Pantheon

Chapters

Chapter One: The Time
Chapter Two: The Party
Chapter Three: The Rescuers

Chapter One: The Time

--PANTHEON--
Chapter One: The Time

It's burning.

There was no other way to describe it. The purple unicorn backed away from the writhing mass in the center of the lab. Like a living star, the anomaly was similar to a burning mass of plasma, consuming everything in reach. She could feel wind whipping around her as the very air was being absorbed by the mass. The room was filled with a roaring, like the continuous cries of a maddened manticore. The wooden floor was scorched, turning a deeper and darker shade of black. Light seemed to warp around it, making the room appear to be bending at odd angles, or were the forces around the mass actually bending reality? Whatever was happening, Twilight could feel the overpowering heat radiating from the object and the raw magical energy writhing in its midst.

Upstairs, the door slammed open. Twilight looked up to see Spike staring down in shock. "Twilight!" he screamed, "What did you do?!"

"I don't know!" Twilight screamed back, keeping her focus on the mass in front of her.

Really, she didn't know what caused this destructive anomaly to appear in her laboratory. A minute ago, she was conducting a perfectly safe, perfectly controlled experiment. Ever since her run-in with time travel not too long ago, Twilight became fascinated with the mechanics behind it. Certainly she had vowed against using time travel again for very obvious reasons, but that did not stop her from delving into temporal theory and other such experimental works. It was only today that she finally built up the courage to try her own experiment.

It was basic enough: use her magic to make a dimensional map of her segment of time and space. It was a difficult task, to say the least, but Twilight felt she was more than capable. After all, she had performed feats of magic that outstripped some of the greatest unicorns in history. All she needed to do was to reach out and, "touch time," nothing more. And she did it. It went perfectly. She felt how time and space were interacting.

Then it burned.

She still couldn't tell what it exactly was, but it clearly wasn't good, and probably shouldn't be burning.

Twilight backed away even further as the anomaly suddenly rumbled, filling the air with a terrible screech. Slowly, the writhing mass of energy began expanding, filling up the room and devouring everything it came in contact with.

"Twilight, it's growing!" Spike yelled from the stairs.

"I know!" Twilight yelled back. Determinedly, she raised her horn and focused. A purple sphere appeared around the anomaly, sealing it in. It reached out for the sphere of magic, trying to consume it as well, but Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and held the anomaly back. Through gritted teeth, she cried, "Get out of here! Tell everypony to stay back! And get the Princess!"

"Which one?"

Twilight looked up at Spike incredulously for a moment before turning her full attention back to the matter at hand. "Either of them, both of them. Just hurry!"

She was satisfied to hear the slamming of the door moments before she finished her last sentence. Twilight winced as a force pressed itself against her shield momentarily before disappearing again. Her heart, already hammering in her chest, was going into overdrive. That wasn't the anomaly, she thought, having felt the magical imprint of the force.

"Hello?"

Twilight's eyes darted around the room fearfully. "Get out of-" but her voice cut off as she saw nopony else in the room with her. Confused, she stared back at the mass, still writhing against the shield.

It's burning and it's talking....

"There!"

The voice returned, distorted, echoing, and so similar to the one before. Before she could muse on the meaning, the alien force returned, slamming against the shield with a massive blow. It took all of Twilight's strength to hold on to her magic and repel it. The force vanished again just as suddenly as it appeared.

"No you don't!" Twilight cried fiercely, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing everything she had into the shield. But the mass started boiling and bubbling, its motions becoming more energetic and chaotic. At once a slew of voices shot from out the anomaly.

"...happy!"

"War...."

"I can't...."

"We're under..."

"...a traitor!"

"I'M SORRY!"

The last voice was booming and filled with magical energy, the force of which nearly knocked her off her hooves. It was like the Royal Canterlot Voice, only a million times more powerful. The anomaly stopped writhing under her shield. Curious, Twilight opened one eye.

The anomaly had collapsed into a single point, brilliant and white. She stared for only a second before it exploded in a flash of intense magical energy, stronger than any she had felt before. The entire universe fell out form around her as the energy from the anomaly consumed her. With the last of her magic, Twilight threw up a shield and allowed herself to be pulled out of reality.

It's burning.

Twilight squeezed her eyes closed against the rolling flames that consumed her vision, much like the unstable anomaly in her laboratory. A fire more powerful than any she had witnessed before roared around her. She felt as though she could feel her fur singing, her skin underneath scorching. Magical energy assaulted her shield, but Twilight held firm against the alien energies around her. Instead she felt herself be pulled through the flames, a strange feeling she couldn't exactly describe.

It wasn't like moving through space, at least not like she was used to. It was more like her body wasn't moving, but her mind was being tossed across vast fields of flame. The light started to die out. The flames fell back from her shield. The magical energies withdrew. Still she was pulled through this void outside of reality. Cautiously, she offered herself the chance to open her eyes again.

All she saw was reality suddenly warping around her in an entirely disconcerting fashion and herself falling to the ground with a splat. The silence rang in her ears. The complete lack of light blinded her from the world. Her skin felt numb, yet she could faintly feel a wooden grain underneath her. She breathed heavily, each intake a hoarse gasp. As she started to fall unconscious, drained by her experiences, one last thought crossed her mind.

It's freezing.

Twilight woke to find herself shivering on the floor. Her breathing shallow and shaky, she opened her eyes. The room was just as dark as when she lost consciousness, giving her no indication of how much time had passed. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and rose wearily to her hooves. As she started moving around the chill in the room become more bearable, though her body still shook with both weakness and shock.

"Light." Twilight muttered and raised her head into the air. She reached with her magic only to find it drained and inert. After several tries and much grunting and wheezing, she finally managed to support a glow from her horn, which she used to examine the room.

It was definitely her laboratory, but what storm trashed it she had no....

...oh wait, never mind.

The floor was covered in burn marks radiating from the center of the room. There the wood actually buckled in like a giant ice cream scoop cleanly carved out the center. Her scientific equipment was tossed around the room; some lay broken on their sides, some were shattered into a million pieces, while others were actually warped beyond recognition. The walls were covered in pock-marks, chips of wood gathering where they met the floor. The stairs were bent out of shape by some massive explosion. But otherwise, Twilight could identify this definitely as her laboratory.

The unicorn reached out a hoof and stroked the wall, examining the layer of dust that had built up on it. "All right Twilight, calm down." She muttered, shaking the dust off of her hoof. "If you start panicking, you'll get nothing done. First: figure out what happened." Twilight sighed and looked around the laboratory wreckage. "I think it's safe to assume whatever happened pulled me... somewhere in time. But what caused...?"

"Get out of-!"

Twilight jumped, heart racing. She spun around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Hello?" She tentatively called out to the darkness. Suddenly she remembered something from before. "Wait a minute...."

"No you don't!"

"It's what I said...." Twilight gasped, her voice trailing off. "I was hearing my voice on the other side of time. HEY, TWILIGHT!" She cried out desperately. "IF YOU CAN HEAR ME! RUN! JUST GET OUT OF THERE!"

Seconds passed. Nothing happened.

Twilight sighed. "I don't think I'll ever get how time travel works. Oh well," Twilight glanced up at the stairs, "let's see if I can get any help." With that, she crept up the stairs, ears open for any sign of life.

The library was largely as she had left it. Some books had fallen off the shelves while some were pulled off and placed in stacks around the center table. "Looks like somepony was doing research." Twilight muttered and sorted through the books. All of them were advanced magical tomes, every one of them dealing with some aspect of magical travel. "Interdimensional Theory," Twilight read off the titles, "Time Travel for the Mighty Mage, Exploring the Aether for Fun and Profit." Twilight sighed. "Let me guess, they're all here because I disappeared, aren't they? So that would mean this is the future?"

Turning around, she examined the rest of the room and was surprised to find a dull light outside her window, illuminating the word outside. Frowning, she trotted over to the window and looked outside. "Sweet Celestia...." Twilight gasped, eyes wide.

There was no sun.

There was no moon.

Only light.

It was like the world was frozen right at the beginning of sunrise. A pale blue strip of light ran across the horizon, a simmering orange beneath it. Twilight read about this effect in her early studies; a brief moment during sunrise that became Twilight's namesake. Since Celestia raised the sun quickly, such stages were never examined closely, but now it awed and frightened her.

"Okay, worst case scenario," Twilight muttered, backing away from the window, "something happened to both Celestia and Luna which stopped them from raising the sun or moon, leaving time frozen. That's probably what happened," Twilight added, chuckling nervously, "but still, I need to ask somepony about this."

She stepped over to the window again and peered out into Ponyville. The streets were deserted with no sign of any life whatsoever in the once vibrant town. Nary a scrap of trash blew by in the bitterly cold wind. No lanterns of candles illuminated the windows of the houses, despite the relative darkness outside. The light cast off from perpetual twilight gave the buildings an eerie blue glow, making them appear even more cold than before.

But a glimmer of light at the edge of her vision caught Twilight's attention. Quickly, she craned her neck up and pressed her face to the window to see what was responsible for the light. Twilight groaned when she spied the only building mysteriously unaffected by the dead atmosphere.

Sugarcube Corner.

The candy-covered building was glowing vibrantly as if it were high noon. The building seemed to sparkle though no reason for this was apparent. It was as though some magical force was keeping the candy shop bright and, surprisingly, delicious. The cupcake on top looked moist and delicious, the gingerbread roof glistened mouthwateringly, the icing decorations even looked like they were dripping, freshly applied. It was a dream house, and entirely unlike anything else in Ponyville, even more so than usual.

Twilight turned away from the window and ran for the door. If anypony knows anything about what's going on, it has to be Pinkie Pie. If not she can at least point me in the right direction. With that, she flung open the library door and ran out into twilit Ponyville. Though I can only guess why Sugarcube Corner is more bizzare than usual....

Pinkie blinked, the strange feeling fading away but not actually disappearing. She shook her head and nervously looked around the giant hall she stood in. The feeling was definitely close, and familiar, but her Pinkie Sense just couldn't track it.

"Pinkie?" Mr. Cake said, peering up at her nervously, "Is everything all right?"

Pinkie looked back down at Mr. Cake's worried face. She beamed, "Of course silly! Everything's always right! But my Pinkie Sense is acting up something fierce..." she examined her hoof and watched it shake side to side, "...I think I'm forgetting something."

"Er, is it time for another dance party?"

Pinkie prodded her head with her hoof, "No, that's not it, but good idea Mr. Cake!" Pinkie bounced into the air. "It's the perfect time for a dance party!"

Mr. Cake smiled, "Of course, Pinkie. Do you want me to...?"

"No, I'll do it!" Pinkie smiled and spread her wings, taking off into the air. All around her ponies looked up, smiling and expectant. The pink alicorn raised her horned head and proclaimed, "All right everypony! LET'S DANCE!"

And the crowd rejoiced.

Chapter Two: The Party

--PANTHEON--
Chapter Two: The Party

Twilight kept her eyes peeled as she made her way through the deserted streets of Ponyville. The sky showed no indication that it would change anytime soon, the pale light still bathing Ponyville in its faint glow. The air was stagnant and cold, chilling Twilight as she walked. She shivered and continued on her way, still glancing around at the town.

Twilight was shocked how much it had changed, and yet was so familiar. Here and there were signs of familiar landmarks: a familiar building, a familiar stall, a familiar tree. And yet as she continued to walk the streets, she saw more and more signs of what she could only describe as a war. Cobblestones were ripped up in places, as though by explosions. Buildings had boarded-up windows with blackened windowsills. From over the top of a house, Twilight could see the tip of Carousel Boutique, its spire leaning at an unnatural angle. And amongst all of this destruction, Sugarcube Corner was untouched.

"How did you do it Pinkie?" Twilight muttered as she trotted up to the door. Quietly she reached a hoof up to the door and, finding it unlocked, pushed.

She was suddenly faced by a storm of confetti exploding in her face. Music, completely absent before Twilight opened the door, blared loudly and brightly. The warm glow of candlelight flooded out of the open door. The sound of happy ponies sang and laughed from deep inside. Twilight stumbled backward under this bright assault, landing at the periphery of the light streaming out of Sugarcube Corner.

Twilight stared, mouth agape into the sweets shop, the confetti falling around her. Twilight blinked and cautiously stepped into the storeroom. It was just a bright as she remembered it, with cupcakes and sugary treats galore lining the shelves. Bright candles illuminated the store with a healthy light not unlike the glow of the noonday sun. Voices clamored behind the door to the kitchen, as it seemed a hundred happy ponies were in the midst of a massive party.

As Twilight cautiously approached the door, it swung open. Mr. Cake, a bright smile on his face, quickly zipped in and closed the door shut behind him. He whistled a happy tune and trotted over to a stack of freshly-baked muffins sitting atop the counter.

"Mr. Cake!" Twilight approached the orange pony, smiling politely, "You don't know how glad I am to...."

Mr. Cake spun around and beamed, "Oh Twilight, you're back!" His voice was bright and uplifting, the words seeming to dance around in the air. "Come on in, I'll tell Pinkie."

"Yes, I'm sorry I left," Twilight apologized quickly as Mr. Cake turned back to the door, "but what's going on?"

"What do you think, Twilight?" Mr. Cake laughed and pushed open the door, "A party!"

Twilight gaped at what was once the Sugarcube Corner Kitchen. The room had expanded into a massive ballroom filled with laughing ponies. A high vaulted ceiling towered overhead, every nook illuminated by multicolored candles. Streamers hung from the rafters, and balloons hovered just below the ceiling. More banners and balloons were strung along otherwise bare walls, causing a massive clash of color across the entire room. Scattered amongst crowds of ponies was a chaotic assortment of tables, apple-bobbing cauldrons, dance floors, record players, games stations, and all sorts of party paraphernalia that Twilight had never seen before.

"How did...?" Twilight gasped and looked back to Mr. Cake, only to find that he had vanished into the multicolored crowd. In it she could recognize many of the ponies from around Ponyville. Berry Punch was lounging by a table, chatting with Carrot Top. Lyra and Bon Bon were engaged in a determined dance-off a few feet away from Aloe and Lotus, who were swaying and singing along to whatever song was being played in that corner of the room.

Twilight cautiously stepped into the mêlée of a party and suddenly found herself lost. No matter where she turned, how well she tried to mark her steps, she constantly found herself treading over ground she had already been. Quickly she started feeling disoriented and confused, trapped in an ever-shifting maze composed of partying ponies.

By the third time she passed Colgate bobbing for apples, she finally noticed something was following her. She spun around but only caught a slight hint of pink in her peripheral vision. Twilight tried to stand her ground, but an over-excited Aloe and Lotus accidentally thrust her towards a buffet table piled high with cookies and brownies. Trying to stabilize herself, Twilight leaned against the table and found herself looking across at Mrs. Cake, who was busily piling more cookies onto the table.

"Mrs. Cake." Twilight gasped. "I take it Pinkie Pie is behind..." she gestured at the massive party, "...this."

Mr. Cake smiled cheerfully and dumped a pile of sugar cookies onto the table. "Oh, of course dearie. Isn't this the best party ever?"

"Er, yes, I suppose it is." Twilight nodded slowly. "Do you happen to know where she is, by any chance?"

"Don't worry," Mrs. Cake giggled and stepped back into the whirling crowd, "she'll find you."

"Wait!" Twilight attempted to follow her but somehow found herself thrust into the middle of a conga line. The ponies in front of and behind her laughed uncontrollably as Twilight struggled to extract herself. Eventually she found an opening and leapt out, only to fall onto a dance floor. Ponies thrashing about wildly, thrusting their hooves in the air to the beat DJ-PON3 was dropping, pushed Twilight to and fro. The hapless purple unicorn stumbled and tumbled her way out of the dance party with much difficulty and found herself once again next to Colgate.

"How am I supposed to find Pinkie like this?" Twilight gasped and fell down next to the cauldron.

"Say the magic word, silly!"

Twilight jumped back to her feet at the sound of a familiar bubbly voice coming from the cauldron. Immediately she leaned over only to see a faint ripple in the otherwise untouched surface.

"Okay." Twilight called out to the crowd. Slowly she turned on the spot, eyes peeled for any sign of Pinkie. "It's... please?"

"Nope!"

Twilight twisted to the left, only catching a flash of pink from the depths of the crowd. "Party?"

"That was last Tuesday's, silly!"

Twilight spun continued to spin slowly, crouching slightly in preparation. "Okay... oatmeal?"

"Are you crazy?"

Twilight jumped forward at the sound of Pinkie's bubbly giggling and was rewarded by the faintest brush of pink mane, but that seemed to disappear into the crowd. Twilight groaned and shook her head. "Pinkie, I give up. What is it?"

"SURPRISE!"

Twilight was thrown off her hooves as a large mass of pink shot up from the floor and into her face. The pony appeared to spring from nowhere, and Twilight was lifted off of her hooves by a large stretch of fur beneath her. Twilight gasped into the pink mane that dominated her vision and filled her nostrils with the smell of cotton candy. After a moment of struggling, Twilight felt the glow of magic envelop her and hoist her out of the pink mane.

"Pinkie!" Twilight said with relief. "You're..."

Twilight froze as she was levitated to face Pinkie's grinning face. The unicorn's mouth suddenly dropped to the ground and her pupils contracted to pinpricks. Somewhere in Twilight's mind, the little pony responsible for rational thought threw his hooves up in desperation.

"...an alicorn." Twilight finished, her voice cracking.

One of Pinkie's ears flopped down as she cocked her head in confusion. "Alicorn, what's that?"

But Twilight was too stunned to reply. Pinkie had grown to a massive size, easily matching Princess Celestia in stature. A pair of pink wings stood at attention by her side, twitching restlessly every once in a while. From her head a large horn stood proudly; Twilight could feel the raw magical energy radiating from it and enveloping her levitating form. Her mane had exploded into an incredible cascade of cotton candy, crackling with some chaotic charge. Two regal eyes stared into Twilight's, sparkling with an energy that reached deep down into Pinkie Pie's soul.

Twilight's stupor lasted all of ten seconds before she was snapped back to reality by a bowl of punch being dumped onto her head. "Feeling better, Twilight?" Pinkie asked brightly, "You were all funky-dunky for a while there, so I thought, 'looks like you need some sugar,' because whenever I feel funky-dunky, I just get some sugar so I..."

"Pinkie!" Twilight cut off the pink alicorn's gibberish with an exhasperated shout. "How?"

"Oh, well sugar gives you lost of nervous energy. I don't know how, only that it does, you should know the sciencey stuff better than I d-"

"No, Pinkie." Twilight shook her head and gestured a hoof at Pinkie Pie. "How did you... that? All of that?" Twilight's mouth opened and closed several times as Pinkie stared back uncomprehendingly. "The wings! The horn!"

"OOOOOooooohhhh!" Pinkie leaned her head back and nodded, understandingly. "Oh, you mean how I became a Princess." Pinkie lowered Twilight back to the ground and smiled. "It just happened."

Twilight blinked. "It just happened?"

"Yep! Just happened! One day, poof!" Pinkie's wings flared out suddenly, knocking aside a smiling Mayor. "These were here! And this!" Pinkie gestured up to her horn and giggled.

"So you woke up as an ali-... Princess?"

Pinkie scratched her chin with her hoof. "Hmm, I don't remember, but it was definitely a surprise." Pinkie looked back down at Twilight and smiled. "But really, that's all in the past. I'm Pinkie Pie, the Party Princess now!" Pinkie flared out her wings again and raised her hooves in the air. "Isn't that just great, Twilight?" Pinkie leaned down to Twilight and before the unicorn could reply, Pinkie suddenly gasped. "Ohmygosh!" she squealed and bounced up and down, causing her hair to spark wildly, "You're back, Twilight!"

"Yes, yes I am." Twilight smiled nervously, backing away from the bouncing alicorn.

"This deserves a party!" Pinkie squealed joyfully and flung herself into the air, her wings stretching out majestically as she did so. "Hay everypony, Twilight's back!"

Around her, Twilight watched as every happy face was fixed on her. Without so much as batting an eye, the ponies grinned and all applauded her and cheered her name. Twilight tried to open her mouth to protest, but two ponies flanked her and grabbed her. Despite her struggles, Twilight founder herself thrown into the air as all around ponies cheered exuberantly.

"Enjoy the party, Twilight!" Pinkie cheered and flew off to the other side of the room, "I'll go get the cake!"

Twilight finally pulled herself from her beaming captors and stumbled back into the crowd. A cacophony of voices assaulted her, asking her thousands upon thousands of questions. Words stumbled over each other as Twilight backed away from the unwanted attention. Somehow, she managed to lose them by diving under a record player and inexplicably reemerging next to Colgate and her cauldron. Panting, Twilight leaned over the cauldron and stared at Colgate.

"Okay," Twilight gasped, muttering to herself, "Pinkie Pie's an alicorn so that explains the party. Why is she an alicorn?" Twilight shook her head. "Question for another time. Right now, I need to learn what I missed while I was gone."

Twilight turned her head and watched as Colgate lifted her head from the water with an apple clenched between her teeth. Giggling like a little filly, Colgate dropped the apple next to her and looked up at Twilight. "Oh, hi Twilight!" She beamed and waved a hoof. "Where have you been?"

"I'm figuring that out myself right now." Twilight smiled slightly. "Colgate, what's been happening recently?"

Colgate blinked and smiled. "I've been bobbing for apples!"

Twilight frowned. "Yes, but what else?"

Colgate continued to smile, "Yesterday, I was on the dance floor."

"Yesterday?" Twilight's eyes furrowed in suspicion. "Colgate, there was a party yesterday too?"

"Yep!" Colgate nodded. "Pinkie always throws the best parties."

"I wouldn't know what I'd do without them!" Berry Punch trotted up to the cauldron and beamed at Twilight. "They're always so amazing."

Twilight turned to Berry Punch. "Berry, what's happened recently? And I mean outside, not during the party."

"Out..." Berry Punch blinked and smiled. "Huh, I don't remember. Silly me!"

Twilight leaned in. "You don't remember what's happening outside? The sun and moon? The cold?"

"Why worry about that?" Colgate shook a hoof at Twilight. "It's so nice in here."

"Colgate, Berry," Twilight looked between the two ponies seriously. "How long have you been here?"

Both ponies blinked and looked at each other. For the briefest moment there was a glimmer of something in their eyes, shining faintly through their happy demeanor. They turned back to Twilight, smiling broadly, and replied in unison, "We don't remember."

Twilight backed away from the cauldron. "How long has Pinkie been throwing this party?"

"We don't know."

Twilight backed up even further, running into a thin, gangly pony. She turned around to see Mr. Cake balancing a plate of sodas on his head. Smiling, he leaned down, offering one to Twilight.

Twilight leaned in a whispered. "Mr. Cake, how long have you been here?"

"Since the beginning, I think." Mr. Cake laughed, raising his head again. "Don't really remember when that was. It's been a while."

"Can you at least guess," Twilight pleaded, "please?"

"Hmm..." Mr. Cake scratched his chin. "I think... maybe a few months."

Twilight's eyes widened in surprise. "Months?!" She whispered harshly.

Mr. Cake grinned and stared into Twilight's eyes. "Well, yes. The party was just so amazing, well, we couldn't let it stop! Pinkie just kept coming up with more reasons to party; she's really good at that. More and more ponies kept stopping by and..."

Twilight cut him off and leaned in even further, examining his eyes. "Mr. Cake, when did you last sleep?"

Mr. Cake smiled. "I don't remember."

Twilight stared into Mr. Cake's eyes and knew that deep down he was lying. While everything looked great on the outside, from up close everything looked terrible. His eyes were sagging with heavy lids; it looked as though he had not slept for weeks. And yet he was as energetic as though he had slept all night and had a nice cup of tea when he woke up. Looking even further, however, Twilight found something else in his eyes. Beyond the sparkle of happiness that shone like a little star, Twilight could see an odd film. It lay deep within their eyes, right at the very edge of consciousness, but it hung there flat and lifeless.

A dead look, like the eyes of a zombie.

"I mean, why worry about the outside world?" Colgate approached Twilight and put a hoof around her shoulder. Instinctively, Twilight jerked away, heart hammering in her chest.

"The party's rocking in here!" Berry Punch approached smiling.

"Pinkie always throws the best parties." Lyra added.

"We never want to leave!" Bon-Bon giggled.

"Outside is terrible."

"It's awesome in here."

"It's so warm."

"I'm happy."

Twilight spun around as ponies completely surrounded her, their smiling faces seemingly chiseled onto their happy faces. Zombie-like, they stood there swaying, grinning away in the midst of the mad eternal party. Twilight turned to face Mr. Cake, who smiled and offered her a drink again.

"Join the party Twilight." Mr. Cake said brightly. At once all of the ponies began clamoring again.

"Wanna play Pin the Tail on the Pony, Twilight?"

"I have a piñata over her, Twilight."

"Come try these cupcakes, Twilight."

"Twilight, come bob for apples with me."

"Over here, Twilight."

"Let's dance, Twilight."

"Let's play a game, Twilight."

"Come on, Twilight."

"Help me, Twilight."

"Let's go, Twilight."

"Twilight."

"Twilight!"

"Twilight?"

Twilight stepped back as the pink alicorn suddenly appeared in her field of vision. Grinning brightly, Pinkie Pie stood right in front of the stunned purple unicorn. She pulled from behind her a massive chocolate cake decorated with swirls of purple and blue frosting. Neatly written on the side in white frosting was Welcome Home Twilight.

"Come on, Twilight!" Pinkie grinned, "The party's waiting just for you."

Twilight stepped back, only to be confronted with the densely-packed crowd of ponies. Twilight tried to push her way out but they stood there, giggling, laughing, smiling. Every single one of them had that faint shadow lurking behind their joyous faces.

Twilight froze as she felt an aura of energy build behind her. Fearfully, she turned back to Pinkie Pie and felt the waves of energy reach out from her pink form and gingerly touch Twilight. The feeling was far different from typical magic, which was cool but sparkling with energy. This force dwarfed the magic power even Celestia could ever wield, but it was wild, untamed. The energy was twisting, writhing, boiling...

...Burning

Chapter Three: The Rescuers

--PANTHEON--
Chapter Three: The Rescuers

Twilight flinched and instinctively reached out for her magic, raising a shield of amethyst energy in front of her. Immediately the burning energy fell back, leaving Twilight with only the cool feel of her own magic around her.

Pinkie Pie straightened up and frowned, blinking in confusion. "Twilight," she asked hurtfully, "what's wrong?"

" I don't know what happened, Pinkie," Twilight said firmly from behind her shield, "I don't know what happened to you, what caused you to be like this, but you have to stop!"

Pinkie blinked uncomprehendingly, "Stop?"

"Yes!" Twilight pleaded, "You have to stop this party. You've been keeping ponies here for months at a time against their will...."

"But Twilight," Pinkie cocked her head and whined, "they want to be here. Everypony loves my party, don't they?" Pinkie looked around at the crowd of ponies, the smiles gone from their faces. Very seriously, every pony nodded their head in agreement.

Twilight ignored the crowd and pressed forward. "But they aren't. If you'd just look closer you'd see that they're under a spell, your spell." Twilight's voice dropped, becoming calmer and softer, "I know you're not doing this on purpose, you'd never force somepony to party if they didn't want to. But you've been blinded by... whatever it is that turned you into an alicorn. Pinkie," Twilight pleaded, stretching out a hoof, "it's time to stop this party. What do you say?"

Pinkie stared at Twilight with sad eyes. All around her the sounds of cheer and joy had been silenced. There was no laughter, no music, not even a single cough from the crowd. All looked at Twilight, their eyes mirroring Pinkie's own. The pink alicorn leaned forward, her sober face looking strange on the normally perky pony's head. Twilight remained silent as Pinkie took a few steps forward and glared into Twilight's eyes.

"No."

With a touch of Pinkie's horn, the shield protecting Twilight crumbled under a vicious magical assault. The purple unicorn fell back in panic, bracing herself and readying her magic. "Pinkie, listen to me...."

"No!" Pinkie cut her off, rage suddenly rising in the pink alicorn's voice. Her hair began to spark wildly, radiating waves of magic around Pinkie Pie. "No!" She repeated, raising her wings in the air. "I can't believe you Twilight! Here I am, throwing you a party after you've finally come back, and this is how you repay me?" Pinkie slammed her hooves to the ground, throwing off Twilight's concentration. "I thought we were friends!"

"Pinkie," Twilight said firmly, holding her ground. "what you're doing is wrong."

"Inviting everypony to my party? Spreading joy? Making them laugh? What's wrong with that?" Pinkie growled at the purple unicorn, "I'm just trying to make everypony HAPPY!"

The final word reverberated around the room and nearly knocked Twilight off of her hooves. The purple unicorn gritted her teeth and fought against the tears that were starting to form at the corner of her eyes. "But this isn't the right way to do it!" Twilight shouted, "You're practically kidnapping them!"

"No, I'm freeing them." Pinkie scowled and started to pace. "You've been outside, you've seen what it's like out there."

"Then help me fix it."

"You can't!" Pinkie shot back and resumed pacing. "It's pointless! Nopony has enough power to raise the sun anymore, and there's no way we're joining up again."

Twilight's ears perked up. "What are you talking about?"

"You know what?" Pinkie stopped pacing and pointed a hoof straight at Twilight, "You sound just like Applejack. Applejack!" She spat out the name with unbridled fury. "She said the exact same thing back then. 'Pinkie, yah can't keep all these ponies here. It's wrong. You're forcing them to party.' Well so what if I am?" Pinkie marched up to Twilight and glared at her, the spark gone from her eyes. "So what if I'm forcing them to be here? At least they're happy here, one big party."

"Pinkie...." twilight whispered, but Pinkie raised her head and looked away.

"Look around Twilight," Pinkie said, raising a hoof to the partygoers, "what do you see?"

Twilight looked around at the crowd fearfully. Every stallion, mare, and foal had the same furious look that Pinkie had on her face. Every single mad eye was focused solely on Twilight Sparkle. Twilight turned around and saw standing directly behind her was an equally furious Lyra and Bon Bon.

"These ponies are my friends now." Pinkie said, eyes closed, "They'd do anything for me, but I'm not like that. I'm not like them." Pinkie shook her head. "No, I just want them to smile..." Pinkie suddenly whipped around, her eyes blazing white with power. The raw, burning, energy that radiated from her briefly blinded Twilight and forced her back into Lyra.

"AND YOU'RE BEING A PARTY POOPER!" Pinkie yelled, her voice magnified and distorted, "I HATE PARTY POOPERS!"

Twilight froze in fear her legs quaking uncontrollably. Her hooves refused to budge. Her breath came in short gasps. Her heart hammered in her chest like it was going to burst through her rib cage just to get away. Her mind raced but there was no coherent thought, only burning.

Burning.

There was a rustle in the crowd next to her.

It's burning.

A pony yelped as it was pushed away.

I'm going to die.

"Word of advice," a strange voice whispered, "run."

Run?

Run.

Run!

With her life on the line, Twilight focused all of her magical energy in a concentrated burst. Pinkie Pie immediately threw up a shield, but the force of the blast pushed her back several feet. Twilight leapt into the air and spun around, knocking over a dazed mint unicorn in the process. With the crowd temporarily dealt with, she rushed forward, pushing aside ponies as she did.

"Get her!" Pinkie screamed from behind her, "GET HER!"

A grey pony jumped in front of Twilight as she ran, hooves raised. Without thinking, Twilight lowered her head and barreled through the pony. A hoof reached around her leg and pulled her down suddenly. Twilight stumbled but raised her horn at the attacker. She didn't even notice what the pony looked like before she blasted her attacker in the face. But before Twilight could rise to her feet, two ponies leapt on top of her and pinned her down. The unicorn grunted in annoyance and lifted the two ponies off of her with magic.

The attackers blended together in a mass of color and fury as Twilight found herself constantly hammered by ponies. She found herself being forced in every direction by the partygoers. She ducked, jumped, ran, and blasted her way through her opposition, but it didn't take long to realize that she was getting nowhere fast, if at all.

Eventually she found herself facing the door swinging open on its hinges. Relieved, Twilight pushed some pony aside and made a run for it. However a sudden surge of magic wrapped around her, causing her to stop in her tracks. The ponies suddenly surrounded her in a web of multi-colored fur. Twilight blinked and peered through the crowd, only to find that the door had completely vanished. Swearing under her breath, Twilight jumped into the party.

After blasting Berry Punch for the second time this fight, Twilight found herself panting atop a buffet table piled with sweets. She looked around and found herself surrounded by multicolored ponies climbing up the mountain of dessert towards the purple unicorn. Twilight gritted her teeth, squeezed her eyes shut, and concentrated.

A burst of magic enveloped her as she teleported away from her attackers. But with her magic drained by repeated use, Twilight quickly lost concentration and the spell slipped away. With a pop she reappeared atop a very surprised-looking Colgate. Twilight blinked rapidly and kicked out at the blue unicorn, sending her back to the floor. Twilight shook her head and finally refocused for long enough to spy the wall just feet in front of her.

Pinkie can do whatever she wants to the room, Twilight thought through agonizing pain, but she can't do anything to the walls... I hope.

With that Twilight lurched to her feet and ran over to the wall. Pressing her flank against it, Twilight began to run around the room. More ponies descended around her, but Twilight's desperation propelled her forward, even as Vinyl Scratch jumped in front of her. With a blast of magic, the DJ was blown backwards into an annoyingly familiar cauldron.

After fighting her way through hordes of ponies, Twilight finally came across what she was looking for: the door out. Putting on an extra burst of speed, Twilight sprinted along the wall and towards the door. Just then a large pink blur descended right in front of Twilight. Spreading her wings wide, Pinkie snarled, "The party isn't over until I say... hay!"

Pinkie was suddenly caught off guard as Twilight winked out of existence. She quickly spun around and watched as Twilight rematerialized and threw herself through the door and out of the party. "I DON'T THINK SO!" Pinkie screamed furiously, an aura of pink energy surrounding her. Nearby, the party decorations started to quiver and float towards their powerful master.

Twilight panted as she collapsed in the storefront of Sugarcube Corner. She looked up and saw out the windows that the sky was as dark and cold as she had left it. "I have never been so happy to see that again." Twilight muttered and clamored to her feet.

Suddenly the door behind her burst open. Twilight spun around, adrenaline racing through her veins, and saw what had chased her out of the party. Crashing through the door was a massive construct of pink balloons, presents, and streamers. It's arms dragged along the floor, balloon fingers squeaking against the wood. It was armored with a bright pink bow that shone in the light, gleaming like polished metal. Perched atop its head was a plastic crown, its points filed down into points. As the creature passed the threshold, the pink party golem rose up to its full height, crown scraping the high roof of the store. A group of ponies followed it out, eyes blazing with anger.

Twilight's hooves gave out from under her as she stared up at the beast. She whimpered slightly as she reached for her magic but found nothing left to draw upon. The construct's great hands rose and slowly reached for the quivering purple unicorn. With nothing left to do, Twilight squeezed her eyes shut and started to pray for a-

"Fire!"

Twilight's eyes shot open as a flurry of pies crashed through the windows and impacted the party golem in the chest. The construct staggered backwards as did the ponies surrounding it, both clearly shocked by the sudden attack. Flecks of crust and filling splattered onto Twilight's face, bringing her back to full consciousness. Running on pure instinct, Twilight spun around and, not paying attention to the forms outside, jumped through the broken window.

She dimly noticed the ponies that rolled out of the way as she fell heavily to the ground. Twilight groaned in pain and exhaustion but forced herself back to her feet and staggered forward. Immediately she encountered a hoof raised to stop her.

"Get her in the cart!" A young voice said from nearby. Twilight felt herself be pulled to the side and into a wagon of some sort. Two more ponies leapt in beside her and the wagon started speeding off with a whirring sound. After everything that had happened to her, after exhausting her magic, after wearing out her body by escaping Pinkie's perilous party, there was only one thing left to do:

Twilight slipped into a well-deserved sleep.

Twilight groaned, her consciousness returning with annoying persistence. She rolled over and slowly opened her eyes. She found herself lying in a smallish bed; it was uncomfortable, but in her current state she didn't mind. The room was lit by a single candle glowing on a nearby table. Sitting next to her bed were three figures, though she couldn't make out any distinct features.

"Is she going to be all right?" One pony asked in a high-pitched whine.

"Yeah, she was just exhausted is all." Another replied in a very familiar drawl.

"Wait, she's opening her eyes."

Twilight groaned again and shook her head. She raised her head from the pillow and peered through the fog in her eyes at her saviors. "Applebloom...?" Twilight muttered, recognizing the bow perched atop the middle pony's head.

"See, what'd I tell yah?" Applebloom said triumphantly. The little yellow filly's face soon came into focus, followed by the other two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle anxiously stared at Twilight, nervously clapping her hooves together. Scootaloo, on the other hand, was just as exuberant as Applebloom.

"You... saved me?" Twilight muttered, propping her head up with her hoof.

"You betcha!" Applebloom smiled. "Shame we didn't get our cutie marks this time."

"I don't think we were meant to be Cutie Mark Crusader Rescue Rangers," Scootaloo shook her head sadly, "but there's always next time."

"Ooh..." Sweetie Belle said nervously, "Applejack's going to be mad."

"Now hold on," Applebloom turned to Sweetie Belle, "I'm sure she'll overlook everything once we tell her we found Twilight AND that we saved her from Pinkie Pie."

"But we were supposed to stay on the farm..."

"She'll. Overlook. Everything." Applebloom insisted, poking Sweetie Belle with each word.

"Where is Applejack?" Twilight asked, peering around the room. The more she looked, the more she realized that she had been brought to a cellar somewhere.

"She's up at the front lines," Scootaloo explained, "but Big Macintosh sent out a letter as soon as we showed-"

"Wait." Twilight said, shaking her hoof, "What front lines?"

"Twilight," Sweetie Belle stared at Twilight sadly, "we're at war. Applejack's been leading the army, keeping them from reaching Ponyville."

Twilight looked between the three fillies in shock. She had seen signs battle adorning Ponyville before rushing into the party of doom, but she never really believed it was possible, let alone that Applejack was leading it. She blinked and exhaled sharply. "With who?"

The three fillies immediately looked away. Sweetie Belle started picking at the floor with her hoof. Applebloom looked off at the candle thoughtfully, as though searching for the right words. it was Scootaloo that broke the silence, still staring at the floor. "Twilight, a lot has changed."

"Who?" Twilight merely repeated.

Scootaloo closed her eyes and said sorrowfully, "Rainbow Dash."