Shadows of the Crystal Empire

Chapters

Cage
Thieves
Skinstealers
Grey
Gateway
Hunted
Ice
Spellhold
Fate
Cavern
Faithful
Nightmare
Magic
Barony
Animals

Cage

Hundreds of reflections of the fiery maned unicorn stared down at Twilight from the crystalline walls of the cavern. She stood in the center with Pinkie, both of her swords ready, invisible and protected by Stoneskin. “Who’s hiding?!” Twilight shouted. “Whatever you want, this isn’t the way to get it!”

Pinkie flicked her muzzle to the right. “That one’s real,” she whispered.

Twilight followed the gesture, and spotted the unicorn sitting on the stone floor of the cavern, facing away from them with her horn glowing. Twilight considered targeting the unicorn with a spell, but anything she cast would break her invisibility.

The unicorn turned her head to the side. “Actually, I’m doing exactly what I need to to get what I want,” the cold, echoing voice said. Twilight saw the unicorn’s mouth move.

“You sneak up on her. I’ll see if I can get around to the other side,” Twilight said quietly. “We should take her alive if we can. She might know the way out of here.”

Pinkie nodded and darted away. She danced away through the patterns of shadow and cold blue light on the floor. Twilight followed, the sound of her hooves on the stone muffled by her spell. She kept her floating swords low to the ground as she cautiously approached the unicorn. The light reflecting on the cavern clearly illuminated the unicorn’s orange coat.

A few paces away from her target, Twilight stopped. This is too easy, she thought. She opened her mouth to call out to Pinkie.

Before a single word escaped Twilight’s lips, the unicorn turned to face her, fixing her precisely with her gaze. “Don’t worry,” the unicorn said, her horn flaring brighter as it surged with magic. “That’s close enough.”

Blue light illuminated hidden runes on the floor around Twilight. She lunged forward, trying to get clear. Lines of white magical energy lanced up from the runes in front of her and arced over her. Before she could stop, she collided with them. The magic passed through her Stoneskin. Pain shot through her body like lightning. Her legs crumpled numbly beneath her. Her swords fell from her grasp. Force Cage, clever... she thought dimly. Unless she could get rid of them, the arcane bars of the spell would keep her trapped.

As Solstice and Celestial Fury clattered onto the stone beside Twilight, Pinkie jumped from the shadows and brought her hoof down on the back of the orange unicorn’s skull. Her foreleg cleaved through the unicorn’s head, leaving swirling dust in its wake. The rest of the unicorn’s body followed, dissolving away into a glimmering white cloud.

“What?” Pinkie said, staring at the dust. “I didn’t hit her that hard.” She looked down through the white lines of magic between them. “Twilight?”

“Simulacrum,” Twilight groaned, gathering her hooves beneath her. She glanced down at her limbs, relieved that they were still invisible. Not that it seemed to help, she thought.

“Simulacrum?” Pinkie asked.

“It’s an illusionary copy of the caster made from ice and diamond dust,” Twilight said. She looked up. The unicorn’s reflections still stared coldly down at her. “The real one is still out there.”

“You’re in my realm, Sparkle,” the orange mare shouted. “You can’t win!”

“Find her, and be careful,” Twilight whispered. “I’ve got to dispel this cage.”

Pinkie turned, scanning the cavern. “Cage?” She crouched, her tail twitching.

Twilight sighed and picked up her swords. “She caught me in a Force—” Before Twilight could finish, a red spark zipped across her field of view. “Fireball!” she cried as the spark contacted the ceiling above Pinkie’s head.

Pinkie dove to the side, tucking in her limbs to roll. Fire erupted on the roof of the cavern with a thunderous roar. Twilight closed her eyes tight against the reflected light flaring in all directions and raised a foreleg to cover her face against the wave of heat. Shards of crystal reigned down from above, shattering layers of her Stoneskin.

When Twilight dropped her foreleg and opened her eyes, the dust of shattered crystals greeted her. She could barely see beyond the cage. Pinkie was lost in the cloud. She blinked away the particles clinging to the air and tugged her cloak over her mouth and nose with her magic. A chunk of crystal twice her size rested next to the cage. Fragments small enough to pass through the arcane bars littered the floor around her hooves. Her stoneskin was still active; there was at least one layer left, though she had no idea how many times she’d been hit.

“Pinkie?” she said, peering through the dust. Her horn granted no light while she was invisible. All she had to see by was the scattered blue light from the orange unicorn’s horn.

A whimper sounded in the dark. “I can’t move, Twilight,” Pinkie said. “I’m pinned.”

“Hold on!” Twilight said. “I’m coming!” She focused on the bars of the cage around her. Her invisibility fell away as she cast Dispel Magic. A wave of white light pulsed out around her, indiscriminately tearing away both her Stoneskin and the Force Cage.

As soon as the bars of energy dissolved, Twilight rushed forward toward where she’d heard Pinkie’s voice. She flared her horn bright, but all it let her see was a few more hoofspans into the sparkling dust. She spotted a line of blood trickling down a crevice in the floor.

“Pinkie!” Twilight cried. She followed the trail. A pink hoof protruded from beneath a pony-sized chunk of crystal. Blood pooled on the floor beneath the fallen fragment. Twilight took another step. Pinkie lay on her back with one of her hind legs crushed and pinned. Rubble engulfed one of her forelegs. The unicorn stood behind Pinkie, floating a small silver dagger at her throat.

Pinkie coughed. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I lost.”

The orange mare grinned. “I’d put down your swords, unless you want to see who can cut whose throat first.”

Twilight looked down at Pinkie and slowly lowered her swords.

“I guess we're not taking her alive,” Pinkie said. She gave Twilight a tiny, almost imperceptible nod and twitched her free foreleg.

Twilight hesitated for a moment, hovering Celestial Fury and Solstice just above the ground.

“Drop them!” the unicorn shouted, pressing the dagger into Pinkie’s neck. Twilight thrust Celestial Fury at Pinkie’s captor. In the same instant, Pinkie raised her foreleg and flicked the dagger away with her hoof.

Twilight buried her sword in the orange unicorn’s chest. The mare peered down at the hole in her body and laughed. Instead of blood, swirls of white dust spilled from the point of impact. “Impressive,” the unicorn said before she dissolved into a sparkling cloud.

“Two?” Twilight gasped. I should have cast Truesight, she thought. Forming two functioning simuracula should have been beyond any caster.

“I guess you’d rather do this the hard way!” the unicorn shouted. The floor of the cavern trembled beneath Twilight’s hooves. A deep rumble filled the air.

“Twilight, run!” Pinkie shouted. “It’s gonna fall!”

Twilight ignored the tremors. With the strength of her levitation, she lifted the chunk of crystal off of Pinkie’s leg and shoved the pile of rubble pinning her other limb aside. The cavern shuddered violently.

“No time!” Pinkie cried.

A tremendous crack ripped through the ceiling. Twilight looked up. A massive fragment of rock plummeted toward her through the dust. She had no time to escape.

She closed her eyes.

Darkness surrounded Twilight Sparkle. A hoof on her shoulder guided her forward. She stumbled when the floor abruptly rose.

“Can’t I take it off?” she said, gripping at the blindfold covering her eyes with her magic. “I know it’s my birthday, Pinkie.”

“No, silly,” Pinkie Pie said, her sharp voice in Twilight’s ear. “It’s a surprise!”

The hoof guided her another three steps. Her nose bumped the edge of a table. A faint heat warmed her fur.

“Now you can take it off,” Pinkie said.

Twilight pulled off the blindfold. At eye level, candles burned on a cake covered in white icing. “Happy Birthday Twilight Sparkle!” a chorus of voices shouted.

Grinning, Twilight climbed into a chair next to the cake. A cushion on it propped her above the candles. She looked around, recognizing the Cake’s Tavern in Candlekeep instantly. Streamers of dyed paper adorned the rafters. Mr. Cake stood with his arm around Mrs. Cake’s shoulders next to the counter. Her father, Star Swirl, sat across from her, levitating a knife.

“Make a wish!” Pinkie said as she climbed into the chair next to Twilight.

Twilight sucked in a breath to blow out her candles. She hesitated, glancing at the table next to hers. Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity smiled at her. All of her friends were here. She smiled back at them.

“Come on Twilight, blow them out!” Pinkie cried.

I wish I knew what my Mark meant, Twilight thought as she blew on the candles. She managed to get nearly all of them. It got harder every year. With a quick puff, she finished off the last two.

Star Swirl whisked the smoking candles away with his levitation. “There we go.” He sliced a thick piece out of the cake and transferred it onto a plate. “And the first piece for my little wizard,” he said, passing Twilight the plate. “I’m so proud of you.”

Twilight picked a fork up from the table and prodded at her peice of cake. “You shouldn’t be,” she said.

The corner of Star Swirl’s mouth twitched as he raised an eyebrow. “Why shouldn’t I be?”

Twilight pulled close to Pinkie Pie, covered in blood. The corpses of six diamond dogs surrounded her. She’d cut their throats with Solstice after forcing them into a magical sleep. She’d lost control.

Twilight looked evenly into Star Swirl’s eyes across the table, as tall as he was. “You’re dead. I could have stopped him. I knew every spell in Candlekeep’s library, and I didn’t use them because I didn’t have the confidence, because I was scared. I didn’t save you. In the end, I didn’t even make him pay for what he did.”

“Aren’t you going to eat your cake?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight smiled and slid a bite of cake into her mouth. The spongy morsel melted on her tongue. “Mmm!” She glanced up at Star Swirl. “So, are you going to tell me what my Mark really means?”

Star Swirl blinked at her while he cut another piece of cake. “What do you mean?”

“It’s been two months since I got it,” Twilight said. “Aren’t you going to tell me?”

“I thought I already had. It means you’re good at magic,” Star Swirl said, serving the next piece to Pinkie Pie.

Twilight shook her head. “No. If it meant I was good at magic, it would be a wand, or a constellation, or a star...” She gestured at Star Swirl’s flank. “Swirl... thing.” She took another bite of cake. “Or even a book,” she said with her mouth full. “None of the Archmages in the records have a Mark like mine. I checked.”

Star Swirl chuckled. “If you say so.” He cut a narrow slice and transferred it to a plate. “Marks are more than just a special talent. They represent a concept, something core to who you are.” He pulled the plate close. “For example, ponies who appreciate history but look to the future often get a constellation as a Mark. A Mark doesn’t tell you what you are, it reflects you.”

Twilight shrugged. “What about Bell? She has a bell for a mark, and her main job is ringing the bell to mark time. Is she a bell? For that matter, how did her parents know to name her Bell?”

Star Swirl slowly chewed a bite of cake. He swallowed before saying, “There are forces at work beneath the surface of the world. As wizards, we study these forces. Just because we don’t have the answers—”

“—Doesn’t mean they aren’t there. I know,” Twilight said. “I just wish I knew what my Mark meant.”

Star Swirl smiled. “Maybe you’ll find out someday.” His smile shifted to a smirk. “Now, what I do know is whether or not you’re getting a present.”

“Of course I am,” Twilight said. “It’s my birthday. You always get me a present.”

Star Swirl shrugged. “I don’t know, I can be pretty forgetful.”

Pinkie nodded. “He can.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t forget!”

“Humm, no, I think I did,” Star Swirl said. He patted at his cloak. “Maybe it’s here somewhere.”

“So you did get me a present!” Twilight cried, rising out of her seat. She pointed at a rectangular shape beneath Star Swirl’s cloak. “It’s there!”

“What?” Star Swirl said. He stood up and craned his head to look at his pocket. “Oh, this?”

Twilight raced around the table. “Give it!”

Star Swirl spinned, keeping the pocket just out of Twilight’s reach. She giggled and chased it, running tight circles around Star Swirl’s legs. “Hold on, I’m not sure this is for you,” Star Swirl said, chuckling.

The tavern door slammed open. Shadows spilled in from beyond the threshold. The Specter strode inside. Its red eyes fixed on Twilight from their twin seats in its bleached white skull. Its black feathered wings touched the ceiling, dissolving where they brushed the wood. “So this is where you’re hiding,” it said, the cold voice driving shivers down her spine.

Twilight cowered behind Star Swirl.

The Specter glanced at the table her friends were sitting around. “So you brought them too... interesting.” It focused on Twilight, looking through Star Swirl as if he wasn’t there. “Come on, hiding doesn’t become you.”

“I will not allow you to harm Twilight Sparkle,” Star Swirl said.

A black laugh spilled from the Specter’s skull. “Those were his last words, weren’t they? I think you’re forgetting something.”

In front of Twilight’s eyes, the Black Knight stepped out of the shadows and swung his obsidian shield. Star Swirl’s head split from his shoulders and rolled in the dust. Twilight tried to scream, but no sound escaped her lips. The Black Knight casually scraped his shield clean in the dirt.

The specter pointed a black wing at Shining Armor. “I suppose it’s not surprising that he yielded in the face of your superiority. I was hoping we’d get to kill him.”

Twilight pulled the black thorn from Shining Armor’s chest. Shadows surged into her. She breathed deep.

“Drops in the bucket, compared to your power,” the spectre said. “You could have crushed him like an insect, if you’d chosen right. Even without bringing your full strength to bear, you prevailed. All he had to do was let go, and it was all yours. We swallowed him whole.”

Twilight blinked at the spectre. “What am I?” she said. She lifted her hoof, staring at it.

“Do you even realize what she’s doing to us? You had such potential, and she is tearing you apart,” the spectre said.

Twilight looked at the spectre, the world around her snapping into focus. Around her, reflections of a fiery-maned unicorn stared down at her with icy blue eyes, laughing. “Who?” she asked.

The spectre spread its wings, gesturing at the walls. “Her!”

A blade plunged into Twilight’s back. It erupted from her belly. She lay on the floor of the cavern in a mess of sticky warm blood – her blood. She screamed. This time, it was loud.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you,” the spectre said, drowning out even her screams. “But you can’t hide here forever. We have to wake up.”

Twilight coughed. A thick, irony liquid shot out of her throat and dribbled off her lips. With each contraction of her muscles, a wave of pain rolled through her, stemming from a point in her core. She opened her eyes. Bright blue light lanced into her pupils, and she turned away with a groan.

She blinked. Dark blood pooled on the rough stone where she lay on her back. At the edge, evenly spaced lines of crackling arcane energy rose from the floor. “Pinkie...” Twilight murmured. “Where are you?” She tried to climb to her feet, but when she leaned to roll onto her side, a sharp stab of agony stopped her.

“I’d be more worried about myself, if I were you,” a cold voice said. “Moving around is only going to make you bleed faster.”

Twilight slowly turned toward the sound. A blurry orange face crowned with a glowing horn filled her vision, separated from her by the arcane bars. She squinted. “Who’re you?”

The unicorn snorted. “You’ve forgotten my name again already? Maybe you’re not as strong as I thought you were. I am Sunset Shimmer.”

“I’m bleeding?”

“Look down,” Sunset Shimmer said.

Twilight looked. A jagged spike of crystal rose out of her belly. Blood oozing around it matted her fur. Before her eyes, a blue aura laced around the spike and twisted it.

Twilight screamed. Her body burned as the rough edges tore at her flesh. Fresh blood surged out of the wound. Blinking back tears, she looked up at the unicorn on the far side of the bars.

“Why?”

“Because,” Sunset Shimmer said, “I am unlocking the potential you have squandered, Sparkle.”

“Where’s Pinkie?” Twilight said through gritted teeth. “What did you do with her?!”

The corners of Sunset Shimmer’s mouth twitched. “The same thing I’m doing to you.” She smirked. “Unfortunately, the experiments I’ve been able to perform with her are not as robust as the ones I’ve been able to do with you. Though she is surprisingly resilient, she’s not as strong as you are.”

Twilight spat out the blood in her mouth. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

Sunset Shimmer tilted her head. “I don’t? Your Shadowspawn nature is buried, and I am bringing it to the surface.” The spreading pool of blood touched one of her forehooves. She lifted it off the floor and peered at it. “Now, you’re losing blood fast. You’ve been unconscious for some time, and I’m eager to get started again.” With a flick of magic, she twisted the spike again.

Twilight’s lungs seized. Her stomach wrenched with agony. When her breath finally escaped, it came out in a whimper.

“Save yourself, Sparkle!” Sunset Shimmer shouted. “Divinity, or a corpse! Choose!”

Twilight felt cold. She stared up at where the arching bars of the Force Cage containing her met at a single point above her, an ethereal birdcage. Blackness edged in on her vision. Not like this, Twilight thought. Not slowly in a pool of my own blood. Not when Pinkie needs me. She closed her eyes and found the well of power in her mind. She submerged herself in the shadows.

Strength surged into her, like it had when she needed it before. It had been there when she was alone in the caves. It had been there when the Sand Ravager’s venom consumed her mind. She opened her eyes. Pushing against the ground, she slowly rose off the spike. The dark miasma of her levitation wrapped around Sunset Shimmer’s neck. “I will kill you,” Twilight said as she slowly squeezed tighter around Sunset Shimmer’s neck.

“Good...” Sunset Shimmer gasped. Her eyes flashed with red light. Her horn flared, and a knife drove into Twilight’s mind. We’re almost finished, Sunset Shimmer whispered in Twilight’s skull.

Twilight fell back onto the stone. When she hit, her world went dark.

“Twilight, you gotta wake up.”

With a gasp, Twilight opened her eyes. A pink blur hovered beyond the white bars of the Force Cage. “Pinkie?” Twilight murmured.

“It’s me,” Pinkie said. “Come on. We have to get out of here.”

Twilight blinked, and Pinkie Pie resolved into focus, sitting right next to her, illuminated by the white light bleeding off of the Force Cage. Only the bars separated them. Twilight’s cloak of protection rested on the stone beside Pinkie in a bundle. The hilts of her swords peeked out from under it. Twilight stared at the floor; something was missing.

“Where’s the blood?” Twilight said. She touched her belly with a forehoof and breathed a sigh of relief when she found it whole. Her eyes widened. She jumped to her feet and stared into the darkness beyond her cage. “Where is she?!”

“She left, but I don’t know when she’ll be back. We have to go.” Pinkie said. Her hoof inched forward across the stone, nearly touching one of the cage bars. “Can you make some light? It’s so dark.”

Twilight nodded and illuminated her horn. The light flared of the crystal formations on the walls, bathing the cavern in a lavender glow. “Not so bright!” Pinkie whispered urgently. “She’ll see!”

Quickly, Twilight dimmed her horn, barely lighting more than the bars of the cage around her did. She searched her mind; all of the spells she prepared before leaving Ponyville were gone. She hadn’t been able to hold onto them. She turned and focused on Pinkie. “You have to go before she gets back! I don’t think I can manage a spell strong enough to get rid of this cage right now.”

“What cage?” Pinkie said, reaching out toward Twilight.

Twilight opened her mouth to warn Pinkie, but before a syllable crossed her lips, Pinkie’s hoof passed through one of the bars, unaffected. She grabbed Twilight by the shoulder, saying, “I’m going to get you out of here!”

Twilight blinked. The Force Cage was gone. Only the dim light of her horn illuminated the space around her. She stumbled, letting Pinkie pull her along.

Pinkie gestured at her cloak. “I found your things. Stumbled over them, really.”

Twilight glanced back over her shoulder. An Illusion? she wondered. No time to worry about it now. “Thanks,” she said, turning to the bundle.

She picked up her cloak. Her watch, her crescent moon necklace and her hip pouch tumbled out alongside her swords. After clasping her cloak around her neck, she strapped her swords on with practiced ease, Solstice at her side, and Celestial Fury across her back. She donned her necklace, then picked up the watch. She peered at it, remembering the warmth it gave off when she teleported.

Could Sunset Shimmer have used this to intercept the teleport? she wondered. Is she working with Chrysalis? She frowned. Cadance had it checked. She stowed it in the pouch. I’ll check it later, she decided, strapping the pouch to her hip. “How did you find me?” Twilight said as she turned back to Pinkie.

“I remembered where I heard screams coming from,” Pinkie said. “It sounded like you had it worse than me.”

Twilight grimaced. “She was in my head, Pinkie, like a knife... cutting.” She swallowed. “We need to find your things and get out of here.” She took a step forward. Her legs trembled. She closed her eyes briefly as her head swam.

When Twilight opened her eyes, her shoulder throbbed and she was on the floor. Her horn had gone out. She focused a dim glow on the tip of her horn and looked around.

Pinkie lifted one of her forelegs and looped it over her shoulders, lifting her off the ground. “They’re just things. All we should worry about is escaping.”

“What happened?” Twilight asked as Pinkie stepped forward. She stumbled alongside, half walking, half carried.

“You fainted for a couple seconds.” Pinkie said. She dragged Twilight toward a narrow opening in the cavern wall. “There has to be a way out of here somewhere.”

Twilight leaned on Pinkie as they made their way down a narrow passage. They stepped between the wooden ties linking a pair of rusted iron rails. The light from Twilight’s horn flickered on crystals embedded in the stone walls. Icy cold water trickled past their hooves.

Twilight slipped on the wet rocks. Before she could fall far, Pinkie caught her and set her down gently against the wall beside a narrow crevice in the rock. “I’m sorry,” Twilight said, panting.

“It’s okay,” Pinkie said, patting her shoulder. She leaned against the wall, but stayed standing. “We’ll take a break.”

Twilight cupped some of the water trickling along the floor in her hooves and raised it to her lips. She sucked down the cold liquid. “I should be stronger,” Twilight said. “She’s so much stronger than I am.” She leaned her head back against the side of the tunnel. “It’s unthinkable... Two simuracula.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Pinkie said.

“Simulacrum is an eighth level spell, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “It’s beyond what I can do.”

Pinkie blinked. “Eighth level?”

Twilight sighed. “Levels are categories wizards use to define spells. The higher the level, the more powerful the spell, and the harder it is to cast.”

“You can cast it though, right? You knew what it was,” Pinkie said.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t even know any eighth level spells. I only knew about Simulacrum because other books mentioned the spell, though they never described how to cast it. There weren’t any spells above sixth level in Candlekeep’s library. The few seventh level spells I know Star Swirl taught me himself.” She frowned. “Not that I ever actually cast them until I stopped being afraid.”

“Seven doesn’t sound too different from eight,” Pinkie said. “What about the copy of yourself you used against the dragon?”

“It’s not a linear scale,” Twilight said. “The power and complexity of eighth level spells are an order of magnitude higher. Simulacra can operate independently with the same goals and abilities of the caster. It’s more than just an illusion.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Pinkie repeated. “With all of us, we could take her down.”

“Maybe,” Twilight murmured. She looked up and gathered her hooves beneath her. “I’m ready. We need to find the others, wherever they are.” She climbed to her feet. “I’m completely drained right now. If she catches us—”

Pinkie shoved a hoof to Twilight’s lips, her ears twitching to face down the tunnel. Twilight turned to look. Crystals at a fork in the tunnel ahead reflected fiery orange light, and hoofsteps echoed in the silence. Pinkie shoved her into the crevice in the wall. Immediately, Twilight shut off her horn, plunging them into darkness.

As the hoofsteps drew closer, Twilight saw two figures wearing black hooded cloaks reflected in the crystal. One carried a blazing torch. “Hold on, I think I heard something,” one of them said.

They stopped moving. Twilight held her breath, nestled beside Pinkie in the crevice. Her pulse thundered in her ears.

A droplet of burning oil fell from the reflected torch and hissed when it hit the damp floor. “I don’t hear anything,” the other said. “Last time it was our reflection that scared you.”

“I didn’t know there would be so many crystals!” the first one. “Why’re we risking our lives down here anyway?”

“The boss said we needed to sweep the mines and find them,” the second replied. “What scares you more, the Grey Fox, or some stupid caves?”

“The right answer is caves,” a third voice said. A chill ran down Twilight’s spine; the voice belonged to Sunset Shimmer.

The two figures whirled, silhouetted in the crystal by a red flash. The torch went out. A terrified scream rang down the tunnel.

An icy blue glow replaced the light of the torch. Reflected in the crystal, Sunset Shimmer stood over two unmoving ponies. “Or more precisely, what’s in the caves.” She nudged one of the bodies with a hoof. The head turned and the black hood fell away. Blood leaked from around the pony’s lifeless eyes. “Pathetic,” Sunset Shimmer said. She slowly stepped forward, her horn flaring brighter. “Now what did you invaders hear? Two little rats, perhaps...”

“Sorry Twilight,” Pinkie whispered. Pinkie’s hoof struck Twilight in the chest. Twilight gasped, air forced from her lungs by the blow. A tingling wave passed through her body. She slumped forward, feeling herself go limp. Pinkie stepped back pushed her into the crevice, leaving her propped up inside. “You’re more important than I am.”

What did she do to me? Twilight thought, fighting to stay conscious as a blanket fell over her mind. Pinkie’s strike had brought her body to a chugging halt. Squirming weakly, she managed to raise her head enough to peer down the tunnel.

Pinkie ran past the crystals at the fork. “There you are!” Sunset Shimmer shouted. She galloped after Pinkie, her reflection growing larger until she passed the crystal. Blinking drowsily, Twilight watched as Sunset Shimmer turned down the other passage, following Pinkie.

Twilight’s heart pulsed in her ears, each beat slower than the last. As the blue glow from Sunset Shimmer’s horn receded, she noticed a faint shaft of light above her. She closed her eyes, unable to keep them open any longer.

Twilight started awake. Cold rocks constricted her in the darkness. Directly above, a shaft of light pierced the shadows. She lit her horn and revealed the small crevice she was tucked into. The fissure split the wall of the tunnel, climbing into the rock above. At the top of the crack, a jagged gap opened into another empty space. A rotten smell wafted down from above.

She gasped, remembering where she was, and struggled free from the crevice. She spilled out into the tunnel. Her hoof struck one of the rusty rails with a metallic clang. Wincing, she cradled her injured hoof close. Pinkie, she thought.

Before her eyes, a gout of green flame formed in the tunnel beside her. Spike materialized. He clutched an emerald the size of his fist. “Twilight!” he cried. “Finally!”

Twilight held a hoof to her lips and hissed. “Shhh!” Warily, she looked both ways down the tunnel, finding it dark and silent. “Finally what?” she whispered.

“I was able to return to you from the Celestial Plane,” Spike said in a hushed tone. “Something was blocking me.”

“How long?”

“Three days,” Spike said. “It all went dark after you teleported.”

“Three days,” Twilight murmured. “I hardly remember any of it.” She grabbed Spike by the shoulder. “Where are the others?! I have to find them!”

Spike gently pushed her hoof back down. “They’re looking for you. I told Celestia what happened, and she figured out that when I lost touch, you were somewhere under Canterlot. She got word to your friends.” He raised the emerald in his claw and peered at it. “They’re close,” he said. “I hope this works.”

Before Twilight could stop him, Spike threw the emerald at the wall. It smashed against the cave wall. Rather than cracking like she expected, it collapsed into a cloud of dust and flowed up the fissure in the wall. In its wake, it left a glimmering trail.

“What was that?” Twilight asked.

“I think it’s called a tracking stone.” Spike said. “It’ll find Rarity and lead her here.” He slowly turned, looking around the tunnel. “Where’s Pinkie?”

“She’s...” Twilight swallowed. “She led her away.”

“Her?”

“The one who intercepted the teleport,” Twilight said. “Somehow, she knew we were coming.” She shuddered and looked at the ground. “I couldn’t stop her.”

Spike wrapped his arms around her neck. “It’ll be okay, Twilight.” He squeezed her gently. “The others will be here soon.”

Twilight nuzzled Spike and rested her chin on his head. “I’m not letting it happen again,” she said, staring at her haggard reflection in one of the crystals in the wall.

“You’re not letting what happen?” Spike said.

Twilight gazed into her own hard eyes. “I’m not going to let someone die for me.”

Twilight sat beside Spike against the wall of the tunnel in complete darkness, waiting. She’d let her horn die a few minutes ago. Normally, producing light was effortless, but as the minutes passed, it became exhausting. She didn’t have enough energy to keep battling back the shadows. She rubbed her eyes, trying to guess how long it had been since Spike had found her.

Five minutes, maybe, she thought. Too long. Sunset Shimmer had probably caught Pinkie by now, one way or another. Is she still alive? Twilight wondered. Is Sunset Shimmer torturing her to find me? She shivered. Is Sunset Shimmer going to come back here?

She pulled her legs closer and leaned against Spike. The dragonling was warm, and the cave floor was like ice against her damp fur. “They’re coming, right?” Twilight whispered, as quietly as she could.

Spike stirred. “They’re coming.”

There’s nothing to do but sit tight, Twilight told herself. A faint clip-clop reached her ears. She froze, listening. The sound grew louder, until it became the beat of multiple trotting hooves.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” a voice she recognized as Rainbow Dash’s said, “Aren’t we supposed to be searching the mines?”

“Honestly, Rainbow, would I be trotting through sewers if I wasn’t sure?” Rarity said. “It’s disgusting!”

“They’re here!” Spike said.

“Twilight and Pinkie are missing, and that’s what you’re worried about!” Rainbow shouted. “What’s wrong with you!”

“Where are they?” Spike asked, his claws scraping on the stone as he moved around in the darkness.

Twilight looked up. Rainbow’s shout came from above. Soft blue light shafted down through the jagged opening at the top of the fissure, slowly growing brighter.

“Rainbow, lay off. We’re all doin’ our best,” Applejack said. “I know we’re all on edge, but taking it out on each other ain’t gonna do anypony any good. We’ll find them.”

Twilight swallowed, wetting her throat. “I’m down here!” she called out. Her voice echoed back at her.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy said.

“That’s what you said yesterday. Anything could be happening to them, and picky-hooves here is worried about sewage!” Rainbow said. “You know what’s in the gutters beside the streets in Ponyville, don’t you?”

Did they hear me? Twilight wondered. “Down here!” she called, this time a little louder.

“Do you hear that?” Fluttershy said.

Rarity’s sigh was audible. “Of course I do. I was trying to lighten—”

“Shut up!” Applejack said.

Rarity gasped. “Don’t snap at me, I’m—mmpph!”

“Shush,” Applejack hissed.

“We’re down here!” Spike called.

“There should be a crack in the floor!” Twilight added.

“Twilight!” Rainbow shouted. Air rushed past the opening above Twilight. Hooves touched down in the space above. A pebble fell down the fissure, clattering against the walls. A shadow blocked the light. “Are you okay?!”

Twilight lit her horn, providing them some light to see her by. “Relatively.”

Another pony joined Rainbow at the opening. “Thank goodness!” Rarity said.

“Stand clear down there. We’re coming through,” Applejack said.

Twilight blinked. The opening was far too small for a pony. “There’s no way you’ll fit!” When a rippling sound of stone against stone filled her ears, Twilight took a step back.

“Angel, dig,” Fluttershy said.

A massive rabbit’s paw made from rock shoved its way into the fissure. It ripped a chunk of stone free, shattering a crystal into fragments in the process. A second paw followed and widened the opening further. Angel shoved his head and shoulders into the opening and pawed at the rock. Dust spilled out into the mining tunnel.

Twilight took another step back, closing her eyes against the onslaught of tiny fragments. She sneezed. She opened her eyes and blinked back the dust. Angel stepped out into the tunnel beside her and Spike. Angel licked one of his front paws with a rocky tongue. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy looked down at her from the top of the passage Angel had opened up in the fissure.

Fluttershy’s eyes glowed briefly, and Angel shrank back down into a fluffy white rabbit. Rainbow jumped down, flaring her wings as she dropped. She landed with a spray of small rocks, nearly crashing into Twilight before she came to a stop in the tunnel. “Twilight,” she cried. She wrapped Twilight in a hug, folding her warm wings around them both.

Applejack slid down the sloping rubble with ease. When she reached the bottom, she looked both ways down the passage. “Where’s Pinkie?” she asked.

Twilight buried her face in Rainbow’s fur. “I don’t know,” she murmured. She heard another pony climbing down the rubble, slower and more cautiously than Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“We were hoping you’d be with her,” Rarity said. “We found her things in a cavern about half an hour ago.”

Twilight swallowed, feeling a tightness in her chest. “She was.” Her eyes burned. “I lost her.” She lifted her head and rested her chin on Rainbow’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Spike said. “I didn’t find them both.”

Rarity jumped the last couple of hoofspans and landed in the tunnel. “You did a great job, Spike. You found Twilight, and you led us to her. That’s all anypony could have expected.”

“Right,” Spike said, staring at the floor.

Fluttershy followed after Rarity. She flapped at the still air as she climbed down the slant of rubble left by Angel in the hole through the fissure. “Pinkie’s okay, right?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said. “She led her away.”

“Who?” Rarity asked.

Twilight pulled out of Rainbow’s embrace. “It doesn’t matter.” She took a deep breath. “What matters is finding Pinkie.” She stepped unsteadily forward.

“You don’t look so good, Twilight,” Applejack said. “We can get you somewhere safe, then look for her.”

Twilight shook her head. “No.” She clenched her jaw, steadying herself, and walked forward, taking the path Pinkie took. She didn’t look at the bodies down the other tunnel as she passed the fork. “I’m not leaving her with that monster for a second longer than I have to.”

Fluttershy gasped as she trotted after Twilight.

“Oh no...” Rarity said.

“Hold up, Twilight. We’ve got a couple of bodies,” Applejack said, placing a hoof on the small of her back. “What got ’em? Basilisk?” she said to the others.

Twilight sighed and turned around. “No.”

“They’re not petrified,” Rarity said from a few paces down the other passage, delicately pushing back one of the hoods with a dagger. “Just bleeding around the eyes.” She sadly shook her head. “If I knew they’d die down here, I wouldn’t have asked for help.”

“Death spell,” Twilight said. “I saw it, just before Pinkie led Sunset Shimmer away.” She glanced at the bodies. “They’re Thieves Guild, right?”

Rarity nodded.

“Death spell? Sunset Shimmer?” Rainbow asked, peering at her. “What exactly are we up against here?”

Twilight looked down, avoiding the eyes of her friends. “A powerful spellcaster, probably a wizard. She’s better than Star Swirl ever was.” She swallowed. “She had every move planned. Catching Pinkie and me wasn’t even hard for her.”

“What happened to you, Twilight?” Spike said from the middle of the group.

“I...” Twilight shivered. “I’ll tell you later. Go back to the Celestial Plane. If you can talk to Celestia, tell her I’m okay, and ask her if she knows anything about my...” She hesitated. The next word felt strange on her tongue. “‘Potential.’”

“What are you talking about, Twilight?” Spike asked, looking up at her. “I’m your familiar. You can tell me what happened.”

“There isn’t time,” Twilight snapped. “Just do it.”

“Fine,” Spike muttered. He vanished in a flash of green fire.

Applejack raised a brow. “Potential?”

Twilight bit her lip. “Come on,” she said, turning to continue down the tunnel. “Looking at bodies isn’t going to help Pinkie.”

In a chamber at a nexus of rusted railways, Twilight stopped. She looked down each of the three empty tunnels in front of her. “Argh!” She brought her hoof down on an old wooden tie. A satisfying crack rang out. “This place is a warren!” she shouted. Smooth crystals reflected the light of her horn, mocking her with her own frustrated glare.

“Now you know how we felt,” Rainbow said from the tunnel behind her.

Rarity stepped up beside her, casting blue light down the tunnels with her own horn. She touched her shoulder with a hoof. “We’ll find her, Twilight.”

A clatter echoed in the chamber. Twilight’s ears perked. “What was that?” she asked.

“Shh, lights out,” Applejack said.

Twilight nodded and put out her horn. A second later, when Rarity’s light faded as well, darkness surrounded them. Stone rippled against stone, like a torrent of pebbles falling down a slope. Something was moving in the tunnel. Twilight blinked when two glowing red points appeared in the dark. A moment later, many pairs joined the first. Reflections, she realized. Twilight peered down the left tunnel. Light glimmered faintly in the distance. A way out? she wondered.

Rarity’s horn glowed with a warm but dim aura. “Tunnel furthest to the right, round the bend,” she whispered.

Twilight squinted. Rarity’s magic had drowned out the glimmer. She looked down the right tunnel. In one of the crystals, she saw a long shape dragging itself along the ground. The creature’s wide-set, glowing red eyes framed its angular head.

“Got ’im,” Applejack replied. The metallic links of her chain clinked. She whirled, her hooves clopping, and bucked the chain with her hind legs.

With a crack, Truthseeker lashed out, it’s twin spikes flaring to life and leaving a streak across Twilight’s vision. It flew around the bend and impacted with a crunch. In the crystal, Twilight saw the tip of the chain strike and flip the creature out of view.

“All clear,” Applejack said. “Whew. That one was pretty close.”

Twilight lit her horn. “Was that a basilisk?”

Rarity nodded. “The old crystal mines have a bit of an infestation. Down here, with all the reflections, it’s hard to tell where they’re coming from. Light makes them agitated.”

Applejack tugged on her chain with her tail. “Yup. And if they look you in the eye, you get to find out what being a rock feels like. We’ve had to clear out a few.”

“It’s a defense mechanism,” Fluttershy murmured. “They only eat gems.”

“Sorry, them or us,” Rainbow said.

Applejack grabbed one of the chain’s links in her mouth and pulled again. “Stuck,” she muttered. She trotted down the right tunnel.

Twilight followed after Applejack and rounded the bend. Truthseeker pinned a six-hoofspan long lizard-like creature to the wall. Segmented layers of grey rocky armor ran down its body. Its four pairs of stumpy legs hung limply from its body. Applejack pressed her hoof against the basilisk’s body and pulled Truthseeker free.

“I saw something down the left tunnel when it was dark. I think it might have been a light from outside,” Twilight said. “If Pinkie saw it, that might have been the way she went.”

Applejack coiled Truthseeker around her tail. “Lead on, Twilight,” she said with a nod.

Twilight twisted back around in the narrow tunnel. “Right,” she said, stepping back into the chamber. She took the left path and put out her horn. A single point of light gleamed in the distance. Did she make it out? Twilight wondered. She re-lit her horn and trotted steadily forward.

The tunnel sloped gradually downward. The reassuring beat of her friends’ hooves accompanied her. As she progressed, the mining shaft grew wider. Multiple sets of rails from side passages converged and ran parallel down the tunnel. The density and size of the crystal formations gradually diminished. As they closed on the light at the end of the tunnel, it drowned out her horn. Soon, she was squinting to keep it at bay.

“So, where did you end up after the teleport?” Twilight asked.

“The ground floor of a Grey Wizard tower,” Rainbow said. “Didn’t you know where we were going?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not specifically. I knew we were going to Canterlot, but not exactly where. If I’d been here before, I might have been able to tell.” She sighed. “I didn’t think it would matter, so long as we were together. Did they give you any trouble?”

“Don’t worry,” Rarity said. “All it took was a little bribe and the only wizard there ignored us.”

Twilight noticed a single pink hair caught on a protruding railway spike and stopped abruptly. Rainbow grunted as she collided with Twilight’s tail. “Hey!”

Twilight pointed at the hair. “Look! She came this way.” She sucked in a breath as she looked closer. A droplet of blood stained the gravel near the rail. She reached out and touched the blood with her hoof. It was still wet.

With sudden fury, a rumble swept down the passage, shaking the ground beneath Twilight’s hooves. The roar of an explosion thundered past. Loose fragments rained down from the ceiling, nearly masking the scream that followed the blast.

“Pinkie?!” Twilight cried. She launched herself into a sprint. Her legs protested the sudden strain and her heart thundered in her chest, but she kept moving forward. The walls of the tunnel sped past. Panicked yells filled her ears.

Twilight galloped out of the mine shaft and into the burning light of day. Blinded, she slid to a stop in loose rubble. She blinked back the brightness, keeping her eyes open as long as she could manage. In the flashes of vision, she caught glimpses of her surroundings. A barrier shimmered in the air in front of her. A scrap of grey cloth fluttered in the wind. Grey spires and arches rose toward the sky.

Her eyes adjusted, and a smouldering crater resolved around her. Scattered corpses of unicorns clad in grey robes littered the ground beneath a dome-shaped magical barrier covering the center of the crater. More grey-robed unicorns stepped over their fallen. In the epicenter of the crater, Sunset Shimmer held her head high. Pinkie Pie lay motionless in the rubble beside the her. Blood stained her coat.

Twilight’s heart jumped into her throat. Her group rushed out of the tunnel behind her. Applejack slid past her on the rubble, nearly crashing into the dome-shaped barrier. Twilight drew her swords with cold purpose.

Sunset Shimmer turned her head and looked at Twilight. Even across the distance separating them, Twilight saw the corners of her mouth rise into a smirk. Two grey-robed unicorns moved in, flanking Sunset Shimmer. She ignored them, even when one of them fixed a suppressor around her horn.

“You’ll rot in Spellhold for what you’ve done,” one of the unicorns said.

With a roar, Twilight swung her swords at the barrier. Where they struck, the barrier pulsed, but stayed firm. She drew the blades back, readying another swing.

Applejack wrapped a hoof around her neck. “Twilight, stop,” she said.

A grey-robed unicorn walked directly up to the barrier, blocking Twilight’s view of Sunset Shimmer. “Clear off, citizens,” he said. “This area is quarantined.”

“One of them is my friend!” Twilight shouted. “Let us through!”

The unicorn chuckled. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. Your friend has been involved in an unauthorized use of magical energy.” He turned away sharply, adding. “If you attempt to breach the shield again, you will be violently stopped.”

“She’s an earth pony!” Twilight shouted. “How can she be involved?!”

The unicorn ignored her as he trotted away.

“What the hell?” Rainbow said, flaring her wings. “We need to help Pinkie!”

Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

“We will,” Rarity said. “The Grey Wizards clear off as soon as the spellcaster has been dealt with. When they’re gone, we’ll be able to help.”

Six grey-robed unicorns gathered near Sunset Shimmer. They stood at the points of a hexagon and lit their horns. A seventh stepped up and closed his eyes, forming a spell on his horn. A shimmering white portal ripped open in the center of the formation.

Twilight’s eyes widened. Books mentioned the possibility of horns being used instead of gems to form a gateway, but she’d never seen it done. The two unicorns flanking Sunset Shimmer linked their forelegs with hers and dragged her roughly toward the portal.

Sunset Shimmer turned her head, looking back at Twilight. “See you soon, Sparkle,” she said.

“Grab the earth pony,” the wizard who cast the Teleport spell said.

“What?” one of the others said.

“She displayed anti-magic characteristics when fighting the spellcaster. Bring her with us,” the wizard said.

“No!” Twilight cried.

Two grey-robed unicorns rushed to comply. Pinkie groaned as they lifted her to her feet. They pulled her toward the portal. “You can’t do this!” Twilight shouted.

She focused a spell. I have to try, she thought. She had no prepared magic, but she attempted to form Dispel Magic from scratch. Her head swam. Before she had the first pieces in place, the spell collapsed, fizzling pathetically on her horn.

Just before the two unicorns holding her stepped through the portal, Pinkie turned her head. Blood dripped from a gash above her eye. “It’s all a lie,” she said. She disappeared into the shimmering gateway as the wizards pulled her through.

Twilight fell back onto her haunches. “Pinkie...” Her swords fell from her levitation. She watched helplessly as the wizards filtered through the portal one by one, carrying the bodies of their fallen. When all the others were gone, The six ponies providing the points of the array began to step through. In a few seconds, the portal would shut.

Truthseeker slammed into the barrier beside her. Cracks spread from the point of impact. Rainbow Dash launched into the air and delivered an arcing slash along the surface of the dome, but Twilight knew it was already over. When the last of the ponies stepped through, the portal collapsed. The barrier vanished into thin air. Only rubble remained.

Not again.

Author's Note

Editors:
Nightmare Prose
Amacita

Thieves

Twilight trotted through the front doors of Candlekeep’s library. Bookshelves towered around her. Ahead, a familiar curving staircase rose to the upper levels. Beside the stairway, a counter waited, empty. Twilight furrowed her brows. There was always a chronicler at the counter.

Her hooves glided silently on the stone floor as she approached the counter. She set her forelegs on the wooden countertop and peered over it. “Hello?” she called into the empty space. “Is anypony here?”

“Nopony is here now,” a voice said from behind her.

Twilight whirled. Pinkie Pie stood between her and the door. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “You scared me, Pinkie.”

Pinkie didn’t even smile. “You didn’t save this place.”

Twilight blinked.

“You didn’t save Star Swirl.”

Twilight swallowed. She remembered. “I know.”

“You didn’t save me,” Pinkie said.

Sunset Shimmer stepped out of the shadows behind Pinkie Pie. A cruel, wavy blade floated in the icy blue aura of her levitation. Her eyes flashed red, and a screaming knife of pain drove into Twilight’s mind.

Twilight writhed on the floor of a crystal cavern. The shimmering bars of a Force Cage separated her from Sunset Shimmer. With a cold expression, Sunset Shimmer ran the tip of her dagger down Pinkie’s foreleg. Twilight screamed violet. She felt every instant like the dagger was passing through her own flesh.

“Do you see?” Sunset Shimmer said. Blood flooded out of the wound on Pinkie’s leg, pooling on the floor. Pinkie stared forward, her gaze empty and blank.

Sunset Shimmer wrapped a foreleg around Pinkie’s head. She ran the dagger from Pinkie’s ear to her shoulder. “Do you see?” she repeated.

Twilight clutched her head. “Stop!” she cried. “Please stop!”

“Don’t you feel it?” Sunset Shimmer asked.

“It hurts!” Twilight moaned.

Sunset Shimmer shoved Pinkie onto the ground. “Pathetic.” She turned away and dropped a potion on the floor. “You’ll feel it soon,” she said as she disappeared into the shadows.

Pinkie crawled forward, smearing blood on the stone. She snagged the potion with a forehoof and pulled the stopper out with her teeth. She drank greedily, and her wounds closed. She dropped the potion and looked up, fixing Twilight with a cold gaze. “Why didn’t you save me?” she said.

Warm tears ran down Twilight’s cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t strong enough.”

Twilight woke with a gasp. She pulled the soft sheets around her close. Soft white light slanting through a curtained window dimly illuminated the room she’d fallen asleep in last night. “Pinkie...” she whispered. She rubbed her eyes with her forehooves, smearing warm tears across her cheeks.

The events after she stepped out of the caves and into the Sun barely registered in her mind. Rarity had taken them somewhere safe. After a long, exhausting walk through winding streets, they had arrived at a mansion by the harbor where they could stay the night. The mansion belonged to the Thieves Guild.

“Twilight?” Spike said from the foot of the bed.

Blinking, Twilight pushed herself up into a sitting position. As she stirred, Spike clambered over the footboard. He rushed over and put his arms around her shoulders. She tensed.

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Spike said.

“What’re you doing?” Twilight said.

Spike flinched and drew back. “Comforting you...” he murmured, his eyes falling.

“I’m fine, Spike,” Twilight said, throwing off her blankets with a flick of magic.

Spike lifted his gaze and looked her in the eye. “I heard you say ‘it hurts!’ just before you woke up.”

Twilight turned away. “Just a dream,” she said as she slid out of the bed until her hooves touched the floor. “Did you get the chance to talk to Celestia while I was asleep?”

Spike shook his head. “I’m not letting you do this,” he said. “I may just be your familiar, but I’ve been with you every step of the way. I know when you’ve had a nightmare.” He slid off the bed and repositioned in front of her. “What hurt?” he asked, staring up at her sternly.

Twilight sighed. “You’re not just my familiar, Spike.” She reached out and brushed the spines on Spike’s head as she rose fully off the bed. “You’re my friend. I’m sorry.”

Spike dipped his head, color showing in his scales.

Twilight slowly walked past Spike and over to the window. “Sunset Shimmer hurt me. She hurt Pinkie too.”

Spike raised his head, his eyes widening with worry. “You mean... like torture?”

Twilight reached out with a hoof and opened a gap between the curtains. A grey sky greeted her. It was raining, or it would be soon. “I don’t know, Spike,” she said, letting the curtain fall. “Maybe it was torture.” A shiver ran down her spine. “She wanted something from me. She kept talking about my potential.”

Spike followed her over to the window. He rested his elbows on the sill. “When I asked Celestia about your potential, all she said is she had high hopes. There was... something in her eyes though. I don’t know how to describe it.”

Twilight chewed on the inside of her cheek. “That’s all she had to say?”

Spike nodded.

Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof, near the base of her horn. “I think I need some time alone to think things over, if you don’t mind. I’d explain more, but... it’s hard. I don’t even remember a lot of it.” She moved her hoof down, touching her stomach. She had no physical scars from her experiences in the cave. How long was that spike in me? she wondered. I shouldn’t be alive.

“Okay,” Spike said as he turned away from the window. “I understand.” He headed for the door.

As he reached up for the handle, Twilight turned around. “Spike, could you see about getting me something to eat. Please?” She hardly felt hungry, but she knew after her ordeal she needed to eat something.

Spike nodded. “I can do that. I’m a messenger.” He opened the door. “Maybe someday I’ll actually be able to help,” he muttered.

Before Twilight could open her mouth, Spike slammed the door shut behind him. She sighed and rubbed her temple. “You do help, Spike,” she murmured.

Twilight sat at the desk beside the window in her room. Droplets of water clung to the thick glass panes. The wind pushed choppy waves across the bay outside. Grey clouds blanketed the sky, drizzling water into the ocean. Beneath her window, ponies carried heavy crates on their backs toward a huge three-masted carrack moored at a pier over a hundred hoofspans away. Bands of metal armor gleamed along the sides of the vessel. A distant forepony shouted angry orders.

Canterlot Harbor, Twilight thought as she gazed out at the bay. It’s not as big as Manehattan’s. She looked down at the desk. On it was her watch, and a plate full of scrambled eggs and mushrooms. With a fork, she prodded at her breakfast.

Grimacing, she dropped the fork and floated the watch up to eye level. Are you hiding something? she wondered. She focused her magic. She had managed to prepare her full compliment of spells that morning; casting a first level spell like Identify was almost inconsequential now that she had a night’s rest, especially with the aid of the Ring of Wizardry she wore on her horn. Immediately, she knew the watch did more than tell time.

Layered in beneath the Alteration enchantment driving the arrows around the face of the watch was a subtle Divination effect. The effect reminded her of a key, and though she could not tell the exact properties of the enchantment, she could rule out any form of scrying. The wizard Cadance asked to check the watch was correct; it was harmless.

How could Sunset Shimmer have known I had it anyway? And all it did was get a little warm. She rubbed her eyes. I’m jumping at shadows. If there was any reason to think that the watch could be used to track me, I would have left it in the caves. She frowned. Then how? she wondered. How did she pluck me from interplanar space? She flicked the watch open. It was a quarter after nine.

With a sigh, Twilight set down the watch and picked up a forkful of eggs. She stared at it, noting the black flecks of pepper. You were tortured in a cave for three days, she reminded herself. You have to eat. She slid the eggs into her mouth and swallowed. She’d let them get cold. Frowning, she shoveled down another bite, hardly chewing.

Twilight pulled Star Swirl’s journal out of a bag beside the desk. She’d secreted it away inside a pack of her traveling gear she kept in Rarity’s Bag of Holding. She set it beside her plate and flicked it open. With her magic, she picked up a ready quill and dipped it in ink. Midway down the page, after her last entry, she set her pen to the page. She wrote while she ate.

The 24th of Rotting 944

I had another nightmare last night, the first one in a long time.

The ones without the Specter are the worst. Despite the red eyes and the skull, I’ve come to find its presence comforting. While I do not believe it is my friend, I do not think it is my enemy. This nightmare had Sunset Shimmer instead. She hurt me, and she hurt Pinkie Pie.

What disturbs me most is the possibility that this nightmare contained the fragments of a memory.

I have to find Pinkie, wherever they took her.

A knock came at the door to the room. Twilight quickly blew on the ink and flicked the journal shut. She slid it into her pack and turned. “Come in!” she said.

Rarity pushed the door open. She stepped into the room and stood beside the four-poster bed where Twilight had slept that night. “Hey, Twilight,” she said. “How’re you feeling?”

How’re you feeling? Twilight repeated in her head. She looked out the window and absently speared the last mushroom on her plate. Are you okay? She bit the inside of her cheek. What do you think, Rarity? “I’m fine,” she said.

In her peripheral vision, she saw Rarity sit down on the bed. “We found her things,” she said, reaching into her Bag of Holding. “It can’t have been more than an hour or two before we found you.”

Twilight set her fork down, turning to Rarity as she pulled out a set of items from the bag. Rarity blinked, her eyes glistening as she placed Pinkie’s cloak, her sash, and her shoes on the covers of the bed. “I can’t shake the feeling that we just missed you just after you made your own escape. I think the thieves snooping around in the mines drew your captor away. If we had been there a few minutes sooner...”

“You couldn’t have known,” Twilight said as she stood and slowly walked over to the bed.

Rarity looked at the floor. “I should have.” She swallowed. “I’m sorry. I told you they’d leave her behind. I thought they would. She was an earth pony! We could have—”

Twilight rested a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault, Rarity,” she said. It was mine, she thought.

“I knew you’d say that,” Rarity said, glancing up at her with a small smile. “Don’t blame yourself either, okay?”

Twilight looked away, focusing on Pinkie’s sash. “We’re going to save her, no matter what it takes.” She gestured at the items on the bed. “Hold on to those. Pinkie’s going to need them.”

Rarity slowly nodded and started to float the objects back into her bag. “I came up to tell you that the Grey Fox wants to talk to you.”

Twilight sighed and stood up. “I suppose he thinks I owe him something.” She picked up her swords from where they leaned against the desk with her magic.

“I did promise him our help with his problem if he helped find you, and he did,” Rarity said. She held up a hoof, pointing at her swords. “Don’t bring those. He’ll think it’s disrespectful. We’re his guests, under his protection.”

“The situation has changed,” Twilight said. “We have to find Pinkie. What will happen if I refuse to return his favor?”

Rarity shook her head. “He’s not like that.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “He runs the Thieves Guild, Rarity. I think I’ll keep my swords.”

“If you insist,” Rarity said. She stood up from the bed and opened the door. “Come on, you shouldn’t keep him waiting. We don’t have many friends here.”

Twilight approached an open door at the end of a hall. A layer of plush crimson carpeting in the hallway cushioned the fall of her hooves. On the far side of the door, a unicorn with an off-white coat and a two-toned pink mane sat on a heavy desk in the center of a marble floored office. She was tall and slender. Her hooves glinted with polish, and she held her head with a smooth grace. She conversed in hushed tones with a pony sitting in a cushioned chair turned away from the door. Around the high curved back of the chair, Twilight could only see the white muzzle of a stallion.

As Twilight approached the doorway, a burly earth pony stepped out of an alcove and blocked her path. He eyed her with a scowl. “Swords,” he said, holding out a hoof.

The mare turned her head and looked at Twilight. Her heavy purple eye shadow almost hid the sharpness in her eyes. She whispered something as she gracefully slid off the desk. The stallion in the chair turned. His horn split his blue hair into a perfect part. He wore a crisp black suit. The mustache on his lip twitched as he smirked. “Bouncer, let Twilight Sparkle in,” he said.

“Your funeral,” Bouncer said as he stepped aside.

Twilight raised her head and walked into the office. Her hooves clopped sharply on the marble as she crossed the threshold. She paused a few paces into the room and glanced around. Golden trim lined the floors and ceiling. White curtains hung over large windows, letting in muted light. “You wanted to see me?” Twilight said.

“Indeed I did,” the stallion said. He clapped his hooves together. “Bouncer, why don’t you close the door?”

Bouncer reached for the door handle, muttering, “Why do I even bother?” He slammed it shut. Twilight tensed, nearly flinching, at the loud bang.

“I see you’ve come dressed to impress?” the stallion said. “The clothes make the mare, I always say.” He glanced at his companion. “Don’t I always say that?” The mare smiled at him as she walked toward a couch beneath the windows.

Twilight blinked. “Excuse me?”

“Your swords,” the stallion said. “You dress like a warrior.”

Twilight shrugged. “What does that have to do with anything?”

The stallion gestured at a straight-backed chair on the far side of his desk. “Come, have a seat.”

Twilight stepped forward and settled into the chair. The mare climbed onto the couch and picked a book up off the table beside it. She flicked it open.

The stallion extended his hoof across the desk. “Most ponies know me as the Grey Fox, but you can call me Fancy Pants,” he said with a wink.

Twilight tentatively extended one of her forehooves. “Twilight Sparkle, but you already knew that.”

Fancy Pants gripped her hoof and shook it vigorously. “It’s good to meet you, Baroness,” he said, grinning. “I trust the accomodations were to your liking.”

Twilight pulled her hoof away. “What do you want?”

Fancy Pants reached up and tapped his chin thoughtfully. “That’s really an excellent question. A warm safe place to sleep at night. A nice, big family. A smattering of wealth and power. Happiness, I suppose.” He shrugged. “For now, I think I’d settle for a bit of gratitude.”

Twilight groaned. “Sorry.” She leaned forward and held her head in her hooves. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

Fancy Pants gestured at his suit. “What am I?”

Twilight looked up and peered at him. “I don’t know yet.”

Fancy Pants pointed at her. “You dress like a warrior.” He tapped his chest. “I dress like a businesspony, and I am a businesspony.”

Twilight quirked a brow. “A businesspony? I thought I was speaking to a thief.”

Fancy Pants chuckled. “Am I not what you expected? Should I be wearing a mask?” He gestured at the room around them. “Should this be an underground lair?” He leaned forward, propping his forelegs on the desk. “Let me ask you something, Twilight. If I am a thief, why don’t I have to hide? Why am I here, in plain sight, in a waterfront mansion?”

“Is it because you’ve bribed law enforcement officials?” Twilight said.

Fancy Pants grinned and drummed the desk with a hoof. “Hah! Good answer.” He leaned forward. “The Thieves Guild exists because everypony benefits more by having us than by getting rid of us. I am a businesspony, and I maintain my position by making good investments.” He eyed Twilight Sparkle. “I lost some good ponies trying to find you, because rumor has it, you and your friends are very good at what you do.”

Twilight pushed her chair back. “Sorry to disappoint. I’m not a warrior, and I’m not a good investment. All I am is a pony who wants her friend to be safe.” She stood up. “You might have heard about what happened to Pinkie Pie. I won’t let anypony stop me from getting her back.” She glared at Fancy Pants. “I don’t care what debt you think I owe you. I don’t care about what you want from me. I will not abandon my friend.” She turned away from the desk. “Again, thank you for your hospitality, but me and my friends are going to leave.”

“And do what?” Fancy Pants asked.

Twilight paused. “I don’t know,” she murmured, hanging her head. She closed her eyes, remembering a moment from her nightmare.

‘Why didn’t you save me?’

“You can’t fight the Grey Wizards, Twilight Sparkle.” Fancy Pants said. “Not alone. They bested the spellcaster that captured you.”

Twilight whirled. “I will fight them!” She slammed her hooves down on the desk. “I will tear them to pieces until they let her go, or they take me where they took her!”

Fancy Pants calmly looked up at her. “Admirable.” He smiled. “What if I told you I had a better way?”

“What?!” Twilight shouted. “If you know how to find her, and you haven’t told me—”

Fancy Pants placatingly held up a hoof. “No, Spellhold’s location is a well-kept secret. However, I believe my organization has the power to get you access.” He eyed her. “In the meantime, I need you to do something for me.”

“And how do I know you won’t leave me out to dry once I’ve done what you ask?” Twilight said.

“You don’t,” Fancy Pants said. “But do you have a better option?”

Twilight slumped back into her chair with a sigh. “No.”

“Excellent,” Fancy Pants said with a grin. “There’s a tavern in the slums called the Copper Coronet. It’s a Thieves Guild operation, and I think the pony in charge there is moving behind my back. I need somepony to investigate.”

Twilight furrowed her brows. “That isn’t all, is it?”

“If it was, would I need a warrior?” Fancy Pants said. “I’ve already sent somepony to look into the Copper Coronet. The problem is, I haven’t heard back.” He looked Twilight in the eye. “There’s a war in the shadows. You help me win it, and I will get you to your friend.”

“Alright,” Twilight said. “How do I begin?”

“The first thing you’re going to need is a license to practice magic within the city. From what I hear, you’ll need one,” Fancy Pants said.

Twilight blinked. “I already prepared spells, and cast one this morning. Will that be a problem?”

“Was it over third level?” the mare on the couch said without looking up from her book. Her voice was smooth and carried a foreign accent.

“What?” Twilight said.

The mare set her book down. “Le spell you cast. Was it over third level?”

Twilight shook her head.

“They can track magic, but they only seem to mind those with significance,” the mare said. “Not every unicorn with a magic trick needs to be monitored.”

Fancy Pants tapped his hoof on his desk. “Fleur, why don’t you see to it that Twilight gets her license?”

Fleur smiled as she rose off the couch. “It would be my pleasure.” She strode up to Twilight. “When would you like to leave?”

“The sooner, the better,” Twilight said. “I was planning on speaking to the Grey Wizards anyway.”

Twilight rode inside of an enclosed carriage. Despite the cushion on the seat, every bump reverberated through her as the wheels clattered over the rough cobblestone street. She sat wedged between the outer wall and Rarity, with the mare the Grey Fox called Fleur directly across from her. With six ponies, all of her friends and Fleur, the seats in the carriage were cramped.

I should have insisted on walking, Twilight thought as she stared out the small square window in the carriage door. Fleur had suggested the carriage, probably for her benefit. I’m not the same filly I was in Candlekeep, she reminded herself. She’d traveled, and she’d learned to endure. She’d made it from the mine entrance on the mountainside to the docks yesterday, even after everything.

The weathered buildings lining the narrow street passed outside the window as the carriage wound its way around a tight turn. The stench of urban filth filled the air. A pony wrapped in rags walking along the side of the street paused and looked up at her with hungry eyes as she passed. Twilight looked away.

“There is a bit of a slum between the docks and the government district up the mountain,” Fleur said. “We should be clear of it soon.”

“Isn’t there a sewer system in the city?” Twilight asked, wrinkling her nose.

“There is higher up the mountain,” Applejack said. “These folks just get the manure that washes down from above.” She blanched. “And here we are, traipsing through in a gilded carriage. Ain’t right.”

“I’m surprised somepony hasn’t tried to rob us yet,” Rainbow said, glancing out the window warily.

Rarity shook her head. “Nopony steals from the Thieves Guild.”

Applejack frowned and folded her forelegs. “Ya got that right. They’re too terrified. Probably get their hooves chopped off by some thug.” She looked at Twilight and Rarity. “Why are we still working with these ponies anyway? I mean, they helped us find you, but—”

“And now they’re going to help us find Pinkie,” Twilight snapped. She glanced at Fleur. The mare wore a small smile; if she was offended, she didn’t show it.

“We’re heading to see the Grey Wizards, aren’t we?” Fluttershy asked, her voice barely rising over the clatter of the wheels. “Maybe we can talk to them and work things out.”

“Maybe,” Twilight said. “They did arrest Sunset Shimmer. Maybe they aren’t unreasonable.” She eyed Fleur. “If the Grey Wizards are cooperative, we wouldn’t need the Thieves Guild, would we?”

Fleur shrugged. “Per’aps.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes, peering at Fleur. “Who are you, anyway? I remember Fancy Pants, but not you.”

Fleur smiled. “No, I don’t believe I’ve ’ad the pleasure.” She extended a hoof. “Fleur De Lis.”

Rarity shook Fleur’s offered hoof. “Rarity.”

Fleur dipped her head. “I know. Fancy Pants tells me many stories from before ’e reached the position at the ’ead of our organization.”

“What do you do for him?” Twilight asked. “Are you a wizard?”

Fleur shook her head. “I am not a wizard.”

“She’s probably his lover,” Rarity whispered in Twilight’s ear.

Twilight twitched her ear in annoyance and focused on Fleur. “You seemed to know a lot about the magic regulations.”

Fleur nodded. “I am in the business of knowing things. You ask many questions, no? I am ’ere to answer them.”

“What do you know about Spellhold?” Twilight asked.

“Mmm, Spell’old,” Fleur said with a knowing smile. “They call it an asylum. Some ponies are gifted with unique magical abilities, and they say it protects us from them. Typically, if you break the rules, you pay a fine. But if the Grey Wizards cannot control you, they send you to Spell’old. It is a prison, really.”

Twilight frowned, glancing at the floor of the carriage. “I don’t suppose you have any idea where it is either.”

“The Grey Wizards ’ave many secrets. Spell’old’s location is their favorite one to keep,” Fleur said. “No road reaches it, and no ship will take you there.”

Twilight took a deep breath and leaned her head back. I’ll find you, Pinkie, and I don’t need a ship or a road to do it.

As soon as the Carriage came to a lumbering stop, Twilight shoved the door open and jumped onto the pavement, glad to be free. In the middle of stepping aside to allow others out after her, she froze in her tracks, one foreleg cocked in midair. The spires of Canterlot Castle towered above her.

The structure emerged from the mountainside, leaning out over the slopes below. Aqueducts poured flows of pure glacial water into reservoirs and channels. Rich purple and gold roofs covered walls and turrets built from grey stone.

Twilight slowly turned her gaze down, off the edge of the cobblestone road that switch-backed up the mountain to the gates of the castle. Urban sprawl spilled down the slope, flowing like a mudslide until it reached the bay beneath the mountain. Warrens of narrow roads wound through the grey-shingled roofs.

Beyond the boundaries of the city, a patchwork of farms and collections of huts rolled toward the horizon, broken by the blue threads of rivers and channels. Shafts of sunlight flared through the thin layer of clouds above the city, marking the end of the scheduled rainfall. The faraway specks of flying pegasi pushed plumes of moisture across the sky. In the distance, beyond the farmlands, the green mass of the Everfree Forest creeped across the landscape.

“Beautiful, no?” Fleur said from beside her.

“Yeah,” Twilight said. She hadn’t seen much of the city. On the way to the guildhouse, she’d kept her eyes on her hooves, and on the carriage ride all she could see was a small rectangle out the window. She glanced up at the gleaming golden highlights on the castle and furrowed her brows. Below them were the same stinking slums they’d passed through to reach the gates.

Fleur followed her gaze. “The castle was built ’ere almost four ’undred years ago by Empress Radiance.”

Applejack stepped around from the far side of the carriage. “I’ve been meaning to ask... how does it stick out from the mountain like that? Looks unstable.”

“The Empress allowed a small group of wizards to mine the crystals within the mountain, and in return they ’elped ’er with its construction,” Fleur explained. She turned away and walked up to the team of ponies that pulled them up the mountain. She whispered something to the lead pony and passed him a few bits.

“Canterlot isn’t like Manehattan,” Twilight mused quietly.

Rainbow quirked a brow at her, rounding the carriage behind Applejack. “It’s not? Could’ve fooled me. Tons of ponies, and everyone in charge is out to get us.”

“I was talking about how Manehattan was a city before the Time of Troubles, and Canterlot was built after,” Twilight said. “You can’t see the same echos, like the straight streets.”

As Rarity and Fluttershy climbed out of the carriage, Fleur flicked her muzzle toward the castle gate. “Shall we?” she said.

Twilight languished on a low couch, fiddling with her watch hanging from its chain around her neck. She glanced around the room. A golden framed portrait depicted a spectacled unicorn staring down her nose. Twilight’s friends were waiting outside in the castle’s courtyard; Fleur could only get her inside to speak to the Grey Wizards.

Hearing Fleur’s dainty laugh, Twilight looked up. Fleur walked in through a curtained doorway with a short unicorn in a grey robe beside her. “This is Silver Quill,” Fleur said, nodding at the pony beside her.

Silver Quill beamed at Twilight. “Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I’ll be your licensing representative today.”

Twilight flipped open her watch. She’d been waiting for nearly fifteen minutes. “Great,” she said as she climbed off her couch, trying to inject polite cheer into her voice.

“Twilight here needs a license to perform magic within Canterlot,” Fleur said.

“No she doesn’t,” Silver Quill said.

“Excuse me?” Twilight said, glaring.

Silver Quill pointed at her chest with his hoof. “You already have one.”

Twilight took a half step back. “Huh?”

“Your watch,” Silver Quill said.

Blinking, Twilight looked down at the watch hanging around her neck. “Are you sure?”

Silver Quill reached out with a hoof. “May I?” he asked.

Twilight nodded slowly.

Silver Quill laced his levitation around Twilight’s watch and floated it into his hoof. His horn lit with a brief glow. “Yes, this is definitely a license, though I’ve never seen one quite like it. Only a few of these have ever been issued, or so I hear.” He leaned closer, his nose almost touching the silver locket. “You can cast any spell you want with this, no restrictions. You’re practically a Grey Wizard.” He looked up, eyeing her. “You didn’t know what it was?”

“It was a gift,” Twilight said. “I thought it just told time.”

Silver Quill flipped the watch over, peering at the blank back plate. “It hasn’t been keyed yet. We’d better get that done, or somepony might think you stole it.” He winked. “It’ll just be a quick spell.”

“I didn’t steal it!” Twilight snapped.

“Of course not,” Silver Quill sputtered. “Just, with your company—” he said. “Anyways, it’ll just be a quick spell.”

“Alright,” Twilight said hesitantly, glancing at Fleur. Her guide’s eyes betrayed a hint of surprise. She seems as confused as I am, Twilight thought.

Silver Quill closed his eyes and focused a flare of magic on his horn. “You might feel a brief tingle.”

A faint aura of magic flowed over Twilight’s coat. Lines of energy etched Twilight’s Mark into the back plate of the watch. The glow faded from Silver Quill’s horn, and he slowly opened his eyes. “There you are,” he said as he let the watch go. “Is there anything else I can help you with today, M’lady?”

Twilight lifted the watch in her levitation and peered at her Mark on the back plate. “Could this be used to track me?”

Silver Quill shook his head emphatically. “Absolutely not. All the enchantment does is respond to spells cast by its wearer, informing us that the spellcasting is legal.”

“What if I were teleporting?” Twilight asked.

Silver Quill tapped his chin with a hoof. “Well, a license of that type does authorize you to use our gateways. And, of course, that sort of activity would be monitored. But, I can assure you that the gateway network is managed for the safety of all involved.”

“Right,” Twilight said, pursing her lips. Maybe Sunset Shimmer was working with somepony in the Grey Wizards, she thought. “You said this watch practically makes me a Grey Wizard?”

Silver Quill shifted on his hooves. “Well, sort of.”

“Could it get me into Spellhold?” Twilight asked.

Silver Quill blinked at her. “No... the point of the licence is to keep you out of—” He chuckled. “Oh. Very funny.”

“I’m serious,” Twilight said. “Your organization took my friend.”

“Oh,” Silver Quill said. “I’m so very sorry. If your friend is in Spellhold, I’m afraid you won’t be seeing them again.”

“Is there any way they could be released?” Twilight asked. “Can’t anything be done? She’s not even a spellcaster!”

“I’m sorry,” Silver Quill said. “Nopony sentenced to Spellhold can leave.”

Twilight gritted her teeth and looked down. She wanted to scream at Silver Quill. She wanted to draw her swords. She wanted Pinkie, not apologies. She wanted blood, and she could have it. What good would that do? she asked herself. Wordlessly, she turned and trotted for the door.

“That will be everything, Silver Quill,” Fleur said quickly. “Thank you for your ’elp.”

Twilight stepped out into the castle courtyard. She spotted her friends waiting on benches around a fountain near the main gates. They waved, seeing her. With a grim expression, she trotted over to them, Fleur following a few steps behind.

When Twilight reached the fountain, she whirled on Fleur. “You knew!” she shouted, ignoring the two statuesque Royal Canterlot guards in gleaming armor flanking the gates.

“I am sorry,” Fleur said. “Usually, the licences are small tokens, like a coin.”

“Knew what?” Rainbow asked, climbing off a bench.

“Did something go wrong?” Rarity said as she stood.

“That’s not what I meant!” Twilight said, still focused on Fleur. “You knew they wouldn’t help!”

Fleur dipped her head. “I could ’ave told you nopony leaves Spell’old, but would that ’ave stopped you from asking? You needed to ’ear it for yourself.” She looked into Twilight’s eyes. “You need to trust us, Twilight, if you want to see your friend. We are the only allies you will find in Canterlot.”

Twilight flared her nostrils and glared at Fleur. “If you’re using me, and if you don’t help me save her, you will regret it.”

Fleur glanced at Applejack. “Regardless of you and your friends’ feelings, we are not villains. If you ’elp us, we will ’elp you.”

Snorting, Twilight turned and headed out the gates. The carriage still waited for them on the road. She stopped at the edge of the road and looked down at the slums on the slopes far beneath the castle. “You’ll help us, like you helped them?” she asked, looking back at Fleur and pointing. “If the Grey Fox gets a return on his investments, does it matter that ponies are suffering?”

Fleur stepped up beside her and sighed. “We don’t run the city. Canterlot’s nobility governs from beneath the ’oof of the Grey Wizards.” She gestured at the slums. “What we give them is a chance to taste prosperity.”

“Fine,” Twilight said, spinning away from the edge. “Let’s get to the Copper Coronet, but when we’ve solved the Grey Fox’s problem, he’d better come through.”

Twilight’s hooves splashed in the mud when she stepped out of the carriage. She looked up at the building in front of her. A copper circlet gleamed on the sign above the door.

Paint stripped from the walls of the building, revealing bare patches of aging wood. As she looked up at the gutters, a loose shingle slid off the roof and plummeted into the mud at her feet. Twilight stepped back, making a face. “This is it?” she said.

Rarity slid out of the carriage behind her. “Doesn’t look like much.”

“Ah, Rarity,” Fleur said, still seated in the carriage. “You should know looks can be deceiving. Though the exterior may be rough, even the wealthy are delighted by what they can find inside.”

Rainbow joined them in front of the building. “So, let me guess, we’re a bunch of rich nobles here to enjoy ourselves?”

Fleur chuckled and pointed at one of Rainbow’s wingblades. “I don’t think so.”

“Then what’s the plan?” Twilight asked.

“Be yourselves,” Fleur said.

Fluttershy looked up at the building as she climbed out after Rarity. “I don’t think I’d go in there.”

Applejack hoofed the brim of her hat as she stepped around the back of the carriage. “Ourselves?” She eyed Fleur. “Weren’t we supposed to be spies or something?”

“You are,” Fleur said. “They know me, but they don’t know you.” She reached back and tapped the wall of the carriage behind her head. “Find out what you can.”

“Wait,” Twilight said, looking over her shoulder. “You’re not coming with with us?”

“This is where we part,” Fleur said as the carriage lurched into motion. She waved a hoof, and shut the door with a flick of her levitation.

Twilight stared after the carriage as it clattered away. “Be ourselves?” she murmured.

Applejack shrugged and walked up to the door. “Here goes nothing,” she said, pushing it open. Raucous laughter spilled out from inside the building.

Twilight took a deep breath and faced the door. Simple, Twilight told herself. We’re noponies. She stepped forward and filtered through the door with her friends.

Author's Note

Editors:
Nightmare Prose
Amacita

Skinstealers

Twilight’s ears rang. Her eyes were closed. The smell of burning flesh assaulted her nostrils. Heat radiated onto her face. Taking a step back, she cracked her eyes open. Ash and smoke flurried through the air, forcing her to squint.

A few paces away, a body lay facedown in the dirt of the arena. Its back was little more than a charred mass. If it had ever had Marks on its flanks, they had been scorched away. It was hard to tell if the body belonged to a pony at all.

As the ringing left Twilight’s skull, screams replaced it. Ponies fled from a smouldering crater in the stands. Scorched bodies were melted to the remains of the wooden benches. What did I do? Twilight thought. She swallowed; she knew she should feel horror or remorse, but nothing came. All she had was a knot settled deep in her belly.

“Twilight, look out!” Rainbow Dash cried from the stands.

While she stared at the smouldering crater, a cold, hard mass impacted her side. Two sharp points drove into the back of her neck. When her skin was breached, her contingency fired, encasing her in a layered stony shell, but the spell could not stop what had already happened. One layer of protection instantly shattered when she slammed face first into the ground. Her swords fell from her levitation.

For an instant, the world stopped. She felt something—a twinge, like an ethereal string pulling at her heart. Instinctively, she pulled back. Shadows bled into the edges of her vision.

“Get off her!” Rainbow shouted.

A blast of air tore through her mane, tossing whatever was on her back away. As soon as the points left her neck, her Stoneskin sealed over the holes. As Rainbow’s hooves touched down on the dirt beside her, she pushed herself into a sitting position. She spotted Celestial Fury in the dirt, and quickly snatched it up.

Before she could stand, a creature lunged at her. She recognized its dark carapace and pupiless, demonic eyes. Changeling, she thought. With a thunk, a crystalline arrow punched into it, directly beneath its misshapen horn.

Twilight didn’t wait to see if Rarity’s arrow took it down. Celestial Fury’s edge whistled as she swung it in an arc in front of her. It cleaved through the monster’s chest, trailing globules of black ichor. Black? Twilight thought. It should have been green.

Even with her haste spell, she didn’t have time to ponder. As the monster in front of her crumpled, two more closed in on both sides. She rose fully onto all four hooves as she triggered the Sequencer in her necklace. Ten lavender orbs ripped into the one on her left as she stepped back and repositioned her sword to defend against the one on her right.

Truthseeker smashed into the side of the demon closing on her right. The twin spikes punched clean through, their tips poking through the monster’s carapace. A mist of ichor hung in the air for a moment, aerosolized by the impact.

Rainbow intercepted Twilight’s other attacker with a whirling lunge. Staggered from the impact of the Magic Missiles, the monster had no time to dodge. Rainbow hit it with a flurry of blows, leaving three cris-crossing gashes in its chest. It fell, hitting the ground a split second after the one struck by Applejack’s chain.

As the last Changeling hit the dirt, Twilight glanced around the arena, looking for more. Seeing none, she fell back onto her haunches, her heart thundering in her chest. “We clear?” Rainbow shouted.

“We’re clear,” Applejack called.

Twilight turned her gaze to the ground, searching for Solstice. She blinked when she got a good look at the bodies. They were like the Changelings she remembered, but their fangs were more pronounced, their coloration was darker, and distinctive spikes protruded from their carapace. She furrowed her brows. There were four bodies, and the four slaves she’d hit with sleep spells earlier were nowhere to be found.

“Twilight,” Rainbow said.

Four? Twilight thought. She’d only seen three go down. The fourth was sprawled motionless on the ground with no visible wounds. Solstice’s hilt protruded from beneath the body. She took a step closer, watching the creature warily as she lifted it off her sword.

“Twilight!” Rainbow said.

Twilight gasped. Before her eyes, the other corpses were dissolving into a shadowy mist. Celestial Fury and Truthseeker were both demonslaying weapons; only the one Rainbow Dash killed with her wingblades should be able to return to the Abyss. “Do you see that?” Twilight said as she picked up Solstice.

Rainbow Dash grabbed her by the shoulder. “Twilight, look at me!” she shouted.

Twilight brought her gaze up, focusing on Rainbow.

“What did you do!?” Rainbow shouted, pointing at the crater left in the wooden stands by her Fireball. “Why!?”

Twilight looked past Rainbow at the burnt corpses, the knot returning to her stomach. “I didn’t mean to.” She turned her eyes back to Rainbow. “Where’s Fluttershy?”

“She left because she couldn’t sit there and watch you do something wrong, and I almost wish I had too!” Rainbow said. “I thought I’d have to watch you kill some ponies, not dozens! I know they were bad, but you didn’t have to do...” She gestured at the stands. “That!”

Twilight looked down at the corpses again. All of them, except for the one without visible wounds, had vanished into black clouds seeping across the floor. “Look, Dash, we have bigger problems right now,” she said. She focused on Rainbow’s eyes. “There are Changelings, and we’re missing Fluttershy. What I need to know is: are you with me?”

Rainbow let her gaze drop. “Of course I’m with you, Twilight, but—”

“Great,” Twilight interrupted. She turned up to the stands. Applejack and Rarity looked down at her, on the opposite side of the ring from where the Fireball had hit. All the other spectators had fled. “Rarity, toss me the bag,” Twilight called.

Rarity slipped the Bag of Holding off her neck and floated it down to Twilight in her levitation. “You really didn’t know?” she asked.

Twilight snatched the bag out of the air and drew it open, widening the mouth enough to swallow the corpse of the Changeling. “Of course not,” she said. “Killing animals is one thing, but—” She paused, shaking her head as she scooped the Changeling into the Bag of Holding.

“Then what about the ponies in the stands?!” Rainbow shouted.

With a thought, Twilight brought a Dimension Door spell to completion, teleporting up to Rarity and Applejack. After a brief moment of disorientation, she passed the bag back to Rarity. “Twilight!” Rainbow yelled as she launched off the floor of the ring. She whirled through the enclosed space and landed in front of Twilight. “I want some answers!”

“I do think you owe us an explanation,” Rarity said as she looped the bag around her neck.

“What for?” Applejack asked. “She stopped something terrible.” She glanced across the ring at the crater. “Though maybe she overdid it.”

Twilight followed Applejack’s gaze. Smoke rising from the smouldering embers clogged the air near the ceiling. “We don’t have time to discuss this.” She turned, looking around the stands, and spotted a stairway. “Is that where Fluttershy went?” she asked, pointing.

“Right, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said. She spread her wings and darted through the air to the steps.

A scream rent the air. It was unmistakably Fluttershy. A brutal slam followed a split second after.

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow cried, launching herself down the steps and into a corridor beneath the stands. Twilight followed, blurring through the air as her haste spell shifted her through time. She stayed on Rainbow’s heels as the pegasus wheeled around a corner. When Twilight saw what lay down the passage, she stopped short and sucked in a sharp gasp.

Fluttershy sprawled against one of the wooden walls. Next to her, the crumpled body of a dead mare lay on the floor. Roots twisted around Angel, retreating back into cracks in the stone beneath his paws as he reverted back into his normal form.

Rainbow rushed to Fluttershy’s side and cradled the yellow pegasus’s head in her hooves. Fluttershy’s mane fell aside, revealing two red pinpricks on her neck. Twilight let out the breath she’d been holding when Fluttershy’s eyes flickered open.

Twilight heard hoofsteps behind her and glanced over her shoulder. Applejack and Rarity rushed down the steps. “She’s alive,” Twilight said, before heading down the corridor and joining Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy blinked blearily up at Rainbow. “She bit me,” she said. “Why would she bite me?”

“You’re gonna be okay, Fluttershy,” Rainbow said. “Angel killed it.”

“I heard an explosion, and I was coming back to find you all, but she was running the other way, and she ran into me, and then she bit me,” Fluttershy rambled, her gaze wandering. Tears built in her eyes. “I felt it pulling.” She focused on Rainbow. “It took something.”

Twilight blinked. “It took something?”

“I felt it pulling. It was going to take it all,” Fluttershy murmured. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it coming...”

Twilight furrowed her brows as a picture came together in her mind. “Soul drain,” she whispered. But I stopped it, she thought. The four Changelings in the ring had tried to take her soul. Why?

“You’re gonna be okay,” Rainbow repeated as she hugged Fluttershy close. “We’ve got you.”

Did they know what I am, or was Chrysalis unable to communicate with them? They aren’t ordinary Changelings, Twilight thought, biting the inside of her cheek. What happened to the one that bit me? she wondered. I pulled back. What did I take?

Fluttershy curled into Rainbow Dash. “It’s so cold, Dash.” Sweat beaded on Rainbow’s coat, but Fluttershy shivered.

Did they see me as a prize? A vessel? Then why would they try to kill me? Twilight thought. Why not take me and put me in one of their cocoons. She shook her head. These ones are different. They don’t need a cocoon to borrow a soul, they just take it.

Rainbow turned to look up at Twilight. “Something’s wrong with her!”

“Are you okay, Twilight?” Applejack asked. “I saw you go down, and I think I saw one get its fangs into you.”

“I’m fine,” Twilight said. “It didn’t affect me. Rainbow, get Fluttershy to a cleric, she needs help. Applejack, Rarity, get to the door. We need to keep as many ponies as we can from leaving.”

“What?!” Rarity shouted. “Were the ones in the stands not enough for you?! Do you want to kill them all?” She fixed Twilight with a glare.

“Not if I can help it,” Twilight said. “But this is an infestation. These Changelings don’t have the limits of the ones we fought in Candlekeep and Manehattan. If we let them out, this will never end.” She focused down the corridor.

“And what about you?” Applejack said. “Where are you going?”

“To find the other exit. There’s got to be a back way in,” Twilight said. “I need to block it.”

Rainbow snorted and pulled Fluttershy onto her shoulders. “You better have an explanation when this is over.” She paused to gather up Angel, spared a glance back at Twilight, then took a turn, heading for the front door.

“You’re telling me we should keep ponies in this building, even if it means killing them to keep them from getting out?” Applejack said.

“The alternative is worse,” Twilight said. “We need to stop this here, even if it costs lives.” She turned to look Applejack in the eye. “Have I ever let you down?”

Applejack hoofed the brim of her hat. She sighed and looked down. “Maybe, but I can’t say you’ve been wrong.” She glanced over at Rarity. “I trust her.”

Rarity frowned. “Fine, we’ll do it.”

Twilight trotted down the corridor. “Then do it now.”

It didn’t take Twilight Sparkle long to find the back entrance to the Copper Coronet. A door hung wide open, leading out onto a set of steps leading up to street level. Twilight climbed the stairs and looked down the dirty alleyway beyond. Moonlight shimmered on a still puddle collected between two tilted cobblestones. If any ponies had left this way, they were long gone. How many escaped? Twilight wondered.

The sound of voices behind Twilight drew her attention. She turned sharply and looked back down the steps. “Here! It’s a way out! Come on!” A stallion said. A pair of ponies approached the doorway, one male and one female. The mare wore a feathered cap and heavy jewelry.

“Stop!” Twilight said, reading her swords. The pair stopped short at the bottom of the stairs. “Nopony leaves.”

“Please,” the mare said as she pulled a gem-studded anklet from around one of her hooves. She threw it up the steps to Twilight’s feet. “Take it! Just don’t kill us!”

Twilight glanced down when the gold touched her hoof. She pulled away reflexively, cocking one of her forelegs, then turned her gaze back to the pair. For a moment, she weighed her options. I can’t kill them all, she decided. They had the cursed belt they’d used in Candlekeep, but it was in the bag with Rarity, and it would be impractical to test every pony that way.

“Please,” the mare repeated desperately. The stallion positioned himself between Twilight and her and extended a foreleg protectively.

Truesight, Twilight thought. The spell hadn’t worked against normal Changelings, but these weren’t normal Changelings. Her horn flared as she brought the spell to completion. The world shifted into near-black surfaces and two identifiable individuals at the base of the steps. One glowed with a living soul. The other, standing out in front, swirled with darkness, like a hollowed husk filled with shadow.

In Twilight’s mind, another piece of the puzzle fell into place. These creatures made their prey into vessels for their demonic essence. Instead of borrowing souls, they emptied their disguises with their fangs. Twilight fixed the husk with a glare. “I see you,” she said.

Every piece of what was once a pony ripped away in an instant as the monster shed its disguise and burst from the husk. The mare screamed. The demon, a solid visage of death, lunged for Twilight, reaching out with two icy fangs. Celestial Fury left a glowing golden streak across Twilight’s vision when she swung it through the creature’s neck. It’s body collapsed at the top of the steps.

Twilight turned her gaze to the mare. The white beacon wavered, trembling. “Run,” Twilight said as she sheathed her swords. “There’s more coming.”

The mare froze, immobile. “Run!” Twilight shouted. This time, the mare lurched into motion and galloped up the stairs. She skirted the demonic corpse at Twilight’s feet and tore past her down the alley, a chip of lifeless material flying off her manicured hooves.

Twilight looked down and watched as the demon’s solid form ebbed into a cloud of shadow. “Too easy,” she muttered. A chill ran down her spine as the cloud slipped past her hooves and filtered away between cracks in the cobblestone. Far too easy, she thought, glancing down.

When all traces of the demon were gone, she walked purposefully down the steps and back into the inn. She paused about twenty paces inside, turned, and planted her hooves. She focused on the steps and launched a Fireball. As the red spark shot through the air, she ducked behind her cloak.

With the Cloak of Protection between her and the blast, she hardly felt the heat. Air rushed through her mane. She lowered her cloak and checked to make sure the damage was done. The doorway and steps had collapsed into a pile of fragmented stone and splintered wood, blocking the exit.

Twilight allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction as she headed deeper into the Copper Coronet. They need a name, she thought. Changeling won’t do. She peered, looking around the rooms and hallways of lifeless material. If I were a Changeling – a Skinstealer, who would I be? she wondered. Tamer, she realized. He controls the slaves.

Twilight had doubled back toward the pits, looking for Tamer. When she reached the door to the beast cages, it hung ajar. She cautiously approached.

“She snapped, Paws. Just went crazy,” a voice muttered from beyond. “Shoulda’ known she was freakin’ unstable.”

Twilight pulled the door open with her levitation. It swung inwards, ghostly quiet on its slick hinges. A single, familiar, living pony sat against the wall across from Paw’s cage. Twilight identified him as Tamer. He turned his head slowly toward her. “I think we’re finished, Paws,” he said.

Twilight tilted her head. “You’re not one of them, are you?”

“What?” Tamer said. “The hell’re you on about?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes and took a step closer. A tiny thorn of shadow festered in Tamer’s chest. Shadowspawn? she thought. “No, you’re like me.”

“Look, if you’re gonna kill me, let’s get to the point. I ain’t afraid of dying,” Tamer said. He picked up a pole in his mouth and grunted around it. “But I ain’t gonna go quietly either.” Twilight could see the magical energy crackling inside of the pole; it was the same one Tamer had used to shock Paws.

Twilight regarded him with passive fascination. “Did one of them try to bite you? Or did they know about you?”

Tamer lunged at her with the shock pole. She snatched it in her levitation and wrenched it aside with enough force to tear it out of Tamer’s teeth. Tamer reeled as the pole clatted to the ground, the blood leaking from his lips brilliantly red to Twilight’s eyes. He spat fragments of molar onto the stone. “I’ve had more fangs in me than I can count,” he said, coughing. “So what?”

“Do you know what you are?” Twilight asked, staring down at him. “Do you know why death is so appealing to you?”

“I’m an animal, and livin’ an’ killin’ is what we do,” Tamer said.

“I could fix you,” Twilight said. “You might change when its gone. You have a chance to be redeemed.” She reached out for the thorn in Tamer’s chest with her magic and gently started to pull. “All you have to do is let go.”

Tamer clutched at his chest. “Argh!” He twisted away from her, severing her grasp on the thorn. “What are you doing to me?!”

Twilight swallowed, feeling an insatiable hunger rise within her. Who is he to deny you? a voice whispered in her mind. She stared at the thorn in Tamer’s chest.

“I need it,” Twilight said. “I will kill you if I have to.”

“I already told you: I ain’t afraid of dyin’.” Tamer spun and launched a buck at her. A layer of Twilight’s Stoneskin shattered, preserving her from harm.

Twilight lashed out with her levitation and pinned Tamer against the wall, lifting him until his hooves were dangling. “You should be afraid! There’s nothing waiting for you but a void!” She shook him violently. “I can’t save you from it unless you let go!”

Tamer spat a mix of blood and spit into her face. “Just kill me!”

“I’m trying to help you!” Twilight roared. She reached out again with her magic, tearing at the thorn. “If you don’t let go, I have to kill you!”

Tamer tensed, but the thorn did not yield. “Why save me?” Tamer said. “We’re both animals.”

For a moment, Twilight hesitated. The pit of hunger yawned deeper. For a moment, her magic lept out of her control and viciously wrenched Tamer’s neck. A snap filled the air, and the body in her grasp went lip. Twilight gasped and let the corpse drop to the floor. The thorn dissolved into shadows that flowed across the floor and up her legs. She looked down at her own essence pulsing in her chest.

In her mind’s eye, she pictured Shining Armor standing over the first Shadowspawn he killed. So that’s what it feels like, she thought. Once you know what they have, you can’t stop. She stared at the lifeless body. “Why didn’t you let go?” she murmured.

Her ears twitched back when a pleading mewl sounded behind her. She turned to see Paws pressed up against the bars of his cage. She knew he was hungry – she could see it plain as day. After a brief moment of hesitation, Twilight slid Tamer’s corpse over until it was within reach of the bars. Paws snatched it up, pulling the head through, then gripped it in his jaws and tore the body through the gap, crunching and snapping bones.

Twilight sighed. “What’re we going to do with you?” she said, eyeing Paws. The manticore growled at her as he pulled the body as far into the cage as he could. Maybe Fluttershy will know, Twilight thought as she turned away. She wiped her face clean with a foreleg as she made her way deeper into the pits, looking for where the slaves were kept. The grisly rip of tearing flesh followed after her. She winced, grimacing. Is that the sound of justice?

Twilight trotted down a corridor lined with empty, barred cells. She’d traveled back through the arena and knocked down one of the fighting pit’s gateways to reach them. Refuse and stench hinted that at least the first few pens she passed were recently occupied. If the slaves had been here, somepony, or demon, had let them out. If the Skinstealers functioned the way she thought they did, there would be no corpses – no record of their victims. It was perfect murder.

How different are they from me? she wondered, slowing. She’d taken what Tamer had, only she had no use for his body or his soul. She halted completely. I didn’t need to take Pinkie’s, she realized, even though I knew she had it. There was something checking her Shadowspawn essence, though she couldn’t place precisely what it was. Something held onto her, like a rope saving her from a terrifying plunge.

She shook her head, forcing her thoughts back to the crisis of the moment. She walked forward and looked into each cell as she passed it. Some of the slaves would be forced to work in the brothel, no doubt, to give the Skinstealers’ access to vessels in Canterlot’s nobility. They couldn’t possibly need all of the slaves, could they? Twilight thought. Another troubling question rose in her mind: How many of them are there?

There was no way of knowing. She had no trail of bodies or nest of cocoons. It appeared that when the Skinstealers reverted back to their true form the body they were inhabiting shredded and vaporized, replaced with their demonic form.

If the one that attacked Fluttershy is any indication, they don’t need to revert back to strike, she thought. But the ones who attacked me chose to. In the first case, the Sleep spell must have affected their mortal bodies, but they shed their skins when the time was right. In the second case, the Skinstealer I encountered on the steps may have reverted for the shock value in an attempt to catch me by surprise. She sighed and looked down at the floor, hardly glancing at the next two cells. She needed more examples.

“Who’s there?” a voice cried, tearing through her thoughts. She snapped her attention to the source of the sound. A single living pony gleamed alone in a closed cell. He pressed back into the corner, his muzzle whipping wildly from side to side.

It took Twilight a moment to realize he was looking for her, but the corridor and the cells were pitch black. With her truesight, she hadn’t noticed the complete lack of light sources. She lit her horn, and he focused on her instantly.

“Who’re you?” he asked.

“I’m your best chance at survival,” Twilight said. “But I need to know everything you know. Why’re you alone?”

The pony rocked back and forth in the corner of his cell. “Because I’m the last.”

Twilight plopped onto her haunches and peered at him through the bars. “The last?”

With surprising swiftness, he rose and rushed up to the locked door. “I’m next!” he said, his voice loud with desperation. “You have to help me!” He glanced both ways down the corridor and lowered his voice. “I work for the Thieves Guild. If you get me out of here, I’m sure you’ll be rewarded.”

“Are you the pony the Grey Fox sent?” Twilight asked. “Did they put you in here because they found out you were a spy?”

The pony rested his forehead against the bars. “I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head. “I was pretending to be a merchant, so I spent some bits on a girl, and when I woke up afterward I was here.” He pressed his hooves against the bars and looked up at her. “I can’t be here!”

“I’m working with the Grey Fox, and I’ll get you out,” Twilight said. “But I need you to take a deep breath and explain what happened.”

The pony took a slow, deep breath. “I don’t know how to explain what I saw. Not long after I woke up, one of the guards opened up the cell across from mine. There were two ponies in it. The guard grew fangs and bit them both.” He paused.

“Keep going,” Twilight said.

The pony gulped and nodded. “After the guard bit them, the two ponies just walked out of the cell, and she let them. When there was light, I could see ponies that looked like slaves running back and forth down the corridor. The only time everypony was in a cell is when a stallion with half an ear came by.”

Tamer, Twilight realized. Why didn’t the Skinstealers make this pony into a vessel and send him back to the Grey Fox with false information? Fear of discovery, maybe? The Thieves Guild had to have resources for magical detection. Maybe they can probe deeply enough to see what I saw. She furrowed her brows. If one Skinstealer bit the two ponies, where did the Skinstealers that inhabited the bodies come from?

“It was too strange. The number of slaves kept in their cells slowly dwindled, until I was the only one left. They said they’d need me soon too, and they kept talking about accelerating the next shipment,” the pony said. “I tried to get the stallion to help me, but he just looked at me like I was crazy!”

So that’s why Tamer offered him up so easily, Twilight thought. He thought the spy was too far gone to be any use. “How many slaves and guards were there?” Twilight asked.

The pony shrugged helplessly. “At least a dozen. It was hard to keep track. They’d walk around in the dark. It didn’t seem to bother them.”

They need a significant number of vessels, but not all at once. They left before I arrived at this cell, like they’re abandoning a sinking ship. Why leave this pony behind? Twilight thought. Her ears perked to the sound of trotting with the uneven thunk caused by wearing a hoofmace. Ah, they didn’t leave him behind.

She drew her swords and turned. Two shadowy vessels rushed toward her. Each carried a shield strapped to one of their forelegs as well as a hoofmace. With her swords, she lashed out and met both of them with an upward arc. Her first strike split their shields and left deep, red gashes in their armor.

In the blink of an eye, without missing a step, both of them burst from their disguises. Their misshapen horns surged with energy. Forgoing their fangs, they aimed their horns at Twilight. She brought her blades back down and split their skulls. The nimbus of black energy around their horns vanished as their bodies crumpled.

Strike fast, and hard, Twilight realized. She gave this pair an opportunity to shed their damaged husks, and they took it, but the one Angel killed never got that chance and left a pony’s corpse behind.

She whirled and slashed through the hinges of the pony’s cell door, nimbly sidestepping when the iron bars fell toward her. “You’re on your own,” she said.

The pony rushed out of his cell. “Thank you!” He glanced down at the two demonic corpses, watching as they faded into black clouds. “So that’s what they were?” he said, incredulous.

Twilight nodded. “The Thieves Guild is fighting demons.” Her haste spell had run out. She cast the second one she had prepared; she was going to need it.

Floating her swords at her side, Twilight came to a stop at the top of the stairs leading to the inn’s back rooms, where they had first entered the brothel. A crowd of ponies gathered around the main entrance to the Copper Coronet. She recognized a pair of glowing individuals between the crowd and the door as Applejack and Rarity. Ten paces separated them and the rest of the ponies. One of the ponies in the crowd broke from the pack, taking a step toward Rarity and Applejack. Rarity raised her bow, a crystalline arrow ready on the string.

“You were there!” the advancing pony shouted. “You saw what she did! We have to get out of here before she kills the rest of us!”

“Ya’ll deserved it!” Applejack yelled. “Ya’ll were watchin’ ponies die! It’s murder, sure as if you did it with your own hooves!” She loosened her glowing chain from around her tail. Twilight perceived two ethereal tendrils that reached out and latched onto the advancing pony. “I will drop you if I have to!”

Twilight scanned the crowd, picking out the Skinstealers. There were nine mixed in with the ponies. Their shadow-filled husks stood out among the white souls. She did a quick mental count; there were seventeen Skinstealers total, including the defeated ones. She hoped it was all of them.

Emboldened by the first, more of the Copper Coronet’s patrons surged toward the exit. “Stay back!” Applejack shouted. They kept moving. The husks shifted through the crowd, preparing to slip out into the night.

Rarity fired. Her arrow struck true. As the first agitator dropped to the floor, a collective gasp passed through the crowd. The ponies advancing on the door scrambled back.

As soon as I strike, the crowd will panic, Twilight realized. If I'm not careful, more ponies will die. She furrowed her brows. Is Applejack right? Would it even be wrong to kill them?

“There she is!” a pony cried. Twilight spotted the speaker, pointing up at her with a hoof. Everypony turned to look at her.

Time’s up, Twilight thought. She closed her eyes tight, ducked her head beneath her foreleg, and raised Celestial Fury. She saw white through her eyelids as she unleashed the sunlight stored in the blade. She opened her eyes and rushed down the steps. Screams rippled through the confined space. Half blind ponies stumbled into each other and fell in tangles of limbs and confusion.

With a quick spell, Twilight covered herself in a shroud of invisibility as she approached the first Skinstealer. It reeled. Even within its husk, the burst of sunlight had torn away some of its essence. She took its head off its shoulders as she slipped between two stumbling ponies.

She moved through the chaos like a ghost, her swords floating at her sides. Each time she maneuvered next to one of the Skinstealer’s vessels, she ended it with a single, brutal stroke. Within a few seconds, she came to a stop in front of Applejack and Rarity with nine headless corpses in her wake.

Twilight closed her eyes briefly, allowing her truesight to fade away. When she opened her eyes, the world returned to colorful objects and creatures, instead of glowing beings and perceptions. Next, she let her cloak of invisibility fall. She held her blades at her sides, tilting them downward so that the blood ran down their length and dripped from the tips.

Rarity and Applejack stared at her, still blinking in the aftermath of Celestial Fury’s glare. “We can let them out,” Twilight said. “I dealt with the problem.”

She slowly turned around. Ponies scrambled away from her, shock written on their faces, but the screams had gone, replaced with a terrified silence. Twilight cleared her throat and held her head high. “I could have killed you all,” she said, beginning slowly. “Maybe, by some measures, most of you should be killed.”

Twilight looked through the crowd, picking out the bodies. They had the mangy coats of slaves, the mail armor of the guards. A couple may have been prostitutes. She blinked. Plum Violet’s head rested on the floor. They couldn’t get Tamer, so they took her, she thought.

“Instead, the majority that died here today did not deserve their fate,” Twilight continued. “If I tried to explain why I killed them, I doubt you would understand, but the slaves who died here were bound for death regardless of my actions. You condemned them, with your bits and your bloodlust.”

She flicked the blood off her swords, painting the ponies staring at her with red arcs. “Their blood is yours,” she said as she sheathed her swords. “Enjoy it.” She turned sharply and stepped out into the street. Rarity and Applejack fell in a couple steps behind her.

They trotted past a few buildings in silence. Twilight glanced over her shoulder at the ponies filtering out of the Copper Coronet. Some stumbled out in a daze. Others fled the scene as fast as their hooves could carry them. “That went surprisingly well,” Twilight said, breaking the silence.

“Well?!” Rarity said. “I had to kill a pony!”

“Let’s not forget the part where you decided to join in on a slave fighting ring, then tossed a Fireball at a bunch of ponies in the stands,” Applejack added. “That, and Fluttershy’s injury.”

“Fluttershy’ll be fine, provided Rainbow found a competent cleric,” Twilight said. “It’s unlikely any of the Skinstealers made it out the front door before you got there; they were all operating deeper inside the inn. I’m more worried that some got out through the back before I closed it off.” She paused briefly. “I’m sorry about the Fireball. Being in that pit, with all the ponies chanting around me... I had to do something. I snapped.”

“Wait, Skinstealers?” Applejack said.

Twilight sighed. “I’ll explain when we regroup. I’m just glad Truesight let me identify them. A lot more ponies would have died if it didn’t work.” She stopped suddenly. “Which way did Rainbow go?”

Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity approached a large, domed structure on a rise in the middle of the slums. Twilight paused in front of the heavy double doors, eyeing the brass motif of the Sun cresting over the curve of a hill emblazoned on them. Beneath the symbol, gold-hued letters read “Know peace beyond this door.”

Twilight raised her hoof to knock. “With any luck, Rainbow brought her here.” She pounded on the brass in the center of the doors.

“We coulda’ stopped him, Rarity,” Applejack said. Twilight glanced over her shoulder.

Rarity shook her head. “What about the rest? We needed to make a point.”

“You didn’t have to kill him,” Applejack said. “Twilight was almost there.”

“How did we know that?!” Rarity cried.

“I woulda done it if he got too close,” Applejack said. “You didn’t have to. I can tell its bothering you.”

Rarity shook her head. “You wouldn’t have.”

Applejack’s ears twitched back. “What?! I’m not afraid of getting my hooves dirty!”

Rarity sighed. “I don’t think you realize what that really means.”

Applejack opened her mouth to protest, but before she could say anything, the doors to the temple swung open. A white mare with a pink mane smiled at them from beyond the threshold. “Can we help you?”

“We’re looking for a couple of pegasi named Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. One of them would have been suffering from—” Twilight said.

“So you’re their friends.” The mare smiled cheerfully, took a step back, and raised her foreleg in a welcoming gesture. “I can bring you to them.”

The mare led them to a small room deep inside the temple. Twilight heard giggling through the open door. She poked her head through the opening and looked inside. Fluttershy sat on a bed, surrounded by fresh white sheets. A pair of fillies braided daisies into her mane. Rainbow Dash leaned against the wall next to the bed.

Fluttershy looked up, noticing her. Twilight flinched when Fluttershy’s gaze hardened. “Rainbow told me what happened,” Fluttershy said.

Rainbow pushed off the wall. “Alright twerps, hair party is over.” She gently scooped the fillies toward the door with her wings.

“But we didn’t get to do your mane!” one of them protested.

“It’s so pretty!” the other added.

“Sorry, big mare stuff,” Rainbow said, ushering them past Twilight and scooting them out into the corridor.

Twilight walked into the room, followed by Applejack and Rarity. Rainbow stepped back inside and shut the door behind her. Twilight found herself pressed shoulder to shoulder against Applejack and Rarity in the small space. “Who were they?” Twilight asked.

“Orphans,” Rarity said. “Lucky ones.”

Rainbow glared at Twilight. “Explain.”

Twilight rubbed the back of her neck, feeling the two marks from the Skinstealer’s fangs. She’d allowed her Stoneskin to fade on the way to the Temple. “The Fireball was an accident,” she said. “I wish I hadn’t killed the ponies in the stands, but I did. They were part of something terrible, and I snapped.”

“You chose to join in too,” Fluttershy said.

“I did what I had to!” Twilight said. “I have to save Pinkie. I know you didn’t want to watch me kill animals, but no animal’s life is worth leaving Pinkie in Spellhold a day longer than I have to.”

“I would have been there if it was just animals,” Fluttershy said. “While I’d hate to watch it, I understand they aren’t as important as ponies. Plum Violet told us it was a slave fighting ring when we asked her what Tamer did.”

Twilight glanced at her hooves. “I didn’t know that when he said ‘animals’ he also meant ‘ponies’.”

“Plum Violet said you asked to kill slaves,” Rarity said. “It’s why we were so worried.”

Twilight blinked. They’re clever, she thought. “You can’t believe a word she said. She was trying to drive a wedge. She was a Skinstealer... they’re like Changelings.”

“Yeah, I noticed you left her head on the floor of the inn,” Applejack said. “I shoulda seen it. Something didn’t add up about her, but then I read your journal, and—”

Twilight sighed. “And you thought I might actually do something like that.”

“I didn’t believe it until you stepped into the ring,” Rainbow said.

“You’re experimenting with the essence of the Shadow, Twilight,” Rarity said. “What were we supposed to think?”

Twilight frowned. She turned her head, coming nose to nose with Rarity. “That I had a good reason to experiment! The Black Knight almost killed me! If Cadance hadn’t been there, he would have!”

Rarity avoided her gaze, focusing on a spot on the wall. “I know, but—”

“You’re not alone, Twilight,” Applejack said. “Cadance was there, and if you hadn’t gone alone—”

Twilight snorted as she turned on Applejack. “If I hadn’t gone alone, you’d be dead! He could have snuffed you out! Cadance was an Alicorn, she was dying just by being near him!” She gestured at Fluttershy. “Look at what happened to her! One bite, and a demon nearly ripped her soul out!”

“And Angel saved me,” Fluttershy said.

“And I stopped the one on your back before you got hurt,” Rainbow said. “What’s your point? You could die too.”

Twilight shook her head. “That’s not what happened. You were too slow.”

“No way,” Rainbow scoffed. “Fluttershy still hasn’t fully recovered. It must’ve barely bit you by the time I got there, or you would be in just as bad shape. How else do you explain it?”

Twilight fixed Rainbow with a stare. “I pulled back.” She took a step forward, slipping out from between Applejack and Rarity. “It tried to empty my body, and I swallowed it.”

Rainbow’s ears drooped and she glanced down.

“Woah now,” Applejack said. “You did what?”

“I ate it,” Twilight said. “It tried to turn me into an empty husk, and I ate it. I’m not a normal pony, and even I’m not strong enough. I need to understand my power. I need to control it.”

“No,” Rainbow said, shaking her head. “Your magic is amazing. You’re beyond strong, Twilight.”

Twilight shook her head. “I wasn’t strong enough.” She closed her eyes. “I had to watch.”

“Watch what?” Rarity asked.

Twilight winced and raised her hoof to her forehead. “I had to watch her cut. It’s my fault! Pinkie was... she cut... and I watched.” Her eyes burned, and she closed them tighter.

A familiar warmth pressed against Twilight. A pair of forelegs and a pair of wings wrapped around her. “It’s okay, Twilight,” Fluttershy said softly in her ear. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Tears leaked past Twilight’s eyelids. “I have to save Pinkie. I have to...”

Grey

Back in the bowels of the Copper Coronet, Twilight sat on her haunches in front of Paw’s cell. The manticore clutched a shattered bone in his front paws and lapped at the marrow. The iron bars between him and Twilight’s lit horn painted stripes of shadow across his body.

“Twilight,” Applejack said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “There ain’t no easy way to say this, but we’re gonna have to put him down.”

Twilight shrugged off Applejack’s hoof. “He doesn’t deserve that.”

“He’s a pony-killer,” Rarity said. “He’s a wild animal. It’s all we can do.”

Twilight turned to glare at Rarity. “It’s not his fault!”

“This ain’t about what’s fair, Twilight,” Applejack said. “It’s about what’s best.”

Twilight looked at Fluttershy and pointed her hoof at the cage. “Talk to him!” Twilight shouted.

Fluttershy stared back at her sadly. “I tried, Twilight. Tamer broke him. I wish I could help him, but—”

“Try harder!” Twilight snapped.

Fluttershy sighed. She stepped up to the cage and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, her irises glowed with a faint green light.

Paws turned to face Fluttershy. His retinas reflected the light of Twilight’s horn. His eyes narrowed, and he shifted, coiling in the back of his cage. A low growl rumbled in his chest.

Fluttershy gasped. In the blink of an eye, Paws lunged. Before Twilight could react, Rainbow Dash slammed into Fluttershy, sending them both sprawling clear of the cell door. Paws swiped a bloody paw through the gap in bars, but caught only air. His claws grated against the stone floor as he slowly drew them back. For a few heartbeats, he sat perfectly still, then he retreated back into his cell.

Rainbow picked herself up off the floor. “Enough!” she shouted, turning to Twilight. “Nopony gets anywhere near him again!” She reached down to lend Fluttershy a hoof.

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Fluttershy said as Rainbow pulled her to her feet. “I wish I could fix him, but I can’t.”

“Why does this matter so much to you?!” Rainbow said.

Twilight stared at Paws. If I can’t help him, who can I help? Her eyes turned to the bones in Paw’s cage. They were hardly recognizable as a pony’s. A few scraps of flesh remained, but they had been snapped and licked clean by the ravenous manticore.

“Because this isn’t the way he could be,” Twilight said. “The world made him this way – by pinning his back to the wall and making him kill.” Twilight paused, taking a deep breath. “Because I know what being broken is like.”

Applejack sighed heavily. “He’s not you, and you’re not him.”

“This isn’t about me!” Twilight yelled.

“Then what is this about?” Rarity said. “You need to let this go.”

There has to be a way, Twilight thought. Tamer had him under control. She shook her head. “I can’t do that.” She drew Solstice, and in the same motion, cleaved through the bolt holding the door shut. The cage slowly swung open. Paws shifted in the back of the cell.

Twilight stepped forward. Paws growled, drawing himself up and arching his back until it scraped the ceiling. The manticore towered over her. Twilight stared up into his eyes. Back down, she silently pleaded. He glared down at her, unblinking. Come on! “Let me help you!” she shouted. “Yield!”

Paws pounced. She reacted reflexively. Before he could close on her, she stabbed Solstice’s blade into his chest. He snarled, spitting anguish and fury, and drove himself onto the blade as he pressed toward her. Solstice’s hilt lodged against his ribs, and she shoved his bulk back with the force of her magic. Snapping and pushing, he fought. One of his claws clipped through the air in front of her face.

Truthseeker slammed into Paw’s forehead, the twin spikes lodging between his eyes. His body went limp almost instantly. Twilight pulled Solstice free and let his corpse drop. “Why?!” she roared. “I was stronger than you!” She stamped her hoof. “Why?!”

“You shouldn’t have done that, Twilight,” Applejack said. She sighed again. “At least it’s over.”

Twilight turned. “What should I have done?! Given up?!”

“Sometimes, that’s the only thing you can do,” Rarity said.

“Is that what you’re going to do when we find Pinkie?!” Twilight shouted. “Give up?!”

“What are you talking about?” Rainbow said.

Twilight stared at her friends in disbelief. “Do you realize what she did to us? She broke us. You found me, but Pinkie—Pinkie is alone!”

Rarity glared at Twilight. “We are not giving up on Pinkie, no matter what.”

Twilight fell back onto her haunches. “She’s not going to be okay,” she murmured, glancing down at the floor. “If we find her, what if she doesn’t realize we’re there to help?” She snorted. “I can’t even help a manticore. All I could do was get him killed.”

“When we find Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash said. “We’ll save her. Want to know why?”

Twilight blinked and looked up at Rainbow. “Why?”

“Because you’ll be there.”

Twilight plodded along the waterfront toward the Grey Fox’s mansion, a few paces behind Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack. A chill breeze blew off the bay, sending choppy waves crashing into the wharves. She shifted her cloak to protect her from the cold and the spray and checked her watch as she walked. It was three in the morning.

She sighed heavily. Another late night, she thought. She felt like a thread that had been wound too tightly around a spool. She yawned as she flicked her watch closed and stowed it. Light streamed out of some of the mansions windows.

Twilight glanced over her shoulder at Rarity, saying, “Think he’s still up?”

Rarity shrugged. “Maybe.”

“There’s a lot I need to say to him,” Twilight said. “A slave fighting ring, really?”

“What did you expect?” Rarity asked.

“I don’t know.” Twilight shook her head. “I knew the Thieves Guild was low, but not that low. You were a part of it, Rarity, and I can’t imagine you just—”

“There’s a lot of things I wish I hadn’t done, Twilight,” Rarity said. “But, I don’t remember anything like the Copper Coronet. The Thieves Guild has changed, and the Fancy Pants I knew never would have been able to stomach the Copper Coronet.”

“Maybe Fancy Pants has changed too,” Twilight said.

Rarity lowered her voice. “Regardless, I participated. In some part, I’m responsible for what the organization is today. By Applejack’s definition, I’m just as bad as the ponies watching slaves die.”

Twilight glanced at Applejack. “Rarity, do you think murderers and ponies that stand by and watch are equally guilty?”

“Justice is more than I can worry about,” Rarity said. “All I can do is what I think is right, and sometimes you have to get your hooves metaphorically dirty. Applejack keeps herself up on a pedestal, and sooner or later, she’s going to have to come to terms with what she’s done.”

Twilight blinked. “What do you mean?”

Rarity sighed. “A long time ago, the five of us had a conversation while you were sleeping after you nearly blew up in the Spa. We didn’t know what you were then, but we knew you were, well, something. We promised each other that we would stick with you. Now, don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t regret it for a second, but we knew there would be consequences.”

Twilight grimaced. Her nightmare in the spa bath wasn’t a fond memory. “Consequences? You mean, like—”

“Like being a part of what happened tonight,” Rarity said. “Keeping a clean conscience and traveling with you are mutually exclusive.”

Ahead, Applejack reached the wide doorstep of the mansion and pounded heavily on the door with a hoof.

Twilight shrank back, dipping her head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Rarity said. “We know what you are, and we still haven’t changed our minds. We’ve done a lot of good things, Twilight, together. You can’t change what you are.”

“It’s still my responsibility,” Twilight said as she came to a stop.

“What’s your responsibility?” Applejack asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Rarity said.

The door swung inward. Bouncer gave them a stiff nod from the doorway and beckoned them inside. Twilight strode forward, passing between her friends and into the mansion.

When Twilight stepped into the Grey Fox’s office, it looked almost exactly the same as the previous morning. Oil lamps shed illumination. Fancy Pants sat at the desk, leaning forward as he conversed with a pony sitting across from him. His hair was disheveled, and a steaming mug rested on his desk. Fleur relaxed on the seat by the window, her mane perfect, and her eyes scanning the page of an open book.

Fancy Pants glanced up at Twilight. “That’ll be all, Ingot,” he said to the pony sitting across from him. The pony turned and nodded to Twilight on his way out. It took her a moment to recognize him as the Thieves Guild spy she’d released from the Copper Coronet. He looked different without Truesight.

“To tell you the truth,” Fancy Pants said as Ingot shut the door, “I didn’t expect you to be finished so soon.”

“Then you underestimated us,” Twilight said. She stepped toward the desk. She carried the bag of holding looped around her neck. “Now, I believe we had a deal.”

Fancy Pants raised a brow. “While I appreciate your zeal. I also didn’t expect to hear that the entire operation is essentially dismantled. The Copper Coronet was a valuable source of income, and—”

Twilight slammed her hoof down on Fancy Pant’s desk. “Income! You know what they were doing there! For bits?!”

Fancy Pants frowned and pressed his forehooves together. “Your reaction is understandable, and I know that the Copper Coronet was an unsavory enterprise, but if it weren’t the Thieves Guild, it would be somepony else. A business needs to make money, and you’ve made that more difficult for us.”

“My soul aches for your lost currency,” Twilight growled. “Do you even realize what I stopped?”

Fancy Pants smiled. “I was hoping you could share the details. Ingot’s report was woefully incomplete. Why don’t you have a seat?”

“I’d rather stand,” Twilight said as she reached into the Bag of Holding with her magic and pulled out the Skinstealer’s corpse. She deposited it on Fancy Pant’s desk, knocking his mug onto its side. Hot tea dripped onto the floor.

Fancy Pants pressed back into his chair. “Is that one of the monsters?” He poked it gingerly with a hoof. “Is it dead?”

“What do you think?” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “These creatures infiltrated the Copper Coronet. Their bite can drain a victims soul. Then, they inhabit the vacant body, using it as a disguise. I cast a spell to detect them, then killed them all.” She raised her hoof, resting it on the corpse. “You asked for a warrior, and you got one. Now give me what I asked for.”

“I sense ’ostility,” Fleur said, looking up from her book. “All you see is the negative, Twilight Sparkle. Our organization gives ’ope to ponies that ’ave none. Your friend Rarity, for example.”

“She’s right,” Fancy Pants said. “Rarity came to this city with nothing, and by working with the Thieves Guild, she made enough money to start her own business. The Temple of the Sun does what it can, but they can only provide for so many. It’s not our fault that the only path to prosperity lies outside the law. All of us have fought for what we have, and sometimes that means making compromises.”

Twilight frowned. She shoved the corpse back into the Bag of Holding. If all of your principles are open to compromise, do you really have any? she wondered. “Just tell me that you know where Spellhold is.”

“Patience, Twilight. I will uphold our agreement,” Fancy Pants said. He tidied his desk with his magic, moving some tea-soaked papers aside. “Though, I do wonder what you’re going to do when some of the ponies that witnessed what happened at the Copper Coronet go to the authorities calling for your arrest. I’m guessing you have about three days tops before somepony comes after you.” He pointed at her watch. “And I don’t think that will protect you.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I have other problems in my organization. I suspect they might be caused by these monsters. I still require your help,” Fancy Pants said. “Favor for a favor.”

Of course the Copper Coronet wasn’t an isolated incident, Twilight thought. “We have a common enemy, then,” she said. “But I need to save my friend first.”

Fancy Pants smiled warmly. “Understandable. Get some sleep. There is already a plan in motion. We should have what we need in a matter of hours.”

Twilight nodded and turned away from the desk. She headed for the door. She pulled it open with her magic and paused in the doorway. “If I don’t get what I was promised, the Copper Coronet won’t be the only thing I dismantle,” she said, glancing over her shoulder, then closed the door behind her.

Twilight yawned as she trotted down the second-floor hallway toward her room in the mansion. Her friends waited for her by the door. They looked up as she approached.

“Tomorrow,” Twilight said. “We’re going after Pinkie tomorrow.”

Applejack nodded. For a few moments, everypony was silent. Twilight paused outside her door, glancing between them. None of them met her gaze. “Get some sleep,” she said.

“We’re sorry about looking at your journal, Twilight,” Applejack said.

“We could have communicated better,” Rarity added.

Twilight glanced at her hooves and sighed. “I overreacted. I’m sorry too.”

“Still, we shoulda had your back,” Rainbow said.

Fluttershy shifted awkwardly. “If we had been there for you, maybe you would have been more... together.”

“And then I wouldn’t have snapped?” Twilight shook her head. “That’s not your fault. At the end of the day, no matter how many shoulders I have to cry on, this is me. You can’t fix me.” She looked up at her friends. “And I’m tired of hiding.” She fished Star Swirl’s journal out of her saddlebag, she’d kept it there since Applejack and Rarity had looked at the entries she’d added, and returned it to the Bag of Holding before passing the bag to Rarity. “Read it, if you want to.”

Applejack said, “You don’t need to—”

“Did you know why I killed Tamer?” Twilight said, interrupting. She didn’t wait for an answer. “He wasn’t a Skinstealer; he was a Shadowspawn, and I found out – and once I knew, I couldn’t stop myself. It wasn’t wrong. He was a monster. He deserved to die. But, it wasn’t right either.” Once Twilight started, she couldn’t stop. She felt like she was writing in the journal. “I fed him to Paws because Paws was hungry. In a way, it was poetic, at least Paws got one good meal before he died.”

Twilight ignored the looks her friends were giving her, and kept talking. “It was satisfying, hearing his neck break and his bones crunch, like when the blood drips off my swords – to have that power – that complete, unopposed, control over life and death. How many times have I passed judgement? I’m not bad – at least I don’t think I am. I showed mercy when I could, but what did I do to deserve that control besides possess the power to take it?”

Rarity sucked in a breath, as if she were about to say something, but before she could, Twilight continued. “When it’s a choice between any life, or my life and what I care about, I always choose me and mine. How many individuals have tried to kill me? And what did I do? I laid waste to them. Did they deserve to die, for the crime of attempting to kill Twilight Sparkle? What makes me so much more deserving of life than them? And what about the times when they died because I snapped and lost control?”

Twilight glanced down at her hooves. She deflated, her confidence ebbing away until her ears drooped and she had nothing left. “And I’m too tired, strained, and worn to dare consider what I deserve.” She paused, her breath catching. “You’ve seen what I really am, and I need to know: are you afraid of me? What do you see in me? The best, or the worst? Because I don’t want to ever have to see what I would become if I were alone.”

“We’re not afraid of you, Twilight,” Applejack said immediately.

Twilight looked up at her friends hopefully.

“Sometimes, we’re afraid of what you might do,” Rarity said, reaching out to touch her shoulder with a hoof. “We see the best in you, but we worry.”

“We’re afraid for you,” Fluttershy said. “I didn’t want to watch you kill slaves because I knew it would mean watching you letting yourself be your worst.”

Rainbow peered at Twilight. “I don’t understand. You don’t have anything to be guilty about. If somepony tries to kill you, you kill them. I guess they don’t deserve to die, but neither do you. The ponies that you killed came after you.” Rainbow grimaced. “Usually, anyway.”

Twilight focused on Rainbow Dash. “You’re in a box with a window. You can see another pony in an identical box. You both have a magic button. If you press your button first, the other pony will instantly die and you are set free. If the other pony presses her button first, you die. The other pony has her hoof over the button. Do you push your button first?”

Rainbow shrugged. “I don’t push my button. I tell her we can work together, then I break out of the box and kill whoever put us in there.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You can’t escape.”

Rainbow frowned. “Why?”

Twilight stamped her hoof. “Because I’m trying to make a point, Rainbow! Do you push your button?”

“I don’t push it,” Rainbow said.

“Her hoof is getting closer,” Twilight said. “Picture it: you dead, us crying over your corpse.”

“Fine,” Rainbow muttered. “I push my button. Happy?”

“And you kill a pony who was just trying to survive, and somepony is crying for her,” Twilight said. “Do you understand?”

Rainbow glared at her. “No, some sadist made me kill a pony to survive. Nopony can blame me for that.”

“What gave you the right to choose who lives and dies?” Twilight said.

“All I’m doing is choosing to live!” Rainbow said. “It’s not wrong! Even if I have to kill some stranger!”

“How many?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow blinked.

“What happens when you're put in the box again, and again? How many times would you push the button? How many ponies would you kill?” Twilight said as she opened the door to her room. “Because I’d kill as many strangers as I had to, and I’d find it satisfying; I’d probably want to push the button. It wouldn’t bother me until I had the time to look back and imagine what they were like and who cared about them. It wouldn’t bother me until I stopped to think about what wanting to kill them made me. It wouldn’t bother me until I realized standing on a pile of corpses felt like sitting on a throne.” With that, she stepped into her room and shut the door.

“Ponies care about you too, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted, her voice muffled by the wood.

Twilight collapsed onto her bed. She could hear soft voices through the door, but she couldn’t muster the energy to strain and try and make out what her friends were saying. She buried her head beneath her pillow, and their voices faded away entirely. She closed her eyes without even bothering to remove her swords. As she drifted away, she wondered if she’d made a terrible mistake.

Twilight Sparkle poised on a ledge. An endless, placid sea spread before her, black as the night sky. The perfectly smooth surface of the water shimmered with countless stars. The Specter sat beside her, staring down into the sea.

“Why do their deaths concern you so?” it asked.

As Twilight watched, stars winked out of existence, and new ones flared to take their place. Each was fleeting, a mere blink in an ocean of time.

“A mortal life is like a candle in a stiff breeze – sputtering, weak, and fragile,” the Specter continued. “If it isn’t snuffed out, it ends when the wax burns down. Death is the ultimate answer to life. For them, the quest for survival is meaningless.”

As Twilight looked closer, she saw an intangible thread connecting each of the stars. “Life can be full and beautiful,” Twilight said. “Life is valuable and interconnected. A single act can ripple through the ages.” She reached out to touch the water, and from her hoof, a ring expanded.

The Specter laughed blackly. “What does a ripple matter, when it is so fleeting? What is a heartbeat of life to an eternity of death? Your choices cannot change their destiny. Death is destiny. If ending their life serves you, then end it. Why question yourself?”

Twilight shrugged. “What do you care? Why not leave me to my brief, futile life?”

“Because we are not them,” the Specter said. “We are far more.”

Twilight shook her head. “I am a pony.”

“And we are divine.”

Twilight glanced over at the Specter. “I beat you, didn’t I? You were in chains, until she set you free.”

The Specter stared at her with its glowing red eyes. “She didn’t let me out, you did. Chains held me at bay from the day you spared Shining Armor, but as she strained your mortality to its limits, you set me free. You chose not to admit defeat and slip quietly into a dark embrace.”

“You didn’t like the chains, did you? You don’t understand them.”

The Specter glared, its eyes flaring. “It doesn’t matter. I will always be here, and you will always require me.”

Twilight grinned. It did matter. She had her friends. Light flared across the placid sea as chains burst from its surface, blue, white, orange, and yellow. They descended toward the Specter. “I have no need of you now!” Twilight shouted.

The chains fell around the Specter. For a moment, it crumpled beneath them. “You’re missing one,” it said. It started to rise, billowing shadows. The chains of light shattered. The tail of a scorpion poked free from the cloud of blackness.

As the shroud fell away, Twilight felt fear grip at her heart. Pinkie was gone, distant and lost. A demonic scorpion towered over her: the visage of the Sand Ravager she’d faced beneath the dam beside Appleloosa.

“You will not reject me!” the Specter’s voice rumbled across the waves. “You are a pony, and I am divinity!”

The Sand Ravager lurched toward Twilight. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a single pink star, blazing away in the sea of night. She dove off the precipice and into the water. The blackness sucked at her, but she swam – she reached – for that fire of brilliant joy.

Twilight burst out of a pool in the gardens of Candlekeep. Tangles of black thorns grew where flowers should have been. She scrambled free from the water and drug herself across the grey dirt.

The Sand Ravager ripped from the earth beneath the fountain, consuming it in a plume of destruction. Ahead, Twilight glimpsed a pink tail disappearing through the front doors of the library-keep. She hauled herself to her hooves and galloped for the door.

As she reached the steps leading up to the heavy double-doors, the Sand Ravager’s claws launched toward her, snapping. She dove clear, and they smashed into the stone beneath her, sending her flying through the doors. She tumbled across the floor of the library.

When Twilight came to a stop on her back, Pinkie Pie stood over her, beaming down at her with bright blue eyes. “Giggle at the ghostie,” she said.

Twilight blinked. In a flash, Pinkie was gone. The stone beneath Twilight’s back shuddered, and she looked at the door. The Sand Ravager was pushing its way through. The stone crumbled before its might. Twilight rolled onto her belly and rose to her feet. A deep joy burned inside of her.

“I’m not alone!” Twilight shouted. “I will always remember her. I will always remember them, no matter what separates us, be it space, time, or death itself! You cannot control me!” She felt her joy rise to the surface. She laughed, chiming and bright, at the shadow before her. Purple light flared from the walls around her.

Chains rose from behind Twilight. This time, five of them snaked toward the Specter’s visage, pink, orange, blue, white, and yellow. They lashed around the Sand Ravager, and it writhed. The visage collapsed back into the the Specter’s usual form. It hunched beneath its bonds.

The Specter glared up at Twilight with its burning red eyes. “You will never be free.”

“Ey, Twilight,” a voice said.

Twilight shifted slightly. She languished, jarred from sleep, but not fully awake. She ignored the voice and fell back into the warm embrace of the bed beneath her.

Somepony sighed, followed by heavy hoofsteps. Twilight’s ears twitched back in annoyance. Suddenly, she heard the swish of curtains. Bright light lanced through her eyelids. She groaned and curled her hooves in front of her face, shielding herself from the light. “Why?”

“Consider that payback for the stunt you pulled with the sword,” Applejack said. “We weren’t ready for that.”

Twilight cracked open her eyes and held up a hoof between her and the window. Applejack was an orange blur just to the side of her hoof. “Ungh,” Twilight grunted. “I’m awake.”

“Come on, let’s get you some breakfast,” Applejack said. “The Grey Fox said he wanted to see you.”

“Pinkie,” Twilight said, shooting fully awake. She rolled out of bed and looked around the room. She expected to see Spike at the foot of her bed, but he was nowhere to be seen. Is he still upset? she wondered.

“Slept in your kit, huh?” Applejack said. “Guess you were pretty tuckered out. Well, we all were.”

Twilight nodded. “At least I’m ready.” She headed for the door. “Mostly, anyway. I still need to prepare some spells.” As she stepped out into the hallway, she went over the magic she had left from the previous day. While she’d taken a bite out of her spell resources, the Copper Coronet hadn’t overly strained her supply.

“We’ll also need some skulls,” Applejack said, following her out.

Twilight glanced over at Applejack, quirking a brow. “Skulls?”

“For a skullthrone,” Applejack deadpanned. “Every evil overmare needs a skullthrone.”

Twilight stopped in her tracks, staring at Applejack. “You’re joking,” she said.

Applejack grinned. “Yup.”

“How can you joke about that?” Twilight asked, glaring.

Applejack clapped her on the back. “You’ve got to ease up, Twilight,” she said. “You’re not a bad pony; the fact that you’re concerned enough to ask the questions you do shows that, but if all you dwell on is your failures, it’ll break you. You’ve got a good heart. Follow your conscience, and stop beating yourself up for doing what anypony would have done.”

Twilight shook her head. “That’s the thing, Applejack. I don’t have a good heart.”

Applejack’s smile fell slightly. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Twilight asked.

“Don’t tell yourself you're a bad pony,” Applejack said. “When I first met you, all I knew is that Granny told me to protect you, and you had some serious bounty hunters trying to kill you. You appeared naive, but determined, and as I watched, you stood up and you saved Appleloosa, then you saved Ponyville. Yesterday, when we walked into the Copper Coronet, it was full of those Skinstealers, and now it’s not. When ponies talk about you, they talk about a heroine. You are the kind of pony that others should aspire to be.”

“My inner voice tells me to kill things,” Twilight said flatly.

Applejack frowned. She opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s why I dwell. It’s why I ask the questions I do.” Twilight touched her chest. “This is useless.” She reached up and tapped her head. “But Star Swirl taught me to use this.” She sighed. “If all I did was what felt right, and I didn’t think about it, I would be a monster.”

“But you don’t,” Applejack said. “And maybe that means even more.”

A small smile lifted the corners of Twilight’s mouth. “Maybe.”

After breakfast, Twilight stood across from Fancy Pants in his office, his desk separating them. An object roughly the size of a teakettle hidden in a grey silk swathing rested between them. “What’s this?” Twilight asked.

“It’s all you’ll need to get access to Spellhold,” Fancy Pants said. He reached out and unfolded the fabric. As the swathing fell away, it revealed a chiseled grey stone.

Allowing herself to relax, Twilight eased into the chair in front of Fancy Pant’s desk to get a closer look. The stone wasn’t grey, as she’d first thought, but blueish and transparent. The grey color came from the silk reflected through it. The gemstone’s curved, multifaceted top and smooth sides indicated it had been masterfully cut, but a ragged edge ran along the bottom, leaving the gem with a dull sheen.

“It’s just a rock,” Twilight said.

Fancy Pants chuckled. “Normally, I would agree with you, but this is more than a rock. It was stolen from the Grey Wizards a couple hours ago in a daring heist. It’s valuable to them, and they will give much to see it returned.”

“Then why are we sitting here talking?” Twilight asked. “Exchange it.”

“It’s a tad bit more delicate than that.” Fancy Pants grimaced. “Ransoms usually are. I’ve arranged a meeting with the Grey Wizards in their castle. It wasn’t my first choice in meeting spots, but when I explained that we were after access to Spellhold, they said usage of a gateway could be arranged there if the stone was returned to their possession.”

Twilight raised her brows. “So, wait, you want us to go make the exchange, and then teleport to Spellhold?”

“Precisely,” Fancy Pants said.

Twilight glared at him. “You expect us to walk into the Grey Wizard’s castle, carrying their priceless artifact? How do I know you’re not sending us into a trap?”

“How much would it take to convince you we are not enemies?” Fancy Pants said. “We should focus on working together, not unwarranted suspicion. Why would I send you into a trap?”

Twilight rose out of her chair, planting her hooves on his desk. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“Because I will be joining you,” Fleur said. She gracefully strode toward the desk on her long legs. “I will negotiate on be’alf of the Thieves Guild, and I am not planning on walking into a trap unprepared. As you represent a clear and demonstrable threat, we are ‘oping that your presence will prevent the Grey Wizards from attempting to reclaim the stone by force.”

“So we’re muscle,” Twilight said. She furrowed her brows, glancing between them. “Don’t you risk angering the Grey Wizards by doing this? I was under the impression you had an understanding.”

“If we get what we want,” Fancy Pants said, “and we will, I expect our position in the balance of power will be much improved.” He rewrapped the stone in its swathing and pushed it toward her. “And you will be able to find your friend.”

Twilight lifted the stone in her magic. “This had better work.”

Apprehension coursed through Twilight as she gazed up at the gates to the Grey Wizard’s castle. She was close; she could feel it. She wondered what she would find in Spellhold. Will I be strong enough to save Pinkie?

Her friends stepped up beside her, joined by Fleur. “So, if this goes south, what’s the plan?” Applejack asked. “There’s bound to be dozens of spellcasters on top of us the moment they decide they don’t want to play nice.”

Twilight glanced over at her friends. Applejack was right, of course, and the Grey Wizards had defeated Sunset Shimmer. Still, she was ready. She’d prepared a wide selection of spells to help her win against other mages. She stepped forward, turning to face her group. “Fluttershy, you're ready to use dispelling magic, if it comes to that?”

Fluttershy nodded.

I’m not alone, Twilight thought. She looked at Fluttershy. “They’ll be ready to cast defensive spells to protect themselves from magic and physical attacks. If you see shimmering shells around them, purge everything.” She turned to Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. “Follow up fast, and kill with your first strike. Many mages also have defensive Contingencies.”

“What about you?” Fluttershy asked. “If I remove their spell protections, I might also affect you. You rely on defensive magic too.”

Twilight smiled. “I have a trick. I know a spell that can protect me from an entire school of magic. Most mass dispelling effects are Aburjation, including yours. It’s the first thing I’ll cast, and I’ll be dispelling too.”

“Can’t they do that too?” Rainbow Dash said.

“It’s a high level spell, with different versions for each school, and I never saw it in any books. I don’t think many ponies know any version, least of all the one that protects against Abjuration. Star Swirl may have been the only one,” Twilight said. She eyed her friends. “Remember, a mage can’t target you if they can’t focus on you. Keep moving, stay on the offensive, and don’t give them the time to think. As soon as they see you, they’ll be casting something, but if you hit first, you’ll win.”

Twilight blinked. She thought she saw something crack Fleur's normally passive expression. Before she could focus on it, it was gone. Worry? Twilight wondered. “Something wrong?” she asked Fleur.

“We don’t want a war with the Grey Wizards. We’re already fighting on one front, and that’s one front too many,” Fleur said. “You’ll be keeping your aggression in check, yes?”

“We won’t do anything unless they do something first,” Twilight said. “It’s why we’re here, isn’t it?”

Fleur nodded. “Of course.”

Within the palace, Twilight stopped behind Fleur in front of an arched doorway. In the vaulted room beyond, eight grey-robed unicorns were sitting on one side of a long table. At the head of the table, a stained glass window portrayed two ponies shaking hooves. The servant that had led them here stepped off to the side and bowed.

Fleur smiled and walked into the room. “Thank you for receiving us in good faith.”

While Fleur exchanged pleasantries and small bows with each of the Grey Wizards, the plates of Applejack’s dragonscale armor pressed into Twilight’s side as she leaned close. “I’ve got a bad feeling ‘bout this one,” Applejack whispered.

Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash and flicked her muzzle. The pegasus stepped closer. “What?” Rainbow asked in a hushed tone.

“If things go bad, knock the table onto its side with your wingblades,” Twilight said.

Rainbow nodded, but she quirked a brow.

“Just do it,” Twilight said.

“Why don’t you join us, Baroness?” the unicorn seated in the center of the grey-robed side of the table said. She had hard, intelligent, violet eyes, not unlike the ones Twilight had seen in her own reflection.

Twilight stiffened. “Of course,” she said. As she stepped through the archway, she felt the uncomfortable weight of the stone in a pouch at her side. She’d opted to leave it out of the Bag of Holding for the exchange.

Twilight passed Fleur, noticing she sat at the end of the table near the door. She chose a seat near the middle of her side of the table. Her friends filed in behind her, each taking a seat. Twilight looked across the table at each of the Grey Wizards in turn. She tried to keep her face passive, even as scenarios flitted through her mind. Without actually lighting her horn and using her magic, she went through the mental motion of drawing her swords in a flash.

The violet eyed mare locked eyes with Twilight. “Does she have it?” she said, glancing briefly at Fleur.

A frown of confusion passed across Twilight’s face, despite her best efforts to control it. “I have it, and if you want it back, I need to be allowed access to Spellhold so that I can retrieve my friend.”

“She does not represent the Thieves Guild,” Fleur said, slowly rising out of her chair. “Allow me to present the ponies that stole your fragment.” She flicked her muzzle toward Twilight and her friends. For a brief moment, Twilight locked gazes with Fleur, and Fleur smirked. “We told you you’d be going to Spell’old,” Fleur said.

Feeling her blood go cold, Twilight slowly turned back to the Grey Wizards on the far side of the table. A suppressor floated in a violet aura of magic next the mare in the center. Twilight’s thoughts froze as she stared at the hollow shell. The memory of floating in an ocean of nothingness, cut off, flashed through her mind.

“Come willingly,” the mare said. “You are surrounded and outnumbered. The weight of our magic will crush you.”

Rainbow Dash spun out of her chair and flipped the heavy wooden table onto its side with a thunderous gust from her wings.

Gateway

The heavy oaken negotiating table pitched onto its side, shattering chairs beneath its mass. The Grey Wizard’s scrambled back as it came to rest with a boom, forced into the narrow space between the tabletop and the wall.

Twilight stared at the underside of the table, her mind suddenly clear. With a surge of power, she lit her horn. She needed no spell to push it with all of her might. Contingencies flared to life when she smashed the wizards between table and the wall with a tremendous crack. She kept pushing.

“Dispel!” Twilight shouted over a shrill scream.

In her peripheral vision, she glimpsed a glow from Fluttershy’s eyes, then a wave of pale green light rippled across the floor and washed over the tipped table. Twilight briefly let up the pressure on her massive bludgeon. One of the grey-robed unicorn’s squirmed free and pitched onto his side. Before her could turn his head, Applejack pinned him to the wall with Truthseeker’s twin spikes. Light flared from behind the table.

Twilight smashed the table against the wall again. The light vanished, accompanied by the distinctive pop of a failed spell. More screams. She pulled back, and smashed again, and again, and again. The tabletop was her hammer, and the stone wall her anvil, and she kept striking until all she heard was the squelch of tortured flesh. Finally, she let her aura of her levitation fade. The table settled on its side with whatever was left of the Grey Wizard’s wedged between it and the wall.

A trickle of blood oozed out from beneath the edge of the table. Twilight snapped her gaze to the door. Fleur was gone, her chair empty. Twilight blinked, realizing she was still sitting, and eased herself out of her chair. “She got away,” Twilight said, unable to keep the disappointment out of her tone. “Wasn’t somepony watching her?” She looked at her friends.

“The... hell...” Applejack breathed.

“You didn’t even flinch,” Rarity said.

Rainbow glared at Twilight. “You could have told me that was the plan!”

A raspy, prolonged wheeze drew Twilight’s attention back to the table. She pulled it back, until it fell onto all four legs with a thud. Bodies came with it, slumping onto the floor and the tabletop. All of them lay still. Blood dripped down the wall.

Hearing Fluttershy gasp, Twilight winced. “It was... efficient,” Twilight murmured. Me and mine, she told herself. It’s not wrong. Even in her own mind, those words sounded dull and hollow.

One of the bodies, face down on the tabletop, wheezed, sucking in air as if it was breathing through a tiny straw. Twilight slowly approached. With her magic, she rolled the pony onto her back. A white rib poked out of her chest and through the grey robes. The shattered stub of a broken horn protruded above her flattened, mangled muzzle. The left side of her face was crushed into a bloody pulp. One of her eyelids opened. She tilted her head, staring up at Twilight with a single, sharp violet eye. She drew in another wheezing, tortured breath, her blood gurgling in her throat.

Twilight stared back at the eye. “I’m sorry,” she said, drawing Solstice. It’s not your fault, she thought. You have no shortage of ponies to blame: Fleur, Fancy Pants, this pony.

In her peripheral vision, Twilight saw Fluttershy approach. Twilight extended her foreleg in front of Fluttershy. The pegasus looked at her, then the wheezing pony, tears in her eyes. “I can save her,” Fluttershy said.

Twilight shook her head, and brought Solstice down.

Fluttershy choked back a cry. It’s not your fault your powerful, Twilight told herself as she pulled Solstice free of the corpse. It’s not your fault you were stronger than they were. “I’m sorry,” Twilight said, looking at Fluttershy. “We’re not out of this yet. We can’t afford to waste resources.”

Fluttershy nodded slowly. She closed her eyes tight and turned away from the body. Since when was a life a waste? Twilight asked herself. Focus, Twilight. Salvage this. Save Pinkie. She turned to face her friends. “Come on, this isn’t anything we haven’t done before.”

Twilight lit her horn, casting Spell Immunity: Abjuration, and moved toward the door. She pressed up beside the archway and perked her ears – nothing. There has to more, she thought, drawing Celestial Fury. Where would I be? she wondered.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash shifted up, positioning against the arch opposite Twilight. Rarity and Fluttershy moved up behind her. “Some ambush,” Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Where are they?”

They’re invisible, Twilight realized, cursing her own stupidity for not reaching that conclusion sooner. She almost shouted, but bit her lip. She had a chance to catch them by surprise while they were still getting into position.

Focusing on a point on the floor just beyond the doorway in the corridor, she brought another spell to completion. A magenta pulse rippled outward from her target and flowed back into the room and out into the corridor. It struck something directly in front of her, stripping away a shroud of invisibility.

A grey-robed unicorn stood defenseless before her, his eyes widening with horror. As his horn flared with light, she plunged Celestial Fury into his forehead. The point of her blade emerged from the back of his skull, and his horn went dark.

Twilight turned around as she ripped Celestial Fury up and out of the pony’s skull. All around her, the chamber erupted into chaos. Two wizards were already in the room with them. Rarity hit one in the eye with an arrow before he could cast a spell, and Rainbow Dash cut down the other. Three Magic Missiles launched from beyond the door and struck Applejack. Two rippled off her magic-resistant dragonscale armor, but one struck her solidly in the face. She grunted and whirled, bucking Truthseeker through the door.

Twilight glanced back out the door. Seeing only a corpse impaled by Applejack’s chain, she breathed a sigh of relief. “They must have been the backup,” she said. “There’s going to be more.”

“How in Equestria are we getting to Spellhold now?!” Rarity cried.

Twilight swallowed, forcing herself to remain calm. “There’s a way,” Twilight said. She cast Truesight, and her perception of the world shifted. Fortunately, she saw no signs of life out in the corridor, or in the room other than her friends. The only movement was Applejack reeling in her chain. That’s no guarantee, she reminded herself. They could protect themselves from magical detection with a spell.

“Twilight?” Rarity said.

“We need to find a gateway,” Twilight said.

“Don’t you need to know where we’re going?” Applejack asked.

“Yes,” Twilight said, keeping an eye on the corridor. “But, I should be able to feel my way around their network of gateways. If I find one that’s an outlier, it could be Spellhold.”

“Why didn’t we do that before?” Rainbow Dash said.

“It could be,” Twilight repeated. “I’m assuming Spellhold is remote. And even then, it’ll be a blind teleport. I’ll have a sense that the gateway is spatially different from the others, but I’ll only have a vague idea of its location. When we were coming here, I knew how far away Canterlot was, and I could picture it. I may not connect to the Spellhold gateway correctly. The teleport may dump us out miles away from anything, or a thousand feet in the air, or under the—”

Applejack snorted. “I think we get it.”

“Is this our only option?” Rarity asked.

“Maybe,” Twilight said. “Maybe not. Maybe they wrote the exact location down somewhere. But they’re hundreds of them, and soon they’ll be all over us. We need to do something now.”

“Then let’s move!” Rainbow said.

Twilight nodded. “I’m going to check the corridor.” She quickly cast Non-Detection, refocused, and cast Invisibility. Cloaked from vision, she stepped out door.

Twilight looked both ways. To the left, the hallway narrowed and terminated in a winding staircase. To the right, it widened, opening out into a grand hall that they’d entered through with Fleur. A formation of at least fifteen glowing souls stood out in the large room, looking her direction. Auras of magic ebbed around them.

Twilight ducked back into the chamber. “They’re waiting for us,” she said quietly. “As soon as we set hoof outside this doorway, if they’re even halfway competent spellcasters, they’ll obliterate us.”

Applejack hissed through her teeth. “You’ve got a plan, right?” The glowing shape of her head turned, like she was looking for Twilight, until her nose pointed straight at her.

Twilight blinked. “Can you see me, Applejack?”

“Huh?” Applejack said. She turned her head slightly, and her nose stopped pointing at Twilight.

Twilight peered at Applejack for a moment and said, “My plan involves killing them all, and I need Fluttershy’s help.”

Fluttershy swallowed audibly. “They’ll kill us, won’t they?”

Twilight nodded, then realized they couldn’t see her and said, “Yeah, I think so.”

“What do I need to do?” Fluttershy said.

“Can you picture the grand hall we came in through?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded.

“I’m going to cast an Invisibility spell on you. I need you to target a dispell at the point where the corridor meets the grand hall, then duck back into this room. I’m betting at least one of them has Truesight active, so expose yourself at little as possible, and wait for the count of three,” Twilight explained. “The spell has to be cast on three.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy said. Twilight detected a hint of confusion in her tone.

Focusing, Twilight brought another Invisibility spell to competition, her own falling away the moment her horn flared, disrupted by the magical energy. She leaned her head forward and touched Fluttershy’s forehead with the tip of her horn. She pulled back and watched Fluttershy’s glowing form. With a quiet gasp, Fluttershy raised her forehoof.

“Alright, hold on,” Twilight said. She sat on her haunches, then folded her forelegs and laid down on her belly. “Step two.” She closed her eyes and cast another spell.

When Twilight opened her eyes, her body lay on the floor in front of her, by all appearances fast asleep. Her mind occupied an illusory double. It was the same spell she’d used against Pyros the Everburning months ago. Unfortunately, the Truesight spell stayed with her body.

She looked at Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. Speaking through the mouth of her illusion, she said, “I may not get them all. I need you three to follow up. The master wizards will see right through this thing with Truesight, but the novices will tear it to shreds. As soon as it gets destroyed, attack.” They nodded an affirmative.

Twilight focused, casting a spell as she slowly stepped toward the door. Power surged on the tip of her horn. She left her swords behind; all she needed was her magic. She held the spell as she prepared to leap out into the corridor.

“One,” Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash’s skymail clinked slightly as she dropped into a crouch. Rarity drew her bow, a crystalline arrow appearing on the string. Applejack loosened Truthseeker from around her tail.

“Two,” Twilight said, gritting her teeth with the effort of holding the spell. She crouched, preparing to send her illusory double leaping out into the corridor.

“Three!” she shouted, lunging.

Fluttershy peeked around the doorway, her eyes glowing, as Twilight rushed past her. As soon as Twilight was out of the room, she galloped down the corridor. She had all of a split second before they reacted. Without Truesight, she could only see a handful of them. She launched her spell anyway. A black bolt shot from her horn, headed for the Grey Wizards.

Fluttershy’s Dispel Magic hit first. In a wave of green light, it revealed the entire group of grey-robed ponies and washed away shimmering barriers. Horns flared. A host of magical projectiles, brilliant orbs and hissing conjured arrows, flew directly at Twilight.

Before anything could reach her, Twilight’s spell hit. A black shadow of death pulsed in the midst of the Grey Wizards. A Magic Missile tore into her, and she winked out of existence.

Twilight opened her eyes with a gasp. A surge of exhilaration coursed through her. She’d unleashed a Death spell on her enemies, and it ripped their souls away. She tried to beat back the satisfaction rising within her like a wave and lock it away, but it crashed over her. She shuddered giddily as she rose to her feet. It was so easy.

She turned, trying to focus. Her friends stood out in the hallway, staring down it. “What’re you doing!” Twilight shouted, picking up her swords. “Move!” She rushed out to join them.

Applejack pointed down the corridor. “There’s nothing left to do.”

Twilight looked. Her spell had turned the phalanx of Grey Wizards into a pile of lifeless shapes. There was nothing left. She swallowed. Death spells were not irresistable. Some ponies should have been able to hold on, she thought.

“This way!” Rarity said. “Gateways!” She pointed at a sign across the grand hall. With her Truesight, Twilight couldn’t read it, but it seemed familiar. She remembered seeing the sign on their way in. Without a moment’s hesitation, she headed for the doorway marked by the sign at a brisk trot.

As Twilight crossed the great hall, she kept her eyes up, doing her best to look in all directions at once. The place was deserted, except for the bodies. Too easy, she thought.

“Erie,” Applejack murmured, alongside her.

“That group of wizards must’ve been all they could muster,” Twilight said. “But where are the servants. Did they flee?”

Applejack hesitated and fell a step behind. “You don’t see ‘em?”

“No,” Twilight said. She stopped, her ears perking. “Where?”

Applejack pointed. Following Applejack’s hoof with her gaze, Twilight spotted greyish lump on the steps at the head of the hall roughly twenty paces away from the epicenter of the Death Spell. Applejack moved her hoof, indicating another further up. They blended in with the lifeless material of the floor.

Twilight gulped as she picked out more bodies. She’d targeted the spell near the back of the group of wizards to ensure the effects would not reach her friends in the negotiating chamber, but she bathed far more of the Great Hall in death than she’d expected.

If I’d been more careful, there would be less bodies here now. I could have used something else: a different spell, smaller area, less collateral.

She shook her head and put one hoof in front of the other, moving forward. This isn’t right, Twilight thought. They beat Sunset Shimmer. I shouldn’t have been able to sweep them aside so easily. The Grey Wizards should know spells I’ve only heard of. She knew even powerful mages weren’t unbeatable, and she had strong allies, but she couldn’t chase away her doubt. It could have gone very badly, she reminded herself. She hadn’t given them a chance to use their magic.

Briefly, she wondered why they didn’t bombard the doorway to the negotiating chamber with spells, destroying them and everything else in it. Maybe they were hoping some of their own were still alive, Twilight thought. She winced internally at the idea. It meant she’d won because she didn’t hold back, and they did.

She reached the sign and pushed open the double doors. The doorway lead into an empty alcove with three chambers coming off of it. In each, she perceived flows of magic coursing around an array of anchoring gemstones mounted on a stand. Behind each gateway, a broad, tall window stretching from the floor to the ceiling looked out on the city. Outside the window, a torrent of water flowing from beneath the castle plunged into a large reservoir pool that fed three aqueducts. Everything further away than the first few buildings beneath the Castle faded into an impenetrable grey shroud that marked the edge of Twilight’s altered perception.

“Perfect,” she said, heading for the alcove straight across from the doors. She stopped directly in front of the gateway and dropped onto her haunches. “Watch my back.”

“Let’s get these doors shut,” Applejack said. “It could buy us some time.”

Hearing the slam of wood behind her, Twilight glanced over her shoulder. Her friends took up positions beside the closed door. She turned back to the Gateway and lit her horn.

Twilight sensed a web of tunnels that reached beyond the horizon. She closed her eyes, trying to picture them. Instead, she saw the violet eye of the mare staring up at her – bright, intelligent. What sets us apart? she wondered. How was she different from me? Did she believe she was doing the right thing?

They took Pinkie, she reminded herself. She forced her mind back to the web of gateways. Pinkie was out there somewhere: alone. She raced across the tunnels, imagining places as she went. Fragments of information about the Empire’s cities she remembered from books, Fillydelphia, Baltimare, and more, flitted through her mind. She focused on each destination in turn. Each had at least a dozen gateways. Any of them could be Spellhold.

Then, an isolated thread floated past her. She snatched it with her mind and followed it. It lead north and east over white peaks. The mountains faded, and she could feel the churning depths of a frigid sea. Ice gripped a lone, rocky island. She fixed the location in her mind’s eye.

“I think I found it,” Twilight announced and opened her eyes. She noticed a warmth against her side, emanating from the pouch she’d stowed her watch in. No different from last time, she thought.

“Can you get us there?” Applejack asked.

Twilight looked over her shoulder at her friends. “I think so.” She did her best to sound confident. “It’s not like I have a better idea,” she added.

“Well, it’s now or never,” Rarity said.

Twilight nodded and focused her magic on her horn. As she pieced the spell together, she reached for the location. An intangible barrier resisted her, like a thick curtain that had suddenly been snapped shut. Her destination winked out. Quickly, she stopped casting the spell, before she lost it entirely.

Twilight’s heart jumped into her throat. Why isn’t it working? she thought. Her heart thudded in her chest as she stared at the gateway.

“Come on, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “We don’t have all the time in the world here!”

“Not helping!” Twilight snapped. She blinked – time. The watch! she realized. She’d had it around her neck last time, and the barrier yielded to her. She yanked it out of the pouch and slipped the chain over her head. When it settled against her chest, its warmth ebbed through her coat.

“Sorry,” Rainbow said.

Twilight grinned. “Actually, you’re a genius.” She cast the teleport spell again. With her magic, she confidently pushed against the barrier and completed the spell. Feedback rippled down her horn like a bolt of lighting.

The next thing Twilight knew, she was lying on the floor. She saw colors again, and painfully bright light. Squinting, she rolled onto her belly and lifted herself onto her forelegs. A blurry rainbow smeared across her vision. She heard distant, indistinct voices. A burning, scorching heat pressed against her chest.

“Are you okay?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, her voice shattering the fog in Twilight’s mind.

Twilight blinked, her vision suddenly clearing. Her friends were gathered around her. Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of her face. Her Truesight was gone; she’d lost it in the feedback. Something had blocked her spell. She swatted away Rainbow’s hoof, saying, “I’m okay.” Wincing, she pulled the watch off her neck and held it in the air. Smelling scorched hair, she sniffed and rubbed the tender spot where the metal had rested.

“What happened?” Rarity said.

Twilight turned around to face the gateway again. The gems gleamed on the surface of a stone pedestal. Without bothering to close her eyes, she focused on it. The same barrier blocked her, impenetrable. “No...” she gasped. She took a step back and dropped the watch. Her pulse thundered in her ears. If the Grey Wizards could give access to their gateways with a license, they could take it away.

“Twilight? What’s wrong?!” Applejack said.

“They must’ve...” Twilight said, hesitating. “They blocked me out!” Stamping, she turned around. “They blocked me out!” she repeated, shouting. “We were so close!”

As soon as the words left Twilight’s mouth, the double doors exploded inward. A wave of fire rushed towards Twilight and her friends. The world slowed as she watched the blast wave lift Rarity and Fluttershy, then Rainbow Dash. Applejack stayed rooted, the fire washing over her armor. She closed her eyes on reflex as the wave of heat hit her.

Her Contingency fired. Layers of Stoneskin protected her. The stone pedestal brought her to a sudden stop when her back impacted it, but all she could feel besides the loss of sense of motion was a searing pain in her face, her chest, and her forelegs. The Stoneskin spell protected her from impacts and weapons, but not the heat of a Fireball.

Twilight opened her eyes. Three grey-robed figures stood in the doorway, each protected by grey skins of stone and a shimmering Globe of Invulnerability. Beside Twilight, Applejack picked herself up off the floor, looking largely in-tact. Her dragonscale armor had protected her from the worst of it.

With a roar, Twilight clawed her way to her feet. She pushed past the pain to cast a spell: Improved Haste. The world slowed around her, allowing her to see the ray of the Breach spell that impacted her chest a moment later. It shattered the remaining layers of her Stoneskin. She triggered the Sequencer in Solstice and dove to the side.

In a flash of magic, Stoneskin, Improved Invisibility, and Non-Detection cast simultaneously and protected Twilight. With a crack, Applejack bucked Truthseeker at the figure in the center of the doorway. Predictably, the twin spikes passed through the Globe of Invulnerability harmlessly, it protected against spells, not steel, but to Twilight’s astonishment, they sunk deep into their target, punching through all the layers of Stoneskin protecting the mage.

Hidden from view, Twilight took her brief moment of respite to try and spot her friends. Other than Applejack, she was alone. All that remained of the window was a few fragments of glass clinging to the frame. They fell, she realized. She hoped they’d landed in the reservoir she’d seen beneath the window. But if they didn’t— Twilight snapped her attention back to the mages in the doorway. Both of their horns glowed.

She launched herself at the mages, drawing her swords. The blades would be visible as soon as they were out of their sheaths, but she already on top of the Grey Wizards. She whirled her floating blades through the air. Sparks flew as each spin struck her enemies’ Stoneskins. Layer after layer shattered in the blink of an eye. Their horns flared as their spell completed a moment before Twilight’s swords cleaved into them.

The razor-sharp edges of Celestial Fury and Solstice swept effortlessly through their flesh, leaving deep slices in both of their chests. As they collapsed before her, a scratchy, parched sensation crept into Twilight’s mouth and nostrils, then down into her throat. She coughed, looking up. Her eyes stung, inexplicably dry. Out in the great hall, she spotted more grey-robed ponies, at least twelve of them. She heard Applejack coughing behind her.

The horn of one of the Grey Wizards in the great hall flared with a completed spell. A wave of dispelling magic washed over Twilight. When her invisibility remained in-tact, she silently thanked Star Swirl.

Before she could react, a vice gripped her lungs, and wracking coughs shook through her. A thousand needles of pain drove into her chest. She tasted blood. Wilting, she realized. She’d heard of the spell. Every bit of water her body was being pulled out. The wizards must have finished it, together, a moment before they died.

While she coughed, another spell exploded over her head. Flecks of shining dust coated her, revealing her invisible outline. She closed her eyes against the bright light and stumbled back into the room. Yet another spell struck her, and she was aware of her immunity to Abjuration being ripped away. A second wave of dispelling magic hit, stripping her Stoneskin, Invisibility, and Haste. She spat blood and gasped for air as the coughing fit eased.

She glimpsed a glow of magic from out in the great hall. A red spark launched into the air, heading straight for her. She turned and ran. Applejack hunched near the pedestal, coughing, blood dripping from her lips. Behind her, Rainbow Dash landed on the lip of the broken window. Severe burns blackened her coat, especially on her back.

“Dive!” Twilight croaked, trying to shout. She crossed her swords, and pushing with the flat sides of the blades, barreled into Applejack. Together, they tumbled off the edge.

Twilight flipped head over heels through the air. Above her, a wave of fire exploded out of the shattered window. Rainbow Dash dove after her. The pool rolled past beneath her.

I’m not going to land in it, Twilight realized. She’d tried to jump straight, but pushing Applejack had knocked her further to the left than she would have liked. She caught a glimpse of Applejack. It looked like she was going to make it, at least. A paved street drew closer beneath her.

Rainbow Dash hit into Twilight’s side. She locked her forelegs around Twilight. Her wings thudded as she beat them furiously, and she cried out with the strain. Charred feathers stripped off and fluttered in the air behind them. They angled toward the pool, but they were still going terribly fast.

Near the edge of the reservoir basin, they crashed into the water. The impact ripped them apart and knocked the air out of Twilight’s lungs. She plunged beneath the surface. Her jaw cracked against the bottom, snapping her to the side. Stars exploded across her vision. Her lungs screamed, and reflexively, she inhaled. Water flooded her parched lungs. Her world went dark.

Hunted

A mix of blood and water flooded out of Twilight’s mouth as the flickers of awareness came back to her. She heaved, coughing, as she cracked her eyes open. Red dragonscale pressed against her cheek. A matted blonde mane turned a rusty red by her vomit flowed down the sheet of armor. Applejack lurched beneath her, her hooves clattering on cobblestone.

Twilight managed to suck in a rasping breath in between coughs. Her eyes widened as the cobblestones passing beneath them rippled. Applejack dodged sharply to the side, and Twilight spilled from her back. As she fell, she watched a giant stone talon shoot up from the street and grasp where they had been moments before. She knew the spell; High Star's Grasping Claw. If they had been caught, it would have closed like a vice around them, crushing them until it finally crumbled away into dust.

Twilight’s back hit the street. The blow forced what little air she had gained out. More irony liquid surged past her tongue. Streaks of orange flared across her blurred vision. She blinked, trying to clear it. A Firestorm roiled above her, casting down balls of flame that burst on impact with the ground. She sucked in another sharp, painful breath. The window they jumped out of was nearby, and she was only a mere ten paces away from the cistern they’d jumped into. Three unicorns stood in the castle above them, looking down from the broken window.

A meteoric fireball plummeted from the Firestorm above, straight toward her. She rolled to the side, ducking behind her cloak. Heat blasted past her, but she felt nothing through the Cloak of Protection. Is this it? she wondered. Are they just going to stand up there and let their spell finish us off?

Twilight gathered her hooves beneath her. Her limbs trembled, but she managed to rise, sucking short, raspy breaths all the while. She looked around wildly, searching for her swords, and her friends. She spotted Celestial Fury speared into the cobblestone only a few paces away. It must have fallen with her. As she picked it up, a dripping wet Rarity stepped backwards past her, launching crystalline arrows at the unicorns in the window. The shafts shattered uselessly on a transparent grey barrier.

Above, Rainbow Dash dodged the flames that rained from the sky. She struggled with each beat of her wings; her seared feathers couldn’t catch the air the way they were meant to. Fluttershy stood with a bark-skinned Angel at her side, her cloak formed into a dome of fire-blackened brambles around her. Her eyes flared with a soft green glow as she completed a spell.

The nullifying wave of Fluttershy’s Dispel burst in the air, purging away the firestorm, but Twilight glimpsed a glowing horn in the window. The Grey Wizards weren’t done yet. With a rumble, the ground lurched beneath her hooves. Cracks blossomed from a point, as if a giant invisible wedge had been driven into the street. Twilight stumbled as the ground shifted and gave way beneath her. She nearly fell into one of the cracks, but she threw her weight, choosing to fall on solid ground.

She scrambled for purchase, two of her hooves dangling into empty space. Her vision throbbed like a candle as she struggled to breath. She knew she needed a spell; she needed magic and power, but she couldn’t get enough air to form the thoughts. She cursed herself. Life and death lay in the next few seconds, and she could barely hold onto consciousness.

The ground lurched again, the crack growing wider as if the wedge were being driven deeper. She slipped on the brink. Teeth grasped her mane, pulling painfully, but hauling her clear of the fissure. “Not today, Sugarcube,” Applejack said.

As her head shifted, Twilight glimpsed one of the cracks from the Grey Wizard’s spell spider-webbing up the foundation of Canterlot Castle. Not today, Twilight thought. She focused all that she had left on that crack and flared her horn. She didn’t form a spell; all she did was release wild magical power. Troves of power jumped up at her bidding, flowing freely from her horn. A moment later, a flaring violet detonation burst from the castle’s weakened foundation.

The side of the castle crumbled in a cascade of grey dust, and the wizards plummeted with it. A wave of stone buried them with a thunderous roar. Yes! Twilight thought, but her excitement was short-lived.

Twilight’s vision flared white as pain shot through her with a sudden ferocity. Dazed, she flopped onto her back, her body limp. Pegasi dove down from above, four of them in a wedge, each leaving a line of thunderclouds as they flew. Lightning lanced from rods attached harnesses they wore. One hit Rainbow Dash, and her wings collapsed, sending her tumbling.

Then, as suddenly as they had appeared, the airborne attackers wheeled to avoid a new threat. A hail of icy shards raked through their midst, scattering them. Brief confusion surfaced amid the pain in Twilight’s mind. She could have sworn one of the shards passed clean through one of the pegasi.

“Down!” Applejack shouted from close by. “We can lose them in the sewers.”

“Nice of them to dig us a path,” Rarity added.

Twilight’s head lulled to the side, her field of view shifting with it. As Twilight fought to hold onto consciousness, Angel caught Rainbow Dash with a mesh of vines that burst from his back. Gasping, Twilight tried to breath, but no matter how much air she sucked into her burning lungs, she wanted more. She smelled rot wafting up from beneath her.

As Twilight’s vision faded, she spotted a unicorn with a glowing horn tucked beneath the eaves of a nearby building. The unicorn had a baby blue coat, and she wore a purple cloak and a pointed magicians hat. At her throat, something glowed with a blood red light. I know her, Twilight thought. Before she could remember the name, she lost all awareness.

A wave of snow and ice blinded Twilight. Chill bit into her bones. Ice froze around her hooves. In the distance, she thought she could see a faint pink glow. She squinted. It was there. Pinkie was there, somewhere, to the north, across ancient peaks and a frozen sea. She’d seen it before the Grey Wizards stole her portal away from her.

She pulled free of the ice and galloped toward the pink light in the distance. Her hooves bit into the ice. She made great strides, and the light glowed brighter, but just when she felt she was about to reach it, the ice shattered beneath her hooves.

Grasping tendrils of deathly cold water snatched her and pulled her under. She screamed, and ice water flooded her lungs. She stared upward, weakly paddling, as the tendrils pulled her deeper. Above, she saw the pink light, so close, but so far. A pink foreleg plunged into the icy water. Twilight reached for it, linking her own foreleg with Pinkie’s. Warmth filled her, and she was yanked from the icy deep.

Twilight’s head broke the surface. She pulled herself onto a sandy beach, gasping. Shakily, she climbed to her feet. She looked around. Pinkie was nowhere to be found. She stood on the edge of one of Ponyville’s ponds. For a moment, she thought she was alone, but then she saw the Spectre.

The Specter hunched beneath the five glowing chains. Its wings of shadow ebbed and spilled past the chains, spreading and reaching. It looked up at her with its glowing red eyes set into its bleach white, unicorn skull.

“You lost your laughter,” the Specter said. “You nearly had her back, but you lost her.” It laughed a hacking, black laugh. “How are you going to find her now?”

Twilight took a step back, away from the reaching shadows. “I’ll find her!”

“Maybe,” the Specter said. “But will you find her in time?”

Twilight took another step back, doubt gripping at her heart.

“Will she still be laughter when you find her?” The Specter asked, its voice smooth and insidious. “What will you do without her?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight murmured. She looked at the sand, unable to meet the glowing red eyes.

“I didn’t understand you at first. I didn’t understand these chains,” the Specter said. “But I’m starting to. I’m starting to remember why I waited so long for your soul. You’re the sixth. The sixth needs five parts to be whole, and the sixth is the reason I am here. The question is: Can you keep me from being you when the sixth only has four?”

Twilight sucked in a breath. Fetid stench assaulted her nostrils. The all-too familiar sensation of Fluttershy’s healing magic warmed her chest. Coughing weakly, she cracked her eyes open.

The world around her was dim. A soft blue glow, from Rarity's horn, threw shadows on stone walls too smooth to have been formed by anything but magic. Water trickled somewhere nearby. Twilight swallowed, realizing how dry her mouth was.

“She’s awake!” Rainbow Dash cried, her face thrown half into shadow;

Twilight tried to ask for water, but the only sound she made was a broken croak.

A moment later, somepony tilted her head to her side and pressed a waterskin to her lips. She snatched it in her levitation, tearing it out of the hooves of the pony holding it, and drank greedily. The cool trickle spilled past her lips and down her throat.

“Not so fast, Twilight,” Fluttershy said softly. She gently pulled on the waterskin, trying to coax it away from Twilight.

With one more gulp, out of a need for air more than anything, Twilight let her pull it away. She coughed, sputtering, and caught her breath. Salty tears stung her eyes, and she wiped them away with the back of her foreleg. Grunting, she pushed herself into a sitting position. She peered at the ponies around her, squinting into the dark.

There was Fluttershy, hovering over her. Rarity stood a few paces back, her horn lighting the sewer passage. Rainbow Dash looked over Fluttershy’s shoulder, favoring one of her forelegs. Behind them all, Applejack faced away from her, stoically watching the passage.

“Are we safe?” Twilight asked, massaging her throat. She noticed Celestial Fury and Solstice leaning against the wall beside her. Fortunately, both blades were accounted for.

“For the moment,” Rarity said. “The Wonderbolts can’t follow us down here, and I think the Grey Wizards have lost too many of their number already.”

“Those were Wonderbolts?” Twilight said, blinking. She’d read about Canterlot’s aerobatic pegasi team, but she didn’t know they carried lightning rods.

“Definitely,” Rainbow Dash said. “We used to hear about them all the time in Cloudsdale. My teacher said if you took one on in the air, you were as good as dead. I always wanted to meet one and see how I stacked up.” She sniffed, glancing down at her foreleg. “I didn’t know they used magic tricks to win.”

“Probably why you don’t hear about them losing,” Rarity said, smirking.

“So where do we stand?” Applejack asked, turning toward Twilight.

“Yeah, what’s the plan?” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight blinked. “Plan?”

“How’re we going to find Pinkie now?” Fluttershy said.

Pinkie. Twilight felt like she’d been kicked in the gut. She had no plans. She knew where Spellhold was, roughly. She’d managed to get that information from the Grey Wizard’s network of gateways before they’d cut her off, but it was far away, somewhere in the Frozen North. An island, most likely, bound by ice. Nopony could live up there, especially not in winter, no matter how much magical warmth they cloaked themselves with. The Frozen North was as cold as the Badlands were dry and the Everfree was wild. Pinkie was beyond her reach.

Her eyes burned. She avoided meeting her friends gazes. They looked to her for answers. She’d always had an answer, a plan, a spell, but today, she had nothing. She’d let herself be suckered into the Thieves Guild’s trap. Any risk was worth finding Pinkie, she told herself, but it didn’t help. She’d ended up slaughtering the Grey Wizards with a death spell, and she had so little to show for all the death she’d caused.

She glanced up at her friends. She was taking too long to answer. They could tell something was wrong; she saw it in their faces, but it was nothing but concern. No accusation, no narrow eyes blazing with anger, despite her mistakes. I failed, Twilight thought. I lost Pinkie because I wasn’t strong enough, and I can’t find her again because I’m too stupid and gullible.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, swallowing. “I... we never should have walked into the Grey Wizard’s Castle. We don’t have any friends here anymore. I don’t know who to turn to. I don’t know how—” she stopped herself abruptly. She had a bargaining chip; Fleur had called it a fragment. Whatever the rock Fancy Pants had given her was, the Grey Wizards wanted it back. What are they willing to do for it? she wondered. Do they want it enough to forgive me for what I did to them and give me back my friend?

“Twilight?” Applejack said, prompting.

“We can give them the fragment for Pinkie,” Twilight said, looking up at her friends. “It’s the only option we have left.”

“That’s not your only option,” a voice said from further down the passage, deep within a shadow. Twilight recognized the voice, a memory from months ago.

Twilight shined light down the tunnel with her horn and wrapped her swords in her levitation. The lavender glow illuminated a lone unicorn. She wore a purple cloak and a pointed magician’s hat. Her baby-blue coat and silver hair glimmered in the light. A black amulet encircled her neck. It bore the visage of a stylized alicorn with a red gem set into its chest. Twilight reached for her swords.

“It’s alright, Twilight,” Rarity said. “She helped us escape from the Wonderbolts and get you down here where we could heal you.”

“Don’t you remember me, Twilight?” the unicorn said with a smirk. “I remember you.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Trixie?” She let her levitation fade from around her swords.

“The one and only,” Trixie said.

“That’s my line,” Rainbow Dash muttered.

Twilight quirked a brow. “Not the Great and Powerful?”

Trixie cocked a foreleg in annoyance. “Really? All this time and that’s all you can think to ask? What happened to my stage-name? If you must know, I’m in a new line of work, due to a certain naive young wizard and her noble whims. How long do you think it took from the day you set those slaves free until everypony up and down the Coast Road knew the story of how the Great and Powerful Trixie was nothing but a fraud? Illusions don’t work if ponies don’t believe they’re real, no matter how beautiful and intricate I make them.”

Trixie glared at Twilight. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is dead, and you killed her.”

Rainbow Dash stalked forward. “Is somepony bitter?” she said. “Because I remember you didn’t have any problems sticking Fluttershy in a cage. You don’t deserve any pity.”

“It’s your own fault, really,” Rarity added. “You’re the one who had the slaves.”

Trixie closed her eyes and pointed her nose at the ceiling. “I was merely their keeper. And they had a better lot with me than they would have had with somepony else.”

“That doesn’t make it right,” Rarity muttered.

“Right now, it doesn’t matter what Trixie did in the past,” Twilight said, fixing her gaze on Trixie. “Why are you here? Why did you help us?”

“Simple,” Trixie said. “I’m here because I’m the pony who stole the Fragment from the Grey Wizards. I helped you because you have it, and I need it to get to Spellhold.”

How? Twilight wondered. How could a rock get me to Spellhold? What is it? She bit back her questions and narrowed her eyes instead. She didn’t need to look any more desperate. The Grey Fox had manipulated her because she was desperate. “That’s not simple. Explain,” she said.

Trixie smirked. “You have one of the pieces of the Crystal Heart. It can hold the cold of the Frozen North at bay, if you know how to use it.”

The Crystal Heart, Twilight thought, her eyes widening. It was an artifact with the power of Harmony. Celestia had mentioned it.

“You know what it is?” Trixie said, blinking.

Twilight frowned, controlling her expression. “How did you get something so valuable away from the Grey Wizards? One Truesight Spell and you’re finished.”

Trixie grinned. “I sent thieves in black armor at them, not spellcasters. Why would you cast Truesight, if you don’t see a single unicorn?” She glanced down at the amulet around her throat. “And I have a few more tricks than I did when we last met.”

Twilight pictured it in her mind. A black cloaked pegasus rushing for her with a gleaming wingblade. Her first response wouldn’t be to wonder if it was an illusion.“If you had it, and you need it, why give it to the Thieves Guild?” she asked.

“Give?” Trixie frowned. “No, they took it from my room. I must have been staying at one of their inns.”

“Alright, let’s pretend I believe you,” Twilight said, furrowing her brows. “How do we get to Spellhold?”

“You show me the way, and I use the Fragment to keep us warm,” Trixie said.

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Then we’ll freeze together.”

Twilight allowed herself a trickle of hope. “We’re going to need a ship to take us to the edge of the ice.” She grinned. “A fast one.”

Raw sewage spilled out through a rusted grate and splattered down into an open gutter between a distillery and a weathered tenement with missing shingles and rotten siding. With her levitation, Twilight ripped the grate out by its roots. Clumps of mortar clung to the metal bars. She dropped it, letting it clatter to the street.

A few blocks downhill, the urban sprawl gave way to Canterlot Harbor. In the distance, further away along the banks of the bay, The Grey Fox’s mansion rose above the smaller structures with the light of the crescent moon reflecting off of its roof.

Twilight stepped out of the sewer and took a lungful of open air. Her eyes lingered on the Grey Fox’s mansion. I could tear it down, she thought. I could rip it open and kill everyone in it. All I need is a little sleep. The fight with the Grey Wizards had left her drained.

Her friends followed after her, Trixie with them. “We could give those thieves some justice for what they did,” Applejack said as she stepped up beside Twilight.

Twilight frowned. “It’s not as important as finding Pinkie.” She tore her eyes away from the building and turned to face down the street. “We’ll deal with the Thieves Guild later. We need to get out of here before the Grey Wizards catch up with us.”

Applejack nodded. “Can’t say I disagree.”

They set off down the narrow street. It wasn’t long before Twilight found herself falling behind. Though her thoughts were still sharp, exhaustion dogged her steps. Soon, she was a few paces back, alongside Fluttershy.

“I almost didn’t have enough magic to save you,” Fluttershy said, quiet but abrupt.

Twilight grimaced. “They had a lot of wizards.”

“I’m glad you killed that pony.”

Twilight winced. What am I making my friends become? she wondered. “I had to do it,” Twilight said. “We couldn’t waste—”

“I know,” Fluttershy said softly.

Twilight looked down at the street passing by beneath her as she walked. Saving a life shouldn’t be a waste, she thought, but she still felt like she’d made the right decision. “Don’t let me change you, Fluttershy,” she said.

Fluttershy smiled. “I think it’s a bit too late for that. We all have to grow. I’m glad its you making the hard choices though, because I don’t think I could.”

Twilight nodded, looking up. A long walk remained between her and the waterfront. Through the gap made in the buildings by the street, she glimpsed ships moored to the piers. She squinted at one of them. It’s small, distinct catamaran hull occupied a narrow space wedged between two hulking carracks. A grin broke across her face. It was just the boat she was looking for.

Twilight stepped onto the familiar deck of the Solitaire. There were a lot of reasons why the ship was precisely where she needed it to be. Quick Fix and Florent would be wintering in one of two places while the season’s icy winds lashed Serpent’s Bay and the Sea of Swords: Canterlot, or Manehatten. Fifty-fifty odds weren’t bad.

“I don’t think anypony’s home,” Rainbow Dash said, landing lightly on the deck in front of Twilight.

Twilight climbed the steps up to the raised deck at the stern. She dropped onto her haunches in front of the ship’s wheel. “Then we wait.”

Applejack stepped off the boarding ramp and looked up at her. “I doubt anypony will be here ‘till morning.”

“Or at all,” Rarity said, a few steps behind Applejack. “They could leave the ship pretty much alone when they’re moored for winter.”

“There are plenty of captains out at night that we could hire,” Trixie called, still on the shore. “Why do you insist on this boat?”

Twilight ran her hoof along one of the wooden spokes of the wheel. “Because it’s fast.” She smiled. “Really, really fast.”

“And if nopony shows up?” Applejack asked.

Twilight shrugged. “Then we learn how to sail.”

Twilight woke to the squawking of seagulls assaulting her ears and a terrible throbbing in the back of her neck. She groaned and blinked rapidly against the glare of the morning light. She lifted her chin off the rim of the ship’s wheel and twisted her head to the side until she felt the satisfying crack of popped vertebrae. Yawning, she extracted her foreleg from between the spokes and wiped some drool off her chin.

“Glad to see you’ve made yourself at home,” a voice called from the deck below.

Twilight snapped her eyes open, alert. She focused on the speaker. Quick Fix looked up at her from the center of the catamaran’s main deck. Applejack stood beside her.

“Why didn’t anypony wake me up when she got here?” Twilight said, glaring at Applejack.

Applejack shrugged. “You seemed tired.”

“Get off my boat!” Quick Fix shouted.

Twilight shook off the last cobwebs of sleep and drew herself up. “No,” she said. “I need it, and I’m taking it to the edge of the ice whether you’re on it or not.”

Quick Fix cocked her foreleg and squinted at Twilight. “The edge of the ice? Did you get even crazier between now and last time?”

Applejack smiled. “Yup.”

“She did,” Rarity said.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Definitely.”

“Um, yes,” Fluttershy said.

“Hey!” Twilight shouted. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“I don’t think she’s crazy,” Trixie said, off on her own at the bow.

Applejack chuckled. “You will when you get to know her.”

Trixie smirked. “I’m sure.”

Quick Fix stamped her hoof firmly on the deck. “I am not taking an unstable magical freak anywhere on my boat!”

Twilight’s ears fell. She dipped her head, unsure. “Unstable?” Freak.

“You heard me,” Quick Fix said. “You vaporized a sea serpent, then we drop you off at Candlekeep and the whole place up and disappears. Anypony in their right mind would stay well clear of you.”

Twilight tensed, shifting. “I’m getting to the edge of the ice. You can help me, or—”

“Or what? You’ll turn me to ash?” Quick Fix shook her head sadly. “I can’t fight you, I’ve seen what you can do, but I won’t just stand aside let you send my boat to the bottom. Even if you aren’t a problem, we’d be dodging ‘bergs the whole way there, and the serpents don’t stop hunting just because it’s getting into winter. If a storm kicks up, we’d all freeze right here on the deck.”

“Twilight won’t be a problem,” Fluttershy said, her voice unwavering. “She wouldn’t hurt anypony unless she had to. She’s not unstable, and she’s not a freak.”

“And she had enough control over magic to save everypony in Candlekeep,” Applejack said.

“Twilight can deal with any sea serpents we run into,” Rarity said.

Rainbow Dash grinned. “That, and I have a trick for dealing with storms.”

Trixie flicked her muzzle toward Twilight. “I can’t speak for her, but the cold won’t be a problem.”

Quick Fix shook her head. “The Solitaire isn’t built for cold weather.”

Wings rustled in the wind. “Oh, but she can do it,” a voice said from above.

Twilight looked up, craning her neck. Atop the Solitaire's small sailing mast, a griffon, Florent, balanced on one paw and a talon. “She can, and she will,” he said.

Quick Fix rubbed her forehead beside her horn with a hoof. “By the wings of the Alicorns, you too?”

Florent gripped the mast with one talon and whirled down it until he landed lightly on the deck. “Where’s your sense of adventure?” He wrapped one feathered arm around Quick Fix’s shoulders. “The Solitaire against the Frozen North.” He gestured out toward the bay with his free talon. “Zero visibility. Just us, our wits, and our ship in the whiteness.”

Quick Fix smiled. “You’re right, that does sound great.” Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Quick Fix pulled away from Florent and whirled on him. “If you want to sink!” she shouted. “You’re all crazy!”

Florent reached out and touched Quick Fix’s shoulder. “You’re right, but what’s life without some crazy? This ship has no right to exist, but you made it work.” He smiled. “Let’s do the impossible. It’s what you're good at.”

“Why?!” Quick Fix raised a hoof and pointed at Twilight. “Why should we risk everything for her?”

“Because I need your help to save my friend,” Twilight said. “The Grey Wizards sent Pinkie Pie to Spellhold, and I’m going to get her back.”

Quick Fix looked up at Twilight for a moment, eyeing her. “You really need to learn to open with the important part.” She smiled. “Fine, we’ll take you where you need to go, but if we all live through this, I expect a lot of gold, Baroness.”

“Done,” Twilight said.

They were about two hours out of port when a hailstone the size of Twilight’s head smashed into the deck in front of her, then rolled off as the Solitaire listed on rough seas.. Countless smaller frozen projectiles riddled an arcane shield projected above her head, protecting both her and Florent as he steered the ship. She, Florent, Fluttershy, and Applejack were the only ones out on the deck at the moment. The rest of the ship’s passengers were huddled below in the cargo space in the twin hulls.

Fluttershy stood on the bow, protected by a dome of brambles, her eyes aglow. She stared up at the sky. Applejack sat behind her, covering her head with a foreleg as hailstones plinked harmlessly off her armor. “If this don’t work, Fluttershy, we’re gonna have to get Rainbow out here to go up there and blow it out!” Applejack shouted over the rippling boom-crack of thunder.

Lightning coursing through rolling black clouds above lit up the silhouette of towering mountains far off to port. They sailed beneath the shadow of the Hilt, hoping it would help them avoid the icy wind blowing down from the north. Unfortunately, the mountains had caught a storm. Countless hailstones impacting the ocean threw up a fine mist, making it difficult to see far over the rolling seas.

“It’s moving!” Fluttershy called, barely audible over the sound of the storm.. “It takes time!”

Twilight looked up through the transparent lavender sheet of her shield, wondering how much time they had.

“‘Berg!” Florent yelled.

Twilight snapped her gaze forward. An icy mound loomed out of the mist. They flew toward it, driven by the Solitaire's arcane jets. The deck shifted as Florent threw his weight against the wheel, and she nearly lost her balance. The bow began to swing, but it only took Twilight a moment to realize they weren’t turning fast enough. We’re too close, she thought.

Almost instinctually, she planted her hooves and lit her horn, glad she’d been able to get some sleep and prepare new spells since the fight with the Grey Wizards. She formed Dimension Door, and with a thought, she tapped into four ley-lines that coursed with power around her. It was like flexing a muscle she never knew she had. A rainbow pulse of color filled her mind.

She chose a point beyond the iceberg. Indistinct, somewhere in the mist, and jumped into interplanar space. She pulled the entire Solitaire through with her. With a crack, she rippled back into existence, still on the deck. For an instant, the stomach-twisting sensation of free-fall gripped her, then the boat beneath her hooves slammed into the water.

She lost her balance and collapsed onto the deck shoulder-first as the surface beneath her lurched forward. With her cheek on the wood, she glimpsed the Iceberg receding behind them. “What just ‘appened?!” Florent shouted. “Where did it go?!”

Twilight climbed back to her feet. The hail had eased off, replaced by huge, spattering raindrops. “I moved us,” she said, dully uneasy with what she’d just done. I modified a spell as I cast it. All that should have happened was spell failure. She should be curled into a ball of pain from the feedback coursing through her horn.

One of the hatches leading below decks burst open. Rainbow Dash crawled out, her mane instantly soaked the moment the rain hit her. She lurched toward the side of the boat and hooked a foreleg around the railing before heaving over the side. Wiping her mouth, she shouted, “Screw this!” and launched into the air. “I’m Rainbooming this thing!”

“Dash, wait!” Twilight shouted as Rainbow Dash disappeared into the mist. She’d been avoiding using Rainbow Dash to clear the storm because a Sonic Rainboom would be like a beacon. If the Grey Wizards were still looking for them, and even if they weren’t, they would be sure to investigate. What about the spell I just cast? Dimension Door was a fourth-level spell, strong enough to concern the Grey Wizards, but nothing terribly significant. After she’d modified it, though, she had no idea how to classify it.

Twilight frowned. There was no sign of Rainbow Dash. She must have been out of earshot already, or she hadn’t been listening. Might as well make the best of it, she thought. “It’ll take her a few minutes to get altitude,” Twilight called. “We just need to sit tight until then.”

The glow faded from Fluttershy’s eyes. Twilight thought she saw the yellow pegasus slump a little, but it could have been the rolling of the deck. “I got it to stop hailing, at least!” Fluttershy shouted. “I’m sorry, it was the best I could do. It wasn’t listening like the storm from the Everfree did!”

Twilight sighed and pulled her cloak tighter around her shoulders. Her shield didn’t stop the rain, and her coat was thoroughly soaked. She shivered. We have a long way to go, she thought, and already, the trip was taxing. She hoped whatever Trixie intended to do with the Fragment would work if a proper winter storm hit them.

After about five more minutes of misery, a rainbow nova exploded above them. Light pushed back the cloud layer in a rippling wave, revealing the hidden blue sky. The rain stopped as warm sunlight sparkled off the soaking deck. With the weather cleared, the ponies below stepped out onto deck.

Rainbow Dash shot over the ship, trailing a rainbow ribbon of light and whooping with joy. The blast of air that followed her whipped Twilight’s wet mane into her eyes. Chuckling, she pushed the stray strands of hair behind her ear. Rainbow Dash angled up into a series of loops and corkscrews, riding the speed of her rainboom.

Together, they gazed up at the ring of open sky and smiled at the Sun on their faces. For a moment, Twilight wondered what Celestia was doing up there. Celestia had been a static point after she’d lost Star Swirl. It was impossible to forget the wing of the Goddess around her shoulders, warm and soft. Why is she so far away? Twilight wondered. Am I not worth comforting, after all I’ve been through? Just as quickly, her thoughts turned to Spike. She hadn’t seen her familiar for a few days.

She always had questions. Celestia might be able to explain what had just happened with her spell. But even if she had the opportunity to write a letter, she had no way of delivering it. She thought about calling out to Spike with her mind, asking him to return to her.

Then, something else caught her attention. Four lines of black clouds streaked out from the edge of the ring Rainbow Dash had opened in the sky. She squinted. “Are those...?”

“Wonderbolts!” Rarity shouted.

Twilight reached for her swords. The Wonderbolts shot across the sky with a terrible swiftness. Two peeled off, pursuing Rainbow Dash. The other two dove for the Solitaire.

If they’re already here, they must have been out over the water already, Twilight thought. Did somepony see us get onto the Solitaire? There were enough eyes at the harbor, maybe some belonged to the Thieves Guild. All they needed was a bit of magical communication when the Grey Wizards pinpointed my spell.

It doesn’t matter, she decided, reaching for a Death spell. The Wonderbolts swept low over the water, the wind from their passing cutting twin wakes into the waves as they closed on the stern of the ship. She could make out the ponies at the head of the storm cloud trails. Wait, she thought, hesitating. She had other options, better options. I don’t have to kill them. She closed her eyes for a moment, searching her mind for a different spell.

“Twilight, down!” Applejack shouted. Armored plates crashed into her side, and she fell to the deck. Lightning crackled overhead, dual static pulses that set her mane on end. A split-second later, two pegasi thundered past, a blur against the blue sky. Twilight thought she glimpsed something grasped in their hooves.

Crystalline shafts from Rarity’s bow followed the Wonderbolts, but almost as soon as they passed, they were out of range. Rarity’s arrows hit the water silently. Twilight struggled to her feet beside Applejack.

Florent stood wide-eyed in front of her, gripping the shattered remains of the ship’s wheel. The entire steering column had been splintered by the lightning. Blood dripped from a wooden fragment lodged near his hip. “This is bad,” he said.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight shouted. She scanned for the Wonderbolts. The two that had buzzed the ship continued low over the water, their black storm-trails roughly in line with the white shape of another iceberg a few hundred hoofspans away and safely off to starboard. Far above, a trail of rainbow light twined with two stormclouds. Lightning crackled against the clear sky.

Fluttershy landed on the stern and quickly moved to Florent’s side. Twilight frowned. For the moment, Rainbow was on her own. She turned her focus back to the pair that had hit the Solitaire. They circled around the peak of the iceberg in the distance. What are they doing? she wondered, forming a spell with her mind.

She would not be caught off guard again. First, she cast Spell-Turning. It would reflect their lighting bolts back to the source. Next, she cast Stoneskin and Improved Haste. The world around her slowed.

“They’re up to something,” Applejack said, her voice deep and slow in Twilight’s ears.

Twilight nodded. “I’ve protected myself against their lightning rods. I’m going to try and draw their fire and hit them with a Web spell to bring them down.” She looked around the deck. “Where’s Trixie?”

“Right here,” Trixie said, topping the steps to the raised stern.

“See if you can make them think the Solitaire is a bit displaced, so that they’ll miss when they come back on their next pass,” Twilight said.

Trixie shook her head. “They came in too fast last time. I can’t affect their minds from so far away.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. Useless Sorcerer. “Then find something worth doing,” she said. She ran down the steps to the main deck and headed for the bow, watching the pegasi circling the iceberg. Between them, a falling metallic object caught the light before it hit the ice. Both Wonderbolts peeled off and zipped away from the iceberg in opposite directions.

Twilight squinted. What are they doing? she wondered. They’d taken out the Solitaire's steering for a reason. On their current path, the iceberg would pass about a hundred hoofspans to starboard. It has to be a trap.

Before her eyes, a pillar a fire lanced up from the iceberg. Billowing smoke surged out from it in a ring, blackening the sky with a low-lying cloud faster than the Sonic Rainboom had cleared the storm. A shape rose from the peak of the iceberg.

The figure resembled a gigantic pony, three or four times too big. Two horns curved up from the sides of its skull, a crown of fire blazing between them. A pair of spindly, bony wings spread from its back, each ending in three scythe-like talons. Obsidian armor covered it from nose to tail. A monolithic sword of fire flared to life and floated beside it. Four glowing red eyes shined through the flat faceplate of its helm and focused on Twilight.

“Pit fiend,” Twilight breathed, the memory of a page from a half-forgotten book flitting through her mind. Burning pitch fell into the ocean around her, plummeting from the sky like raindrops. The demon leveled its burning sword at the ship.

“Destruction,” a voice sounded, both in her mind and in her ears. It was a deep, trembling roar that made icy talons grip at her heart. “Burn!” She knew the Solitaire could not survive passing anywhere near the monster. She had to stop it.

For a moment, Twilight wished she had Pinkie beside her, fueling her courage with cheerful confidence. Feeling small, and very alone, Twilight drew her swords and teleported.

Ice

Twilight Sparkle hit water. It engulfed her legs as she dropped out of her teleport. Near the surface at her knees, it was scalding hot, but it was numbingly cold at the base of her hooves. Steam lingered in the air around her. She stood on the edge of a crater melted into the peak of the iceberg with Solstice and Celestial Fury floating at her sides. The Pit Fiend stared at her from the center. Its sword, a pillar of fire, loomed above her.

“You are very brave, mortal,” it uttered. Then, its sword swept down toward her. A swath of flame trailed after the blade as it plunged.

Twilight lunged forward, leaping out of the water to gain a few more feet. Closer to the center, where the Pit Fiend stood, the water in the crater was deeper, nearly engulfing her torso. When she landed, she ducked her head beneath the surface and crouched down, making herself a small as she could against the icy bottom.

A plume of fire hit the water. The fluid around her hissed and bubbled, and she lost air in a drowned out scream when a swath of flesh from her shoulder to her hip burned in the heat. Her Stoneskin did nothing to protect her from the demon’s burning sword, and her cloak wafted in the boiling water behind her.

Then, the sword withdrew. Stillness. Only the swirl of water and the creaking of ice in her ears. She bit down on her tongue to keep her breath in as she tried to ignore the searing pain. A thud. She glimpsed the obsidian hoof of the monster through the ash-mired meltwater, refracted firelight playing across it in rippling lines.

“Still alive?” it said. “Interesting.”

Twilight shrunk tighter against the ice as the demons terrifying voice echoed in her mind, digging her hooves into what holds she could find in the ice as the natural buoyancy of her body threatened to tear her away from its relative safety. Her lungs screamed at her.

It’s close, she thought, eyeing the huge hoof. But is it close enough? She fought the urge to curl and hide until she slipped into unconsciousness from lack of air. Some part of her would rather drown than face the might of the Pit Fiend again. Another part was indignant – this creature thought it could challenge her. Doesn’t it know what I am?

A second thud. A second hoof, this time right next to her. “Close enough?” She looked up. Four red eyes pierced the water, staring down at her. “You’ve made me curious.”

Twilight’s heart thundered in her chest. She stared back at the red eyes, paralyzed. Now! she screamed at herself, but she couldn’t move. She closed her eyes, her mind filled with pounding fear, burning lungs, and searing pain. I shouldn’t be afraid, she thought. The idea pierced through the shroud of panic like a crystal knife. She opened her eyes and pushed off the bottom.

As her head broke the surface, she was already lashing out. She sliced a glowing red scar in the Pit Fiend’s armor with Solstice. “You should be!” she roared as she plunged Celestial Fury into the opening.

A golden field of light spread out from the wound, encasing the Pit Fiend. Twilight ripped Celestial Fury out and withdrew. Black blood dripped from her sword, hissing where it struck the water. As she gasped for breath, she squinted against the scorching steam. She had a moment before the demon broke free, and she took that moment to cast Fire Shield: Blue. A ring of icy flames erupted around her, beating back the heat.

The demon writhed and the golden light encasing it shattered like broken glass. “Godslayer!” it bellowed as it took a step back. Twilight smirked. She could feel the fear in the word as it echoed in her mind. The Pit Fiend raised its burning sword and pointed it at her. It swelled, bursting with flame.

Twilight focused on the blade, forming her own spell. A ray of fire shot at her from the tip of the Pit Fiend’s sword. She answered with Sunfire. A ring of flame exploded out from her hooves and pushed away the pooled meltwater, leaving behind only the ice on the bottom. The wave of fire met the ray and split it, washing it away to either side.

Before the water could crash back around her, Twilight advanced, She clambered across the rough-melted ice and struck at the same knee she’d hit before with a wide, powerful swing. This time, Celestial Fury cleaved clean through. The golden aura held the Pit Fiend again, but the piece of its leg below the knee fell, leaving behind a stump.

Twilight evenly sidestepped the falling limb as the water rushed back in. The demon’s floating sword plunged toward her. She ducked beneath the surface again and raised Celestial Fury to block. A tremor of feedback rippled down her horn when Celestial Fury met something solid in the heart of the blade.

Twilight clenched her jaw as she strained to push the sword back. Layers of overglow burst around her horn as she struggled against the Pit Fiend’s might. Slowly, Celestial Fury dipped lower. The water directly above her boiled; only the cooling effect of her Fireshield saved her from another burn. At the last instant, she twisted Celestial Fury to deflect the demon’s sword and rolled clear.

The firesword plunged into the water beside her and struck the ice. She stood, breaking the surface. Steam billowed around her. The Pit Fiend had broken free again. It balanced on three legs, directly above her. Black blood gushed into the water from the stump that was left of one of its forelegs, kicking up a cloud of steam that joined the one made by the burning sword.

Twilight launched a Fireball at the ice beneath the hindleg on the same side as the bleeding stump. It detonated beneath the water, and the wave nearly knocked her off her feet, but it made the Pit Fiend stumble as the ice beneath it’s hoof gave way. As the demon’s belly dropped toward her, she struck.

One, she led with a slash from Solstice, weakening its thick armor. Two, she plunged Celestial Fury into the spot, stabbing deep. Three, she drug Celestial Fury through its belly, splitting its armor until she opened a pony-length gash. A roar of pain thundered around her and through her mind. The gigantic sword fell into the water, its flame extinguished.

With the Pit Fiend held again, she waded backwards through the water. She paused at its hind leg, the one on the same side as the stump, and hacked away at it. She panted. This time, it took three strikes to cut all the way through. When it was done, she waded clear.

When the golden field shattered, the Pit Fiend fell toward her, collapsing onto its side with its back toward her. One of its twisted, bony wings impacted her. She ignored it; all it did was shatter a layer of her Stoneskin.

The demon twisted its head around unnaturally and looked at her with its four red eyes. For a brief moment, she wondered if it even had a face beneath the flat, obsidian plate. The sword rose out of the water and flared back to life. An impression painted itself on her mind. The Pit Fiend was fighting for an eternity, and she was fighting for another day. She almost felt pity. It thought she was insignificant, and yet, here they were.

It thrust the fire sword at her. She dove beneath it, into the water, and deflected it up with Solstice. More of her skin singed as the flames passed above. She closed on its head, raising Celestial Fury. The scythe-talons of its wings clutched at her, slashing uselessly at her Stoneskin. Layers fell away as its claws scrabbled at her. She hacked one of the talons out of her way with Solstice, then brought Celestial Fury down.

Her blade bit into one of the Pit Fiend’s horns, shearing it from its skull. The burning sword splashed back into the water as the crown above its head extinguished. Once more, a golden field held the monster.

“You’re wrong,” Twilight said. “I’m not fighting for me.” With that, she plunged the tip of Celestial Fury into its forehead. For a brief moment, a terrified cry echoed in her mind, the cry of an immortal being on the precipice of non-existence. Then, it all went silent.

Trembling, she pulled Celestia Fury free. Beneath the water, she could make out a ring of metal studded with rubies and obsidian. The Wonderbolts had dropped it here, a portable gateway storing the spell to summon the Pit Fiend. She thought back to what she remembered about Pit Fiends. Sacrifice, she recalled. It takes a sacrifice. A hundred ponies. Young souls. Children. A wave of nausea hit her as she turned away from the huge corpse. Her last layer of Stoneskin shattered as she extracted herself from the talons that had wrapped themselves around her body.

Maybe it was an artifact they found, she thought, stumbling through the water to the sloping edge of the crater. She knew the more likely explanation was that the Grey Wizards had created the gateway themselves, and she couldn’t help but be glad that leaving so many grey-robed corpses in Canterlot was in some way justified.

She hit the icy slope and started to climb, hoping her friends had fared well against the Wonderbolts. When she reached the rim, she peered out across the water. The smoke-blackened sky made it hard to see much, but an orange blaze lit the deck of the Solitaire less than a hundred hoofspans away. She made out figures on-board, but the ship was stationary.

With a crack, two blazing bolts of lightning flared in her periphery. They whipped around her in a tight circle, deflected back at her attackers by her Spell Turning, and she tracked them back to the source. The two bolts struck a pair of pegasi, sending them tumbling into the water.

“Really!?” Twilight shouted. “I just killed a Pit Fiend, and you’re still trying!?”

The sky above her exploded with color. A low altitude Sonic Rainboom drowned out the last few words of her shout. She clutched the rim of the crater as the shockwave threatened to send her tumbling back. Above, two more Wonderbolts tumbled out of the sky and hit the frigid ocean.

Solitaire’s deck rolled gently beneath Twilight Sparkle’s hooves. In front of her, stripped of her equipment, a fiery orange pegasus mare sat, shivering and dripping with three of her fellow fliers. Getting back on board and fishing the Wonderbolts out of the ocean before they froze or drowned hadn’t been without its challenges. Twilight had formed an unprepared Dimension Door and used her telekinesis to help jury-rig the ship’s steering. Putting out the fire that had burned up one of the railings was a small inconvenience by comparison.

Twilight eyed the Wonderbolt in front of her. “Spitfire, was it?”

“That’s Captain Spitfire!” one of the other captured Wonderbolts said.

Spitfire shot him a look. “Can it, Soarin.”

“Yeah, we don’t want to make the crazy wizard mad,” another Wonderbolt chimed in.

“I’m not crazy!” Twilight shouted, stamping her hoof on the deck. “And I’m already mad! Do you have any idea what you summoned!?”

Spitfire raised a hoof. “If you’re going to blame anypony, blame me. I gave the order. Let my team go.”

Soarin jumped to his feet. “We’re not going anywhere without her! We fight together!”

“Woah now,” Applejack said, watching from a few paces back, her chain dangling ominously from the tip of her tail. “Nopony needs to die here.” With another look from Spitfire, Soarin settled back.

Trixie stepped forward. “Noble, humm? Smart. Definitely the way to go.” She looked at Twilight. “She’ll eat it up.”

Twilight glared at Trixie. “Stay out of this.”

“I’m trying to protect you, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said.

“From what?” Twilight said, gesturing with Solstice at the four prisoners. “Them?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “I’m protecting you from yourself. If you let them live, all they’ll do is report back to the Grey Wizards, giving them a better sense of our location and destination.”

“I let you live,” Twilight said. “And now, you're helping me.”

Trixie nodded slowly. “True,” she said. She eyed Twilight. “You know what? Keep being you. Its easier that way, even if you do have a terrible self-preservation instinct. You might want to try getting to Spellhold alive. It’s going to be hard to find your friend if you’re a bunch of finely chopped, roasted pony-bits.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and slowly turned. She looked to her friends, who surrounded the captured Wonderbolts. “What do you think?”

“We’re with you, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Of course,” Rarity said, lowering her bow. “But we do have opinions.”

Rainbow shrugged. “I don’t. I’m just glad I managed to take out two of them.”

One of the Wonderbolts glared at Rainbow Dash. “You swooped in low over the deck and used covering fire from your friends to give you enough time to get up to speed for whatever that was.”

Rainbow Dash stuck out her tongue. “Still won.”

“I don’t want anypony to die,” Fluttershy said.

“I agree with Fluttershy,” Applejack said. “Leaving them floating face-down for following the Grey Wizard’s orders wouldn’t be right..”

“Besides, if we send them back with their story, the Grey Wizards might think twice about sending more. If they’re just missing, anything is possible,” Rarity said.

Trixie snickered. “That’s not going to happen.” She pointed to the pouch on Twilight’s hip. “They’ll do anything to get the Fragment back.”

Twilight shot Trixie a glare. “I already know what you think.” She looked at Spitfire. “Do you know what a Pit Fiend is?”

Spitfire shrugged. “Not really. They told us to drop it in, standoff and watch the fireworks, then swoop in and grab the Fragment when we go the chance.” She chuckled. “Then the thing dies on us less than thirty seconds after it crawled out of its portal.”

Twilight blinked. Did it really happen that fast? Under the effects of Improved Haste, it was easy to lose a clear sense of time.

“You’re all free when you feel ready to fly,” Twilight said. “Tell the Grey Wizards what happened here. If I have to climb a mountain of their corpses to release my friend, I will do it.”

Chill ripped through Twilight’s mane. They’d cleared the Hilt about half an hour ago, turning due north, and open ocean surrounded them. Even with the lost time fixing the steering, according to Florent, they should reach the ice by mid-afternoon. The Solitaire clipped smoothly through the waves, maintaining a rapid cruising speed. With her hoof on the prow, she stared into the distance. Cloud cover and flurries of snow gave the world a whitewashed bleakness.

There’s nothing to see, she told herself. They’d already sent Rainbow Dash out wearing one of the Wonderbolt’s uniforms to scout for icebergs. She had yet to decipher how exactly the Wonderbolts gained so much speed from the enchanted fabric, but it was fascinatingly insulative and resistant to penetration or abrasion, much like their Cloaks of Protection. It appeared that the speed was tied to the trail of storm clouds, and required some form of activation.

“Don’t worry,” Trixie said from nearby. “We’ll get there.”

Twilight turned. Trixie stepped up, joining her at the prow. “If the Fragment can really hold back the cold,” Twilight said, shivering. “At this rate, we’ll be needing it soon.” She eyed Trixie. “How do you know so much about it anyway?”

Trixie looked out into the white expanse. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“I’ve trusted you enough to get as far as here without real answers. What’s a little more?” Twilight said.

“Do you remember what I showed you at the carnival in Ponyville: the Crystal City?”

Twilight nodded. She clearly remembered the almost-real scene of the city from Trixie’s performance all those months ago. She also remembered how impossible it all was. Eventually, she’d realized her instincts were true; there was no way everything she knew about the limits of teleportation could be wrong.

I broke those rules today, she thought. She shouldn’t have been able to teleport the ship through the iceberg, not with Dimension Door. Spells were spells because they worked. Everything else resulted in futile light-shows, or more commonly, nothing at all. Sometimes, sorcerers like Trixie exerted flexibility in an isolated realm, like illusions, but wizards lived within limits imposed by the formula passed down from before the Time of Troubles.

“I wasn’t lying about being a Crystal Pony,” Trixie said.

Twilight blinked, parsing Trixie’s statement. She shook her head. “That’s not possible. You’re flesh and blood. You’d have to be more than a thousand years old!”

“Yes and no,” Trixie said. Her horn flared to life.

In the blink of an eye, Twilight drew her swords.

Trixie smirked. “Do you want to hear the story or not? I’m telling it my way.”

The white-washed world around Twilight dissolved. She stood on a balcony, overlooking the Crystal City, with Trixie beside her. Buildings of brilliant color spread before her, reflecting the sunlight like polished gems. She picked up on minor inaccuracies. The surface beneath her hooves felt more like wooden planks than smooth crystal. The illusion wavered.

“Suspend your disbelief, Twilight,” Trixie said. “You need to see to understand.”

Twilight took a deep breath and sheathed her swords. She closed her eyes and slowly opened them, struggling to accept what she saw. A glimmering figure grabbed her attention. An Alicorn floated before them, gently flapping crystalline wings. The Sun showed through her, sending cascading rays of pink, cream yellow, and violet in all directions. Other than being formed of crystal, the Alicorn was strikingly similar to Cadance.

“I loved her,” Trixie said. “Everypony loved her. How could we not? She was radiant perfection, and she shared it with those who followed her. Ponies beneath her wing became elementals of crystal with vast lifespans, and together, they radiated harmony across all of Equestria through the Crystal Heart.”

The scene shifted. Beneath an arching crystal structure, she joined a crowd of crystal ponies around a floating heart-shaped gemstone. The Crystal Queen stood in front of it, and before her knelt a lone, baby-blue unicorn. She was young. She’d probably only had her Mark, a crescent moon crossed by a wand, for a couple of years.

“When I decided to join the pact, I was young, and alone. I didn’t understand the War of the Gods that claimed my friends and family. I wanted purpose and sanctuary.”

The Alicorn lit her horn. The Crystal Heart flared to life. Before Twilight’s eyes, a wave of light washed over the lone unicorn. From her hooves, crystal grew up her body, replacing her flesh. As it passed, the wand disappeared from her Mark. When it reached her head, her horn faded away.

The crystal Trixie rose and turned to face Twilight. “I was young,” she said, “but I was just old enough to realize what I had given up. I missed my magic, and eventually, I asked to return to my old life. The Crystal Queen agreed, but the change took time.”

Suddenly, a jagged spike of black crystal shot up from the floor and impaled the Crystal Heart, shattering it into three pieces. The Crystal Queen collapsed and shattered into countless fragments. A shadow fell over the gathered ponies, rendering them dull and lifeless.

“Our Queen died before I was a normal pony again. All of her people fell into a stasis, and I joined them. I slept for a thousand years, unchanging. And when I woke, I was flesh and blood again, in a world I didn’t understand.”

The illusion faded. Twilight shivered violently as the cold on the deck of the Solitaire returned. She looked at Trixie. “How did you survive?”

“I wasn’t in the Crystal City when I woke up,” Trixie said. “I’d been taken and preserved by one of the Grey Wizards as a test subject. He was kind to me, and he let me go when he confirmed I had no trace of my old nature left for him to study.” She looked out across the water. “He’s in charge of Spellhold now.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Wait, you know the pony that runs Spellhold? Is that why you want to go there?”

“Part of it,” Trixie said. “There’s another Fragment there. It’s how they keep the place warm so far north. I’m trying to find them all.” She met Twilight’s eyes. “There’s a Crystal Princess now. I feel like I’m meant to wake them all up for her. Maybe that’s why you gave me a second chance.”

Twilight shrugged. I don’t want to be what I was intended to be, she thought. “You have to make your path,” she said. She smiled at Trixie. “When this is over, I should be able to give you the fragment.”

Trixie smiled back at her. It was the first genuine smile Twilight had seen from the otherwise smug unicorn. “Thank you,” Trixie said.

Twilight glanced down. “So, this Grey Wizard in charge of Spellhold... will he be diplomatic?”

“Probably,” Trixie said. “He’s a bit isolated from the politics of Canterlot. His research gave the Grey Wizards their power, so they sent him out here because they’re afraid he’ll take control.” She pointed at the satchel where Twilight carried the Fragment. “All of their strength comes from the pieces of the Crystal Heart. That’s why they won’t stop trying to get it back.”

“Well, I’m glad he might listen,” Twilight said. “I wouldn’t want to have to kill him.”

A rainbow blur shot out of the white flurries over their heads. Twilight turned to see Rainbow Dash brake and land in the center of the deck. “Iceberg?” Twilight called.

“No,” Rainbow shouted, shaking frost out of her feathers. “Ice!”

Tentatively, Twilight stepped off the boarding ramp and joined her friends on a sheet of ice. Chill wind howled in her ears. A white plain stretched to the horizon. Windswept drifts of snow gleamed in sunlight shafting through gaps in the cloud cover. She stood beyond the edge of the ice, in the Frozen North, and the cold was unrelenting.

South, the way they’d come, patchwork lumps of sea ice dotted the surface. She’d moved several out of the Solitaire’s path with her levitation so that they had a clear route to the solid sheet. At a certain point, a white line stretched across the surface of the water. Beyond it, the ocean simply froze solid. Twilight knew there must be liquid somewhere beneath her hooves, but nopony knew how thick the ice was.

“This is as far as we come. Everypony off!” Florent shouted.

Twilight turned back to the ship as Trixie descended the ramp. “Are you going to be okay without us?”

Quick Fix leaned on the railing above her, a thick cloak wrapped around her shoulders. “We’ll make it. It’s less than twenty knots to Cape Guard from here.” She gazed off toward the horizon. “Weather’s clearing too.”

With a flurry of wings, Florent landed beside Quick Fix and clapped her on the back. “I told you she could make it!”

Quick Fix turned away from Twilight to glare at Florent. “And we won’t make it unless we’re underway inside of thirty seconds, so get back to the helm!”

“Hold up a moment,” Twilight said, raising a hoof. “I want to make sure this works before we’re stranded out here.” She pulled the Fragment out of her pack with a thought and presented it to Trixie. “Show me.”

Trixie took the Fragment from Twilight’s grasp, encircling it with her own levitation field. “If you insist.” She stared at the fragment for a moment, then glanced at Twilight and her friends. “I’m going to need all of your help. Think of what makes you feel warm and safe: family, home, love.”

Twilight blinked, but before she could ask for a further explanation, Trixie closed her eyes and started to hum. The dull, lifeless chunk of crystal began to glow, throbbing with warmth like charcoal in a fireplace. A pure, deep hum resonated in the air and through Twilight’s chest.

The hum lulled at her, calming like a lullaby. For a moment, her mind went blank. When she noticed her friends all closing their eyes, alarm made her snap alert. What if it’s a trick? she wondered, fighting the soothing sensation while she watched Trixie. Her heart raced.

Thoughts and impressions flitted across her mind. Blood. Thousands of red, unblinking eyes strewn across a dozen shadowy wings that filled the sky with darkness. An endless void of eternal slumber. Power: complete, absolute, control. Shadows swirled inside the Fragment. Her friends expressions twisted from peace to pained grimaces and furrowed brows.

Twilight took a deep breath. I’m ruining it, she thought. She closed her eyes and let go. Warmth resonated through her. The smell of ink and old pages. Star Swirl’s warm eyes framed by a wrinkled smile. Pinkie’s giggle-snort. Celestia’s wing around her shoulders.

Hearing a pure note, she opened her eyes. Light pulsed from the Fragment, waxing and shimmering with the colors of the rainbow, until it settled into a soft, white glow. The chill that drove through her coat and deep into her bones was gone. The wind howled across the ice, but in a sphere around the fragment, only soft breezes flowed.

“That was weird,” Rainbow Dash said, tilting her head as she inspected the crystal floating in Trixie’s grasp.

Trixie held the Fragment out to Twilight. “It should last for a while. We’ll have to refresh it occasionally.”

Twilight took the Fragment and turned to wave at the ship. Quick Fix waved back, and within a few moments the boat started to move. While the Solitaire's wake lapped against the ice, Twilight watched Florent at the helm as he carefully maneuvered the ship around the chunks of sea-ice.

“Well, looks like we’ve got a bit of a walk,” Applejack said, turning to face north. “Best get some of it done before it gets dark.”

“Marching all day,” Rarity said. “It’s been a while since we’ve done that.” She sniffed. “Can’t say I miss it.”

Fluttershy frowned. “There’s nothing out here. It’s so... lifeless.”

Twilight stared north. Somewhere, out there, in the white expanse, she would find Pinkie. Going off of feeling more than fact, she picked her best guess at Spellhold’s direction and started forward. “There’s something out here,” Twilight said. Something very important.

Twilight gazed up at the star-studded celestial dome. The sky was open, cloudless and clear, leaving the Frozen North bare to the night. Once, she’d left the Fragment with her friends and taken one step too far to try and get some privacy while she relieved herself. The experience had been unpleasant. Certain places were not supposed to freeze.

She glanced over her shoulder. Trixie and her friends huddled in a depression they’d dug in the snow, sleeping near the glowing Fragment. Even a few paces away, Twilight’s breath misted in the air. She sighed. She’d woken a while ago, and been awake long enough to notice the glow on the eastern horizon slowly get brighter. She knew it would be another long day, but sleep eluded her.

She pulled out the black journal and a stick of charcoal. Lighting her horn, she opened the book on the snow and began to write.

3rd of Nightfall, 944

I tried to call out to Spike again. He’s been gone for days. I don’t know if he’s coming back. I didn’t realize he’d been that upset. He’s always been there for me, since I started this journey. He’s good at listening. I never realized how much I needed him until he was gone. He never judged me. Maybe he’s changed.

Change. I can feel it creeping. I did something in my dreams. I locked it away after Sunset Shimmer forced it to the surface. Or something did. But even with it buried, I’m still alive.

Every day without Pinkie it gets harder to remember why it all matters. Why I should fight it. Why I should control it. I haven’t faced the Spectre again, not since my last dream, and I haven’t tried to use my divine power.

There’s another power I wield though. Something I have yet to identify. Something that makes my magic go beyond the realm of the formula passed down from before the Time of Troubles. It’s only happened once, I think. I cannot rely on it.

When the boredom sets in, staring out at endless white on a long march, my mind wanders. If I gave in, what would happen to me? What is the Shadow really like? I’ve been told Azrael is a great evil, and I have no reason to doubt that he is, but the only interaction I’ve had with him is through the fragment of his essence that haunts my dreams. Sometimes, the ponies I face in my waking hours are worse. What is evil?

I’ve made hard choices. I should be judged, by the wise and the worthy. All that matters to me anymore is my friends. I want Pinkie back, and it scares me to realize I don’t care how I accomplish that goal, as long as we’re all safe and sound in the end. If I were a better pony, I’d step up to the responsibility of being what I am. If I were a better pony, I never would have lost Pinkie. I can’t blame circumstance for my failures.

Celestia always talked about potential and possibility. I never asked to control the fates of others. I never asked for the power to bring death, but I have it, and merely possessing it forces me to make the world change, to leave my mark.

Twilight dropped the stick of charcoal in the snow. I’m rambling, she thought. Her thoughts lingered on the page like a spilled drink. She double-checked the date against a page in the back she’d been marking a calendar on. The last few days had bled together into a white smear.

An unexpected glare flared off the banks of ice, forcing her eyes nearly shut. With one eye cracked open, she extracted a thin swath of cloth from her bag she’d been using to stave off snow blindness and tied it over her eyes. Squinting, she glanced at the rising sun. Two figures were silhouetted against the burning disk. She blinked in disbelief, and tried to edge her eyes open for a better look.

The brightness muted to a manageable level. Not ten paces away, Celestia stood, her pure white coat almost invisible against the snow, her ethereal mane billowing behind her, her wings slightly spread, inviting. Beside her, Spike waved, but he had changed. He loped across the ground on all fours, leaving Celestia’s side and approaching her with a toothy grin. He was bigger, mostly longer, and the childlike roundness of his face had been replaced with a more angular appearance. Two small leathery wings were folded against his back.

Twilight shook her head, not believing her eyes. What are they doing here? she wondered. With a sidelong glance at Trixie’s sleeping form, she quickly cast Truesight. Spike was still there, a shimmering blaze of emerald fire and gemstone against a lifeless backdrop. Behind him, Celestia was a flare, almost too bright to look at.

“Twilight!” Spike cried, his voice youthful, but tinged with a roughness that had not been there before. Then, his arms were around her.

Spike’s scales warmed her coat instantly. She wrapped her hooves around him, hugging him tight. “I missed you, Spike,” she said. After a few seconds in the warm embrace, she pushed him away with her levitation and dismissed her Truesight so that she could look at him with her normal eyes. A smile tugged at her lips. “What’d you do, make a cocoon and metamorphisize?”

Spike blinked. “Uh, what?”

Twilight poked him in the chest with a hoof. “You grew. It’s only been a few days.”

Spike nodded. Settling back, he crouched on his hind legs and brought his foreclaws together, clasping them nervously. “It’s why I couldn’t come back.”

Celestia moved forward, her hooves practically gliding over the snowscape. “Spike could not be both a Dragon and a Familiar. I forged a bond between you so that you would have his help and companionship, so that he could be where I could not. The bond remains, though its nature has changed.”

Spike arched his neck, raising his head proudly. “I wanted to be more than a messenger. I wanted to be able to protect you.”

Twilight smiled. “Oh Spike, all I needed you to be was a friend.”

“Friends fight for each other,” Spike said.

“Spike will be the first true Dragon untainted by Discord in a millenia,” Celestia said. “He has only begun to grow. He has a long way to go before he matches your power, and as you change, so will he.”

“I’m proud of you, Spike,” Twilight said, reaching out to touch his claw with a hoof. She glanced over at her friends, and Trixie. They slept on. She eyed Celestia. “Why haven’t they woken up?”

“Because I intend for them to sleep,” Celestia said. “Some words are for you alone.” She gestured at Trixie with her muzzle. “Especially with an unknown variable in your midst.”

Twilight nodded. She looked up at Spike, with his long neck, his head rose above hers now, and said, “It’s good to have you back.”

Spike glanced down at the snow. “I can’t stay.”

“Spike needs more time,” Celestia said. “It will be much faster, and safer, for him to grow in the Celestial Plane. He will not be able to return to you on his own anymore.”

Twilight’s ears drooped. “I’ll... see you later then, Spike.” She managed a smile. “I never knew my older brother... that and he tried to kill me, but I’m glad I had a younger one.”

Spike met her eyes, stunned. For a moment, he stared at her, then he lunged forward and hugged her again. “I’ll always be there, Twilight.”

“I know,” Twilight said. She lifted her forelegs to return the hug, but Spike was gone, vanished in a flash of heatless emerald flame. She stumbled and caught herself before she overbalanced.

“You’re missing Pinkie,” Celestia said, stating the fact as if she’d been aware of it for some time. Her tone was blunt and carried an edge of disapproval that reminded Twilight strongly of a lecture from Starswirl.

Twilight looked down. “I lost her.” She swallowed. “It was my fault.” Her expression hardened. “I’m getting her back.”

“Good,” Celestia said, then reached out and touched Twilight’s cheek with a hoof, lifting her eyes. “Tell me how it happened.” This time, her tone was nothing but tender.

As soon as Celestia’s hoof touched her cheek, Twilight no longer felt the cold, only a calming warmth. She pulled a deep breath in through her nose. “She sacrificed herself to save me. We were caught. I don’t understand how she was so powerful...”

It came out in fits and starts, tumbled together in disorganized fragments, but Twilight told Celestia everything she could remember from the moment Sunset Shimmer ripped them out of interplanar space to when Pinkie disappeared through the Grey Wizard’s portal. Pain crossed Celestia’s face when she mentioned the spike impaling her through her core.

“She wanted something from me,” Twilight said. “But I don’t care what it was. All that matters now is getting Pinkie back.”

Celestia wrapped her wings around Twilight, creating a white tent. “I wish I could suffer for you, Twilight Sparkle, but all I can offer you is small comfort.”

Twilight gazed up at Celestia, her eyes wet with tears. “Why me!?” she shouted, anger rising. “Why did Azrael wait a thousand years for me!?” Her energy evaporated, and she leaned forward, resting her cheek against Celestia’s soft white chest. “Of all the ponies in the world, of all the creatures to be born, why me...?”

Celestia held her tenderly. “Because you are what he fears. There are elements that he cannot control, and he both loves and hates them.” She looked down and gently lifted Twilight’s head. “You are a crown jewel, a keystone, and your defiance is the only thing holding back the Shadow. Never bow, never bend the knee. Accept nothing, and question everything. As long as you are free, there is hope for us all.”

Celestia’s words echoed in Twilight’s head. She pushed away from Celestia. Accept nothing, and question everything. “Why?” Twilight said. She stepped back, through a curtain of Celestia’s feathers. “Why do I matter so much?”

Celestia folded her wings. “I can’t explain it fully.” She sighed. “I know it’s hard to accept, but you are caught up in a battle that spans a threshold of time beyond your understanding. You will know when the time is right.”

“That’s not good enough,” Twilight said. She glared at Celestia. “Every time you deny me an answer, it gets harder to have faith. Do you know how much easier it would have been if you had just told me?” She drew herself up, and doing her best impersonation of Celestia, she said, “Oh by the way, Twilight, you’re a Shadowspawn. The black-armored pony who killed Star Swirl is also a Shadowspawn and he was trying to kill you because you’re all driven to kill each other, and that’s also why you’re pretty much a psychopath.”

“And what would have been the result, had I said that?” Celestia said. “There were too many unknowns. I had a reliable baseline. You were fighting to find answers, and I directed you down that path and did what I could to give you the tools for success.” She gestured meaningfully at Celestial Fury slung across Twilight’s back. “In the end, it worked.”

Twilight snorted. “I would have known.” She scraped a furrow in the snow with her forehoof. “Didn’t you see what not understanding did to me?” She frowned. “You once said you had faith in me.”

“I have always had faith in you,” Celestia said. “When Star Swirl discovered you were a Shadowspawn, I could have spirited you away to the Celestial Plane to live out the rest of your days.” She flared her wings. “Instead, I gambled everything on you, and you ask me to gamble more?”

“What difference does it make!?” Twilight shouted.

Celestia shook her head. “If I give you the answers, you may never truly understand. Discovery is essential.” She turned away from Twilight. Looking over her shoulder, she said, “Find Pinkie. A keystone is useless without the arch.” Her horn glowed, and in a flash of sunlight, she was gone.

“Do you get off on being cryptic!?” Twilight yelled into the howling wind.

“What in tarnation are you shouting about?” Applejack said as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

Twilight glanced over her shoulder. Around the Fragment, ponies stirred. “Nothing,” Twilight said.

“Didn’t sound like nothing,” Applejack grumbled. “Well, looks like the Sun is up. Best get walking.”

In the snow, something gleamed. “Wait,” Twilight said. She pulled the object loose. It was a scroll, wrapped around a golden rod. She floated it close. A cord kept the scroll from unfurling. Next to the knot was a note. It read: Try it.

Twilight unfurled the scroll. She scanned it. Scrawled in intricate detail across the parchment was all the knowledge she needed to cast a spell. Simulacrum.

Traveling across the frozen sea was slow, a slog through deep drifts. Towering formations of wind-shaped ice defined the otherwise featureless landscape, resulting in long detours or slippery climbs over frozen ridges.

Twilight’s first attempt at Simulacrum involved a critical mistake and feedback that left her horn sore for a day. But, by her third attempt, she’d grown to understand how the magic worked. She reflected her soul on a mix of snow and crushed diamonds. Today, as she clambered up a slope of snow, digging her hooves in deep for purchase, a near perfect copy of her walked beside her.

The simulacrum could cast spells like her without depleting her own resources. It could carry her swords, and fight with them. However, it was fragile and easily disrupted. A single strike, or even too much wind, could tear it apart.

“That thing is creepy,” Rainbow Dash said, looking between her and the copy. She fluttered lazily in the air, like a backstroke in a calm pond. She had to stick close to the Fragment to stay warm.

“You’re just disconcerted by seeing two of us. Your subconscious realizes that only one of us is real,” both Twilights said in unison. Twilight, the real one, winced. It was weird when her simulacrum spoke. She tried talking to it once. She knew what it was going to say before it said it. It was like having a conversation with herself in her head, but one given voice.

“Case in point,” Rainbow said.

“Okay, maybe it’s a little creepy,” Twilight said. This time, the simulacrum did not speak. Probably because it realized its weird when it talks at the same time I did, she thought. She grimaced, trying not to think about it too much. On the surface, it was simple. At the point in time when she created the simulacrum, they were identical except for the instinct of self-preservation, and the only thing that seperated them now was different sensory pictures. They would have largely the same thoughts and the same conclusions. Still, it was uncanny enough that her mind struggled with the concept. She wondered what it would be like, to know that she didn’t really exist.

Trixie paused, waiting for Twilight’s simulacrum to catch up to her. As it passed, she laughed. Shaking her head in amusement at some unknown joke, she continued forward.

Twilight’s ears twitched back. “What’s so funny?”

“You.” Trixie chuckled. “The first time I met you, you were such a wide-eyed novice. Now, you’ve mastered what takes a lifetime for other wizards, and yet the younger you was so ready to believe that I had powers beyond your understanding. I would be surprised if there was a spell you couldn’t cast.”

“It was all spelled out for me on the scroll,” Twilight said. “I got lucky. If anypony else had Star Swirl as a teacher, they’d be able to do what I can do. Maybe better.” Well, Star Swirl, Celestia, and other things, Twilight thought, but she wasn’t about to mention her Shadowspawn nature to Trixie, or the details of how she had acquired the scroll.

“You really believe that, don’t you?” Trixie said. “You were able to beat a Pit Fiend because you got lucky?”

“It was mostly the sword,” Twilight said.

“And not the mare,” Trixie said. She laughed again. “You’re still so ready to believe you’re inadequate.”

Twilight faltered, slipping on the ice. Applejack set a shoulder against her and kept her from sliding back down the slope. “Thanks,” Twilight said as she looked ahead to the top of the ridgeline. Only a few more steps.

“No problem,” Applejack said.

“For what it’s worth, you are exceptional, Twilight,” Rarity said.

Even with all the help I had, Sunset Shimmer still trapped me, and the Grey Wizards still took Pinkie away, she thought. Twilight shook her head. “If somepony else were put in my situation, I’m sure they would have done better.”

“How do you know that?” Fluttershy said.

Before Twilight could ponder her answer, Rainbow Dash touched down on top of the icy ridge. “Woah,” she said. “Girls, you’ve gotta see this.”

Twilight joined her at the top of the slope. Beyond, a rocky island rose from the white plain like the blade of a dagger thrust toward the sky. Ice encased its base, running up channels in the stone and climbing toward a tower nestled in a crag.

The tower looked entirely out of place. Not a single icicle hung from the eves of its conical roof. It was immaculate, when everything out here should be a ruin. No steps led to the tower, and it had no door.

“Spellhold,” Twilight said. They’d reached their destination.

Author's Note

One of the cool things about the Sunfire spell in Baldur's Gate 2 is it makes the caster immune to fire for 3 seconds. The spell description doesn't mention being immune to fire damage, and it was probably a quick and dirty fix on the designers part to prevent the caster from taking damage from the spell. Still, with the right timing, you can use a Sunfire cast to dodge something like a dragon's breath weapon.

Spellhold

An impenetrable wall of rock towered before Twilight Sparkle. Craning her neck back, she followed ice spider-webbing up through cracks and crags with her eyes until her gaze reached the tower clinging near the pinnacle of the icebound island. She lifted a forehoof and rested it against the stone.

Rainbow Dash groaned with a weary exasperation. “I don’t see anything!”

“If there is a door here, it’s well hidden,” Rarity said.

Twilight glanced at her friends. Trixie trudged through the snowbank at the base of the cliff, scanning the rocks. Applejack, Rainbow, and Rarity trailed behind her, with Fluttershy hanging further back.

Applejack nodded in agreement. “Are you sure we’re on the right side?”

Trixie stopped short. She turned her head and looked at Twilight with a red gleam deep in her eyes. A shiver ran down Twilight’s spine. Trixie grinned. “Positive.” With that, she jumped straight forward and vanished into solid rock.

Rarity stepped up to the spot and reached out experimentally. She passed her forehoof through the stone up to her elbow. With a small shrug, she stepped through. Applejack followed a moment later.

Rainbow glanced back at Twilight. “Coming?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course,” she said, finding her mouth suddenly dry. She swallowed and walked forward. Her joints felt stiff, and willing each hoof forward was far more of a challenge than it should have been.

Rainbow slipped through the rock, leaving Twilight with Fluttershy. “Are you okay, Twilight?” Fluttershy said.

Twilight avoided Fluttershy’s soft blue eyes. “Fine, just tired.”

Fluttershy nodded, then stepped through the wall after Rainbow Dash.

Twilight took a deep breath. She couldn’t put her hoof on it, but after Trixie looked at her some part of her felt wrong – violated. She shivered again as the lonely white expanse seemed to surge around her, as if to swallow her whole. Even her simarculum had dissolved into snow and dust. With her heart pounding in her ears, she rushed forward. She reached out to test the rock. Without any sensation, her forehoof passed through the solid wall. Convinced, she dove through.

After a moment of darkness, she stepped into a cave lit by Trixie’s glowing horn. Distinctly artificial rectangular columns melded with rough stone. A carved path led to a teleporter array set into the floor. Gathered around the array, her friends waited for her.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have your mastery of spellcraft, Sparkle,” Trixie said. “You’re going to have to do the honors.”

Twilight nodded. “And this will work even though the Grey Wizards locked me out?”

“It’s older than the rest of the gateway network,” Trixie said. “A back door, if you will.”

"Alright then," Twilight stepped up to the array and lit her horn. "Let's go." Her destination leaped out at her. A dark room, somewhere above. It was a short, easy hop. With a thought, she ripped open the gate.

The hooves of six ponies clip-clopped down a marble hallway. Ethereal magelights lit Twilight’s path as she followed Trixie. They hadn’t gone far from the gateway, and Spellhold remind her more of Canterlot Castle than a prison. She could already tell there were far more rooms buried within the rocky island than the tower could possibly contain.

Trixie paused at an intersection. “His office would be...” She looked both ways. “Ah!” she said, turning sharply left.

The echos of a giggle echoed down the empty corridors. Twitching, Twilight’s ears strained against the eery silence. Another giggle, from the right. “Pinkie!” She took off to down the right passage at a full gallop. The corridor cornered sharply. Scrabbling at the smooth marble, she slid around the bend.

Darkness greeted her. There were no active magelights around the corner. “Twilight, I’m here!” a voice cried out. Directly ahead, light shined through a rectangular window blocked by two bars.

“Twilight?!” Applejack shouted after her.

Twilight could hear the beat of her friends hooves on the floor as they pursued her. She focused on a spot beyond the bars, and without hesitation, cast Dimension Door and teleported. Her hooves touched down on a padded floor. A cylindrical room with off-grey walls awash in a brilliant white magelight greeted her. A steel door with a barred window blocked the only exit.

Squinting against the brightness, she made out a figure hunched against the wall. A pony with a blue coat, and frazzled white hair. Her heart fell. I could have sworn, she thought.

The figure turned to look at her. “Why are you here?” he said, his voice creaking like an old piece of furniture.

Twilight braced her hooves against the padded floor. “No reason,” she said, noting that the pony in the cell had no horn. Apparently, Pinkie wasn’t the only earth pony the Grey Wizards put here. “I’ll just let myself out.”

Twilight glanced at the bars, about to cast another Dimension Door. “There must be a reason,” the pony said. “Causality, A results in B. Predictability. That’s the rules.”

Something in the pony’s tone held Twilight back. She hesitated. A hoof pounded on the cell door. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash shouted, her face appearing in the window. “What’re you doing?”

“I thought it was Pinkie,” Twilight said. “I’ll be out in a second.”

“Ah,” the pony said. “Her.”

Twilight whirled to face the pony hunched against the wall. “You know her? Where is she?!”

“You came running straight here, didn’t you? Predictable, just like him. Rules,” the pony said.

Twilight bounded forward and wrapped him in her levitation. With crushing force, she slammed him against the wall. “Where is she?!”

“Of course,” the pony coughed. “Power makes the rules. Brute force. Control.”

What am I doing? Twilight thought. She took a step back and released him. The pony slumped to the floor.

“I bet you like being in control,” the pony said, raising his head to glare at her. “Don’t you, Shadowspawn?”

Twilight froze. How does he know?

“I hate rules,” he said. “I like the unpredictable.” His eyes flared with a sinister yellow light. “Could you predict this?”

Before Twilight could think, the floor beneath her hooves sucked at her and crawled up her legs. The space around her warped and bent in on itself. She fixed on the yellow eyes and launched a half-dozen magic missiles at them.

Instead of lavender orbs, six white eggs volleyed out of her horn and shattered when they struck the ground. Ethereal green serpents emerged from the eggs and twisted toward her with a chorus of hungry hisses. She moved to draw her swords, but instead of a controlled pull of levitation, the blades were launched at the wall. With a near-simultaneous thud, her swords impaled themselves up to the hilt in the grey padding.

Her eyes wide with panic, she backpedaled. The floor gripping at her hooves made her overbalance and tip over. Flopping onto her side, she glimpsed the steel door and the barred window. The six serpents surround her and rose up, hissing and swaying as they slowly drew closer.

The door launched inward off its hinges. It clipped the floor, flipped once over her, and hit the far wall with a dull thump. From the shadows beyond, a rippling wave of black crystal slammed into and engulfed the pony in the cell.

In the blink of an eye, the serpents dissipated, and the warped space returned to normal. “Go back to sleep, Screw Loose,” a deep voice said. “That’s enough fun for today.”

Twilight looked up. Piercing green eyes met hers. A unicorn stallion with a dark grey coat and shaggy, black mane with grey streaks stood over her. With a smile, he extended a hoof to her. “He likes to make Discordance Zones. Usually, the magical reactions are mild, but yours seems uniquely interesting.”

Twilight took the hoof, letting him pull her to her feet. “Who’re you?”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself,” the stallion said. “My name is Sombra, and I am the Headmaster of Spellhold.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said. She turned back to see what had happened to Screw Loose. A jagged formation of black crystals held him suspended against one of the walls. It fully engulfed him. His eyes were closed. Some form of petrification, she thought, though she’d never heard of the particular spell before. Distracted, and almost as an afterthought, she added, “Baroness of Ponyville.”

“Twilight, are you alright?” Rainbow Dash said. As Twilight turned back to the door, Rainbow gripped her shoulders. “What were you thinking?!”

Soon, all of her friends were joining in. With a gentle push of her magic, she shook herself free. “I know I heard Pinkie,” she said. She focused on Sombra. “Do you know where I can find my friend?”

Again, Twilight walked down a marble corridor. This time they followed Sombra. She glanced at the doors to closed cells as they passed, wondering what lay inside. “I have to warn you,” Sombra said, “she may not be the way you remember her.”

“Why not?” Twilight said, her eyes narrowing. “What did you do to her?”

“If you hurt her—” Rainbow Dash added.

“There won’t be enough left of you to bury,” Applejack finished.

Sombra stopped. “It wasn’t me.” He turned. “I do everything I can to repair the minds of those that are sent here.” He shook his head sadly. “It was the one they sent with her: Sunset Shimmer.”

A tightness gripped Twilight’s chest. “Where is she?”

“Dead,” Sombra said. “Sometimes, patients are too dangerous for this institution to contain. In that case, execution is simply the only option. She escaped from her confinement and she hurt your friend. I’m sorry I allowed it to happen.”

Dead, Twilight thought. It was too good to be true. She eyed Sombra. If it were true, she had to wonder what the pony in front of her was capable of. “No matter what, she’s Pinkie. I need to see her.”

Sombra sighed. “Very well.” He turned to a cell door behind him. A locked panel covered the barred window. His horn lit with a crimson aura, and the door slowly swung inward.

Twilight stepped forward. Light from the corridor spilled into the dark room beyond the door, painting her silhouette on the far wall. A pony curled in the corner turned to look at her. It was Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie’s mane hung straight, obscuring her face like a curtain. With a hoof, she swept her hair back over her ear and stared at Twilight with dull eyes. She bore no signs of physical harm. “Pinkie!” Twilight cried. She surged forward and wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie. “I found you,” Twilight said softly. “You’re safe.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. With surprising strength, she set a hoof against Twilight’s chest and pushed her away. She lifted a foreleg and held it to the side of her mouth to hide a whisper. As if she were talking to a pony beside her, she murmured, “Twilight thinks she’s real, Wallace.”

A lump rose in Twilight’s throat. “I am real, Pinkie. We’re all here to take you home.”

Pinkie’s eyes lit slightly. “Ponyville?”

Feeling moisture in her eyes, Twilight nodded. “Ponyville.”

Pinkie twitched. In a deep, dignified voice she said out of the side of her mouth, “Don’t listen to her Pinkie. She’s fake.”

Twilight blinked back tears. “It’s me, Pinkie! Your friends have come for you.”

Pinkie shook her head. “My only real friends are in my head.”

Twilight flinched back, her ears pinning against her skull. “What did she do to you?” She swallowed. “We can fix it, Pinkie. We’re here for you.”

Pinkie curled against the wall and covered her ears with her hooves. “No!” she shouted. She rocked back and forth. “Lies! All Lies! Fake! Go away!”

Twilight winced. “I’m not leaving without you, Pinkie.”

“Go away!” Pinkie screamed. Her hoof lashed out. Twilight barely reacted in time to flinch back a step. It was a half-hearted blow, and it clipped through the air in front of Twilight’s snout.

“No!” Twilight yelled. She wrapped Pinkie in her levitation, restraining her. “I will carry you out of here if I have to!”

Pinkie writhed in the field of Twilight’s magic, and with a kick, spilled out. Twilight’s eyes widened. Pinkie rolled to her feet and swung a punch with one of her forehooves. Twilight saw it coming toward her.

... And she opened her eyes sprawled on the floor, pain blossoming through her back. Pinkie stomped slowly toward her. A foreleg wrapped around Twilight’s chest from behind and dragged her backwards through the door. The last look she had at Pinkie before a red glow slammed the steel door shut was a pair of blue eyes glaring down at her.

Twilight struggled to her feet. “Pinkie!” she roared.

A slam answered her. The door dented outward. “Don’t come back!”

“You can’t reach her, Twilight,” Sombra said. “If you want to help your friend, you need to back off.”

Twilight swallowed. She raised her forehoof to touch the door. Trembling, she leaned against the steel. “I’m sorry, Pinkie.”

A hoof touched her shoulder. “It’s not your fault, Twilight,” Rarity said.

Through the metal, Twilight heard sobbing. The lump in Twilight’s throat broke. Tears ran freely down her cheeks. She turned to the closest shoulder she could find and buried her face into it, her chest heaving as she tried to stay in control.

Wings wrapped around her. “It’ll be okay,” Fluttershy said softly in her ear.

Sunset Shimmer, if there is anything left of you in the Abyss, you will know no peace, Twilight silently swore. Death isn’t nearly enough for you.

Twilight paced in front of an arching, fluted door. Green shadowy magic swirled inside of it, like a portal. Her hooves fell on a velvet carpet in an otherwise bare room. “I’ve never heard of anything like this,” she said, eying the door.

“It’s the only way you can save your friend,” Sombra said. He gestured at the doorway. “The realm of the mind lies beyond. I’ve tried to help her, but she doesn’t know me.” He looked at Twilight and smiled. “She might respond to you.”

Applejack sighed. “Can’t say I like this, but if anypony can get through to her, it’s you Twilight.”

Twilight chewed on the inside of her cheek. It was hard not to be nervous. “Do I have to go alone?”

Sombra nodded. “It’ll only work on one pony at a time.”

Twilight came to a stop. It was hardly a choice. “Fine,” she said. “Let’s do it. How does it work?”

“All you have to do is step through,” Sombra said.

Gritting her teeth, Twilight approached the door. She glanced over her shoulder.

Rainbow Dash gave her a reassuring nod. “We’ve got your back.”

Off to the side, Trixie cleared her throat. “For what it’s worth, I hope we all get what we came here for, Sparkle.”

“So do I,” Twilight said. With nothing left to say, she stepped through the swirling mist.

Beyond the threshold, her hooves touched a padded floor. It was pitch black. She lit her horn. She stood in a spherical room, not unlike the one she’d found Screw Loose in. Interlocking rings of arcane runes wrapped around the walls. As they started to glow, the magic in her own horn dimmed, until her horn extinguished.

“We’re sorry,” Rarity said from behind her.

Twilight turned. The doorway was still there, but the mist was gone. Her friends were gathered beyond.

“But we really think this is for the best,” Applejack said.

“If there were a better way...” Rainbow added.

Twilight’s mouth dropped open. She worked her tongue, searching for words. “What are you talking about?” she said finally.

“Don’t you see, Twilight?” Fluttershy said, nearly choking on sob. “You need to be locked up here.”

“We could tell you were trying,” Rarity said.

“But you can’t overcome what you are,” Applejack said.

An aura of magic, blue like Rarities, wrapped around her swords and pulled them away from her. She reached out for them, but nothing happened. The runes pulsed brighter.

“You and Pinkie have to stay,” Rainbow said.

“What?” Twilight said. She dropped onto her haunches, her mind dull with shock.

“You’re too dangerous,” Fluttershy said.

“This is the only safe place for you,” Rarity said.

The door started to swing shut as her swords passed through it. Twilight rushed toward it. “No!” she cried. “Don’t do this to me!”

“We’re doing this for you,” Rainbow said.

The door slammed shut.

Twilight rammed into the steel, bruising her shoulder. “Let me out!” she screamed. She pounded on the door with her hooves. “Let me out!” There was no response.

Pure, desperate power built in her horn, surging to a bursting point. The runes around her flared until they were nearly blindingly bright. Lightning jumped from the walls and struck her from all sides. White hot pain seared her mind. The padded floor rushed up to meet her.

When her muscles finally stopped twitching, she curled into a ball and cried. The runes had stopped glowing, leaving her in pitch darkness. There was nothing left to do. I’m alone, she thought. They finally left me. How could they do this to me?

“I’m alone,” she said. Saying it out loud made it somehow more real. She sniffed and dried her eyes with a foreleg. She pulled herself to her feet. I still have to save Pinkie.

“You’re not alone,” the voice of the spectre whispered. “We could be one.” Red eyes floated in the black.

Twilight took in a deep breath. The runes stopped her from using magic. But will they stop my divine power?

She closed her eyes. She tore down every barrier in her mind. The chains of light dissipated. Her friends weren’t her friends anymore anyway. I deserve this, she thought. I deserve to be strong. She delved deep, submerging herself in shadow. Her power was a means to an end, nothing more. It was a tool for her to use. I will not lie down and die, Twilight though, not without a fight.

She grasped the shadows in her core and let them envelop her. Her head swam. Pinkie would fight for me, she thought. Pinkie sacrificed herself for me, just like Star Swirl. She grit her teeth. A dam broke inside her. A dull presser pushed out from inside of her back. I’m not letting her slip away like Star Swirl. I will save her.

A swirling red glow enveloped her, lifting her off the floor. Wings spread from her back. She twisted her head, marveling at them. Long black feathers, tinged on the edges with crimson, graced her wings. She was a god.

“Finally,” a voice shouted. Like a pane of glass, the cell shattered.

Twilight found herself hanging spread-eagled, suspended from manacles around all four of her legs. Her chin slumped against her chest. Alert, she lifted her head. Reflexively, an unfamiliar pair of wings spread from her back.

Trixie stood on a platform in front of her, a smirk on her lips. Sombra stood beside her. “Everything was for this moment,” Trixie said.

Twilight glanced wildly from side to side. Pinkie was chained in a similar posture beside her. Her head hung low, and her straight hair fell around her face. Arrayed around them in a diamond, her friends were chained on top of pedestals. One by one, their eyes flickered open. Gags in their mouths kept them silent.

“You shouldn’t have come for me, Twilight,” Pinkie said.

Trixie and Sombra’s horns lit simultaneously.

Every muscle in Twilight’s body tightened. She arched back. A terrible pull encircled her chest, drawing something out of her very core. A shadowy mist seeped out of her, so thick and tangible she didn’t need Truesight to see it. It ebbed into Trixie and Sombra in a pulsing flow. Her wings crumpled in on themselves.

Twilight screamed until her lungs were out of air. A slow drain sucked her essence out of her. It felt like hours before the pain passed and she could finally draw breath again. She slumped in her chains. Black feathers fell around her. Nothing was left of her wings.

In front of her, Trixie slowly spun, her mouth agape. Black wings spread from Trixie’s back. She flapped them experimentally.

“This is certainly a far better option than Lichdom would have been,” Sombra said. He had changed as well. His stature was swollen, and his horn glowed faintly red and curved to a wicked point. Every trace of grey in his hair was gone. With a quick flourish, he draped a red cape over his shoulders. “Dispose of them,” he said, turning away. “They’re worthless to us now.” His cape trailed behind him as he descended steps down from the platform.

Trixie looked up at Twilight. “Don’t look so sad, Sparkle, you weren’t using it anyway, not until we made you.”

Twilight gasped for air. An empty void tugged at her chest. She hadn’t given her essence up willingly, and something had been left behind. She lifted her head to glare at Trixie as it all started to come together in her mind.

Twilight remembered what Pinkie had said while the Grey Wizards dragged her through the portal. ‘It’s all a lie.’ She licked her lips. Illusions, Twilight thought. That’s how Sunset Shimmer made more than one Simulacra. They were fake Simulacra. It had been so real. She focused on the amulet around Trixie’s neck. If it enhanced Trixie’s power, there may not have been subtle inconsistencies in the illusion.

“It was you all along, wasn’t it?” Twilight said. "Sunset Shimmer was you."

Down the steps, a door slammed shut, marking Sombra’s exit.

Trixie grinned. “It took you this long to put it together? Did you really think there was another unicorn wizard alive today that could compare to you? I gave you something that you would believe. I created a nemesis to compete with you so that you would never realize what was truly happening.” She opened Twilight’s manacles with her magic.

Twilight plummeted like a stone until she hit the platform. She laid there groaning. Her body had no strength left.

“The truth is, there was nothing that could match you. You are so effortlessly talented. So blindingly brilliant.” Trixie delivered a swift kick to Twilight’s ribs, making her curl in on herself. “And you squandered it all!” she shouted. “Luck? A good teacher?!” She kicked Twilight again.

“Leave her alone!” Pinkie cried.

Trixie leaned in close to Twilight’s ear. “I hate you, Twilight Sparkle! You have everything a pony could want. You have friends that would die for you. Divine power. Incomprehensible magical talent. And you bore it like a curse!”

“You had to be so difficult,” Trixie growled. “I couldn’t just take you here and finish the process. Even Sombra couldn’t keep you contained for long. Everything had to be ready. You had to be baited, coaxed, and trapped. It took enormous effort to lead you step by step to a door that showed you your greatest fear. There was no way to fight you directly.” she said. “At least you were predictable. She told me all about you.”

Twilight choughed. “Who?”

“Chrysalis,” Trixie said. “She knew what magical license you would use to teleport to Canterlot, and she knew every move you would make from there. She knew you would not stop until you found Pinkie, and that you would come right here, right where I wanted you to be.”

Trixie placed a hoof on Twilight’s head, pressing her cheek against the stone platform. “And now, I have your power, after capturing you and bringing your Divine Essence to the surface. After saving your life from the Grey Wizards. After dragging you here through the Frozen North when the Thieves Guild didn’t come through.”

Trixie ground her hoof down. “You didn’t even have to work for it. You were just born with it, and still, you never took credit for it.”

Trixie spread her black wings. “If you ever leave this place, you will gaze up at me in envy. I will be Great and Powerful, not you!” She picked her hoof up off of Twilight's cheek and stomped down.

Something cracked in Twilight’s nose. Blood seeped from her face. Her head swam. As her vision faded, she watched Trixie walking away, black wings spread wide. Death isn't nearly enough for you, Trixie.

Fate

Twilight raised her throbbing head. Unable to breath, she snorted, and a surge of blood spattered from her nose. Pinkie was shouting her name, but it sounded far away. She blinked, trying to clear her blurred vision. Hungry, she thought, though it was more concept than word, malformed and incomplete. She sensed emptiness – a pit yawning in the core of her being.

She licked her lips, tasting iron, and gathered her hooves beneath her. When she pushed off the ground, she listed, and crumpled onto her shoulder. Drained, she thought as her eyes slid shut. Breathing was hard. Her chest burned.

A part of her had been ripped out. A thorn had been torn from her chest. She clung to the tendrils of shadowy power that remained, hoping they would save her in her final hour as they had so many times before, but they fled from her grasp. She let her head slump to the floor, and it started to go dark.

“You have to keep your eyes open, Twilight,” Pinkie said. “I know how much you want to let go, but hold onto us. Hold onto me. We can stand together.”

Again, Twilight gathered her hooves beneath her. I will not go quietly into the night, Twilight thought. I will not abandon my friends. She gathered herself and pulled in a deep breath.

Twilight stood. With clarity, she opened her eyes. I will have what was taken from me.

Blood splattered from Twilight’s muzzle as she twisted her head. She spotted Fluttershy on a raised stone dias, not unlike an altar, where the yellow pegasus had been chained and gagged. Angel struggled uselessly against one of the manacles around her foreleg. Nullifying runes had been carved into the altar around her, resulting in a localized anti-magic zone. It was far more elaborate than a suppressor, but required to keep a druid trapped.

It’s up to me, Twilight thought. She put one heavy hoof in front of the other. As she placed her forehoof on the first step leading down from the raised platform, she stumbled. On the way to solid ground at the bottom of the stairway, she endured a bruising collision with each step. When she finally rolled to a stop, she found herself on her back.

Celestia, why? she wondered as she struggled to keep her eyes open. Why is it all worth it? They all turned on her. If she’d killed Trixie, back when she had the chance, this never would have happened. If she hadn’t trusted Trixie when she saw her again; if she hadn’t believed ponies could be better, she wouldn’t be here now. Why should I struggle for others? Why should ponies I never met be anything more than stepping stones? Why should I care how many bodies I leave in my wake?

She rolled onto her belly. Her ears throbbed with her own pulse. She could feel her life flickering like a candle, mortal and brief. Why should I care when I know they will go into the darkness? What intrinsic value does life hold? Why does it matter?

She dragged herself forward. Fluttershy’s alter blurred, just beyond reach. Her swords, still sheathed in their scabbards, dragged along the ground. They knew she’d be so fargone that they hadn’t even bothered to disarm her.

Equestria without a Goddess to rule it is a corrupt, desolate place, full of greed and violence. If ponies are good, why haven’t they done better? Do they need an iron fist to keep them in line? Do they need the Avatar of the Sun to come down and personally tell them keeping other ponies as property is wrong?

She reached to her side with her mouth, bit down on the hilt, and wrenched her neck to pull it free. Less than a hoofspan emerged from the sheath before she ran out of reach with her neck. She gripped the blade in her teeth, and pulled again. She needed to destroy the runes.

Because they are villains, she thought, because they betray me at every turn, I struggle. Are Shadowspawn really any worse than anypony else? Or are we all animals?

Solstice’s blade split her lip as it fell from the sheath. Triumphant, she gripped the hilt in her mouth. She clawed her way up the altar, rising from the ground, and scored a line through the runes before collapsing back down. Solstice slipped from her teeth.

Pale green light flared. Angel loomed above her, growing with elemental power. Within moments, he’d torn Fluttershy’s chains from the stone. Before Twilight could fade into unconsciousness, Fluttershy was at her side. The druid’s hooves pressed against her, soothing where they touched. Angel moved out of her view as her eyes slid shut, presumably to free the others.

Kindness, Twilight thought. Her friends were better ponies. Are they paragons, or are they simply representatives of what’s good in all of us, what pulls us together instead of driving us apart?

Calm warmth filled Twilight, and she let herself give in and sleep.

Twilight Sparkle stood with her hooves poised on the edge of a well. Deep beneath her, shadows boiled. She stared into them, and a shape resolved. It reached with tendrils and clinged to the sides of the well. Bone white claws flashed in the deeps. A maw of fangs, then a lupine form emerged, bounding up the sheer stone wall. Its eyes were gouged out of its bleached skull, leaving only voids. Wings of shadow spread from its back to touch the walls of the well.

She tried to step back, but the void-eyes of the figure transfixed her. Saliva built in her mouth, soon dripping from her lips in globule of dool. Sharp fangs poked against her tongue. Her hooves slipped from the precipice, and she fell.

When consciousness ebbed back, Twilight curled and groaned. A soft mattress yielded beneath her, and it seemed a shame to do anything but sleep while she was on it. She tasted blood. Who’s blood?

Her eyes shot open wide. It was all around her. It stained the pillowcase by her cheek and left red splotches spattered on the sheets. She jerked, trying to push herself up. Ropes bound over her pulled tight.

“Welcome back, Shadowspawn. You were hungry,” a voice she could not recognize, but that seemed familiar, said.

“Killer! Killer! Killer!” another voice shrieked, stinging Twilight’s ears with pitch and volume. “I want her dead!”

Twilight twisted beneath the rope to look around the room. Four ponies were with her in a lavishly decorated bedchamber. One sat on the nightstand beside her, a unicorn who was barely more than a foal, with a grey coat, green hair, and a green eye marking her flank. Screw Loose perched on a chair next to the only door. The third pony was right beside her bed, but as soon as her eyes fixed on him, he vanished. Twilight spotted her swords by the door.

The last pony, another unicorn, stood next to a corpse in the corner. She held a dagger floating in the air beside her. Blood stained her forelegs up to her elbows, marring her white coat. The body beside her had been shredded by some unknown force, its torso ripped open. Its face had been slashed and cut beyond recognition, and the head slumped to the side, barely attached to the body by a few in-tact tendons.

“If we come in there, and she’s dead, you all are gonna be too!” Rainbow Dash’s voice shouted through the door.

“If you come through the door she’ll be dead!” the unicorn in the corner shrieked.

“Wouldn’t Discord want her dead?” the young unicorn on the nightstand said. “They’re pretty much mortal enemies. Cosmic opposites.”

Screw Loose shook his head. “Discord doesn’t have enemies, only obstacles, and unlike Azrael, she’s not boring.” He looked over at the pony in the corner. “Calm down, Chastice, I rather like my eardrums.”

Twilight searched her mind. It didn’t surprise her that she hadn’t managed to hold onto any prepared spells. She felt refreshed, and she was certain she could manage some magic. She eyed her swords. The further away the object she was trying to manipulate with her levitation was, the less strength she could bring to bear, but all she had to do was pull them close.

“Blink!” the filly on the nightstand shouted.

Before Twilight could blink, the pony that had vanished loomed over her, a fire-poker in his teeth. “Don’t even think about it,” he growled as he rested the point of the poker against her throat. He was clearly a pegasus, but Twilight noted his oddly stunted wings. They were far smaller than they should be.

Twilight hesitated, looking up at Blink. She glanced at the filly on the nightstand. “How did you know?”

She grinned, flashing white teeth, and tilted her head. “I’m Spectrum! I can see what you’re probably going to do!” She tapped her hoof on the nightstand. “But I think I could have figured it out just from the way you were looking at those swords.”

What is this place? Twilight wondered, A prison for those who use magic without the Grey Wizard’s permission, or a place to contain anomalies?

“She killed Dream Seeker!” Chastice screamed. “Why are we even talking about this!”

Twilight cringed, wishing she could put her hooves over her ears. The voice was impossibly grating, and impossibly loud. Her head rang with its shrill pitch. “I didn’t kill anypony!” Twilight shouted.

“Twilight?!” She heard Pinkie shout from the far side of the door.

“She’s awake!” Applejack shouted.

“Twilight, hold tight,” Rarity called. “We’ll resolve this.”

Screw Loose chuckled, gesturing toward the corpse. “But you did kill that pony.”

Twilight shook her head. “I was unconscious!”

“Maybe,” Spectrum said. “But it wasn’t.”

Twilight glared at Spectrum. “It?”

Spectrum drew her knees up to her chest and folded her forelegs over them. She stared at the wall. “The Slayer. That which remains. That which consumes. Until you make it whole again, it will try to fill the void.”

Twilight blinked. She remembered snippets. Fangs in her mouth. Limbs of roots and wood holding her down. A pair of golden spikes puncturing her leg. Escape. Easier prey. Hunger.

Screw Loose tapped his chin. “Maybe she’s too fargone. Maybe this Trixie will be suitable.”

“Enough!” Chastice yelled. She stepped toward the bed. “She deserves to die! She took him from me!”

As the volume of Chastice’s shouts drove daggers into her ears, Twilight weighed her options. Spectrum’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to shout, but Chastice drowned her out. Twilight gripped the poker with her levitation, and jerked it. Before he could let go, Blink was flung into the canopy covering the four-poster bed. He vanished a moment later, leaving the poker behind.

Twilight launched the poker at Chastice and let go. The handle struck Chastice in the throat with crushing force, silencing her screams. Reeling, Chastice dropped the dagger and clutched at her neck with a hoof. Next, Twilight reached out for Solstice. Scabbard and all, it floated toward her. The moment it was close enough, she pulled it free of the sheath and slashed the ropes.

The door burst open. Pinkie stepped through first. As Screw Loose’s eyes began to glow, Pinkie’s hoof connected with his jaw. He crumpled.

Twilight jumped out of bed, snatching up Celestial Fury as she moved. Blink appeared next to Chastice and picked up the fallen dagger. Before he could disappear again, Twilight leveled Solstice's blade against Spectrum’s throat. Blink hesitated, dagger in his teeth.

“Don’t, Blink,” Spectrum said, cringing away from the sharp edge. “You’ll lose, and I’ll die.”

Blink dropped the dagger. Twilight lowered her sword. For a few beats, they watched each other. Without a second thought, Twilight turned and rushed toward Pinkie, wrapping the mare in a tight embrace. “I found you,” Twilight said.

Twilight clutched a cup of tea. She sat on her haunches in a heavy padded chair behind a desk, her cloak pulled tight around her. She looked at her friends, scattered throughout the study on the far side of the desk. They’d taken over Sombra’s office, and allowed Spellhold’s prisoners to go on their way. “What happened?” she said.

Rainbow Dash pulled a book off one of the study’s many shelves. She made a face at the title and dropped it. “Well, we were letting you sleep, then you kinda...”

Pinkie poked at a wire sculpture on the desk. “Kinda turned into a monster that wanted to eat everything.” Pinkie’s hair hung straight around her shoulders, but Twilight was glad to see the same demeanor she remembered.

“I hit it to slow it down,” Applejack said.

“And it ran off,” Rarity said.

“By the time we caught up, they had you,” Applejack said. She leaned against the desk, across from Twilight. “Sorry about wounding you, but I figured it wasn’t really you.”

Twilight shrugged. “I barely remember it, and I wasn’t wounded when I woke up. You did what you had to.” She stared into her tea. “What was I like?”

“What was it like,” Fluttershy corrected, oddly forceful.

“It was a bit like a big cat, or a wolf,” Rarity said. “A predator. It trailed shadows where it walked. Bony plates and black spines protected it, and it seemed to regenerate from wounds. It had wings, but it didn’t ever fly on them. It just used them to drown out the light.”

“I hated its eyes,” Rainbow Dash added.

I just won’t sleep, Twilight decided. We’ll catch up to Trixie before long. She sipped at her tea. How? And then what? How can you beat her? She’s everything you could have been.

“Alright,” Twilight said. “We need to find the Gateway Sombra and Trixie took. They must have left, or they wouldn’t be letting the inmates run wild.” Twilight set her cup on the desk and pressed her hooves together. Already, she could see the problems with her plan, if it could be called that. If I don’t sleep, I’ll never be able to replenish my spell resources, she thought. Not to mention the exhaustion. They needed to move fast. She climbed out of her chair.

“I might be able to tell where they went, if we get there fast enough,” Twilight said. She headed for the door. “How long was I out?”

“You were sleeping for at least eight hours,” Applejack said. “Then, this happened.”

Twilight’s paused mid-step. Too long. Maybe there’s a chance, she thought. She exited the study into one of Spellhold’s long, dark corridors. An unexpected chill carried on a wafting breeze dug past her coat.

“You need to get to the top of the tower,” a voice said.

Twilight turned to see Spectrum hidden beside the study door. She raised a brow at the filly. “Why?”

“Because it’s the only way any of us leave,” Spectrum said.

“How do you know?”

Spectrum shrugged. “I just do. Do you always ask this many questions?”

Twilight furrowed her brows. “No. But I don’t believe in fate.”

“I know,” Spectrum said. “It’s weird that you don’t, given that he’s all about fate.”

“What are you—”

“Talking about,” Spectrum finished for her. “Cause and effect. Drop something, it falls. Stab something, it dies. Say something, a pony reacts. Those are the rules. That’s fate.” Twilight opened her mouth, and Spectrum held up a hoof. “You think you’ve always had a choice. Maybe you’re powerful enough that there really are some things you can control, but you still can’t break the rules.”

Twilight thought back to the moment she teleported the Solitaire through the iceberg. “Maybe I can.” Spectrum blinked. Twilight raised a brow. Did I catch her off guard? “Maybe you can too. Don’t you change how things happen?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Spectrum said. “Only Screw Loose really breaks the rules though, but he’s a Cleric of Discord. So really, Discord breaks the rules.”

“Enough,” Rainbow cut in. “You’re making my head spin. Let’s just do what the filly says and get to the top of this tower.”

Twilight shivered. “It’s getting colder.” They took the Fragments, Twilight realized. Both of them.

With Spectrum showing them the way, Twilight found herself standing in front of an arched doorway. Beyond, a polished marble staircase wound up the inside of the tower. Two statues of armored earth pony soldiers flanked the door. She paused a the threshold. “What happened after Sombra tricked me?” Twilight asked.

“A lot of crazy black crystals, and probably some illusions for good measure,” Applejack said. “We weren’t ready for it, and before long we woke up captured in that room with you.”

“I felt something when they... drained you,” Fluttershy said.

Rarity nodded in agreement. “Maybe we were part of it somehow.”

Twilight glanced a Pinkie, wishing she had the time to really delve into what had happened to her friend in this place. Enough was self evident. Trixie and Sombra had toyed with her mind to bring out her divine essence. Pinkie had been worryingly quiet. You can’t expect her to be herself, Twilight thought. She’s resilient. She needs time.

Twilight stepped through the archway. A glowing line of runes lit along the inside edge. Trap, she thought, groaning in exasperation. The eyes of the statues filled with arcane light. She drew her swords as their mouths started to move.

“Only those of sound mind may leave this place,” the statues said in unison. Their voices pulsed with an arcane echo. “The first test is the test of logic.”

“Weird,” Spectrum said. “That must have been why he never let us come this way. Maybe he was afraid we’d get out.”

“In the following pattern of numbers,” the statues said, “One, two, four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, what comes next?”

“Sixty four,” Twilight said. How could anypony not be able to figure that one out?

“My brother is twice as old as I was when my brother was as old as I am now. The sum of our ages is twenty-eight. How old am I now?” the statues asked.

“Twelve,” Twilight said. The question was deceptively complex, and required a bit of algebra to solve.

“Clearly, you can comprehend patterns and solve problems. The next test is of sanity. Lies will be punished,” The statues said. “You wake to the sound of a pony in your room. What does he want?”

“To kill me,” Twilight said. This is a waste of time.

“Paranoia, interesting. Some is healthy, but too much is insanity,” the statues mused. “What happens when—”

With Solstice and Celestial Fury, Twilight cleaved through both statues simultaneously. Decapitated stone heads thudded to the floor. She cocked her foreleg, waiting for some form of retaliation. When none came, she stepped forward and headed up the stairs.

“Well, you failed the test of patience,” Rarity said.

Twilight broke into a smile. “I guess so,” Twilight said, laughing. She glanced back at the statues. Why are they here? she wondered. Maybe Spellhold was first built for a different purpose than the one it is being used for today. She guessed Spellhold today was a laboratory for Sombra in the guise of a prison. She had yet to see an actual wizard kept here. Maybe he just got rid of them if they weren’t interesting.

A Gateway array greeted her at the top of the steps, along with a collection of familiar faces. Screw Loose, Blink, and Chastice all waited for her. Spectrum walked past the array to join them.

“How’d you get up here?” Twilight asked.

“Same way you did,” Screw Loose said. “Stairs. The statues don’t actually do anything anymore.”

“The least you can do is get us all out of here,” Chastice said, her voice surprisingly melodious.

“I need to catch Trixie. Do any of you know where they were planning on going?” Twilight said.

Screw Loose grinned. “I can help you.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “I think I’d rather take my chances than trust your magic. You’re probably the only pony who actually belongs here.”

Screw Loose gestured at the array. “Be my guest. It won’t work though. With the Fragments gone, the Grey Wizard’s teleportation network is collapsing. It’s all fueled by the Crystal Heart. That, and it’s not like you have a license anyway.”

Twilight sat in front of the array. She closed her eyes and lit her horn, trusting her friends to cover her if anything happened. Her eyes flicked open. The Gateway was unresponsive.

“All we want to do is leave. With your help and Blink’s help, I can get us all where we need to go,” Screw Loose said.

“And where is that?” Twilight said.

“For you, it’s where Trixie went, isn’t it?” Screw Loose said.

Another convenient offer of help, Twilight thought.

“Look, it’s this, or we all freeze,” Chastice said.

“Fine,” Twilight yielded. “Let’s do it.”

Screw Loose nodded at Blink. The pegasus hesitantly stepped forward to take up a position in the center of the array. “Cast the teleportation spell,” Screw Loose said.

“But I don’t have a destination!” Twilight said. She shook her head. “It won’t work.”

“Are you that afraid of breaking the rules, Shadowspawn?” Screw Loose said. “You’d rather just wait around until you can’t control yourself any longer?”

Twilight snorted and formed the teleport spell. Screw Loose’s eyes glowed yellow. A nova of light exploded from Blink.

When Twilight opened her eyes, a familiar sight rose before her. Beyond a castle wall, a keep with a slanted roof rose from a black plain. She dug her hooves into the hard obsidian beneath them, refusing to believe what she saw. Candlekeep, she thought.

She stood alone before her old home. The keep crumbled where her magic had torn it apart. Scars from the arcs of uncontained arcane energy caused the heavy structure to slump in on itself. Part of the outer wall was missing, cleanly cleaved. The foundations came complete with grassy earth smoothly melded into the black plain, though the grass itself was brown and dead.

“Are you playing games with me, Screw Loose!” Twilight shouted. Her voice echoed back at her, caught by an eerie echo. “Where are my friends!”

“Over here!” a rich, self assured voice said.

Twilight turned. A strange creature lounged on the flat obsidian, the chin of his goat face supported on the palm of a bird-like hand. His head bore an antler on one side, and a straight horn on the other. A stiff mane rose from the back of his neck, until his coat shifted from grey to dark brown. His whip-like, reptilian tail flicked casually against the ground.

“I have been just dying to meet you,” he said.

Twilight glared at him. “Who are you? Another servant of Discord, like Screw Loose?”

The creature smirked. “You could say that.”

Twilight pointed at Candlekeep. “Why this? Are you trying to unnerve me with memories?”

“Oh, that,” the creature waved it off with a lion-like paw. “I didn’t put that there. You did.”

Twilight blinked. She turned to look at Candlekeep and focused, casting a spell. The world shifted into a haze of lifeless. Every stone was real, and strangely familiar to enhanced vision. She looked at the creature. The entity she saw twisted and complex that she had to turn away. She cut her Truesight, gasping as her vision returned to normal. The spell wouldn’t help her here anyway. “Discord,” she breathed.

Discord laughed. “That’s me.” He rose up off the obsidian. Then, without taking a step, he was beside her, his long body coiled over her and dipping down until his head was next to hers. “Though, I think of Discord as more of a concept than a person.”

“What did you do to my friends,” she growled, grasping the hilt of Celestial Fury with her levitation. He should fear the Godslayer.

“Absolutely nothing.” He raised his paw and talon in gesture of defense. “I wouldn’t dream of it. They’ll arrive precisely where and when they need to be, as will you.”

“Why?” Twilight said. “Why would you ever do anything that would help me?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Discord said. A scale appeared in his paw. He tipped it with a claw. “You’re an upset.” He vanished and reappeared in front of Twilight, an exact copy of her, except with yellow eyes, red pupils, and a pair of lavender wings. “Anything could happen,” he said. As she watched, her wings faded to black. His form twisted, returning to its original shape. He gestured at the obsidian expanse. “After the Alicorns failed to kill Azrael, I was afraid all I’d have to look forward to was more dreariness when he finally clawed himself back together.”

Twilight looked out into the distance. “Where are we?”

“Your domain,” Discord said. “It’s a bit drab. It could use some color.” He pointed at the ground, and green frond split the black earth. It rose and bloomed into a red rose, then wilted and died, fading black. Discord heaved a dejected sigh. “Even I can’t fix it. This place soaks up anything interesting.” He gestured at Candlekeep. “At least you spiced it up a bit.”

Twilight stared at Candlekeep. “My domain?”

“Your inheritance, such as it its,” Discord said. “Your own little slice of the Abyss.”

Twilight shook her head and stepped back. You’re standing in front of the instigator of the Time of Troubles, the Aspect of Chaos! She froze as Discord’s claw traced a line down her cheek. He’d appeared next to her again.

“You’re a princess, Twilight.”

Twilight pulled Celestial Fury from it’s sheath and lashed out at Discord.

The blade passed through his body. His lower half slumped lifelessly to the ground, but his upper half remained exactly where it was. Discord straightened, his torso floating oddly. “Ouch,” he said. The lower half of his body stood up and reattached itself. “That stung a little.”

Twilight retreated, her ears pinned back.

“Please,” Discord said, rolling his eyes. “You didn’t think that would actually work, did you?” He stared up at the sky wistfully. “Here I was, about to share with you the secrets of the world, and all you can do is try and kill me.”

Twilight’s ears perked. “I had to try. Aren’t you a God? It should have been able to hurt you.”

Discord chuckled. A gilded, peaked birdcage appeared around Twilight. Discord perched above her on a suspended bar, inside the cage with her. “Since I have a captive audience, would you like to hear a story?”

Twilight opened her mouth.

“Of course you do,” Discord said before she could respond. He flopped back, his back perfectly balanced on the perch. “A long, long time ago, there wasn’t time. There wasn’t space. There wasn’t form, or function. In this state of existence, all possibilities were one, overlapping, but distinct. Variety that you could not comprehend. No logic, no flow. No action, no reaction. No beginning, no end. Nothing existed, and everything did.”

How does that make sense? Twilight thought. She’d always assumed Equestria simply was. The prime material was a product of the outer planes. At some point in eternity, it arose, and it may end someday. “There has to be a beginning.”

Discord flipped and hung from his perch. Upside down directly in front of her, he chuckled. “You all see time as a line, marching ever onward, stretching back into the horizon, and forward to infinity. Or perhaps a circle, but it is ever-present, and independent. How do you measure time though?”

“Against a fixed cycle,” Twilight said. “Like the Sun and the Moon, or a pendulum.”

“But would time exist if there were no rules? If there were no cycles to measure it against? What if the pendulum was both at the bottom and the beginning of its swing?”

Twilight frowned. “There still needs to be a beginning. What started it swinging?”

“Ahh, now there’s a question for the ages. What started it swinging? So many have asked, and yet, no one has an answer,” Discord said. “But, the idea that you need something to start everything arises from one key assumption.”

Twilight raised a brow. “And what’s that?” You’re having a philosophical debate with the Aspect of Chaos, a little voice in the back of her mind reminded her. Discord was responsible for so much suffering.

Discord dropped lightly from his perch. “Causality.” He paused for a moment, letting it sink in. “What if I were to tell you that causality was an illusion. That jumping off a cliff would not mean you fell. That A did not result in B, and instead all the As and the Bs and the Cs existed everywhere that they had ever been or ever will be.”

“I would say you’re crazy,” Twilight said. “I can observe the consequences of my actions.” She sighed, eyeing the bars of the cage. “Get to the point.”

“You live in a world where everything flows logically, according to predictable rules. Everything is a result of some previous action. But the only reason the world you see exists instead of the one I described is because from everything an entity formed something,” Discord said. “He picked and chose from all the possibilities, all the possible rules, all the possible ways that things could work, and made a world that would serve him. One logical reality.”

Twilight tensed. “Who?” she said, even though she had a feeling she already knew the answer. “A god?”

“Not a god,” Discord said, “The God, Azrael.”

Twilight dropped onto her haunches. “How do I win against that?” She hung her head. “He controls everything.”

Discord burst into laughter. “Oh, that’s rich,” he said, wiping a tear from his eye with a scaly finger. “He wishes He controlled everything.” He reached down, tipping her head up. “Chin up, smile. He can only fashion the gears and set the clock ticking. He has to play by His own rules.

“So anyways,” he said, dropping onto the floor with his chin propped on his palm. “He and I are a bit different than any god or immortal you’ve met before. We’re the originals, so to speak. That makes us a lot harder to get rid of. I think to destroy me, you’d have to eradicate the concept of chaos, and then everything would be the same, with no gradients or differences, and all you’d be left with is a featureless soup of nonexistence. Or maybe you’d have to find some sort of replacement.”

Twilight raised a brow. “Even after you made it so that gods could die?”

Discord shrugged. “I don’t know. He’s still here, despite the Elements of Harmony, and I’d rather not test the theory myself. All the other immortals can... Well, die isn’t strictly the right word. They just cease to exist. You mortals get to die properly and be chained to His will forever. Every time one of you dies, He grows another eye, and gets a little stronger. Time is His ally, and given enough of it, He might control enough of you to actually control everything.”

Twilight frowned. “So we’re just a herd to be culled?”

“Well, that’s how it started,” Discord said. “The world was a pretty harsh place before He managed to get ponies in it. He segregated the Prime Material plane away from all the other planes – all the other possibilities – as a sanctuary for life, but the barriers were weak at first, especially with a bit of Chaos beating on His door.

“Then, Ponies. Freak accident, or grand design, you showed up after eons, and you forced the world into a shape to suit you, much like He had already done. Life exploded with your passage. But you resulted in emergent properties He never predicted. Alicorns, Magic, Gaia, and Harmony. For a time, they suited Him, because never before were there so many of you living and dying all at the same time, but then you grew strong enough to challenge Him, and you know the rest.”

“Wait,” Twilight said. “Where did the Alicorns come from? Were they ponies?”

Discord rolled and languished on his back. “Why don’t you ask her sometime?” he said. He pulled himself up and stretched his serpentine body in an arch. “Anyways, storytime is over, my little pony. It’s time for you to run along and play.” With a snap of his fingers, the cage disappeared. “And remember, no naptime. You have a sleepwalking problem.” He winked.

Twilight stamped her hoof on the flat obsidian. “That’s not the end of the story!” Twilight shouted. “After Celestia and Luna used the Elements of Harmony against Azrael, you tried to wipe us all out!”

“Of course,” Discord said. “If there was none of you left, there would be no Him. I knew He’d ingrained himself in His creation somehow. ” He sighed forlornly. “But Celestia had to be so selfish, protecting you all.” He turned and trudged away from Twilight, his arms hanging limply at his sides. “And I’m the bad guy here.”

“Of course you’re the bad guy!” Twilight yelled. “How is protecting others selfish? How is wanting to live selfish? And you expect me to believe that you’re somehow helping me? Why would you ever help me.”

Discord turned. He drew himself up and glared down at her. “Wanting to live is very selfish young lady. Life’s continued existence means His continued existence, and as long as He is around, He stops all the other possibilities from existing. How do you know there isn’t a better world out there, with better, happier ponies that don’t hate or fight or kill each other?” He dropped lower, and his tone turned sweet. “But of course I’m helping you, even if you are a selfish little pony, because if you don’t stop Trixie, the ending will be certain, and there won’t even be this world to enjoy.”

Discord resumed his slow trudge away from her again. “The thanks I get for sharing the secrets of the universe.”

Twilight glanced at the remains of Candlekeep. When she looked back at Discord, he was impossibly far away, his form fading into the endless distance of the black plain. Muttering, she kicked at a ridge. He told me more than Celestia would.

Twilight’s hooves clip-clopped on the cobblestone road leading up to the gate in Candlekeep’s outer wall. It was eerie, walking down a road in a sphere of normality surrounded by the Abyss. The gate’s dual heavy wooden doors hung open for her. Of course they would be open, she thought. Ponies were fleeing through them, last they were used.

She passed beneath the gate’s arch, eyeing it warily. Though it crumbled from damage, it remained sturdy enough to hold up the weight of the stone above. She gazed up at the library-keep towering in front of her. I teleported all of this to another plane, she thought. What am I capable of?

Studying every detail, she trotted down the main garden path leading to the library keep. Though the plants themselves were dry and grey, everything matched her memory. The same shops surrounded the dirt road immediately inside the outer wall. Over on a bench, an open book lay next to an overturned inkwell and the remains of a half eaten roll left behind in the panic.

She paused at the bench and nudged the roll with a hoof. Other than being dry, it showed no signs of age. Is being a Shadowspawn enough to explain how I was able to do this? she wondered. She shook her head and turned away from the bench. No matter how she looked at it, she was more than a Shadowspawn. There were two factors to a wizard’s power, raw magical power, and the ability to learn. Each could only get one so far individually, and she had both in abundance. Trixie was right.

She came to a stop at the doorway to the library keep. She swallowed, staring into the darkness beyond. There’s nowhere else to go, she thought. There has to be a way out of this place, unless Discord intended to trap you here forever. She shivered. The thought wasn’t comforting. She lit her horn and stepped forward.

A flare of noise and blinding light greeted her. “Suprise!” Pinkie Pie shouted. Twilight went down when a mass collided with her side. She landed with her limbs tangled with another pony.

“Gah,” Twilight grunted. “Pinkie!” Laboriously, she tried to pull free.

Pinkie slipped away and stood effortlessly. She reached down and offered a hoof to Twilight, a smile on her face. Her curled mane exploded around her head, like normal.

Twilight reached up to take Pinkie’s hoof, but something perched on her nose drew her attention. She went cross eyed trying to focus on the brightly colored object, then sneezed. A piece of paper floated away on the gust of air. “Confetti?” she said as Pinkie helped her up. “Where did you find Confetti?”

“In my room, silly,” Pinkie said. “It’s all here.” She paused, her expression falling. “Except for the ponies.”

Twilight’s ears went back. “How do I know you’re real?”

“Easy,” Pinkie said. “Solar!”

Twilight blinked. “Huh?”

Pinkie took a step back and dropped into a low stance. “Imposter!”

Twilight rubbed the base of her horn with a hoof and sighed. “What?”

“You don’t know the countersign!” Pinkie said.

“Countersign? We didn’t establish—” Twilight paused. She remembered. “Lunar.”

Pinkie grinned, relaxing. “Happy Birthday, Twilight Sparkle.” She handed Twilight a book titled The Compendium. “I’m sorry I put you to sleep with a crazy laughter punch and sacrificed myself which turned out to be what she actually wanted to happen.”

Twilight smiled. She took the book. It was actually only a few days off of her birthday. She hadn’t remembered. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I let myself get duped.”

Pinkie nodded. “She was really good at being all larger than life and dramatic.”

“And she fought us in a place that was perfect for her, with all of the reflections,” Twilight said. She wrapped a foreleg around Pinkie’s neck and drew her into a hug. “I missed you so much, Pinkie.”

“I missed you too,” Pinkie said, returning the hug. “How did you survive without your big sister?”

Twilight laughed, feeling warm tears on her cheeks. “Big sister?” she pushed away from Pinkie, feigning indignation. With a smile, she said, “I have no idea.” There’s always joy, Twilight thought. No matter what. She sighed, eying Pinkie. “How are you so... together? What did she do to you?”

For a moment, Pinkie’s expression turned dark. “It’s no fun not knowing the difference between what’s real and what’s not, and having your mind all twisted.” She smiled brightly. “But you’re back, and so are Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. I could choose to be trapped by the past, or I can look forward.”

Twilight looked around Candlekeep’s entrance. “If you’re here, maybe everypony else is too.”

“So, where’s Spike? I haven’t seen him,” Pinkie said.

Twilight scuffed her hoof against the floor. “He’s in the Celestial Plane. He can’t be my familiar and a Dragon at the same time.”

Pinkie’s eyes went wide. “So he’s going to be a full-on spell-slinging fire-breathing lizard? That’s great!”

Twilight smiled. “I guess so. Though, it’ll take a while.” She looked at the stairs up to the next level. Rubble blocked the way. “They could be lost up there. Candlekeep is a big enough place without some of the paths cut off.”

“What is this place?” Pinkie asked.

“My domain, I think. My own little slice of the Abyss. A pocket-plane. I must have sent Candlekeep here,” Twilight said. “Now, we need to find a way to go wherever Trixie went.”

“Twilight! Pinkie! Applejack! Rarity! Fluttershy!” Rainbow Dash’s voice echoed from above. “Where is everypony?!”

Before long, Twilight gathered with her friends in front of the door to Star Swirl’s study. It hadn’t taken long to find them in Candlekeep’s dusty hallways. The door was closed and locked, exactly as she’d left it. She hesitated.

“You’re sure this is it?” Applejack said, eyeing the door.

Twilight nodded. “It feels right.” Setting her jaw, she pushed on the door with her levitation. It buckled inward and ripped off its hinges. She let it drop. Beyond, dried green Changeling innards still clung to the walls and floor.

“Woah,” Rainbow Dash said. “What’d you do, pop it?”

Twilight grimaced. “Yeah. Swords are a lot easier.”

Rarity eyed the crusted goop disdainfully. “And cleaner,” she said. “If you didn’t kill it with Celestial Fury, why is it still here?”

“I think I ate it,” Twilight said. “The same way I ate the Skinstealer that bit me in the Copper Coronet.” She took a step into the room, trying to avoid stepping in Changling. There, in the doorway to her old room, a portal shimmered. She approached it.

“Neat,” Pinkie said.

“Where does it go?” Fluttershy said. “Somewhere better than here?”

“I have no idea,” Twilight said. She reached out toward it. Something drew her in. An insatiable desire, and a wholeness she felt beyond. Before she knew what was happening, she’d stepped into the portal.

Twilight Sparkle struggled to move. A crushing weight pressed down on her back, a heavy, thick depression. Regret so deep it was a mire. Still, she slogged forward, toward a shimmering patch of silvery moonlight. Gasping, she stepped into the light.

Her eyes adjusted to the brightness, and she focused on a blue blur in the center of the ring of moonlight. A tiny, frail Alicorn lay shackled on the floor. Blue eyes deep as the night sky turned to look up at Twilight. “You,” the Alicorn gasped. She cringed away.

Twilight glimpsed her reflection in the polished manacles around the Alicorn’s forelegs. She loomed against a backdrop of darkness, a hulking predator with empty eyes. Hunger.

But Twilight remembered something else. This reflected creature, she was not. She pulled on a rainbow thread, one that always shimmered just out of reach. Her reflection changed. Her own face stared back at her, her own eyes.

The Alicorn’s eyes widened. She looked up at Twilight with something else: hope. For a moment, the moonlight flared brighter. “You’re both,” she gasped, her eyes drawn to the Mark on Twilight’s flank. She stood up and moved toward Twilight, until her shackles jerked her to a stop. “Touch the Moon!” she cried. “I can protect you!”

Twilight opened her eyes. She lay on her back in the dark on a hard surface. Groaning, she sat up and clutched at her head with her forehooves. Around her, she heard similar groans. She lit her horn, illuminating a cave, and her friends all laying nearby.

“Ugh, where are we?” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight stood. “Let’s find out.” She stepped toward a fissure in the wall. She shook her head, trying to clear the vision she’d had from her head as she clambered through the crack.

She pushed herself clear, and gasping, slid to a stop on the edge of a precipice. Beneath her, the drop faded into darkness. Before her spread a realm of smooth, rippling natural pillars that stretched hundreds of feet between the floor and the ceiling of a massive cavern. In the distance, a dome shining with silvery light lit the enormous space. Craters marred its face in the profile of a pony’s head.

Where are we?

Cavern

Twilight made her way along a narrow ledge. She trailed behind Applejack. A rope around her waist lashed her to the rest of the ponies in the line. She’d made missteps, but with two surefooted earth ponies, one with a magic set of shoes, and two pegasi hovering nearby, it never resulted in catastrophe. The chasm beneath dropped into darkness, the bottom somewhere far beyond what her horn illuminated.

“Visions and all, are you sure we should be going toward that thing?” Applejack said over her shoulder.

Twilight glanced at the glowing sphere looming in the cavern. “It’s the Moon. It’s not going to hurt us.”

“Seriously?” Rainbow Dash said, flapping lazily beside her. “The Moon has always been a crescent, and how could it be in a cave?”

“Celestia sealed her away,” Twilight said. “It’s not unthinkable that this place is Luna’s prison.”

“A prison,” Fluttershy said. “I guess it looks like it could be a prison.”

Twilight gazed out across the alien landscape. Sharply contrasting shadows thrown by spectacularly large natural limestone columns left areas in near-complete darkness, including where they stood. At the moment, her horn was the only thing that lit their path. Far away in the distance, near where the Moon rose from the center of the cavern, a city straddled the banks of a vast underground lake. With all the distance between her and it, she strained to make out the signs of civilization, but hard angular lines matched the profile of an outer wall. Piers stretched into the lake itself, little more than black lines against the reflective surface at this distance. It appeared most of the structures were built into the spires and rock itself.

The rope jerked against her waist, and she quickly took a step forward to catch up. “Celestia told me the Moon was whole once. This must be where she put the missing piece.”

“Still, it is rather strange,” Rarity said, following a few steps behind her. “What kind of ponies would live down here?”

“Maybe they’re not ponies,” Pinkie said at the back of the line. “Maybe they’re intelligent city-building cave spiders of unusually large size!”

“Ugh,” Rarity said, “I sincerely hope not.”

“Then you uh... probably shouldn’t look up,” Pinkie said.

Twilight looked. Eight compound eyes set into a fanged, insectoid face stared back at her. The spider, at least as large as a pony, hung motionless from eight legs, barbs and claws holding it onto the rock face. “Aiee!” Rarity shrieked, prancing in place on the ledge as she readied her bow.

The spider lunged, its legs coming forward in a blur of twitching motion. Its fangs reached toward Twilight. She reacted. With her levitation, she seized the spider and ripped it off the wall. The body left four well-anchored legs behind as it plummeted into the deep below. A spray of fluid leaking from the joints where the appendages had been ripped free reigned down on her.

“Ack, it’s in my mane,” Rarity said.

“Come on, Twilight, that’s not how you initiate diplomacy!” Pinkie said.

Twilight stepped forward along the ledge. “You’re right,” she said. “I should have used my swords. It would have been a better introduction.”

Applejack leaned around a bend. “Well, we’ve got more company for you to introduce yourself to— woah nellie!” She jerked back, a metal bolt punching through the air from around the bend. It glanced off of her shoulder-plate with a shower of sparks and spun away into the darkness.

Immediately, Twilight cast a Shield spell. Stoneskin would offer more complete protection, but she was trying to conserve resources. “How close are we to something solid!” she said. “We need to get off this ledge!”

“Not far!” Applejack said. A second bolt whizzed from the shadows. Pinkie deflected it with a hoof, and it lodged into the wall beside her. She shuffed off the rope around her waist and took off running up the wall. A moment later, she was gone. Another bolt pelted into Twilight’s shield, shattering against it into a dozen metal splinters.

Twilight flared her horn. The bright light illuminated figures in the air. Ponies with dark coats and slit-pupiled eyes hovered on bat-like wings. Each had a pair of crossbows attached to a harness, one on each side. Deep grey plates of armor protected them. They shrieked and cringed away from the light. Rainbow Dash launched at them, closing the distance in a blur. She whirled among them, sparks and blood trailing off her wingblades.

“Push!” Twilight shouted. Applejack moved around the bend. She followed, one hoof in front of the other on the narrow ledge. She slipped. Her hoof plunged off the ledge, and she overbalanced, falling

The rope jerked for a moment as she dropped, and then Rarity tore away from the cliff behind her. A second jerk, and Twilight came to a sudden stop, the rope cutting into her midsection. Then a third, the force squeezing the air from her chest, when Rarity stopped beneath her. Rarity’s bow spun past her in the air. Twilight dangled beneath Applejack, who braced herself on the ledge, and Rarity hung beneath her. As she swayed, a bolt sunk into the stone wall beside her.

Where’s Fluttershy? Twilight thought as she evaluated her surroundings. They’d made it around the bend, but the plateau they were trying to reach was still a few hoofspans away. Rarity recovered, caught her bow in an aura of levitation as it dropped past her, and returned fire. Her crystal blue arrows left lancing lines of light in the dark.

Choice profanity entered Twilight’s mind when a unicorn stepped out of cover. She had the same dark coloration, and the same slitted eyes, as the bat-winged ponies attacking them. Her horn lit with a silvery-blue glow. “Kill them!” she shouted. “Purge the Surfacers!”

Twilight answered with Magic Missile. Six lavender orbs launched from her horn and tore into the unicorn. Her target reeled, the glow on her horn instantly fading.

“Hang on!” Applejack shouted. The rope pulled on Twilight, and she swung toward the plateau. Rarity reached out, nearly catching it, then they swung back again.

On the second swing, Rarity caught the ledge, but the unicorn emerged from cover again. This time, a shimmering Globe of Invulnerability protected her against weaker spells. A swarm of small, dark shapes moved against the rocks around her. A faint buzzing filled the air. Her horn glowed again, but before she could complete a spell, a swarm of insects surged over her. She cried out in pain.

Rarity clambered up onto the plateau, and Twilight was left hanging between her and Applejack. With another point of stability, Applejack moved along the ledge again. After Applejack took a few steps, and Rarity drawing in some of the rope, Twilight grabbed the edge of the plateau and pulled herself up.

There, on the solid ground, a mesh of brambles protected by an oversized bunny glowed with green light. Across a flat slab of rock channeled by the flow of water, bat-winged ponies fired on the glowing brambles from behind a ridge in the stone. Despite the heavy chunk that accompanied the release of each bolt, none of them penetrated the barrier, and most thudded harmlessly into the wooden rabbit. Swarms of insects descended on the bat ponies, and they kept moving, hopping short distances in the air between cover to avoid the bugs.

Rarity caught one of the bat ponies with an arrow as he moved. She moved at the same time, launching arrows to pin down her targets as she took up cover behind a stalagmite. She’d already slashed the rope around her waist with one of her needle-like daggers.

Twilight went over a quick headcount in her mind: seven still moving bat ponies, one unicorn, and five corpses cut down either by arrows or wingblades. Rainbow Dash shot overhead, pulling a tight turn. She whipped around and collided with the far side of the formation attacking Fluttershy. Among them, she created space with powerful gusts of air, then took wide lunging strikes with the openings.

Applejack, finally on a solid surface, bucked Truthseeker through the air. Bolts glanced off her armor and plunged into the stones around her. Another bat-pony died, a shrieking cry of panic cut short by the impact of unerring twin golden spikes. A pink blur dropped from the ceiling and landed behind the rock the unicorn had been using for cover. A moment later, a sickening snap sounded.

Twilight winced at the sound. She only killed once, she thought. Twin strikes rattled off her shield with a stattico crack-crack, bringing her back to the reality of combat. She drew her swords, cut the ropes binding her to Applejack, and moved. The bolts came in too fast for her unenhanced mind to react to. The lack of Improved Haste left her feeling sluggish. She kept her head down behind her arcane shield and found cover next to Rarity.

A bolt rammed into the upper portion of the stalagmite, sending chunks of rock and limestone dust reigning down on them. Rarity popped out and launched an arrow. A pony gurgled.

And then, nothing. Twilight pressed her back against the stalagmite, her heart thundering in her chest. No more bolts came. The buzz of insects died down.

“All clear!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “Everypony okay?”

“Good here!” Applejack called.

“I’m fine,” Fluttershy said, her cage of brambles receding back into her cloak.

“A-Okay!” Pinkie yelled.

“Bruised, but all in one piece!” Rarity said, rubbing her midsection where the loop of rope still hung. She glanced at Twilight. “Twilight?”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m good.” If circumstances had been different, with the terrain and the numbers they were up against, she would have teleported into the midst of her enemies, cast Sunfire, turned invisible, and wreaked havoc. To conserve resources, she’d relied on her friends, and they came through unscathed.

She stood, grunting at the soreness in her abdomen. She approached the bodies. Pinkie moved out from behind the rock. “Well, that’s that,” she said with a smile, as if they hadn’t cut a swath of death through thirteen living creatures.

Twilight glanced past Pinkie. The unicorn lay with her head fully twisted back, her neck obviously broken. She looked away. What happened to you, Pinkie? she wondered.

Using her magic, Twilight moved one of the wings of a dead bat pony aside, revealing the mechanism of the crossbow attached to his side. A semicircular clip fed into a slot. Extra clips were contained in bags on the bat pony’s flanks. The dead pony had reloaded moments before she died, and the metal crossbows arms strained with tension. The repeating design explained the high volume of fire from a relatively small group of attackers. She peered closer, trying to determine how they reloaded such a heavy draw weight so quickly. Arcane runes provided the answer.

“I was wondering how they were getting off shots so fast,” Rarity said, standing over another body.

Twilight nodded. “Whatever they are, they obviously have a high degree of both technical and magical competence.” With a few careful cuts with Solstice, she detached the metal plate protecting the dead mare’s chest. She prodded it with a hoof. It shifted, lighter than its thickness would have led her to believe. A small “x” on the inner face, a manufacturers mark, glinted in the light of her horn.

“Now why did they shoot first and ask questions later?” Applejack said.

“Xenophobia, maybe?” Twilight suggested. She looked up, staring at the Moon in the distance. “Let’s hope we don’t run into too many more on the way.”

“You know, that’s pretty close to their city,” Rainbow Dash said. “Still determined to go there?”

“Yes,” Twilight said. “There’s somepony there who might be an ally. And, we need to figure out where Trixie went.”

“And why are you so sure she’s here?” Applejack said.

“She’s been through here alright,” Pinkie Pie said. “And so has he.”

Twilight nodded. “It’s like I can feel the piece of me they took. We must be getting closer.”

Twilight rubbed her eyes. She stared at a blank page in her journal. Her friends snoozed around her in a hollow at the base of one of the massive columns, their soft breathing and quiet snores filling the air. She sighed. At least she was on watch now. It was incredibly hard to stay awake when she was lying there pretending to sleep. Explaining to her friends she had simply decided to not sleep after the incident in Spellhold would not go over well. Instead, she’d lain there going over what Discord had said. She set her quill to the page.

Unknown Date, Nightfall(?) 944(?)

Magic comes from life. That much is evident, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. More than that, the property emerges due to the connections between life. Ley Lines come from population centers.

What heights did we reach before the Time of Troubles? How ingrained was magic into the web of our society? Manehattan had an arcane tram network. Were those secrets lost due to the destruction, or did they simply cease to function from due to the millions, maybe billions that were snuffed out? When something no longer works, how long before it is forgotten by the weight of time?

Were Wizards then bound by the same limitations they are now? Standing in the waters of coursing rivers of power grown from a weight of souls so vast it seems incomprehensible, could they cast spells in a manner far more inefficient than the methods of formula?

And the Alicorns. Discord seemed to imply they came about as a result of ponies. Most ponies seem to believe that we are three distinct races because we are the children of the gods, somehow each carrying a piece of their perfection.

But Alicorns are not perfect, and God is the doom that claims you in death. There is no justice. We all have crimes, but we all meet the same fate. We are all equal after the touch of the Reaper. Maybe the only escape is to kneel before him. Lichdom, or worse.

Twilight yawned wide. It was hard to tell how long she’d been awake. Twenty-four hours, at least, but in the cavern, there was no night or day. She hadn’t seen the Sun since they entered Spellhold. She set down her quill and rose to her feet. She had to get her blood flowing.

It was probably past the end of her turn at watch, but she hoped her friends wouldn’t notice. She paced across the rim of the hollow, staring out into the shadowy space beyond. After their first unfriendly encounter, she’d kept her horn largely dark. Once, they’d passed within a few hundred hoofspans of a group of the ponies that inhabited this place. Fortunately, they hadn’t been spotted. Fights were exhausting, and she intended to avoid them if she could.

She looked over at the Moon. It loomed over her. It’s size was tremendous. Only half of it rose from the floor of the cavern, and still it reached nearly two-thirds of the way to the ceiling. Every inch of its surface glowed with silvery light. They’d chosen to loop around , avoiding the city on the edge of the lake entirely, and it had cost them several hours, but perhaps it had also avoided a full-fledged battle with the cavern’s denizens. Aside from squashing a few spiders, their journey had been largely conflict-free.

“It’s my turn,” Pinkie said, right beside her.

Twilight jumped, magic momentarily bleeding off her horn as she reached for her swords. Glancing over at Pinkie, she relaxed. She sighed. Nothing for it. “I’m not sleeping.”

“I know,” Pinkie said, calmly sitting next to her. “You’re afraid it’ll come back.”

Twilight nodded. “If she was going to take it, I wish she had taken it all. Then, at least, I’d be free of it.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said, staring off into the distance. “I haven’t changed into something else, but I can still feel it.”

“You killed that pony,” she said, still looking at the Moon.

“I did,” Pinkie said. “She was number two.”

Twilight turned to look at Pinkie. “Why?”

“Because, Twilight,” Pinkie said, “there are things hiding in the dark. I used to think I could hide behind a smile. I used to think that staying away from the dark would keep me from having to be you. Now I’ve realized the only way to keep from being dragged under is to be the biggest, baddest thing in the dark.” She met Twilight’s eyes. “Or at least, be friends with her.”

Twilight hoofed awkwardly at the cold, hard limestone ridge beneath her. “I’m not anymore, if I ever was.”

“Is that what you really want?” Pinkie said. “To be free of it?”

Twilight froze for a moment. Finally, she shook her head. “No,” she said. “I want it all back. Not just because of what’s left, but because it’s mine. It’s a part of me.”

Pinkie looked down. “If we ever find them, and if we can make them give it back, will you take it all?” Her hair drooped, falling around her face like a curtain.

Twilight nodded slowly. “If that’s what you wanted, of course I would.”

Pinkie closed her eyes tight. In the dark, a droplet of moisture falling from her snout caught the moonlight. “I hate it,” Pinkie said. “I hate Sombra, and I hate Trixie. I’ve never hated anypony in my life, not the way you hated the Black Knight, or the way Applejack hated that dragon. First, she used me to get at you, and then she used me for what I had. I didn’t even want it in the first place.

“I remember every cut, in my mind, and in my flesh. She kept me weak for those three days, always on the edge of death, so that I wouldn’t be able to fight her or figure out what was real and what wasn’t while she was busy tearing into your mind. She gave me just enough healing potions to stay alive. Then, she left a few where I could reach them. I was too afraid to try it, but she was gone for long enough that I risked it. Now I realize that’s what she’d been counting on, so she could get us both there.”

Twilight pulled Pinkie close. As soon as she was in Twilight’s embrace, Pinkie broke down. Her body heaved, wracked with sobs. “Stuck in a box,” she choked out between sobs. “Nothing’s real. Days and days. Nothing’s real. Fake, fake smiles.”

“Shh,” Twilight said, running a hoof through Pinkie’s mane, wishing she could do more. She grit her teeth. I’m going to make them both burn. They chose to be monsters. When I come knocking on their door, they will beg me for mercy, and I will show them a true monster.

As time stretched forward in an endless dark, Twilight held Pinkie.

Twilight peered over a ridge formed from the base one of the cavern’s massive columns. They’d cut around the city and the large underground lake, reaching the moon nearly on it’s opposite side, costing them hours. She’d hoped to avoid more contact with the strange ponies living here. Unfortunately, a massive rift separated the Moon from the cavern floor. She suspected it didn’t actually touch the stones, but instead floated in a cratered bowl.

She’d asked Rainbow to touch the Moon, and when that didn’t work, she’d had Rainbow carry her over to touch it. Nothing had happened when her hoof contacted the cool surface. They’d kept going, circling around the moon looking for a solution. Even though everything looked the same in the Cavern, by her reckoning, they’d nearly looped all the way back to the city.

Now, she evaluated a lone structure built near the moon. Bluish-grey metal spires polished to a reflective sheen stretched upward, their sharp points framing an arching threshold. Two imposing doors hid whatever lay within. Large enough to contain an entire block of Ponyville, and with angled architecture, the building was beyond imposing.

From the back of the structure, a gossamer bridge stretched between it and the Moon. The bridge swayed gently with the cavern’s internal airflow. She squinted. This close, the Moon was bright enough to be uncomfortable to look at, but she thought she could see the bridge disappear into the glowing mass.

“Great,” she uttered, ducking back down behind the ridge. She stifled a yawn. Time blurred down here, but she’d been awake for at least forty-eight hours. Once she’d hit a point, about twenty-four hours in, her body had seemed to accept that it wasn’t going to get to sleep anytime soon. Still, if she sat still for more than a few minutes, she started to nod off. “Looks like we’re going to have to knock, or try and get to that bridge by going around somehow.”

“Still not sleeping?” Rarity said.

Twilight nodded. Hiding her decision from her friends had turned out to be a fantasy. They were more perceptive, and more understanding, than she gave them credit for.

“It’s not healthy, Twilight,” Applejack said from the base of the ridge.

“For the hundredth time,” Twilight said with an exasperated groan, “I’m not letting that thing out again.”

Applejack gave an unconvinced grumble. She stalked up the ridge, her hoof falls heavy. “Let’s go knock then.”

“No sense wasting time while you string yourself out,” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight sighed. The disadvantage to her friends figuring out that she wasn’t sleeping meant they stopped sleeping too, so that they could move faster. The end result: they were all tired and irritable. “Fine,” Twilight said. “But we’re knocking my way.”

With a flare of her horn, Twilight cast Knock. It was one of the more specific spells in her arsenal, but it performed admirably. The doors flew inward, ripped free from their mountings, and crashed into the space beyond.

Twilight stood poised in the doorway, her ears ringing. Slots cut at precise angles into the ceiling and the back walls let shafts of moonlight shine into the room. The domed structure in Canterlot had been a temple. This was a cathedral.

Rows and rows of empty stone pews, some of them shattered by the doors’ passage, faced an indomitable lectern. Behind it, the Moon shined through a stained glass window. The murky colors depicted a lone Alicorn. She held her head low, her eyes closed with a serene sorrow. Fine silver chains snaked around her neck and coiled at her ankles, trailing off her in a rain of links.

Etched into the metal ceiling above the altar, words read, ‘All who enter here, fear no evil, for God is Great’.

A chill ran down Twilight’s back. Do they worship Him? she wondered. She eyed the window. Why is Luna portrayed so reverently if they worship Him?

A smaller door on the side of the sanctuary opened. A pony stood in the doorway. He had neither a horn nor wings, but his pupils were slitted, and he had a dark coat and mane. His eyes widened when he saw the ponies standing in the doorway.

Rarity raised her bow, but Twilight lifted her hoof. “If there’s an alarm, I already triggered it. Let’s get to the bridge.”

“Mistress!” the pony screamed. “The surfacers are here!”

Ignoring the screaming pony, Twilight made her way down the center aisle. Her hooves, covered by nine thin layers of stone, clicked on the metal floor. She’d come prepared. Her friends fell into a wedge shaped formation behind her, with Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash joining her at its apex.

A figure stepped onto the cathedral’s raised stage. He possessed a horn, but his eyes glowed instead. Twilight launched into motion. One hoof forward, she teleported.

... And appeared next to the cleric. In a single motion, she drew Solstice from it’s sheath and split the cleric open from one shoulder to the top of his skull. Blood sprayed onto the window. Can’t afford to see what you were going to do, she thought as the corpse fell. Mistress, Twilight thought, her mind tracking what the first pony had said. That one was male. There’s more.

Beyond the lectern, twin alcoves flanked the window. She glimpsed steps. They have to lead to the bridge, Twilight thought. “Come on,” she shouted.

Rainbow Dash landed beside her in a rush of air. The others reached a set of steps leading up to the stage. Twilight turned toward one of the alcoves and found her path blocked.

A unicorn covered in plates of armor perched on the back of a hulking blue spider nearly three times her size. With a flash of magic, the unicorn freed straps holding her in place and dropped toward the ground, a levitated glaive floating behind her. While Twilight drew Celestial Fury, she swung Solstice at the spider and triggered the Sequencer stored in the blade. The spider shimmered, warped silver light playing across it’s carapace as if it were at the bottom of a pool.

Solstice sang through empty air while the Improved Haste stored in the Sequencer took effect. The powerful spell was all she’d managed to package in the blade. The spider was gone, lost in a brief flash of light, but a golden chain punched past Twilight. The tip of the chain tugged to the side, making the whole thing curve. The armored unicorn’s hooves touched the ground. Twilight dropped to her belly as Truthseeker redirected, the chain sweeping over her head.

The chain caught the armored unicorn and swept her legs out from under her. Twilight brought Celestial Fury down as she stood, and severed the unicorn’s head from her shoulders. She turned to watch Truthseeker find the spider, out among the pews, and skewer it.

In shimmering flashes of light, another six spiders appeared around Twilight. Glaive wielding unicorns leaped off their backs. Rainbow Dash hit one of the ponies with a blast of air before he touched the ground, and he flew into the wall with a crack.

Pinkie dropped from above. She landed on one of the spiders. Together, they vanished.

A floating glaive swung at her. She noticed it had no handle, not even for emergencies. The glaive was a metal crescent, all sharp edges. Almost casually, Twilight raised Solstice to block.

Metal rang with the contact. The glaive battered Solstice aside. It flew from her grasp and punched into one of the metal walls deep enough to lodge. Twilight blinked as the glaive connected with her Stoneskin. Her unusually strong levitation hadn’t deserted her, even without her divine essence, but this unicorn could compete.

Fine, Twilight thought. Unnaturally swift, she took a step toward the unicorn that had swung at her and brought Celestial Fury arcing down. Blood misted as Celestial Fury bit through the armored plate protecting the unicorn’s forehead. She drew it back, at the same time pulling Solstice from the wall.

In the corner of her eye, she spotted a blue blur of motion. She turned to face a spider. As it lunged toward her, she planted the point of Celestial Fury between it’s eyes, simultaneously picking up the two fallen glaives from the unicorns she’d killed.

She ripped Celestial Fury free before the spider’s corpse could hit the ground. A glancing blow shattered another layer of her Stoneskin, and she whirled to face the unicorn who had dealt it. She claimed his head with Solstice. The remaining three eyed her warily, glaives ready. Twilight started to spin the two glaives she’d picked up, sending them around her in an orbit. At first, it captured her concentration, but a moment later, it became a rhythmic motion.

“Wizard!” Rarity shouted. “Lectern!”

Twilight turned as she added a secondary spin to her glaives. Sure enough, a unicorn stood next to the lectern, in the middle of a stumbling sideways lurch. Layers of shimmering protection surrounded him, including grey stoneskin covering every inch of his body. He looked like he’d just come out of a teleport. Twilight noticed a glowing array set into the back of the lectern.

Twilight moved. As she watched, a layer of magic flared at the base of his horn and built toward the tip. Two glaives clipped the space she’d occupied moments ago. Twilight wasted no time. She started to cast Breach. A full glow engulfed the wizard’s horn.

Near simultaneously, their spells completed. A ray shot from his horn, shattering every layer of her Stoneskin. Her ray passed his in the air. It punched through the layers of protection he had against magic and tore away his stoneskin. His eyes widened. A whirling glaive tore into him in a mist of gore.

A flying chip of bone stung Twilight’s shoulder. As she whirled back around to face the glaive-wielders, she caught a glimpse of the combat around her. Two more spider corpses lay on the floor, one taken out by Truthseeker. The other’s head had been smashed in. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy kept their backs to a corner on the stage, Angel lunging as a spider came too close. She glimpsed Pinkie on the back of another spider as it teleported out of her field of vision.

A spider appeared next to her, only to be obliterated by a whirling glaive. A spray of fluid coated her left side, forcing one of her eyes shut. I can’t afford to get hit a single time without Stoneskin, she thought as the remaining three unicorns closed on her. Where’s Rainbow Dash?

A moment later, she had her answer. A rainbow blur came whipping in from her blind side. Sparks flew as Rainbow clipped all three unicorns while she arced past. She skidded to a stop on the metal floor, both of her wingblades trailing droplets of blood through the air.

The unicorns stumbled, struggling to stay on their feet, as their weapons dropped from the grasp of their levitation. Twilight was on them a moment later. All pretense of accuracy gone, she cut through them with speed and power, the metal plates of their armor splitting before the edges of her magical blades.

“How many spiders?” Twilight called as she wiped the gore away from her eye with a hoof.

“Two left, can’t see ‘em,” Applejack replied, her voice echoing through the suddenly quiet
cathedral.

Quickly, Twilight scanned the ceiling. It was empty. The spiders must have fled. “Pinkie?” she yelled.

“Here,” Pinkie called back as she jumped off the corpse of a fallen spider. “Now I know how you feel, disappearing and reappearing all over the place.”

Twilight eyed the alcoves while she brought her spinning glaives to a gentle halt. “Let’s get to that bridge.”

The tell-tale hiss of an object moving through the air caught Twilight’s attention. She turned, but it was too late. Pain exploded from her foreleg. She crumpled, her mouth widening in shock. Another bolt hit her. An emptiness accompanied its passing – a vague lack of feeling below the middle of her back only noticed so quickly due to her Improved Haste.

“Twilight!” Pinkie screamed.

A third bolt hit Twilight, and blackness followed.

The Slayer opened its eyes, such as they were. It did not perceive the way the Vessel did. It saw only in life and not life. A world object and beings surrounded it. Its own form was damaged, riddled by three holes. Immediately, it began to seal them, knitting them together with shadow.

It raised its head, salivating. Confusion rippled through its thoughts as a lifeless lance of metal glanced off the ground next to it. The object’s motion were off, as if it was moving too slowly.

Hunger.

There was no time to dwell. It turned towards its attackers. Light aided the eyes of the living, so from its back, the Slayer spread darkness. It could feel a burning source of light at its back, terribly close, but within the space around it it was able to achieve void. With purpose, it loped toward the exit of the structure rising around it.

Bolts hissed towards it, but the Slayer could perceive them, and its attackers could not see it. Most missed, but one did make its mark. The Slayer shrugged it off. These bolts did not burn as the chain had. Still, they moved too slowly. The Slayer even ducked one. Then, it was upon them. The first victim, it battered to the ground with a clawed paw, then tore through lifeless plates into the living core of the creature.

The Slayer closed its teeth around the pulsing center of its prey before it could die. Flesh hit the Slayer’s throat. Flesh, and satisfaction. It would make the Vessel into the Whole again. With enough death, it would be Whole. No alternative solution presented itself. Another bolt rammed into it, ripping into its hide from behind. With a deep, guttural growl, the Slayer descended upon another victim.

The second victim flapped wings in a vain effort to escape. The Slayer leaped after it, cresting the jump over five times its own height, and swatted its victim from the sky. It landed next to the broken, gasping body of the living creature. It could have simply yanked this victim from the sky with the powers of levitation granted by the Vessel, but the Slayer found connecting with its victims physically far more satisfying.

Another living being appeared behind the Slayer. It did not need to turn to look to know. The Slayer whirled to meet the pouncing attack and sunk its teeth into its enemy. Beneath a bulk, the Slayer fell to the ground, but the Slayer had already won. With a victorious, abyssal howl, the Slayer tore the creatures segmented body asunder.

The Slayer tasted something else in this larger creature – an innate pulse of living magic. Due to the Vessel, the Slayer was able to dissect this arcane power. A set of nodes spread before its sight, gleaming points of intersection in a webway of living connections. The Slayer set its mind to the task, and arrived at another point on the webway, next to another victim. Again, with wings, its victim tried to flee.

Life existed to feed the Slayer. Resistance was a futility born of emotion. Fear compelled irrationality. The Slayer found the rules quite simple. All outcomes lead to victory. It was unstoppable. It jumped to another node, directly in the path of its victim. The living creature flew into its jaws. The Slayer tasted metal, but pressed through to the flesh beneath.

Once the life had been snuffed out, as it fell, the Slayer transited to another node, and extinguished another victim. Then again. And again. It chased another of the large, arcane creatures through the webway, and consumed it as well, though there was nothing extra to be gained from it. Soon, the closest source of life was back in the building. Five in particular clustered within.

The Slayer had to jump through five nodes to reach them, but it appeared next to the five beings soon enough. The Slayer stumbled. Suddenly, every motion it made had become a struggle. Resistance. The Vessel. The Slayer roared. A pair of golden points flew toward it. With Resistance, the Slayer could not react. Burning spikes of pain drove into the Slayer’s shoulder, and with that shock, the impossible became reality. Resistance broke through.

Twilight stood in the ring of moonlight. The shackled Alicorn hunched before her. Luna looked up at her arrival. This time, she didn’t cringe away.

“Nothing happened when I touched the Moon,” Twilight said bluntly. “I think ‘they’ found me first.”

“I’m sorry,” Luna said. “I thought you’d sleep. I could explain further in your dreams.”

“I have a bit of a sleepwalking problem,” Twilight said.

Luna tilted her head. “You’re broken.”

Twilight hoofed awkwardly at whatever passed for ground in this place. “Yeah,” she said. “I am.”

Luna’s eyes widened. “You’re sleeping right now.”

Twilight blinked. I’m dreaming, she realized. “So I am,” she said.

“That means its awake!” Luna said.

Twilight took a step back. “Oh no,” she said. She spinned in place, looking for a way out. Only blackness surrounded her. “I have to go!” she shouted. “Get me out of here!” She had to stop it before it could hurt her friends.

“I can help you,” Luna said. “When you wake, come to me.”

With that, Twilight was driven into a strange body. Five brilliant sources of color, blue, yellow, pink, orange, and white glowed before her. She poised, about to pounce.

“No,” Twilight thought.

Twin golden points flew toward her. She wanted to strike, before they hit her.

“I will not harm them,” Twilight said.

Pain shocked her.

“I am my own master!”

Twilight woke with a gasp. Warm, red blood coated her neck. Soothing healing magic pulsed through her shoulder, extinguishing a fire of pain.

“Skies above!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “What the hell just happened?!”

“I have to get to the bridge!” Twilight cried, pushing Fluttershy’s hooves aside as she stood. Though fatigue weighed on her, she felt invigorated. She ran for the alcove.

“Wait, Twilight!” Rarity called after her.

Her Improved Haste was still with her. By the time the words reached her ears, she had already bounded halfway up the steps. A second later, she reached a balcony built into the back of the cathedral. She paused, the rift between the moon and the cavern yawning beneath her, her hoof poised to step on the gossamer bridge. Threads of spider silk formed it, interwoven enough to make a mat. It looked solid enough, so she took the step.

A vibration ran along the bridge, sending a wave along the strands until they disappeared into the brightness of the moon. Hesitance gone, Twilight ran out onto it. She placed her hooves carefully. Though there were ropey railings, the mat-like core bridge was barely wide enough for a pony. Individual strands surrounded it in a supporting network, making it stable enough.

“Halt, interloper!” a voice called from behind her.

Unable to quickly turn on the narrow bridge, Twilight settled for glancing over her shoulder as she ran. On the Cathedral’s balcony, a lone unicorn stood, her eyes alight with divine power. A silver bow floated in the grasp of her levitation.

Twilight came to a stop on the bridge. “Shoot me, and you’ll die.” If she lost consciousness again, the monster would take over. On the narrow bridge, there was nowhere to dodge. She could try and cast a spell, but there was no guarantee she could complete it before the arrow landed.

The unicorn narrowed her eyes. “I know what you are, Celestial assassin, and I saw what you transformed into, but I would sooner see myself pass unto the Moon than allow you to strike down our Goddess.”

“This standoff won’t last long,” Twilight said. “My friends will be following me.”

“I have blocked their passage,” the cleric said. “Our Lord offers many solutions to his faithful.”

Twilight sighed. “I’m not here to kill anypony I don’t have to. I’m here to help your Goddess.”

“Then why do you carry the Sword of the Traitor?” the unicorn asked. “Surely, Celestia has blessed you.”

With a forceful push of her magic, Twilight threw Celestial Fury at the Moon. It embedded next to where one of the bridge’s threads anchored. “Satisfied?” she said, glancing back at the unicorn, but already moving.

Wasn’t it the other way around? Twilight thought. Azrael influenced Luna to turn against Celestia. At least, that’s what Celestia told me. She could feel the cleric’s eyes boring into her back as she neared the moon, but no arrow came.

She squinted her eyes nearly shut as she stepped off the bridge and onto a surface of pure silver light. The Moon was oddly cold beneath her hooves, despite the glow coming from it. A pure note filled her ears, soothing. Her eyelids grew heavy.

For a moment, Twilight shook it off, but her body wanted sleep. Just a nap, she told herself. Exhausted, she slumped to the floor and closed her eyes.

Luna waited for her in the circle of moonlight. Her chains clinked as she stood to face Twilight. “You made it.”

Twilight hesitantly stepped forward. “I’m dreaming again, aren’t I?”

“Don’t worry,” Luna said. “You are at peace. I made sure of that. The Slayer will not come.” She smiled. “In fact, you need not fear it any longer.”

“Why am I here?” Twilight asked. “Why is this where I need to be? Have you seen them? Trixie and Sombra?”

“Yes,” Luna said. “They came two weeks ago. They conspire to release the Nightmare and unleash an army of the night upon the Crystal City. And they will succeed.”

“Two weeks?!” Twilight shouted. “That’s impossible! We took portals to get here!”

“It depends on how fast you can teleport, Twilight Sparkle.”

Precisely where and when, Twilight thought, remembering the words Discord had said. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” Luna said. “But if you had caught up to Trixie here, I doubt you would have survived the encounter. Even the Slayer couldn’t have saved you from her.” She shrugged. “Regardless, it places you here closer to the Winter Solstice of the thousandth year of my imprisonment, and my followers are prepared for my release.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Celestia imprisoned you for a reason.”

Luna shook her head. “Celestia imprisoned Nightmare Moon, not me. You will free me from Azrael. This had to be her plan all along.”

Twilight snorted. “You place too much faith in your sister. All she sent was a Shadowspawn. I don’t see how that helps your predicament.”

Luna blinked. “You mean... you don’t know?” She slumped. “Maybe she really did send you to kill me then.” She swallowed. “I watched you from the stars. I knew Azrael had gotten to you, but still I hoped.” She met Twilight’s eyes. “If you are broken, if the Elements don’t work, you must stop Nightmare Moon, no matter what it takes.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight said.

Luna smiled sadly. “It appears that I am a stone in your path. For the moment, you are as trapped as my followers. The enemies you seek used the Fragments to escape, and you do not possess that power. Until I am free, you will not be able to find Trixie. You will have to secure my release, and then you will have to kill me.”

Twilight took a step back. She stared at Luna. Regal, chained, an Alicorn. A Goddess. Celestia’s Sister. “I’m not going to kill you!”

“Really, Shadowspawn?” Luna moved forward until her chains pulled taught and her muzzle was inches from Twilight’s. “Death is your nature! Consider yourself lucky that you are a tool of the Moon instead of the Abyss!”

“I’m not a tool!” Twilight growled.

Luna chuckled. “No, you are a pawn. You’re too afraid of your own power, too afraid that you are unworthy, to be anything else.” Her eyes flared silver. “Awaken, and be the Night’s favored!”

Wakefulness coursed through Twilight like lightning. She shot to her feet. The Cleric stood over her, her bow floating beside her. Her eyes widened in awe, and she bowed low. “Chosen!”

Twilight blinked. Colors were muted, but the world seemed brighter. Outlines jumped out at her, their contrast starkly obvious. She lifted her hoof, staring at it. The normal lavender color of her coat had turned deep violet. Twilight looked past the bowing cleric. On the balcony were five ponies. Two had bat-like wings. The colors of their coats had shifted, but she identified them all by their Marks and what they wore and carried. She and her friends had been transformed.

Faithful

Twilight sat on the steps of the cathedral, her cloak drawn tight around her shoulders. She stared out across the hard floor of the cavern. With her night-blessed eyes, she could see as if it were day wherever moonlight struck, even after being dispersed by rocky surfaces. Corpses lay strewn across a killing field. Blood coated the very steps she sat on. It was if a farmer had scattered bits of pony across the stones like seeds – a bat wing here, a head there.

The Slayer, Twilight thought. That’s what Luna had called it; the part of her that hungered. I could have done a better job. She swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable at the quiet thought. Still, with two well-placed Death spells and a Shield, she could have left an equal amount of corpses with considerably less of a mess.

She closed her eyes. The more she thought about it, the louder the echoes of what the Slayer had done – what she had done – became. She remembered being it. Through its eyes, she saw a chilling, cold perspective of ruthless efficiency, but through her own, she saw what the slaughter truly was: a desperate, dying creature lashing out at whatever happened to be in reach.

The futility of the massacre chilled her to the core. One side fled like rabbits before a wolf, hopelessly outclassed, the other killed out of an irrational compulsion. None of it mattered. The only way she would ever be whole again was finding Trixie.

Is that what I am? Twilight wondered. A desperate, dying creature? If the bit Trixie left behind ebbs away, will it take my soul with it?

How long do I have left?

“Do not mourn them, Chosen,” a voice said from beside her. It belonged to the High Priestess, the pony that had confronted her on the spidersilk bridge with a drawn bow. “Their deaths were valiant. They gave their lives to protect our holy ground.”

Pointlessly, Twilight thought, fleeing before death itself. She glanced over at the Priestess. “What do you think happens to them?”

The Priestess raised a brow. The elegant poise of her expression reminded Twilight of Rarity. A narrow horn split her flowing silver mane. “After death?” Her blue, slit-pupiled eyes regarded Twilight. “I do not think, I know. They become one with the Lord.”

Twilight blinked. A scene from her nightmares jumped to mind. She remembered black-feathered wings stretching across the sky studded with countless red eyes, the shadow of a creature in each. She shivered.

Behind Twilight, Applejack snorted. “That’s one way of putting it. If by becoming one with the Lord, you mean joining Celestia in the heavens.”

Twilight glanced over her shoulder in time to catch Rarity shooting Applejack a glare. “Of course, there’s no way of really knowing exactly what it means to pass on,” Rarity said.

The Priestess blinked, looking troubled. She remained focused on Twilight, not looking at Applejack. “You surfacers have a rather depressing view of things, if all souls are cursed to such a place, even the noble ones.”

“Course we know,” Rainbow Dash said, her head twisted back as she inspected one of her bat-wings. “I mean, Twilight used to write Celestia letters like, all the time. She talks to ponies.”

The Priestesses eyes narrowed. She watched the conversation with interest. Twilight drew her legs closer.

“Yes, but why not let us to speak to the deceased, if only for one last time,” Rarity said. “I think it’s more complicated than some pristine, endless pasture in the sky.”

Rainbow Dash flicked her wings in an agitated flap. “Really? I thought we all pranced on the clouds.” She tapped her hoof to her chin. “Oh wait, I do that already.” She turned her attention back to her wings. “Of course it’s complicated, but everypony knows Celestia watches over them. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t be so busy that she needs ponies like Twilight to kill Demons for her, she’d just do it herself.”

“You gotta admit, Rarity, she has a point,” Applejack said.

“I just hope it’s nice and peaceful,” Fluttershy said from next to Rarity. She glanced back at her wings with interest.

Rarity sighed. “Sure. But at least try to consider other points of view. We aren’t in Ponyville, are we?”

“I get it,” Pinkie said, hanging from the top of the doorway’s arch from her magical shoes. “A table is a table, but when you look at it from the top and close one eye its pretty much just a board.”

Rainbow Dash fixed Pinkie with an unblinking stare for a couple of seconds. “Weird. I think I actually understood that.” She looked at Twilight, then spread her wings. “So, how pernament is this bat-pony thing? I mean, these things are sweet, and they’re super quiet, but I’ll never be able to go as fast as I could with feathers.”

Twilight shrugged. “I think we’ll have to free Luna to find out.”

“It appears the world outside has truly been corrupted by the Traitor,” The Priestess said. “At least you’re here for the right purpose.”

Twilight squinted at movement in the distance. She made out a line of armored ponies approaching the Cathedral. Glaives floated in auras of magic around them. She reached for her swords.

The Priestess touched her shoulder. “Stay your wrath, Chosen. They are your honor guard, here to escort us to Brokenstar.”

In the midst of the procession, Twilight slid up beside the Priestess. The clank of metal on metal accompanied the beat of hooves on stone around her. The honor guard was exclusively Unicorn. She caught several of them giving Applejack odd looks.

“Chosen, Traitor, Lord,” Twilight said. “I’m the Chosen, probably because Luna transformed me into one of you, so that makes me somehow special. If the Traitor is Celestia, that makes Azrael Lord.”

The Priestess hissed. “Do not speak God’s name. God is pure, and one should not utter His name with impure thoughts in their mind.”

Twilight blinked. “Oookay. Regardless, help me understand. Why do you call Celestia Traitor?”

“Celestia believed that she could care for ponies better than our Lord. In her vanity, she sided with chaos against Him and very nearly destroyed the world,” the Priestess said. “I wonder what lies her Clerics preach on the surface to have your companions so convinced she is some force for good.”

“And Luna stayed true to Az... God,” Twilight said.

The Priestess shot her a glare. “Yes. Celestia won the battle, defeated our Lord, imprisoned Luna, and brought the Time of Troubles upon us. Shining cities fell beneath shifting sands and boiling oceans. Don’t you know of this?”

Twilight glanced at the cave floor. Sounds about right, she thought. “What about the part where Celestia fought Discord for about two hundred years to save us all?”

“Chaos turned on the Traitor,” the Priestess said with a dismissive shrug. “God blessed her with the power to unite ponies and build an ideal society, and she threw it all away for her pride.”

“And what if she believed she was doing the right thing?” Twilight said.

“Villains usually do,” the Priestess said. She eyed Twilight. “Do you know how many ponies are alive right now?”

“The scholar and traveller Pathfinder the Wise put the figure at half a billion,” Twilight said.

“Before the Time of Troubles, there were six billion ponies in Equestria,” the Priestess said. “How could destruction on such a scale be justified?”

Twilight gasped. “You have records! Where?!” She paused, reeling her excitement back in. Six Billion... The figure seemed outlandish. Still, it was possible. She tried to imagine the web of connections she’d witnessed, except amplified by six billion souls. The ley lines must have roared with power. Was killing Azrael really worth it?

The corner of the Priestess’s mouth twitched in a small smile. “We have records of times passed, but I only have your word on the world today, Chosen. We are an artifact of a bygone era, locked away with our goddess.”

“Chosen,” Twilight said. She yawned widely in the middle of her sentence. “What does that mean, exactly?”

“That you will deliver us from the Traitor’s curse,” the Priestess said.

A shout of alarm reached Twilight’s ears. “Nightmares!” All around her, the guards burst into motion. She turned, grasping her swords with her magic, and met the glowing yellow eyes of a shade of a pony. She froze.

A tendril of shadow creeped toward her. Inwardly, she screamed, Move! Nothing happened. She remained a prisoner in her own mind, her swords halfway out of their sheaths.

A white line shot across her vision and passed through the shade, leaving a swirl of shadowy mist that rapidly dissolved. The Priestess stood with her bow drawn beside her. “Do not allow them a foothold in your mind!” she shouted. “The nightmares consume with their touch!” Her eyes glowed. With one hoof, she reached out and touched Twilight.

Suddenly, a startling clarity fell over Twilight. She began to form a spell. Moving forward, she met the eyes of another shade. She could feel something pushing against her mind, but whatever the Priestess had done protected her. In its shadowy tendrils, the Nightmare held one of the guards. The unicorn slumped in its grasp, staring blankly through the eye slit in her helm.

Twilight completed her spell, Improved Haste, as the Nightmare dropped the unicorn gaurd and turned on her. Tendrils quested toward Twilight. Slashing, she cleared her path. The edges of her magic blades sliced through the shadows. The separated bits of tendril writhed in the air before dissolving.

She split the shade’s head with Celestial Fury as she swept past, unnaturally quick. She’d moved out beyond the envelope of security provided by the honor guard. Several shades glided toward her, seeking. She began another spell.

With a sonic crack, Truthseeker obliterated one of the Nightmares. Crystalline arrows followed, buying her a precious second. Twilight glanced over her shoulder. Her friends positioned around Fluttershy, within a glowing green circle on the cave floor. The druid’s eyes glowed with power. Around Twilight, the shades closed in. A moment before their tendrils reached her, she finished her spell.

A ring of flame rolled out from Twilight’s hooves. Sunfire purged the shadows, leaving only ash in its wake. The blaze forced Twilight’s night-enhanced eyes shut. She cracked them open as the brightness receded. She turned, swords ready. No more Nightmares remained to face her.

A shout rang down the line, repeated by each that heard it. “Regroup!”

Twilight walked with a ragged column through a towering polished gate of metal. Inside the walls of Brokenstar, gossamer paths of spider silk hung between towering natural spires. An earth pony with a dark grey coat and slitted yellow eyes led a chittering giant spider out of the path of the soldiers, clearing the ground-level street leading from the gate into the city.

The Priestess gestured at the walls. “Moonsilver keeps the Nightmares at bay. We work it into all of our fortifications.”

Twilight nodded. She blinked heavy eyes, plodding on behind the Priestess. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on much of anything. The urge to sleep dragged at her. Sooner or later, I’m going to have to test Luna’s word, Twilight thought.

“Regardless,” the Priestess said, “you have proven quite adept at combating the Nightmare. Perhaps recovering the Star will not be as challenging for you as I first thought, Chosen.”

Pinkie nudged Twilight in the shoulder. “This place is weird,” she whispered. With a hoof, she drew Twilight’s attention to earth ponies bowing low at the edge of the road as the honor guard passed. One of them looked up, and a unicorn standing on the side of the street rapped him viciously on the head with the butt of a stave. He yelped, and cowered. Twilight lunged forward.

“Uh, maybe we should try to blend in?” Pinkie said.

Twilight hardly heard her. She ripped the stave from the unicorn’s magic and snapped it in half. As she tossed the fragments into the street, she shouted, “What is this nonsense!”

The Priestess approached her. She raised a hoof in a placating gesture. “They are dirtborn, Chosen. It is their place. I understand that you hail from a land of corruption, and would not understand our customs, but please, try not to make a scene,” she said in a hushed tone.

“They’re a what now?” Applejack said, a few paces back.

Twilight growled and stepped forward. The guttural, primal sound that emerged from her chest almost surprised her. “Tradition is no justification for cruelty.” She turned, surveying the kneeling ponies. “Rise! If anypony harms you, I will do ten times worse to them!”

“So this is your exalted Chosen, High Priestess?” a masculine voice called.

Twilight turned to the speaker. He stood tall in the middle of the street, deep, night-blue hair crowning his narrow features. A silver-embroidered robe wrapped his body. A thin horn protruded from his forehead. From his side hung a sword with a whisper-thin blade. Out of the corner of her eye, Twilight noticed that the earth ponies remained kneeling.

“And who the hell are you?!” Twilight shouted.

“Yes, Moonstrike, this is she,” the Priestess said.

“The last one wasn’t good enough for you, was she?” Moonstrike said. He glid forward, his robes brushing the street. “I can’t see what makes this one so special.”

Twilight groaned and rubbed her temple with a hoof. I’m too tired for politics. Her ears perked. Wait, last one?

“She was touched by the Moon!” the Priestess shouted. “You doubt the word of our goddess?”

“Ah, so she is a surfacer, and she carries the blade of the Traitor. So the rumors are true.” Moonstrike said. “And you expect us to accept your judgment, High Priestess? Do you fear change so much that you must peddle falsehood when our deliverance is at hand? I suppose you’re going to tell me that she needs my sword to go recover the Star.”

“She does,” the Priestess said. “Will you deny your oath, Champion?”

Moonstrike snorted. “The true Chosen said my blade was not needed. The Star does not need to be recovered. If your impostor wants Eclipse, she can fight me for the honor, as any other pony would.”

“Shut up,” Twilight said. She pointed at Moonstrike. “You! You said something important. There was another Chosen?”

Moonstrike cocked a foreleg. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Twilight said.

Moonstrike narrowed his eyes. “Can I interpret this as a challenge?”

“Sure, whatever,” Twilight said. “Just answer the question.”

“Very well,” Moonstrike spun on his heels. “I will see you in the ring in thirty minutes.”

Beside Twilight, the Priestess shook her head sadly. “You should not have agreed to fight him, Chosen. I could have pressured him into giving you the blade.”

“What in Equestria are you talking about?” Twilight said.

From the midst of the halted honor guard, Rarity stepped forward. “I think you just agreed to a duel.”

“She did?” Rainbow Dash said. “Sweet! Kick his flank, Twilight!”

“Fantastic,” Twilight muttered. She turned to the Priestess. “There was another Chosen?”

The Priestess nodded. “I will explain later. We need to prepare for the duel. He gave us a rather tight timeline.” She took off down one of the streets, leaving the honor guard behind. “This way.”

Sitting on a bench in a dim stone chamber, Twilight took a deep drink from a waterskin. “Moonstrike was chosen at a very young age to be our Champion. He has been trained by our best, and he can perform both divine and arcane magic. I am afraid he will be more than a match for you,” the Priestess said. Nopony else was in the room with them. Allegedly, only the Priestess was allowed to help her prepare, and Twilight didn’t have the energy to argue.

“Uhuh,” Twilight said, lowering the waterskin. “So, I get five spells before the fight even starts? And everything is allowed? Swords and spells and whatever else?”

The Priestess heaved a heavy sigh. “Be careful, Chosen. He will not hold back. You are a threat to his position. While killing in a duel like this is frowned upon, I believe he will take the opportunity.”

The key to victory in a Wizard’s Duel is establishing a checkmate scenario. Eliminate your opponent's options, and seize the opportunities provided, Twilight thought, a quote from an old book coming to mind. It was wrong, of course – mostly nonsense. “A battle between spellcasters happens in a flash and is won and lost in an instant. Do not expect to be able to react to your opponent's spells; things often happen simply too quickly. Victory comes only with careful preparation and a well executed plan,” she said.

“Wise words. Who said them, one of your surface magi?” the Priestess said.

Twilight nodded. “Star Swirl the Bearded.” She smiled. “Don’t worry about me. He may have a few years on me, but I was taught by the best, and I’ve killed things far older than him.” She slid off the bench. “How much longer?” she asked, approaching the metal grate that separated her from the fighting ring. Directly across from her, she glimpsed Moonstrike gazing back at her.

“Not long,” the Priestess said. “You’d best cast your spells.”

Twilight planted her hooves on the edge of a metal ring set in a stone floor. Moonstrike faced her from across the ring. A whisper thin rapier floated in front of him. A grey layer of stone covered him from head to toe. A shimmering barrier tinted the air around him.

“Three,” an announcer said, standing on a raised dais above the ring.

Twilight shifted, going over her first spell in her mind.

“Two.”

Twilight had cast Spell Immunity: Abjuration, Globe of Invulnerability, Non-Detection, and Stoneskin before the duel began.

“One.”

Across from her, she noted Globe of Invulnerability, and Stoneskin. He’d neglected to use his other two spells, or they lacked any visible markers.

“Begin!”

Immediately, she moved forward into the ring, her horn flaring with power. Her counterpart’s horn did the same, though he circled cautiously, keeping his hooves on the metal rim of the ring. Silent observers on a level above watched, slit-pupiled eyes on the two combatants.

She finished her spell first. Her hooves beneath her winked out of existence as a shroud of invisibility fell over her. She took a step to the side. From Moonstrike’s horn, a magical pulse flowed. It washed over her harmlessly, warded away by her immunity to Abjuration.

Dispel Magic, she thought. It made sense. Even with spells cast in preparation, they would quickly be stripped away in this kind of fight. Fortunately, she’d come ready for anything another Wizard could throw at her.

Twilight waited, stock still. He blinked, then squinted. He halted on the edge of the ring, his foreleg cocked. “How?” he finally said.

“Do we really have to do this?” Twilight said. “I’m functionally invincible.”

Furrowing his brows, Moonstrike flared his horn. She took three steps left. His spell completed. Blindingly bright flecks filled the air to her right. The ponies observing the duel cried out and adverted their eyes. Twilight didn’t even flinch. Her Globe of Invulnerability muted the magical light. Normally, the dust would make even an invisible spellcaster stand out. However, he hadn’t centered the spell carefully enough on her last known position to catch her within the cascade of dust.

Glitterdust, Twilight thought. Simple, but effective. “Forfeit,” she said as she closed the gap between them. “You’ve already lost.”

He snorted. “Impossible.” His eyes glowed pure white. “I am the Moon’s champion!” Power crackled in the air around him. Between Twilight and Moonstrike, a lupine creature of flaring white light snapped into existence.

Twilight picked up speed, her hooves muted on the stone. She slid her swords from their sheaths. He’d summoned some sort of divine guardian. Before it could move, she sheared through it with Solstice as she rushed by, sparing it from Celestial Fury’s deadly edge.

Moonstrike’s horn flared with another spell. A cloak of darkness fell around his shoulders. He loomed. A word echoed through Twilight’s mind. Fear!

Black wings.

Twilight backpedaled, her eyes going wide. She tripped over her own hooves. Her shoulder connected with the ground, though she did not feel the impact. A laugh filled her ears. Sunset Shimmer’s laugh. Trixie’s laugh. An Alicorn stood over her, ebon-feathered wings spread wide.

Twilight screamed. She whirled both of her swords through the air in flailing strokes, striking an unyielding surface. Her pulse pounded with desperation as she rolled to her feet. Something caught Solstice and twisted, sending the blade spinning away. She turned all her focus to Celestial Fury and brought it down in an overhead chop.

Her blade struck the figure’s head, then stopped dead, robbed of inertia before it could slice through by some unseen barrier. She hit again as she took another stumbling step back. A piercing pain lanced through her shoulder. She swished Celestial Fury through the air in front of her. A whisper of resistance met her swing.

Screaming again, Twilight raised Celestial Fury over her head for another stroke. A severed foreleg hit the stone floor with a dull thump, followed by the clatter of a rapier. All that stood in front of her was Moonstrike, his eyes wide. He wavered, stumbling sideways on three legs, then fell.

Twilight stood there panting, her sword raised high. She blinked back tears. Just a spell, she thought. He’d used a fear spell, one powerful enough that Globe of Invulnerability couldn’t stop it. Heart racing, she plunged Celestial Fury into the stone and took a step backwards. “You idiot,” she said.

The High Priestess jumped into the arena. She rushed toward the fallen champion. Twilight turned away, heading for her side of the ring. She took a step forward. A spear of pain shot through her shoulder. She fell. This time, she felt the impact. Her Stoneskin was gone; he must have hit her several times during the fear spell’s effect.

For a moment, she lay there, her teeth gritted in agony. A warm trickle made its way down her foreleg. She twisted her head, looking over her shoulder. The Priestess’s eyes glowed. From silver moonlight, a restored leg materialized from Moonstrike’s severed stump. Darkness closed in on the edges of Twilight’s vision. She struggled to cling to consciousness.

Why isn’t anypony helping me? Twilight thought. Then, she realized her shoulder wasn’t there. She ended her Invisibility. Her body materialized. A line of blood down her foreleg trailed back to a stab wound in her shoulder. With her good foreleg, she pushed herself into a sitting position, another wave of lightheadedness washing over her as she shifted..

Within seconds, Fluttershy landed beside her. With a touch of her hooves, she sent healing magic into Twilight. Groaning, Twilight climbed to her feet. “I could have killed you!” she shouted at Moonstrike. “And if I had, it would have been your fault!”

“How?” Moonstrike said, staring dumbfounded at his rapier on the floor of the arena. “Dispel should have purged your invisibility. The Power Word should have made you cower, instead of fight. You should be dead!”

“The fight was over before it started,” Twilight said. Finding her footing, she took a step toward Moonstrike. “I was taught magic by the greatest Archmage since the Time of Troubles, Star Swirl the Lichslayer, with full access to the largest archive of knowledge in Equestria. I have slain Dragons and Demons. I brought the best laid plans of a demigod to ruin. I have been torn apart a hundred times in dark dreams by a remorseless demon, fought it in the prison of my mind, and consumed its essence. I have walked on the black plain of the Abyss with the Aspect of Chaos and spoken to the Sun while I stood on the sky. And, in my nightmares, I have seen God.” She smiled. “I should be death itself, but I’m not, and I don’t plan on following the rules anytime soon.”

Moonstrike stared up at her, his mouth open.

She reached out and patted Moonstrike on the shoulder. “You came closer to killing me than most.” She glanced down at the rapier, and picked it up in her levitation. Its hilt was silver, but otherwise, its construction was simple and unornamented. “Is this Eclipse? Is it mine now?”

She looked up, expecting an answer. All around her ponies stared: the spectators, the Priestess, Moonstrike, and her friends. “And, uh, sometimes when you get really tired you say crazy things!” Twilight said. “I haven’t slept in about four days!” Chuckling nervously, she pointed herself toward the edge of the ring. “I need a nap. Applejack, if I start killing everyone, stop me.” She snatched up her swords, all three, and bolted.

Twilight languished beneath a tree in Candlekeep’s garden. Too relaxed to bother with levitation, she flipped the page of the book in front of her with the tip of her hoof. As the wind rippled through the branches above her, the shadows of leaves danced on the page. Due to the play of light distracting her, she almost didn’t notice the aura of magic enveloping the the book.

The book shot away from her. Reflexively, she snatched at it, but as it drifted further away her grasp weakened. “Hey!” she shouted, standing, as the book vanished around a hedge.

Star Swirl stepped out from behind the bush, a grey robe flowing with his movements. He didn’t wear the yellow standard to the scholars of Candlekeep. “Martial Handbook for Unicorn Duelists,” he said, eying the title on the spine of the book floating in front of him. “A bit of light reading in the Garden?”

Twilight sat on her haunches and hooved the dirt, her brows furrowing. “Yes, and I was quite content until you came along.”

Star Swirl chuckled. He still had the book open to the page she was on. Hardly even glancing at it, he said, “It says here that levitation strength diminishes as a cube of the distance between the Unicorn’s horn and the affected object.” He stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Sounds about right.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You’re doing it again. I’m not a filly. That doesn’t work on me anymore.”

Star Swirl blinked. “Humm? What do you mean?”

Twilight groaned. “Come on! Its just like that time you told me I could always find north in the woods because moss grows on the north side of the trees!”

“Doesn’t it?” Star Swirl said.

“Yes, but it also grows on all the other sides, so you can’t find north! And I catalogued every tree in the garden! I even made a graph!” Twilight said. “I was so excited that I proved you wrong!”

Star Swirl smiled. “And you never forgot the experience, did you?” He glanced skyward. “How many years ago was that?” Staring up at the branches, he murmured, “How the years fly.”

Twilight glared at Star Swirl. “That’s no excuse to toy with a little filly’s emotions! Three times! When you knew the real answer all along!”

“Maybe I was teaching you to recognize patterns,” Star Swirl said with a smirk, a twinkle in his eyes.

Twilight huffed and glanced down, blood warming her cheeks. “Anyway, thanks for telling me that the author’s statement isn’t strictly true.”

Star Swirl’s smile widened. “You mean you haven’t already figured it out?”

“Sort of. There seems to be a threshold. For me, it's at about four or five hoofspans, but after that, I get weaker. But I couldn’t keep the force consistent.” She lifted a pebble next to a flower bed she knew was fifteen hoofspans away and eyed it, watching how fast it rose. “How do I know how hard I’m pushing? The rate that the pebble rises seems to fall off a lot less steeply than the formula would predict, but I’m pretty sure I’m compensating by pushing harder.”

“Hence the mystery,” Star Swirl said. “Levitation force is a difficult thing to calculate. Usually, it’s measured by seeing how heavy an object needs to be before a unicorn can no longer lift it at a given distance, but, like pushing something with your hooves, sometimes you’re going to be stronger. There’s too many variables to ensure consistency across each sample. However, across a large number of samples, the formula is mostly accurate, minus the issue of the threshold you mentioned.”

“The book also says that unicorns should always use lighter weapons, because they give a reach advantage,” Twilight said. She eyed Star Swirl. “Is that true?”

Star Swirl’s smile fell. “Sure,” Star Swirl said. “But, if you’re looking for range, you might as well use a bow. It stores energy close to you, then unleashes it.”

Twilight shrugged. “Flesh isn’t particularly durable. You don’t need that much force to kill a pony. The book recommends a small sword or a rapier, for quick, deadly thrusts at a distance.”

Star Swirl shifted, glancing away. “I think the author is focused on a rather narrow form of combat; a duel between noble unicorns. They forgo armor, because a true wizard would never wear it, and they’re attempting to emulate individuals far more capable than they are.”

“So, what kind of sword did you use?” Twilight said.

Star Swirl chuckled, his smile returning. “I carried a medium-weight spellblade designed primarily for slashing, though I mostly used it for its spell-storing properties. I think I parried with it once or twice, only to have it knocked out of my grasp. Most of the time, I used a nice sturdy stave. It was a lot easier block with properly.” He shook his head. “Multitasking was never my strong suit, and if I was desperate enough, I could pull the sword out for a quick slash. Slashing is a lot easier when you’re panicking.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “You panicked?! The book says never to panic!”

Star Swirl nodded. “Its a good plan, not panicking, but so often, things don’t go the way we planned.” He stared at the branches of the tree again. “Let me tell you a story.”

Twilight gave him a flat stare. “You didn’t go and rob another book, did you?”

Star Swirl shook his head. “No, not this time. This one is about the four ponies that went into the lair of a Lich, and the three that were lucky enough to walk out alive.”

Twilight clamped her mouth shut, her ears perking. It wasn’t often that Star Swirl told her about his past. She listened with rapt attention as he began the story.

“Somewhere, beneath a deep, dark forest not so far from here, a Paladin, a Wizard, a Cleric, and a Ranger walked through the depths of an ancient tomb, believing for all the world that they were hunting something dark and evil. Each carried a pendant shaped like a dagger–a truelance. They would wound the Lich unfailingly, but each could only be used once. It would take at least two to kill the Lich. One was a gift from the Sun, but they scoured Equestria for years to find the other three. They’d identified the Lich’s phylactery through extensive research on the pony he once was, and they knew the lifeless bones of the pony that was once his wife housed his soul. They’d already dug up her grave, located beneath hundreds of years of overgrowth, and purified the bones. All they had to do was kill the Lich, and it would be gone for good.

“The plan, sound, but in reality, evil hunted them. Shades lurked the Catacombs. Death. The four purged them with fire and sunlight. But the shades drew their attention from the true threat. The Lich rippled out of a portal in front of the Ranger. From his skeletal mouth, he screamed shadow. Only a Death Ward cast by the Cleric well in advance saved the Ranger’s life. With knives of magical fear echoing in her mind, the Ranger activated her truelance. Screaming, the Lich vanished, turning invisible. No weapon nor spell we possessed could harm it, but the Truelance burned even the void that formed it. For a moment, I think it knew fear.

“Unfortunately, nopony was ready to hit the Lich before it could vanish. To this day, it is hard to say what happened next. One moment, the Wizard saw a black mist spilling around a corner where the Lich was casting a spell. The next, the Lich was in front of him, the Truelance that should have been around his neck floating in its magical grasp, and the Cleric’s broken body was falling to the floor.

“With a cry of rage and passion, the Paladin activated her Truelance. The Lich crumpled, its bones falling into a pile on the ground, and for a moment, they thought it was over. The Wizard noticed that his Truelance still floated in the Lich’s magic. The Lich’s skull levitated up off the floor, eyes ablaze with voids, and the wizard’s Truelance shattered into a thousand pieces. The Ranger dove for the Truelance around the dead Cleric’s neck, and the Wizard took one panicked slash with the sword he barely knew how to use. Even though the slash didn’t hurt the Lich, it’s skull spun, buying a precious moment, and in that moment, the Ranger hit it with the third Truelance. In a matter of seconds, one of their own lay dead, and they’d slain the Lich.

“In the end, the Ranger blamed herself for striking too soon, and vanished into the Everfree. The Paladin raised the Cleric’s unborn child, and for a time, the Wizard made it his purpose to ensure such darkness could never arise again.”

Stoic throughout the story, Star Swirl’s face fell at the end, and he looked at the ground and breathed a heavy sigh.

“How did he make sure that it wouldn’t happen again?” Twilight asked.

“By killing ponies,” Star Swirl said. He focused on Twilight. “Life is a precious thing, Twilight. There is something strong in everypony that shines through evil we are prone to. I stopped believing in that strength, that light, but I found it again in the most unlikely of places.” He smiled softly. “We are too good to be evil, and too evil to be good.”

A soft, melodious laugh flowed on the breeze, and for a moment, Twilight glimpsed a flash of silver light. Suddenly uneasy, Twilight stood, looking around at the edges of the garden. The more she focused, the more details eluded her. “We’re not alone,” she said to Star Swirl, but when she glanced back at him, he was gone.

Twilight pulled Solstice and Celestial Fury from their sheaths. You didn’t have those yet. “Star Swirl!” she shouted. Death took him.

The Black Knight loomed in front of her, his monolithic shield floating between them, blood dripping from its edge. Roaring, she lunged forward, and lashed out with Celestial Fury. Her blade sang violet as it seared through the shield. As the broken halves flew away, the Black Knight stumbled back. She tore the helmet from his head.

Her own face stared back at her. As she watched, she changed. Voids filled her eyes. Rippling black fur replaced her lavender coat. Her muzzle shifted, becoming lupine. Stark white bony blades pierced through her flesh from beneath along the length of her forelegs while her hooves morphed into claws.

“Stop!” A deep, powerful voice said.

Echos of moonlight washed away the visage Twilight saw of herself. An Alicorn strode into view, trailing silver chains, her mane and tail stretching out into a swath of the starry night sky behind her. Her eyes glowed with pure white light. She took another step, then staggered. As she stumbled, she shrank. The sky trailing from her mane faded, leaving behind only short blue strands.

“Sorry,” Luna said. “You were sleeping so peacefully.”

Twilight slowly eased herself into a sitting position, a newfound sense of calm washing over her. “So you really can stop it?”

Luna nodded. “Dreams are my domain, and I’m making sure you stay dreaming. The Slayer uses the opportunity of your unconsciousness to emerge, and in order to suppress it, all I need to do is make sure you stay truly asleep.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “It’s been awhile since I’ve had anything but nightmares, but I don’t seem to remember reliving my memories every time I slept.”

Luna sat down across from her. “Indeed.” She glanced down. “I was curious.” An image of Star Swirl formed beside her, lifelike but still. Luna turned to him. “He had an interesting way of putting things, didn’t he? I wish I’d had the chance to know him.”

Twilight frowned. “Don’t change the subject. Why go digging through my memories?!”

Luna glanced at Twilight and smiled softly. “To understand why my sister didn’t control your divine essence when she had the chance.”

“And do you understand?” Twilight asked. She gazed skyward, and found stars gleaming down from above. “Because I certainly don’t.”

Luna shook her head. “My sister always possessed an enviable quantity of hope. For a thousand years, I thought that she’d thrown away our chance to destroy Azrael for me. Now, I see she threw it away for a glimmer of possibility.”

“What exactly is she hoping for, that I’ll replace Azrael?” Twilight said.

“Probably,” Luna said.

Twilight sighed. “I fail to see how that would be an improvement. And, how would that even work? Azrael is unlike anything else.” She frowned. “And why doesn’t Celestia just explain things! Why all the secrets!”

Luna nodded. “She does that.”

“Why!?”

“Celestia thinks she knows you well enough to predict what you will do,” Luna said. “She tells you exactly what she thinks you need to know.”

Twilight snorted. “That’s absurd. Right now, all she’s done is infuriate me.”

“Tell me about it,” Luna said, grinning.

Twilight focused on Luna. “Why did you do it?”

“Like I said, I was curious,” Luna said. “I wanted to know a bit about the pony I asked to kill me.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I meant, why did you try to kill Azrael?”

“To save ponies,” Luna said.

Twilight furrowed her brows. “That’s not an answer. He kept the world stable, didn’t he? Your Priestess said there were billions of ponies alive before you fought him.”

Luna sighed. “There were.” She looked up at the sky. “We spent many years leading them into the light. With them, we built a civilization. It took us all that time to realize where they went when they died.”

Luna turned back to Twilight. “This world is a machine that Azrael built, churning its way toward an eventual solution. Every soul that it produced, He eagerly consumed, storing it away for some purpose. We chose to rebel, even when the consequences could be dire, because we were saving countless unmade souls from him. The billions that died after we acted linger in the Abyss, instead of being bound to His will.”

“How do you know being claimed by Azrael is a bad thing?” Twilight said.

Luna tapped her hoof on the ethereal ground. “Because it must be. Agony, or bliss, the dead were chained to the all-consuming will of of a being of pure, rigid order, robbed of any trace of freedom.”

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t see how an endless nothingness is any better.”

“Would you rather be an eternal slave or cease to be? Gilded or not, a cage will ever be a cage.”

Twilight glared at Luna. “And what gave you the right to make that choice for every pony that will ever be?”

“Twilight Sparkle, the few of us that stood up to Azrael were, and are gods, blessed to be extraordinary. We represented all of the power of life. To not act was to make a choice for every pony that will ever be. We were obligated to do what was right with the power we possessed. I imagine the power you hold has forced you to make choices you would rather not be obliged to make.”

“Still,” Twilight protested, “How did you know you weren’t condemning them to a worse fate? How do you know truly defeating Azrael wouldn’t destroy the world?”

Luna eyed Twilight and smiled softly. “Because we had faith. We believed in the unknown. We chose to place our trust not in a God we knew, but in infinite possibility. We didn’t know if it would even be possible to defeat Him, and to this day, we still don’t, but perhaps, one day, we will know what the world can be.”

“And you still have faith?”

Luna nodded. “We cannot be afraid to step across the threshold into the unknown. We cannot stop fighting for a better world; a world without Azrael, where the dead are as free to choose in death as they were in life.”

Twilight paused, considering. She drew her hoof across the ground in the dreamscape, noting the line of light it left if she focused on it. “The few? How many stood with you and Celestia?”

Luna grew distant, staring off into starry expanse. “Once, there were six. Half lived. A traitor, a prisoner, and a goddess. Then there were four, love reborn. Now there are five, with an imposter’s rise.”

A hoof jostled Twilight, and she started awake, drool on her cheek matting her mane. As she blinked sleep from her eyes, she made out Applejack standing over her. “See, if you want to move a stubborn stump, all you need to be is firm.”

“She’s alive!” Pinkie yelled, her shrill cry eliciting a groan from Twilight.

Twilight rolled, trailing silken sheets, and buried her head beneath her pillow. “Go ‘way,” she grunted.

“Wish we could, Twi, really do,” Rainbow Dash said. “But we got problems.”

“It seems that our friend Moonstrike is a bit of a manipulator,” Rarity said.

“And we’ve got about five minutes before they bash down the door and demand their champion’s sword back,” Applejack said.

“We really wish we could have let you sleep, Twilight,” Fluttershy added.

Twilight pulled the pillow tighter around her head with her levitation. “Didn’t I win it in some stupid duel?”

“Sure did,” Applejack said. “But, he says you cheated.”

Twilight lifted the pillow, her ears twitching. The rumble of a crowd rose and fell in a cacophony of hundreds of voices. Immediately, she began preparing spells. She started with some easier ones as she rolled out of bed. With her focus divided, she stumbled, the tangle of sheets catching her legs. “I think I hate this place,” Twilight muttered as she regained her balance. Her hooves clipping on the natural stone floor, she moved over to a window barred with silvery metal and peered out. The spire she’d been given a bed in was surrounded by night ponies; not the soldiers she’d seen before, but unarmored citizens, unicorns, pegasi, and even earth ponies, each adding their voice to a growing fury.

Pinkie joined her, crossing her forelegs on the windowsill. “Do you know ‘Summon Angry Mob’ too Twilight?”

“Not now, Pinkie,” Twilight grumbled. She turned, glancing around the room. Her five friends had joined her, presumably coming from their own rooms when the crowd formed outside. Somepony had shoved a metal nightstand detailed with handcrafted coiling shapes in front of the door. A blue flame blazed in a bowl hanging from the ceiling by silvery chains, providing dim light. She picked up Eclipse from where she had left it propped against the bed. “Any reason why we shouldn’t just give them what they want?” she said.

Before anypony answered her, a knock came at the door. “Chosen!” the Priestess shouted. “You must leave this place!”

Twilight strode to the door. With her magic, she shoved the nightstand out of her way, sending it crashing onto its side. With nothing obstructing it, the door swung inward. The Priestess stood outside, her chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. Several strands of hair poked at odd angles out of her normally pristine mane.

“Good morning,” Twilight said. “Or, whatever passes for morning down here.”

The Priestess surged forward and gripped Twilight’s shoulders with both her forehooves. “You must climb the central spire and recover the star!”

Gently, Twilight pushed her back a pace with her magic. “Before the duel, Moonstrike mentioned a ‘True Chosen.’ Explain.”

The Priestess nodded. “The Raven-winged Alicorn. She declared herself Chosen, but she was not touched by the Moon as you were, and she denied Prophecy!”

Trixie, Twilight thought. “So, she didn’t want this ‘Star’ recovered, and she didn’t want the sword?” Twilight asked.

The Priestess nodded again.

“Good enough for me,” Twilight said. She glanced over her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Rarity pointed out the window. “Aren’t they still a problem?”

“They won’t be,” Twilight said, striding past the Priestess and out the door. She smirked, picturing a bat-winged visage of herself as she prepared a spell. “They want an Alicorn? Let’s give them one.” She took two confident steps down the Spire’s staircase before she realized she’d forgotten Solstice and Celestial Fury. She turned around, blushing.

The crowd parted before Twilight, awe in their eyes. Her bat-wings stretched toward the darkness near the cavern’s ceiling, appearing for all the world to be solid, but in reality, they were phantasms. She carried Solstice and Eclipse at her side, with Celestial Fury across her back. The hilts hooked her carefully arranged cloak, keeping it from passing through her illusory wings.

Silent, and trying not to convey the tension she felt, Twilight trotted toward the city’s gate. As she walked, more and more ponies fell to their knees. Whispers of “Chosen” flowed in a growing chorus. The gate loomed ahead. Along the walltop, bat-winged pegasi stood as sentinels.

Like a rock in a parting sea, a single pony stood firm. As ponies cleared her path, his features were revealed. Moonstrike blocked her path, head bowed, eyes closed. Magic shimmered in the air around him, and a grey layer of Stoneskin covered him from horn to hoof. He raised his head and opened blazing white eyes. “You are nothing but a fountain of lies, Twilight Sparkle, and the waters run black as your soul.”

Twilight stopped cold, foreleg cocked. He must have cast Truesight, she thought. She licked the inside of her suddenly dry mouth.

“You will bring my people ruin and suffering. God wills us free, but you are a trick, a treachery of the traitor that defies natural order,” Moonstrike continued. He swept his gaze across the crowd. “You kneel before a mare that cavorts with Dirtborn as equals! If God willed ponies to be equals, he would have gifted them equally! Dirtborn have no gift!”

“You try farmin’ seventeen acres,” Applejack muttered.

No Sun, no farmers, Twilight realized. “AJ, take him out.”

Moonstrike’s horn began to glow. “She knows no honor! She hides behind an illusion to earn your awe, and I will reveal the truth by the light of the Moon!”

Applejack loosed her chain, letting it dangle from her tail ready to strike. “Uh, Twi, he’s got some magic protection goin’ on.”

“Trust me,” Twilight said.

Applejack hesitated. Why? Twilight wondered. Isn’t she the one in favor of justice? The spell built on Moonstrike’s horn. “Now!” Twilight shouted.

With a thundering crack, Applejack bucked Truthseeker. The spikes arced through the air and impacted Moonstrike’s chest, penetrating his Stoneskin and tossing him like a ragdoll. In the sudden silence, Twilight heard the thud as the body skipped across the stone. Her eyes turned up to the sentries on the wall. How long before they start shooting? she thought. She brought a prepared Death spell to the front of her mind.

“No true champion would have been slain by a Dittborn!” the Priestess shouted. “I will show the Chosen the path! We will be free!”

The crowd cheered.

With the city far behind them, the Priestess led them toward a spire that stretched from the ceiling of the cavern to its floor. It rose above them, one side bathed silver by the Moon, the other plunged into shadow. “So what changed?” Applejack said, walking beside Twilight.

“What do you mean?” Twilight said.

“There was a time you woulda’ fought hoof and tail to keep from having to put a pony like Moonstrike down.” Applejack eyed her. “Give up on mercy?”

Twilight heaved a sigh. “I’m tired, Applejack. It’s hard to care.”

“Hard to care?” Applejack said.

Pausing, Twilight pulled a canteen out of her bag. After unscrewing the cap, she took a sip. “Do you remember when I torched Bronze Fury and his hunters?”

Applejack stopped beside her. “Yeah, I think that’s when it hit me,” she said. “You weren’t normal. No training, arrow through your leg, and you devastated them.”

“It tore me up, knowing I’d killed ponies with families. I was taught to see the value in each life.” Twilight said. “Now, I don’t think I’d bat an eyelash. Today, when I told you to kill Moonstrike, the only thought on my mind was getting us all safely out of that city. ”

“I know what you mean. It’s hard to be in the situations that we’re in and not get some callouses,” Applejack said.

Twilight took a swig from her canteen, rolling the water around in her mouth before she spoke. “I’m tired of trying to stand on a pedestal because I’m afraid of what I carry. That, and I’m tired of being burned.” She glanced at the Priestess ahead on the path. “Speaking of, I wonder what her real motives are.”

Applejack chuckled. “Nothing good.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Well, time to find out.”

Stowing her canteen, Twilight set off after the Priestess. After a short brisk trot, she slowed to a walk beside the Priestess. She drew Eclipse and held it out unthreateningly. “So, why is this sword so important?” Twilight said.

“It will shield your mind from the Nightmare, like the spell I cast on you when we encountered them,” the Priestess said.

“And what about this prophecy?” Twilight said.

“It has two parts. On the longest night of the thousandth year of our imprisonment, we would be free. Four years ago, Luna came to me in a dream, and identified the Chosen as a surfacer she would touch,” the Priestess said. “All I know is that you must climb the spire, and I will see it done.”

Always, my options are few, Twilight thought. What else do I do? I can’t wait here, and I’m not leaving without her help. She slid Eclipse back into its sheath and stared at the spire. In another hour or so, they would arrive at its base.

A cold wind rushed through Twilight’s mane. The Priestess stood planted a few hoofspans away from the spire. Her eyes glowed with silver light, and the outline of a door set into the base of the spire answered her. The double-doors swung inward with a dull rumble, and the wind died.

The glow faded, and the priestess sagged, catching herself before she stumbled sideways. She lifted a shaking foreleg and pointed into the darkness beyond the doorway. “This is as far as I can lead you, Chosen. Those touched by Luna must face the nightmare alone.”

Twilight nodded. She approached the door, drawing her swords. The rasp of cold steel comforted her, as did the sound of her friends falling in with her. She lit her horn, and the darkness fell away, revealing the inside of the spire. A circle of silver runes on the floor caught the light.

She stepped across the threshold. The hollow interior of the spire spread around her. Darkness coiled above, deep and impenetrable. She tilted her head back, staring upward as she trotted forward.

“I don’t think you all can climb this,” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight reached the edge of the runes. The walls were smooth, no ramps or steps. “No. The runes must do something.” She turned her gaze to the silver runes in the floor. Slowly, she skirted the circle, reading each rune as she passed. “It’s a scroll,” she murmured, and without hesitation, she trotted to the center.

“It’s not a trap?” Rarity said, eyeing the runes.

“It’s a summoning spell,” Twilight said.

“And it could summon just about anything, right?” Applejack said.

Twilight shrugged. “Can’t be worse than a Pit Fiend.”

With a flare of her horn, Twilight completed the spell stored in the runes. Golden flames erupted from the ring. A blazing pillar of light shot up in front of her, then widened into a tear to another plane. A glowing white pegasus stepped from the gateway. Her eyes were golden flames against a pure white face, and a white mane trailed behind her. She towered over Twilight, at least twice the size that a pony should be.

Twilight took a step back and held up her swords menacingly. “Who are you?”

“I am the gatekeeper, left here as a warden by one who wielded Harmony.” The celestial pegasus regarded Twilight for a moment. “I sense the taint of the Moon on you. Go back, this path is not for those loyal to the Nightmare.”

“Only my friends hold my loyalty,” Twilight said.

The Celestial’s eyes narrowed to blazing slits. “Truth. You were not born in the cavern. I can sever the bond Luna made with you, but as long as you are bound to her, I cannot guide you to the surface.”

“The surface?” Twilight asked, sheathing her swords. “Is that where this spire leads?”

The Celestial nodded.

Twilight hesitated. She glanced down at the cavern floor. Without this bond, will Luna be able to hold back the slayer? She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. She did everything she could for me, and I’ll do the same for her. “Do it.”

A tingle rose from the base of Twilight’s hooves to the tip of her horn. She opened her eyes to see glowing lines trailing across her coat. Her normal lavender shade faded back, and the world started to dim. All around her, her friends glowed with light as they underwent a similar transformation. Feathers replaced membranes, and slit-pupils rounded.

Shadows closed in around her. After a moment, all she could make out in the blackness was the glowing Celestial. She forced more light from her horn, but it did little to pierce the veil. The Celestial focused on her. “Beware the Nightmare, for on this night, the longest night of the thousandth year, she rouses from her slumber.”

Suddenly, the floor fell away from Twilight. She found herself plummeting into blackness. A scream escaped her lips, but her ears could not hear it.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long absence. I've been exceedingly busy.

Nightmare

From a void of shadow, Twilight hit side-first into a cold stone floor. Moonlight shafted in through a broken window. Shards of glass still hanging from the twisted metal frame clawed at a turreted spire that rose into the starry night sky. A vaulted ceiling yawned above her, arches pitted with the wear of time. A chilling laugh filled the empty space with echos.

Hearing the sound, Twilight launched into motion. She rolled to her feet and turned, looking for the source of the laughter. Instinctively, she drew Celestial Fury and Solstice from their sheaths. A vast hall surrounded her. Scraps of fabric, curtains and tapestries, hung from the walls. More light from a hole in the crumbling ceiling backlit her, casting a long shadow. At the end of the room, a shape moved in the dark.

A grinning, slit pupiled mare with white fangs stepped into the light. She laughed, deep and chilling. A plate of silver-blue armor with a hole for her long, stiletto horn rested on her forehead. It glowed with a starry blue miasma that merged with a rippling mane torn from the night sky trailing behind her. “I’d like to say this is a surprise,” the mare said. “But it’s not.” As she strode fully into the light, she spread raven-feathered wings from her back.

Alone, Twilight thought, glancing around for her friends. Wherever they had been sent, they’d arrived seperately. She took a step back, and considered the slight weight of Eclipse at her side, the blade partially hidden beneath her cloak. She left it sheathed; she wasn’t confident trying to wield three swords at once. She kept Solstice and Celestial Fury out front, defensively. “Luna?” she said.

“You stand before Nightmare Moon,” the mare said. “Luna is nothing but a memory.” She laughed again. A crescent great scythe enveloped in an aura of magic floated from the shadows behind her. A silver spearpoint gleamed at the base of the stave. She held it with the point forward and down, the blade arching over her back. “A thousand years, and this is the best she could do? She delivers the only thing that could spell my undoing directly to my doorstep on the day of my release.”

So this is why she wanted me to kill her, Twilight thought. Will I have a choice? Her Sequencers in Solstice and her necklace thrummed, ready to be triggered. She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not here for Celestia.”

Nightmare Moon approached, the moonlight glinting off her helmet and a chestplate secured around her neck. Her stature dwarfed Twilight, and she kept her head level, staring down at the smaller pony. “Then why are you here, my little pony? Have you figured it out yet?”

“Figured what out?” Twilight said.

“You have no chance. No hope.” She blinked, and when her eyes open, they glowed with a fierce white light. “I see you. You are shattered, broken, and drained. All the power you could have had is gone, lost. And without it, there is no hope. We’ve lost, Twilight Sparkle. The only difference between me and my sister is I saw that a thousand years ago. It’s a pre-ordained conclusion. An inevitability. Perhaps you understand that you cannot defy your creator.”

“Really?” Twilight scoffed. “Then what is it I’ve been doing?”

“Delaying,” Nightmare Moon said. “But time is not on your side.”

I know Luna is in there somewhere, Twilight thought. I’ve seen her. She relaxed her stance, locking her legs and straightening from her slight crouch. “Maybe it’s not. But we can fight. You can fight.”

The blazing glow faded from Nightmare Moon’s eyes. Slowly, she lowered the spearpoint on the haft on her scythe rest on the floor. “You don’t get it, do you, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight smiled. “It turns out, I have figured it out. There’s something we have that Azrael doesn’t understand. I’ve seen it, and every day, I grow to know it better. Together, the power we wield is immense. He didn’t predict what we could achieve through our connections, our friendships. He couldn’t predict our magic.” She lowered her swords and raised a hoof, extending it toward Nightmare Moon. “With this power, we can achieve anything.”

Nightmare Moon stared at her. She smiled, her eyes fixed on Twilight. Slowly, her smile shifted into a sinister grin. “Can you now?” She stalked a step forward, and Twilight cringed back, raising her swords. “Do you know what the Slayer is? It’s something Azrael put there in case Celestia tried to remove His essence from you. You are forever chained, Twilight.” Laughing, she lifted her scythe, the point scraping on the stone. “You speak of the power of friendship, when all I need to do is let out what sleeps within you, and you will turn on them!”

Nightmare Moon lunged, the blade of her scythe singing in the air as she brought it forward. Twilight met it with Celestial Fury. As sparks from the clash flew through the air, she brought a Stoneskin spell to completion. Nine layers of protection enclosed her body. She stepped right, in closer to the point where Celestial Fury’s blade ground against the scythe, and swung left with Solstice.

Contact. Solstice’s edge gouged a thin channel in Nightmare Moon’s breastplate. Feedback from smashing the blade into the impossibly hard substance made her horn sting. Nightmare Moon whirled her scythe’s blade back over her head and down toward Twilight’s other side. Twilight opted to ignore it. She relied on her magical protection while she pushed through the tingling in her mind to cast another spell.

Long before she brought the spell to completion, the scythe’s blade impacted her left side. At first, as expected, she felt nothing, She lunged forward, taking the opening Nightmare Moon left with the attack, and finished her spell: Improved Haste. This time, with Celestial Fury, she swung low, aiming to take Nightmare Moon’s legs out from under her.

Graceful beyond compare, Nightmare Moon danced back, avoiding her strike. As time slowed for Twilight, she watched a grin spread across Nightmare Moon’s features. She still held her scythe pressed to Twilight’s side. In that moment, through her adrenaline and battle-fury, Twilight noticed a numbing cold seeping from the point of contact.

Gasping, Twilight tried to jerk away from it, but with an impossibly quick reaction, Nightmare Moon moved the blade with her. The chill reached her spine. A sensation like a thousand screaming voices exploded from the back of her skull. Every muscle in her body went taught. She collapsed to the ground, writhing. Barely, she kept a hold on her swords with her magic.

Then, everything went silent. A dull soreness permeated her body. Her muscles felt like jelly, thoroughly spent. Shadowy tendrils crept across her mind, making her eyelids heavy and her mind sluggish. Nightmare Moon moved forward and stood over her.

“Shh, Twilight Sparkle. Go to sleep. Sleep is where nightmares reign,” Nightmare Moon whispered, leaning closer, her scythe pressed to Twilight’s chest.

Weakly, Twilight Sparkle lashed out with Celestial Fury. The blade nicked Nightmare Moon’s cheek, drawing dark blood. Hissing, Nightmare Moon jerked back, and for an instant, the scythe pulled away from Twilight’s chest. A golden aura spread from the cut, encasing Nightmare Moon a moment later.

Sucking in breath, Twilight hooked Solstice under the scythe’s blade and tore it from Nightmare Moon’s grasp. The heavy weapon slid across the floor until it lodged against a fallen piece of masonry. Sensation and strength returned to her limbs. She clambered to her feet and drew Celestial Fury back for a final blow.

Twilight stared into Nightmare Moon’s wide eyes, the Alicorn’s face still trapped in an expression of shock and surprise. Twilight hesitated. I have to kill her, she thought. I’m not strong enough to save her. A plan crystallized, an alternative. But we can fight! We can win! I just can’t save her on my own. As the golden aura holding Nightmare Moon began to crumble, she focused on a point through the broken ceiling and beyond a hole in the wall of a tower. With that point fixed in her mind, Twilight cast Dimension Door. I need to make time.

As Twilight brought her spell to completion, the scythe slid across the floor toward Nightmare Moon, recaptured in the aura of her magic. The hold trapping her body failed. She bared her fangs and brought the blade of her scythe toward Twilight, but a moment before the weapon reached her, Nightmare Moon, her scythe, and the ancient hall around her, vanished when Twilight teleported away.

Twilight snapped into existence. She landed lightly in a crouch, finding a surprisingly solid floor beneath her hooves. She turned and looked out through the crumbling gap in the wall she’d teleported through. The room at the top of the tower overlooked the remains of a ruined palace. Far beneath her, through the hole in the ceiling of the building, moonlight glinted off of Nightmare Moon’s scythe.

All around the tower, atop a hill surrounded by a thick forest, the husks of grand structures rose from deep green undergrowth like bones covered in moss. Twilight recognized the trees and the feeling of unease that came with them. The Everfree Forest extended beneath her into the distant night. A glowing white disk in the sky caught her attention, and she looked up.

For the first time in a thousand years, a full moon, restored, hung over the horizon, but a small crescent, the fragment that had risen into the sky for a thousand nights before, was brighter than the rest. Twilight shivered; that crescent had brought her comfort on many a dark night. Now, though whole, it seemed consumed by something sinister.

No time to dwell, she thought as she turned from the vista. Or speculate, she thought, looking down. Is the Cavern of the Moon, Luna’s prison, directly beneath the Everfree? With her levitation, she swept dust from the floor, shaping it into a pony. From a pouch at her side, she added a trace amount of diamond dust. Focus, she thought, selecting a spell she’d prepared on the hours long walk to where she had been teleported to the surface. Sooner or later, Nightmare Moon would figure out where she went.

She cast the spell. Her Mark blazed on the flank of the form in dust, flaring to life like a lit match. The shape of a pony became a mirror upon which Twilight Sparkle reflected her soul. A moment later, she met eyes with herself.

Wordlessly, Twilight passed her Simulacrum her swords. No explanation was required; she knew the plan. She’d conceived it. However, Twilight kept Eclipse sheathed at her side.

A wave of lightheadedness washed over Twilight, and she collapsed onto her haunches. The magnitude of the spell drained her. While she recovered, her Simulacrum cast its own spell, Improved Haste. It was in almost every respect her duplicate, and it retained every spell she had prepared the moment she cast the spell.

Her Simulacrum stepped past her to the opening in the wall and looked down.

With a deep breath, Twilight stood. Three more spells, she thought. First, she cast Non-detection. Then, she closed her eyes and cast Truesight; she’d need it to accurately perceive her surroundings in the dark without giving herself away by lighting her horn.

Twilight opened her eyes. She saw herself, a lavender glow consumed by an empty void in her chest, but she could tell what she saw lacked substance and depth, like a reflection in a mirror. “She’s coming,” her Simulacrum said.

Twilight nodded and cast her final spell, Improved Invisibility. As she winked out of sight, she heard wingbeats behind her. Glancing over her shoulder, she headed for the spiral staircase that lead down the tower. Her Simulacrum backed away from the opening to stand in the center of the room, brandishing Celestial Fury and Solstice.

With a rush of air, a being torn from the night sky flowed through the hole in the wall: Nightmare Moon. Her core was a silver pinprick of light, but a void of darkness and suffering surrounded it. She braked sharply, her wings a span of shadow that scraped the walls, and touched down.

“Why!” Nightmare Moon roared. “You won!” She leveled the spearpoint of her weapon at the Twilight in front of her. “This only ends with one of us dead!” She looked around the room; searching with eyes aglow with white light, but her gaze passed over Twilight. “I cannot be fooled by this reflection! Show yourself!”

Twilight ran down the spiral staircase. Metal clashed behind her. “But it can slow you down!” her own voice shouted.

Deep in the bowels of the palace, Twilight trotted down a corridor. Inky pools of darkness sucked at her hooves. All around her specters clung to the walls. She held Eclipse before her, and the shades retreated from it. They could perceive nothing but the blade.

In the shades, Twilight witnessed the truth. By looking at them, and seeing their very essence, she understood them. She saw the same void of despair she’d seen consuming Luna, Nightmare Moon, in the room at the top of the tower. She’d mistaken the Nightmares that plagued the Cavern’s inhabitants as creatures of fear. What could be more terrifying than a hopeless world? Their gaze immobilized because they sapped the will. They fed on thoughts and hopes and dreams and left behind nothing.

In the shadows on the walls, Twilight saw Luna’s nightmare. In the nightmare, an incomprehensible being held the threads of destiny in an unbreakable vice. Choice was an illusion, because the end result was always the same eternal servitude. Her resistance was pointless, hopeless.

Twilight shuddered. My friends are here, somewhere, she thought. Trapped. She drew in a deep breath and looked closer at the world around her. She’d seen the ley lines connecting her and her friends before. She focused on each of them in turn. The moment Fluttershy had been there to pull her from a nightmare. Rainbow Dash, diving after her from the center of a rainbow shockwave. Rarity, freeing her from the suppressor that threatened to extinguish her. Applejack, trusting the strength of her plan against a dragon. And Pinkie Pie, unwavering, always there to lift her from the darkness.

Five lines grew in the darkness, radiating out from Twilight’s chest like the spokes on a wheel. She felt something swell inside of her, and the five threads pulled on her. Fluttershy’s pulled the strongest, and she followed it through the shadows. After squeezing through a half-collapsed doorway, she found Fluttershy in the corner of a small room.

Shades clung to Fluttershy, their tendrils of despair flickering across her body like a black flame. The soft yellow light that normally shone from Fluttershy’s soul drowned in an oppressive greyness. She hung her head low, her body curled in the corner. Angel curled between her hooves, almost drowned out by the darkness.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight said softly. Fluttershy’s head lifted a fraction.

“Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered, her voice little more than a weak breath. Her head tracked Eclipse as it floated across the room.

Twilight stepped closer. “I’m here, Fluttershy.” She reached out and touched a hoof to Fluttershy’s shoulder. “You just can’t see me.”

Fluttershy shivered beneath Twilight’s touch. “I’m so alone...” she whispered. “All I’ve ever tried to do is help, and I’ve been cast out from my home. I chose to follow my friends, and I’ve done by trying to protect them is help them hurt and kill.” She hung her head. “I’m sorry Twilight. I’m worthless. I can’t save you. Just leave me here.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, Fluttershy. You have saved me. And you’ll keep saving me. But right now, I’m going to save you.”

“Why Twilight? Why struggle? It’s pointless. You show a pony kindness, and they turn around and stab you in the back. You’d know this better than anypony.” She took a breath. “I should have told you to kill Trixie, when you asked me what we should do,” Fluttershy murmured.

“Maybe,” Twilight said. “But forgiveness, mercy, isn’t about them. It’s about you. It’s easy to forget that.” She paused a moment, considering. “Kindness is caring, and empathizing, and acting, if only to ease a bit of pain, no matter who it is we help, because everypony, every being, lives as part of a greater whole, and each act ripples across countless lives and countless stories.”

Fluttershy shook her head. “You don’t see. You don’t feel what I feel. You don’t understand how pointless life is. Your hidden from them,” she said, flicking her muzzled toward the shades, “but if they could see you, you’d see what I see.”

I understand, Twilight thought. Five threads, five ponies, five virtues, and somehow, I’m connected to all of them. She smiled. “Your right, Fluttershy. And I’m not going to let you face this alone. Nopony should have to stand alone.”

For a moment, Twilight hesitated, preparing to drop her invisibility. What do I believe in? She took a deep breath. Here goes. Magic of friendship in three, two, one...

Twilight chose to become visible. Almost immediately, the shades clustered around Fluttershy turned toward her. She was surrounded. She closed her eyes, let the tip of Eclipse drop downward, and held tight to the five threads.

Twilight felt the shades touching her. The Nightmares surged around her. Why me? she thought. Why do I have to bear this burden? Why not just give in? They should serve me! Am I not power? Am I not destined to hold them all in my hooves? Even Trixie trying to rip my essence away left me with the Slayer. All I have to do is let it go, and I could consume Nightmare Moon. I could walk away from this place with my head held high, crush Trixie, and reclaim what is mine. She looked at Fluttershy. Their lives are transient, insignificant, and flicker in the dark. So what if they would die?

Twilight wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy. “I would never hurt my friends!” she shouted at the shades. “I am the pony that gets to stand up and say life does matter. We are the ponies that get to forge our own purpose. And I will not stop caring, and I will not let my friend suffer alone!”

Light bled from Twilight and Fluttershy. A prismatic nova exploded from them, purging the shades. For a moment, rainbow light painted the walls of the room. Twilight blinked, a rainbow aura lingering in her Truesight.

Fluttershy gasped. She shifted, and Twilight helped her to her feet. She buried her face in Twilight’s shoulder. “I’m sorry! I don’t know how I could think like that! It was so dark.”

Twilight nuzzled Fluttershy’s mane. “I know Fluttershy. It’s okay.” She focused on the threads binding her to her friends. Rainbow Dash pulled strongest. “Now, will you help me save Rainbow Dash?”

Fluttershy nodded.

The path to Rainbow Dash took them to the surface, to a small courtyard dominated by a large crumbling fountain. Together with Fluttershy, Twilight stepped through a doorway into the courtyard, her hooves padding on a mat of lichen and moss. She held Eclipse at the ready. Just beyond an aura of Harmony that radiated from them, the Nightmare lurked. Her Truesight had faded away, and she relied on the faint nimbus of rainbow light that surrounded them.

“Rainbow Dash should be here,” Twilight whispered. The thread binding them pulsed with energy. Even without seeing the threads with Truesight, she could sense them.

From around the edge of a fixture sculpted in the shape of a fish, Rainbow Dash strode into view. She wore the Wonderbolts’ fabric uniform, but where the Wonderbolts wore blue and gold Rainbow Dash wore black and violet. She grinned. “Twilight, and Fluttershy!”

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight said. “Are you alright?”

Rainbow leaned against the sculpture. “Better than ever.”

Twilight raised a brow at Rainbow Dash. Because they are the Elements, the Nightmare must affect them all differently, she thought.

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy said. She raised a hoof to point at the specters that lingered around Rainbow Dash, their shadowy tendrils surrounding her like a net of brambles. “Because those things twist you up inside.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I dunno. I do see things differently now. I’m thinking I’ll go it alone.”

Fluttershy frowned, her ears going back. “You’re going to leave me? But we’re friends.”

Rainbow shook her head. “We were friends.” She spread her wings, the cold steel of Commander Hurricane’s wingblades catching the moonlight. “I can’t have you slowing me down any longer.” She pointed at Twilight. “And I can’t have her drowning me in her shadow.”

Twilight blinked. “What’re you talking about?”

Rainbow Dash stamped on a patch of moss. “You know!” She gestured at her uniform. “I’m the fastest wingblade out of Cloudsdale, the fastest wingblade in Equestria! Everypony should know my name! And all I’ve been doing, all I’ve done, is fight what Twilight Sparkle wants to fight, and kill what Twilight Sparkle wants to kill! Twilight the Dragonslayer. Twilight the Baroness. Twilight the Shadowspawn! What am I?”

Twilight approached Rainbow Dash, the aura of Harmony trailing with her. It touched the shades, but they lingered around Rainbow Dash, not retreating. “You’re my friend, Rainbow,” Twilight said.

Rainbow Dash snorted. “You know that’s not worth a wisp of vapor, Twilight. Can you honestly say that I’m important, that I matter, when I’m standing next to you? Can you honestly say that you need me, with all of your magic, and all of your freakish strength? What is one little cloud next to a thunderstorm?” She shook her head. “What’s the point of loyalty when nopony notices what you do for them? What you sacrifice?”

Twilight fixed her gaze on Rainbow’s eyes. “I need you Rainbow Dash. I need you because I know you’ll have my back. I know you’ll be there to catch me when I fall. We need you. We can’t do this without you.” She smiled. “But right now, you need us.” She stepped forward, still a good ten paces away, and with lightning swiftness, lanced one of the shades with the point of Eclipse.

In response, the shades pulled away from Rainbow Dash and rushed toward her. She estimated there were six of them, more than she could keep at bay. She stepped back and flicked the point of Eclipse into another.

“Twilight!” Fluttershy shouted.

Rainbow launched into motion. Lunging, she slashed through the shades with her wingblades. Rainbow light exploded from her wings and smashed into the shades, leaving them clouds of fading black dust. She touched down in front of Twilight, panting. The colors of her Wonderbolt uniform faded back to normal. She grinned. “We need each other.”

Twilight wrapped her hooves around Rainbow’s neck, hugging her tight. A moment later, Fluttershy joined them. “We do,” she said.

Rainbow Dash nuzzled Twilight’s mane. “Somewhere in my mind, I knew you’d come for me.”

Twilight pulled free of the embrace. She tested the threads. Rarity’s pulsed strongest. “And now, we need to be there for Rarity.”

Twilight trotted briskly down an overgrown path. Vines and moss dwelled in the cracks between the fragmented pieces of regular, square slabs of stone beneath her hooves. Fluttershy walked to her left, and Rainbow to her right. The rainbow aura that bled off of them kept the shadows at bay. Ahead of them, a short walk from the fountain, a domed structure rose from the brambles and bushes.

“So, um, we’re glowing. And somehow it’s keeping these monsters away,” Fluttershy said. “And that about sums up what happened since Twilight found me.”

“Hey, it’s better than where we were,” Rainbow Dash said. “Though, I gotta admit, it’s pretty weird. Twilight, what do you think?”

“Did you ever wonder why everything happens around us?” Twilight said.

Twilight slowed as she reached the structure’s doorway. A faint trickle of water dripped off the stone lip of the doorway and pooled in a muddy patch. She eased back some leafy stalks to fully reveal the opening. Inside, deep shadows filled marble basins. A thin layer of water pooled on the floor. Vines and roots hung from the ceiling.

“What, you mean besides you being crazy important and us being crazy awesome?” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight led with the point of Eclipse as she entered the building, following the tug of the thread. “And why am I so important?”

“Um, you’re a super-powerful magic unicorn Shadowspawn?”

Ahead of Twilight, Rarity’s white coat stood out against the grey stone and deep shadows, barely visible through the vegetation. “And less than a week on the road, I run into four of you,” Twilight murmured. “The fifth was near me all along.” She pushed roots aside with Eclipse’s blade and advanced toward Rarity.

“What’re you getting at, Twi...” Rainbow Dash said, falling silent as she noticed Rarity.

“Rarity?” Fluttershy whispered. “What do we do?”

Twilight neared Rarity, her hooves splashing in the thin layer of water on the floor. Rarity sat on the edge of one of the basins and gazed into it with a blank stare. Shades reached up from within, leaching at her.

“This place was beautiful once,” Rarity said.

Twilight started, tensing.

Rarity slowly looked up, her gaze following a vine climbing the wall. “A bathhouse, full of happy ponies. Marble tubs. Golden faucets.” She turned to look at Twilight. “It’s all gone. Where is the beauty in the world now?”

“They’re just things, Rarity,” Twilight said. “They don’t matter.”

“What about the things that do? The lives? I’ve seen so many hungry faces, Twilight. Some of greed, some of yearning. We all want. Freedom, food and safety, family. Some of us can be satisfied with enough, but for some of us, there is never enough.” Rarity looked down at the water. “I’m one of the ponies that can’t be satisfied.”

“But you’ve done so much,” Fluttershy said.

“For everypony,” Rainbow Dash added.

Rarity shook her head. “I want to shine. How is that right, when others starve? How many diamonds in the rough never had the chance? I have robbed, I have stolen, I have killed to get what I want. I am ugly inside, and I will never change that.”

“You’re beautiful, Rarity,” Fluttershy said. “The past isn’t all that you are.”

Rarity clenched her eyes shut tight. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “You’re wrong!”

Twilight stepped toward Rarity, reaching out a forehoof. “She’s right. We are the ponies with the strength to forge the future, for all of us. You believe yourself ugly? You have looked at me, and what lies inside, and you have forgiven me for what I am. Forgive yourself.” The Nightmare shades bled off of Rarity and attached to Twilight’s hoof. “Stand with me. We can make a world where everyone has a chance to shine. We have that power. Will you hope with us, Rarity?”

Rarity opened her eyes and looked up at Twilight, her ears perking. She reached out and took Twilight’s hoof. “I will.”

A pulse of rainbow light rolled out from where they touched. For a flash, caught in an afterimage in Twilight’s eyes, the marble basins were polished white and filled with steaming water and smiling ponies, cleansing the grime from their coats, and Rarity sat with them. Laughter lingered in her ears as the image faded.

Rarity climbed to her feet and smiled. The shades dragging her down had vanished. “Twilight, how can I ever thank you?”

Twilight hooked a foreleg around Rarity’s neck and pulled her close. “You’ve already done everything I could ask. You’re my friend.”

Half laughing, half crying, Rarity returned the embrace, then pulled away and wiped her eyes with a foreleg. “What happened? How did you save me?”

Twilight grinned. “You saved yourself. All I did was remind you of what you already knew: Generosity.” With that, Twilight turned and walked between Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, headed for the door. She followed the tug of the next thread, Applejack. “Come on.”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her forehead. “How is that an answer?”

As Twilight stepped through the doorway, golden light flashed beyond the structures of the ancient palace, turning the sky bright for an instant. Her Simraculum had released the Sunlight stored in Celestial Fury’s blade. It was the signal; she’d bought all the time she could, and Nightmare Moon was on her way.

Two more, Twilight thought. “Come on, we have to hurry.” She broke into a gallop, narrowly dodging undergrowth, and careful to avoid outrunning her friends so far that she left the rainbow aura. Her Haste spell had faded some time ago, and she felt painfully slow.

Rainbow Dash caught up to her easily in a rush of wind. She touched down beside Twilight and matched her pace. “How did you save me?”

“I showed you Loyalty,” Twilight said between breaths. “And I showed Fluttershy Kindness.” The path cut through a low wall. She turned sharply, following the wall. “It’s what you are, and maybe saving me is what showed you all the way.” Ahead, a building with a sharply peaked roof towered over them. They neared the door. Wide open, it led into the darkness beyond.

Rarity, her hooves hitting the dirt a few paces behind Twilight, said, “What’re you talking about?”

Twilight slowed, pulling to a stop. Applejack was near. She peered into the undergrowth and the wall of darkness beyond their aura. “Long before we ever saw each other, we were connected. I’m the keystone, I brought you together.”

“By what?” Rarity said.

“Magic,” Twilight said.

A ruby red glint caught the rainbow light. From behind a wall of dark leaves, Applejack stepped forward, head down, and stopped at the edge of the light. Shadows trailed from her like knotted ropes. She lifted her head and fixed her gaze on Twilight, her green eyes just visible beneath the brim of her stetson. Rainbow light played on the scales of her armor.

“Whatever it is, it brought us together to give us the chance to stop you,” Applejack said. She loosed Truthseeker so that it hung loose beneath her tail.

Twilight froze. She stared at the dangling twin points. There was nothing she could do to stop Truthseeker. It could pass clean through her Stoneskin. It could follow her through a teleport. It could find her if she were invisible. It was too fast, too strong to block. Her mouth went dry. She was vulnerable. Mortal.

Rainbow Dash stepped between her and Applejack. “You're not thinking straight, AJ.”

“Am I?” Applejack said. “You’ve seen what she can be! There’s a good pony there, but does one life justify the risk?! What if killing her is the only way to save Equestria? What if she is a monster!”

Fluttershy shook her head. “She’s not a monster,” she said. “And that’s not how it works, Applejack. If you kill her, her essence just goes back to the Abyss,”

“Trixie has it now anyway,” Rarity said.

“According to her!” Applejack snapped. “Everything we know about what she is has been relayed through her! The truth is, we don’t know! We don’t know what will happen if we keep on this path! We don’t know what she will become!”

With her magic, Twilight pushed Rainbow Dash aside. She stepped forward. “You’re right,” Twilight said. “We don’t know.”

“Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled, pushing back against the force of her magic. She beat her wings against the air, but Twilight held her at bay, if only barely.

“Maybe I am a monster,” Twilight said. “Maybe killing me will stop Azrael. We’ve made a lot of assumptions. What if I’m not that important? I believe in the five of you. I brought you together, I revealed your power. Maybe this is the end of my journey. You can save Pinkie, and you can stop Nightmare Moon.” She held her head high and met Applejack’s gaze. “But the truth is, we don’t know. We can’t see beyond the horizon. All we can do is what we think is right. And I think the right thing to do is to trust you, Applejack. I trust you and your judgement more than I trust my own.”

Applejack stared at her, hesitating.

“Twilight, this is crazy!” Fluttershy said, moving in from the side opposite Rainbow. Twilight caught her and held her at bay.

Applejack’s expression softened. She wrapped her chain tight around her tail. “You’re right, Twilight.” She took a step forward into the the ring of rainbow light. The shades clinging to her retreated, pushed back. Their tendrils stretched as Applejack walked forward, then snapped and vanished. “Of course you’re right.”

Tears sprang to Applejack’s eyes. “I trust you, Twilight. Always have.” She wrapped her forelegs around Twilight’s neck. “You’re my friend. I’m sorry.”

Twilight felt the next thread. It led through the open doors and into the building. One more, she thought. She squeezed Applejack’s hard armor, then pulled away. “Then let’s do this, together.”

“That was way too risky, Twi!” Rainbow Dash muttered.

Twilight smiled. “No it wasn’t, not really.”

Applejack turned slowly, looking at the rainbow aura. She glanced at Rarity. “What’s going on?”

Rarity shrugged. “Don’t look at me.”

Twilight headed for the door, striding toward the shadows beyond. “We’ve got a corrupted Goddess trying to kill us who’ll show up any second now, you five are the Elements of Harmony, and we need to pull Pinkie out of the Nightmare so that we can save Luna.” She blinked. “Wow, when I say it out loud it seems kinda crazy.”

“Elements of Harmony?” Applejack said. “What in Equestria are you talking about?”

“Five virtues,” Twilight said. “Generosity, Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Loyalty. It was Celestia’s plan. I met you, and you chained the Specter in my mind. She turned Azrael against Himself, and now you’re going to save her sister.”

Applejack shook her head. “How can we be the Elements of Harmony? They’re artifacts.”

“They were artifacts,” Twilight said. “They were broken, and then reborn.” She reached a set of steps leading up to the double doors and trotted up them. The rainbow aura pushed back the shadows inside the door, the edge a perfect circle.

Applejack raised a brow. “If we’re the elements, then why are the rainbows coming from you?”

“What?” Twilight said as she stepped through the door. Inside, an oval shaped chamber surrounded her. Moonlight shafted through crags in the ceiling. Vines climbed the metal frames of empty windows.

In the center of the room, a monument holding five stone orbs stood, each with a symbol etched onto the surface. Pinkie Pie sat in front of the monument. Shadows surrounded her. Tall specters clung to her. Her pink hair hung straight in front of her eyes. “Pinkie?” Twilight said.

Pinkie turned toward her, her hair falling aside to reveal one eye. “Why didn’t you save me?”

Twilight took a step forward, swallowing. “I did.”

“Not soon enough!” Pinkie shouted, rising to her feet. “I can grin, and I can smile, but I’ve seen evil! I’m a killer! I’m just like you now!”

Twilight paused for a moment. She stared at Pinkie, foreleg cocked. “You, just like me?” She laughed. “Really? There’s so much joy in you. Where I fell, you overcame. You’re the best of us, Pinkie.”

Pinkie fell back onto her haunches, her eyes watering. Twilight advanced. The shadows retreated, pushed back by the rainbow light. “Friends forever?” Twilight said.

Pinkie giggled, blinking back tears. She raised her hoof. “Through eternity.”

Twilight tapped her forehoof to Pinkie’s. “Somehow, I knew you’d be the easiest.”

A laugh filled the chamber, black and cruel. From a swirling miasma of shadow, Nightmare Moon stepped forward, her scythe agleam. Celestial Fury and Solstice floated beside her, suspended in her levitation. “Touching, but meaningless.” She grinned.

Chain links clicked as Applejack loosed her chain. “Wait,” Twilight said. “We can save her.”

“Give up, Sparkle!” Nightmare Moon shouted. “If this was her plan, she sent you to your doom!” She laughed, white teeth flashing. She held Celestial Fury in front of her, sideways so that she could see her reflection in the blade. “It’s been awhile since I held this sword.”

“Alright, Twilight, what’s the plan?” Applejack murmured out of the side of her mouth.

“You know she can hear you right?” Rarity said in a hushed whisper.

Nightmare Moon flicked Celestial Fury, the blade singing through the air. “Really, it’s incredible.” She chuckled. “You are a challenge, Twilight Sparkle, truly.” She flared her wings open, and the shadows deepened. “But you stand before a god!”

“I was bein’ quiet,” Applejack muttered.

“Relative to a thunderstorm, maybe,” Rarity whispered.

“How do we save her, Twilight,” Fluttershy said softly.

Twilight bit the inside of her cheek. “You need to, erm, element her.”

“And how do we do that?” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’m a bit behind,” Pinkie said, “But, seriously, Twilight? Element her? You’re not very good at jokes.”

“Wow,” Nightmare Moon said, striding forward. She glanced at the rainbow aura. “I see you’ve made some progress, but that was your plan? Did you ever stop to wonder why Azrael waited a thousand years?” She fixed Twilight with her slit-pupiled gaze. “He waited for you.”

Twilight swallowed. “Why?”

“There are six Elements of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle, not five. One to focus the rest. The five in isolation are nothing.” She turned, presenting her side, and circled the pedestal in the center of the room. “The Virtues only mean something with a spark to ignite them. They need Magic to bring them together.” She smirked. “Have you figured it out yet?”

Twilight backpedaled, shaking her head. “It can’t be me! I can’t be an element of Harmony! I’m... I’m a monster! I’m not like them!” She swung her hoof toward her friends in a sweeping gesture. “I’m not a better pony!”

“Exactly.” Nightmare Moon grinned. “It’s Azrael’s way. He took his enemy’s greatest asset, the one thing that could destroy him, and controlled it. In the moment of his defeat, he poured his essence into the Element of Magic. It was the Element I carried, and it’s the Element connected to all life.” She floated the five stone orbs off the monument, pulling them close until they swirled around her. “When they were first formed, the Elements were gemstones, objects, expressions of magical energy to be wielded by worthy ponies. Though these champions can fall, Harmony cannot die. Though it would take a thousand years, it would be reborn in life, and through that rebirth, Azrael saw the path to certain victory.”

Nightmare Moon’s levitation field pulsed, and the stone orbs shattered, their fragments cascading to the floor. “He tried to capture them all, spreading himself through the web of life, seeking power. He got two. Magic, and Laughter. But it was enough. He broke the Elements. He won. This flashpoint, this day a thousand years later, is nothing but an echo of a battle long concluded.”

Twilight fell back onto her haunches. She let Eclipse’s point drop. “I’m broken.”

Applejack rested a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Aw hell, Twilight, no you’re not,”

“You’re the strongest pony I know,” Fluttershy said.

“If anypony can beat this, it’s you,” Rarity said.

Pinkie Pie flicked her muzzle toward Nightmare Moon. “You’re going to listen to her?”

“She’s just like we were when you found us,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Enough!” Nightmare Moon cried. Moonlight flashed, and she was in front of Twilight, her scythe cleaving through the air. It connected, shattering a layer of stoneskin. She pressed it into Twilight’s side.

Thruthseeker cracked. Nightmare Moon stopped it dead with Celestial Fury, wedging the blade between the twin spikes. A moment later, she deflected a crystalline arrow from Rarity’s bow with Solstice. Rainbow Dash whirled at her side, gusts of wind trailing off her wingblades. She pulled the Scythe away from Twilight and swung it at Rainbow. Sparks flew when it met the wingblades.

Shuddering from the cold touch of the Nightmare’s weapon, Twilight stumbled away. Pinkie stepped between her and Nightmare Moon. She drove a hoof into the center of Nightmare Moon’s breastplate.

For a moment, Nightmare Moon froze. Another arrow hit its mark, and dug into her side. She staggered back. A sweeping, black miasma bled off her horn, directed at Pinkie. In a blur, Pinkie darted to the side, and the miasma flowed past her. It connected with Rainbow Dash, sending her flying. Next, it reached Twilight. In an eyeblink, the wave of force threw her back. She flew, another layer of her Stoneskin shattering when her back hit the wall.

Rarity crumpled next to her, coughing. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. Angel thundered forward, his body enhanced by layers of dark green vines. Nightmare Moon launched a black ray from her horn at the elemental beast. The vines stripped away, as if blown off in a gust of wind, and a small white bunny sprawled to the floor.

I need time, Twilight thought, rising to her hooves. I need to figure this out.

With Celestial Fury, Nightmare Moon wrestled with Applejack for control of Truthseeker. She took wide, sweeping strikes at Pinkie with her scythe. Each time, Pinkie dodged by a hairsbreadth. Fluttershy stood behind a pillar, eyes aglow. Through a gap in the ceiling, a bolt of lightning struck Nightmare Moon in the helm. The metal glowed, but the lighting dissipated, ineffective.

Rainbow Dash, recovered and streaking through the air, dove toward Nightmare Moon’s back. The Alicorn twisted. She thrusted up with the point on the base of her Scythe. It connected, puncturing the magical fabric of the Wonderbolt’s uniform, and the Skymail beneath. It passed out between her wings, the point glinting. Rainbow gasped, impaled.

“Rainbow!” Twilight cried.

Laughing, keeping Pinkie at bay with Solstice, Nightmare Moon swirled her scythe, launching Rainbow off the point and into the monument. Rainbow Dash hit the ground and lay still, her rainbow mane falling over her eyes. With her magic, she yanked the crystalline shaft from Rarity’s bow out of her side. The wound closed over, healing nearly instantly.

No! Twilight thought. I need time! She built a spell on her horn. I’ll make time! She drew on the connections she felt with her friends, like she had when she teleported the Solitare through the iceberg, and many times before that. Strength filled her.

Nightmare Moon moved toward her, spectacularly swift. “No you don’t!” Nightmare Moon yelled. She swept her scythe at Pinkie, forcing her to roll away, then spun Solstice toward Twilight. The spinning blade slashed at Twilight’s Stoneskin as she focused on the spell. Layer after layer bled away. Twilight closed her eyes.

Twilight sensed her last layer fall away. In the same instant, she finished her spell. What began as a Haste spell, she’d fashioned into so much more. Teeth gritted against anticipated pain, she cracked an eye open.

The edge of Solstice floated in the air less than half a hoofspan from her eye. Yelping, she stepped back, but the sound of her own voice failed to reach her ears. Slowly, ever so slowly, Solstice inched through the air. Behind it, Nightmare Moon glared, her fangs bared. PInkie Pie poised behind Nightmare Moon, frozen mid-stride, one hoof barely touching the ground, her mouth open in a silent scream.

“It worked!” Twilight cried. She plucked Solstice away from Nightmare Moon, capturing it in her own levitation. “It actually worked!” She’d practically stopped time. How long will it last? She strode forward and grabbed Celestial Fury, disentangling it from Truthseeker. Her gaze fell on Rainbow Dash.

Please be alive, she thought. She galloped to the monument and slid to a stop by Rainbow’s body. With a hoof, she lifted Rainbow’s mane out of the way. Her eyes were open, her mouth frozen mid gasp, a surge of blood flowing from the hole in her chest, but with time slowed so much, she had no way to tell for certain if Rainbow still lived. When she moved her hoof, Rainbow’s mane floated in the air. She could still feel the thread connecting them. It pulsed with life.

Furrowing her brows, Twilight took a couple steps toward Fluttershy, grabbed her with levitation, and drug her over, and eased her to a stop next to Rainbow Dash. That was it, Twilight realized. What I just did.

She focused on Nightmare Moon. I used the Elements of Harmony to cast that spell. She took a step toward Nightmare Moon. I’ve used them before, but to save her, I need something more. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. I can do this. She opened her eyes.

The Elements set things right, a voice in her mind told her.

She grasped Nightmare Moon’s scythe and impaled the spike at the base into the stone beside her. With Celestial Fury to her right, Solstice to her left, and Eclipse floating above her head, she stood directly behind Nightmare Moon. She focused inward, building the magical energy she felt coursing through the bonds with her friends. She brought all five threads together into one whole. Rainbow light swirled on her horn.

In an eyeblink, time came back. Truthseeker fell. Pinkie slid to a stop beside Twilight. Fluttershy stumbled next to Rainbow Dash. Nightmare Moon whirled to face her, her eyes wide.

“Be free,” Twilight said.

Swirling currents of magic flowed around Twilight Sparkle. The energy slowly lifted her off the floor. Nightmare Moon stared up at her, mouth agape. The rainbow eddies engulfed her friends, drawing them closer and lifting them around her. Fluttershy, eyes glowing brilliantly with green light, touched her hooves to Rainbow Dash as they were lifted, and Rainbow sucked in a gasp of air.

Twilight released the magic. She let it flow, wild and uncontained. Beams of rainbow light coursed from each of her friends and into her. She drew in a breath as they struck her. In that breath, she felt the web of life: countless souls, countless hopes, and countless dreams. Deep inside her, something screamed in a terrible fury. A rainbow wave drowned it.

In the metal plate on Nightmare Moon’s forehead, she glimpsed her reflection. Her eyes blazed with white light. Ethereal lavender wings stretched from her back. A crown with a five-pointed star rested on her head. A ray of rainbow light shot from her horn. It swirled around Nightmare Moon, engulfing her.

Twilight’s vision washed white.

Bright light shone through Twilight’s eyelids. She cracked her eyes open and lifted her head. The dawn's first rays shafted through a broken window. In front of her, in a pool of sunlight, a lanky dark blue Alicorn lay sprawled on her side. Smoking chunks of broken armor surrounded her.

Twilight pushed herself into a sitting position. “Luna?” she said.

Luna’s eyes shot open. Gasping, she lifted her head. She looked at Twilight and smiled. “This isn’t a dream.”

Twilight nodded. “It isn’t.”

“You did it, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight turned. Around Rainbow Dash’s neck hung an amulet set with a red gemstone in the shape of a lightning bolt. A hole in her armor was the only sign of her injury. The flesh beneath was whole, coat and all.

Her friends stood in a line. Each had their own amulet around their necks. They smiled at her.

“It’s really something,” Applejack said.

“For a second there, I thought we’d lost everything,” Rarity said.

Fluttershy nodded. “Rainbow Dash.”

Pinkie grinned. “But you did it, Twilight.”

“I didn’t believe... I didn’t think it was possible,” Luna said. “Even the part of me that was still free.”

Twilight turned back to Luna.

The Alicorn stood. In the flesh, Twilight barely had to look up to meet her eyes. A short mane of blue hair framed her face. “Azrael had sunken himself too deep, I thought.” She looked past Twilight and to her friends. “But you five saved her. You five made this moment reality.”

In a flash of light, as if stepping from the Sun itself, Celestia strode into the chamber, her white wings spread wide. Her ethereal mane and tail trailed behind her. She stopped short, glancing back and forth between Twilight Sparkle and Luna. “Luna,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

“Really?” Luna grinned. “A thousand years and that’s all you have to say?”

“I’m sorry,” Celestia said. “I should have—”

“Tia,” Luna said, walking up to Celestia. “Shut up.” She threw her forelegs around Celestia’s neck.

Celestia wrapped a long, slender leg around Luna’s body. She folded her wings. “I missed you, so, so very much.”

“The elements set her free,” Twilight said.

Celestia smiled softly at Twilight. Luna pulled away from the embrace and turned to face Twilight. “She’s not the only one they set free,” Celestia said. “You did it, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight glared at Celestia. “I’m still mad at you! All your lies! All your schemes!”

“What should I have done?” Celestia said. “Told you you were the Element of Magic?”

“Yes!” Twilight shouted.

“What if you weren’t?” Celestia said.

Twilight blinked. “What?”

“You weren’t born an Element. None of you were. Touched by the Elements, perhaps. But you became them. I mean, a certain degree of predisposition was involved. Natural tendencies, and in one case, phenomenal magical talent,” Celestia focused on Twilight. “You had to discover the magic for yourself. Azrael was betting he could stop that discovery, and I was betting on you.”

“Nightmare Moon told me the truth!” Twilight cried.

“Did she, or did she just confirm what you’d already figured out, but rejected?” Celestia sighed. “I’m sorry, Twilight. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I could have told you. If you had rejected your role though, long before you'd seen what you'd needed to, you might have aimed to kill my sister instead of free her, believing the task impossible. You wouldn’t have become what you could be. But letting you discover your role for yourself I believed would work, and it did. You have surpassed my wildest hopes, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight raised a brow. “What?”

Luna chuckled. “Feel anything different?” She spread her wings.

Twilight glanced over her shoulder. A pair of lavender wings sat folded on her back. Gasping, she reflexively flexed muscles she’d never had before. Her wings sprang open. She twirled, chasing them for a better look. “How?!”

“The same way Celestia and I became Alicorns, so very long ago,” Luna said. “We emerged from life, infused with its Harmony, normal ponies chosen by our actions and intentions to ascend.”

“I suspect Azrael’s essence held you back, but when you used the elements, it allowed your true self to shine through,” Celestia said.

“Wow,” Twilight said. With some effort, she managed to fold her wings. She smiled at her friends, then turned back to the Sisters. “I don’t deserve this.”

“Neither did we,” Luna said.

“My Sister and I have a lot to catch up on,” Celestia said. “I’ve sent an old friend to help you here. You six need to get to Canterlot as swiftly as possible. Shining Armor and Cadance on their way there, and they will find only danger. Spike will meet you there.” She turned. Her body faded, slowly vanishing. Sunlight passed through her. Beside her, Luna faded as well.

“Wait! Can’t you teleport us there through the Celestial Plane?” Twilight said.

Luna glanced over her shoulder. “Can’t you teleport?” With that, both Alicorns faded into the Sunlight.

Twilight raised her hoof. “I need a gateway— and they’re gone. Great.”

“And we’re stuck in a ruined castle in the middle of the Everfree forest.” Applejack grinned. “So what now, Princess?”

Twilight groaned and pressed a hoof to her forehead. “Don’t call me that.”

“Why not?” Pinkie said. She bounced up, stopping directly in front of Twilight. “You even got a crown!”

Twilight snatched at her head with a hoof. An object fell off. She caught it in her magic. A tiara adorned with an enormous, star-shaped gemstone that perfectly matched her Mark floated in front of her. She furrowed her brows. An empty, magical space yawned within the gemstone. It could store a Contingency or a Sequencer, but far more powerful than any Solstice or her necklace could contain.

Twilight shook her head. “Why couldn’t I just get a nice necklace like the rest of you?” She tucked it into a saddlebag. Fortunately, she still felt the connection to the gemstone.

“Your wings are sweet!” Rainbow Dash said. She leaned in close to Twilight’s side. “Nice, straight primaries. Fantastic span. I can’t wait to teach you to fly!”

“I feel weird,” Twilight said. “This is all so much, so fast.” She touched her chest with a hoof. “I don’t feel any different.” She glanced at her friends. “Shouldn’t I feel more powerful?”

Rarity shrugged. “Maybe? You were kind of powerful to start with.”

Twilight turned. She looked out the window and into the impenetrable green forest. “I guess we sit back and wait for Celestia’s ‘friend’ to show up.”

“Without all the Nightmares,” Fluttershy said, “this place is kind of nice.” She shuddered. “For a creepy old castle.”

Twilight yawned. “You know what? I could really use an eight hour nap.”

“Alicorns need sleep?” Applejack said.

Twilight fell back onto her haunches. “Guess so.” She stared out at the golden disk of the Sun cresting over the treetops. Birdsong filled the air. “I woke up to an angry mob this morning. Or was it last night?” She shrugged. “Now I’ve got wings. Quite a day.”

Rainbow Dash grinned. “I almost died.”

“Good work with that,” Rarity quipped. “You tried rushing a Goddess.”

“Hey, it woulda worked on Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash. “Hey!”

Pinkie shrugged. “She’s got a point.”

“Enough!” Twilight shouted. “I’m going to bed!” Huffing, she stood and walked off to find a nice dark space to lay her bedroll. The thought of the Slayer almost gave her pause, but she didn’t feel the hungry emptiness she’d felt. Whatever the Elements of Harmony had done to her, they’d freed her from the Slayer.

As she lay her head to rest, she wondered, What am I?

I’m a Shadowspawn. I’m an Alicorn. I have walked on the black plain of the Abyss with the Aspect of Chaos and spoken to the Sun while I stood on the sky. In my nightmares, I have seen God. I saved the Moon. I beat the darkness within me and rose into the light of the Elements of Harmony.

I am Magic.

Magic

Twilight Sparkle stood with her hooves at the lip of a stone ledge. She held her chin up, and her eyes closed. A gust of wind rippled through her mane and the feathers of her newfound wings. Gradually, she eased them open. She could feel the air, the way it moved, the way it lifted. She leaned forward.

“What’re you doing?” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight’s eyes shot open. A chasm cut into the ground at the edge of the ruins yawned beneath her. Yelping, she scrambled back from the ledge. Her rear hoof failed to find footing, and she fell backward onto her rump. Wincing, she picked herself up. She’d fallen off the thick crenelated wall of one of the ruined towers.

“If you jumped, I would’ve had to catch you,” Rainbow Dash said dryly.

Twilight glanced over at Rainbow Dash. The pegasus folded her wings. She must have just landed on top of the tower. “I could have cast Stoneskin before I hit the ground. I wouldn’t have felt a thing.”

“That’s not how you felt last time I caught you.”

“Last time I was spell-depleted,” Twilight said. She turned back to the wall and looked over it, out into the Everfree Forest. Sunlight played on the broad green leaves of the canopy. With another gust of wind, a flock of birds took to the air, their plumage a fluttering mix of red and blue.

“Just do me a favor and don’t practice on your own,” Rainbow Dash said.

“I didn’t come up here to practice,” Twilight said.

Rainbow chuckled. “Really? Then why were you about two seconds from a long fall and a short stop?”

“That kind of... happened.” Twilight said. She ran a hoof along the top of the wall. “I climbed up for a better view, and the wind felt so good.”

“Heh, airsick ground-hugger,” Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight shot a glare over her shoulder at Rainbow Dash. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Rainbow Dash smiled. She stepped up and leaned on the ledge beside Twilight. “Well, according to an old pegasus tale, once upon a time there was a pegasus born a cripple. She lived on the ground, believing himself never able to fly. But, a cleric happened upon him, and out of the kindness of her heart, healed the cripple.”

“You’re the last pony I’d expect to try and get a point across through a fable,” Twilight said.

“Hey, let me finish,” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “Anyways, she healed the cripple. He goes to a clifftop to feel the wind, gets airsick, jumps, and splat! The end.” She tapped Twilight’s wing with a hoof. “Your wings think you’re ready.” She tapped Twilight’s head. “But your mind is so used to being on the ground that it doesn’t know how to ride the air.”

“Let me guess, this is a story pegasi tell their young to keep them from trying to fly without being taught?” Twilight said.

“Nah,” Rainbow Dash said. “Pegasi foals can fly about as soon as they can walk. It’s actually easy for them, because they're so light. The middle years can get a little tough, and advanced skills have to be learned, but it’s mostly instinctive. The moral of the story is that Castouts can never come back.”

Twilight grimaced. “I see.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Somepony has to stop the storms that roll out of the Everfree, and it’s pretty hard to live in Cloudsdale if you can’t fly.”

Twilight looked out over the forest. “Well, maybe it’ll get better now that we’ve dealt with Nightmare Moon. It already seems brighter.”

“But still pretty wild,” Rainbow Dash said. “The Everfree is just... different. The other places we’ve been that ponies don’t go to, the Frozen North and the Badlands, are empty and lifeless. This place is chock full of life.”

Twilight nodded. Another gust of wind kicked up, tossing her and Rainbow’s manes. She blew a stray strand out of her face. “Anyways,” Twilight said, “I think I figured out where we are.”

“Oh?” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yep. The Palace of the Royal Sisters. Celestia and Luna used to live here, in the center of the Everfree Forest,” Twilight said. “Which means, no matter which direction we go, we’ve got a roughly equally long walk through dangerous territory.”

“Hold up,” Rainbow Dash said, pointing out into the forest with a hoof. “Who’s that?”

A figure in a brown cloak moved through a stretch of long grass growing in front of the treeline on the far side of the chasm. She approached a crumbling stone bridge. Twilight squinted. “Celestia’s friend, maybe? Let’s go find out.” She turned toward the spiral steps that led down the tower.

Rainbow Dash caught her shoulder. “Not that way, we’re gliding down.”

Twilight shook her head. “No, I think the stairs will do.”

“Come on,” Rainbow Dash said, pulling her toward a part of the tower’s wall that had crumbled away. “Gliding is easy. You just lock your wings, and drift on down.”

Twilight nickered, but let Rainbow Dash pull her along. She neared the edge of the tower. Her hooves reached where the masonry crumbled away. She looked down at the overgrown courtyard far below. Her stomach jumped into her throat.

“No way!” Twilight said, digging her hooves in.

Rainbow Dash grinned and stepped back. “Okay, fine.”

Twilight took a deep breath and turned away from the edge. Rainbow Dash spread her wings and smirked. “What?” Twilight said. Her eyes widened. “Dash, don’t you dare—”

The blast of wind from Rainbow Dash’s wingblades hit her full force. She tumbled backwards, head over hooves, off the tower. Her breath left her as acceleration took over. She twisted in the air and snapped her wings open. The rushing air wrenched at them, driving spikes of pain into her shoulders, but her tumble stopped, and she leveled off.

“See, easy!” Rainbow Dash said, gliding at her side.

Twilight blinked, expecting to have to squint at the wind in her face, but found it didn’t bother her. She looked to the side. The primary feathers on her wing spread, wide open to catch the air. Experimentally, she twitched them. Her wing dipped, then leveled out again. The courtyard sped past beneath. From the ground, Pinkie grinned up at her and waved.

“So, we’re going to bank right,” Rainbow Dash said. “Just lower the tip of your right wing.”

Twilight nodded. She moved her feathers again and dipped the leading edge of her wing. The air flowed around her, and partially, she willed herself to bank right, like when she used her innate levitation magic. The air responded, easing her into a turn. She glanced at Rainbow Dash, smiling.

Rainbow smiled back. “Alright, eyes on me. Don’t look—”

Twilight looked forward. The wall of a building rushed toward her. She yelped, focus shattered. Her wingtip plummeted. The world spun. She closed her eyes and cast Stoneskin.

She heard the crack of impact when she hit the wall, but didn’t feel it. She fell backwards, her wings trailing out behind her. Brambles crunched beneath her. Her back hit the ground, and she came to a complete stop. Vegetation entangled her wings.

“Ugh,” Twilight said, opening her eyes. She pulled Solstice out of its sheath at her side and slashed away the brambles. Hooffalls signaled a pony’s approach.

Applejack poked her head into the bush. “You okay, Twi?”

Twilight took another swing, cutting her left wing free. “Tell Rainbow she’s crazy.” She climbed to her feet and stepped out of the brambles. She touched her chest, wondering how many layers she had left in her Stoneskin. Only two impacts, she thought, but she had no way of telling how many layers the brambles had broken as she crashed through them.

Applejack chuckled. “Well, there’s a zebra here to see you.”

Twilight sat beneath a willow tree, near the same overgrown fountain she’d found Rainbow Dash at the night before. Zecora sat across from her, brown hood thrown back, and a steaming cup of tea in her hooves. She held it out to Twilight.

Twilight eyed the cup. “I think I’ll pass.”

Zecora smiled. She set the tea on a flat stone between them. “Later, I think you will decide to drink.”

“So, what’s this about?” Twilight asked.

“She sent me to guide you. To show you the way through,” Zecora said.

Twilight raised a brow. “Through the Everfree?”

Zecora shook her head. “A path swifter than that. A way beyond where you are at.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I can’t teleport, if that’s what you’re talking about. I could make a gateway here, but I doubt I could connect through to any of the Grey Wizard’s gateways.”

Zecora shrugged, sipping from her own cup of tea in her hooves. “A wizard, I am not. Although, I thought you could use your own domain, not unlike the celestial plane.”

Twilight furrowed her brows. She stared at the moss covered stone between her forehooves. “My own domain...” I teleported Candlekeep there. “Ah!” she cried. “I just need to figure out how to get back there!”

“Think fast,” Zecora said. “Before too much time has passed.”

“Why the rush?” Twilight said. “I was thinking of staying here another day. We’ve been through a lot.”

Zecora gestured at the cup of tea on the stone between them.

Twilight picked it up in her levitation. “What’s this going to make me see?” Not waiting for an answer, she brought the cup to her lips and took a gulp.

Smoke clogged the sky. A mix of ash and snow flurried through the air, falling around where Twilight stood in the middle of a narrow street. Flames raged in a burning building beside her. Shadows crept past her. They flitted between patches of darkness, wearing the skins of ponies.

Twilight rushed down the street, following the shadows. The narrow, winding causeway terminated in a plaza where five streets met. Two ponies stood in the center of the plaza. An alicorn, and a stallion with a silver shield. They both looked up at something, and Twilight followed their gaze.

A towering figure with a blazing sword approached down one on the streets. On its head was a crown of fire. Its sides scraped the buildings. From its sword, it shot a ray of fire. The stallion raised his shield.

Twilight blinked, clearing her eyes. The scattered fragments of a shattered teacup lay on the weathered stones in front of her. Zecora watched her.

“Was that now!” Twilight shouted.

Zecora nodded.

Less than thirty seconds later, Twilight stood with her friends gathered in a huddle around her. “Stay close,” she said. Magic built on the tip of her horn. Brilliant overglow coursed around her horn. Closing her eyes against the brightness, she released the spell. With her power, she drove a path through the barriers between planes. With her, she pulled five threads.

Twilight opened her eyes. Her friends looked up, blinking. They stood in front of Candlekeep’s gates in the Abyss. Empty, blank plains surrounded them, stretching into the distance. “Stay with me,” Twilight said. “Pinkie, rear. AJ, Fluttershy, right. Rainbow, Rarity, left. I’ll take front.”

Her friends nodded She repeated the spell, a modified teleport, and focused on the individuals in the plaza in Canterlot, Shining Armor and Cadance. Breaking back through to the Prime Material was more difficult than the first casting had been. She drew on the Elements.

With a violent crack, Twilight landed in a crouch. Her hooves crunched in a layer of soot-darkened snow. Rainbow light swirled around her. She looked up. A Pit Fiend towered over her. As it emerged onto the plaza, it drug its sword through a building. Fire exploded throughout the structure. Chunks of masonry rained around Twilight.

“Break,” Twilight said. Her friends moved away from her. She triggered the sequencer in her necklace. Improved Haste slowed the world around her.

Twilight drew her swords, Celestial Fury to her right, Solstice to her left, Eclipse poised above her head. “You stand between me and my prey, little pony,” a voice said, thundering in her mind and through the air around her. The Pit Fiend gazed down at her with its four red eyes through the slits in its faceplate. A terrifying shadow fell over her mind, but it was familiar. This time, she carried Eclipse.

Twilight Sparkle smiled. She spread her wings and took a step forward. “Three seconds.” Until you die.

“What?!” The Pit Fiend said. Twilight pictured sprinting toward its hooves. She poised.

The Pit Fiend moved in response, It leveled its sword at her, and began to close its claw-blade wings in front of itself to block her path. Twilight focused on a point directly in front of its head.

Quicker than ever before, Twilight brought a Dimension Door spell to completion. From its sword, the Pit Fiend shot a blazing ray of flame at her, but long before it could reach her, she teleported. She appeared in the air, less than three hoofspans away from the demon’s blazing crown.

She plunged Celestial Fury into the Fiend’s forehead until the blade’s hilt lodged against the armored plate. As she fell, she ripped it free. Sizzling black blood flew into the air, trailing after the blade in an arc. The Pit Fiend fell with her, its body limp. The glow in its eyes faded.

As she plummeted toward the street, a second Pit Fiend burst from the wall of the burning building. Flaming debris flew through the air around her. A chunk struck her, shattering a layer of Stoneskin. A second story window across from the burning building neared. She snapped her wings open.

Her feathers caught air. With all the momentum from her fall, she shot through the window, forehooves extended. The shutters shattered when she hit. As she rolled on the floorboards beyond the window, she hit a table, sending the objects on it flying, and tipping it on its side. Her breath left her as the shock shot through her ribcage. The Contingency in Solstice fired instantly, protecting her with another Stoneskin.

I guess I only had two layers left, she thought. Hooking a foreleg around one of the table legs, she picked herself up with groan. A pot clattered on the floor as she bumped it, watery stew still spilling onto the floor from within it. Wooden bowls and bits of carrots and potatoes lay strewn on the floor around her. She heard a gasp.

She focused on the source of the sound. Huddled in a back corner up against a cupboard, a mare sat with her forelegs wrapped around two foals. She locked eyes with Twilight.

Any second, a blazing sword meant for her would pass through the wall and sweep the second story, turning the mare and her foals to ash. Immediately, Twilight began a casting of Time Stop. Her horn flared with power. The wall exploded inward. With a flash, her spell completed.

Where the wall used to be, frozen flames swept back to reveal an obsidian edge. Shattered fragments of wood floated in the air. Twilight blinked. Everything moved even slower than the last time she’d used the spell. Improved Haste, she realized. The effects are compounding. She stopped next to the family. With Solstice, she sliced a ring through the floor beneath them. They would fall a story, but hopefully escape the blade. I should have twice as long as I did against Nightmare Moon.

She pressed against the back wall. The Pit Fiend’s four red eyes stared at her through the window. She sprang forward, sprinting for the window. As she neared, she jumped up, pushed off the windowsill with her forehooves, and launched herself into the air. She opened her wings, catching air, and managed to turn enough to glide past the Pit Fiend’s head.

Hooves outstretched, she hooked the base of one of the Pit Fiend’s wings. She jerked to a stop and planted her three free hooves on the Pit Fiend’s back. Careful to keep her footing, she turned to face the intersection.

In the center of the plaza, Shining Armor stood next to Cadance, his armor gleaming in the firelight, and his shield raised high. Her friends fanned around them. Dozens of Skinstealers, some in their true forms, and some wearing the skins of dead ponies, covered the plaza to the rear and to the left. To the right, a third Pit Fiend stood frozen mid-step. It was a trap with one jaw made of Pit Fiends and the other from Skinstealers. Somepony really wants Cadance dead, Twilight thought

Applejack faced the Pit Fiend, eyes wide. The Pit Fiend’s gaze is getting to her, Twilight thought. On the opposite side of the plaza from Applejack, Rainbow Dash streaked through the air, her wings angled in a dive. She plunged toward the swarm of Skinstealers on the left side.

Focusing, Twilight launched a Fireball. She targeted a point to the rear, on the opposite side of the plaza from her own position, and well beyond Pinkie. The red spark launched from her horn, then froze in the air. Twilight followed with a second Fireball, finding the recovery time she needed between spells much shorter than before the encounter with Nightmare Moon.

Twilight turned to face the back of the Pit Fiend’s neck. With Celestial Fury, she took a swing. The first strike buried nearly halfway through. She pulled the blade free and swung twice more before her blade passed through.

She flicked Celestial Fury through the air as she turned back to the third Pit Fiend. The black blood slid off the blade, then stopped in the air in a frozen arc. How do I deal with you? Twilight wondered. Pit Fiends had a resistance to magic far beyond any lesser demon. She furrowed her brows. I wonder how many Magic Missiles I can cast before Time Stop ends.

One after another, she cast the five Magic Missile spells she’d prepared. Each time she finished a casting, five lavender orbs burst from her horn, then slowed to a near-stop. That should do it, she thought, eyeing the twenty-five frozen orbs. One of her hooves started to slip on the Pit Fiend’s back. She shifted, regaining her footing. Now what?

For a moment, Twilight waited.

Time came back. The Pit Fiend lurched beneath her, falling, its severed head separating from its neck. Its sword extinguished, but the momentum it held carried it deeper into the structure until it lodged in the second story. Her two fireballs launched into the air. A swarm of magic missiles shot toward the third Pit Fiend. The red sparks impacted amongst the Skinstealers. Twin bursts of fire covered the far end of the plaza.

At nearly the same moment, a rainbow shockwave rolled off Rainbow Dash. With all the force of a Rainboom, she smashed into the the Skinstealers on the left side of the plaza. The crack rang in Twilight’s ears.

Twenty-five orbs of concussive force impacted the third Pit Fiend. More than half burst harmlessly on its red hide and black armored plates, absorbed by magic resistance, but the rest passed into it. It stumbled, its focus on Applejack broken.

The body Twilight rode hit the ground, launching her onto the cobblestones. She tumbled, a layer of her Stoneskin shattering, and came to rest next to where the first Pit Fiend had fallen. She lifted her head, just in time to see Applejack buck Truthseeker into the third Pit Fiend’s forehead.

Twilight glanced at the first Pit Fiend’s lifeless eyes. Black blood still oozed from a hole in the center of its armored face. “I did warn you.”

A Skinstealer with singed wings and a broken leg crawled away from Twilight. Trotting, she caught up to it. She swiped with Celestial Fury and severed through its black carapace. Two separate chunks of its body fell to the ground.

Nearby, Truthseeker cracked. “That’s all of ‘em,” Rainbow Dash shouted from above.

Twilight looked around the plaza. Bodies, ponies, and the demons they’d dispatched with Celestial Fury and Truthseeker littered the ground. A mix of snow flurries and smoky haze filled the air. A slurry of half-melted snow mixed with ash and blood ran in the gutters. Black mist from the dissolving Skinstealer bodies flowed over the ground. Craters marred the surface of the plaza. After her Fireballs, and Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom, only a few wounded Skinstealers had remained.

“Good work everypony!” Twilight called.

Stepping over bodies, Shining Armor approached her. He stopped a few paces away. “I don’t believe it... I thought we were dead. How?”

“Magic,” Twilight said. She trotted forward, brushing past Shining Armor. “Cadance? Are you okay?”

Cadance stared at an expanding patch of blood on the snow. She took a step back to keep it from touching her hooves and nodded vigorously. “I’m alright.”

“What in Equestria is happening here?!” Twilight said.

“You know more than we do,” Shining Armor said. “A group of Grey Wizards was escorting us to a meeting when those things showed up.” He nodded at the Pit Fiends. “Our carriage tipped. We ran. They herded us here.” He shook his head. “Hell of a Hearth’s Warming.”

Twilight turned back to Shining Armor. “Somepony is trying to kill one or both of you. Any idea who?”

Shining Armor shrugged. “No idea. You don’t know?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Really?” Shining Armor said. “We stopped by Ponyville on the way here, and word was you’d left for Canterlot about a month ago.” He paused, staring at her. “Why do you have—”

“Wings?” Twilight said. “Magic. I don’t really know what to think about it yet either.” She glanced around the plaza. At the moment, the five surrounding streets were empty. Won’t be like that for long, she thought.

Rainbow Dash touched down beside Twilight. “I see shapes moving in the streets. Can’t make them out through the smoke, but there could be more.”

Twilight looked at Rainbow and nodded. “We need to move.” And I know just the place to go. She turned to Canterlot Castle to get her bearings. Only the silhouette of the structure was visible through the smoke. She pointed down the street where she’d killed the first two Pit Fiends. “Rarity, that way will take us to the docks right?”

Rarity nodded. “I think so, if my memory serves.”

“Why the docks?” Shining Armor said. “Shouldn’t we be getting out of the city?”

“Two reasons,” Twilight said. “There’s a pony there who’s bound to have information, and I have unfinished business to take care of.” She glanced over her shoulder. “Rarity, Fluttershy, Shining, stick to Cadance. I’ll lead. AJ, cover our rear. Rainbow, be our eyes. Pinkie, back me up.”

Rainbow Dash launched herself into the air. Around her, her friends moved into place. Twilight trotted forward, toward the two giant demon corpses. Black smoke billowed from the buildings on both sides of the street, making the air particularly thick. She squinted. Three shapes moved in the smoke, one the size of a pony, the other two the size of foals. They made it, she thought. Good. She coughed.

Shining Armor stamped down a hoof on the stone, drawing her attention. Twilight turned. “We need to get out of the city,” he said.

Behind him, Fluttershy’s eyes flared with magic. A bubble of clear air pulsed out from her and pushed back the smoke. Twilight narrowed her eyes at Shining Armor. “You have two options. Stick with us, or we take Cadance and leave you behind,” Twilight said.

“Over my dead body!” Shining Armor shouted.

Twilight flared her wings and took a step toward Shining Armor. “You. Are. Not. My. Friend.” Bile rose in her throat. Just give me a reason, she thought. “For months I chased you. For months I dreamed of the power I hold now. Power that would make you helpless before me.”

Twilight glared at Shining Armor. “Do you know what it’s like to stand there helpless, watching? Do you have any idea how much you hurt me?” She paused, folded her wings, and took a deep breath. “If your dead body is what it takes, gladly. I won’t leave Cadance to die, and I won’t be second-guessed by you.”

“Shining, Twilight, please,” Cadance said. “Let’s stick together.”

Shining Armor gave a fraction of a nod.

Snorting, Twilight turned away from him, and trotted down the path she’d chosen. “Apparently, we didn’t stamp out the Skinstealers last time we were here. Anypony could be one, so stay ready.”

As they neared the docks, the smoke thinned, giving way to the sea breeze. They found the streets strangely empty, especially for a day of celebration like Hearth’s Warming. A few ponies down winding side-streets at their approach. Shutters closed, and doors bolted when they neared.

“This is eerie,” Rarity said.

Beside Twilight, Pinkie’s left eye twitched. “Something strange is going on.”

Rainbow Dash swooped in, kicking up flurries of snow as she landed. “Got something up ahead. Some kind of barrier.” She looked up. “That, and Wonderbolts.”

Overhead, four pegasi flying in a lopsided V and trailing stormclouds shot past. They swooped back around, coming in low along the street. Twilight drew her swords and stepped forward.

The Wonderbolts braked sharply, looping up and outward. After shedding their speed, they hovered down and landed in the street a good distance away from Twilight. “Easy!” a mare shouted. “We don’t want a fight.”

Twilight smirked. “I guess they remember us.” She strode forward, letting the tips of her swords drop, but keeping them drawn.

Rainbow shrugged. “Or they remember you.”

“Come closer, on the ground! You take off, I start slinging spells!” Twilight shouted.

The four Wonderbolts advanced. “We just came to talk!” The mare shouted. She lifted her goggles onto her forehead and ran a hoof through her fiery orange mane. As she neared, Twilight recognized her.

“Spitfire, right?” Twilight said. She stopped. Less than ten paces separated her and the Wonderbolts.

The mare nodded. “Right.”

“What happened? Did the Grey Wizards stop wanting to kill me, or did you stop doing what they told you to?” Twilight asked.

“Mix of both,” Spitfire said. “Thirty minutes ago Thieves Guild informants spotted you in town. The Grey Wizards and the Grey Fox tripped over each other trying to panic first. They sent me out to find you.”

Twilight sheathed her swords. “Just to find me?”

Spitfire nodded. “And report back.”

“So why are we talking right now?” Twilight said.

“I think the odds are better for my team if we’re on good terms,” Spitfire said. She dropped down, kneeling. The other Wonderbolts followed her lead.

Twilight furrowed her brows and glanced at her shoulder. She’d thought her cloak was doing a decent job of hiding her wings.

“You and the Crystal Princess,” Spitfire said. “We owe you our allegiance.”

“Rise,” Cadance said, shaking her head. “This is exactly what I was coming here to try and prevent.”

Spitfire stood up. “Canterlot needs a leader, Princess. Not the Grey Wizards, not the Grey Fox, and certainly not King Sombra.”

“Wait,” Twilight said. “King Sombra?”

Spitfire shrugged. “It’s what he calls himself.”

“Elaborate,” Twilight said. “What’s going on. What did I miss?”

“After the incident with you, the Grey Wizards and the Thieves Guild became very close.” Spitfire said. “Even though they tried to keep it under wraps, but everypony knew something had happened to their magic. They needed to work with the Thieves Guild to keep order.” She shook her head and looked down. “There were all sorts of rumors. Demons that would come and suck your life in the night. Ponies that weren’t ponies. Everypony was scared.”

Spitfire raised her head and looked up at Canterlot Castle. “Then King Sombra showed up. The Demons, the Thieves Guild calls them Skinstealers, followed him. He took the castle and declared himself ruler of the Crystal Empire. Killed most of the Grey Wizards. All the ones that are left are holed up in the Thieves Guild compound.” She nodded toward Cadance. “He stole the Gates from the Grey Wizards. He probably tried to kill the Princess.”

Sombra has some of the essence Trixie stole from me and Pinkie, Twilight thought. There’s no telling what he’s capable of. “Alright, stay here. I’m going to pay Fancy Pants a visit.”

“Who?” Spitfire said.

“The Grey Fox.” Twilight turned to her friends. “Everypony hold tight. Rarity, come with me.”

Rarity stepped forward. “Just the two of us?”

Twilight nodded. She formed a spell, and touched her glowing horn to Rarity. A shroud of invisibility fell over the white unicorn. “In a moment, you won’t be able to see me, but I’ll be able to see you. I’ll follow you. Head into the mansion, then stop in the hallway outside of Fancy Pant’s Office. I’ll pass you in the hallway, and deal with him. Don’t try to do anything. If anything goes wrong, hide. The form of Invisibility I’ve cast on you is fragile. Shooting your bow, for example, would definitely break it.”

Shrouded in invisibility, and hidden with Non-Detection, Twilight trotted after Rarity’s white form. With Truesight, she could see her invisible friend clearly. They’d easily slipped past the barricade the Thieves Guild had set up in the street, and a second closer to the Mansion. As a pony passed through the front door of the mansion, Rarity moved to slip inside with him, but stopped short. She took a step back, away from two guards posted outside the door.

Twilight approached from behind Rarity. She stopped with her muzzle close to Rarity’s ear and tapped her gently on the shoulder. “What?” she whispered as quietly as she could.

“Trap, Alarm. If I step across the threshold, I’ll set it off,” Rarity whispered back.

“Alright, sit tight. You should be able to slip in in a moment,” Twilight said, not even bothering to whisper.

With a wave of levitation magic, Twilight blasted the doors open. Unlike the spell she’d used on Rarity, her own Invisibility would keep her hidden. A sound like a ringing bell filled the air. The glowing forms of the two guards jumped in surprise.

Before they could react, Twilight swept between them. She turned left and headed for the hallway to Fancy Pants office. The well-muscled stallion she’d met the first time she’d been in the mansion, Bouncer, stepped off the wall to block the door to Fancy Pant’s office. “Who’s there!” he shouted.

Twilight snatched him in her levitation and dashed him against the wall. He fell in a heap, blood gushing from his nose. She stepped over him and smashed the door open, shattering the hinges. With a start, the ponies inside snapped their gaze to the open door.

Twilight stepped through. With her Truesight, she instantly identified every glowing form in the room. Fancy Pants sat behind his desk. Two Grey Wizards stood to his left. To his right, Fleur De Lis sat on the desk, leaning back on one outstretched foreleg. She started to move.

In one fluid motion, Twilight drew Eclipse and thrust at Fleur's head. The blade lanced clean through. Twilight pulled the blade free as the body slumped, brilliant red lifeblood clinging to the tip. She drew Solstice and Celestial Fury, leveling them at the Grey Wizards. “Try it,”

“Shit!” Fancy Pants said, jumping out of his chair as Fleur’s body fell toward him.

Twilight let her invisibility drop.

“It’s you!” One of the Grey Wizards said. She took a step forward, toward her blade. “Come to finish the job, Deathmage?”

Twilight glared at her. “Why not?” she asked. “How many ponies did you kill to have those Pit Fiends at your call? How much blood is on your hooves?”

“Those Gates were more than a century old!” the Grey WIzard said. “And your master seemed eager enough to use them.”

Twilight blinked. “My master?” She chuckled. “Wait, you think I’m working with Sombra?”

“You’re not?” the mare said. She shook her head. “He said you’d given him the Crystal Heart. He thanked us for sending you his way.”

“Not by choice,” Twilight said. She eyed the mare. “We don’t have to be enemies.”

“You killed so many of us! Apprentices and masters!” the Grey Wizard shouted.

Twilight nodded. “I did.” She took a step forward, into the the office, and let the points of her swords drop. “All you needed to do to stop the bloodshed was give me my friend.” She advanced a step, glaring at Fancy Pants. “And you! You stabbed me in the back!”

Fancy Pants cringed behind the high back of his chair. “I’m sorry!” he said. “Fleur told me you were too unstable, too dangerous.”

Twilight ripped the desk out of the way. Ink and paper scattered as it flipped onto its top. “Don’t blame her!” Twilight shouted. “I was desperate, and you took advantage of me!” She threw aside his chair and leveled the bloody point of Eclipse at him. “I should kill you too.”

Fancy Pants swallowed audibly. “It was business! Not personal!”

Twilight snorted. “I should kill you, but you’re useful.” She glanced over her shoulder. Rarity’s glowing form stood in the hallway. “Rarity, come on in here.”

As Rarity stepped into the office, Twilight canceled the spell keeping her invisible. “Here’s how this is going to work. You’re going to do what Rarity tells you,” she gestured at Fleur’s body with Eclipse, “or you’ll get what you deserve.”

She turned to the Grey Wizards. “As for you, your order has a choice. I intend to kill Sombra and return stability to Canterlot by putting Princess Cadance on the throne.” She extended her hoof. “Work with me. Let’s stop the bloodshed.”

The glowing form of the Grey Wizard who’d confronted her flickered in hesitation. After a moment, she took Twilight’s offered hoof. “We were trying to get the Princess here. We heard she was ambushed. What happened?”

“She was, by your Pit Fiends.” Twilight said. “I saved her.” She frowned. “How many Gates did you have?”

“Seven,” the Grey Wizard said. “All from relics from the days of the Platinum Dynasty. We used one in desperation to try and get the Fragment back.”

“Sombra used three,” Twilight said. “Three left.” She turned to exit. She stopped beside Rarity and patted her on the shoulder. “I’m going to get our friends.” She winked at Rarity, then nodded toward Fancy Pants. “If he gives you any trouble, let me know.”

Rarity winked back. “I will.” She leaned close and whispered to Twilight. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“We’re going to need the Thieves Guild’s resources.” Twilight whispered.

“I meant putting me in charge,” Rarity whispered.

Twilight smiled and stepped past Rarity. “You’ll be fine. Do what you think is right.”

On a third story balcony, Twilight rested her forelegs on a railing covered in snow. Smoke rose from Canterlot, fed by multiple fires. Her breath misted in the chill air, mixing with steam rising from a mug of warm tea floating in her levitation. She took a sip. Over the rim of the mug, she stared up at the castle. Out of the smoke in the city, she could see its outline more clearly. Jagged black crystals jutted from the towers.

Behind her, a door opened and closed. She glanced over her shoulder. Shining Armor stepped out onto the balcony with her. She frowned.

Shining Armor sighed and leaned on the railing beside her. It creaked as he rested his hooves on it, protesting his stature and armor. After a moment of silence, he said, “I do know.”

With a hoof, Twilight pushed some snow off the railing, clearing herself more space. “I came out here to be alone for a moment,” she said.

“I know what it’s like to be helpless,” Shining Armor said. “You were too young to remember the night Star Swirl found you. I wasn’t.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes and took another sip of tea.

“I was small, alone, and weak when my world crumbled around me. My own mother wanted to see me sacrificed to you.”

Twilight’s ears perked. “Sacrificed to me?”

Shining Armor nodded. “The cultists seemed to think you were Azrael reborn. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was Star Swirl that came with fire and saved my life. And I had to live, one little colt against the streets of Manehatten.”

It’s what Azrael wanted me to be, Twilight thought. She glanced at Shining Armor. “Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” she said. “He tried to find you.”

Shining Armor’s jaw tensed. “I hid. I didn’t understand what was happening. I was terrified.” He shook his head. “No, you aren’t supposed to feel sorry for me. But maybe, if you understood what I saw all those years later, the voice of the pony that turned my parents to ash standing between me and the pony I was meant to be sacrificed to, you’d understand why I did what I did.”

“Understanding isn’t the problem,” Twilight muttered. She sighed and rubbed her temple with a hoof. “Shining, I get it. I do. I know why it happened. I know why you killed him.” She swallowed. “That doesn’t mean I can let it go.”

Shining Armor looked up at the layer of grey clouds hovering above Canterlot. Patches of blue shone through. The pegasi that must have moved the snowfall into place were nowhere to be seen. “I know.” He rubbed his hooves together. “And I’m glad it was you. I’m glad, if it had to be one of us, that Star Swirl found you and not me. I’m glad Celestia watched over you. Because, if it had been me that had the pony I cared about most taken away from me, I would have stopped at nothing to kill the pony that did it.” He turned to look at Twilight. “I certainly wouldn’t have saved him.”

What is forgiveness? Twilight thought. “Celestia was wrong,” she murmured. I saved you when I could have killed you. She stared down at her hooves folded on the railing. “I’m sorry I can’t accept you, and I’m sorry I can’t let go, butI do forgive you.” She pushed off the railing and turned to face Shining Armor. “How do you not hate me? I had it easy, safe in Candlekeep. And you—”

“Met Cadance,” Shining Armor said. “And you just saved us, again.” He smiled. “I don’t know how you got to Canterlot, and I don’t know how or why you have wings, but I’m glad you do, and I’m glad we’re on the same side.”

“We should be more than just on the same side.” Twilight looked back out over the city. “We should have been family.”

“I know,” Shining Armor said. “And it’s my fault.”

“No!” Twilight shook her head. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t ask to be born so close to me. You didn’t ask to be my brother.”

Shining Armor reached out and touched her shoulder with a hoof. She stiffened. “What’re you talking about, Twilight?”

Twilight brushed his hoof away with her magic and turned to the door. I’m the reason you’re a Shadowspawn, Twilight thought. Azrael was after the Element of Magic, and you got caught up in it. She pulled open the balcony door. “Forget it,” she said. “We’ve got bigger things to worry about."

Twilight approached the desk in the Grey Fox’s office. Rarity, Fancy Pants, and one of the Grey Wizards leaned over it. Cups of tea floated in levitation fields. Rarity gestured with her hoof at the map spread on the desk. “We need to move into the city. We can’t just let the Skinstealers run amok.”

Twilight glanced at the carpet. All that remained of Fleur was a red stain. Did I do the right thing? Is loyalty gained through fear worth having?

“The shapeshifters are everywhere,” the Grey Wizard said. “The only way we’ve been able to protect ourselves so far is by securing the docks and keeping everypony else out.”

“We don’t really know what’s going on in the city,” Fancy Pants said. “I can’t imagine this Sombra would be after their lives, it would leave him nothing left to rule.”

Twilight cleared her throat.

All eyes in the room turned to her. “I’m going to fight Sombra tomorrow, after I’ve gotten some rest, and I’m going to do it alone.” Rarity opened her mouth, and Twilight held up a hoof. “I need the five of you to stay here, deal with the Skinstealers, and save the city.” She moved up to the map. “Rarity is right. We need to protect ponies. All I have are guesses, but I think they need an unoccupied body to summon more of them into our plane.” She looked up at the ponies around her. “If I’m right, each pony we let them have becomes one of them.”

At the sound of Pinkie Pie snorting in the doorway, Twilight’s ears turned. “You aren’t going after that monster alone.”

Twilight raised her head high as she turned to face Pinkie. She opened her mouth to argue, then sighed instead. “Fine, you and me, Pinkie.”

“He took just as much from me as he did... wait, what?” Pinkie Pie said. “You aren’t going to argue?” She took a step toward Twilight. “Are you okay?”

Twilight rubbed her temple with a hoof. “Not really.” She eyed the ponies gathered around the table. “I trust you’ll follow Rarity’s orders?”

Fancy Pants sunk into the chair with a grumble. “You’re asking the impossible. If we try and control more of the streets, it’ll be the end of us.”

“Impossible?” Twilight said. She took a long stride toward Fancy Pants, and snapped her wings open, sending her cloak fluttering behind her back. “What do you see?”

Fancy Pants eyes widened. The Grey Wizard dropped her cup of tea. As it bounced off the desk, she said, “Another Alicorn?!”

“I am the impossible!” Twilight took another step to close the gap between her and the desk and jabbed Fancy Pants in the chest with a hoof. “Are you extraordinary? Because these are extraordinary days. Are you sure, beyond any shadow of a chance, that our forces can’t save Canterlot?”

Fancy Pants swallowed audibly. “Maybe there’s a way.”

“Then do what you can,” Twilight said. She turned away from the table and flicked her wings so that her cloak settled over them. She strode out of the office. Pinkie’s light hooffalls clicked down the hallway after her. She swept past a few ponies moving around the mansion and up the steps, toward the room she’d claimed as her own.

Pinkie stayed with her onto the second floor. As her hooves clacked against the hardwood floorboards of the second floor, Twilight turned to look at Pinkie over her shoulder. “Yes, Pinkie?”

Pinkie bit her lip and tilted her head, peering at Twilight.

Twilight glowered. “What?”

“Yep, you’re right,” Pinkie said.

Twilight blinked. “About what?”

“You’re not okay.” Pinkie trotted up to Twilight and leaned forward until her eyes were inches from Twilight’s. “Humm...”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Pinkie, whatever you’re doing, I’m pretty sure it’s not helping.”

“As I suspected!” Pinkie cried. She drew back. “This is very serious!”

Twilight raised a brow. “What?”

Pinkie tapped her chin with a hoof. “Humm...”

Twilight huffed and pulled open the door to her room. She stepped inside, and before she could close the door after her, Pinkie darted inside, then rushed over to the desk and scrawled a wavering line on the parchment with a charcoal stick. “Pinkie...” Twilight said.

Pinkie drew a second line on the parchment, higher up on the page. She doodled wings next to the higher line. She squinted at the parchment appraisingly, then picked it up in her mouth and held it in front of Twilight. “Do you see!” she grunted.

Twilight sighed. “What is it?”

Pinkie dropped the parchment onto the floor and pointed at the line nearer the bottom of the page. “This is baseline Twilight intensity,” she pointed to the higher line, “and this is Alicorn Twilight intensity! It’s nearly off the charts!”

Twilight shuffled her wings beneath her cloak. “We’re out of the pan, and into the fire. Nightmare Moon, and now this.” She took a deep breath. “I hardly feel like I have time to think. I’m just... acting.”

Pinkie Pie nodded.

Twilight walked over to the window. She leaned on the sill, folding her forelegs beneath her chin. “I’m not okay. Okay would be curled up in front of a fire with a good book.”

Pinkie rested a forehoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “It’s okay to be not okay.”

Twilight chuckled halfheartedly. “Do you miss Ponyville?”

“Of course,” Pinkie said. “I miss the smell of freshly baked cupcakes. I miss all the foals. I miss us all together, laughing.”

Twilight stared out over the choppy waves in Canterlot Harbor. “We’re going back there,” she said. “We need to track down Trixie, and beat her, then we’re going home.” She pushed off the windowsill. “One step at a time.”

“And our next step is stepping on Sombra, right?” Pinkie said.

Twilight smiled. “Yep.”

Barony

“She will be the death of you, Star Swirl. She could bring the death of us all.”

–Celestia

I am it, the Shadowspawn.

When the second child killed Star Swirl the Bearded, my mentor and father, my life became a frantic scramble. I was pursued and hunted by individuals who cared about nothing more than the price on my head. They presented me with a choice between life and death. I chose to fight and kill my enemies. By choosing life, I chose death.

I tracked my hunters to the source. I caused the destruction of the organization behind the bounty. I found the second child, the Black Knight, and I stopped him from starting a war. Through a process I do not understand, I was able to absorb his divine essence without killing him. He was not my true enemy.

I am continuing the work of Star Swirl, a better pony than most of us can ever hope to be. In the following pages, I will be keeping notes on the topic of Shadowspawn. I have learned that I was born bearing a portion of the divine essence of the god Azrael. I suspect that learning this truth was the reason why the previous author of this journal stopped recording information about me.

My fate is tied to the shadows of the past, and I am one of many catalysts for the Shadow’s resurrection.

My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am not a better pony.

Barony

Twilight Sparkle spinned, swiveling her head to cover all angles. In a split second, she scanned the courtyard of the Helping Hoof Inn. Rough, loamy soil shifted beneath her hooves, where the grass had been torn away by countless frantic movements. She held a sword in the air beside her, grasped firmly in her levitation. Where is she?! she thought.

At a safe distance, Fluttershy watched the fight unfold. She looked up, and winced.

Twilight tilted her head back and caught the silhouette of wings against the bright nova of the Sun. Reflexively, she tugged her sword into a guard position. It sluggishly jolted through the air like a drunken pegasus. Wooden slats covering the leading edge of a cerulean blue wing rushed at her. They slammed into her face with a sharp crack.

The blow carried Twilight off her feet, and she landed in the dirt. Her sword hit the ground beside her. Groaning, she cradled her face in her forehooves. Her jaw ached. She tasted salt, and the scent of iron filled her nostrils.

“You’re dead,” Rainbow Dash said, standing over her.

Twilight spat out the blood in her mouth. “You hit too hard,” she whimpered. A white chunk in the red liquid caught her eye. Is that a tooth? she wondered, furrowing her brows. She felt around the inside of her mouth with her tongue. Where one of her molars should have been, only a painful void remained.

Rainbow casually flipped a red lock of her mane out of her face. “Hey, I’m not holdin’ back too much. A real enemy wouldn’t pull any—”

Twilight snatched up her molar and shoved it in Rainbow’s face.

Rainbow’s eyes crossed to focus on the object in front of her nose. She took a step back. “Sorry Twi,” she murmured. She lifted one of her forehooves and sheepishly rubbed her leg. “I have to come in fast.”

Scowling, Twilight climbed to her hooves. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered. “You won’t let me use any spells!” Her voice built as she continued. “You get to zip around in the air!” She picked up her fallen wooden practice sword. “And this thing has the inertia and balance of an overweight brick on the end of a pole!” she shouted. With a roar of frustration, she whirled and threw her sword as hard as she could at the nearby stone wall.

The shaft of pine wood shattered into fragments. Twilight stared at it, panting. “Twilight,” Rainbow said, stepping up beside her, “all you’ve ever used is magic swords. You’ve never been challenged.”

Twilight rubbed her aching jaw. She closed her eyes for a moment and dipped into her innate divine power. It jumped to her command. After a brief tingle, the pain in her jaw vanished. She quickly checked her teeth with her tongue. The missing molar had been replaced.

“I’ve held my own so far,” she muttered.

“Um, Twilight? Do you need some healing?” Fluttershy said, approaching from her opposite side. “Was that a tooth you were holding up?”

Twilight waved a hoof at Fluttershy and shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Fluttershy asked. She stepped in front of Twilight and reached out to touch her chin. “Come on, let me see.”

Twilight swallowed the last traces of blood and opened her mouth. “’Ey’re all ’ere,” she grunted, then closed her mouth. “Satisfied?”

Fluttershy peered at Twilight, letting her hoof drop. “You healed yourself, didn’t you?”

Rainbow frowned. “Twilight, you know you should only use those powers when you absolutely have to. You don’t know what they could be doing to your head.”

Twilight snorted and turned away. She trotted toward the entrance to the interior of the inn. Before she could make it three steps, Rainbow blocked her path by moving between her and the stairs to the keep. “I promised Applejack I’d keep an eye on you,” Rainbow said. “I’m not going to let you take risks with this Shadowspawn thing!”

Twilight looked up at the sky and groaned. “Oh, you promised Applejack, because she’s an expert,” she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she focused on Rainbow. “Look, I’m fine. I haven’t had a nightmare since we left Manehattan.”

Rainbow’s eyes softened. “I know. Just tell me you won’t use the weird dark powers, okay?”

Twilight glanced at the ground, hesitating for a moment. “I can’t do that.”

Rainbow fixed her with a sharp glare. “You can’t? Why not?!”

Twilight met her gaze. “Why didn’t you cut the cord when you were fighting Lightning Dust? You risked your life for a pair of wingblades.”

Rainbow blinked. “It... meant a lot to me to win. The wingblades weren’t important. I had to beat her. I couldn’t let myself down.”

“I’m fighting a battle I have to win too, Rainbow.” Twilight smiled sadly. “I can’t hide from the dark.”

Rainbow glanced at the ground, her brows furrowing. After a moment, she said, “I think I understand.” She looked up, brightening, and picked up a replacement practice sword from where it leaned against the wall of the keep. “Ready for another round?”

Twilight grimaced. “I’d rather not.”

Rainbow’s lips twisted into a wry smile. “You’re not backing out now, are you, Sparkle? If you don’t know basic sword technique, what happens when you fight someone stronger than you?” She flicked the practice sword over to Twilight with the tip of her wing.

I already have fought someone stronger than me, Twilight thought, hefting the practice sword in her levitation. And I lost. The memory of the final, desperate moments of her confrontation with the Black Knight passed through her mind. If it weren’t for Cadance’s timely arrival, she would have died.

“Besides,” Rainbow said, “the deal was: you get to teach me to read, and I get to teach you to fight.” Her wing flicked through the air and connected lightly with Twilight’s shoulder. “Come on! Keep your guard up!”

Twilight lowered herself into a balanced stance and raised her sword, circling Rainbow. She smirked. “This time, you’re going to be the one with a bruise.”

Rainbow chuckled. “In your dreams.” She lunged.

Dear Princess Celestia,

In the past, I’ve written you to tell you what I’ve learned fighting evil, like Star Swirl did before me. I wish this were one of those letters. It’s only been a few weeks since I was named Baroness of Ponyville. I already feel so lost. The town’s elected Mayor, who I’ve kept in place, has been extraordinarily helpful. The people of Candlekeep are doing well, and the steps I’ve taken to integrate them into the town appear to be working, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’m not good enough for this job.

What qualifications do I have? I don’t know the first thing about governance, even with the books I’ve read on the subject. All I’ve done since leaving Candlekeep is travel and fight. I don’t know anything about being a noble, and yet, all these ponies are relying on me. I have the power to make their lives better, but if I make a mistake, I could ruin Ponyville’s prosperity.

I’m sorry. You’ve got more important things to worry about than my insecurities. I guess I’m seeking advice, if you have the time to give it. I outlawed slavery within the Barony. I’m taking measures to redistribute land, allowing the tenants to own the land they work. (I don’t understand tenanted farms. It’s an inefficient system. Don’t ponies deserve the fruits of their labor?) I did what I thought was right, but I’ve made some ponies very angry. I’ve been called a tyrant unfit to be Baroness.

Am I?

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

PS: Spike keeps growing, and he’s still sleeping a lot. He complains that it’s getting harder for him to teleport between the Celestial and Material Planes. Nothing I’ve found on fey dragons in the Celestial Library mentions growth. Perhaps you could point me in the right direction?

PPS: No news on Chrysalis?

My Faithful Student,

I read your letters as soon as I receive them, though this can take some time. I’m sorry my delays have given you the impression of disinterest. I care about you, Twilight. If you have questions, ask them, and I will give you the best answer I can.

Your current dilemma is one I have struggled with on more than one occasion. We are never good enough to hold the fate of others in our hooves. Do not allow fear of mistakes to paralyze you; they can be haunting, but they can also be overcome. Hold your head high, and stride forth. You are far better than a pony that believes they were born with the right to rule. You understand that you have a responsibility to your citizens, which is more than can be said for many of your peers.

When I took a larger role in Equestria over a millenia ago, I often made choices that shortsighted individuals could not understand. You will never be able to please everyone. You have the power to fight for the greater good. Do not let the indignance of your critics keep you from doing what is best for everyone. Years from now, ponies will look at the past and wonder how they could have been so backward.

The truth is: without ponies like you, they would never have moved forward.

As for Spike, have you read Ego Draconis? It was written by an old friend of mine.

Yours Faithfully,
Princess Celestia

PS: If I’d found Chrysalis, you’d be the first to know.

Twilight trotted down the main road into Ponyville from the Helping Hoof. Ahead, the spire of the Town Hall rose above the central plaza. She paused, glancing up to check the position of the Sun. I hope I’m not late, she thought. Even though I’m a Baroness, I can still be punctual. The Mayor never complained when she was late to a meeting, but she knew she’d been less than polite. She needed to make arrangements with the Mayor for a trip to Manehattan.

Before she looked away from the sky, she noticed a glinting blue shape closing on her from between the patchy clouds. Within seconds, Rainbow Dash flared her wings and landed beside Twilight. She wore her wingblades and her skymail.

Twilight eyed the weapons. “Something wrong, Rainbow?”

“You ever hear of the zebra that lives in the Everfree forest?” Rainbow asked breathlessly.

Twilight shook her head. “No.”

“Neither did I, ‘till today,” Rainbow said. “Word is, there’s a zebra enchantress named Zecora living nearby. She comes into town occasionally, twice a year or so. Usually, she comes to trade. Most ponies avoid her, but a few barter with her. This time, she came asking for you by name.”

“Why is this a problem?” Twilight asked.

“She’s after you!” Rainbow said. “What if Chrysalis sent her? Come on, we need to move.” She trotted off, heading down a dirt road intersecting with the main highway.

Twilight raised a brow. “What if she just wants to talk to me?”

“What if she doesn’t?!” Rainbow said. “She lives in the Everfree! Unless she’s a druid like Fluttershy, she’s gotta have some dark power to survive there.” She pushed Twilight along with a wing. “We have to get ready for a fight! Where are your swords?”

With Rainbow out of sight behind her, Twilight secretly rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

Rainbow pointed at a bridge over a stream running through town with her wing. “Too late! That’s her.”

Twilight turned to look. A figure in a brown cloak stood at the apex of the the bridge’s arch. Distinctive stripes ran down her exposed legs, marking her as a zebra. Golden circlets gleamed on her neck and her left foreleg. Beneath the cowl of her hood, her eyes flashed with yellow light.

Rainbow flared her wings and dropped into a ready stance. “I’ll hold her off.”

Twilight stepped past Rainbow and advanced toward the bridge. “Why’re you here?” she called out to the figure.

“Twilight!” Rainbow called out in protest. She rushed after Twilight, positioning at her side.

Zecora tossed back her hood. Her mane stood out from her head like the bristles on a brush. “If shadows and shifters you seek, then it would be wise to hear me speak.”

Twilight peered at Zecora as she took a careful step forward. Shifters? Is she talking about Changelings? she wondered. “I expected a letter, not a messenger.”

Zecora tilted her head. “Then I am not what you were waiting for. All I bring you is a bit of ancient lore.”

Rainbow extended a wing, brandishing one of her wingblades. “If you’re not a messenger, what are you? An assassin?!”

Zecora raised a hoof placatingly. “Relax, lower that blade. I have come only to aid.”

Twilight touched Rainbow’s wing with a hoof and pushed it back down gently. “We’ll hear what you have to say.”

“Could we take a walk? A secluded spot is where I would prefer to talk,” Zecora said.

“Course you would,” Rainbow muttered.

Ahead of Twilight, Zecora stopped and sat in the shade of a tree beside a stream. She dipped a forehoof into the water and hummed. Twilight glanced over her shoulder. Rainbow leaned against the tree trunk behind them, glowering. Past Rainbow, a few houses on the outskirts of town rose over a rolling meadow. If Rainbow was right, they were on their own.

When Twilight turned back to Zecora, the zebra held a steaming cup of tea in her forehoof. Did she conjure it? Twilight wondered. Or a trick. She walked up beneath the shade of the tree and stopped beside her. “How did you do that?” she asked.

Zecora smiled and held the teacup out to her. “Come, have a seat. This tea is quite the treat.”

Twilight settled onto a mossy rock and sniffed the tea. She grimaced at the bitter scent while she eyed the drink. I should be careful, she thought. “I’m not thirsty.”

Zecora chuckled and took a sip of the tea. “It will do you no harm.” She held the cup out to Twilight again. “You will find it has its charm.”

Twilight took the cup in her levitation and swirled the murky liquid. “Why do you do that?”

Zecora looked at her blankly.

“The rhyming. Why?”

Zecora turned her gaze to the stream. “Where I dwell, only discipline keeps the madness at bay,” she said. “Beneath the trees of Everfree, darkness howls and nightmares prey.”

Twilight smiled. “Finally, an answer that’s not completely vague. We’re making progress.” She absently lifted the cup to her lips. The steam reached her eyes, and she slid them shut as she took a sip. The liquid tingled slightly as it traveled over her tongue, and though she detected a hint of mint, she’d never tasted a flavor like it before, but it was not unpleasant, contrasting with the bitter smell.

When Twilight opened her eyes, the teacup, Zecora, and the brook were gone. She jumped to her feet. Thick, gnarled tree trunks surrounded her. A heavy canopy of mottled leaves blotted out the Sun, if it was even still day. Ponyville was nowhere in sight. A chill gripped her. Wherever she was, it was dark, and she was alone.

“Idiot!” Twilight muttered. What were you thinking, drinking that stuff? she asked herself as she slowly turned.

And came face to face with a set of four angry red eyes and open, grisly maw. With a startled gasp, Twilight scrambled backwards. Her hoof caught on a root, and she stumbled, falling onto a mossy cushion. She reached for a spell, looked up at her attacker, and blinked.

It was a tree.

As Twilight picked herself up off the ground, she peered at the tree. She could see the knots she’d mistaken for eyes, and the piece of jutting bark that looked like a lower jaw in the gloom. Swallowing, she touched her chest with a forehoof. Her heart thundered behind her ribs. It’s not real, she told herself as her heartbeat calmed.

She squinted. That can’t be right, she thought. It looked exactly like the tree she’d been sitting under before she drank the tea. She shook her head. “The dark is playing tricks on you, Twilight,” she said to herself.

“This isn’t a trick,” an echoing voice rumbled, both behind her and inside of her skull. Twilight gritted her teeth and slowly turned around. She mentally reached for her prepared spells.

The shade of a pony stood between the trunks of two trees. It grew upwards, stretching. Black, writhing tendrils spilled from its mouth. “This is a nightmare!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. No spells answered her call. She had no magic. Her gut twisted with fear. She took a step back, trying to light her horn so that she could at least see the creature clearly before it descended on her. Nothing happened.

The shade lurched toward her. It raised a foreleg. The limb warped into a tendril, reaching across the space between them. Twilight froze. Run! she screamed at herself, but her legs stayed rooted in place.

Before the monster could touch her, a blazing nimbus of light rushed through Twilight and crashed into its chest. Twilight clenched her jaw and shut her eyes tight as a screech like talons scratching on the inside of her skull reverberated through the forest. When it faded, and she tentatively cracked her eyes open, the shade was gone.

Zecora stood in front of her. Her stripes blazed with yellow light. “Twilight Sparkle, have no fear,” she said. “These creatures cannot hurt you here.”

“What did you do to me?!” Twilight cried. “What happened to my magic?!”

“We are inside of my memory,” Zecora said. “I will be your guide to discovery.” She turned and walked away from Twilight with long strides.

As soon as Zecora was more than a few steps away, a chill ran down Twilight’s spine. Shivering, she trotted to catch up. “What was that thing?”

“It is a Nightmare,” Zecora said. “A creature of despair.”

Twilight’s hoof hit a rock in the gloom. She yelped as she lurched toward a ravine that suddenly opened in the forest floor. Zecora extended a foreleg and caught her before she could tumble over the edge.

Mists wisped up over the edge of the ravine, and Twilight took a hurried step back. Across the canyon, ruined spires rose out of the fog. She squinted and raised her head, trying to get a better look. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I wanted you to see the secrets of the Everfree,” Zecora said. She tapped her hoof, and an old rope bridge rose out of the mist. Most of the planks were missing.

“What secrets?” Twilight asked.

Zecora smiled softly and stepped onto the bridge. Wherever she placed her hooves, a solid plank appeared. Twilight followed close, afraid that they would vanish just as quickly. She focused on Zecora’s tail and tried not to look down at the drop beneath her.

When she reached the middle of the bridge, it swayed in a cold breeze. The wood shifted out from under her feet, and she caught herself on the rope railing, glancing down as she stumbled. She stopped; a white orb transfixed her.

Far beneath her, the orb pulsed with a sickly white glow. Pockmarks marred its otherwise smooth surface. It loomed under the earth, threatening to swallow her whole. “What is that?” she murmured.

“It is a prison and a throne,” Zecora said. “It binds the Nightmare like a lodestone.”

Twilight tore her eyes away from the orb and hurried to catch up to Zecora. She reached the far side of the bridge, but even with solid ground beneath her hooves, the image lingered. She swallowed and tried to push it from her mind.

The mists fled from Zecora, revealing a ruin. The structure’s roof had crumbled long ago, but elegant arches and an old double-door remained. Zecora threw the doors open. A fallen pillar blocked their path on the inside of the door. Zecora caught a hoofhold in a crack and climbed over it. Twilight followed her steps.

“What’s the Nightmare?” Twilight asked as she lifted herself over the obstacle.

On the far side of the pillar, five identical stone spheres the size of her head rested on a pedestal. Designs and runes covered the base of the pedestal, telling a story of the Elements of Harmony. Twilight drifted towards the five orbs, as if drawn by a current.

Where’s Zecora? she wondered, turning away from the pedestal. The zebra was gone. “Zecora?” she tentatively called.

A shrouded figure wearing a black cloak stepped out of the mists beyond one of the crumbled archeways. Its eyes flashed with a silver light. “The Nightmare wishes to be free. Only the Elements can stop her, for they stopped her once before. In your darkest hour, look for the spark. You will find it where it has been all along: with the others.”

Twilight flicked her eyes open. An empty teacup floated in front of her in her levitation. Bright light glimmering on shifting water shot into her eyes, and she squinted to keep it at bay. Her head throbbed.

A pink blur moved into her field of view. A forehoof gripped her shoulder. A voice called her name. It took her a moment to register that a pony was speaking to her. She blinked, and the blur resolved into Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie?” Twilight said.

“Twilight! Are you okay?! I came as soon as I heard someone was after you!” Pinkie said. “The zebra didn’t get you, did she?”

Twilight nodded and pushed away her hoof. “I’m fine.” She dropped the teacup and stood up from her seat, looking around. She was back beneath the tree by the stream. Zecora was nowhere in sight.

Faint snores filled her ears. She turned, searching for the source of the sound. Rainbow Dash lay curled between two roots with her eyes shut. Her nose twitched as a loose strand of her mane invaded her nostril.

“Are you sure you aren’t suffering from some horrible evil hex?” Pinkie said.

Twilight smiled. “Pretty sure. I don’t think she wanted to hurt us.” She walked over to the base of the tree and gently prodded Rainbow with a hoof.

Rainbow jerked awake and jumped to her hooves, flaring her wings. She whirled, forcing Twilight to step clear of one of her wingblades. “Where’d she go?!” she shouted.

“Rainbow, it’s okay,” Twilight said. “She’s long gone.” She closed her eyes. The last words she’d heard before the vision ended echoed in her mind. She remembered them clearly; someone other than Zecora had spoken to her.

“What happened?” Rainbow asked. “Her eyes glowed, and before I could stop her, everything went dark.”

Twilight opened her eyes and shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think she was trying to tell me something.”

Pinkie stared at her with wide eyes. “What was it?”

“I don’t know,” Twilight said.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today, I met a zebra named Zecora who lives in the Everfree Forest. She spoke of a Nightmare imprisoned there. She showed me a vision of what lies within the forest. Do you know anything about the nature of the Everfree?

Also, I have a few questions about the Elements of Harmony. In the vision, I saw five stones on a pedestal in the remains of an ancient building. When we last spoke, you said you and your sister used them to defeat the Shadow. You said they were shattered. Are they destroyed?

I had Spike retrieve Ego Draconis from the Celestial Library for me and read it. It was fascinating. Until now, I’ve never read or heard anything indicating dragons could be anything but egotistical, spiteful, greedy creatures. It seemed like all of the dragons in this story were trying to help others. Still, I don’t understand what it has to do with Spike.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

Twilight trotted through the gates of Cadance’s estate in Manehattan, a few paces behind Shining Armor. She fumed, kicking at a pebble. A few petitioners had sent her all the way to the city for a hearing. “What right did they have!” Twilight shouted. “The laws said I could confiscate property! I didn’t do anything wrong, and they tried to strip my title!”

Shining Armor glanced over his shoulder at her. “Granny Smith isn’t the only landowner in Ponyville. You need to be careful, Twilight. Wealth is power in Manehattan, and what you’re doing is irritating the wealthy.”

Twilight snorted. “It’s not my fault fairness makes them angry. What gives them the right to keep ponies in poverty and shackles? They act like they were born better.”

Shining Armor stopped at the front door to the estate. The two household guards flanking the door nodded at him respectfully. “For what it’s worth, I agree with you,” he said. “But if one lowborn Baroness can free slaves and cause an upset, what stops the others?” He pushed the double doors open with his magic and smiled at her. “But, as long as you have a Duke’s support, the lower council can’t stop you.”

Twilight stepped through the doors. Words Celestia had said flashed through her mind. ‘Forgiveness isn’t for him, it’s for you.’ She stopped short, half in the entry foyer “Shining Armor?” she said, looking at him.

“Yes?” he said.

“I...” She hesitated, glancing at the floor. She remembered Star Swirl’s head the way she’d seen it the next morning: crawling with flies. “Thanks.” She swallowed and stepped into the house.

As Shining Armor crossed the threshold and shut the doors behind Twilight, Cadance poked her head out of the door to the study. “You’re back!” she said. “It went alright, didn’t it? You look queasy.”

Twilight nodded and forced a smile. “It went fine.”

Cadance beckoned them over. “Come, Rarity and I are having tea.”

Shining Armor strode past Twilight, heading for the stairs to the second story. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

Twilight sat on a couch across from Rarity and Cadance. Tall glass windows let in light, illuminating the room. Bookshelves lined the walls around her. A greying stallion wearing a black suit set a tray holding three steaming teacups surrounded by a ring of wafers on the low table in front of her. She looked up at him and smiled; she remembered him from the hidden tramway station. He nodded curtly in return before turning away.

“So, how did it go?” Rarity asked as she lifted a cup off the tray.

Twilight picked up her own teacup. “Like Cadance said it would. They couldn’t take my title with Shining Armor there.” She smiled at Rarity. “Thanks for coming with me.”

Rarity dismissively waved a hoof at Twilight. “It’s nothing. I needed to take a trip to Manehattan for my foundation anyway, and the others were busy.”

Cadance looked at Twilight. “I told you the hearing wouldn’t be a problem.” She picked up a cup and smiled. “If there’s one good thing Chrysalis did, it was getting Shining elected by my house as a Duke. He’s not good at politics, but they can’t get rid of him now even if they wanted to.”

Twilight snorted. “It makes me wonder why she didn’t just do it herself.”

“It wouldn’t have worked,” Cadance said. “If she was a Duchess, any claim to the Crystal Empire would look like a foreign takeover, not a long lost princess taking her rightful place.”

“So, she went through the trouble to get him elected?” Rarity asked as she floated a wafer off the tree.

Twilight frowned. “It can’t have been easy to get her puppet in a position of power.”

Cadance swirled the liquid in her teacup, her ears flattening. “She was good. There are ponies in the palace that owe me favors, and I have no idea what she did to earn them. It’s hard. They expect me to be... different.”

“Let’s hope it was nothing that’ll come back to haunt you,” Twilight said, taking a sip of her tea.

Cadance nodded, still focused on her floating cup.

“Enough about Chrysalis!” Rarity said. She set her tea and her untouched wafer back on the tray and stood up abruptly. She beamed at Cadance. “I brought you a present!” With a flourish, she pulled an extravagant dress out of her Bag of Holding and held it up.

Cadance looked up and smiled slightly. “It’s lovely, Rarity.” She reached out with a hoof to caress the fabric. “I don’t think I’ll have much to wear it to.”

Rarity blinked. “Why not?”

“Most social functions are too risky. Chrysalis may have been exaggerating about the Empire’s interest in having me killed, but there are still factions in Canterlot that would rather I didn’t exist,” Cadance said.

“Besides, anyone could be a Changeling,” Twilight said.

Cadance nodded slowly. “Still, I’m planning a trip to Canterlot. Hopefully, I can convince them I’m not a threat.”

Rarity slid the dress back into her Bag of Holding. “Well, I’ll leave this with your staff.” She sank into her seat, sighing softly.

“Thank you, Rarity. I really do appreciate it,” Cadance said with a smile. She turned to Twilight. “Now, Rarity tells me you’re still living in a room at the Helping Hoof.”

“It’s simply dreadful!” Rarity said.

“You need to take care of yourself if you’re going to take care of others, Twilight,” Cadance said.

Twilight sighed. “I appreciate the concern.” She glanced at Cadance. “But why do you care? Why have you been helping me?”

“You saved me,” Cadance said.

“And I almost killed the love of your life,” Twilight said. “I wanted to kill him. Sometimes I still do.”

Cadance regarded her with a small smile. “I know you did, but instead, you saved him too.”

Twilight fished a floating leaf out of her teacup. “I’m going to take up residence in the library. The interior work should be finished when we get back.”

“The building Fluttershy sang out of that tree?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah. It’s bigger than the library I intended to build.” Twilight chuckled slightly as she discarded her tea leaf on the tray. “I’m glad Fluttershy had a solution to cutting down the old oak to make room.”

“It sounds perfect,” Rarity said. “With the books you ordered here in the city, it might remind you of home.”

“Of Candlekeep?” Twilight asked.

Rarity grimaced and looked down.

Twilight frowned. “Home isn't coming back. Not after what my magic did to it.” Twilight sipped her tea. Nopony said anything. Rarity seemed rather fixated by the pattern of the rug on the floor. What matters is that the ponies made it out, Twilight told herself.

She picked up a silver locket on the table and fiddled with it in her levitation. She flicked it open. Inside, two arrows pointed out the time on the face of a miniaturized clock. “What’s this?” she asked, breaking the silence.

“It’s a watch,” Cadance said. “An enchanted gear inside keeps the time.”

Twilight floated the locket closer. She heard a faint ticking within. She peered at the face, watching the long arrow slowly trek around the face of the clock. “That’s amazing.” She looked at Cadance. “You must never be late with this.”

“Would you like it?” Cadance asked, eyeing her.

Twilight shook her head and closed the watch. “I couldn’t. It doesn’t look cheap.” She set the locket back on the table.

Cadance shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. It arrived a few weeks ago, custom ordered from Canterlot. Chrysalis must have had it made and sent here while she was me, but I have no idea what she paid for it. It’s useful, but it’s just another reminder of what happened to me.” She picked up the watch and held it out to Twilight. “You keep it.”

Twilight eyed the watch, furrowing her brows. “What if—”

Cadance chuckled. “I thought so too, so I had it checked by a wizard. She said it was harmless.”

Twilight reached out with a hoof and took the watch. For a moment, she thought it felt warm to the touch, but the sensation quickly faded. “Thank you,” she said. I could use something to remind me who really killed Star Swirl, she thought as she slid the loop of the silver chain attached to the locket around her neck.

“Idea!” Rarity cried abruptly, looking up from the rug. “We should have a spa day before we leave! Cadance needs to get out, and we won’t get another chance for ages.”

Twilight looked up at the sound of hooves coming from the door to the central ballroom. Shining Armor stepped through the study’s doorway. “Great, I’ll come,” he said. “I suppose a spa won’t hurt me.”

Rarity shook her head. “Absolutely not. Cadance needs lady time.”

“She’s not going anywhere without me,” Shining Armor said. “It’s not safe!”

Cadance looked up at him. She smiled softly. “It’ll be fine, Shining.”

Twilight stood up from the couch. “I’ll protect her.”

Shining Armor narrowed his eyes and took a step forward. “I won’t let anything else happen to her. How do I know you can keep her safe?”

Twilight walked over to where Celestial Fury rested beside the door to the study, sheathed in it’s scabbard. She picked the sword up and held it out to Shining Armor. “See this?”

Shining Armor nodded slowly.

“You can trust me because Celestia gave her sword to me.” Twilight looked Shining Armor in the eye. “Celestia chose me.”

Shining Armor glanced at the floor, his jaw tensing. “They did,” he muttered. He turned away with a snort and walked out of the study. “Have your girl time. I’ve got things to do anyway.”

Twilight paced around the Ponyville library’s basement. Candlelight played on the tree rings at the base of the trunk of the old oak. The walls sloped out with the deep root structure. She stepped over a small open book with a black cover in the center of the floor, stopped, and reached back with her magic to pick up a silver locket hidden beneath a sheet of paper.

Twilight flipped open her watch. Half past three, she thought, reading the arrows. Unless she’d missed twelve hours, it was morning, not the afternoon. She sighed and dropped the watch. She considered trotting up the stairs and curling up in her warm bed.

You’ll just toss and turn, she thought. Frowning, she floated up a sheet of paper and re-read the short list written on it in charcoal.

1. Regeneration

2. Increased strength (levitation) – also physical?

3. Death Field

When the Black Knight fully succumbed to his Shadowspawn nature, he displayed all of the abilities on the list. She’d talked to Shining Armor about it. All he told her was he closed his eyes and jumped; he had to protect Cadance. Still, it should be theoretically possible for me to do this. It shouldn’t be any different from the healing I can do, she thought. If something is locking these powers away, where’s the key?

The third item was troublesome. When the Black Knight used it, it was out of his control. As far as Twilight knew, her own Shadowspawn nature protected her, but the deathly shadows spilling from the Black Knight nearly killed Cadance. I should be able to manage the other two, she thought. She stared at the list. She hadn’t been able to get it out of her head since she got back from Manehattan. I’ll give it a try, then I’ll get some sleep.

Swallowing, she closed her eyes. She felt the well of divine power within herself. It rippled like a pool, but she couldn’t see what lay beneath the surface. She couldn’t tell how deep it went. It’s my power, she told herself. It’s a part of me. When she used it to heal, she syphoned a bit away on instinct. This time, she allowed herself to slip in.

Her eyes flashed open. Darkness clung to the edges of her vision. Shadows boiled in her veins. She grit her teeth as it threatened to slip away. Breathing through flared nostrils, she maintained it at a low level.

She glanced to the side. Solstice rested on a low shelf near the wall. Its unsheathed blade gleamed in the light, as razor-sharp and polished as the day Star Swirl gave it to her. Any normal sword would be rusted and chipped after all the mistreatment Solstice had suffered. She reached out to the familiar blade with her levitation and pulled it closer.

Carefully, she placed Solstice’s edge against her leg. It grew weighter the closer it got to her flesh, as if it was resisting the motion. She ignored it and made a small incision on her foreleg just above her wrist.

A scarlet droplet oozed out of the cut. By the time the blood reached her hoof, the slit had sealed itself shut, leaving a pinkish mark. She pushed aside her fur with her other forehoof and watched the scar fade away in a matter of seconds.

“Yes!” she whispered excitedly. Her concentration slipped, and before she could catch them, the shadows ebbed away. She stamped her hoof. “Argh!” Frowning, she placed Solstice back on the shelf.

She took a deep breath. Progress is progress, she reminded herself as she sat in front the book on the floor. It was Star Swirl’s journal, and she’d been adding to the blank pages. She rotated the book to face her, and after freshly dipping her writing quill in an inkwell on the floor, she started a new entry.

The 28th of Leaffall 944

I managed to regenerate a cut.

By channeling the power at a low level, I was able to achieve some of the benefits the Black Knight gained. However, it remains fickle and resistant to use. Still, I think with enough practice, I might be able to maintain some regenerative powers almost constantly.

Regardless of this power’s source, it’s a part of me. I can cower in fear, or I can face it. I will not allow it to rule me. I have overcome it in the past, and I believe I can master it. The Black Knight beat me with it. I need to be stronger.

I think my friends would prefer it if I didn’t use my Shadowspawn abilities at all. They still give me odd looks if they catch me healing myself. Almost every time they see me, they ask about how I’m feeling. They wonder if I’m having urges, as if I’m about to snap due to a peaceful life. I can live without fresh blood on my hooves; it’s actually been easier this way.

I am in control, and I am tired of being mothered.

She set down her quill and blew on the page to dry the ink. The click of claws on the stairs drew her attention. Spike slinked down the steps, his body longer and lankier than it had been when she’d first met him. Gone were the days when she could easily carry him on her back.

“You’re still up?” he asked, rubbing one of his eyes with the back of his paw.

Twilight quickly flicked the journal shut. “I couldn’t sleep.” She quirked a brow at Spike. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

Yawning, Spike held up a rolled scroll. “Letter.” He sighed. “I was having a great dream.”

Twilight pushed the journal aside with a hoof, hiding it beneath a saddlebag she’d left on the floor. “Let’s see it.”

Spike descended to the bottom of the stairs and handed the letter to her. “I wish you ponies could keep more normal hours,” he muttered. “The middle of the night isn’t a good time for sending letters.”

Twilight laughed as she unfurled the letter. “Says Sir Nap-A-Lot.”

Spike grumbled something inaudible and plopped down on the bottom step. He yawned again, and this time, Twilight yawned with him. She blinked and focused on the scroll.

To my Faithful Student,

I apologize for the delay. I can’t receive letters when I’m not on the Celestial Plane, and you could say I’ve had a bit of an adventure. I took a trip to Canterlot and visited one of my clerics there. After I dealt with the fuss and ceremony over the presence of Celestia’s messenger, I learned about violence in the streets after dark. Allegedly, there’s a war between the Thieves Guild and a rival organization.

I wish I had more to tell you, but subtlety is first among Chrysalis’s strengths. She is hard to find. I do feel a shadow in Canterlot, but that city has always been darker than it seems. Perhaps your friend Rarity can use her connections with the Thieves Guild to discover more?

Immediately, Twilight jolted awake. She glanced at Solstice. Celestial Fury was upstairs, leaning beside her bed. She remembered blood running along their edges as they cleaved through flesh and sinew. She longed to use them in battle again. She looked back at the scroll, reading the rest of the letter.

As for the topic of the Everfree, I have heard of the zebra you met. She’s one of the few charged with keeping the forest in check. A long time ago, the forest was a brighter place filled with change and life. Like many things, it was scarred by the Time of Troubles. Nightmares lurk there now, and it is unfit for all but the hardiest of creatures.

The Elements of Harmony became little more than cold stones after I used them to banish Luna. The magical bond we shared that allowed us to wield them was shattered. There’s an old palace in the heart of the Everfree that Luna and I visited with frequency. I left the Elements there to remember her by. As for your question about whether the elements were destroyed, I’m afraid I have to answer it with a question. Can you destroy a virtue?

Faithfully Yours,
Princess Celestia

PS: You should talk to Spike. I’m surprised he hasn’t told you yet.

Twilight rolled the letter shut and eyed Spike. He stretched and stood up off. “Well, I’m going back to bed,” he said, turning to ascend the stairs. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Wait,” Twilight said.

Spike paused and looked over his shoulder. “What?”

“Is there something you want to talk about?” Twilight asked.

Spike shook his head. “No.”

“Celestia seems to think there’s something you haven’t told me. It’s about you growing.”

Spike slowly turned around. “I um... fey dragons do that?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck with a claw.

Twilight narrowed her eyes.

Spike looked at the floor. “I might not be a fey dragon anymore.”

Twilight blinked. “What do you mean?”

Spike sat back down, three steps from the bottom. He met her gaze. “If a fey dragon is bonded to a powerful enough wizard, they can become a dragon.”

“What?!” She took a step back. “How...” She shook her head and smiled. “So that’s why she had me read that book,” she murmured.

“I don’t know how it works,” Spike said, clasping his claws in his lap. “The keepers told me fey dragons used to be the only thing that could become true dragons, but Discord took most of them and made other dragonlings. There aren’t many fey dragons left, and I’m the first fey dragon familiar in a long time.”

“How long have you known?” Twilight asked.

Spike looked down at his lap. “I found out right after you killed Pyros. I could feel the fight happening, and I asked about it. When I teleported back to you after it was over, he was a corpse.” He looked up at Twilight. “I’m not going to end up like him, am I? I—”

Twilight stepped forward and swept Spike into a hug. “You’d never end up like him.”

Spike wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” He sniffed. “Dragons are bad, and I was afraid you’d think I was bad too.”

Twilight pulled away. “You’re not bad.” She smiled. “Remember what Rarity said?” She tapped him in the center of the chest with her hoof. “You’ve got a good heart, dragon or not.”

Spike smiled back at her. “Thanks, Twilight.”

The 19th of Rotting 944

Peace was easy.

For a time, I was able to focus on Ponyville. My friends are happy here. Rarity has the artistic career she always wanted. Pinkie Pie is a baker. Applejack is with her family. Rainbow Dash is a leader. Fluttershy can spend all the time she wants with the animals she loves. I used to be happy too, but now, this waiting is killing me. As soon as I heard there was a chance I could find Chrysalis in Canterlot, I wanted to cut her to pieces. She has to be stopped. She has to pay.

Peace is not for me.

A diamond glinted in the light cast by Twilight’s horn. She carefully adjusted its placement until it rested precisely in the center of an array of gemstones on the floor of the library’s basement. She referenced a book beside her, making sure her pattern matched the sketch of a gateway on the open page. Satisfied, she dipped a stick into a container of tarry black adhesive and placed a tiny bead on the diamond, then glued it in place.

With bated breath, she extended a tendril of raw magical energy toward the array. The gemstones filled with light. “Yes!” she cried. “It’s finally working!”

“What’s working?” Rainbow Dash said from the top of the stairs.

Twilight started. A ripple pulsed out from the array and evaporated her tendril. She grimaced as she turned to the stairs, her horn resonating with the feedback. “Rainbow, what’re you doing here?”

“Spike said you were down here. I had some questions about the book you had me read, so I figured I’d drop by,” Rainbow said.

Twilight rubbed her horn. “I should take a break anyway.”

Rainbow spread her wings and glided down. She landed lightly beside Twilight and eyed the arrangement of gemstones on the floor. “What’s this?”

“It’s a gateway,” Twilight said. “It’s for focusing long-range teleportation spells.”

Rainbow quirked a brow at her. “Can’t you already teleport?”

“I can,” Twilight said. “But, Dimension Door has a limited range, and I need to be able to see where I’m going to target it.” She gestured at the array on the floor. “With this and a Teleport spell, I can go anywhere, as long as there is a gateway I can use at the other end.”

Rainbow chuckled. “Why? Planning on going somewhere?”

Canterlot, Twilight thought. She looked at Rainbow and shrugged. “For now, all I’m planning to set up a corresponding gateway at the Helping Hoof, so I can get there quickly if I need to.” She swept her book up off the floor and snapped it shut. “So, you wanted to talk about your book? It’s not giving you too much trouble, is it?”

Rainbow shook her head. “Nah. I finished the whole thing.” She fished a book with a scratched cover out of a bag strapped to her side with her mouth. “You can put it back in the library,” she said around the spine.

“Already?” Twilight asked, floating the book away from Rainbow. “I got a contemporary version, but it’s a pretty old legend. I figured you’d get stuck on some parts.”

“There were some words I didn’t know, but I figured them out from the other stuff around them. ‘From context,’ like you said,” Rainbow said.

Twilight smiled. Rainbow was already reading at a functional level. Fluttershy still visited for a weekly lesson, but Rainbow had moved on. “So what did you want to ask me about?” she said, heading for the stairs up to the library proper.

“Daring Do,” Rainbow said, following her. “Is she still alive?”

Twilight shook her head as she climbed the steps. “Luna’s night guard were blessed with extraordinarily long life spans, but the legends about Daring Do are from before the Time of Troubles. She’s long gone.” She stepped out onto the ground floor of the library, and glanced around, looking for Spike. “Besides, I don’t think Daring Do was one pony.” She spotted Spike dusting a shelf near the back of the building on a low ladder.

Rainbow blinked. “Why wouldn’t she be?”

“It’s the way legends get told. Often, the deeds of many are represented by one character,” Twilight said. “It’s more likely than her actually surviving all the things that happened to her.” She floated the pair of books over to Spike. “Can you shelve these please?” she said.

“Sure,” Spike said as he snatched the two books out of the air. He climbed down the ladder and walked past them, headed for another section of the library.

Rainbow shrugged. “We lived.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, walking toward the library's small kitchen in the next room. “We did. But, we have each other.”

Rainbow bopped her on the shoulder with a hoof. “Says the mare that kept running off on her own.”

Twilight paused and looked at Rainbow. “Only when the situation required it.”

Rainbow fixed her with a bemused stare.

“What?” Twilight said.

“Just... remember that we’ve got your back, Twilight. You need us.”

Twilight nodded and stepped into the kitchen. “I know.”

“So, how’re you doing,” Rainbow said, following her through the doorway.

“Restless,” Twilight said. She gestured at the cast iron stove against the wall of the kitchen. The glow of a live flame burned through a slit in the stove door. “Would you like some tea?”

Rainbow shook her head and sat in a chair beside the kitchen table. “Nah, I’m good.”

Twilight shrugged and filled a dented teapot with water. “I could use some.”

“Restless, huh?” Rainbow said. “You seem like you’re keeping busy. Running the town and the library. Making portal arrays. You’re probably doing other magic stuff down in that basement.” She leaned back in her chair. “I’m happy with the weather team, my three o’clock nap, and our sparring sessions.”

Twilight set the pot on the stove. “I have help with the town.” She turned around and leaned her forelegs on the table. “I don’t know why I’m restless.” She sighed. “I guess I never got the resolution, the justice, I wanted for Star Swirl’s death.”

Rainbow eyed her. “You want someone to kill.”

Twilight furrowed her brows. “Is there something wrong with that?” She sighed again and sank into a seat. “I wondered what made me revel in killing, afraid that I was an evil pony. But was I ever? I was always in control. I never killed anyone I didn’t have to.”

Rainbow snorted. “What about Lightning Dust? You took out her wing. You didn’t have to follow through. No one had to die on that bridge.”

Twilight lifted one of her hooves and peered at it. She couldn’t see the bloodstains, but she knew they were there. The memory of slicing Lighting Dust’s side open with Celestial Fury on the bridge into Manehattan flashing through her mind. Four months, she thought – four months to the day since her last kill. “She attacked me,” Twilight murmured. “I gave her a chance. Wasn’t that enough?”

“What about the bandits you took out. Did they get a chance?” Rainbow asked.

Twilight frowned, dropping her hoof. “I don’t need a lecture, Rainbow. You of all ponies should know things look different in the middle of a fight.”

Rainbow’s ears tilted back as she glanced down. “I didn’t mean...” She hesitated, running her hoof along the edge of the table. She focused on Twilight. “How do you know you’re in control?”

Twilight looked Rainbow in the eye. “I have to be. There isn’t another option.”

Rainbow nodded slowly. For a moment, she said nothing, but she flicked a tan envelope out from her bag with a wing and set it on the table. “Rarity said to give you this.”

Twilight snatched up the envelope. The wax seal had already been broken. She pulled out the letter inside and unfolded it.

To the mare formerly known as the White Widow,

Thank you for your letter inquiring about the well-being of our family. If anypony asks, what you have heard about a guild war is merely a rumor. The Thieves Guild is as strong as ever in Canterlot.

However, that is not the truth. Guild Houses are turning against me. Nobles I thought were reliable are refusing bribes due to Grey Wizard oversight. You asked if I had encountered any shapeshifters in my city. While I cannot confirm it, I have to consider the possibility. The sheer number of traitors is staggering.

I could use a mare like you, Rarity, someone from the outside; someone I can trust. Enclosed in the package is a sum of gold. If you would like more, come to Canterlot. You will be rewarded.

Sincerely,
The Grey Fox

Chrysalis! She’s there, Twilight thought. She looked up from the letter. “We’re going to Canterlot.”

Twilight paced across the floor of the basement. The familiar weight of Celestial Fury rested across her back, and Solstice bounced at her side. Her Cloak of Protection trailed from her shoulders. Her watch hung from a chain alongside her crescent moon necklace.

Twilight surveyed her friends. Applejack wore her full suit of dragonscale armor and held Truthseeker wrapped around her tail. Rarity carried Amethyst slung across her back and her Bag of Holding at her hip. Commander Hurricane’s wingblades covered the leading edge of Rainbow Dash’s wings. Fluttershy wore her bark-covered cloak and carried Angel nestled between her shoulderblades. To the side, Pinkie Pie stood with her sash firmly tied around her waist. Spike sat on the steps, watching them.

“What’re we doing down here?” Applejack asked. “I thought we were headed for Canterlot.”

“We are,” Twilight said. She gestured at the crystal array on the floor. “Rumor has it that the Grey Wizards can teleport anywhere in the Empire. To do that, they’d need a network of gateways. I can tap into that network with mine. If Chrysalis gets word that we’re coming, she might flee before we can get there. This way, if she’s there, we’ll be on top of her.”

“Then what’re we waiting for?” Rainbow said.

Twilight nodded and turned to the array. She formed the prepared Teleport spell with her horn and closed her eyes. As the spell met the gateway, a vast distance rushed past Twilight. She fell through forests, rose over hills, and skimmed across rivers. Beneath towering peaks, ley lines thrummed in answer to her spell.

She tried to grab hold of a ley line leading to a city on the side of a snow-covered mountain overlooking a bay, but it resisted. A barrier coating it thrummed at her touch. They must have protective measures, she thought. They’re not going to stop me. She gathered her strength and thrust a spike of power at the ley line. With surprising ease, the barrier yielded to her, and the spell flashed into completion.

Twilight’s watch felt oddly warm against her chest. Ignoring the sensation, she opened her eyes. Light bled from the array in front of her and formed into a white disk floating in the air. She turned back to her friends and gestured at the portal. “That will take us to somewhere in Canterlot.”

“So,” Applejack said, peering at the portal. “We just step through?”

Rainbow’s skymail clinked as she took a step forward. “Let’s finish this.”

Twilight held out a hoof, blocking Rainbow’s path. She looked at each of her friends in turn. “This could be your last chance to stay in Ponyville.”

Rainbow shouldered past her and touched the portal with a forehoof. It shimmered at the point of contact. She looked at Twilight. “If you’re going, I’m going too.” She stepped forward. The portal swallowed her body, until only her multicolored tail slipped into it.

Applejack walked up to the portal next. “I told Granny I’d protect you. We may have dealt with the Black Knight, but this ain’t over yet, and I’m with you till it is.”

“What about the farm?” Twilight asked.

“My family can get along without me,” Applejack said. “They understand that you need my help.” Without another word, she followed Rainbow through the portal.

Rarity smiled. “So this is what you did with the gemstones I gave you, isn’t it?”

Twilight glanced at the floor. “Yeah. As soon as Celestia mentioned Canterlot, I couldn’t get it out of my head. If Chrysalis wanted to try again, Canterlot is the place to do it.”

Rarity strode past her. “An old friend asked for my help.” She winked at Twilight. “Besides, you’re not getting rid of us this easily.” She walked through the portal.

Fluttershy moved forward from the base of the stairs.

“You could stay here, Fluttershy. We’re probably not going to see a forest anytime soon,” Twilight said.

“I’m not going to let anyone hurt my friends,” Fluttershy said. She took one last look behind her before she stepped through the portal.

Last to join them, Pinkie walked up. She held up a hoof. “Friends forever?”

Twilight bumped Pinkie’s offered hoof with her own. “Through eternity.” She smiled softly. “You don’t have to come, Pinkie. The Cakes will worry, and... there’ll be killing.”

“I’m going to have to deal with it eventually,” Pinkie said. “It’s part of being what we are, isn’t it?” She plunged a foreleg into the portal. “Tingly!” she said, giggling. A moment later, she was gone.

Twilight looked at Spike.

“I’ll catch up to you on the other side,” Spike said. He smiled. “I’d rather take the Celestial Plane.”

Twilight nodded. “I’ll see you there.”

Taking a deep breath, Twilight stepped into the portal. The white disk assaulted her senses as she pushed her head into it. Darkness engulfed her, aside from a gleaming point in the distance. The moment she crossed the threshold, the world evaporated.

She raced across the black empty expanse between her and her destination. Ahead of her, she saw four lights pass through the opening. An instant before she could follow them, the portal slammed shut in front of her. A claw closed around her, ripping her from the ley line. Before it pulled her fully clear, a pink foreleg wrapped around her.

With Pinkie Pie clutching her, Twilight tumbled out of the portal and slammed into a cold, hard surface. Pinned between her and the ground, the watch dug into her fur, hot enough to nearly burn her. Groaning, she disentangled herself from Pinkie and climbed to her feet. Her hooves clicked on stone. She blinked, realizing she was in complete darkness.

“What happened, Twilight?” Pinkie whispered.

“I don’t know,” Twilight replied. “But whoever stopped us isn’t taking us without a fight.”

A spark of blue light flared in the darkness. Twilight whirled toward the source. A fiery-maned unicorn faced her with a glowing horn. Twilight triggered the Sequencer in Solstice and launched a Magic Missile spell at the unicorn. Stoneskin and Improved Invisibility cast instantly as five lavender orbs homed in on her target.

The orbs passed harmlessly into a smooth surface. Twilight spun, drawing her swords. She was in the center of a cavern. A laugh rang in her ears. All around her, hundreds of faces of the unicorn she tried to hit looked down at her, reflected on the countless crystal formations clinging to the stone walls of the cavern. They stared at her with icy blue eyes. All of them were laughing.

“You can’t hide from me, Sparkle,” a sharp, echoing voice said. “But you shouldn’t be afraid of me either. All I want is your potential.”

Author's Note

Calendar

Editors:
Nightmare Prose
Amacita

Animals

Gathered in a group with her friends just inside the Copper Coronet’s door, Twilight shifted awkwardly on her hooves as she glanced around the room. Light from a trough of glowing coals in the center of the room flickered across the faces of ponies absorbed in their drinks. Steaming pots hung from a metal beam above the coals. At a nearby table, a stallion reached out to grope the hindquarters of a passing waitress. His friends laughed when he drunkenly spilled out of his chair.

Applejack nudged Twilight in the ribs. “Just a lil’ hole in the wall,” she said in her ear. “Dunno what all the fuss was about.” She flicked her nose toward the bar near the back. “If something’s going on here, I’ll bet the bartender knows.”

“Come on, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, linking a foreleg with Fluttershy. “Let’s go get a table. We’ll be fending off these barbarians all night if we stand around looking like we’re waiting for somepony to buy us a drink.” She headed toward an empty table near the bar.

“Really?” Rainbow said, following after them. “How many drinks do you think we could get?”

“Oh, Fluttershy’ll get tons,” Rarity said.

“Why would ponies want to buy me drinks?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight shook her head with a smile as she watched heads turn to the trio. She looked over at the bar. “Well, Applejack, let’s go get some drinks of our own.”

“Sure thing,” Applejack said. “After you.”

Twilight loosened her cloak, feeling the warmth in the room building up beneath it, and trotted briskly up to the bar. The barkeep looked up at her as she approached. “Can I get you ladies anything?” he asked.

Twilight shrugged. “Whatever’s on tap.”

“Cider, if you’ve got it,” Applejack said.

“Beer and Cider, got it,” the barkeep said. He turned away, using his horn to levitate up a pair of glasses.

A pegasus with his chin planted on the end of the counter lifted his head and looked up at Twilight. “Didja’ drop from the sky?”

Twilight blinked at him. “No, why?”

“Cause you look like a shtar, beautiful.” He spread his wings and winked at her. “If ya’d like, ya kin ride me all the way home.”

“Really?” Applejack said, glancing at the pegasus. “That’s terrible.”

Twilight grimaced, turning back to the barkeep as he set a drink in front of her. She set a bit on the counter, then lifted the glass to her lips and said, “No thanks.” She took a sip: watery beer.

“That’s ol’ Bluey,” the barkeep said. “Just ignore him.”

The pegasus lurched off of his stool and slid toward her. “Come on, gorgeous. Y’look tense.” He reached out toward her.

Twilight wrapped her levitation around his foreleg and twisted it violently away. The pegasus gasped in pain. She wrapped her levitation around Solstice’s handle. “If you touch me with anything, you’re going to lose it!”

“Ah!” The pegasus cried, tears in his eyes. “’M sorry! Lemmy go!”

“No drawing weapons!” A shrill, stern voice shouted from behind Twilight.

Twilight released the offender. He quickly slinked away, favoring the foreleg she’d twisted. She let her magic fade from around Solstice. Why did I reach for my sword? she thought as she turned to face the speaker.

A plump, yellow maned mare with a violet coat glared at her. “I’m sorry one of my patrons was giving you trouble, but I absolutely will not have blood on these floors.”

“If you threw animals like him out,” Applejack said, “We wouldn’t have to tell ’em off.”

“Excuse me?” the mare cried indignantly. “And who’re you to tell me how to run my business?”

“Applejack, of the Apple Clan,” Applejack said.

The mare prodded Applejack’s chestplate with a hoof. “Well, Miss Applejack, if you think that some fancy armor gives you the right to—”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, cutting in. “I overreacted. It won’t happen again.” Inwardly, she sighed. Why’d you snap? she asked herself. Just a drunk. She knew the answer; tense could only begin to describe how she felt after what had happened with Pinkie.

The mare turned to Twilight. She opened her mouth, eyed her, then smiled sweetly. “Well thank you, Dearie. I’m Plum Violet, your hostess.” She tapped her hoof on the counter. “I’m sorry he caused you trouble.” She tapped her hoof on the counter and looked at the barkeep. “Half Full, get Miss...” She glanced at Twilight. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

Be yourself, Twilight thought. “Twilight Sparkle,” she said.

“Half Full, get Miss Sparkle something nice on the house,” Plum Violet said.

“Coming right up,” the barkeep said.

“Hold up,” Plum Violet said, staring at Twilight. “You wouldn’t happen to be the Baroness Twilight Sparkle, would you?”

Twilight blinked. “How did you know that?”

Plum took a step back. “Oh my stars, you are! You’re the Dragonslayer! I heard you were in Canterlot, but I didn’t imagine you’d be coming here.”

Twilight frowned at Applejack. “Why does everypony think I killed him?”

Applejack chuckled. “Cause you got the landed title for it.”

Half Full slid her a mixed drink, complete with an olive. Twilight sighed as she lifted it. “He wasn’t even that hard to kill.” She took a sip; it was much better than the beer.

Applejack’s eyes narrowed, and she gave Twilight a strange look.

Plum Violet laughed. “Oh my, so modest! Well, here, I have a little something for you.” She pulled a purple fragment of silk with a copper crown sewn into it out of a pouch on her hip and set it on the bar in front of Twilight.

“What’s this?” Twilight asked.

Plum Violet pointed to a narrow staircase leading to a door. A broad shouldered enforcer wearing chainmail armor and a hoofmace stood next to the steps. “You show this to him, and he’ll let you and your friends into the back rooms.” She smiled sweetly. “I’m sure you’ve heard stories about the Copper Coronet. Back there is where the real fun is at.” She leaned close and added in a whisper, “You can have anything you desire.”

Twilight swallowed and picked up the scrap of silk cloth. “Thanks.” She eyed Plum Violet. “How did you know I was in Canterlot? How do you know who I am?”

“Oh, everypony who’s anypony’s heard about you,” Plum said with a grin. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” She pushed away from the bar. “Ta-ta!” She waved daintily as she trotted away.

Applejack picked up her mug of cider. “She sure got friendly when she recognized you.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “She got friendly when I apologized, Applejack. It’s called being polite.” She shrugged. “Besides, she didn’t even know who I was until I gave her my name.”

Applejack took a sip. “Nah. She knew who you were. She just asked your name to be sure.”

“How can you be so sure?” Twilight asked.

“Remember when we were in the Candlekeep catacombs and I pointed out the Changeling?” Applejack said. “I can’t explain it. I just know. I guess I’m good at reading ponies, and something’s not right with that one.”

“I remember,” Twilight said as she closed her eyes briefly, a white explosion of arcane energy printed on her mind. “Why do you think she knew it was me?”

Applejack shrugged. “Don’t know. It seems odd that they’d know about a minor noble from Manehattan here, but maybe that stunt you pulled with the dragon head in the council chamber caused a few ripples.” She gulped down a mouthful of cider and glanced at the door to the back rooms. “So, what’s our next move?”

“You don’t think Fleur is tricking us, do you?” Twilight said.

Applejack shook her head. “That mare is hiding something for sure. But, I think she’ll help us if we help her.”

Twilight nodded and motioned the barkeep over. After passing a patron a drink, Half Full approached them. “Need another drink?” he asked.

“No,” Twilight said. She flicked her muzzle toward the back door and floated the purple cloth in front of Half Full. “What’s back there?”

Half Full shrugged. “The good rooms. A few bits extra gets you some pampering. A few bits more gets you a good time.”

“Figured,” Applejack said with a small chuckle.

Twilight raised a brow. “A good time?”

Twilight found Rarity, Rainbow, and Fluttershy sitting at a table near the wall. She and Applejack slid into a pair of unoccupied seats beside Rarity. Fluttershy stared at three frothy mugs in front of her.

“Find out anything?” Rarity said as they sat down.

“Sure did,” Applejack said. She flicked her muzzle toward the guarded door at the top of the stairs. “It’s a brothel.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened. “You mean like a place where they—” She chuckled. “Erm, that’s neat.” She nudged Fluttershy with a wing. “You gonna have those?”

“Why would ponies buy me drinks?” Fluttershy said. “I don’t even like to drink much.”

“It’s not neat!” Twilight said, stamping on the table with a hoof. “It’s a huge problem!”

Rainbow picked up one of the mugs in front of Fluttershy. “Guess not.” She looked at Twilight. “What’s the problem? Ponies... uh... do it... for money n’stuff. Not a big deal.” She lifted the mug to her lips and gulped down a mouthful.

Twilight frowned and pointed at a well-dressed pony ascending the stairs. “It is a big deal! Look!”

“I’m not sure I follow, Twilight,” Rarity said.

“This place serves ponies, wealthy, powerful ponies, in secret. It’s perfect!” Twilight said. “The Changelings here—”

Rainbow’s mug clattered onto the table, spilling beer between the boards. “There’s Changelings here?!” she hissed. “Who? Where?”

“We don’t know it’s Changelings, Twilight,” Applejack said.

“It’s the reason we came here in the first place!” Twilight said. “I’m tired of being one step behind. We have to assume it is Changelings. If we do, we’ll know what’s coming.” She pointed at the door again. “Back there, they can nab important ponies and replace them.”

“What if it’s not Changelings?” Rarity asked. “I knew it was a possibility when we came here, but it could be something simpler. What if some ponies just want a piece of the Thieves Guild’s pie, and are willing to—”

Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “It’s not just a guildwar,” she interrupted. “It can’t be. Chrysalis had plans for Canterlot. She even got a top-grade magic license—maybe for me, maybe for Shining Armor.”

“Chrysalis got a magic license?” Applejack said. “What’re you talking about?”

“I don’t know!” Twilight said. “What I do know is we need to check out those back rooms and solve this if we want to find Pinkie.” She looked at her friends. “Are you with me?”

“Of course, but—” Rarity said.

“Great,” Twilight said, standing.

Their hooves clopped on the floorboards as they trotted down a wide, poorly lit hallway. Thick, cloying smoke clung to the ceiling. Twilight paused to cough, her head swimming. “What is this stuff?” she asked.

Rarity sniffed the air. “Smells like hazeweed, if I’m not mistaken.”

Rainbow took a whiff. “Really?”

Applejack wrinkled her nose. “Some ponies will do anything for a high.”

“Ah, it’s a drug,” Twilight said. “Great.”

“Don’t worry,” Rarity said. “It’s not very strong.”

“It can be quite calming,” Fluttershy murmured.

Twilight blinked her eyes clear and stepped forward again, approaching an intersection. “Well, let’s find somepony important before—”

Before Twilight could stop, she plowed into a purple mass rounding the corner. Recoiling, she kept her balance. Reflexively, she steadied the pony she’d hit with her levitation.

Plum Violet dusted herself off. “Ah, Twilight! You made it.”

“Sorry,” Twilight said. “Didn’t see you there.”

“Think nothing of it, Dearie,” Plum said. “Come on, I’ll show you the party.” She linked a foreleg with Twilight’s and pulled her around the corner. Beneath the low ceiling of the room beyond, shapely mares and toned stallions lounged on cushions. The same well dressed pony Twilight had seen on the stairs stole through a doorway with two mares clinging to him. “See anything you like?” Plum said in a low tone.

Twilight swallowed, her eyes drifting over the prostitutes. “Um... I...” she mumbled, feeling her cheeks flush.

“Tell you what, I’ll pick out a couple of my favorites for you to choose from. I understand our selection can be a bit overwhelming,” Plum said with a wink. “Fillies or colts?”

Twilight opened her mouth, trying to sort her thoughts. “Uh.” I have to blend in, she thought. A mare might be less awkward to just talk to. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a stallion that didn’t belong. His mane fell around his face in a haggard mess, and he was missing half of one of his ears. He walked confidently toward her.

“Oh, I see, both,” Plum said with salacious grin. “I’m partial to mares myself.”

“No, I—” Twilight said.

The stallion sneered. “Come on, let the mare breathe, Matron,” he said, almost spitting the last word.

“Oh skies above, what do you want this time, Tamer?” Plum Violet said, turning to the stallion. “Can’t you see I’m working?”

“Sure, if this is what you call work,” Tamer said, glancing around the room with disdain. “If you can part with your newest victim, I have a proposal for the Baroness.”

Rarity stepped up beside Twilight. “What sort of proposal?” Rarity asked. “Nothing uncouth, I hope.”

Tamer chuckled. “Nah, just business. I think she and I can make a pretty penny.”

Twilight pulled her leg free from Plum Violet’s grasp. “Let’s hear it.”

Plum Violet looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. “Barbarians, ruining my palace,” she said as she strode off with her nose in the air.

Tamer ignored Plum Violet walking off. “Sorry, your ears only,” he said, nodding at Twilight.

With a blast of air, Rainbow launched herself forward a few paces, landing beside Twilight, opposite Rarity. “If you’ve got something to say, you can say it to us!”

“I don’t need all of you mares; I just need her,” Tamer said, jabbing a hoof at Twilight. “What do you say, Baroness? Want to know what the Copper Coronet is really about?”

Twilight coughed, the wind from Rainbow’s wings driving a swirl of smoke into her face. This could be what we’re looking for, she thought. “Fine,” she said. “Let’s talk.”

“Good call,” Tamer said. He turned, motioning for her to follow. “This way.”

“You’re mighty popular, Twilight,” Applejack muttered as Tamer walked away. “Be careful.”

Twilight nodded as she stepped after Tamer. “I will.”

“We’ll get some rooms,” Rarity said. “Meet us there when you’re done.”

Twilight glanced over her shoulder at Rarity and nodded. Ahead, Tamer rounded a corner. She followed him.

“If she’s not back in thirty minutes, we’ll find her,” Rainbow Dash yelled after them.

A couple of paces behind Tamer, Twilight walked down a basement hallway. She sniffed; though the air down here was musky, it smelled cleaner than the smoke-filled air in the brothel. She breathed deep, filling her lungs.

“Nice being able to get air, isn’t it,” Tamer said. “Nothin’ dirtier than that den up there.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said.

Tamer chuckled. “Knew I’d pegged ya’ right. You’re not looking to spend bits on a rutting.” He stopped at a heavy wooden door and reached back to a ring of keys looped on his belt. “You’ve got enough balls to know you shouldn’t be payin’ for it.”

Twilight cleared her throat. “I don’t have balls.”

Tamer pulled the keys off his belt. “Sure ya’ do,” he muttered around the ring as he selected one. “I mean, if the stories about you facing off against a dragon are true.” He shoved the key into the door’s lock and turned it with a click.

“What does that have to do with testicles?” Twilight asked.

Tamer laughed. “‘What does that have to do with testicles,’ she says.” He gripped the door’s handle with his hoof and glanced over his shoulder at her. “Having balls means you’re a fighter, strong and virile like a stallion, and you’re not gonna let a mare like Plum castrate you.” He pulled open the door. “Anyway, here we are,” he said, stepping through into the darkness beyond.

“Castrate me?” Twilight said. She hesitated at the doorway.

“Blast,” Tamer said. “Forgot a candle. Mind lighting this place up?”

A low, animal growl rumbled in the air. Twilight lit her horn and reached for Solstice with her levitation. The purple glow revealed a wide corridor lined with cells, ending in another heavy door. Behind a set of iron bars to her left, a black bear stared at her. The lines of its ribcage stood out beneath its matted fur.

“Welcome to my domain,” Tamer said. “Up there, Plum Violet has everypony by the balls, but down here, we get to see what kind of stallions we are.” He pulled a scrap of dried meat from a bag in the corner and tossed it through the bars to the bear. The animal snapped it up eagerly.

“Why are you keeping a half-starved bear in a cell?” Twilight said, a hard edge to her voice.

“This is the pits,” Tamer said. “They gotta be hungry, or they won’t fight.” He stepped forward, slipping his foreleg between the bars of the cage. The bear lunged, snarling, but Tamer pulled his leg back at the last moment. With a clang, the bear’s teeth snapped closed around one of the bars. “When you’re fighting for life, that’s when you know who you really are,” Tamer said. “And that’s when we see that we’re all the same.”

“Pits?” Twilight said. “What’re you talking about?”

“Plum didn’t tell you about the arena?” Tamer asked.

Twilight shook her head.

“Mares,” Tamer muttered. “Never shoulda’ been in charge.” He trotted toward the far door, a grin lighting his face.

Twilight followed cautiously. She glanced through the bars as she passed. The occupants stared back at her with hungry, animal eyes. Tigers and wolves growled at her with each step she took. In one of the cells, she spotted what looked like a manticore curled beneath its membranous wing.

Tamer threw open the door, revealing a ring about twenty paces across enclosed by wooden planks. He strode through the doorway, until he reached the center. Twilight poked her head through, looking around. A story above, tiered benches overlooked the arena. Three other doors were set into the walls around the ring. The stands laid empty, and the only things in the ring itself were Tamer and bloodstains smeared into the wooden wall. Twilight's stomach turned as she imagined what must happen here.

“What do you do here?” Twilight asked, glaring at Tamer.

“This is where animals fight!” Tamer said. “This is where the blood surges and washes away the trappings of civilization.” He smiled manically. “This is where we see what we are!”

“And what’s that?” Twilight said. He’s a monster, she thought. She could feel Solstice dangling at her side. All it would take is one stroke. She bit the inside of her cheek. You can’t kill him, she told herself. Not yet.

Tamer tilted his head. “Don’t you know?” He stared into her eyes. “You can feel it, can’t you? I can see it in you. You’re a killer.”

Twilight pushed her sword out of her mind. “You said you had a business proposal. What did you bring me here for?”

Tamer smirked. “Not to fight, though I can tell you’re hungry for one.” He motioned at the stands. “How many ponies do you think would pay to see the dragonslayer kill beasts? And how many do you think would bet on her?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. I’m not going to participate in a bloodsport.” She glanced at the stands. “Besides, if they bet on me, wouldn’t you lose money?”

“Oh, they won’t be winning those bets, because you’ll throw the match,” he said. He walked past her, back into the corridor with the cells.

She turned, following him. “I’ll do what now?”

“It’ll be simple,” Tamer said. “I’ll throw an animal at you, then two, then three, then four. Each time, I give the audience the option to collect, or double down. They’ll double down, of course. You won’t even break a sweat.” He stopped in front of the cell with the manticore. “But then I’ll throw Paws here at you. He’ll get you with his stinger, and you’ll drop, and I’ll have to pull him off of you.”

Twilight raised a brow. “Why in Equestria would I kill ten animals just so I can get a dose of manticore venom?”

“Paws!” Tamer shouted. “Tail!

The manticore turned its catlike gaze up to Tamer, then curled deeper beneath its wing. “One moment,” Tamer said. He grabbed a pole leaning beside the cage in his mouth. “Zap zap,” he grunted around it. Arcane runes flashed to life along the length of the pole. The tip crackled with electricity. Tamer shoved it through the bars and jabbed Paws roughly.

Paws jumped when the tip made contact. He hissed and pressed his body up against the back of the cell. Even as thin as he was, the manticore dwarfed ponies, and there was barely enough room for him to stand. Twilight winced sympathetically, wondering what Fluttershy would do if she saw this. “Paws, Tail!” Tamer repeated, setting the pole aside.

Paws extended his tail until the stinger passed through the bars. Twilight twitched, a memory of the Sand Ravager’s stinger striking Braeburn flashing through her mind. She shook her head, bringing herself back to the present, as Tamer pointed at a scar near the base of Paws’ stinger.

“I cut out his venom gland.” Tamer pressed his hoof against the stinger, squeezing. “This manticore is as dry as a desert. When he gives you a prick, you just fall over, and you get half whatever we make on the bets.” He shrugged. “Or you would, if you were willing to participate in a ‘bloodsport.’”

“Fine,” Twilight said. “I’ll do it, but I want more than just bits.”

“What do you want?” Tamer said, eyeing her.

“Information,” Twilight said. “I heard a rumor there was something strange going on here. A pony came here not long ago, and disappeared. I want to know what happened.”

“Oh!” Tamer said. “You’re working with the Grey Fox!”

Twilight winced.

Tamer chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. It wasn’t my idea to turn against the Thieves Guild. Tell you what: You throw the match, and I’ll let you talk to the last spy they sent.”

“Talk? So they’re alive?” Twilight asked.

Tamer nodded. “He sure is.” He extended his hoof. “Half the bits, and the spy. Deal?” he said.

Twilight hesitated, eyeing the offered hoof. This is wrong, she thought. She reached out and took the hoof, shaking it. “Deal,” she said. I have to find Pinkie.

“Fight’s at midnight. Rest up.”

After getting directions to the three-room suite Rarity had reserved, Twilight slinked through the door. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found the common room empty. The accommodations looked comfortable enough, with functional furniture and plenty of cushions. She spotted a folded note with her name on it in the center of the table. She opened it in her levitation and quickly scanned it.

Rainbow and Fluttershy are out flying. Applejack and I are looking around. Your room is furthest to the left. See you soon.
—Rarity

Twilight tossed the note into a wastebasket and walked to the door to her room, briefly wondering who she’d be sharing with, or if she’d be alone, with three rooms and five ponies. She rubbed one of her eyes with her hoof and checked her watch. It was still early in the evening, but she already felt weary. A nap couldn’t hurt, she thought as she pushed the door to her room open. In the bedroom, Applejack and Rarity looked up at her expectantly. Twilight froze. Applejack had Star Swirl’s journal spread open on the bed in front of her.

“We know about the deal you made with Tamer,” Applejack said.

“Where did you find that!?” Twilight shouted, looking at the journal. “My notes are private!”

“You put it in the Bag of Holding with the rest of your things,” Rarity said, sitting in a chair. “We were concerned.”

Applejack prodded the pages with a hoof. “And by the looks of things, we were right to be worried.” She glared at Twilight. “What were you thinking! Experimenting with your powers!”

Twilight reached out with her levitation and snatched the journal from beneath Applejack’s hoof, slamming it shut. “You had no right!” she shouted. She raised her hoof and pointed rigidly at the door. “Out!”

“We have the right to care about our friend!” Rarity yelled. “We talked to Plum Violet about Tamer, then five minutes later we hear there’s a fight scheduled tonight, and you’re the star! Twilight, if you’re struggling, you could have talked to us.”

“I’m doing what I have to!” Twilight said. “He promised me information. We have to find Pinkie!”

Applejack shook her head and slid off the bed. She headed for the door. “Would Pinkie want this?” she asked as she passed Twilight.

“Pinkie believed in me...” Twilight said.

Rarity sighed. “We do too, Twilight, but—” She shook her head and stood up to follow Applejack. “The room is yours.”

As soon as they were out the door, Twilight flopped onto the bed, clutching the journal. That could have gone better, she thought.

Twilight sat on a bench, her cheeks and nose tinged with chill. Red-orange leaves drifted across the grass at her hooves on the light breeze. She looked across the empty field at the buildings of Ponyville.

“Do you know what you are, Twilight Sparkle?” a mare sitting on the bench beside her asked.

Twilight shrugged, glancing at the fiery-maned unicorn. “Sunset Shimmer, right?”

The unicorn nodded. “Right.”

Twilight let her gaze drift back to Ponyville. “I don’t think I have a good answer,” she said. “I’m somepony who fought to survive, but anypony would do that, wouldn’t they?”

“That’s not all you did,” Sunset Shimmer said. “With your power, you changed things. Might makes right.”

Twilight shook her head. “Except it doesn’t. Take the dragon we fought, Pyros, for example. All he did with his power was make ponies suffer.”

“And you were stronger,” Sunset Shimmer said.

Twilight shifted uncomfortably on the bench. “I guess so.”

“Mares like you take the world in their hooves and shape it,” Sunset Shimmer said. “You’re honed sharper than any blade. You wreak havoc on what lies in your path, and build your destiny from the ashes.” She looked down at a figure in the grass. “The only question I have is why you keep it on a leash.”

Twilight followed Sunset Shimmer’s gaze. The Spectre kneeled before her. Chains criss-crossed over its back, keeping the shadows from spilling across the sunlit meadow. Five glowing lights, pink, orange, cerulean blue, white, and yellow, anchored the chains to the ground. “Because if I don’t chain it,” Twilight said. “It will control me.”

“But it can be controlled,” Sunset Shimmer said.

Twilight nodded. “Maybe.”

Sunset Shimmer glided off the bench. She raised her hoof over the pink light. With deliberate purpose, she smashed her hoof down. The light pulsed, dimming.

Twilight lunged, tackling Sunset Shimmer to the ground. “What’re you doing!” she shouted as she pushed Sunset Shimmer onto her back. She glared down at the mare pinned beneath her forehooves.

“I’m letting it go,” Sunset Shimmer said calmly, looking up at Twilight. “I need to take the chains off.”

“I’m not going to let you do that,” Twilight said.

“That’s too bad,” Sunset Shimmer said. “We’re going to have to do this the hard way.” She grinned, and in the blink of an eye, vanished.

Twilight rubbed her hooves through the grass, fruitlessly searching for Sunset Shimmer, but she was nowhere to be found. “When I’m finished,” Sunset Shimmer’s disembodied voice said, “you’ll take them off for me.”

The blades of grass beneath Twilight’s hooves turned to dust, then hard stone. The sunlit world around her bled shadows. Knives of pain drove into her mind, rending gashes in the dirt. “Fight, Sparkle, like anypony would!” Sunset Shimmer shouted.

Twilight’s eyes flickered open. A thousand reflections of Sunset Shimmer’s face stared down at her from the roof of the crystal cavern. “Fight!” Sunset Shimmer shouted as she ripped into Twilight’s mind.

“Stop!” Twilight roared, reaching deep. Energy jumped to her command, but it didn’t come from the Spectre, it came from the lights anchoring its chains. Almost without thinking, she formed a Fireball spell. She picked a face, any face, and unleashed the magic. A red spark flew from her horn. The crystal ceiling exploded with blinding, deafening fire.

When the rumbling of the cavern subsided, Twilight blinked away dust. In the darkness, the only light came from the Force Cage trapping her. “Impressive,” Sunset Shimmer said. “But not what I was looking for.”

The corpse of a mangy wolf hit the dirt floor of the arena to cheers and the pounding of hooves. Twilight stood over the body, her swords dripping blood. One bear, two tigers, and three wolves lay dead around her. None of the creatures had landed a blow on her, and every stroke she’d made had been lethal. It was cathartic.

“And the dragonslayer wins again!” Tamer shouted from a raised platform in the stands. “Do you think she has more in her, folks?!”

The stands rumbled with applause and cheers. Twilight looked up at her friends sitting on one of the benches. Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity watched her, a mixture of horror and disappointment written on their faces. At least Fluttershy left, Twilight thought. She turned her gaze away from her friends and swallowed, her stomach turning.

“I can’t hear you!” Tamer yelled. “Are we ready for round four!?”

The ponies in the stands cheered louder. Many of them wore the trappings of nobility: fine hats and jewelry. They were all here to see a taste of death—to find some sort of thrill.

“That’s what I like to hear!” Tamer shouted. “Next round is in thirty seconds. Turn in your tickets for your winnings, unless you’re staying in!”

Twilight slowly spinned, looking up at the stands. If a pony left their seat, she didn’t see it. Tamer’s plan was working. She shook her head clear and focused on the four doors into the arena. What’s he going to throw next? she thought. She knew round five would be a manticore, but all the rounds before it were a mystery.

She took the time she had to check her spells. Her Mage Armor was active, along with Improved Haste and Shield. The Contingency in Solstice was prepared with a Stoneskin if she was injured. The Sequencer in her necklace stored two magic missiles, and the one in Solstice was primed with Improved Invisibility, Mirror Image, and another Stoneskin. She was more than ready for anything that Tamer could send through the doors.

When the thirty seconds were up, two opposite doors burst open. Two gaunt ponies waited in each doorway, armed with rusty weapons and thin chainmail shirts. From the shadows beyond the doors, Tamer’s assistants prodded them out into the open. As soon as they were clear, the doors slammed shut.

Ponies, Twilight thought, her mind chugging to a halt. Each pair held their weapons in a trembling grip as they approached her. They were like sacrifices offered up to her. He expects me to kill ponies! She whirled and looked up at Tamer. “This wasn’t the deal!” she shouted.

“What’re you talking about?” Tamer called back. “You wanted to step into the ring, dragonslayer!”

At the last second, Twilight noticed a pony had gotten close enough to stab at her with a spear. She cleaved through the shaft with Celestial Fury. Her mage armor flashed as the splinters struck it. With practiced ease, she completed two prepared Sleep spells in rapid succession, hitting each pair with one. All four crumpled, caught in the grips of magical sleep. The crowd booed.

With her attackers out cold, Twilight looked up at her three friends in the stands. “I didn’t know!” she cried. “It was supposed to be animals!” She turned back to Tamer. “It was supposed to be animals!” she repeated.

Tamer tilted his head. “We’re all animals,” he said, just loud enough to be heard over the booing crowd.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” The ponies in the stands chanted.

“What did you promise them!” Twilight shouted, gesturing at the sleeping ponies around her.

“Freedom, if any one of them took you down. That, or death,” Tamer said.

Slaves, Twilight thought. She turned her gaze up to the stands. Jeering faces looked back, surrounding her. These ponies were here to watch her kill slaves. Monsters.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!”

“Stop!” Twilight roared. Power surged on the tip of her horn as she brought a Fireball spell to completion. She picked a face, any face but her friends’.

Fight!

Author's Note

Editors:
Nightmare Prose
Amacita