also because they feel like they've created a connection with Blitz. And because they've grown to like each other much better, Belle and Aura wanted to keep the momentum going.

Later…

Flare Blitz continued traveling on his own. He traversed through the forest to find the Unicorn that took Flame Wheel's spell book. As he continued traveling, he came across no threats and eventually came up on a small hill to find an abandoned castle near a lake. The castle looked old and covered with vines. Seeing as it fit the description that Silver Spirit gave, Blitz came to the conclusion that this was the place the strange Unicorn was coming to.

"Found it." Flare Blitz said with excitement, "The castle that the sheriff mentioned. That Unicorn with the spell book has to be here. Somewhere. All I gotta do is find her."

"Blitz!" A voice shouted from behind Flare Blitz.

Blitz knew who's voice that was and was starting to get a bit annoyed with how they were following him after making his point.

"Blitz!" Another voice shouted, "Hold on!"

Blitz turned to find that Enchanted Belle and Aurachalcum had caught up with him. He saw them running towards him and them stopping right in front of him.

"We're so glad we found you." Belle said with a smile, "We were worried that something bad would happen to you."

"Hey." Aura said as he saw the castle, "That's the castle Silver Spirit mentioned. Right? That pony has to be there. We can get back the stuff she took and stop her plan."

"You mean you can stop her or I can." Flare Blitz argued with an annoyed tone, "Because I'd prefer it to be that way."

Belle, feeling fed up with this sudden behavior, got angry at Blitz and decided to get an answer out now.

"What's wrong with you?!" Enchanted Belle exclaimed, "What's with this behavior?! You didn't act like this in the beginning!"

"You were perfectly fine with working with us at first." Aura added, "So why are you suddenly bothered by it?"

"I just…" Flare Blitz replied as he thought about what to say, "I… I just want to do this by myself. I like it better when I can do something at my own pace."

"But what about all those challenges we had to face?" Aura asked, "Sure, we could've gotten hurt or eaten. But it still looked like you were having lots of fun with us."

"And we have lots of fun being with you too." Enchanted Belle continued, "Look. I'm sorry about how I treated you earlier. I never did consider that the pony with the Fire Amulet needed to earn the magic of the Flaming Inferno. But I've seen now that you're really good with that amulet. You're better than I thought you would be. Can you please forgive me?"

"It's not how you treated me earlier." Blitz replied, "I've gotten over that already."

"Then why?" Belle asked, "Why are you being mean to us all of the sudden? Is it something we said?"

"No!" Blitz argued, "I just want to take her on by myself! There's nothing wrong! I mean, since she got defeat me unless she has another Elemental Amulet, I can't lose!"

"I'm not so sure Flare Blitz." Aurachalcum replied, "She's seen the magic that you wield and I'm sure she'll find a way to make it where you can use it. If you try to go face her on your own, you'll probably be helpless if she really has something planned for you."

"Whatever it is she had planned," Blitz responded, "I'll overcome it. I've gotten through worse over my years. Whatever she's got under her sleeve, it won't be any trouble."

"Please don't do this Blitz." Belle begged, "You know that the only way we can defeat her and stop whatever she's planning is by doing it the way we've been doing it."

"That's right." Aura agreed, "By doing it as a team."

Blitz suddenly looked really mad at the two ponies. At this point, he knew that they weren't going to leave him alone. And there was only one way to convince them for good that he wanted to go alone. By being straight with them.

"I don't want to be on a team!" Flare Blitz said to them as he looked away from them.

His words echoed through Belle and Aura's ears. They couldn't believe what they heard. That Blitz didn't want to be on any team at all. In his voice, it seemed like he didn't feel any guilt in what he was saying at all. He seemed quite serious. Belle and Aura were left with surprised looks and emotions of Blitz's statement.

"You heard me." Blitz continued as he looked back at them, "I don't want to be on a team. There. I said it. You happy?"

"Blitz." Aura said, "Why not? Why're you acting like this? Why do you suddenly not like being on a team?"

"It's not sudden." Blitz replied, "I've never wanted to be on a team even before the three of us met. I've always wanted to just handle things on my own."

"But what about Uncle Flame Wheel?" Enchanted Belle asked, "You're working together with him to become the Flaming Inferno. So why is working together with us any different?"

"Working with Flame Wheel?" Flare Blitz asked, "Nah. I don't really consider us a team. I just call him a pony who's helping me get to where I need to be to handle the bigger situation. Nothing special. I mean it's not like I can teach myself how to use Fire Magic. I got to learn it from somepony. And once I become the Flaming Inferno, he's out of here. I won't need him teaching me anymore."

"How dare you!" Enchanted Belle scolded, "Using my uncle like that! When I heard that you had met him and that you were learning from him to use your magic, I thought you two were good friends!"

"No way." Blitz denied, "I never considered him a friend back when we first met, and I still don't. He still is responsible for making my life weirder than it needed to be."

"Flare Blitz." Aurachalcum said, "I don't know what your problem is with us, but I'm sure we can –"

"It's not me having a problem with teammates!" Flare Blitz interrupted, "It's everypony I meet having a problem with me! That's why I don't want to be on a team!" He yelled as he turned his whole body away from them.

"Ponies having a problem with you?" Belle asked with curiosity.

"What do you mean?" Aura asked.

Blitz's eyes began to quiver as he held back the tears that were forming under his eyes. He hated talking about his colthood. And sadly, in order for them to understand, he needed to bring the sad topic up.

"It's been a problem ever since I was a colt." Flare Blitz began, "For the longest time, I've done so many dumb and stupid things that make me look like an idiot. And whenever I do something like that, I never mean to do it. But bad stuff just happens. Sometimes, I just made a fool of myself. Other times, I ruin the lives of those around me. And it doesn't get any better when I teamed up with other ponies. Back then," He continued as the tears got harder to hold back, "at school, whenever there was an event that involved teaming up, it was always the same for me. I join up with a team, we work together, I gain their trust, and then as soon as things start to go my way, it all goes downhill from there. I make a horrible mistake and then I lose all the trust I got from those ponies. And sometimes, they get punished for the mistakes I make. Which only makes it worse for me. And one of the worst mistakes I made was one where the prize was a free trip to Rainbow Falls. I was entrusted by my team to work on a volcano project for our class. And everything seemed to be going right at first. All the ponies on my team started to like me and see me as somepony special. But then… I made a terrible mistake and the classroom received lots of damage because of how authentic the volcano was. Nopony was hurt, but because of how bad things went, my team lost even though we should've won. It was then that nopony ever trusted me to do anything right again. And I was left all alone for the rest of my career at school. Nopony ever wanted me to be on any team. And… it was then I decided that I didn't want to be on any team either."

A tear or two fell from Blitz's eyes as he told the story. He hated having to relive those bad times. Belle and Aura felt sorry for him and wished they could hear a much happier tale than that.

"I never wanted to feel that pain ever again." Flare Blitz continued as another tear fell, "And if I never join a team, then I'd never be hurt like that."

Belle nearly choked from hearing Blitz's story. And it was then she knew she had to cheer him up somehow.

"Blitz." Belle said softly, "I know how you feel."

"Don't do that!" Blitz replied as he turned back to them, "Please don't do that! You two do not know how this feels! You don't know what it's like to make mistakes that make you alone! And make everypony hate you and not want to trust you! You don't know what it's like to feel like your life is going to get better only for everything to just go wrong all so suddenly!"

Enchanted Belle looked down and closed her eyes as she responded with, "You're right. I don't know what that's like."

"See?!" Blitz asked as he turned away again.

"But…" Belle continued as she lifted her head up again, "you're not the only one who's made a terrible mistake."

"There can't possibly be any mistake that's worse than the ones I've made in the past."

"Oh yeah?" Belle asked, "Have any of the mistakes you've made make you lose a close friend?"

Blitz's eyes widened as he heard what Belle said. Lose a close friend? Even Aura was surprised about what Belle said.

"Lose a friend?" Blitz asked as he peeked back at them, "W-what do you mean by that?"

"I once had a friend," Enchanted Belle began, "That was always there for me whenever my parents weren't. This friend of mine was the best friend I ever had. We did everything together. We played, we laughed, and she helped dry my tears whenever I felt sad. And she even taught me how to cast magic. I never had a friend like her before. The times we spent together were the best." Belle's eyes then began to water as she continued, "But then… something terrible happened. I got myself kidnapped one night and she tried to save me. And then…" She choked as her tears began to fall, "And then… I was saved. But then she was in danger instead. I was so scared that night that I couldn't do anything to save her. And now I may never see that friend again."

Belle then cried about what happened back then. She laid on the ground and covered her face. It was clear from how she cried that what happened back that was a terrible time for her. And that this friend she had was so special to her that she never wanted to lose her.

"It's okay Princess." Aura said to her as he patted her on the head softly, "You don't need to tell anymore about that. I think he understands what you mean."

"Yeah." Blitz added as he looked away, "I get it."

Belle lifted her head up a bit and showed her face still covered in tears. While Belle remained on the ground, Aura stepped forward to take his turn.

"And I've made a terrible mistake too Blitz." Aura began, "And… it's one of the worst mistakes anypony can make." He then got closer to Blitz as he continued with, "The mistake I made was ever believing that a friend wouldn't accept me for who I am."

"Huh?" Blitz asked as he turned to Aura, "What do you mean?"

"This may be hard to believe," Aura explained, "But… there was a time where I had a terrible darkness in my heart. A darkness that I thought I'd be trapped in for the rest of my life. A darkness I'd never let go of. That darkness I had gave me terrifying powers. Powers of evil. And I wouldn't truly realize how evil those powers were until at a much later time. You see, there has been one thing I wanted more than being an Aura Master. And that was friends. I've been trapped in a place called the Realm of Atmosfere for my whole colthood and I've been so lonely in there. Nopony to talk to except the one creature who I thought was my friend. But turned out to be an evil Aura Master using me for his own gain. He was the one who gave me the darkness I once had. And it was after I realized how evil he really was that I began to think I was that evil because I had his darkness. It was then I isolated myself from other ponies. I thought that a pony like me didn't deserve friends with the dark powers I had. I then blamed the one who I thought was my friend for making me the way I was. But it was thanks to these six friends I made that I was able to let go of that darkness that never belonged to me and my heart was pure light again. It was thanks to these six friends that I learned that I shouldn't be afraid of showing my real self to anypony. That a friend will accept you for who you are on the inside and not what face you wear or what your talents are. I also learned that it wasn't the evil Aura Master that was keeping me from making friends. It was me. It was because I let the darkness scare me that the walls surrounded my heart and prevented me from getting the one thing I wanted. So you see Blitz? That was my mistake. My mistake was ever believing that nopony would accept me and that I could never have friends."

Flare Blitz didn't really understand some part of Aura's story. But he did understand the main point of it. That he had made a mistake that he's not proud of either.

"Don't you understand Flare Blitz?" Aura asked, "Belle and I have made mistakes in our past too. And we're not particularly happy about them either. You're no different from us."

"That's right." Belle said with a sad sniff, "Everypony makes mistakes. Some that are worse than other mistakes. But it doesn't always have to be bad. We just need to learn from our mistakes to do better today and in the future. I know it must've been bad for you when you joined a team when you were younger. But give us a chance Blitz. If all three of us work together, then that Unicorn won't stand a chance. We believe that you won't mess this up. Right Aura?" She asked as she turned to Aurachalcum.

"That's right." Aura agreed, "We think you can do this right if you just try. Come on and join us. The more the merrier."

Blitz remained still where he was sitting. Thinking about his response. Deep down he wanted to give it a chance. But his past kept haunting him and it started making him think that it's best that he just kept going on his own and leave Belle and Aura to themselves. After giving it much thought, Blitz decided to speak up.

"No." Blitz denied, "Never again." He finished as he turned away again.

"What?" Belle asked, "But Blitz."

"Sorry." Blitz said, "But I just can't risk it. You don't know what you're getting yourselves into. You may think that you'll like working with me now, but once you actually get into it, you'll realize that it was a mistake."

"Blitz." Aura replied, "Don't think like that. You may have made some screw ups back then, but you're a pony just like us. And –"

"For how much longer?!" Flare Blitz exclaimed as he stood up and turned to them with an angry look, "One more horrible mistake and then the world is done with me! What do I do then Aura, huh?! Tell me that right now!"

Aura's face then started to turn angry as well as he replied with, "We told you our stories because we wanted you to know that everypony makes mistakes and that we should never let those mistakes stop us from being with ponies we care about. And we want you to join us again because… you're our friend and we believe in you."

"Well," Blitz said as he turned his head away from them, "You wasted your breath and time."

He then turned his whole body away from them again and sat back down. Showing his backside was meant to signal that he's had enough discussion with them and that they should just leave him alone. Belle and Aura felt disappointed in themselves for failing to convince Blitz to reconsider this behavior. But they saw that his decision was final.

"Let's go Aura." Belle said as she started walking, "Just forget him." She then looked at the ground as she said to herself, "I knew he was nopony. From the moment I found out he lied, I just knew it."

Before leaving him, Aura looked at Blitz one more time for a minute. Hoping to see that he would change his mind in the last minute. However, seeing that his position hadn't changed, Aura gave up and followed Belle to the abandoned castle. Leaving Flare Blitz alone.

Once they left him, Blitz decided to think about what had just happened and more about the two ponies he's traveled with. Enchanted Belle and Aurachalcum. He knows that he hasn't been with them for long. But that he got to know them enough to know that they were nice ponies. But because he's lost confidence in being in a team, he just can't be with them after being reminded of his past.

"Being a part of a team." Flare Blitz said to himself with a disgusted voice, "What good would that do for me? All it would do is just show that I just make things worse for other ponies. And then those ponies who I thought would like me will never want to speak to me again. Those two don't know what they're talking about. They think everything will be fine. But it won't." He then looked up into the sky and saw the clouded part of the forest as he continued, "What was I thinking? Travelling with them? I just wish they'd understand that I'm doing them a favor. At least their lives won't be hurt because I won't be a part of their lives." He then looked down again as he continued, "Gosh. Those two ponies were more relentless than those two ponies that popped out of the Fire Amulet."

He then closed his eyes and continued thinking to himself about the recent events. Suddenly, he opened his eyes quickly as he realized what he had just said.

"What a minute." Blitz said with his eyes widened, "The way they just said that they believe in me. And how they spoke to me. It almost felt exactly like those two ponies from those magical flames. Could it be a coincidence? Or… could they… could they be?" He then raised his head up a bit as he started thinking about his theory, "Those magical ponies said that they share a strong connection with me. And I've been with two ponies that just tried to get me to join them and told me that they believe in me. Just like those magical flames. Could these two be those magical flame ponies?"

Thinking that this possibility could be true, Blitz started to have second thoughts about his whole idea of going alone. He started to think that maybe he really should give being on a team another try. Even if it does go bad in the end. But the thought of things going wrong still came to his head. That was when his energy started to go dim again.

"Even if they are," Flare Blitz said in a sad tone, "It wouldn't be any different. They'd probably still lose faith in me even if they do share a connection with me. Why would anypony want to be friends with a jinx like me when there are ponies like them. I just can't…"

"Never give up." The voice in his head said.

"Huh?" Blitz said as the voice of the girl he remembered came back.

"No matter what, no matter how bad things look, just keep trying. You'll get there someday. I know you will. And I look forward to seeing you when you do."

As Blitz suddenly remembered those words from the girl he remembers, he started to feel sad that the girl he knew wasn't one of those two ponies that he shares a strong connection with according to the magical flames. He didn't recognize Enchanted Belle and thus knew that it wasn't her. However, as the voice echoed in his head, he remembered what the girl said to him and what it meant. She said that he shouldn't give up on anything no matter how bad things look. That when life gets him down, he should get back up. After all, he plans on seeing that girl again one day. And when he does, he wants to show her that he became the pony she said he could be. After thinking this over, Flare Blitz started to have second thoughts of his plan again. Only this time, actually thinking that he will reconsider.

"What am I doing?" Flare Blitz asked himself as he started to feel cheery again.

As a big smile began to form on his face, Blitz made up his mind and decided to go back with Enchanted Belle and Aurachalcum like he did in the beginning. After all, since he remembers what that girl told him, he can't just go against her words now.

"Enchanted Belle! Aurachalcum!" Flare Blitz shouted as he started running in their direction, "Wait up guys! Hold on! I'm coming to join you again!"

As he continued running, he got super excited to journey with them again. He was foolish to think that he couldn't be a part of a team again. He can give it another chance if he really wants to. And because he has a girl to meet one day and that these two ponies shares a strong connection with him, Blitz had more than a good reason to be with them.

"Guys?!" Blitz shouted as he continued looking for them, "Don't go without me! We can do this as a team just like you said!"

He then stopped running as he noticed that they were nowhere to be found. He was surprised and perplexed by this considering how long he's been away from them.

"Where'd they go?" Flare Blitz asked himself, "They couldn't have gotten that far already." He then looked at the abandoned castle ahead and suggested, "Wait. The castle. If I go there, maybe they'll be there too."

So then with his idea feeling legit, Flare Blitz hurried to the castle in hopes of finding and reconciling with Enchanted Belle and Aurachalcum.

At the abandoned castle…

Flare Blitz finally arrived at the castle. Though slightly intimidated by the spider webs and vines and the old structure, Blitz still maintained the passion he regained and had the heart of a lion.

"They've got to be in there." Blitz said to himself as he approached the big door, "And if this is the place that the Unicorn was coming too, then this will be the place she hatches her plan. That means we'll have to stop her plan quickly if she made it here." He then said to himself with even bigger confidence, "Belle, Aura! Here I come!"

He then placed his hoof on the door to open it. But the door wouldn't budge. Confused by this, Blitz tried pushing a little harder to see if it would have any different effect. But no matter how hard he pushed and struggled, the door wouldn't open.

"Ergh!" Blitz growled as he tried to open the door, "Errrgh! It won't open!"

Eventually deciding to give up, Blitz sat on the ground and said, "The door's locked. Just my luck. Now how do I get in?" Then, once he thought of an idea, he said to himself, "Hey. Maybe Belle and Aura are inside." He then got up and shouted, "Belle! Aura! Are you in there?! Open up! I'm sorry guys! I know I was a jerk at first! But I've decided to give being on a team another chance! Come on and open the door so we can finish this together!"

No answer was given. The insides of the castle remained silent. At first, Blitz was worried for either that they are in there and they're just not going to forgive him. Or that they never made it and something bad happened to them along the way here. Ashamed of how he last spoke to them, the passion Blitz had gained started to vanish as he thought about those two possibilities. But right before Blitz would give up entirely…

"Let us go!" A voice exclaimed from somewhere inside the castle.

"Huh?" Blitz said as he heard the voice, "What was that?"

"Ergh!" Another voice exclaimed from inside the castle, "Why are you doing this?!"

"Those voices." Blitz said as he recognized the voices, "It's them!" He exclaimed with a hop, "Belle and Aura!" He then got serious as he continued with, "They sound like they're in trouble. The voices sound like their coming from there." He finished as he looked to the right side of the castle, "I've gotta hurry and help them!"

He then rushed over to the right side of the castle to see if he could find his friends. When he got far enough, he found some more vines and some damaged parts of the castle where the holes can lead straight to the inside. He stopped for a second to see if he could hear the voices again.

"If my mama were here," Belle said from inside the castle, "She's make you sorry for doing this to us!"

"It's coming from up there." Blitz said as he looked up.

He saw a hole up on the wall above him that looked like he could fit in there. And as if it was conveniently placed, there was also some vines that lead straight into that hole. Without giving it any second thought, Blitz started climbing up the vine and headed for the hole in the wall to see what was going on inside. He went as fast as he could and nearly fell off a few times. But because he wanted to see his friends again, he didn't let minor slips stop him from reaching his destination. He kept his tenacity and eventually made it to the hole. Once there, he peeked inside to see what was happening. But when he looked, a bad sight was brought to his eyes.

"Oh no!" Blitz said to himself quietly.

Inside the castle, what seemed to be the ballroom, he saw Enchanted Belle and Aurachalcum with her front hooves chained with the same magical chains that trapped Aura earlier. Belle also had an additional chain on her horn while Aura on a chain on his wings. Along with them, the figure they've been chasing was there. The Unicorn was placing Belle and Aura into a trap door in the middle of the ballroom with their hooves, horn, and wings trapped in the magical chains. Thanks to those chains, Belle couldn't cast magic and Aura couldn't use his aura or fly.

"I've tried telling you to stay out of my way." The hooded Unicorn told them, "But now you've forced me to take drastic measures."

"These chains." Belle said as she looked at the chains, "Only a royal pony or a guard can cast this spell." She then looked at the Unicorn and asked, "Just… who are you?"

"That's none of your business." The Unicorn answered harshly, "All that concerns you is that you will pay for trying to stop my master plan. Speaking of which, once I execute it, all of Coltnelia as well as another place shall bow to me! Hahahaha!" She then showed the crown, the pendant and the spell book as she continued with, "And these are the keys that will lead me to my rule!"

"What is your plan?!" Aura demanded to know, "What're you going to do with those?!"

"I'd tell you," The Unicorn answered, "But sadly, you won't be around to see what will become of this world."

"Just wait until we escape." Belle told her.

"I'm afraid that's impossible." The Unicorn argued, "The switch that opens this trap door is on the outside. And only I know about this trap door's existence. So even if by some random chance a pony comes by here, they will never guess to look for anypony down there! So enjoy the rest of your pathetic lives in your prison! Because you're not going anywhere again! Hahahaha!" She laughed evilly at the end.

"No!" Blitz exclaimed as he tried to climb in.

But before he could, he lost his footing for a minute and nearly fell to the ground. Thankfully, he grabbed the vine just in time before he fell to the ground. Meanwhile, inside, the mysterious Unicorn closed the trap door and then Blitz heard hoof steps indicating that she is leaving the area.

"I've got to get in there and help Belle and Aura!" Blitz said to himself with determination as he started climbing again.

He then got to the hole and quickly climbed through it and got inside the ballroom. He landed on his hooves once he got in and rushed over to where he last saw the trap door.

"Enchanted Belle! Aurachalcum?!" Flare Blitz shouted at the ground, "Are you two okay?!"

"Is that Blitz?" Belle asked, "Flare Blitz, is that you?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"You… you came back?" Aura asked, "But what about what you said back there?"

"No time to explain." Blitz replied as he got back up, "I need to get you two out of there."

"There's no time for that." Aura argued, "You need to go stop that Unicorn right now! Whatever she's planning she's most likely going to execute the plan right now!"

"But what about you two?" Blitz asked with worry.

"We'll be fine." Belle answered, "But we can't let her get away with what she's planning. Go find her and get back those things she stole now!"

"But I…" Blitz replied as he remembered how he usually makes things worse, "What if I…"

"Don't worry Blitz." Aura said, "You can do this. We believe in you."

"We know you can do it if you try." Belle added, "Just go up there and give her all you got."

"Belle… Aura…" Blitz said as he thought about his answer.

"They said that they believe in me." Flare Blitz thought, "They really are the two ponies I share a strong connection with. I knew coming back to them was a good idea."

Finally Blitz nodded and said, "Alright. I'll go. Then I'll come back for you."

"Be careful Blitz." Aura warned, "She means business this time."

"Go get her!" Belle encouraged.

Feeling motivated and fired up, Blitz started searching for the Unicorn in black. He soon came into the entrance hall and saw the Unicorn heading upstairs to the west side of the castle.

"You!" Flare Blitz exclaimed, "Stop right where you are!"

"Huh?" The Unicorn yelped as she stopped and saw Blitz, "You again?! I didn't think I'd have to deal with you too!"

"Well you do now sister!" Blitz replied, "Now look here! You've got something that belongs to my friend and you've got my friends captured! Give the book back and show me how to set Belle and Aura free and I won't have to turn up the heat!"

"You stubborn fool!" The Unicorn insulted, "I've had it to deal with you and your friends! I will take care of you now!"

She then ran up the stairs quickly and headed to the west side of the castle.

Blitz ran after her as he shouted, "What's the matter?! Afraid to face me mono-a-mono?!"

Blitz then entered the west hall and came across some pony knight armor coming to life and looking at him as they slowly approached him. Blitz was slightly creeped out about this as the armor was moving on their own without a pony inside each of them.

"Woah." Blitz said as he took a step back, "Man. This quest is getting weird. I need to find that Unicorn so we can end this now." He then looked at the moving armor and shouted, "Alright! Think you all can beat me?! I'd love to see you try!"

With this Fire Magic ready, Blitz fought off the moving armor with his strength and his Fire spell. The armor put up a bit of a fight as they relentlessly kept trying to keep Blitz from going any further to reach their master. The one who supposedly gave them the ability to move. The Unicorn in black. Whenever Blitz attacked one armor, that armor would fall apart and would become lifeless again. Though having a bit of trouble, Blitz eventually got across the horde of living armor and reached another hallway that lead to a door at the end.

"Whew." Blitz said as he wiped the sweat on his face, "Those living armor were something. Now time to form a complaint to their manager." He finished as he hurried to the door.

Inside the room where the door lead, the Unicorn stood in front of a mirror hidden in the west side of the room and had some cloth on top of it. The Unicorn had the items she needed in her saddle bag and stared at the mirror as she smirked about what she was going to do next.

"The time has come." The Unicorn said to herself, "Now all of Coltnelia shall be mine! And no kind of magic or light will be able to stop me!"

"Wanna bet?!" Blitz asked as he came in the room.

"What?!" The Unicorn exclaimed in anger as she saw him come in, "You got through?! Those pathetic pieces of metal! They had only one job!"

"Well it looks like they just got fired." Blitz mocked, "Now you've got nowhere to run! Surrender now before I have to burn that pretty little cloak of yours!"

"You're too late!" The Unicorn shouted, "Once I go through the portal, you won't be able to follow me!"

"Portal?" Blitz asked in confusion, "What portal?"

"Hehe." The Unicorn laughed, "Sayonara!"

She then started walking toward the mirror in front of her. Blitz didn't exactly know what she was doing but knew that it probably was something he couldn't let happen. Immediately after looking at the mirror, he saw some cloth on top of it. That was when he had an idea pop into his head.

"Fire!" Blitz shouted as he threw a Fire spell at the cloth.

The Fire spell hit the cloth on the mirror and caused it to catch fire. The Unicorn got startled by the sudden appearance by the flame and took a few steps away from it to keep her from getting burnt.

"Augh!" The Unicorn screamed as she stepped away from the fire, "Watera!"

She then casted the spell Watera at the cloth to put out the fire. Feeling irritated at Blitz's action, she turned around to try and get back at him for casting that spell like that. But as soon as she turned around, Blitz came running up to her really fast and quickly snagged the first thing he could grab with his teeth that was inside her saddle bag. He was able to grab the crown of Queen Enchanted Star but unable to get the rest.

"No!" The Unicorn shouted in frustration as she saw Blitz flee the scene, "Get back here with that!"

She then ran after him to get the crown back before he could escape the castle. Or at least she thought he was planning on that.

Meanwhile with Flare Blitz, he returned to the ballroom and got back to the spot where the trap door was while carrying the crown with his teeth.

"Gwuys!" Blitz said with the crown in his teeth, "I gwot da crown bwack!"

"What did he say?" Belle asked Aura from inside the trap door.

"I don't know." Aura answered, "I couldn't understand."

Blitz then put the crown down and said, "I said I got the crown back! Now she can't execute her plan!"

"Great!" Belle cheered, "Way to go Blitz!"

"Alright!" Aura added, "Now try to find the switch to get us out of here!"

"Okay…" Blitz said as he sweated a bit, "I'll try. Even though literally anything in this room can be the switch and that our enemy is right behind me and can show up and any –"

"You!" The Unicorn shouted as she entered the ballroom.

"Yeah." Blitz said as he gave an unsurprised expression, "Like that."

"I've grown tired of you getting in my way!" The Unicorn told Blitz, "Give back the crown this instance!"

Blitz then picked up the crown with his teeth and replied with, "If ywou want thwis back, cwome and gwet it!"

"Eh…" The Unicorn said as she titled her head, "What did you say?"

Blitz then spit the crown out and said, "I said come and get it! I swear I wish I was born a Unicorn."

"Blitz!" Aura shouted from inside the trap door, "Pick the crown back up!"

"Huh?" Blitz asked.

He then looked at the ground and saw a magical aura surrounding the crown and the crown starting to float. He then looked ahead and saw the Unicorn using her magic to get the crown back to her.

"Oh no you don't!" Blitz said as he rushed to the floating crown.

He then jumped right on it and stopped the Unicorn from bringing it to her. However, the Unicorn still had a grip on the crown and was still trying to get it to her. The crown got past Blitz and started floating toward the Unicorn again. Grabbing it with his teeth, Blitz tried to pull the crown away from her as possible. Thus, turning this into a competition of tug-a-war.

"Let go of it!" The Unicorn demanded.

"You lwet go wit!" Blitz demanded through his teeth, "Awnd dwon't bwother awsking what I'm swaying! I'm nwot fwalling fwor twhat again!"

"I'm running out of time!" The Unicorn shouted, "Give it back now or else I'll show you true powerful magic!"

"Ywou want twrue pwowerful mwagic?" Blitz asked as the Fire Amulet started glowing, "Hwave swome of mwine! Fire!" He shouted as he threw a Fire spell toward her

"What did he say?" The Unicorn asked herself.

Before she could look, the Fire spell hit her and caused her to fall backwards.

"Augh!" The Unicorn shouted as she fell from the impact of the spell.

Because she fell, she lost focus of her magic and was unable to keep her grip on the crown. Blitz was victorious at getting the crown again, but he has lost his balance and was now walking backwards and was trying desperately to regain his footing.

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Blitz exclaimed as he tried to regain his footing while keeping the crown in his teeth.

Suddenly, he bumped into a big shelf of books behind him and fell to the ground.

"Augh!" Blitz said as he hit the shelf.

On the ground, Blitz felt a little dizzy from the impact and his head spun a little as well. What he didn't know was that when he impacted the shelf of books, he had pressed a book that was leaning outside and uneven with the rest of the books. Once the book was placed inside the shelf with the others, the trap door that Belle and Aura were trapped in had opened up.

"Hey!" Aura said to Belle as light came into the room where they were trapped, "We're free!"

"How dare you attack me like that!" The Unicorn scolded Blitz from across the room, "You shall pay for such insolence! Take this!"

She then fired a magic beam right at Blitz from where she was standing. And unfortunately, Blitz was still dizzy and couldn't evade the beam. But right before the beam could hit him…

"Not so fast!" Belle shouted as she quickly got in front of the beam.

She then put her chained hooves in front of her and let the beam hit the chains. In doing so, the chains on her hooves disappeared as well as the one on her horn.

"No!" The Unicorn exclaimed as she saw the chains disappearing.

"My magic!" Belle cheered as her horn glowed again, "It's working!"

"My turn now!" Aura said to Belle as she struggled trying to get out of the trap door.

"Here you go Aura." Belle said as she shot a magic beam at Aurachalcum.

Aura was then freed from the chains once again and was able to use his aura that he loved to use so much.

"Whew." Aura said as he spread his wings, "Free again. I really hate those chains you know."

"Blitz." Belle said as she turned to him, "Let me heal you. Cura!" She chanted as her horn glowed again.

Magical dust spread on Blitz and then, in an instant, Blitz didn't feel dizzy anymore and he felt his strength coming back.

"Woah." Blitz said as he snapped out of his dizziness, "That was weird."

"My mama's crown!" Belle cheered as she carried the crown with her magic, "Blitz! You didn't let anything happen to it! Thank you so much!"

"Not bad at all." Aura praised, "Looks like you're better with that amulet that I thought."

"Heh, heh." Blitz chuckled as he stood up, "Thanks guys."

"Grr…." The Unicorn growled in anger as her horn glowed again, "You three!"

"That's one item down." Aura said as he turned to the Unicorn, "Two more to go. Listen here you thief! I don't know who you plan to rule Coltnelia with the things you stole, but that pendant belongs to my master! And I've had enough fighting today. Give it back now!"

"And Flame Wheel's spell book too." Flare Blitz added, "And once you do that, tell us who you are!"

"I don't have that much time left…" The Unicorn said as her horn continued to glow, "I must execute my plan before I have to wait another long time! And you three are getting in the way of my masterpiece of a world!"

Suddenly, her eyes began to glow dark as a strange shadow began to flow around her. She then started to levitate from the ground as her magic continued glowing bigger and darker and the shadows flowing around her grew bigger and more intimidating.

"Ah!" Belle yelped as she watched the shadows around her.

"W-what's going on?" Blitz asked as he shivered a bit, "What's happening to her?"

"I don't know." Aura replied as he tapped into his aura, "But it's not good. I feel something horribly frightening in her aura! This is bad!"

"I. Have. Had. Enough!" The Unicorn exclaimed in anger, "You three have been a pain to me all day! If I have to destroy all three of you in order to achieve my life's goal, then so be it!"

The shadows then covered her completely and she began to transform into a different being. She grew into a giant size pony. She became an amorphous dark Alicorn with glowing white purple eyes and her horn began much longer and curved. As soon as the transformation was complete, she landed on the ground with a loud thud.

"ROAR!" The now transformed Unicorn roared at the three ponies.

"Woah!" Blitz said as he got in a fighting position, "That doesn't look good! I think we've pushed her way too far now!"

"Princess!" Aura shouted at her, "Go! Get out of here! It's not safe for you here!"

"What?!" Belle asked as she looked at Aura.

"I can feel it in her aura that she's not messing around anymore! She could be really dangerous in his strange form she's taken! You've got your mother's crown! Now leave the rest to Blitz and I! Get out of here and get somewhere safe!"

"Aura's right!" Blitz added, "We can't let you stay and get hurt! Fly out of here! We'll take care of this misty abomination!"

"Aura. Blitz…" Belle said as she thought about her answer, "I… Alright. But please be careful."

"Don't worry." Aura told her, "We'll be fine. We beat her together!"

"Yeah!" Blitz said.

Using her pixie dust, Belle flew through the hole Blitz came through and started flying away with the crown in her possession. As soon as she left…

"ROAR!" The transformed Unicorn roared as she came charging at the two remaining ponies.

Before she could attack them, Aura and Blitz quickly got out of the way and made the Unicorn attack the wall that Belle just flew through and caused her to create a bigger hole than the one before. Blitz got worried with how strong she was and started to think this may be a lost cause.

"Aurachalcum!" Blitz said to Aura from the left side of the ballroom, "Do you really think we can beat her?! She's like a beast in that form! A monstrous beast who'll destroy anything or anypony that really pushes her buttons!"

"I don't know!" Aura answered from the right side of the ballroom, "But we have to try! We still need to get our stuff back! Just give her everything you got!"

"I'll try!" Blitz replied as his Fire Amulet started glowing.

Using their talents, Aura and Blitz begun fighting the Unicorn in this big shadowy form. But before they could hit her, she jumped back to where she was standing before and got ready to do another attack. Aura and Blitz stood next to each other across from their enemy and got ready for what was coming.

Meanwhile with Enchanted Belle, she was flying outside of the castle to get somewhere safe. But her trip was halted when she heard the big crash coming from the castle. When she turned around, she saw a bigger hole in the castle which more than likely was caused by the transformed Unicorn. When she looked inside, she saw Aura and Blitz standing together and ready to fight the enemy.

"Aura… Blitz…" Belle said to herself, "They're fighting for me… Huh?" She said at the end as she got a closer look at how they were positioned, "Hey… the way they're standing… it looks so familiar."

She wondered why she felt like she's seen the way they were standing before even though she's never met them before. But it didn't take long for her to figure out why she felt nostalgic. She remembered the dream she's been having since her parents went away on the two-week long trip.

"That's it!" Belle thought with a big smile, "I remember now! The way they're standing! It's exactly like how those two ponies in my dream were standing! The dream I've been having for so long! Wait a minute. Mama said that the ponies I see in that dream could be the ones I share a strong connection with. Could those two be the ones she was talking about? If they are, then what am I doing?! I've got to go help them!" She finished thinking as she rushed back to the scene.

Belle flew back to her friends fast and landed right in front of Aura and Blitz and stood tall like a leader. This action she made caught Aura, Blitz and the transformed Unicorn by surprise.

"P-princess?!" Aura exclaimed.

"What're you doing?!" Blitz asked, "You've got to leave!"

"Not a chance!" Belle replied, "I'm not going anywhere without you two!"

"Why?" Aura asked.

"No time to explain!" Belle answered, "I'll tell you later! The point is, I'm staying with you guys and fighting this enemy! You're not changing my mind!"

"She sounds serious." Blitz commented.

"Yeah." Aura agreed, "Something tells me she's not going no matter how many times we tell her."

Aura and Blitz then stood next to Belle and got ready to fight with her.

"Alright then." Aura gave in, "Just be really careful. And don't lose that crown!"

"No worries." Belle replied, "I'm not gonna let anything happen to it. Or to you two."

"Let's get her!" Blitz exclaimed.

And so, the battle began. Belle, Aura, and Blitz vs. the transformed mysterious Unicorn. The Unicorn unleashed her anger and rage in the battle. Using her evil dark magic to attack. And because she was in her transformation form, her magic was more dangerous than before. She also used physical attacks on them. Whenever she got close enough, she would try and attack one of the three ponies with her hooves. She sometimes got a successful hit, but other times, she missed. Belle fought her off with her magic. That being her Fairy Magic and Black Magic. Aura using his aura, and Flare Blitz using his Fire Magic from the Fire Amulet.

"Dark Thundaga!" The Unicorn chanted as her big horn casted the spell.

Belle evaded the spell and landed near Aura.

"Her magic is really strong." Belle said to him, "They're almost impossible to dodge."

"And I can't predict what she's going to do next." Aura said as he tapped into his aura, "I can't sense her aura for some reason."

"That's not good." Belle said, "I wish she'd let us take a moment to figure out our next plan of attack. She's attacking relentlessly. Like right now!" Belle shouted as she and Aura dodged another ram attack.

The battle continued on and the three ponies fought her off as best they could. However, with the combination of her strong magic, relentless attacking, and anger and rage, the Unicorn seemed like she was winning the fight.

"Aura Sphere!" Aura shouted as he shot an Aura Sphere from above.

"Pathetic!" The Unicorn shouted as she fired a magic beam at the Aura Sphere.

The beam destroyed the Aura Sphere and hit the already weak and old ceiling. Due to the ceiling being old and weak, it was easily breaking, and the pieces started to fall right toward Aurachalcum. He noticed them falling and tried to avoid them from hitting him. He dodged a few, however…

"Augh!" Aura screamed in pain as one of the broken parts of the ceiling hurt his wing.

The part of the ceiling then pushed Aura to the ground and pinned his left wing to the ground. Aura tried to get it free, but the piece was too heavy and was unable to get his wing out.

"My wing!" Aura shouted as he saw his trapped wing.

"Aura!" Flare Blitz shouted as he hurried over to him.

"Get away from him!" The Unicorn demanded as she shot a magic beam at Blitz.

"Augh!" Flare Blitz exclaimed as he got pushed to the wall.

Suddenly, Blitz felt his front hooves pinned down and was left unable to move. He looked and noticed the chains that trapped Aura previously now have him trapped.

"I can't move!" Blitz exclaimed as he tried to break free.

"Aura! Blitz!" Belle shouted as she saw the trouble they were in.

"Two down and only one to go!" The Unicorn said as she prepared her horn and looked at Belle with a menacing look.

"Princess!" Aura shouted as he tried to get his wing free.

"Take this!" The Unicorn shouted as she fired a large magic beam at Belle.

Belle fired her magic beam as well and caused the beams to clash. The two competitors put everything they had into their beams in hopes that their respective beams would win the clash. Sadly, the darker beam seemed to be proving stronger and was pushing back Belle's magic beam. Belle got nervous about what was happening and tried her best to push back the clash. But no matter what she tried, nothing was helping. The Unicorn smirked evilly at what was happening and felt like victory was but a short walk away.

"Heh, heh, heh." The Unicorn laughed evilly as she continued pushing back Belle's magic beam, "Poor little Princess. Are you afraid of what will happen next?"

"Ergh! Augh!" Belle exclaimed as she started to lose her footing and was forced to sit down.

"Perhaps now you and your friends understand what happens when you get in my way!" The Unicorn said, "You've forced me to do this and now you shall suffer the consequences! But don't feel too upset. You three never stood a chance of stopping me! Now once I defeat you and your friends, all of Coltnelia shall bow to me as its queen! Hahahaha!" She laughed evilly at the end.

"Belle!" Blitz shouted, "Just hold on! You can do it!"

"Don't give up Princess!" Aura added, "Keep going! Don't let her win!"

"I… I…" Belle said as the clash got closer and closer to her.

"I can't do this…" Belle thought as she laid down on the ground, "I can't beat her… I've lost…"

"Woah now." A voice suddenly said, "Since when have you been a quitter?"

"Huh?!" Belle yelped as she raised her head up.

She then found herself in a white space where there was nothing. And right in front of her was another pony. Not Aura or Blitz or any of the ponies she's seen in the past few days. But a friend that she's never seen in years. Though her face was covered in shadows, Belle recognized her voice and even the shape of the pony. Seeing her, Belle's eyes began to water.

"Now that's not the Belle I know." The pony said with a smile, "Sure there may have been a time when she was like that. But I thought I taught you something. I thought you learned that you should always keep trying even though you know you can't win. So what if it looks hopeless. Just cause something looks hopeless doesn't mean it is." She then continued with, "Don't you know what the problem is? You're using your magic too normally. Go crazy with it! Don't just use you magic for one thing, think of everything that's going wrong and figure out how to fix it all with just one use of magic. Once you've got that done, the fight is yours."

Belle began to tear up as she said with a sad voice, "Starring Star…"

"Now come on and get up!" The pony told her, "Get up and show me that Enchanted Belle isn't a quitter!"

Belle then nodded as she slowly got back up. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she did and soon was up on all four hooves again. Though she still had doubt as her head was leaning down.

"You can do better than that." The pony told her, "A Princess shouldn't look down on the world like that. A Princess always shows off her beauty and grace by raising her head as high as she can. Your head is like how a bird flies. The higher you raise it, the better things look."

"I just…" Belle said with some doubt in her voice, "I just… don't know."

"Belle." The pony said, "You haven't forgotten what I told you. Right? The really important lesson?"

"Huh?" Belle said as she looked at the pony again.

"You did?" The pony asked with a surprised voice, "Gosh. Was I away for that long? Alright. I'll give you a refresher. But listen carefully for I shall only tell you once. Always smile!" She told her with a big smile.

"Always smile?" Belle asked.

"Always smile!" The pony repeated, "No matter how bad things look, always give the best smile you can show! You know the rest. Now come on and say it."

"Always… always smile." Belle said as hope began to return to her, "No matter how bad things look, always give the best smile you can show. It may not do much. It may not do anything at all. But it'll always make you believe that things will be just fine!" She finished with a big smile.

"That's my girl." The pony praised, "Now get out there and give that Unicorn trouble!"

Snapping back into reality, Enchanted Belle, now with more hope and encouragement, stood back up on all four hooves and raised her head to fight back the clash. Once she had her full focus again, Enchanted Belle did as the pony did and put on the best smile she could make. And then suddenly, she began to push the clash back. Pushing right back to the mysterious Unicorn.

"What?!" The Unicorn exclaimed as she saw what was happening, "What's this?!"

"There you go!" Aura cheered, "Nice job Princess!"

"Alright!" Blitz cheered, "Way to go Belle!"

"What's going on?!" The Unicorn shouted, "Why is this happening?!"

"Because I've remembered something really important!" Enchanted Belle answered as she continued pushing back the clash, "That I should always keep smiling no matter how bad things are! And today, I'm giving the best smile I can show!"

"You may have been able to delay your defeat for a moment," The Unicorn replied as she put more power into her magic, "But I shall still be the victor! You can't win this match!"

"I never said I was going to try and win it!" Belle shouted as the clash got back into the middle, "I've got something else in mind!"

Suddenly, because of both ponies putting equal amount of magic into the clash, the clash created a big and loud explosion that pushed the two competitors back a bit. Some magic dust from the two competitors fell all over the ballroom as a result of the explosion.

"What?!" The Unicorn exclaimed, "Impossible! How?!"

"Heh, heh." Belle chuckled, "Just lucky I guess."

"Grr…" The Unicorn growled, "You fool! Nopony dares to mock me! Nopony!"

But right before she could cast a spell, Aurachalcum flew right at her and attacked her with his aura-powered hoof.

"Augh!" The Unicorn exclaimed in pain.

"Maybe not one pony." Aura said as he landed next to Belle.

"But three ponies!" Flare Blitz exclaimed as he jumped in and threw a Fire spell at the Unicorn.

"Augh!" The Unicorn exclaimed as she got hit by the Fire spell.

Blitz then landed next to Belle and now all three of the heroes were together again. The Unicorn looked and was surprised at how the other two were free and were able to fight again.

"But… But the Pegasus had his wing trapped!" The Unicorn said in confusion, "And the Earth Pony was trapped in those chains I made!"

"Like I said." Belle said, "I wasn't trying to win the clash. I had a different plan."

"Huh?" The Unicorn asked.

"While we were talking during the clashing," Belle began explaining, "I secretly thought of a way to keep myself in the fight while also finding a way to free my friends. Two plans formed into one. And my plan started when that explosion hit."

"The dust that came from Belle's magic landed on me," Flare Blitz continued, "And freed me from the chains you put on me since she is a royal pony. Then, while she was distracting you, I rushed over to help Aura get his wing free."

"My wing was hurt for a second." Aura picked up, "But Belle snuck in a Cura spell in her magic beam that she used in the clash so that when it was turned to dust, the dust would land on me and would heal my wing. Allowing me to fly again."

"See what's happening here?" Flare Blitz asked, "We worked together to get all of us back on our hooves."

"Things may have gotten bad." Aura continued, "But it will always get better when you work together!"

"You said a moment ago that it was two down and one to go." Belle said to the Unicorn, "Well now it looks like all your hard work has just been undone!"

"Why?!" The Unicorn exclaimed in anger, "Why won't you three just get out of my way!"

She then tried to stomp Belle with her big hoof.

"Princess!" Aura shouted as he pushed her out of the way.

Belle fell to the ground and saw that Aura was now going to get hit instead of her.

"Aura!" Belle shouted.

"No!" Blitz added.

Aura closed his eyes for what was going to happen. But then, right in front of Belle and Blitz, the big hoof went right through Aurachalcum. Leaving him perfectly unharmed.

"Huh?" Blitz said in confusion, "What the hay just happened?"

"Her hoof went right through him." Belle said as she got up.

"What?" Aura said as he opened his eyes again.

He looked down and saw that the hoof did in fact go right through him. And now his hooves were missing as the big hoof was covering them.

"It did." Aura said as he slowly stepped away from the hoof, "But how?"

"No!" The Unicorn exclaimed as she rasied her hoof again, "Not now!"

"She looks a little worried." Blitz pointed out, "That's good right?"

"Hey!" Aura said as he tapped into his aura, "I'm starting to sense her aura again! It's faint, but it's there! That's strange. I couldn't sense it before when she entered this form."

"Huh?" Belle said as she wondered what was going on.

The three ponies thought about what could be happening right now as this didn't happen a moment ago in the battle. In the end, Aura came up with a theory.

"Guys." Aura said as he opened his eyes again, "I don't think she maintain that form."

"What do you mean?" Blitz asked.

"Haven't you noticed that she's been going ravaged when she transformed? I think she's been fighting like that because she's in a rush to defeat us. She must know that she can't keep that form for long and wanted to beat us before the time limit ran out."

"That would explain why she suddenly can't touch us." Belle said, "And why you're starting to sense her aura."

"Hey!" Blitz said as he looked back at the Unicorn, "Look at her now!"

The other two looked at the Unicorn and saw that the transformation she turned into was starting to fade away.

"No!" The Unicorn exclaimed as she saw her shadowy form disappear, "Not now! Not now! I must defeat them! I can't be defeated by a bunch of mules!"

She began to change back into her normal pony self and all the dark powers and shadows she had vanished. Soon, she was levitating in the air in her normal form with her hooves and head motionless. She slowly floated back down and laid on the ground while still completely motionless. The three ponies were afraid of what her fate was. However, their fears were eased as they saw that she was still breathing.

"Golly." Blitz said as he wiped a bit of sweat off his head, "I don't think I'll ever get used to this mystical fantasy stuff like this."

"Princess." Aura said as he pointed at her saddle bag, "Her saddle bag."

"Right." Belle replied with a nod.

Using her magic, Belle grabbed Lurio's pendant and Flame Wheel's spell book from the Unicorn's saddle bag and gave them to the respective students of those ponies.

"Alright!" Aura cheered as he grabbed Lurio's pendant, "Master Lurio's pendant!"

"And Flame Wheel's spell book!" Flare Blitz cheered, "We got finally them back!"

"Woohoo!" Enchanted Belle cheered as the three ponies jumped for joy, "We did it! We saved Coltnelia!"

"Yeah!" Blitz added, "The good ponies have won the day!"

"That's the power of aura!" Aura exclaimed as he flew with glee.

"Oh…" The Unicorn moaned as she started to get up, "N-n-no… I can't…" She said as she struggled to stand up, "I can't lose… I can't…"

"Alright." Aura said to the Unicorn with a serious voice, "Time for you to talk! Who are you and what were you planning to do with the things you stole!"

"You sure gave us quite a hard time getting to you." Flare Blitz added, "I think you owe us!"

"Please tell me." Belle begged, "Are you a royal pony? Whose kingdom are you a part of?"

"I… I won't be beaten." The Unicorn said as her horn began to glow, "You can't beat me!"

But when she tried to cast a spell, her horn fizzled and failed to cast the spell.

"Huh?" The Unicorn said in confusion.

She then tried again, but her horn fizzled again, and nothing happened.

"My magic." The Unicorn said, "Why isn't my magic working? I don't understand."

"It's because you've worn it out." Belle told her, "And I bet that transformation you did only made it worse. You won't be able to cast magic for a while. There's nothing you can do now." She then got closer as she finished with, "Mysterious pony. As Princess of the Magic Kingdom, I order you to surrender and come with me to see my mama! She'll probably want to have a word with you about what you did and what you were trying to do! Not that I know what it is you were trying to do. But you get the point."

The Unicorn began to breath in and out and started to shake. The breathing started to turn into angry breathing as she slowly turned her head to the three ponies. Though her face was still covered, the three ponies knew that she wasn't happy.

"No!" The Unicorn denied as her horn began to glow again, "I won't be defeated! Not until…" She continued as she began to force her horn to work, "Not until I get my revenge!"

Suddenly, her horn began to glow even brighter as she struggled to get a spell working. The three ponies could tell that she was desperate enough to strain herself like this.

"Woah!" Blitz exclaimed as he saw her trying to cast a spell, "Don't tell me it's not over!"

"You've lost" Aura told the Unicorn, "Enough of this!"

Belle looked at the Unicorn's horn and saw that it was beginning to crack. She deduced that it was because she was trying so hard to cast a spell when her horn needed to rest. While she and the Unicorn have been enemies, she didn't want her to lose her horn.

"No!" Belle shouted at the Unicorn, "Stop! Don't do that! Don't strain yourself! If you do that, then your horn's going to break!"

"I don't care!" The Unicorn shouted in anger, "I won't let myself be imprisoned until I've fulfilled my revenge!"

From her horn, a small explosion blinded the three ponies with a bright white light.

"Augh!" The three ponies exclaimed as they covered their eyes.

When the light vanished, they looked ahead and saw that the Unicorn was gone and that the light was a distraction so that she could escape.

"No!" Aura exclaimed.

Belle looked at the ground and saw a broken horn on the ground. Belle knew that it was the Unicorn's horn and felt saddened that she gave up her horn in order to escape them.

"I can't believe she did that to her own horn." Belle said as she picked up the broken horn with her magic, "What kind of Unicorn is she?"

"I sense her!" Aura said as he tapped into his aura, "She's heading to the west wing of the castle."

"That's where I saw her before!" Flare Blitz said, "She said something about a portal! We need to go catch her!"

"Right!" Belle agreed, "Let's go!"

So the three ponies chased the Unicorn up to the west wing. Desperately wanting answers and wanting to take her to Queen Enchanted Star, they didn't waste time and put in all the speed they had in themselves. They soon arrived in the room with the mirror and looked around to spot her.

"There she is!" Flare Blitz exclaimed as he pointed to where he saw her.

Belle and Aura followed where he was pointing and saw the Unicorn right in front of the mirror that she was in front of before.

"Hey!" Belle shouted at the Unicorn.

"You three!" The Unicorn growled as she turned to them, "I will return some day!"

She then jumped into the mirror and somehow went right through it like it was a doorway. As she entered, a magical light appeared and quickly disappeared as she exited the room.

"Wait!" Belle exclaimed as she hurried to the mirror, "Hold on!"

Belle ran to the mirror hoping that she could follow her. But instead…

"Oof!" Belle said in pain as she ran into the mirror.

Rather than going through the mirror, Belle ran and hit the mirror really hard and fell to the ground while feeling dizzy from the impact.

"Princess!" Aura said as he hurried to her to help her up, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Belle answered as Aura helped her up, "I'm okay. Just hurt my muzzle a little."

"Where'd she go?" Blitz asked as he looked in the mirror, "She just went through that mirror like it was a door or something."

"Yeah." Belle agreed as she put her hooves on the mirror, "But I can't get through it now. It's just shut and locked all of a sudden."

"Where ever she is," Aura said as he tapped into his aura, "She's not here anymore. I can't sense her aura. She's gone."

"You mean she got away?" Blitz asked, "Don't tell me we failed. We're the good guys. The good guys aren't supposed to fail."

"It looks like she did get away." Belle said, "But I have a feeling that we haven't seen the last of her." She continued as she turned to the other two ponies, "I have a feeling that we'll run into her again someday. And when she does, she'll try to do whatever she's trying to do to achieve her revenge plan. Whatever that is."

"Yeah." Blitz replied, "But if she does come back, we'll beat her again!"

"And it's not a complete failure." Aura said with a smile as he showed Lurio's pendant, "At least we got back the stuff she stole."

"That's right." Belle said as she showed her mother's crown, "We may not have figured out what she wanted to do with these. But at least we got them away from her."

"Flame Wheel will be happy to see this thing back." Flare Blitz said as he showed the spell book.

"Princess." Aura said to Belle, "I think now is a good time you told us something. Why did you stay and fight with us? I mean, I'm glad you did. But it was still dangerous for a royal pony like you to be in a situation like that."

"Why?" Belle asked, "Well… it's sort of complicated. But…" She then looked at both of them as she explained, "It's because of a dream I've been having."

"A dream?" Blitz asked.

"That you've been having?" Aura finished, "What do you mean?"

Belle explained the dream she's been having about how she follows a light and how it leads her to two ponies standing in the grassland. She then told them how every time she tries to talk to them, the dream ends, and she could never get any further than that.

"That's a strange dream." Blitz commented, "Almost as weird as a dream I had once. But I'd rather not get into detail about that one. I don't think it's something ponies our age are supposed to know or see."

"But what does that dream have to do with why you stayed Princess?" Aura asked.

"It happened as I was flying away." Belle explained, "When I heard the noise of the battle, I turned around and I saw you and Blitz standing together. And I noticed that the way you two were standing was exactly the same way those two ponies were standing. I thought at first that it was a coincidence. But I thought about all the times we've had together and it all just felt right for us to be together. When I'm with the two of you, I feel like I can do anything and that nothing can stop me. That was when I realized that you two are the two ponies in my dream." Belle continued with a big smile, "You two are the ones that my mama said would lead me to my destiny."

"Wait a minute!" Aura and Blitz exclaimed, "You got that feeling too!" They then looked at each other and said at the same time, "Huh?! You too?!"

"I got that exact same feeling!" Aura told them, "It was when you two saved me from that sneak attack from the Timberwolves! The same thing happened to me when the evil Aura Master made a last attempt to shroud my heart in darkness! Two ponies came out of nowhere and protected me from his last attempt! I thought it was just a coincidence too! But as we continued journeying together, I realized that you two were the ones who saved me!"

"And… and…" Blitz began, "Those two magical flame ponies that I saw when I began wielding the Fire Amulet. The ones who said that they have a strong connection with me and that they believe in me. I had no idea who they were." Blitz continued as he looked at Belle and Aura, "Until you two tried to convince me to join you again. The way you two said that everypony makes mistakes and that you believed in me, it felt exactly like how those two flame ponies said that to me. I didn't give it much thought at first. But then, I realized that you two are those magical flame ponies that I saw. And once I realized it, I then realized that I should be with the two of you."

The three ponies were silent and looked at each other with confused and surprised looks. Each of them claims to have met each other before and yet this was their true first meeting. What could this mean? They didn't have a clear answer. This was most puzzling to the three victorious ones.

"Wait a minute!" Flare Blitz exclaimed, "What the hay is going on here?! Are we all basically saying that we've met before?!"

"Looks like it." Aurachalcum replied, "I mean there's no doubt in my mind that you two were the ones who saved me."

"Same here." Belle added, "And it just feels right for all of us to be together like this." She continued with a smile, "Like a t –" She said before she stopped to change her statement, "Uh, I mean like a group of ponies working together." She said with a less excited tone.

"What's wrong?" Blitz asked as he noticed that she gave him a weird look.

"Well," Belle answered, "I would say the other word. The T word. But I almost forgot about how you feel about stuff like that."

"What're you talking about?" Flare Blitz asked in confusion.

"You not wanting to be on a team." Aura told him, "Remember?"

"Oh." Blitz said as he remembered what he said, "Right." He then looked at the two ponies and said, "Well, listen. I gave it a little thought and… I thought that maybe you two were right. I think maybe I can give being on a team another try."

"You can?" Belle asked as she lightened up, "What made you change your mind?"

"It kind of goes back to when I realized I met you guys before." Blitz explained, "You see, just recently, I remembered something I forgot for a long time. Something that an old friend told me. I can't remember her name or her face. But she told me that I shouldn't give up no matter how bad things look. I know that's probably something ponies tell each other every day. But nopony has ever said that to me before. All the ponies I've known at the time have hated me and bullied me for my mistakes in the past. But she was the first pony to have been nice to me and to say something as encouraging like that. So, those words mean so much to me than you can imagine. I may have forgotten about her for a long time. But now that I remember what she told me, I now know that I shouldn't give up on anything. Especially something like friends. So that's why I decided to come back with you guys."

"Whoever this friend of yours is," Aura said, "She must be really important to you."

"She is." Blitz said as he looked down and put his hoof on his chest, "I just wish I could remember her. Her name, her face. I wonder how she is today."

"So…" Belle said as she took a step forward, "You don't mind if Aura or I say that we're a team? Including you in it?"

"No." Blitz answered with a smile, "I don't mind at all. I've made up my mind. Even if I do mess up, I'm giving it another chance. After all, it's been really fun adventuring with the two of you. Even if we did almost get eaten along the way."

Belle and Aura's faces then grew suspicious as they weren't completely convinced that Blitz had changed his mind. The faces they had scared Blitz a little as he wondered what they were thinking. The two remaining ponies were still for a second and then suddenly, Belle put her hoof in the middle of the three ponies and then Aura put his on top of hers. Blitz saw what they were doing and got the message as to how he can prove to them that he truly has decided to give it a chance. He then smiled big and raised his hoof up to put it in the middle with the other two.

"Don't put your hoof in the middle," Aura told him as Blitz halted his hoof, "Unless you mean it."

Belle and Aura maintained their suspicious looks and Blitz felt a bit uncomfortable with how they were looking. But seeing as they were going to wait for his response, Blitz's smile returned and without hesitation or interruption, he put his hoof in the middle with Belle and Aura's hoof. Showing that he really has decided to be on a team. Seeing his hoof in the middle, Belle and Aura then began to smile and even chuckle with glee.

"Alright then!" Belle said with a big smile, "Looks like the three of us are a team!"

"Looks that way!" Aura agreed with a big smile.

"Oh yeah!" Blitz exclaimed with a big smile.

The three ponies then did a three-way high hoof with the hooves they put in the middle as a way of showing the new friendship that they've made together. But as soon as their hooves touched, they heard a big windy noise coming from outside. A noise that can't go ignored.

"What was that?" Blitz asked as he heard the loud noise.

"I don't know." Belle answered as she turned to where she heard the noise, "It was pretty loud though."

"It came from outside." Aura said as he turned to the door, "Let's go see what it was."

The three ponies then hurried to the outside of the castle. Thankfully, they were able to unlock the front door and use the entrance to get out. When they got outside, something amazing had happened. They looked up at the sky and saw that all the dark clouds that were above the dark, abandoned castle had cleared up and the sun was shining brightly like it did everywhere else in Coltnelia. But the most breath-taking sight they were to behold was the flight of a giant beautiful Phoenix.

"Woah!" Belle said in amazement, "No way!"

"That's amazing!" Aura added, "It's a giant Phoenix!"

"Now those are feathers." Blitz commented as his eyes began to water, "I think I'm gonna cry."

The majestic bird flew right over the three young ponies with its wings causing strong and loud winds. But the strong blow of the wings didn't faze the three ponies one bit as they were distracted with the bird's radiance and beauty. Suddenly, three of its feathers fell off and began slowing falling down to the ground. The feathers soon made it to the three ponies' and started to float right in front of them with a strange light glowing around them.

"Those feathers." Aura said as he saw the feathers, "They came from that Phoenix."

"Why are they just floating like that?" Blitz asked, "Don't tell me it's more magic."

"I don't know for sure." Belle said to them, "But I have a feeling that we're supposed to take them."

"Take them?" Blitz asked in confusion.

"I mean why else would they float right to us?" Belle asked, "There has to be some kind of reason. And I think we'll know if we take them."

"Makes sense to me." Aura agreed, "Let's just hope something good will happen."

Using her magic, Belle grabbed the feather in front of her and took a good look at it. Aura and Blitz did the same, but they used their hooves instead since they don't have horns. Right before any of them can make a statement or a comment, a bright light started to emanate from the feathers.

"Augh!" Belle exclaimed as she was blinded by the light.

"Argh!" Aura exclaimed as he covered his eyes, "What's going on?!"

"This light!" Blitz exclaimed, "What's happening?!"

And then everything went white.

?...

The light vanished, and the three ponies were able to open their eyes again. Belle felt a little dizzy from the light that shined while Aura and Blitz felt like they were in twenty photo shoots.

"Woah." Belle said, "That was strange."

"You said it." Blitz added, "I'm seeing purple balls right now."

"Hey." Aura said as he looked at the area, "Where are we? Weren't we at the castle?"

Belle and Blitz looked around too and saw that they were no longer in the forest were the castle was. Instead, they were in a place that looked like some sort of underground temple. The place looked like ruins and that it was ages old. Much older than the castle they were at.

"How'd we get here?" Blitz asked, "Did your magic act up again Belle?"

"I didn't teleport us here." Belle defended, "And my horn isn't acting up right now. I've got complete control over it. It must be those Phoenix feathers. They must be what brought us here."

"Why would they bring us here?" Blitz asked in confusion, "What reason does that bird brain have for wanting us in a dump like this?"

Aura then looked ahead of them and said with a surprised tone, "Maybe that's why."

The other two ponies then looked ahead as well and couldn't believe what they saw. It was a bright white crystal. Standing right in the middle of the ruined temple. The crystal was shining in many different colors as a bright light emanated from it. The three ponies didn't know what the crystal was but was taken away with how it looked.

"A crystal?" Belle asked with a surprised look, "Down in a ruined place like this?"

"You don't know that crystal Belle?" Aura asked.

"No." Belle answered, "I've never seen that crystal before. All the crystals I've ever seen are the ones in the kingdoms of Coltnelia."

"Maybe this is a hidden crystal that nopony has seen before." Flare Blitz suggested.

"Young ponies!" A voice exclaimed.

"Huh?!" The three ponies exclaimed as they flinched.

"You three have been chosen!" The voice continued, "You three have finally united! And now the time has come!"

"W-w-who said that?!" Blitz asked as he shivered.

"I hear a voice," Aura said as he tapped into his aura, "But I don't see anypony. Nor do I sense an aura anywhere."

"Who's there?!" Belle asked, "Please show yourself!"

"Do not fear." The voice told them, "I will not harm you. For you have been brought here to be given a special gift."

"A special gift?" Blitz asked, "I sure hope it's a pretty mare. That sounds special enough to me."

"Where are you?" Aura asked the voice, "We can't see you anywhere."

"I'm the crystal standing before you." The voice answered.

"The crystal?" Belle asked as she looked at the crystal again.

"But not the crystals that maintain the light of the land or control its elements." The crystal explained, "I am the Crystal of the Heroes of Light."

"The Crystal of the Heroes of Light?" Belle repeated.

"Yes." The crystal answered, "And today, I've brought you three here because you have been chosen. Chosen to be what three others before you once were. To be the legendary Heroes of Light!"

"Heroes of Light?" Aura asked, "Us?"

"Wait." Blitz said as he pointed at himself, "Me too?"

"You said like three others before us." Belle said, "Were there others chosen for this too?"

"Yes." The crystal answered, "Like you three, there were others that became the Heroes of Light. A group of creatures whose hearts are filled only with light and completely void of darkness. I brought these three heroes many years ago for the same reason I bring you three here now. To stop a threat who has become the darkness itself." The three ponies were shocked to hear the news as the crystal continued, "Long ago, there was an evil in this world that threatened to destroy the light. And only the Heroes of Light had the ability to stop that threat. And now, history has repeated itself. For once again, a threat has come to destroy the light by becoming the darkness itself. And now only you three can defeat this threat as you three have the power to stop him."

"The three of us are meant to stop this threat?" Belle asked, "But how? Who is this threat?"

"I know not." The crystal answered, "All I know is that I am to keep eye on the balance of light and darkness. The balance should never be changed. Should anything come to destroy that balance, the Heroes of Light must make sure that balance is maintained and that the threat does not succeed in disrupting that balance. As for how you three will stop this threat, I shall give you the last bit of light from the previous Heroes of Light. So that one day, the three of you will gain the power you need to defeat this menace. But know this, once I do this, I cannot be of any help afterwards. Once the power is yours, how you go about stopping the threat is up to you."

"Wait." Blitz said, "That's all? You're just gonna give us the power we need?"

"But we don't know exactly what's going on." Aura told the crystal, "You need to tell us more!"

"I'm sorry." The crystal apologized, "I wish I can do more. But I'm afraid I cannot do any more than I can." The light around it then glowed brighter as the crystal continued with, "I now grant you the power from the Heroes of Light that proceeded you! Use this power wisely and work together to one day save the balance of light and darkness!"

Then some magical dust flew right to the three ponies from the crystal. Giving them the light from the previous Heroes of Light that the crystal mentioned. Once the power was given to them, the three ponies felt more powerful and stronger than before. They felt the light in their hearts grow greater than they were before.

"Woah." Belle said with amazement, "I can feel the light. It feels so warm."

"This feels so amazing." Aura said as he felt the light, "Even my aura feels different now."

"No way." Blitz said in amazement, "The light. I can feel it empowering the flames inside me. This feels great."

"I've done all I can." The crystal said to them as a bright light began to glow, "Good luck Heroes of Light!"

The light began to glow brightly and spread across the entire room.

"Not again!" The three ponies exclaimed as they were blinded by the light.

And then everything went white again…

The Magic Kingdom…

The light faded away and the three apparent Heroes of Light can see again. But when they opened their eyes, they found that they were no longer in the forest where the abaonded castle was. Instead, they were back to where the adventure began. The castle at the Magic Kingdom. They found themselves in the Auidence Chamber where Queen Enchanted Star, King Solar Daze, and Grand Duke Astraios were having a formal discussion with some delegate ponies. The discussion was interrupted as the ponies and the griffin as well as some guards, including Biggs and Wedge, saw the three ponies appear out of nowhere from that light. Enchanted Star and Solar Daze's eyes widened when they saw their daughter. Belle and Aura felt puzzled about what happened. And Blitz got the impression that the light had taken them away longer than they thought it did.

"What year is this?" Flare Blitz finally asked the ponies in the Audience Chamber.

"Enchanted Belle!" Enchanted Star and Solar Daze exclaimed in happiness.

"Mama! Papa!" Enchanted Belle exclaimed back as she ran up to her parents.

The parents ran to her as well and the three ponies got into a three-way hug. Enchanted Star and Solar Daze gave their daughter a tight hug to show how much they were happy to see her home safely. They were even more relieved about her return due to the returning of the Dark Ponies. Astraios watched them hug and wiped a small tear from his eye.

"My baby is home safe and sound!" Queen Enchanted Star said with some tears falling from her eyes, "We were so worried about you! We thought the Dark Ponies would get you and –"

"It's okay mama." Enchanted Belle said as the three-way hug broke, "Nothing bad happened to me. And I got your crown back." She finished as she showed the crown to her mother.

"My crown." Enchanted Star said as she grabbed it with her magic, "So you did." She continued as he placed it on her head where it belongs.

"How did you get it back pumpkin?" Solar Daze asked.

"It wasn't easy." Enchanted Belle answered, "But I was able to do thanks to my new –"

"It's the Warlock!" Astraios exclaimed as he pointed at Aurachalcum, "Guards! Seize him!"

"Oh no." Aura said as he saw some of the guards coming to get him, "Not again."

Enchanted Belle then teleported right to Aura and shouted to the guards, "Wait! Don't capture him!"

"Belle?" Enchanted Star asked in confusion, "What're you doing? Are you protecting him?"

"It's all a big misunderstanding." Enchanted Belle told her mother and the guards, "Aurachalcum isn't a Warlock."

"He's not?" Wedge asked, "B-but that magic flowing around him. Nopony can do that besides –"

"It's not magic." Belle explained, "This may sound crazy. But it's something called aura."

"Aura?" Solar Daze asked, "I don't think I follow."

"It's a really long story." Belle told her father, "You and mama may want to get comfortable."

"Guards!" Enchanted Star ordered, "Keep your hooves off the Pegasus until I hear my daughter's story."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The guards replied at the same time.

"Let us go to our bedroom." Enchanted Star told Belle, "And bring those two with you." She then turned to the delegate ponies and said, "We'll have to postpone this discussion. I apologize."

"Understood, Your Highness." One of the delegate ponies replied, "You just go take care of what needs to be done."

And so, Princess Enchanted Belle, Aurachalcum, Flare Blitz, Queen Enchanted Star and King Solar Daze went up to the king and queen's bedroom so that Belle and her friends can tell the story of what's happened. Biggs and Wedge followed to protect the three royal ponies. Once inside, the storytelling began. Enchanted Belle, Aurachalcum, and Flare Blitz told the two royal ponies about everything that has happened. About how Aura and Blitz came from another world. How they got to Coltnelia. The challenges they overcame to catch the mysterious mare. How Flare Blitz lied about him being the Flaming Inferno and that he hasn't reached that level yet. How the three ponies have bonded together. How they were unable to capture the mysterious pony and learn her name. And how they mysteriously came across a crystal that named them the Heroes of Light and that there is a pony out there who threatens the balance between light and darkness. The two parents listened to the whole story and saved their questions for when it was over. The one thing they knew was that they had falsely accused Aura of being a Warlock when what they really saw was his aura. Learning this, they felt guilty about how they treated him and had to make amends. Biggs and Wedge listened to the story as well. And Biggs felt ashamed in himself for how he treated Aura. Wedge on the other hoof felt relieved that Aura was not a Warlock at all.

"Aurachalcum." Enchanted Star said as she stood up from her bed, "I'm terribly sorry about how I treated you. I just feel terrible."

"I'm sorry too Aura." Solar Daze added, "We didn't mean to treat you like that. We've just never seen anything like your power before. It was strange to us."

"It's okay." Aura told them with a smile, "You're not the only ones. Not many ponies on my world know about the Art of Aura either. Not even when more ponies used its power."

"So you forgive us?" Enchanted Star asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Aura answered with a bow, "I forgive you."

"Thank you." Queen Enchanted Star thanked with a nod, "And now I shall properly introduce myself to you. My name is Queen Enchanted Star. I am the Queen of the Magic Kingdom and the guardian of the Magic Crystal."

"And I'm her handsome and noble husband." King Solar Daze joked, "MY name is King Solar Daze. I'm the King of the Magic Kingdom. And Enchanted Belle's most favorite father."

"Heehee." Belle chuckled, "He sure is."

"All this time." Biggs said with shame, "I've been accusing an innocent pony? Have I truly wasted my anger and breath on a pony that has done nothing wrong? I feel disgraced. I'm ashamed to call myself a Rank 7 Royal Guard."

"Woah there." Flare Blitz said as he overheard, "Over dramatic much? It's no big deal really. You're not the only one who made that mistake. The king and queen did too."

"Blitz!" Aura scolded, "Don't be rude to the king and queen!"

"What?" Blitz said.

"I think what my superior is trying to say," Wedge said with a calmer voice, "Is that we should introduce ourselves as well. Since we've learned that it was all a big misunderstanding. After all, we weren't exactly nice to you either at first."

Biggs then saluted to Aura and said, "Biggs, sir! Rank 7 of the Magic Kingdom's Royal Guard!"

Wedge then saluted to Aura and said, "And I'm Wedge! Newest recruit of the Magic Kingdom's Royal Guard!"

"Biggs and Wedge, huh?" Blitz said, "Sounds like something I heard from an arcade game I played." He then looked over at the king and queen and asked with an innocent looking face, "Since everypony looks happy right now, we can all just forget that I lied to everypony about me being the Flaming Inferno, right?"

"No!" All the ponies answered at the same time.

"You knew all along that Aura was not a Warlock!" Enchanted Star told him, "And you just stood there while I nearly gave him a punishment he didn't deserve!"

"And we invited the entire kingdom to rejoice for your arrival!" Solar Daze added, "Even though you're not who you say you are yet!"

"And you let the Princess shock me with those chains!" Aura added.

"Heh, heh." Flare Blitz chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head, "I guess I may have taken my tall tale a little too far. But hey. At least I protected the Princess and got her home safely. Right?"

"Yes." Enchanted Star said, "I suppose so. But I advise that you make better choices in the future."

Flare Blitz then rubbed the back of his head a bit more while feeling a little red at the same time.

"Now then," Enchanted Star said as she decided to change the subject, "On to a more important topic. You three have been chosen to be the Heroes of Light? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that group. And yet you say that there was a group like this before you?"

"We don't really know all the details." Enchanted Belle answered, "All we know is that a pony has become one with the darkness and is trying to destroy the balance of light and darkness."

"Whoever that pony is," Aura continued, "We're supposed to be the ones to stop him. The problem with that is we don't know who that pony is or how to stop him."

"Then the crystal gave us the last bit of power from the previous Heroes of Light." Flare Blitz picked up, "Whoever they were. So our big journey has begun."

"Mama." Belle said to her mother, "I may not know the whole story behind it. But I do know that this will require –"

"Going outside of the barrier again?" Enchanted Star interrupted, "Absolutely not!"

"But mama –"

"My answer is no Belle!" Enchanted Star said, "We've already been through this! You promised me that you would not go outside of this kingdom's barrier with the Dark Ponies returning! You may have got to go on that adventure with these two, but that was an accident! I've had a difficult time focusing on my schedule as queen when you were missing Belle. I can't take the stress of you going out there to stop an evil pony who has become the darkness itself. If something were to happen to you, I just wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

"Belle." Solar Daze said, "Your mother is right. You may have gotten lucky to come home safely twice now. But it's really not safe for you out there."

"But you two don't need to worry." Enchanted Belle told them, "Because… I've got my royal squires to protect me!" She finished as she put her hooves around Aura and Blitz.

"Her what?!" Aura and Blitz exclaimed in confusion.

"Your what?!" Enchanted Star and Solar Daze exclaimed in confusion.

"My royal squires." Enchanted Belle repeated, "My bodyguards. Aurachalcum and Flare Blitz will keep an eye on me whenever we go out on an adventure to find this pony of darkness. They kept me safe on the journey we were just on. So if you ask me, their bodyguard material." She then turned to the stallions and asked, "You two will protect me. Won't you?"

"Huh?" Aura and Blitz said at the same time.

"Belle." Enchanted Star said with worry, "I –"

"Please mama." Enchanted Belle begged, "Let me at least give them a chance. Besides, you know about my dream. Right? The thing I've been wanting to do since I was a filly?"

"I remember." Enchanted Star replied as she started to give the idea some thought.

Aurachalcum was surprised about the idea as it was rather sudden. However, he knew that he and Blitz needed Belle since she is one of the chosen Heroes of Light. So he decided to join in and convince the queen to accept Belle's request.

"Your Majesty." Aura began, "You don't have to worry. It's like what your daughter said. We'll keep her safe. We know that she means so much to you. We would never let anything happen to a pony that special to you. You can trust us."

"That's right." Blitz joined in, "And uh, she's one of the Heroes of Light along with Aura and me. So, we kind of need her."

Enchanted Star remained silent as she thought of her answer. She didn't think that they were lying about the crystal and the pony of darkness. But at the same time, she couldn't exactly believe them either as she thought that it was an excuse for Belle to go outside of the barrier even when the Dark Ponies are returning and trying to free the Great Witch. She then remembered the dream that Belle has and how much she wants to make it come true. As much as it pains her to do it, Enchanted Star knew that she had to let her daughter follow her dream even if it is a dangerous road to get to that dream. But before she could make her decision final, she had to make sure that the three ponies understood what they need to do if she accepts the request.

"Enchanted Belle." Enchanted Star began as she got close to her beautiful daughter, "If I decide to let you go outside of the barrier, do you promise that you will stay with your squires no matter what? You won't go anywhere on your own? You won't do anything reckless or dangerous? And when you're done out there, you will come straight home without a scratch, mark, or bruise anywhere on you? Can you promise me all that?"

"I will mama." Enchanted Belle answered, "I promise I will. I won't leave their sight."

"Aurachalcum. Flare Blitz." Enchanted Star began as she walked to them.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Aura and Blitz replied at the same time as they bowed to her.

"Do you two promise me," Enchanted Star began, "That you will stay with my daughter no matter what? You will keep her safe? Not let anything or anypony harm her? Keep your eyes on her at all times? And bring her back home safe and sound when the day is over?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Aura and Blitz answered at the same time, "We promise we'll keep her safe."

Enchanted Star then let out a tired sigh and said, "Okay."

Belle then gasped with excitement as she asked, "You mean…"

"Yes." Enchanted Star said as she turned to Belle, "You may go outside of the barrier as long as they're with you."

"Yay!" Enchanted Belle cheered as she did a happy dance, "More adventures! And I can make my dream come true again! True light of Coltnelia! Here I come!"

"Just be careful when you go out there. All three of you. Okay?" Enchanted Star asked the three ponies.

"Don't worry, mama." Belle said as she put her hooves around Aura and Blitz again, "The three of us are a team now. Nothing can beat us."

"Very well then." Enchanted Star replied as she decided to move on to the next topic, "Now then, Aura and Blitz. You both said that it was the Magic Crystal that brought you to this world?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Aura answered as Belle let go of both of them, "We came through that portal and ended up where the crystal was."

"It was the freakiest ride I've ever been on." Flare Blitz commented, "It felt like all different kinds of colors and light just being thrown at you. I was so glad that it was all over when we got here."

"Then let us go to the Crystal Chamber and I'll see what I can do." Queen Enchanted Star said as she began heading for the door.

"You mean there might be a way for us to get home?" Blitz asked.

"We'll see." Enchanted Star answered, "But first, I must communicate with the crystal to find out how it brought you here."

"You can communicate with it?" Aura asked, "How?"

"It is one of the magical abilities of the Queens of Coltnelia." Enchanted Star explained, "I must be able to speak with the crystal I protect in order to make sure nothing is wrong with it. Or if I must borrow its magic for a greater purpose." She then focused on the task at hoof and said, "But more on that later. Shall we?"

And so, the three apparent Heroes of Light, the king and queen, and the two royal guards headed back to the Audience Chamber. After Queen Enchanted Star confirmed to the guards and Astraios that Aurachalcum is not a Dark Pony, Astraios gave him a big apology and then the group headed down to the Crystal Chamber. Where the Magic Crystal lies in its altar. The group approached the altar with Queen Enchanted Star leading the way. Once they were in front of the altar, the queen stopped the group.

"Wait here." Queen Enchanted Star told the group, "I shall go speak with the Magic Crystal and see what all this is about."

She then flew up to the top of the altar and sat in front of the Magic Crystal. She then closed her eyes and her horn began to glow brightly.

"What's she doing?" Flare Blitz asked as he saw her horn glowing.

"She's communicating with the crystal." King Solar Daze answered, "I know it looks a little strange. But you get used to it."

"I wonder if the crystal will be able to take us home." Aura hoped, "My friends back in Ponyville have to be worried about me."

"Yeah." Blitz replied, "And I've got family back in Equestria. If mom finds out I went missing, she's gonna flip."

"Don't worry you two." Solar Daze said to them with a hopeful tone, "My wife has been queen for years and not once has the crystal let her down. If anypony can figure out a mystery of the Magic Crystal, it's her."

"That's right." Belle added, "Mama is the best when it comes to the Magic Crystal. She always knows if something is wrong and what the Magic Crystal can do."

"In that case," Flare Blitz said with some optimism, "I guess we've got nothing to worry about."

"I hope so." Aura hoped.

Suddenly, Enchanted Belle's hopeful look turned into a slightly worried look. Nearly all the hopefulness she had just faded away. She wasn't losing hope in her mother, because she knows that she'll figure out what's going on. But her mind was on something else. She remembered about the one pony that's stuck in Equestria and that specific pony was one that Belle had been missing for years now. Flame Wheel the Bearded. Her spiritual uncle.

"Belle." Solar Daze said as he noticed her face, "What's the matter pumpkin? Don't tell me you don't think your mother can do this."

"No." Belle answered, "I think she can. It's just… when she figures out how to get to Equestria, I'll be able to see Uncle Flame Wheel again. After all this time."

"Oh yeah." King Solar Daze replied as he remembered what the three ponies said in the story earlier, "You three said that Flame Wheel had been stuck in Equestria for all those years. Thank goodness for that. I actually started to think that the worst had happened to him. I sure did miss seeing him. He's always been a trickster at times."

"You all have been saying some good things about him." Aura stated, "I can't wait to meet him. He sounds like a nice pony."

"Sure." Flare Blitz said as he rolled his eyes a bit, "Just watch out for him though. Sometimes, he'll say one thing that sounds all cool, but then psych you out a second later. I still remember how I first met him when I was a colt."

"I can't wait to see him again." Enchanted Belle said as she felt a little worried, "But… what if he doesn't recognize me? What if he's forgotten about me? Blitz." She said as she turned to Blitz with a saddened look, "Did he ever mention me when you talked to him."

"No." Flare Blitz answered, "He never did bring you up when he told me a bit about Coltnelia. But I don't think he's forgotten about you. I think he was just focusing on the mission we were on."

"I sure hope that he hasn't forgotten about me." Enchanted Belle hoped highly, "I've missed him for so long."

"Belle." Solar Daze said to her as he put a hoof around her, "I can assure you that when he sees you, he's gonna be excited to see you again. I bet that when he sees you, he'll give you a big hug and will tell you how much he's missed you just like how you missed him. Trust me pumpkin. He'll remember you. Right Astraios?"

"Indubitably." Astraios answered, "My dear Princess, Flame Wheel the Bearded is a hard-to-forget pony that hardly forgets."

"He certainly is unforgettable. That's for sure." Enchanted Belle said with a small smile.

Queen Enchanted Star finally returned to the group after conversing with the Magic Crystal. However, her face showed that she has come back with bad news.

"So." King Solar Daze said to his wife, "What'd the crystal say?"

"Aura, Blitz, I'm deeply sorry." Queen Enchanted Star apologized, "I asked the Magic Crystal about if it could bring you two home, but it doesn't know what I'm talking about. It's not aware of having any ability of opening a gateway to another world or bringing ponies from their world to here."

"What?!" Enchanted Belle, Aurachalcum, and Flare Blitz exclaimed.

"W-what do you mean it doesn't know that it can do that?!" Flare Blitz asked, "How can it not know its own abilities?!"

"The Magic Crystal along with the other crystals across the land are indeed powerful." Enchanted Star explained, "But I suppose that there are things that not even the crystals know they can do. And it seems that bridging this world with another is one of those things."

"So, you're saying that you can't take us home?" Aura asked with a sad look.

"And that we can't bring Uncle Flame Wheel back?" Enchanted Belle asked as she nearly choked.

"I'm sorry." Enchanted Star apologized again, "But I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it right now. All we can do for now is wait and see if anything happens in the future."

"The future?!" Aura and Blitz exclaimed.

"Oh dear." Astraios said as he felt sorry for Aura and Blitz, "My dear lads, I'm terribly sorry."

The three ponies nearly lost all their hope each with a different reason. Enchanted Belle feeling like she'll have to wait longer to see Flame Wheel again, Aurachalcum not being able to see his new home and friends or achieve his dream of becoming an Aura Master, and Flare Blitz being far away from his family. They did not expect this kind of news at all and hoped things would end with a happy ending.

"Hey." Solar Daze said to the three ponies, "Come on now. Don't you all feel sad. I know we all weren't expecting this kind of outcome. But let's all cheer up. After all, it's almost dinner time. And that's always your favorite time of day. Right Pumpkin?" He asked Belle.

"Yeah!" Belle answered as she suddenly felt cheerful again, "Let's go eat! I'm starving!"

Aura and Blitz were surprised about Belle's sudden change of emotion and couldn't believe how fast she changed. Her smile returned, and she even chuckled a bit. And just a minute ago, she felt sad about waiting longer to see Flame Wheel again.

"I too," Astraios said, "Am feeling rather hungry. Let's all return upstairs so that our good chiefs can present us with such wonderous food."

"I agree." Queen Enchanted Star agreed, "Let's go up, eat, and just forget about the sad news for a while. After all, it's been a long day for the three of you. You must be starving after going on that long adventure."

And so, the group went back upstairs and had a nice dinner together. Belle's aunts, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald soon returned from Pixie Trottlow and were overjoyed to see their niece come back safely. They nearly thought about calling Aurachalcum a Warlock before they were given the whole story of what's happened today. The dinner consisted of many good things to eat which mainly involved apple-based goods. Once the dinner was over, nighttime came, and all the ponies decided it was time to call it a day. The queen showed Aura and Blitz a special guest bedroom with two beds for them to sleep in. After she and her husband went to bed, Enchanted Belle was in the guest room with Aura and Blitz to have a little discussion with them before she went to bed as well. But when she first saw their faces, she saw that they weren't feeling very cheerful.

"Now come on you two." Enchanted Belle told them, "You can't go looking like when we go outside of the kingdom's barrier. You two need to show some team spirit. I know why you both are upset but try to find a reason to be happy."

"How can you be so happy?" Flare Blitz asked as he looked down at the ground, "The Magic Crystal doesn't know how to open a portal back to Equestria when it was the reason Aura and I got here in the first place. Now me and Aura can't go home, and you can't get Flame Wheel back. This is bad for you too, you know. And I've got family back in Equestria that are gonna miss me so much when they find out I'm gone. How can I not be sad right now?"

"And my friends." Aura said with the same expression as Blitz, "They don't know I'm here. They've got to be missing me. Master Lurio, Fluttershy and her friends. And I miss them too. Not only that, but if I don't get the proper training from an Aura Master, then I won't be able to fulfill my dream of becoming the greatest Aura Master of all time. Princess, I know you want us to be happy. But I just don't think I can be right now."

Belle then looked at them with a sorry look and said, "I know things may be looking bad right now. But come on you two." She continued with a smile, "Chin up. Don't give those sad faces to me. We're a team. And if we're going to be a team, then you two can't have those sad faces. Understand?"

Aura and Blitz then raised their heads to look at Enchanted Belle as they wondered where she was going with this.

"If you two are going to protect me," She continued, "Then you have to remember one important rule. Always smile!"

"Always…" Aura said.

"Smile?" Blitz finished.

"That's right." Belle replied, "Whenever you're feeling down or lost, just give a big smile. The biggest smile you can give. It may not do much. It may not do anything at all. But it'll always make you see things in a whole new way and make you believe that everything will be alright. Now come on you two. Show me the best smiles you can make."

Aura and Blitz then looked at each other with puzzled looks. They couldn't believe that Belle could be this cheerful despite having to wait longer to see Flame Wheel again. At the same time, they felt like if they were to smile like she said so, then they could have the enthusiasm and hope that she seems to have right now. So without arguing with her, they decided to give it a try. They lowered their heads for a minute to prepare their smiles. And after feeling well prepared, they lifted their heads really fast to show their smiles.

"Cheese!" Aura and Blitz said at the same time with big, goofy-looking smiles.

"Pfft." Belle chuckled while holding in a laugh, "Pfft. Pfft."

She found their faces so funny that a big laugh formed inside her and was eager to burst out of Belle's mouth. The faces became too much to not laugh at and she couldn't hold it in much longer.

"Hahahahaha!" Enchanted Belle burst into laughter as she fell on the ground, "Hahahahaha! Hahahahaha!"

"Hey." Aura said, "What's so funny?"

"Your faces!" Belle answered as she continued laughing on the ground, "Just look at your faces!"

Aura and Blitz then looked at each other and saw the faces they were making. Once they saw the faces, they then began to feel a big laugh coming up. They both tried to hold it in. But the faces were too funny to not laugh at and so...

"Hahahahaha!" Aura and Blitz laughed at the same time, "Hahahaha!"

All three ponies were laughing on the floor together and everything seemed happy and cheerful again. As if any sadness from before had quickly been erased from their minds. All they could do then was laugh and be happy together. It was then that the three ponies knew for sure that they belong together as they were having a good time together.

"That's more like it." Belle said as she and the others soon got back up, "Those are smiles I was looking for."

"You know what?" Blitz asked, "It works. I feel like everything will be fine now."

"Me too." Aura said, "Gosh. My friend Pinkie Pie taught me how to smile before. But never like this."

"I'm glad to see that you two are feeling better." Enchanted Belle commented.

"Thanks Princess." Aura thanked, "We really needed that."

"No problem." Belle replied, "Now before we all go to bed, there's one more thing I need to do."

"What's that?" Blitz asked.

"Both of you." Belle said with a fake regal voice, "Bow to me."

The two stallions at first took it as a joke and gave a little chuckle because of that.

"I'm serious." Belle said to them with her normal voice, "Bow to me. I need to dub you two my squires."

"Huh?" Aura and Blitz said at the same time.

"Your squires?" Blitz asked.

"You were serious back there?" Aura asked with confusion.

"Of course I was." Belle answered, "You two have protected me and helped me get my mama's crown back. Plus, we're the Heroes of Light. I think it's only appropriate that I name you my squires."

"Well," Aura said, "I can't say no to royalty."

"And I can't say no to a girl." Blitz said with a little bit of googly eyes.

And so the two stallions bowed to her to receive their titles as Belle's royal squires. Enchanted Belle made her horn glow and prepared a speech.

"Aurachalcum and Flare Blitz." Enchanted Belle said with her regal voice again as she tapped her horn on each of their shoulders, "I hereby dub you both my royal squires. To stay by my side in times of danger or times of peace. To stare at the shooting stars at night. To see the wonderful animals in the day. To taste test all my drinks to make sure they're not poison. To cross every inch of ground to ensure that there are no traps. And most of all, the be my very best friends who will always be there for me no matter what. And to bring me some delicious food to eat on my birthday."

Once she placed her hoof on their shoulders, the glow in her hoof diminished and the deed was done. Aura and Blitz were officially Enchanted Belle's royal squires.

"Arise my new royal squires." Enchanted Belle ordered them with her regal voice.

"My lady." Aura said with an honored voice, "It's an honor. And I shall not disappoint you."

"Do princesses even have squires?" Blitz asked as he raised an eyebrow so to speak.

"I'm a princess." Enchanted Belle replied with her normal voice, "I can do what I want." She then turned to the door and continued with, "Now let's get some sleep. We've got a big journey ahead of us. What with us having to defeat a pony of darkness and all. You two have a good night rest. You deserve it after what you two did for me today."

"Good night Princess." Aura said to her with a smile.

"Aura." Belle said before she exited the room, "You don't need to call me that. Just call me Belle. Please." She said with an annoyed look, "I can't stand being called a Princess all the time."

"Sorry." Aura apologized, "Good night Belle."

"Good night boys." Belle said to them as she headed out the door.

"Uh, Belle." Flare Blitz said as he thought of something, "I uh… can't sleep well at night unless I get a goodnight kiss from my mom. And since she's not here, you'll have to fill in for her. You wouldn't want one of your royal squires to go through a troubled night. Would you?"

"Yeah." Belle replied as she saw through his trick, "Nice try. Good night."

She then left the room to depart to her room, so she could go to sleep. Leaving the two stallions alone in the candled lit room with two comfortable beds to sleep on. Aura felt excited to sleep, while Blitz felt disappointed that he couldn't snag a kiss from a princess. The two stallions then got to bed to get ready to sleep.

"Hey, Aura?" Blitz said as he got comfortable in his bed.

"Yeah?" Aura replied.

"Do you think we'll ever get back home?" Blitz asked as he felt a little worried, "I mean, we both have special ponies in our lives there. And…"

"Just keep doing what Belle said." Aura answered with a smile, "Keep smiling."

Blitz then looked over at Aura with an unsure look. He saw the smile Aura had and knew that Aura had hope that things would be just fine. That made Blitz admire him more as he wished he could be as hopeful as him.

"We'll get home someday." Aura told him with a wink, "You'll see."

Blitz then smiled back and said, "Yeah. You're right. After all, if we stick together like a team, then getting home will be a piece of cake."

Aura then nodded and said as he laid his head on a pillow, "Let's get some sleep now. Good night Blitz."

"Good night Aura." Flare Blitz replied with a smile.

Blitz's smile then disappeared as he looked out the window next to him. He thought about his family and how much he misses them. He thought about how they would react when they found out he was not in Manehattan anymore. He could only imagine them feeling upset and devastated.

"Good night mom. Dad. Little bro and sis." Flare Blitz said quietly as he looked out the window.

He then laid his head on a pillow and slowly went to sleep. It was then the day officially came to an end.

Flare Blitz here for some narration. When all this started, I thought I was transported somewhere far away. That I can go back in a day or two. But a whole other world? It was almost hard to believe. But here I was. On another world with a different history and different places from Equestria. Throughout the adventure today, all I could think about was going home after it was all over. Not just because of my family or Manehattan. But because of Flame Wheel too. I meant what I said during the adventure when I said that I only saw him as a pony that wouldn't stay for long. But after deciding to give being on a team another chance and making new friends, I realized I was wrong to think that way of Flame Wheel. Now, I still don't exactly consider him a friend. But I still wish I could see him again just so I could try to be a better pony to him. The only thing that was keeping me from doing that was that there was no way to return to Equestria right now since the Magic Crystal can't help. All I could do at this point was just hope that we'd find a way back sooner rather than later.

And at long last, the three heroes of the series have united together and have become a team. They may not have learned who the mysterious pony was. But they still have begun a beautiful friendship and learned of their new mission together. To become the legendary Heroes of Light and stop whoever is trying to destroy the balance of light and darkness. Who is that pony? And can our heroes gain the power they need to stop him? Only the future holds the answer.

Next Time: Bridge to Equestria