Dawn (or near enough) is a time of renewal. Where the first light of the day brushes away all the ills from yesterday and unveils the future amidst the sparkling morning dew. Sparks groaned and threw one foreleg over her eyes, 100% certain that the future could wait at least 5 more minutes. The sunlight slipping in through improperly secured blinds made a mockery of her efforts though, and despite the numerous bruises and cuts, Sparks could feel herself waking up. . .

Sparks shot out of bed with a gasp, her pains forgotten. She had been sleeping. She remembered a dream of wild raves and chocolate covered dancers, she was hyperventilating actual air! With a shrill scream of joy, the purple unicorn began hopping in circles, ecstatic shouts of joy reverberating throughout the bedroom.

"Darling, please," groaned Rarity as she slipped her sleeping mask off, "could you be just a tad more considerate for your friends? We were all up quite late explaining the last few days to Prince Hazard." The fashionista's horn glowed as she began to simultaneously brush her coat, comb and style her mane, and apply the barest minimum of makeup she'd need to face the outside world.

"Right, right, sorry about that Rares." Sparks stopped hopping about, wincing as she landed sloppily on an injured hoof. "I was just so excited that I had a dream, and was sleeping, oh and that I can talk to ponies finally! It's just so exciting, I can hardly wait to..." Sparks rambled on in an excited tone, oblivious to Rarity's astonishment.

Rarity closed her mouth with an audible click, her eyes roving over the pony she had mistaken for Twilight Sparkle. The purple coat was almost the same, maybe a shade or two darker, and the streaks in her mane and tail were a far darker shades of pink bordering on red. Aside from that, she was the spitting image of Twilight, thought Rarity. "Um, I'm afraid I never caught your name darling, though it seems you know mine."

"... and now I can finally go to an actual bar and get totally, wait wait, sorry." Sparks blushed and rubbed the back of her head, "I'm not used to being able to respond to ponies. Or talking." Taking a deep breath, Sparks counted to four and blew the breath out.

"Right. My name is Sparks. Cause, see, Twilight also wanted to call me something and since, at the time at least, I was kinda part of her so I figured that just having a bit of her name would be appropriate and ... Rarity, your mouth is hanging open and you're staring at my flank. Come on, buy me a drink first if you wanna make eyes at my butt." Sparks finished in something of a huff. Rarity of all ponies should know there was a proper procedure to these sorts of things... unless they didn't catch you staring, then it was all fair game. Glancing back at her own flank which had so captivated Rarity's attention, Sparks felt her own eyes go wide.

Where once was a sort of inversion of Twilight's own cutie mark was now simple blank flank. A very nice and well toned blank flank, but still totally a blank flank. Sparks drew in another breath, counted to four, and let it out as an ear piercing shout "Oh what in the bucking buck is this horseapples!?"

With a start, five other mares all woke up. While Sparks continued to swear a blue streak and gesticulate ferociously, Rainbow Dash came down from where she was hugging the ceiling in panic, Applejack dug around the sheets she'd kicked off for her hat, and Fluttershy peaked out of a nearby wardrobe she had all but teleported into.

Pinkie Pie sat in front of Sparks writing down the more inventive curses, giggling at some of the really dirty ones. "Hehehe, Sparks, hey slow down, heh, I can only write so fast while laughing this hard."

Sparks' litany of creative rage petered out and died, unmourned, as Pinkie continued to chortle and the rest of Twilight's friends look at her with expressions ranging from disgust to awe. "Note to self," Sparks stage whispered, "other ponies can hear us cursing now."

Twilight swung herself out of bed, stumbling slightly as the sudden change in positioning threatened to send her toppling to the floor. A brief corona of magical energies outlined Twilight's horn before she started 'speaking', "Very true Sparks, though given the volume, I think even I would have heard that if you were still me."

"Twi, babe, you'd be amazed at how wrong you are about that." Sparks laughed, wincing as she saw Twilight's many injuries. As the pains of her own body reacquainted themselves with Spark's consciousness, Sparks let herself collapse on the floor with a pained sigh. "Also, it's annoying have to deal with my own pain. Normally I just managed yours, this is totally unpleasant."

Pinkie Pie scooted over to the recumbent unicorn as the rest of her friends went about their little morning rituals (or resumed them, in Rarity's case), and nudged her in the ribs, eliciting a hissing intake of breath from Sparks. "Hey, Sparks-"

"Seriously Pinkie, how do you even know my name? Rarity knew it cause I told her, and Twilight knew it cause duh, but before Twilight said it you said it, which is impossible!" Sparks looked Pinkie dead in the eye at the end of her hissed question, the strength of her curiosity all but rolling off of her in waves.

Pinkie blinked slowly and took a quick look around the room, "I'll tell you when you get your cutie mark." With an exaggerated wink, the pink party pony hopped away, whistling nonchalantly. Sparks sighed, and mentally kicked herself for somehow losing her cutie mark. At least Pinkie was being consistent; the logical explanation was that she'd been woken up by Spark's happy squeals. Since Pinkie hadn't explained her knowledge away like that, with luck, Pinkie's Pinkie Sense had just done something unexpected... again. Sparks idly wondered if Pinkie could drive the Neighcronomicon crazy, or if they'd get along like a house on fire.

Sparks sighed again and heaved herself back to her feet. A pair of servants wrapped in red robes had just set down a number of dishes for breakfast, and Sparks knew she'd have to actually eat things now that she was flesh and blood. As the idea of eating percolated through her mind, Sparks felt a massive smile stretch her features. Trotting up to one of the servants, a petite mocha coated unicorn mare with a curly white mane, Sparks threw one foreleg over the pony's shoulder and smiled even wider.

"Hello there. I'm sure you heard from your boss or maybe directly from Prince Hazard," Sparks took a moment to buff her other forehoof against her coat and inspect the resulting shine before looking the servant in the eye again. "But my friends and I are kinda a big deal, so I was wondering if you could maybe do me a teensy-weensy little favor, wadda you say?"

The mare stared open mouthed at Sparks before nodding dumbly. Sparks giggled at the sight and gently closed the servant's mouth with one hoof, sitting back a little bit from the mare. "That's the spirit! Say, do you have a name? I really do want to be polite and all. My name is Sparks."

"My, uh, my name is Mocha Whip."

Sparks wished she had a mirror to look at so she could gauge her smile. Though if Mocha's reaction was anything to go by, Spark's grin had changed from predatory to lecherous. "Fabulous. I'd just love to experience your special talent for myself sometime." Sparks purred, eliciting a squeak of embarrassment from Mocha.

"Um, no, you see," Mocha stammered, "I'm really good at making coffee's and especially the more desert like ones! You know? With whipped cream?!" Mocha pleaded her case to Sparks as she slowly backed herself away from the leering purple unicorn; though to her dismay Sparks simply sashayed after her, hips twitching in the most evocative way.

"Mmm, that does sound like a good time. Whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and just the right little mare who knows how to mix it up." Sparks loomed over Mocha, who had unwisely backed herself into a literal corner. "But for right now, all I want from you . . ."

Sparks leaned in and whispered many airy words directly into one of Mocha Whip's ears. Nodding periodically, Mocha's horn lit up and she rapidly took notes. As Sparks sat back down and gazed at Mocha with half-hooded eyes, the servant mare finished scribbling and turned the notepad around for Sparks to see. "Does that look alright to you Ms. Sparks?"

Neatly plucking the notepad out of the air, Sparks glanced over it, frowned, and channeled some more energy into her horn. "Almost... ah, there, now it's perfect." With a lazy smile, Sparks lobbed the notepad back to Mocha, who's fading blush erupted to new life when she caught it. Jaw working soundlessly, the mocha colored unicorn turned tail and galloped away, but not fast enough to avoid hearing Sparks sing out "I'll be waiting for you, little whip!"

Sparks giggled to herself and turned around to rejoin her friends as they had their breakfast. Seeing all of them gape at her made Sparks realize that for the last few minutes the room had been almost dead quiet. Sparks fidgeted, pinned in place by the stares of ... Twilight's friends. Sparks hadn't yet made friends, she'd just been hoping that the girls would accept her too.

"Now that I'm thinking about it, waking everypony up, swearing up a storm, and then teasing that maid to the point where you all look mortified on her behalf... not how I would have liked to make my first impression." Sparks sighed and slowly started walking to a different table away from the girls. Maybe giving them a little space during breakfast would help erase the several social blunders she'd made since waking up.

"Whoa now missy, where do you think you're going?" Sparks froze up and turned just in time to see the lasso cinch shut around her tail. With a startled yelp Sparks was yanked off her hooves and rapidly reeled in till she was sitting snugly between Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "No slippin' away now, we're all havin' breakfast together." Applejack shot her a smirk and quietly added "Besides, our first impression was of you shoutin' about how it weren't your fault that Twi was all roughed up, and then blackin' out." Chuckling, Applejack speared a few waffles onto her plate and dug in.

Sparks gaped at Applejack. Checking around the rest of the table, it was clear that everypony was accepting her presence. Sparks had to bite back a yelp though when she looked to Rainbow Dash and saw her rose colored eyes from a scant few inches away.

"How. Did. You. Do. That?" Rainbow rasped, biting off each word. Slugging back a glass of water, the speedster leaned back slightly, idly rubbing her throat. "I mean, I've seen Rarity turn up her charms before, and Pinkie Pie never has any trouble getting ponies to go along with whatever she wants, but that was something else." Rainbow blinked rapidly and shook her head slightly. "Hey wait. Twilight, does this mean you're also a silver tongued charmer?"

Pinkie Pie gasped and leapt up from her seat. "Ohmygosh, maybe Twilight's a super secret agent spy pony in Celestia's secret service!" Pinkie zipped over to where Twilight sat and flicked on a bright lamp she'd pulled from her mane. "Talk agent double oh bookworm! I vill not have zhat meddling princess interrupt my plans for ze sugar utopia! You vill not talk your way out of zis one." Pinkie hissed in an overdone Germane accent.

"Pinkie, I have no idea what you're even talking about." Twilight deadpanned while pouring herself a cup of tea.

Sweat beaded on Pinkie Pie's brow, and the lamp wavered in her grip. "You... you are very good agent Sparkle. For just a moment zhere, I almost believed you."

Twilight sighed and glanced around the table, searching for help. Unfortunately, it seemed that everypony else had the good sense not to interrupt a Pinkie Pie moment. Well, that and Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Sparks were openly giggling at the impromptu drama unfolding. Mentally shifting into her best Trottingham accent, Twilight airily said "Do you expect me to talk Sugarhoof?"

Pinkie Pie smiled and laughed, "No agent Sparkle, I expect you to enjoy your tea." Flicking off the lamp, Pinkie sat back and beamed at her best-est friends. Then she slapped herself with one hoof, "Oh fooy, I got the line wrong again! Next time for sure Twilight!"

Twilight giggled, "I'll hold you to that, Sugarhoof." Blowing on the tea to cool it, Twilight savored the taste of white rose petals. Whoever had prepared the tea had introduced some spice or other that stained the petals black, adding an underlying bitterness not normally present with white rose tea. Still, Twilight mused silently, it was quite good, even with the bitterness.

Sparks poured herself a cup of water and chuckled. "Anyway, the reason I'm such a smooth operator is because I was most of Twilight's id." Setting down the cup, Sparks frowned slightly. "Though given that you seem fine Twilight, I guess it's more accurate to call myself the manifestation of your id."

"What in the hay is an id? It sounds like some sorta foreign currency, though Ah know that ain't it." Applejack grumbled around a mouthful of pancakes.

"Darling, please, show some restraint." Rarity said, wiping her mouth of the crumbs of her own pancake. "The id is the less restrained, more baser instincts and thoughts everypony has. There are two other elements of the mind, the ego and superego, but that is neither here nor there."

Sparks clapped her hooves together, "Gold star for Rarity, I guess you enjoyed that book on psychology Twi lent you huh?"

"Well, it wasn't my usual choice of text, but yes, I found it quite agreeable."

Rainbow Dash ran her hooves over her face and groaned, "Okay, so you're a good talker just cause you're less restrained than Twilight? How does that make any sense?"

Sparks giggled, and pretended not to see Rainbow's glare. "Nah, I also have the knowledge of how to talk and move, and what to say to back up those instincts." Sparks waggled one hoof in the direction of Twilight. "See, Twilight reads a lot. And some of what she reads are self help books, especially back when she first met you all."

Twilight was frantically motioning to Sparks, trying to get her doppelganger to stop talking. Sparks winked at Twilight and grinned slyly. "A lot of what she read was on how to interact with other ponies. Who else remembers the book on how to have a sleepover?" Bobbing heads all around the table let Sparks know that, yes, they did remember it.

"Then I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that Twilight also has read some rather instructive literature on the subject of love," Sparks purred. Twilight was turning beet red, and Fluttershy looked close to fainting. Rarity and Pinkie Pie both looked like they were mere seconds away from squealing with delight, and Applejack and RD were stoically trying to stifle their laughter. "I think the title of one such book was 'The Maid and her Maste-OOF!"

Sparks was suddenly airborne, and with a loud crash landed inside of one of the many cabinets that lined the room's walls. Sparks winced, and with a bit of magic shoved aside the coat hanger digging into her back. "Nice shot Twi, thanks for picking the one with open doors."

* * *

Twilight, flush with embarrassment, took a few deep breaths. Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other, at Sparks flopping out of the wardrobe, then shrugged and went back to picking at their breakfasts. Pinkie Pie giggled and hopped over to help Sparks get back on her hooves. Fluttershy had fainted when Sparks had suddenly slammed into the dresser, and was insensate to the world around her. Feeling a hoof none too lightly whack the back of her head, Twilight cringed as Rarity started berating her. "Honestly Twilight, that was hardly necessary! If you have enough magic to throw a pony across such a large and luxurious chamber, then surely you have enough magic to zipper their mouth shut."

Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but dumbly closed it when she realized that Rarity was right; that while tossing Sparks across the room was clearly one way to momentarily quiet her, it wasn't in the spirit of friendship to harm a friend like that. "Now, on an unrelated note," Rarity said, tone sliding from chiding to nonchalant, "I would like to reserve a few books once we get back to Ponyville. From your, ah, self-help section I suppose. That title that Sparks was telling us about sounded like a good place to start, do you have any other recommendations?"

Twilight gave Rarity a deadpan look and sighed. The shameless little smile and fluttering eyelashes were the picture of innocence, but the iron in the fashionista's eyes promised Twilight that she'd get no peace until Rarity got what she wanted. Taking another swallow of tea, Twilight sighed and nodded in acquiescence, "Yes Rarity, I'll help set you up with a few books like that one once we all get to Ponyville." Looking up at her double, Twilight put a little more force into her spell, giving her words a steely edge. "And Sparks, no more telling ponies about stuff I'm embarrassed about. It's not fair to me if you start blabbing my secrets."

Sparks nodded as she sat down, "Fine, fine, I promise I won't tell other ponies stuff you think is embarrassing or that you are keeping secret." The slight smirk was wiped off of Sparks face when Pinkie nudged her with a meaningful look. With a groan and half-hearted gestures, Sparks mumbled, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

The door to the girl's room swung open and Mocha Whip slowly made her way in. Her gait was slow and careful, as most of the maid's attention was on the large tray she levitated in front of her. Dozens of donuts, a multitude of muffins, and even a couple of croissants were heaped on the tray. A small raised platform in the center held a number of cups of coffee, some plain and unadorned, others layered with whipped cream and drizzles of chocolate and caramel sauce.

As Mocha Whip set the tray down, Twilight's eyes boggled at the exact nature of the sweets and coffees. Each of her friends favorite breakfast sweets were represented, and it was clear that all of their favorite coffee drinks were there too. Looking up, Twilight caught Sparks eye and swept a disbelieving hoof over the tray, questioning the most welcome addition to their breakfast lineup.

Sparks, now being pierced by a six sets of surprised eyes, rubbed the back of her head a bit and mumbled, "I thought it'd be a nice gesture for me to get you guys your favorite drinks and sweets." The dark purple unicorn's horn shimmered slightly, and each of the six coffee cups floated through the air to their recipients. "I know it's probably a bit weird that I ordered for you, but I thought it'd be a nice surprise. Uh. Is it? I'm still new to the whole 'making friends' thing, and I don't wanna screw up and lose out on being friends with you all." Sparks finished with a slightly pleading tone.

Twilight looked down at the cup sitting in front of her, and with a flicker of magic brought the coffee to her lips and took a drink. The sweetest blends of hazelnut and vanilla swirled through her mouth, with the almost electric sense provided by a shot of espresso setting her veins alight with energy. The temperature was just shy of blisteringly hot, allowing Twilight to drink deeply without fear of burning herself. Before she knew it, the cup was empty.

"Sparks, you are loud, brash, swear far too much, and seem to be holding Mocha in place with magic." Twilight stated, her tone stern. The light around Spark's horn faltered, and Mocha fled a good dozen feet before a shimmering dark purple light seized her tail and prevented further retreat. Twilight arched an eyebrow at this; "But you're still dear to me, and I'm thrilled that you'd think to do something so sweet for us. Of course you're our friend." Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all nodded and agreed, their voices muffled by the coffee and sweets they had seized. Fluttershy was still out cold, though the scent of her favorite iced coffee seemed to be rousing the yellow pegasus.

Sparks sagged with relief, but before anypony else could comment, she held up a hoof in a 'just a moment' way before trotting over to Mocha. Steering Mocha around so that neither of them were facing the group, Sparks started a hushed conversation with the mare. Twilight watched just long enough to see that Mocha wasn't still being held in place before turning her attention to the tray of delicious baked goods. While it wasn't coffee, the second half of Spark's peace offering was very much welcome, and Twilight set about demolishing the chocolate chip scone she found with single minded fervor.

"You know," Pinkie Pie said in an absentminded manner, "scones are really great and all, but they're always crying out for something more." The pink party mare set her half eaten scone down and stared at it, bobbing and twisting her head as if trying to sort out a puzzle only she could see, slugging back the remainder of her coffee at the same time. "It's on the tip of my tongue, but such is the je ne sais quoi of all baked goods that words alone cannot convey my idea."

Pinkie Pie shook her head and sat bolt up right, slamming her hooves on the table. "No! I shall not let this ephemeral madness pass me by. By the glory of Celestia's dawn, I, Pinkamena Diane Pie, shall improve upon the scone this day!" Sweeping up the remains of her scone and several others, Pinkie Pie dashed out of the room with a cry of "Allons-y!"

The silence that enveloped the room was staggering, almost overwhelmingly so. Applejack leaned over to Pinkie's discarded coffee cup and sniffed at it, blinking in surprise when all she perceived was sugar and coffee. With a soft yawn, Fluttershy sat up, fluttering her wings to shake some feeling back into them. "Oh, iced coffee, my favorite. Are there any scones?"

* * *

Sparks looked over her shoulder at Fluttershy looking confused and flustered while the rest of her friends laughed at her unintended comedy. Rolling her eyes, Sparks turned back to face Mocha, "Anyway, like I was saying, thanks a bunch for getting all those coffee's together for me. I know the girls appreciate it."

Sparks grin widened as Mocha blushed at the praise. Fussing with her red robes, the unicorn didn't keep eye contact with Sparks for more than a hoof full of seconds at a time. Mocha stammered, "I.. I'm glad I could help you. If you, um, you need anything else, you can find me-"

"Yes. Yes I can, and I will." Sparks interrupted with a grin that was positively criminal.

With a soft 'eep', Mocha scurried away, pausing midway to the door to formally bow and squeak "Excuse me, I must be going, bye."

Sparks waved languidly at the retreating form, purring "I'll see you later, little whip!" Turning to enjoy her sweet breakfast, Sparks paused at the sight of mug of coffee floating toward her in a cloud of dark brown magic. Collecting the mug with her own magical grasp, Sparks smiled and winked at Mocha, who was partially hidden by the door frame. Mocha's magic still gripped the mug, and it twisted so Sparks could gawk at the kiss mark carefully painted onto it in creamy milk chocolate. Sparks could hear Mocha giggling, and the muted clip-clop of her hooves as she pranced away.

Still rattled, Sparks staggered back to the table. Sipping at her own coffee concoction, Sparks briefly let her telekinetic grasp lapse to snag a jelly doughnut.

Rarity cocked her head to the side watching Sparks alternate between her mocha frappe and the doughnut. "Darling, I hope you'll forgive the rudeness, but how, ah, how good are you with magic?" After a few awkward moments of silence, Applejack nudged Sparks in the ribs, drawing a pained yelp from the dark purple unicorn.

"Ow, what the buck Applejack!? Jeeze, that side's still tender!"

Applejack rolled her eyes and pointed at the fuming Rarity, "Ah was just figurin' that it'd be less painful than if Rarity lost her temper at ya."

Sparks did a quick double take at Rarity, flushed in frustration, with sparks of cerulean magic were spitting from her horn like miniature lightning bolts. Holding up her hooves in surrender, Sparks meekly said "Sorry Rares, I just forgot that answering ponies was a thing for me. Uh. You were asking about how good I was at magic?"

The corona of magical energies faded, and Rarity once more resembled the cool and collected fashionista she so often was. "Yes. I wanted to ask because I see you alternating between your coffee and pastry, whereas Twilight is currently levitating a cup of water, a notebook, a pencil, and a selection of doughnut holes."

Twilight looked up at her name, and paused with one of the small sphere's of sugary goodness part way to her open mouth. Smiling sheepishly, Twilight levitated the odd dozen holes over to a plate and set them aside.

Sparks snickered even as Twilight stuck her tongue out at her, and turned back to face Rarity. "It's less an issue about how much magic I have and how good I am at controlling it. I'd say that, in terms of raw power, I have just as much energy as Twi." Sparks took a moment to finish off her coffee and lick the mug clean, inside and out.

Applejack recovered first from Sparks' casual announcement that she had Twilight matched in magical might. "Now just hold on one cotton pickin' minute. Twi here's the Element of Magic and you got her level of power? You sure you're not just tryin'a pull a fast one on us?"

Waving her hooves frantically as Applejack tensed up to deliver a thumpin', Sparks stammered "W-Whoa there AJ, there's more to magic than just how much you have." Pointing a hoof at Rarity, Sparks calmly said "Rarity over there probably has over half of Twilight's pure magical power, but she's got me beat hands down when it comes to actually using it."

Rarity sputtered on the last of her coffee, "Darling, while I may not be quite as studious as Twilight, I'm fairly certain what you're saying makes no sense. Twilight, darling, can you please explain?"

Twilight nodded, "While actual magic levels are only known to the individual unicorn, Sparks would know if we have similar or identical reserves. And I support her belief that Rarity is above average in magical power, though that's a conjecture based on the times I've seen you using your magic for extended periods of time." As Twilight slipped into a tone of voice everypony recognized as 'Professor Mode', the other mares at the table all settled in for the long haul.

"You see girls, magic isn't just how much energy you have at your disposal, but also how much you can cast at once and how many spells you can manage simultaneously. My personal record is levitating fifteen separate items-"

"Just say books egghead, we all know it was books," laughed Rainbow. Sparks called out "Up top!" and reached over Applejack's head, Rainbow quickly leaning over and smacking her hoof into Sparks', while the two mares chuckled at Twilight's unamused glare.

"As I was saying, focus is another important part of practical magic use, and one of the reasons Sparks admitted that Rarity most likely rates better than her at magic use. Rarity's very practiced at making dresses to perfectionist standards, which demands a great deal of concentration and focus. Sparks, being mostly id, lacks that focus and so can't manage intricate spell work like either Rarity or I can."

Twilight paused to polish off another few doughnut holes. "I would guess that Sparks can channel more power into her spells than Rarity, and I suspect that even I would have trouble keeping up in terms of raw output given that I'm more restrained." Sparks nodded at this, as though conceding the point.

"Lastly, it's worth noting that, somehow, Sparks no longer has a Cutie Mark, which means that we're gauging her magic before she's discovered her new special talent." Sparks grimaced at Twilight's words, and cringed slightly as her friends all looked at her blank flank.

"Alright alright, that's enough. If you guys wanna stare at my flank more let's at least get moving." Sparks hopped to her hooves and made for the door, smirking at the sounds of her friends scurrying to get up too. "I'll bet that the young Prince Hazard wants to know we're all up and fed. Maybe with some luck he'll know what we can do to help Twilight's voice back and unbound from the Neighcronomicon."

"Shouldn't we go get Pinkie Pie first?" mumbled Fluttershy.

"Pffft, no way," Sparks laughed, "she's gotta be in the kitchens by now, working on improving scones. You'd have to be totally crazy to try and get her to give up on a baking project." A calculating look briefly stole over Sparks' face before she turned to Applejack. "Hey AJ, I'll bet you ten bits that Pinkie's got all the chefs and bakers taking orders from her!"

Applejack shook her head, "That ain't a bet sugercube, that's a certainty! Come on, let's go meet with the prince and get ya introduced."

As Fluttershy trailed behind her friends, she couldn't help but shiver. Every once in a while, when visiting Zecora, Fluttershy would have the same sense that she did now, of being watched by something that saw her as a meal. But looking every which way, Fluttershy could only see a few servants in the hallways cleaning up or refilling incense pans, her friends slowly moving toward the throne room, and the art that covered every inch of the halls.

Much to her dawning horror, Fluttershy could feel with absolute certainty deep in her soul, that the art was looking at her too.

"Yo, Flutters, what's the hold up! Come on, we've got royalty to chill with!" came the shout of Rainbow Dash. With the terror clawing at her conscious mind, and dread freezing her heart, Fluttershy shot down the corridor like an arrow to walk shoulder to shoulder with Twilight. The nearness of her friends, their laughter at how fast she'd moved; all of it eased her fears away.

If she'd only looked over her shoulder, Fluttershy might have seen the portrait of a black coated stallion wearing a regal crown of shimmering topaz and impure gold. She might have seen how the yellow silk robes he wore seemed to writhe in the daylight, how his teeth glistened red as shadows fell on, or how his eyes followed her every move and flashed with immortal hunger.

A red robed servant ran one hoof up and down the portrait's frame, and with words that tore his throat and filled his mouth with bile and ash, lulled the painting back to uneasy sleep. Flipping his hood back, Chain Censer spat the viscous fluids into the smoldering incense, bringing black and violet fires to life.

"Soon. Soon all will be as it was promised. As he promised."

Author's Note

On the one hand, this took a stupid long time for me to get finished up for ya'll. On the other hand, it blows away every other chapter so far in terms of word count, so yay?

And while I'm certain you've read this before in every other Author's Notes box, comments and constructive criticism are very very good motivators for more writing. So help me, help you get more to read, and leave a comment below.