Doctor of the Lance

Chapters

Chapter 2 – The Magic / Die Magick
Chapter 3 – I was a Nazi / Ich war ein Nazi
Chapter 5 – Moonlight / Mondlicht
Chapter 6 – The Doctor is in / Der Arzt ist in
Chapter 7 – Blood in the Basement / Blut im keller
Chapter 8 – Golden Ticket / Golden Los
Chapter 9 – Dance of Fools / Tanz auf Narren
Chapter 10: Hello, Chaos / Guttentag, Chaos
Fool's Gold / Katzengold
Chapter 1 – Child of Mephistopheles / Kind von Mephistopheles
Chapter 4 – the Palace of the Goddess / Das Schloss die Göttin

Chapter 2 – The Magic / Die Magick

Chapter 2 – The Magic / Die Magick

The evening had been interesting, to say the least. The Summer Sun Celebration was the annual Summer Solstice festival, where the foals and children would frolic and consume sugary treats, while the adults stayed up for the sun rise while the youngsters slept off the crash. However, things had gotten weird around the time of the sunrise. When Johan had first arrived, he had not fully believed anything could control the sun at a whim, even with magic. In fact, up until that day, he had held that it was all a sham. However, when the sun did not rise for several hours after the appointed time, Ponies were panicking in the streets; a riot nearly broke out at the lamp store, and most of them rushed around screaming in fear.

Johan, deeply disturbed by this sudden lack of sun, had forced away the realization that, yes, the sun and moon were somehow controlled by forces he did not know of, and instead tried to take charge and calm them all down. It worked. Several Unicorns claimed to have felt a wave of magic emanating from the moon around the time of what should have been sunrise. He’d deal with that later. Then, just when he thought nothing else odd could happen, another burst of magic erupted, this time one even he felt. His hands had tingled, and the horn he kept hidden on his person had vibrated and given off heat. He wasn’t sure why.

Thankfully, whatever had happened had not dispelled his Spell Pact illusion. If anything, it felt more solid and durable. After the second magical eruption, dawn broke on the horizon, and relief filled the Equestrians.

Thus, at the end of a stressful night, Johan had escorted the tired mare Milky Way back to her home. She lived close to the edges of town, running the local dairy farm. The cows here in Equestria were dumb, something he was thankful for, but were treated much better than expected, and as pets, rather than cattle. Made procuring meat difficult for the stranded human. He ended up having to get his protein from Griffin importers down at Manehatten.

Bidding Milky Way goodbye, Johan made his way back home, which was further off, about fifteen minutes past the Milky Ranch. He grunted with exhasutions as he opened the gate, and though he needed to check on his magical scanners, he would do so later, after sleep and a hot bath. Back inside his manor, Johan sighed with relief and removed his magical disguise. He made his way to his nicely appointed room, and dropped onto the bed, dead tired.

Hours later, and he was busy studying the data, both collected from his devices around the house, but also from Wish Burst. She, like several other Unicorns, had felt both instances of magic, and the artifacts in her had recorded her reactions.

“Wish Burst, please tell me what the two magical phenomena felt like,” Johan inquired, clipboard and pen in hand. He was back in his lab, late in the afternoon. He wanted to gather as much as he could from her before too long.

“The first magical burst felt like…I was drowning. It was hard to breathe for a moment. Then, I… I think it was like I was crying. I was all alone…forever…”

“Subject Wish Burst claims to have felt sensations of drowning, and then of crippling sorrow and fear of being alone.” Johan then wrote it out.

“The second burst was… pure Happiness. I felt whole, and clean again…” Wish trailed off, her mood having spiked towards joy as she recalled the second energy wave, but it quickly fell as she recalled where she still was.

“Subject Wish Burst claims to have felt happy, and purified while experiencing the second magical burst. This stands to reason. A number of her scars and injuries, gained while she was locked up, have healed, as if they’d never existed. Her Thaumata gland spiked sharply while subjected to the second magical anomaly. For the first one, the only responses were in her brain chemistry, registering the fear and sadness, and the sensation of drowning.”

Johan carefully plucked the needles and measuring tools from her body, jotting down any additional info. He picked up a syringe from the trolley and injected the fluids into her. She struggled, and then stopped, her eyes closing and her breathing becoming ragged. He then removed the Unicorn horn and began to weave a spell over her sleeping form.

Carefully, Johan rewrote her memories of the past few days. He had barely experimented on her, careful not to leave too noticeable a mark on her. It was harder for him to keep all his subjects from dying. It became too suspicious after a while. That was why he’d had to flee Las Pegasus all those years ago, and change his Pony identity. Too many missing Pony reports and mutilated corpses. He had learned to hide the bodies properly if need be, and also to weave false memories into a survivor. Healing their wounds was also simple enough, though some of them were impossible to avoid, and to heal. Skin grafts only went so far.

Satisfied with his work, he lifted her with telekinesis from the table and brought her into another one of his rooms in the hidden lab. This one was a new addition, designed for storing the personal effects of his victims, as well as a cleaning facility for said effects. She wasn’t too dirty. A quick scrub in the small shower and tub combo stall took care of that. He dressed her quickly in her clothes, and then gathered her luggage. She had been a medical student on vacation that had visited a cousin in Trottingham for a few days. She had stayed with her professor, Spell Pact, at his home while she was there, and then supposedly left on the train a few days back, but in truth, that had been a magical decoy clone. The real Wish Burst had never been allowed to leave, and imprisoned in his lab the day she had “left.”

Finished, Johan Faust reached into a chest nearby, and removed a large crystal, the insides pulsing with a spell. The gem in particular was an amethyst. He’d learned that certain stones and minerals were better at storing certain spells and schools of magic. Pocketing the gem, he levitated her body and her bags out of the room and eventually out of the lab into the corridor between his house and the lab’s steel door. Removing the gem, he stared at it, channeling his own feeble stores of magic.

The amethyst sparked in his hands, and in a flash of purple light, the Human and the unconscious mare were teleported away.
They appeared in a small hut on the outskirts of Manehatten. Johan Faust had dozens of small little shacks set up across Equestria, using them as way points for his teleportation stones. It helped with dropping off his experiments, and soon, Wish Burst was walking out of the small little hut, her eyes glassed over and unfocused. She would walk for a while, to the edge of the city, and then the spell would break. The memories Johan had given her would “remind” her that during the stop over from Trottingham, she’d decided to explore the Big Apple, but due to the Summer Sun Celebration, been unable to book a train back home until now. A ticket for a train later in the evening was in her pocket, courtesy of Johan.

Pleased all was well, Johan watched the mare wander off, before reactivating his teleport stone. He reappeared in the corridor of his hidden lab, and then exited, ready to put things away. Belatedly, he realized he still had to clean up the sensors littering the yard outside.

With a groan, he stepped out to deal with the problem.

Sometime later, he got an unexpected visitor. He wore he Unicorn disguise while he worked outside, in case of peepers or watchers, and only had a small panic attack when a grey coated Pegasus mare with golden, crossed eyes landed in his yard with a thump.

“Gott im Himmel!” Spell Pact shouted, and he whirled to face the intruder.

“Afternoon, mister! I got some mail for you!” The Pegasus reached into her satchel and removed a cream colored scroll from within. Embarrassed at shouting, Spell Pact took the scroll, eyes widening at the name of the sender.

“Princess Celestia?” He asked aloud, and the Mail-Mare nodded.

“Yup! It was sent from Ponyville, ‘cause that’s where I live, and I was the only Mail-Mare on duty who could deliver this message post haste!” She declared proudly, neither eye focusing properly.

“I see…” Spell nodded, as if he understood, and then opened the scroll, breaking the wax seal.

“Dear Doctor Spell Pact, I have some issues regarding magical anomalies that I want your help with. As you are one of the premiere researchers in magic and its consequences, I request your precence at the Canterlot Palace as soon as possible. Signed, Princess Celestia.” A silver ticket for all expense paid trip to Canterlot was nestled in the folds of the scroll.

Spell Pact stared. She wanted him? Sure, he’d met her once or twice, but never in much of an informal setting. She needed his help with magic. Perhaps it was to do with the strange happenings earlier…

“Have a pen I could borrow?” he asked, and the Pegasus reached in and pulled out a small, old fashion quill, with an ink spell attached. He sighed as he took it. These things were annoying. Better than the old dipping quills he’d had to use. One of his older personas, the Grandfather to his current form, in fact, had patented this very quill-with-ink-spell. Each quill had enough ink for 1000 words, and would not discharge the ink unless pressed against a surface. This meant they tended to explode if not packed carefully.

“I will be there soon,” he wrote on the back of the scroll, before handing it and the quill back to the Mail Mare.

“Take that to the Princess, please,” he said, fishing out a ten bit coin and paying her for the delivery. With a salute, she shot off into the air, leaving him coughing in the dust.

“I’d better pack,” he grumbled.

Author's Note

Slow beginning, but soon we'll get to all the Hannibal Lector-ish stuff you desire!

Chapter 3 – I was a Nazi / Ich war ein Nazi

Chapter 3 – I was a Nazi / Ich war ein Nazi

(first person POV)

I never figured out how I got here, to Equestria. All I knew, and know, was what the events leading up to my trip were.

My name is Johan Faust the Thirteenth.

I was a Nazi.

Not ranked in the military, nor part of the SS Korps. I was in the party simply because it was bad for your health not to be part of it. I joined in 1937, as it was in full swing, and because I was a doctor, and relatively young, I performed some simple medical duties around Germany. I spent some time in Munich, where I was approached by members of the Thule Society.

I’d heard of them; Occultists, who had backed the formation of the Nazi party in its early days, then got shut down because of Hitler’s anti-masonic policies. At least, that was the official view. Apparently, the Thule Society had been revived, and was operating in secret on behalf of Hitler and the SS. Science and magic, fused to create super soldiers and unstoppable weapons. That was their goal. I accepted their invitation for two very important reasons.

One; I’d be allowed to live after learning of this secret. The Nazi’s did not tolerate non-compliance or spies, so by joining they wouldn't have to “remove” me. The second reason was more to do with my family, than anything else.

Johan Faust the Thirteenth. Thirteenth to bear the name of the Man who sold his Soul to the Devil. One of a long line, descended from that near mythical fool. Goethe was one of us. A distant relative, he rewrote the family’s shame as a play. People believed it to be a work of fiction. No more witch hunts or public stoning’s. No more Inquisitors breaking down the doors at midnight. We were free, for the first time in centuries.

I was the last of the direct line. Last of the pure blooded Fausts. And as such, I carried the family’s true secret and greatest treasure. A book, a tome, written on vellum and bound in a strange, rough, reptilian hide. The ink would not smudge, and the whole thing was fire proof and water proof. It never yellowed with age, and an aura of dread hung about it.

The Book of Horns, it was called. Faust the First obtained it from the demon now called Mephistopheles. In it were the secrets of magic. From Alchemy to Necromancy, all kinds of spells and arcane ritual were stored within. The language it was written in was a mix of runes and glyphs, and the olde German translations were squeezed in between the margins and where ever they’d fit.

The Book of Horns. The source of my family’s curse. With its secrets, we gained power. Transmuting lead to gold kept us floating in wealth. We cured diseases and earned the title of Doctor for our services. We went mad, eventually. We, like the ancestor who made the deal, began to desire to know all there was in the world. We began to commit atrocities. We funded genocides with our gold, to see what war was like. We vivisected our patients, because we wanted to see what they looked like on the inside. We went mad. We became hunted. We were the Fausts.

And the Thule Society wanted that knowledge. I agreed to help their experiments, partly to stay alive, and partly to satisfy my own, terrible thirst for knowledge. I worked with saints, and I worked with monsters. Of all of them, I hated Mengele the most. I honestly hope the Russians caught him and killed him.

I’ll never know, though. I was in Berlin, hastily gathering my research notes and equipment. The city was being bombed, and soon the Red Army would march into our streets, kill our soldiers, and despoil our women. I had to escape. I feared death.

An explosion tore my bunker to shreds. I think it might have killed me. As I faded, I saw my blood pour onto my notes and equipment. I saw my blood stain the Book of Horns. I saw it drink my blood, I saw it glow.

I vanished.

And then I reappeared, bloody and dying, in a land somewhere. It was dark foreboding woods I found myself in, not unlike the Black Forest of my homeland. I was thankfully near a fresh water river, and could crawl to it with ease. I would not dehydrate.

I remember little of my first few days. Pain filled my body, and my thoughts were assailed by visions of death, destruction, and a Black Goat with Seven Eyes gazing into the Abyss.

I awoke many days later, my body fully healed. I knew not how or why, then. Now, I do. It was the magic of the new land I found myself in. I had landed in the Everfree Forest, part of the continent spanning nation of Equestria, on the world of Erafore.

Thinking back, it was a miracle I was not eaten by some monster of that realm back them. One of my theories as to why a Manticore or Hydra did not eat me was I was too full of magic to safely consume. Even now, sixty plus years later, the magic has not left me. It is why I can use it, though I need a Unicorn’s horn to channel through as a proxy.
I had a new society to learn about. My first few encounters with the natives, the Equestrian Ponies, was not a good first impression. Crazed and half starved to death, I made a mess of the places I found. My desire to study these fascinating aliens usually ended with me stripping a few of them and writing my findings and observations. Then running like Hell to escape their gold wearing law enforcement.

Gold armor? Truly? Too soft to be much use, and too heavy for any activities, I quickly learned that it was not the wimpy Gold Guards to fear, but the Steel guard. Those who wore actual iron and steel were the threats. Far better equipped and trained, the pathetic excuses for soldiers that were the Royal Guard gave me no trouble, expect breathing as I laughed at their failures.
On the note of Royalty, I was disgusted to find they were ruled by aristocrats. There was no lost love for them back in Germany, and I myself had always found them to be horrible wastes of space. They’re led by a Princess of all things. What, the title of “Queen” or “Empress” not good enough for you? They say she raises the sun and moon every day. I call bull on that! The magic I’ve witnessed in this world is fascinating and powerful, true, but nothing could be that strong.

…Could it?

This is a new world for me to explore. Whole new creatures to dissect. New secrets to uncover. I can feel the Curse of the Faust’s upon me; the mad drive to learn. And I will not stop it. I will allow the madness to carry me.

For Science!

Johan Faust (3rd person POV)

Johan ripped out the page from his journal, and set it ablaze with a jolt of magic. His mind wandered these days. He’d find these expositions written in his notes every so often, the results of his deteriorating sanity. Though it was debatable he was sane at all to begin with.

Johan finished packing some notebooks, paper, tomes, and a set of spare clothes in a large carry-on bag. He was ready to head to Canterlot. In the morning. He had an early train ride, and he wanted all to be ready.

He could not help let a smile onto his face. Soon, he’d have Answers. And soon, he’d have more Questions. Truly, the Quest for Knowledge would never stop!

Author's Note

FYI: This will be the style used for exposition and miscellaneous trivia that might not fit well with the main story.

Next stop, Canterlot!

Chapter 5 – Moonlight / Mondlicht

Chapter 5 – Moonlight / Mondlicht

There was silence. It grew, until it was rather awkward. Spell Pact blinked, then started to rummage around in his bag, pulling out a number of charts, sheets of paper, and a few odd looking medical instruments.

“Umm, did you not hear me? I said…” Princess Celestia began, but the Unicorn held up a hand to forestall her.

“I heard, and I want to get some things out before we continue.” Spell Pact removed a tape measure and a small portable voice recorder, and turned to the pair of Alicorns with a glint of mania in his eyes. Celestia had seen it enough times in her student that she knew what it was, and where it would lead. He clicked a button on the side of the recorder, turning it on, and proceeded to clip it to his shirt.

“You’re handling the reveal of my sister surprisingly well.” Princess Celestia was impressed. A number of her guards and officers had been, well, vocal in their shock and surprise. Namely one Captain of the Guard who’d fainted after hearing what his sister had been part of.

“I suppose better than most. But to be fair, it answers a number of questions I’ve had.” Confused, the sisters share a glance before turning back to the doctor. He walked over to Luna and lifted her up, like a parent might to a child.

“What art thou?!”

“Hush, I need to take some measurements.”

“Why?!”

“Well, this is the closest I’ll ever get to a juvenile Alicorn, and I want as many stats as I can get.”

Luna was flabbergasted at this stallion’s audacity, and she stiffened as he put her on the ground so she was standing before him, and he began to wrap the measuring tape around her body. It only lasted a moment, and he was soon scribbling notes down onto a clipboard he’d removed.

“While your appearance and proportions are that of a child from the age range of 6 to 8, your physical measurements are more along the lines of a teenager. From this I assume Alicorns are naturally bigger than the other Pony races,” Spell Pact muttered to himself. Luna and Celestia gawked at him as he repeated the data.

“Horn appears to be about an inch longer than most other adolescent Unicorns, with a sharper, more pointed tip. The wingspan is also an inch greater than that of an average adolescent Pegasus.”

“Doctor, do you mind getting back on track? As fascinating as this is for you, we need your help with a very specific…” Celestia began, but she soon choked on her words as Spell Pact bent Luna over and pulled down her skirt! Instantly, Luna’s bare flank was exposed, her Cutie Mark visible and her face bright red.

“Her Cutie Mark is manifested, depicting a moon on a dark sky. I can only assume her talent lies with raising the moon. As her alleged sister, Celestia, can raise the sun and her Mark is that of a sun, I believe my hypothesis is sound…”

Anything more was cut off as Luna screamed loudly and lashed out with both her back hoof and magic, blasting Spell Pact into the wall. She was blushing furiously, and even Celestia was flushed with embarrassment.

“…Physical strength and magical power seem to be above average, though it might have just been emotional discharge fueling them,” Spell continued, staggering up from the indent in the plaster.

“Please, Doctor Pact, no more games. I, we, really need your expertise,” Celestia pleaded, while Luna pulled her skirt back up.

“Why doth we require this… pervert’s skill? Surely another could do the job!”

“Luna, Doctor Spell Pact is one of the leading authorities on the consequences of magical phenomena and their causes. He knows more about magical, um, misfires, than any other Pony alive. It helps that the field is rather small, but the point stands. He can help us figure out why you’ve reverted back to foalhood.”

“Indeed, Princess. I am likely the best choice. I can tell that this is unexpected.” Spell brushed the dust off his clothes, and looked up at the pair of royals.

“Another thing. I can only assume that your current state has to do with the two magical explosions I felt last night. That intrigues me.” Luna and Celestia flinched back as they saw Spell Pact’s eyes. Pain, madness, and a burning lust to do whatever it took to uncover all the secrets that hid in the world. They blinked, and it was gone as fast as it appeared.

“Yes, you’re right about that,” Celestia said, jumping into the explanation of what had happened during the Summer Sun Celebration.

When she was finished, Spell Pact was stroking his chin in thought.

“I’ll need to do some tests. Physical, mental, and Thaumatic. I probably won’t need blood and urine samples, but it couldn’t hurt to have them.” He reached into his bag and removed two small plastic pouches.

“Fill one up with blood, the other with urine. I want them full when I return tomorrow.” Spell placed them on Luna’s bed, next to her.

“Tomorrow?” Celestia exclaimed, while Luna stared in mute horror at the two bags.

“Yes, tomorrow. I am tired from a nine hour train ride, plus I was just nearly thrown threw a solid wall. I need to sleep it all off. If you could, I’d like the following items to be provided.” Johan ripped some paper out of a notebook, and hastily jotted down a list of materials, tools, and various paraphernalia of his trade. He handed the note over to Princess Celestia, who took it, and gave it a quick look over. Some of the items he requested were not easy to come by, but she could obtain them quickly enough. Being the ruler of a nation had its perks if you wanted something.

“Of course, I’ll see to it right away.” Spell nodded his head in thanks. The door to the room swung open as Celestia used her magic to open them. Sky Bastion was waiting on the other side, standing in the exact same spot.

“Commander Bastion, could you please escort Doctor Pact to his room? He has earned some rest. Also, have somepony look at his injuries. And send up a maid, I need the items on this list gathered as soon as possible.”

“Right away, Princess,” Sky said, saluting, before leading the limping Unicorn away.

“I doth not like him, sister. He is far too improper and doth not respect our personal space,” Luna complained once the door was closed again.

“I’ll admit, I did not expect him to do… any of what he did, but he really is the best at what he does. Please, sister, put up with him till we figure this all out.”

Luna huffed, but nodded.

“He better not touch my flank again, though.”

Author's Note

Short chapter this time, longer one next update.

Chapter 6 – The Doctor is in / Der Arzt ist in

Chapter 6 – The Doctor is in / Der Arzt ist in

“I assure you, I am fine,” Spell insisted, limping slightly as he walked the halls of the Royal palace, an overly attentive maid fussing over him as he headed towards his appointment with the Lunar princess.

“You got thrown into a wall! You need to take it easy!” The maid protested. She had been sent by Princess Celestia to help Spell Pact with his check-up on Luna, and to help him with anything he needed.

“I’ve had plenty of sleep, and used enough magic to perform a temporary healing. I will be fine.” The maid humph’ed yet continued to walk, leading the doctor to the medical room. Spell sighed, but ignored her as she was no longer talking. He shifted the position of the straps to his doctor’s bag, wondering what he’d use on the Alicorn.

“Here we are,” she announced, stopping in front of a door. It looked like almost every other door in the hall, but for a bronze number 1 on the mantel, and a tag with the name “Princess Luna” near the door knob. The maid opened the door, letting Spell Pact in. The interior was very clearly the receiver of an impromptu medical upgrade, tables, benches, and trolleys set up with various tools and charts upon them. Some of the benches and tables had heavy machinery upon them, dials, buttons, and gauges all over, designed for obscure medical purposes. The room also had four occupants already within. Two were Royal Guards, one male and one female, standing stiffly at attention, while a nurse, judging from her attire, was organizing the supplies.

What stood out was the small blue Alicorn who was trying to look like a dignified adult, but failing due to her being in a child’s body. It was almost cute.

“It seems everyone is here,” Spell noted, pleased. “Though some are unfamiliar to me.”

“I’m Nurse Straight Feather,” the cap-wearing Pony said. She was a Pegasus, with an auburn colored coat and baby blue mane and tail. “I’m here to oversee the Pegasi related portions of the procedure.” Spell Pact nodded. It made sense, as Alicorns were a mixed breed. Of course, he knew all about Pegasi, probably more than a Pegasus did, in all honesty. His experiments were nothing if not thorough.

“I’m Lacy White,” the maid said, speaking up. He didn’t care, but it was polite to listen. “I’m not medically certified, but I’m here to help in any ways you require.”

“Guardsmare Winter Shard. Protection and Security Detail,” the female guard, a Unicorn, saluted.

“I’m…” the stallion guard started to speak, but Spell Pact cut him off with a hand.

“You are a random guard, and of no use for the medical side of this. Your job is to guard us. So do it. Shoo.” There was a short, stunned moment of silence. It disappeared as the stallion Guard spluttered indignantly, and Winter Shard held back her giggles.

“Having male, non-medical personnel, in the room of an intimate examination of a female is highly improper. Unless, you’re trying to catch a glimpse of your liege lady in the nude.” More silence fell, and the Guard, face beet red in spite of his enchanted armor, quickly rushed out the door to stand outside.

“That was … effective,” Feather said, soft chuckles escaping, despite her best efforts not to laugh. The mare Guard and Lacy had no reservations, and laughed together. Luna was not amused, however, as one part of Spell Pact’s words had stuck out.

“Thou were simply joking about us being naked, were thou not?” she asked, and the mares quickly stopped laughing.

“I don’t joke. Laughter may be therapeutic, but in a proper medical procedure, it has no use.” He turned his gaze onto her, his grey eyes boring into her from behind his glasses.

“Strip.” That one word was given with the force of an order, and from his expression, he would take the clothes off her himself if she did not comply.

“…Turn around,” Luna pleaded, and Spell Pact nodded, then turned to face the wall. He heard the rustle of fabric, the sound of a zipper, and the pop of buttons. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the guard give him a deadpan look.

“Your bedside manner could use some work,” she said, while Spell Pact shrugged and remained silent.

“We have undressed,” He heard Luna say, and he turned back.

With her clothes removed, he could see that she was indeed a mere child. Small breasts, skinny arms and legs, overall the very picture of filly not yet to puberty. She still wore her silver tiara, and sported a very fierce blush, her arms and wings feebly attempting to cover herself.

“Why must we be nude?” she demanded, and from the looks of it, the other mares wanted an answer as well. Spell stepped over to her, and lead her to a medical table.

“I need to give a full exam. That includes a physical. Besides, if you are worried I might try something while you are so exposed, do not worry.” He helped the princess up, and laid her down facing the ceiling. He then looked at her, and smirked. “I have no interest in a child’s body.”

Princess Luna’s face flushed red with both anger and embarrassment, and the other mares had trouble deciding if they should be amused or affronted by this. Wisely, they kept their mouths shut and their expressions neutral.

Immediately, before Luna could respond, Spell began. Poking, prodding, measuring, inspecting. His hands, covered in surgical gloves, carefully explored her body. Some of the places Spell touched caused blushes on all the mares, but he himself had no expression, just clinical detachment. It was extremely invasive, but mercifully short.

As soon as he stepped away, Luna levitated her clothes over to her and pressed them against herself, as if to use them like a shield. Spell ignored her, and was busy jotting down everything he’d gleaned from the physical onto pieces of paper.

“Fascinating,” Spell muttered to himself. This was overheard, and the Alicorn looked at the doctor with an anxious expression.

“Is… is there something wrong?” she asked, a quaver to her voice, which coupled with her young body was absolutely adorable. Even stones have cracks, and Spell smiled in spite of himself.

“I was right in my earlier assessment of your physical condition. You are, to all outwards appearances and purpose, a child. I’ve cross-referenced and correlated some basic statistics from other fillies and colts, provided here, and it seems you are not just young looking, you have reverted back to fillyhood. Until I look at the magic in you, I won’t be sure as to the reason, but I have theories.” He placed his pencil down, and turned to look the Alicorn.

“I need to know everything that happened during the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Luna’s face fell, a look of deep shame clouding her features.

“A thousand years ago, we went mad. We were possessed by something, and it amplified my jealousy towards my sister to a breaking point. We… I became a monster. Nightmare Moon. Celestia had no choice but to seal us away onto the Moon for a thousand years. It weakened our evil form, but kept us in a state of limbo. And three days ago, we returned. Celestia’s student found the Elements of Harmony and used them to purify us. What you see before you is the result.”

Silence. Luna looked away, unable to meet any of their eyes. The Guardmare looked shocked, while the nurse and maid had expressions of fear. Spell Pact had a neutral expression, but he soon broke the silence by sighing.

“I see. So I’m dealing with possession, or the aftereffects at least, as well as a millennium of seals and wards keeping you on the moon. Add to that the powers of some unknown mystical force and artifacts, all which results in the fact I’ve got a lot of work cut out for me.” He began to gather some apparatus from one of the nearby trolleys. A large magnifying glass made out of silver and a chunk of opaque crystal, a band of plastic and rubber with small runes on the outer surface, and a what looked like a steampunk thermometer.

“Thou, thou art not disturbed by this revelation?” Princess Luna gasped.

“On the contrary, my dear. I am positively trembling with excitement!” The mares all stared at the doctor, his shoulder starting to shake. He turned to Luna, and she recoiled from him.

His eyes shone bright, like they had last night. Madness and terror, but overwhelmingly of inquisitiveness and a desire to learn. What was worse was the grin he wore. Both predatory, and genuinely cheerful; the smile of a psychopath.

The expressions on his face vanished quickly, but a sense of excitement still emanated from him.

“To think I can study the effects of possession, as well as uncover secrets on one of the oldest mysteries of Equestria! And with the body of an Alicorn to boot! I have never been so excited for a medical exam!” Spell Pact’s Germane accent broke through strong during his speech, and the mares stared at him. They hadn’t expected such levels of enthusiasm from him, ever.

“Nurse Feather, can you please prep the fluid samples Princess Luna provided from last night? I want to do some tests while I work on her.”

The nurse snapped out of her stunned state and hastily turned on one of the bulky, clunky looking machines. It was designed to be a portable blood tester and analyzer, though “portable” only seemed to infer that you could fit it through a doorway in one piece. The damn thing was unwieldy and heavy, but gave results on par with a standard, cheaper, non-mobile one. It seemed Princess Celestia had obtained all that was on Spell Pacts list, regardless of cost or availability.

As the Fluid Tester Mark III whirred and clunked to life, Spell Pact began to work on his own project.

He attached the band to her forehead, making sure it fit, and then stuck the thermometer like device into her right ear, finishing by raising the magnifying glass to his eyes.

“I want you to channel your magic now. Just enough for a simple act of levitation or telekinesis.” Luna complied, and her horn flickered to life. The runes on the band lit up as well, flashing in time to some unknown rhythm. Spell took a quick note of the pattern, and then checked the thermometer. He blinked. That couldn’t be right!

It was reading four hundred mana! Levitation should only generate fifty! He quickly raised his magnifying glass and looked at her head through it, but instantly recoiled.

Instead of enlarging an object under the lens, this created an x-ray view of sorts that displayed magical flow. Normally a Unicorn while actively using magic had a few strands here and there, but the Alicorn’s whole damn head was lit up like a Christmas Tree!
He hastily recorded the information, his unease not doing anything positive for Luna.

He did not address her, instead walked over to the fluid checking machine to see the results. The blood pouch had been emptied into it, and it was whizzing and clicking away, analyzing all sorts of data. Spell tapped a few buttons on its surface, and a deep ‘thrum’ went through it. But nothing happened. A frown crossed his features at the delay.

“While we wait for this machine to finish, I want to check something else,” Spell Pact said, removing the tools from Luna.
Without waiting for a reply, he reached over and grabbed Princess Luna’s horn by the base with his thumb and index finger, while pulling out a small mirror made of a polished silver disc from a pocket with his free hand. He quickly rubbed his hand up and down her horn, the three other mares starring open mouthed at him openly molesting the princess’ horn!

A moan burst from Luna, and she panted at the stimulation. All of a sudden, her horn sparked, and a few jolts of magic leapt forth. He deftly caught the emission sparks on the silver mirror and let her go, the doctor staring intensely at the artifact while Luna recovered from the sudden pleasure and the others just gawked, having just witnessed a Goddess orgasm.

“Umm…” Lacy White muttered, but a ding from the machine cut her off. Spell pact grabbed the sheaves of paper spilling out, and looked them over, balancing the mirror in the other hand.

“Princess Luna, I believe my tests are done for the day. However, I need time to go over these results. I will call for you and your sister when I am ready.” Nodding wordlessly, and slightly breathlessly, Luna slid off the examination table and put her clothes back on. Winter Shard escorted her out, while Nurse Feather and Lacy White remained behind to help correlate and organize the doctor’s findings.

It was noon before they finished, and the diarchs were busy having lunch. With them was their niece, Mi Amore Cadenza, Cadence to friends, who was being given the world shattering news that not only did she have another aunt, but was magically shrunk after being purified. She sat there, slack jawed, at the end of the retelling of a thousand year old family feud. Standing at the far end of the room was the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, guarding the Princesses while they ate. His expression was default stoic, but his eye had twitched more than once. Sure he’d heard it already, but still. Winter Shard stood some distance behind Princess Luna, while the guard who had been outside the medical room was behind Princess Celestia.

“So, you don’t know why she’s, um, tiny?” Cadence inquired, casting a glance at Luna.

“No, that’s why I asked Doctor Spell Pact to take a look at her. Hopefully he’ll know something,” Celestia said, taking a bite of salad. Luna sat staring at her own food, a blank, yet dreamy look on her face.

“Sister, why are you so silent? Were Doctor Pact’s tests too strenuous?” the Solar Goddess asked her sister, worry on her brow.

“NO! Um, I mean, he doth had a… unusual manner and personality,” Luna said, hiding a blush. Shining Armor snorted a bit at that.
Spell Pact was well known, or rather, infamous, for being cold and logical, never displaying many emotions around other Ponies. His cold attitude and Germane accent gave him the feel of a two-bit villain from a spy novel. But, he was a genius. He was one of the youngest professors ever to have tenure at the Canterlot Institute for Applied Magic and Studies, one of few to earn the World Medicine Advancement Award, published a dozen essays and journals, and, what made Shining Armor personally dislike him, was he had once given Twilight an F. he’d tutored her briefly on medicine and anatomy while the lavender Unicorn had been a live in student at the palace, and found her “rude, foolish, and utterly lacking any comprehension of the true meaning of science and research.”

Needless to say, they were not on good terms.

Musings were interrupted however when the doors to the dining hall were thrown open, and the doctor in question briskly waltzed in, a trial of agitated Royal Guards behind him, as well as a nervous Nurse Feather and Lacy White.

“Good, you’re all here. I have the test results.” He had at his side his carrying bag, the material bulging with all sorts of things, while a thick stuffed file was in his hands.

“Any good news?” Princess Celestia asked, waving a hand a silencing the protests of the Guards.

“Depends on your definition of ‘good.’ I believe I know what is wrong, what is causing it, and how to fix it.” He cleared his throat, lifting up some papers from a file.

“Princess Luna has been reverted back to fillyhood. That much is obvious. However, it goes much deeper than the skin. She has physically returned to this state, and all her organs, including her brain, are that of a child. Her memories and mental capacities are still adult though, which will likely cause headaches as she adjusts.” He flipped a page but Cadence interrupted him with a question.

“How can you tell she is a filly?”

“Besides the outward appearance? Her hymen is intact, and the hormonal glands which control her pheromones and Heat are underdeveloped like a filly’s. Muscles, tendons, and bones also show signs of juvenile weaknesses, though as an Alicorn, her bones and muscle mass are already denser than a teenaged Earth Pony’s.”

Awkward, embarrassed silence filled the dining room, Luna unable to look at anyone, and all the staff and Guards shifting uneasily around. Celestia and Cadence both had bright red flushed features and jaws open at Spell Pacts brazen announcement.

“What? You asked,” Spell said, raising an eyebrow to Cadence. Celestia’s horn glowed golden and the doors slammed shut, cutting off the guards, but leaving Spell, Nurse Feather, and Lacy within.

“Anyways, the reason she is a filly again is intriguing; when these ‘Elements of Harmony’ were unleashed on her, they flooded her body with so much magic it burnt out her own body’s magic. Plus, as whatever possessing her was banished, the cells were torn and damaged, forcing immediate regeneration. Since her body’s magic was no longer her own, however, the foreign magic rebuilt her to a more, shall we say, early version.”

“Alright then,” Celestia said, her embarrassment quickly hidden. “How do we fix her?”

“That, there, lies the problem. We can’t.”

“WHAT?!” Luna shouted, gale force winds battering the occupants. “WE ART TO BE A FILLY FOREVER?!”

“No, don’t be ridiculous. And please, lower the volume,” Spell Pact said, wincing.

“I’m saying nothing can restore her to her old form except her own magic. As the energy in her body dissipates or is expelled, her own stores of magic will return and correct the changes to her body the Elements of Harmony did to her. I give it a year, if she does nothing more than basic things like flight and simple spells. She can accelerate the process of removing the foreign magic by performing weather manipulation and high tier spells, though these acts will tire her out quicker than normal, and possibly cause manaburn on her Thaumata, horn, and wings.”

“I see,” Celestia muttered, thinking it over. Luna too had a thoughtful look, though the discussion had gone over Cadence’s head, as evident by the confused expression. Spell Pact meanwhile was scribbling something down on a pad.

“Here is a prescription that will help with the headaches; a bitterleaf tea, with some whispering rose extract. I’ve provided the name and address of a good supplier of the stuff. Does wonders for me when I’ve exhausted my own magic. I’d recommend a double dose for yourself, Princess Luna. Alicorn metabolism and all that. Which is fascinating by the way, based on your blood and urine samples.”
Spell ripped off the prescription and handed it to a very embarrassed Lunar Alicorn, while yet more awkwardness suffused the room.

“Oh, and you’ll likely experience muscle pains as you return to full size, so try to take warm bathes at least once a day. Plus, some extra milk and dairy wouldn’t hurt. Here, let me give you the information of a wonderful dairy farm I know.” A note was hastily scribbled out, and then passed to Luna.

“In any case, I want updates on your progress. Once a week, write up a report on anything and everything you’ve gone through and experienced.”

“How will I know when my magic returns to normal?” Luna asked after a moment of silence. In response, Spell pulled out the silver mirror from earlier, the Princess of the Night’s face going red, along with Winter Shard’s, Nurse Feather’s, and Lacy White’s.
“Is that one of your grandfather’s Divining Discs?” Princess Celestia asked as she saw it, unaware of the looks of the others. Spell Pact nodded.

As he’d integrated into this world’s life, he’d needed aliases. One of them was that of Spell Graft, a reclusive eccentric who traveled the world and studied magic and medicine. As the years passed, Johan had been forced to “retire” the old form, and took a new one, that of his current identity; Spell Pact, grandson of the Mad Medic of Germaneigh.

Disguised as Spell Graft, he had developed numerous devices and magical theories, all published and all hailed as revolutions of their field. One of them was the Divining Disc. Made of polished silver, with special runes on the back, any magic placed on the mirror would change its surface, reflecting the nature of the magic as a color, or mix of colors. This Chromatic Association of Magic was used all over in many fields. Certain magical aliments and effects had certain colors, and specific schools of magic and spells had their own colors as well.

He’d made a pretty bit with the patent, and even today they were used for research purposes.

“When I checked her magic, it was a swirling mess of rainbow lights. I assume it is from the Elements’ effect. As Princess Luna’s magic returns, the rainbow mish-mash will revert to her personal color, whatever it might be. Once a week, I want you to check your Magic Color, so be sure to analyze your emission sparks, and include the data in your weekly report.” He shuffled some of his papers and notes back into his file, and nodded at the Ponies in the room.

“I’ll be returning to my room now to pack. I hope to catch the two o’clock train back to Trottingham, so I’d appreciate some food to go.”
They all blinked at the suddenness of his announcement.

“Leaving so soon?” Celestia asked, and the doctor nodded.

“Technically, the University is on Summer Break, and so am I. I’d like to spend the rest of my vacation at home, before returning to this mess you call a capitol. A pleasure seeing you again, Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence. An honor meeting you, Princess Luna.” That said, Spell Pact turned to leave, and he pushed the doors open, only to pause and loom back at Shining Armor.

“Oh, and Captain Armor? My offer of a discount still stands for the scrubs who were at the gate yesterday.” With a malicious, shit eating grin, Spell Pact walked away, chuckling to himself at the expression on the captain’s face.

“Been a very productive day,” He muttered to himself. He clutched the carrying bag at his side, secretly smirking. In it were samples of Princess Luna’s blood, as well as copies of all the notes from the test. He held back a dark smile. The doctor could not wait to experiment.

Chapter 7 – Blood in the Basement / Blut im keller

Chapter 7 – Blood in the Basement / Blut im keller

By the time the train reached Trottingham, the sky was pitch black, and night had fallen on the land completely. It was very late, and Spell Pact trudged home through the dark. Because of the general lack of light pollution, and the fact that the moon shone far brighter here than it did Earth, Spell had little trouble returning to his manor.

Yet as he was walking he felt something stirring the air. It wasn’t the wind, it was still tonight. It seemed to be coming from the area near Milky Ranch, and against his better judgment, Spell Pact decided to investigate.

Near a copse of elm trees that stood near the ranch’s main building, Spell saw something unusual. A Pegasus Mare, wearing stereotypical black and white striped prison clothes. From the looks of things, she was going to attempt a break in.

‘Let it never be said I do not help my allies,’ Spell Pact thought, and he whipped out his Unicorn horn from a hidden pocket. A jet of black mist struck her from behind, and after some slight coughing, she collapsed. With another wave of the morbid wand, she was trussed up in purple chains, and lifted over to him. With great care, he returned to his home to put this new specimen in his lab.

In less than thirty minutes he was done, and the mare was on his surgical table, strapped down but without a black collar around her neck. They were designed to negate the inner magic of any Pony, be they Unicorn with their magic channeling horns, Earth Ponies with their nature and strength attuned powers, or Pegasi with their wind and weather manipulating gifts. Even Griffins were rendered powerless with these collars, though their one downside was cutting off speech.

Still, Johan was nothing if not cautious, and had a collar ready to snap around her neck if she tried anything funny.

A flick of the bone-wand, and the mare woke up.

“Where…where am I?” She slurred.

“I will be asking the questions here,” Johan announced, garbed in his feature obscuring medical garments. Her head twisted to the side to look at him, and she swallowed a lump in her throat at the sight. She soon realized she was naked, however, and she started to squirm.

“What in the name of Tartarus is going on?! Where are my clothes?! Sweet Sun, am I in a sex dungeon?!”

“Shut up.” Pure loathing filled his voice, and Johan stepped forward to glare at the Pegasus. “Your disgusting body does not arouse me, so have no fear on that regard. But know that I am in control, and so you will answer my questions.”

“Who are you, and why were you at the ranch?” He demanded, but her reaction surprised him.

“Damn, is that what this is about? I’m Storm Knife, and I escaped from the Manehatten Correctional Institute during the panic from the Summer Sun Celebration. Should have seen the riot, it was glorious, and a great way to bail.”

Johan stroked his chin through his mask. “I see, so you’re a Prison Bitch.”

Storm Knife’s spluttered reaction was most amusing, but Johan pressed on.

“Why were you at the ranch, then? And what were your crimes?”

“I had to move fast to avoid the fuzz, so I booked it north to the boonies. Honestly, that place was the closest to me, and I was tired from flying for a full day. Was gonna jump the owners and maybe use them as hostages if things got ugly. As for what I was in for, I stabbed a whorse who stole my stallion, and the cheating dick. They lived, but were crippled for life, or some shit. So, you gonna let me go now?” Knife’s voice had a hint of a plea in it, and that brought a chuckle to his lips.

Johan shook his head, and he stepped close to her. With a fluid motion, he snapped the collar around her neck, and her eyes widened in fear.

“Sorry, can’t do that. You see, I needed some new experimental materials, and it is ever so hard to come across good victims no one will miss. But a criminal on the run is the perfect specimen. After all, criminals can disappear and no would ever care.”

Fear was visible in her eyes, and he leaned in close, a cruel smile hidden by the mask.

“I’d try not to struggle; the first few incisions are always the worst.”
(Gore incoming!)

“Subject is Storm Knife, a Pegasus Mare. Age is unknown, but based on physical descriptors, around her late twenties. Today, I will attempt to recreate the effects of what I am calling the “Harmonic Resonance” of the Elements of Harmony, using data gathered from both the data recordings of the Summer Sun Celebration, and the Alicorn Princess Luna.”
With careful, practiced care, Johan raised a shaving razor in his left hand with a pair of modified clippers in the right. He had flipped the table upside, the design of it allowing him complete access to her wings. He went to work plucking her wing feathers with the clippers, and when that was done proceeded to shave the fur from her back. In moments Knife’s back looked like that of a plucked chicken.

Johan ignored a whimper from her, and soon slid a scalpel along the region between shoulder blades and wing bones. He peeled the flesh away, and the small gush of blood that came from the wound was sucked towards a small pair of grooves set into the table. Runes along the inside of the grooves drew the blood in, a series of Vampiric Runes he learned of from the Book of Horns. They deposited them into large plastic pouches. In the event he needed to give the victims a transfusion, he would simply recycle their blood. It made more sense than wasting it, and even if a transfusion was not required, he could use for future experiments.

Next came small needles and wires, all attaching to her wings. Some went below the skin, some directing into the bone, others nestled in the muscle fibers. These were all connected to a series of analysis devices, to record both biological reactions, and more subtle magical ones. Carefully, Johan raised a syringe filled with a strange, rainbow fluid, and injected it into the nerve bundle of her right wing.

“Subject has just been injected with a small dose, 10 CC, of a new substance I have synthesized out of Princess Luna’s blood. Extracting it and making new samples based on the exact Thaumatic principals and composition of the original effects are rather complicated. The artificial harmonic magic, which I am calling ‘Unecht Regenbogen,’ is about 80% identical to the original harmonic magic, and should have very similar results.”

Her body started to twitch, and her right wing began to spasm as the artificial magic flooded her system.

Checking the sensors, Johan was pleased to note that they had some good results already. The harmonic magic amplified the innate magical traits of a Pony, something he’d already seen with Wish Burst, but could now confirm worked with Pegasi as well. Though, where Wish Burst had more activity along her Thaumata gland and brain, Storm Knife’s enhanced activity was in the spinal region and wing muscles. Understandable.

What was odd was that her brain was reprocessing the sensations not as emotions, but as memories. He quickly gabbed a nearby machine and hooked up the new device to some of the nodes in Knife’s brain. The nodes were slender metal rods and they pierced her skull with little resistance, blood blossoming around the insertion points. Johan knew the layout of a Pony’s brain by heart now, and did not have to open up their cranium to get the nodes into their proper spots in the brain. Once it was done, he wiped some of the blood from her scalp while he looked at the device. It was a large mirror made of dragon-fire glass and trailing a number of wires and rune encrusted circuit boxes. As he watched, images appeared on the surface of the mirror. At first they were blurry, but they quickly reshaped themselves into pictures of other Ponies and places.

As he watched, Johan noticed a running theme with these images. They were all memories, seemingly of a better time and a happier moments in her life.

“Subject Storm Knife does experience the sensations of happiness and peace Subject Wish Burst, a Unicorn, had displayed. However, they seem to manifest differently. Either this the fault of the Unecht Regenbogen, or Pegasi experience this differently. She recalls memories in place of actually emotion, using past experiences to build the sensation of happiness. This might tie into one of my earlier theories and findings that Pegasi have more complete passive memorization. Like Pigeons, they have unerring accuracy and can recall places almost without effort, and return to them with but a single image to remind them. Thus, my hypothesis is that the harmonic energies, rather than make new emotions, forces the afflicted to recall a time in her memories when such emotions were prevalent. In this case, it is far more noticeable with Pegasi, due to their unique brains.”

Johan turned away from the mirror and disconnected it from Knife’s grey matter. He then leaned in to check how her wings were reacting. He noted that her Thaumata gland was producing, or trying to, weather magic.

All Pegasi could Cloud-Walk and shape them, and all could force them to produce any kind of weather, but like Unicorns and Earth Ponies, their skills were specialized. Some were better at creating ice rather than rain, and some could shape clouds far better than any other.

In Storm Knife’s case, her magic was geared towards wind, mostly with tornados and storms. He watched, fascinated, as her gland was producing far more mana than necessary for the simplest of weather spells. Pegasi channeled through their wings, and were geared for passive magic, mainly for flying and Cloud-Walking, but could switch to active magic to manipulate the sky.

A glint of metal flashed briefly, and Johan sliced his scalpel through a tendon in her left wing, watching as her appendage tried to flail from the pain. Further, he could see that the left wing’s muscles were straining more to produce the Sky Magic, while the right one, which had been injected with the Unecht Regenbogen, was producing too much and starting to tear apart from the stress.

A quick jab of a needle, and her veins were flooded with a toxin expulsion serum. Anything not part of the body was attacked, if needed dissolved, and expelled, through any opening available. Good for fighting poison, as well as removing all traces of any chemicals of drugs. Not so fun for the person forced to evacuate their insides, however.

Retching sounds filled the air, and a well-placed bucket caught the inevitable release. Johan remained expressionless behind his mask as he stitched up her wings and back, sealing them with a jolt of magic. He then flipped her back right side up when he was certain she was done vomiting, and carefully wiped the remnants from her mouth.
(Gore end)

“We’ve had a lovely day, haven’t we? But dawn is coming soon, and I shall now put you into your new home.” He unbound her body, and her limbs fell limp, the trauma of earlier draining all of her energy and will. He lifted her up, and floated her to the cage room, popping open one of them and letting her in before closing it and locking it up.

Each cell had a plastic frame bed and several sheets, as well as a faucet for water, with a plastic cup near it. Johan wasn’t that much of a monster to deprive them of nourishment. He always fed them at least once a day, and they had all the water they could drink. Plus, if they had been well behaved, or he’d gleaned some new information from their experiments, he might even feel kind enough to give them a book to read or some other prize.

“Sweet dreams,” he chuckled as he dimmed the lights and walked out, locking all the doors behind him.

Chapter 8 – Golden Ticket / Golden Los

Chapter 8 – Golden Ticket / Golden Los

It had been two weeks since Spell Pact’s return from Canterlot. He was currently in Trottingham enjoying a cup of coffee while reading the daily newspapers.

Seated on a park bench, Spell was treating himself to a little break. He’d spent many days cooped up in his laboratory, working on the Unecht Regenbogen and its effects. Storm Knife had been joined two days later by Shot Put, an Earth Pony Mare, and Glimmer Slim, a Unicorn mare, who’d both also escaped from the Manehatten prison. He been tracking down escapees to try and collect them for experiments, but most had been recaptured very quickly. He now had one of each Pony Race, but 3 Ponies a test group does not make. Still, he’d been focused for a while on this project and had taken few breaks, and he felt that showing his face to the town would be beneficial, if for no other reason than to remind them he was not dead, and they should not worry so much they have to try and break into his home to check on him.

Spell Pact sighed as he remembered that incident. It had been forty years ago, under his Spell Graft alias. He’d been in Prance, and some overly concerned Ponies had broken into his temporary house after he’d gotten too wrapped up in a project.

For a hundred and two year old granny, his housekeeper had surprised him by having the muscles of an ox, and the ability to rip a solid oak door off its hinges. Needless to say, he remembered to take frequent pauses after that.

“Spell Pact, how are you?” The doctor looked up to see a trio of mare approaching him. What had surprised the human at first was the abundance of females in the Pony species. He soon learned that he’d been mistaken, and just appeared near a town with a more predominant mare population. In truth, the gender ratio wasn’t too skewed. Overall, it was 3 mares to 1 stallion. Variants occurred, but it was the overall Pony male to female ratio of Equestria.

Still, it meant males were desirable, and both Spell Pact and his “grandfather” Spell Graft had been forced to fend off the advances of many mares.

Smoothly putting a smile on his face, Spell Pact smiled at the mares. One was Milky Way, her oversized breasts shaking with every step. The other two were another Earth Pony, Leaf Fusion who owned the Herbalist store ‘Green Growers,’ and a Unicorn, Gold Link, who ran the pawn shop ‘Baubles ‘n’ Bits.’

Leaf Fusion had dark green mane and tail with a light green coat, and she wore tattered jean pants and a jean jacket of a white tank top. Her Cutie Mark was four brown tea leaves with steam coming off them. Gold Link’s mane and tail were dark yellow, while her coat was a rather surprising dull grey. She was far primmer than her compatriots, wearing a fashionable blue skirt and blouse ensemble.

“Hello there, dears. How can I help you?” Spell Pact inquired politely.

“We were on our way to the Spa to meet up with Rain for a nice relaxing soak. But we saw you, and just wanted to thank you for whatever you did up at Canterlot all those weeks ago,” Leaf said, while the other two nodded.

“The Canterlot Kitchens has been purchasing lots of my milk recently,” Milky said happily, practically bouncing.

“And I’ve been getting a lot of big orders for my special bitterleaf tea with rose extract lately, also from the palace kitchens. You did something and we’re both thankful,” Leaf continued, smiling a heartfelt smile at the stoic Unicorn.

“You’re too kind,” Spell said, trying to brush off their affections. Still, as they spoke, he was constantly reminded of their accents. They spoke with what could only be described as “British” accents, though they claimed it was “Bitish.” These horse puns would be the death of him…

“Incoming!” A voice screamed out from above, and the mares flinched and looked around wildly. Spell Pact just sighed and scooted to the other end of the bench. A grey blur shot past, and crashed behind where Spell had been sitting moments before. Had he not moved, somepony would have slammed into him full force.

“Morning, Miss Ditzy,” Spell Pact said in a bland tone, sipping calmly on his coffee. The trio of mares stared with their jaws open as a Pegasus mailmare jumped up, her uniform somehow untouched by any dirt or grime from the fall.

“Hiya, Spell Pact! Got more stuff for you from Canterlot!” the cross-eyed mare said cheerfully, rooting around in her pack.

“You’ve, um, met before?” Leaf finally managed to ask, and Spell nodded.

“She delivered the summons from Canterlot, and now seems to be delivering all of my mail that comes from the castle.”

“Yup, Ponyville is really close to Canterlot, so the Main Branch post office often sends stuff our way to expedite delivery,” Ditzy explained, still searching.

“Are you all okay?” A new mare’s voice asked, and the group glanced up to see another Pegasi descend. She had a black mane and hair, with a rich, dark brown coat. Her eyes were also brown, and she had an accent that was also familiar to the human. It was, to him, what he’d call a “black” accent.

As he thought this, a small part of him wondered if that was racist. A larger, more rational part of him dismissed the idea on the grounds that, 1, he was the only human in this world, and 2, he’d been a Nazi, so fuck political correctness.

“Hey, Rain! No, nothing’s wrong, just a very dedicated mailmare,” Milky said, trying not to say anything rude.

Chocolate Rain landed, and she smiled over at the mares and gave Spell a polite nod. He returned it, and kept reading.

“A-HA! Here is your letter!” Ditzy cried, and handed a thick envelop to the doctor. Spell Pact took it and opened it, revealing another progress report from Luna, but an unexpected second letter.

“What’s that?” Gold asked after a moment, seeing Spell’s rather bemused expression.

“A pair of tickets and an invitation letter to the Grand Galloping Gala,” Spell said, not seeing the excited looks that passed over Milky, Leaf, and Gold’s faces. Rain had an impressed look, and the mailmare just looked confused.

“Why?” Rain asked, and Spell shrugged.

“Apparently to thank me for my work with Princess Luna.”

“Oh my gosh, could you imagine what it’d be like to attend?” Gold Link said, a far off look in her eyes.

“It’s the fanciest party of Equestria!” Leaf said, and Milky nodded.

“Just a bunch of stuck up nobles that are also probably inbred,” Spell snorted derisively. He was ignored, though Ditzy had an amused look.

“You know, the way you three are acting is similar to how Twilight and her friends reacted. ‘Course, they almost caused a riot for the tickets, but still.” Spell’s ear perked at that.

“Did you say Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle? Isn’t she the Element of Magic?” After the fiasco with the Summer Sun Celebration, and after Spell Pact’s examination, a number of news articles had been run about the exploits of the Elements of Harmony and their new bearers. He’d learned a bit about the sextet of Ponies, but aside from a meeting with Twilight some years back, knew next to nothing about them.

“Yup! She got it so all of her friends could attend,” Ditzy said, and Spell Pact began to think. This would be an excellent chance for him to learn about the Elements. He needed to know if their bearers had some sort of power as well, or were just mere vessels for the harmonic magic.

“I think I’ll go as well,” Spell announced, and three pairs of eyes turned to him. Belatedly, he realized that he’d have to choose somepony to go with him, without ostracizing the others.

“Now, before you say or do anything, hear me out,” Spell Pact said, placating the mares. They waited, arms folded.

“…Good day!” Spell Pact teleported, vanishing in a clap of displaced air.

Reappearing outside his home, he sighed. One thing after another. All he wanted was a peaceful summer break. Still, he had, if nothing else, a chance to learn about the Elements of Harmony directly from the source.

Spell Pact double checked the ticket, confirming the date; the last night of Summer, leading into the first morning of Autumn. He tapped his chin. A little more than two weeks to prepare. He’d need a suit, of course, and have to pick a guest that wouldn’t make the snubbed mares rip him apart. There were many ways to die, and Spell Pact had no desire to have it be “torn to shreds by emotional females.”

“I wonder if the Princesses know I hate social gatherings, and this is payback for what I did to Princess Luna,” the doctor mused. As he’d pondered, he’s made his way to the secret lab, and was getting ready.

Johan plucked the Unicorn’s horn from his coat pocket, and inspected it. Using teleportation was not easy on the grisly artifact, and he’d learned that Unicorn horns could crack and break if they performed spells their users in life had been unable to do. Using too much magic at once also damaged the horn, and if cracked, the spells would have a great chance of failure or miscasting. As such, finding a horn that could endure multiple teleportation’s was difficult, and acquiring it just as bad. Grave robbing was one of the few methods he could get away with when finding this specific tool.

Thankfully, this horn was still good, taken about a decade ago from a rather potent Unicorn noble. The noble in question had died a century ago, so it wasn’t as if they needed it.

As he thought about this, his mind wandered to the things he could study with a live Unicorn’s horn. After a while he was fully dressed for medical work, and walked into the cage room. The three mares cowered at his presence, many days of torturous experiments having conditioned them well.

“Come along, Glimmer Slim. It’s your turn today.” He held out the horn and unlocked the door to her cage, before attaching a purple chain to her collar. He then led the Unicorn out into the testing room. However, he instead brought her to a new room; a mix between a small firing range and a wrestling rink. Here, he could test new spells, either on his own, or with the help of his experiments. A hex that turned blood into acid was hard to test unless you had a live specimen.

It was very useful for more physical activities as well. Sometimes he’d pit two or more specimens against each other and make them do various acts, often with handicaps. A Pegasi can move clouds, so he wanted to see if they could do it without wings? Go to this room. An Earth Pony able to bend metal with her tongue? Go to this room. Want to see two Unicorns fight using only their horns? Go to this room.

“Today, my dear, we’re going to do something new. For you, at least. I am going to force you to cast magic. Now, if you behave, and are a good little mare, I’ll let you have a shower when we are through. Understood?” Glimmer Slim nodded hastily, and so Johan carefully popped the collar off.

The Unicorn fugitive coughed and rubbed her throat, as if to alleviate some pain. Glimmer Slim was an odd looking Pony. She was thin as a rake, even before the captivity, and had four tone mane and tail. One stripe red, one stripe blue, one stripe green, and one stripe yellow. And worst of all, her coat was a garish hot pink color.

If there was any color Johan hated, it was undeniably pink.

She raised her purple eyes to Johans, a desperate look in her expression.

“Please, let me go,” she begged softly, falling to her knees and grabbing at his pants legs. “I’ll do anything you want, just let me go. I won’t do anything bad again, I’ll even turn myself in. Please, no more.”

Johan leaned down, cupped her chin in his left hand, and stared into her eyes.

“I’m afraid not. You see, you’re mine now, Glimmer Slim. And I will never let you go. You know why? Because you are too valuable to me. I want to learn everything in the world. The lust for knowledge drives me mad, yet I willingly submit to it. You are a tool for my goal and desire. And I will never let you leave. You will die down here, my poor little animal. That is the sad truth.” He suddenly reached out with his free hand and grabbed her horn. She yelped in pain and her eyes watered.

“But rejoice! For your sacrifice brings more knowledge forth, more data to glean. And in the end, what does one life matter when held up before the greater good?”

Johan lifted her up onto her feet, and manhandled her into the firing range. As he did he whispered in her ear the motto and creed of his family.

“For the Good of Many, some Sacrifices are necessary.”

Her sobs were soon drowned out in a buzz of raw magic.

Chapter 9 – Dance of Fools / Tanz auf Narren

Chapter 9 – Dance of Fools / Tanz auf Narren

Spell Pact yawned, covering his mouth politely as he did so. He was standing in his apartment in Canterlot, a small loft he rented when teaching at the University. It was rather drab and under furnished, but if he really needed anything, he could just use his magic keys and return to the house. Currently, though, he was waiting for his date to finish dressing, and for the two of them to head off to the Grand Galloping Gala, which he was almost dreading at this point.

Spell Pact was having doubts about the validity of his idea. Yes, the Elements of Harmony would be there, but would he be able to actually get any good data on them? At best he’d get personality and general physicality. At worst he’d be thrown out for semi-molesting a mare as he tried to get accurate measurements.

That had happened before, with his “grandfather” Spell Graft. It was one of the reason’s he had been known as the Mad Medic. Women just don’t like being felt up with calipers while eating in a restaurant.

The doctor sighed, and tapped his foot on the floor. What was it with women from any world and taking their sweet time to change? Spell Pact glanced at the wall mounted clock, then at his pocket watch, then finally at the door to the bedroom.

“Are you ready yet? We have less than thirty minutes left!”

“You try putting on make-up, a bra, panties, pantyhose, and a dress with my figure!” The irate voice shouted at him from behind the door.

“If I did, I’d still finish faster than you!” Spell Pact retorted. A snort was his response, and the bedroom opened, revealed his date.
Chocolate Rain stood there, wearing a lovely black cocktail dress highlighted with silver embroidery on the edges. What appeared to be red sequins were sewn into the sleeves and neckline, and over-all his Pegasus friend looked rather nice.

He’d chosen Rain as his date merely for the fact that she was not attracted to men, and his other, jealousy prone associates knew she wouldn’t try anything with him.

“Ready?” Spell asked, though he knew the answer.

“Yeah, let’s get to this party before you die of old age,” Rain joked, Spell Pact offering a small smile. He opened the door for her, and entered the apartment’s elevator. It was nothing like the kind from Earth, far less electricity and lots more ropes and pulleys. Still, as long as he didn’t need to walk down four floors to get to the lobby, he was happy. Once there, he led Rain over to a waiting taxi-chariot. The thing was like the old Asian pull-carts he’d once seen while on a research trip to Japan controlled China. A single pony pulling it with only their body strength to support them. So very inefficient.

An Earth Pony was the driver tonight, and Spell Pact gave him the instructions and destination. He nodded once, and was off.

“Thanks for the ride,” Spell said, tipping the driver well as he stepped out of the chariot. The driver simply nodded and left, leaving Rain and the doctor in front of some massive gates. Several Royal Guards stood at attention outside of them, checking the tickets of potential guests.

Spell and Rain were in line for a few minutes before they reached the front.

“Tickets please,” the Guard intoned, and Spell handed him the two golden slips of paper. He scrutinizes them, passes a spell over them, then hands them back.

“In you go. Have a nice evening, you two.”

“Of course,” Spell replied, leading his date up the winding path. At length they entered the massive hall, Rain’s mouth falling open at the sight of the sheer opulence of the place.

“Sheesh, this must have cost a truck-load of bits,” Rain whispered to Spell, who shrugged.

“Most likely. Now come along, I wish to greet Celestia.” That was that, and he moved up to stand in line with the other well-wishers. A few minutes more of standing in a line, and Rain was getting very bored.

“You know, these line would move faster without the nobles constantly talking,” Rain grumbled, low that only Spell could hear her.
Indeed. Still, almost there, so…” whatever he was about to say next was lost in a swell of music coming from the entryway. Spell blinked, then groaned as he felt the familiar sensation of Harmonic Music starting to play.

Another thing Spell Pact could not tolerate about Equestria was the fact that sometimes, in moments of extremely high emotions and potent natural magic, God-damned musical numbers would start, Ponies singing happily and doing impressive impromptu choreography.

“Only in Equestria,” Spell muttered, as he heard lyrics about the Gala, how wonderful it would be, how they’d find their dreams here, and more asinine drivel.

It was one thing he had tried to understand and resist, as him singing about his rather morbid ambitions would be a stupid way to get caught. All he knew was it was the result of some high tiered spell generations ago from some princess called Harmonia, and it had yet to fully fade. The lands across the Shallow Ocean, such as Germaneigh, Prance, Griffonia, and so on, had no troubles with spontaneous song and dance, and often Spell wished he was back in Germaneigh.

“Not a fan of Harmonic Music, eh?” Rain teased as she watched his reactions. “A lot of ponies from overseas find it weird. My grandmother said it took her decades to get used to it.”

“Is that so?” Spell Pact inquired, teeth gritted against both the music and the magic.

“Yup, came over from Germaneigh years ago. She knew your grandfather, though only by reputation.”

“I imagine it would be hard for anypony to not have heard of the Mad Medic of Germaneigh or forget him,” Spell Pact replied, whole Rain nodded. Conversation dwindled, and after another minute or so, the Harmonic Music ended, and Spell breathed a sigh of relief.

A few moments later, there was a ripple as some of the ponies in line shifted about. Confused, Spell looked around to spot the source of the disturbance, only to see a young, petite, and very purple unicorn making her way up the stairs and cutting in line.

Angry and annoyed grumbles followed her, but even that quick glance was enough to confirm who she was; Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia and Element of Magic. He had last seen her five or so years ago, and she had shot up nicely, growing from an awkward teenage filly to a young mare.

He might not be attracted to them, but he could at least appreciate good development.

At last, though, he and Rain were next in line, and a part of him smirked internally as Celestia’s smile became a bit more forced than usual.

“Hello, Doctor Spell Pact, thank you for coming.”

“The pleasure is mine, Princess. Let me introduce my friend, Chocolate Rain, Pegasus weather mare from Trottingham.” Rain gave a quick and nervous bow, which Celestia smiled at and returned with a nod of her head.

“It’s also a pleasure to see you again, Miss Sparkle,” Spell said, turning his attention to the young Unicorn. “You’ve grown up to be quite lovely. The dress certainly suits you.”

His flattery quickly turned her into a blushing, embarrassed mess, a lot more than he’d expected, to be honest. He decieded to ignore that for now, and turned back to Celestia.

“By the way, where is Luna? I was hoping to check up on her progress in personally while I was here.” Spell emphasized his question with a show of looking over the crowd, as if to spot her.

“She is not fully… well enough to be presented to the public, and she never was one for formal occasions. She once refused to remove her battle armor after a rather harsh fight and attended a meeting with the royal ministers bedecked in blood spattered armor. Oh, their faces were priceless,” Celestia said, chuckling at the memory. Spell Pact smiled as well, a genuine one due to the mention of blood, though Rain and Twilight’s faces clearly showed how disgusted they were with the thought of blood-spattered anything. And fighting. Such innocent fools.

“Very well, Princess. If you need my expertise in this matter, I am now back in Canterlot for the new school year, so please feel free to contact me. Have a good evening.” He turned and walked down the stairs, Rain at his back.

At the main floor, he and Rain split up; she to find a drink and maybe a dance, he to mingle and try to locate an Element of Harmony. He had little luck. After only twenty minutes, he was soon accosted by some Ponies. They were the closest things he had to friends in Canterlot, and he knew that connections were vital in the heart of Equestria’s seat of power.

“Fancy Pants, Fleur de Lys, good to see you.” He shook hands with the kindly noble Unicorn couple. They were one of the few kind hearted aristocrats in Equestria. If more were like them, he wouldn’t hate the rest with such a passion.

“Charmed, Doctor Pact. Glad to see you returned.”

“Photo Finish! It’s been too long!” A fellow immigrant from Germaneigh, she had been a model some years back, before becoming a photographer and talent scout. Of all the Ponies, she was one of his favorites, though her exuberant attitude could become grating.

“Ach, zis is vunderful, to have my old friend back at my side! Vhy, ve could turn the vorld of fashion upside down!”

“Greetings, Sky Bastion.” Spell was a bit surprised to see the massive Pegasus soldier out of her armor and in a dress, but pleased to see her all the same.

“Hey, Pact. My daughter was supposed to be here tonight with her friends, but I haven’t seen her.” The soldier shook hands with the other Ponies near him, and conversation started.

“Trying to set up the doctor with your little filly, eh, Bastion?” Fancy teased, while Sky took the joke with a smile.

“Nah, she’s totally not his type. Plus, he’s not her type either. No, I just wanted to see her again. Haven’t seen her in over a year, plus now that she’s an Element of Harmony…”

“Ah yes, I remember reading that.” Spell Pact said thoughtfully. “Never would have thought timid little Fluttershy could become an Element. Nor that little hellion, Rainbow Dash.”

As a close friend to Sky Bastion, Spell Graft and his “grandson” had known the shy little Pegasus when she’d been a filly. He’d also met the prismatic best friend of Fluttershy once before, and had found her arrogance rude. Hopefully she’d have improved over the years.
Sky chuckled.

“You can say that again! I almost feel old, knowing my daughter is nearly twenty!”

Small talk continued for a while longer, until something shattered the stuffy yet tranquil atmosphere.

First, loud party music, of an annoyingly grating style. A bright pink Earthy Pony is a candy themed dress dancing around trying to get the nobles to lighten up.

Second, Prince Blueblood using a mare a shield against a wayward cake, launched by the antics of the Pink Pony. Said cake-covered mare terrifying the arrogant prince into a pillar, somehow knocking it over, and causing a domino effect with the rest of the pillars. And last, but not least, and certainly the most surprising, was a hoard of rare and exotic animals breaking into the Gala pursued by Fluttershy, in a tattered dress, who was screaming incoherently about love.

Total chaos erupted, and Spell Pact stood stock still, jaw hanging open, his expression mirrored by Sky Bastion as she gazed at her daughter, and Fancy and Fleur as they took in the panic. Photo Finish, on the other hand, was busy snapping pictures with a portable camera, capturing the scenes for future use.

“I think I’m going to call it a night,” Spell Pact managed to say after a while, his friends nodding and quickly slipping out, the doctor grabbing Rain as they made a hasty retreat.

“Well, that happened,” Rain said as they waited for a taxi-chariot.

Spell Pact just nodded, disappointed with his lack of new data. Something exploded behind them, and the two looked at each other and shrugged.

“Nobles.”

Chapter 10: Hello, Chaos / Guttentag, Chaos

Chapter 10: Hello, Chaos / Guttentag, Chaos

It was a normal day, with nice and warm weather, for early autumn at least. Spell Pact was unable to enjoy it, however, as he was stuck in his apartment grading several stacks of class work from his students.

Most of it was good, honest attempts and well thought out essays. Others, more disappointing ones, were obvious plagiarisms and of poor quality. Even worlds apart, students acted the same.

As Spell Pact worked, he heard a loud boom of thunder. Confused, he looked out the window to see what was going on. One good thing about absolute weather control was never wondering about the weather. And he knew there were no storms scheduled for the week. Outside, the sky had turned dark grey, with odd, pink looking clouds drifting about.

“Why is supernatural phenomena always pink?” Spell groused.

“What, you don’t like pink? I honestly prefer plaid to any other, but pink is a good second. So very delightfully misleading.”

“GAH!” Spell shouted, jumping out of his chair and spinning around to see…

A God-damned mismatched abomination. Part dragon, with lion paw, eagle claw, a horse and lizard leg, stubby bat and bird wing, a snake tail, antlers and twisted goat horn, a hideous horse-like face, and a great big snaggle tooth.

Spell Pact glared at the mismatched Chimera before him, his earlier shock and surprise replaced with distain and annoyance.

“Speak your piece, and then be gone, beast. I am too busy to deal with you now.” The thing pouted at Spell Pact before chuckling.

“Yes, you humans always were the dour ones.” Spell Pact gaped, mouth open in shock, which caused a new burst of laughter from the monster.

“Oh yes, I know all about your world. Earth, is it? So boring with the names of your cities and places. Expect for China. ‘Forbidden City’ has a nice ring to it, don’t you agree?”

“Who are you, and how can you tell? My disguise can fool the princesses themselves!”

The Chimera laughed again before snapping its fingers, or talons, or whatever, and summoning hundreds of pictures of itself.

“I am Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. And to be perfectly honest, the princesses are a bunch of dullards. They can’t see beyond their own muzzle, most of the time. I, however, am a being born of such actions like guile and trickery. I know them all, as I am them all.”

“And how do you know of my world?” Spell Pact demanded again.

“Have you ever heard of the Multiverse Theory? No? Well, it was a bit after your time, Mr. Nazi.” Once more Spell was stunned by the depth of knowledge this beast had.

“You see, there are a million realities and universes out there, each with their own laws, rules, deities, and so forth,” Discord continued speaking, and Spell focused his attentions on him a second time. “Simply put, every world has a Discord in it, or some form thereof. All are linked to each other, yet all hail from a singular origin. Chaos. On your particular Earth, I was known by several names. Loki by the Vikings, Coyote by the ‘Native Americans,’ Quetzalcoatl by the rather creepy Aztecs, and my favorite was Lucifer by the bothersome Christians.”

“You are the devil?” Spell Pact inquired, but the monster shook its head.

“Were you not listening? That was one of my old names by your people. Though I am not your devil, Kind von Mephistopheles.”
Spell Pact tensed as Discord vanished, only to reappear at his back, patting his shoulder.

“Old Grogar is your patron, as by the time Johan the First came around, I was already dead on your Earth.” Another snap of the claws, and Discord was now floating upside down while Spell’s furniture began to dance about.

“You were killed? You, a god?”

“As god-like I may be, anything call fall prey to Entropy and Death. Nothing is eternal, though my Origin, Chaos, will be around a long time. Besides, when you humans wants something done, it gets done. My slayer used a very powerful artifact to destroy me, along with pure force of human will. An artifact you possess right now, in fact.” Another snap of the claws, and a cube appeared in his paw, one that Spell Pact recognized intimately.

“That…!”

“Yes, this. A fragment of the Spear of Longinus. Bathed in the blood of an equally god-like being, it, combined with old George’s willpower, slew my Earth version.” Discord peered at the box, scrutinizing it. A cube of metal without a keyhole, it was crafted from a solid block of Orihalcum with the blood-stained shard imbedded in it through magic.

“Saint George the dragon slayer… was your killer?”

“Indeed he was,” Discord said, opening the block of metal like a box, and pulling out the sliver of metal. Made from iron, the shattered spear head was a dull brown, having been stained by blood millennia ago.

“Such a shame Old J went and died like that. Personally, I thought he should have stayed around, but, his choice.”

“You knew Jesus?” Spell Pact breathed in awe. He’d never been much for religion, but being in the presence of one who knew the founder of Christianity was certainly awe inspiring.

“Not me personally, but one of me did, yes.” Discord said, now using the Spear of Longinus to pick his teeth.

“Stop that! And explain to me what you mean. Are you one being, or multiple ones that share memories?”

Discord sighed and put the shard back into the cube, than snapped his finger’s causing it to vanish.

“Yes, and no. I, myself, am my own being, with my own thoughts, dreams, and opinions. But, no, in that I am a mere part of a far greater whole. Every Discord in every plane of existence is their own ‘person,’ and they are all linked to each other through Quantum Entanglement and Chaos Theory that, if understood, causes universes to explode. There is however an “original” Discord, or Chaos, who is the Prime. He is the Alpha and Omega, and all other Discords, even me, are his, well, ‘clone’ isn’t the right term for that, but nor is ‘children.’ We exist because he exists, and when he dies, so too will all of us. Though, his death will only occur at the End of All Times, along with all matter, reality, etc.”

Spell Pact was silent, his mind racing at the revelations. Discord just grinned down at the displaced human with a smirk.

“I see I’ve given you some things to think about, so I’ll be going now. If I do manage to conquer this world, we’ll chat later. If not, well, you’ll at least be able to study the residue of my Chaos Magic.”

“Why tell me this?” Spell Pact demanded as an odd looking car appeared in the middle of his room.

“Because I love craziness, and what is crazier than Madness?” Discord explained ominously as he opened the driver’s side door and slid inside.

“I’m off to Ponyville to mess with some annoying little Elements. Ta-ta for now, Johan Faust the 13th! And if you want to understand Celestia and Luna, look beyond the stars.” With that final cryptic message, he slammed the door closed, and a portal ripped open in front of the machine. With a roar from the engines, he shot the car into the vortex which proceeded to close behind it.

A second later, and all that was left of the chimera-like spirit was some pink and green tire tracks on the hardwood floor, and his furniture which was still dancing. Spell Pact sighed heavily, and began to round up his wayward décor.

“You’ve given me a lot to ponder, Discord,” Spell muttered to himself as he tied down a lamp to a desk, both trying to wiggle out from the rope. “A lot to ponder, indeed…”

Fool's Gold / Katzengold

Chapter 11 – Fool’s Gold

“Class, I know I said that I would return your essays today, however, there has been a slight change.” Spell Pact stood behind a podium facing a room full of Unicorns. His class at the University was rarely packed, but never too empty. He was popular among certain students for his fairness and willingness to help a struggling student, but was just as hated by others for his absolutely unyielding nature towards cheating, bribing, and failure. None of his students could argue that he was brilliant and his lessons certainly more lively than some of the other crusty old instructors’.

“Due to the events of last week, all your essays were, unfortunately, devoured by my chair.” While some students shared a confused look, most understood that their teacher was referring to the Discord Incident, that had thankfully lasted only a day. “Because they were all destroyed before I could finish grading them, I have no choice but to give you all A’s for the assignment.”

At this several students cheered, but they were silenced by a venomous glare from Spell Pact.

“Do not expect this to happen again. We’ll end class here for today, so turn in your homework as usual.”

Once the students had deposited their homework and filed out, Spell Pact bundled them together before leaving himself. He had an appointment he was eager to keep.

A few days ago, he’d been delivered a letter, asking him to come to the Royal Castle and study the Chaos Magic left behind by Discord. He was practically giddy with excitement, though his expressions were kept very neutral, and he made the short walk from the University to the Palace. It was not long before he stood in front of the gates, and flashed the letter to the guards.

“Enter,” one of them said, gruffly, while the other, a recruit from the looks of it, shot him nervous glances.

“Boo,” Spell whispered as he passed, the poor guard nearly jumping out of his skin as he gave a very feminine squeal of fear. The older guard smacked his junior upside the helmet, while scowling at a retreating Spell Pact.

Laughing, he made his way to the castle gardens. There, he was greeted by an unusual sight. Princess Celestia stood near a statue of the mismatched abomination from earlier in the week, while a team of labcoat wearing scientists carrying magical apparatus combed the area. Further away, a team of Royal Guards stood at attention, led by, of course, Shining Armor.

“I know for a fact there are other Captains and officers in the Guard, yet why is it I always see you?” Spell Pact complained as he approached, Shining Armor giving him a glare.

“I know for a fact there are other Magic Researchers in Canterlot, yet why is it always you?” The Captain snarked, earning a few muffled laughs from his soldiers.

“Careful with that sharp wit, boy, we don’t want you putting someone’s eye out with it, like you did when you were furiously making out with Princess Cadence last year,” Spell Pact retorted, Shining’s face flushing red as “oooo’s” and a “sick burn, bro!” came from the science team.

The poor captain properly humiliated by reminding him of when he was caught swapping spit with the Princess of Love and later almost gouging her eye out when they were found out by Princess Celestia herself, Spell Pact made his way to the Solar Regent herself.

“Greetings, Princess. I am here, as requested.”

“Thank you, Doctor, for coming on such short notice. The team here has already compiled some data, so please ask Professor Quick Wit for any help you need.”

“Quick Wit?” Spell Pact looked around, and spotted an aging Unicorn walking over. Yellow coat with a dark orange mane and tail, Quick Wit had been one of Spell Graft’s research assistants many years ago, and as close to a friend as the disguised human could have had.

“Is that you, Spell Pact? A pleasure to meet you. I knew your grandfather well.”

“Yes, he often told me about you. Said you were his best lab partner,” Spell Pact said, twisting the facts as he did.

“He was a genius, alright. Shame he had to die so young,” Quick Wit said, sighing sadly.

“He was over ninety. It was his time,” Spell Pact explained, while the elderly professor just nodded.

“When someone as smart as him passes on, it’s always too early. Still, you’ve carried on his work, so that’s something that hasn’t died.” A moment of respectful silence later, the scientists were ready for more work.

“So, what do you have so far?”

“Well, we’ve determined that Discord escaped his prison due to a pair of factors. One, the Elements of Harmony finding new owners, which severed their connection to the previous wielders, allowing him to weaken his containment. Secondly, he used localized strife and chaos to fuel his escape, breaking free thanks to three bickering fillies on a field trip.”

Spell Pact just stared at Quick Wit for a moment.

“You expect me to believe that three fillies broke out the most powerful entity this side of the world by arguing?”

“It’s what happened,” A nearby researcher said, but Spell Pact just groaned.

“If he feeds on chaos and disharmony, then surely that disaster of a Gala was more of a boost to his energy than not. Plus, this is Canterlot! Half the nobility are imbeciles whose arrogance, trickery and underhanded dealings would have likely contributed to the escape just as much. Three fillies may have pushed it over the edge, but there is no way it was their fault alone.”

By the sheepish looks of both the Guards and the scientists, it was clear none of them had thought about that. Face palming at their sheer stupidity, Spell Pact resolved to get out of this situation with his brain still intact, if not his already fragile sanity.

“We can deal with massive oversight and incompetence later, I suppose. For now, I wish to analyze the Chaos Magic myself.” Not waiting for an answer, he grabbed one of the Divining Rods, also one of his grandfather’s inventions, and began to run it around the area, watching as the inverted disc on the bottom blinked and lit up at intervals. Designed like a metal detector or one of those American mine sweepers, a disc would pick up stray traces of magic, then show what colors showed up on a second mirror near the handle.

As Spell Pact swept the device around, checking the magical residue, he was also discreetly gathering it up. A small scrap of magic was absorbed by the Divining Rod’s enchanted mirror every time he passed it over a clump of Chaotic magic. If anyone noticed the depletion of magical energy, they’d assume it was dissipating naturally, which meant he could detach the mirror of the Divining Rod at his leisure and use the residue for his own experiments.

As he plotted, the device began to detect a massive collection of Chaos magic nearby. Confused, Spell Pact followed the energy trail, before stopping right in front of the statue of Discord. Rubbing his chin, he reached out with the Divining Rod and tapped it against the stone.

“The Living do not fear the Dead!”

Pain, pain, pain…

“Blood and guts, from filthy sluts, serve me now, while they call me nuts!”

The ringing of an infernal Bell, while the sounds of cracking bones and ripping flesh echoed around.

“Tambelon shall fall, you cannot stop me!”

A black Goat with Seven Eyes stares out from the Abyss…

“Doctor Spell Pact! Can you hear me?!”

A voice was shouting at him, one that he knew. Who was it again? The darkness fled, and his eyes fluttered open. A very concerned Celestia stood over him, while Professor Quick Wit checked his vitals.

“I touched the statue…” Spell Pact whispered, and Celestia nodded.

“You did. The Divining Rod almost overloaded, and the backlash knocked you out. There doesn’t appear to be any damage from the Chaos Magic, though, for which we are extremely lucky.”

“I saw, heard things…” Spell groaned, and the Princess’ eyes widened.

“What did you experience?”

“…Tambelon shall fall…” He muttered, eyes distant and glazed, before he passed out. Celestia gasped, earning a confused glance from Quick Wit.

“His vitals are fine, Princess. I think he’s suffering Mana Burn from absorbing and expelling all that Chaos magic, hence why he passed out.” Celestia let out a relieved sigh, while Quick Wit packed up his supplies.

“Why the hay did that happen, anyways?” Captain Shining Armor inquired, walking over. He and the Guards had taken up a defensive position when the lights burst from the statue, but it seemed intact, and nopony expect the doctor had been affected.

“I believe the reason was the Divining Rod was trying to analyze too much. Discord’s Chaos magic is trapped beneath a powerful layer of Harmony energy, whatever it might be, and the two don’t seem to mix well. The Divining Rod may have picked up some of the residue, and contact with the Harmony forged prison may have caused the explosive reaction.” As the professor spoke, a team of Guards trotted over and lifted the unconscious Spell Pact onto a portable stretcher, hurrying him off to the castle’s infirmary.

“…That explains some it. But why would he have visions, and what do they mean?” Celestia mused.

“What did he mean by ‘Tambelon shall fall?’ I don’t think I’ve heard of a place like that,” Shining Armor asked.

“Children these days…” Quick Wit sighed. “Tambelon was the name of a kingdom in Equestria Minor. It was a powerful nation, and one of the first multi-species countries. However, one thousand five hundred years ago the Court Wizard of Tambelon was a powerful Goat named Grogar. Long story short, Grogar betrayed the royal family and destroyed the kingdom, raising an army of the dead to wage war on the rest of the world. Three heroes, one from each of the Equestria Minor City-States of Stalliongrad, Prance, and Germaneigh, eventually banded together a rag-tag army and vanquish the dread Necromancer. He’s the reason Necromancy is banned and labeled under ‘Dark Magic.’ Nowadays, what’s left of Tambelon is a cursed place, much like the Everfree Forest.”

“Indeed, it is a dark tale, and one I am glad is resolved. Still, it worries me that Spell Pact saw such visions.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about, Princess,” Shining Armor tried to reassure, but the Solar Diarch shook her head.

“I have no doubt that the doctor saw visions, Captain. But were they of the past, or the future?” An uneasy chill settled onto her shoulders, as Celestia silently prayed for nothing to go wrong.

Author's Note

Alright, I'm finally back! It's been a while, hasn't it, but now that most of the problems are dealt with, I can get back to writing with a semi-regular updating period. Hopefully. Don't quote me on that.

Chapter 1 – Child of Mephistopheles / Kind von Mephistopheles

Chapter 1 – Child of Mephistopheles / Kind von Mephistopheles

Something big was coming. He could feel it in the air, the slight tingling sensation of power, arcane magics gathering and weaving some incomprehensible spell. Johan Faust the Thirteenth smirked as he set up various charms, analysis devices, capture crystals, and other bizarre implements around his home. It happened often in this magical realm, vast disturbances in the magical fields correlating to seasonal changes, motions of the celestial objects, and configurations of various sources. Whatever was coming, was going to be earth shattering.

Johan wiped his brow with the back of his hand, pushing a crick out of his back as he finished setting up for whatever was coming. He wanted test samples and readings. Still, in his sixty plus years of living here, he had never felt so much power right before the event. Like a static charge heralding a storm, he could practically taste the energy in the air. He looked up into the sky, the sun only just starting to creep upwards. Dawn was new, but already his work began. He walked around his home, observing it and the set up.

Johan Faust lived in a rather large mansion. Red brick walls and a roof made of slate shingles loomed beneath thick trees. Steel drain pipes snaked their way around the roof and terminated above two large rain barrels. Massive marble pillars held up a patio roof made of stone and wood, the latter painted a drab olive green. The pillars themselves were choked with climbing vines and ivy, but they were carefully cultivated with an expert hand. Three steps led up to the porch, and the door was a thick slab of hard wood, with a brass door knocker. A nicely trimmed yard was surrounded on all sides by a low brick fence, with a steel gate some feet away.

It was his, renovated from an old, run down building he had bought years ago, and now used as his home base. It was lovely and quaint. Johan was proud of it. A gravel lined path led from the gate down a mile or so towards a lovely little city called Trottingham. When he had first come to this land, he had groaned something fierce at the horse puns. He’d gotten used to it, but never over it. How could one, when their homeland was parodied as a city-state called Germaneigh!

Shaking his head clear, he headed back inside his home, unlocking the door with a thick iron key he carried. Once inside, he locked the door, and proceeded to his laboratory for an quick experiment before breaskfast. Up a flight of stairs to the second floor, then around some corridors and past some doors. He stood before a plain, white painted door, identical to all the others save for the words “study” engraved on a bronze plate above the door frame, and pulled out a second key. This one was smaller and crafted from a rare obsidian like stone, carefully charged with a spell. He inserted the key and with a “click!” it opened.

If anyone without the key were to open the door, it would reveal a simple study, with a bookcase filled with medical texts, and a desk laden with papers. A small circular window allowed in some light and an old fashioned oil lamp. Nothing special or spectacular.

But if you opened the door with his black, stone key, you entered Johan Faust’s secret laboratory. A short corridor was before him, and he shut the door behind. He walked to the end of the corridor where another door, this one steel, awaited him. A third key was removed, this one also iron but far less thick like the one to his front door. Opening this door, a pungent stench of disinfectant fluids assailed his nostrils. He was used to it now, however. Even back home in Germany he had gotten used to it.

Here were a number of doors, and several closets and cubbyholes, with dull eggshell white walls. He slipped off his work clothes and hung them in a closet. He then removed from a second, different closet, a long white lab coat, rubber surgical gloves, and a mask to cover his mouth and nose. Absentmindedly, he pushed up his thick lensed glasses as he dressed. Finished, he walked back out, but when through a nearby door. In this new room was a stainless steel operating table, far larger than normal, but adjustable to any body size. Just like the plastic and leather straps for holding down the bodies. Good for any size.
He walked over to a door and unlocked it with a fourth key, this one smaller than all the rest. In this room was a horror show. Several cages lined the walls, each one ten feet tall and twice that wide. They were not unlike jail cells, but with far more sinister purpose. All of them had stains on the floors and bars, from all manners of fluids. But mostly blood. The walls were painted an off white color so the dark stains stood out vividly to an observer.

Only one cage was occupied. In it was a creature on inhuman origins, but oddly similar structure. It had hands with five digits, each analogous to his own fingers, it had a pair of slightly large well-shaped breasts revealing it to be female and mammalian. A vaguely humanoid appearances with it walking on two legs, having the general outline of a human, and hands. That was where the similarities ended, however. Over its skin was a thin coating of fur, oddly colorful. Its feet were back jointed and ended in hooves. A tail made of long silky hair poked out where its spine met is buttocks, or “flank,” near where a human tail bone might be. Its head was equine in structure, with flat grinding teeth for plants in a stubby muzzle and snout. Its eyes were wide and expressive, easily twice the size of a human eye, though they were less of an orb and more of a plate. Topping the head was a long mane, scraggily and dirty, like the rest of her, from days of imprisonment.

And last, but not least, was what fascinated Johan the most. A horn, made of bone connecting to the skull by covered in a thin layer of skin and cartilage, finished off by a svelte layer of fur of similar color to their coat. This appendage allowed her to use magic, which was what Johan researched down in his lab. What was it? Where did it come from? How did work, and how could you control it? Around her throat was a black collar, made of metal and crystals, which shut off her ability to use magic, and also as a side effect cut off her speech. He wasn’t sure why, but it did what it did. He had designed it himself for use among any of the pony races.

Yes, that was what they called themselves. Ponies. Closely related to horses, like humans were to apes, but with enough differences to be a whole other species.

“Time to get up, my dear,” Johan cooed, smiling as he walked over and unlocked her cage’s door. He used a fifth key for it. He reached into one of his pockets and removed a horn, severed from a unicorn long ago. He had stripped it of its fur and cartilage sheath, and now it was a bleached white shard of bone. The mare’s eyes widened at the sight, and she whimpered softly, unable to talk. Johan pointed the tip of the horn at her, and a dark purple chain shot forth from it and latched onto the collar. He forced his magic and will through the phantasmal link, and slowly the mare stood, trembling, and she followed Johan out of the cage into the room with the surgical table. She wept, tears spilling down her face, some of them sizzling as they hit the chain and evaporated.

She was naked, her clothes stripped from her, and no personal effects anywhere on her person. Yet Johan felt no stirrings of lust or desire towards her. She was inhuman. An animal for his experiments, a tool for his desire to obtain knowledge.

With his magic, Johan forced the mare onto the table, and swiftly bound her legs, arms, and tail in place. Finally, he placed a grey ring around her horn, then popped the black collar off her throat. Preparations were done. He then went over to a bench with a large black radio like device on it, and flipped a switch on it. A hum, then silence. A red light blinking slowly on it the only sign of it working. Then, he went and removed a clipboard and pen from another bench, and turned to the mare, severed horn still in hand.

“Name and age, dear,” Johan asked, voice hardly muffled by the mask he wore.

“Wh…?” the mare began, but he raised the horn, and a purple aura flickered around the tip.

“Name and age, dear,” he repeated, his calm demeanor now radiating menace.

“W, Wish Burst, age 21,” She gasped, trying not to cry as magic filled her thoughts and forced her to talk.

“Wish Burst. Age 21. Species, Unicorn. Coat color pale pink, mane and tail color dark, almost navy blue with a lighter sky blue stripe running through the middle,” Johan Faust said aloud, repeating it all for the recorder nearby. He then scribbled it all down on his clipboard. Carefully, he set it down, with the pen, and pushed a trolley over to the table’s edge. The trolley was filled with sharp, shiny tools. Scalpels and forceps. Drills and syringes. All manner of surgical equipment, along with some more arcane look items, such as a long needle with red bulbs along the edge, or a variety of potion bottles and salves.

Wish Burst began to scream and thrash against her bonds as she tried to escape, but Johan raised his unicorn horn and silenced her with a jolt from it. She sobbed, but made no noise.

“I am now going to implant a number of monitoring devices into the subjects body. Some will enter her brain, another with be placed into her thaumata gland, which seems to be the organ dedicated to producing magic. It is located in the upper regions of the cerebellum. Of interesting note is that all species of Pony have a thaumata gland, but only Unicorns tap into it directly, and with special nerves from their horn stem. I want to see what her reactions are to the magic that is about to occur. I feel that the slowly building energy I’ve noticed all of yesterday and this morning will be released sometime tonight or early morning tomorrow.”

Johan raised the various tools and artifacts, and gave Wish Burst a small pitying look.

“I’m really sorry to do this, you know. But I must learn all I can about magic. My ancestor, Johan Faust the First, was said to have made a deal with the devil to learn all he wanted. Foolish oaf. You must earn knowledge with your own efforts. So please relax, my dear, but take solace in the fact that this is for a greater cause. For science.” With that, he leaned over her, and Wish Burst screamed silently throughout.

Many hours passed, and the sun was starting to set. Outside the door to Johan’s manor was a beautiful Earth Pony mare, waiting patiently as she knocked on the bronze door knocker.

She wore a low cut dress the color of wine, which complemented her pale yellowish brown coat very well. Her mane and tail were dark blue with alternating stripes of a lighter blue. Green eyes hid laughter and good nature, while her bust tried to explode out of her dress. Unseen and hidden by her outfit was her cutie mark, a bottle of milk surrounded by angel wings.

A few moments later, the door swung open and a tall, handsome Unicorn stood before her. His coat was an off white, like milk, while his mane and tail were black as shadows. He wore a battered dark brown smokers jacket, though he claimed he had never smoked in his life, and wore some well-tailored black dress pants.

“Ah, Miss Way. A pleasure to see you again.” The Unicorn bowed deeply, to which the mare giggled.

“Oh, come off it Spell Pact. You can act like a fool all you want later tonight, but it’s just me at the moment.”

The Unicorn stallion, Spell Pact, shrugged his shoulders, and held out his arm for the Earth Pony to grab onto.

“Shall we go attend the Summer Sun Celebration, Milky Way?” He said, his Germane accent suffusing his voice. She nodded, and he closed the door and locked it.

“I don’t know why you lock your doors, Pact. Trottingham might not be as crime free as one of the smaller towns, but it’s nice and safe enough. Plus, you live here in the outskirts. Always struck me as silly.”

“Just a habit from living away from Equestria, my dear. Not all lands are as welcoming as our own.”

The pair walked down to the gate, which was already open. Passing it, Pact closed it behind them, and then continued on the gravel path towards Trottingham with Milky Way.

“By the way, do you know if Wish Burst made it home alright? I’d hate for one of my students to get stuck away from her family on the holidays,” Spell Pact said after a few minutes of silence.

“Oh yes. I saw her at the train station earlier last night. She looked eager to be getting home. Sure you won’t be lonely in your big house all alone?” She teased, and Pact laughed.

“Oh no, not at all. I just can’t wait for her to be back. So much studying to be done. So many experiments…”

As they walked off, deep beneath the manor, in a secret room only one person knew of, the Unicorn mare Wish Burst moaned, the apparatus in her flesh tingling, and her thoughts full of drugged dreams.

Author's Note

Will get bloodier in later chapters, and the rating will change then.

First attempt at an Anthro fic. Comments and critique welcome.

Chapter 4 – the Palace of the Goddess / Das Schloss die Göttin

Chapter 4 – the Palace of the Goddess / Das Schloss die Göttin

The train ride was long and boring. The train left at six am, and arrived in Canterlot at five pm, and Spell Pact was about to lose his mind. He could handle the boredom with books and drafting new theories, but his mind wandered whenever he saw a Unicorn using magic, or a Pegasus flying. Mind racing with thoughts on their properties, Spell would have no choice but to bury the desires to dissect and cut them open. It was hard for a madman to act sane, sometimes.

At long last, however, Canterlot’s peek loomed ahead, and Spell Pact sighed with relief.

“Arriving in Canterlot in one minute!” the conductor bellowed over the intercom. With a squeal of brakes, a hiss of steam, and the clunk of some other part of the train, the carriage ground to a halt, and Spell stood quickly, leaving as soon as the doors swung open.

The platform was crowded, and Spell Pact pushed and shoved his way through the press of Ponies. Grumbling, he made his way up the paths and streets, most of the inhabitants paying him no attention, the snooty aristocrats and worthless nobles are stuck up as they were inbreed and useless. He growled as one couple bumped into him, and their response was a “humph!” before moving on.

“I will remember your faces, worms, and I pray we do not meet again,” he hissed, barely audible, but the two froze in shock at the sheer venom in his words. Before they could turn to accost him, he was gone, lost in the crowd.

“How horrid!” Jet Set exclaimed.

“How rude!” Upper Crust huffed.

“How foolish…” Spell Pact muttered.

After a half an hour of fighting through the Ponies, the number thinned out as he got closer to the Castle. The first thing he noticed was the number of guards on duty. He hadn’t been by for a while, but there was no doubt in his mind that there was more than usual.

“I’m Doctor Spell Pact, Princess Celestia wanted to see me,” he announced to the soldiers at the gate. These two wore the golden enchanted suits of armor of the Royal Guard. A pair of Unicorns, the illusion in the armor made their fur appear to be a dull grey in color. They glanced at one another, then one of them scoffed.

“Sorry, but Day Court is closed. You can reschedule an appointment for another time.”

“So? I did not come to petition the princess, she was the one who asked for my help. Now stand aside or I will hurt something. Probably your pride, but if I’m lucky, I might break a rib or two.” Spell Pact leaned forward, his tone taunting. “Since I’m a doctor, I’ll give you a discount on any fractures or lacerations you need healed.”

“Back off!” One of the guards shouted, swinging the butt of his spear at Spell Pact. It never made contact, as Spell Pact stepped to the side away from the swing. Without a second of hesitation, the doctor slammed his palm into the Guard’s shoulder, the impact followed by a sickening “POP!”

“AARGH! Son of a whorse!” the shoulder had been dislocated, the joint popped out of its socket, and the spear clattered to the cobblestones, fallen from nerveless fingers. The other Unicorn readied a spell in retaliation, his horn glowing with energy, but was interrupted by the tall doctor jumping behind the guard with the dislocated arm. He darted out from cover to deliver a blow to the back of his head. The spell fizzled and the aura faded, the Guard slumping to his knees.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I have an appointment to keep. So please, mind letting a more competent pony do your job from now on?” Spell Pact sneered, readjusting the straps of his carrying bag. He stepped past the two incapacitated soldiers, and walked over to the nearest patrolling group.

“I have a meeting with Princess Celestia. Take me to her at once.” As earlier, the gold armored buffoons bristled and took it as a challenge. But before any more damage could be done, a loud shout interrupted them.

“For Celestia’s sake, stand down you idiots!” The guards stiffened and hastily threw out a salute as a massively muscled Pegasus mare in drab steel armor appeared from the sky. Her wings were twice the length of any other Pegasus Spell Pact had seen, and he forced his thoughts away from the experiments he would perform on her exquisite body.

“Commander Bastion!” The guards shouted, while the doctor smiled lazily at the newcomer.

“Hello Sky, been a while. How’s your daughter these days?”

“She’s fine. Moved out to some tiny village called Ponyville a year ago. Lives under a tree. Or in it. I forget which.” The enormous mare said, as she landed next to Spell Pact. Her coat was enchanted to be pure white, like all Pegasus soldiers, but what the magic couldn’t conceal was a long, thin scar down the side of her cheek, from her right eyebrow to her chin.

Commander of the Pegasus Battalions, Sky Bastion. One of the few Ponies Spell Pact respected, and feared. She was a muscled brute of a Pony, and unlike some, her muscle mass was all natural. Pact knew, he’d checked. She might not have been the fastest flier, but she could stay aloft for days if need be. Her endurance was legendary.

“I thought it’d be best if I escorted you to the Princesses. Seeing as you’ve already caused some damage…” Sky trailed off, glancing at the two guards near the front gate. Spell Pact nodded, and the commander quickly trotted off, with the doctor following behind.

“I noticed something you said earlier,” Spell Pact began, once they were within the halls of the castle. “You said ‘Princesses,’ as in more than one. I know of Princess Cadenza, but the way you said it was more how you’d refer to Princess Celestia. More respectful. What’s going on, Sky?” the Guard-mare snorted at the question.

“You’re a sharp one, you know that?” Sky said, and Spell Pact nodded.

“I am. I’m also smart, suave, and sophisticated. I could go on, but I’d prefer an explanation.”

“Bit of a smart-ass too. But I can’t tell you anything. What I said earlier was a slip up, and I’m not at liberty to say anything more.” Spell rolled his eyes, and the two stopped at a pair of massive double doors. It was big, and made of a dark wood that did not reflect the lights from the crystal lamps. Beautiful, intricate silver filigree was etched into its surface, forming shapes of stars and the moon. The knob too was silver, but what also caught his attention were the guards standing outside it. Instead of the usual Gold-Helms, these soldiers were clad in matching armor to Sky Bastion’s. Grey and made of steel, with an eclipsed sun as the heraldry. They wore short white cloaks, and the enchantment on the armor made their fur different. Two guards were Pegasi, the other two were Unicorns, and Spell Pact could feel the presence of two Earth Ponies standing in the shadows of the hallway.

“Just so you know, Spell Pact, everything you see and hear beyond these doors is confidential. Tell anypony without permission what is there, and we’ll be having some very curt words. Followed by a beating.”

Spell Pact narrowed his eyes and glared at Sky Bastion, but she held his gaze, and he knew that she was serious.

“I understand.” Another tense moment, and then she nodded, and proceeded to knock on the doors.

“It’s Commander Sky Bastion, here with Doctor Spell Pact. Permission to enter?” A pause, and then the doors inched open, a magical field around the handle.

“Go in, doctor.” Spell Pact nodded, and he entered the mysterious room. As he did, the door shut behind him. He was unconcerned with that. What did concern him were the two figures before him. One was undeniably Princess Celestia, her horn, wings, and ethereal mane leaving no doubt.

The other, however, was unknown to him. It was an Alicorn, like Celestia, but with dark blue fur, and her mane was black as night, with what appeared to be shimmering motes trapped within. Her mane was far less ethereal than Celestia’s, and another thing was her size. She was tiny, like a child, but her eyes held generations of wisdom within. Both Alicorns were sitting on a large four poster bed, acting very close.

“Hello, Doctor Spell Pact, I’m glad you could make on such short notice.” Spell Pact waved his hand to show it was of no matter.

“Not a problem, Princess Celestia,” the doctor said, placing his bag on the plush carpeted floor. Which, by the way, was a lovely navy blue. Now that he took a closer look, the entire room’s décor was all shades of blue, black, and silver. “I would like to know why I’m here.”

“This is why I called you here.” The monarch placed her hands on the shoulders of the smaller, blue Alicorn.

“This is my sister, Princess Luna.”