The Disappearance of Pinkamena Diane Pie

Chapters

Chapter 1: Intervention
Chapter 2: Family Secrets
Chapter 3: Royal Deceit
Chapter 4: The Library
Chapter 5: On This Night

Chapter 1: Intervention

We have this saying here in Ponyville: "That's just Pinkie Pie”. While it may make sense to those who have had the pleasure of experiencing Pinkie first hand, it can be pretty confusing to the newcomer. I should know, since I've only lived in Ponyville for a couple of years now. For my first few months here I couldn't just accept the way Pinkie acted. There had to be a reason or some theorem I could form, but after weeks of careful documentation, I just couldn't find an explanation. It was at that moment that I simply accepted the fact that Pinkie is just Pinkie. Now, I've come to the conclusion that recently, she hasn't been acting normally. In fact, she's been downright strange.

It's been weeks since Pinkie has thrown one of her random parties celebrating some event only she seems to be aware of. She hasn't even popped out of random containers to surprise me, much less add new words to the ever growing "Dictionary of Pinkie." All she does is walk from place to place quietly. Anytime I try to greet her or ask her what's wrong she either doesn't seem to notice, or makes some excuse and quickly leaves.

It is this recent behavior that has me pacing the library, waiting for my friends to show up. We'd all agreed to meet up at around six this evening so we could all talk to Pinkie together and hopefully find out what's wrong. I looked up at the clock, which said it was five thirty.

I really should make a note to stop by the Starswirl the Bearded section next time I'm at the Canterlot library. I could really use some new time spells.

"Spike, take a note." I waited for the young purple dragon to get his notepad out and say he was ready. After a couple of minutes I became impatient. Looking behind me I noticed that he was sleeping on a small pile of books I'd left out for research on the dietary habits of insects. Honestly, it's really fascinating stuff.

"Spike!" I called again a bit louder. He yelped from being awoken so suddenly and fell, hitting the ground face first.

"Ugh, Twilight, what was that for?" he asked as he got on his feet as he rubbed his nose, which was now a light shade of red. I giggled at the display.

"Sorry Spike, but this is really not the time to be sleeping." Wrapping the many texts with a field of purple magic, I began to lift them to their respective spots on the bookshelves. "I don't want the girls getting the idea that we aren't taking this seriously when they show up. Also, I need you to take a note."

"Really, Twilight? You've been pacing the library for two hours and you expect me not to fall asleep?" he groaned as he pulled out a quill and some parchment. "Besides, you know they wouldn't think something like that, you've been worrying over this for weeks now."

"I know, I know, I just can't help it. I'm nervous. What if Pinkie is avoiding us because she hates us, or what if she's in some terrible trouble and too scared to bring anypony else into it?" I looked over at Spike with pleading eyes. He may not have known it, but I desperately wanted him to just shrug it off and make an excuse for why it's nothing to worry about. Although I normally get mad at him for not taking things seriously, I've always found it comforting. It makes me think that maybe I am just being too uptight, and it really is all that simple.

Spike eyed me carefully and after giving a sigh, just shrugged.

"Oh please, I'm sure she just has a lot on her mind or something. Anyway, what was it you wanted me to write?"

A smile crept up my lips. That response was exactly what I needed.

"I need you to write down a reminder for me to check out the Starswirl the Bearded Section next time I'm in Canterlot." He quickly started to write on the notepad. After a few seconds he stopped and looked up at me.

"Is that all?"

"Not quite." I walked over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you, Spike."

"Yeah yeah, you don't have to get all sappy." He stuck his tongue out and pretended to be grossed out. But I could see the smile he was trying to hide. Suddenly, the door flew open and we both jumped as Rarity and Fluttershy walked in.

"Oh my! Please do pardon the intrusion we didn't mean to…" Rarity paused, looking us over. "…interrupt anything." She snickered as Spike quickly dislodged himself from my hooves and ran over to greet her and Fluttershy.

"Hi Rarity," he spoke almost drooling before straightening himself and turning to Fluttershy with a little wave. "Heya Fluttershy."

"Hello Spike," Rarity replied with a slight nod. She quickly trotted past, Spike watching her the whole way, and stopped in front of me. "Fluttershy and I were doing some shopping together, and we finished up a bit earlier than expected. So we thought we'd head on over."

"Well I'm glad you did, I was driving myself insane waiting for six to come around." I looked past Rarity and saw that spike was busy telling Fluttershy about how I'd been such a “drag” today. I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, have you talked to the others at all today?"

"Well, Applejack was tending the apple cart at the market when Fluttershy and I went shopping. She said she’d be done in time to get here though. Of course…" she paused and rolled her eyes, "…she's not who I'd worry about being late." I chuckled as I thought of the cyan Pegasus with the rainbow mane whom Rarity was referring to.

"Don't be so harsh. Rainbow Dash always pulls through when a friend is in need. Is she in charge of ensuring Pinkie shows up?" I asked, my voice taking a more serious tone.

"Yes, she promised she wouldn't let Pinkie get out of this." Rarity lowered her head, worry etched across her face. "You think this will really help? I've just never seen Pinkie act like this."

"I… I don't know Rarity. But we're her friends and we owe it to her to do what we can to help." I gave Rarity a little smile, hoping it might comfort her a bit; she smiled back.

"I suppose you're right." Her eyes darted up and down my body making me uncomfortable. "When are you going to let me design you a new dress? I mean, yes, you do have the Gala dress and that one I made you for your birthday, but I was thinking something you could wear more... casually, and..."

I considered making a list of all the ways I could end this conversation, but seeing how excited she was I just couldn't.

"... I mean you wouldn't have to wear it all the time. It could be for more of a Saturday night out, or even going dancing, or maybe for a nice date…"
Scratch that, this conversation needed to end. Now.

"Rarity, please, I’m sure there’s much more important things we could be talking about. And besides, me? Dating? I've got all the company I need with my books." I looked away blushing. Rarity just eyed me as if trying to decide whether I was joking or not. Honestly, I wasn't sure either.

"Twilight, I will not hear another word of it. You are a very beautiful young mare and I'm sure there are plenty of stallions who would be interested. Or mares if tha—" I quickly covered her mouth with my hoof and glared at her.

"Rarity, please don't finish that sentence." She started laughing as she pushed my hoof out of the way.

"Fine, fine, but don't think for one moment that this conversation is over, darling," she smiled devilishly before cracking up again.

"What's so funny?" Spike asked as he and Fluttershy walked over, apparently through with discussing how boring I can be.

"Absolutely nothing!" I yelled as I turned away to hide my blush. "Spike, why don't you go make some snacks? It's almost six, so the girls should be getting here soon."

"Well alright, but you don't have to make it so obvious you're embarr-"

"Spike! Snacks!" I yelled. Fluttershy squeaked in surprise at my sudden volume.

"Yes ma’am!" he replied scurrying off to the kitchen. As I watched him go, the front door creaked open, and I turned to see Applejack making her way inside.

"Howdy ya'll!" she exclaimed as she trotted over to us. "Sorry if I'm a bit late. The apple cart was pretty busy today and honestly, I might've still been out there if Applebloom hadn't taken over for me."

"No worries. You're right on time. Have you heard from Rainbow Dash at all?"

"Well, I passed her on my way up here, and she looked mighty irritated. I'm guessin’ Pinkie isn't comin’ easily."

I bit my lip. Pinkie didn't even want to come see us, her friends. Applejack studied me for a moment, then gently placed her hoof on my shoulder and gave me a smile.

"Don’t worry, sugarcube. I'm sure Pinkie will get to feelin’ better once she's here with us."

Something in my mind told me that probably wasn’t the case. It whispered in my ear, telling me that this whole plan was going to crumple underneath us. But hearing Applejack say that made me believe that, more than anything, what Pinkie needed was to be here.

As I was smiling back at Applejack, the moment I'd been dreading came. The door flew open. Fluttershy squeaked, Rarity jumped, and Spike dropped something in the kitchen. Rainbow Dash marched in with a bundle of fluff that made up Pinkie's tail, Pinkie was dragged in behind her. All the little hopes I'd managed to keep were shattered in an instant. Pinkie looked dreadful. Her mane was completely straight, covering half her face and dirty from being dragged through the dirt. She wore a scowl that previously I didn't think Pinkie was even capable of having. Her eyes just stared straight, empty and without feeling. Rainbow Dash dragged her to the middle of the room before stopping and spitting out her tail.

"This is the last time I'm dragging anypony anywhere," she declared after catching her breath. I simply stared at Pinkie, unable to think of a response. What had brought the happiest and most carefree friend I had down so low? I couldn't even begin to fathom what had happened. As I looked on, I heard some whimpering behind me and forced myself to look away to see what it was. Fluttershy was shaking slightly, shocked by the state Pinkie was in. Next to her, Rarity's mouth hung open slightly as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. Applejack's hoof was pulled to her chest. Her eyes darted over me, and I could see that just like me, those hopes she had been holding on to had been crushed. I steeled myself and tried to put on my best smile.

"Thanks for bringing her here, Rainbow. And Pinkie, thanks for coming, sorry that it was a bit forceful." Dash glided over next to me and leaned in close.

"I don't know what's up with her; she hasn't said a word this whole time," she whispered before taking a seat next to Fluttershy. Rarity had wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy, pulling her close. Fluttershy, whose face was buried in Rarity’s coat, was keeping one eye pointed this way waiting to see what would become of our intervention. Pinkie just continued to sit there, her back faced to us.

"I, I know you may not want to be here Pinkie." My lip trembled as I tried to find the right combination of words. I had studied many books on methods of counseling, therapy, and other forms of emotional care, but I found I couldn't remember any of the techniques I had learned; I was scared. I only had one shot at this. There was only one time I'd seen Pinkie in such a state. The day she had thought we didn't want her as our friend anymore. If we had said anything wrong, had made the wrong move, we might have lost Pinkie then. Now, not only was Pinkie even worse looking than she had been that day, she'd been like this for almost two weeks.

I began to shake as the weight of the situation fell upon me. We could really lose Pinkie if I didn't handle this just right. I needed more time. I'm not ready for this.

"Well?" I jumped as Pinkies voice pulled me from my mental breakdown. She still had her back turned to us, but her head was turned so that the left side of her face was facing us. Her eye bore into me. "Ya gonna tell me why I was dragged here?" She stared, waiting patiently for me to respond. Finally, after what seemed like centuries, I let my heart pour out.

"Pinkie, we've just been so worried about you. You never throw parties anymore, you don't surprise me, you aren't smiling and laughing, you aren't hopping around Ponyville trying to brighten everypony's day." My trembling stopped as the words rushed out of my mouth. "You just aren't being you, Pinkie. We don't know what to do... I don't know what to do. You're my best friend, but you won't tell me what's wrong. Please, just tell me what's wrong. We're your friends, we can help you. No matter what it is, we'll always be there to support you." My voice became louder and louder as the words continued.

I had to make her understand. Whatever it was she was thinking I had to show her how wrong it really was. "I'm scared Pinkie!” I screamed as I slammed my hoof down. A cold sensation began to move down along my face. “I'm j-just so scared that I may actually lose you, that if I-I don't say exactly the right thing you'll dis-disappear, and... and I'll never see you smile… or hear you laugh again." After pushing out those last lines through gasped breaths and tears, I looked up at my friend through blurry eyes. I couldn’t see her well, but I feared wiping the tears from my eyes. If somehow, my feelings hadn’t reached her, I just wouldn’t know what else to do. I had poured everything I had into this, I couldn’t fail; not now. As much as I feared seeing the fruits of my labor, I knew something as silly as not wiping my eyes was not going to stop whatever came next. I gently raised my hoof. I had to trust in Pinkie, I had to trust in the bond we shared. Surely the magic of friendship wouldn’t let us grow so distant. My words mustn't have fallen on deaf ears. Bringing my hoof to my face, I wiped the tears from my eyes.

She wasn't looking at me anymore. All I could see was her back and mane. But I knew she was crying. Her body was shuddering, and I could hear her sniffling. I looked back at my friends. Fluttershy looked like she wanted to go wrap Pinkie in a big hug. Rarity looked at me and nodded her head telling me to go up to Pinkie. Rainbow Dash and Applejack looked at me with determination and nodded too.

I trotted over to Pinkie and placed a hoof on her shoulder. She stopped shuddering, but she kept her back to me.

"You know I had it all planned out. I was gonna be mean and say as many hurtful things as I could think of. I was gonna make a big scene. I was gonna make you all hate me. It would be easier that way, you know? But I can't... I can't make you hurt like that." I pulled Pinkie into a tight embrace; I was so glad. Even if she's troubled, she's still our Pinkie Pie. Suddenly, she pushed me away knocking me on my back. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She galloped over by the door stopping to look back at us. A tear began rolling down her cheek. "This is the only way. Please, please just stay away from me." After spitting out those words she turned her head and galloped out the door.

I should've run after her. I should've galloped until my lungs burned and my legs threatened to fall out beneath me, but I didn't. I just sat there dumbfounded as Pinkie Pie left our lives for good. I've never regretted anything as much as I regret letting her go.

I rolled onto my left side pulling the covers up over my head. It was about two in the morning, and I couldn't sleep a wink. After we'd pulled ourselves together, we had gone to the Cakes. Pinkie wasn't there; she hadn’t even come back after the intervention. We searched all over town asking if anypony had seen her but to no avail. We searched and searched until darkness had covered the land then we searched some more; nothing. We didn't find a damn thing. It was as if Pinkie had just vanished.

I rolled over again. Pinkie Pie was gone. She'd been planning this. She said she was going to make us hate her so it would be easier. I could've stopped her. I missed all the signs. She wanted me to stop her. Now that she's gone, it's all so clear to me... but I let her go. My best friend has disappeared, and it’s all my fault.

Chapter 2: Family Secrets

"Hello! Is there anypony there?" I called into the endless darkness before me. I was unsure of how long I had been here, or how I'd even gotten here for that matter. Whenever I tried to recall anything from more than a few minutes ago, my mind would become hazy. I turned around looking in every direction, straining my eyes to spot something, anything. When I couldn't spot anything in the empty void, I turned my attentions to studying my immediate surroundings.

The ground beneath me did not appear to be regular earth. It was solid and gave a hollow sound whenever I clopped my hoof down upon it. The air felt warm and arid, causing my mouth to become drier with every breath. It was so immensely quiet that my own heartbeat sounded like thunder to my ears; this was true solitude.

Pulling the magical energy throughout my body to the tip of my horn, I began going through the process of molding the energy into a source of light. After a few seconds of simple calculations, a soft glow began to emit from my horn. It was an easy spell that most unicorns learn at a young age. I shined the light around me, hoping there would be some form of identifying landmark, but there was nothing. I could see the rays of light dissipating in the distance.

Turning once again to the ground beneath my hooves, I jumped and gave a small yelp as I saw myself looking back at me. I fell back landing on my haunches.

"What, what is going on here?" I looked around me, where a seemingly endless amount of me's lay just beneath the surface of whatever material the ground was made of. Quickly getting back onto my hooves I started to gallop as fast and hard as I could. However, no matter how far I ran, I could see them beneath me. Soon I began to notice they were changing. As I ran they all seemed to be reaching out their hooves, pointing to the left of where I was currently going. As I passed the many versions of me, it almost looked like one of the flipbook animations my "less enthused" classmates would make when I was still in school. Their mouths seemed to be screaming something at me. I tried to mimic the movements of their lips and slowly I was able to form the words.

"You. Have. To. Save. Pinkie." Then it all clicked. Changing directions, I lowered my head and galloped as fast as my legs could muster. They were showing me the way to Pinkie; it was the only logical explanation. Well, it could also be a cleverly conceived trap, but either way I wasn't getting anywhere in the previous direction I had been taking. Then I noticed a small pink dot in the distance. My breathing became wild, and my heart beat loud and fast in my chest. She's there! She was really there! Slowly, the pink dot took the shape of a pony and grew larger as I came closer. My heart beat roared in my ears as if somepony was banging on my skull.

"Pinkie! I'm here! I'm here to bring you home! Just wait there!" I couldn't contain the smile that forced its way on my lips. My body suddenly began to feel very light as happiness took hold. The rattling of my heart grew even louder as she turned to face me. She smiled that silly light hearted smile of hers and opened her mouth.

"TWILIGHT WILL YOU WAKE UP ALREADY!" Rainbow Dash's voice came out.

I shot up out of bed feeling disoriented and confused. The first thing I noticed was how bright it was in my bedroom, followed swiftly by the sound of Rainbow Dash banging on my window and screaming for me to get up.

"Jeez Twilight, it's about time you decided to wake up. Me and AJ have been waiting for you to get up for over an hour now." She glared at me from outside the window, her fore legs crossed and her wings gently flapping behind her. I sat there for a moment trying to process everything that had just happened. It had been a dream, just a silly dream. The light-heartedness I had been feeling quickly escaped me as the frown that I had been wearing ever since Pinkie had disappeared the day before returned. I looked over at Rainbow Dash hoping maybe she had some good news for me. Her expression immediately became one of concern.

"Hey, hey, don't get so down alright? We're definitely going to find her. Me and AJ think we may know where she went." My ears perked up immediately as I jumped over to window and, enveloping the handle with a small amount of magic, threw it open.

"Really? Where? Can we go right now?" I was practically falling out of the window as I assaulted Dash with questions.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, Twi," she replied, placing her hooves on my shoulders and pushed me back inside of the window. "We're not certain Pinkie'll even be there, but we figured it was worth a look."

Backing away from the window, I sat down and breathed in deeply, my right hoof clutching to my chest. After a few seconds, I breathed out while moving my hoof away from my chest at the same time in a small arc. It was a simple breathing technique Princess Cadance had once taught me to keep my emotions under control. Finally, I looked back up to Dash with determination.

"So where are we going?" I asked with newly found confidence that our friend was still within reach. Dash just smiled.

"Come on down, and we'll explain everything." Then she glided in a small spiral back to the ground where Applejack sat waiting. Ignoring the mess that was my bed and stopping only to give my mane a few well needed brushes, I made my way downstairs to find Spike pacing and muttering to himself.

"Ugh, Twilight’s gonna be so mad that I let her sleep in this late, Owlicious, but what was I suppose to do? She was crying on and off almost all night," he spoke while rubbing his head with both hands. Owlicious was sitting on top of a bookshelf turning his head to and fro with Spikes movements.

"Hoo," he softly hooted in reply.

"Twilight. You know, the only pony who lives here? Takes care of us?"

"Hoo." Spike stopped pacing to glare at Owlicious.

"Really? Pinkie’s gone and Twilight's crying herself to sleep, and you want to start this?"

"Hoo." Owlicious raised a wing to his head obviously irritated with the direction this conversation was going.

"Oh that's it." Spike began to run over to where Owlicious was perched. He didn't make it far before I lifted him with my magic and carried him to the opposite side of the room.

"You two really need to stop fighting all the time," I spoke as I strolled into the main chamber of the Library, which also served as a living room. Spike, after shaking off his initial confusion at suddenly being lifted into the air instead of at Owlicious' throat, turned his head over.

"Twilight you're up!" he yelled, smiling before worry quickly spread across his face. "How are you feeling? Sorry for not waking you up sooner," he spoke sheepishly.

Changing my mind about placing him on the far side of the room, I instead placed him down next to me; I smiled and gave him a small hug.

"Don't worry about it, Spike. I didn't think I was going to sleep at all last night, so I'm glad I was able to get some rest in the end." He sighed, happy to see that I wasn't angry with him. Owlicious flew over and landed on my shoulder. He gave a small hoot before nuzzling the side of my head.

I giggled, "Thanks, Owlicious, and you too, Spike." Spike began glaring at Owlicious again, then turned away.

"Kiss ass," he muttered.

"SPIKE!" I yelled as I turned to glare at him.

"What? He started it!" he replied, thrusting his finger in Owlicious' direction. Owlicious in return began to hoot angrily.

"That's ENOUGH, both of you!" They both jumped and quickly quieted down. Spike began to rub his toe on the ground. "Now, Applejack and Rainbow Dash are waiting for me outside. They said they might have an idea as to where Pinkie might have gone, so I'm probably going to be gone all day. You two…" They shuddered at my mentioning of them. "…had better keep your silly squabbles to a minimum." Spike looked up at me sheepishly.

"You mean, I can't come with you?" My anger dissipated as I saw how generally concerned he was.

"I'm sorry Spike, but we can't just leave the library unattended. We have a duty to the ponies of Ponyville." He sighed and waved a hand, clearly blowing off my answer as he headed towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I made you some Daffodil Sandwiches, figured you'd be hungry when you got up. I'll just put them in your saddle bag for you to take with you." I smirked. It's a good feeling to know you've always got somepony looking out for you, or some dragon in his case.

"Thanks Spike."

"No problem, Twi." Then he disappeared into the kitchen.

After gathering a few supplies and Spike's sandwiches in my saddlebags, I gave Spike and Owlicious a small wave and headed out the door.

Rainbow Dash had brought down a small cloud to lie on and Applejack appeared to be searching for something in her saddlebags.

"Heya girls, sorry to keep you waiting. I had to dragon proof my owl," I announced rolling my eyes. Applejack smiled at my arrival and started to open her mouth before Dash interrupted her.

"’Bout time, I could've taken a nap waiting for you!" she exclaimed, waving her hoof around in the air dramatically. Applejack glared at her.

"Comin' from the mare who's always late to ma' birthday parties," Applejack responded. Rainbow Dash quickly stood up to refute her claim.

"Oh come on, it’s not my fault your birthday parties happen to be late in the afternoon, during my naptime," she replied defensively.

"Maybe that's ‘cause SOME ponies work most of the day!" Applejack glared. I was getting a serious case of déjà vu. I brought my hoof to my face and quickly cut off Dash before she could throw more fuel on the fire.

"GIRLS, THAT’S ENOUGH!" I was not going through this a second time today. Dash and Applejack both looked at me then blushed from embarrassment.

"Sorry about that, Twi. Ah guess ah got a little carried away there," Applejack replied rubbing the back of her head.

"Yeah, what she said," Rainbow Dash responded coolly while bringing herself to a hover and kicking the cloud away before landing on the ground.

"It's alright, girls, just fill me in on where we're going," I cut straight to the point. Applejack stepped forward.

"Well, me and Dash here got to talkin’ on our way home last night about where Pinkie might've gone, and we both figured that if anywhere, she might head back to seein' her family back on the rock farm." I felt like a moron for not having considered it earlier.

"And we thought even if we don't find her there, then maybe we can get some clues from her family," Rainbow Dash chimed in excitedly.

A small spark of excitement lit up inside of me; we might actually find Pinkie. It was a logical assumption that a pony might turn to their family in a time of need. Though, I was still unsure as to what it was that troubled Pinkie to such a state, considering Pinkie Pie had quite literally laughed in the face of the most horrid villains we had faced. I shuddered to imagine what could bring Pinkie down so low. I shook away those thoughts, gaining quite a comical look from my friends.

"It’s brilliant, girls," I gave them a smile showing how sincerely glad I was to have them in my life. Then I thought of something. "So... where are Rarity and Fluttershy?" I asked tilting my head slightly.

"Well... Fluttershy said she couldn't just leave all of the animals by themselves," Rainbow Dash started, "but then she started freaking out ‘cause she was afraid Pinkie might think she didn't want to find her." She rolled her eyes. "So we had to spend a good while calming her down.”

"And Rarity was already behind on a few commissions she needed to do," Applejack spoke up. "So basically, we just told ‘em to not worry about it since we weren't even sure Pinkie would be there."

"It’s understandable," I replied. I couldn't help but feel slightly hurt that they wouldn't just drop everything to go look for their friend, but I knew that was unfair of me. Hell, I even told Spike to stay even though I'm sure he wanted to look for Pinkie just as much as the rest of us.

"I'm such a hypocrite," I muttered while turning my head to the ground.

"What was that, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, concerned. I blushed realizing I had spoken aloud.

"Nothing, don't worry about it," I replied, putting up a smile to deter further questions. Applejack looked like she wanted to press me further, but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash who had apparently grown impatient.

"Well girls, we can sit here and chit chat all day, but times a wastin’. I say we hit the road," she spoke, bringing her right hoof to her chest. I was happy for the change in subject and at the idea of getting the search for Pinkie Pie going.

"I agree, let’s waste no time and get moving!" I declared, raising my hoof in the air dramatically. Then I remembered a very crucial detail.
"Where is the Pie Rock Farm, exactly?" I asked, lowering my hoof and blushing. Applejack just rolled her eyes and began walking in the direction of the train.

"You ever heard of Coltwood?" she asked as we fell in beside her.

"Hmm, it sounds familiar. I feel like I've read about it in a book somewhere," I replied while going over the many volumes and lores I've read throughout my lifetime.

"Ah wouldn't be surprised. The town is practically ancient, used to be some big trade hub or somethin’." It was then I remembered where I had heard of it before.

"Coltwood! How did I not remember Coltwood?"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stopped and looked at me. Then they looked at each other and sighed, aware of what was to come next.

"Before the start of the Equestrian Modern Age, Coltwood was a major trade town because of its location on the Rambling Foal River. Then, of course, the invention of the railroad made the need to ship goods from Baltimare along the river obsolete, causing the town to lose most of its major industries. Wait, so you're telling me Coltwood is still around? I figured it had simply been abandoned considering it's over a thousand years old now," I asked before realizing Applejack and Rainbow Dash had simply walked away while I was stuck in my own world. Blushing, I ran over to them yelling for them to wait; they began to run.

The train car gently rocked as rolling hills and fields passed by. We'd been riding the train for a few hours now. At first, we'd spent our time talking about what we might find when we reached Coltwood, eating a few of Spike's sandwiches as we chatted. Eventually, Rainbow Dash and Applejack had fallen asleep in their seats. I couldn't sleep, probably due to how late I'd slept in. I turned my head away from the window and looked over my friends. Dash's head was lying on Applejack's shoulder while Applejack’s head rested on top. If they knew they were like this, they'd probably be bickering over who had decided to get too cuddly. It was an amusing thought.

Laying my head back and closing my eyes, I thought about the past two weeks. Honestly, I don't know why I thought it would've been as easy as staging an intervention. I guess I just assumed that friendship could solve any problem. That's what I get for assuming, I suppose. It annoyed me, how it seemed as if all my lessons in friendship were pushing me in that direction only to be proven wrong. Was there something I was missing? Was there something deeper to friendship? I opened my eyes and let my gaze turn to the landscape passing by.

My thoughts drifted to Pinkie Pie. It'd never occurred to me how much of an impact she had on my life. Looking outside the world almost seemed, well, darker. There was an aching feeling in my heart; it felt like a hole had appeared in its center. I'd never lost a friend before. Just a couple of years ago, I was making friends for the first time. I brought a hoof up to my chest as if to see if a hole had actually appeared where I felt it. Of course, it hadn't, but that didn't make the feeling go away. What was Pinkie feeling right now? I couldn't help but wonder if she had the same ache as I was feeling.

Outside the landscape began to pass by more slowly, and I could feel the speed of the train reducing. Soon, we were crossing over the Rambling Foal River. Nudging Applejack and Rainbow Dash awake, I waited to see what kind of reaction they would have. Applejack yawned and stretched out her hooves causing Dash's head to slip off and land in her lap.

"What the- Dash! Why ya layin’ all over me, girl?" she asked, quickly shoving Dash off of her and on to the floor.

"Laying all over you?" Dash replied while getting up on her haunches and rubbing her head. "Don'tcha mean why were you laying all over me? And you didn't have to shove me on the floor, sheesh." I rolled my eyes and opened the compartment door. Dash and Applejack followed behind me exchanging words the entire way off the train.

Coltwood was nothing like what I had read in the history textbooks. It seemed more like a ghost town than anything. Many of the buildings had fallen in on themselves, leaving eerie, twisted wreckages of what I assumed use to be flourishing businesses. I could see the Rambling Foal River flowing behind us. Along its banks were some large cargo docks. There were a few shipping containers that appeared to be old and rusted. I looked back to the town. From what appeared to be the center of town there stood a large clock tower. Though heavily aged it still seemed to be structurally sound and showed that the time was about four forty-five.

"What a dump!" Rainbow Dash yelled out as she spiraled around in the air, taking in the whole view. "Applejack, are you sure people still live here?" she asked, gliding down and landing beside us.

"Of course Ahm sure!" Applejack replied defensively. "These here pony folk have been good customers to the Apple family for years."

"Oh, so that's how you knew Pinkie's family lived up here?" I asked, curious.

"Eyup, though Ah ain't actually been to their farm before myself, Ah know it's here in the area. Rocks are kinda their only real industry now a days, so it's a pretty big deal round these parts."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find some ponies who can tell us where the rock farm's at!" Dash exclaimed impatiently, beginning to flap her wings and gently glide into town. We followed suit. Applejack seemed slightly annoyed that she wasn't leading us into town, considering she actually knew the place.

I looked at the decayed husks of the buildings around me. There appeared to be old diners, jewelry shops, and various other stores. As we reached the center of town where the clock tower stood, the buildings became more maintained and neat. Eventually the road opened into a small square with the clock tower directly in the middle. A couple dozen ponies wandered around, going about their daily routines. The square held a few shops including a diner, a small flower shop, and a boutique with several rock themed selections. Next to the boutique was a small library, which I quickly began to trot over to.

"Oh, no you don't!" Rainbow dash grabbed me by the tail and pulled me away.

"Oh come on, I just want to see what kind of selection they have," I begged while trying to find a firm hoof hold in the ground. Applejack simply rolled her eyes at our little squabble and trotted over to the flower shop which was run by an elderly, pale blue, earth pony mare sitting in a rocking chair. Dash spit out my tail as we both turned our attention to Applejack.

The elderly mare greeted her as she stopped in front of the stand. The two exchanged a few words that I couldn't quite hear, followed by a shrug from the old mare. I started to grow worried as Applejack frowned at whatever news she had just heard. She quickly followed with what I assume was another question. The mare smiled and pointed past the clock tower; following up with some animated gestures, I figured were directions to the farm. Applejack gave a little wave to the mare and quickly trotted over to us.

"What's the bad news?" Dash asked wasting no time as she worriedly moved closer to where Applejack stood. Applejack rubbed a hoof along the back of her head.

"Well, Ah asked if she'd seen Pinkie around, figurin’ somepony like Pinkie oughta be well known round here, but she said she'd never known a Pinkie Pie before. Ah tried describing her to her, but didn't ring no bells apparently." She looked at me hoping I would have a valid way of explaining this, and I wished I did. I felt just as confused as they were. Dash rubbed her chin.

"That's weird. Everypony back in Ponyville knows who Pinkie is. Hell, half of Equestria probably knows her by now!" she exclaimed, throwing her hooves in the air. I turned my attention to a middle aged light brown unicorn who happened to be trotting by.

"Excuse me, sir?" I began, trying to be as polite as possible. "But would it bother you if I could just ask you something real quick?" He stopped and eyed me for a moment before responding.

"Make it quick," he spoke sharply. Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue, but I quickly shut it back with a little magic. Not to say I myself did not want to give this rude pony a thorough lecture on common courtesy, but we really didn't have time. Applejack mumbled under her breath, obviously subduing the same urge.

"I promise it won't take long, but do you happen to know a Pinkie Pie?" He raised an eyebrow at me and rubbed his chin for a few seconds. He turned his head and mumbled the name. Finally, he shook his head.

"Can't say I have, is she related to the Pie family?" He asked, suddenly becoming curious.

"Well, she's one of the daughters and a close friend of ours," I filled in, hoping that he might know her. Instead, however, he just seemed to be more put off.

"One of their daughters? Well, that's strange. They used to come over on the weekends to play with my little girl when they were younger, but I don't remember there being a Pinkie Pie."

My jaw fell open. If his daughter had played with the Pie sisters how could he not have known Pinkie? In fact, how could anyone here not know Pinkie? If her family was as influential as Applejack made them sound, then surely the ponies here would know them well. Suddenly, all the pieces began to fall into place. It was almost as if Pinkie had never even been here, much less was born and raised here. No, there had to be an explanation. Forgetting about the rude pony I turned to Applejack.

"Something's not right here. Did that old lady tell you how to get to the farm?" I asked, a hint of desperation in my voice.

"She said to follow the street over there behind the clock tower all the way out of town until we saw the entrance to the Rock Farm." Then her expression darkened. "And Ah know what you mean, Twilight. It's hard to believe these ponies wouldn't know who Pinkie was." Rainbow Dash stopped glaring at the stallion, who had stormed off after having been interrupted then consequently ignored, and joined our huddle.

"You don't think Pinkie would tell them to lie to us in case we came looking, do you?" she asked, rubbing her foreleg with her hoof.

"No, I highly doubt that. To organize such a large deception would take a considerable effort. Besides, that guy seemed like he honestly had never heard of Pinkie Pie," I replied while trying to think of any other possibilities.

"Ah agree, that ol' lady didn't seem like she could lie even if she wanted to," Applejack chimed in.

"In any case I think we need to head on to the farm. We should be able to find some answers there," I declared as I looked in the direction the farm was supposedly in. A feeling of dread began to lurk into my heart. I was quite familiar with this feeling. It was similar to the feeling I had gotten before Nightmare Moon returned. It was a feeling that told me something grand and horrible was to come, and though I hated to admit it, I knew whatever it was had Pinkie in the middle of it.

"Sounds good to me, I'm ready to get to the bottom of this," Rainbow announced, ready to face whatever came our way. Applejack nodded in agreement and began walking towards the street she had been told to follow, Rainbow and I right beside her.

The other side of the city was considerably more up kept then the side we had entered through, with many of the homes being freshly painted and adorned with small gardens. Eventually, the buildings became more dispersed and were replaced with trees and hills until finally we had reached another road that spurred off with a sign above it, which read "Pie Family Rock Farm". We turned onto the new road that crept up a hill covered in trees before disappearing over the top.

My anxiety grew with every step we took. It had been building slowly over the course of getting to this point, but now that we were actually about to reach our destination, it grew exponentially. I couldn't shake that feeling of dread that poked at the back of my mind earlier. It weighed on me and made the trip up the hill seemingly impossible. What had happened? I just couldn't understand. Pinkie, though strange, seemed to have a simple life. I'd never known her to really have troubles that didn't extend past the normal misgivings of life, and surely nothing of this grand a scale. Unfortunately, what truly scared me was the idea that over that hill was a truth I didn't want to face; that everything we knew about Pinkie was just a lie, and that we would turn around and head home just as unsure of her whereabouts as we were last night.

Finally the moment I feared came to pass. From the top of the hill the trees had mostly been cleared out for the farm. In the distance were the high peaks of Foal Mt., and below us was a flat valley filled with rocks. The world had taken on an orange hue as Celestia slowly brought the sun down, which caused the little cottage at the end of the rock field to glow.

"Well, here we are," I spoke nervously. My friends merely murmured in agreement. They both had a very solemn air to them. I knew they were just trying to act tough even though they both probably felt just as worried as I did. Taking in a deep breath, I began our descent into the farm.

The farm had a dreary feel to it. Even though it was clear today, something about the place made it feel as though there was a perpetual overcast. On several occasions, I looked back up at the orange sky to ensure that there indeed were no clouds. Looking behind me at my friends I took note that they, too, had been doing so. As we approached the cottage, the door swung open, and an aged, pale orange stallion trotted out. He wore a charcoal brim hat and tie, and had a grey mane and sideburns. A long piece of straw reached out from his mouth which he moved from side to side. His cutie mark was of a pickaxe, probably symbolizing his ability with the rock trade. He looked down at us from the porch with a tired expression.

"Can Ah help you young ladies?" he asked with a gruff voice. We stopped in front of his porch and I stepped forward to respond.

"Yes, sir. We're, uh, friends of one of your daughters. We were hoping we could talk to you about something?" I asked nervously. He eyed us before putting on a simple smile and waving us over.

"Friends of one of ma girls, eh? Well, come on in then. We were just about to eat supper." Then he trotted back into the cottage, leaving the door open for us. I looked back at my friends. Rainbow just shrugged and made her way inside. Applejack turned to me.

"Well, let's get this over with, sugarcube," she spoke before turning and following Dash inside. This was it; this was the moment my fears would either be realized or dashed. I looked at the door, fearing what lay beyond it. I sat back on my haunches and brought my hoof once again to my chest, inhaling, and then moving it away in an arc as I exhaled. Honestly, it didn't do much to qualm my fears, but it felt better than standing there like a frightened filly.

"Ya ok?" Applejack stuck her head out the door with a worried expression.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I'm fine." I gave her a big grin and, steeling myself, trotted into the cottage.

Upon entering the cottage, the first thing I noticed was the comforting smell of cinnamon that drifted throughout the house. The layout was fairly simple, the kitchen being to the left and the living room to the right. Directly in front of me was a staircase going up to what I assumed were the bedrooms. The walls were covered in paintings of various rocks as well as pictures of the family. My heart sank when I noticed a family portrait that didn't seem to have been taken too long ago. It portrayed Pinkie's father and his wife, an aged grey mare with a dark gray mane, with their three daughters below them. None of the young mares in the photo were Pinkie. I looked at all of the other family portraits; there was no sign of Pinkie.

I felt faint and the world became very hazy. What did it mean? Could Pinkie really have been lying to us this whole time? I felt a leg around me, pulling me onto my feet and keeping me steady. I blinked as my vision became clear again. Looking up I saw that it was the stallion I had thought to be Pinkie's father helping me.

"Ya alright there, miss?" he asked worried as he flicked the straw around.

"Yes, sorry about that. It's been a long day," I replied, rubbing my head. He moved his leg away, letting me stand on my own.

"Well, alright then. Why don't ya come on in the kitchen where your friends are? My wife is setting the table as we speak.”

He began walking into the kitchen where I saw Dash and Applejack sitting at the table, each looking at me with a worried expression. After setting my saddlebags by the door where Applejack had left hers, I trotted in and sat down next to her. The orange earth pony leaned in close to my ear.

"What's gotcha bothered, Twilight? You've been acting funny since we got here," she whispered.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you guys worry. It's just, after what happened in town and from being here... I'm almost certain there never was a Pinkie Pie from Coltwood." Applejack frowned and nodded.

"Ah noticed it, too, when Ah walked in: she ain't in any of the family photos or nothin’," she spoke, concern in her eyes.

"Well, I'm sure glad you ladies stopped by," the stallion began, sitting across from us while his wife busied herself with the cooking. "We don't get many visitors anymore since our girls moved out, except Marble of course." He spoke as if we already knew all this. "My name is Igneous Rock, and this is my wife, Cloudy Quartz."

"Thank you both for inviting us into your home. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Applejack and Rainbow Dash," I replied, motioning to myself and my friends.

"It's nice to meet you young ladies," Miss Quartz spoke, turning away from the stove for a second.

"As am I," Mr. Rock added. "So tell me, which one of my young-ins are you friends with?" he asked, smiling.

This was it; though I was more than sure that Pinkie hadn't come from this home, I still held some hope that he would happily claim that Pinkie was in fact one of his daughters. Rainbow Dash leaned in.

"We're Pinkie's friends from Ponyville," she spoke, smiling. Apparently, she hadn't taken note of the significant lack of Pinkie in this household. Mr. Rock cocked his head, confused at the answer he'd received.

"Pinkie, you said?" he asked cautiously.

"Well, yeah, Pinkie Pie." Rainbow replied, becoming confused herself at his response. Mr. Rock leaned back in his seat and flicked the straw around a few times before leaning forward again to speak.

"Well, Ah'm afraid you ladies may have the wrong house. We don't have a daughter named Pinkie, and Ah'm fairly sure none of our girls have even been to Ponyville, for that matter." Rainbow Dash leaned back and held a hoof to her chest. I understood how she must be feeling right now. Hearing those words crushed any last hope I had. A mixture of emotions burned in my heart. Feelings of hurt from knowing I'd been lied to by a pony I thought I could trust, as well as the worry that I'd never see her again. Who was Pinkie Pie? Where did she come from? Why did she lie to her friends? I couldn't make sense of any of it.

My stomach churned as I felt an unruly sickness befouled me. Thoughts and worries swam through my head as my vision blurred. I felt lost, betrayed, worried, but mostly hurt. It was as if my world had been swept from under me.

"W-What's wrong miss?" I saw Mr. Rock lean in, worry written across his face. It seemed I had started crying at some point. Honestly, I hadn't even noticed. Applejack put a leg around me and pulled me into her chest.

"It'll be alright sugarcube," she spoke softly. Rainbow Dash just sat in her chair staring at the table in front of her. She felt just as betrayed as we did, and I could tell it was weighing on her heavily. The trickle of tears began growing as my mind spun in circles. Before long I was full out sobbing, thoroughly soaking Applejack's coat. Mr. Rock got out of his chair and quickly came to our side. He was obviously confused at the sudden change in mood and seemed very worried. Miss Quartz had run to grab a handkerchief, almost spilling the pot of warm vegetable stew she had been stirring.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry," I gasped out between sobs. I hated making them worry about me. I didn't even deserve to be worried about. I knew my friends were hurting just as much as I was, and yet, here I was... being a cry baby. I felt ashamed.

"Shhhh, shh, it’s alright Twilight just let it all out," Applejack replied. Her calm demeanor just made me feel more ashamed at my outburst. This wasn't like me. I was supposed to be strong, to be a leader. Miss Quartz came back in and began to dry my face. Though it seemed like forever, it was probably closer to a few minutes before I finally ran out of tears. I had taken the handkerchief and was blowing my nose when Dash finally spoke up.

"She's been lying to us all along, hasn't she Twilight?" Rainbow Dash looked at me. I could see the hopelessness in her eyes accompanied by a small glint which started to form in the corners. Seeing her so devastated kicked my brain back into gear. Dash needed me, and even though Applejack seemed strong, I knew she needed me too. More than anything though I knew Pinkie needed all of us.

"I don't know Dash," I tried to keep my voice upbeat, "but I know that the times we spent with her aren't lies." Rainbow Dash raised her head and looked at me, a small glimmer of hope returning to her eyes. "And I also know that she needs us. Whatever reason she had to lie and disappear, she's out there facing it alone, and if there's one thing I've learned from my time in Ponyville, it’s that the best way to face a problem is together with your friends." I gave a smile to Rainbow Dash, which she gladly returned.

"Well said sugarcube," Applejack commended, giving me a pat on the shoulder. I turned back to our hosts.

"Sorry about causing such a ruckus in your home, it's been a... tiring couple of days for us," I explained, giving them an apologetic look. Mr. Rock looked at his wife. They both gave each other a smile before turning back to me.

"That's quite alright. Like Ah said before we don't get much company anymore." Then he leaned in close. "Besides, we ain't 'bout to put such pretty young mares out in the night without a warm meal." He gave us a little wink causing his wife to roll her eyes.

"Also, if ya'll wouldn't mind sharing, we'd like to know what's causing ya'll such heartache. Don't know if we can help or not, but we'd sure like to try," Miss Quartz declared, giving us a gentle smile. I smiled back, happy to have some new friends on my side.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and I spent the next hour telling the Pies about our missing friend as we ate. They hardly touched their meals as they were so tuned into our story. Occasionally, they would ask a few questions then politely let us continue. When we told them about the many stories Pinkie had told us about her time on the farm, they were surprised at how much Pinkie had known about their farm. Even commenting that she seemed to know a few personal stories about their family much to all of our surprise. After we had finished our story they simply said that they didn't know where our friend could be, but that they would be sure to ask their many business partners around Equestria if they knew anything.

During the rest of the meal they told us about the farm and their three girls: Marble, Maud, and Limestone Pie. Apparently their eldest daughter, Maud, was currently studying at the Fillydelphia University to get her Rocktorate in Rock Science. The middle sister, Limestone, was currently abroad in Saddle Arabia learning new forms of rock farming. Finally, Marble, who was planning to take over the farm once her father retired, was away performing a business trip in her father's stead. We were invited to come back later this year when the girls came home to help out with harvest season. We of course agreed happily. I was happy at the notion of making some new friends as well as learning a bit about rocks, though I'm fairly sure the rest of my friends wouldn't share my interest in that particular area.

At a quarter after seven we all said our goodbyes. The girls and I made our way back to the train station to catch the eight o' clock to Ponyville. We kept quiet most of the journey, probably due to how tired we were from the day's events. Though the Pies had significantly increased my mood, a little doubt still lingered. As hopeful as we were, I knew we hadn't made any progress today. In fact, it seemed we were farther away from finding Pinkie then we had been when we left for Coltwood. I spent the rest of the walk to the train station thinking of a plan of action for tomorrow.

Once we reached the station we purchased our tickets and quickly found an empty compartment. I turned to my friends, who began to nestle into their seats hoping to catch a quick nap on the way home.

"Girls, tomorrow I'm going to go to Canterlot to ask for the princesses' assistance," I announced, determined. Rainbow Dash perked up at my news.

"Yeah! They'll be able to help us for sure. You need us to come with ya?" she offered happily.

"That's alright, Dash. I'm only planning to be there for a night. Besides, one of you needs to be sure to update Rarity and Fluttershy about what we've discovered on this trip," I replied, trying not too sound harsh. Dash seemed a little put off but didn't argue any farther.

"That's fine with me, Ah can't keep pushing all my work on Applebloom and Big Mac anyway," Applejack agreed, followed by a yawn. Rainbow Dash sighed.

"Yeah, I have to get the sky ready for the big front that's comin’ in tomorrow," she admitted, obviously not very enthusiastic about her task. Having all agreed on a plan for tomorrow, we slowly drifted off to sleep as the train left the station.

Chapter 3: Royal Deceit

I hate train rides- I especially hate it when I’m alone. They just make me feel so helpless, as though I could be spending my time doing something important instead of letting the hours slip away watching the scenery pass by. At least with my friends we could pass the time enjoyably. I sighed, pulling myself away from the window and leaning back into my seat. The ride to Canterlot was significantly shorter than to Coltwood, but that didn't make the time go by any faster; in fact, it almost seemed to go by slower.

Glancing over at my saddle bags, which were stuffed into a rack above the seat across from me, I began to feel the urge to read it again. I reached out with my magic, opening the left bag and pulling out Celestia's reply to the letter I had Spike send this morning before I left. Quickly unrolling the parchment, I looked over it once more.

Come Quickly.

-Princess Celestia

At first, I had simply brushed it off as Celestia being worried or possibly too busy to give me a lengthy reply, but the more times I read it, the more it seemed to bother me. It was rather blunt to begin with. Even in the most dire of situations, letters from Celestia always began with "My Dearest Student". I also had tried my best to "play down" the seriousness of the situation. I hadn't included the details of our findings at the farm, nor had I mentioned Pinkie's last words before she disappeared. Not that I wanted to hide anything, of course, but I figured it would be better if I explained in person. Finally, something about the reply brought back the feeling of dread that had been bothering me in Coltwood. I couldn't be sure exactly, but Celestia knew something about all of this... I could feel it.

Rolling up the parchment and stuffing it back into my bag, I leaned back into my seat and peered out the window. I had brought several books for the trip, but my mind was too distracted to really focus on any of them.

"It just doesn't make sense. What could Celestia possibly know about this?" I spoke softly to myself.

"Well, my dear Twilight, it is of my belief that the best things do not make sense." And just like that, this train ride immediately became worse. I turned to my unwelcomed company with a glare.

"Discord, what are you doing here?" He was sitting with his legs crossed next to me. It appeared he had shrunken himself a bit in order to fit into the coach. He began whistling to himself with a small comical halo above his head.

"Oh please, Twilight, how could I NOT be here?" he replied while snapping his claws dramatically and making the halo disappear. "One of my DEAR friends is missing, and my other DEAR friend is here facing it on her own! Why I simply came to help!" he declared proudly before smacking his chest knocking a large circular hole in it. "Oh my, I guess I don't even know my own strength." He picked up the chunk and began screwing it back into place with a chuckle. I felt my teeth grinding at his infuriating display.

"Discord, I am within a hair's breadth of blasting you out the side of this car if you don't leave this moment." My eyes narrowed as I began drawing magic to my horn, causing it to spark and flash in a magnificent display. The spell wasn't extremely destructive, but it would have enough force to knock him out of the window and, hopefully, into a tree passing by. I didn't have patience for his silly antics right now. He began to shiver, while large beads of sweat started dripping down his body.

"Oh, what ever shall I do?" he asked, reaching an arm out to the sky and falling down into the seat dramatically, his eyes closed. Of course, I would never mistake this miserable display for real fear. Jumping on all fours, I tensed my body ready for whatever was to come. Discord peeked an eye open then snapped his claws, opening the window behind me. Surprised by the noise, I turned my head and then quickly regretted taking my eyes off my untrustworthy companion. Discord reached over and literally flicked my horn off my head and out the window.

"DISCORD!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. My anger was absolutely boiling. One of my best friends was missing, and he wanted to just make a joke out of it? Who did he think he was? I lowered my head and began stomping the ground with my hoof ready to charge. I didn't have much room to get any real speed, but I didn't care. Discord simply sat there with an unimpressed look.

"Really, Twilight? Like that would be any more threatening than turning your horn into a sparkler!" he spoke rolling his eyes. That's it. I charged, ready to drive my head into his gut, until he smirked and snapped his fingers once more.

"Uh, uh, uh! Let's not get too feisty now." I found myself strapped to the seat in a straightjacket and a muzzle. "Ah, much better!" he spoke with delight as he reached into his ear and pulled out my horn. "Now, what do you say we have a more friendly conversation this time, hmm?"

He began polishing my horn with the fur of his chest. I glared at him but nodded my head to signify that I agreed.

"Good, Good!" He snapped his fingers again, and the restraints disappeared leaving behind a cartoony "Poof" spelled out in smoke. I swung my hooves clearing the smoke.

Discord reached over and "screwed" my horn back onto my head. After he was done, I found I once again had control over the magic in my body and the air around me. I looked at Discord. As goofy as he was, he was immensely powerful, and I was honestly startled a bit by how easily he could literally turn this world upside down. Luckily, he was a goof, and the Elements of Harmony weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

"So you want to help, you say?" I asked, eyeing Discord. Though I didn't fully trust his intentions, in the time since his "reformation", he hasn't been so much a villain as an annoyance.

"Why, of course Twilight," he spoke matter-of-factly. "Isn't that what FRIENDS are suppose to do?"

He looked at me with a crooked smile. I found myself struggling to keep my anger subdued.

"Well, yes." I fought the urge to sound condescending. "But how exactly can you help Discord?"

He clutched his chest, appalled, "What could I do? Why my dear Twilight, I am a lord of Chaos! What couldn't I do?" A smug grin stretched across his face as he looked to the ceiling dramatically.

"Act sane for once in your life."

"Now Twilight, we both know there's simply no fun in that," he replied, crossing his arms. My hoof met my face as I gave a sigh.

"This is why I don't like talking to you. My friend is missing, and you're just goofing off like it’s nothing!" I fell back into my seat, staring intently at the ceiling.

"Come quickly," Discord spoke bluntly. I leaned up at once and looked at him. His expression had a harsh tone to it I had never seen before. "This letter has been bothering you, no?" He snapped his finger, causing Celestia's reply to appear in his claws in a small show of green flames.

"Well, yes," I began, still in shock from his sudden change in demeanor. "I can't put my hoof on it... but it almost seems as if Celestia-"

"Knows more than you've been lead to believe?" he cut me off, effectively finishing my sentence. The solemnity in his expression had not faded in the least. I was put-off, yet relieved. It felt as if I could actually trust in him, for once.

"Exactly," I replied, and much to my surprise, I found myself smiling. It had never occurred to me that I could be capable of having any expression above a scowl around Discord. Then I was struck with realization. "Wait a minute! You know something about all of this, too! Don't you?"

Discord looked at me with an expression that surprised me even more than his serious one. His eyes had a solemn feel to them, but his features were hard. It was the look of a pony who was putting everything on the line for what they knew was just a slim hope. Discord remained silent for a few more moments before turning away.

"Twilight," he began, but shortly stopped trying to find the right words to say. "This road we're travelling on will be risky and dark. Honestly, not even I know where it will end up. But I want you to remember one thing," He turned to look at me.

"What's that?" I returned his look, my mind racing from his words.

"You're not the only one who has never lost a friend before." He raised his paw ready to snap his claws.

"Discord, wait! Tell me what happ-!" Then he snapped and was gone. I sat there frozen for a few moments. My mind was going haywire trying to make sense of it all. Celestia and Discord knew something about Pinkie's disappearance. Whatever it was, it had them both worried. My confusion quickly turned to anger.

"Dammit, Discord! Can't you ever just give me a straight answer for once!?" I yelled at the ceiling, throwing my hooves in the air before falling back into the seat. "Some help you were," I muttered.

Slowly my gaze drifted back out the window. It wouldn't be too much longer till I reached Canterlot. My anger settled as I gripped to one last hope: Celestia wouldn't just leave me in the dark. I was her dear student, and I knew above all else that I could trust her. I knew it, and yet deep down, I had my doubts.

Before long, we pulled into Canterlot station. After gathering my things into my saddlebags I trotted off the train to find four royal guards awaiting me. They stood in a small formation of what I assumed was the three lower ranked guards in the back while their commanding officer, adorned by his specialty silver armor, which signified his rank, stood in front. As I made my way off the train and onto the platform, the officer approached me, his men jumping to attention.

"Miss Sparkle." He flashed a quick salute. The display made me slightly uneasy. "I am Captain Silver Steam of Second Battalion Twenty-Fifth Guard. We are here to escort you to the castle and explain the castle protocols under its current alert status, Orange."
I was caught off guard at his words. Why was the castle in a state of alert? Considering the fact that I apparently needed an armed guard to go to the castle, what exactly did “Alert Status Orange” mean?

I'd never really taken the time to study military protocols in Equestria because, honestly, I'd never expected to have to deal with them. My brother's wedding was the first time I'd ever encountered any kind of highly elaborate defensive set up. Several times I would even wonder if the Equestrian Military was of any real need besides appearances.

"It's-it's a pleasure to meet you, Captain. I'm afraid I don't quite understand though. Why is the castle in an alert status?" I asked, worried to what his answer might be.

"Don't let it worry you, Miss Sparkle. The current alert status is simply for training purposes. Ever since the Changeling attack, the Princess has been ensuring we are prepared for any situation. Thus, we have drills such as these occasionally," he responded, never breaking his professional appearance. I gave a small sigh, relieved to hear that it was just a training-related event. However, a small bit of doubt began to creep in the back of my mind. This training had some very peculiar timing, and there was still the matter of Celestia's reply.

"Well, it's good to hear that Canterlot is in good hands," I began, pushing my thoughts aside for the moment. "So, what exactly does Alert Status Orange mean?"

"Alert Status Orange is used whenever there is believed to be a threat from a small number of individuals or, in some cases, a singular individual if the threat he or she poses is great enough." He paused for a moment, checking to see if what he said made sense. I nodded, signifying for him to continue. "While the castle is at this state of alert, ponies with a "Very Important Pony" status, such as yourself, will be required to have at least one guard with them at all times." This was discomforting news- not that I had anything wrong with adhering to policies and protocols, but I did like my privacy.

"That's a little much, don't you think?" I gave an uncomfortable laugh. "I mean, I'm really not that important or anything."

The Captain raised an eyebrow.

"The Princess herself has appointed you, as well as all of your friends, with the status of VIP," Then he leaned in close. "And even if she hadn't, we would treat you just the same. You have saved Equestria countless times, after all." Great, doesn't look like I can just weasel out of this one.

"Well, thank you." I tried my best to not sound disappointed.

"Of course," he replied, sticking his chest out. He turned back to his men. "Corporal Bastion." The unicorn guard on the far right quickly ran over and stopped in front of the Captain and I.

"Corporal Shielded Bastion reporting as ordered, sir," he barked, giving the Captain a salute. The Captain returned the salute, which they both cut at the same time.

"Miss Sparkle, Corporal Bastion will be your personal guard during your stay at the castle. If you need anything or have any questions, direct them to him." Then he glared down at the Corporal. "And if he's any trouble, do not hesitate to report it to me directly."
I swear I saw the Corporal shiver.

"I'll be sure to do that Captain," I replied, trying not to giggle at the Corporal’s reaction.

"Good. In that case, I will be taking my leave, Miss Sparkle."

"Of course, Captain." He gave me a final salute, which still made me uncomfortable, and then turned to leave, the other two guards following in his wake. I looked over at the Corporal. Though I didn't have much of an idea of how the ranking structure worked, I knew that once you reached a certain rank the illusion magic that turned your coat to the brilliant white or coal grey colors was removed. The Corporal’s coat was a deep burgundy color and, judging by his tail, his mane was a dark blue with light blue highlights. I cleared my voice.

"Well, Corporal Bastion, was it? My name is Twilight Sparkle." I gave a little curtsy after my introduction. He eyed me for a second before responding.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sparkle. I am Corporal Shielded Bastion of Second Battalion Twenty-Fifth Guard." I noticed that his hoof flinched to salute me again, but he returned my curtsy with a bow instead.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Corporal, and please just call me Twilight. All of the formality is going to make me choke." I made a comical choking gesture which won me a few laughs. Sweet Celestia, I'm awkward.

"Will do Twilight, and you can just call me Bastion. Calling me Corporal makes me feel like Captain Steam Ass is watching me." He smiled.

"Captain Steam Ass?" I began to crack up at the unfortunate nickname. "How did he get that name exactly?" I asked, biting my lip to keep the laughs contained.

"I'll tell you on the way up to the castle. Princess Celestia is expecting you, after all," he replied after chuckling a bit himself.

His horn glowed and I felt the weight of my saddlebags disappear as he lifted them up onto his own back. I started to protest, but he was already walking towards the exit of the station. Rolling my eyes, I gave a sigh and quickly trotted over to catch up with him.

As we made our way to the castle, I took note of all the groups of guards that were moving around. I could hear orders being barked, and occasionally the stallions would begin singing work songs. Some of the lyrics were fairly violent in nature, but many were actually pretty comical. In the air, Squadrons of Pegasus Guards were flying around in different formations. At one point, I noticed a few who were doing a mock mid-air battle. They dashed past each other, performing various loops and dives before coming within a touching reach of each other; then turning on a dime so that they could strike one another with the training spears that were attached to their flying harnesses.

Bastion also filled me in on the unfortunate details of The Captain's nickname. A couple of winters ago, the unit had been in a small town during a short operation in the mountains. The stallions had gone drinking at the local bar, and the Captain in particular had gotten extremely drunk. After getting into a bar fight over some mare, he'd tried to sit on a water heater effectively breaking the nozzle and filling the bar with steam. He'd gotten a pretty bad burn and had been graced with the title Captain Steam-Ass ever since. Except when he was actually present, of course.

Finally we reached the entrance to the castle, where several guards had set up a checkpoint. Our identities were verified, allowing us to trot through the doors and begin heading down the main hallway, which contained the famous stained glass windows the castle was known for.

"So, what does the Princess need?" Bastion asked, unaware that I had actually been the one to call for this little meeting.

"Well," I began, unsure of how much to explain to him. "You see, one of my friends disappeared a couple of days ago, and I'm afraid the situation is a little more complicated than I first thought." He stayed silent for a few moments, seeming conflicted over what the right words to say in this case were.

"I-I'm sorry to hear that," he finally stammered. "This must be hard on you, but I'm sure the Princess will know what to do." I smiled at his attempt to cheer me up. Little did he know, the Princess may very well be, yet another complication. "And I know that I probably wouldn't be much help, but if there's anything I can do..." He let his words trail off as he looked over to find me smiling.

"Thank you, Bastion. It means a lot."

He returned my smile then turned back forward. As he turned I spotted the smallest hint of a blush on his cheek. Suddenly, I began to feel very self conscious. Luckily, we had reached the gold-trimmed doors to the Throne Room where the day and night court was held, effectively distracting me from my fleeting embarrassment. We grew silent as we approached. The doors glowed with a golden magical aura as they creaked open.

We were met with several rows of Royal Guards who immediately saluted my entrance in shocking unison. I took a deep breath as I stepped onto the violet rug, which ran all the way to the grand throne where my teacher sat. Celestia was regally perched with her back straight and her head held high. Her mane was flowing freely from the sheer amount of magical energy that was constantly flowing around her, invisible to the naked eye.

Celestia looked down and gave us a warm smile as we strolled down the runway to the stairs at her hooves.

"Twilight Sparkle, I'm so happy to see you." She gracefully stood from the throne to come meet us. Bastion and I immediately fell into a bow as she approached. "Please rise, both of you. I would prefer to keep informal when in the company of friends."

"Of course, Princess," I spoke, rising with Bastion following suit; he seemed pretty nervous. I guess I would be too if I was in front of the pony considered to be the highest in my chain of command; though, I have been known to make a large scene over Celestia. Especially that one time I made everypony in town turn on each other because I was scared of turning in an assignment late. I'm a hypocrite, I get it.

"It's a pleasure to see you as well, Corporal," Celestia spoke warmly, turning to Bastion. His legs trembled as he glanced uncomfortably at the ground. I was surprised to see that the Princess seemed to know Bastion personally. I guess it wouldn't be unheard of considering he was part of the Castle Guard.

"The pleasure is all mine, Princess," he replied, nodding his head down respectively.

"Well Twilight, they definitely put you in very capable hands when choosing your personal guard. The Corporal here is quite a hero." She smiled at Bastion with eyes that had a motherly sort of pride in them.

"I had no idea, what did he do?" I asked, looking over to my bashful companion. He shifted around, uncomfortable with the sudden attention; it was kind of cute.

"During the Changeling siege, the Corporal here led a small assault into the city, saving hundreds of ponies' lives." The Princess continued to smile down at the Bastion. He fidgeted in return.

"Wow! That's awesome, Bastion!" Following Celestia’s example, I gave him a warm smile. He stared at me blankly for a second before turning his head away.

"I-I was just doing my duty. It's nothing special." Celestia rolled her eyes and I laughed a bit at the display. Then Celestia's expression grew serious. She turned her gaze to the rows of guards by the grand doors.

"If you wouldn't mind, gentlecolts, I'd like us to have some privacy." Though her wording was polite, her tone was more akin to that of an order. The guards instantly snapped to attention and responded with an "Of course, Princess" before turning and heading out of the door, shutting it behind them. Bastion turned to follow them.

"You may stay, Corporal," Celestia advised, softening her voice a bit from the commanding tone she had taken.

"Of course, Princess." Bastion turned again and took his place next to me. I looked at him from the corner of my eye, glad that I wouldn't be alone for this. Though I trusted Celestia, I just couldn't shake the feeling she was hiding something.

"Now, Twilight," she began, turning to take her spot at the throne once more. "Please tell me everything about Pinkie Pie's disappearance."

I took in a deep breath. The moment had come for me to see if my trust in Celestia was well placed.

"Gladly." So I told her my tale. I started with the first signs that there was something wrong with Pinkie: the sudden lack of enthusiasm Pinkie had with her work and how she had begun to seclude herself. Working myself up to the intervention, I carefully watched Celestia's reactions. Though I knew what to look for, I found myself not wanting to see the signs. The whole idea that Celestia could be deceiving me made my heart pound against my chest with dread. I realized that part of me didn't want to know if Celestia was deceiving me, but I couldn't ignore the way her eyes would narrow at my words nor could I ignore her questions.

Celestia kept going back to Pinkie's behaviors. She would ask for detailed descriptions pertaining to Pinkie's reactions. Occasionally, she'd even ask about her outward appearance. When I came to the story of Coltwood, I was taken aback by how uninterested Celestia had become. Just moments before she had practically been hanging on every word I said. It was like she was trying to be sure of something, yet she treated what we found in Coltwood as if it was old news. My mind was spinning. Celestia knew something. Sure, I had suspected it, but actually knowing? That was another matter entirely. My teacher, the pony I trusted more than anypony else, was actually hiding something from me and she was doing it, knowing full well that the information could help me find my missing friend.

As my mind wrapped itself in circles, a new emotion began to build up: rage. First Pinkie, then Discord, and now even Celestia. Everypony was hiding secrets from me, and you know what? I was sick of it. I looked up at Celestia, barely keeping my voice even as I spoke. She sat there no longer as my teacher, but an obstacle.

"And that is what has brought me here today, Princess." I finished up my story, almost spitting out those final words. Celestia eyed me carefully. I guess I would also be confused if my student had suddenly taken an attitude with me, seemingly out of nowhere. Oops. I shook my head a bit in an attempt to clear my thoughts. If I was going to find out anything, I couldn't let Celestia know I suspected her attempted deceit.

"Thank you, Twilight. I know that this ordeal has been trying for you." Celestia stepped down and placed a hoof on my shoulder. "I will talk to Luna tonight once the Night Court has ended. I promise you, we will find her." Her tone was very affectionate, but it didn't comfort me in the least. I felt as if she was trying to shoo me away with sweet words.

"Thank you, Princess." I tried my best to sound genuinely thankful. Celestia smiled and then turned to Bastion.

"Corporal, why don't you take Twilight out into the city for a bit? I'm sure she could use a distraction.” She gave the Corporal a little wink.

"O-o-of course, Princess!" he stammered awkwardly. I rolled my eyes. I don't know how he was imagining the rest of the day to play out, but I had no intention of getting "distracted".

"Well, Princess, we'll be taking our leave," I spoke with finality, ready to get to the library as soon as possible. Already, there was a plan forming in my mind, and I needed to find the right combination of spells to ensure it went smoothly.

"Of course, Twilight. You two have fun. I'll see you tomorrow." Then she turned to return to her throne as we turned to head out. I was already making a checklist in my mind of spells and tools I'd need. I had so much to do and such little time. As much as I wanted to rush off, though, I made sure to keep a natural pace on the way out. I didn't want to alert Celestia in any way. As the doors came to a close behind us, Bastion turned to me.

"So what would you-"

I swear I didn't mean to cut him off, but time was of the essence. I took off galloping down the hall leaving Bastion in the dust. He stood there, stunned for a moment
before taking off after me.

"Twilight, wait! Where are you going?" he inquired as he slowly began to catch up with me; in the moment, we burst out of the castle doors and down to the Royal Canterlot Library.

"I'm going to find my friend!"

Chapter 4: The Library

It was a simple enough plan: wait until Celestia goes to confer with Luna about Pinkie, then eavesdrop on their conversation to discover whatever it is they know about her. However, execution was going to be a bit more difficult: regardless of whatever method I decided upon, I would undoubtedly have to use various forms of magic right under the noses of two God-like ponies without alerting them; not so simple after all.

The doors to the library flew open from the force of my magic as I galloped into the main hall, Bastion right behind me. I skidded to a stop, causing him to slam into into me, knocking us both over.

“Oh crap, are you alright?” he asked, standing up and reaching a hoof out to help me.

“Ugh… I’m fine, don't worry about it.” I took his hoof and stood up, shaking my head a bit. I tried to give a small smile, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you crash into me or anything.”

“I figured that much.” He rolled his eyes, but his expression grew serious. “So, what’s this about finding your friend?”

Crap, I hadn’t meant to blurt that out, but I was caught up in the moment and too lost in my own head to think about what I was saying. Bastion seemed like a nice guy and all, but he was still a soldier in the Guard and relatively a stranger. It’s not like I could just go up to him and say, “Oh, by the way, I think the Princess is full of shit, so I’m just gonna sneak into her private quarters and eavesdrop on them, alright?”

“I… uh,” I stammered, trying to think of a lie on the spot. Lying wasn’t exactly my strong suit, and though Bastion’s didn’t appear to have a magically based talent, he was still a unicorn, which meant that he had some basis of understanding when it came to spell work. I couldn’t just throw together some half-assed magic talk that might fly over the head of an earth pony or a pegasus.

“Well?” he prodded, the question filled with impatience.

“Well…honestly, I was hoping I could try and find a spell that would aid in the search. Maybe a way of tracking her or something that could fly around and help look for her…”

That’s it! It was so simple, why hadn’t I thought of it sooner? I just had to enchant an object with a “Come Alive” spell and set up a mental link so I can directly control it. Then maybe a scrying spell so I can monitor its movements through a basin of water. Of course, I’ll also need to set up-

“So you wanna make a Saddle Scout?” he asked matter of factly.

“Wait, was I talking out loud?” I replied, mortified. Sometimes I couldn’t stand my tendency to think out loud. It was a bad habit I’d picked up as a filly. For some reason, speaking out my thoughts just seemed to make it easier to connect ideas together. Now, it just seems to be blowing my cover.

“Yeah, but that’s actually a good idea, you know? Saddle Scouts are really useful. We use ‘em all the time during operations,” Bastion explained, seeming pleased to know he could give some input. I sighed. Luckily, he didn’t seem to know what I was actually planning to do.

“So what exactly is a Saddle Scout?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. I had never heard of one before, but Bastion seemed very passionate about them.

“Technically, they’re kinda hush-hush around civilians,” he stated, almost seeming to flaunt his knowledge before me. I found it irksome at best. “But they’re exactly what you described, an enchanted object that moves to the will of its caster and has special charms that allow the caster to see and hear through the view of the object.”

“What kind of object is it though? From what I know of Come to Life enchantments, their range of movement is limited to the object in question,” I pointed out. Though I had a basic idea of what I would need, I wanted to get all the information on these Saddle Scouts I could.

“Actually, we use paper most of the time,” he stated, rubbing his chin. My head pulled back instinctively as confusion spread across my face.

“Paper? Like, just a sheet of parchment?” I asked, slightly disappointed in his answer. I failed to see how paper would be useful. If you wanted an object that had good maneuverability, typically you’d enchant something with wheels. Paper, on the other hoof, wouldn’t be able to just get up and fly around. Bastion sat there silently, his search for the proper words evident on his face.

“Have you ever heard of Origami?” he finally asked as he took a seat.

“Yeah, it’s a form of art from the Eastern Empires that involves folding paper.” I tried to find the connection. My knowledge of Origami was very limited because I’d never taken to studying art; though, I had a loose idea of it. I knew flowers were a major subject piece for the art, but I couldn’t determine how folding paper was useful for a Come to Life Spell.

“Basically, we fold the paper into whatever animal would best meet our needs: whether it be a bird for its flying capability, or a lizard for its stealth. We then cast a refined Come to Life spell that gives it the characteristics of whatever animal the paper was folded into. Of course, I’ve never been able to master the spell. It’s a little out of my league,” he admitted, his eyes turned to the ground as he tried to play the last part as a joke. Regardless, it was obvious he felt slightly ashamed with his inadequate spellwork.

“Hey now, that’s no reason to get down on yourself. Most unicorns only learn two or three complicated spells, and they tend to relate to their special talent.” I attempted to put on a comforting smile.

“Most unicorns know more than just two spells, though,” he rebutted, rolling his eyes. I, once again, found myself bewildered by his words.

“Wait, you only know two spells? Like only two? Not two higher level spells?” I regretted my words the moment they left my mouth. It hadn’t even occurred to me that this might be a touchy subject, and Bastion seemed taken aback by my bluntness. My eyes unintentionally wandered to the ground, avoiding his gaze. “I’m, I’m sorry, that was really rude of me…”

“It’s ok, I understand your surprise. It’s unheard of for a unicorn to be bad at magic.” He smirked, then perked up slightly as he changed the subject. “Shall we get started on this Saddle Scout?”

“Sure.” I smiled as I turned to face the beautifully ornate library before me. Viewing the thousands upon thousands of volumes on its many shelves sparked a certain energy in me, challenging me to get lost in the bountiful knowledge those tomes contained. I had to pause and remind myself that current events required that I resist that urge. I had some idea of which books I required, but there were a few things I would have to guess at. Come to Life spells weren’t simple at all. They involved laying out a very detailed set of instructions for how an object should act in a given situation. Thankfully, since I would be controlling the object directly, I only had to set out instructions for responding to my commands.

“So, what books do you need me to find?” Bastion asked as he gawked at the overwhelming number of categories that existed.

“I should be able to find most of them myself, thank you. I wouldn’t want you getting lost,” I joked, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

“Then is there anything I can do?” His question might as well been, “Please don't leave me to sit here bored.” His implied plea amused me greatly, and it would probably be better if I did give him some kind of distraction. In the long run, it would keep him from interrupting my work or from picking up on my true intentions.

“You could find a book on Origami and make some test pieces for me to work with,” I suggested, hoping he wouldn’t be too put off by the idea; he perked up immediately.

“You can count on me,” he replied with gusto as he turned and ventured into the labyrinth of tall wooden shelves that constituted the library. Having successfully distracted my companion, I turned my attention to my next moves. First, I needed to contact the girls somehow and tell them of what I’d been able to figure out so far. Also, if worse comes to worse, it might be smart to set up some kind of fall back. I had a fair bit of confidence in my ability to pull this off, but Celestia was not to be underestimated.

Standing up and making my way to the hourglass in the center of the library, it dawned on me that I honestly had no idea of the extent of Celestia’s magical prowess. Obviously, she was capable of controlling celestial bodies and had mastered other forms of great magic. Despite the many spells she’d shown me throughout my studies, I’d never seen her put her all into any one spell. Even moving the sun and moon seemed to be as simple as lifting a ball would be for myself.

“What am I getting myself into this time?” I asked myself, shaking my head lightly as I ventured deeper into the library.

About an hour later, I gathered a sizable stack of books over various forms of communication magic and Come to Life Spells. We found a cozy spot in one of the lounge areas of the library, and I was examining a few promising volumes on the uses of Dragon Fire. The hope was that I would be able to replicate the link Celestia was able to make between herself and Spike. Bastion was sitting across from me meticulously folding a piece of parchment. There were several balled up pieces of parchment around him and over the course of our time here he’d stormed off angrily to wander around the library on multiple occasions. I assumed this meant his skill in art was on par with my own.

“So what exactly is your special talent?” I inquired. It had been on my mind for some time, and since he had never taken off his armor, I hadn’t gotten the chance to observe his cutie mark.

“Mine?” He quickly looked up, surprised by the sudden break in silence. “Ah, you know…” he began, his gaze returning back to his work, lips trembling slightly as he forced a smirk on his face. “Nothing special, just your typical protecting ponies type of talent you tend to find on the Guard.”

“Are you not happy with that?” I’m sure his intention was to seem comical, but the presence of disappointment was unmistakable. I had never known a pony to be unhappy with their talent. Typically, it’s something they’d always had, but until their cutie marks appeared never actually appreciated. However, my experience with other ponies was, regrettably, limited to Ponyville and the few I interacted with during my time in Canterlot.

“It’s not that I’m unhappy with it, it’s just… I feel as though I’ve yet to live up to it, I guess.” He glanced upward through a skylight, set high in the eves. The sky had taken a brilliant orange hue and would soon turn black within coming time.

“What do you mean?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion. It seemed strange to me that one would feel that they hadn’t lived up to their own talent.

“It’s just, I’ve always wanted to help ponies in some way or another. When I was younger, I had hoped to become an Arcane Scientist and discover new types of spellwork that would benefit ponykind. Of course, that never came to pass, considering my complete lack of magical ability.” He raised a hoof up and began to take off his armor piece by piece. After removing the plates which covered his flank, I finally took my first look at his cutie mark.

The cutie mark was comprised of an elongated hexagon with a three-pointed shield in the center. I was unsure of what meaning the hexagon held, but the shield was an obvious sign of his talent in protecting others.

“I got my cutie mark when I got into a fight back during my school days,” his story began. He sat back onto his haunches and held up a plate of his armor. “These bullies had been picking on a friend of mine when I stepped in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t much of a fighter as a colt, and I got my ass beat.” He gazed at his reflection in the armor as though he was watching the events unfold upon its surface as he spoke. “After they had gotten bored and left, I looked down to find my cutie mark. At first I was worried that it meant my special talent was getting my ass kicked, but I soon realized that wasn’t the case.” He put down the armor and turned to me. His eyes held a certain gloss to them, as though he was still staring at his reflection instead of at me.

“My special talent is to protect ponies by facing the ones who threaten them.” He turned away from me again and returned his gaze back to the skylight, where a few stars had begun to show. A small smile formed on his lips. “At first I was pretty excited about it. I had always wanted to help ponies, and after finding out that my magical ability was sub-par, I was ecstatic to see that my special talent was still of some help to ponies. So, I learned to fight. I became somewhat of a local hero to ponies who got bullied, and when I became of age I left for the military.”

As he told his story, I tried to place myself in his hooves. This was my first time hearing such a story, and I couldn’t help but feel guilty. I’ve never really wanted anything in particular when I began studying magic. Honestly, the only reason I spent so much of my time studying it was because I was good at it. There was no sense of morality or duty, just the feeling of empowerment from hearing my parents praise me for my work. Before I knew it, I was being called a prodigy and sent away to study under the Princess, herself. It had never occurred to me that other ponies hadn’t had similar experiences; that maybe there were some whose dreams didn’t come true.

“Before long, I was shipped off to boot camp. As much as it sucked, being there made me feel like I had purpose in the world. Then I graduated, and that was truly the first time I ever felt I had accomplished anything in my life.” When his gaze once again shifted over to me, the smile was gone, replaced by a tired expression. “And then I realized how foalish I was. I’ve been in for three years now, and I have yet to do anything to protect anypony. I spend all my time standing duty in front of large doors, or simply patrolling around the castle. Occasionally, we go on training operations throughout Equestria to make sure we aren’t getting rusty in our combat skills, but that’s about the extent of my military career. Now all I do is watch the years go down the drain, wondering if I had made the wrong choice somewhere along the line.”

“But what about the Invasion of Canterlot? You protected hundreds of ponies in the battle. Surely that means something?” Maybe I misunderstood his pain, but anypony could see that he had done much more to protect Equestria than he seemed ready to admit. His eyes shut as his head tilted toward the ground.

“Twilight, I didn’t protect anypony.” He spoke softly, so much so that I could barely hear him.

“What do you mean? Of course you did. The Princess even-”

“The Princess wasn’t there: just me, my men, changelings, and the ponies they were slaughtering,” he spat, abruptly cutting me off. “Maybe from your perspective I’m some kind of hero, but I didn’t save anypony. Perhaps Celestia just didn’t tell you, but many ponies died that day and many more went missing, probably to be fed on later.” He ground his teeth as his voice became a growl. “Then those slimy little shits had the nerve to take the form of the ponies they’d just butchered. Do you know what that’s like, Twilight? To be forced to kill ponies you were used to seeing everyday? Even if it was just an illusion, they were so alike: their voices, their faces, their screams.” He suddenly stood and walked over to the open origami book surrounded by balls of paper. His magic enveloped a new sheet that he proceeded to fold with careful precision.

My head hung low as I sat stunned, unable to respond. I felt as if I had no right to speak. Bastion went through hell and hadn’t even gained the satisfaction of doing his part. All he saw was the faces of ponies he was forced to kill again and again. It wasn’t that I was unaware that bloodshed had happened, but my personal experience of that day had been so different.

After successfully driving away the changeling swarm without any real damage on our part, then carrying on the wedding as if nothing happened, I had just assumed that such triumph was felt over all of Canterlot. Maybe that’s what Celestia had wanted. My mind drifted wondering just what other atrocities the Sun Princess had covered up to keep the picture-perfect view of Equestria that her subjects so praised her for.

I kept silent, struggling to decide what I could say to comfort Bastion, but I knew he didn’t want to hear any of it. Clearly, he wanted to just let this moment be forgotten between us; a desire I shared. I returned to the book I had abandoned, and soon we found ourselves lost in our work once more.

I managed to create a new connection with Spike, allowing me to send him and the girls a letter detailing the day’s events. We formed a plan to meet up at Zecora’s if things didn’t go as planned. I felt slightly presumptuous assuming Zecora would be willing to let us meet there late at night, but she had always been there when we needed her, whenever we needed her. The only hole in the backup plan was that I was unsure of how exactly I would manage to travel all the way back to Ponyville on such short notice. Luckily, my research into dragon fire might prove useful in fixing that problem.

Bastion’s mood had improved to the point where he was once again smiling and humming to himself while he worked, which greatly relieved the tension that had built up. I had taken careful inspection of his work and was pleased to notice that he had gained a good bit of skill in origami. The pieces were amazingly detailed and if painted right would probably look just like their real life counterparts. It was certainly a far cry from what my minimal knowledge of the art held.

“They have to be that detailed in order for the Come to Life Spell to mimic the animals properly,” Bastion clarified, noticing the way I gawked at the bird, lizard, and squirrel he had made.

“I mean, I understand why they are so detailed; it's just I've never seen them so detailed.” I replied lifting up the bird and carefully looking over its many features. There were clear joints in all the right places so that it could, in theory, move like any real bird.

“Should I take that as a compliment?” he replied, smirking. I rolled my eyes in response and retreated to the book I was reading on the animation of animal-like objects. My research into Come To Life Spells was also showing much promise. There were a couple of hitches here and there, but for the most part, I was confident that I’d be able to have a working Saddle Scout in time for Celestia’s and Luna’s meeting.

While the night was still young we returned the books to their shelves before making our way out of the library. Night court wouldn’t end until midnight, so I still had a few hours to perfect a Saddle Scout back in my quarters in the castle. Bastion walked along next to me, once again wearing his armor. We hadn't talked about earlier at all, and guilt had been building up over how I had reacted. Even though he obviously was upset, I kept prodding him acting as if I understood something about how he felt, when really I had no idea.

“Is there something on my face?” he asked, alerting me to the fact that I’d been staring. I blushed and looked away.

“No… sorry,” I apologized abruptly without even knowing why.

“For what?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I dont know… I kept you busy all night, and you must be hungry,” I replied making up something on the spot.The temptation to pick up my speed as awkwardness settled in gnawed at my mind. Although my worry made little sense, I feared that sharing my thoughts on earlier might somehow upset him again. He chuckled.

“That’s alright, I should have an MRE laying around from our last training op. Besides...” He gave me a warm smile which came close to making me blush yet again. “I’m glad I was able to help. It was fun being with you.” He then sped up, placing himself just far enough ahead that I couldn’t see his face. I hoped it was because he was aware of how cheesy that was. Nevertheless, it made me smile.

“Whats an MRE?” I asked, wanting to extend the conversation just a little longer.

“It stands for Meal Ready to Eat. It’s supposed to be food that never goes bad, so we can carry it with us on long operations where there won’t be a cook present. Though, they might as well give us dog food, I’m sure it would taste better.” He looked back at me with a smirk. I tried covering my muzzle so I wouldn’t laugh too hard and ended up snorting instead. My face instantly turned red as Bastion burst with laughter. After giving him a well deserved glare, I flung my muzzle to the air and marched off ahead of him; my display only seemed to fuel his laughter.

Once we arrived at my room, Bastion bid me goodnight then left for the barracks to eat. He said he would be back before long and would be staying in the room next to mine for the duration of my stay. Within seconds of closing the door behind me, I began my preparations. There were only a couple of hours before the Princesses’ meeting, and I needed to ensure that my plan would go without a hitch. I laid out the materials in front of me.

Before I could begin, Bastion floated into my mind. I thought back on that evening. It almost felt like I would be sullying such nice memories by carrying out my plan. I shook my head, trying to knock the frilly thoughts from my mind. I didn’t have time to get carried away with such nonsense now. Pinkie needed me, and I wasn’t going to let her down. With my goal clear in mind, I set myself to work, hoping to finally get the answers I have long yearned to discover.

Chapter 5: On This Night

The origami lizard scurried across the floor then started to make its way up the wall to my right. Thanks to the various enchantments I had placed upon it, allowing it to move silently and along any surface, the lizard became an effective spy. Before me was a golden water basin with intricate sun patterns carved along the sides. A subtle blue glow from the water glistened against its edges. Instead of reflecting myself, the water held a view of wooden rafters and cobwebs. The reflection was yet another culmination of my magical studies, as I was able to create an “eye” of sorts on the lizard, which was linked to the water. This allowed me to make observations from the lizard’s point of view, ultimately making it easier to navigate. Though it wasn’t currently active, I had placed another spell which was capable of taking sound and resonating it from the basin.

I smiled down at the basin pleased with my work. Standing, I turned to assess the mess that was my room. Lying everywhere were open books and sheets of paper with hastily written notes. Among the books was a silver plate with a half-eaten salad that Bastion had brought me earlier. I lifted the plate and brought it closer so that I could finish up the remains. After hastily cramming various flowers, carrots, and cherry tomatoes into my mouth, I looked over a few of my notes on the applications of different animals as Saddle Scouts. The three animals Bastion made each presented their own unique uses, and though at first I had assumed the bird would prove most useful, my studies showed me differently. The bird, while agile and able to fly, was harder to control. In order to control it, I would need a more thorough understanding of the phenomenon of flight, and how its wings would react based on changes in wind or speed.

On the other hoof, the lizard was simple to control and, most importantly, stealthy. Once I placed some enhancements to hide the magical presence on it, I was more than positive it would be able to go unnoticed by the sisters. The books around me took on a purplish glow as I carefully lifted them and piled them neatly in one corner of the room. I then gathered my notes together and placed them by the books. Once everything was clean from my previous study session, I sent a small signal to my lizard commanding it to return to the floor and take place by the basin.

“This is it,” I muttered to myself as I made my way to the balcony. I placed my hoof along the golden trim which lined the glass of the large, ornate doors, and was met with a pleasant chill as I pushed them slightly open. Though I prefered the warmth, the rush of night air wasn’t an unwelcome feeling. Opening the door the rest of the way, I stepped out onto the balcony.

My spine tingled slightly as I felt the full chill of the night. Before me laid Equestria in all its beauty. There was a bright three-quarter moon in the sky which blanketed the land with a soft lunar glow. In the distance to my right, I gazed upon rolling hills and snow topped mountains. To my left were the city lights of Canterlot, and even further out, the beginning of the Everfree Forest. Gazing out into the night, I couldn’t help but fear the terrors tonight might hold for me. What if my worries were ill-placed, and Celestia really didn’t know anything? What if she caught me in the act and disowned me? The worst of these fears was the possibility that I’d learn nothing of my pink friend. I turned my eyes to the moon and the sky, hoping that somewhere she was out there looking at the same moon.

“Wherever you are, Pinkie, I’m going to find you. I promise,” I whispered softly into the night. Even though I knew there was no possible way she could hear those words, I hoped wherever she was, she’d feel somewhat better. A silly wish, but it gave me the small satisfaction of feeling that I was helping her rather than going on wild goose chases. While I stood there, thoughtfully staring into the distance, a small breeze crept up, stinging my skin slightly. It crept along my back, giving me goosebumps. A crack interrupted the quiet of night. Startled, I turned my head to find a tiny Discord standing on my back.

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” I spoke with venom on my tongue. I’d had enough of these games. Discord turned his head to me, an almost lazy droop to his eyelids.

“Please Twilight, you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you,” he countered stiffly. Something about him was throwing me off. His shoulders seemed to be slumped, as if carrying an unseen weight, and his eyes, though staring straight at me, appeared to be looking right past. It was much the same as the look he’d had on the train this morning.

“Then why are you here?” I asked, my demeanor equally as stiff as I turned my gaze back to the moonlit Equestria.

“There is something I need to be sure of.” I felt a small tingle has he walked along my shoulder to my neck.

“And that is?” I looked back at him.

“I need to know that you trust me, Twilight.”

This time his stare was not looking past me but bored straight into me with a fierce determination. I could almost see flames behind those eyes. To be honest, it frightened me slightly to see somepony as whimsical as Discord have such a rough gleem to their eye. I sat silent, unable to respond. Could I without a doubt say I trusted Discord? Of course I couldn’t. He’d nearly torn apart the only group of friends I’d ever known; all the while turning my world upside down. I doubted that I could ever trust him. But there was definitely a difference between that Discord and this one. He held an air of confidence that, unlike before, conjured a feeling of dependability. Maybe I couldn’t trust the old Discord, but perhaps this one I could.

The silence held for a few moments longer. Discord continued to wait patiently for my response. I, in turn, struggled to give an answer. Finally, I broke the silence.

“I trust you.”

The edges of his lips crept up and he gave a large exhale.

“I’m so gla-”

“However,” I curtly cut him off. Glaring down at the nearly three-inch tall Discord and tensing my neck, I tried my best to appear intimidating. “I have no idea what it is you’re planning, but I will trust you. If you dare betray my trust, I can ensure you, Discord, that you’ll wish you’d stayed a statue.” Discord sat silently. I could feel a small quiver where his feet touched my skin. It seemed I had left my intended mark. Unfortunately, I was unable to fully bask in this moment, for less than a second later Discord had straightened up and once again was carrying his air of confidence.

“Duly noted, Twilight Sparkle. However, I can ensure you that betraying you was not in my agenda,” he amended as he turned his back to me. “Now go, midnight draws nigh.”

He raised his claw, smirked, and snapped. There was a crack followed by a breeze as Discord was blown away like a pillar of sand.

Turning to retire to my room, worry began to weigh heavily in my gut. Discord’s visit, while insightful, only managed to be a bad omen. The twisting in my stomach had returned once again; the twisting I had dubbed “dread.” Tonight would be a turning point: whether for good or bad, I had no idea. As I strolled across the room, I quickly snuffed out each candle. Before long, the room was bathed only in the soft cyan glow of the water basin. Returning to my post alongside the enchanted water, I sat down and lifted the small paper lizard with my magic.

Whatever was to come on this eve, it would all begin with me. I took a deep breath before I ignited the spark which would connect the lizard to myself; as if I was imagining strings connecting the two of us. Just before completing the connection, I found myself faltering. I shook slightly as the weight of the matter came over me. With this plot, I would effectively be betraying my teacher: the pony who taught me so much; who set me on the track of friendship, the track to a happier life. Yet, here she was, an obstacle between me and that life.

Doubts lingered in my head over whether I was wrong to jump to the conclusion that my teacher had simply thrown me under the rug. I bit my lip and tried to clear my thoughts. I needed to remember what this was for. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, my teacher was not without her faults. Bastion’s story had taught me that. She had lied about bloodshed, the likes of which Equestria hadn’t seen for untold centuries. Or, perhaps, just what the Princesses hadn’t let their subjects see. Celestia had a poker face. Countless times I’d been a witness to it. Now was the time I’d call her bluff.

With the connection complete, I slammed my hoof down, causing the lizard to stir to life. It stood up, turning its head left and right, before scurrying into the darkness and out of the room. I kept careful track of its exit before turning to the magical basin. Banisters and cobwebs flew by on the surface of the water as the lizard crawled across the ceiling at a remarkable pace. I turned my head to and fro as I worked its strings. Turning left, then right, the lizard hopped from banister to banister while I guided it through the castle. As it approached the main hall, I slowed its pace bringing it to a stealthy crawl. Finally, it reached the throne room where night court should just be adjourning. Luna sat at the throne, her mane billowing from her magical presence. To each side of her was a Guard, each appearing to be low in rank considering their nearly identical appearance. Before them was a middle-aged earth pony, who had just turned to leave. I assumed he was the last visitor for night court. The mighty golden doors opened, allowing him to exit, then promptly closed behind him.

As soon as the doors were shut the Princess stood up, stretched a hoof out, and opened her mouth wide for what I figured was a loud yawn. Then she turned and began to descend the stairs, turning left for the passage leading to the Princesses’ private quarters; the guards marched at her sides. Spurred to life by my magic, the lizard zipped across the ceiling to catch up with the Princess of The Night. Once I had found a suitable spot just behind the Princess, I reduced its speed once more to keep a careful eye on my prey. The guards kept their heads forward and seemed unable to detect any disturbance, however the Princess’ eyes continually shifted back and forth. Occasionally, she would even turn her head to look behind her. Fortunately, she never appeared to look in my Saddle Scout’s direction, which led me to believe that she was being overly cautious; probably at Celestia’s command. Before long, we had reached a large wooden door with a silver-lined crescent moon carved upon it.

I bit my lip in anticipation. One of my greater concerns was the possibility of magical wards being placed on the entrance to the room that might disrupt or completely disable any magic that crossed it. It was not a difficult magic and was often used during large social events as a way to protect against terrorist acts. Luckily, ward magic was heavily covered during my first few years as Celestia’s pupil and I’d learned a few loopholes. The guards mouthed a few words to the Princess, then continued down the hallway towards the barracks.

Luna gently placed a hoof on the door and pushed it open. As she stepped her first hoof into the doorway her whole body shook as if having cold water dumped on her. This was the sign that I was looking for. There were definitely wards on the room. Quickly recovering, she continued into the bedroom. This was my chance. The lizard took off at my command. Hopping from the ceiling, the wall, and then to the ground, it had reached the doorway before Luna had even set another hoof in the door. Before continuing, I activated the spell allowing me to hear their conversation. The next part would be tricky. Magical limitation wards, such as what I assumed this one would be, had a very particular flaw. As a pony walks through the ward, the ward warps to fit the pony body and adjusts itself as necessary. Once the pony was all the way through, a hole would remain where the pony had been. This hole disappears after a fraction of a second of course, but that’s all I would need.

As Luna stepped another hoof through the door, I tugged the strings connecting me to the lizard and positioned him for a jump. It wouldn’t need to be high, just high enough to reach where her hoof had just been. Luna was almost completely through the door at this point, and just as her last rear hoof had cleared the barrier, the lizard lept. The view in the water basin spun as the lizard curled in midair and spun through the doorway. Finally, the world righted itself once the lizard had landed, unaffected by the ward.

“Yes,” I breathed in satisfaction as a smile crept up my lips. Quickly, I turned the lizard’s head from side to side so that I could observe the room. The room was surprisingly not much larger than my own; however, it was extravagantly furnished. There were two leather-clad chairs in the furthest most corner to my left, and to the right was a large king-sized bed. The linens were a deep azure color, and the frame had silver trim swirling along its bars. To the left of the bed was a doorway to the balcony, which Celestia was standing in front of, glaring out into the darkness. The corners of her mouth were pulled down into a grim frown. Luna, who was standing just in front of me, lifted a hoof up and pulled her head back, shocked at the sight of her sister.

“Sister, what news is this, that you must put wards on our own quarters and wear such a scowl?” she asked, a tone of worry in her voice. Before Celestia could turn her head to reply, I forced the lizard to scurry under the dresser that was just to its right. Celestia sighed before turning to meet her sisters gaze.

“Luna,” she began, stepping closer. “I’m afraid that there is a serious threat to Equestria, perhaps the world.”

I tilted my head quizzically. Threat to the world? I failed to see how Pinkie’s disappearance could be related, but I was pleased to see that my suspicions were not falsely placed. I leaned in closer to the water so that I could hear the words perfectly clear. After all this heartache, I would finally know what happened to Pinkie.

“What? Why have we not heard of this sooner? Is this why the Guard has been rallied?” Luna asked, alarmed.

“I wanted to wait until I knew more about the situation. Also, -” Celestia stopped. For a brief moment, her eyes had glanced right at me. “Luna, may we take this conversation to the garden? I wish to feel the chill of night.” She lifted up one of her mighty wings and gently settled it around her sister. Then, she began to guide her to the balcony while simultaneously throwing the door open with her magic. As soon as Luna had passed through the doorway, Celestia turned and glared at the lizard. Though I knew she couldn’t see me, it felt as if her gaze was piercing right through the water at me.

“I am not so easily fooled, Twilight Sparkle,” she announced as her horn took a soft golden glow. The light in the water basin turned to black. I sat there in the darkness of my room, staring into the dark void of the water basin. I was so close. How did she know? It was as if she’d known the whole time and was simply throwing out tidbits of information to taunt me, mock me even.

“No!” I yelled knocking over the water basin as I stood. “No no no no no no no!”

I continued to scream at the water basin while frantically slamming my hoof down into the water that was spreading across the floor. The water splashed up, wetting my face. Turning around, I lifted my hind legs and bucked the water basin across the room. My anger was boiling over. Not only had I been denied the truth, but the bitch had taken it upon herself to mock me as well. My gaze scoured the room, searching for another object I could unleash my fury on. Then my eyes settled on the balcony. If she thought she could just shoo me off, she was horribly wrong. Lowering my body weight and tensing the muscles in my legs, I took off to the door. The sound of my hooves slamming against the floor reverberated across the room as I threw the door open with my magic.

Suddenly there was a loud crash behind me. I turned my head back to see Bastion storming in through the doorway.

“Twilight, is everything ok?!” he yelled as he galloped into the room. Unfortunately, he was too late, for I had already reached the edge of the balcony. Bending my knees down, I launched myself into the air and over the rail of the balcony.

My stomach lurched as I began to freefall. Cold air stung my eyes as it fiercely whipped around my face and through my mane. My heart was slamming against the walls of my chest. Quickly, I began to draw magic from my body to the tip of my horn. I tried to soothe the violent emotions of fear and rage in my head so I could visualize the spell I intended to cast. With a flash of my horn a large lavender spiral appeared below me. Landing square on my rump, a jolt flew up my spine from the impact before I began to slide down along the spiral. Though the speed of my descent had been reduced largely by the spiral, I was still sliding with more velocity than I felt comfortable with. I whipped around in circles, watched the world spin, and all the while tried to contain my rising urge to puke.

Finally, my ride came to an end as I was flung off the spiral and into the grass. There was an audible thud as I slammed into the ground shoulder-first. I layed there for a few moments catching my breath and trying to ignore the slowly spreading pain in my shoulder. Obviously this had not been one of my brighter moments, but I couldn’t help but feel a little proud of my new-found use for shield spells. Carefully, I began to stand up, one hoof at a time. My head was spinning, and I could taste bile at the back of my throat. Then, before I could catch my breath, I found myself slammed to the ground once again as a large mass barreled into me.

“Ouch… Oh, crap, are you okay, Twilight?” Bastion asked, quickly rolling off of me. Part of me wanted to continue laying there as if I was dead, but time was of the essence. As I shakily rose to my hooves, a shot of pain came from my shoulder, causing me to bite my lip.

“No, no I’m not. But what I am is in a hurry. So, if you don’t mind,” I stated angrily as I brought down the spiraled shield and began to slowly limp towards the main garden.

“Wait! Twilight, what could possibly be going on that you felt the need to jump out a window?” he called as he ran to catch up. I gritted my teeth and sighed audibly enough to where he could understand my aggravation.

“Like I said, in a hurry.” I turned to glare at him before continuing. “Also, don't get me started on jumping out of windows.”

“Ah, well… Okay, you got me there, but can you at least tell me whats going on?” he asked as he strode up next to me. His voice was tinged with worry. Once again, I made sure to sigh audibly. Though I understood completely what his stance was here, I couldn’t help but feel annoyed. Tonight was not going according to plan at all, and I needed to get to the garden. Though I couldn’t blame Bastion, him being here only gave me a target for my current state. I sat down, then raised my hoof to my chest. I needed to clear my thoughts, not just for Bastion’s sake, but for my own. Rushing in with no plan and an angsty attitude was not going to get me anywhere. After completing Cadence’s breathing exercise, I turned to Bastion with a new attitude.

“Alright, listen, I really can't go into full detail right now, but I’m trying to get information on my friend’s disappearance. If you insist on following me then please just shut up, and do as I say.” Bastion sat there for a few moments before responding with a simple nod.

“Good,” I spoke with a smile, then turned back to the garden. The entrance to the garden was a large arch created from shrubbery that extended into walls which made up the boundaries of the garden. Quickly trotting up to the wall, I hugged the side, inching my way over to the entrance. I turned back to ensure that Bastion was doing the same. He had more or less caught on and was following my steps exactly. Once we’d reach the entrance, I peaked through, taking note of every detail. Directly ahead of me was the famous hedge maze the garden was known for. Along the path to it were several statues of various creatures adorned by flowers. The Princesses were walking along this path and towards the maze.

They didn’t appear to be talking, however I hated having to wait for a chance to get closer. Eventually they made their way into the maze.

“Don’t use any magic,” I whispered as I turned to Bastion. He narrowed his eyes in response.

“Is that suppose to be a joke?” he replied with a snort. I smacked my hoof to my face. Then, calling magic to my horn, I placed a simple spell on the both of us that would hide our magical presences. Of course this was the same spell I’d used to hide the lizard’s presence, but I liked to think that Celestia had simply seen the lizard, rather than admitting the possibility that I failed at magic.

Once the spell was complete, I hurried through the entrance and towards the maze. Making sure I kept my body low and my steps light, I slowly began to follow the sisters through the maze. They both kept completely silent; however, Luna would occasionally look at her sister with what I could only describe as a worried look. Celestia, on the other hoof, kept her eyes straight ahead. The whole situation was extremely fishy to me. I had no doubt that Celestia was aware that I would try again. Hell, she probably already knew I was here. Yet she wasn’t acting. My better conscious told me this was a bad situation, but I had come too far to turn back. Besides, I still had a back up plan.

We kept on trekking through the maze, turning every so often. I’d played in the maze when I was younger, but I’d never managed to get it mapped out in my head. The Princesses, however, seemed to know exactly where they were going. Finally, we approached another large shrub arch, which the Princesses continued to pass through. I raised my hoof to signal Bastion to wait for a few moments to ensure they had moved on from the arch. Then I swayed my hoof forward as I made my way to the entrance, hugging the shrub-covered wall the entire way.

Once we had reached the arch, we pressed ourselves firmly to the side. Then, listening carefully for any sign that they were closer than we had assumed, we carefully inched our heads around the edge. The area was what appeared to be a smaller circular version of the garden outside the maze. In the very center was a large pedestal with nothing on it. It took me a few minutes before I could recognize it as the pedestal Discord had once stood on. Bastion opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get a chance Luna’s voice rang out.

“Sister, I have kept quiet as you’ve asked, but now that we are here can you please tell us what it is that troubles you so deeply?” Luna called to her sister with the tone of a worried and confused pony. Celestia met her gaze, keeping the same blank gleam before sighing and letting the facade drop.

“Luna… What I am about to tell you may be hard to hear. But it is undeniably the truth,” she spoke, her face carrying a tired frown. Luna nodded in reply as she took a seat across from her sister. Unconsciously, I held my breath. This was the moment I had been waiting for. From the corner of my eye, I saw Bastion looking up at me from his place just below me as we peaked around the corner. There was a tinge of worry in his eye; whether for me or for this situation I had no idea.

“Very well, do you remember the story Starswirl once told us? About the Council of Six and Eris, The Queen of Chaos?” Celestia asked, narrowing her eyes and leaning in closer to her sister. Luna pulled back immediately, her mouth agape.

“You don't mean Eris has returned, do you sister?! I thought that Starswirl and the Council vanquished her long before we were born?” Luna asked, fervent for answers.

“Contrary to what Starswirl told us, I later discovered from old texts tucked away in the library that Eris was not vanquished. When she realized she was to be defeated, she tore open a gap in space time and vanished,” Celestia replied, then adding on, “and it would be more accurate to say she returned quite some time ago.” Luna cocked her head to this statement, her eyes narrowing.

“What do you mean by this, sister?” she asked, slightly lowering her voice.

“I mean exactly as I say. Eris returned to Equestria soon after I banished Nightmare Moon.” Luna cringed at Celestia’s reply. Apparently some scars hadn’t completely healed. “You see, she came to me roughly two hundred years after the banishment. How long she’d been there before hand I was unsure of, I’ve estimated it to be somewhere around a hundred years. However, when she visited me, she was using the form of a simple earth pony.”

“Wait she approached you directly? As a pony?” Luna stood, practically shouting with surprise.

“Yes, Luna, she came to ask me for a favor,” Celestia replied simply.

“And what favor might that be?” Luna’s voice took its normal volume, and she once again sat down.

“She told me that for the first time in her existence, she’d found a friend. That her friend meant more to her than all of Equestria, and everything beyond its borders. Then, she told me that this friend was now gone, and she feared her heart would once again be poisoned by the chaos that she commanded.” Celestia paused, eyeing her sister before continuing. “So she asked me to seal away her power, so that she might continue to live her life as a pony.”

“So, she’s been living in Equestria as a pony for the past eight hundred years?” Luna responded, looking down at the ground, her eyes shut as if she took some time to process all that she’d heard. My mouth was agape. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Eris was a name I’d run across long ago in what I had thought was simply a bedtime storybook. But what was really driving me crazy was what Celestia was implying. Luna was unaware of Celestia’s and mine conversation from earlier, so she had yet to grasp what dark secret Celestia was letting out. I bit my lip, hoping that somehow this was unrelated, or perhaps the pony in question was not who I thought she was.

“Yes, Luna, Eris has been living here under the guise of Pinkamena Diane Pie, The Element of Laughter.” Luna’s gaze shot up to meet her sister immediately, her mouth hanging open with shock. She didn’t reply, simply sat there staring, unable to respond. I pulled myself back behind the bush. It couldn’t be true, there was no way that Pinkie could be some all-powerful evil from a bedtime story. Yet, it made sense. Pinkie had always been quirky. Her antics and strange abilities to achieve feats that not even a unicorn such as myself could do would be no problem if she was a draconequus in disguise.

Then I started putting all of the pieces together. From what I knew of Pinkie’s history, she had simply shown up in Ponyville one day. Everypony quickly became familiar with her due to her over-the-top friendliness. The story she had fed us was that she was born of the Pie family, which I’d learned was a lie as of yesterday. Though I hated to admit it, what I’d just heard could be the truth. I looked down to the ground and closed my eyes. I’d thought tonight would bring me closer to finding Pinkie, and though I’d learned a great deal more about her, I felt even farther away than I’d began.

“B-but how can a creature as evil as Eris possibly be The Element of Laughter?” I heard Luna ask. She was trying her best to not be yelling, I could hear it in the way her voice quivered.

“Luna, I’m afraid I don't have all the answers yet, but what I do know is that the seal I put on her is breaking. Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t break hundreds of years ago,” Celestia replied, her tone becoming serious. It made sense now. What had driven my friend away was the fear that she would hurt us. Beside me, Bastion sat staring at the Princesses. His eyes were narrowed, and his face was as still as stone.

“What, what do you mean, sister?” Luna’s voice rang out from behind me. I turned my body and once again peaked out from behind the hedge. Luna’s head was cocked as she looked to Celestia.

“I mean that the Chaos inside Eris is much too grand for any seal to contain,” Celestia announced, turning her head to the ground. “When she came to me with her request, I honestly didn’t believe the spell would be able to hold for much more than weeks at best. Yet, it did hold. Something inside Eris allowed her to push back the Chaos that would inevitably poison her heart and bring her back to evil.”

Celestia stood from her position across from Luna and stepped closer to her. Celestia’s eyes held a fire to them I hadn’t seen before.

“Luna, I’ve spent so much time trying to understand what it was that allowed Eris to escape the Chaos’ grasp,” Celestia began as she placed a hoof on her sister’s shoulder. “I knew it had something to do with the friend she had made. You could even say that Eris was the one who ignited my interests in the magic of friendship.” She looked away from Luna, staring up at the sky as if the events she spoke of were there among the stars. “Of course, I have yet to fully understand what it is exactly that allows Eris to do so. In any case, that power is failing. According to Twilight, Pinkie has recently disappeared. Her behavior before the disappearance was very erratic and strange. I assume you can guess why.” She returned her gaze to her sister once more, a hard gleam in her eye.

“The seal is breaking, and the Chaos is once again consuming her heart,” Luna responded. She then took in a deep breath and exhaled before continuing. “So what are we going to do about it?” she asked, her voice taking a cold tone.

“I’ve pondered that for some time.” Celestia sighed. “Through my studies in friendship, I thought maybe I could perfect a seal that would completely contain Eris’ power. However, I have turned up nothing. I even released Discord as an experiment to test what power the magic of friendship has over Chaos. And though Discord has been reformed, his motives are still questionable. Needless to say, Eris’ power far surpasses Discord’s, so trying the same with her would be nigh impossible. I played with the idea-”

“Tia, stop.” Luna cut off her sister. “That is not what we asked. What do you actually plan to do?” she spoke with a glare. Celestia met her sister’s stare with a tired expression.

“I believe it would be best for Equestria if we destroyed her before the seal is fully broken,” she admitted firmly, closing her eyes as if fearing her sister’s response. Luna and I’s mouths both dropped immediately. She couldn’t be serious. This was why she’d tried to hide it from me. This was going to be her plan from the beginning. She was never going to help me look. Hel,l she wasn’t even going to try to find another alternative. I felt myself begin to shake as rage began to seep throughout my body. It felt as if I was a pot about to boil over.

“Tia, you can’t be serious?!” Luna gasped in surprise.

“I am completely serious. I have spent hundreds of years trying to find another way, but there is not. Eris must be destroyed,” the Sun Princess declared.

“NO!” My mouth moved on its own, and a second later my body followed suit. Before I knew it, I was standing in the open, glaring at Celestia. I heard rustling behind me where Bastion had stood up to join me. While Luna looked over with a shocked expression, Celestia’s gaze simply wandered over lazily.

“Twilight, you should have stayed in your room,” Celestia advised with the same lazy expression. I almost felt a nerve snap.

“What? While you sit out here and plot ways to kill my best friend? Like hell I should’ve stayed!” I screamed at her. It took great effort to keep myself from launching at her.

“Twilight, I understand that this is difficult for you, but as a Princess I must do what is best for Equestria,” Celestia retorted, stomping her hoof to the ground. Beside her, Luna’s eyes shifted back and forth between us while she bit her lip, unable to speak. I felt my teeth grinding as I only became angrier.

“The good of Equestria, huh? Just like covering up the bloodshed during the changeling invasion was for the good of Equestria? Don’t make me laugh!” I scoffed in response. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Bastion twitch at the mention of Canterlot. Celestia simply narrowed her eyes.

“Well then, Twilight, tell me; how exactly do you plan to stop me?” she asserted, taking a step toward me.

“Sister!” Luna yelled, turning to Celestia. Beside me Bastion looked between us with a surprised expression. I felt bad for dragging him into this, but there was nothing that could be done now.

“Whatever I have to,” I announced, unafraid. Powerful or not, I was not about to let Pinkie get hurt. Celestia remained silent as she stared me down. Then she quickly turned her gaze to Bastion. He lowered his head, unable to meet her eyes.

“Corporal, I should hope your being here doesn’t represent disloyalty to Equestria,” she accused with the voice of a commander. Bastion shuddered.

“N-no, Princess,” he stammered, still keeping his eyes to the ground.

“Good. Then I command you to apprehend Twilight Sparkle under charges of treason,” she ordered swiftly. Bastion’s head snapped up instantly. I narrowed my eyes and stared at my teacher. She gazed back with a cold indifference. It was then that I realized any relationship I once had with her was now dead.

“Sister, please, this is unnecessary,” Luna reasoned, stepping closer to Celestia.

“Luna, you have a duty to Equestria just as I. I will forgive your ignorance since you have not spent the time researching this as I have, but for now hold your tongue,” Celestia lectured her sister. Luna bit her lip before giving me a small helpless glance and backing away. Celestia turned her attention back to Bastion, restating, “Corporal, I believe I just gave you an order.”

Bastion simply stood there, unable to respond. I became worried that he would follow the order of his superior. Yet, part of me wanted him to. It was unfair of me to drag him into this, and it would be even more unfair if I was to ruin his career. However, somewhere inside, I screamed for him to help me. We’d only known each other for a day, but he’d quickly become a good friend of mine. A friend I hoped to keep. Though it was selfish of me, I longed for him to choose me over her. He looked up at me then took a deep breath.

“Princess, I’m afraid I can’t follow that order,” he declared with confidence. A smile quickly formed on my face as I suppressed the urge to give him a big hug. He smiled back at me and gave me a small nod.

“I see,” Celestia began nonchalantly as if she was expecting it. “Then I will have to arrest the both of you myself.” She stepped forward with authority as she stared us down. I felt a cringe in my guts. This was about to happen. I was about to fight the Sun Princess herself. My heart began to slam in my chest as I felt a mixture of fear and excitement. Celestia continued her slow advance. I gritted my teeth as I struggled to think of the proper spell to use. Beside me, Bastion lowered his center of gravity as his horn glowed a bright violet. Luna looked as if she wanted to speak up, but kept her head down.

Suddenly, Celestia expanded her wings. With a great flap she exploded with speed in our direction. I found myself caught off guard and unable to respond. Bastion quickly shoved me to the side before rolling out of the way himself. Celestia’s horn and eyes glowed yellow as a long golden staff appeared at her side. She shoved her hooves in the ground, stopping just beside us. Her staff lurched at her will, smacking me across the cheek faster than I could comprehend. I flew through the air, my body twisting. Hitting the ground with a thump, my head struggled to function after the sudden trauma. Though I tried my best to quickly rise to my feet, my skull throbbed, and there was the metallic taste of blood in my mouth. Behind me Bastion was struggling to hold off the Princess. He had created a magical weapon of his own, a short sword, which he continued to just barely block Celestia’s unrelenting barrage of strikes with.

Celestia stomped her hoof on the ground, causing the ground underneath Bastion to explode, launching him into the air. Celestia quickly rose up to meet him. Her staff almost seemed to bend from the speed of her slamming it across Bastion’s side, hurling him back to the ground. There was a loud smacking sound followed by a puff of dust as Bastion’s body impacted the ground. My legs moved of their own accord as I galloped as hard as I could to where Bastion laid, unmoving. Above me Celestia glared down. She narrowed her eyes as her horn glowed bright. A large beam of pure magical energy erupted from her horn towards me. I shifted my weight trying to roll to the side. I missed being hit by the beam by less than a second but was caught in the resulting explosion, launching me into the air once more. As my body lurched through the air, blackness took my vision.

I opened my eyes, apparently having blacked out. Only a few seconds must have gone by, for Celestia was just landing. My breathing was ragged and my body stung all over. The world would occasionally blur and refocus. I tried pushing myself up with my other hoof, causing my body to explode with pain before I fell back to the ground. Everything felt as if it was moving in slow motion. Celestia made her way over to me. I realized her facial expression hadn’t changed at all. This fight had been nothing to her. We were swept aside like flies.

“Do you see now where you stand?” she challenged me with a confident grin. “Eris is more powerful than you can begin to imagine. I must destroy her now before she regains her former strength.”

“I… I can't let you,” I protested, coughing. “She’s my friend.” Celestia’s expression softened, pitying me. She opened her mouth to speak, but was quickly cut off.

“Mine as well, to be afraid.” Discord’s voice resounded as he appeared in a puff of smoke. He was floating in the air in a relaxed sitting position. Celestia gritted her teeth.

“Discord, I wish I could say its lovely to see you,” she stated, a scowl across her face.

“Oh, my dear Celestia, it’s always lovely to see you,” he remarked, giving her a crooked grin. “Unfortunately, this little visit isn’t so much to see you as it is to help her,” he announced, pointing his claw back at me. Discord had come to help me. Yet, as wonderful as the moment was, I was in too much pain to really enjoy it.

“How very considerate of you,” Celestia mocked, narrowing her eyes.

“Oh yes, I’ve quite taken a liking to this friendship thing,” he replied, rolling over in the air until his belly was facing the ground. He’d propped his chin upon his claws and had grown large stylish eyelashes that Rarity would be jealous of. “However, I do have something I’d like to ask,” he spoke, batting his large eyelashes at the princess.

“What might that be?” she queried, her face turning to a scowl.

“Do you like sports?” he asked as a ball cap appeared in his claw, which he then proceeded to firmly plant on his head.

“What does tha-” Before Celestia could even finish her sentence, Discord had snapped his claw, causing a large metal bat to appear. There was an audible thud as the bat impacted Celestia’s side, slinging her body through the air with incredible speed.

“Sister!” Luna screamed as she spread her wings.

“Not so fast there!” Discord bellowed as streams of green and black magical energy began to swirl into a sphere in his palm. He reached back and launched the spiraling mass of energy at Luna with blurring speed. Luna, unable to react fast enough, was caught dead in the chest, causing the sphere to erupt in a deafening explosion. Luna was launched back as dust spread over the garden. The dust clouded my lungs and made every breath sting my throat. I coughed violently as I attempted to stand back up.

A shadow slowly drew closer from the dust. Even though my body ached all over, I forced it to move, assuming a defensive stance. The shadow broke through the cloud, revealing itself to be Discord.

“That was pretty risky facing Celestia like that. Really, Twilight, I thought you were smarter than that,” he jested, stepping closer with a smile. Before I could say anything I golloped over to him and wrapped my hooves around him in a tight hug. I’d never felt so happy to see Discord, nor had I ever been so happy to have him on my side. Discord rolled his eyes but did not attempt to pry me off of him.

“Yes, yes I’m happy to see you, too; however, this battle isn’t over,” he stated, bringing me to my senses. I quickly let go awkwardly.

“Sorry, I just…” I began before he curtly cut me off.

“Its quite alright, we’ll have time to talk later. Right now, you and your little buddy need to get out of here. I’ll hold the Princesses off,” he declared with determination. I found I could only smile and nod as I galloped into the dust to find Bastion. Before I could make it very far, a large gust of wind blew the dust away, almost knocking me over. I looked up to find Celestia making large powerful flaps with her wings. The dust cleared to reveal Discord once again wielding the large metal bat which was slung across his shoulder.

The two of them glared at each other for a long time before finally launching at each other in a burst of speed. I found myself frozen in place as I watched them swirling around in the air, their weapons clashing in a shower of sparks and magical energy. With great effort, I pulled my eyes away from the showdown to continue searching for Bastion. Scanning the area before me, I caught sight of him grudgingly rising to his feet. I galloped over to him. His fur was covered in dirt and there was a small trickle of blood running down his head, but overall he seemed to be okay.

“Bastion, are you alright?” I asked, gently helping him up.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine… just, remind me not to follow you next time you jump out a window,” he replied, coughing. His joke, as stupid as it was, made me smile. I reached out my hooves and pulled him close.

“Thank you.” Those words came straight from the heart. In response he raised one of his hooves and draped it around my shoulder.

“No problem, but we’ve gotta move,” he announced, pulling away from my hug. I turned back to see that Luna was once again on her feet. Her eyes and horn were glowing with a brilliant blue as the remnants of dust in the air began to swirl around her, faster and faster. Whatever she was about to do, it couldn't be good.

"Discord loo-!" I started to yell but my words were lost in the deafening sound of Luna's attack. A huge burst of magical energy had erupted from her horn, sending a shockwave across the gardens that nearly knocked me off my feet. The world ignited with blue as the beam shot through the air towards the two godlike figures who were battling it out. Celestia reacted instantaneously, slamming her staff against Discord's head before tucking in her wings and spiraling out of the way of her sister's attack. The blast of energy tore through the area where Celestia had just been, consuming Discord in its sapphire shine before continuing through the sky, ripping clouds apart in its wake.

As the energy began to dissipate and the world once again descended into the darkness of night, I felt a lump in my throat that was a scream I could not let out. A shadow hurdled towards the ground from the spot Discord had just been. I tried to run to where the shadow had landed, but was quickly stopped by the sudden jolt of pain from my mane being pulled. Digging my hooves into the ground, I tried to fight the pulling as hard as I could.

"Twilight, stop this, we need to get out of here!" Bastion yelled through his mouth full of hair.

"Let me go, Bastion, I have to help him!" I cried, fighting back desperately.

"He did this so we could escape. We have to go. Now!" He reasoned, tugging me back. My hooves gave out, causing me to slip onto the ground.

"I can't leave him, Bastion!" I screamed in response. I knew I was being unreasonable, but the idea of leaving another friend behind shook me to my core.

"GO, TWILIGHT!" Discord's voice roared over the land. My eyes snapped up instantly to find Discord slowly rising to his feet. His mane was singed, and he had large smoldering areas across his body, yet his gaze held no weakness. He glared at the two princesses who had once again taken fighting stances. He looked away, back to me, and flashed one of his quirky grins. "Go now, Twilight. I won't go down so easy."

With every encounter I'd had with Discord, I'd struggled with knowing whether he was speaking truth or lie. This was the first time that I was certain he'd just lied. Bastion let go of my mane and nudged me with his muzzle.

"Come on, Twilight, let's get out of here," he spoke softly. I could only nod in response. Turning away from Discord, I dearly hoped I would see him again. From behind me, I once again heard the clashes of battle. Closing my eyes, I searched my memory for the spell I'd made in case things had turned sour. Energy surged up to my horn as I opened my eyes. A purple flame shot forth from my horn and slowly began to swirl around us. Dragon fire, I had found had many more uses than simply sending letters. Suddenly intense pain seared through my body. I tried to scream but found I couldn't as my flesh dripped away. Then there was a large tug causing my stomach to lurch. I felt my body twisting and turning through impossible shapes.

Finally, the searing pain subsided as my body regained its shape. There was a loud thud as my back impacted what felt like dirt. I opened my eyes to see the night sky shrouded by dense trees. My vision was blurry and I was exhausted. Slowly, my eyelids started to drift shut, but not before I found six familiar faces in my field of vision. A smile found my face and then the world went dark.