The Legend Of The Lonely Ladybug

A Test Of Faith

A young colt sank his hooves beneath the soft soil, flinging up dirt with entertained giggles. He and his mother had been hard at work at planting new potato seeds to their backyard's small vegetable plantation.

As much as it was pleasing him the mother of the family was not as amused by his behavior, a fact quickly reminded to the child as he noticed her glancing at him worriedly.

"Pine, will you please stop making a mess?", the adult mare exclaimed to her child.

Pine, the sole child of the Drape family living at the outskirts of Trottingham ignored the given advice and rolled in the pile of loose dirt he had created despite hearing his parent.

"Awwwww, mom! You have no idea how fun this is," the colt whined at his mother, enjoying the sensation of the soil sticking to his coat as a fine layer. Used to digging and playing in such a way shortly after learning to walk on all four hooves, it was among his favorite activities.

"You can not re-enter the house in that state," miss Drape pestered Pine with an expecting stare, now distracted from seeding freshly dug holes in the plantation base because of it, "Please clean yourself."

A look at the bothered face that she was giving him was finally enough to make the child comply. Pine got up to dust himself with a side to side shake, simultaneously letting his face drop with a let down exhale.

"It's basic hygiene, dear," Pine's mother added soothingly, flashing a loving smile at him as she grabbed the shovel.

Pine turned and approached the shed at the other side of the yard in a search for the garden hose. To the colt it was one of many times when his mother was disappointingly strict with her ways.

"Why can't mom just let me have some fun while we're working," Pine thought to himself as he came upon the garden hose and turned on the tap.

"Help!!"

The young colt's ears shot straight at the moment he heard the distressed call from the direction of the plantation. It had come from his mother.

Realizing that something serious was up, Pine left the water running in his haste and galloped where he had just come from. Arriving at where he had left her, the colt skidded to a halt, staring in shock at what he discovered.

Miss Drape had fallen against the ground, struggling to free herself from a bundle of thorn covered vines which had wrapped themselves around her hind legs, reeled towards a hole in the plantation from where they had emerged. Her hooves dug into the soft ground in a desperate bid to stop the progress. This only helped to slightly stall the immensely strong pull of what ever had captured her.

Afraid for her safety, the colt dived forward and reached at the outstretched hooves of his mother without hesitation.

"Help!! Help!!", the child called out in hopes of alerting some passer-by as he was dragged along. The small additional weight did nothing to stop the adult mare's progress of being pulled within the hole, her back limbs already below the soil.

"Go get somepony," miss Drape exclaimed, wincing from the searing pain caused by the thorns digging into her skin.

"I can't leave you, mom," Pine whimpered in fear, cheeks wet from tears.

Nearby two stallions were traveling down the walkway, happening to pass near to where the tragedy was taking place. The tannish brown pony of the duo took a glance over the fence, made curious by Pine’s preceding shouting that they had heard moments before.

What he saw was an empty backyard.

"Weird. I could have sworn that I heard someone shouting in there," the horse eventually told his companion, puzzled about who it might have been as they moved on.

***

Dear Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student,

Under a great urgency I must inform you that your immediate presence is needed at Canterlot. I want to discuss with you about a series of very unfortunate happenings that have recently taken place at several locations around Equestria. They are all connected yet we do not know what causes them. These happenings demand your expertise and I believe that it is you as well as your five friends who can help to solve the problem. I have sent an escort to bring you along.

Your loving teacher,

Celestia.

"What could it be about?," Rainbow asked in Twilight's living room after listening Celestia's writing from her lips.

Further aside Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie and Applejack exchanged looks, also expecting some sort of answers.

"Don't ask me," the lavender unicorn replied and set the scroll down against the empty coffee table, "I suppose I must start packing at once."

"And we're coming with you?", Rarity enquired her friend.

"Yes," Twilight confirmed, already trotting in a circle to plan the necessary travel arrangements in her head, "It's why I invited you here."

"If that is the case I got to claim mah luggage from the farm. Oh great," Applejack exclaimed, "This puts yet more delay to mah responsibilities! Without Big Mac sharing the load at the farm we'd have no customers left by now. Since Faith arrived everythin' has been rather complicated."

"We should all get back to our homes to prepare. Where shall we meet?", Rarity asked Twilight who had ceased her trotting, apparently having decided what she has mapped regarding the trip as satisfying.

"The town square," the other unicorn told her friends, "The escort will naturally arrive here to my house. I will tell them where the rest of you are waiting and will then come to get you."

"Uh........," Fluttershy began awkwardly, already finding the attention of the others upon herself, "what about Faith?"

Having secretly expected the pegasus to mention her source of affection, Twilight gave the yellow mare a glance. "He'll be fine," the unicorn replied, "We will only be away for a day and he is already used to Ponyville. I chose the square so you will have a chance to let him know what we are doing."

"Well, I'm off," Rainbow expressed, already tense from anticipation regarding the unexpected trip, "See you at the town square." In a rush of wind the cyan pegasus had gone through the open window. At the same time the others began departing the house.

"Can't wait to visit Canterlot again," Rarity nearly squealed in joy, "With or without weddings that place makes the fashion artist within my beating chest beg for shopping. Absolutely fabulous offerings for fabrics------", is what Twilight could make out until her self-executed spell slammed the door shut behind the last mare to leave the house.

At that moment Spike arrived from the library, wiping sweat off his forehead.

"It's ready," the dragon told Twilight, exhaling tiredly with loud puffs, each producing a small ring of smoke, "The library is spotless and clean like I promised. You can go check it if you want, I went through it several times. The books are sorted."

Spike relaxed, collapsing to his back from the exhaustion. "Will you never try to control my mind again?"

A lavender hoof patted his cheek. "Oh, Spike," Twilight cooed at her assistant, "Didn't you already get over that one?"

"Will you promise?"

"I promise, dear Spike," the mare chuckled, "Now get up and help me pack my stuff. I'm going to Canterlot."

***

A knocking at the window of Faith's apartment alerted him from his daytime nap. Looking up from where he rested in his commonly relaxed laying position, the stallion spotted Fluttershy floating on her wings outside, a sight which quickly made him jump to all fours. Standing on the bed, his hoof unlocked the latch.

"Uh..........did I disturb you?", Fluttershy began reluctantly when Faith opened the window.

"Not at all, my dear Fluttershy. What is it?", Faith asked his companion.

As he finished the sentence the pegasus looked down to spot part of the answer. Everyone else in the Harmony team occupied the street in the company of a small escort of Canterlotian pegasus guards wearing their trademark golden armor, a sight Faith was witnessing for the first time for never having served in the army.

"We are going away from Ponyville to visit Canterlot for a day," Fluttershy replied to his question. She reached over and gently touched his cheek with the sole of her hoof. "Just for a day, darling. Urgent matters. Will you manage?"

Even though she hid it the tone in her voice had slight concern which Faith was quick to pick up. Smiling back at his friend, his own hoof connected with Fluttershy's fore limb.

"I'm not going anywhere," the stallion replied.

"Fluttershy, come on," both of the pegasus heard Twilight calling from below, "The guards are getting antsy."

"I got to go," Fluttershy explained and dived below as Faith watched her go.

"Have fun," the stallion shouted after the mare and proceeded to close the window.

At the street the leader of the guard escort was examining the entire group to assess that everyone were present, eventually facing Twilight with a rather stern look.

"If miss Fluttershy is done we should get going," the pegasus explained with a rough voice, "Her majesty is expecting you."

"Lead the way," Twilight replied to the guard half-heartedly, too well used to the routines of the royal pegasus.

As soon as he got her reply the head of the guard gave the rest of the royal escort a sharp order which made them surround the six mares in a pre-established formation. Heading down the street, the group was soon drawing attention from the rest of the locals.

"Are you sure this is necessary?", Rarity asked the leader of the unit, "We attract the eyes of the entire town this way."

"Celestia's orders," the head pegasus growled in agitated manner, "An unrest has begun to develop. We have been directly assigned by her majesty to protect you in case any trouble stirs."

"Celestia's orders this, Celestia's orders that," Pinkie exclaimed to herself as she observed the building crowd, "This won't help reduce any unrest, that's a given."

"Just go along with it, girls," Twilight told her friends, "It'll be over once we get a chariot."

"Twilight, there's something that we really got to speak about," Applejack began after appearing next to the unicorn, the large strapped saddle bag swayed from side to side by her flanks as they trotted over the pebbled road. Already curious, the lavender mare glanced at AJ with an expecting look.

"It's about Faith and his.............dark side," Applejack continued, "There's somethin' that still ain't makin' much sense to me."

"What about it?", Twilight enquired her friend.

"Don't get me wrong or anythin', he is a sweet, sweet darlin' of a stallion and he ain't done anythin' truly bad. The thing here is.........with everythin' that I've been taught about pony psychology, it, uh........," the farm mare attempted to bring up her point, "it doesn't work like that."

"Are you confused about his identity?", Twilight asked.

"Well, technically yeah, ya could say it like that" Applejack said, "but there's more to it. Let me see if Ah can explain what Ah mean here. Ya see, Ah just don't understand how an individual pony can suddenly become two separate beings without bein' singular in mind. As much as Ah would like to believe him what he told us is a rather mad claim."

"I understand, AJ," Twilight reacted, "It is incredibly unusual, even impossible according to recorded knowledge but we do live in Equestria. Certain forms of magic can be sentient and living for all that I know. Such magic can hide itself behind more natural elements. They are deeply connected to how our world works, maybe even how we ourselves work. How do you think we were given our Harmony mantles?"

During the discussion the escort arrived to the heart of the square, passing the town's statue. More ponies joined a crowd of curious onlookers tracking the easily distinguishable golden armor of the royal pegasus.

"So ya sayin' that he ain't crazy?", Applejack uttered to Twilight with a raised eyebrow, "Even when he is just an ordinary pegasus without magical abilities?"

Twilight's sudden stern glare made Applejack blush from a sudden realization of where she had gone wrong.

"Not.......that a mare-like stallion is ordinary of course," the mare mumbled in embarrassment, "Sorry, Twilight."

"It is he who you should apologize to, AJ," the unicorn replied, a momentary silence stalling her reply when she thought about the subject of discussion, "While Faith's ordeal put an immense toll on him he has a pure soul that prevents him from committing what he said his old bitter emotion had demanded. If he was evil we could tell it. He is a bit sensitive but Faith does know what he wants from himself. That is important with his case. I believe that he has been honest to us."

"Ah still ain't gettin' how an emotion can be sentient without bein' a true part of a pony," AJ mumbled, nearly stumbling in her thoughts. "Smells like rubbish to me. It just ain't common sense."

"Some strange happenings can not be completely described by common means, "Twilight explained, "Remember, I tried to crack how Pinkie's keen sense works and failed."

"The difference is that Pinkie's madness is way more consistent," Applejack grumbled.

"I heard that," Pinkie uttered loudly from behind their back.

"Don't worry," Twilight laughed with a smooth voice, "maybe we will learn more about Faith's ghost emotion sooner or later. I have a strange feeling that it may be related to the mentioned unrest more than we are currently aware of."

The group cleared more buildings after leaving the square behind. Many citizens of Ponyville were now aware of the escort, some of them having been tipped off early about it by others. More curious crowds gathered ahead to watch them approach, a discussion starting among individual groups.

"I wonder where Twilight's heading?", a mare asked her friends in curiosity.

"Seemingly to Canterlot with all those guards protecting them," a stallion replied.

"I hope they can do something about those vines," an older mare was heard nervously mumbling, "My fiancé got taken by them."

"Move along, everyone," the leader of the escort told to the onlooking crowd, clearing space with his fellow guards to allow the group to progress.

Amidst the crowd Twilight's ears detected loud obnoxious voices calling her name. Three stallions, a hunk with barely any teeth, a short fat brown horse and a skinny, pimple faced pony sneered among the rest of the crowd, the same trio that had harassed Faith and Fluttershy a few days earlier.

"Hey, Twilight Sparklicious!", the skinny pony exclaimed.

"Will you look at her flanks," the brown fat one of the trio added with an almost enthralled stare. Some of the mares in the crowd backed further away in disgust from having seen the drool falling from his mouth.

The toothless hunk tried the tie hanging from his neck, eyeballing the mare unicorn in his thoughts as the escort passed them. "Yeah, I'd sure give her some real horse spanking."

The remark caught Twilight's ears from close distance and stopped her dead in her tracks, causing the entire convoy to grind to a halt. Surprised, the leader of the guard group gave her a look with a confused expression.

"Why did we stop, miss Sparkle?", he asked the mare.

The luggage that was floating beside her came down against the pebbled road with a loud thud. Twilight's hooves trembled violently, a severely annoyed and grumpy look on her face signalling a surfacing need of retaliation. Turning, the mare unicorn directed a furious gaze towards the three stallions already aware of her reaction.

"I think she heard ya, Scarf," the skinny pony cackled.

"Yeah, babe! Come stroke mah mane!", the hunk shouted to Twilight without fearing the expression being displayed towards him.

Concerned, the pegasus general tapped Twilight's shoulder to try to reclaim her attention. "Miss Sparkle, we really shouldn't be stopping now," he attempted to coax her, "They aren't worth it."

Ignoring his advice, Twilight continued to stare at the three bullies angrily.

"This will only take a moment," she eventually told the general without looking at him and moved towards the crowd. Following their given instructions, the guards attempted to block her path but seeing the look on her face dispersuaded them, these guards being as aware of her abilities as everypony else in Canterlot.

"Just let her through," the general pegasus told the soldiers, exhaling in frustration as he succumbed to the inevitable change of events.

Stepping through the protective shield of the guards, Twilight neared the trio that had verbally offended her integrity. Having encountered rude ponies from time to time, the mare unicorn remembered what she had learned about self-control in the face of ethical differences. But these stallions had succeeded in crossing the line of good taste.

Before moving on with the others she would teach the toothless hunk a lesson about humble manners.

***

Back in the apartment Faith was resting in calm silence.

After Fluttershy had departed with her friends to Canterlot some questions had emerged to the stallion's mind. What type of urgent matters had she meant? She hadn't revealed any further details. From the time he had already spent in the town Faith had gotten to know enough about the six mare's roles as individual representors for the Elements Of Harmony to believe that it must have been important.

Maybe they would have a meeting with another country's changelor to discuss about shared interests. Maybe there was a dispute between war mongering clans. Perhaps a community needed voluntary helpers against damage caused by a destructive natural phenomenon. The work of a throne servant surely sounds exciting and diverse.

Going through such possibilities, Faith soon became doubtful. If the representors of Harmony were needed in such affairs how come they weren't busy with them all the time? During the entire week Faith had only seen the mares working within the vicinity of Ponyville in their respective jobs. Canterlot must have had more officials than that to handle affairs spanning beyond it's border.

Or maybe it was all concerning what he had warned them about. Maybe It had finally started to cause damage to other ponies.

Faith felt his spine tingle from a cold chill when forcibly buried recollections from the preceding days re-emerged. He had felt it's presence from the apple acre. Although far away, something that it had done was also how the quake had begun. He hadn't expected anything like that. As long as he had kept it within him years ago the bitterness had only wanted him to let it take over, to give in to it's need of vengeance against those who had alienated him from seeking social interaction. It had used his shame, uncertainty and anger as it's tools to try and bend him under it's will. It had always been between him and his half. It had been about the balance of Faith's own essence. The outside world wasn't part of his personal wrestling ground.

But had there been more to it?

Had the corrupted ghost emotion been actually driven by more than just the need to retaliate against select few? Had it's motivation been even stronger than what Faith had acknowledged, something stranger, more desiring, less controllable? What kind of a beast of a child had he truly nurtured within? Faith recalled the intense rage that had once scorched his soul, the memory producing another chill of fear once doubts about it's full implications deemed upon him.

Maybe what he had ended up doing had saved him from becoming a coldhearted monstrosity even if it didn't fully stop the creature itself from being contained within the host that made it. Regardless of the price, Faith had saved himself from self-inflicted oblivion.

It would still be his responsibility. He would work to help to put a stop to it. What ever the creature that was no longer him would be plotting now the stallion would find out himself. Maybe Twilight and her friends could back him up once they would return from Canterlot.

Faith wouldn't be in a rush.

"Get up from the bed, coward," out of the blue a familiar female voice called out.

With a surprised snap of movement Faith's head turned to observe the mare who had literally sneaked in without him even noticing. Twilight stood at the opposite side of the apartment, the look on her face unpleasant to witness for it's target, eyes enveloped in white.

"Twilight?", Faith asked in confusion, raising himself slightly from the bed, "Weren't you supposed to have gone to Canterlot?"

"I said get up to your hooves," the lavender mare roared loudly. Simultaneously her horn lit up with an intense magenta glow.

Before he got to say anything Faith felt himself being lifted from the bed by a magical aura that forcefully flung him across the room. Landing badly, Faith rubbed his coat, quickly standing up to face the mad mare unicorn.

"What is wrong with you?!", Faith winced.

Heading closer with aggressive movement, the aura surrounding Twilight's horn flickered like a potent flame.

"Bringing you here was the biggest mistake that I have ever made during my entire life," the mare snarled to the feminine stallion.

"Have you completely lost your mind?", Faith replied, dismayed by what he was hearing.

Twilight didn't reply back. The look on the mare's face worsened, lips curling up to a malicious grin. Seeing it made Faith's eyes widen from shock.

He had never expected her to treat him like this, not after what they had gone through together. Yet she was committing it.

The flickering aura appeared around two candles located on the nearby dinner table and overtook the objects, morphing them to slithering serpents that dropped to the floor. Quickly upon him, the snakes lashed out at his legs, forcing him to back away to avoid from getting bitten as Twilight looked on with the same cruel smile.

"What's the matter," the unicorn hissed, "can't handle my Twiliciousness?"

Punching the other serpent's skull when it got too near, Faith gave his assaulter a doubting look. "You weren't like this earlier. What's going on, Twilight? Why are you attacking me like this?"

The serpents withdrew, slithering back to their master. Like swimming underwater the reptiles lifted to the air to glide around the neutral space surrounding her. Twilight's twisted grin remained the same.

"There is nothing wrong with me," she snapped.

As fast as they had come to be the gliding snakes returned to the table and reformed to become candles again.

"It's you, filthy colt! I am here to fix my mistake," Twilight's voice boomed loudly, the white in her eyes intensifying so much that it forced Faith to shield his own.

A new violently swaying aura surrounded the mare's body and she started to near him again. Still shielding his eyes from the radiation, Faith backed away to keep their distance consistent, a difficult task in an apartment space designed for one pony occupant.

"Twilight, please, don't hurt me," Faith exclaimed nervously, trying to sound assuring and calm in how he communicated, "What in Celestia's name have I done to deserve this all of a sudden?"

His words had no effect on the mare sending a literal heat wave to his direction. "Oh boohoohoo, cry me a river," Twilight cackled, "You only prove that my suspicion is correct! You might look like a mare but you're still a dumb coward to the core, Faith. All stallions are the same."

Almost tripping on a chair, Faith grabbed the piece of furniture. Using his two hooves to hold it, the pegasus placed it between himself and the unicorn like a makeshift shield akin to a lion tamer performing with a large feline.

"I don't understand why you are suddenly being so different and what "problem" you are speaking of," the stallion spoke slowly, "but I don't think you're being fair to me here."

Faith gasped when the chair in his hooves caught fire from a concentrated ray of light, quickly incinerated. Dropping the smoldering remains, the pegasus swiftly changed his placement in the room to avoid Twilight who still approached.

"You have wasted my valuable time with your pathetic social issues," Twilight growled, growing angrier by each moment, "I want you out of town! Leave immediately!!"

Faith dived to his right, dodging another energy blast that shattered the window.

While doing his best to avoid her new thoughts circulated through the stallion's mind because of the unexpected change of behavior in the mare who only moments ago he had strongly considered a friend.

The first time he met her Faith had only expected a brief conversation and a possible exchange of 'thanks' for what he had done for the group back in the forest before he'd have gone his own merry way. But the way Twilight had prevented him from leaving and how she had looked him in the eyes had eventually given him a different view regarding the mare.

She had seen what troubled soul he was and had just wanted to help him in return let alone had done all of that without ever judging him. The Twilight that he had gotten to know during the week was a kind, warmhearted pony caring about the well-being of others. And she truly had helped him, more than she herself could probably imagine.

Yet the mare now facing him had lost all traits of that. This sudden new attitude stood out from what he thought he had known.

Acknowledging the past week, Faith continued with his attempts of reasoning. "Don't you remember? It was you and your friends that dragged me out of Everfree only a week ago against my own will," he exclaimed, "I didn't come here because I wanted to! You aren't being your normal self."

Twilight stalled momentarily to pierce him with the fury of her eyes without signs of sympathy, her body straightening back like a cougar stretching itself before the bounce.

"I indeed should have left you to that dreaded forest," the mare uttered menacingly, "And you don't know a thing about me."

Not buying her new behavior, Faith kept up the subject. "Then why didn't you? If I have been brought here for no reason you could have just said it in the first place." Closing out the fear regarding her power, the stallion slowly approached Twilight. "You have given me so many good advices. Was that all empty talk?"

Within the depths of his conscious thought a suspicion began to slowly develop.

When Faith got near her Twilight's magic striked again. In mere seconds the pegasus found the blade of a floating bread knife painfully close to his throat. He hadn't even thought of checking whether the apartment had such utensils for not having needed them. Freezing in place, fear overtook him again.

"You told me to trust you," the stallion half-whispered almost beggingly.

"Do not come near me, you ball of slime," Twilight barked, the pure white eyes flashing in rage.

Sensing the blade nearly puncturing his coat, Faith closed his eyes tightly.

"If I really am such a burden to you then do what you must if you feel that it is the right thing," he spoke in humble silence, "My life is in your hooves."

Waiting for the killing motion of the blade in acceptance, Faith instead felt the knife withdrawing. Opening his eyes again, he rubbed his neck from where it had pressed against, sighing loudly in relief at having avoided dismemberment.

"This is crazy, Twilight."

"Leave! Now," Twilight raised her voice again, still staring at him with a horrid look, "You are not important to me."

"Just like that? After all that you willingly did for me? No explanation? No words of wisdom? Nothing but violent harassment and insults regarding my gender," Faith uttered in a disbelieving state, "I wouldn't treat you like this in return. You are driving me away for no good reason! What the bucket, Twilight?"

"You should have believed me earlier when I said that he is a coward, Twi," a new female voice that Faith already knew was Rainbow said from behind his point of view. He hadn't noticed her appearance either because of it's silent execution.

"What? Oh, come on," the baffled stallion exclaimed as Rainbow joined Twilight's side, "Didn't we reach an agreement??"

"Like any of those would matter by now, loser," Rainbow shouted maliciously, sharing the same twisted look of rage as the mare unicorn, "Well, what's the matter? Can't take a hint? She told you to leave."

"Can't we seriously discuss this in a more civilised manner?", Faith asked both mares as politely as he felt capable.

Twilight's new attitude had already shocked him but Rainbow too adding more to the mess was becoming harder to bear.

"There's nothing to discuss between us anymore," Twilight snarled, "Rainbow and I have done some conversation of our own and we have reached an agreement about this entire fiasco of your's. Your presence is no longer welcome to Ponyville. You may leave now."

"And be fast," the cyan mare pegasus added, knacking her wrists in anticipation, "I haven't been practicing my boxing for a long time."

Devastated, Faith's chin began to sink towards the floor. He had not expected his friends to not only abandon him but also treat him as an enemy after all the voluntary effort they had gone through just to assist him.

Something in his latest actions must have made them reconsider. What ever it had been he couldn't ask without fear of aggressive response nor would they be willing to explain it to him in detail. It didn't make sense after the discussions they had had the preceding day in Applejack's home.

He eventually glanced back at the mares who were seemingly enjoying to see his despair.

"That's the problem with elitism," Faith told them darkly, "One eventually ends up drifting apart from those who he has admired."

"Well," Twilight continued, "Are you going to leave or will I have to handle you some more?"

"Leave that to me, Twi," Rainbow told her friend, "You've spent enough of your magic to this freak."

Torn from listening the insulting ways of speech regarding him, Faith finally raised a hoof as a sign of peace, having by now accepted the hopeless state of the affair.

"Alright!," the pegasus exclaimed, "Alright, I'll leave just to put an end to this madness. But before I do I'll have to farewell Fluttershy."

"I was lying to you, jerk," a third female voice spoke out in malice from where Rainbow had previously emerged.

Faith's jaw dropped when the yellow mare pegasus came to view, trotting up to join the other two mares already standing before him. She too had sneaked in without being noticed.

"Wait, what, whaaaaaaaa?", the feminine stallion nearly squeaked in ever stronger disbelief.

"You are so easy to fool, Faith," Fluttershy laughed offensively, almost intentionally stabbing at his emotions, "I had you around the tip of my hoof the whole time."

Faith observed all three ponies in silence, feeling ever more doubtful. Something in the way the sudden meeting had gone to be hadn't felt right, almost as if it had happened too conveniently in correspondence with his thoughts and feelings.

Way too good to be true.

"Now," Faith began more sternly, impatient to bring the upsetting conversation to an end, "now this is getting ridiculous. First you come here without knocking and attack me without explaining it, Twilight. Then Rainbow. And now Fluttershy-----"

"And me," Applejack exclaimed, marching to the room after slamming what Faith had perceived as a locked door, leaving the room and the five ponies surrounded by eerie silence until she continued. "I stand behind mah friends, ya brainless brute of a dead weight! Get out of here and leave us alone!"

Instead of trying to defend himself from the dogpile of friends-turned-to-enemies Faith watched them in complete silence, pondering to himself during which Twilight spoke out again.

"Still not getting it? You must have inherited a brain of a snail," the unicorn growled with such angst that it nearly made her sound like a different individual, "You have been exiled. Buckering baby face."

Catching Twilight's last name calling, all of the confusion within Faith's mind suddenly lost it's meaning. Focusing exclusively on her, the stallion lifted an eyebrow, the type of convenience he had heard having given him the last bit of necessary evidence.

"What did you just call me?", the pegasus asked slowly.

"Baby face, baby face, baby face," all four mares began to chant loudly, so synonymous that their vocal chords appeared welded in their exclaim.

Surprisingly untouched by the verbal offense, Faith listened. They were too rude, too aggressive, too convenient. These possibly couldn't be the ponies that he knew.

"That's it! I'm wrecking this moron!"

Before he could react accordingly an immense pain struck Faith to the left side of his face. Thrown to the floor, the stallion realized that Rainbow had punched him. It had happened faster than he anticipated, almost machine-like in precision.

"Yeehaw," Faith heard Applejack's voice near him as Rainbow continued to pummel his rib, "time for some pony buckin'!"

Bracing himself, Faith took the given physical assault from the two mares with endurance, shielding his face from the punches and kicks. The stallion's choice of defense had left his chest unguarded. A new kick from Rainbow's back hoof sank to it's target, knocking the wind from his lungs. Faith keeled to a fetus stance, gasping for air.

"I never......told any of you..........what my............childhood mockers called me," the pegasus mumbled with a wheezing voice, caughing.

Standing on two limbs, Rainbow raised a hoof and forcefully brought it down against the side of Faith's face to pin him against the floor, incrementally sending more pressure down at his head as the other mares cackled at him.

To the subject of beating it marked the last straw in an already stretched chain of absurdity.

Faith grabbed the mare's leg swiftly, at the same time twisting himself to the side, the counter attack succesfully bringing Rainbow out of balance. Tumbling, she was flung off entirely when Faith threw her aside. Taking her friend's place, Applejack aimed a strong kick.

Instead of connecting to soft flesh her hoof was met by Faith's own. Changing position to lie on his back in an angle that faced her, the stallion had brought his own back hoof forward to successfully block the blow coming down on him. Without returning any further offense he rolled backwards to get up from the floor, backing away from the maniacally laughing farm mare before she would get to attack again.

Fluttershy took her side, also laughing at him. "Oh, look at the poor stallion. He is fighting back."

Glancing upwards, an amused laughter inexplicably emanated from the feminine stallion who shook his head. The mares now watched him confusedly.

"What are you laughing at, baby face?", Twilight asked in a mixture of surprise and malice.

"It's you isn't it?," Faith spoke, now ignoring the mares, instead communicating to something else entirely. None of them no longer spoke, having frozen to their respective positions.

"Yes, I know you're there, bitter side," Faith again said to thin air, "Reveal yourself."

"What? That's just them being themselves," he heard a deep raspy voice reply invisibly from somewhere within the room.

"You are too late," Faith exclaimed with gathered courage, ignoring the motionless mares during his change of position to the middle of the apartment, "I have learned about both sides of the bit! There is no singular truth."

"Are you just going to let them treat you like dirt?", the raspy voice immediately replied back in a fit of rage, "Let me back in! Together we can make them pay for what they did to us!"

Faith braced himself again, anticipating a difficult struggle with an opponent that he could not see. Despite uncertainty he kept himself level headed, focused at the defensive stance.

"No," the feminine stallion exclaimed, "You generalize every bad thing! It's not how I handle conflict! I won't let you back in."

"Fool," the raspy voice garbled, "You are succumbing under the will of others. It is a weakness that they can exploit."

"Easy for you to say," Faith shouted so loud that his own ears started to ring.

While his shout still resonated in the room the space surrounding the stallion lost temperature. Very quickly Faith sensed chills running through his coat.

A dark grey mist had began to rise from beneath the floor and took residence all around the apartment, starting to condense to something larger before Faith's eyes. Already recognizing the basic shape of a pegasus, the stallion observed in morbid seriousness when a creature looking distantly similar to him completed it's growth, two orange eyes with black slits for pupils returning a stare at him, a dancing inferno behind them casting a hellish light.

"Long time no see............Faith," the elemental creature greeted him, heavy sarcasm in intonation upon the mention of his name.

Faith's body turned tense. What he had struggled against years ago had found him again.

This time he would have to win for real.

The fog pegasus chuckled and began to approach the stallion, reading his body language. "Just face it," the creature's raspy voice told him, "You and I both know it. These ponies do not truly care about you. To them you are an obligation that comes and goes."

Without acknowledging it Faith lifted his eyebrows surprisedly. The beast had almost mirrored a thought of his with it's statement.

"They can never keep you happy," the fog pony pushed it's argument, "Everything that you will get from them is suffering and unfulfillment. There is nothing for you to protect here. You don't need these deceivers. Let me back in!"

"No," Faith counter argued, "You have no right to judge everyone based on select individuals!"

"Just let me back in, Faith. It doesn't demand much from you," the creature said to him, stopping to watch his reactions, "All that you need to do is open up to me. No more than that. We can be whole again."

"Never! I will never let you in," Faith exclaimed, backing away from his former bitterness defensively, "There's a good reason for why I kicked you out. I am not giving up on my friends!"

The darkness of the fog from which the creature consists deepened, the hellish light behind It's eyes adding contrast by growing in strength.

"They are not your friends," the elemental beast growled, "Just look at her."

Faith stood in silence, not complying to the beast.

"LOOK AT HER," the creature's voice boomed with such intense loudness that it made the stallion jump.

Deciding that the action wouldn't hurt him, Faith glanced over to the motionless Twilight still staring at nothing, an unsettling expression still decorating the mare's face.

"Her sentiments concerning stallions like you are genuine," the fog pony explained, " I know so much more about your so called friends than you'd think."

"Why should I believe you," Faith asked without embracing the claim.

The fog pony watched him keenly, analyzing his way of reaction.

"I have witnessed it myself," it told him, "Twilight abuses her own power all the time let alone does it for pleasure. What kind of a wise mentor does that? Your "friend" has deceived you."

Faith shook his head, refusing to believe what he was being told. Seeing it, the elemental grudge moved towards him on it's hypothetical limbs without moving them.

"These mares have serious flaws that you had not expected to find," it said, "Aren't you disappointed?"

"Really? Like I didn't expect you to use that argument," Faith suddenly chuckled at the comment.

"What?!", the raspy voice uttered confusedly.

Smiling from ear to ear, Faith began to walk around the room, past the mares and destroyed furniture. "In case you already forgot, I am quite aware of how things really are, bitter side," he told the spirit-like entity that was tracking him from it's spot, "Nopony is perfect. Not Twilight, not Rainbow, not Fluttershy nor Applejack."

Faith stopped, watching the grimacing faces of the mares frozen to stare at where he was no longer located, feeling a tingle of pity at what had happened to them. "They have flaws because we all do," the stallion continued calmly, "Expecting perfection is a perfect way to reduce one's own foresight."

He turned around, boldly returning eye contact to the creature located not too far from him. "What they gave me is humble. Despite what somepony else does I still choose what I seek from what I do. I do not need bitterness nor power abuse to be happy."

"Listen to me---," the elemental creature attempted to counter argue.

"No," the stallion interrupted loudly, "It is you who will listen here. You created these generic bad interpretations of my helpers to try and win me over to your side. A disproportional illusion isn't going to blind me from seeing the bigger picture anymore. Life has more variety than what you claim. What you have shown me reflects only one side of these mares, not their whole essence. Yes, they can and do abuse their own capabilities."

Faith stepped closer to his opponent without hesitation. "But who doesn't? That doesn't make everyone unlikeable or antisocial. They are pony beings," he continued, "I do not hold a grudge for such a grudge will only be your weapon against me and everyone else. Believe it or not, I love these mares and want to be happy for them."

The feminine stallion positioned himself very close to the bitter beast's gaze, giving it a calm yet stern look, mindless fear absent from his feedback.

"To repeat myself, bitter side, you are too late. I am not you. You are not me. We will never be whole again, not as long as I draw breath. I mean it."

"Then I will take you by force," the elemental grudge bellowed to his face.

Sensing it's potent essence wrap around him like an invisible tentacle, Faith shifted focus to concentrate at keeping the negative emotion at bay, remembering what he was upped against as being a mere spirit from his past, a non-physical spectre depending on terror and superstitious blindness to succeed in gaining access to it's victims.

The struggle went on for a moment.

"Over my dead body," Faith stated bravely, having gained the mental upper hand over his opponent.

The bitterness retreated from him on the support of it's non-moving limbs akin to a snail reversing on it's slime, surprised by the unexpected new shielding side to what it had perceived as a simpleminded slave to it's cause. The creature suddenly began to chuckle, a morbid laughter ringing around the apartment. Hearing it momentarily chilled the blood in Faith's body. He had heard the exact same laughter in his nightmare.

"You think you have won," the elemental grudge cackled mockingly, "Aren't you aware of what I have been doing this whole time?"

Faith stared on, not sure about the hint that he had been presented.

Overly certain about what it was implying to, the fog pegasus again neared him. "All of those innocent ponies, at my mercy. While you might have delayed me I am not as powerless as you would like to believe. I will have my revenge, with or without you. And you nor those pitiful mares that you call your friends aren't going to stop me."

"What have you done?!"

"Why should I reveal my business to you," the fog pony groaked, "Aren't we two different individuals after all?"

Faith listened in shock, eyes widening.

"So you want to save them," his opponent spoke, "If that is the case I will be generous. I grant you one full day and night to come to me starting from this moment. If you fail to show up every one of them will be disposed of," the raspy voice threatened, the tone of it's voice deepening even more once it reached the detail in it's plan that it considered most juicy, "Painfully."

Feeling responsible for the fates of the mentioned ponies, Faith gave a new look of despair to the renegade piece of his former soul.

"Where can I find you?"

"Search your feelings," the fog spectre explained, "You do know where I am."

Easily noticing his helplessness, the creature moved right beside him, almost hugging his frame. "Yes, they will perish because you allowed them to. And after I am done with them............."

Faith felt the creature exhail a trail of cold mist against the back of his neck, refusing to look at it again.

"......I will personally track you down and torture you until you will cry yourself senseless," the elemental grudge finished, sounding ecstatic, "And then I will take you back. And we will be whole again."

The coldness hugging his coat began to fade. Looking around him, Faith noticed that the fog pegasus and all four mares had vanished without a trace. The rest of the grey mist still lingered.

"There is one more present that I have for you before I leave," the raspy voice of the bitterness spoke again from thin air.

"What ever you are still trying to feed me I won't take," Faith exclaimed.

"It's nothing too fancy," the raspy voice explained to him, "Just a visual recollection of something that I happened to witness only moments ago. It proves that what I have tried to tell you is true and not deceit. Take it as you wish, I don't have to lie to you about this one."

Everything around Faith blurred instantly.

Thinking that he had become blind, the stallion attempted to visualize the room that he knew he was occupying. Instead what he saw was a swirling tunnel that had started to grow fast in front of his vision. It widened, becoming large enough to fit the pegasus' entire body. Sucked forward, Faith screamed as he was hurled to the other side of the tunnel, enveloped in darkness.

A bright flash of light like a powerful still camera going off transferred his point of view near ground level, looking up at two immense shapes that he soon understood to be two ordinary sized ponies standing on a pebbled road of Ponyville's central town. A unicorn and a rough looking stallion.

Faith gasped as he recognized the unicorn as Twilight.

The look on the mare's face closely mirrored that of the interpretation that had attacked him. Her horn was glowing bright, the aura surrounding it flickering like a candle flame. Her magic had the stallion in an iron grip, strangling him with the tie hanging around the neck of the scared horse who was desperately clutching his throat, gasping for air from suffocation, a hanging mouth revealing only a few remaining teeth and a lagging tongue.

Looking on at the unnerving sight, Faith heard Twilight's voice.

"Careful, buddy," the mare said to the other stallion with a sarcastic, unpleased tone while choking him with the tie, "You might not be able to handle my Twiliciousness."

This couldn't be the mare that had helped him. The pegasus felt rejective at what he was being shown. Again he felt himself being pulled back from the sight that disappeared in a blurry fish eye.

Flown through more darkness, a sinking sensation overtook him. Faith was falling. Before dropping too far the pegasus crashed against a hard surface and collected himself back up to all fours. Faith noticed that he had re-emerged to the apartment, everything around him looking grey and lifeless.

"Have fun with your friends, Faith," the raspy voice chuckled and faded.

Gasping for air in a fit of claustrophobia, Faith broke to a run towards the shattered window and leapt through to exit the apartment.

Only to jump up on his bed with a terrified shout. His own hoof reached up and brushed against the forehead, sticky and cold sweat coming off the green coat. Faith massaged himself, trembling from the experience he had.

Looking around him while calming himself down, the stallion saw the room in the condition that it had been before Twilight appeared; Instead of turning to snakes the candles on the table weren't moving. The formerly destroyed chair was untouched. The window behind the bed was intact. Nothing looked broken nor charred. Everything had it's colors.

Sighing, Faith collapsed back against the bed, relieved by a comfortable fact; it had only happened in his head.

Had it been just a dream like previously? It had felt so vivid, even more tangible than the earlier one. On the other hoof it had been warped, one-sided, literally another nightmare nearly impossible to trust. While he had been able to control himself everything around him had turned hostile and abusive.

Had It truly tried to overtake Faith for real? Had it truly showed him a dark side in the lavender mare unicorn that he had so much begun to admire as his helper and friend? Deciding that he would think about it while taking a walk, Faith got off the bed and went towards the door on his way out of the apartment.

Unknown to the pegasus, within the inner supports of the building's walls a grayish green vine retreated below the structure, squirming in a fit of anger after failing it's mission.

***