Hatoful Ponyfriend - Bad Ponies Love

I can hear screams as everyone is in darkness again. Some unicorns light their horns, but most of the ponies are too scared to think straight. I am too. Rarity leads me back to the hospital and I can hear Princess Luna giving directions to the crowd behind us.

"Something's going on outside," the white unicorn says, pointing out the obvious. "Something bigger and more important than ourselves." She speaks calmly, but I can hear fear in her voice. "But we can't give up. If we give up now, we're doomed for sure."

I nod. We can't let that pony's death be for nothing. "We can't stop now," I say in agreement. "Let's go to Fluttershy. Maybe she has that box open."

The mayhem outside seems to have died down a bit when we go back out. Princess Luna seems to have a certain amount of authority now. I had wondered why, until now, she didn't have a more important role in Ponyville.

When we arrive at Fluttershy's cottage, we tell her everything. I don't expect her to stand there calmly, listening to every word, nodding every once and a while, but she does.

"It sounds like the worst possible outcome has happened just like we thought," she says simply when we finish.

"Wait a second!" Rarity stomps a hoof. "Do you know something we do not? Who is 'we'? Are you plotting something?"

The yellow pegasus shakes her head. "Don't confuse predictions with reality, Rarity," she says. "Predicting something doesn't mean it will come true."

"Still," I say slowly, "Who is 'we'? Neither of us have talked with you much."

Fluttershy gives us a small smile. "I suppose I can't hide it any longer, now that we have lost an innocent pony. Stand back please."

Rarity and I, once again, press back against the wall. Fluttershy walks over to a lamp, lifts it, and presses a red button  beneath it. She hurries to the middle of the room and for a backdrop painted with flames unfurls behind her, accompanied by a fanfare playing from an unknown source, probably a radio. This whole spectacle startles me so badly that I panic and fly straight up into the ceiling.

"I am Hurricane Fluttershy. Undercover agent of the Unicorn Party, at your service." Fluttershy gives us a nod and a small smile.

When I find my feet again, the first thing I can say to her is, "But you're a pegasus, not a unicorn."

"The Unicorn Party?" Rarity takes a step forward. "Isn't that the secret organization that supports peace with the dragons of Equestria? I thought they were just stories!"

"Sometimes the best place to hide something is right in plain sight," Fluttershy replies simply.

All of this new information is unfamiliar to me. "Wait. What is the Unicorn Party?" I ask. "Why are the dragons a problem? Doesn't Princess Celestia have that all under control?"

"I'm afraid it's more complicated than that, dear," Rarity says to me. "Do you know nothing of the history of Equestria? Long before our time, there were wars between ponies and dragons. We beat them of course, but a lot of good mares and stallions had lost their lives in the process. Even today, the pony population outnumbers that of the dragons ten to one."

She taps a hoof on the ground. "This is where the Unicorn Party is involved. It is one of the two political parties on the subject of dragons. The Unicorn Party wishes to continue to live peacefully with dragons and the Lion Party would rather wipe them from the face of Equestria entirely. They would have dragons exterminated completely."

To think that there were two factions of ponies within our peaceful town secretly fighting between war and peace... "Is what is happening today because of the Lion Party?"

"Yes." Fluttershy nods. "I'm afraid so. We have discovered Lion Party activity here in Ponyville, that is why I am here. Unfortunately, I could not stop all of this."

One thing hits me. "Spike is- I mean was- a dragon. Wouldn't the Lion Party want to exterminate him too?" I trip over the last few words. Could they be why he is dead? It must be.

"I opened the case," Fluttershy says and she motions for us to follow her to the table which I just now notice is covered in papers. "I think this will explain some things to you."

She points out a particularly official-looking document. Rarity reads it aloud:

The Dragon Representative

It has been decreed by Princess Celestia, ruler of the ponies of Equestria, and King Flarethrone the Magnificent, King of the dragons, that a young dragon will be chosen to live in a small pony community once every century, effective once the first suitable candidate has been found.

He will be the dragon representative.  We will pick a baby dragon who shows a hereditary resistance to Equidae Influenza. The representative will live among the ponies until maturity, when he will return to his native lands to report on the experiences as representative.

"Does this mean Spike is the dragon representative?" I wonder aloud.

"Yes," Fluttershy says simply.

The dragon in question will be the symbol of all of his kind within the community in which he lives. If he is to die within said community, the entire town, city, or village in question will be sealed off. One sunrise after the death is confirmed, the ponies will be at the mercy of the dragons, to be dealt with as the dragons see fit.

I find myself shaking, with fear or rage, I can't be sure. "Why?" I ask through my teeth. "Why would Princess Celestia agree to such a horrible thing?!"

"This is dreadful!" Rarity shouts. "Spike died, so all of Ponyville is taking the blame for it? We don't even know who did it, or how!"

"She didn't do it lightly," Fluttershy replies softly. "It took nearly fifty years for her to reach this agreement with King Flarethrone, during which the war was still going on. Innocent ponies were dying. Something had to be done about it."

I stare at the floor. All this time inside this dome, dragons have been flying to Ponyville to kill us once the dome is opened and nothing can be done about it at all. Not even Princess Celestia herself. They're waiting outside, just waiting for the sun to fall and rise. But Princess Luna can't raise the moon from in here, can she? Perhaps Princess Celestia would take up that responsibility once again.

"What was that part at the beginning?" I ask, looking over at the paper again. "Equidae Influenza?"

"It's a disease," Fluttershy explains, "a virus that is harmless to ponies, but fatal to dragons. It is what started the war between ponies and dragons. They didn't want their representative getting sick during their stay. This agreement was signed a thousand years ago. Up until now, all of the known dragon representatives have been successful."

"Why would this happen now?" Rarity asks. "Why wait?"

"Ponyville is largely occupied by those who support the Unicorn Party," Fluttershy sadly shakes her head, "But more and more members of the Lion Party have been coming to weaken their influence, and it's been working. And now, as soon as that dome outside opens, another war will begin."

"It doesn't matter if we get outside," I say quietly. "The fire will destroy everything. And everypony. There must be more we can do."

"You said that Ponyville has been under the Unicorn Party's support, right?" Rarity asks Fluttershy. She sounds like the has an idea. "Do you think there might be something in the town's history that could help us?"

"We should do it." I feel something I've never felt before, a hard, cold feeling.

My friend is dead and we are going to die. That dome is going to open and Ponyville will burn along with everypony in it. I know the ending to this story now, but I'm not going to just wait for it to happen. If there is nothing we can do to stop it, the least we can do is learn why this is happening. There are still unanswered questions, I don't want to die until I know the whole story.

"Are you alright," Rarity stares at me with a concerned look on her face. "You have been pawed a dent into the floor, dear."

I look down and notice that while lost in thought, I was indeed scraping one of my forelegs against the hardwood floor of Fluttershy's cottage. "Sorry about that, Fluttershy."

"Don't worry about it," the pegasus shakes her head.

"To the library?" I look at Rarity.

"The library."

We thank Fluttershy and exit the cottage, heading for the tree where I had crash-landed not so long ago.

It seems that Princess Luna has successfully cleared the crowds once we are back outside. Maybe they're back in the town hall? A couple of the street lamps have been lit, but Rarity keeps her horn lit nonetheless. That gentle blue glow makes me feel safe.

"It's amazing how much Fluttershy knows," I say as we walk.

"A Unicorn Party agent, right in Ponyville," the white unicorn shakes her head as she marvels. "Who would have thought?"

"She hid it well."

"She would have to, if there were Lion Party agents among us."

The library is still filled lit with candles when we walk into the large tree. There is no sign of the purple unicorn I saw when I was here last. It's a bit eerie, but there's no time to waste. Rarity and I begin looking through the books, shelf by shelf, pile by pile. I find myself over by a row of encyclopedias that don't look like they've been touched for at least a hundred years.

"Why isn't there a volume six?" I ask myself. It's not a big deal, really, but the skip from five to seven surprises me as I read along the spines of the books.

"What you are looking for is not here."

I turn around and I see Twilight Sparkle looking at me, half of her face lit by candlelight, the other half almost completely in shadow. Her stare is as blank as always. "I'm not looking for an encyclopedia," I say quickly.

"I know," she replies. "You are looking for the Ponyville records. They're not here."

"Can you tell me where to find them?"

"I can."

We stare at each other for a few seconds.

"Will you tell me how to find them?"

"Yes." She doesn't even blink.

"Where do I find them?" I have to try really hard not to raise my voice.

"By request."

"That was a request!"

"Say please."

"Please!"

It might have been the lighting, but I could have sworn I saw the tiniest of smiles at the edge of Twilight Sparkle's mouth. "The records aren't kept in public. They're over there." She motions to a desk at the back of the room. "In the back room, behind the desk."

"Thank you, Twilight Sparkle."

"Erm... Derpy Hooves?" Rarity walks up next to the purple unicorn and raises an eyebrow. "Are you feeling quite well?"

I am a bit hungry, but that's about it. "I'm fine, Rarity. Why?"

"You were talking to yourself."

"I was just talking to her." I point at Twilight Sparkle, who turns her head to stare at Rarity.

With a sigh, Rarity says, "Maybe you're dehydrated. I'd be worried if I found myself talking to the candles. I'll be right back, maybe there's some water here." Rarity turns around and walks up the stairs in search of a glass of water.

Twilight Sparkle turns her unblinking gaze back to me. "Well, she was a bit rude."

I don't want to consider the fact that she might not be real, that might mean that the information she gave me might not actually be helpful. I can't help but wonder, though.

"I'm sorry, Twilight Sparkle," I say. I try to word the question delicately, but I can't seem to find a way to do so. Finally, I give up and ask, re you a hallucination?"

She doesn't answer, she just stares at me like she did earlier. And the time before that. And before that. Then, she says, "I've never been able to talk to a pony I've just met before. Just you and Spike." Now, it's as if she looks through me. She sounds distant when she says, "Maybe I'll remember everything I've forgotten. Will you?"

"What?!"

"I found some water!" Before Twilight Sparkle can answer, Rarity comes back down the stairs, levitating a glass of water. "The first ten rooms I checked were either filled with books or- is something the matter?"

I'm distracted only for just a moment, but by the time I look back to the purple unicorn, she is gone. I shake my head and silently take the water. Does this hallucination, or whoever she is, know something about what's going on? We have no other leads, so there's no harm in going to see if the records of Ponyville are where she said they are.

Sure enough, on a shelf behind the desk, are the books we are looking for. "A History of Ponyville," Rarity reads aloud. She flips through the book, skimming the pages. "Wow, Ponyville is hundreds of years old," she remarks, pointing to a section on the Winter Wrap-Up tradition.

"Is there anything useful? About dragons?"

"Nothing we don't already know," Rarity snorts in frustration. She flips to the index. "Hoofball records, Pony of the Year awards, the legend of the haunted bakery. Wait. Do you know about the Amore group?"

I shake my head. The name doesn't sound familiar at all.

Flipping to somewhere near the end of the book, Rarity reads for a few seconds then says, "It says that about two hundred years ago, there was a fire in a medical facility of some sort that was home to a project hosted by the Amore group. There's not a lot of information- what's wrong?"

I lean over Rarity to take a closer look at the page. Something has caught my eye and I read to myself, "...years later, the facility was unfortunately shut down due to a fire. No employees were harmed, but one Twilight Sparkle was killed in the basement, where the fire seems to have originated. With research halted..."

"Did you find something useful?" Rarity asks, another concerned look on me.

"A ghost."

"Come again, dear?"

I shake my head and step away from the desk. "It says that somepony named Twilight Sparkle died in the basement of the Amore facility. That's the same name as the pony who I saw when I crashed here and just now. That's the only explanation."

"Ghosts are imaginary creatures," the white unicorn says as she levitates the book back onto its shelf with her magic. "They don't exist." She puts a hoof on my shoulder and leads me out of the candle-lit library. There must be more to the story than just that. Who is Twilight Sparkle?

We decide that the Amore Medical Facility is the next place to go. The only problem is that we don't actually know where it is. The book did mention that it had a basement, so all we would have to do would be to dig underground until we found it. We can't really do that, though.

We're on our way back to the hospital when a frantic shout startles us both. I panic and fly straight up like at Fluttershy's cottage but before I can bolt, the loud newcomer shouts, "Stop!"

I look down and I see a mint-colored unicorn staring at Rarity with a frantic look in her eyes. I land and she looks at me. "I am glad I could find you here. I have been looking all over for you." She speaks loudly as if she is in a theatre.

Rarity and I exchange looks. "Do you know her?" she asks me. I shake my head.

The mint unicorn puffs out her chest and lowers her horn aggressively. "I am Lyra, the Hand of the Sun Queen!"

I remember now. The crazy magic dabbler who lives on the edge of town. Nothing she says ever makes sense.

"Mother of Banished Snow!" She looks at me and leans so our noses touch. "Can you hear it? Can you see it? The beginning of the end?"

I lean back, I'm not really sure what to do about this. "That's not my name. What do you want?"

Lyra takes a few steps back. "I have no choice, Mother of Banished Snow, I must put an end to this before the darkness spreads any further! Draw!" She swings her horn down in an arc in front of her. "I shall grant you a swift death!"

Something ripples through me from my ears to my hooves. It's like a warm breeze, but I don't hear any leaves rustling. My mind goes blank. I feel words rising to my lips.

"Hand of the Queen!" I declare, "I shall end you here and now! Come!"

...

...

...

"Derpy Hooves! Are you crazy? We can't have you fooling around right now, of all times!" I feel like I'm waking up from a deep sleep. There's a pain on my left cheek and I'm lying on the ground.

"What happened?" I ask, trying to shake myself awake.

"The Glorious Enchantress of Inspiration interrupted our battle," Lyra declares, stamping a hoof.

"I had to pull you two apart before you tore each other to bits!" Rarity helps me up and I blink until I stop seeing double. "What made you think that was a good idea?"

Nothing comes to mind. I can't remember anything. I look at Lyra and ask, "What are you doing out here? Why did you attack me?"

"I must do my sacred duty as the Hand of the Queen! I must follow the Scourge of Wyrms!"

"Worms?" Rarity look a bit disgusted. "Why would you follow worms at a time like this? Are you sure you are not in shock from recent events?"

"NO!" I jump a bit as Lyra shouts at Rarity. "I am Lyra, Hand of the Sun Queen, Crosser of Realms, Breaker of the Wall of Time!" Her voice is rising. At this rate, she'll draw all of Ponyville out again. "I may not return to Fillydelphia until my task is complete! The walls shall be broken! They call me! THEY CALL ME!" Her voice cracks as she screams at the top of her lungs. I cover my ears.

"Hang on," Rarity holds a hoof in front of the other unicorn's face before she breaks any windows. "Where were you yesterday evening?"

"I was battling the Moon-Shifters, they invade ever still, and following the Scourge of Wyrms."

"No, really." Rarity growls impatiently. "Where were you?"

"The Faraway Travelers required my aid into the stars."

Rarity rears up onto her hind legs. "What the hay is wrong with you, Lyra?! Give us a straight answer!"

"The Scourge of Wyrms, it feasts on your anger! Be cautious, Glorious Enchantress of Inspiration! Bah!" She huffs and says, "Very well. Those who inhabit Ponyville know this place as Sweet Apple Acres." She spits out the words as if they're dirty insects flying from her mouth.

"Was that so hard?" Rarity says, calming down.

"Yes."

The two unicorns lower their horns, glaring daggers at each other. Before another fight breaks out, I look at Lyra and ask, "Did anything happen when you were there?"

Lyra looks a bit happier. "I saw Ignuntius Regina Solis brave the depths of the premises!"

"Who?" Rarity and I say at the same time.

"The Sun Queen's Messenger of the Flame, Ignuntius Regina Solis!" Grudgingly, she adds, "I suppose ponies normally called him Spike."

Spike went to Sweet Apple Acres? Applejack and Zecora both saw him before he died?

They said that nothing had happened.

Applejack and Zecora lied to us.