Backwards Through the Mirror

Chapters

That Which Came Before
Harmony
Portents and Portals
Bloody Rescue
Melody and Dissonance
Horror and Death
Guidance and Distractions
The Beast
Reunited at Last
Health and Sadness
Dreams and Reality
Intermission
Out of the Fire
Into the Darkness
Good and Bad Tidings
Parties and Bodies
Visions and Vexations
Post
The Red Star
Madness
Aftermath
Lost Souls
Lumbering Menace
You Know What This Calls For?
Frog Legs
The Knight and the Toad
Hearth's Warming Eve
Intermission 2 Part 1
Intermission 2 Part 2
Baptism of Fire
Dissension
Oaths and Revelations
Happy Birthday.
Loss
Search
Rescue Mission
Shadows
Belly of the Beast
Cracked
Reflected Innocence
I Dream of Apples
Moonlight Sonata

That Which Came Before

Twilight stayed with Pinkie for two weeks. She helped the excitable pink pony around her shop, Party Time, after hours and learned all she could about what had happened to her friends in the time that she’d been gone. All of them, with the exception of Applejack, had moved to Manehattan, including Spike, who was living with Rarity now in her new boutique. Surprisingly, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had gotten together in a relationship kind of way, and they had some sort of 'understanding' with Pinkie that Twilight tried desperately not to think about too much. They had founded United Wings, a training camp for medically-minded pegasi, and it was going rather well according to her bouncy pink friend. They had started building free hospitals with the help of the crown, much to the annoyance of the nobility, but Princess Celestia, before her injury, had backed them entirely.

It was a happy two weeks for Twilight, talking about what shenanigans the group had gotten into without her, while she slowly got a hold on life in the real world again. Rarity was apparently as dramatic as ever, often calling Pinkie to bemoan the latest schedule she’d been stuck with, or the number of orders she had to get done. Pinkie always giggled about it and helped Rarity put things in perspective with her usual bouncy nature. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had recently weathered a large storm of criticism once their ‘arrangement’ with Pinkie Pie was discovered publicly. Rainbow Dash, in her usual subtle manner, just came out and confirmed it, then literally dared anypony to say something about it. Fluttershy had smoothed things over wonderfully, without denying Pinkie’s romantic involvement with the couple, but the whole thing had led to the most ridiculous and suggestive headlines. Pinkie had even tacked a few of the more interesting ones to the wall, much to Twilight’s embarrassment. The idea of her friends having a love life with each other made her rather uncomfortable for reasons she couldn’t quite justify.

Every weekend, the ponies would meet up at Applejack’s farm to get together and talk. Sometimes one or two of them couldn’t make it, but Pinkie always did. Twilight was always invited by Pinkie, but the purple unicorn declined without fail. She always said she would be cleaning up the store, organizing the spice racks, or doing the accounting. There was always too much to do.

Of course, the truth was Twilight wasn't sure if she could face the others yet, and she didn't want to get them in trouble with the courts, though she yearned to see them. She never mentioned to Pinkie anything that had happened during her seven years before returning to Equestria, and her friend never asked. Truthfully, it felt like a nightmare to be dismissed with waking, but every night it came back, clear as Celestia's morning.

Twilight smiled in the wind of the chariot’s passage. She and her friends had just finished celebrating their defeat of Discord, and Twilight had lingered behind to speak with Celestia and spend some time with her beloved mentor while Spike continued on, already asleep, to the library. Now she rode on a royal chariot for her home in Ponyville with the moon high above, and Twilight enjoyed the night breeze that smelled deliciously normal, without a trace of cotton candy or chocolate.

She was tremendously weary, but in a good way. Twilight felt very accomplished at helping to seal away the forces of chaos, and the cheers of the crowd had lifted her spirits immeasurably, even if they were slightly embarrassing. The ride through the night was a welcome respite from the after-party, which had been extremely loud and raucous despite only being planned in a few hours.

The movement of the chariot combined with the relaxation she was feeling started to lull Twilight to sleep, but no sooner had she laid down than one of the pegasi pulling the chariot abruptly veered, and the other let out a shout. “We’re under atta-”

He fell silent as something hard hit the stallion in the head with sufficient force to spatter Twilight with his blood. Twilight screamed as the chariot fell towards the Everfree forest, and just barely was able to put up a barrier as she hit the ground. The sudden strain on her already depleted reserves almost sent her into unconsciousness as she rolled through the underbrush in a bubble of force, cracking limbs and trampling bushes as she exhausted her momentum.

Battered and weary, Twilight pulled herself upright in what seemed to be a large clearing. The trees made ominous shadows and leering faces at the purple unicorn as she shook her head and looked around, dazed. A low rumble shook the air, and Twilight spun around to find herself facing the largest wolf she had ever seen. Its torso was built like an ape, and large, clawed hands snatched at the earth beneath it as it walked. Still, it was maybe a little larger than the soldiers of the Diamond Dogs she had faced, and Twilight readied her teleportation, intent on fleeing the scene, when a set of bright orange, slit-pupiled eyes glowed above the head of the wolf-creature before her. The eyes seemed to drink in Twilight’s courage and leave nothing but fear and despair in its place. She couldn’t even move. Twilight could barely breathe until an unseen mouth said, in words of honeyed venom, “Sleep...” And Twilight suddenly couldn’t keep her eyes open, descending into sleep unwillingly while the owner of that terrible voice approached, chuckling.

Twilight awoke in a silver cage that shone with reflected moonlight, placed there by the giant, unearthly wolf. She had healed cuts along her sides from where they had dragged her through the brambles, and the sight of them made her feel rather empty and lost. Her cage was one of thousands, all filled with frightened, pleading creatures. The other cages near Twilight gibbered and squeaked with odd sounds and frightening cries as their various inhabitants communicated their distress in a terrible cacophony of despair. Occasionally she heard voices in the crowd, ponies or other thinking beings, crying out for mercy and release, or screaming threats in maddened voices. Her nearest companions were a brutal troll of some kind and a small fox. The troll was huge and hulking, easily three times Twilight’s size, built like a gorilla with long talons and skin like rock. It bit at the bars, trying to escape in a mad, frothing rage, to no avail.

The fox, however, merely sat quietly. He merited extremely ornate bars that resonated with powerful magic for some reason, and the hulking wolf-creatures that came to feed them fed the fox from the end of a long pole. She would talk to the fox sometimes, because it appeared to listen, and because she had literally nothing else to do besides panic and cry. She tried to teleport out once, and had almost died from the magical feedback the cage had induced, sending fire through her body and mind for her impudence. Every other spell, even the simple cleaning ones she tried, had similar effects. Twilight stayed there for some time. How long she stayed she never knew, for the moon was nailed to the sky in whatever strange place she was. But one day, or night, a creature came by to claim her. He told her he was the Librarian of the Burning Books, and that she was his, and that was the end of his conversation with her. The Librarian was huge, thin and easily picked up the cage with her in it in its claw-like hands, along with the little fox's reinforced cage, who he likewise informed. The fox didn't seem terribly troubled, but Twilight fainted in terror. When she had awoken, she was in Hell; she was sure.

The Library of Burning Books is just that: a hellish place of smoke, fire and books being forever consumed. Her job, as it was explained to her, was to collect select volumes before the fires that washed through the library constantly consumed them and to bring them to the Reading Room, which was the only place the fire couldn't touch. If she failed, or brought back more than just the book she was told to, she would be given a large broom and told to sweep up the ashes in the corridor where she had failed, which by then would have mostly cooled, and bring them, bucket by bucket, down through an unlit stairway to toss them into a deep pit. If she failed to do so to the Librarian's standards, or refused to clean the halls, she would be tossed into the pit with the ashes for a time. She had gone in only once, and after that she had learned the Librarian's standards well, for fear of being subjected to that graveyard of whispering ashes again. For the books spoke down there, as ashes, lamenting their lot or simply spraying out bits of sentences, constantly yammering in her ears until Twilight felt herself going mad.

It was the fox that saved her that first time. After talking back to the voices in the darkness in a soft voice that reminded Twilight of her beloved teacher, he walked down the sheer wall of the pit and showed her how to ask the darkness to let her do the same. That was the start of her lessons in the bizarre logic of the Library and the nature of her captor. She learned that the Librarian was a lord of Faerie, of Arcadia, and the Library of Burning Books was its home. She had been bought from another faerie lord that lived in the Everfree Forest to perform her tasks, and to make her into something not herself. The little fox never gave a name, or answered any questions about his nature directly. He would instead always say he was 'a friend' and that his coming here, unlike Twilight's, was of his own volition. He taught her how to notice the little clues of the Library, to find its secret passages and hidden alcoves, places free from fire or ash where she could save the books. He also told her of the one way out of the Library: a pool of dark water in the Librarian's study. But the door to the study was locked and guarded at all times, and she would need to know how to use fate itself against her captor to escape.

Twilight learned. She learned the dark, safe spaces of the Library, became friends with the whispers in the darkness and the caress of forgotten cobwebs. She became taller, as she reached for higher books, and her horn grew longer and sharper as she focused more and more magic through it to save the precious volumes from the consuming blaze, day in and day out. Words wrapped around her lovingly, even as they turned to smoke and ash, they appreciated her efforts that saved their comrades, and while she changed, she learned. Her time off was spent reading, usually, as she attempted to find some form of mental escapism. She brushed up on all the subjects she could find, and many she’d never even heard of. The little fox, she found out from the books she saved, was a spirit of teaching, from a far off land. His knowledge of this strange land was remarkable, even for his kind, and Twilight began to wonder as to his origins and motives, even as she grew accustomed to her surroundings. The Library almost became like home, for a while, until she found the Pink Book.

It was a plain book, right in with the others, but brilliantly untouched by soot or dust, practically glowing in the gloom of one of her hidden reading rooms. She had set aside several private reading rooms, away from the Librarian’s sight, and filled them with as many books as she could. Still, most of the books were dark in color, or stained with soot until they became so, and the pink book shone amongst the others like a diamond in a chimneysweep’s ear. She pulled it out after a moment, and the three balloon design on the cover stirred a memory within her, of parties and dancing, and a pink, laughing pony. She opened the book, and found it was full of pictures, pictures of ponies laughing, having fun, including a certain purple unicorn with the same cutie mark as her, along with a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane and magenta eyes, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, whose cyan eyes were deep wells of kindness, a white unicorn with a well-groomed purple mane and elegant blue eyes, and two earth ponies: one pink with a similarly colored bouncy pink mane and blue eyes, and one orange with a bright yellow mane, a hat and green eyes. Twilight blinked. These were her friends! How could she have forgotten? She'd been in the Library so long, it had almost felt like home, but now she remembered: she was a prisoner here, however familiar the surroundings became. She knew then, that she had to escape.

Soon she was ready. She had prepared, with the little fox's help, a long, intricate plan that would get her into the pool without alerting the Librarian to her intent. The little fox would cause a distraction of sufficient magnitude to divert the Librarian’s attention. While he was distracted, Twilight would sneak along to all of her hidden reading rooms, taking as many books as she could save in a carefully designed wheelbarrow that featured a modified storage spell in it. Twilight would then start a huge ash-avalanche in one of the freshly burned sections of the Library. This would give the little fox enough time to set the shadows to consuming the fire in one of the burning sections. They would meet up back at the Librarian’s chambers, where they would break down the door and push their way into the hidden pool of water.

As fate would have it, the plan failed spectacularly. The Librarian was waiting for Twilight at the first reading room, and she had to dash to stay ahead of the screaming monster. Enraged, the Librarian was no longer a quietly menacing master in a long, dark robe. Claws of quill pens propelled the nightmarish thing towards Twilight, while a mouth that dripped with inky drool snarled curses and threats against her as she fled through the corridors of books, kicking up clouds of burnt pages and ashes that actively attempted to aid in her escape, forming clouds to block the Librarian’s vision. She blew the Librarian’s doors apart with a spell fueled by panic, then flung the leaves of the door behind her blindly, where one of them connected with the Librarian’s face, judging by the scream of pain and fury. It took her precious moments to find the pool of dark water where it sat in a curiously clean alcove. Twilight dove in, without any of the books she had intended to save, without the little fox, though she suspected he could take care of himself, and with the Librarian in hot pursuit, its metal, eyeless face dented where the door had hit it, but its metal-fanged mouth still snarling with fury even as it swam through the passage after her. For the pool led to a long underwater passageway, filled with razor-sharp coral that bit and cut at Twilight as she frantically eluded her captor. Cuts opened along Twilight’ sides as she writhed through the shadowy darkness of the passage, but the pain only drove her onward, reminding her of the life she had had stolen from her. Her breath burned in her chest as Twilight fought towards a distant light, the only hope she’d seen in her entire dark journey. Finally she managed to lose the Faerie Lord in a tangle of coral too dense for the metal monstrosity to follow through and, thinking of home, burst out into the Canterlot evening.

Every night the dream was the same, unless she consciously changed it, or went to Pinkie's dream, something that Pinkie didn't seem to mind at all, though her bizarre dreamscapes were seldom restful. She didn't care that Twilight was wandering into her dream, or didn't realize. One day, Twilight was making breakfast in the kitchen, musing about contacting one of her other friends, when Pinkie came down looking a little less cheery than usual.

“Hey Pinkie,” Twilight said, concerned, “What's, uh, what's up?”

Pinkie blinked a little and tried to focus on Twilight. “Oh nothing Twi, just feeling a little under... the... weather...” She shook her head and smiled, a little cross-eyed. “I think I might be a little sick, Twi, but don't you worry. I'll be perfectly...” Twilight had to catch her friend with her magic before the pink earth pony impacted the floor.

Harmony

She had moved Pinkie to a bed and proceeded to take her temperature, which was well above normal, and after she had assessed all her friend's symptoms, she allowed herself to panic. Her friend's fever was incredibly high, and while somepony might inquire once they noticed the shop was closed all day, Twilight was a wanted mare, and she couldn't be seen, and couldn't be sure anypony would come by if she hid. So she tended her friend until nightfall, gathered her courage with a cloak she found and wrapped about herself, and stepped out into nighttime Manehattan to seek out Rarity, who would, she hoped, be able to get in contact with medical professionals of some sort.

Twilight almost bolted back inside from the relative crowds of ponies, even after nightfall. In Ponyville the streets were deserted after dark, but here in the middle of Manehattan the street-lights never go out, and some businesses are always open. She found the streets patrolled by Royal Guards, but fortunately dark cloaks were appropriate for this late in the season and they never looked twice at her, or at anypony really. They seemed rather fresh and untested, obviously nervous and unused to their armor. She asked a couple ponies for directions, careful to keep in the shadows, lest she be recognized, and eventually found her way to being completely lost.

“Not again...” Twilight groaned, lost for the third time now after yet another set of bad directions, or maybe she just had trouble navigating in a city. The darkness of the alleyway was quite thick, and it was whispering to her softly, despite her best efforts to tune it out. She was startled out of her musings by a scream, a painfully familiar scream from the front of the alley, where a brilliant white unicorn was backing away from two pony silhouettes, shadows against the brilliance of the city beyond. Rarity.

“Step no closer, ruffians! Don't you dare make me ruin my pedicure to push you off, but so help me I'll-” Rarity broke off with a scream as one of the silhouettes bucked at her head, only to find his movement arrested by purple glowing flames that spread from his hoof out to enfold the whole of his body. He screamed and thrashed, but the flames wouldn't let him go, though they didn't burn him. The other thug tried to run, but found himself lifted off the ground along with his companion by the same eldritch fire, and pulled deeper into the darkness of the alleyway. A sense of menace fell over the two of them, the darkness around the thugs seeming to leer at them and grab at their vision, which was drawn inexorably to two points of light in the darkness.

Two glowing purple eyes radiated fury as they regarded the muggers coldly, and then a deep, menacing voice said softly, “You foolish, pitiable ponies,” The sound of the voice was like every terror the muggers had experienced, and their bodies shook with fear as the voice continued, “If you ever, ever attack the Element of Generosity again, not even your dreams will be safe.” One of the two stallions lost control of his bladder as the light from the purple flames showed Twilight's face, the face of a mass murderer, of the most wanted unicorn in Equestrian history, that had been hanged in front of everypony. “I will find you, wherever you go, even in your deepest nightmares. Now run,” and the force holding the muggers dropped them in the middle of the alley, causing them to get tangled in their haste to escape, brushing past the white unicorn at the entrance, who was staring, slack-jawed at the place where Twilight's eyes had filled the alley with light and fear.

Twilight stepped out into the dim illumination offered by the little bit of street-light bleeding into the alley and hesitantly pushed back her hood, smiling at her old friend, “Um... Hi Rarity, I, uh, I'm back! And not the bad me, I mean I'm me, I mean... I didn't... I wasn't the one who...” She trailed off uncertainly, Rarity was still staring and it was a little off-putting. She walked slowly towards Twilight, who kept smiling uncertainly, then, with the air of somepony trying an experiment, kissed Twilight on the lips quickly but deeply then appeared to think about the flavor. Twilight's brain kind of short-circuited, her eyes crossed, and she almost fainted, mumbling wildly, “Wha-... What was tha-” And just as quickly Rarity wrapped her hooves around her friend's neck, hugging her tightly.

“Pinkie was right, oh Celestia above, she was right all this time and we never... But where have you bee-” Rarity started saying, tears filling her tone.

“We don't have time, Rarity,” Twilight interrupted, remembering her task and deciding to ask about the kiss later, “Pinkie just collapsed, before we could open her shop-”

“We?” Rarity interrupted curiously, pulling back from Twilight, “You've been staying with her then?” There was no trace of judgement about her tone, merely surprise. "And she just collapsed?"

Twilight nodded, “Please, just call a doctor or something, she has a fever and is comatose, and...” Twilight started listing the symptoms she found, finishing with, “... And I've made a cold compress for her but that was hours ago, and I couldn't find you and I'm a wanted mare now, I almost got execu-” Rarity held a hoof up to interrupt Twilight and nodded understandingly.

“Of course, I'll call some professionals to help, just go back to the shop, they'll be along soon." Twilight relaxed, and Rarity slowly lowered her hoof with a soft smile at her old friend, "And Twilight, dear, it's so wonderful to see you, I'm just... I can't believe it, but go, we'll talk later, teleport ahead and unlock the door, go!”

Twilight nodded as Rarity dashed off, and teleported to Pinkie's bedside. She hadn't moved, but she was still breathing. Pinkie's usually smiling, open and happy face was drawn and flushed, and sweat streaked her coat in places. Twilight kept her panic down, changed her compress, checked her temperature, then remembered the imminent medical ponies' arrival. She took a moment to conjure a note for the doctors detailing Pinkie's symptoms and suggested treatments, pinned it to Pinkie's covers, then ran downstairs to unlock the door. Right as she was about to unlock the bolt, it was kicked open and two blurs raced in, one blue and one yellow. They flew up the stairs to the bedrooms, and Twilight was left to pick herself up off the floor.

Twilight had almost recovered when the blue blur raced back downstairs. It tackled her to the ground in a spectacular hug, then Twilight felt a pair of blue lips press firmly against hers. Twilight spluttered, thoroughly confused and off-put, “Gah! What is this? Kiss Twilight Day?”

Rainbow Dash licked her lips thoughtfully and seriously, then nodded, “Sorry Twi, had to be sure.” She hugged her friend tight, then backed off, and said, smirking a little as Twilight got to her feet, looking mildly indignant, “You taste like berries, by the way. Anyway Twi,” Dash said, looking professional, “Fluttershy's seeing to Pinkie now, it looks like Rarity told us just in time, and...” She looked down, looking unexpectedly ashamed, “I think we all owe her an apology, none of us believed her when... When she said you'd come back, or that the other Twilight wasn't really you...”

Twilight nodded gently and hugged her friend. She just held Rainbow Dash for a couple of moments, then backed off a bit and asked, “So, what's with the kissing anyway?”

Portents and Portals

Twilight however felt less than happy with the whole going in alone plan once she actually was standing in front of the entrance to the Everfree Forest, armed only with two saddlebags of books and four heavy iron horseshoes nailed to her hooves. The horseshoes were tremendously heavy, compared to what the scholar was used to, but she didn't make any additional noise really. When SILENCE is the rule, you learn quickly to keep your steps quiet. On those rather grim thoughts, she stepped forward towards the forest, only to find a familiar red fox sitting in the middle of the path, looking irritated. “You're alive!” Twilight exclaimed, and she elatedly ran up to the little fox, who jumped back, ears flattened.

“Don't do this, you cannot save the child.” The fox's soft voice was thoroughly annoyed, as was his body posture, “You'll only make things worse, Twilight!”

Twilight glared, “That's a fine how-do-you-do. And I'm going in anyway, that's my friend's sister in there.” She went to walk past the little fox, only to find him some ways up the path somehow, blocking her way again.

“Do. Not. Do this. I am bound to protect you, but if you go in there I can't protect you against everything.” The little fox seemed a little more desperate now, almost pleading, “Please Twilight, don't throw your freedom away, it took a year and a day of planning just to get you out the first time!”

Twilight snorted and walked past the little fox, mentally noting 'bound to protect you' for future reference, “My mind is made up... You know, you never did tell me your name.”

The fox sighed and walked alongside Twilight, “Of course not, there's power in names. Since I can't dissuade you though, call me... Blackboard.”

“But... You're not bla-”

“Ugh, yes I know, Miss Literal, it was a reference to teaching, I'm a teacher I'll have you know. Speaking of which, if you're really going in there, I should really get into the spirit of things.” Then, in a flash of light, there was no little fox standing next to Twilight, only a tall red alicorn with black-tipped ears, golden eyes and a fox-colored mane and tail. He was quite handsome, in a way, if somewhat effeminate, and Twilight found herself staring until she caught him grinning.

Twilight turned her nose up disinterestedly, “Nice enough, I suppose, if a bit pretentious,” she teased Blackboard, walking on. The fox-turned-pony laughed before catching up.

“Oh ho, well I suppose it is. Still, it's a nice shape though, don't you think?” He posed on a rock someways ahead on the path, rather handsomely, until a bird landed on his head. He shooed it away while Twilight giggled, “Bah, never any respect for theatrics. Alright, well if we're going on this fools' errand, we should at least stop by your friend Zecora's house. If she lives out here, she should know her way around.”

The pair made their way through the forest in relative silence, only pausing occasionally to comment to one another, but anypony else in the forest would have marveled at how unseen this pair could be. Once, they walked right past a rabbit without its ears so much as twitching, and Twilight was beginning to wonder if her lessons in the Burning Library had changed her more than she knew. Still, if she was quiet, it was as though Blackboard wasn't even there until he said something or did something else to deliberately break stealth.

They came upon Zecora's hut after about an hour, the familiarly bizarre abode comforting to Twilight now, after wandering the forest for so long. From inside however, came a terrible shriek, as if somepony was in great pain. Twilight rushed to break down the door, only to be repelled painfully with a flash of light. She tried again, with the same result, and would have tried a third time had Blackboard not stepped in the way. “Easy now, you'll kill yourself before the Faeries get you,” he said with a certain degree of dark humor, “I'll handle this.” He lifted a powerful hoof, and knocked politely, calling out, “Miss Zecora, are you quite alright?”

From inside came a muffled curse, and, to Twilight's surprise, a blushing multicolored zebra answered the door, breathing hard. “What is it now, you silly foals, I'm quite alright now go back to your holes!” She was about to close the door when she noticed Twilight, and her eyes narrowed, “On second thought, you'd best come in, I'm sorry for the terrible din. I ran afoul of some poison joke, while looking for lost ponyfolk.” Zecora sighed and beckoned the two ponies in, looking embarrassed, “For that I think I need some aid, this is the worst prank yet the joke has played!"

The ingredients for the cure lay scattered about, and Zecora nodded to them, "The joke this time is not much fun, I cannot get my brewing done. It makes my hooves as slick as glass, and without them my work is not so fast."

Twilight helped finish the brew, working from her memories of her past experience with the joking flower and the text of Supernaturals, which she remembered with remarkable clarity. As she luxuriated in the hot remedy, her stripes returning rapidly to normal, Zecora looked Twilight over critically, “Thank you my friend for your help most speedy, I could not have finished the tricky remedy. Still, Miss Sparkle, you must make amends, for not introducing me to your brand new friend.” She smiled at Blackboard, who smiled back winningly.

“This, Zecora, is Blackboard, and he helped me out of the care of... One of the creatures that has taken Applebloom.” Twilight faltered a little, she had been so wrapped up in helping to cure Zecora that she had almost forgotten why she'd come. Blackboard had been no help at all, he merely wandered around the hut curiously, poking his nose into this and that while Twilight worked to finish the remedy.

“If you helped Twilight, you have my thanks, and not just for relief from pranks.” Zecora closed her eyes and said, smiling a little as she sank deeper into the fragrant herbal remedy, before her expression sobered, “Applebloom was taken yes, deeper in the woods no less. To find her trail, go to the castle of the pony sisters before their great battle. Once there you'll find an ill-omened arch, beneath the needles of an ancient larch. Ask it to be let inside, for a passageway that archway hides.” She turned and looked at Twilight, who was frowning and thinking. She grabbed Twilight's face and pulled it close to her own, forcing the unicorn to look her in the eyes, “Go now Twilight, do not delay, lest Applebloom become no more this day. Before the sun rises, look for the wolf, the great hunter of all that runs on the hoof.” Twilight nodded and dashed out, while Blackboard sauntered after. Zecora called out to the red alicorn, “And you, little nogitsune, with your cunning smile and dashing way," Blackboard stopped abruptly at those words and turned, fixing Zecora with a calculating look that was quickly concealed beneath a confident veneer. The zebra continued lightly, "If so much as a hair is harmed on Applebloom, you'll find her sister to be your doom.” Something about the way she said those words made it sound ominously like a prediction, but the cocky alicorn bowed, unfazed, “Of course, Oracle, I wouldn't dream of letting anything happen to a foal, you know that.” Zecora nodded, smiling a little, and gestured for him to leave, which the fox-turned-alicorn did, respectfully.

The road to the Castle of the Pony Sisters went quickly, and it was just barely past ten o'clock when they arrived at the eerie ruin. The place was sad, as always, but it seemed a little sinister in light of recent events, Twilight thought. Even Blackboard seemed a little subdued, merely poking around the ruins quietly and leading Twilight in a rather circuitous route. Twilight noticed he seemed to know exactly where he was going, but was trying to look like he didn't. She pondered how she knew this exactly, but it just seemed obvious, and without any real avenues to explore, she shelved the question for the moment. At about the point when she was starting to get annoyed with Blackboard, they arrived at a great iron arch, its surface pitted with corrosion, ominous in the moonlight which, if Twilight was any judge, showed they were rapidly approaching midnight.

“So, I just ask it to let me in?” Twilight asked rhetorically, but Blackboard answered anyway.

“Yep, knock three times and ask to be let in. From there you'll be entering the Hedge.” Something about the way he said Hedge made it sound like more than simple topiary.

“The Hedge?” Twilight asked, approaching the arch a little nervously. For an inanimate object it held a considerable amount of weight to it, and a certain menace. It had been almost hidden in an alcove, and through the arch a sturdy corridor had been built that was untouched by the deterioration of the rest of the castle. Still, the corridor ended a little ways in, so Twilight didn't much see the point, “Looks more like a closet from here. You're sure this is the place?”

“Yep. Go ahead and knock then Twilight, let's not keep Applebloom waiting.”

“Right!” And with that, Twilight knocked on the iron surface of the arch, her metal horseshoes clanging discordantly on the old iron, “Let me in, in the name of Celestia!” Twilight felt a strange shiver run through her as she said the words, and she looked over her shoulder at Blackboard, “Was that right?”

“See for yourself, go through,” Blackboard waved a hoof towards the gate which, while not having changed in any way, seemed more like a deep hole than the short corridor from a moment before. Twilight walked forward, through the archway and into the short, dark corridor...

… That kept going. And going. And going until a soft golden light began to filter through the area, just when Twilight was starting to get fed up with the whole nonsense. She found herself in a strange place: a single, winding path surrounded by twisting, thorny vines that encircled books and shelves in a most distressingly familiar way. It was all illuminated by candlelight, “Candlelight?" Twilight said curiously, "But... There're no candles.”

“Of course not,” said Blackboard from immediately beside Twilight, making the unicorn jump, “That'd be a terrible fire hazard.” He smiles, but the thought of fire triggers even more unpleasant memories in Twilight, who shivers and moves to look at the vines and books. On closer inspection, the vines seemed to be made of folded paper, pages torn from nearby books most like. The books themselves were in strange, alien languages or just blank. There was something hungry about this place, something grasping and... Not evil, but terribly, terribly callous, as if it had never known kindness and wouldn't even understand it if it had.

“This is fascinating... Terrifying, but fascinating, if I could just...”

“Twilight. Your friend is counting on you, her sister is lost and alone and most likely in a cage if she isn't eaten already and...” He tilted his head, listening to a distant howl while a thoroughly rebuked Twilight hung her head in shame, “The hunters will be here soon. Keep focused, don't forget, and don't think of anything but rescuing Applebloom. I'll try to lead the pack away, but you must STAY FOCUSED! Good luck Twilight, I'll explain this place to you later, if we both walk out of this.” With that he dashed off through the thorns, brushing them aside carelessly as he pressed through them, shouldering the razor-sharp thorns aside with no apparent discomfort.

“Wait!” But her guide was already gone. Bereft of his fragile assistance, Twilight felt very lost indeed. She also felt extremely guilty for forgetting about Applebloom once already. So, gathering her courage, Twilight walked down the broad path, thinking only of rescuing Applejack's sister, and trying to ignore the oh too familiar whispering of the nearby shadows that offered explanations or sputtered nonsense. The Hedge here was firm and rocky, and her path wound around boulders and rogue shelving, yet she felt somehow that she was slowly climbing. She heard a pained yelp from far off, and turned, remembering Blackboard. Her path behind was blocked with thorny growth, but she could clearly see her hoofsteps behind her: little pools of whispering shadow from which words curled up like smoke. She frowned, that made it easier to be followed, even if the brambles were effectively closing the path behind her. She turned around again to keep moving forward, and found the path had narrowed somewhat. She was worried about Blackboard, but he could probably take care of himself Twilight reasoned, so she shook her head and focused on finding Applebloom again, pressing through the razor-sharp thorns and wincing as a few of them scratched her hide, leaving a little blood on the paper spines to drip onto the pages of a blank, discarded book.

Bloody Rescue

Strangely, as she resolved to find her friend's sister, the thorns seemed to recede somewhat, and the path got a little brighter. “Psychoreactive landscape,” Twilight murmured, realizing in a flash what the changes meant, and she decided to keep that in mind as she continued. An agonized scream echoed from up ahead, and the Hedge rippled with darkness as Twilight felt a shiver of fear run through her. She ran forwards, as that was the only way she could go, and kept a wary eye out for changes or dangers. The paper thorns slowly became more sinister as she drew closer to the source of the screaming, with drops of blood falling from the sharpened canopy above and staining the books, coloring the cobwebs of words trailing off them. Another scream rang out, making the Hedge shiver and raining blood down. Twilight ran forward, knowing now that she must stop whatever horror was going on and burst through a curtain of soft vines that dripped with dark red ichor into a sudden clearing.

The clearing was small, with only brambles surrounding it, and two large stones in the middle. The whole clearing was awash with old blood, the grass of the clearing black with it in the dim lighting. A green, thin creature, vaguely unicorn-like in shape with its horn sharp and glistening, turned to Twilight in surprise, “My lady, I am the Warden of this grove, what is thy business here?” The creature had a burbling, swampy kind of voice, that went with its wavy, sedge-like mane and water-bloated flesh.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight attempted to keep with the appearance of authority that the Warden seemed to be expecting. The green creature smiled its swampy smile, showing several pointed, blackened teeth.

The Warden seemed perturbed by Twilight's appearance, it even bowed, trembling a little, “I'm afraid these ones are not for you, if you've come to claim them, I am simply preparing them for my master's customer. If you wish to speak with him about it, the Bloody Walker should be here soon.” A cough drew Twilight's attention back to the two stones. The stones were upright, with elegant swirls carved in, through which blood was running freely from the two figures chained to them. A white unicorn mare with a glassy blue mane and red, glowing eyes looked pleadingly at Twilight, glittering blood weeping from fresh wounds down her side, while a grey earth pony mare who seemed carved of stone, with veins of white marble running through her sides hung listless in her silver chains. She was barely breathing, with several deep wounds along her sides that wept red tears. The creature that had greeted her turned back to the restrained ponies, and she saw that the glistening on its horn had been from the blood dripping off it.

The Warden of the Grove never knew what hit him when Twilight's magic smacked him face-first into the space between the stones, wedging his horn there painfully. The creature wailed, thrashing, and Twilight walked was about to make life very unfortunate for the thing when the other side of the clearing burst open. Standing there was a vaguely ape-like creature with dripping, steel skin and glaring red eyes. He seemed surprised, for a creature whose humanoid appearance seemed as alien to Twilight as the dark side of the moon, but he advanced on the figures chained to the rocks. The Warden called out to the creature, “My lord! Be wary! The creature here is-” The Warden broke off with a scream as the chained white unicorn managed an awkward kick with a manacled leg and broke something in the green thing's knee. The humanoid figure ignored all this, and continued to advance until Twilight teleported her way between the ponies chained to the rock and the figure, the Bloody Walker she assumed.

“Stop!” Twilight asserted firmly, “You cannot have these ponies, I... I won't let you!” Something about the figure reminded her of the time spent in the Library of Burning books, and it seemed that the blood-soaked grass of the clearing was slowly becoming the familiar wooden floors, while books started appearing in the brambles around the fringes. The Walker stopped for a moment, considering, then lashed out at the unicorn with a lightning-fast strike of his fist. Twilight caught the fist with her magic, holding it still. She started to get angry, very very angry as memories of her nightmares came back to her, “You think you can just walk in here and steal ponies from their homes, to tear families apart, to give them reason to grieve?!” She snapped the Walker's arm with a flex of her magic, sending out a spray of blood from the snapped section, to her surprise, but the unicorn was too angry to care. She pulled herself to her full height, and her mane burst into wings of flame behind her, filled with burning words of condemnation and righteous fury. “YOU DARE STRIKE AT PONYKIND?!” Twilight's voice seemed to warp the clearing, and tendrils of vines snaked out to wrap around the Walker's limbs painfully, pinning the metal creature down as Twilight advanced. “WE ARE A KIND, LOVING PEOPLE AND YOU DARE PROFIT FROM OUR SUFFERING?! WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO YOU?! WHAT DO YOU GAIN FROM OUR LOSS?!” She walked up to the metal creature, now firmly entangled in vines and snarling alien invectives as it thrashed, seriously hampered by the vines and Twilight's magical grip. It lunged for her, but Twilight pinned down the outstretched silver claw with an iron-shod hoof, causing the thing to scream terribly, like a mad nightmare.

Twilight lost it about then, not seeing the Walker at all, instead the twisted, horrific visage of her captor, the one that still haunted her nightmares. She started stomping and kicking, blood flying everywhere while flames of rage burned the droplets to naught but vapor. The whispers in the shadows became shouts, and the clearing for a while became a reading room filled with smoke, where the books shouted encouragement to Twilight and sneered at the Warden, responding to her rage and fear. Twilight stomped the Walker into the ground, until at last the creature was no more. Upon its death, a wave of force blew out, scrubbing the clearing clean of ichor, launching Twilight away and returning the grove to its arboreal state. A tree grew quickly from the Walker's mangled remains, but seemed dead, its branches twisted and gnarled, but unadorned with leaves. Of all this, Twilight was only dimly aware in the aftermath of the battle.

Now that the Walker was dead, Twilight felt hideous. She was covered in blood and soot, she had just killed something, and for what? A whimper reminded her. Twilight ran over to the ponies chained to the standing stones and cut them free with quick bursts of magic, before lowering them gently to the grove floor. The white unicorn immediately crawled over to the grey earth pony, who seemed weaker, she was dying, her blood still seeping from fresh wounds. Twilight looked around for something to stop the bleeding, but the clearing had returned to leaves and sticks. She ran around the clearing, looking for anything, a scrap of cloth, something to keep the earth pony's blood in her injured body. It never crossed her mind that the ponies would die, she never once let the thought enter her mind. The shadows around Twilight whispered more urgently and she listened for a while, trying to glean some information that might save the two mares.

An apple landed next to Twilight, interrupting her train of thought, its glittering golden color brilliant in the dim clearing. The white unicorn noticed it and cried out, magically rolling the fruit towards her with a sputtering blue glow. Another landed, and another, and Twilight levitated them all over to the white unicorn, who had split the apple and was gently squeezing the juice into the earth pony's mouth telekinetically. She was muttering softly, “Come on Tavi, just drink the damn stuff, come on...” Twilight blinked and looked down at the earth pony's flank, which was healing slowly as the golden apple's juice seeped into her mouth. It was Octavia Pie, Pinkie's distant relative who had been playing at the Gala, though she looked somewhat different now: Her mane looked carved of stone, though it moved readily enough, and her whole body was covered in thin veins of faintly glowing white marble. She looked to the white unicorn with the mane like blue glass and saw the familiar note shape: it was Scratch, Vinyl Scratch, and this close she saw she was almost as different as Octavia. The white mare's mane seemed to be made of blue glass, and her coat shimmered softly whenever she made a noise, rippling with faint rainbows when she spoke or breathed, while her eyes glowed intensely with a crimson radiance. Twilight deposited the other apples by Scratch, and gently tried to take control of the telekinesis over the golden apple, which was faltering as Vinyl began to succumb to her own wounds. Scratch protested violently, “No! You're not gonna take her, no! Go away! I won't...” Twilight caught the apple half before it fell into the now-stabilized Octavia's mouth and choked her, while Scratch passed out from her own blood loss.

Melody and Dissonance

Gradually, through the help of two golden apples apiece, the unicorn and the earth pony alike had lost their wounds and were eating apples under their own power. Twilight ate one too, marveling at the smooth, delicious flavor of them, and kept an eye on the moon for time: it looked as if they'd only lost an hour or so, but she knew she had to get going again soon. “So... Scratch, right? And Octavia? What... Why're you...”

“Out here?” Octavia said softly in a voice like crystal chimes. The earth pony had come to after the first apple, and had given Twilight the most peculiar look before turning to help Scratch. “That depends, what's Twilight Sparkle, the Terror of Canterlot, doing in the realm of the Beast looking after lost changelings?” Changelings is what they had called themselves, from the old term for a faerie construct left in place of a foal. She had always dismissed those tales as excuses of overworked parents, or grieving mothers, but in the Hedge it rang ominously true.

“Somepony ought to, as cliché as that sounds,” Twilight joked, though the piercing gazes from the two mares seemed so unamused she coughed embarrassedly, “A-and I'm looking for the little sister of a friend of mine, who was taken by the Beast, and I have until sunrise to bring her back. So if you want to go back, go ahead, but I have to save Applebloom.”

Scratch and Octavia looked at each other, and nodded. They rose as one and bowed to Twilight, “Twilight Sparkle, we owe you our lives, but we're unsuited to work like this.” Twilight's face must've shown her disappointment, because Scratch continued hurriedly, “But if you want our help once this is over, just look us up in Canterlot. Also, keep those apples,” she pointed to the pile of golden fruit still remaining, “If you survive, give those to Princess Celestia, she needs them terribly.” Octavia nodded mutely, never really one for words, emphasizing her mate's soft alto voice with her glowing purple gaze.

Twilight nodded and focused for a moment, then conjured a pair of saddle-baskets, into which she piled the golden apples before securing them with a conjured bit of tarp. She turned to thank the mares, but they had already dashed off down the way Twilight had come. Twilight sighed, “Alone again...” The purple unicorn's attention was grabbed by the whimpering of the green unicorn-thing whose horn was still trapped between the two horrible standing stones despite its constant attempts to escape. At Twilight's thought, the stones released the creature, who fell backwards and found himself staring up at the grim, burning visage of Twilight Sparkle.

The green equinoid scrambled to his hooves and groveled before Twilight, “Greetings, oh Maiden of the Flames, whose unsullied wrath brought low the Bloody Walker... Uh... What can Scum do for you?” Scum tried another smile, but the horrible visage above him seemed impassive and enigmatic. He felt himself magically lifted and placed on his hooves, facing the tall purple unicorn with the mane of violet flame and whispering words trailing off her like living cobwebs of shadow.

Scum wasn't the sanest pony in the Hedge, as his sojourns into the real world were brief at best. He distantly remembered he used to have a family, but one of the first things the Beast had made him do was murder them. Ever since his whole life had been shaped by the Beast, serving his master's every bizarre, cruel whim. As a consequence, he didn't see Twilight in the usual manner. To Scum, Twilight appeared as a dark unicorn of purple, orange, shadows and grinning teeth, like Nightmare Moon but with dusk, full of the terrible potential at the end of the day. To Scum, Twilight's mane was like living flame, full of fire and shadow with whispering words at the edge of his hearing. Scum started trembling, “Scum applauds the Maiden's victory, but... T-The Beast will be most short with her for assaulting his guest.” He winced, expecting a buck to the face from those terrible hooves.

Twilight frowned. This creature seemed more like a whipped victim to her than a villain really, and something about him seemed not entirely there. She smiled, then said brightly, “Then I had best go apologize. Scum, can you show me the way to the Beast please?” The green creature looked at her like she'd gone mad, then flinched and nodded. “Show me then, Scum.”

Scum swallowed, then nodded to the path beside the golden fruit tree, from which the Bloody Walker had emerged. “That way, Maiden, the Beast is past the two other clearings like this one, in which a mighty garrison will be ready to greet thee with... Pomp and circumstance.” Scum had a cunning glint in his eye, and Twilight suspected there would be more than musical greetings at the next clearing.

Still, she had no other way to go and so approached the path with the green Scum in tow, who was too terrified to run now on top of his injury, especially when Twilight's presence alone was making the path of the Hedge here like a twisted library with her ambient power, where the books fluttered and thrashed in the brambles-turned-shelves like birds caught in the blackberries. Scum tried not to listen to the whispering of the pages, which hissed terrible things to him as he walked, but they were everywhere, so instead he talked to the tall unicorn, “Um... Scum wishes to ask, Maiden, why you seek the little pony-child, since she is not your own.”

Twilight kept walking for a little while, “Because, Scum, I promised to.” Surprisingly, Scum nodded understandingly and dropped back into silence. After a long while Twilight asked, “Why were you hurting those ponies, Scum?”

“Hurting, Maiden? I was preparing them for their new keeper,” said Scum with a trace of puzzlement, “The Bloody Walker insists his charges be almost bloodless, that he might save them with the blood from his own body. Besides.” Scum continued, “My master, the Beast, ordered me to do so.” Twilight and Scum walked for a while in silence, the latter sure this creature beside him was no Lady, but equally sure he couldn't run with the damage the white thing had inflicted on him or the horrible consequences his actions would have. Twilight however, found pity welling up for this strange, mad creature, “So, Scum, where are you from? Where did your master pick you up?”

Scum blinked, and said softly after several long moments, “Scum... Doesn't know. There was... A farm, I think, with... With grain... And... And carrots...” Scum felt strange, recalling the farm, and almost missed directing Twilight down the correct fork towards the next grove. He would've gotten her happily lost, but for a lingering fear that she'd somehow find him afterwards. Something about this mare scared him deeply, there was something unpredictable and volatile about her that had given her the strength of will to completely destroy the Bloody Walker, a Faerie Lord of significant power, though nowhere near the power of his master, the Beast. Something about her was iron, he decided: cold and hard, with a heart that burned with fury, and it terrified him.

The Red Bastion was the name of the second clearing, Scum informed Twilight subserviently, and like the last it had a very clear entryway that resisted the bookishness of the rest of the Hedge, but unlike the last it came with a building. The Bastion itself was a huge, blocky stone building with doors that were made of solid silver that, while polished to a mirror shine, didn't reflect the two equines. In the case of Scum, this was probably a blessing, but Twilight found it deeply unnerving. Some sort of industry was going on inside, and some sort of stench was gently wafting from the closed door. “The Red Bastion, Maiden,” Scum said obsequiously, “I will arrange passage through, Maiden if you will but wait...” But Twilight had already knocked on the door, which cracked and disintegrated under her iron-shod hoof, to her surprise and Scum's silent horror.

Twilight almost passed out from the stench that powered out once the door fell away. It was horrible, like every terrible scent she'd ever smelled rolled in Diamond Dog muck. And it was loud: a constant grinding, rumbling noise, like a gigantic mill that pressed against her ear drums. She winced, then straightened and walked in, with Scum trailing warily after, whimpering softly.

Author's note: Chapter postings will slow down now, got lots of classwork to finish, but never fear, I shan't leave you hanging! Well, for long anyway.

Horror and Death

Inside the Red Bastion, the only light came from Twilight's burning mane, casting eerie purple shadows over the strange moving gears and rather distressingly organic shapes moving with a distinctly biological grace. It was like being in a living machine, Twilight felt, that was extremely loud and reeked of death. She tried calling out, but couldn't even hear herself over the grinding machines. The machines themselves, once she walked closer, seemed to be gears and arms made of some kind of silvery metal, and served no real purpose she could see: endlessly pumping and turning, sometimes without any apparent means of locomotion. Periodically a reeking gout of some dark fluid would wash over the metallic parts from some spout in the ceiling, presumably for lubrication purposes, but the machines seemed to drink it in, working faster when the liquid washed over them like some sort of strange creature feeding on whatever it was in the noxious liquid that sustained it.

Twilight turned and found that her guide, Scum, was clinging close to her and she couldn't bring herself to shake off the wretched creature. Scum trembled against Twilight, bits of his mane falling out periodically, his drowned-looking flesh quaking with quiet terror, and for a moment, Twilight felt bad about forcing him to guide her. Still, she had to save Applebloom, and Scum had been torturing ponies, albeit without any real malice. She was about to say something comforting to Scum when a hook attached to a mechanical limb shot out and pierced Scum's side, causing him to scream. Before Twilight could blink, the vicious limb pulled Scum into the darkness above, lifting him painfully out of her sight, screaming all the while.

More hooks shot out of the darkness, aiming for Twilight, who started running through the strange halls, dodging metal hooks and limbs, their cruel barbs glistening with the foul lubricant that sprayed from above like the last fell gasp of one of the ancient gods of plague. One barbed hook snagged her apple basket and pulled Twilight over, and would have dragged her off if she hadn't blasted it with her magic reflexively. A deep rumbling scream echoed from above, and suddenly Twilight found herself dodging twice as many hooks, blasting those that got too close: either melting them to impotence or fusing them to the floor where the attached arm flailed uselessly.

A light glowed ahead in the thrashing darkness, which resolved into an EXIT sign, which seemed very incongruous in that nightmarish place. Still, with nowhere else to go except back the way she came, Twilight made for the distant green sign, which proved to be attached to a wall, above a door with a simple push-latch. She burst through it ahead of a mass of grasping hooks and found herself in a stairwell that rose into darkness, while the hooked appendages thrashed through the open doorway in apparent frustration. Twilight snarled and slammed the door shut magically, fusing it with a blast of purple fire from her mane, the metal sealing the arms to the doorframe.

Inside the stairwell, the unicorn found herself with room to breathe. No hooks threatened here, no machinery ground its ponderous mystery upon her eardrums, and no reeking fluid rained from on high; the only thing the concrete interior of the stairwell smelled like was dust, and the only sounds were her own breathing, a distant bass thumping and the thrashing of the barbed hooks against the door she'd just entered, while the only light came from the flickering of her burning mane, which was now as large and magnificent as her mentor's, but filled with an eldritch collection of symbols and words, which she recognized as bits of magical formulae.

Twilight sighed softly, confused, and conjured a white light mote to look herself over, one of the simple spells from her time training under Celestia. She immediately wished she hadn't checked: Twilight's coat was matted with blood, which explained the horrible reek of the dark fluid and gave the machines a decidedly macabre feeling. She winced as it reminded her of Scum, who had been taken by the dark hooks, to some unknown fate, and that reminded her of Applebloom, who may be suffering worse than this while she fretted about blood in her coat and the fate of a torturer.

Twilight's lips set into a frown as she looked around the stairwell for some clue as to an exit, she still had one hollow to go through after this, and without her guide it could take her a while to get there. She found what seemed to be an escape diagram laminated on one wall: it depicted a pony running up the stairs, into a room at the top where the word 'EXIT' was printed neatly above a giant eye. With no time to interpret the strange diagram, Twilight looked up for how far she'd have to go, flaring her magic to show how many flights of stairs she'd have to climb. The stairs stretched into the darkness, beyond the range of even her puissant light spell.

“I don't have time to climb this!” Twilight said to herself, her voice echoing strangely in the concrete stairwell. Then she noticed, the stairwell was a spiral running along the inside of what was essentially a giant tube. The purple unicorn licked her lips nervously, she'd never tried flight before without wings, but she didn't have time to make the butterfly wings she'd crafted for Rarity so long ago. She closed her eyes and began to focus her magic, whispering to the shadows to help her, and listening to the advice of the ever-present darkness.

Twilight's mane of purple fire formed a circle around the dusk-colored unicorn, and oozed into designs of power and command that floated around her like adoring spirits. Twilight's mote of white light went out, then she bunched her legs under her like Rainbow Dash taking off and leapt up, completing the spell. Twilight flew up the center of the stairwell like a purple comet, passing hundreds of flights of stairs in moments, the sound of crackling raw magic following her as the violet fire seared through the darkness, trailing diagrams and words behind her like sparks. For Twilight it was like riding a wave of pure willpower: believing herself upwards, focused through the lens of the spell she'd crafted only moments before and amplified by her raw talent into the eldritch fire propelling her upwards.

She barely missed impacting the ceiling of the stairwell, diverting at the last moment to crash hooves-first through the door at the top of the endless staircase. Twilight rolled for a short while then tried to stagger upright, only to fall over from dizziness. She shook her head and stood up, clearing the cobwebs of dizziness from her mind with her determination to continue.

Twilight found herself in a large vaulted chamber, with the elegant architecture of Canterlot Castle alongside grim images of skulls and bones, accented by the actual skulls and bones that littered the floor. Twilight had never seen so many bones in one place, not even when she'd visited the Elephant Graveyard with the rest of the School for Gifted Unicorns, and the sight of so many so casually discarded made her stomach churn. From the far end came a distant glow, which beckoned the unicorn forward. As she approached, the light grew stronger, and Twilight had to stop herself from gagging once she saw what the source of the light was.

An enormous tank full of the dark fluid sat embedded in the far end of the room, inside which floated a huge glowing eye, that regarded Twilight with a kind of cold fury. The Warden of this place, she assumed, like Scum had been. The thought of Scum gave the purple unicorn a stab of guilt for a moment, but then Twilight stood before the tank, trying to ignore the way the floor crunched as she walked over it, “Let me through, Warden, and return the Warden Scum to me, I will not be stopped by your dark sanctuary!”

The eye widened a little, and Twilight was able to see that the light from within the tank was actually being shed by the portal embedded in the pupil of the eye itself. Strange runes glowed in the iris of the eye and words snaked into Twilight's mind without the courtesy of visiting her ears, Child of mortal flesh, the eye responded, Your arrogance will be your undoing, and you will pay dearly for bringing iron into my domain! Twilight had barely received the final message before the floor gave out from under her, and she fell far onto something firm but yielding that was moving quite quickly.

Twilight sprang to her feet, and found herself on a gruesome conveyor belt, with the hole she'd fallen through already gone. Bodies of all kinds of creatures, all still fresh, were being pulled along with her towards some lighted funnel at the far end from which the grinding chaos of the lower levels issued like a growling threat. Twilight barely had time to realize she was in danger until she was almost into the funnel herself, which, this close, she could see was covered in blades so sharp they seemed to liquefy the bodies that fell in, funneling the ichor into a churning pit of sharpened silvery blades.

Twilight quickly teleported back to the other end of the hall and focused on dodging between the corpses to keep from throwing up. A flash of movement caught her eye, and Twilight danced over the bodies and parts thereof to find Scum, still barely clinging to life and bleeding through the hole the hook that had taken him had made. Twilight levitated out one of the golden apples, which were still miraculously unharmed despite the thrashing she'd gotten, crushed it with a thought and forced it into his mouth. The wound closed, but Scum didn't awaken immediately, so Twilight picked him up with telekinesis and started fighting the current of the belt, dodging the dead and dying as she looked for the trap door she'd fallen through.

Twilight tripped, lost her control and dropped Scum, who woke up when he hit the belt and started running once he realized where he was, his eyes wide and terrified, his bloated-looking form pumping with hidden muscles to preserve his life.

Twilight used magic to skip around the conveyor belt, teleporting and telekinetically jumping around, but Scum had no such ability. Scum screamed piteously, but Twilight couldn't hold him telekinetically and dodge the macabre impediments in her path at the same time in such a dark environment. Finally, in frustration, Twilight focused and cast a raw spell, with no preparation at all, stomping her hooves, amplifying it and driving the corpses to the side, breaking the conveyor belt in the process. Unfortunately, the sudden stop sent everything flying towards the horrible flensing funnel, to the purple unicorn's horror.

Scum flew forward towards a terrible fate, and was actually over the bladed funnel when suddenly something brilliant appeared below him and caught the green former unicorn. Twilight had teleported beneath Scum in a moment of desperation and spread her limbs so her iron-shod hooves would impact the walls of the horrible funnel, easily crushing the silvery blades somehow. She had caught him, though she felt her hooves prickle with pain at holding him up in such an awkward position. Below, Twilight could see that the tube attached to the funnel was also coated with blades, in a spiral pattern that would quickly reduce anything that fell through into the ichor that sustained the Eye above.

She smiled weakly at Scum over her shoulder, and was about to teleport them both to safety when one of the horrible hooks from before snaked up and grabbed at her. Before it could penetrate, Scum had flung himself onto it, and screamed to Twilight in the instant before he was pulled down, “RUN!” Then the creature that had once been a unicorn was pulled through the bladed tube, and Twilight deeply wished she could forget that sight, and the sounds his painful descent made.

Something snapped in Twilight at that moment, she started to scream, and pink and purple flames limned her body, no longer trembling over a terrible fate, but shaking with fury as the unicorn was lifted by her own magical wrath. Words of fury and sorrow flashed around Twilight as for the second time in her life her magic took control. Beams of raw force smashed through the Red Bastion as she rose to face the Eye once more on a pillar of pure magic. The building screamed as the purple unicorn's violet fury found the very foundations of the Bastion and gripped them tightly. She glared at the Eye, which shook in its tank with fury and fear, slopping the foul ichor that sustained it over the edge of its tank.

“OPEN THE WAY.” Twilight hissed in a voice that reverberated through the cathedral-like space, and when the Eye didn't immediately respond, she crushed one of the foundations, causing the building to scream once more in a voice of tortured metal as the whole structure lurched in one direction. The Eye focused on Twilight and shook back and forth in clear denial, while more barbed hooks sprang from the hole in the floor on arms of silver. Twilight didn't even notice as they melted before they touched her, she just flew towards the Eye, tendrils of magic shooting through the glass into the portal in the pupil of the Eye, causing more screams from below, and the Eye to tremble in its tank, obviously in pain. Twilight's vision filled with red as she ripped the Eye from the tank and pulled herself through the portal along with her magic, eliciting the greatest scream of all from the stricken slaughterhouse. Once she was through, Twilight was enveloped in darkness.

Twilight awoke some time later on a book-strewn path in the comparatively cheerier surroundings of the Hedge. She looked around in confusion, “Scum? Blackboard? Where are-...” Twilight broke off once she'd turned around and spotted the crumbling, bleeding heap of rock, gore and metal that had been the nightmarish Red Bastion through the opening in the path behind her, lit by the midnight moon. She looked herself over, and found that she still had the apple baskets, which were still well-secured, and the purple unicorn's coat had been somehow cleansed of blood, though spots of soot caked her iron-shod hooves.

Scum was dead, she remembered dimly. She'd seen him die, his body ripped to pieces by the horrible machinations of the Bastion itself, but things got a little fuzzy after that. Strange, she'd been angry with Scum at first, torturer that he'd been, but now she just felt sad. He'd been broken by something in this place, and turned into a minion of it. Yet... At the last, he'd saved her, protected her from harm. Something in the rotted, insane husk of what had once been a unicorn had been concerned for her well-being enough to sacrifice himself.

The thought of what Scum had once been reminded Twilight that she couldn't linger, Applebloom was still relying on her to save her from similar madness. Still, she felt she should honor Scum's memory somehow and made a clumsy cairn out of books. She took a moment to use her magic to change the text on the cover, which had been gibberish anyway, to “SCUM THE UNICORN: THEY CAN'T TAKE EVERYTHING FROM US.”

Twilight stared at her work for a moment, then fused all the books together, changing them into solid iron with a transmutation spell. Then she took a deep breath and started down the path once more, putting her tears away for now, at least until she'd saved Applebloom.

Guidance and Distractions

Without a guide, and only her determination to find Applebloom to give her direction, Twilight wandered through the thorny aisles of books and shelving, trying to ignore the whispering of the shadows as she continued on. The whispering had gotten louder, since the Bastion, and the brambles seemed darker, more sorrowful, as if they too mourned the loss of Scum. Lamenting winds blew through the aisles of brambles and books, and Twilight felt water splash beneath her hooves as she continued deeper into the Hedge. She was alone out here, in this strange, psychoactive landscape without anypony to talk to, she was starting to feel strangely disconnected. Sometimes she could even smell burning books, or feel the Librarian's presence just behind her as she splashed along. It was almost a relief then when she heard the strains of music coming from a path off to the side, and she was perhaps less cautious than she ought to have been.

Twilight ran towards the music, which was coming from a small opening in the brambles, and burst through it, desperate for some change in scenery. What she found was a beautiful meadow, dry and clean, surrounded by the ever-present brambles and lit by the moon, with a small copse of trees in the center, from which warmth and light radiated like a beacon. Any thoughts of moths and flames were snuffed out when she realized she recognized the music: It was Pinkie's weird one-mare polka! What Pinkie Pie was doing here was irrelevant, it was something she recognized, and there was something... Enchanting about the lights in the trees.

Twilight ran through the trees, which were decorated with merry colors of ribbons and balloons, and came out into a wondrous scene: All her friends, laughing and dancing amongst the trees, while a record player belted out Pinkie's Polka and strange flickering lights bobbed between the trees. She almost ran into Rarity, who was in the middle of chasing Applejack, giggling like a filly and galloping full-tilt until she spotted Twilight and gasped, stopping, “Twilight, whatever are you doing out here? We all thought you'd gone! Girls!” Rarity called to the forest, “Twilight's back! Come on!”

“Rarity,” Twilight started, “I have to-” she was cut off by Rarity's hoof against her lips.

“Not now, Twilight, you've only just come back, come on, stay for a while and whatever it is can wait, isn't that right Applejack?” Rarity said, addressing the orange pony to step into the scene. Applejack cheered and hugged Twilight, nuzzling her cheek fondly. Twilight tried to talk to Applejack about it, but was interrupted by Rarity's lips against hers, the unexpectedness of the kiss only matched by the way it fuddled her thinking.

Twilight broke the kiss, frowning as she pulled away from Rarity as much as Applejack's hug would allow, “But, Applebloom is...”

“She's fine, Sugarcube,” Applejack said reassuringly, then turned to call over her shoulder, “Hey Rainbow! Twi's back!” And Twilight found herself tackled to the ground with Applejack by a blue blur that proved to be an ecstatic Rainbow Dash, scattering some of the golden apples from her basket.

“Ohmigosh! You're back! This is like, so awesome! Come on girls, let's help Twilight celebrate!” And with that, glasses of something were being foisted off on Twilight, and her friends were cuddling close to the purple unicorn.

“But... I have to...” Twilight tried weakly, but was interrupted by Rarity once more, and this time the kiss went deeper, more sensual, with just the lightest touch of the white unicorn's tongue, and Twilight found she couldn't remember why it was so important that she leave. Her friends were here after all, why should she leave?

Twilight didn't know how long she luxuriated in her friends' presence, she just basked in the sensations of being loved. Rarity knew exactly where to touch to make the purple unicorn melt, without taking the situation too far, and the others all just encouraged them or indulged in their own pairings. It was dizzying, especially with whatever had been in the cups that had been practically poured down her throat. Twilight felt something was wrong, somewhere, but here in the copse of trees it was a very distant feeling, drowned out by the company of her friends.

She looked fondly over Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy indulging each other in very intimate ways, unable to be embarrassed by what was clearly just very close friendship. Very, very close friendship. A thought, however, caused her brow to crease with concern: Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be found. She nudged Rarity, who was snuggled up against her neck, and said thickly, “Pinkie... Pie?” She couldn't quite form the words, she was so tired and comfortable, and Rarity just snuggled closer into her neck. Still, Pinkie Pie should be here, this was a party, and there was no Pinkie Pie, but... Why?

Then she remembered: Pinkie Pie was sick, very sick, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were looking after her, or should be. If they were looking after her though, Twilight thought to herself, then why were the two pegasi wrapped up in each other's bodies not too far away under the dancing lights of the trees? Something wasn't right, definitely not right, and Twilight couldn't think clearly enough to figure out why. She needed to think, to stop and think, so she closed her eyes and let the shadows' whispering rise through her muddled perceptions.

The touch of iron is death to that which is fae, one voice whispered, strangely dry and rasping, like the turning of pages, its touch will burn away all deception. Images shot through Twilight's mind of Applejack helping attach the iron horseshoes to her hooves, and the way the metal had felt so alien against her flesh. The events of the last few hours played through Twilight's head, and there in the darkness of her mind she realized: None of her friends would touch her hooves.

Twilight's eyes snapped open and she found herself alone, in a dark copse of trees, with nothing but silence and shadows for her companions. The moon, she noticed, had moved significantly in her time there, it looked like it would only be a few more hours until dawn. She had no idea where she was or how to get to Applebloom at all, and now she didn't even have the illusions of her friends to help her. To top it all off, a howl sounded from not too far away that was far too strange to be a wolf.

Twilight quashed the rush of hopelessness the sound of the wolves had sparked in her and forced herself to her hooves. She coaxed the darkness around her with soft words, wrapping it around her equine body like a cloak that smothered even the vibrant flames of her mane. So enshrouded, she crept from the copse of trees, towards the distant dark brambles while shadowy shapes raced into the clearing, snarling like wolves but walking like apes as they ran hungrily for the site of the illusionary party. Twilight swallowed uneasily and pushed into the nearest opening in the thorns, which closed behind her slowly, blocking the meadow from sight.

Once more amongst the brambles, Twilight took a moment to try to focus on her objective, finding Applebloom, and make sure the baskets of golden apples were secure. Thoughts of Rarity's lips against hers kept nudging Twilight's attempts to focus on Applebloom aside with a flood of warmth that had nothing to do with the actual temperature of the Hedge. She looked around, trying to find something to distract herself, but found images of diamonds adorning every book, and the titles she could read generally said Rarity or featured the white unicorn, or parts of her anyway. Blushing, Twilight focused on making sure her magical baskets and their cargo were secure.

Strange, she thought, that nothing had snagged the baskets except for the one hook in the Red Bastion, and even then the damage had been minor. Even the brambles of the Hedge had failed to snag the conjured baskets, she thought, frowning as she tightened the girth a little to make sure the baskets didn't slip down her side. Then she closed her eyes and listened to the shadows, letting their soft words guide her. She listened to the darkness long enough to know that there were creatures approaching, she could hear their steps and, in a little while, their voices.

“Look Tavi we know she came this way, but who knows what else might be tracking her? I mean come on, it's not like she's being hard to follow” a luminescent white unicorn with a mane made of blue glass and eyes of glowing light was saying as she pushed her way into Twilight's field of view. “We should be back home by now, and I mean come on, helping her could get us thrown in... Wait, where'd the trail go?” A marbled grey earth pony with glowing purple eyes stepped into the path as well, looking around at what her companion was staring at.

Twilight looked down, her hooves were smoking slightly with wisps of shadows that crept and crawled around her legs, and behind her a trail of pools of shadow marked where her hooves had stepped. It explained how they found her, but it begged the question, Twilight felt, of why nothing else had. Scratch, the unicorn, followed Twilight's steps back around the bend, then straight up to where she was standing and scowled, “I don't get it, it's like she's just gone, d'you think the Beast got her? I hope not, 'cause otherwise we'd better split... Tavi?”

Octavia seemed wildly unconcerned with Scratch's words, she just sat down, looked up at her mate and smiled, “She's here, Vinyl.”

Scratch snorted, “Here? Look for yourself Tavi, the trail ends, something got her and we'd better split before it gets us too! Look, I know you wanted to help her find her friend's little sister, but come on, marching straight into the Beast's Den? It's crazy!” Scratch started looking around the path though, prodding at books and levitating some out of the way as if Twilight might be hidden under them. “Still, I'd hate to leave anypony out here with only the Beast and his pack for company, but come on Tavi, it's not like she's just gonna appear out of thin air.”

And with that, because some things about the universe are constant, Twilight released the shadows concealing her from sight. Scratch screamed and jumped aside as the purple unicorn seemingly materialized beside her. Octavia giggled softly, unfazed, and nodded to Twilight, “Miss Sparkle, a pleasure to see you again.”

The Beast

Traveling with Scratch and Octavia was a decidedly different affair than anything Twilight was used to. Scratch danced almost constantly when they were traveling, keeping a steady beat with her hooves that was rather infectious. She darted around Twilight and Octavia like an erratic comet, always looking back down the path, up the path and around the sides, checking for all kinds of things. She also chattered constantly, to Twilight's interest, “So yeah, the things that live in the Hedge are hobgoblins, well, or changelings like us. Tavi and I escaped together, y'see, otherwise we'd have never met up or anything, and we wandered through here on the run from the Beast and his pack for ages, learning everything we could about the Hedge. Found a few other changelings when we hit Manehattan, but none of them really wanted anything to do with us, they were scared, see?”

“Scared?” Twilight asked, frowning, “Of what?”

“Of us.” Octavia said simply. The grey marble mare didn't say much, just kept walking with a serene sort of smile. Whenever she did say something though, her voice was like crystal being struck, with soft resonances that captured the attention.

“Why?”

“Because, Miss Sparkle, we look like the things that took them!” Scratch shivered a little, her hooves tapping out a staccato rhythm of nervousness, “Kind of anyway, I mean, nopony could look like THEM really.” She gave Twilight a look and added softly, “Except you, maybe.” Before Twilight could respond the white unicorn continued, “But yeah, think of it: If you had just escaped, and you saw something that looked like we do, what would you think?”

Twilight thought about it and nodded. She was about to respond when the group came out into a wide open space. A vast field of grass stretched out before the pony changelings, ominous and mysterious in the pre-dawn darkness with a tall mountain reaching ominously towards the star-studded sky in the distance. The quality of the darkness reminded Twilight that she had only a few hours left to find Applebloom, but something about the size and quality of the field gave her pause. Scratch and Octavia seemed similarly affected, unwilling to pass into the dark field and unable to retreat. Twilight shook her head and conjured light, a globe of pure radiance that hovered above her and illuminated the field around the changeling trio with a brilliant luminescence. Twilight leapt into the field, unable to delay any longer, and started trotting towards the mountain, with Scratch and Octavia quickly catching up.

The field was made of tall black grass that came up to Twilight's neck, which meant it was up to Scratch and Octavia's chins. They slowed somewhat when Octavia tripped and fell on a hidden obstruction, but were making good time for a while until Scratch stopped and tugged lightly on Octavia and Twilight's tails with her magic. “Shh! I hear something... I don't think we're alone out here... There! Did you hear that?!”

“Hear what?” Twilight hadn't heard anything, but she listened nonetheless. Minutes passed, and the only sound was the three ponies breathing. Not even insects broke the silence, and that alone convinced Twilight that Scratch was right. “We have to keep moving,” Twilight whispered softly to Scratch, making the white unicorn look up, “I have to get to the Beast before dawn, otherwise... They'll take Applebloom.” Scratch looked to Octavia, who nodded quietly, then both sets of glowing eyes turned to Twilight and the lovers nodded for her to continue.

Twilight swallowed, turning to the mountain ahead and walked on determinedly. The grass seemed to part as her resolve solidified, inviting her forward toward the monolithic bulk of the distant mountain. As the group crossed the grassland, the sense of being watched intensified, and they found themselves crowding together. Their progress was slow, but steady, and the group soon found themselves stepping in front of a vast cave, so deep that not even Twilight's magical light could penetrate and so wide that ten ponies could walk in abreast comfortably. Twilight stepped up to the threshold and called out, with only a little bit of tremor to her voice, “Hello?”

The echoes faded into silence, then a surprisingly refined voice returned, “Come in, come in my little ponies, let us finish this business.” Twilight looked to the others, who shrugged, then the three walked in, Twilight's iron horseshoes clacking on the stone floor of the cavern as they walked into the darkness. Deeper in, the cave opened even further into a vast, hulking cavern, in the middle of which lay a gigantic furred shape, easily as large as a full-grown dragon. Beside it, curled up in a silver cage, lay a familiar red and yellow filly, whose breathing was very slow.

Twilight all but ran over to the cage and found, to her horror, that the silver plate that made up the floor of Applebloom's prison was slick with blood. “Applebloom!” Twilight called, trying to get some response out of the filly, already starting to levitate out one of the golden apples from her baskets. Applebloom stirred slowly, looking around with pain-clouded eyes until she spotted Twilight, when she screamed, trying to stand up, revealing a sucking wound in her side that wept scarlet tears.

“No! Yer not takin' me! Ah'm gonna... Gonna tell... Mah sis-...” The filly passed out, and Twilight was about to crush the apple and force feed the filly when she noticed the bulk of fur next to her stirring. In her haste to check on Applebloom, Twilight had almost forgotten the presence of the Beast, but backed up now, gathering her magic around her, her mane starting to burn brighter while the shadows around her deepened and whispered more loudly, echoing her.

The monstrous master of this realm sat up slowly, revealing his form in the spell-light of Twilight's magic. His body was like a cross between a wolf and a bear, with powerful wolfish legs, a body built like a furry barrel and massive, powerful arms that ended in clawed hands, complete with opposable thumbs. His head was like a wolf's, but the eyes glittered with a cruel intelligence and cunning. Currently, the Beast's face was set in an amiable grin, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth, like a shark's, and his voice was like a honeyed growl: sweet and terrifying all at once. “Twilight Sparkle, I am very much impressed.” The Beast chuckled, the sound halfway between a bark and a growl, “You've managed to kill one of my customers, destroy my defenses and fight your way here through my area of the Hedge, leaving a swath of books and blood behind you, all for the sake of this little filly. You even got here before dawn, preventing me from selling her off in the process, brava.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the Beast, slowly levitating the cage holding Applebloom behind her, “Yes, I did,” she said warily, then, remembering Scratch and Octavia, amended, “We did. And we're not about to give up now, give us Applebloom!”

The Beast waved a clawed hand idly, then started rummaging around the darkness above him, “Alright, take her.”

Twilight stared, “What?”

“Take her, I said. You win. I shan't stop you from taking her if you're so determined, besides, someone has to be the gatekeeper to this realm. I've no wish to be on the wrong end of your hooves, Miss Sparkle. So take her. Incidentally, would you like some tea?”

"Um... No, thank you." The Beast shrugged and pulled down a massive mug, from which dangled a proportionately huge tag from a teabag. Twilight found herself staring at the mug: it was jolly, with a picture of a bear eating a donut on it. Whatever the Beast's idea of tea was stank like a septic wound.

"Suit yourself, but honestly Miss Sparkle, I couldn't have fought you in any case. You're technically the property of the Librarian, a customer of mine, and it would be terribly bad form to damage you." After a few minutes he took out the foul teabag which was, to Twilight's disgust, full of wriggling worms. He took a sip and smiled, "Chamoworm tea, beautiful for falling asleep. But in all seriousness, go ahead and take the filly, I hereby sell her to you for the service of providing such a wonderful bit of entertainment, she is in your care." Before Twilight could ask, the Beast drained his mug, yawned, flopped over sideways with a tremendous crash and was dozing again. Incredulous, Twilight looked back at her companions, who shrugged, looking equally confused. Twilight very carefully broke the top off the cage with her magic, scooped Applebloom out gently and carried her back to the others, never taking her eyes off the Beast, who was snoring softly now. Carefully, the whole group walked over to the entrance of the cave, through which the soft light of morning was beginning to penetrate, the morning breeze making the black grass in the field wave strangely.

The group stopped at the threshold of the cave, and Twilight emptied one of the apple baskets to put the unconscious Applebloom in. Scratch was muttering nonstop while she and Octavia looked Applebloom over, “I don't get it, why would he let her go? They never let anypony go, this can't end well, but then it was never going to end well. Oh Celestia, look at that wound, it's a miracle she's still breathing, pass one of those apples, Tavi,” Scratch absently took the apple offered by her mate in a telekinetic grasp, then crushed it, “I hope these apples do the trick, we don't have the supplies to patch a wound that big, looks like it was made by the Hedge, giant thorn I'll bet. Reminds me of the time...” Twilight tuned out Scratch's muttering and just looked at Applebloom. The little filly was sleeping fitfully, and Twilight was struck by how very out of place she seemed here, in this mad world of thorns and monsters.

Scratch was able to get the crushed golden apple down Applebloom's throat after a few tries, and the three changelings sighed in relief when they saw the yellow filly's wound close, knitting together into nothing, not even a scar. Her breathing softened, and Applebloom sank into a deeper sleep now. Twilight carefully strapped her into the empty apple basket, and looked around at Scratch and Octavia, “Thank you both, for coming back, I couldn't have done this alone, I would have been lost forever.”

Octavia nodded, smiling, but Scratch snorted, “Nah, I woulda done the same for anypony out here, besides, you're the first changeling we've met that hasn't run or tried to kill us. Seriously though, look us up once this is over, out in Manehattan.” Twilight nodded, the whole group walked over to the threshold of the cave and started out for home.

As soon as they passed into the black grass field though, a howl burst from the cave, followed by answering howls from around the clearing and the Hedge beyond. The Beast's voice called out tauntingly in a tone full of fury and triumph, at a volume that almost knocked the changelings off their hooves, “Foolish ponies, I said you could take the little one, but I never said you could leave! Now give my pack some sport, they haven't eaten in a while!”

Reunited at Last

Twilight blasted another wolf-thing, sending it tumbling back into its fellows through the tall black grass. They were almost to the opening to the Hedge now, but there seemed to be no end to the wolfish thralls of the Beast. Each one was subtly different, as if the Beast had written over a basic wolfishness onto whatever creature strayed into his realm, but the one thing they all had in common was a frothing maddened hunger that was directed at the desperate trio. Scratch kept up a constantly shifting volume of keening tones, raising the violent feedback if a wolf-beast ever drew too close. It was painfully effective against the sensitive ears of the Beast's pack, but she was already beginning to tire. Octavia stayed close to Twilight, shining with an awesome radiance that repelled the attacks of the maddened beasts, or made them falter long enough for the might of Twilight's telekinesis to punt them away.

“Twilight!” Scratch called as the group finally passed into the Hedge proper. She paused to send another wolf-creature away with bleeding ears from her sonic assault, then continued, “Twilight we can't keep this up the whole way, you're going to have to seal the entrance!”

“What? But how?!” Twilight called back, blasting back five more wolf-things with a violet flash, “I don't have a spell to-”

“Then don't cast! Ask the Hedge!” Scratch said desperately, sweating from magical exertion, “If you don't, then we're dead!”

“But how do I-”

“DO IT!” Scratch yelled, before taking a hard swipe from a wolf-creature she hadn't seen. She screamed as the claws opened great gashes along her side, shattering her hair into brilliant blue fragments. Twilight blasted the creature away, unleashed a wave of force to push the most immediate threats back, then spoke to the shadows, negotiating with the bizarre logic of this place for the barest of instants. At first, it looked as though she'd failed, but just as several wolf-creatures were pushing through the gap, it closed, bookshelves smashing the nightmarish creatures as they fell on top of them, sending books bouncing everywhere. A terrible howling rose up behind the barrier but it held the wolf-things back for the moment, long enough for Octavia to silently take a golden apple from Twilight's basket and feed it to her mate before the white unicorn bled out.

Twilight gasped for breath, though from terror rather than magical exhaustion. In truth she still had miles of casting in her, she knew, but the sheer horror of the last few moments had drained her stamina significantly. Even the familiar bookishness of the surrounding Hedge seemed darker and more sinister. As such, she almost blew Blackboard's face off when he burst through into the path, cocksure as ever, “Well come on then,” he said confidently, causing Scratch and Octavia to stare, “Let's get a move on before the pack finds a way around, hmm?” He appeared to notice Scratch and Octavia for the first time, “Hang on, who're they then, Twilight?”

Twilight sighed, “Blackboard, these are my friends, Scratch and Octavia. They helped me get Applebloom back.”

Blackboard bowed elegantly to the two mares, “Blackboard, at your service m'ladies. Speaking of which,” the bookcase blocking the way into the Beast's meadow shuddered again, “We should probably be going, come on now, before the pack figures out how to get back here!” With that, Blackboard darted off, with Twilight and the others in tow.

The red alicorn kept up a running dialogue as he led the ponies through the Hedge, “Keeping those wolves off your back was harder than I thought it, don't step in that,” he admonished Scratch, who was about to tread in a book that, on closer inspection, had teeth, “This place is insane, and your little additions made you easier to follow than an arsonist in an origami convention. Seriously, your power is off the charts here, I mean did you have to blow up the WHOLE Red Bastion?”

Twilight blushed a little while the others goggled at her, “It... Well it was it or me.”

Blackboard snorted, kicking open a seemingly random door in the endless walls of bramble and shelving, knocking over the strange creature that had been hiding behind it, causing it to fly into the bushes, “Well, it's just as well it was the Bastion, I'd have never heard the end of it, I would've gotten there sooner but one of the, sorry,” he said to a table full of dormice, whose party the group had interrupted. Twilight and the others all apologized as well, but the dormice ran away anyways, leaving Twilight feeling vaguely guilty. Blackboard seemed not to notice, he just shoved a shelf open, revealing a secret passage, and kept talking and running, “One of the fuzzy bastards had trapped me in the middle of a clearing that... Oh dear.” Twilight ran into Blackboard's suddenly still rump, and felt the others crash into her as well.

“Hey! Why'd you... Oh...” Twilight broke off her angry words when she saw what Blackboard had stopped at. A doorway filled the path now, but the doors themselves had been clawed to wooden shreds, revealing the inside of a large stone dome. Inside was dark, save for a forest of glowing crystals shaped like twisted, agonized ponies that filled the space between the changelings and the gate at the far end.The hunters of the Beast prowled between the glowing pillars, snuffling and snarling, and snapping at each other as they searched the structure for signs of Twilight and her friends. Twilight sighed, then almost fell sideways when she felt the basket holding Applebloom jump.

The filly had woken up to find herself on the back of one of the most notorious betrayers and murderers in Equestrian history, and was now thrashing in her bindings, trying desperately to escape. Twilight quickly turned and whispered to the filly, “Applebloom, Applebloom it's me, alright? Calm down, it's me. You're safe, come on, look I wouldn't hurt you, come on now Applebloom, it's alright, we're almost home, just trust me for a moment,”

Applebloom glared at Twilight, even though she stopped thrashing and lowered her voice to a harsh whisper, “Like Princess Celestia trusted you? You're a snake, Twilight Sparkle, an' ah won't trust you after what you did to her.”

Twilight winced, but noticed the urgent looks on the faces of the others, and said softly, “Okay, don't trust me, but do you really want to stay here?” She gestured to the mad, brambled surroundings. Applebloom slowly shook her head, still glaring, but with a slight note of fear now in her movements. Twilight sighed and continued, “Look Applebloom, I'll explain what I can when we're out of here, but for now I need you to be quiet so we can get past those things.” Applebloom shivered, her eyes widening when she saw the wolfish creatures, and nodded slowly.

Twilight turned to Blackboard, the red alicorn frowning with concern, “My friend, can you lead Scratch and Octavia back to Manehattan? It seems unfair to bring them through this, and it would make things awkward for them if there are Guards on the other side. Besides,” she added before Blackboard could protest, “Scratch is spent, Octavia's spending all her efforts keeping her upright, and I can go... More directly without worrying about everypony else.”

Blackboard stared at Twilight for a moment, thinking, then snorted, “Fine, since there's not really any other way. But you keep yourself safe, you hear?” He stared at Twilight until she nodded, then smiled, “Good. Now then ladies, let us exeunt, stage left.” He took the changeling couple under his wings and started steering them away back down the path, ignoring Scratch's feeble protests. Octavia looked over her shoulder at Twilight and winked, causing the purple unicorn to blush, to her surprise, then they were around the bend and out of sight.

Twilight turned to Applebloom again and whispered softly, “Now tie yourself in with the tarp, this is going to get a little... Bumpy, and I don't want you falling out.” Applebloom nodded mutely and tied herself in, using the tarp as a seatbelt of sorts and bracing her hooves on the inside of the basket. Twilight nodded when she saw the filly had secured herself and whispered softly, “Alright, brace yourself.” Then she started talking to the shadows on the wall, whispering quietly to them until they reached an accord, then she put one hoof on the wall, then another, and then they were walking up the inside of the dome.

Strangely, Twilight didn't feel all that different, walking up the inside of the dome, though she could feel Applebloom trembling in the basket at her side. They were about halfway when one of the apples fell from the other basket, smashing on the floor and causing several of the wolf-creatures to look around sharply. Twilight sped up, but before long they were spotted. Howls filled the chamber, followed by rocks as the creatures with the means to started picking up chunks of stone from the floor and hurling them at the pony on the ceiling. Twilight blasted two of them away, running now for the gate, but was clipped by a cobblestone and started to fall. Time slowed, she could feel Applebloom shaking in the basket, could hear her frantic pleading with whatever powers were listening. Twilight felt her own heartbeat, and the pulse of her magic deep inside, and at that moment she realized what a fool she'd been. Before the adrenaline wore off, Twilight focused her magic and teleported.

Twilight and Applebloom rolled through the iron gate back into Equestria, which Twilight closed with a lash of magic just before the horde of wolfish hunters could follow. The rising sun sealed the gate properly, she felt, and she was about to relax when she heard a step nearby. She quickly put Applebloom behind her with a telekinetic thrust, snapping off the basket the filly had been clinging to in the process, and clenched her magic, her fiery mane blazing with runes and words of power.

Twilight found herself face-to-face with a scowling Princess Luna and a small contingent of guards. She bowed hurriedly, releasing the magical potency she'd been gathering, “Princess Luna, it's... Well I...” She sputtered into silence in the face of the moon princess' dead quiet.

“What are you?” Princess Luna asked quietly after several moments, “You look like Twilight Sparkle, but you are not arrogant, not cruel, none of the things I witnessed when you carved your bloody swath through the ranks of the Royal Guard.” The Princess sounded neutral, with no hint one way or the other about her mood, and her blue eyes regarded Twilight calculatingly, “You have compassion in your eyes now, and fear, but no hatred.” Princess Luna looked at Twilight for a while longer, then shook her head, “No, you are not the Twilight Sparkle that broke my sister's heart, that Twilight would not have risked so much to return and save a little filly, unless it was in her own interest.”

Twilight brightened a little, until Princess Luna added, “However, since we don't know why you've saved Miss Applebloom, we can only assume it was for some selfish plan for power. As such, you're going to come with me, and give an account of your actions.” Before Twilight could respond, she felt herself locked in a magical paralysis and levitated, basket of apples and all. Princess Luna turned to one of the guards, “Shale, take Miss Applebloom back to her sister, she's going to be worried about her. Everypony else, meet me back at the throne room in an hour. Understood?”

“Aye, Princess!” And with that the one pegasus she'd designated scooped up Applebloom in the basket she'd been hiding in, to the filly's surprise and took off with her in the basket. The rest of the guards took off, and then Twilight felt the Princess teleport them both.

When the light of the teleportation faded, they weren't in the throne room, as Twilight had expected, but instead in front of a pair of crimson double doors that bore a stylized sun design in elegant gold and silver. Princess Celestia's personal chambers, which she'd only entered a hoof-full of times and only in the most extreme circumstances. Princess Luna opened the door with a hoof, levitating the paralyzed Twilight through, then levitated her over a grand bed, in which lay a distressingly familiar shape.

Princess Celestia was stick-thin now, with the bones in her body clearly visible, and she was wrapped in bandages around the middle of her body that were soaked with blood. Her breathing was shallow, but steady, and she slept uneasily, with deep circles under her eyes. She seemed to be in the grip of some nightmare, her legs moving fitfully, and little cries coming from her lips as she slept. Devices around her bed monitored her heart rate and magical potency. Both were dangerously low, at the bare minimum for alicorn survival.

Twilight wished she could cry, but the paralysis spell held even her tears in check as she looked over the thin, wasted form of her once-vibrant mentor. Unknown to her, Luna's expression softened at her reaction, and she mouthed a quiet apology.

Health and Sadness

Twilight sobbed quietly in the next room, Princess Luna's room, while the Princess waited patiently. Twilight was still overcome with grief over the state of her mentor, and it wasn't until several minutes of sobbing had passed that she was finally able to uncurl and look up at Princess Luna, whose expression was no longer hostile, but tired. Twilight stood, shakily, and looked to the Princess, “What happened?”

Princess Luna considered the question for a moment, then said softly, “The other Twilight Sparkle came to the gates, demanding an audience. One would have been given to her, only my sister had been entertaining the emissary of the Dragon Kingdoms, Lord Wycliff. When she was told to wait, I can only assume the other Twilight thought her plan for usurpation had been found out, for she launched a siege. Hundreds of mercenaries and exiles swarmed the palace, but by great good fortune the bulk of the Royal Guard was here already, training.” Princess Luna sighed and looked away, out the window, “Some six hundred highly trained guards lost their lives that day, almost three quarters of the Guard's strength, and seventy two of those were ripped apart by the other Twilight's magic. Spells we had sealed away shattered the ranks of the guards, drove them insane, or simply banished them to some place nopony was meant to know.”

Twilight gasped appropriately, “But... But where did she get the knowledge? Those spells are sealed for a reason, I only know of them because they're referenced in the books I've read, but there's never anything specific.”

Princess Luna snorted, “Initially we thought it had come from the Element of Magic, but she never once used it in the fight. I suspect she dealt with some malevolent force to gain her knowledge, possibly the same that abducted you and started this whole affair. Or maybe she just figured it out, she, like you, was very bright.”

Twilight found herself blushing for a moment, then shook her head, “No, cunning is more like, it's stupid to attack the palace, without a death wish anyway...” She trailed off thoughtfully, and Princess Luna nodded.

“Yes, perhaps this was some elaborate suicide, but I don't think so, not entirely. See, she made a bee-line straight for my sister, carving a bloody swath through anypony foolish enough to bar her path. She even cut down the Dragon Kingdom's emissary, a great lord of the Draconic people. Her magic was potent enough to carve him in twain, and she did so. Slowly. After killing Lord Wycliff, she continued into the throne room and did... Something to critically wound Celestia. I never saw myself, I was rounding up the mercenaries, pulling them into slumber and chaining them all together when I heard her scream. I caught the witch though, cackling over Celestia's body, drenched in dragon blood. Whatever she'd cast though had taken it out of her, she couldn't even defend herself against my sleep spell.”

Twilight paled at the destruction wrought by the creature that had worn her face, “But... Why? Why hurt Celestia? And, not to doubt but, why not kill her straight off after that much trouble?” She winced at Luna's glare, which softened thoughtfully after a moment.

“You don't think this was a lethal attack?”

“No, Princess, not after all the things she'd done. If she could rip Lord Wycliff in half, then... Then why not do the same to Celestia?” She gagged a little at the thought, and shivered at Princess Luna's expression, “I'm sorry, I must sound so... So heartless, but it just makes sense. Did she try to escape at all?”

Princess Luna frowned thoughtfully, “No, she didn't. Once she was captured she just sat in her cell and talked to herself, or just babbled like a mad thing, until the hanging.”

Twilight swallowed and had to sit down before asking, “What... What did she say?”

Princess Luna closed her eyes, her horn glowed for a moment, then a voice filled the room, “I die this day, but one day I will return,” The voice was Twilight's, but colder, more vicious, with the edges of madness poking through like razors beneath a cloth, “When I do, you shall all know of the power greater than any princess, and not even the rise and fall of a hundred dawns shall save you!” The magical recording ended with the sound of a gallows trapdoor, a cracking noise and a gasp from the crowd, followed by screams.

Twilight blinked, “What happened?”

Princess Luna gave the purple unicorn a steady look, “When the noose snapped her neck, she turned into a collection of sticks and silk, with a pumpkin for a head that, when it fell to the ground and shattered, sent forth a wave of spiders, panicking the crowd. Ponies trampled each other to escape, but others were bitten. The lucky ones got trampled, those spiders were unnatural.”

Twilight looked sick, and visibly gulped back gagging, “It's... She was horrible, she perverted what it means to be a unicorn, to wield magic, the essence of life... And she injured somepony with it, somepony that loved her and that wished her no harm at all...” Twilight shook herself with a shiver, then looked at Princess Luna seriously, “If she is part of a larger plot though, part of it looks like... Like she wanted me to have a hard time when I came back. If I came back. But if that was a part of her plan, why?” Twilight shook her head, puzzled now, her sadness suppressed for a moment by her curiosity, “I mean, I could reverse the damage just by being myself, I even have a way to heal Celestia, I think, so-”

“You what.” Princess Luna interrupted flatly, looking hard at the purple unicorn.

Twilight quailed under the Princess of the Moon's glare, “I... I found... Found a fruit that heals all wounds, and it seems... Seems to... Uh... Well I've used it before and... Um... I have it here, if you'd like,” She quickly brought the golden apple from the basket, noting with a slight frown that it was one of only three left.

Princess Luna took the apple from Twilight with her telekinetic grasp delicately, then began to magically scan the fruit, her power rippling across the surface of the metallic gold apple like moonlight over a disturbed pool of water. She frowned after a moment, “Strange, it doesn't seem magical, but there is an... Otherness to it, similar to whatever energy is around my sister's wound. How can I be sure this is genuine? It could, no offense, be a trick if you were indeed the Twilight that wounded her in the first place.”

Twilight winced but nodded, “You could test on an injured animal or pony I suppose. I only have three left though and it would be very difficult to get more. And I don't really know the limitations of the healing. I did see it heal a couple of ponies who had been impaled, and another that had been cut open by claws.” Princess Luna nodded, noting Twilight's discomfort.

“Okay.”

Twilight blinked, “Okay what?”

Princess Luna sighed, “Try your fruit.”

Twilight stared for a moment, then stammered, “Just... Just like that? But... What?”

Princess Luna shook her head, looking pained, “Believe me, we've tried everything else over the past three years, and... She only has a few more hours left at this rate. Not even the best magical minds could stop whatever it is that's eating at my sister, and after the other Twilight was hanged, she fell into a deep coma, her condition worsening from grief.”

Twilight blinked, “So the thing about her declaring a day of mourning for me and the two of you not getting along because of it was...”

“A complete fabrication, yes.” Twilight stared at the princess, dumbstruck, but Luna continued before she could interrupt, “I'll explain afterwards Twilight Sparkle, but for now...” Twilight nodded, and took back the fruit from Luna telekinetically while the Moon Princess fixed her with a fierce glare, “Heal my sister, if you can, for the love you say you bear her and for the sake of Equestria itself.”

Up close, Princess Celestia looked even worse. Twilight stood by her bed in a state of shock. Celestia had always been Twilight's mentor: strong, wise, vibrant and full of life. Here she was wasted, gray with pain and age, her body shuddering with every breath as if it were a death-rattle. Her legs moved fitfully, and her face twitched in an expression of pain, while the thin alicorn mare's once brilliant mane of hair had faded to a dull pink, lifeless and unmoving. For Twilight, this was more of a nightmare than anything the Librarian had put her through. He had tortured her, lit her on fire, burned books in front of her, locked her in a deep dark hole, and still Twilight felt more pain and anguish now looking at her mentor than she ever had before.

Twilight brought forward the silver bowl in which she'd crushed the golden apple, and delicately started feeding her mentor with gentle nudges of magic, tears running quietly down her cheeks as she did so, though the rhythm of feeding never faltered. It reminded her of the time she'd had a terrible fever as a filly, and her parents had been unable to come to the school. Princess Celestia herself had made sure that the young unicorn ate and drank enough to keep up her strength, only leaving to deal with matters of state or advance the sun and moon. In her delirium, Twilight had called her her other mother, which had made the brilliant princess smile sadly. Now, with their roles reversed, Twilight found herself taut with worry, and hoping beyond hope that this apple worked.

Princess Luna watched, outwardly impassive but writhing with worry inside. She wanted to believe in Twilight, and knew that this last ditch effort would either save the princess or condemn her, but it was either that or watch her sibling slowly waste away. She noted the care with which Twilight fed her mentor, the tenderness with which she eased each mouthful down the alicorn's throat, and found herself just the slightest bit jealous. She almost laughed aloud at the thought, but here she was next to Celestia's death-bed and she was getting jealous of the closest thing Celestia had ever had to a daughter. She was so amused and disgusted with herself that she was caught off-guard when the bandages started to glow around Celestia's chest as the magic of the apple took hold.

Twilight backed away hurriedly, hoping this was a good sign, though the apples had never done this with Scum or the others. She teleported back reflexively when the heart- and magic-monitors exploded, then watched as three points of light pushed through the bandages and fell onto the sheets. As soon as they pushed out, Celestia collapsed again, still comatose, but breathing stronger and with her mane and coat back to their usual shine. Twilight approached the bed cautiously, while medical ponies extinguished and removed the fried equipment, and looked at the objects that had been expelled from her beloved mentor. Three obsidian arrowheads lay on the bed sheet, each one engraved with impossibly complex swirls and patterns. A whisper from the shadows told her what they were, and she immediately collected them in the silver bowl, careful to use magic and never touch the objects directly.

Princess Luna was overjoyed at her sister's recovery, despite her lack of consciousness, for Twilight's strange fruit had managed what three years of constant medical care had been unable to accomplish. She was about to congratulate the unicorn when she noticed her collecting the arrowheads carefully, “What are those, Twilight?”

Twilight was staring at the arrowheads, frowning, “Dream-poison,” she said absently, “A kind of psychic attack contained in a physical object. It's passed on by being in contact for extended periods, and can cause all kinds of damage. The... Things that took me use it sometimes, I've read, and there's no conventional cure for it.”

Luna frowned as well, staring at her sister, who was still making little pitiful noises, her legs kicking gently as she fought whatever nightmare tormented her. “So, she's stuck like this then? In a nightmare? Forever?”

“I didn't say that, Princess.” Twilight straightened and faced the Princess of the Moon, who was struck by how much taller the unicorn had become, she was almost at eye level to the midnight alicorn, and Twilight's eyes seemed to glow with determination, “I can enter her dreams, Princess, and free her.”

Dreams and Reality

Twilight lay down next to the sleeping Princess Celestia, and looked over her shoulder at Princess Luna, “Princess, I don't really know how this goes, or even what'll happen once I'm in there.”

“Wait,” Luna said, holding up a hoof, “You're actually going to enter her dreams? Physically?”

Twilight blinked, “Well yes. I enter her dream, dispel the dream-poison then come back out. It's fairly straightforward really, that's how I escaped from the dungeons.” At Princess Luna's blank look Twilight added, “Walking through dreams is something I learned in my captivity, while the false Twilight was here. I couldn't go anywhere otherwise, and when I escaped I realized I could do it physically as well as mentally. It's... Very hard to articulate how I do it, it's just kind of an instinct.”

“Very well, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said after a moment of consideration, “But be cautious, my sister's mind is very potent, laced with ancient power and thousands of years of knowledge. Also...” And Princess Luna stepped closer to Twilight, leaning in to fix her with an intense glare, “If you harm my sister, Sparkle, or if this is some sort of trick, things will go very harsh for you. Are we clear?” Twilight nodded mutely, eyes wide, “Good,” the Princess said, nodding as well. She relaxed and lay down on the couch nearby to observe, “Now proceed.”

Twilight swallowed and stepped up to Celestia, watching her mentor struggle with whatever vision tormented her for several moments. She noticed, not for the first time, that Princess Celestia was very beautiful: a perfect picture of a princess, which gave her the rather strange image of herself as the knight saving Celestia, the damsel in distress. She smiled at the thought, and closed her eyes. She listened to her mentor's breathing and matched it with her own, gradually falling into a rhythm as she gently eased herself from consciousness. She felt her way towards her mentor by the whispering of the darkness, the little voices urging her this way and that, until she felt a great heat pressing against her head and back. She opened her eyes, and found herself in the tortured mind of the Princess of the Sun.

Celestia's mind was unlike anything Twilight had ever seen, it was a vast city made of sparkling white marble in an endless desert under a permanent noon-day sun. Well, she assumed it was a city, she couldn't find her way in through the brilliant white wall, but she saw spires over the wall and what seemed to be a large castle in the middle. It was unbearably hot, the sun beat down on Twilight like a hoof pushing her into the sand, but she kept moving, walking around the wall until she could find a doorway or something.

After what seemed like hours, she found a slight imperfection in the wall, a crack that ran from the ground to the top of the white polished surface. She whispered to the shadows in it, and convinced the wall to part for her, grinding aside like a hidden doorway in one of the fantasy novels Twilight secretly liked to read. She found herself thinking like her favorite heroine, descending into a nest of evil to save the princess from an evil fate. As a consequence, when she stepped through the shadows of her impromptu doorway, Twilight found herself encased in brilliant silver armor that, rather than making her even more miserably hot, seemed to cool her. Somehow it didn't seem all that surprising, in that dreamscape, but she made a note of it all the same.

Now that she was through the wall, the majesty of her mentor's dreamscape was laid bare. Graceful towers reached towards the sun, shining with silver, gold and white marble, while sturdy stone buildings lined the white cobbled streets, their practical metal roofs shining in the omnipresent sunlight. What really got Twilight though was the sheer age of everything; most of the building styles and architecture she'd only seen in archaeological journals, and some small part of her was dancing with glee at getting to see these buildings first-hoof. Had she not been there to cleanse her mentor's mind of unnatural taint, she might've lingered.

As it was, she began searching for some sign of the faeries, some clue that would lead her to the source of Celestia's torment. Her ears pricked at the sound of sobbing when she passed the castle in the middle of the city, and she rushed inside, over the narrow bridge connecting to the massive structure. After running through corridors and hallways of elegantly crafted white marble and solid granite, Twilight realized she'd been here before. This was the fabled Castle of the Pony Sisters at its height, before Princess Celestia, grieving for the madness of her sister, had moved the capitol to Canterlot. Yet, something was subtly wrong, she noticed.

After a while she figured out what was bothering her: Every single sculpture, from the marble busts in the hallways to the elegant carvings around the doors, windows and pillars all depicted ponies in extreme pain or anguish. It was decidedly unsettling for Twilight, who crept beneath the carved lintels of begging, pleading ponies and past busts of agonized, grieving pony faces. She heard the crying again, and started running towards the source, only to find her way barred by a door bearing a nastily familiar asymmetrical face: Discord.

This carving quirked an eyebrow at Twilight's approach and said smoothly, mockingly, “Oh dear, the Element of Magic has come to clear me away again, but where are the other elements?” He grinned, and the carving uncoiled from the door, causing Twilight to step back, her armor clanking softly. Discord towered over Twilight here, like a stone giant carved of uncaring marble, “You're out of your depth, Twilight, and you know what that means?” He snapped his claws, and Twilight felt herself starting to sink into the marble floor, which had acquired the consistency of pudding. “Now then, how about we play a little game, Twilight? If you win, I'll-”

“You'll leave. Now. No games, Discord, just leave, leave Celestia alone and never return, or I'll force you out.”

Discord looked mildly impressed, “My my, how the student has grown. You should have more patience my dear, you're in my territory now. Your precious Sun Princess is nothing more than a playground, her mind is my canvas and I can sculpt what I like.”

“Paint,” Twilight corrected absently, “You paint on a canvas,”

“Sculpt,” Discord insisted primly, obviously enjoying taunting the trapped Twilight, “But in all seriousness Twilight, it was foolish of you to come here alone. Without your precious friends, even you are reduced to nothing more than a boring diversion, just like that nag, Celestia, but without the level of satisfaction. Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle.” With that, he grinned even wider, and sat down to watch Twilight sink, pulling out a bag of popcorn that also seemed to be made of marble.

Twilight, however, smiled back, her mane flaring under her armor as she gently rose out of the marble pudding and floated above it. She snorted at Discord's rather surprised expression, and without giving him so much as a chance to say a word, she sent a psychic attack of sufficient force to pulverize Discord, the floor beneath him and the marble door leading to the throne room into dust and pebbles. She landed in the rubble of the doorway and said fiercely to the room in general, “Don't you ever insult Celestia in front of me, you warped sack of flesh and madness.” Twilight kicked the rubble derisively and continued into the main hall of the castle.

Inside, sculptures of Discord sneered down at the purple unicorn, and she was debating about pulling them down when she heard the sobbing again, coming from the center of the hall. There, on the dais, illuminated by a skylight lay Celestia, on a throne sculpted to look like Discord arched over the grieving princess. She was curled around something purple, the only color Twilight had seen in this strange city besides herself, and sobbing uncontrollably. The broken, fragile sound of her mentor's sorrow stymied Twilight's anger considerably. She approached Celestia slowly, until she was just outside the circle of sunlight.

This close, she could see that Celestia was curled around a rag-doll of sorts, colored like Twilight, with a noose around its neck that snaked up to the claw of Discord above. Twilight called out softly, “Celestia? Princess?” She stepped closer when her mentor gave no response, entering the circle of sunlight and wincing a little at the sudden brightness. “Princess, it's me, Twilight.”

Princess Celestia shook her head fiercely, murmuring, “They killed her, they killed her for me, she was misguided and they killed her for it,” She looked up at Twilight with red-rimmed eyes, “She hurt me, yes but... But I must've done something, she hadn't been herself, hadn't sent me a letter in weeks but I just couldn't make time to find out why,” The white alicorn buried her face in the rag-doll again, sobbing, “I let her down and they killed her for it! Her, Twilight Sparkle, my personal protege and... Oh Twilight I'm so sorry...” She trailed off, sobbing, and Twilight found herself blinking back tears of her own.

Twilight tried to get the Princess' attention again, but the marble claw of the throne pulled up on the rag-doll's noose, pulling it slowly away from the princess, who screamed, clinging to it, sobbing too loudly for her to hear her student's words. Twilight glared at the carved sculpture of Discord, then looked up into the sunlight, the purest expression of the Princess' power. Twilight closed her eyes and reached deep inside herself, to the core of her being in which the Element of Magic resided. She felt the strands that connected her to her friends, and gently tugged on them, calling for help.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy woke up suddenly in the hospital. They looked to each other, nodded, and got a stretcher ready to carry Pinkie Pie, whose fever had broken only minutes before. They were about to head out of the lobby when Rarity burst in carrying Spike, who just looked confused and sleepy. The white unicorn looked to the others, “Twilight,” they all said simultaneously, then dashed out, with Spike complaining about not being informed. When they told him, en route to Canterlot via pegasus-drawn carriage, Spike spent the rest of the trip shouting at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to go faster.

They arrived at the front gate at the same time as Applejack, who was climbing shakily out of Ditzy Doo's mail carriage, looking sick. When they asked her about it, Applejack just shook her head, looking like she was going to throw up, then started staggering across the bridge to the castle with the others, the guards nodding respectfully as they parted to let the Bearers of the Elements pass.

For a long time, nothing happened, Twilight stood there in the shadowy hall with her eyes closed, feeling the sun beat down on her. Then, in a flash, she felt the familiar glow of her Element beginning to activate. She opened her eyes, and saw the world for what it was. Beyond the marble walls and sneering statues lay another dream, in which Celestia is the laughing host of a party, in a brightly colored version of the same hall, with playful ponies dancing and laughing with each other, and Princess Luna joking easily with her sister. The cold marble and scorching sun were an illusion forced onto the happy vision by some other power, which she saw as snaking vines and brambles, writhing over the hall like nightmarish serpents. They even crawled over Celestia herself, the thorns scratching her coat and making her bleed invisibly onto the cold marble floor.

They were the reason her mentor couldn't wake up, Twilight realized in a flash; the vines and brambles were holding Celestia's consciousness here. She could remove it, she thought, but unless she found the source, the vines would be back in a moment or two. She traced the paths of the vines with her eyes, and found her gaze eventually brought back to the skylight. High above, the laughing face of Discord was mocking her from the sun, pointing and laughing as if she were the butt of the joke of the universe. Twilight smiled a little, directly at Discord, who appeared to notice her regard for the first time. His eyes widened, then the concentrated power of Harmony ripped out of Twilight like a spear of coruscating color, shattering the sun into billions of fragments, that seamlessly became the stars.

Discord's illusion slowly faded. The day became night, the silence became song and the sculptures once more became the elegant carvings of a bygone age. Twilight found herself in the middle of a roaring party filled with colorful ponies speaking wildly different languages, beside Princess Luna, who was looking at her sister with alarm and Princess Celestia, who was staring at the rag-doll of Twilight in her hooves as if she had never seen it before. She looked up at Twilight, confused and disoriented, “Twilight, my faithful student, what are you doing here? I was dreaming that... That you were...”

Twilight hugged her teacher firmly and nuzzled her neck, crying gently into her neck, “I'm not, Princess, I'm right here.” She buried her face in her teacher's neck, sobbing gently.

Princess Celestia wrapped her hooves around her student tenderly, “There now Twilight, don't worry, you can tell me all about it. It's alright.” Celestia looked around at the concerned expressions of her sister and other party guests, and waved them on with a reassuring smile that very gently faded, “Twilight,” she said softly, “I'm still dreaming, aren't I?”

Twilight coughed, “Yes, Princess, you are,”

Celestia looked down at her protege, worried, “Will you be there when I wake up? Or will you be dead, my student?”

Twilight smiled and nuzzled her mentor's cheek, “I'm alive, Princess, and I'll be there when you wake, I promise.” With that, the two ponies, alicorn and student, hugged each other and very smoothly woke up.

Twilight awoke to find all her friends hugging her. They were wearing their Element necklaces, while Twilight was somehow wearing her tiara. As she stirred, they clung to her tighter, and all started babbling at once, “Twilight, what were you-”

“I was so worried abo-”

“Ah came as soon as ah-”

“I think I made the chariot break the so-”

“I'm just glad you-”

Twilight just started laughing, and crying, but mostly laughing. It dissolved back into tears as she held her friends to her and felt their support, she had missed being together with them like this so much, but something didn't quite feel right. She looked around once the penny dropped and asked urgently, sniffing back more tears to make herself heard, “Where's Spike?”

The whole of Canterlot celebrated the return of Celestia from convalescence or, if you weren't a member of the Royal Guard or one of the Bearers of the Elements and knew about it, her reconciliation with her younger sister following the return of the real Twilight Sparkle. Hurried invitations had been passed out, and an official party of sorts was being planned for the following day. Only one figure seemed to have nothing to celebrate, and it was the little dragon sitting on one of the balconies, just watching the city with a sort of blank stare. Twilight Sparkle stepped out onto the balcony alone, still wearing her Element tiara. “Spike? Spike, it's me,” Twilight said softly, her iron horseshoes dragging a little on the stone of the balcony. She was tremendously tired, but more worried about Spike, who didn't immediately react.

“Why didn't you tell me, when you'd come back?” Spike said after a moment, still staring over the city. His tone was dull, almost lifeless, “I mean, I'm your number one assistant, right?”

“Spike... I-”

“They questioned me, you know, the Guards, back when they thought you had attacked the Princess.” Spike interrupted, his volume rising steadily, “For days they asked if you had been part of a larger conspiracy, if there were any others like you, and then Rarity came and told them to buzz off.” Twilight fell to her knees, then over onto her side, clutching her head while Spike's fury let loose, “Then three years later she tells me you've been back for three weeks, but only visited her because Pinkie Pie had gotten sick! What about me, Twilight, did you forget about me?! WHY DIDN'T YO-” Spike broke off, because he had just turned around and found Twilight coughing and sobbing behind him, blood pouring from her eyes, nose and mouth. He ran to her side, and in an instant Twilight pulled him into a hug.

“I never, ever forgot you, Spike.” Twilight said thickly, her head still pounding, her vision darkening at the corners until she pushed it back by force of will, “I was... Ashamed, and frightened. I came back to find that I'd been accused of murder and treason, and... I... I didn't want to see you afraid of me. I'm so sorry Spike,” She sobbed, clinging to the little dragon, who was both terrified now for Twilight's health with the whole bleeding from the face thing, and somewhat assuaged by her heartfelt apology. She kept apologizing, holding him close, trailing off into a whisper, “I love you Spike, you're like my little brother and my only son all in one, and I shouldn't have hidden from you. I was so ashamed and afraid, I let my fear get the better of me... I'm so, so sorry...” Twilight held the little dragon, who was also crying now, in a tight hug until she very quietly succumbed to her exhaustion, passing out on the now blood-stained balcony.

The rest of the castle, oblivious, continued to party until Spike came running in, calling for help and covered in blood. Twilight slept in Princess Luna's own room, at the Princess' insistence, while the very best medical ponies minded her. After all, they'd already been there caring for Princess Celestia, and most of them had already moved into the castle.

“It looks like exhaustion, but the bleeding...” Doctor Goodheart, a unicorn specialist in magical maladies, looked the part of a brilliant doctor. His white mane refused to be tamed, standing out wildly from his grey-coated body. His lab-coat was crisp and precise, but with pockets and pockets full of writing utensils and notebooks. His glasses were thick and heavily distorted his ice-blue eyes that seemed to analyze whatever he looked at. Currently, he frowned, “It looks like feedback,” at the patient expressions of the non-magical Bearers of the Elements around him he added, “When a particularly emotional unicorn loses control of her magic and tries to contain it rather than letting it loose, it can cause hemorrhaging of the blood vessels around the horn, which can sometimes leak into the sinuses and cause symptoms like this. Still, you say she wasn't casting anything?” He addressed the last bit to Spike, who shook his head, looking at Twilight anxiously.

“No, she... I was shouting at her,” He looked down, clenching his fist slowly, “I... I was pretty angry with her for not contacting me sooner, but...” He trailed off, lifting his gaze once more to Twilight's sleeping form. She looked peaceful, oddly, the tension that usually filled her body since she'd returned was gone, replaced by a sort of serenity that made her look not entirely equine anymore. She had changed, Spike realized, and whatever had changed her had somehow made this happen. When she had collapsed, he had run for help, and found himself pushed into a little hospital room with the other Bearers of the Elements, including Pinkie Pie who had to be carried in, as she was still too weak to walk on her own, and Princess Luna herself, all piled around Twilight's bed. If Princess Celestia hadn't been recovering from her near-starvation she probably would've been in there too.

Dr. Goodheart nodded at Spike's words thoughtfully, “Then perhaps...”

“Emotional feedback,” Said a new voice, from the door. The guards outside slumped to the floor, asleep, while in the doorway stood a small red fox. Princess Luna eyed it warily, while the other Bearers and the Doctor just looked stunned at the fact that a fox was talking. The fox seemed to take no notice, “Twilight has had a great deal taken from her, and now one of the few things that keeps her stable is the love of her friends,” the little fox said casually, “So, if one of her friends, say Spike there,” Spike blinked, “Is angry towards her, it rebounds that bond, causing magical feedback that injures her as if she'd tried to contain a wild spell.” The fox tilted its head and smiled sadly, “In layman's terms: Twilight is hurt by her friends and loved ones being angry with her. Very romantic, but possibly lethal.”

“Lethal?” Spike blurted out, horrified.

The little fox nodded solemnly, “Yes, lethal, so please, for the sake of Twilight's health, talk out your problems with her before somepony gets angry. It could cost her her life.”

The little fox turned to leave in the ensuing shocked silence, but Princess Luna said softly, “Who are you, and why do you care?”

The fox turned and smiled at Princess Luna enigmatically, “There's power in names, so call me Blackboard if you like, but as to why I care? That's my business. Suffice to say that I do, and I am no friend to anyone who would intentionally do harm to Twilight there.” With that the little fox bowed, and dashed off down the corridor, vanishing once he hit a dark shadow, leaving the Bearers and the Princess alone with their injured friend and a very confused doctor.

“Blackboard?” Dr. Goodheart said bemusedly, “But he was red!”

Intermission

With Celestia cured and Twilight pardoned, this seems as good a time as ever to change perspective a bit. Consider it a taste of things to come, and an explanation of sorts for things that already have. All of this is happening side-by-side with the story, a parallel drama surrounding a certain blue unicorn and a cross-eyed mailmare.

The Great and Powerful Trixie hauled her new cart through the deep shadows of the Everfree Forest at sunset. The paint on the sides of her magnificent cart was even more elaborate than that on the last cart, and the best part was that it had been free. After a few private shows for the owner of Carts Unlimited and she had had enough blackmail to have the stupid stallion wrapped around her hoof twice. Trixie chuckled to herself about it, and the arrogant azure mare was confidently planning her tour in Hoofington when she heard a soft sound. To an outside observer, the speed with which Trixie was suddenly on top of her cart, with three knives levitating around her would have seemed almost supernatural, though the outside observer would therefore be ignorant of the dangers of this part of the Everfree.

Trixie was cutting through the forest to Hoofington, partially to keep from paying the toll on the bridge, and also to give her arrival an air of mystery. She usually only did that when times were bad, but now with the new cart she simply wished to show off to the ignorant masses she entertained. After several tense moments on top of the cart, Trixie replaced the knives in their invisible sheaths on her back, got down and resumed pulling. She was already considering what tricks she was going to perform, and who she'd try to squeeze for a little extra after, when the whole ground gave way, dropping her and her cart into a deep pit full of some sort of liquid.

“Of all the... The Great and Powerful Trixie is unamused by your prank, whoever you are,” the blue unicorn called out furiously, her voice rolling through the silent forest like an avalanche, “Now come help Trixie out or it shall go hard for you.” The resounding silence that greeted her proclamation started to make the blue mare a little nervous, and she became aware of a ticking noise from nearby. Trixie looked around, and found a curious device wedged into the side of the pit: It looked like a steel wheel with a piece of flint pressed against it, with some sort of clockwork device attached to the side. She blinked, then looked down at the liquid she was in, which was too viscous to be water, and smelled curiously like... Oil. The wheel spun, spraying white-hot sparks down onto the oil moments before Trixie could bring a spell together in her mind to save herself.

A figure a long ways off watched the flames burst from the middle of the Everfree, along the old Hoofington Road, from a hilltop. She nodded in satisfaction as the fire burned, feeling a weight disappear from her shoulders. She'd been careful not to make the pit too shallow, so the trees should be safe from the blaze, but she watched until the fire had extinguished itself entirely, just in case. She stood once the moon had risen and the bulk of the fire seemed to have gone out, and cracked her neck. This mare was also a blue unicorn, but where the one in the wagon had had a beautifully coiffed mane and an arrogant strut in her step, this one seemed smaller, more tired, but with an indefinable toughness about her. Her coat was blue, but patterned with swirls of black dyes that seemed to move as the viewer watched, surrounding her wand and crescent cutie mark and branching out from there like spider webbing. Her eyes were a solid lavender, with no pupils at all, yet she seemed to be able to see fine. Her light blue mane, while more ragged and unkempt, had a sort of artsy style to it nonetheless, and seemed to move of its own accord. Still, even if this other Trixie was more ragged, she might've been sisters with the one that burned with how similar they looked in body shape and bearing. The truth was far stranger.

Ditzy Doo was finishing a last few deliveries in Ponyville when she spotted the strange blue unicorn walking slowly into town. Well, she spotted her when she collided with the ground a little ways away, causing the newcomer to jump and yelp in alarm. “Sorry about that,” Ditzy said, shaking the dirt off her face. She smiled at the blue unicorn, who seemed to be having some trouble deciding where to look. It wasn't entirely surprising, most ponies who make eye-contact with Ditzy for extended periods of time tend to find themselves going very gently cross-eyed as they try to watch both of her wandering eyes at once.

“Uh...” The blue unicorn said uncertainly, “It's okay. Ditzy Doo, right?” At the grey pegasus' enthusiastic nod, the unicorn smiled, “I've heard of you in Hoofington. The only mailmare to make deliveries during tornado season,”

Ditzy puffed up her chest proudly, “That's right! Neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night shall stay this sacred messenger about her business!” She grinned, “Besides, tornadoes are fun, and I've figured out how to keep the mail from escaping... Usually...”

Trixie smiled, relaxing a little, “Well I'm... Trixie, Trixie Sparkle, and I was wondering if you could give me directions.” Ditzy nodded eagerly, “I'm looking for my sister, Twilight.”

Ditzy sat down and frowned, thinking, then tilted her head at Trixie, “Well, she lived in the library over there,” the gray pegasus waved vaguely in the direction of a large tree, “But last I heard she was hanged, then came back to life, and is now on the run for attacking Princess Celestia.”

Trixie blinked, stunned. She'd been out of the loop for a while, stalking her double, learning her habits, but she felt she should've heard of somepony coming back from the dead. The bit about her attacking the Princess though was an obvious fabrication, she felt. Twilight adored Princess Celestia, ever since she'd been accepted to her wretched school, and would sooner chop her own horn off than attack the princess.

Ditzy's eyes regarded Trixie for a moment, then she grinned, “Hey, you wanna come have dinner? You look hungry, and I was about to head home, Dinky and I are gonna make pancakes and muffins!”

“For... Dinner?” Trixie asked, nonplussed.

“Yup! Wanna come?” The grey mailmare smiled at Trixie charmingly, who found herself smiling back, it was impossible to fight the flow of well-wishing coming from this grey pegasus.

Trixie bowed elegantly “I would love to.”

And for those of you curious as to the fate of Applebloom...

In Sweet Apple Acres, Applebloom was sleeping sweetly once more, after being rescued by Twilight from the Beast. She didn't remember much of what had happened, or even how she had been taken, but she remembered Twilight, with her mane burning and shadows leaping from her hooves, carrying her through a nightmare back to reality. Applebloom squirmed slightly in her sleep as the moonlight fell over her, some part of her feeling exposed in the subtle light, a remnant of her violent incarceration.

Slowly, a lock of the yellow filly's red hair started to change color in the light: one of her bangs gently faded to a soft pink. Applebloom stirred in her sleep more restlessly, rolling over as she dreamed about her rescue over and over.

Part Two of Backwards Through the Mirror will come soon, but for now, revisions are incoming for Part One, in between my final projects.

Out of the Fire

Twilight walked through her friends' dreams, looking for any signs of dream-poison and gently unraveling any nightmares she came across. It had been a couple of months since she'd brought Applebloom back from her imprisonment, and every night she patrolled her friends' dreams. Normally she'd find this more taxing, but they'd all agreed to it, and something about being invited into her friends' dreams made it easier for her to enter. Before, entering her friends' dreams had taken a moderate spell and some help from the whispers of the shadows, and she never slept well afterwards. Now she found that she felt stronger for having made the agreement, and she slept peacefully after, which made her a little worried.

Twilight had been compiling vast volumes of notes on her new abilities, but it seemed that every time she thought she'd found the end of her strange new powers, something new would pop up. For instance, she was now incapable of entering a home without an invitation, the only exceptions being either public places like hotels or the homes of the other Elements, which were always open to her for some reason. If she tried to break that geas, her magic would lash back at her, either bouncing her painfully away or making her bleed from the face again.

Twilight stepped stealthily through one of Applejack's more interesting dreams, dodging the bouncing pink apples with which she was dancing merrily and continued searching. She found the doorway to Rarity's dreams and nudged it open, only to find herself sucked into the middle of a nightmare.

Rarity was standing in the middle of a circle of impossibly huge piles of cloth and thread in the middle of a disturbingly proportioned version of Carousel Boutique. She was sewing endlessly, with large armed needles holding her at, well, needlepoint. They had strange accents and were constantly bullying her and degrading her designs.

“'Ere, you call this fashion? I call it fit fer wipin' me bum!” Said one needle in heavily accented Equestrian, nudging the frantic white unicorn with the other needle held in his metal claws like a sword. “You've clearly no sense of design, what d'you think, Clem?”

“Inferior stitching, shoddy fabric, hardly fit for the King of the Needles!” Clem, the other needle, said firmly, gesturing with his needle-sword dangerously. “Maybe we ought to teach her a lesson, eh Jimbo?”

“Aye, maybe we should!” The giant needles advanced on Rarity, who screamed helplessly. Twilight took that opportunity to lift up both of the needles with her magic and step into the weird lighting.

“I think not, gents,” Twilight said, then blinked, “What the, how the bloody hell do I have your accents? No, you know what? It doesn't bleedin' matter 'cos you're both up the creek now.” With that, Twilight summarily crushed the giant needles into a large silver ball and tossed it towards the window. She had expected a crashing noise and an impressive shattering of glass, not a soft curse and the sound of running hooves. Before Rarity could approach and thank her, Twilight dashed to the window, which was unaccountably open, and looked out.

In the distance, a blue pony jumped into a shrubbery, the only shrubbery in sight because, in accordance with dream-logic, it was the only shrubbery Rarity could see from that window in her shop. Twilight stared at the shrubbery, which wiggled a little, then looked around the shop. Everything seemed to be relatively normal for Rarity's dreamscape now, with everything returning to something approaching the real look of her shop. There was one thing though that seemed out of place in the dream-shop though: a hat and cape on one of the dummies that she'd last seen on a certain boastful blue unicorn.

Twilight turned back to the window with narrowed eyes, and incinerated the distant shrubbery. Nothing came out, but Twilight felt she should probably pay Rarity a visit in the flesh. The dream however couldn't take such drastic changes in the dreamscape and Twilight felt herself getting pushed out as Rarity started to wake up. She left for Pinkie Pie's dreams, but made a mental note to visit Rarity when she got the chance, in case somepony had slipped her some dream-poison somehow.

In Canterlot, a young unicorn couple staggered out of a bar together, laughing merrily. Diamond and Karat Ring, newly married, had been celebrating their honeymoon in the capitol for the past week, visiting all the best restaurants and seeing the sights. They even ran into Princess Luna once, who personally congratulated them on their union in her archaic manner.

Diamond, the stallion, was a beautiful, kind soul whose jewelry business had made him one of the richest unicorns in Manehattan. His rather rough-and-tumble white mane matched his coat perfectly, and his sharp blue eyes never missed a flaw in a gem or imperfection in a cut. His cutie mark of a diamond in the rough fit him perfectly, even if most ponies thought it was just a rock.

By contrast, Karat, the mare, was a perfectly groomed, silver-coated pony with a mane like spun gold and a cutie mark of a gold bar. Her parents ran gold mines across Equestria, and she'd met Diamond during a business meeting. The deal had gone south when Diamond had caught her parents adulterating the gold beyond the accepted levels, but Karat and he had hit it off. She had been disgusted by her parents' duplicity and managed to arrange a fairer deal for Diamond, going over her parents' heads to the mine owners directly. Soon after, her parents retired and she and Diamond got married once she was head of the Karat family business.

Many ponies felt that there must've been some underhoofed dealings for such a perfect business pairing, but in truth, they both loved each other deeply. They were going to try for a foal, once they got back from their honeymoon, but for right now the couple were enjoying themselves. They saw the palace, the great School for Gifted Unicorns, visited the royal gardens, ate at the finest restaurants and generally had a good time. Currently they were making their rounds of the drinking establishments

Diamond started singing a bawdy song as the couple staggered down the street, something about unicorn horns that made Karat blush and giggle, when they were called to by a strange voice in the alleyway. “Hey, you two.” Diamond and Karat turned around and saw, to their amazement, somepony very important, a unicorn, though the exact name of the pony eluded both of them. He was tall, bulky, but carried himself with a predatory grace that, had he not been such an important and obviously influential pony would have made the couple uneasy. His mane was grey while his coat was almost black, and his eyes were a sort of steel-grey, giving him a strangely monochromatic appearance that, while it would have been unsettling, simply looked refined on him.

The couple bowed unsteadily to the strange unicorn standing in the alleyway, “Why hello there, it's an honor to-” Diamond began, but he was cut off by a wave from the strange, important pony.

“Don't bother with that now, I need your help with something.” The unicorn's voice was like liquid silk, and the couple found themselves tripping over each other to ask what he needed. He smiled, beckoned them into the alleyway urgently, and led the drunken couple into the darkness. An hour later, a scream brought the Guards, who arrived in time to find Karat on the brink of death, bleeding from multiple stab wounds in an alleyway. Diamond however was not so lucky.

Into the Darkness

Twilight was sitting in the bath when Spike received Celestia's summons. Spike had moved in with Twilight in the library once more, despite his obvious desire to stay with Rarity and Twilight's protests. He insisted that Twilight would be utterly lost without him and wouldn't even know how to feed herself, but Twilight was more sure he just didn't want to leave her side, and felt a little guilty about making her bleed from the face. She was going to visit Rarity that day, try to find the dream-poison, and wanted to feel fresh and rejuvenated before convincing her friend to let her dig through her possessions, looking for it. She'd moved back to Ponyville, and found settling back in to be a little difficult, but not impossible. Most ponies accepted that the other Twilight had been an impersonator, and were willing to give her another chance, while others treated her with a guarded suspicion that had only dissolved in recent months. Spike pounded on the door to the bathroom, “Twilight! A letter from Princess Celestia!”

Twilight sighed, “Put it on the table, Spike!” She called back, determined to get some good out of the bath. She may not be able to linger as long as she'd like, but generally the Princess was understanding of delays. A few moments later though that hope was smashed when Spike pounded on the door again.

“Twilight! Some Guards are here for you, said they came to help take you to Canterlot!” So much for relaxing. Twilight dried off quickly and teleported downstairs to find two Royal Guards waiting stoically outside the front door. She telekinetically grabbed the scroll from the table and nodded to the Guards, who turned towards the waiting chariot.

“Spike!” Twilight called over her shoulder as she walked out, “I'm leaving immediately, I'll probably send back for my things in a few hours! Don't hold up dinner for me, I'll be a while!” Spike called back a distant affirmative, and Twilight was soon safely aboard the Guards' chariot, flying at an exceptionally high speed towards Canterlot. Twilight tried to ask the Guards what the rush was about, but they either couldn't hear her, or were instructed not to tell her. Stymied, she broke the seal on the scroll and read her mentor's message.

My most faithful student,

I realize this is most irregular, but a situation has arisen that requires your unique capabilities. A crime most heinous has been committed here in Canterlot, and it defies even the best magical investigators. I fear the involvement of the Beast, but so far none of the rest of the investigators can find any sign. When you land, Lieutenant Pumpkin Spice will be waiting for you and will fill you in on the situation.

Lieutenant Pumpkin Spice was a vast disappointment to Twilight, who had been reading entirely too many mystery books in her spare time and had expected somepony dashing and gritty, with a sort of rough handsomeness about him. The Lieutenant looked like a unicorn that was couple meals shy of healthy, with a beige coat, cropped brown mane, deeply circled brown eyes and a general look of disreputable-ness that made even the Investigator's garb look shabby. He was dressed in a lighter version of the Royal Guard armor, with an under-barding that included chainmail and pockets for important evidence. He was waiting between the fattest earth pony she'd ever seen and a grim-looking green pegasus. “Lady Sparkle,” The Lieutenant said respectfully, “I'm Lieutenant Pumpkin Spice, this is Sergeant Cupcake,” He indicated the fat earth pony, “and Sergeant Garland.” The green Pegasus nodded curtly.

Twilight stepped down from the chariot and nodded to the three Guards, “Thank you Lieutenant, now where are we exactly?” Twilight hadn't really been to much of the noble portions of Canterlot, preferring more plain surroundings to do her late night studying, but the area they had landed in was definitely upper class, judging by all the marble and granite. The Lieutenant jerked his head in a direction and started off once Twilight was walking beside him. He didn't start talking until they were out of earshot of the chariot, and even then he was speaking very quietly so she had to lean closer to hear.

“We're in the Gemstone district, and the place we're going to is around the corner here. The Princess wants this very tightly under-wraps, so please, Lady Sparkle, I ask that you keep this discreet.” Twilight nodded uncertainly as they stepped up to the Guards standing in front of a taped-off alleyway. Lieutenant Pumpkin Spice showed his badge, and Twilight was instantly recognizable, so they were let through with no challenge. Once they were in the alleyway, Twilight understood the need for discretion, and only her experiences in the Hedge kept her from losing her lunch right there.

A unicorn had been crucified to the dead-end of the alleyway by spikes, then somepony had, with great precision, opened the abdominal cavity and pulled out the viscera and knotted it with apparently some care. Then the pony had been flayed, postmortem, with great exactitude, and the face had been removed, leaving only bare skull and staring eyes. The flayed skin was nailed to the wall to give the appearance of wings, making the dead unicorn look like a twisted, macabre parody of one of the Princesses. The intact eyes, which were a heartbreaking blue, stared sightlessly down at Twilight almost accusingly. As if to add to the horror, somepony had scrawled a poem in the blood on the wall, which Twilight read mechanically,

Dear Celestia, full of grace,

Help this pony find his face,

If you do,

I won't come for you,

But with twelve more,

I'll be at your door.

“We've already moved the other victim,” Sergeant Garland said seriously, his eyes flinty as he looked at the horrific scene, “Stabbed several times by the attacker, she was obviously left for dead once the attacker had heard the approaching Guards. She should be coming around soon.”

“Other victim?” Twilight asked distractedly, staring at the flayed pony, “Who?”

“Karat Ring, the victim's wife.” Twilight looked up to the flayed pony skull, saw the gold marriage band there and found a deep well of anger rolling up from inside her. She felt her mane start to ignite slowly, and very carefully damped it down, forcing herself to be objective.

“I'll want to speak to her once I've finished my investigation.” Twilight said, feeling the shadows start to whisper to her as she gathered her magic for the spell she was forming in her mind, “I'm going to need her statement, and the statements of the first Guards on the scene, as well as anypony else who was involved.” She felt, rather than heard the affirmatives behind her and ponies moving to obey, and was about to order something else when she noticed a slight tingle from elsewhere in the alley. She held up a hoof to keep Pumpkin Spice back, and walked over to a doorway almost hidden in the darkness, where the shadows whispered to the purple unicorn the strongest. She felt her mane ignite again into purple flame, and the shadows cling to her hooves adoringly. She knocked on the door, kicked it open and found herself looking into the Hedge, just as she'd feared. She turned, blocking the doorway from the curious Lieutenant's eyes, and frowned at him, “And somepony send a runner to the palace with a message for Princess Celestia. Tell her Twilight Sparkle needs iron to deal with her investigation. She'll know what I mean.”

The site of the investigation soon became a hive of activity, with Guards coming and going with equipment and cameras. Princess Celestia herself visited briefly but didn't say much, she just looked at the crucified pony with an unreadable expression, then nodded to her student and reminded her to visit soon before she teleported out. Specialists were brought in, ponies with investigation cutie marks were constantly going over the notes, and yet somehow with all this activity going on none of the newspapers or magazines so much as noticed. Twilight was beginning to suspect that Celestia was leaning on the media to keep things quiet, which was a mildly disturbing thought, but for now it worked to her favor.

“Lady Twilight,” Lieutenant Pumpkin Spice interrupted Twilight's train of thought, causing her to turn irritably. The Lieutenant brought forward a clipboard with his magic, “I have the results from forensics here,” Twilight's irritation evaporated and she turned fully to face the beige unicorn, “No hoofprints, no residual magical traces, nothing.” Twilight stomped with annoyance, but before she could say anything, the Lieutenant flipped to the next page of his clipboard, “Also, Miss Karat is conscious and would like to talk to you.”

“Miss Karat?” Twilight asked, confused.

“The other victim, Lady.”

Now Twilight remembered, and she nodded to Pumpkin Spice, “Alright, where is she?”

“Canterlot General Hospital, do you want an escort?” Twilight just shook her head and teleported out, leaving Pumpkin Spice to sigh and continue the grim duty of taking pictures of the horrific scene.

Good and Bad Tidings

Canterlot General Hospital was relatively new, and was built of the old prison, which was itself a relic of an ancient civil war in Equestria. Scholars had protested the destruction of the centuries-old building, but Princess Celestia had felt that the benefits of the construction of a new hospital outweighed the historical value of the site. Besides, it had been a prison, and was generally considered an eyesore by ponies who lived in the area. So Canterlot General had been built, a magnificent house of healing where the very architecture and decorations brought comfort and the incredible staff swift wellness to anypony who came in through the door.

Twilight walked up to the receptionist, who looked up boredly, “Yes, how can I-...” The receptionist, a rather pretty golden mare with an orange mane stared at Twilight in sudden, terrified recognition. “T-T-T...”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight finished for her, sighing and looking around before reaching into her saddlebags for her identification. The whole waiting room was suddenly rigid with attention. All eyes were on her, especially those that were trying to look like they weren't. Several ponies became deeply engrossed in their magazines once they realized she was looking back, except for the fillies and colts, who just stared. Twilight showed the royal letter giving her permission to visit Karat Ring, tucked it away and turned back to the receptionist, “I'm here to see Missus Ring? Princess Celestia sent me to check on her.” The receptionist nodded and sent for an orderly to escort her there, as Karat Ring's room was under royal protection.

The orderly, a plain red earth pony in the blue garb of one of the security personnel, came to collect her, and soon Twilight found herself walking through the sterile white corridors, being carefully not-stared-at by nurses and patients alike. “So, Twilight,” The orderly said quietly, “How do you like being back in the world?”

Twilight turned sharply at the sound of the voice, and found Blackboard grinning back at her, “You!” Twilight hissed, still walking and attempting to maintain a semblance of normalcy, though ponies were staring anyway, “How did you...?”

“Been working here since we got back, actually. Knew we'd run into each other eventually.” Blackboard's confident smirk gave Twilight brief fantasies of bucking it off his face. Then other parts of her treacherously chimed in that being smiled at by a handsome stallion was rather pleasant, even if that stallion that was occasionally a fox, and usually a bit annoying. Blackboard chuckled softly, “But yes, how do you find the real world, now that you're back?”

Twilight walked in silence with Blackboard for a moment, then said softly, “Difficult. I don't really leave the library, except to visit my friends, and even then it's usually at night. Other ponies... They don't really understand, to them I'm...”

“The Twilight Nightmare?”

Twilight glared at Blackboard, “That was rather uncalled-for. But essentially, yes, that's what they say. I'm taller, my mane is longer and... Well I don't know how much of my true self they can see but-”

“Almost none, to them you're simply tall, intimidating, with a mane that flows with power. No flames, no whispering shadows, no ghostly words sketching through the air, none of it, but what they can see... Reminds them of what you put away years ago.” Twilight walked in silence then, until she and Blackboard reached the door to Karat Ring's room. He leaned in and whispered to Twilight softly, “However, you're not alone. You have your friends, your family, but if that's not enough...” He pulled a card out from his uniform pocket and tucked it into Twilight's mane. She turned to pull it out, and when she turned back, Blackboard was gone.

Twilight sighed and opened the door, putting the card into her saddlebags. Inside, Karat Ring watched her with a calm hopelessness as Twilight closed the door and took stock of the room. It was relatively empty, with an intravenous setup providing fluids to the recovering mare, who was covered in bandages. Devices measured her heart-rate and magical level, which were both strong and steady, and two light-globes floated in the corners of the room, waiting for nightfall. Currently the room was brightly lit by the noon-day sun, and it showed a complete lack of get-well-soon cards, balloons or other things family and friends would have sent. Twilight cleared her throat a little uneasily and bowed, “Missus Ring, my name is-”

“Twilight Sparkle,” The silver mare finished for her in a voice devoid of emotion, tiredly flicking a lock of her golden mane out of her brilliant green eyes, “Yes, I know.”

Twilight blinked, then slowly drew out her notepad and quill, “Well Missus Ring, I'd like to ask you about the attack.” Karat sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes wearily, and Twilight added hastily, “If you're too tired, I can come back anoth-”

“No.” The word was not forceful, but something about the resonance in it silenced Twilight immediately, “I will tell you, but only, only if you promise to catch him. The stallion that did this to me and who killed my husband.”

Twilight nodded and said softly, “I promise, Missus Ring.”

Karat opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling while she related the events that led up to her and her husband's capture. “When he had us inside, he tied us up, and we went along willingly, even when he gagged the both of us. It just... Seemed natural. Then whatever spell he'd used to convince us to come inside broke, and we could see him for the first time.” She shivered, “He... He was wrong, somehow, his body didn't look right, you know? He was about my height, muscular, and thinner than anypony I'd ever seen. His eyes were like steel, and so was his coat, there wasn't a drop of color on him anywhere,” Karat closed her eyes, swallowing, her heartbeat racing according to the machine beside her, “His teeth, he filed them or something, made them sharp like a cat's... But his eyes... They were mad, just... Insane.” Twilight wrote this down carefully and waited for Karat to get a grip on herself, already impressed by the mare's composure, given the circumstances.

Karat took a deep breath and continued, “Once he had us restrained, he set to... To torturing Diamond. He... Well you saw what he did, but while he was working on my husband I was dissolving the bindings on my mouth and hooves with very small bursts of magic. I couldn't help him myself, I... I'm not... I wouldn't know how to fight, with or without magic, but I knew I needed someone to get help before he killed my husband entirely.” Karat was crying now, though she kept it from her voice, which was still clear, “I felt so helpless and useless, and I took so long that by the time I was free, Diamond was already dead, so I screamed. He... Stabbed me with the magical blade he'd used on Diamond several times, then dove out the door. Diamond was dead, but I clung to him anyway, and then the guards came and they pulled me off of him, but he... We were going to have a family!” The silver mare was sobbing now, her voice torn with sorrow, “We were going to raise our foals together, have a family and raise grandfoals until time and wrinkles claimed us both but... But now...” Karat started sobbing brokenly. Twilight walked over and hovered awkwardly, not sure how to offer comfort at a time like this, but her presence seemed to reassure Karat somewhat, strangely.

“Karat...” Twilight said softly, “Did he mention anything, anything at all? Any names, places anything that could tell me where he's hiding?”

Karat looked up at Twilight with her beautiful green eyes, “He mentioned you. He said that this was the only way he could protect you, save you from the evil queen.”

“What?” Twilight asked, dumbfounded, “What evil queen?”

Karat shrugged, “No idea, but he said that he had to do this, to help save Twilight Sparkle, that he had to purge this land of all the filthy ponies that would stand in her way.”

“Did... Did he say why?”

Karat lay back in the bed, her heart-rate slowing, “Yes, he said he had to pay you back, for giving him his freedom.” Karat was obviously exhausted from the exchange, and Twilight's mind was a maelstrom of questions, but she simply wrote them down and backed quietly out of the hospital room. When the door was closed, Twilight sighed and remembered the card Blackboard had given her. She pulled it out, and found it to be a business card.

The Briar Patch
733 Burning Hedge Way
Manehattan

It was pouring rain in Manehattan when Twilight arrived, so she decided to pay a visit to Rarity's place before continuing on to the unknown address. The outside of the Diamond Flare Boutique was elegant, if a bit overdone, with much in the way of gold and white marble, and actual gems sparkling in the walls in beautiful patterns. Twilight pulled her cloak tighter about her with magic and walked up to the door. Through the window in the door Twilight saw beautiful dresses, elegant suits and only two customers inside, looking around seriously.

Twilight opened the door, over which a bell tinkled gently, and stepped inside. One of the other patrons, a rather prim looking blue mare, looked around to see who had entered and froze, then bowed. Twilight sighed and nodded to her, then took her cloak off and hung it up next to the others. The mare walked deeper into the shop, out of sight, and Twilight was about to call out for Rarity when a familiar white unicorn came bouncing into view, her pastel pink and purple mane bobbing merrily, “Welcome to Diamond Flare Boutique, where everything is chic, unique and... Uh...” Sweetie Bell faltered, frowning as she tried to remember.

“Magnifique?” Twilight offered, her voice making the unicorn filly look up and squeal.

“Twilight!” And before she knew it, Twilight was wrapped in a hug and being dragged deeper into the store. The other patrons quietly slipped out, avoiding eye contact, but Sweetie Bell made up for their absence with a constant stream of dialogue. Her cutie mark had come in finally, a musical note imposed over a heart, and she was definitely taller and more filled-out, though with Twilight's increase in height there was no real relative change. “Oh my gosh, Rarity's going to be so happy to see you, I bet she'll want tea and cakes soon, if she's not still working. We have a lot of orders going on right now with the Gala approaching, but we're staying on top of it. Well, Rarity's staying on top of it, I'm not allowed to help, but I've got concerts now!” Sweetie kept talking as she led Twilight deeper into the shop, past rows and rows of suits and dresses, all brilliantly designed and sparkling with more gems than Twilight could count, “They're so awesome, sometimes I even sing for Scootaloo's shows, she's a dancer now you know, does all kinds of ballet and modern dance and stuff, it's really cool, but...” And she faltered, just outside the door to what seemed to be Rarity's workshop, judging by the sounds of a sewing machine inside and a soft mumbling. Sweetie Bell turned to Twilight, looking troubled, “Scoot and I are worried about Applebloom, Twilight. She's... Well something's not right, you should stop by and talk to her sometime, see if she'll talk to you about it,”

Twilight nodded, mentally groaning at yet another thing to investigate, “I'll look into it, Sweetie Bell, but I don't think she'll talk to me about it if she won't talk to her closest friends.” Sweetie just gave Twilight a slightly worried look and walked away into the shop, leaving Twilight in front of the door to Rarity's workshop. She gently knocked on the door, received no answer, then pushed open the door gently to a scene of utter chaos.

Buttons were everywhere, with mountains of fabric and piles and piles of thread strewn about with needles and various other sewing paraphernalia littering the floor. In the middle of the mess sat Rarity, sewing away at some dress or another. She sighed irritably, “Sweetie Bell, I said I didn't want to be disturbed unless it's... Twilight!” Rarity squealed, much like her sister, and pushed off from her work-station to hug Twilight, “Oh Twilight it's been too long! Well, I mean besides your little dream-visits of course, but honestly you should've come by sooner! Now, did you just come by to visit or was there something you needed, because I have some work to finish, and it's just the tiniest bit behind schedule.”

Twilight smiled, Rarity always made time for her, “It's a little of both really. I wanted to see you, say hi, but I also wanted to ask you a few things. Still, it can wait for a bit, do you mind if I wait in your room? This should stay private.”

Rarity nodded, “Of course Twilight, go right when you leave the workshop, up the stairs and through the door, that's my room, alright? I'll be along in an hour or two, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, alright?” Twilight nodded and left Rarity to her sewing. She found her way to Rarity's bedroom, which was absolutely and rigidly organized, completely at odds with her workshop's clutter. The dichotomy between the two spaces had gotten worse recently, but Rarity seemed happy enough, if a bit overstressed from work. That was the thing about walking through your friends' dreams: you get to know them on a much deeper level. Sometimes a little too deep, in the case of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and sometimes Pinkie Pie. She tried not to look, but occasionally curiosity killed the cat and... Well she knows more about Fluttershy's flexibility now than she ever would have been comfortable knowing.

Twilight shook her head and looked around Rarity's room, remembering the dream-poison she'd spotted earlier. She'd been able to make her own variant of the dream-poison, but with healing or restful effects instead of the vile twisting of the Faeries. Dream-poisons or her own crafted dreamscapes both required a physical object that would be in contact with the sleeper all night, so Twilight bought teddy bears and filled them with positive dreams to heal, console, or provide restful sleep. Well, in theory anyway. She'd never had a chance to test them really, so they were lined up on her shelf at the moment, making her look like some kind of weird teddy bear collector.

Twilight poked around the room respectfully, looking for signs of tampering when one of the pillows caught her eye. Rarity's bed was the most luxurious Twilight had ever seen. It was huge, for starters, and the frame was elegantly carved. The blankets were a light purple, contrasting nicely with the shimmering blue sheets. The pillows were lacy and soft-looking deep purple velvet, and all neatly arranged, except for the pillow on the end, which was slightly off-kilter. Twilight gently moved the pillow aside, and stepped back as a small stuffed unicorn fell out from under it. It was plain, purple, with a purple mane and tail and little purple buttons for eyes, and had a strange feeling about it. Several minutes later, Twilight was sure: this stuffed toy was the source of the dreams, though the idea of Rarity cuddling up to a stuffed version of Twilight made the purple unicorn... Less disturbed than she thought she would be.

Twilight was still pondering that, levitating the doll in front of her, when Rarity walked back in, “I'm so sorry darling, but you know how it is when customers... Ah!” Twilight turned to see Rarity blushing, “Oh dear, I was hoping you wouldn't see that... I mean, it's not as though... Um...” Rarity blushing was a sight not often seen, and Twilight found herself blushing in response, a deep warmth flowing through her.

“Ah, well it just kind of... You see I was looking for...” Twilight shook her head to clear it, “Somepony enchanted this,” she finally blurted out.

Rarity looked startled, but nodded, “To do what, exactly? Not a desire charm I hope.”

Twilight shook her head, “No, it's... It's like a doorway into your dreams for someone who can already... Someone like me, basically. But, uh, not me. I mean, I don't need a doorway, so anypony else who, uh...” Why was she blushing like this, she wondered, it wasn't as though she needed to explain herself really, “Where did it come from?”

“Well... Uh... Applebloom made it, then gave it to Sweetie Bell, who gave it eyes, then Sweetie Bell gave it to me and... Well...” Rarity blushed a little deeper, “Oh dear, I was hoping... Twilight, are you... Doing anything tonight?”

Twilight was entirely dumbstruck as everything clicked together suddenly in her head, she just stared at Rarity for about a minute, then shook her head, “I... Well I had a place I wanted to go to, but... That... If you want to go somewhere instead I...”

“Oh, ah... Where were you going?”

Twilight pulled out the card, “The Briar Patch,”

Rarity oooohed, “Oh my, there? You got an invitation? Really? It's the newest club in town, only opened a year ago or so and almost nopony's been able to go. It's an invitation only club but you've got an invitation!” The white unicorn squealed happily, sounding very much like her little sister for a moment, “We should go together, Twilight! It'd be so roma-... I mean, I'd very much like to go, but if you... Um...” Rarity was blushing again, as was Twilight, to her private surprise. The awkward silence lengthened, until Twilight was able to muster up the nerve to break the silence.

“Um... Rarity, would you... Like to go to the club with me?”

Parties and Bodies

The entrance to the Briar Patch was unmarked, save for a couple of thuggish looking guard ponies. As Twilight and Rarity approached, both completely swathed in rain-repelling gear, Twilight noticed that both guards were changelings. One had a grassy mane with flowers in it, and a body like carved wood, while the other sported a third eye directly where a unicorn's horn would be and seemed far more alert than his compatriot. They both eyed Twilight and Rarity until they had gotten close enough for speech in the pouring rain. Strangely, they both stared at Twilight once she lowered her hood and waved the pair through the plain double-doors before either unicorn could say a word. Twilight turned to Rarity, who was levitating her cloak over to the changeling managing the cloak room. He took one look at Twilight, made a strangled noise and refused Rarity's tip politely but firmly before directing the pair wordlessly down the hall, “That was... Strange. I think I'll keep the hood up for now, Rarity, I'm not sure if I'm welcome here.”

“But Twilight, you look so fantastic, I spent ages finding those black amethysts!” Rarity pouted gracefully, she was dressed in an elegant confection of fabric that emphasized every one of her beautiful curves, in Twilight's opinion, without making her look like some sort of... Scarlet mare. Twilight, clad once more in the beautiful dress Rarity had given her before her sojourn into the Hedge, was still dealing with her active attraction to her glamorous friend and her thoughts about Blackboard from a while back.

Twilight sighed as they walked down the hall, which was declining steadily, to another set of double-doors, these ones surrounded by stylized brambles, with a silver treble clef on one door and a bronze double-note on the other, “I know Rarity, but I don't want to cause trouble, besides I think that-...” Twilight was cut off by the sudden increase in volume upon opening the doors, which was almost a physical force: pushing the ponies out as much as it beckoned them in with the intoxicating beats. Twilight looked at Rarity, who grinned excitedly and pulled the purple unicorn in.

It was glorious inside. The room was a huge dome, no doubt underground, with a massive turning dance floor in the middle, long bars on either side and a DJ table against the back wall. Doors and balconies were set into the very stone of the walls, while lights shone down from a sphere set into the very apex of the ceiling.

Everything looked like it was made from brambles and briars. From the dance floor, which had brambles around its rim, to the bars, which looked like patches of bramble that coincidentally had a bar-top and the necessaries for making various alcoholic drinks, to the walls of the club itself, which were carved to look like wrapped and tangled thorny vines.

Everywhere changelings danced, some with heartbreakingly beautiful countenances, others like walking nightmares, but everypony was having a good time it looked like. Rarity seemed not to notice the strangeness of the clientele, and pulled Twilight eagerly up onto the turning floor and into the middle of the dance, surprising the purple unicorn entirely. She'd never have picked Rarity for the club scene, but here she was, dancing away as elegantly as she would in the ballroom, if much faster, receiving appreciative or envious looks from the other dancers. Twilight tried to keep up, though she'd never been one for dancing outside of little parties with her friends, but Rarity was in a class all her own.

The beat slowed, and Twilight found herself staring into Rarity's beautiful eyes as she danced closer and closer. Then Twilight felt time stop for a moment as her friend leaned in and... Was abruptly shoved over by another dancer, “Hey!” The other dancer, a bulky pegasus mare, about Twilight's height, with a short, dark mane protested, “Watch where you're going!”

Rarity got back to her hooves, shaking her head to clear it, her eyes tearing up a little. Twilight's eyes narrowed and she tapped the other dancer on the shoulder, who turned, “I said watch where you're-...”

“Apologize,” Twilight cut the dancer off,

“What?” The bulky mare said irritably, “A pile of what?”

“I said apologize!” Twilight shouted, her mane starting to flare under her cloak. She felt Rarity's hoof on her shoulder, but the mare just laughed drunkenly, “Or what, skinny, why don't you and your prissy bitch there just bail, huh? Leave this to the real party ponies!”

Twilight flicked back her hood to look the pegasus in the eye, which suddenly widened with fear as Twilight's mane flared a vibrant purple flame, and the scent of burned paper filled the room, causing everypony to turn around, “Nopony talks to my marefriend that way!” Twilight shouted into the sudden silence, where the words echoed around the suddenly still room.

The mare immediately backed down, “Oh... Oh Celestia, it's... Oh I'm so sorry... So, so sorry...” She cringed at Twilight's glare and backed down, off the dance floor and into the crowd. Twilight snorted and turned to Rarity, who was looking stunned.

“Sorry about... Hey, why'd the music stop?” Twilight looked around, noticing the silence for the first time as it broke into murmurs and whispered conversations. Twilight stood with Rarity and pulled herself to her full height, looking over the crowd, “Sorry about that folks, just uh, go back to your dancing, um...” She turned towards the DJ table and found herself nose-to-nose with Octavia, who pulled the purple unicorn into a tight hug.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Octavia said in her crystalline voice as she gently released the surprised Twilight, “It's been far too long, and is that Rarity, the Element of Generosity I see with you?” Rarity nodded, blinking, as Octavia bowed, smiling serenely and was about to say something when the voice of Vinyl Scratch called over the music system.

“The one and only, the Savior of Changelings and Conqueror of the Beast! I give you Celestia's prized student, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” The room abruptly broke into wild cheers, “You all know her, and here she is with her date, the very glamorous Element of Generosity, and here we all are staring like she's a freak or something! For shame, my little ponies!” The crowd booed at itself, which dissolved into laughter as the tension drained out of the room. “Come on Tavi, let's give the happy couple a beat they can dance to.” Octavia nodded and leapt off the stage, landing a little ways away from her blue-maned mate, and with that, the music resumed, but with a slower, more sensual melody.

Twilight grinned uneasily at Rarity, who smiled, and started dancing close to her friend, whispering just soft enough for her to hear, “Marefriend? Going a little quickly, aren't we?”

Twilight blushed, “I wasn't thinking, that mare was so rude to you and I... Well... Would you?”

Rarity looked Twilight in the eye, all signs of her tears gone now and a slight smile warming her face, “Would I what, Twilight?”

Twilight swallowed, and said very softly, “Would you... Be my marefr-” she was cut off by Rarity's lips against hers, which succeeded in entirely wiping all cognizant thought from her mind. She didn't notice that the dance floor was empty now except for them, didn't notice the change in the music, or much of anything really except for the raw emotion that filled up her chest and caused her to pull Rarity deeper into the kiss.

The kiss broke after what felt like an eternity, and then the couple started dancing. All thoughts of the murder investigation, of the dream-poison, of Applebloom's apparent illness, of Celestia's commands left Twilight's usually orderly mind as she and Rarity wove around each other. Other ponies in the crowd found themselves affected as the music and the emotions of the dancing lovers rolling from the turning stage overwhelmed their sensibilities.

Twilight felt Rarity's lips against her flank, then back further where no pony besides Twilight had ever touched. She gasped, and felt that she should be embarrassed, but something about the music eased her fears, while the steady beat urged her on. Soon she was fully involved with Rarity, right up there on the stage, doing things with her new marefriend that she'd only read about in saucy novels.

She licked and nibbled Rarity beneath the dress, who returned the favor, and soon the dresses were forgotten, laying about them in a heap, though Rarity's was still folded neatly. They ground against each other, kissing tenderly, but deeply. Rarity's lips were like ambrosia to Twilight, both sets of them, but she found new heights of pleasure as Rarity's most intimate parts pressed against hers, until they both reached a beautiful and magnificent climax that was echoed throughout the room as Twilight and Rarity's magics burst out. It was dreamlike, holding her new beloved there on the dance floor while the music wrapped around them, until somepony came up with drinks for the two of them and the rest of the evening gradually became a blur, where dancing, loving and the music all blended together into one gorgeous moment.

Scorching light etched Twilight's retinas with fire, causing her to yelp and roll over and almost off the parapet. She opened her eyes fully and almost screamed at the pain the dawn was inflicting on her extremely hungover eyes. Rarity was nowhere to be found, and, looking around, she had somehow managed to fall asleep on top of Canterlot Castle. She was balanced precariously on one of the towers, while on the balcony below her... Celestia was raising the sun, accompanied by Princess Luna. Terrified, Twilight tried to stay absolutely still and was about to teleport when a pigeon landed on her head, confusing the frozen unicorn for a sculpture. Twilight did scream then, and fell off, only to be caught by a very familiar magical grip.

“Twilight Sparkle, what in Equestria are you doing here?” Princess Celestia asked, her tone utterly bewildered, “I thought you were investigating in Manehattan.” Twilight risked a glance at her mentor, to find that the Princess of the Sun looked concerned and confused, while Princess Luna, who had somehow grasped the concept before her sister, was struggling to keep a straight face.

“I... Was, your Highness,” Twilight said, pulling herself upright and trying not to squint in the painfully brilliant new day, “And I have several important leads to discuss. Inside, in the dark, if you please, for... Secrecy. Yes. Secrecy.”

Princess Celestia looked puzzled, but nodded and walked inside. Princess Luna however walked over to Twilight, who bowed respectfully. “Methinks your research did not go as planned, apprentice. Did you at least find something of import before becoming diverted?” Twilight nodded warily, she had never been comfortable around Luna after being thrown in the dungeons by her, though she tried to be polite. Still, their conversations tended to be a little rigid and formal. Luna smiled, “Good, now come along, let's not make that hangover any worse.” With that the Moon Princess walked inside after her sister, with Twilight following behind, trying to organize her thoughts and push the searing sunlight from her mind.

The council room had been built by Celestia herself, it was said, which begged the question of why it was so cramped. It was a small, circular room with no windows, only one elegantly carved door, a table big enough for a eleven advisors and the Princesses themselves, and one lonely skylight for illumination. There was almost no decoration in the room, aside from the subtle grace of the domed ceiling itself and the quiet dignity of the marble walls. “So, my faithful student,” Celestia was saying when she, Twilight and Luna were all situated at the table, “what have you discovered?”

Twilight stifled a yawn, “Well so far, I have a number of leads. The evidence at the crime scene suggests a being having to do with Faeries may be the culprit. It could be an agent of the Beast, or a rogue changeling.”

“But,” Celestia said, frowning, “I thought you said there were relatively few changelings in Equestria. In fact, your capture is the first recorded incident of such, though evidently some slipped through the cracks. What makes you think it was a changeling, Twilight?”

Twilight hesitated, “I... Well I was tipped off, actually. I was directed to a club, the Briar Patch in Manehattan, where the clientele is entirely changelings.”

Luna blinked, then frowned thoughtfully, “How many changelings?”

Twilight thought about it, “I don't really know, but probably well over two hundred. Possibly closer to five hundred. And that's just a fraction of the population, I'm betting. I was planning to go back tonight and ask around, there was some sort of event when I was there the other night,” Twilight felt herself blushing as she side-stepped the truth a little, “It... Involved drinking, and I ended up somewhat sidetracked as I tried to blend in.”

Celestia snorted, amused, “I was wondering if that were the case. You look like Blueblood did after the Gala.” At Twilight's puzzled look, she added, “He drank himself into a stupor once he realized how important your friend Rarity was and how badly he'd blown his chances with her. Hungover for a week,” Celestia shook her head as if to clear it of the unrelated thought, “Anything else?”

Twilight nodded, “After speaking with Karat Ring, I've compiled a description of the perpetrator and have found something particularly interesting,” Twilight paused as she noticed a slight flicker in the skylight that illuminated the windowless council chamber, then continued, “He seems to be under the impression that I saved him somehow from his captor, and that his murdering of Diamond would somehow help repay me.” It was at that moment that the skylight flickered again and something heavy fell hard onto the council table, splattering Twilight and the princesses with something hot and wet. Blood, Twilight realized after a stunned moment. Celestia teleported the instant the body had hit the table, Luna was already calling for guards, and Twilight just stared.

The shadows were whispering again, louder, crying for vengeance and babbling nonsense. The purple unicorn brought a hoof up to wipe her face, then stared at what had rubbed off. It was blood. Fresh blood. She looked over at the table, and saw a pink unicorn, this one with a face, staring at her with an expression of frozen horror. Twilight's body, which was rather delicate from the indulgences the night before, overruled her brain and the purple unicorn very gently passed out.

Visions and Vexations

Twilight ran down a corridor of fire, dodging burning tomes and clouds of choking ash. Ahead of her was a brilliant light that burned the eyes, while behind a lurking menace reached out to her with talons of silver and darkness. The floor was swathed in shadow, but it was firm beneath her hooves and gave her something to run on. She outran the fire and darkness, and found herself in the Hedge, with all its twisting paths and thorny threats, but she kept running, sure that the reaching menace behind her would catch her if she stopped. Two lights rose from the ground: one blue and white, the other purple and grey. They followed beside her, running from the same shadow that lurked behind Twilight, twisting and flying around her like will-o-the-wisps.

A roaring laugh issued from behind Twilight, causing her to run still faster, and soon thousands and thousands of lights whirled around her, alongside her, all whispering her name in voices like wind-chimes. Some, however, screamed her name discordantly, like a damaged bell's last chime before it breaks. These lights burned, they burned her, the other lights, and started to light the Hedge on fire. Twilight wanted to scream at them to stop, but she had to save her breath for running. She wanted to wave them away from the brambles, to keep the fire from spreading, but she had to keep moving.

Time slowed, then stopped.

Twilight realized she didn't have to run.

Twilight stopped running as the thought rang through her. The lights whirled around her chaotically, but the unicorn stomped her hooves, and the burning brambles fell away.

She was in a vast hall, the old Castle of the Pony Sisters, and ahead of her the light still burned, beckoning her to run towards it. But it was impossible, and painfully unattainable. Behind her the shadow loomed, always threatening, but impotent, she realized, unable to touch her. She turned from the light and faced the darkness, to deny it and show its powerlessness to the lights that whirled fearfully around her.

She knew that was where she belonged.

Twilight woke up with a start in Canterlot General Hospital three days later to the steady beeping of the heart monitor. She turned her head and found Rarity sleeping on the visitor's couch by her bed. She felt... Rather bland about that, actually, which surprised her. She pushed it down though and smiled, watching her new marefriend sleep.

Rarity slowly woke and noticed Twilight watching her. The white unicorn sighed inwardly, smiling, not sure how to approach her friend and break the unpleasant news. Princess Celestia had had a few words with her while Twilight had been unconscious, about her worries about her student, and had subtly indicated to Rarity that getting involved with Twilight on a deeper level would be extremely complex and possibly dangerous. Being Twilight's marefriend right now would make her a target for more than paparazzi, and if something happened to her, Sweetie Bell would be left in the lurch, as it were.

The conversation had left Rarity in a thoughtful frame of mind, and had led her to the conclusion that, while she loved Twilight, she loved her as a friend and could only love her as a friend. Still, she definitely had no regrets about the incident at the club; it had been one of her more memorable liaisons, and extremely intense to boot. Great sex though does not a relationship make. Twilight and she had a sort of physical chemistry, Twilight was very attractive after all, but... The vital spark wasn't really there, she told herself, and she was puzzling about how to put the news to her friend gently when Twilight cleared her throat.

“Um... Rarity?” Twilight asked, or tried to, it came out as a raspy hiss until she'd drank from the glass of water nearby. She tried again, “Rarity? How long was I...”

“A day or so,” Rarity said quietly, while Twilight's brows rose in surprise, “The doctors said the mental shock of whatever happened in the council room, combined with residual blood poisoning sent you into unconsciousness.”

Twilight blinked, “Blood po-... Oh, the hangover. Hah, yeah... Some night I guess,”

“Yes,” Rarity said softly, “Some night.” Rarity shifted uncomfortably on the couch as the silence stretched out. Twilight started to say something a couple of times, but the atmosphere in the room was too thick to let words through. Rarity sighed, “Twilight, about that... I... I enjoyed that night. But I can't... Ah... Forgive me Twilight but, while I love you...” Rarity hurried on as she saw Twilight's face beginning to fall, “I don't... I can't love you that way, but,” she added quickly, forestalling a comment from Twilight, “Please, just wait. I can't love you as a marefriend, but... I can love you as a friend, and I'm... I'm sorry, Twilight.”

The silence ticked by, then Twilight said softly, “Why?”

Rarity looked away, “Well Twilight, I just... Can't see myself living a life with you. I thought about it, in the time I've been here, watching over you, but I just can't. You're a wonderful friend, Twilight, and I'm sorry this happened this way, I don't... Usually do things this quickly, I assure you.” Rarity sighed, “I realize I probably shouldn't ask but... Can you... Ever forgive me?” Rarity turned to look at Twilight, who just stared at her for several minutes with tears leaking down her face. Rarity's heart wrenched with guilt while her friend just stared at her. The purple unicorn's burning mane was bluer, more somber, and the words flowing through her mane and trailing off her body seemed to be of lament. After about ten minutes of neither pony responding, Rarity rose and started to walk out.

“Someday, Rarity,” Twilight said softly, causing Rarity to stop at the threshold of the hospital room, “But for now, get rid of the doll. It's cursed, remember.” Rarity nodded, not turning around, and walked out. Twilight very gently curled into a ball and cried softly, consumed by sorrow.

As soon as she was released from the hospital, Twilight set to her work with new vigor. She assembled the image of the killer after finding a spell to help lift it directly from Karat's mind, then had it posted around to the Royal Guards, with instructions to keep their investigations under tight secrecy. Princess Celestia wouldn't say how he had managed to escape her, but it was obvious she was furious with herself over it.

The victim had been a unicorn named Sparkling Vision, a minor noble of some sort that Twilight distantly remembered from the Grand Galloping Gala. Her husband and child had been devastated when Royal Messengers delivered the story of Lady Vision's tragic fall from one of the Canterlot Falls. Apparently, according to the family, Sparkling Vision had gone missing the night Twilight had been partying in Manehattan, along with her two friends. The friends had been found unharmed, but asleep, in the sewers under Canterlot. They had been unable to give a reliable description of the events, as they had all apparently been quite intoxicated.

Sparkling Vision had been flayed, her internal organs removed and the skin from her sides and back pulled into grotesque wing-shapes. Her face had been carefully left alone, and on further examination, Twilight found that Sparkling Vision's left eye had been removed and replaced with a glass replica, on the back of which was etched another poem in a surprisingly elegant script for a murderer.

Seeing is believing,

Soon there will be grieving,

Celestia, I'm not playing,

Eleven, then I'll be coming.

Forensic specialists were frantically trying to find something to shed some light on the patterns of the killer, but there was simply too little data. Somehow the murderer was able to wipe all traces of his passage from the scenes, with a skill that baffled even the best forensic minds. The fact that he left such taunting clues simply made it worse when all the tests came back negative.

Twilight did everything she could to put Rarity out of her mind and keep working on the case, but it became steadily more difficult as days passed. None of her friends ever visited, though Pinkie Pie kept in correspondence through letters that somehow ended up in Twilight's lodgings, no matter where she happened to be staying, periodically inviting her to one of Pinkie's parties, but with her pink friend living in Manehattan, dropping by for a party became a serious problem, especially with all that needed to be done to catch the killer.

Twilight's stress mounted as high as her depression had deepened, until at last she needed to see her friends so deeply it was like a physical force ripping at her that made the whispers of the shadows louder and more insistent. Desperate for company, she started taking Spike with her everywhere, but he had to run the library while she was working so that failed to work entirely. Owlouicious couldn't really provide verbal company, and talking to an owl made Twilight feel a little crazy.

So it was that Twilight walked through dreams to Manehattan, stepping out of a homeless pony's dream of alcohol and a warm bed into the middle of a heavy rain. Twilight sighed, she'd forgotten to check the weather, and this just figured with everything else that'd been happening. The homeless pony beside her stirred in his sleep, shivering a little in the dubious shelter of a handy doorway, and Twilight felt a twinge of pity, looking down at his wasted form. His coat was brown, or possibly covered in muck, and he was bone-thin, shivering in the cold. Twilight frowned in thought, then closed her eyes and focused, whispering to the very stuff of the dream she'd just exited. A moment passed, then she pulled out the rich, warm blanket from the homeless pony's dream and draped it over him. She pumped a little magic into the dream-blanket to make it stay in the real world, then tucked the pony in and, as an afterthought, left a note for him to find that reminded him that the Royal Guards were obligated to provide food to those in need. Satisfied, Twilight set off to find Pinkie's bakery.

Post

“Why didn't I get the name of the bakery?” Twilight asked herself ruefully, looking vainly for landmarks in the chill rain while passers-by gave her funny looks, “I only lived there for two weeks, I should at least know the name of the place.” Twilight sighed as she kept walking, her rain absorbing charm letting the rain pass through her without touching her at all. Being amongst the relative crowds of Manehattan, even on a rainy night, was jarring after her constant work and isolation. It also reminded her of Rarity, which hurt, but she kept going. If she could find Pinkie Pie, everything would be better, Pinkie Pie was the queen of making ponies feel better, maybe there would even be a party.

An hour or two later, Twilight finally came across a building she recognized, though she couldn't say why she recognized it. It was a plain grey building, with one set of double-doors that were probably locked. She walked up to them anyway and knocked, surprised when the doors eased open, unlocked. It was dark inside, but there was a faint light at the end of a long, downward-sloping tunnel. “Hello?” Twilight called inside, her voice echoing softly down the hall, which seemed inviting, despite the darkness. Twilight's rain-absorbing charm failed at that point and the shock of cold water on her rump made her reflexively bolt inside. The door shut behind her easily, without the ominous click she might've expected, were this one of her mystery novels. Curious and damp of rump, Twilight shook her rear legs to shed a bit of water and started down the hall towards the inviting light.

As she approached, a song softly insinuated its way through what proved to be two wooden doors, elegantly carved into a thorny vine motif, between which the light she'd seen was issuing. The lazy melody coaxed Twilight onwards, and she pushed open the door gently into the vast hall of The Briar Patch, dark and empty except for two figures, a red unicorn and a white unicorn sitting at the thorny bar and laughing over drinks. The melody drifted softly from the sound system, seeming to flow from everywhere and nowhere. At the sound of the door opening, the white unicorn called out, “The club's clo-... Oh Twilight, come on in!” Twilight smiled at Scratch as she approached and sat down at the bar next to the red unicorn, who nodded to her politely before sipping his drink. Scratch poured Twilight a drink, “So, how's things with you? Haven't seen you since the club scene.”

Twilight sighed and pushed the drink away politely, “It... Hasn't gone too well, Scratch.” She related the past few weeks to the white unicorn changeling, forgetting about the red stallion for the moment. She talked about the stresses of working on the case, even if she couldn't relate the specifics of the case itself, and finally talked about her and Rarity's whirlwind romance and sudden break-up.

Scratch listened, sipping Twilight's drink since the purple unicorn hadn't wanted it, nodding. She winced at the mention of Rarity and sighed, “Ugh, that's my fault.” At Twilight's shocked look, Scratch added, “As I was just telling Blackboard here, I thought you all had been going steady for a while, the way you reacted to her getting' nudged on the dance floor.”

“She was knocked over, and... Wait, Blackboard?” She turned to the unicorn stallion, who nodded and winked at Twilight smugly. The purple unicorn almost bucked him in the face, but restrained herself, “What are you doing here? And you're the reason I came here in the first place!”

“As another red stallion would say, 'eeyup.'” Blackboard said easily, sipping his drink, “Because you had to see.”

“See what?” Twilight all but snarled.

“How many changelings are here. Scratch here,” he nodded to the white unicorn changeling, who pushed back her glass mane with a smile, “has been helping get the newly arrived ones off the streets and...”

“Wait a minute, newly arrived... How many are we talking here?”

Scratch frowned, “About twenty or so come in looking for shelter every day now, I have some of my boys and girls help explain what's happened, where they are and so forth.” Twilight did the math and blinked, stunned at the sudden influx. Scratch nodded, “Yeah, and that's just in Manehattan, I've heard they started having weird reports all across Equestria.” Scratch nodded at Twilight's astonished look and smiled a little, “Funny thing though, the one thing they all know is your name. Twilight Sparkle, the Savior of Changelings.”

Twilight fumbled for her glass, which Scratch had thoughtfully refilled while talking, and drank deep, shivering at the burn. She stared into the empty glass, then back up at Scratch with narrowed eyes, “You amplified our emotions, that night.” Scratch coughed uncomfortably, looking to Blackboard, who sat back, smiling.

“Well, like I said, um... We... That is I... Thought you and she... Ah...” Scratch withered under Twilight's glare, “Me and Octavia kinda... Nudged things along a bit, yeah. And... Well there's a pony who makes a very strong... Uh... Well... Sorry.” Scratch squirmed under Twilight's gaze until the purple unicorn sighed, sank into her seat, gestured for another drink and sipped in silence for a while.

Blackboard snorted and leaned on the bar next to her, “Look Twilight, I know it hurts, I've been in love a few times myself, and these whirlwind flings... Well they're dumb, and they hurt, but honestly Twilight, weren't you having fun at the time?” Twilight nodded slowly, sipping her tumbler of alcohol. Blackboard snorted, “Life is short, Lady Sparkle. Take the joy and what you learned from the experience, and let the sadness fly free. Anyway, I'm out.” He stood up and nudged Twilight gently, “Come on Twilight, I'll take you to Pinkie Pie's.”

Twilight sat up, startled, and gave Blackboard a suspicious look, “How did you know I was...”

Blackboard just winked and bowed elegantly, “Suspicions, but come on, she's probably expecting you.”

“How? And 'suspicions' doesn't explain anything!”

“It's Pinkie Pie.” Blackboard said confidently, blatantly ignoring the other part of Twilight's comment, “Come on Twilight, when ISN'T Pinkie ready for company?”

After Blackboard and Twilight left, hundreds of changelings emerged from their hiding places around the deserted club, looking awed. Scratch shook her head, “See what I told y'all? She's a mare like any other, has problems like the rest of us.” She looked around at the changelings as they started murmuring to each other excitedly, most of them obviously ignoring Scratch entirely. She sighed, she'd tried, “Fine... If you can't beat em...” Scratch raised her voice, “Everypony! We're opening up soon, but first I want a word with all of you about Twilight!” Abruptly the bar was surrounded by waiting changelings. Scratch sighed, she'd taken them in, but when it was about Twilight, they all seemed determined to venerate her or something no matter what she said or did. She glared around at the large group, “Alright, well Lady Sparkle is in a bit of trouble right now so if you want to help her, help her with this killer that's been going around, but be discreet. The last thing she needs is more stress. Now somepony get Trixie back here and get ready for tonight, let's put a helluva show together, alright?”

As it happened, Pinkie wasn't ready for company since it was about four in the morning, but she got ready pretty quick. Within an hour of their arrival, they were all seated at a table eating cupcakes, deep in conversation about the recent rise in changelings. “Well why do they all know my name, Blackboard?” Twilight asked, after relating the revelations to Pinkie Pie.

Blackboard looked mildly affronted, “How should I know? Just because I've come in with mysteriously convenient information before you think that I know the answer?”

“Yes,” said Twilight and Pinkie Pie together, making them both giggle.

Blackboard rolled his eyes, “Fine, yes I have heard some things, but you're making this no fun at all.” Blackboard made the two mares wait while he ate another cupcake, “Some of the newly arrived changelings have said that they didn't escape, like you did Twilight, but were set loose by the Beast.” Twilight and Pinkie both gasped appropriately, and Blackboard nodded, “It's strange, but there you are. Oh and apparently he told them that you, Twilight Sparkle, were responsible for their release. Personally.”

Twilight blinked, shocked, “But... But why?”

The red stallion snorted, “Buck if I know, but it makes them easy to find. Most of them are lost, confused, and mentioning your name generally makes them calm down... Some of them though...” Blackboard's scowl darkened, “I've heard some changelings that are... Less stable of mind... Blame you for bringing them back to the real world, while others are so crazy they just start flinging stuff if you mention the WORD Twilight.” Blackboard sighed and ate another cupcake while Twilight's expression became horrified, “But it's starting to get noticed, especially in smaller communities, and ponies are becoming restless. It's being called a rise in birthrate, but that won't fool ponies for long.”

Twilight frowned and shook her head, “No, it won't. Is anypony helping them?”

“Scratch and Octavia are, that club's like a hive, you just usually only see the dance area. Hundreds of changelings live there, and all of the changelings in Manehattan visit at least once a week, usually more.” Blackboard said, smiling, “That, at least, is genuinely your doing.” At Twilight's startled look Blackboard grinned, “Didn't you say somepony ought to save changelings?” Twilight blushed and nodded, then went back to her baked goods while Blackboard chuckled.

Pinkie, who had been the quietest of the group for a change, nudged Blackboard, “Hey Boardy, can ya get some more cupcakes please? From the kitchen?” Blackboard nodded, smiling, and walked into the kitchen. Pinkie gave Twilight a worried look and asked softly, “Twilight, are you mad at us? The girls and I, I mean?” Twilight blinked, surprised, and Pinkie continued, “Only, you haven't been answering any letters, or coming to any parties or...”

“Wait Pinkie, what letters? I only ever get your party invitations, and I'm usually busy or you're out here in Manehattan. I haven't gotten any mail since we saw each other last after Celestia was cured.” Twilight said, a trace of confusion coloring her hurt tone. Pinkie stared, then narrowed her eyes.

Blackboard came trotting in from the kitchen, looking annoyed, “Pinkie, there're no more cupcakes in the kitchen, what-... Ye gods!” Blackboard backed a step as Pinkie's head turned around on its neck like an owl's to fix the red stallion with a severe look.

“Blackboard, how come Twilight's not been getting our letters? I thought you were supposed to stop this kind of thing.” Pinkie glared at Blackboard, who was starting to sweat a little under the intensity of Pinkie's azure gaze.

“Pinkie, h-how would I know why she isn't getting her mail? I'm not a mailpony, besides, I've been tied up for weeks trying to sort things out.” Blackboard shook his head, “If I'd known about the mail thing, I would've looked into it, and it's being done subtly enough that it went through the correct channels. Complain to the postal service, just stop staring at me!” Blackboard bounded back into the kitchen to protect himself from Pinkie's stare.

Pinkie snorted, then her head snapped back around to smile at Twilight, “Well there you are then, let's go talk to Ditzy after breakfast, she'll help sort this out.” With that, she set about the kitchen preparing some sort of breakfast, while Twilight stared, lost in thought.

Ponyville Post Office was a large, grand sort of building, built in the Old Canterlot style, but minus most of the elegant stone work. What remained was a stout, bulky building that had about as much grace as a thrown brick, but what it lacked in elegance it made up for in large-ness. Twilight felt mildly impressed just standing outside. She followed an utterly unimpressed Blackboard into the building, with Pinkie bouncing along behind her.

They had traveled to Ponyville via the Hedge at Pinkie's insistence. She had a gateway already prepared in the basement, to Twilight's immense surprise, in the form of a set of plain double-doors that were decorated like a gingerbread house on the Hedge side. The ease with which the pink earth pony navigated the thorny paths astonished Twilight, who had anticipated a rather more arduous journey. It also raised some questions in the purple unicorn's mind, but she decided to keep them to herself until they got her mail restored, especially since Blackboard seemed utterly unfazed by Pinkie's expertise. The red unicorn had seemed mildly distracted the whole way through the maze of paths and passageways, only snapping back to the present once they were all in front of the Post Office.

The interior of the Post Office was a claustrophobic press of activity, with a crowd of ponies in line waiting to ship packages. Overhead, mail-pegasi flew in and out hatches that stretched up the tall but narrow main hall of the Post Office, sorting mail, putting it in mail chariots for the evening journey to the Postal Hub in Canterlot. Behind the complaints desk, a familiar cross-eyed pegasus mare was shrinking behind her desk, hiding from a ranting blue earth pony stallion. “And furthermore, my package arrived dented, dented! It's a miracle nothing was harmed the way you lunatics bolt around!” Twilight and the others waited patiently behind the wildly gesticulating stallion, “Last week you left a package forty five minutes early, what if I hadn't been home?!” Ditzy was cowering behind her desk, not being permitted to say anything beneath the endless flow of verbal abuse. Twilight frowned as they waited for another twenty minutes, then fixed her eyes on the blue stallion and whispered softly to the shadows.

“And... And furthermore... Is... Is it... Are the walls closing in in here? I... I didn't... Who said that?!” The earth pony looked around wildly in sudden paranoia, until he spotted Twilight, who smiled as his eyes widened in sudden terror.

“Boo.” The blue stallion shrieked and fled at the simple word, shoving his way out the door in his haste to flee. Ditzy peeked over the counter, and sighed with relief when she saw Twilight, who chuckled, “Well, I didn't think I was that scary. Hey Ditzy Doo,”

“H-Hey Twilight, you didn't do that did you?” Ditzy frowned, she hadn't liked the blue stallion, but he WAS a customer, and ponies scaring customers was probably against the rules somewhere.

“Ditzy, do I look scary to you?” Twilight grinned affably at Ditzy, who chuckled, relaxing as she shook her head. “Hey, Ditzy, I've been having a problem though-”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie cut in, bouncing in agitation, or possibly just bouncing, “She hasn't been getting any letters at all!”

Ditzy Doo frowned, “Really? One moment,” She flipped through a stack of cards nearby, then called back for somepony who brought her another stack of cards. Finally she produced a card with Twilight's cutie mark on the back, “Is your address... 50 Maple Lane, Manehattan?”

“Manehattan? Ditzy, I live here, in Ponyville, just up the block!”

“What... But your sister said...” Ditzy said confusedly, “Your sister said you'd moved, filled out the change of address form for you and everything.”

Twilight blinked, “Um Ditzy Doo, I don't have a sister.”

Ditzy snorted, “Sure you do, remember? Trixie!”

The Red Star

Trixie dreamt of her imprisonment. The Vivisectionist made her draw portraits of the ponies he flayed to death, sculpt them in painstaking detail and paint them in gory, sickening color. Her dreams were vague now, after so long removed, and were interspersed with images of stalking the fake-Trixie, the one that insisted others call her The Great and Powerful Trixie and spoke in that stupid third-pony fashion. She dreamt of Twilight briefly for some reason, though she barely knew the pony, but the dream quickly dissolved back into images of her imprisonment which, while horrific, bored her after a while. You can only be frightened of a pony being ripped to bits by blades so many times after all.

In the waking world, Twilight dusted the remaining swirls of dreamstuff off her legs with magic and looked around the little hotel room Trixie was staying in. It was dark, of course, and filled with artistic implements as much as clothing as far as Twilight's burning mane illuminated, with some large bundles wrapped up near the bathroom. Judging from the view outside, they were somewhere in Lower Manehattan and it was approximately two in the morning. Trixie rolled over in her sleep, muttering. She was small and slim, but seemed to be reasonably well-off. The cyan mare sported a network of criss-crossing and swirling designs across her fur that moved while she watched, and her mane had a sort of punkish flare to it that was appealing, but a far cry from the usually elegant mane of the showmare Twilight had shown up in Ponyville. Still, it was Trixie, no doubt about it, and she was a changeling, which made things a little more complicated.

Twilight nudged the sleeping Trixie, who seemed to be in the grip of some nightmare. Trixie opened her lavender eyes enough for Twilight to see there were no pupils, then groaned and rolled over to go back to sleep. She woke up more fully when Twilight levitated her in the air upside-down a few inches from her face, “Oh holy sunlight! I'm up I'm up! Put me down!”

Twilight glared at the lavender-eyed unicorn, “Not until you tell me why you were interrupting my mail.”

Trixie goggled at Twilight, still thrashing to break free of the telekinetic hold, “Are you insane?! Is that what this is about? Come on! I didn't do anything with it, it's all stored carefully!”

“Where?” Twilight asked urgently, and promptly dropped Trixie when she indicated the bundles nearby. Sure enough, when Twilight walked over she could see they were bundles and bundles of letters, carefully wrapped in canvas and secured with twine. All labeled neatly with the date range for each bundle of letters. “Oh thank Celestia, now then what-...” Twilight turned to find the door swinging, and the sound of running hooves retreating down the street. She sighed and teleported to the alleyway where Blackboard had been waiting in case Trixie tried such a tactic.

Sure enough, Trixie was pinned physically by Blackboard, with her gaze held pointedly in another direction so she couldn't cast at him. The red unicorn grinned, “Evening Twilight, fancy seeing you here!” At the sound of Twilight's name, Trixie thrashed harder, telekinetically flinging debris blindly towards her and swearing in a colorful and instructive manner. Several of the words were new even to Twilight, who very calmly picked up Trixie in a telekinetic bubble, gently nudging Blackboard aside in the process, and floating the cyan mare over to herself.

Twilight's mane lit with quiet fury as she spoke dangerously softly to the captive mare, “Trixie, you are going to tell me right now what you were capturing my mail for, or so help me Luna there are going to be consequences.”

Trixie flinched at Twilight's tone, then shook herself and tried to glare back with moderate success, “You abandoned your people, Lady Sparkle, I had to do something!” At Twilight's surprised look, she hurried on, “Always working away for the normal ponies, for Celestia and this damn place, when there are changelings that need you! Need your guidance!”

Twilight frowned, “But then why steal my letters, why not approach me yourself?”

“I...” Trixie blushed, she actually blushed, “I didn't... Well I was afraid to. So I diverted your letters by pretending to be your sister,” she continued quickly, before Twilight could comment, “In the hope that you would drift away from your old friends and find... New... Ones...”

She trailed off as Twilight's mane started to very slowly become an inferno of violet light filled with words of raw fury, and the shadows writhed up her legs, whispering of anger and death. Twilight's voice however, was very controlled, which made it somehow worse, “You were trying to break my friendship with the others, with the Elements of Harmony as part of some boneheaded scheme to make me pay attention to the changelings? When you could've just asked? I wasn't even aware I was important to the changelings until last night, how could I possibly have known? How?”

Trixie tried for words despite the terror rushing through her veins at being so close to an angry Twilight, “Wxfglp,” she shook her head and shrugged, then tried again, “I... I... I am sorry, Lady Sparkle, I... I didn't know what else to do.”

“DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO-” Twilight broke off as Blackboard put a hoof on her shoulder. She looked at the red unicorn, sighed and nodded, “Fine. I'm still angry about this Trixie, but since the letters are fine, I'll let it go for now.” She set the blue mare down on the floor of the alley, where she almost collapsed, “Next time you have a problem, talk to me about it Trixie, and never. Never,” Twilight fixed the cowering Trixie with a glare, “Never come between me and my friends, are we perfectly clear?” Trixie nodded mutely, shivering with terror, “Good.” With that Twilight called for a couple of guards to carry her letters from the hotel room back to the library, leaving Trixie with Blackboard in the alleyway.

Blackboard snorted and helped Trixie back to her hooves. Trixie shrank back from him at first, but he just guided her upright anyway, gently but firmly. He sighed, “Look Trixie, I know you meant well, but seriously, she was already under a lot of stress without all your doing.”

“She needed to-” Trixie began,

“See the changelings,” Blackboard finished for her, “which she has, at the cost of almost going totally insane. Her friends are her life, Trixie, I don't think you realize that.” At Trixie's thoughtful silence, Blackboard nodded, “Good. Now, about that double of yours...” Trixie suddenly looked panicked, which made Blackboard smile his vulpine smile, “Killed her, didn't you?”

“Uh... I don't know what... Um... Yes.” Blackboard smirked, but Trixie continued, “I mean come on, The Great and Powerful Trixie? She hurt so many ponies, clopped and stabbed her way to the top and still managed to account for almost nothing. She was arrogance personified! She spoke in the third pony, I mean who does that?! And-”

“And she wore your face.” Blackboard finished softly for Trixie again, cutting off her rant to her mild annoyance, “And it hurt to see your face on another creature, didn't it? So then you...” The red unicorn stallion laughed at Trixie's expression, “No, it's alright, I'd have done the same thing, but most ponies, especially the authorities, would probably still consider it murder. So here's my proposition,” Blackboard leaned in close and whispered softly into Trixie's azure ear, “If you keep Twilight from harm when I'm not here, your secret dies with you. I'll not tell anyone, and I'll even cover the evidence for you. All you have to do is protect her. Not as a bodyguard mind you,” Blackboard added, seeing Trixie's body tense, “No, but keep anypony from doing what you did, coming between Twilight and her friends or trying to ruin their friendship. If you do that, I'll keep my peace.” Blackboard whispered softer, “If you don't, well... You harmed Twilight, and I'm well within my rights to exact retribution on her behalf and that of my injured honor.” Trixie gulped, “So do we have an accord, Trixie Stargazer?” The sound of her last name made Trixie pale, and she nodded shakily, wondering what she'd gotten herself into.

Twilight returned to the library to find Spike organizing a large pile of papers that had somehow filled the room in her absence. “What are these?” Twilight asked curiously, to which the little dragon shrugged.

“Not a clue Twi, they just showed up while I was sleeping, figured the guards had left them. You know, for the case.” Twilight took the top sheet and found it to be a detailed description of a thin, grey pony that was hauling a body up the side of Canterlot Castle, invisible to the guards. The next one was similar, same description and a complete account of the pony's movements, including one particularly gruesome account of the sounds coming from Diamond Ring, the first victim, from outside the warehouse.

“Spike, these are witness accounts! Details of each crime! What... You're sure you didn't see anyone bring them in?” Twilight looked through the accounts and found piles and piles of data, it'd take months to sort it all. Some of it was concise and to the point, while others were written in the form of poems. Some had pictures, some were just pictures, it was mind-boggling.

“Nope, no one came in or out that I could see. Well, except for Owlouicious, he came in with a letter from Princess Luna a little while ago. It's on the desk.”

Twilight grabbed the letter from the desk and unrolled it.

Lady Twilight Sparkle,

Please attend me in the throne room immediately, there are important matters to discuss.

Her Royal Highness,

Princess Luna

Twilight flipped the scroll over, scanned it with magic, but no, that was it. It seemed a little odd to send so short a message, but Princess Luna was far more direct than her sister. “Spike!” Twilight called as she walked wearily back to the door, “I'm going out again, I've been called to the palace!”

“What? But you just got back! You need sleep, Twilight!” Spike glared at Twilight around the piles of slightly organized paper. “You're going to be running on empty soon Twi, can't have you passing out during an investigation.”

The purple unicorn sighed and smiled, “I'll get some sleep soon Spike, I just have to see the Princess, I doubt I'll be long.” Spike rolled his eyes as Twilight set about putting a few of the papers in a set of saddlebags and pulled them on. He went back to cleaning up, muttering irritably about ponies taking Twilight for granted. Twilight walked over and kissed him on the top of the head, making him blush with embarrassment, “I'll be back soon, Spike. Don't worry.”

“Aw go on, get going Twi, Princess Luna can be pretty persnickety about punctuality.”

Twilight chuckled at her assistant's choice in words, then frowned, “Spike, there're going to be guards arriving with bundles of mail for me soon, set it up by my bed, will you?” She smiled at Spike's crisp salute and set out for the Royal Guard bastion nearby for transport to Canterlot.

The castle was pretty much as Twilight remembered it, though the guards seemed surprised to see her. She was let through with no issue once she was recognized, but to Twilight, something seemed off. She looked around the moonlit main hall a little warily, causing one of the guards to give her a quizzical look. She smiled and continued up the stairs to the throne room, her hooves clicking on the marble. A sense of wrong-ness began to assail Twilight as she reached the door, where she hesitated.

“Is something wrong, Twilight?” Twilight nearly screamed at Princess Luna's polite inquiry. She turned around and saw the Princess at the foot of the stairs, levitating a cup of tea in front of her.

Twilight bowed politely, “I've come in response to your letter, Princess.” At the princess's blank look she added helpfully, “The letter you sent with Owlouicious a little while ago?”

After a moment, Princess Luna levitated her tea over to a guard, who fumbled with it for a moment before managing to balance both cup and saucer on his nose. The princess walked up the stairs and stood next to Twilight beside the door, “Twilight Sparkle, I have never written thee before,” she said softly, her archaic speech pattern slipping in, “And this night is no different. Dost thou still have the letter?” Twilight nodded, confused, and pulled the letter out of her light saddle bags. The princess unrolled it, then looked hard at the door, “I did not send this letter, though it is an excellent forgery of my signature. Let us see what important matters needed to be discussed.” With that, the Princess of the Night opened the throne room doors... Into the scene of a massacre.

Six guards protected the throne room at all times. They were masters of their craft, the best of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Now they were dead, and more guards swarmed around the gruesome scene, taking pictures and conferring with experts. The guards were intact, save for their chests, which were a bloody mess. It looked like somepony had ripped their ribcages open and removed their hearts without harming any other organs, though it would be hard to tell. The bodies of the guards were arranged as the points on a six-pointed star, which was painted in their blood on the marble floor. The hearts of the guards were arranged in a pattern around the star much like the mark adorning a certain purple unicorn that prowled the scene grimly, directing a photographer to take pictures and collecting statements from guards that had been nearby.

Another poem was written in blood in a perfect circle around the gory scene, its script more elaborate than the last.

Six little guards,

Six points on a star,

Six elements they say,

Five more, and there will be no day.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood together by the entrance, watching mutely, their faces blank as stone. Celestia seemed particularly affected, watching over the scene with the ferocity of a mother that has lost a child. Guards and investigators alike shrank from her gaze, while Princess Luna looked merely grim by comparison.

“I'm afraid I cannot explain how I had fallen asleep,” One guard, who had been supposedly on guard in one of the halls was saying woodenly to an investigator, his face a chill mask that barely concealed his fury and sorrow. “I woke only after my guard partner struck me in the face, once Lady Sparkle raised the alarm and he found me in the hall. I felt no magic, but that sleep was not natural.”

Twilight overheard and walked over, “Guard Cobble? If you'll permit, I'd like to see if I could trace the source of the sleep.” The guard looked like he was about to refuse, but a look from Celestia made him nod shortly. The guards had never really believed that Twilight had changed, and many of them treated her like a loaded crossbow. Twilight sighed and started the spell wearily, she was too tired to care about the guard's suspicions. Soon the investigator was writing down the results of the spell, which showed he'd been slipped a sleeping agent of some kind, then a subtle power kept him from waking.

They were still quietly debating about what agent it might have been and how it could have been delivered when a guard called out to Twilight. “Lady Sparkle?” Twilight turned around, “I think you should come see this.” Twilight trotted over wearily, wishing for a cup of coffee or strong tea. The guard was indicating a section of the floor far to the side of the scene, almost lost in the pre-dawn shadows. Something white glinted in the darkness, which, when Twilight brought some illumination, proved to be a tooth.

Twilight blinked, then called back to the medical examiner, who was carefully inspecting the corpses of the guards, “Examiner?” The medical examiner, a light grey unicorn in a white coat jumped a little and turned, “Are any of the guards missing a tooth?” The medical examiner frowned and checked his notes, then shook his head before going back to the corpse of one of the guards. Twilight stared at the tooth, hope starting to kindle in her breast once more. “Then... This is his, and... Princess Celestia!” Twilight called back to her mentor, who looked up sharply, “I need access to the Warcaster Library, I need to find a ritual!”

The warehouse was completely surrounded by a full complement of Royal Guards. Princess Celestia stood in her regalia beside Twilight, who was levitating the tooth taken from the scene at the palace, which pulled steadily towards the doors of the building. “No doubt about it, Princess. The owner of this tooth is inside.” Guard Cobble, who was leading the force that would push in, almost growled and started forward. Twilight put the tooth away, “Guard Cobble, hold.”

“He could be killing somepony else in there Lady Sparkle, we have to press now, while he's still off-guard.” The guard gave Twilight a steely glare, “Unless you want another dead pony, Lady I suggest-”

“That's enough, Cobble.” Celestia said firmly, “Twilight, please explain.”

“Well, the perpetrator has already shown significant skill with magic, it's possible he's set up wardings, or other magical traps.” Twilight advanced, the guards parting to let her towards the door. Twilight gently probed the building with her magic, then stepped back, looking horrified and trying not to gag.

“What is it, Twilight?” Celestia asked in concern, “Are you alright?”

Twilight spat, then shivered, “I'm fine Princess, but... He's used zebra blood sigils. Powerful magic,” She added for the guards' benefit, “That uses the blood of a still-living being. It means either he's bleeding himself for extra protection, or there's somepony in there being bled for protections. If I'm right in my estimations, any attempt to breach the perimeter would be disastrous.”

Guard Cobble snorted derisively, “So how does he get out to kill ponies then? Are we supposed to wait there until whoever's in there dies?”

“No,” said a new voice from behind the group. Celestia turned to find four ponies all decked in armor, each one with some strangeness about them, bowing. The red unicorn stallion seemed to be bowing only for show, while the other three were more sincere in their genuflections. The red unicorn, wearing some sort of lacquered armor, looked more out of Luna's time, provided Luna had come from Neighpon. They rose at Celestia's gesture and the red unicorn smiled, “Blackboard, at your service your Highness, and this is Vinyl and Octavia Scratch, newly married, and Trixie Stargazer, once known as the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Trixie tried to hide from Twilight's gaze, while Vinyl and Octavia nodded to her comfortably, “We know another way in, your Highness.” He winked at Twilight, whose eyes widened when the penny finally dropped. He turned his attention to the Princess once more, “Our way would bypass all the defenses, but only we five could go in.”

Guard Cobble rolled his eyes, “Five ponies against one who defeated six elite guards? Begging your pardon Princess, but this is madness. And if they could get in, why couldn't we?”

Princess Celestia frowned, “It seems improbable, and while I welcome the support, I have no reason to-” A loud cracking noise cut her off, followed by a loud thump. A charred pegasus body in half-melted guard armor landed on the ground by the building. Celestia and the others dashed over, while the guards formed a tighter perimeter around the building. “What happened?”

Guard Slate, the head of the aerial portion of the guards surrounding the building talked with a few other guards then flew down, looking quietly furious, “Shale thought he could break through the window apparently, be a damn hero. He said he saw somepony in there, in pain, then dashed off like an idiot.” Medical ponies finally arrived, but it looked like it had been instant death. They found tremendous magical residue on the body though, it was still sparking occasionally, causing the body to twitch a little. Celestia looked on grimly, as did Slate. Shale had been his brother, Twilight remembered suddenly, but before she could offer condolences, Slate fixed her with a hard look, as if this had been her fault.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said softly, “I would like permission to launch a small mission inside to capture the perpetrator before he harms any more ponies.” Celestia looked sharply at her student, then her gaze drifted back to the smoking body of Guard Shale. She nodded a little, and Twilight turned to the others. Blackboard bowed crisply, grinning, while the others stood a little less cocksure, except possibly Octavia, who just smiled serenely.

“Hey Trixie,” Blackboard called back, making the blue mare jump a little, her saddlebags clanking, “Get that combat outfit you made for Twilight out here, if we're gonna do this, let's do it right.”

Madness

Twilight ran through the Hedge with the other changelings, looking like a queen of battle and moving as silent as a ghost, the tooth floating ahead of her as a guide. She was wearing a coronet of black iron that clasped around her horn like winding vines. Her barding was steel chainmail meshed with silk, with a breastplate of solid iron to protect her chest. Her hooves were encased in shoes of steel with spurs of iron attached. It weighed a ton, but Twilight looked like a Coltic warrior princess. Her mane and tail flared out behind her like the trail of a comet, hymns of battle and sagas of war running through and trailing off the violet flames. The shadows shimmered around her hooves, excited and whispering eagerly to her for the battle that was to come.

Blackboard's lacquered armor moved with him effortlessly, the Neighponese protection easily brushing aside the thorns of the Hedge. His iron helmet had a similarly iron mask styled like a fox-demon of old, while his breastplate was intricately inlaid with images of foxes playing. The rest of his body was protected by layers of lacquered wood and metal, held together with bands of silk, giving him an elegantly foreign look. An enormous, slightly curved blade was strapped to his back, the handle in mouth's reach, though Twilight doubted his ability to wield such a thing in close quarters, he seemed incredibly familiar with it. He ran with a careless abandon, following Twilight with the unconscious grace of a predator, neither sword nor armor impeding his progress at all.

Vinyl and Octavia wore matching outfits of simple chain and plate, through which magic coursed like an invisible pulse. They wore helmets of steel, with neck barding that would probably deflect even a direct strike. Their breastplates and pauldrons were intricately etched, the etchings along the sides seemed to sing as they brushed past the thorns, and even the jangling of the chainmail seemed to chime a distant tune. Scratch bobbed her head as she walked, looking around alertly, her glass hair chiming against her helmet like crystal bells. Octavia moved with an unearthly serenity, a blade strapped to her side in mouth's reach. She seemed mildly amused by the whole venture, her expression calm and collected while she followed, her eyes flicking to any sudden sounds, while the rest of her body seemed relaxed.

Trixie, by comparison, looked almost naked, scared and alone at the back of the line. She wore only a chainmail vest and two bulging saddlebags that clanked discordantly as she trotted with the rest. She had, according to Blackboard, used her own outfit to make Twilight's as a form of apology, which seemed a little foolish to Twilight, but she welcomed the gift anyway. Trixie was obviously none too happy to be back in the Hedge, her ears flicking around nervously as the group clattered on. The small blue mare flinched whenever Twilight looked at her, but she seemed to have prepared at least as well as Twilight would have, had she been expecting this venture.

… Which raised questions in Twilight's mind, but as they were already charging through the Hedge, it didn't really matter as much. Walls of bookshelves and twisted papery vines suddenly gave way to what looked like the door to a castle that belonged in a storybook. The old kind of story, she reflected, where the villains bathed in blood and the heroes put the heads of said villains on a spike. It was tall, made of blackened oak and had no knocker, but the tooth pulled steadily towards it. Twilight took a deep breath and turned to the others, “Alright ponies, friends and companions, this is going to be dangerous, incredibly dangerous. So before we go in, let's make a plan.” Twilight used her magic to draw in the dirt on the path. “Blackboard and I will go in first, followed by Trixie, with Vinyl and Octavia bringing up the rear.” Trixie frowned at the diagram and held up a hoof like a filly in school, “Yes, Trixie?”

The blue unicorn flinched a little as Twilight's intimidating gaze fell on her, but she seemed to be growing accustomed, “Um, Lady Sparkle, I just wanted to say that I brought a few things along to help.” She pulled out several white, softly glowing spheres. Seeing the blank looks on the faces of the other ponies she added helpfully, “Auto-chalk, if everyone takes one then we have a way of finding each other. It... Uh... Well I enchanted them to seek each other, so if we get separated, just set the balls on the ground and they'll roll towards each other, leaving a little glowing line.”

Twilight blinked, then smiled at the azure mare, “That's handy, alright, everypony take one, but hopefully we won't need them. Now once we're inside,” Twilight described the various magical traps she was familiar with, and gave Vinyl and Trixie the necessary knowledge to bypass them while Blackboard and Octavia simply cleaned their armor and weapons. Blackboard hummed a tune softly while he oiled his ungainly large sword by hoof. Octavia nodded to the beat while she oiled her more traditionally shaped mouth-sword's leaf-shaped blade.

The plan was set, Trixie distributed a few more trinkets, including several glass spheres filled with compressed air and finely ground iron filings. The three unicorns stepped up to the massive door, Twilight in the middle, Trixie on her right and Vinyl on her left, and they all three blew down the portal to face the demon inside.

The Hedge-side of the warehouse was a hellish maze of twisting corridors and terrifyingly huge open spaces, filled with utter darkness. At first it was deadly quiet and empty, with the only sounds that of running, armored ponies. It lulled them into complacency after a few minutes, until Octavia tripped the first of the magical traps in one of the wide-open cavernous spaces. The earth pony whirled as her hoof broke a tripwire, then dove to the side, narrowly avoiding a falling spear that seemed to reach the very ceiling. The whole party ran as more silvery spears fell down from above, then Trixie screamed, pointing up.

Twilight looked up and saw that all the spears they'd been dodging had in fact been the sharpened limbs of some massive mechanical monstrosity. A body of bronze and gold supported the silver limbs, in the center of which a gaping, whirling food processor of a maw whined, surrounded by glowing eyes. It lunged for the screaming blue unicorn, who was saved at the last minute by a blast from Twilight's magic that threw her out of harm's way before the huge metal body impacted the floor with a thump that shook them all to the ground, except for Blackboard.

The red unicorn had the ridiculously large sword in his mouth as he leapt right when the body of the mechanical spider hit the ground. He spun, bringing the full force of the spin down towards the body of the monster, which moved at the last second, spoiling the blow, but costing it five of its twenty spear-like limbs. The ponies had to scramble to avoid the falling silver limbs, and the intact, thrashing ones still attached to the body, which screamed like an angry teakettle full of weasels. It lunged for Blackboard, who nearly sidestepped it entirely, but one of the limbs sneakily waited for him to move before batting him harshly across the floor.

It would have been curtains for Blackboard then, had Vinyl not hit it with a sonic blast. The unicorn was surrounded with a rippling aura of raw sound that hurt the eyes to look at. She let one of the spears lunge for her, then sent the whole aura up the length at the last second, shattering the metal limb with harmonic vibrations. The creature screamed in metallic agony and fell backwards towards Twilight, reckoning her to be an easier target.

It reckoned wrong. Twilight disintegrated three limbs that came at her from different directions, then caught a fourth with telekinesis and wrenched it, pulling the leg free with brute force and a shower of fine silver parts. Twilight used the captured limb as a club, deflecting further attacks and denting the main body with a vicious efficiency, her mane flaring like a solar corona. As she was focusing though, another pointed limb shot out from the darkness, aimed straight for the purple unicorn's body. A shriek pierced the darkness laced with eldritch power.

The whole metal creature fell dead as if the shriek had been its death-knell. Twilight, Vinyl and Blackboard stared at the thing, blinking. Out of the darkness, Octavia emerged, supporting a shaking Trixie, that was... Giggling? “I did it, I did it! I saved her, did you see?” Trixie burbled hysterically, while Octavia smiled.

“Yes Trixie, that was very well done.” Octavia said soothingly, giving Twilight a look. The perplexed purple unicorn trotted over, and Octavia nudged Trixie, “Go on Trixie, tell her what you did.”

Trixie faltered a bit when she saw Twilight so close, but then straightened, “I, well... I forgot, until Octavia reminded me that is, that the creature was a machine. And I know machines.” At Twilight's utterly lost look she added, “I killed it, by asking it to die. It had to listen you see, you know what I mean?” Twilight nodded in sudden comprehension, then leaned in and nuzzled Trixie affectionately, to the blue unicorn's shock.

“Thank you Trixie, that was very well-done. I owe you my life. Now come on ponies, this isn't over yet.” Twilight moved a little ways off and started preparing the locator spell again while Trixie blushed and stared. Her mind had gone rather blissfully blank and kept playing the feeling of Twilight's face against her neck over and over. She smelled of berries, Trixie thought dimly, while the rest of the party set about gathering any dropped belongings.

Blackboard walked over with his sword once more strapped across his back, looking annoyed. “Trixie,” he said, snapping the unicorn changeling out of her reverie, “If you're going to ruin a good fight, do it before it becomes a life-threatening situation.” He stalked away, grumbling, and stood next to Twilight, looking around for more dangers. Trixie glared at the red unicorn for a while before her brain pointedly reminded her that the sword across his back had chopped through metal with apparently no resistance whatsoever. She decided to forgive Blackboard on that basis, and followed when Twilight found the way again.

“Is this the Hedge still, Twilight?” Octavia asked softly as the party crept along the wall of a shadowy room full of bones. Twilight thought for a moment, she was walking on the wall to avoid crunching any of the bones, while the others tried their best. She was about to reply when Trixie stepped heavily on a bone, the sudden cracking noise making them all jump briefly. Twilight sighed quietly while Blackboard shot Trixie an irritated look, causing the blue unicorn to shrink, blushing.

They continued after a tense moment of listening for some response to the sudden noise, Twilight whispering softly back to Octavia, “I'm not sure, it doesn't look like the Hedge as much as I'm used to, but it feels like it...” Twilight looked around, frowning, “But it's like he took the Hedge and tamed it, somehow... If only I had time to-”

“Twilight!” Trixie called from the back, the sudden shout shattering the silence, “The bones are moving!” Sure enough, the pile of bones was collecting together into a giant mass in the center of the room, filling the space with the grim cacophony of bone against bone. The group gathered into a defensive ring with Trixie, who was carrying the supplies, in the middle. “Uh... Girls,” Trixie said shakily, “Maybe we should just...”

“Run!” Shouted Twilight, who felt the spell gathering moments before the giant pile of bones sprang to life. Two glowing orbs for eyes opened in the pile, then the creature hauled itself upright like a building-sized pony of bones that filled the room to the arched ceiling. The group bolted along the wall, looking for a door or passageway. The bone-creature lunged for them with limbs made of grisly spears that clattered when they missed. “An animation spell? He's insane! Utterly bucking insane!” Twilight shouted to herself as she ran with the others, looking urgently for an escape route, “Animation spells were banned because there's no way to control them besides... One second! Everypony stop!”

The group stumbled to a halt while Twilight dashed towards the huge creature. Blackboard lunged to grab her, but she was just beyond his reach and he fell flat. Twilight ignored his swearing and the pleas of the others to stand before the monster, which pulled up short in front of her. Twilight whispered softly to the darkness, her fey power visibly warping the air a little as she confronted the bony construct. Her expression softened after a moment, “Girls... It's afraid. This is the killer's loneliness. It just... Is afraid of being alone anymore.”

“What?!” The group called back.

Twilight carefully responded, not breaking eye contact, “Animation spells are difficult because you need a little bit of yourself to power the creature. I'd imagine this is powered by the killer's loneliness. The last one was entirely of faerie make but this...” She indicated the bone-construct, which brought its 'head' down to fix Twilight with its glowing gaze, “Is pure unicorn magic. The last pony to know how to do this kind of spell was Starswirl the Bearded, and... His apprentice, who disappeared not long after the death of his master, leaving behind his family who swore to find their lost patriarch.” She hesitantly reached up with a hoof and stroked the 'nose' of the construct, causing it to croon with pleasure, which was probably one of the more disturbing sounds Twilight had ever heard.

She spoke to the creature soothingly, and gradually it turned back into a pile of bones, spreading out once more across the floor of the room like a gentle tide. Twilight backed carefully away from the edge of the flow, gesturing for the others to do the same. They came to a large metal door and opened it as quietly as possible, closed it gently behind them and only once they were a long ways down the corridor did they sigh with relief. Vinyl gave Twilight a look, “So how do you know about animation spells, if they're so hush-hush Twilight?”

Twilight blushed a little, “Well, when I got permission to look up the spell to find the killer, I took the opportunity to look up the spells I was never allowed to see. Animation spells weren't even in the war library, they've been completely stricken from the books, but they were described in detail if you looked through the accounts and cross-referenced them.”

“Cross-referenced them.” Vinyl said flatly, “In a day.”

“Well... Yeah...” Twilight said defensively while Octavia gave her mate an amused look, “It's not that hard, I'm a fast reader. Anyway, I know his name now. The killer's that is.” She frowned, “Or his family name anyway. He's a member of the Starshine family, an old line dedicated to the advancement of unicorn magic, though most of them have forgotten why. Their family crest-”

“Is probably not important right now,” Blackboard cut her off gently, “I'm sorry Twilight, but we're in a weird psychotic pony's mansion in a parallel dimension. Now is not the time for family histories.” Twilight glared at the red unicorn for a moment, then sighed and nodded. She brought out the tooth again and moved off a little ways to start prepping for the locator spell. As she muttered over the little ivory fragment, Blackboard noticed something strange about the section of corridor they were in: it was very clear of debris. Not to say that the rest of the corridors had been filled with junk, but there was usually a little dust in the corners. He stood up, about to ask the others when the floor dropped out from under the group, except for Twilight, who was a little ways off. She spun around in time to see the trapdoor behind her close, leaving empty space where her companions should have been.

Twilight ran full-tilt through the nightmarish hallways, the little chip of tooth pulling her steadily upwards. She blasted a closed door open and found herself in a gallery of horror. The walls were decorated with a ghastly series paintings done in blood. The crest of the Starshine family, a shield with four stars and a crescent moon in the center, adorned all four walls, while a crude eye symbol glared from the ceiling and floor. In the middle of the room a pedestal sat, a little off-kilter, with a book resting on its polished marble surface, embossed with the Starshine family crest. The tooth pulled Twilight straight to the book, then hovered over it, spinning. Twilight tucked the tooth away and flipped open the book.

The whole book was written in neat, precise mouthwriting, in a style consistent with about a hundred years before. It was the account of Starswirl's apprentice, Nebula the Lost, Twilight realized to her rising excitement, and his experiments with faeries quickly explained his disappearance. One passage in particular caught Twilight's eye,

Thus I do believe that any door may be a door to the faeries, and that the strong of will may conjure a door in their realm to ours through the act of will alone. I shall this next night begin my experiments to that effect, making use of the permanent gateway I discovered at the back of this journal. It's just as well I found it before some ignorant foal stumbled across the portal and alerted the Beast.

Curious, Twilight flipped to the back of the book and found the last page seemed to be an extremely detailed ink drawing of the inside of a warehouse. It seemed to be drawn from the ceiling, so the whole room was laid out before her. She saw something move: a figure tied to a table sobbed mutely, while a new pony walked in, a unicorn. Twilight blinked as she realized she was seeing the events unfolding without her in the real world. The pony strapped to the table looked like... It was Trixie! The ink-drawn unicorn levitated a blade closer to the figure, which screamed silently, shaking her head in denial. A speech bubble emerged from her mouth as if pulled from her throat,

I don't know what you mean! Please! I didn't do anything to you!

The unicorn seemed unimpressed, and his own speech bubble appeared as he dragged the blade down Trixie's left front leg slowly.

Liar! If you're not her, what happened to her? Where is the Great and Powerful one?! You're her, you set all this in motion, sent the great Twilight the Liberator to the Beast for torment and death! Did it hurt when she defied you?! When she rose above us all?!

Trixie shuddered and sobbed, Twilight could almost hear her broken gasps through the page, and found her eyes tearing up in empathy.

I don't know! You're insane!

The unicorn seemed to pause, then he drove the blade cruelly into Trixie's gut, causing her eyes to widen in sudden agony. Twilight almost looked away, but Trixie's next speech bubble made her freeze.

You... You bastard... Fine. If I'm going to die, I killed her.

The grim defiance on Trixie's face was that of a pony with nothing left to lose. Twilight wanted to break away, stop reading and look for some way in, but the text kept rolling.

I burned that arrogant bitch in a pit of oil. You want The Great and Powerful Flambé, go to the forest and dig, maybe you'll find a some ashes, add it to your bucking collection you sick, bucking...

The drawing of Trixie screamed as the knife was wrenched cruelly from her gut and she passed out. The unicorn, the murderer, started swearing and stabbing the unconscious Trixie.

No! You idiot! You completely ignorant foal! Now we cannot know what her plan was! You selfish, idiotic...

Blackboard glowered from inside a heavily warded cage. Whoever this pony was knew full well who and what Blackboard was, and the charm papers wrapped around the bars were flawless. If he tried to escape, they would sear him painfully, and the pattern of their coverage was such that he would have to be in very small pieces indeed to fit through. It didn't stop him from almost lunging at the bars as the sick changeling stabbed Trixie's unconscious form repeatedly. The others were chained up along the walls in full-body restraints crafted of some kind of magical alloy that tightened painfully if they even thought about escape.

As a consequence, only the level-headed Octavia was still conscious, staring at the violence with single-minded intensity. Blackboard admired her courage and stamina, but she was probably nearing the end of her endurance. They'd been here for hours, with the murdering bastard of a unicorn questioning all of them as to their part in “The Great and Powerful One's Scheme.”

The only other occupants in the room were huddled together in a less secure cage nearby, sobbing quietly whenever they woke or the mad pony bled them to refresh the wards. They were foals, skinny and malnourished and covered with scars, but still pony children, only one of which had his cutie mark. The sick bastard was bleeding them to refresh the wards every so often, which would make them pass out. They had food and water, but most of the foals were painfully bony.

Blackboard eyed the mad pony again as he threw the knife away with a clatter, disgusted. He had an over-wide mouth of sharpened silver teeth, and his grey eyes matched his matted, grey coat. He was terribly thin, which only made his wide mouth more skeletal, and he had a mane of greasy dark hair that dripped blackness on the floor when he moved. Blackboard imagined all the horrible fates he would enact on the wretched creature when he was freed, to pass the time, when he noticed the acrid scent of burning paper on the air. He looked around, sniffing, then the foxy pony smiled as he noticed a doorway drawing itself on the wall nearby, shaped like an open book.

The door slammed open once it was drawn fully, and Twilight Sparkle strode in, her flaming mane damping slightly as she stepped through into the warehouse, while the whispering shadows around her hooves quieted a little. “Nebula Starshine!” She cried, causing the murderer to spin in shock, “Stop this madness!”

The murderer looked confused, “But, Lady Sparkle, these ponies will harm you, use you as a tool! They don't even realize their part in the Great and Powerful Trixie's plan, but she's set it in motion, and I must-”

“Stop, Nebula!” Twilight roared, her voice rising with a little magical enhancement to room-filling levels, “You're confused, you must not do this or-”

“No!” Nebula shouted back, “I will do this! It is you who is confused, Lady! The Beast watches, he knows, he showed me how the Great and Powerful one manipulated events, how she brought about your downfall! She must have done something to make you forget, for you not to see!” He was twitching as he shouted, every fiber of his being vibrating with the intensity of his speech, a little froth dripping from the corner of his mouth, “And I cannot allow you to harm yourself with compassion for these tools of her insanity. She would use you! You!” With that he flung the bloody knife he'd been stabbing Trixie with at the cage full of children and leapt towards Twilight.

Without hesitation, Twilight deflected the blade and took the impact. She screamed when the crazed unicorn bit her neck, his sharp teeth penetrating deeply. She shook him off after several tries, losing a good bit of skin in the process. He leapt again, snarling like a maddened cat, but at that point a flash of purple fire blasted the grisly unicorn off his hooves. The blade Twilight had deflected had nicked one of the charm-papers holding Blackboard in place and he had focused a little foxfire through the flaw in the pattern. The charm-papers slowly burned, allowing him to focus on freeing the others, while Twilight attempted to subdue Nebula, who proved to be an incredible spellcaster, for all his insanity.

Twilight countered Nebula's darts of acid with a baking soda spell, and lunged out with an arcane lariat. Nebula side-stepped the loop and sent it snapping back with a rebounding spell before firing a beam of flame for Twilight's hooves. She leapt up, which Nebula had expected, sending a telekinetic push into her exposed belly, knocking the wind out of the purple unicorn and sending her flying back. Before he could press his advantage, a shock of purple foxfire lashed across Nebula's vision, blinding the skeletal pony and causing him to back a step.

Twilight recovered by using a rejuvenation spell, and started flinging bright flashes of light and fire at Nebula's face, causing the unicorn to flinch and back up. He blindly flung a ray of acid out that burned the leg of one of the foals, causing them to scream. Twilight's attention was diverted out of concern for a moment, and she took a slash of fire across the side, which her armor absorbed mostly. Twilight dodged a chunk of ice, which skipped across where she'd been standing moments before, only to be hit by another, square in the chest. If it hadn't been for Trixie's armor, Twilight probably would have had broken ribs, but she was able to stagger upright in time for Nebula to blink the last of the dazzlement from his eyes.

“Nebula, stop this!” Twilight called to him again, “You don't have to do this, you're hurting ponies!”

“Every great work,” Nebula said softly, “Requires sacrifice, and I will save you from that abomination's machinations. You saved me from captivity, whether I wanted to go or not, so I shall do the same for you.” With that he lunged for Twilight, only to be intercepted by Octavia's hooves crashing down on top of him, breaking the unicorn's neck with a horrible crack.

She had leapt over Twilight once Blackboard had freed her, intending to interpose herself between the two unicorns, but had misjudged the distance. She stepped back, looking down at the corpse of the murderer with apparently mild surprise, “Oops.” She looked at Twilight, who was staring, horrified. Octavia shrugged, then walked over to Trixie to give what aid she could to the unicorn. Twilight sank to her knees before the body of Nebula, tears starting to leak from her eyes.

Blackboard methodically demolished the cage holding him once the charm-papers had burned away, then set about freeing the children, who shrank from him as he sliced the top off the cage with one deft cut of his over-sized sword. He then went about carefully cutting Vinyl free of her enchanted restraints, privately admiring the spellwork in them before he cut them to pieces. He checked her vitals, and found her merely unconscious, so he walked over to Trixie, where Octavia was frowning over the blue unicorn's wounds.

Trixie was barely breathing, her body a mess of cuts and deep stab wounds. Blood matted her coat and mane, and her pulse was steadily weakening. Blackboard looked at Octavia, who pulled out her sword carefully, sighing. Blackboard grimaced, expecting the earth pony to deliver the gift of mercy, only to blink when she nicked her own leg and let the blood drop onto Trixie. Octavia's eyes rolled up into her head as the blood seemed to spread out, wiping away Trixie's wounds like the tidal destruction of sand drawings at the beach. Blackboard caught the marbled earth pony before she fell, “Holy... Did you just...”

Octavia nodded, still a little pale, “Yeah. Bucks me up for weeks, but it's worth it.” she shrugged off Blackboard and walked shakily over to her unconscious but otherwise unharmed wife. Blackboard walked over to Twilight, who was still staring at the body of Nebula.

“One hundred years,” Twilight said softly when the big fox-turned-unicorn approached, “He came from over a hundred years ago. The things he saw...”

“Twilight,” Blackboard said gently, “He was insane. Utterly insane, his mind was so far gone-”

“You don't know that!” Twilight snapped, her mane flaring briefly, “He-”

“Dammit Twilight, the pony was torturing Trixie for hours, trying to figure out some imaginary plan. He killed ponies because he believed that would make the mastermind of said plan appear, and that Celestia was secretly behind it all, because she was afraid of you. Does that sound like a sane plan to you?!”

“But-”

“Twilight, who was the first victim?”

Twilight winced and looked away, “D-Diamond Ring, newly married to Karat Ring. But-”

“Who was the second?” Blackboard interrupted relentlessly.

“Sparkling... Vision. I know he did... He did terrible things but...” Twilight protested feebly.

“But nothing, Twilight. Nebula Starshine, the lost apprentice of Starswirl the Bearded, died in Faerie, this was just a monster that wore his form. Give his memory dignity, but don't kill yourself over it.” Blackboard snorted, then sighed and walked off, shaking his head. He found a blanket in the corner and draped it over the body. Twilight froze as she recognized the blanket, and the gears in her head finally clicked together.

She stood up slowly and faced the wall with the door, behind which the Princess and the guards waited, “Blackboard, I'm going to lower the wards on this wall now, there might be some backlash. Guard the children please.” Blackboard nodded, watching Twilight carefully and positioned himself between the wall and the children, acting like a living wall. Twilight closed her eyes and gently broke the ward, which unraveled quickly. There was a blast of wind as the magic released from the ward, then the door burst open, followed by a squad of royal guards. Octavia, Vinyl and Trixie were all carried off on stretchers, but Blackboard and Twilight stayed with Nebula's body until the Princess arrived.

Princess Celestia frowned at the sight of the body, but her expression softened when she saw Twilight standing beside it, staring emptily into the middle distance. She gently nuzzled her student, who clung to the Princess tightly, tears running down her cheeks. Blackboard politely looked away, and noticed a suspicious shape in the corner. He walked over to investigate discreetly, while the Royal Magicians tore down the grisly wardings and the other guards arranged for transport for the fillies and colts. Blackboard kicked the lump inquisitively, then dragged it into the light. It was a book: thick, hardbound and full of dense, elegant script, open to the last page, which was curiously burnt.

I believe the key to surviving with one's sanity intact in Faerie is proper mental discipline. If one could survive long enough in that realm which connects so intimately to our collective unconsciousness, immense knowledge could be gleaned, and uncountable enigmas decoded. I have arranged a meeting with the Beast to discuss the matter further, and he has been most forthcoming.

Blackboard sighed, shook his head and closed the book before following Twilight and Celestia out of the building.

Aftermath

Twilight and the others were relieved of their armor and weapons (except for Blackboard, who had somehow disarmed himself during the trip to the palace) and treated to a full royal dinner as a sort of quiet celebration. None of their names had been released to the papers, at Twilight's insistence, and the whole incident was officially solved by the Royal Guard. Twilight spoke at length with Celestia, barely leaving her teacher's side, and engaged Luna in some stilted conversation that gradually grew easier. The other changelings joined in periodically, all save Blackboard and Octavia a little awed by the presence of the twin deities.

Twilight seemed to draw strength from the presence of her mentor, growing more talkative and animated as she discussed the fate of the little fillies and colts recovered from Nebula's den. None of them had parents, Nebula had seen to that with a certain cold efficiency and he had made sure the foals had seen him do it. Celestia was unwilling to put them through the orphanage system after such trauma, but felt that they shouldn't be left out in the cold either. Twilight and, to the purple unicorn's surprise, Luna argued for the children becoming wards of the palace, to serve as pages, as the children of nobles used to, if their parents died in war. Celestia agreed, finding it an amicable solution, and the talk shifted focus to the other changelings around the table.

The Princesses were curious about their origins, especially Trixie, who had been released shortly before the dinner with a clean bill of health, to the bafflement of the medical ponies. Trixie reluctantly revealed that she had been a student at the School for Gifted Unicorns, about a year behind Twilight, before she was taken during a magical prank by other students. Octavia said nothing, but Vinyl chatted easily about how she'd been finished with a set and more than a little drunk, when wolf-creatures burst out of the shadows and took her. Blackboard, when asked, merely said he had been employed to protect Twilight, and made his living as a odd-job pony.

Several rounds of wine later, Blackboard was regaling the dinner party with the most raunchy, hilarious stories. Vinyl was almost out of her seat with laughter, while Trixie giggled, blushing and Twilight tried her best to shut Blackboard out, blushing like a sunset. Princess Celestia looked on with mild disapproval, though a smirk colored her expression nonetheless, while her sister just roared with entirely un-ladylike laughter.

Afterwards, Blackboard and Twilight boarded a flight to Ponyville, where Twilight slept most of the way. Blackboard simply watched the night go by, thinking about the recent events, not inconvenienced by the wine in the slightest. He eyed Twilight's saddlebags, which held the bulky shape of Nebula's journal. If there was a plot going on, it was too subtle for him to pick up, which worried the nogitsune. Complex plans were no stranger to the spirit, but he had a feeling that he had better leave before this one became lethal. Fortunately, he only had a few more months left of his agreement with Pinkie Pie, but until then he resolved to watch his step.

Twilight stirred in her sleep as the chariot began to descend, causing Blackboard to sigh softly and look away. It was a shame, really, he hated to leave a lady in the lurch with such dreadful enemies around, but he did have other responsibilities. Blackboard watched the night go by for the rest of the trip, then nudged Twilight awake when they landed, the sun just barely rising. She rolled over and fell back asleep, exhausted. Blackboard sighed and bodily dragged the purple unicorn out of the chariot by her tail. The guards looked on with mildly disapproving expressions, but Blackboard stared them down until they flew off. He tried to rouse Twilight again, to no avail, then sighed and dragged her slowly into the library.

The light clicked on before Blackboard could fumble for the switch, and he whirled to find the library full of five annoyed-looking ponies. He sighed and bowed to the five mares, who immediately began questioning him. Twilight slept through the whole ordeal, even when one of them, the yellow pegasus whose name eluded Blackboard at the moment, checked the bandages on her neck and sides. The orange earth pony with the ridiculous hat seemed particularly agitated, and wouldn't stop pestering Blackboard until he described in detail the events of the past few days.

After all the descriptions were done, the orange earth pony left, as did the others, except for the yellow pegasus, who said she'd spend the night. The orange pony gave Blackboard a suspicious look and passed a note to the pegasus with instructions to give it directly to Twilight. Blackboard didn't particularly care, but once everypony was gone, the yellow pegasus helped him ponyhandle Twilight into her bed. Once that was over with, Blackboard bid her good night, then trotted out into the chill night air. The nogitsune knew there was something going on, and he had a duty to find out what.

Twilight woke at around noon, warm and comfortable for all of about five minutes before the aches and pains of her exertions hit her like a proverbial freight train. The bite on her neck hurt like crazy, as did the burns along her sides, and her head ached like she'd stuck her horn in a light socket. She groaned and clutched her head in her hooves, resolving to avoid any and all alcohols. The noise woke Fluttershy, who'd been sleeping by the bed waiting for her friend to awaken. She softly nudged the aching purple unicorn, “Um... Twilight,” the sound of Fluttershy's voice made Twilight try to sit up, only to lay back down with a strangled noise. Fluttershy sighed, “I know you're really not feeling well Twilight,” the yellow pegasus said quietly, arranging things on a tray for her ailing friend, “your friend Blackboard explained things, but,” She set the tray down next to Twilight and sighed unhappily, “Nevermind, I'll talk to you about it later. Spike and your new squire are cooking breakfast... Lunch... Well, you know... Anyway, Applejack left a letter for you, I'll just put it on the tray, alright?”

Twilight grunted an affirmative weakly and slowly sat up, wincing as the pegasus flew off, presumably to help with meal preparations. Fluttershy had arranged painkillers, a pair of seltzer tablets and a glass of water on a tray, with what seemed to be crackers to tide her over until real food could be made. The sight of it made her tear up a little, though she still took the painkillers and drank the seltzer. Fluttershy. Her friend, who hadn't heard from her in weeks thanks to Trixie's well-intentioned bungling. The thought of that drew Twilight's attention to the letter, which smelled faintly of apples and earth. Applejack. Twilight opened the letter with some trepidation, fearing the worst,

Twilight,

I know you're busy, but Applebloom's in a bad state and we need your help. I don't know if you're not getting our letters or don't care about us anymore, but if you have one shred of friendship left in your heart, get over to Sweet Apple Acres pronto. We really need you, I really need you, for the sake of my sister please, please come help.

Applejack

Twilight cried softly as she re-folded the letter and slipped it gently back into its envelope. Applejack had every right to be upset with her, given the circumstances, and Twilight was determined to make it up to her friend somehow, starting with heading over to help Applebloom. She ached, hurt in body and soul, but her friend needed her and that was that. She ate a couple of crackers, then her brain caught up with what Fluttershy had said. “Squire?” Twilight said to herself, “What squire?”

When she came down, wincing as every step sent stabs of pain through her skull, Twilight found Fluttershy and Spike seated at the table, already eating pancakes and chatting softly, while a small white unicorn filly with wearing a pink and purple vest sat rigidly at attention, looking as serious as only a youngster given a task can. Her creamy yellow mane was cut like Twilight's, but her tail was wavy and curled at the end. As soon as Twilight arrived, she jumped down and pulled a bulky letter out of her vest, practically throwing it at Twilight in her fervor to complete her task.

Twilight caught the envelope with her telekinesis and smiled at the young filly, who blushed and bowed for some reason. Twilight examined the outside of the bulky envelope, and blinked at the royal seal stamped in the scarlet sealing wax. She broke the seal and her eyes widened at the contents as she slid out the paper, written in the official gilded ink, on the extremely official royal paper.

For deeds above and beyond the call of citizenship, and for extraordinary defense of the realm, the crown of Equestria recognizes Twilight Sparkle. Henceforth, she shall be granted the title of Dame Twilight Sparkle, Defender of the Realm, and granted the Castle of the Pony Sisters and its traditional lands and incomes, in return for her further defense...

Twilight read on through the duties of her new office, stunned. She was a knight? The last Knight of Equestria, Bright Pages, died five-hundred years ago, and something like half the nobility in Canterlot derived their status from being related to him. After the initial shock had worn off though, she realized that she'd been made a knight in the least offensive manner possible by giving her a castle and lands in the middle of the Everfree Forest, with all its associated incomes, of which there were none. As a knight she'd be expected to provide a percentage of her income (which was none) to the crown, as well as being willing to come to the defense of the country in times of need (even though Equestria had no more significant enemies). Most of the other duties were purely ceremonial or no longer applied, but it was still a significant honor.

The next page consisted of helpful notes on the duties of a knight, which were significantly easier to read than the official letter and penned by Princess Celestia herself, if the script was any judge. Twilight was expected to repair the castle and make it fit for pony habitation, for the purposes of creating a safe haven for newly arrived changelings. The lands around the castle were overgrown, but extremely fertile and suitable for farming if given proper attention. The final page was almost an addendum, written in silver ink in the extremely elaborate script of Princess Luna.

To aid thee in this thy task, the crown hath assigned to thee Trixie Stargazer to be thy aide and Luminous the unicorn, who was until lately an orphan, to be thy squire. They shall walk beside thee and act as thy voice if need be, as well as support thee in battle, should it come to that.

Twilight looked to the youngster, who stood so rigidly she may as well have been one of Rarity's dress forms. She looked like she couldn't even lift rocks with her magic, let alone support her in combat, but she read on.

Both unicorns hath been instructed by myself in a basic shield spell, but otherwise their training lies with thee. If it is thy wish, we can instruct thee further in advanced spellcraft, but it is my sister's wish that her assignment to thee concerning the magic of friendship not go neglected.

Twilight sighed, she had to repair relations with her friends, fix up an old castle in a monster-infested forest, and find some way to help Applebloom. She nodded to the little filly, “Luminous?”

“Yes, Dame Twilight Sparkle?” Luminous said, still bowed. Spike's head turned at the sound of the filly's voice, which was clear as crystal and resonated a little with a sort of velvety smoothness. Fluttershy giggled a little at the dragon's reaction, which made him blush and hunch his shoulders.

“I have a very full schedule today, and I've never had a squire before, though Spike would be close,” she added with a weary wink to the little dragon, making him smile, “so I'm sorry in advance if it takes me a while to get used to your presence.” She sat down at the table and gestured for Luminous to take her seat while she started levitating pancakes over to herself, “Now Luminous, let's have breakfast before we start, I have a feeling it's going to be a long day.” With that, Twilight poured syrup over her pancakes, did the same for Luminous and had a pleasant breakfast catching up with Fluttershy and Spike, and getting to know her new squire.

Lost Souls

The road to Sweet Apple Acres never felt so long and arduous as when Twilight set out that afternoon with Fluttershy and Luminous. Every step seemed shorter, though Luminous kept running every few steps to keep up. She had insisted on coming, in a very roundabout way, and Twilight was sure she'd follow anyway. Her new squire had been an orphan, Twilight knew, and had been taken into the care of the state after blinding two bullies with a spectacularly brilliant flash of light. The bullies' sight had been restored after a week or so, but Luminous was taken into the state's care after that, and signed up for the School for Gifted Unicorns.

Unfortunately, she'd failed the entrance exam, and continued to fail it even after three years of nearly constant study. Her magic, they told her, was simply too unpredictable: vastly puissant one moment, and impossible to conjure the second. Twilight shivered inwardly at how close she'd come to failing the test herself, and empathized with the little unicorn's plight. She'd leapt onto the chance to be Twilight's squire, apparently in the hopes that Twilight would succeed where her other trainers had failed, and out of a desperate attempt to find her special talent. Her hopes were one more burden on Twilight's shoulders, but she genuinely felt for the stubborn filly.

Twilight tried to push her stress down, but the throbbing bite on her neck and the burns on her sides wouldn't let her focus as well as she'd like. She'd put on a brave face for Fluttershy and managed to convince her she wasn't in much pain somehow, though in all honesty she felt like she'd been tossed around by an avalanche.

The thought of avalanches made Twilight think about the time of year. It was early winter now, and all three ponies were wearing scarves. Luminous was wearing a pink and purple scarf emblazoned with Twilight's cutie mark, something Twilight found vaguely unsettling, while Twilight herself sported her own plain purple scarf that matched her coat rather nicely. Fluttershy was wearing a light blue scarf, and seemed troubled, though she always replaced her frown with a smile when she noticed Twilight looking.

The purple unicorn felt it probably had something to do with why Rainbow Dash hadn't stuck around when her mate, Fluttershy, had. She felt a little guilty about it, but was thankful for the pegasus' presence. “Fluttershy,” Twilight asked as they walked past the start of the apple orchards, now bare of leaf and fruit alike, “Have you heard anything about what's wrong with Applebloom?”

Fluttershy nodded, “Oh yes, and it's most strange. She has... Well it's like she's changing into another pony. And strange things happen around her... Unicorn magic without a horn, things like that, or so the specialist we brought in told us.”

“Us?”

“Applejack called Rainbow and me in first after she got no response from you, and we called in a specialist in magical maladies from Canterlot.” Fluttershy said, worry creeping into her tone, “But he didn't know either. I just don't know what to do,” Fluttershy sighed and landed next to Twilight, walking beside her as they finally reached the gate to Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight and Fluttershy sat in the dining room in an uncomfortable silence, with Granny Smith snoozing in the corner Luminous sat beside Twilight, rigid as a statue, . Big Macintosh had brought them in, the big crimson stallion unusually silent, which was saying something, but he led them into the dining room of the big Apple family home. Granny Smith had come in sometime later, apparently oblivious to Fluttershy and Twilight, and promptly fell asleep in a corner chair, which added an element of surreality to the scene. Finally, after what felt like hours, a familiar orange earth pony walked in through the door.

“Applejack, we're here to... I mean...” Twilight stammered to silence as Applejack stared at her. She tried again, “I... I got your letter, finally... See, Trixie had... She was...”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Applejack said softly, tiredly, “Ah live less than a mile up the road, and ah've said before that yer always welcome. Not once, for weeks, did you come by.”

“There... Was a case to solve, ponies were getting murdered...” Twilight said weakly, gradually fading into a sort of fidgety silence. “I'm... Sorry, Applejack, I was scared.” Twilight admitted softly, looking down at the table.

“Scared.” Applejack said flatly.

“Yeah... I'm... I'm not the same, and I guess... I guess I was afraid you wouldn't want to... Didn't want to be my friend anymore, after I stopped getting letters... I got depressed, stopped leaving the library, except to work on the case. I figured Rarity had said something an-”

“Rarity?” Genuine astonishment colored Applejack's tone, and Twilight looked up to see the powerful farmer looking puzzled, “What about Rarity?”

Twilight blinked, “Well we... Didn't exactly have the best break-up...” At Applejack's shocked look she added, “We were together for a while... I was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning...”

Applejack shook her head, “I thought that-... No, it doesn't matter now, ah never had anything against ya except fer not comin' down to see me. But it changes things a bit,” the orange earth pony sighed and jerked her head, “Come on Twi,” she said in a friendlier tone than when she'd entered, “Ah need yer help with Applebloom, we can talk about whatever else later.” Twilight rose and followed Applejack, nodding. Luminous quietly followed, with a polite nod to Fluttershy, who sighed and flapped over to the kitchen to make something to eat while she waited.

“We've tried everything, Twilight, but something's not right with her,” Applejack said quietly as they climbed the stairs; Applebloom's room was on the second floor, down a long narrow hallway. “It's like... Like she's not really there, like something's missing.” Twilight nodded, frowning while she mentally filed the information. As they stepped into the hallway leading to Applebloom's room, Twilight was struck by a sudden impression of brambles creeping outwards from the door at the end that faded swiftly.

She shook her head, causing Applejack to raise an eyebrow, then nodded to the door, “I feel it, Applejack. Something's wrong, it's like...” Twilight's eyes widened as a sudden thought occurred to her, “Applejack, when did this start, exactly?”

“Uh... As soon as she came back. Little things like dying her mane at first of course but now... It's like she's a whole new pony.” Applejack said, shaking her head before peering at Twilight shrewdly, “Why? You think you might know something?”

“Celestia, I hope not... Stay here for now Luminous,” Twilight said to her squire, who frowned but nodded and sat by the entrance to the hallway obediently, “Applebloom might be in a rather fragile state if I'm right...” she shook her head, “And if so, I'm going to need you to run down to the library and send a letter to the Princess via Spike.” Luminous nodded and sat rigidly, the very figure of faithful watchfulness. Twilight coughed, a little embarrassed, and started down the hallway.

“Been meaning to ask,” Applejack said quietly when they'd walked a ways down the hall, “What's with the filly?”

“She's my squire,” Twilight said uncomfortably, “I'll explain later.” Applejack nodded, as they were in front of Applebloom's door, on which was nailed a sign.

DO NOT ENTER

By Order

Applejack knocked regardless, “Applebloom, Twilight's here to see you,” she called through the door. The lack of response seemed to be underlined by the sign on the door. Applejack knocked harder, “Applebloom, come on, Twilight might have some way to help ya.”

“Read the door!” Came the shrill reply. Something about the phrase made Twilight pale, but Applejack just seemed to get irritated. She was about to knock again, when Twilight held up a hoof to stop her.

“Applebloom,” Twilight said clearly and calmly, “Open this door please.” After a moment or two, the door opened, and there stood Applebloom, looking extremely surprised as she attempted to fight her own body. Her coat was its usual yellow, but her mane and tail were a deep purple now, save for a pink stripe. Her eyes were red and purple, rather than their usual red and gold, and filled with intense emotions. Twilight looked into the room and frowned at the equasions, books and notes pinned everywhere. “Applebloom,” Twilight asked gently, “What were you trying to do?”

Applebloom tried to clamp her mouth shut, but she blurted out in a voice that held only a trace of her former accent, “I was trying to become a unicorn, so I could get rid of all the magic. It's filling up my head, and it hurts!”

Twilight nodded, “I can help with that, Applebloom. Do you trust me?”

“No!”

“Why?” Twilight asked softly, “I've been your sister's friend for ages, done my best to help you earn your cutie mark and saved you from the Beast. Why don't you trust me?” Twilight didn't sound defensive, just tired.

“Because... This is all your fault. Somehow!” Applebloom snapped back, tears forming in her eyes, “None of this would have happened if you hadn't run off, Zecora sent a note that said we had to get you back from somewhere, and that's why I went out that night, if-” she cut off abruptly at Twilight's gesture, literally unable to speak.

“Applebloom, you're right partially, your current state is directly my fault. I was careless, and I'm sorry. But...” Twilight added, her eyes narrowed, “Zecora would never call you out in the dead of night and definitely not into the forest, not even for me. Something else is at work here, and I intend to get to the bottom of it.” Twilight's expression softened as she saw Applebloom frown in thought, “But I can't do that if you won't trust me. Can you trust me to help you relieve the magical stress at least?” Applebloom stood still for a long moment, then nodded. Twilight smiled wearily, “I'll get that together shortly, you can go back to what you were doing.” A tension seemed to leave Applebloom, she shook herself and slammed the door in Twilight's face.

“What,” said Applejack slowly after a moment, “Was that all about?”

“I'll explain when we're back down at the dining room, I have a few letters to write.”

“You OWN her?!” Applejack said indignantly, planting her hooves on the table, “Now look here Twilight-”

“I don't WANT to own her, Applejack,” Twilight said tiredly, writing the last of the letters with her telekinesis while Luminous waited patiently, “But the Beast GAVE her to me.”

“Yeah, so?” Applejack said suspiciously.

“So, that's what caused this. Creatures like him... Agh, one moment,” Twilight gave the last letter to Luminous, who saluted and dashed off at full tilt back towards the library. She turned her attention to Applejack again, “Look, you never break your word, right Applejack?”

“Of course not! Ah would never-”

“But you could, right?” Twilight asked, peering at her friend intently. “If you really wanted to, you could break your spoken word.”

Applejack was briefly reminded of the incident with Discord, but shook her head, “Ah suppose ah could, but ah wouldn't.”

“Of course not, but the Beast can't. He literally cannot break his word, spoken or otherwise. And...” Twilight sat back and sighed sadly, “Agreements made with him are equally binding.”

Applejack blinked as the penny dropped, “So you... Own her then? Because of something that thing said?” Twilight nodded glumly, closing her eyes. “What does that have to do with what's wrong with her?”

Twilight was silent for a moment, then said, “The Hedge is the boundary between our world and the Beast's. It's full of dangers, the most common of such being the thorns and briars that line the path,” Twilight's voice was low and sad, “Since the Hedge is the boundary between the physical and the non-physical, it stands to reason that its dangers present a threat to more than our physical selves. When Applebloom was taken, she was dragged through the briars and thorns, they tore at her hide like claws, and, if I'm right, her soul too.”

A long silence stretched out, then Applejack said weakly, “Her... Soul?”

“Yes, her soul. And it's being filled by me somehow, which is why her body is changing, and why the magic is hurting her; it's unicorn magic, and she's an earth pony. It'd be like... Like if you tried to take off like a pegasus with no wings to lift you.” Twilight opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling, her face setting in a determined scowl, “But if I'm right, I can get her back to normal, if I'm wrong... Well I'll do my best, no matter the cost.”

After several silent moments, Applejack nodded, “Alright. The guest room's free, it's the first door on your left up the stairs, and... Twilight?” Applejack turned to leave, but tilted her head to look at her friend over her shoulder, the setting sun making her mane shine like polished gold as she smiled, “S'awright, ah knew ya wouldn't leave me hangin'.” Twilight nodded, smiling back as Applejack continued on to bed. The mood was partially spoilt by Granny Smith snoring in the corner, but Twilight didn't really care. Applejack and Fluttershy at least had forgiven her, and she was determined not to let them down.

Applebloom sighed in relief as the crystals set in the crown around her head began to glow with stored magic. Crown was something of a generous term for the mass of wires, crystals and electrodes that made up the device around Applebloom's head and connected to the beeping machines around her. It had been the labor of most of the night, once Twilight's letters started having an effect and ponies, books and material started arriving. Nopony, not even other changelings, knew much about the Hedge, but soul-magic mishaps did occasionally happen. As such, Twilight had called in some favors from the academic community and had pored over case files in the Apple family kitchen for hours before constructing the mana siphon.

“Now Applebloom,” Twilight said once the device was full and every crystal was glowing brilliantly, “This is only a temporary solution, but I'm betting that feels a bit better, yes?” Applebloom nodded fervently, about to thank the purple unicorn, but Twilight cut her off, “However, we still have the other problem to deal with, and until we do we can't slow down. Now,” Twilight said, setting down the case file she'd been reading and gently disengaging the mana siphon from Applebloom's head, “pretty much every expert has said that you should have been able to regenerate your soul on your own. For some reason you haven't, and nopony knows why.”

“But...” Applebloom said, puzzled and a little downcast, “What can we do then?”

Twilight nodded, “A good question, we'll... Ah, Trixie, have they found anything?” She turned as a familiar blue unicorn insinuated herself into the room. Trixie was incredibly wary of Applejack for some reason Twilight couldn't divine, and generally hid out of sight of the apple farmer whenever she could. So, to ease her blue aide's fears, she made her run all her messages to the changelings she had combing the Hedge.

Trixie nodded, looking through the doorway nervously before whispering, “Yes, but you're not gonna like it.”

Twilight sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes, “Why Trixie I've gotten used to the Hedge spiting me whenever it can, what's wrong?”

Trixie grimaced, “Hobgoblins have gotten ahold of all three pieces. Powerful bast-” Trixie's gaze flicked to Applebloom and she amended her statement lamely, “Bad guys. They're guarding them for some reason. They're not using them,” Trixie added hastily, seeing Twilight's eyes widen, “But they're killing anything that comes close. Octavia lost a chunk of tail to one when she tried to get a better look.”

“Alright, I guess it was too much to expect this to be easy. Where-”

“Twilight,” Applebloom asked, nudging the unicorn, “What pieces? What hedge? Hobgoblins?”

Twilight rubbed her face with her hoof, then nodded, “The pieces of your soul, Applebloom, which were scraped off when the Beast pulled you through the thorns.” Applebloom's eyes widened, but before she could say anything Twilight continued, “The Hedge is where he pulled you through and the place in which the Beast lives. Most of his kind don't, he's kind of a hermit by their standards. Hobgoblins,” Twilight continued loudly as she saw Applebloom about to interrupt again, “Are creatures that have gotten lost in there, lost their souls and become something... Else. They can be violent, insane, or totally trustworthy, depending on how they've adapted.”

Applebloom was silent for a long moment, then she looked up at Twilight, “So... The bits of my soul are being kept prisoner by these hobgoblins?” Twilight nodded, “And without em I'm gonna slowly turn into you and not be able to refuse anything you say?” Twilight winced, but nodded, “So... What're you gonna do?”

“Applebloom,” Twilight said, her voice hardening as she rose from the table, “We're going to take back your bits of soul from those creatures, and Celestia help them if they refuse to let them go,” Applebloom took a step back as Twilight's vehemence flowed forth like a river from a broken dam, “I will burn the Hedge to the ground if I have to, rather than let you suffer like this.”

Lumbering Menace

“Whaddya mean I can't go?!” Applebloom cried indignantly, “It's my soul, Twilight, I wanna help!”

Twilight sighed and flicked a couple of switches on the mana siphoning crown. They were outside in the late evening air, with the moon shining down comfortingly from on high. It was a clear night, and the stars sparkled like gems studded in a midnight ceiling. Around her changelings and mortal ponies alike were coming and going, bringing Twilight more things for her journey or sometimes just staring at her before heading out to patrol the orchard.

The crown gave off a rumble, then started to vent a glowing cloud of unfocused magic, its crystals gradually darkening until they were once more outwardly unremarkable. Twilight sighed in relief, and carefully wrote down the venting procedure on an adhesive note, which she stuck helpfully to the bizarre machine.

“Applebloom, it's too dangerous, I don't have the time or resources to protect you there and you could lose more of your soul if you go in. Luminous,” the white filly's head perked up at the sound of her name from where she was standing guard behind Twilight, “will be staying with you, for her safety and to make sure you stay out of trouble.” Luminous looked unhappy for a moment, then schooled her expression and nodded, fixing Applebloom with her rather eerie stare. Twilight turned to the little filly, “Luminous, I know you want to come with, but the Hedge is a dangerous place, even more so for non-changelings. So I want you to promise me you'll keep an eye on Applebloom, alright?” Luminous nodded sharply and bowed with a crisp precision before studiously staring at Applebloom, who shifted uncomfortably.

“Ah still wanna come, what if those wolf things come for me again?” Applebloom asked worriedly, “Ah don't... Ah don't think ah could fight em off or nothin.”

Twilight smiled and nodded to Luminous, who looked rather small next to the older earth pony, “That's what Luminous is there for. She was trained by Princess Luna herself, and the two of you should be more than a match for anything that could come for you, so long as you both stay inside the house. Fluttershy will be there too, to make sure you don't get any worse or if either of you get hurt for some reason.” Twilight said firmly, levitating the mana siphon over to Applebloom, who caught it on her head, “Now, if you get another up-swelling of magic, just flick the two switches on the side and try to empty your mind.” Applebloom nodded glumly and started back towards the house. Luminous bowed to Twilight again and followed after, looking around diligently, ready for action, as if she expected the rocks to leap up and attack at any moment.

Twilight sighed and turned back to the task at hoof, organizing the force that was to accompany her into the Hedge itself. She hadn't really expected such a turnout when she'd asked Trixie to take a Hedgewalk to the Briar Patch and ask for help. Well over five hundred changelings had answered the call, all ready and willing to do whatever she asked with a most embarrassing amount of deference. Most of them were combing the Hedge or scouting for other dangers, but the Apple family home would probably be the safest place outside of Canterlot that night, with over fifty changelings standing guard invisibly or otherwise in and around the Apple home.

Trixie stepped up to Twilight with her saddlebags already packed and ready to go, then deposited a jingling bundle at the purple unicorn's hooves. Twilight pulled it open, curious, and gasped softly as she beheld the contents. It was her armor from the warehouse, but it had been re-forged so thoroughly it might as well have been entirely new armor.

The circlet was black meteoric iron, and fit so snugly it could have fit nopony else. The breastplate was carved from some smooth black material that bore Princess Luna's seal in what seemed to be solid silver. The chainmail and silk mesh had been re-woven with midnight-black silk and more meteoric iron. The whole thing fit Twilight so exactly it might've been made by a lover. Except it was made by Princess Luna. Definitely not a lover.

Twilight blushed as her thoughts knotted rather pleasantly on thoughts of Princess Luna, then sighed as her mind inevitably slid back to Rarity awkwardly breaking up with her in a hospital room. She rather dreaded reconciling with Rarity, but she felt guilty about not forgiving her sooner, since she wasn't really at fault. She still needed to have a serious talk with Scratch about enchanting ponies on her dance floor, but for right now she needed to focus on the task at hoof.

Twilight pulled on the armor, with Trixie's help, and stepped up to the group of five changelings waiting by the path to the Everfree Forest. One was a skeletal-looking earth pony as tall as Celestia with spines instead of a mane and eyes like pools of hell-fire, while the other was short and stocky with a coat and mane that seemed to be constantly soaked, sheeting water over his blue-maned body and yet he somehow never left puddles. One pegasus had blades for wings, and his body seemed to be stitched together from different ponies, while the other pegasus of the group looked like he was half-wolf, with paws instead of hooves and a mane that looked more at home on an old alpha wolf than a pony. The last, however, was hooded and cloaked, but Twilight caught a glimpse of pink fur in the shadows of the cloth. She wondered what change had been so horrific as to make the pony feel they needed to hide amongst their own kind, while a distant thought nudged the back of her mind gently.

The Hedge was far less terrifying this time for Twilight, though that was probably because she was following a guide rather than charging off on a blind mission. She had a plan, even if that plan was basically for her to go into the Hedge, get the bits of Applebloom's soul back, and be damned to any hobgoblin to try and stop her. It was thrilling having the other changelings along, though she would have preferred to have Vinyl, Octavia and Blackboard along. Vinyl and Octavia were apparently on their honeymoon, which, she was embarrassed to find out, they had delayed to help her with Nebula and the initial scouting. Blackboard, as per usual, was nowhere to be found now that she wanted to see him.

Twilight eyed her companions discreetly as the group walked, to find them all doing the same with her. They didn't seem to notice, but Twilight felt their eyes on her like hot lamps. She took a deep breath and walked forward to talk to Trixie, who was leading. “So,” she asked, making the blue unicorn jump, “Where's the first piece?”

“How did you... Uh...” Trixie stammered for a moment, then shook her head, “By a tree-thing up ahead.”

“Tree-thing?” Twilight asked curiously, noting the slight tension in Trixie's tone.

“It... Well it's kinda... You really have to see.”

It was indeed a tree, sitting on a hill in a clearing in the Hedge, with what sounded like crows croaking in its branches. It would have been utterly unremarkable had there not been piles and piles of bones around it and the shining spark of soul sitting at its base. Twilight made sure the crystal she'd prepared to transport Applebloom's soul was safely tucked in her saddlebag, which it was, and started off the path towards the tree.

The tall, thin earth pony, Trotter, held Twilight back gently with a hoof, “Dame Sparkle,” he said in a deep, crackling tone, “Allow me to go first, and make sure the way is safe.” Twilight frowned, then nodded after a moment of internal debate. Trotter walked towards the tree confidently, and he had almost reached the trunk when suddenly a great croaking cacophony rose from the tree as every single crow took flight and arrowed towards the luckless changeling. In horror, Twilight and the others noticed that every single bird was connected to the tree by a thin vine.

“Trotter!” the perpetually damp pony, known simply as Aqua, called out urgently, “Run!” As he called though, the wolfish pegasus Sharp Claw snarled and leapt into flight, followed by the other, metal winged pegasus, Gestalt, after a moment of creative cursing. Twilight started forward, but Trixie barred her path, raising three separate barriers to protect the violet unicorn, while simultaneously managing to keep her from helping. Her concern was moving, but Trotter wouldn't last much longer unless the two pegasi could pull off some kind of miracle.

The crows ripped at Trotter as he fought his way stubbornly to the trunk. He was bleeding from hundreds of tiny wounds, and yet had somehow managed to grab ahold of the shard of soul. Tentacles shot out from the tree itself, winding around the skeletal pony and hauling him down to the ground while the crows descended. Sharp Claw stopped the first wave with his body, interposing himself between the crows and the pony, then started returning the favor with tooth and claw. Gestalt joined the fight with his bladed wings, and soon bits of vegetation and creepy crow were flying everywhere.

It was like watching a spherical food-processor in action, Twilight thought distantly as she pushed the unicorns aside and watched unimpeded. It looked, for a moment, like the ponies would win out, but the horrible bird-tree-thing had one more trick to play. The birds flew back out of range of the combative pegasi, then screamed, and from their faces tentacles shot forth tipped with points of what looked like bone. In the instant before they impacted, Twilight shouldered Trixie aside and cast a telekinetic bubble around the three ponies, against which the tentacles smashed ineffectively.

Twilight felt the air around her grow hot, and she knew without looking that her mane had flared to full intensity. “TREE!” She called out to the thing on the hill in a stentorian, Royal Canterlot voice, much to her surprise, “RELEASE THE PONIES HERE AND RENDER UNTO THEM THAT WHICH THEY SEEK, AND WE SHALL LEAVE THEE IN PEACE!” The tree stopped its attacks for a moment and seemed to regard her with its alien gaze, as did the changelings around her. The tree as a whole screeched and every single crow that was left, and there were still quite a few, came streaking towards Twilight.

Twilight held until the last second, then every single crow and tentacle arching towards her stopped, limned in a violet glow. Twilight's eyes narrowed, and her voice echoed like lead doors slamming shut, “SO BE IT.” Twilight closed her eyes, focusing, and the tree-creature itself began to scream as she lifted it up, out of the ground. Trotter was still entangled, until Gestalt cut him loose belatedly and the pegasi dragged him back out of range while they all stared at their trapped opponent. The tree thrashed in Twilight's telekinetic grip, its monstrous roots and limbs flailing ineffectively as she held it suspended above the staring changelings below.

Twilight felt the maddened menace of the creature held in her telekinetic grasp. It was a writhing, twisting abomination of screaming birds, leaves and wood. It was dying now that she had uprooted it, she realized, and the howling and flailing was partially the vicious thing's death-throes. Twilight knew there was no reasoning with the thing, so she motioned for the changelings to get out of the way, then she incinerated it.

The fire was contained by the telekinetic bubble, but even Twilight was unprepared for the power of the golden fire that filled the sphere, though she maintained her composure. By the time the fire faded, Twilight became aware that the circlet about her head was warm. She released the ashes, which fell gently into the hole the creature had been rooted in. She felt sure she'd pay for that loss of control later, but she felt fine, energetic even. She wondered if this was her own power growing or if the Princess had done something to her armor.

Twilight became aware that the other changelings were staring at her. Twilight straightened, realizing she had to seem totally in control, “Next time, we all go in together, and we have a plan, alright? That was too close, and I don't want to lose anypony out here.” Twilight noticed her voice had some resonance left from her usage of the Royal Canterlot voice, and it made the assembled changelings shiver. The group nodded quietly, still watching Twilight with a sort of deep awe that made her slightly unsettled. “Trotter, can you bring me the soul shard please?” The wounded earth pony nodded with the bright, ethereal thing in his mouth, his fiery eyes wide and awed as he approached. Twilight brought forth the prepared crystal and touched it to the ethereal shard of soul-stuff, letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding when the crystal took in the piece of soul. She pulled the crystal back from Trotter, who had bowed and stepped back. Twilight held back tears as she held the bit of innocent soul in her telekinetic grasp, which shimmered with a red and gold radiance, much like Applebloom's eyes used to.

You Know What This Calls For?

The group of changelings walking through the Hedge with Twilight did so with considerably more deference following the events at the tree-monster's grove. Trotter was no longer wounded, after the cloaked pink changeling had produced some sort of healing fruit from the shadowy depths of her garment. The fruits had looked like oddly-shaped squash but had the consistency of apples and smelled like the most exquisitely horrible smell Twilight had ever encountered, far beyond Spike's most sulfurous morning breath even.

Still, one fruit was sufficient to bring Trotter back up to full health and faculties, his wounds knitting visibly and the strength returning to his limbs. He nodded in thanks to the pink, cowled pony who nodded back professionally. They both turned their attention to Twilight, who was standing and staring off into the Hedge, frowning as she waited for Trixie to come back from contacting the other scouts.

Twilight wasn't sure what to make of the changelings with her, she didn't know them, didn't know anything about them. They seemed to take her at her word, unquestioningly, and it made her extremely uncomfortable. She heard four of the changelings whispering softly to one another, while the cowled one lay down and just watched the Hedge, seemingly content. Twilight approached the group of changelings, who all stopped whispering and tried to rise, “It's alright,” Twilight said, waving a hoof, “I just wanted to... Uh... Talk with all of you, we haven't really been formally introduced, and well...” Twilight broke off, sat down and smiled, “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and... Well I was a student of magic and a librarian, until...” Twilight gestured to the Hedge, “So, what did you all do?”

A long silence followed this simple question until Trotter, the tall skeletal earth pony shifted uncomfortably, “Uh... I was a farmer, out by Hoofington. Grew beets.”

“Swimmer, don't remember where” Aqua put in after Twilight's gaze fell on him, “Well, lifeguard really, I think, on-the-water rescues were definitely my thing.”

Sharp Claw avoided Twilight's gaze, his ears folding back slowly until she moved on to Gestalt, whose patchwork expression was slightly pained, “Tailor, I think, I don't really remember, something to do with needle and thread.”

The rest of the group turned to the wolfish pegasus, who squirmed under the combined gazes. Sharp Claw finally sighed in defeat, “Gardener.” He glared around at the suddenly surprised looks, “What? It's a viable profession, even if I'm a pegasus!”

Twilight nodded, “It is indeed, heh, hey at least you can grow plants, I have trouble remembering to feed myself sometimes, with all I have to do.” She chuckled, “Unless you can write a book about it, then I might be able to manage.”

Sharp Claw grimaced a little for some reason, but before Twilight could ask, Trixie returned, gasping for breath, “T-... Twilight, I mean... I mean Dame Sparkle...”

“It's alright Trixie,” Twilight said, rising, “You didn't have to run back,”

“There's... There's a problem. With the next fragment.” Trixie gasped a few more times then shook her head, “It's guarded, and the guards, they're holding two of the scouts you sent out hostage. They want to talk to you, they said, or they'll kill them both and destroy the fragment!”

The clearing in which the second fragment lay was unlike anything Twilight had seen outside of Pinkie Pie's imagination. It was like a giant garden party, with a long table down the middle and floating balloons of impossible shapes and brilliant colors. Streamers flitted through the air like birds, and cheery music played from an elaborately designed and engraved phonograph.

Still, no amount of decoration could make Twilight not gag a little when she walked alone into the clearing. The table was laden with every kind of meat imaginable, and along the benches sat dozens of strange shadows, biped and quadruped alike, with claw-like hands and feet, and mouths full of white, pointed teeth. Twilight stood a good head taller than even the tallest of them, but she was intimidated by the feral hunger that radiated off of them, though she tried her best to hide it. On the table, as a sort of centerpiece, two changeling ponies, a blue pegasus with metal eyes and constantly twitching metal wings, and a deep purple unicorn with horns running from her head down her neck in place of a mane, between which sparks of magic jumped erratically. They huddled in the middle of a golden cage, the inside of which was studded with moving, sharpened spines and thorns, making even the slightest movement on their part draw blood. They looked grim and tired, but between them the two changelings sheltered the glowing soul shard.

“Don't do this,” Trixie whispered urgently from behind Twilight, “Let me call in a few others, Twi- Dame Sparkle, we can just-”

“Kill them?” Twilight interrupted softly, making the azure unicorn wince, “No, Trixie, there's enough blood on my horn. If they want to deal, I'll deal. I want all of you,” Twilight addressed the cluster of changelings behind Trixie, “To get back, I'll meet you where we were after the first shard, alright?” Twilight waited until all of the changelings had reluctantly nodded, then nodded herself and turned her attention back to Trixie, “I want you to wait here, Trixie, in case things get dicey. If they do, run and find the others, then come back for me. Don't go in alone.” Trixie nodded slowly, obviously not liking the idea, but acquiescing to Twilight all the same.

Twilight smiled reassuringly at the changelings, took a deep breath and stepped forward into the festivities. The party stopped abruptly as the purple unicorn approached the table, the music halting as suddenly as the macabre revelings of the listeners, and Twilight found herself staring into the shadowy grins of the dozens of sightless specters. Twilight shook out her mane and straightened, looking around at the creatures with what she hoped was hauteur, “I am Dame Twilight Sparkle, Defender of the Realm of Equestria, here in good faith to parlay with the beings of this clearing.”

One shape, a relatively huge, hulking pony-shadow with a mouth that seemed to bisect its head spoke in a sibilant voice like whispering knives parting the air, “Twilight Ssparkle, the Ssavior and Knight Protector of losst ssoulss, sslayer of murdererss and nemesiss of the Beasst, we have heard of thee. We are Shadow Reveler, Whyfore hasst thou come?”

Twilight nodded to the cage in the center of the table, “To bargain for the release of the two changelings you captured and the return of the fragment they sought to its rightful owner.” The two changelings in the cage looked at her with desperate hope, and Twilight noticed with a shock that they were both barely more than colts.

The creature grinned, an expression its wide mouth performed frighteningly well, “The return of thievess and demandss for what they tried to ssteal? Hardly noble actionss, Lady.”

Twilight frowned, “They weren't stealing, they were recovering the object for the well-being of a filly, to whom that object belongs, and to whom I owe a debt. Without it, she will surely perish, so I ask you to excuse their zealous methods of acquirement.”

The creature seemed to grin wider, if that was at all possible, and Twilight wondered if the top of its head was going to fall off, “There iss no excusse for sstealing, Dame Twilight Ssparkle, didsst not thy mother teach thee that?” The seated shadows laughed cruelly, and Twilight had to keep herself from shivering. “We ssee no reasson to give thee anything, and thy envoyss hath disspleased uss. For their attempted theft, on thy behalf, we imprissoned them. There iss nothing you could-”

“Challenge!” Rang a voice from behind Twilight suddenly. It took every iota of Twilight's self control to keep from jumping at the sudden noise. She merely turned her head to look who had spoken, and saw the cloaked and hooded pink pony step forward to her side, standing proud. “I invoke the right of challenge on Dame Sparkle's behalf!” Twilight's eyes narrowed, she recognized that voice from somewhere, but the shadows' response grabbed her attention.

“Challenge? Thou wouldsst pay blood in place of thy Lady for the releasse of thesse intruders?”

“And what they sought,” the pink pony added quickly.
The shadow leader laughed, “Why shouldsst we allow thiss? It cosstss uss nothing to ignore thee and ssend thee off.”

The pink pony snorted, “That's what you think, meanie pants!” She threw back the hood and Twilight goggled at Pinkie Pie, hair fluffy as a cloud, and her blue eyes dancing with laughter as she stood, defiant before the shadows, “I, Pinkamena Diane Pie challenge you! Accept or I shall take what Dame Sparkle seeks by force!”

Twilight just stared, her mind completely knotted into a tangle of shock by the sudden revelation. Pinkie Pie stood in front of her now, legs planted firmly as only an earth pony can, her vibrant mane and coloration contrasting starkly with the dark brown of her cloak. She seemed utterly unafraid, even as the shadows all rose, “Thou art a fool, child of Celesstia,” the Shadow Reveler hissed, its voice suddenly devoid of amusement, “And we shall rip thee assunder, with thy misstress!” They leapt as one for Pinkie and Twilight, razor-toothed maws agape, hungry for pony flesh.

Twilight was about to cast the thing aside when Pinkie looked over her shoulder and winked, seemingly oblivious to the horrors descending towards her. At the last second she held up her hoof, and one of the shadows that was leaping towards her found the back of its throat introduced to a pink, candy-smelling intruder. Pinkie whipped the impaled shadow around, knocking the other leaping terrors aside before jumping gleefully into the fray, giggling.

Watching Pinkie fight was astonishing, like watching an avalanche fail to hit the ground. The shadows were unequinely fast, and their arms and legs seemed to go in any and all directions like some horrific automaton.Yet everywhere the shadows struck, Pinkie wasn't there. She dodged absently, kicked incidentally and seemed to be completely destroying the shadows entirely by accident. Twilight watched as she bounded through the air and planted all four hooves on the face of the lead shadow, knocking it down the table to crash into the cage, which rang impressively. She kicked one shadow in the gut, and pulled the kick back right in time for another shadow to miss her entirely and tumble into its fellow. She made absolute fools of them without meaning to, and she giggled the entire time. Teeth flew everywhere, stained with foul black ichor, and none of it ever landed on Pinkie.

Twilight realized that she was wasting Pinkie's distraction, ran over to the cage and smiled briefly at the terrified changeling colts, who clung to the shard of soul-stuff like a lifeline. Their eyes widened as they recognized her and struggled to bow, wincing as the cage punished the action with fresh cuts upon their pelts. Twilight smiled at them and started casting on the cage, causing the unicorn to protest, “I tried that m'lady, but they only get tighter,” he pushed the soul shard towards Twilight, wincing as the thorns bit into his body for shifting his weight. “Leave us Lady, take the shard and go, more will come!” Actually more had come, Pinkie was now almost completely obscured by the mass of leaping, snarling shadows, but she showed no signs of tiring, and was still laughing as if it were a pillow-fight.

Twilight scowled at the young changeling as she started casting, “I will not leave you behind, at all, so put that out of your mind and let me concentrate,” The unicorn nodded uncomfortably, and Twilight focused fully on removing the bars. She was so intent on her work that she only noticed the shadow leaping for her when one of the changelings in the cage gasped. Twilight looked up into a gaping, sharklike maw of razor-sharp teeth, attached to a body like a pony's shadow given a cruelly clawed form. Twilight braced herself for the impact, getting a second spell ready to repel the shadow when it was suddenly smashed out of the air by a snarling brown blur. Sharp Claw latched onto the shadow's throat with his own pointed teeth and, to Twilight's horror, tore the creature's throat off its neck with one jerk of his head.

He spat out the chunk of shadow flesh and glared back at Twilight, “Together, with a plan you said! You call this a plan?!” He growled as the dying shadow tried to slash at him and stomped hard on its face, crushing the skull and causing the shadow to fall limp. The sight of the dead shadow seemed to calm him somewhat. He nodded to Twilight sharply, “We'll watch your back, Lady Sparkle, do what you need to do,” Twilight turned at the word 'we' and saw that the others had positioned themselves nearby as well, even Trixie, who had already raised barriers in a defensive circle around the table. Aqua nodded and walked up to her, taking position on either side of Twilight.

Twilight shook herself, “Alright, sorry I didn't bring you all in sooner, but I'm going to need all of you to pull this off. Sharp Claw, help Pinkie Pie, she could use the help,” Sharp Claw nodded and took off, arrowing towards the mass of fighting shadows, in which a pink shape could be distantly seen. Twilight turned to the remaining changelings, “Trixie, stand on the table and use barriers to repel any stragglers that may try to attack us. Aqua and Trotter, guard her. I need to focus on opening this cage.” Trixie and the two stallions nodded stepping up onto the table, Trixie's horn glowing with a brilliant cyan radiance. Twilight straightened fully, glared at the cruel golden cage and descended into a trance, focusing entirely on the task at hoof.

Sharp Claw snarled as he ripped another shadow apart with his rear claws before taking off again, relishing in the simple joy of combat. He was finishing off the shadows that the pink pony was incapacitating, and they were slowly making headway into the massive mob of shadowy assailants. Still, the wolfish pegasus could feel himself slowing, he'd finished off more than thirty foes and there were still dozens and dozens to go. He looked over to the table briefly, and saw that the blue unicorn and the two earth ponies had constructed a defensive perimeter, while Dame Sparkle's magic worked on the golden cage.

Sharp Claw's moment of inattention allowed a shadow to leap up and snatch him out of the air, dragging him down to the blood-stained earth. He hit the ground like a rock, and screamed as he felt his wing break, and again as he was thrust down by the weight of a large, anthropomorphic shadow, whose gaping mouth was a nightmarish pit of broken shark-like teeth and black blood. The feral pegasus bucked the claw that reached for his belly, snapping the whole arm into the ugly thing's toothy maw. Another claw slashed across his face, so the furious pegasus bit it, latched on and kicked as hard as he could with his clawed back legs, disemboweling the creature so viciously that the claw in his mouth popped off, hand and all. He spat it out and rolled upright with a snarled curse in time for another shadow to leap for his back.

Ready for this, the pegasus kicked out with both back legs and grunted in satisfaction as he felt the hit connect. He didn't have time to check on the damage his kick had done, for three more shadows were already leaping for him, deciding a grounded pegasus was an easier target than the pink thing that had been making fools of them. Sharp Claw dodged the first swipe flawlessly but the second cut across his side, just under his wing. He punished the impudent attacker ferociously, ripping it open from neck to groin with a forward kick, when another shadow leapt onto his back.

Sharp Claw bucked desperately, suddenly keenly aware of the sheer numbers of enemies pouring forth, and snarled in rage as the creature latched onto the back of his neck with razor-sharp teeth. Things probably would have gone poorly for Sharp Claw then had a flying pink shape not kicked the shadow on the pegasus' back so hard that the creature flew off, its teeth dragging a deep score across Sharp Claw's neck. Then Pinkie bounded in next to the brown wolfish pegasus, and the fight was on.

Fighting next to Pinkie Pie was humbling for Sharp Claw. He'd always considered himself a rather good fighter, but Pinkie was in an entirely different class. She ducked and kicked seemingly at random, her whole body quivering and contorting to maximize her attacks and roll away from those of her shadowy opponents. Sharp Claw joined in, but he felt like a flailing foal next to the flawless flare of the fighting, pink mare. He slashed and fought to the best of his wounded ability, but more often than not, Pinkie was covering for him. He was bleeding, tired and had crippled wings, but he bit, stomped and clawed like a thing possessed, until at last a bright purple flash blinded him.

Sharp Claw shook his head to clear it and blinked in surprise when his vision finally cleared. All the shadows that had been attacking Pinkie and himself were now suspended in mid-air, coated in a corona of violet light. The feral pegasus looked over and saw Dame Sparkle glaring at the creatures, her mane an inferno of light, her horn glowing with flames of power, while words of power and righteous vengeance snaked across the purple unicorn's body and mane. Her purple eyes were furious as they regarded the shadowy attackers, and Sharp Claw felt his tail gently tucking between his legs at the look even though it wasn't directed at him.

“FOOLS,” Dame Sparkle proclaimed in the Royal Canterlot Voice, her voice as heavy as lead and hot with fury, “I GAVE YOU A CHANCE, TO GIVE THE SHARD AND THE PRISONERS QUIETLY. WE WOULD HAVE LEFT WITHOUT ANY OF THIS, AND YOU WOULD ALL HAVE BEEN SPARED.”

Snorting, hissing laughter interrupted the violet unicorn, “Hss... Sspared?” The Shadow Reveler spat, black blood running from his mouth, “Sspared by thee perhapss, but the Beasst... If we help thee, he will hunt uss down, Lady Ssparkle, to the lasst. Sspeak to uss not of foolishnesss then, for it wass for our very ssurvival.” The wretched creature looked at Twilight with its eyeless gaze, somehow grim, proud and yet pleading, “Kill uss, Lady Ssparkle, all of uss, for we are dead no matter what happenss tonight.”

Twilight was silent for a long moment, then slowly the shadowy creatures were lowered to the ground. “NO,” She said softly, well, as softly as one can in the official voice of the court, “I WILL NOT KILL YOU.” Twilight's gaze sharpened as she regarded the Shadow Reveler, “YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO DIE. YOU ATTACKED AND TORTURED MY SCOUTS, STOLE A SHARD OF A FILLY'S SOUL AND TRIED TO KILL ME AND MINE.” Twilight walked slowly towards the shadowy leader, who was trying his very best to stay upright, bleeding as he was from his wounds. The unicorn's voice was as cold as the space between stars and as resonant as a supernova. Even the surrounding changelings flinched as she addressed the Shadow Reveler, “IF YOU WANT DEATH, THEN DIE FIGHTING THE BEAST AND HIS PACK, I WILL NOT ASSIST YOUR COWARDICE.” With that, Dame Twilight Sparkle, Defender of Equestria, teleported herself and all the changelings out of the clearing, leaving the Shadow Reveler and his people to lick their wounds.

In the camp that night, Twilight eased the soul fragment into the second prepared crystal. It very slowly turned the color of Applebloom's mane. She stared at it for a long moment, then very quietly wept. The other changelings kept their distance, setting up sleeping arrangements in an uneasy ring around their leader, except for Pinkie Pie, who was tending to the wounded, and Trixie, who lay down beside Twilight and leaned against her tentatively. The blue unicorn's awkward comfort was reassuring to Twilight, who clung to her until she very gently fell asleep, the purple unicorn's tears gradually abating.

Frog Legs

Twilight stood before the collapsed Beast, who heaved and spat a great mouthful of blood at her hooves, “Slay me, mortal, you've won,” he rasped, his voice no longer powerful but weak and bitter, “Slay me now or send me back in disgrace, but know that either way I shall have my revenge.”

Twilight stared down at him, his eyes full of fury and hate, but also pain. She nodded and sent her magic around the great faerie's neck, lifting his head aside. A blade of iron formed from the blood Twilight had spilt, forged red-hot from the fires of Twilight's soul. He snarled once, then Twilight removed his head entirely, neatly severing the neck and spine with a single stroke, cauterizing and cutting all at once, the blade hissing as it parted flesh. The body hit the ground with a great thud that shook the floor of the Beast's cavern, and sagged as the last struggling of life twitched from the once-powerful muscles. Twilight respectfully laid the head on top of the body with care, then drove the blade through the head and body to nail it to the floor of the cavern.

She turned to leave, when she heard a slithering sound. Twilight turned, and from the Beast's severed neck poured a powerful darkness, lit with crackles of orange flame. It poured out like smoke: slowly and steadily, until finally Twilight approached cautiously, her magical barrier ready.

The smoke struck, leaping for her eyes like a hunting cat. A flash of orange and black, then pain, indescribably agonizing pain.

Twilight awoke in the night, with Trixie still reassuringly asleep against her. The blue unicorn changeling's markings were swirling less dramatically, and Twilight could make out what were very probably crude drawings of her dreams. Trixie cuddled up closer against Twilight, almost like a foal to her mother, and the purple unicorn found herself moved by the sight, simultaneously missing Spike dearly and very grateful for the reassuring warmth and weight of the unicorn. She looked around and saw a familiar pink shape sitting by the fire, poking the flame with every sign of enjoyment. The entire camp was ensconced a reading room by this point, surrounded by bookshelves, leaning towers of tomes full of nonsense and ancient architecture. It hadn't been when they'd gone to sleep, and Twilight was beginning to suspect that her very presence was starting to warp the fabric of the local Hedge. It would explain how everything knew she was coming, for one.

Still, she had questions, so Twilight gently eased out from under Trixie, careful not to disturb the azure unicorn from her slumber. Twilight walked over to the fire and lay down next to Pinkie, who nodded to the flames, “Trouble sleeping, Twilight? I wasn't able to sleep either, so I took the late watch from Aqua. Did you know he saved a ship full of ponies once, by plugging the hole in their boat, even though they kept throwing stuff at him to make him leave? They thought he was a monster, Twilight, but he said he couldn't jus-” She broke off at Twilight's look and sighed, her hair straightening as the mood darkened somewhat, “I guess I owe you a few answers then. Ask, Twilight, but don't blame me if you don't like it.”

Twilight stared into the fire for a moment, “Alright,” she said softly, “How come you can go through here without hurting yourself? Your cloak's not even ripped, and you don't have so much as a thorn scratch on you. And where did you learn to fight?”

Pinkie grinned, “Oh that's an easy one. I'm unique!” Pinkie giggled, though her hair stayed flat, “I don't belong here, there, or in the real world, so I don't exaaaaactly have to follow the rules. I don't know why, but I know nothing here can hurt me, it's just... Because! Oh and fighting's not hard, you just put your hoof where the bad pony's face is going to be. I don't know why some ponies work so hard at it, it's easy, especially here.” Pinkie giggled again, her blue eyes still a bit sad, “Still, I'm sorry I had to, they didn't want to fight, but they were scared, scared of you Twilight.”

Twilight frowned, “But why, Pinkie? Why does everything here know me? The Beast's been spreading my name to the changelings, I know, but what about the other creatures in here?”

Pinkie chuckled once and prodded the fire again, “Because you scare the Beast, Twilight, and he rules here in this part of the Hedge. He knows that one day, relatively soon, you're going to kill him.” In the yawning silence following that, Pinkie added nonchalantly, “Or you might, rather, such things are never certain here. But there is at least one future, and quite a likely one, that you will kill the Beast.”

Twilight just stared for a long moment before saying very softly, “This... Isn't a Pinkie Sense thing is it?”

Pinkie giggled, her hair puffing up, “Oh no Twilight, nothing like that, it's just that the Hedge is between places AND between times! So sometimes you can see the past, and sometimes you can see the future, especially in dreams,” Twilight's mind flashed back to the Beast, bleeding and beaten before her, “In dreams, here in the Hedge, you touch all times, but the future is never fixed, ever, there are only probabilities.”

“That...” Twilight said dazedly, “Was surprisingly philosophical, Pinkie.”

Pinkie rolled her eyes, “Well duh, I've been going through here since I was a filly, of course I know all this stuff, I'm not all cupcakes and rainbows. Which reminds me, I need to get some rainbows for some new spicy cupcakes I'm making...” Pinkie continued to ramble about baking until Twilight, lost in her own thoughts and dreadfully exhausted, fell asleep again, this time without dreams.

Well, except for some about flaming rainbow cupcakes.

“So... The last piece is in there?” Twilight asked dubiously of the scout, Marmalade, in regards to the large stone fortress before the group. He had been the one to find the last piece and so was inducted into the party shortly after his report was finished. Sharp Claw had been more grievously wounded than had been first thought, and Pinkie had apparently run out of fruits. He had been sent back, with the two colts they'd rescued from the Shadow Reveler: Run the pegasus with metal wings and Gun the unicorn with entirely too many horns. Marmalade had come to them shortly after to deliver his intelligence report and had volunteered to help with the mission very aggressively.

The orange pegasus stallion with a mane of blue fire nodded eagerly, dancing on his hooves, utterly unable to stay still, “Oh yes, Dame Sparkle, it's in there alright, I saw it on a flythrough, all bright and shiny in the middle of the treasury!”

“You mean a flyover?”

Marmalade looked puzzled, “What use would that be, Dame Sparkle? No, I flew in through one of the windows, made a complete tour of the place and went back out before they could shoot me.”

“Shoot you? Why?” Twilight asked, alarmed.

“Well...” Marmalade looked a little embarrassed, “I might've broken through the window, and smashed every door on my way through to look and see, then broke into the treasury so I could find the shard in the firs-”

“Wait wait wait,” Trixie interrupted, “You were in the vault, in it, and you didn't grab the shard? You just alerted all the guards, and angered every single thing in the fortress?”

Marmalade gaped for a moment, his mouth opening and closing as his train of logic derailed, “I... Hadn't thought of that, uh... Wait, I... I have a map!” The orange pegasus produced a map from his tattered saddlebags. Trixie took it from him irritably, looked it over and her expression became one of mild shock. She passed it to Twilight, who found that the map was surprisingly well-drawn for a single frantic flythrough, drawn in neat, economic lines. “I used to be a draftspony,” Marmalade said proudly, shifting from hoof to hoof restlessly, “Neat and quick, that's how I roll, like I wa-” Twilight silenced him with a look and turned her attention to the map.

The layout of the fortress was formidable. Every tower was visible from all the others, every section of twenty meter high wall was covered. The walls were thick, there was only one entrance, no moat and a big square keep squatted in the middle like a stubborn wart. Twilight sighed, “It'd be hellish to assault this place, and I'd really prefer to do this without bloodshed," Twilight muttered to herself. "Trixie,” Twilight turned to the blue unicorn, who bowed almost reflexively, “Come with me, we're going to try to parlay with them for the piece. If it goes sour, we'll think of a new plan, alright everypony? If shots start going off, take cover and re-group here in camp, is that clear?” Everypony nodded, and Twilight set out for the fortress with Trixie in tow, hoping she could somehow salvage the situation without leveling the castle.

The fortress itself loomed ahead of Twilight in an incredibly wide clearing like a great beast crouching in the middle of a field, waiting for prey. She felt terribly exposed, even with Trixie beside her, keeping watch. She approached the solid oaken drawbridge and magically looped the strange amplification power of her armor. The sheer volume distorted the air somewhat as she addressed the fortress, “RESIDENTS OF THE CASTLE, I AM DAME TWILIGHT SPARKLE OF THE COURT OF EQUESTRIA!” Trixie fell to the ground beside Twilight with her hooves over her ears, and a couple of boards in the drawbridge cracked from the sheer volume, “I HAVE COME TO NEGOTIATE TERMS FOR THE RETURN OF AN OBJECT STOLEN FROM WITHIN OUR BORDERS! IT IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE, AND AS SUCH I SEEK ENTRANCE TO TREAT WITH YOUR LEADER!” A few bits of masonry cracked off after Twilight stopped talking, and she winced as part of the parapet gave up as well, landing on the soft turf with a muffled thump.

Trixie uncovered her ears and shook her head, “Well, that was... Loud, Dame Sparkle. What now?”

Twilight flushed and un-looped the amplification spell, “I... Hadn't expected it to be quite that loud,” her voice sounded fuzzy and indistinct after the ringing power from earlier, and just the reflected sound of her voice had been enough to set her ears to ringing. Twilight shook her head to clear it a little, “Now we wait, Trixie, because it's polite.”

Minutes passed, then a voice hailed from the battlements above, “Dame Sparkle,” a guttural voice proclaimed, “I am Baron Toad, lord of this castle and the surrounding demesne. The residents of this castle do not engage in thievery, and find your demand as insulting as it is confusing. We have no stolen objects here, and must ask you to leave!”

Twilight responded respectfully, “Baron Toad, the object I seek is a small glittering shard, a piece of a soul ripped from a little filly who now is suffering from its loss. It belongs to her, and is thus stolen.” Twilight glared up at the battlements and straightened regally, “I do not willingly impugn your honor in this, but if you tell me again that you have no stolen items, then I needs must name you a liar.”

“Take care with your words, little pony!” The baron snapped back, “The shard was salvaged lawfully, and it has already been the goal of one thief, we are ill-disposed to suffer the demands of another. Leave, Dame Sparkle, and maybe your little filly will learn to keep what's left of her soul in one piece!”

Twilight didn't think, and before she knew it she was alight with power. Her mane burned with a thousand shades of violet, while fiery prismatic words and letters snaked through the flames. Shadows leapt up the walls from her hooves, in the form of silhouettes that gibbered with inarticulate fury. Twilight's voice was not so much loud as intense as she addressed the castle one final time, but the effect was as terrifying as any speech from Nightmare Moon, and as stunning as the Royal Canterlot Voice's volume had been, “You will have the time from when I leave to when I return to reflect upon the depth of your mistake, Baron. If you will selfishly keep the shard for yourself as a bauble, then I will take it from you and return it to its rightful owner, where it will save a filly's life.” She turned angrily towards the path out and looked over her shoulder for one parting shot, “See you later, Baron.”

Sweet Apple Acres was quiet at night, even with the changelings prowling around, guarding the orchard and accompanying household. They had already repelled three attacks by the Beast's pack, and had lost one changeling to an unlucky swipe of a wolf-creature's paw. The overwhelming force with which the changelings fought off the wolf-things after that was nothing short of lethal, and burning the bodies at the edge of the orchard was an almost constant task. Still, they were confident that nothing would get through their guard, for the Apple family house was surrounded and protected at all times and from all directions. Something would have to be extremely clever to get into the house now, and even then there were guards posted inside, waiting for such a chance.

Luminous woke with a start from a soft noise. She looked over at Applebloom beside her, who was still sleeping, and made sure she was still breathing, and not suffering from mana buildup. She had decided that the best way to make sure nothing harmed the other filly was to sleep in the same room as her, and Applebloom had offered her bed rather graciously, which Luminous had tried to refuse. They had argued for an hour until they'd practically fallen asleep on each other, exhausted. Now, however, Luminous felt entirely awake as her body scented a danger her mis-matched eyes couldn't quite see yet.

Luminous heard a soft thump from outside the door and readied the shield spell Princess Luna had taught her, her eyes narrowing at the doorway. A flutter of terror rippled through her, but she quashed it with an overwhelming sense of duty. She had a job to do, ponies were depending on her, she didn't have time to be afraid. So the little white unicorn filly stood firmly over Applebloom and waited.

Time stretched out, the tension mounting until at last the door started to slowly push open. A clawed hand gripped the wooden door and lifted it as it pushed the portal open, to keep the hinges from creaking. Luminous felt herself start to sweat, but she held absolutely still, her body tense with the prepared spell and the suppressed fear. The creature loomed in the doorway as it pushed the door fully open, and was about to step through when it ran face-first into Luminous' shield spell. Luminous screamed as loud as she could and held the shield, which sparked as the bipedal wolf-thing clawed at the magical surface. It was agony holding the shield. Every single strike was like a blow to the head and sapped Luminous' strength, but the little filly's sense of duty refused to let her yield. Applebloom woke up and was screaming too, but Luminous couldn't hear her over the impacts against her spell.

Finally, spent, Luminous fell over on the bed, shuddering weakly as the creature pulled itself into the room and descended on the two fillies, snarling. As a last act of defiance, Luminous grabbed the sharpest thing nearby with the last fragments of her magic, and threw the charged mana crystal into the creature's gaping maw. The wolf-thing snapped it out of the air and smashed Luminous aside with a snarl. It advanced on Applebloom then fell back, clutching at its belly, which was beginning to glow ominously. Two changelings burst through the window and another through the doorway right as the thing exploded with a howl in a flash of purple fire, spraying the room with blood, bones and viscera. Luminous stared, Applebloom stared, the changelings stared. Luminous grinned a little dazedly, her eyes unfocused as she slurred, “None shall pass...” Then she passed out, and Applebloom started screaming again.

Twilight laid out the plan for the third time, giving Marmalade a frustrated look, “Alright, so Marmalade, we need you to open the door, remember? Marmalade!”

Marmalade jumped, he'd been distracted by something flitting through the bookshelves of the nearby Hedge, “Er, yes? What is it Dame Sparkle?”

“The plan!” Twilight all but shouted, struggling to keep a leash on her temper. Marmalade was the most aggravating pegasus to work with. He had the attention span of a gnat, hated planning and never, ever stopped moving. He was like Rainbow Dash on caffeine without any of the sense of loyalty: utterly capricious, incapable of paying attention and almost impossible to work with. Still, she needed the doors opened. “Marmalade, for the third time, we need you to fly up to the gatehouse, and find a way to open the doors. Okay? Did you get that?”

Marmalade nodded, grinned and took off like a shot straight for the castle before Twilight could tell him anything else. Twilight swore and quickly gathered the others, “Alright, plan's been accelerated, let's go everypony!”

Trixie looked out at the castle as the others quickly fastened on their gear, “You think he can do it? He's kind of... Flighty, Dame Sparkle.”

Twilight grunted, “He will, he-” She broke off as the doors banged open and an alarm bell started ringing. “See? No problem.”

Trixie and Twilight led the way towards the castle, holding a shield above the whole group as they ran. Aqua and Trotter ran beside her while Pinkie brought up the rear, bounding along effortlessly and grinning. They dashed to the door, which was wide open, and pounded their way inside. The group had just enough time to notice Marmalade's arrow-filled body on the flagstones before flaming oil poured from on high to splash on the rippling violet and blue shield, causing Trixie to flinch, though Twilight just looked grim. Barrels and barrels of flaming oil poured in, filling the whole flagged courtyard with ankle-deep burning liquid.

“To the keep!” Twilight shouted, maintaining the shield against the flood of flaming oil around the courtyard. She and Trixie maintained the shield so effectively that it acted like a bubble, pushing the burning oil away ahead of the group as well as stopping any fresh splashes from hitting the group of ponies. The whole group pushed to the door of the keep, which was locked and barred. Fortunately, they had planned for this eventuality, “Trotter, you're up!”

Trotter ran forward and focused for a moment before he kicked the doors so hard they cracked inwards and open. The shield stopped a crossbow bolt just before it perforated his face, causing it to bounce harmlessly away. Now they could see their attackers, who crouched in the main hall beyond the shattered doorway.

They were frogs. Huge upright-walking frogs dressed in leather armor and bronze helmets, bearing crossbows that they manipulated with their long, sticky fingers. Dozens of them crowded the hall, and they all opened fire as soon as the ponies cleared the door.

Soon Trixie was grunting under the sheer number of impacts hitting the shield, her horn starting to spark a little from countering the force behind each hit. Twilight remained stoic, but the sheer amount of magic she was pumping out was starting to take its toll. She nodded to Aqua, who stomped his hooves on the ground and whispered softly. Fog started to coalesce in the room, and Pinkie took advantage of the cover to disappear from the group. A few muffled thuds sounded from the shrouded darkness and the flying bolts stopped entirely. She returned, grinning, and bowed to Twilight, “All sleeping, don't you worry Twilight! None of them are gonna wake up unless somepony throws a really big party, which reminds me, we should throw a really big-”

Twilight interrupted, letting the shield drop, “When we're out of this Pinkie, sure, but right now we have a job to do and Applebloom's counting on us.” Pinkie nodded, looking a little abashed, and Twilight turned to Trixie, who was rubbing her head, “You alright Trixie?”

“Yeah just... Crossbow bolts hurt to block. Give me a moment, please?” Twilight nodded and moved on to Trotter and Aqua, who were still full of adrenaline and ready to go.

“We shouldn't linger, Dame Sparkle, it's dangerous here, and who knows how much they'll have fortified if we stay,” Trotter said seriously, pacing and looking around.

“I know Trotter, but Trixie's exhausted and we need to rest a minute. Go around and scout what you can of the room, maybe tie up all the soldiers while you're at it.” Twilight watched him go off, and sighed, preparing herself for the next fight.

Trotter hauled the last unconscious frog back to the others and started tying him up. In all likelihood the strange creatures could break the bonds, but tying them up was something to do and it could possibly buy them a little time should the angry amphibians awaken prematurely. The thin earth pony was tying up the last one when he heard Aqua's splashing steps behind him. Trotter turned and saw the perpetually-soaked earth pony pick up one of the crossbows. “Careful with that,” Trotter cautioned as Aqua picked up one of the still-loaded crossbows, “Might put an eye out if you're not ca-” Trotter broke off as Aqua lifted the crossbow up in his hooves, balancing flawlessly, “Uh... Aqua?” Aqua croaked, and his hooves turned into froglike hands for just long enough to fire a bolt into Trotter's eye.

The imposter shape-shifted his frog-like hands back to hooves and was about to escape before the pony he was impersonating came upon him and spoiled everything, when he bumped into something hard and metallic. Twilight Sparkle stood before the shape-shifting imposter, staring at him with an expression that could only be described as murderous. Cursing the teleporting unicorn inwardly, the creature tried to maintain his disguise and looked shocked and afraid. His act became suddenly very convincing when Twilight abruptly suspended him in a telekinetic grip and began to squeeze, sending flickering sparks that formed fragments of sentences through the telekinetic field. The fake pony thrashed and started to switch between forms, trying to find some way out of its predicament. It became another pony, a bird, a squid, a giant scorpion, until at last it switched back to its usual froggy state, gasping desperately, its bulbous eyes bulging unpleasantly as Twilight squeezed the air from the slimy creature's lungs.

Twilight released the pressure enough to let the creature take a breath, then glared at it furiously, tears of rage running freely down her cheeks. “You,” she said roughly, her voice shaking with emotion, “You are going to tell the rest of your kind to stand down,” every word Twilight spoke rippled through her mane in words of orange fire, like a visual echo, “You will give us free access to the shard, and if you do not, I will purchase that access with the blood of those that stand in our way,” Twilight leaned closer to the amphibian, which was watching her with a curious lack of reaction for a creature being threatened, “Do I make myself clear?”

“Aye,” the creature croaked in its gravely voice, glaring back wearily, “But they shall not yield to a thief, who seeks to steal our treasure that was rightfully claimed.”

Twilight's eyes narrowed, “How was it claimed?”

“Abandoned it was, in the heart of the Hedge, and it was claimed by us, to be a jewel for our leader.” The creature spat at Twilight's hooves disdainfully as Aqua, Trixie and Pinkie came running up, “So kill me, thief, or I shall kill your charges, for we will never stop hunting you and yours for your transgressions here.” Twilight stared at the thing for a long moment, then sent a sleep spell through the telekinetic field, causing the frog to fall deeply asleep. She conjured iron bands around it, and set the frog aside and turned her attention to the fallen Trotter.

Aqua had rushed to his fallen friend's side, “Trotter? Trotter! Come on,” he nudged the stallion's side urgently, sniffing a little, “Come on Trotter, quit it, get up, we have to move. I... Come on!” Aqua shoved Trotter's body roughly, tears mingling with his perpetually dripping coat, “You stupid idiot, you can't die, not before...” He cut off and collapsed over Trotter's thin body, sobbing. Twilight was crying silently herself, regretting bringing anypony else into this. She was about to help Aqua up and teleport the lot of them back to Equestria when Trotter coughed and groaned, making his damp friend jump.

“Ugh... I feel... Like somepony shot me in the head.” Trotter muttered, rubbing his head. He looked around with his one good eye at all the staring ponies, “So... What'd I miss?”

"Some... Something shot you in the head," Aqua said softly, staring in shock at the thin earth pony, who was now looking at Aqua with surprise, "Right... Right in the eye, your left eye. But you... You're not dead?"

"The string was damp," Twilight said. She'd been examining the wicked little device once Trotter had coughed, to see if there had been some further trick involved. She shook her head, "It must not have broken through the skull, just... Just the eye."

"Oh," Trotter said, a little dazedly, "Guess I'll need an eyepatch the-" the thin earth pony broke off as Aqua interrupted him with a deep kiss. Trotter went cross-eyed with his one remaining eye and very gently smiled, blushing. Twilight was about to comment when an ominous rumble shook the room, and water began to pour in from every nook and cranny.

Pinkie giggled, utterly unfazed, "Time for a bath!"

The Knight and the Toad

The room had filled quicker than Twilight had anticipated, and soon everypony was swimming. Trotter seemed to be in shock from the bolt to the eye, but he was swimming strongly with Aqua's help. Still, they were running out of room to breathe, so Twilight dove down to try and find another way out. Swimming against the complicated currents in the water was exceedingly difficult but Twilight finally managed to struggle to the front door. It was locked. She found the same problem afflicted the other doors, until finally, running out of air, she desperately blasted one open. Too late, she realized that she had just given the room full of water someplace to go, and there was going to be an awful lot of it on its way there shortly.

Twilight and the others screamed as they were flushed down a long, smooth hallway by the force of untold gallons of water. She had managed to pull everypony together magically, but tumbling end-over-end in a tsunami rushing through a marble hallway does not do wonders for one's focus. Trotter was unconscious again, with Aqua barely managing to keep his head above water, while Trixie clung to a bit of door that had become an impromptu life-preserver. Pinkie, still as unfazed as always, cheered and giggled as she rode the current, not even trying to keep herself stable and just tumbling tail-over-teakettle through the deluge.

The flow petered out after a while, and Twilight and the others found themselves stranded in a strange, ornate room. It was like a massive ballroom, larger even than the Princess' throne room, with a balcony running along both walls and what seemed to be a dais on the far end. There were also a lot of guards lining the balcony and surrounding the group, all holding crossbows aimed at the little party of ponies. Pinkie giggled as she slid to a stop across the carpet, and waved merrily to the guards, “Hey guys! Look Twilight, we've got enough people for a party!”

A croaking laugh echoed from the far end of the room as all the ponies struggled to their hooves. Twilight stepped to the fore as the biggest, fattest, ugliest frog-thing she'd seen yet stepped forward, decked in an extremely ostentatious outfit. It was made of crushed velvet, gold lining and an incredibly horrible smell, all held together with extremely fine stitching. Rarity would probably be weeping to see such a horrible creature in such a magnificent outfit.

“Deceitful, thieving little ponies,” the frog-thing began in a voice like wet gravel, “I am Baron Toad, and you... You are most persistent.”

Twilight straightened, ignoring the chill settling into her from the water, “I am Dame Twilight Sparkle, Knight-Protector of Equestria, and I am here an behalf of Equestria to recover property that was stolen from a filly not too long ago.”

Baron Toad smirked, “We are not thieves, Dame Sparkle, look for your bauble elsewhere,”

“It's not a bauble!” Twilight snarled, her mane flaring, steam hissing off her as a magical pulse flicked through the unicorn, “It is a piece of her soul, Baron, the very last piece we need to restore her fully. Without it, she will be forever scarred, and in terrible pain.”

The Baron waved a froggy hand negligently, “Life is pain, Dame Sparkle, anyone who says otherwise is selling something. As to the soul piece, as I said before, perhaps it will encourage her to treat her soul with a little more care.”

Twilight very gently started to glow as her anger strained at her control. She closed her eyes and damped it, but her fury howled within, echoed in the words tumbling through her burning mane. “Choose your words with care, Baron, before you consign a child to such a fate.” Twilight said in a low, dangerous tone, “Thrice I will ask, and no more. For the second time: will you give me the shard?”

The Baron snorted, “With you here, at my mercy? I think not.” He waved a hand to the guards, and all the crossbows fired. Twilight's horn flared briefly and all the crossbow bolts vanished as if they'd never been. The Baron frowned, “Reload, idiots and fire again!” Twilight smirked as the guards found their quivers empty, she'd been quite thorough. The guards swore and drew their knives uncertainly, looking to their leader for orders. The Baron shrieked in fury, “KILL THEM!” then leapt away before the melee could begin.

Twilight scowled at the rushing frog-creatures, then focused a spell in her horn and parried the first knife with the magical appendage. The knife shattered, as did all the other knives in the room when Twilight's sympathetic spell took hold. The shattering knives was all the distraction that Twilight needed, and she ducked instinctively as Pinkie Pie bounded over her into the throng of guards, who found themselves suddenly unarmed and distinctly outmatched against the laughing pink pony.

Trixie and Aqua used the distraction as well, taking the opportunity to incapacitate their combatants, with Trixie sending hers to sleep and Aqua bucking the one that had approached too close to him and the downed Trotter hard enough to the face to make it spin around twice before falling over. Twilight saw the Baron running away and swore because she couldn't leave behind the rest of the group, there were simply too many combatants.

Twilight snarled and blasted away three frogs into their companions with a swirl of violet flame and parted the press surrounding Pinkie Pie. She looked surprised at the sudden space around her, then grinned at Twilight, who shouted to her over the din of battle, “Get the Baron! I'll handle the others!” Pinkie nodded and flipped off, neatly evading the grasping hands of the amphibians before dashing after the fat frog.

Twilight cut off the guards' pursuit with a curtain of purple fire, and then the real fighting began. One guard kicked for Twilight's face, which she blocked with a simple force-reversal spell, but another tried to kick her hard in the flank, where the only covering was the night-black silk and metal mesh. The second guard howled in amphibious agony as the impact completely failed to even nudge Twilight, much to her surprise. She didn't have time to marvel though, for more guards pushed for her attention as she stood in defiant defense of the other changelings.

Baron Toad hopped down the corridor at high speed, looking for more guards to put between him and the terrible ponies in the throne room. It had been a long time since he'd found anything that scared him more than the Beast had when he'd demanded the portly amphibian's allegiance. Twilight Sparkle was so much more terrifying that the Baron was seriously considering ordering that horrible, third-person speaking simulacrum who'd told him where the piece would be to be killed. She hadn't mentioned it came with a psychotic unicorn and some sort of freakish pink martial artist.

“You know,” Pinkie Pie said, stepping out from around the next corner to block the Baron's path, “You should really give Twilight that shard, it's for a really super-duper good cause!” The Baron leapt over her and kept going, shouting for more guards. He screeched to a halt when the pink pony stepped out to block the sole doorway into the next corridor, grinning. “Come on, Mr. Baron, it's just one shard, how much is that worth?”

“More than she can pay, now get out of the way before I kick you so hard-”

“Is it worth your life, Mr. Baron?” Pinkie asked sincerely, her blue eyes concerned, “And the lives of the people here?”

The Baron laughed and kicked forward, shoving past Pinkie into the next corridor, “You think you can kill us all, or would for such a stupid bauble? We are proud people, we do not bow to thieves or-”

“Not me,” Pinkie interrupted again, putting a hoof on the Baron's froggy shoulder, “But Twilight. The purple one,” she added helpfully at the Baron's blank look, “You killed a pony in front of her, tried to kill another one under her protection, all while she's been struggling to save a little filly.” Pinkie sighed, her demeanor darkening further, “She's been under so much stress, since coming back, and all she's been offered out here in the Hedge is violence... I think... I think if you don't give her the piece, she's going to kill you all.”

The Baron paused at the sheer sincerity in the pink pony's tone, and the very real thought of the horrible sorcerer cutting loose on his very tiny barony, “Why... Would you tell me this?”

Pinkie gave the frog a serious look, “Because if she kills you, it'll kill her inside. Also,” Pinkie said, brightening, “It gave me time to pick your pocket! Thanks!” She jingled a ring of keys, tossed them up to hold them in her mouth, winked at the stunned Baron and bounded away before he could start swearing.

Twilight's breath came in enraged bursts now, her expression contorted with anger as she wrapped her magic around the last guard, who struggled against her hold. Trixie was down and sobbing after one of the frogs had scooped up a broken knife and penetrated her shoulder with it, gouging the muscle cruelly. They hadn't killed any of them, but Twilight found it increasingly difficult to not snap this last guard's neck. Moments passed with the creature struggling before her, flailing in either fear or rage, the unicorn no longer cared which. Aqua watched her uncertainly, still standing over the unconscious Trotter. Trixie twitched on the ground and let out another quiet sob, fueling Twilight's rage.

Twilight very slowly cut off the creature's air with a subtle alteration of her telekinetic bubble, snarling softly as she watched it struggle. A hoof on her side made her turn, reflexively levitating the guard up higher as she whirled to face what could only be a new threat. Aqua's terrified expression as she found herself face-to-face with the damp earth pony made her temper instantly cool. She finished the sleeping spell on the guard and set him down gently with the others, without breaking eye contact with Aqua. They both relaxed slightly as Twilight's fury and shame slowly died, only to jump when Pinkie Pie jumped in from out of nowhere dangling keys in front of Twilight's face, “Hey Twilight, guess what I've goooot! The keys to the treasury! Now we can get the shard and go!”

Twilight just nodded, tears building in her eyes, and tucked the keys away in her saddlebag before walking off down the corridor. Pinkie sighed in relief once she was out of earshot and turned to Aqua, “She's gotta stop this, once this is over, that pony needs one big party, then an even bigger vacation.” With that, she gently put Trixie on her back and charged after Twilight, somehow managing to avoid jostling the injured unicorn as she bounced and jogged. Aqua shook his head and did the same with Trotter, albeit less gracefully.

The injured earth pony had come round during the fight just long enough to awkwardly kick a frog away from Aqua, only to pass out again almost immediately, mumbling incoherently. Aqua was extremely worried about him, especially since the tall, thin earth pony still sported a crossbow bolt through his eyeball, as they hadn't had time to pull it out. Trotter would probably lose the eye, Aqua knew, but he didn't want to think about it. For now he just followed after Dame Sparkle, hoping that they'd have a future at all, while a small part of him dared to hope that future would involve Trotter.

Twilight felt the turmoil of her thoughts like a tickling wave of force pouring over her body and mind. She was losing it, she knew, losing control of herself in the face of all these frustrations and bloodthirsty situations. She wondered despairingly what would have happened if Pinkie hadn't shown up, then shook her head to clear it. She hadn't killed the creature, she was still in control for the moment, and Applebloom was depending on her.

The thought of Applebloom reminded Twilight of her little squire Luminous, standing guard so fiercely over a filly she barely knew, simply because Twilight had told her to. She was looking to Twilight for an example, as a student to a teacher, and Twilight knew she had to try harder if she was to be worthy of that.

Twilight walked down the corridor, pushing her worries aside to deal with the more pressing problems of hidden ambushes. The marble floor clacked beneath her hooves loudly as she walked, but no living thing came forth to accost her party. She checked the map a couple of times, which had mercifully survived the flood trap in her saddle bags, and finally the whole group found themselves before a great steel door, easily four times as tall as a pony. The door was engraved intricately, and depicted froglike warriors doing battle with all number of strange creatures, including what looked suspiciously like Discord. In every engraving though, the frogs were losing, always pulling back to their fortress, which gleamed gold in the center of the door like a beacon. The keyhole for the treasury was, appropriately, in the doorway of the fortress, in the dead-center of the massive door.

This probably would have given the average burglar pause, but Twilight simply levitated the key up, put it in the lock and turned it, causing the tumblers to shift with a satisfying clunk noise. The door swung ponderously outwards, and Twilight raised a magical barrier just in time to catch a full barrage of crossbow bolts, which spent their energy against the shield harmlessly. Dozens of crossbow frogs lined the inside of the treasury, which was filled with piles and piles of gold, jewels and weapons. They were arranged in rows and reloading in sequence, constantly peppering Twilight's shield with bolts, to absolutely no effect.

“Begone, demon!” Baron Toad barked from inside, “The shard is ours! It will not fall to a thieving equine like yourself no matter what devilish forces you can conjure! You will not have it!”

Twilight simply started walking forward. What made this remarkable was the sheer number of bolts bouncing off her shield as she did so. They cracked against the shield and tumbled away as the purple unicorn advanced. Twilight's eyes began to glow with a pure white radiance as she advanced, and soon the bolts were vaporizing when they touched rather than bouncing off. The crossbow frogs parted before she drew close enough to extend the same fate as them, and soon the whole room ran out of bolts.

Twilight stood before the Baron impassively, while the latter clutched the glowing shard to his elegantly brocaded chest and snarled threats. After a moment of listening to this the purple unicorn focused, and some of the nearby gold glowed and melted, flowing together into a great, searing blade of liquid metal. She pointed it at the Baron and said softly, “Baron Toad, this was a valiant defense, but if you do not give me that shard, I will have no choice but to take it from you. This is the third time I will ask, and after that, I needs must take action.” Twilight looked almost sad as she contemplated the shocked Baron.

Baron Toad recovered his composure after a moment and scowled, “We cannot, for we are bound by the will of the Beast to never give aid to you and yours. If you must slay me for that, demon pony, then do so, but I will not go without a fight.” The last part seemed laughable in the light of Twilight's display of power earlier, but the unicorn nodded gravely.

“Then abandon the piece, dear Baron, and I will salvage it instead. If it is not yours, then it fails to be your responsibility. You are not bound to keep the piece, surely?” The Baron shook his head, his expression relaxing as the unicorn continued, “Then you are not aiding me, for my coming upon the piece was happenstance. You harried my forces as I trespassed in your domain, then abandoned the piece to force me to chase after, yes?”

“Did I?” The Baron asked dazedly, blinking at the violet apparition before him. He looked down at the piece of soul then back up at Twilight, frowning, “And how do I know you won't just try to kill us all when you have it?”

Twilight nodded, “A worthy question, but you'll find neither I nor my companions have permanently harmed any of your people. Which is more than can be said for you, I must add. We have always only sought the shard, and you have made us pay for that with one life and several injuries.” She gestured to the two injured, “The intrusion of Marmalade was unfortunate, but you had no cause to kill him, nor to attempt to burn my companions and I.” Twilight's tone remained soft, but the fury and frustration in her soul washed over briefly, making the room shiver.

“He... Broke into the treasury, Dame Sparkle, the penalty for which was death.” Baron Toad said, swallowing uncomfortably. “We had no choice!”

The light in Twilight's eyes intensified for a moment, and her mane and tail flared with phrases of condemnation. “There is always,” Twilight said, her voice physically and mentally resonating through everyone in the room with its sheer sorrow and fury, causing the frogs and changelings alike to shiver in instinctual terror, “Always a choice. Now choose, Baron: abandon the piece, or lose the castle.” She fixed the Baron with her burning gaze and waited for the amphibian to choose, while her blade of molten gold swirled and glowed like liquid sunlight at his throat.

After what felt like hours, the Baron set down the piece on the floor. Twilight lifted the blade away and nodded, careful not to thank him. She stepped aside to let him and the rest of the frogs leave, waited until their steps had faded, then took the sword and drove it into the floor with a sharp sound, the light in her eyes fading. She delicately levitated the last prepared crystal out of her saddlebag and touched it to the glowing soul shard on the floor. It turned the radiant yellow of Applebloom's coat, and Twilight sighed in relief before tucking it away and walking back to the group. She was too tired now to even think about how they must be looking at her, she just focused and teleported the lot of them back to the entrance to the fortress.

Hearth's Warming Eve

Luminous awoke and rose at the sound of somepony approaching down the corridor and stood over the still-sleeping Applebloom, her horn glowing as she prepared her barrier spell. She relaxed somewhat when Applejack called through the door, “Applebloom?” Applebloom startled awake, knocking Luminous over onto the bed, the earth pony's unnaturally violet mane standing out with magical buildup. Twilight had been gone for weeks, and while the changes hadn't spread, Applebloom was now out of focus crystals to use and had been getting steadily worse and worse headaches from the unreleased magic.

She fixed her red and purple eyes on the door blearily, blinking as the last shreds of sleep fell away, though she didn't respond. “Applebloom,” Applejack tried again through the door, “It's Hearth's Warming Eve, do... Do ya wanna come down an' have dinner with th'rest of us? Scootaloo an' Sweetie Bell are here, they wanted to stop by and say hello but ah figured ah'd ask if you wanted company first.” Applebloom flinched a little as the pain came back from the volume of her sister's voice, then started focusing like Luminous had showed her.

The little unicorn filly had been a tremendous boon to Applebloom, for she never flinched from the earth pony's flares of temper, never complained when she tried to kick her out, never left her side for as long as equinely possible, only making the barest allowances for her own needs. She had made sure Applebloom ate, slept, and was guarded at all times, especially after the incident with the wolf-creature. She even taught the little earth pony how to focus herself and keep the magic contained and controlled, even if they were long out of crystals to store it into.

Still, Luminous never doubted, not for one instant that Twilight would return with the cure for Applebloom. She stood vigil every third night, and prayed to Luna's stars and Celestia's sky that Twilight would return quickly, but she never, ever doubted that she would. Still, Luminous was thinner now, and more muscled from helping around the farm and working with Applebloom, who still tried to fight her sometimes.

Luminous nudged Applebloom lightly once the earth pony had finished her meditation and said softly, “Go, you haven't left this room in days, meeting other ponies would do you good.” Applebloom just curled up again, and Luminous sighed. She grabbed hold of Applebloom's tail firmly and yanked her hard off the bed, causing the filly to yelp as she hit the floor.

“Ow! Luminous stop! I'm not going!” Applebloom protested, struggling to her hooves. Her voice was sharp, crisp, almost like Twilight's, “I don't want to see any of them, I don't want them to see me! Just leave me alone!”

“No,” Luminous said calmly but firmly, as she always did, stepping between Applebloom and the bed, and fixing the older filly with her blue and green stare. “Go down there and see your friends, talk to your family, and enjoy a little pie. When was the last time you had pie, Applebloom?”

“Stop it,” Applebloom grumbled, not quite managing to mask the growl of her stomach.

“Real pie, probably made by your Granny,” Luminous said relentlessly, “Fresh baked, with oatmeal cookies and fresh hay and-”

“Stop it stop it stop it!”

“Applebloom?” A new voice asked, one that made both fillies go silent with sudden shocked recognition, “Open the door please.” Applebloom walked over, past Luminous and rather mechanically opened the door to reveal a battered, exhausted purple unicorn, clad in dark armor and smiling softly at the fillies in the room.

Applebloom leapt for Twilight and hugged her tightly, then backed up a step. She looked eagerly at Twilight's saddlebags, “So... Did you get... Can you cure me now?”

Twilight nodded and turned to her squire, “Luminous,” Luminous snapped to attention, making Twilight smile a little more, “At ease, Luminous, it's Hearth's Warming Eve, not an official inspection.” Luminous flushed and nodded, smiling a little, “Could you get the helmet for me please though? I think Applebloom's been like this long enough.” Luminous nodded eagerly and grabbed the helmet, levitating all the filled crystals over as well. Twilight frowned when she saw them, then shook her head and smiled at Applebloom, who was eagerly strapping on the helmet already.

Twilight slotted the three crystals into the helmet and started adjusting the contraption, which had fallen into a little disrepair in her absence. She tweaked a few settings, bypassed a few circuits, all while Applebloom fidgeted beneath, “Twilight,” she asked uncertainly, “Is... Is it going to hurt?”

Twilight paused, then finished the last circuit and set the device to charging before hunkering down to Applebloom's eye-level and nodding solemnly, “Probably, but it means you'll be you again, and all the power you borrowed from me should pass as well, you'll most likely glow a little, but that should be it.” She tapped the helmet lightly, making it ring, “Now then Applebloom, are you ready to get your soul back in one piece?” Applebloom looked over Twilight's shoulder to where her sister was watching anxiously and stared for a moment.

Applejack was a wreck. She had barely slept it looked like, and deep circles marred the eyes of the orange pony. Her mane was unwashed, and her coat unbrushed, even her hat looked shabby somehow. She had stubbornly insisted on doing her usual work on the farm and keeping her share of the watches, despite the numerous changeling volunteers, while doing the work that Applebloom was unable to. She had thus had found herself without much time for such things as bathing, sleeping or eating, and the end result was that she looked like a sad, greasy haystack.

Applebloom nodded to Twilight, gulping back sudden tears and closed her eyes. Twilight flicked the switches on the helmet, then touched her horn to the surface to avoid arcing, should there be any overflow, which would arc across as a few sparks at most. Twilight hadn't expected anything more than maybe a little static shock, and was unprepared for the vast wave of power that washed over her body and swept through her mind like a hurricane in a small room.

Violet flames covered Twilight's body, ripping apart her illusion of normalcy and showing her true self to the entire room. As Applebloom's coloration flooded back into her, Twilight began to glow brighter and brighter, and a smell of burning paper filled the room. The filled crystals shattered, sending more bolts of purple flame over the unicorn, who twitched spasmodically in the grip of her sudden magical deluge. Applebloom collapsed as the last crystal in the helmet went dark and crumbled, and Twilight stumbled back, her body still alight with magic.

Luminous stared at her mentor's true form, which was both beautiful and terrifying. Twilight's mane and tail were like flame given form, from which smoke shaped like nonsense words trailed off into nothingness. Letters and words flickered through Twilight's mane and tail like fireflies, too quickly to make out, while the shadows around her hooves writhed and crawled like something alive, whispering secrets. She took a step back unconsciously as Twilight looked at her, then slowly forced herself to relax. She tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace from the instinctive fear that was bolting through her.

Twilight closed her eyes and focused. She gradually regained her normalcy, as the fires flashing about her body damped and the awesome power she had felt was safely leashed. Her mane became visible only as hair again, and the shadows no longer seemed to dance so much about her hooves. It was another illusion, albeit an unconscious one, but Twilight was glad of it. Luminous became more relaxed, and Applejack brushed past her to check on Applebloom. “Applebloom,” the blonde farmer said softly, her voice rough with emotion, “Come on Applebloom, wake up.”

“Five more minutes,” Applebloom said sleepily, pushing at her sister with a hoof, only to yelp as Applejack pulled her into a hug, sobbing quietly. She looked like she was about to protest when her memory kicked in, and she hugged her sister back, squealing “Applejack! Is is it over? Am ah cured?!” Applejack didn't answer, she just hugged her sister tight, so the yellow filly looked over at Twilight, who nodded, smiling gently. Applebloom whooped and hugged her sister tighter, causing both of them to fall over into a laughing, crying heap.

Twilight nodded to Luminous and jerked her head discreetly to suggest they both leave, and stepped out herself. The white filly nodded and followed after, trotting up beside Twilight close enough that they were almost touching. Twilight noticed, but said nothing until they were at the guest room, which was still prepared for her. She shucked the armor with her squire's help, and set it aside for cleaning in the morning, still saying nothing. Then turned to the white unicorn filly and smiled, “I asked you to protect Applebloom, to keep watch over her while I was gone and you have done so very very well, I am truly proud to have you as my squire.”

Luminous sniffled a little and sat down. She smiled and tried her best to hide her emotions, “T-Thank you, Dame Sparkle,” she mumbled damply, wiping her mis-matched eyes with the back of her hoof. “I... I know I'm not... Not as strong as you-”

“Nope,” Twilight agreed, smiling to soften the remark, “You're stronger.” Luminous blinked in honest surprise, but Twilight laughed, “Go on, go downstairs and enjoy the festivities, I'm going to wash up before I join everypony, I smell terrible.” She smiled as the little filly scampered downstairs, as eager to join the Hearth's Warming Eve celebration as any filly she'd ever seen. Still, that little filly had had more courage than Twilight had seen in some Royal Guard regiments, to face down a wolf of the Beast with nothing but a shield spell. She was truly a testament to the strength of the pony spirit, Twilight reflected as she built and lit a fire in the fireplace.

Twilight pulled the tin bath out of the closet where it was stored and placed it by the fireplace, which crackled merrily now with refreshingly normal flames. She magically filled the tub, heated it and slipped into the water, sighing in relief as the water washed away her aches, exhaustion and the filth of combat with equal efficaciousness. She paused as she sensed a presence in the room, a magical signature that was as elusive as it was familiar, and gone in an instant. She looked around piercingly, her eyes glowing softly as her magic inspected the room, but she could find nothing. Still, she magically checked the lock on the window before sinking back into her bath and resuming her soak.

“She was bathing!” Luna snarled softly at her giggling sister, “Bathing! Thou art a cruel, perverted nag of a sister, dost thou know that?” Luna was blushing furiously and attempting to keep her voice down in the corner of the Apple dining room to which both sisters had retired. They had arrived without any pomp as soon as Twilight had returned, and had requested that their presence remain a surprise to the purple unicorn. “I cannot believe thou wouldst do that, to thine own student and sister no less,” Luna continued, still flushed with embarrassment, looking around to make sure they weren't overheard, but the party was in full swing and nopony was paying them attention beyond the usual curious looks they attracted.

“Oh please,” Celestia said, smiling and nodding politely to a colt that made eye contact, causing him to bow somewhat awkwardly and hurry away, “You enjoyed it, and besides, you're going to be helping her with the revival of the castle, yes?”

“I hardly see what that has to-”

“Sister, the castle had communal baths, remember? As a way of promoting community spirit?” Celestia reminded her sister, who scowled.

“Then we needs must demolish them, privacy is the norm these days, and thou art forever telling me to adapt to the times,” Luna insisted, blushing and glaring at her older sister, “There is no need to-”

“Demolish an ancient structure from over a thousand years before?” Celestia asked in mock shock, smiling and nodding to another pony who she caught staring, “Twilight would faint with disappointment, as would most of the archaeological community, which you were insistent to form in the first place, if I recall correctly.” Luna was about to respond sharply when Applejack and Applebloom walked down the stairs, laughing and joking with each other. The whole room turned and started applauding, and the Princesses joined their hooves with the tumult.

Applejack and her little sister joined the raucous party, which had been formed in record time by Pinkie Pie. The pink pony had started preparations as soon as the wounded changelings had been carted off to the impromptu changeling infirmary that had been set up in the barn by the volunteering guards. Aqua had followed after Trotter, refusing Pinkie's invitation point-blank, and many of the changelings were still leery of normal ponies, but a few had joined the festivities. The Apples made the new arrivals feel as welcome as any member of the family, and soon changeling and mortal pony alike were dancing and drinking together like old friends.

Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Rarity arrived about halfway through the night, and the Elements joined the festivities only after being assured by Luminous (between mouthfuls of food) that Twilight was okay, and was only bathing. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy joined in wholeheartedly, while Rarity only socialized enough to be polite and slipped off as soon as she was able.

Twilight walked along through the knee-deep snow between the apple trees, nodding to the changelings she passed and being thoroughly embarrassed when most of them bowed. The few that didn't were generally too stunned to do anything but freeze in place. Twilight hurried along, and started sticking to the shadows to get to her destination quicker and avoid any more embarrassing encounters. It almost worked, too, until she came across a changeling scout camp by the Cutie Mark Crusaders' tree-house, which had served as a watch-tower for those patrolling the orchard. She approached silently paused by the edge of the firelight, listening to the three changelings gossip.

“I almost wish I hadn't left Manehattan for this,” A pegasus said softly, staring up at the stars. He was made of ice it looked like, with a mane and tail of frost and a coat that glittered. His cutie-mark of a hammer seemed somewhat incongruous, but judging by the repair done to the tree-house, it was undeniably appropriate. “I mean, I know Dame Sparkle freed us all but... Are we going to be paying her back forever? Shit like this...”

A tall, slender unicorn mare with a mane of tumbling ashes and a voice like crackling flame snorted, sending up a cloud of sympathetic embers from the fire, “Would you rather have stayed in the care of the Winterhaunt, Icebell?”

The icy pegasus, Icebell, shivered and shot the unicorn an annoyed look, “No, Coaldust, I wouldn't, but I don't see why-”

“Because it was a filly,” the third, a bulky dark earth pony said softly, his voice like a rumble from underground, his eyes glowing like points of green flame, “Imagine the Winterhaunt with his claws on a filly. Making her burn like a torch,” He stared at Coaldust, who broke eye contact, “Or stand for days as an ice sculpture,” Icebell looked away, grimacing. The dark earth pony sighed and looked up, as if consulting the stars.

Minutes passed, then he said softly, “The spirits are restless, they know great change is coming, and Dame Sparkle is at the center of it. If we leave her alone, and work only towards ourselves, the Beast is going to run this country in a few years,” Twilight shivered in her hiding place nearby, “I've heard she's going to be raising a castle, and turning the Everfree back into a civilized place... But I don't think even she can do that, she lost a pony on this mission, and almost lost another,” Twilight winced as the earth pony's somber voice rolled over the little clearing, “She couldn't possibly do it on her own, she has no experience, she needs help.”

“Yes,” Twilight said, thoroughly startling the whole group as she stepped out of hiding, “Yes I do. Oh don't worry about it,” she said quickly to forestall any apologies, waving a hoof as everypony started to bow, “You're right, I need help with this and I haven't been letting others pull their own weight. Marmalade lost his life because I didn't know how to apply his skills correctly.”

“So,” Icebell said, an edge to his voice, “We're just sets of skills to apply then? For your ends? To help you and yours?”

“She didn't say-” the other changelings protested, only to break off as Twilight shook her head, her mane flaring as she began to focus magic.

“Icebell,” Twilight said softly, causing the pegasus' eyes to widen a little, “You are my people. Earth pony, pegasus or unicorn, it doesn't matter, you're family.” She walked forward as she talked, towards the pegasus, who was sitting in front of the tree-house, the others parting for her, “We've all suffered, we've all been changed, and we're all trying our hardest. We need to help each other if we're going to survive, because the Princesses know that darker powers are out there now, and we're the only ones that can fight them.”

Icebell nodded, frowning in thought, “But... Changelings could die, doing this, Dame Sparkle, why should we take more responsibility for ponies that... Well you've seen how some normal ponies react.”

Twilight nodded, “Yes, Icebell, some changelings will die, and yes, we make normal ponies nervous. But that's why we have to protect them.” She gestured to the shadows around the camp, “Ponies are afraid of the unknown, with good reason, but we are the only ones who know what they're up against, and the only ones that can face those things on their home turf. If normal ponies huddle around the fire of the known,” Twilight gestured to the firelight, which cast golden light over the snow, “Then we are the sparks that go out into the darkness and chase it away.”

Icebell and the others nodded, and Twilight smiled, “You know, there's a party going on back at the Apple house, I bet you all would enjoy it.” The changelings looked unsure, but Twilight laughed, “Go on, go socialize, there are other changelings there, it's Hearth's Warming Eve, everypony should be having a good time right now.” She nodded back towards the house, “Besides, I have some business to do out here, and I'd kinda like to be alone,” The changelings smiled a little and bowed once more before walking and flying off, chatting in low voices to each other.

Apparently alone now, Twilight magically dug a deep narrow hole in the frozen earth by the tree-house. She focused, and the map Marmalade had drawn appeared before her, held in her telekinetic grip. She sniffled a little at the sight of it, remembering the hyperactive pegasus' arrow-filled body, Trotter with the bolt in his eye, Trixie's gouged flank and thinking of Sharp Claw, bleeding and broken beneath the blows of the Shadow Reveler's minions.

She gently and carefully encased the map in crystal, then placed it at the bottom of the deep hole before filling it back in. She picked up a rock and was about to put it over the disturbed earth when she heard a hoof crunch through the snow. She set down the stone and turned towards the source of the sound, readying herself in case it turned out to be something dangerous. A shape began to creep forward in the dim light of the moon, crunching through the snow, accompanied now by a chattering noise. “Hello?” Twilight called, her whole body tense as she readied herself for combat, only to relax as the voice of Rarity responded.

“T-T-Twili-ight? Wh-What-t a-are you d-d-doing out h-h-here?” Rarity said between shivers, though she was well wrapped-up in her winter coat. She had apparently been wandering the orchard, looking for Twilight, and was soaking wet, covered in snow and shivering like mad.

Soon, however, Rarity was warming by the fire in a magically conjured cloak, thoroughly dry, and no longer shivering, though her mane was a wet mess. “Oh that's better,” Rarity said gratefully, “Your spellwork is magnificent as always, Twilight. I was sure I would freeze out here before I found you.”

“Thank you Rarity,” Twilight said, smiling a little stiffly, “But... No offense, but what are you doing out here? You could've gotten hurt,”

“I-I know,” Rarity said, breaking eye contact to look into the fire, “But you weren't at the party,”

Twilight blinked, “Well no, I had something to do first,” she nodded to the stone she'd set down, “I would've come by.”

“Would you?” Rarity asked, looking up at Twilight, “You haven't spoken to any of us, or sent any post-”

“That was Trixie's fault,” Twilight put in, to Rarity's surprise, “She'd been stopping my letters. It's a long story,” which it wasn't, but Twilight didn't really want to talk about it just then.

Rarity sighed, “Well that just complicates things then...” She snorted delicately, the white mare blowing a small puff of steam in the chill night air, “As if things weren't complicated enough between us.”

Twilight nodded, and a long silence fell over the little camp by the tree-house. It was tremendously awkward at first, while both ponies recalled the whirlwind relationship and inevitable breakup. Twilight started to say something and stopped, then the campfire filled the silence with its soft mocking hissing. The silence stretched out until the awkwardness became almost unbearable, and Twilight was about to finish her task when she froze at a scent from the air. A great howling went up from the woods around the two ponies, causing Rarity to squeal in fright, “What was that?!”

“Rarity,” Twilight said with surprising calm given the situation, “Stand behind me and face outwards, I think we're surrounded.”

“That you are, my little ponies,” came a hulking voice from the shadows, its tones rough with malice and filled with a feral hunger, “My pack hungers for your flesh, will you deny them?” Twilight coldly blasted a wolf-creature that leapt towards her face from behind one of the snow-covered apple trees. The unfortunate abomination hit the ground with an audible crack, skipped across the snow and came to rest a few yards away, where it thrashed once, then fell still.

“Always.” Twilight said in a low, dangerous tone, “I will always deny them, and their master, the Beast. He is a cowardly, vicious thing, who hides behind the lives of his pack to protect him, and preys upon the innocent. I will not allow that.”

“Not allow?” The voice laughed, and another howl went up through the orchard, “You are just one, little pony, how can you stand against us?”

“With her friends,” Rarity said, looking over her shoulder at Twilight long enough to smile, “Twilight never stands alone, she has me, the other Elements, the Princesses themselves, and all her changeling friends to help her.” She deflected a leaping wolf with a shield spell, sending it into a tree, where it got its head stuck in a knothole, then adjusted her mane absently, “No matter what happens, no matter what Twilight goes up against, her friends will help her, and you cannot stand against that.”

Twilight sniffed once and stepped back to nudge Rarity in mute thanks, but the voice from the shadows merely laughed once, “Cute.” At that moment a wolf-thing that had been sneaking between the trees unnoticed leapt towards Rarity almost point-blank, too close to deflect and too quickly to deal with. Rarity braced herself as the creature seemed to slow down in her sudden adrenaline rush. Then a rainbow flash flickered in front of her, and the creature was suddenly flying backwards through the trees, until it hit a dead one that had missed Applejack's yearly culling. Both the tree and the creature made a horrendous cracking noise, and the tree fell over.

Rainbow Dash glared at the shadows, practically vibrating with rage as she stood next to Rarity and Twilight, “Don't you ever touch my friends, loser!”

“Rainbow!” Twilight and Rarity said in unified surprise, though they maintained their concentration on their surroundings. Twilight looked over at her blue-coated friend, whose magenta eyes were like flickering orbs of pure righteous fury, “How did you find us here?”

“Blackboard,” Came a new voice from above. The three ponies looked up as Fluttershy floated down, looking frightened, but determined, “He, um, said that you would be needing help, and so we asked around and found those changelings you sent back to the party.”

“Yeah!” Came the excited voice of Pinkie Pie as she entered the circle of firelight from the direction of the house, “And we were all, 'Wha?' and he was all, 'Uh huh,' and so we went all 'Zoom!' and came out here!”

“And,” Applejack's voice added from the shadows, her distinctive drawl immensely reassuring to Twilight, “Ah said ah'd be darned if ah'd let all of y'all go alone,” She stepped up to Twilight and nuzzled her in a friendly manner, “Ah ain't about to let the pony who's done so much for the Apples fight a one-sided battle like this,”

Twilight blinked at her friend, “What... What do you mean? What did you do?”

Applejack winked at her friend as the howling rose again, and broke off with a tremendous explosion of darkness off in the distance, “Evened the odds. Turned out the Princesses were at our little shindig, waiting for you, and when we said you had slipped off and were in danger...”

A brilliant light burst overhead, that made the dozen or so wolves attempting to sneak up and flank the group yelp in sudden painful revelation, “We came as swiftly as we were able,” Princess Celestia descended from the winter sky, looking radiant and terrible as she hovered over the clearing. She glared out at the wolves in the forest, which were attempting unsuccessfully to cover their eyes, “My sister Luna leads the counter-offensive, Beast, which consists of over three hundred changelings and the entire Apple family clan. You would do well to flee back to your hole before all your pack members are lost.”

The Beast's voice snarled from the shadows, “I bested Luna once, I can best her again, Lady of the False Dawn,”

Celestia's eyes narrowed, while the Elements gasped below, “You... You sent the Nightmare into my sister. You twisted her and made her a mockery of ponykind, and for what?”

“Chaos, disorder, fear, all those things that make you ponies ripe for the hunt.” The Beast's voice returned, while the sounds of battle filled the orchard. “You will all die, and my pack will feast, feast upon your flesh and bones.”

“Nah,” Applejack said, remarkably calmly, “On account of we defeated the Nightmare, and then we defeated Discord, the spirit of chaos itself, an' ah reckon yer nothin' but a vulture. Mah cousin deals with those every day.”

“That's right!” Pinkie added, scowling at the darkness, “And none of those meanies could keep us from stopping them, 'cause we're the Elements of Harmony!”

“Yeah!” Dash added, lifting her chin defiantly, “So just buzz off to wherever you came from, Beast, and if you ever come to Equestria again, I'll buck you myself!”

“And if you ever harm one of our friends,” Fluttershy said, her gaze flicking to Applejack, then to Twilight, then to the darkness beyond with an iron glint in her eye, “We'll make sure you're stopped, forever.”

“FOREVER!” Pinkie added, causing the others to jump.

The voice of the Beast faltered for a moment, as the howl of the pack rose with a more desperate tone, “You... This is not over, food, you will pay for defying the will of the Beast!” With that, the wolves ran off, and a great cheer rang through the forest. The Beast was banished from the Apple family orchard, and, best of all, nopony had been seriously hurt.

Twilight started casting on the stone she'd selected, surrounded by her friends and squire, and flanked by the princesses on either side. Celestia had asked that Luna not be told about the Beast being the source of her madness, as it would no doubt only distress her further. Luna however was still flushed with victory, and had reported that the wolves had been driven back with no pony casualties beyond a single broken rib from a pegasus hitting a tree. It was impressive, even if it wasn't terribly surprising for those familiar with the formidable combat spells common in Luna's age. The alicorn had been a royal terror to the pack, and several of the changelings personally owed their lives to her.

Twilight felt the ponies, mortal and changeling alike, watching from between the trees, and even saw one or two torches being levitated. She was honestly too tired to care, she just finished casting the spell on the stone and set it gently over where she'd buried the map before stepping back to admire her work. Upon the stone glowed a golden lightning bolt cutie mark, and below it an inscription now read:

MARMALADE
DRAFTSPONY, SCOUT, AND HERO.

A little simple perhaps, Twilight thought, but it got the job done. She turned to face her friends, slumping a little against her squire as her strength failed her for a moment. Luminous supported her mentor loyally, allowing her to speak freely, her voice soft but resonant, echoing out between the trees as surely as an Ursa Major's roar, “My friends, it has been a hard few months, for all of us. Disappearances, murders, impersonations, all the terrible things we've seen... It's enough to make me weep.” Twilight snorted softly, “I have wept, in fact, but the time for tears has passed. I need to go, I have lands to manage, and a castle to rebuild but you are all welcome, to visit, to help, to do whatever it is you want to, but the truth is...”

Twilight sighed, “The truth is... I haven't been very good to you, and I know,” she said, cutting off Applejack's protest, “I know I've not been well in the head, and certain circumstances kept me from staying in touch with you, but it doesn't excuse me. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness.”

“Twilight,” Applejack said, stepping forward, “Of course yer forgiven, that's what friends do. You'd be forgiven even if you hadn't saved Applebloom twice like y'did.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added, “It's okay if you'd been through a lot and didn't know how to talk to us, and even then somepony stopped your letters. That's not your fault!”

“Not coming to us in person is though,” Dash said, frowning a little, and making the others shoot her a shocked look, “But it's cool, so long as you don't do it again. I don't want to lose you, Twi', so stop with the whole staying away from everypony thing and all these solo missions.”

“Oh yes,” Fluttershy put in, flinching automatically as Twilight turned her attention to her, “I mean, um... You should always feel like you can talk to us about anything, and if we can help, we will, if... If that's alright.” Fluttershy faltered for a minute, then smiled, “But I forgive you, I know it takes a long time to get over what you went through, and besides, it wasn't all you,”

The group turned to Rarity, who sighed, “I... I have no place to judge, Twilight, and as you know I've already forgiven you for your silence. I... I suppose I should be asking for your forgiveness actually, given what's happened between us,” she looked around at the others, who looked surprised, “You haven't told them?”

Twilight shook her head and smiled, “It was between us, Rarity. And I'll forgive you if you'll forgive me for not talking to you about it sooner.” Rarity nodded, relaxing and smiling herself. Twilight raised her voice and addressed the orchard, unconsciously pouring power into her tone to spread it like wildfire between the trees, “We all have a lot to discuss, and come spring, I'll be starting work on the castle. Everypony is invited, especially the changelings, but until I start...” She lowered her tone and turned to address Princess Celestia, “Princess, would it be alright if I stayed in my old room for the days until the start of spring?” At Celestia's smile and nod, she turned to Princess Luna, “Princess, would it be alright if I stayed the nights until the start of spring?” Princess Luna blinked in surprise, but nodded.

Twilight turned back to face the fire and raised her voice once more, her body limned in fire as she stretched the sound of her voice to the fringes of the Apple family orchard, “Then if anyone, changeling or otherwise, wants to speak with me, you can find me in Canterlot. Just ask at the gate or send me a letter. I'd be more than happy to listen and talk with you, and help in any way I can, as is a Knight Protector's right and duty. Come spring, you'll find me in the Everfree Forest, building a home for those of us who have come back and found ourselves without one!” A raucous cheer filled the large orchard, which sounded a little fuzzy to Twilight as she unconsciously released the amplification spell. She caught a glimpse of a smiling fox up in one of the trees just before she passed out from emotional and physical exhaustion.

It was some time before she came around again, long enough for the trip back to Canterlot. When she did finally awaken, Twilight and her friends had themselves their own little Hearth's Warming Eve, right there in her room in Canterlot. It was one of the most welcome diversions Twilight had had in a long time, and lasted well into the new day.

Intermission 2 Part 1

(A NOTE TO THE READERS: This is only roughly half the Intermission, which has somehow snowballed into a full-fledged fifteen pages, single spaced. The rest of it will be coming around once I get a few more scenes done, but it felt unfair to make people wait any more, now that my workload has lightened a little. In any event, enjoy! And don't worry, there won't be much of a wait this time until the next bit.)

Twilight laughed as she, Spike and Luminous pelted Princess Luna's snow fort with snowballs, arcing them over the chilly fortifications in an attempt to introduce the Princess to the icy projectiles. They'd been playing snow games for most of the day, ever since Spike had woken from his usual winter lethargy. The Princess had suggested a walk through the snow-covered garden to Twilight, who had been entertaining Blackboard at the time, and somehow along the way it had turned into a game of Maidens and Monsters, with Blackboard as the maiden. “Return the fair maiden Blackboard, monster!” Luminous called in a serious voice that was only slightly spoiled by Twilight's giggling, “Or we needs must continue our barrage!”

“Never!” Called Luna from behind her fort wall. Large blobs of snow flew out telekinetically from behind her miniature fortress to drop unceremoniously onto the two unicorns, who squealed indignantly as Spike leapt out of the way.

“Hey!” Twilight called, laughing, “You said no magic! You're cheating!”

“Well of course I did,” Luna said, winking over the fortifications, “I'm the Monster!” With that she started tossing snow with cruel accuracy, sending knight, dragon and squire running for cover, the two unicorns giggling uncontrollably.

“My swain!” Blackboard called in a falsetto voice, appearing over the snowy parapet, dressed in a frilly warm overcoat and posing dramatically, “Let not this wicked creature's ways defeat you! Rescue me, that we might be together forever!” That set off another set of giggles from Twilight and her squire, which cut off into squeals abruptly when Luna used the distraction to dump more snow on both of them.

Twilight stood up and was about to magically launch her own snowballs when a polite cough behind her made her turn. Trixie stood there in her winter gear, watching the scene with a look of bemusement, “Is... Is that Princess Luna?”

“Nay!” Called the Princess, rising from behind her fortifications, “I am the Monster, who hath taken the fair maiden Blackboard hostag-” She was cut off by a well-aimed snowball from Spike, laughed as the snow fell off her face and started magically pelting the dragon's fortifications. “Knave! An underhanded strike! Feel the fury of flying flurries!”

Twilight giggled again and smiled at Trixie, who was still looking bemused, “So what's up?”

Trixie shook her head and levitated out a little appointment book from the depths of her coat, flicking it open and running her eyes down the page, “Well, the Mayor of Ponyville wants to know if you'll be helping with Winter Wrap-Up. The Royal Magic Society would like to know if you'd be so kind as to undergo a few tests for their research. I have a letter here from Trotter and Aqua, aaaand finally, Vinyl's here to speak with you, she's waiting in the library for you.”

Twilight nodded, grinning, “I sure am popular, let's head to the library and I'll deal with all of it at once.” She stepped up to Trixie and teleported them both to the library, severely startling Vinyl Scratch, who was entirely unprepared for a tall pony appearing behind her. “Sorry Vinyl,” Twilight apologized as Vinyl dropped the book she'd pulled out as a weapon, “I didn't think you'd be in the middle of the room.”

Trixie was about to point out that Twilight was dripping wet from the snow, only to find that the knight was perfectly dry, steaming gently even. Her burning mane was licking away the damp, seeming to consume the moisture as much as it was converting it to steam. Trixie, however, was leaving a puddle on the carpet from melting snow, and hurriedly started casting to clean it up.

Vinyl snorted and leapt on Twilight with a hug, causing her to yelp in surprise, “Ah it's no problem, ya tall drink of changeling.” She grinned and nodded to Trixie over Twilight's shoulder, “Still following along I see, how's the training going, Trixie?”

Trixie rolled her eyes as she finished mopping up the water and snow from herself and her surroundings. “Well enough, Vinyl, how's Octavia doing?”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, disentangling herself from the white crystal unicorn and nodding towards the ring she wore on her horn now, “How're both of you doing? With the married life and all,”

Vinyl grinned, “Well it's goin' really good, actually. We were thinking of moving the club though, once you got your place all up and running.” At Twilight's startled look, Vinyl's expression soured a little, “Problems with the neighbors, I really don't want to go into it.”

Twilight nodded, “So what brings you here? I know you're not really a daytime kinda person so it's gotta be important.”

Vinyl grinned, “Nothin' gets past you, Twilight. Alright, well I just wanted to invite you to Tavi's birthday party, you and all your friends are invited, as is every changeling who cares to come along. It's at eight in the evening tomorrow night, over at the club, we're opening early just for the occasion.”

Twilight squealed and bounced a little, “Oh that's wonderful! Sure! Is it alright if I invite Pinkie and Applejack and Rarity and everyone? Oh what should I wear?”

Vinyl laughed, her crystal hair ringing merrily as she flipped it aside, “Of course! That's why I said to bring your friends! Oh and you could come naked for all Tavi and I cared, but we just want to see you! We have, absolutely have to catch up, I've heard so many incredible stories.”

Twilight's excitement damped a little at the mention of her recent adventures, but nodded to Vinyl, “Of course. I'll be there and I'll definitely invite everypony. I've got some more things to do right now though, do you want me to walk you out?”

Vinyl waved a hoof, “Nah, I'll get one of the oh-so-dashing Royal Guards to help me,” she winked at Twilight, “they stare long enough, might as well use it.” Twilight laughed as her friend left with a saunter to her step that was almost irresistibly alluring. Twilight and Trixie caught each other staring as the confident DJ left, and giggled a little self-consciously.

“That mare...” Trixie said softly, then shook her head and turned back to her appointment book, “Alright Twilight, so what're you going to do about the Winter Wrap-Up in Ponyville?”

“Join in, of course, I love organizing the Winter Wrap-Up! All the forms to fill out and agreements to reach,” Twilight shivered with anticipation while Trixie gave her an odd look. “What? It beats hacking my way through the Hedge, and it'd be nice to deal with problems that didn't involve life and death.” Twilight brightened as an idea occurred to her, then waved for Trixie to continue.

“Alright...” Trixie said, frowning over her book, “So the Royal Magic Society wants to conduct some more tests on your magic. They sent a very nice, eloquent letter to say it, but that's what it boils down to. It comes with dinner and a night at the opera apparently, they must be getting desperate. It clashes with Octavia's party though.”

Twilight snorted, inwardly relieved, “Then no, they can put their curiosity aside for a little longer. I'll write them a letter about it later,”

Trixie nodded, “Oh and speaking of letters, here's the letter from Aqua and Trotter,” She levitated over a thick envelope, which Twilight opened readily and found a stack of photographs in with a mouthwritten letter.

Dear Dame Twilight Sparkle,

I'm sorry we couldn't come in person, but Trotter and I are off exploring the world at the moment. He's still getting used to the eye patch, but we're managing together. We're currently in dragon lands, learning of the changelings in their neck of the mountains. It turns out the Beast has more enemies than we first thought, and we're trying to convince the dragons to come help with the construction.

It's funny, we came out here to see the world together, make the most of the time we've got since Trotter's little brush with death, and here we are securing allies for Equestria. I just... Kept thinking about how big the Hedge was, and how much it makes you feel alone. I figured getting some big friends would help with that, and Trotter agreed, and before we knew it we were standing before this great dragon made of ice named Kazarhoth, I took pictures and sent them along, but they really don't do him justice. There are only a dozen or so dragon changelings though, and they're all very suspicious of strangers, so we still spend a great deal of time wandering the countryside.

I've also sent along a package for your little dragon assistant, it might arrive a little later so I had it sent to the library the slow way, rather than by dragonfire. Sorry there's no return address, we'd love to hear from you, but it's hard to tell where we'll be from moment to moment, dragons living as far apart as they do.

Good luck with the castle, and it was an honor adventuring with you!

Your Loyal Servants,

Aqua and Trotter

Twilight blinked at the letter and sat down hard, absolutely stunned. She flipped through the photographs, and goggled at the dragon made of ice, his flesh full of chilly rainbows with eyes like pits of wintery light. He glowered suspiciously at the camera, while Aqua and Trotter grinned beside him. Trotter looked rather roguish with the one glowing eye, while Aqua was covered in ice, presumably from the presence of the dragon.

She passed the pictures to Trixie, who gasped, “Is that... A dragon changeling? But... Then that means...”

“That I may have to expand the design for the castle, yes. I'm just glad the foundation survived the centuries.”

“No, I mean, this is... It means the Beast has been kidnapping not just ponies, but everything, it's terrible! I-I mean,” She added, seeing Twilight grimace a little, “It's good we have more allies and all, and it's gonna be wonderful to have them helping with the castle, I'm just...”

“Sorry it happened at all?” Came the calm voice of Celestia from the doorway. Trixie and Twilight bowed immediately, but Celestia snorted, “Oh come now, I've been bowed to enough today. So many petitioners,” She sighed and flopped on a nearby couch in a most un-ladylike fashion. She looked out the window at the snowy grounds, where Princess Luna and Blackboard had apparently constructed quite the snow fort to weather the assaults of Spike and Luminous. It had towers for Blackboard to swoon on and give stirring falsetto speeches. Spike and Luminous, not to be outdone, were trying to round up Royal Guards to help them, with a little success, Celestia and Twilight could see several of the younger guards joining in.

“I'd forgotten what having a filly in the castle is like,” Celestia said softly, smiling as she watched the guards lead an assault on the snow-fort, and finally pull it down into a heap, with the help of Luminous and Spike, who laughed as they started to pelt Princess Luna with snow. Finally the Princess surrendered, laughing, and Celestia and Twilight grinned at each other. Celestia broke first, chuckling, then laughing, which set off Twilight's laughter, and soon the both of them were giggling with mirth, with Trixie grinning uncertainly nearby.

Soon however, Celestia's merriment gave way to tears, laughter turning into sobs quite seamlessly. Twilight moved to her mentor, concerned, while Trixie looked on in alarm until Twilight jerked her head in a silent plea for solitude. Trixie nodded and stepped out quietly while Twilight comforted her mentor. “I... I do apologize, Twilight,” Celestia said as her sobs gently quieted, “it's... I just... I think of all you've gone through, and I see you,” she nuzzled the violet unicorn affectionately, “I see you standing so strong... You haven't just beat whatever was done to you, it's made you stronger. You remind me of myself, actually,”

Twilight blinked, “How? You haven't visited the Hedge before, have you?”

Celestia sniffed and nodded, wiping her eyes delicately, “Once, long ago, I made a deal with the Beast at hornpoint. He had been ravaging the countryside, whole communities were disappearing to be sold to his customers,” Celestia frowned, “My knight at the time wasn't able to trace him, and ponies were still getting used to my presence, so I was unwilling to look myself in case there was a panic,” She shot Twilight a look, “You remind me of him a little, actually. My first knight, Pages, was known as the Knight of Dawn and Dusk, for he served both my sister and I equally. It was actually his special talent, would you believe it?” Celestia nodded to the symbol on one of the towers nearby: a stylized sunburst with a silver crescent moon inside, “That was his cutie mark, and there has never been a pony more instrumental to Equestria than he.” Celestia smiled a little sadly, “strong, fast, and tenacious, much like you, my student.” She chuckled softly at Twilight's blush, “though he wasn't terribly patient, I'm afraid, always rushing off to solve things himself. He was the first bearer of the element of Loyalty, and...”

Celestia's expression flashed to a deep pain, and she broke off, switching back to the original tale, “Well he couldn't trace the Beast, for all his qualities. So we were content to ward the communities closer to the capitol, which was at the Castle of the Pony sisters, and keep his predations at a minimum. Until...” Celestia's expression darkened, an ancient fury flashing across her serene visage, “Until he took my sister.”

Twilight gasped, “Luna, Princess Luna was taken by the Beast? But... But how? She's an alicorn, she... She should've been able to defend herself. Unless...” Twilight blinked at Celestia's expression, “She went willingly?” Twilight sat down hard as Celestia nodded, “But... But why?”

Celestia sighed, “Luna wanted to negotiate with him, she thought the Beast could be reasoned with. So the next time he went ravaging, she put herself in the path to stop him and demand parlay.” Celestia looked away, out towards the field, where Luna, Luminous, Blackboard and Spike were all chatting easily around a brazier with some of the guards. Celestia's voice dropped a little, as if speaking to herself, “He agreed, and the next day, neither Pages nor I could find my sister.”

Silence fell in the library, “What... What did you do?” Twilight asked, shaking Celestia from her private reverie.

“I burned the forest,” Celestia said, raising another gasp from her student, “hacked it away until the army could surround what was left. That night Pages went in and demanded parlay with the Beast, who agreed on the condition that the peace would last until sunrise. I assented, and he arrived, with Luna in tow, enchanted shackles on her legs, wings and horn. As soon as the Beast was before me, I raised the sun, which released me from my agreement of peace.”

Twilight's stunned astonishment was only broken by her soft murmur of, “Lady of the False Dawn...”

Celestia nodded, her purple eyes sad, “Dishonorable of me, but I was furious, positively furious and ready to kill him for taking Luna...” The white alicorn looked away, “I... I almost did it, and I probably should have, but he was so bloodied and beaten after I was done with him, I could not bring myself to finish the deed. So, in place of shedding blood I forced him to accept my terms. He would return Princess Luna, and never again claim anypony for his own. He would prevent the intrusion of others of his kind, and in return the Everfree was allowed to regrow to give him and his pack space to live, and mention of him would be removed from Equestrian history to prevent all but the most unwary from venturing into his lair. Since he was in no place to disagree, he accepted, but his word was poisoned.”

Twilight blinked, but before she could ask, Celestia continued, her expression pained, “Princess Luna... He had done something to her. She was jealous, spiteful, and... Well it all came to a head, one day. I asked her to lower the moon, that I might bring the dawn... And she exploded. She became Nightmare Moon before my eyes, and declared that the time of the sun was over. She beat me, bloodied me, and left me for dead: my own sister.” Celestia trailed off and was silent for a long time, staring out the window at the chaos below, while Twilight watched her anxiously.

It had turned into a full-scale snow war by that point, with guards siding with one group or another, and even some of the court nobles and servants joining in. She smiled briefly at the sight of Princess Luna declaring Luminous and her band rebels and dissenters, only to be pelted with snowballs. She returned fire from her now extensive snow fortifications, but Luminous blocked them with shields of light, disintegrating the projectiles against her conjured sheets of force. It was hard for Twilight to believe that this was the same little filly that had stood vigil over Applebloom so stoically, and killed a wolf-creature with a shard of Twilight's own magic. She turned her attention back to Celestia, who sighed softly before continuing her story in the softest of murmurs,

“When I turned the Elements of Harmony against her, it broke my heart, I would watch the moon every night, hoping for some sign from her. Something... Anything...” There was a low thump from outside as one of the snow fortifications collapsed, and much giggling and laughing as it dissolved into ponies and princess shoving each other into the snow. The sound slowly died as the guards on both sides were called to their various duties once more, and the library was wrapped in melancholy silence once more. The ticking of the clock seemed to lengthen and amplify, until Twilight rose and walked over to her beloved teacher.

Celestia looked up at Twilight, her eyes just the slightest bit red from tears unshed. Twilight was struck by how old those eyes were, how many hundreds of years they've seen, and how very vulnerable she looked at that moment. Twilight remembered the poisoned dream she had rescued the princess from, and how the puissant ruler had clung to the Twilight-shaped doll. She leaned in and gently nuzzled her teacher's cheek. She whispered softly, “She's better now, she won't leave you again. And neither will I, Princess, for as long as I live.” The promise was perhaps a little bittersweet, but Celestia was calmed by the sincerity behind it.

She relaxed and smiled a little, then nuzzled back up against her student's cheek, “Thank you Twilight,” the princess said in a very soft tone, “All you have ever done, everything, has enriched my life more than any pony in all my years. Now,” Celestia smiled more brilliantly, all signs of her tears wiped away in the sudden flood of reassuring warmth, “Why don't we-” the princess was cut off by a sparkling flash of a magically delivered snowball, which splattered against the side of the sun princess's head. There was a long silence, then both teacher and student burst out laughing. They magically cleaned the splatters of water up, then, still laughing, descended to the courtyard to bring the snowy combatants in for cocoa and perhaps a little frozen vengeance.

“What do you mean there's no signal?” Twilight asked irritably, peering at the cables running through the doorway she'd opened into the Hedge, “The sensor's literally on the other side of the arch, how can the current not be getting through?”

Luminous sighed and checked another item off a list as a rather nervous changeling named Jade checked the printout again, “I'm sorry Dame Twilight, but it seems the gateway is incompatible with your instruments, um...” Jade cleared his throat with a grinding sort of noise, “Maybe... Being in the middle of the Everfree forest has something to do with it?” Twilight looked over at the green pony, who flinched.

He was barely more than a colt, and had a body that looked like it had been sculpted from green jade, hence his name, and strange ticking mechanisms moved within his translucent body. His eyes were a brassy color, and he seemed to blink only rarely, but Jade was very young, for all his strangeness, and held Twilight in a kind of terrified awe. He had been the very first volunteer to help Twilight study the mysteries of changeling powers, appearing as if by magic almost the very hour she had sent out the request.

Others had come after, but Twilight soon found that every changeling had as diverse powers as they had cutie marks. One thing she had established though is that all changelings derive their power from agreements made with whatever force they sought aid from. Beyond that, the limitations of such powers were annoyingly vague, and she had made it her mission to figure it out. So far the only shared powers she'd found was the ability to make innately binding contracts, and to open a way into the Hedge from any door-like shape. This particular power was the focus of the test, and it was proving annoyingly difficult to quantify. They had built an arch out in the middle of the Everfree Forest, which was rife with connections to the Hedge as it was, and hooked up all kinds of equipment to the arch, and Jade when he empowered it and turned it into a doorway to the Hedge.

So far the results showed that neither Jade nor the doorway changed in any appreciable way when the arch was empowered, save that as soon as Jade passed through it, he, according to the instruments, ceased to exist. Twilight heard her squire sigh softly, as frustrated as Twilight herself was, and the purple mare shook her head, “Let's call it for today, Jade, the sun's almost going down,” At Jade's somewhat downcast look, she added, “You did well, Jade, we just have to re-calib-... Wait,” Twilight and Luminous froze as a twig snapped nearby. The knight and her squire backed closer to Jade, who was frozen in the middle of picking up a piece of equipment. The young changeling was so terrified, his ticking internals accelerating, that he was almost entirely motionless, his stone body slick with what passed for his perspiration. Another twig snapped, this time from higher up, and Twilight's body was limned in violet flame briefly until she recognized the red stallion grinning down at her from a nearby tree. “Blackboard!” Twilight shouted, half-angry and half-laughing, “I almost toasted you, get down from there!”

The stallion chuckled and leapt down, landing moderately gracefully by the base of the tree. He was an earth pony this time, but lithe and quick. He was about to joke to Twilight about the method of his arrival, only to be pulled into a completely unexpected hug by the purple unicorn. “I... Uh... Good to see you too,” he said somewhat lamely, patting Twilight with all the awkwardness of somepony who doesn't usually get hugs. He pushed away from Twilight when he noticed Jade and Luminous goggling at him, the latter with disapproval. Twilight looked down at Blackboard with a sniff, and the crimson pony blinked as he saw the tears in her eyes. He coughed a little uncomfortably and smiled at Twilight, “I couldn't help but notice you were having some trouble there... Trying to figure out how gateways work?”

“Yes,” Luminous piped up from the pile of equipment she had resumed shutting down and packing away. They had brought a wagon with, to ease transport, and Luminous and Jade were painstakingly packing it full of all the machines and sensors they had brought out. Luminous gave Blackboard a hard look from around a levitating pile of computing engines, then turned her mismatched gaze to Twilight, “Something keeps disrupting the sensors. Maybe we should bring the Mark V array tomorrow, Dame Sparkle?” Luminous stacked the engines carefully in the cart, looking to Twilight seriously.

Twilight nodded, discreetly drying her eyes with a bit of magic before turning to face the troublesome arch, “Yes, and maybe some of the high-output cables, see if it's not-” She broke off as Blackboard put a hoof to her lips with a smile.

“Won't work, I'm afraid. It's not your equipment, Twilight,” Blackboard lowered his hoof, ignoring Luminous' look of disapproval, which was giving way to curiosity, “It's the nature of what you're looking at.”

Twilight, who had blushed when Blackboard had put his hoof to her lips, now frowned, “How so, Blackboard? We've got every kind of physical and magical sensor we can think of here, barring the extremely sensitive ones of the Mark V system... Unless...” Her eyes widened and Blackboard grinned, his golden eyes dancing with merriment.

“Unless it's not a physical or magical effect,” the both of them said together. Then Twilight frowned, looking puzzled, “Wait, how does that work?”

Blackboard grinned like a foal that knew more than the teacher, “Well, in a sense you're not changing the gate, just the destination.” Blackboard approached the arch, which still showed the Hedge on the other side and stuck his hoof through. “See, when you make a door to the Hedge, you're not making it do anything, you're asking it to. It's... Getting around the physics and magical physics by asking nicely.”

Twilight gave Blackboard a hard look, “Asking nicely.”

“Yep!” Blackboard grinned, thoroughly enjoying himself,

“How?”

Blackboard laughed, “You just ask, like you do when you ask the shadows to let you climb up the wall. They... Nudge physics aside, as it were, and, like that, the gateway changes the place the arch opens to, without changing the arch at all.”

“But,” Twilight protested, “That makes no sense! There's no science to it! It's like...” Twilight broke off, blinking, then finished softly, “Like... Pinkie...” Twilight gave Blackboard a sharp look of sudden inquiry. The red stallion laughed and shrugged,

“Your guess is as good as mine, Dame, but that sounds quite likely. I don't think anyone's explored that possibility though. If you do, you'll be the first! Now, if you'll excuse me,” Blackboard made to leave, but found his progress arrested by a telekinetic grip on his tail. He pulled against the grip for a moment, then sighed and smirked back at Twilight, who was, for some reason, blushing a bit, “Still want me around? Why Twilight, I had no idea you-”

“Blackboard, would you like to have dinner later?” Twilight said quickly, before she could stop herself. The whole clearing stopped. Luminous goggled at Twilight, Blackboard stared in shock, but Jade broke the silence first. He hadn't noticed that Luminous was no longer paying attention, and dropped a rather sensitive piece of equipment where Luminous should have been to take the load. The resultant crash made the whole group of them jump and turn to Jade, who flushed and muttered an apology. Luminous, startled out of her shock, strode quickly over to help the trembling green pony with a quiet apology for her laxness.

When Twilight turned her attention back to Blackboard, he had gone. She sighed and shook her head, disappointed but not surprised, she realized. Something about Blackboard was mysterious and evaded direct confrontation, which led her back to her inner questions of why she had asked the strange stallion to dinner in the first place. However, she didn't have much time to muse, as night was falling, and she needed to help the younger ponies pack before the unfriendly darkness of the Everfree enveloped them all.

That night, Twilight and her friends all set out for Octavia's birthday party. She had been accompanied by Trixie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and of course Pinkie Pie, all dressed in their very best outfits which were still cut comfortably enough for dancing. Luminous was far too young to attend, but Pinkie had promised to party twice as hard, just for her. Twilight was understandably worried at that prospect, but as their pegasus-pulled chariot approached the club, she was dazzled out of her worrying by the incredible sight below.

Bright spotlights shone from the roof of the previously drab building, and great, snaking brambles made of light and darkness writhed along the exterior walls like living snakes, while curling designs of colored light danced across the dark walls. The thump of the bass was audible even at that distance, and there was a huge crowd waiting to be let in, for they had timed their arrival, at Twilight's insistence, to be precisely at opening. The chariot landed at the edge of the crowd of ponies and changelings which, to Twilight's surprise, parted for her and her friends with a tremendous thudding of applause.

Twilight and the others smiled and waved as they walked towards the door, with the exception of Fluttershy, who tried her very best to look inconspicuous amongst the group. Trixie was in awe, dressed in Twilight's colors at her own insistence and clinging close to the purple unicorn, who was beginning to become accustomed to crowds, in light of recent events. She kept having to nudge the blue unicorn along, which elicited catcalls from the crowd, making the pair of them blush and laugh. Rarity drank in the attention like a flower drinking in sunlight, basking in it and walking with a perfect ladylike poise. Rainbow Dash loved the attention too, and would have been indulging in it more deeply if she wasn't acting as poor Fluttershy's cover, who was trying unsuccessfully to appear invisible. Fortunately Pinkie Pie was visible enough for both of them, bouncing along and waving to ponies with such an excess of good cheer that soon parts of the crowd were bouncing along as well.

Then they were at the door, where the huge bouncer, a changeling who looked like he'd been carved of granite nodded and let Twilight and her friends in, with a sly wink for Trixie, who blushed and hurried along, to the snickering of Rainbow Dash. “This is a pretty sweet setup,” the rainbow-maned pegasus said to Twilight as they walked down the hall of brambles, which seemed to dance and writhe in the prismatic light from the door at the far end, raising her voice as the bass got louder and louder, “We oughta come here more often, in fact-” Rainbow was cut off as the door opened, revealing the inside of the dance floor, which was somehow even more incredible than when Twilight had first attended, and the sight of it caused the whole group to stare.

The group was greeted by suggestively-clad changelings, whose outfits only accentuated what was left bare in a tasteful, yet suggestive manner. They offered trays of drinks to the ponies and changelings, and then bowed the group through, diverting their attention to the dance floor itself, which was entirely different from the way Twilight remembered it.

Bright, shining dance floors made of some sort of glowing crystal floated and circled a glowing central pillar, from which the music emanated through arrays of speakers aligned in a sort of organized chaos up the tower. Rope bridges connected all the moving, turning dance floors, each of which sported images of Octavia's cutie mark, while along the walls, at every level, bars, more dance floors and illuminated hallways to other rooms all beckoned with bright lights and the pervasive bramble motif, which writhed throughout the grand dancing hall and the illuminated dance floors like a living thing.

Rainbow Dash downed her drink in one swift motion, then dragged Fluttershy off to one of the dance floors just as more and more ponies and changelings started pouring in. The others followed suit, and soon all the Elements of Harmony were dancing and drinking in honor of Octavia's birthday. Twilight, who never drank much, got a little fuzzy on the details about halfway through the night, but she remembered it was a magnificent evening, topped off with a cake that, she found out later, had literally been baked with the stuff of dreams. The end of the night was wrapped up in Octavia and Scratch's back room, where Twilight finally passed out from one drink too many, listening to Pinkie try to wheedle the recipe for the cake out of an amused, tight-lipped Vinyl.

Three days later, once Twilight's hangover had finally receded, Luminous and Twilight worked to compile their findings, with the help of numerous changelings, in the very library the violet mare had once discovered the prophecy of Nightmare Moon. “So, in essence,” Twilight dictated, while her squire wrote furiously, “A changeling is granted a kind of ambassadorship that allows them to make deals with objects, concepts, even abstract ideas and emotions.” That had been quite the eye-opener, bargaining with the idea of laughter. It had, in many ways, been like trying to talk to Pinkie Pie about something serious, but they had eventually struck a bargain, resulting in her being able to find the best way to cheer a given pony up. It was a small thing, but for the rather socially inept Twilight, it was an astonishing advantage. “Furthermore,” Twilight continued, pacing back and forth, the burning words in her mane flickering with excitement, “it is entirely possible to use these... Contracts to avoid the limitations of physics, allowing for seemingly impossible feats. Further study is required, but these preliminary results-” Twilight cut off as the door opened, and bowed with the rest as Princess Luna entered.

The Princess waved a hoof, dismissing the need for genuflection, and the changelings got back about sorting Twilight's notes, while Luminous trotted to Twilight's side. The little filly had come a long way, during the time she spent watching over Applebloom. She was still fiercely loyal to Twilight, and her magic had been steadily improving. Twilight hadn't told her squire that the barrier spell she'd used was rather advanced magic, and it seemed not to have bothered her. Luminous' magic was rapidly flourishing into something impressive, but she seemed colder, somehow, more distant, to everypony but the Princesses and Twilight, that was. Granted, she had loosened up a few days before in what was widely being referred to as The Great Snow Siege, but that had only been after Blackboard and Princess Luna had practically dragged the dutiful filly out into the snow. Twilight smiled fondly down at her squire, “Luminous,” she instructed the white filly softly, “Why don't you go find Spike and ask him to pick up some doughnuts from Pony Joe's?” Luminous nodded seriously and was about to walk out, when Twilight called to her, “And pick something up for yourself too, alright?” Luminous blinked, and opened her mouth to protest, to find it suddenly gripping a bag of bits that had been teleported there. Twilight nodded for Luminous to leave, and the filly did so with a last bow to Princess Luna, looking a little puzzled.

Twilight watched her leave with a little smile, and once the door closed behind the squire Princess Luna commented, “She is definitely developing into quite a talent, Dame Twilight. Thy squire does thee proud,” The Princess gave Twilight a look, “Although, it would be good for her to gain some friends her own age. She is very much about the castle, but seldom do I see her laughing and playing.”

Twilight nodded, frowning, “Yes, she does need such, but I... Well I've never looked after foals before,” Twilight flushed a little, a flicker of pink running through her burning mane, “She reminds me much of myself, before going to Ponyville but... She refuses to leave my side, Princess, and I don't want to order her to leave...” Twilight shook her head and sighed, “Hopefully Pony Joe can make friends with her, he's usually good with introverted ponies.” She smiled a little at a memory, then proceeded to inform the Princess of her discoveries, until at last night came, and the discussion hadn't ended. Luminous still hadn't returned, but Twilight was unconcerned, Luminous had long since proved capable of taking care of herself.

“One dozen chocolate, one dozen glazed, one dozen jelly filled, one do-”

“Jeez, Lumi” Spike interrupted, rolling his eyes and ignoring Luminous' scandalized look, “Twilight said some doughnuts, not all of them.” Luminous blushed, and Spike grinned at Pony Joe, who was looking a little dazedly at Luminous and the bag full of bits on the counter, unprepared for such a large order towards the end of the day, “Hey Joe,” Spike called out, getting the pony's attention. “One usual for me, and a... Whaddya want, Lumi?”

“Luminous,” Luminous corrected absently, causing Spike to roll his eyes, “And I'm buying these for Dame Twilight Sparkle and her staff, not my-”

“For Twilight? Why didn't you say so? I know just what she'll be wanting,” Pony Joe interrupted, grinning, “How's she doin' anyway?” He set about getting Twilight's usual favorites together in a little bag, which mainly consisted of chocolate-glazed doughnuts with sprinkles.

Luminous, a little taken aback at the sudden question, responded politely, “She's alright, Dame Twilight Sparkle's research is going well.” Luminous was silent for a little while, then added, “She seems happy, her friends visit often,” Luminous lapsed into silence, which Joe was happy to fill with a chuckle.

“Oh those friends of hers, I only met them a coupla times, but let me tell you, they seemed like a right nice bunch of ponies,” He snorted, then continued, setting about assembling the boxes of doughnuts for the staff members, “You know before she went out to Ponyville, she used to be in here all the time,” he nodded to one of the tables in back, “Right there, in fact, always the same spot, always with a pile of books, a cup of coffee and some doughnuts. Haven't seen her in years though, not since that trouble, with the Princess... I still find it hard to believe little Twilight would-”

“But it wasn't her!” Luminous exclaimed, practically vibrating with indignation. She calmed down and continued more slowly, blushing a little at her own outburst, “I mean, she was being impersonated, and she healed the Princess, and-”

Pony Joe laughed, “Easy, easy, it's alright, I know about all that, I was going to say I find it hard to believe little Twilight could be so well-impersonated. I know she'd never do anything like what they said she did to anypony. Heh, even when she was being teased by other ponies for being a bookworm, she wouldn't do anything to em, just shrugged it off. Always so polite about it, never got mean, like some ponies do,” Luminous shivered unconsciously at a distant memory, which Pony Joe didn't miss, but he didn't ask, “How about you, Miss Luminous? I heard you're Twilight's squire or some such, how'd that happen?”

Luminous tensed for a moment, then straightened, “I... I was offered the place. Princess Celestia... Well, I had been trying to get into the School for Gifted Unicorns and... Well Princess Celestia offered me an assignment, since I was having trouble getting into the school. To be Dame Twilight Sparkle's squire is the most important thing that's ever happened in my life, I mean, I'm like her assistant, really, but I'm learning a lot, and maybe, one day I'll be a knight too, protecting Equestria!” Luminous blushed, she hadn't meant to say the last part, but Pony Joe didn't laugh, he just nodded.

“I used to want to be a Royal Guard once, to save ponies and stuff. Never made the cut though, liked my own baking too much.” He grinned, unashamed, “Now I've got my own bakery, which is a little light on the fighting evil part, but it's a good life.” Luminous agreed, smiling, and the three of them, ponies and dragon, talked well until the night had fallen.

Luminous eventually carried the boxes of doughnuts back to the library, helped by none other than Pony Joe himself since Spike had fallen asleep. Upon their arrival, Twilight and Princess Luna introduced Pony Joe to the research team, which was wrapping up for the night, and they all set about talking until Princess Luna had to leave to raise the moon hold the Night Court. Luminous and Twilight talked with Pony Joe a little longer, until the latter left to get some sleep before the morning doughnut rush. Luminous and Twilight carried Spike up to bed, chatting amiably, almost like sisters, until at last they both went to bed.

Intermission 2 Part 2

A month later, Twilight awoke to find a small stack of letters on the nightstand by her bed. She looked over to see Luminous' bed empty, for the filly had moved in with Twilight as, she had found out in an ancient scroll, befitted a squire. Twilight was amused by her squire's diligence in obeying traditional forms when it came to her duties as a squire, though her daily polishing of Twilight's armor felt a little excessive. She had tried to dissuade the white unicorn from doing so, but Luminous seemed to take such pride in her duties, she had eventually given up. The aforesaid armor gleamed on its stand in the corner of the wide room.

A soft snoring told her that while her squire was up and about, her number one assistant was intending to sleep the morning away. Twilight giggled softly, then took the stack of letters from the nightstand and read through them. Most of them were from her friends, who wrote to her regularly now, even though their schedules usually kept them away, they were often in touch. The last letter though was significantly thicker, and had a scent that was particularly familiar. She read the name on it, and stopped, as everything seemed to crystallize around her.

It was from her mother.

She flipped open the letter, which was several pages, and began to read,

Dear Twilight,

It's been some years since we've last contacted each other, and I know you've been very busy, but I thought since you were spending some time in Canterlot you might like to see us at some point.

Twilight felt a twinge of guilt at that, she had been avoiding seeing her parents, she was aware, afraid of their reactions to seeing their much-changed daughter.

I know court life is very demanding, and with you being a knight and all, I'm sure you have quite a bit on your plate. Still, we'd like to see you, your father and I, if you have some time during the afternoon.

Twilight smiled at that, her parents were astronomers and tended to work during the evenings. She had grown up looking at the stars. The next page or so was filled with details of their work, which most ponies would have found boring, but she was genuinely interested in the new comets they discovered and the distant stars they were studying. She caught a note of tension in the writing though, a certain shakiness in the writing that was uncharacteristic of her mother's usual calm. The last page though explained the tension and chilled Twilight through the bone.

I hope you do stop by soon, because the long and short of it is your father isn't doing very well. You may not have heard, but he was on the fringes of whatever spell your impersonator was using against the Guard. It was only a touch, but he can barely rise from his bed now. I took him to the Canterlot Hospital, but they could only say it wasn't good. He's still reviewing the reports his technicians send him rather than resting, the stubborn mule, but he's weakening. If you do come by Twilight, please do so soon. I'm worried he won't last the winter.

Your loving mother,

Starlight Twinkle

Trixie opened the door to Twilight's suite after a perfunctory knock, levitating a tray of breakfast ahead of her, “Surprise Twilight, I cooked-” She dropped the tray as Twilight vanished in a bright flash of light, leaving nothing behind but fluttering letters, which the blue unicorn smartly gathered with her telekinesis before they could blow out the window. “Well,” Trixie said, “I didn't know my cooking was that bad.” She shook her head, a little perplexed and irrationally hurt, but she figured it must have been something terrible to send Dame Twilight Sparkle off like that, with a flash and a bang.

Twilight approached her family home with more than a little trepidation. The house was big, but not imposing, with impressive architecture and designs of stars set in the windows and on the doors. Yet it radiated a sense of warmth and welcome, as it always had, and Twilight felt herself relaxing, despite her apprehension at seeing her parents again. The house was huge for one inhabited by a couple and their daughter, but Bright Shine and Starlight Twinkle had intended to have more foals than just Twilight. A cruel irony it had been then, that Twilight's birth had cost her mother her fertility, after they had lost one pregnancy already. They never said anything, but Twilight had always pushed herself partially because she felt she had to make up for the brother that was never born, as much as for her own personal ambitions. She swallowed hard, and set a hoof upon the front step, only to jump back as the door was flung open and Twilight's mother pulled her in magically into a tight hug.

“Twilight,” Starlight Twinkle said softly, clutching her taller daughter to herself like a pony clinging to flotsam in a storm, “It's so good to see you, I... I knew you'd...” Twilight was speechless as her mother pulled back, and tried to smile at her, “You've gotten so tall, your father won't be able to call you End-table anymore,”

Twilight continued to stare for a moment, unprepared for the signs of age that had streaked her mother's hair and lined her face, like the touch of some dreadful wraith from a story. She recovered after a moment and said softly, “I'm so sorry, Mom, I should've-” She was stopped by her mother's hoof pressing gently against her lips and the understanding in her eyes. Twilight bit her lip and nodded, feeling the tears come.

“Yes, Twilight, you should've,” Starlight said gently, “But you're here now, and that's what matters. Come on now, let's go see your father, he should just be waking up to try and read the star charts I can't seem to take away from him.” They both smiled a little, Twilight's father was much involved in discovering new planets, and had earned his cutie mark as a foal discovering a planet with two moons. It was his dedication that had so inspired Twilight while she was at the School for Gifted Unicorns.

The brief smile between mother and daughter faded as they heard a weak voice call from above, “Starlight, honey?” Starlight led Twilight swiftly up the stairs, around to the master bedroom, where the stench of blood assaulted Twilight's nose like a physical blow. The room was as magnificent as ever, richly appointed and filled with star charts and a large telescope pointing out the open window. The bed had been moved so the occupant could access the telescope without rising overmuch, but the occupant of the bed looked like he wouldn't be rising anytime soon.

Bright Shine was wrapped across the chest in tight, efficient bandages, which were deeply stained with fresh blood. He was wasted, gray in more than the blue fur about his muzzle, but his yellow eyes lit up in joy as he saw his daughter, “Twilight!” He broke off coughing as he tried to rise, which caused the troubling stains on the bandages to grow, but the stubborn stallion would only lay back once Twilight came over and embraced him. He nuzzled her affectionately, “It's been so long, my daughter, you look as wonderful as ever.” He smiled, and the creases around Bright Shine's eyes reminded Twilight painfully that she had been away from them for more than eight years, though for her she'd only been dodging them for a few months.

Still, she smiled for her father and said, “You too dad, you just get more refined with age, like a fine wine.” Her father laughed, which made him wince and flinch, causing Twilight to hover with concern until he waved her off.

“Speaking of whine,” Bright Shine said with a little smile at his daughter for his weak pun, while Starlight trotted about, levitating out a pair of scissors, “I don't mean to complain but this is about the time my bandages need a change. I'm sorry you had to see me like this,” he winced as the bandages were gently tugged off by Starlight's magic, taking little bits of fur despite the practiced care with which the unicorn mare removed the blood-soaked cloths, revealing a long, ragged slash across his torso that wept blood. As soon as they were gone, another cloth came in, soaked with some sort of disinfectant, to scrub the wound clean, rather painfully to judge by Bright Shine's expression. The wound looked fresh, and Twilight could feel the pulsing, magical force of the wound, keeping it from healing.

In a flash of insight, she realized what had been done, and the very core of her burned at the perversion her double had committed. “Wait,” she said softly, causing her mother to pause in her cleaning of the wound for a moment, “I think I might be able to help...” The look of doubt from her mother made Twilight wince inwardly, aware of how foalish her words sounded, like an errant daughter eager to come back into her parents' graces, but she continued, “However much my fake wasn't me, she still had some of my tendencies, and I think I can-... Um...” Twilight's mother had stopped looking at her, and seemed to be looking to Bright Shine, who was slowly bleeding out against the blankets.

He nodded to his wife, then to Twilight, “Twilight, honey, I love you, and I know you want to fix this. Nopony at the hospital could help though, and I don't want you to hurt yourself trying something like this,” Twilight seemed to deflate, but her father continued, “But you're an adult now, and honestly, it's not like things can get much worse for-” he broke off coughing for a moment, which accelerated the flow of blood from his wound, though he waved off the two anxious mares when they moved to help him, “Can't get much worse for me. So if you think it's safe, honey, then I trust you, but don't push it if it means it'll hurt you.”

Twilight bit her lip, then nodded, while her mother nuzzled her gently and then stepped back. Twilight leaned in close and began to cast. Her analysis spell reached out and investigated the deep gash across her father's chest, causing her to grimace as she appreciated the full power of the spellwork. She could see, now, why the usual healing spells had failed against the ghastly wound, which was using the body's own resources to attack the edges of itself and keep itself open. The fake Twilight had taken a healing spell, one which gently encourages the body to attack an invading parasite, and turned it into a vicious attack, probably combined with some sort of kinetic blade. What's worse is when she started to unravel the spell from her father's flesh, gently guiding the threads of magic away to dissipate harmlessly, she found that a sub-spell had been worked in that would accelerate the process, dissolving her father's skin and muscle like acid. She snarled at it unconsciously, causing her mother to step back a pace and her father grimaced at the renewed pain, though Twilight was far too caught up to notice.

She contained the spell with one burst of magic, and unraveled it with another, while taking time to numb the area and prevent further pain to her father. She entertained the idea briefly of reversing the spell, but realized her double had taken that into account as well, finding another sub-spell latched onto the main spell that, should the spell be reversed, would turn the site of the wound into a cancerous mess. She marveled that her fake had been able to do all of this repeatedly, as combat magic, and found herself having to run about mentally, trying to head off all the various nasty sub-clauses of the spell. At last, after what felt like hours of fighting, the spell unwound entirely with a soft snap.

Twilight didn't stop casting though, she used her own healing spell to knit the muscles and flesh that had been torn asunder by the perverted magic, until at last, closing the skin, the only thing left was a long, white scar across Bright Shine's chest, which moved gently with his breath as he slept. Twilight shook herself free of her casting trance and looked over at her mother, who was staring at Twilight, tears running freely from her eyes. Twilight looked back at her father, and realized she was starting to tear up herself. She felt her mother nuzzle up against her, then led her quietly from the room.

“Twilight,” Starlight said softly, once they were in the study next door, “I can't thank you enough, my daughter. I... When I invited you I thought... I'm sorry, you must be tired, after that dear,” Twilight wasn't, she was surprised to notice, but she accepted her mother's change of topic and accepted the chair she offered with a nod. The silence lengthened for an unbearable amount of time, then Starlight asked softly, “Did... Did you ever resent us, Twilight?”

“What?!” Twilight exclaimed incredulously, before lowering her voice at her mother's nod towards the other room, where Bright Shine still slept, “Why? I... I never, I mean... Why would I? You were the best parents I could have asked for.” She shook her head, “I mean, I always meant to visit, but there was always something to do. I was going to visit during the Gala but...” She trailed off, evoking the complications that had arisen during that night with her helpless look.

Starlight giggled softly, relaxing, “Oh Twilight, that's so good to hear, we thought you were upset with us, or didn't... Didn't need us anymore. And then, when they...” Starlight swallowed hard, “W-When they hanged... Hanged her, the imposter, I thought... We thought...” Twilight's mother wiped her eyes while Twilight just stared, in shock, until Starlight could continue, “Well we thought you were gone, and then the Guards came around, almost a year ago just... Asking if you'd come by, looking through the house, rooting around until Bright Shine shouted them out. But we knew then, knew you were back. Oh Twilight, why didn't you come home? We could have helped, could have... Could have done something, we were so afraid for you,” And now the tears flowed from Starlight's eyes, and Twilight rose and walked over to comfort her mother with a nuzzle, only to be pulled practically into her mother's lap in a tight hug.

“Mom,” Twilight said after a moment, tears in her eyes as she gently pulled back from her mother's embrace, “Mom I'm sorry, I didn't... I didn't want to come home because I...” Twilight hesitated, then blurted out, “I've been changed, I'm... When I was captured he, they...” Twilight looked down, forcing herself to stay calm through sheer will, “They changed me, into something else, I'm not...” Twilight looked down, unable to meet her mother's eyes, “I'm not totally a pony, anymore.” Twilight's mother blinked, and for a long while only the ticking of the clock broke the silence.

“Honey,” Starlight said surprisingly sternly, causing Twilight to look up in surprise, “No matter what happens, no matter what has been done to you, you're still my- our daughter,” She nodded to the other room, “Bright Shine would say the same, if he were here and not sleeping off the rest of that injury. But,” and now she looked puzzled, “You look a little taller honey, and your coat's a bit darker but... How changed did you mean?”

Twilight bit her lip again, then sighed, “Very changed, but... Most ponies can't see the changes. There's like...” She waved her hoof vaguely, “A don't-see-me spell constantly on, masking everything. It's... I don't really understand why, but if it ever fails, most ponies run, or hide. But I... I think I can make it so you can see... If you want to.” She bit her lip, tense. She had been studying the way contracts work, but this would be only the second time she had stretched that power consciously. She was hoping agreeing to see her as she was would work, but she had no way of knowing.

Twilight's heart was pounding as she waited for her mother to nod, looking concerned. “Of course, Twilight, but remember, no matter how you've changed, you're still our daughter and we still love you.”

Twilight took her mother's hoof with her own, feeling the tears well up again, and said in a declaratory tone, “Starlight Twinkle, my mother, you may see me as I am, if you swear to give me your honest judgment, on whether or not I am still your daughter, bound by our love together as mother and daughter. Do you agree?”

“Of course!” Starlight said sharply, “And of course you're my-” she was cut off as Twilight began to change before her eyes, which widened in sudden awe. She saw the fire burning across Twilight's mane, filled with whispers and words, while the shadows leapt up her legs like eager puppies looking for attention. Twilight's body was thinner and taller, much taller, she was like a wraith of purple fire that emanated smoke that smelled of burnt paper and formed words that disappeared, half-formed in the air. Her horn ended in a wicked point that sparked with orange letters and symbols of dire potency, while her coat looked almost soot-blackened, except for her cutie mark, which seemed to glow eerily. And yet, despite all the changes... The eyes were still Twilight's. She looked anxious and concerned, and full of the same vibrant spark that had so defined Starlight's daughter.

Starlight relaxed after a moment, then leaned up and nuzzled Twilight, who smiled in sudden delight and pulled her mother out of her chair into a hug, “Of course you're still my daughter, Twilight. You couldn't be anypony else. But,” Starlight frowned, “Who did this to you? And why?” Twilight swallowed hard, sat back down and began, slowly, to tell the story of how she had been captured, and what she remembered of her time with the Librarian.

Twilight had just finished telling about her escape, when a tremendous clatter arose from downstairs. In a flash, Twilight was out the door, looking over the railing of the entrance hall to see two ponies tangled up on the broken leaves of what had once been the front door. She was about to leap down and challenge them, when she heard the very familiar chiding voice of her squire, “I told you you were going too fast, Trixie, now we have to fix the door!”

The two ponies disentangled themselves, and Trixie said with deep concern, “But the way she vanished like that, it could have been anything, what if she needed help? I'm just glad I could trace her like that, ” Luminous only grunted in reply as she set about lifting the doors back into the frame, to which Trixie added her efforts after a moment of dithering. Twilight was torn between annoyance, laughter and being rather impressed. The two had not only traced her from nothing more than her magical signature left behind from the teleport, but Luminous was putting up the heavy leaves of the door by herself.

She sighed audibly, bringing the pair's attention up to her just as Luminous finished repairing the door hinges, “Twilight!” Luminous exclaimed, then reddened as she noticed her mentor's mother looking around curiously and saluted, “I mean, Dame Twilight Sparkle, I regret to inform you that we seem to have accidentally knocked in this door, due to an inaccuracy in our attempted speed.” Twilight very carefully kept herself from laughing at the filly's stilted delivery, well aware of how seriously she took something like this.

Starlight however, gave a delighted sound, “Oh isn't she precious, she isn't yours is she? I mean,” Twilight sputtered and Luminous goggled, while Trixie just stared at Twilight's mother, who continued down the steps to look Luminous over, who blushed and straightened at the sudden scrutiny, “She doesn't look much like you, but that vest she's wearing just perfectly mat-”

“Mom,” Twilight was finally able to say, causing Trixie and Luminous to stare at Starlight for a moment, “Mom that's Luminous, my squire. She's not...” Twilight shook her head, blushing despite herself, “She's not my... Anyway, Trixie!” Twilight called sharply to the blue unicorn changeling, who snapped to attention at least as quickly as Luminous, “Trixie I can appreciate you being concerned, and I'm frankly impressed by your skill and determination in finding me, but can you tell me why you decided to break down the door to my family's home?”

Trixie flushed a little, but maintained the salute, “I was concerned, Dame Twilight Sparkle, for your safety, when you suddenly teleported without taking breakfast. I felt it was important to figure out where you'd gone, and to give aid if it were needed. Your squire and I managed to track you to this house and, given our speed, I could not decelerate in time to avoid impact with the door, which gave way.” Trixie stood, saluting, until Twilight shook her head, smiling,

“Trixie, I appreciate the effort, I really do, but you don't have to go haring off after me every time I have to go somewhere in a hurry,” Twilight said, still smiling as Trixie dropped the salute, “Sometimes there's no time to explain, and sometimes-”

“But what if you're hurt?” Luminous burst out finally, startling Twilight and Trixie, “What if you need help? Your duties are to protect Equestria, but you don't have to do it all yourself. What if you had vanished because somepony had tied a teleportation spell to the letter?” Twilight blinked at her squire, who continued, her voice rising, “Or what if it had been a false lead? If you try to do everything alone, you're going to get hurt, and then you can't protect anypony!” Luminous huffed and puffed in the aftermath of her outburst, then saluted again, her posture stiffening as Twilight stared at her with an unreadable expression.

Twilight, for her part, was touched at Luminous' concern, and felt a little guilty about leaving her and Trixie out of the loop, when they were supposed to be her squire and aide, respectively. She was silent for a long moment then said, “Luminous, you're exactly right.” Luminous blinked in surprise, while Twilight walked over and nodded to her, “I should not have run off without telling you or Trixie where I went, it was unbecoming of somepony in my position. However,” Luminous stiffened again, expecting a rebuke, “You should be more careful before barging in on something like this. If I had been in danger, such an approach might have injured you or made the situation worse. Did you think to call for backup?” Luminous and Trixie reddened, and Twilight smiled, “I thought not, but you had the right idea, just don't charge off without making sure you have all the facts, alright? Oh!”

Twilight turned to her mother, who had walked up with her and waved a hoof to the pair, “Mom, this is my squire, Luminous,” Luminous bowed to Starlight, who smiled and nodded to her, “And Trixie, my aide.”

Trixie bowed to Starlight as well, and said with a deep reverence in her voice, though the flush hadn't left her cheeks, “It is an honor to meet you ma'am. Your daughter is an inspiration to us all.”

Starlight blinked at that, but recovered quickly, “She always has been, to my husband and I most of all. It's an honor to meet you as well, Trixie, Luminous. Now, if Twilight skipped breakfast, why don't we all go into the dining room for brunch?” With that, the trio were led into the large dining room, and nothing could stop Starlight from fixing them all a rather heavy, nutritious brunch. She started asking everything she could about Twilight, and whenever her daughter wouldn't answer she'd ask the other two, who, after a while of not saying much ended up trading stories with Twilight's mother.

They stayed until well past noon, at which point Bright Shine woke up, and was able to join the conversation, weary but otherwise in fine health he assured them, though he needed generous help from Twilight and Starlight to join the meal. He greeted Trixie and Luminous with warmth, and before Twilight knew it, they were all involved in a dinner conversation.

“So there she was, dancing around like an unwound spring,” Bright Shine was saying, after the conversation had turned to Twilight herself, much to her embarrassment, “Bouncing around and shouting 'yes' over and over, right there in front of the Princess, Princess Celestia that is,” he clarified, “Oh we all thought it was adorable, brought a smile to all our faces, even after she turned us into potted plants.” Luminous, sitting next to her mentor, had to try very hard not to giggle, but Trixie was less reserved, snickering into the rather delicious soup Twilight's mother had made.

“Oh yes,” Starlight continued, smiling while Dame Twilight Sparkle melted into her seat, her mane, to those who could see it, flickering pink and red with bright embarrassment, “And she was always the talk of the School. Top of every class she ever took part in, even if it confused her at first, she was always the apple of her teachers' eyes. We were so proud of her, and we still are,” Twilight was smiling now, and Luminous was looking at her with a little more awe than before, and certainly a large dollop of jealousy.

It wasn't that Luminous begrudged Twilight her sweet supportive family and fabulous scholastic career, but she began to realize that Twilight was, in a sense, everything she could have been had she had a proper start. She refused to let it bother her though, and tried her best to push the emotions away, but she found it hard to enjoy the soup after that revelation.

Twilight noticed, and frowned for a moment, her mane flickering back to purple slowly, but her mother, who was a little quicker on the uptake when it came to fillies and their emotions asked kindly, “How about you, Luminous, how do you like working with Twilight?”

Luminous relaxed a little and smiled, “She's a wonderful teacher, ma'am. I've been learning a lot from her.” Her little voice was firm and sincere as she continued with a smile for Twilight, “Before her, I didn't have a future... I was just another orphan, trying to stay ahead, and now she's given me, well... Everything.” The stunned silence after this made Luminous blush a little and sink into her seat, afraid she'd done wrong, but it only lasted for a moment before Twilight broke it with a misty smile.

“Luminous, I could have asked for no finer squire. I...” she broke off, not sure what to say after that, and the silence became awkward for a moment until Twilight's father smoothly shifted topics to more childhood stories. Twilight joined in with what she could remember, and was eventually joined even by Trixie, whose story of becoming acquainted with Twilight was significantly more harrowing than Luminous'.

For several months, Twilight balanced her time between catching up with her parents and keeping in touch with the Princesses and her friends. She was recovering from partying with Pinkie in Manehattan one night, celebrating the excitable baker's five hundred thousandth customer, when she started to get mail from Ponyville's mayor about the impending Winter Wrap-Up. Twilight decided to move back to Ponyville Library for the planning, only to find a very surprising welcome upon her arrival.

“SURPRISE!” Shouted what seemed to be the whole town as Twilight and Luminous stepped out of the chariot from Canterlot into the snowy square in front of the library, to find themselves suddenly surrounded by cheering, laughing ponies, with some changelings in there too. Twilight was suddenly the delighted center of many hugs, compliments and questions, which she did her best to answer, but her voice was lost in the general tumult of welcoming until Spike came charging out, dodging between ponies, to tackle Twilight in a fierce hug. She was entirely overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of the welcome from so many different quarters, and had to keep back tears as she thanked ponies left and right, and slowly made her way, with Luminous' help, towards the library. Finally, after what felt like an hour, she was standing on the step facing the whole crowd of ponies, her squire on one side and Spike on the other.

Twilight shook her head as the crowd quieted happily, and called out to them in a slightly magically amplified voice, “My most excellent and admirable friends and neighbors. This is... This is so much more than I ever could ever have asked for. It's wonderful to be back in Ponyville!” The cheer after that almost deafened the purple unicorn, but she laughed, “But how did you know I was going to be back today?”

At that question, the door to the library opened, and a familiar amused drawl called out from behind Twilight, “Ah reckon that's our doing.” Twilight spun to find herself nose-to-nose with Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who had somehow beaten her to Ponyville, despite setting out all the way from Manehattan. The farmer pulled Twilight into a tight hug, which she returned wholeheartedly, and then followed her friends back into the library, while the rest of the town went back to their business, chatting excitedly about the impending Wrap-Up.

Twilight took a moment to teleport the luggage inside, to the surprise of Spike and Luminous, who had been about to step back outside to grab them. Twilight winked at the both of them, then turned to her friends, smiling “Applejack, Pinkie, it's great to see you both!”

Pinkie Pie giggled, “Of course it's great to see us! We're your friends, silly-filly, and if it wasn't great to see us, that'd mean something was wrong, or we did something wrong, or,” Pinkie rambled for a few moments, bouncing in place until her eyes suddenly widened and she landed, “Oh, speaking of friends, I almost forgot!” Pinkie pulled a letter out of her bushy tail and trotted over to a rather surprised Luminous, who was in the middle of hauling the case with Twilight's armor in it up to the knight's bedroom. Pinkie put a party hat on the confused filly, and gave her the letter, which, when opened by a wary touch of Luminous' telekinesis erupted into sound, startling her with a sudden happy jingle. She fumbled the card in her surprise, which was picked out of the air by Twilight, who looked it over curiously.

“A birthday invitation for Luminous?” Twilight asked Pinkie curiously, passing the singing card back to Luminous, who started looking the card over herself, discreetly trying to find some way to make it stop making noise. “From who?”

“From Applebloom,” Applejack put in helpfully, nodding to the mouthwriting on the front, “She was so worried about gettin' the name right for Luminous and pickin' out the right song, Ah guess she plum forgot to say it was from her.” She and Twilight giggled a little at that, and the earth pony farmer smiled, “'course she also forgot to mention y'all are invited too, Twi, and you too Spike,”

Spike looked startled, but gratified, while Luminous just looked bewildered, “A birthday party? But... Why? I'm not family or anything.”

Twilight chuckled and set about telekinetically moving the luggages up to their various places in the library, “You DID spend every waking moment with her for however long I was gone, looking for her soul fragments. I think that rather counts as a friend.” Luminous tried to wrap her mind around that, while Twilight continued, her magic effortlessly lifting even the heavy case containing her armor, to her private surprise, “I think this will be a lovely way to start our return to Ponyville. But I'm afraid I can't go, I've got to start preparing for the Winter Wrap-up AND organizing all the work orders and shipments I'll need for rebuilding the Castle of the Pony Sisters.”

The purple unicorn shivered in administrative glee at the prospect and set about organizing her workspace, which Spike had kept scrupulously clean, while Applejack rolled her eyes, “Twi, one day ain't gonna make much difference, and you saved her life, she wants you there. It'd mean so much to her, too.”

Twilight hesitated, with a longing look towards her inkwell, then acquiesced, “Oh alright, it's not that I don't want to but... Wait, where's Pinkie?” She and Applejack looked around, unable to spot the vibrant pink earth pony anywhere.

Applejack shook her head after a moment, “She'll turn up, that silly pony always does, but ah can't help but wonder where she went off to.”

Pinkie greeted them at the Apple family home with a hearty cheer, where she had accelerated and enhanced the party preparations until it looked like the whole home had been made into one large Applebloom-themed party floor. “Surprise!” Pinkie shouted, dragging the three startled ponies and bemused dragon into the house, where the party was already in full swing, “That's, like, two surprises in a day for you Twilight!” She giggled, and promptly strapped party hats on the whole group, somehow managing to slip the gaily colored paper hat over Applejack's usual cranial accoutrement, giving the farmer an even more ridiculous appearance than the rest of the partygoers.

While Applejack attempted to sort out her appearance, Twilight looked around the party and was surprised to find several changelings in amongst the guests. They all bowed to her whenever she caught their eye, to her embarrassment and the confusion of the other guests. She turned to Applejack, who had finally managed to trade her usual hat for the party hat, and had hung up the former on a hook on the door, “Applejack, I didn't know you were hiring changelings,” she said, low enough to not be readily overheard, as she was unaware if the changelings here wanted to be revealed or not.

“Eh, what?” Applejack said, then her brain caught up to her ears and she smiled before saying softly, “Ah'm not, really, only one or two fer the harder months, but most of em made friends while they were here, keepin' those wolf things off us while you were out in th' Hedge.” She nodded to the changelings engaged in conversation, who seemed to be chatting naturally with the partygoers, normal pony and changeling alike.

Twilight was about to respond, when a yellow and red blur tackled her at top speed. Twilight went down like a sack of rocks, laughing as she felt Applebloom squeezing her about the chest in a hug, “You made it, you made it!” Applebloom squealed, “Ah was hopin' you would, an'- Luminous!” Luminous had trotted over when Twilight went down, and now got tackled herself by the exuberant filly, who immediately started dragging her off towards her group of friends. Luminous looked over at Twilight helplessly, who gave her a grin in return as she rose back to her hooves, and Luminous was pulled into introductions and conversation with the group of fillies known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and their associated friends.

Twilight chuckled as she watched her rather introverted squire begin to get drawn out and caught up in the Crusaders' enthusiasm. She moved on with Applejack to the rest of the conversations and soon she was discussing the financial aspects of her resurrection of the Castle of the Pony Sisters with Filthy Rich, the father of one of Applebloom's classmates. “Well there are no resources on record,” Twilight was saying to Filthy Rich, “but much was lost when the capitol moved to Canterlot, and the surveys are waiting until the spring for more in-depth knowledge.”

“But how are you intending to fund this restoration, Dame Twilight?” Filthy Rich asked seriously, “The bits won't come from thin air you know, and if-”

Twilight cut him off with a smile, “I've got plenty of bits for it, Mr. Rich, but yes, sustaining the land concerns me somewhat, especially since we'll have to clear the land we use for farming, and the Everfree can be somewhat fickle at the best of times.” Which was a vast understatement, but Filthy Rich seemed to accept it at face value while Twilight continued, “Besides, it's not as if-” Twilight was cut off by the abrupt sound of a triangle ringing through the room, signaling the summons for cake and presents.

A truly enormous cake was wheeled out, and Applebloom was soon buried beneath a vast pile of presents, which made Twilight feel a little guilty, as she hadn't had time to get anything for the filly. A thought occurred to her though, and she beckoned to Applebloom as soon as the tides of partygoers brought her close, then led her to outside, where a soft snow was falling, dusting Sweet Apple Acres with a fresh coat of snow.

Once they were outside, Applebloom asked Twilight curiously, “What'd you want, Twilight? It's kinda cold out here, is somethin' wrong?”

Twilight shook her head, smiling, “I just wanted to give you your present, is all, and it involves some spellwork, and that might make some ponies curious.” She gave Applebloom a grin, “Now I know you're not one for studying, but I thought I might give you something a little more practical.” With that she turned to the road, and selected with her telekinesis a small stone, about the size of a mouse, and began to whisper to it, her horn glowing with a flickering, fey light as she negotiated with Honesty to help with the enchantment. It took a good ten minutes, but finally she reached an accord with Honesty and the enchantment took hold, changing the stone to a diamond disk, edged with conjured gold, and hanging from a long, golden chain necklace. It was exceedingly difficult working all the spells at once: changing the stone to diamond, enchanting it, conjuring the gold in such a way that it was real gold, enchanting that with a spell that made it share the diamond's hardness without causing the gold to lose its luster, and then shaping it into a ring around the disk and the chain were all just barely within her abilities.

The end result however, was beautiful, and Applebloom goggled at the floating monocle on the chain. Twilight hung the enchanted crystal around the filly's neck, and said softly, “Through that crystal, neither illusion nor deception will penetrate. If you ever need to see the truth of a matter, look through that, and the lies and illusions will fall away.” As she predicted, the filly immediately looked at Twilight through it, and made a soft noise of astonishment.

“Twilight, you look just like you did when you saved me! Ah was wonderin' if ah'd just imagined you lookin' like that. This is really cool Twilight, thanks!” The filly was looking around the entirety of the farm, as if seeking secrets long hidden.

Twilight smiled at her enthusiasm, feeling tired, but noticing that her strength was returning far quicker than it usually did after a hard casting. “If you're going to be using that, you should be careful,” she warned, causing Applebloom to stop looking around immediately. Twilight smiled, “It's not going to bite, but some truths are going to be painful to see, and others might change your perception of the world, and sometimes...” Twilight shook her head, “Sometimes some things are better left unseen. But I leave such judgments to you, it is your gift after all, and I think you're old enough now for a little truth.” Applebloom nodded, gave Twilight a tight hug, and was about to say something when she was called by her friends from inside. She grinned, and immediately dashed inside to go about showing off her new present.

“What an uncharacteristically double-edged gift,” came a slightly amused voice from almost directly behind Twilight, causing her to jump with a yelp and whirl, finding herself facing nothing. “Down here,” came the same voice, still amused, and Twilight looked down to see a small, seven-tailed red fox grinning up at her with a very familiar expression.

“Blackboard?” Twilight asked after a moment of thought, “You're a-” she was silenced by a paw up against her lips, which was surprisingly warm, given that the fox had been sitting in the snow.

“Shh, shh, if you know what I am, you know what will happen if you name me.” He waited until Twilight had nodded mutely, then grinned his vulpine grin again, “But you gave that little filly quite the perilous gift, can you tell me why?”

Twilight waited a moment, looking back towards the house, which still glowed with merriment “Because she's ready, and it was a lie that brought her out to the forest in the first place, for the Beast to take.” Twilight had thought hard about that, despite the sudden decision to make and give the gift, but she remembered the terror and hardship the little filly had been through, and felt sure of her choice.

Blackboard laughed, the sound surprisingly warm and friendly despite his predatory appearance, “Good! You made a sound judgment on very little evidence, and gave a thoughtful gift that is both weapon and defense in one.” Twilight blinked at that, not thinking her gift had been particularly geared towards combat, but before she could ask, Blackboard continued, “And as such, I deem it time for me to take my leave. It has been a pleasure, madmoiselle,” Blackboard bowed as elegantly as a little fox could, but Twilight began to panic as she caught the note of finality in his tone,

“Wait you're leaving? Like... Leaving leaving?” Twilight asked, her distress causing her mane to flare more brightly, with anxious shadows dancing about her hooves, “This... This isn't because I...” She blushed and lowered her voice, “Because I asked you to dinner, is it?”

Blackboard sighed and shook his head, “No... Well partially,” before Twilight could start blaming himself he added, “I'm married, Twilight, I've got a wife and seven kids it... Wouldn't have worked, and I've been away from them too long. Not that it wouldn't have been fun,” he gave the crestfallen unicorn a sly wink, “But I don't think it would have made you happy. Besides, I was contracted to look after you until I felt you ready to deal with your new condition on your own,” Twilight looked up sharply at that, but the grinning fox face gave her no indication of truth or falsehood, “And I deem you ready to face what challenges remain to you on your own. Now now,” he said hurriedly, noticing tears beginning to form in Twilight's eyes, “You might see me again, you never know, but...” He leaned in and nuzzled Twilight's face, catching her tears on his muzzle. His eyes were sympathetic as he said softly, “Even if we don't see each other, we'll still be friends, Twilight. Here, let me give you something...”

He closed his eyes, and the world began to fade around Twilight, until all was darkness and silence except her and the little multi-tailed fox. Between them, a sphere of light began to form, which slowly grew until it enveloped the pair of them, and they were suddenly in a shining expanse of stars. Blackboard's eyes, when they opened, were pure white, and his voice, no longer sly and casual, rang with absolute truth in a way that sent shivers through Twilight's blood. “You walk the path of the warrior, Twilight Sparkle,” Blackboard intoned, his voice resonating through the purple unicorn like sound through a crystal, “Before your life is done, you will be soaked in violence,” the stars around Twilight began to wink out one by one, and a deep sadness seemed to leak from the dark void, “Your body, mind and soul will ache with your efforts but for every drop of blood you spill, life shall spring forth, so long as you keep your purpose clear,” and now the stars were back, multiplying and growing in number until the whole space around Twilight and Blackboard was pure white, ringing with a transcendent joy. The scene changed once more, and Twilight smelled burnt ashes, and beheld a vision of Ponyville, destroyed, then being rebuilt in a flurry of violet magic. Buildings regrew from dust, wooden beams un-charred and became whole, and soon what had been rubble became the town she had spent so much time learning to love, while the tree she called her home burst into vibrant bloom. It was still empty, but she knew that would end soon, and light burst overhead, pure and clean, that signaled the end of the scene.

Before the vision faded, Twilight heard Blackboard's familiar sly voice, “As you have given, so you have received. The truth is a perilous gift, Twilight Sparkle, Knight Protector of Equestria. Use it well.” Darkness folded around Twilight like a gentle wing: warm and gentle.

Twilight awoke, alone, on the front porch of the Apple family home. There was no sign of Blackboard: no prints, no scent, nothing but the memory of his passage. He was gone, she knew, the guide she'd had since being locked away by the Beast was gone, and he would not be returning, she knew. She wept, quietly, not wanting to disturb the merriment which still sounded behind her. By the sound of it, somepony had started a game of tag and Applejack was desperately trying to keep the game from punching holes in the wall. Twilight smiled, and breathed in, feeling the vitality of the place, and the warmth of her friends' presences, even at this distance, she knew they'd always be there for her, and while Blackboard's vision of the future scared her a little, she felt the warmth of his trust in her, and the lessons he had imparted, however indirectly. She let her tears dry on her face, recomposed herself, and walked back inside, where she joined in the festivities until she'd laughed herself sore.

The Winter Wrap-Up that year was particularly well-organized, and Ponyville, for once, was the first town done with wrapping up winter. This was due in part to the large number of changeling volunteers who had joined in the work, all working alongside the population without any kind of magic. Luminous and Trixie became well-known sights around town, always dashing about in their purple vests, running Twilight's messages as Twilight herself went about town with Spike making sure everything was running on-schedule.

Things became slightly complicated once Twilight's work orders started bringing in large shipments of stone, which had to be brought to the ruined Castle by changelings, who were the only ones who would dare the forest to finish the deliveries, but there were so many changelings joining in the work that even that failed to disrupt the Wrap-Up.

Then it was Spring, and Twilight found herself suddenly in the middle of going over the blueprints of the final structure with Princess Luna, who, much to her surprise, had insisted on moving in with her as well, saying that they'd be living together in the new castle soon anyway. She had arrived with an enormous amount of luggage, and her presence filled up the library rather overmuch, with Spike and Luminous also there, and so it wasn't long before Twilight was working day and night to get the dilapidated castle back into working order, with help from a truly impressive army of volunteers, both changeling and not.

Baptism of Fire

It took Twilight and her crew of volunteers a week to get the area of the palace cleared, before even the restoration work could take place. The Everfree was reluctant to let the ruins go, but they persisted, hacking back the woody tendrils and snaking vines until the whole castle and its surrounding area was revealed. It was hard, dirty work, and Twilight had many reasons by the end of it to be thankful for the Princess' enchanted armor, not to mention her steady, calming presence. Twilight made good use of the armor's amplification spell, and used her voice in tandem with Princess Luna's to frighten out the birds and animals before they cleared the woods and brush away, but their powerful voices drew the attention of some of the less savory things of the forest.

Twilight was overseeing the unraveling of another case of cockatrice petrification, with Fluttershy calmly explaining to the bewildered serpent that it would do well to look elsewhere for things to turn to rock, and should jolly well turn the rest of the ponies it'd turned to stone back into ponies, when Trixie came running up, “YES TR-... Sorry Trixie,” Twilight apologized as she turned down the amplification spell again, “What's up?”

Trixie bowed, as she always did in front of other changelings lately, to Twilight's minor embarrassment, then she grinned at the purple unicorn, “We got the baths running again, Twilight! The big communal ones that is, come on!” She started back towards the reconstruction site at a bouncy trot, positively brimming with excitement. Twilight hesitated, looking back at the changelings and ponies coming out of their petrification, and got a friendly wave-off from Fluttershy, who was tending to their disorientation with all the kindness befitting her element.

Twilight nodded to her, and trotted after Trixie, who had kept talking as if Twilight had immediately followed, “And we were able to preserve and repair all the sculptural elements in the baths,” she sighed happily, Trixie had found a new love for archaeology recently, and was forever trying to restore the ruins to their past glory, despite her long sessions with Twilight in planning the new expansions, “They're so beautiful Twilight, but of course it took ages and ages to clean all the muck out of the engravings and that, but we were able to renew the cleanliness enchantments on the stonework, and, oh!” Trixie jumped as she almost ran into Princess Luna, who was staring at the communal baths with an odd look. She jumped at the exclamation and whirled, her mane flaring out around her like a cloak of stars, but when she saw Twilight, her expression cleared. For a moment the purple unicorn could have sworn the Princess looked embarrassed, with just the slightest trace of a blush dusting her dark cheeks.

“Did you come by to see the baths, Princess?” Trixie asked, bowing, “We've only just gotten them cleaned up, but the deep hot springs beneath the castle should be filling them up right about...” Trixie waited for it, clearly enjoying the moment, while a rumbling gently vibrated the ground beneath Twilight's hooves, “Now!” And suddenly a hissing rush of sound started emanating from the baths, to a general cheer of the surrounding work crews, who had worked hard to clean and restore the elegant baths.

The baths were divided into four immense marble pools, open to the sky, which had three tiers around the edge for varying depths, the deepest of which would completely immerse even a pony of Celestia's stature. Now they steamed as they filled with hot, clean water that, to Twilight's mild surprise, didn't smell like hot springs at all. Twilight advanced to the edge to examine the carvings, which were intricate and carried the intangible weight of great age and deep enchantment. Trixie and Luna advanced as well, with the former continuing to talk about the baths, “We figured getting the baths done was a high priority since it would take a lot of work and would help keep ponies and changelings clean without needing to go off-site. We added a few things of course, mainly to the piping, which was mostly lead,” she shuddered a little, then walked over to the edge of the pool, where she indicated the subtle current swirling around the filled pools, “We moved the outtake and intake for the pools, so the water would always be moving and constantly refreshed, and there are little places in between the carvings for ponies to put their soap and things.”

“Where does the water exit?” Twilight asked curiously, with a little concern, she hardly wanted bathwater getting into the water supply, but a part of her knew Trixie would have thought of that. The blue unicorn changeling had come a long way from skulking about in hotel rooms with Twilight's mail. She had filled out some more, now that she was eating properly and not traveling, her mane was properly brushed, though it still looked a little like a paintbrush, especially in the morning. She was, Twilight had heard, entertaining a few stallions when she had the time, the thought of which made her only slightly jealous, though she was for the most part happy the blue unicorn had come so far out of her shell.

Twilight was also keeping a curious eye on the Princess, who was still a little tense, though not red in the face anymore. The Princess had been almost constantly by Twilight's side through the whole reconstruction, and this was the first time she'd seen her show the slightest bit of embarrassment. The Princess had been very... Close, in a physical sense, with little to no sense of personal space, even going so far as to pull a very puzzled Twilight into bed with her for cuddling when she, Luna, slept, though their sleep schedules were so different this was a rare occurrence. Celestia later confided in her student, after a bemused letter, that Luna had always been rather clingy when she slept, which led Twilight to buying the Princess a very large pillow as a substitute. Seeing the Princess embarrassed was something of a calendar event, then, and Twilight privately wondered what could have set her off when she was interrupted by Trixie's answer.

“Why it runs through a second filtration spell matrix we have set up and from there it goes neatly back into the river.” Trixie said brightly. She gestured to the pools, which were almost obscured in steam, “You can't see it now, but there are drains in the bottom and along the sides which are equipped with a modified Sorting Spell, which we actually folded into the metal, along with Eternity Spells, to make sure they last. Now, who wants to-” Trixie was cut off by a brilliant flare of light from off to the north, followed by a pained howl and a sizzling crack noise.

Twilight and Luna instantly teleported to the scene, right into the middle of a melee. The stench of blood and burnt fur almost gagged Twilight as she took in the scene. A half a dozen changelings huddled together, fighting off what seemed to be easily double their number in Wolves of the Beast. The snarling, lupine forms were trying to penetrate the ring of defenders with a brutal fury, and Twilight could dimly see injured ponies in the middle, protected by the hooves and spells of the defending ponies and changelings. Several wolves were down, at least three of them were on fire, thrashing about in mortal agony, while one had simply had its head exploded, as if by a great, directed heat.

Twilight launched two of the wolf-things far away, and froze another two in mid-air long enough for the defenders to knock them senseless. Her magic lashed out, stunning and disorienting the Pack left and right, but the survivors kept coming, as if some whip were driving them forward. Twice she saw one with a broken leg try to bring down an earth pony, who was able to stomp the creature's head only after Twilight deflected some of the incoming attacks with shield spells that sent up harmless sparks when the twisted lupine creature attempted to reach for the defenders.

A defender went down in the ring from a particularly clever wolf-creature's thrown rock, and Twilight peered through the gap to gauge the strength of the surviving wounded. There, standing atop the pile of injured in the middle of the defenders, Twilight saw her squire, covered in blood, deflecting projectiles with her little shield spell now that the wolves had picked up that little tactic, though she looked ready to pass out on her hooves. The filly was deflecting the projectiles and reaching claws now, rather than blocking them, using the minimal amount of effort to keep the injured safe. Twilight had no idea what spell had drained the filly so, but she knew she had to do something or Luminous' tenuous defense would fail.

Twilight ran straight for the group and recklessly teleported into the middle of the melee, catching a claw meant for one of the defending changelings on her armor, which stopped the blow so completely the claw snapped, causing the wolf-creature to howl in pain, only to be hit by a tranquilizing spell from Princess Luna, sending it instantly into unconsciousness, shortly before three separate spells from the defenders managed to rip it in two, splattering Twilight in gore. Shocked, Twilight called back to the defenders, “Sleep spells only! Disable, don't kill!” However, Twilight's presence on the battlefield seemed to sap the fight from the attackers, who turned their assault into a retreat, as Twilight and Luna put them to sleep one by one, until at last the last one broke and ran for the forest.

One of the defenders, a pegasus made of ice whose glittering coat sparkled with the ruddy frost of frozen blood, went to follow the wolf-creature, but Twilight held him back with her telekinetic grip. “Hold, they're leaving,” she ordered calmly.

“Let me go!” The pegasus, Icebell, Twilight remembered, snarled back at the purple unicorn, caught up in his fury, “We can't just let them leave, they'll be back, they-”

“Icebell,” Twilight said sternly, her tone alone startling him into making eye contact with her, “Icebell, they're beaten. It's over,”

“But they-”

“Icebell,” Twilight said more calmly, her voice a little sad now, “Icebell please, no more bloodshed.” The pegasus desisted after a few more moments, but Twilight could tell he was still fuming inside. She turned her gaze to the wounded, where her squire was looking over the injuries of those who had been caught by the claws and teeth of the Pack.

As Twilight's gaze caught hers, Luminous saluted, “Dame Twilight Sparkle, I report ten wounded, one seriously so, no losses.” The filly's voice was outwardly calm, but Twilight could see the slight jitter in her hooves of one who is struggling to remain upright, and she caught a tension in her squire's tone. She continued on regardless, her mismatched eyes fixed on Twilight's, as if using that tentative connection to hold herself up, “I was heading to the northern restoration group to receive a report on their progress, only to find them in the middle of a battle with the wolf-creatures...” Luminous closed her eyes for a moment, her strength flagging for the barest of instants before she recovered, “I set off a flare spell to blind the... The creatures,” Luminous swayed again, but stubbornly continued her report, “Not all of them were dazzled so I tightened the beam of light and... Well...” She gestured to the wolf missing half a head, and the others that had been on fire, now dead, “I had intended to only blind it but I... I overdid it, I... I killed it... Them...” She started to tremble now, and Twilight stepped forward to catch her squire in a gentle telekinetic grip, before she could fall on one of the injured ponies, unconscious.

Twilight looked to Princess Luna, whose brows were raised in surprise as she stepped up nearby, “I think, Princess,” Twilight said softly, “it's time I stepped up my squire's training.” She didn't mention, though she was privately concerned by the slight purple shine she had noticed in Luminous's blue eye. She set that thought aside for now, set Luminous on her back and started directing the remaining defenders to alert the outer guard posts and send for more ponies to take the place of their wounded fellows. Trixie arrived shortly with a full squad of medical ponies, and Twilight left her in charge of the stabilization of that area, and asked her to reorganize the work crews to focus their efforts on the outer walls, to help prevent any future attacks.

The sleeping wolves were tied up and, with the help of some rather unhappy pegasi, released deep in the forest, where they ran off, but not without a few curious backwards glances.

Twilight walked through the reconstruction crews and the hurrying guard ponies with the Princess in silence, her mind whirling as she considered all the possibilities. If she hadn't simply imagined the shimmer in her squire's eye, the increase in the filly's raw power alone was moderately unsettling. The other defenders had elaborated on Luminous's version of events, describing how the filly had summoned a hair-thin beam of light that sliced through the ranks of the wolves like a hot knife through ice cream. She brought the filly to the infirmary with the other wounded, and left instructions that she be treated for magical and physical exhaustion.

She had almost forgotten the presence of the Princess, until the larger alicorn stepped up beside her, looking over the filly with a frown, “She is young to see such as this.” Twilight jumped at the sound of the Princess's voice, but she appeared not to notice, “I wonder what my sister was thinking, assigning her to thee... Though perhaps I judge her unwisely,” Princess Luna turned to Twilight with a slight smile, “She is, I estimate, full of deeper strength than any can yet know, I see her becoming great, if neither her will nor courage is broken.”

Twilight nodded, and after a moment, she and the Princess stepped out of the infirmary. She nodded to the ponies she came across, wondering at their nervousness, and the occasional looks of awe until the Princess said to her softly, “I realize it is... Badass, I think the modern term is, but do you really intend to go the rest of the day with your face and armor splattered with blood?”

Twilight blinked, and was suddenly aware of the stickiness across her face and down the side of her neck, from where the wolf had splattered when it had been torn in half. She walked over to the newly finished baths and looked at her reflection in the lightly steaming water, only to shrink back at the pony reflected there.

Her face was covered in blood from her coronet of dark iron down to her jaw on her left side, while the right side of her face was clean, but there was a strange violet glow in her eyes that matched the vibrant fire that flowed from her mane and tail. She looked like a figure from one of her history books, the ones in the dark, forgotten sections of the library of Canterlot, where they detailed the less harmonious parts of Equestria's history. She felt the Princess nudge her gently, shaking her from her thoughts, “Go on, Dame Twilight Sparkle, to thy quarters. In the absence of thine squire, I shall help thee from thy armor.” The Princess flushed a little as she considered the alternative implications of that offer, but Twilight seemed not to take it for anything besides an innocent offer. Luna wasn't sure if she was happy about that or not, to her surprise, but quashed the questions for the moment and led Twilight back to her quarters in silence.

Dissension

Twilight crept through the Hedge like a shadow, making no noise and blending with the bookshelves and papery vines like a creature born and bred there, even in her iron armor. Changelings coming to join the effort on the Citadel, as it was becoming known, had brought tales of another group of changelings attempting to kill or capture any trying to join up with Twilight. They called themselves the Darkest Dawn, and seemed to believe that changelings should be going back to their masters, rather than seeking freedom.

Twilight, sworn to protect the rights and safety of the changelings of Equestria, had set out a few days later with Trixie and a few volunteers, with Luminous minding the reports and requests for her time while she was gone. Luminous had taken the increase in responsibility very seriously, and Twilight had seen her last going over the reports of the Citadel's construction in the wee hours, until she had been forced to order her squire to go to bed.

Twilight almost chuckled at the thought of Luminous waking up early just to go over her reports again, but she maintained her stealth as she and her fellow changelings inched through the Hedge around the last place the Darkest Dawn had struck. Icebell, one of the volunteers, froze as he heard something, and sounded the alarm: a whistle similar to that of birds nearby. The whole group stopped and listened, and for several moments, nothing happened.

Then, slowly, Twilight heard voices, “Stones, I told you no one was out here,” a petulant, nasal voice was complaining, “We walked all this way and there's-”

A grunt interrupted him, “Look at the Hedge, you idiot. She's here, somewhere close,” the voice was like rocks tumbling over each other: sharp and grumbling all at once, “He said the books always followed her, so if the bloody Hedge is suddenly made of shelving, you can bet she's close by.”

Twilight looked back at her fellow changelings in surprise, who grimaced and nodded, staying silent in hiding. She hadn't realized she cast so large an effect over the Hedge, and was beginning to realize what a liability she was on a stealth mission like this. Her thoughts were chilled and brought to a halt by the third voice, which menaced with a bubbling hatred, hot with venom and chilled with madness.

“Curse that Twilight, curse her and break her! It's because of her we're back here, back in this miserable pit,” the voice took a moment to spit derisively, and Twilight had to motion for her group to stay still as several of them took umbrage on her behalf, which, while touching, would only result in deaths and a longer time tracking the group. “If she's around here, maybe we can catch her. He said he'd send us back if we did. She can't be so hard,” Twilight smirked a little at that, but most of her attention focused on the proximity of the speaker, who was getting very close, “She's only a mare after all.”

Twilight took that moment to burst through the thorns into the path of the speakers, who were, rather surprisingly, ready for her. Three charging ponies, a pegasus and two earth ponies, were mid-flight as she looked around, but they had obviously expected her to come alone. Icebell tackled the pegasus, who looked like he had been made of obsidian boulders and a cutie mark of a tooth, and pinned him painfully by the wings to the ground, scattering pages of nonsense that littered the ground of the Hedge. One of the other volunteers, a black unicorn covered in ancient runes that glowed with his eyes, neatly caught one of the earth ponies, a slim, ratlike pony with no fur, a long, skinny tail and a cutie mark of cheese, in a bubble of force. The last hostile frothed with rage, and savagely fought off two other volunteers with bucking kicks and snarling promises of violence. When he spotted Twilight, he ripped towards her like a madpony.

Twilight didn't even flinch as he charged and calmly stared at him, casting and whispering to the fae contracts she had made. As he was about to strike, mere inches from the casting unicorn, he suddenly stopped, his eyes widened, and he very gently curled up in terror, sobbing, while chains of some dark material formed from his tears and bound him tightly.

The other changelings were noticeably impressed, and stopped struggling, the stony pegasus especially staring at Twilight with something approaching awe as she levitated over his sobbing compatriot and set him down nearby. She flicked her glance over to the rest of the volunteers and for a moment, her gaze sharpened, then Twilight whispered softly, “A diversion... No...” She turned her attention, which was now filled with a quiet fury, sending sparks of letters and angry phrases from her burning mane, to spread brief fires of literature amongst the scattered pages littering the Hedge. “Where,” Twilight asked in a low, dangerous tone which made even the volunteers with her flinch, “Did your fellows take Trixie?”

The encampment of the Darkest Dawn was a wretched place. It was in a clearing of the Hedge, set on a hill, with some stabilizing influence on it that prevented Twilight's presence from affecting it as she approached, alone, towards the gatehouse. The camp was encircled with a wooden palisade, which was tipped with carved spikes and every log was covered in strange runes that were unpleasant to look upon. Twilight snorted as she heard what sounded like a pair of gates being hastily slammed shut once she was in bowshot, realizing just how poorly managed the place was. Once she had approached within speaking distance, she turned up her amplification spell on her armor with a thought and addressed the camp, “PONIES OF THE DARKEST DAWN, I AM DAME TWILIGHT SPARKLE,” the sheer volume of her voice rattled the gates and the palisades, not to mention the nerves of the ponies behind it, “AND I HAVE COME FOR THE RETURN OF MY FRIEND, WHO YOU HAVE TAKEN, AND FOR THE LIVES OF THOSE YOU HAVE SLAIN OR CAPTURED, WHICH DEMAND REDRESS OR RELEASE!” She turned the volume back down, sat down in front of the gate and waited.

After several minutes, a voice called out from behind the doors of the camp, “Leave this place, emissary of a false goddess,” the voice cracked a little on the last word, then continued, a little steadier, “We seek only to undo the damage you have done!”

Twilight laughed, and responded at a more reasonable volume, “Damage? What damage? I extended an invitation to all changelings to help me build a place for us to live.”

“Your world is not life,” another, older voice responded harshly, “It is cold, and dark, and we want no part of it. Your friend and those we have taken are forfeit,” the voice carried the tremble of madness in it, like a vibrating thread, “We will give them to the Beast in exchange for our return to our great leaders, and there is nothing you ca-”

Twilight cut him off with a sharp whistle, which echoed across the encampment like the call of some huge songbird. Abruptly, chaos erupted inside the encampment as not one, but three huge shapes emerged from the surrounding Hedge. Three massive, draconic shapes, dragon changelings, advanced on the encampment from three sides. One, a massive dragon made of ice, seemed to boil with an inner light and clouds of steam rolled off him at all times as the fire within battled endlessly with the icy changes enacted upon him. The second, a massive, hulking dragon that seemed to ooze arrogance and avarice, advanced with an awesome, perfect gait that terrified even as it impressed. The last was shorter than the first two and missing an eye, but looked to be made of scars, his body malformed and hideous, yet full of a terrible strength as he shouldered the thorns of the Hedge aside with disdain, taking barely a scratch.

Twilight turned the volume up on her amplification enchantment again, this time to its highest setting, “YOU WILL NOT. YOU WILL RETURN MY FRIEND TO ME, AND THOSE YOU HAVE TAKEN, OR YOU WILL BURN,” the gate rattled and the whole hill seemed to shake with the weight of Twilight's command, which was delivered with a bone-chilling certainty, “IF YOU KILL ANY OF THEM, IF YOU REFUSE TO COME OUT, OR IF YOU TRY TO ATTACK ANY OF US, YOUR MISERABLE ENCAMPMENT WILL BE YOUR FUNERAL PYRE! NOW-”

Twilight broke off as the gate opened with a creak, to reveal a bruised and bloodied Trixie, surrounded by similarly abused-looking changelings. Trixie saluted, then, to Twilight's amazement, grinned, revealing a missing tooth, “You didn't have to shout, Twilight, we were on our way out anyway.”

As it turned out, Trixie had been in the middle of organizing a breakout right as Twilight and her group had descended on the camp, which was now in total disarray. The dragons sat in a triangle around a group of terrified-looking changelings, who all huddled in the middle of the encampment. Twilight and Trixie, who had assured Twilight she was fine, were helping the wounded and the sick, of which there were a depressingly large number, both of survivors and those supposedly in charge of the camp.

Whatever leader the camp had had was apparently hideously ignorant of basic camp discipline and hygiene. Filth and mud ran together in between crude wooden huts, made worse by the spring in the center of the camp, which was rancid with ill-use and pouring the filth between the huts. The whole place stank of misery, and yet there was a curious defiance about the changelings who had been running it. They genuinely believed, according to Trixie, that their lives had been better under the yoke of their keepers, and were all desperately trying to bargain with the Beast to be returned, mainly by offering those who had been 'misled' by Twilight into trying to reintegrate into society.

Trixie had gathered those who had been captured by the Darkest Dawn members, and rallied them into a prison break using, to Twilight's surprise, a few bits of cloth, some string and some sticks. How she'd managed it, Twilight had no idea, but Trixie seemed more baffled by the appearance of the dragons-changelings, who were managing to keep the prisoners contained by the sheer weight of their presence. “But,” she asked Twilight in hushed tones, “Where did they come from?”

Before Twilight could answer, the scarred dragon rumbled a response, “We sought Dame Twilight Sparkle, and were awaiting her in her Citadel when she arrived, calling for volunteers for a rescue mission. We three are those volunteers.” He nodded to the other two dragons without taking his eye off the prisoners, “I am Archaemonstrixillator, this is Kazarhoth,” he nodded to the icy dragon, which nodded to Twilight and Trixie curtly, “And that,” he nodded to the arrogant-looking, sneering dragon, “Is Kretellmanstrix.” Kretellmanstrix flicked Twilight an appraising look, which she returned steadily. Archaemonstrixillator nodded to Twilight once more, “We would speak to you, ere this is over, Dame Twilight Sparkle, though I fear I must interpret for my fellows. They know your language not.”

Twilight nodded without bowing, while Trixie continued to stare, slack-jawed, “It would be my pleasure, noble dragons, to receive you. I only regret I had no time when you arrived to greet you properly.” While outwardly calm and relaxed, inwardly, Twilight was frantically running through her mental library of dragon courtesy and culture, while Archaemonstrixillator translated her words to the others, who seemed to relax a fraction, though, Twilight noted, Kazarhoth relaxed a moment before the translation began. She suspected the icy dragon knew more Equestrian than he let on, but she didn't bring it up and instead addressed all three dragons, “For now, Archaemonstrixillator, Kretellmanstrix, and Kazarhoth,” she nodded to each in turn, “I thank you for your assistance, it was most timely. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a camp to disassemble,” With that, she turned away, and pulled Trixie in step with her to begin preparations to disassemble the camp and care for those that were ill or wounded, either in being taken by the Darkest Dawn or by the mismanagement of the leader of the camp, who was currently being held in the middle of the large group of those who had been identified as the core of the Darkest Dawn.

Twilight arranged the survivors into squads, those that weren't seriously ill or wounded, and had them systematically pillage each hut, looking for survivors or possible clues that might lead to other similar groups. The survivors readily did as she asked, very obviously intimidated by her presence and the dragon-changelings that were under her command, though many of them obviously wanted a piece of the leaders of the camp. Twilight and Trixie categorized everything that was brought out of the houses, most of which was worthless junk, though some potent magical objects were present amongst the rubbish, along with some terrified survivors that had been chained inside. She used magic to change several of the huts into small wagons, sufficient for individuals to use, and arranged the wounded and whatever property had been taken from them in the wagon train.

Twilight looked over the last of the wounded, sent Trixie ahead with the survivors and the pillage, then approached the prisoners, all of whom were looking outraged, terrified, defiant, or some mix thereof. “You have all committed great wrongs here,” she said softly, her voice low and dangerous, like the rumble before a storm, “You kidnapped ponies, stole from them, enslaved them,” her voice rose with her ire, the images of some of the poor wretches that had been chained in the huts fresh in her mind, “you have broken so many laws that, were we in Equestria, the Princess would have to banish you!”

“What law is there in Equestria?” One pony, the leader snarled, pushing his way to the front until a growl from one of the dragon-changelings halted him. He was a skinny, filthy-looking stallion, with furless skin that oozed slime like some gangrenous wound. His pus-yellow eyes rolled in madness as he shouted at Twilight, “Equestria is nothing! Nothing! We know the truth, while you lie there asleep, asleep and lying to yourself and others. What authority has a Princess when we have been to the land of dreams?!” His voice was growing in volume now, and there was a general disturbance in the dozen or so behind him as ponies began to get riled up, “We who have seen the TRUTH, the truth that the true rulers are coming, they will come for us, and take us from this wretched world that yo-”

He cut off, mid-rant, while Twilight's horn glowed and sparked with power as she whispered inwardly to the core of her faerie other-ness. Her mane was an inferno of fury now, and the shadows around her hooves seemed to reach with claws of darkness towards the leader. The stench of burned paper was overwhelming, and the leader seemed captivated, unable to speak, along with the whole crowd of changelings, pony and dragon alike. Twilight's presence demanded their attention, and when she spoke, they all trembled, “What you speak if is not truth. What you sought was the lies the creatures from beyond this place wanted you to believe. You were their toy, nothing more, no matter what they said, and convincing other ponies otherwise is nothing short of criminal. As such, I shall lay my judgment now.” Twilight seemed to be wrapped in a darkness that only emphasized the flames of her mane and the words flicking through them, words of fury and justice, while her eyes blazed like violet beacons. A whispering at the edge of hearing began as she spoke next, “All you members of the Darkest Dawn, you will be released, but you must swear upon the truth of your very selves that you will never again harm another mortal or changeling, nor attempt to convince others to do so. If you do not so swear, then I will personally see to it that you are brought before the Princesses for judgment. If you break your oath, then you shall never again see the light of night or day.” She glared around at the large group of changelings, “Do you so swear?”

One by one, the changelings all agreed after a varying amount of hesitation, and a curious tingling at the back of Twilight's mind told her instinctively that they were bound. She asked the dragon-changelings to escort them out to the edge of the clearing, and when they were all gone, she burned the horrible camp to the ground, searing the earth clean of the sickness the presence of the camp had brought and satisfying her inner fury somewhat. Still, she knew they wouldn't be the last, and the thought of that, and of what the ponies who survived had gone through under the hooves of the Darkest Dawn made her sick.

Oaths and Revelations

Luminous tried desperately to keep up with Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing around the Citadel, loudly calling for Twilight and saying hi to every rather surprised pony or changeling she came across, passing out sweets from her rather overloaded saddlebags. “Pinkie,” Luminous tried again, her voice a little strained from her attempts to follow the pink pony, who was bounding towards the Hall of the Elements, “Pinkie, Dame Twilight Sparkle is busy right-” she sighed as Pinkie totally ignored her and continued down the hallway, making a bee-line for the Hall, where Twilight was currently engaged in a rather solemn ceremony.

“Do you so swear, upon your very life, to protect Equestria, its changelings and mortals, and those who need your aid? To serve the common good of Equestria and its inhabitants?” Twilight asked in a stentorian voice that seemed to fill the hall where once she had found the Elements to defeat Nightmare Moon.

“I do,” came the three dragon-changelings' responses, their voices low, but sincere. They had, upon returning to the Citadel, told Twilight of their wish to join her cause. They had left their lands, where they had been treated as freaks, to come and join Twilight, after hearing all that Aqua and Trotter, who had been adventuring in those lands, had said about her. Twilight had, while hurriedly arranging the ceremony, made a note to give Aqua and Trotter a kiss, a party and a large bag of bits each.

Twilight looked seriously over the three dragon-changelings and gestured sharply, “Then by your oaths I hold you, and I proclaim you the first sworn members of the Order of Twilight, by the authority granted to me by the land of Equestria. Between night and day, and blessed by both, you shall keep the light at your back and the unhallowed darkness before you. With might and magic you shall keep these lands safe, and aid those who have need, standing against the myriad dangers of the Hedge and any other threat to Equestria. So long as you remain true, may your efforts be guided by the light of the sun and may you be guarded by the grace of the moon. Rise, members of the Order!” Several changelings stepped back as the dragon-changelings rose to all fours, then a great cheer rose, filling the hall with raucous celebration.

“Excellent,” Luna said next to Twilight, murmuring so only the purple unicorn could hear, “You handled that very well.” Twilight shifted her gaze over to the Princess to find Luna's expression unreadable. The dragon-changelings had insisted on swearing allegiance only to Twilight, and had openly distrusted Luna and the non-changelings amongst the work crews, who were more than a little nervous around the draconic creatures.

Pinkie popped up from behind the Princess, grinning, “Yeah Twilight, that was awesome!” Luna and the dragon-changelings whirled, startled by the sudden appearance of Pinkie, though Twilight, rather used to surprises by this point in the day, merely smiled as her friend babbled on, “It's so great that you're making your own order and stuff, that way you don't have to go around doing everything yourself, but Twilight?” Pinkie asked, grinning a little as she leaned in close, so her voice would go no further than Luna and Twilight, “Don't you think naming it after yourself was a little, I dunno...”

Twilight blinked, then blushed, while Luna giggled, relaxing, “A little pretentious, I would have said. I had feared she had let her success go to her head, but it seems not, judging by her expression,” Twilight blinked at Luna, who winked, surprising her again in a way she was rather less prepared for than the sudden appearance of Pinkie. Princess Luna chuckled, “I'd imagine Twilight felt it would be fitting to name the Order after the place between night and day, to honor both my sister and myself, but,” now the princess giggled at Twilight as she reddened, “I think she forgot her own name for a moment! Now, Pinkie,” Luna turned her smile to the pink party pony, “Whatever brings you here?”

“Oh! I wanted to ask you if I could host a party here! One second, I've got an invitation in here somewhere,” Pinkie started rummaging through her bags while a shamefaced Luminous came walking up. She had entirely failed to impede Pinkie in her quest to interrupt the ceremony, and was quite sure a reprimand was incoming. Princess Luna however looked understanding, while Twilight was thoroughly distracted by her friend's rummaging, which was throwing candy, party favors and other strange nonsense to the floor, much to the curiosity of the dragon-changelings. They had watched Luminous strangely as well as she passed, though she had tried to look dutiful and not let their regard bother her, she still felt their eyes boring into her.

Pinkie finally produced a card and gave it over to Twilight, who took it telekinetically, opened the seal, read for a couple of lines then blinked, “Luminous' birthday? That's this week?” Luna and Twilight's eyes snapped to a very surprised Luminous, who blushed under their regard while Pinkie nodded and bounced eagerly.

“Yep! I figured she might not know when her birthday was, so I checked in the birth records at Canterlot, but I couldn't find her in there, so I asked around everywhere I could think of.” Pinkie started bouncing around at that, thoroughly proud of herself, while Luminous stood there, reddening as the whole hall started to watch and listen curiously, despite Trixie's attempts to urge them out the door, “I looked in Ponyville, Trottingham, Hoofington, all over! And then I-”

Pinkie was silenced by Twilight's hoof plugging her mouth, to a general ripple of amusement in the hall, “Pinkie,” Twilight said firmly, “Maybe we should continue this in private?” Pinkie nodded and Twilight turned to the hall, her voice and manner formal once more, “You have all seen and witnessed the oaths given here today! Now, please return to your tasks. Trixie?”

“Yes, Dame Twilight?” Trixie called, poking her head around the bulk of the dragon-changelings as the rest of the hall filtered out, chatting.

Twilight nodded to the three large new arrivals, “Could you show our new members of the Order to their temporary quarters? I'm afraid they're not much,” she addressed the dragon-changelings now, “But we're building accommodations for you all presently. Please talk to Trixie if you have any concerns.” The dragons all nodded gravely, then, with a last odd look at Luminous, left, hunching to get through the hurriedly widened doorway.

“Now,” Twilight said once she, Luna, Luminous and Pinkie had retired to Twilight's permanent quarters, “What was it you were saying about Luminous's birthday?” She was rather embarrassed that the changelings had insisted on finishing her and Luna's accommodations first, though the wall was long since finished, she still felt guilty about sleeping in brand new quarters while most of the workers in the Citadel were still in tents. The chambers had once been Celestia and Luna's, and the sun and moon design in both rooms was still intact, but otherwise they had been totally redesigned.

The whole structure was oriented north to south, with Twilight's bedroom in the west and Luna's in the east, to ease her raising of the moon. In between their bedrooms was a common area, set with a large table and all the planning documents for the Citadel strewn about the room. Purple featured largely in the hangings and furnishings, emblazoned with silver moons and amethyst stars, while the table was set with an elegantly inlaid sun design that seemed to burn with inner fire when the sunlight hit it.

Both bedrooms had their own kitchens and, to Twilight's delight and Princess Luna's private despair, one shared bath, a miniature of the large public baths out in the Citadel proper, which were now becoming part of a large housing block for those that would be living permanently at the Citadel and would be sharing those baths. Twilight, Trixie, Luna and Luminous had all contributed to the main designs, which would turn the Citadel into a sort of tree stretching up from the canyon floor in which it was situated with rooms and additions sprouting off of it. It was a very ambitious project, and Twilight was sure Luna would still be working on it long after she'd gone.

For now though, Twilight was rather glad for the quarters, even if having hers first made her a little uncomfortable. Pinkie however, had no such reservations and bounced excitedly, “Oh yes! It's Lumi's birthday in three days! And you know how I found out?” Pinkie suddenly asked Luminous, who fell back on her rump in surprise, “Do ya? Do ya do ya do ya?”

“Um... No?” Luminous said awkwardly, looking into a pair of blue eyes that brimmed with energy like somepony watching a knife in front of their face.

Pinkie leapt up onto the table, scattering plans and documents, “I asked! But like I said it wasn't easy, 'cause nopony in Canterlot knew where you'd been born! Not even at the orphanage!”

Luminous blinked, “You... Went to the orphanage?” Luminous had never told anypony but Twilight that she had been an orphan, but she guessed it was on public record. It still seemed like a lot of effort to go through for something as silly as her birthday. The strange pink pony seemed sincere though. “But...” Luminous asked, confused, “Why?”

Pinkie rolled her eyes, “So I could find out your birthday, duh! But nopony knew when it was!” Pinkie started, to Twilight's annoyance, to pace across the papers on the table, “So I went to Hoofington, asked around there, then Trottingham, then even around Ponyville and that was where I found the first clue!” Pinkie was suddenly wearing a rather ridiculous hat and sported a bubble pipe, “It led me all the way around Ponyville, you shoulda seen it!” Pinkie jumped down from the table and started looking around the room, “I searched high and low, and finally I found a pegasus that recognized the name and description! Do you know why?” Pinkie asked intently, leaning in close to Twilight, who blinked. Before she could respond, Pinkie was back on the table, on her hind legs, pointing dramatically upwards, “Because Luminous was born in Cloudsdale! And...” Pinkie grinned and savored the anticipation for a moment then said, "Her parents are going to visit for her birthday!"

Luminous, to everypony's surprise, looked as if Pinkie had just announced the world was going to end. The little white filly had gone entirely white as the blood drained from her face, then passed out, giving Twilight only seconds to catch her squire before she hit the ground.

Happy Birthday.

Luminous was falling, falling through clouds and down through the rushing winds towards a rapidly approaching landscape of trees. She tried to flap her little limbs, but to no avail, the wind and the sky seemed to scoff at her. She was too panicked to use her magic either, every attempt fizzling before she could get it off, with a little snicker from the snapping breeze, as if the universe itself were taunting her. The trees got closer, and closer, until suddenly everything stopped, and a soft, familiar voice rang through the world, “No.” The strength of the command seemed to dissolve the edges of the world with purple fire, softening the details with a gentle violet glow until all was consumed by a quiet, purple inferno. Far from concerned, Luminous felt softly comforted as they licked around her, not burning, but warm, and gently guiding her back to consciousness with quiet whispers.

Luminous woke slowly to find Twilight hovering over her, her mentor's horn touching the little filly's temple. She was laying down on one of the reading couches in Twilight's room, she realized, and had been out long enough for somepony to start a fire in the fireplace, which gave the room a rather lovely glow in the early evening light. As she woke, Twilight pulled away and shook her head, “Well, that was interesting.” Twilight turned to Princess Luna beside her and nodded, “She's alright, it was just the shock of the news I expect.”

“News?” Luminous asked, confused for a moment until Pinkie's words came back to her. Her eyes widened, but this time she was able to stubbornly suppress the urge to faint. “I... My parents...”

Pinkie poked her head into Luminous's field of view like a teleporting pink hot air balloon, “Yep! And they're gonna be here in three days, just in time for your birthday! Isn't that exciting? I know I'm excited, aren't yo-”

Once again, Twilight silenced her friend with a hoof plugging the pink pony's mouth. “Yes Pinkie, it's very exciting, but it's rather a lot for Luminous right now. Do you think you could... Give us a few moments?”

Luminous startled at that, but Pinkie nodded eagerly, as if she'd just been asked to join a kitten-cuddling contest, and pulled her mouth free of Twilight's hoof to respond, “Okey-dokey-lokey! I've got a lot of planning to do anyway! Gotta get streamers and banners and ooh! Maybe some of those big, twinkly...” Pinkie bounced away, singing what she needed to get as she exited the room and passing out invitations to whatever puzzled changeling or pony happened to cross her path.

Princess Luna followed, chuckling at the pink pony's excess of good spirits, pausing at the door long enough to say, “If you have need of me, I shall be overseeing the construction of the Astronomy Tower, Twilight. Luminous,” the Princess smiled as Luminous tried to sit up and salute on reflex, “Have a happy birthday.” Luminous blinked as Luna threw Twilight a wink, making, to Luminous's mild surprise, the normally unflappable knight blush like a sunset.

Twilight recovered her composure after a moment and sat down next to Luminous, who scooted over for her politely. “Luminous,” Twilight said gently, “Do you want to talk about your parents?” The little filly tensed, but nodded tightly. Luminous's whole body went rigid at the question, but she slowly forced herself to relax and took several deep breaths.

“I don't... I don't remember much, just...” Luminous took another deep breath, and found Twilight's scent of burning paper oddly comforting at that moment, comforting enough to let her continue, “Falling... Falling is all I remember, from dreams.”

Twilight nodded and waited for a beat before saying softly, “Sometimes dreams are all we have left, Lumi,” The unconscious use of the nickname made Luminous relax a little more, while the heat and sound of the fire eased her mind some as Twilight continued softly, “Pegasi sometimes have unicorns in their families, and that can make some things difficult...”

Luminous nodded a little, tensing up again, “I know... I... I wonder if they just couldn't support me, or... What if they didn't want me or-”

Twilight cut her off by gently nudging her mouth shut with telekinesis, “Luminous, my squire,” Twilight released the light telekinesis and smiled down at the filly sitting beside her, “You are a strong, intelligent, capable young mare. Anypony would be happy to have you as their daughter.” She chuckled softly as Luminous blushed, “They probably couldn't support a new foal is all. You'll see, I bet they're really sorry they missed out on raising you.”

For the next two days, Luminous spent her time making sure all the party preparations were being finished, performing her duties as Twilight's squire, practicing magic with Twilight, and fretting. She worried about what her parents would think of her, how they would act around the changelings, who could be odd company sometimes, and most of all she worried about what would happen when they met Twilight. Luminous knew that many ponies were still afraid of the purple unicorn, and worried endlessly about how Twilight and her parents would interact.

Twilight, for her part, was making preparations of her own, with the help of Princess Luna. She knew Applebloom and Applejack would want to meet Luminous's parents, and Pinkie would always be glad of a party. She decided to invite all her friends, including Spike, and pass a general invitation to all the changelings. She knew that many of the changelings were somewhat confused and depressed by the sheer amount of work waiting to be done on the Citadel, and felt a party would be just the thing. She collaborated with Luna, who had some experience with organizing very large events, and personally set about making sure the Citadel, while still under construction, looked mostly presentable.

The changelings and ponies of the Citadel worked nonstop for two days, mostly, to Twilight's surprise, out of a desire to impress Luminous's parents. Luminous was tremendously popular in the Citadel after her defense of the wounded, and many of the changelings and ponies were competing to see who could clean up the nicest, while cleaning up as much of the visible parts of the Citadel as possible. Twilight saw then for the first time what driven, determined changelings can accomplish when they had a mind to.

The courtyards gleamed and were strung with banners and streamers, while decorations discreetly covered up the parts of construction that couldn't be completed in time. The Courtyard of the Moon, which faced south and directly connected with the path leading from Ponyville, was converted into a sort of welcoming pavilion, while gardens around the whole Citadel sprang up literally overnight under the furious attention of hundreds of changelings. Twilight barely had to direct anypony to do anything, in fact, as almost all the changelings and ponies in the Citadel were prettying up the place so fervently that she found herself having to restrain somepony from trying to single-hoofedly re-paint the walls in Luminous's colors.

Twilight wondered if Luminous knew just how popular she was, really, while she and the Princess worked together to get all the catering worked out, the guest list, since this was rapidly changing from a birthday party to a large event, and sending out invitations. Twilight set about with groups of changelings she had pried from their prettying of themselves and the Citadel to make the road to Ponyville clear, while Twilight herself set out enchanted light-globes along the path that would deter predators and ill-wishers. Everything got finished just in time for the beginning of the party, which started at noon precisely.

The party was magnificent, even if all the food orders had been rushed and nopony had had time to get proper gifts, Luminous was very obviously ecstatic with the results. Twilight chatted with her friends, who had all taken time off from their responsibilities to attend, while Luminous played party games with Applebloom and the other foals her age. “Ah hope that filly's parents are as keen as she is,” Applejack said to Twilight as they sipped some of Pinkie's rather marvelous punch at a table with the rest of their friends, “That's one brave young mare right there, an' ah'd hate to see her all disappointed.”

Rarity nodded, “Oh yes, she's such a darling, I have no idea why they'd simply abandon her,”

Twilight snorted, sipping her punch, “Well, like I told her, I bet they just couldn't afford a new foal. It can be hard, after all, having to move when your child can't walk on clouds. Some families just can't afford it.”

Fluttershy nodded as well, sitting next to Rainbow Dash, who was trying to keep up with Pinkie's rapid-fire conversation. “Oh yes,” Fluttershy said softly, “It can be terribly difficult raising a unicorn up in the clouds, um...” Fluttershy sipped some more punch delicately, “Why I knew a couple who supposedly, well... Um...” Fluttershy lowered her voice and leaned in, prompting the others to do the same, “I heard they just dropped their foal, when they heard it wasn't a pegasus.”

The gasps around the table alerted Rainbow Dash, who rapidly caught up to the conversation, “Yeah I heard about that! Wasn't it some couple that just didn't want to bother raising the kid? There was a real big stink about it. I didn't know you knew them Flutters,” Rainbow nudged her mate, who blushed, smiling, “Heh, were they neighbors or something? 'Cause I still wanna give them a piece of my mind for that!”

“Oh, um,” Fluttershy said softly, still blushing, “I know the midwife, you know... Flitter?”

Rainbow Dash blinked, “Flitter's midwifing now? Since when?”

“Oh, years now I think,” Fluttershy said, “She needed the money when she left the weather patrol, remember?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, taking a swig of her punch in a way that Rarity clearly disapproved of, “Oh yeah, that was after Discord-” Rainbow was cut off by a sudden shift in the attention of the crowd as all the ponies and changelings hushed. She and the others looked over to see two pegasi standing uncertainly in a widening circle, faced by a frozen Luminous standing before them. The pegasus stallion was orange, with a wild yellow mane that was nevertheless expertly styled, fiery orange eyes and a lantern cutie mark, while the mare was grey, with bright green eyes and a white mane that was curled and styled rather expensively to resemble the clouds of her cutie mark. Both pegasi were rather tall, with long, graceful legs, and wide wingspans, and were clothed in rather expensive fashions, while their expressions were hovering between awkwardness and fear.

Twilight and Princess Luna rose to greet the pair, who bowed, not to Twilight, but to the Princess, with an entirely unnecessary amount of trembling. Twilight wasn't slighted, but Princess Luna looked a little affronted for a moment until her usual regal calm covered her reaction. “Welcome, Bright Watch and Cloudy Skies,” Luna said kindly as she and Twilight descended, flanked by Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Pinkie Pie, who popped out from behind Applejack to join the group, to the apple farmer's mild surprise. “We wish to welcome you to your daughter's birthday party,” Princess Luna said warmly, her voice slowly falling into an archaic cadence, “She has been a boon to our efforts here, and an honored companion to many, but has never known her parents. It is an honor to meet thee.”

“We're honored to be here,” Bright Watch, the orange stallion, said smoothly, “We're very proud of our daughter and how far she's come.” Despite his words, he and Cloudy Skies had no looks for Luminous, and Twilight caught the slight scent of a lie in his tone. Cloudy Skies said nothing, but she didn't so much as look over in Luminous's direction until the Princess had waved for the party to continue and the crowd began to mingle once more, and even then it was as if she was making sure the filly was nowhere close. Pinkie Pie bounced over to Luminous, who was getting punch while trembling with excitement, and the two of them whispered closely for several long moments until Twilight lost sight of them in the general hubbub of the crowd.

After a while, Twilight discreetly tried to walk over to listen to what the newly reunited family was talking about, only to find that the parents had moved off to a corner of the garden. She assumed Luminous had gone with, and forced herself to relax. She talked with some of the other members of the party, and was chatting easily with one of the Apple family relations when something felt slightly wrong. Twilight tasted blood, and the strength seemed to leave her limbs for a moment as a searing pain shot through her head that was gone in an instant, only to be replaced by a sort of overwhelming despair. “Are you alright?” Apple Fritter asked with some concern, “you don't look so well, Twilight, yer nose is bleeding,” Twilight reassured the earth pony and excused herself, then set off looking for Luminous, some deep part of her sure that the filly was in trouble.

“Why are we even here, Bright Watch?” Cloudy Skies hissed at her husband as they walked nervously through the elegant gardens, “This forest is wretched and who knows how long it'll be until somepony figures out we-”

“Shh!” Bright Watch whispered harshly, looking around nervously. They had ditched Luminous shortly after introducing themselves and enduring her embraces, and walked through the garden under the pretense of letting Cloudy 'recover from the shock of finding her filly.' “You don't know who's listening out here, the wretched trees could have a dozen of those freaks in it,” Bright Watch sighed as he saw how that alarmed Cloudy, then leaned in closer and nuzzled his wife to comfort her a little, “We couldn't say no though, my sweet, one of the Elements themselves sent us the invitation, and the little brat ingratiated herself to Nightmare-... I mean Princess Luna somehow.”

“I know,” Cloudy said softly, biting her lip, “I mean, what would we have done with a unicorn? Move to the ground, lose everything? Oh,” the grey mare groaned softly, leaning against her husband in a way that wouldn't upset her manestyle, “I just wish she'd hit the ground when you dropped her, it would have been so much simpler. I don't think I can take much more of this sober.” She and Bright Watch walked steadily towards the welcoming pavilion in the Courtyard of the Moon, unwittingly trampling a card which glowed from inside, as it fell from behind a hedge. It gave a little spark and spat out a little sad confetti as Bright Watch's hoof crushed the tiny mechanism inside. They entirely missed the sounds of somepony running off into the forest, and were too intent on finding a drink not intended for children to notice the sobbing disappearing into the dark woods.

Twilight knew something was wrong when she spotted Luminous's parents returning to the party, rather inebriated, without Luminous. Twilight discreetly asked around, and found that no one, pony or changeling, knew where the white filly had gone. This, along with her earlier premonition of danger, was sufficient for Twilight. Rather than make a scene, Twilight simply passed the word to Pinkie Pie that cake and presents should be delayed a little, though it was already sunset, on the pretense that Luminous was still dealing with having parents suddenly. She then told Luna she was going for a walk and would return shortly, and set out looking for Luminous.

She found the card after searching around the grounds for a while, following her gut instinct, and the sad little sounds it made as she opened the card emphasized the aura of despair that surrounded the crushed piece of paper and machinery. She had written a poem, in a rather foalish script, that, Twilight couldn't help but notice, had a rather predictable pattern, but she felt tears rise to her eyes all the same as she closed the card, unwilling to intrude on something so personal. At the same time, her resolve hardened, and Twilight made a rather sharp note to herself to have a few words with Cloudy Skies and Bright Watch, and she set off into the forest, her nerves taut with anxiety for the filly.

Twilight walked through the underbrush silently, her deals with the darkness and the foliage enabling her to move with more stealth than a hunting cat. Her hooves snapped no twigs and rustled no leaves, even when she walked through dense undergrowth and bushes, following the tracking spell that pulled her steadily towards her squire.

The changelings had done wonders at taming the forest around the Citadel, after the Beast's attacks, but now she was well past what had been tamed and made safe and into the wilds near where a cockatrice had made her into a temporary statue. Wary of such a fate, Twilight moved with more caution, and almost ran into a sleeping manticore. She very carefully avoided the dangerous creature, and started moving towards Luminous's magical signature once more.

She moved towards a mountain cave, which bulged out of the earth like some large eye staring out towards the forest, and had to hide as a cockatrice came screaming towards her. It hadn't seen her, Twilight realized after a moment and, judging by the way it was running into trees and things, had been blinded. It thrashed and pecked and screamed its chicken-like scream as it writhed in blind agony. Twilight made a note to approach Luminous carefully as she walked quietly towards the cave entrance, which flashed with light now and again and reeked of ozone even at a significant distance.

The cave had once belonged to an Ursa Major and her cub, but, following a mishap with Ponyville, they had been persuaded to leave for less inhabited areas. Now it hosted an extremely furious unicorn filly who had been blasting any and all unfortunate rock formations to cross her path with beams of light. Twilight, who stood in the entrance to the cave, was rather impressed actually, some of the rocks had holes in them where the stone had been vaporized, and there were deep furrows in the walls and floor that still glowed with residual heat. Luminous was curled up, probably exhausted, but Twilight took care to announce her presence, “Luminous,” Twilight called softly, causing the white unicorn to look up in surprise, “Luminous, it's me.”

Once again Twilight felt pain shoot through her head as Luminous's expression grew cool, “Go away, Twilight, I don't want to see you.” Twilight pushed the pain aside mentally and approached anyway, causing Luminous to push herself upright, glowing once more as the emotions inside her started pushing the magic through her small body, “I said go away!”

Twilight just gave her squire a neutral look and lay down, though she had to swallow blood before she could speak, and the pain was beginning to edge her vision with red, “Talk to me. Please? What happened, Luminous?”

Luminous glowered at Twilight for a moment longer, then said, “I... They...” Luminous started to shake, and the pain in Twilight's head slowly receded as the white filly's mismatched eyes began to fill, “Th-They said...” Luminous broke down crying, and Twilight had to teleport to catch her before she fell.

Twilight held Luminous until her squire had stopped sobbing, and her breathing slowly quieted while Twilight whispered to her sadness and eased it away, until at last, in the silence that was only broken by the sound of cooling stone, Twilight stroked Luminous's mane softly, and asked in a gentle tone, “What did they say, Luminous?”

Loss

“They are released?!” Luna shouted, not quite using the Traditional Canterlot Voice. Twilight winced, but nodded while the Princess paced furiously in their shared study. She had taken the Princess aside from the party, which Luminous had rejoined after a while. “They should have paid for their crimes, for reckless endangerment at the very least! Tell us where they went, and we shall-” Luna stopped when as Twilight's hoof pressed against her lips. The gesture was as unconscious on Twilight's part as the frown that creased the purple unicorn's face, and Luna found herself feeling rather touched, rather than annoyed. After all, nopony back in Canterlot would have dared to shush her, out of fear, and Luna found the sheer audacity of the purple unicorn endearing.

“Yes,” Twilight said slowly, her purple eyes troubled, but resolute as she lowered her hoof with just the slightest of blushes as a silent apology. “I told them to leave, and to only come back when Luminous called for them. They... Well they were honestly horrified at what Luminous had heard.” Twilight shook her head as she saw Luna's face contract in doubt, “No, I believe them, but the fact is they did drop her, but not on purpose, it was more that they were afraid to go get her. Afraid of what others would think of them for dropping their child.” Twilight blew out a sigh as she turned and walked to the window, which overlooked a birthday party in full swing.

Luminous had rejoined the festivities shortly after her parents' departure, and had been immediately and thoroughly distracted by cake and presents. The changelings of the Citadel had truly outdone themselves in that regard, even given the mere two days they'd had to prepare. She was practically buried now in everything from toys to books to bits of armor. Some of it had been made from the stuff of the Hedge itself, while others had been rather expensive purchases. Twilight hadn't realized just how popular her squire was with the changelings of the Citadel, but it made her all the more sure of her decision.

“No,” Twilight said softly, while Luna stepped up beside her to join in her reflections, “No I couldn't punish them, however much I wanted to. It's not my place to do so. Luminous is going to have to confront them about it someday, and it wouldn't be right for me to pass judgment before she does. Besides,” Twilight added frankly, nodding to the party, “If this group knew what her parents had done, they probably would bring their own punishments to bear, and they don't deserve that.” Luna looked unconvinced, but Twilight just looked over the party, thinking. After a moment, Twilight shook her head and sighed, then put a smile back on her face and stepped out to make sure Luminous enjoyed the rest of her party. Luna paused for a moment, something tickling her attention, and examined the room critically for several seconds before following Twilight.

Twilight wandered through a dark forest of polished wooden trees and paper leaves, her every sense attuned to the clear presence of danger. The forest was lit by neither moonlight nor daylight, and the only light came from Twilight's own mane, which flickered and danced with her own inner nervousness. The shadows whispered worriedly to Twilight as she walked soundlessly across hardwood floors, and she hushed them mentally to hear better.

Twilight's heartbeat seemed monstrously loud as she strained her ears to listen for something in the darkness, for her senses told her she was not alone. She felt afraid, for this place was darker even than the Everfree, and the sense of peril would not leave. Twilight swallowed hard, and vainly wished for light, something to penetrate the gloom and give her a decent shadow to hide in.

At that moment, as if responding to her request, Twilight felt two touches upon her mind, like a very quiet offer. Twilight gave a silent assent, and the forest suddenly became illuminated as the sun and moon both rose from opposite sides of the sky. The light was both silver and gold, and cast aside the darkness, but what was left was almost worse.

Hundreds of the Beast's wolves growled as they were revealed; their dark coats glistened with malice in the gold and silver light as their burning orange eyes fixated on Twilight. Twilight felt she was surrounded. It looked hopeless, Twilight was outnumbered hundreds to one, but just as the black curtain of despair began to sink upon her, a familiar scent filled Twilight's nose. A small fox sat beside her, with no sign of his arrival, and said quite clearly, “I've seen worse.”

Twilight laughed shortly, but before she could ask, Blackboard continued, “Help is always given to those who know how to ask, Twilight. So long as you honor your agreements, you'll never lack for allies.” Twilight realized then, in a flash of clarity, that the moon and sun were waiting patiently for her request. Time slowed as the wolf-creatures began to charge, and the sounds dimmed, except for Blackboard's voice. “You know how to ask, so ask.”

Twilight asked the sun and moon for aid, in return for serving those they honored, and it was as if she could suddenly feel the essence of the sun and moon pouring into her. Twilight's eyes closed, and when they opened, the whole forest was ash and bones. Yet for some reason, all she could smell was cherry blossoms as the scene began to fade

The smell of cherry blossoms filled Twilight's nose as she woke in her bed, the scent carried in on the breeze from a window she definitely remembered closing, which was now open to the new dawn peeking over the horizon. She rose to close the window, and a movement in the corner of her vision brought her gaze to her squire, who was curled up on her smaller bed. It was still covered in presents, so she was actually laying on what were the softer acquisitions, and squirming a little in her sleep. She was probably uncomfortable lying on top of all her gifts like an adolescent dragon, but she had insisted that she wouldn't clutter up the construction with her things, despite her rather modest chests and drawers bulging with birthday loot.

Twilight made a note mentally to insist that Luminous have a room built adjoining hers. Her squire had been firm on sleeping in the same room as Twilight, like the history books showed, but it was becoming apparent that that wouldn't work. Luminous had grown since her bed had been made, and although she'd made no complaint, Twilight knew it was becoming cramped for her. Twilight watched her squire for a few moments, and reflected on how much the filly had been through. She'd seen more combat than many of the Royal Guard, fought creatures out of nightmares, and all without a word of complaint. She had proven to be an able warrior, daring beyond all good sense, and such a skilled assistant that Twilight was sure she and Spike would do everything for her, were they in the same room together.

Twilight frowned as she thought of Spike, and made another note to make quarters for him at the Citadel. He had fallen asleep during the party and had been roomed temporarily in one of the tents. Twilight had been initially afraid to bring Spike to the Citadel, for fear that agents of the Beast would take the little dragon, but the fortress was well enough through construction that the safest place would probably be with her now. She mentally kicked herself for not getting onto that sooner, but with all the arrangements for the party and dealing with the Darkest Dawn she'd barely had time to send him an invitation, let alone work out living arrangements.

She was still musing about that when Luminous gave a little murmur of disquiet, her face contorting slightly as she rolled over, scattering gifts. She seemed to be having another nightmare, but just as Twilight was about to intervene, she hesitated, and nuzzled Luminous gently instead. Sure enough, the filly relaxed with a sigh into more peaceful sleep. Twilight smiled and backed away from Luminous silently. Her squire had had enough invasion of privacy recently, and although Twilight still prowled her friends' dreams, including Luminous's, looking for signs of dream-poison, she felt Luminous deserved her own dreams for the night.

The thought of what Luminous's parents had done to the little filly still brought a bitter taste to Twilight's mouth. She knew she had had to let them go, much as she would have liked to punish them for their crimes. She was still a relatively new power in Equestrian politics, A rather more cynical part of her remarked that it would put two high-placed nobles in her debt, but she dismissed the advantage even as her mind noted it down.

Twilight was still musing when a sense of unease washed over her. Almost immediately afterward, a great roar filled the air, startling the whole castle. Luminous rolled awake, scattering presents as she attempted to clear her sleep-fogged mind. A moment later, the general alarm began to go up, and the sounds of battle filled the air; the Citadel was under attack.

Gestalt battled furiously against the wolf-creature before him, swearing almost as loudly as the feral pegasus Sharp Claw next to him. “Scum-sucking, son of a sun-blighted whorehouse!” the vicious pegasus snarled as he crashed claws-first into a wolf-creature and ripped a bloody tear in its belly with his clawed hoof-paws. He and Gestalt were alone on the wall while reinforcements scrambled to their aid, but for the moment the patchwork pony and the feral fighter were holding off whatever wolf-creatures tried to assault the gates. Twilight had given great thought to the defenses of the Citadel, and the wolf-creatures could only attack through two heavily defended gatehouses; everything else was defended by the deep gorge and high, thick walls that bristled with magical power.

Unfortunately, Gestalt and Sharp Claw were the only two that had been on watch duty on the rear entrance during the ceremony, and while reinforcements were incoming, the two changelings were currently alone. Gestalt cut through one creature with his bladed wing, while Sharp Claw bit into another and disemboweled it with a kick of his rear legs, just in time for another to come leaping over its fallen comrade. Sharp Claw braced himself for the impact, and was readying a counter when a searing pain sliced across his side. He whirled, and saw a green-eyed Gestalt smirk softly before he changed into a wolf-creature in a flash of green fire. Then the original attacker was upon him and Sharp Claw felt a sudden and sharp impact on his head, then nothing.

Kazarhoth's blue fire melted through the ranks of the wolf-creatures outside the main gate like a hot knife through butter, while Archaemonstrixillator ripped through the horde of ravenous fur. His scarred body ran with the blood of the creatures he had sent to their deaths. Kretellmanstrix, ever confident, was disdainfully ripping apart any wolfen creature so unwise to approach, alongside the bigger, scarred dragon-changeling. “They die in droves, why don't they break?!” Kretellmanstrix snarled to Archaemonstrixillator in their native tongue. “I tire of ripping the flesh from these pathetic creatures' bones, they present no challenge!”

“They are driven,” Archaemonstrixillator replied calmly, as a sweep of his tail launched several unfortunate wolf-creatures into the trees at bone-breaking speed, “Driven by their master to their deaths like fodder.”

“Then let him come!” Kazarhoth snarled, between breaths of fire, “Let this master face us with all his might, and be done with it!” He loosed a flurry of fire so intense it reduced several dozen wolf-creatures to ashes and bones, and then abruptly there were no more attackers before them, the wolves were running for the trees. Kazarhoth was about to loose an insulting parting shot when a deep roar filled the whole Citadel again, and an immense shape loomed out of the forest, dwarfing even the dragon-changelings.

“Young one,” Archaemonstrixillator said wearily, “Be careful what you wish for.”

The main hall was a melee, and ran with the blood of changelings, ponies and wolf-creatures. The wolves had burst through the rear gate, blasted through the en-route reinforcements and made straight for the main hall. Automatic magical defenses destroyed many of them or diverted the vicious invaders into the river far below, but the wolves kept pouring through, overwhelming the incomplete defensive network. Twilight and Luminous were at the center of the fight, directing the defenders into an organized defense.

“Left flank tighten up!” Twilight called sharply, her burning mane sparking with words of command as the left side of the formation pulled closer together. Twilight took a moment to shoot a spell over the heads of the formation, which put a barrier of purple, whispering fire between the defenders and the wolves. The brief respite allowed the formation to pull back to the thrones, where changeling and pony alike stood their ground against the wolves that leapt through the fire, burning but still savage. Luminous's lance of light took out the first to leap snarling towards the defenders like a burning ghoul. Its momentum was halted by the beam of white light that pierced through its skull, and it fell to the ground, twitching and burning.

Twilight nudged her squire with quiet approval for the excellent shot, even as Luminous swallowed bile for what she'd just done. She took a moment to recover her strength, for that much concentrated light was still difficult to master, and while it didn't take as much out of her as it did the first time, it was still difficult to consign another creature to death. She recovered relatively quickly, just in time to divert a wolf-creature from flanking the defending party with her shield spell. The simple magic rolled the wolf-creature away, where it was pounced upon by an earth pony and two changelings, who stomped it into oblivion before rejoining the formation.

One of the ponies took a claw across the chest and fell back deeper into the formation. Luminous felt Twilight's concern even before she saw the unicorn changeling's face, which confused her for a moment, then she found herself fending off two wolves who had rushed, burning, into the formation. Luminous let out what she felt was a war-cry to stiffen her resolve and leapt into the fray.

She didn't notice anything until a panicked voice cried out, “Gas!” and suddenly the hall was full of a cloying smoke and vapor. Luminous sent out a wild blast of light as something tried to approach her and Twilight, and was rewarded with a cry of surprise and pain. Her victory was brief however, for the gas quickly stole her breath, and she was coughing and wheezing, while her vision darkened at the corners. She felt something sharp pierce her side, and tried to scream a warning, but her voice was lost amidst the clamor, and she fell limp on the stone floor.

Search

Before Luminous could ask, Twilight walked into the room. Luminous sat up again despite the pain in her head and saluted, stubbornly pushing aside Zecora's restraining hoof to complete the gesture. Twilight looked well enough, even without the usual accoutrement of her armor. Yet something seemed out of place to Luminous even as she said warmly, “Dame Twilight, I'm so glad you're alright!”

Rather than address her, Twilight looked to Zecora with a curiously detached smile, “Is she well?”

Zecora nodded, smiling, “Yes my friend of years long past, your little squire is mending fast. The Dreamsweet cure is hard to blend, I was not sure she'd live to mend.” Luminous paled a little at that, but Twilight looked merely disinterested.

“Well as soon as you're up, Luminous,” Twilight said a shade coldly, “We've got work to do.” Twilight smiled at Luminous and Zecora rather unconvincingly, then exited the room with her usual silence. Luminous looked to Zecora, whose face had become as troubled as the squire felt.

“I'm not going!” Luminous shouted angrily at Twilight in the courtyard some days later, while several changelings looked on uncomfortably. “I'm not going to some idiotic court function while we're still burying our dead!” Luminous was literally sparking with fury, white sparks flying from her horn with every angry movement of her head as she fended off a green-glowing white dress that was being telekinetically floated after her. Twilight had spent the days since the attack entertaining the nobles of Canterlot and luxuriating in the presence of her friends. She had completely ignored or delegated anything resembling work and spent her days and nights with parties and soirees, even in the light of the grim task of burying those who lost their lives defending the Citadel.

Spike was currently being looked after by the dragon changelings, who fascinated him. They regaled him with stories of the great dragon heroes of the past, many of whom were either brave, ferocious, virtuous or some mixture of the three. Luminous had expected Twilight to listen in on what had to be a unique opportunity to hear some dragon history. Instead, Twilight had vaguely instructed Spike to take notes and made a rather flimsy excuse to not attend.

Fortunately, Spike wasn't present to hear Twilight's furious response, “You're going, Luminous!” she shouted in a burning fury, “You're going or I shall remove you from my service!” The shock that rippled through Luminous at the unveiled threat was echoed in the sudden silence that filled the courtyard. Somewhere, somepony dropped something that crashed, while Twilight and Luminous stared at each other. The dress in Twilight's green telekinetic grip floated silently beside Luminous like a mournful spirit.

Luminous broke eye contact first, and, her eyes stinging, she pulled the dress out of the air with her own golden telekinesis and put it on. Twilight smirked and ordered for her chariot to be brought around.

Luminous skulked about the party like a rather sulky ghost in an expensive dress. It was in the house of Brilliant Facets, a minor noble who had earned Twilight's attention. His interests in gemology were currently very lucrative and he was, at present, lavishing Twilight with so much praise and attention that Luminous could clearly see his wife starting to fume gently. Luminous was greeted courteously enough of course, but with Twilight demanding all the attention, the white unicorn found herself drifting aimlessly through the background by the buffet table on her own. Her mood was not improved by the constant pressure in her head, which continued to pull her steadily southeast.

She entertained herself for a little while by stacking sweets on the buffet. Her telekinesis had come a long way since she had entered Twilight's service, and she effortlessly constructed a little fort out of chocolates on one of the platters. It was little more than a box with angled sides, and it fell spectacularly when another chocolate impacted the side of it. Annoyed, Luminous turned to find herself facing a red unicorn mare about her age with orange eyes that matched her fiery mane, a lovely dress made of some translucent material, a cutie mark of a sprig of foxgloves and a mischievous smile.

“Sorry,” she said warmly, “Couldn't resist.” Luminous found herself unable to stay mad at such an honest smile and found her ill temper receding somewhat as the mare extended a hoof. “My name's Foxglove, and you must be Luminous!” she shook Luminous' automatically extended hoof and continued rambling, subtly pulling her away from the table in the process. “I've heard all about you, isn't it true you've seen more combat than most of the Royal Guard?”

“I, well...” Luminous said a little uncertainly as heads started to turn her way, away from Twilight. She straightened as much as she could with Foxglove still holding her hoof, “Yes, I suppose. It's hard living out in the Everfree.”

“But aren't you afraid?” Foxglove asked, oblivious to the attention, “I mean it's not like Equestria has fought a war in over a hundred years! And what are there to fight anyway?”

Luminous felt her face reddening as she kept her head from lowering, “It's terrifying, but we fight for our homes. The ponies and changelings that live out there that is,” Luminous became aware of more heads turning her direction as she continued, “And we fight the agents of the Beast: great hulking wolf-like creatures. They're like Diamond Dogs,” Luminous added, a shade nervously as the tall Twilight's irritated look slid over her, “But bigger, more vicious. We try not to hurt them, but they're very-”

“Luminous,” Twilight said sharply over the crowd's heads, “I really don't think that's appro-”

“Nonsense!” A rather inebriated old Guard pony said affably, “It does the younger generation good to hear a story or two.”

“But they're not a story!” Luminous said firmly, but more loudly than she intended, drawing the attention of the rest of the room. Twilight's look was pure acid but for once a flame of rebellion filled Luminous, who continued as if she hadn't seen, “The wolf-creatures of the Beast are expressions of his perverted magic and seem to be more closely related to-”

“Luminous.” Twilight's voice cracked like a whip over whatever Luminous was about to say next, “You look like you could use some air.” Luminous was about to respond hotly when she remembered Twilight's earlier threat. She nodded tightly instead and bowed to the assembled nobles at a precise angle appropriate to her station before she turned sharply to leave.

Foxglove was already walking beside Luminous as she turned and left. Foxglove was giggling softly, to Luminous' silent irritation, but the pressure in her mind and her own shame at her dismissal kept her from commenting as she and the red mare left the party. “I'm sorry,” Foxglove said softly, once her amusement had abated, “But I really couldn't resist putting a thorn in her side.”

Luminous walked a little faster, not towards anything in particular, “Dame Twilight deserves respect; she holds the line in a difficult territory.”

“That she does, but that's not her,” a definitely masculine voice said beside Luminous, who turned to find no sign of Foxglove, “Down here,” the voice said helpfully, and Luminous looked down to see a small fox smiling up at her with a carnivorous grin. Luminous froze, while the fox kept walking down the moonlit street.

After a moment Luminous caught up, and pulled the fox into an entirely unexpected hug. Blackboard struggled against being squeezed like a stuffed toy, but Luminous refused to let go. “You didn't say goodbye,” she said roughly as she held the vulpine, who calmed a bit and licked the side of Luminous's face, which was damp with silent tears, “And now you come back,” Luminous said more bitterly, squeezing Blackboard a little alarmingly, “to tell me that that's not the real Twilight who just told me to leave, who's been driving me up the wall for days.”

“Um... Yes?” Blackboard said a little breathlessly, squeezed as he was in the emotional Luminous's grip, “I wanted to tell you earlier but-”

“Then they might kill her.” A voice from the shadows finished. Luminous leapt to her hooves and thrust Blackboard beneath her in one smooth motion, ready to defend him from some unseen assailant, only to relax as Trixie came walking forward out of the darkness. The changeling smiled as Blackboard shook himself and stepped out from under Luminous with as much dignity as a fox that's been squeezed and then shoved under a mare could manage.

“What do you mean?” Luminous asked with concern. She trusted Trixie absolutely, and if what she said was true then that threw her mind into alarm.

“Shouldn't you be more concerned if I'm the real Trixie or not?” Trixie admonished, until Blackboard snickered.

“No,” Luminous said, a little puzzled, “Blackboard trusted you absolutely and immediately, and I just... Know you're you.” Trixie shot Luminous a sharp look until she continued, “Plus you walk like her, and there's a scent of ink that follows you. Furthermore, your ambient magical signature is-”

“She's observant enough,” Blackboard interrupted while Trixie just stared at Luminous, “Let's introduce her to the others and apologize properly.”

“So Twilight was kidnapped?” Luminous asked, surprisingly calmly. She was sitting in Pony Joe's coffee shop with Blackboard, once more in pony form, Trixie and three ponies a few years older than Luminous. One of them, Applebloom, had greeted Luminous with a tight hug, while the other two, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo laughed and clustered around the pair of them. Now however they were seated around one of the tables, nodding seriously over donuts and coffee.

“Yes,” Trixie said grimly, “During the attack. When you and Twilight were hit, they dragged off Twilight and left a creature in her place.” Luminous' jaw dropped, only to have Blackboard sneakily fill the gap with a donut. While she chewed and the others giggled, Trixie continued, attempting to maintain some semblance of seriousness. “The creature that impersonates her, just to complicate matters, is also known as a changeling.”

To her mild surprise, Luminous simply nodded. “So the stories about the changelings were true.” At Trixie's rather shocked look, Luminous added, “I ran across them while researching changelings in the library,” she didn't add that she had been looking for a reason for Twilight's suddenly abrasive behavior and simply continued, “they're amorovores, they eat love,” Luminous said quickly at the three other fillies' alarmed looks, “And they're known to replace ponies to do so. They replace somepony you love and-...” Luminous broke off, her eyes widening.

Trixie nodded grimly, “So we think she replaced Twilight to try and feed off the love and admiration she receives. Unfortunately for her,” and now Trixie grinned with satisfaction,“The changelings, our changelings, all know she's a fake, so she's getting no love on that front.”

“So that's why she's been runnin' around all them snooty ponies' places,” Applebloom put in indignantly, “We oughta tell them all she's a fake, see how they-”

“But then she'll just split,” Scootaloo put in, her wings fluttering with concern, “She'll run off and we won't know where Twilight is.”

“So what're you gonna do?” Sweetie Belle asked Trixie seriously, “And why are you telling us?” The filly had just returned from a concert, and her mane was still styled in a wild, punkish flare of multicolored spikes.

“Because it wasn't fair for Luminous to be in the dark. And we figured she'd tell you all, since you're her friends,” Trixie said frankly, “And the other changelings and I are all in the know, as are the Princesses. It just isn't right for Luminous not to know.”

Luminous felt a cold fury rising up in her, “And now I'm just supposed to play nice and pretend that everything's alright, knowing that the real Twilight is in danger?” Her tones were crisp and exact, but there was no denying her frustration and anger as she quoted, “'It's the duty of a squire to rescue the knight they're under in the event they're captured.' I should be out looking, not entertaining the fake!”

Trixie gave Luminous a sharp look while Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle all looked mildly impressed at Luminous, “You're a filly, you don't have full control-”

“Well what if she had help?” Applebloom interrupted belligerently, the monocle around her neck jingling against the table, “Ah sure as hay ain't gonna let this just slide, an' how fair is it to tell her about it if you're just gonna ask her to sit tight and do whatever that bully of a fake does?!”

Trixie rubbed her temples with a frustrated growl, “Look. None of you can do anything about this, and before you go flying off the handle, you need to realize that if the fake realizes anything's wrong, anything at all, she's got no more use for Twilight. We need to find her, not get her killed,” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle paled at that, while Applebloom and Luminous just glowered, “And I know it's not fair, but it's the truth, and you've earned it,” Trixie continued, more consolingly, “But if you just sit tight and play along, everything's going to be just fine.”

Luminous finished penning her note with her light-writing spell, which filled Twilight's room with the slight scent of burned paper for a moment. The scent made her think of Twilight with a pang as she looked over the letter, her heart filled with trepidation for what she was about to do.

Princess Luna,

I wish to tender my resignation from the position of squire to the individual known currently as Dame Twilight Sparkle. It has become clear in recent days that she is unfit for duty and I cannot in good conscience serve her. While my immediate departure is somewhat unusual, you'll find similar cases in Equestrian Chivalry Volumes 3-11 and the accompanying law books.

Luminous had debated about including all the annotations she'd made, but she settled for leaving the piles of books she'd referenced. She felt a little foolish including all the lawbooks, but she wanted to make sure her legal position was clear. Fortunately the fake Twilight was still away trying to soak in more affection from the nobles around Canterlot.

I make this decision with a heavy heart, but I feel it is for the best. I shall be moving back into the orphanage immediately, until such a time as an opportunity presents itself for me to join a family.

Yours faithfully,

Luminous

Luminous left the letter out next to the stacks of referenced books, and turned to her belongings. Most of her birthday goods had been packed into a large wagon, which was going to be looked after by a few of the changelings at the Citadel until she sent for them. What she didn't pack though, she was wearing.

For her birthday, Luminous had been given wonders both big and small, magical and mundane. The changelings and ponies at the Citadel had outdone themselves in their generosity, but while the ponies gave beautiful, often practical things, the changelings had given Luminous mostly armor and weapons. Most of which she was wearing, and none of which matched in the slightest.

She wore a helmet of solid, unbreakable crystal that swirled with patterns of power and protection. It featured a horn-blade that was made of the same substance and allowed Luminous to cast while sporting a significant weapon. Protecting her neck and body was a bright green undercoat of stitched whispers and dreamstuff from the Hedge. Far from being too warm, the garment kept Luminous at a constant temperature, and could repair itself. She sported a bright purple breastplate that seemed to glow with inner sparks of light. It was crafted with wood taken from the Hedge and fit Luminous so snugly it was almost like a second skin. It was fireproof, and provided a surprising amount of protection, she had been assured. Her hooves were clad in brilliant yellow crystal that chimed softly as she walked. The crystals had been grown in dreams, and should protect her hooves like steel. Over her back, she wore saddlebags made by Twilight that could hold three times their apparent size, and as such she had sufficient survival gear for a march across the San Palomino Desert and back.

She paused at that thought, because she still didn't really know where she was going. A steady push in her mind urged her to head southeast, like some part of herself that was empty and aching from the lack. She hadn't mentioned it to anypony, but the pressure had been constant since Twilight was taken. She had assumed it was a side-effect of the drug, since it had been steadily fading from her mind, but it always pulled from the same direction. She had discreetly checked on maps, mainly to calm herself after a fight with the false Twilight, and the only thing in that direction was the Badlands.

With nothing else to go on, Luminous secured her bags and slipped out into the night. She trotted through the sleeping Citadel, her hooves chiming on the stone, and stepped out across the bridge into the forest.

She entirely missed the small shape slinking after her in the brush, its yellow eyes fixed on the white unicorn filly as it followed as silently as a shadow.

Rescue Mission

“Aw, isn't she precious!” A mother whispered to her husband for the third time a row behind Luminous. She reflected that she probably should not have girded herself for battle before getting on the train to Dodge City. It was the furthest southeastern place she knew, and the feeling in her head was lessening daily in a way that gave her a slightly alarmed feeling. She didn't know what was causing it, but Luminous had a feeling it was related to Twilight in some way.

She had been attracting funny looks since she had trotted up to the counter and ordered her ticket to Dodge City, which was understandable given that she had bought it right at the opening of the station dressed like an eccentric member of a historical re-enactment group. The mare behind her had been cooing over her like a mother hen to her husband, who was snoring softly, and there was a colt a few rows ahead with a dribbling nose who was staring at her since he'd woken, his tongue occasionally venturing into his own nostril in an absentminded way, while he stared and his parents slept.

Granted, there weren't many ponies on the train in the very early morning, but it was still uncomfortable. To distract herself, she took to looking over a map she had borrowed from Twilight's study. She felt a little bad about liberating it, but she reasoned she was taking it to Twilight anyway so it would balance out.

She had planned her route from the Dodge City Station, which was in the very center, to the various shops and restaurants she would visit. She had carefully apportioned bits for a nutritious breakfast and lunch, which would supplant the trail rations she had taken from the Citadel, and enough water jugs to see her across the badlands if necessary. A stickler for details, Luminous had not only planned how much she would eat, but had packed enough rations for a month of travel.

She almost face-planted into her map as the train stopped at Dodge Junction briefly. A few ponies who would be continuing on to Apple Loosa left the train at that point, and a few more embarked, including a red unicorn who gave Luminous a strange look and nudged the pony next to him, who stared and snickered.

“Hey,” the other pony said. He was a brown earth pony, with a large Stetson hat, tan eyes, and a pronounced nasal twang to his words. “Hey is the circus in town, little filly?” He asked teasingly as Luminous looked up politely.

“No.” Luminous said shortly, annoyed. Before she could go back to the map however, the stallion continued, laughter in his tone.

“Oh, historical re-enactment then? Kinda young for that ain'tcha?” He was grinning, Luminous saw, and the pony next to him was snickering not entirely kindly.

“No.” Luminous repeated, her tone firm and dry, like a slammed book.

The stallion would not be stopped however, and continued, “Well where are your parents then? You shouldn't be off on yer own if yer playin' dress-up little filly, if ah were to call them up an' tell em-”

“I'm an orphan,” Luminous interrupted honestly, her head whipping up to look the stallion in the eyes, “Such a conversation would be uncomfortable. For everypony.” An awkward silence fell on the train as Luminous locked eyes with the no longer smiling stallion, who was trying not to go cross-eyed as Luminous's blue and green orbs bored into his eyes. Other ponies were staring in shock at Luminous or tittering at the brown stallion, who was starting to sweat a little. He looked so uncomfortable, Luminous almost felt bad as she continued in a flat tone, “I'm in the care of the crown, so I'm going to the pony who's looking after me.” She held up the map helpfully, “Don't want to get lost.” Luminous then pointedly shook out the map and looked back down at it.

After that, nopony said anything to Luminous the rest of the way to Dodge City. The family with the colt that had been staring at her had moved up a car after her little outburst, and most of the others just whispered softly to each other. At the station, the brown stallion was the first off the car, followed quickly by his red unicorn companion who, strangely, nodded respectfully to Luminous with a slight smirk and then left before she could react to the gesture.

Luminous stepped off the train onto the busy platform with her saddlebags, and looked around Dodge City. Most of the streets were hard-packed earth, which was understandable in such a dry climate, but the so-called city was only a little larger than Ponyville, with most of the buildings made of wood, which looked to have been harvested from the forest in the background. The open sky above Luminous after so long in the Citadel or its lands, which were always surrounded with trees made her a touch nervous, and she moved from the platform out to the city proper, following her planned route.

She was so intent on her schedule that Luminous entirely missed the small earth pony following her, wearing her own set of saddlebags, and a monocle around her neck hanging on a golden chain.

Dammit, the owner of the Salty Dog Inn, was renowned as an excellent barkeep and inn keeper for a variety of reasons. For one, he was a Diamond Dog, and intimidated even the hardest salt licker looking for a fight with one deep-throated growl. For another, he never partook of his own stock, on account of, to him, salt was merely a condiment. He also understood the need for a good, soft bed at the end of the day, and while all his beds were round and set on the floor, they were all exceptionally soft and comfortable, and the rooms were all warm and cozy.

He was washing plates behind the bar when a silence amongst his usual clientele made him turn. There, in the doorway, was the smallest, sparkliest pony he had ever seen. For a moment, he thought it was some sort of pony made of crystal, but then he saw it was simply a little white filly, dressed in a crystal helmet, and the oddest assortment of other armors and garments he'd ever seen. She seemed utterly unfazed by the soft snickers at her appearance, and the blatant stares and whispers. She looked up at Dammit, who was mildly disappointed that she wasn't in fact made of crystal, and the filly pulled out a list.

“I want to buy some water,” the filly said clearly, locking eyes with Dammit like she expected a fight over her request. Dammit kept eye contact instinctively, and the canine poured the filly a glass of water without breaking his eyes away from the mismatched gaze of the filly.

“Water's free,” he growled. The eye contact was making Dammit's hackles rise instinctively, but he kept it up, though the filly's differently-colored eyes were making his own start to water unpleasantly. She continued to stare him down as she sipped the water, and several of the patrons started to watch.

It wasn't often that somepony locked eyes with Dammit for more than it took for the canid to growl. This filly however seemed to be impervious to the intimidating rumble rising in the back of Dammit's throat, and the canine was starting to sweat. She finished her water without breaking eye contact and said clearly, “I'm going to need more than that.”

Dammit didn't break eye contact as the door swung open again, and he fought down the urge to snap for the filly's face. “Filly,” Dammit said sternly, his growl making “If you think you can-” the canine's attention was diverted by another filly leaping up to the bar, whose sudden appearance forced the white filly to turn and break eye contact in surprise.

“Applebloom?!”

“So ah saw you leavin' all dressed up like you were goin' off to battle, an' ah jus' had to follow.” Applebloom explained, carrying two kegs of water as she and Luminous continued shopping around Dodge City. “So what're you doin' out here without Twilight?” Applebloom was wearing the monocle Twilight had given her as they trotted around, and would occasionally look hard at certain individuals.

“I'm...” Luminous broke off, unsure for a moment, while Applebloom watched a stallion walk past with such intensity that he hurried away. “I'm meeting Twilight,” Luminous said lamely after a moment. It was mostly true, but if Twilight could be a fake, she still wasn't sure who she could trust. Anypony in town could be one of the insectoid imposters, and she still wasn't sure if this was really Applebloom. “But what were you doing out so late?”

“Ah, um...” Applebloom blushed a bit, “Ah was meetin' a pony.” At Luminous's surprised look, she added defensively, “We've been goin' out for a while now, ah just didn' want mah sister getting' all worked up if it wasn't gonna work out.” At her younger friend's blushing disapproval, Applebloom snorted, “Oh an' you haven't kept somethin' from Twilight once in a while.”

“I haven't.” Luminous said quickly, perhaps a little too quickly, before she changed the topic with a telekinetic wave of the shopping list, “But we need to get all these things before we meet Twilight.”

“All the way out here?” Applebloom asked skeptically, “What could there possibly be out here that-” Applebloom abruptly broke off and tackled Luminous into an alleyway. The kegs of water sloshed alarmingly, while groceries and supplies went everywhere. Luminous half-expected Applebloom to turn out to be an imposter at that moment, but the filly pulled Luminous behind some barrels in the alley instead, while the stallion Applebloom had stared hard at earlier walked past.

“That's one of those buggy things,” Applebloom whispered urgently, and Luminous' eyes widened as Applebloom continued, “Been seein' em all around the city. They can take the shape of ponies,” she squinted through her enchanted monocle, “That'un's been following you since the train.” Applebloom and Luminous held their breaths as the stallion peered into the alley, then let them out as he walked past.

The two fillies scooped up their purchases as quietly as they could, and while they were, Luminous whispered to Applebloom, “We need to get out of the city as fast as possible,” the older filly nodded as Luminous continued, “And without any of those bug things seeing us. Twilight really needs me to reach her as soon as possible.” Luminous felt wretched about even the slight deception, but she reminded herself that anything could be listening.

“Alright,” Applebloom said, nodding as well, “Well ah reckon ah can keep an eye out for those critters. But when we get out,” Luminous flinched a little as Applebloom turned her monocled gaze towards her, “You've gotta tell me what's really goin' on.” Luminous nodded her assent, and the two snuck deeper into the alleyway.

A pair of yellow eyes followed them as they left, and a slinking shadow snuck after.

In the movies, avoiding detection always looks relatively straightforward. But for Applebloom and Luminous, it really wasn't. Bug-like eyes watched from behinds illusions of normalcy everywhere the youngest Apple looked, so she and Luminous, still weighed down with supplies, had to play a game of cat and mouse. The only difference was there were dozens of cats, and they were the only two little mice.

It was a complicated and terrifying game, and the fillies were both almost spotted twice, but they managed to evade detection all the way to the edge of Dodge City. There, they were presented with a final problem: there was no traffic on the road going southeast. It ran along the edge of the Hayseed Swamps, before turning south through the Badlands, and Dodge City was the last civilized stop before it continued on into those inhospitable lands.

Applebloom and Luminous watched the road anxiously from their vantage point in an alley on the edge of the city, waiting for some trader or traveler to come along who would happen to be going south. “We can't stay here forever,” Applebloom hissed to Luminous, as they both flinched from the shadow of a pegasus flying over.

“Someone's bound to come by,” Luminous whispered back, staring hard at the road as if willing herself to be right, “Then we can hide on the wagon, and leave it when it gets dark.” Applebloom looked unconvinced, but Luminous was so stubbornly stuck on her plan, it'd take a catastrophic failure to convince her otherwise. Applebloom trusted her, and equally stubbornly decided to stay by the filly's side, whether the plan worked or not.

As if her decision had made something click in the universe, a sudden stillness seemed to take the air. Luminous felt goosebumps rise across her body as something started her adrenaline pumping, unconsciously noticed by her brain. Applebloom continued staring out at the road, oblivious, until she smelled something that sparked her own fear response. Before either of them could say something, the howl of the Beast's pack shattered the late afternoon, and the hideous, massive wolf-creatures poured out of the edges of the Hayseed Swamps. They pounded straight for the town, from which cries of alarm and the ringing of a great bell sounded, mingling with the howls of the wolves.

Dodge City was under attack, Luminous realized with a shock, and no sooner had she reached that conclusion than a wolf pounded towards their alleyway. Its jaws were agape and strung with drool as it spotted Luminous' bright coat and sparkling helmet.

For a long moment, Luminous froze, until her experience and training kicked in and she dashed past Applebloom. Applebloom fell back as Luminous interposed herself between the orange filly and the lupine attacker. Time seemed to slow as Luminous set herself, and Applebloom watched in horror as the little filly braced herself, her bladed helmet glowing as she started to cast. It would be too late, Applebloom realized, the wolf-creature would be moving too fast, and Luminous would be buried beneath a mountain of ravenous fur.

Author's Note

A short update after a long wait, I know. But finals are upon me, and I've been struggling with those and my incredibly unhelpful major advisor who is supposed to be helping me graduate.

The next few chapters are likely going to be rather long, as we're coming up on the final arc, but once again I apologize for the shortness of this update.

Shadows

The wolf-creature pounded towards the two fillies like a furry freight train: its jaws agape with strings of saliva, claws ripping at the dusty street. It looked unstoppable, but Luminous braced herself to accept the charge on her bladed helmet, which glowed brighter and brighter as the spell began to catch. Then a shadow flickered over her and the wolf abruptly found its direction changed by a red blur that hit it hard enough to roll it out the other end of the alley.

Surprised, Luminous released the spell with a yelp, and the bolt traveled over the tumbling mass of red and brown fur to hit another passing wolf-creature, which promptly lit on fire. Luminous and Applebloom ran out away from whatever had hit the wolf-creature and into the middle of town, which was in chaos.

Dammit the inn-keeper fought beside the town guards, along with the mayor: a golden-coated earth pony stallion with a brown mane and eyes of bright green. The Diamond Dog was fighting with tooth and nail almost as effectively as the wolf-creatures were, while the guards did their best to coordinate an orderly defense of the town, led by the mayor, who continued to issue orders in a clear, firm voice even as he helped fight.

Luminous winced as a guard took a hard hit from a wolf-creature and skidded towards them. The wolf-creature ran forward to follow up, only to meet Luminous' blinding spell coming the other way. It screamed and went down as a pegasus tackled it at full speed, and its scream mingled with Applebloom's and Luminous' as they were abruptly picked up in a green light and flung back towards the defenders. “More stragglers, Long Hoof!” a pale green unicorn called as gaining the attention of the mayor. The golden earth pony grunted in acknowledgement as he bucked a wolf-creature hard enough in the face to scatter teeth.

Applebloom tried to say something but was overruled by the loud voice of the mayor, “Get them to the station!” He kicked the stricken wolf-creature again to spin it to the ground, while the unicorn nodded and started to move towards the fillies, looking concerned.

Luminous braced herself to argue with the unicorn when Applebloom bit her tail and hauled back. Surprised, Luminous fell backwards as the earth pony filly jumped forward to stand between her and the unicorn, her monocle flashing in the sunlight on her face. “You stay away from her, bug!” Applebloom declared loudly, while the unicorn's expression darkened. Luminous' eyes widened with realization as the 'unicorn' tried to maintain a concerned look.

“Just come back here,” he said through gritted teeth, “And we'll get you to safety, alright? You can't-” He broke off with a very un-ponylike scream as Luminous' flare spell blew up in his face. Both fillies ran away full-tilt while he was clearing his vision. They dodged between the dead and those still fighting, their purchases trailing behind them.

Luminous blasted a small but lethal hole through a wolf-creature that tried to tackle Applebloom, who led her towards a tiny space between two buildings. It was a tiny gap, just barely big enough for them, and would certainly have deterred all but the most determined of attackers. It was unfortunate, therefore, that Luminous was still wearing her saddlebags.

Applebloom flew through the gap with the precision that comes from survival instinct. Luminous tried the same thing and had the breath knocked out of her as her saddlebags hit the buildings on either side, spraying gear and edibles everywhere. Luminous's crystal-clad hooves chimed angrily as she scrabbled at the ground to try and push herself through, but the saddlebags refused to give.

“I'm stuck!” Luminous shouted shrilly to Applebloom, who turned sharply and ran towards her friend. She grabbed her friend's hooves and hauled on them, but all it succeeded in doing was shoving the saddlebags down Luminous's armored body where they hooked on her rear legs.

“Y'gotta drop the bags!” Applebloom shouted to her over the din of battle, which was growing ominously closer. “Ain't no way through here with em!”

Luminous shook her head fiercely, “We've gotta get to Twilight! Who knows how far away she is! We need all this!” Luminous tried to push through again, while Applebloom hauled on her stubborn friend, until a massive explosion made her fall back on her rump, the shock of the sudden release sent Luminous back into the street on her back.

“The train!” somepony cried as a great howling went up. Water rained down around Luminous, followed by bits of shrapnel. She winced as small shards of metal and bolts rattled off her armor, and rolled away from what seemed to be a chair from the train, the saddlebags around her legs clanking discordantly. She looked up as a shadow grew over her and her eyes widened. What looked to be a smokestack came flying through the air, aimed straight for Luminous. She tried to run, but her legs were tangled in the straps of her saddlebags. In desperation, Luminous gathered all the strength she could muster and cast the shield spell she'd been taught between her and the falling metal.

Pain, indescribable pain lanced through her horn and head as the shield flashed purple, then everything went dark.

Luminous fell through darkness. She felt the terrible sensation of falling without any context of where she was or where she was falling to. Terror gripped her, and she struggled to right herself, to find something to push against or grab to right herself or arrest her fall. She thrashed in the darkness until panic drove the breath from her lungs, her heart racing, until her fear began to be supplanted. In its place, Luminous began to feel a sort of terrible longing that grew into a deep pain of the soul: a loneliness that transcended mere isolation.

Luminous curled up in agony, filled with despair. She could think of nothing but all the ponies she could never see again, all the things she would never do. She felt like the joy was being sucked from her, filling her with anger and sadness. She had failed Applebloom, who was likely dead she felt, and she knew Twilight would never want to see her again.

The sharp tones of Luminous's parents' voices echoed through her reality, “if only she'd hit the ground...” Their voices blended with her own, and Luminous felt them justified, even as each syllable punctured her spirit with fresh pain. She felt her fury at their abandonment, and heard the screams of the bullies she had blinded before. She found herself filled with fresh anger at their mocking words, an anger that drove heated spikes through her and seemed to draw something vital out of her.

The pain and emotional tempest deepened and darkened until a bizarre scent filtered through to her senses: the peculiarly lavender-like scent of fox. She remembered it from a visit to Fluttershy's cottage, when she'd been tending one of the creatures, and the memory sparked a violet flame in her mind. The darkness began to burn, and with it the feelings of loneliness, anger and despair were consumed. Luminous willed herself towards the fire, which crackled and radiated a heat that should have frightened her. Instead she flew towards it, the darkness of her mind defined by the distant, strange light.

As she arrowed towards the fire, she felt a million sensations at once: hugging, laughter, the scent of snow, followed closely by the overwhelming scent of burning paper. A green core began to open in the violet flame, like a window in the fire. Luminous fell through the conflagration, into consciousness. The familiar pressure filled her mind once more in a way that was indescribably comforting, until her full consciousness returned and she found herself surrounded in an underground darkness, with her lungs burning and the stench of death and damp slamming into her nostrils.

Luminous, rather appropriately, threw up.

Luminous hacked and coughed up some horrible mucus-y substance. The vile reek of her own vomit mixed with those smells that were already filling the chamber, gagging her further until she forced her rebellious stomach to calm down by cataloguing her situation. She noted she could no longer feel her armor on herself, or her saddlebags. By the way her coughs weren't echoing, this was probably a rather small chamber. She felt bruises on her legs that suggested she'd dropped some distance, but nothing felt broken. Her coat and mane felt matted and sticky, and whatever it was that was soaking her smelled very strongly of whatever it was she had hacked out of her lungs.

Now that she could breathe, she could feel the closed-in heaviness of the air, which still tasted like bile and foul substances. It was hot and humid, and her ears picked up a muted buzzing not unlike the sound of a busy nest of hornets. As she lay on the floor, she also realized rather belatedly that she was laying in whatever fluid she had coughed up, and it was soaking into her fur, along with her own sick.

Luminous, fortified by systematically taking in whatever she could of her foul-smelling environs, and well aware that she was laying in a pool of unspeakable substances, steeled herself and conjured light. She immediately muffled a scream as the luminescence she called lit the snarling face of an insectoid creature not a few inches from her nose where she lay on the floor. After a moment, reason reasserted itself and pointed out that the creature was very much dead, given that the head she was looking at had apparently belonged once to a body that lay to the side of her. The chitinous carapace had been parted cleanly at the neck, and the stench of the body was what had gagged her initially.

The room, she saw as she stood painfully, was no more than two ponylengths wide and octagonal in shape. The majority of the room was filled with a dripping split cocoon that was hanging from the ceiling. This, Luminous felt, explained the bruises on her legs, but there was no sign of what had killed the creature with her or set her free. She examined the tiny room for some sort of exit, which turned out to be on the ceiling. Given the fact that the creature in with her had wings, it wasn't entirely unexpected, but it did complicate matters.

She didn't have anywhere near enough strength to levitate herself, like she'd seen Twilight do very occasionally, and the cocoon looked far too slick to climb up. The stench of the room kept distracting her and threatening to make her add to it again, but she stubbornly kept looking for an avenue of escape. She tapped lightly on the walls, which were far too thick from the sound of it, on the floor, which seemed to be solid rock, and even tried to tug down the cocoon for use as a sort of stair, but it was glued too firmly to the ceiling.

As she tugged on it, a drop of the foul-smelling goop from inside it dripped down, and, paranoid of a cave in, Luminous's immediate shield spell bounced it up, out the hole in the ceiling. The filly stared up at the hole, thinking, then licked her lips and focused, then jumped up and conjured a modified shield under herself.

The shield immediately reversed her momentum and amplified it as she hit it, and propelled her upwards with a bright flash and a slight searing of her hooves, which stung as she rocketed up towards the hole. She managed to scrabble and catch the edge of the octagonal hole in the ceiling. She hung there for a little bit, back legs dangling as she hauled at the slick stone, until she caught onto something that gave her desperate hooves purchase. She pulled with all the might in her slight frame and the strength given by years of being Twilight's squire.

When she had pulled herself up and resumed the light spell she had unconsciously suspended to focus on her unorthodox trampoline spell, she found herself in the middle of dozens of more creatures, and glowing like a flashlight. Except these creatures were still breathing, and most definitely still had their heads. Horrified, Luminous realized she had pulled herself up with the perforated leg of one of the creatures. No less than seven others were arrayed about the room, their faces all pointed towards her. She looked around, expecting a buzzing attack, only to be greeted with a faint snore. For some reason, all the creatures were asleep, and had apparently done so quite suddenly if the one that was face-planted against the wall with its wings spread was any indication.

Luminous looked around, and was mildly surprised to find that the room she was in was furnished. Chairs ran around the vertical walls of the octagonal floor, there was a rug of sorts that had been pulled away to allow access to the chamber she'd catapulted out of, and on the ceiling some sort of dim purple light emanated from what seemed to be a light fixture. It was enough to see by, barely, and it cast strange shadows while at the same time it made Luminous' fur seem to glow. She was by far the brightest thing in the room, which was even sparsely decorated with painted neon designs on the walls.

Luminous attempted to look for an exit, and found that there were four octagonal doors made of some sort of stone and cleverly joined to the wall so as to show no seam. A loud buzzing came from behind one, so she checked the others first. She found a pair of bedrooms, judging by the way large cushions with strange, membrane-like curtains were in abundance, and what seemed to be a bathroom. The mechanics of how creatures that ate love would go to the bathroom made Luminous' imagination give up, especially when presented with the bizarre contraptions in the room. There wasn't even a tub, just... Tubes.

She closed the door carefully and checked to make sure all the creatures were asleep still before moving to the biggest door. The buzzing became loud and insistent as she approached, Luminous licked her lips before she very gently opened the door just a sliver.

It was a major causeway. The buzzing was caused by hundreds of chitinous creatures all buzzing their wings as they flew or hopped down a long, winding, octagonal corridor. She couldn't see much from the door's position, but it looked rather busy. Worse yet, the lighting was the same dim purple lighting that would make her show up like a lightbulb. Swallowing her disappointment and rising panic, Luminous tried to think of a plan.

She looked around, looking for something she could use as a disguise in amongst the creatures' things. Annoyingly, the creatures seemed to have absolutely no interest in clothing. She found toys, mostly carved from crystal or bone, but not so much as an accessory or scrap of clothing. Not even saddlebags. Frustrated, Luminous ransacked the whole apartment, looking for anything, even in the mysterious and disturbing 'bathroom'. She knew she was running out of time, sleep enchantments were iffy at best, and whoever had saved her and enchanted the creatures probably had expected her to be free by now.

It was a mildly disturbing thought to Luminous, who didn't like loose ends. She had no clue as to who or what had saved her from the cocoon she'd been trapped in, or woken her from her terrible dreaming. It felt too good to be true, and Luminous had a gut feeling that it was.

Her suspicious thoughts were interrupted though by stepping on something sharp enough to make the pale filly yelp with pain. She looked over worriedly, in case the sound had woken the creatures in the room with her, but they just slumbered on. She carefully looked down at what she had stepped on, and saw it was a small, perfect prism. She stared at it for a moment as thoughts clicked together in the gear box of her mind, then started to cast.

Light bent around Luminous, deforming the filly strangely for a moment until she vanished entirely from sight. Of course, with all the light going around her, Luminous realized she couldn't see. She tweaked it a bit until she could see blurry shapes in the dim purple light without compromising the spell, and was fiddling with it when a horrible insectoid scream rent her thoughts.

Luminous held the spell desperately and kept it from unraveling as she looked around. The creatures were no longer in the room, but there was a terrible buzzing and screeching coming from the hole in the floor. The bug-like beings had come awake as she had been messing with her spell, but from the sounds of it, they'd discovered the dead one down below. Luminous edged towards the door to the causeway, intent on slipping out rather than be in the room when more of the strange creatures came buzzing in. Before she could quietly creep out though, a flying, black-carapaced horror came straight for her.

Luminous tried to duck, but ended up being clipped by the upset insect and they both tumbled out into the street. She rolled into the middle of the octagonal corridor, not quite tangled up with the creature, and froze. Hundreds of buzzing wings carried fanged creatures around too quick for her to see. The flashing teeth and screeching noise that punctuated the buzzing was horrible and nightmarish to the filly, who forced herself to stay still and unseen. After a while, the creatures seemed to be more interested in the apartment she'd just left and were swarming around it, so she very slowly crept to the sloping wall and started moving up the corridor.

Luminous crept unseen through the long, octagonal hallway, staying away from whatever creatures stopped and sniffed. Her disguise had the unfortunate quality of failing to conceal her scent, which was somewhere between a sewer and a mass grave, and the gagging noises some of the carapace-covered creatures made always made her heart skip as she swiftly trotted away.

She had absolutely no idea where she was going, but the passage seemed to be going steadily upwards, without variation. The buzzing creatures around here continued to make their screeching noises and fly about in haphazard fashion as they visited ledges on the walls, chatted with each other in mid-air, and other things that looked entirely too normal for a hive full of love-sucking insects.

Luminous tried not to think about it for the moment, but everywhere she looked, the creatures were acting like, well, ponies. It unnerved her to think that they could be so very similar to ponies, and still steal and feed off their love. She wondered what they thought of it; was it like milking cattle? Like shearing sheep? Come to think of it, if they impersonated ponies to get their love, where did the ponies go? She was still wondering about it when the corridor opened into a jaw-dropping sight: a massive octahedron-shaped cavern, filled with the loudest buzzing noise she had yet encountered.

Hundreds of buzzing wings flurried about, carrying the creatures of black chitin about on various errands. Hundreds more passageways perforated the walls, each as wide as the one Luminous had just reached the end of, and they all pointed towards the center of the room, which was a riot of neon color.

As her eyes adjusted to the sudden sight of so much color, Luminous realized she was looking at a palace of sorts. Its spires seemed to grow out of the rock below, and up towards the ceiling like antlers: Intersecting and spiking off seemingly at random. Everything was brilliantly neon in a way that clashed and smashed the senses, and it made looking at the castle painful. Luminous was so caught up in it, she failed to hear the creature coming up behind her before it collided with her rump with an insectoid yelp and sent her tumbling down the slope of the octahedron-shaped chamber.

After what felt like a painful eternity, she rolled to a stop, flat on her back. She opened her eyes with a quiet groan, and found herself looking up at two very surprised-looking sets of compound eyes. It was wearing armor made from some sort of silvery metal, painted with neon edges; it was the first clothing amongst the parasites Luminous had seen, and it looked very well cared-for. The creature stared, Luminous stared, then the black-chitined horror let out a fanged screech, and hundreds of its kin changed direction and swooped for her.

Luminous immediately set off a flare spell, as bright as she could make it, and was rewarded by a pained scream that echoed deafeningly throughout the huge chamber. She scrambled to her hooves even as the flying creatures started to crash blindly into the floor around her. She ran through the open arch into the castle courtyard, blessing the open architecture of the hive, though a guard's flailing appendage caught her as she ran past, and the perforated limb gouged a line in her fur with a surprisingly sharp edge.

She dodged between a deadly hail of falling creatures, and ran straight for the central structure, dimly aware of the line of agony burning across her right flank. A set of guards burst out of the doors, four abreast, their neon-painted armor shining with the purple light and giving their already nightmarish appearance a new layer of terror. They lunged for Luminous as one, and found themselves grasping air as the filly quickly made another force-field and bounced off it over their heads, her hooves trailing smoke as she seared them again.

Luminous hit the ground hard, but rolled with it up to her hooves, ignoring the pained comments of her light burns. She dashed for the nearest doorway, which was octagonal and more garishly decorated than the others, though this one had doors made of solid black stone. Behind her, the guards belatedly changed direction and were charging after her. Luminous ran straight for the door, then threw herself to the floor.

As she'd hoped, all four guards hit the doors at top speed and knocked themselves out. They failed to budge the door, which was disappointing, but by the sound of the rising buzzing from outside, Luminous needed to think of something quickly, before the citizens broke in and mobbed her. She wrapped her light-bending spell around herself to buy some time, and froze as the whole room filled with the citizens she had blinded before.

It was terrifying to stay still, very clearly outnumbered, and to trust in her own spellwork. The creatures were searching every door in the little entrance hall she'd burst into, but they made no move to take the unconscious guards away, aside from moving them out of the way of the large doors she'd tricked them into crashing into.

The doors opened outward, into the entrance hall, which explained why the high-speed impact had failed to budge them. Luminous desperately wanted to see what was through them, partially because the creatures searching the entrance hall kept coming alarmingly close to brushing against her, up until their noses wrinkled and they looked elsewhere.

Eventually the crowd lessened enough for her to creep towards the open doors. Every step sounded like a thunderclap to Luminous, who was starting to feel the pressure in her mind again, pulling her inexorably towards the doorway. The unconscious guards were still slumped across the leaves of the door like rather grim doorstops, and Luminous stepped very carefully as she walked past them. Her wounded leg though wouldn't lift high enough, and her right rear hoof tapped against the guard's armor like a clapper in a bell.

Luminous froze as the sound attracted the attention of every creature still flitting through the entrance hall. For a nerve-destroying moment, she thought she'd been found out, but at that exact moment the unconscious guard stirred a little and fell over on his side. The phenomenon explained, the creatures went back to buzzing about the stone chamber, screeching to each other.

Luminous felt the sweat bead on her brow as she very slowly finished walking over the guards. She forced herself to breathe normally, and quietly, but it was several moments before she could turn her gaze from the entrance hall and to the chamber she'd just stepped into.

Luminous had to bite back a yelp of surprise as her hoof, which had been about to walk into the room, found itself stepping onto something soft and fleshy. She took the step back, struggling to keep her balance, and became caught in the sight of the room before her.

The chamber was easily a hundred ponylengths across, and perfectly spherical. All around the edges, a bright green substance like the stuff that had made up her cocoon stretched towards the middle in apparently random strings, covered in odd lumps, ending in a massive throne carved of obsidian. The walls were a mixture of boggling neon patterns and deep passageways. Everything pointed towards the throne, which was empty, and polished to a bright mirror shine.

She had stepped on what seemed to be a road of sorts that led to the throne. It was made of the weird substance that was strung throughout the chamber, and in it were even odder lumps that ranged in size from no larger than a foal up to full sized pony. Luminous looked closer at one about her size, and she had to stop herself as she unconsciously backed up in horror. Inside, a foal no older than she was was curled up, slumbering.

Luminous looked around in sudden, chilling realization and counted hundreds of cocoons. And that was just the ones in this chamber, who knew how many more were in the tunnels. She wondered if any of them held Applebloom, and felt a crushing guilt that she hadn't thought of her friend before that moment. She'd been so wrapped up in finding Twilight, she hadn't spared a thought for her friend, who had been caught in the same blast. She was so lost in her own guilt that she almost collided with another guard as he flew past her into the room, his perforated wings buzzing.

As she watched, the armor-clad chitinous terror, its neon markings different from the ones she had introduced to the door, flitted up to one of the nearby cocoons, this one holding a mare, and sank its sharp teeth into the membrane. The pony inside started to tremble and thrash, and the creature's eyes closed in what seemed to be pleasure. As she watched, the holes in its hooves and wings closed, and soon a completely whole creature pulled away from the cocoon, licking the green liquid inside off its carapace.

Luminous firmly kept herself from retching as she looked away and crouched to let the sated creature fly past. It was incredibly difficult for her to let it pass without striking it down, but survival instinct kept the white filly's urge in check. The whole creature started moving about the unconscious guards and it calmly began biting into one, which immediately started to stir. As she watched, new holes began to form in the sated guard, and others began to close on the unconscious guard. Luminous blinked, until she realized the first guard was passing on whatever it was it had taken from the pony and they were somehow healing from it. Soon the injured creature was up and about, and flitted to another cocoon to finish the process while the first passed on the healing bite to its brethren.

Unlike before, the guard moved to the cocoon above the throne, which was bigger and more prominent than the others. As the guard reached the cocoon and prepared to feed however, the pressure in Luminous's head rose to a crushing intensity. Her head wrenched around, and Luminous's breath froze in her throat. The guard was mere moments from biting into a cocoon that held a pony whose silhouette she could recognize in her sleep: Twilight.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long, I got distracted by other writing projects and prep for graduation.
Fun fact: trying to avoid calling MLP Changelings 'changelings' to avoid confusion is really, really hard. If anyone has a better name, I'd love to hear it. Because bug-horses just sounds silly.

Belly of the Beast

The insectoid guard leaned in to bite into the cocoon holding the purple unicorn when a sudden searing light blinded one of his compound eyes painfully. He spun around, screeching in pain and fury, and for a moment he saw a little white shape running up the strand that connected to the throne. It was shouting in defiance as it charged, horn glowing with light that was dazzling to look at. The guard screamed an alarm just as a second lance of light, more focused than the first, penetrated his carapace and cut his alert short.

Luminous charged towards the cocoon as the chitinous horror fell sizzling from Twilight's prison. “Twilight!” Luminous shouted desperately as she fended off another creature with a brilliantly unfocused flash of light. In its sudden flaring luminescence, Luminous thought she saw the figure inside move a little.

Now that the hive had been alerted, more and more of the creatures were filling into the room, their buzzing wings drowning out Luminous. She continued to charge up the strand of whatever tough substance connected the walls to the throne, ducking and weaving around the criss-crossing strings of green material where they crossed her path. “Twilight!” Luminous tried again, right as two of the insectoid creatures swooped down towards her. She blinded one with a painfully bright flare of light, but the other managed to tackle her off the strand and fly up with Luminous in its sharp, perforated hooves.

Instinctively, Luminous bit one of the creature's legs but found the carapace was more than a match for her jaw muscles, and too smooth for her teeth to get a grip on. She felt herself being lifted towards one of the dark passageways, around the tangles of green threads. Images of the cocoon filled her mind, of having her emotions leeched from her, and instinctively, she angled her horn up and fired as potent a spell as she had ever flung, straight into her captor's face.

The beam of light disintegrated the creature's face, cut down two more creatures, and sliced one of the strands clear of the wall, which it melted a deep gouge into. The panic this caused was immediate; as the strand started to fall, the chitinous creatures swarmed around it, attempting to pull the cocoons off of it before they were crushed. It quite distracted the carapace-covered creatures from Luminous, who had fallen from her dead captor's hooves right onto another strand. Unfortunately for her, the strand was angled sharply enough that she soon found herself sliding down it on her belly, while her hooves scrabbled ineffectively against the slick substance of the green cable.

Luminous flipped herself over as she slid, and winced as the movement opened the cut on her flank. Before she could worry about that though, the strand abruptly changed direction, and Luminous had a split second of terrified anticipation before she was flung off through the air. Adrenaline slowed the progress of time to a crawl, and she saw the throne, with Twilight's prison above it, far below her.

Moments stretched as she tried to angle herself in mid-air, before she closed her eyes and cast. Searing pain erupted all along Luminous's back as she reflected herself off one of her shields straight towards the cocoon with Twilight in it. She shot through the room, trailing smoke from her back and blood from her flank as she arrowed straight for the imprisoned purple unicorn.

Luminous hit the cocoon with enough force to knock the wind out of her and slightly deform the side of the green prison. She gasped for breath for a moment, and tried to hammer on the cocoon with the strength left to her. “Twilight,” she rasped as loudly as she could, staring into the green liquid which held the knight, “Twilight,” Luminous said more strongly, her voice rising as the buzzing around her began to surge once more. Inside, Twilight stirred a little as if dreaming, “Twilight!” Luminous shouted, and she started to summon the last of her reserves to cut open the cocoon with her magic.

Between running through the hive, spellcrafting on the fly, and fighting off the creatures, Luminous was running very low on magical potential. She focused all she could into this cutting spell, intent on at least freeing Twilight. Luminous horn started to glow fitfully, and her legs began to shake, but before she could even try to cast she was tackled painfully off the cocoon by an armored chitinous creature.

“Mommy!” Luminous shouted instinctively as she fell, terror lending her voice strength as she felt armored limbs close coldly around her. She saw Twilight's cocoon start to fade from view until, at the bottom of the armored guard's dive with her, Twilight's cocoon exploded, and Luminous stopped falling altogether.

It happened so suddenly that the guard was torn off of Luminous from the stop. He hit the spherical floor with a tremendous cracking noise that sounded incredibly final. Luminous felt a soft tickle licking up her body, which was covered in violet flame. She tasted love in the fire and felt its fury even as it gently held her in the air, which smelled of burning paper. Twilight floated above the throne, her eyes pure white radiance, her body lit with flames that were both orange and purple that whispered with dark secrets and crackled with violent ire.

The creatures swarmed, attempting to tackle Twilight out of the air, but the heat and brilliance of her display kept them at bay. Those that strayed too close, out of bravery or madness, let out shrieks of agony as they immolated. The swarm kept trying, with a rabid determination that was as terrifying as it was ineffective. The shrill screams of the dying filled the air, warring with the smell of burning carapace for the most horrible sensation in the spherical hall.

Luminous felt a touch caress her mind as she floated, exhausted and worried. It was powerful, but tender, and Luminous relaxed a little as the fire began to spread outward from Twilight. It coursed through the strings of hard, cocoon-like substance into the shells that contained the ponies. The other cocoons were soon lined with purple fire as well, and Luminous felt rather than saw the fire spread deep into the rock, melting its way through the stone like the questing tendrils of some burning tree.

Smoke and terror filled the hall as the swarm began to realize the futility of their efforts, and they pulled back, towards the edges of the spherical room. Luminous felt her exhaustion and injuries stealing her sight once more, as the air became filled with the subtle resonances of magic. Twilight began to glow with a brilliance that stabbed at the eyes, and then with a bright flash, Luminous knew no more.

In the Citadel, Princess Luna watched as the fake Twilight trotted past, leading yet another noble suitor through the halls to her bedroom, giggling and flirting blatantly in the moonlight that filtered through the windows. When this whole thing is over, Luna thought with distaste, we shall have to burn that bed. She had been amongst those to suggest to Princess Celestia that they play along with the imposter's charade, at least until the location of the true Twilight could be discerned. That did not, unfortunately, make the reality of her choice any easier to deal with.

As the door shut, Luna snorted, and almost ran into Trixie, who had walked up quietly beside her. Trixie had hardened in the time since she'd joined Twilight's service, and she no longer flinched when Luna looked at her. Since Twilight had been taken and Luminous had disappeared, Trixie and Luna had worked long hours together, trying to find both. They had had to work covertly, so the fake Twilight wouldn't suspect anything, but so far it had seemed the fake Twilight was more interested in wooing suitors, rather than looking for signs of discovery. Still, they had taken no chances, and Luna had a new appreciation for the skills of changelings that wished to remain unseen.

Trixie jerked her head down the stairs, and Luna nodded before following the changeling, away from the sounds of increased revelry coming from Twilight's bedroom. As they walked, Luna slid a sideways glance at Trixie, who was alert and wary despite the circles under her eyes. The whole Citadel had been on alert since Twilight had been taken, and the changelings had successfully found more imposters amongst the mortal pony tenants at the Citadel. They hadn't done anything to the fake ponies, for the same reason that the imitation Twilight's excesses were accepted, but they were watched constantly.

It galled to let the imposters linger, especially for the changelings, and several times violence had almost broken out. It was only through the cunning of Trixie and the charisma of Princess Luna that the illusion of peace had been maintained, but from the expression on Trixie's face, Luna guessed the illusion was close to shattering. Changelings seemed to take particular exception to the idea of their fellows being replaced, even more so than non-changelings. Luna couldn't blame them, but the violence with which they reacted was still a little disturbing.

Luna and Trixie descended to the Baths, which had been finished exquisitely in the days since Twilight's capture. It had been little more than busywork really for the changelings, polishing and re-setting all the marble and stone, but the Baths looked magnificent as they lifted clouds of steam into the sky, colored gold by the setting sun. It reminded Luna of Twilight, rather appropriately, and her heart was gripped by a brief flutter of worry for the violet knight.

Luna's thoughts were diverted when Trixie stopped and turned to face her. She looked grim and determined, and Luna was struck once more by the way the wiry changeling had strengthened since joining Twilight's service. Gone were the days when Trixie flinched from direct eye contact with Luna or her sister; she seemed more confident in general, and was steadily becoming quite an ingenious engineer. She had had a couple suitors in the Citadel, Luna knew, but it was hard to imagine where she found the time, between working for Twilight or working on the Citadel. Trixie's low voice brought Luna out of her distracted thoughts quite sharply, however, “We've found her."

Luna's heart skipped a beat at the simple phrase, “Where? Where do we fly?” Luna asked eagerly, her quiet voice resonating in the open Baths with its sheer intensity, her wings half-spreading as if to leap off at that very moment.

Trixie shook her head, “No flight this time, we're going to be going by Hedge, Princess,” Trixie said as more changelings stepped out of the darkness. “We need to go quickly, who knows what they're doing to Twilight and Luminous in there...” Trixie winced as she realized what she said, while Luna's eyes widened in shock.

“Luminous?” Luna asked with alarm, “Luminous has been captured as well? How do you know? How...” Luna broke off as the changelings wouldn't make eye contact with her. She thought back to the enchanted armor the squire had been given, and her mind jumped to a terrible conclusion, “Bait. You used her as bait, didn't you?” Luna said slowly, her voice low and dangerous as she focused on Trixie who, to her credit, didn't look away, though she swallowed on reflex.

“We just tracked her,” Trixie said smoothly, too smoothly for Luna's comfort, “We had to make sure she didn't come to any harm so-”

“So you failed to tell me that you were doing so? Because I would recognize bait in a trap when I see one?” Luna interrupted, her voice hard. In the darkness of the Baths, Princess Luna seemed larger, and her voice, while still low, was as ominous and threatening as the groan of thin ice, “You overstep yourself if you think you can use a filly like that, let alone one that trusts thee so much.” Even the light of the moon seemed to grow darker as the Princess continued, “How could you possibly send her-”

“She left of her own free will,” one of the other changelings put in unexpectedly. He was a stallion whose green, stone-like skin concealed ticking mechanisms beneath, which were beginning to speed up as tension started to build in his frame. As the Princess' furious gaze turned to him, he licked his lips but continued, voice breaking only a little, “She wouldn't listen when Lady Trixie told her to stay put and wait for Twilight to be found.”

Luna frowned at the changeling, whose internal mechanisms were beginning to skip audibly with nervousness, and switched her gaze to Trixie. The blue mare looked distinctly uncomfortable, but defiant as Luna continued in the same dangerous tone, “Luminous is a great many things, but patient is not one of them, especially when Dame Twilight is involved. Thou didst know that, and exploited it. Thou didst send a filly unto the jaws of uncertain danger to be the bait for a trap.”

Princess Luna's accusatory declaration made several of the other changelings wince, but Trixie actually exploded at Luna, her voice rising in passion, “They'd blocked us from scrying Twilight, kept us from tracking her, flew her off to who knows where and you expect us to not try everything to get her back? Dame Twilight is everything to us, everything!” Trixie's voice lowers to an urgent hiss, full of a long-hidden frustration and anger, “To watch her form desecrated by that... That thing-”

“There were other ways,” Luna interrupted, noting the 'desecrated' for later as she advanced on Trixie, her expression unyielding. A thickness seemed to fill the air between the two, like an impenetrable barrier of two competing personalities, “Thou couldst have asked the crown, acquired help from the arch-magi of the Academy, anything but send a filly.”

“She's seen more combat than any Royal agent!” Trixie responded stubbornly, her eyes flashing with fury, even just a few feet from the Princess of the Night, while the other changelings backed away from the increasingly more vocal argument, “And how could we have trusted any other pony to do what's right, with creatures that can take our form? Take anypony's form? Sharp Claw is dead from one of those creatures, and he had good instincts!” Now Trixie actually advanced on Princess Luna, bottled up anger briefly overcoming good sense, “If you had better ideas, you should have voiced them, Luna. It isn't like Twilight's just going to return out of thin ai-”

Trixie stuttered into silence as a great static charge suddenly took hold of the air around the Baths. “What...?” she rasped, as Luna's Fire flickered about the area, casting an eldritch glow along the elegantly carved designs of the marble surfaces, making them seem to dance with life. A pressure filled the air, pounding on the ponies' eardrums. “We're under atta-” Trixie started to say as Princess Luna's eyes widened and she instinctively tackled the surprised changeling mare to the ground right as an anguished scream echoed from Twilight's bedroom, and the air erupted.

With the force of a thousand thunderclaps, Twilight Sparkle appeared, hovering over the Baths. The resultant sound and force of her transit blasted the whole Citadel with enough strength to knock over all the changelings that had gathered for the now-redundant mission, shatter all the glass and rattle every stone of the fortress. Stones and wooden beams slid off the mostly-finished Astronomy Tower, while the rest of the Citadel shook awake.

When Luna looked up, her jaw actually dropped. Twilight floated over the pool of water, with Luminous in her forehooves and several hundred green cocoons around her, all floating in her telekinesis which had shaped itself into heatless, violet flame. They spread out across the Citadel like strange lanterns, glowing with Twilight's magic and twitching as whatever was inside began to stir. Changelings stepped out of their homes and stared, while others simply sank to the ground in awe.

Twilight's eyes were like white beacons in the darkness, while her burning mane was an inferno of violet light around her, sending tendrils of writhing shadows out across the courtyard. In her mane, words of raw magical puissance hammered through Luna's vision in flaming orange. Her cutie mark blazed like a constellation on her dark flank, while more shadows danced across her body like mad cultists giving homage to some ancient power. The stench of burning paper was overpowering, it pounded into Luna's senses relentlessly, while the waves of power rippling from the violet unicorn shook the Princess invisibly.

For what felt like an eternity, Luna stared at Twilight, then, as if a switch had been flipped, her eyes faded, the telekinesis faltered, and the whole display cut. Everything fell, Twilight and Luminous included, only to be caught by the telekinesis of Luna, and once again chaos erupted across the Citadel.

Author's Note

So I know I missed a couple promised update times, and I'm very sorry everypony. I've been very depressed lately, even with the end of my time in college in sight, and between the workload and my own depression it's been difficult to get any writing done. Still, I'll try to get the next one out sooner!

Cracked

Twilight rose from a deep sleep, fragments of a dark, dreamless sleep trailing off her consciousness as it ascended to wakefulness. Smells started to make themselves known to Twilight's nostrils: disinfectant and ozone primarily, laced with a lingering, familiar fragrance that frustrated her senses even as it comforted. As her sense of smell returned, so too did her sense of hearing; the soft beeping of a heart monitor was familiar as well as troubling, and a faint murmur of voices from somewhere nearby was still too soft to make out, though something about the tones of the voices was reassuring. Twilight's senses of touch reported that she was laying in a rather soft bed, under some very clean sheets, and, thoroughly reassured by her other senses, Twilight very slowly opened her eyes.

Twilight's hospital room was quite dark, but she could see well enough by the moonlight that filtered in through the blinds on the window and the fey light of her own burning mane. She had electrodes attached to her body and horn, and a mild tug in her foreleg as she looked around told her she had an intravenous drip attached. A look at the bag told her it was simple fluids, which was reassuring, but she still had no idea for the moment as to what had happened, until a soft sound caught her attention.

Twilight turned sharply, her monitors speeding up briefly until her vision caught up to her reactions. Princess Celestia, diarch of Equestria, snored softly in a chair beside her bed. She looked disheveled, her swirling mane was uncharacteristically unkempt, and Celestia's coat lacked its usual radiance. On the floor beside the chair, the royal regalia sat in a relatively neat pile, and without it, Celestia looked smaller somehow. Deep circles lined the Princess' eyes as she slept, and Twilight began to wonder how long she'd been unconscious.

The sight of her mentor reminded Twilight that she hadn't really spent much time with Celestia since she had resolved to build the Citadel. Twilight thought back, and with some shock she realized it had been almost four years since then. She hadn't even had time for her own birthday four times over, though she had always made time for Luminous's, and she hadn't been to a Summer Sun Celebration in as long a time. Tears rose unbidden to Twilight's eyes as she silently regarded the sleeping Princess, and as she wiped them away, the movement of her arm caused the stand for her intravenous drip to rattle a little.

Celestia started to stir at once, though the sound was scarcely louder than a whisper, and as she looked up, Twilight suddenly found herself being embraced by the Princess of the Sun. She felt her mentor's warm, ethereal mane against her face, and once again the tears came, but Twilight just let them flow. She didn't understand what had happened, she didn't know why she was in a hospital, where Luna was, where the changelings were, but those questions could wait for the moment.

For several minutes Twilight just held Celestia, and to Twilight's surprise, she felt tears falling on her cheek that were not her own. Twilight swallowed as she realized Celestia, who had always been the serene strength in her life, was crying. The alicorn's breathing was harsh as she held her student, and the faintest of tremors wracked the diarch's body. It was like watching Celestia waste away in her bed, all those years ago when she had still technically been a wanted criminal: heartbreaking.

Twilight sniffed again, and Celestia withdrew, once more smiling serenely, though her magenta eyes were still tired and full of emotion. “I knew you'd be alright,” Celestia said softly, “But,” Celesta continued, with a sad sort of smile, “My most faithful student, we really must stop meeting like this.” Twilight stifled a chuckle at that, though the joke was bittersweet. Twilight hadn't really seen Celestia in ages, with all the demands on her time, and it really did feel like the only time she saw her mentor was when danger loomed.

To break the silence, and to assuage her own lingering fears, Twilight asked softly, “What happened?” Celestia sighed, and began to explain.

Queen Chrysalis, monarch of the Changelings, felt her brood's distress keenly as she flew towards the hive. She flew high, amongst the concealing clouds even though she was transformed into a pegasus. She had been flying for the better part of the night, and the sun was now beginning to warm her false, disgusting coat of hair. She didn't know what had happened when the filthy purple food-stock had apparently escaped, and arrived in such a grand manner at the Citadel, but whatever it was the unicorn had done, it had snuffed out a significant number of her children's lives.

Their psychic waves of sudden, incandescent agony had ripped apart Chrysalis' disguise as she had been about to feed upon the affection of yet another simpering noble. She had been forced to kill the fool of course, once her cover had been blown, and she hoped the investigation into the noble's death would occupy the freakish mutant ponies for long enough for her to escape without notice.

Not that she feared the creatures. They seemed entirely too wretched to even approach her power, though they were surprisingly tenacious, but Chrysalis felt sure that once she had dealt with whatever had befallen her hive, she could recoup and make use of the so-called 'changelings', just as the arrogant, blue wretch had told her years before. Despite the setback, everything the puny little thing had told her had proven true, and the creatures that dared call themselves changelings were still the perfect entry point for infiltrating pony society.

Chrysalis' thoughts were interrupted by a fresh wave of death from her hive. It wasn't as strong as the cataclysm hours ago that had preceded the unexpected and unwelcome arrival of Twilight Sparkle, but it was still alarming. She accelerated immediately, and passed over the town called Dodge City. The little primitive 'city' barely qualified as a town, and Chrysalis was gratified to notice that they seemed to be preoccupied with bringing in a new train and repairing their pathetic little town.

The Changeling Queen spared a moment's thought wondering how such hideously stupid creatures could have possibly inflicted so much damage, especially as the sensations of terror and pain began to rise in intensity. While she knew her plan was flawless, Twilight Sparkle and her mutant ilk posed a serious problem that the insectoid queen resolved to deal with, as She burst through a cloud, and stopped in shock and dismay.

The small mountain that had hosted the hive had collapsed inward, and all around it, her drones were dragging the dead to one pile and the injured to another. The stench of death lay heavy on the plain around the mountain as Chrysalis descended swiftly, her disguise burning away as two drones broke off from their tasks to greet her in the setting sunlight. They were her favorites, she was pleased to note, though they bore cracks in their carapace from some sort of heavy impact.

Chrysalis immediately received a psychic update on the situation, and felt a brief flash of smugness at the efficiency of Changeling communication before the true horror of the situation had set in. Nearly half the brood was buried under the remains of the mountain, and of the remaining half, only half of those were still able. Cave-ins wracked the former site of their home, following the fire that had wormed through and taken all of the cocoons in an instant of thunderous destruction.

Still, that left her with just under a thousand changelings, so Chrysalis immediately started directing the survivors, who worked harder and more efficiently under her direction. The problem of the missing food sources could be remedied in time, if enough of the healthy workers were extracted from the remains of the hive, though Chrysalis knew that many of her brood would starve.

The Changeling Queen made some cold calculations on that front, and started to direct members of her brood to isolate those who could not be helped, or were unnecessary. She directed the healthy to drain what love they could from those who were severely injured or useless. There was some protest, of course, until Chrysalis' loyal drones descended upon those who dared defy her. Some changelings too attached to their mates or spawn fell before Chrysalis' guards, before the others started to fall in line.

It was at that point, while the Queen was considering snuffing a few more of the dissenters, that one of the sentry drones went abruptly silent. His mental presence was immediately snuffed out without even the slightest pain, and would have gone unnoticed if Chrysalis wasn't already on high alert. As it was, the remaining sentries winked out one by one so swiftly that their painless waves of death the only warning Chrysalis was able to relay to the hive before swift, whistling death came swooping in.

Before her eyes, Chrysalis saw a drone drop from a length of pointed metal with fins of leather driving straight through his head. Hundreds of bolts fell from the sky it seemed, shot out from behind rocks, or seemed to come from nowhere. And while the survivors were still reeling, that's when the creatures swarmed in. They were like huge, vicious toads, dressed in armor and carrying bizarre weapons.

Wet skin shimmered in the dying sunlight, with croaks of savage triumph, firing bolts of metallic death from the strange contraptions clutched in their damp fingers. They hopped and bounded, faster than even the combat drones could follow, and amongst them, four-legged nightmares waded through. They were the filthy, mutant ponies, Chrysalis realized in her fury, the ones that dared take the name 'changeling'. Their sheer audacity spurred Chrysalis to snarl a direct order to attack to all the remaining of her brood, filled with her psychic hatred and burning, dominating will.

Instantly, every Changeling, drone, worker and larva alike, lunged for the intruders, who found themselves faced with a horde of almost a thousand frothing, screaming insectoid creatures. Several of the toad things took solid hits, and the attack began to break. Toad-like bodies fell here and there before the furious swarm, and Chrysalis boosted her psychic push with her fresh exultation. Soon the battle had become a rout, and the reckless invaders were being pressed hard by the wrath of the Changelings.

The invaders, mutant pony and freakish toad alike, broke and ran, and Chrysalis furiously demanded their pursuit, following behind. Through the eyes of her drones, the Changeling Queen caught glimpses of the insolent invaders fleeing to a dark cave. They or hopped in droves, but it was still only a mere hundred or so. Against her brood, they would stand no chance, Chrysalis knoew, so without a second thought, the swarm pursued them into the darkness, and as they passed the threshold, they vanished from Chrysalis' mind. Alarmed, she followed through, and found herself in a sudden, unexpected labyrinth of stone.

All through the tunnels around her, Chrysalis heard the sound of combat, the buzzing of drones and the screams of the dying as she felt wave after wave of death wash over her. The acoustics of the strange tunnels made finding her brood difficult, but she still had her psychic connection. In fact, the strange place seemed to amplify Chrysalis' psychic connection to her brood. Flashes of violence, of terror and confusion washed through Chrysalis' mind as her brood battled with the invaders in the tunnels, only to find themselves victims of sharpened crystals, rockslides and stranger, more nightmarish things.

On top of that, Chrysalis' psychic imperative had exhausted her children to the point of desperation, and many fell in a faint, unconscious, before being slain. Chrysalis burst into a corridor, where two drones fought feebly against some denizen of this place. It was like a timber wolf, but covered in rocky armor and glowing with crystals that seemed to shine with inner malice. One drone sensed his Queen's presence and tried to lunge at the creature. He was rewarded with a swipe of the creature's claw that shattered open his throat carapace. The other leaped to avenge its fellow, and was kicked back out of sight down the corridor.

At that moment, the dying drone tackled the creature, while simultaneously something slimy dripped onto Chrysalis' back. She spun just in time to dodge another rocky abomination, this one like a scorpion that merged unwholesomely with a coyote and a lamprey. Its crystal-furred legs jingled as the pawed limbs extended towards Chrysalis' face, and its gaping, sucker-like maw followed suit. Chrysalis dropped, allowing the creature to fly over her head, but its tail smacked her hard and spun her around before it impacted the wolf creature and they started fighting.

The dying drone, who had apparently not expired in his last-ditch attempt, urged his Queen to flee, before his life was wiped out in another wave of death. A keen scream of agony echoed from down the crystalline corridor, breaking into a thousand reverberations of pain before assaulting the Changeling Queen's mind and hearing. For once, Chrysalis listened to a mere drone and fled back the way she had come, fear warring with her incandescent wrath as she buzzed towards the exit.

Something scraped the tip of the Changeling Queen's wing, nicking it painfully. The walls were beginning to glow as small, sharp crystals grew out in snaking vines that seemed to reach for her. The waves of pain, terror and death from behind Chrysalis drove her onwards, while sharp, crystalline spikes shot towards her. Ahead, the faint moonlight of the advancing night was like a beacon of hope that promised solace from this gem-studded nightmare of blood, pain and death. Then the crystals all shook, and a great grating rumble sounded from all around. Crystals fell and pierced Chrysalis' wings, left deep scores in her black armored body and forced her to dodge, risking worse injury.

Worse yet, the opening ahead was beginning to dim. Rocks were sliding down across the entrance, shaking more crystals loose with every damning boulder and reducing Chrysalis' chances of escape. She put on more speed than she had ever had to before, and the Queen's wings ached with the effort. The corridor seemed to stretch, as if attempting to prevent her from leaving, and as her wings were about to give up, Chrysalis burst through the tiny space between the falling boulders into the chill night.

Queen Chrysalis, sole monarch of the Changelings, hit the rock in front of the cavern as the last rock smacked home, sealing the cave. Immediately, a net slapped over her, laden with a sticky slime, and Chrysalis struggled ineffectively against the bindings as her captors approached, cursing and shouting threats in her terrified rage until a hoof kicked her hard enough across her jaw to scatter her thoughts and stun her into silence.

In that time, more slimy strands were wrapped tightly around the Queen's mouth by quick, if slimy, amphibian fingers. A soft, pony voice asked a sharp question that eluded Chrysalis' stunned senses, a gutteral voice, like a burbling, flatulent swamp, answered, “We missed one, Lady Trixie,” As her senses recovered, Chrysalis could make out a hulking toad-like creature. Its mouth was easily bigger than the Queen's head, and the stench of it was almost overpowering.

“Leave it,” A far more normal voice answered, as a pony silhouette stepped forward, “This one lives for now.” To Chrysalis' thinly disguised relief, the silhouette resolved itself into a familiar shape, then the pony lit herself, and Chrysalis' blood froze. It was the creature that had set her on this path, but not quite. Where the self-centered pony who had told her of the so-called changelings had been groomed and flawless, this creature was grim and scarred, with a mane like an unwashed paintbrush, and a coat covered in idiotic doodles.

Chrysalis' scathing inner monologue was cut short by the creature saying to the toad with it, “Go back to the hive, help the others.” As the toad moved away, the pony creature moved closer, but before Chrysalis could bring her horn to bear and smite this impudent wretch, it was forcibly shoved up, wrenching the Changeling Queen's neck as she was brought up face-to-face with the unicorn. Whispers drained the violence from her thoughts as Chrysalis felt the anger bleed from her mind.

She tried to fight it, to strike this creature down, but something about her violet gaze was draining the righteous anger of the Changeling Queen, and leaving only sorrow and fear in its wake. It was some kind of magic, but something that eluded the Queen, something she could not counter with her own potent magical resources. “You were the one,” the blue unicorn said softly as Chrysalis sagged against her restraints, “you were the one who imitated Dame Twilight Sparkle.”

Chrysalis snarled a curse softly in response, a last breath of defiance, until she was smacked hard across the face again by a blue hoof, “That's for blasphemy,” the blue unicorn said sharply before she continued, in a smoother tone, “For your sacrilege, your profaning of the Dame's sacred form, and your further blasphemy against her mission... you shall be left alive.” Chrysalis, who had been bracing herself as best she could, couldn't believe what she'd heard. Her confusion must have showed, for the creature continued, in a tone as if one were explaining to a hatchling, “You will be left here, where your bonds will dissolve in the morning sun, free to go.” A smile colder than the Frozen North lit the unicorn's mouth, “Your kin will pay for your crimes. Those that are not devoured by the toads will be taken.”

Chrysalis tried to scoff at the so-called 'changeling' and its threat, but her mind turned to the dark labyrinth in which she'd abandoned her brood, where terror grew like slime upon the walls and dripped into her soul, sending her running. The pony's smile widened without humor, “You will live, and be alone, the last of your kind.” The pony stood and looked down at Chrysalis, whose eyes were wide with shock, “Your life is my gift to you, for leading your bugs into our trap and then leaving them to die. You saved me much trouble.” Those cruel, violet eyes grew colder, “But if you ever set hoof in Equestria again, consider the gift... revoked.”

The last waves of death from Chrysalis' ruined hive punctuated the creature's grim pronouncement, and the silence in their wake was profound. Tears, unbidden, rose to the Changeling Queen's eyes, and it was only then that the blue unicorn left, leaving Chrysalis alone in the freezing desert night.

Dame Twilight Sparkle, First Knight of Equestria, looked on at her sleeping squire. “She's really grown,” Twilight said softly to Princess Celestia. She and Twilight had moved to Luminous's room once Celestia's recounting of events had finished. Twilight's doctor had protested, but Twilight had simply ignored his complaints until he went about somewhere else. It was so dim that even Twilight's mane seemed bright to her, though Celestia never seemed to be impeded by the dark.

“She has,” Princess Celestia responded in an equally quiet voice. It was well past midnight by then, but the Princess showed no sign of her weariness from earlier. “And so have you." Twilight snorted softly, she felt exceptionally useless at that moment. As if divining her former student's disquiet, Celestia continued, "Everypony is caught wrong-hoofed sometimes, dear Twilight. Learn from the incident, and look to the future."

Twilight shook her head gently and looked down at her battered squire. Luminous was bandaged and clean, but exhausted. Her cutie mark on her right side would bear a thin scar, but beyond that she merely needed rest and nutrition to recover fully. Luminous had come a long way from the stubborn little filly that had shown up in Twilight's library, and the violet unicorn felt pride for her squire's rescue attempt, as well as something new, something she had never felt before.

Slowly, a realization stole over Twilight as she watched Luminous quietly rest, and she turned to her mentor. “Princess,” Twilight said seriously, “Is the Canterlot Adoption Agency open at this hour?”

Princess Celestia smiled, “If not," she answered lightly, "then they're certainly in for a surprise."

Author's Note

Sorta a rocky chapter, but I'm still getting back into the swing of writing after graduation, job-hunting (unsuccessfully), and getting ready to sell things at an upcoming convention. My schedule's been very full, and when I get a job it'll likely be even more so, so look forward to longer chapters a couple months apart.

Reflected Innocence

Canterlot was quiet, very quiet, every elegant building decked in black bunting like mourners at a funeral. Pictures of a certain purple unicorn mare were everywhere, surrounded by dark cloth, hanging in every window, and every lamp post. The autumn night was just falling, a hint of snow on the air, and stars brilliantly speckling the sky above as the sun gave way to the half moon. It was a still night, with nary a breath of wind, but in one of the reflection ponds in one particular park, ripples broke the rising moonlight shining across its liquid surface. The ripples had no source, nothing to cause them, but they broke the stillness of the pool with a sound like glass breaking slowly. They increased in speed and intensity until a shape burst out of the water with a tremendous gasp and a sound like a smashing pane of glass. It paddled awkwardly to the shore, then lay on the muddy ground, panting. After a few minutes of this, the figure pulled itself upright, and with a soft glow of magic, Twilight Sparkle cleaned and dried herself off.

Slate sighed, the gray pegasus severely bored as he guarded the main castle entrance. He was a relatively new addition to the Royal Guard, and the endless guard duties palled to the stallion, who could think of numerous ways his night could be better spent, many of them involving parties. He was of middle height, lean and fit, with a blond mane and grey coat that mirrored his eyes perfectly, and so tremendously bored he was counting the planks in the drawbridge for what felt like the seventy billionth time. It was a particularly somber evening, as befitted Memorial Night, but with everypony attending the official speech in the palace, even his own guard partner, nopony was going to be crossing the drawbridge.

As if to mock his surety, Slate's ears perked at the sound of running hooves, and looking around, he spotted a dark figure running straight for the gate. She was leggy, with a long, sharp horn and slender build, and her mane flicked in the wind strangely as she ran, like purple fire. He quickly snapped back to attention, just in time for the tall, dark unicorn mare to wrap her forelegs around his neck briefly in a hug. "Uh... Ma'am?" Slate asked, utterly confused.

"Slate! Oh Slate it is you isn't it?" The hug was warm and soft, and scented with the acrid tang of burning paper for some reason. The figure released the puzzled guard and shook her head, "I wish I could stay and chat, Slate, but I have to go in. I absolutely must see the Princess, can you tell her I'm coming?"

"Tell her who-..." The guard trailed off as he slowly recognized the visitor's cutie mark: a six-pointed star with five smaller stars around it. Twilight Sparkle apparently took his sputter for assent, kissed his cheek lightly and charged past him. The gray pegasus sat down gently and stared off into the distance, unable to form a coherent thought for the terror that had filled his mind, while the purple unicorn, terror of a thousand nightmares, ran past him into the castle.

After a moment, Ash, his guard duty partner came by to check on him with a basket full of buffet goodies balanced on his back. Ash was a light grey unicorn stallion, but his coat was a little lighter, and the mischief in his golden eyes often got him into significant trouble. As a result, though he was several years senior to Slate, he often had the same patrol and guard schedules. Now, he had apparently stolen half the buffet, and grinned at his fellow guard, "Hey Slate, I brought you some... Hey, what is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Slate stared at his partner, his faculties slowly returning at the reassuring sight of the light gray unicorn stallion, "T-T-Twilight S-Sparkle.” At the uncomprehending look of his partner, Slate repeated, “Twilight Sparkle, the Twilight Nightmare. S-sh-she just... She's b-back! She's... She just charged in there! Sound the alarm!"

Prisons were terrifying, Twilight discovered. They stank of darkness and fear, and all the little sounds kept you from sleeping properly. She wondered what she was in prison for, or why Princess Luna had been giving a speech, or why there had been pictures of her hanging up around the palace, surrounded by black cloth. She wondered a lot of things, but mostly she just wondered. It was either that or listen to the little voices cropping up from the darkness. The darkness was talking to her, specifically, talking about all the terrible things that happened in this castle. She started muttering back after a while, her willpower waning, and she felt her panic starting to ooze out of control.

After a while, two voices sounded outside, guards with voices Twilight faintly recognized, talking with each other. "I can't believe there isn't gonna be a trial even...” That was Locksmith, Twilight realized, and she could almost see the concern on the old white pegasus' face as he continued in his worried voice, “You think she really is Twilight Sparkle? I mean, we saw her hang!"

Twilight's face paled at that, while a more nasal, younger voice continued, "Yeah, but they say she teleported out somehow.” She felt sure that was Bright Wing, the black pegasus had just started in the Guard when she had been taken, and now his rather more mature voice continued, “Were you at the hanging?"

"Celestia no,” Locksmith said with some disgust, “I knew her when she was just a filly. I just couldn't, even after what she'd done to the Princess."

"Me neither...” Bright Wing said while Twilight's confusion and alarm began to skyrocket, “Still, this time she can't go anywhere, not with the new magical blocks in place. It'll be a shame though. She was always nice to me. It’s hard to believe she..." Bright Wing trailed off into a sigh.

"Yeah...” Locksmith said sadly, and Twilight felt the sorrow in his tone, while the shadows around her whispered with her despair, “Anyway, g'night Bright Wing."

"Night Locksmith," Bright Wing said, before the light and the sounds of hooves faded into the distance, leaving Twilight alone with her thoughts.

Twilight was in shock. A hanging? Her hanging? For what? What had she done to merit the ultimate sentence? Nopony was ever hanged in this day and age. It was unheard of, the worst punishment that Twilight had ever seen exacted was an escort to the border and permanent banishment. She had to get out of here, she just had to, to clear her name or at least find out what it was she did. So, reluctantly, she spoke softly with the shadows that had been gently whispering for her attention. She reached an agreement with them, and fell into a slumber. The room seemed to get darker as she fell deeper into sleep, and descended into her dreams.

Twilight ran through impossible architecture, chased by an unseen horror up stairs made of books that led onto a wall, also made of books, and from there to the arched ceiling, with more books. She kept several steps ahead of the Librarian behind her, using the secret ways she'd learned to cross quickly and efficiently through places too small for easy pursuit. She would have to dive into the fountain to escape, but this time she wasn't trying to. She instead turned the corner, relying on dream-logic and dove through a round window that seemed curiously out of place.

She landed into the middle of a brightly colored party, in which, most disturbingly, everything turned to look at her. The chairs, balloons, tables, confections, plates, silverware, everything had a face on it and was smiling at her merrily. "A GUEST!" the whole room said at once, and soon Twilight was being ushered through the room to the dance floor, which was dancing merrily, insofar as a giant square of wood could be merry, with a familiar pink earth pony.

Pinkie Pie turned, laughing as a chair bumped her to get her attention, and stopped at the sight of Twilight. The whole party froze as Pinkie stared at her friend, "T-Twilight?” Pinkie stammered softly, before switching to a full excited squeal, “TWILIGHT?! IT'S YOU!" She leapt for Twilight, and then they both woke up, with Pinkie hugging Twilight tightly in the middle of her darkened room, laughing and crying, "Oh I knew you'd come back, I knew it, they never believed me but I knew it! Oh but you've changed, Twi!" She pulled back and looked her friend up and down, "Taller, pointier, and a little... Less here, but I love your mane. It's all flamey and crackly. And I love the way it makes words. You're making words you know, they’re trailing off you like cobwebs! It's pretty, and creepy, but mostly pretty. Oh but it's so good to see you!" She pulled Twilight into another hug.

Twilight meanwhile was still trying to sort out her friend's reaction, which had been a far cry from the instant imprisonment she'd met with, and with the fact that Pinkie just sort of accepted her appearing in her dreams without question. "P-Pinkie," Twilight tried as she gently pushed Pinkie away and smiled, "It's very very good to see you, but... I just escaped from the castle. Mister and Missus Cake will get in trouble if I stay here much longer and I need to know: what's with all the pictures of me everywhere, and why was I arrested when I walked into Canterlot? What's going on, Pinkie?"

Pinkie sighed and looked away, avoiding Twilight’s gaze before answering, "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that... It's a long story, Twi, and not very nice at all." at Twilight's concerned look, she shook her head and said sadly, "Alright Twilight, but you're not gonna like it, not one bit." She curled up on the bed and closed her eyes for a moment before beginning, "After you left, another pony took your place. She was a mean meany-pants, and not like a real pony at all: she had a pumpkin for a head, and a body made of sticks held together with spider silk, but nopony else seemed to notice! I tried to tell them, but nopony would listen to me, so I... I left. Once I was gone, the not-Twilight started gathering ponies to herself, not nice ponies, but mercenaries and thugs. I didn't even know there were so many of them, but she brought enough of them to attack the palace, but the Royal Guard were ready for her."

Pinkie's hair started to deflate slowly as she told the story, while her vocabulary expanded unconsciously, "Most of the Guard were wiped out by... by her followers... She personally tore apart seventy-two Royal Guards and managed to critically injure Princess Celestia before Princess Luna was able to restrain her magic." Twilight gasped unconsciously, and Pinkie's tone lowered further, laced with sorrow and hurt. "With Princess Celestia out of commission, Princess Luna ordered the not-Twilight hanged for high treason and murder. At the gallows, she declared she would return again, and then they hanged her, and she turned back into sticks and junk. I mean," Pinkie amended while Twilight stared, dumbfounded and horrified, “She was always sticks and junk, but it was like the other ponies couldn't see until she died.” The pink earth pony took a breath and continued, "Afterwards, Princess Celestia was horrified by what her sister had done, and declared the day the not-Twilight was hanged to be a day of mourning in the capital. She and her sister haven't really spoken since. That was about three years ago."

Twilight blinked several times in the wake of Pinkie's story, then slowly took her friend into a hug, unable to think of any response. Princess Celestia wounded? A strange creature taking her shape? She was sad and angry, happy to be back, but terrified she'd be killed for something she didn't do, and most of all she missed her friends, oh how she missed her friends. It was wonderful to see Pinkie Pie, but she had to see the others too. "Pinkie," she said softly, "I have to go, I don't want to get you or Mister and Missus Cake in trouble,"

"Mister and Missus Cake? Oh silly Twilight, we're not in Ponyville, I moved out of there when you left. It's safe enough here," Pinkie said, her good humor returning as she giggled and walked over to the window, "Welcome Twilight, to Manehattan!" She pulled open the curtains to reveal the city outside, which was also decked in black bunting and pictures of Twilight. Unfortunately, rather than being the awe-inspiring sight that Pinkie had hoped for, something broke inside Twilight. She started chuckling softly, then laughing, then steadily turned to sobs. Twilight cried for the torment she had endured. She cried for the injustice of her return, for the harm her face had caused and for the sake of the world in general.

I Dream of Apples

Two terrified muggers, one Juice Cup and Thick Muscle sat in a Royal Guard interrogation room, spilling their guts about the impossible: Twilight Sparkle returned and terrorizing the unlawful with unholy magics. Lieutenant Pumpkin Spice, a beige unicorn with a gift for crime solving, was about to give them a little jail time for the admitted mugging and leave it at that, when Sergeant Cupcake, a rather fat earth pony that resembled his namesake, came running in. In his mouth the rotund sergeant held a scroll bearing the royal seal, that he spat out at the lieutenant's hooves, “Lieutenant, Lieutenant! Scroll here from Canterlot, new orders I think. Chief Lump insisted everypony get a copy.” Pumpkin Spice sighed, Chief Lump liked to spread royal orders around, the unfortunately named pony simply delighted in spreading around ill news with a large pointy shovel. Lieutenant Pumpkin Spice levitated and opened the scroll magically, reading the contents,

Members of the Royal Guard,

Twilight Sparkle has returned. Be on alert for a purple unicorn with a purple mane with a single pink stripe running through her hair. Her cutie mark is a six-pointed starburst with five white stars around it. If she is found, do not engage her directly unless civilians are in danger, her power is not to be trifled with. I expect this knowledge to remain within the ranks of the Royal Guard, who will do everything in their power to recapture Sparkle with the minimum of public attention.

H.R.H.

Princess Luna

Lieutenant Pumpkin Spice stared at the letter, then back at the interrogation room, an eager gleam forming in his eye as the case began to become more than just a simple mugging. “This just got a bit more interesting,” he said softly before re-entering the room with the two terrified suspects.

“Wait, she did what?!” Twilight exclaimed after Fluttershy had come in, kissed her as well, and then hugged her after she had confirmed that she did not, in fact, taste like pumpkin.

Rainbow Dash coughed, blushing, “Yeah, she tried to get all of us, like in a harem or something. Every time she kissed one of us though it tasted like pumpkin for some reason, so we had to be sure, with magic and all. Anyway, when none of us went for it, she left and then came back with that army. Funny thing though, she didn't seem to think she needed an army 'til she visited Pinkie, she didn't look at all well after that.”

“Speaking of,” Twilight said, trying to change the topic so her face would stop burning, “How's Pinkie?”

Fluttershy shook her head, “It's not good, she's going to have to go into the hospital immediately, but once she's there she should be fine. The bigger problem is what to do with you, Twilight.”

“I agree,” chimed in Rarity, “You do kind of stand out with the flaming hair and all, and Princess Luna is bound to be hunting for you, until we can explain matters anyway. Fortunately,” and Rarity reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a large dress of some sort, which she levitated over to Twilight, “I came prepared, darling. Now put this on, and go to Ponyville, the authorities will be here soon. Find Applejack, she'll be able to help you. And... It's wonderful to see you, we missed you,” Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all hugged their friend, who, tears in her eyes, put on the dress, which was a beautiful dark purple, almost black, with black amethysts at the chest and around the fringe, then teleported out to the rooftop. From up on the roof, the city was beautiful: the glittering lights, dark rooftops, distant sounds of life. She whispered softly to the shadows and, dissolving like dust on the breeze, she descended into the collective unconsciousness around her.

Dream-walking is an art-form, and, as a consequence, Twilight more or less tumbled her way through the dreams of those around her. She wandered through a foalish dreamscape of crayon-colored flowers, into a nightmare about being late for class, where she briefly passed a foal running frantically through the city, looking for his school. From there the dreams became more mature, with rolling in money, succeeding in business and, once Twilight had to sneak through a boudoir in which a very intimate dream was taking place that made the rather impressionable purple unicorn blush tremendously. Finally, after rolling through several bizarre dreams, one of which included a tea party with talking lemons, she found a dream about Sweet Apple Acres, its rolling orchards unmistakably beautiful in the autumn light. She looked around, hoping to find the owner of the dream, but felt the dreamscape starting to unravel as the sleeper woke up. She whispered to the shadows under the trees and felt herself drift out of the dreamscape, the real world materializing around her like shapes in smoke.

She shook her head and took a hard hoof to the jaw as Applejack woke up, saw a looming shape over her bed in the middle of the night and panicked. Twilight hit the floor hard, but the kick had been blindly inaccurate, and only clipped the unicorn's jaw, which was still sufficient to send her spinning to the floor. Applejack sat bolt upright and leapt at the lurker, pinning Twilight to the floor, “Alright you lil' sneak-thief, what're you doing in mah bedroom an' gimmie one good reason ah shouldn't jus' buck you right outta mah window.”

“Um... Because Rarity would get upset if you ruined this dress?” Twilight tried, grinning uncertainly, still a little dazed, she shook her head and stared at the astonished look on Applejack's face as she recognized her friend. Before anything awkward happened, Twilight added quickly, “The others all... Uh... Tasted me already, I don't taste like pumpkin, so I'm... I'm me?”

Applejack snorted and moved away from her friend before helping her up, “'Course you ain't, otherwise Rarity wouldn't have given you th' dress. 'Sides, you didn' try to molest me in mah sleep, or kill me, and you didn' set the house on fire, so you probably ain't her. What're you doing here though sugarcube?”

“I was staying with Pinkie Pie but... She got sick, so I had to get help, and-”

“Wait, Pinkie Pie's sick?” Applejack frowned, “Why wasn't I told? Is she gonna be alright?”

“Um... It only happened this morning, Applejack, I was in Manehattan up until just now when I-”

“AJ!” At that moment, Big Macintosh burst through the door, or rather the door flew off its hinges and knocked Twilight over in the process when he rammed it at full speed in his haste to get to his sister. “AJ come on, come quick! Applebloom went into th' Forest!”

Applejack snorted at her brother, keeping a hoof on the door pinning Twilight down to remind her to stay still, she wasn't sure if Big Mac would take Twilight's reappearance well. “That silly filly goes inta the Forest all th' time to visit Zecora, I'm sure she's-” Applejack broke off as Big Mac tossed down a very familiar-looking hair ribbon, that was spotted with blood.

“Zecora found it on the way to her hut. Wouldn't say much more, only that we needed powerful magic to save her, and iron.” Big Mac's clipped delivery only served to emphasize the dire import of his words.

At that last word however, Applejack felt Twilight twitch under the door. She scowled, “We've got that. Big Mac, gather up all th' iron you can in town, ah'm gonna get ready. Ah know a few unicorns ah'd trust in a fight ah can call on, so get on and go get th'iron.” Big Macintosh nodded and galloped out. Applejack put the door back into its frame and stood there for a moment, while Twilight stood up slowly, “Twi, ah don't know if it's really you or if you somehow bamboozled all the others, but ah know mah lil sister's in trouble an' ah'm bettin' you know why.” She turned and glared at her friend, not out of anger, but fear for her sister, “So tell me Twilight, what ah gotta do an' ah'll do it.”

Twilight stared at the earth pony for a long moment, then sighed, “Applejack, this... This thing is beyond anypony, except maybe the Princesses, or...” She frowned, thinking, “Or me... Maybe.”

Applejack's ears perked a little, “Maybe? Whaddya mean?”

“The creature that took your sister, if Zecora's advice is any guide, is probably the same one that stole me three years ago. He's not a pony, or a living creature, really. He's...” Twilight frowned, “You know those nightmares you have, where you're running from something, but no matter how fast you run it's always right behind you?” Applejack nodded slowly, “Well, he's the embodiment of that, and he's been capturing beings that stray into the forest for years and selling them to beings like him. I can find him, and save your sister, but I don't think you should follow.” Twilight winced in anticipation of the outburst that was to follow.

“NOT FOLLOW?! She's mah sister Twilight! Ah'll go wherever ah have to, and buck the livin' lights outta anypony that-” The orange earth pony was silenced by her friend's hoof against her lips.

“Applejack, I know, but I can't let you. If you go, you'll get taken too, then who'd look after the farm? I, however... Well I just got back from there, in a way, and the things I've seen...” Twilight couldn't stop a small shiver from running through her, “... Well I'd rather nopony else saw them. How about this: if I'm not back by tomorrow, well, I don't know, but Pinkie might, so ask her if I don't come back.” Applejack frowned, not liking such a vague plan, but at that moment Big Macintosh called that he'd brought all the iron horseshoes he could find, and Applejack nodded to her friend.

“You'd best be right, sugarcube.”

Moonlight Sonata

Twilight's quarters were more of a pavilion she had pitched in the courtyard of the keep than an actual building, but it had a writing desk, her favorite books were everywhere, it had beds for her and Luminous, and would be considered cozy if the tent walls didn't seem to amplify the sound of the wind tenfold. Still, it was warm and dry, and Twilight had no intention of setting herself up with better quarters until the castle defenses were finished. That thought brought Twilight's gaze to the plans for the extensions and improvements to the original castle she had made, stacked across the desk in neat piles. She had consulted long with the shadows and her most extensive tomes on defenses both mundane and magical and fortifications. The castle would look mostly the same on the outside, but it would be stronger, be riddled with traps for the unwary intruder, secret passages and even some interior growing areas, magically sustained, in the event of a prolonged siege. It would take months, years even to get everything up and running, but she was confident that even the Beast would have trouble breaching the fortress.

Princess Luna closed the flap of the pavilion behind her as she stepped in, following Twilight, and the enclosed space of her pavilion made the unicorn aware of just how badly she stank of blood, sweat and iron, though Princess Luna seemed not to mind. She wondered with mild disgust when the last bath she'd had was, a real bath, with soap, rather than a rinse in the river. There hadn't been time for such luxuries for the past week, and now Twilight could understand her aide's haste in making the baths readily available.

Before she could avail herself of the fruits of the workers' labors however, she needed to get out of her armor. She removed the coronet herself, setting it on her armor stand before she set about magically unlocking her black iron fetlock guards, her mind still buzzing with her thoughts about Luminous and the Beast.

Princess Luna started unlocking the breastplate with her teeth, as Trixie had designed that part of the armor to reject magical attempts to undo it, as she had found out, when she had helped re-design the suit. This close to Twilight, she could feel the lick of the flames running off the unicorn's tail and mane, like a ghostly touch of the weakest telekinesis ever, but still present, and it whispered quietly to her in tongues not even the ancient ponies spoke and smelled of burning paper in a not entirely unpleasant way. She didn't know if Twilight knew that she could see her as she truly was, but the princess found herself reluctant to bring it up in that rather intimate moment. Her sister had theorized that it may have had something to do with the experience Luna had had with the Beast, since Celestia seemed to be blind to the differences.

She caught the breastplate before it could hit the floor, and set it on the stand as well, and then started undoing the backplate, which shone with the care Luminous lavished on it daily. Trixie had designed the armor originally with such cunning and artistic flare that Luna had been reluctant to reforge the plates, but she had been able to keep much of the original design. She unhooked the clasps holding the backplate onto the silk and mail mesh under-coat. She had pulled the stuff for the silk from the night itself, magically binding it into fabric which would heal itself and stop arrows, and the meteoric iron for the rings, coronet and other parts of the armor she had personally selected from fallen meteor strikes around Equestria. She told herself she'd gone to so much trouble out of contrition for imprisoning Twilight unjustly, and fixed that thought in her mind, even if being this close to the tall unicorn sent strange feelings through the Princess.

Twilight let out a soft sigh as the backplate was removed, from frustration rather than relief, “I was hoping they'd leave off for a little while, the wolves that is. We barely are up to fighting strength, and even then, ponies and changelings aren't really built for combat,” she shook herself as Luna unhooked the mail and night-silk mesh under-coat, loosening her fur somewhat, though her coat was in definite need of a brushing. “If only we'd had a few more months,” Twilight said ruefully, magically ordering her mane with a spell while Luna hung the heavy coat on the armor stand with the rest, frowning a little. The enchantments on the silk kept it from needing cleaning, but a slight scent of burning paper clung to it nevertheless, in clear defiance of the spells she had worked on the fabric. She was so lost in her musing she almost missed the gentle nudge from the moon, which needed to be raised. She turned her attention back to Twilight after attending to her celestial duty, only to find, much to her shock, that the purple unicorn was close enough to brush noses with her, having approached to see if there was something wrong with the under-coat, misinterpreting the glow from the princess' horn.

They both fell back in an embarrassed clatter, blushing, then Twilight started to giggle, and Luna found it impossible not to join in. Giggles turned to laughter even as they hauled themselves upright, and they started out of the tent. They proceeded, laughing, to the baths, which were deserted in the moonlight. Twilight blinked, “When did you raise the moon, Princess was that... Oh!” She grinned in sudden realization, “That was why you...” She broke off, giggling at herself again, flushing, and the two of them gently descended into the steaming hot baths.

Twilight and Luna both gasped softly at the heat of the water, then sank in fully, indulging in the hot water washing over their coats and, in the case of Luna, wings. “Oh by the stars,” Luna said, sinking into the bath with a most satisfied expression, her wings fluttering with little splashes, “It's warmer than I remember, but it's been ages...” She indulged in the water with Twilight, who was still adjusting to the heat, until she remembered that they had gone there for a purpose. She looked over at Twilight, enjoying the water with a contented expression that reminded her just how young the unicorn was, comparatively speaking.

Twilight was almost comatose, enjoying the water which was easing her tense muscles, when Princess Luna gently began to knead her shoulders and neck with a skilled magical touch. Under normal circumstances, she would have jumped, but she was so comfortable there under the moonlight that she barely flinched, then relaxed further under the Princess's ministrations. Twilight had only rarely had massages, either before the change, or after. Unlike the few she'd had though, which tended to be relaxing, if a bit painful at times, the Princess seemed to know exactly where to press, where to knead, and how much pressure to use to numb certain sore muscles, then knead them into relaxation.

Twilight almost didn't notice when Luna began soaping her up while massaging, she was so lost in the sensations, but the scent of the soap, which was the same used at the Palace, brought back memories. “Princess... There's something I've always wanted to know,” Twilight said softly, though her words rang clearly over the gently swirling waters of the baths, “Did... Did it hurt, when the Elements... Um...” She trailed off awkwardly as the soapy massage slowed, and turned to see Luna looking thoughtful, but, thankfully, not upset. She was very beautiful, Twilight realized, with the moonlight reflecting off her dark fur from the water and above. Her mane, Twilight noticed, swirled beneath the water, unaffected by the damp, and sparkled the same as always, the stars and constellations distorted, but not diminished by being immersed in the water. Her eyes, however, truly held Twilight's gaze: they were deep and calm, and weighted with years in a way that only stones and stars can be, without losing one iota of their intensity.

The Princess considered the question for a moment more, then said with only a trace of sadness, “Yes, Dame Twilight, and no... It was more like...” She looked up at the moon, which cast her face in silver lines and dark shadows, “Like somepony stripped away my hatred, rage and jealousy, leaving only fear and hurt...” Twilight winced a little, but Luna smiled at her, “It was for the best though, without you, I probably would have been slain. My sister would not have been contained for long, and would not have suffered something driving her sister to madness.” At Twilight's shocked look, Luna raised her brows and resumed soaping the unicorn, “But perhaps not, much has changed in her. But... Why do you ask?”

“Well...” Twilight said a little awkwardly, “I just... We never talked about it, really. I mean, before I came back from... From where I was,” she shivered a little, despite the heat of the water, and her burning mane swirled in the winds of her unease, even beneath the water, “Before I came back, we barely spoke at all. Now we're here, making a home for both of us to share,” she gestured to the under-construction keep and fortifications. “And, well...” She trailed off, starting to relax a little into the Princess's ministrations again.

Luna nodded after a moment, “I confess, Dame Twilight-”

“Just Twilight is fine, Princess,” Twilight interrupted gently, “it's not like there's anypony around,”

Luna, rather touched, smiled a little, “Only if you will call me Luna,”

Twilight tried to sputter a protest, but realized how feeble it sounded. She agreed with a nod, and Luna continued, “I confess, Twilight, I was... Intimidated by you,” she chuckled as she felt Twilight's surprise and read it in the words flicking off her mane. Her chuckle was a rich, throaty sound that made Twilight's fur stand on end briefly as a ripple of... Something ran through her. Luna appeared not to notice as she continued, “Yes, I was intimidated. You and your friends were able to outmatch me at the height of my power, and then you held no rancor. There were no consequences, you never spoke a word against me, when so many others whispered.”

“You were possessed,” Twilight protested, eliciting a sharp look from Luna until she continued, “Or enchanted or something, it wasn't your fault, Pri-... Luna.” She smiled shyly at Luna, who smiled back, relaxing a little. Twilight quietly berated herself for almost bringing up the Beast

“Twilight, you really are a treasure,” the tall princess said softly, her voice warm and soft, startling Twilight into a blush as Luna kneaded her shoulders and back, “It is rare to meet a pony so forgiving, mired as I am in the politics around Canterlot. It is too bad we did not spend more time together, you and I.” Twilight nodded mutely, blushing still, but enjoying the attention. She wondered why she let her awkwardness around Luna keep them from talking, and she tensed a little as she remembered the cells the Princess had thrown her into when she had first returned.

As if reading her mind, Luna sighed and said softly, “If we had, I would not have been so quick to judge, methinks, when you came back to the castle... I might have seen through the false Twilight's ruse. Might have-” she stopped in surprise as Twilight's hoof pressed gently across her lips. Her eyes glowed, literally, and her mane was burning with words that, while still unintelligible, seemed full of some sort of emotion.

“'Might have' never filled the pot, Luna. Don't worry about what we might have talked about,” She turned in the water to face the Princess, her glowing purple eyes brilliant against the darkness, like stars, but full of a compassion and mystery that Luna found rather entrancing. Twilight smiled, “Let's just catch up now, and then whatever we might have talked about, well, maybe we can get to it tonight.” It wasn't terribly funny, but Luna giggled anyway, which set off Twilight, and the two of them laughed and talked deep into the night.