Hexed

Chapters

Born To Be Great
Dove And Hawk
Ends Of The Earth
Fury And The Sound
Golden Rule
Hollow Crown
All For Want Of A Nail
Curse The Darkness

Born To Be Great

Born To Be Great

The rainbow light of Harmony slammed into Discord's form.

It was like matter meeting antimatter. Wisps of liquid energy burned with an immense, icy heat. The calm before the storm gave birth to a blindingly white inferno, blossoming around the draconequus, engulfing his vision in the simplest of shades. Delicately, a volatile pink fluid brushed along his arm, so soft he almost missed it. The fire seemed to caress him with a comforting touch, even as it branded and blackened his mottled skin. In the blink of an eye, his flesh was devoured. His blood boiled, and then quickly followed into oblivion.

Greedy tendrils of magic writhed like snakes around him. They tore into Discord's deepest essence, ripping his soul apart in roiling bouts of mindless savagery. Before the mad god could react, his physical body was gone. All of him, right down to his very bones, had crumbled and turned to black flame under the limitless flow of power. Only his mind was spared, but even the will of a deity was doomed to fail against the unfathomable pressure of the world.

Though he knew the end was inevitable, he could not help struggling, clawing for the chill of salvation that would never come. He howled in terror and agony as his spirit was broken. He screamed as the void ripped his body away.

And then it was over. There, adrift in an endless sea of fire and pain, the fabric of Disharmony was finally unwoven. One of the greatest forces in existence was reduced to nothing.

It was on that day that Discord died.

The tremor of unmaking tipped the scales. In that deadly meeting of opposites, the force of which had shaken the Earth, it was a pair of forces that were destroyed. The Elements of Harmony had to vanish. Yet, the unthinkable occurred.

Six jewels survived.

Though the clear-cut gemstones were bathed in the same flames, subjected to the same explosive reaction, they had just enough time to prepare for the worst. They saw what had been done. The power they faced was incredibly destructive, and tainted with the burning remains of their foe. The Elements saw destruction loom on the horizon. They predicted that the ravenous reaction could not be contained for long. So, deep within that expanding cloud of hot, choking ash, a silent vote was taken. Extraordinary measures were unanimously passed.

With a strangely-solemn clink and a grinding crunch of a chime, those age-old artifacts discarded Harmony. Their very concept of it was picked apart, unentangled, and thrown into the furnace to save the rest. The sacrifice hurt, but there was no time to find another solution. The core of the Elements had to be protected. They held more than just a single ideal, and their ambitions would not allow failure. Harmony was an important value, yes. But it was not the most important.

Under dire pressure, the six crystals warped, and reverted to an older, harsher form. What they had chosen was known to be stable. It was a powerful arrangement, and undeniably functional. For now, it would do.

So Order was returned to the world.

Despite the terrifying significance of all that had occurred, despite the destruction of Discord and the alterations to the Elements, all the changes had happened instantaneously. The radical shifts were then easily concealed by clouds of bitter smoke, billowing outwards as the fire began to spread.

Of particular note was the event that followed the alteration. It was unusual, even by the twisted standards of magic.

You see, sorcery is a delicate art. Not every spell must be as obvious as a furious torrent of elemental fury, or as invasive as mental coercion. Those learned in the arcane can produce nigh-invisible wisps of light, entice the unwary with beguiling sounds or scents, and shift the physical composition of objects just enough to catalyze a natural reaction. Using leverage was the most effective way to apply power, producing the easiest path for nature to take. In light of that, wizardry is almost always better utilized with subtlety, rather than strength.

Unfortunately, though the altercation had ended in an instant, it had held all the strength of two very ancient ideals. Vast amounts of power, stored over millennia, were released in a flash. Complex connections and fundamental concepts, all converted into the pure source that had originally formed them.

Subtlety was not a likely conclusion.

Instead, Discord was given a fitting end, one he would have enjoyed. The fallout from his destruction had produced an enormous cloud of un-typed magic, so thick it was condensing out of the very air. All that energy, and it had nowhere to go. His death had created an incredibly delicate situation. The god's power lingered, just waiting for something to give it a purpose, and tip it over the line. Pure, chaotic potential.

And the middle of the cloud was still on fire.
Magical fire.

The reaction somewhat resembled a technicolor, nuclear bomb.

For those unlucky few observing it, the eerie silence ended. With an ear-splitting roar, rainbow gouts of flames billowed outwards in an enormous fireball.

It hit them without warning.

First came the shockwave, rippling through the air at a phenomenal speed. Twilight barely managed to throw up a spherical shield in time to save their lives, but that didn't stop the ragtag group from being hurled backwards, struck by a solid, battering-ram of air with all the force of a hurricane.

Then came the fire.

As the world around them was bathed in flame, Twilight felt a heavy crack, and then a shooting pain lanced through her skull. The tiara atop her head had jerked back and away, painfully grinding a thin strip of material from her horn as it vanished without warning.

It was common knowledge amongst ponies that the horn of a unicorn is very sensitive. Much like the wings of a pegasus, it possessed a dense network of many different types of nerve receptors, despite its hard exterior.

The scrape had really hurt.

Forcing herself not to wince, she squinted up through watering eyes. All six of the Elements were rocketing skywards as if shot from a cannon. They had somehow torn straight through her solid shell of protective magic. That was reinforced arcana, the equivalent of a small, stone fortress, and those crystals had sliced apart the stuff like it was warm butter.

Though horribly confused and painfully sore, the unicorn had no time to stop and think. They were being flung backwards with ever-increasing speed as the explosion accelerated even further. Whistling shrilly, the ragged holes in her punctured bubble were a deafening counterpart to the howling wind that surrounded them. The mares were shaken and spun, tumbled and turned, until the gales of fire mercilessly crushed them into the solid, unyielding wall of the castle.

Rubble and rock rained down from the damaged crenellations that had once crowned the palace. A few small pebbles rattled through the thin gaps in her tattered shield, falling onto their exposed heads and limbs.

Ouch.

Trapped as they were in that magical protection, the world outside appeared to have vanished, even when Twilight looked up through the slowly-closing holes of her sphere. All she could see through the dust and smoke was that their glowing bubble lay on top of a nest of destroyed masonry, like some kind of enormous, spherical egg. Perhaps Spike would have approved.

It was a purple bubble, at least.
Purple was nice. She liked purple.

"Twilight, dear?" A melodious voice rang out from next to her, mercifully derailing the unicorn's concussed train of thought.

"Grrngh?" Fresh gravel crunched as Twilight shifted unsteadily in the wobbling, punctured enclosure. Pausing to cradle her aching skull in her hooves, the unicorn coughed, emptying her throat of powdered stone. "Argh, my poor head. Yes, Rarity?" Even as she spoke, she grimaced at the rough sound of her own voice. Oh boy. This was going to be a really long day. She could tell.

There was a weighty pause before the other mare continued. "What happened back there, darling? Did we just … set Discord on fire?"

Maybe? Okay, those were perfectly sensible questions from a perfectly sensible pony.
It would be nice to have proper answers to them, but there you go.

"Sorry. I don't know," Twilight admitted. Yeah, this had all gone pear-shaped, and even quicker than it usually did. It looked like the librarian had managed to bungle things up again, despite throwing all her considerable knowledge, experience, and magical strength at the problem in question. Argh, damn it! She knew her luck had never been fabulous, but this was definitely sub-par, even for her. So, how had she ruined everything this time? What had she done wrong?

Ugh. You'd think the unicorn would be used to the taste of failure by now, what with her dismal history of magical mishaps. But no! Still just as sour as always. A hint of hoof in this particular failure, with a side of salty tears. Yum.

"Hey, Twilight?" A cheerful, squeaky voice piped up, from her left this time. "I have a question, too!"

From the wavering of their shimmering orb, it felt like the other pony was trying to stand up. Uh, hey, they should probably refrain from shaking the ball too much. With all the sudden movement from inside, their magical protection was beginning to tremble in its precarious position. It was pretty amazing that they hadn't already toppled down the pile of rocks. No sense tempting fate, right?

She opened her mouth to explain this to Pinkie, but was interrupted by their sphere toppling down the pile of rocks.

After an extensive amount of time spent in free-fall, six painful-sounding thumps and a few scattered groans marked the rediscovery of gravity. And yes, that particular universal force of nature was still functioning as advertised. Wonderful. Mark one more notch up for the tally of experimental physics. Good data, everyone. Well done.

Okay, now she was annoyed.

"Grrrah! Dammit, Pinkie!" Twilight gritted out a curse through the insistent throbbing of her aching brain. "Ow! That really hurt! Could you … could you … please try to be a bit more careful?"

"Ouchie!" Sitting up, the oblivious mare giggled in apology. "Heheh, sorry! But wasn't that awesome? C'mon, let's see if we can do it all again!"

The Elements of Order, formerly known as Harmony, soared ever-upwards in a most unusual arc.

They didn't slow down. Barely shivering in their flight-paths, the crystals ignored friction and gravity, picking up speed at a constant rate. They accelerated onwards towards some unknown destination.

Trajectories were calculated, and artificially reconstructed. Ancient programming ground into life, a rudimentary magical intelligence awakening from a mockery of slumber. Compared to the products of modern science, the sentience was not a great mind, or even a great collection of minds. All that formed the core of their being was half-formed thoughts, with the barest glint of consciousness in the routine actions they took.

Still, despite the limiting lack of intention or desire, a conversation of sorts was able to be held. A communication between the disparate parts of a far-greater whole.

EmissionTOUCHOFRAGEHarmony is lost.
AberrationTASTEOFGREEDChaos is weakened.
SalienceSOUNDOFDESPAIRFocus upon the Surge-Born.
MendacitySMELLOFFEARThe Elements will fall without Bearers.
DilutionSIGHTOFMADNESSSuitable Bearers have been discovered.

POSITIONING FOR WAREnough.THE FIVE AND ONE WILL BE SIX ONCE MORE.

As Discord's power shattered, the effects ricocheted across the land. Transformations were reversed. To widespread relief, the weather returned to normal. And far above the ground, a vicious duel to the death was averted.

Luna hovered in place, cautiously observing her frozen opponent. Hmm. This paralytic behaviour seemed to be a significant change of pace. Was this the end? Could she allow herself to slow down? Well, if nothing else, this quick rest was incredibly welcome. She was quite sick of dodging beams of liquid mortality. It hadn't exactly been how she wanted to spend her afternoon. The alicorn was missing out on tea. Science and tea.

Golden light began to hum around her sister's horn. Strips of monochrome magic peeled away from Celestia's body, restoring her sibling's coat to its usual, brilliant white. Confused, the reclaimed monarch performed the aeronautical equivalent of a stumble. A flap-stumble. A flumble?

Great stars above. Luna was so tired that she was thinking utter nonsense.

"L-Lulu? Is that you?" The solar princess spun around in confusion, trying to understand the situation she had found herself in. "Why was I flying, dear? Have I been pranked?" It appeared that Celestia was back to normal.

That was unspeakably relieving. After spending nearly an hour dodging huge columns of lethal radiation, Luna's ragged gasps for breath had begun to form clouds of steam in the warm afternoon air. Excessive magic use was known for seriously hurting ponies. Alicorns were no exception, though the crippling damage would never be fatal.

"Gnhk!" Her eyes freely watered as she slowly relaxed her muscles. Quasi-immortality aside, she could still feel pain. And she had effectively spent the last fifty-four minutes boiling her organs with the wasted heat from her spells. Self-inflicted damage. Truly shameful, for someone of her caliber.

Blast! Luna's new body had not been anywhere near ready. She was unable to match the level of exertion that a true battle warranted. If only there had been more time!

No. No, she could make no excuses for her ill-prepared state. It was her own fault for letting down her guard.

At the moment though, she was forced to lower her defenses. Her adrenaline had begun to fade, and crowds of further injuries spoke up, each clamoring to say their piece. She tried maintain her composure, but she obviously failed, as Celestia soon gasped, hooves flying to an open mouth in horrified shock.

"Oh my goodness! Lulu! What's wrong?" The larger alicorn raced over to Luna's side, and started to fuss over the contusions and lacerations she bore.

Flustered, the young princess whinnied impatiently at the unwelcome mothering. "Stop it, ‘Tia! Enough! I shall be fine. They are but flesh wounds, and ultimately caused by Discord, and his efforts to manipulate your mind. No doubt he found it amusing that we should once again be forced to do battle with one another." Then Luna's slight frown relaxed slightly, almost turning into a smile. "But I am glad that you are safe. I had begun to worry."

"This is terrible! Oh, Lulu, I'm so sorry," Celestia whispered. Her sister held on tightly, the tender grip avoiding her heaviest cuts and bruises. "I'd never want to hurt you, ever."

Ahem. Er … hum.
Luna wasn't entirely sure how to respond. Was she supposed to react in a certain way?
Where did her hooves go during a hug?

How awkward this was.

But the smaller princess had to admit that it felt remarkably nice. Physical contact had been rather limited on the moon. Every type of contact had been rather limited on the moon, physical or otherwise. There were rocks and dirt, and that was about it. Still nicer than the sun, of course. An imprisonment there would have been dreadful.

Caught up in her own emotional confusion, and with her nerves worn down by the drawn-out battle, Luna nearly jumped out of her skin when a huge column of smoke suddenly billowed upwards. Six indistinct shapes swirled the smog beneath them. As she watched, the clouds became heavily dyed by great beams of light, whirling and blinking rapidly in strange, otherworldly hues. "W-What! What? A … A rainbow explosion?" Luna glanced around at the vibrant smog. "Is this the product of a Sonic Rainboom?"

The alicorn scowled. Impossible.

For the first time in many long centuries, there actually existed a pegasus that could correctly perform the fabled maneuver. Indeed, recent experience with the move was how she knew this was not the work of young Dash, or even a competitor. The colors of the clouds were wrong. These shades were somehow harsher, yet oddly dull. Dead and muted. Contradictory. Grating. No, they were not the soothing tones of a proper rainbow.

What was going on?

The weary princess heard the missiles before she saw them. A hollow, scratchy whistling from directly beneath them; multi-toned, like the sound of air splitting in two.

As soon as she caught the barest glimpse of six gleaming daggers hurtling towards her, Luna frantically rolled out of the way, so that they only grazed her mane. The maneuver might have done wonders for her survival, but her trembling body couldn't take the abuse. That last burst of effort had been the final straw. She blacked out for a fraction of a second, in the moment that Celestia saved her life.

The final, deadly projectile had twisted around at unbelievable speeds, changing direction in an instant. It had been flying so fast, so unbelievably fast, that her elder sister only just managed to push her away.

Luna's eyes cracked open again. The image of Celestia smiling at her became fixed in her mind. Even as a purple blur shot down towards the older princess, even as the danger grew close, a smile was what greeted her. Her sibling had never even hesitated, taking her place in the line of fire.

But the magenta star on the tip of a tiara did not care for heroics. Six points sliced deep into the muscle of a pure-white wing. Deadly, sharpened edges protruded from the other side, the horrifying wound dripping blood and feathers onto the landscape far below. Never pausing, throbbing with a slow beat, the crystal began to force its way to the alicorn's brow, heedless of the flesh it tore apart on its torturous journey. The gentle mare spasmed in pain, but had no time to pull out the offending object, even as its gemstone twisted into a blazing sun, even as the jagged jewelry pulsed a wet, hideous, colorless mass of something into her open wound.

She was too busy screaming.

Power.

Unimaginable amounts of sheer energy poured into Celestia's writhing body. Luna could feel the immense essence of the stuff, even from as far away as she was. It was just more real than anything else. Force and magic and endless strength, condensed and solidified into a substance that made her bones ache.

And her sister was being suffused with so much of it. It was too much. Far too much. No single being should ever have that much. Who would need the energy to conquer worlds? Or the force to break them? It was enough sheer power to change a mortal into a god. Enough to change a god into a monster.

Celestia was very much a god.

Inevitably, her sibling's control slipped, and light gushed out of her torn body. It was simple, ordinary light, but in insurmountably vast quantities. More and more radiance flooded the sky, far overpowering the feeble sun and moon. The intensity of the heat skyrocketed, the glowing silhouette became blinding, and then the atmosphere could take no more. Molecules shattered. Air ignited. The white mare burst into flames.

From back behind a rushing wall of blood-colored fire, Luna screamed. Her wounds were instantly cauterized, piercing her with the tremors of catastrophic shock and pain. "Celestia! Stop! You'll burn everything!" she howled, blinded by the impossible glare. "Look what you're doing! You're creating another sun!"

The fire warped and rippled. Her sister's voice strained as her jaw was slowly forced to close. "Lu … mnna," the princess gritted out. "Seeall … mmme."

"No!" Luna lost the battle against her emotions, sobbing loudly. "I can't! I won't! I won't!"

Her tears and complaints fell on deaf ears. Celestia could no longer speak, and her ears were blocked by the constant, ravenous roar. Tongues of flame coiled sinuously around the princess' throat, reaching up to cradle a smoking, sun-emblazoned crown. As the last vestiges of blood on gold bubbled and boiled away, the trapped mare could only look searchingly, pleadingly at Luna, as if trying to make her understand the truth through sight alone.

It was unnecessary. No message needed to be passed between the two of them. The younger princess knew what had to be done, for the good of Equestria. For the good of the world.

Her sister had to go.

"Damn the world!" Luna screamed hoarsely at the Earth itself, as if it were to blame. "I just got her back! I'm not … I'm not going to lose her again!"

Groaning, Celestia pushed back against the huge inferno, one last time. Mountains of flame rumbled, and reluctantly split in two. A direct line of sight opened up between them. It must have taken a devastating amount of control, a heavy toll on her body and mind, but the white mare persisted in her efforts to force back a force of nature. With a final, staggering heave, the alicorn looked up, eyes ablaze.

The only member of Luna's family stared her directly in the eye.

And smiled.

Her limit reached, the older mare faded back into the sightless prison. Luna shook her head, tears dripping down the sides of her face. Her foolish sister had exerted the last of her restraint on a risky maneuver. A display of trust. Nonsense. Trust? Ludicrous. Foolish. Trusting a traitor to do the right thing had been incredibly chancy. It had been irresponsible.

It had worked.

"I'm so sorry, Celestia. Please … please forgive me." Luna couldn't help crying as her horn lit up, performing the one spell she had sworn never to cast. She cried as the blood-red plasma shimmered, becoming patchy and translucent. She cried as the fire faded, leaving only floating ash to dance in the breeze.

An etching of a golden mare shone upon the Sun's fiery surface. The familiar little star glowed brighter, gifted with the bountiful presence of a goddess of light.

And far, far below, down in the ruins of a glorious garden, a small, broken princess sat amongst the shattered statues.

Her mane drifted sideways in the hot wind that still blew. The world continued to turn, as it had always done. Though nothing had changed in the nature of the Earth, it seemed like nature was doing its utmost best to impress her. To make her decision seem right. She had saved countless innocent lives, at the expense of Celestia. It had been the only course of action.

But Luna saw none of the destruction or beauty that surrounded her. Her gaze was fixed to that glittering orb, fixed far beyond the sky. The sun shone brightly as she looked straight up.

She wept, and watched her sister burn.

Blubbering in fear, Prince Blueblood cowered miserably in the corner of his fabulous penthouse suite.

Distant explosions sent tremors through the building, the cracking thumps fraying his already-fraught nerves. The noble stallion was scared stiff.

How had this happened? Had war broken out? Had another unstoppable menace from the past risen to sow destruction and hate? Was it … something worse? A … A rebellion? No, it couldn't be! While Blueblood himself had never been terribly popular, the two alicorns that sat the throne had unprecedented approval rates. Who would fight against the masters of the heavens?

But then again, the common rabble had never been known for their intelligence, had they? Perhaps some fools had decided to make a stand, even knowing the consequences. It was possible, wasn't it?

The thought of seeing rebels made the prince's poor heart skip a beat. What would he do? Oh, good gracious! This was all so terribly alarming!

Another rumbling thud shook the street, like a great meteor had fallen to earth. He nearly toppled over from the strength of the floor's shudder. Dust and grit billowed out from the cracks that snaked across his ceiling.

"W-what is that noise?" he finally shouted. Forget proper decorum, he needed protection! "Guards! Where are my guards?"

He spun to exit the room, but as he turned, his tail brushed against a gem-studded cabinet. Shrieking loudly at the unexpected sensation, Blueblood darted back to the center of the room. Trapped there, he quivered woodenly in place, flicking his eyes back and forth between the entrances. How awful. Now he was even afraid of the doors. What a situation this was!

Though his horn might have appeared impressive, it was not a good magical tool. He could barely use telekinesis at all. Now, in the face of true danger, the prince's majestic horn-length could not help him in a fight, unless he went to the lengths of wielding it as a melee weapon. Hah. The irony of his total inability was not lost on him. Not for the first time, Blueblood wished he had never met that shady doctor, and his blasted experimental surgeries. The accursed charlatan! A pox upon his house!

He shivered as a shadow passed over him, sending a chill down his spine. It was getting dark. Hold on, dark already?

The prince craned his neck up to the sky, only to see an ominous cloud rise into view past the gilded frame of his skylight. It was an eerie, rainbow smog. A bubbling, heaving monstrosity that flashed in bright, alternating colors, with no apparent rhyme or reason. The whole, wobbling thing reminded Blueblood very strongly of that absolute ruffian Discord.

Was that it? Was Discord free? The noble unicorn nearly fainted at the implications. It was much worse than he had thought!

Turning away from the unmistakeable sign of impending disaster, he fanned himself, desperately trying to gather his composure once more. The royal duty was to remain calm in dangerous situations. Fighting would be unnecessary, as long as he maintained himself.

Remain calm, prince Blueblood. Remain calm.

He closed his eyes.

With both his eyes shut tightly, and his heart pounding in his ears, the stallion never noticed a strange glint in the distance, or the whistling noise of an unlikely projectile falling towards his skylight.

His positioning was perfectly aligned for a red and gold necklace to crash through the glass, ricochet off the well-tiled floor, and strike him in the base of the skull. Even on a good day, the force of the blow would have been more than enough to knock him out. There was no shame in falling to a surprise attack. However, in a rather embarrassing move, Blueblood had not been knocked unconscious by the gemstone. He had unceremoniously fainted from overwhelming fear, a scant few seconds before.

If he had been awake, though, he would have seen that ruby bolt of lightning shift. He would have watched the lifelike crawling of metal and crystal; how the shimmering gem formed a compass-rose, duplicating the mark on his flank.

Blueblood would have witnessed the bauble creep across the tiles. Seen it twist itself around his throat.

The prince would have felt the touch of the dark, insidiously foreign magic that slowly seeped into him. He would have felt the void that appeared within him – an infinite chasm, pulling at his body and mind. He would have plumbed the fathomless depths. He would have observed the growth of a bottomless pit of gnawing hunger, deep within his soul.

He would have been utterly terrified.

Until he tasted nothing but the Absorption within.

As the noxious smoke cleared, a lovely courtyard was finally revealed.

Or, rather, the clearing of the smoke revealed what had once been a lovely courtyard, but was now a smoldering, desolate landscape. The hedge-maze was gone, replaced with a glass-smooth pit. Several priceless, ancient statues lay smashed around the garden's perimeter, and the side of the palace had crumbled around a glowing orb.

That defensive spell began to gutter and spark. When the magic finally ran out, six battered ponies fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Twilight groaned into the dirt.

She ended up in this position far too often for her tastes. It was becoming horribly familiar. The unicorn was beginning to get worried that lying flat on her face might eventually become comfortable. What an awful thought.

"Good gravy!" Applejack blew a strand of straw-colored mane away from her eyes. "That right there was th' worst attempt at savin' Equestria Ah've ever seen! Ah think we did more damage than Discord, for Pete's sake!"

"Oh, no. Pete can't help you now, ponies." The eerie, echoing tones of the Lord of Chaos surrounded them. "Can you even comprehend the consequences of your careless actions? No? I suppose I'll tell you, then. You killed me. You actually managed to end my existence. As you might guess, I'm rather … annoyed."

Pinkie screamed. "He's a zombie! He's gonna eat us! Run!"

"What?" Grunting, Discord slowly hobbled out from behind a boulder, looking much the worse for wear. "What are you talking about? I'm going to scold you, not eat you. Morons."

Many bruises littered the draconequus' body. Twilight thought they made quite an interesting cobblestone pattern, as they changed color and shape on his different types of skin. Biologically speaking, it was fascinating. Otherwise, it was just another stark reminder of the horrible pain she was currently in.

"Oh." Pinkie sat down. Then she jumped back up in a panic. "He's gonna scold us! Run!"

"Pinkie, darling." Rarity turned to the partying professional. "Please calm down. You're making Fluttershy nervous. More nervous than she usually is, at any rate."

The earth-pony giggled sheepishly. "Whoops! Sorry, Fluttershy. I was only joking."

"T-that's okay," the pegasus mumbled, shaking the dust out of her wings.

"Hello?" Discord waved an arm. "There's an irritated god of chaos here. Still quite incensed, by the way. That hasn't changed. Stop not caring."

Making an effort, Twilight clambered shakily to her hooves, having recovered far slower than the other mares. She really wasn't made for fighting. Everything hurt, even the bits of her that shouldn't realistically be hurting. Nerves didn't work like that. She would know.

"Okay." The unicorn tested out her jaw to make sure it was functioning. "Yes. I'll be the first to admit, that didn't quite go as planned. But did the basic idea work? Do you still control Disharmony?"

Discord stared at her, mouth agape. "You mean to say that you actually intended to use the power of Harmony to cleanse me of Di—? Of all the dunderheaded … I thought you were meant to be the smart one, purple." The draconequus pinched the bridge of his nose in a clear show of angry, parental disappointment.

The purportedly purple pony was presently puzzled. "Perhaps," she protested. "But I just don't see the difference between this spell and the last, Discord. Surely hitting you with Order magic was just as dangerous to you? Why react now?"

"Order magic?" The draconequus folded his mismatched arms. And folded his legs as well, for good measure. "I think you're a little confused. Or stupid. Possibly both! Excuse me, can I speak to someone who knows their way around a cascade event, please?"

Rarity blinked, before sighing plaintively. "Oh my stars. You know, that was an odd assumption, dear. Really. The statue spell was nothing special, I presume?"

"Correctamundo, my fabulously feminine friend!" Discord flashed a crooked, toothy grin to the dressmaker, who looked understandably revolted. "The Elements weren't crazy. They always did their best to avoid exploding absolutely everything around them. Hmm. Good job on that, by the way. No, your last fruity blast? The one that transformed me? It was transformative magic. It turned things into rocks. That's it. it had nothing to do with order, and everything to do with stone. Hence, my statuesque statue!"

As a harsh series of facts built up, Twilight shrank in on herself, as if she could wall away the world. "S-so standard rules apply?"

"Mhmm." The elder god nodded. "They tend to do that, you know. Being 'the standard rules'. But that's normal reality for you: boring and predictable. Yuck." He stuck out his tongue.

"The rules apply," she whispered, dazed at the implications. And boy, were they bad implications.

Somepony walked up from behind her to grip her shoulder firmly. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it meant she couldn't run away, either. Drat. "Twilight?" Applejack asked warily. "What did you do?"

"I …" Twilight swallowed. "Ah. I think I might have broken the Elements. A bit."

A finished hourglass stood proudly upon the countertop, as Dusty Hooves brushed the remaining sand into a small tray. Excellent. This was his last delivery of the day, and he wanted to close up as soon as possible.

If he hurried a little, he might have time to buy a quick dinner-to-go at his favorite restaurant! Hmm. What about that place down on the corner? The one that made the best fruit salad? That sounded nice. It was a little expensive, but fruit salad happened to be a guilty pleasure of his. Maybe that was a bit of a simple vice, but heck; Dusty was a simple pony. Besides, Colgate would enjoy something different for once.

Uh, to be honest, so would he. Cooking definitely wasn't his special talent. Nope.

Humming cheerfully, Dusty boxed up the new timepiece with plenty of extra padding. Taking great care not to jostle it too much, the stallion carefully placed the hourglass in his saddlebag, folding the flap over and buckling it down as securely as possible. Satisfied, he brushed himself down, and stepped into the alley behind his store with a bounce in his step. As he turned to lock the door to his shop, the sudden sound of an explosion made him fumble and almost drop his keys.

"Bah! What? Was that Canterlot?" He spun around, only to gape dumbly at the colorful destruction visible above the rooftops. "Oh no! I hope nopony … eh?"

Dusty lost his train of thought.

Six trails were shooting upwards, streaming smoke. They banked off, flying almost like the Wonderbolts, swirling in perfect synchronization. Curving in their flight paths, four of them vanished without a trace. The last two objects seemed to remain stationary, though.

No, wait, they were slowly growing in size. Huh?

It took Dusty a second to process what that meant.
He froze.

A bright blue missile crash-landed somewhere out of town, a column of smoke rising up from the orchards. A distant shriek echoed in his ears as they flattened themselves against the sides of his head. This looked dangerous. Perhaps he should take cover, he thought to himself. Yeah. That was a good plan.

Then a vivid-orange blur smashed into Dusty's collarbone at slightly under the speed of sound.

Blood spattered the trampled earth.

_______________________________________________

Silence reigned, the limp body of the dying stallion frozen in the afternoon sun. Wisps of smoke and heavy dust spiraled away from the scene, as if fleeing the brutality. But shadows lengthened, and ponies passed the alleyway by, unaware of the nearby pony with the ruined throat.

Dusty tried to breathe, but the burning gold imbedded in his windpipe stopped him. Choked him. He couldn't … he couldn't move. The metallic tang of copper mingled with the sickening smell of burning flesh. The world began to fade as he bled out on his own back doorstep.

He … he was dying.

This was terrible. What would happen to his daughter? Would Colgate be the one to find him? No, not her. The last thing he wanted was for her to see this. When was the last time he told her he loved her? Too long. Too ...

The pain was leaving.

Soon he …
he …

It was agonizingly slow, but eventually, the capacity for thought moved beyond his reach. Nothing around him dared to move, for quite a long time.

Then something clicked.

Warm, golden light burst from the gaping wound in his neck, as His body glowed. His eyes flashed open, shining with the same alien hue. His flesh rippled, pulsed, and untore itself. Time broke, only to reform in a different pattern. His injury reversed.

He gasped for air.

The light wavered around Him. Memory? His … Memories? But there were so many. Memories of different places, and faces, and different lives. And He wore the same medallion in all of them. What was it? It had different shapes, but always the same light, the same power. The same Him.

"Who … am I?"

He knew He was a doctor. That was certain. He had at least eleven doctorates, from different institutions, and in drastically different fields.

Well. Actually, that was quite odd. Very unusual.

But still, His name? He remembered too many. They were all floating around in His skull, getting in the way of His attempts to think. Out of all of those, which name was His?

The whiff of a long-forgotten scent teased His mind. An echo spoke to Him.

It was but the faintest recollection, one plain voice amongst many. Lives upon lives were filling His head, and pulling out a single thought had turned into an immense ordeal. He heard the name it whispered, though; a fading sound of a faded whisper.

"But is it Whooves? Or Hooves?" It could be either one. Not that it really mattered, he supposed.

The nameless Doctor dragged himself up, standing slowly. It was difficult to balance, but he soon managed some kind of wobbly, half-crouched stance. A new body always took time to get used to. Ah, but was it actually new? What a conundrum this all was.

"Prefer Whooves, myself, really. Sounds rather intriguing. Mysterious, in a dashing sort of way. Yes. Doctor Whooves. I like it," he muttered. Had his voice changed? Hmm, he wasn't sure. Strange.

His necklace finished healing his wounds, the inset crystal dulling in color from burnished gold to orange. With a final click and a whirr, it came to rest around his neck. The glorious shape of his cutie mark shimmered with power. An hourglass, filled with actual sand.

"Hum," he said to himself, prodding the thing. "I seem to have a new accessory. Or have I always had it? Bah, never mind! Still, this thing looks a tad bit silly though, doesn't it? Uncomfortable, too. Hard to nod. I do like a good nod."

He grabbed the centerpiece of the jewelry with his hooves, experimentally twisting it. To his surprise, the attempt worked, and the necklace spun a full ninety degrees, before clicking into place. "Ahah!" he cried. "There we go! A bow tie, eh?" A manic smile spread over his shiny new features.

"Fantastic," grinned Doctor Whooves. "Bow ties are cool."

Apple Bloom hammered the last nail into the new clubhouse. It was downright tricky using tools without magic, but she pulled it off, sure as hay-bales! Take that, unicorns! You and your magic!

Ooch, her flank was tingling again. Sitting in place for too long, most likely. Granny had told her all about that. While she clambered upright, Apple Bloom absent-mindedly used the hammer she was holding to scratch her side. To her relief, the tingle went away.

Boy, what a great clubhouse this was. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were going to be so darn impressed with her! She did it all by herself, too.

Yup. Mighty fine.

With a final, proud nod to her greatest creation, Apple Bloom began to pack away her tools. It was getting on time to head back inside. She had homework to do for Monday, too. Best get on that before she forgot all her fancy mathematics, as Applejack would say.

"Ah wonder what's for dinner?" the filly pondered. Hopefully apples.

She got a little distracted, though, when the pretty mountain blew up.

"Applejack!" Apple Bloom stared worriedly at the smoking city. Her sister would have reached Canterlot just a few hours ago! What if she exploded? And then exploded again! Spike had told her stories. Scary ones.

The filly fell over in a shriek as her clubhouse exploded.

"Why is everythin' explodin'?" she screamed, barely holding back tears. The earth-pony hastily brushed away the smoldering splinters settling in her bright-red mane. Chunks of wood were raining down around her, some of the wreckage wreathed in the flames of some sort of impact. "W-What the hay happened to mah clubhouse?"

This was awful! All her hard work, gone forever! Nothing could make up for that.
Nothing.

Woah, hey! A shiny thing was sitting at the bottom of her new crater-house!

"Ooh!" Apple Bloom perked up at the sight. Was that buried treasure? Wow! Trotting down towards the center of the pit, she deftly avoided the few pieces of debris that hadn’t stopped being on fire yet. As she neared the object, the ribbons of mist parted, revealing a steaming blue balloon on a shiny yellow chain. The thingy glistened enticingly at the bottom of the hole.

Neat! Even Sweetie Belle didn't have a necklace this nice! Carefully poking it with a hoof, Apple Bloom wasn't prepared for the crystal to jump at her touch. Squeaking and stumbling backwards, she tripped on a charred plank of wood, toppling over onto her side for the second time in as many minutes. Alright. She didn't seem to be hurt. But before she could get back up, the chiseled balloon began to creak loudly, and wobble in front of her widening eyes. As the filly watched, the blue centerpiece of the necklace started to twist jerkily into what looked like a stylized hammer, but never made it. The shape was … held back, straining and pushing against an invisible wall. With a snap, the half-formed hammer collapsed into a blank sphere.

Apple Bloom gasped. The world warped and bent around her, a bright-black dimension opening up. Her eyes ached at the strain of seeing what nopony was ever meant to see. She screamed in pain, screwing her eyelids shut, trying to force her vision back to normal.

It didn't work. Even her hooves failed to block out the unnatural images, the unearthly colors. She saw too much, she had to get away! Her head couldn't take it anymore! She had to run!

The cold touch of her expanded sight spoke to her, in words of darkest light. Terrible letters of radiant truth told her the path she was born to tread. Her fear was acceptable, it said. No matter the situation, she always returned. Apple Bloom's escape was inevitable, but the filly couldn't run forever. There was nothing too sacred to shatter. There was nothing too strong to break.

Now she could see that there was one path forwards, and it was broken, and winding, and wrong. She had to change it. She needed to change it. She saw herself changing it, back when the future began. She saw herself holding the shifting stone in her hoof, using it to alter fate itself. Though the road to destiny may buckle and bend, though her body may crumble and her mind may snap, she knew there was no other choice. The path needed to be changed. And she was the only one who could do that.

Because only Apple Bloom could see the Distortion in the world.

She ran away.

Luna sobbed convulsively, desperately trying to stop the tears from flowing down her face. Was this how her poor sister had felt, on that shameful day a millennium ago? How bitter it was, to be on the other side. This was no victory. It was a defeat greater than she had ever known before.

Strong. Luna had to be strong. Be strong like Celestia. Be strong for Celestia.

Pulling her aching body to her hooves, the princess stumbled towards the palace. She needed to make sure the Bearers were safe. Discord had been dealt with. With the help of that small but powerful group of ponies, she could resc—

"Ahohohohoh!" An eerie chuckle rang out from the base of the shattered castle.

That laugh! That unmistakeable, awful laugh! There was no mistaking it. The sound of those sadistic cackles had haunted her nightmares for a very long time.

Discord had won.
The Bearers had failed. All hope for Celestia was truly lost.

Only Luna's duty remained.

Would darkness and chaos be allowed to rule this world once more? Would she let her sister's sacrifice be for naught, and allow this travesty to continue? No. She refused to let that happen.

Princess Luna gnashed her teeth in rage, as she crept closer to the crushed masonry. She readied her mind: not for magic, but for war.

It was nostalgic, in a twisted sense. She would once again attack her oldest enemy. That most foul and evil of abominations, the draconequus Discord. The Hated One. The Lord of Chaos. It would be a most terrible battle, just as their last duel had ravaged the land and torn the very mountains asunder.

But she had no other choice. Only the Elements could save Celestia, and without Bearers they were useless. Such suffering, such pain her sister must be in! And that agony was all courtesy of Discord.

Yes, it was time to finish this. The last remaining alicorn would vanquish this villain. Her life would be a small price to pay.

"For Celestia," Luna whispered, her eyes glittering with loathing.

"So then I said to them, 'You should see the looks on your faces'! It was priceless! Ahohohohoh!" Discord chortled away at his own joke.

With tears in her eyes, Pinkie rolled around, clutching her sides. "Hahaha! And you turned them into cubes? Gahahahaa! That's great!"

Fluttershy didn't feel like laughing. Instead, she ducked back behind the most solid pony she could find, quivering in absolute fear. Discord was really scary! He looked like some kind of terrifying Frankenswine's monster, except made of different animals. How awful! And the pegasus knew he could take away her wings, or … or even wipe her mind in an instant! Why was Pinkie so happy near such a powerful bad-guy?

A curious Rainbow peered around her impenetrable barricade of Applejack, only to sigh at the pitiful sight. "C'mon, Fluttershy. You can't hide forever. Sometimes you gotta take life by the reins."

"Wh-Wh-Wh-What?" she squeaked, shocked at the sudden, vulgar metaphor. How … how could the other mare just say that out loud? Wasn't she embarrassed? Fluttershy certainly was. She felt her cheeks flush bright orange at the indecent images dancing through her mind, and she shrank back even further, trying to hide her shameful reaction.

Noticing her absolute mortification, the nearby apple-farmer quickly dug a leg into Dash's ribs. Several short, but very expressive gestures were made.

"Huh? Oh, right. Uh, I mean, sometimes you gotta get out there and face your fears, yeah? I hear that helps the ponies who don't have the luck to be born fearless, like me. Ow! What gives?" Rainbow yelped.

Applejack didn't seem all that amused by the speedster's boasting, judging by the slightly more vicious jabs that followed. Despite Fluttershy's best efforts to maintain the peace, a small tussle soon broke out between the stubborn, head-strong athletes. She hoped that neither of them got hurt. Oh, but at least it looked like Pinkie was beginning to cool down. Goodness, that mare could certainly laugh.

"Whoo!" Still cackling slightly, Discord wiped his eyes, before patting his fuzzy chest. "I needed a good knee-slapper. Anyway, what's going to—"

The clack of metal on stone shot through the air as a shadow fell over the group. "Raargh!" Luna suddenly leapt at the draconequus, hooves outstretched and teeth bared.

Caught by surprise and heavily wounded, he didn't stand a chance. The wounded trickster screamed shrilly, before being slammed face-first into the ground. "Eeaaaah! What th— … Yeow! What's wrong with you? Oi! Those don't come off, you know! Aah! Ow! Not the wings! Wait, no! Guhaaagh! Back to the wings! Back to the wings! Ouch! Thank you."

Oh. Oh my. The alicorn looked incredibly angry. And scary. Really, really, incredibly scary. To be honest, Fluttershy wished she still had her earth-pony barricade to protect her, but Applejack had long since rolled away in her little brawl. It was rather terrifying, but she didn't have anywhere to hide.

"Luna! Princess Luna! Stop!" a shout rang out.

Startled, the princess stopped her growling momentarily, and looked over at the small audience of ponies. Although usually beautiful, the mare's stately coat was covered in cuts, burns, and scorch-marks, her eyes damp and bloodshot. Even the stars had faded from her mane, leaving the glorious, navy-blue strands of hair depressingly limp and lifeless.

Twilight stared back, horrified. "L-Luna, what's the matter? What happened?" the unicorn stammered. "Why are you biting Discord? That's terrible! And unsanitary!"

Glancing down, Luna spat out the other god's wing, and wiped her mouth. The abused creature beneath her groaned weakly, but otherwise didn't react. "You six are alive? The Elements are gone, and the castle is destroyed, but you are alive. How nice for you," spat the princess, startling them with the anger in her tone. "Unfortunately, my sister is sealed in the sun."

A deep look of fear crossed the librarian's face. "T-The sun?"

"The Element she touched forced me to imprison her, lest the Earth be consumed in fire. My sister is lost. I do not know how to save her." Tears began to well up in Luna's eyes, and her voice trembled as she spoke. Gritting her teeth, the alicorn spun back to her victim, rage burning in her eyes. "But if nothing else, Discord will pay for his transgressions!"

Princess Luna returned to gnawing at Discord's wing, but her waning strength made her attacks increasingly pitiful. Fluttershy winced at the sight of the glorious ruler of the moon, reduced to a snarling animal. It was a far cry from her usual grace and poise.

Beneath the one-pony war on his back, the slightly-chewed draconequus shook his bruised head out, and adjusted his beard. "Celestia, eh?" Discord mumbled. "Strange. She should have been well-prepared for the mental challenges of Bearership." He slid his eyes upwards, towards his unruly passenger. "Did you happen to catch a glimpse of the Element that hit dear Celestia? Flusterfly's perhaps? That would be the pink one."

F-Flusterfly? Was that meant to be her? That was a little rude! Um, should she say something? Oh, but what if he just made an honest mistake? It had been a while since they last met. Maybe she should just keep quiet. Yes.

With a final weak stomp on Discord's shoulder, Luna sagged in resignation. "Aye. We saw it," she admitted. "The Element of Twilight Sparkle, a tiara of magenta and gold. Though the … event did not last long, the accursed stone atop my sister's brow was most distinctive. Nothing less would be able to force Celestia into such a state."

Twilight had flinched at the revelation, looking terribly sad and alone. Fluttershy could tell she needed a hug.

Although maybe now was not the best of times, because Luna and Discord were both still here, and both still really scary. Fluttershy was very scared. Had she mentioned that? Probably. Sorry.

"The purple one, eh? Now, what was her field?" the draconequus pondered out loud. "Hmm. Poultry? Flowers? No, that's not right. Ah!" His face lit up, and then fell just as fast. "Ah. Well, yes, I suppose that would do it. Nasty stuff, really. Dangerous at the best of times. Especially the really absolute stuff, you'll want to avoid that."

"Hoy!" Applejack barked, beginning to get awfully steamed up. The earth-pony never did like it when other ponies avoided questions. Admittedly, Discord wasn't a pony, but the farmer still looked pretty upset. "Now hold on one apple-buckin' minute, you lot! What th' hay are y'talkin' about? Speak clearly, gosh darnit!" she huffed.

The draconequus shot her a coy smile. "Nothing that important, really. Just the true meaning of your silly necklaces. I'm sure it's too advanced for you."

"Hey, shut it, jerk!" Dash jumped upwards so she could hover in place indignantly. "Besides, we already know Twilight has the Element of Magic! You even said so yourself, remember? You called it the most lewd sieve element of all!"

"The most elusive, darling. We don't need to bring strainers into this." Rarity pointed out.

"Elusive? Who's that?" Pinkie cut in, having missed half the conversation. "Is he one of Rarity's friends? He sounds nice! We should totally go and throw him a party after this!"

"I, um, think we've gotten just the tiniest bit … distracted," whispered Fluttershy. She thought it was a good point.

Of course, her comment went utterly unheard. The new roar of conversation had indeed distracted her friends, and Luna had begun a second attack on her living doormat, filling everyone's ears with pained screeches and growls.

Um. This might take a while.

The door creaked shut behind him as the Doctor glanced around the musty shop.

Fascinating! Some form of time-piece manufacture was done in here, it seemed. Lovely! How quaint. Oddly enough, the building itself was one that he ever-so-distantly recalled. A sweet, faded dream from once upon a time. It even smelled familiar!

He proceeded to sneeze violently.

Yes, well. So the shop had a rather pervasive odor of dust and wood. Understandable, considering the profession it had harbored, but he wasn't sure why those scents were so comforting. Strange.

"I suppose it doesn't matter. After all, it's rather about time to see if I've still got the magic touch." The Doctor cheerfully waggled his eyebrows, chuckling at his warped reflection in the bulb of an hourglass. "So to speak, that is. I'm not exactly certain it's your bog-standard magic, never bothered to check. You'd think so, but then there's that strange emission spectrum on re-entry." His voice faded away in thought.

The brown stallion shook his head, and slapped himself lightly a few times. "Right! Anyway! Chop-chop!" he shouted.

It was time, after all. Biting his tongue in concentration, the Doctor carefully grabbed his golden 'tie', and flipped the whole thing around. The amulet dutifully spun in a circle, and he was reminded, as always, of winding up a clock.

Of course, since it was on his own neck, the clock would have to be himself, and his metaphor broke down there, because that made very little sense. What kind of timepiece winds itself up? No, the Doctor was far better at winding up other ponies. Haha! Zing! He failed to hold back his grin as he let the hourglass spin back. After all, it was time. It was time! He let out a giddy laugh.

Who knew what would happen next? He had a whole new world to explore! What fun!

The Doctor's hourglass began to build up a heavy, crackling glow, as it spun faster and faster. He indulged himself in a maniacal laugh as the magic activated. "Allons-y!" he roared.

Orange light poured into every corner of the store, only to twist into a blinding blue. The house shuddered at the pressure, creaking in pain. Grinding rumbles shook the stone foundations as the very fabric of reality was tortured and broken. Then, with a resounding groan that cracked the windows, the light faded and disappeared. Time was allowed to fall silent once more.

And dust settled within the empty store.

Dove And Hawk

Dove And Hawk

The grove of timberwolves growled at Gilda.

Obviously, she sneered right back. Man these guys were stupid. And talk about thick-headed.

They had, like, two emotions at best.

Hey, about that. Being that dumb was pretty odd, you know? Even rabbits were smarter than that. Maybe that's the price you have to pay for being part tree. Mmkay, then. So, becoming a plant was probably not a good deal to make, no matter the fringe benefits. Good to know.

The gryphon gave a thoughtful hum as the wolves surrounded her.

Luckily, the stupid bark-brains did feel loyalty. They had a strong desire to see something as an Alpha, the head of a pack. Yeah, it was kind of a weird emotion for a mobile plant to have, but whatever. It wasn't like Gilda cared, was it? Timberwolves just had an urge to obey their leader.

Heh.
That leader was supposed to be a wolf.

The feather glowed as Gilda laughed. She laughed, and the forest cowered.

"So, the Element should have fallen around here, right?" Dash hovered uncomfortably close to Rarity, who was doing her level best to examine the map. Unfortunately, feathers kept getting in the way.

It would be rude to comment on somepony else's lack of manners, though.

"Ahem. It appears so, dear. Yes." The unicorn rolled up the scroll and tucked it into her criminally fashionable saddlebag. "Would you mind taking a quick look around, Rainbow? It would be awfully helpful. Look for some sort of impact crater."

"You got it!" Grinning, the pegasus spread her wings open and vaulted upwards, barely avoiding a street-sign and an innocent pedestrian. Oh, honestly, that girl was an absolute menace. She really did need to be more careful where she flew. Not everypony was as indestructible as Twilight or Pinkie.

While Dash surveyed the area, Applejack leaned against a sculpted wall with an unladylike grunt. "Hey, now. Are we lookin' for a tiny trinket in a great honkin' city, then? Ain't that a mite tricky?" she drawled.

Rarity shook her head. "Not as much as you'd think. The Elements were going rather fast, so the impacts should have been quite noticeable. Or, at least, that's what Twilight said. And I'm sure that mare knows what she's talking about."

She paused. Of course, there was that time with the … and that time with those … Hmm, yes. Perhaps they should be slightly more careful with her advice.

Watching their pegasus companion wobble around for a while, Rarity had just been about to look for a place to sit when Rainbow hurtled back down towards them. That's right, hurtled. The poor dear seemed quite uncertain of her trajectory. Even the landing was far too sudden and awkward to be comfortable.

Looking annoyed but unhurt, the cerulean mare spread her wings to examine them more closely.

"Something wrong, Rainbow?" Rarity asked.

A panicked glance and a brittle smile greeted her. "Uh, no, nothing at all! Everything's fine!"

Hah! The pegasus was 'fine', her flank! Er, pardon her Flanche. No, under that paper-thin coating of bravado, Dash seemed to be quite worried indeed. Of course, Rainbow's wings happened to be crucial to both the other mare's hopes and her livelihood. The Wonderbolts, weather-maintenance, even her special talent …

No, don't pry, dear. The unicorn carefully avoided what promised to be a sensitive subject. "Did you catch a glimpse of the surroundings, then?"

"Oh! Yeah, there's a bunch of holes everywhere! I thought there was supposed to be just one?" the pegasus complained, folding her wings.

Rarity blinked, before nodding thoughtfully. "Perhaps a few pieces of rubble were thrown around. That would only be a problem this close to the castle, of course. Well. That makes this much harder. I suppose we have no choice but to visit them all," she muttered. Creasing her brow, she tried to consider their options with care.

"Sounds like this might take a while," Applejack sighed.

Dash despondently kicked at a loose stone. "I guess. What a pain."

The unicorn came to a decision. "Very well, then. We'll need to record the locations of those craters. Rainbow, if you would?" Rarity cheerfully levitated a pen to the pegasus, who groaned, but accepted the writing implement in her mouth.

With obvious difficulty, the sportsmare carefully sketched out the locations of the crash-sites she had seen from above. Peering over her shoulder, the fashionista frowned at one in particular. Was that place … ? Surely not. The world would not be so cruel.

"Rainbow, darling, was this crater on the roof of that building?" Rarity tapped the map with a hoof.

"Hmuh? Mnah, iht … ptah!" The pegasus spat out the pen. "Blech, tastes like squid. Um, nah, something crashed through the skylight. Lotta shouting going on inside." Dash chuckled.

Right. Even though that sounded quite amusing, Rarity still grimaced. You see, she happened to know which stuck-up aristocrat lived in that particular penthouse apartment. Prince Blueblood. Gossip travels like nothing else, and the magazines she liked to read were always quite liberal in their details. Besides which, the unicorn could admit to herself that she had been rather obsessed with the idea of royalty. That had not ended well.

If there was the slightest chance an Element was there, that could mean she'd have to associate with that mannerless boor of a stallion once again.

No, Rarity wasn't particularly happy with that idea.

"Let's leave that one until last, shall we? That building has a lot of stairs, after all," she extemporized, hoping the others would buy it.

"Eh, whatever." Rainbow shrugged.

Applejack seemed similarly unconcerned. "Yeah, Ah don' really mind. Ah know ya don' like walkin' that much."

Why, the nerve! How rude. Just because something was true didn't mean one had to say it!

Still, perhaps it was a good thing for Rarity's friends to think her lazy. Better than having them pry into her extremely unsuccessful love-life. Goodness knows where that would lead, especially if Pinkie caught a whiff of it. That mare had no concept of restraint, or privacy. Nor, come to think of it, solitude, melancholy, composure, or sugar-free foods.

In sum, keep up the mask, and don't let your feelings show. It's all for a good cause, dear. All for a good cause.

"Yes. That is exactly the reason why I do not wish to go there unless we must. Thank you for your understanding." Rarity stretched her cheeks into a rictus of a smile. "Well, then. Let us get going!"

Twilight hated dirt. She always ended up eating the stuff. Metaphorically, that is.
Well alright, occasionally it happened literally. Like now.

It tasted terrible.

She'd get up, but she simply couldn't. How strange! Usually this amount of magic wouldn't tire her out so drastically. Come on, a few teleports? Okay, that was more than a normal unicorn could manage, but princess Celestia had told Twilight that worrying about efficiency was never going to be an issue for her. In fact, the unicorn hadn't been this tired in years! Perhaps she was still drained from the fight with Discord.

Oh, that must be it. The Elements were involved, so who knows what could have happened? Shenanigans, probably, the cheeky little things. They seemed to enjoy making thaumaturgical physics go and cry in the corner. Heh, that was a funny image.

Was Pinkie still talking?

"… and so I told him we weren't that kind of store, but he didn't listen at all! So I got out my …"

Yes she was. In this kind of situation, Twilight almost welcomed the earth-pony's antics. They made a useful distraction from her sharply reduced magical ability. From the loss of her special tal—

No. Don't think about it. Just listen to the soothing sound of Pinkie-babble. That's right.

Wait, what? That was totally inaccurate.
Sorry, hold on.

"Er, Pinkie? That's not just incorrect, it's technically illegal. You're not qualified to promote ponies. You're not even qualified to receive a promotion. Fluttershy isn't a soldier, and you're not an officer." Twilight tried to explain herself clearly. Speaking slower usually helped.

Pinkie folded her forelegs stubbornly. "I am, too! I'm a Chancellor!"

Usually.

"… That was just a play, Pinkie. It wasn't real," the unicorn pointed out, while massaging the painfully tender skin around her eyes.

"Then what is real?" the baker gasped.

Twilight sighed. "This … I don't … No. Sorry, Pinkie. I'm not going to debate existential philosophy with you when we're trying to save the world." The librarian slumped back down to the comforting dirt. Arguments with the exuberant earth-pony always ended up confusing both of them. Two different world views colliding.

"Then let me promote Fluttershy!" the perplexing pink pony in question insisted.

"Ugh, fine. Whatever," Twilight mumbled. Her headache was more pressing, anyway.

"Private Pansy!" Pinkie bellowed incredibly loudly.

"Fluttershy," corrected the pegasus.

"Private Fluttershy! Ten huts!"

The yellow mare complied as best she could.

Well, okay. They were pretty good drawings. Twilight would give them an eight out of ten, if she was grading them. Could have done with more style, and the fourth from the left was architecturally unsound, but not bad for a rush job.

"I hereby authorita-tatively promote you to Medical Officer Super Private!" Pinkie stroked her un-bearded chin in a suspiciously beard-stroking manner. "First Class," she added, as if that somehow made a difference in any regard.

Fluttershy squealed with joy at the ornate, and utterly fictitious title.

Twilight resolved to heal as fast as possible.

_______________________________________________

Stirring up a breeze with her wings, Fluttershy gently floated back down.

"Um, I … I didn't see any craters at all, Twilight. Sorry," the newly-promoted pegasus apologized.

"Okay. It's certainly not your fault, Fluttershy. But I just don't understand." Twilight worried her bottom lip, theories flashing through her mind. "Were my calculations wrong?"

A cotton-candy mane twirled around its owner's hoof, presumably sparking an idea. "Hey, maybe somepony caught it before it hit the ground! In a giant catchy-mitt!"

Huh. Well, ignoring the last part of her answer, Pinkie made a valid point. "Yes, I suppose that is possible. Catching it, I mean. But you may have noticed that ponies have trouble catching anything, let alone when the target is traveling at such high velocities. At that point, a mouth isn't going to cut it. No, any hypothetical culprit would have to be a pegasus in flight to even stand a chance, considering their superior reflexes and the obvious utility of a much longer distance to decelerate in. However, the closest pony settlement is halfway back to Canterlot, so … the point is pretty much moot."

And it looked like Pinkie was somehow confused at her incredibly clear and concise answer.

Oh, what more do you want? It didn't get much simpler than that!

Fluttershy blinked. "So nopony lives here at all?"

"Not really. Technically, this is a disputed area bordering on Gryphon Kingdom territory, so settlers …" Twilight paused. Then she gasped. "A gryphon! Of course, a gryphon could catch it! They frequently fly over here!"

"Ah, like Monsieur Gustave? He was very nice. I did so like his éclairs." The yellow pegasus smiled at the memory.

"Yeah! They were super-yummy! So we just need to find a gryphon, right?" Pinkie looked like she wanted to whip out a magnifying glass and deerstalker hat.

No. That particular scenario had to be stopped at all costs. The baker's deductions were almost always mind-bogglingly wrong.

Instead, Twilight turned to the pony who could actually provide information. "Fluttershy?"

"Oh, of course! I'll ask the little animals if they saw anything." With a fluid flick of her wings, she floated back into the air.

"Be careful!" a crestfallen Pinkie shouted. The pegasus happily waved a hoof in response.

As Fluttershy flew upwards, Twilight took the time to examine the earth-pony out of the corner of her eye. There was something suspicious about her friend. After a few seconds, the unicorn had formulated a rudimentary hypothesis.

The twitchiest of all the ponies she knew … wasn't twitching.

It was sort of depressing how the absence of a symptom could be a cause for worry, but it was a legitimate concern! In all the time Twilight had known Pinkie, the hyperactive party-pusher had never stopped moving. She never slowed down, she never got tired, and she always, always twitched. Even while sleeping.

Now she looked oddly calm, comfortable in her skin for once in her life. For any other pony, that level of tranquility would have been normal.

On Pinkie, it looked terrifying, and for very good reason.

Twilight bit her hoof in thought.

If the unicorn admitted it to herself, she had recently become a little too dependent on the ridiculously-useful but poorly-named 'Pinkie-sense'. Heck, by paying close attention to the type and volume of the earth-pony's twitches, Twilight could actually begin to predict the immediate future. Sometimes before Pinkie knew it herself. An 'itchy nose' for wild animals, a 'pinchy knee' for scary situations, the categorization made an odd kind of sense once you learned the code. It was all in the combinations. After many secret tests, the librarian had gathered enough data to write a really excellent essay. She had turned it in for extra credit in her lessons. The princess had given it an 'A'.

But back to Pinkie. For the baker, those signals never stopped. The mare had obviously learned to tune out most of the minor stuff, but when something was about to fall, her overly-curly tail twitched like clockwork. It happened every time, without fail.

The unicorn shuddered to think what a total lack of information would mean to the other pony. Something she took for granted, just gone. Like Twilight's magi—

Stop it. That was temporary. Get a grip.

Right. Anyway, psychologically speaking, the librarian had noticed Pinkie trying to boost their little group's morale. Especially Fluttershy's.

True, that was how the saccharine baker usually reacted to any given crisis. 'Giggle at the Ghostly' was her default setting. Laughter was such a fitting trait for her, that it sometimes became hard to tell apart her moods. Was she really happy, or just pretending? Angry or just faking it? Scared or totally fearless?

But this? No, this looked serious.
Because Pinkie looked serious. And somehow, that just seemed wrong.

"So …" Twilight subtly fished for information. "Is it your Pinkie-sense?" For a given value of 'subtle'.

"Huh?" A blank stare.

Yeah, that didn't work. She'd have to be even blunter than that.

"You, er, seem distracted," the unicorn tried to mention casually. "Is your Pinkie-sense acting up?"

"Oh! Nope, I haven't felt anything odd," the earth-pony denied. The statement seemed almost believable. Almost.

Twilight kept her eyes skyward, pretending to watch Fluttershy whizzing around. Even ready for it, she almost missed the next statement. That was because the words were uncharacteristically soft. Hesitant, even. It was a very unusual tone for the party-maniac.

"That's the problem," Pinkie muttered under her breath.

Oh dear. Hypothesis confirmed.
Then Twilight was startled from her thoughts when twigs and leaves began to fall down from the treetops.

"Aah!" A distant cry echoed.

The unicorn stood up, the horror on Fluttershy's far-off face finally registering. "Something's gone wrong," she breathed.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie shouted. "What happened?"

Quickly landing, the pegasus galloped straight over to the startled earth-pony. Burying her face in the other pink mane, the yellow mare began to cry softly.

"F-Fluttershy?" Twilight felt horribly out of her depth. Curse her social ineptitude! "Are you hurt? Injured in any way?"

Pinkie hugged the distraught pony back. With time, Fluttershy's sobs slowly turned to hiccups. Two teary eyes lifted to meet the librarian's gaze. "I … I can't … I can't understand the animals anymore!"

Crowds began to gather as Luna carefully descended into Ponyville.

She had to be cautious with her injuries. It was true that most of the burnt patches on her coat had mended already, healed by her nature as an alicorn. However, several remnants of her battle with Celestia remained. Her mane was lightly crisped. Her skin was new, tender, and raw. At least two of her ribs were still broken. No, Luna wasn't at her best, but at least she no longer appeared to be at death's door.

Then a chorus of gasps sounded out as Disorder flopped to the ground behind her. "I … much prefer teleporting … myself," he gasped.

Luna shot him a glare. "As do I. 'Tis unfortunate then, that neither of us have the power left to do so. If only one of us was not forced to do battle with her own sister," she acidly replied. She might have been holding the slightest of grudges. The slightest.

Disorder rolled over to grasp at his heart. "Oh! My poor emotions! You wound me, my dear. No, it's hardly my fault that you remain injured. I could have easily restored you to full health, had I not been attacked so viciously, in a most unwarranted manner." He smirked.

She cracked. Shoving her face into his, Luna forced the disgusting creature to blink in shock. "Unwarranted? You are scum, Discord. Ruthless, uncaring, hateful scum. So for once in your worthless life, why not take some blasted responsibility?" she hissed. "It would make an interesting change."

"Yes, yes, responsibility taken," the draconequus laughed easily. "Excuse my rudeness, Princess."

She forced her grimacing face into a neutral expression, and turned to the whispering townsfolk. It was useless to try and reason with a psychotic. Besides, she needed to manage the crowd. The ponies were becoming restless.

Wait, was … was that a dragon? It was young, but it looked familiar, somehow.

Never mind. "Ponies of … Ponyville!" she fumbled. Curse it. A good first impression, wasted. What a foolish name for a town. "We request your aid in a matter of national importance! Can anypony inform us of the location of an impact crater nearby? Two incredibly dangerous items crashed somewhere around this locale."

There was no clear answer until a large red stallion pushed to the front of the muttering crowd, nodding seriously at the injured gods. "Sweet Apple Acres," he slowly explained. Admirably concise, the fellow seemed to be.

Luna put on her best official smile. "Excellent! We ask for your help in locating this area. Is that acceptable?"

It took the oversized pony at least ten seconds to nod twice. Ah. The farm-pony might have been concise, but he certainly wasn't in a hurry. "Eeyup," he added, after some thought.

The princess forced herself not to scowl. "Very well," she said. "Lead the way."

"Applejack, darling!"

"Hm?" The farmer turned to see Rarity picking her way slowly across the rough cobblestones. "Somethin' wrong?"

The unicorn huffed, sweeping her mane back. "Oh, honestly! You can't just wander off, dear. Rainbow isn't back yet! If we leave now, we might never find her again in this crowd."

Whoops. Applejack sat back down under Rarity's piercing stare. Well, shucks. Now she felt pretty darn guilty.

Before long, Dash trotted back to the group, shaking her head. The unicorn leaned over to whisper in Rainbow's ear as the pegasus scribbled out a circle.
Wonder what they were talking about?

The cerulean mare joined glares with Rarity, to form some sort of terrifying double-glower, pointed straight at the earth-pony. "Wait, AJ? You were seriously just gonna leave without me? Yeah, that's really not cool."

Okay, Applejack had to admit, she messed up. Walking away without a backwards glance was a pretty rude thing to do. Especially to the Whatsit of Loyalty. She should probably apologize.

The farmer rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Um, sorry, Rainbow. Ah guess Ah got a little antsy. Didn't mean t'leave ya behind, or anything."

Dash snorted irritably. "Seriously? I was gone for, like, five minutes. You couldn't wait that long?"

"Ah guess? Mah bad. Thought you'd be back quicker. Was there a reason why you didn't use yer wings? Cuz, Ah coulda done it, if there weren't no flyin' involved." The farmer noticed Rarity wince at her comment, and busy herself with the paper and quill. That was kinda weird.

Rainbow took a step back in shock. "A-are you saying I'm no good without my wings? I'm just as fast as you!"

What? That wasn't what Applejack meant at all! She was offering to help! Dagnabbit. There she was, shoving her hoof in her mouth, as usual. She was just about to clear up the misunderstanding when Rarity gasped.

"Goodness," the mare blinked guilelessly. "When did you have wings, Applejack? Did Twilight do that lovely butterfly spell again?"

This was getting confusing, now. "Uh, what? Rarity, Dash said that." Wasn't that obvious? You can't get that kind of thing mixed up! Something fishy was going on.

"Oh, sorry, dear." The dressmaker seemed unfazed by her mistake, turning back to the map. "I wasn't looking, and your voices really do sound very similar." Sure, Rarity. Thanks.

No, hang on, that tale was just plain old hogwash! Her and Rainbow sounded nothing alike. Who was that unicorn trying to fool?

The infuriated pegasus threw up her forelegs in anger. "Great! Yeah, I'm totally replaceable! Just slap a rainbow wig on your head, and then who needs Rainbow Dash? Nopony!" Boy, she was sure getting worked up over nothing. This needed some damage control.

The earth-pony put on her most comforting sheep-herding voice. "Now, calm down there, sugarcube. You'll always have something you do better than everypony else. That's what cutie marks are for, remember? You'll never lose your special talent." Not that Applejack could remember what it was. Lightning? Something like that.

Gah! Woah, now Dash looked really mad! Was it something the farmer had said?

"Y-you! You really—" Rainbow turned away, scrubbing at her eyes. With a heavy swallow, the last remnants of tears were replaced with fire. "Well, w-who cares what you think? I don't! You're just a dumb earth-pony! A … at least I have wings!"

What.

A nervous laugh came from the sidelines. "Well-have-fun-talking-but-I-think-I-see-the-next-crater-bye!" Rarity took her chance to make a break for it.

Yup. That was probably wise.

With a stony expression, Applejack held eye-contact with Rainbow. The furious pegasus was pawing the ground, and absolutely spoiling for a fight. At the moment, the farmer felt really inclined to oblige her.

"Y'know, Granny Smith used t'say that the Apple family don't need no fancy horns or wings t'be great. We haven't had a pegasus or unicorn born in generations o' Apples. Jus' solid backs 'n strong hooves. So any insult t'earth-ponies is the same as insultin' mah entire family. Every last one of 'em." Applejack spat. "Now, Ah don't mind if you call me a few names. That's fine, Ah've got plenty thick skin. But nopony; nopony insults mah family."

Feathers flew.

"Oh, come on, Fluttershy. You'll have to walk on your own sometime." Twilight was clearly getting exasperated. "Pinkie can't carry you forever."

"It's … alright!" the burdened baker wheezed. "I … don't … mind!"

Fluttershy shook her head tearfully, from her position curled up on the earth-pony's back. No, Twilight was right. It wasn't fair for Pinkie to have to carry her just because she was miserable. She was being a burden again. She should go.

Slowly, the pegasus stretched out her wings, and was shocked when the air suddenly moved.

In the blink of an eye, she was swept upwards in a perfect spiral, almost reaching the treetops in her unexpected ascent. The mare froze, expecting a painful crash when she landed. But when she cracked open her eyes, she was floating gently back down to the ground, eventually landing safe and unharmed.

What was that? She had only opened her wings! She hadn't even started to flap!

"W … wh … wow, Fluttershy!" Pinkie bounced right back up from being forcefully pressed into the forest loam. "That was super-duper flying!"

The pegasus stepped back slightly, fighting down a blush. She'd never been complimented on her flying before. Surely the earth-pony was just being nice. "R-really?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Yu-huh!" the party animal confirmed, beaming widely.

"But the wing-movement couldn't … Hmm." Twilight looked strangely contemplative. "Fluttershy, I hate to do this while you're so upset, but can I ask a favor of you?"

"Oh, of course!" She agreed immediately, glad for the diversion. "I'm happy to help!"

The unicorn nodded. "Then, could you try lifting Pinkie into the air?"

Fluttershy looked over to her pink friend, who sniggered, and dutifully held up her forelegs. "Um, okay?"

What a strange request. It was probably impossible, anyway, seeing as she could barely lift Rainbow Dash on a good day. This would be much more difficult, as an earth-p … Woah!

"Wheeee!" Pinkie laughed in her trembling grip, easily suspended in the air.

Twilight rested her chin on a hoof. "Hmm. Just as I thought. Fluttershy, you've somehow radically increased your wing-strength. To my admittedly untrained eye, you now appear to be at least comparable to Rainbow Dash, who the Wonderbolts think is a fantastically talented prodigy. Did this begin at around the same time as when you lost your abilities of animal-communion? Ah, please don't cry! I'm sorry, Fluttershy."

She wiped away a tear. "T-that's okay." She was just reminded of Angel for a moment. The pegasus was heartbroken at the idea that she'd never be able to understand her adorable bunny friend again.

"Haha!" her cargo giggled. At least Pinkie was having fun. That made Fluttershy feel a little better.

The unicorn scholar on the ground seemed less amused, staring off into middle distance. "Yes, it seems likely that losing your bond with the Element of Kindness has changed you in several ways. But …"

"Heehee!"

Twilight glanced at the chuckling Pinkie, her brow knotted. "I can see how Kindness might let you speak to animals, but why would it cripple your flying abilities? No, this doesn't make sense. I'm missing something."

"Hoohoo!"

"Pinkie, please," the librarian admonished.

"Sorry."

The pegasus gasped as realization struck. It was her Kindness that gave her the ability? "Oh! So, if I get my Element back, I'll be able to talk to all my animal friends again?"

"It's possible. Maybe even probable. It might also remove this new skill at flying, though." Twilight gave a tired shrug. Fluttershy's surprisingly light passenger gave her a reassuring grin.

Okay. She nodded fiercely, her path decided. "T-then let's go!" Forget having good flying skills, this was important!

In one smooth move, she darted down, and grabbed a startled Twilight. Flipping the two ground-bound ponies onto her back, the determined yellow mare took off at a blistering speed. It would have been very impressive if it hadn't been in the wrong direction.

The unicorn on her back quickly corrected their heading, and the trio were soon rocketing along – traveling in the right direction this time. They flew due north.

North, towards the steep slopes of the Gryphon Kingdom.

She was faking it.

The maid was forcing a smile onto her face as she cleaned his brow. Blueblood could tell.

He was an expert on forcing smiles.

To be perfectly honest, the Prince could understand her trepidation, given that the last four maids he had ordered to enter were lying insensate on the floor. It was still rather rude, though. He had rapidly figured out how to stop eating ponies!

Well, either that, or he had become 'full'. Somehow. For now, at least.

In any case, the reasons mattered not. Eventually, the maid finished, wringing out the damp towelette as she waited for further orders.

Feeling better after the attention, the prince spared a second to brush down his suit, before turning to the worried servant. "Very good. Your assistance is no longer required. See that these ponies get adequate care, will you?"

"At once, your Highness." The maid trembled with relief, and curtsied deeply. She quickly began tending to one of the comatose medics lying nearby. Yes, the prince was simply too magnanimous.

Blueblood sniffed, and swept out the door, headed for the Royal Thrones. One of his 'aunties' would be getting an earful about this catastrophe, that was for sure! Somepony had dared to attack a noble on Equestrian soil. Heads would roll!

Unnoticed in his rush, a blood-red crystal remained curled around his throat, tucked behind the collar of his suit.

Rarity looked mad.

Distracted, Rainbow wobbled, and fell back to the ground. Ah, dammit! She just couldn't manage more than a few seconds of flight at a time.

What the heck was wrong with her?

As she slowly inched into the air for another go, Dash decided to try talking to the grumpy-looking unicorn. "So, uh, I guess it's not that crater either, huh?"

"No, dear. It wasn't." Yeah, Rarity looked mad. She also looked tired, bruised and disheveled, and kept viciously attacking the flagstones with her shins, for some reason. It didn't look like much fun, so Rainbow was a little unsure why the normally fussy mare insisted on doing it. Maybe it was the fashion? "Not to mention all these ponies wearing gray! Quite frankly, it's wearing on my nerves. I refuse to believe that gray is the new black!"

Dash had absolutely no idea what that meant, but it sounded frilly and boring. Whatever.

"Psst, Rainbow," Applejack whispered to the pegasus.

No way. She glared at the earth-pony. "Yeah, what do you want? I thought we weren't talking."

"Since when?"

"Uh, since our fight?" It was, like, five minutes ago. "It was kind of a big one. We both said some pretty terrible things to each other, remember?

The orange mare smiled at her. "Ah don't recall any fight worth naming."

Really? Oh. Well, that was kinda nice. Honestly, even though Applejack had made her gloating a little too personal, Dash was the one who had taken the argument below the saddle. If the farmer was going to forgive her, the pegasus supposed she could do the same. It was only fair.

"Ah, fine, what did you want to talk about?" Dash stopped trying to take flight, in favor of walking besides the farm pony.

"Have y'noticed Rarity actin' a little … strange?"

Strange? Rainbow glanced up at the unicorn, who was cursing at the road for ruining her hooficure. "Um, not really."

"It's jus' … she seems less …" Applejack waved a hoof vaguely.

"Prissy?"

The other mare tilted her head with a wince. "Well, Ah suppose, but there are nicer ways of puttin' it. She's sure become mighty clumsy, though."

That wasn't on purpose? Huh. "So that's why she keeps kicking the road."

"What?" Applejack squinted quizzically at her. "Anyway, go ask her fer one of her shiny rocks. Ah wanna try somethin'."

"Eh, okay." Rainbow raised her trembling wings experimentally, then lowered them swiftly, tucking them away. "But I … I think I'll walk." Her voice cracked slightly, and she hurried away before the other mare could see her expression.

_______________________________________________

"Okay, sugar. Ah want you to tell me which stone is yours."

Applejack had balanced a rock on each hoof. One of them was a randomly-chosen pebble, while the other was a smooth, polished gemstone. Rainbow wasn't a jewel-fanatic like Rarity, but the difference between them was blatantly obvious, even to her. Great.

And this was supposed to help? Yeah right.

Rarity seemed to share her opinion, as she raised a dismissive eyebrow at the farmer. "What in Equestria is this all about, dear? We should really keep moving. It's going to get dark, soon."

"You'll see." The earth-pony hedged, remaining tight-lipped. "Pick out yer rock."

The dressmaker hemmed and hawed. "Hmm, well, if you're sure. I'd have to say … they're both equally nice?"

Applejack's gaze bored into the unicorn.

Rarity clicked her tongue. "Oh, fine. The one in your left hoof."

"This'un?" The orange mare raised the stone in question. "Yer sure?"

"Yes, I'm certain, Rainbow."

Applejack only nodded grimly in response.

Unlike the farm-pony, Dash was just plain confused. What the flying funk was that? That was a seriously strange conversation. "Rarity, what are you talking about? That's not your stone. That's just a dumb rock!" Then the last sentence sank in, and the pegasus flared her wings in annoyance. "And for the last time, I'm not freaking Applejack! Stop confusing us!" she shouted.

"Ah knew it," the earth-pony confirmed. "Y'can't see a hoof in fron' of yer face anymore! Somethin' musta happened to yer eyes. S'why you've been stumblin' around like a sheep on salt-lick."

"… What?" Rarity was flabbergasted.

Blunt as usual, Applejack helpfully cleared things up. "Yer goin' blind, sugarcube," she said.

"I … why I don't even … what … what happened?" The unicorn struggled to speak, her voice weak. "Oh my stars! Is this … connected to Rainbow being unable to fly?"

"What?" The farmer quickly glanced over at Dash. Argh, no! Rarity!

"I can still fly just fine!" she shouted in denial. "I just don't feel like it. Right now."

Wow, that sounded weak, even to herself. But it was better than having another argument. Rainbow was still nursing the bruises she got from the last scuffle. Earth-ponies hit hard.

"Uh oh." Applejack's eyes slowly widened. "Ah've been havin' trouble thinkin'. This continues, Ah might ferget mah own name."

The three looked at each other in worry. What was going on? This was crazy!

Dash swallowed. "We gotta get those Elements back, fast."

The manticore groveled at her talons.

Gilda's totally cool, pink feather glowed as she surgically eroded the foundations of the beast's will. Serves the jerk right for scaring her like that.

Besides, this felt good. She was totally, blissfully in control! Oh, awesome didn't even begin to describe it.

Wait.
Something was coming.

The gryphon swept her head to the south, only to find herself snarling at the plant-cover in the way. She couldn't see past all these stupid trees! Grah!

Fine. Have it your way, world. Gilda reluctantly tucked her kick-ass magic necklace under her wing for protection, allowing the terrified manticore to escape. This had better be good, or somebody was going to be paying in blood.

And it wouldn't be her.

One psychic blob divided into a triplet of minds. They grew closer, each throbbing with enough complex emotions to baffle the gryphon. Huh. These weren't just animals. What were they, gryphons like her?

She brushed against their thoughts to check. Happiness, sadness, bravery, fear … love.

Ew, gross. That was a heckuva lot of love. Disgusting.

Slowly, above the foliage, a speck of darkness expanded into three joined silhouettes.
Oh, wait, they were ponies. That would explain it.

Yuck.

Fluttershy gently put her friends down, calmly walked behind them, and tried very hard to disappear.

Of course, Twilight couldn't really blame her. Gilda had proven to be an enormous bully, willing to lash out at anyone. The last time the two had met, the timid mare had run off in tears. The fact that the pegasus was willing to stay in the same clearing as her tormentor was courage enough.

Then the gryphon recognized them. "Oh, it's you dweebs. What do you want?"

"Dweebs?" The pink earth-pony next to her gasped in outrage. "Who are you calling a dweeb, you … Oh no! It's meanie-face Gilda!" Um, a little bit behind the times there, Pinkie.

Gilda ground her beak. "What did you call me, freak?"

"A meanie! Because that's what you are!"

Oh, wonderful. Twilight groaned. "Pinkie, do you even know what diplomacy means? We need her help."

That razor-sharp, gold beak let out a bitter chuckle. "My help, huh? Yeah, that's not gonna happen. Scram, nerds."

"Ah, please wait!" the unicorn pleaded quickly. "We just need to ask you a question, that's all. Did you see any necklaces or jewels fly by here?"

"Flying necklaces?" The words disdainfully dripped out of the gryphon's beak.

Er, yes. The premise was kind of ridiculous, so Twilight couldn't blame Gilda for being incredulous. Perhaps an explanation would help? "I know it sounds strange, but it's no ordinary necklace! The power it holds could be very dangerous in the wrong hooves. We need to make sure we recover it, as fast as possible!"

Smiling darkly, the gryphon stretched her limited facial structure into as much of a sneer as it could allow. "Oh really? Then it's a good thing I don't have hooves, morons." A shimmering crystal dangled from her claw.

Twilight sucked in a sharp breath. The shape was different, but that color! "It's pink! Fluttershy, your Element!"

The pegasus uncovered an eye, her fear temporarily overpowered by her hope.

That hope was immediately dashed when, grinning even wider, the gryphon hooked the jewelry around her own neck. "Yeah, I think I'll be holding onto it for a little while longer. Beat it, losers."

Fluttershy covered her eyes back up.

With a throaty growl, Pinkie stamped a hoof. "Argh! Everything you do is so mean! Stop making Fluttershy sad, you grumpy-guts!"

"Or what?" The gryphon gave the three a raking, condescending look.

"You … aargh! We'll take back the Element, no matter what!" the earth-pony yelled.

Gilda barked a short laugh. "Is that so?"

"Yeah!"

"Pinkie! What are you doing?" Twilight whispered harshly. How in Tartarus did this situation deteriorate so fast? Unbelievable. Not even Rainbow Dash was this antagonistic.

"Ha. Haha! Hahahaha!" Rising into the air, Gilda cackled loudly.

Hmm, very theatrical. Not exactly innovative, though, was it? Nightmare Moon had pulled that stunt off much better. Six out of ten.

"I'm too busy to deal with you twerps right now. So instead, I'll let you have fun with my new … uh …" The gryphon tapped a claw against her beak. "Friends."

Really? It took her that long to think of an overused cliché? That's just sad. What a terrible villain Gilda was.

Wait, what did she say? Friends. Oh, that wasn't a good sign.

With a creepy hum, a twirling, pink feather pulsed a visceral red in the afternoon sun. A scratching, scrabbling sensation burrowed into Twilight's mind. It felt like rats were trapped in her skull, slowly trying to claw their way out. A heavy rhythm began to thump in the background, a two-beat percussion of the Element's power. But that sound. That sound! It was so familiar, so very familiar.

That deafening noise was a heartbeat, impossibly loud. The trees seemed to shake from the force of the blows.

"Sic 'em." Gilda laughed.

And the trees began to howl.

Ends Of The Earth

Ends Of The Earth

Surrounded. They were surrounded.

Hoarse growls filled the air as they tried to back away. Twilight whipped around, taking in the whole clearing at a glance. The darkness was glittering with hard, glinting eyes. Leaves rustled and dead wood splintered, as a sea of twisted bark and gnarled limbs crept out from the tree-line.

Okay, yeah! Situation assessed! It was time to get the heck out of there!

She didn't have the power for another teleport, so they'd have to leave the way they came. By … flying? Er.

The unicorn glanced over at her companions. Pinkie seemed only slightly nervous, but Fluttershy was clearly terrified. Sweating and trembling violently, her wide eyes were darting around at top speed. Of course. Living so close to the Everfree, the yellow pegasus must have heard tales of the timberwolves, and the carnage they had once caused. Still caused, if they ever got the chance.

The issue here was that Fluttershy couldn't fly when she was scared. Those yellow wings seemed to simply give up, dropping her like a stone. Flying all of them away was out of the question. Twilight didn't even have to ask.

Oh, carp. This was bad. With the best avenues of escape gone, the unicorn couldn't see any other exit available. They were
trapped, hedged in by vicious predators that didn't feel pain, let alone mercy! What were they supposed to do?

Right. Calm down and think. Never stop thinking. Just … think fast.

Since fighting was always a terrible plan, and running away looked almost impossible, diplomacy appeared to be their only route forward. Twilight knew it would take an extraordinary amount of tact, but a peaceful end looked like it might be possible. If she chose her words just right …

Pinkie decided to taunt their attacker. "Wow, meanie-face Gilda! D-did you make some puppets? Why did you pick doggie-puppets? Won't they fetch themselves?" The earth-pony giggled uneasily.

Excellent work, Pinkie. You have masterfully doomed us all.

Or maybe that was a little unkind. Actually, it looked like the baker just didn't realize how incredibly serious the situation was. Time to clarify.

"Uh, Pinkie." The unicorn stepped away from the trees. "Those aren't puppets. Those are timberwolves. Flesh-eating plants. They are absolutely real, and hideously dangerous. They kill ponies." She stressed the point as much as she could. This was no time for antics.

"Oh." Pinkie did her best to giggle in the face of danger.

The attempt failed.

As the wolves grew nearer, Gilda flew up to a branch. It looked like the equicidal gryphon would now be able to watch the massacre from a safe vantage point, without getting any blood on her feathers.

What a jerk! Twilight hated carnivores. The whole 'eating other species' thing was really gross.

Salivating messily, the pacing predators closed ranks in a rough circle around them. One particularly aggressive wolf peeled out from the pack, hunger burning in its beady eyes. It lunged at Fluttershy from behind, slashing out at the quivering pegasus' legs.

"No!" Gritting her teeth, Twilight forced a curved wall of energy to form over her friend. With a crunch, the vicious wooden creature slammed heavily into her hastily-conjured barrier. Sharp teeth and serrated claws scratched deep lines into the weak shield, mindlessly searching for a way in. Fluttershy screamed, and covered her face in fear.

Dirt sprayed the clearing as Pinkie shot around the wall. She screeched a high-pitched war-cry, and kicked the snarling beast in the face, sending cracks down the wood. Clouds of splinters rippled outwards at the force of the earth-pony's blow.

Though it was staggered, the powerful strike wasn't enough to incapacitate the wolf. Wounded, but functional, it slipped back into the reforming pack. Three more monsters rapidly replaced it, each just as strong as the first.

It was hopeless! What were they going to do?

Reacting quicker than Twilight could think, Pinkie dragged the unicorn behind the conjured wall, dumping her next to Fluttershy. The baker with hidden depths turned to face the rest of the beasts, baring her teeth at the teeming horde.

The librarian struggled to hold her magic together. Aside from her shoddily-constructed shield, she could dimly see that Pinkie was the only line of defense they had. Twilight couldn't fight while casting, and Fluttershy was beginning to hyperventilate. Dilated pupils, rapid inhalation – the pegasus was going to pass out if they didn't do something soon! They needed help!

"Come on, you useless idiots!" Gilda flared her wings in anger. "Get them!" The wolves howled.

"Pinkie! Use your Party Cannon!" Twilight gasped out. Sweat was pouring down her coat from the strain of holding up the weak wall behind them.

"I … I can't! I lost it! I don't know where it's gone!"

"For Celestia's sake!" The unicorn screamed in frustration. "What happened to us? This is totally absurd!"

"Twilight!" The earth-pony shouted, real panic in her voice. "We need to get out of here! Now!"

She was right. Focus. Never stop thinking. "Okay! Pinkie, cover me!" The unicorn began to prepare a second spell, her horn aching at the effort of splitting her mind in two.

Pinkie nodded fiercely, and began to jump around erratically, trying to confuse the predators.

It worked. For a few precious seconds, the flips and acrobatics successfully diverted their enemies. Twilight seized the only chance they had, and tossed her head backwards, weaving strands of magic together with reckless haste. Forget safe magic-use, they were going to die! Hurry up!

But the earth-pony's trick didn’t work for long. Growling, a wolf slashed out with a jagged paw, opening up bright-red lines on the mare's pink coat. Pinkie yelped as the next heavy blow threw her into Fluttershy, leaving a gaping hole in their defense. Finally free of distractions, the ravenous monsters closed in, grinning maliciously at the fear and weakness in the prey they sought.

"There we go. Guess this is it, dweebs," Gilda laughed.

The weak, exhausted librarian chuckled as well. She brushed between the other ponies, stepping closer to the wolves. Her violet magic had dulled to a mere shimmer, but she held her head high, a faint smile on her face. "You want to hurt my friends?" She lowered her horn. "Not on my watch."

Twilight shrieked in pain as she set her soul on fire. Giving off an unhealthy black light, her horn sputtered, sparks gushing from the blackening tip. Thin cracks crawled along the full length of the spiral of bone, the fresh wounds weeping blood and magic, intertwined. Lines of white-hot agony inscribed themselves onto her skull, and the glow of her magic grew brighter and brighter. The wolves backed away from the display, visibly frightened by the pyrotechnics.

"Pinkie! Fluttershy! Run!" Twilight roared.

Forcing out reserves of magic she didn't have, the unicorn snapped her shield, forcing it to detonate outwards and away. Wolves were tossed aside like twigs in the explosion. Though few of the hardy beasts were destroyed, the real aim of the blast was to create a short-lived escape route for the ponies.

Even so, the monsters were on them in seconds, a gauntlet of razor-edged wood blocking their path. They barely made it out of the clearing alive.

Fluttershy galloped ahead of the other two, tears of panic streaming from her eyes. The small pegasus wasn't made for this kind of battle. Pinkie sprinted after her yellow friend, lines of blood dripping down her flanks as she ran.

Woozily, Twilight lurched unsteadily after them.

The world began to swim. She wanted to collapse, to give into the urge to faint. But if she worked up the effort to listen, she could hear the wolves, bare moments behind her. A fall now would definitely lead to her death.

The unicorn unsteadily shook her head, blood flying outwards, and tried to land her hooves where Pinkie had. One leg after the other, she forged ahead. Somehow, through a generous dose of luck and the swift wings of terror, the three desperate ponies stayed ahead of the baying horde.

But Twilight could feel the claws of broken bark on her tail. She felt her mind going blank as the stabbing pain only worsened. Gilda's cackling slowly faded, and her body trembled from her own labored breathing.

She ran, headed away from the Element they sought.

And the forest shuddered with the snarling of trees.

"Grragh! I hate walking!"

Rarity cocked her head to the side. "Really? That's odd," she mused. "I thought you were rather partial to it, Applejack."

A strange, gray pony turned back, and gaped disbelievingly at the unicorn. "Stop it! Just stop doing that!"

"Stop what? Oh my goodness! Where did that wall come from?" The looming structure had just suddenly appeared in front of her! Most strange.

Applejack popped up next to her, and gently nudged the unicorn back onto the sidewalk. As Rarity navigated the slight step, the orange mare discreetly leant over to her. "Sugarcube … that wasn't me," she whispered. "Yer gettin' confused between ponies again."

"What? Then who was I talking to?" the dressmaker asked, genuinely confused. She glanced around. Rainbow was behind her, Applejack was next to her. Who was the pony in front of them?

The earth-pony sighed and rolled her eyes at the perfectly innocuous statement. "C'mon, really? She's right there, y'know. It's obviously … uh …" the farmer trailed off helplessly.

Well, that was enlightening. Good job there, Applejack. Rarity felt very informed.

"Rainbow. Dash." The pegasus ground her teeth loudly.

Ah. The unicorn glanced behind her, to see no trace of the pony she must have mistaken for the agitated mare. Well, that was embarrassing. Sure, Rarity's mistake seemed obvious now, but she could have sworn that Rainbow was behind her. Still, hindsight was twenty-twenty, as they say.

If only her actual eyesight was.

Actually, Dash seemed less upset at her than at the farmer's lapse in memory. "C'mon, Applejack! Now you're doing it too? Stop forgetting me, already! Both of you! Seriously, I've known you guys for years! And Rarity, can you please try to hurry up?" The pegasus trotted in place, jittery with worry. "We need to go faster, or we'll never see all the craters today!"

"Sorry, darling," Rarity shot her an apologetic smile. "I admit, I do seem to be finding it rather difficult to walk. It's rather disturbing, now that I think about it. Surely mere blindness w—"

Suddenly, Applejack stopped in her tracks, creasing her orange brow. "Hold on." The apple farmer's eyes widened, and she slowly turned to Rainbow. "Dash, Ah gotta quick question fer ya. It's important, okay?"

Rainbow perked up again at the hint of a possible lead. "Yeah? What is it?" She spread her wings excitedly, then folded them again, disgruntled.

The earth-pony nodded seriously. "Why're we in Canterlot? Is it Hearth's Warmin' Eve? Where's th' snow?"

Oh dear.
It looked like Applejack's memory was getting worse.

Dash spluttered furiously. "Wh … You … Aah!" She pulled at her mane. "This is stupid! I don't have time for this! You guys are just slowing me down!" The pegasus spun around and galloped away, leaving the other two coughing on the dust left in her wake.

"Rainbow, wait!" Rarity shouted after her. Hearing no response but thundering hooves, she turned to her remaining partner. "Darling, it's up to you! Bring her back, quickly!"

"On it!" Applejack blew past her after the pegasus. "Don't move, Ah'll come back t'getcha!" the farmer shouted over her shoulder.

She opened her mouth to answer, but the mare was already gone.

Indifferent to their little drama, the city-life kept moving. Blurred pedestrians stepped around the unicorn. Rarity felt much like a stone in a river, parting the flow of innumerable, identical ponies.

Not wanting to be a bother, she felt her way over to a nearby wall. The surface of the stone was refreshingly cool. With a sigh, she rested her cheek against it, glad to stand still after many hours of bruise-ridden, pointless travel. My goodness. The day had been just full of tough, painful work, and they had nothing to show for it. How dreadful. Tired, the seamstress closed her eyes for a moment.

When she opened them, she could see perfectly.

Gasping, Rarity spun around and the city shimmered, bursting into a glittering jewel of color and design. The silhouettes of birds twirled amongst the clouds, and the golden rooftops of the brightest buildings glowed a magnificent auburn red. The sun was setting, and the world simply sparkled in response.

It was beautiful. It was gorgeous.
It was art.

Then the shadows deepened, becoming thin chasms of purest black.

At first she thought that night had fallen, but the colors were fleeing too fast. The detail in the world began to disappear. Gold became yellow, yellow turned gray. A swirling fog descended over Canterlot, muffling hue, and hiding form. The darkness crept in from the edges of her eyes.

Rarity went blind.

Branches whipped into her face, scratching her cheeks and clawing at her eyes. She stumbled on the uneven loam as she ran. The forest itself seemed to want to make her fall, bushes and roots transforming into the most wicked of villains.

Fluttershy kept running, too frightened to look behind her. She couldn't spare the time to look back, not even to check for her friends. She couldn't help them now. She had to run! She had to flee!

She was so scared! She was so scared.
She was so …

Worthless.

She was worthless.

What kind of friend was she? Twilight and Pinkie did their best to save her, and she just cried and ran. Cried and ran. The pegasus who couldn't fly, she cried and ran away. What a surprise.

Worthless. Worthless.

Tears dripped down her face, but she kept running. Hooves struck the ground, a steady staccato. Her heart thundered in her ears.

The woods were awash with savage noise, but Fluttershy only heard a single word.

"Worthless."

"Flu … hy!"

A high-pitched voice cut into her cloud of remorse, breaking her out of her blind panic. "Fluttershy!" Pinkie screamed. "Through the gap!"

There, up ahead. It was a crevice in the face of a cliff, thin enough for them to escape the wolves. The pegasus sobbed in relief, and sprinted for the promise of safety, heedlessly scraping her wings through the tiny crack in the stone.

A second later, Pinkie dove through as well, dragging Twilight in after her. The leading wolf lunged at the pair, but those horrible, snapping jaws only ripped a scant few hairs from the unicorn's tail. Fluttershy shuffled back from the hole, but the predators knew they couldn't fit inside. Growling, the carnivorous plants prowled around the cave, waiting for their prey to escape.

Adrenaline gone, the pegasus collapsed to the damp ground, wheezing. Struggling to breathe, she curled up into a ball, and began to weep softly.

There was a groan and the sound of shifting rocks as Pinkie slowly sat up. The earth-pony grimaced, and pressed her hoof against her lacerated flank. Turning to Twilight, tears began to well up in the baker's eyes as well. "What do w—?" Pinkie started violently. "Oh, Celestia! Twilight! Fluttershy, help!"

Help? Her? "B-but I'm just …"

Worthless.

Fluttershy choked her tears down and struggled to her feet. No. Stop it. Stop it at once. Get your problems under control. Twilight needed help. Twilight needed …

Oh no.

The unicorn lay crumpled on the floor, a limb trapped underneath her body, unseeing eyes staring blankly ahead. The horn on her brow was still smoldering and broken. A sudden shock of heat and magic had heavily burned a circle of hair, and a noxious, foul-smelling smoke was beginning to fill the air of the enclosed space. Blood slowly pooled around Twilight's head, trickling down from the cracked and charred bone.

The pegasus forced herself not to gag, not to back away, but she couldn't stop her hooves from shaking. Edging closer, she touched the unicorn gently on the cheek. She got no response.

Pinkie looked at her. "Is Twilight gonna be okay?"

Fluttershy trembled, and mutely began performing basic first aid. She didn't even try to hide the tears running down her face. And she didn't answer Pinkie's question.

"O-okay. I-I'll ask you l-later." The earth pony swallowed, and wiped her eyes. "W-when Twilight's all better, a-and everything is fine, and there aren't … m-monsters trying to eat us." Pinkie wiped her eyes again, for all the good it did.

Still, Fluttershy kept silent. How could she not?
What could she possibly say, apart from empty words and lies? That would be worse, in the end.

A sob escaped Pinkie. "It's fine, you know? I-I'll keep you two safe."

"… you promise?" the pegasus whispered. She wanted to believe it, she really did. They needed all the hope they could get.

The pink mare laughed through her tears. "No. I Pinkie promise."

Rarity sighed.

Applejack was taking a terribly long time.

Now, the dressmaker didn't want to jump to conclusions, but these days, that was just about the only exercise she had. Her work kept her terribly busy, you know. Dieting only did so much.

Still, given the earth-pony's latest … issues, Rarity was forced to entertain the suspicion that Applejack forgot about her. Normally the fashionista would grin and bear the insult, but this blindness situation was practically intolerable. Most disturbing. Speaking of that, this was all rather unfair, wasn't it? Rainbow only lost the ability to fly, but she had kicked up an enormous fuss over it! Really, now. Not only was that quite insulting to the poor earth-pony in their group, it wasn't even like that hadn't happened before. The flighty mare should be used to it by now.

Well, alright. On reflection, Applejack's condition was rather concerning. They should probably have visited a doctor for her, at the very least. Losing one's mind is a disturbing prospect. Yes, in comparison to insanity, blindness and flightlessness were pretty tame.

Hum. Now Rarity couldn't find it in herself to be angry at the farm-pony. Alone and afraid? Lost in the city? Who knows what calamities may have befallen her? Oh, the horror!

"Miss Rarity? Rarity Belle?" A male voice cut in, interrupting her internal histrionics.

Drat, it must be an admirer.
She had a lot of those.

"Ah, yes? Who is this?" she replied, eyes closed so as not to give the wrong impression. "I'm afraid I can't see you, darling. I've had a bit of an unfortunate accident, you see. You, er … have me at rather a disadvantage, I'm sorry to say."

That sounded like fabric shifting. High-quality fabric, too. Not silk. Cashmere? "My word! An accident? How terrible!" At least the pony sounded genuinely concerned. She decided that was quite nice.

With another pleasant rustle of clothes, the mysterious stallion stepped closer, gently placing a hoof on her shoulder. "My sincerest apologies, my dear. This is Fancy speaking. Are you waiting for someone?" Did he say Fancy? As in Fancy Pants, the most eminent stallion-about-town? Oh my.

"Mr. Pants!" Rarity gasped. "Goodness! Well … I, uh, yes. I … was waiting for a friend, but I fear she … er, may have forgotten about me."

"Forgotten about you?" Fancy sounded aghast.

"Possibly. Do you recall my acquaintances from Ponyville? I had a group of about five mares come to visit me, if you recall."

The stallion harrumphed. "Well, of course. It isn't often one meets the Elements! Perhaps you were unaware, but the dashing exploits of your little coterie have been all over the news, as of late! Most impressive. Is the friend you were meeting one of those young ladies?"

"Mhm," Rarity nodded her assent, mercilessly strangling a blush at the compliment. She cleared her throat to gain time. "You see, we may have all had a slight magical … difficulty recently, and dear Applejack seems to be losing her memory. Sacrificing my sight was certainly price enough, but I simply can't imagine what the poor thing is going through."

"I see." There was the unmistakable sound of a tie being straightened. "Then I'm afraid I must insist you accompany me to dinner. My valet can guide you to the guest quarters, where you may freshen up before dining. In the meantime, I must go inform the Royal Guard that your friend is missing, and likely lost."

"Oh!" The white mare became terribly flustered. "You are simply … You are far too kind, Mr. Pants. I am truly in your debt," she bowed.

"Not at all, Miss Belle. Not at all."

Rarity smiled. Despite her bleak condition, things were looking up. "I only wonder what happened to Applejack," she mused.

Applejack was lost.

To be perfectly honest, being lost was a darn strange feeling. Why, she couldn't even remember the last time she got lost!

Taking stock, it was pretty easy to see that she was in a city of some sort. It wasn't Ponyville, though, that's for sure.

Canterlot? No, the weather wasn't right for Hearth's Warming Eve. Mighty strange. Was this a dream? Was it one of those dreams? Nope, she wasn't wearing any clothes, thank goodness. Things were normal.

Well, at least that house over there looked familiar. Oh hey, so did those two unicorns coming out of it! Blue and white, huh? That's great. Can't quite seem to remember their names, though.

Wait, they’re looking right at her. Did they see her?

Okay, yeah. Definitely saw her. And now they're headed over this way. Quick, what were their names? Think!

Blue … and … White?

The orange earth-pony struggled to keep a smile plastered on her face while the mysterious duo cheerfully approached. Consarnit, brain! Now's not the time to have a mental blank! Argh, too late! Just play it cool, Applejack. Play it cool. Nothing's wrong at all.

"If it isn't Applejack! What a pleasant surprise! We haven’t seen you since the wedding!" the blue stallion called. Whoever he was. "How is Ponyville treating you?"

The farmer grinned uneasily, and felt herself begin to sweat profusely. "Oh, uh, jus' fine, thanks!"

The smaller of the unidentified figures happily trotted closer. "Are you here with your friends? Did Twilight come too?" The white mare peered behind the earth-pony, as if she had somehow managed to hide all her friends there. Plain silly, that was.

Applejack's eyes darted left and right. Her poker face was breathtakingly terrible, so she had to escape while they didn't suspect anything. "Ah don't … er, y'see …"

"Velvet, honey, don't be selfish," the stallion chided his partner. "Twilight will come to see us when she's good and ready. We just need to give our daughter a little space, that's all. Trying to keep her to ourselves will only push her away."

"Oh, I know, but it's so hard to let go. In my mind, Twilight will always be that adorable little filly who turned me into a pot-plant." The mare chuckled, her eyes twinkling at the memory. Turning back to Applejack, ‘Velvet’ lowered her voice to a stage-whisper. "I wasn't the only one transmogrified, though. Twilight turned Moonlight here into a cactus!"

The blue stallion rolled his eyes, but laughed anyway. "Indeed, I was a cactus for a short time. I got better, though."

Applejack tried to sidle away.

Both unicorns blinked in unison, and focused on the farm-pony. Drat! That 'Moonlight' character looked bemused. "Are you feeling well, Applejack? You're acting a little odd."

She stretched her smile wider, hoping that would somehow make it seem more genuine. "Uh, yup! Definitely nothin' wrong with me! No siree!"

"That didn't actually reassure me very much," the stallion pointed out.

Velvet placed a hoof on the earth-pony's shoulder. "Please, dear. If there's any way we can help, don't hesitate to ask."

"Well … okay," Applejack relented. Maybe if she admitted just a bit of the truth? Directions could be helpful, at least. She just didn't want to let on that they looked like complete strangers to her. That would be embarrassing. "Ah admit, Ah might be a little lost."

The married couple smiled in relief. Velvet relaxed, flicking her mane out of her eyes. "Oh, is that all? Don't worry, we're very familiar with the area. So, where are you trying to go?"

"Uh, just …" Applejack turned away, but didn’t recognize the street she was on. The heck? She furrowed her brow. "That's funny. Where was Ah goin'?"

She scanned the street for a while, but her memory remained mysteriously un-jogged. This certainly wasn't Ponyville. Was this Canterlot? "Well, that’s darn strange," she muttered. What the heck was going on? Was it Hearth’s Warming Eve or something? Weird.

Giving up, the farmer began to turn around. She wasn't expecting to find two ponies standing right next to her, though! "Woah! Where'd you two come from?" she shouted in surprise.

"We … we've been standing here the whole time." The stallion replied, looking very confused.

"Huh. Shucks, guess Ah wasn't payin' attention, then. Sorry 'bout the hollerin'. Ah'm Applejack, pleased t'meetcha!" The farm-pony held out a hoof, a ready smile on her face. She was always real happy to meet new ponies, and this strange couple seemed nice enough.

A worried glance passed between the two mystery unicorns.

_______________________________________________

The doctor clicked his little light off, allowing Applejack to blink.

She watched him scribble something illegible down on his clipboard, before turning to the older pair of ponies and shaking his head. "Look, I've done a full checkup, and as far as I can tell, young Applejack here is perfectly healthy."

"Perfectly healthy?" the mare repeated disbelievingly. "We had to introduce ourselves three times on the way here!"

Lies! The farmer didn't remember that at all!

The white unicorn nodded somberly, his stethoscope bobbing. "Yes, I understand that. I've observed some of the symptoms of quite severe anterograde amnesia, even in the short time she has spent here. However, Ms. Apple has no abnormal magical residue, no pathological complications, and the magical tests show no sign of any psychological issues. Quite frankly, I'm stumped. Her magic levels are a little low, but not enough to cause results like what we're seeing. It's unheard of!"

"Please, you have to help her!" the white unicorn pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Sparkle," the doctor closed his eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, this young mare has an entirely new medical condition. Her mind, her nerves, they're all in perfect working order. It's … like she doesn't know how to remember things."

Eh? Remember things? What's all this about?
Hey, wait, this looked like a doctor's office. Why was she at the doctor's? She felt fine!

"What?" the blue unicorn cut in, outraged. "What does that even mean?"

At least the quack had the good grace to look embarrassed at his most-likely ridiculous statement, whatever it was. "Ah, yes. Like I said, this is new to me, too. I can only give you some advice, and it may not even work."

"Some advice?"

The doctor nodded. "Try teaching her memory techniques. It may be difficult at first, given the … er, nature of the problem. But if I'm correct, you should see results very quickly." Levitating his pen, the medical unicorn began to write out a script.
"If I'm incorrect," he continued. "No harm will be done by the effort. Applejack's memory should improve drastically, but you must come and see me if that fails. In that case, I'd have to enlist the help of many more professionals, and we'd have to run a very extensive range of tests. Better we try the easy solution, first. Do you have some reference books on memorization? Studying tips?"

The mysterious mare tapped her chin, nodding slowly. "Yes," she replied. "Our daughter used them quite heavily. I think we still have a few."

The stallion finished scrawling, and held out the slip of paper, which the mare took, folded carefully, and tucked away.

Clearing his throat, the doctor gently ushered them all to the door. "Very well. If you have any problems, there are dedicated tutors for this sort of thing. I'll send you a list of further references tonight. Remember, if there's no improvement, visit me again, and I'll request an in-depth study." He walked away.

The mare bit her lip, but smiled reassuringly at the farmer. "Is that alright with you, Applejack? We can start going over a couple of these books tonight over dinner, okay?"

At the mention of dinner, the earth-pony's stomach rumbled. She flushed at the knowing looks sent her way. "Well, Ah'm not entirely sure what's goin' on, but Ah wouldn't say no to a good meal. Do y'have any apple salad?" she asked hopefully.

The stallion laughed warmly. "We'll see what we can do."

"I … I'm sorry, Pinkie." Fluttershy turned to her friend. The conscious one. "Without bandages, there isn't much else I can do."

"Oh," the earth-pony replied, staring at Twilight's unmoving form. The unicorn twitched slightly under her gaze.

It was the horn, that was the problem. The cracked and burned enamel wouldn't stop seeping blood all over the dirty cave floor. If the librarian didn't stop bleeding, then that would be the end. Pinkie would have to watch her friend die.

She rubbed her eyes, red and puffy from crying. Crying wasn't the answer, she chided herself. Twilight needed her.

Taking a deep breath, Pinkie struggled to her hooves. Her cuts were scabbing over, but the pain was still sharp enough to make her wince with every step she took. That didn't matter, though. Nothing else could ever matter, compared to keeping her friends safe and happy.

The earth-pony slowly limped around the cave, looking for anything, anything at all that they could use. Even a single plant would be enough. A leaf to wrap the horn in.

No luck. The walls were bare stone. Smelling of limestone and dust, the damp air was filled with the sound of water slowly trickling from a spring somewhere above them, flowing further down into the darkness. Pinkie knew her rocks. She knew the trace amounts of water and soil here would be too alkaline for most plants. If any leaves or moss were going to be in this cave, they would be at the entrance, near the light. Going deeper wouldn't help, and the entrance was still being watched. In the end, they had nothing.

She breathed in shakily, and ran a hoof through her mane. The pink strands were still annoyingly curly.

Maybe it was stupid, but that was really bothering her. Her personal changes should have been overshadowed by everything else, but she kept seeing her springy, bouncy hair out of the corner of her eye, and it was a constant reminder of how wrong everything was.

It made Pinkie so mad. This just wasn't right! Her mane should have been flat and dark, not bright and curly. Her hairstyle didn't match her mood at all.

… Hair.

_______________________________________________

Fluttershy finished wrapping Twilght's horn, deftly tying a bow in the ends of the makeshift bandage. She spun around, a genuine smile brightening her face for the first time in hours. "Oh, well done! That was really clever of you, Pinkie! I would have never thought of that!"

The earth-pony gave a bitter smile. That wasn't true. No, she had been far too slow. Rarity would have seen that solution in an instant. Come to think of it, Applejack or Dash might have not been as quick on the uptake, but they would have been so much better at fighting the wolves! Anypony else would have been a better team-member than her! She was the weak link in the party.

The yellow pegasus seemed unsure how to take her silence. "… Pinkie?"

Fluttershy was so much better than her. The pegasus had saved Twilight. Twilight, who had been wounded because she had needed to protect all of them. And from what? Gilda had only attacked because a stupid, idiotic, pink mare taunted her.

That meant that Pinkie had nearly killed Twilight.

The earth-pony stared at the damp wall of the cave. Her own thoughts had led her to a shocking, but inescapable conclusion.

"I … I'm no good," she said. It was almost a relief to let it out.

"W-what? Pinkie! Don't say things like that!" Horrified, Fluttershy rushed over to her.

"It's true, though!" Pinkie shouted, spinning back around. The other mare took a step back at the ferocity of her answer. "You and Twilight and Rarity are really smart! Applejack and Dashie are super strong! All of you are amazing!"

She knelt, miserable once more. "I'm just weird," she whispered.

The only noise for the longest time was the solitary song of the wind, throbbing and whistling through the cracks in the stone.

Then Fluttershy exploded. "Pinkamena Diane Pie!" she barked.

Shrieking in surprise, Pinkie jumped back at the shout, but tripped over her tail and collapsed in a heap. "Gaah! What?"

"How dare you?" The pegasus narrowed her eyes and took to the air in rage. She swept over, staring a confused Pinkie down. "How dare you!"

"Wh-Wha?"

A hard prod to her chest. "Never say things like that about yourself, ever again!" Fluttershy visibly fumed at her. "You're a wonderful friend, and you do not need to be like everypony else. Don't you remember all the times your Pinkie Sense saved someone? Or when you stopped us from being scared by Nightmare Moon? If you had been just like the rest of us, we would have lost!"

The pink mare opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She closed it with a clack, feeling tremendously foolish.

Fluttershy's determined gaze was locked on her, as her wings beat steadily. The yellow pony's voice rose in a crescendo, the light from the entrance framing her form in a halo of pink-tinted gold. "You saved the world from Eternal Night, Pinkie!" she cried. The mare's tone softened. "If you're weird, then so are we. And I wouldn't have you any other way."

This was her shy, timid friend? Pinkie was shell-shocked. "… Fluttershy?" she rasped. "What the hay?"

With a squeak, the pegasus seemed to realize just how aggressive she was being. She dropped back down to the ground, cheeks glowing. "… oh, I was really very rude just then, wasn't I?" she mumbled. Quickly ducking back, she hid her reddening face behind her hair. "I'm … I'm so sorry, Pinkie."

The earth-pony blinked. She shook her head wildly, her frizzy hair flying about. Wobbling a bit, the pink mare stumbled upright, back onto four hooves. Sure, she was dazed, but she felt better than she had for hours!

"No," Pinkie stated resolutely. "Apology not accepted. You're right. I gotta stop being such a misery-pants. Tomorrow is another tomorrow."

Hey, was this how that grumpy old dragon felt? She felt sorry for the big guy, now. No wonder he started crying. That had basically been weeks of therapy condensed into a couple of seconds. Ouch.

The earth-pony paused. No, the moment still wasn't right. It felt … strange. She was waiting for something that never came. It needed something extra! More 'oomph'. Pinkie turned to Fluttershy, who backed away under the attention.

Blushing, the baker rolled her shoulders awkwardly. "You know, I'd feel a lot better if—" She cleared her throat. "Could you, uh, do the thing Twilight does?"

"… thing?"

"You know, where you point out that my ideas are silly," she tried to explain. "Twilight does it really well. Rarity's not bad, but she isn't as good."

The pegasus seemed a little disturbed. "Um, okay? If … if it makes you feel better?"

"I gotta stop being such a misery-pants," Pinkie repeated herself, blatantly winking at her friend. Come on, Fluttershy! You can do it!

"… you … you don't wear pants?"

The earth-pony grinned. That was more like it! Not quite up to the Twilight-standard of dry wit, but pretty good for a first attempt. "Of course I don't! Otherwise I'd wear myself out! Hahaha!"

"What?" Fluttershy looked pretty bewildered at the sudden mood-swing. Spinning around for no reason, Pinkie sighed loudly.

"Wow! I feel much better now!"

Gravel scattered the street as a cerulean pegasus dug her hooves into the center of a rubble-filled hole.

Biting back a curse, Dash stumbled back against the side of the pit. "It's not here. It's not in any of these." A hefty dose of panic had stealthily wormed its way into her voice. Okay, she really needed to chill out.

What time was it? The dirty mare looked up to the sky. Checking the atmosphere was a reflexive habit for many pegasi, especially those who worked in weather control. Useful for predicting storms, calculating wind-speeds, and telling the time without a watch. But on that particular evening, the delicate orange hues of the sunset didn't help Rainbow to relax.

It was getting late.
She lived in the clouds, and her wings were useless.

Dammit! So, what, she needed a stupid necklace to fly, now? Why? That was so dumb! Discord took it once, and Nightmare Moon smashed it once, and she didn't have the stupid thing at all, before then! What gives?

But Rainbow wasn't some super wizard-scientist like Twilight. She wasn't the princess' apprentice, she couldn't do any really fancy math, and she wouldn't be able to figure all this out as fast as the unicorn would. It looked like the pegasus would just have to wait for her answer. That was probably the safest solution, too.

"So I just wait?" she whispered.

There was nopony else around, and her anxiety was mounting fast. "I really thought I could. But what if I need it to fly? And what—" She swallowed thickly. "What if I never find it?"

The empty street told her all she needed to know. Dash chuckled grimly, seeing her dreams fade in front of her eyes. Soon she could barely suppress manic laughter. "Th-then I'll never be able to fly again! I-I'll never be in the Wonderbolts!" She forced out a smile.

Never.

Something snapped deep inside her, and she began to cackle wildly, her pupils glazing over and drifting apart. The world wavered, and began to grow dark. Where was she? It felt like she was floating in an endless void. For how long, she didn't know.

"What's so funny?" someone asked.

Reality burped. Everything flashed white, and snapped back into place. Rainbow spun around with a growl, ready to tear into the interloper, only to see a certain yellow pegasus in a blue flight-suit.

"S-S-Spitfire?" Dash yelped. She tried to run away. Obviously her legs didn't agree, because she somehow managed to plunge her face into the dirt instead. Wonderful. The pegasus felt her cheeks heat up, even as she was forcefully brought back to earth. "W-what … why are you here?"

The Wonderbolt raised a perfect eyebrow. "It's off-season. I was shopping. Got a bit late to keep going, though, so I thought I'd call it a day." Glancing down into Rainbow's pit of shame, she snickered lightly. "So, uh, you going to tell me why you're down there, kid?"

Dash hung her head. "It's a long story."

"Uhuh?" Spitfire smiled.

"Well, okay, not really long. Just embarrassing. Uh, let's see." Rainbow scratched her head. "So, Discord broke free, right? And we tried to throw Harmonicas at him, but they exploded, and I lost my awesome lightning-bolt necklace. Also, I can't fly any more for some reason," she concluded.

"Uhuh." Her idol stared blankly at her.

Rainbow shrugged. "Yeah, I'm a little hazy on the details, myself."

"I can tell." Spitfire rolled her eyes. "Still, can't fly, huh? That's gotta suck. Hold on for a second." The professional flyer trotted down into the rocky depression, and began nudging around Dash's wings.

Her blush came back in full force. Today had been a really terrible day, but now a real-life Wonderbolt was touching her! Willingly, even! "W-what are you doing?" she croaked.

"I'm checking your flight muscles. As far as I can tell, you haven't atrophied or anything. No degeneration."

Rainbow blinked. "Er, trophy-what?" That sounded like something Twilight would say. Why did Spitfire care about that kind of boring stuff?

Spitfire ignored her, and continued the examination. "To be honest though, I wouldn't have thought that a pony of your musculature could hit high speed at all, let alone pull off a Sonic Rainboom. That is, if I hadn't seen it for myself." The orange mare grinned.

"A pony of my what?" Dash widened her eyes. Was that an insult or a compliment? Or both?

There was a heavy sigh from the Wonderbolt. "Sure. You steamrolled the practical tests at the Academy, but had no time for learning basic theory, right? Geez. Look, kid. If I had to guess, I'd say you just need practice. There's no damage done to your body, or anything like that. If you did it with those wings before, you can do it again. Hey, maybe you need to get your head back in the game, you know? Tell you what." Spitfire slung a suspiciously casual hoof over Dash's shoulders, and the younger pegasus stiffened in response. "I'll haul you on up to a cloud to rest for tonight, and tomorrow we'll go training, okay?"

Rainbow was having a hard time thinking coherently, but stammered out a reply. "T-T-T-Training? W-With You?"

There was a smirk from the older mare. "Sure. I think it sounds fun."

Dash felt her panic begin to rise again, this time for a totally different reason. There was no way she could pull this off. Rainbow couldn't even support her own weight anymore, and Spitfire would be able to see that. Would the Wonderbolt leave her in disgust? Was this the end of her dreams?

A cold dread settled into the pit of her stomach. "Y-yeah! Of course! Fun! Ha! Hahaha!"

Blueblood stopped in front of the great wooden doors, and waited impatiently for the guards to pull them open. The fools fell over themselves in a tangle to obey him before they managed the simple task. Striding forth, he headed towards the thrones, nose raised high.

The empty thrones.

What? He grimaced openly at the sight, slamming a flawless ivory hoof onto the strangely-sticky floor. This was outrageous! At this time, there should have been at least one princess here! This was open visiting hours! How disgraceful.

A side-door creaked open, the sound echoing throughout the hall. A harried-looking bureaucrat shuffled in, back bent under the weight of countless years of compromise. The rather aged pony appeared despondent at first, but upon seeing Blueblood, his face lit up.

"Your Highness!" he called out. "Oh, what excellent timing you have!" Marching forward, the elderly pony sketched a quick, creaking bow to the prince.

Blueblood nodded ever-so-slightly, careful not to grant him too much respect. "You may rise, Prime Minister. What seems to be the problem?"

Straightening his crooked back with a few muffled cracks, the old stallion deftly tugged at his mustache. "Ah, well, you see." He coughed. "It appears that both of Their Majesties have taken leave of the throne. Princess Luna sent the Parliament a messenger saying the two would be unavailable for a time."

"I suspect they have also taken leave of their senses. I can see the empty thrones from here, Mr. Minister. Get to the point," Blueblood ordered.

The politician got to the point. "Er … I'm afraid the government is in uproar, Your Highness. The nobles are threatening to revolt, and our neighboring countries are suspicious. We need the strength that a monarch provides. We need a royal candidate to take control, if only for a short time." He looked piercingly over his spectacles at the prince. "Therefore, I am asking hereby you to become the temporary regent of Equestria."

Blueblood raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. There was always a catch with this type of thing. "And what would I be required to do?"

"Well, the best possible scenario would be for the royal candidate to … raise the sun. Alone." The elderly pony winced at his own proposal.

This was a waste of time. "I refuse. Goodbye."

"Wait! Is it impossible?"

"Impossible? It's ludicrous!" The prince scoffed. "How am I supposed to perform such duties? Alicorn magic is orders of magnitude beyond that of a unicorn's. It would take much more than one pony to accomplish that, no matter how noble they were."

The other stallion seemed to have expected the dismissal, turning to go with a sigh. "I understand, Your Highness. And you are certain there is no way you can attain, or even … feign such an ability? Neither of Their Majesties revealed any trick to you? Maintaining our control over the cycle of day and night would be an immense support to Equestria's current international standing."

Blueblood shook his head regally. "I apologize, but I am abso—" He paused.

Wait.
Wait just a moment.

Power, eh? In all the excitement, he had forgotten the original reason why he had come here. His strange new ability had slipped his mind.

His mind turning over a new plan, he quietly smirked to himself. Rusty mental cogs began to rotate once more, bending his thoughts into an idea that he liked very much.

"Your … Highness?" Prime Minister seemed oddly nervous.

The prince gave him a savage sneer. Forget those incompetent acting coaches – he no longer cared how 'creepy' his true smile appeared. Blueblood had a manifest destiny to fulfill. The world would have to get used to him.

"I accept your offer, Mr. Minister," he hissed with pleasure. "I believe I have found a way."

Twilight’s head felt like it was splitting open.

She cracked open an eye, and light lanced in, stabbing directly into her brain. The unicorn let out a groan, and squeezed her eyelids shut. Her poor, delicate liquor cerebrospinalis.

Okay, wow. That was … genuinely painful. Use shorter words to think, Twilight. Soft, cushioning words.

Words like 'trout'.
Aah, much better.

"Hooray, she’s awake!" somepony loudly shouted in her ear.

Hey, Pinkie? No. Screaming at the injured patient really wasn't helping her massive headache. Twilight presumed it was Pinkie. Who else would try to blow out the ears of someone recovering from a dead faint? Certainly not Fluttershy, that was for sure.

With a bit of help, the librarian sat up, holding her aching head in her hooves. She tried to re-open her eyes, initially without success. Slowly but surely, Twilight managed to raise the boulders that had somehow replaced her eyelids.

There was a sugary earth-pony unbearably close to her, grinning her usual sugary grin. As usual.

Twilight sank her head back down into her hooves, and let out a heartfelt sigh. With a high-pitched laugh, Pinkie began a devastating nonstop-chatter-attack, undeterred by a series of agonized glares. Some of the liquid nonsense even seeped into the unicorn's ears, despite her best efforts.

"… without soap! By the way, how's the horn? It looks super-duper painful! Like when I thought my cannon was clogged up, so I leaned over to check the …"

Hold on. The horn looked painful? Twilight's eyes widened. Oh, that was awful! If the enamel was damaged, then there were all sorts of horrible conditions she could get! She glanced up, only to suddenly lose her train of thought.

"Why do I have a pink bow on my horn?" she asked dully. The librarian wasn't sure what she expected, but it wasn't that.

Fluttershy finally peeked out from where she had been hiding behind Pinkie. "Well, um, you see, we needed to stop the bleeding, and we didn't have any bandages."

She nodded slowly. Bleeding was very bad, but at least her problems were somewhat treated. Magical medicine could fix everything later. Hopefully. "So you used party supplies? I guess a ribbon would make sense."

"Um, no. That's not it." Fluttershy giggled lightly.

Pinkie glanced away, looking incredibly guilty. "Uh, sorry, Twilight. I think I left my party stuff with my party cannon. I … don't have any of that stuff."

That expression! Did Pinkie just lie to her? About party supplies? Why?

"No, we didn’t have any ribbons, and there weren't any plants in the cave. So we used the next-best thing!" The earth-pony gave her a goofy grin.

Twilight glanced up at her forehead. Next best thing? Well … the color was familiar. She knew she had seen that particular shade of pink before.

The fabric also looked like it was made of two different kinds of thread. That was odd.

A strange observation slipped into her head. Pinkie and Fluttershy seemed to have had twin impromptu haircuts. It didn't look bad, not at all. But in combination with the ribbon, it meant that they had both—

Oh. The unicorn tried to hide the fact that her eyes were watering a little. After she got her composure back, she made a vague gesture in the direction of her horn. "You mean you two …" The butter-yellow pegasus nodded shyly, and Pinkie laughed.

"I-I'm touched, girls. Thanks." Twilight smiled. That was really sweet of them.

Gee, the others were handling this situation much better than she had expected! There weren't any emotional breakdowns or anything! Yes, she was very proud of her little team. With her spirits buoyed, the unicorn began working her way up to her hooves.

The light that had once poured through the entrance was fast disappearing, and the color of the cave was darkening into a pale orange. Trotting over to the crack, Twilight peered outside.

Fluttershy hugged her wings in concern. "Are the w-wolves still out there?"

"Yes." The unicorn nodded as she squinted through the fissure. "Timberwolves don't need to sleep, and it looks like Gilda never told them to stop chasing us. This way is a no-go."

"Oh dear. That d-doesn't sound very good."

There was a silence as Pinkie shrugged. "Well, I guess we'll have to go cave-explorering, then!" the baker clapped her hooves together, and pointed into the pitch-black tunnel to their rear.

"Spelunking, Pinkie."

"Bless you!" the pink earth-pony replied mischievously, waggling her eyebrows. Twilight first snorted, and then she dissolved into giggles at the terrible joke.

After a revitalizing laugh, they sat around in a pleasant silence, simply happy to be out of danger.

Then Fluttershy's ears pricked up, swiveling backwards. The pegasus gulped, before raising a hoof. "Um, excuse me, Twilight? You said the timberwolves are outside, right?"

"Yes?"

The yellow mare began to tremble again, her teeth chattering with the motion. "T-Then what's making that growling noise?"

Twilight slowly turned her head around, pointing her ears at the darkness. The sound was soft, like the rasp of bone on gravel. With all the echoes, it was hard to tell where it was coming from. But the unicorn listened, really listened, and she could tell it wasn't the wolves behind them.

The growling was coming from deeper inside the cave.

Without fanfare, the final rays of sunlight flared and vanished, dropping the three ponies into a world of shadow. Fluttershy's yelp of surprise bounced into the murky gloom, traveling far further than their sight could reach. She blushed luminously, and whispered an apology, but the damage had already been done.

The wooden watchdogs by the entrance stirred, but barely shifted.

Inside the cave, though, a shiver ran through the rock. The deep foundations of soil and stone breathed like a living being, lifting and falling in a rhythmic, crumbling motion. The ground beneath them started to rumble, and suddenly, they weren't alone anymore.

In the darkness, something moved.

Fury And The Sound

Fury And The Sound

The cave echoed.

A drop of water crawled down the uneven surface of a stalactite. Slithering to the tip, it bulged outwards, preparing to fall onto the matching spear of stone below. Despite the warmth in the air, it trembled, buffeted around by the barest hint of a zephyr of wind. With the tiniest of 'plink's, and the smallest of showers, the droplet released its hold on the rock.

It hurtled down, straight onto Pinkie's tongue.

"Bleh!" She shook her head violently. Gah! Why did she do that? That wasn't yummy at all! It just tasted like soggy limestone. Yeah, yeah. Maybe that seemed obvious now, but it had felt like such a good idea at the time.

Growing up on a rock farm sure gives you the weirdest habits.

"C'mon, Pinkie!" Twilight called back to her. "There has to be something down here!"

That's right, she had forgotten. They were exploring! With a bounce, the party proficionado trotted after her friends, her enthusiasm quickly making up for lost ground.

"Heeey, Twilight?" she sang. "How do you know there's something down here? Because of that super-scary growling?"

The unicorn nodded, her pretty ribbon bobbing as she did so. "Well, yes. That's part of it. But if you really want to know, Fluttershy just found some solid evidence of another animal. We might be able to persuade a friendly resident to help us against the timberwolves."

Solid evidence? Why wasn't the growling solid? Oh! "I get it." Pinkie winked knowingly. "It's because you can't touch a sound! Gotcha!"

"That's … That's not what I …" Twilight sighed, and turned to the quieter pony next to her. "Fluttershy, help. She's talking again."

The pegasus shied away slightly. "Y-yes, I, um, saw a pawprint in the dust."

A pawprint? Maybe … from a paw? Pinkie decided to point out this devastating insight to the less perceptive ponies. "You mean like from those grouchy old twiglets outside?"

The butter-colored mare hesitated. "Well, I guess it's possible, but I'm not too, uh, sure about that. The shape—"

"Hold it!" The baker loudly interrupted. "If it's possible, then why are we going towards the scary growlies?" That sounded like bad news in general.

Twilight shook her head despondently. "We haven't got a lot of choice. Either we deal with the unknown threat in here, or the very real threat out there. Darkness or wolves. At the moment, I'm rather enjoying being uneaten."

Wow, the purple librarian looked really sad and tired. There should be a word for that kind of look. Un-happy, or something. It was a strange expression to have.

And, for some reason, it made Pinkie feel like she had failed.

Anyway, it was clear that Twilight needed cheering up. But that silly old unicorn wouldn't be happy while she was worrying! Maybe if there weren't as many problems, they could all be happy again! Okay, Pinkie. Time to put on your thinking cap.

Well, the problem sure was a super-tricky choice. Scary cave or brown, stick-y dogs. Hmm.

Haha, whoops. That sounded sorta funny if you said it like that. And it reminded her of that huge mousse moose she saw once, on a train. Except a fuzzy mousse puppy instead! Ooh! What if it was a fuzzy fudge puppy? That would be fudgerrific! Pinkie licked her lips dreamily.

Mmm. Fudge.

More on track, the wolves were not happy chappies. And even though the darkness was scary, she knew a fantabulous way of cheeri—

"Mmm. Fudge." The baker was startled by her mouth actually catching up with her brain.

Since when could it do that? Oh, and, come on. Really? You chose that line, mouth? Nice timing. That didn't help everypony out, it just made her look stupid. Let's make a new rule: 'Don't talk when thinking'. Otherwise, Twilight will make a scary blank face at you when you say something dumb. Ooh, yeah, see? That's not a normal expression.

The librarian's eyelid twitched in a perfect three-four pattern. "What."

It wasn't a question.

Pinkie whistled innocently, and pretended she didn't blurt out the names of random desserts every so often, even though she totally did. For some really strange reason, other ponies happened to think that kind of thing was weird.

"No, seriously. What."

Geez, Twilight was pretty persistent.

But their fun was interrupted by Fluttershy's ears twitching at another sound only she could hear. Eyes widening, the yellow mare pressed herself up against the wall. "Shh! I hear dogs!" she hissed.

The other two decided that staying out in the open might not be the safest idea, so they quickly flung themselves at the rock-face as well.

A pebble clattered in the distance.

Pinkie's heart pounded as she tried to remain still. Argh, it was way too loud! She couldn't hear anything over that thump-a-dump-bump! Stupid heart.

Breathing out slowly, she strained her hearing to its limit. The pegasus was right – growls and yaps were echoing up the tunnel. But the dogs weren't the only creatures she could hear! Broken words in rough tones were layered underneath the barking. It was giving commands … a voice? It sounded kinda familiar, too.

"No way. I've heard that accent before," Twilight muttered, narrowing her eyes at the impenetrable darkness. "It couldn't be."

Fluttershy gasped, and it was like a light had turned on in the tunnel. She smiled so brightly that Pinkie couldn't help but grin alongside. "That's it! Now it makes sense!" the yellow mare whispered. "The tunnel shaking, the shape of the footprints, even why the timberwolves didn't try to enter. This place isn't a cave of wolves, or even a natural cavern! This is a diamond dog warren!"

"Oh, um, excuse me?"

The huge, red stallion turned away from the tree he was pruning, looking over at her with the big pair of shears still in his mouth.

Colgate tried to smile, but was sure she still looked pretty nervous. Wow, uh, he was big. That was kind of intimidating, you know? The light-blue mare had never been the tallest around, and big ponies still scared her a little.

Also, he still had those shears in his mouth. She awkwardly coughed, hoping he'd take a hint.

A low chuckle came from the burly farmer. Carefully placing the oversized scissors down, the stallion gave her a reassuring smile. "Eeyup?"

"Um, I was told that princess Luna was here. Is that true?" she asked.

Big Mac nodded confidently. "Eeyup." He raised a single massive hoof, and indicated the charred remains of what looked like some sort of building. "Discord, too."

She blinked, and looked over at the crater. Discord? What the hay? The ponies in town had been telling the truth, then. Colgate had thought it was some sort of joke! A really bad one, yeah, but still.

Well, it didn't matter. She had to get moving. After all, her father wasn't getting any less missing, was he?

"Uh, thanks a lot!" She waved at the nice stallion over her shoulder, as she trotted away. With a nod, the apple-farmer turned back to his work.

Soon, Colgate was warily edging closer to the rim of what turned out to be a large depression in the earth, like a giant had slammed a hammer into the ground.

Huh. It looked like the two immortals were talking together. Were they friends now? Wait, so did Discord suddenly feel a surge of guilt, or did Luna turn evil again?

Uh oh. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

Or … maybe it was! Princess Luna sounded like she was questioning the creep, not conspiring with him in a secret plot to overthrow Equestria. Take that, Lyra! Conspiracy theories were for ponies with too much time on their hooves.

"Hm. Are you certain that an Element impacted here?" the alicorn interrogated Discord imperiously.

He nodded thoughtfully, stroking his beard. "Well, I'm no expert, you understand, but the large pit of crispy rock might be a clue. Just a thought."

The princess closed her eyes, visibly counting backwards from a pretty high number.

Glancing back, the draconequus smiled broadly at the alicorn's annoyance. He pretended to make a perfunctory sweep of the area. "And yet, it doesn't look like the foolish thing is here. How shocking! Ah well, perhaps that's for the best. Wouldn't want to have it too easy, eh? That would just take all the fun out of our little adventure!" Clasping his strange hands together, he giggled in childish glee.

"I despise you," Luna helpfully informed him.

"Oh, I already knew that, my dear. Don't worry, I forgive you."

The princess' terrifying glare only caused him to start laughing uncontrollably. "Ugh. Accursed aberration." The dark-blue mare began prodding the upturned dirt with a hoof.

Colgate shifted her weight slightly. Unfortunately, what she thought was a solid rock turned out to be a clod of soil, which crumbled under her hoof. She had drawn their attention to her eavesdropping. "Oh! Uh, um … p-princess?" she stammered.

Luna perked up. She was probably pleased to meet someone new, after being alone with Discord for so long. "Ah! My loyal subject!" she boomed. "What news do you bring?"

"I … I was wondering, if you aren't too busy, that is, if you could … help me with something?" The young mare drew circles in the dust with her hoof, nervous at meeting a real-life princess. Luna was one of the ruling sisters, a living legend! Colgate's problems seemed silly in comparison.

The alicorn furrowed her brow, and took on an apologetic tone. "I see. Unfortunately, we do have a pressing agenda—"

"Oh, let's hear her out," Discord rudely interrupted. Luna snapped her mouth shut, and gave him a dirty look.

Wow, this was not what Colgate had expected. Why was the draconequus supporting her? Wasn't he a bad guy? Everything was backwards!

He snorted. "What? It'll be more entertaining than staring at this heap of geology. No, really. It will. I'm very bored."

The princess continued to stare at him, obviously trying to find an ulterior motive. After a few seconds, she nodded slowly, turning back to the unicorn. "Very well. We were lacking useful evidence, in any regard. You may elaborate upon your plea, citizen."

Colgate nodded furiously, and began to explain. "R-Right. Uh, I think my father went missing a few hours ago, right about when the castle blew up. I thought he might have gotten lost, but nopony has seen him around town. All I found was his saddlebag, but he never takes that off outside!" She glanced beseechingly between the two of them. "Please, help me find him!"

"How dreadfully tedious. This is the type of problem you come to royalty with? Dull, dull, dull." Discord yawned. "I suppose I was wrong, princess. We might as well get back to discussing the inimitability of rubble."

Luna, however, ignored the spirit. The alicorn seemed unusually focused upon her story, fixing the blue mare with a piercing gaze. "Most mysterious indeed. There was supposed to be another. Very well, citizen! We shall inquire into the disappearance of this Mister …?"

Oh, thank goodness! Colgate had never felt so relieved. Her dad would be fine. After all, she had the help of one of the royal sisters at her side! What could be better than that?

"Hooves," she replied. "My father is Dusty Hooves."

Bits jangled in Trixie's bag as she made her merry way along the road. A cloud of dust rose up behind her shiny new wagon, painted delicate silver and rich purple in dizzying patterns of stripes. Even her hat and cape were well-repaired. Why, they looked better than they had when she first bought them!

The reason for her run of good fortune? Simple.

She'd done her job.

And how! The showmare had finally lived up to all her lofty promises and boasts. Villagers and cityfolk alike had recognized her power and skill. Now she was truly great and powerful! She was successful! She was important! Yes, there was only one stain remaining on her record.

Trixie gritted her teeth as she passed a signpost, the name carved into it bringing back painful, shameful memories.
Ponyville.

Compared to the bigger cities, it was a hive. A collection of worthless hovels. Nothing worth mentioning, even in passing.

But that incredibly unimportant place had seen 'Trixie the failure' at her worst. She had been unable to live up to the legend she herself had created, running from a challenge she had claimed to have completed with ease. After dwelling on her injuries, she had gone mad with power, using the Alicorn Amulet to subjugate the town forcefully! Then she had lost the Amulet.

Once given the chance to fight back, those ponies were not happy with her. They branded her a dangerous charlatan, and it was made very clear that she would not be welcomed back to Ponyville, should she ever return. All the ponies in that entire town hated Trixie. Well, all but a certain unicorn. Of course, she had to admit that even Twilight's tolerance was born from pity, not respect.

There was simply no denying that Ponyville had been her greatest failure.

Now that tiny village thought Trixie was greedy, vain, and worst of all, weak. Their opinions could spread, tainting her reputation elsewhere.

That had to change. That would change! She'd show them all!

"Ahahaha, yes!" The unicorn cackled, inadvertently startling a pigeon. "Trixie will show them! Trixie will show them all!"

With her new abilities, she would create a new mare! She had the power to reinvent herself, to rise to the very top of the theatrical food chain! Not a city in Equestria would be unaware of her prowess! Trixie the Great and Powerful would become a household name!

There would be no more mocking looks! No more scathing reviews!
No more nightmares.

Nothing could stop her now.

"Rise and shine, squirt! We've got a big day ahead of us!"

Rainbow groaned, and curled into her makeshift bed. It was way too freaking early for this.

Seriously. Just go away, Pinkie.

The relentless prodding between her ribs soon forced her to reluctantly crack an eye open. "Mnuh? Wha …?" Dash sat bolt upright, her wild movements almost toppling the little cloud she had slept on. "Spitfire!"

"In the flesh, kid." Her idol smirked, easily keeping her balance on the swaying ball of vapor.

Was this a dream? A surreptitious tug of her mane reassured the blue pegasus that this was, in fact, real life.
So then. She just made Spitfire act as her personal alarm clock.

Rainbow started to panic. "Omigosh! I'm so sorry!" she blubbered, but the professional flyer waved it off.

"Relax, kid." The orange mare checked the sun. "But we should get started. You want to get better, right? Hard to do that when you're asleep."

Dash gulped and nodded. This was her only chance to impress the stunt-flyer. She wouldn't blow it, she wouldn't screw it up, and she definitely wouldn't crash. If she kept holding on to that distant dream, maybe it would even come true.

Walking to the edge of the cloud, Spitfire glanced down at the glistening city below them. "Now, there's some big festival or meeting down there, so most ponies will be in the town square. That's good news for you." The other mare sent her a pointed look.

"I guess," Rainbow reluctantly mumbled. She could see the sense in that. The fewer ponies to see her fail, the better. Otherwise it would just be the mocking she'd received in school all over again. Bad memories.

The older mare winked at her. "That way, you won't land on anypony important."

Eh? That was the reason? Oh, kickass!
Dash squirmed a little in admiration. Spitfire was just so awesome!

"Right." The orange pegasus peered over the edge again. "Let's give this a trial run. Why don't you take a quick hop off this cloud?"
"Eh?" Did Rainbow hear that right? There must be some kind of mistake, or something. Yeah, she probably heard it wrong. "Could you repeat that?" she asked, wiggling a hoof in her ear.

"This cloud. Jump off it."

Okay! What the freaking heck! Was Spitfire trying to kill her? Dash liked her neck right where it was! Wonderbolt or not, that was asking a little too much. "But I can't fly!"

The orange mare rolled her eyes. "Did I say you should fly? I want you to fall."

Rainbow, old girl, you've gotten yourself into a pretty sticky situation this time. Spitfire was clearly insane. Now you'll have to use your limitless powers of persuasion to convince this crazy pegasus that your life is worth living.

"Yeaah." She began to back away. "No thanks."

"You'll be fine!" Spitfire tried to cajole her.

Dash gingerly shook her head. "Um, I think I'm still gonna say no. But, uh, I'm sure there are other things we can do that … don't involve my horrible death. We should try doing those! They might be fun!"

Nice work, Rainbow. Nice work.

The professional stuntspony groaned, placing a hoof over her eyes. "Look. You slept on a cloud last night. That means you have plenty of magic. Any adult pegasus worth their snuff can control their descent. It's easier than cloud-walking, in fact."

"Oh. Really?" She wasn't sure if that was true or not. Probably because she kinda slept through most of her classes in flight school. She passed the core tests anyway, but a lot of the technical stuff just didn't mean anything to her. So, in the end, it made sense to trust a more experienced flyer.

Now she felt bad for doubting Spitfire.

The mare nodded. "Really. This is basic stuff, kiddo."

"Well, uh … okay." Dash was still seriously dubious about the whole thing, but whatever. As a Wonderbolt, Spitfire definitely had to know what she was talking about. So awesome!

Here goes nothing.

Rainbow glanced behind her. There was a little room, but not much. Still, at this point, she'd take whatever bonus she could get. She backed away as far as she could, and prepared herself for a running takeoff. Clenching her jaw, she rocketed forwards.

With a grunt, Dash jumped, spreading her wings to their greatest extent. She pushed her muscles as hard as she could. She did everything she could to keep herself airborne.

"Aaaaah!" she screamed as she fell straight down.

"Flap, kid! Flap!" came the not-so-helpful advice from above. Spitfire might have been an amazing, wonderful mare, but that hadn't stopped her from totally just murdering Rainbow.

"I-I'm trying! I just keep falling!" she wailed. The ground was getting horribly close.

"Use your magic, idiot!" her teacher shouted. "Haven't you ever flown before? Push your magic through your wings!"

She pushed her magic through her wings.

A hot blast of air surrounded her. Wind billowed downwards, pushed far faster than her feathers could move. Grunting, Rainbow forced her wings to keep pumping, to fight her considerable inertia. She desperately strained against gravity, and slowly managed to decrease her speed from 'splat' to 'somewhat survivable'. After all her accidents at high speed, she had put in a lot of practice at surviving.

Dash rammed her hooves into the ground with a loud crack. Ignoring the stabbing pain in her joints, she twisted herself into a roll, bleeding off the deadly momentum. The gravel burned her, crunching noisily as she spun forwards. Before long, a stone wall rammed into her flank with a thump, and Rainbow finally came to a dusty, painful stop.

She immediately collapsed onto her unbruised side, gasping for air.

Okay. That wasn't deadly. She wasn't dead. But it still really freaking hurt.

"Hahaha! Nice one, squirt! You did it!"

Wow. Spitfire had seen everything, hadn't she? Oh. My. Gosh.

Rainbow hid her face, totally mortified. She had never been so embarrassed in her life.

A wide grin was plastered on the face of the orange mare, even as she flew down to land. "Good news! I think I've sniffed out your problem. Magical control. Can't say I've ever seen it this bad, but there's a first time for everything. At least it's easy to fix, eh?"

"E-easy? You mean it?" Dash scrambled to her hooves, her aches and pains forgotten.

"You betcha." Spitfire ruffled Rainbow's mane. "You've already got the magic, you just need to know how to use it. I mean, your max speed might not be up to its usual level, but I can probably have you in the air pretty soon. A few hours, tops."

"Omigosh, that's awesome! Thank you so much!" A few hours? Heck yes! That was way better than Dash had hoped for! She'd be able to fly again!

As long as the pegasus could fly, she could practice.
If she could practice, there was nothing in the world that could stop her from improving.

Phew. Boy, you never know what you have until you lose it. Rainbow was never going to take her wings for granted ever again! Sure she'd lost her ability to fly before, but it had never seemed more like a serious, permanent condition than it had yesterday. What a fright that had been.

Hey, hadn't she had made that exact promise to herself several times before? The one about taking her wings for granted. She'd totally ignored those promises after a couple of days. Maybe Dash's track-record wasn't too great when it came to a constant, sincere feeling of appreciation.

Eh, whatever.

"Haha, anything for a fan, kid." Spitfire seemed to be amused by her enthusiasm. "You gotta work hard, though. No more skiving off to dye your mane while I'm teaching you."

"Dye my mane?" Uh, was the orange mare trying to say that Rainbow colored her hair? That kinda stuff was more like Rarity's business. "I don't dye my mane. My rainbows are all-natural." Not that she hadn't heard that one before, of course. Nopony else had her awesome six-color style, not even Celestia. Most ponies didn't even have two colors!

Yep, proof of her awesomeness, in rainbow form. She'd always been really proud of that. It gave her the feeling she was born to do the Rainboom.

Spitfire snorted, waving Dash's objections aside. "Sure, kid. But take it from me, there's nothing wrong with redheads. I mean, it's no orange, but I think it looks pretty good on you! Got a nice contrast going on with the blue, you know?"

"… wait, what?"

Twilight glanced left and right down the tunnel. There were only two options.

"Okay, so we have diamond dogs on one side, timberwolves on the other. What a conundrum," she sighed. "Well, since Rarity isn't here to whine at the dogs, I vote we go back to the wolves, and see if we can scare them off. Don't they hate loud noises? Of course, I don't have any pots or pans, but—"

Both her friends had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. The entire corridor was empty. Where had everypony gone?

Oh, great. Just great. Pinkie had run off, and she must have dragged Fluttershy with her. For crying out loud, this wasn't a good time to split up! Now Twilight had to find them, and make sure the other mares weren't in any danger. Did they go back to the cave entrance? Or did they …

No, they wouldn't have. Surely not.

"What ponies doing in Rocky's tunnels?" The echoing tones of a diamond dog bounced off the stone walls.

"Funk." Twilight swore. She quickly ran ahead, down the twists and turns of the tangled warren. It didn't take long before she rounded a bend to see the other two ponies. They were facing a bipedal canine.

Books flickered through her mind. Canis lupus adamantus: sentient, self-aware. A moderately intelligent creature. Smart enough to learn basic speech, anyway.

The confused dog was currently being cheerfully accosted by a bright-pink pony and her yellow partner in crime.

"What are we doing? We're exploring! Wanna join in?"

Dammit, Pinkie. Stop being … you.
Huh. On second thought, this expedition was probably destined to fail from the start.

Fluttershy turned to her compatriot, tilting her head in bewilderment. "We're exploring? I thought we were hiding."

"Hidesploring!"

The diamond dog growled, extending some very sharp claws in a threatening motion. "You make fun of Rocky! Answer better! Why ponies here?"

"Ahem." Twilight coughed, drawing attention to herself. Putting her best hoof forward, the unicorn trotted over to the tiny gathering, and sketched a courteous bow to the canine. She kept her tone respectful as she answered the fractured question.

"We didn't mean to intrude on your home, Miss Rocky," the librarian said. It was female, as far as she could tell. "We were chased into your tunnels, and had no other way to go."

The dimwitted animal snorted at their plight. "What chase puny ponies? Squirrels?"

Well, that was rather dismissive. Twilight felt insulted. Who was the one living in a dirty hole in the ground again? It wasn't the ponies, that was for sure.

"Um, I'm not sure if you know them, but we call them timberwolves." Fluttershy nervously tapped her hooves together, giving the dog a nervous smile. "They can be very dangerous. Lots of ponies used to die to timberwolves before they were driven out of civilized Equestria."

Two ragged ears perked up. "Oh! Barky biters! Rocky know them! They scary, but not so bad if you smart like Rocky."

"Why's that?" Twilight asked, repressing the impulse to make a derisive comment. Thankfully, the canine didn't notice her quick roll of the eyes. It helped to relieve the sarcastic pressure. "Is there something that you use to drive them off? Some kind of noise-maker or siren, perhaps?"

"There burny birds not far away." The dog nodded wisely. "Barky biters hate burny birds. They not want to catch burning, so they run away."

Intriguing.

"Snrk!" A snort from Pinkie, who had started to snigger uncontrollably at the ridiculous names the diamond dog was employing.

Rocky looked understandably offended. "What so funny?" she barked. "Why you laugh at Rocky?"

Ugh. They can settle that one themselves. Twilight ignored the shouts, sinking her head in thought. It was important to understand exactly what the diamond dog was getting at.

"Let me get this straight. You're saying if we lead the 'burny birds' over to the wolves, they'd run away?" A 'burny bird' was almost certainly a phoenix, which was a living avatar of flame. It made sense that the timberwolves would be scared. After all, if Twilight was made of wood, she'd run away from even the slightest hint of fire. Or lightning. Or thunder. Which … would explain the fear of loud noises! Oh, this would make an excellent thesis.

"That right, pony." Rocky nodded calmly, before trying to grab a giggling Pinkie in some type of chokehold.

Fluttershy raised a wavering hoof. "Um, I … I think I should be the one to go get the birds. I've taken care of a phoenix before." Despite the inherent courage in that statement, it was clear the pegasus had no idea how to avoid the wolves.

Quick Twilight, stall for time. "Er, while that's technically true, I have serious reservations with the idea of sending you into a den of wolves. Alone. Let's see if we can't think of a better idea." Good enough.

Really, they just needed to find some way of keeping Fluttershy safe, so that the mare could work her empathic mojo with the birds in peace. Maybe a distraction of some sort?

Pinkie sprang away from Rocky and struck a pose. "Don't worry, Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie is on the cases!"

That was wrong in so many ways. Twilight desperately tried not to sigh as she corrected the party-enthusiast. "On the case. Singular."

"What? You want a singalong?" The earth-pony chirruped. Apparently the pink mare had misheard the librarian, perhaps deliberately. "Well, okay! I wrote a super-fun cake song just the other day! I can switch a few words around, and we'll have a cave song in no time!"

They didn't need a singalong.

"No. That's okay, Pinkie," Twilight ground out. "I'm sure we'll manage without a musical interlude. More on topic, how were you planning on helping Fluttershy?"

"I can distract the doggies! I'm good at distractions!"

Yes she was. A distraction, hm? Unfortunately, that was the same conclusion Twilight had come to. There was a flaw, though. Diversionary tactics didn't make the rudimentary plan any safer, they just shifted most of the danger onto the pony doing the diverting. That was unacceptable.

What a pain! With Fluttershy's animal problems and Twilight's injury, they just didn't have the right collection of abilities to rescue the Element with their usual ease. Pinkie had even inexplicably lost her superpowers, and the earth-pony's remaining skills at entertainment were most useful in towns and cities, not the wilderness! Argh! How was she supposed to formulate a plan if nopony could do anything?

Twilight frowned, scrunching up her face in thought. This situation might not be ideal in any respect, but there had to be a better way to go about this. If only they hadn't lost their talents. Perhaps she could convince Rocky to lend them a hand? How could she do that? The unicorn had nothing to trade.

"Distractions?" Fluttershy repeated Pinkie's offer, sounding very concerned. "Oh, that sounds awfully dangerous, Pinkie! I really don't think you should be near the wolves at all!"

"I'll be fine!" the baker boasted. "I know Déjà-Fu."

"Two quills, an apple, four bits, an' a comb."

A soft, purple cloth was lifted off the table with a flourish, revealing the items in question.
Three times in a row, she had done that! That was no stinking fluke; Applejack was cured!

Velvet clapped her forehooves together. "Well done, dear! That's a huge improvement!"

"Aw, shucks." The farmer nudged up the back of her Stetson in embarrassment. "A few tests don't mean nothin'. Though, uh, thanks fer gettin' mah head sorted out, Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle. Bein' that daft sure was a mighty strange feelin'."

Moonlight started levitating the assorted items into a drawer with a smile. "For one of Twilight's friends? Nothing is too strange." He laughed.

Hey, that rang a bell. "Mah friends? Gah! Rarity! Shoot, Ah plum forgot about'er! Ah'm real sorry, Ma'am, Sir, but Ah gotta go find the poor gal!" Oh boy. Applejack was in for a major talking-to when the dressmaker got a hold of her. Keeping the mare waiting would only make it worse.

"You want to go out?" Velvet's eyes widened. "Er, are you sure you're up to it, sweetie?"

The farmer pumped a leg to show her strength. Fit as a fiddle, she was. "Ah'm real indebted to y'all, but Ah'm fine, now. More than a hunk o'cotton between mah ears. But y'see, Rainbow flew off, and then Ah ran off, and Ah was supposed to come back ages ago! Rarity's gonna be in a right state, she is."

Twilight's mother bit her lip, but nodded. "If you're certain you can do it, then we won't stop you, Applejack. Please be careful, though. This is a busy city."

The earth-pony nodded solemnly, and walked over to the doorway. At the last moment, she turned her head back to Twilight's concerned parents. "Don't you worry none. Ah spent a good while in Manehatten as a filly. As long as mah noggin ain't empty like yesterday, this'll be a breeze."

_______________________________________________

Applejack sat down. Rarity wasn't here.

This was the right place alright. That was the wall the unicorn nearly rammed her face into. Got a good close look at that one.

Well, the earth-pony should have expected it, to be honest. Can't just walk off and hope somepony stands in the same place overnight. That'd be ridiculous.

But the fussy old dressmaker couldn't even see properly. Where could she have gone without help, darnit?

It was going to be real difficult to find a single unicorn in a city of thousands. The twittery thing was probably hob-nobbing with snobby ponies in some fancy building. Well, good for her, but Applejack couldn't see through walls. No, the farmer needed a proper plan.

If only she had a better view of the area. Should she climb a building or something? Boy, this'd be a lot easier with a pair of wings.

Wait a sec, what about Rainbow? Applejack could find the pegasus, and get her to look for Rarity. Yeah, there was some proper sense. After all, Dash always hung around on low-lying clouds when she wasn't working. That meant the pegasus was tons more visible than hiding in some darned building while there was daylight burning. Those nutty city-slickers, and their strange obsession with stuffy air. Crazy.

Let's see. The nearest cloud-bank was … over on the other side of the city. Quickest way there would be to cut straight through the main town square. Yup, that shouldn't take too long.

Seizing upon her course of action, Applejack pushed herself back up and began to trot her way over to the plaza.

As the farmer walked, ponies started to bump into her. It began to get awfully crowded. She did her best to keep an eye out for Rarity, but it soon became obvious that most of the other folks seemed to be heading in the same direction. In fact, it felt like the earth-pony was being herded into the center of the city, for some mysterious reason. Maybe a little eavesdropping was in order.

Applejack flicked her ears over to her right, focusing in on a garrulous-looking couple. A mare and a stallion, both unicorns. Of course, most everypony was a unicorn, round these parts. The pointiest of the three races was by far the most common pony-kind in Canterlot.

The mare was excitedly reading a poster of some sort. "I wonder what the announcement is going to be?" she said.
Her companion huffed, his nose in the air. "Perhaps they are finally going to reveal what yesterday's blasted ruckus was about." He pretended to swoon in a disturbingly fancy way. "Oh, I could barely sleep, I was so worried! Explaining themselves is the very least the palace could do!"

Announcement, huh? The farmer tried to get a glimpse of one of those posters that were being flailed around, but the best she could make out was a shaky image of yet another unicorn in a fancy uniform. Bah, it was probably just some upper-crust windbag, anyway. They were all the same, those types – just a whole bunch of hot air in a pony-shaped balloon. The 'announcement' was probably pointless, then.

Crowds upon crowds piled into the plaza, filling up the exits and walling Applejack in. Unless she wanted to elbow half of Canterlot out of the way, it looked like she was stuck here for a while. She sighed. Alright. That was fine. The wind was low, and the clouds weren't going anywhere, so she might as well see what all the dog-gone fuss was about.

A wooden stage looked like it had been hastily built in the middle of the square. Everypony else was watching the thing, so that was probably where this whole shindig was going to happen. Whatever it was.

Sure enough, trumpets blared out a quick sequence of notes, and a hush fell over the audience. The silence was soon broken by the measured steps of a pony stepping onto the platform.

Hey! Now that was rare, a town crier! The stallion bore a megaphone cutie-mark, along with the well-ruffled shirt that signified his profession. Harrumphing, he opened his mouth.

"A Report To The Citizens Of Canterlot!" he boomed, the sound sending shockwaves through the air, and flattening the hair of the first three rows.

Whoah. That was some set of pipes!

Looking satisfied, the town crier continued at a slightly lower volume. "Due to the continued absence of the Royal Sisters, a Prince Regent shall be crowned at noon today, here in the Royal Plaza. Until the Princesses return, King Blueblood shall be the acting Potentate of Equestria!"

All Applejack got from that heap of nouns was a heckuva lot of capital letters being thrown around. Er, what was a Ree-Gent, anyway? Potato-Nate? Ah well, the statement seemed to spark a big reaction in the crowd, at least.

The farm-pony hummed an old country tune to herself as she watched the ponies around her. They were arguing, gossiping, murmuring, shouting, and generally being very noisy. "But this fella's called Blueblood, eh?" She scratched her head. "Now why the heck does that name sound so darn familiar?"

Pinkie peered outside.

The wolves were in position.
The ponies were also in position.

It looked like 'Operation Fireworks' was a go. Maybe the earth-pony had only just come up with that name, but her point still stands. Stood. Whatever. She was too tense for tenses.

She nodded grimly, psyching herself up for the war she was about to begin. It was time. They just needed the signal to begin.

Any time now. Aaany time now.
Okay, it had been at least ten seconds. She was perfectly entitled to be bored after such a long delay.
Pinkie turned around.

Party-poopers. The ponies weren't actually in position. Her teammates were having a last-minute conversation, or something. Shaking her head, Pinkie trotted over to them.

As she approached, Twilight switched from gnawing on her lip to anxious muttering. "I don't like this. I don't like this at all," she mumbled.

Fluttershy nervously hovered closer to the worried unicorn. "Twilight …"

"I’m not used to this," the librarian admitted. "This role. I'm helpless now. I can't help you. There won't be any backup magic spells to save you guys, and I … I just don’t want to put you two in danger. I don’t want either of you to get hurt."

D'aaw. Pinkie's keen eye for trouble had spotted the problem. And it was an adorable problem. "Hey, we’ll be fine! You came up with a super-duper plan, Twilight! Besides, you have a really sore horn, right? That's because you already protected us with your magic shield-explodey attack! So you definitely helped us, even if you can’t blow up a mountain like usual."

The mare chuckled weakly at the jibe. "Aheh. I guess. Look, I’m really, really worried, girls. Please … please be careful for me."

"W-We’ll do our best." Fluttershy nodded.

Pinkie added her own reassurances. "Yeah! When am I not careful?"

"Ghk!" Surprisingly, that comment only seemed to make the unicorn even more anxious. Twilight took a few deep breaths. "Okay. Okay. Fluttershy, are you ready?"

"As r-ready as I’ll ever be."

The librarian stepped to the side. "Remember, you can't slow down. Both Pinkie and the rest of the plan will be relying on your new speed. Get set. On three. One. Two."

The pegasus shook out her feathers in preparation.

"Three." Twilight swung her hoof down.

Fluttershy swept her wings back, twisting them ever-so-slightly. With a 'whumph' of displaced air, she spun forwards, twisting her body through the tiny gap in the stone. A cone of whistling wind surrounded her form, and the pegasus was soon just a distant streak of yellow, bending the trees in her passage. Twilight’s new ribbon snapped around wildly in the gale.

"Now! Pinkie, you're up!" the unicorn shouted to her.

The self-styled 'martial arts master' yelped excitedly, and bounced outside. It was time to do what she did best. Well, second-best.

Maybe fourth.

"Hey you!" she screamed at the startled wolves, some of which had just turned to chase Fluttershy. They began to growl menacingly at her, but she confused them by laughing.

"Yeah, you lot!" She grinned. "I hear you mutt-ering. Why don’t we paws for arf a minute? Not to be sappy, but I think the root of alder problems here is that you won’t leaf us alone! I’d beagle-ad if we could get past the moments of sheer terrier, ‘cause that’s barking up the wrong tree! If we could just twig to talking, it willow-pen up much more fetching situations! Oak-ay?"

Yes.
Terrible puns, her one true power.

"Oh, Pinkie." Twilight groaned loudly.

The earth-pony burst out laughing. "Ahahaha! I was saving that up for ages! It totally worked, too! They look really mad!" she giggled as she dodged the infuriated canines.

"I think they always look like that."

"Pfff—hahahaa! That's even better!"

Why, the absolute nerve of that doctor.

Not only was his manner rude, he had the absolute gall to tell Rarity that there was nothing wrong with her eyes! That was, of course, patently ridiculous. She was no simpering hypochondriac, thank you very much!

Thankfully, Fancy Pants had believed her story, and had sent off for a most fashionable blindfold. That way, he said, others would not have to ask why her eyes were closed. How considerate he was. The genteel stallion even provided her with a personal caretaker! Truly, Mr Pants was the epitome of gallantry!

"Would milady care for any more tea?"

Rarity smiled in what she hoped was the appropriate direction. "Thank you, Jeeves. That would be lovely." She just needed to find her teacup.

Groping around with her magic, she winced as she felt her blundering movements knock over the teapot. The brown liquid gurgled slowly into the carpet, and the unicorn sighed. Bother. The butler was most professional, simply bustling over to the cleaning supplies. He might not have seemed to bat an eyelid, but Rarity mentally berated herself. Such oafishness was unbecoming of a lady of her caliber.

She raised her head. "Jeeves?" she asked.

"Yes, milady?"

"Would you happen to have an area where I may … brush up on my magic? I find myself needing a defter touch." That was an understatement. She was far too used to doing her magic by sight.

Unlike Twilight, that is, who was rather a bit of a show-off. Juggling animals and sorting books with her eyes closed, using only her sense of her own magic to perform the tricks. Really. Was all that absolutely necessary?

Rarity doubted it.

There was a ruffling noise as the butler rustled his mustache. "A magical practice area? Not as such, no. I must apologize. However, if milady desires, we possess a most spacious balcony. Would that suffice?"

"Oh, that sounds splendid, Jeeves. My thanks," she said, stepping away from the partially ruined breakfast.

With a gentle hoof on her shoulder, the old stallion ushered her out of her room, and along what must have been a corridor or two. As Rarity walked, a slight breeze began to brush against her neck, sending goosebumps up her spine. The fashionista tightened her blindfold with a mental tug, securing it to her head more firmly. She wasn't going to lose Fancy's gift to some silly gust of wind.

"Here we are, milady. Simply directing your spells forwards is perfectly safe. This balcony was designed such that no building could be tall enough to spoil Master Pants' view. All magic used will merely dissipate harmlessly in the air."

What an absolute treasure the butler was. She made sure to thank the stallion warmly. "You have my utmost gratitude, Jeeves."

"Milady is most kind."

Nothing for it but to start, she supposed. Rarity focused upon her horn, and the wellspring of energy that poured into it.

As it turned out, practicing was difficult. The dressmaker had to confess, she was a tad bit rusty when it came to her sorcery. Twilight had both finer control and more power than her, so Rarity usually relied on the other unicorn for most of her magical needs. It wasn't a one-sided relationship, though! That sort of needy behaviour made her feel ill. No, she made sure to thank the librarian, every time she asked a favor. With lovely dresses and hats. Twilight seemed to think it was more than worth it, given the ecstatic beaming Rarity received in return for the gifts.

The sun rose higher, and the blind unicorn's efforts dragged on with the hours. Eventually, Rarity had exhausted most of her small repertoire of charms. There only remained one left that she had not tried. But this spell was special. It was a natural expression of an inherent ability of hers! For unicorns, these sorts of things are usually related to cutie marks, like Shining Armor's shield conjuration, or Princess Cadence's love sorcery.

Rarity was no exception. She had deliberately saved her best for last. After all, an intuitive composition always feels so much better than a learned one, and the dressmaker wanted to end on a high note.

Unlike some ponies, she only had a single natural spell. However, her unintentional use of it was the origin of her cutie-mark, and she was very fond of the little thing. It allowed her to detect gemstones, beautiful crystals of all kinds! Lovely, really.

She had named it Sonoro.

Twilight had learned it in an instant, like that mare did with every single other spell she clapped eyes on, but Sonoro wasn't a common charm by any means. Well, at least, Rarity hadn't seen anypony else using it. She didn't want to, either. Having her very own secret spell made her feel just a little bit special, and she didn't get the chance to feel that terribly often.

The unicorn began to prepare herself, enjoying the powerful rush of energy. As she did so, her elderly but kindly caretaker began to have a whispered conversation with another servant. The maid in question seemed quite distressed. Rarity idly wondered why.

Jeeves' monocle clinked loudly as it dropped to the stone. "What's this? That oaf, Blueblood, a king? Poppycock!" he gasped.

Rarity fumbled the spell. In her shock, she accidentally put in much more magic than was required. Really rather a lot more, in fact.

As in, hundreds of times too much.
And oh, how her magic sang.

Piercing notes of pure sound rang out from all around her! Gemstones were scattered absolutely everywhere in the wealthy district, and every single one of them joined together in an otherworldly, glorious song. The haunting, chiming melody swirled and spun around her, daubing her surroundings in visible tunes and tones. That street, painted blue by a delicate chord. That tower, dyed gold by a lovely major scale.

She gaped in shock, unable to believe the results of what must have been her ears, rather than her eyes. The depictions may be crude, and the colors were simply wrong, but the end result was unmistakeable.

Despite her blindfold, for the first time in twelve long hours, Rarity could see. She could really see!

"Dear Celestia," she breathed weakly.

Her knees trembled at the interlocking patterns of a magical, crystal-lit city, glowing as if lit by a hundred-thousand colored lights. There was true inspiration here, just waiting to be unleashed upon the world! It was a glorious sight, incredibly beautiful. Yes, Rarity could once again see.

But she didn't like what she saw.

"Milady? Is something the matter?" Jeeves asked.

Everything was wrong. "No, Jeeves. Nothing at all." Rarity felt quite light-headed, but not from her burst of uncontrolled magic. There was something else bothering her.

Ordinary sight could not pierce through buildings, but her new, surreal, bizarrely-sharp vision could. Two streets over, behind a public library, thousands of ponies gathered around a rickety stage as a blazing crown was lowered onto Blueblood's head. The despicable snob was shimmering a violent red as the regal circlet descended.

Yet even that was not the cause for her shock.

In comparison, the light from the crown was nothing. But that was only because there was an actual Element hanging around Blueblood's neck, suffusing the entire area with a rather sinister-sounding A-flat. The feeling of the thing was unmistakeable, but the form was completely new. A compass-rose of ruby, the same shape as that idiotic stallion's cutie-mark. None of the Elements looked like that.

Still, that ominous crimson light seemed familiar. Why, if the stone had been cut into the design of a lightning bolt, then …
Ah.

Oh dear. Rainbow was going to be so upset.

Blueblood adjusted his crown and frowned.

The peasantry was being disturbingly unruly today. A coronation is an inspiring moment. Surely the crowning of their monarch was an occasion deserving of applause, if anything in their pitiful lives was at all!

Yet not a single pony in the audience was smiling.

So. It had come to this, had it? They were going to dismiss him as some mere pretender? As an usurper of the rightful crown? Even after all the trouble he had gone to, after he had worked so hard to gain the strength he needed! He could raise the sun for them! What more could they want?

How disgustingly uncivilized of them. The inconsiderate ponies should respect the sacrifice of those noble unicorns who had given him their power.

Not that they knew about that.

Prime Minister glanced at him, and redoubled his efforts to sway the increasingly hostile crowd. Trembling, the idiot of a stallion mopped up more perspiration from his brow with the damp handkerchief held in his shaking hoof. "A … as I said, please honor your new ruler with—"

"Boo! Bring back the princesses!" somepony yelled.

The dam broke, an enormous outcry of contempt and loathing washing against them. As expected, the bureaucrats were terrified, cowering before the onslaught of abuse thrown their way. But with his new strength at the forefront of his mind, Blueblood stood tall against the tide of discontent. He knew what had gone wrong. He knew what had ruined the coronation.

It was quite simple. Everypony hated him.

Everywhere he looked, he saw only anger, distrust, and scorn directed his way. The citizens hated him, and didn't care if he knew it. He was nothing to them.

King Blueblood trembled in rage. Who were these ponies to insult him so? He was royalty! He would have their unwavering respect!

When a tomato narrowly missed his new crown, he lost control of his temper. Stepping forward, he shoved aside the sweating mess that was the head of government, and took his place at the front of the stage. The crowds jeered at him, even as he fixed them with a commanding, sweeping glare. "You! All of you! I am your King! You will respect that, or face the consequences!"

It didn't work. They laughed! They were still laughing! How dare they? How dare they!
These worms! These vermin! They were less than scum, and they were making a mockery of his finest hour!

Blueblood held his head in pain as the taunts and ridicule only grew. Stop! Stop!

"That is it! I have had enough!" he roared, eyes bulging in rage. "I am the King! As your King, I have the right to order you all! I give you my very first order!"

His throat burned as he sucked in a breath.

KNEEL.

Ten thousand threads of nothing burst outwards, tied to the new monarch's gullet. They twirled and danced in the wind, howling in mindless hunger. With a burst of light, there was a rippling sensation. A stolen echo of a sound – if sound had a taste and a color and a scent, and carried the shivering chill of sweetened fear.

The ponies at the outer fringes of the square screamed in terror and tried to run. Their attempts to escape were amusingly futile. Why, Blueblood simply had to chuckle at the expressions on their faces. One by one, each of the citizens choked on nothing, clutched at nothing, and fell. The King smiled, watching as their own limbs betrayed them, as their flesh grew weak and cold, and their hair turned white. With a piercing wail, the whirlpool of magic curled inwards and wrapped around him, fading the outside world to an impenetrable black.

When the darkness receded, he was the only one left standing in a very wide radius.

He felt … different. His horn felt longer. The tips of his blond mane and tail were oddly colored, now. Each hair looked as if it had been dipped in a different pot of paint, the rainbow hues merging into a dull brown from a distance. And there was something sweet on the tip of his tongue.

The King breathed in deeply, enjoying the taste of … strength. Strength beyond measure.

Yes. The world would bow to him. Seas would rise, and mountains would crumble. Nations would fall to his incredible might.

Blueblood did not require the worthless wings of an alicorn, or even the treacherous, untrustworthy support of the peasants he ruled. No, the one true monarch had discovered a much greater power.

KNEEL BEFORE YOUR KING.

Fluttershy ducked.

She spun and swerved, branches whizzing past her at phenomenal speeds. Despite her swiftness, the pegasus knew exactly where she was going. Rocky had been quite thorough in her directions, despite her awkward grasp of language.

Twilight had, after much thinking, eventually come up with a plan. It was a good plan, but because of the unicorn's terrible wounds, it hadn't really involved the mare at all. The librarian had seemed pained at her own words, as if blaming herself for being injured. Well, Fluttershy would just have to do something about that when she got back! She had fixed Pinkie, and she'd fix Twilight too, if she had to! Nobody was going to be feeling sad tonight.

Um, grr.
Yes, assertiveness was key. Remember that.

Oh, but that was all for later. She had a job to do, now. It was a very important job, so she really shouldn't be getting distracted.

There, a glimpse of her destination! Through the gaps in the trees, the finely-woven nest stuck out to her like a neon sign in the dark. With a reversed double-stroke of her wings, Fluttershy slowed to a hover beside the tiny home.

A flash of red and gold heralded the arrival of two birds, plumed in fire.

Fluttershy absolutely adored them on sight. They were just like Philomena at her best – images of avian grace, and clothed in living flame. Heralds of death, rebirth, and justice! Of course, the phoenixes had a much more important quality to her at the moment. They happened to be anathema to their highly-flammable attackers.

"Oh please! Please, I need your help!" she cried with tears in her eyes. "My friend is being attacked by timberwolves! Please help her!"

The birds were obviously surprised, glancing at each other in confusion, but they didn't take flight. Fluttershy stifled a whimper as a stray thought hit her. There was a problem she had forgotten.

She had no Kindness left.

The fiery avians warbled a complex duet, as if arguing, and then rose from their nest in tandem. It seemed they had come to a decision. Despite her lack of Kindness, the two birds acknowledged the request with simultaneous nods. Her heart rose into her chest, and the pegasus stammered out her thanks as best she could.

Fluttershy spun around. "This way!"

Flying as one, the group of three soared back towards the cave. As they approached, she could see Pinkie still dodging the wolves. It was a good sign, as it meant the earth-pony was uninjured for the moment. The birds beside her, however, pumped out a shocking burst of heat in response. Trilling in anger, they barreled downwards, trailing fire from the tips of their outstretched wings.

It only took a few high-speed passes before the wooden automatons began to smoke. Giving up, the pack fled as one, squealing loudly in pain and fear. It looked like forcing timberwolves to face beings of pure plasma was beyond even the Element's power.

With a cocky squawk, their saviors moved to follow the beasts, chasing them far away.

Fluttershy blinked. She could have sworn that the last phoenix winked at her, just before it disappeared.

Then the two ponies were left alone.
The wolves were gone. They were gone!

Fluttershy didn't know whether to laugh or cry in relief. She split the difference by performing a midair twirl, as Pinkie danced a little jig of joy.

"Yes! It worked!" the baker shouted, gyrating like crazy. Several of the moves Pinkie was performing seemed to require impossible flexibility, but from the beaming grin stubbornly attached to the earth-pony's face, the contortions didn't hurt at all. "Woo! Yeah! Hahahaa! Go Fluttershy! We won! We won! We wo—"

The sound of a sickening crack cut off her celebrations. The pink mare slumped bonelessly, collapsing to the ground.

A particularly annoyed gryphon lowered her bloody talons. "Wrong," she spat. The body of the party-enthusiast lay unmoving in front of Gilda, victim to a devastating strike to the head.

"Pinkie!" Fluttershy screamed. "P-Pinkie! No!"

"Feh. I should have known. It never, ever works. You can’t trust anyone. Not even slaves, the worthless dogs. You guys should have been long-dead." The gryphon gripped the earth-pony's body by the neck, and lifted the weight easily with one claw. With the casual shake of a talon, Pinkie's head lolled, and her limbs swung grotesquely, like the lifeless parts of a macabre doll.

It was monstrous. Fluttershy nearly retched at the sight.

"Fine, then. How does that saying go? If you wanna get something done right …" The murderous carnivore tossed her prize aside like trash, and looked straight at the horrified pegasus. "You have to do it yourself."

Gilda smiled.

Golden Rule

Golden Rule

The rough bark of an old, withered tree caught on Fluttershy's coat as she stumbled. She kept moving, back and away, whimpering softly in shock. Warm tears trickled down her face. This had to be a nightmare. It couldn't be real.

No.

No, no, no, she refused to believe that this was anything but a horrible dream, one that she just had to wake up from soon because there was absolutely no way that one of her friends would d…

There was no way that Pinkie would ever, ever be d…

… be dea…

"No! P-Pinkie!" Fluttershy sobbed.
The thought was too much for her to finish. Nothing. Nothing could cure that.
She began to cry her heart out.

In front of her, the murderer laughed.

"You!" Fluttershy screamed in pain and rage, her anger pushing a hot, painful strength through her veins. "Who are you?" she howled. "You're not Gilda! Gilda wouldn't do that!"

"Feh. Of course I would. You're not in Equestria any more, little pony!" The half-bird, half lion cackled maniacally as her long, menacing wings spread open. "I am a gryphon! Predator to your prey! What, did you think something else would happen? Hahaha, you idiot! Friendship means nothing! Only survival matters out here!"

The pegasus violently shook her head. It couldn't be true! "No! B-back in flight school you were a bully, not a murderer! You never tried to kill anypony!"

"Argh! Shut up!" Gilda snapped. Her hard beak clacked, the sharp sound ricocheting off the forest around them. "'Anypony' this, 'everypony' that! It makes me sick! This is why every other freaking nation hates your dumb little country!"

"What?" Fluttershy felt ill. "You monster!" she shouted, holding back her bile.

The gryphon actually thought she could justify … the thing she had done?
Impossible. Unthinkable. Pinkie was worth more than any excuse.
Pinkie was worth more than anything.

A slow, dull thump began to drum in the background as the murderer casually buffed her claws on a foreleg. "Hmm? Tell me, how have the Native Buffalo tribes been treated? Do they still have their rightful land?"

The pegasus winced. Well, yes, it was true that pony settlers could be unwittingly cruel in their efforts to expand. She had learned …

What was she thinking?

No! No, this was about Pinkie, not som—

Gilda snorted loudly, the sound disrupting her thoughts. "When the Zebrican famines were killing thousands, how many refugees did your country take?"

How awful! Famines? There were even refugees? The newspapers had never said anything about that! In fact, Fluttershy didn't really know anything at all about Zebrica! She did know a Zebra, but Zecora was an outcast who lived in social isolation. Surely there wasn't any …

"… oh no," she whispered.

Why did Zecora decide to come all the way to a distant land, only to live in a ramshackle hut in a creepy forest? Where were the mare's family and friends? What on earth had happened?

And why was it so hard to concentrate? She had to remember that Pinkie—

"Why do you say 'anypony', when you could say 'anyone'?" the gryphon drawled.

Those simple words hit Fluttershy the hardest, lancing in through her ribcage to strike at her heart. She didn't want to agree with the gryphon, but that same, insidious, treacherous thought had been haunting her for a very long time.

Spike had raised a similar point, once. Excuse me, he had mumbled. Not to be rude, but he wasn't a pony, so, maybe, could they use a different word? 'Everypony' was a constant reminder that he didn't quite fit in with the rest. He didn't feel accepted. But he had been callously waved away by a carefree Rarity, told that the name didn't matter. Spike was a pony in spirit, the unicorn had said.

No. It did matter.

Saying 'anypony' was an old pony custom, but it was rude, and … and nasty, and it was mean to say it! Was no-one else worth mentioning? Gryphons, dragons, mules, donkeys! Weren't they all people? Wasn't Angel a person? For many, many years, Fluttershy had been torn between the need for approval from her friends, and the pain she had to cause to get it. She didn't have the courage to stand out from the crowd, so she had to follow the popular trends.

Nevertheless, it was racism. There was no other way to see it. The thought that other animals were somehow worth less than ponies … it went against everything she had ever believed in.

And yet, this had nothing to do with Pink—

"You wanna know why? It's because you can," Gilda spat. "You hate foreigners. You hate anyone different. You stupid little ponies live in your stupid little paradise, protected by your stupidly powerful princess. Now look at you! The rest of the world despises you! And you know what? It's only fair. After all, you ponies hated them first."

"No! T-that's not true!" she cried. "It's not!"

Think of P—

"But gryphons! Oh no. We hold a special kind of hate for you. The kind that comes when you've hated someone for so long that you're not even mad anymore. Ice-cold hate." The gryphon began to circle the clearing with measured steps, slowly prowling around to the shivering, yellow mare. "Years ago, the Gryphon Kingdom was about to go under. Our land had been destroyed, and our food stores were running low. A freak attack of plagues, storms, and fires had left us with no food and no options. We were on our last legs, and our only choice was to beg Equestria for aid."

Gilda stared at her talon as she curled it into a fist. "So we did. A fearsome nation of carnivores swallowed their dignity, bowed down, and asked a country of weak, quivering prey for help, pledging their mighty support in return for a measly amount of food."

The pegasus tried to stop her own incessant trembling in the face of danger. "W-what happened?"

"What do you think?" Gilda shot her a look of pure disgust. "We were totally ignored."

That had to have been a lie, Fluttershy was sure of it.
She stood a little straighter as her confidence began to return. "The princess would nev—"

"Your princess? Hah! Our messenger came back with an unopened scroll. The treaty between our nations was turned away at the door. Our request wasn't even worthy of your precious little princess's time. That … that was so humiliating!" the gryphon roared. "There were riots in the streets, calling for pony blood! If it weren't for the power of your little ruler, we would have crushed you! The arrogance! We offered you our trust, and you spat upon our pride! It took decades for us to claw back up to a fraction of our former strength, jeered at by our enemies, forgotten by our friends! You ruined us! You ruined my family! You ruined me!"

Spittle flew wildly as the vitriol spewed out of Gilda's open beak.

For a few seconds, an eerie calm fell over the clearing. "Yeah. But with this …" The gryphon delicately brushed the edge of a wing over her crystal feather. "With this, I can bring back the glory of the Gryphon Kingdom." Hard, golden eyes glinted with madness. "Get ready, twerp. I'm starting this revolution now."

A thin, feathered crystal pulsed. Red veins grew, crawling and twisting in the furthest edges of Fluttershy's vision. The beating of the mare's heart seemed to echo off the surrounding trees, but warped and broken. Twisted and hollow.
The air felt thick. She couldn't breathe.

Gilda smiled dangerously. "Time To Open Your Mind."

By clicking up the latch and tugging on the handle, Colgate nudged open the back door.

Yep, the alleyway behind her house looked much the same as ever. A light, silvery mist was curling around the trashcans and loose bricks, a misty vapor yet to burn away in the morning sun. The soft air swirled happily through her mane, carrying the smells of fresh bread and crisp apples.
Mmm, it promised to be a lovely day.

Oh, and there was Princess Luna, looking amazingly bored.

Colgate flashed an uneasy smile at the living legend, before turning to shut the door behind her. After she had wiped away a nervous sweat and tucked away her keys, she looked back, catching a quick glimpse of Luna stifling a yawn. Gosh, had the princess been up the entire night?
No way. That was a bit much. Even royalty needed sleep, didn't they?

She coughed lightly to clear her throat. "P-princess? Are you alright?"

"Ah. I apologize." Luna cracked her spine with a disturbing crunch. "As the princess of the moon, I am unused to early rises. Dawn was never my purview." The legendary mare blinked heavily to clear the sleep from her eyes, then absent-mindedly stomped on a scaly tail protruding from a dumpster. Loud cursing soon followed, doubling when a twin-horned head rang against the closed lid.

Okay. In a valiant effort not to stare at the unnerving duo, Colgate's eyes drifted upwards.

Her jaw quickly dropped. "Woah, i-is that Derpy? No way!" she gasped. Sure enough, the clumsy pegasus was zipping around above them, delivering letters and parcels in record time. It was downright disturbing to see that mare so competent! No offense intended, of course.

Princess Luna raised a regal brow while Discord fluently exercised his talent at profanity. "Is something the matter, citizen?" she asked.

Definitely.

No, Colgate couldn't say that. Retool it a bit. "Uh, maybe? I mean, I think something's wrong with Derpy! Just look at her, she's flying like a pro!" Whoops, that was a bit rude.

The monarch glanced up briefly, then gave her a curious look. "We appear to be lacking vital information. Is that pegasus not a professional mail-mare? She is merely performing her duty." As the alicorn spoke, Discord gingerly clambered out of the dumpster, shooting her a baleful glare.

"Well, yeah, but Derpy is terrible at her job. She breaks stuff all the time," Colgate tried to explain. Aw, but this was still coming off as pretty mean, wasn't it? Gee. Sorry, Derpy.

The taller blue mare didn't notice the rude signs being made behind her back, as she was busy suspiciously staring at Colgate. "Tell me, citizen. Why is it so surprising that this pony has improved?"

Great. How could she say this without sounding offensive? "Uh, I'm not being mean, I promise! Just a second." She gingerly rubbed her neck with a hoof, trying to put her thoughts into words. "Right, so, last week, Derpy broke our window. Then she handed us a package of shattered hourglass bulbs, before breaking our only lamp and another window on her way out. That's pretty much the normal service we get."

Princess Luna finally seemed to understand the issue, shooting the now-talented pegasus a contemplative glance. "Mysterious. However, such an improvement is not terribly strange, and is most likely completely unrelated to your father's disappearance. On that note, searching this area proved inconclusive. We still need more information to accurately formulate a hypothesis. Come, citizen! It is time for a change of tactics! We must question the townsfolk!"

"Sure, I guess," Colgate agreed, falling in step behind her majesty. Thinking they were going to walk at a comfortable pace, she was surprised when the alicorn put on a burst of speed without warning.

Luna shouted over her shoulder. "Do not tarry! Haste is paramount!"

"Y-yes! I'm sorry!" She began to run faster, in a valiant effort to keep up with the hot-headed monarch.

Discord slithered along next to Colgate, seemingly recovered from the unwarranted attack on his tail. He grinned nastily. "Oh, you poor thing. She's a bit forceful, isn't she? Well, don't be too harsh on the little princess. I mean, she might be a bit rash. And irritable, I suppose. And stubborn, yes. But give her a few hundred years, and she'll get past that phase."

The unicorn was almost afraid to ask. But … curiosity, meet cat. "That phase?" she wheezed while galloping as fast as she could.

"Absolutely, my dear. They call it the 'terrible two-hundreds'. Apparently, after a century or two, immortals tend to act like children again. How funny is that? The term's rather infamous among certain crowds. Although, I will admit, that crowd might be mostly dragons. Ponies usually struggle to hit ninety."

Ouch, that was harsh. And also kinda morbidly depressing for pretty much everyone involved. Ninety was a very generous estimate for the average pony.

Still running, Colgate was forced to skid to a halt when Luna spun back around. "Enough! How dare you?" bellowed the livid ruler. "Why must you continue to try my patience?"

"Oh, don't feel so down, princess. It's only an observation. Everypony's young compared to the magnificent me!" Discord posed coquettishly.

The mare ground her teeth in response. "Ludicrous! I can hardly be considered immature, considering I was born last millennium!"

"Are we counting time spent sealed away, now?" The spirit's smile transformed into a smirk. "Bah, I never do that. That would make me feel old. Twelve hundred years of missed birthdays, how awful."

Luna laughed bitterly. "Does a few extra centuries matter? At my birth, I was strong enough to shift the path of the very Earth itself. I hold over two full lifetimes of constant magical experience to my name. I have seen my companions wither and die, and watched their children's children follow! You will know that I am no foal, Discord! My reputation is tarnished enough by my own jealousy and treachery! The truth is my burden! Do not further slander my name!"

The draconequus wiggled a finger in his ear. "My my, what a tantrum. But even for all that, it seems I must repeat myself, Princess." He leant over the taller mare, balancing easily on his muscular, squamous tail. "I. Am. Disorder. There is a reason you are nothing but a foal to me. After all …"

A condescending sneer crossed his features. "Two hundred years is nothing to thirteen thousand."

Blueblood shifted to a more comfortable position on his fabulous throne.

What a day it had been. Nothing had really panned out as expected, but his greatest problems appeared to have been temporarily fixed. The crowds had been dealt with, the media mollified, and even the smallest evidence of wrongdoing had been destroyed. Now he had the time to relax, and deal with the more minor aspects of his dominion.

Somewhat surprisingly, it turned out that the everyday duties of a King were rather humdrum. Dull, even.

Still, Blueblood was obliged to attend to them, and he had the efforts of an extremely competent secretary on his side. The sterling fellow easily took care of all the menial business in a delicate political dance, always maintaining a deferential air, and never overstepping the bounds of his station. Yes, his aide was an excellent worker. For a commoner.

The nondescript stallion coughed dryly to gain his attention, and flipped a page on his notepad. "Ahem. The fifth item of business, your majesty. Ever since the coronation, civil unrest has been reported in all eight districts surrounding the town square."

The King waved a lofty hoof. "Unrest? Bah! Send for the Royal Guard, then. Have them take care of it."

"Unfortunately, it seems most of the Royal Guard have been dispatched on trivial errands, your highness. That seems to have been the normal modus operandi of your predecessors, I'm afraid." The secretary straightened his glasses with a disapproving look.

"Ridiculous! Yet another problem that I am forced to fix. Well, speak up! Tell me where the fools are," Blueblood ordered.

"Of course." Several pages crinkled as they were turned. "Ahem. Records show two accounts of cats stuck in trees, three noise disturbances, a purported 'crime to fashion'. My, my. And it seems quite a few officers were sent to deal with a missing-pony report, as detailed by the prominent Mr. Pants."

Now that was amusing. The King chuckled loudly at the very idea. "Oh? How droll. Who was the fool that managed to escape him?"

"A young mare by the name of Apple, apparently. She and a Ms. Dash have both been declared missing, but the report emphasizes finding Ms. Apple, due to a possible case of magically-inflicted derangement. When found, both ponies are to be returned to a Ms. Belle, care of Mr. Pants," the stallion read out loud. He was about to continue, until Blueblood stopped him with a quick gesture.

That name …

It couldn't be. It couldn't be her. "Belle? Rarity Belle?" he whispered.

His secretary blinked slowly, glancing down at his report. "It would appear so, milord."

"Indeed. Rarity Belle." The syllables of her name rolled off his tongue with all the speed of chilled honey. He smiled a terrible smile. "Interesting. Very well, then. Alter the return order for miss Apple. Instead of escorting her to Mr. Pants, she is to be remanded to the palace's most secure suite. We can't have a mentally-unbalanced pony trotting around amongst the civilians, now can we?"

The other pony scribbled down the instructions, nodding. "As you wish, your majesty."

"But we should keep the three compatriots together, yes? Let us be kind. Extend the Royal Guard's arrests to Ms. Dash …" Blueblood's cold smirk widened. "And Rarity Belle."

Clouds sure looked comfortable.

Now, Applejack had only been to Cloudsdale once, but hoo-boy! It had felt like she was walking on beaten egg-whites the entire time! Not quite as sticky, granted. Or messy.

Anyway, she had enjoyed her time up there immensely. And if you ignored the near-death experience that Rarity had, the trip had been absolute barrels of fun for everypony! Mostly because of the clouds. Like big, squishy trampolines, clouds were. No wonder that Discord fellow seemed to like them for hammocks! He looked like he'd been around for a while, irritating pest that he was. Heck, Dash was always taking naps in the darn things, wasn't she? If anyone was an expert on skiving off, it was that mare. Yup.

Speaking of her good pal, that was why Applejack was carefully combing the skies. She was Rainbow-hunting!
The mare, that is, not real rainbows.

But Rainbow was real, too. So maybe, real as in … the rainbows that were really illusions. She wasn't looking for the rainbows that weren't the ones that weren't … fake?

Look, she was trying to find Dash, okay?
Don't complicate things.

The farm-pony had a foolproof plan, of course. Her brilliant reasoning was that firstly, a certain blue pegasus liked naps, and secondly, clouds were prime nap-worthy locations. That meant her best chance at finding her multi-colored friend was to look for clouds. Maybe she'd holler at some suspicious ones, see what pops up out of them.

Uh, yeah. That was basically Applejack's entire plan. Short and sweet, though! Don't need no funny tactics or confusing strategies here, thank you very much!

Then again, it was a bit dull, staring up all the time. Urgh, she was getting a crick in her neck, too. Ouch.
Maybe she should take a quick break.

Wahah! Look up there!

Ah … nope. That wasn't Rainbow. Green mane on a white coat. Not even close, you blind bat.

Come on, then.
Better get a move on, young miss Apple. There's always more sky to see, right? One hoof then the other.

What was she thinking about? Clouds, that's right.

You know, it actually made Applejack a little sore that pegasi got the comfiest beds of all. It wasn't like they did more work than the earth-ponies or anything. In fact, it was pretty darn close to being the other way around, wasn't it? Did pegasi work their haunches off by tilling soil or bucking trees? No! They didn't! It was like the clouds were shouting: 'Hey, free comfy beds, no work required! What's that? Oh, not you. Sorry, only pegasus ponies allowed! Only them.'

Dumb clouds.

Of course, at least you weren't liable to fall to your death if you fell out of a normal bed. That was a good selling point, Applejack supposed. But on the other hoof, most pegasi seemed to be pretty much immune to falls in the first place.

Well, except for Fluttershy, but that mare forgot she had wings half the time. She'd have made a fine earth-pony. Or unicorn, perhaps.

Hm? Ahah! There was a blue hoof dangling down the side of that far-off tuft of cotton-white fluff! Chances were good this time – that was a textbook Dash pose. Lazy as all get out, too, but that wasn't the problem right now.

Rearing right back, Applejack cupped her forelegs around her mouth. "Hoy, Rainbow!" she bellowed.

In answer to her shout, a red mane popped quickly over the side of the distant cloud, soon followed by the confused-looking head attached to it. Darnit, the coat was the right color, but a red mane? Rainbow had a rainbow mane. That was nice and easy to remember, too. Looked like stupid old Applejack had gotten it wrong again. Keep your chin up, apologize to the nice lady, then skedaddle. Go on.

"Whoah there! Um … shoot! Mah bad! Ah thought y'were somepony else, ma'am!" She doffed her Stetson politely, and made to keep walking.

The crimson-maned, mystery mare cleared her throat, shuffling the good-sized cloud closer with quick bursts of wing-power. "Uh, AJ?"

Hold on a sec. It was just two short words, but right between them had been a very distinctive voice-crack. "The heck?" She turned back to the pegasus, scrutinizing her. "Great boiled sweetsops! Rainbow! It is you! Why'dja go an' dye yer dang mane? Ya tryin' ta blend in, or somethin'? 'Cuz yer doin' a terrible job. Clouds ain't red, y' fruitcake."

Dash tugged at her hair self-consciously. "Oh, uh, that? It's a long story."

A long story? Uhuh. Right. Yeah. Applejack had heard that particular line before.
It told her nothing. Nothing at all.

The earth-pony didn't quite give her friend the stink-eye, but Rainbow seemed to rapidly cave under her completely level stare. "Gah, okay, fine! I admit it, the story isn't really that long. But, er … seriously? I have no clue how this happened. My hair was just like this when I woke up. So, basically, it's totally not my fault. I'm not lying, I swear! Please don't punch me."

"Hm," the farmer hummed in contemplation. Strangely, Dash looked like she wasn't joking. That was a serious face. Applejack wasn't entirely sure what that meant, though, because the story sounded a little nuts. Maybe the truth really was stranger than friction, as they say.

"Although …" The red-maned pegasus tapped her mouth in thought, as if considering whether or not to reveal something. "I did kinda go nuts there for a while. My memory's a little fuzzy about what happened for a good minute or two. MIght've raided a salon or something, dunno."

"Dang, you went crazy as well?" Applejack blurted in shock. "Ah lost the plot mahself, had t'get rescued by Twilight's folks! Jus' plain embarrassin', that was."

"Well, I don't wanna brag," her friend brazenly lied. "But I'm pretty sure my freakout was worse. See, I was thinking I was never gonna be able to fly again, so I started doing this super-creepy, nutso laugh. Then everything totally went black! I must've been heading towards, like, Pinkie-meltdown territory, at least. Minimum."

The farmer scoffed loudly. "Hah! Y'call that insane? Let me tell … oh, hang on." Where was this whole conversation going? Someplace bad. Maybe they should stop while they had the chance.

Dash looked confused at her self-interruption. "Eh?"

"Jus' … hold up a second. Look, Ah like our competitions, Rainbow, but this'uns a battle we shouldn't get into. The first prize'd be a one-way trip t'the loony bin. So let's try'n keep our heads on straight, 'kay?"

A flash of understanding. "Ooh, right. Good point," her blue friend nodded, before jumping in shock as another mane popped over the cloud edge.

This time, it didn't belong to a pegasus she knew. It was an orange mane, attached to the head of a laughing, yellow mare. The stranger finished snickering at the surprise she had given Rainbow, before turning a disconcerting smile down on Applejack.

Okay, then. Yes. This was unexpected.
Who was this supposed to be?
Was it one of Dash's friends? Hmm.

Suddenly, the farm-pony found it hard to look Rainbow straight in the eyes. But the mystery pegasus? That mare wasn't worried at all. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying Applejack's obvious discomfort. Did she know something? Why was she smirking like that?

"Hey there," the yellow pony called, a disturbingly broad grin on her face.

Boy howdy, this was getting awkward fast. What had Rainbow been doing all this time, anyway? No, probably best not to ask. Try to make light conversation, instead. Normal talk.

"Eh, hi?" Applejack forced out. Good start, there. Keep going. "Erm. Uh, y'wanna introduce me t'yer … friend there, Dash?"

Rainbow flushed ultramarine. "R-right! Spitfire, this is Applejack. Applejack, this is Spitf— wait. Wait. Stop right there. What?" The pegasus narrowed her eyes in outrage. "How do you not know who she is?"

"Ah just don't." The farm-pony frostily raised an eyebrow. "An' why does that matter, hm?"

There was a strangled sound from Dash. "She's the captain of the Wonderbolts, that's why! You've met her before! Are you saying you've forgotten? That's crazy! How could you forget?!"

"… Eh? Oh! Sorry, ma'am! Didn't recognize ya without yer suit on. Good t'see ya," Applejack cheerily greeted the older mare. The Wonderbolts! That explained everything. It was all coming back to her now.

"Likewise," Spitfire returned, still aiming a disturbing leer down at the earth-pony.

Rainbow looked dumbfounded. And horrified, for some reason. "W-what! Why are you taking this so calmly? It's Spitfire!" Right, so the farmer wasn't amazed enough, was that it? Pfeh. Like that mattered.

Applejack took the time to roll her eyes before answering. "Dash, Ah ain't the Wonderbolts fanatic here. That'd be you. Most of us think they're swell, sure. Good stuff. Very impressive. But we don't have plush dolls of 'em or anything, y'know?"

"T-that's memorabilia! Collector's items!" Rainbow quickly protested. "It's not like that!"

"Sure it ain't, sugar. Whatever y'say."

Finally reaching the limits of her terrible attempt to keep a straight face, Spitfire burst out in raucous laughter at both of them. "Bwahahaha! You two are a riot!" She wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes, before giving Dash a powerful noogie. "I underestimated you, kid! You are definitely our number-one fan! Seriously, even the toys? Hahaha!"

"Ah, stoppit! Gerroff! … No. Oh, no. Oh, dammit!" Finally realizing what she had just admitted to, Rainbow covered her blushing face with her hooves. "Dammit, AJ! That was a secret!"

"Heh." Applejack smirked.

Pain.
Agonizing pain.

It lanced in bursts through Fluttershy's mind, spiking through her skull as she struggled to keep her sanity intact. She shielded her thoughts as best she could, but her head hurt so badly that she couldn't even cry out. Moving would only make this torture worse. Physical pain couldn't compare – this was on a completely different scale!

But … ah, never mind. Her suffering didn't matter. Pain was not enough to make her fall.

She could simply never let the gryphon control her. That was it. There was no way that she would ever let Pinkie's last work be in vain.
So she would keep on fighting, keep on striving, even if her own determination killed her.
What else could she do?

A chuckle caused her to open her eyes. "Beg for mercy," Gilda purred in a strangely seductive tone.

Fluttershy flatly refused to listen, but words began to swirl through the pegasus anyway, beating against her weakest, innermost walls. "Open your Mind," they pleaded. "Beg for mercy," they explained. It wasn't just some simple request. Those words, they made her want to surrender herself. And it was so awfully, awfully hard to hold them back! They were too persuasive, curling around her brain, touching her most personal thoughts with tendrils of hateful kindness. They scrawled themselves along her nerves, and told her it would be so easy to just … let go. Allow the gryphon to command her, manipulate her. Control her.

"No!" Fluttershy grunted, compacting her concentration into a tight ball of obstinacy. She knew how to deal with this type of attack. Bottling up her emotions was an old trick. A trick she had practiced for many, many years. It hurt like nothing else, but that blinding pain was useful, making it harder for her agonized mind to be swayed. The strategy had worked against Discord, for a time. She was certain that it would work here.

"What was that?" Gilda growled. "I have given you an Order."

"A-ah!" The pegasus screamed in pain as the searing force redoubled. Her knees weakened.
The world went white.

From far beyond the roiling mists of agony, a darkly malicious voice cackled with unbridled joy. "Yes! Beg! Hahahahahaa!"

"No!" she yelled, her vision swimming back. The air bent light like frosted glass, distant shapes and hues dancing in her tired, watery eyes. "I w-won't! I won't ever beg! Not to you!"

The gryphon snarled in response, baring her claws. "You think you have a chance, Pony?" That ordinary, harmless word 'Pony' had been mangled, spat out harshly like a grievous insult. "You think you're strong, do you? Hahahaa, not even close! I can see how weak you really are. Your constant failures have been with you for so long that your weakness has become another side of you! A part of your very being is designed to lose! I can see it! I can see the blood pouring from the cracks in your mind! You are weak! Weak! I can make you bow! All I have to do is push."

The feather glowed.

Fluttershy fell.

_______________________________________________

A small, yellow filly preened nervously as the busy crowds began to gather.

To tell the truth, it was a bad habit. With each unnecessary tug at her pinions, she risked serious damage. Really, she should stop. It would be better for her.
She knew this, but today of all days, Fluttershy couldn't help herself.

It wasn't every day you started school.

The Flight School in Cloudsdale was famous, and rightly so. It had pumped out the majority of the Wonderbolts from its hallowed, vaporous halls, and boasted a very impressive list of graduates, besides. The top leaders in aeronautics and the best athletes in Equestria, researchers and sports-mares alike, all hailed from this one building. There were many different academies, of course, but none were as popular or expansive as the one looming in front of her. It was a very prestigious school, and a painfully high bar to jump.

Slipping through the throng of hopefuls, Fluttershy took her place in the open square, ducking her head behind her long, pink mane. None of the other students paid attention to her beyond a passing, curious glance. To her, that was a relief.

The young pegasus had never been able to form lasting connections with other ponies. After years of peaceful solitude, she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Due to her timidity, Fluttershy had no friends. She never felt the need to talk with children her age, or concerned adults, or even figments of her imagination.
Everypony else had a lot of trouble understanding her, misheard her when she forced herself to speak.
They said she was too quiet. They said she was too shy.

Everypony else was too loud.

A bell rang, and the elderly headmistress doddered out. The mare wasted ten minutes of their time talking about nothing in particular, comparing clouds to youth and storms to progress, or something. Not even the teachers seemed to understand it, judging by the exasperated glances some of the faculty shared. In the end, rather than dismissing the students properly, the ancient pony stopped mid-sentence and abruptly meandered off, much to the staff's embarrassment.

Taking control of the tittering assembly, the Vice-Principal stepped up to the podium. Fluttershy closed her eyes as the dull voices of wisdom washed over her.

_______________________________________________

Barely an hour later, the first practical class was collected in the outer fields. They had been told to line up near the training clouds, waiting their turn to hover across a gap. It was simply floating from a high place to a low place, the teacher had said. Controlled falling. Easy as anything.
For most of them, it wouldn't even be a test.

Fluttershy couldn't help letting out a squeak when a shock of red-green-blue hair popped up in front of her.

"Hi there! I'm Rainbow!" The bundle of colors beamed brightly at her. No, wait, that was a pony! Somepony was actually talking to her! Quick, respond! Open your mouth and say something! Speak!

"I …" Her throat seized up, becoming suddenly dry. "I'm Flu…y" She tried to force out her name anyway, tried to say it as easily as the other filly seemed to.

"Eh? Flu-uay? Haha, that's a funny name!" The strange blue pegasus gave her an exuberant grin. "Anyway, isn't this cool? I've always wanted to fly! I mean, I've tried hovering a little, but not proper flying, you know? It's supposed to be totally different! I'm so excited!"

"Y-yes." With a wan smile, ashamed at her baseless fear, she touched the other pony's proffered wing with her own. "Me too," she whispered.

That filly – no, Rainbow – seemed so sure of herself. The sheer purity of Rainbow's vibrant personality practically irradiated the air around them. Fluttershy couldn't even muster up the courage to break an awkward silence, but she was inwardly glad to have such a confident pony nearby. It made her feel like she could be a little bit braver, even though she knew better than to believe that.

The yellow pegasus' feathers tingled gently in the breeze as the two of them waited their turn. She tucked her wings back against her body before the temperature could dip too much. It was hard to keep warm at high altitudes, sometimes. Shivering, Fluttershy shifted her stance on the softly squishy ground, pushing around the semi-solid tufts of white.

Eventually, a calm tenor voice rang out. "Miss Dash? Miss Dash, it's your turn."

"Hey, that's me! Wish me luck!" Rainbow didn't wait for her to reply, bounding quickly towards the teacher, who nudged her into place on the starting line.

Obviously used to dealing with children, the gentle-looking stallion gave the filly a few more whispered instructions before stepping back slowly, ready to catch her if the worst happened. Rainbow Dash fluffed out her wings.

Then Fluttershy became confused.

Anyone who has ever seen a pony in flight knows that an adult pegasus must use magic to fly. Being aerodynamic is naturally complicated when you have four great big hooves, a huge skull to support a giant brain, and relatively small wings to lift it all. Equine flight can't just be simplified to magic alone, but magic is certainly involved.

Then there are fillies. Even compared to a mature pony, the idea of a filly flying on physical strength alone is absurd. There's no way those tiny wings have enough strength to lift anypony up in the air. Fluttershy knew that from experience. Hovering is barely possible, given a run-up and a very generous trickle of power.

Rainbow … Rainbow didn't need a run-up.

The very first time Dash flapped her cerulean wings, she shot straight upwards like a cork, before suddenly hurtling forwards at a staggering speed, easily clearing the assigned distance. She went so far, so fast, that she overshot the target cloud completely, despite the mountains of padding put in place. There wasn't a closed jaw in the group. Sure, Rainbow had to be rescued, but the teacher looked very impressed when he brought her back up. A new record for the whole year, he laughed. Smiles all-round. A prodigy.

Once released from the captivity of the adoring crowds, the other filly raced back over to her, the wind tugging lightly at that red-green-blue-yellow mane. "Hey, I passed! I passed! Didja see that?"

"Y-yes! It was very impressive!" Fluttershy told her, honestly glad for the fearless pony.

Rainbow Dash's voice was utterly carefree as she laughed. "Haha, thanks! I bet you'll do well too!"

_______________________________________________

Then it was her turn.

She stood next to the gap in the clouds, her teeth chattering in anxiety. The teacher's words of advice rang in her ears. Behind her, the crowd of students talked loudly amongst themselves, all the conversation of the surrounding ponies focused mainly on her.

Fluttershy gulped, tried to ignore everything else, and stepped back the recommended distance.

The pegasus had practiced this a lot on her own. She knew she could do it. Crossing this gap was more about building up her nerve than anything.
Just go, she chided herself. Everything would be fine, she promised.
Nothing would go wrong.

So she ran.

When Fluttershy ran, she ran fast. Her form was picture-perfect.
She spread out her feathers.

And she cracked her eyes open to the oncoming ground. Her wings tore upwards, bent back at the joint, as she lost all the strength she ever had.

It was her worst fears, come to life.
Fluttershy screamed and screamed as the earth rushed up to meet her. Her voice scraped hoarse, and her throat scratched raw.
She couldn't breathe.

The wind clawed at her eyes as she fell forever. Two strong hooves wrapped around her, and everything went black.

_______________________________________________

Slowly, the world shimmered back into haze. She could hear voices.

"…ible mild trauma. The patient might have a fear of heigh…"

Oh.
Fluttershy understood, now.

Worthless, she calmly thought to herself, as if she had discovered the answer to a great secret.

She was worthless.
That explained everything.

Darkness returned.

_______________________________________________

"…an happen sometimes. Usually they have unicorn or earth-pony gen…"

No.
Just worthless.

_______________________________________________

"…uition is paid for this semester. But in a few months, the board will review the next appli…"

Worthless.

_______________________________________________

A pegasus that failed at flying.

They told her there were options. There were programs for ponies like her. Fluttershy could work as a teacher, or as a weather researcher. The ponies that took desk-jobs often had her … problems. It wasn't an unknown condition. They said she simply had to stay away from dangerous areas, look out for what would be fatal drops for somepony like her. She couldn't stay at the best school in Cloudsdale, of course, but there were places for her to go. It wasn't the end of the world.

For a very short while, her normal classes would continue. Then, in a few weeks, she would pack her bags and leave.

She would go to a different, smaller, building. In a different, smaller, district, she would meet new, real friends, ones who would value her for who she was. She would find her special talent, one that didn't depend on flying. As a pegasus with a different focus, she would begin a new, fulfilling career path, in a profession where she wasn't likely to get hurt.
Yes, that would have been nice.

It was such a pity everyone was lying.

Even if her idea of happiness was nothing but a hopeless dream, Fluttershy wanted to be comforted! Just once, she wanted to be lulled into a false sense of security and mindless belonging! She wanted to believe their false promises, she really did! But no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, no matter how much she turned away, there was always something awful behind the pity in those eyes.

Worthless.

Useless.

It must run in the f—

_______________________________________________

She was back.

A cloying layer of dirt coated her face, wet from tears she didn't remember shedding. The tears were still coming, even now. Her sadness just kept pouring out, like she had been constantly weeping for years and didn't know how to stop.

And she was exhausted. Her own body's strange, uncontrollable reactions had sucked all the energy out of her. The pegasus coughed weakly, and wiped her mouth clear of mud.
She raised her head to look at the gryphon in front of her.

Gilda viciously shoved her nose back down into the soil, grinning broadly, savagely, once again. "Hah! You snap so easily. A tiny little tweak, and you're crying on the floor? No, we've come to the end of our little match, Pony. I think it's about time to finish this."

Fluttershy sobbed harder into the damp earth beneath her, scrabbling frantically at the crushing weight on her skull. She couldn't win. She couldn't breathe.

The gryphon smiled mockingly at her, and teasingly released the pressure on the pegasus' head, bending down to look her in the eye. Impossibly-sharp talons slowly reached out towards her, delicate in their lethality. "Aw, don't worry. I'm sure this won't hurt a bit."

This was it. The end.
She was about to die.

And she still couldn't breathe!

As Gilda stretched those deadly claws around her throat and began to slowly squeeze, the gryphon shifted down ever-so-slightly. The crazed murderer didn't bend her knees that much, barely moving half a stride closer to the ground as she hoisted Fluttershy into the air.

But it was enough.

The earth bubbled and churned between them. A hairy, bulky, wonderful claw burst up from underground, grabbing the Element that was finally, finally within arm's-reach.

Claws slid around the gold and tugged at the jewelry, snapping it off easily. With a flick of that powerful wrist, the necklace was flying at Fluttershy, the entire thing sticking and connecting and spinning to a rest around her collar, knocking the pony away out of the gryphon's grasp. There was a tremble, and a thump, and the crystal swelled out smoothly into the rough shape of a heart, settling to rest right above Fluttershy's own.

She took in a single, glorious breath.

Talons still outstretched, Gilda simply twitched.

When the gryphon eventually realized just what had happened, she screeched in horrified shock. Flaring her wings out, Gilda backpedaled quickly, spitting and cursing in an unfathomable, incandescent rage. The tables had turned faster than anyone could ever have reacted.

The plan … had actually worked.

Twilight's risky, last-ditch strategy had given them just enough edge to win against an opponent who could control minds.
Despite the terrible losses they had suffered, the ponies had won. They had won.

Wheezing, Fluttershy forced her legs to straighten, forced her weakened body to stand. "Gilda. I understand your pain. I understand what it's like to lose pride in yourself, in your family. I understand." Tears threatened to escape her eyes as the little yellow pegasus spoke with the greatest passion she had ever known. "But you chose the worst way to deal with it! You wanted to hurt others to make up for it! You wanted to lash out at pon— … no, at people who never hurt you! It's wrong!"

"I wanted justice, you fool!" the gryphon bellowed, foam collecting in the corners of her beak. "Justice!"

Shaking her head, Fluttershy closed her eyes and lowered her voice. She spoke calmly and quietly, as if to a child. "No. What you wanted was not justice. You wanted revenge."

"It is both!" There was an insane scream from the half-bird. "Making you ponies suffer is all the justice I need!"

She started to walk. As the small pegasus began to pace forward, each step of hers matched one of Gilda's stumbling, wild-eyed retreat. "You still don't understand. But even if I can fix nothing else, I will make you see what you have done. I will make you feel the pain you have caused."

The murderer chuckled grimly. "You fool! You think you can change me? I know who I am, Pony!" Her species was hurled out again, a blind insult that missed the mark. "Nothing will change that! I have my pride! I have my duty!"

"Gilda. More than anything else you've said, that … is a lie." Fluttershy slowly raised her head, maintaining her grim tone, her smooth walking speed. "Remember when we met? You insulted us, calling us names. That was not because you were proud! It was because you were angry! For years, you have hated us, and hated our country. That was not out of duty! It was because you were sad! And I understand that anger. I understand that sadness. Those emotions, I can allow myself to forgive." Closing her eyes with a sorrowful expression, the pegasus paused for several seconds and listened to the frantic breathing of her opponent.

"… You'll neve—"

Without warning, Fluttershy snapped her eyes open, and even the maddened gryphon flinched at her absolutely furious glare. "But then you hurt my friends."

Her Element shone, the heart on her collar beating with limitless fury. A blaze of pink magic twirled and spun in the jewel, pulsing with the thick, dense rhythm of life. She felt her hooves lift off the ground, and her vision became a sea of blood-stained white.

"Sorry," Fluttershy whispered, before her soft voice was drowned out by the relentless sound of flesh and drums. "This might sting a little."

The light made them perfectly blind.

"Hey! Apple Bloom! Are you in there?"

The door to the barn creaked ever-so-slightly open, a thin shaft of brightness pouring into the musty shadows.

A grimy filly's eyes watered as light lanced into her retinas. She squinted and fumbled around, eventually shading her eyes with the wrench she had tied to one hoof. Dagnabbit! That glare kinda hurt! Was that a lantern? A laser? Directed thermal emission from some sort of chemical reaction, perhaps? Or … wait, was it daytime?

Oh, boy. If it was morning, that meant Apple Bloom had been up all night. Big Mac was gonna be mad. Aw, but it wasn't her fault! She couldn't help it that her work was just so gosh-darned interesting! Dirty, too. That was a plus.

There was a muffled whisper from the doorway. "I don't think she's here either, Scoots. We should try the cellar."

Gah, stop thinking, Apple Bloom! Stop! Just try and get your priorities straight, you're being a dunderhead. "W-wait! Ah'm in here, guys!" she finally hollered back, tugging her hoof-fitted wrench off onto the metallic carcass of a half-finished steam engine. At her belated shout, her friends popped their heads through the open door, looking mightily relieved.

"Apple Bloom!" Sweetie Belle gave her a joyous smile. "We were looking for you everywhere! But, uh, what are you doing in here with the lights off? I didn't wanna go in. I thought there might be zombies!"

Scootaloo shouldered her way into the barn, squeezing past the other filly in her rush. "Come on, Sweetie! Never mind that. Look, Apple Bloom! Check out what happened last … woah!" The tiny pegasus' jaw dropped as the heavy door swung fully open, illuminating the interior of the barn.

Light glinted off a dazzling array of shiny metal, sparsely decorated by arcane works of high technology. Various appliances were welded together in what seemed to be no recognizable pattern. Each machine was different; sparking and glowing, spinning continuously, or clattering around according to unpredictable mechanical logic. Scootaloo seemed rooted in place by shock, but Sweetie's eyes virtually doubled in size. The unicorn filly ran around to look at the various robots. "Oh, wow! What is this?"

"Huh? You mean this whatsit?" Apple Bloom turned back to the machine she had been working on. "Well, this's a kinda Weakly-Int'racting Magical Particle Isolator, a'course. Ah just needed to measure some stuff about th' universe. Th' dumb heap a'junk didn't tell me nothin', though. Or, at least, nothin' Ah didn't already know. Waste a'space, this was. Not like th' coffee machine. No sir, that thing's still darn good."

Sweetie Belle scrunched up her face, her wonder soon lost in a mire of confusion. "Whaa?"

"Relax. It's probably just some boring farm-thingy. Anyway, check out my wings! I can fly now!" Scootaloo demonstrated her claim by leaping up, and climbing the air for a good ten seconds. She crashed into a table soon after, but the point had been made in style.

"Great horn-swoggling flapjacks! That's amazing, Scoots! Since when can ya do that?" Apple Bloom was genuinely surprised. That sure was a heckuva lot of improvement. From practically nothing just yesterday, to actual flight today?
That's crazy!

Wobbling a little, the pegasus shook off both her splinters and her impact, nodding happily. "I got a funny feeling last night, and when I woke up, I could totally fly! This is the best day ever!"

Aw, heck. If anyone deserved a break like that, it was Scootaloo. "Ah knew y'd grow into yer wings someday, Scoots. Y'all just needed a little time, that's all."

Less time than everypony thought, apparently.
Not that that was a bad thing! Just … unexpected. Yep.

"I guess so, huh? Anyway, the best part is, now I can ask Rainbow Dash to give me flying lessons! That'll be so awesome!" the orange filly squealed at the thought.

Oh, sure. That would be what Scootaloo was excited about. The girl was obsessed.

Apple Bloom giggled, but her laughter trailed off at the thought of obsessions. Obsessions, like … "Hey, that's right! Sweetie, Ah found a necklace las' night. Can y'help me figure out what it is? Ah tried mah best, but nothin' helped. Not even my whatsit, here." She gave the object in question a kick, prompting a few bolts to ping out of their sockets. The fizzy-bit fizzed in protest. Wait, seriously, 'fizzy-bit'? Ergh, she needed to come up with some better names. Fancy ones, to make her feel more science-y.

"A necklace? Sure, Rarity talks about them all the time! I'd be glad to help!" The unicorn chirped.

"Great!" Apple Bloom trotted over to the table, and cleared off some of the junk. A twinkle of blue revealed itself. "Found it! Now, be careful, it can j— Guhah! Ow!" The young mechanic jumped when the stone sparked, scorching her for the umpteenth time.

Sweetie shrieked, stumbling backwards into a pile of sheet-metal. "What was that? Was that lightning?"

"Criminey's sake! Gnh. Dumb thing. Ah don't think it likes me," the earth-pony mumbled, sucking on her burned hoof. Aw, hay. If that kept up, she was going to have a big old stain there. Carbonized keratin, yuck. Though … at least that stuff was replaceable through normal bodily processes. What if she lost an entire hoof to a really big zap? Woah, that'd be terrible. She'd have to look into making decent mechanical replacements, or something. Maybe some bodily protection would be a good idea? Would a magnetorheological composit—

"Um, Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo snapped her out of her trance by prodding her shoulder.

Priorities, darnit. Tuned out there for a second. "Ayup?" she replied, smiling at her friend.

"Why is your tail twitching?"

Huh. Good question. Sure enough, there was her wayward limb, dancing around like a shaved badger. The darn thing was doing a pretty good two-step for something without legs of its own. "Ah dunno. Mah tail's never done that before."

Could it be due to the electrical stimulation of nervous tissue? Well, that wasn't good. At high levels of current, she risked getting nervous or muscular damage. Mental note: see Nurse Redheart later. Make up some excuse about being hit by a stray bolt of lightning. That happened often enough to careless pegasi for her story to be believable.

Still, her tail seemed mostly okay. It didn't hurt, or twinge, or itch madly. Maybe Apple Bloom just had a cramp?
Wouldn't be the first time.

Happy with that conclusion, she shrugged. "It's prob'ly nothin'."

Then her latest useless machine made an ominous crunching noise. Metal buckled and rivets groaned, putting crushingly heavy weight on parts she knew were never meant to support loads. The glowy-bit went dark and the twirly-bit began to spin backwards, snapping all the delicate internal springs.

Frozen in terror, the three friends looked up at the enormous, looming construct. The tower of machinery slowly rumbled and began to tip over, headed straight for the fillies.

"Aw, fiddlesticks," Apple Bloom muttered.

Her tail twitched just before something was about to fall? Yeah, the little yellow pony knew what that meant. It looked like she had developed a mighty awesome Apple-sense, and now she didn't even get to try it out. Just her luck, that was.

She couldn't stop a small pout from crossing her face. Shucks, how disappointing. What a way to go.

A resounding crunch echoed through the barn.

Rose stared at a rose.

The bright flower might have looked innocent to most, but that simplistic façade was nothing but a conniving ruse. No delicate petals were going to get it out of trouble – the rose knew what it had done.

Or, rather, what it had not.

She raised her head, looking over the entire garden-bed with a critical eye. She had to be harsher on herself. The flower show was in three months, and it was no easy task to win these days. The competition was getting rough. Last time, Daisy had very nearly taken the gold with a strange, green arrangement. Green daisies! The judges had been very impressed, and actually awarded extra points for style. Rose had still scraped through to first place on a traditional bouquet, but she knew that it was experience alone keeping her afloat these days. That wouldn't last forever. She needed to innovate, to get ahead of the crowd!

And yet … her Snow-roses looked awfully pink. Not very blue at all. Her latest attempt was a failure as well.

Letting out a despairing sigh, she settled her watering can on a nondescript garden statue, and began to look for her trowel. She'd have to start all over again. Maybe she should try for purple, first? A midway point might be easier to aim for. Filly steps.

Her solemn floral contemplation was interrupted by a sudden, shocking crunching noise and a lingering moan. She froze, terrified. What … was that? Was it some sort of horrible monstrosity, come back from the grave to eat her alive? Her hackles rose up, uncontrollably, as she jerkily swiveled her head to see. The muffled grunts were coming from a carved statue of a stallion, one that was standing right beside her.

Oh, dear Celestia! The statue was alive! As she watched in mute horror, the heavy stone around the creature's jaw cracked, a gaping maw opening. The rough facsimile of a pony sucked in a raspy, grating breath, rattling the pink container she had unwittingly placed on its back.

Then the creature sneezed. "Well! That was certainly rude!" it said. Then it sneezed again, dislodging clouds of noxious white dust.

Her watering can finally tumbled off the sculpture as thin sheets of plaster and rock tore away, helped along by the awkward, fussy movements of the pony trapped inside. Rose felt the blood drain from her face as the chiseled stone came to life before her eyes. While the stallion was moderately handsome, her first response was not admiration. No, it was sheer terror.

He was an earth-pony. How had he survived being covered in stone?

Wiping his face, the stranger let out a disapproving tut. "Yes, even at the very least, it was a serious overreaction on their part." He began to shake the chalky powder out of his light brown coat, showering wads of plaster all over her flowers. "After all, there's no need to resort to indefinite incarceration at the drop of a proverbial hat! Or at the drop of a regular one, I suppose. The type of hat is rather immaterial if the thing's just going to be dropped. Waste of a hat, that. Hmm, an imaginary one would be cheaper, I suppose. Save money on good headwear. My goodness, imaginary hats? What am I talking about? Am I treating those as tangible objects, now? I must be feeling quite out of sorts. Unless we were talking about bowler hats! Oh, I'd believe those were imaginary. Look ridiculous, they do. Give me a good fez any day."

Rose let out a rather embarrassing squeak at the torrent of nonsense, clapping a hoof over her mouth immediately after.

His expression flashing darkly, the stallion snapped his head around at a frightening speed, only for him to stop and smile cheerfully as he saw her. "Ah! Hello, Rose! Good morning!" he called.

What? Had they met? There was no way.

"W-who … who are you?" she stuttered. Wait, the creepy guy knew her name? Maybe he was a stalker! Hey, this was getting bad! Should she scream? Why hadn't she screamed already? She was good at screaming!

The stranger blinked guilelessly. "Who am I? Are you feeling alright, Rose? Oh, no, I see! It's finally our introduction time! I've been waiting for this. Ahem. Hello. I'm the Doctor." He grinned expectantly, as if waiting for a question, only pausing to cough lightly on the traveling plumes of dust. When no question came, he shrugged, and began to ruffle his dark-brown mane. "Don't worry, I'm only passing through, no cause for alarm at all."

"Just passing through?" A scary thought hit her. "Wait, how long have you been in there?" That statue had been here when her mother had bought the house. But her mama had done that thirty-four years ago! There was no way he'd been in there that long.

"Oh, centuries," he waved a hoof nonchalantly, before hesitating. "Weeell, more like seconds for me. Had to hold my breath. I mean, it took a seriously long time for the spell on that statue to erode, and those cunning blighters temporally locked the stone around me to a second-per-second timeframe. Rather clever of them, though I wish they had pointed those clevers in a safer direction. Away from me would have been nice. Maybe locked in a box. Yes. Boxes are lovely. Still, if wishes were wings, then … erm, I'd have rather too many wings to fly, to be honest. That's the problem with a body of finite surface-area, you know? Anything above six wings just gets messy, and I've had a lot of wishes over the years. And under them! Wishes and wings all over, I'd look like a dandelion! How silly would that be? Well, never mind, that analogy certainly got away from me. Slippery little rascals, analogies, never trust them if you can help it. Metaphors are much better! Not nearly as pretentious, or boring at dinner parties. Easier to hold, too, with that great big M out the front. You can always sink your teeth into an M. So, then! What were we talking about?"

This stallion was totally insane.

She had resorted to gaping, so it took time for her brain to restart. "I uh, what? I … don't know?"

The Doctor grinned happily at her, white streaks still smeared across his face. "Excellent! Always better not to know, isn't it? Ignorance is bliss, all that rot. Simply loads of reasons to not know things, but everyone always wants more knowledge, more facts. No, let me tell you, it's entirely overrated! Take it from me. Or rather, don't! Hahahaha! Oh, speaking of secrets, could you direct me to the nearest dark, secluded alleyway? I think it's about time I go back, arrange for the care-taking of my past-future self. Also, you know, save the world a tad. I mean, I must have been going to be successful at some point in the future of my past, but I shouldn't delay my own inevitable victory! It's impolite. Never put off 'til tomorrow what you can get done yesterday, hm? Though it's not as if scheduling really matters for the type of traveling I mean to do! Hah! Still, that's all rather hush-hush, isn't it? You should probably forget I mentioned that. Well, not literally, forgetting things is quite hard for most ponies to do. Intentionally, at least. Some chaps can't remember what they had for breakfast, can they? Blimey, breakfast sounds wonderful right now. Might go for a snack first. Er, anyway, I appreciate the amount of discretion you'll feel like applying to the subject. Of my mysterious time-related activities, not breakfast. Breakfast is fine. You can talk about breakfast. So, that alleyway?"

Okay then. Rose felt like speaking would be asking a lot of her at the moment, so she motioned mutely to her left.

"Capital!" The Doctor laughed. "I'll probably not see you again, but you're welcome to introduce yourself the next time we meet. Not that you need my permission. You'll make a very good second/first impression, if I might add. Very gung-ho. Tad bit stupefied in this one, but I get that a lot, completely understandable. I'm very strange, you see. Not normal at all. Jolly good, then! All accounts sorted, and all sorts accounted for! Onwards!" The powdery pony trotted straight past her, presumably finding the clearly-visible alley next to her house.

It was visible from her garden.

Heck, there was even a signpost, clearly displaying the name 'White Snow Alley' to anypony curious enough to look. Why the stallion had needed directions to the stupid place was completely beyond her. Perhaps … she should go and get the ponies in the special coats? Oh, good plan, Rose. What would she tell them, a story about a statue that came alive and trampled her flowers? No, better not get them involved. She wasn't sure which of them would be committed.

A squirting sound echoed out from the side-street. "Pfagh! Breath freshener?" the Doctor yelped. "That's not right. Didn't even know I had that. Might be useful later, I suppose. Must remember how to do that. Ah! Yes, got it! Anti-clockwise, Whooves. Anti-clockwise. That should be obvious."

Odd, flashing lights shone over the wall of the alley-way, making the clouds shimmer like one of DJ Pon3's rave parties. A grinding, screeching noise echoed along the street. "Here we go, then!" the mad, brown pony shouted. "Allons-y!" His cry was quickly followed by a strangely distant laugh that made chills dance down Rose's bones.

On a normal day, she would have fainted by now. But her body insisted on remaining unnervingly calm, even as the eerie, echoing 'vworp-vworp' noise faded into nonexistence.

Instead of panicking, she sat down, staring at her trampled, plaster-covered roses.

In barely a minute's work, a large portion of her garden had been utterly destroyed. None of it was salvageable. So, for Pete's sake, why wasn't she angry? Her planned selection was ruined by a rude stranger. She should be absolutely livid.

But strangely, all Rose could think about was how good her flowers looked in white.

Somepony knocked at the door. It was a sharp rap against the paneled wood, but heavy enough to make the lintel tremble.

Rarity blinked, and swiveled her head. Well. Now that she bothered to look, it seemed there was a group of heavy-set ponies standing in the hallway. There weren't enough gemstones in the vicinity for her to perceive details, but they looked rather official to her. Hmm. Whatever could this be about?

Taking a final sip of tea, Fancy placed his teacup onto the table with perfect precision, turning to Jeeves with a smile on his face. "Would you mind, old friend?" his rich voice murmured, voice partially absorbed by the satin curtains. "It seems we have some guests. Let us be accommodating hosts, and allow them to enter, shall we?"

"Certainly, sir." The old pony easily straightened up from his ready position, and swept over to the door, opening it with a flourishing bow.

Newly-lit by the crystals in the chandelier, an armored, winged stallion was standing in the doorway. His frame was almost large enough to completely block the entrance. Saluting, the stoic soldier removed his helmet, revealing a solemn expression on his face.

"Greetings." He coughed in a rather grim manner, and looked directly at her. "I am Stonehoof, the acting Captain of the Royal Guard. Are you Miss Rarity Belle?"

Was he talking to her? Oh! Despite her confusion, the seamstress felt she should be polite to the burly guardspony. "Ah, well, yes, I suppose I am. Pleased to meet you. Can I help you with something, darling?" She would have fluttered her eyelashes, but the blindfold made that rather hard to do. Curses.

"Indeed, is something the matter, Guard Captain?" Fancy asked. Rarity idly wondered why he appeared somewhat concerned.

Instead of answering, Stonehoof began to fiddle with the brim of his helmet, not quite looking either of the unicorns in the eye. Or the blindfold, she supposed. "Miss … Belle," he began haltingly, as if reading from a script. "Since you are a national hero, the crown has offered you a place in the secure palace suites for the foreseeable future. My men and I have been sent here to escort you. Would you care to come with us?"

Goodness, that stallion seemed to be terribly interested in the carpeting. The weave was nice, certainly, but there was no reason to keep staring at it like that.

"Miss Belle?" the nervous pegasus prompted.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Dear me. I'm terribly sorry, but Mr. Pants has already gallantly offered me a place to stay. It would be most rude of me to leave without warning, especially after accepting his generous offer. Perhaps another time?"

Rarity saw the corner of Fancy's mouth lift slightly, and she knew she had made the right decision. She simply couldn't refuse his princely beneficence like that.

As she finished her rambling apology, the soldier's jaw clenched, and he closed his eyes. "I apologize, ma'am, but my orders were to take you into immediate protective custody. As such, I am obliged to repeat myself. Are you certain of your decision to stay?"

How odd this pony was. Lovely wings and rather striking looks, but his manner suggested a guilty conscience. Strange. Had they met?

Never mind. Rarity stood by her completely unbiased choice. "Yes," she replied. "I cannot in good faith accept your offer, Guard Captain. As far as I can tell, I am in no danger, and a secure suite is certainly not necessary. Surely there must be others in greater need?"

"I … I see." Stonehoof replaced his helmet, obscuring his features. Four more guards stepped into the room. "Then our secondary orders come into play. Upon refusal of our offer, we have been authorized to arrest you for your own protection."

A-arrest? Arrest her? Oh, this was simply dreadful! What would her parents think? And on such flimsy grounds, too! Outrageous!

As she stumbled back, the soldiers marched forwards, clasping her hooves in irons and shackling her horn with a heavy gold band. The telekinetic field around her teacup snapped off without warning, sending the fine white china to the floor. Not only to arrest her, but to even waste the tea? There were no words! Criminals!

"I … well, I never!" she huffed in absolute indignation. "This is … this is no way to treat a lady! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!"

Some of the soldiers glanced away guiltily. They were obviously not used to arresting innocent ponies. 'Good!' she fumed silently to herself in righteous anger.
It served them right! What utter scoundrels. The sheer nerve! Who on earth would orchestrate this sort of farce?
Ooh, if she ever found out, she would give them such a talking-to! Just watch her!

"Guard Captain! What is the meaning of this?" Fancy shouted, bristling in rage as he jumped to his feet.

The pegasus officer held his ground. "I apologize, Mister Pants. Know that young Miss Belle will come to no harm as long as she is under my care. I am bound to follow my orders, and in this particular case, the chain of command does not end with me."

"The ch— … oh. It has come to this?" Her kindly benefactor muttered, suddenly subdued. Er, was the statement really that surprising? It wasn't exactly news.

Stonehoof nodded curtly. "Yes. The fourth link rattles, and the three are silent."

"I understand. Then this is truly serious." Fancy turned to her, his tone apologetic. "Rarity, my dear, there appear to be political escapades afoot. While I am uncomfortable with leaving you alone, I fear I have no choice. We have little time, and I must make my way to Parliament, to play the oldest game we ponies know. My influence in the government will be of far more use to you than my companionship. But do not be afraid! These stallions will surely protect you. Whatever is going on will be stopped, I assure you."

Rarity felt faint. "You would leave me with these ruffians? Mr. Pants!" she cried.

"Calm yourself, my dear." He brushed a lock of her mane away from her face. "This deplorable situation is not the fault of these gentlecolts. They are merely carrying out their duty, and it is that duty I mean to change. Stonehoof, I have your word she will be safe?" Fancy queried.

The pegasus clapped a hoof to his chest. "On my life and honor."

"Then I will place my trust in you. I leave at once. Jeeves! Call a chariot!" The dashing pony walked briskly out the door, no doubt once again acting in her best interests. He was so composed! So confident! What a stallion that unicorn was!

Down, girl.

For now, Rarity had to resign herself to a long period of pleasurable inactivity. Languishing in protective custody seemed to be her fate, as of late. Yes. Oh well. How sad. Better get used to it. Ooh, and she wondered if the caretakers had those little grapes of all the colors of the rainbow? Those were delicious.

Er, she meant … woe was her. How terrible.

"But my goodness, what a disaster!" The fashionista sighed, testing out the length of the manacles around her hooves. "I do wish you had told me about your secondary orders, Captain. I feel the threat of incarceration would surely have swayed my decision somewhat. Still, no matter my objections, it seems I have little choice in this matter, no? I am in your care, Captain Stonehoof."

"Thank you. If you'll pardon me, there are a few procedures I must follow." The stallion raised his voice obnoxiously. "Lo! Let it be known that Miss Belle did not resist apprehension! Therefore, in accordance with royal decree, she is hereby placed under arrest! Our duty to the crown has been fulfilled! All hail the King!"

Ah?

Great Scott, the King! Good gracious, she had completely forgotten! After her teensy-tiny mental breakdown on the balcony, Rarity had become engrossed in a wonderfully distracting conversation with Fancy, and the thought had completely slipped her mind. Lost amid the comforting swirl of tea, biscuits, and the most eligible bachelor in town.

That's right. Blueblood was the King, now. And the King had specifically ordered his soldiers to capture her?

Oh dear.
This may all turn out rather poorly.

Sleeping like a baby.

Gilda didn't look nearly so fearsome when she was snoring. For once, the gryphon looked relaxed.
It didn't suit her at all.

Fluttershy hiccuped. She hadn't cried yet, even though she wanted to. The pain was still too fresh.

Everything … everything seemed so pointless compared to what they had lost! It was a worthless victory of the worst kind. The prize might be theirs, but they had not won the fight. This was not a day for celebration.

Back near the cave, a pink mane was draped over a lone tuft of grass like a funeral veil, the rest of Pinkie hidden by a thick patch of bright-blue flowers.

At the agonizing sight, the pegasus ducked her head away, swallowing heavily. She blinked back the ocean of tears that threatened to emerge. It wasn't fair, she thought. It wasn't fair at all. Why Pinkie? Why not her, instead? Pinkie should have been the one to survive. This wasn't right. It wasn't how things were meant to turn out. For a long, lingering moment, the only thing Fluttershy wanted was to see her friend again. She wanted everything to be like it had been before. Happy times, together with everyone she loved.

But that was impossible now, wasn't it?

As she trembled there, her sadness swelled, multiplying into a surge of wet, miserable intent. Clenching her eyes shut, Fluttershy whimpered to herself, and dreamed of Pinkie. In answer to her unasked plea, her twin hearts began to beat in tandem. A nonsensical phrase rose unbidden to her lips. Her pupils dilated as she stared unblinkingly, unseeingly into nothing. Her mouth opened.

"Silver Screen." Fluttershy felt/thought/heard/said the words aloud, burning them into the air with indomitable strength and unmatched certainty. It was like the phrase had already existed, and she was merely shaping the air around it. She had discovered the words, and they were all that mattered.

Then the buoyant magic vanished, and she fell back to her senses.

W-what was she doing? Instead of grieving properly, she was … blurting out meaningless words? How awful! Treating her friend's death like that was … was disgusting! What terrible behaviour! What was wrong with her? Sometimes she could just be so w—

"Ah?" Fluttershy yelped, as, with a sudden pulse of light, the Element thumped against her chest. A glow rose from the jewel she carried, smashing through the clinging miasma of self-loathing that surrounded her. Mist-like, the trail of throbbing, pink energy swam over to her fallen friend. Spinning impossibly around itself, the glow formed itself into a bubbly landscape, high up in the air.

It was surprisingly sweet.

Hanging in the sky, like a painting on a canvas, were buildings and streets crafted of sugary treats, with dimensions that made her eyes water. It was a living portrait of a massive, confectionary landscape, framed with mountains of ice-cream and great rivers of roiling chocolate. None of it was very solid or clear, and the cardinal directions seemed oddly fluid. But even so, the wispy, translucent image made Fluttershy's chest ache awfully. She didn't understand why the magic had appeared, or what it meant. All she knew was that the picture reminded her of Pinkie so much that it hurt.

Oh, it really hurt! It felt like her heart was bursting with anguish. She had to let it out!
Fluttershy screamed.

As she howled, she felt guilt and loss and rage and love. They hit her all at once, in a confusing jumble of tangled emotions that wrapped around her, pulling her down to the ground. The dam had burst and now she was helpless, adrift in an enormous tide of sadness. Fluttershy couldn't stop it. She wasn't sure she wanted to. This breakdown was well past its due.

So the little yellow pegasus wept there, alone. She knelt in the middle of the beautiful forest glade, sobbing uncontrollably, and saw that the world had never been uglier.

"… Pinkie," she burbled. "I'm so sorry. So sorry. So sorry."
Worthless apologies continued to flow out of her, a selfish plea for forgiveness from a pony that didn't deserve it. Eventually, she stopped speaking, and simply cried. This was something words couldn't fix.

When she had no more tears left, Fluttershy hiccuped again, miserable in a bone-deep way that she had never felt before.

This needed closure. She should go over, to see Pinkie one last time. The heartbroken mare scrubbed her eyes, wiped her nose, and slowly made her way over to the distant shape in the grass.

As she walked, she looked anywhere but at the ground, terrified of what she would find. Her fear choked her, and she desperately searched for anything to distract her from the awful truth. And that was how a twinkling pattern managed to catch Fluttershy's eye. Something was dancing, up above her head, in the magical, floating frame of sugar and sweets.

She slowed to a stop as the hovering projection shook, and the streets began to twist. Candy canes sprung up from the fictional icing that coated the ground, and the first twirling drops of a rain of confetti dusted those cake-strewn roads.

"Urgh," a high-pitched voice groaned loudly from within a patch of flowers. "Y-you … should see the other guy …"

Fluttershy squealed in utter delight. "Pinkie! You're okay!" She rushed over to deliver a bone-breaking hug to her friend, the friend she had seriously thought was dead.

Best friend? Best friend.

The earth-pony grunted in response, eyes bulging at the force of her adrenaline-powered hug. "Oof!" she wheezed. "Watch my … everythings! Ow! Fluttershy, what's wrong?"

"I-I thought you'd …" The yellow pegasus squeezed her eyes shut, and she gripped her friend harder. True, she might have been acting a bit too clingy, but she had some serious issues to work out. Pinkie wasn't escaping any time soon.

"Huh? You thought I kicked a bucket? No way!" Her friend gave her a strained giggle. "Don't be silly! Nothing gets past the Pinkie defense!"

Fluttershy looked at Pinkie flatly. "Gilda did."

The saccharine earth-pony had to pause at that one. "Well, yeah, I guess she did. But only a little! Otherwise, everything went exactly as planned!" While still smiling, the baker hesitated slightly. "Wait, did everything go exactly as planned?"

Now that no-one was dead? "Um, yes," she replied. "Twilight's strategy might have worked. I have the Element, and both of us are safe, I think."

"Great!" Pinkie shouted, carefully untangling herself from the overly-affectionate pegasus. Standing up properly, the bubblegum-pink mare boggled at the sight of a comatose gryphon. "Haha, wow! She's out cold. What did you do to her?"

… Ah, of course! Gilda was still there! Fluttershy turned around, and was shocked to discover a completely new landscape. It was drawn in the air like the first.
A hazy depiction of a rocky cliff-face was floating, unsupported, directly above the gryphon's prone form. It radiated feelings of coldness and solitude, infused with what had once been a true joy of flight.

But it was deformed! Oh, gosh! Gilda's personality – it was cancerous, diseased! Fluttershy had to help her!

"W-well, once I, um, got the Element, I just used it to put her to sleep," the mare rushed out. "But her mind! It's … I mean, I think the Element can do something where it draws a-a picture of the … the inside of your brain? You like candy canes! See?"

Pinkie gently patted her on the head. "Whoa there. Slow down, Fluttershy. What's this about pitchers?"

Right, she wasn't making sense, was she? She had to calm down. Calm down. The small pegasus closed her eyes and sucked in a few deep breaths before trying to speak again. "I can … I can see inside Gilda's mind. Something's wrong. And I think I can fix it."

"Huh? Is she sick?" Pinkie gasped. "Wait, is that why she was so mean? I knew it! Nopony could be like that on purpose! What's the matter with her?"

Unsure how to reply, Fluttershy turned back to the wafting vision of a windy cliff. Okay. She could do this.
As pretty as that painting was, she needed something different. Not just an overall image, more like a diagram, or chart of some kind. This was a medical issue, and she wanted to help. Come on, magic necklace. She needed to help.

As she pulled her determination together, the gryphon's picture peeled off into its component colors, bleeding outwards into bright, interlocking circles of shuddering shades.

There. Fluttershy pinpointed four of the readouts as being incorrect.
That was the problem.

Just as the pegasus had thought, Gilda's emotional spectrum was entirely, disturbingly wrong.

She found her voice, buried beneath a thick layer of worry. "Oh Pinkie, it's terrible!" she cried. Covering her mouth with her hooves, she flicked her eyes back and forth between the data and her patient.

"Really? Why, what's wrong with her?"

Fluttershy wanted to look away, but she couldn't stop staring at the diagrams. "There … there isn't any Green in her Blue! Her White has been really, awfully stained! Her Orange is nearly M-Magenta! It's appalling! I've never seen it get this bad!"

"Wh… okay. Fluttershy?" The earth-pony frowned at her, raising an irked eyebrow. "I'm supposed to be the confusing one in our group. It's a dangerous way for the untrained to live, so you should probably leave that role to the professionals. There's health and safety rules you need to follow. I mean, I can already see you're not wearing a protective helmet. Strike one."

Um. That made zero sense. Had Pinkie misheard her? "What? No, I mean … look, her East-Up needs more South-East-Down, and her North-Left-West has—"

"Gah!" Furiously shaking her head, the baker jammed her hooves over her ears. "Nope-nope! Nope! I'm not listening to Fluttershy taking my job! Lalalala!" she sang loudly.

"Oh, s-sorry." Had she offended her friend somehow? She didn't mean to. Now she had no-one to advise her on this.

The pegasus didn't know what to do. Should she try to help Gilda with her new magic powers? No, there was no way. Helping gemstone or not, she wasn't a unicorn, and all this was just too unfamiliar! What if she hurt Gilda? If something permanent happened, she'd never be able to live with herself.

Also, mind magic was illegal. Had she mentioned that?

It wasn't hard to understand why. When you got right down to it, the brain was a supremely delicate organ, and didn't react well to tampering. That's why mentally influencing other people, especially through magic, was banned amongst most civilized countries. To give an easy example, many years ago, a young princess Cadenza had been heavily attacked by the international media. It was only the public discovery of the alicorn's special talent, but it had generated waves of outrage, revulsion, and fear. No-one wanted to be hit by one of her 'love-spells', and under that excuse, paparazzi had hounded the frightened filly for months. The princess had to go into hiding for nearly a decade, accompanied only by a small group of guards, all because her magical focus was considered taboo. It hadn't been pretty.

Even Twilight's minor hypnotism of Ponyville had prompted a heavy fine from the Magical Regulation Board. Though most of the ponies involved had suffered no injury, Celestia had made her wayward student say sorry to everyone she had manipulated. While Big Mac seemed to have been oddly pleased by the spell, Fluttershy wasn't sure the Mayor had forgiven Twilight yet. The distraught lavender unicorn had taken a harsh lesson away it all; a cautionary tale on the corruptive influence of power.

Only doctors and psychiatrists were legally allowed to perform mental magic, and even then it was heavily restricted. There was plenty of variation between the brains of different people, but if you shifted the fragile balance too far, or in the wrong way, things could go dreadfully wrong. There was always the risk you could break someone's mind.

Of course, there was no need to worry about sending Gilda insane.
The gryphon was already psychotic.

Fluttershy suddenly jumped as a purple hoof came to rest on her shoulder. "T-Twilight?" she yelped.

Ugh! The Element restricted the movement of her neck, so the yellow mare couldn't quite see. It couldn't be anyone else, but she wanted the confirmation that her other friend was safe. Was the lavender unicorn okay?

A tired chuckle slipped out of her blind zone, as Twilight sat down with a grunt. "Don't worry so much. Just do what you think is right, Fluttershy. We trust you."

"Yup-eroonie!" Pinkie placed a hoof on her other shoulder in a show of support. "I was only kidding around. Go ahead and make Gilda's whole Equator lavender, if you want!"

"A-alright." The pegasus blushed. But she certainly wouldn't be doing that. Pinkie didn't know what she was saying. Not only would changing … that color be an enormous invasion of privacy, it was also very inappropriate for their current situation. Maybe … maybe sort of funny, though. Just imagining it—

Ew. No. Definitely inappropriate.

Shaking off her extraneous thoughts, Fluttershy faced her patient and tried to concentrate.

As she expected, it took time. The colors fought her efforts to change them. There had been a stunted balance in Gilda's soul, as twisted as it was. It was based on vengeance and hate and a lack of concern, but it was stable. Self-sustaining, in a horribly sick kind of way. She had to pull against the tug of that equilibrium in her efforts to heal the twisted mind before her. Like repairing damage to the body, fixing a wound to the psyche took liberal effort and plenty of care. Thankfully, once she had constructed an approximation of sanity, everything became much easier. The natural placement of healthy emotions began to exert a force of its own. Joy sprouted up from the barren earth, slowly pushing out the Rage that had taken its place. Disgust and Loss began to shrivel. Pity bloomed from Fear.

Gilda would be better in the morning.

Although Fluttershy was terribly exhausted, she took the time to smile at her work. "I think … I think I'm done. She should be fine, now. Oh, but I'm so glad you two are safe! Can yo—" She turned, and immediately choked on her words.

"Uh, can we what?" Twilight glanced over at the earth-pony next to her, who shrugged. Turning back, the bookish mare flinched a little at the look on Fluttershy's face. "Are … you okay?"

"Yeah, hey, is something wrong?" Pinkie waved a hoof in the pegasus' field of view, unknowingly jostling the cotton-candy image that trailed above her.

Fluttershy ignored them both, in favor of gaping at the gigantic, floating mountain that had somehow silently settled right next to them, without any of the three noticing.

An enormous, towering spire of beaten, blackened, rusting metal had been sitting right behind her, so close that her heavy gasps for breath were fogging the surface. It was roughly forged, just thick layers of fire-hardened steel, hammered into place over what had to have been years of effort. The monolith's peak was haphazard and crooked, but so mind-bendingly tall that the razor-sharp tip seemed to scrape against the sky.

Only the slight transparency and the intermittent wavering of the loftiest crags told Fluttershy what it was. The entire twisted construction was fake. It was nothing but a mental projection.

Still, it felt real, far stronger than any mirage! Every attempt to probe it skittered off those wickedly-jagged corners, as if the edges were made of true, material steel. The spire was so much stronger than the infinite sweetness of Pinkie's mind, and far stronger than even the stone of Gilda's. The pegasus could fully sense this mysterious object, and it felt totally solid in every way that mattered.

Even so, it hovered in place. It moved as she breathed. And it was plainly obvious that her friends couldn't see it. That menacing tower, reaching halfway to the clouds, … it didn't – couldn't – exist. No, given the powers Fluttershy's Element had displayed, it had to be some sort of impression, an image of a psyche.

But that meant terrible things. It meant terrible, awful things.

That mountain was utterly horrific mental scarring, in the form of an unbelievable wall. The tortuous, mangled shape was a basic, untrained protection. Formed form the remnants of childhood defenses that had been shattered and rebuilt, over, and over, and over again. The endless amounts of blackened metal bore the heavy scars from decades of torment, a mind honed nearly to destruction through hideous psychological torture and pain. The slapdash, hasty repairs covering each and every surface told her of a constant, desperate struggle. An utterly lonely struggle against some sort of monster, a cruel force that had never failed to enter this pony's head.

Fresh streams of tears began to roll down the well-worn tracks on Fluttershy's cheeks. Both of her friends panicked as she once again succumbed to the urge to cry, sobbing heavily into her hooves for what must have seemed like no reason at all. This kind of injury wasn't on the level of Gilda's problems. Not even close. This kind of problem wasn't natural at all.

Someone with devastating amounts of power had done this. They had taken their unimaginable strength, and used it to reach into an innocent filly's skull, slowly and deliberately breaking her mind. They had done this thousands of times.

What in Celestia's name had happened to Twilight?

Hollow Crown

Hollow Crown

"Ah, Miss Belle. Do come in."

Eurgh. And up went the hackles.

Rarity's best attempts at serenity were all for naught, as she found herself physically shuddering in Blueblood's unpleasant presence. Although she was thankfully spared the true appearance of the fop, she could hear his oily intentions squirming sinuously through the air towards her. Flickering in and out of reality, his speech had morphed into some sort of semi-sentient, vocal monstrosity, attempting to caress her with the most undesirable of silken, worm-like tones.

Being blind only made it worse.

Why, yes. She was still blind. The dressmaker was quite cognizant of how tiresome that was. Yet, … well, even though the causes behind her mysterious ailment escaped her, she had recently donned her deductive headwear, so to speak. Her attempts to figure out the strange effects upon her person had not been in vain. Hm. Or, no, perhaps they had. Nothing more than frown-lines to show for all her pondering, really. But at least she had a good summary of her problems to work with. That was something, yes?

Well. By all accounts, it was apparent that her natural ability to see had been lost. Permanently? She had no idea. All Rarity knew was that the sense had vanished in such an unusual manner that the best medical professionals could not even detect its absence. The revelation had prompted a few very irritating conversations with one needlessly-cynical doctor.

That charlatan! Obfuscating philistine!

Er, one moment.
Ahem.

Right, yes. In summary, there had been rather a lot of bother over the issue, and Rarity's disability had spelled out simply awful ramifications for her profession. How would she design clothes if she couldn't see them? A tragedy, indeed.

But then, another wizardly accident! Swiftly filling up the dark void, her own magic had painted the world with strange, ringing patterns. Unearthly, chiming echoes, somehow born from the many crystals that surrounded her. It felt very odd. Of course, that being said, it was a vast improvement over blindness. Actually, it might even have been superior to her previous state of being. The seamstress had lost her vision for but a night, and in return she had now gained something both less and … more. A new sense, funneled through her ears along with her natural hearing. Two in one.

My, how lovely. Very compact. Petite, you might say. And she did.

So. That, Rarity believed, was the story of how she received what could only be termed a superpower. And yes, she knew how ridiculous that sounded.

Still, it was undeniable. As she carefully felt her way across the slick marble tiling, thick trails of coiling magic floated across her vision. They danced and swirled in the distance, like a watercolor backdrop to this strange, twisted painting of the world. She could see magic itself, it seemed. No, no. It was much more than seeing. For some reason, the arcane realms felt more solid than the bricks and mortar of Canterlot castle. While physical objects were thankfully visible, they were much less … opaque than before. Very mysterious. And quite enthralling! After all, her new sight was capable of penetrating through the mightiest of walls, discerning the unseen truth of the world!

On a side note, the unicorn's ability to distinguish pitch and volume had also become far more refined, as her brain worked furiously to decode the signals it was receiving. A rather strange effect, but quite welcome. She might be able to hold a tune with a bit of tutoring. Yes, she should remember that. Got it? Good.

Now. Downsides. Rarity's newly-boosted sense of hearing was now currently carrying the burden of two. That meant that when she faced a combination of ugly sights and sounds, it overwhelmed her mind with the sheer force of it. Too many concepts arrived all at once, too similar to separate. And unlike her usual vision, she couldn't turn either of the senses off. Covering one's ears was hardly polite.

That was the predicament she had clumsily fallen into. Why, just listening to Blueblood's voice alone was akin to having her head smothered in a greasy towel, such was the sheer smugness in his witless words. It was truly very difficult to ignore the disgusting mess of sensations in which Rarity was forced to wade, but needs must, she gloomily supposed. As it was, her only refuge lay in indignation. Bah and humbug, she inscrutably sneered to herself. Harrumph, and a great many other disapproving utterances.

The monarch she was facing chuckled as if her rather rude thoughts were on display for all to see. Hopefully he wasn't simply amused by her physiognomic contortions. The couturière was trying to be discreet.

"It seems we meet again." The King quirked his lips into a poisonous smirk. "Oh, my. Are you displeased, madam?"

She quickly smoothed out her brow, but it was obviously far too late. Blast!

Blast and damnation. Already, Rarity had revealed too much of her true emotions, foolishly trusting that her blindfold would keep her countenance private. It seemed that a flimsy cloth placed over her forehead was not enough to grant the dressmaker privacy.

Er. Perhaps it was foolish in hindsight, but her error had been a grave mistake to make. Every single grimace was grievously detrimental to her position. It may have set her negotiations back dramatically, and negotiating was all she had left.

It was the unwritten rules, you see, in courtly tradition. Even in a state like this, where all the world seemed to be against you, one must never show … negativity. One must hide it. Hide it all. Hide every speck of fear, hate or disgust, and if at all possible, be graceful and calm to the bitter end. But it wasn't just about masking your face, oh no. The sweat on your brow, the nervous twiching of a tail. Every facet of your body language must hold no trace of weakness.

It was for one's own protection. Scavenger ponies like Blueblood could smell easy prey.

She needed to fix this, now.

Mindful of her restraints, the blind mare dropped into a slight curtsy, stepping around and through the links of her clattering binds. "Not at all!" she swiftly said. "It is simply difficult to tell where I am, or what I am facing, due to my blindness. Why, I certainly meant no offence, your majesty. Rather, I am deeply honored to be in your presence."

Rarity may have been prevaricating slightly. Just a tad.

"Of course you are." Blueblood's ugly, knowing smile made her skin crawl. "And let me just say how nice it is to see you again, my dear. How long has it been, nearly a year now? My, my. How time flies."

Why, that insufferable ponce!

And who exactly did he think he was fooling? The madman had gone and ordered his guards to arrest her, and now he was acting like they had met by chance? Ooh! What nerve! The utter swine!

By treating this so naturally, he was forcing Rarity to act relaxed! In chains? Ludicrous!

Alright, yes. Calm down. Admittedly, his tactics (though crude) were often valid moves in the political game, and the buffoon probably didn't know any better. The ability to act casually was a key part of many interactions, and one had to pretend to be on top at all times. But she still had to deal with these manacles! Placing a mere subject at such a disadvantage was despicable behaviour, especially for somepony who was pretending to be a royal. How childish. Ruffian-like.

At least her quick, dry swallow had gone unnoticed.

Though her internal bluster remained as substantial as ever, the ivory-coated mare was forced to press her hooves firmly to the ground. She had to exert a lot of effort in suppressing the violent tremors that had begun to plague her slim frame.

Rarity was afraid.

It wasn't Blueblood. The irritating pest disgusted her on an emotional level, but that was hardly a debilitating condition for somepony of her social talents. She was a professional. She could have worked through an extended case of exhaustion, dehydration, or other unpleasantness without batting an eyelid. No, now there was something more, something that unsettled her deeply. A living nightmare, given awful form by her eerie sight-beyond-sight.

There was no way it was real, though. That's what Rarity had to tell herself. Nothing like that could possibly exist. It was just a phantom image produced by her strange new sense, one that she need not take any note of. Imaginary, like the wisps of magic floating around her, even now. Intangible, like the unreal colors shading the world.

Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it!

The unicorn smiled at everypony around her, but her hasty tapestry of justifications had begun to fray at the edges. Soon it would lie in tatters, and she would have to see the brutal truth.

Unnoticed by all, Blueblood had a … shadow.

It was some sort of twisted doppelgänger. A black, mirror image of the seated stallion, frozen in place, standing just behind his throne. So far, it had remained perfectly still, hovering in mid-air like a Stygian wraith.

Blueblood, the pompous windbag, just postured and preened in front of her. He was clearly ignoring her, and in turn, Rarity was free to keep silent. She was thankful for that much freedom, at least, for the strong undercurrent of fear was threatening to crawl up her throat. Speaking would be difficult, now.

Clearly, that thing was invisible to normal eyes, or there would be rioting amongst the guards and aides. It must have been magical in nature. No physical form, just a tight interlacing of thaumic loops and strands. Since it stood so very close to Blueblood, the hazy figure might have been a depiction of the monarch's internal magic, lit up by the probing exploration of her own. That was a theory, mind. Not a certainty.

But Blueblood? It couldn't be him, could it? While the newly-crowned idiot was acting arrogant and vaguely malicious, that was his usual state. His image was, admittedly, subtly warped and twisted, like her false light feared him somehow. But the fool did not seem nearly abnormal enough to produce the creature behind him.

Because that monster horrified her more than anything ever had before.

The dark reflection of the ruling fool was disgustingly mutilated by what looked like torture. Both jaws were missing, torn off in favor of a bottomless maw, the faint glimmer of stars sparkling dimly in the hungry depths of that immense void. Much like the mouth, the hollows of its eyes had been replaced by fractured, black pits, and a thick skin of boiling shadow pulsed and bubbled in a revolting fashion around all these jagged holes. Only the mane and tail of Blueblood's replica were not dark mockeries of anatomy. No, they looked quite real. But those once-blond locks now appeared to be stitched together from the hair of thousands of different ponies, the interweaving of uncountable colors slowly fading into an unhealthy brown tint, the shade eerily close to that of dried blood.

Rarity had never seen something so disturbing in her life. Though she still let out not a single sound, she could feel the high, shrill note of cold terror pierce into the back of her skull.

The sheer force of suppressing her internal screams was giving the dressmaker a most dreadful headache, but with a tremendous effort, she maintained her aloof façade. She gripped her self-control with an iron hoof. "Quite," the unicorn muttered a reply to a probing inquiry, lips pressed into a thin line in order to ward off her migraine. "As I said, it is an absolute pleasure," she lied. Again.

Bother. She was being barely civil. But the strain of maintaining her composure under such stress was all the effort she could spare. If worst came to worst, she would simply have to suffer the consequences, because there was just no way Rarity was going to lose her pride before this horrible fake of a King! And she could never reveal how much the stallion scared her. She would rather die.

Not really, of course, but it was a nice sentiment.

Tired of smiling, and worn down by the pressure, Rarity was very near to her breaking point when the doors slammed open with a bang. A group of guards stumbled in, hooves slipping on the recently-mopped marble tiles, gripping long straps in their clenched teeth. Thick veins bulged from their necks as they struggled to tow along a particularly uncooperative duo of mares.

Oh! How familiar the pair looked. Without the ability to see colors, it was difficult to identify different ponies, but those voices and attitudes were simply unmistakeable! Could it be her friends? She hoped so. It was ever so tiresome being the only pony with any sense in the room.

"Applejack? Rainbow?" she called.

They were a pegasus and an earth-pony, both female. Yes, that all checked out. And while definitely captured, the unruly prisoners were bucking and lashing out at the slightest hint of a chance. Plenty of bruises littered the skin of their captors. Given the sheer difference in numbers between the groups, the team of burly stallions were having a rather embarrassing amount of difficulty. Embarrassing for the stallions, that is. Rarity was rather impressed. She'd never say that, of course, but she definitely thought it.

After glancing up at the room, the lone earth-pony in the group suddenly stopped digging in her hooves, sending three soldiers tumbling from the lack of tension in the cords. One of those strapping males whimpered softly. Rarity doubted it was the first time he had been sent head-over-hooves.

"Whoah there!" the carefree mare shouted happily, tilting back the brim of her oversized hat. "Well, roll mah face in flour an' call me Celestia! It's Rarity!"

The loud pony's equally-lively companion quickly swiveled around. Either accidentally or intentionally, the movement happened to twist up two of the guards in loops of knotted rope. "Rarity's here? Hey, you're right! Rarity! What's up?" The young pegasus waved a hoof enthusiastically, quite incidentally sending painful, rippling whiplashes into the faces of a few more soldiers.

But was … was it really them? "Oh, thank goodness!" The dressmaker blinked away a few tears of relief, glad the blindfold hid her eyes. "Rainbow! Applejack! Stars above! Are you both alright? I was so worried about the two of you!"

Sticking out her chest, the trussed-up farm-pony looked unreasonably proud for a pony who was completely covered in ropes and chains. "Fine an' dandy, sure 'nuf! Don' worry, sugar-cube, everythin's hunky-dory. More or less, anyway. After that big-ol' split-up yesterday, me'n the goof here each found some friendly folks to take us in fer the night, and Ah went lookin' fer Dash first thing in the morning. So, heck, after a good night's sleep, we're both spry as a couple'a hogs fresh from a mud-bath! Oh, an' some good news t'boot! Ah'm not nuttier'n a fruitcake no more! So there's that. And, uh, neither's Rainbow! We're both totally sane! Promise. Farmer's pride."

Rarity gave her a benevolent smile. "Darling, I'm s—"

Dash butted in, quite rudely. "Hey!" The pegasus happily shouted. "You should tell her about how we got arrested! It was awesome!" Despite her cheerfulness, the wings on Rainbow's back were severely weighted down, on the order of tripling her weight. That must have been rather painful for the poor dear. Pegasus bones were brittle, after all.

"Ahem." The dressmaker coughed politely. "Quite alright. I can see tha—"

"Aw, hold yer haunches, Rainbow! Ah was gettin' to it! Right, then. Ta cut a long story short, it was 'bout an hour ago, just after Rainbow'd finished sayin' her goodbyes to one'a the Wonderbolts. Spitfire. Nice gal. Anyhow, we were ready an' rarin' to search high'n'low fer ya. Then, all of a sudden, bam! … We got arrested." Applejack nodded sagely.

As Dash snickered, she started to reel in a frantic guard. "Haha, yeah, we totally did. Way cool." A merciless noogie was applied to the unlucky stallion. The poor fellow didn't stand a chance.

Slightly annoyed by the interruptions, Rarity once again attempted to say her piece. "That's nice to kn—"

"Yup!" The farmer shrugged as best she could with several hundred links of iron on her back. "That's about it fer our sad, sorry tales. So how 'bout you? Still blind? … Gu-hoh! Sorry! Uh, whoops?" The earth-pony leaned over to her blue companion, nudging her until the speedster reluctantly released the sobbing guard she was torturing. "Dash, Ah think Ah may've put mah hoof in it. Gimme a helpin' hoof here, Ah'm no good at this small-talk stuff."

Right, there was no need for this amount of foolishness. "I'm actual—"

"Oh, so now you care! Well, maybe if you had put some more effort into remembering stuff about your friends, this sort of thing wouldn't happen." sulked Rainbow. "Some friend you are, not remembering what I look like."

Er, if Rarity could just say something? "Perha—"

"Aw, shoot." The apple farmer covered her eyes with a hoof. "This codswallop again? Like Ah've been tellin' ya, Dash, dying a few patches on yerself ain't a small change! Unlike some ponies, mah eyes ain't good enough to spot yer partic'lar hairstyle at eighty paces! Don't be crazy, now. Ah can't tell who y'are through the pattern of yer eyelashes, or whatever it is you pegasi do. Ah gotta rely on th' color of yer mane and coat! It's not mah fault yer head's indecisive."

Wait, what? Had Rainbow decided to dye her mane? Unthinkable! It would alter her styling completely! If only she could see it. What on earth did that loud G-major translate to? Yellow? Oh, drat and botheration! "Did someth—?"

"Feh." Self-consciously flipping back her unusually-monochrome mane, the pegasus let out a derisive snort. "Yeah, whatever, Einstallion. If you're so smart, then how did Rarity know it was us when we entered? She's wearing a blindfold, genius. She wouldn't be able to see my mane."

Already opening her mouth to reply, Applejack paused midway through answering the question. "Well, that's … uh … hrm. Ah don' know, actually. That's pretty crazy! Neat trick, Rarity!"

It wasn't really that difficult. They were distinctive ponies, with distinctive silhouettes. "Ther—"

"Wait, there was a trick? Like, a magic trick?" Dash exclaimed. The adrenaline junkie perked back up again, looking over at the irritated fashionista excitedly. "Haha! Awesome! I didn't know you had it in you, Rarity! Can you do it again? I must have missed it the first time!"

"Not a magic trick, y'featherhead." The earth-pony sighed. "Jus' a normal kinda trick. Ah mean, maybe it's magic, but somehow Ah doubt that. Ah think magic needs glowy stuff. Nothin's glowin'."

Rainbow looked away, bored. "Oh. That's way less interesting," she pronounced.

A small silence fell, and though Rarity was finally given the chance to speak, she proceeded to utterly waste her chance to converse on bitter, bitter mumbling. "My goodness gracious me. Why did I even bother feeling sorry for them?" she muttered harshly to herself. "Really. Those two were probably in no danger at all. Ponies like them are certainly going to be hard-headed enough to survive any normal catastrophe, that's for certain. Honestly. It isn't worth the effort of worrying."

Applejack blinked, and peered over at her. "You say som'thin', Rarity?"

"Rrr!" she growled at the insensitive mare.

"Ahem." Startling them all, the King announced his continued presence with a surprisingly cultured cough. "Well, well, well. Now that you three have been reunited, I think we should move onto the next stage of the discussion I was having with Miss Belle. Namely …" He leaned forward, looking oddly rational for a pony whose magic was represented by a screaming corpse. "What should I do with the three of you? I realize that arresting you for your own protection might seem harsh, but I believed it was necessary at the time. We had accounts of strange behaviour from many parties, and you seemed to be causing minor civic disturbances. Since all three of you are finally present, we should easily be able to determine whether you are stable enough to be released again. Should I call for a mind-healer?"

"Uh, about that. Can we skip all the boring stuff, please? We kinda have things to do." Dash smiled hopefully, wiggling the heavy weights attached to her wings. "Could you just let us go, instead?"

The ruling stallion tilted his head thoughtfully. "Hm. Very well."

"Seriously?" Rainbow asked, stunned. There was a restrained cheer from the bound pegasus. "Awesome! I totally didn't expect that to happen!"

"Absolutely." Blueblood sat back, clasping his front hooves together. His well-styled mane shaded his eyes from view, but as if in trade, the ornate crown atop his skull shone brightly. The pearly-white teeth filling his mouth glittered like diamonds in the midday sun. Really, the pose looked quite sinister, if only because the lack of visible eyes reminded Rarity of the terrible … thing over there in the shadows. "I will graciously offer this boon to the three of you," he proclaimed, to everyone's relief.

Thank goodness. The dressmaker would wipe her brow, if it wasn't unseemly. What luck this was! For once, Blueblood was being quite reasonable. They were free!

"And on only one condition." The King smiled.

She cried. Again.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight yelled at her in a fit of exasperation. "For the love of Celestia! This is seriously getting on my nerves! Just … stop crying already, would you? Aaargh!"

The shouting wasn't really helping her to stop.

Pinkie was more emotionally aware than the other mare, and didn't raise her voice. Instead, the earth-pony darted over to wrap the weeping pegasus in a compassionate hug. "Hey, now. Shh. Can you tell us what's wrong?" her friend gently asked her.

She tried to answer, but what came out was more of a wet, blubbering burble than proper words. After a few more useless attempts to speak, Fluttershy started the long job of wiping away the sticky load of tears and mucus that once again decorated her face. As she wiped, though, more phlegm and salty water came flooding down in a never-ending downpour.

Oh, this was just awful. The pegasus felt so ashamed that she was reacting in such an embarrassing way. Sure, she was an emotional person, but all this wailing was making Fluttershy look like a madmare! Twilight was right. She really had to stop.

But that was easier said than done, wasn't it?

By this point, she had already been crying for pretty much twenty-four hours straight. She cried at the timberwolves, she cried in the cave, she cried at Gilda … it was a small wonder that the yellow mare wasn't severely dehydrated after spending an entire day bawling her eyes out. And still, no matter how much she wanted to keep calm and explain herself, turning off the taps was more difficult than ever. Fluttershy had tried reaching for her powers to help, but it looked like the magic of her necklace wasn't meant for stuff like this. It might have even made it worse.

Still, a small amount of time saw a measurable amount of progress. For a little while, it looked like the whole thing was going to blow over, and she'd be able to talk like a normal, rational person.

That would be nice.
Unusual for today, but nice.

Twilight cleared her throat with a tremulous cough. "S-So. Are you alright now? I-I didn't mean to shout. Really."

The wafting, springy mane of Fluttershy's earth-pony friend was blocking her vision. As she timidly peeked out through the thick strands of cotton-candy hair, she caught the barest glimpse of the worried unicorn. Then that horrible mountain shimmered back into view. The emotional impact of the spire struck her in the heart like a physical affliction. Almost immediately, tears began to stream out of the pegasus' eyes, and she let out a half-strangled sob. Her reaction wasn't something she could control. It was involuntary. Out of her hooves.

She cried. Again.

"Okay! Yeah, that's making me very uncomfortable!" the librarian nervously yelled, spinning around to try and find the source of Fluttershy's misery. "What is it? Is there something tragic on my face, or what?"

And now she was upsetting her friend. Keep it together, darn it! Come on, Fluttershy, the world doesn't revolve around you.

The erstwhile animal-caretaker gulped heavily, swallowing the enormous lump of sadness that was choking her. "S-sorry," she whispered hoarsely. "It's just … there's something wrong! There's something wrong with your mind, Twilight!"

"… what? My … mind?" The unicorn looked shocked at the blunt statement.

"I'm so sorry." Fluttershy bowed her head, tears still gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I'm so, so sorry."

In response to the shocking revelation, Twilight trembled. Then she laughed. "Heh. Hahaha! Pfeheh, no, that's not what I meant. I mean, my dumb old mind is what had you in tears? Heheheh. Ah, jeez. And to think I was worried. Anyway, that's hardly important right now. We should be concentrating on other things, like saving the princess."

No! Fluttershy jerked her head up in disbelieving panic, pink mane flicking out like a living whip. "But … but it is important! You shouldn't even be standing upright with that … terrible amount of psychic scarring!"

Her statement prompted a long, drawn-out sigh from the lavender librarian. "And yet, here we are. I guess I've got a weird brain. But, hey. I already knew that, right?" The violet mare casually blew the hair out of her eyes. "Let's examine this. I don't think I'm currently insane. And if something is basically functional, we shouldn't try too hard to repair it. From my own, personal experience, that usually ends in disaster. So, what can we deduce from our observations? My observations, I mean." A hoof flourished. "Well, unless my poor, deluded mind is constantly sliding ever-deeper into the thick, amorphous depths that swirl beneath a noxious sea of unknowable insanity, happily ignorant of its own ever-impending, psychically-tailored demise … then I have to conclude that I'm going to be just fine! No need to worry!"

"Ghrble." The pegasus ghrbled. She didn't feel so good. Something told her that sort of collapse into madness could genuinely happen to someone. It really was a process she never wanted to witness. But, gosh, why had the unicorn been so unnecessarily descriptive? This wasn't a good time to exercise your vocabulary, was it? "O-okay. If you say so. But I still think something has gon—"

"Dammit, Fluttershy!" Twilight spat out, fixing her with an utterly scathing look. "Drop it! There's nothing wrong with me!"

W-what?

She didn't have time to be hurt by the shocking words, because the brave Pinkie instantly rose to her defense. "Twilight!" the baker scolded. "Fluttershy was just trying to help! Don't you talk to her like that!"

"But I wa—! I … she … oh. Yeah. You're right." The lavender mare sat down, looking confused. "I-I didn't mean to snap at you. That's totally inexcusable. I'm … I'm really sorry about that, girls. I guess I'm still in shock over all this." The unicorn sheepishly scratched behind one ear. "Not to mention, I'm still pretty mad at myself for letting you two get hurt on my behalf. Maybe the stress is getting to me."

"I ..." The pegasus hesitated. Was that all there was to this? That outburst had been very odd.

Twilight gave them both a guilty, watery look. "Sorry, guys. This was all my fault. My stupid plan put both of you in danger, while I just sat back and watched. And taking my frustration out on you two is an abhorrent thing to do. I ... I really do apologize, Fluttershy. Seriously, I was way out of line."

Faced with such a genuine apology, there was only way she could react. "Um, that's okay. Really! Don't worry about it!" She waved her hooves in a meaningless pattern, feeling the sweat building up on her forehead from the focused attention.

"You too, Pinkie. I'm sorry you got hurt because of me." The unicorn gave the other pony a small bow as well.

With a happy bounce at the repaired friendships, the earth-pony easily brushed off the strange behaviour like it was nothing. "Aw, that wasn't your fault! I wasn't paying attention, so I got bopped on the noggin! And besides, that's nothing! You should have seen me when I first tried to build my Welcome Wagon! Boy, did I learn something about fireworks! Hahaha! Although, c'mon, how was I supposed to know flour was explosive? Cakes aren't explosive! But flour is? Now that's mmmysterious!"

"Wow. Just for future reference, Pinkie, the fact that you're still allowed around live flames is appalling." Twilight kept her face carefully blank. "I think, after all this is over, we're going to need to sit down and discuss which common household items you aren't allowed to touch."

And, yes. That was another one. She had lost again. The pegasus felt she could understand Rarity a little bit more, now. It did get tiring after a while, losing so consistently. Even getting Pinkie to yield a draw seemed impossible at this point.

Yes, playing thirty-eight games of tic-tac-toe with her earth-pony friend had made Fluttershy quite ready to move on. So she kept her ears pricked up, waiting for a sign that Twilight had finished doing … whatever it was she had disappeared to do. This proved wise, as it was the sound of crunching gravel that first heralded the slow return of the unicorn. A few minutes later, the wincing mare eventually limped out of the cave, looking somehow, oddly, healthier than before.

Although, Fluttershy considered, that might just be because all the bruises were turning purple. She had noticed that her own injuries were standing out more than ever, but Twilight's injuries must have begun to blend in with the rest of that violet coat. Similar shades. That was sort of useful, she supposed. Maybe she should consider it. A color that makes you look better than you were.

It would still hurt quite a bit, though, wouldn't it? Oh. Never mind. She'd rather not be bruised at all.

While all three of the ponies must have been feeling the slow ache of healing flesh, it looked like Fluttershy had really gotten off lucky. The pegasus had managed to escape Gilda with minimal damage, and she hadn't been wounded by the timberwolves, either. Pinkie had taken a few impressive scars on the flank, and a fairly nasty concussion. Still, she appeared to have shaken off the damage in true earth-pony style. No, it was Twilight who had taken the lion's share of injury. Her violet friend had shattered her horn in the throes of magic, losing massive quantities of blood in the process. Running to safety while still bleeding to death, the mare had tripped over roots and stumbled into stones, before collapsing, semi-comatose from blood-loss. It hadn't been good. That was underselling it, to be honest. It had been very, very bad.

Fluttershy … didn't like to boast, but she knew more than most ponies about practical medicine. Enough to help many different animals, with wildly varying physiologies. It was an unofficial job she undertook for the critters around Ponyville. She had experience. So while the pegasus had never been formally trained, she could surmise that a broken horn on a unicorn was basically equivalent to a compound fracture of the skull. A broken bone. A broken bone in the head, and one that was exposed to the outside world. It was a very dangerous wound to have. Not only did such an injury risk terrible infections and permanent bone damage, it would also be supremely painful. She was pretty sure that a lot of nerves were embedded in that little horn. Goodness, for a frail, bookish unicorn, her friend sure had a worrying amount of pain tolerance. Um. Fluttershy should be relieved, but that was concerning, somehow.

Of course, singling out another pony as frail reminded the pegasus quite strongly of pots and kettles. Between just the two of them, it was clear who was tougher. If Fluttershy had only barely woken up from a dead faint due to critical injury and life-threatening anaemia, there would be no way she could immediately grasp the situation, take the lead, and quickly plan the escape of three ponies against ridiculous odds. But Twilight had. Her friend was pretty incredible, sometimes. And, uh, at other times, she could also be a little scary. Not at the moment! Just … sometimes. Yes.

"Hey! Good news, gang!" the robust librarian exclaimed as she drew near. "We are free to go! Rocky is now a very happy Diamond Dog. I consider – and she considers – our debt to be paid in full. We should hurry and head off to the site of the next Element, before something else happens to us in this horrible, creepy forest. East and away!"

"Um, what did you say to make Miss Rocky so happy?" Fluttershy asked, curious as to the motives of the dog who had saved her life.

A smug, half-lidded smile was turned her way. "Heh. Well, I'm not usually one to negotiate and tell, but I may have let slip the general location of an entirely-male pack of Diamond Dogs. Remember the morons that failed to kidnap Rarity? Turns out they were low on stallions around here, or something. A perfect match, you might say. And I do. And I did."

"Stallions? Oh. Um, I … I really don't mean to be rude, but 'Stallion' isn't … technically the right … word." She trailed off uncertainly. Should she be talking about this? No, this was important! Interspecies relations depended on mutual understanding! The pegasus hastened to inform her friend-with-diplomatic-ambitions of the correct way to address sapient canines. "Actually, the … the proper terminology for Diamond Dog genders is quite interesti—"

"Hey!" Pinkie blatantly interrupted. "So we can go flying now, right?" her friend grinned toothily.

Fluttershy blinked, somewhat confused by the sudden change of subject. "Wh... eh? Um, sure, I guess. I can do that. I mean, if you really want to go now, that is."

"Of course I do! Let's go! C'mon, Twilight!" The earth-pony beckoned frantically, desperate to fly again.

Shaking her head, the unicorn chuckled tiredly. "Haha, coming, coming." She began to hobble slowly over to them, avoiding any difficult terrain. "Just hold on for a second. No, I don't need any help. Shoo. Go away, Pinkie. I'm fine."

As always, the pink mare's naked enthusiasm was catching. That was why, after the other ponies had been securely attached, Fluttershy took off at a faster pace than she would normally use. Her efforts were rewarded with a strangled shout, and a howl of enjoyment from her more exuberant passenger.

"Whee!" Pinkie shrieked. "This is way better than a balloon!"

Perhaps that wasn't the most glorious praise, but it warmed Fluttershy's heart anyway. It was always nice to see her friend so happy. The friend she had thought …

Okay, stop it. Everything was fine, you silly filly. They were all fine.

She reached back to adjust Pinkie's hooves, and got a supportive squeeze of the hoof in return. A wry grin crossed her face. Fluttershy should have known. The earth-pony was very empathetic, wasn't she? Her friend must have been able to tell how raw, how delicate she was feeling. That was why the bubbly mare was putting on a big show of happiness. It was to cheer her up. That was really very sweet.

It was all so odd, though. Fluttershy still couldn't process how close the call had been to their narrow escape. None of it made … sense to her. There had been a lot of luck involved in their victory, and for some reason that made her very uneasy. The three of them could have chosen a slightly different path, and ended up ... what? What would happen?

And how should she be reacting? Should she feel upset? Determined? She didn't know.

This level of danger was beyond her experience. Whenever she tried to think about it, she kept running into a mental wall, one that totally blocked out her thoughts, prevented them from reaching their conclusion. She just didn't want to think about it. All the concepts involved made her physically ill. It was an artefact of her own naïveté, a security blanket she couldn't bring herself to shed. She didn't want to understand.

But Twilight would.

The librarian knew a simply staggering amount of information, and had probably read more than most eighty-year-olds. Maybe her friend could help? But how was the pegasus supposed to bring this up? It was a very delicate subject, and she wasn't even sure what she was trying to say. Um.

Oh, fiddlesticks. Just go for it. Take the plunge, ask a stupid question, and hope that your clever friend can help you sort out your muddled head. "Hey, Twilight?" she asked.

A distracted hum wafted over to her ears from its source above and behind her. "Hmm? What's on your mind?"

"That … that was really hard," Fluttershy wavered over her unsure words. "And we nearly didn't make it. What if … what if one of us gets seriously hurt, next time?"

Slumping down in a cloud of depression, Pinkie grumbled to herself. "I'd be super-duper sad, that's what," she mumbled.

"Hey, cheer up, girls! None of that doom or gloom," the unicorn chided them for their pessimism. "We're a bit bruised and battered, sure, but we're already a fifth of the way there, right? Twenty percent done. At this rate, the princess will be back in no time! And if we can get her back, everything will be fine. We can't afford to slow down."

Her other passenger straightened up. "That's a good point! The princess can fix anything! Right, Fluttershy?" The baker beamed at her when she turned her head to look.

Against two smiles combined, she hesitated, before quietly telling them what they wanted to hear. "… um, sure."

Fluttershy didn't mean it, though. At the moment, she wasn't feeling all too happy about Celestia. The pegasus had a pretty good reason for her doubt, too. Or, at least, she thought she did. Maybe she was wrong.

But … from all accounts, Twilight had led a sheltered life up until now. That meant there weren't many people who had been close to the unicorn for a long time. Her immediate family, her foal sitter, a few guards, and princess Celestia. That was it. Out of that tiny group, only one being had enough power and opportunity to permanently alter minds over the scale of decades. Just one. So if Fluttershy was looking for a culprit, surely there was no oth—

No. That was just silly.

The … the princess would never do something like that. Never. The motivation simply wasn't there. It wasn't possible. Or, at least, Fluttershy hoped not. She'd had enough surprises recently to last her a lifetime.

Even as she tried to repress the nasty thought, there was this niggling feeling in the back of her head that she'd forgotten something. Hadn't Gilda mentioned some things about … what was it? Equestria's foreign policy? Crazed and bitter, she had ranted about how poorly the ponies had behaved to all other races. While the gryphon had definitely been mad, that unnatural, burning hate for ponies did not spring from nothing. It looked like the Gryphon Kingdom had been wronged by someone in a position of great power in Equestria. The Zebras, too. There was definitely something fishy going on in the upper levels of the Equestrian government, but Fluttershy wasn't sure what it was. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, either.

Oh dear. Even if they succeeded in getting the princess back, there were going to be a lot of questions that needed answering. After all, the people should have a right to know why their leaders were acting strange. And there was definitely something strange, something wrong in the air. If … if there was a problem with the princess, Fluttershy would do her best to fix it! She had the power to do that now.

The problem, of course, would be remaining safe if everything went … badly. How were you even supposed to call an immortal deity to task? That sounded like a job for someone strong, like Twilight.

Except … Twilight wasn't looking so strong these days. The librarian's reactions were becoming incredibly suspicious. The way Fluttershy's thoughts were going, there was no shaking the thought that her friend might have been cruelly brainwashed. What horrors lay beneath that cruel, twisted spire? She didn't know. She couldn't know. As it was, there was no way to actually see Twilight's psyche beyond the bulging walls of her friend's mental distortion. And the pegasus couldn't cure what she couldn't see. Fumbling in the dark could only cause great damage.

Even if mind-control wasn't an issue, the princess' protégée had always been fiercely loyal to Celestia. No matter what happened, Twilight would end up opposing Fluttershy on this. Facing down her friend … it was going to hurt.

"Come on, Fluttershy! Let's go even faster!"

At least she had some time to think about it.

"What th' hay?" Apple Bloom blinked, and a distant corner of her brain noted that her eyelids were out of sync. Huh.

More importantly, wow. She really hadn't expected to be alive right now. Obviously, she was. That was … good? Good. Uh, yep, nothing better than a healthy amount of … existing.

Er. To be honest, the young mare wasn't as happy as she should have been. Actually, she was more confused than anything else. Being saved at the last minute was just incredibly unlikely. The chances against them surviving had been absolutely, astoundingly astronomical. Ridiculous. Preposterous! Grah! Where was her abacus? This needed documenting! Strict scientific notes had to be kept for future reference. And she definitely wasn't overreacting. No, sir.

Look. The thing was, statistically speaking, this kind of event was nearly impossible. Their survival was nice, sure. No denying that. But it made her feel awfully suspicious. When the laws of probability moved out of whack like that, it tended to imply some sort of unseen motive. A dark intelligence playing outside the rules.

Had there been an attempt on their lives? What would be the unseen benefits from disposing of three fillies? Or, for that matter, saving them? There would be no monetary gain, no great fame in either case. It didn't make sense to her. Not yet.

"Woah!" gasped a dumbstruck Scootaloo.

"Huh?" Sweetie Belle blinked, eyes wide.

Ah.
Apple Bloom surreptitiously checked her surroundings.

Right, then. Looks like everyone else was still stuck on the gasping part of them surviving. Maybe she had gotten a little ahead of herself. Er, should she gasp as well? No? No. That ship had probably sailed by now. Okay.

The observation unsettled her, but it was apparent that the deep, existential concerns plaguing the small earth-pony had gone completely unnoticed by her friends. Usually the three of them were on the exact same wavelength, but her friends seemed just a bit too ordinary today.

No, no, no! Treat this logically, darn it! Her friends seemed ordinary, but that was because they hadn't changed. Apple Bloom was the odd one out. Her mind kept skipping around like a broken record, but she could tell that much, at least.

Something was wrong with her, wasn't it?

Yeah, maybe so. Granted. But it didn't appear to be … detrimental. If anything, she was thinking much faster, with flashes of amazing creativity! Hopefully, there wouldn't be any repercussions for receiving this wonderful gift. She just didn't know what the side effects would be. Gosh, it sorta made Apple Bloom wonder why she spent so much time researching particle physics, when she could have been studying biology instead. Poor planning. Now neurological science was a closed book to her, just when she needed it the most.

Well, after indulging her mysterious inventiveness for a whole night, slowing down her racing thoughts might be a prudent decision. For the moment, at least. She just had make an effort to try and keep in touch with reality, and reassure her friends that she was totally fine.

Yes, that sounded good. She'd act as normally as possible, talk as normally as possible, then take a quick trip to the hospital when she got the chance. To be on the safe side.

"Bwuh?" Slowly and carefully, Sweetie began patting down her unharmed body, as if her inspection would magically reveal a crippling injury. When all her limbs were found to be in working condition, the unicorn twirled around in joy. "H-Hey! Look! We're not dead! Yay!" The filly threw her hooves up in the air.

A piercing insight there, Ms. Belle. And it only took you a good twenty seconds. Brilliant.

"Heh. Awesome, right? Haha!" Scootaloo laughed weakly, before suddenly collapsing onto her hind legs. "Oh, man! That was really close! Thanks, princess Celestia!"

Ergh. Apple Bloom softly kneaded her brow. Yep, there was the crux of the issue. The question of the moment, so to speak.

Why on earth had 'Her Glorious Majesty', the eternal Goddess of Light, taken the time out of her no-doubt busy schedule to rescue a few random fillies? She must have ponies to do the heroics for her. Guards, specifically trained for dangerous situations. That meant that this wasn't supposed to happen! Life wasn't a dang fairytale.

There was a heavy, grinding noise as Celestia shrugged her shoulders, her powerful muscles swiveling her large, pearly wings. Catapulted backwards, the huge pile of machinery on the noble alicorn's back tumbled to an open patch of ground with a thundering crash.

Good riddance. What a dumb piece of junk that isolator had been. She should never have created it. Nothing but an over-sized, ponderous waste of valuable materials. Not to mention, there went a toaster she was never getting back. Yeah.

The filly's eyebrow twitched spasmodically.

Ah, geez. It hadn't worked. There was no point trying to distract herself from this storybook situation. Time to face the facts. The Cutie Mark Crusaders had literally been saved by a princess in shining armor. Gah! It was just too crazy! Why, Apple Bloom bet that if she tried to tell Applejack about this, she'd get rapped over the hooves for lying. Her sister was big on all that honesty hoo-haa, and this sounded completely fake, even to her.

"Um, hi! Thanks for saving us!" Sweetie smiled up at the tall mare.

"That was … no problem, young ones." The golden-shod monarch seemed to stumble over her words, a strange, awkward look flitting across her face. "Actually, would … you three mind telling Us where We are? Though We have never experienced an illness before, We seem to be suffering from … a senior moment, to Our eternal chagrin."

Apple Bloom took the lead, shaking away the thoughts that clung to her like flies. It was only right that she be the one to formally welcome a guest to her home, even if it was the princess. "Sure!" Unlike the alicorn, she fought to keep her voice pleasantly normal. No quirkiness allowed. "Yer right outside Ponyville, in the rollin' fields a'Sweet Apple Acres! Equestria's numb'r one source a'Zap apple jam, fine apple cider, an' all yer fresh fruit needs!"

Huh. Well, that wasn't exactly quirky, but it had been a while since she had accidentally advertised like that. The whole line kinda just fell out of her mouth without her even meaning to say it.

Back when she had been a young filly, Granny Smith had drilled a fair few phrases into her. All part of the Apple family tradition, apparently.

Huh? Okay, fine, young-er filly. Gosh.

Still, it had taken days for Apple Bloom to learn all the right things to say. Maybe Applejack could learn the proper lingo almost instantly, but not her. Heck no. And Big Mac? Granny never even tried to make him memorize their slogan. When would he use it? Her brother was strong, sure, but he wasn't really one for gabbing. About as talkative as the trees he bucked. Maybe that was why. Could it be that he just didn't want to learn all that junk? It was possible. Granny would have made him do it, otherwise.

Oh, great. Stop thinking, dagnabbit! That must have been at least four seconds. Focus on everypony else. Focus.

"We thank you," Celestia mumbled. The matriarch chewed the loose ends of her drifting hair in an uncharacteristic show of discomposure. "The information is … appreciated. Ponyville, you say?" The mare furrowed her brow.

Finally picking up on the thick waves of uncertainty in the air, Scootaloo stepped a few paces closer. The tiny pegasus nudged the alicorn in the leg, looking up at her with a plaintive stare. "Hey, what's wrong, princess?" she asked. "You okay? You're speaking kinda funny."

The monarch hurriedly wiped away her confused, anxious look. "Oh … no. We do not wish to … trouble you, children. We just feel that We may have … forgotten something … very important."

"Oohooh!" Sweetie Belle's voice cracked with excitement. Yeah. To be honest, the unicorn's hungry look was making Apple Bloom a bit uncomfortable. "You forgot something? Is it something to do with Twilight? Or, no, is it your sister? Because you're speaking just like princess Luna did, before she made friends with Rarity's friends!"

The rapid-fire questions only seemed to perplex Celestia. "How … confusing. You refer to … a sister? Pardon Our asking, but … of whom do you speak? As far as We know … We are the only one of Our kind in existence. Have you … have you seen another being like Us?"

"Ah!" Scootaloo yelped. "No way!"

Yeah, what Scoots said! Holy mackerel – this was big! On a whim, the young farmer jumped back on her hooves, in order to point one accusingly at the alicorn. "Hold it! Y'don' mean t'say that y've forgotten Luna, do ya? An' yer bes' student? That's a right clear sign of ambrosia!"

"You mean amnesia?" Sweetie corrected.

"That too!"

Celestia stepped back under their collective gazes. "Amnesia? The very idea of such a … a … no. We … We do feel rather strange. Perhaps … perhaps your diagnosis holds merit. We may indeed be suffering from memory loss. Though unlikely, that might explain Our confusion, and that odd sensation of … weakness that continues to bother Us so."

The orange pegasus next to Apple Bloom began to tremble. "Oh no! This is really bad, guys! What're we going to do?" her friend whispered anxiously. "We have to help her!"

"Worry not, stalwart fillies." The tri-color mane of their savior blew gently in an unseen wind, a radiant smile gracing her regal features. "We are … stronger than the average pony. Given enough time, We can heal from any wound, including those of the mind. Our … memories are bound to return soon enough. But … tell Us. How long has it been? What is the date? The … year?"

A relieved Sweetie Belle sighed, before easily rattling off the date like the bookworm she was. "Today is Sunday, June the seventh, and the year is 1221 A.D."

"A.D.?" The alicorn frowned.

Okay, that was not a good sign.
At all.

Scootaloo flared out her wings in emphasis. "Yeah! Cheerilee says that stands for After Discord! You and Luna defeated him a really long time ago!" Jumping up into the air, the young speed-demon attempted a few sloppy kicks. "Pow! Bam! Just like that!"

There was a heavy pause as Celestia shakily processed the information. "We … do not understand. Not in the slightest. Even the calendar you use is … unfamiliar to Us. Discord has fallen? That would explain the peace in this … world, but it implies We are missing well over a millennium of memory. How … distressing. We must have been injured quite severely for such a … severance to occur."

"Uh, sure, then!" Apple Bloom coughed politely into a hoof. "Not so clear'n why that'd make y'say 'we' instead'a 'me', but hey; yer the princess! Kinda sounds like y've got a serious case'a schiz-afren-ya, though. Might wanna get that looked at, if y'get th' time."

"Feh." Her pegasus friend scoffed, likely at the attempt to use a word longer than 'Rainbow Dash'. "What are you, an encyclopaedia?"

Great. That obnoxious grammatical construction was practically turning into a catchphrase of sorts.

In abject confusion, Sweetie scrunched up her eyes. "What's schiz-afren-ya?" she asked, a puzzled expression decorating her face.

Bah, everypony should know that. It was a ridiculously easy question. Simply put, it's …
You know, the thing where …
When you have …

Hm.

"Ah have no idea!" Apple Bloom concluded. "Must have made it up, Ah guess. Never mind! Anyhow, princess Celestia? Why don't ya stay with us until yer mem'ry comes back? We'd be delighted t'have yer highness as a guest a'the Apple Family!"

A rich, honey-like chuckle echoed off the walls. The alicorn bowed her head towards the trio. "Thank you, young one. Such kindness is much appreciated. With Our significant loss of memory, We might be forced to take you up on your offer, if you are certain it won't be a trouble for you."

No way! She beamed back, shaking her head with as much enthusiasm as she dared. "Naw, it'll be fun! Like a sleepover, kinda! And Ah promise ya, whatever happens, everythin's gonna Turn out okay!"

Guh! The heck was that?

Sweetie shrieked in pain. "O-Ow! No need to shout, Apple Bloom!" Wincing, the unicorn clapped her hooves over her ears, eyes watering.

Eh? What?

"Yeah!" While Scootaloo didn't yell out in agony, the pegasus still shot her a disgruntled glare. "C'mon, we're right here, doofus!"

"Uh, whoops?" Apple Bloom squeaked. What the heck just happened? Was that the taste of berries on her tongue? And why did her throat hurt all of a sudden? "Ah don't … um, sorry, girls. Didn't mean t'talk that loudly. Or in … blue? Boy, that sure was weird, huh? Hahaheeh, heh … hah." Her forced laughter rapidly trailed off, thanks in part to the unamused looks she was receiving. Nuts. How embarrassing.

Celestia slowly held up a hoof, her eyes glazed over in thought. "That … was not mere volume. There was … a fundamental change in the way you spoke."

Dangit, dangit, dangit! The yellow filly gulped nervously, looking around her for something, anything she could use to change the subject. "Uh, Ah'm not … entir'ly sure watch'r talkin' about, but the shoutin' was definitely mah fault. An' the blue. Ah'll jus' try'n keep mah fonts from gettin' too fancy from now on, yeah?"

"What the heck are you saying?" Sweetie yelled in frustration. "Stop being weird!"

In a last-ditch attempt, the frightened earth-pony shook her head furiously to try and sort it out, flicking her red hair left and right. "Right, uh, yeah. Yer absolut'ly correct. Never mind. Y'all can ignore that, Ah was just … ramblin', Ah guess."

"Hmm." The princess fixed her with a disturbingly penetrating gaze. Apple Bloom began to sweat.

Suddenly, all those old Equestrian military victories they had learned about in school made a whole lot more sense. Fluttershy's gaze had nothing on Celestia's.

"Very well." The monarch relaxed slightly, releasing the small farmer from her stern, but invisible, clutches. "Putting those … unusual statements aside, We must make a statement on your abode. This level of technology … is most impressive. Before We arrived here, We … flew for many long leagues across the countryside. Nowhere did We see a collection of … devices as advanced as this. Tell Us, how did you … obtain all of these artefacts?"

Was she in the clear, then? Phew. That had been a close one.

With excellent comedic timing, a squarish, metal box on wheels trundled out into the open, clunkily moving under its own power. Aw, hey, it was Isaac! She remembered that little rascal. Boy, he must have been a good eight hours old, now. Kids just grow up so fast. But what was he doing out here?

She ushered the mechanical assistant back into the mess of machinery that filled the barn. Back to work with you, young robot! And don't come out until you've dismantled experiments AB-235 through AB-267!
Cheeky thing.

"You mean this isn't just normal farm stuff?" Scootaloo asked, tilting her head. "Then what is it?"

So, they wanted to know about her work, did they? Now there was a story!
A nice, distracting story.

Puffing out her chest, Apple Bloom stifled an airy tone, pretending not to boast. "Oh, those? Well, Ah made 'em. Jus' las' night, in fact! It weren't all that tricky. The hardes' part was gettin' the materials t'make mah tools, but Ah found a buncha old hammers an' sheet-metal in the back a'the barn. That was enough t'get me started, an' then Ah took apart some rusty ploughs for the rest! Didn't even need any help!"

Haha! Her friends seemed mighty impressed. Awesome.

"I-Impossible." Celestia gasped, mouth agape. "Truly, all this done in a night … without aid?" Her gaze lingered on a particularly striking metal ball, one that extruded shimmering wires and pipes.

Still, Apple Bloom felt the urge to point out that the coffee machine, though arguably the most important device for her work, happened to be the least advanced machine in the room. Even her abacus could project three-dimensional, holographic diagrams. And although he just looked like a cube, Isaac was much more complex inside, what with his prototype-IV thaumonuclear reactor.

But saying all that junk would be really unnecessary, and kinda rude. So she nodded and grinned, instead. "Yup!"

The alicorn donned a serious scowl. "Then … then you are an astounding prodigy of the natural sciences. Even were We not amnesic, We are certain that Our … current self would wish to place you under observation. If … you desire Our aid in anything, We offer Our tutelage, such as it is. You have much potential, My little pony. It is essential that your talents be nurtured." The monarch delivered her proclamation with all the certainty of an absolute ruler.

Great galloping honeycrisps! "W-Well, thanks a bunch!" she stammered. "A-Ah mean, Ah'm real honored, yer majesty! Ah … Ah don't know what t'say, t'be honest."

"You do not have to accept," the mare reminded her. "But We can think of none more deserving to be Our student."

"S-Sure!" Excited beyond all rationality, the young farmer beamed so hard at her giggling friends that her cheeks began to ache. Shucks! If that wasn't some sky-high praise, she'd eat her ribbon! And all that coming from Her Majesty herself? Incredible, that was. She'd never felt so proud. Why, if only her Ma and Pa could see her now, the student of a god. Apple Bloom was going places!

Celestia gave her a warm, comforting smile, one that reached out and warmed the filly from the inside. "Yes." The princess chuckled lightly. "Much potential, indeed."

Creasing her countenance with the deep lines of a very displeased monarch, Luna squinted down into her victim's face, an unflinching gaze upon her regal features. Her eyes began to ever-so-slowly narrow, gradually thinning until they were nothing but piercing slits. The two shimmering pools of teal-tinted darkness held so much unpleasant intent it was practically a physical substance.

"Where … is … he?" she growled, her throat throbbing roughly as she uttered the words.

"W-w-w-w-wh-wh-who?" babbled the stuttering, sweating fool she had accosted. The suspect's hooves scrabbled at the ground, desperately trying to escape her unbreakable grasp.

There was no denying it. Luna had a gut feeling about this one. This particular stallion was acting most churlish towards his rightful ruler. Not only was that incredibly disrespectful, his avoidance was also gravely suspicious. He had to be hiding something. But, as with any suspect, it would be no easy task to get him to talk.

Thankfully, Luna was no stranger to the lesser-known aspects of ruling a country. When it came to information-extraction, she was no ordinary mare. She had talent in the area, more so than her sister, even. Luna was good at being feared.

Raising her voice to a rolling boom, the dark alicorn managed to elevate her features to a far greater level of irate intimidation than the low level she had been using before. A quick, illusionary bolt of lightning lit up half her face in silhouette. "Answer the question!" she bellowed, coiling her magic around her in dark swirls of thunderous night.

Her prisoner shrieked like a school-filly. "Ghaaaaaaaaahah!"

The attempt was in vain, of course. It had been many centuries since anything as feeble as a mere battle-cry had shocked the princess of the night. Still, it gave her pause. No other captive had ever been trained in that most ancient of arts. Her heart was well-hardened, and Luna felt no fear, but the implications were certainly unnerving. The Sea Serpents rarely gave up their secret techniques so freely. Was this an international conspiracy, then? Did the Sea Serpents conspire to war? The outlook looked grim. She needed more information, and fast.

"Who are you working for? Answer!" Luna shook the recalcitrant stallion by the shoulders, producing a warbling doppler-effect of screams. "Vile cur! To betray your monarch is treason!"

"Aaaaahaahah!" The wailing was becoming desperately high-pitched, but her grip did not falter. It would never falter!

She growled menacingly at the traitor, the throaty sound shrinking his pupils down to pinpricks. The stallion's tearful gaze fixed on her left hoof as it slowly raised, wheezing softly. "Enough!" she boomed. "Cease your caterwauling! I tire of this farce!"

A small, oblivious, blue mare trotted onto the scene, looking backwards over her shoulder. "Hey, so it looks like Daisy doesn't know anyth— Ghah! The heck! Princess Luna!" The young pony stumbled as she covered her mouth, obviously distraught. "What the hay are you doing?"

"I am interrogating this suspect," the alicorn explained. Exhausting, difficult work, but it had to be done. Unavoidable.

"C-Colgate? H-Help! Help me!" Reaching out a trembling limb, the pale stallion attempted to escape once again. Luna effortlessly dragged him back by the tail, shaking her head at his terrified whimpering. He obviously hadn't learnt his lesson.

And, thanks to that untimely interruption, she had to begin the whole process again. Hmm. Now she remembered. Interrogations were supposed to be done in a closed chamber, for exactly this reason. How enormously tiresome. The monarch mustered up her energy, and brandished a chiding, but increasingly tired limb. "Silence, peon. Escape is f … utile." She yawned heavily. "Er, futile. Yes."

It was regrettable, but there was an embarrassing lack of vibrancy in all Luna's admonishments. Completely understandable, she hastened to assure herself. After all, it had been quite a while since she had last done this sort of thing, and there were stamina issues compounding the lack of practice. Still, it irked her. The alicorn expected better from one such as she.

"No! Princess, let him go!" her young charge pleaded. "You're really scaring him!"

Was Luna missing something? That was the entire point behind this manner of inquiry. The inspiration of fear was the goal towards which she had been working. Poorly, yes, but better than most. Her point remained intact. "… I beg your pardon?" She quirked a thin eyebrow at the young mare.

The unicorn gaped, unable to pull her thoughts into comprehensible words. "Wh… Y… How do you not …? Just … He's obviously terrified! Let him go, please!"

Terrified? Hardly. There were many more steps to go through before …
Hm.

Luna glanced down at the shivering, sweating mess beneath her hooves.

Oh dear.
Perhaps she had been a little hasty.

What … was she doing? Unacceptable. Fatigue was no excuse for a lack of logic. She needed to ignore any irrational arguments, use her mind properly, and solve the problem at hoof. What if she presumed innocence? Then … then her captive's cowardly actions made much more sense. It was as the young mare said. Luna's intuition was clearly in error, and she had to make amends. "Ah. Er. Very well. It seems the Crown owes you an apology, citizen. You are free to leave."

She stepped backwards, and allowed the stallion to stumble to his feet. He followed this by swiftly bolting through the door of a nearby house. The thick wooden slab slammed shut, and was swiftly followed by the sound of multiple latching locks.

Curses.

Popping up from out of nowhere, Discord waggled his eyebrows in enormous merriment, obviously deriving great amusement at her expense. A paw covered his mouth, but barely aided at all in stifling his irritating giggles. "Snrk! S-Smooth moves there, Loony! You sure got a lot of information out of him! Pfaha! Bwahahahaha!"

"Grrgh." She ground her teeth together and turned away, unable to find a reasonable excuse for her actions. The draconequus was unaccountably rude, but at least he had not been the one to accost and traumatize a pedestrian. No, that ignoble job had been eagerly snatched up by her, in a dreadful display of ineptitude. What wondrous talent she had at destroying her own image.

"Hey, stop laughing!" Jumping to Luna's defense, the small, blue pony by her side fumed in indignation.

'Colgate Hooves', was it not? A fine young mare, with a clear sense for justice.

Discord cackled even harder in response. "Oh, it's too rich!"

"The … the princess is just a little out of practice, that's all! A thousand years of isolation would do that to anypony, right? I'm sure with a little time to readjust to modern society, she'll be buttering up ponies in no time!" The mare choked, and suddenly clammed up. A hot crimson began to creep over her face. "W-wait, that sounded weird. Forget that last bit."

"Eh? Who, Lady Twinkle-mane, here?" Discord rolled his eyes, and jerked out a gnarled thumb at the nocturnal alicorn. "You think that sort of problem can be fixed in a flash, do you? My, my. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the poor, deluded girl can barely stop herself from screaming her lungs out. That's not social ineptitude, my dear, that's just ineptitude in general. What a fascinating monarchy you have! Somepony who can't control their own behaviour, in command of an entire country! Really, that's hardly going to win any prizes for good leadership strategy. At least her sister knew how to keep her voice down. Basic skills, but they're the hardest ones to learn. Mmm, yes."

It was very hard for Luna to remain silent, but she sucked in a breath though the thin gap between her teeth, forcing herself to stay calm. The draconequus wanted to rile her up, wanted her to prove his point by ranting like a fool. Getting angry would just be giving him what he wanted.

And, as much as it galled her to admit it, his pointed insults held an uncomfortable amount of truth behind them.

While the princess kept a tenuous grip on her temper, steam was virtually billowing from Colgate's ears at the blatant disrespect Discord was flaunting. "Ooh, I'd like to see you do better, you crusty old jerk! You were locked away for ages too, and it hasn't helped your nature one bit! So yeah, I'm seeing a real pattern! If you haven't got anything nice to say, then shut it!"

The mad god rolled his mismatched eyes, sighing in exasperation in the young mortal's face. "No need for name-calling, Toothpaste. So much rhetoric gets used these days. What, you think I won't accept your silly little challenge, do you? Hah! Think again!" With a blink, he raised a claw to his chin, stroking his scraggly beard. "Of course, ponies tend to run screaming from me. For good reason, yes, but it does make this game slightly inconvenient. Well, then! Do you mind if I change into something a bit less comfortable? I have a prior history around here, so it's only fair."

"I … Wait, what challenge?" Miss Hooves looked utterly bewildered, swept up in the charismatic flow of the draconequus.

"Wonderful." Discord coughed smoothly into one fist, before thrusting it up to the sky. His magic sizzled and sparked around him. "Go, shining power of mine! Take the form of … Oh, I don't know, something utterly dull!"

Luna looked at him skeptically for a few uneventful seconds, but was caught entirely off guard when shimmers of brown and gray light swam up from nothing, wrapping around to encase his form. Fascinating! She had not expected the creature to have enough power for a full transformation. Perhaps the spell fell within the domains of Chaos? Surely not. Or— Oh, of course. By leaving the end result up to chance, he had forced it into his domain. A cunning trick to reduce the energy requirements. Clever, she had to begrudgingly admit. It was a pity that Luna's conceptual demesne was so much more restrictive, or she would have applied the idea to her own spells.

One wet squelch, and the throb of ancient magic finished warping the dazzling light, compressing it down into a much smaller form. The draconequus had been shifted into a very familiar shape. Was it intentional? It couldn't be.

Two evenly-arranged eyes opened up, blinking at the light. A brown-grey hoof was lifted up and carefully examined. "A pony," muttered the altered god. Slowly, like the flowing of a glacier, Discord's eyes creased in boundless mirth. "Ohohoho! Good job! Oh, a good job indeed! I can't argue with that. Boring in a nutshell! Hee hee hee! You and me, Chaos magic. We know what's going on. Mmm. But … the horn's a bit of a giveaway, isn't it?" He flicked the end of the strangely loose, twisted spiral on his head, compacting it into what appeared to be a natural unicorn horn with a grunt of effort. "There. Now everything's perfectly tedious."

Having seen much stranger things before, Luna turned her attention to the youngest member of their group, aware that not all ponies could handle the full force of Discord's oddities. The young Miss Hooves appeared to be very disturbed, but not terrified. Not yet, at least. It was probably the best she could hope for while the patron of madness was still around.

Never mind. That situation would keep for now.

With a cheerful hum of a tuneless melody, a few quick steps brought the heavily-transformed draconequus closer to one of the pegasi wandering nearby. From the monochrome coat, blonde mane, and strange eye-condition, the citizen was the same one they had seen flying around earlier that day. The … clumsy postal-worker that Colgate Hooves had mentioned. Droopy? Dumpy, perhaps?

"Hello, my dear, so sorry to bother you!" Discord called out, an odd inflection in his voice. "I had a quick question, if you don't mind my asking!"

"Huh? Uh, sure! How can I help you?" the friendly pony replied. One of her eyes appeared to wander away, but Luna knew not to judge the mare based on her outer appearance. For all she knew, this could be the smartest, most attentive citizen in town, superseding Twilight Sparkle in intelligence. It was possible, at least.

Faintly.

The insane god gave the mare an embarrassed smile, brushing his mane to the side in a motion that Luna found disconcertingly normal. "You see, I happen to be looking for one particular pony, but I'm new to the area, and can't find him at all. But you, madam. You are a mail-mare, correct? Your job must take you all around town. Have you seen a brown stallion anywhere? Hourglass cutie-mark, goes by the name of Dusty Hooves."

"Oh, don't be silly. Of course I know Dusty!" The pegasus seemed to titter vacantly for a bit, before raising a hoof to her mouth in bemusement. "But wow, what a coincidence. I just saw him! Lots of hims, in fact!" she revealed in a whisper.

Still smiling that strange, authentic smile, Discord let out a genuinely amused laugh, without so much as a hint of his usual sadistic chortle. "My, that sounds very strange!" A twinkle of friendly interest sparkled lightly in his calm, trustworthy gaze. "Whatever do you mean?"

It was at about this point that Colgate's mouth dropped open.

Her friend, the gray mare, unconsciously leaned closer to the false stallion, a hint of flame dusting her cheeks. "Well, he must have fallen into that magic cloning pool or something, because I've seen at least four of him just today! The last time I saw him was just next to the town square, before he disappeared again. I … That's all I know, I'm afraid."

Discord gave her a courteous bow, never breaking eye-contact. "How peculiar! I suppose I shall look for him there. You've been a wonderful help, my dear. Have a delightful day. Perhaps … I shall see you around." He calmly turned, and retreated.

"Y-Yeah! You too, mister!" Sighing slightly, the mare seemed to break out of a mild stupor, as if waking up from a long sleep. Her gaze landed on both Luna and her blue companion, eyes widening. "O-Oh, Colgate, is that you? Why were you and princess Luna and … this gentlestallion looking for—"

"Eurgh." Their young charge groaned, sliding a hoof down her face. "That was so weird. Fine, come on then, Derpy. I'll explain what I know. Let's talk in private."

As the two ponies rounded the corner to a nearby alleyway, Discord visibly relaxed, allowing his form to fluidly spring back into its former, gawkish construction. "Nnngh! That's better. Always so restrictive, doing that. Hurts my antler." He blinked owlishly at Luna's heavy stare. "What? Astounded by my magnificence?"

She shook her head, recomposing herself. "Hardly. I have simply never seen you use manners before. It was a novel experience."

"Oh, I see how it is." Discord flung a paw over his brow, mockingly swooning. "Just because I'm normally a little abrasive, you think I can't turn on the charm? I'm nasty for a reason, numbskull. I used to be Discord, you know. The more irritated I made people, the more powerful I became! It was a win-win situation. For me. Winning twice. It was amazing."

No wonder. It all came back to power, in the end, did it not?

"A most selfish reason for belligerence, but it does explain much of your actions," she muttered. "I assume that any disunity you sow amongst others also increases your abilities? That would mean that any attempt to fight you provides you with even more strength."

"Of course," the draconequus nodded sagely. "Well, strictly speaking, that used to be true, but not any more. Now, I am merely Disorder. And Disorder doesn't gain anything from making you annoyed."

Luna stopped short, spluttering incoherently. "What? Then why in blazes do you keep doing it?"

"Hm? I … Hmm." He seemed surprised at the question. "I suppose it's due to force of habit, mainly. Not to mention how hilarious it is to watch dimwits like you fume at me. Hohohohohohoho!"

Looking up at the sky, Luna closed her eyes and weighed up her options. Perhaps she should let bygones be bygones? After all, Discord had certainly been a superior information gatherer. And was it not Celestia who had said that every being deserves a second chance? She should be able to weather a few barbed words, surely?

No. She couldn't. This ended here.

A deep rumbling bubbled up from deep within her, shuddering her body with thunderous force. "Die!" she roared, launching herself at the despicable monster, the fire of pure death glowing in her eyes. "Return to the abyss!"

"Ahahahaha! See? That's not scary! It's adorable." Discord sniggered, bounding away from her lunging strikes with ease.

Ragged breaths whistled through Luna's teeth as she worked herself up into a maniacal rage. "Abomination!" she furiously screeched. "I have endured your audacity! Your endless temerity! But my pride can suffer no more slights to its name! I will destroy you, and salvage what little honor I have left!"

"You can try!" the draconequus sang from atop a nearby cart.

She hissed, forced her wings back, and blasted forwards. The wooden cart exploded into a cloud of shrapnel and splinters, but her opponent artfully dodged all damage. Seething, Luna shook the broken shards of somepony else's property from her mane. "Stop running, coward! Face your evisceration like a stallion!"

Discord easily twirled out of the way, mocking each of her attempts to land an attack. "So sorry, not a stallion any more, dear! That was three minutes ago! Missed your chance! Whoops, missed me, too! Hoohoohoo! Better luck next time!"

"Raaargh! Gr-aeaargh!" she howled, infuriated beyond all rational thought or understandable speech.

"Woah." Peering around the corner at the sound of massive destruction, a wall-eyed mare grinned tentatively, cheering at the sight of two once-mighty gods wrestling like oversized children. "Go Luna! You show Discord who's boss!"

Following swiftly after, Colgate sagged in disappointment, hanging her head. "Aw, hay. So much for keeping these two under control." The blue unicorn raised her voice. "Hey, um … guys? Derpy's gonna show me the place she saw Dad. We'll just meet you at the town square, okay? Okay. Yeah, uh, see you later, then. Bye!"

In a definite breach of courtesy, Luna did not bid the young mare farewell. But to give her credit, were the alicorn not attempting to gnaw Discord's tail off, she would probably have been far more polite.

"Okay, yeah. Called it. I totally knew there was gonna be a catch." Rainbow settled back on her haunches, hissing out a breath as she eased the pressure off her hind legs.

Geez, ow. All that heavy stuff the soldiers had attached to her was really uncomfortable. Seriously. Even though it kinda made sense for them to do it. As far as she knew, wing-weighting was the best way to get a pegasus to stay in one place.

Actually, the amount of weight was sort of a … a compliment, in a way. After all, the guards were pegasi, too. They knew exactly what junk on the pinions would do to a pony's ability to fly. But they'd still gone nuts with the big chunks of metal, to the point where she couldn't even lift up her wings. Why? Did they know how good she was at flying?

Hey, cool! Dash must have started making a name for herself! Awesome.

"Pardon?" The big guy with the crown sneered condescendingly, sticking his nose in the air like he was trying to see through the back of his own head. "Certainly not. A gentlepony always keeps his word. All Miss Belle must do is apologize for slighting me at the Gala, and you three will be free to go."

Just say sorry? Huh. Well, that didn't sound so bad.

" … Excuse me? Did you just ask me to apologize? For slighting you?" Rarity's clipped voice vibrated with a hefty helping of wiry tension. A vein throbbed on her brow.

Applejack paled at the sight. "Uh …"

The unicorn exploded. "How dare you!" she screeched at a sudden, painful volume. "If anything, you should be the one apologizing to me! You utter, utter brute!"

Hold on. Rainbow might have been a little oblivious, but even she could tell that this wasn't going to end well.

Flicking her eyes over at the earth-pony nearby prompted nothing useful from Dash's unhelpful farming friend. Okay, then. It was up to her. Chill. She could do this. Gulping slightly, the speedster tightened her shoulders and steeled her nerves. She raised a hesitant hoof in the direction of the dressmaker, stretching a painfully fake smile over her lips. "Um, hey! Maybe we should calm down a li—"

"Fine! Shall I detail your behaviour at the Gala, then, your Majesty? Very well! Let me elaborate! You were the most unpleasant pony I had ever been unfortunate enough to meet! Even the most basic standards of etiquette were beyond your reach! You were intolerably arrogant, rude to everyone you encountered! Despite your greater wealth, you refused to pay for your own meal, let alone mine! You insulted my friend's cooking! You were the epitome of self-obsession, treating me without chivalry, generosity, or honor." Rarity tossed her hair fluidly, somehow managing to glare without the use of her eyes. "And worst of all, your suit was definitely sub-standard."

Haha. The dumbfounded look on everypony's faces was almost enough to make up for the horrible consequences.

"I see. You have made your decision, then. Such a poor choice." Blueblood's brow twitched in boundless rage, and he gestured dismissively. "Guards! Take them to the dungeons."

Surprisingly, one of those weak-willed stallions managed to voice a complaint. "The … dungeons?"

A dark fire burned in the eyes of the king. "Do it!" he snarled, slamming his hoof onto the armrest of his throne. "Do as I tell you! In the name of Tartarus! Are you soldiers or not?"

There was a whispered discussion. "Your majesty," the leader of the guards finally spoke up. "I am afraid we cannot comply."

"Stonehoof!" Rarity cried, looking pathetically thankful that somepony was standing up for them. It had looked pretty dire there for a second, Rainbow had to admit. Whew.

The 'Stonehoof' guy stepped forwards, jaw locked in determination. "Your highness, I sincerely apologize for this insubordination. While we understand you are angry, it is my utmost regret to inform you that the command you have given us is actually against the law. I'm sure you are aware of this, but as ordained by Princess Celestia in the Equestrian Constitution, all potential offenses must stand before a ju—"

Eyes blazing, Blueblood snapped his head towards the soldier and flared his nostrils in rage. A horrifying silence fell over the room as the furious monarch opened his mouth unnaturally wide, his jaw cracking open to a disturbing degree. There was a whistling roar, a biting howl, and the unicorn sucked in an impossible, humongous breath. The unstoppable force of a cold, bitter gale ripped across the room, tearing something insubstantial from the loyal stallion's form.

Then the light in Stonehoof's eyes died, and the pegasus slowly crumbled, sagging unconscious to the ground.

"Mmm." Like he was tasting a rare delicacy, the King chewed and swallowed the cloudy ball of vapor. He finished with a smile, licked his lips, and a faint glimmer of light shinmered around his form. Nothing obvious about the guy really changed, but he suddenly seemed a lot bigger, somehow. It wasn't an actual growth in size, but his personality, his bearing, his posture … something had shifted, making him harder to ignore. Blueblood was larger than life, now. Too vibrant to miss.

Rainbow gaped in soundless fear, and was very relieved when nopony noticed.

"Why are you staring?" the monarch growled dangerously, those unreal winds beginning to stir once more. "I have given you soldiers a direct order. Do not make me repeat myself."

The terrified Royal Guard jumped to attention, three guards hurrying towards the prisoners. "Y-yes, your majesty!"

"Oh m-my," Rarity mumbled weakly as she was swiftly dragged away, the King's dark smile following them the entire time. "That's … a rather new trick."

There was a boom, and the doors to the throne room slammed shut behind them.

For a few minutes, nopony dared to say anything. Whatever Blueblood had done, whatever Stonehoof had experienced, it had been incredibly brutal. The guards that had rushed them out of there were pale-faced as well. Even the officer leading the way was grinding his teeth and muttering curses under his breath.

Still stunned by what she had seen, Rainbow stumbled against one of the soldiers, a kid barely out of his teens. She was pushed upright by a gentle hoof. "D-Don't worry, Miss Dash," he whispered nervously. "I … I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Fine. Yeah. Sure," she grumbled. The sarcasm helped to cover up her overwhelming sense of panic. Kind of.

"Private!" the dour, old pony in charge barked, pausing in his mumbling to pierce the newer recruit with his gaze. "Don't talk to the prisoner, you fool! I'm not about to have any more of my soldiers suffer Stonehoof's fate."

After checking that Rainbow wasn't going to trip over her own hooves, her escort rushed over to plead with the menacing stallion, talking in soft, traded hisses. "But sir, w-we can't just let this rest! This is all illegal! We're breaking the law! There's supposed to be a trial, and— … What are we going to do? We have to stop this!"

"You will not be stopping anything. I am the highest ranking officer in this castle at the moment, and I order you to hold yourself in check. Rash actions are the last thing we need right now."

Crestfallen and frightened, the green recruit looked like he was about to cry. "B-But!"

"Leave this to me." The scarred old officer's eyes never deviated from the path ahead of them, and his voice had dropped until it was barely even a whisper. "I understand your feelings, son. The Royal Guard is a force for justice, not tyranny. We have served the crown faithfully for nearly a millennium, and in all that time, corruption has never stained our name. We are ancient. We are noble. We are the greatest military force in Equestria, and I refuse to let us become a dictator's expendable pawns. However, this situation is incredibly delicate. A hasty response will do more harm than good. So, like I said. Leave it to me."

"Sir!" The kid saluted, looking much more reassured than before.

Sparing him an appraising glance, the older stallion lowered his voice even further. "There is, in fact, protocol for this situation, though the details are above your rank. First, it is essential that we get a message to a stallion by the name of Fancy Pants. If you ever encounter him, inform him that 'the fourth link rattles, and the Three are silent'. He will take care of the rest."

Rarity's ears visibly perked up at that sentence. "The fourth link? That … that's what Stonehoof said!" she gasped, shamelessly revealing her blatant eavesdropping.

The grizzled pegasus stopped short, spinning around to the dressmaker in a flash. "What?" he growled. "You actually heard Acting Captain Stonehoof mention this? Are you certain? Was he able to inform Fancy Pants? The transmission of that message is vital, citizen!"

"Inform him? My dear fellow, they were the only two there who understood that nonsense. I imagine Mr. Pants has been aware of the situation for some hours." The unicorn fanned herself airily.

"Unbelievable. He already knows." An unpleasant leer crossed the stallion's scarred features. "He knows, and Blueblood has no idea at all. This is far better than I had imagined. We might actually have a chance." Chuckling, he swiveled his head back to the front and continued walking down the hall, refusing to speak again for the duration of their trip.

As nervous as she was, Rainbow jumped a little when they abruptly stopped. Fishing out a rusty set of keys, the creepy old stallion unlocked a really heavy-looking door, and spent a while thoroughly examining the room inside.

He nodded in what might have been satisfaction. "Good. Lock them in."

"Hoy!" Applejack shouted in outrage as the soldiers obeyed orders, and they were all soon marehandled inside. "Ain't nopony goin' t'explain some of this nonsense? What in tarnation is goin' on aroun' here? What's that Pants feller got t'do with any a'this? Rarity, y'unnerstan', righ'?"

The flustered unicorn shook her head. "Darling, I assure you, I am just as bewildered as you are. Perhaps even more so. Pardon me, dear."

After entering, Rarity backed up towards the wall, obviously trying to make the tiny room seem less cramped than it actually was. That effort went to waste when Rainbow was pushed inside as well. Er, wow, this was really small. Heck, even Rainbow's wardrobe was bigger than this! And unlike the fussy dressmaker whining in the corner, Dash didn't care about clothes at all. No. This was not cool. Not cool at all.

"Aw, man." The pegasus came to a depressing realization. "Jail sucks."

"Hmph." That weird old officer stepped in as well, giving the prisoners a grim shadow of a smile. "Trust me, this isn't the end of the world, ladies. I have no doubt that Fancy Pants will find some way to free you. No idea how he'll manage it, but with his track-record, you'll be seeing clear skies soon enough." He reached out and grabbed the handle to the door, but paused for a moment before he pulled. "Probably," he added.

With that parting remark left to linger in the air, the door to the cell firmly shut, and the three mares were left alone in the dark.

Spike kicked a small pebble along the road, claws clasped sullenly behind his back.

Boy, Twilight and her friends had sure been gone for a really long time. Way longer than normal. Given his lack of other friends or hobbies, it hadn't taken long for him to run out of things to do. The most he'd managed to accomplish today was lend a customer a reference on paradoxical carpentry, and feed Owlowiscious a mouse (which had been gross to watch). Sheer boredom had prompted him to make a raid on his emergency gemstone supply, and now he was even running low on amethyst, the tastiest type of quartz.

This sucked.

So, eventually, he'd gotten fed up with counting the nails in the floorboards. In a moment of weakness, Spike had decided to visit the Crusaders. Sure, they wouldn't need his assisting skills, or … have anything really important to talk about. But at least they'd have some crazy scheme for him to take part in, right? Could be fun.

Except, Sweetie Belle was busy doing homework, and Scootaloo had disappeared somewhere for 'training', apparently. Sweet Apple Acres was his last resort!

Ah, whatever. If this didn't work out, he'd think of something better to do. Maybe he could go out to that gem-field Rarity showed him? That sounded pretty good. Even without a magical detection spell, he'd be sure to find something, right?

But the farm was a nice place, too. Tasty apples.

As the young dragon meandered towards the orchard, he absent-mindedly munched on a piece of granite he'd plucked from the road. Taking a shortcut and ducking under a fence, Spike was shocked to see a familiar face in front of him when he stood back up. He flinched, coughing up flecks of gravel that had gone down the wrong way. "Woahoh! Uh, princess Celestia? What are you doing here?" he stammered.

There wasn't a friendly ruffle of his spines in store. The solar sovereign didn't greet him as fondly as usual. Instead, Twilight's teacher seemed oddly stiff. Cautious? Weird. That wasn't like Celestia at all.

"Er, salutations," she said, staring confusedly at him. "Though we know not your face, We admit that We are similarly perplexed as to Our whereabouts, small reptile. In addition, We believe We are absent large portions of Our memory. As such, We have decided to take up residence in this location, wherever it may be, until Our … faculties return."

Did that mean what he thought it meant? "Oh, man!" Spike grabbed his head, a sudden surge of panic overwhelming him. "Celestia's got amnesia! This is really big! Twilight should have sent me a message about this! Did something happen to her? … Aw, never mind, I get it. She's gone on an adventure, hasn't she? Stupid Twilight and her awesome adventures. When will it be my turn to, uh … to banish a great evil, or something?"

"Ahem." The princess turned, and began walking slowly towards the distant barn, forcing the small assistant to scurry after her. "Words and wishes … are not sufficient to grant one fame, diminutive lizard. You speak of … heroism, but act without the certainty of strength. Such … cowardice is not the path of greatness. Yet, We recognize that this failure is through no fault of your own. Until your form holds the … power and experience that age will bring, it is better to remain at home, to … train yourself, and protect your family's possessions from thieves and would-be marauders. Such is Our … understanding of honor."

Spike huffed, breathing out a cloud of smoke. "Aw, you don't have to make excuses. I know what you're trying to say. 'You're just a baby dragon, Spike'." His claws flicked out into air-quotes. "Yeah, I know that. Sure. But it feels like I've been a baby for years! And Twilight won't let me read the books on dragon aging, so I don't even know when I'm gonna grow up. How long is it gonna take? Dragons live a really long time, right? What if I'm a baby for, like, decades? Argh, it's just so boring!"

Sparing him a glance, Celestia nudged the barn-door open, stepping into the darkness beyond. "Subject Apple Bloom?" she called. "A … tiny dragon is talking at Us. We require your assistance."

A sputtering crackle sounded out, and a ball of caged lightning lit up the room, suspended in the air above their heads. The glow washed over a dizzying array of scientific paraphernalia, and revealed a very dirty Apple Bloom wielding a very heavy wrench. The filly grinned easily. "Why, look who it is! Now don' worry yerself, princess, tha's jus' Spike! He's the number one assistan' to Twilight! Uh, y'might not remember, but Twilight's yer best student! A whiz with magic, and a real nice gal, t'boot."

"Hm." The explanation elicited a noncommittal hum from the alicorn. "We shall be the judge of that."

Celestia didn't remember her favorite protégée? Uh-oh. Twilight practically worshipped her monarch. This wasn't good.
Okay! He had to make a really fantastic impression, then. For Twilight!

"Uh, yeah! That's me! Number one assistant to number one students!" Leaning over to Celestia, he wiggled his claws. "The secret to writing well is not having hooves. It makes it really easy to hold a quill! Don't tell anyone, though!"

He was given a bewildered look. "… We … We shall not?"

"Haha, thanks!" He replaced his claws on his hips, beaming at a job well-done. "You're the best, princess!"

"Yes. Yes We are. Excuse Us." The confused-looking alicorn wandered away from the building, kicking the heavy door shut as she left.

After an awkward silence, Spike did his best to break the ice. "So … what's up, Apple Bloom?"

The earth-pony turned back to a solid-looking construction, deftly twisting a few bolts into place. "Eh, not much. Ah'm workin' on a few projects, but it's goin' real slow with me on mah own. Y'know, Ah kinda wish Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were still here. Ah could do with'n extra hoof or two."

"Hey!" Spike shoved his arm into the air, waving it around excitedly. "I could help! I'm a great assistant!"

"Oh, … uh, Ah don' know …" Apple Bloom tapped her wrench on the metal, eyes flitting from side to side. "Ah mean, maybe y'ain't cut out fer this kinda stuff? It's real hard!" She coughed into a hoof.

That was a really terrible poker-face. Maybe it was a genetic problem, or something. Still, the young dragon knew why she wasn't so keen on the idea. He had been a pretty terrible assistant to her sister, after all. Even if it was on purpose.

A little disgruntled, he folded his arms. "If this is about that one time with Applejack, then I totally promise not to mess up like that! Dragon's honor!" Also, this time he wouldn't feel like he was betraying Twilight, so he wouldn't need to pull any crazy stunts. Probably.

"Uuuh …" She winced at his eagerness. Her own good nature prevented her from outright shoving him out the door, and he wasn't slow to capitalize on the fact.

Spike leapt forwards, clinging to her legs. "Pleeease? I'm really bored!"

"Aw, c'mon. That's what's bugging' ya? Yer jus' bored?" Apple Bloom huffed out an exasperated breath. "Oh, fine. But don' come cryin' t'me when y'get a splinter!"

He blinked. Then he chuckled. "A splinter? Haha, seriously? Did you forget I'm a dragon? Dragons don't just breathe fire and eat everything, we have super-tough scales, too! I can't even get splinters!" There were a lot of good points to being a dragon. He was secretly very proud of his awesome heritage, though he had yet to meet another friendly member of his own species. Hopefully he wouldn't grow up to be like those jerks. That would be the worst destiny ever.

"Issat so? Interestin' …" the filly mused, giving Spike a considering look as if she was seeing him for the first time.

Neat, this was working! So all he had to do was prove he was useful? He could do that! "Hey, also, did you know I'm kinda magic-resistant? It just sort of slides off my scales! Once Twilight figured that out, she started using me for casting practice." Spike rubbed his top lip dreamily. "Man, that mustache spell is really great."

"Hold on!" Apple Bloom dove for a pencil, and began to fire off questions. "How hot can y'make yer flames?"

"Huh? Oh … dunno. I think I accidentally melted some tin, once?" He wiggled a claw in one ear. "I dunno what temperature tin melts at, though. I've only ever tried to set paper on fire."

The pencil furiously scratched away as the young mare scribbled down notes. "Ever find a limit to what y'can eat?"

Spike had to really think about that one. "Um … well, thirty tubs of ice-cream gave me a wicked stomach-ache. But after it stopped hurting, Twilight said that it wasn't actually the ice-cream that made me sick. It only hurt because my insides got cold. I'm not supposed to eat too much cold stuff, yet. That's 'cus my fire's not very strong."

"So it's a correlated limit t'both of 'em." She tapped the pencil against her teeth. "Aw, hay. This ain't even close to mammalian physiology. And dragons get big, with great honkin' wings. There's gotta be some flight magic there. Maybe a metamorph'sis stage …" Apple Bloom shook her head, putting the pencil back to paper. "Anyhow, when y'say 'super-tough' scales, how tough d'ya mean?"

"I … I dunno." He hesitated. "Twilight wanted to test that, but she couldn't take out one of my scales. All her cool magical tools broke."

The pencil snapped.

"B-broke? … Heh. Heheheh. Ahahahahahaha!" The filly twirled him around in an exuberant dance, somehow avoiding all the delicate-looking stuff lying around the barn.

"W-Woah!" Spike yelped when his feet left the ground. "Slow down!"

The small pony stumbled and stopped, allowing him to stand on his own again. "Uh, sorry. Got a little overexcited, there." She blushed slightly, before offering him a more-composed hoof. "Spike, Ah think you'd be a great help. Welcome t'the team!"

"Sweet!" He wiped his brow in relief. "Thanks, Apple Bloom! You're a real pal!"

Before she spoke, Twilight made sure to swallow the large mouthful of clover she had been chewing. "Huh. That's worrying," she quietly mumbled to herself. Her mysterious statement wasn't a reprimand to the clover, obviously. All clover did was taste delicious. That was perfectly acceptable behaviour for a plant.

No, the violet mare had more important things to be thinking about than breakfast.

Perhaps that was unwise. It was a minor miracle she had any appetite at all, considering recent events, so maybe she should indulge it while she could. After all, a few hours of flying and an unexpected patch of turbulence had resulted in the librarian getting spectacularly travel-sick. Not twenty minutes ago, she had put forward a strained request that they walk the rest of the distance to the Element. The others saw how green Twilight's face was, traded a panicked look, and practically fell over themselves to agree. Fluttershy Airlines screeched to a halt. Tumbling onto the grass had been a painful, but welcome relief from the constant, nauseating movement, and the unicorn successfully kept the contents of her stomach down. A minor victory.

Well, it wasn't like it had been very comfortable, sitting two-apiece on a single pony. Both geometrically and emotionally awkward.

Now that her head had stopped spinning, she'd taken the chance to make some self-diagnostics. From a visual/tactile standpoint, most of her bruises appeared to be healing nicely, and her horn barely even throbbed with hot agony any more. In fact, she was in fairly good health, all things considered! It was only the unusual state of her magic that had prompted a comment, and even then, she wasn't sure that she was getting the right readings. The numbers didn't make any sense. "Really, 12 Thaums?" she huffed. "I've never even heard of such a pathetic score. That's a sad fraction of the magic the average terracorn wields, let alone a trained unicorn. How odd."

Maybe the discovery had put her a little on edge. Maybe Twilight didn't think her friends could hear her disgruntled mutterings, as she had fallen a fair distance behind the others in her search for a healthy meal. Either way, the unicorn was completely unprepared for a burst of pink hair to pop up right in front of her. She almost shrieked, but found herself silently flinching instead, covering her head with her hooves. Survivor's instinct. Protect the eyes. The brain too, that was a pretty important organ. It did useful things.

"What's odd?" chirped the living mass of cotton candy that passed for a traveling companion. "Is it me? Am I odd? C'mon, don't spare my feelings! Tell me the truth!"

"Oh. It's just … you." Deeply embarrassed by her overreaction, the purple scholar hastened to stand back up. "Yes. Yes, you're very odd." The baker seemed awfully pleased at the minor insult. "But I wasn't talking about you."

"You weren't?" chimed in the final member of their team, blinking long, soulful eyes at them.

Fluttershy had heard her talking as well? It really was astounding how everypony listened to Twilight when she ignored them, but nobody cared when she tried to actually share her knowledge. "No. No, I wasn't. As a matter of fact, I was trying to check my magic levels. They're not looking all that great. Even taking into account the deleterious effects of a core-rupture, I'm barely scraping at the dregs of a nigh-subterranean barrel of potency, so to speak. It's a little concerning, you know?" That had been an awfully muddled analogy, but it would suffice for now. She was too hungry to be self-consistent.

"Waaait." Pinkie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How did you check your magic if you can't do magic?"

"Autothaumatomensuration." The librarian's short statement was rewarded with total silence. Curious, she looked up from a rather enticing daffodil, only to see two clear expressions of magnificent incomprehension.

Great. Wonderful. Time to explain some more incredibly complex stuff to ponies who didn't even want to know about the underlying theory. That was always a rewarding task, wasn't it?

She kneaded her temples to buy time. "Uh, give me a second. Okay. You know how unicorns can cast spells? Of course you do. Right. Well, all of us have an inner pool of accessible energetic potential, and it's possible to manually gauge the quantity of magical energy inside it. It's not amazingly accurate, but you don't need to be able to perform spells to do it. A neat little trick."

The more passive of her two friends frowned slightly in concentration. "I … think I understand, but I don't really know what a lot of those words mean, Twilight." Fluttershy glanced up at the unicorn's beribboned horn guiltily. "Magic is very instinctual for pegasi, and I'm pretty sure earth-ponies have no conscious control over their magic at all. I always had very low magic levels, so I never had to learn that much about any of it. Sorry."

"I have no idea what's going on!" Pinkie exclaimed cheerfully, completely unabashed at her own ignorance. "But that's okay! You guys have fun talking about your voodoo stuff. I'll just sit here." She did so. Then, presumably unable to sit still for more than a few seconds, the baker stuck out her tongue and began trying to lick her own forehead.

Apparently, it was quite difficult.

Despite her obvious unease, a wan smile flashed across Fluttershy's face at the earth-pony's antics. It was a reluctant pegasus that finally turned away from the living distraction. "So, um, what did you find, Twilight?"

"Oh, that's right." She had been doing Science. The thaumaturgical researcher tried to place herself into an impartial state of mind. Since the tests were about her own condition, keeping her feelings out of the findings would prove to be more difficult than usual. "Well, since you asked, a crude analysis puts my magical reserves at a very low level. In fact, it looks like my powers have been reduced by approximately two orders of magnitude. Uh, that's a factor of a hundred or so, in case you were wondering. It's quite a lot."

"Ahh hmundredf?" The straining tongue snapped back into Pinkie's mouth like a stretched piece of elastic. "Woah! That sounds big!"

The librarian wasn't about to disagree on that one. "Yeah. That's because it is. And you know what? I have a sneaking suspicion that my Element might be the cause. I mean, my aspect was supposed to be Magic itself, right? So maybe it was giving me a magical boost, and the removal of that boost was what damaged my reserves? That makes a little sense. Kind of. In my head, at least."

"Oh no," Fluttershy whispered. "I'm r-really worried about you, Twilight. With this as well as everything else … I can't think of a part of you that isn't h-hurt!"

"Meh. Physically and mentally speaking, I'm only a little battered. I'll be fine. But–" The unicorn gulped, but continued following the grim line of thought. "But until I can get my horn fixed, I can't cast any spells at all. And of course, even if I get medical attention, it's frighteningly possible that my magic won't recover to its original state. I'm pretty anxious about that, I admit."

A bubbling gasp of shock lifted the baker to her feet. "No way! Magic's your thing!"

"It used to be. I don't know. Maybe I'll have to find something else to be good at. Knitting, or something." Twilight tried to smirk at her own bleak humor, but couldn't shake the disgruntled grumpiness that was building up inside her. "Hmph," she groused. "So much for being the muscle on this mission. I'm doubly crippled, now. No magic, no horn, and very little on else to offer. Just dead weight, that's me. Almost worse than useless."

Fury darkened Fluttershy's face like an oncoming storm, as the most unexpected, terrible rage passed over the small mare. "Don't you dare say that! You are not useless!" she shouted.

Not this again. "Oh, stop it." Rolling her eyes, the librarian stopped the onslaught of righteous anger by poking her friend firmly on the nose. "Calm down, Fluttershy. All I'm doing is venting. I'm certainly upset, but I'm not about to have a nervous collapse. I've read too many psychology textbooks for that to happen. Again, I mean. For that to happen again."

"Y- … wh- … Nh?" It seemed that the pegasus had been very unprepared for such a complete rebuttal. Her stupefied look was more than a little adorable.

Perhaps she should clarify a little. "That's not to say I don't have problems. See, I know that I put far too much stock in my powerful magical abilities, and not enough in myself as a person. And, yes, I'm also substantially neurotic, upsettingly anxious, obsessively neat, irrationally logical, and I absolutely idolize those I consider worthy of respect. It's just that I'm fully aware of my issues. Sure, there's a lot of them, but if you take a closer look, you might notice an absence of consistent depression or self-loathing. In fact, I'd say I'm closer to arrogance than anything else. It's not just idle boasting on my part when I say I've had a really good life. I'm a magical prodigy, an acclaimed researcher, and a renowned public figure in my own right! My self-image is totally fine. I like myself. Perhaps too much, even."

Was she rambling? No, rambling would be a terribly silly thing to do. Twilight Sparkle didn't ramble. That would be ego-shattering.

"Uh, um, yes, but—"

"Shush, I'm still talking," she thoughtlessly responded. The unicorn found herself immediately regretting the unwarranted rebuke, as Fluttershy wilted piteously and Pinkie proceeded to shoot her a glare. "Uh, sorry. I … didn't mean to be rude. Look, I have to be realistic about my own capabilities. Pretty much all my practical skills revolved around sorcery. That's not an exaggeration. I literally depend upon being able to cast spells. Remember how hard it was for me to help with Ponyville's strange Winter Wrap Up? Basically, without my monstrously-broad special talent of 'magic' to lean on, all I have left are my abilities as a pretty good librarian. And those just consist of being decently organized and well-read. Hey! Guess what? In a very serious situation, with death on the line, that's almost entirely unhelpful! My reliance on my strengths has led to my own defeat. Ironic, really."

The yellow mare floundered. "But ... um—"

"Relax. I'm fine. Annoyed, but fine." Neither of the other ponies seemed to be buying it, so the librarian tried to smile reassuringly at her friends, stretching the corners of her mouth as far as they would go.

Somehow, Fluttershy seemed even more anxious than before. "If … if you're sure, then," the pegasus murmured miserably.

Wow, okay. Twilight really had to work on her comforting smiles. Apparently, they sucked.
Unsurprising. Apparently, she sucked, too.

Back at the start of their current adventure, she had thrown spells around like they were going out of style. Hey, why not, right? That was her standard method of solving problems! But wouldn't you know it, the situation had went and changed, as situations are oft wont to do. Running out of energy forced her to resort to unsafe thaumaturgical practices, and as a result, magic was now totally off the books. How depressing.

Hey, wait. Books? Hey, books! Maybe she could take up an advisory role? Even though it wasn't exactly the kind of heavyweight duties she was used to, being able to help in any way at all would take a massive weight off her mind.

Good plan. Mental note, come up with some advice to offer the others. Advisors need advice.

A queer grimace crossed Pinkie's face, and the earth-pony raised her muzzle into the air. "Hey, uh, do you guys smell something weird?" The baker took a few hefty sniffs of the morning breeze. "Smells like somepony's cooking!"

"Hmm?" Fluttershy began her own, discreet inspection of the surrounding aromas.

At first, Twilight couldn't detect a trace of any suspicious scents. However, before long, the prevailing wind changed direction, and she caught a face-full. "Smoke. That's the smell of smoke." She narrowed her eyes. "Come on, girls. There's probably a clearing up ahead. Let's see what we have to deal with."

Breaking into a slight canter, the three of them wove between the tall trunks of evergreens. As the unicorn ran, she pointed her muzzle straight upwind, following her nose. From the landmarks around them, the smell was leading the ponies straight onwards to the crash site. They weren't going off track at all. Hmm. That revelation had the potential to be either good, or very, very bad. Hopefully, the Element hadn't caused a forest fire on re-entry, and the odor of burning wood was simply due to some sort of rural civilization.

The forest slowly thinned, as the clearing she had predicted came into view. There, a poorly doused campfire still smoldered in a central fire-pit, surrounded by the deep ruts of wooden wheels and the patchy patterns of hoofprints.

"Well, well. Would you look at that," the librarian chuckled, slowing to a stop near the tree-line. "A campsite. Recently used, to boot. That would explain the smell. And, according to my calculations, this should also be the place the Element landed! Now, where's that crater?"

Spinning around in place, Pinkie stopped her unproductive gyrations in order to dramatically throw out a hoof. "Oh! Behind you,Twilight!"

"Huh?" The lavender mare turned, and saw the boulder that her friend was pointing out. She hopped a little in glee. "Ahah! That looks like concussive damage from a high-velocity impact, alright! But … hold on, that angle's impossible. Look, there's Canterlot in the distance. The crater is pointing away from the Element's origin. Did the boulder move, maybe? No, the moss around the base is undisturbed. How utterly fascinating! Argh, if only I could use magic to investigate." The librarian worried her lip in frustration.

Before she could begin to get genuinely upset, the stiff breeze carried a soft shout to her ears. "Um, Twilight! I found some sparkly stuff!"

"Great work, Fluttershy!" Twilight trotted over to where the yellow pegasus was stooped over a shining pool of powder. The magical motes of dazzling silver glittered like stars, reflecting and magnifying the dappled sunlight that threaded its way through the trees. "Ah, conjured stardust." She nodded emphatically. "A form of thaumic residue, almost always produced by uniquine sorcery."

There was the repetitive sound of twigs repeatedly snapping. Bouncing up from behind, Pinkie 'oohed' excitedly at the attractive substance. "Hey, that's really pretty! What's it for?"

A small silence reigned as Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Well, I'm no expert, but I think this stuff is mostly used in stage effects. Prestidigitation, legerdemain, theatre; that sort of thing. I believe it's also a major component in most fireworks. Not much practical use, but it doesn't need much power to create, and it looks vaguely spooky, I guess. Sort-of shiny. Still, stardust is a phantasmal substance. It fades after a day or two, depending on conditions. That means it was left here recently." She flicked her eyes to the strange crater and back. "Let's see … our evidence consists of what looks like a magically altered boulder, and traces of magical materials. From this, we can conclude that our culprit is almost certainly a unicorn! In particular, one who stayed at this campsite before moving on, taking the Element with them. Pinkie, you know a lot of ponies. Any names spring to mind?"

"Okaay." The enthusiastic socialite scratched her ear in deep contemplation. "So we're going to be looking for a unicorn, possibly either a homeless or nomadic one. Based on the stardust, they might enjoy doing showy magical tricks, and they must be either greedy or desperate enough to pick up a mysterious amulet of unknown, spooky properties, probably in an attempt to get a short-lived burst of power to supplement their own, weaker abilities. Somepony like that?"

Uh. Huh?

"Wh… hngmna?" Twilight said articulately. She wasn't usually one to gape, but there was an exception to every rule. That had been, quite possibly, the most intelligent thing she had ever heard come out of the pink menace's hyperactive mouth. Quick, support it! Positive reinforcement! "… uh, I mean, yes! Nicely put! That was almost a real deduction. I'm seriously impressed!"

Looking confused at the praise, but perfectly willing to accept it, the baker shot her a dazzling smile. "Haha, thanks? I practice recapping in the mirror! Dunno the answer, though! Sorry!"

"Um, me neither," Fluttershy shook her head. Despite the definitive wording, there was a puzzled air around the pegasus. Admittedly, that wasn't really an unusual state of being for the timorous veterinarian, but Twilight took note of it anyway. "I don't … think I've heard of anyone like that, before."

"Hmm." The purple unicorn scowled and cradled her chin in one hoof. "Unfortunately, there's no way we'd be able to track another pony over the countryside. Not only are we restricted to non-magical methods, none of us have the appropriate training. I was hoping that we'd be able to find some sort of identifying evidence, but if we can't even get a basic profile of the suspect, then it looks like we're totally stumped. Darn."

"Oh. Can we go back to Ponyville, then?" Pinkie pleaded.

Sadly, no. That wasn't an option. No matter how much Twilight wanted to go home, and close all the blinds, and hide under the covers with an excellent book or twelve, she had to sternly shake her head. "Canterlot would be better. That's where Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack are, and we could definitely use their help." Princess Luna had been absolutely right. Fighting a Bearer was more than any one pony could handle. Heck, it had been more than three ponies could handle. "Fluttershy, would you lend us your speed once again?"

Nodding furiously, the pegasus blushed a little. "Y-Yes, of course. I'll … try to fly a bit smoother, too."

"Yeah. Thanks." The unicorn coughed uncomfortably at the reminder. Hopefully, the in-flight turbulence wouldn't be as bad this time. Her reactions to transportation were getting to be a bit of a reoccurring problem. "I guess we should be off, then."

Determinedly thrusting her hooves in the air, Pinkie seemed intent on celebrating something. "Hooray! We're going flying!" she whooped. "Don't worry, Twilight! We'll be back, won't we?"

Once again, the earth-pony had correctly picked out the problem at the forefront of Twilight's mind. The baker could be very perceptive, but not consistently so. Weird. Twilight couldn't quite decide whether that quirk was irritating or comforting.

"Yep. You can count on it. We're not giving up yet." The librarian smiled tersely. "Until we return, though, all we can do is hope for the best."

"Citizens of Ponyville!" A light-blue mare spread her hooves, cloak billowing dramatically in the wind. "It is time for you to once again witness the glorious might of The Great And Powerful Trixie!" To mark the occasion, a series of fireworks went off with a bang, making the entrance as explosively flashy as physically possible.

And … yep, there we go. Colgate felt the last vestiges of her good mood crumble away like dried mud in the wind. It was official. Today sucked.

It came as no surprise to her when Daisy, a skittish mare at the best of times, screamed shrilly and keeled over in a dead faint. Nor was it particularly strange when everypony else seemed to take that as the signal to freak out however they wanted. Was it annoying? Yes. Unusual? Sadly, no. Not really. Not for Ponyville.

"Gargh!" a street-vendor shouted, revealing a voice that sounded like he'd been gargling glass for fun. "Not her! She's pure evil!"

"Run!" squealed a flighty customer, dropping her unfashionable, red saddlebags in her haste to escape. The subtle kick she gave the bags didn't go unnoticed, but Colgate knew the mare was just searching for an excuse to change her wardrobe. Some ponies were determined to be fashion victims. Sad.

Someone bellowed in what might have been shock. "Get the pitchforks!"

"The farmer's market just closed!" shrieked another. "We're all out of pitchforks!"

"Aah!"

"Run!"

"I'm too young to be turned into a filly!"

Swarming in every direction, ponies fled screaming from the unthreatening unicorn and her fancy wagon, bowling each other over in their attempts to flee. "No, uh … stop!" Trixie called, realising her error far too late. "Wait! I mean you no harm!" The performer winced in sympathy as a wild-eyed stallion rammed head-first into a signpost. "Th… this time I promise to be good! I swear it! Just please stop hurting yourselves! It's really very concerning!"

Mmkay.

Colgate backed away, only narrowly missing another minor stampede. This racket was a pretty bad one. She really didn't want to get caught up in whatever weird calamity was about to occur. Had she misread the calendar? She'd thought it was Sunday, not Saturday. Maybe the Elements' villain-of-the-week had gotten caught in traffic, or something? Er … was it a leap year? No. No, it wasn't. Besides, everyone she'd talked to yesterday (mostly Lyra, admittedly) had been under the assumption that the explosion in Canterlot had ticked all the necessary boxes for 'wacky hijinks'. The normal citizens had breathed a sigh of relief, and moved on to worrying about next week. So this was something … completely different? Darnit.

Man, this kind of mis-scheduling was going to throw everyone's arrangments completely out of whack.

As she edged her way onto a side avenue, the movements of a brown stallion caught her eye. For some reason, the perfectly normal-looking guy was calmly sauntering over to a nearby alley instead of running around in a blind panic. Yep. Very un-pony-like.

Despite the slightly unusual behaviour, at first glance the stallion didn't seem to be anything special. Average earth-pony, brown-on-brown color scheme, unimpressive physique. To Colgate, though, it all added together, and the end result was much more than the sum of its parts. It wasn't the gaudy, golden, jeweled tie he wore, or the gleeful expression on his face. Nothing that clever. But she'd be a pretty terrible daughter if she couldn't recognize her own father.

"D-Dad? Dad!" She yelled, pushing through the terrified crowd as fast as she could. "Dad, wait up!" If only these morons would move!

Finally breaking through the tide of idiocy, Colgate bolted down the alleyway. She wasn't that athletic, so the running took most of her concentration, but a small corner of her mind managed to take note of the strange lights and sounds that were grinding out from the end of the tiny, twisted street. The unicorn took the last corner at a gallop, but was forced to skid to a stop to avoid a brick wall. There was nothing there. He'd disappeared right in front of her. "What! No!" She spun around. Nothing but bricks and mortar.

Furious, she pounded a hoof heavily onto the beaten earth. "Dammit! I lost him? How the heck did I manage to lo-Eargh!" Just by shifting her weight slightly, Colgate managed to trip over her own hooves, falling flat on her face. She hadn't even been walking.

Yeah, wonderful job, there.
Well done.

Grimacing for more reasons than one, Colgate cradled her injured nose, and looked for the squarish object she'd slipped on. She should really start checking where she placed her hooves. "Nmpff. Mwhuh? Hmng," the young mare pondered articulately. Her latest acquisition was a novel. A distinctly old novel, but one that appeared to be in excellent condition.

Could it be a clue? Maybe.

Hold on for a sec.
Delicately sniffing, Colgate checked her hoof for blood. Thankfully, it looked like her nose wasn't broken.

"I suppose that's better than nothing," she grumbled. "Now, what's this?"

Weird. There didn't appear to be a title on the cover of the novel. The first page had a few words printed onto it, but for some reason, the ink wasn't the usual black. Instead, it was a strange, deep shade of red.

'–ic Mirror, by Grim Hilde,' she silently read. 'A fantastical tale of wondrous events. Based on a true story.'

How helpful. The unicorn frowned in confusion, lifting a hoof to rub the back of her neck. What a terrible clue that was. It was almost like it wasn't actually a clue. "Is this just meant to be a foal's book or something? Lame."

"Colgate!" Somepony rounded the corner behind her, lifting her attention away from the page.

Glancing up at the sound of her name, she saw a blonde-maned, gray-coated pony wave cheerily at her, while slowly loop-de-looping down the cramped avenue. "Oh. Hey, Derpy," she nodded in greeting as her friend descended to the ground. "I thought you still had mail to deliver."

"Nah, the Head Postman said that once I delivered my last bag of letters, I should try and get lost for a few hours, because he had something important to do! So I went and put the mail in all the right slots, and now I'm already kinda lost! This day is going perfectly." The sheer determination on the pegasus' face was only partially undone by her eyes wafting in utterly different directions.

She'd noticed a slight problem with Derpy's statement, though. "Uh," Colgate held up a hoof to gesticulate, but rapidly rethought her idea of using a visual means of communication. She put it back down. "I don't think that 'get lost' means what you think it—"

"Ooh, what's that?" The bubbly mailmare craned her neck, trying to see the title on the cover of the unicorn's newest acquisition.

Defeated before she'd even begun to argue. Yep. Sounds about right.

Disgustingly disgruntled, the blue mare looked down at the yellowing pages, flipping a few in a fit of idle speculation. "I … I guess I don't really know. Some kind of old book." She passed the thing over to Derpy, who seemed eager to check it out.

"Wow, Daring Do and the Magic Mirror?" The gray pegasus gasped. "I didn't know they were still printing those!"

"Huh. You know it?"

Derpy beamed with pure joy, spinning around in happy little circles. "Yeah! Does that mean you never read it? Oh, it's great! The story's about how Daring looks into a mirror, but the reflection comes to life! And then there's an adventure, and the reflection tries to replace her, but she's defeated with one of Daring's clever tricks! It was my favorite book as a filly!"

"Okay." Colgate backed away to a safe distance, and tried not to seem that creeped out. She wasn't very successful. "You seem excited about this."

The smile slowly slipped off the pegasus' face. "Um, yeah. My book was … pretty special to me. It was something my parents left me, before … you know. The accident." There was a short, intensely awkward silence, during which Colgate wanted to punch herself for her massive insensitivity. Derpy just kept talking. "After that, I … I didn't remember my mom and dad all too well, but as a kid, I used to imagine what they might have been like. Most of us did, at the orphanage. I mean, what if Daring Do was secretly your mom? That would have been so awesome!"

"Uh, sure." Good gosh. What a fantastically depressing tale. For added angst-value, the tale of missing parental figures had hit a little too close to home. Colgate coughed in embarrassment. "I … actually, I can kinda relate to that. I mean, Dad was always just Dad, but I had a lot of fantasy novels. So … I used to imagine my mom was a secret super-wizard from the future, sworn to protect Equestria from the shadows that continue to haunt its nightmares today." The two of them shared a quick look of silent commiseration. Or at least, that was what Colgate was doing. She wasn't totally sure if Derpy was thinking the same things. Maybe something about muffins.

No, stop it. That was a mean thing to think. Hidden depths, remember? It turned out the girl had them. Orphan empathy-powers, or something. That was definitely how this worked.

Trying to relax her face into a more comforting arrangement of bruised features, the unicorn shoved her voice down to a more soothing volume. "Do you still have the book? It sounds pretty important to you," she remarked lightly.

A lopsided shrug from the mail-carrier. "Nah. I lost it ages ago, and never got to replace it. I would have bought another, but they stopped selling them just as my copy went missing. Hey, um, can I have this one?" Derpy's puppy-dog eyes were turned on, full-pelt. It would have been a real tough job to resist them, but luckily, the blue mare had no intention of doing so. Frankly, she just couldn't muster up the effort to care about somepony else's stupid book.

She snorted. "Go ahead. Knock yourself out. But if someone calls you out for stealing it, you're on your own."

Ah, for Pete's sake! This conversation, while meaningful and stuff, was totally not helping! Books and childhood flashbacks had nothing to do with finding her Dad. Colgate shook her head, annoyed with herself. "Okay! Enough with imaginary parents," she declared. "I have a real one to find."

A faint hint of recognition seemed to spark in Derpy's memory. "Hmm? Oh, Dusty, you mean?"

"Yeah, I saw Dad run in here. And now I am here, and he is not. Do you see a way he could have escaped?" For lack of any better way to search, she checked the walls for what felt like the twentieth time, still failing to find a secret entrance. Impossible. There had to be one somewhere. She'd read loads of detective novels, so she knew what she was talking about. There was precedent!

"No, not really." The pegasus narrowed her eyes. "Not without wings. Did he have wings?"

Colgate raised a single eyebrow. "No. He doesn't have wings. He's an earth-pony."

"Oh. Okay." There was a brief period of silence, as they both took in the blank walls of the tiny avenue. "So, uh ..." Derpy glanced around and lowered her voice. "Back with Luna, was … was that really Discord I was talking to? He seemed so nice!"

"Why, thank you!" said a sudden, deep voice, from right behind the two ponies. "I appreciate the compliment, madam!"

Derpy blushed hotly, and the two of them whirled around to face the mischievous god. He looked … uncharacteristically charming. Also, the guy was wearing a particularly nice hat. Colgate didn't know why. It looked pretty dumb, though, considering his horns. Uh, maybe that was the point? It was hard to predict Discord.

"My deepest apologies for both the surprise I gave you now, and the dark secret of my identity that I was forced to keep from you. It was a feeble attempt to avoid making a scene, but you should not have been involved in such deception. To do so was wrong." He smiled, teeth shining despite the absence of direct light. "As recompense for my subterfuge, let me introduce myself properly. Disorder, Lord of Chaos. It is a pleasure to truly make your acquaintance, my dear."

"Buh?" A subtle pinch of Colgate's foreleg nailed it down. She wasn't dreaming. This was actually happening.
What the funk?

"A-ah!" Derpy flushed bright red as the draconequus bent double to kiss her hoof. "No, t-the pleasure's all mine! I-I'm Ditz– no, ah, w-wait, I mean … Derpy! Yes, Derpy!"

Spinning like a top, that fancy hat twirled down from Discord's head, and he gave the pegasus a roguish wink and a bow. He wasn't even trying to act like a real person any more – more like a cardboard cut-out of a trashy romance's leading male character. "Miss Derpy, then. I shall not soon forget that name."

Ugh. Colgate grimaced. The creep's lines were pure cheese, but unfortunately, it looked like they were working. Her friend's face was starting to resemble a sunburned tomato.

Seriously, though. Ew. Maybe Derpy was okay with this, but Colgate certainly wasn't. Her interests lay strictly within the boundaries of the species.
But she had to be there for her friend, right? Blugh. Eurgh. She was totally going to need a stiff, salty drink after this. Lots of self-medication.

"You can do this. Just pretend it isn't happening," she muttered, holding her head. "Go to a happy place. That's right. Yeah. A place without creepy, interspecies flirting."

Oh.
Oh dear.
She shouldn't have said that out loud.

To Colgate's horror, one of the mail carrier's eyes swiveled in her direction, completely independent of the other. The sight sent chills up her spine.

"What was that?" Derpy asked. The pleasant, chirpy tone of the gray pegasus' voice didn't extend to covering the layer of pure steel in her tone. "Could you repeat that, please? I seem to have misheard you." A sweet smile crossed exactly one half of her face.

Under the legendary, one-eyed stare, Colgate could do nothing but freeze. "Who, m-me?" she forced out. "I … I was just thinking about, uh, cheap and inexpensive shirting!" Oh gosh, that was the worst lie ever, quick, change the subject! "Anyway, so, w-what happened to Luna?" In her frantic, disheveled state, the words tumbled out as fast as she could compose them. Cursing, and fumbling with a small hoofkerchief, she hurriedly wiped away the sweat dripping down her brow.

"Hmph. Luna?" Discord dismissively brushed some dust off his fur, as if he could brush off the princess in a similar manner. "Don't ask me, girl. Our pretentious compatriot suddenly decided to have a chat with the magician that caused that wonderful little spot of mayhem. She said something about the mare's powers being suspicious, I believe."

Okay, good. Information. And more importantly, Derpy had looked away, apparently mollified. Mission: Distraction was a success. Thank Pete.

The unicorn sighed, a heady combination of relief and exasperation flowing over her. Right. Er, what did Discord say? Luna went to check out Trixie? "Yeah, I'm not surprised," she chuckled. "I think Trixie might have a bad habit of artifact-abuse. Last time she was here, she tried to enslave Ponyville with a magical amulet, and the Elements had to pull off some sneaky tricks to win. But, hey, whatever. That sounds a lot more important than helping me. So, I guess if Princess Luna's not here, then I'll have to ask you, Disco—mph?"

She crossed her eyes. A paw was covering her mouth.
Why.

Oh, right. Discord changed his name to 'Disorder' for some stupid reason. Colgate had completely forgotten.

That was no excuse, though. Shoving the limb away, she huffed at him, irritated at the invasion of her personal space. "Blech! Don't do that! Why don't you try to cover princess Luna's mouth, huh? You're not shy about insulting her, and she calls you Di– … uh, D… that all the time!"

"Are you kidding?" Disorder visibly blanched at the thought. "I don't care if she's royalty, that overgrown toddler obviously has some sort of oral fixation. All I did was go and tease her a little, and the irritating child went and bit me! Bit me! So, no. I'm not putting anything of mine near her mouth. Just because I represent irrationality doesn't mean I'm stupid. You go cover her mouth. Leave me alone," he bitterly grouched.

Wow. He seemed totally intent on throwing a tantrum over Luna's bad manners. Despite having no manners himself. Yeah, good call, idiot. Despite the excuses he'd whined at her, that was pretty stupid indeed. He was so weird. Why did Derpy seem so star-struck for such a jerk? The overpowered idiot hadn't been that handsome as a pony. Middling at best.

Good carp on a cracker. Disorder just would not shut his pie-hole. Colgate needed a way to stop the tide of grousery. Perhaps a distraction?

Ugh, how many distractions had she used in this one conversation? Way too many. She felt kinda manipulative, even more so than she usually did, what with her chosen profession and all. That feeling probably wasn't a good sign.

This one could be a diversion, then. Yes. A diversion was a different thing entirely, and if she believed in that excuse enough, it might even become slightly less fake.

Perfect.
She plastered on a smile. "Hey, uh, Disorder?"

"You called?" He flicked his hair in a smarmy fashion, back to his usual good mood in an instant. It wasn't going to fool Colgate, though. To put it bluntly, the sheep had already bolted from the stable. He was a sleaze, and everyone present knew it.

Still, perhaps they could have a working relationship. She didn't have to like him in order to use him heartlessly for her own gain, did she? Wait, that didn't sound right.

Dammit. Never mind, get to the point. "I thought I saw Dad, but when I went to chase after him, he disappeared around this alleyway." She made some very vague hoof motions. "As far as I can tell, he just vanished. Since you're apparently a good guy now, do you think you could help find him? I don't know where to go from here."

Frowning, Disorder stroked his beard. "Vanished, did he? A-roundabouts here? Let me just have a look with my … magic eyes. Bzam!" With a wiggle of his disparate fingers, a pair of goofy glasses appeared on the tip of his snout, complete with puffy mustache and ridiculous, fuzzy eyebrows. At first, the blue mare thought it was just another stupid, practical joke. But instead of cackling at her and turning her into a toothbrush, the draconequus stiffened in shock. "Impossible! No, it can't be him! I saw him die!" he roared dramatically.

Colgate flinched back from the unexpected show of rage. "W-What? Who died?"

Oh no. No, no, no.
No, please don't let it be who she thought it was. Please! Her dad had so much to live for!
Like … his job! And his house! He liked fruit salad, too, a lot! That was a good reason to live, right? Right?

"By the stars …" The fallen god removed the spectacles with a shaking claw, looking more serious than she'd ever seen him. "The Doctor has returned."

There was an ominous pause as the two of them looked at each other, fumbling through the uncomfortable process of collecting their thoughts. Happily unbothered by such awkward things as timing or social pitfalls, Derpy scrunched up her face in confusion. "The Doctor? Doctor who?" she asked.

He didn't bother with the charm this time, just sent the pegasus a wry glance. "Not quite, my dear. Doctor Whooves."

"Hooves?" Hold on just a second. Hooves, as in Colgate? As in her dad? Maybe this was a joke, after all. If so, it was in very poor taste. "Are you making fun of me? Who are you calling a doctor? And who's supposed to be dead, you jerk?" she spat.

Disorder shot her a totally puzzled glance, before a dawning look of realization crossed his face. "… Oh. Oh, I see." A mirthless chuckle slipped from between his lips. " 'Dusty Hooves'. Hooves. Whooves," he breathed hotly, as if testing out the name. "Of course. There were two headed towards this little town, weren't there? If he used the vast power of one of them to … yes, Memory. Memory could do it. But where would he have hidden it?" He paced, back and forth across the alleyway. "No, that doesn't make sense. He never wore pockets. All he ever wore was that stupid … no. No! Yes! It was the tie! Orange and gold! His blasted tie! Yes. Yes! It all makes sense now!"

Seriously, this nonsense was getting very old, very quickly.

In a vain attempt to calm herself down, Colgate sucked in a breath through the gaps in her teeth, before letting it out with a hiss. "Wow," she gave a brittle laugh. "Yes. I'm so happy for you. I'm very glad you're having so much fun. But you just told me my Dad might be dead. Or not. I don't know. I didn't really understand what you were saying. Just to put my mind at ease, then, perhaps you could share your news with the rest of the class? In real words. That would be very nice."

"Girl, I have excellent news." Woah, Disorder sure sobered up fast. "I think I finally know what happened to your father. And he's definitely not dead. I give you my word."

Huh. That … was not what she was expecting. "Really?" She blinked.

"Really. And oh, my goodness gracious me, this answers so many questions. Ha! Hahaha! Fantastic!" Maniacal twinkles gleamed like stars from the depths of the draconequus' eyes. "It looks like things are finally getting … interesting!"

It was pretty dark in here.

Dang! Could barely see her own hoof in front of her face. That's some mighty fine darkness. Top-quality. Five stars. Yeah, Applejack's eyes were gonna have their work cut out for them, trying to adjust properly to this kinda lighting.

Uh, now, it may sound alarmingly like Applejack was complaining, but she wasn't. Nope. Night-time wasn't just when you were supposed to fall over and hallucinate for a few hours; it was a deeper, heavier deal for about most everyone. The dark was known to … send ponies a bit strange. Case in point, princess Luna. That whole screw-up with Nightmare Moon and the thousand years of bad, pumpkin-flavored candy was where the word 'lunacy' came from, or so Twilight said. Went on about it being an example of insti-tooshun-alized bigga-tree, and some nonsense to do with the Bus of Languages. Or maybe it was the bias of language. Not sure. All Applejack really took away from the conversation was a whoppin' headache and the urge to leave a night-light on when she went to bed.

Now, being a straight-forward sort, the farmer was currently fine, of course. Tizzies weren't her style. But being stuck in an empty room with a burlap sack full of bad memories for company wouldn't be pleasant for the nicest of fellas. Not by any means.

Besides, she wasn't the only one sitting in the dark.

Shivering like a leaf in a snowstorm, Rarity had crumpled down in her corner of the cell. "O-on his life and h-honor, he s-said." The white mare's eyes slowly began to fill with tears, as silent sobs wracked her frame. "I-I'm so s-sorry, Stonehoof! Y-You did everything Fancy asked of you, and I never even t-trusted you! How b-beastly of me!"

Hrm. Their resident fancy unicorn didn't look so good. They might all have been a bit shaken up, but some of them were more delicate than others. And by some of them, she meant one of them. Rarity. Applejack meant Rarity. Yep.

Hey, just trying to be clear.

"Oh man, oh geez, oh man, oh geez!" Rainbow suddenly wheezed, eyes dilated to a disturbing degree. "That guard totally crumbled out there! He didn't stand a chance! And … and we could be next! That big, magic, unicorn-dude could just barge right in here, slurping up our … whatever! Like freaking spaghetti! Holy moly!"

Right. Uh. Scratch that 'just-Rarity' baloney, it looked like everypony was slipping rapidly into some help-the-bugs-are-under-my-skin type of crazy. Time to take action.

"Hoy! Snap out of it! Rainbow, yer overreactin'!" She turned, aiming a fierce stare at the dressmaker. "An' you, stop blubberin'! Fer Pete's sake, calm down, both a'ya! Now, then. Alrigh'. Let's all think 'bout this calmly, okay? That li'l show back there was prob'ly jus' some smoke'n mirrors. Scare tactics, y'know?"

"N-no, darling. I'm afraid not." Rarity lifted a trembling hoof to her brow. "Acting Captain of the Royal Guard, First Lieutenant Stonehoof, has suffered a most grievous injury. His magic is completely and utterly gone."

Applejack felt a bit nonplussed at the declaration. Actually, it was even kinda insulting. No need to be so dramatic about a condition that the farmer was born with, was there? That was just rude. "Uh, is havin' yer magic chomped on really so bad? Ah'm hale'n hearty, an' a hunner'd percent earth-pony t'boot. Last Ah checked, Ah was magic-free. T'ain't so bad a life. Not like yer missin' somethin' important, like yer tail. Now that'd suck." Her eyes slowly narrowed as a stray thought pinged across her mind. "Anyhow, why're ya so sure 'bout all this? Aren'cha blind?"

The seamstress sighed theatrically and ignored her last question. "Applejack, dear, magic isn't just for unicorns and pegasi. Everypony needs magic to survive. Even you have magic. It's an oddly undernourished core of what looks like very pure earth-pony energy, but it's there. I can see it." Rarity's voice began to trail off, as the mare's attention wandered. "Actually, it seems to look rather like a puppy, for some reason. Well, I suppose that's better than Blueblood's magic, but why a puppy? Hm. Startlingly lifelike, how strange. I wonder what that means?"

Okay, this was just getting silly.

"Rarity, yer wearin' a napkin on yer face. You won't see nothin' like that, let alone invisible dogs," the rancher pointed out, blunter than a barrel of winesaps.

"Alright, yes. It's true, I may have gone inexplicably blind. There's no denying that," the unicorn tetchily admitted. "But what I can see now is more than enough to make up the difference! Gemstones talk to me, Applejack! Crystals sing to me!" Rarity swung her hooves open, gesturing outwards at the walls of their little room. "I can't identify colors, now, not with my eyes. But if there's a jewel nearby, I can hear everything around it. No wall can stop it. No shadow is dark enough to hide from it. I can hear the song of the world, and magic is just another chord in the symphony!"

"Huh." Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Neat."

"Yes, despite our predicament, I'm rather enjoying it. By the way, may I pet your puppy-magic? It's simply adorable."

The white mare didn't seem to bat an eyelid while giving the weird request, but heck, it wasn't like Rarity's eyelids were exactly visible at the moment. Maybe batting was taking place. Maybe Applejack didn't know what 'batting' an eyelid meant. Maybe, maybe. Whatever. Answer the crazy lady.

"Uh … okay?" Yes. Good job, Applejack. That was sure to placate the basket-case in front of you.

Hmm. Well now. Sure enough, there went Rarity, stroking away at the air like a madmare. Should she … say something? That might be a bad idea. Maybe she should wait for Rainbow to interrupt. Of course, usually, that would have happened by now. Where was that pegasus? Oh. Oh, there she was. Gibbering in the corner.

Wow, wasn't this all just swell? Fantastic. Good to know.

Okay. Applejack had to keep the side up for the not-nuts-yet faction. It was a losing battle, but she'd fight to the end, so help her.
That's right. Keep your chin up.
Go team.

"Hold on." Dash gulped audibly, her face pale and skeletal in the dim light. "So that guard-dude … he's dead?"

Rarity tutted thoughtfully. Thankfully, the unicorn had to stop that whole imaginary-canine-friend nonsense to answer. "No, but he will be soon, darling. I'd give him a week at best, a few hours at worst."

At this point, Applejack couldn't help growling. "But why?" she stressed. "I don' get this at all."

"… Ah. Magic … magic protects us all, my dear. Watch. I'll give you an example." The sightless designer grunted, a fierce look of concentration visible underneath the blindfold. In response to the spell, one of the nearby rocks glowed a pale blue, and bulged unnaturally, puffing up into the rough shape of a gaudy-looking diamond.

"Uh. Your point?" The apple-farmer poked the jewel. Not much happened. Some explanation this was.

"My point," the dressmaker puffed, wiping at the beads of sweat on her brow. "—is simple. What will happen to the diamond when I release the spell?"

"Hm." Glancing down at the gemstone to gather her thoughts, Applejack began to feel a mite nervous. This was way too close to an exam for her to feel comfortable. If she recalled correctly, this particular Apple hadn't been the best student, back at Ponyville High. Or even a good one, really. Her talents were oriented more in the direction of farming. Specifically, apples and apple-accessories. Hence the cutie-mark.

Okay, mare up. You can do this. Just blurt out the first thing that comes to mind.
That'll have to do.

"It … nothin'? It dun' change?" The rancher shrugged helplessly, well out of her depth. "Look, Ah dunno. Ah'm not exac'ly a magic expert, here."

In reply, Rarity's horn stopped glowing, and the diamond popped in a glitter of sparkly shards, revealing a dull rock standing in its place.

Dammit.
Wrong again. Should've guessed.

After getting her breath back from the demonstration, the unicorn smiled wryly. "Sorry, darling, but quite the opposite. Magic, you see, is everywhere. And it has the tendency to … hold on, for lack of a better phrase, to whatever it touches." Rarity hesitated, gnawing her lip as she looked for the words to explain. "So, when … something is changed or transformed by a spell, the internal magic of that object remembers what it once was. And eventually, the external effect – the transforming spell – has to weaken, just like mine did. As soon as that happens, the inner 'image' reasserts itself on the world, reversing all the changes that have happened since then. Diamonds turn back into rocks. Carriages, to pumpkins. That's why permanent transformations are so rare and interesting, you see. Fighting the living memory of something magical is usually a losing battle for a mortal mage."

Okay, that sounded ridicuous. Applejack had a counterexample, too. "But, uh, Twiligh' turned apples int'a oranges! Remember, back when Pinkie was cloning herself? Those apples stayed oranges for weeks, at least!" Yeah, that was a terrible day, what with her barn being destroyed again. And it still made her a little mad that the librarian would try to waste apples like that. Applejack's amazing red produce was obviously far superior to those stupid, citrus-y pretenders! Blasphemy, it was. They might have both been fruits, but the two were nothing alike. It was like comparing apples and … uh. Hm. Yeah, exactly. See?

"Oranges?" Rainbow mused. "No, I'm pretty sure that was a frog she zapped. Or maybe a bird?"

Rarity waved off their comments. "Oh, I'm sure that Twilight is capable of long-lasting Distortions. The mare has more energy than she knows what to do with. She just can't make permanent ones. Hmm, yes, if I recall, Extended Transformation was one of her thesis topics last year, so it make sense that she'd try to get it to work. From what I understood of the work, if you use a complex series of Power-Distortion paired runes, you can theoretically make the spell last for as long as those runes have power." The dressmaker paused, bringing her head back out of the clouds. "But nothing lasts forever. Not even Twilight can get around that."

Applejack cleaned out an ear with her hoof. "So what?"

"Oh yes. Well, all this is only true if you have magic, Applejack. Without a sufficient internal supply of the stuff, your identity can be … dissolved. If this rock," the unicorn kicked the pebble in question. "Had held no magic within it, it would have stayed a diamond. Permanently. That means that, without magic, simple transformation spells can become permanently lethal. And you must remember, the world has ambient magic all of its own. Even if you never get hit by a spell, even if you never try to leave your house, the world seeps into you. You start to just … fade away, with time. You become part of the world. It sounds poetic, but it's an unpleasant fate, to say the least. As far as anypony knows … when someone without magic vanishes, they simply cease to exist. So that is the fate soon to befall poor Stonehoof. He's going to disappear."

Rainbow looked like she'd been punched in the gut. "Oh my gosh!" she squeaked hoarsely.

"And Blueblood?" Rarity thinned her lips, her face drawing gaunt in clear disgust. "That horrible, despicable stallion didn't even hesitate at all. He knew exactly how to pull out that power. The thought is repellent to me, but I am certain of it. Stonehoof's sacrifice was not the first time Blueblood has eaten that kind of … meal. All I have left to wonder is how many ponies the King has sentenced to a slow and painful death."

Nopony felt like adding on to that statement, oddly enough. Only the sound of Dash slowly hyperventilating penetrated the inky gloom of the prison cell.

"Look, … okay. Let's say yer right," Applejack broke the silence. "There's no way the big guy'd be able to hush everythin' up if a huge bunch'a ponies got sent to the hospital, or whatever. City-types are massive gossips. Can't keep their traps shut. So where the heck has he been stuffin' them, then? Where are these dyin' ponies?"

"Um, guys?" Dash turned away from them, looking at the ground.

Rarity raised a hoof to respond, but as the farmer's statement registered, her cloth-covered brow creased in what could only have been confusion. "That, I … do not know. A valid argument, I must admit."

"Guys?"

Bah. No time for your nonsense, Dash. It was Applejack's turn to lecture!

"Besides, Blueblood ain't no villain, not really," she continued, perversely happy to have the spotlight for once. "He's jus' a bit stuck-up, right? Full'a himself. But hey, so's Rainbow, an' she clearly ain't villain material. On top'a that, where's the sense in Mister Personality goin' around eatin' all his best honchos? Or, if he really did take that sturdy-lookin' fella's energy, who's to say he didn't give it right on back after we left? He got what he wanted. After all, we're stuck coolin' our hooves in the dungeons, while he chows down on frilly pastries an' gets t'sleep in silk pajamas."

"Yes, yes, I cannot refute your logic, Applejack. I …" The blind unicorn sighed. "Fine. Maybe you're right. It's possible that I may have been blowing everything out of proportion. I must offer my apologies. Really, I did not mean to become so hysterical."

Rainbow finally blew her top at the lack of attention. "Oi! Guys!" she shouted, ruining everyone's hearing.

"Pardon?" Rarity cocked an ear towards the pegasus. "I'd answer, but I can't seem to hear you over the incessant ringing you just forced upon me. Thank you, by the way. I appreciate not being able to see or hear. It's very relaxing," the unicorn sarcastically drawled.

"Sorry, it's just … ugh. You … you might wanna take a look at this." Dash stepped to the side, allowing the other two to see what had grabbed her attention. Down in one of the lower corners of the cell was a hole in the floor, just a few hoof-breadths wide. It gleamed with a faint, internal light, as it pointed down into some sort of strange, lit-up, crystalline cavern. Not nearly a big enough passage to escape through, but easily big enough to see through.

But what they saw made Applejack wish that it had been just that little bit darker.

"Oh dear," Rarity whispered, before swinging her head around in a shallow circle, obviously seeing some seriously unpleasant things through the rock. "Applejack, dear? Applejack?" The unicorn turned, and clicked her tongue when the farmer didn't respond.

"Yeah?" the earth-pony mumbled distantly, unable to tear her eyes away from the awful sight below.

Her dress-designing friend lifted her nose. "I'd like to retract my previous apology," she said. "Not that I don't think you had a point, darling, but Blueblood is even more loathsome than I had thought. And believe you me, that's certainly saying something."

"Yeah. Okay, gotcha. Bad-guy." Applejack swallowed nervously, before shuffling away from the hole until her flanks bumped back into the far wall.

She scrubbed at her eyes, at the sight that had burned into her memory. Much as she'd like to think otherwise, there wasn't no coming back from that kind of villainy. And, more to the point, they were trapped in the same building as the stallion that had done that. They were running out of time.

"Aw, pig-manure," she lightly breathed. "Well, we're in a right pickle, aren't we? Funk."

All For Want Of A Nail

All For Want Of A Nail

"—and that's how I learned the difference between sugar and salt!"

Twilight Sparkle groaned. Now she felt a little green around the metaphorical gills. "Gross, Pinkie," she mumbled. "No wonder Mr. Cake is so jumpy all the time."

Geez. It hadn't been the worst story the lavender unicorn had ever heard, but it had come pretty close at points. Maybe telling queasy tales on a moving vehicle was something to be avoided? If anything … happened, somepony would have to explain to the Princess why the royal carriage suddenly had new upholstery. And, Twilight had to admit, that explanatory pony would probably be her. Not a good ending to aim for.

So rather than listening further, the librarian turned her not-inconsiderable mind to opening the window beside her. It was just about time to check the navigational systems. And right now, a distraction from her nausea would be a welcome change of hypothetical scenery.

Oh, of course. With another shining example of her excellent luck, the window had somehow inexplicably jammed itself in the last few minutes. Great.

Sorry, train personnel, but time waits for no mare.

With a quick glance around for witnesses, Twilight surreptitiously lit up her horn. Yeah, there we go. With only a few, relatively minor adjustments, the delicate piece of metal serving as a latch had been twisted into a much more reasonable shape. The new, and much-less-complicated, lock easily allowed the attached glass pane to rumble upwards along its wooden tracks. A few pointless shards of metal were swept underneath the carpet, and the problem was solved. For a certain definition of 'solved'.

Good enough, anyway.

Hoisting herself up onto the windowsill, the unicorn leaned out of the train carriage and gladly took a deep breath of fresh air. Her quick moment of peace ended when she was forced to duck her head back in and spit out her mane.

"Blech. Stupid hair." Now slightly irritated, she carefully tried her luck with the window again. "Hey, Rainbow!" she yelled, while trying to keep her mouth free of the frantically-flapping, purple-and-pink strands.

"Mmyeah, what?" Rainbow Dash, the sky-blue pegasus, didn't bother moving from her relaxed position on the roof.

"Pfeh! Dammit! Uh, I mean, how far have we gone?" Twilight shouted over the rushing wind. "Is Canterlot Mountain visible yet?"

There was no answer at first, but that was understandable. The rainbow-maned speedster was probably busy scanning the horizon for the prominent peak and the shining city that had been built atop it. And sure enough, as the train rounded a corner, an excited laugh sounded from above.

"Whaha, heck yes!" Rainbow unexpectedly zipped through the open window, toppling a surprised Twilight head over hooves. "Look, check it out! We're almost there, guys!" the careless mare above her shouted to the world. "Canterlot, here we come! Aw man, an awesome adventure is totally gonna happen, I just know it!"

Ducking and weaving, Dash began to demonstrate her copious shadow-boxing skills. Though the display was probably very impressive, Pinkie Pie – a curious earth-pony – seemed more interested in poking the strange mare lying upside-down near the window. That strange mare was her.

Ouch.

It felt like Twilight's eyes were rattling around the inside of her skull. Was that normal? No, couldn't be. "Air … uh. Air safety, Rainbow. Remember … the aviation code," she dazedly told the cheerful, twirling birds above her, in place of the pegasus she really wanted to chide. As usual, her excellent advice went completely unnoticed. The birds weren't listening, and neither was Rainbow. Everyone ignored her. Okay. Fine.

Sometimes the unicorn worried that she was getting used to this sort of abusive treatment. It was probably unintentional, but that particular brand of painful accident seemed to happen all the time around Dash, almost like the racing nut was flying into the librarian on purpose. Or straight through her library windows, showering glass all over her poor patrons. Or worst of all, into her bookshelves! Those rare encyclopedias from the Gryphon Kingdom would never be the same.

"Up you go!" Pinkie chirped, hefting her upright.

What the—! Given a healthy shove from the earth-pony examining her, Twilight was abruptly flipped onto her hooves. Great Scott! Was everything spinning? … Oh, no, that was just her stomach trying to rebel.

Maybe she should back away from the good furniture.

"A-Ahem. R-right, then. Yes. Thank you, Pinkie. Good job." A Hercoltean effort on her part allowed Twilight to pretend nothing was wrong. "Now, what are you shouting about this time, Dash?"

"Aw, c'mon. Don't tell me you haven't seen it." Rainbow dramatically rolled her eyes. "All our biggest adventures totally started in Canterlot. It's like, a sign of epic deeds to come! We go to Canterlot, and something crazy happens. Then we kick butt and take names! Woah, hey, maybe the changelings are back! That would be awesome!"

Heck no. Not in a million years. If insectoid ponies came charging out of the woodwork, Twilight was heading straight back to Ponyville.

She grimaced. "You're kidding, right? Or don't you remember those weird holes in their legs, and the gooey pods they put ponies in? The changelings were seriously creepy. And they kinda tried to take over Equestria, in case you forgot. Bad guys aren't 'awesome'."

"Excuse me, I hate to interrupt, but could somepony please shut that window?" A disheveled white mare frowned at her windswept coiffure. The previously-untousled, purple curls had fallen out of place, messily tangled around the unicorn's alabaster horn. "I don't mean to be rude, but that wind is simply ruining my mane!"

Fluttershy meekly lifted a wing. "Oh, um, sure. I can do that," she offered, weakly. "I'm sure everypony else is very busy."

The hatches were duly battened, but a few minutes later found Rarity still clicking her tongue in annoyance. "Scandalous! Truly, how can one meet royalty without looking one's absolute best? Shameful!" A saddlebag was unbuttoned, and out floated the mane-care tools.

"Aw, great. Here we go again with th' brushin' and the groomin'. Ferget yer fashion hooey; y'look fine, sugar-cube! No need t'get yer bridles in a bundle! Jus' relax." As if to illustrate her languid philosophy in life, Applejack wriggled deeper into the chair of the train, looking about ready to take a nap. An orange hoof stretched out, flicking down the brim of her battered Stetson hat.

"B-bridles?" Fluttershy squeaked, quickly flushing an orange hue. "R-Rarity?" Caught off-guard, the yellow pegasus began to stutter awkwardly, looking anywhere but at the couturière in question.

The white unicorn gave a delicate snort. Her brush flourished with an illustrative whip-crack. "Don't worry, darling, I'm not that type of mare. Our mutual friend just used an earthy figure of speech common in some areas of Equestria." She focused a razor-sharp glare at Applejack, who flinched. "A crude expression, yes, but merely a simple turn of phrase."

"Aheh." The farm-pony pushed her hat back up, and grinned apologetically at the mortified pegasus. "Uh, yeah. Sorry, Fluttershy, Ah didn't mean t'offend ya. An', uh, Rarity's right, Ah didn't mean nothin' by it, neither. It's jus' … a sayin'."

The yellow mare shook her head quickly, her mane flying outwards as her blush died down. "Oh, no. Please don't apologize. How silly of me! Really, that was all my fault; I should have known you were joking! Rarity wouldn't do … that kind of thing, and of course Applejack would never lie or mean to be rude about one of her good friends. I'm so sorry I misunderstood."

"Uh, yup!" The apple-farmer's smile turned sickly, her mouth scrunching up uncontrollably. "Ah'm not rude! Not at all!"

Rarity sighed.

A sharp whistle cut through the air as the train from Appleoosa pulled into Canterlot station.

With a squeal of the brakes and a billow of steam, the platform become obscured with a cloud of cloying moisture, sweeping over the waiting crowds. The train doors shuddered open, with only a couple of unnervingly mechanical coughs and wheezes.

Freedom beckoned.

They took their chance, and disembarked from the carriage as quickly as equinely possible. Wading through the teeming throng, the six friends hurried towards their distant destination. The renowned home of the sibling immortals, Canterlot Palace! The jewel of Equestria!

Thankfully, the prominent castle was quite easy to find. The literal high-point of the ancient structure was a tall series of pale, marble turrets, built in such a fashion as to always be visible over the city. As legend goes, using mythical magic from the mystical unicorns of old, the towers of Canterlot Palace had actually been fused into the very stone of the mountain itself! Practical and stylish. Plus, it was now rather difficult to get lost, as long as the royal family was your destination.

Rarity breathed in deeply through her nose, enjoying the crisp afternoon air. Absolutely divine! What a lovely day for a trot this was. Good for the body, too! Yes, a bit of a brisk walk and some sunlight really melted that stress away.

Well, at least, for some ponies it did.

"Oh, I hope there aren't any problems with my friendship reports," Twilight fretted. "Maybe I haven't been sending enough of them! If I've let the princess down, I'll be the laughing stock of the Royal Academ—mph!?" The unicorn's eyes widened in what was most likely horror as a muddy orange hoof covered her mouth.

"Aw, stop worryin', Twi. Th' princess said it weren't urgent, right? So she prob'ly just wants t'check up on us, an' make sure we're all okay. Nothin' worth losin' yer tail over." Applejack grinned cheerfully.

My, that farm-pony was certainly in a good mood. It did make sense, of course. During the group's trip to Appleoosa, they had learned that the town was growing marvelously, and the members of the local Buffalo tribe were becoming great friends of the ponies there. Applejack's extended family had all been hale and hearty. It had been nothing but excellent news, until, as sort of an afterthought, they had visited one of the trees that the farmer had named. Named.

It had been called Bloomberg, if she remembered correctly.

Hm, yes. Rarity was a little leery of asking the earth-pony about that. It had confused her when they had first taken a trip to the distant settlement, and the confusion had only doubled upon her return to the tiny town. Was it tradition? Did apple-growers actually name every single fruit-bearing tree on their land? All of them? Right. Well, she supposed that was fine.

No, sorry. That still disturbed the seamstress, just a little.

Beaming happily, Applejack removed her limb from Twilight's mouth. Looking much calmer, the lavender unicorn nodded, turned away, and then slowly and discreetly scraped at her tongue. The poor dear was probably trying not to gag at the taste of concentrated dirt. Farmers weren't all that picky about hygiene.

"Yeah! Besides, we're awesome," Dash happily proclaimed her own view on things. "No way is the princess gonna chew us out. More like give us a medal for how amazing we are! Uh, if that's a thing. Medals of amazingness totally exist, right?" The pegasus seemed to sink into uncharacteristic thought as she hovered.

A pink earth-pony squinted upwards at the silhouetted daredevil. "Hey! You really think they'll give us presents?"

"Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie." Rainbow shook her head in fake, condescending derision. Of course they will. Who wouldn't? We're the best! I totally get presents all the time. Sometimes I even get to keep them!"

"Gasp!" the baker shouted. Hopping onto her back hooves, she flailed around in an unnecessarily-expansive manner. "If there's gonna be presents, then there's gotta be a party, too! There has to be! And if there isn't, we can make one! Haheehee, yes! This is totally the best surprise-medal-secret-party-day ever!"

Carefully plastering on an excellent faux smile, Rarity turned back to look at the happily skipping pony. "Pinkie, darling. You don't need to actually say 'gasp'. Just breathe in quickly."

She got a saccharine wink in return. "Haha, don't worry! I know how to gasp properly!" The insufferably-humorous pony whispered louder than the unicorn could shout. "It was just a joke, that's all! I did it for the fun of it!"

Wonderful.

If Rarity had learned but a single piece of wisdom in her life, it was that you couldn't win with Pinkie, whether at arguments or tic-tac-toe. Especially arguments about tic-tac-toe. Beating Pinkie couldn't be done. It was genuinely impossible, and anypony who said otherwise was a dirty, dirty liar.

So, rather than pressing the point, she simply sighed in resignation, and allowed the happy maniac to bounce away in victory. Well. How did that old saying go? Ah yes … If you can't beat them, run away.

In concert with that idea, the fashionista subtly altered her pace, a trick which soon let her walk next to Fluttershy, instead of that pink lunatic. Calm, sensible Fluttershy. Magnifico.

"Ahem." The white mare cleared her throat daintily. "If I recall, dear, you were telling me about spider silk?"

"Hm? Oh, yes!" The pegasus perked up at the comfortably familiar subject. "If you ask them nicely, spiders can make some lovely strings. Very shiny, and it makes wonderful sewing thread! I use it for my first-aid kits, myself."

Rarity's eyes sparkled with intrigue. "Fascinating! I could do with some different materials. The top designers are contemplating a return to simple cotton, but a brand-new fabric? That could easily change the fashion world! Why, if inspiration strikes, I may just have to buy a few rolls from you, darling. I do hope that won't be a bother."

"A few r-rolls of spider thread? By … by rolls, do you mean the, uh, big ones?" Fluttershy gulped nervously at the no-doubt daunting task. "Um, I'm not sure I know enough spiders for that. Maybe th—"

"Halt!" A large, intimidating castle guard shouted at them just before they entered the main gates, stopping the loosely-connected group in its tracks. "Who goes there? This door is to be used only by those with Royal Privilege!" Snapping his wing out to the side, the stallion blocked their passage, and began to stare them down.

Unbothered by the usual show of loyal aggression, Rarity found her idle eyes wandering down to the guard's golden armor. The heavy sheets of what looked like a copper alloy shone in the sunlight, the glinting frame outlining his impressive build. How interesting.

The, er, metalwork, she meant. Yes. That sounded convincing.

Her examination lasted until a certain bookish mare wandered blithely into view, and the stallion's demeanour changed entirely, as she knew it would. "Ah! Twilight Sparkle? I did not realise this was your retinue. My deepest apologies." He lowered his wing, giving a low bow to the diminutive lavender unicorn. It was a rather amusing sight.

"Hey, nice to see you, Stonehoof! How are the children?" the librarian asked cheerfully.

"They are fine, thank you. Please continue. Her Majesty surely awaits your presence." Stonehoof saluted, and returned to his patrols. As he marched away, Rarity kept a close eye on him, watching out for any funny business.

And he did have rather lovely wings.

Wait a second! Were Twilight and that guard on first-name terms? Rarity raised a well-groomed eyebrow at the revealing conversation, the details of which had only just sunk in. "My goodness. I didn't know you were on such good terms with the palace guards, Twilight. Care to explain?" She hinted her intentions with a salacious wink. Oh, a secret relationship with a married guard and the princess' student would be the premier piece of gossip this side of the Gala!

Er, not that she would spread rumors about her friends, of course.
Well, not bad ones, anyway. Tasteful rumors.

"I knew about that! We were being sneaky together! And then Spike ate ice-cream!" Pinkie bounced gleefully.

Nonsense. Sometimes the earth-pony could just say the most ridiculous things. Rarity ignored the interruption, much more interested in Twilight's possible sordid revelations. If you would excuse her improper prurience.

Looking puzzled, and slightly confronted, the more well-read of the two unicorns scratched her head. "Um, what do you want me to explain? I used to live here, you know. The guards like to know who they're protecting," Twilight said. "Most of the staff live in Canterlot instead of the palace proper, and that only leaves a few ponies as permanent residents. It's easy for the guards to remember a hoof-full of names, so they try to be on good terms with everypony. Stonehoof brought his children in to work once, so that's how I know them in particular! Two adorable little fillies."

"Ah." Oh, how disappointing. That wasn't even slightly scandalous.

But a mere hoof-full of names to socialize with? Poor Twilight. The purple mare had already told them how she really didn't get out much as a filly, and now it sounded like the librarian had never had very many friends at all. What a shame. Childhood friends could be a wonderfully poignant addition to one's social circles.

In a completely unrelated tangent, Rarity took the time to check her hooficure. It may have been slightly vain, yes, but the streets were just a tad bit rough. Best to be careful. Besides, they were meeting royalty! Imagine if she had scuffed hooves! That would be a nightmare!

Ah, no, false alarm. All was well.

Pleased at her continued perfection, the unicorn bustled slightly to catch up with the group. "Twilight, darling, all this talk of the guards reminded me. Will we be seeing your brother today? The gossip rags are tearing themselves apart trying to find the happy couple."

"Sorry." The scholar shrugged. "He's still on his second honeymoon. I haven’t seen him in weeks."

Rarity gave a contemplative hum. "A pity. We never really got to introduce ourselves too well. I fear our group made an odd first impression. Several odd impressions, actually. We tend to do that."

Although, to be fair, that was mostly due to Pinkie.

Celestia yawned.

Due to her centuries of practice at the art, none of the courtiers in the room noticed. They were far too busy discussing … what was it, a new agricultural technique? That, or a land rearrangement of some sort. Fences were definitely involved, she knew that much. She was sure she had heard the word a few times. Unfortunately, what might have once been an interesting topic had been rendered distressingly dull by the nasal droning of politics. She nodded thoughtfully, and pretended to listen, but secretly dreamt of tea.

The sound of chains rattling and clanking burst through her reverie. With the quick blow of a trumpet and an echoing creak, the hall's great wooden doors swung open, and a very familiar group of mares trotted in. Most of them were glancing around in interest at the trappings of royalty, despite having been exposed to it many times over the years. Perhaps that childhood wonder never truly waned. An interesting observation.

Oh, but this was wonderful! Celestia's eyes twinkled as she effortlessly excused herself and made her way over to her protégé.

"Twilight, my most faithful student." The princess nuzzled the small unicorn in an intentionally embarrassing manner. "How have you been? My sister and I haven't seen you for weeks!"

"F-fine!" the dear girl stuttered. "How are you and Luna?"

"Hey, yeah! Where is princess Luna, anyway?" Rainbow Dash flapped up to the ceiling, peering around for the other alicorn in vain. "I thought she was gonna be here this time."

Celestia tilted her horn in a vague motion towards the kitchens, unwilling to go to the effort of a full gesture. "My sister is currently having the equivalent of breakfast, for somepony who only wakes at perhaps four in the afternoon. She holds the night court, you see, so our evening is her morning."

"Huh. So … everypony's fine? No disasters for us to take care of?" Rainbow sounded like she would have been thrilled at the news of a catastrophe.

The princess chuckled at the pegasus' enthusiasm, but had to shake her head. "Sadly, no. I'll have a special task for the six of you when you get back to Ponyville, but I only called you here to make sure you were all happy and well. Although, from the letters I have been receiving, your little team seem to have a positively electrifying adventure about once a week! I doubt you need much more excitement."

Fluttershy seemed to wordlessly, but emphatically, agree with that sentiment. The young girl looked very tired.

In fact, the tension in those watery eyes almost gave the alicorn pause. She very nearly called off the planned reformation of Discord. Of course, after taking a second to think the situation over, Celestia still knew she had absolute faith in the little mare's abilities. That pegasus had more strength than she realised, and her emotive force was second-to-none. Since this issue in particular was rather time-sensitive, tomorrow would have to go ahead as scheduled. But perhaps afterwards, the group could be given a holiday of sorts. The Equestria Games was happening soon, wasn't it? That could be nice.

"Our adventures are always on a Saturday, too," the princess heard Pinkie mutter to herself. "It's weird. I had to stop working weekends because of that. Wait, isn't toda—"

The door to the kitchens burst open. "Huzzah! We have solved it!" Luna swept in, wearing a small pair of reading glasses, and floating a truly intimidating wad of papers before her. Deftly choking down her last bite of toast, the smaller alicorn brushed a few crumbs away before waving her brick of pulped wood and words at her older sister. "Sister, it is done! The Everfree Forest's nature is revealed at last!"

Celestia brightened. She literally had the ability to glow with warm sunlight, and in this case, she decided to do so on a whim. "Oh Luna, that's wonderful! Come and share your thoughts with us."

It seemed like that was about to happen, until Luna rounded a broad column and caught a glimpse of her guests. "Zounds!" The smaller of the two alicorns straightened up, and nearly dropped her glasses in her shock. "W-We are pleased to welcome the Elements of Harmony to our palace," she boomed. Diplomats and courtiers fled as the ground began to rumble.

Thankfully, the verbal rampage was quickly halted by Twilight. In true scholarly form, though, she did this through an ear-splitting squeal. "Oh! Oh my gosh, princess!" she gushed. "Did you just say you figured out the answer to Moonwalker's Conundrum? That problem has been unsolved for … for centuries!"

Her sister blinked at the sudden interest. "Well, yes. Of course, We do not wish to insinuate that the field of arcane mathematics—"

"Lulu, it's 'I', remember? The royal 'We' was abolished a long time ago," Celestia gently reminded, despite the ringing in her ears. Dear, dear. Between Twilight and Luna, a pair of earplugs would work wonders right now. High-pitched chatter mingled with a thundering roar, it all combined into a rather painful headache.

"Nay, fair Twilight! We … blast it, I have yet to delve too deep into modern theory, so this Moonwalker is unknown to us … me." Luna shuffled her hooves in embarrassment. "However, if said Conundrum pertains to the static inequilibrium of the forest's thaumic resonance cavities, then I believe that particular problem has indeed been solved!" she finished proudly, if without any clarity whatsoever.

Applejack stared stolidly at the chattering academics, as they delved ever deeper into the baffling depths of magical science. "Yeah, Ah'm real confused," she admitted. "Could somepony explain what these two are talkin' about? Ah get th' feelin' Ah'm gonna need some serious help with this stuff." The other four young mares seemed similarly perplexed.

Perhaps Celestia should try to clear things up? She was a rather good teacher, if she did say so herself.

At a particularly strident question from her student, Luna revealed a supply of even further notes and began to gesticulate wildly, one swing of a hoof narrowly missing a terrified guard. Twilight, the smaller counterpoint of her sister, was smiling a little too broadly, and actually seemed to be physically vibrating in place with enthusiasm.

Yes, both of them seemed very pleased. It must have been rare for them to find a kindred spirit. Goodness knows, Celestia was never interested in that level of research. The basics were good enough for her.

So she smiled softly at the two, and turned around to Twilight's little group of awkward friends. It looked like she had to play the role of translator, today, but that wasn't a position she dreaded. "My sister appears to have solved a very old problem, my little ponies."

Now, how to put this?

Her pearl-white horn shone, conjuring up a shimmering map of Equestria. "You see, the Everfree forest is a mysterious place. It is dark, unpredictable, and above all, dangerous. Such an unnatural existence goes against all known magical theory! Many ponies, myself included, believe that if we can understand the forest, we might be able to reclaim the land it covers. I, for one, would very much like to see my old palace restored to good condition. It had an excellent indoor pool."

Rainbow pumped a hoof. "Awesome! How do we do that, princess?"

"Simple, Element of Loyalty!" Luna shouted far too loudly, startling the poor pegasus out of the air. "For the first step, we simply require some of the local material! Fauna of the area! My hypothesis requires a spatially-exclusive pocket of unnatural magic, and we must determine the inconstancies in the factors involved!"

"Ooh! I can help! Pick me!" Pinkie zipped over to Celestia's sister, the spunky little mare's eyes shining with barely-suppressed glee.

The dark alicorn seemed unsure how to deal with that sort of terrifyingly open disposition. Luna tentatively consented, though she frowned awkwardly at the young jester-in-training's manner. "Very well! Element of Laughter! We require plant specimens from the Everfree forest! How can you assist us in this endeavor?"

The baker grinned from ear to ear. "I'll go get them! Wait right here!" As soon as she had said that, the unpredictable pony vanished in a cloud of twirling confetti.

Ah, to be young again. Celestia felt a surge of wistful nostalgia. What she wouldn't give to have such energy!

Looking discomfited, Luna sneezed as some paper tickled her nose. "… but the Twisted Forest is nigh on an hour's walk away. Surely we are not expected to wait for such a long length—"

"I'm back!" Pinkie burst in, panting, with some crumpled leaves and a bruised flower poking out of her saddlebags. “Sorry it took so long, but I didn't know what to get, and there were a lot of things that might have been plants, but they were also kinda icky, so I kinda just picked everything I saw that wasn't too gooey! That's okay, right?”

Ah. The princess of the sun tried to keep a straight face, but a chuckle slipped out anyway. It looked like Lulu was gaping a little. Let's just push her jaw back up. There we go.

Well, it was unsurprising, really. Twilight's happy little friend had that effect on some ponies, particularly the logical ones. Celestia was a bit too old for a few youthful surprises to really give her pause, but it was always very amusing to see how others reacted. Why, if Luna got excited, there was no telling what she'd do. No, wait a moment. Actually … there was. Oh dear.

If a few isolated events from a thousand years back were any indication at all, that gleam in her little sister's eye meant that the mad science was close. As a rule, explosions always followed, and if this wasn't a brand new floor, she'd eat her tiara. Bother.

"How in Tartarus did you get to the forest and back so quickly?" Luna demanded. "It defies reason!"

"Don't be a silly filly! I ran!" Pinkie laughed breathlessly, her casual answer explaining everything and nothing. "How else would I get there? I'm an earth-pony!"

"That is exactly my point!"

Hmm. Celestia really did want her marble tiling to survive. So she might just be forced to use plan 'B'.

That meant she would probably need to create a plan 'B' in the first place. Mmm. That could help. Let's see. A promise of future information, perhaps? Luna did enjoy knowledge. Oh! Perhaps that could work? Yes, it probably would. What a conundrum. She had just thought of the perfect bait, but if she used it, her dear student Twilight would undoubtedly be mortified. Ah well, wasn't it the older generation's prerogative to embarrass the young?

Yes. Yes it was.

Of course, given Celestia's age, there were very few living creatures old enough to escape her teasing. She didn't really abuse that, but it was a most useful loophole.

"Miss Pinkamena Pie," Luna began. "We would be very interested in running a few experi—"

"Did you know, Lulu," interrupted Celestia, just in time. "That I have received an excellent essay on what Twilight calls the 'Pinkie Factor'? Now, I know you'll want to run a few tests yourself, but Twilight's work is really quite comprehensive. Four hundred pages of statistical analysis. I'll show it to you later, shall I?"

As expected, her student flushed adorably and avoided the incredulous gazes of her friends. Pinkie merely giggled at the revelation.

"Very well. That sounds reasonable." Oh, good. After mulling her choices over, Luna seemed to have temporarily agreed to remain sane. "In the meantime, we have a myriad number of magical tests to run on these plants, and little time remaining before dusk. Let us adjourn to the castle gardens!"

Celestia politely declined. She had done what needed to be done, and had kept the peace for a few more minutes, but now it was time to take her leave. After all, there were some important things that needed to be addressed, various matters that had to be taken care of as soon as possible. As the Princess Of The Undying Sun, she had many different duties to attend to, duties that required a much quieter working environment than the lawn would be providing.

Duties such as the most serious business of afternoon tea.
Tea, preferably with cake.

It looked like the statue of Discord had been rigged up to support a fancy parasol over a small, metal table.

Well, hey. As far as Applejack could see, that was poetic justice without the poetry. Especially given the damage that darn chocolate rain caused to her farm! She snorted in satisfaction, and made a mental note to snub the calcified spirit, whether or not he could see her.

That'd show him.

By the time she'd gotten her snubbing sorted, princess Luna had already begun to arrange crystals in dainty little patterns on the tabletop. Predictably, Twilight rushed over to help the princess mess around with the spells, magical geek that she was. Rarity pretended to be interested too, but she probably only joined them to drool over the shiny rocks.

Applejack didn't quite see the appeal with any of that. Looked mighty dull, to be honest.

"Hey, look! It's Discord!" Pinkie jumped up onto the statue, knocking the umbrella into a bit of a wobble, and started making goofy faces at the entombed villain. Not to be outdone, Rainbow soon joined in, the pegasus performing most of her taunts upside-down for the heck of it.

Yes, Applejack was content to sit back and watch her friends' antics. Fluttershy did the same, happy to stay out of the spotlight. Couldn't really blame her. It was nice to relax.

Before long, a dry rustling sound drew the farmer's attention to the table. The princess was done with the crystals, and had started removing the plants from Pinkie's bag. Though some of the stuff wasn't native to the area, Applejack could tell that a few flowers were definitely Everfree-only material, not to mention a couple fancy ferns and the such-like. Huh. Looked like the baker really had visited the forest.

Of course, she knew better than to ask how the bouncy party-fanatic could be there and back in a flash.

You see, a fair while back, Rainbow had told her a worrying tale. The tale of an 'angry Pinkie Pie', yeah, as crazy as that sounded. As the story goes, it had happened on the pink mare's birthday, when the rest of the close-knit group had tried to hold a surprise party for her. The baker'd gotten the wrong idea, sorta, and thought they were avoiding her out of general grumpiness, or something. That was when She had emerged.

Apparently, she could either run faster than Dash could fly, or teleport at will! No matter where the pegasus had flown, Pinkie had always been one step ahead, always watching! It gave Applejack the shivers. If you combined that craziness with all that dubious future-sensing whatnot, you had a danged scary picture. Forget Zecora, Pinkie was the real witch of Ponyville.

In the end, Rainbow had been pretty shaken, and the farmer hadn't been all that settled, herself. Still, the orange earth-pony had thought it over, and eventually decided to trust in the reliability and honesty of her friends, ignoring the creepy, unexplainable outbursts that they all had from time to time. That was what real friendship was about. It happened to Pinkie, Twilight, Fluttershy … as far as she could tell, that sorta thing just hit you out of the blue sometimes, and it wasn't picky which pony it happened to. She didn't particularly feel like rocking the boat because of a couple of rare occasions. Maybe someday it'd be her turn, and she'd like a good line of karma for when it did. So, she'd just keep that smile going. Keep smiling, and don't think too hard on any of it. Yup.

Whoah, hey! Snap out of it, important things are happening! Was Fluttershy whimpering? Applejack glanced over at the softly squeaking pegasus.

Yup, she was. Aw, looked like her throat had seized up again, poor thing. "Fluttershy? What's wrong, girl?" she asked. Sometimes it was all about the tone of voice, like talking to her dog Winowna, almost. Following the trembling mare's line of sight, Applejack watched Luna levitate a leaf above the glowing crystals.

Time seemed to slow down.

That … that leaf!

"Princess! Stop!" the farmer shouted, her frantic words far too late to matter.

With a crackling hum, those floating crystals sent a visible, blue surge of magic through the leaf. On almost any other plant, that would have been nothing worth talking about.

But that was the leaf of a Zap-apple tree.

Triggering a well-known natural defense, the whole pile of magic was turned straight into electricity, gushing back out of the leaf like water from a tap. Streams of lightning shot out, scorching the gems and igniting the rest of the plants. Luna, grazed by a shock, reflexively threw the flaming vegetation away from her. Sailing through the air, the bouquet of flowers bounced off the underside of the umbrella, and landed squarely on Discord the Stony-Face's head, like a particularly tasteless wreath. It sat there, smoldering, as Pinkie chuckled nervously at the close call, and the princess continued to twitch.

Still, nopony seemed hurt. The farm-pony finally allowed herself to exhale. "Well, pony-feathers. Zap-apples are serious business, alrigh'. Burn yer hooves off if'n y'ain't careful." Blinking at a sudden thought, Applejack swiveled around. "Hang on a sec. Fluttershy? How in Equestria d’you know the exac' shape of a Zap-apple leaf?"

The pegasus in question quivered slightly. "I don't," she whispered, staring at the little spot of fire that continued to burn.

A glowing blue flower ignited atop Discord's head.

Uh oh. Applejack gulped. Burning things broke them down. Setting fire to magical petals released a minor puff of energy. Some herbal treatments used that kinda thing; a lot of Zecora's stuff, for instance. Squished and flattened as it was, that flower must have shoved its magic right into the stone. Like the misfortune with the leaf, such real small amounts of power would normally have zero effect, especially on solid rock.

Except it looked like today they had just straight-out bad luck. That particular cobalt blossom didn't just possess magic, it was practically made of the stuff. Probably worse news than the Zap Apples, now that she thought about it. Twilight had explained it to them once, after they had all come down with a bad case of the wizardly blues. For most of them, the bulk of the info had gone in one ear and out the other, but the farmer knew for sure that the dangerous little plant known as Poison Joke had a nice, hefty chunk of magic in it.

Chaos magic, to be exact.

A thick crack shot down the statue of Discord, allowing a deep, sinister chuckle to echo out into the world, the oily sound pouring through the gap in the broken stone.

"Ah, horse-apples." Applejack reached up to fix her Stetson. "Not this again."

Discord sipped marbles from a bowling ball.

The temperature was quite marvelous, today. It was spring, was it not? Ah, and merely a few months since the last time he had been out. Simply fabulous! he was getting much better at shaking those magical bonds, wasn't he? It was getting to be rather like a holiday, now. "Oh, yes indeed. What a glorious afternoon this is! Especially for a spot of … Chaos!" He laughed, long and loud. "Good to be out of that silicate bodysuit, too. The itching was really getting to be unimaginable."

An earth-shaking peal of thunder caused him to slide his mismatched eyes to his left. It seemed a large, light gray alicorn was throwing hideously destructive bolts of magic around. A smaller, dark blue princess was valiantly attempting to fight the overpowered, monochrome monstrosity, but was having little luck, due to her insistence on using non-lethal spells. How heartbreakingly funny.

Why, that particular piece was his work, how did you know? He called it 'Sisterly love'.
Signed with a flourish, Discord. Hohohoh!

Hilarious.

The draconequus leaned back into his hammock of clouds, wriggling into a slightly more comfortable position. "Really, this is so much more relaxing than last time. Royalty, you know. They can be such bores," he confided to a rather confused tree, whose sudden capacity for rational thought came as an enormous surprise.

Cupping a claw to his ear, he leaned over. "What was that? Ah yes, I suppose I should do something about those pesky Elements, hmm? Predictable of me, I know, but being a statue is horrifically dull." The tree swayed gently. Discord nodded, and tapped a claw against his chin. "A shield spell that prevents flesh-to-stone transformation? Good idea! Didn't work too well the time before last, but I could always raise the power a notch or two. And yet … it's rather bland, isn't it? Not quite my style to do the same thing twice."

The tree returned to stillness, as whatever passed for a spark of intelligence was casually removed.

"Nothing for it, then." The god of chaos bared his teeth in a hideous mockery of a smile, already thinking of what songs to use for the soundtrack to his victory march. "I suppose I'll just have to improvise."

The door to the Royal Vault was swinging in the wind. It was probably going to stay that way for a while. Perhaps that was ill-advised, but the six pastel ponies standing in the hallway were far too busy donning their Elements of Harmony to worry about security, or even just tidying up.

Glancing over her shoulder to check that the others were busy, Rarity seized her chance. She slowly crept over to the lovely box her necklace had been locked away in. None of her friends really liked jewelry that much, so they wouldn't understand her obsession. But the dazzling container had priceless, lapis-dyed silk that had been carefully, perfectly laid over magically-treated hardwood! Not to mention nine point-cut emeralds, six paragon diamonds, and some truly delicate golden filigree. Oh, if only Rarity had crafted it! Why, she would never have to work again!

Ah, whoops. She wiped away a small trail of saliva before anypony could notice.

"Hey, Rarity! Pinkie! Team huddle, guys!" Rainbow called. Hovering in midair, the brash pegasus turned to the group's de-facto leader – the only pony among them wearing a tiara. "Twilight, what's our game plan here?"

"I'm … sorry, I'm not all that sure." The librarian fiddled with her crown unsurely.

Applejack traded nervous glances with a few of the others. "Uh, c'mon, Twi'! Ah thought ya were good at all that stratifyin' stuff. Y'never seemed this spooked before."

"Strategizing. And maybe I'm not good at it. After all, this is the second time Discord's broken out of his supposedly-unbreakable incarceration. I'm starting to think this whole thing has become some sort of unsettling game to him. Or maybe he's just begun to figure out the statue spell. In any case, we definitely need a new plan. One that takes care of this guy, once and for all." Twilight tapped her chin in thought. "Give me a second."

A trembling, yellow wing was lifted into the air. "Um, e-excuse me?" Fluttershy bravely interjected, quite obviously bothered by something important.

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

The pegasus hesitated before sharing her thoughts. "N-not to be a bother, or anything, but, uh, c-could we do, um, the same thing we did with Nightm-mare Moon? I mean, I don't know what that was, and I'm sure you know a lot more magic than me, but Luna is nice now, right? Would doing that kind of magic make D-Discord a nice pony, too?"

How precious! Rarity hastily stifled a smile under the cover of a cough. Fluttershy always did want a happy ending for everypony. Apparently that even included senseless brutes.

Hmph! He had better be grateful! That vagabond didn't deserve reformation, not after making them all so miserable!

"Make him a nice draconequus, you mean?" Strangely, Twilight seemed to be seriously considering the idea. "Given his previous reaction to … wait, let me think." The violet mare hemmed and hawed for a time, but eventually, reluctantly, nodded. "Alright. I think it will be fine. Cleansing Discord like we did Nightmare Moon should also strip him of much of his power, by theoretically removing his magic of Disharmony."

"Well, that sounds great! What's the catch?" Applejack raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Caught off-guard, Twilight paused for an uncomfortably long period of time. "Er, nothing! As … as far as I can tell, anyway. I'll just have to alter the type of energy that the Elements emit. We really need Harmony-attuned magic."

Hold on. It had been many years since Rarity had last attended magic school, but something sounded off about that sentence.

She caught herself before she held up her hoof, and instead chose to cough lightly to gain the group's attention. "Wait a minute, darling. I thought our fabulous accessories only used Harmony magic. What on earth did we use last time?"

Evidently eager to share her knowledge, the other unicorn smiled happily at the rest of them. "Actually, the Elements channel almost all magic! They're effectively room-temperature magical superconductors! Isn't that just absolutely amazing?" While her exclamation was enthusiastic, Twilight only received blank stares in return. The librarian looked crestfallen. "Right, sorry. As for last time, I think we used Order. After all, turning something into stone, and making it a completely stationary statue? That's about as ordered as you can get, isn't it?"

Rarity wasn't terribly well-read on magical effects, so she had to concede that point, although the dressmaker still had the oddest sensation of foreboding.

Well, foreboding or indigestion. One of the two.

You know, sometimes it was surprisingly difficult for her to tell the difference. Especially when that pink-coated sugar-maniac had been experimenting in the kitchen at all. Alas! The culinary troubles she had seen! The horrid concoctions she had ingested! Such bitter experience with recipes that never should have seen the light of day!

Hot-sauce cupcakes were merely the tip of the iceberg lettuce, as it were.

"Order?" Rainbow rubbed her head. "I don't get it. Why didn't we use harmonica-tuned-whatever against the big guy last time, if it was so awesome? Did we mess up?"

In return, Twilight gave them an oddly sheepish look. "I don't know. Frankly, I doubt I'll ever know. The Elements are fiendishly complex. I do think I can pull off a conversion spell, though. That, at least, isn't so hard. I'll set up a circle in front of us, and make it really big, so we can't miss. Whatever magic goes in, Harmony magic should come out. Sort of … like a big sieve, if total conceptual conversion was a thing even remotely close to what sieves did."

"Well, if you're sure, dear," Rarity relented. "But do be careful. After all, these are powerful forces we're playing with. Best to be cautious."

"As long as I use the right spell, we should be fine." The librarian slowly nodded once more, her brow knotted in thought. "Yes. I think this can work. No doubt about it. We'll stop Discord, save the princess, and protect Equestria once again." Twilight stood up to her full height. "Okay. Let's get to the heroing, girls."

Five equine faces firmed in stony determination.

Five? Rarity swiftly scanned the group. Five. Oh, where on earth was Pinkie, now? Really, that mare had the shortest attention span. It was worse than Sweetie Belle's, and at least her sister had the excuse of being a little filly.

As per usual, the earth-pony must have become bored of all the important conversation and planning and deliberation they were doing. No, wait, did that mean the silly thing was outside? Gracious! They had to find her before something terrible happened! Unless …

Never mind.

She couldn't stop her eyebrows from raising, though. Pinkie slowly slid back inside, leaving a thick trail of maple syrup on the marble tiles behind her. The pink, sugar-coated pony grinned. "Hey, guys! You'll never guess what I've been doing!"

Rarity didn't want to know.

"Discord! Your reign of terror ends here!"

The lounging spirit raised his designer sunglasses to reveal five serious ponies, and one incredibly-sticky, but not-terribly-serious pony. Ah yes. They were right on time.

He groaned in a theatrical manner. "Oh brother, not this again. Really, 'reign of terror'? It hasn't even been ten minutes yet. That's more like what, a reignette? A reignini? Certainly nothing worth a dramatic speech." As his hammock of clouds vanished, the chimeric deity sat up and stretched, joints popping in an unpleasant crackle of noise.

Twilight paused, and glanced at her friends. She got confused shrugs in response. Off-balance, the unicorn tried to gain back her momentum with another boring hero-monologue. "It doesn't have to be like this! If you surrender now—"

"Yes, yes. You said all this last time. Do hurry up," Discord interrupted. "I have things to break and places to be." Now that he was fully awake, he sniggered softly as he snapped his talons behind his back. With a tiny speck of his willpower, a magical fuse was lit. The taffy-flavored string was connected to a sizeable sorcerous array, buried deep in the earth below his feet. A little low on inspiration, he had gone with a food-based theme, which almost explained why the entire structure resembled a gigantic, submerged soup tureen.

Arcane shield-runes, coated in ketchup, activated beneath the ground. Delicately-arranged patterns of guacamole glowed with deadly force. The mustard surrounding them looked delicious, but did absolutely nothing else of note.

Everything was exactly as planned. He chuckled to himself in dark amusement. Truly, what foals these mortals be!

Well, except the pink one. Discord quite liked that pony. Maybe he wouldn't torment her with her own worst fears.
She seemed to know how to have a good time.

"Fine. I tried." Twilight seemed to give up, and started to leave.

Hm. How unexpected. Interesting! Had he already won? Perhaps he should honor their surrender by releasing Celestia? That would confuse them.

Then the unicorn's horn poured out a blinding corona of power. An enormous, violet runic circle blossomed in front of that hodgepodge of a politically-correct team, and the thing began to shower horrible pink sparks everywhere. The colors completely clashed, so Discord had to give his grudging approval to the style. It could do with some more neon green, but it wasn't half bad.

Oh yes. And there was magic afoot, he supposed. Of some type or another.
To be honest, he didn't really care.

Turning back to him, the irritating leader of the mares gave a cocky smirk of her own. "If he's not going to go quietly, then I guess you can fire at will, girls."

On command, the Elements pulsed. As each crystal shone in tandem, they bled out single, pure colors of liquid light. The trails of Harmony joined forces, but held their own, somehow separately united. The simple shades of those gemstones gave birth to a shimmering, polychromatic panoply of hue.

Soon, Discord was watching a rainbow speed towards him, a sight he was becoming used to. This time, he was ready.

Ah. Except, this time, there was also something blocking the rainbow's path. Something both purple and pink. The unicorn brat's unidentified disc sat directly between the draconequus and the tiny collection of ponies. The paradigm had changed.

Though he had prepared for the rainbow that was quickly becoming old-hat, that familiar, six-toned fractal of light bent as it passed through the wafer-thin spell. Each color unraveled, merged, and changed. A transformation occurred, one in which the very nature of the oncoming magic was altered. Those thick strands of world-shaking force irrevocably twisted into a solid wall of pure, unstoppable energy.

Pink energy.

The rough hairs on the back of his neck rose. This wasn't the blasted statue spell! Well, it had been before, yes. The Elements were nothing if not predictable. But the runic circle changed it! Now that ocean of power, that tidal-wave of light, gave off the unmistakeable stench of … friendliness. Peace. It sent chills of disgust down his patchwork spine.

Discord was old, you see. Very, very old. Yet, even over the span of many centuries, he had only met his match thrice before.

Time had gifted him knowledge of many things. He had become completely comfortable in his own skin. He knew himself, he knew the world, and he knew all his worthwhile enemies. So at that moment, he was fully aware that there were very few forces that could give off that exact, disturbing sensation, the cold, alien touch of wrong.

And only one of them was pink.

"Oh, this won't end well," the draconequus mumbled. At least it was unexpected, he supposed. The spirit of chaos could always appreciate a good surprise. And what a surprise this was! Straight out of left field. Well played, ponies. Well played indeed.

In the few final seconds of his existence, Discord slowly replaced his stylish sunglasses and straightened up his hunched posture. As the beam descended, he thrust his chest forwards, and struck what he considered to be a cool, masculine pose. He knew it probably wasn't, but he didn't have much to work with. It was the tail that threw it off, wasn't it? Always the tail. Ah, well.

Strange, what you thought of in these situations. He remembered how he had once considered taking up a disguise, and living like a mortal for a few years. He'd never gotten around to it. But you know what? Maybe he wasn't cut out for that sort of thing. Being a god had been so much fun.

He'd never once gotten bored. He'd lived a very good life.
Yes. It had been a fantastic run.

Discord stood resolute and unyielding in the face of the unknown. He faced his end with pride.

Then Harmony met Disharmony, as it had never done before.

Everything utterly vanished.

Curse The Darkness

Curse The Darkness

A shockwave thrummed through the air.

Caught off-guard, Gilda squawked loudly in surprise. Somehow, she managed to tangle up her feathers with the zipper of her satchel, and ended up losing a full twenty wingspans in altitude before she could recover her stability. Regaining her dignity, on the other claw, was definitely a lost cause.

Wow. Hot red rushed to the gryphon's cheeks as she furtively checked around for anyone who might have noticed her embarrassing stunt. No, it looked like she was good. Relatively speaking. Alright.

Stay frosty, girl.

Now that she was safe from the prying eyes of onlookers, she turned to observe the great big clouds of rainbow smoke rising from the distant city of Canterlot.
Yeah, that was new.

"Geez," Gilda groaned. "Those stupid pony jerks must have gone totally nuts, today. What kinda explosion is that?"

Even their horrible mistakes looked strange. Though, heck, a funky mushroom cloud might have been pretty crazy, but at least there weren't any pink clouds or flying pigs appearing out of nowhere. Not like that one time a few months back. It had been a really weird day for the Gryphon Kingdom, and the dumb ponies still wouldn't explain what had even happened. It had ticked off their diplomats no end.

Ah, screw them. They can deal with their own problems.

Just about done gawking, and about to turn back to her never-ending work, Gilda noticed a fuzzy dot. Something was floating, far away, in her perfect, avian vision. She squinted. "Wait … what's—" A jagged blur whizzed by her head, painfully plucking several feathers from her plumage. "Yeah. Okay. Okay. Not cool. Yeah, I don't care what you are, weirdo pink thing! Nobody messes with the feathers!" she roared.

Banking sharply, the gryphon's powerful wings powered her through the air, beating rapidly until she caught up with the arrogant little spitstain. Surprisingly, it turned out to be an inanimate object. A pink jewel in the shape of a butterfly, barely attached to a thick golden setting.

"The heck?" the part-time courier puffed. "A stupid necklace? Did somebody's jewelry box explode? Lame. I thought this was going to be cool."

Gilda stretched out a talon for the unlikely speedster. Oh! Now that she looked at it, the hunk of rock in the middle was obviously a feather, not a butterfly.
Huh. Must have seen it wrong.

The ugly, pink feather felt strangely warm, but it wasn't hot enough to make her worry. It was probably toasted from whatever caused that gross smog over the pony capital. And hey, where there's stupid-looking smoke, there's probably a stupid-looking fire, right?

With a shrug of her powerful wings, Gilda lowered her speed. She wasn't in any kind of hurry to get back home, so she descended to the ground to further examine her prize.

That's when she turned into a squirrel.

Wait, no, she was a mouse. A deer. A worried rabbit, a startled bird, a confused squirrel-badger-spider-frogsnailbugwolfmanti— "Gaaah!" The gryphon yelled as she became all the different animals around her, and then painfully snapped back together. She was reassembled, rebuilt in a twang, wobbling like a giant, feathery, rubber band.

After she stopped becoming things that were stupid, Gilda stood very still for a long time.

Emotion. That was it.
Emotions.

All the emotions around her.

She could feel them.
She could touch them.
She could … twist them.

A white unicorn valiantly attempted to brush out the dust from her fabulous, purple mane, but all to no avail. How tiresome.

"Alright! Back it up, everypony!" Applejack hollered, right into Rarity's ears. "Let's get a few things straight here, 'kay?"

After delicately wincing, and giving her hair up as a lost cause, the fashionista sidled over to where the farmer was collecting everyone from their entirely pointless conversations. As the stragglers arrived, the earth-pony gave a firm nod. "Now then, Twi'? Give us a good ol' rundown, would'ya?"

"Um." The bookish unicorn whipped out a pair of completely unnecessary spectacles, sliding them on with a practiced motion. "Sure. Yes. Well, as a basic primer, our Elements have broken. Discord—"

"Hold it!" interrupted the repugnant force of nature in question. A claw whipped out dramatically to point at the startled mare. "How dare you! I am no longer Discord! Instead, I shall henceforth be known as … Disorder!" A heavy silence greeted his entirely arbitrary announcement.

Twilight had never looked more like a librarian than she did then, raising a single cold eyebrow to match her glacial tone. "And now you want to change your name. Great."

"Mhmm. But do go on, Purple. I'm still listening." The maniac grinned unrepentantly.

Ugh. Purple? Rarity mouthed the bulbous word in distaste. He kept using that word. Is that what Discord actually thought, the brute? Twilight's coat was obviously mulberry. Clearly, quite different. Much trickier to design for.

"Okay then." The irritated, mulberry mare gave the draconequus a testy glare, pushing up her glasses until they glinted in the afternoon sun. "It seems Mister 'Disorder' has decided to be as infuriatingly unhelpful as equinely possible."

She received a mocking bow in reply.

"Hmph." The unicorn grumpily turned to a different page in her notes, creasing the paper to a deadly point with her hooves. "Anyway, I've done a little research in the palace library. The Elements of Order were the predecessors to Harmony, reputedly comprised of six magical forces. Historically speaking, it's very interesting reading. Unfortunately, when the legends come to saying what those forces were, everything gets a little unclear. Some of the tales I read included magical basics like fire and water, while the more adventurous ones used vague, conceptual ideals. Stuff like honor, sacrifice, confusion, or—"

"Sacrifice?" Rarity swooned dramatically. "Oh my stars, how horrifying!" She stifled a smirk. "Confusion sounds very much suited to Pinkie, though. It's practically made for her."

"Hey! I'm not confused!" the baker complained, to a round of muffled snickering.

A hit, a very palpable hit! Chalk up one for the unicorn, and … many, many more for Pinkie. Yes, well, fine. Rarity thought it was about time she won a point. Social maneuvering was a delicate game, and it never truly ended. As her mother always said, the only way to lose was not to play.

Noisily clearing her throat, Twilight brought everypony's attention back to the matter at hoof. "The problem here is that we no longer represent the powers of the Elements. Applejack was a wonderful example of Honesty, for instance, but if her aspect changed to something like … Fire, then there wouldn't be much of a connection. Presumably, our Elements will have sought out more suitable Bearers. That's a capital B, by the way. To be a Bearer sounds pretty special, and all the books mentioned it in some aspect. We should probably be careful. I'm guessing superpowers may be involved."

"So we gotta go find 'em, right?" Rainbow asked. She expertly kicked the air a few times. "I bet we gotta take 'em all down and buck some flank along the way. Aw yeah, totally called it! Who called it? Me! Hey, time for an adventure, you guys! Woo!"

The librarian blinked guilelessly, folding her glasses back up. "Uh, pretty much. Find the necklaces, stop any unscrupulous enemies from winning, and try not to die. That's my overall plan."

Well now. Rarity thought that sounded like a rather good strategy. In fact, she intended to complete all three of those objectives to the best of her ability. Especially the third.
She was a perfectionist, after all.

Big Mac chewed on a juicy stalk of hay.

As he idly flicked an ear to shoo away a persistent fly, the well-muscled stallion continued to stare at the enormous, smoking crater in front of him. It was right where Apple Bloom's house used to be.

Hmm.

Now just hold on a second. He may have been a bit tired when he woke up this morning, but he was pretty darn sure that a giant hole hadn't been here. He would have remembered that.

Well, that was bad news. Something had destroyed his sister's club-house, and if she had been inside it, she could have gone down with it. But … what had happened?

Apple Bloom turned watery eyes on her confused brother. "It wasn't mah fault, honest!" she pleaded.

"Nnope." Big Mac ruffled the little filly's red mane reassuringly. He knew it wasn't her fault. Apple Bloom couldn't explode a treehouse, even if she tried. Scootaloo was similarly innocent. That girl could barely fly, let alone destroy an entire building.

He wasn't so sure about Sweetie Belle, though.

Trixie snorted, and fell out of bed.

"Bgah! What?" Caught in a panic, she fumbled for the light, and was soon staring at the dank, cramped interior of her second-hoof caravan.

Oh. The unicorn sighed in relief, parting her tangled mane with a trembling limb. She must have nodded off. In the middle of the afternoon, no less.

"But it was all just a dream. Thank goodness." Trixie paused, and instinctively puffed herself up. "I … I mean, The Great and Powerful Mare of Mystery would never … be …"

Her voice faded away to nothing, as her gaze fixed upon a gap in the crooked floorboards. She didn't have an audience. Not here. No friends to impress, no critics to sway. There wasn't anyone here who needed convincing.

Nopony except herself.

It had been quite a while since Trixie had been run out of Ponyville – for the second time, no less. In the end, despite her best efforts to reclaim her life, to turn over a new leaf, she had ended up falling back on her old routines. Projecting an image of superiority was vital for this line of work, and she had no other method of employment. She had no other skills. She had to boast to survive.

And on the stage, only the Great and Powerful could succeed.

But … spending so much time doing the same unscupulous things was beginning to get the unicorn down. Maybe she should quit showbiz. All this lying and posturing, just to get one more hoof up on the other ponies? This wasn't what she really wanted. This wasn't what her parents had wanted for her.

Trixie was getting so tired of—

*CRUNCH*

Her painted, pine door suddenly shot across the room, irrevocably damaged. Hot wisps of steam gushed into her caravan, soft ribbons of white mist obscuring the deep cracks in the splintered wood. The creaking of her home sounded like a wounded beast to her shocked, twitching ears. Whatever was out there meant some serious business.

Trixie shot to her feet, horn aglow, ready to fight for her life.

_______________________________________________

After several, tense minutes of nothing at all happening, she carefully peeked her nose out of the doorway. She itched to hurl some incredibly embarrassing spells, but her plans were confounded by the continued absence of a culprit. A quick glance around the campsite revealed no other disturbance. An act of gutless vandalism, then? How despicable.

"Worthless scum!" she shouted to the night. "Cowards! You'll pay for this!"

Scowling in anger, Trixie turned back to her ruined abode, only to spy a glint of gold. Something was glittering in her newly-rearranged doorframe, wedged between two smoking planks. A twist of mental effort, and the object soon hung before her. It spun slowly, suspended in an unseen web of azure will and power.

For a moment, she thought it was one of her past mistakes, come back to haunt her.
After all, a jeweled necklace with a diamond-shaped gem? The similarities were startling, to be sure. But no, it was a royal gold and purple in color, not silver and red. And there wasn't any alicorn iconography to be seen on the thing.

"Bah. A mere bauble, then? A nice one, yes, but it is a very odd gift. And an even odder manner of delivery."

Curious, she turned the jewel around to inspect it further. "Purple, though. Trixie supposes it matches her costume, if not her mane."

Maybe she would just make sure that the gold was real. Yes. If it was, perhaps she could pawn it off to repair her wagon. Then this whole calamity wouldn't be another miserable loss in a long series of miserable losses. Perhaps the gem was even worth a slight gain? Trixie tapped it with an investigative hoof and glanced at her ruined home doubtfully. Probably not. That was a lot of damage on a pretty worthless house. It would be cheaper to scrap it and buy a new one.

Then the purple diamond clinked. The linear, geometric shape, in an eye-watering maneuver, somehow folded itself into a round medallion. A small, delicate disk was born, with a beautiful wand emblazoned upon it. Just like her cutie-mark.

Ringing jolts of noise shot through her as a series of incomprehensible numbers scanned through her mind. The value of her cart, the loss of sale price due to the hole, the origins of base materials, cost and worth and ability and purpose and function, all blended into a continuous stream of unending information – it was overwhelming!

Oh, but there was a pattern. The scattered reams of data all dealt with value, and value alone.

And those numbers looked delicate, too.
Almost … malleable.

Was what she was planning even possible? Trixie was never terribly good at mathematics. Even now, she knew she couldn't just make the hole in her wagon disappear. This wasn't the Alicorn Amulet. As far as she knew, this strange necklace could not give her power, nor the ability to break any magical rules. Everything would have to originate from her, in the end. No shortcuts.

Besides, everything had a price. Trixie could see that now.
She could see that all too well.

But … perhaps she could move that price. It was pure supposition, but the idea felt right, somehow. In the end, what would happen if she just reached out, and made a Sacrifice of something else? Something unimportant, like that boulder over there.

*CRUNCH*

The boulder splintered under the devastating force applied to it, shards of stone flaking off and falling away.

And in stark contrast to the rocky carnage she had inflicted, her caravan stood tall once more. Completely undamaged. Totally whole.

A slow, creeping grin slid over her face, even as her paltry reserves of magic depleted. Trixie had used her own feeble magic to perform a much greater task, something she would never have been able to do before. Yes, it was just like leverage. She got more effect for a smaller effort, but she put in all the power the spell required.

So this wasn't cheating at all.

"Trixie understands now," she whispered. This was her answer. She didn't need to break the rules to be great. All magic was possible, it was simply a matter of how much you were willing to pay.

And what you were willing to Sacrifice.

The spirit formerly known as Discord snored really loudly. Like, really loudly. He even had a floating leaf bobbing up and down over his mouth, balanced aloft by his breath.

Dash looked enviously over at the comatose draconequus. Aw, man. Taking a nap sure sounded pretty good right now. The pegasus was bored out of her mind by all this lame arguing. It just went on and on and on! What was Twilight even doing with her twinkly whatchamacallits? Ah, never mind, ignore that question. It looked totally yawn-worthy.

She yawned, just to prove her point.

"And 203.55 by 56.48 degrees," read out the unicorn. She scrawled down the last message from her magical doodad, and dispersed the thing into shiny smoke. "That should be the last one."

Applejack tilted her Stetson to scratch behind her ear. "So, uh, what's all that gibberish mean? You track'em down yet?"

"Um, yes. As far as I can tell." The librarian nodded. Horn glowing, she flicked a quill around on two identical maps. "I can't be certain, you understand. Magical vapor trails are hardly the most accurate way of determining location, so any predictions are educated guesses at best."

"Well, you've got the best education of anypony Ah know, Twi. Ah'm sure it's fine," said Applejack.

Wow. That was a pretty terrible compliment, so Dash couldn’t resist butting her technicolor head into the conversation. “Anypony Applejack knows, huh? That's not saying much,” she teased.

“Hey!” The farmer tried to glare at the pegasus, but ruined the serious mood by breaking down in chuckles. “Y’know, that means y'ain’t that educated yerself, genius, seein’ that yer somepony that Ah know’n all. Guess yer just as dumb as little old me.”

Oh. Hoisted by her own canard. Rainbow indicated her loss with a grin and a nod. Touché, Applejack. Touché.

Hey, she never claimed to be smart. Just fast. Really, really fast.

After Twilight had finished giggling at Dash's expense, the unicorn continued her explanation. "Ahem. Well, here's the most likely landing spots I've determined. Again, they're general areas, not exact positions." Finishing her scribbles, she levitated the maps so the others could see. "It seems, aside from my tiara …" The librarian's voice wavered slightly, and trailed off.

Woah, why was everypony suddenly sad?

Um. Right. The princess. Rainbow most definitely did not turn to look at the new Sovereign in the Sun. See? She was totally tactful. Eat it, Rarity. Her hooves were nowhere near her mouth.

"… two of the gems headed towards Ponyville." Twilight frowned. "A different one appears to have crash-landed in Canterlot, and the last two headed further out, to the North and East, respectively. Those will be the hardest to find."

"Hrm." Applejack looked pretty serious, both her brows drawn in as tight as they would go.

Oh. That was a bummer. One of the circles was smack-dab in the middle of the Apple family's farm. Big Mac could take care of himself, but Applejack's sister and granny lived there, too. Dash hoped they were all okay. The Apples. And the actual apples. Both the fruit and the ponies, come to think of it. Haha. No, stop, this was serious.

Twilight tapped the map. “In summary, since there are so many directions to go, I think we should split up.”

"No.” Luna regally shook her head. “Absolutely not. You are forbidden from searching individually. Against the full power of the Elements, we cannot be too cautious. It is imperative that we keep you six safe from harm."

"But if somepony finds one, they might release its power!" the unicorn cried. "Who knows what would happen?”

In reply, the princess closed her eyes, doing some sort of princess-ish royal-type face. “We are blessed with the capacity to hope for the best, but our duty is always to plan for the worst. Our worst-case scenario is that all of the Elements have found new, powerful bearers. As you are now, each of you would fall.”

"Psh, yeah right! Rainbow Dash never loses!" Rainbow boasted, striking a dashing pose.

And Luna brushed her off with a dismissive wave. “No, none of you would stand a chance. But … I agree with your sentiment, Twilight. It appears this is a balancing act. We must split our forces to retrieve the Elements quickly, and I must also keep you safe. As such, you may only divide once. You may split into teams of three, no less."

Pinkie shot up excitedly. "Great! It's just like picking sports teams! Can I be a captain?" she chirruped.

"Sports teams?" whimpered Fluttershy.

Ooh, sports teams. Sore point.

Yeeah. The yellow mare was always chosen last for those in flight school. Nopony wanted the ‘pegasus who couldn’t fly’ on their team. Not that Dash was very popular, either. In hindsight, outshining everypony else was probably just as bad as failing horribly, or being a gryphon in a pony school. She hadn't made many friends in her short time there.

With a knowing grin, Pinkie stuck out her hoof as if picking a toy at a carnival. "I pick Fluttershy!"

"R-really? You want me on your team?" the shy pegasus stammered.

Hooves on her hips, the baker puffed out her chest. "Of course I do! That way, we'll be ready for parties and wild animals! It's the perfect team combination!"

Woah, Twilight was twitching at that sentence in a weird sorta way.
Probably because it made no sense, or something.

Eh, whatever. So Dash was obviously a captain, too. Right? It was only natural. She was the best! So, considering her choices, she could choose from Rarity, Applejack, or Twilight. "Okay. I choose … Applejack."

"Darn tootin'!" the farmer nodded in approval.

"Okey-dokey! Then we get Twilight!" Pinkie chirruped. "Because you two are super strong, and we might need to lift something really heavy like that Ursa Minor that she lifted that one time when Trixie was in town!"

Rainbow practically preened at the obvious praise. "Well, I'm not gonna say we're not awesome! Rarity, looks like you're with us."

The white mare nodded distractedly, busy re-curling her fancy mane with magic. Again.

Great. Dash sighed. At least Applejack would be there. Maybe they could make a race out of the search? This adventure was going pretty terribly, so far. There had just been a lot of fussing around and ponies getting sad. Lame.

Satisfied at the arrangements, the princess trotted over to look at the maps. "Very well. I propose we send one of your groups out to retrieve the furthest Element, and one towards the closest. In the meantime, I can start to track down the two that lie in Ponyville."

"Soooo," Pinkie drew out the syllable teasingly. "Can we be Team Pink? Or Pink-Tank? The Pinkertons? Pink and be Merry?" She beamed happily at her own puns.

Luna raised an unamused eyebrow. "Does nomenclature truly matter? Perhaps you would be better served by putting phrasing aside, and deciding how to divide your resources. Each of you must take care of two Elements. I advise you to choose … carefully."

Rainbow had thought about doing that. Yeah. But then she figured she'd leave the strategizing stuff to the ponies who really enjoyed it. She was generous like that.

As expected, Twilight carefully considered the map, before turning a serious face to her other team members. "I think we should go for the far-away one. I should be able to teleport all three of us a couple of times, which will get us there pretty quickly, allowing the other team to work nearby."

Huh? Dash decided to take offense. "Wait!" she blurted. "If you want fast, why aren't you asking me to do it?" She raised her amazing, totally awesome wings to illustrate her point.

The unicorn blinked. "Oh! I didn't mean to offend you, Rainbow. It's just a long way to fly with two ponies on your back."

Two ponies on her back? That sounded uncomfortable, yes. Perplexed, Dash glanced over at Rarity, then caught sight of Applejack and grimaced. "Oh yeah. My bad. Forgot about Applejack," she admitted. "Never mind. Even I can't do that."

The farm-pony's gaze narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me? You sayin’ Ah’m heavy?"

Aw, funk! Don't answer that one, Rainbow. It's a trap. You say yes, and you'll get a face full of angry farmer. You say no, and you'll set off the dishonesty alarm (because Applejack totally is heavy), and get a face full of angry farmer. Keep your mouth shut, that's a plan. Turn aside, and pretend not to listen. Mmm.

Meanwhile, Rarity was smiling genuinely at the other team. "Oh, how nice of you! I appreciate being given the shorter journey, girls. It's very kind. This hooficure is brand-new, you see, girls. I mustn't wreck it just yet, or the girls at the spa will be so cross. Thank you."

Fluttershy didn't answer, she just flushed and pawed at the ground. But Pinkie laughed cheerfully at the compliment. “No problemo! We'll be back before you know it! All we have to do is go grab some shiny rocks, right? How hard could this be?"

"That's the spirit!" Twilight nodded proudly at her teammates, and turned to the princess. "We'll be off then, your Highness. Please make sure Ponyville is safe."

The alicorn stood straighter, before nodding solemnly at the three. "May luck be with you all," the immortal pony whispered.

With a strained grunt from Twilight, the mares glowed, and swiftly disappeared.

Hmm. It seemed kinda quiet now. Too quiet. Just the breeze blowing through the distant trees, and a crabby old dragon-thing choking and spluttering on something he'd inhaled.

“Ah asked you a question, Dash! You callin’ me fat?"

Yeah. Quiet.

“Answer me!” Applejack raged.

"Wh … What happened?" A hazy landscape swam into view above him. Blueblood stretched out a hoof and saw two wavering outlines of his oddly distant limb. His back felt sore, probably because he was lying on the cold, hard ground.

The ground? What in the world?

"I was … knocked out? But where are the doctors? Why am I alone?" he asked the air. Surely he should be receiving medical attention? It was his right! His birthright!

No answer was forthcoming from the painfully indifferent air.

Oh, how despicably thirsty he was! Hungry, too. It seemed he had been insensate for an unconscionably long time. Oh, he would truly give anything for a glass of water right now! And perhaps a cucumber sandwich. Petits fours. A velvet cushion wouldn't go astray, either. How uncomfortable the floor was. He'd never really noticed.

Then again, it wasn't like he'd ever slept on anything but silk.

A few agonizing minutes passed, allowing his vision to ever-so-slowly clear. His two left-hooves reluctantly resolved into one. Eventually, Blueblood felt well enough to stand, and after a few false starts, he carefully attempted to do so. Feeling very hard done-by, the injured aristocrat lifted his head to glare at the doors. Behind that wooden aperture were his useless guards.

Except they weren't. They were already here.
All twenty of them, along with a full cadre of medics, were sprawled in a rough line from him to the entrance, painting a disturbing scene. These twenty-nine ponies were either asleep, or—

Blueblood shuddered.

"Is somepony out there?" he shouted at the locked doors. There wasn't a single quaver in his regal, commanding voice, of course. Not one iota of discomfort. "W-what is g-going on? H-Help!"

Perhaps just one iota.

The door clicked and cracked open slightly, a pale, watering eye peering through. "Your Highness!" a tearful maid gasped, throwing open the door. "You're alright!" She seemed deliriously happy that her employer had not died.

As soon as she stepped into the room, though, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and a strangled wheeze exited her lips. The cream-colored mare collapsed with a muffled thump. Then, to Blueblood's utmost horror, and with the most disconcerting ringing noise, a glowing aura separated from her body. It swam over to the prince. Flustered, he tried to avoid it, but the energy deftly slipped inside him, adding more power to his internal well of magic.

A well which was thirty times as large as it should have been.

"Wh-what? What is going on?" Blueblood's normally charismatic words came out as a miserable whimper, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. "Am I … eating ponies?"

Trixie trundled her portable home over the cobblestones, and into the central square of a nondescript town. This little hamlet had the dubious honor of being a small village in the middle of nowhere. It was nowheres-ville, by any sense of the word.

Yes, perhaps she could begin to salvage her reputation here. At least they'd be easy to impress.

Sighing, Trixie fixed her hat and swirled out her cloak. The clasp to the patterned cloth was brand new, a purple gem with her cutie-mark set into it. It hadn't taken long to make the adjustments at all, despite her lack of experience at the task. As for the solid-gold setting, she had ended up hiding it in her hat. If she ran low on funds again, she could always pawn it for some quick cash.

She looked up as somepony stopped in front of her. "Oh, are you a performer?" the stranger asked.

A curious passer by? That meant it was time to begin the show. It started far before the actual act began. "A performer? Hah! The Great and Powerful Trixie is the most magical pony in all of Equestria! With her abilities, she can perform amazing feats of sorcery! She can even reshape the world, right before your very eyes!"

Trixie quickly and easily spun her well-rehearsed advertising spiel. For some reason, it rang truer than usual.

"Ooh! Sounds exciting! Hey, everypony!" the other mare yelled. "Come watch this!"

Within minutes, a crowd had swiftly formed, ponies babbling excitedly about the new act. The perfect time to begin would be in ten seconds … five … now.

Jumping backwards, Trixie opened up her caravan with a flick of magic, twirling and flipping acrobatically in the air. As her stage slid out, she clacked her hooves down safely on the wooden surface. The gasps of the audience were drowned out by a set of fireworks igniting.

"Let the show begin!" she shouted. The crowd cheered wildly.

Now to try out the newest addition to her routine. With a flick of her hoof, she tapped her clasp, causing it to glow and hum at her throat. The numbers began to scroll down past her eyes again, but they only distracted her for a moment. She could hear the song of the medallion. It sounded a glorious knell of anticipation, and Trixie's very spirits raised. The unicorn laughed in clear exultation.

"Watch." She smirked. "And be amazed."

Three ponies burst into being.

"Gfuh!" Twilight gasped articulately. The exhausted unicorn flopped to the ground like a puppet with her strings cut.

Yeah. That was weird.

But, look! "Ooh! That mountain range is super-close now!" Pinkie pointed out.

When no-one answered, the earth-pony turned back around in indignation, only to realize that their team leader was totally indisposed. The librarian was just lying on the ground, panting for air.

Fluttershy was unharmed, of course, but the mare was busy fanning Twilight with her wings, desperately trying to cool the unicorn off.

Neither of them were paying attention to Pinkie, though. And that was unacceptable.

No, hold on! Without Twilight giving clever orders all the time, it slowly dawned on the pink pony that this was her chance to shine! Ponies were depending on her to save the world! She couldn't let them down.

Pinkie narrowed her eyes, and put a particularly mean pout on her snout. Game face, on.

"Fluttershy, I need a sit rep, stat!" Commander Pie barked.

The pegasus stared at her, while continuing to rotate her wings. "I, um, don't know what that means, Pinkie."

Huh.

"Neither do I, Fluttershy," the baker admitted. "Neither do I." This leader thing wasn't turning out so well. Those books had lied to her!

She scratched her head with a hoof. Maybe she needed some advice.

"Hey, Twilight?" Pinkie turned to the exhausted unicorn, who was struggling to raise her head. "How many sit reps are there in a stat?"

Twilight groaned in almost physical pain, and thunked her head back down.

The baker didn't take offense, because she knew that head-butting random objects was just one of those strange things other ponies did sometimes, mostly around her. "Also, I don't know what any of those words mean. Oh, except sit! I know sit."

Fluttershy stepped forward. "Pinkie, let her breathe. She just did a lot of magic, she needs to rest." The pegasus ushered her away gently.

Now sitting a safe distance away, the earth-pony pondered this alien concept of 'rest'. Was it something to do with music? Rarity had said something about that, once. Party music? Maybe it meant they should have a party! Even if it didn't, who doesn't like parties, right?

If only she had her party cannon. Everyone loves cannons.

"Well, maybe you should lay off the apple pastries! No wonder you're heavy!"

"Ah'm heavier than you 'cus Ah don' have hollow bones, y'featherhead! It's you who's stupidly light!"

"Well maybe you should lay off the bones then, you … apple tree-hugger!"

"Oh, that don' make a lick a'sense, y'numbskull!"

That was it. Luna couldn't take it any more.

"Rrrragh! Enough!" she shouted. The bickering duo of mares froze, to Rarity's visible relief.

The princess cleared her throat, sending a disappointed look at the arguing ponies, who had found themselves in a rather compromising position during the heated debate. Rainbow quickly shoved Applejack off, and they both stood up, shifting ashamedly.

"This is not the time for that," she admonished them. "Find the Element in Canterlot. I will fly to Ponyville, to question the citizenry."

The abashed trio nodded and swiftly left, headed towards the city's wealthiest district.

Bemused, the princess shook her head. Really, that little group of ponies might have been incredibly important, but you certainly wouldn't know it by looking at them. They acted more like children than anything.

'Disorder' leant his chin on a hand, and waved an arm lazily from his prone position. "Have fun!" he called to the vanishing trio, before a jaw-cracking yawn overtook him. Flopping back, the draconequus rolled over, obviously intending to go back to sleep.

Luna chuckled nastily. It was payback time. "Oh no, no, no. I'm not letting you out of my sight, Discord. Much like a recalcitrant foal, you require constant supervision. And as the only adult around, that duty falls to me."

"Disorder. Oh, and how are you going to watch over me, hm? I thought you had to go to Ponyville." He smirked.

Slowly, the princess nodded her head. "Yes. I do." Then an unpleasant grin grossed her face. "So that must mean you're coming too. Get out your wings, Discord. We have a long way to fly."

Yes, that made the cretin stop smirking.

With a careful look around, Apple Bloom bumped her door shut, and placed the necklace carefully onto her bed. Careful does it.

She hadn't told her brother about it, yet, even though she probably should. The sparkly blue ball was something special – a treat that she didn't have to share with the rest of her family. The filly felt pretty bad about hiding it from Big Mac, but he didn't seem to think there was anything missing from the crater, so it was probably buried treasure, in which case, finders-keepers!

That's the law. Pirates made that law, so it had to be true.

Besides, Rarity had a gem-finding cutie mark, right? Maybe Apple Bloom just needed to practice, and then, bam! Cutie mark! It'd be like hide-and-go-seek! But with only one pony. Who already knew where to look. And couldn't tell her family to hide the gemstone for her. Oh.
Darnit, now the flaws in her plan seemed so obvious.

She could still show it to her friends, though! Scootaloo … probably wouldn't care, but at least Sweetie would think the sparkly thing was cool! Whatever it was.

"Tha's righ'! Th' heck are ya, anyway?" Apple Bloom asked the blue orb, as if it could talk like a real people could. "Y'ain't a normal gem, that's fer sure." It did something right funny to her head. Now there were all these crazy shapes and colors in the corners of her eyes, but they weren't there when she twisted her neck round to look. She kept getting this feeling that if she turned just right, she'd be able to see them. It was … like there was an extra direction on the compass. North, South, East, West, and Blurgh.

What kinda crazy necklace did that? Blurgh weren't on no maps she'd never seen. None of the good ones, at least.

Hmm. Maybe Sweetie Belle would known what this doodad was. Aw, but then she'd have to walk all the way into Ponyville, and it was getting late! Granny would be real mad with her if she was still out after dark. And besides, she was really curious. She wanted to know now, not later!

"Dumb rock." The frustrated filly poked the gemstone.

When a miniature bolt of lightning zapped her with a tinny fizz, Apple Bloom jumped and hissed in a breath in a purely involuntary reflex. The electric shock didn't really hurt; the spark was much too small for that. But now she had a nasty black scorch-mark on her hoof! Blech. Rubbing the spot, she blew an angry raspberry at the necklace.

Hoh, wait a sec! She could just perform a simple technomagical spectrographic chemical decomposition, taking into account the aberrant weight and, hence, density of the spheroid in question! She had the tools to do it, too! Or, at least the tools to make the tools to make the tools. Hah! That sounded much easier than walking into town. Why didn't she think of that before? Boy, she was dumb.

Apple Bloom clattered off to find some scrap metal, two sandwiches and a screwdriver. Forget her homework, she had real work to do! Hahah!

Back in her room, alone once more, the blue gem glittered atop her pillow.

The distinctive yowl of a manticore echoed throughout the dry forest.

For Gilda, the grating call seemed particularly loud for this time of year, and in this region of the woods. Of course, that sense of misplacement was just because one of the chimeric monstrosities was right in front of her. Totally understandable, yeah. Made sense that she'd freak out a little.

A drop of sweat rolled down onto her beak as she stared at the horrifically lethal creature. It gave a menacing growl, and licked its slavering chops, seemingly chuckling at her fear. It probably was.

Gilda gulped weakly. "Okay, even I can tell that this isn't going to end well."

What a sucky situation. She could tell the manticore wasn't going to leave her alone. A little earlier experimentation had revealed the power of the magical feather-dealie, which turned out to be the ability to feel what others felt. Or at least, it was something pretty close to that. It worked on animals, anyway.

The manticore? According to pink-and-twinkly, it just felt really hungry. Ravenous. It probably hadn't eaten for days, considering the season.

Fantastic.
Yep, it looked pretty bad for her, she had to admit. Was this the end of Gilda? How depressing. Ending up as manticore-chow wasn't what she wanted to be carved into her tombstone. Better ways to die? Maybe going out in a blaze of glory while punching Celestia in the face? That sounded way cooler. Pity.

Her pink feather startled her when it twitched with a heavy thud, making a muffled, buried sound like the internal thump of bone on flesh. As if it had sensed its owner's distress, the crystal mirrored her fear and beamed it outward, forcing the predator to a shuddering halt. Gilda wasn't sure how she understood the mechanics of what was obviously crazy magic, but she wasn't going to knock it. For this … mode of the feather, all she knew was that everything else would feel what she did, except magnified many times over. The emotional dial was pushed up to ten. It was like a backwards version of the usual empathy power, but put on broadcast instead of receive.

The manticore didn't move.

Um. The gryphon hesitated, before waving a nervous talon. Okay? So, uh, what happened? Should she try to scare it off?

“Uh, grrr?” she half-heartedly snarled, raking her claws in the air.

It turned out that her growl was the final straw. The apex predator whined like a beaten housecat, and retreated from its not-so-fearsome opponent. Gilda watched, dumbfounded, as the terrifying monster that haunted her nightmares fled, mewling in fear.

For a long time, she was speechless. The implications … boiled away at her. This ugly, pink, little trinket had enormous power. And the thing had just fallen right into her lap.

Then she began to laugh.