Author's Note

Slightly darker than usual at first but it'll get better I promise

Level Five: Mind Games

I was under those covers for a while before I heard a door open and someone come into the room.

I just curled up a little more when I heard them come closer to the bed.

“Come on now,” they said in a voice I’d never heard before and couldn’t place. “Don’t give up just yet. You’re doing so well.”

“I don’t wanna,” I replied, sniffling and pulling the covers tighter around me.

“There are ponies out there that need your help,” said the room’s other, nameless occupant. “You’re just going to let them down like this?”

“Leave me alone!” I cried, hugging a pillow closely. “I don’t wanna go out there and get hurt like that again!”

“Then don’t,” nameless replied, sounding much more aggressive towards me. “Let them all suffer for your selfishness and stay here forever because once they’re all gone, who is there to send you home?”

“Shut up…” I whispered, feeling the bed beneath my head soak up those tears.

“Get up and make me,” they replied, taking a step closer to the bed, or so it sounded. “Or are you going to give up on that too?”

“Shut up!” I said, louder than the first time.

“Come on, what have you got to lose?!” they yelled at me, moving around to my other side suddenly. “What’s the worst that can happen?! You die and come back?!”

“I said shut UP!!” I screamed, throwing the covers off and hurling the pillow in the direction I’d heard the voice.

You can probably guess how surprised I was when I saw that the pillow flew past empty air and that I was the only one in the room.

Fear was added to that surprise.

“What’s… what’s going on?” I asked unsurely, pulling the sheet back up to cover myself with and glancing around the room.

“You said it yourself, Karen,” a disembodied voice answered from somewhere in front of me. “You’re going crazy.”

“N-no, I’m not!” I yelled back desperately, shuffling backwards on the bed slightly.

“Yes, you are,” the voice replied bluntly. “You are and you know it.”

“S-stop it!” I shot back, shuffling back even further. I went too far and fell off the bed. I quickly recovered and stood up. “I know what you’re trying! Sh-show yourself!”

“Even if I did, I still wouldn’t be here, Karen,” stated the voice from behind me, making me jump forward and spin around to where it was.

“Where are you?!” I screamed, spinning around to search the room quickly. “I know you’re there!”

And then the door burst open and someone charged in, making me jump again and trip on the sheet, causing me to fall onto the floor again. They were a welcome sight, but the voice went quiet and left me alone.

“WHO ART THOU?!” roared princess Luna in the royal caps-lock voice. “WHAT ARE THEE DOING IN HERE?!!”

I shrunk back against the wall and hugged my stomach anxiously. She must’ve seen how distressed I was because her aggressive, ferocious expression lightened a little.

Only a little though.

“Explain yourself!” she yelled, stepping closer intimidatingly. “What are you doing here? Friend or foe?”

“She’s a friend,” the voice explained from right beside me. “Just barely.”

“SHUT UP!!” I screamed, spinning to the voice’s point of origin.

“You are not in a position to vent your frustrations on me!” Luna yelled back, standing up straighter to give off more of an air of authority. “There are twelve guards outside and this room is too close quarters for you to try anything!”

“Didn’t… didn’t you hear him?” I asked slowly, turning back to face Luna and shrinking down a little more.

“Hear who?” she queried, cocking her head to one side and putting on a look of confusion. “There’s no one else here!” Her furious expression returned. “Now state your intention!”

“I’m…” I whispered, sliding down the wall and onto the floor. “Twilight brought me here… to help save the day…”

“Twilight brought you here…?” Luna replied in awe, jaw dropping a little. She shook her head and regained a more serious look. “That’s amazing! That you know who Twilight is is enough to prove that you are her friend. But how are you here right now? As in, in this room?”

“I… don’t know…” I breathed, putting my head in my hands. “I don’t want to be here anymore…”

“Of course you don’t,” the voice said darkly. “You’ve given up.”

“No, I haven’t…” I replied quietly.

Luna was silent for a moment.

“Are you alright?” she asked gently, leaning in closer to me. “You seem to be… talking to somepony. Somepony that isn’t here.”

“I’m fine…” I said slowly, wiping my eyes. “I’m just… not having a very good day…”

“Then get up and show her that you’re fine,” nameless voice ordered serenely.

I can’t really explain it, but I felt compelled to obey. I stood up slowly, sniffling a little and hugging the sheet against my chest tightly.

“You’re getting there, Karen,” the voice said in a complimentary tone. “Slowly but surely, you’re getting there.”

“Thank you…” I said quietly, sniffling again.

“But remember, I’m not here,” the voice explained calmly. “Unless you like looking crazy, I’d suggest we keep our discussions one-sided or to a minimum. Now wipe those tears off your face and give us a smile.”

Again, I obeyed, rubbing my face with my arm to clear off the last few tears. The smile part of it was slightly harder to go through with, but I still tried as hard as I could to smile genuinely. Luna, clearly seeing how hard smiling was for me right now, put her hoof on my arm and gave it a reassuring rub.

“I’m sorry to bring this on you at this time, but my sister would like you to see her,” she told me sympathetically. “When Twilight told us that she would try to bring someone along to help, we were all enthusiastic about meeting you. Now that you’re here, we have much to discuss.”

“I… I need clothes…” I whimpered, pulling the sheet up higher to cover even more of myself.

“Very well,” Luna replied. She looked down at the sheet and frowned. “I’ll need measurements so I can have some made for you. Would that be acceptable?”

I went red at the thought of someone getting my measurements while I wasn’t wearing anything. Yeah, it would be more accurate, but they’d be doing stuff that would just feel weird and it would make me feel uncomfortable.

“No, it’s fine,” I answered quickly. “I just need… just get me anything to wear… I need a shirt and trousers... or a dress that covers all of me up…”

“Conveniently, we have some of those here!” Luna stated happily, heading over to a nearby wardrobe. She opened it up and pulled out a small shirt and a pair of smart trousers. “How you managed to appear in Blueblood’s old room is a mystery to me, but at least he kept his old clothes so you can use them now!”

“Is that where I am?” I asked in confusion. I looked around at the walls, but none of them could have told me this was Blueblood’s room. “It doesn’t look like his room…”

“Yes, well…” Luna said, frowning a little. “He’s moved to Trottingham amidst this worrying situation and we… repurposed his room as a guest bedroom. The only reason his clothes are still here is because he only brought what he thought was important and we kept them in case some other misfortunate pony needed them.”

She brought them over to me and I took them from her shakily. She gave me another concerned look before politely backing out of the room and closing the door behind her.

It was then that the voice with no physical form made me conscious about dropping the sheet to get dressed.

“You’re… are you there?” I asked quietly and nervously, looking around the room.

“I’ll always be here,” the voice replied. “I’m part of your own mind.”

“C-could you… you know… leave... for a minute?” I asked slowly, shifting on my feet anxiously. “I… want to get dressed in private…”

Yes, I know how stupid that sounded, asking a non-existent VOICE to leave the room.

“Well, seeing as you did as I asked, I see it’s only fair to do something you ask too,” they replied kindly.

Then I heard footsteps heading towards the door. I get that that could’ve been part of hearing things, but then the door actually opened and closed by some unseen force.

Maybe I was hallucinating so hard that it was affecting the real world too.

So anyway, I got dressed, alone with my own mind once more. While I did so, I was wondering why exactly Blueblood had a pair of trousers that actually fit me and didn’t have a hole in the back for his tail.

Maybe Discord was right about this just being a story and the plot just demanded they be for humans.

Once I was dressed, I headed over to the door to let Luna know I was ready to go visit Celestia. It was only then that I remembered the situation I had left Applejack and the others in.

How I’d forgotten it was probably due to going crazy and crying about pain for as long as I did.

I pushed the door open and spun to face Luna, now with her guards.

“Celestia can wait!” I shouted as she opened her mouth to say something. “Applejack, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are in danger! Which way to the exit?!”

“You should have said sooner!” Luna replied quickly. “I would’ve sent guards out to help them!” She turned to a very familiar looking guard and nodded at him. “Shieldheart! Give her your sword and take her to where she needs to go!”

The silence that followed was unbearable.

So I broke it in the best way I could.

“HOW THE ACTUAL F!&$ ARE YOU HERE?!!” I screamed at him. Yes, the same guy from Ponyville. “YOU WERE IN PONYVILLE FIVE F!*%ING MINUTES AGO!!!”

“Could you be any louder?” he replied with a little chuckle. He shrugged before he continued. “I just know a guard that can handle long range teleportation and I heard Canterlot was under attack by dragons.”

More silence.

“WHY THE F%*? WAS I NOT AWARE OF THIS WE COULD’VE COME WITH YOU AND HELPED SAVE THE DAY!!!” I screamed. This kind of thing was infuriating so I was allowed.

“Well, there was that turtle thing that I thought you could deal with and it kinda slipped my mind!” he explained happily. God, he was way too calm about this.

“Could you not discuss this on your way to save Twilight and her friends?” Luna put in, making me remember the whole reason I was talking to him in the first place.

“Right,” I said quickly. I grabbed Shieldheart by the ear and dragged him along with me. “Come on, you.”

“Yes, dear,” he muttered as he shook me off and led me down the corridor. “Follow me then!”

We ran down through the castle in silence, neither of us even looking at each other.

“Well this is boring,” said the disembodied voice in my head. “You could at least TRY to talk to him.”

“Quiet,” I snapped back.

“I didn’t say anything,” Shieldheart said with a hint of confusion.

“Not you,” I replied, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. “I’m hearing a voice in my head and I’m not sure if I should be worried about it or not.”

“That IS kinda serious,” he stated concernedly, looking up to me as we ran. “Shouldn’t you go tell somepony about that?”

I was quiet as we left the castle and we were out in the open. As we raced through the streets, we earned a few confused or worried glances from some ponies and guards that we passed, but Sheildheart and I both ignored them all.

“Why is your default weapon a giant sword anyway?” I asked at last, breaking the second silence between us.

“It’s easy to use and I’m used to it,” was his answer. “I’m sure someone like you would understand that, being some magnificent, undefeated warrior from another dimension.”

“Fair enough…” I muttered quietly. “Do you feel like you can help us fight those dragons and Miraak?”

“I’ll keep you covered, if that’s what you’re asking,” he explained, looking back to his sword. We left Canterlot entirely at that point. “You’ll have my sword, after all. I won’t be much help other than support and defence.”

There were still two dragons in the distance and three ponies that were flying around them. One of those ponies was flying around in circles around one of the dragons, causing the dragon to just hover in the air and try following her with its head.

It just looked like it was getting dizzy.

The other two were actually performing aerial manoeuvres that looked complicated and fun to avoid the other dragon. I don’t think Rainbow Dash would be jealous because Twilight and Fluttershy looked a lot more likely to get eaten.

And then there was the man on the field in strange looking armour with an orange pony in a cool hat doing all kinds of jumps and dodges to avoid his magic hands and dragon shouts.

She didn’t do as I’d asked then, and that might have been more trouble than it was worth for her.

That only spurred me on faster. How I’d not just run out of energy and passed out yet was beyond me. Maybe I had unlimited sprint now.

As we got closer, I spotted an only SLIGHTLY damaged dress and a giant sword. My/Shieldheart’s guard hat was somewhere else, which I soon found to be Rainbow Dash’s head. Probably because it was shiny and dragons like shiny things.

I think.

“Alright, new plan!” I yelled at Shieldheart, making a beeline for my sword. “You keep your sword and help me and Applejack take care of this guy!”

“This’ll be entertaining,” said disembodied voice, finally coming back to haunt me.

“F!£* off you’re not even real!” I shouted back, pointing angrily in the direction I’d heard it.

Miraak still hadn’t noticed me yet, so either my sneak skill was so high that I didn’t even need to be sneaking to sneak or Applejack WAS worth all the attention nobody gave her in the show.

I hoped it was the second one just to make people look stupid for ignoring her.

I leant down to scoop my sword up as I passed it and I swung it up to attack Miraak from behind.

“TIME FOR ROUND TWO!!” I shouted as dramatically as I could, slashing the sword across his back.

He spun around and switched to his sword suddenly, taking me by surprise at how little he’d reacted and how fast he could move. Before his sword could touch me, a magical, red barrier appeared in front of me to block the attack.

“You’re welcome!” Shieldheart yelled at me as he pulled his sword out of the sheath on his back with his mouth.

“Thank you!” I yelled back, bringing the sword up again to ready myself for the next attack.

“You are strong,” Miraak said, swinging at me again. I jumped out of the way just in time. “Stronger than I thought possible.”

“Yeah, and you’re about to see it!” I snapped back at him, swiping down at him.

He ignored the sword cutting across his front. It should’ve done something, but it left no marks at all.

Go video game logic.

Before he could get another swing off, Applejack ran back in to kick him in the side and knock him away from me.

“There’s gonna hafta be a LOT of explainin’ when this is all over!” she snapped at me. “Ah saw ya catch fire and then ya just vanished! That ain’t right!”

“You’re telling me!” I replied loudly, turning to look at her. “Nice to see you again!”

“Can we focush on thish guy?” Shieldheart put in, coming to my other side with the sword still in his mouth. “I wanna end thish ash shoon ash poshible!”

“Aww, look at you with your sword like that!” I commented happily, turning to face him. “You just look so cute like that!”

“Really?” he asked, turning to stare up at me for such a stupid comment. “You coulda picked any time to shtart flirting an’ you pick now?”

Then I remembered who I was talking to and I went red, spinning back to face something easier to deal with right now; Miraak. Unfortunately, Miraak wasn’t feeling patient anymore and he was already right in front of me. Before any of us could react, his sword went through my chest.

“Fate decreed that you had to die so that I could win my freedom,” he growled at me as he pulled his sword out and I fell to my knees.

“Ow…” I whispered, feeling my pulse fade as the blood poured out and my heart start giving out.

And then I was back in the bed at Canterlot castle that I’d woken up in earlier.

I looked around and saw the room was empty, so I climbed out and headed back over to the wardrobe I’d seen Luna get the clothes from earlier.

“Not giving up this time?” asked the non-existent voice, making me jump again.

I screamed and lunged for the sheet to cover myself with, and then I remembered that it wasn’t real. It didn’t make me feel any better about it being in the same room though.

“I’m not looking, I swear,” the voice quickly explained.

“Yes, you are,” I accused.

“Okay, I looked ONCE,” the voice said candidly.

“Get out!” I shouted at it.

The door opened and a guard stepped in. He gasped at me and lowered the spear he had pointed at me.

“How did you get back here?” he asked while I grabbed the sheet off the bed and covered myself up with it.

“Respect a lady’s privacy, for god’s sake!” I yelled, shuffling over to the wardrobe quickly.

The guard went red and backed out of the room quickly. The door was closed behind him, but I waited a moment before I decided to drop the sheet again.

“Are you in here anymore?” I asked quietly.

No reply.

With that, I decided to get dressed in some more of Blueblood’s old, no-tail-hole trousers and a shirt. While I was wondering why Blueblood even HAD this much human clothing, the voice came back suddenly.

“I was in here all along,” it said in a sly tone.

“F!%* off I hate you,” I snapped as I headed over to the door.

I pushed it open and stepped out. The guard who’d rudely come in while I was getting changed saluted quickly.

“Do you need any assistance with anything, ma’am?” he asked with ordered care. He was a lot better at being a guard of royalty than Shieldheart was, but probably only in the way he spoke.

“Yes, actually,” I said slowly, coming up with another genius idea as my eyes fell on his spear. “Can I borrow that spear, please?”

He passed it over as soon as I’d asked and I weighed it carefully in my hand. I smiled at him as that genius idea gained more proof that it would work.

“I’ll need to take this,” I said sweetly, swinging it around deftly. Sticks with pointy bits at the end were a lot easier to use than swords were, after all. “It’s to help save all of Equestria.”

“Very well,” the guard replied, nodding agreeably. “We have a lot of spares anyway.”

There was silence for a second.

“I’m not sure if you were trying to make a pun there so I’ll just go now,” I said blankly, turning and running down the hall.

Spears? Spares? See what I did there?

Yes, I’m sorry.

I’ll skip the journey there and get right back into the action.

Shieldheart and Applejack were both holding their own against Miraak and it looked like he’d drained the soul of another dragon while I was getting back, so Fluttershy, Twilight and Rainbow Dash were all focusing on one dragon now.

As I approached, I pointed the spear forward and charged at Miraak. He noticed me this time, but it was too late for him to do anything. I stabbed him in the chest as hard as I could, knocking him off his feet and sending him to the ground.

“Third time’s the charm!” I yelled at him, smirking triumphantly as I pulled the spear out of him and jumped back.

“Why do you have a shpear now?” Shieldheart asked from Miraak’s opposite side.

“Because sharp sticks are easier to use than sharp bits of metal!” I shouted back. I spun the spear around to prove my point, then blushed and picked it back up again when I dropped it.

“Hermaeus Mora is laughing at us, you know,” Miraak stated as he stood back up again.

“He’s not here,” disembodied voice put in calmly. “But someone else is laughing at you. This is funny.”

“Will you just f$*! off already?!” I screamed at him. No one else had said anything, so it looked like I was venting frustrations at Miraak. Two for the price of one!

“Yeah, we got thish!” Shieldheart yelled confidently, running in to attack at Miraak from behind.

Miraak, being more focused on me, was swiftly sliced across the back before Shieldheart jumped away to get ready for another attack. Miraak stayed focused on me though, and his shout of frostiness was directed at me as well.

I saw a magical shield start appearing as Shieldheart did his best to block it, but it wasn’t fast enough to block the whole thing. I was suddenly freezing cold, literally, and everything was going black. It must have been cold enough to stop my heart from beating, because next thing I knew, I was in the bed again.

“Wow, you almost had it too,” Voice said jokily. I’m just going to call him that now.

“I didn’t see you doing much,” I spat back at him.

“That’s because I’m inside your head,” he replied calmly. “You can’t see inside your head. It’s not possible.”

“Yeah, well…” I trailed off as I thought of something to shout at him. “Shut up!” I climbed out of the bed to grab even more clothes from the wardrobe. “Oh yeah, get out please.”

“Yes, mother,” Voice chuckled. There were footsteps and the door opened again.

Luna was on the other side, and she spotted me and hurried back in.

“How are you here again?!” she yelled. “I watched you leave the castle earlier and this guard says he saw you leave too!”

“Can we talk about this later please?” I asked, going red again. “I’d prefer to talk AFTER I’m dressed and when Miraak is defeated. Could we do that please?”

“Oh, of course,” Luna replied, bowing and backing out of the room. She closed the door behind her.

“And you get out too,” I said, directed at Voice.

“I am out,” he replied innocently.

“Get the f!?* out now please,” I snapped.

“You’re no fun,” he said as the door opened and closed again.

How it did that, I have no idea.

Maybe I was just seeing things too.

Luckily, Blueblood had A LOT of clothes wearable by humans, so I pulled out another pair of trousers and a shirt to get dressed into. I reminded myself to tell Celestia about Blueblood’s obsession with humans. I don’t even think Lyra is this obsessed.

I headed out again and Luna was waiting.

“Hello again,” she greeted politely with a little nod. “Do you need anything to help you in your defence of Canterlot?”

“Not really,” I answered, heading back down the corridor. She followed me.

“Then may I be of any assistance?” she asked. “I may not be much help, but I am trained in hoof-hoof combat and I can provide support where necessary.”

“Actually…” I muttered, coming up with another ingenious plan. “Can you use magic at all?”

“On a minimal level,” she replied. “But I can carry things around with magic if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Then you’re hired,” I said happily, picking up some speed. “We could use a princess on our team and I don’t think Twilight really counts, no offence to her.”

“Will I need a weapon?” she queried, turning her head to look at me as we ran.

A convenient guard was on the way to Miraak and his spear was just help in front of him so loosely. As we passed him, I snatched his spear away from him and ran faster.

“I’llbringitbackit’stosavetheworldsorrybye!” I said as quickly as I could to him, handing the spear over to Luna. “This should be fine! You know how to use it?”

“Do I?!” she laughed, twirling it around her dramatically. “I’ve trained most of my childhood with weapons like this! Oh, the fun we had playing pirates…”

Well, there you go. Turns out even princesses play with wooden swords when they’re little kids. I know I did.

My childhood was amazing be quiet.

We ran out of Canterlot and onto the fields where Miraak was shouting and using magic to keep the other two on their toes. The flying team looked like they were just hovering in one spot and yelling insults at the dragon to get it to keep switching its attention.

I can only imagine how hard that must have been for Fluttershy.

Alright, my stuff is…” I searched for where I’d frozen to death. I found it beside Shieldheart, now using a magic shield to defend himself with. “There! I just need to grab my stick and then I can help out! Just help the others bring his health down low enough for him to drain more dragon souls!”

“Very well!” Luna very happily replied. “Anything to help save the day!”

She went her own way to keep Miraak busy while I headed over to Shieldheart and my stuff. He gave me a quick glance as I scooped my spear up.

“You got here quick,” he muttered happily, swinging his sword around. “Do you like me THAT much?”

I went red and pushed him away, which only got an amused chuckle out of him and Voice.

“I like him,” Voice stated with a chuckle. “He’s fun.”

“Shutupwehaveabadguytobeat!” I blurted out, swinging my spear around wildly while Luna caught Miraak’s attention.

“PREPARE TO MEET THY MAKER, FOOL!!” she bellowed, royal caps-lock voice resurfacing again.

He shouted fire at her, but she didn’t even flinch. A red shield materialised in front of her suddenly, but I don’t think it was necessary.

“THEE COULD NOT HIT A BARN DOOR WITH A BANJO!!” she roared, disintegrating the shout in the air before it even touched the shield.

“I thought princess magic was broken,” I muttered to myself.

“Maybe SHE’S the dragonborn,” Voice put in.

“Who cares?!” I yelled, bringing my spear up and charging again. “She’s helping us out with it!”

I stabbed Miraak in the back and pulled away quickly as he spun to face me. He switched to his sword and ran at me, but Applejack shot in from the side and bucked him away.

“Ah’m sure this guy was gonna be harder than that!” she said with a smirk.

“He’s still got one dragon left!” I shouted back, backing away a little.

No sooner had I said that did he use the sprint shout to get away from all of us. The last dragon flew down to meet him and, as you can expect, was turned into a skeleton as its souls was sucked out of it.

“Okay, last part now!” I yelled, readying my spear again. “Hey Miraak! Number four and I'm back for more!”

“You should not have come here!” he shouted back, turning back to face me.

“Yeah, well…” I struggled to think of a witty remark to throw at him. “You’re dumb and you have no friends anymore!”

Hey, I tried.

“Shame ash before?” Shieldheart asked, horn sparking a little.

“Stop that, you sound silly,” I replied. “But yeah, and this time he’ll die for good!”

Miraak charged us with his sword out and I ran up to meet him. I had another brilliant idea that had a fifty-fifty chance of success. As he swung his sword at me, I dived to one side and rolled back to my feet.

Despite the amazing accomplishment that I had just achieved that would have made any other person go giddy with happiness and weak at the knees, I spun back around and stabbed Miraak in the back before he could retaliate. Luna, being on the other side of him, ran in to stab him in the back again as he spun to face me.

Shieldheart set up another magical shield in front of Luna as I stabbed him in the back again. When he spun around to me, Luna repeated the process and Shieldheart sent the shield around to my side. This was repeated with each of us switching roles and the shield switching places for a while.

Yes, it was kind of cheap that we were just ganging up on him, but it was working.

After that went on for long enough, he finally buckled to his knees and dropped his sword. He wasn’t dying like in the game, but at least he WAS dying.

“Had enough?” I asked, smiling as I recognised his defeat.

“Is it over?” Luna asked as Miraak looked up at me.

“May she be rewarded for her service as I am,” he growled, falling over backwards.

“What service?” I asked. “You weren’t serving anyone because Hermaeus isn’t here! Honestly, you really ARE dumb!”

He disintegrated into nothing and I heard cheers from behind me. I turned to see Rainbow Dash approaching.

“Woo, yeah!” she cheered, stopping right in front of me. “Great job on killing that guy! That was awesome!”

“I died three times and lost my mind, Dash,” I explained seriously, putting on a straight face. “That was not awesome.”

“At least be proud of yourself for achieving something!” Luna put in. “Yes, that may have happened, but at least you saved Canterlot and you’re still here to tell the tale of it!”

I gave in to the happiness that I had burning inside and I grinned widely, spinning to face Rainbow Dash again.

“Did you see that roll, though?!” I screamed ecstatically. “That’s the first time I ever did that and I didn’t even know if it would work!!”

“Heck, yeah I saw it!” she replied, holding her hoof up high. I gave her the high-five she wanted. “You gotta show me how to do that!!”

“Ahem,” Twilight coughed, flapping down beside us. We went silent and turned to face her. “Sorry to interrupt here, but we still need to go and see princess Celestia.”

“Right, let’s go do that,” I said calmly. “We can chat about everything on the way!”

And so all seven of us headed back up to Canterlot, with Rainbow Dash, Shieldheart and Luna all chatting to me about how awesome what I’d just achieved was. I was congratulated about the victory I’d helped achieve by everyone too.

I did talk about the voice I was hearing just to make sure it was a known subject, which obviously earned some concern, but I was told it could be addressed at a later date. The funny thing about that was Voice didn’t say a single thing when I started talking about him.

Maybe he was just as impressed about my victory as I was.