By this time, Pinkie Pie had made her way into a clearing outside of Ponyville, close to the Unicornian forest. She was tired from running, and, unable to go much farther, stopped to rest for a bit.
Meanwhile, Rarity had succumbed to the effects of the magic cookies mid-flight. The Crystal Carriage continued on its own for a while until the birds got tired and landed to rest their wings—and they landed just a few feet away from Pinkie Pie.
Star Catcher flew above the trees, approaching a thick forest, until she spotted the Crystal Carriage, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. Knowing Pinkie Pie was a friend, and admittedly curious about the carriage, she flew down to meet them.
"Star Catcher," Pinkie cried, running up to her and pulling her into a quick hug. "Am I glad to see you!"
"So am I. Something terrible has happened, Pinkie Pie! Two ponies have invaded Butterfly Island and—"
"Captured your friends," Pinkie finished.
Star Catcher nodded. "Yes. Did something like that happen to you?"
"Yeah. But for Ponyville, it was one pony and a dragon. They locked everyone up in the Sweet Shoppe!"
Rarity yawned and stood up. "You had that too, Pinkie? So did Unicornia! Only we had two ponies invade, too."
She rubbed at her eyes with a hoof, and looked at Star Catcher with wide eyes. "Wow! You have wings just like the Breezies!"
Star Catcher smiled. "And you have a horn!"
Rarity grinned, proud. "Yup! And it helps me make the rainbows!"
Star Catcher turned to Pinkie Pie, curious. "I've never met the Breezies, Pinkie Pie. Are they shy like we are?"
Pinkie Pie seemed saddened. "I'm sorry we never introduced you, Star Catcher. They're really nice! The Breezies are tiny ponies with wings, and they live in flowers! But…something happened to make their home, Breezie Blossom, turn wintry. Minty and Storybelle think it was magic that did it, maybe something like a magic paintbrush."
At that Star Catcher gasped. "A magic brush? I've seen one like that! One of the ponies that invaded our island had one. Her name was Toola Roola, and the pony that was with her was named Starsong. Toola Roola used that brush to draw a cage to contain us, and one appeared almost instantly."
Piunkie Pie gasped. "Maybe she's the reason Breezie Blossom is so cold! She could have painted it to be like winter!"
Star Catcher nodded and moved on. "Starsong sang a song that hypnotized us into going into the cage—but I escaped with the help of my butterfly friends. Those ponies seemed very happy to do what they did, but…"
"But what," asked Rarity.
"But they seemed to enjoy having fun, too. Even though they did bad things, they didn't seem like bad ponies—not entirely. Toola Roola and Starsong played with Baby Honolu-Loo, the youngest pegasus on Butterfly Island, and we even had a party together. If anything, I'd say they were lonely."
Rarity nodded. "I get what you mean! In Unicornia, our visitors were Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. They were both really young—probably younger than me! We gave them a tour of the castle, and Scootaloo loved playing games, just like I do. Sweetie Belle even showed us her magic—before it turned out the cookies were magic and put us all to sleep! It looked like they were having lots of fun…"
Pinkie Pie stepped forward. "I probably know why that is—but first, let me tell you who we met. We met a dragon named Whimsey Weatherbe and an earth pony named Cheerilee—no relation to your teacher, Rarity."
Rarity nodded. "I remember Scootaloo saying something like that. They're sisters…I think."
"Well, Razzaroo realized Cheerilee had never had a birthday party before! So we all teamed up to give her one. Whimsey and Cheerilee both had lots of fun at the Petal Parlor and Sweet Shoppe. Cheerilee had cake and ice cream, with some help from Whiimsey, and they both got Daffidazey's royal treatment at the Petal Parlor! Whimsey sure liked that."
"There's something I don't understand," said Star Catcher. "Why would they attack us if they enjoyed being around us?"
Pinkie's face grew solemn. "It's something Kimono told us about, Star Catcher. Spike and I went to visit her, and she told us about ponies who had been forgotten long ago. Kimono said that a long time ago, Ponyville was home to a unicorn and pegasus pony! Spike had picked them to live there with the others—Oh, Spike's a dragon, by the way. Wysteria found him and he made her a princess about a year ago, and now he helps us out whenever we need it. He helped us get Rarity home last fall!"
Star Catcher, a bit overwhelmed, simply nodded and motioned for her to go on.
"Kimono then said that these ponies befriended a female dragon by themselves—but soon after, a force of evil and mistrust arrived and split them apart! And that's why we had no idea Unicornia or Butterfly Island existed until we found each other…"
"I think I understand. Did Kimono say anything else?"
Pinkie Pie nodded. "She said that there were two legends. One was about Breezie Blossom—when it became like winter, the Forgotten Ones would rise and plunge Ponyville, Unicornia, and Butterfly Island into darkness."
Rarity and Star Catcher gasped, and Pinkie Pie continued with a cheerful tone.
"But there's something else! She said that a light would be found to save us—and that when all of the pony races are together, a light will lead them to an age of unity. She means we have to work together to fix things!"
Rarity frowned. "But if we had to work together, why didn't you tell us about this?"
"I'm sorry, Rarity! Before we could tell Unicornia or Butterfly Island, they showed up—and we didn't know that those ponies were the Forgotten Ones. Cheerilee told us a story that sounded exactly like what Kimono told us, and when Rainbow Dash asked if it was true, she said it was! Oh, she sounded so sad…"
Star Catcher smiled. "Maybe we can help them after we rescue our friends! But I'm also worried about that force of darkness. Both Toola Roola and Starsong mentioned a Master of theirs—if they're the ponies and dragon from the legend, perhaps he's the evil force from the legend."
Pinkie Pie nodded. "That makes sense. Cheerilee and Whimsey mentioned him too! And they told us that their Master granted them their powers."
"Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said that their Master wants to rule our lands and separate us," said Rarity, fiddling with the wand.
"Starsong and Toola Roola said he intends to make us forget one another," Star Catcher finished, fluttering back and forth.
"So what do we do? I want to go to Unicornia and help out! My friends are tied up and locked in the ball room," Rarity said.
"I want to help my friends on Butterfly Island," Star Catcher said. "They're trapped in a cage, and I made a pegasus promise to come back with help."
"I want to get back to Ponyvillle! My friends are locked in an icy cage in the Sweet Shoppe," Pinkie Pie said.
The three ponies turned away from each other in a huff—but stopped. Arguing was the last thing they needed to do right now.
"Sorry," they said at once.
"It's alright. But...I do feel concerned about one other thing, Pinkie Pie," Star Catcher said, looking somewhat down.
"What's that?"
The pegasus pony flew up a bit, unsure how to begin. "Well...when Toola Roola and Starsong were talking with us, they mentioned the Breezies and unicorns-two friends we weren't told about. And then they said you had begun to forget us and Butterfly Island."
Pinkie Pie gasped, and Rarity did as well. "That's not true, Star Catcher! We would never forget you, or any of the pegasus ponies! True friends would never forget."
Rarity nodded in agreement, and a grateful Star Catcher smiled and hugged her friend. "That's exactly what I told them!"
"Yeah," Rarity said. "I'd never forget you either! I'm sure it's the same with all of us!"
Pinkie Pie blushed and hugged back, a warm, pink light glowing between them for a second before fading as they pulled free from the embrace. Then she smiled.
"How about this? Once this is all done we can all go to Butterfly Island together! And maybe then we could go to Breezie Blossom, Unicornia, and Ponyville! We could celebrate everyone with everyone! It would be the biggest party ever!"
Rarity and Star Catcher both grinned at the thought.
"That sounds like lots of fun! I wish we could do that now," Rarity said, bouncing in place.
"It does. But before we can celebrate, we need to rescue our friends," Star Catcher asked.
Pinkie Pie nodded. "Right. Does anyone have a plan?"
Every pony, as well as the birds on the Crystal Carriage, put a hoof or wing to their heads thought. Somewhat distracted, Rarity began to wave the magic wand—and then gasped, jumping straight up and startling the others.
"I just remembered something! Right as the sleeping cookies started to take effect, Sweetie Belle said that we shouldn't make a rainbow. I bet if we can rescue Cheerilee, Brights Brightly, and Whistle Wishes, together we can make a rainbow and…Um…"
She gave a sheepish grin. "I don't know what it would do, but making one can't be bad for us!"
Pinkie Pie brightened. "Sounds like a plan! And remember Rainbow Dash's postcard? She said she rode on a rainbow! If we're able to help your friends there, we can ride the rainbow to the Rainbow Waterfall, and help out at Butterfly Island! Hopefully we can help the Breezies from there too. And then we'll head to Ponyville. We'll probably need a lot of ponies to help with Whimsey Weatherbe!"
Her friends nodded.
"But… what if we're captured," asked Star Catcher.
No one spoke for a bit.
"Then we'll have tried. And we can't sit here and do nothing! We have friends to save, and parties to plan," Pinkie Pie said with conviction.
"Sounds fun," Rarity said, gesturing with the wand to open the carriage's doors. "Come on! The Crystal Carriage will take us there in no time—but we should use the rainbow afterward. These birds need their rest!"
Star Catcher was so happy she did a midair flip, settling herself into the carriage. "If any of you need help, consider it done. We don't have to go to Butterfly Island right away—they didn't seem to want to harm us, at least. And I know your friends need you as much as mine need me."
"We all need each other, Star Catcher," said Pinkie Pie, stepping into the carriage after Rarity. "And I bet the Forgotten Ones need us most of all."