Mornings and evenings passed within the blink of an eye. Weeks floating on by without much care for slowing. Orange, blue, and purple appearing and then disappearing in order each day. Orange sunrises turned into blue days, without much cloud activity or rain. Then, it always transitioned to purple and then finally, the night sky would overtake the three. Stars littering the skies as life remained constantly shifting. For the three of Body, Mind and Soul, the task of reforming their alicorn body became almost forgotten to time. Themselves enjoying every moment of their seemingly new lives.
For instance, about a month before the present day, they went out and treated themselves after all the work they had done helping Cluttered. “You guys have earned it” were the words that rang in their minds as they were successful in their endeavors to attract more business. That night was filled with the sweet delights of fine dining; bringing along Cluttered as a nice surprise. The look on his face filled with shock as he didn’t expect anything of the sort. When they went into the restaurant, the night kicked off with orders of delectable hay pizza and ice cream as a tasty treat afterward. The night ending with the four of them sitting at the beach happily chilling out, before they headed back to Cluttered’s house. The next day, the four of them used the remaining money they had earned to finally replace the broken windows, remove the wood barring the light and even managed to replace the carpet, wallpaper, and main furniture of the guest bedroom.
Another instance was about two weeks before the present day. Where Sweet finally headed off to ask Duskfall a very important question. Trotting off to the library, he finally asked for magic lessons. To which, being happy about the request, Duskfall happily obliged. The pair both going over basic spells. Things like the basic shield spell and a basic energy sphere spell to attack and defend himself when need be. Whilst harder spells would come later for him. Everytime he was successful at performing a spell, he and Duskfall would consider the lesson at an end. Duskfall writing small notes for Sweet incase he forgot how to perform any of the spells they had learned.
For Sweet, the fact that he wasn’t judged, or ridiculed for not immediately succeeding at performing the spells he was set to perform. The absence of pressure making him enjoy learning. Something that he didn’t realize he greatly enjoyed when he wasn’t on any time limit or on any thin rope that could lead to the abyss of failure. Improving his mood, making him better at reflecting and even managing to learn from his prior mistakes whilst being the Unicorn.
Cutting to present day however, the trio’s lives picked up again as they all woke up. The trio in the cleaned-up guest bedroom. Carpet, wallpaper, and furniture replaced. The furniture being made of mostly lighter wood. The sheets and quilt being basic light blues, but comfortable and big enough that the three could at least use it. Although, they preferred to use the blankets they had prior, they did use the actual quilt as a surface to lay on. Pillows being shared between the three. The carpet being a nice shade of darker blues with the wallpaper being plain. To symbolize the start of a new chapter. The sun shining through their window by the time they got up. Sour being the last to wake up as the other two got up relatively early. The pair even having to shake Sour awake as he groaned and shuffled around. It took a while, but after Sweet used a levitation spell to essentially keep the blankets out of Sour’s reach, he finally awoke. Albeit groggy, slightly upset and angry. Sour not really being one of happiness at the current time.
“Still upset?” Sweet asked him as he looked at Sour with some disdain. “Oh please, you know exactly what I’m still concerned about” Sour then responded. “If it’s about the Spring of Soul, then it’s understandable. But try and… Well, try and keep yourself positive” Sweet suggested. Sour however, looked as if he were about to smite Sweet right there and then when Acidic interrupted the pair of them. “Guys let’s not fight. Today we’ll all be separated! After all Sweet has his magic lessons and I have a cute day out with Dawn!” he chirped out, his wings flapping slightly as he seemed excited about the day. “Yeah, you get a full day to yourself! We’ve been together for a lot of time, so these breaks help us. Why don’t you go down to the beach and-“ but before Sweet could finish his sentence, Sour huffed and sat on the bed, muttering “Enjoy your day then” as he sunk back into the bed. “…Whatever” Sweet then mumbled out as Acidic and Sweet trotted out of the room to get themselves some breakfast. With the door shutting behind them.
In the living room, Cluttered resided. His head darting up from the couch as he asked “Where’s Sour?”. “Still in bed” Sweet responded. Sweet’s tone being very distasteful. “Yeah uh… He may be upset…” Acidic then added on. Cluttered was unsure of what to say, his hooves touching the ground as he trotted out into the hallway to try and get Sour up himself. Sweet and Acidic let Cluttered pass whilst they headed into the kitchen. Their stomachs rumbling and their moods slightly agitated. Over with Cluttered, he opened the bedroom door that housed the grumbling Sour. Trotting over, Cluttered looked at him. He seemed as if he was swallowed by the quilt and the blanket he had. So, Cluttered did the only thing he could think of in this situation. He grabbed the end of the quilt that wasn’t taken up by Sour and proceeded to harshly unravel him from the comfort. It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Sour to yell out in almost primal anger. When he looked at Cluttered, he huffed as he managed to keep his composure. “Can I not just stay in bed?!” he protested.
Cluttered rolled his eyes. “Get up. There’s no point in staying in bed” he responded, albeit with a slight huff at the end. Sour, grumbling, decided to roll onto the floor. With a thud, his body crashed down. Cluttered having to dance around him to get back to the other side of the room. To which, he dumped the quilt down on the bed and then added on “You’re gonna miss out on breakfast. It’s the only thing we’ve got until Soundwave comes around with lunch and the pair of us go shopping. You can lounge about then” before he trotted back out of the room. With a groan, Sours body picked itself up. His legs stretching as he took a moment to think about the day. There wasn’t anything he particularly had to do, which was the problem. Lately, he hadn’t been doing much at all. Everytime he thought about anything to do, his mind rang out to the Spring of Soul. It was aggravating. Why did his mind and body feel like they had to get to the final Spring, but his soul rejected the idea? He wouldn’t budge anytime soon on the idea, but if his body, mind and soul could finally unite in agreement with even something he’d be thankful.
When he made his way to the kitchen, he saw the others already eating. Cluttered looked at him for a moment, seemingly in some shock, before saying “Yours is in the kitchen” and returning to what seemed to be two croissants and a cup of black coffee. “I still don’t understand how you like blacked out coffee Cluttered” Sweet told him. As Sour passed by, he heard Cluttered respond with “Well, I like to really get a kick out of the stuff” before Sweet, Acidic and Cluttered chuckled to themselves in their conversation. Grabbing his own pair of croissants that he could tell were buttered already, he headed into the living room and sat down. The other three continuing their conversation whilst Sour sat alone; simply eating and minding his own business. In his mind, he was actually thinking about his life in Manestralia. The thing he missed most of all, was family. Something he didn’t have here. Sure he had himself, in two other parts, but family was… Lacking.
After about ten minutes, he finally finished eating. His stomach full but his mind still troubled somewhat. Without noticing, Sweet used his magic to take the plate Sour had eaten off of into the kitchen. Sweet seemingly giving a concerned stare as he was tempted to ask Sour if he was alright. In the end, he decided it was best not to. Sour staying seated as Acidic seemed to then fly off out of the room. A moment passing as he then returned with a scarf. It was a nice looking, comfortable, deep blue one which he seemed to hold in high regard given the sudden rise in mood. “Dawn’ll probably be annoyed if I’m late. So, I’ll see you later!” he cheerfully blurted out. Air whooshing around him as he took off. Slamming the door behind him as he rushed off. Sweet then seeming to follow suit after he picked up some saddlebags from another room in the house. These ones being Cluttered’s upstairs studio. In it, both the ancient structures book and a book that seemed very much used. This one had notes clearly stuck in and two different writing styles. One neat. One rushed. Three guesses as to which was Duskfall’s and which was Sweet’s. The bags also held a jewel box. A small one that held the Moonstone of Mind from the Spring of Mind.
“I’ll catch you two later. Tell Soundwave I said hi! And, Sour… Just, try and smile, alright?” he then said, directing his message to Sour at the end. Muttering, Sour simply responded with “alright” before Sweet put the bags over his back and trotted out of the house; the door shutting much more politely than Acidic. Leaving Sour and Cluttered on their own in the house. Cluttered heading upstairs to work on some painting and art for the morning whilst Sour just sat, thinking longingly about the past. The things he wished he could relive and rewrite. The things he wished he could fix. He’d been getting thoughts like this since the journey to the Spring of Mind, and it was almost inescapable.
Following Acidic, he rushed past all the streets he had a familiarity with. Passing the library as Duskfall tried to shout out to him “Aci- Ah dang it… Missed him” is what he said before he entered the Library to wait for Sweet. Acidic soaring off through to the suburban part of the city. Wind whistling as he flew by many ponies that seemed confused at what just passed by them. Eventually, he flew through to the particular street housing Dawn’s abode. The smell of her potions flowing out of the house along the coast, in the direction of the mountains. The smell today being quite nice and almost calming. Landing finally on the ground, Acidic folded his wings before giving the door a gentle-ish tapping. A moment later then came Dawn herself. “Glad to see you’re here! I was afraid that Sour, or Sweet, would keep you waiting!” Dawn chirped as she stepped aside. Acidic then entering and heading to the living room. Responding with “Yeah well, Sour’s being depressing as usual. It’s almost comedic. If annoying” as he then sat down.
Dawn followed in, sitting down as she then started speaking more. “Yep, well given your situation I’d gather it’d be interesting for all three of you. You don’t seem phased about it though!” she said to Acidic, prompting a slight chuckle from him. “I guess that’s true. Sour probably just feels the pressure of the Spring of Soul. Although…” Acidic paused. He knew what he wanted to say, but it was between the three split souls. The words of Sour echoing in his mind. “And is getting back together to become one alicorn what you two really want?” is what he said that day. On the train. Willingly Acidic had ignored this. But it was still a nagging thought. Instead of telling Dawn, he simply said “Actually, there is no Although. I don’t know why I said that” with Dawn looking slightly confused. However, she didn’t question it. She simply shrugged off the strange pause. “Whatever the case is, I’m sure he'll get over it” she responded. Then getting up as she said “well let’s go then! We’ve got a day of fun to get to!”. Acidic nodding as they made their way toward the front door. Dawn grabbing some saddlebags that housed a coin pouch before the pair headed off into the city.
Meanwhile, Sweet had just made it to the library. Using his magic to open the door as a few ponies resided within. Sweet’s target being infront of him as he was sat lounging around. Duskfall. Trotting in properly, Sweet made his way to him as he took out both books and said “I’m here!” before getting several annoyed glares thrown his way. “Sweet, I meant to tell you, it’s quiet hours. Quiet hours ends at lunch. When they’re gone, we’ll practice magic alright?” Duskfall said to him. Sweet looked at Duskfall in slight disbelief as he took a moment to process what was just said. “Uh… Sure” he simply responded a moment later. “Great” Duskfall then began. “Pick a book to read through and we’ll read through some books until time passes” Duskfall then finished off, focusing on a book he had infront of him that Sweet hadn’t noticed before. It didn’t look too notable, but something stood out. The title. That being FOUNDING YEARS AND CRUCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF BUCKGROVE – By Mayor MoonScout I.
“Mayor MoonScout I?” Sweet asked Duskfall in confusion. “Oh? Oh yeah, the first Mayor of Buckgrove. He founded this town in six hundred and fifty-four AC.EU. You remember what AC.EU means… Right?” Duskfall then asked. “Of course. After the Ceyonait and Ellestros continents came together. Also known as the Ceyonait-Ellestros Unity. I’m still partial about that by the way” Sweet told Duskfall. Duskfall smiling as he then used his magic to flip to a page he had bookmarked. “Yeah, well his line is still going. The last MoonScout though was Mayor MoonScout XI… Or the Eleventh. Our current Mayor is actually Mayor Solar Wind V… or fifth if you’re not well versed with the symbols” Duskfall then explained. “That’s… A lot of MoonScout’s and Solar Wind’s…” Sweet remarked before Duskfall nodded. “Yeah, well I actually need to speak with the Mayor about Library funding. Stingy Stallion hasn’t let us have more than a few hundred Ceyans to renovate and keep books renewed in terms of copies. Hence why most of these are big… And old… And smell weird” Duskfall then explained. “Well, why don’t we speak to him today?” Sweet asked before Duskfall laughed a little. “I have to reserve a spot with his majesty first” he then responded; adding sarcasm before he realized that Sweet seemed to not know whether it was sarcasm.
“But his majesty refers to a King, or a Prince… Or a-“ Sweet began, almost setting himself up for a tangent. Duskfall thankfully interjecting with the obvious. “It was sarcasm, chill”. Sweet looked at him for a moment more before nodding slightly in understanding. His horn then glowing as he grabbed the ancient structures book and proceeded to flip to a certain page. This one showing a strange, circular structure. “What’s this?” he asked himself. Duskfall looking over and seeing the structure. “If you use your eyes Sweet, you’ll see that it’s called an Undermension Portal” Duskfall responded. “Undermension?!” Sweet then shouted out. Instantly remembering the spell Dallasite used. Tepalethium Undermensia. “You’re telling me I can reach Stardew!?” Sweet then shouted out eagerly. Prompting many around them to harshly shush him. “Yeah keep it down. Anyways, the Undermension Portals were a sacred place of trials for the mind. It’s rumored to be a void of sorts. It was actually made by the King of Ellestros before he… Well, it’s better if we don’t talk about that in public. It’s taboo even a thousand years later. Point is though, that they’re not working. If you want a closer look at one though, there’s one just offshore. Again, it doesn’t work so don’t get your hopes up!” Duskfall then explained. Sweet’s mood immediately lowering along with saying “oh” in response.
Then an idea came to Sweets mind.
“What if… What if it needs a mass amount of magical power? You know, like a laser beam of concentrated magic?”
“I’m sorry what?” Duskfall asked. To which Sweet began his theory explanation. “Well, from what I’m seeing here, with the stone almost having a glowing line in the middle leading up to a massive… Uh… I don’t know the name of this gemstone but it’s huge! Anyways, what if it needs huge amounts of energy to function? It could be possible-“ but before Sweet could explain further, Duskfall interjected. “That wouldn’t be possible. The amount of energy that was required for one of these things was not only world changing, but it also required a different kind of magic. Not one I’m familiar with. Look here, it says it used to run off of Faerisian Magi. Or Fae Magic” Duskfall finished. Sweet processed the words Fae Magic. He wasn’t sure if he misheard, so he figured he’d ask again just to make sure he wasn’t deluded. “I’m sorry… Fae Magic?”.
“Yeah, Fae Magic. Of course there’s no Fairy alive but it seems they existed given these structures” Duskfall responded. It was all piecing together in Sweet’s mind. The Springs, this and the mass amounts of Fae archival information his father had. “So then those Fae forms I saw in the book were real” he said to himself in disbelief. “What do you mean Fae forms?” Duskfall then asked, curious now that he had heard this. “Well, yeah. There was one called Enchanted. It looked REALLY good. Like the wings were gorgeous. The first one I looked at though was one called uh… Charmla? No, that’s not it… Charming? Oh goodness no, that would be the name of a Prince in a fictional story I read about a swamp loving pony… Was it… Charmed?” Sweet asked himself. Duskfall immediately slammed his hooves infront of Sweet, almost looking innately primal. “Tell. Me. EVERYTHING!” he shouted out, with the ponies around them then huffing. Duskfall looking around as he calmed down and said “Oh, sorry folks!” as he looked embarrassed.
“Alright I will do. But let’s wait for when me, Sour and Acidic are back together first. Maybe then our combined minds can remember more. Or even better yet, I could sneak up to my father’s study and grab the book I used. There were other forms past those two. Although, pages were ripped out… I did see one that looked like-“ but before Sweet could finish, Duskfall immediately interjected again with “Didn’t you just say that you’d tell me later?”. “Oh, right yeah” Sweet responded. Almost laughing aloud before containing his amusement. “Well, lunch should be heading around anytime now. You got here quite late given the fact you live twenty minutes down the road” Duskfall then said, moving the conversation. “Oh, yeah I wanted to look out at the sea. I don’t know why, but it honestly feels like I’m in tune with the ocean… Or rather, water in general. Like it all flows around me at once within my mind. I can feel every waterdrop when I concentrate in a single puddle. Follow its journey from start to current position. It’s weird” Sweet said aloud, making Duskfall simply respond with “huh” as he processed what Sweet had just said.
It was convenient then, that Soundwave flew in. His back holding saddlebags as he sat down next to his husband and snuggled him slightly. “How’d the morning go you two?” Soundwave then asked as he looked to the pair. “Well, I learned some interesting things. But in all honesty, it’s all been peaceful here” Duskfall said, prompting Sweet to nod in agreement. “Yeah, I got a free history lesson though” Sweet then added on. With Soundwave looking down and saying “Ohhhh, that book! Yeah the history of Buckgrove was in our history class in school back when me and Cluttered were colts. It was boring though” Soundwave said, almost yawning at the thought. “Really? That happened with me. Well, the magical history stuff. I actually like what I snagged from my father before he caught me” Sweet said, almost looking vastly disappointed that he couldn’t immediately get ahold of the books at that moment.
“Well, let’s put these books on hold so you two can eat. I need to bring Sour and Cluttered their lunches. Here’s two sets of sandwiches. One is cheese and hay-ham, the other is daisies and barbequed hay-burger” Soundwave then explained, placing the pair of sandwiches on the table. “Oh, I also took the liberty of buying you both some coffee, but I didn’t want to carry living third degree burns in fear of spilling them on myself. So have something exotic. Iced coffee!” Soundwave then added on, with several ponies around them that had gotten up huffing even more. “Ah, thanks!” Duskfall responded as he saw Soundwave place the pair of drinks on the table as well. “Right, I’m off. You two take care!” Soundwave then said, flying out presumably to Cluttered’s house. All the while, a fog began descending upon the city. One that Sour, Sweet and Acidic knew all too well. It was accompanied by a chill air as ponies around the city began to shake from the cold.
In this mist, Acidic and Dawn were trotting around. Seeing ponies around them disappear and reappear in the mist. “You’d think that we’d have mist in the Spring. But no it’s here!” Dawn said to Acidic as the pair traversed through it. Making their way to a coffee shop near the shore. The sign reading ‘Mocha Motel’. Unable to see the shore. But still trying to enjoy their day nonetheless. Sitting down at a small table and chairs, Acidic looked around. “How come I’ve never seen this place before?” he asked Dawn. “That’s because it actually opened not too long ago! It might surprise you, but an old friend of mine actually runs this place! Oh look, here he is now!” Dawn then said as a stallion approached. He was a beige unicorn. With light, yet saturated brown, for his mane. His eyes were the colour of oak wood as he looked down at the pair and spoke quite happily. “Dawnrise! Fancy seeing you here bud!” he said. To which Dawn quickly corrected him by saying “It’s Dawn now. But yeah it’s been a long time!”.
“Dawn eh? So you’re finally doing what you said you wanted to do all those years ago! And who’s this then? Your partner?” he then said, moving his head and gesturing at Acidic. “Iced, I’d never. Acidic. Meet Iced Mocha. An old school friend. Iced, meet Acidic Citrus” Dawn then responded, answering the question very quickly. “Ah, I see! Nice to meet ya bud!” he then said, offering Acidic the shake of his hoof. Acidic happily accepting. “So then, what can I get the pair of you?” Iced then asked the pair. It took a moment, but Dawn then said “We’ll go with the Latte. Make it strong for me. Acidic what strength do you want your drink to be in the energy department?” Dawn then said, asking Acidic her question. “Oh uh… I’ll have medium?” Acidic then responded. Seeming a little flustered by the question. “So one Strong Latte and one Medium… Alrighty then! Should be ready in five minutes! Not that this mist is attracting any attention today. It might come sooner, who knows!” Iced said, before trotting off to the counter and marking the order next to his coffee machine.
It, surprisingly, only took about three minutes. Which was faster than expected. When iced came over, he held a black tray with two rather large drinks on it. “One Strong Latte and one Medium Latte here for the pair of you. Enjoy it!” he said, as he used his magic to place them down on the table Dawn and Acidic were sat at. Once Iced trotted away to his counter to relax, Dawn and Acidic got to talking. “So, how’s Sour fairing?” Dawn asked Acidic. Acidic looked at her for a moment, unsure of what to really say. “Well, uh, he’s been sleeping. That’s for sure” he ended up saying. To which Dawn seemed confused, until she said “No, I meant how’s his mood? And how has he been since the barrier reef?” to which Acidic still didn’t know what to say. “I mean, he’s been Sour. Living up to his name I guess” he ended up responding with. Dawn seemed concerned as she took a sip of her Latte.
“Enough of him though” Acidic then immediately said after responding. “What about you?” he then asked. Dawn, slightly taken aback, answered. “Well, I’m good. Duskfall is going to help me actually become, well, a mare which is good. It’s nice to have magic. My voice is fine though. I don’t need to change that. If I did, well, it’d be weird!” she said, making Acidic more curious. “When is that happening then?” he asked. “Well, if you really want to know. It’s in a week” she then responded. Happy that Acidic seemed to care. “That’s great! Good luck on that!” Acidic said, both of them then finally drinking their Latte’s somewhat as, outside, the mist got heavier.
From the center of the immensely heavy mist, Arcane and Dallasite appeared. In the park Sour and Sweet had gone to a while back. The gate still creaky and the area still incredibly run down. Arcane being the first to speak. “You heard what he said” he uttered, in an almost angry and annoyed tone. “Yes, I heard. I doubt that after getting my punishment that I’d make the mistake of mishearing” Dallasite responded in an almost snarky way; lacerations still being surprisingly somewhat prevalent on his body. Arcane looked at him, then rolling his eyes as he then said “Let’s just go. Bounded’s been lounging about for far too long.”
“He’s angry”
The words left Arcane’s mouth before he could even process what he had just said. It was rare for him to do so. His almost frosty demeanor seeming shocked itself as he quickly stopped himself with a simple “Come on” as the pair began to fly up to Cluttered’s abode. Having to stay out of sight for the most part as Soundwave zipped by. Although Soundwave seemed a bit slower than usual. He was almost observing the mist and trying to find the road up. When he made it to the house on the top of the hill, he looked out to the sea. Which is where he found that the fog was so thick, that he couldn’t see past the house at all. Barely, he trotted up to the door. Two Alicorns observing as he knocked on the wood. From the other side of the door, Cluttered answered. “Ah, you’re here!” he said, almost chirpily. “Yep! Got Lunch for you and Sour. Then we can head off to stock your cupboards and such” Soundwave responded, entering the abode. As the door closed, Arcane and Dallasite looked at eachother. “When they exit, we enter. I can guarantee you that Bounded in that Earthpony form will be staying at home” Arcane then said, with Dallasite nodding with understanding.
Inside the house, Sour sat on the couch as Cluttered and Soundwave came in. “Yo” Soundwave said to Sour, with Sour vaguely nodding, looking at Soundwave momentarily. “Don’t mind the Depression Espresso over here” Cluttered then said, sitting down next to Sour as Sour rolled his eyes. When Soundwave brought out the sandwiches however, Sour seemed slightly more interested. “Figured variety would help. So there’s shredded cooked hay in one of these. In the other is hay sausage paste. Whichever one you both want, pick, and take. I already had mine before I started zipping around town so I’m good on food” Soundwave then explained. Before he seemingly gasped in shock. “I’m so sorry! I forgot to get you both a drink!” he then said, almost weeping. “It’s… Fine” Sour responded, looking almost weirded out by the display. “Yeah, really there’s no issue. Besides, both of us will be going to get some food for the house, so I’ll just pick me and Sour up something at the shop” Cluttered added on. Soundwave smiled at this, recovering from his sudden guilt and then he waited as Sour and Cluttered devoured their lunch. Sour taking longer due to his mood. Once he finished, both Cluttered and Soundwave stood up. “Right, we’re off! See you in a bit Sour!” Cluttered said to the yellow Earthpony. Sour nodded faintly as he seemed lost in his own world. He didn’t even notice that both stallions had left. Only processing it as he heard the door close.
As the pair trotted down the hill, Arcane and Dallasite took the chance to confront Sour. With the mist giving them cover as the two stallions made far off comments about the density of the mist, Arcane and Dallasite slipped inside. Inside, Sour had gotten up and trotted back to the guest room. That being where he tried to get back to sleep. That was, until he felt a sharp, freezing grip launch him out of the bed. Slamming hard into the floor. Sour felt immediate hard and sharp pain as he groaned with an “ow…” before getting up slowly. There were only two stallions who had that harsh ice power to his knowledge. Sure enough, when he looked up, he saw Arcane. Alongside the younger Dallasite. “What did I do to annoy you to that extent?” Sour asked, almost adding sarcasm into his sentence until he saw the pure, silent anger in Arcane’s eyes. He seemed genuinely confused at this, until the more collected Dallasite spoke up. “You’ve been taking far too long to reach the Spring of Soul. It’s quite literally just outside of the city. You’ve seen it before, Bounded. The door with the heart, remember?” he asked Sour, his face showing immense seriousness and concern. In Dallasite’s mind, he was sure that Bounded was simply unaware of the Spring’s location. However, Dallasite was in for an unfortunate surprise.
“Oh that? The door Sweet found? Yeah no. Not doing it” were the words that left Sour’s mouth. Leaving Dallasite genuinely stunned and his mouth slightly agape as Arcane seemed to get intensely enraged. “You’re not DOING IT!?” Arcane then shouted out, pure icicles forming around him as he readied a barrage of attacks. Dallasite then spoke up. “You realize that we get the punishment for your lack of motivation, right?”. Sour looked at the pair with some shock as this was the first time that had been brought to his attention. Before he could respond however, he felt a sharp, piercing pain on his legs as Arcane hurled his icicles straight at Sour. Dallasite managing to shield his torso, but not being able to shield Sour’s legs. This causing Sour to fall on the floor with some yelps of pain as his legs held newly formed cuts from the icicles. Before bleeding of any kind could occur however, Dallasite quickly used his magic to seemingly heal the Earthpony. Instead of being thankful however, Sour brought up a valid point in his mind. “If the pair of you hadn’t attacked me at my coronation none of this would be happening! I wouldn’t be split into three, and I wouldn’t have lost my own family! This is purely the consequences of your actions!”.
This took Dallasite back, whilst Arcane seemed even more enraged. “Our fault? If Crimson hadn’t ruined the plan we wouldn’t be here right now!” Dallasite protested back. Arcane held his tongue as he realized Dallasite was attempting to handle the situation. “Look” Dallasite then began. “You need to do it. If…” Dallasite then paused. His mood turning bitter at the next words he spoke. “If you want to see them again, becoming an Alicorn once more would be your only hope”. This grabbed Sour’s attention long enough for Dallasite to then turn to Arcane. “I think it’s time we combined our magic like we practiced. This usually gets used for our training sessions in the mountains of Ellestros. But since you leave us no other option…” Dallasite then said. Before uttering another word, the pair of Alicorn horns glowed. One a pale blue and another in lavender as the pair seemed to concentrate their magic onto one spot. Bright flashes of violet and cyan lit the room as Sour covered his eyes slightly with his hoof. The lightshow ending at the reveal of a strange object. An hourglass, made clearly of ice, that seemed to hold lavender coloured liquid fire that started dripping down to the bottom half of the hourglass.
“It seems we have to use our Hourglass of Lavender Fire and Ice, Bounded” Dallasite then said, eyeing the stallion. “You have exactly two weeks before the liquid fire empties. If you fail to make a resolute decision, the fire will extinguish all three of your vessels. Leaving the world without you. So I suggest you come to terms with fate before then. We’ll be back when it ends” Dallasite then explained. Before Sour could even protest at the sheer idea of the hourglass, much less what he perceived as threats, the pair of Alicorns departed as Sour was left alone with the Hourglass. Slumping on the floor, tears now forming as he knew he was going to be forced to go to the Spring. Either that, or he’d die. Minutes felt like hours as he heard the front door open. Cluttered and Soundwave’s voices echoing through the hall as they entered the guest bedroom and almost screamed at the existence of the Hourglass. But Sour couldn’t speak. The words he wanted to form weren’t coming to him. Like a writer without inspiration, he simply formed incoherent and incomplete stuttered gibberish through his tears. Then, after a few moments of this gibberish, Sour faded from the waking world. The weight of his fate too much to bear. All Cluttered, Soundwave, Sweet and Acidic when they both got home could do was wait for the Earthpony to wake. Everything now rested on Sour.