Trash of the Royal Castle

In the depths of the Everfree Forest, in the wooden castle of the Kingdom of Thicket, a white Deer wrapped in a red robe made his way through the castle halls, moving between corridors shaped out of still living wood, as he searched for a specific figure.

"Buzzard! My trusty Buzzard, where have you gone?!" King Aspen of Thicket called out, searching for his personal bird to send a message for him.

"Your Majesty!" a deer covered in green armor called as he followed after the old monarch. "Your Buzzard passed away thirteen years ago," Portunes told his liege.

"...He did?" Aspen licked his lips as he thought over those words momentarily. "Portunes... Send this letter to Prince Blueblood Platinum and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza..." Aspen stared into space for a moment, his mind drifting elsewhere, his eyes glazing as he found himself lost in his own memories before suddenly returning to the present. "What did you say?!" He asked loudly.

"I... I didn't say anything, Your Majesty." Portunes told his King as he gently took the letter from his king and left, on his way to send the letter to where it needs to go.

"..." King Aspen stared at his guard's retreating back in silence, his back hunching down as he closed his eyes, releasing a tired sigh, "I'll be with you soon..." He whispered, his mouth hidden beneath the long and unruly beard on his wrinkled old face, his mind once again drifting to a time long gone.

"My Dearest Gaia..."

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"Thanks again for letting us stay here, Doc." Time Turner smiled as he sat in his living room, watching two of his new friends walk around his house, decorating the many empty guest rooms he never used.

"Please, it was really no issue," Time Turner told his two friends, "It was the least I could do." He turned to look at one of the two ponies in his house. "By the bye, Any word from Trixie on when she'll be here?"

"She'll be here sometime later today, I'll give her an hour or two~" A tall Pegasus told the Earth Pony he was staying with.

"Only an hour or two?" A second Earth Pony asked, her light blue shirt covered by denim overalls, her red mane tied with a green sash. "Why not more?"

"Oh, I don't mean she'll be here in an hour." The Pegasus explained, "I mean that I'm only going to wait for an hour before I go do something else~ I'll probs go visit my Little Big Sister, say hi to Dashie, and do some other stuff that I'll probably think about later. You know? The usual."

"Your Sister lives here?" Time Turner asked the Pegasus.

"Yep~ You probably know her; she's like super kind and nice and on the newspaper sometimes~" Zephyr Breeze smirked before he turned to face the door. "Anyways, I'm outtie~"

"But you just said you'll wait for Trixie to get here!" Torque Wrench pointed a yellow hoof at Zephyr.

"Yeah, I changed my mind," Zephyr shrugged before he opened the door, only to almost trip on a small unicorn filly.

"Huh? Hey, It's you! How's it going squirt?" Zephyr Smiled as he caught himself with his wings, looking down at the small filly.

"Huh? Mister Breeze?!" Dinky Doo's eyes widened as she recognized the Pegasus above her, "If you're here, that means-"

"Trixie isn't here yet." Zephyr completed the filly's sentence before she could, watching the little unicorn release a sigh.

"Good, I don't think many ponies here like her very much," Dinky said before looking around, watching the ponies she knew didn't really like Trixie ever since her last magic show in town.

"Yeah, I get that she can be a bit overbearing, and her acting leaves a lot to be desired, and she really needs to think of a less egotistical stage name~" Zephyr Breeze said as he nodded along with the filly, "But she's a good pony, Most of those things are part of her act," he pointed out.

"I know!" Dinky jumped in agreement. "You're not supposed to dislike a theater pony just because they played a villain in a play! Trixie is the same!"

"Hey, why did you call me Mister Breeze but to Trixie you just refer to her normally?" Zephyr raised an eyebrow at the filly.

"Never mind that, We need to get ready for the town to be destroyed!" Dinky pointed out before she grabbed Zephyr's leg as she started pulling him along.

"Destroy the town? Why would she-"

"Last time she was here, she brought an Ursa Minor into town! If she's coming later than you are, that means she's preparing a magic show! And if she's going to try and outdo what she did last time, we're going to need to prepare!" Dinky shouted at the older Pegasus.

"She's actually putting the finishing touches on a magical staff, but I see your- SHE BROUGHT AN UNRA MINOR INTO TOWN?!" Zephyr exclaimed loudly as the words registered in his head.

"SHE'S MAKING A MAGICAL STAFF?!" Dinky responded with the same volume.

"WE GOTTA PREPARE!" The two ponies shouted at once before Zephyr picked up the small Unicorn Filly and placed her on his back.

"I know someone who can help us!" Zephyr told the filly as she grabbed on tightly to his back.

"Let's go!" Dinky pointed forward before Zephyr burst into flight at the fast speeds of a gentle summer breeze.

"I expected you to be faster..." Dinky said before she closed her eyes, "This is really calming, actually."

"Hey, Sometimes you need to take things easy~" Zephyr said as the duo slowly made their way in the direction of a cabin outside the town.

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"Don't be scared, Little Friends. Twilight is wonderful with magic." Outside a cabin near the edge of the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy spoke to a collection of critters made up of Beavers, Raccoons, Rabbits, Squirrels, and Mice.

Fluttershy turned to glare at Twilight Sparkle, their faces just centimeters apart. "If anything happens to them, Twilight, so help me..."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Spike the Dragon said as he pushed the two ponies apart, creating space between them, "Twilight's magic has gotten much better ever since she accidentally crushed me and Applejack under a giant snowball."

Twilight Sparkle tried to smile in order to reassure her friend, However, Spike's words caused her to cringe and only enhance Fluttershy's worry.

"Of course she's good with magic, Twilight's great with magic, I just don't want my little friends to be scared," Fluttershy started to panic as she looked at the critters in her backyard, "Ooh ooh look how scared they are!"

The critters sat comfortably on the grass, smiling and patiently waiting for the magic to begin. Not at all worried.

"I promise, Fluttershy, nothing bad will happen to them." Twilight Sparkle reassured her friend as she walked forward, preparing her magic.

"I know." Fluttershy managed to squeak through clattering teeth.

Twilight Sparkle started to focus on her magic, her horn glowing with a pink aura.

"Stop! Stop!" Fluttershy cried out in horror as she collapsed to the ground and covered her eyes. "They can't take it!"

Twilight turned to give her a worried look before returning to the animals, who were still sitting on the ground, patiently waiting for the magic to happen.

With a move of her horn, the animals were lifted into the air, surrounded by a pink aura of magic, as Twilight's telekinesis took hold of their bodies. Flying through the air in the shape of a lemniscate, cheering with squeaks and chitters of joy as they flew around.

"Twilight! That's amazing!" Spike said with cheer, knowing full well how impressive it was to lift several living beings with a single telekinesis spell while being able to move them individually instead of as a group.

It was a showing of high-level telekinesis that also showed off the high-level multitasking needed to keep the critters free to move their limbs in the air while still following the direction of the shape chosen.

Twilight knew it was really advanced telekinesis, so she was thankful for the compliment, but it was still just telekinesis at the end of the day. That magic comes naturally to every Unicorn from the moment they're born, It's an instinctive spell.

So, despite it being a very high-level and advanced showing of the spell, it was still the most basic and simple magic spell there was.

Twilight Sparkle gently lowered the critters back to the ground, her forehead dripping with sweat from the effort of focusing on so many moving parts. One small mistake and she could have accidentally crushed one of the smaller critters in her grasp.

Moving a living creature is much more complex than moving an inanimate object, after all.

The animals grouped around Twilight and started jumping in celebration, wanting to fly in the air again.

"That was all for now, Little ones." Twilight told the cheering critters, "Maybe we can practice again later if Fluttershy says it's alright."

The critters moved to surround Fluttershy, who was still cowering in worry, hiding her face between her hooves.

"Your magic has really improved since we came to Ponyville, Twilight." Spike pointed out, "Princess Celestia's gonna love it!"

"Thanks, Spike," Twilight said with a smile, her mind going through the many events that happened in the last year that forced her magic to go even further than she had ever anticipated. Growing with her as she faced the many challenges that came her way.

"I have to be at my best when she arrives with the delegates from Saddle Arabia- I can't believe she's trusting me with the entertainment!"

Moments after those words left Twilight's mouth, a rainbow colored blur crashed into her body and pushed her to the ground.

"Twilight! Come quick! It's an emergency!" Rainbow Dash yelled into her face.

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Slowly making their way up the hill leading to Fluttershy's shack, Zephyr Breeze let out a gentle yawn as he felt the warm spring sun massage his face.

His yawn was followed by Dinky releasing a yawn of her own, her eyelids threatening to close as she enjoyed the gentle breeze created by Zephyr's flight.

A gentle breeze which was suddenly washed away as a streak of rainbow flew out of the cabin, followed by a pair of ponies and a baby dragon.

"Oh, there she goes~" Zephyr said calmly as he turned around, slowly making his way in the direction his Little Big Sister was running in.

"Why are we heading for Fluttershy's again?" Dinky asked as the duo made their way back to the path they came from.

"She's my sister~" Zephyr said lazily.

"Oh," Dinky responded.

"Yeah~"

"..."

"Wanna go grab ice cream instead?" Zephyr asked with a smirk as they entered the town once more.

"Yep, I know a good place~" The duo of ponies who were supposed to prepare for a disaster lazily made their way to an ice-cream shop.

Content with ignoring the current commotion for the time being.