My Little Pony: Equestria's Warriors Returns

by Spirit Of Fantasy

After many wars, heavy losses, and violence with enemies. The eldest brother of the royal sisters makes his return, and discovers the student of the sister he blames for their youngest sister's banishment. Now along side this young and talented unicorn, ready to battle evil. He will discover the new world of friendship and love that replaced his world of pain and hateful battles.

41. Chapter 41:The SSCS6000

I can't fit the whole title into the chapter tab, for those who don't know, it's full name is Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.

Chapter 41:The SSCS6000

Rainbow Dash was frantic to make it to the cottage of Fluttershy and Typhoon. This new day was the start of a very special sale on probably one of Ponyville's most delicious beverage. No pony was a bigger fan of this famous beverage than her, and it was all thanks to the working hooves of the Apples. That beverage was their famous homemade apple cider, and it was different from the average. Quality was valued over quantity, only the freshest and most crisp apples were used.

Because of that, there was only so much cider that could be made for the year. Not every pony was able to get to taste the cider, so it took a great desire and planning to even have a chance to taste some. Rainbow Dash had just that, and was not even waiting for dawn to come. She was on her way to get Fluttershy and Typhoon, hoping for the three of them to get there just early enough. So that they would be able to collect their fill of the Apple family's legendary fresh cider.

As she flew through the skies, she made it passed a new comer that was casually exiting the forest. He looked up and spotted the direction she was flying in, and that's when he knew where she was going. For he knew of an old friend in that direction, some pony he once saved at the cost of his own. He only chuckled, and continued walking from the forest to the first bit of civilization he's seen in a long time. And the first thing he ended up seeing was a large apple cider stand with barrels of plenty all around it.

"Hmm… Never had such a drink in so long…! Perhaps…a little indulging wouldn't hurt…!"He kept his black hood low, hiding his armor as he strolled over the hill.

As he walked, the sun was rising over in the horizon with an orange warm glow. Warm, but never as warm as he was, but the sun's glare was an appropriate and kind gesture to his heat filled personality. He took his time, and it nearly took an hour before he made the approach to the stand. The stranger sighed, for he then noticed a very unusual sight that was not known from what he remembered. A line, a massive line full of families and individuals were waiting for a drink as well.

Even for just a line of customers, this was way more ponies than what he ever saw in the old days. Thousands possibly, and they were all in this simple line just for a beverage, it was insane. So many ponies in one place, it seemed that everything really was changing in Equestria.

"All these ponies…! When did they get so plentiful, and…more…colorful?"He casually approached the stand and leaned against the stand, right next to Big Mac.

"Uh…Is there something we can help you with sir,"Mac took notice of the cloaked stallion leaning against their stand so casually,"You gotta go to the back of the line if you're here for some apple cider."

"Never said I was here just to get some cider…! I am but a traveler that's made it from the furthest reaches of Equestria,"The stranger tried some friendly yet masculine tones and some friendly swindling,"It's been a while since I've been to this side of the world. Canterlot use to be my home so long ago…!"

"Mac! What's going on here? We gotta keep the crowd in a straight and narrow line,"Applejack carried a barrel behind the stand and put it down before noticing Mac speaking with the stranger,"Who ya chatting with. Get him walking to the back of the line…!"

"But uh…Applejack…?"Mac pointed out a sudden threatening action the stranger was doing while continuing to talk.

She looked to a corner of the edge, and saw a bubbling pitch black hoof carving in the wood. Smoke and heat rose like a soldering iron as he drew a black shape of a flame into the stand. He chuckled at a joke he made while the two older siblings froze from silent fear. For this was an instant red flag to danger, a possible Cinder so boldly standing right before them, talking. They both swallowed, and began nodding as they pretended to listen to the stallion's chatting.

Meanwhile, Typhoon was in the middle of being dragged right towards the line. Rainbow Dash was insistent that him and Fluttershy came with as quickly as possible to get their fix of cider. Typhoon would have rather been in bed, as would Fluttershy for more secret reasons. He yawned, trying to remain calm and collective without wanting to strangle Rainbow Dash for waking them.

"This cider better be worth waking us up, Rainbow…! We had an important trip to make with the field mice."Typhoon warned as they approached the scene.

"It's totally worth it. Applejack's family apple cider is the best in all Equestria, and we're gonna get some,"Rainbow insisted that this cider was well worth the early awakening,"Pinkie Pie always ends up ahead of us in line, and then they always end up running out of cider!"

"I guess we-"Fluttershy was cut off by more of Rainbow's outrage.

"Well, not this year! This year I'm gonna get there before sun rise, so I can drink all the cider I want,"Rainbow plotted her revenge for all the times Pinkie drank all the cider in front of her,"I'll be able to laugh when she doesn't get any! It's the perfect plan! I might even buy some just to drink it drop by drop-"

"You sound like a passive aggressive mean mare from those drama stories,"Typhoon interrupted Rainbow's desires to be catty and stuck up in front of Pinkie Pie,"And by the way… It looks like we've already been long beaten to the first sample of cider…!"

Rainbow froze and went agape in disbelief to see her plan already ruined. The large line full of so many ponies and even campers was overwhelming, this seemed like a nightmare. Typhoon merely called it a disappointment, for him and Fluttershy were awoken for nothing it seemed. He breathed deeply and sighed, finding his center and remained patient now that they were in this line. They had no choice but to stay put, at least until the cider ran out or they got some.

"Gee, Rainbow Dash. It looks like a few others had the same idea."Fluttershy pointed out the obvious while Rainbow was trying not to lose it on this sudden line.

"You don't say… You honestly thought you were the only one who would go with such a simple plan."Typhoon groaned at the incompetence before Pinkie emerged from a tent.

"Oh, gosh, Pinkie. I like your new style…!"Fluttershy complimented Pinkie's style of waiting in line many ponies before them.

"Who are all these ponies?!"Rainbow ranted at the sudden flourish of ponies.

"Isn't this great?! I couldn't sleep last night cause I was so excited for cider season, and I had this brilliant idea to come down and camp out, so I told a few others about it,"Pinkie went on a massive chat storm about what transpired that brought her to this opening for the season,"And they thought it was a good idea too, and now it's a big old cider party! Oh my gosh!"

Pinkie just now realized how many ponies actually came to the opening. Her surprise for the scene was innocent enough, but for Rainbow it felt so much worse and horrendous to watch. It was burning her up inside, as Pinkie added to the irritation with her innocent thoughts that came off as snive.

"That's a lot of ponies. Hope they don't run out before you get some!"Pinkie remarked and Rainbow growled, ready to attack Pinkie if not For Typhoon hugging her chest to hold the mare back.

"Alright, calm down…! Part of this is on you as well, relax…!"Typhoon insisted while holding the flailing Rainbow Dash.

"It's on me?! As if! I'm not the one who's…! Who's…!"Rainbow huffed and pushed the stallion off her.

"Who's excited to try some good cider and simply likes to talk about it?"Typhoon questioned and silenced the Pegasus, but she certainly tried to think of something.

"Um… She's just a little impatient. Rainbow REALLY loves the apple cider."Fluttershy tried to calmly support Rainbow, and this made her uncle sigh and give up on even trying.

"Save it, you two can go ahead and waste your time in line for a drink that will always be around so long as the Apples are around,"Typhoon flew up and gave up his spot to some kids and their dad,"I'm going to go back to the cottage and simply prepare for the day. When you realize how ridiculous this is, feel free to come back and help the rabbits with foraging, Fluttershy."

"Yes Pappy."She replied before he flew off towards home, but not without getting one last rant from Rainbow.

"That's all easy for you to say! You're the one who's immortal!"She yelled as he flew off towards home with a shake of his head.

Further up in the line, Twilight, Spike and Shadow Swirl were waiting for their chance at some cider. Excitement was mounting, they too were made aware of the cider's legendary taste. So they were more than up for a waiting game to try it, excitement mounted within Shadow Swirl. Trying a traditional and well known drink of the Apple family, a lot of love and freshness went into their apple treats. So this would be worth while, and it would be nice to support the family of her student.

"Isn't this exciting, Spike? Opening day of cider season!"Twilight admitted her own excitement for the beginning of this season.

"Yeah! That means it's only thirty more days till sapphire season!"Spike admitted another reason cider season was a big deal.

"I've never tried the Apple family's brand of apple cider, though I've heard good things about it,"Shadow explained her interest in the apple cider the Apples were known for,"Though…I also hear that it can be quite disappointing due to it's lack of supplies due to how picky they are about the apples they use."

"Of course! Quality will always beat quantity in the long run!"Twilight stated her opinion of what type of material was better.

"Indeed…! That was the demand and preference back in the old days,"Shadow agreed with Twilight from personal experience,"I'd rather wait for some strong and effective medicine for a cold rather than immediately getting absolute garbage medicine that does nothing for me!"

"Attention every pony! Cider season is now officially opened….!"Applejack announced, and her voice oddly cracked with a touch of fear.

The ponies all cheered as the line began to move, and cider began to flow. Even when the crowd was unaware of what was putting the Apples on edge and leaving them shaky. Each and every pony was getting their serving of apple cider, it was like a sweet heavenly nectar to those who started drinking. Rainbow stood so far back in the line, and she was beyond annoyed with the line. And Pinkie was not helping when the line moved up and she was going to be the one to taste some cider before her.

It was also very unhelpful that there was a stranger working them for a drink. His talking got a bit annoying at first, but not only was his "hot" personality scaring them, his conversations started turning morbid. From speaking about emerging from a cave to speaking about a griffon he kept for "fun" purposes, apparently they got into a fight. But either way, his talking was making the family sweat. And they were desperate for any one of their friends to appear and help them.

Thankfully, their prayers did end up being answered as Twilight, Spike, and Shadow were next in line three hours in. Mac was the first one to start breaking under the pressure of the stranger's words. He didn't want to rob some pony who was kindly waiting in line, but he needed to shut the stranger up. Smith was getting tired of holding Apple Bloom's ears to protect her from the dark speech. So he broke and quickly pulled a tall cup of apple cider and gave it to the stranger to silence him.

"Just TAKE IT! Take it for Celestia's sake, just please! Stop talking like the grim reaper!"Big Mac begged the stallion to take the cider and fill his mouth full of it to drown out his talk of torture and burning.

"Really? You know, normally I'd be offended by being interrupted and disrespected during story telling. I didn't even get to the part where I started pulling my guest's talons,"The stranger admitted and the inside of his hood glowed like a illuminating furnace for just a split second,"But since you were so kind as to give me a cup of your fresh cider, I can let this one slide…!"

"I…hope you enjoy sir…! Just please at least lift your hoof a bit. You're burning through the table."Applejack requested that the stranger stop burning holes and marks on their large cider stand.

"Hey, Applejack! We made it!"Twilight suddenly spooked Applejack out of her pleading with the stranger.

"Some pony's jumpy…"Spike noticed as Applejack nearly bounced out of her skin when Twilight interrupted her.

"Sorry about that, y'all. We just got a bit on edge is all. Three mugs for the three of ya?"Applejack quickly offered them cider, and Shadow was fast to put down the money for it.

"Those will be a wonderful start for us. We can hardly wait for the next day already,"Shadow agreed and paid for the three mugs of apple cider, catching the interest of the stranger,"How long will this go on for?"

"About a week…! And surely we can get to every pony by then, since we're kind of infamous for not having enough at times,"Applejack chuckled and started to show that she was nervous about the stranger,"Say… We might be able to offer y'all a whole barrel, if you're willing to help us with something…"

"Really? And what might that be?"Shadow asked and got the answer by Applejack, who swung her eyes discreetly to gesture to the stranger.

"Who's the strange stallion?"Twilight was first to notice him, while Shadow sensed a familiar warmth of all things about him.

"He won't leave…! I think he's a Cinder…! He keeps talking all kinds of creepy and dark stuff,"Applejack quietly whispered, hoping not to offend the stranger like Mac nearly did,"And he's frying up our table…! Help us…!"

Twilight as slow to make her horn glow, reassuring her friend that they could handle it. The stranger took his eyes off Shadow to notice the spike of magic that radiated to his left. He got a mere chuckle out of seeing Twilight appear threatened by his presence, as his black bubbling hoof crushed his mug. It then reduced itself to dust from the flames that sparked and engulfed it. That's when Shadow felt the stranger's shadow, and an impossible being owned that shadow.

His fire that incinerated the cup, the scorch marks that charred the table, and his dark tongue, all of it began to make sense. Yet it still seemed all too impossible to be. If that was the case, then Shadow knew she needed to get between Twilight and the stallion of interest. Before he melted Twilight down to her blackened bones.

"Stop…! That's no Cinder we're dealing with!"Shadow rushed between Twilight and the stranger and got a good look at his flickering eyes that glowed like a great forge.

"Ah…! Shadow Swirl…! Of all the old friends I looked forward to seeing. The queen of shadows became my first,"The stranger revealed that he knew of Shadow personally before he gave a hard chuckle,"I hope the rest of the crew hasn't changed too much since my… absence…"

Shadows sprouted from the stranger's shadow in the form of two tendrils. They wrapped around the edge of the hood and forced it back, letting the stallion's mane of pure fire swing free. It was like a radiating camp fire on his head while his charcoal face, sporting a gray indent scar on the left side of his body. The black fur and skin bubble from the blistering heat his body emanated. The shadow's dispatched, leaving Shadow baffled, as was Twilight, both of them dropped their cider.

Once the hood came off, his face was all too familiar regardless of it's wear and tear. His armor was able to show just a little bit more, the pure ancient unicorn runes spiraled and twisted all over his black iron chest plate. The sectioned hoof gauntlets and greaves he wore, this was an old warrior. One that few loved, but respected for his patriotism and destructive nature. A stallion that was more than willing to do anything for Equestria, no matter how dark and terrible it was.

And some how, after a great sacrifice to save his comrades and end a great griffon war. Here he now stood, somehow alive after being thought to be dead for over eighteen hundred years. This just felt too impossible, but their eyes did not deceive them, this was that old warrior, War Fire.

"Your face…! But… This isn't possible…! You… You fell. You went out in a blaze of glory like you hoped,"Shadow approached the dead warrior suddenly living once more,"They all confirmed that you had died…!"

"I'll admit, it was the closest I ever came to death… It was so glorious and blissful,"The revealed warrior admitted with a chuckle to see an old comrade so baffled,"But it would seem Equestria still needed me. So here I stand once more!"

"War Fire…! How is this…"Shadow lost the ability to speak after such a baffling revelation standing before her.

"Uh…I'm sorry, but you mind explaining this for the less informed ponies here?"Applejack felt a bit left out after having to deal with the grim and strange guest.

"This is the fire warrior, War Fire…! He's the war hero that sacrificed himself to end The Great Griffon War,"Twilight grew with excitement to see another old and lesser known hero of the past,"Orion showed me EVERYTHING about you! Your patriotism, your respect for your comrades and your selfless sacrifice!"

"Ah…! So dear Orion is still with us as well. This is good news."War Fire admitted.

"We all are, even Frosty. Though he still resides in his cave these days,"Shadow admitted that all the comrades he had before were still among the living to this day,"I can't believe you're still alive…! How? How did you make it out of the mountain cave?!"

"That my dear friend, is a very long and arduous story…!"War Fire admitted and was willing to clear his throat to tell the tale before they were interrupted.

"Hey! Can this line get moving anytime soon?! There's loads of ponies waiting for cider here!"A stallion in line yelled out with outrage that the line was being held up for so long.

War Fire shot his head over to the rude stallion, and his mane started to flair like a rising furnace. His hoof raised and curled, it appeared that an old habit of his was surfacing in the form of a terrible temper. Shadow knew his temper all too well, broken bones and melted skin were his game when enraged. Every pony backed away, fearing for what the warrior would do to the stallion. But War Fire then immediately simmered down with a deep breath and a small stomp of the hoof.

"I can see that the tide of ignorant civilians has not changed in the least…!"War Fire grumbled before fully composing himself, which was an enormous shock for Shadow.

"They're just impatient. Every pony, has just been waiting a long time in line for a drink,"Shadow insisted before her and Twilight decided to actually move aside and let others get a drink,"Sorry about that every pony! Please go on ahead."

"I can't believe you're still alive! You're an actual war hero!"Twilight announced and suddenly sparked the interest of the crowd.

"I did only what needed to be done for Equestria. There's no need for such praise,"War Fire insisted only to get swarmed by the crowd that took interest in his accomplishment,"What in the name of Cosmos…?! These ponies are completely overwhelming…! I haven't even done anything to earn their admiration yet…!"

"Wow! A real war hero of a warrior back from the dead! You gotta admit, that's pretty amazing!"Apple Bloom admitted her own fascination for yet another new Equestrian warrior.

"That's one way to put it… He could be a little less… Assertive like."Applejack admitted that this one wasn't without some flaws and his aggressive appearance and conversations.

"That's true, but since he's a warrior. There ain't a reason that we can't trust him,"Mac decided to just accept and trust the grim like warrior since he was in fact an Equestrian warrior,"Now are you gonna ponder on our special guest or are ya gonna get us some more apples for cider?"

Applejack looked back, and witnessed a very mused crowd of impatient and thirsty ponies. She politely smiled with apologetic feeling, understanding their lack of enthusiasm for being kept waiting. So she immediately got back to work, bringing some apple cider to every pony they could.

So they got to work, filling the mugs and cups full of cider, and even selling barrels of it. The cider flowed nonstop, so many ponies gathering for just a cup at the very least. So much satisfaction, it was easy money and good feeling from the customers they served. Apple Bloom seemed a bit distracted, now that there was yet another warrior among them. With his appearance, it brought even more customers just so they could see this pony of fire and apparent war hero.

As good as it was to help the business, it only drained the cider supplies that much quicker. And before it was too much longer, the cider supplies ran dry with a big fizzle of foam. No more cider would come out, and that meant that the cider sale was done for today. The Apples would need to go back and properly make some more, and it took time to make their cider just the way every pony liked it. And just when it was almost Rainbow Dash's turn to receive some of the delicious nectar

"Heh, sorry every pony. That's it for today!"Applejack announced after one last tap fizzle, much to the disappointment of the remaining crowd.

"Surprise, surprise! You ran out again!"Rainbow was the first one to rant about the Apples running out of cider once again.

"Yeah, you always run out!"The stallion Caramel followed up and started an uproar of outrage.

"For the record, I don't mind-"Fluttershy decided to try and peacefully speak, but she was quickly drowned out by the crowd.

"Why can't you make enough cider for all of us?! Or at least for me?!"Rainbow continued ranting and sparked a big fuss with every pony.

After War Fire had patiently waited for the cider sale to end, he rekindled with Shadow. She even let him in on a bit about what had happened since his near death experience. Before they could really get to chatting, the absurd ranting and chaos over mere apple cider was far too distracting. To think such ponies would be this whiny and annoyed simply for not getting their dose of apple cider. From his time, much like the other warriors, starving foals were far more grateful for a drop of water.

"Was our people always this ungrateful and chaotic over something so simple?"War Fire huffed slightly, for ungrateful citizens were something that always infuriated him.

"The world has grown much more peaceful. It's gotten to the point where the citizens are stuck with… First world problems,"Shadow explained the concept of first world problems that have taken over much more serious problems,"Ponies grew a bit more picky, progression has been just a bit too much at times. And…some ponies just forget what the world can really be like while they worry about petty things."

"It leaves a bad taste in my mouth… And I ate baby dragon flesh as a child…!"War Fire admitted his lack of amusement for how the ponies were behaving in this age.

"What?!"Spike overheard that last part and was stricken with fear and outrage of his own.

"It's…just a little joke we made up some time ago, Spike. He just chose to go with it,"Shadow was quick to defuse that uproar before it could erupt into disgust,"You know, since he controls fire and once resided in a cave among dragons. It's just a little joke…!"

"That's a pretty messed up joke…!"Spike mused at the joke, but thankfully fell for the lie.

"Heh… Still being a mother rather than a warrior…"War Fire mumbled as he assessed the impending outrage further.

"Hold on, every pony. We've done our best to improve supply this year!"Applejack insisted that her family was trying their best to improve the cider supplies.

"You always say that!"The caramel stallion ranted once again.

"And it's always true! But apple cider is made with love and integrity,"Applejack respectively explained the importance of how they made their cider,"To make this cider requires only the highest quality apples in Equestria. Sorry, but that recipe takes time."

The complaining continued, and it was starting to twist the nerves of he slightly more patient warrior. He looked at Shadow, showing his annoyance for such chaos and lack of patience. She nodded and decided to let War Fire work, even for a warrior back from the dead, his work was never done. So he immediately raised a horse shoe shaped wall of fire all around the crowd with just a stomp of his hoof. The flames blazed and flared, the blistering heat from the air along with it's blinding light did the trick.

Their tongues were held and their words silenced by the heat that felt like pepper spray. While the blinding bright red and orange fire made them nearly curl up from fear of losing their vision. Thankfully, as quickly as the fire wall raised from the dirt, it had quickly faded away.

"Quiet! And respect the words of the Apple! Hold your tongues and try to have some sort of patience,"War Fire roared for all to hear as his mane flared up like a bonfire,"What are all of you? Grown ponies or are you just a bunch of FOALS?!"

His strong words rattled their ears and put them into submission, no physical force was needed. They were quiet and respectful of the stern stallion, their submission eased his nerves. As his mane lowered to a small torch sized flame, and Applejack was able to finish her explanation.

"Uh…thanks for the help. That was…an effective talking to,"Applejack casually thanked the warrior for his hard words of respect demands to silence the crowd,"If y'all just be patient, we'll have plenty more tomorrow!"

"She's right, ya know! You can't rush perfection! And this year's batch was perfection!"Pinkie Pie incited her satisfaction for the luscious cider she was able to enjoy.

"Uh, Pinkie Pie…?"Fluttershy tried to warn Pinkie that her words were sparking rage within Rainbow Dash for her unintentional mockery.

"I'll never forget the cider I just drank! It is a moment in time that will never exist again!"Pinkie over did it a bit with how much she loved cider, and Rainbow nearly pounced on her for a fight.

"Well… I think I've seen enough of the world and it's people for a bit. I should be on my way,"War Fire decided that he needed to move on to the town to see even more of Equestria,"There's so much more I need to see, so much more I need to learn about today's society…!"

"Aw…! You leaving already?! But you just got here."Apple Bloom moped that a new warrior was already leaving her before she could learn more about War Fire.

"I'm aware of that, and I will return. But I have other places to be child,"War Fire insisted before turning to Twilight with a lingering curiosity,"It was a pleasure to meet the student of little Tia. This experience has been… Enlightening…!"

"Of course…! If you end up going to Canterlot. Feel free to say hello to the princess!"Twilight called before War Fire was going to take his leave.

"Oh I shall, young unicorn."He responded, and was making to leave, but he was immediately stopped by approaching trouble the perked up his ears.

A great motor got running and was racing right towards them, it's unnatural smokey stink crinkled the fire pony's nose. Every pony noticed the sudden engine of a motorized machine on the approach. As it came barreling down the dirt road like a train, carrying a most peculiar machine behind it.

"What in Equestria is that?"Applejack wondered before the great machine came to a grinding stop before their stand and the crowd.

Once it had come to a dead stop, two clearly identical twin stallions sporting the same red and vanilla curly mane and tails, vanilla fur, and classic carny like outfits came out. They jumped and presented themselves in a flashy fashion. Before they suddenly pulled a Pinkie Pie and began to sing.

"Well, lookie what we got here, brother. It's the same in every town. Ponies with dry throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found. Maybe they're not aware that there's really no need for this teary despair!"

"That the key that they need to solve this cider shortage you and I will share!"

One wore a mustache, the other was clean shaved, but they were in sync. And both warriors could tell where these two stallions were going with all this fancy singing already. They were clearly swindlers of the highest degree, and to the average pony, these secret con artists could come off as gods to them.

"Well you've got opportunity in this very community!"

"He's Flim!"The mustached stallion introduced his clean shaved brother.

"He's Flam!"The shaved one then introduced his mustachioed brother.

"We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers. Traveling salesponies nonpareil!"They finally introduced themselves to the excited crowd that were taken by their theatrics.

"Nonpa- what?"Pinkie was confused by the big words they used.

"Nonpareil, and that's exactly the reason why,you see. No pony else in this whole place will give you such a chance to be where you need to be. And that's a new world, with tons of cider. Fresh squeezed and ready for drinking."

"More cider than you could drink in all your days of thinking!"

"I doubt that."Rainbow was skeptical since her thirst for cider was fierce.

"So take the opportunity. In this very community!"The brothers and even the crowd joined in the song.

"He's Flim!"

"He's Flam!"

"We're the world famous Flim Flam brothers, traveling sales ponies!"

War Fire covered his ears and attempted to just walk away from the obvious schemers. Their singing was obnoxious and full of deception, something he was in no mood to deal with. But before he could venture any further, he stopped cold in his tracks, it was like his body froze. It refused to move on and ignore these swindlers, for he could read these twin stallions like a sign. Their machine was without hard work, tradition, heart, and respect for the country's integrity.

This over the top progressive cider machine they were revealing through song was an insult for a family that was possibly older than him. A family that was beloved in Equestria and showed it's true strength through tradition and hard work. If this machine was amassed and allowed to replace the family. This would only be the start of it, such cold progression where the machine takes over the heart of the living. Eventually, Equestria would have no integrity, no strength, and no more heart within itself.

With all that under threat, and him being the country loving aggressive warrior he was. War Fire understood that he could not walk away from this, he would not let such drastic changes come to such a respected tradition. With a gentle sigh, he turned back around and assessed what he was dealing with. Con artists was a clear one, they're not average due to their impressive acting and theatrics. They were pros, and seeing how quickly they manipulated the crowd to stare and support them in awe so immediately.

So being aggressive or simply trying to kick the stallions out would result in a revolt with the crowds. As much as he was accustom to doing things that the crowd would hate, he could not do that right now for personal reasons. He needed to get the crowd back on the side of the Apples. Show them the evil of manipulative machines that have always proven to be unreliable. To do this, he already knew what he would have to do, invoke competition and pride for tradition from the Apple family.

"Ugh… I can't let these con artists get away with replacing quality Equestrian workers…"He groaned and let his Equestrian spirit control what he did next.

"Folks, it's the one and only, the biggest and the best!"

"The unbelievable!"

"Unimpeachable!"

"Indispensable!"

"I can't believable!"

"Flim Flam brothers Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000!"They finally introduced the large mobile machine with quite the industrial appearance to it.

"What'd you say sister?"Flam pulled some charm that made Rarity faint in response.

"I'd say I'm close to being sick…"War Fire moped, grazing his hoof across the machine before feeling a basket of apples sitting upon a platform right outside the grinders.

He snatched up an apple and walked to the Apples inconspicuously as the crowd sang with the twins. He got behind the family before snatching up one of the family's super fresh and crisp apples. Once the fire pony placed both apples on the counter to their stand, he tried to get their attention. Only for Applejack to get dragged into a demonstration for the cider making machine.

"Young filly. I would be ever so honored if you might see fit to let my brother and I borrow some of your delicious, and might I add spellbindingly apples for our demonstration here?"

"Uh, sure, I guess…"Applejack was skeptical but was willing to give them a chance.

"Don't fall for their theatrics, and friendly behavior towards you…! They are schemers obsessed with undisciplined progression,"War Fire suddenly spoke quietly, almost spooking Mac and Granny Smith,"They will try to throw your tradition and your family's ways to the dirt for their machines."

"I…beg your pardon…?"Smith questioned the stallion's whispers of insults and threats that the stallion twins posed to them.

"They'll undermine your quality work and family integrity with an unstable and unreliable machine of the future,"War Fire warned of the Flim Flam brother's true intentions with their machine,"If they succeed, you will lose all your business, and the Apple family's way of life will slowly fade away…"

"We're well aware of how important our cider sales are, but you're right as well, mister Fire."Smith understood where War Fire was going with his warning about the brothers.

"And we have no intention of giving up our way of life for this hunk of junk, sir."Mac insisted that they were aware and ready to defend their family's apple cider making ways.

"Good… And keep in mind young filly,"He swung a bit over and around Apple Bloom, one hoof went to her shoulder while he whispered in her left ear,"They're only talking so much because they can't truly back up the quality performance you and your family bring… So don't be foolish, and do what you know is right."

"You got it mister War Fire, sir,"Apple Bloom saluted the fire warrior before he then stood in the middle of the stand,"Wow…! I got advice from a war hero…!"

"Ready Flim?"

"Ready Flam?"

"Let bing bam zam!"

"And show these thirsty ponies a world of delectable cider!"Flim finished and finally got the machine running nice and loud, ready to grind Applejack's stack of apples into cider.

"Cider! Cider! Cider! Cider!"The crowd cheered for the brothers while Smith tried to calm them down and insist upon their own cider.

"Watch closely, my friends!"

"The fun begins!"

Curiously enough, they were more than happy to put Applejack's apples on their conveyor belt. Rather than the apples they had brought with them that sat on the platform, curious indeed. War Fire already knew why though, one small squeeze of their apple on the stand explained it. The apple was not ripe, it was old and soft, already starting to ferment even, no quality to be had. While the apples that the family had were solid and crisp, holding a nice juicy crunch to them.

So they watched as the apples were processed the apples on the conveyor belt. Once they went inside the machine, they were skinned and crushed by the smashing solid metals. Things that would grow rusty, dirty, old and capable of infecting the apples they crushed without proper cleaning. They saw the cider flow through the tubes and into it's storage within mere minutes. It definitely had the speed and refinement, but it still had many flaws that were questionable.

"Feel free to take a sneak peek!"Flam collected cider into a mug and even offered it to the awaiting Rainbow Dash, and that's when the Apples started to reject the idea.

"Now wait, you fellers, hold it! You went and over sold it! I guarantee that what you have there won't compare!"Smith challenged what the twin stallions preached of their machine,"For the very most important ingredient, can't be added or done expedient! And it's quality, friends! Apple Acres quality and care!"

"Well, Granny, I'm glad you brought that up, my dear,"Flim tried some more charismatic charm to ease the opposing old mare,"I say I'm glad you brought that up! You see that we are very picky when it comes to cider, if you'll kindly try a cup?"

"Are you now? You call apples like these ripe?"War Fire called out and waited till all eyes were on him.

He decided to expose them just a smidge, as he lightly mushed the apple belonging to the brother's actual load. The crowd grew concern seeing an apple not all that colorful mushing. A soft apple was not a ripe apple, soft even warned of possible fermentation that could make the unsuspecting consumer sick.

"You would use these brand of apples when they could get quality and better product from a family that grow these type of apples?"War Fire questioned before pressing his hoof to the Apple's apple.

This one had a different result to it, this apple actually showed some solid resistance. Juices leaked from it before he began to put plenty more pressure on the fruit, until it finally gave away. But rather than mushing, the apple cracked and popped like a tiny explosion of juicy chunks. The crunch was crisp and juicy in all the ripe ways, this was the kind of quality the people wanted. This was something that the brothers lacked, the kind of quality fruit they could never get for their machine.

"You made one cup of cider off their apples. You could never hope to acquire such quality apples on your own,"War Fire chuckle and shook his hooves off, hoping to break the stallions of their deviant confidence,"So I'm certain we have no need for your Super Squeezy Cider Machine."

"It's pronounced, The Super Speedy Cider Squ-"Flim was restrained and quickly calmed by flam before they risked losing composure from the mockery.

"Easy brother… He's playing the same game we are. We're the away team, he's the home team. Don't let him get to you,"Flam reminded his brother about the impression they needed to show to the crowd,"Finding apples is hard work, which is our one true struggle! That its why we would like to reach an agreement with this…EVER so legendary family, the Apples!"

"Do not except any offer they're going to lay down. Either way it goes, they reap the benefits and profits,"War Fire whispered, letting his surprisingly talented art of silver tongued speaking do it's thing,"The cost of work will go up, and you won't even break even with the money you earn. You'll lose your home and your family's way of life for practically slave work that will lead you all into an early grave…"

"How do you know that…?"Smith asked.

"Because I've used their tactic in succession when working with war criminals, myself,"War Fire revealed that he used the twin stallion's brothers manipulative tricks back in the day,"Remain firm to your traditions, and let your quality work speak for itself. It'll get the better of them…!"

"We'll have some questions about that first part later, but if you know what these fellas are about. Then we can't trust them…!"Applejack agreed with the coaching War Fire was offering to defend their business.

"Whaddaya say then, Apples? Care to step into the modern world,"Flam tried to push for perhaps the chance to strike a deal with the Apples,"And put The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to the test?"

The crowd and the brothers started to sing the same song once again like a never ending chorus. It was starting to become more annoying than impressive to Shadow, Twilight and Spike. So they were immediately more willing to side with Applejack and her family, especially since War Fire was supporting them. It was so odd to see this stallion not only choose to stay for a bit longer. But now he was suddenly fighting against the Flim Flam brother's, Shadow wanted answers to this.

"What are you doing? Why are you suddenly back and defending the Apples?"Shadow questioned the sudden nobility War Fire was rarely known for having.

"I'm defending a great piece of Equestrian history from progressive con artists. You yourself know they're schemers."War Fire responded with a confident chuckle, as if he already believed the Apples would win this new challenge.

"Yes, but they have the advantage here. There's not much they can do against a mass producing machine."Shadow insisted that this was more of a bind than War Fire believed it to be.

"Ever here the phrase, quality over quantity? You'll see soon enough…!"War Fire insisted that everything was going to be just fine in the scenario.

"Not so fast! No way no how is that machine matches up with the care we put into our cider."Smith huddled up with the other Apples and discussed the idea of dealing with the brothers.

"But if it can work with our apples, we could make every pony in town happy…!"Apple Bloom admitted that they could please the crowd by agreeing to this.

"I just don't know, y'all. We've always made cider the same way. It is a working tradition."Applejack went with her heart and care for family traditions.

"Eeyup…! Huh?"Mac agreed, before their group huddle was interrupted by the brothers.

"We'll sweeten the deal. You supply the apples…"

"We supply the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000…!"

"Then we split those sweet profits…!"The twins explained the deal they had for the Apple family's apples.

"Seventy five."

"Twenty five."

"Hold on, who gets the seventy five?"Applejack spoke up before Apple Bloom nearly tried to accept the deal without thought.

"Why, us, naturally."It was like War Fire predicted, they're reaping the real benefits while the Apples would get the scraps.

"And, we'll throw in the magic to power our machine for free."That barely made the deal any less absurd, this deal would destroy all of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Cider sales keep our business afloat through the winter. We'd lose Sweet Apple Acres if we agreed to this!"Applejack knew this was a bad deal, and accepting it would cost the family everything.

"So what'll it be?"The brothers asked.

"No deal!"Mac answered for the family, much to the disappointment of the brothers.

"Hmph! Very well. If you refuse our generous offer to be partners,"Flim was insulted but then decided to go with their plan b to take over the cider business,"Then we'll just have to be competitors!"

"You wouldn't dare…!"Applejack did not take kindly to the threat of having competitors that wanted to run them out of business.

"Oh no?"Flim was coy and happy to push the challenge.

"Don't worry every pony! There'll be plenty of cider for all of you!"Flam tried to earn back the praise of the crowd.

"Once we drive Sweet Apple Acres out of business…"Flim threatened with a whispered, invoking gasps of fear from the family.

"What?!"The shear fear and anger for the threat on her home brought out the red aura that brought forth Apple Bloom's power.

War Fire's eyes went wide once he noticed the illuminating glow of red. It surged with power that flowed within the filly's body, it allowed her trembling hooves to crack and crush the ground she stood on. He could feel the soil tremble and quake from her power, it almost made him lose his breath. The shock to feel such power from behind the stand from such a young filly, it was unbelievable. He almost didn't want to believe it, but inside his heart, he was overjoyed to witness this.

A sickening grin was forming and growing across his face before Shadow was quick to prevent any sort of chaos. Her shadows sprouted and coiled around Apple Bloom's power trembling legs. They snapped Apple Bloom from her shock, and made her realize that her power was coming out again.

"Enough…! Remember to show restraint, Apple Bloom. This sudden change is nothing you and your family can't handle,"Shadow approached the filly and nudged her until she got behind Shadow to calm down,"Your competition will be respected, but now it would be wise to depart before things get any more sour between the two of you and this family…!"

The Flim and Flam brothers were not willing to back down or be intimidated by friends of their new competition. But their bravery turned to confused chills of fear as a sudden wicked laughter raised. The laugh was like a slow cackle to start, and it only go crazier and louder by the second. Every pony turned to the source of the laughter, and to their shock and unnerved concern. The source was War Fire, laughing maniacally all of a sudden, it seemed a bit out of the blue.

This changed the Flim Flam brother's mind about sticking around, the cackling warrior seemed to crazy to be near now. So they would wait till he left to continue trying to fight the Apple family. They quietly and slowly packed their things and slowly left the scene, pushing their machine quietly away. And once they were leaving, War Fire began to ease up and notice the scene his laughter made. So he was quick to cease his laughter and speak of a reason behind the laughter.

"You foolish stallions already lost the moment you challenged the Apple family,"He called out and his explanation that he was mocking the brother's brought some relief to the crowd,"The moment you challenge the Apples will be the last time you ever step hoof in Ponyville! Because you will be embarrassed and shamed out of town while your machine lays in a junk yard!"

"War Fire…? Are you still with us?"Shadow was aware that War Fire could have moments where his mind would lose it's sanity in small temporary episodes due to a most disturbing childhood.

He shook his head, and cleared his throat before taking a calm look around. Once again he had the ponies around him a bit worried and scared, with a gentle release of breath, he recollected himself. He brushed his chest off and chuckled, finding flattery in their concerns for him.

"I'm alright, I just found a lot of humor in their attempt to intimidate your friends with competition,"War Fire insisted that he was still well in control even in such a humorous situation,"Do not fear them Apples. Just do what you've been doing and those twin buffoons will fall to you all by the end of this "competition"."

"Uh…thanks for the advice, I guess…"Applejack still felt uneasy around the pony of fire, but he was officially more trustworthy than Flim and Flam.

"Now! I must be going…! If all goes well I will return by the end of the week to see the rest of my old friends,"War Fire decided that this was a good time while the chaos was simmered down,"And I'll be there just in time to see the Apples best the Flim Flam brothers."

"I will tell Orion of your arrival. He will be awaiting you…!"Shadow replied with a small smile for her returned comrade.

"Excellent…! Farewell every pony… This has been fun,"War Fire gave a friendly good bye a try to be courteous to the citizens,"I look forward to our next encounter…!"

With that, he slowly began to walk away towards the direction of Canterlot city. A smile grew on his face after assessing what he learned about the comrades and the elements he had met. He continued to chuckle, as the young Apple Bloom also piqued his curiosity, there was so much hr understood now.

"Now I see why Moltorious and the Cinders would have trouble with these ponies…!"He spoke to himself before only his thoughts kept him company on the trip to Canterlot.

With that said, War Fire took his time reaching Canterlot in the span of two and a half days. What happened in that city when he arrived remained a mystery for every pony in Ponyville. Shadow did in fact return and inform Orion that War Fire had returned to the world of the living. He did not buy it at first, it sounded impossible after himself, Tremoring, and Typhoon watched War Fire explode. But Shadow's proclaim seemed sincere, so he reframe from judgment until the end of the week.

---

So the week went long and slow, so much cider was done and sold to the public. And yet it was still not enough to satisfy every pony, the struggle was still there for the Apples and their customers. So many ponies got some, yet so many more were left without cider. The outrage was growing thanks to Rainbow Dash bringing it up every time she was left without cider. Some paid no mind to her ranting, others were easily raked in by her rants when they too were without any.

Twilight, Shadow and this time, Orion were once again just early enough that it would not be long for their dose of cider. It was now Saturday and one of the two busiest days for the cider sales, and ponies were desperate to get their cider. Luckily Orion was there this time around, he could easily control the situation if fights broke out. He stood behind Twilight with his arms crossed, his eyes darted around the crowd. Making sure everything and every pony was in order, while his eyes also searched outside the area, waiting to spot War Fire.

If he was to believe War Fire truly was alive, then he needed to see this pony of fire with his own eyes. Typhoon so far was not made aware, there was no knowing how he'd react to seeing War Fire. He himself still felt responsible for what happened, so how could he look War Fire in the eyes after he gave his life for Typhoon. Quickly, Orion was forced to ignore such deeper concerns for a very real one that was blowing up. All thanks to one simple phrased they all feared.

"That's it! Last cup!"Applejack finished up the last cup, and the uproar immediately started up.

"Oh, for pete's sake!"Rainbow Dash exploded from the back of the line once again.

"Come back tomorrow every pony!"Apple Bloom responded, much to the disappointment of the crowd.

"Calm down, every pony! There's going to be more cider. You're not doing yourself any good by whining,"Orion immediately turned around to face the outrage to ensure it didn't erupt into a riot,"Just do as they announced and come back tomorrow! This last for a whole season, so I think you will all be fine!"

The ranting did not stop, but the outrage did simmer down rather than heat up. Some of the ponies were dispersing, so at least there would be no serious trouble, but that was all for not. For they all immediately heard the great engine and motor of the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy. It rushed in from the trees and once again got parked next to the Apples, where Flim and Flam jumped out once again. It was like they were predators that finally saw their opportunity and struck while they had the chance.

"What seems to be the problem here?"Flim was first to ask and tease the Apples for their lack of quantity.

"Oh my, oh my. Out of cider again?"Flam was coy about their lack of cider they had for sale.

"Maybe, but that's not exactly any of your business, Flim Flam brothers."Shadow slithered her way in the shadows through the line to come to the Apple's aid.

"What have we here? How about a cup?"Flim suddenly pulled a magic trick as he made a cup full of cider appear, much to the cheers of the crowd.

"The hay is wrong with these ponies…?! They act like cider is life or something…!"Orion was a bit surprised by how much the crowd was praising one extra cup of cider.

"Don't worry, every pony! We got the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 to make more in an instant!"Flam preached while Flim dumped in some shiny ripe apples from a nearby tree, clearly they came more prepared after War Fire nearly exposed them.

"Right…! Was that apple tree always picked clean of apples? The one that happens to be Apple family property,"Shadow spotted the barren tree that was full of apples just this morning,"Cause it looks like that one got picked clean without permission…! Those ripe apples you're using came from somewhere!"

"You can't sell that cider! That's made from Apple family apples!"Applejack put it all together and snatched the stolen property back right before Rainbow was gonna get a cup of cider.

"Is this some kind of cruel joke?"Rainbow ranted when she lost her opportunity to finally get some cider.

"Do you…see any pony laughing…?"Orion asked and Rainbow lowered her head with annoyance.

"Don't worry, every pony. There are plenty of apples in Equestria,"Flim tried to draw the crowd back into their favor,"We'll find some others and make more cider than all of Ponyville can drink!"

"We'll make more cider than you can ever imagine!"Apple Bloom suddenly decided to stand her ground and take War Fire's advice about the two brother's.

"Now it ain't about speed young'un. It's about quality."Smith reminded Apple Bloom of how the Apple family operates.

"Who cares about how good the cider is if I never get to drink any!"Rainbow once again complained about not getting any apple cider.

"Oh, look at these poor dissatisfied customers."Flim antagonized the Apples, mocking their lack of production.

"Ponyville is Sweet Apple Cider country!"Apple Bloom stomped her hoof, and her two mentors focused on her to ensure there was no spikes in the filly's power.

"Our cider speaks for itself!"Applejack was ready to defend their cider as well.

"Let's put it to the test!"Flim was more than happy to start up this challenge with the Apples.

"Anywhere, anytime!"Apple Bloom was into the challenge and knew there was no backing down.

"Well, that's enough now…!"Smith tried to play the peace keeper after seeing the defensive nature of her granddaughters.

"With our machine, we can make enough cider in one hour to satisfy the entire town!"Flam backed up his brother and the machine they would use to put the Apples out of business.

"We'll do it in forty five minutes!"Apple Bloom stomped her hoof and continued to fiercely defend the family.

"Easy, Apple Bloom, easy…!"Apple Smith insisted that the granddaughters calm down while the crowd was going back and forth between who to support.

"What's the matter, Granny Smith? Chicken?"Flim decided to go with insults, seeing as the family was capable being antagonizing by mere taunts.

"What did you call me, sonny?!"Smith and the entire family was greatly insulted, and the insult was nearly the cause of a brawl if not for the warriors stepping in between them

"Insults, will get you nowhere…! If you want to challenge them, then fine!"Orion emphasized while holding Applejack and Mac back from wanting to crush their skulls.

"But leave your insults at the door…! You stallions don't exactly have the high ground for such mockery,"Shadow was holding back Apple Bloom and Smith to the suspenseful shock of the onlookers,"At least…not without the threat of retaliation…!"

"I think we do have room, sir…! We have the superior machine and maker of cider!"Flam defended their right to insult the Apple family.

"But if you're so confident in your cider, then what's the problem?"Flim continued to taunt and tempt the Apple family.

"Tomorrow morning! Right here!"Smith was now soaking in the challenge the brothers presented.

"But I'm afraid we don't have any…apples…!"Flam spit and teased them to get their hooves on some fresh apples.

"You can use our south field! It'll be worth it to teach y'all a thing or two about making cider!"Smith agreed to give them the apples they needed to have a fair footing in the challenge.

"Excellent! We have a bet! Whoever produces the most barrels in one hour earns the exclusive right to cell cider in Ponyville!"Flim struck the challenge that would decide the fate of cider in Equestria.

"And after we beat ya, I don't ever want to see you bambahoozlers around here again!"Apple Smith decided to make the Flim Flam brothers bet their right to do business in Ponyville EVER.

"Until tomorrow!"Flam offered up one last bit of mockery before they quickly took off in their great cider machine, leaving a crowd with mixed thoughts.

The family, the warriors and the friends all watched the snake like brothers drive off. War Fire turned out to know his type of scum, and the brothers were fitting the bill like a glove. They could not buy out the Apples so now they wanted to challenge them and run the family out of Ponyville. A whole family's way of life was clearly trash to them, and money was the only thing they cared about. And now they were ready to do anything to take down this legendary family of strong workers.

"Don't worry, Applejack. I know you'll win tomorrow."Twilight supported her friend and the challenge her family was now in.

"We'd better… Cause if we don't, we're gonna lose our whole farm…!"Applejack feared, but Shadow had a little bit more of hope to offer to the mare.

"Don't worry… War Fire seemed sincere when he warned them about challenging your family,"Shadow reminded them of the words War Fire had offered the two brothers,"They chose to challenge you, so perhaps what he warned them about will come to pass."

"And in that case, they should know better than to think War Fire bluffs…!"Orion added as before the family would pack up and prepare themselves for the day.

---

That day quickly came, the Apples were nervous but confident in their ability to win. In truth, Mac and Apple Bloom were currently giving prayers that War Fire's words would hold true. The brother's cider machine was an impressive machine, fast, powerful, and productively superior. Machines could last for so long, while a living pony could only last for so long. Even then, they were cheered on by the warriors and the friends of Applejack, they too were confident in the Apples.

A crowd had already arrived to bare witness to this showdown between the competitors. The sun was nearly in the sky completely, as they quietly awaited the Flim Flam brothers before they began. They did not need to wait long before the brother's arrived on their machine. The smoke their machine blasted out of their tail pipe was sickening and hard on the lungs of others. The two were more casual to exit, their confidence was high, perhaps even too high for their own good.

Orion shook his head as he watched the smug brothers prepare their machine for battle. Applejack let out a slow breath, steadying her nerves and burying any doubts that threaten to surface. Her friends were at her side, hoping for the best, knowing what was at stake in this cider battle.

"Applejack? Are you sure you can do this?"Twilight showed a bit of worry for Applejack's chances against the Flim Flam brothers.

"Me and my family are… One hundred percent confident… In our cider making capabilities."Applejack nearly caught a bit of Twilight's doubt within herself.

"And besides, no pony calls granny a chicken!"Apple Bloom still showed a bit of a grudge from the brother's taunts from before.

"Attention, every pony!"The mayor of Ponyville even got into this competition, especially after learning about the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy's capabilities, and profit potential.

"Well, good luck…!"Twilight offered while trying to swallow her own doubt about the Apple's chances.

"Thanks, Twilight. We'll need it…!"Applejack admitted before joining her family at their sides.

"Bare up, and never back down. This is going to be tough, but you and your family can do it,"Shadow was offering some confident words to ensure the Apple Bloom tried her hardest for her family,"Now make sure you give those brothers the smack down that they've been asking for!"

"We will! The Apple family will not lose to them con artists!"Apple Bloom promised and got a pat on the back before the warriors walked back to give every pony room to work.

"The teams have one hour to produce as much cider as they can,"The mayor explained through a megaphone for all to hear and grow with hype for the showdown,"After which the barrels will be counted, and the winner will be named the solo cider provider for all of Ponyville!"

Now with the stakes up to where they should be, the crowd was shocked and full of mixed emotion. They loved the Apple family for their honesty and hard work that gave them the finer quality fruits. But their greed battled within each and every one of them. Pushing them to choose between the industrial cider machine that would give them endless supplies of cider. Or respect and support the family that showed them why they loved the quality apple product, it was so hard to choose.

"Are both teams ready?"The mayor asked the two teams.

"Ready!"The Apples responded firmly.

"Ready!"The Flim Flam brothers responded in the same fashion.

"Then let's…GO!"The mayor yelled and the competition went underway with a cheer from the crowd.

The brothers got to work simply cranking their apples into the machine and letting it do it's thing with the apples. Simple enough, but the Apples did not completely go for speed as they did. They chose to keep quality as their main priority, they went at their fullest speed, but quality remained the most important. Applejack and Apple Bloom quickly collected the apples and the stragglers from the trees at full speed and power, apples went into small baskets for transport to Smith. Granny Smith checked the apples quickly, but thoroughly, distinguishing good from bad.

Smith then gave the good apples for Big Mac to crush in the press. His hooves worked their traditional pressing machine and squished up the apples, juicing them dry before they drained out. Where they would fill the barrels that had some natural family ingredients to complete the cider process. It took only a few minutes at their full speed to finally fill a whole barrel. With one shake to complete the cider production, the Apples already had a barrel prepared in their record time.

"Great job, y'all! We've already filled an entire barrel!"Applejack celebrated their impressive timing with the first barrel.

"Yeah, I bet you those guys don't even have-"Apple Bloom agreed and was even going to gloat a bit, only for the family to see the progress the brother's made.

The Flim Flam brothers were already three barrels in, and they haven't even broken a sweat. That is of course that they didn't need to do much of anything, other than dump apples into the machine's chute. The rest was left to the machine to sort out and turn into cider, their smug looks remained.

"What?!"The filly was shocked and even a bit scared now, as Applejack gulped with doubt on her mind again.

The battle raged on, but it was starting to take a turn for the worse, the Apples were already on the ropes. The machine produced the cider too fast for the Apples to keep up with. Smith was already starting to grow weary, mac was starting to break a sweat, and the Apple sisters were getting sloppy. Even Apple Bloom manage to start missing apples when she herself was the collector. And Applejack felt her legs starting to slow down and cramp up, and the brothers just casually leaned against their machine.

They were all too confident, just dumping a bucket of apples and making barrels of cider. As effective as their machine was, it was not earning as much love as it did before. Their arrogance, their cockiness, and their disrespectful nature towards the Apples appeared to have costed them. But their amount of cider that was produced would be their way to come back, especially if they run the Apples out of business. So they remained cocky about their Super Speedy Cider Squeezy.

"Come on, Apple Bloom, focus! We gotta forget about those guys if we're gonna have a chance of winning!"Applejack found her spirit to go at her full pace and promoted her little sister to do the same.

"Sorry, sis! Better keep up, Granny! We're falling behind!"Apple Bloom stepped up her game, shaking off her sloppy collecting and promoting her grandmother.

"Egh… Good… Uh… Ugh, bad…! Un…"Smith was showing clear signs of weariness and exhaustion.

"Rest when it's over, Big Macintosh! Ride! Ride!"Applejack woke her brother up from the nap he tried to take on the job.

This promoted Big Mac to get back to work and start crushing apples at full steam again. The family manage to pick back up, but it was still looking grim for the family's chances. The brothers had them out paced and out produced, it was getting hard to watch for the other elements. The warriors even felt a bit nervous, but they tried to hold on to the idea that War Fire meant what he said. Orion popped his fist as he curled it up, it helped to contain the worry inside his heart.

"This is just dreadful! Even at top speed the Apples are only making one barrel to the twin's three!"Rarity feared that it was getting hopeless, but Twilight refused to let Applejack lose her home.

"Um, Miss Mayor! Are honorary family members allowed to help in the competition?"Twilight made a desperate suggestion for her and the other mares to join in the cider making competition.

"Well, I'm not sure… Flim, Flam, would you object to honorary family members helping?"The mayor decided to ask the brothers if they would approve, a risky decision.

"Are you kidding?"Flim laughed at the idea.

"We don't care if the entire kingdom of Canterlot helps! It's a lost cause."Flam mocked, but they gave them the permission to assist the Apples, a mistake from their cockiness.

"Hm, I guess it's alright. Applejack? What do you think?"Mayor Mare questioned the Apple, and got the most obvious answer.

"I think I'd love to have the rest of my family helping out!"Applejack more than agreed with the offer, and the other elements wasted no time.

"Alright!"The mares cheered and began getting to work.

"Ok, every pony! We're not gonna to let those smooth talkers take our friend's farm!"Twilight gave a quick pep talk and already had the strategy set up.

"Yeah!"They cheered again.

"Fluttershy, help Applejack with the trees!"She began to direct the ponies to the jobs they would be able to do their best at.

"Got it!"

"Pinkie Pie, you're on apple catching detail!"

"Yessir, ma'am, sir!"

"Rarity, you got a discerning eye. Help Granny Smith at the quality control station!"

"Of course!"

"Rainbow Dash, do you think you can help Big Macintosh press?"

"In my sleep!"

"Alright, every pony! Let's save Sweet Apple Acres!"Twilight promoted them one last time to get them working their hardest.

"All right!"They cheered and got to work.

Immediately, the tables were starting to turn, much to the relief of the warriors. The mares blended right in, and they were able to easily increase productivity ten fold. Rarity's eyes were young, keen, and her attention to detail helped her decipher the good and ripe apples from the bad ones. Rainbow's muscle helped crush the apples, and she even promoted him to keep going at full power. Fluttershy picked the apples as quickly as she could to collect larger amounts of apples.

And together, Pinkie and Apple Bloom were collecting apples practically by the hundreds. The pink mare was strong and energetic, her speed was almost impossible to match without wings. It was almost enough to make Apple Bloom a bit jealous, at least until she remembered something she could do. She focused, and remembered all her training she had done so far, her self control was very shaky. But she needed to go harder for her family, so she dared to use her powers.

She focused hard on the objective, and the muscle in her legs that glimmered with red. She breathed gently, hoping not to go overboard and potentially shatter her back legs. She broke a sweat, feeling her muscles intensify before she then took off to bring in the apples. To her relief, she was actually doing it, her speed almost immediately surpassed Pinkie Pie's speed. It scared her, but the thoughts of her family kept her going as she raced around every tree at speeds twice as fast as Rainbow's running speed.

The mares cheered for the filly, and this made them all work their hardest for Sweet Apple Acres. The warriors applauded this clever trick from their student, even when it appeared that the filly was able to stop on her own. They simply wanted to enjoy the looks that grew on the brother's faces when they saw this. Almost immediately, the family collected just enough barrels to match their own. And a moment later, they were making more barrels than even the cider machine.

"Come on, brother. We gotta pick up the pace!"Flim warned after they witnessed the dramatic change that was happening with the Apples.

"Right, uh, double the power!"Flam yelled and turned the machine to it's full power, at the cost of the one thing that truly mattered.

The machine was then taking in all the apples, and abandoning the idea of quality. All apples were made into cider, even the bad ones, and picked them up a bit, but it was not enough. They were still one barrel behind the Apples and the elements, that's when they truly got desperate.

"We've gotta try something else! We can't let them win!"Flim yelled as their cockiness gave away to fear.

"I've got it, brother of mine!"Flam ensured before he did the unthinkable.

Both brothers began collecting the old and mushed apples that had been fermenting on the ground. They got so desperate, that they were now sacrificing all quality in the cider for the quantity. The beloved ripe taste meant nothing, only victory meant anything to these snake like twins.

"Well done, Flam! We're at top productivity!"Flim congratulated his brother as they admired their machine at full working form.

"Come on, Rainbow Dash! Keep grinding!"Twilight encouraged Rainbow to go harder, and she nearly attempted to make the brother's mistakes.

"We don't have time for quality control if we wanna win this thing!"Rainbow exclaimed and dared to try and just take the apples for pressing, only for her hoof to get swatted away.

"Get back, you! One bad apple spoils the bunch!"Smith yelled and swatted Rainbow away to continue the quality check.

"Applejack, help me!"Rainbow feared and asked for help to get the apples away from Smith.

"There's no point in winning if we cheat!"Applejack defended her grandmother's ways of apple quality.

"We'll just have to work harder then! Come on, every pony!"Twilight pushed her friends for a final push for full speed work.

"Oh…! All right, then…! Double time!"Rainbow agreed against her better judgment and aided in promoting the others.

And so they continued watching as they all tried their hardest, but did not sacrifice the quality. It was a a neck and neck fight for the cider, barrels after barrels were made and caused a cheer from the crowds. Both sides were sweating profusely, it was a minute till the end and they went all out. So many backs were breaking for this victory, every pony was in such a last minute panic. They all failed to see War Fire making his return at long last, just in time to see the end of the competition.

He smirked, unaffected by how the current situation was going, as if it wouldn't change what he predicted. He quietly chuckled at the final push and the final barrel the Apples were able to drop. Before the mayor finally ended the competition with a megaphone alarm, and gave a shout.

"Times up!"She yelled out and every pony stopped right in their tracks.

The mares and the Apples all collapsed when they first heard the times up. Apple Bloom did her best to skid in the dirt to slow down, but Orion ultimately stopped her movement by grabbing her by the back of her neck. Holding her like a cub, until her power simmered down and the aura vanished. Every pony was sweating, even the Flim Flam brothers were completely bush whacked. As they all eagerly awaited judgment from the mayor, for she was the one who decided the winner.

"I'm…proud of you…Applejack…!"Twilight admitted while trying to catch her breath from the work.

"Thanks…"Applejack panted with appreciation.

"Integrity like that will always be… Rewarded."Twilight finally caught her breath, before they got the heart throbbing result.

"Flim and Flam win!"Mayor Mare announced, and every pony was in shock and disbelief from this development.

"No! That can't be!"Shadow dared to protest, but Orion grabbed her by the robe and shook her to stop the daring protest.

"They have several barrels more… But they still lost this competition…!"Orion suddenly revealed that even in victory, Flim and Flam still lost this fight.

"Wh- wha-"Apple Bloom stuttered, not knowing what to believe after seeing her family lose.

"We… Lost?"

"Aw, too bad Apples."Flim mocked and rubbed their victory in the faces of the broken Apple family.

"Guess you'll just have to find a new line of work that doesn't match your names so… Perfectly."Flam insulted and laughed with his brother while they also thought of their plans for the farm.

"Now we should tear down all these tacky old buildings and put up new ones, brother."Flim suggested their first plan of action, and it only entertained War Fire.

"I don't see why not, brother. After all, this isn't Sweet Apple Acres anymore,"Flam reminded his brother of the victory they were so certain that they achieved,"How about Flim Flam fields?"

"I oughta press you into jerk cider!"Rainbow dared to let rage get the best of her, thankfully, Shadow stopped her by grabbing her rainbow tail to keep her in place.

"No, Rainbow Dash… A deal's a deal…"Applejack felt defeated, and everything was about to vanish among the brother's laughter of victory.

Suddenly, this heart wrenching scene was interrupted as well as the laughter of the brothers. Their laughter was drowned out by the louder cackles of War Fire, and his dark laughter once again chilled the spines of many. They all went silent and slowly looked to see the pony of fire. As he laughed ever so creepily, his laughter mocked the twins for the hollow victory they truly had. He approached them slowly, while Orion was more shocked than anything, a comrade he was so sure was dead, was not so dead.

"My holy Cosmos, you are alive…!"Orion was bewildered with shock, he was so certain War Fire had blown himself up to end the war with the griffons.

They waited for the longest two minutes as War Fire finished his own loud laughter. Once he was calmed down, silence took over for yet another two minutes for all to contemplate what happened. Slowly the warrior approached, and gave a sly look to his old leader before standing before the twins.

"It looks like your predictions are more sloppy than you thought, our flaming friend!"Flim mocked and War Fire only snickered before suddenly passing the brothers.

"The Apples lost, and now their farm belongs to us! So much for our…failure."Flam mocked before War Fire stood by the side of one of the twin's cider barrels and chuckled.

He casually ignored the two stallions, obnoxious and foolish as they were in the moment. He then cracked a hole in one of their barrels with one back hoof bucking clean through the wood. The brother's took offense to his property destruction, only to hold off on saying anything. For War Fire quietly approached them face to face, letting them look deep into his red colored eyes. It was close enough that they could see his dark pupils almost flickering like a candle flame.

"I never said the Apples will win this challenge of yours…! I said you'd lose to them,"The twins were confused by his words, as he suddenly snatched a cup from Flam's hoof,"Your cockiness, your clever yet cringe worthy flawed business tricks, not to mention the your obnoxious singing. All of it became your downfall…!"

"Enough with your old age wise stallion rambling! We've won this, and you know it!"Flim was starting to think that War Fire was delusional, as the flaming stallion filled up a cup of their cider.

"No… You really haven't… Your over confidence, and immediate desperation sealed your fate,"War Fire chuckled and slowly offered the cup of cider to the first mare he saw,"Here, prove my point, ma'am. Enjoy the Flim Flam cider…!"

The odd sense of arrogance and maybe even ignorance was daring to actually anger the twins. War Fire remained so cocky and so certain that they would not win this cider challenge. Even in light of their victory, he was so confident that they were the losers, and it was suddenly proven. The minute the chosen mare took a swig of the cider, she was in immediate disgust. The cider was foul and sour, it was impossible to even hold in, so she spewed out the cider to every pony's shock.

"I can't get the taste off my tongue! It taste like sour dish water!"She ranted and wiped at her tongue to desperately get the taste off her tongue.

"What?!"Both brothers froze, seeing sudden revolt against their cider rising.

The ponies were confused and shocked, some dared to get their own opinion on the cider. A few others got themselves a cup, one even decided to taste the cider like the first mare did. While another pony couldn't even taste the cider since a rock of all things was found in the drink.

"Mines got a rock in it!"

"I wouldn't pay one cent for this dreck!"

"This is what we lost the Apple family too?! How absurd!"

"You wouldn't pay one cent?"Flim was horrified to hear this sudden turn of thought from the customers.

"No!"The revolting crowd suddenly responded.

This was deeply surprising, but it was also bringing the hearts of the Apple family back from the darkness of defeat. The elements were lighting up with sudden surprise and even happiness to see this. Even with all the cider in the world, the ponies were immediately turning on the brother's for their bad cider, and taking away the good cider.

"How about two cups for one cent?"Flam offered a bit more in desperation, it nearly got War Fie chuckling.

"No!"The crowd continued to resist their charm and the complaints only continued to rise.

"Two bits…a barrel?"The discussed and made a most pitiful offer to save their customers.

"NO! We want the Apples back!"That phrase, and so many more like it overwhelmed the brothers.

The two twins lost every amount of confidence they had when the crowd was with them. But now they were made out, their deceptive ways and their lack of quality bit them in the flank. And War Fire simply sat down with his forearms crossed, enjoying the eruption of chaos.

"It looks like we've encountered a slight… Problem here in Ponyville…"Flim feared while War Fire approached them again to explain.

"No pony wants our product…!"Flam presented the problem.

"Because you have showed your true colors. Your cockiness was simply a cover for your deception,"War Fire started circling the brother's while laying down a truth bomb,"You broke apart when the Apples showed you that they weren't going down easy, and it turned to desperation. And desperation made the both of you sloppy and ignorant snakes in bizarre striped attire."

"You knew this would happen…! How did you…? What are you…? What's happening?!"The brothers stuttered and could not believe the warrior's words remained true.

"You sacrificed the quality of your work for speed and hollow progression that would simply break down around you,"War Fire described their loss In his own way as the ponies surrounded the Apples with appreciation,"And being quite the pair of rude horse's flanks didn't help either…! It would have been wiser to at least show a friendly and respectful demeanor, perhaps your chances would have been just a bit better…!"

The brother's felt themselves on the verge of breaking down from the warrior's words. His prediction and insight on what it meant to be deceptive and tricky was made clear. He knew their tricks, he knew the type of ponies they were, and he knew that they were going to fail.

"Next town?"Flim asked of his brother.

"Next town."Flam agreed to the suggestion.

They showed their true nature, and became the cowards they truly were inside. They tried to get on their machine and make a run for it, but a successful turn tail and run move wouldn't cut. Their mockery and their overconfidence left a worse taste in every pony's mouth, even worse than their cider. So letting them go just wasn't good enough, they needed the proper send off. So War Fire was instantly right in front of their machine, grabbing the edge of the machine to keep it from rolling out.

"Denial and cowardice…! It's interesting to see what you both truly are inside,"War Fire reared back a hoof before a flaring violent fire blazed upon his hoof,"Now then, time to send this machine and the both of you to the junk yard. I like to be a stallion of my word…!"

Shadow saw the sadistic smirk, and realized War Fire was about to incinerate the twins. As petty as they were, an execution by fire was way too extreme of a punishment for them. Orion saw this as well, and knew this was War Fire's nature at it's most basic, kill everything putrid or vile to Equestria. He respected War Fire's patriotism, but his violent nature was not to be witnessed by these new ponies just yet. So he immediately decided on a clever way to save the twins.

"Apple Bloom! Give these twins a proper departure from Ponyville!"Orion dropped Apple Bloom and ordered her to give the twins a good boot out.

"Are you sure?"She asked, a bit nervous to use her power in such a fashion.

"What you'll do is merciful compared to what he's about to do to them. Now do it!"Orion ordered and Apple Bloom swallowed before complying.

"Ok!"Apple Bloom took a breath in, and ran for the machine.

She was cutting it close, preparing for a strong buck as she glowed once more. She saw the warrior about to take a hard swing, before the fire would combust like a bucket of gasoline. It would overwhelm the machine and the twins, and they would be melted to the bone. Skin flicker and flake away like charred wood, flesh would melt, and eventually the bones would crumble to ash. All of that would happen in a matter of five minutes, a nice and slow burning death.

Thankfully, this was a fate that was prevented by the young filly. She let herself glow bright red, and she packed muscle into her kick, before she went for the save.

"Mister War Fire, heads up!"She warned the warrior, and he caught the filly at the corner of his eye.

His flame extinguished quickly, and he was able to side step out of her path. She grunted and threw her little buck right into the center of the machine, her back hooves crushed the front of the cider machine. It crushed the metal like paper, blasted parts and even the wheels out from the sides. Before the machine and the twins were launched clean through the Apple Acres. And it showed no sign of stopping soon, as they vanished beyond the property of the Apple family.

Leaving the Apples shocked, but in a way they were also relieved that it was over. The brother's were gone, and that meant they no longer had possession over their apple farm. The elements did not understand what War Fire dared to do, but they were happy that the warrior came. In a way, his dark and morbid mind broke and destroyed the con artists from within. He supported the Apple family, respected them, and in the end, scared off a threat to their legendary farm.

"They're…gone…?"Applejack breathed out with rising happiness that the twins were gone.

"Yes… Yes they are. And they won't be coming back any time soon,"War Fire nodded and turned to the young filly that was panting and felt her back hooves ready to give out,"That's some impressive strength you carry, child. I dare say that display was quite…Thrilling…for me."

"Thanks, sir…!"She panted and needed to sit down a moment to rest her legs.

"That means… Sweet Apple Acres is still in business!"Twilight exclaimed the good things that came from this development.

"Yes…! The property remains in the custody of the Apple family!"Shadow announced, and the crowd gave them all a loving cheer for the survival of the Apple family.

"That means we can have high quality Apple family cider!"Caramel the earth pony stallion cheered through the crowd.

"And because of this silly competition, we've made enough of our cider for the whole town!"Apple Bloom pointed to the massive stack of barrels they had made from the competition.

All the ponies began to celebrate, there was enough cider for all to enjoy this day. This would go on to be a successful and very profitable cider season for the Apple family, much to the warrior's delight. Within an hour, every pony was guzzling down the Apple family's sweet apple cider. Many even created a party to celebrate the victory of the Apple family, they were going nowhere after all. Even the Apples celebrated with some cider of their own, while War Fire sat back and watched.

He sat just ten feet away from the stand, smiling with pride to see this family still standing. A family they gave more to the country in the last two thousand years than any other pony. He would sooner burn in Tartarus before he let such an ancient family fall to crooked business ponies. The fire pony let out a big sigh, watching such happiness, it actually felt pretty good to help. He was normally known for being a scary and easily hated warrior for his brutal and harsh ways.

But it really did feel good to aid some ponies and be appreciated for it. He nearly got lost in this strange feeling that left a weird taste in his mouth, but then he steeled himself. Before he felt Orion standing right next to him, crossing his arms and appreciating the scene as well.

"You did fine work today. Even on your first week back from the dead, you remain a convicted warrior for Equestria,"Orion admitted as War Fire held onto his smirk and took the flattery lightly,"You even nearly went to the extreme as you always did. Luckily me and Shadow's student intervened."

"Is that what the power house of an Apple is? Well that would explain a thing or two,"War Fire chuckled at Orion's words and the thought of a second Apple family member carrying a gift,"She's an impressive filly. I do hope there's quite a future in store for her."

"There will be… I'm uh… I'm sorry…"War Fire picked up on the sudden apology and stood up to look to his old leader.

"Sorry for what?"He asked as Orion sighed and placed a hand to his shoulder.

"For not coming back… If we had known you were somehow alive…! we would have-"He got cut off by War Fire politely brushing off his hand.

"I know. I know you would have came back… But perhaps it was for the best,"War Fire admitted while looking at how different the ponies have become since his time,"Knowing me… I'd probably be more harm than good while the ponies were changing through the ages."

"Even so… We shouldn't have left. Your death broke Typhoon for some time…"Orion informed War Fire of what happened with Typhoon after War Fire saved him.

"I see… I'll find a time to speak with him… Hopefully he's not as soft and can stay standing when we meet again…!"War Fire tried to joke a bit, before he was suddenly pulled into a hug.

Orion had brought him in, and gave a one armed hug full of warmth and happiness. It was such a joy to see this old warrior among them, but this was quite a shocking new behavior for Orion. He needed a moment to even understand what was happening, he even needed to swallow the shock. Slowly, War Fire finally reached around Orion and hugged him back very slowly. He embraced the sudden affection with mixed feelings, it felt so different and so strange to be given such affection.

He let out another sigh and simply waited till Orion was done showing his relief.

"It's good to have you back, War Fire…!"Orion responded before finally releasing the pony of fire.

"Well… It's…good to be back."War Fire accepted the love and appreciation, and proudly nodded at the idea of being back in Equestria, ready to protect it.

"Excuse us, sir. We'd like a word with you, if y'all got a minute?"Applejack asked for a moment of time with Big Mac and Apple Bloom at her side.

"Uh…of course. I expected some words after you finished tending the customers."War Fire replied and turned to the family to hear them out.

"Right… Uh… We didn't start out on the smoothest ground before. And I don't know many ponies that could creep out Mac,"Applejack relayed the honest talk before she would admit what was most important,"But darn it, you were quite the stallion. You supported us, helped us find our confidence, and even help send those smooth talkers packing."

"We were wrong to immediately judge you, and we're thankful for your help."Big Mac followed up with some appreciation for War Fire's help.

"We hope to see you again soon, sir! We'll never forget what you did for us."Apple Bloom added before hugging his front right leg, making him feel strange again.

"I um…no worries… It's just…what we warriors do…!"War Fire almost broke into a sweat, as he patted the filly's head and felt his chest wanting to burst from this affection.

"Welp, you're always a welcome friend of the Apple family from here on out,"Applejack responded and then offered him a cup of apple cider for his troubles,"Here's a little cider for your troubles. Hope we can see you again some time."

"You will…! I plan on setting up a small home by the edge of the forest, it offers a cozy wild setting for me."War Fire revealed the plan he had for settling down.

"Great! Another warrior watching over Ponyville!"Apple Bloom cheered and War Fire only chuckled before taking up his cup of cider.

"Yup! And if you wouldn't mind. I'd like to read this letter I made to the princess to you. Sort of like a dedication, if you will."Applejack offered to read and dedicate a friendship lesson to him.

"Of course. It's a free country after all."War Fire agree, and Applejack began to read.

Dear Princess Celestia

I wanted to share my thoughts with you. I didn't learn anything, ha! I was right all along! If you take your time to do things the right way, your work will speak for itself. Sure I could tell you I learned something about how my friends are always there to help me, and I can count on them no matter what, but truth is, I already knew that.

"I would be worried if you didn't already know that Applejack."Orion casually joked and it did get a laugh out of War Fire.

"Take this thought and lesson as you see fit. And hold that pride about you,"War Fire found respect in Applejack's proud boasting about her conviction being right on the money about what helped win the day,"Only then will your family bravely persevere in times of doubt forever more."

"I think we can drink to that!"Big Mac decided to fetch some more drinks to join in on the celebration.

War Fire casually sipped his drink while looking to the citizens that drank cider without restraint. Even Rainbow Dash finally got her hooves on cups upon cups of apple cider with joy. While the other elements, and even Shadow Swirl smiled at him for the moment he was having with the others. He cleared his throat, and raised a cup of apple cider to give cheers to the ponies. They did the same and drank with him while the other Apples quickly joined in with him.

In the midst of the celebration, he used a second sip to suddenly dart his eyes towards Canterlot in the distance. He made the sip last as he focused on the city as hard as he could, until he got the sign he was hoping form. A green glowing spark of light was signaling from the Canterlot castle. It was very faint, but he could see it, and he slowly smiled, as if it was a sign of good news.

"Excellent…! Chrysalis made the switcheroo and is in position,"He thought to himself before finally finishing his drink,"All according to plan…"

Take as long as you need to let this episode settle in and the questions to come to mind, every pony. Yep, he's among them. The pony of fire is among his fellow warriors, why? That's for all of you to figure out. But he's here, he's among them, and his fellow warriors couldn't be happier. Just like he hoped… Stay pony every one.