Ten Years Later

Chapters

1: The Pony on the Hill
2: Blank Flanks, Silent Ponyville
3: The Undead Horror
4: Reunion and Separation
5: New Families and Old Ghosts
6: The Wacked-Out Truth

1: The Pony on the Hill

A pony stood on the hill overlooking Equestria.

He saw its denizens across the length and breadth of the land prepare for the seasonal festival of the Summer Sun Celebration. He also special preparations in a small village named Ponyville. He also saw the reason for the extra attention to detail: Equestria's rulers were en-route to the town.

The pony on the hill cast a small spell. He overheard various tidbits of gossip:

"-I swear, the Princesses love going to Ponyville-"
"-got a lover somewhere there. I'd bet your-"
"-dark secret?! Has to be a consp-"
"-The Elements of Harmony are there, don't'cha-"
"-That Princess Celestia and her hand-picked students-"

The pony listened to a few more smatterings of gossip. As he listened, a wolf-like creature materialized in front of the pony.

"You need to tell them the truth," the creature told the pony.

The pony sighed. "I know," he said. "I will need their help in the coming years."

"Do you want me to-" the wolf-thing asked.

"No!" the pony said. "I… I need to do this on my own."

The wolf nodded, and walked out of the pony's way. The pony unfurled his Pegasus wings and rocketed off in the direction of Ponyville. The canine watched the pony fly.

"Godspeed," the lupine creature whispered. "I pray that you find what you seek… and that you take it with the grace of your reality, Polaris."

The wolf vanished into the earth.

Down in Ponyville, Twilight Sparkle concentrated on her spell. She was focused on a giant party cracker on Mane Street by holding back the firing mechanism while her friend, Rainbow Dash, stuffed it with confetti.

When Rainbow Dash mashed the last of the specks of glittery paper into the device, she gave a signal to Twilight. She set the firing mechanism in place as gently as she could, giving a sigh of relief as it clicked into place without a misfire.

Twilight looked down the rest of Mane Street.

"So much left to do," she thought out loud. "If only I had a better idea on how to get it done."

"A little sore at Rarity?" Rainbow Dash asked Twilight as Rainbow flew down and landed by Twilight.

Twilight sighed and started to walk down the street. She put up various decorations using her magic as she walked. "I… I don't mean to be upset," Twilight said, "but Rarity offered to help today. And she hasn't shown up yet."

Rainbow Dash gave a meaningful look at Rarity's boutique and house. "She's probably at Sweetie Belle's bedside," Rainbow said. "Her sister's accident hit her hard. What would you do if someone in your family went into a coma?"

Twilight stopped. "Look, Dash, I know," Twilight said. "That doesn't make it any less-"

Rarity burst out of her house. She ran up to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, her breath ragged, her face flushed. "S-sorry, Sweetie," Rarity sputtered, "she, she woke up, had to-"

Rainbow Dash put a hoof on Rarity's mouth. "OK, slow down, Rarity," Twilight said. "Catch your breath."

Rarity took several deep breaths for a minute, and then said, "Sweetie Belle woke up this morning!" A smile beamed out of Rarity's face. "The doctor said that she's still weak, and her hind legs look paralyzed, but she was talking, and awake!"

"That's amazing, Rarity!" Twilight said. "I, I guess I should apologize for-"

"Apology accepted!" Rarity proclaimed. She turned to Mane Street. "Oh, my GOODNESS! We're going to need to do this over, at least the party cracker is in its proper place…."

Rarity took off down the street, rearranging decorations and putting new ones up. Twilight and Rainbow Dash exchanged a knowing smile between each other. The two of them did their best to keep pace with Rarity as she trotted down Mane Street, moving like a hurricane of ribbon. Within an hour, the entire street was decorated.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash collapsed on a park bench, out of breath. Rarity looked unfazed by the intensity of their work.

"I'll be with Sweetie Belle if you need me!" Rarity said. She dashed into her house.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash took a moment to catch their breath. "So…" Rainbow Dash breathed, "guess that's that."

"Yeah," Twilight gasped.

"Excuse me," a voice from behind said, "may I have a moment?"

Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned to face the stranger, and gasped.

A pony with a thick black coat and a mane that sparkled like the stars at night when it shifted stood there. But that was not what surprised Twilight and Rainbow Dash: it was the fact that the stranger had the wings of a Pegasus and the horn of a unicorn.

"Um… h-hello," Twilight said. She got off the bench and curtsied. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What is it that I can help you with?"

"My name is Polaris," the stranger said. He made a polite bow before speaking again: "I am here to speak with the Princesses, Celestia and Luna. There is a… personal matter that I need to consult with them on."

"Well, they aren't here yet," Rainbow Dash said. She hovered off the bench with her Pegasus wings. "I'm Rainbow Dash, by the way." She offered her hoof to Polaris. The two of them shook hooves.

"Charmed," Polaris said, then turned back to Twilight. "When do you expect them to arrive?" he asked.

"This evening at the very least," Twilight said. "The best time to talk to them would be tomorrow morning, after the Princess Celestia raises the sun at dawn."

Polaris seemed taken aback. "Wait," he said, "your rulers… they control the sun and moon?"

"Um, yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "They've done that for years."

Polaris turned away, a thoughtful look on his face. "Well… thank you," Polaris said after an uncomfortable minute. "I will be staying at one of the hotels down the street if you need me."

Polaris bowed slightly, and walked off.

Rainbow Dash landed by Twilight. "Oookay, that was weird," she said.

"Yes, it-"

Without warning, the world around Twilight disappeared. Startled, she tried to move, only to find that the ground had vanished. She cast a light spell, only to reveal darkness all around her. She searched the environment for anything familiar, but found only the void.

Wha-what's going on?! Twilight thought.

She tried to cast a true-seeing spell, only to find her magic blocked somehow. Her light spell winked out of existence. Her heart pounded as she flailed her legs around, trying to find something solid to stand on.

Then, something grabbed her right hind hoof. She startled, her coat clammy with fear and the touch of the thing that began to pull her in a specific direction. She continued to fight, but more strange tendrils captured her other hooves, confining her. She screamed over and over again, fighting the unseen rope-like appendages that pulled her to a place she couldn't see.

What in the world is going on?! Twilight thought. This... this just, this makes no sense! What kind of spell is this?! Is it a spell?! A creature?! WHAT IS IT?!

As the things pulled Twilight toward their destination, Twilight began to sob. "Help!" she wailed. "Please, someone help me!"

There was no answer.

Twilight cried, and thought of her friends. "If only I could see them!" she wailed.

A light appeared in the darkness. As soon as the light appeared, the things that had a hold on Twilight's hooves threw her towards the glow. Stunned at this, she almost didn't notice colliding with the source of the light: a small, glowing ball of purple color. She managed to grab the orb, however, and she brought it to her face to get a better look at it.

It felt warm, like the comforting heat of the fireplace. She sighed as the warmth and the light calmed her agitated mind. The ball was round and otherwise uninteresting. Twilight found herself smiling, somehow. She held the ball against her chest, letting it warm her body.

"Well, this is still strange," Twilight said to herself, "but it isn't so scary now-"

A bright flash of purple light came from the orb, and the nightmare ended as fast as it began. Twilight fell onto some floor in what looked like the back room of some building. Twilight recognized the woodwork; she was in one of the local shops of Ponyville. She tried to get up, only to find her hooves bound together and her mouth muzzled. She flailed around for a minute, but the bonds held her tight.

Okay, Twilight thought, at least I know where I am… or at least I think I do. I just need to get someone's-

Twilight then noticed a tiny but noticeable purple glow. Wait, is that- Twilight thought as she threw her head forward. A golden tiara fell off her head, a purple star crystal set into the peak of the crown.

My Element! Twilight thought. She tried to levitate the tiara back onto her head, but found her magic still blocked. Must be some kind of energy lock on my horn, Twilight thought. She maneuvered her horn so that she could poke it between the bindings on her hooves and her body. She rubbed her horn on the bindings, and sure enough, pieces of some poultice of strange-looking flowers and plants began to flake off. She worked at it until the stuff was finally off her horn.

Great, now that that's off, I should be able to use magic again! Twilight thought. She tried to levitate the tiara on the floor, and was elated to find success. She used her magic to undo her other bonds and stood up. She saw a window, went up to it and looked out.

The sky was an eerie blood-red color. The alley the window opened onto was empty. What worried Twilight the most was the lack of sound. As Twilight opened the window and threaded her body through it, the sounds she made echoed loudly in the environment. She quickly cast a silencing spell and ran to the shadow of a nearby wall.

This is beyond creepy! Twilight thought. I need to find my friends. They can help me figure out where we are and what's going on... if they're even here.

As Twilight thought of her friends, her Element of Harmony glowed again. Wait, that's it! Twilight thought. My Element can locate the other Elements! If they ended up here like me, then they probably have their elements on their bodies as well!

Twilight focused on her friends, closing her eyes, breathing evenly. As she did so, her Element shone with increasing intensity. Eventually, it built up to a blinding flash that engulfed Twilight. When the flash dissipated, Twilight was gone.

2: Blank Flanks, Silent Ponyville

Chapter 2: The Blank Flanks in Silent Ponyville

Scootaloo ran away a year ago.

It wasn't her fault. She had tried her hardest; but she just wasn't good enough. She did everything she could to find the one thing that would make her special, the one thing that would cause her to stand out from the rest. She worked her hind legs off searching for her special talent, the one that would grace her flanks through her cutie mark. But she never found it, and she never got her mark.

And that caused a disaster.

It was Sweetie Belle's homecoming concert. Scootaloo was helping out behind the stage, when she noticed a rope pull taut at the last song. It wasn't a problem, Scootaloo had told herself. There are always tight ropes backstage at a concert. Comes with show business.

Then the rope snapped.

Scootaloo grabbed it without a second thought. She held on for dear life, her body threatening to split in two. She looked around, but no one else was around. She bit her lip and prayed that she could hold it. Beyond the curtain, Scootaloo heard the cheers as Sweetie Belle finished her last song.

Then Scootaloo's body betrayed her. Her sweat made holding on impossible. Something in Scootaloo's back popped, and the rope began to slide. Scootaloo thought she screamed, both in pain and in panic.

But it was all in vain. The rope slipped.

On the stage, the entire set fell in on itself.

It was a wonder that nobody died. The back-up singers, the band, and the dancers managed to escape with a broken bone or two. Except Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo doesn't remember Sweetie Belle being put in the ambulance. She barely remembered a doctor telling her to go home to rest and recover.

And that's when Scootaloo ran.

It wasn't her fault that she had failed. "It wasn't your fault," Applebloom told her the day Scootaloo went to the hospital to see Sweetie Belle hooked up to seven different machines, all moving with that cold, unnatural precision of the mechanical. "Accidents happen. You did your best."

Scootaloo didn't bother to say anything. She couldn't. She couldn't even cry. Something just... locked her up inside. She turned away.

"Where are you going?" Applebloom had asked. "Are you gonna run away again?! What'd Sweetie Belle say if she saw you doing that? Again?" Applebloom had said. Scootaloo did not even bother to respond.

So Scootaloo left, to find her specialty. So no one else would ever get hurt by her incompetence, she told herself and her parents. They didn't like it, but they couldn't stop her even if they wanted to. Applebloom came to say goodbye... but there was only silence between them.

Outside of ponyville, Scootaloo encountered a traveling caravan of various misfits that welcomed her with open arms. She didn't fit among the ponies with missing legs, mouths, horns and worse, but their cheer was infectious. So she stayed with them... for a while. She tried her hand at everything, even a little whirling Dervish-like jig. She found she was quite good at it... but the cutie mark still went unseen.

So she left... again. She even left behind a stallion who was fond of her... although the feeling wasn't as mutual. A year of further wandering and fumbling around, and Scootaloo despaired of ever finding that special 'something'. The depression of not finding her specialty, and the failure in her past, found her in a ditch somewhere halfway across Equestria with no money, no job, and no life.

Then someone came up to her. Someone she had never thought she would ever see again.

"Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo jumped up and out of the ditch. "Ditzy!" she exclaimed. She hugged Ditzy Doo, a fellow Pegasus from Ponyville. "How have you been?! It's so good to see you! What's-"

"Muffin?"

Scootaloo sighed. She reached for her backpack and brought out a pastry that she had been saving. Ditzy gulped it down in one bite.

"Got a letter for ya," Ditzy said. Ditzy reached into her mailbag and pulled out a crumpled-up letter from the bottom of the bag. Ditzy turned around and took off, crashing into a cloud which caused lightning to singe some pony's nose.

Same old Derpy, Scootaloo thought. Something's definitely not right in her head.

Scootaloo sighed, and looked at the letter. She almost swallowed her tongue when she saw who it was from.

Sweetie Belle?! But… she, she was in that… that….

Scootaloo quickly thought of something else to stop the familiar guilt from paralyzing her. She quickly opened the letter and read its contents.

Scootaloo,
I miss you. You've been away for so long. Ponyville just hasn't been the same without you. Don't you still believe in the Cutie Mark Crusaders? Have you forgotten how hard we all have worked to find what made us special? I know that you haven't found yours yet.
But that's something else entirely. Look, I can't say this any bluntermore blunt Argh, Ok, look, just… come back to Ponyville. I need your help. Come to the old clubhouse and hear me out, that's all I ask of you.
Please. Help me.
Sweetie Belle

Scootaloo felt… something. It was the first time she had… felt. Ever since that night. The letter felt like a siren call from all the way across Equestria. Scootaloo's hooves trembled, not with guilt, but with a newfound purpose she had not felt since… that night... more than a year ago....

"Alright," Scootaloo said, "I'll come back. For you, Sweetie Belle."

Scootaloo took her scooter from her backpack and took off down the road.

It took her several days before she came to the valley pass that led to Ponyville. She found something strange when she arrived. She walked up to it, and put her hoof on it. She was surprised that it felt as solid as the ground under her other hooves.

It was a solid wall of what looked like fog. "Well, that's new," Scootaloo muttered. She took a readying breath, and kicked the wall with her hind legs.

A lightning bolt coursed through her and threw her back several feet. Scootaloo tottered back up, straightening her vision.

Okay, that didn't work, Scootaloo thought. Plan B.

Scootaloo put her scooter into her backpack. She used her Pegasus wings to fly into the air. She found that the wall of fog stretched for what seemed like miles above the ground. Scootaloo reached as high as she could fly, and stopped flapping her wings.

Scootaloo plummeted down towards the ground. She held her breath, and took a small shovel out of her backpack. She held the shovel in front of her, and spun herself around and around, with the shovel as the center of the spin radius.

Scootaloo picked up more and more speed. When she felt like she was fast enough, she angled herself at the wall of fog. The shovel hit the wall, and carved out a hole in the fog. Scootaloo rocketed through the hole to the other side.

Oh hell, Scootaloo thought. I forgot about the landing.

Scootaloo plowed through several trees and bounced off a rock before she came to a stop. The shovel had been thrown away from her in the crash. When she tried to get up, her back threatened to give out on her.

Argh, that back's been giving me trouble ever… ever since….

Scootaloo's thoughts were interrupted by a young pony that stood over her. She looked exactly like Sweetie Belle… when Sweetie Belle was five years old.

"Who're you?" the young pony asked Scootaloo.

Scootaloo tried to get up, but her back refused to let her. She flopped back down. "I… I'm Scootaloo," Scootaloo answered.

"Scoot'loo, huh?" the young filly said.

"Sorta," Scootaloo said. "You're missing an 'a' there."

"Well, so're you!" the pony said. She pranced off a little ways.

"Wait!" Scootaloo shouted. "Can you get help?"

"There ain't no help comin'," the young girl said. "They're comin'. And they'll have lotsa fun with you."

A cold feeling came to Scootaloo's gut. She forced herself back onto her feet, and managed to walk over to where the little filly had waited. The two of them walked together down a path.

"S-so," Scootaloo said through clenched teeth and clipped breath, "what's g-g-going on?"

"Nuthin'," the little girl said. "Jus' the end of tha world."

That cold feeling came back to Scootaloo's gut. "What's - what's happening in Ponyville?"

The young girl quickly veered away from their current path and ran into the forest. Scootaloo marshaled her reserves of energy and charged after her. The filly squeezed under branches and leapt across gaps, Scootaloo pushing through the pain in her back to keep up. There was a time or two when Scootaloo almost blacked out, but she forced herself to follow.

The young pony stopped at the edge of a ridge line. Scootaloo collapsed by her.

"Look, you gotta see this," the young filly said. She crawled under Scootaloo and propped her up so she could see the valley.

Scootaloo couldn't believe what she saw.

Ponyville was empty.

There was no one going back and forth among Mane Street. There was no sound from the houses that would indicate life. There was nobody in the surrounding countryside. Heck, there wasn't even Rainbow Dash helping with the weather.

"Wha… wha' happened?"

"They happ'ned," the young pony said. "We'll find a way ta stop them."

Scootaloo slid off the young pony's back and blacked out.

When Scootaloo woke up again, she was in the cranny of a tree's branches. Her back felt… better, but sore. She got up, and stretched. She looked around, but she did not see the young pony that must have brought her here.

"Good. You're 'wake."

The pony in question dropped down from higher up the tree. She had a couple apples, and offered one to Scootaloo. Scootaloo scarfed it down in a couple bites.

"Sheezus, didn't ya ever get food?" the young pony asked.

Scootaloo shook her head. "Don't need much," Scootaloo said. "Just need enough to keep my body going."

"Can't be he'lthy," the young pony said. She took a bite of her apple.

"What's your name?" Scootaloo asked.

The young pony went rigid in mid-bite. A great sadness seemed to come over her eyes.

"I… I'm Ruby…." the young pony whispered.

Scootaloo put a hoof on Ruby's shoulder. "Hey… you okay?" Scootaloo asked. "I won't ask any more questions if it makes you upset."

Ruby shook her head. "No… it's… I…."

Ruby knocked Scootaloo's hoof away. "I'm already dead, y'know," Ruby said in a deadpan voice.

"Oh really?" Scootaloo said. "'Cause you look like flesh and blood to me, and healthy at that."

"Look, I can't really 'splain it myself, but Ruby's only usin' this body 'cause she needs it," Ruby said in her original vocal tone. "When we stop them, Ruby'll go away."

Oh great, she's got a split personality, Scootaloo thought. That's all I need.

It was unavoidable, Ruby thought. I had no choice.

Scootaloo, shocked, backed away. I, I heard that!

Yes, Ruby thought, you heard it because I let you hear it.

Scootaloo's heart raced. What are you?!

"I'm lettin' Ruby stay wit' me," the young pony said. "Me real name's Butterscotch, but Ruby needs me. And you."

Scootaloo backed away a little more. "And… and how does Ruby need me?" Scootaloo asked.

"She needs ya to get us into tha town," Butterscotch said. "They keep stoppin' us, but you can get us thru."

"And… who are they?"

Butterscotch sighed. "Ruby, do ya wanna tell 'er yerself?"

Butterscotch went rigid, and then she sighed, her whole frame slumping onto the tree branch. Some mist emerged from Butterscotch's mouth and nose. It coalesced into a wispy form.

The form was of another young pony, also five years old. But the eyes… the eyes were as old as time itself in Scootaloo's mind; blank, endless, but full of experienced emotion. Scootaloo noticed that the form had the cutie mark of a magnifying glass.

I am from a village in the middle of the Ever-Free Forest, the form thought. I am the spirit of Ruby. And I come from a village of blank flanks.

I… I see…. Scootaloo thought. So how come you don't have a blank flank?

The village murdered me, thinking that I had the cutie pox, Ruby thought. It had just recovered from an outbreak, and everyone's nerves were on edge. My older sister tried to hide me, but they found me.

Ruby turned toward Ponyville. My village has paid for their rash actions by being turned into monsters, Ruby continued. However, they did not repent. And thus they remain, dead, but unable to move on.

So how come you never moved on? Scootaloo asked.

Ruby's form sighed. I… I can't leave them. I have to find a way to lift their curse, and either help them move on or help them find a way to live a normal life.

And that is where Ponyville comes in, Ruby thought. This is my village's last desperate attempt to… do something. But they have gone too far. I cannot talk to them, they cannot hear me anymore… but you can.

Ruby's form turned its pleading eyes to Scootaloo.

Scootaloo… you're my only hope. You must stop them before they conduct the ritual tonight, or else all ponies, unicorns and pegasi will suffer.

Ruby's form retreated back into Butterscotch. Butterscotch shivered, and got back up.

"Well… now ya know," Butterscotch said.

Scootaloo shivered. Oh hell, she thought. I can't do this. I'm not good at anything.

You must try, Ruby thought. For all our sakes.

Scootaloo sighed, and put her face in her hooves. Butterscotch and Ruby said and thought nothing.

Scootaloo got up. She opened up her backpack and emptied its contents onto the tree branch.

"Get in," Scootaloo said to Butterscotch.

Butterscotch fit snugly into the backpack. Scootaloo cinched her backpack as tight as she could make it, and put it on. "Hold on tight," Scootaloo said. Scootaloo picked up her scooter and took off to Ponyville.

3: The Undead Horror

Chapter 3: The Undead Horror

"Where exactly do you need to go?" Scootaloo asked Butterscotch.

"Over there," Butterscotch said. She pointed her hoof towards the library. "But we gotta stay clear o' them, or else we're de'd."

"Gotcha," Scootaloo responded. "What do 'they' look like, anyway?"

Look down, Ruby thought.

Scootaloo shivered as Ruby's thought went through her mind. I'll never get used to that, she thought. She looked down.

She saw several ponies wearing long and concealing cloaks down on Mane Street, which the library was on. They all turned to look at Scootaloo as she flew overhead.

None of them can fly, so we are safe up here, Ruby thought. We will have to face them when we land.

Great, Scootaloo thought. Exactly what we need. Anything else I should know before I go hoof-to-hoof with them?

... No, Ruby thought.

The cloaked ponies below followed Scootaloo to the library. When Scootaloo landed, the ponies had formed a line between her and the library. Butterscotch squirmed in Scootaloo's backpack.

"Hold your horses and stay in there!" Scootaloo said to Butterscotch. "We're gonna have-"

It's too late, Ruby thought. They already did it. They were quicker than I thought.

Wait, so what do we-

Scootaloo's thoughts were interrupted when Butterscotch sprang from Scootaloo's backpack, grabbed Scootaloo's scooter, and dashed away from the library.

"Butterscotch, wait! Where-"

"JUST GO!" Butterscotch yelled. Half of the ponies in front of the library chased after Butterscotch. "SAVE YOUR FRIENDS! IT'S THE ONLY THING YOU CAN DO NOW!"

Scootaloo didn't know what to do. I should go save her, she thought. But-

The remaining ponies in front of the library formed a ring around Scootaloo, forcing her to forget the idea of going after Butterscotch. In unison, the other ponies threw off the cloaks they had been wearing, revealing the state of their semi-rotting bodies. Scootaloo almost threw up.

Zombie ponies! Scootaloo thought. What in all of Princess Celestia's manes is f***ing going on here?!

The coats of the ponies looked to be in various stages of decay. Scootaloo then noticed the loud buzzing of the flies, which made her stomach more sick. In the spaces where the coats had fallen apart, there looked to be empty space. The eyes were gone, replaced by hollow sockets that showed no substance within the head.

One particular pony was somehow familiar to Scootaloo. It had a dirty yellow coat, a ratty red mane and a fraying, half-undone red ribbon in its hair. Scootaloo couldn't figure out why that pony tugged at her memory, when she suddenly remembered her long-time friend that she didn't say goodbye to.

"APPLEBLOOM?!"

The zombie ponies charged Scootaloo. She took off into the air, only to get pulled down into the resulting fray. Scootaloo's vision became a blurred mass of hooves and teeth as the zombie ponies kicked and bit at her body.

Scootaloo acted without thought; if a hoof came at her, she kicked back. If a mouth chomped her flank, she broke its jawbone. Her vision blurred further as she twirled, faster and faster. There were no words in her mind; she just saw a need, and her body responded. She whirled, the Dervishite dance becoming a hurricane of parry/riposte. Within a minute, she halted herself, her body covered with bruises and bleeding cuts. But her attackers were scattered around her, their heads caved in, their legs crippled, their mouths smashed open, silent, unmoving.

"Wha... what just...." Scootaloo muttered, dazed at what just happened. Something told her to check her flank. She turned to look, and couldn't believe her eyes.

She had a mark on her flank that wasn't a bruise or a wound. It was a picture of an armored horse, its front hooves in the air as part of a battle stance.

"A... a cutie mark?!" Scootaloo said. A feeling of inexplicable joy came over her. She leaped and pirouetted around the clearing, whooping a cheerful cry into the air.

"I'm good at fighting!" Scootaloo shouted, happier than she ever felt before. Then she remembered Applebloom. She looked around, hoping to find that one pony undamaged. But it was too late.

Scootaloo came to the body of Applebloom. Her hooves trembled as she picked up a piece of Applebloom's red ribbon, the other shreds of it scattered around the clearing with the remains of the other zombie ponies. She touched Applebloom's head, and let out a howl of rage.

"NO! No, nononono, I didn't, I, no, I just, no, no, no!" Scootaloo bellowed. She let her anger out on a nearby signpost, her kicks demolishing the structure into a bunch of wood shavings. "No... no...." she muttered as she sank against the stump of the former sign, and she began to cry.

"It's always my fault. I wasn't good enough to save Sweetie Belle from that coma, and now I've killed Applebloom!" she wailed. She continued to sob for a minute.

Then she remembered the other zombie ponies. Her eyes narrowed, her emotions now given a deadly focus. She got up, went to the nearby library, and smashed the door to pieces.

She almost threw up again at what she saw inside. There, in front of her, hovering in the air, was Princess Celestia. Her eyes were closed, as if she was sleeping. She was surrounded by a blood-red glow that encompassed both the Princess and a bed in the middle of the room. On that bed, a pony familiar to Scootaloo also lay asleep: Sweetie Belle. But this was not what caused Scootaloo to nearly up-chuck: what upset her groin was a mutilated black alicorn in a giant tub of blood. The blood-red glow emanated from the almost-unrecognizable corpse.

Scootaloo went to the tub full of flesh and blood. "Whoever you are, you deserved better," she muttered. She hung her head in silence, then ran to Sweetie Belle on the bed. Something invisible smacked her head hard, throwing her to the floor. Scootaloo got back up, her vision groggy, and tried to get to Sweetie Belle again. She hit the invisible barrier again, which Scootaloo kicked as hard as she could. It did not budge. Scootaloo pounded on the barrier, trying to find some opening to get to Sweetie Belle's side.

"Sweetie Belle, Sweetie Belle, wake up!" Scootaloo shouted. "Wake up, please! You gotta wake up!"

Sweetie Belle moaned, but didn't open her eyes. Some unseen magic lifted Sweetie Belle into the air. Scootaloo felt helpless as Sweetie Belle floated above Princess Celestia, with her eyes still closed in slumber.

"SWEETIE BELLE!" Scootaloo screamed. "WAKE UP!"

Sweetie Belle opened her eyes. She looked around, at herself covered in the blood-red light, at Scootaloo's worried face, at Princess Celestia in the enchanted sleep below her. She panicked, and flailed her hooves around. Scootaloo thought she could hear Sweetie Belle shout something, but the barrier of blood red contained the sound. The magic still held Sweetie Belle firm in the middle of the air.

Sweetie Belle heard a chant from... somewhere. Something about that chant... it felt... ancient, soothing, like the gruff voice of a well-meaning grandfather or the raspy tones of a loving grandmother. It chanted some strange language that captivated her. She wanted to know the language, to learn the chant. She closed her eyes again and tried to sing along. She forgot about her position and what she just saw; all she could think of was the chant.

Scootaloo panicked again. She flew up next to Sweetie Belle and kicked the blood-red barrier. Sweetie Belle didn't respond as the light held firm. Scootaloo continued to attack the shield, trying to elicit some kind of reaction to her presence but getting none. Scootaloo slid back to the floor, slumping on the wooden planks, despair etched on her face.

"I... I really am too late," Scootaloo said. "This has gotta be that ritual Ruby mentioned. I... I failed-"

Scootaloo remembered Princess Celestia, still asleep. Scootaloo flew up to the Princess' eye level. "Please, Princess! Wake up, wake up! We need you NOW!"

4: Reunion and Separation

When Twilight re-materialized, she found herself in the library basement. She found her friends lying around her, but something was wrong. They were tied like she was... and not moving. Twilight quickly untied them and tried to shake them awake.

"Oh come on, come on! Wake up!" Twilight muttered as she shook Rainbow Dash. She went over to Applejack and kicked her in the ribs. There was no response from either of them.

Twilight backed away, and cast a true-seeing spell. Using her resulting heightened senses, she looked at her friends. She shivered at what she saw.

None of them were breathing. Their hearts still beat, but they had less than a minute before they crossed over into death. Who could have done this?! Twilight thought. Her worry for her friends back-fed into her Element of Harmony, sparking the light again.

The light pulsed to some unknown rhythm. With each new pulse, it sent a ray to each of Twilight's friends.Yes, this can save them! Twilight thought. She focused on her worry for her friends, and the light grew in intensity.

Her friends were each lifted into the air, the light surrounding them. Twilight continued to focus on her friends, putting all her hopes on the light from her Element. There was another bright flash of indigo light, and her friends fell to the floor.

Twilight held her breath.

All five of Twilight's friends moaned, and slowly got up. Twilight sighed with relief. "Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy!" Twilight cried, hugging each of them.

"Ooooh," Applejack groaned. "What in the Hay happened?"

"I don't know," Twilight said. "I was hoping you could tell me."

"Remind me never to laugh in an echo chamber again," Pinkie Pie muttered.

"We need to get out of here," Rainbow Dash said. "We need to see what's happened to Ponyville."

"It's bad," Twilight said. "The sky's red, the silence is oppressive, and I couldn't find anyone else. It's as if the entire town was put into some alternate dimension, leaving us behind or something like that."

"Then let's go and find out what happened!" Rarity exclaimed. "No sense staying down her in the dark."

Everyone nodded agreement. They went up the library basement steps as quickly as they could. Twilight slipped on some kind of slippery substance on the stairs. It was too dark to determine what it is.

"Watch your step," Twilight said. "It's a little slippery for some reason."

Twilight opened the door to the library proper and froze. Her friends did likewise when they saw what Twilight saw.

Scootaloo was shouting at Princess Celestia. Scootaloo noticed Twilight and her friends, and ran over to them.

"You gotta help them!" Scootaloo screamed. "I, I tried to wake them up, but I can't get through this invisible shield-thing!" Scootaloo kicked the shield of blood-red light. "Please, there's gotta be-"

Twilight and her friends concentrated their thoughts on each other. Their Elements of Harmony came to life, each one of them shining a color of the rainbow. They hummed with the power of the Elements, which burst from them and arced to Princess Celestia and Sweetie Belle. The light surrounded the two of them, pulsing against the blood-red shield of light. A burst of bright white later, and the Princess crumpled to the floor.

The rainbow of light from the Elements faded. Breaking the barrier caused the six of them to black out from the intense concentration. Princess Celestia groaned, tried to get back on her hooves, but she slipped and fell to the floor. She looked up to see something that horrified her.

Sweetie Belle was still suspended in the air. She was still singing along to the strange chant in her head. As she chanted, golden musical notes floated from the corpse in the tub to Sweetie Belle, growing in number and light intensity. No! Princess Celestia thought. It's happening! Too soon, too soon, we're not ready!

Princess Celestia staggered back up again. She took several deep breaths to steady herself. She turned to Twilight and her friends. "Twilight... Twilight Sparkle, you need to flee, now!" she said.

Twilight regained consciousness a little, and struggled back to her hooves. "You're coming with us!" Twilight said. "We're not leaving without you!"

"You don't have a choice!" Princess Celestia shouted. She concentrated on a spell through her horn. For a second, nothing happened. Then a magical portal opened up over Twilight and her friends. The portal began to pull at Twilight and her friends, inching them towards the portal.

"YOU... NEED... TO... GO!" Princess Celestia yelled. "WARN... THEM... RAGN... RAGNAROCK!"

The portal pulled Twilight and her friends through it before they could respond. Princess Celestia picked up Scootaloo with the last of her magical strength and threw her through the portal as well. Princess Celestia collapsed, the portal closing behind Scootaloo. She stared back up at Sweetie Belle. The chanting increased in fever-pitch, the spell reaching the peak of its intensity.

May God have mercy on all of us, Princess Celestia thought. Godspeed....

The golden light flashed, and all was over.

It was the middle of the night. Twilight lay in her bed, in the room just above the library in Ponyville. Her horn glowed as if she was casting a spell in her sleep. She slid the covers of her bed off, her eyes still closed in slumber. She moved off of the bed, moving with the slowness of sleep. She walked over to a chalk board, and picked up a waiting piece of chalk. She began to draw something, without seeing what it was she drew.

Spike, a baby dragon, snorted awake at the sound of chalk on chalk board. He opened his eyes from his bed by Twilight's bed, and saw her drawing the picture in her sleep. He turned away, pulling his blanked around him.

Twilight's messing with that spell again, he thought. She's been trying to figure out how to cast it for the past month. Looks like she finally got it worked out.

He closed his eyes as his breathing returned to the circadian pace of sleep. His eyes snapped back open at a realization he just had.

Wait, that spell was prophecy magic! he thought. She told me to not let it do anything crazy to her! Those horror stories... yeesh!

Spike sat up, fully alert. He turned to Twilight, who had just finished putting the last line of chalk on the board. Twilight put the shortened piece of chalk down, and slumped to the floor. The light from her horn winked out. Spike ran to her side, and tried to shake her awake.

"Twilight, wake up! Wake up, it worked!" Spike said.

Twilight groaned. She opened her eyes to see Spike standing above her. "Wha, what worked?" she mumbled.

"The prophecy spell, Twilight!" Spike answered. "It made you draw a picture! Look!"

"What prophecy spell? I didn't-" Spike pointed to the chalk board.

The picture was rough, and the darkness of night kept her from seeing it clearly. She lit a nearby candlestick with her magic and turned to look again. She gasped as she saw the drawing.

The scene was nightmarish. A pony glowing with light was at the top of the board, its rays piercing the other denizens of the drawing. Those denizens were seven ponies clustered into what looked like a hole on the left, and a representation of Princess Celestia on the right, her face one of terror and urgency. A speech balloon emanated from the Princess' mouth, which encapsulated one word:

"RAGNAROCK"

5: New Families and Old Ghosts

Chapter 5: New Families and Old Ghosts

Princess Luna woke up as the sun came down. She yawned and stretched, her body feeling quite tender, especially after the strong hooves of the pegasus in her bed had administered their special brand of love for the majority of the morning. Her sister, Princess Celestia, came into her room.

"Sun's down," Celestia said. Celestia looked away when she noticed the young man in her sister's bed.

"I guess it is time to bring out the moon, then?" Luna playfully quipped. She leaned over and gently nibbled the mane of the pegasus in her bed. "Wake up, Conan," she cooed. "It is time for me to raise the moon, so I want to say goodnight before doing my royal duties."

Conan opened one sleepy eye. "Well, then, g'night yer highness," he mumbled through the pillow he hugged to his breast. He turned away and scratched something in his nether region.

Luna looked surprised at Conan's response. "Well, then... goodnight," she said. A mischievous look then came over her face. She poked Conan's forelegs and ribs, managing to get a chuckle from Conan's form after much tickling.

"I knew you were just playing!" Luna said with glee. Conan began to laugh out loud, and tickled Luna back. They rolled around the bed, bringing even greater laughter from each other that echoed down the castle hallway.

Princess Celestia had walked outside the door to Luna's bedroom, to give her and Conan some privacy. When the laughter from the two of them gave way to the sound of kissing, Celestia gave a polite cough; not too loud that it would seem obnoxious, but not too quiet that Luna wouldn't hear it.

Luna sighed. "I have to go," she said to Conan. "I'll be back in a few minutes." She gave Conan a quick kiss, then left the bed. She walked out of her room under the questioning glance of her older sister.

"Just to be clear, I married him," Luna said in a mildly defensive tone.

"I wasn't judging you," Celestia said. She winked to Luna with a smile.

Luna sighed. "You're in that “mother mode”, again," she said as the two of them walked down the hallway. "Let me guess: you had to speak in front of the family of nobles whose son died in that training accident, and the whole affair left an impression on you?"

Celestia thought for a second. "You are right, the funeral made me think about how resilient a family can be when one of their own passes on," Celestia said. "I apologize, I know you are not one of our subjects. I won't treat you like one again."

"Which was why I pointed it out," Luna interjected. "I know how focused you can be, especially after a day like today."

Celestia sighed. "I do wonder, though, with Conan; are you sure you are doing the right thing, having him be this close to you?" Celestia asked. "At this rate you will probably be with child in under a month."

Luna stopped. She turned, and opened the glass door to a balcony that jutted from the mountain face. Celestia saw her tense up. I should not have been that blunt, Celestia thought. Why do I always end up hurting her feelings? I should know better not to pry!

"Celestia... I know why you ask those questions," Luna quietly stated. "Your thoughts for the past thousand years have been on nothing but the safety of Equestria. You are used to worrying about everyone, even if it isn't obvious. Me, on the other hoof...."

Luna began to cast the spell to bring the moon out from its resting place. "I spent the last thousand years in bitter anger," Luna continued. "All I could think about was how mad I was at you, at everyone in Equestria. I was unable to even contemplate the ramifications of my actions. It took a foal with a heart of gold to knock some sense into me, and when I finally saw how badly I acted... I...."

As the moon rose, a tear fell from Luna's eye. "As time went on and people began to forgive me, and even accept me, I wanted to give something back," she continued. "The way I wanted to give back... I know it makes no sense, but I wanted to give the people a precious gift, the kind of gift that will be remembered throughout the ages."

Celestia understood. "You wanted to leave a bloodline for the people of Equestria," she stated.

Luna nodded.

The two of them fell silent.

"Well... it sounds like you know what you are doing," Celestia said, "so... I will leave you to it. I should learn to trust your judgment more; I myself have always considered leaving a bloodline, but that desire always gets pushed to the side for the immediate needs of the country."

Luna smiled at her older sister. "Celestia, you are already a mother," she said. "Your daughters and sons are the many, many unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies that make up our kingdom. Your legacy will live on far longer than mine will."

Luna turned and walked back inside. "Get some sleep, big sister. I can tell that you are exhausted. Tomorrow is another day." Luna walked back to her room, leaving Celestia on the balcony.

As Luna walked to her room, she remembered the moment, over a thousand years ago, when she had... snapped, for lack of a better word. She recreated the dialogue in her head:

"Luna, what are you doing?!"

"...sister.... I should have known you would be angry."

"Luna, you need to let the moon down!"

"I'd rather not. And I think YOU of all people would be able to guess why!"

"Nobody has done anything to hurt you-"

"-except avoid me. Treat me like I don't exist."

"That's not true-"

"Look at your subjects! Look at the adoration in their eyes for the great and powerful Princess Celestia! Ask them about Luna, and what do they say?! 'WHO'S LUNA'?!"

"Luna, please, calm down-"

"NO! I did NOT suffer through YEARS of TORMENT, the DESTRUCTION OF OUR RACE, AND OUR PARENTS' SOULS BEING DENIED INTO THE AFTERLIFE TO BE IGNORED!!!"

"Please.... Don't make me do this-"

"I WILL NOT BE IGNOOOOAAAARRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!"

"Luna! Luna, you alright honey?"

Luna snapped out of her reverie to find that she had wandered back into her room. Conan was in front of her with a worried face.

"You were crying something fierce," Conan said. "Is everything okay?"

Luna touched her hoof to her face to find her visage streaked with tears. She took several deep breaths to bring her body back into her control. She also sank to the floor, Conan following and giving her a concerned embrace.

"It... it's alright," Luna said. "Just a very bad memory, is all it is. I'll be fine."

"You wanna talk about it?" Conan asked.

Luna levitated a handkerchief to her and used it to wipe her face clean. "It was just an old ghost from the past that reared its ugly head," she said, taking a deep breath, "nothing more or less. There is nothing more that even needs to be said about it. What was done... cannot be undone, but the old wounds can be mended."

Luna hugged Conan tight. "Thank you, my love, for being with me like this. Every moment I spend with you is an utter joy. I promise to be yours for as long as you want me."

Conan brought her face to his to see the unspoken emotion threatening to burst its dam, and smiled. "I love you too, Luna." He kissed her gently on the muzzle, which led to a steamier embrace that leaves little to the imagination.

While in the middle of their love, a scroll materialized from a flash of green fire. It landed in front of Luna. She noticed the scroll, stopped what she was doing, and opened it. Conan waited for her to finish reading.

Luna's face went from curious to scared to frozen. Something's wrong, Conan thought. "What is it, Luna? Do ya need ta do something?"

Luna dropped the scroll and stood up. "Conan, you do recall what I said about an old ghost from the past?" she asked. She turned away. "This... this is another ghost. One that just walked over the graves of every pony in Equestria."

Conan picked up the scroll and read it. This was written on it:

Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna,

I am very sorry to bother the both of you this late at night, but... I think I messed up a spell. It was a prophecy spell I found in a forgotten tome by Star-Swirl The Bearded. I could barely decipher the Ancient Equinian, but I thought I could piece together the basic elements of the spells, with a little parallel translation from Pre-Equestrian Ponyese. I tried casting the spell about two weeks ago, but nothing came of it... or so I thought.

I tried multiple variations of the spell based on discrepancies in the text, hoping that I could guess the proper combination of words for the incantation. I stopped trying yesterday when my ninth attempt still yielded nothing. Imagine my surprise when I woke up in the middle of the night, with a picture on my chalk board that Spike says I drew in my sleep. I have no recollection drawing the thing, and Celestia knows that I do not sleepwalk. Period.

Which begs the question: what in the world did I really do?

I captured a copy of the image using a Copy spell I learned from the Ponyville Gazette's news room. It is below. If either of you can help me figure out exactly what happened, I will be very grateful.

Conan saw the image: A shining pony floating over seven ponies stuffed into a hole on the left and Celestia on the right, shouting a word.

"'Ragnarock'?" Conan read aloud. "What's a Ragnarock?"

"The end of Equestria as we know it," Luna said. Luna shivered.

6: The Wacked-Out Truth

Twilight Sparkle sighed. "Well, nothing else to do except go back to sleep, I guess," she said to Spike.

"You sure?" Spike said. "The spell could affect you again."

Twilight sighed. "Well, yes, but I need rest," she said. "Yesterday was a rough day, and the cleanup tomorrow will take all week. I'll need my strength for that."

"But what if Luna or Celestia wants to talk to you about this?" Spike asked. "Ragnarock is no joke."

"It's also an old pony's tale," Twilight countered.

"So was Nightmare Moon!" Spike exclaimed. "Who says Ragnarock isn't real?"

"There was a record of Nightmare Moon's return, Spike," she said with emphasis. "Empirical and clear evidence of her existence. I looked into Ragnarock a long time ago and found nothing about it. I almost got laughed out of the Royal Canterlot Library when I asked for books on the subject. Either someone erased the books of any mention of it - which I doubt - or there IS no record of it."

Twilight yawned and blew out the candle, slipping back into her bed. "Besides, I'm exhausted," she muttered as she settled back into the covers. "The only thing that will get me out of this bed is an emergency, or one of the Princesses themselves knocking at my-"

An urgent banging came from the direction of Twilight's balcony. Twilight tensed, a vein pulsing on her forehead.

"Spike... please go to the balcony and tell me that whoever is up there isn't who I think it is," Twilight asked.

Spike took a look up there. "It is," Spike answered. He opened the door.

Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna rushed through the now-open balcony door past Spike to Twilight's bedside. Celestia turned on the main light in the library and turned Twilight around to face her.

Twilight blinked at the sudden intrusion and the bright light now in her eyes. She barely made out the outline of Celestia above her. "P-Princess Celestia? Wha-"

"It's beginning to affect her," Celestia said. "Do we have everything?"

Luna ran downstairs into the basement. She levitated a variety of equipment from there into the main room and began to rearrange it into a strange configuration that Twilight had never seen before. "What in- Princess Celestia, what's going on?!" Twilight asked. Twilight’s eyelids became heavy against her will.

"Take a look at yourself in the mirror," Celestia said.

Worried and curious, Twilight sat up. A typhoon of dizziness hit her balance, making her collapse back onto the bed. She tried to breathe, but for some reason she could barely gather the wind for a whisper. She began to shiver, which exhausted her.

"What... is... happening... to... me?!..."

Celestia levitated a small, nearby mirror in front of Twilight. Twilight's reflection showed something that scared and confused Twilight.

"Star-Swirl The Bearded never wrote or spoke in Ancient Equinian," Celestia said. "Only alicorns spoke it, and Luna and I are the last of our kind. Somehow, a book of alicorn magic ended up in your library. While you are very talented at magic, Twilight Sparkle, alicorn magic is far too advanced for any unicorn, because alicorns have far greater magical capacity than even the most powerful unicorn. The spells you cast this past month will drain you of your life, unless we can dispell them."

Twilight's reflection showed her purple coat slowly draining of color. At the areas where the color had vanished, her skin withered, the hair falling away like cobwebs in a stiff breeze. She tried to mutter something, but her throat and jaw refused to move, or to utter a sound. Her world went fuzzy as her head rolled back.

She barely heard Celestia scream her name at her; it seemed so far away. Time seemed to slow down, relaxing Twilight and soothing her mind. How panicked she had been merely a few seconds ago! But now, in the dark silence, she settled down for the night's sleep which Celestia so rudely interrupted.

Twilight began to hear the dull thud of her heartbeat. What an ugly sound! she thought. If only it went away, I could get some rest!

Twilight noticed something, then. A tiny, indigo light appeared somewhere in the distance. Well, that's odd! she thought. I wonder what it is?

Twilight began to walk towards the light. As she walked, her heartbeat increased in volume, giving her a headache. Grumbling about being inconvenienced, she pressed on. Then, she heard a voice say this to her:

"Think of your friends."

"What friends?" Twilight asked the voice. "I don't recall having any friends. Did I have friends?"

Her heartbeat pounded against her eardrums, forcing the headache to intrude upon her consciousness. “Stop it!” she exclaimed. “I just want to sleep!” The heartbeat continued to thud.

“It’s that light, isn’t it?” Twilight said. “I’ll show it, I’ll walk right up to it and tell it to make it quiet again!”

Twilight followed through on her spoken intent, and ran towards the light. As she approached, she was relieved to find the sound of the heartbeat quieting. It faded to a near-whisper as she approached the source, the light growing brighter with every step.

Twilight then came upon a massive stable door. The stable itself looked to stretch forever in Twilight’s eyes. The light beamed above the stable door. Twilight tried to see what device it was that created the light, when the light jumped from the top of the door to the ground in front of Twilight. She had to avert her eyes from the blinding glare.

“Oh, goodness!” a voice exclaimed. “I’m sorry, let me fix that!”

The light dimmed to a shimmering glow. Twilight opened her eyes again, to find a unicorn pulsating with indigo light in front of her.

“So YOU’RE the one who made that sound!” Twilight said. “I’m glad I found you!”

“Really?” the indigo unicorn said. “Why is that?”

“Because you can stop the sound!” Twilight said. “It was so loud, I couldn’t sleep!”

The indigo unicorn looked aside, her expression thoughtful. Twilight looked confused. “You can stop the sound, right? So I can sleep?” she asked.

The unicorn turned back to Twilight. “Well… I’m here to save your life,” she said at length.

Twilight was even more confused. “But I’m fine! See?” Twilight placed her hoof on herself. “I’m solid, whole and healthy!”

“You, right here, are not the life that I am here to save,” the indigo unicorn said, which threw Twilight’s mind for a loop. “Here, let me show you.”

The indigo unicorn began to cast a spell. She glowed again with intense indigo light, which was focused on her horn. Twilight had to look away.

“You have to see this!” the indigo unicorn shouted. “You must see this!”

Twilight felt afraid. She shuddered, and turned to stare straight into the light. It filled her vision, her eyes surrounded by the indigo color. The indigo gave way to white, then yellow-white, then yellow-white-mixed-with-white-and-rainbow-color. Her heartbeat thundered again, but this time she felt glad somehow to hear something familiar. She began to breathe easier. She heard some familiar, muffled voices:

“Thank God! It worked!”

“The Element is keeping her alive for now, but we need her notes! I know her, she always keeps her notes!”

“Here, Celestia! These were what she wrote-“

There was the sound of a paper snatched out of a pair of hands. The brief silence felt intense.

Wait, so I tried to cast Alicorn magic? Twilight thought. So, maybe I should just finish the spells while I still have some strength! That would save them the trouble and solve the problem, right?

She didn’t hear a response. She didn’t expect one. She closed her eyes, grunted, and managed to sit up. The dizziness hit again, but she kept herself upright. She opened her eyes, and closed them again before the room made her heave. Her dinner came out of her stomach onto the bedsheets. Twilight felt their worried glances aimed her way, so she decided to say something:

“So… were… my… trans… la… tions… cor… rect…?”

“Well…” she heard Celestia say, “the first spell was correct… in a way. It was actually a delayed prankster spell, designed to make the victim, in this case you, do something ironically tragic. Looks like it has already cast. Thankfully, it wasn’t too intense, or you wouldn’t be speaking to us now.”

“The second spell is some kind of beacon,” Luna said, “but what you ended up casting was a highly specific beacon, one designed to guide across multiple planes of reality. This is probably what is hurting you the most right now.”

Twilight shuddered. A beacon spell… I can handle that, she thought. She called upon the reserves of her strength, and thought of her friends. My only hope is to have them in my thoughts now, she thought.

The light that was already shining from the tiara on her head shone with greater intensity, surprising everyone in the room. She levitated off the bed, her eyes glowing with previously untapped power. Twilight screamed, blasting the floor in front of her with a ray of indigo light.

A strange construct wove itself together from the ethereal energies of the indigo ray. The magical structure that formed was a small pedestal, a book materializing from the thick air falling on top of it. The book opened to a random page to show seven large spaces, all blank. Twilight fell back onto the bed, her Element of Harmony returning to its previous glow.

Twilight’s body shivered, her forelegs and hindlegs cramped, her thoughts a jumbled mess, her breathing and heartbeat erratic, her mind content. That… was a relief… now… I can… rest….

Twilight fell asleep.