Bellosh

Whoever wrote this next letter was... certainly something. Princess Cadence hadn’t felt such high levels of misequinthropy vibes since the time Tempest Shadow visited the Crystal Spire. This letter couldn’t have been from her, could it? After all, the assumed name “Air Superiority” triggered memories of rants about Princesses of Military Air Supremacy and- *Ka-BOOM!!!!!!* .....and Explosions. Cadence sighed as the sound of foalish giggling emerged from smoldering corner of her private royal office that until just now was set aside as a pristine play area. A mother’s work is never done..... Dear Air Superiority: I believe the word you are looking for is “longing”. Longing is what we feel when we see somepony enjoying another’s company and we wish to have that same happiness in our own lives. Sadly, some ponies don’t get to fulfill this dream because they immerse themselves in an impenetrable storm of negativity, whether it’s because of their innate personality or — in your case — bad experiences in the past. In order to start loving yourself again, the most important thing you need to do is stop the negative thinking pronto. Stop comparing yourself to other ponies, and start dwelling on your specific positive attributes. Dwell on these affirmations and repeat them daily; force yourself if you have to. Also, train yourself to be mindful of negative thoughts: try to understand the source behind your pessimism, and then re-write your thoughts in a more positive light. Whenever you accomplish a goal, celebrate it, use it as an excuse to indulge yourself, and then add that accomplishment to that list of positive attributes! Find things to do that make you feel good, and stick with them! Finding your self-worth will not be an easy task, and it is definitely recommended to find a professional therapist to help you along this path. However, I am confident that once you start rewiring your mind to embrace positivity, you’ll realize how your accumulated inner doubts have prevented you from finding your place all along. Love, Cady

If Princess Cadence was correct, the clues in this latest letter was written by a servicepony attending the upcoming Royal Equestrian Guard Ball. The letter itself presented a scenario that was fairly straightforward to respond to: Dear Anise Surprise: In my personal experience, the sort of function you will be attending has, in many ways, a more friendly and accepting atmosphere than the stereotypical high society party. While upper-crust ponies have a bad habit of treating their social lives as if they’re still adolescent schoolkids jockeying for popularity, service-minded ponies like yourself and my husband have no tolerance for such juvenile horse fodder (pardon my Prench). As such, you can count on your comrades to have your back in all situations, even at off-the-job events. Regardless, there’s always the chance of running into somepony who is simply plain rude. If faced with negativity, it’s possible to defuse the situation by responding with good humor. Should the rude pony continue to cause trouble, call for security to handle things. But above all else, remember that you’re there to have a good time with your date! You are not obligated to give attention to anypony set on spoiling your evening. Love, Cady PS: It’s not necessarily a bad thing to create a scene. There're few things quite like dealing with an angry heckler together which can turn budding attraction into a strong, durable relationship.

"Oh! Where are my manners? This handsome stallion is the very model of a modern member of the Royal Guard: Flash Sentry!" It was awkward moments like these that made Flash Sentry almost glad Presteza had been there to witness that... disastrous spectacle in the Crystal Spire. Feeling his date’s hoof brushing against his in a show of solidarity was enough to rejuvenate Flash’s confidence. For what it was worth, Squall didn’t seem to hold anything against the guardstallion either, so there was that. One distraction from a presenter and one rumination from Fire Walker about her unchanging brother later, Pres had been able to make a proper introduction of her companion to Squall. A second later, Flash followed up with a politely offered foreleg for a hoofshake; “How do you do?” Flash and Squall would have had only enough time to get in a round of exchanged pleasantries before the two couples were joined by yet another; THE Royal Couple, as a matter of fact! "Do I really look old enough to be a miss already, Flash?" While Shining Armor and Cadence started out a chat about Royal Canterlot Voices, Pres and Flash enjoyed a brief reprieve for themselves. “Nah, no way,” the stallion reassured the young mare, giving her hoof a pat; “Actually, I’ve been meaning to say that you look stunning tonight.” A slight flush of red rushed to Flash’s cheeks, slightly nervous over how Pres would take the compliment... among other things. "It's good to see you again, but I don't think I'm familiar with your date, or with Flash's. Are they just your companions for the evening, or something more serious?" Things like Captain Shining Armor, namely; a living legend within the Guard’s ranks. A real Equestrian hero! Cpl. Sentry always felt self-conscious in the gleaming Prince-Captain’s presence; no, being told to be at ease only made Flash more uneasy, leading the pegasus to slightly fumble his answer to Shining’s question; “Oh uhh, Presteza’s just my partner only for this evening, sir, but we’ve been acquainted with one another before!” Flash definitely could have used more nonchalant confidence in that reply. "You okay? I didn't get the number on that carriage that hit us." Pres’s quip elicited a chuckle out of Flash. “Heh, I hate to say this,” the stallion was also smart enough to keep his jesting voice down; “But your friend’s a goner. There’s no stopping Her Royal Highness once she catches a whiff of love in the air.....”

"The only problem with that joke is that I don't think it's possible to climb higher than Empress. Unless you harbor dreams of actual world domination. Er, you don't do you?" Princess Cadence gave Shining Armor a shifty-eyed glance out of jest. Of course the alicorn lacked megalomaniacal aspirations; she was too much of a goody four-shoes for that. Although... “I don’t know, it’s just if I was Empress of the World, I’d spread faith in True Love to those corners of the globe that hold fast to romantic cynicism and pragmatism.” The Crystal Princess seductively batted her eyelashes; “Surely that’s as good a reason as any for taking over the world, my love?” "I think the Canterlot voice comes back to the days when the capitol was still a fortress, and one needed to shout orders to be heard over any potential din. It's actually kind of nice to see the tradition be kept alive." The first two couples that came the royal duo’s way was naturally half-composed of noble-folk; Count Swift Squall of House Squallcoast and Presteza of House Aethermane, although neither had a reputation for partaking in the high society scene. While Princess Cadence wasn’t too terribly acquainted with Count Squall, she could personally attest to Presteza’s friendliness and skill in art. Cadence recognized Flash Sentry, who she once believed Twily was growing feelings for. That romantic thread sadly got cut before its time, and these days the Princess of Love couldn’t precisely guess who her sister-in-law desired as her special somepony. Some gossip tabloids claim it’s some Kastroti sorcerer, while Princess Celestia recently thought it necessary to point out to her adopted niece how Twily was spending a curiously large amount of effort bonding with Sunset Shimmer. Either way, lil’ adorable Twily clearly had a thing for ‘bad ponies’, or at least those who presented themselves in contrast to... well, Shining Armor’s noble paladin type. Speaking of: nopony cares about your O&O player characters, you lovable dork Shiny. Cady rolled her eyes at what her husband “wisely” considered to be worth adding onto his own list of titles. The last mare Cadence knew only by reputation. Captain Fire Walker was one of those royal guards Twilight held in high esteem, which is how Fire became the leader of Twily’s personal guard service. Perhaps tonight would be a chance to get to know her better! “You and me, both!” Cadence did agree with Shining about Royal Voices; “That’s why we refused to remove the Royal Canterlot Voice from the curriculum at the Imperial School of Knighthood and Chivalry. And I must say that our cheerleading squad is better off for it. It’s... pretty much the only counter we have to my auntie’s enthusiastic support for her buckball team.” "This rather handsome young stallion is my fiancé, Swift Squall." Briefly, Cadence’s attention was grabbed by the Presenter’s voice announcing more guests, but before she could see who they were, the alicorn heard Capt. Walker utter that most beloved of F-words, and gasped! “THE TWO OF YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED???” With excited wings spread out and hearts in her eyes, Cadence unwittingly shoved her husband, Flash, and Presteza out of the way as moved to give Fire a quick celebratory hug; “CONGRATULATIONS!” Upon letting go of the pegasus mare, Cadence bombarded her and Count Squall with questions; “Do you have a wedding date set? Where’s it gonna’ be? How many guests? Is there a theme? You have a wedding planner? An officiator? Where’s the honeymoon-?” And so on and so on.....

Sunset Shimmer nodded at the mention of Cozy Glow, the former student of Friendship currently serving a life sentence in Tartarus. Like Gallus, Sunset also wondered about the story behind the demented filly Twilight had spoken of before; who Cozy’s folks were, and if she really was evil at heart. What lies or taunts led her on the long march from harmony’s light, or she would not rather have stayed there... in the company of true friends? The youthful griffon meanwhile brought up a pertinent issue. It was something Professor Shimmer planned on tackling in detail later in the semester, but she wasn’t the type of lady to string people along, either. “Good question, Gallus! You’re in fact touching upon one of the great dilemmas of Friendship; whether anybody who completely gives in to Darkness can be redeemed or atone for their mistakes, no matter the severity of their crimes. Truthfully, it’s a hard question to answer because oftentimes, we don’t actually understand what they truly feel in their hearts.” Sunset got out a folder and one-by-one, began to levitate and stick onto the chalkboard portraits of various personalities of infamy she painted by hand. “For a thousand years, ponies wrote off Nightmare Moon as a monster who gobbled up foals one night a year. You’ve got Discord, who had been demonized for far longer. And let’s not forget the Pony of Shadows, a literal creature of darkness who only became that way due to a simple misunderstanding.” Another duo of portraits got stuck onto the chalkboard; “But then, you get cases like Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra, creatures who time-and-time again choose to do despicable things. As Professor Fluttershy will tell you, there is immense value in learning the perspective of your foe. However, I acknowledge that isn’t always possible in the most extreme situations. Not unless you happen to master a spell giving you empathetic insights, anyway...” The professor manifested seven crude globs of glowing magic in front of the students; six of them colorful and arranged in formation ala the Elements of Harmony, the other a swirl of pure darkness. “When you’ve got your friends, family, and homes on the line..." The six colorful globs of light shined together and shot a beam at the darkness, poofing it into nothingness; “Sometimes, you have to do what needs to be done.....”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Sunset Shimmer groaned; “I’ll drop off those history books when I come in to work next week. But first, you’ll need to have that last batch of stuff I let you borrow ready for return. The school library won’t lend me any more books otherwise, and its borrowing limit is generous enough as it is.” Who knew that book depository intended for ordinary adolescents could hold so much knowledge about the Mirror World? When you added computers into the mix..... As for armor; “I’d have to read up on armor again back home, but honestly, the only people I’ve ever seen wearing it are those LARP kids who meet up in the park every Saturday. And well..." Sunset awkwardly smiled; “There’s only so much you can do with cardboard, eh heh.” Perhaps Miss Shimmer’s fashion-conscious friend was starting to rub off on her. It turned out Twilight herself knew a thing or two about Equestrian art history, but also knowing the circumstances behind her knowledge of it was somewhat disheartening. It was a good thing then that Flash Magnus timely swooped in with encouraging words to Twi. “He’s right,” Sunset chimed in, having bashfully blushed a moment ago knowing that the Pillars knew of her deeds, as she planted a supportive arm on the alicorn’s shoulder; “There’s no shame in having been afraid once. I pretty much spent most of my early foalhood hiding in the library because I didn’t want to deal with the jerks in my crummy old hometown. Life’s too short to always be spending energy on ponies who’ll give you a hard time! What matters is that when push comes to shove, you choose to stand up for someone else who's in need of a friend.” Sunset smirked as she jabbed Twi’s elbow; “.....You know, like our shy friend I raged at because she inadvertently snatched your stolen crown out from my grasp. Remember how you defended her when nobody else did?”

While taking a quick scan of the crowd, Flash Sentry noticed one unpleasant face he’d rather stay far away from at all costs: the REG’s resident clown, Punk Walker. Given the nature of their last encounter — which Presteza had been present with Flash — the two ponies would never hear the end of it if Punk saw them attending the Ball together. Thankfully, Punk was too busy being Punk. Like any red-blooded stallion, a wave of euphoria hit Flash upon his date complementing the pegasus for looking good in his mess dress. Even stallions face anxiety over their appearance, believe it or not! “Thank you,” Flash beamed back; “That dress of yours l-” "Oh-Oh! Fire! Fire! Over--- uh. Fire Walker! Squall! Over here!" “Fire where?!?” Corporal Sentry jerked his head from side-to-side as he momentarily entered Duty Mode, thinking that Pres had spotted a fire! But... it turned out to just be his commanding officer, Captain Fire Walker, whom Pres happened to be acquainted. Flash deflated with a sign, realizing he lost one opportune moment to playfully flirt back with the mare accompanying him. But no matter: the night was still young! Flash Sentry’s perked up his spirits just in time for Capt. Walker’s companion to drag her on over. And almost right from the get-go, Squall directed an awkward question Flash’s way. “Errr,” the flushed servicepony rubbed the back of his neck; “You might have. A lot of us were s-” “PRESENTING!.....” And there it happened again, somepony speaking over Flash. Although this time, the guard was quite happy for something to divert everypony’s attention. And yeah, that long list of Princess Cadence’s titles was... something. When that entrance was taken care of, Flash commented to his commander; “So Captain, I see your brother’s company is back from its... reassignment.” The legend of how General Pummel relieved Punk’s company commander of his command and deployed the unit on a year-long arctic border patrol as punishment for Punk breaking dress code had become something of a horror story shared between members of the Royal Equestrian Guard.....

“Tehehe, now’s not the time to bring that up,” Princess Cadence gently chided her love when he brought up that dance lesson; “Let’s try to get to the Ball first before it ends... and THEN we can worry about what to do in our castle guest room afterward.” The alicorn’s devious smirk could have been placed in a dictionary alongside a definition of “wink wiiiiiink”. “And don’t worry Shiny,” Cadence further reminded Shining Armor; “I love any moment I can to get a dance with you... even if I’d rather do it in the company of respectable, high society ponies so that we can increase our social standing among the ponies most worth knowing.” .................... “I’m kidding, honey. Of course I’d love to meet all your old army buddies! In fact, you can think of it as having more of you to go around!” The Crystal Princess couldn’t help but giggle loudly; it never hurt to play the role of teasing vixen every now and then. It should go without saying that Princess Cadence loves balls... or at least, the concept of such fancy events. Like Auntie Celestia, she too could find the typical soiree attendee to be... insufferable. Fortunately, as this was a REG Ball the royal couple would be attending tonight, no spoiled cousins or snotty trend setters would be around to put a reality check on Cadence’s foalhood dreams of playing dress-up with pretty dresses and waltzing with knights in shining armor. On both of those two fronts, the Princess of Love failed to disappoint. There was Shining Armor obviously, and then there was Cadence’s lovely gown, sparkling with hues of pink and purple. Her mane had been done special for the occasion, crowned with two ornate crystals harvested in the Crystal Empire itself (where else is a Crystal Empress supposed to find gems?). The heart-adorned crystal slippers were also products of Crystal Empire craftsmareship, and then there were the Itailian pearl necklaces; mementos once owned by the mare’s used-to-be-long-lost birth mother, Amore Della Familia, who was now gladly back in her life. Speaking of mementos of the old country, Princess Cadence was salivating at the thought of portabella bucatini al nero when a herald’s booming cry announced the royal couple’s entry onto the ballroom floor. Hearing the long list of her apparently official titles made the alicorn blush a deep shade of red. Nonetheless, Cadence quickly gathered up her mischievous wits; “.....Oh sir, I do believe you forgot to mention Mother of Alicorns and Foalsitter of Princess Twilight Sparkle among that list of titles.” That was one of Celestia’s most important lessons of leadership: always have a sense of humor! And yes, if Twily was going to end up on the majestic Equestrian Throne in the near future, then yes the entire world was going to hear how Cady once foalsat that cute adorable lil’ filly.....

Chatting it up with Commander Tempest started to remind Grubber of the good ole’ times when he got to snatch all the sweets he wanted and Tempest would be there to- WAIT NO, DUCK AND COVER! BAD OLD TIMES INCOMING!!! “EWWWWOOOHHH!!!!!!” It was almost a learned reflex for Grubber at this point, jolting as if a wave of electricity punished him for whatever mistakes he made this time. And yet... there was pain to be experienced. Yelling from Tempest, sure... as well as a light show of fiendish fright. Even some spit on Grubber’s face! But no part of his body had been touched by the scorch of crackling plasma energy. And then, Tempest just... coldly turned away. .....Was this the dawn of a new Tempest Shadow???! Initially dumbfounded, the hedgehog suddenly beamed and rushed back to Tempest’s side; “Oh ohhhh, have you been going to Anger Management therapy? Becauthe I can definitely thenthe you’ve made progreth, Tempetht!” He glanced behind him and gestured towards the frightened hippogriff; “Thee? Thethe guyth can tell, too! They’re not running away from you threaming, anymore!!!” The way Grubber was speaking, one might believe that Tempest just accomplished the most amazing thing in the world.....

Corporal Flash Sentry blew a long whistle of contemplation as he took in the exquisite scene around him. It had been a good long time since he’d been to a fancy military ball like this one; back when he was still a fresh rookie out of boot camp. Much had happened to Flash since then; Queen Chrysalis’s Nightmare Night invasion, being brainwashed into participating in the Crystal Faire Attack, and getting cleared of all treason charges in the subsequent aftermath. Recently, Cpl. Sentry had transferred into the Twilight Guard in the hopes of being able to make up for what had been so far an iffy service record. Flash Sentry’s dating life since joining the Army was... also a bit of a roller coaster. No stable long-term relationships yet, but by some fluke, he had managed to get asked out once by the famous fashion model Fleur de Lis while stationed in the Crystal Empire. And then there was that equally flukish date with Princess Twilight Sparkle... the less said about it, the better. The moral of that story: beware any mare who may potentially know how to cast an allure spell. It was another mare yet who accompanied Flash to this latest ball: the artist Presteza. She and the guardstallion had bumped into each other on several occasions over the years, starting with the Nightmare Night plot. But Pres never stuck in one place for long; it was only by coincidence that she was going to be in town the night of the Ball. Flash learned this during a chance encounter with Pres only a couple days prior, and since part of the stallion always considered the young mare cute, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask if she’d like to attend as his guest, which Pres accepted! And so the two of them were now ambling in the ballroom, Flash Sentry wearing the scarlet tuxedo-esque mess dress in vogue with REG serviceponies. Despite the twists and turns of his Royal Guard career thus far, Cpl. Sentry felt assured in the fact he finally earned enough bits from his job to afford such dashing military-grade evening wear. “Looks like quite the shindig they’ve set up here,” he made small talk with the mare he was leading towards their assigned table.....

The good news was that Tempest Shadow didn’t try shaking Sunset Shimmer off her tail. Whatever her negative thoughts on Friendship were, at least Tempest was accepting companionship at the moment. That was something Sunset could work with. Suddenly, the broken-horned unicorn asked about... “over there”. Miss Shimmer took a few moments to consider what exactly could be conveyed about the realm without Tempest incredulously laughing in her face, then she spoke. “Honestly, life there isn’t bad at all if you get used to a lack of unicorn magic... and uhh, other changes. One plus of living in a magic-less world is that there’s no monster attacks to worry about... or evil overlords trying to take over the world with ancient relics. That’s something about Equestria I definitely don’t miss at all, teh heh heh!” As the two unicorns kept walking side-by-side, Sunset glanced towards Tempest; “I should be more precise; Magic DOES exist in this other world after a fashion, but how it manifests is unpredictable, and can’t be reliably reproduced the way unicorn spells can. It took me a while to accept that uncertainty... but then I realized that actually, there’s something cool about not knowing what it’s gonna’ do next. After everything I’ve been through over there, I feel like not knowing something isn’t always so bad! It gives you something to work for.” Sunset glanced upwards with a fond smile; “Equestria has a magic all its own, but this other world does too! Someone has to figure out how it works there, aaaand... it may as well be me, so..... that’s why I choose to live there.”

Sunset Shimmer attentively nodded as Twilight Sparkle prattled on about Netitus. Ah, so Regalite Maxinimium was the secret ingredient, eh? That sounded about right. Although she had never seen it for herself, Sunset learned a fair amount about it back in her magical studies, as it had been a desired stone to forge magical relics out of. “Yeah...” the unicorn grimly commented; “Too bad all the Regalite Maxinimium mines in Equestria ran dry centuries ago, though.....” Unexpectedly being turned into the focus of Twilight’s gaze made Sunset feel self-conscious about herself. “Barding?” The blushing unicorn asked incredulously; “That’s... sweet of you Twi, but really, what would I need armor for? It’s not like I’ll become a princess who leads troops into battle anytime s-.” Before Sunset’s inquiry could be answered, Twilight got distracted by an old artwork, Flash Magnus and the Dragon, which Sunset Shimmer’s eyes dissected in discerning detail. “For surely being one of the oldest surviving pieces of oil painting,” the unicorn’s inner amateur artist awakened inside of her; “It IS quite detailed. And quite experimental too; assuming art history ‘over there’ progressed similarly to here in Equestria, then oil on painting wouldn’t have caught on for another several centuries.” Sunset rested a hoof on her chin as she scanned the artwork further; “Not quite sure about the painting coming alive bit, but I suppose it’s theoretically possible if Grand Canvas was using enchanted pigments? Then again, how could you tell the difference between sorcery at work and your imagination playing tricks? Maybe with.....” Obliviously rambling to herself, the unicorn clearly fell victim to, uhhhh... something?

“Hmmm..." Sunset Shimmer casually remarked in a low voice; “You sure don’t learn history like this in school.....” Either here or in the Mirror World. Celestia’s ex-pupil had been exposed to an inkling of Equestria’s dark past in her advanced magical studies, but only sanitized tidbits. After all, knowing about the conflicts of old usually wasn’t necessary for a budding sorceress to learn the intricacies of spellcasting, which Sunset once saw as her only goal in life. Amongst the implements of war on display was the legendary shield of Flash Magnus, Netitus, looking very much worse for wear. Regardless, Sunset Shimmer was in awe of the piece of armor and all the abuse heaped on it. She gave a slow, contemplative whistle; “That’s definitely some old-school armor right there. The last time I used a modern suit of barding for target practice, the whole thing fell apart within several magic blasts. What does it say Netitus is forged out of, Twilight?”

Kirin - A Lesson in Duality The Kirin are a peculiar species. Although Kirin are considered equine, their physical forms are radically different from those of ponies. Major points of distinction include cloven hooves, bushy lion-like manes and tails, dragon-esque scaling on their muzzles and backs, and a curved horn capable of projecting magic. Although some aspects of the Kirin initially make them seem like close biological relatives of the part-dragon Longma and Qilin, they have no ability to breathe out elemental flames. However, it is true that the Kirin originated from the Far East; from the islands of Neighpon, in fact. Contradictory myths and legends float around as to how exactly the Kirin came to be, but the historical consensus suggests that as Neighpon became more heavily populated, the Kirin collectively believed in the need to isolate themselves from other creatures. To that end, they undertook a great migration westward across vast oceans and strife-torn lands, traveling as far as their hooves could take them. After much toil, the Kirin reached their final destination, a sheltered grove on top of the Peaks of Peril within the northern Tarpans, which they saw as a perfectly isolated oasis to build their new community around. The reason the Kirin undertook this great migration was due to the Nirik, a supposed race of fire creatures raging with fury. In actuality, a Nirik is the form a Kirin takes when overcome by anger; their hair and tufts blaze into an ethereal fire, charring the color right off their coat! In this furious state, a Nirik can effortlessly engage in pyromancy but at a cost of losing self-control. It is not uncommon for everything around a raging Nirik to go up in smoke. Bereft of safe spaces to blow off steam thanks to their isolation, the Kirin were left no other choice than taking out their frustrations on each other. After one particularly nasty incident that resulted in most of the Grove burning down, the Kirin’s leader decreed that all her subjects were to take a Vow of Silence, enchanting a stream with the power to strip a creature of its voice and emotions. While this appeared to be a decisive solution to the Nirik issue, the Kirin grievously lost the ability to nourish their spirits with the joys of song, dance, and laughter. However, one Kirin stumbled upon both the floral cure for the silent oath and the realization that anger wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. With help from pony interventionists, the inhabitants of the Kirin Grove chose to introduce sound and emotion back into their lives. Finally accepting they have the power to channel their negativity into non-harmful ways, the Kirin no longer fear intermingling with the world beyond. ~Canterlot Research Journal (Revised Edition)

A new princess will be sitting on the Equestrian Throne very soon. Rest assured..... changes will be made.

Grubber might have gotten to answering the hippogriff’s question had he not spotted his former commander turned designated sponsor. For a moment, the hedgehog felt the tiniest inkling of a storm brewed over his head as Tempest Shadow mumbled something inaudible. Thankfully, that pit in stomach turned out to be a case of the imagination happily running wild, so Grubber obliviously answered the unicorn. “Oh, school’th TOTALLY been doin’ great!!!” He excitedly bragged; “I’m making lotth of new friendth and learning everything I can about Friendthhip! I’m thure the report cardth thay glowing thingth about me, or otherwithe, you’d be giving me the evil eye and dithciplining me with your crazy horn right about now... you know, just like old timeth, eh heh heh heh.....” .....It was perhaps a merciful thing then that Tempest Shadow didn’t know that according to the Friendship School’s mailings, Grubber displayed troubling signs of underachieving and being proud of it. The hippogriff used the slight pause in the conversation to interject with another question. “Yeah, that thoundth like Commander Tempetht alright,” Grubber nodded, glad he didn’t require any boring history book reading to get that right; “Thhe did the Throm King’th evil, evil bidding. Whenever he needed a city thacked or a kingdom enthlaved, Tempetht Thadow’th Air Armada came in and made everything all blow up and thuff! After we nabbed all four pony princesseth, Throm King promithed he’d fix Tempetht’s horn and-” Grubber did a double take; “Wait a thec, why doeth it thill look like you thill got a crackly chipped tooth on the top of your head?” He gasped; “Doeth thith mean you’ll alwayth be thtuck with tharky tharky boom thells FOREVER???”

A new day of worldwide cooperation in the arcane arts draws near! Duchess Silver Belle — Guild Master of the Magic Guild — has been asked to represent Equestria in discussions to establish an interlibrary loan arrangement between Canerlot's School of Magic and Kastrot's legendary College of the Arcane. In the spirit of international goodwill, the ruling unicorns of Kastrot invite the members of the Magic Guild delegation to experience all that the Arcane City has to offer! To sign-up to be part of the Magic Guild delegation, one has to either already be a member of the Magic Guild or is otherwise is highly knowledgeable in the magical arts. It would also be much appreciated if we had Maretonian unicorns for the delegates to interact with! PS: Expect my ever-cheerful unicorn OC Moony to be there! ^_^

........................... ................................................................. Sunset Shimmer was at a complete loss of words as Tempest Shadow laid bare her innermost emotions. This went FAR beyond a simple phobia of losing one’s magic. Rather, it sounded like Tempest despised everything about the path her life had taken. Evidently, turning her back on the Storm King had basically did jack all at changing the broken-horned unicorn’s view of the world. And honestly, what could a girl like Sunset SAY to things like what Tempest described? How could anybody who once benefited from Friendship — and then lost it all — ever be persuaded to give it another chance when they’re hyper aware of every possible rotten thing life could throw at you? Miss Shimmer wasn’t even sure if offering her personal friendship would help; Tempest Shadow was a proud unicorn afraid of showing weakness, and the ex-apprentice guessed that any attempt at befriending her counterpart that could be perceived as being done out of pity would be categorically rejected. Unable to immediately form a counter-response to Tempest’s assertions, Sunset merely stood there with a blank stare as the other unicorn started walking off. True, Hanabi attempted to flee from the group several minutes ago... but here she was now attempting to provide gratitude, while Tempest Shadow herself was in the process of retreating from the area after going on a heartfelt tirade. It was doubtful though whether talking to the mare would have any result at this point, but Sunset Shimmer couldn’t bring herself to let her counterpart go without a fight. At the very least, Tempest deserved to know she was worth being chased after. “.....We’ll see you guys in a little bit,” Sunset informed Feng and Hanabi after several moments elapsed. At this juncture, it was probably best if Tempest Shadow didn’t feel surrounded by strangers. Resolving to get through to her on a one-on-one level, Sunset broke into a relaxed but brisk canter in hopes of quietly catching up to Tempest.....

Seaquestria - The Watery Depths of Refuge Beneath the surface of Mount Aris lies the underwater refuge of the Hippogriffs; the Sea Caves of Sequestering, more commonly known as Seaquestria. For a time, the citizens of Hippogriffia took shelter in these caves following the rise of the Storm King, using the power of the Pearl of Transformation to morph into Seapony forms adapted to functioning in the ocean. With the Storm King’s threat now passed, many former denizens of Mount Aris have decided that life under the sea is more preferable to slaving away out in the sun. According to the historical record, the Pearl of Transformation was a gift bequeathed to the Hippogriffs by the Hippocamp City-Kingdom of Coralline, who use such relics whenever they have business to attend to on land. In the case of the Hippogriffs, their Pearl swaps their avian features with a fishtail, flippers, and a more equine frontal body. A few who transform develop luminous bulbs on their foreheads, which helps with swimming in deep water. Creatures who assume Seapony forms enjoy many of the abilities enjoyed by Hippocamps, such as communing with aquatic creatures. Following the downfall of the Storm King, Queen Novo divided the Pearl of Transformation into multiple small fragments to give her subjects the freedom to choose between Seapony and Hippogriff forms. The aquatic sanctuary that became Seaquestria has its origins long ago, after Queen Marina was gifted the Pearl of Transformation. A hippogriff with a deep love for the sea, she ordered that the sea surrounding Mount Aris be fully explored by volunteers willing to be morphed into seaponies. It was during these first explorations that sea caves were discovered extending beneath the island mountain. Initially, the Hippogriffs largely left the Sea Caves of Sequestering alone, although they had the insight to dig water tunnels up to the surface above for use as emergency escape tunnels in the event the Winged Citadel was likely to fall. Once the Storm King forced the Hippogriffs to flee the surface world, they started again by erecting a new organically elegant city out of glass and coral, hanging above the ceiling of Seaquestria’s largest cavern like an upside-down copy of the Winged Citadel. Much like a Citadel that hangs like a chandelier, the bottom of the hanging, illuminated spiral houses the chambers of Queen Novo, which are used whenever she is attending to the needs of her Seapony subjects. Magical enchantments ensure that Seaquestria’s waters remain calm and clear, unaffected by the ever-changing whims of the surrounding seas beyond. Seaquestria is not as populated as it once was, many refugees choosing to return to the surface world as Hippogriffs. However, a large percentage of Queen Novo’s subjects actually prefer underwater life, many of whom never fit all that well with the traditionally competitive and grandiose culture of the Hippogriffs. For many of the younger ones, life as Seaponies is all they have ever known, and they aren’t too keen on losing the chance to frolic with beautiful fish and clever octopuses. How Queen Novo navigates this new cultural split amongst her people will be a more peculiar challenge, indeed. ~Canterlor Research Journal (Revised Edition)

“Pfft, don’t get me started on regret,” Sunset Shimmer commented on Somnambula’s lament; it was not uncommon during times of gloomy reflection for the unicorn to wonder what could have been had she completed her training to Princess Celestia’s satisfaction. “Take it from somebody who was dumb enough once to throw her destiny away,” Sunset shared an encouraging smile and a comforting one-legged hug with the Pillar of Hope; “You and Flash Magnus still have plenty of time to make new plans.....” Speak of that warrior-pony, there he was! Although Sunset Shimmer’s earlier jest about Twilight and stallions named Flash was not meant to be serious, Magnus DID strike the unicorn mare as reminiscent of an older, less flashy, and more rugged version of pony Flash Sentry. Maybe the two stallions were related by ancestry, somehow? “I’m Sunset Shimmer,” the unicorn shook his wing; “Nice to meet you!” That was all Sunset got to say before Somnambula whisked her stallion away, leaving the unicorn alone with Twilight. “Welp..... you heard him Twi,” Miss Shimmer gently tugged her partner in the direction of the Flash Magnus exhibit; “Let’s get busy ourselves and check out this next stop.....”

I'll sign-up two characters (or I suppose 4 characters, technically speaking)...... Name: Flash Sentry Role: Guard Branch & Rank: Corporal, Twilight Guard Plus One: Presteza Name: Princess Cadence Role: Plus One Attending with: Shining Armor

Food? Food where? Sweet Apple Acres? The place that grows apples? Well, apples may not have been the desserts that Grubber craved for the most, but the ponies of Ponyville seemed to like them a whole lot, so there had to be something about these apples which made them awesome. And heck, the vertically challenged hedgehog was accustomed to seeing apples as dessert ingredients, so it’d be worth it to grab some of those fruits to snack on anyway. Something something about how one apple a day keeps a doctor delayed, or however that pony saying goes. And would you look at that? Some fellow students from the School of Friendship were waiting in line! “Wathup guyth?” Grubber called out as he got behind the dragon and hippogriff; “So thith ith like the place to be, right? Do they-?” Grubber spotted a familiar sight in front of the hippogriff! “YO! TEMPEEEEETHT!!!” The hedgehog jumped up and down, flailing his arms to grab his old partner’s attention; “IT’TH YOUR BETHTETHT PAL, GRUBBER!!! LONG TIME, NO THEE!”

Sunset Shimmer supposed it was nice to know that dodging punitive essays was yet one more skill of Twilight’s. And for now, she would also get to dodge insinuations concerning any attraction to Flash Mangus as Somnambula chose to elaborate a little more on her relationship with the warrior. Quite curious to think there was something going on between the two legendary pegasi..... Who would have known that only several minutes into a museum events, Sunset Shimmer was going to an inspirational speech to convicts? Yet somehow, the unicorn pulled off that spur-of-the-moment accomplishment without much difficulty. Then again, it wasn’t all that different from some other situations Miss Shimmer had been in before... sans the out-of-control troubled souls unwittingly threatening to unleash magic upon hapless bystanders. Everybody could make do with less incidents like those. The time now came for the next exhibit. “Huh,” Sunset gave the Pillar of Hope a teasingly suspicious glance; “So YOUR section is right next to Flash Magnus’s. Seems terribly convenient, doesn’t it Somnambula.....?”

Not surprisingly, Yù Yuè favored red as the base color for her lantern. As a qilin who aligned herself with Fire, it was the obvious choice. Perhaps she should have expected that the First Moon for Serpent Dragons did not vary too considerably from how it’s observed by Long Sun, the Elder Serpents being the source of many traditions to begin with. As for how things were done in the Imperial Palace? “You’ll be pleased to know that the First Moon is also an occasion for celebration at the Palace. The kitchens have been working non-stop for the last two weeks, cooking up ample dumplings for the servants each night. Right now, they should be finishing up with their own paper lanterns.....”

The collision of bodies that Sunset Shimmer braced for... never happened. Feng used his warrior reflexes to intercept Tempest Shadow beforehand, managing to put the broken-horned mare in a submission hold. Slowly but surely, Tempest abandoned her drive to have at Sunset, and she was able to calm down and follow Feng’s order to stand down. Breathing a sigh of relief that Feng’s plan worked, Sunset poked the longma to let him know that he was free to let Tempest go. As Feng got up, Sunset sat down next to Tempest and proceeded to continue their conversation as if it was never interrupted. “Back when I was a filly,” Miss Shimmer explained to the other unicorn; “I used to believe that being the best at Magic was all that mattered. If I couldn’t be better than the rest, then nobody was going to care about me.” Sunset averted her gaze towards the ground; “But one day, I got mad at my mentor. I chose to run away from it all, and in the process, I trapped myself in a place where Magic didn’t exist. It’s... sort of a long story that you’ll probably think I’m making up, but’s true that for quite a long time, I believed I’d never be able to use unicorn magic ever again. It... wasn’t pleasant to cope with.....”