My Little Pony: Third Gear

Chapter 22: Reflections of the Self

“Alternatively,” the slightly-tinny voice from above and behind them said, “you could just leave it.” Everyone stopped in his or her tracks and began to turn toward the source of the sound. “Oh, stop there. That’s right. Now, turn all those newcomers over to me and I won’t vapourize you guards right here. How’s that? A generous offer, right?” The guards dropped the cups from which they had been drinking their tea, and Rarity reflexively stopped them from hitting the ground.

“Full Armour,” Gearhead muttered, spotting the newcomer hovering several meters away. The armour was three times his own size, painted dark red and steel-grey with navy blue accents. Although the shape’s design wasbipedal, its creator had clearly taken inspiration from a Dragon rather than from Agile Form as the armour sported a long tail, three horns on its head, and short claws at the ends of its hands.

“Lord Iron,” the first guard said, “this is unexpected.”

“Seems this is a day for unexpected things,” Iron said. “My sensors picked up an eerily similar energy signature, so I came right over to check it out, since I can’t very well have my tech on the loose unchecked. Lo and behold, here it is.”

Gearhead had already concluded that this world’s version of him had to be piloting the armour. There was the design, certain elements of which he could easily see himself creating as they were certainly reflected in his own version of the Full Armour. But now his sensors were also beginning to detect the particle energy the armour’s powerplant was emitting – similar, but also fundamentally different. Just as different in another way, the armour did not appear to use microscaling. Finally, while the Full Armour was Gearhead’s last resort when it came to a show of force, this 'Lord Iron' used it as his first response.

“Sec-scram-sec,” Gearhead muttered. The internal lighting on all of the suits’ HUDs went from blue to purple, and flashed a twelve-character alphanumeric string at the wearer, just slow enough for him or her to recite it back. The system used the new password together with voice prints and ocular scans to ensure no one but the intended wearer could use any of the suits. In addition, the purple status meant that the suits would be operating while connected only to each other, and not to any external nodes that might become available. This would prevent Iron from getting an easy external access, even if he had conceived of similar security measures himself. Based on the Full Armour’s particle emissions, however, Gearhead believed that Iron took whatever shortcuts he could to reduce costs, while also increasing his offensive power. That was probably why his version of the Alicorn Engine generated the harmful red particles that Gearhead himself had locked out of his Engines’ operations.

“What should we do?” Dash whispered to Twilight.

“Ah, no conspiring,” Iron adjusted the two bottom wings into line as railguns.

“So you cannot afford for similar Alicorn Engine technology to appear freely?” Gearhead asked.

“Smart pony. So you’ll see that surrender –“

“OverBurst,” Gearhead muttered, launching into the air. As he did so he snapped his head forward to pop his helmet down over his head, and then he accelerated past Iron as fast as he could go.

“You won’t get away,” Iron said as he turned to pursue. As he did so, Gearhead got a passing look at three oversized cores. Certainly they could produce a greater amount of power than Gearhead’s Twin Engines, but could he use it efficiently?

“We shall see,” Gearhead said, pushing his throttles to the emergency stops and leaping ahead as he continued to climb slightly, always aimed away from the palace and heading northward.

“True, I have to contend with greater mass, but you still won’t get away.” Iron sighed. “I was hoping you’d at least make this interesting, but if you won’t do that for me, then the ball returns to my court. And you’ve got a massive flaw that I lack.” Iron stopped and turned to level his shoulder railguns back at the palace. According to Gearhead’s sensors, he was targeted right over where his friends were.

Gearhead threw himself into a flip, head-over-heels, and accelerated as fast as he could directly at Iron, bladecasters aimed on their actuators and charging.

“You hero types’re all the same,” Iron said.

“OverBurst,” Gearhead said, again activating the boost mode for just a moment, both to close the distance and charge his attack just that much faster.

“Predictable,” Iron turned, too quickly for Gearhead to react effectively at this range, and clamped both of the armour’s claws tightly around Gearhead’s barrel, pinning both his casters to his sides. The Geargem Dagger was free in his tail, however Gearhead could not tell if it could do damage to Iron’s armour, similar to the case with Otto.

“Dead,” Iron said, squeezing. Gearhead grimaced, because even though his opponent could not see his expression through his visor he would be able to hear it in his voice when he spoke. The microscaling was keeping up with the pressure well, however if Gearhead could not get free quickly he would probably find more force levelled against him.

[Red Full Armour preliminary scan complete:]

[Plated armour is not dragonfired adamantine, but strength comparable.]

[Powerplant altered Triple-Core Alicorn Engine without safety/security mesh. Produces locked-out red particles that have a retarding effect on living tissue.]

[Warning: extended exposure may result in degeneration of tissues.]

It seemed that not using the Geargem Dagger was the correct response, and knowing what Iron used in his armour would be of great benefit. But surely he would notice if Gearhead went directly to that. He would need a distraction, something with a little flash.

“Fulgoratio!” Gearhead gritted out, and turquoise-white lightning shot out from him in all directions, until it was all attracted by the very ferrous frame of the Full Armour. Gearhead’s lightning enveloped them both, snaking inside the outer armour through the tiny gaps that had to exist over the joints.

“Ha! I’m surprised you can use magic, but did you really think I wouldn’t be prepared for such a small trick?”

“I hoped you had not,” Gearhead ground out as he turned his hooves inward for a moment so he could retract the armour around them without Iron seeing. He touched his hooves to his sides, then rotated them out, to touch his opponent’s claws, wrapped tightly around him and still squeezing away.

On contact, the lines of turquoise energy ran along the claws and into the wrists before lighting them up and peeling them back and away. Suddenly Gearhead was flying again, and Iron had to jump backwards to get out of range. Gearhead had gotten Iron up to midway up his forearms, that metal flowing and coiling into a large ball, which Gearhead kept aloft with a minor Light spell.

“You’ve caught me unprepared, but next time – wars are won and lost on less,” Iron said, and he took off at high speed. Gearhead raised a particle shield to protect himself from the red particles. Then he headed back to where the others were.

“You won?” The first guard asked after Gearhead landed.

“Aye, but Iron promised it would be different the next time,” Gearhead said, flipping his helmet back on its hinge. “I get the impression he means it.”

“I don’t know if bringing you to the king is such a good idea now,” the first guard said. “You’ve just made an extremely powerful enemy.”

“Aye again. And that enemy would almost certainly be this world’s version of myself, although he uses a different name.”

“On second thought, maybe we should let him see the king,” the second guard said.

* * *

“Welcome to Canterlot Castle,” King Sombra said. Gearhead was surprised by the grey-coated Unicorn’s appearance, as he completely lacked any aspect of the menace that had defined the version he had fought. This Sombra’s black mane did now flow with power, nor did his voice resonate with Dark Magic. If Gearhead had to name one thing that defined this Sombra as separate from the other it would probably be ‘normalcy.’

The others had surprising reactions as well, ranging from being disarmed to being charmed, especially in Rarity’s case. Watching the others speaking comfortably with the king, Gearhead had the impression that if not for the fact that they came from different worlds, they could have easily been close friends.

King Sombra received the group in a conference room that looked out into a courtyard, so everyone could be accommodated around a table, and he asked his staff to lay out a modest repast and refreshments. “We do not have much, but as Celestia sent you to help us with the current situation, please consider whatever we have to be at your disposal.”

“That’s very generous of you,” Twilight said. “I mean, are you sure?”

“Forgive my sayin’ so, Your Majesty, but it don’t seem like the earth could support much ‘round these parts,” Applejack said.

“Sadly, it is true. Celestia and Luna do not allow the Earth Ponies to grow their crops as they desire. Specifically, they have targeted all farming within proximity of all those under my protection. We have to range much further from Canterlot in order to get food, and we have to pay a premium for what we do get. But I, and my subjects, are grateful for your contributions to the cause.”

“Sounds pretty desperate out there,” Alec said.

“For the moment, yes. But if we can find a way to deal with the sisters then the situation can turn to our advantage again.”

“What is the situation?” Twilight asked. “I’m afraid Princess Celestia didn’t give us much detail, just that the Celestia here is evil, and that your Luna recently became evil. The princess also believes that the evil versions have designs on our own world.”

“But if what’s good is evil, aren’t all the evil beings good in this world? Shouldn’t that mean you have Discord and Chrysalis’s Changeling army?” KP asked.

“Yes, it is quite possible that all who are evil in your world are good here, including myself,” Sombra said. “Unfortunately the reverse is also true, and so I have asked Sir Discord to guard Northern Equestria, and Lady Chrysalis safeguards the south. As long as other threats press them, they will be unable to reinforce us here at Canterlot.”

“Threats like Shining Armour and Cadence?” Twilight asked.

“’Cadence?’ Oh, you must mean Duchess Cadenza and her consort Nova Blade. Yes, they harass the north almost continuously. It is only with Sir Discord’s great power that they have been repulsed successfully every time.”

Twilight looked down at the table.

“What is the matter?”

“It’s alright, Twilight,” Fluttershy wrapped her friend in a light hug. “No one can blame you for being sad that your brother is likely an enemy. But if he and Cadenza are up there, they won’t come down here.”

“I guess that’s right,” Twilight said.

“We also just encountered this world’s Gearhead, although he seems to be using the name ‘Iron’ here.”

“You mean your double? I did not realize he had another name,” King Sombra said.

“Could you please tell us what is known about Iron? Why is everypony so afraid of him?” Fluttershy asked.

“Unfortunately much of Lord Iron’s past is shrouded in mystery. He seemed to simply appear, selling his technology to whoever would be willing to pay the price. Most beings had only one of two reactions to suddenly possessing such power: they would become mysteriously ill, or they would go to war.

“Whenever anyone was smart enough to try to return the weapons and get a refund, Lord Iron refused and turned them away. Soon after, Iron’s customers started to find that their weapons no longer worked when they needed them to. Some of them tried to attack Lord Iron to get answers. He shut them down and stamped them out.

“None have seen Iron’s face in years: he does not appear at any formal occasion or event, only to fight or prevent others from achieving technological levels close to his own. For whatever reason, he has also stopped being a warmonger, and instead started hoarding his technology, only using it himself. Now he is the only one with the power to crush an entire nation on a whim.”

“Well, there’s one more now, although he’d never use his power that way,” Dash said.

“Two if you count Twilight,” KP said: both had their Engines.

“Iron makes quick use of the Full Armour where I would hesitate to do so. Could you please tell me if anything has happened to the Verdant that would make Iron turn his back on the world?”

“’Verdant?’ I am sorry, I do not recall... wait, actually there were a few of the older powers by that name, who attended the Gala until about a decade ago. They stopped attending all of a sudden, I think, but I had other matters on which to focus, so I never investigated, I am sorry to say.”

“Perhaps I will get the opportunity to ask the stallion himself,” Gearhead said. “Thank you for what information you had.”

“Also, you say you encountered his ‘full armour,’ but that is usually accompanied by some very demonstrative ground quaking. This had none of that.” King Sombra thought for a moment. “Was it eighteen meters tall?”

“No, I would say it was no more than five meters tall.”

“Then you cannot call it a ‘full’ armour, for Lord Iron’s complete armour is the one that can destroy nations.”

“In that case, I am going to need a bigger sword.” Fortunately I have some more material with which to work.

“In any case, we need a way to deal with the evil within both Celestia and Luna that will not end up affecting the versions from your world,” Sombra said. “How did you turn your Luna to good?”

“That won’t work,” Dash said, “especially since we didn’t bring the Elements of Harmony here. And the princess says your world doesn’t have them.”

“And we might turn our princesses to the dark side,” Pinkie said.

“But we have a plan that won’t bring in that risk,” Fluttershy said.

“As long as we can’t guarantee our actions won’t affect the Royal Sisters, we’ll keep things from getting physical and we won’t just try to purify them of the evil either,” Quill said.

“So we need to be able to act and observe the results,” Doc said. “If a particular action has a negative result, or just plain hurts one of the princesses, we’ll move on to the next plan.”

“And if something does happen to the princesses, they’ll send a message right away letting us know,” Spike said.

“While I appreciate all your efforts, I want you to know that I will absolutely not allow any harm to befall my beloved Celestia,” King Sombra said.

“Your..?” Applejack and Dash said.

“Beloved..?!” Rarity and Fluttershy said.

“I love her,” King Sombra said.

“Yes, I think we’ve established that relationship well enough,” Alec said. “Moving on? What do the evil sisters want from you that they haven’t already crushed this place that’s already so desperate?”

“Smart Alec!” Rarity, Fluttershy, Doc, and Mage all chorused.

“He speaks the truth, though,” King Sombra said. “We are on the edge, and Celestia is after one thing that stops her from attacking Canterlot.”

“Oh do tell,” came a sultry voice from outside. “Your tale is just getting interesting.”

* * *

King Sombra led the charge outside to the balcony, where two Alicorns were just alighting on the balcony. The larger one was quite obviously Celestia with her white coat and multicoloured mane, but she was wearing a horned crown, armour, and mascara that would have been out of place on the Celestia they all knew. The younger sister wore red armour, and both had their manes tied into ponytails so they would be out of the way.

“What are you here for, Celestia?” King Sombra asked.

“What, did you expect us not to come investigate after the hubbub your new friends created earlier?” Celestia asked.

“It’s also great fun to see on whom you pin your hopes,” Luna said. “I, for one, am not impressed.”

“Of course, you could circumvent all the nastiness of war by accepting my generous offer, so how about it, Sombra?” Celestia asked.

“What offer?” Quill asked.

“Oh of course, he was just getting to that part,” Luna said.

“I will give him safe passage and guaranteed conduct for his beloved good Princess Celestia in exchange for the spell to open the portal between worlds. Isn’t it great? The two lovebirds can finally live together forever!” Celestia said. “Well? What’s your answer.”

“I will never agree to those terms,” King Sombra said. “Not only would I never endanger her world, but I would never allow any possible harm to befall her. Also, I just do not trust you to leave this Equestria alone if you ever got what you wanted.”

“Such a shame. Well, it may not matter in a few days anyway. I honestly don’t know,” Celestia shrugged. “This is the first time I’ve ever witnessed so many cross from another world. Who knows how the balancers will react?.”

“It’s not like you could ever stop us when all you have is defensive magic,” Luna said. “And these others the other Celestia sent? What do they have that could do the job? It would be better for you to simply enjoy the spectacle.”

“That is not my way,” King Sombra said.

“Of course it isn’t,” Celestia said, “which is why we’re going to arrange for you to die honourably, just like you always wanted. Unless, of course, you can see that the only way to avoid your subjects’ suffering is not to fight at all.”

“Unfortunately you have never done anything to earn my trust,” King Sombra said.

“To my shame, I suppose. Not that it matters to me for long,” Celestia said. “Oh well.”

“Now that we’ve gotten all the unpleasantries out of the way, what will be your action now?”

“If you two want to retreat now, I will allow it,”

“Oh you, always so...”

“Chivalrous?” Rarity offered.

“Cowardly,” Celestia said, smirking.

“You ungrateful...” Rarity started.

“Lead, your call,” Gearhead said. He did not see any point in prolonging the prelude to battle, especially if they only had to deal with the Alicorn sisters, and not the evil Six and Iron on top of that. Not to mention any member of his own Alliance who might have been flipped evil.

Twilight thought for just a moment. “Plan A, start!” She said into the comms, apparently coming to the same conclusion as Gearhead.

“Roger,” came the answer from the others.

“OverBurst,” Gearhead nodded his head to close his helmet, and leaped right at Celestia even as his actuators crossed his ignited bladecasters in front of his chest. He caught the white Alicorn’s horn between the blades, and pushed, at first gently, to get her off the balcony. Then he steadily increased throttle, pushing Celestia ahead of himself as he angled shallowly upwards, similarly to how he had run from Iron.

“What a brave fool you are, thinking you can take me alone,” Celestia said, and with a burst of power, she threw Gearhead back. He used the momentum to gain a little more distance, and then flew with his bladecasters ready at his side, and the Geargem Dagger ready in his tail.

“Two Flight Lead, Phase 1 complete at 0.97 k.” As KP and Quill caught up, Gearhead continued, “Two Flight, starting Phase 2.”

“Roger,” KP and Quill answered as they spread out in an arc between Celestia and Canterlot.

* * *

“Sister?!” Luna reached out toward the shrinking turquoise specks as Gearhead carried Celestia further and further away.

“You have your own concerns right now,” Twilight said. With Silver Quill and KP helping Gearhead keep Celestia from joining back up with Luna, Twilight had a force that was split between ground and air, however it was also the larger force, consisting of Flights One, Three, and Four. Each Flight had a proven flyer, a powerful caster, and an impressive Earth Pony, although in Two Flight’s case, Gearhead fit all three roles under different circumstances. In surrounding Luna, Twilight had been certain to arrange the formation so that each of the remaining Earth Pony had a flyer or caster available to help out of Luna lashed out at them.

Luna chuckled. “Even with this display of force, you shall regret your defiance once my sister returns.”

“That’d take some doing, considering who she’s up against,” Dash said.

“But you don’t have to worry about that,” Doc said.

“Even so,” Luna sprang into the air, “I shall laugh last!”

And found herself paced, and still surrounded, by Twilight, Dash, Fluttershy, and Mage. Luna did a double-take to see two Unicorns flying, and the landbound Doc and Alec took the opportunity to use their capture gems, their lines tangling the Alicorn’s feet together.

Luna faltered under the unfamiliar weight and cool sensation of the magic cords, and the airbourne quartet were instantly on her, wrapping her wings and horn in more capture cable. Mage and Twilight ensured Luna was not hurt when they lowered her back to the balcony. “Lead, Phase 3 complete,” Twilight said.

King Sombra stared for a moment, then he ordered a group of guards forward. “Take her inside,” he said. “Treat her with respect, but do not undo her bonds under any circumstances.”

“Yes, sire!”

* * *

Any thoughts Celestia might have entertained that Two Flight might hold back against her because of her other self rapidly evaporated after Silver Quill and KP both bumped her, albeit gently, out of a direct flight path back to the palace. Gearhead did not hesitate in the least, launching a volley of 299 Wind Capture Arrows directly at her.

But she was Celestia, soon-to-be Queen of two Equestrias. She lay down a volley of her own magic blasts, not holding back so she could show her enemies what they were truly up against. Surprisingly, they did not blink or budge at all either.

* * *

Gearhead followed his Arrows in with his bladecasters aglow with his own particle energy. When Celestia knocked most of the Arrows out of the sky and then began to launch her own counter, he used the actuators on his cores to dodge magnificently, and then direct his particle fields ahead of himself to block blasts that would have gotten KP or Quill.

The three of them kept up the fight, keeping Celestia contained through their agility and willingness to get a little dirty bumping her off course again and again. Unfortunately for the completion of the plan, Celestia still did not remain still enough in her flight for any one of them to have her in their sights long enough to use a capture cable – and as she had demonstrated against Gearhead’s Arrows, she was perfectly capable of shooting them down before they got to her.

Gearhead decided to do something a bit different, and began to press in closer to Celestia to reduce the time in which she could react to his Flight’s strategies. Celestia suddenly glanced at something behind him, turned, and flew a short distance away before vanishing in a teleportation spell.

Gearhead scanned the area. “Two Flight Lead, Phase 4 failed. Target has exited the area.”

After a moment, Twilight replied. “Lead acknowledges. Please return.”

“Copy that, Lead. Two Flight out.” Gearhead, KP, and Quill turned toward the palace and started to fly at a more relaxed pace toward it. Plan A had been neither a complete success or failure, but at least now they were starting to make some headway.

* * *

“You certainly surprised me, leaping into action like that,” King Sombra said, when they were once again around the table.

“Gearhead suggested we make a number of plans for use just like this,” Twilight said.

“I think we can all see the point of that now,” Doc said.

“Although there’re some unpredictable situations too,” Quill said.

“We only had so much time before coming here,” Fluttershy said.

“Even I can’t prepare for everything,” Pinkie said. “What, I plan for things too!”

“In any case, I propose a toast to your success,” King Sombra raised a goblet. “Perhaps we can find a way to return Luna to her normal self.”

“As long as we can experiment slowly and methodically I know we can find a way,” Twilight said.

“It’s good that you have confidence in your friends, but I doubt Celestia will give us all the time we need,” King Sombra said. “Nor Lord Iron.”

“Your Majesty, may I request the use of your forges?” Gearhead asked.

“If you have something in mind that could help us in the struggle to come, I will put whatever resources you need at your disposal.”

“If I had the time I might build an Alicorn Array for Canterlot,” Gearhead said.

“And that’d just be for starters,” Dash said. “What, it’s true: he has a number of cities he’s protecting now, or at least he does back home.”

“Yes, Celestia would not find it an easy conquest,” Gearhead said. “But for now I am just thinking about how to counter Iron’s armours. I need arms akin to the Full Sword and Full Shield, but much improved. And we also need a way to pull the evil from Celestia and Luna without it being a purification, or otherwise risking wounding them.”

“Whoa, one thing at a time there,” Doc said. “I won’t argue that they are both problems we’ll need to deal with, but you need to focus on one objective at a time, or both your works will end up suffering.”

“Thank you, I know. I shall work on the weapons first, since Iron does not need to repair the Mid Armour just to fight us again. Your Majesty, if I give you a list of materials..?”

“I can get them for you, rest assured. And I do mean that: it has been a long day already.”

* * *

Luna was more surprised that the guards took her to her old room than her sister’s choice to leave her behind when the situation became disadvantageous. The guards also adjusted her restraints to hobble her legs instead of tying them completely together, however they left her wings and horn completely bound.

Since having her true self revealed and leaving the palace, Luna’s room had had bars and locks added to the windows. Now Sombra himself added a number of wards and other magical seals to keep her inside. But, Luna thought as she sat up straight on top of her bed, they underestimate the true power of an Alicorn if they think this can keep me here.

Indeed, if Luna had not wanted to be right where she was, she could have escaped instead of allowing the guards to bring her here. Strategically speaking, however, she was right where she wanted to be. Sombra was a sentimental fool, taking her to her old room. Perhaps he wanted to believe that being here would trigger some older memories and convince her to switch sides again, but in reality all it did was place her closer to the center of the palace, where she could strike out with equal ease in any direction she desired.

In other words, it was the perfect position from which to strike. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself, Luna thought as she focused her mana tightly to herself, quickly surpassing the limits that the capture cables placed on her. It was just as well that examining the room and breaking the limits took as long as it did, given the time it would take until her targets were at their most vulnerable.

In this or any other world, Luna was among the most powerful psionicists and telepaths, with the power of an Alicorn to back her up. Previously she had been the Guardian of Dreams, but now she was in her true form as a Night Mare. She extended her awareness out beyond her current prison and out into the palace halls, floating from room to room in search of her targets.

* * *

Applejack always put her full effort into tending to her crops. It was all for the sake of her family, for the sake of their continued growth. The more crops she grew, and the hardier they grew, the better business became for Sweet Apple Acres. Soon ponies came from all over Equestria just to buy Apple family produce.

That was why Applejack was always happy to hear about a new method or crop that she could bring back with her to Sweet Apple Acres. Likewise, she was more than happy to take something from the orchards and transplant it elsewhere, both to help other farmers, and to grow the farm’s reputation for high-quality goods even further.

“Of course, there are limits to the ways of the Earth Ponies under the sun,” somepony said softly.

Applejack turned toward the sound, but could only make out a hazy, vaguely equine form through the mists. “Who are you?”

“One who wishes to help. After all, I love to taste of the most savoury fruit.”

“You’re welcome to try our produce,”

“That is mighty kind. Ah, how about a deal? I will show you the secret ways that I know. In exchange I ask only for a small favour.”

“Ah well,” shrouded in the deep mists, Applejack could not make out the form no matter how she moved, and while something nagged at the back of her mind about all this, she could not quite nail it down. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’d rather find these secrets myself, by my own hoof.”

The stranger sighed. “Very well,” it said, and then it melted away. The rest of Applejack’s sleep was dreamless.

* * *

The number of offices that Doc Wolf had in the Rift was undefined, but he made good use of them all in order to help others through their troubles, regardless of who or what they might be. It sometimes felt like he did not have many visitors, but at other times he would become very busy, sometimes with more than one being crashing in. And they did not always leave the office in the same condition in which they found it – thus the need for multiple offices.

Doc might be a wolf, a predator known for its hunting skills, but wolves were also pack animals, meaning that the social aspects of their lives were also very important to them. Being a lone wolf might sound cool, but in reality the lone wolves often died alone. That was part of why Doc felt it was so important to help others, and also why, among so many ponies, he had the form he did.

Among a sudden influx of beings of all types to help, Doc suddenly became aware of a mist that had overtaken his current office. Within it stood an equine of a form he could not quite distinguish. “How can I help you?” He asked, somewhat apprehensive about this unknown newcomer.

“Maybe I should ask you the same, Doc. I mean, you seem to have gotten so busy. Maybe I could help you sort through your cases, so you can use your time more meaningfully?”

“I appreciate the gesture, however I would prefer to see every being who comes to me for help. I believe their problems need to be taken as having equally-serious weight, to avoid it developing into something worse.”

“But taking them all so seriously could lead you to overwork? And who could you help if you succumbed to burn-out?”

“Fortunately I have found a way to balance things,”

“Yes, but to whom does Doc Wolf go when he needs a sounding board?”

A second Doc appeared beside the first. “Why, Doc Wolf, of course,” this blue-eyed creature said.

“Wait, how are you here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I haven’t been to the Mirror Pond recently,”

“Then this must be a dream,”

Realizing this, Doc looked around. More than half the crowd had vanished, together with the mysterious presence. “Huh. How about that?”

“Indeed,” the second Doc said.

“You know, there’s only really one way to take advantage of this situation,”

“Indeed I do know,” the second said.

And they both broke out into song.

* * *

Fluttershy flew among the trees, her animal friends all around her as she wove between the sunbeams on a pleasant breeze. Even though she was certain she was somewhere inside the Everfree Forest, there was an easy, comfortable feeling about the environment, and so she was very relaxed in her fight, moving easily and quickly, just as she had learned to do at the Academy, and through her many flights with Gearhead.

Even surrounded by critter friends, Fluttershy still felt as though there was a gap in her heart, which was when she became aware of another presence, hovering at the edge of her perception. When she turned to more fully face it, the presence shifted or vanished, only to reappear on the edge again. Fluttershy settled herself again, not wanting to spook the poor creature. “It’s okay, I’m a friend,” she said softly.

“Yes, but you want more than just a friend, do you not?” Another soft voice answered.

“Who are you?”

“While I am not the one you want, I can give you something to attain all that you desire. All it would take is a small favour.”

“And what could I possibly do for you?”

“It does not matter,” the presence said, in a voice that flooded over and through Fluttershy’s being. “All that matters is getting what you want.”

“But... that’s not very nice,” Fluttershy muttered, and was startled to find that the presence, and a fog she had not even noticed, were both gone. She looked around for them, always out of the corner of one of her eyes, but could not find them again, until her dreams resolved into the darkness of deeper sleep.

* * *

After abandoning her efforts against the one known as Fluttershy, Luna was surprised to find herself at the edge of a forest. Just ahead, she could see a large clearing, in the middle of which was a fortress that sat at the top of a mountain. She could see high walls and towers, all well-lit in the night.

Luna advanced, quickly flying around the fortress to look for any sally ports or any other easier way through. There had to be some sort of back door. But she could not find it, even after two complete circuits. She did not want to risk discovery by getting too close to the fortification, so she decided to leave this mind for later.

* * *

If the last mind was a well-organized and defended fortress, the next mind was a collection of ideas that were held in complete disarray. To make matters worse, Luna could not make any sense of the strange mash-ups between items and beings. And why are there so many cats? The dreamer also dreamed often of Discord, and a couple other beings seemingly related to him in some way that also did not make any sense.

After an interminable effort, Luna finally spotted her target, the Pegasus KP. She flew in and out of the mess of icons, never staying in one place for long, and often jumping between pieces that should not have been connected at all. The whole disorganized mess made her incredibly difficult to catch. Luna could have done it if she had all night, but she had others to visit. And besides, if this was an indication of how the pony’s mind worked, Luna’s logic might not work on her at all.

She decided to give up after three attempts to catch up to KP. Clearly there would not be any reasoning with her either. The fortress might be impregnable, but at least it was not a fluid dream-state colander.

* * *

“[Voice print identification, please.]”

“What does that mean?”

“[Processing identification...]”

Oh good, so it’s nothing, Luna sighed. For once, a mind that was not needlessly complicated!

A buzzing sound erupted all around her, and red lights flashed. “[Identification rejected. Please vacate this mindscape immediately. Security forces have been dispatched.]”

“I thought too soon,” Luna said aloud, flying quickly away.

Moments later a befanged, purple-maned figure arrived on the scene. “Ugh, I wouldn’t mind the role as long as I had something at the end of the road to eat,” Lethal Mage said. “Unfortunately, this latest intruder was too smart to stick around, although not smart enough not to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong.” Lethal floated over to the space that the intruder had just vacated and sniffed the air. “Hm, interesting. But, given the circumstances, I think I’ll keep it to myself, for now.”

* * *

“Excuse me... do you want... a way to... make new friends?” Finally Pinkie Pie stopped jumping, each jump bringing her to a new location. Each time she had jumped, the mysterious voice had followed her there, continuing with her question.

“Wow, an even faster way to make friends? That sounds great!”

“All I need is one little favour,”

“A favour?” Pinkie suddenly took a backwards hop. “Oh no no no! Granny Pie warned me about beings like you. I’m not exchanging friendship for any ‘favours.’ But if you wanna be friends outside of dreams, I’d be happy with that!”

But the presence was gone, even more quickly for the fact that Pinkie was aware she was dreaming...

* * *

“Would you like –“ The mysterious presence got rapidly spun about as Rainbow Dash flew right past her at high speed. She was wearing her Wonderbolts Reserve microscale armour, and flying in formation with the main Wonderbolts team. An entire army in flight seemed to be behind them as they flew in to intercept the Changeling army ahead of them.

The presence blinked. “This isn’t gonna work, is it?” Luna asked herself, and then she blinked out of the dream.

* * *

“Oh my goodness, thank you, Rarity. It’s just what I wanted!” Fluttershy had a huge smile on her face as she spun around in her gauzy, nature-inspired dress.

“I’m always happy to help out a friend,” Rarity said.

‘Course we all already knew that,” Applejack said, also in a new outfit that was sure to attract new business for both Sweet Apple Acres and Carousel Boutique.

“I don’t know what we’d do without you,” Twilight Sparkle said, her dress an interesting blending of her own colours and those of her mentor, Princess Celestia.

“Of course, you could do so much more, and set even more trends if you had more power,” a new voice said. “Then you wouldn’t have any competition at all.”

“But competition is healthy,” Gearhead said. “It pushes you behind your old limits.”

“And besides, it’s not power that lets Rarity stand out, but her inspiration,” Rainbow Dash said. “Plus she has lots of loyal customers.”

“And friends,” Pinkie Pie said.

The presence had long since vanished.

“Huh,” Gearhead said, “I guess that is it for her. See you in the morning, Miss Rarity.” He winked out too.

Rarity startled awake for a moment, but then she fell right back to sleep.

* * *

“How would you like unlimited power to do whatever you liked?”

“Lady, you’ve completely misread my character,” Silver Quill said. “Yes, my Griffon parts make me greedy, and yes I pull mean pranks more than just occasionally, but I always do things my own way. And that way is mischievous, not malicious. Huh. I think the guards missed an M-world.”

Quill had the distinct impression that the indistinct being was rolling her eyes, then she vanished, and he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

“Twilight Sparkle, it would help my sister greatly if you could accept some of her power and help her to rule Equestria.”

“That really doesn’t seem likely,”

“It is such power as you would never fail her, or her tests, ever again. You could become the greatest of defences.”

“It can’t come for free, though.”

“Indeed, there is a deal to be made. A very minor one.”

“Wait, why would you be offering me power now, when you know all about my friends and everything we’ve done together? Unless... you’re the other...” Twilight quickly fell into deep sleep and out of the dream.

Just who are these ponies who are so thick in the head? Luna asked herself as she left. She still had a couple more stops to make before the end of the night.

* * *

“Sombra my love, if you would only open the gate we could be together forever, just like we’ve always wanted.”

“But Celestia, we cannot take the risk.”

“For love, we can. Just say the word. You know I’m with you completely.”

“No, we have our duty to protect our lands. Our ponies. We cannot put ourselves first, ever. I thought we agreed about that?”

“All it would take is just a few words. Eternal happiness is just that close. Please.”

“Who are you, really?”

“The only one of us who isn’t a complete fool,” the image of Celestia said, vanishing. King Sombra felt like the ground had been pulled out from under his hooves, and he fell into the obliviousness of deep sleep.

* * *

Luna cursed her luck that her targets were either mentally stronger than she’d anticipated, or too stupid to realize what she was offering them. Her only optional target left was the mind laid out like a fortress on a hill, but when she went back to try it again, it was gone.

The dreamer, Luna realized, had woken up. She turned slightly to look outside one of her barred windows, and even veiled by the clouds she could tell that the sun had not yet begun to rise. It was just early morning, and yet her target had already woken up, possibly to evade her attempts at mental invasion. Luna turned her full attention to the door, expecting him to come charging in at any moment.