A New Harmony

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1 - Fall of the Cutie
Chapter 2 - Smoke and Mirrors
Chapter 3 - When Animals Attack
Chapter 4 - A Mountain of Troubles

Prologue

Another summer in Ponyville. Another dark summer. No matter. There had been many dark days before now, but it’s bearable when the end is in sight. All the ruckus at the Grand Galloping Gala had weakened this prison considerably, and the childish squabbling of those three stupid fillies had finished the job. My freedom proved to be short-lived, however. The fault is my own, as I never considered that juvenile upstart Twilight powerful enough to command the Elements of Harmony. I was half right. She could control the power well enough to trap me, but only just. She lacks focus yet, and her effort was sadly lacking. These walls are tantalizingly thin, and restrict only physical movement. They can’t contain my mind. But best not to play my hand too quickly.

The Elements are still out there after all, but wielded now by those weaklings. The Princesses – now there were formidable adversaries, but they’re irrelevant now – control the power no more. And while Twilight’s friendships have become the source of that power, they are also its greatest weakness. Only one need be corrupted. Going after all six last time was a grave miscalculation. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Perhaps a bit of organization is needed, to take a page from Twilight’s playbook.

First order of business: acquire an underling to do my dirty work for me, and take the fall, if necessary. I can stay confined for the time being, and avoid raising any suspicions.

Second: another layer of defense, a distraction to keep Twilight and her meddlers occupied. Keeping them out of my hair would be a wise precaution, and it will be fun to see them scurrying about on foal’s errands.

Finally, a point to prove. Twilight’s friends, those preposterous little simpletons! Applejack’s wretched honesty, Rarity’s pathetic generosity, Rainbow Dash’s useless loyalty, Pinkie’s chaotic… actually, there’s a filly after my own heart. That half-wit Twilight was the most laughable of all! I’d done nothing, nothing, and she’d folded of her own accord! How delicious! But the last one, Fluttershy and her sickening kindness, was different. I couldn’t turn her. Only the brute force approach sufficed. Most unsatisfying! That will have to be rectified, of course. This is a matter of pride.

Wonderful! Now I’ve got my little chess pieces assembled. The disciple, the outcast, and the traitor. Who to fill the first two roles? Decisions, decisions… But the third is clear. Fluttershy. This is going to be fun. I will break her.

Chapter 1 - Fall of the Cutie

Sweetie Belle panted in the summer heat as she rested just outside the Carousel Boutique. It was actually cooler out here. Rarity was in panic mode inside, running every iron, presser, and sewing machine in the place in a mad dash to fill an order for something or other. Sweetie Belle needed the break, as all morning she’d been assisting her big sister Rarity as best she could, which was frustratingly limited. She had labored for years under the assumption that her hidden talents would be related to Rarity’s mastery of all things fashion, but while she was a perfectly adequate helper and could produce quality work, she lacked artistic vision and the ability to handle the more complex projects.

Even worse, she felt utterly alone. The second anniversary of the Cutie Mark Crusaders’ founding was nearing, but the members had been gradually losing their enthusiasm for it. For a while, they had believed all the talk about their blank flanks being an exciting source of potential, but month after month of wasted effort had eventually led to discouragement and half-hearted participation. The club couldn’t even meet these days, and that was probably going to be its death knell. They would likely not resume when school started again in the fall. Scootaloo was off at flight school for the summer. Pegasus ponies almost always had a cutie mark related to flying, so of course she’d return with one. Apple Bloom was spending the summer working her relatives’ farm in Apple-loosa. The entire family had apple cutie marks. Obviously, her talent lay there, and that much dedicated labor would surely produce the coveted insignia. Which just left Sweetie Belle, her boring, lonely summer, her dead-end job, her blank flank, and her self-pity.

She let out a deep sigh, and directed a pleading look up at the sky. Imploring the cosmos to intervene on her behalf had never worked before, but it didn’t require much effort either. “With my luck, my cutie mark will be the special talent to go through life without a cutie mark,” she thought. She had experienced a growth spurt during the spring, and looked older than the other two Crusaders, so her featureless coat looked even more out of place these days.

“Oh, Sweetie Beeeeeelle!” came a sing-song voice from inside. “Do be a dear, and help me lay out these fabric patterns. Hoity Toity wants these all finished by tomorrow, and of course I only have four hooves, and… Oh, Opalescence, that is NOT A SCRATCHING POST!”

Sweetie Belle trudged back inside and numbed herself to the feeling of monotony that had been all too prevalent of late. “Oh well, another day closer to… to what?” she muttered under her breath. “To another day, I suppose.”

Sweetie Belle tossed and turned that night. Considering her mood, it hadn’t been unusual lately, but she had a strange feeling tonight. There were tendrils of consciousness wriggling at the edges of her thoughts, but they stayed maddeningly out of reach. She instinctively reached out with her magic, as Twilight had begun teaching her some basic spells. In her state of half-sleep, she imagined that she was expanding her mind to meet the intrusion and determine its nature, but it drew back whenever she tried. Her defensive posture gradually relaxed as the last vestiges of her resolve and wakefulness faded.

She suddenly found herself alert and in an endless void. The floor was gray and featureless, with a dim ashy light from no discernable source. The weak glow did little to pierce the lugubrious and constricting atmosphere. Little by little, she began to perceive a faint whispering from the inky darkness. It was unintelligible, but somewhat familiar. As it slowly gained in volume, she began to squint into the distance to catch a glimpse of what was approaching. Despite the eerie setting, she felt oddly calm. This was obviously a dream.

-Boo!-

The suddenly clear voice came from right next to her ear, and she nearly jumped out of her skin. She rapidly whipped her head around, but saw nothing. She began to cower, casting her gaze all around in an effort to identify its source. Now the voice returned, seemingly coming from all around her.

-Sorry for the theatrics, my dear, but I simply can’t resist drama.-

She opened her mouth soundlessly, and tried to stammer something, but the voice anticipated her thoughts.

-Oh, this is no dream, my pretty little pony.-

It now took on a wheedling and pouty tone.

-Ahh, never fear, there’s no reason to be in such a state.-

The voice turned suddenly stern and somber.

-On the contrary, I bear good news. I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you.-

“But… but…,” she managed.

-Tut, tut. I have the stage. You remember me, of course? Good. I know you and your little friends felt responsible for freeing me. Pity. To carry that guilt for so long… But you have a grain of truth there, my perceptive little filly! Only, it was not your little band of misfits that unlocked that particular dungeon. It was you. Just you.-

“No, Discord!” she shouted. “Everypony knows you feed on conflict! I couldn’t have done it myself! I accept responsibility for whatever part I played, but you make it sound like I did it on purpose!”

-Oho, you've grown quite bold since we last met! How precious! But, getting back to the point… There’s more than one way to skin a cat, as they say (“they” being anypony other than Fluttershy, I suppose), and you have a rather rare gift, my perfectly precocious pony!

“Gift?” Sweetie Belle was incredulous. “I’ve spent the last two years finding out that I don’t have one!”

-I'm getting to that. You see, I am rather ancient, from before the time of Celestia and Luna. There were very powerful beings in that time. I suppose you’d categorize us as demons, for lack of a better word. Most have moved along. I, however, find Equestria so entertaining, and blessed this land with my wisdom.-

Sweetie Belle could almost hear his self-important grin. "Yes, we appreciated that."

-But, I digress. I didn’t escape because of your petty arguments. I escaped simply because you were near. While the feeble creatures that pass for demons these days are like insignificant ants compared to me, I do share some characteristics with them. Like a compulsion to serve one who has the appropriate talents. That’s where you come in. You are scarcest of the scarce, a Demon Master, and your mere presence gave me the strength to break free.-

Sweetie Belle’s mind raced. She only heard about half of what the voice was telling her, but she caught enough to understand where this was going. “A Demon Master?” she said doubtfully. “Assuming I believe you, why are you telling me this? I know you well enough to be certain you’ve got something to gain. Not interested.”

-Hear me out. I’ve been defeated twice now, and am resigned to the fact that it would happen again. But I’ve turned over a new leaf! I’m a changed draconequus! In short, I’d rather be relatively free in service to you than confined interminably. I think it’s a fair bargain.-

Sweetie Belle mulled this over for a moment. She decided to probe a bit further and try to tease out Discord’s motive. “Okay, but what do I get in return? I’ve never even heard of a Demon Master before. And I don’t believe for a second that the Princesses would allow it.”

-Always the loyal subject. But the risk is all mine. I can assist you from a distance, and it will be entirely your choice if and when to release me from my prison. But more importantly… this is your purpose. I can sense it in you. It is your unique ability. Throw it away if you like, but be sure you fully understand what that means.-

“You mean… this is … my talent? How I get my cutie mark?” she quavered.

-Comprehension dawns, yes? I can sense magical abilities. Usually they’re something inconsequential, but you’re one of the few that has ever been interesting. Go on, give it a try.-

She stood silently for a moment, unsure of what to do. Presently she found her voice, but with some trepidation. “Discord, I… I command you to leave me!” she said uncertainly.

-Oh, come on. Say it like you mean it. But something a little less confrontational this time, maybe? After all, I can’t help you if I’m not here.-

After considering this briefly, Sweetie Belle more confidently said, “Discord, I command you to finish Rarity’s work for her, so she can get some rest!”

-You really are unimaginative, aren’t you? Very well.-

She found herself standing in the Carousel Boutique’s darkened work area, a soft glow of moonlight streaming through the windows, with all of the finished orders hanging neatly on the racks. While trying to determine if she’d actually been transported there, or was just being shown a vision, she began to notice a slight itching on her side. Jerking her head around, she stared at the blood-red spot on her side, shimmering in the darkness, as it traced out a pattern. It left its distinctive color behind as it traversed lines over her skin, lines that continued to glow faintly, even after they were completed. In the end, the symbol was a softly luminescent pentacle. Her heart leapt when she saw it, the long-awaited fulfillment of her most desperate desires! Her cutie mark, her life’s purpose! She quickly suppressed her elation as much as she could, with her distrust of Discord still lingering in the back of her mind.

-There, that wasn’t so hard, was it? I trust this proves at least that part of what I’ve said. And the rest is entirely up to you.-

Sweetie Belle stood for a long time in silence. Finally, she ventured, “So I don’t have to let you out until I’m convinced this is for real? Or never, if that’s my choice?”

-Technically, yes, but you do yourself a disservice. You couldn’t choose that. Think of all the good you could do with my power at your command.-

After another long and thoughtful pause: “Okay, but if this thing’s not there anymore when I wake up, deal’s off. I won’t agree to anything until then.”

-I wouldn’t expect anything less. But first, some ground rules. The game must have rules, yes? I must stress how exceedingly rare your gift is. You could literally count on one hoof the number of other ponies who have manifested it in the last thousand years. The other, the poor wretch, had no self-control and went about flaunting his skills in public, a public which feared and misunderstood. His lack of discretion earned him an assassin’s blade, on direct orders of Celestia, I might add.-

-So, secrecy is rule one. Tell no pony, show no pony, or it’s your own skin you risk. You’ll need to do something to hide that mark. Once your talent is fully developed, you can demonstrate it to Celestia and pray she doesn’t consider it dangerous. Or you can keep it secret and explain it away as unicorn magic. Either way, with your capabilities, you stand to be lauded as a hero.-

-The second rule is to acquire insurance. We will need one of the Elements. I suggest the crown of Magic, as it’s the rarest. Unfortunately, I can’t help you with this task, since I currently suffer from the handicap of being unable to move. You’ll have to stow it away for safekeeping. Without it, they won’t be able to stop you from perfecting your art. Hide it somewhere without telling me, if you still distrust me.-

The last few sentences began to fade as she returned to natural sleep, but Sweetie Belle had listened intently. After her presence and the workroom scene had dispelled, only the voice was left in the darkness.

-My first play, and not a bad one. Checkmate in four moves, Celestia. Heh, heh, heh…-

Sweetie Belle awoke slowly from one of the better sleeps she’d had recently. She lay motionless for a while and enjoyed the feeling of being rested for a change. Yawn. Stretch. She rolled out of bed and noticed the smell of breakfast wafting up from the kitchen. As she descended the stairs into the workroom, she casually glanced around to see what the weather was like this morning. Her gaze passing over the outgoing orders racks, she froze as a chill went through her body. The racks were full, the work complete!

She quickly looked back along each of her sides, seeing the lightly phosphorescent, deep red pentacles. She gasped sharply, and backed against the wall. Hearing this, Rarity headed toward the workroom, levitating a tray of apple-cinnamon oatmeal for both of them. As her sister entered the room, Sweetie Belle began to panic. She stayed where she was, against the wall near the bottom of the stairs, and kept maneuvering to face her sister directly, minimizing the view of her flanks.

Rarity craned her neck around slightly, catching a glimpse of dark red, and said, “Why, whatever is that on you? Have you injured yourself?”

The younger pony was momentarily dumbstruck, but then mumbled a quick, “Yeah, be right back,” and reversed up the stairs, continuing to keep her sides as obscured as possible. Once out of view, she dashed into Rarity’s washroom.

“My word, we must get you down to Nurse Redheart straightaway!” came the voice from downstairs, laden with concern.

“No, no, it’s okay!” Sweetie Belle answered. “It’s nothing. I’m just going to put a bandage on it.” She rummaged through Rarity’s vanity and seized on a box of adhesive bandages. It took four of them to cover each mark entirely, but she could still see the soft glow through them. She pulled them back off, and desperately rifled through the cabinet of makeup. A bottle of foundation eventually bobbed to the surface. Her coat was a close enough match to her sister’s. This would work! She dabbed some on her side and smeared it over her cutie mark. She smiled, satisfied. It would only be visible if somepony looked closely. As she breathed a sigh of relief, the makeup began to turn brown and flake off.

The voice from downstairs returned. “Is everything alright up there, dear? You’ve been up there a while.” Hearing no response, Rarity continued, “If you’re looking for the bandages, the small adhesives are in the lower left drawer, and the larger gauze ones are underneath.”

Sweetie Belle lunged back toward the box of bandages she had first tried, and dug below them, producing the larger package. She taped one over the mark on her left side and waited a minute. It seemed to be doing the job. She added one to her other side, tidied up, and went back downstairs, still being careful to expose only one of her sides to Rarity’s view. If her sister noticed they were on both sides, it would be difficult to explain.

“I thought it was on the other… oh, never mind,” said Rarity. “Thank you very much for finishing the work last night. I thought you’d gone to bed, dear. I didn’t think you had it in you!”

“It wasn’t me,” replied Sweetie Belle. “You must have worked so late that you don’t remember.”

Rarity conceded, “I guess so! Well, we can deliver these to Canterlot, then take a few days off. Eat your oatmeal, dear, it’s getting cold.”

Later in the day, Sweetie Belle sneaked back into the workroom. She couldn’t risk anypony seeing the twin bandages, and the pentacles were starting to burn through, leaving a light brown char on the outermost layer of gauze. She retrieved her Cutie Mark Crusaders cape from her room, and brought it down to the workroom. It didn’t fit properly anymore, and needed to be lengthened. In a moment of inspiration, she also realized that she’d have to add a hood. She couldn’t take the chance that somepony would notice the glow underneath, especially if it were night, and recognize her face. The patch on it would also have to go, as too many ponies would recall it.

With Rarity out making the delivery, she had plenty of time to work uninterrupted. She finished in less than an hour, and tried on her revised cloak in front of the large mirror. It would work perfectly! It covered both of her sides nicely, but still hung out far enough from her coat that she thought it wouldn’t be affected like the bandages and makeup were. A few uneventful hours later, her assumption was confirmed.

The next morning, Sweetie Belle once again descended the stairs for breakfast, with more confidence this time, and with her new cloak draped over her, the hood down. However, she was treated to yet another surprise: there stood Discord in the middle of the workroom. Panicked, she hissed, “How did you get out?” knowing that Rarity might overhear if she didn’t keep quiet.

“Oh, relax,” he replied. “This is just an image. A projection, if you will. I’d explain the principles behind the hippomorphism of abstract concepts, but only Twilight Sparkle could possibly find that interesting. We have work to do. I like the fashion sense, by the way.”

Hearing her sister, Rarity came through the doorway. “Good morning!” she sung. “I thought I heard you in here. Why ever are you wearing that thing? Not bad, but an odd choice for this weather.”

Sweetie Belle grimaced as Rarity walked right into Discord, but she passed through him. Discord grinned from ear to ear and stuck his head down inside Rarity’s, making her appear to have three horns. “Hmm, surprisingly little in here,” he deadpanned. “Don’t worry, she can’t hear me either,” he reassured, straightening up.

“I just want to create a different look. Something to set me apart,” explained Sweetie Belle.

“Well, you’ve certainly done that,” Rarity answered. “I’m here if you want any help with it. Remember, we need to start on the next order soon, but we have the rest of the week off. I’ll be at my spa appointment if you need me.” She walked out the front door.

“I thought she’d never leave,” said Discord. “Come along, students. We’re going on a field trip. Time is precious, and we need to get you trained.” He led Sweetie Belle through the town and into the Everfree Forest.

It was a long walk, and she had plenty of time to think. She couldn’t believe it had finally happened! Her cutie mark! The enormity of it weighed on her, but she was ecstatic. She felt like she was going to overflow! A song welled up within her heart, and she began humming an opening passage. She opened her mouth to sing.

“Oh, please!” interrupted Discord. “We don’t have time for that. We’re here.” They found a clearing well away from the road where they wouldn’t be disturbed.

“Lesson one,” began Discord authoritatively. He donned a pair of half-moon glasses and produced a poster of the forest’s monsters. “Know what you’re dealing with. All of the strange beasties in the forest are a combination of animal and demon. The more non-animal traits they have, the more demonic they are. For example, the manticore is composed of parts of normal animals, and has the abilities of normal animals. As such, it is only a small part demon. Conversely, the ursa major has a body made of the night sky. Very supernatural, lots of demon.” He indicated each in turn with a wooden pointer.

“How do you…” began Sweetie Belle.

“Raise your hoof, please,” came the stern rebuke.

She raised a foreleg.

“Questions? Any? No?”

She waggled her hoof insistently.

“Ah, yes, a question in the back?”

“How do you tell when a creature looks animal but has demon powers?”

“Knowledge or experience,” replied Discord. “The best way is to know beforehand. I’m sure your dear friend Twilight can lend you a book on the subject. The alternative is to see how obedient the creature in question is when you ask it to please stop mauling you.”

A nervous expression crossed Sweetie Belle’s face. “Shouldn’t I have studied that before coming out here?”

“Never fear,” Discord reassured her. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you. Besides, I doubt it will matter. None of these creatures will be able to resist you. Just be prepared for the relative effort required.” He paused to let the lesson sink in. “Now, try it out. Imagine you’re broadcasting your thoughts throughout the forest. Order whatever can hear you to come here. Do it with confidence. Don’t let there be any doubt that your commands must be obeyed.”

She was silent for a while and did as he asked. She closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few minutes, she heard a rustling at the edge of the clearing. A harpy hopped out of the trees, and stood there, watchful. It looked like a large vulture, but walked upright, and had a strange, wrinkled, apelike face.

“What next?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking over at Discord.

“Careful!” he said, quickly but softly. “Maintain your concentration. Now make it do something.”

The harpy obeyed as Sweetie Belle instructed it to fly in circles above the clearing, retrieve a rock from the river, and return to perch in a nearby tree. It sat there expectantly, awaiting the next command. “Was that good?” she asked.

“Yes, very,” Discord responded. “But I have an idea. Make it fly up to those low clouds there.” Once she had complied, he continued, “Now make it fly back down here as fast as it can.” The harpy began to dive as soon as Sweetie Belle spoke the order. As it gained speed, Sweetie Belle waited, seemingly too long. She began to worry that it wouldn’t be able to pull out of the dive in time. Still, she waited for Discord to say something. Finally, she couldn’t hold back.

“Stop!” she yelled. The harpy hovered within a few feet of the ground. “Weren’t you going to tell me to stop it?” she asked, her voice breaking.

“Of course not,” he retorted coldly, as if it had never even occurred to him to do so. “Why would I? It would have killed you without a second thought, given the chance. Why should you treat it any differently?”

“I… don’t know,” she stammered. “It… it just… doesn’t seem right.”

He rolled his eyes. “These things are tools,” he admonished. “You use them, and you throw them away.” After waiting for a response, but getting none, he continued more forcefully. “Tell it to stop breathing. Tell its heart to burst. Do something!” She began to cry softly. He sighed, and his tone became quite curt. “Fine. Maybe you don’t have the stomach for this. Stay here and practice for a while. Then see Twilight about the book. Get the crown while you’re there. Make sure you think about how you’re going to do it.” He stalked off into the trees, making a dismissive gesture. “I’ll be in touch,” he added just before he disappeared.

It took Sweetie Belle a while to recover. She didn’t know it would be like this. Was she doing the right thing? Maybe it was just one of those things where you achieve personal growth through pain. She’d had all she could take for one day, however.

She sent the harpy away, and called several other monsters, having each in turn perform some basic movements. One of the creatures in particular was a large snake with red eyes. She noticed that she had more difficulty controlling creatures when they were under the snake's scrutiny. They were sluggish to respond. She decided to test a theory. Sweetie Belle released a small monster from her thrall, one that she judged to be harmless. It looked confused for a moment, then bolted for the forest. She ordered the snake to block its path, and when it met the snake’s gaze, it stood there, transfixed. This could prove useful. She dismissed everything but the snake, and started toward the library with it in tow, as the sun sank below the horizon. The dimming light among the trees reminded her to pull her hood up.

It was fully dark by the time Sweetie Belle reached the library. She encountered nopony on the way. Softly, she rapped at the door, in case Spike had already retired to bed. Twilight Sparkle came to the door.

“Thank you for not disturbing Spike,” she said. “It sure is unusual to see anypony here so late, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen you here! But, welcome all the same! What can I help you with?”

“Do you have any books on the creatures in the Everfree Forest?” queried Sweetie Belle. “And how they’re related to demons?”

Twilight looked at her for a second. “That’s an odd request. Why the sudden interest? And at this time of night?”

Sweetie Belle’s face flushed a little. “I was just over in that area today and got curious. I remembered… Fluttershy… mentioning something about it. I was just on my way home.”

Her horn beginning to glow, Twilight floated a book down from a high shelf and onto the table. She smiled. “There! Is that all you need?”

“Um… one more thing,” Sweetie Belle ventured meekly, the color draining from her face. The darkness outside made the library windows like mirrors. Over Sweetie Belle’s shoulder, Twilight noticed two points of red light reflected in the door panes and froze. “I’m sorry, Twilight,” Sweetie Belle whispered, her eyes beginning to tear. She searched the library quietly in order to avoid waking Spike, coming up empty-hooved. On a hunch, she put her mouth up to Twilight’s ear and whispered, “Where is the crown? The Element of Magic?”

Twilight spoke dully. “In the jeweled box… under my bed.”

Sweetie Belle stole up the stairs, and slid the box out from under the bed. She took the crown out and replaced the box. Once back downstairs, with the crown safely stashed in her saddle bag, she stood again in front of Twilight Sparkle, and released the snake. The two red dots slid down, outside Twilight’s field of view, and the snake slithered soundlessly out the door, toward the forest. Twilight blinked once and looked confused. She couldn’t pick up her train of thought.

“You okay, Twilight?” asked Sweetie Belle. “I was just saying thanks for the book. Good night.”

Twilight looked distant. “Oh. Okay. You’re welcome. Good night.” She watched Sweetie Belle leave, then tried to shake the cobwebs out of her mind. Failing, she went up to bed and doused the lights.

When Sweetie Belle arrived home, Rarity was already asleep. She went up to her room and hid the crown in the bottom of her dresser. Her cloak hung, her saddle bag set in the corner, and her book out, she began to read. She went over each chapter multiple times, and quizzed herself on the entire contents before advancing to the next. She had the essentials of nearly half the book memorized before she succumbed to fatigue, shortly before sunrise.

Through all of the evening’s events, Discord had watched, never far away, but never seen. He was pleased with his progress. “Mate in three.”

Author's Note

I’d like to give a couple of shout-outs. I’d already made these decisions, but these folks made them easier to justify:
“Well Grounded” by Cloudy Skies at Equestria Daily agrees that Sweetie Belle would have been receiving some magical training by now.
The excellent comic “The Real Story” by Nimaru at Deviant Art shows that Luna is genuinely repentant, and wouldn’t be a prospective ally for Discord.
Finally, something for my own curiosity. I’d like to know how people read these. Do you just scan the words and read by sight only? When I read, I hear the words spoken in my head, in my own voice. Until now, I’d never encountered anything where that made reading something any less enjoyable, but for the first time, I find it’s infinitely more fun making sure I hear dialogue in the characters’ voices for these FiM stories.

Chapter 2 - Smoke and Mirrors

A badly repaired wagon sat beside the road from Fillydelphia, its wheels mired in thick mud. Driving rain pelted the aged boards and leaked through myriad cracks and holes, each new crash of thunder bringing stifled squeaks of fear from a pony shivering in the corner. The weathered and broken sign outside proclaimed the occupant to be “GRE T & POW RF L,” but in its current condition, failed to say to whom it referred. Even if it had, it would not have deterred the two stallions with dark, heavy cloaks that were approaching in the night. The pony inside, wearing a sodden, threadbare cape and pointed hat, heard their voices over the wind.

“Do you think there might be anything valuable in here?”

“Probably not. It looks pretty old. Must be cleaned out already. But we can check.” The door rattled. “It’s locked. Hold on.” A powerful kick struck the hasp and broke it free. Two hooded heads peered in.

A flash of lightning momentarily illuminated something blue in the corner. The next flash revealed an impressive array of razor-sharp teeth advancing out the door. Stumbling backwards in horror, the stallions watched as a large dragon burst forth from the wagon, sending splintered wood flying in all directions. They turned and ran without looking back. Had they done so, they would have seen the wyvern shimmer and fade, and the wagon return to its original, if dilapidated, condition.

The Great and Powerful (or Enraged and Unstable, as may have been more accurate at that moment) Trixie slammed a hoof against a half-buried wagon wheel in frustration. She realized that she had no practical shelter anymore, and should continue on to Ponyville. She was hoping to pass through without stopping in this of all places, but she no longer had a choice.

After several miles’ trek, Trixie finally arrived in town. The few bits left in her coin purse wouldn’t make any headway toward securing a room for the night. She crawled under a picnic table near the town center, and collapsed from exhaustion.

Applejack knocked frantically on the library’s door. “Twi! Twi! Git out here, lickety split!”

Twilight Sparkle ran from her desk to answer. “What is it? Is somepony hurt?”

“Well, I dunno,” Applejack answered. “But she’s back! Trixie’s back! Passed out in the square, like Granny Smith after too much cider!”

Twilight ran after Applejack to see, and by then a large crowd had gathered. Most showed genuine concern, but Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity wore scowls. Twilight pushed to the front, ran over to Trixie and lightly shook her. “Trixie? Can you hear me?”

Nurse Redheart arrived and worked her way through the crowd. She checked Trixie over briefly and reported, “She’s dehydrated, and it doesn’t look like she’s had anything to eat in the last few days. Can somepony help me get her to the clinic? Applejack, you’re strong…”

“No way, no how!” refused Applejack. “After what she did? Ah ain’t puttin’ mahself out fer her!”

“Aww, AJ!” chastised Big Macintosh from behind her. “Don’t be like that! You gotta help a pony in need.” She remained unconvinced. “Consarn it!” he roared at her, and lay down so Twilight and Nurse Redheart could hoist Trixie onto his back.

When Trixie woke, she saw two ponies watching her: a nurse she didn’t recognize, and a purple unicorn she did. “Twilight!” she spat. “What did you do to me?”

Twilight ignored this. “Are you okay, Trixie? You had us worried!” The only response was a glare that nearly took the paint off the wall. Twilight smiled and patted her on the shoulder. Recoiling abruptly, Trixie nearly fell out of bed. She managed an unsteady footing and headed for the door.

Nurse Redheart called after her, “Ma’am, you shouldn’t be up!” but Trixie paid her no heed.

Twilight caught up with her outside and put a hoof around her shoulder to steady her, saying, “Please, you’re weak. Come to the library and have lunch with me. I’d really like to talk to you.” Trixie gave her a look of sheer revulsion. “Please,” Twilight reiterated, “It would mean a lot to me.” Trixie stopped momentarily, gave a brief nod of assent, and allowed Twilight to lead her.

Trixie wolfed down everything Twilight could put in front of her. She was ravenous, and Twilight was happy to help. It was obvious she had fallen on hard times. She was exceedingly thin, had an unkempt mane, and dark circles were well-ingrained under her eyes. When Trixie seemed to be slowing down, Twilight sat down next to her and began to try engaging her in conversation.

“I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you again sometime. You’re so good at illusion magic, and I haven’t spent much time on it. I’d love to learn from you!” she said.

Trixie mumbled a noncommittal “okay” and took a long drink of water. She eyed Spike warily as he went about his chores, but he seemed disinterested in the whole affair. She drained the glass.

“What have you been doing?” continued Twilight. “We hear comments from the occasional traveler about seeing impressive magic shows. It’s from a different city every time! You must be doing well to be so famous.”

Her stare fixed on the table in front of her and her teeth clenched, Trixie grudgingly obliged. “I do alright. But the public always wants more. Once you’re already great and powerful, there’s nowhere to go but down.” She didn’t even believe that posturing herself. “Small crowds these days. Can’t afford to fix the wagon. Left it behind.” She paused to chew some more. “Can’t do much real magic anymore. Mostly illusions now. They don’t take as much confidence.”

“Well, you can stay here with me!” Twilight offered. “And I’m really sorry about what happened last time you were here.” She failed to see the fire rising in Trixie’s eyes. “My friends took things a little too seriously, and I shouldn’t have let things get out of…”

“DON’T YOU DARE PITY ME!” exploded Trixie. “I could handle them fine, but you… you baited me so you could…” She screamed in frustration, and her horn flared to life. The room suddenly filled with wave upon wave of snakes, ankle deep. Twilight shrieked and leapt for the stairs, as Spike peered down from the loft to see what had caused the commotion. Twilight noticed that the snakes were illusions that passed through the furniture, but even with that knowledge, she still couldn’t bring herself to come back down the stairs.

As Trixie stomped toward the door, Twilight pleaded with her, “No, Trixie! Please don’t go! I really want to help!”

“I don’t need your help!” Trixie retorted. “I don’t need you, I don’t need your friends, and I don’t need this stupid town!” She disappeared in a puff of smoke. Safely out of sight, she made her way to the knoll on the edge of town, where she could see all of Ponyville. She sat down, hidden behind some scrub, and looked out on the town with a loathing glare.

“I must say, I share that sentiment,” came a voice from behind her.

Trixie turned with a start to see a strange amalgam of creatures. “What are you?” she asked, her voice heavy with annoyance.

“Discord,” he proclaimed proudly, striking a regal pose. Silence greeted him. “The dranconequus.” Still nothing. “Surely you’ve heard of me?”

“Yes, I remember some talk about that,” she admitted, clearly unimpressed. “I know an illusion when I see one. Where are you really?”

“Tucked safely away, alas,” he complained, “but I am not without resources. Believe me when I say I have no more love for this place than you do. And I find several of the residents just as irritating, too. I think we have something to gain from each other.”

Trixie snorted her response. “I just want to leave here as soon as I can. Besides, what would I do to them? I can only make illusions.”

“Well, what’s wrong with that?” Discord asked. “Why bother with the dog when the bark will do? You underestimate yourself. Most ponies can’t help but believe what they see before their eyes. Even when revealed as a mirage, it can remain surprisingly potent. But here is my gift to you: I can give you the secret ingredient. I know everypony’s weaknesses. And I can give you access to their dreams.”

She stared at him, mouth agape. “What will that cost me? I don’t have anything to give…”

“Oh, but you do!” he eagerly replied. “You have the means to make them all scurry about in misery. Seeing that would be payment enough.”

Trixie waved at him dismissively. “Do it yourself. If you can enter dreams, you don’t need me.”

“It’s not that simple,” Discord explained. “I can show them a real place, or an image they already have in mind. I can’t force them to see whatever I choose.”

She began to understand. “So, you’ll open the door and tell me what button to push? Then I go in and rummage around in somepony’s head?” He nodded conspiratorially. She considered it, but in the end still hadn’t changed her mind. “You’d make this world bleak for me, too. I’m not ruining my chance to find what little happiness I still can.”

“Among the rumors you’d heard about me,” he said, “must have been the little tidbit that I stayed in Ponyville, though I certainly could have gone anywhere I wished. I have no interest in the rest of Equestria. Ponyville is all I want. Go wherever else you please.”

Leaving Ponyville and its inhabitants to Discord’s mercy had a nice ring to it. “Count me in,” she said.

“Good,” said Discord smugly. “We’ll talk later.” His image slowly faded away.

Trixie took some of what he had said to heart. Even knowing something was an illusion didn’t completely nullify its effectiveness. She cast an illusion to relieve her groaning belly and her fatigue. It helped a little. She lay down in the bushes and waited for nightfall.

Twilight Sparkle remembered having this dream before. She rarely enjoyed dreams, as she couldn’t help analyzing them and viewing them as scientific phenomena. But she always liked this one. She was in the library, making a checklist of every task for the rest of her life. Everything planned, no surprises, forever! Grocery shopping, three years, two months, and five days from now. Check! Clean the library on the first day of spring, in another twenty-seven years. Check! The list went on forever! No matter how many pages she turned, another always appeared. It was blissful!

As she continued cataloging her future, something didn’t look right, though. She could see an image of each event occurring as the pages flipped past. But these weren’t what she had planned.

Twilight walked away from town on her way back to school. Her friends all tearfully waved goodbye. She could tell from their expressions that they didn’t expect to see her again. She fought down any feelings of friendship she had for them. It would be easier if she kept her emotions under control, or never even had them in the first place. It involved less risk. It was the logical choice.

Intense drought had destroyed most sources of livelihood in Ponyville. Anypony who plied an honest trade had relocated elsewhere in order to provide for her family. The town had fallen into disrepair and was known widely as a hub of criminal activity. Canterlot regarded it with an apprehensive toleration. After all, if somepony stepped too far out of line, at least the royal guard knew where to look. They had struck an uneasy truce, as too many powerful ponies in Canterlot owed favors. The whimsical village that provided Twilight’s happiest memories had become an eyesore and a disgrace.

Celestia no longer had any time for her. She was too busy with her own duties, and didn’t even enjoy Twilight’s company anymore. They hadn’t spoken in years. After graduation, Twilight’s career could have led her anywhere, and she couldn’t risk maintaining a relationship that might be strained by distance.

Spike grew past adolescence, and left to find a life of his own. As Twilight grew old, he saw her only sparingly in between his ten-year naps, and she hadn’t been welcoming. He woke from a hundred-year sleep to find her long since dead. He missed her terribly, and wondered if she would have felt the same. She had to admit she wouldn't.

Twilight worked as an official city sorcerer in a far-flung corner of Equestria, a job for which she had lost all joy. Magic came too automatically now; it lacked any pleasure. Learning existed for its own sake. There was no satisfaction in acquiring it, or any feeling of accomplishment. She delighted in nothing anymore, living alone, and dying alone. She bequeathed her estate to her school, having no friends or family to name as beneficiary. Her funeral was attended only by a few city dignitaries who felt it to be the dutiful thing to do, or who just felt it proper to close out that chapter in local history.

Rarity could sense that something wasn’t right with Sweetie Belle. She couldn’t explain it, but her younger sister knew something that would destroy Rarity if it were publicly known. If she didn’t have her image, she was nothing.

Sweetie Belle refused to listen to reason. She wouldn’t divulge what information she knew or how she had learned it. Rarity couldn’t take any preemptive action if she didn’t know which rumors to refute.

She could feel all of those eyes on her whenever she went out in town. Everypony judging her, snickering behind her back. Why her? She knew all the right ponies, ran in all the right circles.

Sweetie Belle had done this on purpose! She was jealous, of course. This was intolerable! She’d have to have a talk with her sister.

Rarity found her sister in the Carousel Boutique. She confronted Sweetie Belle, who would admit nothing. Beginning to chase the younger filly around the shop, Rarity flew into a rage. Whenever she closed the distance, Rarity swiped at Sweetie Belle with her hooves, inflicting several superficial wounds. Rarity levitated whatever objects she could find and flung them. A large pair of fabric shears scored a direct hit on the filly’s shoulder, and opened a long gash, knocking her off of her hooves. Pouncing on the downed pony, Rarity connected with a hard kick to the ribs.

Sweetie Belle regained her hooves and stumbled up the stairs, deflecting whatever blows she could. She backed into the washroom as Rarity’s horn began to glow. Rarity tore free the large ceramic basin with her magic, and brandished it over her head. The young filly cowered in fear and attempted to shield herself with her forelegs, as Rarity heaved the vessel downward.

Fluttershy heard voices coming from outside her cottage. The sound was too intense for a simple conversation. She noticed an unnatural light casting eerie shadows through her windows. Peering timidly over a windowsill, she saw a large mob outside, marked by bright points of unicorn horn-light and flickering torches that played through the trees, washing over wickedly gnarled branches. Most ponies wielded whatever makeshift weapons they could muster: hayforks, sickles, scythes, clubs…

A frightened stampede of animals fled before the crowd. Most were creatures unique to the Everfree Forest, but some normal fauna had become entrained in the flow as well. The townsponies struck at them with every opportunity, leaving a trail of wounded and dying beasts along the roadside. Several managed to crawl to the sanctuary that was Fluttershy’s yard, followed by an arm of the mob that had diverted from the roadway to give chase. Fluttershy rushed from her house and protested as loudly as she could manage, but few heard, and none gave her words any consideration. She ran back to the doorway and waved the creatures inside, where their last remaining hope of safety lay. The stragglers were cut down mercilessly.

Fluttershy slammed the door and barred it. Out the back window, she could see more and more animals fall victim to the maddened swarm, who were chanting excoriations and seeking retribution for lost crops and livestock. They lit the forest afire when they were unwilling to maintain their pursuit any deeper.

The smaller group of raiders had Fluttershy’s cottage surrounded. They beat on the doors and windows, warning that she should surrender and let justice be dispensed. She quailed under the onslaught and curled up against the rear wall. The crush outside had lost what little patience remained, and ignited her home.

Within minutes, the conflagration engulfed the entire structure. Tendrils of flame rained down from the rafters, and the cries of panicked animals came from all around Fluttershy. She was paralyzed with fear and could take no action to save herself or her friends. The last few creatures huddled against her as the inferno licked at her coat. She coughed, the smoke and scorching heat searing her lungs. With a loud crack, the roof beams failed, and began to collapse on top of her.

Twilight Sparkle awoke with a start. She had a feeling of utter despair, but it took her a moment to piece together the cause. She remembered her dream, that awful dream! As with most dreams, the details had already begun to fade, but it felt strangely poignant. She shuddered as she realized that it contained uncomfortable truths that she had never considered, or at least been able to deceive herself into disregarding. Of course she’d have to leave Ponyville eventually. Of course she’d finish school. Of course Spike… Oh Celestia, Spike!

She ran upstairs and found him still snoring in the early dawn light. She bent over him and kissed him lightly on the forehead. “Oh, Spike!” Twilight said softly. “Why didn’t I see it? I should have considered…” She rested her cheek against his and tried to control her sobbing so she wouldn’t disturb him. He stirred lightly, but didn’t wake. She ran down to the kitchen, closed the door, and allowed herself an unrestrained release of sorrow. She curled up on the floor and shook as spasms of emotion wracked her body.

Outside, Ditzy Doo was delivering the morning newspapers. She could hear the sounds of a pony in pain inside the library. Lifting a foreleg across her brow to cut the low sun’s glare, she peered in the kitchen window. She gasped and flew around to try the back door, finding it unlocked. Coming into the kitchen, she said gently, “Twilight? Are… are you okay?” Twilight looked up, startled, with red, swollen eyes.

“Oh… Hi, Ditzy,” Twilight said, slightly embarrassed, as she walked over to the table and offered her guest a chair. The two ponies rarely had occasion to speak, and didn’t know each other very well. “No, I’m going to lose my best friend, and I should have seen it coming!” She began to cry anew. To herself, she silently added, “And the only way to protect myself would be to wall off my feelings, and cost me all of my other friends.”

Ditzy let the minutes pass in silence and made some tea for both of them before taking her seat. Her eyes always crossed when she was deep in thought. Now they came back into focus to stare into her teacup. “You know, most ponies don’t think much of me. My mind wanders – I don’t stay in the moment, and I kind of turn into a klutz. I just find it works better for me if I consider a problem at length before acting on it, so I spend a lot of my time zoned out.”

She had Twilight’s attention by now, and the purple pony had calmed down considerably while sipping her tea. “One thing I do know about is friends who aren’t supposed to be together. I love my daughter Dinky more than anything, but nopony thinks we belong as a family. They say we’re mismatched. We don’t care. We make our own rules. We make it work. It’s worth it.” She placed a comforting hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Ditzy,” Twilight said. She leaned in and gave Ditzy a quick hug. “I shouldn’t keep you from your rounds, though.”

Ditzy laughed derisively. “Oh, nopony will be surprised if I’m late. Are you sure you feel better?”

“Yes,” lied Twilight. “But please take a muffin with you.” Ditzy’s eyes lit up.

Twilight Sparkle had a newfound respect for the cross-eyed mailpony. As Ditzy flitted past the window, her eyes went out of focus again. Twilight did feel a little better about Spike. She needed to talk to him at some point, but she was afraid to hear his answer.

When dawn finally broke, Rarity emerged from a troubled and restless sleep. She sat on the edge of the bed and held her hooves in front of her face. How could she do that to Sweetie Belle? Worse yet, she hadn’t felt detached from the dream, as if watching somepony else, who happened to look like her, commit those acts. She had understood the rage, as if it had been her own.

She was shaking as she walked down to Sweetie Belle’s room. She found Sweetie Belle already awake, and she flopped forward onto the bed to place her forelegs around her younger sister’s neck in a tight embrace. She seemed on the verge of tears. “Sweetie Belle, I promise I will never hurt you, I will never do anything to cause you pain!”

Sweetie Belle didn’t know how to react. She hugged Rarity back, and squirmed a little under the sheet to reposition her flank, which threatened to become uncovered and expose her cutie mark. It had to remain a secret.

Rarity sat up and looked her sister in the eye. “No matter what you or I do, we’re always sisters, and I will always love you. You must know that. We must look out for each other.” She patted Sweetie Belle’s head, sniffled, and left for her washroom to begin her morning routine.

Sweetie Belle had no idea what had caused that episode. “Of course we watch out for each other,” she thought. “Why would either of us hurt the other? She almost sounded guilty! What could I have done to make her feel...?”

“Oh, Celestia! I thought I had kept it secret! Does she know?”

Nopony was around to hear Fluttershy’s muffled squeaks of distress. She went about her morning duties of seeing to her animals, but she was agitated about what she had dreamt. She couldn’t believe that anypony would really treat innocent animals that way.

However, she had to admit it was a remote possibility. Monsters from the forest rarely left the protection and concealment of the trees, but sporadic incidents did occur. She couldn’t completely discount the eventuality that a random surge in this activity would invite the townsponies’ ire. All she knew for certain is that she would be caught in the middle.

Could she really attend to the injuries of a beast that had hurt a friend, when it may have been acting merely in self-defense? Could she continue to respect a friend who sought revenge against a creature motivated only by fear and hunger? How could somepony weigh her life’s calling against all of the personal relationships she holds dear?

Fluttershy was unsure how she would react in those circumstances. The animals wouldn’t understand what was happening. They would need an advocate, but the townsponies could understand reason; surely they would listen to her. She just hoped that would never become necessary. Of course it wouldn’t. There was nothing to worry about.

Feeling real mirth for the first time in over a year, Trixie looked down from her vantage point. She had ascended the clock tower on the town hall during the night. It afforded her an excellent view of almost every part of town. Furthermore, nopony ever came up here. She would be undisturbed.

She could see Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Fluttershy going about their errands in town. None appeared to be fully engaged in her task. Any foal could see the characteristic signs of unusually heavy crying on Twilight. She stared at the ground, speaking to nopony. Rarity exhibited a thousand-yard stare and nearly stumbled into every possible obstacle. Fluttershy smiled at the small array of animals escorting her, but gave a wide berth to any ponies she encountered, looking concerned for her entourage.

Trixie would have preferred to include Rainbow Dash and Applejack among her victims, but Discord had chosen her targets specifically. Perhaps another time. She returned her attention to the town below.

She cast a new illusion that she had invented during her long travels. It formed a small rectangle in front of her face, and whatever she saw through it was greatly magnified. She focused it on Fluttershy’s face and imagined pelting her with some manner of projectile. BAM! Rarity. POW! Twilight. BANG! She laughed maniacally, but had to stifle herself with her hooves as a passerby below peered up at the sound.

Discord had another mission for her as well, but so far all he would disclose is that she should cast some general illusions of misdirection around the town. It would be amusing to watch the effects, and they may come in useful later. She turned her attention to the market stalls and warped the light so that ponies saw in unexpected directions: around corners, backwards, slanted. They ended up in unintended destinations and unfamiliar surroundings. The shoppers wandered about aimlessly, their confusion growing by the minute, with Trixie taking great delight in guiding them around like puppets.

She caught a glimpse of movement, and let her illusions dispel. A cloaked figure was sneaking out of the boutique, skirting the edge of town, and obviously trying to stay hidden. Recasting her magnifier, Trixie focused it on the furtive skulker and recognized her as the pony that Discord had her include in Rarity’s dream. It was Rarity’s younger sister, Sweetie Belle, and she had something to hide. All the better for Trixie; she just had to find out what that secret was. Little did she know how easy it was going to be.

“Yes, interesting little filly, isn’t she,” said a smug voice from over Trixie’s shoulder.

“Ah, I see,” responded Trixie. “If you think so, then she must be working for you.”

“After a fashion,” Discord admitted. “More accurately, I’m working for her.”

Trixie returned a blank look. “I don’t get it.”

“All in good time. All I need from you now is one little favor. That filly’s stolen a little item of Twilight’s. I’d feel safer with it in your custody. You’ll find it in her dresser. You’ll know it when you see it.”

“Okay… a little strange, but I can manage that. What should I do with it?” Trixie asked.

“I really don’t care,” said Discord, beginning to fade away. “Just make sure Twilight never sees it again.”

Somepony standing in the royal sculpture garden at that moment may have heard faint laughter. “Just two moves left, Celestia, and I still have one piece yet to enter the game! You won’t even be able to put up a fight, and then how will you save your precious Ponyville? I’ll see you yet as a statue in my private collection!”

Chapter 3 - When Animals Attack

A raucous yowling woke Fluttershy from a sound sleep just as the first rosy touches of dawn began to seep over the horizon. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and checked the clock. She was due to rise in fifteen minutes anyway.

Stepping timidly over to the window, she peered out into the yard to see what the noise was. A manticore lay in the yard, licking a trio of puncture wounds on its side. Fluttershy thought she might recognize it as the same one she had helped when Twilight Sparkle had first arrived in Ponyville.

“Angel, please wake up! I need your help!” The white rabbit stirred, and flashed a grumpy expression. “Angel, there’s an injured animal outside!” Finally convinced of the seriousness of his friend’s request, he rushed to grab a first-aid kit and join her in the yard.

“There, there, Mr. Manticore. It’s going to be okay.” Fluttershy dabbed on some disinfecting ointment, and applied a bandage. “How ever did you manage to get hurt, you poor thing?”

“Ah’ll tell ya how!” rang an angry voice from down the path. “That thing trampled all through one o’ mah cornfields last night, and busted a hole in the barn! He’s lucky that’s all Ah did to him!” Applejack strode purposefully into the yard, brandishing a pitchfork.

Fluttershy gasped. “Oh, no! He wouldn’t hurt anypony! Something scared him, and he’s just trying to get back home. He’s a gentle little guy.” It began to purr as she scratched a hoof under its massive chin.

Frustrated at the impasse, Applejack couldn’t think of anything else to do but return home. She called back over her shoulder, “Jes’ make sure he don’t come ‘round mah farm no more! Ah’ll be ready next time!”

“Oh, you didn’t mean any harm, did you?” Fluttershy asked the beast, tousling its mane. “Who’s a little sweetie?”

“Good morning, Sweetie Belle!” said a translucent version of Discord. “You know, we’ve really got to come up with a better name for you. ‘Sweetie Belle’ just isn’t very intimidating. Behold, Sweetie Belle, Master of Demons! You see? It lacks something.”

Sweetie Belle sat up groggily, chagrined at the early hour. “Well, according to you, I’ve got a long time before I’ll need any titles.”

“Yes, but what do I call you in the meantime?”

“I don’t know. Belle? Her Majesty the Most High Empress of the Forest? I don’t really care. Why are you here so early?”

“You’ll hear soon enough. Suffice it to say the natives are restless. Something’s got the forest animals upset. Somepony who was able to keep them at bay would surely earn the gratitude of the Princesses…”

“Got it,” Sweetie Belle said, rolling out of bed and pulling on her cloak. As she dashed out Carousel Boutique’s front door, another figure emerged from the shadows and made its way up to the filly’s now-vacant bedroom.

The Great and Powerful Trixie picked carefully through Sweetie Belle’s dresser, looking for the item of great import that Discord said it would contain. Dresses. Capes. Socks. Socks? What pony in her right mind wore socks? She’d rarely seen any, except for the large discarded pile of them that the strange, apelike creatures left outside the Conversion Bureau.

Something glittered at the bottom of the drawer. “Oh, Celestia! The Crown of Magic! This must be worth a fortune!” She wondered if it might enhance her own magic, and tried it on. She didn’t feel anything. Testing a few spells she had lost the ability to cast, Trixie couldn’t detect a change. Oh, well. No teleporting out of here; she’d have to walk as usual. She deposited the crown in the vast storage portal of her hat, and followed Sweetie Belle toward the forest.

Through her recent practice sessions, Sweetie Belle had found that the larger creatures were a little more difficult to control, but if she applied her horn magic as well, it became ridiculously easy. She didn’t have the nerve to summon an ursa major, but had chanced upon one in the forest one evening, and had successfully dominated its mind from the concealment of the bushes. Now, she sat by the forest’s edge, listening for the thoughts of its inhabitants.

Discord was right – there was a lot of unrest. Sweetie Belle put up a mental wall across the edge of the forest, and broadcast a message: “Stay back! Do not leave the forest!” She felt most of the activity drawing back deeper into the trees, but detected an atmosphere largely of confusion and fear, not malice. She decided she’d better remain here and try to keep things under control.

The Great and Powerful Trixie peered around a tree at Sweetie Belle. She could feel waves of magic energy emanating from the filly, but they were completely alien. She couldn’t surmise their purpose until a small five-tailed fox demon dashed from the woods. The magical aura intensified, and Sweetie Belle’s horn began to glow.

“Stop!” she shouted, and to Trixie’s amazement, it obeyed. The fox calmly walked back toward the woods. It was then that Trixie noticed the strange red glow under Sweetie Belle’s cloak. As the glow intensified, so did the unsettling magical aura. Trixie got a sudden sensation of intense vertigo as the warped power swept over her. She doubled over and lay on the ground, stroking her temples with her hooves. By the time she recovered, Sweetie Belle had left.

“What was that?” Trixie said to nopony in particular. “Whatever else it is, it’s unnatural. I wouldn’t care to be near that again.” She rushed to track down Sweetie Belle, but kept her distance this time. Sweetie Belle was trying to divert a manticore this time, one with a bandaged wound on its side. Of course! This was the same beast that had attacked Sweet Apple Acres overnight. “Oh, this is perfect!”

Trixie began to weave her illusions, bending the light through labyrinthine paths. As Sweetie Belle herded the injured creature toward a vision of thick sylvan vegetation, it emerged from the forest heading directly for town. It wouldn’t do much harm, and Fluttershy could convince it to leave after it had a chance to give everypony a good scare.

When the frightened and confused animal stampeded down the main thoroughfare of Ponyville, ponies dove for cover behind wagons, sought refuge in houses, and took wing, if they were able. The few unicorns present tried to push it back with their magic, and multiple stallions swung improvised polearms – broomsticks, shovels, firewood – to drive it away. Beaten and pelted with stones, the beast ran to the only solace it knew: Fluttershy’s cottage.

Tending to her garden, the yellow pegasus was surprised to see the repeat visitor bounding over the low rise in the roadway, wailing in pain. “You poor dear, have you gotten into trouble again? Oh, it looks like it’s just some nicks and bruises. How do you keep losing your way?”

Fluttershy whirled at the sound of angry shouts in the distance. “There it is!” “Fluttershy’s helping it again!” The pink-maned mare shrunk away in apprehension.

“Of course I… it’s hurt and… I couldn’t just let it…”

“How can you treat that thing?” cried an earth pony mare that Fluttershy didn’t recognize. “It crashed through five market stalls, tore up Daisy’s flower beds, and broke the windows of Bon Bon’s shop! For all we know, you sent it on a rampage!”

Applejack pushed to the front of the crowd. “Now, y’all hang on a minute! Ah ain’t any happier ‘bout that beast than anypony else. Heck, it caused a ruckus on mah farm last night. But y’all can’t think Fluttershy had anything ta do with this. She’s got no wish ta hurt nopony. Right, sugarcube?”

The cowering pegasus could only nod nervously. It’s just like my dream!

“Okay, y’all jes’ head back ta town. Ah’ll take care o’ this.” Applejack waited for the mob to disperse, then quietly conferred with her friend.

“Sugarcube, ya gotta see how this looks! That manticore weren’t hurt bad. Ya shoulda jes’ shooed it on inta the forest.”

“I… I can’t hold back when an animal’s injured. Besides, he wasn’t trying to hurt anypony! He’s more scared than they are.”

“But why is he coming back? An’ it’s not jes’ him. There are lots o’ animals runnin’ amok in the woods lately. Ah think it’s best if ya jes’ keep yer distance from all this.”

Over the next few nights, more and more demonic animals made moonlight forays into Ponyville. Most were harmless, but the already heightened tension in town threatened to become a barely-contained powder keg. Finally, much to Fluttershy’s horror, a squad of Royal Guardsponies was deployed to patrol against any further nighttime incursions.

The Great and Powerful Trixie was keeping her usual watch on Sweetie Belle, but didn’t need to follow her all the way through town to her predictable destination of Carousel Boutique. Voices carrying through an open window of the library caught Trixie’s attention, and she tiphoofed close to listen.

“Is this really necessary?” Spike remarked, watching the glint of torchlight off highly-polished armor, as the sentries paced their assigned routes. He sat by the upstairs window watching the town below, as five mares tried to keep up a languid conversation in the library.

“I could’ve just handled this myself,” Rainbow Dash bragged, “if Celestia had thought of asking.”

“I don’t mind so much. More ponies in town means bigger parties,” Pinkie Pie answered halfheartedly, her mane and coloration noticeably below their usual standards.

“Ah’m jes’ concerned ‘bout Fluttershy,” stated the blonde earth pony. “She’s betwixt a rock an’ a hard place on this, an’ Ah’m worried she might be in danger. Ah oughtta spend the night over there to make sure she don’t come to no harm. An’ what’s with these two?” Applejack added, pointing at Rarity and Twilight Sparkle.

Rarity broke her distant stare and met Applejack’s gaze briefly. “Oh, I suppose I’m not very good company right now. I’ve… got a lot on my mind. I’ve just been a little preoccupied about my sister.”

“I’m not myself either these days,” admitted Twilight. “Something’s just got me in a funk.”

“What’s happened to us? Nopony’s willing to talk about what’s bothering her, and Fluttershy isn’t even here.” complained Spike.

Not now, Spike, thought Twilight. Don’t press me on this now.

“We’re fine,” Rainbow reassured him. “It’s just a rough patch, that’s all.”

“Yeah, Spike, ya fret too much. We’re friends forever. In fact, Ah best be gettin’ ta another friend now. Ah need ta make sure Fluttershy’s gonna be alright.”

Outside, Trixie was disgusted at how emotional she had become. I’m supposed to be stronger than this! I don’t need any ponies like them! But… it wasn’t always that way. I remember when I used to have friends. Oh, Trixie, what have you gotten yourself into?

The ponies in the library said their good nights and set out for their homes. Twilight stayed on the doorstep for a moment to take down the “Open” sign hanging in the window and douse the outside light. As she headed back inside, she caught a glimpse of blue in the bushes. “Hello? Is somepony there?” She craned her neck forward and squinted into the evening gloom. “Trixie? Is that you?” A silver-maned head eventually rose above the shrub.

“Yes, Twilight, it’s Trixie.”

“What are you doing out here?”

“Just… uh… looking for a place to sleep.” And definitely not peeping through the window.

“Please, come in out of the cold. I’ve got a spare bed.”

After a moment of indecision, Trixie decided to accept the invitation. Twilight invited her to sit and enjoy a glass of milk while she leafed through some light bedtime reading. Feeling awkward for sitting there in silence, Trixie tried making some small talk. “What are you reading?”

“I’ve been doing more research on the Elements of Harmony. The last time we tried to use them, I attempted to substitute Spike for Rainbow Dash, since he is loyal. This book suggests that it could have worked, if Spike were a pony. It may be possible for anypony who is a good enough example of an element to use it.”

“What about… the crown? What does it do?”

“The secret to using it is friendship. It does require a magic user to wield it, but it’s activated by feeling the spark of friendship. Once that happens, it powers the other elements. I’ve got it upstairs – would you like to see it?”

“No! No, that’s okay, but… why would you keep it here? That hardly seems safe.”

“Well, locking them up in the palace didn’t keep Discord from getting them. We just thought that if there wasn’t a sure way to keep them secure, we’d at least have quick access if we needed them.”

Trixie reverted to silence for a while as Twilight returned to her tome. “Twilight, why are you so nice to me? I haven’t done anything to deserve it.”

Recovering from being momentarily stunned, Twilight answered, “Why wouldn’t I? You haven’t done anything to me.”

“But… I have done things I’m not proud of.”

“That ursa minor wasn’t your fault. Besides, I guess it’s just in my nature to trust that there’s a potential friend in every pony.”

“It must be nice. I must be too cynical to believe that attitude could exist. Look at me, talking with you about friendship when I stormed out of here in anger just the other day.”

“Trixie, are you okay? You seem really down on yourself. You used to be so confident.”

“I just got tired of life beating me down, and then I was jealous of what you had, with your friends and your magic. Just seeing you sit around with everypony earlier made me see what I’d been missing. And why I’m not worth it.”

“No, Trixie, you can’t believe that!”

“Twilight, you of all ponies would never forgive me…” Trixie stopped, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. “I should just get to bed.” I’ll tell you in the morning, Twilight. Then we’ll see what the limits of your friendship are.

As Applejack was nearing Fluttershy’s house, several monsters that she couldn’t identify in the darkness streaked past her on their way back to the Everfree Forest. One was bleeding profusely, and separated from its brethren to mewl at the yellow pony’s window. From behind her, Applejack could hear a large mob giving chase.

The farm pony ran to the cottage and found the door ajar. She poked her head in and looked for her friend. “Fluttershy? Ya here?” Receiving no reply, she tried again. “Angel? How ’bout you?” she called, not really wanting to endure his sarcasm, but the home was deserted. Checking Angel’s bed to be sure, she found a note tucked under the blanket.

I’ve gone to where I can treat the poor animals in peace. I hope this note finds a friend, as I believe only somepony close to me would think to look here. Please find a way to convince everypony that the creatures aren’t at fault. Something else is stirring up trouble in the forest.

Applejack stepped back out into the yard to confront the crowd. “Y’all have driven her off! Ah hope everypony is satisfied! Y’all took the gentlest pony that ever lived, and made her feel unwelcome! And she’s jes’ the kind to forgive ya fer it, too!”

The fire sapped from their anger, the mob milled about uncertainly, as Applejack charged past them on her way back to the library, Fluttershy’s note clutched in her teeth.

Inside the house, a malevolent voice chuckled. “All the pieces are on the board, Celestia! Checkmate.”

Sweetie Belle had tried for several hours to get some badly needed sleep after her impossibly busy day. The sheer volume of forest animals she’d had to turn back had left her exhausted, but she was still restless. The constant agitation of the supernatural fauna drowned out her own thoughts, and made slumber impossible.

She rose from her bed and donned her cloak again, determined to keep the beasts at bay long enough to afford her some rest. She dashed out of the boutique and galloped around the edge of town toward the woods. In her hurry, she crashed headlong into another pony coming the opposite way.

In the inky blackness, Applejack hadn’t seen whatever had knocked her flat on her back. She rubbed her head, blinking, and slowly became aware of a roseate glow illuminating the area. Rising to her hooves, she saw that it originated from another pony, stunned and breathing heavily on the ground. The light shone from the pony’s side, where a strange symbol phosphoresced under the canopy of trees.

“What the hay is that?” she exclaimed, creeping forward for a closer look. “Is that thing a cutie mark? Ah never seen nothin’ like it!” The other pony gave a low groan and staggered to her hooves, the hood of her cloak slipping down her neck. “SWEETIE BELLE!?” A look of sheer terror crossed the filly’s face as she backed away and turned to run. “Sweetie Belle, what’s goin’ on here?”

Applejack jumped to tackle her, but the mark on Sweetie Belle’s flank flared to a sanguine brightness, joined by the white glow of her horn. Time seemed to slow as a large wolf-like creature intercepted Applejack in midair and pinned her to the ground. She managed to wedge a rear hoof between them, and launched the beast skyward, resuming pursuit of her quarry. As she caught up, she anticipated the attack this time, diving low to the earth, and somersaulting under the leaping beast. Rolling out of her landing, Applejack pounced and got a firm mouth hold on the filly’s tail, dragging her to a halt. She tugged a rope out of her saddle bag and quickly hog-tied the young pony, but immediately realized the futility of trying to handle the situation herself, as the pentacle and horn blazed in the night, inciting myriad foreboding noises from far off among the trees.

Hoping she was near enough to town, Applejack cried out. “Twilight! Pinkie! Dash! Rarity! Somepony come help me!”

Twilight Sparkle was about to mark her place and put her book down for the night when she heard the shouting. She ran toward the commotion, adding her own voice in calling for Rarity as she passed the boutique. An ivory head poked out of an upstairs window. “What is it, dear?”

“Go get Pinkie and follow me! Sompeony’s in trouble!” she called over her shoulder.

Twilight arrived on the scene to find Applejack holding a bound Sweetie Belle down. As she approached, she noticed the strange symbol on the filly’s side, and first felt the waves of warped magical energy. A wall of nausea swept over the purple unicorn, and she sank to her knees, swaying unsteadily.

“Twilight! What’s wrong?” Applejack’s friend couldn’t answer, her head swimming. Pinkie and Rarity finally arrived to see Twilight collapsed on the ground, and Applejack fighting to restrain a struggling Sweetie Belle, with a pack of dire wolves slowly advancing out of the trees. Rarity began to wobble as well, feeling the same effects as Twilight.

Pinkie ran to Applejack’s side, not sure what she could do to assist. “Go help Twilight!” directed the blonde mare. “Somethin’ funny’s goin’ on with the magic. She might be able ta stop it!”

Pinkie draped Twilight’s leg over her shoulder and walked her close to Sweetie Belle. She could see the purple coat taking on more of a green tint the closer she got. “Twilight! You’ve got to stop Sweetie Belle somehow!”

Her horn beginning to emit a purple light, Twilight fought against the vertigo and tried the only strategy that had entered her mind. She projected her horn’s glow toward the captured filly, who felt a sudden juggernaut of somnolence, and soon lost consciousness. With her captive safely asleep, Applejack could finally do something about the lupine assault. She began bucking around wildly and shouting; without Sweetie Belle’s beacon summoning them, she was able to intimidate them into running away.

Finally, Applejack and Twilight Sparkle, who had regained her equilibrium, were able to examine the filly’s cutie mark. It luminesced softly in the darkness, having reverted to a dormant state, but Twilight could still sense a faint queasiness from it.

“What the hay is that, Twilight?” Applejack asked.

“I don’t know.” She leaned forward slowly and touched her horn to the pentacle. She could feel a force repelling her, and when she made contact, the mark gave off red sparks that jolted her, making her back off. “Pinkie, go tell Spike what’s happened. We need him to send a letter to Celestia right away! He should still be awake, but try not to disturb Trixie.”

As Pinkie dashed off, Applejack looked at the unicorn incredulously. “Trixie? Are you serious?”

“Applejack, I had a long talk with her tonight. Something’s different about her. Please, give her a chance.”

“If ya say so, Twilight, but Ah dunno.”

Rarity hadn’t been able to approach her sister, even now that the nausea had faded. She had been an emotional wreck over the filly lately, and she couldn’t bear to see Sweetie Belle in the midst of a very grave situation.

Just then, a brilliant flash of light announced Celestia’s arrival. “What’s happened here, my little ponies?”

“I don’t know how that got there,” Twilight said, indicating Sweetie Belle’s cutie mark. “It feels kind of like the time Apple Bloom tried to get me to give her a cutie mark with my magic, but it’s warped.”

“I can see that,” Celestia remarked, feeling the slight ripples upsetting her balance. “We need to find out what caused it before I can decide what to do about it.”

“Oh, I can save you the trouble,” came a voice from the trees. A ghostly apparition of Discord stepped out. “I gave that to her. Isn’t it delightful? One of my better ideas. ‘Demon Master Sweetie Belle!’ I know, I know. I tried to do something about the name, but we didn’t get that far yet.”

“Discord!” Celestia hissed. “What are you up to?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just this.” He waved his paw, and the purple cocoon of light around Sweetie Belle dissipated, her eyes fluttering open.

When she saw Celestia looming over her, Sweetie Belle screamed in terror. Her horn and pentacles surged to life again, and Celestia’s knees buckled under the sweeping disorientation, the two unicorns crumpling as well. Her teeth gritted, the filly summoned a cockatrice out of the forest, turning it against the incapacitated alicorn. Celestia felt the petrification taking hold of her hooves as she withered under the beast’s gaze. Her horn radiating a blinding light, the Princess fought the creeping stone, slowing its progress, but it had already encased her legs.

“Ha! See how you like it, Celestia!” taunted Discord.

Applejack lunged at the cockatrice from behind, knocking it aside. With its eye contact broken, Celestia could finally wrest her gaze from it and began to reverse its encroaching spell. Sweetie Belle knew she’d be unlikely to trick the Princess again, so she sent the cockatrice after Applejack, the only currently mobile pony.

“Don’t look at it!” Celestia warned, and Applejack was careful to keep her back toward it, tracking its position by the shadow it cast in the glow of the alicorn’s horn, and kicking at it.

Rarity struggled through the waves of distortion and crawled toward her sister. “Sweetie Belle, what are you doing? Stop this, please!”

“I can’t!” the filly shouted between her sobs. “She’ll kill me!”

“No, surely not, dear! Where did you get that idea?” The ivory unicorn tried to hold her sister’s hoof in a gesture of reassurance, but Sweetie Belle avoided her grasp.

“No, don’t stop me! If you keep me here, you’ll be killing me too!”

Rarity jerked her hoof back as if she’d just touched molten iron. My dream! Sweetie Belle, I would never hurt you! She watched her sister run off, powerless to do anything about it. The phantasmic form of Discord raced after her, an expression of rage on its face.

Without the filly’s dominating aura controlling it, the cockatrice broke off its attack and retreated for the forest. Rid of the debilitating nausea, Twilight immediately rose and ran after Sweetie Belle, calling back to her friends. “AJ, round up the others! I’m afraid we’re going to need them!”

“Be careful, Twilight!” Celestia shouted, the rocky encrustation now down to her knees. “He’s dangerous!”

“But Twilight!” answered Applejack, but her friend was already out of earshot. She continued anyway, quietly. “Fluttershy’s… gone…”

Chapter 4 - A Mountain of Troubles

Sweetie Belle dodged through rough trunks and underbrush, darting left and right in an attempt to shake any possible pursuit. She finally surrendered to the burning ache in her muscles as she cantered to a halt behind a jagged outcrop of rock. Her chest heaving to draw precious air, she dropped onto wobbling knees. Just as she began to consider resuming her flight, an unexpected voice sent a shock of fright up her spine.

“What in Equestria was that?” cried Discord, his frown just inches from Sweetie Belle’s face.

The filly stumbled backward and tripped over an exposed tree root as she gasped against the words caught in her throat.

“You bested Princess Celestia herself, and yet you let one stupid earth pony outwit you?” Discord shook his head and pointed an accusatory talon. “That was your only chance. Congratulations. You’re probably the most wanted criminal on the planet now. And I’m your only friend,” he added, rubbing his forehead.

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Sweetie Belle stammered as she regained an unsteady footing. “I don’t know… I can’t believe I actually attacked the Princess!” She stared past her mismatched mentor, her body slightly rocking to the rhythm of her pounding heart.

“I can’t help you like this, you know,” he stated flatly.

Sweetie Belle nodded almost imperceptibly, still transfixed.

“You have to let me out.”

She failed to detect the guttural quality that had crept into Discord’s voice. Her eyes remained unfocused as she turned her head to meet his gaze and give one more vague nod.

Twilight Sparkle raced after Sweetie Belle, but the filly had too much of a head start. The sounds of cracking scrub had faded some time ago, depriving Twilight of any directional cues. She slowed to try and catch some last vestige of noise from her quarry, but no sign remained.

What was that thing? It felt… twisted. She shuddered at the memory of that vertigo-inducing symbol etched on Sweetie Belle’s flank. Discord sure seemed proud of it.

Twilight’s ears pricked at her sudden realization. Discord! If he’s involved, there’s only one way this is headed.

Moments later, she appeared with a brilliant purple flash in the sculpture garden of Canterlot Palace. A stony draconequus towered over her in the darkness. She quickly dismissed the notion that it had turned to look at her. Preposterous! It’s just stone. For now…

She knelt in the grass next to the statue and waited. Sooner or later, Sweetie Belle would come here. I’d better be ready this time.

Trixie awoke to the sounds of a hushed discussion in the library downstairs. She silently descended the staircase halfway, her ears pricking at the mention of her name.

“Leave Trixie out of this. It’s our fight.”

“I agree, sugarcube. I don’t know how she won Twilight over, but I still don’t trust her.”

“Well, somepony’s got to sneak up there and get Twilight’s crown without waking her. And with the reigning ‘Shh!’ champion missing, you’re the quietest one of us, Applejack.”

“Alright, but only ’cause time’s a-wastin’. Twi could be in major trouble by now.”

Trixie abandoned any aspirations of stealth and hurried into the midst of the discussion. “What happened to Twilight?” she asked, her heart pounding.

Rainbow Dash twisted her mouth into a frown and squinted at the new arrival.

Applejack swallowed and gritted her teeth, remembering her promise to Twilight. She found that she couldn’t force a smile, but at least if she spoke slowly, she was able to keep the venom out of her voice. “Yeah, she is—” Applejack pried the word from her throat “—sugarcube.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Trixie yelled, already on her way out the door.
“We need the crown!” Pinkie shouted after her.

“Already got it!” Trixie’s rapidly diminishing voice called back. “And I know where Twilight’s going!”

Applejack shook her head, her patience long since expended. “Get along after her, y’all!”

“Aren’t you coming, dear?” asked Rarity.

“Naw, I gotta go find Fluttershy. I’ve been rackin’ my brain, and I think I figured out how.”

Just as the birds began sounding their dawn reveille, an exhausted Sweetie Belle emerged from the cover of the forest and took her first steps up the winding road to Canterlot. She smoothed her cloak to ensure it concealed her cutie mark. Once the panting unicorn had reached the city gates, she proceeded nonchalantly to the sculpture garden, comfortable in the knowledge that nopony here would recognize her.

Sweetie Belle took a few hesitating steps into the garden and looked up at Discord’s motionless form. She gulped and took a deep breath, casting a glance around to make sure she was alone. “A-are you here, Dis—?”

Twilight Sparkle stepped out from behind the statue. “Sweetie Belle, what is this all about?” Her stern gaze belied the gentle, measured tone she forced. “I don’t know what’s made you do this, but it’s gotten way out of hoof. Let me help.”

The younger unicorn leaped backward into a defensive stance, silently cursing the trembling plainly visible in her fatigued legs. “I can’t,” she said through clenched teeth. “I have to get away from here, or they’ll kill me. Nopony can help me now.”

“Oh, tut, tut! I thought we already covered that.” Discord smirked as his ghostly form materialized in front of Twilight. “I’ve got your back, Demon Master.” He flew straight at Twilight with incredible speed. She backed away and held up a protective foreleg to ward off his attack, but the shade passed through her unimpeded.

Her cutie mark and horn immediately blazing, Sweetie Belle sent waves of arcane energy toward Twilight, forcing her to crumple to the ground and squeeze her eyes shut against the resulting dizziness. The conflicting forces of horn and pentacle caused rippling distortions visible in the air, the chaotic interface rumbling like thunder.

A loud cracking noise preceded a shower of dust and stone fragments that rained down on Twilight from the statue above her. She rolled out of the way as it fully disintegrated, leaving an unencumbered draconequus free to step down from the pedestal.

Discord snapped his fingers, producing a fedora simply for the purpose of being able to doff it to his audience. “Greetings and salutations, Twilight Sparkle. Sweetie Belle.” He nodded to each in turn, a smug grin playing across his features. “Thank you kindly, Demon Master,” he said, theatrically sweeping an arm across his body in a gracious bow. “Congratulations for outliving your usefulness.” The draconequus swatted Sweetie Belle with the back of his paw, sending her sprawling across the ground until she slumped unconscious against the hedge.

Twilight Sparkle charged her horn, whipping up a cloud of rocky particles from the statue’s remnants. She sent the dusty mass flying toward him and tried to form a shell around his body, but she wasn’t fast enough. Turning to face his attacker, Discord flicked a talon at her and flashed a self-satisfied smile as the gravel bombarded her face, blinding her. She stepped back into a defensive posture and gritted her teeth as she swiped at the grit in her eyes. In the blur of her obscured vision, Twilight couldn’t see the tawny paw swinging for her. It caught her squarely on the jaw and sent her sliding across the grass.

“You know you have no hope, of course,” gloated Discord. “You and your pathetic little friends.”

Rolling back to her hooves, Twilight rubbed a foreleg across her bruised cheek. She folded her ears back and squinted in a defiant sneer. “You’re not up to full strength yet or you wouldn’t have bothered fighting me.” A purple glow began to swirl about her, whipping the air into a vortex that lurched at the draconequus.

Straining against the gale, Discord dropped to all fours to gain what purchase he could in the earth. His labored progress finally flagged in the windstorm’s fury, but he had approached close enough; the tufted end of his tail caught Twilight on the shoulder and slammed her against his former prison’s base.

Reeling from the impact, Twilight shook her head momentarily to fight off the spinning sensation. By the time she looked up again, Discord was in midair, flying straight at her with claws bared.

He failed to hear the rapidly approaching hoofbeats behind him over the sound of his own yelling.

Applejack knelt down as she tightened the knot of a cloth bandage around Winona’s leg with her teeth. The confused canine looked up, her ears plastered back. Cocking her head, she gave an inquisitive whine and squinted against the first rays of dawn streaming over the distant hilltops.

“We talked about this, remember? You gotta do a convincing job. Now, let’s hear it.”

A half-hearted whimper escaped the dog’s throat before she sought an approving smile from her owner.

“Not bad for a start, but you can do better, sugarcube! C’mon! Sell it!” Applejack said, waving her forelegs.

Winona knitted her brow and uttered a heart-wrenching yelp after rising to hobble around on her bandaged leg. Seeing the triumphant expression her master wore, she gave a playful bark, then allowed her tongue to loll out the side of her mouth as she wagged her tail furiously.

Shaking her head as the smile faded from her face, Applejack nudged the brim of her hat a little further up. “You were doin’ so good, too! You broke character.”

Winona tucked her tail between her legs and sidled up to Applejack. Once she felt that enough time had passed to establish her contrition, she ventured a glance upward and rolled onto her back to request a belly rub.

Applejack allowed herself a brief indulgence of making Winona’s leg kick reflexively before snapping her concentration back to the task at hoof. “Alright, time’s a-wastin’. It’ll have to be good enough.”

The long trot to the edge of the Everfree Forest passed in silence as Winona kept by Applejack’s side, deftly weaving around her flicking hooves. When they finally reached the first dense copse of trees, Applejack motioned for her companion to wander into the thicket, then took cover behind a stout oak. Winona milled about for a few minutes, making pitiable sounds and walking with a pronounced limp. However, the only attention she managed to attract was that of a startled covey of mourning doves. An hour later, the disheartened dog slunk back toward Applejack and curled up next to her, an enormous yawn drawing a squeak from her throat.

“It’s okay, sugarcube,” Applejack reassured her. “I think that might be enough. Now we wait.”

Before long, Winona’s ears pricked at the distant sound of crunching leaves and a soft voice. One of the doves returned and settled on a nearby branch, cooing excitedly.

“Where was it? Oh dear, I hope the poor thing is okay.”

Applejack hissed at Winona and nudged her back out from their hiding spot. Winona stumbled from the bushes and emitted a high-pitched keening.

“There, there, dear,” Fluttershy comforted her through a gentle smile. “Let’s have a look—Winona? What are you doing out here?”

“She’s with me.” Stepping out from behind the tree, Applejack set her jaw in anticipation of a quarrel. Instead, the pegasus ran over and locked her in a tight embrace.

“Applejack! It’s so good to see you!”

“Um… yeah, same here,” said a flustered Applejack with a nervous grin, reaching a foreleg around to return the hug. “I kinda figured you’d be… well, mad.”

“Oh, no. I could never be mad. You got my note, just like I hoped!” Fluttershy trilled, smiling so broadly that her cheeks trembled. “But… what’s wrong with Winona?”

“Nothin’, sugarcube,” Applejack replied. “She was bait. And good bait at that,” she added, giving her pet a commending wink. “Here you go, girl. You earned it.” Applejack reached into her saddlebag and produced a large biscuit, then flung it in a high arc. Winona timed her leap perfectly and already had half of it devoured before she landed. “Where’ve you been, Shy?”

“Well, um, I’ve been staying with Zecora,” Fluttershy explained. “Because I left my normal place, she kindly volunteered some space. The critters find a helpful mare, and know I still can treat them there. Oh, now she’s got me doing that, too.”

“That’s great, Shy,” Applejack said, the impatience in her eyes underscoring her voice’s note of urgency, “but we need you. Where’s your Element? We gotta go! Discord’s at it again!”

“Um, it’s at Zecora’s house,” answered Fluttershy while trying to take refuge behind her mane from the unwelcome news. “Where are we going?”

“I dunno, sugarcube.” Applejack shrugged and glanced off in the direction of the palace. “Somewhere ’round Canterlot, judgin’ by which way Sweetie Belle was headed. I expect they won’t be hard to find.”

“Sweetie Belle? What…?”

“I’ll explain on the way.” Tilting her head toward Zecora’s home, Applejack added, “C’mon.” She trotted off without looking back to see if Fluttershy was following.

Discord’s leonine claws swung toward Twilight’s head as she braced for the impact. At the last moment, Discord’s body jerked sideways, propelled by a dusky blue streak. He tumbled across the ground before righting himself and turning to face his assailant.

“Ah, the prodigal filly, come back for redemption, eh?” he spat. “You’re not even worth my time.” Cracking his knuckles, he advanced once again on Twilight, a leer on his face.

Trixie watched as Twilight fought to see through the dusty tears that clouded her vision, making her lash out at the blurry mirages in front of her. Trixie’s eyes grew wide as she momentarily backed away, her legs trembling, but as her horn’s glow increased, she strode toward Discord with renewed determination. Through gritted teeth, she growled, “You leave her alone!” The aura around her horn reached a new intensity as she clenched her eyes shut. Four flaps of turf sprung up and snapped shut around Discord.

He slashed easily through the soil with his talons and stepped out of the grassy pyramid, his look of astonishment not even half as intense as that on Trixie’s gaping face. “Aha! So you’re more than just a one-trick pony, I see.”

“You mean…” Trixie stammered quietly, “I actually…” She shook herself out of her reverie as Discord approached. The scowl returning to her face, she lowered her head and charged him. Trixie dodged his paw’s feint, but his talons caught her unprepared, leaving a trio of deep gashes as they raked down her side. She cried out and braced for another impact, but a flurry of motion over at the garden’s trellised entryway caught her attention.

Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash had just passed the last of the small, glowing trail markers Trixie had left for them and galloped into the garden just in time to see a deathly paleness overtaking her face as she sank to her knees. Discord made one last lunge toward Twilight, but the last traces of light surrounding Trixie’s horn enveloped his arm and held it in check. With a grunt, he loomed over Trixie as her strength failed. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was a purple form tackling him from behind, then disappearing with him in a brilliant flash.

When Applejack and Fluttershy finally trotted up to the Canterlot city gate, the guards on duty stepped in front of their path. “Excuse me, ma’am. Are you those other two Elements from Ponyville?” the captain asked.

“Um… yes, sir. I reckon we are,” Applejack replied.

“Princess Celestia arrived not long ago. She said to send you to the sculpture garden as soon as you arrived. Do you know your way?”

“Yes… yes, we do. C’mon, Shy!” The two galloped through the city until they reached the palace grounds, then grimaced upon remembering the circumstances of their last visit during the Gala. As they stepped through the ivied archway marking the entrance to the garden, their eyes immediately alit on three hubs of activity.

Rarity knelt by the side of her unconscious sister, her forehead creased as she lightly splashed some cool water on Sweetie Belle’s face. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were applying bandages to a badly wounded Trixie, whose limp form drew shallow, ragged breaths. In the center of the garden stood Celestia, her eyes closed in concentration as she used her magic to examine the large stone hemisphere that dominated the statuary.

Celestia looked up at the new arrivals and smiled, her wings drooping loosely by her sides. She exhaled heavily before her bloodshot eyes focused on Fluttershy. “How fortunate that Applejack was able to find our Element of Kindness,” she remarked as she tilted her head downward.

Bowing, Applejack looked up when the Princess’s breathing deepened and saw her head slowly sinking toward the ground. “Um… yes, Your Highness.” Celestia’s eyes snapped back open. “She hadn’t gone far.”

Fluttershy hid her face as an embarrassed smile crept across it. “I’m sorry. I just—”

“No explanation is necessary. Please rise,” said the Princess. “We have much work do.” She stifled a yawn and led them over to Trixie. “I have sent word to have my sister awakened. After last night’s events and having to raise the sun this morning, I do not have the strength to handle this situation alone. We need to know what Trixie witnessed.” Celestia lay down in the grass next to the wounded mare and gave Rainbow Dash a concerned glance.

Dash anticipated the Princess’s question. “We’ve got her bandaged, Princess. I’m glad she was out when we put on the disinfectant, or it would’ve hurt!” She shook her head, then recovered from a brief moment of silent distraction. “I think she’ll be fine, though.”

Eager for the chance to contribute, Pinkie Pie bounced up beside Rainbow. “Uh huh! She’ll be good as new, lickety split!” Once she finally opened her eyes, she saw the fatigue gnawing at Celestia. “I’ve got some awesome hot coffee, Princess! Fresh from Sugarcube Corner. Would you like some?” she asked, pulling an insulated bottle from her saddlebag.

“Actually, that sounds like a good idea,” Celestia replied, and poured herself a cup. It floated along beside her as she strained to regain her hooves and walk toward Sweetie Belle’s prone form. The unsteadiness in her knees only grew worse as she approached the faint red glow of Sweetie Belle’s cutie mark. “How is she, Rarity?”

“Her pulse seems to have settled down, Your Highness. I think she’s just resting now. Oh, I can’t believe my own sister would attack—”

“Please. I believe she was coerced,” Celestia assured her while mustering as kind a smile as possible. “She has nothing to fear from me. I do, however, need to determine exactly what the nature of her ‘talent’ is.”

“Trixie’s comin’ around, y’all,” Applejack called from behind the Princess. “You’d best come over here.”

Celestia downed her cup of coffee and returned to Trixie’s side. When Trixie attempted to get to her hooves to bow, the glow of Celestia’s magic surrounded her and held her down. “Please rest, Trixie. We just need to know what happened.”

“Discord attacked Twilight and—” She winced and drew a sharp breath as the effort of speaking tightened the muscles in her side. Through clenched teeth, she continued. “I tried to stop him. He was still weak. She—she teleported somewhere with him.”

“Luna should be able to trace where, but I already have my suspicions. Ah!” Celestia remarked as Luna flapped to a landing beside her, flanked by two of her personal guard. “We have work to do. That,” she said, pointing at Sweetie Belle’s cutie mark, “has to go. But first, please tell me where you think that enormous rock originated. Twilight Sparkle teleported somewhere and exchanged positions with it.” Luna’s eyes widened as she raised an eyebrow at the massive stone.

Twilight awoke with a pounding in her head. She rubbed a hoof to her temple and then blinked a few times to make sure her eyes were actually open. Bracing herself to try standing, she immediately collapsed back to the ground, a searing pain burning down her right side. As a soft groan escaped her lips, she lit her horn with a weak glow and peered at the dull rock walls surrounding her.

“Clever pony. But you must know that this place won’t hold me forever.” Discord smirked at her as he stepped from the shadows.

“Doesn’t need to.” Twilight looked along her bruised and battered body, then let her head sink to the cold granite as her light died. “My friends will be here soon.” Remnants of illumination danced in front of her eyes as a wave of lightheadedness washed over her.

“You’re in no condition to do anything about it. And what threat will your pathetic little friends pose without their precious Element of Magic?”

Twilight could practically hear his expression of glee. “Your magic can’t reach through stone. And there’s an awful lot of it here.”

“I can move. And I have claws. It may take me a hundred years, but I’ll dig my way out eventually. You should have teleported me into a more draconequus-shaped space.”

“I can’t be that precise over this distance. That’s why I’m even here with you. I had to make sure I didn’t miss and put you outside somewhere.” Twilight winced again at the pain in her sides and the throbbing in her skull as her head swum, once again descending toward unconsciousness. She heard an evil chuckle and one last remark in the darkness.

“Oh, I’m the only one who’s ever getting out of here.”

Luna bent low to examine Sweetie Belle’s cutie mark, wrinkling her nose at the faint vertigo it caused. “This is… horribly unnatural,” she said, looking up at Celestia. “How did it even get here?”

“Discord did something to her. I don’t know what,” Trixie replied. “That was before he got to me.” She looked away from the assembled ponies and hung her head. “I just know that it lets her control demons.”

Nodding, Luna beckoned her sister over. “This will take both of us.” Her horn’s glow enveloped Sweetie Belle as Luna tried to get a feel for the magic that had been infused in her.

As Luna loomed over her and Celestia looked on, Sweetie Belle’s eyelids fluttered open. She stifled a scream and charged her horn, but Rarity moved in front of her and grabbed her by the shoulders.

“No, Sweetie Belle! They only mean to help you!” Rarity shouted as she fought back the rising wave of nausea.

Sweetie Belle shook her head as she backed against the hedge. “No! They’re going to kill me!”

“No they won’t!” Rarity said, looking her sister in the eye. “Discord lied to you. That should come as no surprise. Nopony will hurt you. I wouldn’t allow it,” she added, directing a pointed look at the Princesses.

“But… Discord told me there was only one pony that had this talent before… and Celestia had him killed.” Sweetie Belle gulped as her heart raced.

Stepping forward, Celestia knelt down next to her. “Sweetie Belle,” she said in her gentlest tone, “I have never seen anything like this before. It is not a real cutie mark. We have to remove it. I promise no harm will come to you.”

Seeing her sister add an encouraging nod, Sweetie Belle forced a smile and allowed her magic to dissipate.

“Discord gave you a real ability, but he could control it,” Luna explained. “It would be foolish to allow that influence over you to remain. However,” she added, “the fact remains that such a power has been forced upon you. You may well retain it to some degree, perhaps permanently.”

Sweetie Belle hesitantly lay down on her side as Rarity held her in a hug. A moment later, Luna and Celestia had flared their horns to a fiery intensity and touched them to the pentacle on Sweetie Belle’s flank. A shower of red sparks immediately shot up from it as the air rippled with distortions, the red star hissing and seething its defiance. The cutie mark’s crimson glow intensified, pushing the Princesses back. Fighting to maintain their footing, the alicorns’ hooves left deep scratches in the turf.

“Rarity!” Celestia shouted into the swirling wind. “Please help! We need every bit of magic we can collect.”

“How…?” Rarity replied as she frowned down at her sister, who had begun trembling.

“Just add whatever energy you can.” Luna took her eyes off Sweetie Belle for a moment and waited for Rarity’s gaze to meet her own. “We can redirect it.”

Nodding, Rarity gulped and brought her magic to bear. As soon as she did, the magical resistance pushed her away as well, but her effort had enabled the Princesses to creep forward slowly once more.

“Trixie!” Celestia called.

Fluttershy let out a whimper, barely above the sound of the wind. “No… Her bandages…”

Before Fluttershy could act, however, Trixie had struggled to her hooves and added her own stream of energy. In response, Sweetie Belle’s pentacle flared even brighter until nopony could look at it.

Luna gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, straining to get close enough to touch her horn to the cutie mark again. Flapping her wings hard to get that last bit of momentum, she finally reached it.

The sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the garden as red shards erupted into the air. Everypony stood transfixed for a moment, looking at the glittering fragments as they drifted slowly earthward and faded to ash, finally borne off by the now-subdued breeze.

When she had returned to her senses, Rarity whipped her head back toward Sweetie Belle. “Are you okay?” Her mouth hung open as she tried to slow her panting.

Sweetie Belle opened one eye, and glanced down at her side. Looking up at her sister, she gave a weak nod as her eyes welled with tears. “I’m sorry…”

Rarity leaned in and hugged Sweetie Belle tightly. “I’m just glad we’ve got that all sorted out.” She backed off a little, letting a few of her own tears dot the grass. “I’ve just been… so worried about you lately, and…”

“I thought I finally had it. My cutie mark…” Sweetie Belle averted her eyes as she sniffled.

Just as she was leaning back in for another hug, Rarity turned toward the sound of a clearing throat behind her.

“We must act quickly,” Luna said, “on Twilight’s behalf. I do not know how long she can hold out. It is reasonable to assume she is not safe.”

“You know where she’s gone?” Applejack asked, stepping forward.

Luna nodded. “I can teleport us there, to the center of Dragon Mountain. It would make the thickest stone walls in all of Equestria.” As the assembled ponies gasped, Luna continued. “We must bring the Elements with us, but first, we must locate the Element of Magic.”

Sweetie Belle’s mouth hung open momentarily as she tried to force the words out. Finally, she grimaced and let out a small sob. “I—”

“I have it,” Trixie said, glancing over at Sweetie Belle. “And I’m coming with you.”

“How’d you get that?” asked Applejack, raising an eyebrow.

Trixie set her jaw. “Discord,” she growled, bracing a hoof to stand.

“Whoa, whoa!” cried Applejack as she blocked Trixie’s path. “You’ve done plenty already, sugarcube. You need to rest.”

Luna looked over to Trixie. “Your friend”—Trixie’s head jerked up and her eyes widened at the use of that word—“is correct. You must remain behind.”

Trixie’s mouth continued to hang open as she glanced back and forth between a smiling Applejack and Luna. Finally, she removed her hat, reached in a hoof, and pulled out the crown. “Who’ll use it?” she asked as Luna levitated it toward herself.

“With any luck, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said as a glow resurged from her horn, growing to envelop the five assembled Elements. She then glanced at Celestia’s trembling knees. “Rest, sister. We shall return shortly.”

Just before the teleport spell took hold, Trixie lurched forward into Luna’s side, with Sweetie Belle close behind.

Twilight stirred to the sound of scratching. It took her a moment in the total darkness to realize that her eyes were actually open. She attempted to stand, but the burning pain in her side sent her back to the ground, stars dancing in her vision.

“Awake again?” The scratching halted and footsteps approached her. “You’ve been out for about two hours, and I’ve already gotten a good quarter-inch closer to freedom. I should be out in… oh, eighty years or so. Blink of an eye.”

Twilight didn’t reply. She lay her head back on the ground and considered trying out a few of the healing spells she knew, but they took too long to work, and any glow from her horn, no matter how faint, would shine like a beacon in this black void. Forcing her breathing to slow, she concentrated on getting what rest she could.

The frigid stone actually felt good. Out of the shadows, she could see Spike approaching with a nice, tall glass of water. Perfect! That’ll hit the spot. She wriggled off the spot that her body heat had warmed a bit to get more of that pleasant sensation. It wasn’t until a few beads of sweat had trickled across her face that she regained any semblance of clarity. Pain flared along her ribs, but it soon faded into blissful numbness once more as Spike set the glass down next to her. As she reached for it, a bright light sliced through the image, and she squinted at the blurry figures in the distance. Surrounded by multicolored spots, a central midnight-blue blotch registered in her mind just before everything went black.

Luna flashed into existence in the center of the cavern amid seven other ponies. As soon as she had materialized, Trixie sank back to her knees and met Discord’s glare, illuminated with the full light of Luna’s magic. Trixie staggered back to her hooves and galloped to Twilight’s side. Brushing Twilight’s forelock up, she ran a foreleg across Twilight’s cheek. “She’s burning up! It must be shock.”

Discord stood with his arms crossed and smirked at Luna. “Oh, dear,” he said, clicking his tongue as he puffed out his lower lip. “You seem to be one Element shy of a set. Tragic.”

Luna glanced back and forth between the crown she had floating in front of herself and Twilight. Upon catching sight of it, Discord’s eyes shot wide open. He managed to close his gaping jaw, then glared at Trixie. Turning toward Twilight, he swung his talon at her, keeping it on target even through the fresh source of light that threatened to distract him.

“Stop, Discord!” Sweetie Belle yelled as her horn blazed. His arm halting in mid-swipe, Discord grunted as he strained against the magic that confined him. Claws inched forward through the glow that enveloped them as Sweetie Belle squeezed her eyes shut. “I said stop!”

Discord growled as he struggled to keep his claw moving toward Twilight. He raised his arm in a sweeping gesture.

“Behind me, everypony!” Luna shouted as she conjured a shield to deflect the wall of flame he sent their way. Most of the Elements managed to duck behind her, but the thinner edge of the barrier was only partially successful, allowing the inferno to singe the tips of Trixie’s and Sweetie Belle’s manes.

Trixie flipped her cape up in time to ward off the last of the heat, then tugged the Element of Magic away from Luna and set it gently on Twilight’s head. “C’mon, Twilight,” she rasped.

With one final snarl, Discord jerked his arm backward and free of Sweetie Belle’s magic. Trixie lowered her head and closed her eyes, and soon there were a dozen copies of her dodging and feinting around Discord from all sides. While they had him distracted, she bit down on Twilight’s tail and tried to drag her over toward Luna, but she felt a renewed burning on her side as a fresh streak of red soaked through her bandages.

The other five Elements rushed over to help pull Twilight over to Luna, but Discord had finished slashing his way through all of the impostors and grabbed Twilight, hefting her over his shoulder. “No. She stays with me.”

Twilight’s crown clattered to the ground and rolled in front of Trixie. She looked up to where Twilight’s glazed eyes had opened halfway and stared unfocused at the wall. “Yes, Princess Celestia,” she mumbled, “this is my friend, Trixie.”

Her breath caught in her throat, Trixie glanced back down at the crown in time to see Applejack scoop it up. Applejack shoved it over Trixie’s hat and looked her in the eye.

“It’s gotta be you, sugarcube,” she said with a fierce smile.

“B-but… I…”

“The magic works through friendship. Twi said so herself,” said Applejack, pointing a hoof toward Twilight. “I heard what she said. You gotta believe it.”

Trixie shook her head and gulped.

“When she saw you in need and shared a meal with you. When she gave you a place to sleep. How’d that make you feel?” Applejack patted her shoulder.

Looking past Applejack, Trixie saw four other faces grinning back.

“Think about it. Remember how it felt.”

Trixie hesitated, then gave a small nod. She focused on that unfamiliar warmth, keeping her concentration even as a voice rang out next to her.

“You put her down!” Sweetie Belle shouted, and Discord’s body once more lurched to a halt.

He whipped his head around and gaped at the whirlwind that had formed around Trixie. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy all hung in midair, their necklaces streaming light. Trixie raised her head, but kept her eyes shut, tears dripping from her muzzle as little fits of laughter sounded through her blissful smile.

As Discord shielded his eyes from the increasing glow, Sweetie Belle threw her shoulder into him, knocking Twilight loose. Sweetie Belle dove under her limp form to take the brunt of the impact.

Trixie closed her eyes against the still-growing brightness, but it cut right through her eyelids. The rest of her senses died away, only the radiating warmth left to sweep over her in the sudden stillness. With a final flash, everything went black once more.

Trixie limped into the garden and weaved her way among the statues until she took her place in the group already seated in the center. A tall statue of a dranconequus loomed over them, and next to it, smiling stone faces of Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. As well as Sweetie Belle and Trixie. She gasped when she recognized her own likeness staring back at her.

“Feelin’ better, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

“Yes.” Trixie blushed and looked down at the grass. “I just don’t think I should have been part of that,” she added, waving a hoof at her statue. “I caused half the trouble myself.”

“Actually, Discord caused every last bit of the trouble. And he still gets a statue.” Celestia walked over to the assembled ponies and beamed at them. “I am glad you could all be here. I wanted you to be the first to see it before we did the public dedication.”

“Uh… Princess? Is it a good idea… you know… to leave Discord out here again?” Fluttershy asked from behind her mane. “I mean… with what happened the last two times…”

Celestia chuckled and held a hoof to her chest. “Oh, that is not the real Discord. He is still at the center of Dragon Mountain. I thought that would be a wise precaution.”

“Then what…?” Rainbow Dash asked, jabbing a hoof toward his likeness.

Luna strode over with a broad grin on her face. “That would be my doing. I fashioned both of these out of that mound of rock Twilight left here. It just seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up.”

Her ears pricking toward her own likeness, Rarity craned her neck to see around the side of the pedestal. “What is that? Over there…” She rose to her hooves and took a few tentative steps toward some scratches she could see in the stone. Upon closer inspection, they read: May include Tom or Tom by-products.

Rarity’s face turned a deep red, and she began to shake. Behind her, Rainbow Dash fell over onto her back, laughing uncontrollably. “I thought we all agreed never to speak of that again!” Rarity shot as she whipped her head around. She let out a low growl.

“Nice,” Pinkie said as Rainbow managed to roll upright and slap hooves with her in one fluid motion.

“You come back here this instant!” Rarity shouted as she ran after the fleeing pegasus.

Applejack chuckled for a moment, then patted Fluttershy on the shoulder. “I had a nice, long talk with some o’ the ponies in town. They feel bad about how they treated you, and… well, they wanted to say they were sorry. We’ve arranged for Pinkie to throw you a ‘welcome back’ party. That is, if you can forgive ’em.”

“Oh, I was never angry,” Fluttershy replied with a soft smile. “I was just afraid for my animals. But if everypony promises to be more understanding with them…”

Applejack nodded. “Yeah, they do. And so do I.”

Leaping at Fluttershy, Pinkie nearly tackled her with a hug. “This is going to be the best ‘we’re sorry, Fluttershy’ party ever!” She held a hoof to her chin and squinted. “Of course, it’s the only one of those I can think of… but that still makes it the best!”

“And how about you, Trixie?” Twilight asked. “Will you stay in town this time?”

Trixie sighed and shook her head. “I appreciate what you taught me. All of you,” she added, sweeping her hoof around the group. “You’ll always hold a special place with me. I just need to spend some time thinking about what’s happened. Fix up my old wagon. Decide what’s next for me. But I’ll come back from time to time.” She leaned over to hug Twilight and whispered in her ear, “You’ll never know what it means that you stood up for me. You’re right—there’s power in friendship, and I need to understand it. I’ll visit, though.” She patted Twilight’s hoof.

“You’ll certainly have a lot to tell your friends when they get back,” Twilight said to Sweetie Belle.

“Yeah, but they’re gonna come back with their cutie marks. I’ll still be left behind.”

“Nuh-uh,” Applejack replied. “Just got a letter from Apple Bloom a few days ago. She’ll be home next week, and still a blank flank. Though I don’t know ’bout Scootaloo.”

“And how many of your friends can say they have a statue at the palace?” Twilight added.

Sweetie Belle sighed. It hadn’t turned out so bad after all. She still had a strange ability to control some magical creatures—she’d already tried it on Philomena while she was here, but no luck. She also had a very unique adventure. But she couldn’t help thinking that it would have all been better if she’d just had the super-boring summer she was afraid of. What good had come of any of this?

For a moment, Sweetie Belle watched Trixie smiling and looking around at everypony there. She had to grin herself, and when Celestia caught her eye and nodded at her… Well, maybe things did have a way or working out for the better.

“I’m gonna try to catch up to my sister. See you all back in Ponyville for the party?” she asked. Everypony nodded back, and she started toward the entrance, but she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to see Trixie, who wrapped her in a hug that lingered much longer than she would have expected.

A new friend. Yeah. Definitely better than boredom.