Always

by Vlad

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Crossover, Human, Main 6, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Other, Comedy, Adventure
Length: 7796

When Severus Snape died, he did so with many regrets. And we all know that death can do...funny things to those with unfinished business. And, stuck in a bright, garish world surrounded by creatures more infantile than any first-year, now so does he.

Spy.

Potions Teacher.

Traitor.

Murderer.

Severus Snape was known as many things. But right now, he was just confused.

"And just...what are you all supposed to be?"

Published 2014-09-11 02:30:09 UTC
Last updated 2015-06-24 05:09:01 UTC

Chapter One

Death is a funny thing. Everybody has an idea of what it is, but nobody has a clue who's right. For Severus Snape, death was peaceful. An endless void, with no body, no senses, no thought, and no annoying students. If he had any sense of self at all, he'd call it boring. But as it was, he was content to lay about in nonexistence.

It was certainly more pleasant than his life had been, and for that he was grateful. After every bad hand he had been dealt, a break was welcome. Even with the breeze causing his greasy, shoulder-length hair to tickle his nose.

Perfect... He thought, my eternal punishment is to be vaguely annoyed for eternity. Could be worse.

Then it hit him. A rubber ball, to be exact, bouncing off the side of his head and causing his eyes to snap open. He immediately wished he hadn't. Bright...too bright. For someone used to slinking in the shadows of a dungeon, the pastel blues and greens of his surroundings were a shock to his system. At first glance, he appeared to be in a grassy field. His body resisted his movements, but he was able to hobble to his feet easily enough. Luckily, his robes were still present, and the familiar weight of his wand rested at his side. The black-clad potions-master heard a high-pitched gasp from behind him, and upon turning around, he was met with a...puzzling sight.

Three little...animals. He assumed they were animals, at least. He'd seen nothing resembling them before, aside from the odd unicorn and pegasus. Manes, tails, four legs, hooves, they could definitely qualify as equine, but their proportions and colors were impossibly off. "What..." he muttered to himself, "are you supposed to be?"

Then they screamed. The startlingly human sounds pierced his skull in unison, causing a faint spike of pain to lance through his head. None of it showed on his face, though, as the three...creatures galloped away in three different directions.

"...What?" Snape blinked, trying to let his groggy mind catch up with him. Whatever had happened, those little beasts were gone. The lanky, hawk-nosed man turned to look at his garish, cartoony surroundings, his lip curled in mild disgust. What a beautiful sunny day...I miss the Dungeons already.

With no reason to stand around, Severus walked towards a distant patch of trees, too orderly to have grown on their own. An orchard, perhaps?

It was indeed an orchard, and a very large one. Severus welcomed the shade, his body sweltering from the sunlight beating down onto his heavy black robes. Nonetheless, he powered on. These trees are well cared-for. Whoever maintains them must be close by.

"Hello?" His deep, monotonous voice was just as oily as his hair, somehow conveying his dissatisfaction with his situation without any inflection whatsoever. The Potions Master passed another of the horse-things, this one orange and sleeping at the base of a tree. Whoever worked here must've been close by. They'd left their hat with their pet. Snape knelt down and scooped it up, hoping that returning it to whomever owned the orchard would help him get in their good graces. Looking at the dusty, worn stetson, his lip curled in open disdain. Oh God I'm in America...

He hoped he wouldn't be shot on sight.

"HEY!" He froze at the sound of a woman's voice, the accent confirming his fears. "Gimme back mah hat, or yer gonna get it!"

Well aren't I making the best impression? Severus thought bitterly, slowly turning to face the...horse-thing. He briefly looked around for anyone else, but the only thing present aside from himself was the beast. He lifted the hat out, holding it towards the angry looking...too small for a horse, so a pony as a peace-offering.

"Are you the owner of this orchard?" He asked, dreading the answer. The pony crept up, snatching the hat up and backpedaling a ways away before flipping it up onto her head.

"Ah don't talk ta thieves, now git!" The pony pawed at the dusty ground with a forehoof, lowering her head.

Well this isn't going anywhere. With a sneer, the wizard turned on his heel and walked away. Perhaps something more reasonable is nearby.

"Don't you go givin' me dirty looks! Yer the one stealin' from me! Yer lucky Ah don't have ya locked up!"

Snape stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep, hissing breath. Whirling around to face the unreasonable pony, he began, "firstly, I gave you the hat as soon as you so..." his lip curled into a nasty sneer, "graciously asked for it's return. Second, if my appearance doesn't tip off your obviously sharp mind, I seem to be in a foreign land, so forgive me for my ignorance. And third, that was not a dirty look, that was my face. So, if you don't have any other shining bits of wisdom to impart, I'll be on my way." And he was again off to search for more pleasant company.

Meanwhile, the orange pony sat there with a confused expression, scratching her head. "...Huh?"

Snape was not happy. This was not an uncommon occurrence, but it was rare he became truly pissed off. Being accused of something had always struck a deep chord within him, particularly when he actually hadn't done anything wrong. I shouldn't have blown up like that...It seems the stress of dying has taken a toll on my mood. A small smirk wormed its way onto his pale face. Perhaps that's why Lo-...why Voldemort became so unhinged after his return.

The smile dropped from his face. The boy had confronted the Dark Lord...Potter was most likely dead by now. Severus fought to keep his face straight, the icy lump in his stomach threatening to worm its way to the surface. Snape composed himself, focusing on his long, purposeful strides.

Damn you, Albus...

Chapter Two

It had been roughly an hour of wandering for the robed man, and he had found a small dirt-road leading to what he hoped was a city or town of some kind. As Severus Snape walked down the road, he noticed a faint trail off in the distance arcing across the sky. A stunt-plane...at least idiocy is universal. The greasy-haired man rolled his eyes, bringing his gaze back to the road in front of him.

As such, he never noticed the trail taking a sharp turn, straight towards him.

The lanky man's purposeful, swift gait was interrupted when something impacted the road several meters in front of him, a gaudy prismatic trail leading down to the cloud of dust currently choking him. Snape grasped his wand and ripped it out of his robes out of reflex, getting ready for any sort of attack.

"So what'dya think? Cool entrance or what?" The dust was blown away by a quick gust of wind, revealing a windswept, slightly dusty...little blue pegasus pony.

Snape's eye twitched.

A little blue pegasus pony...with a rainbow-colored mane.

"Speechless, huh? Nahh, it's alright, most everypony is with my skillz." The mare (for it was clearly female) continued stroking her own ego.

And Snape was sure he heard the 'z' in 'skillz'. He crossed his arms, discreetly slipping his wand up his sleeves. "Yes. Your ability to kick up dust is quite magnificent." He hissed, giving the rainbow pony his hardest deadpan.

"H-hehehahaa!" The pony cracked up, wiping her forehead with a hoof. "Funny guy, huh? I know ya liked my moves. Name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria! So what're you supposed to be?"

"Yes, I'm always the life of the party," he said, his voice never rising above his usual bored, annoyed drawl. So this land is called 'Equestria'...I'm sure I've never heard of it. He then nodded his head, responding with a curt, "And I'm supposed to be talking to whoever is in charge. My name is Severus Snape."

"Snape, huh?" Rainbow Dash scrunched her muzzle as she rolled the name over her tongue. "Weird name."

Snape's eye twitched again, his foot tapping the ground impatiently. Arrogant, boastful, loud, troublemaker... His lip curled in the special disgust he reserved for the Gryffindor House. Of course. How could it be anyone else? "If you're quite done insulting my name, miss 'Rainbow Dash', I have someplace to be." He swiftly walked around the cyan pegasus, continuing down the dirt path.

"Hey, wait up!" He heard from behind him, and in a whoosh the irritating equine was somehow doing the backstroke with her wings, hovering just to the side of him. "I'm sorry, okay? Here! I'll show ya around!"

"I can find my way, thank you." Snape grumbled, walking slightly faster to pull away from Rainbow Dash...to no avail.

"C'mon, how're ya gonna see all the sights? Ponyville's a big place, especially with the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow!"

Severus pulled to a stop, his usual sour face filled with incredulity. "...Excuse me, did you say 'Ponyville'?" What kind of asinine, ridiculous, stupid, infantile creature would name a town full of ponies 'Ponyville'? A dark cloud settled over Snape's head. Idiots...everyone in this land...I'm surrounded by idiots.

"Yep! Been living there for a few years now, it's usually a pretty quiet place. Kinda boring, actually." The rainbow pony's grin widened, getting even more excited if possible. "But not tomorrow! Princess Celestia herself is gonna come to Ponyville for the Summer Sun Celebration!" A high-pitched squeaky noise that should not have come from a living thing squee'd from the mare. "It is going to be so...awesome!"

"Well aren't you the lucky one?" Snape drawled, pulling ahead of the stationary pony. Princess? Perhaps she'll know what's going on.

Twilight Sparkle grumbled to herself in the gilded chariot, Spike hanging on to her leg for stability. "I can't believe the princess would do that!" She groaned, the chariot beginning it's descent. "The greatest threat Equestria has faced in a thousand years is at our doorstep, and she sends me to a completely different town to socialize?"

"Maybe Princess Celestia's right?" the purple dragon-whelp offered, "it was just an old story-book, maybe you're reading too much into it? Besides, you have a big job here!"

The purple unicorn mare rolled her eyes. "Overseeing the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration isn't a big job, Spike," she groused, "anypony could do it...I think she just wanted to get me out of her mane."

Spike, seeing Twilight's downcast expression, thought quickly. "Well...uhh...At least she arranged for you to stay in a library! Doesn't that make you feel better?"

"...Yes." Twilight's eyes hardened, a smirk crossing her features, "yes it does. Because I'm right! Fine, I'll play her game. But, I'm going to be doing a lot of research, so I might have to forget about the friendship." Her eyebrows furrowed, her smile dropping into a grim frown. "Nightmare Moon can't be allowed to return."

"Hang on, we're taking her down!" One of the pegasus guards pulling the chariot through the skies called back, prompting the two to brace themselves. The chariot landed perfectly in the middle of the road, and it's two passengers hopped off.

"Thank you, sirs." Twilight bowed her head, causing the guards to stand a little taller for a job well done. Spike hopped on the purple mare's back, scrambling to find purchase without clawing her. Once he was properly situated, Twilight was on her way.

A way which was blocked by a solid pink earth-pony.

"Excuse me? You're in my w-" Spike nudged her with an elbow, staring pointedly at her. Right...friendship. Woo. Clearing her throat, she started over again. "Hello, I'm Twilight Spar-"

The pink mare shot into the air with a horrified gasp, before dashing away in the middle of the unicorn's introduction.

"See? You're making friends already!" Spike exclaimed, receiving a positively scathing glare from his steed.

It's just one day, Twilight...keep it together.

Chapter Three

Snape's arrival to Ponyville had mixed results. His unpleasant, sinister appearance and severe expression initially alarmed many of the ponies trotting about, but they calmed down almost as soon as they saw Rainbow Dash at his side.

So there really are no humans here... Snape's lip curled in annoyance, his dark eyes flitting to the cyan pegasus at his side. "Well? Where are we going?"

Rainbow shrugged, mumbling an unintelligible jumble that sounded vaguely like "I don't know." Snape rolled his eyes, carrying on with his purposeful strides. "Who'dya wanna talk to?"

"As I said, whoever's in charge." He responded frigidly, keeping his eyes forward. "And before you ask, no that does not mean I want you to carry me to 'Canterlot'." He turned, giving Rainbow a positively scalding glare. "I'd rather not be dropped from three meters off the ground...again."

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" She shouted, "how was I supposed to know you were so heavy?!"

"Perhaps you're just exceptionally weak. I'm not exactly a large man."

"HEY!"

Snape smirked lightly, relishing his victory over the insufferable mare. "So who is in charge?"

"Mayor Mare." Snape almost broke his stride at the name, but silly names seemed to be the norm here. "She'll be in her office."

Snape cleared his throat. "Very well, take me to her."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, magenta eyes narrowed at him. "Uh...'take me to her'...what?"

Snape narrowed his own eyes, his hand curled around his wand in a white-knuckle grip under his robes. "Take me to her...please." Every word sounded like a snake slithering over loose rubble, forced and hissed. He forced his temper down, fighting to maintain composure.

"Okay!" Rainbow grinned and took off, taking a winding road just to the left of Severus. The wizard exhaled and turned to follow the prismatic trail hanging in the air. She's as bad those damned Marauders...

Once arrived at the large, ornate building, that I could have found myself just as easily... Snape pulled the door open and walked inside. "I'm looking for..." his lip curled, "Mayor Mare. Is she present?"

"That would be me. I'm a little busy though, could you come back tom-mo-mo-oh my goodness..." The grey-maned, bespectacled mare petered out towards the end as she looked up at a very unamused Snape. Mayor Mare cleared her throat and audibly gulped, before continuing in a far meeker tone, "Ho-how can I help you?"

Snape stared flatly at her, his dark, tunnel-like eyes projecting his own irritation at the mayor. "First, you can stop gawking. It's terribly distracting."

"Of course!" She averted her eyes, standing and walking out from behind her desk. "Now, mister..."

"Snape," he offered, "Severus Snape."

"Mister Snape, why have you come to my fine town?" She was doing her best to be civil, but Snape didn't need to be a Legilimens to sense her fear.

"It was neither a planned journey nor a welcome one, but I seem to be very far away from home. I will need a place to stay while I look for a way back, as well as a source of income." Snape droned, obviously having prepared this beforehand.

"I'm sure we can find you something..." Mayor Mare muttered, looking through the stack of papers on her desk. "Golden Oaks Library has need of a new librarian...poor Dusty Tomes, nopony saw that coming." Snape perked up slightly at the mention of a library, but said nothing. "You'd have to wait a day or so, Celestia's sent a representative to supervise the—"

"Summer Sun Celebration, yes, I've heard all about it. That will do nicely, thank you." Snape turned to walk back out, but was immediately run over by PINK.

"MAYOR!" A high-pitched, shrill voice shouted, "Permission to use the Library, MA'AM?!" Snape may have been slightly dazed, but he could still hear the faux-military tone to the request. Standing, he turned to glower down at the pink monstrosity that had assaulted him.

Mayor Mare sighed and pushed a hoof to her forehead. "For what...?"

"There's a new pony! She looked all huffy, so a surprise Welcome-to-Ponyville party is just what the doctor ordered!"

The mayor raised an eyebrow. "And why does the party need to be at the library?"

"She looked like a bookworm," Pink grinned, bouncing in place.

"Fine...go ahead, Pinkie."

Pinkie turned to leave, but was met by a wall of solid black. Slowly looking up, she came face-to-face with a dark-eyed, pale face giving her the sharpest glare from behind a curtain of black hair. "You knocked me over." He accused, his voice tightly controlled and monotonous.

"...Sorry." Pinkie at least sounded genuine, visibly subdued. She gave a sheepish grin, to which Severus simply turned with a sweep of his robes and skulked out of the Town Hall. "Wait!"

Pinkie galloped after him, barely managing to keep up with the quick pace of his longer legs. "My name's Pinkie Pie...what's yours?"

"Severus Snape, now if you don't mind, I have someplace to be."

"But I've only just met you!" Pinkie shouted, causing Snape to wonder if she had any other volume of speech.

"And what an impression you've made," Snape deadpanned, quickening to try and outrun The Pink.

"Aww, come on, Sevvy!" Snape's eye twitched again. "I said I was sorry! I was just so excited for the Summer Sun Celebration, then my Pinkie Sense told me we were gonna have a new pony in Ponyville! And now we have two new ponies in Ponyville!"

"When I see them, I'll be sure to give them my deepest condolences." Snape replied dryly.

"One of them's YOU, silly! C'mon, turn that frown upside down!" Snape didn't recall how Pinkie had gotten onto his shoulders, but it was disturbing nonetheless.

I could be in Azkaban right now...when did my life go wrong?

"So Ah snatched back mah hat an' told 'im ta git!" Applejack recounted to her younger sister and new friend.

"Wait...did he look real tall n' covered in black?" Apple Bloom asked, suddenly very worried. Twilight looked between them, having no idea what they were talking about.

"Yeah, ugly feller if Ah ever seen one." Applejack narrowed her eyes. "Did he do somethin' to ya?"

"...Not exactly..." Apple Bloom looked down, scuffing the ground with a forehoof. Ah might've...hit 'im in the head with a ball." She looked back up, rearing up on her hind legs. "But then he stood up an' started mumblin' somethin or other, an' he looked awful mad, so we jes' ran away!" She plopped back down.

Applejack raised an eyebrow in thought. "Well, at least he never tried ta hurt nopony..."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Well, this has been very enlightening, but I need to be off. Thanks for the food, it looks like everything here's been taken care of."

"Come 'round any time ya like!" Applejack waved, grinning from ear to ear.

Chapter Four

Ask any wizard, and they'll tell you that while convenient, apparating is not overly comfortable. For the brief moment between point A and point B, the caster feels a sense of extreme pressure and smothering.

For Severus Snape, who refrained from this method of travel whenever possible, he found it to be worth the discomfort, just this once. For a split second before he completely disappeared, he smirked.

Pinkie Pie, who had been leaning against Snape just before he vanished, squawked and thudded to the ground. She blinked in confusion, looking around for the sullen Slytherin, before hopping to her hooves and bouncing away. "Sevvy? Seeeevvyyyyy, where aaare yoou?!"

"S-Sevvy?" Rainbow's voice forced out through barely-suppressed laughter just above her head. Falling lightly onto her hooves, Rainbow Dash chuckled and shook her head at the perpetually perky pink pony. "Whew...good one, Pinkie."

"You've seen him too?" Pinkie grinned, hopping up and down. "That's great! We're just playing Hide n' Seek, wanna help?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Eh, sure, why not?" Rainbow blinked, before giving a sinister chuckle. "Actually...let him wait for a while. So I met a new pony in town earlier...you seen her?"

Pinkie nodded, giggling. "Yep! She looked all frowny-faced, so I'm gonna throw her a surprise-party tonight. So what'd you talk about?"

"Ohh, nothing much...but what about the big guy? He's gonna be here a while too..." Rainbow gave her approximation of an evil smile, rubbing her forehooves together and using her wings to keep herself aloft. "Are you gonna throw him a party?"

Pinkie blinked. Her eyes widened, and her grin almost turned scary. "Omigosh...I could throw them both a party! AT THE SAME TIME!" And with that, Pinkie dashed off to plot and plan.

Rainbow chuckled, eyes narrowed. "This is gonna be awesome..."

Snape appeared with a loud KRAK, standing in a mostly abandoned street. He looked around, smoothed out his robes, and was about to start on his way, when a faint gasp sounded behind him. Oh God, not again...

Severus turned around, spying a startled looking grey pegasus mare with a pair of oddly unfocused golden eyes. The two stared at each other for several seconds, before finally, the visually-challenged pegasus blurted out, "are you a wizard?"

Snape blinked. of all responses... He cleared his throat, staring down his nose at the mare. "Yes. Yes I am." Turning on his heel, he strode purposefully down the street.

Snape continued walking, not stopping despite the several ponies that tried to catch his attention. He looked around for the library, trying to find anything in the sea of thatched roofs. Until he realized one small detail. ...I have no idea what the library looks like.

Severus strode over to a garish, white monstrosity of a building, a rather tall ladder propped up against the side. However, there was nothing using it. Standing by the base of the building, he called up, "hello? I need directions to the library."

"I'll be right down, just a minute!" The feminine voice sing-songed back, before a snow-white mare with a curled purple mane peered over the edge of the roof. "What is it you said you ne-GAH!" In a split-second, she had disappeared back over the roof, the sound of hooves scrabbling against the uneven surface somewhat worrisome to Snape. His worries came to fruition when she appeared back over the edge, tumbling rear-first off the roof and shrieking.

Snape acted quickly, pulling his wand free of his robes with a quick, practiced movement and pointing it at the descending pony. "Arresto Momentum!"

Less than half a meter from the ground, the white mare's body slowed to a creep, taking several seconds to lightly settle on the grass back-first. She was still screaming. Snape walked up to her until his shadow engulfed her, and tried to catch the screaming mare's attention with an impatient "A-hem!"

Slowly but surely, the scream petered out into silence. Cracking one eye open at Severus, she shrinked in on herself slightly and gave a weak giggle. "...Sorry you had to see that." She extended one hoof up towards him. Snape raised an eyebrow, staring at the offered limb for several seconds before rolling his eyes and taking it, pulling her to her hooves. Once on all fours, she cleared her throat and bowed her head. "I apologize for the spectacle, you just startled me is all. My name is Rarity, and you are?"

"Snape," he offered in return, his monotonous drawl in full effect. "Now that you are no longer in danger of a rather nasty fall, would you be willing to give me directions to the library?"

An uncomfortable giggle and a gulp later, Rarity responded with a faux-enthusiastic, "of course!" Trotting ahead, she turned her head to look back. "Any particular reason?"

"It's a library." Snape commented, "from what I understand, they are for reading."

Rarity winced, trying to mask it with a faint titter. "Yes, silly me..." Turning back to face forward, she added, "and thank you, by the way. For...whatever you did there."

"It's quite alright, I wouldn't have a tour-guide if I'd let you fall." Snape smiled wryly, chuckling inwardly at his own joke.

"...Quite..."

The rest of the trip was had in an uncomfortable silence, until the faint trilling of several different bird-songs caught Snape's ear. "What the devil is that noise?" He wandered out loud, catching Rarity's ear.

"That would be Fluttershy, organizing the bird-choir for the Summer Sun Celebration. Would you like to meet her?"

Snape really, really didn't care. "I'd rather just get to the library, if you please."

"Oh really, I insist!" Rarity called out. Snape thought for a moment he heard a sinister hiss in her voice, as if she were upset or angry. He pushed the thought from his mind with a roll of his eyes, following Rarity down a detour.

Rarity and Snape stopped at the edge of the road, watching a butter-yellow pegasus lead a choir of at least thirty songbirds through what Snape had to admit was an impressive performance. "Fluttershy!" Rarity called out during a lull in the rehearsal, causing the birds to scatter. "I have a friend I'd like you to meet!"

In the meantime, Snape watched on, perfectly still as a bright yellow canary settled down at the crown of his head. "It's a pleasure."

Fluttershy smiled and greeted the unicorn, before turning to Severus and visibly clamming up. She averted her eyes and lowered her head, awkwardly scuffing her hoof at the dirt.

Snape watched on dispassionately, staring down at the pegasus with an even, flat gaze.

"I...I'm Fluttershy..."

"Severus Snape. It's a pleasure." Snape continued staring, glancing upwards as the bird started trying to yank out strands of his hair.

"You heard her?!" Rarity blurted, caught between disbelief and impressed.

Snape turned his head, causing the bird in his hair to flap it's wings and tweet angrily. "No. I heard you shout her name, I assumed she was introducing herself." Turning back to Fluttershy, he added, "could you please call off your bird?"

"Tweety!" Fluttershy immediately admonished, glaring halfheartedly at the nesting nuisance, "what have I told you about getting tangled in ponys' manes? Get down this instant!"

To Snape's relief, Tweety listened. "Thank you."

"It was nothing, she should know better!" Fluttershy voiced faintly, "actually, I'm surprised you were so calm! Most ponies would've run around screaming."

"I'm not a pony." Snape responded simply.

"Oh...right..." And she's back to being mute. Now if I could just figure out how to do that to the white one...

Chapter Five

Snape was glad he was a patient man. The inane chatter between Rarity and Fluttershy had lasted well over half an hour, Rarity often trying to draw him into the conversation.

Needless to say, he was reluctant to waste any more of his time than absolutely necessary. Upon noticing the lengthening shadows from the trees and ponies around him, however, he was finally forced into action. "As interesting as your conversation is, I'd like to be at the library before sundown, if you don't mind."

Rarity glared at him, Fluttershy hiding behind her mane at his severe demeanor. The unicorn tried to stare Snape down, but after several seconds she realized it was a losing battle. Sighing, she muttered under her breath before reluctantly nodding. "Sorry, the time ran away from me. Alright, let's go..." She started trotting down the road, Snape following close behind. The latter almost bowled her over, however, when she abruptly stopped and looked back. "Fluttershy, would you like to come with us?"

"If you please, miss Rarity," Snape all but growled, his patience almost gone.

"Sorry, I'd love to, but I need to finish rehearsing with-" Rarity cleared her throat with a pointed look, causing Fluttershy to nod comprehendingly. "I mean, of course!"

And so Snape was flanked by two mares on the street, both barely keeping up with his hurried pace. Good God, i's like trying to keep the attention of first-years...or goldfish.

Upon arriving at the library, Snape's eyes narrowed. Isn't this a public library? The sign says it's open, so why are all the lights off? "Terribly sorry for the delay," Rarity apologized, "but we're still...fixing it up! There was a terrible mess left by the last librarian—poor Dusty Tome, nopony saw it coming—so I'll have to ask you to wait here for a moment. You understand, right?" She batted her eyes up at the unamused wizard, who only sighed and crossed his arms under his robes.

"Fine. Do what you need to do."

Rarity squee'd—a sound Snape still wasn't used to—and dragged Fluttershy into the pitch-black library, slamming the door closed behind her. Snape stood perfectly still, stewing in his irritation.

"What the...?" He heard a voice from behind, causing him to turn around, arms still crossed. The purple mare staring up at him blinked, looking him over, before catching on to his frustrated, severe expression.

"My name is Severus, I'm not from around here. Yes I am a mind-reader, but that's not how I know what you were going to ask." Snape drawled, extremely unamused. "Does that about cover it?"

"Sorry, I just—"

"Never saw anything like me before, and I startled you. Believe me, by now I'm beginning to think these encounters are rehearsed, just introduce yourself and be done with it."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'm Twilight Sparkle," she offered, trying to remain civil. "Princess Celestia sent me to check up on the preparations for the—" She paused, waiting for Snape to interrupt. When no such interruption came, she finished, "Summer Sun Celebration."

Snape nodded, uttering a simple, "pleasure."

"Sheesh, are you gonna let this guy talk to you like that?" Snape's eyes were drawn to a scaly lump on Twilight's back, shifting to reveal—

Dragon! Snape slid backwards, producing his wand from his robes. Aiming with practiced ease, he spoke, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is a dragon on your back."

The green and purple lizard hopped from Twilight's back and walked up to Snape, emerald green eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Do you have something against dragons?"

Snape's train of thought crashed and burned. Okay, he thought, it—he is speaking. That, coupled with this strange land...apparently, dragons here are more civilized than back home. Returning his wand to it's rightful place, Snape looked down at the dragon with his usual cool stare. "Dragons are quite violent where I come from. That's the only point of comparison I have, I'm afraid. My apologies."

Stepping between the two, Twilight laughed nervously. "O-kay, well Spike is just a baby dragon. He's also my assistant. He won't hurt you, I promise."

"Speak for yourself..." Spike muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"I said I'm hungry," he corrected, causing Twilight to roll her eyes.

"Well," Snape hissed, "as pleasant as this conversation is, I'm afraid I must be heading in." He turned, gripping the doorknob before another question stopped him.

"Wait, you're staying here?" Twilight asked, thoroughly confused.

Snape slowly looked back at her, his flattest glare in full effect. "It...would seem so." He spoke slowly, as if to a child. "I can see no other reason I would need to visit a dark library at nightfall."

Twilight scowled, pushing past him into the darkness. "I only asked because the princess herself arranged for me to stay here." Snape raised an eyebrow. "Just don't bother me, okay? I'll have enough problems to deal with without having to talk to a complete stranger all night."

"SURPRISE!!!"

Twilight shrieked and backpedaled from the grinning face of Pinkie Pie, suddenly appearing an inch from her muzzle. Snape stooped down to enter the now-illuminated library, furrowing his eyebrows. How on earth did they fit the whole town in here?

Twilight slowly, slowly turned her head to the unruffled wizard. "You knew about this, didn't you? THAT'S why you let me go first!"

"I had my suspicions," Snape confirmed, a wry smile on his pale face, "I just needed a guinea-pig." He found it difficult not to laugh at the angry, narrow-eyed pout Twilight gave him.

"Were you surprised?" Pinkie pressed, grinning like a madmare.

Turning back to the group of ponies, Twilight put on a painfully fake grin. "Oh, yeah! I was very surprised...Libraries are supposed to be quiet." She finished flatly, The Pink still not catching on to her frustration.

"Quiet?! Why would a party be quiet? I mean, duh! Bo-ring!" Pinkie grinned, oblivious to Twilight's sudden absence.

Said mare was creeping up the stairs, disappearing into a bedroom. Flicking on the light, she plucked a book from the shelf against the wall and hopped onto the bed.

"Ouch."

The bony, lumpy bed that had just voiced it's discomfort. Twilight 'eep'ed, sliding back until she fell onto the floor rump-first. Glaring up at the bed, the uncomfortable lump shifted to a sour-looking Snape, hair half in his face. "Just what do you think you're doing, Sparkle?"

"I was going to lie down and catch up on some reading," she growled, "but somepony stole the bed. How did you even get up here, anyway? You were down at the party just a minute ago!"

"I walked, miss Sparkle." Snape snapped snidely, "it's amazing how easy it is to move unnoticed when no one pays attention. And I have just as much right to be here as you. As it so happens, I got here first. Now if you don't mind..." He turned so his back was to her, huffing.

"I do mind," Twilight ground out, "one of the worst evils Equestria has faced in over a thousand years is coming tonight! I can't afford any more setbacks! Now get...OUT!" Twilight's horn glowed painfully bright, and Snape was lifted out of the bed by a lavender aura. Through his flailing about, the blanket covering his body slipped off his torso and pooled onto the floor. "GAH!" Twilight screamed, squeezing her eyes shut and cutting the power to her levitation, causing Snape to fall unceremoniously to the floor. "I did not need to see that!"

"Did you expect me to wear my robes even when I slept, Sparkle?" Snape spoke as he stood, thankful he had at least the common sense to keep his boxers.

"I...You..." Twilight groaned, shaking her head and running out of the room. "Just take the bed!"

So he did.

Chapter Six

Snape couldn't sleep. Unwilling to cast a silencing charm for fear of being snuck up on, he was left trying to ignore the deep, thudding bass and dull roar of the party below. Three hours...They've been at it for three hours. Snape turned onto his side, his face a mask of pure loathing. It must be nearing morning now. Groaning, he sat up and stood up from the bed. With a wave of his wand (he always slept with it under his pillow) his clothes slithered over the floor and slipped onto his body. Fully clothed, the professor opened the door and descended down the stairs into the throng of still-noisy ponies.

As soon as he set foot onto the floor, a dreadful silence swept over the crowd. Snape looked out over the perfectly silent, still ponies, even the DJ silencing her speakers. Raising an eyebrow, Snape's lip curled in annoyance. "So now that I'm awake, you decide to shut up." Pushing through the crowd, he slipped through the door into the night.

Severus had been walking through the empty streets for nearly an hour, the warm night air and silence soothing to his senses. He furrowed his eyebrows, dark eyes glaring out at nothing in the relative darkness. In the silent, secluded atmosphere, he allowed himself to express himself. "Stupid, inconsiderate, infantile creatures..."

"Indeed...but they are still my ponies." Snape halted his angry strides, schooling his expression. Quickly turning around, robes twisting and fluttering about him, he glared at the tall, midnight-black equine standing before him. "They can be taught, if the teacher is willing to be firm."

Severus raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms under his robes. "And you are?" He noticed the ethereal, smoky mane and the lance-like ebony horn, in addition to the masive owl-wings jutting out of her sides. A moon and stars theme...This must be the princess I've heard so much about. "Princess Celestia, I presume?"

Snape's already severe expression soured further when the dark...winged...unicorn openly laughed at him, the powerful, deep yet undeniably effeminate voice cackling madly. "Ahahahahahahaaaa!!! Clearly, you are not from around here." The tall equine stifled her remaining laughter behind an armored hoof.

"Is it that obvious?" Snape delivered, his monotonous voice dripping with venom. "So enlighten me. Who are you?"

"I," She began, spreading her wings wide, "am the sole entitled ruler of this fine land. Back from an unjust banishment of one-thousand years by my own sister," At this her slitted eyes narrowed dangerously, her sharpened teeth grinding. "Princess Nightmare Moon!"

Snape raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Then you must be the one Sparkle was talking about."

"Who?" The princess blinked, frowning in confusion.

Snape rolled his eyes. "No one important. She said 'the greatest evil Equestria had ever seen' would be returning." Snape gripped his wand beneath his robes, outwardly relaxed but searching for any weaknesses or signs of aggression.

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "That sounds like something my sister would use to poison the minds of my little ponies...A bit dramatic, don't you think?"

Snape snorted, still starkly remembering the princess' introduction. "Well...thank God you're above that."

Nightmare Moon glared sharply at Severus, before her head swiveled towards the Town Hall. A smirk spread onto her face, her exposed fangs unnerving Snape slightly. "It appears it's time to make my entrance..." Snape took a step back and ripped his wand free when the princess exploded into a purple fog, shooting into the air and arcing towards the building.

Is it too much to ask to NOT to involve myself with these kinds of people? Snape sighed, drawing his palm down his face. He turned towards the Town Hall and began quickly walking after the princess, not at all eager to get involved.

Twilight gulped, ears plastered against her skull, watching the spiraling purple mist coalesce into a black alicorn. Nightmare Moon stood, staring down at the crowd of ponies with a confident smile. "Oh, my beloved subjects...It's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun-loving faces!"

"Give us back the princess!" Rainbow Dash shouted, flying up to meet Nightmare Moon eye-to-eye. In return, the princess only chuckled.

"What, am I no longer royal enough for you? Does my crown no longer count now that I've been imprisoned for a thousand years?!"

"Seize her!" Mayor Mare ordered, hoof pointing to the fuming princess, "only she knows where the princess is!"

Nightmare Moon's eye caught the three pegasi guards attempting to rush her, causing her face to twist into a snarl. "Get back, you foals!" With a brilliant white glow of her eyes, dark clouds materialized in the room and shot bolts of lightning at the guards, causing them to seize up and drop out of the sky with simultaneous shrieks of pain. "Honestly, I'm surprised...this is the second time tonight I've not been given a proper welcome. Do none of you even know who I am?" Her sharp glare scanned the crowd, most of whom were trying to duck down out of sight.

"I do." Twilight stepped forward, trying and failing to fake confidence. "You're the Mare in the Moon...Nightmare Moon." Her voice wavered at the end, betraying just how terrified she was. In response, Nightmare Moon gave a small, dangerous smile.

"Ah, somepony who remembers me...then you remember why I'm here, correct?"

Twilight gulped. "You're here to...to..." She shut her eyes and lowered her head, unable to force the last words out.

Nightmare Moon chuckled, "remember this day, my little ponies, for it was your last! From this day forward, the night...shall last...forever!" Her ethereal mane and tail flared, swirling around the ceiling in massive coils and storm-clouds as she cackled.

Twilight slipped through the crowd, keeping low. Once she was at the door, she bolted out towards her library, missing Nightmare Moon making her way over the Everfree Forest. Rainbow gave chase to the princess, but the wispy trail of purple was long gone before she even got in the air.

Twilight galloped hard as she could through the night, the pitch darkness blinding her. So it was an honest mistake when she ran headfirst into a wall of blackness, sending herself and the obstacle tumbling to the ground. Twilight gave an indignant squawk at the unexpected interference, while Snape only grunted in discomfort and irritation. Twilight shook her head free of cobwebs before glaring down at an equally annoyed Snape, his eyebrows furrowed and lips curled into an aggravated sneer. "Nightmare Moon refrained from attempting to trample me, I would appreciate it if you extended the same courtesy."

Hopping off Severus with a startled whinny, Twilight turned to glare daggers at him. "Wait...you saw her and you didn't DO anything?!"

Snape stood, dusting off his robes. "I'm not in the habit of taking unnecessary risks. However I did gather some interesting information."

Turning to continue galloping down the road, she called out, "tell me when we get to the library, come on!"

Snape sighed and made to follow at a more sedate pace. I'm getting too old for this...

Chapter Seven

"Elements of Harmony...Come on, there has to be SOMETHING!" Twilight searched through book after book at a frantic pace, only interrupted when Rainbow Dash nearly bowled her over.

"And just what ARE the 'Elements of Harmony'?" She glared at Twilight, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon?"

"Perhaps if you give her some space, she could enlighten all of us." Snape droned, eyeing Rainbow with thinly-veiled contempt. The sky-blue pegasus turned on him, magenta eyes glaring daggers at the lanky man.

"And you! You're even more suspicious than Twilight. The day before the Bogeymare comes back, you pop up out of nowhere! If anypony's a spy here, I'm betting on you."

"Ah reckon' she's got a point..." Applejack's glare matched Rainbow's in intensity, which Snape dutifully ignored. "Ya definitely don't act like no decent pony. An' yer covered in all black, jes' like Nightmare."

"See? Even Applejack says he's got 'lackey' written all over him!" Rainbow crowed. Both of Snape's eyes twitch.

"Girls!" Twilight shouted. "He looks strange, yes...And he's a bit mean...and smells funny..." Snape scowled. I will not curse the unicorn. I will not curse the unicorn. "But the fact remains he hasn't actually DONE anything to hurt anypony."

"Yet." Rainbow muttered.

"Actually..." Rarity started, looking a bit uncomfortable. "He saved me from a nasty fall earlier today. If he hadn't intervened, I could've been seriously injured."

"I don't think he's so bad..." Fluttershy nearly whispered from behind her mane.

"He's really good at Hide n' Seek!" Pinkie added, a wide grin on her muzzle and a large book balanced on her head. The book was levitated to Twilight, her eyes widening.

"Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide...Pinkie, where did you find this?"

"It was under 'E'!"

Snape and Twilight's eyes twitched simultaneously, identical thoughts running through their heads. That's NOT how books are organized...

Neither noticed the other's discomfort. Opening the book, Twilight cleared her throat. "The Elements of Harmony are six incredibly powerful magical artefacts, used by Princess Celestia to banish her mad sister to the moon. Only five of the Elements are known: Laughter, Kindness, Generosity, Honesty, and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. The last known location of the Elements is the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in..." Twilight gulped, the words stuck in her throat. "...The Everfree Forest."

"Then I suggest we alert the authorities and have these Elements secured, so we can figure out how to use them." Snape declared, looking over the assembled ponies.

"There's no time for that! I need to get them as soon as possible!" Twilight galloped away, leaving the library door hanging open. Snape tried to speak, but the other five had followed before he could get a word out.

Snape had a flashback of a young trio of Gryffindors wandering repeatedly into mortal peril. It's like Potter, Weasley, and Granger...but there's SIX of them. Snape refused to cry. But he really, really wanted to.

"Insufferable, aren't they? My sister," Nightmare's voice spat the word like a poison as she materialized from a shadow, "did them no favors by coddling them for the past thousand years."

Snape refused to turn and face her. "I didn't hear you come in."

"It's amazing how easy it is to move unnoticed when nopony is paying attention." Nightmare nearly purred, a predatory smirk adorning her face. Snape narrowed his eyes at hearing his own words thrown back at him.

"You've been in my mind." It was a statement, not a question. "I'd prefer you didn't." He was somewhat unnerved. He hadn't felt anything break through his Occlumency barriers.

"The mind has always been my domain, Severus Snape. You'd do well to remember that." She slowly walked a half-circle around him, until she could see his face. Snape gave an internal smirk at that. If she was accommodating him, that meant he could gain control of the conversation.

"What are you after?" He asked.

"Did you not hear me speaking about the 'Eternal Night'?" She raised an eyebrow, almost daring Snape to say something stupid.

"You're not an idiot, so you know plants need sunlight to grow. Seeing as ponies are herbivores, their food-source dying out would present...immense complications. Somehow, I doubt you would be content to rule over a massive graveyard."

Nightmare looked mildly surprised. "Clever colt..."

On a roll, Snape continued with, "If the day and night cycle has continued uninterrupted since you've been banished," Nightmare hissed lightly in warning, "that means Celestia can exert some control over both the sun and the moon. Assuming you two are roughly equal in power, it would be easy to say you can control the sun as well."

"And?"

"If you're playing up the Evil Queen act now, the most logical course of action to cement your rule would be to 'suddenly' show mercy and bring the sun out yourself. At that point, releasing Celestia would redeem you in the eyes of the populace while simultaneously proving yourself stronger and kinder than your sister, with the argument that you could have easily left her to rot for a thousand years like she did you...but you're better than that."

"...You are an interesting creature, Severus Snape. Don't move. I'll be right back." And with that, Nightmare dissolved into a wisp of purple smoke and darted off towards the forest.

Snape let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. Bloody ponies...